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I passed the warm rag gently to her and she winced, but I didn’t say anything. I finished cleaning her up before I went into the bathroom and cleaned myself. By the time I got back to the room, Delilah was already drifting off to sleep.
I kissed her and she opened her eyes groggily.
“Come lie up here with me.”
She groaned, but she shifted her position, and I covered us. My arm was around her as her head rested on my shoulder, her hand on my chest. One leg was bent over my thigh. It seemed that I preferred a naked Delilah sleeping next to me to one wearing boy shorts.
It wasn’t long before Delilah’s breathing had evened out, her body completely relaxed in my arms. Though she looked peaceful, my mind was anything but.
As I held her, I recalled every moment we’d shared, from the time she walked into that interview about two months ago till now.
Delilah had carried a burden that would’ve crushed most women a long time ago. Yet, she came to work, did what was required of her, worked overtime, smiled and laughed with colleagues, endured my bullshit and remained silent. She didn’t seek help, didn’t ask anyone to listen to her problems, she just endured.
It infuriated me. Until me, she had no one to rely on, no one in her corner to fight her battles for her, now that Dean was hiding in rehab, although that son of a bitch was the cause of her problems in the first place.
I should’ve known something was wrong when I saw where she lived. And when I hadn’t gotten onto Dean, I should’ve dug deeper. But, with everything going on at the club, I had pushed that on the back burner, ignoring my gut instinct. I’d never let a feeling like that about Delilah slide again. Ever!
I tightened my grip on her and she snuggled closer in my arms. She needed me to protect her. Earlier, when she heard the sound of Hawthorne’s voice, I saw the fear in her eyes, and how she hid behind me and gripped my shirt made something inside me snap, awakening my beast.
My beast had lain dormant for over fifteen years. He first emerged when I was fifteen after my parents passed away. Without them, I felt lost and angry. I started drinking, smoking and skipping school, pushing my brothers away in the process because I didn’t think they understood me.
But Eso and his boys showed up, bridged the gap, and they became my family. Eventually, I dropped out of school, became reckless, irrational and impulsive. Eso and I painted thetown red wherever we went. But my brothers never gave up on me, no matter how hard I fought them. They banded together and reeled me away from the edge of the cliff I was standing on. But thanks to Hawthorne, The Beast had resurfaced and was sniffing for blood.
What if I hadn't had my boys looking out for Delilah when Hawthorne's goons trashed her apartment? When Rex told me what happened over the phone, I ordered them not to lose her. When I heard she had pulled into the parking lot at work, I was relieved. But would she have just slept at the office that night and disappeared the next day? Or would she have slept there and then just gotten a motel room and pretended that everything was okay?
Delilah was mine to protect now.
Unbeknownst to her, assigned plainclothes security detail were always following her. If Hawthorne thought he had any chance of getting her back, he was in for a rude awakening.
I drifted off to sleep knowing that tonight, I claimed Delilah’s virginity, and in a few weeks, I’ll claim her body legally. Now that I had her here in my house, under my protection and control, there was no way I was allowing her to leave.
She was mine.
***
The next morning, when I opened my eyes, Delilah wasn’t next to me. After imagining waking up to her in my arms so many times, I was disappointed she wasn’t here. A brief moment of frustration surged through me when my cock jerked at the thought of Delilah. After last night, morning sex would’ve been the perfect way to start my Sunday morning.
Sighing, I swung my legs over the side of the bed. My clothes were folded neatly on the armchair next to it. I slid on my boxers, used the bathroom and went to find my fiancée.
It was only ten a.m. and I'd figured after all the champagne she drank last night that she hadn’t been up long, and would be in the kitchen. Instead of finding her, I found a full pot of coffee waiting for me. I poured myself a cup and leaned against the kitchen counter as I sipped the hot beverage.
After finishing the coffee, I washed the cup, returned to Delilah’s room to grab the rest of my things, and then made my way to my room. After washing my hair and masturbating to the images of Delilah moaning my name last night, I took a long cold shower to finish clearing my thoughts.
After drying off, I pulled on a pair of boxers, a sleeveless T-shirt and a pair of shorts. I quickly dried most of the water from my hair and headed to the back porch.
Delilah was sitting on the step, her head against the banister, her eyes were distant, glazed over, and her lips pressed in a thin line. I stood there looking at her for a few minutes before sitting beside her. At first, she didn’t notice me, so I touched her shoulder. The way she jumped out of her skin told me that she was worried about something.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Tell me what’s bothering you.”
“Nothing,” she answered quickly.
My tone hardened. “Delilah, the look on your face and your reaction tells me you’re not okay. What is it?”
She shook her head. “Look, really, it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
I wasn’t buying it. Not for a second. This was a woman who was running for her life and mentioned it to no one until she couldn’t hide it anymore. Whether she liked it or not, she was going to tell me what the hell the problem was.
“Did Hawthorne or any of his boys contact you?” I asked, my voice tense as my eyes narrowed.