Chapter Twenty-Two
Storm
With my daughter asleep in my arms, Malice and I rode in silence as the elevator ascended. When the doors opened, Malice walked into the penthouse, only to stop dead in his tracks.
Stepping around him, I stood there as Delany rushed over to me, taking Harlow from me while my eyes tried to register the fact that Remi was standing in my living room.
The wife of Reaper.
Next to her was her father, Vladmir Ivenok.
In the next instant, a painful sting whipped my head to the side as Delany’s hand connected with my face. Standing there, I didn’t move. I could see the anger, the resentment, the hurt I caused her.
“Do you have any idea what I’ve been through today? What your club did to me? I trusted you. You told me to trust you.”
With tears in her eyes, she shook her head, holding our daughter tight, saying nothing more. She was right to be upset with me. I was angry too. I made her a promise and I failed.
The first time I ever failed at anything, and I didn’t like it.
In fact, I fucking hated it.
Leaving me with my failure, Vladmir stood, buttoning his suit jacket.
“Storm, you should know that George Stone died tonight,” Remi said flatly as she approached, with her father only a few steps behind her.
Malice stiffened as he looked at me.
“Tell Montana to clean up his own mess next time.”
I nodded. “I will.”
“Good.” Remi smiled. “Your daughter is beautiful. I wish you both the best of luck.”
“Remi, what about Reaper and me?”
Remi shrugged. “You let me worry about him. You just take care of my new sister and niece.”
With that, Remi and Vladimir Ivenok left the penthouse, leaving me and Malice at a loss for words. When the elevator doors closed, I looked at Malice and asked, “What did she mean by sister and niece?”
“No clue. More worried about the shitstorm at the clubhouse.”
He was right. This was bad. Like really fucking bad.
I wanted the fucker dead myself, but it was one thing for the club to exact justice. A whole other ball game when it was someone else. Which begged the question, who killed George Stone?
Montana was going to lose his shit. Not that I really think he cared if George lived or died, but the man was still his father. Which also meant when word got out that the old man had died, Montana and his brothers would show up and that was never a good thing. Especially now that the only one who could control all four of the brothers was dead.
“I need to get back to the clubhouse, ‘cause shit is about to hit the fan.”
“I understand,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
“Malice,” I called, stopping my brother as he stepped into the elevator. “Keep my visitors quiet for now. At least until I can find a way to explain it to Montana.”
“Sure thing, brother,” Malice replied as the doors closed.
Standing there in silence, I hung my head, rubbing my still-throbbing cheek. I couldn’t get Delany’s eyes out of my head.
I broke my promise.
My mind was in chaos, with thoughts and responsibilities pulling me in multiple directions at once. I had a daughter who needed me. A wife who needed my protection. A club that was torn because I’d taken matters into my own hands. Another club that was sure to kill me when they found out I’d married one of their own. A past rumor that was creating havoc for my business and the club’s charities. And, at the heart of it all, was one woman who was oblivious to it all.
An innocent.
For years, I’d kept my life structured.
Family, club, work.
No deviations. The lack of order and coherence in my situation made me feel as though I was being smothered, struggling to find clarity amidst the chaos. I was completely unaware of what was going to happen. The future was uncertain, and I had no idea what it had in store for me, but one thing was becoming increasingly evident.
To protect Delany and my daughter, I needed to solidify my marriage. It was the only way. Even though I despised admitting that Montana was right, I comprehended the significance of establishing a strong connection with Delany. To accomplish this, I realized that it was vital for her to solely focus on me, to depend on me, and to trust me above all others.
Although our marriage may have initially been based on convenience, it had evolved far beyond that point. It had become a business arrangement, and that I could wrap my head around.
And the first thing with a business arrangement was to seal the deal.
Seeing Delany close Harlow’s bedroom door, I knew it was now or never.
I’d have to be fucking blind to see that Delany was every man’s wet dream come true.
She was intelligent, fucking sexy as hell, and sweet as pie.
The woman was the complete package.
And I’d done my due diligence. The second I thought there was a possibility I’d fathered Harlow, I looked into Delany. That was just good business. I needed to know the woman, the mother of my child. While her dossier wasn’t as informative as I would have liked, I knew enough. She graduated Sum Cum Laude from NYU before being head-hunted by my company. While working for me, she did stellar work until the fucknut fired her.
That reminded me... Peter Dowell and I were going to have a talk as soon as I got back to the office.
Every single person who had the pleasure of knowing Delany unanimously agreed that she was an exceptional friend, always ready to lend a hand, and the most incredible mother they had ever come across.
As I stood by the doorframe, I observed her actions closely as she leaned down to pick up something from the floor. The jeans she was wearing fit her perfectly, accentuating her curves in all the right places. As I cleared my throat, she quickly spun around, and a frown appeared on her face.
“What do you want?”
Facing me, I took a good look at her. She had on a white button-down blouse that came to her elbows. A hint of cleavage spilled out of her blouse, which made me stare slightly. The fact that I was staring at her and potentially making her uncomfortable did not matter to me at all. She needed to become comfortable with the way I studied her every move.
She was my wife, after all.
Staring a little longer than I should at her perfect tits, I pushed off the wall and stepped into her room. I closed and locked the door behind me.
“Not asking again. What do you want?”
As I leaned against the door, I crossed my legs and arms, fixating my gaze on her, savoring the sight of what was legally mine.
The first rule of a negotiation was to throw the opponent off their game. The longer I remained quiet, the more her anxiety intensified. I could see her nerves getting the better of her as her breathing started to become faster and shallower. She should be afraid, because her life was about to change.
“Jason, I’m tired. I’ve had a shitty day and I just want to go to bed. So whatever it is you want, can it wait till morning?” she said, turning her back on me as she walked over to her dresser, opening it.
Without thinking, I moved quickly, standing right behind her, until I was inches from her neck, and she stopped what she was doing and gasped. Her breathing increased tenfold. Reaching around her and removing whatever she held in her hand, I placed the item on her dresser before wrapping my arm around her waist. She let out a shocked sigh as my lips moved down to her neck.
She moaned loudly as she unknowingly pushed her ass into my growing erection. She was so fucking responsive. So alluring. I’d never had a woman who completely submitted without an order. That’s when images of our first time together filtered into my head, and I realized that, even back then, she submitted, allowing me to control the narrative.
My wife was a true submissive.
It made sense too, because from the second we reconnected, she’d followed my lead. Though she was angry and could have made things harder for me, she deferred to me.
Turning her around, her blue eyes softened.
The anger from earlier was gone. The woman before me now was timid, waiting for me to decide her fate.
Taking a step back toward her bed, I watched the confusion on her beautiful face.
While I was all for sealing her to me for all time, I needed to be sure she did so of her own volition. I would never force her into something she wasn’t sure about.
The decision had to be hers.
Testing the waters, I motioned my finger at her. “Come here, Delany.”
When she stood there looking at me, I added, “You come to me, and you are mine. Forever. I know you thought this was nothing more than a marriage of convenience, and for a hot minute, it was. Now the rules have changed. You know that as much as I do. The choice is yours, Delany. No matter what you choose, I won’t stop protecting you.”
“You want to get me pregnant again?”
I smirked. “Eventually. I wouldn’t mind having another Harlow running around, but that’s not what this is about.”
“What is it about, then?”
“This is about trust. You, trusting me to do what’s best for us, and me trusting you to know that no matter what happens, we are in this together.”
“Montana took my daughter away from me.”
“And I beat his ass for it.”
“What about the other club? The Golden Skulls.”
Taking time, I clearly said, “No one will touch you. I give you my word.”
“I’m not used to this life, Jason. I don’t know if I can handle it.”
“Other than today, have I given you any reason for concern?”
She slightly shook her head. “No.”
“I will never make you do anything you don’t want to do. If you want to stay home with Harlow and raise our daughter, then, babe, that’s what you will do. If you want to go to work, then I will support that. No matter what you choose, I will support you.”
“And if I can’t handle the other stuff?”
“Then you won’t have to.”
I stood there, not moving, as I gave her the time she needed to make her own decision. I wasn’t fucking around. I wouldn’t force her. She needed to choose me or none of this would work. I knew my life and allegiance to the Soulless Sinners would always be a sore spot for her, but she needed to understand that no matter what happened, I would always be there for her, protecting her.
And just when I thought she was going to walk away from me, she took a step toward me.
The second she was in front of me, I grabbed her face and kissed her.
Sealing the deal.
Sucking her tongue into my mouth, Delany melted against me as I took control of the kiss. The woman had fuckable lips, and I couldn’t wait to see them wrapped around my cock as I fucked her face. God, I bet she would look stunning.
Just the thought of that alone had my cock hard and straining against my pants.
Breaking the kiss, I twisted her around, pushing her back onto her bed.
Hearing her gasp, I smirked.
Not giving her a chance to change her mind, I roughly yanked her pants off, along with her panties, throwing them across the room. When I looked back up at her, I stopped and stared as she held out her arms, crossed at the wrist.
Was I dreaming or was she asking me to tie her up?
She said nothing as she waited patiently.
Reaching for my tie, I removed it before wrapping it around her wrist, making a bow before moving her arms above her head. Leaning over her, I felt her breath on my face and when I looked down at her, she smirked slightly.
“Oh, we are going to have so much fun together, babe. Now, don’t move.”