Inked (Going All the Way 1)

She shook her head. “I’m an adult, Cadeon. This is my life, and they know that.” Would her dad be mad? Most likely. But the other guys, even though they were like her family, would listen to her and how she felt far more effectively than her dad would.

He smiled, but it wasn’t genuine. “Stella, baby, you are the daughter of the club president. No matter how old you are, Scars will see you as his little girl. I want you, but the last thing I want to do is show disrespect. We had sex, incredible sex, but still, I knew better than to go there with you.”

She shook her head, but she didn’t know what she was shaking it to. No, that was a lie; she knew. In her heart, she just had the feeling that Cadeon was going to tell her that she was good enough to fuck but not good enough for more. Damn the tightening in her chest at that thought. “If you’re going to say it, then just say it.” She found this almost violent strength inside her, and her voice rose from her anger. “I am sick of guys being pussies because of who I’m associated with.” She would not cry, but rage-filled tears threatened to spill.

Cadeon leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. He kept direct eye contact with her. “You know what the truth is, Stella? If the MC doesn’t approve of who you want, you know that guy is as good as broken.”

She didn’t say anything, couldn’t. What Stella did wish he would do was get on with it.

“But my reputation is just as shady as the Vicious Bastards’. I’ve done bad stuff, things that could have put me away for a very long time if I was ever caught—”

“Just say it, dammit.” Her voice was louder, and her anger continued to grow. “I’m not about to play this cat-and-mouse game or listen to you try to justify why you think all we can have is some kind of physical relationship behind everyone’s back.” She wouldn’t cry. “Because if you think they wouldn’t be okay with you being with me, then they sure as hell wouldn’t be okay knowing I am your pussy on the side.” She stood, her frustration climbing higher.

“Sit down, Stella.”

She shook her head. This was her house, and she had been stupid enough to think his parting words at the shop meant more than what they really had. But everything inside her felt like a jumbled mess. It seemed like an eternity that she had wanted Cadeon, and the very idea that he might not want her in the same deep way hurt in the worst kind of way. She was human, after all, and couldn’t help these wild feelings moving through her at a rate she couldn’t even comprehend.

“Sit down.” His voice was deeper, harder, and there was that dominating quality laced in his words like there had been when he was inside her. No, she wouldn’t even go there. Hell no. Cadeon stood before she could even say anything in response. He had his hand buried in the back of her hair and her head tilted back, so she was forced to look in his face. “Stella, I can see on your pretty little face that you’re jumping to all kinds of fucked-up conclusions. I haven’t even finished what I was going to say.” He had that sandpapery tenor to his voice, and she clenched her hands at her sides and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat from her erratic emotions. “Now, what I was going to say was that the MC would kill me if they knew what I did with you and what I want to do with you.”

She blinked, trying to comprehend what he was saying and trying to keep her emotions in check so she could think through this clearly. He didn’t know how deep her feelings went for him and that she had been in love with him since she was twenty years old.

“I don’t give a shit what they try to do to me, because I want you more than for that one time, Stella.” He used his other hand to cup her cheek and used his thumb to run it along her bottom lip. “Maybe I should just walk away. I know what I feel for you might piss a lot of people off.” It was almost like he was speaking to himself, but even if she wanted to respond, she couldn’t find the words. “I wanted you like a fiend before, but I’ve tasted you now, and there isn’t anyone or anything that is going to stop me from making sure you stay mine.”

Her breath stopped at his words. “Really?”

He grinned, and this time it was genuine and heated. “Yeah, baby. I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. I don’t know how your old man is going to take this, or his crew for that matter, but what I do know is that I will fight for you, no matter what.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. “I don’t care about age or connections. When something feels this right, you go with it, hold on tight, and never fucking let it out of your sight,” he murmured against her mouth, and she molded herself to his body.