Payback (Viking Bastards MC)

by Phillips, Christina

And now he’s asleep.

  It’d be so easy to pretend there’s more between us. Or does he always make a girl feel so special afterward? Somehow I don’t believe that. Don’t want to believe it. Things were so great and perfect, and then I went and mentioned my dad. What the hell is wrong with me?

  Gage isn’t a regular guy who one day I’m going to take home to meet my family. He’s never going to find out about my past. There’s no reason why I had to mention Dad to him. Except there’s a twisted part deep inside me that wants him to know who I really am—and not care.

  I don’t care who he is anymore. He can’t help who his parents are, and it’s not like I’d ever have to face his father.

  No, but I still see my dad’s face every time I make some excuse to see Gage again.

  When he talked about his dad, he sounded so normal, nothing like the ugly monster that’s haunted my nightmares for so many years.

  Face it, Amy.

  But I don’t need to, because deep inside I’ve always known. My dad would’ve done anything for us, and we could wrap him around our little fingers, but he was the enforcer for the Wolves, and rumor has it he was a scary mofo when it came to business.

  Looks like Gage’s dad was the same.

  I let out a shaky breath. I’m falling for this bad boy, hard. I knew the danger from the second I met him, but it didn’t stop me. All these years of only dating nice guys, guys who’d shit themselves if they knew who my dad was, and not one of them came close to making me feel the things Gage does.

  Tough. I came into this with my eyes wide open. I’ve had my fling. He won’t care that it’s over. He’ll probably be relieved that I don’t expect another date from him.

  For a minute, I hesitate. If all that’s true, then why did he cuddle me in the living room and make me laugh with his crazy comments? If all he wants is sex, he wouldn’t waste his time flirting. Not when I’m a sure thing.

  Or maybe I’m reading more into everything he does, because deep inside that’s what I want.

  Stealthily I slide out of bed and pull the discarded blanket around me since my clothes are still in the other room. A faint glow from the street lamp outside the window is just enough to illuminate his face, and for a few seconds I can only gaze at him as crazy disjointed thoughts tumble through my head.

  Does this have to be the end?

  My gaze slips, and his magnificent bald eagle tattoo pins me to the spot, and my heart aches.

  Of course, it’s the end. This is just a one-night stand that was two weeks in the making.

  It’s over, all right.

  …

  “Hey, are you okay?” My sister Ava’s voice penetrates my black-fogged mind, and I groan and bury my face in my pillow. I’ve only just crawled into bed. Except the light’s all wrong, and I force one eye open to check my cell.

  “Aw, shit.” It’s gone ten. I’m due at the diner in an hour, but I’m too damn exhausted to move. And not just because I’ve only been in bed for five hours. My whole body tingles from the aftereffects of being with Gage, and all I want to do is wallow in it.

  Ava sits on the edge of my bed. “I heard you sneak in earlier. I hope your boss is paying you good overtime.”

  Groggy, I sit up and push my hand through my tangled hair. “Huh?”

  My sister sucks in a dramatic breath. “Fuck me sideways. Is he a vampire or something?”

  My neck stings, and I press my fingers against my sore flesh as heat washes over my face. I haven’t looked in a mirror since yesterday, but I guess I don’t need to. Ava’s snigger tells me everything I need to know.

  I hug my knees and lean back against the wall. “How bad is it?”

  She tilts her head and narrows her eyes. “They are very impressive. Better not let Mom see them.”

  I haven’t had hickeys since I was a teen, and Mom always went apeshit. Sure, I’m twenty-three, but her words still rattle about inside my head. What would your dad say?

  Guilt churns through me. I don’t even want to imagine what he’d say about this clusterfuck.

  “Anyway, never mind that.” Ava scowls and pokes my chest. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were hooking up with your boss? That is who you’re seeing, isn’t it? Must be—it’s not like you ever go out anywhere to meet hot guys.”

  “Are you dating someone, Amy?” Our youngest sister Abby wanders into my room and leans her butt against my desk. “Whoa. Did he try and eat you last night?”

  I get the sudden vision of Gage going down on me and give a defeated whimper. Just thinking about him, even after a night of mind-bending sex, and I’m wet and needy. How can I go back to Odin’s and behave like nothing’s changed between us?

  That’s assuming I still have a job to go back to. I’m under no illusions about how these things work.

  “Yeah, he’s my boss.” I’ve wanted to confide in my sisters for the last two weeks, but how could I? Then again, it’s not like I have to tell them who he really is. And obviously, I have to tell them something now. “A crazy one-night stand. I wasn’t drunk, either.”

  “You don’t do one-night stands.” Abby looks vaguely shocked.

  “For real?” Ava sounds intrigued. “Just the one night? Where’s this place again? I might come see you at work tonight.”

  “Good luck with that.” She’s not twenty-one yet, and while we’ve both done fake IDs in the past, there’s no way I want her anywhere near Odin’s.

  “What’s he like?” Abby’s clearly gotten over her shock that her boring eldest sister has done something exciting for once. “Got a photo?”

  “Hmm. No.” Taking selfies with Gage never even occurred to me. I ignore the stab of regret. Besides, I have the sinking feeling I’ll never forget his face, even without a picture to remind me.

  “So, are you having another one-night stand with him tonight?” Ava sits cross-legged at the end of my bed. “Keep him going for another few days, at least. You might get a Christmas gift from him.”

  “I don’t think you understand the meaning of one-night stand.” My voice is sharper than I intend, and she raises her eyebrows at me. Great. I’ve just given myself away. And although I would’ve shared how I feel about my mystery lover sooner or later, right now I’m late for work and it’s all still too raw.

  My cell rings. I stare at the ID and my face heats again.

  “Hey.” I sound bored, as though I haven’t just been obsessing over him. Shit, maybe he’s only calling to tell me not to bother coming back to work. Just one of the perils of being a casual worker and sleeping with your boss when he’s a member of an MC. Then again, I can’t say I’m looking forward to going back to Odin’s and watching him take a succession of girls out into the alley in any case.

  “Hey.” His smoky voice wraps around me, and I clutch my cell tighter so I don’t I drop the damn thing. “Woke up and you’re not here.”

  I gulp and shoot a desperate glance at my enthralled sisters, neither of whom possesses the good manners to leave the room while I embarrass myself.

  “Didn’t think you’d notice.” Jesus, did I say that? What a dork.

  His sinfully sexy laugh warms me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and everywhere in between. I try not to wriggle and fail.

  “You want to know what I’m doing right now?” His voice drops an octave and need quivers between my thighs. This time I don’t dare catch my sisters’ interested gazes.

  “Uh, having breakfast.” I squeeze my eyes shut. If I was alone, I’d play along, but no matter how close the three of us are, there’s no way I’m talking dirty to him in front of them.

  “Ah-me-li-ah.” He drags out my name as though he’s tasting every syllable and loving it. I swallow, my throat dry. He’s not said anything even remotely smutty, and yet my skin’s prickling with frustrated need. “You can do better than that.”

  I give a nervous giggle. Sure I can, but not with an audience. “I don’t want to corrupt my little sisters.”

  Ava and Ab
by make disgusted noises, and Gage chokes. “Okay. I’ll put my dick away then.”

  I snort with laughter. “Is that the only reason you called?”

  “Nah. Wanted to make sure you got home safe.”

  My stupid heart leaps at his concern. Maybe it’s more than just sex. More than a drawn out one-night stand…

  “And let you know I haven’t forgotten we’ve some unfinished business.”

  Right. My ass gives an involuntarily twitch, and I’m back to avoiding my sisters’ eyes. But despite the spark of lust, disappointment burns through me.

  Of course he’s still interested. He said I owed him, and he wants full satisfaction. That’s fine by me. It’s not like I’ve never wondered what doing that would be like, and Gage is the only guy I’ve met who’s told me he wants it.

  One more night together, and that’ll be it. Over. And when I say over I mean the whole mess of plotting the Viking Bastards downfall in the dead of night…

  “You still there?” He sounds on the point of laughing, as though he thinks he’s freaked me out.

  “Sure.” My voice is breezy even though I have the terrible fear my heart’s cracking. “You didn’t think I’d back out, did you?”

  “You didn’t think I’d let you, did you?” He turns my words back on me, and I stifle a sigh. Christmas or not, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay at Odin’s once we’re done. “Before I forget. You’re not working tonight. We’re going clubbing. And tell your mom not to wait up for you, because you’re not going home tonight.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Gage

  I toss my cell onto the bed, still grinning from our conversation. She didn’t say anything about our date tonight, but I’m taking her silence as a yes.

  No way is she walking out on me in the middle of the night again. I was fucking pissed when I realized what she’d done, until I remembered the only reason she hightailed it was because of her mom.

  I link my hands behind my head and can’t stop another stupid grin from cracking my face. I’ve never had a chick worry about what her mom might think before, but somehow it’s so Amelia.

  A loud banging on the front door pulls me out of a memory of the look on her face as she rode me last night. I consider ignoring the door and taking a shower to relieve my hard-on, but some masochistic streak I never knew I possessed wants me to wait until tonight, when I’ve got my girl back here, where she belongs.

  I drag on my jeans and leave the fly open in fear of irreversible injury. Gotta be in full working order tonight. It’s crazy how much I want to see her again.

  Zach’s at the door. Might’ve guessed. Ever since he told me he didn’t want me rocking up to his place like I still lived there, in case he was fucking Grace, he’s stopped using his key here. Although, now I’ve got Amelia, that’s not such a bad thing.

  If only Tod would just shift his ass and find his own place.

  We go into the kitchen, and I refresh the coffee while Zach paces the floor like a caged lion. I shoot him a sideways glance.

  “What’s up?” Something occurs to me. “Heard any more about Rex Abbott?” I’ve hardly thought about him since Zach texted me a couple of old pics. And I mean old, like ten years. While I respect my brother’s sharp wits, it’s possible he was mistaken.

  He frowns at me as though he has no idea what I’m talking about. “Need to talk to you about something.” He folds his arms and leans his butt against the counter. I shrug and mirror his stance.

  “Fine.”

  He doesn’t say anything. Just glares. What the fuck’s eating him?

  “I’m doing Christmas with Grace this year.”

  “Okay.” I’m not sure why he says that like it’s a huge revelation. He can’t get enough of her. Although we’ve always tried to make an effort for Kat’s sake, it’s not like we ever do much for Christmas, anyway. She spends the day with Savannah’s family, and Zach and I usually drop by for the big spread Jett’s old lady does.

  “She wants you and Kat there for the evening.”

  That sounds fun. “Yeah, might give that a miss, bro.”

  His scowl deepens. “It wasn’t a request.”

  Fuck that. I wanted to hang out with Amelia. Does she spend the whole day with her family? I guess she does. Would she leave her mom on Christmas Day to come see me?

  What. The. Fuck. I’m as pussy-whipped as my brother. It’s hard not to snort with laughter, but the mood Zach’s in, he’d probably give me a black eye.

  “Something funny?” He sounds ready to launch at me whatever I respond.

  “Just thinking.” Not that I’m going to share what I was thinking. I’m still trying to figure it out myself.

  “It’s not for my benefit,” he says, eyes narrowed in warning. “I’d rather spend the day just me and her. It’s Grace. She thinks families should be together at Christmas.”

  I can’t help myself. “Why isn’t she spending it with hers, then?”

  Zach gives a shudder, and while he’s still glowering, he no longer looks as though he’d like to punch my brains out. “We are. Four hours of torture. Fuck, the things I do for that girl.”

  Amelia could split the day between her family and me. I’m down for that. “Still can’t make it. I’ve plans.”

  “You’ll be there.” It’s a threat, and I can’t help smirking. My big brother, led around by the dick by his girlfriend. “Bring the chick if you have to.”

  My smirk freezes. He and Ty are best friends. Of course he knows about Amelia. Except he just invited her to a family thing. You don’t do that for random chicks. How does he know she’s more than that?

  I grunt in response, not sure if I even care that he’s guessed Amelia is more than just a hookup. Doesn’t change things. Why the hell would she want to tag along to some boring family get together?

  “I want to give Grace Mom’s ring.”

  Shock punches through me, and finally he has my whole attention. So, this is the reason he came around. It had nothing to do with inviting me over for Christmas, because he could have done that in a text.

  Not this, though. I don’t know what to say.

  He shifts his weight and rolls his shoulders, obviously waiting for my response. “You sure?” I manage at last, my voice guarded. “You’ve only known her a month.”

  “Nearly two.”

  My point still stands but clearly not for my brother. And while I’ve known for weeks that he’s serious about Grace, we’ve never talked about it. Fuck, it’s not the kind of thing you talk about. But Mom’s ring?

  Before she died, our mom gave Kat her grandmother’s engagement ring, which Mom had always worn, and the other two rings that Dad had bought her had passed on to Zach and me with the understanding they were for our old ladies.

  I grip the back of my neck and let out a long breath. “You told Kat yet?”

  “Nah. Wanted to let you know first.”

  “Have you asked Grace?”

  “We’ve talked about it.” He shrugs and avoids my eyes. I pour us both a coffee, mainly to give us both some space. As brothers go, we’re close, and we’ve been through a lot together. There’s no one else I’d trust more to have my back, but it’s all action with us, not emotional shit.

  “Big church wedding?” It’s not necessary, but somehow I know marriage is what Zach wants when it comes to making Grace his old lady.

  “If that’s what she wants.” He swallows half his coffee before placing the mug in the sink. “Catch you later.” He’s clearly relieved to have gotten this conversation out of the way, and as he strolls out, I frown.

  While I’ve every intention of getting out of the family thing Grace is planning, it’s a reminder that Christmas is only a few days away. And I want to be with Amelia. Which means I need to get her something.

  I’ve never bought a chick anything before, unless you count drinks or dope, and then it was only as a prelude to sex. I go into the living room, but the change of scene doesn’t give me a brainwave in th
e chick-gifts department.

  It reminds me of last night, though, and a weird warmth fills my chest. I sprawl on a chair and search the web on my cell, but can’t pull up her name. Huh. Shouldn’t she be online if she’s selling ebooks?

  I frown, but it’s not a big deal. Right now, I need to sort out my plan for tonight. I punch in a number and make a call.

  After tonight, everyone who matters will know Amelia Davis is my girl.

  …

  Amelia

  Gage told me to meet him at Odin’s at nine, which suits me, since there’s no way I want him picking me up from home. I spent the whole afternoon at the diner obsessing over every word he said on the phone, and am still no closer to figuring out what exactly he’s up to.

  I didn’t expect another date. We’ve already slept together, and he knows I’m up for completing the smexy triad challenge. If he was anyone else, I’d think he wants more than just sex from me, but I can’t help remembering how the Wolves categorized girls, and there’s no reason to think the Bastards are any different.

  Just because I want Gage to be different doesn’t mean a thing.

  So, why’s he taking me out tonight?

  I take one final look in the mirror and pull a face at the strategically knotted scarf around my throat. It’s lucky Abby has a huge collection, and also lucky it’s winter, so Mom didn’t ask any questions when I left for work this afternoon. I know I could just shrug it off, but why upset her when it’s an easy fix?

  Besides, the last thing I want is her asking me, in that tearful way she has, what my dad would think.

  I take a deep breath, and my glance falls on my laptop. This will be the first time in two years I’ve gone more than one night without meeting my daily word count goal. Then again, until last night it’d been more or less two years since I’d had any kind of social life. I think my self-imposed deadlines can take it.

  Mom’s in the living room with her sister, binge watching another show on Netflix. She gives me a smile as I hover at the door. “Drive safe, honey.”

  “I’ll be back late tonight. I have a date.” Okay, so I chicken out of telling her I’m staying out all night, but my sisters know. There won’t be a mad panic in the morning because I’m not here.