Phantom (Devil's Boneyard MC 10), page 12
As badly as I wanted her to know how I felt, I couldn’t say the words. Not yet. Instead, I’d show her and hope she understood. I shrugged off my cut and set it on the dresser before grabbing the neck of my shirt and pulling it off. I tossed it aside and Charisma’s eyes flared as she licked her lips. She reached out, running her fingers over my chest and down my abs. It seemed to be her favorite thing to do. She took the same path each time, her touch light and reverent.
“I think we need a distraction for a little while. What about you?” I asked.
“Yes. Make me forget, even if it’s just for now.”
I kissed her, slow and deep. “We aren’t going to forget, beautiful. Just put it on the back burner for an hour or so. It’s been too long since I got to touch you.”
“You made me scream your name so much last night I thought I’d lose my voice,” she said as she took off her property cut. She placed it with mine on the dresser, and I liked the sight of the two of them together. It reminded me of how damn lucky I was. “It hasn’t been all that long ago.”
“That was a different day. I haven’t yet held your naked body against mine today. I need you, Charisma. Want you more than my next breath. You make me feel so many things. Having you here, not just in my home or my bed, but here…” I patted my chest over my heart. “It’s been the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced.”
“You say the sweetest things.”
“Only the truth.”
Her eyes went soft, and she kissed me again as she pressed herself against me. I felt her nipples harden through her shirt and knew she was telling me in her own way that she felt the same. I worked her shirt up her body, breaking the kiss long enough to divest her of the garment. My lips were back on hers as I reached behind her to unclasp her bra and let it slide down her arms to the floor.
Backing her toward the bed, I toppled her to the mattress before latching onto a nipple, sucking it hard. Her fingers wrapped around the back of my head, and she arched her back, offering herself to me. I’d take everything she wanted to give, and demand even more. I wanted to push her boundaries, watch as she blossomed and became the woman she’d always been intended to be. I’d set her free from Heather, but she hadn’t yet realized I’d shackled her again. She wasn’t my prisoner. If anything, I was hers. But she did belong to me. All of her. One day she’d be healed enough for all the things I wanted to do to her. With her.
I trailed kisses down her stomach and when I reached her jeans, I unfastened them and tugged them down her legs. I had to stop long enough to remove her shoes and socks, then yanked the jeans off and tossed them aside. Her panties went next, until she was bare. I kicked off my boots and finished undressing. By the time I was done, she’d scooted farther back in the bed and already waited with her thighs parted.
If she thought I was going to fall on her like a ravenous wolf… well, she’d be right. Except I wasn’t going for the main prize. I’d made it a challenge of sorts, one only I knew about. She had to come at least three times before I gave us both what we wanted. Sometimes I pushed her to four or even five orgasms. She’d begged me one night, claiming she couldn’t come again. I’d proven her wrong twice more.
I ran my hands up her legs and knelt next to the bed. Yanking her ass to the edge of the mattress, I smiled when she let out a squeal and flailed her arms. The glower she gave me was cute as fuck. Before she had a chance to lay into me for startling her, I bent down and blew on her pussy. She sucked in a breath and went completely still. Yeah, she knew what was coming. If she could hear me, this would be the part where I told her she was my favorite meal.
Dragging my tongue along the seam of her pussy, I pushed her thighs farther apart, giving me more room to work. Spreading her pussy open, I plunged my tongue inside her before using it to circle her clit. Her muscles tensed under my hands as she fought her desire to come. After the one and only time I’d gloated a bit for making her come on my tongue after a similar move, she’d done her damnedest to hold back. I knew I could play her body and make her beg and scream. She knew it too. For some reason, she seemed to think it was a bad thing that she reacted so strongly to everything we did in the bedroom. Making her come was my favorite thing to do.
“That’s it, pretty girl. Make me work for it. Only makes it that much sweeter when you give in,” I murmured to myself, knowing she couldn’t hear me. I circled her clit again before flicking my tongue across the hard bud. She jerked and made a strangled sound.
I blew on her clit before sucking it into my mouth. Her thighs trembled and I noticed she’d started gripping the bedding. She didn’t have to use words for me to know she was close. Releasing one of her legs, I slipped two of my fingers inside her, curling them slightly as I used shallow thrusts. I worked her clit with my tongue and within seconds she was soaking both me and the bed. She came so hard she squirted, and I lapped up all her cream.
I could hear her panting and rose over her, only to flip us. She sprawled across my chest before she sat up and straddled me. I tapped her hip and she lifted only to lower herself on my cock. “Not what I meant.”
She wrinkled her nose at me as she lifted herself only to take me a little farther into her on the next downstroke. The fact I’d only made her come once made me feel like I hadn’t done my job right. Taking care of her meant pleasing her too. Charisma rode me, her movements slow but steady. Until I reached between us and rubbed her clit. Her hips jerked and soon she rose and fell on my cock fast and hard. She rode me, her pussy clenching my shaft. Charisma tossed her head back, and I watched her breasts bounce as she took what she needed.
I worked her clit, feeling my own climax rising. When she came, I knew I couldn’t hold back. I flipped us again, driving into her. Gripping her hip, I held her still as I thrust into her over and over. My balls drew up and my cock twitched inside her. I didn’t even have enough time to draw enough breath before I was coming, filling her up with my hot cum. Not for the first time, I wished I could give her a baby. A little boy or two who was half her and half me. Didn’t make me love her any less, knowing that would never happen.
I ravaged her mouth, pouring everything I felt into the kiss. My heart hammered in my chest, and it felt like I’d run a marathon when I rolled to the side and pulled her against my chest. She cuddled against me, and I breathed in her sweet scent. Running my hand up and down her back, I thought about what the future held for us. I loved Nova, Jian, and Li, but it wouldn’t be long before Li was off living his own life. Jian would only be a few years behind him, then little Nova would leave our nest. I wasn’t ready for any of that. I wanted to hold onto them forever. Realistically, I knew I couldn’t.
I leaned up on my elbow and traced Charisma’s eyebrows, marveling at how beautiful she was. A lot of people wouldn’t think so, but her scars and imperfections made her unique, and proved she was a fighter. Maybe not in the same way as Jordan. I had a hard time picturing my woman going after someone with a bat or taking them down with a well-placed punch. No, her strength was a quieter sort. More like Grey and Clarity. Although, Clarity had become a force of nature over the years.
I wondered if Charisma would be like that one day. It seemed all our old ladies became bolder, more outgoing, and overall badasses the longer they were here. Except Jordan. She’d been that way from the beginning, which was why Havoc had wanted her. They were very well matched.
“I want to enclose the attic and add two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.” She blinked at me, and I realized I’d tossed that at her out of the blue. I needed to back up a bit since I’d clearly lost her. “The kids will be grown and gone before we know it. With Shade digging more into Heather’s life and finances, I’m thinking we might get a lead on some of the kids. I want to adopt another one or two, if you’re all right with that?”
“Yes! Yes, I want more children. Are you sure you don’t care they aren’t ours by blood?”
“Blood doesn’t make someone family. All right, technically it does in a strictly biological sense, but the kids we have now aren’t from my sperm. Doesn’t mean I don’t love them.”
“You really think we’ll find them?”
“Not all of them. It may honestly be too late for a lot of them. But I’m hopeful we’ll find a few, or maybe stumble across some just by tracking her finances to possible pedophiles she brokered adoptions for. There’s no guarantee.”
“How soon can we start?” she asked.
“Tomorrow. They already added some flooring so they could store some of my stuff up there. There’s enough space to section off part of the attic for storage and make rooms out of the rest. The house has more square footage than you probably realize.”
“What if we find the kids before we get it done?” Her brow furrowed and I reached over to smooth out the frown lines between her eyes.
“We’ll make it work. Whatever it takes.”
My phone started chirping where I’d left it in my pants pocket, and I knew I had incoming texts. I rolled away from Charisma and got out of bed long enough to retrieve the damn thing so I could shut it up. Until I saw it wasn’t from anyone in my club. It was from Wire. And as I read the words, my gut tightened.
Does your woman know she’s the daughter of a biker? Or more specifically a Reckless King?
I looked over at Charisma and wondered if I was about to lose her. She’d thought she was alone. She wasn’t. Not even fucking close. And her daddy might very well be pissed enough to try and drag her out of here.
I ran my hand up her calf and gave it a slight shake, getting her attention. I couldn’t even attempt to sign. My hands were too damn shaky.
“You knew your dad was a biker. You mentioned only knowing his road name.”
She nodded. “Yes. Mom said he was called Drifter.”
Motherfucking fuck. “Wire found your dad.”
She bolted upright in the bed. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed hard. The Reckless Kings had been allies to us on more than one occasion, and we’d worked together in the past to help the Dixie Reapers. At one time, I wouldn’t have thought anything of Charisma being one of their kids. Now that they’d started settling down and starting families, I couldn’t help but worry Drifter wouldn’t want to let her go once he came to meet her. “Do you want me to call him?”
She touched her ears and paled a little. I tossed the phone onto the bed and crawled back in next to her, wrapping her in my arms. No matter how many times I told her the scars didn’t make her ugly, they still bothered her. And meeting her father for the first time? Yeah, my woman was going to be self-conscious.
“I think we need to talk to him, Charisma. He has a right to know about you. The Reckless Kings are nice guys. That’s the club he belongs to, up in Tennessee.”
“How did my mom meet him if he’s from there?” she asked.
I brushed her nose with mine before leaning back a little. “You said his name is Drifter. I think that answers your question. I imagine he got the name because he didn’t like sitting in one place for long.”
“Tomorrow. I can’t…” She bit her lip. “Not tonight. Please.”
“All right. We’ll call him tomorrow. I’ll let Wire know so he doesn’t run his mouth to the Reckless Kings before we’re ready.”
I reached for my phone and cursed before I got a chance to respond because Wire had sent another message, and this one wouldn’t be good news to my wife. She was about to lose her shit.
He’s on his way. Never knew about Charisma. He’s pissed as fuck and not too happy with you either. Already alerted Charming.
“Worse than a fucking old woman gossiping during bingo. I swear to Christ, someone is going to end up kicking Wire’s ass one of these days.” I sighed and looked at Charisma who had paled again. “Sorry, beautiful. Your dad is already on his way here. Looks like you’re meeting him whether you’re ready or not.”
“How long?” she asked.
“Maybe six hours. Have a feeling it will be less.”
I held her as all the tension we’d just released built right back up. Her muscles tightened, she started shaking, and I felt her tears against my skin. Yeah. Someone was going to kick Wire’s ass all right. And it was going to be me the next time I saw him.
Meddlesome fucking bastard.
Chapter Eight
Charisma
I’d thought I’d pretend to be asleep when Drifter arrived at the compound. I hadn’t realized I wouldn’t have to fake it. Exhaustion had pulled at me within an hour of eating dinner with my family. Phantom had been called away again for Church and had tried to send me back to Havoc’s house, but I refused. I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a while. Which was exactly what I did.
When I next opened my eyes, sunlight streamed through the windows. Phantom wasn’t in bed with me, and it looked like he hadn’t been here at all. Worry ate at me. Had something gone wrong? Or had it gone right, and he wasn’t here because he’d found Mason?
I got out of bed and went to the bathroom then made my way to the kitchen. I screeched and jumped when I realized Phantom was sitting at the table with another man. Not being able to hear, with the bed being empty, I’d assumed he wasn’t home. The kids had stayed the night at Jordan and Havoc’s house, which meant I’d been alone. Or so I’d assumed. I placed a hand over my racing heart and tried to calm down.
Phantom held out a hand to me and I went to him, refusing to look at the other man. I’d seen the top of his cut and made out Reckless, which meant this was likely my father. As often as I’d wished I could meet him when I’d been growing up, I’d been through too much now to be so eager. For one, not knowing who he was before had meant I’d been dumped into a living hell. It had brought me to Phantom and given me two amazing sons and a precious daughter. For that I was grateful. It still made me angry that maybe someone would have taken up for me before I ever met Phantom if only Drifter hadn’t ditched my mom before I’d been born.
Phantom cupped my cheek. “He came a long way to meet you, Charisma. Aren’t you going to at least say hi?”
I stared at him, not wanting to do as he asked. So instead, I asked the other question I’d always wanted to know. I looked at the man who’d unwillingly been my sperm donor and tried not to flinch at how much we looked alike. Even if his cut hadn’t had Drifter on it, and Phantom hadn’t told me who he was, I’d have still known. I saw those eyes every morning when I looked in the mirror, and they were the same as little Nova’s.
“Why didn’t you want me?” I asked.
He winced and I glanced at Phantom. Was it my words or my volume? Phantom laced our fingers together and nodded at my dad. I turned to face him again and waited for his answer.
“Your husband says you can’t hear.”
I moved my hair back from my ears so he could see the damage. “My foster mother poured acid on me. One of her friends slammed my head into a wall enough times I lost my hearing permanently. If I’m shouting, I can’t tell. I didn’t speak until I met Phantom. It made me uncomfortable.”
Drifter seemed to age before my very eyes and his shoulders slumped. When he spoke next, he signed as he talked. “I’m sorry, Charisma. So fucking sorry.”
I damn near cried. I’d never anticipated my father would know sign language.
“It’s not enough. I was raped. No one believed me. They blamed me for what happened, saying I’d asked for it, then changed my mind after the fact. My foster mother liked to prey on little boys and had been eager to get her hands on my son. Except he died before he was born. I don’t know what happened to his body.
“I did whatever I could to keep the other boys in the house safe. Even if it meant letting Heather’s friends torture me. I’d take a night of pain to give those boys a reprieve. It never lasted, but it was worth it. Even one night of not being groped or forced to do something they didn’t want was better than never having any sort of peace at all.”
The corner of Drifter’s mouth lifted slightly. “Your husband is right. You’re strong and a fighter. A biker’s wife and daughter through and through.”
I straightened my back. “What?”
“I’m proud of you.” Drifter stood and came closer. I realized he towered over me and would even be several inches taller than Phantom. He engulfed me in a hug before I had a chance to back up. I tensed up, not wanting to forgive him, but… I’d longed for my dad to hug me all my life. Now that he was, it didn’t take long for me to give in. I hugged him back.
Drifter released me. “I wish I could have been there for you. Your mother… I’d thought it was just a bit of fun. Assumed we were on the same page. When she started talking about babies, I made it clear I didn’t want kids.”
I couldn’t stop myself from flinching that time. He reached out and tugged on a lock of my hair. The way he watched me, devoured me with his gaze, I realized he meant every word he’d said. He truly did regret not being there for me. Maybe he hadn’t been ready to be a dad back then. He looked to be older than Phantom, but I’d always been terrible at ages. I still didn’t think my husband looked like he was in his fifties. I knew my mom had been young when she had me. She’d be younger than Phantom if she were still alive.
Since he knew sign language, I spoke with not only my voice but my hands too. Phantom was learning but didn’t know enough to keep up if the conversation didn’t include spoken words.
“Did you know she was pregnant?” She’d made it seem like he did. Had she lied to me all these years? It would have been out of character for her, unless she’d been attempting to stop me from chasing after every man I saw in a cut. Which I’d admittedly done from the age of five until I’d turned ten. After that, I’d given up on ever meeting my dad.
