ONE MORE RIDE

by Sophia Gray

  I blushed. “Okay!” I called back. “Thanks!”

  I waited a few minutes, tidying my hair in the mirror. I wasn’t so sure at first that I’d like the blonde again, but it actually looked pretty nice on me. I looked like a completely different person than I had six months ago, but I was starting to realize that was maybe a good thing. My belly ached even though I hadn’t been on my feet for very long and I felt a wave of irritation pass through me. Just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you’re not a badass, I told myself, scowling at my reflection in the mirror. It just means that you have to take a little leave of absence from kicking ass and taking names.

  “Candace!” Isaac’s voice called loudly. “Can you come out here and help me with something?”

  I giggled when I heard his voice; the lie was evident. Isaac was a kind man, but not a great liar, and I knew he really wanted the party to be a surprise. Putting my most irritated expression on, I pushed the door open and stalked into the main part of the room.

  “Surprise!”

  I jumped back at the wall of voices. A grin and tears came to my eyes. Even though I’d been expecting this, I hadn’t been expecting to see so many people. All of Jungle’s Thorns was congregated in the clubhouse, as well as every Succubus and every prospect from both clubs.

  “This is amazing,” I said, putting my hand on my chest and feeling my heart flutter underneath my ribs. “How did you do all of this?”

  Isaac walked over to me with a smirk on his face. He leaned down and kissed me tenderly. My stomach flip-flopped as his muscular frame pressed close to my body. Every kiss, every touch from Isaac sent me spinning in a wave of desire, and today was no exception. After a few tender seconds of kissing, I pressed against Isaac and slid my tongue into his mouth. Catcalls and cheers from the crowd filled my ears as I plastered my body against his and savored his musky, familiar scent.

  “Surprise, baby,” Isaac whispered in my ear when he pulled away. “I made sure to get your favorite kind of cake.”

  “I’ll have to eat a lot of it since I can’t drink right now,” I teased, smirking as I walked towards the center of the room. All eyes were on me as I spun around, smiling at everyone. “Thanks, everyone!” I called loudly. “This is really incredible! I can’t believe it!”

  “It’s been six months since the incident,” Kyle said with a sly grin. He walked up and slung an arm around Alexa, pulling her close and kissing her on the neck. “We thought you deserved a little party.”

  “Yeah,” Isaac said. He shot me a lazy grin and I felt my heart skip a beat. Even though we’d known each other for years, being around him still made me as excited and flustered as ever. “Besides, we have the biggest empire in LA right now. That’s cause to celebrate, don’t you think?”

  I nodded. When everyone was quiet again, I opened my mouth to speak. “Guys, I want to thank each and every one of you for all your hard work. Without you, we wouldn’t be here today. Without all of your help, I might even be in prison.” I paused and laughed along with some of the crowd. “But we really did a good job rebuilding the Succubi, and I’m happy to say that we’re in a better place than ever before. I think this is the first time that we’ve gone for six months with such amazing profits, and again, this is all because of you.”

  Isaac walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders. “And Jungle’s Thorns guys,” Isaac said loudly. “I’m so fuckin’ proud of you. You’ve really stepped up, and you helped Candace rebuild her MC to be one of the strongest in the city. We have a great partnership going, and I can’t wait to see where it ends up. You guys are my life,” he finished. When he was done talking, he kissed me on the cheek and backed away, allowing me to have the spotlight.

  Part of me felt disappointed, and it was hard to understand why. Everything was going so well, why the fuck was I feeling upset? It wasn’t because of Val or Jessica—I’d long stopped worrying about the two of them. Even with Val in county jail, I knew that I didn’t have to watch my back at night or when I went into a dark alley.

  But part of me was sad about Isaac. It was true that today he didn’t seem distracted, but I was wondering why he hadn’t asked me to marry him yet. Maybe he was afraid—after all, all those years ago he’d been planning on it and then I’d disappeared. Maybe he was worried about the same thing happening.

  But I didn't want to wait anymore. We were having a baby together, and as stupid as it sounded, I never wanted to be a single mom. Hell, I never thought that I'd be a mom at all until I got back together with Isaac, but here we were. I wasn't necessarily speaking out of a need for convention, but a baby was a lifetime commitment. Why would two people have a baby together if they didn't even want to get married? What was the point?

  “Candace,” Alexa hissed. “Everyone’s still staring at you!”

  I blushed hotly and shrugged. “I’m sorry, guys, I think I lost my train of thought,” I said. “I need to get some water. Watching all of y’all drink is making me thirsty!”

  The crowd laughed and held up their bottles of beer, toasting me as I walked behind the bar. Now that I was alone with my thoughts, I was starting to feel more depressed than ever before. Why didn’t Isaac want to marry me? What was wrong me with that he wouldn’t want to make me his wife?

  “Hey,” Alexa said. She leaned in close. “What’s wrong? I was watching your face and it just, like, completely fell while you were up there. After Isaac walked away.”

  I bit my lip. “I don’t know,” I confessed. “It’s probably just pregnancy hormones, but I feel kind of weird. I wish Isaac would ask me to marry him.”

  Alexa laughed. “Marriage doesn’t mean anything though,” she said. “It’s just a piece of paper. You don’t need it to be happy, you know.”

  “I know,” I grumbled. “But if it’s just a piece of paper, why did you and Kyle get married?”

  Alexa blushed. “Because his mama would kill him if he brought home a girl without a ring on her finger," she said. "She doesn't even want him to be with a white girl, but since he is…" She trailed off and rolled her eyes. "Promise we're not going to be that ridiculous when we get older?"

  I laughed. "I'll try," I said. "I've learned not to make any promises that I don't know if I'll be able to keep."

  Alexa patted me on the back and walked away. Despite what I was feeling about Isaac, I loved that I had a real girlfriend to confide in again. Alexa was so much like me. I never had to worry about her scheming or secretly falling in love with me like Val had. Now sometimes I wondered if the signs about Val had been more obvious. Had I really spent so many years completely blind?

  Everything is going to be okay, I told myself, rubbing my belly. Just stand here with some water and try to calm down.

  The party was a big success. Alexa and Tara had taken care of the catering and everything looked absolutely incredible. There were cake and lots of snacks, and people milled around with plates loaded with food that all looked amazing. I could smell the fried chicken from where I stood and it was making my mouth water.

  “Hey,” Isaac’s voice made me jump a foot into the air. “What are you doing over here, by yourself? This is your party…you know?”

  I shook my head. “It’s for all of us,” I told him softly. “It’s for all of the Succubi and all of your guys, because y’all did all the work. Without you, I’d be nowhere.”

  Isaac grinned. He stepped closer and pulled me into his arms, kissing me deeply until I felt dizzy on my feet. “That’s not true,” he said softly. “You did most of the work yourself, and you know it. We just helped.”

  I blushed. I still had a hard time accepting compliments, even from Isaac. “I love you,” I said softly.

  “I love you, too,” Isaac replied. “And I’m glad I got you alone.” He winked at me and I felt my heart flutter in my chest. “I have a question for you.”

  “Oh?” I raised my eyebrows and giggled. Was this it? Was he finally going to propose?

  “Can you come outside wi
th me?” Isaac wrinkled his nose. “I have a feeling something might be wrong with your bike, but I want you to take a look before I start doing anything.”

  “Fine,” I snapped. I pushed past Isaac and walked outside. Tears of hurt stung my eyes. Why wasn’t he asking me? What could possibly be the hold-up? For fuck’s sake, I had his child in my belly!

  Outside, the sky was streaked with pink and purple and orange. The dry air blew past me in a refreshing breeze, and even though I felt ashamed for storming out of the clubhouse, I didn’t want to apologize.

  “Candace,” Isaac called my name, jogging up to me. “What’s wrong? You went bolting out of there.”

  Don’t say anything; just try to calm down. It’ll be fine. Everything is fine.

  “Nothing,” I said with a sigh. “So what is it?”

  “I think the gas tank is leaking,” Isaac said. “Can you lean down and take a look?”

  On the ground was a rainbow spray of oil. “It’s pretty,” I said. “Even though it’s going to cost me a bundle to fix.”

  Isaac shrugged. “You never know,” he said. “Go on, take a look. I wanna get back inside and get some more beer.”

  I rolled my eyes and squatted down low. When I saw what was on the ground, resting under my bike, I burst into tears.

  It was a ring. A platinum ring with a large round diamond, to be exact. I squealed and jumped up in the air, feeling my whole body tremble with excitement and happiness. Tears streamed down my face as Isaac knelt before me and reached under my bike for the ring. When he held it out to me, I could barely see him through my fog of tears.

  “Candace, I’ve loved you for years,” Isaac said, his voice suddenly husky. “And I never wanted to lose you. And now that I’ve got you back, I’m never letting you go, ever again. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  I dropped to my knees and threw my arms around him, burying my face in his neck. Isaac took my hand and slipped the ring on my finger—it fit perfectly, as I somehow knew it would.

  “Yes,” I whispered hotly into Isaac’s ear. “Yes!”

  THE END

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  ONE MORE TASTE: A Dark Bad Boy Mafia Romance

  By Sophia Gray

  One more taste won’t be enough. I need the whole damn thing.

  Saying no to me is always a mistake.

  It’s gotten men killed, buildings burned…

  And in Diana’s case, it’s gotten her stripped bare and bent over my desk.

  Maybe next time, when I ask for more, she’ll give me the correct answer instead.

  She didn’t ask for this, but since when have I cared about that?

  I’m a kingpin, not a coward.

  I take what I want.

  And I’ve decided that I want her.

  I tried to be friendly – at least, at first.

  But that wasn’t enough for her.

  She tried to snub me.

  To ignore me.

  And that’s never a smart decision.

  I don’t have a choice now.

  I have to break her.

  I have to own her completely.

  I have to feast on her lips, her legs, her heart.

  Only when I’ve wrung her dry will I be satisfied.

  At least, that’s what I thought.

  But it turns out that there were some things I didn’t see coming.

  Maybe my little toy was playing me all along.

  Chapter 1

  The sun had only been up for about thirty minutes when I went into my six-year-old’s bedroom to wake him. Beams of light fell across the floor, which was just shy of clean, mostly because I’d threatened no bedtime story if he didn’t pick up his toy dump trucks and Hot Wheels. Now I only had to sidestep a stuffed bear that had fallen off his bed and the pajama shirt he must have stripped off sometime in the night.

  Cody always hated covering his shoulders while he slept. He’d been weird about it since forever.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, I reached for his blanket bundled body and gave him a gentle shake. “Cody, baby, time to get up. We’ve got to get you ready for school.”

  He groaned, trying to shake me off and roll over at the same time. I smiled a little at him, knowing he wasn’t a huge fan of mornings, but I wouldn’t let him get away with sleeping in. He’d be at school on time. Period. Especially since I had work and couldn’t afford to miss even a little bit of time in the morning.

  “C’mon sleepyhead. It’s rise and shine or no pancakes for you.”

  That got his attention. As much as he hated getting up in the morning, he loved food. Like, to the point where I had to put stuff up on the highest shelves to make sure he didn’t get into it and devour everything right after I bought it. Feeding a growing boy was like having a pet dinosaur—there would never be enough food.

  “Do they have blueberries?” came his muffled voice from beneath the covers.

  I grinned. “Only if you get up now and wash your hands and face.”

  There was a short pause, then he threw back the covers with a flourish. He sat up, his blonde hair—just like mine, but a little lighter—sticking up at every imaginable angle. Rubbing at his eyes, he let out a yawn before getting out of bed. He paused for half a second, eyeing me, then leaned over and gave my leg a quick hug. Then he headed down the hall towards the bathroom.

  Shaking my head a little, I went to make breakfast as quickly as possible.

  I was pretty good at this by now. My routine was steady, stable, and it worked. Maybe it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world, but it kept my little two-person household running. I moved the skillet to the stove, turned on the burner, then reached for the fridge where I’d had the forethought to prepare my bribery the night before. A bowl of pre-mixed pancake batter sat on the middle shelf. I grabbed it and poured two small dollops into the slightly heated pan. As those began to cook, I poured some milk and grabbed a brown paper bag that would hold Cody’s lunch.

  He came running down as I was halfway through the second batch of pancakes and was using black magic marker to write his name across his lunch sack—and a special heart, because I was all about those extra good mom brownie points.

  I stacked two little pancakes on a plate and let him have some syrup, even though I knew it would make him sticky. I checked the clock as I flipped the second batch of pancakes. We didn’t have a lot of time.

  “Eat fast, little man,” I ordered him. “Momma’s got a tight schedule.”

  He grinned and proceeded to wolf down the short stack, using his hands and not even pretending to care about the syrup he was getting everywhere. I groaned. This was why I had him eat breakfast before he got dressed.

  “Not exactly what I meant,” I told him.

  Cody shrugged his little shoulders, then downed half a glass of milk. Finished, he didn’t even bother to say thanks as he ran back to the bathroom to get cleaned up. I was hoping his school stuff was already together, but I knew I’d better double check anyway.

  I glanced ruefully at the dishes. “A battle for another day,” I muttered to them, promising myself I’d do them that night. Right now, I was a mom with a mission: get my kid to school and get to work on time.

  # # #

  I made one pit stop on the way to Cody’s school to pick up Jessie, one of my few remaining friends and my coworker. Her apartment was on the way and it saved time in the long run to just pick her up before rather than doubling back.

  Still, it meant I was rushing Cody out of the car and up the school’s steps before that first bell. I got him halfway down the sidewalk before he waved me off, shooing me before his cool friends saw him with his mom.

  Jeez, I’m already too old to be considered cool, I thought with an eye rol
l. I folded my arms across my chest, watching him head towards the front doors. It was the little pause he did before going inside that made my day, though, because he actually turned and waved at me.

  I smiled. Good to know he hadn’t completely outgrown me yet.

  I headed back to the car where Jessie was waiting. She was leaning against the poor old Camry, watching Cody like I’d just been. “Is it just me or was it like two days ago that you were carrying him like a football tucked under your shirt?”

  Laughing, I shook my head. “I know. I was just thinking I’m already too old to be cool now. He doesn’t want his friends to see him with me.”

  Jessie actually rolled her eyes. “Kids these days.”

  We fell silent, both watching the school. The kids had virtually all headed inside and the parents were pulling out of the school parking lot to make a hell of a traffic jam, so I wasn’t too worried about getting out of there right that moment.