by Sam Crescent
She stared at him, realizing she’d never actually told him where she worked. Just as she was about to open her mouth, ask him how he knew where she’d be at, the sound of a motorcycle came through.
Constance focused on the outside, saw Vengeance pull up to the curb, and couldn’t help but smile. Maybe she was a fool, but nothing else mattered at the moment.
Vengeance pulled his Harley in front of the flower shop, having decided to be the one to surprise Constance. He couldn’t help but smile at the last time he saw her, how they’d gone for a ride, neither needing anything but the feel of the wind on their faces, the open road beneath them, and each other.
He dismounted, took off his skullcap helmet, and made his way inside. The first thing that came to him was the scent of flowers. The scent was fresh and reminded him of Constance.
He saw her right away, but he also saw the guy that was moving closer to her, eyeing Vengeance, and bringing out all the protective instincts in him.
“Hey, baby,” he said to Constance and moved toward her. He glanced at the man again. The vibes the guy threw off were slightly proprietary and that pissed Vengeance off.
“Hi,” she said, her focus on him, her smile wide.
“You helping someone?” he said, gesturing to the guy still standing there, about to get confronted if he didn’t stop looking at Vengeance.
“I don’t know, actually,” she said and glanced at the guy. “Was there anything I can get you, Craig?”
Okay, so she knew who the guy was, but that didn’t change the fact the guy was acting shifty as fuck.
Craig shook his head. “I just wanted to check on you, make sure you were okay. I haven’t seen you at the cemetery in a while.”
“Yeah, I’ve been busy.” Vengeance saw her cheeks get red, and then he glanced at the guy again. Craig looked pissed, and that told Vengeance that the fucker was here for more than just a checking in.
“I’ll see you around.”
Craig left, and Vengeance stared at the guy the whole time. When he turned the corner and was no longer in view, Vengeance looked at Constance.
“You’re okay?”
She smiled wider and nodded. “I am. It was just weird seeing him in here, given the fact I never told him where I work.”
The red flags in Vengeance went up even higher. If someone wanted to go up against him for the right to be with Constance, well, Vengeance would go head-to-head with him.
Constance was his.
13
Craig wanted to spit on the fucking bike but he saw the shitty looks he was getting from the scum, and he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction right now. Glancing back into the shop, he saw Constance smile up at that ugly biker, and then the man kissed what he shouldn’t.
Just the sight of the two of them together was enough to sicken him. Moving along the street, he made his way back toward his apartment near the graveyard. He hadn’t seen Constance tending to the graves of her family, and he’d been worried. No one spoke to him. No one even noticed he existed, and he was fine with that.
What he didn’t like was another man thinking he could take what didn’t belong to him. Entering his apartment, he turned on the light and looked at the picture over his fireplace. It was of Constance when she had been in high school. He’d found it online, printed it off at home, and now he stared at it every night.
Constance was such a pretty woman. A delicate flower that needed to be handled gently and with the utmost care. Looking around his apartment, there wasn’t a space that didn’t have something that reminded him of her. He even had the bottle of her favorite perfume on the coffee table.
A cardigan that she’d left at the graveyard one time was on his couch, washed and ready for her to wear.
He loved her and she was his.
Constance belonged to him, and he was getting tired of waiting. This new man posed a problem, and Craig was going to be sure to get rid of him.
Vengeance took Constance out to dinner, and she got to meet Weasel properly. He saw Weasel liked his woman, and for that, he was pleased. At the end of the night, he did the gentlemanly thing and made sure she got home safely.
“You can come in, you know?”
“I know, but I want you to have some rest. I’ve got to head out on the road for a couple of days, but the moment I get back, how do you feel about spending the rest of the weekend with me at my place, maybe hanging with the club, meeting my family?”
“I’d love that. Let me know, and I’ll make sure that I can get some time off.”
He saw the excitement in her eyes and was more than pleased that he had been the one to put it there. “I’ll call you.” He pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her cheek. She melted against him. He loved it when she did that. He lived for those moments.
It was time for her to meet Demon and the rest of the guys. It was time he let them know she was his old lady.
“Sleep tight, Constance.”
“I will. Have a safe trip.”
He waited until she closed the door and secured the lock before making his way downstairs to find Weasel still waiting.
“I like her,” Weasel said.
“It went without saying that you were going to like her. She’s a good woman.” He’d been out one night and found a pretty special woman. Shit like that didn’t happen to him, and he was just so pleased that he’d been the one to walk into the graveyard.
He frowned, looking back up at the building and then at his friend. “There was some asshole sniffing around her when I picked her up.”
“Easy enough to take if need be?” Weasel asked.
“Yep. He was at the shop talking with Constance and throwing off all kinds of fucked-up vibes.” Vengeance didn’t like the twisting he was getting in his stomach. Something was off about him, and he didn’t know what. “It’s probably nothing.”
“What is it?” Weasel asked. “It’s only going to bug you, so you may as well just tell me now, and we can get on with it.”
Vengeance rubbed the back of his neck. “That guy. I don’t know. The way he looked at Constance. The way he was fucking looking at me…”
“She’s a hottie. It’s natural for men to look. They just better not touch.”
“It’s not about her being hot or not. Maybe I’m imagining everything.” He shook his head. “I just got a bad vibe from him. Like he was looking at her as if he owned her. I didn’t like it.”
“In all fairness, Vengeance, you don’t like anyone looking at your woman.”
“I know. But something isn’t right with him. I’m going to have to watch out for him.”
“How did Constance react?”
“She seemed a little uncomfortable, maybe even surprised he was there. She said it was weird seeing him at the florist shop. He works at the graveyard.”
“Wait, what?”
“Constance likes to go to the graveyard, see her family, talk to them, and stuff. It’s where I met her. I told you all of this.”
“You did?” Weasel asked.
“I’m sure I did.”
“Whatever. I’ve had a lot to drink between all of this shit. Go on.” Weasel sat on his bike, waiting.
“She’s never seen him anywhere else, was even surprised he knew where she worked.”
“Look, it’s probably nothing. If she’s been spending all of her graveyard time with you, then of course he’s going to worry. He’s used to her pattern, and you’ve broken that pattern. Move on, and stop worrying about it.”
“I’ve invited her to spend some time at the club with the other old ladies. I think it will be good for her.”
“Deanna will love her. Constance has that vibe about her that just says they’re going to be total best friends.”
Vengeance rolled his eyes. Sometimes there was just no way of getting Weasel to talk any sense.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. I want to get on the road. Demon’s waiting.”
“Demon is always waiting for you at the moment.
You spend your time with this woman. Are you going to take her away from her shitty life?”
Vengeance paused and looked at his friend.
“This is her life,” he said.
“You think that woman up there wants to spend the rest of her life working at a florist shop, and not getting down and dirty with you?”
Vengeance had seen a subtle change in her over the past couple of weeks. Whenever he arrived, and she hadn’t seen him yet, he saw her sadness. The moment she looked at him, saw right into him, she smiled.
In a strange kind of way, that was exactly how he felt with her. Until he saw her again there was a darkness inside him, clawing to get out, which only grew quiet when he was near Constance. Having her in his arms was a blessing, a dream, and he didn’t want to lose that, not for a second.
Straddling his bike, he waited for Weasel to pull off from the curb, and he followed behind him. Leaving Constance was growing more and more tedious. He wanted her on the back of his bike, riding with him every moment they could.
His club brothers had found a way with their old ladies. He didn’t see a reason why he couldn’t have that kind of life himself.
Being part of the Soldiers of Wrath wasn’t easy. It was hard and dangerous. Their lives were constantly under threat, but they were a brotherhood. Constance had no one else in the world.
His family could become hers, and their future twined together.
Vengeance was looking forward to getting back to her, and to giving her the chance to experience life with him.
14
One week later
Vengeance sat at the bar and glanced at Constance. He’d picked her up a few hours ago, took her out to dinner, and now they were hanging out at the club.
He wanted to take her to the cabin that the club owned, just spend some alone time with her, and make her see how well they fit together.
She was speaking to Deanna and the other old ladies, and it was clear she fit right in. He’d known she would, though.
He turned back and faced the bar, nursed his beer, and stared at one of the prospects who cleaned off the bar top.
“She’s a class act, Vengeance,” Rocky said.
He wanted to tell everyone that she was his, that Constance was his old lady, that she was going to be in his life forever. He wanted to have her by his side, make her see that they belonged together. He could protect her, could make her see that being with him was what they both needed.
God, she was perfect for him.
Vengeance glanced over his shoulder, smiling. “Yeah, she really fucking is.” But his smile faded when he saw Ranger, one of the new prospects, walking over to her.
Deanna lifted her hand and waved goodbye, and fucking Ranger walked right up to Vengeance’s woman.
Vengeance curled his fingers around the neck of the bottle and clenched his teeth, feeling pissed at the very thought of another man speaking with his woman.
Ranger touched Constance’s arm, and even if it was innocent, Vengeance couldn’t help the rage that burned bright in him.
He fucking lost it.
He moved back from the bar, seeing red. He needed to put everyone and anyone in their place if they crossed the line with Constance. He had Ranger by the throat, pressed to the wall, and glaring at him in a matter of seconds.
“God, Vengeance?” Constance’s voice was low, hesitant.
“Hey man, what’s up?” Ranger said, his voice strained from the pressure Vengeance had on his throat. He also looked scared.
Good.
Vengeance clenched his hand tighter around the other man’s neck.
“You don’t think about her, talk to her, and sure as hell don’t fucking touch her, got it?” Maybe Vengeance was overreacting, but hell, when it came to Constance he couldn’t help it.
Ranger nodded frantically, the fear in his eyes clear.
“She’s mine, and you and every fucker who wants to sniff around her should remember that.”
“What the hell?” Constance said as Vengeance led her down the hall and to an empty room.
He had her pressed to the wall a second later. He didn’t speak at first, but he didn’t need to say anything because feeling him pressed up against her, feeling his hard cock against her belly, was enough of a confirmation of what he wanted and needed.
In the next second, his lips were on hers. All thought left her mind. “You’re mine.” He ravished her mouth. Vengeance took from her, devouring her mouth as if he had a right to it.
And he does.
Vengeance bit her bottom lip before pulling away. They were both panting, and she felt her heart race. At first she’d been annoyed he’d been so brutal, acting live a caveman when she was speaking to that guy. But now all she could think about was how she wanted him.
“I don’t like you talking to other guys. I’m a possessive bastard when it comes to you.”
She licked her lips and stared into his eyes.
“You’re mine. Say it.”
She breathed out heavily. “I’m yours.” And God, that was the truth.
15
Constance stared at the graveyard that contained her past. Last night with Vengeance at the clubhouse had been a revelation. Deanna had been one of the nicest and yet strongest women she had ever met. Deanna had pulled her to one side and told her all about her life with Demon, how she’d been taken by the club because of a debt. The story of her love for Demon was kind of inspiring and cool.
Deanna’s life had been totally the opposite of her own, and she was envious of her. Amy, Joker’s old lady, had been just like Deanna, but her own person as well. There had been a darkness in her gaze that only lifted when Joker came. All of the Soldiers’ women were strong in their own way. Deanna had told her that they didn’t have a choice. It was either be strong, or die.
The Soldiers of Wrath had a lot of enemies, and becoming part of Vengeance’s life wouldn’t come without its own set of problems.
She had watched him with his club, with his brothers. Of course she had loved and hated how he reacted when he saw her talking to another man. He’d been so damn possessive, and she had loved the way he’d taken her back to his room, and they had spent the rest of the night there. Her body still ached from the memory of his body on hers, inside her, fucking her.
Vengeance was a man of action. He wasn’t the kind of man who sat back and did nothing, and she loved that about him. Gripping the gate, she stared at all of the gravestones. Her heart no longer felt dead when she looked inside that plot of emptiness. Her parents would hate Vengeance. They’d have begged her to end things. Brando would have put it down to her acting out. Resting her head against the gate leading into her past, she closed her eyes.
Her body ached in all the right delicious ways. Why did she have to be back here? Vengeance wouldn’t be back for a couple of days. He told her that he had some business with an associate of the Soldiers.
She had wanted to go with him but Deanna had told her no one went with the Soldiers during business trips. The Prospects were there to protect them, and that was it. She didn’t have a Prospect, at least she hadn’t seen one.
Next time she would ask Vengeance about that.
“You’re back,” Craig said, making her jump.
She gasped and placed her hand on her chest. “Craig, you scared me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
Turning toward him, she recalled the strange feelings he’d filled her with the last time she saw him. “It’s okay. Are you wanting to go inside? It’s not open yet, but for you I’ll open early,” Constance said.
“I’m good. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” Craig smiled at her as he spoke.
This was the strangest thing in the world, besides the other week when he came to her work. She smiled even though it felt forced.
“I’m doing great, Craig. How about you?”
“Yeah, I’m doing great.” He reached past her to open up the gate. “Are you coming inside?”
Not wanting to be rude, she nodded and entered the graveyard. For the first time since visiting, she felt a sudden chill at being alone. “I’m going to go and see my parents.”
She didn’t wait around to hear anymore from him. Moving toward her parents and ex-fiancé, she stared at the stones. Rubbing her arms once again, her body ached in all the right ways. She didn’t know if her parents would have liked Vengeance. Brando wouldn’t have. Her ex would have seen him as too much of a criminal. She liked to think that her parents would have been happy because she was.
Glancing up, she saw that Craig was still watching her. The way his gaze seemed to follow her really unnerved her. She smiled in his direction and then looked down at the stones of her past. She couldn’t keep this up, couldn’t let her life revolve around what had happened. Her life was not about what she had or didn’t have.
Vengeance was the life she wanted and what Deanna had told her about. That was the kind of life she wanted more than anything. If he would have her for more than just sex, she would have him.
“You’re not completely pussy-whipped then?” Joker asked.
“You mean like you? You’ve checked your cell phone thousands of times. Why don’t you just call Amy?” Vengeance asked, smirking as Joker looked down at his cell phone once again.
“He did,” Weasel said. “The moment we stopped, he was tap tapping away.”
They had made a stop at a diner and were all enjoying burgers and chili fries. The food wasn’t the best but it was better than nothing, and after a few hours of riding, he was fucking starving.
Vengeance laughed as Joker rolled his eyes.
“I’m pussy-whipped, okay? Get your own damn woman, and we’ll see how you will feel.”
“I’d say Vengeance has his own woman, but he’s pretending he doesn’t,” Weasel said.
“Deanna loved Constance,” Demon said. “She’s hoping she’ll be around the clubhouse more.”