Chapter 21 Silver
SILVER
“The goods have finally arrived.”
I head back into the bedroom with the takeout bags in hand, the smell of soy sauce and garlic fragrant in the air.
Solana’s still in my bed, exactly where I left her—naked and wrapped up in the sheets, her butterfly locs dangling past her bare shoulders.
She’s fiddling with her phone when I walk in, looking up at me with her bright, pretty brown eyes.
I could get used to this, coming home to her waiting for me in bed.
“Figured the least I could do was not starve you to death,” I say, setting the bags down and unpacking the containers. “You know, after the appetite we’ve worked up.”
She stretches her arms and giggles, the sound one of the most addictive in the world. “Probably the best possible workout imaginable. I should cancel my gym membership.”
I climb back into bed beside her, settling against the headboard together. One by one, I pop open the containers—beef and broccoli, orange chicken, fried rice, chow mein, salt and pepper shrimp, egg rolls. The whole spread.
Solana’s eyes light up like it’s Christmas morning, grabbing the chopsticks I hand her with an eagerness that makes me grin.
She digs into the orange chicken first, her first bite accompanied by a moan. A real, genuine moan that reminds me a little too much of the sounds she was making an hour ago.
“Damn,” she says around the mouthful. “The Golden Dragon really does have the best Chinese food in Pulsboro.”
I nod, grabbing a chunk of beef with my own chopsticks. “No argument here. Much better than Wang’s. That place gave me food poisoning once. Spent three days thinking I was gonna die. Not exactly the way a Steel King should go out.”
She laughs as she swallows her next bite of orange chicken, then starts eyeing what I’ve got. “Hey. Don’t hog all the beef and broccoli.”
Before I can respond, she’s nudging my hand out of the way with her chopsticks, stealing a piece right out from under me.
Bold as brass.
I raise a brow at her. “Didn’t know you were so assertive.”
She smirks at me, a playfulness twinkling in her eyes. “What can I say? You’re bringing out a new side of me.”
It makes me proud to hear her say it. So much so I almost forget about the sliver of beef held between my own chopsticks.
But it’s good to see her like this. So relaxed and at ease, with a glow about her.
She looks comfortable here, in my bed, in my space.
…like it’s where she’s meant to be.
“I like seeing you like this,” I admit.
Yet another giggle bubbles out of her. “You mean with a big fat smile after amazing sex?”
I grab the fried rice container and scoop some onto my chopsticks, chewing slowly before I answer. “Well… yeah. But it’s more than that. I more so meant smiling. Laughing. Not to sound like a cliché cornball, but... it’s like music to listen to.”
Solana’s expression softens, her dark eyes lowering to her lap. “It’s easy to do around you. You… you make me feel like I really can do anything, Silver.”
God damn, do I have a soft spot for this girl.
More than anything I ever anticipated.
I pick at the fried rice for a moment, turning over the question I’ve been wanting to ask. In the end, I go ahead and get it out the way.
“Was this really your first time?” I ask carefully. “Except for… you know.”
After some hesitation, her gaze flicks up to mine and she nods. “It, um, it was. That’s why I chose you. I wouldn’t trust anyone else—or want them. Only you.”
“Thanks…” I say, the weight of her admission settling over me. But it’s no burden. It’s the opposite. I let her know it is, adding, “It’s an honor. I mean that.”
She picks up an egg roll and takes a bite, chewing as if to distract from the thoughts turning over inside her head. When she sneaks another glance at me, the teasing spark has returned.
“I never expected it to be like that,” she admits. “But it was even better than I imagined. You made me come, Silver. How many women can say that about their first time—their real first time?”
“I’d wager not many knowing how some men half-ass things.”
“You’d be correct. But…” she shrugs, swallowing her latest bite. “No matter what happens between us going forward... I’ll never forget it.”
I go still, struck by what she’s said.
No matter what happens between us going forward.
She says it so calmly, so simply, as if she truly has no expectations. She’s just happy to have experienced that moment between us.
All it does is illustrate the very real feelings we’ve developed for each other. Feelings I never planned for. Damn sure never asked for.
Things can never be the same between us now. In an ideal world, we never would’ve crossed this line in the first place. She’s twenty years old. I’m forty-five. She came to me broken and hurting, and I was supposed to protect her.
Keep her safe. Not fall into bed with her.
…maybe even in love with her.
What’s more, if I’m truly honest with myself, I don’t regret it. Not one damn bit.
How can I, when being around Solana feels like coming up for air after years of drowning? When I genuinely enjoy her company, her laugh, her sharp wit and soft heart?
I care about her more than I’ve cared about another woman in longer than I can remember.
Tonight was the height of pleasure—not just the sex, but giving her something special. Pleasure she deserved. And god, she tasted so sweet. So damn delicious on my tongue.
But I don’t want her to get hurt.
That’s the thing that gnaws at me. The fear that keeps rearing its ugly head. I want to protect her from everything—the fallout from what happened with Kel, the judgments from other people who won’t understand our relationship, my worst enemies who would use her against me in a heartbeat.
Even from myself. From the darkness I carry and the violence that’s woven into the fabric of my life.
I reach over and take her hand, threading my fingers through hers. “No matter what happens from this point forward, I’ll always be there for you. I’ll always protect you.”
She squeezes my hand with zero hesitation, the faintest smile at the corner of her lips. “I know. I know you will.”
My phone buzzes on the nightstand, disrupting the moment.
I almost ignore it ’til I see the text on the locked screen. It’s from Tito alerting me about an emergency.
There’s been a situation, vice prez. Mace and Cash were attacked.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath.
Solana sits up straighter, concern flickering across her face. “What is it?”
I’m already sliding out of bed, grabbing my jeans from the floor and pulling them on. “Club business. Something’s come up.”
I hate doing this to her. It was a constant in my marriage to Rachel; club-related issues disrupting our lives and me running off to go handle it.
Eventually, Rachel grew tired of it. In hindsight, she had every right to, even if she didn’t have a right to cheat the way she did.
Solana nods, though worry knits her brows. The questions she’s not asking.
I lean down and press a kiss to her forehead, lingering for a few extra seconds to breathe her in.
“Stay put. Enjoy the Chinese food,” I tell her. Then add a wink. “But leave some for me.”
That earns me a smirk. “I promise. Now go. Handle your business.”
I grab my shirt and head for the door, already dialing Tito back.
But at the threshold, I pause for one parting look at her wrapped up in my sheets as gorgeous and sexy as ever.
I think about what a fucking lucky man I am that she gave me the gift she did and that I was able to give her the experience she wanted.
Then I force myself to walk away…
I stride through the doors of the Steel Saloon on a pulse of adrenaline. I’ve still got the taste of Solana on my tongue and the smell of her in my beard.
Less than an hour ago, I was having an amazing evening with the woman I haven’t been able to get off my mind.
We were warm and naked in bed, Chinese takeout containers scattered across the nightstand tables as we talked about everything and nothing all at the same time.
As we spent an evening basking in each other’s company.
This better be a real damn emergency or I just might lose it and flip a table.
“What the hell happened?” I demand. “Who came after you?”
The club is empty except for a handful—Cash with his hands on his waist as he watches Sydney patch up Mace’s shoulder. Tito and Big Eddie are seated at the table closest to the bar counter, their faces tight and unsmiling.
Cash sighs, deciding he’ll be the spokesperson for the group.
“A black SUV came out of nowhere and ran us off the road. It was either an Escalade or a Tahoe. It was hard to tell with everything going on. They ran us off Highway 19, then opened fire while we were trying to get our bikes under control. We barely made it to the drainage ditch for cover before they unloaded two full clips at us.”
“Podría ser los Hellrazors,” Tito says with a shake of his head. “They’ve been too quiet lately, hermano. Maybe they’ve been planning something big while we weren’t paying attention.”
“Could be,” Cash concedes, nodding his head. “The Hellrazors have been silent for months now… which isn’t like them.”
“Man, it ain’t the fucking Hellrazors and you know it,” Big Eddie pipes up. “This is obviously the Penas retaliating. He told us it would be coming when we backed out of the deal, and then we hit their shipment.”
“That’s true,” Cash says. “We killed four of their guys and stole their product.”
Mace grunts his agreement as Sydney applies another thick layer of gauze to his wounded shoulder, the white bandage immediately stained red where the blood soaks through.
“Eddie’s right. The only thing that makes sense is the Penas coming after us.
They don’t forgive and they sure as hell don’t forget when somebody crosses them.
We committed the first act of war when we hit that truck. ”
“Did you get a look at any of their faces?” I ask, scrubbing a hand over my jaw. Though if my gut is correct, I already know the answer.