by Lexie Davis
Her father.
Instead of waiting for him to knock, she went to the door and opened it. He smiled at her holding a bag of food and kissed her forehead.
“I brought you some breakfast.”
She took it from him and motioned for him to come inside. The smell of biscuits and sausage gravy had her stomach growling. She sat at the table and spread the food out, digging in.
“So you’re pissed at me?” He pulled out the other seat across from her and sat.
“I don’t know what I am with you.” She took a bite of food.
“Fair enough.” He watched her for a moment. “What do you want, Layla? In life. If you could have anything you wanted, what would it be?”
“I don’t know. Family. Friends. I don’t really have much of either right now.”
“You don’t want to go to college?”
“I don’t have money to go to college.”
He leaned forward. “I told you that I’d pay for it.”
She shook her head. “I’m not living off you for the rest of my life.”
“The point of a college education is to get a job to make your own money. Good money. Legal money.”
She shook her head. “I don’t get that option. Natalie is graduating next year. Chrissy is living life one day at a time. Tori needs some stability. I don’t get to think about what I want, Dad. That ship has sailed.”
He pulled a cigarette out and lit it. “So you and Silver? The two of you would raise your sisters?”
“I don’t know.”
“You had to have some kind of idea of living life with him. What is it?”
She ate another bite of her food. She didn’t think that far ahead. Silver told her that he wanted to buy a house. He didn’t want kids. She knew better than anyone that her sisters were better off with her aunt. It didn’t change the need she had to be there for them. To step into her mother’s shoes and be the one that took care of them. Trina McDaniel may not have been many things, but she was a good mother. It pissed Layla off that she took those damn pills and ended her life.
“I didn’t want to raise my siblings with him.” She shook her head. “They’re better off with Miranda. I know that.”
“Then what is it? What’s with the fascination?”
“I don’t know.” She ate a few more bites of her food. “He used to bring me sodas. I didn’t ask him, he just thought of me. He gave me money when I needed it. His money. Money he was saving to buy a house.”
“He gave you that in exchange for sex. That’s not love.”
“It was more than sex.” She chewed on her lower lip. “He took me to the movies. I’d had a bad day and he took me to the movies. Let me pick it. Bought me popcorn and a soda. He shoved Ashley away from him. Turned down a blowjob even though I told him to go for it. He yelled at me that she wasn’t who he wanted.”
Torque’s eyes widened. “When did this happen?”
“Last night.” She cleaned up the mess she’d made and threw the trash away. “He finally talked to me. Opened up some. He told me that despite everything, he simply wanted me to like him. It wasn’t just sex between us. I know about his interest in me. I was interested in him too. He’s so much more than what’s on the surface. I would think you’d know that since he’s the VP of the Charming Bastards MC.”
And he was. Silver was reserved but held no qualms about caring for her. He liked to dominate, but let her push him when she wanted. His smile was rare, but when it happened, it lit up the room. He knew how shitty her life had been and for a while, he made her forget about it. It wasn’t just sex, even though that was a large part of it. She enjoyed the way he wrapped his arms around her. The way he kissed her. She shifted in her seat wishing that she’d kissed him one last time. She needed his kiss and it hurt knowing that she’d never get to have it.
Torque exhaled. “Fuck.”
She glanced up and met his eyes. “What?”
“No matter what I say or do, you’re always going to want him.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t think you know him well enough to have that smitten look on your face, but who the fuck am I to know anything about love.”
“Love?” She swallowed hard.
“Yeah. He had the same fucking expression.” He leaned forward and folded his hands in front of him. “I can’t beat him for breaking the rules now. Not with both of you looking like I’ve just killed your puppy in cold blood.”
“Don’t beat him.” Layla couldn’t bear the thought of that happening.
“Club business is club business, but I’m not. I told them all that if they even so much as talked to you or touched you that they’d get fucked up by my fists. He knew it too. I wasn’t kidding. I’m not really shocked he did it anyway. You’ve been an obsession for him for a while. I didn’t really think that anything real was there, but I guess I was wrong about that too.” He tapped his cigarette on the table. “He’s going to get demoted. My new rules are: if you’re going to be his girl, then he’s going to fucking put you first. The club comes second. There’s no negotiating.”
She stared at him. “You’re allowing it?”
Torque let out a rough breath. “If you’ll promise me that you’ll go to college. I’ll make him support you so you’re not working fifty jobs around town. The two of you can find someplace better than this dump. Get a home and build a life. You can go to college and get a degree in something. Anything. I don’t fucking care. I want you to be better than me.”
“I can’t quit working. I have to pay for Chrissy’s treatments.”
He stared at her. “You’re not their mother, Layla. I know you love your sisters, but they’re not your responsibility. Trina was a bitch about most things, but she cared for her girls. She would want Miranda to keep them and take care of them. I know she wouldn’t want the burden put on you.”
Layla shook her head. “It doesn’t matter what she wanted or anyone else wants. I’m going to help take care of them. If they can’t live with me, then the least I can do is pay for Chrissy’s treatments. She’s got a doctor’s appointment next week and I’m going with her. I’ll probably take off a few days because they normally make her sick afterward. You may have only showed up when you wanted, but I can’t do that. I’m going to be there for them the best way I can and as often as I can.”
He licked his lips. “Fine. But you’re not going to run yourself ragged over it. Miranda never had children. She and Paul have that big house to themselves and they love your sisters as much as you do. You can help with the bills, but you don’t need to stress out over the other stuff. Work and go to college. Do something for yourself while helping your family.”
She planned to. She knew the girls living with her wasn’t really an option. She tried to take care of them on her own and failed miserably. But she did promise to do better.
She stood and went around the table to hug him. He wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t know if I deserve much thanks. Silver is still a fucking mess. I’m sure all that will come out with time if he’s talked you about some of his life. I think you’ll be good for him and if he’s what you want, I think he’ll be good for you. It took a great effort to keep him away from you this long. I guess it was inevitable that he’d eventually win this battle.” He puffed on his cigarette. “I didn’t know about him bringing you the sodas. Where was I?”
She smiled. “Bathroom. Or doing club business.”
He arched an eyebrow. “I knew the fucker didn’t have it in him to come around you while I was there.”
Layla shook her head. Silver had been sweet in those days. Her father went inside the clubhouse for whatever reason and he brought her a soda. He didn’t say anything to her, not even when she tried to engage in conversation, but in his own way, he took care of her. She wanted to do the same with him.
She smiled. “Can we go to the MC?”
He rolled his eyes. “Why fucking not?
Chapter
Eleven
Silver stirred from his sleep to find someone stroking his face. Frowning, he rolled to his back. “Fuck off. Nobody is allowed in here.”
“Not even me?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Well, it took some convincing, but Torque is on board with us being together.”
He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“My daughter wants you to get your lazy ass out of bed so the two of you can go house hunting.”
He glanced over at Torque standing in the doorway, dominating the area. He frowned. “House hunting?”
“Yeah.”
Layla brushed her hand along his arm. “Me and you.”
“Is this a fucking dream?”
She smiled and leaned in to kiss him. “No. You and I are officially together now. Look a little more happy.”
He glanced over at Torque. Torque sighed and started to explain. “It didn’t seem right that my daughter be miserable for the rest of her life because she wanted a bastard like you. I’m demoting you. Hand over the VP patch and promise me you’ll always put her first.”
He rubbed a hand over his face and went to find his cut. He tore the VP patch from the leather and put it in Torque’s hand.
“She’s going to college too. I tried to convince her not to work, but she’s still going to pay for her sister’s cancer treatments. So the new rule is: you’d better take care of her or you’ll wish you never met me. Got it?”
Silver nodded and Torque left the apartment. Silver turned toward Layla still confused. “What the hell just happened?”
“In a roundabout way, he gave us his blessing.” She pulled her legs up. “That is if you want me. You’re still not looking as happy as you should be.”
He snorted and his lips tilted upward. “I don’t think me wanting you was ever really the question.”
She pat the bed next to her. “I’m going to call my aunt. There are some houses for sale in her neighborhood. She’s not going to like the idea of me moving a biker in, but I think my sisters will like me being close by. They’ll know that they have a second place to go if they need it. And you’re getting a family. All women.”
He smiled and crawled into bed beside her. “I can handle women.”
He liked the idea she proposed. He knew how much her family meant to her and he couldn’t imagine her giving that up for anything. He also liked the idea of her family becoming his. Even if it was all women, he was okay with the idea. Okay with having something he’d never had before.
“I agreed to enroll in college. I don’t know what I’m going to study, but Torque said he didn’t care. I guess I need to do a little research.”
He pulled her down and wrapped his arms and legs around her. “I love you.”
The words came from nowhere. The more he thought about her, the more he realized that what they had went farther back than the first night she’d called him. He’d started caring about her long before she was even legal.
Layla smiled. “I know. I love you too.”
She cupped his cheeks and leaned in to kiss him, smiling. He groaned and pulled her to him, holding her, as he tasted her mouth. Nothing felt better than having her beside him. He never understood needy women but he sure as hell had become needy where Layla was concerned.
Pulling back, he stared at her. “How the hell did you get the stubborn old fucker to go along with it?”
She shrugged. “My dad cares about me. He doesn’t like to admit it too much, but I’m pretty sure every time I hurt, it tears him apart. He’s always been that way. From scraping my knees in a bicycle accident to getting into fights at school. I think he understood that you and I weren’t something casual. It may have seemed that way on the surface, but it had always been more. I’m not really sure I could have even agreed to have sex with you if something deeper wasn’t there.”
Silver brushed her cheek. “I wondered about that myself.”
“You wondered if I could have sex with you?”
He smiled. “Yeah. You’re so sweet and goddamn innocent. I never really thought you would go trough with allowing me to actually fuck you. Definitely not in the way I wanted to fuck you. You surprised me.”
She smoothed her fingers along his chest. “For what it’s worth, I definitely couldn’t have become club property. I was desperate and I thought I could do anything to get enough to cover Chrissy’s treatments. After seeing what goes on around here, I don’t think I could have. Actually, I know I couldn’t.”
He did too, but he didn’t say anything. Layla was not like the girls that hung around the club. Silver was pretty damn sure that Torque wanted to keep it that way. He thought about what Torque would have done if the club had owned her. They’d all be dead. There was no debating that fact.
Layla kissed his cheek. “Can you get up now? We’ve got to meet the realtor at noon.”
He groaned and pressed his face against her neck. “We could just stay here.”
“We could, but I don’t want to live here for the rest of my life.”
He pressed his lips against her arm. “Orgies not your thing?”
“No.” She caressed his abs. “Neither is the drinking, drugs, or wild parties. I do like the bondage playroom though.”
He did too. A lot. Definitely something for them to consider including in their own home when they went looking for a house, he determined. He sighed and rolled to his back, tossing the blankets to the side. He knew she watched him pull his shorts off before he walked nude to the shower. Something about Layla made him want to be a better man. Not necessarily making drastic changes in his life, but he wanted to open up to her. To lean on her because he knew he could. For so long, Torque had been the only person that really knew everything about him. It made sense that Layla knew most of the details too.
Layla followed him into the bathroom and propped herself against the vanity while she watched him. She wasn’t shy and he liked it. He also knew that the main reason for her being in the bathroom with him wasn’t to take a sneak peek but to make sure he wasn’t goofing around. She really wanted to go house hunting and who was he to say no?
“Are you going to stand there and watch me or join in on the fun?” He rubbed his soapy hand over his chest and down his body until got to his cock. He glanced over at her while he stroked himself.
“I like the show. But, we’re going to be late enough as it is. Save the fun for when we get our new house.”
He sighed and rinsed off. “I should spank your ass for saying that.”
She rolled her eyes. “There will be plenty of time for that later as well.”
He grinned. She waited while he rinsed off then handed him a towel when he stepped out. He half expected her to dry him because he was sure he didn’t move fast enough for her.
“I need you to promise me something.”
He tucked the towel around his waist. “What?”
“Promise me that no matter what, that you will always love me. I don’t need a savior. I don’t need a protector. I don’t need someone with money or fancy things. I just need love. That’s all I want from you.”
He pulled her to him, enjoying her softness far too much. “I promise.”
“What do you want from me?” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
He shook his head. “I’ve got it.”
“You got demoted in the club. I feel responsible for that.”
He leaned in and kissed her. “Torque wants me to put you first. And I will. I had the club to get me here and I enjoyed it. I’m still part of the club. I’m not giving that up. I have you and nothing else really matters.”
“So you’re still a member? He didn’t kick you out?”
“No, babe. I’m still a member. For life. I’ve got you and I’ve got the club. I don’t really need anything else.”
“Good.” She pulled away from him. “I thought I needed to talk to him about that. Get dressed.”
H
e grabbed her arm. “Hey. Don’t feel like you need to be the buffer between the two of us. I can handle your dad. You don’t have to constantly feel responsible for the shit that goes on between us.”
“I don’t.” She tilted her head to the side. “But I am going to get him in here to drag your ass out if you don’t hurry up.”
He laughed. “Why would I not put that past you?”
****
Layla lay in the middle of the living room floor of their new house. She smiled as she stared up at the ceiling, the fan spiraling down waves of cool air. They’d looked at three houses and the one they bought was a mutual agreement without either of them even discussing it.
She knew it was meant to be.
“Hey.” Silver tapped the bottom of her foot with his boot. “I need your help with this stuff.”
As a housewarming gift, the club chipped in and bought them furniture. She figured her father paid for most of it, but it was a sweet gesture that the others joined in on. Layla propped herself up on her elbows.
“What stuff?”
“Bedroom.”
She pushed up from her spot and followed him down the hallway to the master bedroom. Inside, he’d placed their big bed in the center of the right wall. The TV was mounted to the left and the bathroom was to the right.
“What do you need my help with?”
“Trying out the bed.” He closed the door and came up behind her. He slid his hands beneath her shirt to cup her breasts. “I had Joker help me install the new ties to the frame.”
“Ah, so you’re turning our bedroom into your personal torture chamber?”
He pressed his lips to the back of her neck. “When I make you come repeatedly, I can guarantee you won’t be complaining.”
“Mmm.” She turned and unzipped his jeans. “You do realize we have a yard full of motorcycle enthusiasts also known as the Charming Bastards Motorcycle Club members outside, right?” She reached into his pants and wrapped her fingers around his cock. “And they are noisy and into everything. I caught Dooby sniffing my underwear.”