SHADES: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series Book 3) (7 page)

Her hand flashed up to grab his wrist, but it was too late. The cross of his rosary was swinging from his clenched hand. The rosary she’d taken from him the last time he’d seen her. No, not taken. Stolen. Along with about a grand in cash he’d had stashed in his drawer.

“You
taking
this
,” he held it aloft, “gutted me more than the cash you stole,” he bit out, his eyes boring into hers. At least she had the decency to look guilty.

A shadow fell across them, and Shades looked up to see Cole standing two feet away.

“You okay, Skylar?”

“This isn’t any of your concern, ol’ man,” Shades snarled.

“Back off, Brother, before I put you through the fucking wall,” Cole warned with deadly quiet.

Shades shoved off of Skylar, turning to Cole. “I don’t have to fucking back off. This is
my
Goddamn clubhouse, and I ain’t a fucking prospect anymore,
Brother
.” He said the last word as if Cole was no brother to him.

Cole’s eyes snapped to Skylar, and he ordered, “Get back outside to your ol’ man.”

Skylar gave Cole a confused look, but then hurried to comply, scurrying out from between Shades and the wall to dart past Cole. Shades swore he heard her whisper a soft
thanks
as she passed Cole and disappeared.

“She’s not yours anymore,” Cole bit out.

“Yeah, you made sure of that, didn’t you?” Shades glared at Cole, and then stalked off.

CHAPTER FOUR

Skylar crawled into bed. She stared at the ceiling, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. How could a day that started out so good, end up so bad? She’d been so excited to see Letty again after so long, and then Crash and Cole, too.

But the last place she’d expected to end up today was the Evil Dead clubhouse. Letty had been right about one thing, if she’d have mentioned that was the plan, Skylar never would have shown up. But with Crash, Cole and Letty all staring her down, and then Crash immediately dragging her off toward his bike, it really hadn’t given her a chance to come up with a way out.

She’d prayed all the way over there that she wouldn’t run into Shades, hoping maybe he wasn’t connected with the club anymore or had moved on. Or at least that he wouldn’t really recognize her or remember her. No such luck.

Story of her life.

And he had the nerve to think he could demand answers about where she’d been. Like he’d cared. After the way he’d ended things with her, she didn’t owe him shit. Well, maybe that money, and she really should give him the rosary back.

She found her hand lifting to the necklace, her fingers absently moving over the beads. It comforted her, like it always had over the last ten years. Whenever things got bad, she’d touch it and remember that one special summer she’d had with Shades.

Until it had all gone to hell.

Ten years ago—

Skylar snuggled up to Shades as he settled back against his headboard.

“Swear to Christ, you’re gonna wear me out, babe.”

She smiled and slugged him playfully in the ribs. “You have the gall to complain after that bout of really good sex we just had?”

“Really,
really
good sex,” he corrected with a grin and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. He pulled her closer, until her head was tucked up under his chin, her forehead pressed against his throat.

Skylar wrapped her arm around him. “I wish we didn’t have to sneak around.”

“Me, too, baby.” His voice rumbled through his chest under her ear. “When I get my patch, we won’t have to do this shit anymore.”

“When will that be?” she whispered.

His hand stroked up and down her bare back. “No tellin’. Usually, it’s at least a year, sometimes two.”

Her head popped up to look at him in shock. “That long?”

Shades’ look moved between her eyes. “I’ve got no control over it, Sky.” He shrugged. “It’ll happen when and if they think I’m ready.”

“And what will make them think you’re ready?”

“Shit, I don’t know. When they’ve tested me enough.”

“What kind of tests?”

He shook his head. “Babe.”

“Tell me.”

“Baby, there’s shit I can’t tell you. It’s just them makin’ sure I’m gonna be loyal, you know? Makin’ sure I’ve got my priorities in order, that the club comes first. That they can count on me.”

“Haven’t you already been in a year?”

“Be a year next month.”

She lay her head back on his shoulder, and her arms squeezed him. “Then maybe we won’t have to wait much longer.”

“I hope not. But until then, they say jump, I gotta jump. You understand, don’t you, Sky?”

“I understand.”

“Doesn’t mean you aren’t important to me, you are. But I’ve wanted this for a long fuckin’ time.”

“I know, Shades. I know how bad you want that patch.” She felt him press a kiss to her head.

“Let’s get some sleep, babe.”

Two hours later, Shades’ cell went off. Skylar lifted her head sleepily and yawned as he reached to the floor to dig his phone out of his jeans.

“Yeah?” he answered in a voice gravely with sleep. A moment later he was swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Yeah, got it.”

“Shades, what’s going on?” Skylar sat up in bed as Shades pulled his jeans on and stood up, turning to her.

“Nothing, Sky. I got called out again.”

“Again? That’s the third time this week.”

“Life of a prospect, babe.” He leaned down, cupping the back of her head and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Go back to sleep.”

When Skylar woke up the next morning, Shades still wasn’t back. She found her phone and checked for missed calls. There was a text from him.

Had to make a run out of town

Can you get a ride home?

She texted him back that she would be fine and asked him to call her when he got back. He didn’t reply. Gathering her clothes, she walked half a block to a fast food joint and called Letty for a ride home.

All that week, the only contact she had from Shades were a few brief texts saying he was busy with the club and would call her when he was free. And then finally, he texted asking her to meet him at his place.

Twenty minutes later, she pulled her beat up old Pontiac into the lot. The closed sign was on the door, but when she pulled it, it opened. The bell tinkled above it as she walked in.

“Up here.”

She looked up to see Shades at the top of the stairs, leaning forward, his hands on the metal railing. He was in a pair of jeans, shirtless and his hair was wet. She imagined he’d just got out of the shower. Walking across the garage floor toward the stairs, she noticed he didn’t move. As she walked up the stairs, their eyes connected. There was no smile on his face, and she sensed something was wrong. “Are you okay?”

He gave a slight nod, as he continued to watch her ascend the stairs to him. When she got to the top, he stepped back, and then suddenly she was pulled into a tight embrace.

“I missed you,” she murmured against his chest. He smelled like fresh soap, and her arms wrapped around his warm bare skin.

He didn’t say it back, but she felt him stroking her hair, fisting handfuls of it as he held her tight to him. The next moment she was up in the air as he bent and lifted her. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her to the bed.

She fell to her back on the mattress, and he came down on top of her. There was a sense of urgency in the way he tore at her clothes as if he couldn’t fuck her fast enough. The buttons of her blouse went flying as he sat back and tore it open. She shimmied it off her shoulders, just as urgent to be with him. A moment later, she slid across the bed as he yanked her jeans off with a jerk. And then he stood to drop his pants while she unhooked her bra.

“Panties are mine,” he declared as he kicked out of his pants. Her hands paused as she was about to push them down.

“Okay.”

He put a knee to the bed, and his hands slid up her thighs. His fingers curled in the lace at her hips, and he slid them slowly down her legs at complete odds with the urgency he’d shown up until then. She kicked her feet free and writhed on the bed, staring up at him. Her chest rose and fell as she watched him bend over and shove her panties into the pocket of his jeans.

Oh, my God, he was seriously keeping them. She let out a tinkling laugh. “You’re crazy.”

He stood there a moment by the foot of the bed, his eyes moving over her body, almost as if he were memorizing it.

“Shades?”

“Let me look at you. I want to remember this moment,” he replied quietly.

At the serious look on his face, her smile disappeared. And she took a moment to take him in, her eyes moving over his gorgeous masculine form. She knew she’d remember the way he looked in that moment for the rest of her life.

And then he moved, crawling slowly up her body to come down on top of her, all hot, hard male. She pulled his head down to her and he kissed her, all that urgency returning as his warm hands slid over her soft skin. He touched her everywhere. His mouth moved over her face, down her neck, her collarbone, her breasts. He slid down her body, pressing hot wet open mouthed kisses all over her. Skylar had never felt so cherished. And then suddenly, he was surging up, leaning over her and stretching to dig a condom out of a drawer. He tore open the packet with his teeth and rolled it on, his eyes connecting with hers, and then he was positioning between her thighs and surging inside her in one slick urgent thrust that impaled her to the hilt.

She couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her as he settled against her, his warm body pinning her down. His eyes connected with hers and held them the entire time he rolled his hips and thrust in and out and in and out. He watched her every response, her every expression, his eyes skating over her face, taking in her brows drawn together, her parted lips, the pulse beating in her throat. He missed nothing.

She clutched at him, her legs wrapping tightly around him as she began to climb that peak. His head dipped suddenly, his mouth capturing hers, and then, because they had to break apart to breathe, he pressed his forehead to hers as he continued to surge into her. All power and muscle and male dominance.

And she welcomed it, every aggressive thrust. She knew her thighs would be sore and bruised tomorrow, but she didn’t care. She opened, taking the pounding he was giving, answering his unrelenting dominance with a feminine submissiveness, giving back a gentle softness that rose up to meet his demanding need.

She panted as an intense surge swelled up, and she felt herself milking him with overwhelming contractions as a powerful orgasm washed over her in wave after wave. Her body’s response pushed him over the edge as he went solid above her, every muscle in his body flexing as he was rocked by his own powerful orgasm.

After a moment, his hard body sank down on top of her, and she relished in the feel of his heavy weight on her, pinning her down. It felt right. It felt good. Her hands stroked over his back as if she couldn’t get enough of him. As if she didn’t want him to ever move from where he was, planted deep inside her.

But finally, after nuzzling her neck and getting his breathing back down to a normal rate, he slowly pulled out of her and went to take care of the condom.

When he returned, he pulled her close against his side, enfolding her in his arms. They were quiet for a long moment. He stroked his fingers through her hair slowly over and over. And then he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, holding his lips there for a long time. When he finally pulled away, he said, “Sky, we need to talk.”

Her radar immediately went off. She lifted up to look at him. “About what?”

“About this. About us.”

“What about us?” Suddenly he was pulling his arm out from under her and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. She slid her hand up his back to squeeze his shoulder. “Shades?”

He pulled away, standing up and pulling his jeans back on. That wasn’t a good sign. He’d never pulled away from her after sex. Never. Unless he had a call out from the club.

“Shades, you’re freaking me out. What is it?”

“I don’t think this is gonna work.”

“What’s not going to work?”

“Us. You and me.”

She couldn’t have been more surprised by his answer. “What? Why?”

“It’s not fair to you. I’m busy with the club all the time, and I found out I’m gonna be goin’ out of town a lot.”

She stared at him, trying to make sense of his words. It was like this wasn’t the same man that she’d been with just last week. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s just not gonna work, Sky.” His voice had a little more bite this time.

She could feel her face turning red with the heat of anger, embarrassment and hurt. “And you waited until you fucked me one last time to tell me this?”

He ran his hand through his hair looking guilty.

She crawled out of bed, wrapping the sheet around her. “All the stuff you said before, did you mean any of it? Was it all bullshit? Was it?”

“Sky, calm down.”

“You fucking asshole.”

“Babe, we had a good run. Let’s not end it being ugly to each other.”

“A good run?” She gaped at him. “Is that all this was to you?”

“Skylar, stop.”

“There’s someone else, isn’t there?”

He shook his head. “No, babe. That’s got nothing to do with this.”

She stood there confused and watched him lean back against the dresser.

“So, what was that, huh? What was that all about?” She flung her hand out toward the bed as she bit out the question.”

He ran both his palms down his face, almost in frustration and then folded his arms.

“Shades?” she pressed.

“That was me saying goodbye, Sky.”

She actually pulled back, so stunned was she by his answer. “You’re serious? You’re really saying goodbye to me?”

He stared at her a moment, and then responded softly, “Yeah.”

She turned, gathering up her clothes and moved into the bathroom, slamming the door. She hurriedly pulled on her jeans, bra and shirt. When she went to button up her blouse she realized most of the buttons were missing from when he’d ripped it open. Jerk!