by Evan Grace
A knock at the door drew her out of daydreaming. The delivery man was there. She’d already received several shipments of paintings from her contacts in Chicago, so this was most likely more. After signing for the package, Saige took it to the back and carefully opened it.
Seeing the breathtaking portrait, her knees weakened. Even without seeing the signature, there was no doubt who the artist was. Capone had sent it, and it was a painting of her, smiling and sitting on his bike, his leather jacket draped around her shoulders. It showed love, it showed happiness, and it showed possessiveness. His words replayed in her mind: “I never paint anything that I don’t love looking at, that doesn’t make me feel something, or that doesn’t make me happy.”
He’d given her time, but that was running out. She couldn’t leave him hanging. She couldn’t risk him finding someone else. Who knew if they were meant to be together, but if they didn’t try, they would never find out. They were from two different worlds. He was from two different worlds. One of crime and one of beauty and art. Could she accept both?
During the last few weeks, she also did a little research on the Caponellis. They were a high-profile crime family, yet the deadly men she’d seen in the building a few weeks ago had all found love and married girls from town. Love was blind, they say. When she looked at Capone, she only saw the good side, not the bad.
Grabbing her keys and purse, Saige closed up the shop and headed for her car. The business could wait; she had one goal in mind and one only: find Capone and tell him how she felt.
It took awhile and one wrong turn, but she found his home in the country. Her heart sank when she found he wasn’t there. Then she drove to the Tribe club house. The few guys hanging out there had no clue where he was either. Wracking her brain for where he might be, she started to drive, going only on a hunch.
Her heart soared when she spied his bike parked by the tree that was in the painting. Getting out of her car, she walked, then jogged, then ran to the spot they talked and shared stories of their past. His back was to her, but Capone turned when he heard her calling his name. She slowed as her old insecurities raised their nasty heads.
Capone stepped toward her, his arms outstretched. Tears threatened as she rushed to his embrace. It was like coming home, only this was a home she wanted to return to. She gazed up at him as his lips crushed hers. This man had a way of taking her breath away and leaving her speechless. This man kept her off balance, but in a good way. This man was good and bad all rolled into one. One gorgeous yet scarred package that had come to her rescue one night and turned her life upside down.
Did they have a future? Damned it she knew, but Saige was going to give it her all. Give him her all. She may have felt like she’d been born to hide in the past, but she’d been reborn and she was going to live life to the fullness with him.
The End
Thank you for reading my first MC story. I’m best known for my mafia characters, and you can read more about Roman, Arlo, Jasper, and Dominic in the Genoa Mafia Series. If you would like to read more about Saige and Capone, let me know. I just might write more, so let me know what you think.
About the Author
Ginger Ring is an award-winning author with a weakness for cheese, dark chocolate, and the Green Bay Packers. She loves reading, watching great movies, and has a quirky sense of humor. Publishing a book has been a lifelong dream of hers, and she is excited to share her romantic stories with you. Her heroines are classy, sassy, and in search of love and adventure. When Ginger isn't tracking down old gangster haunts or stopping at historical landmarks, you can find her on the backwaters of the Mississippi River fishing with her husband.
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Ecstasy
By Shanjida Nusrath Ali
CHAPTER 1
The roar of the motorbike behind me made me look over my shoulder, my books clutched tightly against my chest. I knew who it was because every time I heard the familiar roar of his motorbike, my skin shivered as I felt butterflies churning in my stomach. The minute he parked his bike in his usual spot near the tree that viewed the lake side, my heart skipped a beat. The Honda VT 750 C Shadow must be close to his heart. The shine and polish that showed off on his bike every day made it evident.
As always, he turned the key and shut off the engine as he climbed off of his bike. I watched his muscles bulging against his tight leather jacket and navy-blue t-shirt. His muscles stretched the fabric of his jeans, showing the physical representation of his strength underneath his attire. His narrow hips looked more defined with his black jeans. His phoenix tattoo peeked from his jacket sleeve, showing off more of his physique.
Someone cleared her throat from my side, and I gasped in surprise, finding Monica standing with her books and bag.
“If you keep staring, you might poke a hole in his jacket,” she whispered with a grin.
I shook my head with a frown and continued my walk. “I wasn’t staring. I was just―”
“Staring. Yeah, I know, Lisa.” She winked at me, making my cheeks blush as I increased my speed.
I let a sigh of relief when I reached my locker and put my books in it. “I try to not stare, but I don’t know, there is just something…”
Monica leans her side against the locker next to me. “He was your best friend. That could be one of many reasons.”
She wasn’t lying. Aiden was once my best friend before he completely changed after his mother died when he was eighteen. I still held onto the guilt of not being there for him. When I returned after the spring break, I rushed to meet him but found his house locked and empty. When I asked the neighbors, they informed me about his mother’s death and that he’d moved out.
Where?
Nobody knew that.
But when I saw this new Aiden on the first day after the break, the sight itself took my breath away. But what hurt most was him rejecting our friendship. He changed completely, starting from his looks and ending with his personality and dreams. He was no longer the Aiden I knew. I lost count of the times I tried to speak to him…to console him…and every time he would ignore me or stab my heart by making out with a random girl in front of me. I never expected him to turn into that guy in college who thought himself the king of the place and fucked around with everyone.
“Maybe…” My words faded away as I closed the locker and walked to the art classroom. I set up my easel and brushes, taking my usual chair as more students joined in. Monica took her seat beside me and started to set up her things.
“Should I talk to him again?” I asked, my eyes cast down as I twirled the brush between my fingers.
Monica rolled her eyes, giving me her you will regret it later look.
“Good morning, class. Hope you had a great weekend,” Ms. Loraine called out as she entered the class and put her bag and supplies on the table.
Just like that, for the next one hour and thirty minutes, my mind didn’t think about Aiden and wandered off to the world of colors and imagination.
After class, I made my way to the canteen where Aiden usually was. The place was packed with students and their buzzing, but it wasn’t tough to find Aiden. Luckily, he was there, but unluckily, he wasn’t alone.
Rolling my eyes, I tightened the hold on my backpack and marched toward him.
I would confront him. He couldn’t ignore me for the rest of his life because he deserved to know the truth.
I was scared that time of not telling him and losing him forever, but I was not afraid anymore. He had to understand my reasons.
One of the girls from th
e cheerleading squad had her arms wrapped around his neck, giving Aiden her sultry look as she batted her fake lashes and bit down on her lower lip as if she were a porn star. Her attempt nearly made me want to gag, but I kept my shit together and stood right behind Aiden.
I tapped on his shoulder to get his attention, but he didn’t seem to care as his hands were busy roaming everywhere on the girl’s body.
“Aiden?” I muttered, tapping on his shoulder.
No response. Though the girl noticed and gave me a glare.
“Aiden, I need to talk to you,” I tried again.
“I’m kind of busy,” he murmured. His voice was deep and hoarse, creating goose bumps all over my skin.
Focus. Focus. Focus. “It’s important, please.”
He shook his head and turned to face me, offering me his cold, neutral stare.
Words didn’t come out of my mouth, as I got lost in his eyes. Those eyes…they spoke so much more than his mouth did. They always gave off his feelings and his thoughts. His eyes were the only reflection of his emotions.
Even though they were neutral, I could still see those buried emotions within him. I always would.
He rolled his eyes. “Are you just going to stand here and waste my time or are you going to speak?”
Yes, the talk.
“Yeah…I wanted to talk about why I wasn’t…there for you―”
“Not this again.” He shook his head as frustration pooled on his face. “I’ve told you a million times, I don’t fucking care.”
His raised voice now grabbed everyone’s attention, making me nervous and jittery in seconds.
“I had my reasons―”
“You keep your reasons to yourself. And don’t waste my time again.”
Before I could protest, he turned around, wrapping an arm around the girl. Meanwhile, I stood there with everyone’s eyes on me while I watched him walk away again.
I could feel the familiar sting in my heart. It wasn’t the first time he’d behaved that way. Every time I brought up the topic, he would suddenly turn into an asshole and leave right away. I didn’t know what to do or say to make him listen to me.
I raked my hand through my hair and left the room.
Just then Monica came out from her class, and from one look of my face she could easily tell what happened. She engulfed me in a hug as we made our way out and walked to the park. The warm sunlight hit my skin, but it didn’t do anything for my cold heart.
Tears threatened to spill from my eyes, but I wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction. Never.
“He didn’t listen, did he?” she asked, even though she knew the answer.
I shook my head in response as we took seats on one of the empty benches.
She sighed heavily. “Let it go, Lisa. It’s not like you two are in love and you must get him back.”
Love.
She just unintentionally revealed one of my deepest secrets. Something I never shared with anyone.
Was I in love with Aiden? Yes.
Did him not being in love with me always break my heart bit by bit? Yes.
But was love making me so blind that I was holding onto him so much that I might hurt myself further? I didn’t know.
“Just ignore him. He’s not worth it, Lisa.”
I wished I could take her advice, but deep down I knew I would be lying to both of us if I said I would let this matter go.
Because deep down, I wanted to keep trying and trying until I reached my goal.
I didn’t know if Aiden loved me or not. Would he ever fall in love with me? I had no answer to that either. All I wanted was his forgiveness and friendship.
Because I was willing to lose a lover but not my best friend.
I didn’t know what it felt like going through a break-up, but I did know when you lost your best friend, your whole world became dark and empty. And for me, Aiden would always be the light of my life.
He felt the same way too, but he was too stubborn to confess it.
But I would make him see the truth.
All I could do was pray that he listened to me in time. If it was too late when he realized it, I had no clue what I would end up doing to us.
“Promise me you won’t talk to him again,” Monica muttered, presenting her palm.
“You know I can’t do that. I can’t lie to you.”
She frowned with a sad look. “Lisa, don’t hurt yourself more…all I’m saying is be careful.”
“I know. And I can promise to be careful.”
CHAPTER 2
I looked in the floor-length mirror one last time, nodding at my choice of attire. The pale white cami top and black knee-length skirt made me look passable for getting in the motorbike race at the arena.
I couldn’t believe I was doing this, but I had no other choice left.
With a few more touch-ups on my make-up and running my fingertips through my short black hair, which I curled for hours, I grabbed my purse and phone as I left my dorm room.
I hailed a cab. For the next thirty minutes, it was a silent drive, but in my head, several thoughts started to roam around.
This was the first time ever I was going to see one of Aiden’s motorbike races. The closer the cab got to the arena, the faster my heart started to beat.
Paying the fare, I got out. Music blasted my ears, followed by the roars and cheers of the crowd. Everyone gathered together, circling around the caged arena, not bothering about the dust and sand coating the atmosphere. My nerves jittered as I made my way through the crazy crowd, looking around the arena for Aiden.
The racetrack had one full circle and two high board slopes in the center. The thought of Aiden taking such risk made fear shadow over me. The crowd screamed and cheered with excitement, nearly hurting my eardrums.
“And now it’s time for the big race!” the announcer boomed from the speakers, making everyone more excited.
“Everyone, give it a round of applause for Aiden!”
And boy, everyone did; their cheers and applause nearly made it impossible to hear the music. My heart skipped a beat when I finally spotted Aiden on the racetrack with his motorbike, looking as beautiful and swoonworthy as ever. He raised his hand and smiled, waving at the crowd. He was wearing a denim jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, and blue jeans.
“You all know the drill. Aiden will first complete five loops around the track, and for his finale he will drive across one slope to the other but with a new landing this time!”
Wait. What?
He was seriously going to drive across those two slopes? That death trap?
No way in hell. Before I could think of my next move, I ran toward the entrance gate of the arena. As expected, it was more crowded.
“All right, everyone, the betting is closed! Let’s begin the countdown! Ten!”
No. No. No.
Pushing past the crowd, I stood at the very front, with Aiden’s back facing me while he was putting on his helmet.
“Aiden!” I screamed, but my voice was lost in the crowd’s countdown.
He got on his bike as I watched him start the engine.
“Five. Four. Three.”
“Aiden! Don’t do this!”
He finally turned and instantly caught my sight. His eyes widened in surprise, but it was soon replaced by worry? Anger? Yearning?
I didn’t know.
“Please don’t do this!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, feeling my throat getting dry already.
“One!”
He turned away from me and drove off at full speed.
“No!” I shouted as fear and worry overruled my emotions.
Why was he doing this? Why?
I watched him driving his motorbike at full speed as he completed the five loops as fast as a cheetah in a few minutes. But unlike the others, I wasn’t entertained at all. The moment I was dreading was getting closer and closer. He halted at the slope with the engine of his motorbike still on.
But his eyes were trained on
me with such a scorching gaze that I felt it burning my skin.
My fingers looped through the cage holes as I shook my head.
Don’t do this, I mouthed.
Suddenly, his ride bolted forward as he stepped on the pedal with full force. I watched him flying in the air with horrified eyes as he crossed the slope. But the moment he let go of the handle, I felt my heart sinking. The crowd went wild with his stunt, and they cheered even more when he landed safely on the other side.
I let out a breath of relief, seeing him safe and in one piece.
“Wasn’t that just fucking amazing, everyone! Aiden never fails us!” the announcer exclaimed.
But I didn’t care about the crowd or the announcer. My entire focus was on the man who nearly gave me a heart attack. Shutting off the engine, he took off his helmet and shook his head then raked a hand through his tousled hair.
His intense gaze found mine as I saw waves of emotion pooling in his eyes. So much adrenaline…so much power.
A grin stretched across his lips as he winked at me.
But his flirting tactics did the opposite to me. Anger, pure rage engulfed me as I turned around and started to walk away. I was here to talk to him, but after seeing this, I didn’t know who I was going to talk to.
Which side of Aiden was real or fake? I had no clue at all.
The crowd’s roaring started to echo away as I walked away from the arena and to the parking area.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps thudding closer. Turning around, I found the man I’d run away from rushing toward me. I increased my pace, needing to get away from him as soon as possible.
“Hey! Not so fast.” He quickly got to me, wrapping his hand around my elbow as I halted my steps.
“Let go of me,” I protested as I tried to pull away from his hold, even though it was a futile attempt.