King's Harlots 1-3

by J. M. Walker

  “I love you.”

  He didn’t.

  “You are everything to me.”

  That wasn’t true.

  “You’re mine.”

  Which meant he could fuck anyone he wanted to but if I so much as looked at another man, Tyler’s fist would end up against my face. Or worse. It was always worse.

  The first time he hit me, it shocked me to the core. I had been so surprised, I thought it wasn’t real. But being raised by my father and his bike club, I hit Tyler back without even thinking. Of course, he enjoyed it and it turned into the darkest dirtiest sex I ever had.

  Every emotion, every hint of the love I thought I had felt for my ex was replaced from the first moment Angel looked at me. We enjoyed challenging each other. The violence I had endured with Tyler came so often I found myself getting used to it.

  “Jay?”

  I rose from the bed and turned toward Angel. Standing there naked, completely stripped bare for the man I loved, I waited.

  “I love you,” he finally said.

  “I love you too,” I whispered back. And I did. More than life. He was my sun, moon, and stars. The beginning to my end. My everything. But I didn’t know how to give him all of me in return. I knew I had to. I prayed. Begged for the words to leave my mouth to let him know that I was fucked up. To help him realize that I was just scared. The words never left my lips.

  Under normal circumstances, Angel would have demanded that I join him in bed. He would then make promises to fill my mind and my body with only him. But I wasn’t in the mood. Not for him. Not for anyone. It wasn’t fair to him. None of this was his fault. It was the whole “it’s not you, it’s me” bullshit and it pissed me off even more.

  Angel slid his legs over the side of the bed, brushing a hand through his dark hair. “I love you,” he repeated. “Know that. And I will spend the rest of my life showing you that I’m not him.”

  My heart jumped. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Angel let out a heavy sigh. “You don’t have to admit it. Not yet. I’ll give you time, Jay, but I mean it. I am not Tyler. I can be an asshole. I know that. But I would never do anything to you that you didn’t want me to do. Please know that I love you.”

  “I do.” I got dressed and headed for the door, needing to run away from his words. There was no way I could discuss Tyler at the moment. “I’m going to get a bottle of the strongest alcohol I have.”

  Angel grunted, pulling on his jeans and t-shirt. “Sounds like a perfect plan.”

  “Or a dangerous one,” I mumbled.

  We left my room and walked hand in hand down the hall. We were having issues talking but that small touch gave me some hope. It wasn’t a lot, but it was a start.

  Before we reached the crowded area at the front of the club, Angel stopped me and kissed my knuckles. He stared intently into my eyes, backing me up against the wall.

  A breath left me on a whoosh. I would never get used to seeing this side of him. The dark and dominating man who took from me what he needed and gave me what I craved in return.

  Brushing the back of his knuckles down the side of my face, he placed his other hand on the wall.

  I was caged in by this man. I knew everything about him. What to expect. But I would never get used to how, with one look, he took my breath away.

  His dark eyes burned me, searing into my skin until all I could focus on was him staring back at me.

  “You are so damn beautiful,” he gritted, his jaw clenching. “Your beauty makes me weak.”

  “Angel,” I breathed, sliding my hands down his chest and leaning my forehead against him.

  “I love you, Jay. Nothing will change that,” he gripped the back of my neck in a firm hold, reminding me that I belonged to him. And I did, didn’t I? Every inch of me. Every single fiber of my very being.

  But what if something did change things? What if Tyler succeeded in ruining our relationship? He didn’t want me, but he didn’t want anyone else to have me, either. I knew how he worked. He would get in our heads, trying to take control from the inside out.

  “Jay, stop fucking thinking so much,” Angel pinched my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “I know you worry. I do too. We can’t see the future. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. But I do know that I will always fucking love you. I just wish you would believe me.”

  Tears welled in my eyes, my throat constricting. It was so damn tight, every swallow I made burned like hell. “I know,” I whispered.

  “Do you?” he demanded, releasing me. He took a step back, shoving his hand through his hair. “My life is shit without you, but I won’t beg you to stay. If you want out, show me the respect I deserve and tell me.”

  My eyes widened. “What? God no.” I closed the distance between us, gripping his thick arms. “Of course I don’t want out. You have to believe me. I love you. I love you with all of me.” I rambled on and on but Angel wouldn’t meet my gaze. He didn’t believe me. Was this because of Tyler? Or me? Shit. What have I done?

  Nothing. That’s what. I have done nothing at all to show Angel how much I loved him. Both of us had difficulty with words but I never thought it would end us.

  “Let’s make an appearance at Max’s party,” Angel muttered, his deep voice soon drowned out by the loud music.

  I followed him out into the crowded room.

  Angel and his brothers had fixed up the hole in the far wall. Looking at it, you would never think that months ago, someone attempted to blow the place up.

  And that was when I met him. For the first time.

  Angel Rodriguez.

  My King.

  SEVEN

  Angel

  JAY’S LAUGHTER VIBRATED into my soul. It was melodious, sliding over my skin like melted chocolate. But it was an act. Every single smile, every giggle, none of it was real. Because of me. Anyone who knew her would see that the smiles never reached her eyes. Or that the laughter was forced and drawn out.

  She would look my way every so often, her eyes pleading with me to stay. But it wasn’t me she had to worry about.

  Jay would run. I knew it. She knew it. I was just waiting for the time to come when I would wake up in the morning to an empty spot in bed beside me.

  “I need a fucking drink.”

  Jay’s loud demand sent my nerves on edge.

  I didn’t know these men, these bikers. Her father’s club hadn’t even made an appearance. At least with them, I knew what to expect. Dickface Tyler, on the other hand, was another thing.

  “Grab a bottle and bring it back to your room,” I called out over the music, leaning against the wall.

  “Not gonna happen, baby,” she yelled back. “I’m getting drunk with my sisters tonight. You can join me if you wish.” Her gaze challenged me. With her chin jutted out, her lips pursed into a straight line. She wanted to fight.

  But unfortunately for her, I was not in the mood. Playing along, I heaved out a heavy sigh. “Fine. If I must.”

  She laughed. Standing on tiptoes, she gave me a soft kiss on the mouth. “Come.” She grabbed my hand, leading me to one of the larger booths at the front of the room.

  “Jay.” I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her close. “We need to talk.”

  “Not right now,” she insisted. “Please. I love you. And I know you love me. Let’s just have that for right now.”

  I wasn’t the type of guy who could just close off my feelings and mask it with a shell of happy. It didn’t work that way.

  But happy wife. Happy life.

  She wasn’t my wife yet, but she damn well would be. And soon.

  “We’re talking later.” I kissed her hard on the mouth. “And you are not getting shit faced tonight.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Because I need my girlfriend tonight.” I pinched her chin, forcing her to look me in the eye. “I need my fiancée.”

  Jay didn’t say anything, but she didn’t argue with me, either.

&nbs
p; Sliding into the booth, she reached out for my hand.

  I sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

  She joked and laughed, chatting with people around her. But I knew her inside and out. She was rigid, rubbing her temples every so often as if warding off an impending headache.

  Despite our love being hard and fast, I could see it. It had been the same thing over and over for the past couple of weeks. Even when we first started dating. The twinge of anxiety in my gut hinted at the fact she wasn’t revealing all to me. She was scared, terrified that I would leave her or worse. Tyler had fucked up her sense of worth. Her trust in men. That a man wouldn’t hurt her. That is what he did to her. And that is what I was trying to change.

  Jay talked.

  I listened.

  The party had taken off, people milling in and out of the clubhouse. Max had set up the gathering but she was nowhere in sight. While she and Dale had their problems, he refused to talk about it. Flirting and drinking with women who took his mind off the fact he got Max pregnant. The fucker wasn’t happy. Not with the situation or even how he was dealing with things, but he masked it by ignoring it.

  And I thought I had issues coming to terms with how I felt.

  As if her ears had been burning, Max appeared from the hallway leading into the back of the club. She caught my gaze, gave a small wave, and started walking toward us.

  My back stiffened, knowing she would see Dale with the two women who were all over him.

  “Jay.” I tugged my girlfriend's hand gently. “Max.”

  Jay followed the direction of my gaze. “Shit.”

  Before she could say anything, I slid out of the booth, giving her the room to make her way toward her best friend. Max wasn’t stupid, but she didn’t need to see Dale’s shit, either.

  “How about we go take a walk?” Jay stepped in front of Max, shielding her view, but she wasn’t quick enough.

  Max peered around her, saw Dale, and paused. Shaking her head, she turned around and walked away.

  I was surprised. Expecting her to lose her shit, I never took her for calm and collected. Maybe she had enough. Maybe Dale took it too far.

  “Dale,” I called out, interrupting his moment with the whores in his lap.

  “What?” He frowned, pushing one of the women off of him. He adjusted himself before standing to his full height.

  Fucker. “Don’t be a dick.”

  Raising an eyebrow, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Since when do you care what I do?”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I closed the distance between us, getting in his face. “You hurt my fiancée’s best friend? You hurt my fiancée. You don’t want to do that.”

  “What are you going to do about it, Angel? You going to hit me? You going to force Max to talk to me and sort this shit out? No? Didn’t think so.” He sidestepped around me, stomping his way to the door. “Until she decides to talk to me, I’ll do whatever the fuck I want.”

  “Have you tried talking to her?” I yelled back, following him. “She told you she loved you and look at how you reacted.”

  “You’re hanging out with these women too much,” he mumbled, slumping onto the picnic table. “You’re getting soft.”

  “Well, excuse me for caring.”

  “You care?” Dale scoffed. “You’re fucking funny.”

  “What the hell is this about? I told you I was sorry. I told you I never knew how to tell you, my brothers, that you have helped me through so much and that I love you. But I’ve finally said it, haven’t I? Shouldn’t that be enough?”

  Dale raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You’re asking me that? Why don’t you try showing us how you feel instead of saying it? Maybe then you can get through to your fiancée as well and she won’t look at you like she wants to gut you.”

  “I …” My mouth opened and closed. He was right. God, I was so stupid.

  “Funny, isn’t it? You’re engaged and the guy who fucked everything up with his woman sets you straight.”

  I sat beside him, dropping my head in my hands. “I … fuck.”

  “Yup. Exactly.” Dale shook his head.

  “What about you and Max?”

  “There is no me and Max.”

  “Have you tried?” As soon as the question left my lips, a dark shadow appeared out of the corner of my eye. It moved fast but not fast enough before I caught who it was.

  “Fucking Tyler.” Dale took the word right out of my mouth.

  “What the hell do you want?” I barked, jumping off the table.

  “I came to talk to Jenny,” Tyler stated, making his way to the front of the club. The fact that he called her by that name irritated the fuck out of me. It was a name only he had given her. Call it jealousy, but every time he used it, I wanted to drive my fist into his face.

  “I don’t fucking think so.” I stepped in his way, blocking him.

  “You going to stop me? If I want to talk to her, I will, whether either of you like it or not.” Tyler stepped around me.

  Reaching a hand out, I grabbed hold of his leather cut and pushed him back. “Not happening. Jay is busy.”

  “No, I’m not.” Jay came up beside me, crossing her arms over her chest. I really wished she wouldn’t have done that. The small move pushed up her tits, making them look fuller.

  Tyler’s gaze followed the movement, his tongue peeking out to lick along his bottom lip.

  An inhuman growl left my mouth, and before I could comprehend what I was doing, I jumped him.

  Yelling and screaming sounded around me, but all I could focus on was the piece of shit beneath me. My fist flew into his face.

  He laughed, attempting to push me back.

  Heavy arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me, but I wouldn’t budge. This asshole needed to be taught a lesson. He needed to know that Jay was no longer his. She was mine. She would marry me. She would spend the rest of her life with me. And any children Jay would have will be mine and hers. Tyler could go fuck himself. And stay the fuck away from my woman.

  ***

  (Jay)

  “I’m leaving you,” I told Tyler, packing the little clothing I had, in my bag.

  Tyler didn’t say anything as he lit a smoke and inhaled. Blowing out the cloud of toxins, he only watched me.

  I had always thought he was beautiful in a hard domineering kind of way. He was the bad boy. And I was the good girl. He wanted to break me, and when he did, he got bored. But after all of the shit we had been through, I would always be grateful to him. He taught me to be strong, but he also taught me that there is no such thing as true love.

  “Are you going to say anything?” I asked, sitting on the edge of his bed. The sheets were crumpled, memories of what we had done only a half an hour before sliding into my mind.

  “Why should I?” he finally said, taking another long drag of his cigarette.

  “You’re not surprised.”

  “Nope.” Tyler leaned forward, stretching his thick arms up over his head. The muscles moved and rippled over his hard body, the tattoos that adorned his skin moving as if they were alive.

  I loved him. In a sick and very twisted way, I would always love him.

  “Do you love me? Honestly. After everything we have been through, do you love me?” I needed to know. He had been there for me when my sister disappeared. He was the only one who believed me that she didn’t just run off with some random person.

  “I love you,” he repeated the words but the emotion never reached his eyes. “But I also got what I wanted and now that I have it—” he shrugged “—I don’t need you anymore.”

  My heart jumped. Expecting tears to fall, I was shocked with myself when I didn’t feel any remorse. I was done. Finished. Everything I’d had with Tyler Bone was over.

  “As much as I hate you, thank you for being there for me with my … my sister.”

  Tyler rose to his feet and came toward me. The scent of sex wafted into my nose. “Jenny,” he gro
wled, pinching my chin. “Say it again.”

  “What?”

  “Say it,” he demanded, forcing my head back.

  “I hate you.”

  He smirked. “Good.”

  Watching my boyfriend kick my ex’s ass was not something I expected to see anytime soon. Tyler egged Angel on. Pushing and poking until he snapped. I should have done something about it. I should have stopped them. But Tyler deserved it. He had it coming. Year after year of fighting with him surfaced to the forefront of my mind. Memories of pain. That moment of disgust for hitting him back. I always knew that Tyler deserved it, but two wrongs never made a right. My conscience told me that it was not okay. Violence didn’t solve anything. I knew that even though I never listened.

  While Angel punched Tyler, I only stood there. Everything in me told me to stop him. But I couldn’t. My feet were stuck, my body immobile. It was like I was having an out-of-body experience as I looked down at the huddle on the ground. Words flew around me.

  Tyler pushed Angel off of him, finally breaking free of him. “You fucking pussy. You think fighting me solves anything? I live for this shit. Just ask your girlfriend.”

  “You bastard,” Angel growled, clenching his bloody hands at his sides. “You think I don’t know what you did to her? You think I don’t know the scars you left on her fucking soul?”

  My chest constricted at Angel’s badgering of questions. We never talked about what I went through with Tyler. Maybe we should have. I told Angel that he was a monster and our relationship had been toxic but nothing more came of that. The rumors flew around, people talked. Tyler had been abusive, but I was just as bad.

  “Angel,” I finally said.

  “Everything I did was because she asked for it,” Tyler shot back, shoving Angel. “I’m an asshole, but I’m not abusive.”

  I scoffed. “No?” I took a step forward. “You think the bruises I had were because I fell?”

  “Jay.” Angel cupped my shoulder, squeezing gently.

  “You think I asked for you to hit me?” I shrugged Angel off, not needing his pity at the moment. “You think because we got in arguments, that I didn’t listen, whatever the reason was, that it gave you the right to smack me around?”