by A. M. Myers
There is a fluttery feeling in my belly as I lean back in my chair and press my hand to my chest. “God, baby… I’m so horny…”
“Woman!”
“You’d better hurry. I need you, Wyatt,” I moan, dragging my hand across my skin and teasing myself as much as I’m teasing him. His growl on the other end of the line makes goose bumps race across my flesh and the bed in the studio that Eden and I use for boudoir sessions pops into my mind.
“Open the door.”
My gaze flies to the front door and my lips part as his eyes meet mine, full of all sorts of filthy promises and a shiver races down my spine as I stand up. “Jesus Christ. How did you get here so fast?”
“I was very motivated. Now, open the door,” he orders, his voice full of power as he arches a brow in warning. I stare at him and when he points to the lock, my feet start moving without any instruction from me, carrying me closer to him. As soon as the door is unlocked, he yanks it open and charges inside, pulling me into his arms and sealing his lips to mine. I moan, wrapping my arms around his neck as we stumble back into the counter and something crashes behind us. He rips his lips away and glances over my shoulder.
“Shit, baby. Your flowers fell.”
I jerk back. “Oh, no.”
Peeling myself out of his arms, I round the counter and grab the bundle of flowers off of the floor, shaking the water off before setting them on the counter and kneeling down to inspect the vase they came in. It was a gorgeous glass vase with little hearts blown into the sides but now it’s in multiple pieces all over the floor. On one of the shelves under the counter is a roll of paper towels and I grab them as I try to mop up the water. Wyatt crouches down next to me and takes the paper towels from my hand.
“I’ll do this. I don’t want you cutting yourself.”
I nod and stand up to inspect the flowers. They don’t look too worse for wear but there is no saving the vase they were in. I thought it was so sweet when it was delivered earlier today and even thought it’s just a vase, I’m kind of sad it broke. When he stands up with the pieces of glass in his hand, my bottom lip pokes out.
“Aw, baby,” he whispers, dropping the pieces into the garbage can before walking over to me and wrapping me up in a hug. “I’ll buy you a new one, okay?”
I point to the garbage can. “But I liked that one. It was so cute and sweet.”
“Well, where did you get it? We can go right now.”
Huh?
I pull back and meet his gaze with a scowl on my face. “I didn’t get it anywhere…”
“So Eden did, then? Text her and ask her where we can get another one. Or was it a client?”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, taking a step back as I search his face. Is he just messing with me right now? “You sent them to me.”
He shakes his head. “No… I didn’t.”
“But… they were delivered today… I just assumed they were from you.”
“No…” he answers, his gaze flicking to the flowers on the desk before dropping to the trash can. When he meets my eyes again, his eyes are narrowed and he takes a step toward me. “Who the fuck is sending you flowers, Pip?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I thought they were from you.”
“Obviously not,” he snaps, staring at the lilies again as his nostrils flare and he clenches his fist. He turns back to me, glaring daggers into my skin. “Who the fuck is sending you flowers and vases with cute little fucking hearts on it, Pip?”
“I don’t know!”
“You don’t know? Well, he obviously knows you well enough to know that calla lilies are your favorite fucking flower, doesn’t he?”
My eyes widen. “He? Are you accusing me of something right now?”
His lips flatten into a straight line as his gaze bounces around the studio like he’s looking for something and when his eyes finally land on me again, they are cold and hard. “Just tell me who sent the flowers, Piper.”
“I don’t know!” I scream, balling my fists up and gritting my teeth. Wyatt has been the only man to ever own my heart and I thought he knew that. I thought we were past all of this. He sighs, shoving his hand through his hair.
“Is it James? You leaving me for that fucker?”
I stare at him with wide eyes. Jesus Christ. The man has lost his goddamn mind. “Are you kidding me? I fucking love you, Wyatt, and only you. You know that.”
“Then why is some other fucking man sending you flowers?” he roars, pointing to the bouquet still sitting on the counter. He glares at it for a second before scooping it up and chucking it at the wall. “Fuck this. You know what I don’t need, Piper. I don’t need to get my heart pulverized by you again. If you want this little pissant, then get your shit out of the house and go be with him.”
He spins on his toes and walks out of the studio without another word and I stare after him for a few seconds before pain splinters my chest and tears sting my eyes. As I stumble back to my chair, I gasp for air and try to work through the last five minutes in my mind over and over again.
Where in the hell did it go wrong?
My hands shake as I pick up my phone and dial Eden’s number. I’m not leaving Wyatt and I’m not giving up on us but there is no way in hell that I’m going back to the house tonight.
“Hello?” Eden answers and I suck in a stuttered breath.
“Edie… can I come stay at your place tonight? Wyatt and I… we had a huge fight and I…”
“Of course,” she says, cutting me off. I thank her and tell her I’ll be there soon before hanging up and burying my head in my hands as a sob rips through me, echoing around the empty studio before being swallowed up by the upbeat pop music that only amplifies just how shitty I feel. The tears trickle down my cheeks and the pain in my chest grows as his words play on a loop through my mind. God, he was so cold, so sure that I would betray him like that I can’t help but think this is my fault. I lied to him about the real reasons I left for ten years and during all that time, it is all he’s known. I can’t help but wonder if he is still holding onto some resentment about all of that and if we’re strong enough to overcome it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Wyatt
I clench my fists to keep my hands from shaking as I stomp out of the studio. The door slams behind me but I ignore it. Images of Piper with another man flash across my vision, fueling me as I jump behind the wheel of my truck and peel out of the parking spot. Pain blooms in my chest, pain like I haven’t felt in ten goddamn years and I grit my teeth as I peel out of the parking space and press the gas pedal all the way to the floor. I’ll be better once I put a little distance between me and my lying wife. My mind spins as I fly down the quiet street, going over the last ten minutes again and again in my mind and wondering where the hell I went wrong. Things have been so damn good between Piper and me but those flowers tell a different goddamn story. My knuckles turn white from gripping the steering wheel so hard and I wish I could just crack it in half as rage flows through me. I feel like my hand is attached to live wire, electricity sparking through me and making me want to crawl out of my own skin. My mind spins as I try to put it all together but it just doesn’t make any sense. Who the fuck is sending my wife flowers?
And more importantly, why would she do this to me again?
Why would she do this to us?
My heart cracks in half as I think about going back to the way things were before she walked back into my life and I shake my head, fighting the urge to throw up.
Why would she do this to me again?
The thought bounces around in my head, driving me to the point of madness, before reality crashes down on me and I suck in a breath.
Oh, fuck…
Piper never cheated on me.
Almost like I’m walking through a haze, things become clearer and I run a hand over my face.
Jesus Christ.
What the hell did I just do and what was I thinking?
Piper wouldn’t ch
eat on me. Not now that we’re back together and trying to have a baby. Not when she could have had anyone she wanted only a month ago.
“Fuck!”I scream, punching the steering wheel so hard I hear a crack but I ignore it. It’s not what is important right now.
Goddamn it.
I fucked up so bad.
Shaking my head, I slam my foot on the brake and as soon as the truck slows down a little bit, I yank the wheel to one side, flipping around right in the middle of the street before flooring it to head back to the studio. Maybe she will still be there and I can apologize for being such an epic dumb ass.
I can’t believe I yelled at her like that.
What the hell was I thinking?
My chest feels tight as I race back toward her, hoping and praying that she will hear me out long enough to make it up to her but when I get back to the studio, her car is gone.
“Goddamn it,” I growl, pulling my phone out of my pocket and dialing her number as I head for home. My parting words ring in my ears and I hope to God she’s not there packing.
Fuck.
I can’t lose her again.
Her voice mail picks up and my heart climbs into my thorax as I toss the phone into the passenger seat.
Oh, this is so, so bad and also, perfect with all the other shit I’m dealing with. I feel like I’m losing my fucking mind and I don’t know what to do with all this goddamn guilt and worry twisting itself into a poisonous little cocktail inside me. Spots flash in my vision and panic claws at my throat as I reach over and grab my phone before dialing her number again.
“Please, Piper,” I whisper, my free leg shaking like crazy. Just as I pull up in front of the house and park my truck, her voice mail picks up and I grit my teeth, almost crushing the little piece of plastic. Her car isn’t here either and my heart kicks against my ribs as I wonder if maybe I was right.
What if she went to him?
Shaking my head, I push the idea from my mind as I grab my phone and pull up the tracking app I put on her phone right after the break-in at the club. She doesn’t know about it yet and I know she’ll be pissed but I really had the best intentions. There is also a tracker on her car, in her purse, and embedded in the necklace I bought her in Charleston. Getting that one was kind of tricky, though since I had to do it in the middle of the night and hide it well enough that she wouldn’t see it.
So far, it’s worked.
The app loads and I stare at her car as it turns down a street not far from the studio.
Where the fuck is she going?
She stops halfway down the street and my head falls back against the seat as all of the air in my lungs rushes out of me.
Oh, thank fucking God.
I don’t know why I didn’t think to check Eden’s place first. Sighing again, I lift my head and stare at the screen, contemplating my options. She has ignored two phone calls now and she went to Eden’s instead of coming home so maybe it’s best that I give her the night to cool off. The thought of spending the next almost twenty-four hours without her kills and my stomach twists at the idea. Every cell in my body is screaming at me to go to her and bring her home with me where she belongs but right now, with both of us so fucking mad, it would only makes things worse. As I look up at the house, I shake my head. The thought of going inside that house by myself is too painful and I turn back to the road and pull away from the curb.
I’ll spend the night at the clubhouse and in the morning, I will think of something epic to apologize to her.
As I drive through the dark streets, my mind drifts to the flowers again and a wave of possessiveness wells up inside me. Piper isn’t guilty of anything but this little fucker who sent her the flowers sure as hell is. My mind immediately flips to her recent ex, James, and the conversation we had before we went to Charleston. She said that he had wanted to get together again that night but when she said she blocked him and we never heard from him again, I forgot about it. Seems to me that James didn’t, though.
I pull into the clubhouse parking lot and park my truck before jumping out. It’s quiet here tonight and I glance over at the two bikes sitting near the door. Blaze and Streak are the only two people here which makes sense with all of us too consumed with protecting our families to hang out like we used to. It’s actually a little sad that Blaze and Streak don’t have anyone to go home to, now that I think about it.
Blaze glances up from one of the tables as I walk in and scowls as he studies my face. “What’s wrong?”
“Just some little fuck sending flowers to my wife.”
“Wanna go fuck him up?” he asks, nonchalant, like he didn’t just suggest we go beat the shit out of a little bitch. I stare at him for a second before shrugging.
“Maybe. I’ll keep you posted.”
He nods and I head upstairs to grab a laptop from my room. Streak is our resident tech expert but I don’t do too bad myself and for this, I’m perfectly capable of finding everything I need. Once I’m back downstairs in the bar with my computer, I set it down and grab a beer before opening it up to dig into James’s past.
Fuck…
I don’t even know this asshole’s last name.
Shaking my head, I open my computer and after it boots up, I log into social media and go to Piper’s profile. Maybe I can find a clue here. Scrolling down her page, I stop when I get a photo of them from four months ago and smile when I see that she tagged him. After opening his profile in another window, I stare at the picture for a second before I release a breath. Piper is my world and has been since we were kids so I know her inside and out, better than she knows herself and all it takes is a quick glance at the picture to tell me that she wasn’t ever happy with this fucker.
Reassured, I flip over to his profile and grab his birthday before opening up another search engine and typing in his full name and his birthdate. Like magic, his contact information pops up from a job search website and I look over my shoulder at Blaze, who is sipping coffee and flicking through the newspaper.
“You still feel like going to fuck someone up?”
He nods and slams his hand down on the paper. “Absolutely.”
I fight back a laugh as he jumps up, looking ready to put his fist through someone’s face but I can’t say that I blame him. All of us are feeling antsy with everything we’re dealing with and we have no way to expel that energy. As he pulls his cut on, he glances at the stairs.
“Streak!”
“What?” Streak’s voice yells from the end of the hallway and Blaze just crosses his arms over his chest and waits. Sure enough a few seconds later, Streak comes storming down the hallway and leans over the balcony. “What the fuck do you want?”
“Feel like going to fuck somebody up?”
He studies me. “Who?”
“This asshole that sent flowers to Piper,” I answer and his lip curls back for a second before he shrugs.
“Sure. I was getting bored anyway. Meet you outside.”
He disappears back down the hallway and Blaze nods to the front door. “Let’s go.”
“Should I be concerned by how eager you are to go kick someone’s ass?” I ask and he flicks a glare in my direction that tells me to drop the subject.
“No.”
Raising my hands in surrender, I let it go as we walk outside and he stops by his bike. I walk over to the truck and tell him to just follow me before climbing behind the wheel. Once Streak jogs out of the clubhouse and swings his leg over his bike, I back out of my parking space and pull out of the lot with them hot on my heels. My knuckles turn white as I grip the steering wheel tightly again thinking about this son of a bitch thinking he has any claim to my woman. Or thinking that it’s okay to send her flowers when she’s cut off all contact with him.
It’s assholes like this that we end up helping girls get away from and the more I think about him with Piper, the more I can’t wait to put my fist in his face.
Fuck.
I don’t even care if he presses charges at
this point.
Although, having to call Piper and ask her to bail me out of jail might not go over so well. Then I would have to apologize for another thing.
We pull up in front of a decent looking house not from from the club and the front door opens before I can even jump out of the truck. He eyes the bikes warily as the engines cut off and steps out onto the porch.
“Can I help you?”
I look down at the paper in my hand. “James Williams?”
“Yeah, what the hell do you want?” he snaps and my brow shoots up to my hairline as I look over at Blaze and Streak. Who in the fuck does this guy think he is? If three bikers show up on your doorstep looking for you, the worst thing you can do is cop an attitude. I walk halfway up his front sidewalk and stop, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I want you to stop sending flowers to my fucking wife.”
His head jerks back. “Your wife? I don’t even fucking know you, douchebag.”
“Sure, you do. I’m the guy you could never live up to in Piper’s mind.”
“Piper?” he asks, a smile curving across his face as he walks down the steps, suddenly feeling ten feet taller. Oh, I can’t wait to knock this guy out. My hand twitches with the urge to throw the first punch but I wait. “How is my girl?”
Blaze throws the first punch and James crumbles to the ground with a whimper.
“Geez, guy, you gotta watch where you’re going. You could really hurt yourself tripping over shit like that” Streak says, stepping up behind him and lifting him to his feet again. “Now, I think my friend here was talking to you.”
“Fuck you,” he growls, spitting blood at my feet but I don’t move as I look down at it in disinterest. What the hell did Piper ever see in this guy? I mean, besides her desperate desire to have a baby.
“Listen up, you little bitch,” I say, stepping closer to him and feeling the last week’s worth of stress flowing through my veins. “You’re going to stay away from my wife. You’re going to stop sending her flowers and if you ever contact her again, I’ll fucking kill you. She’s not interested.”