“Shit, baby, yeah, I need to call George.” He kissed me briefly one last time before he got up and pulled out his phone. I heard him descend the stairs as he spoke on the phone to who I assumed must be the realtor. My arms wrapped around my body again. The room was darkening as the sun continued to slowly set. In my mind’s eye, I was imagining a thick rug here on this floor, scattered with blocks and toys as the sound of children’s voices echoed through the house. My hand rested on my belly as I imagined it swelling with his baby. A slow smile spread across my face. Someday.
My hair was piled on my head to keep it out of my way as I directed the guys on where furniture and boxes went. We didn’t have a lot, but we had bought a bedroom set, and he had a bunch of stuff he had been storing at his parents that they brought over in his dad’s enclosed bike trailer. I couldn’t believe it was only a month ago I first laid eyes on this home. It felt like it had been ours forever.
Hollywood was firing up the grill as the guys filtered out to the backyard after unloading the last box and grabbing beers from the large ice chest. Watching them all laugh and joke, it was hard to miss how close they all were. They were all dressed in jeans, T-shirts, and a leather vest with the same patch on all their backs, except for a few that had “PROSPECT” in the center instead of the patch with Hades, fresh from battle, surrounded by flame and holding a medieval double-bladed ax in one hand and captured flame in the other. It was a little gruesome but totally badass.
“They are like a bunch of young boys sometimes, aren’t they?” I heard from behind me. Turning, I saw Hollywood’s mother standing there, watching them as well. She was a beautiful woman for her age. You could tell she was a lot younger than his dad, but they were such a great couple. She had a spark to her, and I sensed a kindred spirit as soon as I met her this morning. Her long hair was pulled back into a braid with escaping tendrils and had very few gray strands mingling with the dark blonde. It was obvious where Hollywood had gotten his dark blond locks.
“I’m so glad he has all the boys. Even though his dad was worried about him joining up with them, it has done him good. Between that and worrying about him when he first came home, every gray hair I have was earned. God, he had terrible nightmares back then. He took so many pills and drank like a fish. We were terrified he was going to kill himself or someone else riding his bike drunk as a skunk.” She paused and looked me in the eye. “Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you all of this, but I wanted you to understand how much the club has pulled him together, how important it is to him. And now that he has you in his life, he just seems… complete. I knew something was different about him, and when he finally told us about you, after he decided to buy this house, I knew. Mason loves you. Any fool can see it, but a mother knows her son. Take care with his heart, Becca. He acts happy-go-lucky, but he does everything deeply.”
I sniffled back my tears and hugged her tightly. “I love him too, Jenny. With all my heart.”
When I looked up, I met his eyes. He smiled, raised his beer to me, and lifted it to those sinful lips. My tongue ran across my bottom lip at the thought of tasting his. Yeah, I totally and undeniably loved that gorgeous, tattooed, scarred man. His past demons may haunt him at times, but I would do my best to show him I was here for him.
“Oh my God, Becca. I still cannot believe he bought you this house.” Steph came in with little Wyatt in his Baby Bjorn carrier. His chubby little legs wiggled against her belly, and his fist was in his mouth as his dark, downy head rested on her chest. Remi was outside, sitting on her daddy’s shoulders, and I could hear her squeal and giggle every time he acted like he was going to drop her.
“He didn’t actually buy the house for me, Steph. He loved the house too. It’s not like we’re married, so it is technically his house.” My face was flaming red, and I knew it. Damn, it felt on fire. Both women snorted in a very unladylike manner at my response.
“Yeah, okay, beeotch. You are crazy if you don’t think he had you in mind when he went to look at this house and when he made the offer to buy it. He is crazy for you, and I cannot wait to have you two fill this house with babies.” Shit, there went my face again.
Oh. My. God. Steph, I am going to kill you.
“Steph!” My eyes flashed to Jenny in embarrassment. After all, this was her son we were talking about. Jenny laughed so hard she had tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. My mortification was complete. God, help me.
“Sweetheart, I would love to have me some grandbabies to spoil. But I’m not rushing you two. I’m going to head out there to bother my old goat of a husband.” She kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear, “I’m so glad he found you, young lady. Just be patient with him. He’ll have ups and downs, but he deserves to be happy. He deserves you. Thank you.” Her hand rested on my cheek for a second before she wandered out back and down into the yard to wrap her arms around her burly husband. I watched as he kissed the top of her head in affection, before I turned back to Steph in frustration.
“Jesus, Steph, you ho! We haven’t really talked about having any kids yet. I cannot believe you said that in front of his mom. Fucking A, girl. We have only been together for a few months, and we aren’t even engaged, for Christ’s sake. Ugh!” My eyes rolled at my best friend, who could be a serious pain in my ass at times. It used to be me who was the bossy, crazy one. It seemed my girl had come out of her shell thanks to that sexy-ass biker of hers. She just laughed at me before hooking her arm through mine and leading me out the door and to the backyard to join everyone.
Mason held his arms out as he shouted, “Baby! Get your sexy ass over here and give your old man some much needed loving!” Everyone was laughing as I planted a big smooch on his smiling lips, unconcerned with our audience observing our actions. Yeah, this was my man. Come hell or high water, I planned to make this last. There was no way I could see myself without him now. How quickly he had wormed his sexy way into not just my body, but my heart and soul…
BECCA AND I HAD only been moved in for over three weeks and were still getting settled in the house, but I had been on babysitting duty for the past week at the Shamrock. Fuck, I would rather have been home looking at my woman’s tits instead of the ones that were flashing from the stage. I mean, don’t get me wrong… I was a guy… I liked tits. What red-blooded man, didn’t? But there was something about my own woman’s that made others pale in comparison. And the cigarette smoke clinging to my hair and clothes every time I left here made my lip curl in disgust. I had to shower as soon as I got home each night, because I wasn’t crawling in bed with my beautiful woman, tainted with the smell of a fucking titty bar.
The Demon Runners MC had been harassing the girls as they left the club at night, so we were taking turns standing guard there. Tonight, it was me and DJ. So far, none of them had shown up, and that dickhead manager, Arnie, kept giving us dirty looks. Motherfucker was forgetting who signed his paychecks.
As the club closed up, DJ and I went outside to our bikes. We planned to sit out here until all the girls left safe and the club was locked up tight. A sickeningly heavy cloud of perfume descended on me, and I saw Cherry closing in on me. Fuck. What the hell did she want?
She leaned over my shoulder and rubbed her tits on my arm when she got close.
Really?
“Back the fuck up, Cherry. What the hell do you want?” My patience with her and her shit was slim. She pouted, and her garishly bright red lips looked distorted and nasty, though I was sure she thought she was being sexy. What the fuck did I ever see in that? Clouded by easy pussy and trying to get over Becca was what I had been doing. Man, I had been an idiot. You didn’t get over someone like Becca.
Cherry ran her nails along my abs and up my chest before she slipped a hand around the back of my neck. My arm instinctively flung her hand off me.
“Aww, baby, don’t be like that. I just need a ride. Sparkle was supposed to give me a ride home, but she got cut early.” Fuck, I didn’t want to give this bitch a ride anywhere, but I coul
dn’t leave her there unattended, not with those assholes fucking with the girls.
“I’ll call you a cab.” I pulled out my phone to dial the cab company, but she placed her hand over mine, stopping my call. She leaned close to my ear, letting her lips trail across my neck.
“I don’t want you to spend a bunch of money on a cab, baby. You know I live down in Spencer with my sister right now. That would be one hell of a cab fare. I’d rather just pay you for the gas in your bike.” She batted her fake eyelashes at me and I rolled my eyes. I actually had no idea where she lived.
“DJ! Give Cherry a ride home.” He grinned as he nodded. There, let him sink his cock in her nasty ass. He was young and not too particular. Just hoped he used a goddamn condom. He told her to climb on. Cherry was pissed, but she hiked herself on the back of his bike and made sure her short, tight skirt rode up to expose her garters and half of her ass. Whatever. They pulled out as the last girl drove off and Arnie set the security code and locked the door.
Fuck, I was tired, and I couldn’t wait to get home to my baby. My bike started up with a deep rumble, and I rolled out of the parking lot toward home. Shit, that sounded good. Home. I smiled all the way home as Linkin Park blared from my speakers and the wind whipped past me.
When I pulled up to the house, the lights were still on in the bedroom. I took the porch steps two at a time and let myself in. Walking with a purpose straight to the bedroom, I was met at the door by gorgeous green eyes, deep auburn curls, and a sexy smirk topped by a silky green barely there nightie.
“Hey, baby…” Her voice was sexy as hell, and it curled right around my heart.
Fuck me.
My hands grabbed her waist and pulled her close. My nose buried in her hair, and I nuzzled her neck. God, this girl always smelled amazing, and my cock jumped at the mere scent and proximity of her, but I felt her stiffen in my arms before she pulled back.
“What the fuck? You smell like cheap perfume, Mason.” Her eyes narrowed and she pushed away from me. “And that lipstick on your neck is certainly not my shade, asshole! Are you fucking kidding me? I cannot believe this shit!” She stormed off and slammed the bathroom door, while I stop there feeling like I had just been spit out by a tornado.
What the fuck just happened here?
I stormed to the bathroom door and grabbed the knob.
Oh, hell no! She did not fucking lock me out! My fists pounded on the door. “Becca! Goddammit, open the fucking door! Now!”
“Screw you!” Her muffled reply through the door only pissed me off more. I hadn’t even done anything, and here she was proclaiming me guilty without even letting me explain myself. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself, I switched tactics.
“Baby, please open the door. Nothing happened. I promise.” Maybe this would work. My mother always said you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Shit, I always thought that was a dumb expression. My head rested on the door. It cut me deep that she would assume I could ever even consider messing around on her, but I really didn’t want to fight with her. Women and their jumping to conclusions—one reason why I had avoided relationships. If I admitted the truth, I was hurt, more than mad, that she could have that little faith and trust in me.
“Becca, baby. Please. Talk to me.”
The door flew open, and I was thrown off balance from the sudden motion and felt like I would fall on my face.
Finally.
Well, maybe… She still looked pissed as hell.
“Okay. Then tell me where you were.” Her eyebrow raised in question and her arms crossed over her chest, pushing her tits up. My eyes almost popped out of my head, and I had to tear my gaze back to her face. Holy shit, what was it about tits that suck a man’s intelligence right the hell out of his head? My head shook to clear my thoughts. Focus.
“Baby, you know I can’t tell you club business. You just have to trust me when I tell you there is nothing for you to worry about. It’s not what you think. I didn’t do anything.” As pissed as she was, I knew this was not the time to tell her I had been running security at the Shamrock. Shit, I thought steam literally came out of her ears. Oh hell. As the door began to slam in my face, my foot shot out to stop it.
“Go away. You have been gone almost every night this week. Every time I ask you where you were, I get ‘club business.’ Yeah, well, fuck ‘club business’ because I have had enough of ‘club business.’ Leave me the hell alone.” When I reached for her face to cup her cheek, she jerked away, preventing contact. My hand fell useless to my side.
“Baby, I’m sorry, but have a little faith in me. Shit.” My eyes plead with her to understand, but she wouldn’t even look at me.
Damn. Without conscious thought, my fist made contact with the wall. Her body jumped slightly at the sound. Motherfucker! She damn well knew we had some shit going on at the club. I had told her there would be times I may not be able to tell her details of what we were doing. What the hell had crawled up her ass that made tonight any different that she suddenly now had to know where I was.
Dammit!
Fine, I wasn’t going to keep fucking begging. Damn stubborn woman. My footsteps resounded through the house as I took the stairs two at a time to go to the bathroom upstairs to shower.
Yeah, so I was throwing a bit of a fit as I slammed the door. Fucking sue me. The shower curtain nearly suffered for my mood as I ripped it to the side to start the water. Before the mirror steamed up, I looked at my reflection, seeing the bright red lipstick smeared on my neck. Well, damn. No wonder Becca was a mad motherfucker at me. Cherry sure as shit knew what she was doing, and I was going to have her ass for this. My clothes reeked, and I dropped them to the floor as I peeled them off. When the water was hot, I stepped under it, closed the shower curtain, and dropped my head to let the water pour over me to wash the stress and stink from my skin.
Didn’t she know I loved her and I couldn’t even think of being with another woman? She had me tied in knots and flapping in the wind for her. I said it to her once, and I meant it—she was my everything. The thought of her being with someone else… ever… eviscerated me. If she knew the power she had over me….
Maybe I needed to go down to try to talk to her again.
Ah fuck. Never mind. Now was not the time. Not with both of our tempers flaring.
After I dried off, I wrapped the towel around my hips and padded down the hallway runner to the one room we had set up as a guest bedroom. Crawling in between the cold sheets was not how I imagined my night ending. Fuck, I was hoping to crawl between her warm thighs, but that went to shit. My mind wandered as I stared at the moonlit shadows waving across the ceiling. By morning, I didn’t remember falling asleep, but I clearly remembered the nightmares that tortured my mind.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN you need to go to the store? I thought we were hanging out here working on decorating your beautiful house? I’m not dressed to be running all over town, you little skank,” Steph stood with her hands on her hips. “I look like straight doo-doo.”
“Yeah, well, I need to know something for sure. I planned out my whole night, starting with a slow seduction and then on to telling Hollywood my suspicions, but instead, the asshole came home smelling like skanky slut and had cheap-ass-looking red lipstick smeared all across his neck. I wasn’t telling him shit after that.” My temper was still volatile after last night, especially picturing the garish red lipstick smeared on his neck. The rational side of me said there had to be a good explanation for his condition when he returned home, but right now I didn’t want to hear it. Lately, I had been taken over by this crazy, irrational bitch.
“Becca…” Steph grabbed my arm, spinning me back to face her as I was getting ready to slip my feet in my flip-flops. It was a sunny day and promising to be another hot early August day. In deference to the weather, I had pulled on a pair of white cutoff shorts and a red tank top. Good Lord, I could tell I hadn’t been to the gym in a while because they were a little snugger th
an the last time I squeezed my ass into them. Of course, that could be… But damn, it was too soon to be getting fat, right?
“Becca! What the ever-living hell? Are you telling me you think you’re pregnant?” Steph’s eyes were like big, round, blue saucers. When her huge grin broke out, she started to shriek and squeal as she jumped up and down, her thick blonde ponytail swinging around as she jumped.
“Oh my gawd! I don’t care if I’m naked, we’re going to the drugstore right the hell now.” She grabbed my hand, and I barely had time to grab my purse from the bench inside the front door and swing the door shut before she was dragging me over to her beautiful new SUV Reaper had bought her. Lucky bitch. He said she needed “something more reliable to haul his babies around in,” when he surprised her with it last weekend. It was a week old and still smelled brand new.
“You are a lucky bitch, Steph,” I told her as I ran my hands along the supple leather seats after buckling myself in. Her answering grin told me she was digging it too.
“Thanks. Much nicer than my old one, right? But don’t go trying to change the subject, bitch monkey. When did you start feeling sick? How far do you think you are? Does Hollywood have any clue at all? Have you talked about kids yet? Whoa, this is almost like déjà vu…” Her questions shot out a hundred miles a minute. My head felt like it was swimming. Damn crazy girl. And bitch monkey? That was a new one. Totally filing it away for later use on her.
“Well, that’s just it… I haven’t felt sick at all. It just dawned on me yesterday that I couldn’t remember when my last period was. I missed a few pills during the move up here and then again when we were staying at the clubhouse, but I had gotten my period and didn’t think anything of it. But that was like the third week I was here, and I don’t think I’ve had one since. I’ve just been so busy that I haven’t paid attention. God, I’m such a scatterbrain lately. And talk about bitchy? Hell, I’ve been irritable and moody. So, I don’t know… two maybe three months?” My hair was pissing me off even as I spoke. In resignation, I pulled it up on my head, grabbing the hairband from around my wrist, twisting it around my hair, and pulling the ponytail halfway through.
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