Chapter Fifteen
Damon
The women keep laughing at Diamond, Mr. Magic Mike in the flesh, and suddenly I’m wondering why I gave him one of my votes.
“Whose idea was it bringing a stripper in here?” River scowls, downing the last of his drink. “I’m getting my woman and taking her to bed.”
His departure means I get a little more freedom with Corey without starting a war, so I’m all over that. When she heads inside the clubhouse, I do the same, finding her in the kitchen halfway through packing away some of the food. She’s looking at her phone, a concerned expression marring her brow.
“Are you okay?” I ask her, making her jump a little.
She turns to face me with her hand going to her chest. “You scared me, and look,” she says, showing me her phone. “Tatum texted.”
I read the message, my teeth clenching. “I’m glad you showed me. We need to tell Romeo.”
“I know. Do you think Jag could trace his number from this?” she asks, resting her hip against the counter. “And how the hell did he even get my number?”
“I don’t know.”
She nods. “Yeah, I’ll ask. Maybe we could use this to lure him out somewhere or something?”
Of course her mind would go there.
Corey would do anything for the people she loves, which means I need to worry about her putting herself in danger.
“You’re not using yourself as bait,” I reply, moving closer to her. She’s so much smaller and shorter, she has to look up to see me.
“Why not?” she asks, putting her phone down on the table. “I know I messed up last time by trusting that snake Rosalind, but I’m not a weak woman.”
I touch her cheek. “I have many words to describe you, Corey, and not one of them is weak .”
She sighs and reaches her hand up to rest it on my chest. My heart stops. “I better finish packing this all away.”
“You need some help?” I offer.
She smiles. “Yes, please. There’s so much food left over. We are going to have to try to eat it all tomorrow.”
We pack it all away until both the fridge and freezer are filled to the brim, and then I help her clean up the kitchen. We stand side by side, working in unison, her washing and me drying the dishes, without even having discussed it.
We seem to be a good team, and the thought fills me with resolve. I need to be honest with her and tell her how I’m feeling, and just hope that she still feels the same. That I’m not too late.
“We don’t have any single women left at the clubhouse,” she suddenly says, breaking the comfortable silence.
“Trust me, there are lots of single women around the men—we just don’t invite them to family events,” I say, smirking.
She pauses in her washing and turns angry hazel eyes to me. “Well, we all know you do. You brought Melinda to the clubhouse.”
Here we go. But I’d rather the fire in her eyes than the flash of sadness when she called herself weak.
She is anything but.
She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met.
“I did not. She just showed up,” I correct, wondering how the vibe changed so quickly. “And why even bring her up? She’s not an issue anymore.”
To be honest, I haven’t even thought about her once, other than when Corey mentions her.
“I was just pointing out a fact,” she replies, lifting her chin. She continues to wash and I continue to dry, although a little more aggressively this time.
Not everything has to turn into a fight, but I think with Corey I’m going to have to learn how to deal with her temper. I decide to stay quiet and see if that’s the best way to calm her down without starting World War Three.
“Nothing to say?” she fires back.
“Not on that matter, no,” I reply, our fingers touching when she hands me the plate. “But I do want to talk to you about us. Are we ready to stop playing around and actually explore what we have here? Because I know we have something. I knew it from the first time I saw you.”
Her eyes widen as if she’s surprised I’m finally putting it out there.
She clears her throat. “I’m ready. I’ve been ready, Damon. You’re the one who has been playing games.”
“Have you? Because after the kiss, you avoided me, too.”
“I didn’t want to start any trouble for you, I know how River can be,” she admits, shifting on her feet. “But I didn’t think you’d stop wanting me. I was waiting for you. Bikers take what they want, and you weren’t taking me. Instead, you let me think you were dating Melinda for longer than you actually were just to keep some distance between us!”
Fuck.
“I never once stopped wanting you. I’ll never stop wanting you,” I clear up.
She purses her lips. “Then why didn’t you just fight for us?”
“I wanted to keep you safe! With everything going on with the club and me becoming sergeant at arms, I didn’t want you caught in the crossfire. And then there’s River, and of course the age thing was a bit of a concern for me,” I admit, drying the last dish. “But you know what? So fucking what. I don’t want anyone else, and life is too short for me to keep pretending otherwise. I can handle the club with you by my side, River will eventually get over it, and we’re both adults.”
I didn’t want to jeopardize my growing role in the club.
But she’s more important than even that.
I close the space between us and press my lips against hers. A gentle kiss. Sweet.
The opposite of what I’d like to do to her right now.
She pauses our kiss to look me in the eyes.
“Are you sure?” she asks. “You need to think about this because what you’re saying changes everything, and I don’t want you to change your mind and take it all back. I am ten years younger than you, and that’s something you’re going to have to accept.”
We dry our hands, and then turn to face each other.
“I’m not going to take anything back,” I promise her. “And I have accepted it. I don’t want to change anything about you.”
I offer her my hand.
She takes it.
We leave the kitchen, completely different people than when we stepped in.
She leads me to her new room, the tension between us heating up, and I catch her sneaking glances at me. Before she can open the door, I push her back against it and pin her hands. Her eyes stare into my soul with hazel fire, and I’ve never wanted anyone more.
“This is me taking what I want,” I say, then kiss her deeply, the way I’ve been wanting to for so fucking long. She tastes so sweet, and her kiss has been well worth the wait.
When I pull back, she’s breathless, and surprised, and has no usual smart-ass comeback.
Maybe this is the way to handle her.
She locks the door behind her. I don’t know what she has planned, but I’m going to let her lead what happens tonight. I’m not going to have sex with her, though, because I want her first time to be a little more special, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to have a taste.
She tugs her top off, revealing a black bra, and then removes her shoes and jeans. I grin at her confidence, reaching behind me to pull my T-shirt off, throwing it on the floor with her belongings. She takes in my body, and then nods to my jeans. I hesitate, but then get rid of them too, leaving me in just my boxers. She laughs as I lift her up in my arms and carry her to the bed, our lips unable to leave each other.
It feels like a fucking dream to have her like this, and have her body pressed against mine.
I’m harder than I think I’ve ever been in my life, almost like it’s my first time, too.
Which is crazy because I’m definitely not new to this. But experiencing it with her is making it feel that way.
I lay her back on her emerald-green bedsheets and kiss her slowly, trailing down her neck. Then I lift my head and memorize her face, her features, just taking her all in.
“Damon, I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment, don’t you dare stop now,” she growls, eyes narrowing.
I laugh softly. “We aren’t going all the way tonight—”
“Damon!”
“It’s your first time, it should be special—”
“You’ve finally decided to be with me. How is that not special?” she replies, rolling her eyes.
My lip twitches at the exasperation in her tone. “I didn’t say I wasn’t going to give you anything.”
“What?” she asks, and then as I start kissing lower and lower until I reach the edge of her panties, she sighs. “Oh. Okay, that’s very good.”
I slide her panties down and spread her thighs. Pleasuring her and walking away after is going to be fucking hard, but tonight is all about her.