Chapter 20
Delilah
I’d been at Zander’s place several times over the past few weeks, but tonight there was something different about the modern four-bedroom Tudor-style home.
Before, the sparse furniture and lack of home décor made the place seem cold and uninviting, but after everything that had happened, it felt safe and comforting.
As soon as we walked in, I could feel the tension I was carrying start to ease, and I knew it had everything to do with Zander.
He’d been so sweet to me, doing whatever he could to set my mind at ease—even going so far as to draw me a hot bath.
Once it was ready, he came into the bedroom and took me by the hand, quietly leading me into the bathroom.
His eyes never left mine as he slowly and ever so carefully started to remove my clothes.
Anger marked his face when he removed my t-shirt and saw the bruising along my ribs.
“I’m fine, Zander. It’s just a couple of bruises. They’ll go away in time.”
“I want to kill him all over again for what he did to you.”
“Zander, it’s okay.” I placed the palm of my hand on his cheek as I whispered, “He’s gone. It’s over.”
He nodded, but the anguish in his eyes only grew more intense as he continued to remove my clothes.
His touch was soft as he helped me undress.
Once my clothes were gone, he guided me over to the bathtub.
I slipped down into the warm, soapy water, and Zander knelt down on the floor next to me.
He took a washcloth and dipped into the water, then soaped it up before gingerly running it across my back.
I drew my legs up, resting my head on my knees and closed my eyes, relishing the feeling of the warm water cascading down my back.
I tried not to think about my father or the events that had transpired earlier that night, but it wasn’t long before the memories came rushing into my mind.
My heart started to race as I thought about the moment I walked into my apartment and found my father sitting there in the dark.
All the things he’d said to me caused my stomach to twist into a knot.
I didn’t want to believe that man was my father, that he could be so cold and cruel.
Unaware that I was working myself into a panic, Zander continued to bathe me, taking his time to wash my neck and down the length of my arms. I wanted to focus on his touch, but it was just too hard.
I couldn’t push the thoughts out of my head, and I started thinking about that moment when Danny pulled out his gun and shot him.
Every muscle in my body tensed as I remembered the bullet piercing my father’s chest and the look on his face when he realized he’d been shot.
It was at that moment, Zander whispered, “Delilah ... are you okay?”
I fought back my tears as I turned to look at him and said, “No, but I will be.”
“I love you, Delilah, and I’m here for you in any way that you need me. I hope you know that.”
While he’d shown me in so many ways how he felt about me, he’d never actually said the words to me. Hearing them now only confirmed what I already knew. “I do know that, and I love you too, Zander. So very much.”
He leaned forward, gently pressing his lips to mine, and as he kissed me, I’d never felt so loved and adored.
We sat there for several more minutes, talking about our versions of the night.
I told him about the conversation my father and I had and all the threats he’d made, and how scared I was for Danny.
I could hear the misery in his voice as he talked about watching my father and me coming down the fire escape.
When he mentioned how he’d called the brothers, it brought back a thought I wanted to share with him.
“You know, when the guys showed and I realized they were there for me, I finally got what you’ve been talking about.
I was starting to understand your draw to the club, especially after their visit with Mr. McClanahan, but tonight ...
there was something really powerful about having your brothers come to my rescue like they did. ”
“I meant it when I said they’d do anything to protect you.”
“I see that now.”
I thought back to my conversation with my father and the anger I’d felt when he told me about the drugs.
At the time, I didn’t understand why I hadn’t felt the same anger towards Hawk and his brothers.
Now, I finally got it. Yes, the Ruthless Sinners did bad things.
They sold drugs, ran strip clubs, and even killed bad people, but at the same time, they were good men.
They had each other’s backs at every turn and even risked their lives to keep their family safe.
Zander was right when he told me his brothers weren’t anything like my father.
They’d proven that when they came to my rescue.
It was that thought that had me wondering about the moment they loaded my father into the trunk of his car.
Even though I knew it was doubtful he’d answer, I asked, “By the way, what will they do with my father?”
“You know I can’t answer that. Just know it’s been handled.”
“By Billy?”
“Delilah,” he warned.
“Okay, I’ll leave it.”
He helped me out of the tub and carefully dried me off, then he slipped one of his t-shirts over my head and led me into the bedroom.
As he pulled the covers back, I looked around the room, noting once again the lack of furniture, and I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “What’s with the big house?
You have three empty bedrooms, and just a few pieces of furniture in the rest of the house. Why haven’t you done more with it?”
“Guess you could say I was waiting for you.” He lifted his hands up to my face, brushing my cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I want you to make this house our home. Fill it with whatever you like.”
My heart swelled with emotion as I looked up at him and saw the love in his eyes.
I couldn’t stop myself from lifting up on my tiptoes and kissing him once again.
What started off as soft and tender, quickly became heated.
I felt a warm rush of heat course through my body when his arms wrapped around me, pulling me close.
Unfortunately, just as I was about to get lost in his touch, his arm pressed against my bruised ribs, causing me to whimper in pain.
He quickly released me from our embrace, looking down at me with concern. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s fine. I’m okay.”
I went to reach for him but stopped when he shook his head. “You need your rest, Delilah. We have plenty of time for that once you’ve recovered.”
“Zander, I’m—”
“This isn’t up for debate.”
With a determined look in his eye, he reached for the covers and lifted them, beckoning me to get into bed.
As much as I wanted to protest, I gave in to his demands, and just as I’d hoped, he quickly removed his clothes and crawled in next to me.
Even though I wanted to him to make love to me, it was comforting to have him nestled up close behind me.
As I lay there listening to the soothing sound of his breath, my entire body started to relax, and it wasn’t long before I drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, I was disappointed to find that I was in the bed alone.
I’d hoped to pick up where we’d left off the night before, but that wasn’t going to happen—not this morning or anytime soon, for that matter.
Zander had his mind set on giving me time to heal.
While urging me to stay in the bed and rest, he took care of all the cooking and everything around the house.
The only time I even got out of my pjs was the day we rode over to the clubhouse.
Zander needed to speak with Viper about some club business, and he thought it would be a good opportunity for him to show me around.
When we got there, most of the guys were off doing whatever it was they did, so the place was basically empty, giving us free rein to walk about.
I’d only been in the one room when I was there before, so I had no idea how big the place really was.
It was massive. Not only was there a full bar with pool tables and a jukebox, there was also a large kitchen and a family room area with sofas and a large flat-screen TV.
I was surprised to see that there were enough bedrooms for every member to have their own room, and for the most part, they looked like the one I stayed in.
Even though most of the guys had a place of their own, they used them whenever they wanted to spend the night at the clubhouse.
Zander had me wait in the family room while he spoke with Viper, and as soon as they were done, Zander insisted that we return home.
I tried to protest, telling him I was fine and didn’t need more rest, but he wasn’t having it.
He was set on taking care of me, and he did.
In fact, he’d tended to my every need—except one.
He refused to engage in any sexual activity whatsoever.
Other than a few brief kisses, he simply wouldn’t touch me, and even though I found it very endearing, I was becoming frustrated.
On the fourth morning, I’d had enough and decided it was time for us to talk.
When I walked into the kitchen, he was wearing only his boxer briefs as he stood at the stove, frying up a batch of bacon.
I took a moment to admire the defined muscles of his back.
The man was a beautiful creature, and just looking at him had me wanting to reach out and touch him and spend the entire morning messing up the sheets with him.
Unfortunately, when he glanced over his shoulder and saw how I was gawking at him, he shook his head and said, “Don’t even think about, beautiful. We’re not having any of that.”
“And why not?”
“Because you’ve been through an ordeal and need time to heal.”
“I’ve had time to heal, Zander. It’s been days,” I fussed. “The bruises are practically gone.”