Lawless (King #3)(36)

“In a way,” Ray said, setting a plate down in front of me, “it means welcome to the family.”

Grace had brought over some sort of cheesy potato casserole and a big leafy salad. Although Ray had been bringing me food for the last few days it was the first meal that I actually remember tasting.

And it tasted fantastic.

Grace fell asleep shortly after lunch on the couch and the kids went down for a nap after refusing to eat anything but salad dressing and chocolate milk. “Thanks for dragging me up here. It actually felt pretty good to be in the land of the living again,” I said as Ray walked me to the back door. “It’s nice to know that no matter how much horrible stuff happens in life that the world still manages to keep turning.”

“Listen Thia, I know you’re going through a lot, and I know it’s really hard, but you have to remember that you’re not the only person who has lost family, and you’re certainly not the only person here who has gone through some seriously horrible shit. I don’t know what Chop did to you at the MC, and wondering about it makes my skin crawl, but you have to know that you’re not the only one in this house who has been through something awful like that.”

“You?” I knew there was more to Ray and her story then the beautiful young mom before me.

“Yeah, and I’ll tell you the entire tale some day, but it’s actually not me I’m talking about.”

“Grace?” I looked over to where she was sleeping on the couch. Her deep snores growing louder and louder with each inhale. “Who would hurt Grace?”

Ray shook her head. “No, not Grace.”

“Then who?” I hoped to God she wasn’t going to say one of the kids.

Ray looked out the door toward the garage and then back to me. “Bear.”

It was the last person I expected her to say, but after she said it, it made sense. Why he hated that I’d been hurt. Why he wanted to heal me. Why he hated me all at the same time.

Why he wanted me gone.

I was more than just a burden. I was a reminder. No wonder he walked away from me last night. He was dealing with his own shit.

He didn’t need to deal with mine too.

If I wasn’t sure before, I was definitely sure now.

The second I could figure out how, I would be gone.

Consequences be damned.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN




Bear


“You got any weed?” I asked Ray who was on the couch in the living room.

“I don’t know, Bear, do you know how to knock?” Ray asked, shooting daggers at me with her eyes.

“Never knocked before.”

“I wasn’t breastfeeding before,” Ray said, and that’s when I noticed the little bundle of pink pressed up against Ray’s bare tit. I’d never seen anyone breastfeed a baby before. Not in person at least. I always thought it would be something gross, but I was wrong. Baby attached to it or not, a bare tit is still a bare tit and although I knew my feelings for Ray had never been anything real, she was still f*cking beautiful…and her tit was still out.

“You got any weed?” I asked again, trying not to look at her tit but in the process managing to only look at her tit.

She grabbed a small blanket from over the couch and slung it over her shoulder. “You can look now.”

“Don’t think I ever stopped,” I admitted. “But do you? It’s kind of important.” It was actually very important. I’d f*cked up. I kissed Thia. I pressed my tongue into her * and in all my life I can honestly say that I’d never tasted anything so f*cking amazing.

But then I got up and left her sitting there probably wondering what the f*ck she’d done wrong when she’d done nothing wrong. It was the opposite. She’d done everything right.

Too f*cking right.

She was so responsive and I knew that if I spent any more time with my mouth on her or touching her in any way that she would have come.

It was the mere thought of her coming around my tongue that set me off and made me start to lose control. Shit? it was probably that first f*cking kiss. Her innocent tongue finding its way to mine.

My cock was so hard it f*cking hurt and I was seconds away from taking her right there at the edge of the fire pit. If it wasn’t for a crackling of the fire, a reminder of what I’d been through in that very same spot bringing me back to reality there was no doubt that I would have done just that.

The weed was my peace offering to her. My way to show her that I really did want to make her forget in a way that didn’t involve me plowing through the barrier of her virgin * with my cock. I also had something else to tell her. Something that kept me on track with my original plan to get back on the f*cking road.

“You think I can smoke weed while breastfeeding?” Ray asked, calling me back to the present.

“I take it from the way you’re looking at me like I’m a f*ck up that the answer to that is a big resounding motherf*cking no?” I asked.

“You would be right,” Ray said. “King is in his studio, he keeps everything locked up pretty tight these days with the kids around, but he probably has something.” She shifted the baby and her shirt before sliding the cover off. “Now was that so hard?” I liked arguing with Ray almost as much as I liked arguing with Ti.