And why were there needles in his ears? Demo couldn’t remember her reasoning.
Demo was definitely going to do some research once he was out of here. He truly didn’t doubt Paige or her profession, but it was a bit freaky to watch her work her magic after being subjected to thirty-one years of modern ‘Big Pharma’ medicine. He found acupuncture and her practice of it utterly fascinating. He’d heard of acupuncture before, seen it in movies and such, but he’d never experienced it himself. It was in his nature to learn everything he could about something that caught his attention like Paige had. Acupuncture was a big part of her life, so it was about to become a big part of his.
That knowledge still didn’t help him relax though. By the time Paige came back into the room, he was trying to think of the time he’d accidentally walked in on his grandparents doing it to get his libido under control.Fuck.Watching her approach him in the low light, seeing her stand over him, her loose shirt gaping just enough for him to see she was wearing a lavender bra beneath…
Fuck!Demo slammed his eyes closed. Careful of the needles, he slid his fingertips beneath his ass to force his hands to behave when they wanted nothing more than to pull her down on top of him. Christ, the things he wanted to do to her body… Nope. Fuck. Demo wondered if one of her magic needles could divert blood flow.That’s the needle he needed right then.
“How are you feeling?” Her voice was slow, soothing. Like she didn’t want to wake him. Jesus, he wanted to hear what she sounded like first thing in the morning just before he plunged inside her…
“Fine,” he forced out. His own voice sounded tight and restrained. Demo cleared his throat and retried, “Fine.” At least that time he didn’t sound like he had swallowed a dog’s squeaker toy.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, like she didn’t believe him. She journeyed down towards his feet. “I’m going to remove the needles and then we’ll get started on your shoulder.”
Demo couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Looking longways down his body, his eyes tracked every minute movement. He pictured taking all of those pens out of her hair, one by one, and then grabbing her elastic hairband that must have the strength of Superman and easing it out of her curly locks… Letting her mass of curls fall down to her shoulders, brushing them out of her face, holding them bunched on top of her head as she sank to her knees before him…
“Demo?”
He jumped. Blinked. Paige was standing by his left hip now. Fuck, when had she moved up from his feet? So much for watching her every move. “Yes?”
He didn’t bother to hide the heat in his eyes or his body’s obvious desire for her. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Nothing was working to quash his need and he had every intention of making her just as hot as he was later on.
“You know I’m married, right?”
And just like that, a bucket of ice water was thrown on top of him. The fire extinguished, sizzled down to burnt embers.
He’d forgotten.It was his only excuse. He certainly hadn’t forgotten who her husband was or what he had done or how his decisions were still affecting Paige now, but he’d forgotten she didn’t know Richard was dead.
Two years ago in April. Two years since the club had secured Richard Hannigan naked to their cellar ceiling and tortured him for abducting women for Mateo Castillo’s human trafficking ring. Two years since Lucky had burned the man’s feet like they were rotisserie chickens as payback for Richard throwing several Molotov cocktails through Lucky’s living room window while Lucky, Harper, Scotty, Steel, and Jenna slept peacefully inside. Two years since Steel had ordered Scar to remove Richard’s cock and balls as punishment for raping a woman to prove his loyalty to the cartel. Two years since Scar had delivered his broken, dead body to Mateo Castillo as proof that he was no longer alive to pay back his debt of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars and as an example of what would happen to Castillo if he came to Mount Grove seeking that money from Richard’s widow or sister.
Four months later, Bulldog had shot Castillo in the head as he hung from the same chains Richard once had.
Paige knew none of it. As far as she knew, her husband was a missing person. Did she think he’d been kidnapped or joined the ranks of deadbeat dads who ran off with their secretaries? What did Paige think of her husband? Had she known about the depths of his sins? Even if she didn’t know everything, did she know anything?
Did she still love him?
Demo’s stomach soured at the thought. Clearly, she was still loyal to him at the very least. She didn’t wear her wedding rings, but that might have been because she was at work and wore gloves.
He had the strongest urge to tell her the truth, that she was a widow and free of any obligations she might feel towards her husband. But what the hell was he supposed to say? Why wouldheknow her husband’s fate when the police didn’t? Demo knew from Carlos’s last report that Paige was still making inquiries with the sheriff’s department about her husband’s disappearance.
Didn’t that show she was still concerned about him? How fast does one fall out of love? Especially if she didn’t think Richard did anything wrong? What if she thought he was the victim? Her money troubles meant she knew at least some of his gambling habits. Was she still praying and hoping he would return home?To her?
Paige was a single mom. She had two young sons who were also missing their father.
Demo needed to talk to Lucky. He needed to know how much Paige knew and what she believed. At the very least, he needed to know if she still loved her husband. The argument could be presented that she did. After all, if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have reminded Demo of her marriage when he was so openly aroused by her.
“I know,” he told her solemnly. “Ignore me. My body’s a total flirt when it comes to beautiful women. Curse of being a good-looking bachelor.”
Her cheeks flushed again—but this time it wasn’t from her own arousal. She was close enough to the club to know about the Honeys. Even if they were no longer a filled position within the club, it was a known fact around town that two of them now worked as waitresses for the club’s bar,Demon on the Rocks, and that many of the single club members still frequently visited them after work hours. Ghost would not hear of anything happening during business hours, refusing to allow his bar to become a brothel.
Was it wrong of Demo to remind Paige that he was single and that women found him attractive? Probably. The words tasted like acid coming out of his mouth. But what could he say? That he wanted to flirt with her because she was enticing and she was free to flirt back because her husband was actually dead? That she deserved to have a stress-free life filled with nothing but love, happiness, and more babies?
Demo’s brain faltered at those words.Morebabies? What the fuck? He was not in the breeding or fatherhood business. He wasnotlike his club brothers who had taken children under their wings so readily, regardless of biology. He was around SJ recently because he and Pumpkin were friends and SJ was wherever Pumpkin was. There’d been a few floundering moments and first-time panics, but Pumpkin had taken to fatherhood like a fish to water. Additionally, the club had bombarded Pumpkin with pumpkin baby toys, clothing, and accessories. A few weeks ago, when Pumpkin had been out with the ol’ ladies shopping atCostco, the brothers, Scotty, and Lila had completely redecorated SJ’s nursery with pumpkin-themed bedding, pillows, and a tummy time rug. If they had the time, Demo was sure they would have painted the nursery to look like a pumpkin patch. One drunken mistake over six years ago and Pumpkin was still paying the price.
Despite his love for his son, Demo wondered if Pumpkin also considered his time with Cheryl a mistake. Demo didn’t think so. Lord knows, Cheryl had spent time with a lot of brothers, including Demo.
Even with the sudden depression and guilt swarming inside him at the reminder thatPaigedid not know she was a widow, Demo couldn’t shake the fantasy of Paige, the desire for her. God forbid—theneedto claim her.
The only adult female who had ever ridden on the back of his hog with him was Sissy. As Lucky’s daughter, she was welcome to all club events, including the runs. She had a club kid denim cut, even though she was an adult. She was also very much off-limits. Recently, she’d come out as bisexual and was dating the club’s female prospect, Sara. Her sexuality aside, Demo had never looked at Sissy as anything more than his niece. He’d spent a lot of time with her in her late teenage years to help her prepare financially for college. There’d been nothingextraabout their time together, and not just because she’d been jailbait age. Sissy had always beenfamily, like a little sister. Having her ride as his backpack had been fun and pleasurable, but in a completely platonic way.