by Paula Cox
I hand him a plate of the homemade pasta noodles and he mixes them into the pot of sauce. When he hands me my bowl, I have to ask him, “Do you miss it? Living in the clubhouse, I mean.”
He sighs as he walks to the large black table in the dining room. He sits down and takes a bite as I stand waiting for his response. He wipes his mouth with his hand and looks down back at the bowl in front of him. “Sometimes I miss being in the middle of it all. Giving up the vice president position was hell on Earth.”
I sit down slowly, looking at him with empathy. I still can’t believe he made that decision on his own. He knew staying on as vice president meant he would no longer be in the upper echelon, but he also knew he would not have to worry about Maddie or retaliations. He could still be a Mustang for life, but as an elder, he yielded more power than he thought. He could teach the young guns what it meant to ride for life without constantly looking over his shoulders.
I sit next to him and place my hand upon his. I want him to know I am here, that I am happy with the changes I’ve made, too. After everything went down, Jager made me an honorary Mustang for saving Maddie’s life and leading the club to defeat the Coyotes once and for all, completely driving them and their business out of town. I get the option of attending meetings, riding on their runs, and even being present at the boys’ parties. My official colors jacket sits on the couch in the living room, just out of sight for now.
Cal looks into my eyes as she says firmly, “But no, I don’t miss it. When I’m gone from here, I miss you. When I haven’t spoken to Maddie in awhile, I miss her. It’s a different kind of life, that’s for sure. But I don’t want to go back to it. I want to have this pasta here with you and have Maddie home with us.”
“Tonight,” I say excitedly, “tonight.” Both of us have been counting down for weeks until we could have Maddie safely back from her temporary hideout. Every night we would video chat with her, me checking in on her homework progress and Cal giving her updates from the club. We even sprang her out a few days ago to visit Erin in the hospital. Maddie held her hand as she finished her physical therapy session.
We both eat quickly, slurping down our pasta. When our plates are cleared, Cal looks up at the clock on the wall and turns to ask me, “Are you ready for this? It’s going to be a huge change having Maddie here with us.”
“But she will be home, and that’s all that matters to me, Cal. I can get through change. Hell, I took it okay when Erin told me she was moving out to go live with her parents while she recovered. And I thought I could never lose her as a roommate without going crazy.”
“Well, now you have more than just a roommate.” He smiles proudly.
Cal had taken over my space, putting his touches on just about everything. And while I was still getting used to the muddy boots, the motorcycle in the garage, or the men coming in and out to fix the plumbing or redo a few fallen shingles, I was more than thrilled to have him here. Every night I slept more soundly knowing that he was watching over me, and not just from afar.
Cal’s nose wrinkles up as he looks at me with wide eyes, “Should we go now? I mean, it’s only six, but we could get her early…”
I nod enthusiastically, not letting him finish his thought, “Yes! Let’s go get her now! I am so excited.” I stand and grab my jacket off of the couch along with my satchel. My hands shake as they grasp onto my car keys waiting for Cal to follow me.
Cal stands in the dining room, his hands wrapping around his chest. “Do you want to clean up before we go?”
I smile thinking about the girl I was when he met me. The idea of dirty dishes being left out for even an extra minute would have pained me. The leather jacket on the couch without a hanger or a closet would have haunted me. The man standing there laughing at me would have scared me.
But I’m not the same Michelle anymore. I can’t be. I’m the girl who found love in the wrong place, with the wrong man from the wrong place and the wrong family. I am the girl who learned how strong she could be when she got the courage to tackle her fears. And I learned how much my heart could open to someone like Cal or Maddie.
I could never go back to being the teacher with the straight line of desks before her. And if that meant letting in a little chaos rule our lives, then so be it. I was a Devil’s Mustang now. And I rode strong and fast, and I defended the ones I love. No one could take that away from me.
I walk towards Cal slowly, and I grab his hand, pulling him down towards me. I kiss his sweet lips that still taste like the pasta sauce we just shared for dinner. He wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me off the ground. I kiss his neck as my arms find his strong chest, and I whisper softly into his ear, “Let’s ride.”
THE END
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More Books by Paula Cox
I SAVED HER. BUT SHE NEVER THOUGHT THAT I’D OWN HER
She was a firefighter who never thought she needed saving.
I was looking for the b*stards trying to destroy my club.
She didn’t count on me to save her.
But I’ll do more than that—I’m going to own her.
My enemies tried to kill me by setting my world on fire.
Dani was a firefighter who never thought she’d need a biker like me to save her.
I pulled her out of the fire, but now I can’t get her out of my head.
I know women like her.
She’s tough, but there’s no way she could ever hide her innocence.
I can see it in her eyes when she looks at me.
I can smell it in the air when she’s close.
She brings out the animal in me.
She makes me lose control.
She’s the match that lit the fire in me.
And nothing in the world can stop me from making her mine.
I’M GOING TO PUNISH HER FOR LOSING MY DAUGHTER
She was supposed to keep my daughter safe, not lose her to my enemies.
I was angry, pissed off, and looking to punish somebody.
But one look at Lola, and punishment isn’t the only thing on my mind.
I won’t be gentle.
And I sure as hell won’t be kind.
Being a single father and a full-time outlaw means I need someone to watch my daughter.
Lola Sykes was a breath of fresh air for me—the cute daycare attendant who’s like a second mother to my daughter.
One look at her full pink lips and I can’t help imagine her petite body pinned under me.
But that was before my enemies kidnapped my daughter.
I didn’t intend on taking Lola with me, but now I can’t keep myself away.
Every moment with her leaves me craving more.
Leaves me aching for release.
She’s going to help me get my daughter Grace back.
And then I’m going to punish her for losing Grace in the first place.
I won’t be gentle.
I won’t be kind.
And I won’t stop until every inch of her is mine.
SHE’LL NEVER TAKE MY BABY AWAY FROM ME.
I’m the only person my daughter Maddie’s got in the world, so I raised her like a son in a clubhouse full of outlaw bikers.
There was no way anyone could ever come between us.
Until Maddie’s teacher, Miss Michelle Springer came marching up my driveway.
She might be easy on the eyes but she’s a spitfire underneath.
A spitfire with a body I wouldn’t mind taming.
A body I wouldn’t mind owning.
But when she dared to tell me how to raise my child.
When she threatened to take my daughter away from me.
She crossed a line that day.
She picked a fight that I’d never back down from.
She may be my daughter’s teacher…
But when she steps into my life, she’ll have to play by my rules.
> ***
I WASN’T A HERO AND SHE DIDN’T ASK TO BE SAVED.
She's fought tooth and nail to survive.
I take what I want.
She didn't ask for a savior.
But she doesn’t know that I saved her for myself.
I f*ck and leave, simple and sweet. But when I saw her surrounded by those animals, something in me snapped.
Watching over some chick ain’t the kind of thing I do.
But Aimee was something else.
A spitfire with a body begging to be tamed, and a smart mouth I wouldn’t mind wrapped around me.
She knows I’m a monster.
But this monster’s her only chance of survival out here.
And I won’t stop until I make her MINE.
***
THIS JOB DIDN’T ASK ME TO TAKE HIS DAUGHTER, BUT THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I’LL DO.
I was supposed to kill the Don of our oldest rival crime family.
But that was before I got a glimpse of his daughter.
An untamable spitfire hiding under an innocent spoiled princess.
Once I saw her, I had a different plan in mind.
I plan to put her under me—night after night, again and again
Her father thought I was here to negotiate a truce between our crime families.
He had no idea I was sent to destroy them from the inside.
His innocent daughter was the only one who suspected me.
A princess who’s been sheltered from the world her father built.
One look at her, and the last thing I wanted was to keep her quiet.
I’ll finish this job, and then I’m taking her as a bonus.
She may try to uncover me for who I really am.
But not before I take her.
Strip her.
And leave her throat raw from screaming.
***
He left me broken and shattered.
I never thought he’d be back in my life.
I swore I wouldn’t give him a second look much less a second chance.
But that was before he came back like a whirlwind.
Not to sweep me off my feet, but to put me on my knees
JESSIE
It’s not every day that a ghost walks back into your life.
I did everything I could to put that horrible day out of my memory.
But with a single word, he brought it all back.
Brought it back and forced me to remember.
He tells me he’s back to right the wrongs of the past.
A second chance. A new start.
I should know better than to trust him.
After all… he broke my heart once already.
How can I be sure that he won’t do it again?
TEX
There was absolutely no way she should want me.
Hell, I wasn’t even sure if she still remembered me.
But I remember her.
There was no forgetting a girl like her.
She haunted my dreams for twenty years.
Left me hard more times than I can count.
I won’t pretend that I’ll fix the past and mend our wounds.
I won’t pretend that things won’t be worse before they get better.
But I nearly lost her once.
And now that she’s back in my life…
There was no way I’ll lose her again.
No way I’m ever letting her go.
Why bargain when I can buy her outright.
I’m a professional killer. Rescuing helpless women isn’t what I do. But when the daughter of my next target gets kidnapped and auctioned off, it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
I’ll buy her and make her talk.
That was before I saw her. One look and I can’t tear my eyes away—can’t stop imagining her body pinned underneath mine.
One look and I know it’ll be impossible to keep my hands off her.
She thinks I’m here to save her.
She could not be more wrong.
I’m going to break my code. Then I’ll break her.
And show her what it means to be owned.
***
I was supposed to save his daughter, not keep her for myself.
When you kill for money, you know that your story probably doesn’t have a happy ending. But when I met Stella, I knew I might have a shot.
She’s everything I’m not… pure, innocent, and without a glimpse of how evil the world can be.
Her ex wanted her dead, her father wanted her safe.
Me?
I want her legs wrapped around me while she screams my name.
I want to save her so I can keep her for myself.
But all I did was put her in more danger.
Now I’m doing everything to keep her alive.
And when the dust settles, I’m going to make her mine…or die trying.
***
She was marked for someone else, but I’m taking her for myself.
I need a relationship like I need a bullet in the head—especially with a high-maintenance brat like Ana. The kind who’s got their head in the clouds instead of down here with the rest of us in the real world.
She thinks she can tell me what to do. She thinks she’s in charge.
I’ll tame her body, her mouth, her mind—and make her beg me for more.
One problem--her ex is a crazy bastard who thinks he can get her back by taking me out.
He thinks that I’ll give up what’s mine.
He couldn’t be more wrong.
***
I had every reason not to trust him
I should’ve known better than to let a brute like him into my life.
He turned my life upside down in the worst way possible: spread me open and took what he wanted—what I needed.
He wasn’t supposed to stay.
I wasn’t supposed to scream for more.
But when he holds me down and grinds his hard body into mine.
Makes me his possession and obsession.
Makes me forget who I am and what he is.
I can’t tell if this is all a dream come true.
Or if I’m trapped in living nightmare.
But as long as he’s by my side, I don’t ever want to wake up.
***
I SHOULD KNOW THAT I WAS PLAYING WITH FIRE
HOPE
Killian O’Connor was the chance that I never had. The glimmer of hope that I thought was gone. He makes me believe that everything will be okay.
He doesn’t hide what he is, and I should know better than to get close to him.
I should know that I was playing with fire.
We belong together, I know it and I’m sure he knows it too.
But then why is he holding back?
KILLIAN
This club is my life, my blood, my family.
I didn’t expect to drag Hope into it. But now that she’s here, I can’t get her out of my mind. The first taste of her lit a fire, and the second damn near burned my world down.
I can’t let her get too close. I can’t put her so close to the danger.
But when the same people who almost destroyed my life came after her, that’s when the gloves are coming off.
Because the safest place she can be is next to me, and this time, I won’t ever let her go.