Today, Addy is being released from the hospital. But she is to take it easy for a few days. We are heading home where she can rest, and I will make sure she does so. I can tell she is getting restless being stuck in the hospital bed, so I have a feeling she is going to give me trouble when it comes to resting for a few days.
Everyone has been in to see her, from her boss to Ruby and Orville and several of my MC brothers and their wives. Ever since her father left, Atlas has had at least one guy at her door, which was nice so I could get at least a restless sleep in.
None of that was enough of a distraction for all the thoughts circling in my head since her father’s visit. His reaction is nothing short of what I expected from him, so I’m not sure why it hit me so hard.
I saw Ruby’s judgment in her eyes when she visited. I see it in the nurses’ faces, and I hear it in her doctor’s tone when he talks to me. They all think this is wrong. My being with my best friend’s daughter is darkening her reputation, and how can I allow that when all I want is to take care of her?
The problem is the women’s shelter is still full, and if what happened at the library is any indication, she still needs protection. But I can only push her away so much. She will have to stay under my roof. Though she doesn’t have to be in my bed, which is easier said than done because my cock doesn’t like that idea at all.
One thing that I absolutely won’t stop doing is protecting her with my life. Yesterday proved I let my guard down, and I won’t allow that to happen again. I’ve already spoken to Atlas about having some of the guys help me watch her when she is at work.
She will be safe in my cabin, so that's not an issue. But the less time I spend around her in town during the day, the better.
Finally, the doctor comes in and goes over her chart one more time, giving her the okay to leave. The nurse follows, giving us our checkout paperwork. In order to make sure Addy will be taken care of, I pay attention to everything they say.
I help her get dressed and when they bring in the wheelchair, I help her into it as well. All the while in the back of my mind I keep hearing her father’s words.
"Go get your vehicle, and we'll meet you at the front door," the nurse interrupts my thoughts.
Leaving Addy alone with the nurse doesn't feel right. My gut says not to, not after what just happened.
Thankfully, Thunder is here, and he realizes my hesitation, jumping right in.
“Hey, give me your keys. I'll go pull your truck around, and you bring her down to the door," he says.
I don't even hesitate and toss him my keys. Even though I don't let anyone drive my truck, if it comes down to my truck or Addy, I’ll choose her every time.
The nurse walks down to the front door with us, and Thunder is there with my truck. After we load up, we give Thunder a ride to his truck before heading home. The ride is quiet, but every so often Addy looks over at me. Though she doesn't say anything and turns to look out the window like her life depended on it.
While I can tell there is something on her mind, and I'd love to know it is, it's best to keep my distance. Though I know I'm going to have to have a talk with her, maybe tonight, and I know she may not like it, but she'll understand.
Maybe.
I know she will.
She has to.
Once we get home, I help her into the house and set her bag from the hospital on her bed.
“Why don't you take a nap and get some rest? I'll figure out something to make for dinner.”
“I’ll lie down on the couch and read. But I've been doing nothing but sleeping, and I am not tired. Not at all,” she snaps, picking up the book on the coffee table.
Nodding, I head into the kitchen and pull out what I need for dinner. I'm lost in my own thoughts as I make a recipe I've made more times than I can count: my homemade mac and cheese, which I know Addy loves.
When dinner is ready, we sit at the table and eat, and Addy fills the silence with how excited she is about all the new sign-ups at the library. She tells me about how she's already planning for next month's event and the huge boost in email sign-ups, too. Then she goes on about the good problem of having to work all the new donations into their budget.
Even though I wish that she shouldn't worry about work right now, it’s obvious how excited she is and how much she loves what she does. This is more than just a job for her. It’s her passion, and if thinking about it keeps her mind off of everything she's been through in the past couple of days, then all the better.
“Thank you for dinner, Stone. Let me clean up since you cooked,” she says, standing with her plate.
I stop her. “The doctor said you need rest. Why don’t you go sit down and pick out a movie and we'll watch it after I'm done cleaning up,” I suggest.
Not that I’d let her clean up on a normal night, but not when she is supposed to be resting. Especially, right after being poisoned because I dropped the ball in protecting her.
She smiles agreeably and heads to the living room, while I take my time cleaning up the kitchen. Hopefully, she'll fall asleep partway through the movie, and then I can carry her to bed and go to my bed early.
Though my cock reminds me that it wasn’t that long ago she was in my bed and that’s where she belongs again. Certainly not in her own bed. Yeah, he’s not happy at the possibility of her being so close, but not being able to have her.
I know, buddy. I want her too.
When I get to the living room, she has a movie pulled up and paused, with a determined look on her face. I sit down on the opposite end of the couch from her, and she watches me with a deep frown on her face.
“Go ahead and play the movie, sweetheart,” I tell her, which, for some reason, seems to be the wrong thing to do.
Instead of playing the movie, she turns her body to face me. “What is going on here? You couldn't get any further away from me if you tried, and I don't just mean physically,” she says, watching me closely.
I stare straight ahead, only glancing at her through my peripheral vision. “It's just better this way,” I say, taking the coward's way out.
“Better for who? Certainly not me,” she says, glaring at me.
“I saw the judgmental glares everyone gave me who came to visit you. Even Ruby, who would love to take credit for being part of setting up another couple,” I tell her, still unable to look her in the eye.
“Ruby came over, gave me a hug, and whispered in my ear that it was about time I got you out of your shell and how happy she was for us. The glare that she gave you was because of all the distance between us and the fact that you refused to acknowledge us as a couple despite everyone already knowing that we were.”
My brain thinks over Ruby’s visit, and I start to see it with a new set of eyes. I was on the other side of the room, as far from her as I could get. I’m wondering if what she said is true, and I am so lost in my own head I miss her standing and walking over to me. She straddles my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck.
My cock doesn't seem to care that we're supposed to be putting distance from each other when her pussy is cradling it so lovingly. He’s getting harder with every shift of her hips.
Attempting to hold her still, I place both hands on her hips.
“If you don't want me anymore, then you need to tell me. Don't take the coward's way out and try to tell me that this was for my own good, like I'm some little kid. After everything that you said? You said I was yours, and you said that you loved me. Remember when you said, and I quote, ‘you are mine?’ If you don’t want me, have the balls to say it because I deserve at least that,” she says, finally forcing me to look her in the eye.
The hurt and fear that I see there is my undoing. This girl is mine, and I love her with every part of me. At the same time, I know she deserves so much better.
“I love you, Stone. I'm not going anywhere. If you think you can put a wall back up, and try to walk away, you're sadly mistaken. Because I'm prepared to fight for us. Are you?”
Knowing she is all in, and that she isn’t letting me take the easy way out, does something to me. How can I not be as honest as she is?
“Fuck, Addy. I love you, too. Why do I feel like I'm always trying to do what's right for you, and I fail? You deserve someone your own age who you can make a life with, not someone you're going to end up having to take care of. There are so many men much better than me.”
“Why don't you stop trying to tell me what I deserve and what's good for me and let me decide? What I want and what I have always wanted is you. The whole age thing? I know that you're going to take care of me, so when and if the time comes, I’ll be honored to be the one taking care of you. But that is so much further down the road that neither of us needs to worry about it. You are mine, Stone. And I am yours. Nothing and no one is going to change that. Do you understand me?”
Not only is she very serious, but passionate too. And her amber eyes are blazing with fire as she looks at me. I shouldn't find a turn on.
But there's something in the tone and in her words that makes me realize I need to stop getting in my own way. Once and for all, I need to stop letting my brain fight with my heart.
“Damn right you're mine, baby girl. Let me take you to bed and prove it,” I tell her. Then I stand and she wraps her legs around my waist as I carry her to our bed.
Right now, this minute, I need to remind her as much as I need to remind myself that she's mine. There is no running away from this. And I wouldn't have it any other way.