26. Joker

Chapter 26

Joker

I stand, staring at the classroom door where my woman is taking her test behind. Several have come out already, but she warned me she is slow taking tests and may be in there for the full two hours. It made me smile. She probably knows the answers immediately, but my woman thinks over every choice. She's deliberate in every single thing she does. I know that better than anyone.

I locate a window near the classroom, gaze outside, and replay the events of the last twenty-four hours. Making love to Skylar last night, and then again this morning in the shower, is hard for me to grasp. I've wanted her for so long that it's all surreal at this point. I'm not the man that good things happen to, and Skylar is everything good . Fuck, she's all I've ever wanted. There's a lot I need to work through—that we need to work through. The first thing to tackle is her family. I'm not sure how they will react to the two of us, but I know it will be okay. It has to because I'm not giving her up and I know Skylar will fight tooth and nail for what we have between us. The bigger problem is what happened last night. It was beautiful and although I wouldn't change anything—even if I could—there's a side of me that my woman needs to see up close and personal. I rub the back of my neck as I think about letting her see the real me. I want her to see and experience the extent of my desire to control everything for her well-being and care. I am worried that it might be overwhelming for her. She may try to run. I can't let her get away. I'll do whatever I have to, to make sure she stays right by my side.

My thoughts are interrupted when my phone rings. I pull it out to see it's Raze. I was wondering what was going on. I wasn't able to call them at all after I knew Skylar was safe. I figured the cell towers in Kentucky were affected by the flood. I got the same response with the landlines today.

"Yo," I answer.

"Where you at, asshole? You were supposed to have Skylar at the compound by now."

"I'm still in Cincy. We're heading out after my woman finishes her test."

"Your woman?" he asks, making me grin.

"Yeah. In fact, she has my cut on her back right now."

He lets out a long whistle and I shake my head. Fuck, I'm still smiling, though. "After three years, you finally manned-up."

"Don't try to piss me off, brother. I'm in too good of a mood today."

"You? In a good mood? Is that even possible?"

"Making love to your woman all night and again this morning will do that to you. Is there a reason for this call? I have a woman to concentrate on here."

"And another one bites the dust," he mumbles, and I have to bite back my laugh.

"Mock me if you want. Your time is coming."

"Doubtful. I don't think that kind of life is for me. I threw away my chance with Thea for the only woman who has ever even made me think about claiming her. She promised she was all in this time and now she's in Oregon, dating some football player," he scoffs. "Still, I'm happy for you."

"We tried to warn you that bitch wasn't worth your time," I remind him before I can stop myself.

"I know. I was stupid and let myself be led around by my dick. Let's not bring her up again. Does Skylar understand what you like from your women?"

"No. Well, not completely. She may have a small idea, but not the entire picture. I haven't really had the chance to discuss it with her like I need to."

"Joker, dude, that's playing with fire—especially with a girl like Skylar and who her family is to you."

"I know," I mutter.

"You need to explain more. You should have done it before you claimed her. Hell, now I'm feeling sorry for her when she finds out. The girl has been kind of sheltered. That means the whole thing is not going to go over well."

"You aren't telling me anything that I don't know, Raze. I'm going to try to go about this gently. I have to handle her carefully. Last night shouldn't have happened, really. At least, I didn't mean for it to." I add. "I wouldn't trade last night for anything , but I would have rather been completely honest about who I am before I claimed her. I should have let her know what I wanted from her."

"Joke—"

"I know. I just have to be careful," he begins. "I don't want to hurt her any more than I already have. She lashed out about the pain that I've caused her yesterday. The anguish on her face, Raze, man, it was bad. I felt horrible because I've hurt her so much in the past—even more than I knew. I'm so fucking ashamed and guilty. I just wanted to give her one night that was exactly how she imagined it."

"Did you explain any of it to her this morning?" he pushes.

I scrub my hand through my hair. "I should have, I know. I've fucked up so much, my conscience is about to eat me alive. That's the real reason last night went down the way it did. I wanted to give her a good memory to hold on to instead of the bad," I try to explain. I'm not lying either. I wanted her to have everything she wanted before I threw another bucket of shit her way. My lifestyle is not what some women are built for, but Skylar is. I just need to prove it to her.

"You better get your shit together and explain things soon, because you know you aren't going to be able to hold back when it comes to her. Hell, I'm surprised you did last night."

"Me too. You didn't see her tears, though. They tore me up. I'll sit her down tonight and talk everything out. I won't allow this to go any further. I'll tell her that last night was really fucking good, but still a mistake."

The minute I say the word mistake, I wince. I know Raze picked up on it, too, because the bastard laughs. "You tell her last night was a mistake and she'll kill you. I'm not even kidding. Skylar is good enough to pull that off."

"I didn't mean it like that, you asshole. I meant it was a mistake that I didn't explain the man I am first. I'm not about to let her go, though. Peaches will just have to adjust."

Raze chuckles again. "You'll have to let me know how that works out for you."

I pull the phone away from my ear and look at the time, frowning.

"Hey, Skylar should be done with her test. I'm going to check on her and then the two of us will get on the road. If Breaker or any of the others call, let me know."

"Sounds good. I'm going over to help your mother-in-law pack some shit and head over to the compound."

I grin when he calls Skylar's mom my mother-in-law. I kind of like it. I don't bother to correct him at all.

"Sounds good. Have you heard from any of our brothers in NC?" I ask, because I figured Breaker would have called me by now.

"Not a peep since we were told you and the other guy were headed back home and to put everyone on lockdown orders. It has been eerily quiet. Cell signals and landlines have been affected by the flooding and heavy rains, though. The only reason I could call you is because me and Killer drove to Corbin to get some fuel for the generators and some more food. London is a madhouse, and most stations don't have power anyway. You know how the power company is around here. We want to be prepared, just in case this goes on longer than expected. I plan on calling Dom or Breaker after we hang up and check in that way."

"Sounds good. Keep me posted."

"You got it," he returns, hanging up.

I shove my phone into my back pocket and look back at Skylar's classroom. This test is taking much longer than I thought it would. It's making me antsy. I look back out the window, making plans. I want to get Skylar home so we can start to plan things out and decide how to tell her family. It's something we need to do soon. Shit, I haven't even approached the fact we didn't use a condom last night with my woman. Peaches might be pregnant. The thought fills me with happiness. I know I shouldn't hope that's she's knocked up. My woman has plans and dreams. She wants to finish med school. Shit, I want that for her, too. Still, I can't help being excited thinking about Skylar pregnant with my baby. Just the thought has me grinning like an idiot. I need to get a fucking grip. We have time. Now that we're together, we can take our time with starting a family. However, I definitely need to stop for some condoms before we get on the road because I'm not going one day without being inside my woman.

I can hear the door to the classroom open and I turn around to face it. I'm smiling, expecting to see Skylar, but it's not her. It's a woman about my age with black hair, dressed in a suit. She reaches into the classroom after she comes out and turns the lights off. I frown as she locks the door.

"Excuse me. I was waiting for my woman. She was in there taking a test?" It doesn't even occur to me to call Skylar my girlfriend, she's not that. She'll never be that. She's mine, plain and simple.

"What's the girl's name?"

"Skylar Kane," I answer, starting to worry. Did someone get to her when I wasn't watching? How the hell did they get her out of the classroom without me noticing?

"Oh! Kyla. She finished up the test last and left a few minutes ago. You must have just missed her."

I frown. There's no fucking way I missed her. I've been here the whole time. Disappointment hits me deep in the gut. My woman has run again. When I get ahold of her this time, I'm going blister her ass. I immediately dismiss the woman. She doesn't matter. I let out a growl and take off running. We brought her car this morning after I sent some of Wheeler's prospects over to pick it up from the nightclub. We decided to drive it back to Kentucky. I hated leaving my bike, but with the weather and rain, it made more sense. I know Freeze will take care of it.

Besides, once all this mess in North Carolina dies down, I plan on me and Skylar coming to pick it up and taking a road trip. I'm hoping she'll agree to go visit Venom. I really want her marks all over my body—and mine on hers. The thought excites the hell out of me. Of course, now I have to find her first.

When I make it outside, the fucking car is gone. My damn cut is draped on the hedge that we parked in front of. I grab it, my body vibrating with anger. "Motherfucker!" I scream out.

I take out my phone to call Freeze's ass to come and get me. I look at the road, wondering what the hell is going on in Skylar's brain. She must know that I'm not going to let her get away. I'll chase her down, and when I do, I'm done holding back. The damn woman will finally know that I'm the one in control and by God, she's going to submit to me completely.

I won't give her a damn choice.