Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Annabell

WAKING UP IN Vault's bed with his arms wrapped around me as I lay more on his body than the bed is something I've only dreamed of. I never thought it would be my reality after everything that happened. No matter what happens between us moving forward, I will never regret being with him. He spent hours last night into this morning showing me that a man will make sure the woman he's with can find pleasure instead of just taking what he wants and not giving a fuck if the girl even enjoys what he's doing to her. Vault let me explore his body and he taught me how to give a man pleasure because I've never had the chance to do that. When he explored my body, he showed me that there are places I never thought would turn me on. Maybe it's just because I was with him. I honestly don't know yet. What I do know is that I'm not ready to confront him and figure out what this means for us.

I don't want him to see me as that clingy girl that he has sex with and then she can't leave him alone. So, as quietly as I can, I get out of his bed and grab my clothes from the floor where they were thrown last night. Putting them on, I keep my eyes trained on the bed and make sure that Vault doesn't wake up so I can make my escape. I'm not going to say that I'm not afraid of what comes next for us because I am. If he decides to tell me that this was just a one-time thing, I'll accept it even as it breaks my heart. In one night, Vault ruined me for any other man. I will never be with anyone else without comparing them to him because of everything he made me feel and the things he did to my body. It's going to be a problem and I can live with that. There won't be any choice for me.

Leaving Vault's room after dressing and throwing my hair up in a messy bun, I have my back to the hallway as I softly close the door so it doesn't wake him up.

"Walk of shame, Pretty Girl?" Valor asks me, making me jump as I turn to face him.

Valor's leaning on the doorframe of his room with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face. With my hand over my chest, I suck in a deep breath of air and walk over to him, punching him in the shoulder.

"You scared the shit out of me, Valor. What the fuck are you doing in the hall like a creeper?" I ask him, laughter filling my voice as he looks wounded and rubs his arm as if I actually hurt him.

"I was just comin' out of my room and saw you sneakin' outta my brother's room. I'm guessin' the two of you worked your shit out?" he returns, standing up and looking down at me.

"I don't know. I mean, yeah, we talked about things. I already forgave him a long time ago, Valor. If anyone understands the reason he was lashing out, it's me. He caught me at my lowest point and kept my secret. I might not have lashed out the same way he did, but I hit rock bottom worse. Vault is gonna be just fine moving forward and I know he wants to repair the relationship with you," I tell Valor as I pull out my keys and unlock my door.

"There's nothin' to repair. Like you, I forgave him a long time ago. I guess part of me is waitin' for the other shoe to drop and him to return to how he was with all the pressure he's under. I'm sure it's not gonna happen after all this time, but you never know. Vault is a passionate guy, he always has been. When he feels shit too deep, he doesn't always know how to handle it," Valor says as if I don't know that information about his brother.

"I know he does. I'm not gonna break his heart, Valor. Right now I'm a little confused and I'm not sure what all this means. I know what he said last night, but today is a new day and he might not feel the same way," I tell him, knowing the truth of my words is really why I'm having a hard time this morning. "I love your brother and always have."

"He loves you, too. Vault has fought his demons and spent countless hours tryin' to become a man he thinks we can be proud of. What he doesn't understand is that he doesn't have to change a thing about him in order to be that man. He just has to be himself. Now, what are you gonna do for the day?" Valor questions me as I open my door and try to figure out what the hell I'm going to do for the day since the garage is closed and I don't have anywhere else to be.

Exploring Pine View is out of the question. I don't want to have a ton of men following me around as I go through stores, places to eat, and anything I find of interest in the small city. I want to be on my own and spend hours going through the places that are unique to Pine View and not have to worry about pissing anyone off because I'm taking too long to look, shop, eat, or anything else. That's what I did when I got to Benton Falls and I pissed more than one person off because I just spent hours going from one place to another and taking my time looking around. I vowed never to do that shit again to anyone. So, I guess it will be a full day of work for me today.

"I'll hang out in the office and get more work done. Working at Hound's hasn't given me a lot of time to get things done here," I answer Valor as he stands up straight and nods at me.

"If you need anythin', let me know. I'll be around the clubhouse all day. I think some of the other guys are headin' to Hound's so they can work on Vault's bike. He just doesn't know it yet. They want to surprise him," he informs me, giving me one last look before he turns and heads toward the stairs.

Entering my room, I strip out of my clothes and toss them in the hamper while heading to my bathroom. I turn on the shower as hot as I can stand it before taking care of business and pulling the hair tie out of my hair. It's a fucking mess as I look in the mirror. Vault left a few marks on my body and I smile as I gently run my fingers over the ones on my neck and upper chest. Pulling my eyes from my skin, I step in the shower and let the hot water ease the aches and pains from my body. Parts of my body hurt that I had no clue could feel pain like this after being with Vault. The hot water soothes it all away as memories of last night play on a loop in my mind. I shove those thoughts away and quickly wash my hair and body before getting out and dressing for the day. With a smile on my face, I leave my room and lock the door so I can grab some breakfast before settling in the office for the rest of the day.

I've been in the office for hours and my stomach has started growling. Putting the last piece of paper from a file back inside, I close it and set it off to the side so I can give it back to Vault when I'm done for the day. I've made good progress here today and hope he'll be proud of the work I've gotten done so far. But, I know there's still a ton more to go through and I'm not even a quarter of the way done. As I push my chair back from the desk, the door opens and I look up to find Vault walking in with a tray in his hand and the largest smile I've seen in a long time on his face. I can't help but smile back at him because he's so handsome when he smiles and gives you his real one. Vault's entire face lights up and his eyes crinkle at the corners. Two dimples appear and I just want to jump in his arms and hold him close to me.

"You've been in here for hours," he states, setting the tray down on the desk and pulling me out of the chair and into his arms. "Missed wakin' up with you, Angel. You should've woken me up and I could've been workin' next to you."

"I know you need to sleep, Alex. There was no point in waking you up when I was just gonna come in here. How's your shoulder after last night? I forgot all about it and I know you did too," I ask him, hoping he didn't hurt himself even more.

"It feels okay. A little sore, but that's to be expected since it's still healin'. Why did you run off this mornin'?" he questions me, sitting down in my chair and pulling me onto his lap while moving the tray closer to us.

Vault has his sling on once again today. He's switched from the white one to a plain black one that blends in with his cut and the black tee-shirt that's stretched tightly over his muscled chest. His arms are so large now that the material looks as if it's going to rip every time he moves and it stretches even tighter around his arm. The jeans are tight on his legs and I remember all the ink going down his skin. Vault's got so many tattoos now that I'm surprised there's a single part of his body free from ink. He's been busy over the last few years as far as decorating his body in the way he wants to.

"I was feeling a little off, I guess you could say. I mean, I know what we said last night, but how much of that was just in the heat of the moment? I didn't want you to think I'm some kind of clingy woman who doesn't know how to move on after a guy has sex with her," I tell him honestly, as I let my head fall forward so he can't look me in the eyes.

A finger slides under my chin and tips my head up. Vault makes me turn my head so I'm looking at him before he leans down and presses a soft kiss to my lips. He lingers there without trying to deepen it and puts his hand on my hip to hold me in place. When he finally pulls away from me, Vault stares me in the eyes before speaking.

"I told you that if we took that step last night, you were mine. You also told me that if you're mine, then I'm yours. Angel, you're my woman and that's all I'm gonna say about it. I'll claim you when I feel we're ready to take that step. For now, we're gonna spend our days gettin' to know one another again and I want you to move your things into my room. Annabell, I wanna fall asleep with you in my arms and wake up with you draped all over my body. There's no reason for you to stay in a room on your own when I'm gonna be in the same bed as you every fuckin' night movin' forward," he states, his voice full of determination and the truth of his words as he keeps his eyes locked on mine. "You wanna cling to me, fuckin' do it. Everyone will know that you're mine and that I'm yours. ‘Cause I know I'm gonna make sure I cling to your ass so every fuckin' man here knows that you're mine, Angel."

"Okay. So, do you want me to show you this shit Fox has me doing for you guys? I mean, I know I'm not gonna be leaving here anytime soon, but if you ever need to find something, it would be good for you to know what you're looking at?" I ask him, watching as he pulls the tray closer to us after releasing my hip from his strong hold.

"Yeah. First, we're gonna eat lunch because I know you're hungry. No more of that shit, Annabell. You need to eat and gettin' lost in your work isn't an excuse to skip a meal. If I have to start havin' someone bring you food when you're in here, that's what I'm gonna do," he warns me, watching as I pick up a slice of pizza and take a large bite of the hot, cheesy goodness and moan as the flavor explodes on my tongue.

"This is so good," I tell him after swallowing the large bite I just took.

"You keep moanin' like that, Angel, and I'm gonna fuckin bend you over this desk and give you somethin' to moan about," he promises, reaching between us and adjusting himself as I look down to see his hard dick pressing against his jeans.

Vault and I eat our lunch in a comfortable silence. There's music from my phone playing softly in the background as we finish our food and there's a knock on the door. Chrome opens it up and steps inside before one of the Phantom girls steps in behind him.

"Um, I was just checking to see if you guys were done with your lunch so I could take your dirty dishes and get them cleaned up with the rest of them," she says, keeping her eyes on the floor instead of staring at us like Chrome is right now.

"Yeah. Thank you," I tell her, knowing this is the girl who really didn't say all that much when I was confronted in the kitchen.

"You're welcome," she murmurs, walking away with the tray in her hand as Chrome closes the door behind her.

"So, you're together now?" he questions Vault, looking over my head at his best friend with a smirk on his face.

"Annabell's mine. Make sure everyone knows," Vault states, a hard tone to his voice as Chrome smiles at his response and leans against the wall looking completely relaxed and ready to stay in here with us the rest of the day. Personally, I don't care if he stays in here or not.

"On it. But, I need you to come with me for a while. I promise you're not gonna lift a finger and I'll protect you from gettin' hurt again," Chrome says, pushing off the wall and stepping closer to the desk. "You don't mind if I steal him for a while, do ya Annabell?"

"Not at all. I plan on working the rest of the day. I've gotten behind and since I'm not at Hound's today, it's the perfect day to start getting caught up again," I answer as Vault presses his face into my neck and slides his lips across my skin, sending goosebumps all over my body.

"Okay. I'll make sure Chrome has me back for dinner so we can eat together. I'll pick somethin' up on our way back here and we'll eat in our room so we can watch a movie and hang out. Get done what you need to by then, Angel. You're mine once I'm back here," Vault says, nipping at my skin before standing with me in his arms.

Vault sets me down on the floor in front of him and leans down for a kiss. I slide my tongue along the seam of his lips and he opens for me. Tangling our tongues together, I moan into his mouth, not caring that Chrome is watching us. Vault manages to pull back from me and rests his forehead on mine with his eyes still closed. We both gasp for breath as I wrap my arms around his waist and hold him close to me. He holds me just as tight and neither one of us wants to let go.

"Alright, love birds, the quicker I get out of here with Vault, the sooner he'll be back so you can cuddle and do all that other shit you wanna do," Chrome says, laughter filling his voice as he looks between the two of us.

With one last kiss, Vault leaves me in the office as he heads out with Chrome. Sitting back down, I get back to work and sing along to the songs playing through the speaker of my phone. When my back starts protesting being bent over the way I am for hours, I pull back and stretch out. Standing from my chair, I know it's time for me to take a break. Deciding to go out and clean my car after moving here, I close the laptop after saving the work I've done and clean off my desk. The stack of folders I've completed is now larger than the ones I still have to work on. It makes me feel good to see all the work I've managed to get done in the short time I've been here. Much like it did back home when I started doing this for my dad and the club.

After letting Valor know I'll be outside cleaning out my car, I grab a few garbage bags and some cleaning supplies before heading outside. It's not too warm out today and the gentle breeze makes it feel a little chillier than it should. I don't let it stop me, knowing I'll be warm from working as I open my driver's side door and climb inside to start gathering the garbage and other shit I've left in here since the move. It's not all that bad, but I'm obsessive when it comes to this car and never want it to look a mess. So, I spend the rest of my day working on the car while trying not to think about Vault and the things I want to do to him tonight when we're alone in our room.