Chapter Seven

Shadow rode back to the MC clubhouse with Camilla seated behind him. The atmosphere between them remained heavy with tension.

Shadow could sense Camilla's unease, her body rigid against his back, her breaths shallow and rapid. He wanted to reach out to her, to offer some form of comfort, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not now.

Thoughts raced through his mind, each one more troubling than the last. Camilla was sister to Fernando Hernandez, the leader of a notorious cartel. The realization hit him like a sledgehammer. He had been harboring feelings for a woman involved in a world like his own.

Camilla had mentioned her family was complicated, but this took the cake. Yet, despite the danger she posed to Shadow and the Death Seekers, every fiber of his being rebelled against the idea of letting her go back to that life.

Once they were in his room, Shadow watched as Camilla took a seat at the edge of his bed. Her shoulders slumped, and her eyes seemed distant. He couldn't bear to see her like this, the sight of her so defeated tugged at his heartstrings.

Moving closer, Shadow sat down beside her and reached out to gently grasp her hand. As their eyes met, he could see the vulnerability in hers, the unspoken pain and fear that lingered within.

"I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere," he murmured.

He brushed away the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, hating he was the cause of it.

"I didn't mean to deceive you," she whispered.

Shadow shook his head. "I know you didn't," he assured her.

He listened intently as she recounted her life before her kidnapping, the restrictions and isolation imposed upon her by her brother's world.

"All my life, I lived in my brother's shadow. Because of what he did for a living, he said he needed to always keep me close, because his enemies would use me against him," Camilla said.

She recounted how her life had been before her kidnapping.

"I needed one of his men to accompany me even to the grocery store," Camilla added with a bitter laugh. "You can imagine, I didn't have many friends. I felt like a prisoner. The day before I was taken, my brother and I had a terrible fight. He wanted to marry me off to one of his allies, and I refused," Camilla said. "The next morning, I felt suffocated, like I couldn't breathe, so I went for a run."

Shadow could feel her pain as she recounted the events.

"And the Reapers knew who you were. That's why they kept you in a separate room," he said, understanding dawning on him.

"Not at first, but one of them eventually figured it out," Camilla admitted. "They said they had grand plans for me."

She shivered involuntarily. Shadow pulled her close into a protective embrace. Leaning in, he pressed his mouth over hers. Camilla clutched his shirt and responded, the kiss hungry and tasted a little of desperation.

It dawned on Shadow that he didn ' t want to lose her and he didn ' t care who her brother was. It seemed Camilla felt the same way about him.

Shadow shrugged off his jacket while Camilla took off her shirt, then her underwear and pants. She kicked off her shoes then knelt before him. Shadow sucked in a breath, admiring how gorgeous his woman was.

Camilla belonged here, in his world and with him, he realized. She wasn ' t going anywhere. The sight of her, vulnerable and exposed, was enough to make his dick rock hard.

She closed her small fingers over his shaft and he threaded his fingers into her hair, bringing her lips closer. She licked, sucked, and explored every veined inch of him, taking her sweet time.

Shadow tightened his grip on her hair as she paid attention to his balls as well, taking them in her sweet mouth and sucking.

He groaned as she finally took his length down her throat and didn ' t even gag once. Damn, but this woman was a keeper. She kept at it, bobbing her head up and down until his balls tightened against his body.

" I ' m close," he told her.

She didn ' t pull away at that revelation. In fact, she took all of his seed and didn ' t spill a single drop.

" Baby, you're a keeper," he told her.

Smiling, Camilla crawled into his bed. He joined her, straddling her. He kissed her again, this time not holding back.

Camilla sunk her fingers into his hair as he worshipped her body. Shadow kissed her cheek, the side of her neck, the hollow of her collarbones.

He took his time, sucking on her breasts, leaving his teeth marks on them. Camilla cried out beneath him and he slid two fingers inside her pussy just to feel how wet she was.

She was more than ready for him but he wasn ' t done with her. He nipped and bit his way down to the crevice of her legs. Shadow paid particular attention to her clit, circling his tongue over the sensitive bundle of nerves until she cried out above him.

He pushed two, three fingers into her cunt, feeling her muscles convulse around him. When Camilla came, he licked her clean like a cat with cream. Shadow lifted himself up, still licking away the remnants of her sweetness on his tongue. Camilla gazed up at him, expression soft and unfocused.

" You ' re hard again," she murmured, reaching out to stoke his shaft. " Fuck me."

" My fucking pleasure," Shadow said.

He slid inside her, not stopping until he was balls-deep in her. Going slow this time wasn't what either of them wanted.

Shadow fucked her like he owned her and she matched him for every thrust. At his last push, Camilla arched her back and the whimper that followed made him smile.

He aimed for her G-spot repeatedly, until she came all over his cock. Shadow hammered her a few more times, before filling her with his jizz. He collapsed next to her, pulling her close to him. Camilla huddled close to him, burying her face into his chest.

" Hanging Grove is my home now. You're my home, Shadow," she confessed in a hushed tone. "I love you so much."

Shadow held her tighter, his own possessive emotions burning within him.

"I love you too, and I've made up my mind. I'm not letting you go, not without a fight," he said.

Camilla seemed hesitant and she bit on her lower lip. "But … going against my brother's wishes might mean involving your MC. Rooster and the others, they're good men," she pointed out.

Shadow brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. Leaning in, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips before responding. "Camilla, my MC brothers are grown men. They can decide if they want to stand by me or not. Besides, knowing them, they're always looking for a good fight."

Camilla was silent for a few moments. Then, a certain look appeared in her eyes that Shadow didn't like.

"Let me talk to Fernando in person at least. Just the two of us. I'll make him understand that my place is here with you," she finally said.

Shadow didn't like the idea. From what little Camilla had told him about her brother, it sounded like he was a control freak, and who knew what lies Jake had fed him about them?

Camilla must have sensed his skepticism because she touched his arm.

"I know I painted my brother as unreasonable and demanding, but I know there's some good left in him. I'll convince him that I won't be a liability to him because I'll be safe here with you," she said.

Shadow couldn't shake off the unease that settled in his gut. The thought of Camilla facing her brother alone, especially after everything they had just gone through, made him anxious. His first thought was to outright refuse, to convince her this was a crazy idea. Camilla wasn't thinking straight if she really thought this would work.

Then he remembered that she lived most of her life with someone constantly hovering over her shoulder and telling her what she could and couldn't do. If Shadow told her no, that he'd handle this on his own, he'd be no better than her brother.

Camilla decided to stay in Hanging Grove in the first place, because she wanted to experience the freedom to make her own choices for the first time in the life. He wasn't going to deny her this, even it meant risking her life.

"Are you sure about this?" Shadow asked. "I don't like the idea of you meeting him alone."

Camilla grasped his hand. "I understand your worries, but I need to do this," she insisted. "Fernando is my brother, and I owe him this much. I'll make him see reason, I promise."

Reluctantly, he nodded. "All right," he said. "But I can't just let you waltz in there. We need a secondary plan, in case things go south."

****

Shadow watched the rhythmic rise and fall of Camilla's chest as she slept peacefully. After their conversation, she had drifted off. He was just about to follow suit when an urgent knock jolted him awake.

"Coming," he whispered, not wanting to disturb Camilla.

Gently untangling himself from her, he quietly slipped out of bed. After putting his jeans and shirt on, he opened the door to find Rooster standing there, his expression troubled.

Shadow closed the door behind him. "What's going on?" he asked. "Trouble?"

"Breaker wants to see you in his office. He didn't seem happy," Rooster responded. "Shadow, did you do something to anger him?"

"It's probably about Camilla," Shadow replied, his mind racing with possibilities.

Rooster's confusion was evident. "Camilla?" he questioned. "What about her?"

Shadow placed a comforting hand on Rooster's shoulder. Though he trusted him, he wasn't ready to involve him in this mess if it wasn ' t necessary.

"I'll explain later," Shadow assured him.

After taking a deep breath, he made his way to Breaker's office. Standing in front of the boss's door, he took a deep breath before knocking.

Shadow entered the room, closing the door behind him. Breaker's scowl deepened as he eyed Shadow, clearly not in the mood for pleasantries.

Without offering him a seat, Breaker got straight to the point. "I just received an interesting call from Fernando Hernandez," Breaker said. Shadow's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Fernando's name.

"What does he want?" Shadow asked, attempting to play it cool. In hindsight, he realized it was a bad idea.

Breaker's gaze bore into him. "He demands we release his sister. Says he'll go to war with us if she isn't returned," Breaker stated.

Shadow realized he owed Breaker and the MC an explanation. They were his family and they deserved to know about his and Camilla ' s situation.

" He's talking about Camilla," Shadow said. "I didn't mean to keep this information from you. I only found out the truth today."

Breaker's eyes narrowed, but he remained silent. Shadow couldn't discern whether this was a good or bad sign.

" Start from the beginning," Breaker instructed, gesturing to a chair in front of his desk. Shadow took a seat and told Breaker all he knew.

"Do you know why Fernando's right-hand man was in town today? He was a potential client," Breaker stated.

Shadow frowned, connecting the dots. "So, Camilla bumping into him today was coincidental?" he asked.

Breaker ignored the question. "This is what you're going to do," he continued, cutting Shadow off. "You'll return Fernando's sister and personally apologize for—"

"Like hell I will," Shadow interrupted, jumping to his feet. "Didn't you hear what I said earlier? Camilla doesn't want to go back to her family."

"You'll risk everything for this woman you hardly know?" he questioned, his tone skeptical.

Those words ignited a fire within Shadow. "Camilla is not just some woman," he replied. " She was born to be mine."