Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
For hours, I follow Dark on his motorcycle.
Its rumble, mixed with the sound of the road, is oddly soothing as I cry.
Just when I think the tears will stop, I think of my sister, and not seeing her for however long she needs, and the bastards start all over again.
My shirt is wet from wiping my face with it, so I don’t run off the road.
I can’t believe I’m doing this. Following a man on a Harley to a new place, a place I’ve never been. Not to do a job. Just to… be.
I’ve never just been.
Not ever.
It’s terrifying.
Another bout of tears does their thing, and I lift the hem of my T-shirt to make them go away. My skin is sticky and blotchy. Eyes swollen. Nose raw.
Ick.
I know Dee thinks this separation is for my own good.
To give me a chance to be me, not taking care of her as I have my entire life.
But what nobody tells you is that when your identity is wrapped up in caring for someone else, every minute of every day, when that’s gone, you don’t know why you exist anymore.
What’s the point of me?
What do I do now?
For now… I guess I follow a man’s lead. Are you as surprised by this as I am?
Because it feels weird AF. But Dee assured me she and Dark had talked it through.
Apparently, she trusts his intentions, and if Dee’s gut says it’s okay, then I believe her.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing whatever everyone else has decided for me.
As if I’m not a grown adult who can choose for herself.
Given how all this played out, I’m going to see it through until it no longer serves me.
Then I’ll leave and go, who knows where.
The beach, perhaps. I’ve always wanted to go to the beach.
I’ve never been. Not to a real beach, anyhow.
The Hamptons don’t count. I’m talking tropical.
Palm trees. Drinking from a pineapple while I lounge on the sand.
Sure, I’ll have to bathe in sunscreen every thirty minutes to keep from burning, but it’ll be worth it.
Lost in my daydream, I don’t realize we’ve arrived at our destination until we pass Dark Delicacies, the wine and chocolate shop. Less than a minute later, Dark pulls into the driveway of a single-story house straight out of the sixties. Or is it the seventies? I don’t know.
Carefully, I pull in beside him just as he dismounts, and before I turn my truck off, he opens my door.
“Welcome home.” With a sexy, lopsided grin, Dark sweeps his hand toward a freshly painted teal front door. It glistens in the afternoon sun.
“What is this place?”
“It’s a house the club recently acquired.”
“And why was it acquired?”
Rubbing his hand across the top of my door, Dark sighs. “It’s a long story.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve got the time.”
The sudden tightness of his jaw, followed by a low grumble in his throat, tells me Dark doesn’t wanna have this conversation.
Shifting from one foot to another, kicking up loose gravel in the drive, his tongue peeks out and wets his bottom lip as I wait patiently for him to speak.
“Fuck. Okay. The short version is, when Penelope hired a man to stalk Kali, and we found out about it, we handled things.”
Ah. Handled things as in, he’s no longer of this earth.
Got it.
“And this is his house?”
“Was. Yes. But now it’s yours.”
“Then how much is the rent?”
“There is no rent.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I called someone who called someone, and we got you this place. The deed’s on the counter in the kitchen. It’s in your legal name. Dee gave Cell all the info and shit.”
“Hold on. I own this house.”
“Yeah.”
“But I didn’t buy it.”
“No. I did.”
“You… what?!” Swinging my legs to the side, I hop out of the truck right in front of Dark. My chest meets his abs, and he sucks in a sharp breath, nostrils flaring, but he doesn’t move.
Boxing me in, one hand on the top of my door, the other on the frame, his gaze burns into mine.
“Look, we don’t need to make this a thing.
The brothers, Kali, and her sisters have been guttin’ this place and fixing it up in their spare time.
It’s not done, but it’s almost there, and between all of us, we made it happen. ”
I poke him in the shoulder. “You bought me a house.”
“Yeah. I did.”
“I’m not fucking you for a house.”
“There are no strings here. I swear it.”
“Uh. Huh. Sure. I…” Shaking my head, I peter out of gas. Ugh. I’m tired. So very tired. Tired of crying. Tired of running. Tired of… everything. “I can’t believe you bought me a house,” I whisper as a new set of emotions I don’t recognize clog my throat.
Having the patience of a saint, Dark steps back to give me space to breathe, and when I walk past him to stand in the middle of the lawn—my lawn— I stare in disbelief at the modest brick home.
It has a stoop with a pot of bright pink flowers.
There’s a black light on the porch. I’ve never had a porch light.
Well, I guess I did, for a few days, in Kings Cursed.
This house reminds me of Dee’s. I wonder if Dark showed her pictures.
Not that it matters. She’ll see this place sometime.
Wrapping my arms around my middle, I breathe in the fresh air.
There’s a black knocker in the center of my door with a peephole.
Dark drapes his arm around me. “You need a home, so here’s home.”
“She looks like a Deloris.”
His chuckled response is thick and warm. The welcome sound settles in my chest, offering comfort. “Deloris it is.” Dark squeezes my shoulder and pecks my temple.
I gasp at the simple touch. His soft, pillowy lips linger there, and my heart goes mad.
“Welcome home, sweetheart.” His hot breath tickles my hairline.
My eyes slide shut, and I soak up the moment, pushing the fear away, the nerves, all of it, and I just live in the here and now, with the most terrifying man I’ve ever met.
Dark lets me take everything at my own pace. Never pushing me. Always watching. When he unlocks the front door and we walk into a bright white living room with a hardwood floor, I see what he means about renovations.
“What did it look like before?” I ask, as I slowly check out my house.
Gah!
My.
House.
How is this real?
“It had green carpet through most of it and wood paneling,” he explains.
“Why did you gut it?”
“There was a mess.”
“You can just say blood. I won’t faint.”
“Yeah. Well… I don’t talk to… I don’t… Fuck…”
“You don’t share things with others?”
“With my brothers, I do, and Kali, only if I have to. But I don’t talk… about stuff.”
Dark follows me to the bathroom, and I gasp as soon as I flick on the light. Black and white for miles. Tile and iron. A stand-up, glass-walled shower with a fancy wooden bench. The water comes out of a black showerhead in the ceiling.
“This is even nicer than the bathroom in my apartment in New York.”
Brushing my fingertips over the marble counter, I look up and catch my reflection in the mirror above the sink. Just beyond is Dark, his shoulder leaning against the doorframe. His gaze zeros in on my ass.
Spinning on my heel, I point to my nose. “Eyes up here.”
Having been caught, Dark’s attention snaps to my face. “What?”
“You were checking out my ass.”
Growling something under his breath, Dark spins around and gives me his back. Sure, I check out his ass on principle. Tit for tat and all that. It’s hugged nicely in a pair of well-worn jeans. You could bounce cherries off those cheeks and catch them in your mouth.
Ugh.
Fisting both hands at my sides, heat erupts across my face, and I crane my neck back to look at the ceiling. “Can you move?” I grit, needing to get away from him, his back, ass, and this embarrassing moment.
He doesn’t budge. “Can you stop sayin’… ya know.” Dark’s hand flips into the air as if that somehow finishes his sentence.
“No. I don’t know. I saw you… Never mind. We can be friends. Okay? For some reason, you’re the only man I can stand to be around without instantly wanting to rip his dick off.” Well, he and Mama, but that’s beside the point. Mama is sweet, and I don’t find him…
Nope.
Not going there.
“Can we not talk about my dick?”
“What? That was a compliment.”
“Christ, woman. That’s not the fuckin’ point,” Dark grits and leaves. Down the hallway and out the front door he goes. Still standing in the bathroom, I hear it slam shut, and a moment later, there’s a rumble of tailpipes, then the sound of them disappearing as he drives away.
I drag a hand down my face.
What did I do? What did I say?
Shaking my head, I use the facilities, wash my hands, and with an unfamiliar ache in my chest, I unpack my truck.
In the living room, I line my pots against one wall to find a home for later.
The dirt mess in the back isn’t as bad as I thought.
I climb into my truck and scoop the loose mess onto the ground. It doesn’t take long.
My bag and a few boxes in the backseat are the last to go inside.
I set them on the floor of my new bedroom, which isn’t much.
There’s a twin bed on the floor. When Dark said this was newly renovated, he meant it.
This bare mattress is the only furniture in the whole place.
Not that I mind. I’ve never gotten a chance to decorate before.
It could be fun. Maybe. I don’t know. We’ll see.
In the meantime, I unpack what I need for the bathroom and find homes for it. In the mirror above the sink, I stare into my mismatched eyes, grip my wig, and tug it off my head. Pale, smooth skin and a round dome greet me.
Hooked on a single finger, I dangle the wig in front of my face.
“You’re an itchy bitch.” Giving in to temptation, I drop a bundle of fake hair into the black trash bin next to the toilet.
It collapses in like a hairy octopus. If octopuses were blonde.
Alright. So maybe only sort of octopus-like.
Eh. It doesn’t matter. I never have to be blonde again if I don’t want to.
I can be anything now. Not what Dad said. Not what Dee needs. Only what I need.
Whatever that is remains a mystery, but here I am.
I have a house… Home… Well, maybe a home. Time will tell on that one.
Pushing Dark and his departure from my mind, I focus on the house and see all there is to see. Then maybe I’ll venture out to get a bite to eat. If I’m up for it.