Shadow Chapter 5 #3
I chose not to mention that it would be way sooner than that if I had anything to do with it.
“So we both want this. All questions have been answered?” I asked.
“Yes, I can’t think of any,” she replied.
“Good, now, about that amazing kiss we stopped. How about we seal this agreement with a continuation of that kiss?” I asked, grinning.
Her smile lit up the room moments before her mouth lit up my body. Christ, a monster was inside of me, dying to get loose, but not tonight. I’d have to settle for having her sweet mouth.
???
I spent the majority of my waking hours on Saturday and Sunday with Aubrielle.
It had been hard to drag myself away from her each time we parted, and even harder not to take things beyond very hot kisses and mild petting.
The last time I had to deny myself was in high school.
I felt like I walked around with an erection the entire time I was with her.
I hurt, but it was worth the denial. I knew when we eventually came together completely, it would be explosive.
Just the kissing and petting told me she was filled with passion and would be fiery in bed.
She had to work both nights. I spent those hours on guard duty.
There were no more incidents like the one with Trent and Blake.
The strip club had been packed both nights, and the energy had been right on the edge of frantic-feeling.
As for those two guys, I was later told they had made it home and were hanging out in their shared apartment.
It seemed they took the warning to heart and avoided involving the cops.
I was dying to talk to the club about Aubrielle’s family and to get official approval for her to be my old lady. I waited for church, which thankfully was tonight. We held it on Mondays unless something came up and we had to reschedule, or we had an extra meeting because problems couldn’t wait.
I tried to get Aubrielle to come hang out at the clubhouse while I was in church, but she was studying for a test she had this week. I made her promise she wouldn’t leave her apartment. I’d be back to see her after our meeting.
Today, I’d taken her around to run errands.
She went to the grocery store and then to a craft/sewing store.
She got more fabric and materials there to make her next costume.
I’d been surprised to learn she'd sewn them herself.
Back at her place, she showed me how to lay out a pattern on fabric and cut it to begin her next costume.
She was quick and clean. It was clear she knew what she was doing.
Before I headed to the compound, she insisted on making us dinner.
I happily ate. She was a good cook. I liked her food, but hated the reason she was good—being a servant to her family, a drudge, as she called it.
At the moment, I was in the common room waiting for church to start.
Not everyone had shown up yet, but they had ten minutes.
No one would be late unless they wanted Reaper to tear them a new asshole.
He expected us to be there on time. He was always punctual.
It was due to the Navy SEAL in him, but after meeting Cheyenne, he became even stricter. He liked to spend time with his family.
Three minutes before eight o’clock, Reaper and Maniac, our VP, entered the room.
Not a word was said by either man. As they walked through the common area headed for church, the rest of us rose and followed.
The women and kids who were in there watched us go.
We found our seats and sat our asses down.
We waited for Reaper to call the meeting to order.
It always started with a review of any financial reports, if it was that time of the month, which was always a couple of weeks into the new month.
If there were any unresolved issues to go over or updates on those, they came next.
Staffing problems or other business issues were next.
The last thing would be any new business to bring to the table.
I waited impatiently through everything that came before the final one.
When the question was raised about whether there was anything new, I rapped my knuckles on the tabletop to signal that I had something to share.
I had talked to Reaper earlier today and clued him in on what I wanted to talk about. He sounded grim about Aubrielle’s family and told me to definitely bring it up. Ink’s fierce look told me Reaper had filled him in on what was up, which was totally understandable.
“Shadow, you have the floor. Listen up,” Reaper directed to the others, though it was unnecessary. The look on his face and mine hinted that this wasn’t pleasant. Well, part of it wasn’t.
“I need to preface this by saying that I want Aubrielle Carter to be my old lady. She agreed to it. However, before you vote on it, you need to know that she comes with a cesspool family that has to be eliminated.” My tone was hard.
The murmur of approval and surprise that had started as soon as I said I wanted her as my old lady swiftly turned to a dark rumble. Bodies sat straighter. Some leaned toward me. All eyes were glued to me.
“What do you mean by cesspool?” Crusher asked.
Mayhem opened his mouth at the same time to ask the same question, I assumed, since he snapped it shut when Crusher asked.
“Illegal dogfighting and fight club shit,” I stated bluntly.
That made the murmurs rise. I allowed it to sink in for a few moments before I launched into what Aubrielle had told me—her family’s businesses and how she’d been treated and used.
Her plan to escape and how the job at Punishers’ Eden helped her to achieve it.
The reason she was allowed to live here, rather than Big Stone Gap, the area they stuck to with their fights, was because of more job opportunities.
I mentioned that the men ruled and that women were servants or worse.
When I was through, the murmurs were at a full, pissed rumble.
The scowls around the table were fierce.
One of the worst was Mayhem. I knew he was taking it harder since Aubrielle was one of his dancers, and he was protective of them.
Reaper allowed them to mutter, swear, and talk among themselves for several minutes before he pounded on the table to bring it back to order. Everyone complied.
“Alright, you’ve heard our brother. You know what we’re facing.
Spawn, no surprise, but I want you to dig into this.
We need to know everything we can about these people.
How far does their reach and rot extend?
Regardless of whether Aubrielle is with Shadow or not, we won’t tolerate this kind of thing affecting our people, or even those in this part of Virginia.
Yeah, it’s farther away than we might typically go, but it doesn’t matter.
Shit like this can spread. Dog fights and fight rings are fucking barbaric and wrong.
“We can’t solve that today, but we can solve the other part.
Shadow started out saying he wants to claim Aubrielle as his old lady.
That surprised some of you, I think. Others, we had an inkling his feelings went that way.
” Reaper sent a smirk my way as he continued.
“So, brothers, all those in favor of Shadow claiming Aubrielle as his ride-or-die, no matter what kind of shitty family she has, raise your hand,” Reaper boomed.
Hands were rising before Pres fully finished. I scanned the table, my heart pounding. There wasn’t a single hand missing. Relief hit me, even though I hadn’t expected them to say no.
“It’s official, you’ve got yourself an old lady,” Reaper announced to me.
My club brothers rose and came over to shake my hand or pound me on the back, offering their congratulations. I grinned and accepted them all. When it was Mayhem’s turn, he had a warning for me.
“I don’t think it’ll ever happen, but just so you know, if you ever hurt her in a way that can’t be fixed, you and I will be having words,” he said gruffly.
I gave his hand an extra-long shake. I replied, “I’d expect nothing less, but you won’t have to worry. I’ve spent almost two years wanting her and fearing that someone else would win her heart. I won’t fuck this up.”
Church was brought to an end after that, and we were allowed to disperse.
As much as I wanted to race to Aubrielle’s apartment and tell her the news, I hung out with my club for half an hour.
The old ladies in the common area heard the news and were thrilled.
Before I left, I was told to bring Aubrielle to the clubhouse Saturday night. They wanted to celebrate.
Mayhem offered to find her coverage for that night at Eden. He’d bring in all his bouncers to cover it, too, so all the brothers could join us. It was what he typically did on nights like this. I promised I’d bring her. I smiled the entire ride back to Aubrielle’s.