by E. C. Land
“Anyways, what I’m trying to get at is although he hurt me, not all guys are like him. You see those men over there on that stage, they are my saviors, especially Chaz, and for that, I’ll always be grateful. On top of that, I get to love him for the rest of my life,” I say, smiling.
“Maybe while I’m at college it’ll be different,” Ember shrugs.
“No maybe to it, Ember. If you want to be happy, release the anger, the guilt, the blame, and live. Then when you do, you’ll find the guy for you. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet the right guy at school,” I suggest trying to lighten the mood surrounding us.
Giving me what I’m sure is a fake smile, Ember nods. “Yeah, who knows. I’ll leave you be,” she says, glancing over my shoulder.
Twisting my head around to see what she’s looking at, I find Chaz coming my way.
“Hey, Fairy girl,” he says, pulling me in his arms as he gets close to me.
“Hey yourself. Are you all set up for tonight?” I ask, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Yep, all set. We’re getting ready to start in a few minutes and I wanted to make sure you were okay first,” he states.
“I’m good here. Was just going to find a spot at the bar to sit and watch the show,” I say. I want to be far enough away from the stage but still be able to watch him sing.
He doesn’t know it, but I have all their songs on my iPod. The song ‘Dark Lullabies’ is one of my favorites. That along with ‘In Memory’. When I listen to these two songs, I can almost feel the emotions pouring through the words.
“Okay, baby, I’ll be back when we break from the first set,” he murmurs, leaning in to kiss me, and I’m unable to hold back the moan that slips from my mouth as he deepens the kiss.
“Just because she’s an adult doesn’t mean you do that shit in front of me,” my dad grumbles as he comes over.
Chaz lifts his head, breaking the kiss, and I can’t stop from blushing as I hide my face in Chaz’s chest.
“Sorry, man,” Chaz chuckles, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “I’ll be back for ya, Fairy girl,” he murmurs, releasing me, he heads back to the stage.
As he puts the strap of his guitar over his head, a pang goes through me wishing I could sing. But I can’t. At least, not within a fifty-yard radius of a stage. Shower yes. Alone with no one watching me, sure.
“Now for this next song, it won’t just be me up here singing it. Let’s give it up for Bethany,” Chaz says into the microphone and my eyes widen in fear.
The guys have already played two sets, and everyone loves them. I’d even gotten the death glare from more than one of the jades. I’d learned from Ember when she came to sit with me that's what the club calls the women who come in here wanting to service the men.
I’d taken in their appearance— all of them were dressed the same, wearing close to nothing. They all had their makeup done to perfection and were skinny in a way I’d never be. One, in particular, kept eye-fuckin’ Chaz.
When the band finished up there first set, she’d tried to get his attention, but he’d brushed her off. He’d kept his eyes on me the entire time.
“Come on, Fairy girl, get your ass up here with us,” Chaz grins.
Shaking my head, I wave my hands in front of me. “No way. I told y’all I wasn’t gonna do it,” I protest.
“Come on, Princess, let’s hear ya,” my dad adds. Even though I didn’t know he was at the time who he really is. He was the only one who knew about my songbooks. He’d read through them thinking they were good.
“Nope, not happening,” I declare.
“Get your ass up there,” Ember says from next to me, pushing me off the stool I’d been sitting on.
My cheeks are burning as I slowly make my way to the stage. Chaz holds his hand out taking mine as he helps me up.
The moment I’m standing next to him, Chaz leans in to kiss my cheek. “You can do this, baby,” he murmurs loud enough for only me to hear.
Shaking my head, I turn to face the rest of the band. They’re all nodding with shit-eating grins on their faces.
Damn them, I don’t want to do this.
“What song do you wanna do, Bethy?” Tanner asks.
“Umm . . . I don’t know,” I say nervously.
“Why don’t you sing ‘Dark Lullabies’ with me?” Chaz suggests. “I know you know the lyrics. I heard you sing it with Melody.”
Oh no. The only way he’d have heard that is if he were listening to the two of us singing while Melody was spending time in my room.
“We’re right here with you. You got this,” Hunter says.
“Yeah, Bethany, we’re family. We wouldn’t have you do something if we didn’t think you could do it. We’ve all heard you. Now, come on and sing with us,” Lex states, his grin gone in place a stern look letting me know he's serious as hell.
For him to lose his smile, I know he’s serious, because the man always has a grin. Even if sometimes it’s fake.
“Fine,” I say, brushing the hair out of my face.
“Sweet,” Tanner chuckles, pumping his arm in the air in true Tanner fashion.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and nod my head. “Let’s do this,” I mutter.
“You’ll do great, Fairy girl,” Chaz says, nodding his head to cue Hunter. The two of them begin with a strum of their fingers on the strings to the guitar. When Tanner joins in, I know it’s time.
No going back now. Opening my eyes, I meet Chaz’s gaze and open my mouth letting the words flow as he sings the words with me.
A world filled with darkness comes
Through the darkness is a light
A voice as sweet as a melody shines through
Becoming known as a dark lullaby.
A lullaby that can only be heard in the dark of night
Can you hear the melody
The soothing sound of a dark lullaby
The lyrics flow through me as we continue the rest of the song. By the end of the song, it’s as if no one else exists but the two of us.
When the music dies down, there’s only silence that fills the room. Glancing around the room, embarrassment begins to seep in at all the men staring at me like I have two heads.
Turning away, my shoulders slump, knowing I was horrible. Only the room instantly erupts into a round of loud whistles and hands clapping.
Wide-eyed, I lift my gaze to Chaz’s to find him smiling down at me. Pulling me into his arms, he presses a kiss to my lips.
“See, baby, told you, you could do it,” he says.
Smiling up at him, I wrap my arms around him, and for the first time, I want my voice to be heard.
Chapter 18
Chaz
It’s been a month since we all got back from Texas. The moment we got back, I’d moved Bethany into my room. I didn’t want to spend another night with her in another bed beside my own. I’d wait as long as she needed to for anything else as long as she was next to me.
Doesn’t mean it’s not torture laying with her in my arms every damn night. Also doesn’t mean I don’t get hard as fuck when her ass rubs against my dick.
The woman was going to drive me mad by the time I finally get her beneath me. Especially with the shit she sleeps in. Those little tank tops and sexy as fuck shorts are killing me.
Although Bethany’s bruises are gone and the cuts are healed, for the most part, I find her to be gorgeous as fuck. She hasn’t made any immediate moves to let me know she was ready for more than our make-out sessions. But I see the longing looks and the blush that crosses her face when I take my shirt off and strip down to my boxers for bed.
Something I hate wearing but I’d learned years ago I couldn’t sleep commando. Not when I had a little girl who woke up with nightmares and would crawl in my bed wanting her daddy to save her from the boogeyman.
Shit, I can’t help but smile at how excited my little girl was to find out that Bethany and I were together.
When Alexis brought Melody home, she�
�d been hyped up on sugar and was talking a mile a minute. My little girl rambled on about how all of us were going to be one big family and she was tired of being the only kid around.
Bethany had a small smile on her face and when I’d asked her later that night what was running through her head, she’d said she wasn’t able to have children. Shocked by her confession, I waited for her to explain why she wasn’t able to, but she never did. I dropped the subject, not wanting to upset her and figuring she’d tell me when she was ready.
After the trip to the Satan’s Keepers clubhouse, Tanner, Hunter, Lex, and I started writing some new songs— ones we’d need a woman’s touch on. Bethany’s touch.
The woman doesn’t realize just how beautiful her voice is. She’d shocked the hell out of the members of her dad’s club. They told her to never hide her voice. Not when it’s as beautiful as it is.
We figured if we get her in the studio with us, she might feel more at ease in letting others hear her voice.
I’d even snuck a look at her book she’d written in and damn if I didn’t want to see some of them put out there.
Especially the one she’d titled ‘The Dark Side’.
A lot of them have a dark aspect to them, but that one speaks the most to me.
It’s just a matter of getting her to record the beauty in the studio.
“Hello, Earth to Chaz. Are you listening to me?” Alexis asks in a huff.
Clearing my throat, I blink and bring my attention to the task at hand. The two of us were sitting in my office going over monthly statements. With her being the shop's accountant and our manager per se, this is something we do every month, much to my demise.
I fucking hate paperwork. It’s one reason I’ve let Bethany take over as much paperwork as possible, leaving me more time to teach the kids and work in the studio in the back of the shop.
“Sorry, what did you say, Alexis?” I ask, sitting back in my chair.
“You are a pain in my ass, you know that? I asked you if you’d be okay with the band being a part of Izzy’s charity event Letters from Above,” Alexis inquires.
“Damn right, we’ll be there for it.” Izzy’s charity is one that all of us would gladly agree to. It means a lot to be a part of something so special. Letters from Above is a charity that raises funds for gifts for children who have lost a parent. It’s a way to give them a sense of knowing they are still loved.
Izzy and a bunch of the other ol’ ladies of the Devil’s Riot MC work together with other people not just in the community but all over to help these kids. They talk to the families of the children and find out what they like and what their parents would do for them. I’ve been there to see the look on one of the kids’ faces when they received a box for their birthday from their guardian angel.
Melody received one for her birthday the first year and damn if it didn’t feel good seeing the smile on her face as she opened the letter and asked me to read it to her. It had simply said she was being watched over and that no matter what, her mommy was always there for her in her heart.
When my little girl opened the box, she had the biggest smile on her face to see a framed picture of her momma and me that was taken right before our lives took a turn for the worse. Along with the picture, there was a doll that was meant to look just like Melody with outfits for her to dress the doll up in the same thing she’d have on.
“Good. I think you should get Bethany up there on that stage with you,” Alexis announces.
“What stage?” Bethany asks, standing in the doorway of my office, her brow furrowed.
“Hey, chick, I was just telling this jerk that you should get on stage with him at the Letters From Above charity event. It’s two months away, so you’d have time to prepare for it,” Alexis says.
“Umm . . . I don’t know if I could do that,” Bethany states, shaking her head.
“Sure, you can. I’ve heard all about you singing at your dad’s club. I bet if a record label heard you singing, they’d be banging down the door to get you to sign with them,” Alexis laughs.
The woman is always talking about us signing with some big-name label but that’s not what any of us want. We like that we do everything ourselves. We have a huge following that grows every day, so we don’t need some big shot to tell us what to do and when to do it. That’s not who any of us are. We like to do shit our way.
“Alexis, leave it be. Bethany will get there when she’s ready,” I say, motioning for Bethany to join me. When she makes it over to my side of the desk, I drag her down onto my lap to hold her to me. “What did you need, Fairy girl?” I ask.
“Umm, nothing important. I just wanted to see if you wouldn’t mind me heading out early. I’d like to make dinner for everyone,” she says, quietly.
Smiling, I squeeze her side. Bethany is an amazing cook but without schedules, we don’t normally do the whole family meals. It’s normally we fend for ourselves. “What are you thinking of making?”
“I wanted to make lasagna, soup, and garlic bread,” she murmurs.
“That sounds good, baby, but you know Melody isn’t home this weekend,” I say, not wanting her to think anything of it. I honestly am looking forward to having time with just Bethany for a couple days.
Blushing, Bethany meets my gaze. “Oh, I forgot she wasn’t home this weekend,” she whispers.
“I hate to interrupt so I’m gonna head out before you two make me barf all over the floor,” Alexis grumbles. “I’ll grab Melody from school. Grandma wants to go to the beach for the weekend so we're heading to the beach house.”
“Sounds good, send pictures,” I say, turning my attention to her. Normally, the weekends they go to the beach, I tag along to spend that time with Melody, but not this time.
This weekend, I want to make it about Bethany and me.
“Will do,” Alexis states, giving me her two-finger salute she does, being her usual sarcastic self.
Shaking my head, I focus back on Bethany to see she’s still blushing, but her eyes get this look I’ve never seen before. “You okay with it just being the two of us for dinner?” I ask.
“Umm, yeah. Maybe instead of me cooking, I can pick us up something to eat and we can watch a movie,” she suggests.
“Either sounds good to me, Fairy girl,” I say, lifting a hand to brush a strand of hair that seems to always fall in her face.
“Okay, well, I’ll leave you to it.” I tighten my hold on her to keep her in my lap.
“Not so fast, baby,” I murmur, running my hand up her neck to cup the back of her head. Leaning forward, I captured her lips with my own. When she moans into my mouth, I know she feels my dick twitch between us.
Breaking the kiss, I meet her gaze. “You know I love you right,” I rasp, breathing harder than normal. Bethany’s eyes widen at my admission. I’ve known for a while how I feel for her, but I’ve never really told her exactly how I felt.
“You do?” she asks, tears welling in her eyes.
“Yeah, Bethany, I do. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” Smiling, I lean in to press another kiss to her lips. “Now, how about we get out of here? I think Tanner, Lex, and Hunter can close up without us,” I suggest.
The smile that forms on my Fairy girl’s face is one I’ll never forget as it brightens my life every time I see it.
Chapter 19
Bethany
Tonight’s the night. Earlier today at the shop, I’d acted as if I’d forgotten Melody was going away for the weekend but only so I could use it as part of my plan of seduction.
My plan for this weekend was to use this time to seduce Chaz into bed. Since getting back from Texas, he has driven me mad with wanting him.
I get I needed to heal but damnit a girl can only go so long with being teased the way he has been going at it. I mean, seriously, does he have to put on a strip show every night before bed?
Okay, so that’s an exaggeration but still, he’s driving me crazy.
I know he’s waiting for
me to say something, but how do you say something without drawing attention from everyone else in the house? Sounds travel and I didn’t want Melody to hear anything. How embarrassing would it be for her to ask questions about her daddy and me making noises? I’d die if she heard something she shouldn’t have.
Inwardly shaking my head, I rinse the shampoo from my hair. I have the night completely planned out. I’d wanted to come home before Chaz, make dinner, and put on something sexy for him. However, he’d decided to get off at the same time I did. I didn’t mind one bit, but it put a kink in my plan for him.
As a pair of arms wrap around my waist, I jump in surprise. I knew it couldn’t be anyone other than Chaz, but he’d never been in the shower with me. Not since my meltdown after everything happened.
“I couldn’t wait for you any longer,” Chaz says huskily. His chest flush with my back, I can feel his hardness press against my rear.
“But I wanted to surprise you,” I murmur, leaning my head back against him. Water from the shower cascading over the two of us as Chaz’s hands roam over my stomach up to my breasts.
As he glides his hands over my nipples, I close my eyes and moan at the sensations that flow through my body. I don’t ever remember being this turned on by a simple touch of someone’s hands.
“What type of surprise were you going to give me?” Chaz rasps as he pinches my nipples with the tips of his fingers.
“I’d wanted to cook dinner. I knew none of the guys were going to be home and Melody was going to her grandma’s for the weekend. I’d wanted to show you I was ready,” I say.
“That’s sweet of you, Fairy girl, but I don’t need dinner first. I prefer to go straight to dessert,” he enunciates.
I groan when he uses one hand to cup me between my legs and rubs his palm against my core.
“Chaz,” I say breathlessly, keen on having him do more than touch me. I need way more than a simple touch of his palm against me.