Page 7 of Scorched King

I snorted. He had no idea how close I’d been to saying that very thing. Although he didn’t look soft like a teddy, he definitely had some soft spots and for that I was damned grateful. “Well, now I know what to say if I ever want to piss you off. Although that seems unlikely.” I nuzzled closer, letting his body warmth seep into my always too cold skin.

“Call me a teddy bear and I’ll have you across my knee so fast you won’t know what hit you.”

His voice rumbled across my skin and I swallowed thickly at the image that conjured in my mind, but instead of Bear doing the paddling, it was JD and before I could stop it a slight whimper slid from my lips.

Bear looked at me sharply, but I refused to turn and meet his eyes. I could feel my face had turned some shade of red, and that was more than telling enough. That was a conversation he and I were not going to have.

“So what time are you leaving?” I asked, hoping to steer us onto safer ground. If he was getting the wrong idea I would have to straighten things out. Soon. When I had just a little more energy.

“Someone should be here any minute to pick me up. But I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye—for now. I’m worried about you.”

God dammit those tears were pricking pretty darn hard at my eyes and I could feel the sheen of wetness covering the front of them. His kindness never failed to amaze me. The club was about the closest thing I’d had to a family, and with Bear here I still felt connected to them. Without them, well, I could barely breathe if I thought too hard on that.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I said as soon as I thought I could without my voice breaking. “Things are looking up for us both.” I wasn’t one hundred percent sure if that was true in my case, but I’d had some time to think about it and I’d made the decision that it was time for me to figure out what exactly I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

As much as I’d loved hosting at the poker club, and been darn good at it, working in an illegal club wasn’t a long-term plan. Especially in light of what had happened.

“Do you think JD is going to reopen the poker club?” I asked in a low voice even though there was no one else in the room to overhear.

“I know he is. Axel’s already let me know that construction is well underway, and my first task when I get back and settled is to start finding more security. Not only will there never be a repeat of what happened, but we’re going to let the world know that you can’t fuck with Wrath. We bite back.”

I shuddered against the vehemence of his words. The passion in which he spoke about the club was part of the reason I liked them so much. They were as committed to each other as much,if not more, than any blood family I’d seen. If women could become full-fledged members, I’d have been at the front of the line. It was high time these men moved into the current century.

“I still think it’s unfair that an MC has to be a boys club.” I pouted.

He snorted. “You think the women we employ aren’t as important as anyone else?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe,” I said hesitantly, not really believing it. I’d seen them rally behind anyone associated with the club, but I wasn’t convinced that meant the same thing. Those men were loyal to each other in ways I couldn’t comprehend. They had no real connection to make it happen, and yet, it just was.

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

But did I? Instead of voicing that doubt out loud I settled my head on Bear’s shoulder once again and soaked up what comfort I could. As long as he was here, by my side, holding my hand, I felt safe. But when he went back to his room every day, and now when he left the hospital, I didn’t know what to think. I could already feel the loneliness trying to suck me into a black hole.

I always had more questions in my head than answers. Most of which I was afraid to ask because I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like the answers.

“Bear!” A loud voice boomed from my door. “What the actual fuck?”

CHAPTER FOUR

Bear

I sprang from the bed, practically ripping my hand from Sasha’s in the process. Axel’s sudden appearance startled me, firing a shit load of adrenalin into my blood, and rocketing me into high alert.

“Jesus Christ!” I bellowed, clutching my chest and bending over to slow my heart that was threatening to beat out of my chest. “You can’t sneak up on me like that.”

“I hardly snuck anywhere. I fucking walked up and the door was wide open.”

It was true. I’d propped it open because I thought it seemed gloomy in here. And whether Sasha wanted to admit it or not, I knew she preferred the noise of the hospital over the silence any day. I might also have a preference for hearing people approach in advance. Although I’d been too focused on Sasha, her head snuggled against my side, to hear anything.

Fuck.

“Still. You could have knocked.”

Axel smirked and strode across the room to Sasha’s bed, where he bent over and kissed the top of her head. “How’s my second favorite girl today?”

His casual kiss and comment irritated my already frazzled nerves, though I couldn’t explain why. He meant nothing by it. He was so in love with Mandy that he couldn’t see straight from it. So why I wanted to grab him by the cut and toss him back into the hallway made no damned sense.

Sasha wasn’t mine.

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