Malice's Possession(51)
“I sent a text to tell you I was on my way.”
That scratchy husky voice of his always had the same effect in her: made her wet in a matter of seconds. “I left the phone upstairs.”
He nodded and then looked over at the stairs. “Can we talk someplace privately?”
Instantly her arousal dimmed at the tone of his voice. “Okay.” She moved toward the entryway of the kitchen, and she swore she heard him inhale as she passed. Her arm brushed against his chest, and she felt that flutter of excitement in her belly. They moved through the living room where many of the women were gathered around the television. Adrianna didn’t miss the curious glances they gave her, but she had also heard the whispers of their suspicions. Yes even after one day she was the talk of the house. Once they were in her room she shut the door and pressed her back to it. Malice stood in the center staring out her window. He was so big and imposing that he made everything in the room seem so small and insignificant.
“What’s on your mind?”
He slowly turned around, and she took in the full scope of him. Black scuffed up boots, jeans that looked worn-in and used, but only in the best kind of way, plain black t-shirt that showed off the sleeves of his tattoos on his arms, and of course his leather biker vest. His dark hair fell slightly across his cheeks, and he had yet to shave. Adrianna liked the trimmed beard on him though. It gave him a very rugged appearance and made his masculinity even more pronounced.
“You’re on my mind.”
Her pulse increased and moved up her throat. Those words might not have meant much to someone else, but to her they meant so much more.
“You spoke with Molly today?” he asked.
Of course she wasn’t surprised that he knew about her conversation with Molly. She was the mother of his child after all. “Yeah, earlier today. She’s a very sweet woman and cares about these girls.”
He nodded and glanced away. He didn’t say anything for several seconds, and she started to feel like the calm before the storm. Was he about to say something bad?
“She’s worried about you.”
A relieved breath left her. “Yeah, I got that from our conversation, but I think it is in her nature to worry about others. Besides, these other women have had such a crummy hand dealt to them.”
“So have you.”
She shrugged. She couldn’t deny it, but she didn’t want to play the victim or look like one either.
“She thinks maybe you and me shouldn’t go down this road because of what happened to you.” He rubbed the back of his neck in what she knew was an uncomfortable gesture. “She thinks that you see me as your rescuer and that is why you have these feelings for me.”
Her cheeks heated instantly, and she didn’t even know why. For a moment she didn’t know what to say. Of course she had thought those same things, but in the end she knew that wasn’t just why she cared about him. It was a part of it, but not the entire reason. “Is that what you think?”
He stared at her, not responding right away, and this dread settled into her belly. “The thought did cross my mind.”
Adrianna nodded, not knowing what to say to that.
“But it doesn’t change how I feel for you, and the fact that the way you look at me, open up to me when we talk, and are so fucking receptive to my touches, that make me realize that I’m not alone in this.” He took step toward her. “But I want you to know why you want me and that it isn’t because the life you had was hard. I want to be able to protect you, make sure you are always safe, and never afraid of anything again.” He stared at her hard and unyielding. “I want you as my old lady. Do you understand what that means?”
Yes and no. She swallowed roughly, on the verge of tears because his words pierced right through her heart like a spear. She had heard some of the women talking about how none of the bikers had old ladies, and Adrianna had to assume that was what the MC called their girlfriends. But for some reason she thought that the term as an old lady meant a hell of a lot more than just being a girlfriend, or even a wife. “What I feel for you has nothing to do with my past, or that I am afraid of what the future holds. Yes, all of this is fast, but who cares? I know what I feel and that all of it is genuine and true.” She waited for him to say something, anything, but he kept quiet and took another step forward. “And I have a feeling I know what an old lady really means.” When he was right in front of her all she could do was inhale the scent that was sweet and spicy, and had a hint of darkness to it. “This is what I want, Malice.” She stared up at him, tired of trying to hold herself back from what she wanted—from what she deserved. And then he had his hands on either side of her face and his mouth on hers. After that Adrianna was lost to the sensations crashing through her at an astounding rate.