All That Matters (Nightshade MC Book 3)

by Shannon Flagg

  “Be brave,” he reminded her. “Take a chance.”

  He never expected her to actually do it, it was more wishful thinking on his part, but she did, and he got to watch her. By the time she put the bacon and eggs in front of him, he was ready to go again, but he waited, ate and then, as promised, he fucked her on the kitchen table.

  Train was heading head-first out of his comfort zone when, after the third time, she started to doze off on her bed next to him. He reached out, traced his finger down her spine. “Do you want me to go?” He'd expected to tell her that he should go, but somehow it came out as a question.

  “I'd like you to stay,” she shifted so that she faced him. “And you're welcome to stay, but something tells me that freaks you out, so if you've got to go, I get it. This is just... fun, right?”

  He reached out to move his fingers over the side of her face. “This is a lot of fun.” And it was. The sex he'd had with her was better than most of the sex he'd had in his life. It was also something more, something that he hadn't realized until he was ready to smash Josh's head into the concrete for the things that he was saying about her. This was all way out of his comfort zone, but still, he didn't get out of the bed. “I'll stay.”

  Chapter Six

  Meg only had twelve more rooms to go. Depending on the state that she found them in, she might be able to punch out on time. Screw overtime, her check had been short the hours it should have had the week before. It was obviously Doug; he was the only one who had access to the time cards. Jobs weren't easy to come by, so most of them, like her, just kept their mouths shut and dealt with the missing money, just like she was dealing with twice the rooms she'd normally do within a shift.

  Working for a living sucked on so many levels.

  Most of the rooms were relatively in order, not requiring her to scrub puke out of a carpet or remove feces from the wall, so it took her just over two hours to have them all done. It was better time than she'd expected to make. Meg was actually in a good mood when she walked into the locker room to grab her things.

  The good mood evaporated at the sight of Doug. He was always in the locker room, no doubt hoping to catch a glimpse of one of them undressed; he was a desperate bastard. “Meg. Just the woman that I've been looking for. I never realized how much woman you are until last night.”

  “What are you talking about, Doug?” She was too tired for this shit. All she wanted to do was get home, so she rolled her eyes at him and started for her locker.

  “You'd be surprised what you can find on the internet.” Doug leered at her, moved forward into her personal space. “I've got a whole new respect for you and your body now.”

  “What the fuck do you want?” Meg asked. She knew what he was talking about. Fucking Carlos. Fuck Carlos and, for sure, fuck Doug. That shit was not going to come out now. No. She wasn't going to deal with the worst experience of her life at her job.

  “I think you know what I want. It's Friday night. We can get some drinks. Get a room right here and have ourselves a party. In fact, I've got this friend who would just absolutely love you.”

  Meg hadn't realized that she was going to smack him until she did. Her palm stung from the blow. Try as she might, she couldn't remember the last time that she'd hit someone. The blow made him take a step back. “If you ever talk to me like that again, I'll cut your dick off.”

  “Is this you playing hard to get?” He leered again as he rubbed his hand over his cheek. It was red, and she was damn glad that she'd left a mark. “Because I've got to tell you, this is sort of turning me on.” He glanced down, and her eyes followed. The sight of his erection made her stomach churn.

  Meg brought her knee up hard, and he went down. He screamed as if she'd used a knife on him. The locker room door opened, and three other women walked in. They looked from Doug to Meg, smiled and walked right back out of the locker room.

  “You're fired,” Doug roared. “Get the fuck out of here now!”

  Meg had never been so glad for direct deposit because it would have ruined her exit if she'd had to stop and demand a paper check. Her locker only held her purse and a few extra sweaters, so cleaning it out wasn't a hard thing. Sure, she didn't have a job anymore, but she had her dignity, or what was left of it.

  It took the bus ride home for freaking out to set in. Fuck. What was she going to do? How was she going to take care of the boys? By the time that she'd walked the six blocks from the bus stop, she was nearly in tears. Meg took a moment to try and compose herself, when she saw Train's pickup in his driveway.

  He'd added seventy dollars to the money that Josh had taken from her, and she meant to pay him back. She walked up onto the porch, knocked on the door and waited. He answered with a frown on his face. In that instant she realized that she probably should have called first. “Sorry to just stop by. I should have called first. I just wanted to give you the money from the other day.” And she wanted to see him, but she stopped short of saying that because of the look on his face. He didn't look happy to see her.

  “I don't want the money back.” He was as serious as she'd ever seen him. There was a long, somewhat awkward, pause before he spoke again. “Do you want to come in? It's cold.”

  “I don't want to be a pain in the ass if you're doing something,” Meg replied.

  “You want to come in or not?” he asked as he stepped back.

  Meg stepped inside. She immediately felt the warmth from the heat. He liked it toasty. She couldn't remember the last time that she'd set the thermostat above sixty-four degrees. “It feels good in here. It's getting pretty bitter out there.” For something to do, she dug into her purse and pulled out the money. “I need you to take this.”

  “I'm not going to,” he replied. “Come on and sit down, you're making me twitchy just standing there.”

  Meg followed him into the living room. It was dominated by a huge flat screen television and an equally massive black leather couch. There was a coffee table, and it was all surprisingly neat. “This is a nice place.”

  “I like it. Go on, sit down. You want a beer or something?” he asked as she sat down and looked around. It wasn't an overly furnished room, but what furniture there was was of good quality, simple dark wood, and it suited him.

  “Yeah, a beer would be nice. Really nice.” Meg leaned back against the couch and shut her eyes.

  “Long day?”

  “Yeah, it was crazy at work. At least I'm off tomorrow.” Meg chuckled to herself. She was off for the foreseeable future, actually.

  “You told me that you worked this weekend,” he observed. She should have known that he'd remember. Train was very good with the details.

  “I was.” Meg considered lying but decided that it wasn't worth it. The truth would come out soon enough, anyway. “I'm not working now because I don't have a job anymore. I got fired today.”

  “You what? What happened?” She could hear the surprise in his voice.

  “My manager was being more of an asshole than usual,” she told him.

  “Doug.”

  “Yes, Doug. You've got a mind like a steel trap, don't you?” Meg rubbed her hands over her face. “He's always an asshole. I just couldn't take it anymore today.” She hoped that was enough. When Train didn't say anything else, she thought that it must have been, and she was glad for it.

  “What did he do today?” She hadn't heard Train come back from the kitchen, so she jolted as he sat down next to her. She opened her eyes, looked over to see he'd already set the beers down on the coffee table. “Meg?” He laid his hand on her leg. “What did he do today?”

  “He was just as asshole, more of an asshole than usual.”

  “Did he put his hands on you?” Train asked. “Meg?”

  “No. I hit him, though.” The thought of it brought a smile to her face. “And I kneed him in the nuts, which I know is a low blow, but it felt really good.”

  “What are you going to do now?” He was always oddly practical, so of course he'd voice the on
e question that had taken root in her mind on the ride home. What was she going to do now? No job. No savings. Plenty of bills. Two boys to worry about. She should probably go back to the hotel, grovel to Doug until he gave her the job back, but the thought of doing so made her really sad inside.

  “I honestly don't know.” She leaned her head back against the couch. “I think I fucked up. I'm almost sure that I fucked up.” Meg concentrated on the feeling of Train's fingers moving in slow circles on her leg. The touch was simple enough, but it was so comforting that she almost wanted to cry.

  “You shouldn't work somewhere where they treat you like shit, Meg. You know that. Speaking of treating you like shit, how's Josh been lately?” Train kept stroking her leg. She wasn't even sure that he realized what he was doing.

  “He's barely been at the house,” she admitted. “And when he is, he behaves. It's been a little weird that he's so quiet.” Weird, worrisome and very much not like Josh. Meg wasn't sure what he had up his sleeve, but she knew that there had to be something, that he would strike when she least expected it. Her biggest fear was that he'd do something to take the boys from her.

  “Quiet is good,” Train observed, a pleased smile on his face.

  “Maybe.” Meg shifted so that she could lean forward and grab the beers. “Sorry, I really need a drink right about now.” She handed one to him. “Cheers.”

  “No need to apologize. I've got some tequila in the kitchen if you need something stronger,” he offered as he clinked his bottle against hers.

  “I'd love something stronger, but I shouldn't. I've got to get dinner going for the boys, and it's Friday so they'll want to watch a movie.” Since it was her payday, they'd expect to rent a movie and for her to order pizza. Any change in the routine was going to mean she was in for a night of attitude from Joshua and a very disappointed Leo.

  “What's for dinner?” he asked. She wasn't surprised that he'd focus on the food. He liked to eat.

  “Pizza,” Meg replied while she tried to remember if she had any of the coupons for Pizza Place left. The pizza was nowhere as good as the pizza at Gino's, but it was cheaper, and the boys weren't known for being very picky, as long as there was extra cheese.

  “I've got a whole mess of movies here. I'm sure some of them are even appropriate for the boys.” He chuckled. “I could bring one over and some pizza. And you could have a couple of shots of tequila now, take the edge off.”

  “That's really nice of you,” Meg could also see that it made him uncomfortable. A blind person could have seen that he was uncomfortable. It wasn't lost on her that he'd been that way since he opened the door. Maybe she'd violated the 'just fun' rule by showing up. She'd only wanted to give him his money back. “You sure that you want to do that?”

  “I don't say shit I don't mean. It's fucking pizza and a movie. You want to get tipsy or not?” Train snapped the words. He got short-tempered when he was angry. Meg knew the signs, but unlike the displays of temper which she'd seen from Josh, he never struck out. Instead, he got snappy. It was strangely endearing.

  “Okay, it's fucking pizza and a movie. And tequila,” she added.

  “I'll go and grab the bottle. I don't have any lemons.”

  “I don't need lemons to drink tequila.” Meg took a sip of her beer. It had felt good to get what had happened off her chest, or maybe it felt good to sit there and see Train taking such care with her even though he was obviously out of his element.

  “Good to know.” He left the room and Meg sat up. She took off her coat and the scarf she'd wrapped around her neck and laid them over the arm of the couch. Her foot brushed a stack of DVDs stacked on the bottom shelf of the coffee table. They fell, and she leaned down to pick them up and froze.

  They were porn. All porn, and not fluffy girl on girl stuff either. She saw whips, gags and women so restrained that she was surprised they could blink. The beer came back up in her throat, and she choked. “Hey, you okay?”

  Meg coughed and the bottle fell from her hand. “Shit. Shit.” The glass bottle hit the hard wood and shattered. “Oh God, I'll clean that up.”

  “Don't worry about it. You okay? You're pale as a ghost.” He looked down, saw the porn. “Oh, well shit. I see you found my dirty little secret. I like porn. I get bored easy, so I like a little variety. I didn't even think about it being out. Normally, only the guys come over, and they couldn't give a fuck about porn.”

  Meg decided to focus on anything that wasn't a discussion on porn. “You don't bring women here?” He nodded. “I showed up here and you invited me in?” He nodded again. “And we're having a date tonight.” She'd been spot on that he was uncomfortable; knowing why just made her want to reach out and hug him.

  “It's not a date. It's pizza and beer and the kids. Fuck, that is a date, isn't it?” He actually frowned. “I think I need some of this tequila now.” He looked down at the bottle in his hand long and hard.

  “I get that you're way out of your comfort zone with all this.” Meg stepped over the broken bottle carefully so that she could be closer to him. “If it helps any, I am too.” She searched his face for any sign that it helped. When he smiled and reached out to grip her chin, she felt a warmth spread to her.

  “Do you have a dustpan and broom?”

  “Who doesn't have a dustpan and broom?” he countered. “You're worried about cleaning up the broken bottle?” Train laughed. “You worry too fucking much.”

  Meg opened her mouth to protest that she didn't, though she knew that she did, but before she could, his mouth was on hers. The kiss surprised her; he was soft, even sweet, as his mouth moved against hers. She gave into it, to him, and let her arms move around his neck.

  He broke the kiss, his voice strained. “How long before the boys get back from school?”

  Meg knew just where his mind was. Hers wasn't far behind him. A quick glance at her watch told her that they only had twenty minutes before the boys would be home and expecting her there. It was hardly enough time. “Twenty minutes.” She laughed when he actually groaned. “Twenty minutes is enough time for something else.”

  She didn't know where the words came from, but the look on his face when she spoke them made her smile. It made her feel warm and safe. His smile was the reason she was able to push the cornucopia of porn out of her mind as she reached out to undo his belt.

  <#<#<#<#<#

  “You both better be on your best behavior. Please try not to act like savages.” Meg was more worried about Joshua acting up than Leo. She couldn't single him out; it would start a fight before the night had even started.

  “Is he your boyfriend now, or are you just fucking him?” Joshua asked.

  Meg's head spun towards him so sharply that she thought she might have actually hurt herself. “You're eleven years old, Joshua. I don't want to hear that sort of language out of your mouth.”

  “Whatever. You didn't answer the question.” He jutted his chin out defiantly which only made him look even more like his father. Josh had been an angry teenager, the hormones turning him into a snarling monster at the slightest provocation. It seemed that Joshua was heading down the same path, or at least that was what Meg hoped. Part of her wondered if it was something more and if there was something that she should do.

  “Don't you whatever me, either.” Meg counted to ten slowly in her head. She did a lot of that in order to keep her composure. “You know you need to apologize for that language, Joshua. Train is my friend, and an adult, so you're going to treat him with the same respect you know that you're supposed to treat me with.”

  “Whatever,” Joshua replied again. There was a smirk on his lips that made Meg's heart hurt because she knew that nothing she was saying was going to get through to him. “Can I just stay upstairs?”

  Even though Meg figured it would probably be a much more peaceful night if she let him hibernate upstairs, she said, “No, You're going to stay down here, have pizza, and we're all going to watch a movie. You're going to behave, and it's goin
g to be a nice night.”

  “It'd be nicer if Dad was here. Can I call him, invite him?” Joshua, the little shit, seemed determined to keep poking at her. She'd really hoped that she'd been raising him to turn out different from his father, but right now she wasn't sure. “I'm sure he'd love to meet your new friend.”

  “I'll be good, Meg,” Leo spoke up.

  “Kiss-ass,” Joshua muttered.

  “Thank you, Leo.” Meg smiled down at him. He was always so good, so calm. She wasn't sure where he'd gotten it from because calm didn't really describe anyone in their family, not even her. She cut her eyes to Joshua. “Don't call your brother names. And don't roll your eyes at me.” The doorbell rang before Joshua could come up with another wise-ass comment.

  “I'll get it.” Leo took off towards the front door. Joshua mumbled something under his breath again, but she didn't catch what it was. She let it slide, even though she probably shouldn't have, because it was easier when she could hear that Train was inside the house.