Page 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Adelaide

W hen River stepped into the bar room, freshly showered and ready to start another day, my eyes instantly drifted over to him like a magnet. He was dressed in a red and black checkered flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his tattooed forearms. He adjusted his cut as he fully exited the hallway.

God, why was he so damn perfect?

His eyes met mine from across the room, and a slow, sexy smile tilted his lips the slightest bit, making my cheeks flush and a throbbing start in my core.

He had taken me over and over yesterday in the garage, and I had enjoyed every single moment of it. And then, after we’d tugged our clothes back on, he’d sat on the floor of the garage and just held me in the dark silence. Not a word was spoken between us, yet he comforted me more than any other person in my life ever had. Even Joey.

“Adelaide, Tristan is trying to get in touch with you,” Zyla announced as she came out of the kitchen, her phone held in her hand, Tristan’s name on the screen.

“Tell him I said to go fuck himself,” I snapped, knowing very well he would hear me himself.

“Watch yourself, Addy, or I swear when I get back—” Tristan snarled, Zyla obviously having him on speaker.

“You’ll what?” I angrily demanded, snatching a bottle of vodka from under the counter. River’s eyes darkened momentarily at Tristan’s unfinished threat, but he held himself in check, keeping his mouth shut. “Fuck me into submission?” I heatedly asked. “Handcuff me to your fucking bed again?”

“This will hold until I get back,” Tristan sneered.

I twisted the top off the vodka bottle, glaring at the phone in Zyla’s hand, wishing he were in front of me so that I could slap him. “Touch me when you get back,” I dared him, “and I will personally chop off every single one of your fingers.” I moved away from the bar, storming to the clubhouse doors, the bottle of vodka still in my hand.

But even in my anger, I didn’t miss the proud smile on River’s face as I walked out, and it made my chest swell with pride.

“Morning, Adelaide,” Dameon greeted from under the hood of one of the cars in the garage.

“Not now,” I snarled, storming into the office. I didn’t want anyone’s pleasantness. I just wanted to be angry and alone.

“Little early to be drinking, darlin’,” River drawled as he stepped into the office with me, shutting the door behind him.

I snorted before I took a long drink from the bottle. “This is the longest I’ve been fucking sober in a year, River,” I informed him. River stayed silent, that unnerving, blue gaze locked on my face. I frowned down at the bottle in my hand. When he only continued to silently stare at me, I sighed. “He pissed me the fuck off,” I quietly admitted.

“He used to be your entire world, darlin’—him and Joey, that is.” I swallowed thickly, my heart throbbing as I thought of Joey, and a distant ache started in my chest at the thought of everything that used to be between me and Tristan. “You used to never even look in another man’s direction when one of them was around. What changed?”

“I changed, River,” I told him, my voice sad. I turned to look at him. There was no judgment in his eyes, just a tenderness that I was clinging to. I never wanted to lose that tenderness. “I’m not the same young girl that he was in love with four years ago, and I’m certainly not the same woman he loved a year ago. I changed. It was the only way I could survive.”

River quietly locked the office door, striding over to me after checking to make sure the blinds were closed. I tracked every move he made with nervous, uncertain eyes. Anyone could see us, and I didn’t want him to face the end of Tristan’s gun if word got back to Tristan about us.

River gently took the bottle of vodka from my hand, setting it on the desk behind me while I stared at him, my breathing quickening. My heart slammed against my breastbone with every rapid beat.

“What…” I swallowed when he cupped the side of my neck and wrapped an arm around my waist, drawing me against him. “What are you doing?” I breathlessly asked, my heart pounding hard in my chest all while anticipation of his touch curled in my belly.

“One night with you wasn’t enough. It’ll never be enough,” he huskily confessed right before his lips molded against mine.

My mind shut down as I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers plunging into his soft, damp hair, tugging gently on the dark strands. I pressed my body closer to his, needing to feel him against me.

A quiet rumble sounded from his chest as his arms flexed around me. Right as the kiss deepened, a knock sounded on the door, bursting our little bubble. I sucked in a sharp breath, abruptly yanking myself from River’s arms. He cursed softly, clenching his jaw, anger flaring up in the beautiful, blue depths of his eyes. Closing his eyes, he drew in a deep breath, then cupped my face in his hands, soothing his lips over mine. My body instantly relaxed, my anxiety calming.

Oh, God, he was so fucking perfect.

He released me and walked over to the door, quickly unlocking it and swinging it open as I grabbed the bottle of vodka from the table and tipped it back to hopefully calm my body down because fuck , we’d been getting hot and heavy quick. We had almost gotten caught , and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if River got a bullet between his eyes because of me.

“River, we’ve got a problem,” Wren said. “We’re a bar of coke short for the shipment tomorrow.”

“Fucking hell,” River growled, running a hand down his face. “I’ll ride out there. I need you to tail me.”

Wren nodded, walking away. River pointed at me. “You’re with me.”

I rolled my eyes at him. He didn’t have to drag me with him on this ride just because of Tristan’s orders. Someone else could easily babysit me to appease the mother fucking president. “I’m not going to run the fuck away, River.”

He smirked at me, and every nerve ending in my body curled, making me want him just as badly as I had last night. “Oh, I know, darlin’. I just want you on the back of my bike.” My heart tripped in my chest. “Now, bring your cute ass on so we can hit the road. Time’s wasting.”

I was shocked to see Tristan, Jesup, and Tank at the warehouse when we got there, but I hadn’t expected to see Joey there, too. My eyes widened, and I sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of the beautiful man. The moment he spotted me on the back of River’s bike, he moved away from the desk, heading toward us while River parked. River gave my hand a subtle squeeze as he looked at me over his shoulder, understanding in the depths of his mesmerizing eyes. Tears threatened because Tristan would never understand the bond I had with Joey, yet River did. And he wasn’t even jealous.

I slid off the back, taking my helmet off and handing it to River. Then, I dashed forward, jumping on Joey. He caught me easily, his arms wrapping around me as I locked my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.

“Hey, pretty girl,” he whispered as he pressed a tender kiss to my temple. My bottom lip trembled, and I sniffled as tears burned in my eyes. “Easy,” Joey soothed as he ran his hand over my hair, his other arm holding me just a little bit tighter.

“I’ll close the doors to give you guys some privacy. Tristan will understand,” River quietly spoke up as he passed us. I doubted Tristan would actually understand, but I figured River would make him.

I looked at him over Joey’s shoulder. His lips tilted up the slightest bit, and I gave him a watery one in return. He nodded once at me. My heart squeezed in my chest.

“Fuck, pretty girl, I’ve had people searching for you everywhere ,” Joey rasped. I closed my eyes and buried my face in the crook of his neck. “I was so fucking terrified that you were dead somewhere.”

“River took me to the hospital that night,” I quietly told him, my voice muffled by his neck.

Joey took a seat on his bike, keeping me wrapped around him. He gently pulled my head off of his shoulder so he could properly look at me. His eyebrows pulled together in confusion as he brushed a tear off of my cheek that I hadn’t realized had fallen. “What do you mean?”

“I called him,” I confessed. Pain flashed in Joey’s eyes for a moment before he smothered it. I swallowed thickly, my hands trembling on his back. “He asked me to live for him.” Joey’s eyes widened in shock. “So, I did. Vin found me pretty quickly, and he threatened to hurt all of you if I didn’t find a way out of that hospital.” I sniffled. “I wanted to die, Joey, but I lived because River asked me to.”

Joey smiled at me. “Remember that one I told you about?” he softly asked me. I frowned, my heart squeezing painfully in my chest. He reached up and cupped my cheek in his hand, his smile now sad. “It’s time to let me go, pretty girl.”

I shook my head at him, panic clawing at my throat. “I’m not ready,” I choked out.

He brushed the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. “You can still hold me with you,” he promised. A tear slipped down my cheek. “But this thing between us? You need to let it go, pretty girl. You’ve got a good man in there. I saw the way he looked at you. It’s the way he’s looked at you since Tristan took you back to his clubhouse a year ago. He’s the one for you, Adelaide.”

“I can’t lose you,” I pleaded, my voice breaking.

He shook his head at me and cupped my face in his large, calloused hands. My chin wobbled. “I’m forever with you as long as you’ll keep me,” he promised. “But you need to move forward with him.”

A tear ran down my cheek. “Promise?” I asked, hating how wobbly my voice was.

He nodded. Then, he tightened his hands on my face and took my lips in a savage kiss. I burst into tears as I kissed him back, my tears tasting salty on my lips. I sobbed as I gripped his cut in my fists, so much pain spearing through my chest I could barely fucking breathe.

“Keep me with you,” he whispered against my lips. “But be with him, pretty girl. Let him love you.”

“The fuck is she doing here, River?” Tristan angrily demanded as I strode into the clubhouse with Joey.

“Couldn’t leave her at the clubhouse when I’m instructed to be by her side every damn second,” River retorted. “You want me here? She comes, too.”

Joey snorted. “So much for telling Tristan that she was outside with me,” Joey retorted.

River only smirked at him. Joey rolled his eyes, but River’s carefree attitude brought a small smile to my face. River’s eyes caught mine, and his smile widened the slightest bit.

Tristan strode over to me, and my smile dropped. I glared up at him, my hand tightening in Joey’s. Joey drew me a bit closer to him, his body tensing. “Drop the fucking attitude, Addy,” Tristan snapped.

My upper lip curled at him. “Go fuck yourself.”

His eyes flashed with anger. My heart knocked hard in my chest, fear pulsing through my body for a moment. I instinctively stepped closer to Joey. “You’re pushing your fucking luck, Addy baby,” Tristan swore quietly.

He reached out to grab me, but I flinched back, fear spiking in my blood. Joey stepped in front of me at the same time River stepped forward, clearly ready to knock Tristan on his ass. Jesup grabbed River’s shoulder to keep him in place. I stepped back a pace, swallowing hard. “Don’t fucking touch me,” I snarled at Tristan as I fought down the flashback that was threatening to bring me to my knees.

“Fuck off, Joey. This is between me and Adelaide,” Tristan warned him.

“Back the fuck up, Tristan,” Joey growled, his voice cold and threatening. “Pretty girl, go on outside.” His voice was more soothing as he spoke to me, but he didn’t turn to face me, instead keeping his eyes locked on Tristan, the two men staring each other down.

My eyes caught River’s, where he was standing beside the table that the bars of coke were sitting on, rage flashing in his eyes on my behalf. “Leave her be, Grim,” River spoke up.

My eyes snapped back to Tristan’s as he stared at me with hurt eyes before he quickly smothered it and shook his head, turning away from me and striding toward the table.

Did he know ?

Joey turned to me and met my eyes. A sad smile appeared on his lips, breaking my heart because I didn’t want to taint him. But one look in his eyes, and I knew he could see I’d been ruined. Destroyed. “You alright, pretty girl?” he asked softly.

“I’m just going to get some air,” I muttered, turning on my heel to stride out of the warehouse. I could feel someone’s gaze on my back, and when I looked over my shoulder, River’s comforting eyes met mine. Those blue eyes warmed me, giving me strength. I tilted my chin up slightly, and a small smile played on his lips before he turned his eyes away from me.