Stone (Knights Corruption MC Series Book 2) (13 page)

And I almost did.

But then I remembered the look on poor Robby’s face when Stone had threatened him, and I couldn’t let it go. I grabbed the strong arm holding me captive and finally pried it loose, taking a step away before turning around to face him.

“I don’t have anything else to say to you. You need to leave me alone.” My voice trembled and I knew he’d heard it.
Damnit!
We stood there staring at each other for what seemed like forever.

Lost in the battle between reasoning and the overwhelming emotions of my heart, I was pulled back into the situation when a lock of his hair fell forward over his eye. A quick flick of his hand and he shoved the strands back in irritation. For some reason, I became lost in the sight of him, which was the last thing I wanted to do.

But there was no arguing that he was quite the specimen, and I allowed myself to take him all in and commit him to memory, because that was where he was going to reside.

His loose, dark-washed jeans hung off his narrow hips in the sexiest way, his muscular thighs hiding just underneath the material. He wore a black fitted, long-sleeved Harley T-shirt underneath his leather cut, his dark boots finishing off his casual yet intimidating outfit. Or maybe that was just him.
He
was intimidating.

“Then why are you lookin’ at me like you wanna fuck my brains out?” he growled, taking a daring step closer.

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not,” I all but whispered. Our back and forth wasn’t getting us anywhere, and I decided right then I needed to block him out. Darkness surrounded me for a few seconds, my eyes closed while I tried to gain my bearings. When I finally opened them, my gaze connected with his once more. “Leave.”

Giving me a once-over, he huffed, squared his shoulders, and pronounced, “This isn’t finished.”

He disappeared out the front door before I even had a chance to respond.

Stone

For someone who barely visited the clubhouse, Addy was becoming quite the fixture lately. I didn’t know if she was doing it to torment me, or if she consistently had a legitimate reason for hanging around.

Not being able to touch her was slowly driving me insane, and I only prayed she felt the same way, although the last time I saw her she made it perfectly clear she didn’t want to have anything to do with me. Well, that was what she’d tried to portray with her words anyway, but the look in her eyes told a different story. Or was I just reading too much into the uncertainty I’d seen behind her beautiful blues?

Trigger was in his usual spot behind the bar, dispensing drinks to whoever was hanging out. The woman who had me all twisted up inside was sitting on one of the stools, leaning forward and engaging her uncle in conversation. Her laughter rang out and drifted through the air, a sweet melody which tortured me, simply because it’d been weeks since she’d laughed like that with me. Fearing I was never going to hear it again, I stalked toward her, hell-bent on making her end this stupid charade and give me another chance. I couldn’t promise that I would be able to fully control my anger, but I would do my best. But only in those situations which didn’t call for me to knock someone out.

Figuring out how to act nonchalant, I strode up next to her and straddled the empty seat to her right. As soon as she sensed I was near, her body instantly stiffened, and although it wasn’t the reaction I wanted . . . it was something. If she didn’t care at all, she would have blown me off completely, comfortable enough to either ignore me or breezily acknowledge my presence, much like with any other member. But the fact I could unnerve her in the slightest was indeed a good thing. It meant I still affected her.

I acknowledged Trigger with a quick nod before directing my attention to his niece. “Addy,” I greeted. “How are ya?” I tapped the bar before allowing her to answer, desperately needing the smooth courage of liquor before she either ignored me further or actually chose to speak to me, for however long. Trigger gave me the stink eye before pouring me a shot of whiskey. It was early, barely two in the afternoon, but seeing her just two days after I’d rushed over to Marek’s house pushed me toward the drink in order to rein in my . . . FUCK! I didn’t even know what I was feeling right then.

Excited?

Pissed?

Confused?

Whatever it was, the burn of the alcohol helped to simmer it to a tolerable level.

“Fine,” she curtly answered. “And you?” Her tone was as if she were talking to someone she barely knew and was merely trying to be polite. If her uncle wasn’t standing five feet away, I would have dragged her back to my room and demanded she end this craziness.

But he was.

So I didn’t have a choice but to remain calm.

“Why ya here?” I tapped the bar again, glancing at Trigger for another shot.

“I had to ask my uncle something.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

All of a sudden, Trigger leaned forward and placed his hands on the bar, doing his best to intimidate me. What he didn’t get was that, while these other guys might be scared of him, I wasn’t. The only reason I didn’t tell him I’d been sleeping with his niece was because I knew it would hurt Addy, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. Although, I guessed I’d failed in that regard anyway, seeing as how she ended things between us.

“That’s our business,” her uncle rumbled, irritation contorting his features. His displeasure for me grew daily, and even though Addy and I both denied any involvement with each other, the man wasn’t stupid. He just didn’t have any proof of our relationship. Not yet, at least. He’d certainly lose his mind if he knew I’d fucked his niece so good she hadn’t been able to walk right the next day.

Suddenly bombarded with images of a naked Addy, I smirked to myself, probably looking like a cocky sonofabitch, but ask me if I cared.

Holding up my hands in surrender, I said, “Sorry, just tryin’ to chitchat.”

“Don’t you have to go scope out talent for the new club we got openin’ next month?” he blurted, flinging a wet bar towel over his shoulder.

Addy’s posture locked tightly in place, no doubt from what Trigger had just asked me. If she wasn’t gonna give me what I wanted, which was her, then the only thing left to do at that point was to have a little fun. Gauge how much she still cared about me, about what I did.

“I was just on my way there when I saw your lovely niece and wanted to exchange pleasantries.” I smiled, and he knew I was up to something.

“I’m not gonna warn you again, Stone. Proceed carefully or else.”

One of these days, I’m gonna call his bluff for sure. But not today.

“You guys are opening up another one of
those
clubs?” she asked, a grimace plastered on her lovely face while she continued to look forward, ignoring me.

“Yup. Nothin’ better than pussy on tap. Right, Trigger?” I laughed, but the man wasn’t amused. Not in the least. I didn’t know if it was because I was being so crass around Addy, or if he just couldn’t stand me anymore. Shaking his head in annoyance, he walked toward the kitchen, thankfully leaving the two of us alone. I knew he was gonna be back soon, so if I wanted to provoke some kind of reaction from her, I had to do it quickly. I knew it was immature and childish, but she left me with no other choice. Asking her to talk to me, and being all nice about it, hadn’t worked, so I was left with only one option.

“You should come by and check it out when it’s up and runnin’. I think you’d like it.” Taking a risk, I ran my finger up and down her arm, a gesture which made her flinch.

“I don’t think so,” she balked, jerking her arm away. “But hey, if used-up twats is now your thing, have at it.” Shit! My game was backfiring, and fast. I wanted her to rant and rave, dare to forbid me from going there, but she only gave her snarled permission of sorts.

“Twats need lovin’ too,” I mocked.

“You’re a pig,” she sneered, pulling further away from me when I tried to touch her again.

Before I could respond, continue my banter with her, Hawke came up behind the two of us and threw his arms over each of our shoulders. “Whatcha talkin’ about?” he shouted, the smell of alcohol on his breath rather potent.

Shrugging him off, I scowled until he backed up, but calmed my expression quickly enough because I was going to use him to my advantage. “I was just tellin’ Addy she should come by the new club when it’s open.”

“Fuck yeah, you should. In fact, if you want a job, Adelaide, I’m sure we can find a spot for you.” Funny thing was, Hawke was being serious, and it was right then I wanted to punch his teeth down his goddamn throat.

Whipping around on her stool, she lurched forward and angrily shoved her finger into his chest. “Are you callin’ me a whore?” she shouted, drawing the attention of her uncle, who happened to be coming out of the kitchen right then. But he didn’t need to come to his niece’s defense. I was already all over it.

Quickly standing, I gripped him up by his cut and shoved him back. Hard. “Watch you’re fuckin’ mouth,
brother
,” I warned. Rising to my full height, I braced myself to kick his ass if he said one more wrong thing.

“What?” he asked, completely confused by mine and Addy’s outrage. “I just meant that she’s hot and would bring in a lot of customers.”

Clenching my teeth, I stepped closer, my fists ready to pay a visit to his face. He saw my angry expression and tried to better explain himself. “What I meant to say is that Adelaide is a classy-lookin’ woman, that she would be the highlight of the night. Ya know? All the men would want to watch her. She’d be good for business. That’s all I’m sayin’,” he offered, backing up a few more paces when he eyed first me then Trigger, who’d incidentally come around the bar and was standing right next to me. The only time we would agree on anything was when it involved defending Addy.

“You better get the fuck outta here, Hawke, before I knock you into the middle of next week,” Trigger cautioned, clenching his fists at his sides.

“What the fuck?” Hawke mumbled before walking away, shaking his head the entire time in utter confusion.

“Sorry about that,” I apologized, sitting down next to her again.

“He’s an ass,” she chided. “Even though I don’t think he meant it as badly as I took it.”

“He still shouldn’t have said it.” A silent minute passed, the back and forth between us abruptly ending. Hawke’s interruption only intensified the tension, giving us both time to gather our wits and decide what the next move was going to be.

Drumming my fingers on the bar, I desperately tried to think of something to say which would turn it around for us, but I came up empty. Finally, I decided it was time to go, even though it killed me I’d be leaving her.

“Trigger, if Marek is lookin’ for me, let him know I’m at Flings.” Standing back up, I was half turned away from her when her voice stopped me.

“You’re really going to look at a bunch of naked women right now?” She had whispered her question but I’d heard her loud and clear.

There were so many ways I could play this, but for some reason I decided against it. I went with the truth.

“Yeah, club—”

“Business,” she finished. “Yeah, I know.” Irritated, she turned in her seat and looked up at me with sad eyes. Had we still been doing our thing, I would have passed off the job to a few of the other brothers, not wanting to witness the hurt on her face. But she’d ended things, so she had no right to make me feel any sort of way toward something I normally wouldn’t think twice about.

I glanced around, making sure Trigger wasn’t within hearing distance before leaning close and asking, “What do you want from me, Addy? Huh? Because you’re confusing me right now. You don’t want to be with me, but you’re actin’ all hurt because I gotta go deal with business.”

Frustration poured off her in waves, a feeling I was quite familiar with as of late. Her mouth remained closed, her eyes pleading, but I was clueless as to what she wanted. She said one thing then did another. She’d tossed me aside, yet there she was, sitting inside my clubhouse, distressing me with her mere presence.

Just when I thought she was gonna let it go, her voice broke the silence. “I don’t know, all right?” Flicking her hair over her shoulder, she steeled whatever reserve she had left and said, “Just go,” before rising from her stool and adjusting her dress, her head down the entire time. “Do whatever you want.” Defeat coated her words, and if I wasn’t so hell-bent on teaching her a lesson, I would have grabbed her and demanded she take me back. But would I be content with continuing to keep us a secret? I knew I wanted her, more than anything, but I wanted us to be out in the open. And if I knew anything, I realized the stubborn woman standing in front of me wasn’t there yet.