Chapter 4

4

KING

I watched Stella’s hips sway as she left my office, then shook my head, trying to lift the fog she’d caused to surround me.

Having her put in my room had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, but I knew it was right the second it was made. I’d protect Stella, but not only until things with Joseph were straightened out. She wasn’t going anywhere unless it was with me.

Stella was mine.

Shaking my head, I raised my gaze to the ceiling as I thought about how much shit I would get from the married Silver Saints and Iron Rogues. I hadn’t understood how they could allow themselves to have such a weakness. Now, I was gonna have to eat my words. Stella was worth anything.

But for the moment, I had to focus on the situation with her dad. Years ago, I’d worked with another agent, someone I trusted almost as much as Joseph. But he’d retired from the CIA before everything went to hell.

When I left, I reached out to him, and he, along with the MC, helped me with my transition back into civilian life. Since then, we’d worked together on a few jobs, especially since we had different contacts and sometimes needed the other one to make an introduction.

It was late, but I knew he’d understand. Picking up my phone, I scrolled through the contacts until I found Weston Davis and hit call.

“Davis,” he answered, sounding irritated and a little out of breath.

“Hey, it’s King.”

“Hey, brother. Is this a ‘catching up’ call or an ‘I need your help’ call?”

“The latter,” I mumbled, wondering if I’d interrupted something. “I can try later if you’re?—”

“No, it’s not a problem. Just give me a second.” His voice sounded far away when he asked someone if they’d be okay if he stepped away for a few minutes to talk to me.

“Ugh. Go. This is all your fault anyway,” his wife, Aspen, groaned.

There was the sound of footsteps and a door closing, then he was back. “Sorry about that. How can I help?”

“Are you sure this isn’t a bad time?” I’d thought maybe I’d interrupted them during sex, but after Aspen’s comment, I was confused.

“No, Aspen just spent the last half hour throwing up, so she’s already starting to feel better.”

“Excuse me? Did you really just tell me you stepped away from your wife while she was throwing up?”

Weston laughed. “I’m not a monster, man. It’s morning sickness. Now that it’s out of her system, she’ll be good.”

“Congratulations, Weston,” I said with a smile. Then I glanced at my watch, and my brow rose. “Almost ten o’clock at night there, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, for some reason, this baby decided he didn’t want to be like his brother and sisters. He’s been…unpredictable. Aspen’s a little put out with me over it.”

I chuckled, remembering how pissed she’d sounded a minute ago. “Good luck with that.” I was teasing, but for a moment, my mind drifted to what Stella was gonna look like when she was round and swollen with our baby. My dick hardened, and I silently cursed. Wrong time, King. Kibaszottul koncentrálj.

“Anyway, how can I help?” Weston asked.

“Remember Joseph Ford?”

“Yeah, he was your partner, right? Wayfarer?”

I was relieved that Weston already knew Joseph’s code name. While I trusted Weston, there were still things I would never share with anyone, especially if there was any chance it could compromise an active operative.

“Right,” I confirmed.

I quickly filled him in on the situation, then answered a few questions.

“That’s a fucking complicated web you guys are caught in,” he muttered.

“Why do you think I’m calling?” I replied gruffly.

He was silent for a couple of minutes, thinking through all that I’d told him. Eventually, he said, “Alex Shaw is the director now.”

I hadn’t realized he’d been promoted. Alex and his wife, Evie, were former operatives who had a reputation for being the best team in the CIA, even years after they’d stopped going on missions. I’d worked with him a few times. Enough to know he was an honest and trustworthy man. But he and Weston were tight, and with Alex’s ranking in The Company, he’d been a resource Weston had encouraged me to use a few times. He would be invaluable if the people we were trying to smoke out were high brass.

Alex was gonna be pissed as fuck when he found out one of his people was betraying their country and putting our assets in danger. Especially if burn notices were being issued without his approval.

“Do I have your permission to bring him in on this?” Weston requested.

“Yeah. I’m not sure we can do this without him.”

“Agreed. I know how fucking hard it is to be patient, but you gotta give me twenty-four hours to get in touch with him and let him come up with some ideas on how to proceed.”

“Twenty-four hours,” I growled in return. “Or I go to my underground contacts. Either way, I’m gonna put Wizard on this shit.”

“Understood.”

A young voice yelled out in the background, and the sound of little feet pitter-pattered closer. “Daddy, I’m firsty.”

“Go take care of your family,” I told him. “We’ll talk soon.”

I was staring at the letter when Blaze sauntered into my office, carrying a duffel bag and looking cocky. “So you had me put Stella in your house?” he asked. The bastard knew I had never brought a woman there, so I wasn’t surprised he was curious about my decision.

I glowered at him in response.

He smirked and set the bag on my desk. “Got Stella’s stuff from her car, figured you wouldn’t want anyone else delivering it to her.”

“You figured right,” I grunted.

Blaze crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. “Bet you’re happy I let her into the clubhouse now.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m gonna forget that you and Matteo were conned by female tears.” His smug expression faltered.

“Yeah, so shut the fuck up and sit your ass down. Need to fill you in.”

Blaze whistled when I finished and shook his head. “That is some fucked-up shit.”

“Understatement,” I grunted.

“Want to talk to Wizard? Or I can do it while you go take care of your woman.”

I hadn’t expected it to feel so fucking good to hear Stella referred to as mine. But damn, after realizing how possessive it made me feel, I knew I needed to get a ring on her finger and my property patch on her back as soon as possible.

“Go,” I ordered. He jerked his chin up in acknowledgment, then pivoted and marched out the door.

Sitting back in my chair, I considered my options. I could head back to my house, where Stella was probably still awake and full of questions. Or wait until she was asleep and deal with shit in the morning. No one could ever call me a coward, but I was too damn tired to get into everything with Stella tonight. I opted to go for a quick ride, hoping to get some perspective, but all I got were more fantasies about taking Stella on the bike…in more ways than one.

When I returned, I grabbed some dinner and got some work done before going home.

By two in the morning, I was out of patience and anxious to see my woman. Realistically, I knew she was safe on the compound, but I’d quickly realized that I’d never feel she was completely protected unless I could see her for myself.

I let Cerberus out and waited for him to do his business, then we ambled to our house. Once I reached my bedroom, I hesitated at the door. Stella and I had known each other for a matter of hours, and I didn’t want to freak her out by overwhelming her with the decisions I’d made regarding her future.

It was clear that she was independent and stubborn, so I wasn’t sure if she would accept the truth right away, just out of sheer principle. I’d smash those walls down as fast as she put them up, but maybe if I slowed down from warp speed to the fast lane, she'd be more receptive when I told her how things were gonna be from now on.

I had no doubt that letting me take charge wouldn’t come easy for her. Her strength and confidence were hot as hell, but as the prez’s old lady, she’d be expected to act a certain way around anyone outside the club.

But beyond those reasons, I’d quickly discerned something about my woman that I didn’t think even she was aware of. Stella longed to be cared for, to have someone take charge so she didn’t have to be strong for a change.

I knew Joseph had done his best to be an excellent father, but due to the nature of his job, Stella had been forced to grow up too damn fast. When he was gone, the only person who could take care of her was herself.

Joseph told me that Stella was close to her mom, but Ruby wanted to live a life free of heavy responsibility and stress after leaving him. If Stella had gone to live with her mom, she would have been in a similar situation—only the parent would be there, and Stella would have ended up taking care of them both.

It was a fuck ton of weight for my woman to carry, and I intended to take the burden away, even if I had to do it with her kicking and screaming.

Ultimately, I decided to give her time and sleep in another room for the night—although I doubted that would last more than a day or two. As quietly as possible, I opened the door, intending to grab a pair of boxer briefs and my toothbrush from the en suite bathroom. However, light was streaming in through the glass double doors that opened up to a balcony, similar to the ones in the other two bedrooms.

Stella was sprawled on her stomach, her skin practically glowing in the moonlight. My eyes swept over her, and my dick was instantly rock hard. She’d obviously raided my dresser to find something to wear to bed because one of my T-shirts practically swallowed her whole. The bottom had ridden up, giving me a peek at her lush, round ass in light blue cotton panties.

Fuck. This image would be seared into my brain forever.

There was no way in hell I would be able to walk out of this room tonight.

I quietly gave Cerberus a command, and he trotted over to lie down in the large dog bed near the balcony.

Shedding my clothes until I was in just my underwear, I tossed everything in the hamper as I padded over to the bed.

No sooner had I slid under the covers did Stella roll over, closing the gap between us and snuggling against my side.

It wasn’t enough for me. I wrapped my arm around her, dragging her closer until her head rested on my chest. Then I grabbed one of her thick, sexy thighs and pulled her leg over mine. She sighed and stretched one of her arms across my torso before settling back into a deep sleep.

It was gonna be a long night of fucking torture to have her soft curves plastered against me and not take it any further. But when I relaxed, I quickly fell asleep.