Walk the Line (Kings of Chaos 5)

He shakes his head. “Exactly. Girl, not Old Lady. She’s not even willing to fully commit to you, yet you clip your wings over her?”

Is this show how I used to be? Completely oblivious to how my words affected the other person. “That’s my business, ain’t it?”

“I spent the past ten years looking out for you. I’m not going to stop now. You’re grounded here for a time, but that’s no big deal. Continuing with this woman when you don’t know where you stand with her would be. I’ve seen women break men stronger than you. I’m talking solid dudes who’d seen battle, blood, and betrayal brought to their knees by the wrong bitch. That love shit is murder on a person.”

“What’s your problem Warp?” His brown eyes have gone dark with rage, and the vein in his forehead is pulsing. It’s a look that usually proceeds someone getting hurt.

“I been grooming you for years and you threw it away just like that.” Warp snaps his fingers.

“Threw what away?” I ask.

“Your legacy.”

“I know plenty of brothers with women, Warped. You don’t get an Old Lady and forget the code you’ve been living by for years.”

“Yeah, women who know the life, and most of them coupled up ain’t Enforcers. I can guarantee that. That life ain’t for the faint of heart.”

“So Wizard and Nevada are what, a fluke?”

“No, but he’s a lot older than you. Man, she’s already in your head. Look at how you defend her. I’m the one who brought you into the fold, and you’re freezing me out ‘cause I’m trying to talk sense into you.”

“No, you’re attacking me without the facts. What do you know about Blanche?”

“I know she comes from money and has a shady past.”

“Why is her past on her?” I ask, pissed that she’s being blamed for her ex-husband’s behavior.

“Anything that adds more media attention our way is shady,” Warped said.

“You’ve done a lot for me, but this is going too far. If this is a mistake, then let me make it. Don’t come in here guns blazing like I’m committing to some beat down King chaser looking to use me up for all I have. If you gave her a chance you’d like her, and if you think about it, she’s the one who has more to lose.”

“It’s like I don’t even know you anymore. Does the club still come first?”

I slam my fist down on the desk and stand. “You come in here questioning my loyalty without any sort of reason other than the woman I’m seeing, and you think I’m the one with the problem? You’re way out of line. If you were anyone else, I’d have laid your ass out right now. But you’re my Sponsor and the closest thing I have to real family. So this one time, I’m going to let it slide. If you don’t like my woman, that’s on you, but I don’t want to hear about it. Keep it to yourself. I don’t know what struck a chord with you and I don’t care. For the past ten years, I ate, slept, and breathed this club. Having an Old Lady, which I will when we’re both ready, isn’t going to change my dedication.”

“You’ll see, man. She’ll chew up, spit you out, and twist you into knots. You’ll lose your mojo and fall hard. When you do. You’ll see I was right along. You’re practically my kid. I’d never steer your wrong. I was in this situation. She was a pretty girl from the right side of the tracks, who had a taste for bad boys. It was hot, fast, and insane. Then it was over, and I was left looking like a fool. It did my head in man. I was a wreck. It’s the reason I went Nomad in the first place. I don’t want to see you like that.”

‘I’m willing to risk it for Blanche. Once you meet her, you’ll see.”

“For your sake, brother. I hope you’re right.” He turns on his heels, and I plop into the seat.

I’ve never had it out like that with Warp. I look up to the guy. Now he’s disgusted and expecting the worse. It… It hurts. I rub my chest. He’s been my only constant for so long. What happens if he turns his back on me, and Blanche never commits? What if I’m unable to convince her we’re forever? My demons crawl their way from the bowels of my mind and began to wreak havoc. No one ever wanted you permanently why would B? She’s rich, beautiful, and on her way to reestablishing her career. What can you do for her? I’m a child again, wondering about my future. Scars run deep for everyone, no matter who you are. All the things I’ve done, people I’ve saved, and jobs I’ve taken to protect the club can’t erase the way I grew up or the issues it caused that I haven’t dealt with until now. Ignorance isn’t bliss. It’s a ticking time bomb waiting to detonate.

***

Warp’s words play in my head on a loop as I finish up work. My head is full of memories swimming too close to the surface. I drive the highways until the need to see B becomes too great. I have to clear this up, or it’ll eat me alive. I’m in a fog as I park and make my way up to the condo I’ve come to think of as our home. I unlock the door and step in to find her seated at the table pouring over her welcome packet. For a second I feel guilty for what I’m about to do. I shove the emotion aside and lock it down. She looks up at me and smiles.

“Hey, babe.”

Dressed in one of my old Kings of Chaos t-shirt, with a curly bun on top of her hair she’s a beautiful sight after a long stressful day.

I stalk toward her, a man on a mission. I want to forget, and she’s my designated spot of oblivion. She sets her work aside and sits up on the couch. Her eyes darken with desire and her lids go to half-mast. She licks her lips and presses her thighs together. The fire between us ignites. I wrap my hand around her throat, and she tilts her head back. The ultimate act of surrender gets me hard every time. I slant my lips over hers, tasting and claiming. She moans, and I increase the pressure as I pinch her nipples through the t-shirt. She cries out, and I tug. I move from one to the other.

I trail kisses from her lips to her neck, sucking and nibbling. I slip a hand under the t-shirt and skim my knuckles over her underwear back and forth until she soaks through. The smell of her arousal is a perfume, sweet an alluring. I push her underwear aside and thrust two fingers inside her slick core. She groans and tenses around me. I drive two fingers into her, fast and hard. She meets me stroke for stroke, riding my hand. Her breathing speeds, and her walls quiver. I watch her face, getting high off the power she lets me wield over her. I curve my fingers, and she comes, with my name on her lips.

I pull her panties down her legs and stand to unbuckle my belt and shove down my jeans and boxers. I’m palming my cock and driving inside her before she can fully recover. She wraps her legs around me, digging her heels into my back as she rolls her hips. I cup her ass as I drive deeper. I want to disappear in our passion and lose myself in the slick walls clinging to me like a lifeline. She matches me with her need, digging her nails into my flesh as she contracts and releases. Sweat beads on my forehead and trails down my back. I pull out, throw her legs over my arm and thrust back. The new angle makes us both cry out. We topple over the edge together, and I rest my face against her breast.

She cups the back of my head as our heart beats settle.