18. Dragon

Chapter 18

Dragon

I carry Nicole into the small private bedroom that Hangman gave me access to. I explained that I needed some alone time with my old lady. He handed me a key and showed me the small room. It's tiny, with only a full bed and a small corner shower. It wasn't made for comfort, that's for sure. Right now, however, it is giving me time alone with my woman and that's all I need or want.

"I can walk, you know," she mutters.

"I like carrying you."

She huffs out a breath, shaking her head as I lay her on the bed. "From the moment we met all those years ago, you've made a habit of picking me up and carrying me where you wanted, Dragon. Sometimes I like it, but I have to tell you, it does get annoying."

"I take it right now is one of those times," I grumble as I sit down beside her.

"Newsflash, Dragon, just because everything blew up around us, doesn't mean I'm going to forget the issues that had us separated to begin with."

"We weren't separated. You needed time to calm down. There's a difference."

"Not from where I'm sitting," she sasses.

Picking her up, I ignore her squeal of surprise. I put her in my lap and lock my arms around her when she begins struggling to move. I hold her down against my rock-hard cock that I know she can feel—even through our clothes. "Then, you aren't sitting in the right place."

"Dragon—"

"You belong to me, Nicole."

"I'm not a piece of meat you claim ownership of, Dragon. I'm your wife."

"Wrong, Mama. You're a piece of my soul. We're a part of one another. There's no going back. Without you, I don't have a life."

"You know what I really hate about you, Dragon?"

"That my dick is so big you have trouble taking all of me into that sweet mouth of yours?"

"Did you literally just complain about the way I suck you off?" she cries, anger firing in her beautiful eyes. Seeing that look on her face makes my dick go harder than it already was.

"I wasn't complaining."

"Well, it sure as hell sounded like it. Just so there's no more misunderstandings, I'll make sure you never get another blowjob for the rest of your life."

"You don't mean that, Mama."

"Oh, but I do."

"Bullshit. You like giving them as much as I enjoy getting them. Maybe more."

"You know, most men would be holding their women and freaking out and telling them how much they love them. Not you. You're just an ass."

I curve my hand around the side of her neck, letting my thumb brush back and forth against the apple of her cheek. I stare into her eyes for a minute before I press my forehead against hers.

"I do love you, Mama. Down to my fucking bones, I love you. I just don't know how to deal with all the shit that I've caused."

"It's all shit that wouldn't be here if you'd quit trying to hide it from me!" she huffs. I've always loved this woman's fire. Right now, I find myself wishing it wasn't quite so intense. I have a bad feeling that I'm the one about to get burned.

"I wasn't hiding it from you," I deny at once, shit swirling in my brain so intensely that it is a struggle to breathe.

"Bullshit. At least own up to the fact that you're trying to hide the fact that you've known all along that King was your son. Own up to the fact that I'm the reason you haven't confronted him about it."

"Mama—"

"Just do it!" she screams.

Seeing the tears streaking down her face and the pain there is my undoing. I pull away, trying to stop the pain— pain we're both feeling .

"You can't leave me again, Mama. I can't survive without you. I can't let you go. If you leave, I might as well swallow a bullet. I can't make it without you."

"Bullshit. Don't lay that on me, Dragon. Everything—all this shit—is on you. If you had just been honest with me from the beginning, it could all have been avoided."

"How was I supposed to do that? The last time I was honest with you, you took my kids and ran! You didn't even give me a chance to explain!"

"What were you going to explain, Dragon?" she asks, sounding disgusted. I suppose I should be thankful that she's no longer screaming. "Were you going to tell me that your lips just accidentally fell on Mavis's? That your hand wasn't on her ass, and I just imagined it all? Do you think my love for you would make me stupid enough to believe that? C'mon, you know better. We both know you've always been an ass man. If I hadn't shown up that night …" She shrugs, pain laced in her words, but I put my hands on each of her shoulders and shake her slightly, forcing her to look at me.

"Nothing would have happened. Dancer would have made sure of that, Nicole."

She shakes her head. "So, you needed your brother to pull you back and make sure you didn't cheat on your wife and fuck that bitch? I suppose I should send Dancer a thank-you card. I wonder if Hallmark has one for this particular occasion? Roses are red, violets are blue, thanks for helping with the small chore of not letting my man stick his dick into that whore," she singsongs glibly.

"I needed him because she drugged me, Mama."

I swallow, tasting bile. I fight it down. Uttering those words wasn't something that I ever planned on doing. Telling her is the last thing I ever wanted to do. It makes me feel too exposed—too fucking weak.

"I don't … What did you say? "

"She slipped something into my drink when I wasn't looking. That's the only reason she got close to me. When you came in, it cleared my brain fog some. Up until that moment, I thought it was you that I was kissing—at least in my head. I shoved her away from me and Dancer stood in and helped me sober her up. I had her and her old man's club thrown out. I would have never touched another woman, Mama. I haven't even had the urge since the moment I touched you. You've always been it for me. Whether it's two days or twenty-plus years, it has and will always be you."

"Dragon, that explains the second night, but?—"

"I can admit, that first night, I spoke with her more than I should have. There was nothing sexual in it for me. I was just pissed you wouldn't come with me and acted like an idiot. You were on my mind the entire night. I knew nothing about King. She didn't mention one word about his existence. If she had, I would have told you immediately."

"You found out about him, though. You knew who he was when he gave our son blood."

Dragon shakes his head no. "I suspected, but I didn't know. I had the men gather information on King and when I saw the last name listed on his birth certificate, I figured it couldn't be a coincidence that his was the same as Mavis's."

"Not to mention the fact he had the same rare blood type as you and our son."

I nod slowly, admitting it, even though I don't want to.

"So, you've known all this time and didn't think you should tell me? You don't think I deserved to know?"

I rub the back of my neck, feeling pressure build behind my eyes. I truly didn't mean to get into all of this right now. I wanted to spur her anger, sure. Usually when we fight, it ends with us having sex. Just like the past few months, tonight refuses to go along with my plans.

"He's a grown-ass man, Mama. Nothing I could say will get the years that we should have known about one another back. Besides …"

"Besides?"

"I didn't want to turn the clock back. If I had known Mavis was pregnant, my life would have gone a completely different route, and I would have never had your love. The thought of that happening scared the hell out of me. I resented the kid's very existence because he was proof …"

"Proof of what?"

"Proof that I didn't deserve you. That I never did. You coming into my life saved me, Mama. I was miserable and slowly drowning before you. You gave me a life that I couldn't even dream of because it was so wonderful, but what did I bring you? My enemies came at you, terrorized you. Fuck, you couldn't even have your dream wedding because of all my shit?—"

"Dragon, stop. Things happen the way they're supposed to." She shocks the hell out of me by stepping closer. I go rigidly still, afraid to move. I don't want to scare her away. Nicole proves, as she has time and time again, that she's stronger than I ever was. She reaches out and flattens her palm against my chest. The heat under her touch feels as if it is branding me as hers all over again. "You and I would have ended up together, no matter what. We were meant to be, like Johnny and June."

"Like who?" I ask, my forehead furrowing in confusion.

"Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Their love is legendary. They survived his addiction, and their love was so special that I'm convinced he died because she was no longer with him."

"The singer?"

Her full lips spread into a smile, and I suddenly don't even give a fuck we're talking about some man who used to sing crappy music.

"We'll watch the movie sometime, but my point is, our wedding was messed up by the past that was haunting me and Dani, and our running away from that shit. Our trouble over Mavis and the fact she even got close enough to you to drug you is because you ran away from your past. We have to talk about things and quit running. You can't keep it buried. Secrets never stay that way, Dragon. They always find the light of day, somehow."

"I can't even be sure the bitch didn't drug me the night we had sex without a condom, Nicole. I never fucked without protection before that night, and I never did after—not until you and that was purely my choice. I wanted you tied to me. I wanted you carrying my baby."

"Dragon," she laughs, and I just shrug, because for a change I'm being completely truthful.

"It's true, Mama, and you know it. I hate talking about this shit because it swirls in my head constantly. I question every little thing now. It was known that Mavis loved the club life, and she was on a mission to be with a ranking member. I suspect the only reason she never told me about King was because she had started a relationship with the leader of a rival club and didn't want me in her life to fuck that up—especially since I made it clear to her I wasn't looking to make her my old lady."

"The club she was with that night, is that …"

"Yeah, baby. She was with the Saint's Outlaws. That's why I was so surprised they were involved in your rescue. Then again, I only dealt with Bear and a couple of others. They have mostly a new club now. At least, the ones I've interacted with are new. Most of the old club, except for Blade and a few members, died in their fight with the Feral Kings."

"Does King know about Mavis and her connection with the Saints?"

"I don't think so. I have a feeling that they don't know about King either. If Bear was aware Mavis had a kid, he would have told me—especially after the shit that went down. He didn't like that it cost him an alliance that he had been working for. Bear wanted our help to take down the Feral Kings and not having it probably cost him his life. So, if nothing else, he would have told me in hopes of trying to repair the bridge between our clubs. Hell, even I can admit that King looks a fuck of a lot like me."

"That's why I can't be totally mad at you. I saw it, too. I mostly knew when he gave blood to Thomas, but I wanted to bury my head in the sand. It's stupid and I sound like a big baby, but I didn't want to admit that another woman gave you a child."

"You didn't just give me a child, Mama. You gave me peace. You gave me a home and a family. That's not the same. It never could be. I love you."

"I love you, too. We can't keep surviving if we don't talk to each other, though."

"Well, since we're striving for honesty, I decided to get you alone and then piss you off until you attacked me like you usually do when we fight."

"Attacked you?" she laughs.

"C'mon, Mama. You know as well as I do when we fight, we always end up fucking—and it is always spectacular."

"You're such a romantic," Nicole giggles.

"That's why you married me, wasn't it? Because I'm so good with words that I make your panties fall off?"

She looks at me with a smile that finally reaches her eyes and even with her face bruised and puffy, she's never been more beautiful to me. "I married you because I can't seem to breathe without you."

"You keep talking like that, Mama, and I'm going to fuck you."

"Shut up and kiss me, Dragon."

I grin down at her and pull her body into mine, my lips crashing against hers. I still have a war to win, but fuck if I'm not going to go into battle with my cock still wet with my woman's pussy.

I need that.