Chapter 6 #2
I tighten my grip as I open my eyes, which lock on Delphi’s shocked ones. “Good morning, beautiful.”
Her mouth drops open in complete shock. Yeah, I’ll admit, I didn’t mean to let the endearment slip, but something changed in the hours that I rode around aimlessly looking for her.
I’m done pretending that all I want is friendship or to make amends for the shit we misguidedly put her through.
It might be true to an extent, but none of this was ever about fixing what the club broke.
It’s about loving this woman when every obstacle was stacked against us.
Watching her happy and in love with someone who wasn’t me, knowing she’d never be mine, to having this one shot to change that.
I don’t know how it’s possible to lose something that was never mine to begin with, but that’s what happened between us over and over.
Now there’s nothing in our way but our own mountain of baggage.
I don’t care if it takes me a millennium to scale it.
I won’t give up, no matter how hard this road will be, because I know this is it.
If I can’t make her love me more than she hates me, it’s game over.
She’ll leave, and I’ll be forced to watch her fall in love with someone else.
I can’t fucking do that again. If that means I have to play dirty, so fucking be it.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“You’re here. Where else would I be?”
She splutters, her words coming out in a jumbled mess as she tries to pull away from me once more.
“Let me go, dammit.”
“Not a chance. I’m so fucking tired of letting you go.”
“What the hell are you talking—” I cut her off by yanking her up my body and swallowing her words with my mouth.
I slide my hand into her hair, careful of her injuries, applying just enough pressure to anchor her in place.
She holds herself rock-solid, and I can’t tell if it’s from shock or something else.
I let my tongue dance alongside hers, coaxing it to play with mine.
She softens toward me and tentatively returns the kiss.
My cock, which has been hard since I woke up, throbs with need, but I don’t want to push too hard, too fast. That doesn’t stop my free hand from gliding over the skin of her back before slipping under the waistband of her panties so I can cup her bare ass.
She gasps into my mouth, making me growl and deepen the kiss. It isn’t until she whimpers that I realize the noise isn’t one of arousal, but pain, that I pull back.
“What’s wrong?” I bark, worried I hurt her.
“Headache,” she murmurs, squinting. The doctors mentioned migraines might be a big issue for her, especially since she suffered from them before the head injury.
“Let me get your pain meds and some water. Can you remember when you last took them?”
She shakes her head before groaning from the motion. “Gonna be sick,” she whispers. I detangle myself from her so I can pick her up, but her body refuses to wait. She just manages to roll onto her side before she starts throwing up.
“Shit.” I gently pick her up, carrying her to the bathroom and leaning her over the toilet. But by this point, we’re both covered in puke.
I hold her hair back until she’s done and rummage around until I find a washcloth. I run it under the faucet and clean her face before running a bath. I hurry back into the room, find her painkillers and anti-nausea meds, and bring them in.
“Can you remember when you had these?”
She squints her eyes open, and I can see it takes a moment for her brain to connect. “Sunrise,” she whispers.
I glance at my watch. It’s 10 am now, so she should be fine taking them.
I hold them to her lips and wait for her to open her mouth before slipping them inside.
I spot a little plastic cup on the side of the sink with a complimentary travel toothbrush and mini toothpaste inside, so I fill the cup with water and hand it to her to sip slowly while applying some toothpaste to the brush.
She drinks enough water to swallow the pills before shakily handing me back the glass. I take it from her before putting it on the counter.
I tap her lips. “Open your mouth for me, chestnut.”
She does as I ask. And even though she’s in pain, I can see the question in her eyes.
I grin as I slip the toothbrush between her lips and start brushing her teeth for her. “Did you know the outside of a chestnut is prickly? Kinda reminds me a little of you.”
She grunts, making me chuckle.
“Tell me I’m wrong?”
She, of course, can’t. One, because of the toothbrush, two, because I’m not wrong.
She never used to be this way. Yes, she had a feisty side, but she was as sweet as the day was long.
I know it’s a defense mechanism to keep me at bay.
Hell, I’d be ten times worse in her shoes.
What gets me is how much I find myself enjoying her grumpiness.
It’s kind of endearing, though I value my balls too much ever to admit that.
“Spit.”
She leans a little farther over the toilet and spits.
“Why does everything sound like an innuendo with you?” Her voice is nearly a whisper, but this close to her, I have no problem hearing her.
“You just have a very dirty mind. Now open your mouth for me again, chestnut. Nice and wide.”
She cocks an eyebrow at me, making me laugh. Point taken. I finish brushing her teeth before walking over to the bath, turning off the water, and checking the temperature.
Bending down next to Delphi once more, I slide her hair away from her face. “I know you’re hurting, but I need to clean us up, as well as the bed.”
“I’m sorry.” Her pale face is flushed pink with embarrassment.
“You have fuck-all to be sorry about. Shit happens. Besides, I’ve waited a fucking lifetime to take care of you. All you have to do is let me.”
She whimpers again, making me curse.
“Sorry, baby,” I whisper, knowing she needs quiet. “I’m going to help you get undressed and into the bath. Keep your cast out of the water. I’ll clean up the bed, then come help you,” I murmur.
“Okay,” she agrees in a tiny voice.
I reach for the hem of the T-shirt and slowly pull it up, helping her get her arms out before tossing it in the sink.
I put the lid down on the toilet and flush before easing Delphi to her feet.
She sways, but I quickly slip her panties down over her hips and ass before sitting her down and sliding them off the rest of the way.
I swallow, taking in the goddess before me. Doesn’t matter that her hair is a mess, that she has scars and bruises and a cast on her arm, or that she smells of vomit. I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman in my life.
I pick her up as carefully as I can without jostling her and lower her into the warm water. I make sure she’s settled before rinsing out the washcloth with cold water, folding it up, and resting it on her forehead.
“I’ll be quick.”
She makes a noise I take as okay before moving to the door. I look back, glad I kept the water shallow in case she falls asleep, though I’ll leave the door open anyway to watch over her.
I catch sight of myself in the mirror and remember I’m covered in puke too.
I yank my Henley over my head and toss it into the sink with Delphi’s discarded T-shirt.
My jeans seem to have fared better, but just in case, I unbuckle my belt and pop the buttons open so I can slip them off.
I carry them out with me, leaving the light off in the bathroom and the door open so there is enough light for me to keep watch over her.
Thankfully, there is no window in the bathroom to contend with.
I place my jeans over the chair with my cut and strip the bedsheets, balling them up and carrying them to dump them with the rest of the soiled shit.
Thankfully, the mattress itself looks unscathed. I crack the window open wider to let some air in before grabbing my cell phone from my cut.
I call Havoc, who answers after a couple of rings. “You find her?”
“Yeah, but she’s in the throes of a full-blown migraine right now. Puked everywhere, so I’m not moving her anywhere just yet.”
“Shit, she okay?”
“She always suffered with migraines, but I don’t know if this is the norm for her or if they’re worse since the surgeries and shit.”
“Alright, what do you need from me?”
“I need a prospect—not Pig, unless you want me to fuck him up—to pick up some supplies and bring me a clean shirt. I can get bedding from the hotel. I just gotta track down housekeeping.”
“Nah, fuck that. Stay with Delphi. I’ll get the prospect to grab the bedding for you, too. What about food?”
“Food would be great. Bring breakfast stuff—juice, water, and caffeine. The coffee helps with the migraines.” At least that’s what she told me years ago.
“I’m on it.”
“Thanks, Havoc.” I hang up before heading back to the bathroom.
As I suspected, Delphi has drifted to sleep.
I rummage around in her bag until I find her toiletries and kneel beside the bath.
Not wanting to disturb her but needing to get her clean, I pull the washcloth from her forehead and lather it up with shower gel.
I ever so gently begin washing her body.
Naturally, my dick wants to burst out of my boxers like it’s auditioning for the movie Aliens.
Jesus Christ, I’m only human, and the water does nothing to hide the beauty before me.
Full breasts with hardened, rosy nipples that beg to be sucked.
Her stomach is a little rounded, which I love.
Don’t get me wrong, women like Amity are still gorgeous with their flat stomachs or—in Amity’s case—six packs.
But I’ve always been a sucker for curvy girls with thick thighs and juicy asses that I can grab hold of and sink my fingers into when I’m fucking them.
Delphi has always had more curves than a racetrack.
It’s the first thing that caught my eye.
Some women struggle with bodies like that, under the pressure of what social media, in particular, thinks they should look like.
But Delphi has always had that quiet confidence that comes with being one hundred percent comfortable in their own skin.
And there’s nothing sexier a woman can wear than confidence.
My eyes skate farther, to where there is a tiny thatch of copper curls.
I lick my lips at the sight. Delphi has been a redhead as long as I’ve known her, but in a shade that was clearly from a salon, not from nature.
Not that it matters to me. But for some reason, I always thought she might have been a natural blonde. I guess the temper makes sense now.
Abandoning the cloth, I pour some more shower gel, this time into my hands.
I gently ease her legs apart and slide my soapy fingers between them.
I groan. I’m torturing myself. I don’t slip my fingers inside her, though fuck knows I want to.
But that would be pushing things too far, and I’m already taking liberties here.
Instead, I glide my fingers across the seam of her pussy lips, biting my lip as I feel my cock weep, only to freeze when I hear Delphi’s whispered voice.
“Kruger?”