5. Chapter Five
ACE
Ten Days Later
Kilkenny never looked so damn good as it did when I rode in through the gates of our compound with the boys. I’d left Viper and Kendrick in Limerick to find a new leader for them. Hawk had sent out the SOS for me to return and take care of shit, but he didn’t tell me what it was. I didn’t need to know, I’d made my mind up to return days earlier.
I needed to talk to Sheridan.
I needed her to know I would take care of her, and her girls. I didn’t care about being a stepdad, in fact, I would gladly take it on. I couldn’t imagine a better thing than an instant family. I’d always thought it had been a missed opportunity to not have kids.
There was no way I could let Sheridan get away, not after everything we’d been through, all the near misses and finally I got her only to fuck it up by being a Grade A douchebag.
I dismounted and headed inside to a clubhouse with furniture missing, bullet holes littering the back wall and hardly anyone was sitting around like they usually were.
Shona came around the corner from the kitchen and caught sight of us. She backed up, trying to hide whatever it was in her hand.
“Oh, Prez, I didn’t know you were coming back today,” she said.
“What the fuck happened in here?” I asked. Bear was at my side, taking in the damage.
“Ah,” she said, trying to hide behind the bar. I was losing my patience when the back door opened and I saw someone I didn’t expect to see in here again.
“What the fuck?”
The girl halted, shooting her gaze over to me and grimacing. “Oh that’s why you haven’t come back yet.”
She’d spoken to Shona who moved toward her with a cardboard box full of food. “Take this honey, and tell Hawk to get his ass back here.”
The redhead nodded, taking one last look at me with a gentle smile, and left through the door she came through. I couldn’t stop seeing Sheridan in her features. How hadn’t I seen that the day we’d found them here?
Shona turned to me, her hands out to calm me down.
“Oh this is going to be good,” Bear said, taking a seat on the stools and waiting. I felt my blood pressure shoot through me, and my fists were balling. I hated it when people didn’t fucking tell me when shit was going down.
“Listen, Ace, you know we wouldn’t keep anything from you. Hawk was trying to sort this out but a couple of nights ago, we couldn’t keep them at bay anymore.”
“Who?” I ground out.
Hawk appeared at the door, his usual shit-eating grin far from his expression as he dismissed Shona. I looked over at my best friend since we were kids, and he’d never fucked up this bad before.
“Why the fuck is Sheridan’s kid here, and why the fuck is my clubhouse shot to shit?”
“Sit,” he said.
“Did you just give me an order?”
“Please?” he offered. I took a deep breath and found a lounge to sit in that hadn’t been ripped up or shot at. He sat opposite me but he was on edge.
“Out with it.”
“The day you left, I got a call from Sheridan’s kid. She was terrified, and asked me for help. I came over and found Sheridan in a bad way. She begged me not to say anything, scared of her ex-husband. Turns out he’s a pretty powerful guy in town. We’ve been hiding them for almost two weeks. He threatened her kids, man. Promised them to his friends for fun. His own fucking kids.”
I could feel the anger mounting, the idea of my woman being hurt by someone, anyone just made me murderous. I waited, knowing I was about to go shoot up the fucking town, but I needed to hear it all first.
“She asked me not to tell you, she didn’t want you to raze this fucking town. We both knew you would do that if you found her like that. It’s a good thing you stayed away until her face healed.”
I felt my body lift out of the chair without thinking about it.
“Her face healed?” I asked. “Are you fucking serious? Where’s your loyalty?”
“Loyalty?” he asked. “I have loyalty and you fucking know that, Ace. I also have loyalty to my friends, and she was one of the first. She asked for my help, and I offered it. Just like you would have done. I know you want to go and kill the fucker but he’s untouchable, trust me.”
“No one is untouchable.”
“He’s the chief of the police here,” Hawk said. “But he’s corrupt as fuck, so is his entire department. We’re sitting ducks here. I need to send them away to be safe.”
I nodded. “Do it.”
Hawk stood, his hand on my shoulder. “Go and see her. She is in my cottage. I’ll keep the girls entertained.”
I hesitated as he moved out of the clubhouse and down to the cottage. I took a few deep breaths, looking over at Bear who had a knowing grin on his face.
“Fuck off and do something,” I ordered. He turned and got off the stool, heading down the hall to find something to do. I moved out of the back door and down the path to Hawk’s cottage. He had the girls in his truck and was heading out of the compound when I found my way on the doorstep.
My hands shook.
She’d been hurt and I wasn’t here to protect her. I shouldn’t be here now. I should be fucking up her ex, making him see no one touched my girl.
Opening the door, I looked inside and saw a bunch of school books on the table, and girly products throughout the living area. Hawk must have been hating this.
Sheridan emerged from the bedroom, her eyes searching mine to see what I was thinking. I could see the line over her bottom lip where she’d had a cut. I knew what that felt like, I’d have a cut lip a time or two. Always from a punch to the face.
I closed the distance between us, taking her face in my hands, running my thumb over the line there.
“Why didn’t you call me?” I asked her, my voice deeper than normal. She crumpled into my arms, and I pulled her into me. Her sobs hit me hard in the chest as she grabbed onto the sides of my leather cut and held me close. I could feel my rage building as I held onto her as she fell apart. He’d hurt her. How could he have Sheridan and do anything to hurt her?
Fuck.
I was going to have fun with him when we found him. That was for damn sure.
“Come on,” I said, pulling her down to sit at the table. “Tell me.”
“Please, Cooper, I can’t talk about it. Not right now. I just want to see you, to feel your face.”
She held her hand to the side of my face, and I knew in that moment, I would fucking go to the end of the world for her.
She was mine.
“I need more,” she said, her eyes darkening as she looked at me. She stood up, moving toward me while undoing her top, letting it fall behind her. Immediately, my thoughts of rage dissipated and I knew the only thing I was going to be focusing on was her.
“Are you sure?”
“Cooper Malone, if you don’t get your ass over here and make me yours, I’m going to go into that clubhouse and find someone who will.”
That was all I needed as I stood immediately, knowing full well I would end anyone who dared look at her the wrong way, and moved into the bedroom with her. She peeled my cut off and placed it on the chair by the bed. I lifted my shirt over my head and undid my belt buckle. She continued to remove her clothes, and I could see the faded bruises on her body. It was infuriating me, but she kept moving, so I was forced to look at her.
There was no way I could leave her right now, even if I did want to murder the fucker who did that.
She ran her hands up and down my chest, her nails digging into my skin, eliciting a response I knew I’d never tire of. I pulled her panties down her legs, looking at her bare pussy gleaming with her arousal.
That same arousal I knew was for me. I dropped to my knees, pulling her legs up, over my shoulders. She looked down at me with desire in her eyes as I moved my tongue in between her folds, her sweet smell making my cock push against my jeans hard, causing me intense discomfort, but there was no way in hell I was stopping. I’d wanted to taste her for far too long. I licked a path up to her clit, circling the tip of my tongue around it. She bucked against my face, as I hit the spot she so desperately needed me to.
“Oh,” she moaned. “Please, yes, yes.”
I held her there, her hips thrashing as I pushed two fingers into her core. I hooked my fingertips up as I moved them rhythmically to match my lapping over her clit, making her gasp, her moans turning into panting screams as I felt her pussy start to clench around my fingers. I pushed another into her, and she screamed out, her back arching off the bed as I rode out her release. Slowly, she laid back down on the bed, her body relaxed as she smiled at me. I licked her off my fingers, relishing the taste.
“Come here,” she said. “I need you inside of me.”
I didn’t need to be asked twice. I pulled my pants down and whipped my cock out. Her eyes went directly to my crotch, her teeth grazing her bottom lip, causing me to join her on the bed, moving in between her legs. I claimed her mouth with mine, pushing my cock against her ready and willing pussy. God I wanted to sink into her so bad. It was all I could think about since our last time. The entire time I was away, I would dream of her wet heat and end up spending far too long in the shower, jerking myself off.
She moaned into my mouth and I felt myself twitch. This would be over sooner rather than later if I didn’t fuck her. I moved my hand down between us, and pushed the tip of my cock into her. She moaned against my lips, the best sound in the whole goddamn world.
I pushed into her further, sinking in completely. Jesus, she was perfect. How could one woman be so fucking perfect?
Sheridan smirked at me and twisted her legs in a way that I felt myself being pushed onto my back with her on top of me. She slid down on my cock, leaning over me, her long fiery red hair draping over us as she slowly moved up and down on me. I moved my hands to her breasts, cupping them and squeezing them gently, pinching her nipples until she arched her back as she rode me.
Her hands pushed down on my chest for leverage as she rode my cock, and it was the best damn sight in the world.
I let her take control, using my cock however the fuck she wanted. It was her cock now. That was for damn sure, just like this pussy was mine. Everything about her was mine.
And whoever the fuck thought they could take that, was signing their own death warrant.
I grabbed her neck and pulled her down to kiss me, her lips taking mine, our tongues tangling as she continued to ride me. My balls tingled, every part of me wanting to release in her, claiming her as mine.
I moved one hand down to her folds, a finger pushing over her clit. She was already sensitive from before, but now, she rode me faster, her eyes widening in surprise as she fucked me harder. With my free hand, I pinched one of her nipples as she cried out in surprise. Her pussy squeezed me tight as she came hard on top of me. When her pussy released me, I slid her under me. I pulled one leg up higher, allowing me to push in deeper as I picked up the speed of my thrusts. Her hands fisted the sheets as I hammered into her, needing to ruin her for all other men.
She cried out, her pussy hugging my cock yet again as I pushed her over the edge for a third time, right before I felt my cock jerk and shoot into her.
I fell to the side, careful not to crush her as she sighed contentedly. I could barely move, but I had enough energy left to pull her to my side, cradling her head with my shoulder. There’s no way I was going to let her go again.
“Where did you go?” she asked me after a long period of silence. I opened my eyes and turned to face her.
“Do you really want to know?”
She hesitated for a moment, tracing a finger over my club tattoo on my chest, before she nodded.
“I had to take care of the Nomads, they got into a little bit of trouble.”
“Because you left?”
I sighed, but I knew it was because I hadn’t done enough to make sure they were protected without my protection.
“Yeah, but they’re good now.”
“Will you leave again?” she asked. “To go back to being a Nomad?”
My chest just about exploded at the pain in her voice, as if she didn’t want me to leave, wanting me to stay here with her. Please, fuck. I’d never get over her if she chose to leave me now.
“I thought you didn’t want to be a club girl?”
My heart hammered in my chest. She could probably feel it under her fingertips. The feel of her soft skin tracing over my tattoo had my skin pebbling at the sweet touch.
“I don’t know what I want, Cooper. My whole life has been decided for me. You were the only one I wanted to choose for myself, but I am a mother. I have to make a decision that makes sense for those girls.”
“I know,” I said, sitting up and helping her to sit as well. “I’ll protect you and your girls, you know that, right?”
She nodded. “Yes, I know.”
“But you called Hawk and not me.”
She took a deep breath and sat up, looking up into my eyes. I could get lost in those deep green irises forever. Those same eyes that haunted my dreams. “I didn’t want you to do something stupid, and lose you all over again. I can talk Casey down from stupidity.”
“You think I’m stupid?”
Sheridan chuckled. “Yeah, you can be, especially when it comes to me.”
She was right. I would fucking gladly do a life sentence for her, and she knew it too. I grabbed her hair and pulled her to me. Her lips met mine in a firm, yet soft kiss. A kiss that spoke when words failed me. Sheridan pulled me toward the bathroom without disconnecting from me. I scrambled to put her in the shower, finally unlatching from her. She pulled the nozzle for the water and let it fall over her, letting her hair wrap around her shoulders as she looked over at me with those come hither eyes.
How had I gone this long without coming back to her?
She’d been suffering all those years I’d been on the road, and it killed me that I hadn’t been here to protect her, to marry her, to be the father to her children.
“Are you jealous?” she asked me, putting her hands on her hips and looking over at me with an annoyed expression.
“Of what?”
“That I called Hawk and not you.”
“Yes. I am the one you call, Sheridan, you’re mine.”
The look in her eye changed when I said that she was mine, and I loved the way it affected her to know that.
“Then come here and spank me for it.”
Jesus fucking Christ. How the hell could I resist? My cock was already hard again for her.
I moved into the stall with her, closing the glass door and letting the hot water cascade over our bodies as I pulled her to me. I sucked on her wet neck, pulling her hair back from her skin as I suckled over her sensitive flesh. She hissed in pleasure, her arms wrapping around my neck as she moaned into my ear. Her breasts pushed up against my chest, her hips molding to my legs. I ran my hands down her back, loving how soft and pliable she was. I looked down at her tattoos, noticing she had more than I first thought. I would lick a path over every single line of those tattoos to show her just how much I wanted to own every part of her.
I moved my hands lower, under her ass, and pulled her up. She squealed in delight as she wrapped her legs around me. Her lips claimed mine as I pushed her against the cold wall, moving my hand below us to push my cock into her. She sank down on it, her pussy eating up my length. She moaned into my mouth, and I lavished her mouth with my tongue. She held onto my neck as I bounced her up and down on my cock. My hand moved down between us to play with her clit. She screamed out, her head leaning back against the tiles as the water ran down between us, splashing over my hand and onto her clit as well. Her pussy was squeezing me already as I tried not to cum too fast. The sound of her in pleasure was music to my ears. I could feel my balls start to tingle, wanting to empty into her again.
I wanted to do this every damn day for the rest of our lives.
We’d already missed out on close to two decades. I was not missing another day without her.
Sheridan gasped, water splashing into her mouth as she groaned out her release. I could feel her pussy clench down on my cock like a vice, sending me hurtling over the edge too. We stood there with the water running over us, trying to catch our breath.
“We should get back to the clubhouse,” Sheridan said after a beat. I pulled from her and tried to calm my cock from getting hard again, just wanting to constantly be inside of her.
“Shower quick, Sher.”
I scrubbed my body quickly, trying to avoid her moving under the hot spray of water to clean herself. As she twisted under the spray, I looked over the ink on her body. I stepped out of the shower stall before I took her against the wall again, and wrapped a towel around my waist.
She turned the shower off and grabbed a towel of her own, wrapping her body in the towel and smiling over at me as she grabbed the brush to brush out her red curls.
“How many tattoos do you have?” I asked her.
“I think about six now,” she said. “I was 25 when I got my first. Orla can be quite tempting when she wants to be.”
“Oh I’ve no doubt,” I laughed. “She’s certainly gotten bolder than when we were kids.”
“You have no idea,” Sheridan replied. “Come on, shift. I gotta get dry.”
“I know a way we could dry off,” I muttered.
“Get out of here, horndog,” she chuckled as she shoved me through the door to the bedroom and continued getting ready. I quickly pulled my clothes back on, and waited for her on the edge of the bed. She was dressed in faded jeans and a white top, her wet hair pinned up on top of her head with a couple of curls escaping down the sides of her face. She bent down next to the bed and grabbed her shoes, slipping them on.
“Let’s go, I’ll introduce you to the girls properly.”
I nodded, suddenly a little nervous. I’d yelled at them the last time I’d seen them, and I had failed to protect them and their mum from their abusive dad.
She grabbed my hand and herded me out of Hawk’s cabin and up the path to the clubhouse. She smelled divine. Whatever soap she’d been using made my cock hard just thinking of her naked in the shower again.
SHERIDAN
When I looked around the clubhouse, I took stock of the ripped up furniture and the bullet holes in the walls and bar. I could only imagine how much this damage cost them.
It was all because of me.
I pushed back the bad feelings and looked around for my girls. Hawk was behind the bar talking to one of the prospects that I knew as Kendrick. The clack of a pool cue hitting a ball made me turn around to see my girl Shauna playing with the enforcer named Chains. He’d been keeping an eye on her, especially when the girls had to go to school. He would sit outside the school until it was time for them to come back and he’d drive them home. I was thankful for him. He didn’t have to go to that level of protection, but he wouldn’t allow me to take over and protect them.
“It’s no problem, Sheridan.”
He was a sweetheart, even under that gruff biker exterior, even if he didn’t speak much.
“Came up for air, huh?” Hawk asked, his knowing smirk lighting up his face. I rolled my eyes and made my way over to the bar. Ace followed and sat down next to me.
“Where’s Ryleigh?”
“She’s outside with Kirby,” he said. “He’s teaching her how to fight.”
“What?” I gasped, horror lacing all through me.
“Relax,” Hawk said. “She’s just learning some self defense techniques. She's not going to join a fight club.”
“Wait,” I heard Shauna say from behind us. “Ryleigh’s learning to throw a punch? Oh this I gotta see.”
She raced for the front door to go and find her sister. I rolled my eyes, taking Ace’s hand and ushering him to follow me. I saw Ryleigh had her fists up in front of the prospect Kirby. He was smirking at her, trying to tell her what to do, how to stand and what to do next. Shauna was laughing as she watched on, causing Ryleigh to lose her focus.
“Shauna,” I hissed. “Let her do this.”
“Whatever,” she shrugged. “It’s not like she would ever throw one anyway. She’s too soft.”
“Shauna Máire Foley,” I said under my breath. “You stop talking about your sister like that.”
Just as Shauna was about to rebut my statement, I heard a grunt and looked over to see Kirby clutching his face and Ryleigh clutching at her fist in pain, only to realise what she’d done before she ran to Kirby to make sure he was okay.
“Oh my god,” she screamed out. “I am so sorry!”
Kirby straightened, only to realise everyone had seen him get clocked by a teenage girl. He slung his arm around her shoulder and whispered something to her that made her blush, but also made the men stop jeering at him. I had a feeling he wouldn’t live that down anytime soon, but I was so glad that the girls had the men looking after them.
“Hey,” I called Ryleigh over. “I wanted you two to meet Cooper properly.”
The girls looked up at Cooper, their eyes widening as they took in his heavily tattooed neck and arms. He stood a good foot taller than me and them so he was intimidating to look at, yet he was a giant teddy bear, especially to me. I could see why they would be scared of him, but I only saw the boy I fell in love with all those years ago.
It was in his eyes.
“Hi,” he said, meekly. I could tell by the tension in his posture that he didn’t know what to do. He’d probably never had to meet kids before.
“Cooper,” Ryleigh held her hand out to shake his. He smirked as he looked down at her hand and turned it over to display her red and swollen knuckles.