Chapter 14 #2
It’s been two days since I saw her.
Two whole fucking days, and I felt like a nervous fucking wreck.
We had to go on a run to help rescue a few groups of kids that Asher and his brothers had gotten wind of.
And seeing their relieved smiles on their little faces eased the wreck I was.
When we pulled back into town, Nuke looked at me and yelled, “Go to your woman. I want her at the clubhouse soon. Brothers need to meet her, so they know she’s protected.”
I lifted my chin in response.
Then I pulled away and headed in the direction of her house.
Soon. Soon, I would have her moved in.
It was at the top of my list of things to do.
I pulled my bike into her driveway and then killed the engine.
I climbed off and stretched my back. I wasn’t a young man anymore, and these long rides were hell on my back.
But to feel the wind on my face, and taste nothing but freedom, I lived for it.
As soon as I was up her front porch steps, I took the key out of my pocket that she had handed to me before I left, inserted it into the lock, and unlocked the door.
She needed a security sys... nope, I got one. She doesn’t need one.
I walked through her quiet house, then, as soon as I made it to her room, I stripped, moved her to the other side of the bed, away from the closest entry point, and climbed in.
The moment I was settled, she curled around my body and whispered, “Missed you.”
I kissed the top of her head and whispered, “Missed you too.”
And then, I was fucking out.
***
Something woke me from a dead sleep.
That was when I heard a phone ringing.
I knew it wasn’t mine, so I knew it had to be hers.
When she didn’t move, I said, "Your phone is ringing, sweetheart.”
Sleepily, she said, “I don’t care.”
I shrugged and ignored it.
We both fell back asleep.
Then... a-fucking-gain, the ringing of it woke me up.
She growled.
The moment she grabbed her phone, that soft look I’ve gotten so many times before was gone, and in its place was the look I never wanted to see again.
It was the same look she had on when she came to the clubhouse on the night we met.
Whoever the fuck it was, I was going to plant my boot up their fucking ass.
Kimber sighed, then she said, “This is the sixth time she’s called in two days. I’d better take it.”
I nodded, “I’m right here if you need me, baby girl.”
She smiled, kissed my chest, right over her name, then she answered her cell, “Hey, Mom.”
She listened, then she said, “Why?”
She listened, and then she growled, “You both disowned me. Why would I be allowed to come there tonight?”
She listened again, then she sighed, “Fine. But I’m bringing someone with me.”
She lifted her brow in question at me.
I winked and nodded.
“Yes, a man.” She said.
Then she listened again, then answered her mother, “No, Mom.”
Then she hung up and murmured, “Yeah, love you too.”
Then she face planted into my chest.
I took her cell and asked, “You, okay?”
She shrugged.
“It’ll be okay, baby. I’ll be there with you, yeah?”
She sighed, “Yeah, honey.”
“You say the word, and we’ll leave. Okay?” I asked.
“Promise?” she asked.
“Always.”
Then I said, “If I were that kind of man, I’d bitch slap your mother for hanging up on you.”
She giggled, then she burst out laughing.
***
And eight hours later, I didn’t know how much more I could take of this shit.
Her mother had licked her lips at me.
Her father had sneered at me.
Her brother had rolled his eyes at me.
Her ex, whatever the fuck you wanted to call her, sister-in-law, also licked her lips at me.
And then her mother just asked her why she wasn’t using the fat-free dressing that was bought just for her.
“What the fuck did you just tell your daughter?” I growled at her mother.
Her mother’s face startled, “I’m sorry. What?”
I glared, “You fucking heard me. Fat-free dressing that was bought for her? What the fuck?”
“She’s fat. Surely you can see that. But maybe you can’t. Maybe you need to have surgery on your eyes.”
Kimber growled.
I sat there with my fist braced on the table as I tried to comprehend her mother’s warped view of her daughter.
And I didn’t know how much longer I could keep my fucking seat.
But I knew that I was about to go ape shit as soon as her mother opened her mouth again.
Kimber
Tears hit the backs of my eyes. Here I was, a twenty-four-year-old woman, and my mother was still trying to tell me what I could and couldn’t eat.
“I mean, it’s bad enough that you haven’t touched the fat-free dressing. But you asked for a glass of sweet tea? Sugars? Kimber Diane, you know what sugar does to your body.”
Grey growled at my side, then in a low tone, he said, “Sounds to me like you need more sugar to help you dissolve the clump of cunt that’s shoved up your ass.”
Mama’s fork dropped to her plate as she gasped, “Well, I never.”
Grey chuckled, “Yeah. You have. You just chose to ignore it because that’s what mean-spirited people who are nothing but cunts do.”
“You will not be crude at the dinner table,” she snarked.
Grey smirked, “You’ve been doing it since the moment we got here. So, what’s the difference?”
“Boy,” my father started.
Grey cut his eyes to my father, “You do not speak. Not after you fucked her and then blamed my woman for doing the right thing.”
“Honestly... with manners like yours, it’s a wonder.” My mama said.
“Come again?” Grey asked.
My mama sighed, “All I meant is that it’s no wonder the two of you get along. She doesn’t care about how she reflects on our family. And by the way you dress, you don’t care if you disrespect us all.”
Grey nodded, “Got it.”
I looked at Grey, took in a breath, and asked, “Remember what you promised me?”
He inhaled deeply, then let it out and nodded, “Yeah.”
“Let’s go then,” I said.
He winked, “Fucking gladly.”
He held his hand out to me and helped me stand. Then he pressed a kiss on my temple and glared at my family, “If you hadn’t disowned her, I would have had her disown all of you.”
“You can’t speak to me like that,” her father yelled.
Grey shot him with a look I never wanted pointed at me, “Another word out of your mouth, and I’ll cut your minuscule dick off and shove it down your throat.”
My father opened his mouth, Grey smirked as he reached around and pulled out his gun from the small of his back, then he handed it to me, “Safety’s on, baby girl.”
I nodded.
Once I took it, he reached around again and pulled out a knife.
Yes, a fucking knife.
A large knife.
Where the hell did that come from?
He started to stalk around the table toward my father.
My father, whose face went pale.
Then Grey got face-to-face with him, “Thank you for showing her what not to look for in a man. Cause it kept her available to find the right kind of man. And she found me. Remember this.”
Then he stood, stalked toward me as he replaced his knife, then took his gun from my hand and replaced it as well, and without a backward glance, we both left my parents’ house.
He looked at me once we were safely inside his truck, then he asked, “How the fuck are you so perfect after dealing with that shit?”
And that was when I gave him all my trust.
I told him about my eating disorder and the years I spent in therapy to get better.
And my man... my man had a tear that ran down the side of his cheek.
I leaned forward and kissed it away.
In the next breath, his hand was wrapped around the back of my neck as his lips slammed into mine.
And then he whispered, “Love the fuck out of you, baby girl.”
I smiled, “Love the fuck out of you too, honey.”