Page 33 of Pike
Pike
The sun wasn’t even up yet but I was already lacing up my boots because I couldn’t sleep. Not one fucking wink, at least not one that was free of a certain green-eyed woman whose erotic gasps echoed in my mind.
I didn’t want to think about Chloe, didn’t want to fantasize about her either.
I didn’t want to lay awake in that suddenly too big fucking bed and think about her. But I spent hours staring at the ceiling, replaying the shit she shared with the MC a few days ago, imagining her pain and humiliation at the way her husband, the man who was supposed to fucking love her, had treated her. The way he’d terrorized her into submission, and the way she stood taller and looked Rebel in the eyes when she laid her secrets bare for his disbelieving gaze.
From there my thoughts were on her out at that tree, rubbing against me and using her body to beg me for more. The little gasps and whimpers, the moan she let out when she felt what I was doing to her. It was too much and there was no way I’d end up lying in bed with a cock so hard it could cut glass. The way she was frustrated when she told me she hadn’t been turned on in a while.
She was surprised by the admission as much as I was.
And that was fucking hot, but it was also bullshit.
I wasn’t supposed to want her, that wasn’t what this was.
Right?
I mean, how fucked up was it that I craved her when it wasn’t so long ago that I looked her in those big, tear-filled green eyes and blamed her for my sister’s death. Maybe I hadn’t said those exact words to her—though I was pretty sure I had—but she knew. Shefeltit with every angry glare I sent her way. It wasn’t fair but it was how I’d felt.
Ashley was gone and Chloe was still here. Still breathing fresh mountain air. And now? Well, now I was kissing her like she was something I wanted to keep, which was fucked up in ten different ways.
I stomped my feet into my boots and snatched my jacket off the hook, storming past Chloe, who hadn’t registered my presence, which of course meant she was staring at the door as if it would come to life and attack her. I said nothing, just stepped into the cold early morning air and started my search of the property.
I took my time, letting the air slow me down so that I could take in every single detail before my eyes. I scanned for signs of movement, tire tracks or footsteps, anything that didn’t belong. I wasn’t expecting trouble, not after the Ghost Riders showed up a few nights ago, but it was always a possibility which meant I needed to be on alert.
Cautious.
The longer I was out here, the farther I was away from Gemma’s girlish giggles and Chloe’s soft humming. I grunted when my phone buzzed in my pocket.
I thought about ignoring it but with Ash gone, the only people who called me were my club brothers, and this morning the screen said T-Bone. If I didn’t pick up now, the persistent bastard would only call back.
Again and again.
“Yeah,” I tapped the screen and answered with an annoyed grunt.
“You sound like shit,” he laughed. “Is that good or your usual asshole behavior?”
“Depends on who you ask,” I shot back, thinking about Chloe.
T-Bone laughed. “That’s fair. I’m just checkin’ in. You guys holding up okay?”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “We’re fine,” I grunted. “Safe.”
“You sure? That’s one hell of a combo you’re working with up there. A little girl and a woman you used to hate mixed with fresh mountain air. Sure you’re not goin’ stir crazy?”
“I’m not sure of a fucking thing,” I admitted but quickly recovered. “I’m fine. They’re fine.”
“That didn’t answer any of my actual questions.”
“I’m not a fragile fucking glass, T.”
He chuckled. “Didn’t say you were, but I didhearyou say that she’s making it hard to stay mad.”
I said nothing in response, but that fucker only took my silence as confirmation and laughed even harder. What the hell was I supposed to say? That I slept with her? That I wanted todo it again? That when she told me she hadn’t felt this good in a long time, I wanted to strip her down and prove to her it could feel good again. Really good. I couldn’t say any of that shit.
“You always were shit at staying mad when someone shows you who they really are. Chloe is nothing like any of us thought, is she?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “She’s notjustwhat we thought,” I muttered, eyes narrowing on a small gray bird that landed on the far bank. “She’s still… complicated.”
