Chapter 29
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
Julie
It’s been two weeks since everything went down.
I still feel traumatized from it all, but I’m getting better.
I don’t know if I will ever get over watching my father die before my eyes or the situation surrounding his death, but I do know he was doing what he thought was best, and that helps ease the pain.
Yak wanted me to go back on my sleeping pills, but I don’t think I ever want to take them again. I don’t like knowing something can knock me out to where I’m unaware.
Yak says he will keep me safe in my sleep, and I know he does, but ever since that fateful night, I haven’t been able to bring myself to lose control like that.
“You’re thinking hard over there,” Yak says from his spot on the couch.
I look up to find him staring at me as I wipe down the counter.
“I miss him,” I admit.
He nods, grief filling his eyes. “I know you do. If I could have taken his spot, I would have.”
It’s what he always says, but I don’t want that. As hard as it was losing my dad, it would have been harder to lose Yak. He has become part of me. I always knew Dad would leave me some day, Yak doesn’t get the option to leave me. He’s stuck with me for better or for worse.
“You know I don’t want that.”
“I know, but it still hurts me to see you in pain,” he admits.
“I would be even more of a mess without you.”
It’s the same conversation we always have.
“Come here.”
I drop the washcloth and rinse my hands before going to him. He pulls me down into his lap.
“I didn’t tell you this before because you were hurting too bad, but I think you’re ready to hear it now,” he says, brushing the hair from my face.
“Your father told me he went with me that night because he knew you loved me and he didn’t want to see what you looked like with a broken heart.
He wanted to keep me safe, not because he gave a damn about me, but because he loved you.
Before he died, he told me to protect you and make you happy.
I have to say, he had the right idea. Watching your heart break has been tearing mine to pieces. ”
I lean in, kissing him softly. “I know. It hurts like hell, but it will get better. If I had lost you, though? My whole future would be gone in an instant. I love my dad and never wanted him to die, but he sent you back to me. He knew I needed you. I will forever be grateful for that.”
He cups my cheek. “Have you heard from her?”
I don’t have to ask who. Liz ghosted me after Dad died. She showed up to the funeral but wasn’t even able to look me in the face. My best friend since childhood, the woman I called my sister, left me.
I would be angry about it, but I know the truth.
Dad was as much her father as he was mine.
Maybe not by blood, but by choice. When I called to tell her, she lost it on me.
Called me every name in the book. Yak was ready to tell her where to go, but I stopped him.
I deserved the abuse. Dad is dead because I chose Yak.
Because I chose this life, and that’s my cross to bear.
It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t choose him again and again, but it’s the truth.
He was only there that night because I chose to come to his house for safety.
I mean, looking back, there were so many choices I made that lead us here.
There’s no point in dwelling on the past, though. I can’t play “what if” forever.
The fact of the matter is that he is dead. Nothing is going to bring him back.
“No. I saw on social media she was hanging with Steve. Seems they are a bit more serious now,” I murmur.
“Serious how?”
I grimace. I have been keeping this from him because I know what it means. How it changes things between Liz and me.
“He made her his old lady.”
“Fuck,” he groans.
I hold out my hand as he fishes for his wallet. He slaps a twenty on my hand as I shove it in my bra.
“It was worth it,” he mutters. “You know what this means then, right?”
I nod. “She’s my sister.”
“She’s also sleeping with the enemy. Hell, she is the enemy now. He claimed her.”
I sigh, tears filling my eyes. “I know. I wish I could talk to her, but I can’t. She won’t answer my calls. I think she’s blocked me. She’s grieving, and I think this is a cry for help.”
He shakes his head. “We can’t help her, not if she doesn’t want it.”
“But if she does want it?”
He frowns. “Then we go to war for her. If the club won’t help, I’ll do it by myself. I won’t let you lose any more of your family.”
I smile up at him, cupping his cheek. “You are my family now.”
He leans down, kissing me softly. “You’re my everything.”
For now, that’s enough.
“Are you ready for bed?” he asks.
I nod. “You aren’t leaving tonight?”
He shakes his head. “We have a meeting with a realtor tomorrow, though. Are you sure you want to move into a new house? I would be okay with living at your dad’s.”
I inherited almost everything from Dad. He left money aside for Liz, but the house and everything in it came to me. As much as I want to go back to the place I grew up, I also feel like it will haunt me. There are too many memories inside those walls.
“Maybe one day, but not today. I want a place that’s ours. One where the walls won’t hold memories from the past. I want to make new memories with you,” I tell him.
He smiles. “I love you, Angel.”
“I love you. Now take me to bed and cuddle me.”
He smirks. “As you wish.”
Yak
Watching Julie sleep has become my new favorite way to pass time. She is so soft and pretty when she sleeps. The grief fades away, and she clings to me.
I hate that she lost her father. The pain she feels, I feel it twice as hard.
Not because I particularly cared for the man, but because her pain cuts me like a fucking knife.
I would rather swallow a thousand nails than see her stub her toe.
So seeing the devastation from losing the man who raised her has been hell.
She’s doing better, though. She doesn’t cry in her sleep anymore.
Instead, she looks peaceful. I know the pain from this will never truly go away, but it makes me hopeful that she is over the hardest part.
He would want her to live her life. To be happy.
I didn’t know him long, but I know he lived for his daughter. Both of them, really.
Which brings my thoughts to Liz. I can’t believe she is now an old lady. Steve’s club isn’t like ours. The Demon Raiders often cheat on their women. They only take an old lady to have a constant at home to knock up and raise kids.
I hate that for Liz, but like I told Julie. I can’t get her out unless she wants to be out. Still, I plan to bring it up to the club. Hopefully they will be willing to be on standby for a rescue mission should the need arise.
Julie groans and turns in her sleep, and she throws a leg over mine as she presses closer.
“What are you doing, stalker? Watching me sleep?” she mumbles, her eyes closed.
“When you have a beautiful woman in your bed, you tend to appreciate her. I don’t want to miss a thing, Angel.”
“Smooth. Go to sleep.”
I should, but her body is pressed against mine, which is turning me on. We haven’t had sex in two weeks. I would never pressure her into it, but fuck if my dick gets the memo.
“I will. You rest.”
She opens her eyes. “You’re hard.”
“Always am when you’re in my arms.” I drop a kiss to her nose. “Nothing to worry about, though. I’m a big boy. I can take care of it later. You rest.”
She giggles, “Are you going to jack off in the shower again?”
I glare at her. “You promised to forget that. You were in mourning. It wasn’t sexual. It was release.”
She reaches up, a smile on her face as she cups my cheek. “It was honorable. Even if you did mutter my name as you came.”
I shake my head. It was last week. I woke up hard, and she was making breakfast. I figured I could rub one out. Take the edge off a bit, but fate had other plans. The way she laughed made the whole thing worth it. She lit up in a way she hadn’t since she found out about her dad.
“As if I would mutter any other name. You’re my old lady. I told you. You are it.”
She pushes my shoulder before she climbs on top of me. “Then I should be taking care of you then.”
She pushes her panties aside before pulling my dick from my boxers.
“No. I don’t expect that from you. We can take our time. There’s no rush.”
Her eyes are full of lust when she looks at me. “I’m tired of waiting. If my life is cut short, I want to know that I lived every day. I’m ready, Jameson. I love you. So fuck me like you mean it.”
I swallow hard. “Curse jar.”
Her smile grows. “I guess I owe you one then. So are you going to do it?”
Reaching my fingers between her legs, I’m grateful she’s already wet. She must have been turned on before she woke up, which makes me wonder…
“What were you dreaming about, Angel?”
Her cheeks heat. “You between my legs. Much like this, but there was a lot more pleasure, and I screamed your name a time or two. I’m not sure you’re up for the task, though.”
I growl, flipping her over onto her back.
It’s what she wanted. It’s why she taunts me. She knows how to get me to fuck her the way she needs.
Pulling my boxers off, I tear her panties in two. Then I slide into her in one thrust, and she gasps as my eyes close.
I fucking love this woman.
I set a relentless pace, rutting into her like a man possessed. She holds on, her nails digging into my shoulders as she arches her back. I feel it the moment she comes. Her pussy grips me so hard I see stars.
It takes everything I have not to come right in that moment, but I’m not done with her yet.
Pulling out, I move down her body and suck and lick her clit. Her hands find my hair as she pulls me closer to her.
“Jameson, I can’t.”
I don’t respond. She can and will give me another orgasm.
She wiggles under me, her body begging for more, yet trying to get away at the same time. I don’t let up. I shove two fingers inside of her, fucking her with my tongue at the same time until she comes all over my face.
When I finally pull away, she has melted into the bed, her body languid. Flipping her over, I grab her hips and slide back in.
“Jameson,” she whines.
“Shh. This is for me. You can take it, Angel.”
She mewls a little but doesn’t stop me. I continue at a slower pace, building back up the pleasure. When I’m close, I pick up the pace, reaching around to circle her clit.
When she comes a third time, I finally give in to my own pleasure, filling her to the brim with my release.
Pulling out of her, I lie on my back before arranging her on top of me so I can slide back into her.
“Rest now,” I manage to pant out.
“I think I could get used to this cock-warming thing,” she moans.
“Cock warming?” I question.
“That’s what the internet calls it when you keep your cock in me all night.”
“You researched it?” I am dumbfounded.
“Yep. I wanted to know what the appeal is. With you, I like keeping you close. It’s like our thing.”
I shake my head. “You are ridiculous.”
“You’re the one who wants to keep your cock in me.”
“Touché.”
“I love you, Jameson.”
“I love you, Angel.”
As she drifts off to sleep, I hold her a bit tighter.
This is the life I always wanted but never thought I’d have.