Fox by Harley Wylde

Chapter Four

Fox

I’d been terrified I’d hurt Raven, if not physically at least emotionally, and instead, she’d been worried she’d hurt me. After everything she’d been through, I could see how she might think I hadn’t wanted her to touch me. Nothing could be further from the truth, although, I felt like a monster since I’d enjoyed it. Hell, I’d be reliving that moment for a while. Next time I yanked one out, I’d be thinking about her small hand wrapped around my dick.

Yep, the devil definitely had a spot reserved for me in hell. No doubt in my mind. And if Hatchet ever found out his daughter had gotten me off, on her first night here no less, he’d be sending me there immediately. Even knowing I should keep my distance, I didn’t think I could. She sat at the kitchen table while I made eggs, toast, and bacon. I found myself glancing over my shoulder every few minutes, just so I could look at her.

Raven had changed into a pair of the black knit shorts and one of the tees Knox had picked up last night. I’d managed to toss the shorts into the dryer while I’d waited on Luciana to arrive. I hadn’t wanted to face Raven, worried I’d only fuck shit up even more. She remained barefoot, and God help me, she was also braless, and I couldn’t help but admire the way the shirt hugged her breasts. Her nipples weren’t hard, but I could still see the faint outline of them.

“Hope scrambled eggs are all right. I always break the yolk if I try to make them over easy,” I said.

She didn’t make a sound. Knowing she could speak, I’d hoped to talk to her a bit more. I wondered if her throat still ached. I didn’t have any hot tea. Last time I’d been sick, Vasha had brought some over. I pulled out my phone and opened the grocery app. Ever since Luciana had shown it to me, I’d been addicted to buying my groceries that way. It made it easy for a Prospect to pick up the order and I didn’t have to worry about them fucking it up.

My phone chimed and I yanked it off the counter. Surge. I clicked on the message to see what he had to say.

Three guards fired from Balmoral this morning. Doctor noticed Raven missing. Think the nurse came clean.

Shit. Are they looking for her?

I saw dots appear and waited for him to finish typing. Doesn’t look like it. Think they want it to stay quiet. But that could be a problem later.

Right. How far would they go to make sure no one knew what happened? Keep me posted.

If these fuckers were coming for her, I needed to know. I’d promised to keep her safe, and I’d do just that, no matter the cost. Not only because I’d told her dad she’d be protected here, but because I wanted to chase the shadows from her eyes. Raven deserved to find happiness.

I added two types of hot tea to the list, and some honey. I didn’t have any idea what Raven liked to eat, and since she wasn’t currently talking, I couldn’t very well ask her. I added chicken breasts, steaks, and pork chops to the list. I tried to keep a decent selection of canned vegetables stocked so I wasn’t worried about side dishes. I did wonder when Raven had last been able to eat something sweet like cake or pie. I couldn’t bake for shit, but I accessed the bakery section and added an apple pie and a chocolate cake to the list. Hopefully she’d like at least one of them. Whatever we didn’t eat, I’d take to the clubhouse. Someone there would demolish the leftovers.

My phone went off again. This time I had a message from Shield with the Reckless Kings.

You seen Hatchet?

Had they lost him? Or had he gone off the grid after speaking to me last night? Talked to him. Seen him? No.

I waited a minute to see if he’d say anything else. Another text came through.

He’s not answering calls. Sent back the brothers he took with him.

Well, fuck. Whatever he was doing, he didn’t want his club to know. I hoped like hell he didn’t get caught. If the cops picked him up while he was off avenging his daughter, it wouldn’t end well. She only just now discovered she had a dad who gave a shit. I didn’t want her to lose him already.

I finished cooking breakfast and plated it. I carried both dishes to the table before getting out forks and cups. While I typically had coffee in the morning, I did enjoy a glass of juice a few times a week. The jug in the fridge had only been opened yesterday so I knew it hadn’t gone bad yet. I poured us each some and quickly added another jug to the groceries I needed.

“You don’t have to talk since I’m sure it’s painful, but could you shake your head yes or no if I ask some questions about food and drinks you like?” I asked.

She nodded and took a bite of her eggs.

“Do you have any food allergies?” I asked.

She shook her head. One less thing to worry about. I didn’t want to accidentally make her sick. I went through a list of breakfast and lunch items, adding anything she liked to the list, and making notes in another app of anything she disliked so I wouldn’t buy it next time. Assuming she remained here longer than a few days or even a week. The way Hatchet talked, he could be gone a while.

“I’ll have someone pick up and deliver the groceries while we’re gone. We should probably buy you a few more clothes too.” I tried damn hard not to let my gaze drop to her breasts. “And a bra. You need at least one of those. Maybe more.”

She blinked at me before looking down at her breasts. I shut my eyes and sucked in a breath. Don’t be a dick. I wouldn’t look. I absolutely wouldn’t… I opened my eyes and looked. Dammit. I slammed them shut again and shook my head. I needed to do better. For her.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to…” I cleared my throat and opened my eyes again. “I’ll get dressed after we eat, and we can head over to the doctor’s office. If you’re up for shopping after, we’ll get you more clothes. If not, it can wait a day or two.”

No idea how I’d cope with her being braless for days, but that was my issue to deal with and not hers. I’d just do my best not to draw attention to the fact I found her body fascinating. Harder to do after she’d gotten me off this morning, but I’d manage. Somehow.

“So you met Luciana. Like she said, she’s with Spider, our club President. Her sister, Violeta, is with Rocket. They don’t live too far down the road. There’s a third woman who lives here. Vasha. She’s from Russia, and she’s with Slider.” I took a bite of my toast before addressing the club whores. “The women at the clubhouse, the ones… having sex with my brothers, they aren’t forced to be here. Some come in from town when they want a wild night of fun. Others are regulars and show up nearly every night.”

The way her nose wrinkled told me she didn’t understand why they’d want to do that. Honestly, I didn’t know either. I’d heard more than one over the years talk about landing one of us, but it wouldn’t happen. Those women were here to party, and that’s all we wanted from them. I’d definitely been with more than my fair share over the years, but lately it hadn’t been as exciting as it once had. Maybe I was getting too damn old for this shit. At fifty, I didn’t feel decrepit, but I wasn’t exactly eighteen anymore either.

Shit. How old was Raven? My stomach turned when I realized she could be far from legal. She’d looked young, but I’d assumed…

“Uh, how old are you?” I asked her.

“Twenty,” she said in a soft rasp.

Thank-fucking-Christ. I felt the tension ease from my neck and shoulders. Crisis averted. Sort of. It still made her too fucking young for me, but if being around Spider and Luciana had taught me anything, it was that age was just a number. There was still the issue of her having gotten me off earlier. It had left me unsettled, even if I’d certainly enjoyed it. I shouldn’t have. I felt both eager to do more with her and disgusted with myself for wanting her to touch me. She should be coddled. Protected at all costs. And what was I doing? Wondering what it would feel like to have more than her hands on me.

I finished my food and stood with my plate, taking it over to the sink. I rinsed the dish and set it aside. I’d load the dishwasher later. After I moved the two skillets I’d used over to the sink as well, I wiped my hands off on a towel and decided I needed a little space from Raven.

“I’m going to get dressed. Take your time eating.” Before she could stop me, I bolted from the room like a chickenshit.

Badass biker. I snorted. Yeah, right. More like coward. How the hell could one tiny woman scare the hell out of me? No, not her. Raven made me feel a lot of things, but not any of those were fear. How I felt about her? The intense desire to touch her? Yeah, that scared me shitless. I reached my room and pushed the door mostly shut before hurrying over to my dresser and grabbing clean clothes.

I stared at the jeans in my hand a moment. Luciana and Violeta had been badly broken and abused when they’d arrived. Yet they’d fallen for Spider and Rocket. Vasha hadn’t had an easy life either, but she adored Slider. Would it be possible for Raven to ever have a semi-normal life? Maybe have a family? I tightened my hold on the denim, feeling the sudden urge to beat someone into the ground. I didn’t like the idea of her being with anyone other than me.

I was fucked. Like, well and truly fucked -- without lube.

“Shit,” I muttered. “Hatchet is going to kill me. Then resurrect me so he can do it again.”

I heard a noise behind me and spun, finding Raven in the doorway, her eyes wide. Why the hell did I keep saying the wrong things around her? I needed to keep my mouth shut until she went home with her dad. Otherwise, Hatchet wouldn’t have to murder me. I’d take my own self out if I did anything to hurt Raven.

“Sorry, sweetheart. Just mumbling to myself. Did you need something?”

She took one hesitant step after another until she stopped right in front of me. “He’d… kill… you? For… what?”

I sighed, not wanting to lie to her, yet not wanting to tell her the truth either. I didn’t see any way around it. If I kept silent, she’d likely come up with something even worse. If there was anything worse in her eyes. Having me want her all to myself, to make her mine in all ways, would probably be the stuff of nightmares for Raven.

“It’s kind of complicated.” She stared at me, and I knew I’d have to say something more. I ran a hand through my hair. “I was thinking about the way Luciana, Violeta, and Vasha all had horrible things happen to them. They were scared of men when they came here, but now they love the men they’re with. And it made me wonder if you’d want that. A family. Someone to love, or if you’d even be able to after everything you went through.”

She silently watched me. Yeah, she was going to make me completely spill my guts like a high school girl. Great. If this backfired and she hightailed it out of here, I’d never forgive myself.

“I got angry, thinking about you with another man. Made me realize I didn’t want you to be with anyone other than me. Your dad would string me up from the nearest tree. He just found you, and now I’m trying to keep you. Not to mention, he’ll think I took advantage, and let’s be honest, I kind of did. I could have made you stop earlier. I just… didn’t really want you to. It felt too damn good.”

I winced, thinking I’d really gone too far with that last bit. Instead of running from the room, and from me, she leaned in closer and pressed her cheek to my chest. I let my clothes fall to the floor as I put my arms around her. It felt right -- holding her. Like whatever had been missing in my life had suddenly been found.

“I thought my confession would make you want to leave,” I said.

She drew up and reached toward my face, her fingers lightly touching my beard. “Want… to… stay.”

My lips kicked up on one corner. “I’d like that. A lot.”

I held her another minute before I felt myself getting hard again and stepped away from Raven. She might want to remain here with me, but I didn’t want to push my luck. Yes, she’d gotten me off this morning, but after speaking with her, I had to wonder if she’d done it more out of curiosity than anything else.

“Let me get ready, Raven. We’ll go when I’m done.”

She patted my chest and waved at the bed. I furrowed my brow, trying to figure out what she wanted. She sighed, tapped me again, and motioned to the bed.

“Am I going back to bed?” I asked.

She pressed her lips together and shook her head. With a huff, she walked across the room, pulled back the covers and got into my bed. She snuggled into the pillow and held out a hand to me.

“You want both of us to lie down… in my bed.” I didn’t know where she was going with this. Did she want to sleep some more? Cuddle? I knew talking had made her throat hurt, but I wished she’d speak to me again.

She eyed my boxers before flicking her gaze up to mine, still waiting on me to join her. Hell, did she plan on touching me again? Because I wasn’t a fucking saint. There was only so much I could take before I’d likely do something stupid. Like try to fuck her. Shit. Goddamnit. It just hit me I’d been dressed, or mostly undressed, when Luciana had stopped by. Spider would have my balls. I’d been too worried about Raven to think about it.

“Not sure that’s the best idea, Raven.” Her eyes narrowed and she waggled her hand in the air, insistent. “All right. You win.”

Jesus. I didn’t know if I’d survive her being in my house. It was both heaven and hell all at the same time.