Tammy could tell he was being honest, but it still didn’t change the fact that he had spent the past ten years of his life in prison. He was a criminal, even if he was innocent… He must have been mixed up in something pretty horrific to be accused of murder.
“I don’t know what to say,” Tammy said as she sat down and tears began to roll down her face. “I want to trust you… But this is so hard for me.”
Lynx rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her.
“You have to believe me, I’m not a murderer. I’m what you’ve seen, okay?”
“But the way you were with me the night we met… And now this…? I just don’t know who you are.” She wiped her eyes, and even though she couldn’t bear to be near him, she knew she couldn’t stand to be apart from him, either.
She was addicted to him.
He had pulled her in, and his big, rough hands had a hold on her heart.
He tilted her chin up so her eyes locked with his and the deep blue swirl of his soul worked her over and made her feel calm and like she was falling into a trance.
“The second I saw you, I knew I had to have you,” he whispered. “I’ve never been so attracted to a girl before… I’ve never wanted a woman like I want you, and I’ve never felt so fiercely protective and ready to fight for anyone… Do you understand?”
Tammy felt a shiver roll over her entire body. Just hearing him say those things, knowing that he felt exactly the same way she did, was more than she could’ve ever hoped for.
“I didn’t do it.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. “But I had to go away and protect the person who did.”
He ran his hand through her hair and kissed her again. She was so confused, but at the same time, everything seemed so clear. She knew in her heart that he was being genuine. She had known it from the second they met, and that had allowed her to open up to him like she never had with anyone before.
He pushed her back onto the couch and climbed on top of her. Clinging to him, she wrapped her legs around him. The heavy scent of last night’s liquor, stale cigarettes, and gasoline clung to him and it drove her wild.
“I don’t ever want to lose you,” he whispered as he kissed her ear and down her neck. “When I met you, I knew you were the one…”
Tammy pulled his face up to meet hers and looked at him dead in the eye. His features were so open and honest, and the fact that she had only been thinking the same thing a few hours before proved to her that this was meant to be.
She had to believe him.
She had to give this a shot.
“I trust you,” she whispered and he kissed her again.
He lifted her up from the couch, and with her legs wrapped around his waist, he carried her into the bedroom. He lay her down and she watched him as he pulled off his jacket and vest up over his head. His chest was richly tanned and perfectly chiseled. She had never seen a man so godly before—his entire physique was like something she had only seen in her dreams. He moved forward and climbed on top of her. His chains and jewelry jangled against her and she ran her long fingernails up his back. His tattoos were black and aggressive, and it wasn’t until he sat back and turned his head slightly as he took off some of his chains that she caught sight of the magnificent piece of artwork adorning his entire back.
She gasped and sat forward, holding onto his shoulders and turning his back towards the sunlight.
“Wow,” she breathed. “This is….”
“A lynx,” he said with a smile.
She ran her fingertips over the most wonderful portrait of a wild cat that she had ever seen. Its teeth were bared and its eyes were bright and wide. It looked full of life and vitality, but it was also dangerous and ready to attack.
“I love it,” she beamed. “It’s amazing.”
“Not as amazing as you,” he said as held her neck and traced kisses down to the tops of her breasts.
She lay back and let him remove her clothes, piece by piece, and when she was beneath him fully naked she opened her legs wide and let him see how wet and ready for him she was.
He grunted at the sight of her pussy and pulled at his belt, ripping it off and jerking down his trousers so his thick, engorged cock sprang free. Tammy whimpered. She was in awe of him, and as he towered above her holding his dick in his hands, she knew he was going to fuck her so hard with it. She almost unraveled right there before he even touched her.
He climbed on top of her and she wrapped her legs around him. Rolling with her, he pulled her on top of him and held onto her hips.
Tammy gasped. She was so nervous to have him inside of her, but she also couldn’t wait to feel him in his entirety. He pulled her forward as he pushed the tip of his cock to the opening of her sex and held her there in place. He looked up at her, deep into her eyes, and as she held her breath, he pulled her down onto him, spearing her and filling her up so she felt split in half.
The heat spread through her and she cried with pleasure as she rode him and grinded herself up and down. Lynx grunted and moaned as he held onto her at the waist, but it was only a matter of time before the alpha male in him took over and he had to be in control.
He flipped her onto her back, and as he held onto her neck he pushed himself deep inside of her, burying himself in her folds as he fucked her hard and slow.
Tammy had never experienced anything like it. He was such a man, such a powerful, animalistic man who was full of aggression and lust that it was turning her on even more with each thrust.
She could barely hang on any longer, and as she unraveled beneath him and her orgasm tore through her, Lynx’s thighs tensed and he grunted into her neck as he exploded inside of her. She felt his hot and powerful seed fill her pussy, and her tight muscles gripped onto his shaft as he pumped and emptied himself into her.
He collapsed down next to her and pulled her close to him. Both of their hearts were hammering in their chests, and Tammy could barely hear anything over the rush of blood that was thumping through her whole body.
“That was incredible,” Lynx panted as he kissed her forehead.
Tammy nuzzled into him and breathed him in. In that moment, she realized that she didn’t care what anyone else was saying about him, or even if he had murdered someone ten years ago. All she knew was that she had fallen for him harder and faster than she had ever thought possible.
10.
As the day turned into night and they lay together exploring each other’s bodies, Tammy knew she had found her soul mate. Everything about Lynx fit with her perfectly, and there was nothing she didn’t want to tell him.
She told him of how she longed for a family, and he agreed with her. He explained how he had always felt the same and couldn’t wait to have one of his own. He opened up about his past and his childhood, confiding in her about how he had been treated badly, abused by his guardians, and eventually fled when he was fifteen and found himself in Slate Springs without a penny to his name and not a clue of how to look after himself.
“What happened?” Tammy asked him with eager eyes.
“I met one of The Forsaken Riders,” he smiled as he ran his fingertips through her hair. “They took me in, put a roof over my head, gave me a job… They saved my life.”
Tammy had no idea how it must have felt to be so alone in the world. Even though she missed her mother dearly every day, she had always had the love and support of her father and Dean.
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” she whispered before she gave him a single kiss on his chest.
“I’m not anymore,” he said. “If it hadn’t of happened, I never would have wound up here with you.”
Even though he was right, she still couldn’t help but feel like a lot of his life had been either traumatic or wasted being locked up in jail.
“Who were you protecting, Lynx?” Tammy blurted the words out before she even knew she was going to say them.
He sat up and rested his forearms on the tips of his knees.
“I can’t t
ell you that, Tam,” he said gently as he turned to look at her.
She felt herself stiffen and she knew that if he ever wanted her to believe a word that came out of his mouth ever again, then he didn’t have the option… He was going to have to tell her.
“All you’ve been saying since the moment we met is that I have to trust you,” she said as she pulled herself up. “Now don’t you think it’s about time you trusted me?”
He looked thoughtful for a moment before he took hold of her hand.
“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked.
Tammy searched his face for an answer, but she would never be able to guess. She shook her head and he dropped his.
“It was Reid, babe…” he said with a sigh. “I was protecting the only man who ever really took care of me.”
Tammy felt the blood rush into her head, and she felt dizzy. Reid, Lexi’s dad, had murdered someone and Lynx had protected him and done the time.
“But why?” she asked with confusion.
“Reid was the one who took me in when I found myself here at fifteen,” he shrugged. “He’d already been away and done time, and he wasn’t well…” He stopped for a moment and Tammy could see the tears welling up behind his eyes.
“It was my fault he did it in the first place. I botched up a job, we got caught. It was either Reid shot the guy whose shop we were turning over, or we were all going down.”
Tammy shivered.
“I couldn’t let him go back inside,” Lynx said. “It would have finished the old boy off…”
“But he’s sick now?” she said, her confusion mounting.
“The cancer came back,” he nodded. “I’m glad he didn’t spend the last years of his life rotting away in some jail when it was my fault he would have been there in the first place.”
He sniffed and then smiled.
“So now you know everything,” he concluded. “But you can never tell Lexi…or King, for that matter. The code of The Forsaken Riders is one that can never be broken, and King wasn’t around when all of this went down. Okay?”
She nodded and reached out to stroke his arm once more.
For a man who had lived on the wrong side of the tracks since he was a kid, Lynx was wise and full of integrity. When he confessed his darkest secret to her, she knew why she loved him… He was just like her underneath it all. Under all of the muscles, the piercings and tattoos, and the scent of booze and smoke, he was a kind-hearted man, and he had won her over with his honesty.
She looked up at him, and he pulled her close to him. She knew her life was never going to be the same again. She had met the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. He was going to be the father of her children, and she was never going to be looked at the same in Slate Springs ever again. Less than a week before, Tammy had barely even laid eyes on any of the Forsaken Riders, but now she and Lexi were in deep, and they were beginning the lives they had always dreamed of in their own unique ways.
She was no longer going to be sweet, innocent good girl Tammy. She was going to be Lynx’s woman, a wild cat just like him. And she was going to make sure that they fought for each other, their family, and their right to their love over and above anything else...
THE END
Saved by the Werewolf Billionaire
Samantha Leal
Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Thank you so much for your interest in my work!
1.
Laurie lay back in bed and looked up at the ceiling. It was almost midnight and she had been waiting for her moment since earlier that evening. Brad had come home drunk, again… it was the fourth night in a row and with each one he had become more angry and uncontrollable than the night before. He was lying next to her, face down with his mouth lolling open and a big string of drool snaking its way onto the flattened pillow beneath him. She could almost taste his breath as the sweet tang of whiskey lingered in the air between them. He breathed in and out deeply, snoring as he inhaled and puffing back into the bed sheets. Laurie closed her eyes and gathered her courage. She would have to do it soon.
She’d known for at least two months that this day was going to come, but now that it had and as she was finally getting ready to make her move, she was terrified. Her and Brad had been together for a year, and for at least half of that he had been completely unbearable to live with. It had started with the odd dig at her clothing choice or selection of friends and had progressively gotten more and more belittling and cruel. One moment he had loved her and the next he seemed to despise her. The compliments she had been honored to receive had turned into sneers, and instead of wanting to spend time with her and appreciate her, he had done nothing but lay around in bed all day. Then when he had had his fill of sloth, he would drag himself to the nearest bar, get wasted, and eventually come back home in a terrible mood, goading for yet another fight.
Laurie remembered what it had felt like to fall for Brad. He had been the first person she considered herself to have been in love with, but as his true colors revealed themselves, she had just felt foolish and naive. He was a brute of a man and wasn’t nearly good enough for her. The night he had come home so drunk that he could barely stand up straight and had then preceded to accuse her of having an affair with a man at work had been the tipping point. He had physically pinned her against the wall by her throat. She knew then that she was going to have to get away from him. He wasn’t stable and she wasn’t safe being anywhere near him at this point. If she didn’t get away from him who knew what would happen when he’d had one shot too many again? Surely it wouldn’t be long before the threats turned into even more serious aggression, and she wasn’t going to wait around for the inevitable.
She never could have been prepared for what happened next though. She had not even known that he had ever been engaged, but when a girl walked into the jewelry store where Laurie worked she knew the minute she laid eyes on her that she was somehow connected to Brad and that she was going to drop a bomb.
“Laurie Miller?” she said quietly, as timid as a mouse when she opened the door and stepped inside. “Do you have a minute?”
Even though her heart was pounding and her mouth was dry Laurie had agreed to meet her out back and excused herself for a ten minute break. She rounded the corner at the side of the store and turned into the alley. As she looked at the girl in front of her she saw for the first time the shadows that seemed to play just behind this woman’s eyes. She appeared completely broken and scared.
“You need to get away from him,” she whispered, “He’s not sane.”
Laurie had already figured this out for herself, but had been taking a more measured approach to her withdrawal from the relationship. Now, though, with this woman standing right in front of her confirming all of her worst fears, her sense of urgency was peaked and she knew the time had come to leave. No more excuses.
“He knocked six of my teeth out,” the girl said quietly, looking down at the road and instinctively putting her hand to her mouth. “I had to get a restraining order.”
Laurie’s head was spinning. She didn’t even know how the girl had found her. She said she’d been engaged to Brad three years before and that it was after they’d moved in together that he had started his mind games and abusive behavior. He’d made her life hell, blaming her for things that hadn’t happened, criticizing her appearance, and had verged on violence many times. Then one day he’d finally snapped completely and shoved her head against the refrigerator door.
“I heard he was with someone new,” she said quietly, “Took me a while to get the courage, but I had to warn you…” With that, she turned and made her way to the end of the alley. As she approached the road with its steady stream of cars driving past, she
turned and added, “Get out while you can.” With that she turned one last time and was gone.
Laurie stood in the alley, resting against the wall and for the first time in months she went into her handbag, rooted around in it for bit, and pulled out a cigarette. She dragged on it hurriedly three times before throwing it on the floor and stamping it out.
“Fuck,” she whispered to herself. She leaned her head back and looked up to the sky as she felt the tears well up behind her eyes.
It was after work that day that she’d gone home and started to pack. She’d dragged her clothes out of the drawers and thrown them into the trunk of her car. A lot of her things were still in their shared wardrobe but she didn’t dare touch them in case he went in there when he got home and saw that they were missing. She would just have to leave them behind. Her car keys were on the central island in the kitchen and she put them in her handbag which she then placed by the door. When she heard the familiar sound of his truck swerving onto the street she turned out the light and pretended to be asleep, although underneath the covers she was mostly clothed. All she would have to do was throw on a pair of jeans with some shoes and she would be good to go.
Brad practically kicked open the front door in his drunkenness before he staggered down the hallway, stopping at the kitchen to grab yet another beer. Finally, he crashed into the bedroom, the still unopened fresh beer in hand, and fell down next to her, face first on the mattress. He dropped the unopened bottle on the floor and she heard it roll under the bed. He was asleep within seconds and she was very glad she hadn’t waited up to face him.
This is it, she thought. This is the first day of the rest of your life.
2.
She would never call it running away. She just needed to regroup her thoughts, be on her own for a while and know that there was a great deal of distance between her and Brad Richards. After she had snuck out of the house she had only just got to her car when she looked up and saw his silhouette in the doorway, his fists clenched and his eyes wild with anger. She had been sure he was out for the night. She tried to start the engine but in her panic dropped the keys. She immediately slammed her palms down on the locks, making sure the doors were secure. Brad stomped across the lawn shouting at her. She did her best to block the impending threat out in order to focus on her escape. She had to find the keys and she had to get the car moving. When she finally found them on the edge of the floor mat she picked them up with shaking hands and slid them into the ignition.
DECKER: MC ROMANCE (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 9) Page 49