Without Consequence

by Victoria L. James

  “Ayda…”

  “Wait. Just let me finish, T. You’re fifteen years old. You have this huge chance to get a scholarship, maybe even play pro one day. You heard what they said out there. You know as well as I do there’s a war being waged. I can’t change who I love, but I can do what’s best for you.”

  “If you want what’s best for me, Ayda, keep doing what you’re doing. These last few weeks you’ve been happy and I’ve actually felt like I got my family back. I know that’s selfish because you’ve been working so hard to keep us going, but you and Drew, you kinda make sense. He makes you happy, which makes me happy.” He shuffled awkwardly, resting his elbows on his knees. “And I like that you come to my games on Fridays now.”

  I huffed out a laugh and tipped my head to the side, calling him to me. He was out of his chair in a second, his thick arms closing around me and pulling me into a bear hug, while mine squeezed around his neck, chirping as my feet left the ground.

  “Promise me something, T,” I whispered, knowing that it was important for him to know he could come to me.

  “Anything.”

  “If that ever changes, if you ever feel like things are too out of control, promise me you’ll talk to me. Promise me that I will always be the first person you come to.”

  “Always, A. Always.”

  “Good.” I sniffed back the threat of tears and slapped his back with a small laugh. “Now put me down and get back to work, slacker.”

  He did as he was told and cleaned while I cooked. He did the best he could, considering just how bad the place actually was, but by the time I put the bacon on and the house began filling up with the smell of it, he had everything picked up and was staring at the hanging cabinet with delusions of grandeur. I could have told him that it was never going to happen, but my train of thought had been interrupted by the amount of people suddenly streaming into the kitchen following their noses.

  I felt like a den mother. Most of these men were older than me. They’d seen more life than most people had in three lifetimes, and yet, as I stood there sorting out plates of food, filling egg orders and frying some French toast, I felt like I’d found my place amongst them. There really wasn’t much I could do to help when it came to their plans with the Emperors, and I already knew Drew would make sure I was kept at as much of a distance as he could manage. This was my way of contributing, of thanking them for their acceptance and protection. It was my small way of looking after them, too.

  Feeding the guys was a completely different kind of chaos. The chatter was lighter, the topics ever changing and overlapping with conversations going on around them. The laughter that filtered through the place made things seem almost normal. The calls of thanks came quickly and easily as I passed things out, and I could feel Drew’s eyes on me as I moved about the room, thankful to be doing something useful. Every time I got close enough, he would reach out for my hand and kiss it, even if he was in the middle of a conversation. He’d pull me into his lap, feeding me his bacon and slapping my ass as I excused myself to go do something else. He knew when I was close, like I knew when he was watching me. We were aware of one another no matter what we were doing.

  It was late by the time we’d all finished eating, and although I’d imagined them going back to the beers, and seeing out the night in a party atmosphere, they seemed more inclined to grab bottles of liquor and roll out sleeping bags where they could find the space.

  Tate was already passed out on the couch in the corner of the room. With the adrenaline gone, he’d folded the moment the carbs hit his system, and wandered off to find somewhere comfortable to drop. Someone had thrown a blanket over him at some point and he was snoring quietly for once, his lanky limbs everywhere.

  With my job done, and a small comforting embrace of satisfaction keeping me on my feet, I retreated to the kitchen. I wasn’t intent on doing the dishes. I was too exhausted to even pretend I was going to try, but I managed to rinse the worst of them off by the time Drew came looking for me. I felt his presence long before he approached, his eyes burning holes on my ass as I worked. When he slid up behind me, his arms circled my waist and pulled me back against him, kissing the side of my head and bringing a deeper smile to my lips.

  “Long night,” I said, purposefully not making it a question. I already knew the answer. Everyone had been playing their parts, and no matter how easily the conversation had rolled with the food, Drew’s had still been about what was going to happen. He was probably as tired as I felt.

  “It’s not over yet,” he whispered back, dropping his lips to my shoulder, not hiding the fact that he was breathing me in as he did.

  “I know,” I whispered back, keeping my voice as quiet as his, as though it would keep our voices from carrying to the rest of the boys just beyond the door. Leaning my head back against his shoulder, I turned it carefully, angling it so I could kiss his neck. “What’s the plan? Do we have one?”

  “We, as in me and the boys, have many,” he said softly, smirking as he pulled his head back to look down on me, “We, as in you and I, have just the one for tonight.”

  “Just one?” I was mean but instinctual, my ass pushing back a little harder against him as my stomach tightened. It didn’t seem to matter who was on the other side of the door or how many of them there were. There was just Drew and I in that little bubble for that moment in time.

  His hands tightened around me, guiding me even further back, even though I couldn’t actually get any closer. “Is this the part where we have the post-trauma sex experience and you show me what an animal you are?”

  Laughing quietly, I gave my ass a bit more of a shake. He couldn’t hide his arousal, at least, no more than I could hide mine. “You’d like that wouldn’t you? Me with water wrinkled fingers, and battle worn.”

  I held up my hand in front of us and smiled. For a moment, the night had been washed away, leaving nothing but him and his touch, but life wasn’t always that forgiving. It wasn’t always so easy to brush things under a rug and pretend they didn’t happen. Even as safe as I felt in his embrace, I knew it would never just go away. That was made clear by someone shifting in the other room and making me stiffen as the sound of being in the dark of my home with those animals outside flooded into the forefront of my thoughts.

  “What am I going to do? I don’t have anywhere to live.”

  “Yes you do,” he answered, calm but firm.

  “Where?” I asked, turning slowly and resting my ass against the sink as I looked up at him, pressing my hands on his chest. There was a huge part of me that already knew his answer, and an even bigger part of me that thought it made sense. It was the small niggling of self-doubt that shouted the loudest, however.

  Drew’s eyes searched mine for what felt like a lifetime before he whispered. “With me. With us, if that’s what you want. If the hut is too much, I’ll build you a new place. I don’t care, so long as you’re safe.”

  “You’d want me there?” I asked with genuine curiosity. I knew how he felt about me, even if he hadn’t said it, and I knew emphatically how I felt about him, but to have me there permanently? “Wouldn’t that… I mean, I would absolutely love that, but is that what you want? Me? Always there? Tate? Always there? You’ve had your freedom all your life, Drew. I don’t want to suffocate you.”

  “I lost all the freedom I had when Pete died. I’ve been in chains ever since, until you came along. You’ve given me some of that back. Why wouldn’t I want you there, Ayda?”

  I felt my smile curl my lips again. “I suppose that’s a good question. I do have a fabulous ass.”

  “There is that, too,” he said through a growl as the grin on his face began to grow wider. His hands slid down over my waist and across my lower back before digging under the cheeks of said ass, as though he had to check it out for himself just one more time. “Plus, I kinda like the idea of keeping my eyes on every part of your body, all day, every day. This sounds like a win-win move we’re making here. Don’t take
away the dream.”

  My arms worked up and over his shoulders, the grip on my ass sending me to my toes as my body pressed against his. Pushing one hand up to the nape of his neck, I tilted my head back and met his eyes. He meant every word he said. He wanted me with him. “I would be honored to live with you, Drew Tucker.”

  His kiss came swiftly, his lips stealing mine without so much as a warning, but I didn’t need one. I was his, and he knew it as well as I did. I wasn’t inclined to fight the gravity that continued to pull us together, and even if I had been, I knew I wouldn’t be able to fight for long. I don’t think I’d ever expected to find my home with a man like Drew Tucker, but that was the thing about life, the only thing you could expect was the unexpected. For me, that was Drew Tucker and the Hounds of Babylon. My life was at a crossroads. It was an ending of sorts. An end to the beginning of a new adventure. I was under no misapprehension. I knew there would be danger. I knew things weren't going to be easy, but I had Tate and I had Drew, and with him came a large, protective family, and a whole world of possibilities.

  Without Consequence Playlist

  Music is such a huge source of inspiration for the two of us. It’s the thing that first connected us and it’s an absolute must when we write together, no matter who the characters are or what the situation is. Believe it or not, WC had a playlist of around 250 songs by the time we’d finished writing book one. Somehow, we managed to pick out our absolute favorites. (Which was actually a bigger task than having to write the whole novel) so, for your pleasure and interest… here is our playlist for Without Consequence. Enjoy. It’s what music is made for.

  The breaking point ~ Shooter Jennings

  Things ain’t like they used to be ~ The Black Keys

  Long way to go ~ Brother & Bones

  Nowhere to hide ~ Crobot

  Wave ~ Beck

  Goodbye Babylon ~ The Black Keys

  Evergreen ~ Ben Howard

  Howlin’ for you ~ The Black Keys

  Stand by me ~ Ki: Theory

  Before I ever met you ~ Banks

  La Mano de Lucifer ~ Crobot

  Under the table ~ Banks

  Night of the sacrifice ~ Crobot

  Waiting game ~ Banks

  Righteous smoke ~ Monster Truck

  There is a light that never goes out ~ Trespassers William

  Forevermore ~ Thurston Moore

  White Horses ~ Franky Perez

  Work song ~ Hozier

  AUTHOR BIOS

  L.J. Stock on Victoria L. James ~ What can I say about Victoria L. James? Loads actually, she’s an amazingly talented author and I had the absolute distinct pleasure of writing with her. I also call her a friend. When we first met, we bonded instantly over our love of music, Victoria tends to be as eclectic as I am with her tastes. She finds stories in lyrics and feels the moods in the melodies.

  When we first started writing together, I’ll admit I was intimidated. Here is this woman with a huge passion for putting words onto paper and painting pictures so clearly that you are completely immersed in them. How was I going to keep up with that? I’m not sure I ever did, but over time we’ve built up a repertoire. We bounce off one another and bring our characters to the forefront and hope that the interactions are as real as they appear for us.

  On a more personal note, Victoria is bright, smart, kind, intelligent, funny, caring and witty. She can see so much in the world around her and always has time for anyone. Victoria lives in sunny ole Yorkshire with her family and her cats - had to mention them - and can normally be found in the playground of her imagination, listening to the Foo Fighters.

  Victoria L. James on L.J. Stock ~ There aren’t many people you bump into in life that you want to both work and spend your free time with. From meeting L.J. through the wonder that is the internet, we soon came to realise that we had a hell of a lot in common. Music was where our friendship truly began, but our writing partnership flourished not too far behind. I always felt like my writing was missing something, and it was only when I read L.J.’s work that I realised what exactly that was. It was missing her influence!

  After spending over a year working together, day in, day out, not a moment goes by where I don’t thank the Twitter Gods for bringing this amazingly strong and talented woman into my life. She’s an inspiration, a positive force in every situation and one hell of a talented writer. To say I’m honoured that she wanted to create a new world with me is a gross understatement. I’m blown away. One day, I hope I get lucky enough to visit her in Texas, where she lives with her family and her zoo of animals, so we can write by her pool and take part in our other dream… The great Taylor Kitsch Road (stalking) Trip. Who needs a yacht in the Caribbean when we have that to look forward to, right?