by Sam Crescent
She wrapped her arms around him, dropping a kiss to his lips. “I’ll see you soon.”
He slapped her ass, watching her disappear back through the doors. It was still cold out, but it was no longer covered in snow and ice. It wouldn’t be long before spring hit and they’d all be baking in the heat of the summer.
“So that’s a real thing,” Dime said, walking up to him.
“You better keep your dirty hands to yourself,” Snake said, glaring at him.
“Don’t worry. These hands are full of club whores begging for dick.”
“They better be.”
He watched Judi and Ripper leave in the car. The Chaos Bleeds crew started to file out one by one.
“Are you helping with the selection at the strip club?”
“Yeah, we’ve got to start arranging for the talent.”
“Does she know?”
He looked toward the hospital, shaking his head. “No, she doesn’t.” He wasn’t interested in any of the women who were going to be working in the strip club.
“Devil wants us to start this weekend.”
“Advertisements for the job have already gone out.” Snake opened his car door, ready to head back to the strip club. “I’m going now if you want to jump in. I’ve got to make sure the decorators are doing their job.”
“Devil doesn’t want Lexie anywhere near this.”
Naked Fantasies was the strip club’s original name. They hadn’t settled on a new one, but Lexie first met Devil while working in the strip club. Lexie’s sister, Kayla, had given her Simon after a few weeks of him being born. In order to support him, Lexie didn’t have a choice but to strip to earn a living.
“None of the old ladies are invited to the club.” Snake turned the ignition over. “Dime, can I ask you a serious question?”
“Sure thing.”
“Meeting the parents, that’s a big thing right?”
“Depends. If the girl wants to dump you and to do it through her parents, then it’s not a big deal. If she doesn’t want to dump you but take things to the next level, then yeah, it’s a big deal.”
Snake frowned.
“Do you want to go to the next step with the nurse?”
He didn’t say anything.
“Brother, you’ve got to be able to answer some of these questions. You either want her, love her, or just want to fuck her. What’s it going to be?”
Pulling out of the driving lot, he drove toward the strip club. The outside of the building held far more class than the original. It looked like a fancy bar and hotel rather than a strip club. When Devil and Vincent first set this bar up over ten years ago on the first trip into Piston County, they’d not given a lot of thought to what it was going to be like.
This time around, there was a lot of thought.
“Okay, do you like waking up with her?” Dime asked, drawing Snake back to the conversation.
“I like waking up with her and holding her. You better not tell any of the brothers this.”
“Relax, Snake. I can keep a fucking secret or at least conversations of a more personal nature to myself.”
Shaking his head, Snake blew out a breath as they both made their way inside. He seemed to be blowing out a lot of breaths lately. His life wasn’t getting any easier.
“What about the sex?”
“The sex isn’t the problem.”
“You’re not bored.”
“No.”
“Conversations?”
“We talk all the time. I enjoy talking to her. When she’s not talking and silent, I want to know what she’s thinking. To get inside her head.”
“Dude, I think you need to face reality,” Dime said.
“What reality?”
“You’re in love with her.”
****
Jessica ran toward the phone with a spoon in her hand. Snake had dropped her off at home an hour ago. He had to take care of things at the club, which she didn’t mind. There was a lot for her to do. She’d cleaned her home, quickly before starting some dinner. With her parents and brother coming she wouldn’t put it past them to drop in at a moment’s notice.
“Hello,” she said.
“Jess, is that you?”
“Lydia, you fucking bitch. You just upped and left me. I’ve been calling you every damned day and you’re only now getting back in touch?” Jessica stopped long enough for her friend to start talking.
“I’m so sorry. I just wanted to drop you a line. Tell you that I’m doing fine.”
“Fine?”
“Yeah. I, erm, I met someone.”
“I remember you telling me that you’d met someone. Is it going well?”
“It’s going great, Jess. You’d like him.”
There was something off about Lydia. She was always so bubbly, and yet it sounded like she was close to tears.
“Lydia, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She spoke very quickly, too quickly.
“I don’t like this. If you’re in some kind of trouble tell me. I’ll come and help you. You know I care about you, honey.”
“There’s nothing going on. I was wondering about you. How are things going?” Lydia asked.
Glancing down at her tomato drenched spoon, Jessica fought the inner battle to tell her the truth or to lie.
“Actually, erm, I’m kind of dating someone.” She gritted her teeth, panicking. Her heart was racing as she thought about Snake. She was cooking him dinner, and they weren’t sort of dating. They were actually dating.
“Dating?”
“Yes, he’s, damn, I’m so sorry about this, Lydia. It’s Snake. I’m dating him. The guy from the MC club.”
She bit her lip waiting for her to say something, anything.
“That’s really good.”
“You’re not mad.”
“No. I’m with someone else, remember? Be careful of Snake. He’s not the staying kind of man.”
Jessica laughed. “I know, but, erm, he’s meeting my folks and my brother.”
“He’s meeting them all?”
“They’re coming to town tomorrow. We’re going to have dinner.”
“I was wondering when you’d be free next, Jess.”
She heard some scuffling in the background, and Lydia suddenly gasped down the line. Tightening her hand on the phone, Jessica’s stomach twisted into knots. “I don’t know when I’ll be free next.”
“I wanted to talk to you but alone.”
“It’ll have to be a couple of days. I don’t really stay alone much right now. I’ve met another woman, June, at the club. We’re getting pretty close.”
“June’s cool.”
Someone knocked at the door.
“I’ve got to go, honey. I’ll call you back soon, right?”
“Yes.”
She was about to say something else when the phone was cut off. Frowning, she walked toward the door. Snake stood there holding a bouquet of roses. “I’m sorry I had to cut out on you before.”
She smiled at the large display of red roses.
“They’re beautiful.”
Taking them from him, she handed him the wooden spoon. Walking back into the kitchen she couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation she’d had on the phone with Lydia.
Filling up a vase, she listened to Snake talk in the background. She finished arranging the flowers, crying out as Snake put a hand on her shoulder.
“Whoa, baby, what’s the matter?” he asked.
“Nothing, it’s just—” She looked toward the phone.
“Baby, you can talk to me about anything.”
“I’ve just been on the phone to Lydia.”
He tensed up. “She phoned?”
“Yeah, she phoned, and she sounded strange.”
“Did you tell her about us?”
Jessica nodded. “She didn’t seem to mind at all. There was just something off about her.” Rubbing at her temples, she tried to clear her mind, thinking about the flowers.
“Talk to me.”
“Lydia’s always so happy or talking a lot. This time, it was like she was being told what to say. No, I’m going out of my mind. This is what happens when you don’t have a lot to do.” She shrugged. “It’s official. I’m going insane.”
“You’re not going insane.” He tugged her close, holding the back of her neck.
She closed her eyes. “I just worry about her. I think I’m always going to worry about her.”
“You might want to stir your sauce before it burns.” He held up the spoon.
“Shit, thank you.”
Rushing to the stove, she started to stir the tomato sauce.
“Do you want me to get one of the brothers to look into the guy she’s dating?”
“Nah, I don’t even know his name.” She shrugged. Jessica wasn’t about to tell him the only thing she knew about this man was the name “Master”. She’d not met him, and for all she knew, it was made up. “Did Judi and Ripper get settled in?”
“From what I was told, Paul hasn’t been put down since he got to the clubhouse. There’s always someone around to hold him.” He chuckled.
“You better warn them it’s not a good thing for them to keep holding him.” She drained the pasta, before tipping it into the tomato sauce.
“They will. Devil was putting a ban on the holding when I went back to see them.” She added the parmesan cheese before serving it up onto two plates.
Placing one in front of him, she took a seat. “What was with the flowers?”
“Can’t a man do something good for his woman?”
She looked at him, forgetting about her concerns for Lydia. “It depends. Are they a gift or are they guilt?”
Snake stared at her for several seconds. “Today I was talking with one of my brothers, and something has been brought to my attention that I knew all along.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m in love with you.”
She held the piece of pasta to her lips, staring at him. “What?”
“I don’t expect you to say anything right away or even later on. I’m not expecting an answer, but I’m in love with you. From the first moment in the hospital when you wouldn’t take any shit from me, I wanted you.”
She touched his hand, trying to silence him. Words were failing her where once they were easy for her to say. “I can’t talk right now. I really want to, and I have feelings for you as well.”
“Jessica—”
“No, I believe I love you, too. It’s too soon and sudden, but I do love you. I’ve never felt anything like this, but it’s true.” She pointed toward the phone. “I was willing to risk a good friendship to be with you. Lydia and I, we’re good friends, but we’re all over the place. If that makes any sense.” She chuckled. “Like now, it has been a couple of months since I last heard from her, and she calls now, worrying me.”
“I don’t want to talk about Lydia. I want to talk about you and me.” He took her hand. The food was forgotten. “There’s no one else I want in the world, Jessica, and it scares me, too.”
“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”
“You’re not the only one who feels like that. I’ve fucked a lot of women, and I didn’t care about them. I used them. I don’t want to use you, Jessica. I want to be your man. If you’ll have me.” He licked his lips, and her heart turned over.
“I’ve already got you.” She got to her feet, moving to his side. He pushed the chair back, and she straddled his thighs. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she smiled down. “Does this make me your old lady?” she asked.
“No, I’ve got to fuck you in the ass before I can call you my woman.”
She slapped him on the chest. He tugged her close, pressing his lips on hers. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her legs around his chair. She couldn’t believe he loved her. It seemed so surreal, but she wasn’t going to let him go, ever.
****
Master snapped the phone closed beside her ear.
“When’s she free?”
“In the next couple of days. Please, you don’t want or need her. You’ve got plenty of women.” Lydia cried out as he slapped her across the face. The pain was instant, and she fell off the chair onto the floor. Grabbing her face, she stared up at the menacing man. He was supposed to be a charming businessman, and instead, he was a nightmare in reality.
“I’ve not got a woman that looks like her, and I want her. My supplier met with an unexpected death. I’ve got to find my own women.”
She’d fallen right into his trap, never putting up a fight. He didn’t want her to talk to him.
“Jessica is not like those women. She’s not submissive or subservient. I promise you, you’ll have a fight on your hands.” She couldn’t let her friend face this. It was all her fault.
She’s got Snake. He’ll protect her.
When she’d gone to the diner several months back, she’d seen the way he looked at Jessica.
Master took a breath, smiling. “I’ve always wanted a challenge.”
He reached down, grabbing her hair, and tugging the length until she stood before him.
“I like a challenge, and this Jessica is going to be mine. You’re going to get her to me.”
“No, please don’t ask me to do this.”
“Chaos Bleed runs Piston County, and they’ve already taken my supplier from me. You’re going to get me this girl.”
She shook her head. He backhanded her, repeating his question. “You’re going to get her for me.”
“No, I can’t.” He slapped her across the face. She tumbled to the floor, gripping her face. He landed a blow to her stomach then another.
“You’re going to bring Jessica to me.”
She couldn’t fight anymore. Shame hit her hard. “Yes.” Gasping out the word, she rolled over. He backed away.
“Good girl. It’s about time you learned your place.”
He walked out of the hotel room. Tears spilled from her eyes as the pain intensified. She couldn’t let this happen to Jessica, and yet she couldn’t think of a single thing to stop what was about to happen.
Chapter Ten
“Do you want us to go with you?” Spider asked.
Snake ignored the ribbing the club was giving him. He held Paul in his arms as the whole club was on babysitting duty. Judi was being tended to by the midwife to make sure the C-section wound was not infected or causing her any problems.
“I’m going to see her fucking parents, not to some war.” He stared down at the little baby, and he knew in that instant that he wanted one.
“The brother and the father?” Pussy asked.
Across the room Pussy sat beside Sasha. The white cast on her arm didn’t look very comfortable. The guilt whenever Pussy looked down at her arm was clear to see.
“I think it’s good,” Devil said. “We’ll get to see what kind of balls the snake really has.”
Shooting a glare at his Prez, Snake flipped him off while still holding Paul.
“Stop that, Devil. It’s good for Snake to have found a woman he loves.” Lexie walked into the clubhouse with Simon following behind her.
“When’s Tabitha coming?”
“Soon,” Lexie said. “Where are you going for dinner?”
“Some fancy hotel. They’re staying at some hotel while they visit.”
“It seems a little strange to me,” Curse said. Mia slapped him on the arm. “There’s nothing wrong with him meeting the parents.”
“I’m not talking about Snake meeting the folks, I’m on about the fancy hotel. What’s Jessica all about?”
“Her father’s a lawyer and her brother a doctor or the other way around. I can’t remember.”
“Well at least none of them are going to come at you with shotguns demanding you marry their daughter or sister,” Butler said.
“Will you lot stop this,” Lexie said. “Anyone would think none of you have met family before.”
“None of us have met famil
y like Jessica’s,” Curse said. “I bet they threaten you by the end of the night. Lawyers have balls of steel.”
“Doctors are the same,” Mia said.
Rolling his eyes, he looked at the club that he considered his family. “You’re not going to terrify me.”
He was shitting himself. Jessica loved him, and now he was meeting her family. He was terrified of screwing up something that was in fact the best thing that had ever happened to him.
“You’re all scaring him, stop it.”
Judi, Ripper, and the midwife started walking downstairs. “Take it easy and have plenty of rest. There won’t be any permanent damage, but the scar will be visible.”
“I’ve no intention of going to the beach in a bikini, Ana.”
The midwife smiled. “You’ll be able to go to the beach one day. Take care.” Ana turned to look at Lexie. “And you should be resting. That baby is going to pop out at any moment. You’re going to need your strength.”
“I’ll see you out,” Lexie said, chuckling. “What have I told you about talking like that in front of Devil?”
“He’s got the right head on him that man.”
Their voices faded away. Judi moved toward him. “Can I have him?”
“Sure. He’s beautiful.” Snake handed Paul back to his mother.
“Shouldn’t you be leaving?” Judi asked, smiling up at him. He winced, thinking about the upcoming date. “Are you scared already?”
“No, I’m not scared.”
“I’m sure they’re not man-eating parents, just concerned ones.”
“You’re all getting a laugh at my expense, and it’s growing a little old.” He glared at all of them. Feeling the back of his pockets, he made sure he had his wallet, keys, and cell phone. “I’m out. Take care.”
He waved at them all, flipping several brothers the bird who shouted out names to him. Climbing into the car, he looked toward the clubhouse to find June sitting there smoking. She gave him a wave, and he smiled back at her.
Once on the road, his doubts started to fade away. Jessica was waiting for him outside. She gave him a wave, and he didn’t bother to get out of the car. She wore a deep blue dress with plain black pumps.
“Thank you for this, Snake. I really appreciate it.” She slid into the passenger side. Her hair was curled in ringlets down her body. She looked breathtaking.