Page 27 of Girth (Marked Skulls MC 1)
“That doesn’t have to change. Nobody can keep me safe the way Girth does. I trust him,” I said and Daddy’s eyes travelled to Girth again. He waited a few moments before he spoke again.
“I trust him too,” he said and I tried to stifle a smile.
“Then what are you worried about?” I asked and waited for Daddy to reply.
I wasn’t expecting Girth to speak up, but he did.
“It’s against the rules, Lila, and we need to respect that. Without these rules there will be anarchy,” Girth growled from behind me and I pressed my eyes close. I couldn’t believe he was actually on Daddy’s side. That his sense of duty and loyalty was so strong towards an MC that he had only recently joined.
Daddy was watching me. I could sense that he was trying to figure out my true feelings. If he could truly look into my soul, he would see what I was feeling. He would know that this was for real.
“Fuck the rules!” he exclaimed and my eyes grew wild. Those were not words I had ever heard Daddy use before. He was never the kind of man who wanted to fuck the rules, but here he was; actually saying them.
I could feel the corners of my lips tugging in a smile.
“Daddy?” I said, barely in a whisper and he threw his arms open for me to fall into.
I sank into my father’s arms, smiling as he held me close to his chest. He was stroking my back now.
“You have always gotten what you wanted, mouse,” Daddy said and I looked up at him with my cheeks flushed, my eyes sparkling with excitement.
“But this time, darling Lila, I’m glad you’ve asked for something that I’m happy to give to you,” Daddy said and he pressed my cheeks with his thumbs the way he used to when I was little.
“Happy?” it was Girth’s shocked voice that interrupted us and Daddy looked up at him now, over my shoulder.
“Lila is right. There is nobody better to keep her safe. I’m sorry if I was hard on you yesterday, Girth, I had every intention of thanking you too. None of us could have chased her down and brought her back to safety the way you did. For that I am grateful,” Daddy replied.
I turned to look at Girth with a wide smile on my face. He was still looking shocked, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. I was surprised too, but I was too happy and relieved to express anything else.
“So, what you are saying is that you will not have me lynched for being with your daughter?” Girth asked. Daddy, who was still holding me by my shoulders now broke into sudden laughter.
Some of the men in the bar chuckled along too, while Girth continued to glare at my father. Still unsure about what the situation was.
“No. You can breathe easy, brother,” Daddy said and then pulled me in for another hug and placed a kiss on my cheek.
“Go on, go to him. I’m not going to stop you,” he said and gave me a light push.
With my cheeks flushed, and my eyes heavy with excitement, I took a few steps towards Girth. He was looking too embarrassed to even meet my eyes now, but then he stretched his hand out towards me.
My heart was racing in my chest as he kept his hand out, urging me to go to him.
I rushed towards him and he pulled me into his arms.
It was Daddy who started clapping, and within seconds, every person in the bar was clapping too. It was strange to be in the arms of a man, in the presence of the whole MC, and nobody was trying to shoot him down.
I looked up at Girth, who surprisingly, was smiling too right now.
“Can I say I told you so?” I asked him and he grinned.
“Yes, Lila, you are always right. I’m slowly coming to realize it,” Girth said and we shared our first kiss in front of the MC.
Chapter 26
Girth
Lewis was behind the bar, pouring me a drink and my head was spinning. Within minutes of Lewis declaring that he was not going to protest against Lila and me being together, the celebrations began.
It was only now that I was realizing that Lila had been single for years. Other than a few casual relationships she’d had in high school with boys who didn’t deserve her; she had never been in any serious relationships. So, even though it had taken the MC members and Lewis some time to warm to me being with her, everyone was in a good mood now just based on the fact that Lila finally had a man.
When I looked over my shoulder, I saw that Lila was sitting down on a chair, in the middle of a circle made up of Abe, Rodeo and some of her friends who were forcing shots down her throat. Lila’s loud throaty laugh filled the bar and I was beginning to feel a little light headed. This was not the reaction I was expecting when I told Lewis the truth.
I thought that I would have to leave Orlando, leave Lila and never come back. I was expecting Elwood to kick me out of the Rogue Rebels too. I didn’t think I deserved to belong to a brotherhood after I had broken the most basic rule. But instead, Lewis had filled a pint glass up with beer and now smacked it down in front of me on the counter.
“You, sir, deserve a drink,” Lewis said and wiped his hand with a rag. I thanked him and gulped some of the beer down my throat and Lewis was watching me with studious eyes.
“I don’t know what spell my daughter has cast on you, but you need my blessings and you need luck,” Lewis said and we smiled at each other.
“I don’t deserve her,” I said and Lewis nodded his head as he started pouring himself a drink as well.
“No, you don’t. Nobody does. In my eyes, in my world, Lila is a princess and she deserves to be treated like one,” Lewis said and I clenched my jaws.
“I intend on treating her as one,” I said and he smiled.
“I can see that you will. She has made the right decision and I’m relieved. I would have been happy to see her with Hugh too, but that was before I had even considered the two of you as a couple,” Lewis said.
I was guzzling my glass of beer down thirstily. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a drink. So much had happened since I first arrived here. I’d met and fallen for a woman who brought me to my knees. Everything about this city was bloody insane.
“I need you to know, Lewis, that I never intended on going against your MC or your rules,” I said, as Lewis took a sip of his drink too.
“And I want you to know that if you ever hurt my daughter, or do anything to make her cry…” Lewis began to say but I was nodding already.
“I’ll have your entire MC to answer to,
” I said.
“And the Rogue Rebels. Elwood will not stand for Lila being hurt either,” he added.
I knew he was right, but I didn’t have any intention of hurting Lila. I wanted to hold on to this feeling, the way she was making me feel; all my life and I would fight it to my death to keep it that way.
Lila came up to us then, and I pulled her into my arms.
“I think I’ve had three shots of tequila,” Lila said and laughed.
“I think you have,” Lewis said and shook his head. Father and daughter smiled at each other, before they both turned to me again.
“Your man here was just telling me how he intends on treating you like a princess all your life,” Lewis said and I looked at Lila with a smile. She was shaking her head and had her brows crossed.
“I don’t want to be treated like a princess. I wanted to be treated like an actual adult woman. Can you do that for me, Girth?” she asked and I leaned towards her, drinking in the shape of her perfect pouty lips and the color of her clear blue eyes. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever set my eyes on.
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” I said and Lila closed the gap between us and we were kissing again.
When Lewis turned away from us, to talk to some of the other guys, Lila and I were staring into each other’s eyes.
“What about New York?” I asked her. I couldn’t exactly forget about it. She had cried in my arms over it. I knew exactly how badly she wanted to go. Lila shrugged her shoulders.
“What about it?” she asked and I looked at her with an indulgent expression on her face.
“Lila, I don’t want to turn into your father. I don’t want to keep you from doing what you really want to do,” I said and she watched me with her sparkling blue eyes as I chugged down the rest of the beer. Lila licked her lips and drew in a deep breath.
“The only reason I wanted to go to New York, was to have an adventure, to experience something new, to defy my father and to feel safe. I get all of those things from you, Girth and then some,” she said and she sank into my open arms again.
