by E. C. Land
“Fairy girl, I was pissed because you decided without even talking to me first. Think about it— if you were in my shoes and walked in on me packing my shit, what would you feel?” he asks.
I don’t even have to think about my answer— I’d have been hurt and thought I’d done something wrong.
“I know you had good intentions, baby, but you need to understand, I’m not some pansy-ass who can’t handle himself. The fact you left wanting to protect my daughter is one of the things I love about you, woman, but you need to leave the protection of the both of you to me,” Chaz states firmly, lifting his free hand he brushes a strand of hair from my face.
“I didn’t want anyone hurt because of me. Jacob is crazy. You saw what he did to me. I just didn’t want him to do that to Melody,” I murmur.
“Bethany, trust in me to do what’s best for you and her both. The two of you are the most important people in my life. You might not see it that way, but I do.” I suck in a deep breath at his admission.
Unable to respond, I hold his gaze as I tentatively lift my head to brush my lips across his. At first touch, I want more than a small kiss. Slowly, I open my mouth in invitation for him to take the kiss further, which I’m thankful he does.
Using his hand underneath me, Chaz draws me closer to him as he uses his other hand to cup my cheek.
My mind shuts down as my heart takes the lead. I don’t want to stay away from this man. For once in my life, I want to not have to protect myself. Well, at least let someone help in that department.
By the time Chaz breaks our earth-shattering kiss, I’m breathing heavily, longing for more.
“Damn, baby, shouldn’t have wasted so much fuckin’ time being a dumbass. If I were smarter, I’d have kissed you the first day I saw you,” Chaz rasps, breathlessly.
“Well, no reason to dwell on that when you have me right here, right now,” I murmur.
“Yeah, Fairy girl, I do,” he grins, stroking his finger affectionately across my cheek.
“I have to know though, why are you here?” I ask. “I mean, it’s not that I’m not happy to see you or have you here. I’m just confused.”
Chaz merely smiles at me before rolling to his back as he drags me with him. Lifting up on my elbow, I glance down at him. Our gazes meet and I become mesmerized by the way his eyes light up.
“I’d think that were obvious, Fairy girl. I’m here because of you. After reading your letters, me and the guys decided a road trip was in order to bring your ass back home. I get this is your family and you thought coming here with them, you’d be saving us the burden of dealing with Jacob. But guess what, baby. Even if you weren’t home with us, dipshit's ass was gonna be facing me. No one hurts my girl without retaliation.” The smile Chaz wore disappears as he mentions my ex’s name.
“Chaz. . .” Chaz stops me from saying anything else by lifting his hand to cover my lips with his fingers.
“Shh . . . just listen to me, Bethany, because you need to hear everything I’ve got to say,” he mutters, pulling his hand back and letting it slide along my skin.
It’s only then it dawns on me— I’m lying in a bed with Chaz in nothing but a tank top and panties. I’ve never been one for sleeping in anything else. Clothes can feel constricting and confining while lying in bed.
Self-consciousness starts to set in, and tension fills my body as thoughts of him wanting to touch someone like me. A weakling who would allow someone to beat her up.
How stupid do I have to be?
“Baby, I don’t know what just popped into your head, but the way you’ve tensed up, I’m thinking it’s not good.” I shake my head at his statement.
If only he knew.
Sighing, Chaz sits up and adjusts us until I’m sitting in front of him with my legs wrapped around his waist and my panty-clad core pressed against his hardness. I have to keep myself from gliding against the thing.
“Yeah, Bethany, that’s for you, Fairy girl,” he murmurs, pressing his forehead against mine. “Now listen to me. I don’t know what fucked up thoughts you just had, but get them out of your head. See, when I see you, I fuckin’ see you. Everything about you. There’s nothing that I don’t love about you. I know you have scars, same as I do. You know why the band is called Demons Among Us?” he asks.
“No,” I whisper.
“Because we all have demons that haunt us. Everyone has a past they have to overcome. When we were in high school, Tanner, Lex, Hunter, and I decided on the name after watching The Devil’s Advocate along with some other corny horror movies. The name started as a joke, but in the end, it’s who we are. Who we all are. I know I’ve told you about Jamie, but I didn’t tell you she’d been a light for me in a time when I needed it,” he murmurs, our foreheads still touching.
My heart all but stops, crushed at hearing those words. I knew Jamie was and always will be a big part of his life. That he’d always think of her. Yet hearing him say she’d been a light for him hurts more than I thought it would.
There is no way I can compete with a ghost. Not when they have such a hold on a person’s heart.
“Before you go thinking more fucked up thoughts, let me finish, Fairy girl,” he says, leaning back to meet my gaze. “I thought Jamie was it for me. That I’d have forever with her. From the moment she walked into my life, sat right next to me, and called me broody, she became my person. I never fuckin’ thought she’d die so young. Not once.
“After burying her, I refused to give my heart to anyone else. Didn’t matter she wouldn’t want me to do that. Jamie was a free spirit, same as Melody. Until you walked into my life, I didn’t realize how dark my life really was beside when my daughter was around. You see, Bethany, Jamie may have been a light for me, but she’s gone, leaving me in the dark again. You, however, have the same brightness and I fuckin’ refuse to go back to being in the dark,” he declares.
Sucking in a breath, I focus on his gaze, seeing the truth of his words.
“What about Melody?” I ask.
Grinning, Chaz shakes his head. “What about her? She loves you as much as I do.”
“I don’t want her to ever think I’m trying to replace her mom,” I murmur, dropping my gaze to my lap.
Chaz removes one of his hands from my waist to grip my chin so he can lift my head back up to look at him again. “Bethany, that’s another reason you are so fuckin’ special. You don’t want to take from Melody but give to her. She only knows her mom from pictures and stories we’ve all told her,” he says softly.
“I wish she had been able to,” I whisper.
“Me too. But at the end of the day, you gotta look at it as she’ll always know her mom from the memories we give her, by the love we give her.” With a sad smile, Chaz moves his grip from my chin to stroke my cheek.
Silence surrounds us as we stare into each other’s eyes. My mind races a mile a minute as I absorb all of what he says.
“I don’t want you to let me go.” The words spill out of my mouth before I can stop myself or even finish processing everything he says.
“Good thing I don’t plan on it, Fairy girl,” he grins.
Smiling, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him, putting all my emotions into it, wanting him to feel just how much he means to me.
I may not be ready for much more, but I know without a doubt I’m ready to move forward with him.
I only hope I’m making the right decision for once in my life.
Chapter 16
Chaz
“No freaking way am I getting up there to sing. You can forget it,” Bethany protests as the band and I tell her we want her up there with us.
“Bethany, come on, just for one song,” Lex pleads.
“Hell, we’ll take it easy on you and do a cover song so you don’t have to worry about not knowing the words,” Tanner says, giving Bethany the best puppy eyes he can.
Grinning, I shake my head at their antics. I already know how I’ll get her on the stage and it won’t be begging
her to do so.
We’d pulled into the clubhouse lot sometime around two in the morning, exhausted as hell. I hadn’t expected Tombstone to let me in Bethany’s room. Then again, he knew her room at the house was connected to mine. I’d have had her in my bed already if not for the thought of her not being ready yet.
This morning, after an emotionally heavy talk with Bethany, we spent time just holding each other and making out.
When the two of us finally came out of her bedroom, Reaper, who I’d met last night, asked if the guys and I would play tonight here at the club. I didn’t mind since we could use it as a rehearsal for tomorrow night when we play at one of the three bars they own.
“Are you gonna help me here?” Bethany asks, crossing her arms, which does nothing but make me grin more.
“Nope, ‘cause you’re gonna be on that stage. I wanna hear that gorgeous voice of yours,” I say firmly.
“No, I’m not,” she says, all but stomping her foot.
“You sing?” a feminine voice asks from behind me. Turning around, I find a girl who looks very similar to Bethany yet different.
“Umm, no, I don’t,” Bethany says, answering the girl’s question.
“Yes, you do,” Tanner chuckles before sticking out his hand. “You must be related to Bethany. I’m Tanner and these are my brothers Lex, Hunter, and Chaz,” he says.
“Ember, and I guess you can say I’m her cousin,” she says cautiously as she takes Tanner’s hand. When the girl releases his hand, she looks directly at Bethany. “Look, about last night, I’m sorry. I had a really shitty day. Can we start over?”
Glancing at Bethany, I notice she’s biting her lip. I’ve noticed over the last few months that she does this when she’s nervous about something.
“It’s okay, Ember, and yeah, we can start over.”
“What happened last night?” Lex asks, slinging an arm over Bethany’s shoulder.
Narrowing my eyes on him, I step closer to her and flick his arm off her body. To make sure no one else does that shit, I wrap my own around her, holding her to me.
“Is this your boyfriend?” Ember asks, taking the two of us in.
“Umm . . . ” It’s cute as hell when she’s nervous like this.
“Yeah, I’m her man,” I chuckle, placing a kiss to her head.
“So, are we gonna hear what happened last night?” Lex asks again.
“How about we not?” Bethany says, shaking her head.
“Fine, I’ll leave it be if you get on stage with us,” Lex grins, trying yet again to get her on stage with us. They don’t know my plan yet.
“I already said it’s not happening,” Bethany protests.
“Let’s leave her be for now while we set up,” Hunter suggests.
“Good idea,” I grin, releasing my hold on Bethany. “I’ll be back for ya in a few, Fairy girl,” I say as she tilts her head up to look at me, narrowing her eyes.
“I’m not singing, Chaz,” she declares.
“We’ll see about that,” I chuckle, pressing a kiss to her lips.
When I pull back, my girl has her eyes half-closed with a dreamy look in them and damn if that doesn’t make me want to take her to her room and keep her in that state.
That will have to wait. At least for now. I’ll know when she’s ready and it will be well fuckin’ worth it.
Leaving her with her cousin, the four of us get to work setting everything up in the area of their clubhouse they have set up as a stage.
A stage I intend to get Bethany on.
“How’s my daughter doing?” Tombstone asks, breaking my focus from tuning my guitar.
Pulling the pick out of my mouth, I put it in my pocket as I put my guitar on its stand. “She’s good,” I say.
“Good. I knew you’d come for her,” Tombstone rasps.
“Yeah, but what I don’t get is why you wanted her to come with you in the first place knowing she belongs with me,” I demand.
“Son, that girl will always be my princess, and having her come with me not only gave the two of us time together, but it also got you to realize she means a hell of a lot to you. I know about Melody’s momma,” he says, causing me to stiffen.
“Of course, you do,” I mutter.
“What kinda father would I be if I didn’t?” Tombstone demands, crossing his arms over his chest. The simple move causes him to look even bigger than the dude really is. Not saying I’m a weakling or anything, but with him being an inch taller than me along with being broader, I know I’m no match for him in a fight. That doesn't mean I can’t hold my own when needed.
“I needed to know you truly love my daughter for her and nothing else. I wanted to know if you were gonna let her walk away without a fight. I wasn’t about to let her be with a pussy who didn’t stand up for what he wanted,” he states.
Narrowing my gaze on the man, I want to be pissed for not realizing this was a test for him. Then again, having my own daughter, I highly doubt anyone will ever be good enough.
“Tombstone, I love your daughter for who she is. For her heart and light. I wasn’t out looking for someone to be with, but Bethany makes me feel things I never thought I’d feel again. I’ll admit I fought it at first then all the bullshit with her ex reared its ugly head and I knew I couldn’t ignore it anymore,” I say.
“Good to know, son. Now, you gonna get her on stage with y’all?” he asks, grinning.
“She doesn't know it, but yeah, she’s getting her ass up here for a song or two,” I chuckle.
“Damn right, I don’t remember the last time I heard her sing. You might want to ask to see her songbook,” he suggests.
“I’ll be sure to do that,” I nod, holding my hand out to him.
Tombstone looks down at my hand, then back to my face, and shakes his head as he grabs my hand and shakes it. “Just know, son, you hurt my princess, they won’t ever find your body. That being said, next time you come down here for a gig, you bring that little girl with you. I want to get to know my granddaughter,” he states.
“Granddaughter?” I ask, lifting a brow.
“Yeah, my granddaughter. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know you’re gonna marry my daughter, so that makes Melody my granddaughter,” Tombstone says.
Grinning, I shake my head and go back to tuning my guitar. The man says it as he sees it and I’d have to agree with him— I do want to marry his daughter. She’s everything to me besides my little girl and I don’t want to waste any time waiting.
Chapter 17
Bethany
“How come you don’t want to sing?” Ember asks with a frown the moment the guys leave us.
Sighing, I run my good hand through my hair. “I’m not that great and I don’t want to embarrass the guys by getting up there,” I say honestly.
I’ve been told plenty of times I can’t sing for shit. I don’t need or want to have that humiliation slapping me in the face. Or a fist.
“They seem to think you’re good,” she shrugs.
“That’s because they're being sweet,” I state, dismissively. “So why were you having a bad day yesterday?” I ask, changing the subject.
“I caught my boyfriend in bed with someone else,” she states, tension all but pouring off her.
“Whoa, that has to really suck,” I mutter.
“Yeah, tell me about it. You know how much it fucks with your head to find the guy you're supposed to be dating in bed with someone else? Not just someone else but another dude at that.” My eyes all but pop out of their sockets at her admission.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I croak.
“No, I mean, I don’t have anything against someone being with someone of the same sex. To each their own. But it sucks knowing I can’t even make a guy happy.” I can understand her frustration. I’ve been there. Shoot, I’m still dealing with my self-confidence too.
Glancing over to where the guys are setting up on stage, I see Chaz and my dad talking with each other. I can’t help but smile k
nowing, even without him admitting it, that my dad brought Chaz here.
Clearing my throat, I focus back on my cousin. “I know you’ve only just met me and you don’t know a thing about me, but I’m going to give you a piece of advice I wish someone would have given me. Then again, I wasn’t allowed out to do anything unless it was to go to school,” I pause to keep myself from rambling on and get back on track. “You can’t let one bad thing affect the rest of what you do. Such as how you are with your uncles. The pain of everything that’s happened to you will heal in time if you let it,” I say softly.
I watch Ember's features go from irritation to sadness while she lets what I said soak in. Tears well in her eyes and her shoulders hunch over. “I miss them so much and I hate being here. I love my uncles, but at the same time, I can’t stand to be around them. I know the club is responsible for my parents dying in that fire,” her voice catches on a sob as I take her in my arms to soothe her.
I don’t think my dad or uncles know the extent of how much Ember is hurting. There’s no way they’d let this continue. I’m sure it’s because of the poker face she keeps in place for everyone, keeping them all at a distance, not wanting to get hurt. But I see it and I know exactly how she feels.
“I’m sorry, Ember. I really am. I didn’t know them. Shoot, I didn’t even know my dad was my dad until a week ago. But I truly am sorry for all the pain you’re feeling right now. Believe it or not, I’ve had my share of pain. Not in the same way, yet pain all the same,” I murmur.
Pulling back from the embrace, Ember meets my gaze as she wipes the tears from her face. “Are you talking about the man who hurt you?” she whispers.
“Yeah, he hurt me, and this wasn't the only time either. I didn’t think I was strong enough to leave him. I hid everything deep inside. I didn’t say anything to anyone until this last time when I wasn’t able to hide it,” I murmur, shaking my head to keep the memories from coming forward.