Concern washed through her eyes as she looked at me, but Lily pushed open the door to my room, thankfully, and not Johnston’s. Once I was on the bed and comfortable, she quietly left, more than likely realizing she’d said something she probably shouldn’t have. But despite my silence toward her, I was glad she had said something.
Because it was clear that Johnston wasn’t going to.
The door to my room burst open, and I glanced up at Johnston. He looked worried, but as soon as he laid his eyes on me, he breathed a sigh of relief.
What was wrong with him?
“Why aren’t you in our room?” he asked, making his way to me after he shut my room door.
I glowered at him the best I could. “Why didn’t you tell me you decided to announce to the club I’m your old lady?” I demanded, answering his question with another question.
He stopped in his tracks and studied me for a moment, his eyes shuttering. He could feel a fight on the horizon, and fuck if I wasn’t ready to give him one. I was feeling downright volatile. He should have talked to me first before just doing his normal thing of making all the decisions.
I wasn’t one of the club members. I didn’t wear a cut. And I wasn’t a club bunny. I was just the fucking bartender.
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, keeping his distance from me. “I thought we discussed this in the hospital,” he said calmly.
“Did we?” I retorted, arching my brow at him—the only one I could fucking arch. “Because I don’t recall a single instance when you saidwill you be my old lady. Do you?”
He clenched his jaw because he knew as well as I did that he hadn’t said that. I sighed. “Johnston, you said I was yours. I know that. But being your old lady is a hell of a lot different than just being yours, and you know it. That’s a fucking life vow for you men. Was your wife your old lady?”
Silently, he shook his head. I released a laugh. “Exactly. Figured she wasn’t since you divorced her, right?” He nodded, keeping silent, more than likely so he wouldn’t say something stupid. He’d always been careful with me. I’d just never realized why until the night we fucked. “Are you going to cheat on me like you did her? Because regardless of her being your old lady or not, Johnston, you were still married. And I was the other woman.”
He moved toward me then, and I squeaked when he grasped my chin in his hand, yanking my head up so I had nowhere to look but into his eyes that were brimming with anger…and adoration.
That was an odd combination. I swallowed thickly.
“I will tattoo your fucking name on my cock if it means you’ll agree to be mine, Aaliyah.” I blinked. I hadn’t been expectingthat. “I’ll bind myself to you any way you see fit. You’re it for me. I’ve wanted you for two goddamn years, and even after I got a taste of you, I just wanted youmore. I’m constantly half fucking hard around you, and my chestachesfor you when you’re not around me.”
Tears welled in my eyes at his fiercely spoken words. He lowered his face until his lips just barely brushed mine.
“Those hours you were in surgery, those days you were lying unconscious on that hospital bed—Red, I never want to experience that again. I was losing my fucking soul—the soulyou’reresponsible for breathing life back into.” He leaned back a little, brushing our noses together, his eyes boring into mine. “Iloveyou, Aaliyah. Let me love you, Red. I’mbeggingyou.”
I blew out a shaky breath and slowly nodded my head. How the hell could I deny him after all that he’d just said? He’d just laid his heart and soul bare.
He pressed his lips to mine, coaxing them apart before tasting every inch of my mouth. I moaned, my hand coming up to clutch at the back of his head.
“Neverfucking letting you go,” he growled when he parted our lips, leaving me panting for breath. “That means you’re my old lady, Red.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’ll put a bullet in your skull if you ever cheat on me,” I warned him, my words a bit choppy since I was still trying to catch my breath.
He smirked at me. “Red, if you ever catch me in that position, I’ll already be on my knees in front of you, begging for you to kill me. Because that would mean I hurt you. And if I ever hurt you, Red, I’ll already be begging for death.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Johnston
Idrummed my fingers on my desk as I stared down at the thick-ass folder Law had gotten me on the Ghosts of Chaos MC. They used to be a clean club, but my guess was, money got tight judging by their finances, and they went dirty to make up for the loss of funds.
And now, they were hedging in on my Texas charter’s territory. I put in the phone call to Scorpion a few hours ago and warned him trouble might be headed his way. Wasn’t much else I could do though besides wait.
After their initial trespass, they’d stayed away. But a desperate club was a dangerous one, and I knew they’d be back.
They always were.
And they always went for what others had instead of trying to build on their own. They were desperate, and desperation made for dangerous, unpredictable enemies.
This was the last fucking thing I needed with Aaliyah still trying to recover.