Chapter Fifty-Five
King
The morning came, and I woke with Grace in my arms. She cried herself to sleep last night after she’d made herself come using my body. Never had a sexual experience been so profound.
And I didn’t even come.
Something healed inside her as I watched her ride my cock. A weight lifted from her. I saw it as clear as if she were shaking off a coat covered in snow from the Nebraska winters.
I could honestly say, it was the best sex I’d ever not had.
“It’s too early for you to be thinking that hard.”
I chuckled as she burrowed against me. Leaning further into my chest. I wanted nothing more than to roll over and cover her body with mine. I knew she wasn’t ready for that. But I also knew that someday she would be.
And I’d be here waiting.
Even if we were in our seventies.
“What time is it?” she groaned.
“Almost seven-thirty.” I leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “You ready to talk?”
Her body stiffened. “About what?” she whispered.
“About everything. We can’t avoid them forever, but I’d like to talk with you first. I have some questions.”
She pressed her forehead against my chest. “I don’t have answers. Not yet.”
“You have some,” I pressed. “Like why Popeye called you Stephanie.”
She took a deep breath. “It’s my name.”
This time I did roll her over onto her back. “Excuse me?”
She pressed her lips together and raised her eyebrows like she was a kid who was caught stealing a piece of candy from the store and hoped they were cute enough not to get in trouble.
She was so fucking cute it was hard to get my irritation up enough to scold her.
“My full name is Stephanie Grace Hartley.”
I realized quickly as I sat up, it wasn’t so hard to be fucking irritated.
“What the fuck? Your personnel file at the bar says Grace Bishop.”
“How do you know what my personnel file says?” she asked as she sat up, pulling the sheet with her. Meanwhile, I stood on the side of the bed buck-ass fucking naked as I stared at her.
“That’s not important.”
“No, it is important. How did you see my file? Did Jake show it to you?”
I put my hands on my hips. This wasn’t a conversation to have naked, but a small part of me wondered if it was the best time.
A distraction. Either my body would distract her from what I was about to say, or what I was about to say would distract her from realizing I was naked.
“I own the bar,” I confessed, my voice a hair above a whisper, hoping she wouldn’t hear me.
At least there was no fruit for her to throw at me.
“You what?” she said, getting up from the bed.
“I own the bar,” I repeated.
“Since when?”
I didn’t take my eyes off her, but I didn’t answer her either. I thought about what to tell her. I didn’t want to lie, but I wasn’t sure she would listen long enough for me to explain.
“Well?”
“Since a few days after we met.”
“OH MY GOD!” she screamed. “You are so fucking controlling it’s ridiculous.” She dropped the sheet, and I was momentarily distracted by her naked body.
After she cried herself to sleep, she woke me up in the middle of the night as she climbed on top of me again.
That time I fucking touched her. I let her lead, let her set the pace.
But I touched every fucking inch of her body.
She still made me wear a condom—which reminded me, I needed to check in with Kytten.
My thoughts were so consumed with fucking Grace without a condom again and knocking her up that I hadn’t seen her move. Until a shoe hit me in the head.
“FUCK!” I rubbed at my forehead and ducked as Grace sent the other shoe flying. Thank God she wore soft shoes. When I saw her zero in on my boots, I launched myself over the bed and pulled her up into my arms before slamming her against the wall.
Her legs went around my waist, and the feel of her hot, wet pussy against my dick took away my sense of reality. I slammed my lips against hers, and plunged inside her.
She threw her head back and gasped at the sudden intrusion, and the bang brought me back to reality.
“Fuck, Grace. I’m sorry.”
“DON’T!” she screeched. “Don’t stop, King.” Her arms went around my neck, and her feet dug into my back. “Fuck me.”
There was so much we needed to discuss, but right this second, I couldn’t think of a single thing except coming inside her. I didn’t care that I wasn’t wearing a condom. Hearing Grace beg was all I focused on.
It didn’t take long before she was screaming my name and I was unloading inside her. I buried my face in her neck as we both fought to catch our breath.
“Are you okay?” I asked, afraid I’d set her back.
“I’m okay,” she assured me.
I lifted my head and searched her face for a lie. I’d never forgive myself if I hurt her. When she smiled at me, I fell fucking further. Grace was my life. We’d missed so much fucking time because of my stupidity.
“I’m never giving you up, Grace.”
“Good. ’Cause you’re stuck with me.”
My phone rang, killing the moment, and I groaned.
“Answer it. We both have shit to deal with today.”
I set her on her feet. She strutted toward the bathroom as I walked back to my nightstand. She looked over her shoulder as she closed the bathroom door. “Hurry up and join me.”
My phone stopped ringing as I stared at the bathroom door. I was about to set it down when it started up again.
“This better be fucking good!”
Cash chuckled on the other end of the line and said, “You need to get downstairs, brother, before all hell breaks loose.”
“What the fuck’s going on?”
“Well, your parents are here.”
“Cash,” I growled. The fucker only laughed harder. “Popeye is looking for Grace, and Snoopy and Sal are giving each other death stares. Plus, Duncan and Mac are here. And Maureen is here with the baby.” His voice dropped. “She’s cooking.”
“Son of a bitch!” I shouted. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
I hung up my phone and slipped into the shower behind Grace. The scent of her skin was enough to calm the storm building inside me as I thought about all the shit I had to deal with.
“I want to make love to you in here again. But there is a shitshow downstairs waiting for us.”
Grace sighed. “I guess we can’t hide in here forever.”
“You can. If you’re not ready to talk to him, you don’t have to.”
“I love him,” she confessed. “I always have. I used to beg my mother to tell me he was my father. She lied to me over and over. And I can’t ask her why.”
I pulled her back against my chest, my arms wrapped around her waist as my chin settled on her shoulder. “Maybe he can shed some light on it.”
“Maybe.”
We finished up the shower and got dressed. I opened the door to the hall just as Jackson and Karlyn were leaving the room they were in.
“She’s downstairs,” I told him. “You ready to meet her?”
“Fuck no.”
Karlyn put her arms around Jackson’s waist and reminded him, “You don’t have to. She can wait until you’re ready.”
“Not sure I’ll ever be ready.”
“I hear you,” I said to my brother. “First, I need to go yell at my sister-in-law to get off her fucking feet. She just had a baby a fucking week ago.”
Grace and I went downstairs, followed by Jackson and Karlyn. We stopped in the kitchen, and Maureen was at the stove. Duncan and Mac were sitting at the table, and Mac had Bennett in his arms.
“Shouldn’t you be out there watching your boss?” I asked my uncle. Yeah, I was starting to come to terms with this shit. But he didn’t need to know that.
“Fuck no. I’m not getting between him and my sister.”
I shook my head. “Maureen.”
“Not a word, King.”
“It’s been a week,” I said, walking over to where she was standing by the stove flipping pancakes.
“It’s been two weeks, and I feel fine.” She set the spatula on the counter and turned to me. “I can’t sit in that house right now. It’s too quiet.”
I pulled her against me and kissed her head. She was struggling with the loss of Hash, and the appearance of my dead mother wasn’t helping.
“Promise me you’ll take a break when you get tired.”
“I promise.”
I turned to Mac and Duncan, pointing my finger at both of them. “Don’t let her overdo it.”
They both nodded and looked toward the door as we heard shouting coming from the main room. I sighed and looked at Jackson. “You sure you’re up for this?” He rolled his eyes at me and walked out to the bar.
Out in the main room, it seemed everyone had shown up for the party. Reaper and Montana sat at the bar and grinned when they saw me walk in. I flipped them the bird as I walked past them to where Sal, Snoopy, and Hemlock stood toe to toe, glaring at each other while Darcy stood to the side.
“All of you, in church, now,” I growled.
Grace tried to pull her hand away, and I held on tight. “Baby, I want you to come with me.”
“Are you sure?” She looked over at my mother. Darcy was wise to keep her mouth closed.
“Yeah, baby. I’m sure.”
“Karlyn’s coming too,” Jackson said. And when Karlyn nodded, Grace relaxed and followed me into church. I directed Jackson to sit beside me in Cash’s chair. Grace sat on the other side of me, and Karlyn sat on the other side of Jackson.
Sal and Snoopy sat on either side of Darcy, separated by a couple of chairs. Hemlock stood behind her.
I stared at him, looking for any resemblance. Then I looked at Snoopy. Charles Kennedy was in his seventies, at least a decade older than my mother. But seeing him next to Hemlock, there was no question they were related.
I looked at Jackson. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“I’m sure you have questions,” Darcy said.
“Not really,” I countered. “Jackson?”
He didn’t speak. He just stared at Darcy.
He’d had even less time than I had to get used to the idea that the woman he believed was his mother wasn’t her at all.
Neither of us were looking for a mother.
I had Maureen; Jackson had his aunt Roxy.
He’d told me she was alive when he came back from Lincoln.
Though she hadn’t arrived with James and Donna.
She and Dante, along with Mellie and Ghost, had stayed with Sinclair. I didn’t like the idea of his being involved, but at least he wasn’t anywhere near Tank.
“Why now?” Grace asked. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about what happened at Dec’s house last night. I knew she’d meet her when Declan took Darcy there, but we’d had other, more important things to deal with than my dead mother.
When Darcy didn’t answer, Karlyn pressed, “Are you going to answer?”
“I was hoping I could talk to Kingston and Jackson alone.”
“Not happening,” I told her. “Grace and Karlyn are part of our lives. A permanent part.”
Darcy nodded. “I hadn’t planned to come back at all. But Brian—”
“Brian fuckin’ knew?” Sal exploded as he jumped from his seat.
“Sal,” Grace chided. She shook her head, and my father sat his ass back down. I looked at my woman and wondered when the hell she’d spoken to my father.
“Brian said it was time to come home. Jane Craven was dead, and the Society was gone.”
“Is that why you stayed dead? Because of Jane?” I asked.
“She was part of it.”
“What was the other part?” Jackson asked, finally speaking.
“I figured it was too late,” she answered. “Too much time had passed for any of you to forgive me.”