by Colt, Shyla
“You coming back to earth now?”
Looking stunned, he nodded.
“Good, now get out of here before we’re stuck explaining what happened and why. Take the boxes in the hallway with you.”
Pan pushed to his feet and obeyed her commands like a voodoo zombie being controlled by its master.
Exhausted, she returned to her desk and slumped down in her seat. Worried about Monster, she pulled out her phone and texted. “Text me when you get somewhere, please.” Payroll was shot for the day, but she could do simple things like place orders on the parts list to keep herself occupied. That level of betrayal was high, but everything Pan did had been for his family. There was something to be admired in that.
God, I do not want to like him.
She watched the phone and continued her busy work until a familiar blonde head walked by her door. She jumped up and ran to the doorway. “Chase, I need you now.”
The girl spun. “What’s wrong?”
Symone held a finger to her lips and shook her head, gesturing for her to come inside. Chase did as she asked and Symone shut the door.
“It’s Monster. He and Pan got into it over some heavy shit. I don’t want to share i with you, because I don’t want to piss him off. I’m really worried. I can’t leave the desk and if I could, I wouldn’t know where to look. Do you think you can find him?”
“Of course, the big man have and I have an understanding. I can think of a few places he might be holed up. What I got going, Pan can pick up. Hell, I’ll text him that shit myself.”
“Thank you,” she said, relieved he wouldn’t be out there on his own. She’d come to care a hell of a lot more than she should over the past couple of months. He’d infected her with his virus. Now, the only person she had eyes for was him. This is what it’s like to be smitten. I like it. Except when I’m worried sick.
“I got you, girl. We’re family here at Dueling Devils. We take care of one another.” Chase placed a hand on her shoulder and grinned. “You’re totally gone for him, aren’t you?”
“Yes, and I’m not sure how I feel about that,” she admitted.
“It’s good. Love, the kind he has for you and you have for him, is rare and worth going balls to the wall for. I’ve never seen him so into a girl, ever. It’s a big deal, Sy. I know you’re hesitant and I understand why. I try to keep out of everyone’s business. But I feel like it’s my duty as your friend to give you the inside scoop in this instance.”
“Thank you.”
“Us girls have to stick together. There aren’t s many of us I’d trust as far as I could throw them.”
The words made her think of Gia. They had a lot to settle. After this, I’ll go see her. “Yes we do,” Symone agreed.
“I’ll text you as soon as I find him.” Chase removed her hand and left the room.
Symone watched her leave, hoping Monster wouldn’t do something that would get him into trouble. Demon liked to keep things quiet, and with Ardy due at any time, he didn’t have an overabundance of patience. She forced herself to leave the room and sit behind the desk out front. Putting on a happy face for the customers due in the shop, she willed the phone to vibrate with a text.
Come on, Monster.
* * * *
Monster found himself at the graveyard where his mother was buried. He came here from time to time to remember the woman who’d showed him love and the true definition of being a man. Without her gentle touch and sweet nature, he and his brother had grown tougher and skewed. They’d been swallowed whole by the M.C. life with no anchor. It wasn’t bad, but he’d missed her womanly touch.
He steered through the gates and parked down the hill from the burial site. It’d always pissed him off that she’d been buried next to their old man, but he’d like to think they went to two completely different places, so he couldn’t touch her. His brothers might think he was betraying his dad, not putting the club member first, but they hadn’t lived with the hell the old man had created.
He parked and moved from the bike taking in the tombstones. Some were small squares in the ground while others were more ornate. The one thing everyone had in common was that they were all dead. No amount of money could prevent that eventual conclusion to the story of their lives. Losing everything so young, he’d learned the time you had was precious and he tried to find his own happiness.
He paused in front of his mother’s gravestone.
Mary Anne Louise Sumner, Loving Mother, Wife, and Friend.
Nothing they put could explain the vibrant, brilliant, big-hearted woman who’d been taken away far too soon. His brother’s word gave him an explanation to questions he’d always had in the back of his mind. Why hadn’t his mother gotten up? Had his father intentionally start the fire and allowed himself to succumb to smoke inhalation? They always said truth was stranger than fiction and in this case, there was no deviation from the phrase.
“Hey, Mom, I know it’s been awhile since I came last, but I could sure use your wisdom. I found out how the fire started and why Hartley refuses to accept my forgiveness or the way my life had become. He thinks he stole it from me.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure he’s wrong, but I don’t have any ill will toward him. We played the cards we were dealt the best we could. Our home was a glycerin sweating stick of old dynamite waiting to blow. Maybe he saved us all from a much worse fate. We’ll never really know.” He shrugged. “What bothers me most is how long he kept this from me. It makes me see him in a different light and that—that damn near kills me.” He shifted his weight. “I know I need to give myself time, but I see him every day at work and in the clubhouse. It’s hard to get over something when you have the person right there in your face day in and day out.”
Monster paused to look around at the cemetery as he gathered his thoughts.
“This shouldn’t have been the way I found out. I think half my anger is from the way he treated, Symone. God, she’s perfect for me. I mean, not many women can look past the mess the fire left and more than that, she understands what it’s like to live like this. Less than perfect and constantly reminded of that fact. I think you’d like her. She has a sweetness to her, despite what happened, or maybe because of it. She appreciates kindness, honesty, and loyalty more.” He took a deep breath. “I can’t let anything ruin this. I know it’s my one shot. She’s the one. I want to put a ring on her finger and fill her belly with my babies. I’m pushing thirty-five and time is not slowing down.” He rose on the balls of his feet. “I’m trying to keep a steady pace she can accept, but shit like this makes me want to go caveman and cloister her up somewhere…where nothing can touch her.” He sighed and shook his head. “Emotions make things difficult.”
He thought of the platinum two-karat, kite diamond that rested in the inner pocket of his vest. Life was a whirlwind. Why should this part of it be any different? His pocket vibrated. He removed his phone and smiled at her text. Yet another reinforcement of why he was choosing wisely. He removed the phone. “At a safe place. Thinking the shit through, don’t worry.’ He replaced the phone, feeling lighter. This was nothing more than a bump in the road he would overcome eventually. Maybe with things out in the open, Pan could begin to actually heal.
Pan’s predisposition toward managing his life had always seemed strange. Now, he knew he’d been trying to assuage his own guilt. It was easy to see where Pan had been coming from, but it didn’t make things magically okay. He took a deep breath and then spoke. “We’ll work it out Mom. You always told us to look out for one another and I’ll continue that tradition. He’s my twin and my brother in arms. I’d never turn my back on that. But things need to change. Maybe that’s why this came out. To break the chain that’s bound us together in misery. I’m going to go now Mom. I’ll bring Symone by soon. I think it’s about time for that.”
He left the graveyard feeling lighter than when he arrived. His phone vibrated once more and he saw it was Chase.
“Where you at bro? Want to meet up and talk? I heard there w
as a blow out between you and Pan? No details were shared.”
Symone’s thoughtfulness made him smile again. He texted her back. “Yes, but not to talk about Pan. I want to talk about Symone. I need your help with something.”
His phone vibrated again. “I’m game. When and where?”
He grinned. “My condo, in fifteen.”
A bike ride later, he opened the door and revealed a curious-looking Chase.
“You look shockingly well given the worry in Symone’s eyes.”
“I bounce back fast.” He shrugged and stepped back.
“Alright, so why am I here?”
“I know jack shit about romance, Chase.”
“And you think I do?” Chase snickered.
“More than me. I want to set up a special night for Symone, here at the condo.”
“Like a dinner?” Chase frowned. Her smooth brow furrowed and her eyes darkened as she focused.
“Yes?”
“Oh, you are hopeless. Okay…romantic evening. Champagne on ice, flowers and a decent meal. Can you even cook?”
“Enough to not starve.”
“That’s a no. We’ll order in. Do you know her favorite flower or color?”
“Pink roses if peonies aren’t in season and any light shade of pink to dark, then park it before you hit the Pepto range.”
She arched an eyebrow at him.
“We talk, Chase. This isn’t some temporary shit. She’s not a biker bunny, or a convenient lay.”
Chase held up her hands. “Bro, don’t kill the messenger. Most men are clueless. I’m impressed.”
“Good, let’s hope she will be too.”
“Oh, trust me, she will be. Do you want to do this tonight?”
“I figured the least I can do is balance some of the bad with the good.”
“Good for you. I’ll be your errand girl, since I’m driving a cage right now, and you can straighten the place up a bit, change the sheets, the little things you men don’t think to do.”
“I’m on it.”
“Alright, we’ll meet back up in say an hour. I’ll place the order at my favorite Italian place and you can pick it up tonight at…say, five-thirty?”
“Perfect, you’re a lifesaver, Chase.”
“I like Symone a lot. If you weren’t going for her, hell, I might have.”
“Seriously?”
She winked and headed for the door, leaving him amused and intrigued. Chase was good at that.
* * * *
A few hours later, Monster did his best not to stare out the window and look for Symone’s car.
I can’t believe this. I’m this fucking nervous.
Candles were placed around the house strategically thanks to Chase; a bouquet of pink peonies waited on a table by the front door. A pan of warm lasagna and bread rested in the oven and a crisp salad rested in the fridge. He’d never run the dating gamut, so this was completely new and incredibly frightening. He didn’t dress up because it wasn’t him. He kept with his white t-shirt, vest, and jeans. The best part of Symone was she accepted him as is.
A knock came at the door.
Do or die time. He opened the door.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Her worried tone made him smile. “Yes, babe. I’m pissed, but I’ll work through it eventually. Right now, though, is about you.”
“What?”
“Come on in.” He guided her in and locked the door behind them.
“This should be about you, Monster.”
“No.”
“Hayes.”
The sound of his given name on her lips froze him into place.
“I need to know you’re okay.”
“You’re here with me, how could anything be wrong? I want to think about the good shit in my life right now. That means you.” He bent down and nipped her bottom lip.
Her eyes went soft and she leaned against him.
“There’s my girl.” He wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her to his body. “I have something for you.” He turned her toward the table and picked up the bundle of flowers.
“Oh my God.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “No one has ever done this for me.”
“Their loss.”
She took the flowers and inhaled. “You remembered my favorite.”
“I commit everything you say to memory, babe.” He led her through the house and into the kitchen.
Symone walked into the dimly lit room and gasped. Candles rested in the center of the table on top of fancy placemats. “Hayes,” she whispered.
He smirked. “I can’t take credit. Chase helped me with the set up.”
“But you asked her to and that is everything. You’re making my fucking life right now.” She placed her head against his chest.
He held her close. “How about you put those into a vase and I’ll serve up food…before you become the main course.”
Grinning, she raised her eyebrows. “Maybe I’d like that.”
“Tonight, babe.”
“Yes.” She nodded her agreement and turned to head to the sink.
He dished the food onto plates and took them to the table.
“I’m not sure what I did to warrant this, but thank you.”
“You’re you.” He shrugged.
“What did you do when you left?”
“I went to the graveyard and talked it out with my mom. It’s a habit I fell into after the fire. She was always that listening ear who gave good advice. Even before he started hitting the bottle hard, the old man lived by the old school theory of making us as tough as possible. You didn’t come to him with complaints.” He shuddered.
“And it helped?”
“As fucked up as it may sound. Hearing his admission gave me the closure I never had before. There were so many unanswered questions. I shoved them to the back of my mind, but they were never gone completely. I think this was the step needed to break the unhealthy bond that existed between us. It’s time we move on in our own directions. We’ll always be twins and have the club, but we don’t need to be in each other’s back pockets. Did he bother you again today?”
“No, the rest of the day was a piece of cake.”
“Good.” He nodded his head, pleased that Pan recognized how serious he was about Symone. They continued the small talk while finishing their meal and his anxiety ramped up. “I’ll clear away the plates.” He stood, took the plates to the sink and took a deep breath. He returned to her side and knelt beside her chair. “Babe, you know you make shit right for me. I want to lock this shit down permanently and give you my last name. I’m not getting any younger and we both know how swiftly things can change. I don’t want to wait.”
“Hayes,” she whispered.
He pulled a black velvet box out of his vest and opened the case. “Will you be my old lady and marry me?”
“Oh my God.”
His heart pounded in his chest, slamming against his ribs. Blood rushed in his ears. Time slowed to a crawl. He swallowed hard. “Symone?”
“I never even thought this would be a reality for me.”
“I told you, I want everything, babies, rings, you in my house and my bed every day and night. Is that what you want?”
“Yes.” She nodded her head and laughed. Tears rolled down her face. “It’s absolutely what I want.”
“Then give me that hand, babe.”
She held out her left hand and he slipped the ring on her finger.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Just like you.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“I think the same thing daily.” He kissed the ring on her finger. “You’re stuck now. I’m not letting you go.”
“That goes both ways, Hayes.”
“Fuck, I like the sound of my name on your lips.” He parted her legs and caressed her thigh-high covered legs. “I can’t wait to hear you scream while I’m buried deep inside you. Hold your skirt up.”
She did as he asked.
“Such a good girl.” He ran his thumb down her center and she bucked. Hungry for her taste, he slid her panties to the side and licked a path up her heated slit. The sweet taste of her coated his tongue and he groaned. “Best dessert I’ve ever had. Put those legs over my shoulder babe. I need to go deep.” She swung her legs over his shoulders and he buried his face between her legs. He lapped at her puffy lips and nuzzled her clit with his nose. She cried out and lifted her hips against him. He moaned and stuck his tongue inside her, caressing every inch of her walls he could reach. She rewarded him with a fresh gush of cream and he began to thrust inside her tight sheath.
She threw her head back and rocked into him, gripping his hair. “Hayes, God, yes.” She locked her legs around him and he quickened his speed. Her muscles clenched around his tongue. Her body shook and she yielded the release he’d been aiming for. He slurped her juices and moved back, lowering her legs to the ground. He slipped two fingers inside her and pumped in and out, scissoring his fingers to stretch her out. They’d danced around sex for the past couple of months. He’d shown her his test papers and she’d gotten a fresh set of her own. Now, he wanted inside her. “You’ve got such a greedy pussy. Look how tight you’re clutching me with those, tight, hot, walls.” He thrust faster and she rolled her hips. “Give it up to me baby, I want every scream, every sigh and every drop of your cream.”
“Oh, God, Hayes!”
He angled his fingers and she screamed. “Fucking music to my ears, babe.”
Her breasts heaved and her nipples pressed through the bra. He leaned forward and bit down.
She arched her back. Her walls clamped down around his fingers and she came, hard.
“You’re so beautiful when you let go baby.” He removed his fingers and sucked them into his mouth. He peppered her face with kisses and stood, lifting her into his arms. “When I make love to you, it’s going to be in the bed we’ll be sharing from now on.”
“My apartment…”
“Can be packed up and moved by prospects. I need you here with me.”
“Okay.”
The words were the sweetest he’d heard since her yes. He leaned down and devoured her lips. They came up for air inside his bedroom and he laid her on the bed. “I think we’re both a little overdressed for the occasion.”