Samson

by Marie James

  “Besides, I never get rejected. I had Mrs. Long practically eating out of my hand. She was a done deal until her husband showed up.”

  “You shouldn’t fuck around with married women,” Rocker advises. “Husbands do psycho shit when it comes to their women.”

  “Very true,” Gigi says, and I wonder if she’s thinking about the crazy stories we heard growing up about her mom’s first husband. He was extremely abusive and came after Emmalyn when Kincaid got her away from him. He was shot and killed in the clubhouse after infiltrating, trying to either get her back or kill her. No one knows for sure what his ultimate goal was.

  “Charli rejected you,” I remind him in an attempt to lighten the mood some.

  “Still have a bruise to prove it,” Griffin teases.

  Cannon’s hand immediately goes to his forehead. “That chick thinks I’m hot. I’m just giving her breathing room until she comes to her senses.”

  Griffin snorts a laugh. “Then why was she sitting on Scooter’s lap instead of yours tonight?”

  “Easy,” I tell the group. “I told her Tug and Rocker were single, but to avoid Scooter because he’s into anal.”

  Ivy gasps, but when Griffin chuckles, I feel more comfortable with what I just said.

  “But she was sitting on his—” Cannon spins his head in the biker’s direction. “That means she likes—”

  The roar of laughter drowns out the rest of his words.

  Chapter 12

  Camryn

  “That’s it. Just like you’ve done before. Perfect,” Dr. Hunter praises.

  I smile behind my mask but don’t take my eyes off what I’m doing for a second. Once the baby is clear of the incision, I suction her mouth and nose. Next, the umbilical cord is clipped, and she’s safely passed off to the nurse to be cleaned and for vitals to be taken.

  The rest of the c-section is done with the same care for the mother that was provided to her child. I smile the entire time as I close Mrs. Sanford’s incision all the while listening to the baby being introduced to her parents for the very first time.

  “That’s amazing,” I tell Dr. Hunter as we scrub out.

  “If you’re lucky, that feeling never goes away,” he says with a smile matching mine.

  “Thanks for letting me take the lead tonight,” I tell him as I grab a towel, handing it to him before grabbing one for myself.

  “You did an amazing job. I’ll do the orders and notes. Why don’t you head home?” he urges after taking a quick look at his cell phone.

  “Home?” I don’t bother to hide the confusion in my voice. “I still have three hours left in my shift.”

  He seems distracted as he continues to stare down at his phone. When he looks up at me, he seems a little lost. The line between his brows, the one I’ve only seen when there’s a complication in surgery and he’s doing his best to stay calm forms.

  “Yeah, go ahead and go home.”

  Worried it has something to do with me, I leave the scrub room and head straight to my locker. I don’t even bother to change out of my scrubs before grabbing my bag and heading back to my apartment.

  “Did you get fired?” Charli asks the second I walk in the door.

  Getting home late is always a possibility. Arriving early literally never happens.

  “I didn’t get fired,” I mutter as I walk in and drop my bag by the front door. Even though I left three hours early, I’ve still had a horrifically long and tiring day. I can’t muster the energy to walk it to my room right now. Charli doesn’t say anything either as I go to the fridge and grab a bottle of orange juice. It’s surprising since now is her chance to give it back to me since I’m always getting on to her for leaving things lying around.

  After a long sip of the juice, I turn to find my friend standing at the breakfast bar watching me. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “Nothing.” I shrug.

  “You’re home early. That’s not nothing.”

  “I wrapped up an emergency C, and Dr. Hunter told me to head on home.”

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s it. I mean he was distracted by something on his phone, but he said it twice. Do you think it’s about me or something I did?” My heart starts to race, and it makes me check the nutritional label to look at the sugar content in my drink.

  “It probably has to do with his divorce.”

  “Divorce? He’s not getting a divorce, is he?

  “That’s the rumor. The nurses were talking just last week that the sea witch was kicked out of his condo after he caught her cheating.”

  “No,” I gasp.

  I never particularly liked Victoria Hunter. She was always snarky when she came around the hospital to see her husband, but I just chalked that up to being insecure that her husband was working with other women.

  “That poor man,” I mutter.

  “That poor man is gorgeous, and that’s saying something since I never find older men attractive. He’ll be fine. I’m sure of it. Once word gets around that he’s single again, there will be hundreds of women flocking toward him for a little taste.”

  “You sound jealous,” I tease.

  “You should know better.” She crooks her finger for me to follow her into her room. “I don’t do the daddy thing, remember?”

  “Like I’ve said a million times before, women who find older men attractive don’t always have daddy issues.”

  “Have you already forgotten about our psych rotation?” She rolls her eyes in the mirror before twisting a strand of hair around a curling iron.

  “One case study doesn’t prove your point for an entire sub-category of women.”

  She laughs. “So that means that men who find older women attractive don’t have mommy issues?”

  “Where are you going with this?”

  “Samson.”

  The single word makes my eyes narrow, and I cross my arms over my chest for good measure.

  “Are you calling me old? I’m not old, and Samson is only seven years younger than me. That doesn’t really prove your point.”

  “Oh, but it does,” she taunts with a wicked smile as I fall right into her trap.

  “People don’t see the opposite relationships the same,” I argue. “It’s not right that older women with younger men are—”

  “Cougars,” she interrupts.

  “I’m pretty sure the definition for a cougar includes the woman being old enough to be the man’s mother,” I correct.

  “Sounds like someone has been doing a little research.”

  “I have not,” I lie, turning from her to sit on the end of her bed so she can’t interrogate me.

  She’s undeterred as she steps to the side and watches me in the mirror hanging on her closet door.

  “As I was saying,” I continue, “men get away with dating younger women. Their prime is considered much later than a woman’s.”

  “Who gives a shit what others think? Adults should be able to date anyone they like without having to worry about what others think, whether it has to do with age, race, or kinky preferences.”

  “Are you projecting now?”

  “You know Jeff broke up with me because his mom found that butt plug in his bedside table.”

  “Here we go again,” I mutter as I turn around and lie on her bed, so I’m still facing her.

  I hate that I came home early. I’m not prepared for the rant about kink-shaming. I’ve heard it at least a million times over the last five years.

  “What the hell was she even doing digging in his drawer?” She yelps when she moves her arms in a wide circle when the curling iron is still attached to her head. “Seriously? He was thirty for heaven’s sake.”

  “Why couldn’t he confess it was for himself and not you?” I ask right on cue. I’ve learned over the years that it’s the best way to lead her toward the end of the story. It helps her get through it faster.

  “Exactly! He was terrified that they’d think their precious little boy was gay.”
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  “Which,” I prompt again.

  “Which it turns out he is bisexual,” she adds. “But the sad part about all of it is because his family is full of assholes, the poor guy is still living in the closet. People fucking suck.”

  I give her a weak smile. I’m not immune to other people’s problems, but I’ve just heard this particular story over and over, and the times I told her she needs to let him deal with things on his own timeline, she rants for an additional hour about marriage equality and people needing to get out of the stone age. I don’t think she misses Jeff as a person, but she gets super riled up when people are butting their noses into others love lives.

  It doesn’t stop her from sticking that sniffer into mine, though.

  “So how are things with you and Samson?”

  See what I mean?

  “There’s nothing going on with Samson.”

  I flip over on my back, so it’s more difficult for her to see my face.

  “Okay.” Giving up on the conversation is not her style at all, and it has me intrigued so much that I flip back over and glare at her reflection in the mirror.

  “What have you heard?”

  “Nothing.” She shrugs, concentrating a little too hard on curling her hair.

  Silence fills the room, but neither of us breaks it as if doing so would mean losing an unspoken battle.

  I almost raise my hands to the ceiling in celebration when she opens her mouth to speak.

  “Next Friday we’re going to see a band.”

  “I don’t do concerts,” I remind her.

  “It’s not a concert. It’s at a bar called Jake’s, and I thi—”

  “Is this a setup?”

  She releases a curl and turns around to look at me. “A setup? How is going to watch a band at a bar in town a setup?”

  “And next, you’ll tell me that you had no idea that everyone from Cerberus hangs out there.”

  “They do?” The hand to her chest to emphasize her shock is a little overkill, even for her. “Are you worried that Samson will be there? He’s not Cerberus remember?”

  “I won’t go.” I climb off her bed and head for the hallway.

  “You can’t avoid society just because you have a crush on a guy.”

  “I’m not crushing on Samson Donovan,” I insist, but even after I say it, my mind goes back to the kiss the other night.

  “Not even after that kiss?”

  I walk away without another word and hide in my bedroom until she leaves for her shift at the hospital.

  Chapter 13

  Samson

  “Kennedy Farmer is the drummer for ‘Beyond the Lies’,” Ivy says to the people gathered around by the pool.

  “Is that the girl that broke Samson’s heart?” her man asks as I approach.

  “She didn’t break my heart,” I tell them all as I place my palm on the back of Cannon’s lounger. “She almost broke my dick once, but not my heart.”

  “Is Kennedy the one with—” Cannon holds his hands out in front of his chest.

  “Oh God,” Ivy groans.

  “For fuck’s sake,” Lawson hisses.

  “Yep,” I confirm.

  “A little respect, guys,” Griffin warns.

  I’m laughing like an idiot at the look on Ivy’s face. She’s both intrigued and grossed out at the same time. She’ll come around, eventually. There’s no way she spends hours at a time alone in Griffin’s room with him educating her on all things biology.

  “Plus, I have it on good authority that a certain lady will be there tonight, and I want to make her jealous,” I tell the group.

  “Dr. Davison?” Cannon asks.

  “The very one,” I confirm.

  When I took Griffin to an appointment two weeks ago, I ran into Charli leaving the hospital after work. I told her about ‘Beyond the Lies’ playing at Jake’s, and she told me she wasn’t making promises, but she’d see what she could do to get Camryn there.

  “Dude?” Griffin begins. “That woman doesn’t have any interest in you. Haven’t you learned that from the numerous times she has rejected you over the last month and a half?”

  “I’m persistent,” I tell him as my smile grows wider.

  “It’s creepy,” Delilah adds.

  Lawson grunts in response, but I can’t tell if he’s agreeing with Delilah or Griffin. I frown at all of them.

  “Hey, she’ll have to give in eventually.” At least I hope she will.

  “Getting a chick because she’s too tired to keep telling you no?” Cannon quips. “Classy.”

  “I think you’re using the wrong approach,” Lawson begins. “You need to be a little less in her face and more subtle.”

  “Says the guy who moved to Rhode Island and stalked his love interest until she gave in,” I argue.

  “I didn’t stalk her,” Lawson counters.

  “You sort of did,” Delilah cuts in. “But I wouldn’t change a thing about it.”

  Lawson holds my sister closer to his chest. As if on cue, Cannon and I make gagging noises at their show of affection. Griffin and Ivy don’t join in because they’re whispering to one another. It won’t be long before they make some excuse and disappear somewhere together.

  “So are we going tonight or not?” I ask the group.

  I’ll go alone if I have to, but it’s always more fun when we all go to Jake’s together.

  Maybe alone would be better considering her ability to cut me off at the knees every time we’ve seen each other. I don’t exactly want my friends witnessing that again.

  “I think a night out is a good idea,” Delilah says, but I’m certain it’s not done as a show of support. “We only have a week at home this time, and as much as I love it out here, it’ll be nice to get away from the clubhouse for a bit.”

  “Do you plan on making a fool of yourself tonight if she’s there?” Ivy asks, pulling her face away from Griffin’s long enough to rejoin the conversation.

  “What are we talking about?” Gigi asks as she walks up, inserting herself into the conversation like always.

  “Camryn Davison,” Cannon says.

  “Again?” Gigi looks in my direction. “I figured you’d have given up on that and moved on already.”

  “I’m not a quitter,” I tell Gigi before turning my attention back to Ivy. “I have no intentions of making a fool of myself.”

  “That doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” Cannon adds, so I lift my hand and slap him on the back of the head. He laughs, taking it in stride.

  “That means that redhead—”

  “Her name is Charli,” Ivy interrupts.

  “That means Charli,” Griffin begins again, “will be there, right?”

  He’s asking me, but I have a feeling he’s only speaking up because he wants to razz his brother.

  “Don’t smile so wide,” Cannon tells Griffin. “That chick is off my radar. She’s seeing Scooter. So she’ll probably be there with him.”

  “Cerberus is heading out in a couple of hours,” Hound says with no emotion, but the group calms immediately.

  “Are you going to Jake’s, too?” Ivy asks her sister softly.

  “Yep.” Hound’s arms circle Gigi as she lays her head on his chest.

  This will be the first time Hound is leaving town since he was shot. I’ve heard the stories about how Gigi was in labor with Hound refusing surgery until he heard the baby cry on the phone. The second baby Amelia let out her first wail; he flatlined on the phone. Just hearing second hand what happened made my heart rate jump.

  “So that means you’ll stay in tonight?” Ivy asks her sister.

  “Nope,” Hound grunts. “She’s going to go out and have a good time.”

  “I don’t—” Gigi stops the second Hound looks at her.

  “You’ll go out and have a good time,” he urges.

  “Okay,” she whispers, but that doesn’t stop the tear rolling down her cheek.

  I don’t know how these couples do it. I mean Hound is the o
nly Cerberus guy in a long-term, serious relationship, but the original members all have wives. My dads went on these types of missions together and were very open about the time Dad got shot. I don’t know what’s worse; being here when they’re hurt or being right there beside them when it happens.

  I don’t miss the way Ivy is looking down at Griffin, and I know he’s tossing around the idea of joining Cerberus once Ivy is done with school and back home permanently. She’s always full of pride for what the Cerberus guys do, but it seems it’s a different story when it’s your lover who could get hurt.

  “Is it okay if Izzy tags along?” Hound asks, and it’s comical with how fast Gigi pulls away from his chest.

  Gone are the tears and sadness as she glares at him. “So she can spy on me?”

  “Do you plan on doing something she’ll need to come back and tell me?”

  “You’d shit a brick if a guy bought me a drink unprovoked.”

  “We don’t consume drinks bought by other men,” her sister reminds her.

  Griffin’s hand tightens on Ivy’s thigh in agreement.

  “Not the point,” Gigi argues before turning her attention back to Hound. “I didn’t even want to go to begin with, but now I think I’m excited to go. Izzy isn’t a problem. I’ll show her how to really have fun.”

  The tone of Gigi’s voice is eerily similar to the one she’d use in high school when she was about to do something stupid.

  “Excuse us,” Hound mutters as he gets up so fast Gigi squeals.

  The slap to her ass echoes around the pool when he walks away with her.

  Lawson is laughing and trying to hide it by stuffing his face in Delilah’s hair.

  Ivy is shaking her head as they walk away. “I think she does that just so he’ll show her attention.”

  “Naughty attention,” Cannon adds as the backdoor of the clubhouse slams closed.

  “So,” I say as I make my way around Cannon to take a seat on the lounger just abandoned by Hound and Gigi, “who all is coming tonight?”

  “I think all of us,” Lawson says as he looks around the group to find everyone nodding.