The Cut(12)

She couldn't help herself. She rested her cheek against his chest for  just a moment before pulling away. "I think you mean once I'm looking  better, because other than a slight throb in my eye, I'm fine."

Stake cupped her face between his big hands and tilted her head back  until their eyes met. "Even bruised you're more beautiful than any woman  I've ever known."

"Yeah, right. I remember the women who used to hang all over you." She  didn't mention how jealous she'd always been of the big-titted sluts.

"Do you? Because I don't. I've had bitches in my bed since I was  fourteen, and I don't remember a fuckin' thing about any of them." He  ran his thumb over Santana's lower lip, avoiding the healing split. "I  want you so bad I can't stand it."

She touched the tip of her tongue to his thumb. She had no idea why he'd  want her, but she'd thought of nothing else for years. "Then take me,"  she whispered.

He leaned down and brushed his lips over her mouth. "Someday, but not yet."





Chapter Four





Stake heard the backdoor open behind him just as he ended the call with  Jack. "They're finally done with your house, so I'll run over and pack  up your clothes," he told Santana.

"Can I go?" she asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea." He shoved his phone into his back  pocket before turning around to face her. "I don't mind doing it."

She tucked her long dark hair behind her ears. "I think Momma had a  black dress in her closet. I want to see if it fits, so I can wear it  when we go to the cemetery."

"I'll buy ya a black dress." He'd called Cecil to see if either Mad Dog  or Hog could meet him at Santana's, but Cecil had given him a bullshit  excuse about how it would be best for the club if they kept their  distance from the crime scene. It was fucked up because Stake didn't  trust himself not to kill Gordon if he saw him.

She crossed her arms, drawing his attention to her large tits. "Maybe I don't want you going through my things."

"Tough shit." He decided to tell her the truth. "Gordon's being released today, and I don't want you anywhere near him."

The color drained from her gorgeous face. "It's been less than three days. How's he getting out?"

"Evidently, his injuries were more superficial then they led us to  believe." He moved to wrap his arms around her. "I won't let him hurt  you again. If the cops don't do their job, believe me, I'll take care of  Gordon myself." It's the way he'd wanted it in the first place. The  only reason he'd gone along with Cecil's demand to take Santana to the  hospital was to keep her from getting into trouble with the law.

"No." She rested her cheek on his chest. It was something she'd done on  several occasions and each time, it filled him with a sense of warmth  he'd never felt before. "I lost my dad that way; I won't lose you, too."

He held her tighter. "What kind of man would I be if I let Gordon get  away with what he did to you? If it means going to prison, I'll pay the  price."

"And leave me alone, just like Smash did, to fend for myself?" She  pushed against his chest until he released her. "No. I can't go through  that again. I'll kill him myself before I let you do something like that  for me."

No way in hell would he let his woman do his job. Stake stilled,  realizing he'd already begun to think of her as his. He watched her pace  around the back porch, the T-shirt barely covering her bare ass and  knew in his gut, she was his woman. He dug his phone out and looked at  the time. If they hurried, they could be in and out of her house before  nine. Surely, the hospital wouldn't release Gordon that early. "Let's  go."         

     



 

She smiled and jumped off the side of the porch to the dirt below. "Are we taking the bike?"

He would love nothing more than to feel her wrapped around his back, but  it wasn't possible. "I'd like to get everything out of the house that  you're going to need for the next few months. Can't do that with the  bike." He opened the passenger door of the old truck and waited for her  to get in before going around to climb behind the steering wheel.

"Can we take the bike to the cemetery once we get Momma's ashes? I think Dad would appreciate that."

"Sure." He kept his eyes on the road and off the bared legs beside him.  For three days, those fucking legs had teased him. Although he'd seen  her naked on the night of the attack, he hadn't been in the position to  truly worship her body the way it deserved. He wanted to touch and lick  every inch of her sun-bronzed skin while she moaned underneath him.  Fuck. He released the steering wheel and dropped his right hand to his  lap in an attempt to hide his erection. Not to brag, but he was a big  man, and when his body decided to respond sexually, there was no way in  hell to successfully hide it.

"Stake?"

"Yeah?" He waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he glanced her way.

"How long before I heal enough?" she asked.

Since he hadn't seen her wounds since the first night, he wasn't sure  how to answer. He returned his attention to the gravel road. "I don't  know. Bruises can take a while to disappear completely, but the swelling  is pretty much gone already. Why? Are you hurting?"

She shook her head. "Because I want you to touch me, and you said I needed to heal first."

"Fuck, baby," he groaned. "It's not your body I'm worried about. I  thought I made that clear. I just don't want to push the physical stuff  until I know you're ready for it. Freaking you out isn't something I'm  willing to do."

Again, silence greeted him. He wasn't sure what else to say, so he kept  his mouth shut and wondered if he'd ever understand Santana's moods.



After packing her own clothes, Santana started on her mom's closet.  Although they wore the same size, they'd always had very different  tastes. Ellie had dressed for Smash, but Santana didn't have anyone to  impress, so she chose to be comfortable. She glanced down at her old  ratty jean shorts. Yep, comfort.

"So what's up with the blue tarp on the roof?" Stake asked from the bedroom doorway.

Her hand closed around the black dress she'd been looking for. "The roof leaks." Duh.

"I figured that much, but why haven't you hired someone to fix it?"

"We tried. A few years ago, Mom gave me permission to sell Dad's bike so  we could have the roof replaced. The guys who were going to do it said  they needed half the money up front to buy supplies. Unfortunately, they  never came back to do the work." It had been an expensive lesson, but  one that she'd never forget.

"That's bullshit. Did you report them?"

"Tried, but the cops said they couldn't do anything since I didn't have a  contract." She held the dress in front of her and studied herself in  the mirror. The jersey dress was short, but at least the neckline wasn't  as low as some of the other dresses and shirts in her mom's closet.  "Anyway, that's the last time I trusted anyone in this town."

Stake stepped into the room and leaned against the wall beside the closet. "You trust me," he pointed out.

"Mostly." She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she wasn't positive  that she truly trusted him. Not that it was the same, but she supposed  she felt closer to him than anyone. However, even though he had been  nothing but kind, she knew she couldn't count on him to stick around.  He'd left before, and once he realized how fucked up she was, he'd  probably leave again. Funny, she was fucked up because she wasn't fucked  up over what happened with Gordon. She might be withdrawn, but she  wasn't stupid. Any other woman who'd been through what Gordon had done  to her would be traumatized. What exactly did it say about her that she  didn't feel what everyone expected her to feel?

In an attempt to change the subject, she held the dress up. "I need to try this on."

He shook his head and moved to pull several dresses, skirts and blouses  from Ellie's closet. "You'll have to take these with us. I want to be  long gone before they release Gordon."

Santana studied the dress in her hand. She had much bigger breasts than  her mom, but she didn't have anything else that would be appropriate for  a funeral. Perhaps Stake knew she didn't have anything that looked  nice. Maybe that's why he'd pulled the clothes from her mom's closet.  "Okay."         

     



 

"Is there anything else in here you want to take with us?" he asked.

"Yeah." She handed the dress to him before gathering several photos from  her mom's dresser. She stared down at the simple thin gold band that  sat on the bedside table and suddenly felt guilty that her mom hadn't  been wearing it when they took her away. The ring hadn't fit for months,  but Ellie always insisted it be within sight of the bed. Santana  scooped it up and shoved it into the pocket of her shorts.