Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
CLEO
Something wakes me. My brain pushes through the fog of sleep, reaching for the source of the noise—a soft voice, a whimper that has me turning over to see War sleeping next to me, muttering. His face is twitching as he reels through his dream.
Holding my breath, I lie perfectly still, pulse thick in my ears, listening to the sounds coming from him.
Blinking against the darkness, I adjust to the space. A sliver of light seeps through a break in his curtains, illuminating parts of the room.
More whimpering, words that sound like pleading slip from his lips, pulling me upright, my spine prickling. I know not to wake a person from a dream or a nightmare, because you never know how they will react when suddenly woken up.
“No, please, you have to do something,” he mumbles, fear clear in his tone.
What happened to him?
“Please,” he pleads.
His chest is rising and falling at a rapid rate. Sitting up, I pull my knees to my chest and watch as his dream plays out. There is not much I can do until he wakes, if he does.
The sheet is a much-needed item, shielding my vulnerability in this moment as he speaks words that crush me, but at the same time solidifies that all men are the fucking same.
“Lilian, I love you. You are mine; always.” My hand shoots to my mouth, hoping to muffle the sob that tries to break free.
Tears fill my eyes and I can’t fathom the emotions running through me.
How can a man I barely know make me feel like this? In my mind, I came here for a good time, for something fleeting, giving me some material to flick the bean to afterwards.
But I can’t shake the feeling I am leaving with something else—something heavy and tangled. I watch him, the way his brow furrows in sleep, his lips moving while he mutters words I cannot fully make out.
He told me he was not married, so who the hell is Lilian?
I feel like I am running through a fog thinking over what he said to me, and not once did he ever let slip or give a hint that he had a woman in his life.
My gaze drops to his left hand that is gripping at the sheet beneath him, checking for a tan line indicating that he took a wedding ring off, but there is nothing.
Licking my dry lips, I watch as he struggles in his dream, which is now looking more and more like a nightmare.
Hearing him mutter another woman’s name in his sleep after he fucked me senseless twice, makes being in this room stifling. It is suffocating being here with him while he dreams of her while in bed with me.
I clear my throat, pushing down the emotion that is clogging it. Slipping from the bed, I gather my clothes.
Slipping on my dress, I gather my belt, panties, and torn tights, before slipping my feet back into my shoes. My hat is somewhere out in the main room— one of the brothers stole it, wearing it while he danced around the room.
Making sure to pick up my bat-shaped clutch, I step to the door, ready to leave. My hand reaches the door handle when I hear him again.
“Stay with me.” I look over my shoulder, my throat tight from emotion again, and I can’t wrap my head around why I feel like this.
I go to speak, but then he speaks again, and it hits me: he is still asleep and not speaking to me.
“You will always own my heart, Lil baby,” he says almost on a whisper, then his body settles like the dream has faded.
I sniff, licking my lips, before turning back to the door and slipping out, gently closing it so the click does not wake him.
I cannot be here when he wakes up. His dream is either going to have him feeling guilty and in turn, take it out on me, or he is not going to remember, but either way, I can’t be here for the fallout.
The music has since died down, and thankfully as I tiptoe to the main room, I see that that the room is empty apart from the sleeping brothers and club girls. One man is on the sofa in just his cowboy chaps, his dick and balls out for all to see, a girl sleeping with her head on his thigh.
One brother is on the bar naked as a jaybird with a chick sleeping between his legs. She is in for a surprise when she wakes up.
Reaching the outside, the Vegas heat hits me like a slap to the face with a hot towel. I suck in a breath, then shiver. Fishing my phone out of my purse, I see a few texts from the girls all saying that they had gone back to the hotel and that Lottie and Taya explained that I was safe with War.
Looking around, I see a man standing down by the gate. I head for him, hoping he can help me get a ride back to my hotel, or let me wait with him until an Uber gets here.
“You good there, darlin’?” he greets me.
“Yeah, just need a ride back to my hotel.” He nods and pulls out his phone, and after a few clicks, he smiles at me.
“Got a ride coming for you. Should be here in a few.”
“Great. Thank you.”
He nods in acknowledgement to me, then takes a pull from his beer.
“I take it you had a good time tonight. The Kings know how to throw a party. Did we leave an impression on you?”
His question catches me off guard, and I do not know why. I mean, we came here to party, to have fun and yeah, hook up, but my skin feels hot and tight at his simple question.
Damn, hot bikers.
“It was great. Plenty to see.” I give him a tight smile; he either doesn’t see that it is forced, or he is a good man and ignores it, not pushing me.
“Definitely plenty to see. Some nights get fucking wild. I can’t wait to become a patched member to join in and get some of that free pussy that runs around in there.” He looks at the club with a dreamy look in his eyes, then he blinks and remembers that I am standing here.
“Oh shit. Sorry, I shouldn’t speak of women like that.”
“No harm done.”
“I mean, once the brothers find someone they want to claim, they are like a dog with a bone and will not stop until they get her, or him in Intel’s case,” he explains.
“Well, no one will be claiming me so you are fine.”
He nods, and thankfully he says nothing else. We wait in silence for the car to arrive. I hate the silence as it gives me time to think about what I just walked away from.
A part of me is now thinking that I should have stayed and asked War about his dream, but the other part is screaming for the car to hurry up so I can get as far away from here as possible.
Finally, the car arrives, and the prospect lets me through the gate.
“Any harm comes to her and you will have the Three Kings on your back, you got me?” he warns the driver.
Hiding my smile, I duck my head. That man will make a great patched member.
He closes my door, tapping the roof, then the car is moving. I stare at the building where I left a sleeping War, my stomach tightening and my heart believing that we left a part of us behind.
In all of my twenty-four years on this planet, no man has ever and I mean ever, had this effect on me. It is spinning me out because I am not sure how to deal with that.
The clubhouse fades into the night, the driver keeping his mouth shut as he drives toward the Strip where I am staying with the girls. They are going to grill me, so I need to sleep off this War-induced sex cloud, plaster on a smile, and lie through my freaking teeth so they will leave it be.
I need to leave War and this night behind me and move on.
Tomorrow is a new day and with that brings new clients who will keep me busy; plus, the Rugged Skulls MC keeps me plenty busy, and that makes me happy.