Inked (Going All the Way 1)

She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. The sound of Booshie chewing seemed loud, but then again, she was lost in her thoughts on what he just said. Was it that surprising she hadn’t been able to hide how she felt? No, not really, because she remembered the look Ranger had given her when she had been watching Cadeon tattoo one of the guys.

“Anyway, I am a firm believer in following your heart.”

That had her lifting a brow and chuckling humorlessly.

He set down his half-eaten sandwich and placed his hands on the counter. “What? You don’t think I’m capable of loving someone?”

“No, I think you are, but I just never saw you as the romantic type.”

He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I almost married a girl once, but my dumb ass didn’t think I could have an old lady and be in the MC life. So all I did instead was fuck a bunch of bitches who didn’t want anything more than that. Dumbest move of my life, and I regret it every day.”

Stella didn’t know what to say in response, so she just kept her mouth shut.

“But I’ll tell you what, your old man knows what love is. He had one of those once-in-a-lifetime things with your mom.” He walked over to her and wrapped his beefy arms around her in a hug. Booshie had been in her life since she was a little girl, and never had she seen this side of him before. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Things always have a way of working out.”

She really hoped so.13Cadeon and Scars had moved to the side of the house. There weren’t any homes on this part of the property, so they had a thick patch of forest taking up their view. Scars was pacing, but Cadeon didn’t say anything.

If this was about to get violent, then no amount of words was going to calm Scars down and make him see that Stella could make up her own mind when it came to men.

“Why would you do this behind my back?” Scars stopped pacing and faced Cadeon. His voice was low, calm even, but there was definitely a warning.

“That wasn’t my intention.” Cadeon kept his voice low as well.

“You come to my club, are welcomed with open arms, and you fuck up on the most important rule I have.” Scars didn’t say anything for several seconds. “Don’t touch my daughter. Anyone associated with the club knows that, and you did good this whole time.” He ground his teeth. “That’s my little girl in there, and she deserves better than men like us.” Scars took a step forward. “Men who have hurt people without regret.”

Cadeon couldn’t deny what Scars said. He had done a lot of shit when he was younger, but he had since cleaned up his act. Still, being associated with the club meant they looked up backgrounds and found out shit that was meant to stay buried. “I love your daughter, Scars.”

Before Cadeon could even prepare himself, Scars threw his arm forward and connected his fist with his jaw. His head cocked to the side, and the tangy flavor of blood filled his mouth. He leaned to the side and spit a mouthful out.

“Fine, I deserved that, but I still love your daughter and am not going to walk away.”

“You tell her about all the women you fuck on a weekly basis?”

Cadeon clenched his teeth together. “That is in the past. Just because I’ve fucked a lot of women doesn’t mean I am incapable of loving Stella.”

“No?” Scars crossed his arms over his chest. “And how do you see your life going? You think you can still fuck those whores while you profess your love to my daughter?”

“I have no desire to be with anyone else, and I sure as hell didn’t want to start shit with the club. She is happy, and I intend to do everything in my power to make her stay that way and protect her.”

Scars stayed silent for a few seconds, but his expression was unreadable. “And what if some asshole comes sniffing around her, what then?”

Cadeon tightened his hands into fists. “Then I’ll make it known she is mine. And by making it known, I mean I’ll bust fucking skulls in and make sure there is a lot of blood spilled.”

Scars grunted and narrowed his eyes on Cadeon. “Fuck.” He scrubbed a hand over his head and looked away. “I should kill you for going against a club rule, you know that.” It wasn’t a question. Scars turned around again, and although there was still anger in his face, there was also part of that hard exterior he always wore that was now cracked slightly.

“I’m not going to hurt her, Scars.”

The other man stepped forward and growled low in his throat. That sound seemed suited to some kind of feral animal. “Yeah, you won’t, because if you make her cry one tear, you better believe me and my boys will be coming after your ass.” He eyed Cadeon up and down once. “And you don’t want to know what we will do. Trust me when I say the Vicious Bastards know how to hide a body in the Rocky Mountains.”