Winter's Touch (The Last Riders Book 8) (7 page)

A
knock
on her bedroom door woke her. Winter sat up, looking around the empty room. She guessed the feeling that Viper had been there had only been a dream.

Tiredly, she got out of bed to open the door, finding Beth standing on the other side.

“I hated to wake you, but Cash will be coming to follow me home.”

“I’m glad you woke me. I would have been awake all night if I slept much longer.” Going to the suitcase, she pulled out a pair of shorts and a sleeveless tank top. Her aunt hated to use the air conditioner, and it was easier to put on fewer clothes than to see her aunt bundled up in a thick housecoat. “What’s Aunt Shay doing?”

“Watching
Family Feud
. If you want to take a shower, she’ll be fine until you come downstairs.”

“Good.” She tugged at her T-shirt, smelling it. “She’d beg me to go home if she smelled me right now.”

Beth didn’t laugh at her joke.

“Winter, it’s none of my business, but if you want, I could let Razer watch the children so you and Viper can talk.”

“I’m not ready to go back to the clubhouse.”

“Because of Sasha?” Beth probed, coming farther into the bedroom.

“Yes, I saw her in the gazebo with Viper last night.”

“Maybe it wasn’t them, or—”

“It was them.” Winter was sure of that.

“Oh… Then maybe it wasn’t what you think.”

Winter gave her a wry smile. “How often have you seen anyone go in there other than to fuck?”

“None,” Beth admitted. “What does Viper say they were doing in there?”

“I’ve been too angry to listen.”

She admitted to herself that she was too terrified to have her worst fear confirmed or that Viper would give her a lie she would be desperate enough to believe, not wanting to lose him.

“Talk to him,” Beth urged. “The hell you’re going through now can’t be any worse than knowing, can it?”

“I’m too afraid of what he’ll tell me,” she said huskily, before clearing her throat. “I know I’m being a coward.” She gave a bitter laugh. “I’m always telling the women to take up for themselves. I had no problem when I believed Jackal was cheating on Penni. I even thought Viper was cheating then. That’s why I egged her on, thinking I would catch both of them in the act.”

“And he wasn’t doing anything when you showed up,” Beth reminded her, moving behind her to untangle her hair from the rubber band she was trying to take out.

“He’s been acting weird. He doesn’t ask me to help him anymore.”

“You’ve been busy with school lately. Maybe that’s why.”

“It’s not only that. He used to always ask my aunt to live nearer to us if he built her a small house. Every time I bring it up now, he changes the subject.”

“He could be waiting until she is ready.”

“Whose side are you on?” She took the rubber band Beth handed her.

Beth shrugged. “Both. I don’t want to see you wash a good marriage down the drain because of something you can’t prove.”

“Sasha sent Viper a selfie of her giving Moon a blowjob,” Winter blurted out.

“She sent one to Razer, too. It was in a group text.” Beth’s usual good-natured demeanor was missing.

Winter gave her a sardonic look. “I bet his didn’t mention getting rid of his wife.”

“No, it definitely didn’t say that. If it had, I would have pulled a Crazy Bitch and taken a bat to her.” Beth’s eyes flashed sparks. “I’d had already warned Razer he better not give her a marker to vote her in, because of how she looks at the married men. The text confirmed my opinion of her.”

“What did he say?” Winter asked, wide-eyed. Beth never intervened between the men and women. She had learned that lesson from Shade when Lily and he had been fighting. Shade had told her to stay out of his marriage after one argument, and as far as she knew, she had.

“He said he wouldn’t.” Beth looked down when her cell phone beeped with a message. “I need to go. Cash is outside.”

Beth went to the door, but Winter stopped her, sensing there was something she wasn’t saying.

“What is it?”

Beth seemed as if she didn’t want to answer, giving her a sympathetic look.

“Tell me,” Winter begged.

“Viper gave her the last vote she needed the night she left with Moon.”

* * *

W
inter showered after Beth left
. She washed her hair that she had painstakingly grown out after she and Viper had married.

She was too heartbroken to cry. It seemed every dream of her and Viper’s marriage was as intangible as smoke. She had dreamed of their home one day being filled with children. Dreamed they would grow old together, surrounded by the Last Riders and their families. Now it was one of the Last Riders who was tearing them apart.

Dressing in her shorts and tank top, she went downstairs to find that Beth had left dinner warming in the oven. She recognized the scent of lasagna, her stomach growling at the smell.

She made her and her aunt both a plate then set the table in the dining room with large glasses of ice water. Everything ready, she peeked into her aunt’s bedroom to see she was working on one of her crossword puzzles.

“Dinner’s ready,” Winter told her, as she went to her side to help her out of bed. She held on to her aunt’s arm as they walked to her dining room.

“It smells delicious,” Aunt Shay said, looking at the bubbling lasagna.

“It is.” Beth was an excellent cook. She and Lily both loved Italian food. Winter teased them every Pasta Monday, when it was Beth’s turn to make dinner, and Lily’s Pizza Thursday.

Winter gave each of them heaping plates of lasagna, and a large slice of bread that she had broiled and buttered. Surprisingly, Aunt Shay ate most of her plate, while Winter struggled to finish hers.

“If I keep eating like this, Dr. Price will put me on a diet.” Her aunt took another piece of the bread.

“Me, too.” Winter sat back, patting her full belly that couldn’t hold more than half a plate. It had been too long since she had eaten much. “Beth made a chocolate pie. Do you want me to get you a slice, or do you want to save it for later?”

“Later. We can eat some after the new zombie movie Beth brought me… if you’re not too tired. I don’t want you too worn out to go to work in the morning.”

“I took the next two weeks off,” Winter told her, as she gathered the dishes before carrying them to the sink. “What movie did Beth bring?”

“
Zombie Doomsday
.”

Winter had to smile at that.

After she rinsed the dishes and loaded them in the dishwasher, they moved to her aunt’s bedroom, where Aunt Shay lay down on the bed as Winter started the movie.

“Turn off the lights,” Aunt Shay requested, eagerly stacking her pillow against the headboard to lean back on.

Winter rolled her eyes, threatening, “I’m going to talk to Beth about feeding this obsession for scary movies of yours.”

“Don’t you dare! She’ll make me start watching
The Sound of Music
again.”

Winter turned off the light before climbing into bed next to her aunt. Halfway through the movie, she was close to prying away one of the pillows behind her back to hide her face. She felt like she was going to heave when one particular zombie tore a screaming woman into shreds in seconds. Meanwhile, her aunt had no trouble watching the gruesome scenes, riveted.

“I’m going to go get you your pie,” she excused herself, making sure to keep her eyes averted from the television screen as she escaped from the room.

“Don’t be long. He just saw someone hiding in the shed.”

“I won’t.” She had every intention of missing that, especially when she heard a shrill scream from the television.

In the kitchen, she cut her aunt a generous slice of a pie, but her stomach was too queasy from the gore to eat one herself. Then she put the pie back in the refrigerator and took out the whipped cream. She placed a big mound on top of the slice then squirted a large dollop on her finger, lifting it to her mouth.

A large hand reached out, latching on to her wrist.

Winter gave a bloodcurdling screaming, turning around in terror, her hands reaching out to claw the intruder’s face. She paused, her heart pounding in her ears.

“You idiot! I could have hurt you!” She fell back against the counter in relief.

“How? With whipped cream?” Viper laughed.

“How did you get in here?”

“Beth gave me her key. I thought you’d both be sleeping.”

“You should have called instead of scaring me to death.”

“And have you tell me not to come? I don’t think so.” He lifted her whipped cream-covered hand off his chest, licking the sweet substance off before she could jerk her hand back.

“We were watching a movie. I didn’t see the alarm light go off.” Her aunt had one of the controls to the alarm by her bed so she could check whether or not she had set it before she went to sleep.

“I keyed in the code when I came in the door. You must have been too busy playing with the whipped cream to notice,” he teased, picking up a dishtowel to wipe away the cream on his shirt.

She ignored his teasing, still trying to get her heartbeat back to normal after having the hell scared out of her.

“You missed a spot.” Winter pointed at the side of his jaw.

“Lick it off.” The sensual twist of his lips brought an ache to her pussy, one she was going to ignore.

“Text Sasha and have her come lick it for you.” She turned, picking up the pie plate.

“Tsk, tsk. Is that any way for a wife to talk to her husband?” He reached out, taking the plate and fork from her. He took a huge bite, his eyes practically rolling back into his head.

“That was for my aunt.” She stared in dismay as Viper ate the pie in three bites.

“I’m starving,” he replied. “It was Jewell’s turn to cook.”

“Not a fan of Sunday leftovers?”

“No. I’ve got to hire a new cook as soon as we have those new suppliers dealt with. Hiring one is my top priority. The only leftovers tonight were from Friday’s Hamburger Helper and Saturday’s soup.” He sniffed the air appreciatively. “What did Beth cook?”

“Lasagna, and I made garlic toast.”

“Any left?” His eyes scanned the counters as if they would magically appear. He was being deliberately obtuse to the fact that she was still angry with him.

“Cut another piece of pie for Aunt Shay, and I’ll make you a plate,” she caved, when he looked inside the empty oven.

“Deal.”

Winter pulled out the pie again, handing it to him, before she took out the lasagna.

“You want me to take it to her?” He added a small mountain of whipped cream to the pie.

“Not unless you want to kill my aunt. She would have a heart attack if you walked into her bedroom during that movie. I’ll take it to her when I put your plate in the microwave.”

“What’s she watching?” Viper eyed the pie as if he would demolish it before she could take it to her aunt.

Starting the microwave, she picked up the plate, holding it protectively. “
Zombie Doomsday
.” Her heart swelled when she heard his laughter as she left the kitchen.

She went to her aunt’s room, seeing she was still engrossed in the film.

“Viper’s here. I’m making him a plate. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Take your time,” Aunt Shay said, not looking away from the massacre taking place on the screen.

Viper was pouring himself a glass of iced tea when she came back into the kitchen.

Opening the microwave when the timer went off, she took out the hot plate and put it down on the kitchen table then went back and brought him a fork.

He dug into the food as if he were starved.

“Didn’t you eat today?”

“I had planned to eat breakfast with you, and you weren’t there. I missed lunch, because I was in a meeting with a buyer from an outdoor chain store who needed to get back to Chicago tomorrow. We finished up at eight, and no one wanted the leftovers that were still there. Most of the Last Riders went to eat at the diner.”

“You should have gone with them.” She shook her head at him. “When you’re done, put the dishes in the sink and let yourself out.”

“How’s Aunt Shay doing?” he asked, ignoring her dismissal. His dark brown eyes traveled from her bare feet to her breasts that were pressed against her tank top.

Self-consciously, Winter crossed her arms over her chest. She’d had the top since she was in college and usually only wore it when they were alone in their bedroom because it was too tight.

“She’s doing much better. I took the remainder of the school year off.”

Viper nodded. “I know. The school board approved Tracy Ross to replace you.”

“Why, so you can get rid of me longer?” Winter responded bitterly, dropping her arms to her sides.

The fury emanating from him was palpable. Her instincts screamed at her to run. Instead, she froze as if she had been cornered by an angry bear.

“Go back to your aunt’s room. If you stay here, I’m going to give you a spanking you’ll never forget.” He went back to his food, not looking at her. “I’ll turn the alarm on when I’m done.”

Winter blinked back her tears. After nodding her head, she fled before Viper changed his mind, practically running to her aunt’s bedroom then crawling beside her on the bed.