Page 22 of Wild Side (Vicious Reapers MC #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

MAVERICK

As I’m closing the bedroom door behind me, I lift my head. My lips twitch into a smirk at the sight of Daisy on her hands and knees. Goose is behind her, fucking her so hard her tits sway with each thrust, his hand wrapped around the front of her throat as he does.

Nice.

“You come in here to watch me or to share?” Goose asks.

I shift my gaze from Daisy’s tits and connect it with his, then shake my head once. “As fun as it looks, I don’t think I’ll be doing that, but I did want to talk to you when you’re finished.”

Daisy makes a noise that sounds like a combination of struggling for breath, combined with a moan. Flicking my gaze down to her, I watch as her body trembles and sweat breaks out over her skin. Her lips are parted, her eyes rolled back in her head, and I know she’s close.

I bet it would feel good to have my cock buried down her throat.

But not as good as it feels when it’s Zadie.

Turning around, I walk toward the door and reach for the handle, but don’t open it right away; instead, I turn my head, looking over my shoulder at them, my eyes flicking from Daisy to Goose’s.

“I’ll be in the hall. Let me know when you’re done.”

I don’t wait for his response before I tug the door open and slip out into the hall. Walking across, I face the door, my back against the wall, before I lift my leg and place the sole of my foot against the hard surface for support.

Fortunately, I don’t have to stand there for long. A few moments later, a naked Daisy opens the door. She looks absolutely fucking exhausted, and I have no doubt she is. Goose likely fucked her with no mercy, as is typically his way.

“He said you can come on in,” she rasps, her voice rough from being choked.

Jerking my chin, I start to move past her, but then I feel her fingers curl around my bicep.

I dip my chin slightly to look down at her.

Daisy tips her own head back up, looking into my eyes, and for a moment, she just stares at me, then her lips curve up.

She’s pretty, younger than most of the girls, except Lolita.

“I know I’m not anyone special, but I just wanted to say, make that work with her.”

“Yeah?” I ask.

She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip. “I’ve never seen you so happy.” I wait for her to expand on that, but she doesn’t. Her hand falls from my arm, and she walks away. I don’t watch her go. I reach for the knob of Goose’s door and slip inside.

He’s sitting up in bed, his back against the headboard, the sheets pulled up to his hips, and a cigarette dangling from his mouth. My lips twitch into a smirk as he reaches for the pack of smokes next to him and a lighter, tossing them over to me.

Catching them, I take a stick out and light it. After the day I’ve had, I realize how badly I need this. Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply before I let the smoke slowly roll out of me.

“You good?” Goose asks.

I open my eyes and flick my gaze to meet his. “I’m good. What happened with Sable?”

Something in his expression shifts, but only for a moment. Almost as if his eyes darken before they return to their regular color.

“I sent her home.”

I snort. “Liar.”

He smirks but doesn’t respond. He takes a drag from his cigarette, wasting time before he finally speaks. When he does, his eyes find mine, searching, and then he clears his throat before he finally does talk.

“Seriously. I sent her on her way. Watched the plane take off and everything. She’s so fucking scared after watching Halo’s throat being slit, I doubt she’ll say a goddamn word.

Plus, her father was told to be at the airport to get her.

She’s got a whole other can of worms to deal with when she arrives.

She doesn’t need me being an asshole, too. ”

Deep down, I know who my brother is. I know where his heart is.

He jerks his chin, a silent nudge for me to say whatever the fuck I’m going to say so he can get to sleep.

Taking a drag from my own cigarette, I prolong my full reason for being here, mainly because I’ve missed this, just hanging out with him.

I know it’s only been a few months since I’ve been lost inside my own head, but now that things seem to be working out the way they were meant to, I’m coming out of my self-imposed fog.

“I want to find Zadie’s mother,” I state.

His brows lift as he sits up a bit straighter. “What do you mean, you want to find her mother?”

“I know what Halo said about her, but I don’t think that’s true. There has to be something more to the story. She doesn’t even know her own mother’s name. That’s fucked up.”

Goose nods once, then juts his chin upward slightly before he speaks. “You know I’ll help you. Everyone deserves to at least know their parents’ names, even if they’re a piece of shit. Halo was a fucking piece of shit, but she knows exactly who he is. She needs this, too.”

“You’re a fuckin’ softy,” I point out the obvious.

He snorts. “Yeah, so are you.”

I am. I know I am, especially for her, for Zadie. There’s nobody else in this fucking world for me but her. I knew she was before, but I realize it even more now. She was brave as fuck coming here. This all could have gone so badly for her if we were a different club, if I were a different man.

Thanking Goose, I hang around and finish my cigarette with him. As I begin to leave, I stand at the doorway, looking over my shoulder at him. He’s lying back against the wall again. He’s got his cell phone in his hand, his gaze cast down at his device.

“We’re good, right?” I ask.

His eyes flick up from his phone to meet mine, and his lips curve up on one side of his mouth. A moment of silence passes between us as I wait for my brother to break it. Thankfully, he doesn’t make me wait too long.

“Yeah, we’re good,” he says. “I still need to get to know her better, but I’m good with this for you. I always knew you’d be the first to fall.”

“And you’re never going to fall?”

He shrugs a shoulder, his eyes almost sparkling. “Doubtful.”

I know that’s a big fat fucking lie. A huge one.

He’s going to fall. I know he is. It’s just a matter of time.

And it’s going to be when he least expects it, because that’s how it hit me.

I wasn’t expecting it, didn’t want it, and yet, here Zadie is, and she is exactly where she’s supposed to be, and that is mine.

Goose will find his own Zadie.

ZADIE

I feel the bed dip, then his arms are around me, and I drift off to sleep again. I don’t know what it is about this man, but he comforts and calms me. I may not know much about him, but my body knows everything it needs to know—he is my home.

When the sun pours into the room, beaming on me, heating me up, only then do I open my eyes. I’m not sure what time it is, but I feel like in this place, there is no real concept of time.

This clubhouse is one gigantic loop with no beginning and no end.

Rolling to the side, I reach out and find the other side of the bed not only empty but also cold, which means it has been empty for a while. Pushing myself up to a seated position, I look around the room and let out a sigh. I still want to know who cleaned it, but I have bigger fish to fry today.

Now that things have happened the way that they have with my father, I need to have a serious conversation with Chase about the future. It seems like it’s a bit premature, especially since we don’t even know one another very well, and when I say very well, I mean not at all.

However, since I’m pregnant and Chase has claimed me as his, I think we’ve not just sped up the relationship process but actually gone at warp fucking speed. And the thought of that causes my heart to race, but not in fear—in excitement.

Gathering my bathroom things and a change of clothes, I pad out of the room and down the short hallway to the bathroom. Just as Chase promised me, it’s clean. There are some serious stains in the grout, in the tub, and the toilet, but it’s clean, and that’s all a girl can ask for in a den of men.

I shower, wash my hair, shave my legs—the whole thing. When I dress, it’s in my normal uniform of jean shorts and a T-shirt. After taking the time to comb my hair, I also put on a little bit of makeup. I guess if I’m going to attempt a serious conversation with Chase, I should try to look my best.

My stomach rolls, and I sway slightly.

Food.

I need food.

And I need it now.

Slipping on a pair of flat shoes, I run my fingers through my wet hair as I go in search of food.

I know that logically, I should be going to the kitchen to make some eggs, maybe have some avocado toast on the side, but what I want is something sweet from the bakery.

I’ve been dreaming about it since I finished the last bite of the muffin I had a few days ago.

The vibes are off as I enter the bar. It’s not necessarily anything that makes me pause, just the air around me. Glancing around, I look for signs of life, but there is nobody anywhere. The old-timer isn’t at the bar, the prospect isn’t manning it, and there are no barely-dressed girls anywhere.

Something is wrong.

A stomach pang redirects my attention to the kitchen, and my feet act accordingly, carrying me toward the door. Slipping inside, I hear feminine voices that are murmuring in low, hushed tones.

I hope it’s Dakota and Posey, but I’m disappointed when I move farther into the room to see that it’s two of the club girls sitting at the small table, drinking a cup of coffee.

I shouldn’t care if they’re here. They live here.

This is more their home than mine, but seeing them, knowing they’ve likely been with Chase, makes me feel… icky. But mostly jealous.

“Hey,” one of them calls out. “Everyone calls me Ice, and this is Daisy,” she says, motioning to the girl across from her.

Instead of being a bitch, I give them a small wave. “I’m Zadie,” I say.

The conversation is done, and for whatever reason, I feel less anxious about their existence. Maybe because they weren’t being rude, but most likely because I’m so hungry, I could eat my own arm.

I open the fridge, bending over to look inside, and see what I can find. I hear a throat clear from the doorway, and then the two women giggle as I turn my head slowly to find Chase standing there, a pretty, canary-yellow box in his hand.

A bakery box.

This man is a dream come true, a dream with delicious pastries.