by Sam Crescent
“That’s what I’m hoping. I’m going to ask her when we get back if she’d like to be my old lady.”
“That’s fast,” Weasel said.
“I know what I feel, and she’s a good woman.” He took a bite of his burger and moaned. Even shit food could hit the right spot.
“She’s the right woman then?” Steel asked.
“Yep, and you should appreciate the lengths I’ll go to for my woman,” Vengeance said.
“You know, throwing a spanner in the works and all that, a few fucks don’t make a good woman,” Weasel said.
Silence rang through the diner, and Vengeance continued to chew his food at the same time he looked at Weasel, his friend.
“You really want to go fucking there?” he asked once he’d finished swallowing.
“I’m just saying. You’ve brought her around the club once. I know you like her and all, but this life isn’t just about being on the road, and fucking your way through random sluts until you find an old lady. She’s different, darker. You met her in a damn cemetery, but that doesn’t mean she’s old lady material.”
“Weasel, you’re crossing the fucking line,” Demon spoke up.
“Am I? Really? I’m not saying anything bad about your old ladies. Not got a problem with them. What I’m worried about is our club brother.” He looked at Vengeance. “You can hate me all you want. Your interest in her I get. She’s different. What I don’t get is after a few weeks, why you want to suddenly bring her into the club life. You’ve got to give it some time.”
When he saw his club brothers felt the same, Vengeance lost all appetite. “I’ll be outside.”
He didn’t linger. Going to his bike, he leaned against it and stared up at the sky. There was a chill in the air, and he wondered what Constance was doing. She had texted him earlier to say she was heading out, and he hadn’t called her yet. He wanted to, but again, he didn’t want to worry if she wasn’t at home.
“You okay?” Demon, his club Prez, asked.
“I’m… fine.” He spoke through gritted teeth. “You agree with that asshole?”
“Yeah, I do.”
He shook his head. “Not once did I stop any of you fuckers from picking your women, and now you’re going to be stopping me. Where is the fairness in that?”
“I didn’t say it was fair. I’ve got to ask you, do you really think she’s got what it takes to be an old lady, Vengeance? Not just you but the whole club has to rely on our women to know they would stand by us. How much do you know about her?”
“I know enough.”
“Do you know enough for her to lie to the fucking cops? Even Amy can do that, and she’s been fucked up in the head for a long time, and I know I can trust her.”
Vengeance gritted his teeth. He didn’t like that he couldn’t answer that. It was true; all of the old ladies would stand by their men without even blinking an eye. Constance, she had been dealt a raw hand, but that didn’t mean for a second she wouldn’t be willing to turn them over to the cops.
“Bring her ’round a lot more, Vengeance. Let the club get used to her, and then when you know for certain, make your move. Do not make a quick decision. You will live to regret it.”
With that, Demon left him alone to deal with his own thoughts.
16
When Vengeance left the club, he’d meant to go to Constance, to take her out somewhere nice. Hell, they didn’t even need to go anywhere for him to enjoy her company. Just sitting in silence would be good enough for him, as long as she was with him.
He went over to his bike, got on it, and was smart enough to put his helmet on even though his mind was crazed. He had no doubts Constance was his and didn’t care what his brothers said. He’d make her his old lady, tell her what she meant to him, how serious it was, and that was what mattered.
But right now, he needed to think about how to go about that.
He put his helmet on because safety first and all that shit, kicked the stand up, and cranked the engine. He pulled away from the clubhouse and down the road.
Once on the back street he took the corners sharp, not sure where he was going, but not caring either.
He opened up the engine. The wind blew in his face, the darkness on this stretch of road intense. Clouds hid the moon, but he knew these roads like the back of his hand. As he went faster a rush started to fill him. Vengeance looked down and saw the asphalt moving swiftly beneath him.
He reached up, turned off his headlight, and grinned when the darkness really enveloped him. He was living on the edge, and loving very fucking minute of it.
Adrenaline moved through his veins at the power he felt.
He turned on his headlight again and drove the ten minutes it took to get where he really wanted to go. He finally reached her house and slowed down. He dismounted, and for a second just looked into the sky, and closed his eyes.
It was time to make things with Constance set in stone.
Constance had left the cemetery twenty minutes ago, come home, and was cleaning because she was too restless. After deciding she needed to move on, to not be the type of woman who was morbid and only focusing on the past, all she thought about was Vengeance.
The knock on the door stilled her. She glanced at the clock, saw it was far too late for her to have anyone over, and contemplated not answering it. She also thought about calling Vengeance.
What if it was Craig? After him showing up at the shop, and the weird feeling he gave her, Constance felt like things were not right.
“Constance, baby?” Vengeance’s voice came through and she felt her brows lower. Dropping the rag she was using to clean, she headed to the front door and looked through the peephole. Sure enough, it was Vengeance.
After unlocking the door and pulling it open, she stared at the man she realized she had fallen in love with. “Vengeance?” She said his name softly.
He was in her house, had the door shut, and pulled her into an embrace before she could think. He was kissing her senseless, and when he broke away she was gasping for air.
“Vengeance, what are you doing here?”
“I’ve wanted to tell you this a while ago, but I didn’t know when the right time was, or how you would react.”
“What’s going on?”
He took a step back and smoothed a hand over his hair. “I want you as mine. I fucking love you. I want you as my old lady, to show off, to let everyone know that if they fuck with you they deal with me.”
She was silent for a second, not sure what to say.
“Baby, tell me something, anything.”
She didn’t know what to say, but she knew what she felt. This was fast, sudden … but God, she loved him.
“I love you,” he said softly. “Be mine, just be mine.”
She couldn’t help but smile, feeling elation fill her. “I love you too, Vengeance, and I want that. God, I want that.”
“I fucking love you, baby.” He grabbed her around the waist and hauled her on top of him so she was straddling him. “You’re my old lady. Mine, and I’ll let the world know that.”
“Be with me, Vengeance. Make me feel alive.”
And he did just that.
17
One month later
One month had already passed since Vengeance came to her house and told her how he felt.
Maybe Constance should have felt weird being on an official date with Vengeance. But it felt right and good. He had taken her on a bike ride through the back roads of town, then dinner at a small bistro. And to top it off he’d taken her to see a chick flick.
At first glance Vengeance didn’t seem like the type of man to even care about pleasing his woman in the means of going on dates. But she’d noticed something different about him right from the beginning, and since they got to know each other she knew he was the one for her.
He was being honest with her in every way. Even if he hated the movie she’d picked out, he pulled her close while they sat and waited for it to come on. He mad
e her feel loved and wanted, and she didn’t want that to end.
She wanted Vengeance in her life forever.
“You want to get some drinks?” he asked and pulled her close to him as they left the theater and made their way toward his motorcycle.
“Sure, or we can go back to your place.” She grinned.
“Baby, don’t tempt me.”
She chuckled.
“Or we can see another chick flick where the guy doesn’t realize he fucked up at the end of the movie.”
She started laughing again.
He stopped and had her turned so she looked up at him. They stared into each other’s eyes. He cupped her cheeks, and for a second did nothing but stare at her. Constance’s heart beat harder and faster the longer she gazed into his dark eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked softly.
“I want you to know I’d never fuck up. I’d never put your happiness on the back-burner. You always come first. Always.”
Her heart stalled for a second.
Vengeance rested his forehead against hers, breathed out slowly, and she smelled the chocolate and popcorn he’d eaten in the theater. It was a sweet, yet intoxicating aroma.
It was strange that this man, who was rough around the edges, could have this soft side.
“I want that happily ever after life with you, baby.” He pulled back just slightly but kept his hands on her cheeks. “I love you.”
“If I didn’t want the hardened biker, the man who knows how to handle himself, I wouldn’t have stayed. I want you, only you. I love you.” She rose on her toes and kissed him on the lips softly. She kept her mouth on his and murmured, “You’re mine the same way I’m yours.” Constance felt the love for this man rise up in her. He wasn’t just the person she’d given herself to more thoroughly, deeply, than anyone else; he was the man that she couldn’t see living without.
“I know I’m not good enough for you.”
For a second she didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. “I love you for who you are. Never think you have to change for me. You opened my eyes, made me feel alive. You make me feel like I’m not alone in this world.”
“I love you so fucking much, baby.”
She kissed him again. “If I didn’t want this I wouldn’t be here.”
He pulled her in for a hug, and for several seconds just stood there, not moving, not breathing. She rested her head on his chest, right over his heart and loved the steady sound of it beating.
It lulled her, calmed her, and made her realize this was real.
He was real. This relationship was real.
“Let’s get that drink, and then let’s go to my place so I can properly show you how much I love you.”
God, she hoped she never got comfortable in the relationship, that they were always like this. And then he stopped and faced her, this serious expression on his face.
“What? What’s wrong?”
He cupped her cheek, his expression turning soft, loving.
“Move in with me, baby.”
Her heart stalled.
“I want to go to sleep and wake up next to you every day. I want to know that you’re mine and not going anywhere.”
She was stunned, frozen. “Yes, I want that too.” The words spilled from her mouth, the feeling that this was the right move so strong she couldn’t breathe.
She clutched at him, loving that she wasn’t afraid of this new venture, and that this felt exactly where she was supposed to go with her life. She didn’t need hearts and flowers. Constance just needed, wanted, a man in leather, riding a Harley, and rough around the edges to love her.
And that’s exactly what she got.
18
Two weeks later
Constance looked around the space that had once been her apartment. There was nothing left as she had packed everything up, and it was loaded onto the back of the waiting truck. Her life had changed completely, and it was about to do so again. Vengeance had not only wanted her to be his, and his old lady, he wanted her to move in with him, and she had agreed.
This was part of her old life, and she wanted to put it behind her, needed to more than anything. Pulling her hair up into a ponytail, she felt a sense of peace wash over her that no amount of sitting in the graveyard had given her.
“You okay?” Demon, the Prez of the Soldiers of Wrath, asked, standing beside her. She adored his wife and his son.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you so much for doing this.”
“Vengeance is a great guy.”
“I know. He’s been fantastic to me. I’ll be a good old lady for him. I promise.” Deanna had already warned her that Demon felt Vengeance was moving too fast with this.
He shook his head. “I’d be willing to take a bullet for every single one of my men, and we would all fight for each other. We live by our own code. We’re not in this for the pussy and the fun. It’s our life. You’ve got to be ready to fight for that because if you don’t, you’re dead.”
Vengeance had explained everything to her. By agreeing to be his old lady, she had taken on the responsibility of the club. She had to put the club first before anything else. If they were raided and cops asked her questions, she had to reply no comment or keep her mouth shut. No one was allowed to know club business, and she had to keep her shit together at all times.
The only law was that of the club, and what Vengeance didn’t realize was that she was so fucking happy about that.
All of her life she had been so concerned with what everyone else thought of her, and she looked forward to no longer having to worry about it. Yes, there were going to be people who judged, but she felt like it was going to be different. With Vengeance and the club, she was going to be part of their lives.
“Hey, sexy lady,” Vengeance said. He pulled her against him. His hand went straight to her ass and grabbed it hard.
She chuckled and wrapped her arms around him.
“Are you ready to go?”
“More than you can know.”
“I know this has been your place for a long time. You were going to live here with your ex.”
“Yeah, I was. Wow, that seems so long ago.”
“I’m here, and you don’t have to leave if you don’t want to,” he said.
She laughed. “Please, Vengeance. Everything is gone, and I don’t want to stay here. It just seems so weird to be leaving. I thought I was going to have to stay here for so long.” She sighed. “I’m really happy.”
“You don’t look it.” He nibbled her neck.
“I am. I’m so happy.” She cupped his head and made him look at her. “I can’t wait to be your old lady, and I hope we can do a lot more of that riding you love.”
He smacked her ass, causing her to yelp, and for good measure, she slapped his.
“Come on, let’s go home,” he said, wrapping his arm around her neck and kissing her head.
Leaving the apartment in Vengeance’s arms felt right. Having the club with their bikes surrounding the moving van made her feel part of it all. Demon was at the lead with Deanna at his back. She saw several of the men had their women with them as well.
“Where’s your bike?” she asked, turning to Vengeance.
“You really think these guys would have given up their ride to move your stuff?” He laughed, opening the van door. “I’m afraid not, babe. We’ve got to drive the van.”
“That sucks!”
“That’s life.” He helped her up into the van, and she glared at the other men even though it was childish to do so. She had been really looking forward to riding back to his clubhouse on his machine. She loved the hum of it between her thighs, and especially as she was pressed up against Vengeance. The scent of grease, leather, and even cigarette smoke had become a comfort to her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“No. I wanted to ride on your bike.” She crossed her arms, trying to show him that she was really pissed off, and he just burst out laughing.
“God, I love y
ou.” He reached over, cupped her face, and slammed his lips down on hers.
Whenever he told her that he loved her, she couldn’t stop the warm fuzzy feeling that filled every part of her. She loved him, more than anything did she love him.
This life they were about to be part of was something she wanted. Looking out of the window, she watched as the bikers started to pull away from the curb, leaving her old life behind. A couple of the people she knew stepped out and nodded at her, and she smiled, giving them a wave. She had quit her job at the florist shop, wanting to make a clean break.
“Is there anything you’ll miss?” he asked.
“No. My life here wasn’t that great. I didn’t really do much. I’m a boring person. You do realize that, right? I’m totally boring and I expect you to be so much fun.”
“Okay, give me a list of everything you want me to do that is fun.”
“I expect to get blind drunk, dance on tables, and us fuck out in the open,” she said, and he swerved the van.
“Fuck!”
“I’m hoping for us to do a lot of that as well. A lot of sex, a lot of fun.”
“Woman, you’re going to get us killed.” She moved across the seat and rested her hand against his already thickening cock.
“I told you, I’m hoping this will be a lot of fun. I want you to teach me to fight, how to shoot, and how to dance.” She pulled her hand away, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I’m not the world’s best dancer, but I think you can be taught a few things. I can teach you how to shoot. We’ve got a place out back of the clubhouse. Why do you want to defend yourself?” he asked.
She thought about Craig. She didn’t know why, but something didn’t sit well with her. She was leaving her old life behind, and part of that was Craig as well.
“I don’t know. I think every woman should know how to protect themselves. You’re not going to be around every single day, and if something happens, I want to be prepared.”