Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Shadow
Knowing the deal between Maddox, Della, and the club is complete, I can relax. Meadow’s Ranch would now be known as Fallen Meadows Ranch, which will help in protecting the land from the oil mongrels wanting to get their hands on it.
“Tormentor will have the new sign for the ranch ready to be put up within the week,” I tell everyone, though Lucifer already knew it would be done.
“It’ll be carved and iron-branded, like the one we have up at the rodeo grounds,” Lucifer adds, getting to his feet, papers in hand.
“I’ll get these to the lawyer, and we’ll get started on everything tomorrow.
Mammon will set up the accounting information for the capital and give you both access to it. ”
“Appreciate it.” Maddox grunts, pulls his ringing cell phone out, looks at the screen, then to his sister and asks, “You riding back with me?”
“No,” she says without hesitation.
“Right, I gotta go,” he says, taking his own set of papers with him as he heads for the door. “I’ll see you at home, Dels,” he calls over his shoulder and answers the call.
I turn my attention to Della as she gets to her feet, papers in hand.
“I probably should have asked him to take these with him,” she murmurs before grabbing the coffee.
I noticed during the meeting she’d taken the stopper out and took a sip here and there but didn’t drink much. Now she sucks back a good amount before lowering it.
“We’ll put the papers in my safe for the time being,” I say, moving to her. “That good with you?”
“Yeah.” She nods and smiles as she asks, “What are we doing today?”
“Club’s having a BBQ this afternoon.”
“On a Tuesday?”
The way Della’s brow furrows is damn cute.
“Yeah,” I tell her.
“Gotta celebrate the deal being made,” Lucifer adds with a chuckle.
“Oh,” Della draws out softly before drawing her bottom lip in between her teeth.
“Come on.” I wrap my arm around her and head for the door. “Let’s put these papers away, and I’ll introduce you to the rest of my brothers. At least the ones that are here still.”
Some of them left after we met this morning to handle a protection run and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. It wasn’t a big order we had to protect. Only needed a few brothers instead of the usual numbers.
“Okay,” Della murmurs and lets me guide her out of the trailer.
Neither of us speaks on our walk to the clubhouse or into it.
I open the front door for her and let her step ahead of me.
She stops just inside, taking in the look of the building.
I try to see it out of her eyes, but I can’t, this place is home, and I take pride in it.
We don’t need a lot around here to be comfortable.
That doesn’t mean we don’t have a few TVs on the wall, a long bar against one side, tables scattered around, and a few couches spread out all about the room.
Several of my brothers were looking in our direction. Taking Della’s hand, I guide her farther inside. “Come meet my brothers, little mouse.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
Della’s nervous and not hiding it.
I wasn’t lying to her when I said she didn’t have a poker face.
Dipping down, I murmur in her ear, “You’ll be all right, baby.”
Della nods as we approach the table.
“Mammon, Tormentor, Dread, this is Della. Baby, these are my brothers.” I give her a squeeze as I introduce her.
“Zayne Cross?” Della asks, looking in Tormentor’s direction.
A twinge of jealousy courses through my veins at Della’s use of my brother’s name and not his road name.
“That’s me, darlin’,” Tormentor drawls out, grinning up at her. “How you been doin’?”
What the fuck is with the flirting with my woman?
“Just moved home,” she answers, leaning into my side.
“See that.” Tormentor’s grin widens, not missing her movement. “Take it you’re Shadow’s new woman?”
“She’s mine, brother,” I growl, claiming the woman at my side. “Don’t even try to pull any bullshit.”
“Wouldn’t think of it.” Tormentor loses his grin, his expression sobering. “Gotta make sure you claimed her before someone else tried some dumb shit. Think you said it loud enough for everyone here to hear you.”
“Fucker,” I grunt.
“What does that mean? Claim her?” Della asks, tilting her head, looking at me for the answer.
“Means, little mouse, you’re mine, and they need to know it. They won’t fuck with you.”
“They’ll respect you as our VP’s ol’ lady.”
“Ol’ lady?”
Damn if Della isn’t cute when she’s confused by something and trying to figure it out.
“Means you’re my woman. In our world being claimed as an ol’ lady is a high fuckin’ honor to have.”
“Oh,” she draws out on a whisper, her cheeks tinting pink.
“Come on.” I tug her with me as I step around the table. “We’ll be back in a few.”
“Damn, VP, didn’t take you for a minute man,” Dread shouts, laughing.
“Fuck you, Dread,” I throw over my shoulder at the men all chuckling. “That would be you who can’t go longer than a minute or two unless the bitch is looser than a greased tailpipe.”
It wasn’t true, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t throw shit at him
“That’s fucked up, Shadow,” Dread scoffs.
“Maybe so, but you fuck around more than any of us. You should be able to go longer than you do. Need a pill of something to make you last longer?”
I don’t wait for his response as I guide Della down the hall, leading her to my room. Hearing her giggles causes my chest to tighten. I love hearing her laugh and knowing without asking that she hasn’t laughed much in the past years. I’m willing to bet longer than she’ll ever admit.
Quickly, I unlock my door and step back to let her in ahead of me.
It’s not much in here. I have my house, but the room still has a great deal of things in it.
Some clothes are scattered around the room, but it’s not filthy by any means.
I pay Minx, one of the saddle bunnies, to come in here and clean up.
Minx isn’t like the others. She been here for about six months and keeps her head down. I honestly don’t think she’s slept with any of my brothers. What she has done, though, is clean up and help where she can.
I step into the room and close the door behind me before rounding Della to the safe in the corner of the room.
I press in the code and open it easily, not hiding what’s inside it.
I keep money, important documents, and a few guns inside.
No one can fuck with this shit without my approval.
Only two people have the code to it in case something were to happen to me. Lucifer and Amelia.
“To get the papers out, all you have to do is put in sixty-six-seventy-nine,” I tell Della, closing the safe back up. “When you close it, just hit the check mark and it’ll lock back up.”
“Are you sure you want to tell me this?” Della asks quietly.
Turning to her, I notice she’s fidgeting with her hands, eyes cast downward.
“Why wouldn’t I want you to know the code?” I move to her and pull her into my arms.
Damn, I love having her so close to me.
Especially alone as we are now.
The thought of having her in here has filled my head enough to know that if we don’t get back out soon, I’ll end up doing something I’m sure she’s not ready for.
“I told you because you have papers in there and should have access to them,” I murmur, running a hand along her spine, the other curling around her ass.
“I could have simply asked you to retrieve it for me,” she points out and licks her lips.
I shrug and dip my head down, brushing my lips gently against her. I’ve never been gentle when it comes to women, but fuck if I’m trying with Della.
“Shadow,” she breathes.
“Yeah?”
“Kiss me, please.”
The words are barely out of her mouth before I slant my head and claim her lips with mine. Tongue spearing into hers. Della’s moan spurs the kiss deeper.
Her fingers slide up my chest, slipping around my neck to hold onto me. The way she pushes herself up onto her toes to get closer makes my dick twitch behind the zipper of my jeans. I walk her backward until her back hits the wall, my body pressing against hers.
Della moans again as I rock my hips against her, letting her feel how hard I am. My hand slides up her side, brushing the side of her breast before cupping her face. Breaking the kiss, I trail my lips down her jaw to her neck.
“Shadow,” she whimpers, her fingers tangling in my hair.
I nip at her pulse point, loving the way her breath catches. “Tell me what you want, little mouse.”
“I want you, Shadow.” The hesitation in her voice makes me pull back enough to look at her face. Her cheeks are flushed. The need for more shines bright in her eyes.
“Baby, in this room, when it’s only the two of us, I’m not Shadow to you. Never am I just Shadow to you,” I tell her, needing to hear her call me Tyler again.
“Tyler.” Della’s voice is soft, almost reverent, as she says my name.
Fuck.
I love the sound of her saying my name. Just hearing it on her lips has made me harder than I already am. I want to hear her say it over and over, screaming it when I make her come.
“Again,” I order, my voice gruff with need.
“Tyler,” she breathes, her eyes locked with mine.
I capture her mouth in another kiss, deeper this time, my tongue stroking against hers.
She tastes like coffee and something sweet that’s purely Della.
My hand slides down to her ass, squeezing and lifting her against me.
She wraps her legs around my waist, and I grind against her center, the friction making us both moan.
“Fuck, little mouse, you’re driving me crazy,” I growl against her throat. “Are you sure this is something you want? I told you I’d take it slow with you. I don’t want to rush you into anything you’re not ready for.”
“I want this,” she says, tightening her legs around my waist. “I want you, Tyler.”
The way she says my name makes my cock throb. I’ve never been this turned on by a woman just saying my fucking name. But coming from her lips, it’s like a drug.
“You sure?” I ask again, needing to be certain.
She nods, those big brown eyes staring up at me filled with trust. That look alone has me ready to do anything for her.
“I need the words, little mouse.” No way was I doing anything with her nodding her answer.
“Yes,” she whispers. “I’m sure.”
That’s all I need to hear. I carry her to the bed and lay her down gently. My body covers hers as I settle between her thighs. The weight of me pressing her into the mattress pulls a soft moan from her lips that I swallow with my mouth.
My hand slides under her shirt, feeling the soft, delicate skin I’ve wanted to worship since the moment I saw her at Rodeo Roundup when she’d come in to see Amelia.
I stroke my fingers over her warm skin, and she shivers beneath me. Her breath catches when my fingers skim over her ribs, moving higher toward her breast. I pull back to look at her face, needing to see her expression, the look of desire and lust filling her eyes.
“You tell me to stop at any time, and I will,” I tell her, my voice rougher than I intend. I don’t want to hurt her. Not now. Not ever.
Della nods, her eyes wide and trusting. “I know you will.”
That trust hits me square in the chest. No one has ever looked at me the way she does. Like I’m someone worthy of it. I’ve been Shadow for so long . . . the VP who takes care of business, who doesn’t hesitate to do what’s needed . . . that I sometimes forget there’s still Tyler King underneath.
I capture her lips again as I cup her breast over her bra. She arches into my touch, a soft whimper escaping her. I swallow the sound, savoring it as much as possible.
I know she’s no virgin and that she’s had sex since the .
. . fuck, I won’t even think about it right now.
No way am I going to ruin this first time with my woman, thinking about the time she was raped.
I even met the man she’d been with before me.
Not that I’d call him a man, at least not a man like me. He was more of a douchebag in a suit.
Breaking my lips from hers, I lick, nip, and pepper kisses long her jawline, down her neck, and farther still to where the crease meets her shoulder.
Damn, she smells good. Tastes even better. I can’t wait to get my hands between her thighs. Even more, I can’t wait to get my mouth there and taste the sweet nectar I know I’ll find.
I lift enough off of her to start removing her clothes when a sharp knock comes at the door.
“Fuck.” I growl.
“VP, you’re needed out here,” Tormentor booms.
“You better go,” Della whispers.
“I don’t want to, but he wouldn’t be interrupting us if it wasn’t important,” I tell her, stroking a hand over her cheek. “We’ll finish this later. Stay in here until I come get you, okay?”
Della nods and gives me a small smile.
I dip down and kiss her once more before rolling off and out of the bed as another knock comes at the door.
I don’t bother saying anything. Instead, I yank it open and snarl, “This better be damn good.”
“Stupid bitch.” That’s all Tormentor sneers and hurries back toward the main room.
“Fuck.” I shake my head and step out of the room, not bothering to lock it, and follow after my brother. Anger coursing through my veins. What the hell is going on now?