Page 86 of Paladin's Hell

Chapter 28

Jayden

Last night I was disappointed to sleep alone in Paladin’s bed. I’d snuggled under the covers, placing my head on the pillow that smelled of him. Even though he hadn’t been there, I’d felt closer to him than I ever had.

All evening Mo had been saying things that were eating away at me. That a young man like Paladin wouldn’t have waited, suggesting Bitch couldn’t possibly have been the only female to have been in his bed. That nearly three years was too long for a biker like him to be satisfied with his hand, not with all the willing pussy around him.

When Pyro, one of the men left in the club to protect it, had come over and offered to play pool, I’d accepted, if only to get some space to clear my head. Ignoring some of the stains on the pool table, I’d thrashed him three times. I’d then beaten Buzzard. The computer guy, Cad, put up more of a run for his money. By then, time had passed. The club girls had started dancing around the pole, showing off their bodies in ways I’d be ashamed to. The old ladies, what there were of them, were making moves to make themselves scarce. It was my cue to leave this strange party.

That the compound was shot at didn’t particularly upset me, no one had been badly hurt and I was thankful for that. I’m no stranger to this lifestyle. I’d been on the Tucson compound when a bomb had gone off, and Slick had got badly injured. I’d been there when a wildfire was approaching. I know what a biker’s life is like and the risks that they take. That we take, the women who choose to throw their lot in with them.

As I started making my way to the stairs, out of the corner of my eyes I saw Titsy had now got her top off. When she writhed on the pole, interest flared in the men’s eyes. The words Mo had been throwing at me all evening had come back to me. Perhaps she was right. With all this temptation around him, how would Pal be able to resist?

Before I’d settled down to sleep, I’d done something I never thought I would. When I’d gone up to his room, I’d shamelessly searched it, smelling the sheets, seeking anything, a note, letter, something to show he hadn’t been honest. I’d found nothing. No signs the bathroom had been used by anyone else. The only sign a female had been in here, a few stray cat hairs on the bed cover.

It’s was then I knew I was being stupid. Pal would be mine if I reached out to take him.

Mo’s been treating me like a kid who doesn’t know her own mind. Yet she was only a few months older when she met Hell. If it worked out for them, why wouldn’t it for me? They’d even started their family immediately.

Paladin knows my story, he lived part of it. Was there during my recovery, was my rock to lean on when things got hard.

Take my bad memories awayI’d begged him, when I was just fourteen. Like the gentleman he is, he wouldn’t. He became my friend, giving me no sign he’d push to be anything else. Until now, when we’ve been given the opportunity.

Do I want him?Or is it just my expectation of the natural progression of what I wanted all those years back.

I fell asleep eventually, thoughts still whirling around my head.

I wake to find I’m sprawled over a body. How Pal’s not fallen off the edge of the bed, I don’t know. I’ve managed to move from the side I’d taken, traversed the middle, and ended up taking over most of the rest. My leg’s over his denim clad thighs, my hand resting on his chest. His breathing alters, he’s awake.

I keep my eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of his beating heart under my hand, feeling it speeding up as I leave it there. A strange emotion comes over me. A sense of possessiveness. He’s mine. Now I know I hadn’t just been searching for signs to prove him unfaithful and unworthy, I’d been making sure no one else had claimed something that belonged to me.

I don’t want to move, I’m too comfy. I’m also embarrassed. The first time I’m in bed with him and I’m wearing my most comfy pair of pyjamas, with decidedly non-sexy unicorns on them. I should have worn a sexy negligee, but I don’t even own one. Putting off the moment when I have to talk to him, not knowing how to handle this situation, I concentrate on my breathing, gradually feeling him relax again, and then, like him, return to sleep, my lips curling. I like this.

When I wake again, he’s staring at me. “Oh, God, Pal. I’m sorry. I…”

He traps my hand that’s still on his chest under his fingers. “Ain’t got nothing to apologise for, Doll.”

He doesn’t mind me lying on him? “I’m taking up all the bed.”

“I’m comfortable,” Now that must be a lie. “Just don’t move your leg…”

“Oh!” I suppress a self-conscious giggle, and my face burns red. I can feel he’s hard underneath the denim he’s still wearing. Is that down to me? Or is it just the state I’ve heard all men wake up with? I ease my leg down so I can no longer feel it. I’m certainly not going to draw attention to his cock. “I, er, I’ll get up now. You must be tired.”

“Yeah, I’m going to sleep on a while.”

He lets my hand go, I still don’t want to move. Without me ever having admitted it, this is exactly where I want to be. It feels so good, so natural, as though we were made to be together. He doesn’t protest when I leave my hand where it lies, nor when my fingers start moving, exploring his muscular chest. There’s something tantalising about touching his naked skin, though I’d be hard pushed to name it. I don’t want to stop.

“Doll,” he protests after a few minutes.

Whoops. I’m taking liberties. But he’s taken none. Unlike the men who’d taken advantage of me. It makes me want more. There seems to be a disconnect between my mouth and my brain, as suddenly I find myself asking, “Can I kiss you?”

He’s quiet, as if I’ve stunned him. Then, “Sure, have at it, sweetheart.”

I don’t hesitate. Sitting up, leaning over him, placing my hand against his face. If he’d moved, trapped me, I would have been scared, but he does nothing to concern me, leaving me completely in charge. It’s what I want, need. I giggle slightly as I slip my finger into his mouth and he licks it, but my mirth fades fast as I hadn’t counted on nerve endings in my forefinger being able to send tingles down my body. Such a small thing, but how sexy.

I can’t wait any more. I kiss him chastely. It’s not enough. I kiss him again. He opens for me. Our tongues touch. I’ve imagined it, dreamed of it, but never experienced it, that exciting tingling caressing him like this invokes. He must have more experience than me, but he lets me take the lead. I explore his mouth; he returns the action. His hands twitch, he does nothing to take charge.

I need more. I move, throwing my leg over him so I’m sitting across his chest. I kiss him again, using my hands against his bristly cheeks.

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