Chapter 14
Danica
B y the time I got home and passed Sean over to Gwen, I was longing for a shower.
It had become a habit of mine to stand under the blistering hot water for a good half hour every day after I got home from work.
It relaxed me. I took my time and enjoyed my particular way of unwinding.
I rested against the wall as the hot water just melted the tension out of my muscles.
I was already dried and dressed when Smokehouse walked through our front door. My hands froze as I reached for the last package of pork chops that was in our freezer. I needed to go grocery shopping soon. “Hi.”
His eyes roamed over me, checking to make sure nothing bad had happened to me while I was at work. He’d made it very clear that he’d rather I stayed home the last couple weeks of school.
A shiver of desire drifted over me, both from the look, and because of his protective nature.
I’d always wanted a man like that. Had been reading about them in my romance novels since I was a teenager.
Somehow I’d ended up marrying the complete opposite of the men I’d read about.
I thought that they would always be relegated to fantasy.
“Hey. How’d it go today?” His deep voice was the thing dreams were made of and it never failed to make me melt.
The way he could communicate one thing so intensely with just a look, then start a conversation in a whole new direction knocked me off balance every time.
Everything about this man spoke to me in a way that not even my husband had been able to do.
“Good. How about you?”
His smile flashed. “Work was good. Ricochet had to try to corral Toxic.”
I’d only been here for a little over a week, but I’d already honed in on the fact that Toxic and Butcher were trouble makers.
They were really kind to me, and to the other old ladies and kids, but when they got bored?
Watch out. They’d already gotten into half a dozen different stunts and skirmishes in the short time I’d been here.
They were like the fun loving uncles the rest of the family told you to steer clear of as a kid.
And every child knew those were the men you wanted to hang out with because it was going to be wild and a great time.
I already had a soft spot in my heart for both Toxic and Butcher and I hardly even knew them yet.
“That’s a job all in and of itself,” I commented.
“Tell me about it.” He headed for the bedroom. “I’m going to shower,” he called from over his shoulder.
“Okay.” I put the pork into the kitchen sink. It wouldn’t take too long for it to defrost. Pulling out more ingredients, I set aside everything I’d need to make a potato salad and fried green beans for our dinner.
I thought about my plan as I worked, wondering how Smoke would react to it. A knock on the door made me jump and yanked me out of my own thoughts. I hurried over and smiled at Priest, who was standing in the hallway. “Hi, Priest.”
“Hey, sorry to bother you. You have a visitor.”
Wariness crept over me. “Oh.”
Priest’s eyes narrowed on my face. “It’s a woman,” he added. “Don’t worry, Smoke has already let us all know about your ex. He won’t be stepping foot on this compound. Alive anyway.”
I blinked at him, trying to figure out if his last sentence was a joke or not. Judging by the fierce look on his face, it wasn’t. I swallowed the nerves that had popped up at the word visitor and smiled at him. “I’ll come down.”
“Said her name is Keely.”
“Oh! That’s my sister.”
“That’s what she claims.”
I shut the door and looked over at him in confusion. “You didn’t believe her?” I asked as we started walking together down the hall.
He shrugged his huge shoulders. “Can’t be too careful.”
My heart squeezed in my chest. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you all taking me in and being so protective.” Thanks to Eli, this level of paranoia was comforting. In any other woman's life, their behavior could be major red flags.
“We take care of our own,” he said with another shrug.
I nodded, walking through the front door first as he held it open, and squinted at the bright sunshine. Biting my lips to hold in my laughter, I watched as Keely popped her hands onto her hips, glaring at the biker who was standing in front of her. It was Hellfire.
“It’s okay, Hell,” Priest called out.
The man, who I’d learned was one of Smokehouse’s two best friends, moved aside and gave me a questioning look. “Hellfire, this is my sister, Keely,” I said, introducing them.
The man's features changed instantly, from stoic guard to welcoming friend. “Nice to meet you,” he replied to Keely. “Sorry, but we’re careful about who we let on our property. Too many kids and women here who need protecting.”
That took the wind out of Keely’s sails. “I appreciate that, Hellfire. I really do.” She offered him a smile.
Hell and Priest gave us respectful nods as they both walked away to give us privacy.
“Are they all like that?” she asked me.
I laughed and shook my head. “Depends on what you mean? Protective, wary, ready to fight? Yeah, they’re all like that.”
She grinned. “I like it. It makes me feel better about what I’m about to tell you.”
My stomach plummeted as though I was back on the rollercoaster that Keely and I loved to ride as a kid. “What?”
She gave me an apologetic look. “Work’s been hounding me to take my vacation time.”
I nodded. “You never do.”
“That’s what happens when you love where you work. But…like I said before, I don’t want to get in the way of what you’re building here.”
Narrowing my eyes, I adopted her stance from before, hands on my hips, glaring at her. “You promised you’d come stay here. I don’t want you at home in case Eli-”
“What if I’m not home?”
“Huh?”
“I’m going to go visit Mom and Dad.” She searched my face to gauge my reaction.
Sucking in a breath, I tried to sort through my feelings. Tears filled my eyes at the thought of seeing my family. “I want to go.”
She laughed and pulled me forward into a hug. “I knew you’d say that, but Dani-”
“I can’t.”
“You can’t,” she agreed. “But I’ll make you a promise.”
Sniffling and wiping at my eyes, I pulled away from her. “What promise?”
“I’ll convince Mom and Dad to come here for a visit.”
My eyes widened. “Oh, yes, please.” I clasped my hands together over my chest. “It’s been too long since we’ve all seen each other. I miss them.”
“They miss us, too. I didn’t tell them you’re pregnant. That’s your secret to spill.”
“Thanks, Keels.”
“Let me know once things have died down with Eli and we’ll be on a plane.”
“What if it takes a while?” I asked.
“I took two months off.” My look of shock made her laugh. “I had more, but this was the most I could handle.”
A door slamming had us both turning toward the clubhouse. We both watched in surprise as Smokehouse stalked toward us. He was carrying a t-shirt, walking bare chested across the lot. His tattoos were on full display in the bright sunlight. So was the angry look on his face.
“Damn.” Keely’s mouth was hanging open. “No wonder you had a one-night-stand with him.” She puffed out a breath. “He’s handsome with his clothes on, but this…” She trailed off, trying not to be disrespectful.
I couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle even though Smoke’s anger was making me tense up. “Isn’t he gorgeous?”
She shook her head. “You already won yourself a prize, Sis, don’t rub it in.”
“Dani,” Smoke growled out as he stopped in front of us. “I don’t like getting out of the shower and finding you gone.”
Keely’s eyes narrowed. “Is she your prisoner, Smokehouse?” It didn’t matter that my sister liked the man. She wasn’t going to let him control me. Especially not after finding out what Eli had been doing to me for all those years.
She never knew while we were together. I’d only gathered the courage to tell her after I’d left him.
No one knew what I’d put up with. It would have pissed off Eli, and he’d have taken it out on me, and I would have had to defend staying with him to whoever I told.
It was a lose-lose for me, so I kept my mouth shut.
It was only after I left that I realized that’s exactly what he’d wanted.
My muscles were so tight I was afraid they would snap, but I’d promised myself the night I left Eli that I would never roll over like a kicked dog again. I lifted my chin and with a wavering voice told Smokehouse, “I’ll go wherever I want.”
He stared down at me with a confused expression replacing the pissed off look. “I’m not saying you can’t, Wildcat.”
“Oh my God, that’s so cute!” Keely hissed at me. She was talking about his nickname for me.
I waved a hand at her as she leaned in toward me, giggling. I was too busy to deal with her shenanigans. It wasn’t easy for me to stand up for myself anymore. “That’s what it sounded like.”
Smoke’s lips twitched at the exchange between Keely and I. “No. I just didn’t like finding you missing. It freaked me out.”
The tension bled out of me as he began to relax. “I’ll try to be better about telling you where I’m going,” I offered.
“Appreciate it.” He hung the t-shirt over his shoulder and stuffed his hands in his pockets. His eyes flicked between us. “What’s going on?”
It amused me that he always seemed to be in a state of undress. I wasn’t sure whether it was because he knew how sexy his body was, or if he just didn’t like wearing clothes. I had a feeling if he could wander around naked, he would. Wouldn’t that be a treat.
“I’m going to Florida for a couple months to visit our parents,” Keely told him.
His gaze settled on me. Worry had a frown marring his features. “You’re-”
“Not going,” I assured him.
He seemed conflicted, but happy, about my answer. “Alright. Two months is a long time. What brought this on?”
Keely and I shared a look. I didn’t want to tell Smoke about Eli and ruin the perfect little bubble I’d been living in for the last week, but it wasn’t fair to keep this from him. Especially if we wanted to make sure Eli stayed away. “Eli showed up at her house this morning.”
“Is this the first time since Dani moved here?” He asked, tensing up all over again.
“Yeah.”
“It fits his pattern,” I told them.
“What does that mean?” His voice was a deep rumble.
“Any time he was angry with me, or…wanted to punish me, he’d wait for about a week to speak to me.”
Keely reached over and squeezed my forearm, but my eyes were locked on Smokehouse.
He looked pissed, but he didn’t say anything.
Keely was the only one I’d told any of this to; it was hard to admit that I let things get so out of hand.
That I hadn’t left earlier. The shame wasn’t easy for me to bear.
“We’ll need to talk more about his habits later,” he told me. It was easy to see he was trying to contain his rage. He didn’t want to worry me. “Go back upstairs. I have something I need to take care of.”
“Smoke-”
“Go,” he said, though it was soft, his eyes burned into me. “I need to know you’re safe while I do this.”
“I don’t want anything bad to happen to you,” I told him. “Not because of me.”
He chuckled and stepped forward until I had to tilt my head to look up at him. Keely stepped a few feet away and turned her back to give us privacy. He brushed his calloused palm over my cheek. Goosebumps rippled all the way down to my toes.
I didn’t bother to act aloof. I needed his comfort. Tilting my head, I leaned my cheek further into his touch. His free arm wrapped around me. “Nothing’s going to happen to me, Dani. I’ll be back soon.”
I wasn’t sure if it was the threat of violence that was to come, or what, but he dipped his head and brushed his lips over mine. It was a brief kiss, but the spark that surged between our lips as they met made me wish he’d linger.
“Stay inside the compound.” With that, he turned and walked away. He was headed back inside the clubhouse, but I knew it wouldn’t be for long.
Looking over at my sister, I sighed in resignation. “When’s your flight?”
“Not for a few hours.”
“Want to stay for dinner?”
“Yes, please,” she said with a grin.
We had only gotten to the door by the time Smoke, Ricochet, Hellfire, and Hush made their way out.
Smoke gave me a smoldering look as he passed by, but none of them said a word.
We watched as they stormed over to their bikes.
Priest materialized out of what seemed to be thin air and opened the gate for his brothers.
That man always seemed to be around somewhere and knew everything that happened on this property.
The bikes sped off into the late afternoon sun.
“I wouldn’t want to be Eli right now,” Keely said with a grin.
Worry for Smokehouse and his brothers was a heavy weight in my chest. Knowing there was nothing I could do about it, I led my sister upstairs so she could check out my new place.