by Ryan Michele
He shifted me so we lay face to face in the bed. “Pissed you got yourself tangled with assholes. Yeah. Pissed that you saved those people. No.”
“I swear I wasn’t being tailed.” My eyes pleaded with him to believe me. I just wanted him to believe me.
“Everything in life has consequences. Some are positive, some are not. You got yourself in one that wasn’t. Now it is. We move on.”
This made my back go straight. “Just like that.”
“Just like that. But we do have one problem.”
My brows scrunched. “What’s that?”
“My shit ain’t at your place.”
My chest warmed once again. “Reid Maxwell, are you bargin’ into my house?”
“Fuck yeah.”
I rolled my eyes for dramatics. “Fine. I guess I can put up with you.”
“That’s good.” Wrong Way let me go and rolled off the bed. His fine ass was making me wet as he walked across the room, opened a drawer, and pulled something out. When he turned around, my eyes were on his cock, but something was obstructing the view.
Looking up, I gasped.
“You gonna be my ol’ lady?”
Tears welled up, and I fought them down. I wasn’t going to cry, dammit. He held up a black leather vest with a patch on the back that said Property of Wrong Way. Fuck that felt good. Felt safe. Felt right.
For once in my life, everything felt right.
* * *
Two Weeks Later
“How’s those beans comin’?” Goldi called from across the kitchen. I had to take the leather off my back because it was hotter than hell back here. After this, I was gonna need to go out and jump in that pool to cool off.
“About ten more minutes,” I yelled back to her.
Rylynn, Ash, Van, Goldi, Cali, Shell and I were all cooking our damn asses off, literally. I swore I lost five pounds in my ass alone.
It was family day, and that meant not only club members, but their extended family, biological and everything in between. Therefore, instead of cooking what we normally did, we tripled it.
It smelled damn good, though.
“Can I go put out the corn?” Van asked Goldi who smiled down at her.
“Sure, child. Just don’t drop it.”
“I won’t,” she said as she bounced off.
“Lordy, I hope that tin foil holds up.” Goldi shook her head.
“Relax.” Cali bumped into her.
“Girl, get your ass busy.”
This was still a puzzle to me. Goldi always called Cali and Shell her girls. “Why do you call them that? Your girls?” I asked as Goldi’s eyes came up to mine.
“It’s fine. She’s one of us, but do it quick before the little ears show up,” Rylynn put in, stirring a huge pot of gravy.
“They’re ladies of the night,” Goldi started and Cali burst out laughing.
“We’re hookers. We do what we gotta do to survive.”
My head nodded. This didn’t come as some huge shock or epiphany to me. “I get that. Had some times in my life when I almost walked that line.” Everyone’s gaze was on me, but I kept stirring the beans. “Life on the streets isn’t easy. You gotta do what ya gotta do.”
“Really?” Rylynn asked.
I shrugged. “Life is survival. If you can carve out a bit of happy to go with it, that’s a bonus.”
The kitchen was silent for a beat until Goldi said, “Alright, let’s get the food out.”
After putting the food in containers we took it out to the clubhouse.
Rocco and Janey came. I hugged them quickly then went about the food. I’d even met Greer, Crow’s oldest boy who had a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Considering his mom died not too long ago, I understood.
On the second round, I spied Wrong Way, and he winked at me. I loved when he did that.
His gaze broke from mine as he pulled out his phone and took the call. I set the beans down, but I saw it, when his eyes got huge. “On it,” I heard him as he pointed to the door. “Grams is here. Jimmy says she’s got part of a fence and mailbox attached to her back end.”
Racing out with Wrong Way, Ms. M was pulling her huge Caddy into the parking lot. She looked around the place and saw no parking places, so she made one—right where she stopped, blocking several cars and trucks.
Behind her car, indeed, was part of someone’s fence and a partial mailbox.
We made our way quickly to her and opened the door. “You need to get some parkin’ in here!” she yelled to Wrong Way before she even got her bony ass out of the car.
“You’re fine where you are,” he said, reaching into the car and helping her out. She stood with ease. “Want to tell me why you have part of someone’s yard on the back of your car?”
Ms. M looked back. “Well lookey there. I didn’t hit anything. I have no idea where it came from.”
Wrong Way looked up to the heavens. I had no idea what he thought about when he did it, but it was probably for patience.
“Gram, seriously. You had to know you ran into it.”
She shook her head adamantly. “No I did not, Reid Maxwell. Do not question your grams. Now, I’m hungry.”
Wrong Way looked over to me and I gave him a knowing smile. His grams was something else.
“Hi, Ms. M,” I said, walking on the other side of her, not daring to touch her so she didn’t go off on me.
“I cannot believe you let a man move in, Hayden. What must his family think?” she teased. She liked having Wrong Way right next door just about as much as I did.
“I know. I heard she’s a horny old woman.”
Ms. M burst out laughing.
By the time we got in, everyone had said hi to Ms. M, and we got our food, most were already done eating. But it seemed that when people were finished they congregated to our table. That was because Ms. M was hilarious.
“She needs her pooper-shooter fixed. I keep tellin’ her, but she won’t go to the doctor. She just wants to keep pollutin’ the planet with her gas,” Ms. M said, twirling her fork in the air while everyone laughed.
Pooper-shooter was a new word for me. I liked it.
“Then there’s Hazel. I swear that woman suffers from CRS.”
Rylynn laughs and says, “Can’t remember shit.”
Ms. M pointed her fork at her. “Yes indeed. She was supposed to have bunko and just like the last time, she forgot. I even wrote it down on her calendar for her. You think I’m a bad driver, she’s the one you should be lookin’ out for. You know she went to the DMV and pulled her license. She said to hell with it and is still out on the road.” She looked at Wrong Way, pointing her fork at him. “I passed mine.”
“Was that because I took ya.” A voice came from behind Ms. M as she turned, and she beamed up at Kenny.
“How’s my boy?”
Kenny leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Good, Grams. Hungry.”
Ms. M made a shooing motion with her hand for him to go and get food. When he got back, a space had cleared for Kenny to sit down. Janey was next to me, and Rocco was in a heated debate with Tex, whatever in the hell that was about.
“And I did not get my license because you took me. I got it because I can still drive just fine.”
Kenny chuckled. “Right. That’s why you have half the neighborhood attached to your car.” Ms. M lifted her hand and smacked Kenny on the back of the head. “Dammit.”
Wrong Way burst out laughing.
That’s what this was.
Family.
My family.
My safety.
My life.
50
Wrong Way
Five Weeks Later
“Are we really doing this?” Hayden asked as we got off the plane and entered the Las Vegas terminal. The hustle and bustle of the place was off the charts. All through the terminal were slot machines and people sitting at them playing. Some were winning and yelling, while others just sat there monotonously pushing the button.
This place
had to make a killing. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone bought a plane ticket just to get in here and gamble. Stupid, but I wouldn’t put it past them.
“Fuck yeah we are.” I pulled her intertwined hand with mine and kissed the top of it. We weren’t waiting for anything. After both learning how close death could come knocking on our doors, there was no reason for it.
She loved me, and I loved her. We were together until the end. Ride or die. Might as well make it official. I loved having her tied to me in every way possible. The ring on her finger sealed the deal.
“I can’t believe you planned this so fast. We just talked about it last night.”
Giving her a smile, I gave her a squeeze of the hand. “Didn’t you know the Internet is a powerful thing.”
She laughed. It was one of her rare but there laughs. Ones I could listen to until my dying breath. I was hoping to and make her laugh like that all the damn time.
Yes. This woman was going to be my bride and a beautiful one at that. Spending the rest of my days next to her would be a blessing. One I never thought I’d have, but now that I did, I’d do everything to hold on to it. No matter what.
“Ms. Janey is gonna be pissed.”
“Yeah, well Grams and Kenny will be too. When we get home, we have somethin’ there. This is just for us.”
I could hear Grams from here yelling and pointing that boney finger of hers at us. While she’d be happy, she would want to be here. I knew it was selfish, but I wanted Hayden all to myself.
“Let’s do it.” Her smile beamed up at me, hitting me straight through the heart. Yes. My feelings for this woman didn’t compare to any I’d had in the past. This one spoke to my soul and the man I am.
Yeah, let’s fucking do this.
“Do you want the regular package, deluxe, or premium. Personally, I’d go with premium.” The lady had a huge head of blonde hair that was styled up in a beehive. It didn’t look like part of a costume, but just her everyday do. To each their own.
Hayden looked up at me knowingly. Yep, she saw it too. Loved that we were so in sync.
Beehive lady, whose name was Bali, no, I’m not making this shit up, explained the differences, but it was Hayden who answered her. “Just the regular wedding.” Hayden looked up at me. Part of me was a bit taken aback. Hayden was a simple woman, but some women on their wedding days wanted it all. I should’ve known that Hayden would be herself. “We don’t need all the other stuff. I never thought I’d get married, and us being here is all that matters.”
I leaned down and took her mouth. She tasted of mint as my tongue swept inside of her.
“Alright. Let’s get you two married,” the beehive woman cut in, clapping her hands twice and pulling us out of the moment.
Stepping back from Hayden, she was a beauty. We stopped by our hotel, The Bellagio, and she changed into a form-fitting black dress. It had a huge slit up the side, and she had on heels. When I first saw her, my dick was so hard I could’ve beat nails in concrete. I’d never seen her in a dress before; add in the sultry make-up and the heels, I was a fucking goner.
Now, with her hair a bit mussed from me fucking her before we came, she’s breathtaking.
Me, I just put on jeans, a black shirt, and my cut. Just me.
Hayden stole the show, but then again, she always did.
The Little White Chapel was iconic, and what better place to begin a marriage with something that had so much history inside of it. Hayden’s history was rocky, and from this point on, I wanted her to have everything easy. I wanted us to create our own story and way of life. We both deserved to write it as we saw fit.
She deserved it and so much more. It was my job to give it to her.
“You ready?” she asked me as we walked down the aisle covered in solid red together to the officiant. Ravage colors. Didn’t even plan that one.
“Yeah. Born ready.”
The officiant greeted us—and no it wasn’t Elvis—before he began.
We held hands as we repeated the standard vows to each other. The way my woman beamed at me, I made a vow to myself to put that smile on her face for the rest of her life.
“Do you, Reid Maxwell, take Hayden Winchester to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?”
She blinked her eyes in a way that she was memorizing this moment and capturing it. Almost as if she was afraid it would all go up in a puff of smoke.
Our gazes met. “Absolutely. You’re mine.” A smile broke out on her face.
The officiant started.
“Do you, Hayden Winchester, take Reid Maxwell to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?”
“Yes.”
Damn, that was a great word. One that made me the happiest fucking man on this planet.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. Kiss your bride.”
Wrapping my woman in my arms, I pulled her close to me. “Ride or die, baby.” She smiled as I took her mouth. It was long, deep, and passionate.
“Love you,” I whispered, our foreheads resting on each other.
“And I love you,” she replied.
After a quick picture, we got out of there quickly, practically running back to our hotel. There were people everywhere at the chapel, and I needed to consummate my marriage. And our first time as a married couple wasn’t going to be in a damn closet.
The elevator ride up to our room appeared to take forever. Even though this hotel had several different banks of elevators going to certain floors to make it easier to get to your room, it was still too long.
Hayden kissed me as I held her tight. The three people in the car with us would look in the mirrored sides of the elevator to see us. Hayden nor I gave a fuck. They wanted to watch, so be it.
The bell chimed, telling us it was our floor. Scooping Hayden up in my arms, she gave a small cry as we made it down to our room.
“Pocket,” I told her as she reached in and grabbed the key, slipping it into the door. As soon as it locked behind us I rushed us to the bed.
“I’ve never eaten married pussy before,” I said. tossing her to the bed, and she gave a sharp scream as she bounced. The laughter coming from her was beautiful, but I needed her moaning.
“Really. Wonder if it tastes different?” she said coyly, moving to take off her shoes.
“Fuck no. You leave those on. I want those heels diggin’ into my fuckin’ back.”
Ripping off my cut and shirt, I fell between her thighs, bunching her skirt up around her stomach. A small scrap of fabric stood between me and her sweetness.
“Hope ya didn’t like these.”
“What?” She couldn’t finish because her thong was now in my hand and thrown across the room. “Babe, that was hot.”
“You wet for me?”
She nodded as I dove into her pussy, licking, sucking, and kissing. Fuck, this woman was perfect. Slipping her clit between my lips, I sucked hard, not letting up as her back arched off the bed, her hands coming to my hair and pulling.
Yeah, baby. Give me that.
Adding a finger, my tongue flicked the sensitive nub at different rhythms, finding which one was setting her aflame tonight. My girl loved me eating her out, and each time had been a little different.
Finding her sweet spot, I worked her hard. Sucking her in deep again, she screamed out as her pussy contracted around my fingers, sucking them in deeper.
Reaching down, I unbuttoned my jeans and freed my aching cock. Slipping inside of her, she felt like heaven.
My body fell on top of hers, my hands going to the sides of her face. “This is gonna be hard and rough. I’ll do slow later.”
Her lips tipped. “As long as I have you.”
My damn heart constricted. “Always.”
51
Hayden
Three Months Later
It stared back at me, plain as day. I couldn’t believe it, though, so I did another. Then another. Each one saying the same thing.
Pregnant.
Holy shit. Holy shit. Shit. Shit.
We hadn’t even talked about kids. Sure, he said something in passing about Ms. M’s table and how it needed a family around it, but that was it. He never said anything else about it.
What if he didn’t want kids?
What if he never even thought of children?
My breaths were coming out uneven as I stared at the three sticks.
I’d been on the shot for years and never thought in a million years, I’d be looking down and see those two little pink lines on all three of the tests.
I barely survived my childhood and didn’t have a role model until Ms. Janey came in my life. Would I even make a good mother? Would I know what to do when he or she was crying?
I feared I’d fuck up a child with all the baggage I had around me.
Sucking in some deep breaths, I closed my eyes and pulled my shit together. It took two goes at it, but I did it.
I’d survived everything else, I’d survive this. They had YouTube channels for this shit, right? Baby 101 or something like that.
The door handle jiggled, then a pound came to the door. “Why the fuck is the door locked?”
Closing my eyes tight, I did the breathing thing again. There was no way to hide this just for the mere fact that we never locked the doors on one another. It was always an open door policy. Come and go as you please.
This was out of the norm.
“No time like the present,” I murmured to myself, picking up the three sticks and holding them in a fan in front of me, the pink lines very present.
Reaching over, I unlocked the door and pulled it open.
“Babe, what the fuck is…” His voice trailed off as he looked me over.