16. Chapter Sixteen
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ORA
I should have told War.
Never once did I think it would come out like this or that Prez would secretly run a paternity test from my fucking saliva. After he tells me how he figured it all out, I lean back in War’s VP chair and sigh. “What now?”
He studies me, his familiar blue eyes trying to see through me. I see a hint of vulnerability in them, and that’s what makes me lower my walls a little. “Now, I want to get to know you, Ora. You’re my only child and one I’ve missed out on. You’re grown now, but I still want a relationship with you.”
“Did you love my mother?” I ask him.
“I did.” He nods, scrubbing his hand over his beard. “But I’m pissed Amanthi never told me about you. She knew where to find me. Instead, she let you think that…” He slams his fist down on the table. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you growing up, Ora. But let me make it up to you now.”
Biting my lip, I consider his words, words I’ve wanted to hear for so long. “I should have told War the truth. Saying it out loud just made it real. I knew he would have told you if he knew.”
A calculating look flickers across his face before he can mask it. “I wish I had known who you were before…”
“Before what?”
He shakes his head, standing and offering me his hand. “It doesn’t matter now. You want to get out of here and get something to eat?”
I stare at his hand for a moment before accepting it. “Sure. I’ll just let War know.”
“War left,” he murmurs, clearing his throat. “That was him riding off.”
“Oh,” I mutter, wrapping my arms around myself. “Okay, could you drop me home after, though?”
He nods and then stops, turning to face me. “Can I… I just need to hold you.”
I step closer to him, and he wraps me in his arms. My eyes close, and I listen to his heart thumping in his chest. It’s racing just like mine. My eyes sting, and this time, I allow the tears to fall. My shoulders shake before I start to sob.
“I’m here now, Ora,” he soothes, kissing the top of my head. “It took some time, but you found your way back to me. Anything that’s mine is now yours. Which makes you one of the most powerful women in Rest Falls.”
“I don’t want power. I just wanted my dad,” I whisper, and he takes a shaky breath, losing his composure for the first time. He rubs his knuckles across his eyes, and I’m too scared to look up and see if he’s also crying. I don’t know if he’d want me to see that. I wish War were here right now, but I understand why he’s not. I hid this from him. And it’s easy to say it has nothing to do with him, but it does.
This is his president, his club.
His family. His legacy.
I’m only here because of him.
And things just got complicated.
I don’t know how long we stand like that, holding onto each other, but it feels like forever and not long enough at the same time.
My dad takes me out for dinner to his favorite steakhouse, and we eat and talk, just getting to know each other. And when he drops me off, and I still haven’t heard from War, more tears follow me home.
I don’t want to gain Rome only to lose War.
I want them both in my life.
Panting heavily, I answer the call. “Yeah?”
There’s silence on the other end, and then, “Where are you?”
“At home,” I reply, frowning. I don’t know why he’s growling at me. This is the first time I’ve heard from him since he walked out of Church yesterday.
After I came clean with Lu about what happened last night with my father, she gave me the day off. So I’ve done my grocery shopping, stocked my refrigerator with my favorite pineapple juice and cookie and cream chocolate, and I just got back from a jog.
He pauses and then, “Why are you out of breath like that?”
“What do you want, War?” I fire back, sick of his shit. What does he think? I’m already fucking someone else?
“I’ll be there in ten,” he replies and ends the call.
Rolling my eyes, I unlock the front door, pull out my Kindle, and download the latest Zada Ryan book. She’s an instant one-click author for me, and I’ve bought myself a ticket to her next signing as an early birthday present to myself. No one writes alpha males and witty banter like her.
The rumble of the motorcycle has me glancing toward the door. When he steps inside, dressed in all black, his hair artfully messy, and his blue eyes intense, he has all my attention.
“The door wasn’t locked.”
“I knew you were coming,” I reply, putting down my Kindle, while he sits next to me on the couch, running his thumb along his jawline.
“Lu gave you the day off?”
I nod. “Yeah, yesterday was a lot. I’m sorry, War. I should have told you.”
“Why didn’t you?” he rasps, reaching out his hand to rest on my thigh.
My fingers trace over his ink. “I knew you’d tell him. He’s your president.” I shrug, swallowing hard. “And I wasn’t ready to face it all. I’m still not. It was a coincidence I ended up being around the clubhouse, but I wasn’t there for him. I was there for you. Because I’m…”
Because I’m falling for you.
“You should have told me,” he agrees, taking my hand in his. “For a moment there, I thought maybe you were using me…”
“War—”
“I was pissed, but I thought about it, and I know that isn’t something you would do. Fuck, Ora. I just didn’t see that coming, and it caught me off guard,” he admits, tapping his muscular thighs.
Taking the hint, I climb on top to straddle him. “Don’t ever question what’s between us, War.”
His big, warm hands cup my face. “Why were you panting when I called?”
“I went for a jog to clear my head.”
“That sound made me hard.” He grins.
“Anything makes you hard.”
“Anything to do with you,” he corrects, brushing his lips against mine. “I’m so fucking glad I claimed you before this came out. Otherwise, Prez would have made you off-limits.”
“You don’t think he’d want me to be with you?”
“Fuck no,” he growls out, squeezing my ass.
“I wonder why,” I tease, grinding myself down on him. “We just had our first fight. Show me how good the makeup sex can be with you, War.”
His hungry, dark eyes rake over me. “How the fuck did I get so lucky?”
Never one to back down from a challenge, he strips me down and bends me over the back of the couch.
I don’t know what the future holds for us.
But I know I want him by my side for the whole ride.