by Sam Crescent
“Are you too good for me and my club?” Forge asked.
As a way of a welcome, she didn’t know what to say or do. “What?”
“Look, I get that you’re hiding up here because I did buy you. You’re my woman to use, fuck, and breed. Your father gave you to me and I’m not giving you back. I’ll pop that cherry soon, so you’re going to have to get used to me being around. This club is your home now. Those men would die for you, so the least you could fucking do is show them some respect.”
She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it.
“I’ve been told you rarely come downstairs, and you haven’t spoken to anyone.”
She nodded.
“Are you too good for us, princess?”
“It’s not that. I promise.”
“Then what is it? Because I don’t have women who think they’re better than anyone else.”
She averted her gaze, not wanting him to see the tears his mean words were creating. “I’m not used to this.”
“To what?”
Her father’s words of calling her useless and constantly sending her to her room to stay out of the way bombarded her.
“I … I … don’t … I’m not, I’m… It’s better if I’m out of the way.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because, this isn’t… I’m not here because you want me here. I’m fat and ugly and I don’t want to make a bad impression. It’s easier to stay in your room. I don’t want people to hate me.” She knew it was lame and hated how pathetic she sounded.
She swiped the tears away. “I don’t think I’m better, that’s for certain. I would never think that. I know I’m useless.”
Forge stepped close to her, placed a finger beneath her chin, and sighed. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”
She lifted her head, brows raised. “Why are you sorry?”
“Because, seeing you up here, watching me, I thought … it doesn’t matter what I thought. This club is your home. You can come and go as you please around the clubhouse. But if you want to go shopping or go for a ride, you come to me, and I’ll arrange it. I’ll either come with you, or get one of my men to take care of you.” He cupped her face. “You need to stop crying because this is making me want to go to your father and cut his dick off. Believe me, I’ve wanted to many times.”
She laughed but the sound died when she realized he wasn’t joking. “Wow.”
“Yeah, wow. This isn’t like in the movies. It’s a hard life, but you’re not free pussy. You belong to me. You’re all my woman, and the men know it. They’ll do whatever it takes to protect you. All you’ve got to do is give them a chance.”
She nodded. “Okay.” She looked around the room. “I’d like that. I’d like to get out of the room.”
He laughed. “If I’d known, I’d have come and got your ass sooner. I thought with me being gone, you’d have gone exploring.”
“I went to the kitchen. I did make some muffins for everyone.”
“That was you?” Forge asked.
She nodded. “Yes. I can cook and bake. It’s one of the few things I do well.”
“Good, then from now on, you can cook for the club.” He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close.
“I missed you,” she said. Her cheeks heated because she knew why she was here, and it wasn’t to be in any kind of relationship.
“I thought about you every single night.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Now, I’m going to get you out of this room before I bend you over and fuck you. My dick is aching for you, but I can wait.”
He grabbed her hand and before she could say or do anything else, he pulled her out of the bedroom. She wouldn’t have minded if he wanted to have sex.
He pulled her outside, keeping an arm wrapped around her.
“Do not look at the ground. Don’t even think of feeling guilty. You keep your head up high and look straight ahead. These women know they’ll never have what you have. You’ve got all of me and none of them are ever going to get that chance.”
His words did offer her comfort and she followed him outside. The scent of barbeque was heavy in the air. Several of the men and women were crowded around dustbins that had been lit.
Forge put his hand on her hip, leading her to one.
No one said anything as she put her hands out over the heat. The night air was a little cold. She already had on a sweater to try to ward off the chill.
“Are you hungry?” Forge asked.
She nodded. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
With him gone, she’d been trying to limit the times she’d gone to the kitchen, not to starve herself, but because she didn’t want any interaction.
“You’re a quiet thing, aren’t you?” a guy to her left said. She turned her head but she didn’t know who he was. He looked scary and most of the bikers all had some varying degrees of scars.
She froze.
He laughed. “The name’s Hound. You’re going to need to speak up to be heard here. Being Forge’s woman will only get you so far. Don’t mind the bitches either. Forge put the word out. Remember you’re the one in charge here when it comes to them. Forge has staked his claim on you. It means you’re above them in the scheme of things. You want them gone, they’re gone.”
She looked toward the women who were watching her. “They don’t like me.”
“You took the ultimate prize. The brothers know the only reason some bitches stick around is for the prez. They want him. They want to be the special person to own him, but you came along with a debt and claimed him.” He chuckled. “Now they’ve got to try to settle for the VP or one of the best guys here to even think about having a good life.”
“Stop trying to scare my woman,” Forge said, coming toward her.
He handed her a plate of food and she took it. The burger was full and rather than complain, she tried her best to get her mouth around it. So far, so good.
No embarrassment and his men weren’t looking at her like some kind of disgusting thing.
****
Peterson would die soon.
There was no way Forge could let the bastard live with how he’d brought up Beth. For nearly two weeks, he’d seen her, watched her, always up at the fucking window looking down. At first, he did think she was shy, then when he had to go on a road trip to help enforce the lines of his turf by pushing out some crashers, he’d thought it would bring her out.
It didn’t.
She’d stayed in the bedroom and he’d listened to Romy, one of the sluts who’d been with them for a couple of years, claiming the other woman was too good for them all.
He’d deal with Romy, but he noticed the whore had made herself scarce. When she first arrived, Romy had made it clear she only wanted to fuck as many men that would have her. Now, he was pissed off because she was clearly about causing trouble and he didn’t like trouble.
Slowly, minute by minute, he watched as Beth started to relax. She wasn’t used to being around men or people. Whatever her father had fucking done to her, it made him sick to his stomach and also made him want to kill people. Peterson would die slowly. All he was waiting for was the right moment to do the deed. His position in the political ring complicated things, but it was only a matter of time.
He’d been away from Beth for too long and he didn’t plan to go on another road trip any time soon. He wanted to break her out of her shell, and the only way to do that was to be with her.
She was delicate.
Sweet.
And he’d also noticed a jealous streak.
Someone started to play some sexy, sensual music. Women rushed toward the men, in different states of undress. He knew it was a competition for the women to wear as little as possible to get the most men in one night. He wasn’t interested in their games.
He pulled Beth into his arms, drawing her away from the fire. Taking her arms, he wrapped them around his neck, holding on to her hips.
“What are we doing?”
“Dancing.”
She looked around and he shook his head.
“No, you don’t look anywhere else but at me. I’m the one that is important here, no one else.” She didn’t need to see Hound had two women, one he was fingering, while the other was rubbing his cock.
This was a first for Forge as he wasn’t used to being so possessive, but when it came to his woman, he couldn’t seem to stop. She was his treasure. He liked having a woman who belonged to him. Keeping one hand in her hair, he tilted her head back, and with the other, he ran his fingers down her back, cupping her ass. He saw the shock but also the interest as she gasped.
“Do you have any idea what it is you do to me?” he asked. “You don’t even have to try and I’m hard as rock for you.”
He didn’t touch her pussy, just pulled her as close as she could get so she felt how alive he was for her. His cock threatened to burst from his pants.
“Do you have to go for days at a time often?” she asked.
“Why?” He didn’t mean for his voice to be stern.
“I’m sorry. I … missed you. I didn’t know if this was something you did all the time.”
“I do it when it’s required. I’ll let you know the next time.” He had to get used to her innocence. Other women, those sent in an attempt to destroy the club, would use any information they had to destroy them. “For now, I want you to get used to hanging around the club. If you stay in my room for longer than an hour during the day, I’m going to come up and spank your ass.”
She gasped. “You’d spank me like I was a child?”
“Oh, you’d love that kind of pain, until I made it unbearable.”
“You really want me to hang around with your friends?”
“They’re my club. I’m not giving you a free pass to leave the walls. You’re safe in the compound. I know the men will have your back and protect you.”
“I’ll try.”
“No, you’ll succeed. I don’t like failures, Beth. This is your home now. I’m not giving you back, so any fantasy you had playing in your head, you need to get rid of. I’m not letting you go.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
He smiled at her. She didn’t attempt to argue, which pleased him. “I’m also going to stop you from being so submissive. When you don’t like something, you need to tell me.”
“But won’t that annoy you. Make you angry?” She nibbled on her lip. “I don’t like pain.”
He gritted his teeth. “When you disobeyed your father, he hit you?”
She didn’t answer right away. She went pale.
“Beth!” He growled her name out, needing an answer or he was going to do all kinds of damage.
“He would hit me with his belt or slap me. I don’t like pain.” She looked down at the ground and for now, he was pleased because he didn’t imagine for a second she would like the look in his eyes. Forge had been told many times that he had an empty stare of death when he got into a murderous rage.
Peterson’s last days were coming and the next hit he gave would be from his belt. He’d show that fucker.
“Then I guess it’s time you learned how to also hit back.”
She looked up then, her confusion replacing the obvious shame.
“Hit back?”
“Yep. You’re going to learn how to smack a man down, kick him in the balls, and what to do if a man attacks. I’ll even give you a couple of rounds on the gun.”
“Can I do that?”
“Babe, you’re with me. You can do whatever the hell you want.” He winked at her. He was going to have so much fun with this woman. She was going to thrive with him in her life, and he’d be damned if any man pushed this woman down again. He would make her his queen, where all women admired her and wouldn’t dare try to hurt her.
Tilting her head back, he slammed his lips down on hers, not caring if his men saw. They knew the consequences if something were to happen to her, and he wasn’t going to allow them to doubt her place in his life.
Tomorrow, he was going to start to repair the damage her father had caused. He’d build her up, change her entire world.
Breaking from the kiss, she looked breathless and the smile on her lips was heaven. “I like it when you kiss me.”
He did it again and this time, she gasped, moaning, and he used the moment to slide his tongue into her mouth. She whimpered his name, and he felt completely consumed by his need for her. She really was everything and he couldn’t get enough of her.
He didn’t take her up to his bed straightaway. Staying around his men, he drank a couple of beers, kept Beth at his side throughout it all. When she started to get a little heavy, he realized she was falling asleep.
He sent her upstairs and she went after a kiss to his lips. Watching her go, he saw men and women part for her. Did she even realize yet that she was their world now? There was no getting out of it. She belonged to all of them, and she looked so damn pretty. Her beauty shone brighter than anyone else here.
Drinking his beer, he finished the can and crushed it in his fist. He got to his feet as Romy made her way out of the clubhouse. She was smiling until he caught sight of her.
No one stopped him as he grabbed her around the throat, cutting off her air supply. “You think you could turn me against my woman? She’s more than you’ll ever be.” He squeezed even tighter. “I want you all to know Beth isn’t like us. She hasn’t had an easy upbringing. She’s shy, reserved, scared. I want you all to treat her with the utmost respect and if you see her fucking scared or withdrawn, go to her, help her to realize her place is here. I won’t be getting rid of her. She’s my old lady. As good as my wife, and I won’t allow anyone, not you, not anyone, to treat her any other way.”
He threw Romy to the ground. She gasped and cried out.
“Now, get the fuck out of my clubhouse. If I see you around here, I’ll kill you.”
She got to her feet, glancing at his men.
No one came to her defense. She was nothing.
He watched her go, her legs bleeding from his tarmac. She was a slut with no information. The women knew nothing. It was how he kept his club so tight.
“If she ever tries to come back in here, shoot her,” he said.
With that, he made his way inside to his room.
Now everyone would know the consequences of hurting Beth. Entering his room, he saw Beth curled up around his pillow. She looked so beautiful, and she was the prize in his bed. As he closed his door, she didn’t even move or whimper. After removing his clothes, he went to the bathroom and took a quick shower as it had been a few days since he last washed.
When he was completely dry, he walked back to his bed, naked, and joined her, curling up against her back. Breathing in her scent, he knew he’d come home. Beth was now his everything. She didn’t even know it yet, but she completed him.
Curves, shyness, sweetness, and soon he’d have the fire as well.
Chapter Six
He’d told her to explore, so that was what she planned to do. A few days after he’d returned to the clubhouse, he was out back in his forge. She could hear the ting of metal on metal. Beth never wanted to disturb him or cause trouble, but she admitted she was curious. Her fears kept holding her back from getting closer to him. What if he turned her away? What if he didn’t want to know more about her? She wouldn’t put him in a position to push her away. Her heart grew more fragile the more she became attached to Forge. There were no alternatives for her if he tired of her. No place to run. No family to welcome her back. Forge was all she had and all she wanted.
She pulled on a light cardigan and set off to explore the club that was supposedly her home now. Beth craved security and permanence so much it hurt.
“Hell’s Slaves MC,” she muttered to herself in disbelief.
It had only been a few weeks, but she was starting to feel like she meant something to Forge. He was possessive and, so far, loyal. This wasn’t the world she was accustomed to, but she understood her place held importance. In a w
eird way, she felt like a princess. She never wanted to leave.
Things were a lot different in the daylight hours. They were surrounded by forest, and the scent of burning wood was a comfort. Everyone had a job to do, and a lot of the men were gone before she woke up every morning. She tried to block out the fact Forge and his club lived a life of crime. Mostly it bothered her that deep down she didn’t give a shit. For the first time in her life, she felt wanted. Belonging to something bigger was an addiction.
A couple of dogs raced by her legs. Beth twirled around, feeling carefree and happier than she’d ever felt in her life. She was no longer the oddity. People didn’t point or stare. Beth was starting to fit in and becoming a regular part of the club.
When she got to the entrance gates, she noticed the wildflowers on the edge of an embankment in the distance. She slipped out to explore, crouching down when she finally reached the cliff. Far below was a river, the water rushing around large rocks and calming as it continued along. They really were off the grid. She followed along the upper bank, sometimes trying to follow random pieces of driftwood until they disappeared from sight. The views were breathtaking, and she ended up sitting down and crossing her legs for the longest time. Daydreaming came naturally to her. Before being sold to Forge, it was all she had. One by one, she picked select wildflowers. She’d put them in a vase in their room when she got back to the clubhouse.
Forge said she could help in the kitchen tonight. All she had to do was direct the women, and they’d do as she asked. It sounded like a recipe for disaster, but Forge assured her she was in charge, and her vision for the dinner was going to be perfect. She wanted him to be proud of her … to love her.
She found herself humming, smiling at nothing more than the evergreen of the forest against the contrast of the blue sky. Beth had never been more at peace. She was free from her father, his wife, and walking on eggshells every day. As she lost herself in thought, she did wonder when Forge was going to make the big move. They’d been very sexual with each other, but they’d never consummated their relationship. Was he old-fashioned? Was there something wrong with her? Every passing day made her more and more paranoid and insecure.