Page 27 of Inflame Me
“Let’s let her rest,” I tell Dagger and Rhys. Dagger looks at my mom, turns, and then leaves the room. “Go ahead, Rhys. I’m going to lie with her for a while.”
His eyes pierce mine, holding me in place. I don’t know what it is about this man, but something pulls me, and it’s scaring the shit out of me.
“An hour. Then I’m coming to get you.”
I try to refute his statement, but before I get one word out, he’s gone, shutting the door behind him.
I kick off my shoes and carefully lie on the queen-sized bed next to my mother, being extra careful not to touch her. I lie on my back and stare at the brown, stained ceiling.
What in the hell am I going to do? Mom and I need money. What she brought won’t sustain us for long. I need for Mom to get better first, though. That has to be the goal right now. Get Mom well, and then I’ll figure out where we can go and what we need to do. Everything is so up in the air right now, and I need to simply relax and let the cards lay, at least for now. In a couple of days, when Mom can stay awake for more than a few hours, we’ll talk and figure it out.
I can’t believe I have a father. Well, I’m not stupid. I knew I had one, but you get the point. Seeing him manhandle Flash was scary as hell. It reminded me of James and the way he treated my mother. I did see a difference, though, because Dagger told the woman to leave, and she wouldn’t listen, whereas James did it for the hell of it. It still scares me. Maybe that’s why my mom left him, but if that’s the reason, then why in the hell did she stay with James? That’s the part I just don’t get. Hopefully, she’ll be able to enlighten me when her body heals a bit since the questions keep piling up.
These past few days have worn on me. I haven’t slept much with trying to make sure my mom was all right and then worrying about when the boys were coming back and what they did.
I allow my body to relax as I roll to my side and stare at my mom, watching her chest rise and fall softly. I allow the sounds to lull me to sleep.
I WAKE WITH a jolt. I look around my surroundings, quickly putting together that I’m in Dagger’s room. My mother is passed out next to me as the soft hum of music beats through the door.
I wipe my face, get up, and use the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, I wince at the purple and yellow marks on my face. Not that I’m trying to impress anyone, but why in the hell did Rhys kiss me when I look like this? I shake my head. Just the thought of his kiss has my head spinning. Was that just a kiss?
My mother’s moans pull me out of my thoughts as I move swiftly to the bed. She is tossing, no doubt hurting herself even more than needed. Reluctantly, I hold her shoulders so she can’t turn.
“Mom, wake up,” I tell her, feeling her muscles bunch under me. “Mom!” I say a little more loudly, and her eyes flutter open.
“What?” she groans, her eyes half-lidded. Her body settles down, and I remove my hands.
“Are you awake?” I ask, needing to know if I’m talking to her or if she’s sleep talking. When I was younger, my mother talked in her sleep all the time. I used to think it was hilarious. Now, not so much.
“Yes.” Her voice is scratchy and hoarse. “I need something to drink.” She pauses. “Something warm.”
I brush her hair away from her beautiful face, noting it looks so much worse than mine does. “I’ll get you something. Maybe they have some soup or something. You really need to eat.” I’ve been forcing her to drink, keeping fluids down her since she refused to eat in the small bouts that she’s awake, but it’s time. She needs to try something.
“ ’Kay,” she says, her eyes fluttering shut. I’ll have to wake her when I get back.
Since being here, Princess has showed me around the kitchen and pantry. This place keeps enough food on hand to feed an army. I still feel leery of just helping myself to whatever we need, but Princess has been nothing but kind to me, and she’s definitely a straight talker. If it was a problem that we ate here, I’m sure she would be one of the first people to say something.
I follow the hallway lined with pictures and different plaques. With each step, the music gets a little louder. Entering the main room of the clubhouse, I see people are scattered everywhere. Some of the brothers I met before are among some others I have not. Rhys sits with his back to me, arm extended over the empty chair next to him, the cord of his muscles flexing and bunching. In the other hand, he has a beer, and he’s talking to Cruz, who sits next to him.
I gaze over to the corner of the room where the back of my father is to me. He’s standing in front of a couch, and a woman’s hands are wrapped around his thighs. His hips are moving back and forth, and I pause in step. Holy shit is he ...? Shock fills me at the sight. Please tell me that I’m not seeing my father, the father I just met, get his penis sucked by one of those club mommas Princess told me about. This is seriously not happening.
I force my feet to move toward the kitchen, my eyes glued to my father. However, once I see the confirmation of what I thought is happening, I jerk my head straight ahead. He is, right in the middle of the club, with people around him. I … My thoughts skip as I force myself into the large pantry where the food is stacked and search for some type of soup.
I suck in deeply and bow my head. I can’t believe I just saw that. No child should ever have to see that, new father or not.
Hands grip my shoulders so I can’t move, and I scream loudly enough to wake the dead.
“Shh …” Rhys’s deep voice trembles in my ear, but my breathing doesn’t slow. This time, it is amped up by his baritone voice and light breath. His hands release me and move up and down my arm. “You all right?”
I nod my head, trying to get myself under control.
He pulls me flush to his hard body, and I close my eyes, enjoying the feel of him. Each sweep of his fingers on my flesh sends my body into a state of arousal that is so over the top I’m not sure how to come down or even if I want to. Not only that, but it’s comforting and secure. How this man can pull off these feelings inside me is insane. I should be running for the hills, but I can’t, don’t want to.
“Saw a show out there?” The fizzle I felt starts to fade as the images that I don’t want to see come back. I shiver.
He chuckles, which seems so strange for him that I turn around, seeing a small smirk on his face. I’m taken aback by it because that small change in his face completely transforms him, almost creating a whole different person. How is that possible? How can one expression turn him totally around from mean, scary, and sexy to sinful, amused, and drop-dead gorgeous? It’s like he’s two different people.
He doesn’t allow me to process these thoughts. Instead, the smirk disappears, and heat sparks in his gaze as he crashes his lips to mine, taking my breath away for the second time tonight.
