by EA Hunt
“She is,” Bash replied, pulling the ultrasound out from back pocket. He stared at the picture. Becoming a Dad had been a dream of his once he’d gotten the club to a stable place, but he hadn’t seen Claire as his kid’s mother. He tossed the picture between the two men. “And it’s not that far-fetched if what’s on that picture is true,” he told them.
Trigger picked up the picture. “This could be a lie. I’ve seen these things on the internet. Women pretending to be pregnant. Showing men an ultrasound, saying it’s theirs.” He passed the picture to Danish.
“True,” Bash said. “It could all be a lie, but what if it’s not? What if she is pregnant and it’s mine? I’ve denied my kid. How will that look to the brothers and Celise?” He lowered his head. Celise. How was he to explain this to his Babygirl?
“What are you going to do?” Danish asked, passing the picture back to Bash.
“I have no clue, but until I know, say nothing,” he stood. “I need to talk to Celise.”
“You haven’t called her that since you meet her,” Trigger said.
“I know,” Bash said, stepping to the side and heading out of the room. He loved calling Celise ‘Babygirl’ because that was what she was, his baby. His first baby. Her innocence spoke of someone who needed protection, needed love. He knew she had the love of her grandmother and her parents, who were deceased, but she didn’t have the love of a man. A real man, not the asses she’d been on dates with. Turning down the hall opposite the bathrooms, he headed towards the rooms the brothers had. His room was the last in the hall and one of the biggest. It had its own bathroom and a large closet. He liked his room, but it wasn’t where he saw himself laying his head at night for the rest of his life. No, where he wanted to sleep involved the woman in his room and the home his mother had once had. Now all that was about to go up in smoke.
Stopping outside his door, he placed a hand on it. He had no clue what he was going to say to Celise. No clue how he was going to explain not wrapping it up with a woman who wasn’t the woman he was falling for. Opening the door, he saw Celise lying in the middle of his full-sized bed, one of his Black Crows MC t-shirts on, her leg bent, looking sexy as hell. Walking into the room, he closed the door behind him, locking it. Removing his cut, he hung it on the back of the door. For one night he was going to have the woman of his dreams and not think about the potential mistake he’d made. With his mind somewhat at ease, he turned, walking slowly over to the bed. “My shirt looks good on you,” he said.
“It does, doesn’t it?” Celise replied, moving her hips slowly from left to right. Her plan when she’d walked into Bash’s room was to sit on the bed and wait for him to come in so they could talk about the woman she’d seen him with. But as she’d waited, she’d remembered a novel she’d read on her Kindle. The heroine had wanted answers from the hero, so she’d dressed in his clothes and offered a striptease if the hero gave her answers. She’d looked around Bash’s room and realized most of his clothes were on the floor, dirty. So, she’d grabbed one of his shirts from the floor, tossed the rest in the hamper, stripped naked then placed his shirt on her person and laid on the bed, totally exposed, to wait for the man. And her answers.
“And why are you wearing my shirt, Babygirl?” he asked, stepping closer to her. ‘I would have enjoyed stripping you of your clothing and kissing every exposed inch of you,’ he thought.
“I needed something to wear,” she bit her lower lip, seeming innocent. Celise smiled to herself as she watched the bulge in Bash’s pants grow.
“Because…”
She ran her hands slowly up her body, making the t-shirt rise up, exposing more skin as she said, “My clothes felt tight and wet.”
“Did they now?” he stopped beside the bed. Bash traced the tips of his fingers up her calf and down her inner thigh while looking into her eyes. “You haven’t touched yourself have you, Babygirl?” he questioned as he ran the back of his finger over her neatly trimmed mound.
Celise moaned as she arched into his hand. “No,” she shook her head. “I haven’t touched what’s yours,” she told him, licking her lips. Her seduction of him was working too well. She was about to get off without her questions being answered. She needed to slow this down.
“Good girl,” Bash told her, kneeling beside the bed. He slid his fingers through the short hairs of her mound, enjoying the wetness. Finding her clit, he pressed on the nerve just as he covered her mouth with his. Celise was primed and ready for him, just as he was ready for her. Moving his index finger over the nerves he brought her quickly to climax while listening to her joy-filled moans. Climbing onto the bed as her orgasm subsided, he positioned himself between her legs. “That was beautiful, Babygirl,” he said, moving his erection into her fresh wetness. He wanted the front of his jeans painted with his woman’s essence.
Celise cupped his face with both hands. She hated to ruin this. Hated to even question Bash. But she needed to know who the woman was. And why he’d reacted to her the way he had. “Who was the woman I saw you with before you went into the room with the others?”
“You saw me with Claire?” When he’d left Celise in the hall, she’d been flushed and aroused. He hadn’t thought she’d come out of there just as Claire had walked up to him.
“Yes, I saw her touch you and you –”
“I didn’t hurt her,” Bash assured her. “Claire is one of the club whores,” he told her. He hated the fact that their beautiful moment had been disturbed.
“Have you slept with her?” Celise questioned, not really wanting the answer.
“Yes,” he replied, sitting back on his haunches. He reached out a hand and pulled Celise up into a sitting position. “Once, several months ago.”
“Just once?” So, the woman in the bathroom had been correct, somewhat. Bash had slept with Claire and now she was a club whore.
“Yes,” he cupped her face. “I was drunk. And Claire had wanted me in her bed since she’d come to the club over a year ago.” He was trying to be as honest as he could.
More than a year ago? But the woman in the bathroom –
“I removed her hand from my body because I’m yours,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “No woman touches what’s yours,” he said before leaning forward and placing his lips on hers. Bash gently laid her on the bed, his hand on her exposed hip, and ran his other hand up her side before cupping and squeezing her breast.
Celise ripped her mouth away from his. “Bash!” she moaned.
“Bastion,” he told her before attacking her neck. “When we’re alone, I’m Bastion.”
“Yes,” Celise called out. “Bastion. Make love to me!” she demanded, hissing at his love bite.
Pushing up slightly, Bash removed his shirt. He sat on the bed and threw off his riding boots and jeans. Then he turned back to his woman, crawling up her body. “I’m going to take you raw, Celise,” he bent his head. “I want to feel you around me without any barriers.”
“Please,” she whined. “Please take me. I have an IUD and I’m clean so…” she trailed off.
“Me too, baby. I’m clean too,” he reached between them, positioning himself at her entrance. He wouldn’t have cared if she had an IUD or not. Seeing Celise rounded with his child would have been a joy. And if Claire was pregnant with his baby, he would be a father two times over with Celise as a mother to both children. Claire didn’t care about being a mother, this he knew, she cared about position and if he offered her one, she would take it and give him his child to raise with the woman beneath him.
Celise bit her lower lip as he slowly entered her. There was a slight burning sensation, but she’d expected that. Her one and only sexual experience had been in high school. It had been with one of the popular boys at her school. He’d asked her to go to prom and she’d gone, thinking he liked her. He’d always been nice to her! But then she learned he’d asked her out for a bet. He’d win fifty bucks from his friends if he could take her virginity – and he had. That was when her persona
l space issues had started. Though they’d been blown out of the water for Bash.
“You’re tighter than I expected,” Bash told her. He knew his woman’s sexual experience was limited but he hadn’t expected her to be this tight.
“Mmm, Bash,” she placed her hands on his shoulder, as he bottomed out. She moved her hips, adjusting to the man inside her. “You’re … you feel…”
“It gets better, Babygirl” he kissed her. “So much better.” He started to move then, taking them on a journey both would love and never forget.
Where in the hell was she? Claire checked the time on her phone. Usually Babygirl, she sneered at the name, was walking out of the brothers’ hallway to go to her pathetic job at the café about now. Leaning against the wall just outside the hall, Claire continued to wait for her prey. She’d thought about confronting Ba – wait, she wasn’t going to call this interloper that. Claire shook her head. No, she was going to call the woman by her name. Celise. Which was a dumb name. She’d thought about confronting her at the café she worked at. But had to nix that idea when she saw Bash sitting outside the place. And inside, whenever the woman was working. Her next confrontation idea had been when the club was filled with people and no one was really paying attention. But wherever Celise was, so was Bash or one of his inner circle. Even that bitch, Rene.
Claire folded her arms over her chest. Once she was Bash’s Old Lady, she was going to fire Rene. She hated that woman. She was always giving Claire dirty looks or blocking access to Bash. Once she’d even lied and said Bash wasn’t in the office when she’d come looking for him after their night together. If it wasn’t for Scottie, her friend who wanted Trigger, she wouldn’t have known where Bash was most of the time. Bash had believed it was just coincidence that she was in the same place he was, but it had been Scottie watching the man and texting her when he moved. It was also Scottie who’d told her about Celise and where the woman could be found.
She and Scottie had gone to the café so Claire could see the woman Bash was infatuated with. She hadn’t been impressed. Not with the desserts everyone had been raving about that Celise had made. Nor with the woman herself. She was overweight and had a prominent belly that you definitely couldn’t hide in clothing. And she wasn’t attractive with her rounded face and chipmunk cheeks. The woman was below average and for reasons beyond Claire, Bash was enamored with her. Turning her head quickly when she heard the front door of the club open, Claire stepped back, blending into the shadows. No one was supposed to be here. Most of the brothers didn’t roll out of their beds or a club whore’s bed until noon. And Rene didn’t come in until one to get the bar set up for the evening. So who was walking into the club at 6 am?
“I think he’s about to make a huge mistake.”
Trigger? If she was hearing him then Danish was with him. Son of a bitch. She wouldn’t be able to get to Celise if they were here. These men did Bash’s bidding without question. And if she attacked Celise she would be dead once this baby was born. Double fuck.
“So do I, but what do you want us to do?” Danish questioned as he and Trigger stepped up to the bar. Bash had texted them, letting them know he needed them at the club. Neither of them was going on the run but Bash wanted them there for what he had planned for Celise.
“Talk him out of it,” Trigger replied. He didn’t want to see Celise hurt. She was a good woman. The kind of woman Bash needed to survive the life they’d all chosen to live.
“You know just as I do that once Bash makes up his mind there is no changing it,” Danish reminded.
“Still, we could try. She doesn’t deserve what he’s about to do to her,” Trigger countered.
‘That may be the case,’ Danish thought. ‘But neither of them could change what was about to happen.’ Both men turned their heads when they heard movement in the hall leading to the brother’s rooms. Danish was about to call out to whomever it was when he saw a shadow on the outside of the hall move. He gave Trigger a subtle signal before straightening and moving towards whoever was moving about, trying to go undetected. Not many in the club knew he and his brothers were ex-military and how they’d ended up as a familial unit. And that was how they kept it. Anyone who knew would also know they worked as one. Some thought Bash ruled them. That they did his bidding without question. But that was the furthest thing from the truth. Bash valued their opinions. He valued all opinions and he knew in the end that the choices he made would have an impact on his soul.
Moving as if he was about to enter the hall, he gave a little nod to Bash, who looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He quickened his pace, snatching the intruder before they could move further away from him. He brought them flush with his body, wishing he hadn’t when he smelled Claire’s pungent perfume. What was she doing here at this hour? Grasping her upper arm, he turned them and headed towards the bar. Since the night of Celise’s arrival, no one had really seen Claire except Scottie, and she hadn’t given any information about the other woman’s whereabouts. Sitting her down on a stool, he stood before her, arms folded over his chest.
“What are you doing here Claire?” Bash questioned, coming to stand before the woman. He was not in the mood to deal with her. He had other things on his mind.
“I was coming to talk to you about the baby,” she replied with her rehearsed answer. Her plan had been simple – attack Celise, clean herself up, then scream so the brothers would come running. When someone asked her what she was doing up so early, she would tell them she was going to talk to Bash about her leaving the club when she’d stumbled onto Celise’s body lying on the floor.
“Baby?” Trigger questioned looking at Bash. “Is there –”
“Give it a rest, Trigger. I know your brother told you about me carrying his kid,” Claire rolled her eyes. “He tells you two everything.” Claire wasn’t in the mood to play games.
Bash knew his next move was going to surprise his brothers. As his mind started putting together a new plan on the fly, this plan was starting to surprise him. Stepping up to Claire, he reached out and placed a hand on her belly.
“What are you doing?” Trigger questioned the other man.
What he had to do. He couldn’t bring Celise into this. He’d thought he could. He’d lain in bed last night, Celise in his arms, cuddled against him, warm and safe. He’d believed he could be with her. That they could weather the storm that was Claire. But then he’d realized he couldn’t. Claire was unpredictable. Her stalking ways could cause Celise harm, physical harm. He didn’t want that for his Babygirl. He wanted her safe. Wanted her to hate him so she was away from Claire and whatever she could possibly do to his woman. “I’m talking to my woman,” Bash finally answered. Trigger looked at Claire in shock whilst Bash continued, “I know I reacted badly to you and our baby but I was so shocked.” He placed a hand on her cheek. “Can you ever forgive me?” He bent his head, placing his forehead on hers. Her scent was making his stomach roll. Her touch, once her hand was placed on his chest, was burning his flesh. But he needed to do this. Needed to make her believe he was hers now.
“Bash,” Danish started.
He lifted his head and looked at the other man. He gave a small nod to Claire’s side before stepping away from them. Moving his hand to where Danish indicated, Bash felt the hilt of the knife. Son of a bitch. He’d been right. Claire had intended to hurt Celise. Though the woman hadn’t been around much, her friend Scottie had. Scottie, like everyone else, knew when Celise was here that she left the clubhouse early in the morning to make it to the café for opening. Celise didn’t really pay attention to her surroundings when she left the clubhouse because she was in a hurry to make it to work. Claire could have come out and slashed his Babygirl or stabbed her. Lifting his hand, he grazed the top of the knife. He didn’t want Claire to know he’d found her weapon. “Claire? Can you forgive me?” he asked again, seeing from the corner of his eye that Danish was advising Trigger of the situation. When he’d texted them, he’d told them h
e had a plan for Celise and the situation but nothing else wanting to tell them in person. Well, that plan had been shot once Claire had been pulled from the darkness.
“What about Babygirl?” Claire questioned, folding her arms over her chest. She wasn’t going to agree or forgive anything unless she knew that woman wasn’t an issue.
Her footsteps came at the exact moment he needed them to. “She means nothing to me,” Bash said, right as Celise walked into the room. He ignored her intake of breath. “She was a bet. The brothers and I picked a woman out of the crowd and bet that I couldn’t fuck her within the month,” he shrugged his shoulders. “I won,” he replied. He kissed Claire’s lips before he stepped around her, reached over the bar and pulled out the jar. “There’s five hundred dollars here, last I checked,” he faced the room. “And it’s mine and yours, babe,” he shook the jar as he looked at Celise. There were tears in her eyes. Fuck, he hated this, but he needed to keep going. He reached out and turned Claire towards him. He stepped between her legs. “We’ll use it for the baby,” he placed the jar on the counter. “I can’t wait to have a baby with you,” he cupped the side of Claire’s face, bent his head and placed his lips on hers.
“NO!” Celise cried out.
“Get her the fuck out of here!” Bash snarled as his heart broke. “She can come back when she realizes she’s no longer needed or is a willing participant in the back, on her back.”
Celise shook her head. This wasn’t happening. None of this was happening. Bash was not saying these things to her. Trigger wasn’t reaching for her. She stepped away from his grasp. “This isn’t real,” she wrapped her arms around her waist. “This can’t be real. I was just in your bed!” she cried, tears pouring down her cheeks. “You held me all night. Made love to me.” She rounded Trigger as he came to stand before her. She needed to understand. He had to make her understand.
“Are you dumb? You were a bet, bitch,” he groused, turning towards Danish who was at his back. His brother was pissed but this was for the best. “Get her the fuck out. She’s banned. She’s no longer welcome here,” he informed. He faced Celise. “Leave, Celise.”