Stone (Knights Corruption MC Series Book 2) (22 page)

Stone had walked in on us while I was patching up one of their nomad brothers, who’d come for a visit and gotten into a fight when he’d stopped by some bar beforehand. As soon as Stone entered the room, I knew my life was never going to be the same again. The way he looked at me, having no idea who I was at first, was as if he were staking his claim. Silently, of course, because he never uttered a word, simply looking in my direction, making eye contact, then disappearing without so much as a hello.

From that point on, any time I was called to the club he’d watch me, his eyes following every movement I made. Although I’d caught him a few times, he was rather slick about it; there was always someone next to me, and as soon as I saw him looking, he would direct his attention to whoever was standing nearby. My uncle had warned every man in the club that, if anyone messed with me, he would snatch their life. And I had no doubt he meant it.

Eventually, Stone started talking to me. At first, it was simple greetings, then his interactions with me escalated each time he would see me, engaging me further and further. Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how I looked at it—I was called to the clubhouse quite a few times. And while I was happy to help my uncle out, putting my nursing skills to use outside of a regimented hospital environment, I was still on edge every time I pulled into their lot.

Danger surrounded them all the time, so danger licked at my heels whenever I was present as well.

One fateful evening when I’d gone to The Underground to search for my uncle, for a reason I couldn’t recall for the life of me now, Stone finally made his move. Cornering me in the hallway of the bar, he called my desire for him to the forefront, brazenly kissing me before I even had a chance to defend myself.

But I loved it.

And he knew it.

And from then on, he’d been a permanent fixture in my life. The only difference now was the fact I’d agreed to officially be a couple and stop sneaking around.

My dad’s brows knit into a tight frown. “What do you mean you’ve been with him for a year? Why am I only hearing about him now?” I wasn’t sure whether he looked offended or angry.

Taking a slow sip of my water to buy me some time, I averted my eyes and stared at the family portrait on the wall behind his head. It was the last picture taken of the three of us, six months before my mother passed. She looked healthy, not like a woman who was going to leave us forever in less than a year’s time.

“Well?” Dad prompted, pulling me back from my haunted memories.

Taking the plunge, I started explaining. Sort of. “It wasn’t anything serious until recently.” His lips parted to grill me some more when my phone rang. Quickly searching my purse, I pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

Speak of the devil.

“Do you have to take that?” he asked, reaching for my glass to refill it.

“I’ll call him back. Now, how about some of your infamous chili?” No sooner had the words left my mouth than my stomach growled, threatening to eat itself if I didn’t provide some sort of nourishment.

It was the perfect question to distract my dad from probing further into my relationship with Stone.

Stone

I hated when she didn’t answer her phone. It drove me fuckin’ nuts, and I’d be sure to let her know as soon as she answered the damn thing. I was controlling to a fault and I didn’t see any reprieve in sight, although I knew I had to curb it enough to not drive her completely away from me again, even though she’d promised not to run away going forward. I knew she loved me almost as much as I loved her, and I prayed those feelings were enough to convince her to stay when I overstepped my bounds. Because, let’s be honest, although I would do my best to calm my temper, I knew there would be times I would cross the line. I wasn’t delusional enough to think I’d be able to completely change who I was.

Trying her phone an hour later, she finally answered.

“Hey,” she casually greeted.

“Hey, yourself. Where are you?” Nothing like cutting right to the point. Finished at the club, I wanted nothing more than to have Addy back in my arms again, begging for me to fill her until she collapsed underneath me. I couldn’t help it; it was where my head went whenever I heard her sexy voice.

“I’m at home now.”

“Now? Where were you?” I tried to keep the curt tone out of my voice, but I failed big time.

Huffing into the phone as if my question had just annoyed the hell out of her, she grumbled something incoherent. If I had to guess, she did it on purpose, riling me up even more than I already was. Stress of the club and aggravation over not being able to lose myself completely in Addy were driving me to the brink.

“What?”

“I was with my dad,” she bit out. “We had lunch at his house. Wanna know how long it took me to get home and every move I’ve made since then?” Obviously, she was being sarcastic, but her anger wasn’t lost on me. I knew I was a lot to handle, and I knew I drove her nuts, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Knock it off,” I warned. “I just wanted to see you, that’s all.”

“That’s not all and you know it.” She was borderline explosive, and it rattled me.

I had no idea what had crawled up her ass, but it wasn’t like her to get so defensive with me so quickly. Usually, it took a buildup over a few days of putting up with me and my demands before she blew up and told me to go straight to Hell.

Curiosity wrapped its risky arms around me, and before I could stop myself, I engaged her in an argument.

“What the hell is your problem? I asked you to wait for me until I was done at the club and you refused. I let you leave and when I finally called you, you didn’t answer. Numerous times. What am I supposed to think? Huh? You tell me.” The anger poured out of me like lava, each word packing a harder punch than the last.

“You
let
me leave?” she hollered. “You don’t
own
me, Stone! I can do whatever I want, whenever I want to. If you think for one second that just because we’re official I’m gonna let you dictate any part of my life, you’re sorely mistaken.” Short pants of anger hit my ear, and I knew right then if I didn’t bring it down a notch she would hang up on me and deny me any kind of access to her for the next few days. It was her go-to thing when she’d had enough of me. For most men, the silent treatment was a godsend, but for me it was utter torture.

“All right, calm down,” I soothed, my voice instantly becoming quieter, pushing all anger aside in an effort to make sure she didn’t go nuclear. “I was just concerned is all. You know I worry when you don’t answer your phone.” A full fifteen seconds of silence followed my sort of apology. I actually thought she’d hung up on me.

I was the first to break. “I would love to see you. Can I come and pick you up?” I hated asking for any kind of permission, but I knew if I came off as arrogant as I wanted to, she would dismiss me altogether.

“Fine,” she mumbled.

“Okay, I’ll be there within the hour.”

“Fine,” she said again, hanging up before I could say anything else.

Oh, boy! This was going to be something. I could just feel it in my bones.

Adelaide

By the time Stone arrived, I’d managed to calm myself enough that I wasn’t upset with him anymore. I knew exactly the type of man I had agreed to be with, and short of slapping him upside his head, I knew it was going to take some time for him to lose some of his arrogant and possessive ways. Otherwise, I would freeze him out until he complied, which had worked in the past. Sort of.

I was praying he would calm down once we’d told people we were an item, an occurrence I both looked forward to and feared. For many different reasons.

A loud knock rapped against my door.

Because he’d arrived quicker than I’d expected, I jumped at the loud noise before reaching for the handle and pulling the door open. Every single time I laid eyes on the man crowding the entryway, I crumbled. I tried to put on a good front, but there was no way he didn’t notice the effect he had on me. My eyes devoured the very sight of him. Never mind the fact my body reacted accordingly—nipples pebbling into tight buds, thighs clenching together to ease the building ache, the feeling of pure desire wrapping around my entire body.

The first thing I noticed was the ravenous look behind his beautiful dark eyes. The way he stared at me made me forget I had been even remotely upset with him. As if that weren’t enough, licking his full lips drew my lust to the surface, blood rushing to the one place I wanted to be consumed by him. My eyes finished devouring the rest of him, from his black T-shirt which fit his chest and arms like a glove, to his dark jeans which hung low on his narrow hips, enticing me to find the prize he hid lower still.

“Keep starin’ at me like that and you’ll be on your back before you can take your next breath.” He entered my apartment, closing the door behind him before stalking toward me. Not once did his eyes waver from mine, other than to quickly take in my state of undress.

Tiny jersey shorts and a tight cami were the only clothes I wore, and the way I was feeling right then, mixed with the way Stone was looking at me, I’d come to the conclusion that I was indeed overdressed. I’d taken a quick rinse when I came home from my father’s house, needing the warmth of the shower to help chase away the twinge of nausea as well as the worries which racked my nerves.

“Where are we going?” I asked, backing up a few paces the closer he came. We wouldn’t be leaving my apartment if he had his way, and while I was good to go with what was probably running through his head, I needed a distraction from the issues I tried my hardest to run from, even though I knew I had to face them, and soon. But I needed more time, even if it was only a day.

“What?” he asked, reaching for me. I smiled and continued to back away, the backs of my legs eventually coming to rest against the edge of the couch.

“You said you wanted to pick me up,” I answered, resting the flat of my palms on his chiseled chest. “Where are you taking me? Out on our first official date?” I teased, knowing full well Stone wasn’t the type of man to
date
.

He stopped suddenly, cocking his head and narrowing his gaze. “You wanna go out on a date?”