13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
J ustice watched the woman he’d been imagining in his bed since he’d first met her a year ago. Since then, each time he’d tried to get closer, she’d flipped him off or given him the cold shoulder. It seemed being his attorney had started a slow thaw of the armor Adley wrapped around herself.
But knowing she’d been in danger had made him face some hard decisions. He wanted her with every fiber of his being, and if her reaction to him working out yesterday morning said anything, it screamed that she wanted him too .
When she’d thrown herself into his arms after the attack at her house, he’d realized that it was exactly where he wanted her.
Yesterday, the prospect had delivered the butcher paper, and Adley had spent part of the day laying out the information they had gathered on the wall.
When she’d added about being chased at the Arboretum, his heart had almost stopped.
He hadn’t even known she was in danger. She could have been lost to him before he made a move.
She’d added all the things that had happened to the Saint’s since his arrest, and she’d added anything that had happened to her from the Arboretum to the current time.
They’d all hung out in the main room of the clubhouse until bedtime last night.
Adley, her mom, and her sister had fought over who got to hug and hold Ian.
Today, Pit and Ariel were coming home from the hospital.
Ariel’s family was heading back home to Bluff Creek and planned to come for an extended weekend in a couple weeks.
Pit and Ariel wanted time with just their son and no one staying at their house or having to entertain company.
Pit and Ariel were supposedly getting here after lunch, then taking a nap. They all planned to gather for supper and then go over what Adley had on the list. Justice was hoping that if they talked through it all, something might come to light.
Macy had just taken Ian from Adley. His mom was in the room, and she’d watch Ian without him even asking if he took Adley somewhere.
She’d probably shove them out the door. She’d caught him right before he walked into his house last night and told him he needed to seize the day because Adley was perfect for him.
He’d agreed with her, which, instead of making her happy, had her looking at him like she couldn’t understand him.
She’d grabbed his ear and then pulled him down close to whisper, “Then what are you waiting for?”
He walked up close to Adley, leaning down by her ear. “Go for a walk with me?” he asked. He’d prefer a ride, but until he knew what kind of danger Adley was in, he wasn’t taking her for a bike ride by themselves.
She turned, stared into his eyes, and what she saw must have convinced her of something because she nodded yes.
He took her hand and led her outside. Although Kansas City was usually brutally hot in August, it was only in the seventies that morning.
He led her across the compound, but instead of heading toward his house, he headed closer to his mom’s and aunt’s houses.
There was a wooded area between their houses where he, Pit, and Tack had played, built a clubhouse, and ran wild.
He wanted to show her a little of his past.
“Thanks for coming with me,” Justice said, feeling like a dork because he normally had no problem talking with women. But Adley was special.
“Where are we headed?” she asked.
He smiled at her as they walked. How long had it been since he’d walked just holding a woman’s hand?
“There’s a wooded area between my mom’s house and my aunt’s. I thought I’d show you some stuff from my childhood,” he said.
Once they reached the wooded area, Justice led her into the center, where there weren’t quite as many trees, and where their secret clubhouse was.
“What? No sign that girls aren’t allowed?” Adley asked.
Justice chuckled. “Yeah, we got rid of that sign when we went through puberty. In fact, if you promise not to tell Pit I told you—I’ll tell you a secret.”
Adley crossed her heart and mimed zipping her lips.
“Pit lost his virginity in the clubhouse,” Justice said.
Adley scrunched up her nose. “It doesn’t look very clean.”
Justice guffawed and slapped his thigh. “I don’t think at sixteen, Pit cared about a little dirt.”
“What about you? When did you lose yours?” Adley asked .
“Back seat of a Mustang with my prom date. We were both sixteen. Quickest sex of my life. Looking back, I feel really sorry for girls when it’s the guy’s first time. We know nothing about pleasure. It’s all just about coming,” Justice said.
He turned toward Adley, sliding his hand around her neck. “I didn’t bring you here for sex, but I did bring you here to taste those lips of yours that have been calling to me for months. I figured here was the only chance I’d have to kiss you and not have someone interrupt us,” he said.
Adley stared at him, then smiled. “What are you waiting for?”
“You saying you want it too. You’ve flipped me off a lot when I’ve asked you out. In the bright light of day, I want you to say I can kiss you,” Justice breathed, millimeters from her lips. He waited for Adley to choose him. To choose them.
“Kiss me, Justice. Make all those times I’ve imagined your lips on mine pale in comparison,” she breathed.
Adley trembled against him, and Justice touched his lips to hers.
He’d kissed plenty of women, but this time, with Adley, it was different.
There wasn’t a lightning bolt. Just a sureness that he’d come home and Adley was where he’d find his forever.
Not very manly for a biker, but maybe it was just what he needed—Adley’s softness and strength to complement his strength and hardness.
Each touch, each taste of her had him falling deeper.
He’d planned only a kiss, and he was sticking to it.
Unfortunately, his cock wasn’t getting the message and was pulling every last bit of blood to his groin.
Adley’s hands grasped his biceps as he pulled her closer, touching and tasting the woman who had changed his expectations.
Is this how love felt? An all-consuming need to please Adley and make her his?
It was different from the love he had for his son or his mom, but Adley had burrowed her way into his heart.
Her strong, fierce need to help others, coupled with her personality, lit a fire in him unlike anything he’d known before.
Sliding his hand down to cup her butt and squeeze a handful had her pressing her torso against him.
Her curves plastered against his front, and his very hard cock wasn’t helping him to keep his wits about him.
He wanted to carry Adley over to that tree, strip off her shorts, and lift her until he could get inside her.
He was breathing heavily when he pulled away, trying to convince himself that he was going to wait until they’d spent more time together.
He swallowed and stared at Adley. Her slumberous eyes said she was every bit as on board as he was.
“Woman, you pack a punch. I’m trying to remember I promised we were just here to get to know each other and kiss,” he said, blowing out a breath.
Adley giggled, and she was even more beautiful when she did. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and rolled his eyes.
“Duty calls. Pit and Ariel have arrived early. I’d planned on us talking and getting to know each other, along with some kisses. It seems like that’s not going to happen.”
Adley jumped up and down. “Yay, I can’t wait to hold the baby, and besides, anticipation heightens the experience,” she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him back toward the clubhouse. He was one lucky bastard to have found Adley.
Adley finally got to hold little Teddy. He was smaller than Ian, but then Ian was about eight weeks older than him. She could imagine Teddy and Ian growing up like Justice said he, Tack, and Pit had.
Her sister had been making faces at her to put the baby down and go outside. Adley was positive Macy wanted to grill her about what had happened between her and Justice. When they’d walked back in, Macy had mouthed Justice and Adley sitting in a tree to her. Seriously, they were grown women.
Ariel was sitting beside Adley on the couch, lying back with her eyes closed.
“I’m sure we can all watch Teddy if you want a nap,” Adley offered.
Ariel’s eye cracked open. “I’m waiting until the order from the restaurant gets here. Is it bad I want to gorge on the cheese and bacon fries since I now don’t have someone compressing my stomach and everything else?”
“I don’t think so. What else are they sending?
Pit’s is my favorite restaurant to eat at,” Adley said.
And since she and Justice were maybe in a relationship, she wouldn’t need to be hiding from him anymore.
Adley would have to trust Justice and his club to not be like the one she’d grown up in.
Until he gave her a reason to doubt him, she was going to let things progress.
“Ribs, brisket, smoked sausage, chicken, turkey, coleslaw, and dessert. I so want something sweet,” Ariel said.
“Hey, Mom, Ariel would like something sweet,” Adley called. Adley smiled at the way her mom perked up and ran toward the kitchen. In moments, she was back in front of Ariel with an assortment of her baked goods.
“I have different muffins, and then I got worried the guys were going to eat everything before you all showed up, so I made these cookies,” Judith said.
Ariel reached for a cookie, but before she could get it, Tack was there.
“Hey, cookies,” Tack said, reaching for one.
“You touch those cookies before Ariel picks the ones she wants, you’ll be walking funny, boy,” Ruthy called. “You can have first pick when you’re supplying the next generation of Saint’s Outlaws. Until then, you wait your turn.”
Adley snickered along with Ariel and Judith. Ariel grabbed a cookie and bit into it.
“This is so good. Thank you, Judith,” Ariel said, leaning back.
“Does that mean it’s my turn with little Teddy?” Judith asked.
Adley chuckled and handed Teddy to her mom and grabbed the tray to take over to Pit and Justice.
“Hey,” Tack whined.
“It’s not my rule. I’m just following your mom’s rules,” Adley said, chuckling at Tack’s pouting .
“I don’t think I ever imagined a one-percenter biker pouting. Does it happen a lot?” Adley asked.
Pit chuckled and took a couple of cookies. “You’d be surprised at how often.”
Justice pulled Adley down onto his lap, getting two cookies and handing one to her.
“Hmm, this seems new,” Pit commented.
“Well, we were trying to get to know each other when you came home early,” Justice whined.
“See, more often than you’d think, I hear whining from them,” Pit said, with a smirk.
Adley ate her cookie and stared around the room. These people, who she’d judged without knowing them, had offered her and her family safety. She needed to do her part to help keep them, especially the babies, safe too .
She thought through all the items she had on her list. Maybe she needed to go back further. What if Justice being brought in on charges wasn’t the first time the Saint’s Outlaws were targeted?
She’d been planning on having Macy do a deep dive into Gina Brown after Justice had told her about how he’d gone home with her. With all the things that had happened, she and Macy hadn’t ever gone over what, if anything, she’d found.
There were prospects in the room, and someone was supposed to be delivering lunch.
While Pit and Ariel were lying down with Teddy for their nap, maybe she and Macy could look through what Macy had found out about Gina.
Maybe all these things that she thought were random weren’t really random and were something more insidious that had been in the works for a while.
“Food’s here,” FNG called as he and a couple other people walked in with catering bags to keep the food warm and started unloading them on the table.
She’d eat and enjoy everyone’s company, and then she’d need some time to think.
There were too many inconsistencies for this to not be something connected.
“Let’s get some food, babe,” Justice said, lifting her onto her feet and placing his hand at her back.
Well, she’d concentrate on that unless Justice wanted to get to know each other better after lunch, and then she’d be up for whatever the man wanted because Adley wasn’t going to be the scared woman anymore. It was time to live her life.