by Sam Crescent
Crazy.
He’s not mine.
The ring on her finger mocked her.
“You don’t like having guards?” Jared asked.
It was as if her thoughts had in some way brought him up magically to appear in front of her.
“I didn’t know I had any guards.”
He crouched down in front of her and she pulled away, running her hands through the water. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I was informed you were upset.”
“Well, as you can see, I’m fine.”
“Rose, I don’t play games. Tell me what’s wrong. When one of my guards says you’ve been crying, I believe him.”
“Where have you been?” she asked, rather than answering him.
“Work.”
“What kind of work?”
She checked his face and the collars of his shirt. Women wore lipstick and that would rub off on the collar of a man’s shirt, wouldn’t it?
You’re going crazy.
He stood up and she watched as he started to remove his clothes. At first, she didn’t have a problem, then she realized he was going to join her.
Turning away from him, she swam to the opposite side of the pool.
“You think you can get away from me?” he asked.
“If you think about the last couple of weeks, I don’t need to try. I can just stay at home. I’m sure it’s not a problem for you. I seem to recall a lot of women would love the pleasure of your company. None of them could wait two minutes for me to leave to go to the bathroom before giving you their number.”
He stared at her. “You think I’ve been with other women?”
“It doesn’t matter to me. You can do whatever the hell you want. Most men do.” She gritted her teeth, hating how desperate she sounded.
She was no match for Jared and his hands were on her, trapping her against the edge of the pool.
“You’re jealous.”
“I know men can’t keep it in their pants and seeing as you can’t even stand to touch me anymore, you must have found another woman to be with. When will I be getting my divorce papers?”
****
Well, fuck him, she was jealous.
Jared stared at his beautiful wife with her quivering lip, and damn it, he wanted to kiss her harder than he ever had before.
“You really think you’re going to get away from me?”
“Oh, that’s right, Jared gets what he wants and we mere mortals can only stick around and wait it out. I have to do as I’m told.” She kept on talking but Jared was still on cloud nine. If his wife was jealous, it meant she had feelings, lots of them.
He understood jealousy.
Slamming his lips down on hers, he let go of her hands, sinking his fingers into her hair and keeping her in place as he ravished her mouth. He just couldn’t get enough of her. She drove him fucking wild. His cock was already rock-hard and ready to take her.
She pushed at his chest and he broke from the kiss to give her what she wanted.
Rose glared at him, her lip quivering.
“What is it?” he asked. “What can I do to make this right?”
She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “I don’t know.”
He stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers and smiled.
“I get that you don’t want me anymore. Who would really want a woman who is pregnant?” She put her hands on her stomach.
He covered her hands with his own, touching her.
Silence filled the room. His men were guarding the door so no one would even think to come here. He didn’t want to be interrupted.
Now was the time.
He didn’t have a choice, but rather than be afraid, he was ready.
“I want you to listen closely to me.” He quickly pressed a kiss to her lips. “There is no other woman. I’ve dealt with work, nothing more. You asked me to be faithful and that’s exactly what I have done.”
“You expect me to believe you?”
“Yes, because I haven’t given you a reason to doubt me. There’s something else I need to tell you.”
“What?”
He stared into her green eyes. “Rose Cain, I don’t know how you did it, and I don’t even care if you believe me, it’s true. I’m fucking in love with you. There’s no other woman for me. No one even comes close to be able to replace you. You’re fucking everything and there’s no way I want anyone else.” He stroked her cheek. “I don’t even know how you can think I’d want anyone else when I’ve got you.”
Her mouth opened slightly, the shock clear on her face.
“You know, I’ve never told any other woman that I actually love them.”
“You love me?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not cheating on me?”
He chuckled. “No.”
“I… Oh, my,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting that. I thought you didn’t want me, like ever.”
“Not a chance. I love you. I’ve been working twice as hard to get home to be with you. You think I’d want to be anywhere else but to have you by my side?”
“I’m in shock. I mean, I was married to someone else.”
“Sean isn’t your problem. Your connection to him is gone, and they all know that if they mess with you, they mess with me.”
She put her hand on his heart. “Jared?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m in love with you too. I … I didn’t want to admit it but I do. I can’t make these feelings stop.”
He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Pressing her up against the pool, he kissed her.
Jared couldn’t get enough of her. She was everything.
His world.
He hadn’t been looking for love, but it had found him and now there really was no turning back. Not that he’d want to.
She was everything.
“I promise you, Rose, I’ll give you whatever your heart desires. Just ask and it will be yours.”
“You’re all I want. No one else.” She kissed him hard and he groaned.
He was more than happy to oblige.
Epilogue
Five years later
“Daddy wolf is here to eat his little babies!” Jared roared as he ran out into the yard and started to chase his children.
Rose giggled as she watched, pouring out more lemonade while laughter and squeals of excitement filled the air.
Millie and Ryan were their oldest at five, the unexpected twins. Millie had been a little shy whenever Rose had an ultrasound but the doctor had been a little confused by how big she’d been getting.
Discovering her carrying twins, Jared got a whole lot more possessive and protective, especially as he learned there were more risks with twins. Everything had gone according to plan. She’d given birth to two amazingly healthy babies.
She glanced over at their three-year-old son, Thomas. He was a quiet one but as his father grabbed him around the waist and blew against his neck, his laughter erupted.
Resting a hand on her hip and the other on her swollen stomach, she stared out across at her family.
She didn’t know how she’d gotten so lucky. Her life had changed overnight. From one awful marriage into one right out of a fairytale. She didn’t know it was possible.
The sun had started to set.
“Come on, guys, dinner,” she said.
Jared had Thomas in his arms, Millie on his back, and Ryan had somehow wrapped his way around Jared’s leg. Watching him walk toward her, she couldn’t contain her amusement.
“My queen, I present to you, your gifts. Start with the youngest, he has younger bones and can be eaten first.”
Thomas cried out and she grabbed him, pretending to bite him. Her son giggled.
Of course, Jared didn’t like her carrying the children while she was heavily pregnant and took Thomas from her.
“Right, time for food. Go and wash your hands, little devils.”
Their kids ran
off into the kitchen.
“And how is my lovely wife?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.
“I’m happy. Really, deliriously happy. More than I could have ever imagined.”
“Good. My plan is all coming together.”
“Plan?”
“To have you addicted to me so you never think to leave me.”
She kissed his lips. “Then you did exactly what you promised, because I never want to leave. Ever.”
“Good.”
The End
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BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER
BRED BY THE MC VP
Breeding Season, 6
Sam Crescent and Stacey Espino
Copyright © 2020
Sample Chapter
“None of you have anything better to do?” Dog glared at the growing group of onlookers.
He ran his free hand through his hair, trying his best to keep still. He’d been sitting on the stool in the main yard for over three hours, so he wasn’t in the best mood.
One of the old ladies was giving him his latest tattoo, an intricate collage of skulls on his left bicep. She’d been doing ink for decades, and this was the fourth time he’d been her canvas. He glanced at his arm as the crowd dispersed, thankful that the artwork looked about finished. It was better than he expected. Right now, all he wanted to do was get out of the hot yard and grab a cold beer.
“That’s a nice one.”
He’d already told everyone to fuck off. Dog didn’t appreciate an audience when he was hot, uncomfortable, and edgy from the needles. When he noticed it was Sable, his anger melted away. She was his only weakness.
“You think so?”
She nodded, walking around the tree stump they used as a table to take in every angle. When she came up behind him, she ran her fingertips along his shoulder, bringing his entire body to life. He sat straighter on the stool, adjusting his stance. “Good job, Patty. I think this is your best work yet,” she said.
“Thanks, sweetheart. When you going to let me do you?”
Sable shrugged. “I’m too chicken.”
“You don’t need any work done. You’re perfect the way you are,” said Dog.
There was a stretch of awkward silence.
“Old Dog playing with kittens?” said Patty. She coughed as soon as she started laughing. Her voice rough from a lifetime of smoking. The old bitch didn’t know when to keep her mouth shut. Dog was the VP of the Hell’s Slaves MC, so she wasn’t too bright pissing him off—old lady or not.
“You finished? You sound like you’re going to cough up a fucking lung.” Yes, he was twenty years older than Sable, but he never said he was claiming the twenty-six-year-old. Any attraction he had was bottled up and on the shelf.
Patty kept her mouth shut and cleaned off his arm. Dog stood up, stretching out all his cramped muscles. Sable was still there, but he walked back to the clubhouse, ignoring her.
“How long did the tattoo take?” she asked.
“No fucking clue. Too long.”
She tagged along with him. He remembered when she was an awkward teen. Sable was all grown up now—loads of curves, perfect features, and soft pale skin. He stopped just before going inside. Dog tried to replicate disinterest with Sable, like he did almost every day of his life, but it was impossible when she looked at him with those big doe brown eyes. She pulled her dark hair around to one side of her body. Whenever she was nervous, she’d twirl and fiddle with it.
Sable was a club whore, the same as her mother and sister. That meant she wasn’t to be taken seriously. She was pussy for the brothers to share. He could take her right now. Tell her to get upstairs in his bed and spread her legs. But something always held him back.
It wasn’t just the huge age difference.
He wanted something more and that could never happen with Sable. Maybe in a different lifetime, but not this one. He’d be laughed out of the fucking club if he attempted to take club pussy as his old lady. He’d be a joke.
“What is it?” he asked.
She blocked the entrance with her body.
“You’ve hardly talked to me since the shootings. I miss you, Dog. Did I do something wrong?”
It had been almost a year since the club was shot up. Several of them had gunshot wounds, including him, the prez, and Sable. Ever since that day, he realized how important she was to him. They’d almost lost her. He’d spent months helping her rehabilitate, even with his leg fucked up. She’d worried about the scars and had a fear of guns for a while—and he’d helped her through it all. He wished he could protect her forever.
Of course, being a nice guy had worked against him.
He’d fallen in love.
His feelings for the young beauty had to be doused, and the only way he knew how to do that was to keep his distance—out of sight, out of mind.
It wasn’t so easy.
“You’ve done nothing wrong. You saved Beth’s life. Everyone respects what you did for the club.”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m talking about you and me. We used to be closer, even more after the shooting, and now you can’t stand to look at me.”
He couldn’t do this. Nothing could happen between them, so his entire conversation was pointless. Dog fought the frog growing in his throat. “We all have our roles to play here, Sable. I have a club to run, you have men to fuck.”
She scowled, but the expression looked more hurt than angry.
Dog moved around her and went inside. As soon as the door closed behind him, he simultaneously felt his heart drop, like it weighed two hundred pounds, and a sense of bitter relief. He’d done what he had to do. Maybe being a fucking asshole would ensure she stayed away from him.
He entered the kitchen and checked out the lunch offerings on the counter. Dog grabbed a plate and filled it up, then took a seat. He needed to grab a bite to eat then meet up with Forge, his prez, to discuss business.
His mind was still a mess when Beth walked toward his table. He ground his teeth but forced himself to play nice.
“How’s the baby?” he asked.
“He’s sleeping.” She sat down opposite him.
Dog nodded and continued eating. “I’ve never seen Forge so happy. A family looks good on him.”
Beth smiled. “What about you, Dog? I just saw Sable run upstairs. She was crying.”
“And?”
She scowled. “I know how she feels about you. I thought it was mutual. You visited her every day after she got shot. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
He hated when old ladies couldn’t mind their own fucking business, but Dog had to be on his best behavior with Beth or Forge would rip his head off.
“You never grew up in a club. Things work a certain way, always have, always will. We don’t marry whores.”
“Why the change of heart?”
“No change of heart,” he said. “A guy can’t be nice? We help our own around here. That’s where it ends.”
“I never said anything, but before she was shot, she talked about you. She said it was her dream for you to pick her. Like it was some big prize. It’s obvious that she’s in love with you.” Beth shrugged. “Sable’s a great girl. No way does she deserve to be treated like garbage.”
Beth got up and walked away. He wanted to tell her to wait, to hear him out, but he kept his mouth shut. Beth and Sable had become good friends, so he’d always be on the losing side.
Dog continued eating, his body stil
l tense from hearing what Sable said about him. Yes, in a perfect world, he’d claim her. But if he ever decided to settle down, he’d want a woman who was clean, just for him. He didn’t want half the fucking club knowing what she looked like naked or reminding him they’d fucked her every which way. And they would. Besides, taking an old lady and starting a family weren’t priorities in his mind. He had a lot of anger built up. His own mother dumped him when he was born, and that rejection stuck. He didn’t want to repeat history.
He was better off on his own.
Being VP to the Hell’s Slaves was his life.
His mood continued to sour as his thoughts darkened. What he needed was the usual violent outlet, and the club always provided. He hoped Forge had something he wanted cleaned up. It would give him a chance to blow off steam.
Dog met the prez out back near his forge.
“Hey, daddy.”
Forge glared at him, his features set hard. Then he smiled. “I can’t even get mad. It sounds too damn good.”
Dog leaned against the doorway. “Things going well with the family?”
“Perfect. I’m living on cloud-fucking-nine.” Forge began to tidy up the tools on his bench. He was working on some new knives and some sort of iron work with his kid’s initials. Dog didn’t bother mentioning it, or Forge would get defensive. Deny it or not, the prez was putty when it came to his wife and baby son.
“You wanted to talk?”
“Yeah.” He continued tidying. “How’s Redneck getting along? Any problems?”
After they killed their backstabbing Sergeant-at-Arms, they’d gone without an enforcer for too long. They finally voted in Redneck. He was younger but he’d been born in the club and was a ruthless motherfucker. He’d proved himself loyal time and time again. “He’s doing good. That kid has a lot to prove.”
“I like the sound of that. Keep an eye on him.” Forge came closer and focused on him. “The new mayor wants some quiet cleanup.”