by Erin Trejo
“Preacher,” I say softly. He nods.
“He always told me that there was another world out there. One that didn’t involve death and evil. One where people could love and be happy,” he adds.
“Did you ever find it?”
“No.”
“So, you read the bible to find peace?” I ask, not knowing why he reads it. Obviously, the man could kill at a second’s notice, but he also seems to have a heart somewhere deep inside of him and that appeals to me.
“It brings me closer to my dad. I think I’ve searched my whole life for what he was talkin’ about and never found it. Not even close. Most days I wonder if happiness is even out there,” he tells me. My heart leaps in my chest at his words. He’s just searching for the same thing as anyone else. Nothing more, nothing less.
“I’d like to think there was more out there. I don’t know, really. Living the life, I haven’t really been given the best opportunities to find out.” Preacher pulls off the exit and into a parking lot. I glance over and see a small restaurant and when I look back over, he grins.
“I’m about to give you your first taste at freedom,” he says. He climbs out of the truck and comes around to open my door. Taking his cut from my lap, he slips his arms in and helps me out.
“What is this?”
“Burgers. I bet you never ate one in your life,” he adds with a small chuckle.
“I’ve never had one,” I agree.
“You are now. Welcome to the first step of bein’ you, babe.” His words send my heart fluttering. I’ve never actually thought about what it would be like to be out on my own. I always assumed my father would be there, and then whoever I was married off to would take care of me. Preacher holds the door as I’m lost in thought. He must notice because he closes the door and comes back to stand in front of me. It’s only then do I realize the tears are falling.
“What’s wrong?” He cups my cheek, wiping the tears with his thumb.
“I’ve never thought about being on my own,” I admit.
“You won’t be. You have Enzo. He won’t leave you alone, Gaia. You just have to be positive about this shit. You can’t think badly. We’re doin’ this for your future,” he says softly. His tone has softened now. Before I can speak, he leans in and presses his lips to mine.
“Does that mean you’re not mad at me anymore?” His breath dances over my lips but he doesn’t kiss me again. He just stands here breathing me in. It’s unnerving and keeps me on edge.
“You ain’t off the hook yet, darlin’.” I smile but so does he. “Let’s get this new life started.” Pulling me along, we head inside. Preacher moves to a table in the back, ushering me in one side before he slips into the other. I notice that he always sits facing the doors everywhere we go.
“You always face the doors.”
“I need to be able to see everything. Even at home, this is how I sit. I can’t do my job if I can’t see the space around me.” The waitress comes, cutting off our conversation. Preacher orders for us both and then we both sit in silence. It doesn’t take long for our food to be brought to the table.
“Do you ever want more out of life?” I ask. His eyes move from his drink to mine, the pale blue calling to me like a drug.
“Don’t we all? Isn’t that the point of bein’ alive? People always want more but when is it too much?” His words hold more meaning to me than he could possibly know.
“I don’t mean materialistic things. I want that happiness. I want to be loved so hard that the other person can’t breathe without me. I want to love just as hard and when they aren’t with me, I feel lost. Is that too crazy?” I ask, picking at a fry.
“I don’t think it is. It sounds like you thought about this before, yeah?” I nod my head with a slight smile.
“It’s always been a dream, but I knew my reality then. If I have the world at my fingertips, I’m not really sure what I’d do with myself. I don’t know how to find what I’m looking for.”
“I like to think that if somethin’ good is supposed to happen to you, it will. Fuck if I know. All the good I have is wrapped up in the club,” he adds, grabbing a fry from my plate and popping it into his mouth. The slight smile on his face melts me inside. He’s gorgeous. He has to know that much. Seeing him like this, out of his element, makes me wonder if he’s always this way. Not that I’d ever know. When this is over, he’ll go on his way and I’ll go on mine. Whatever the hell that is.
13
Preacher
Sin City. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. In fact, I didn’t think I’d be back here. I don’t tend to stray far from home.
“I’ve never been here,” Gaia says softly, watching the lights of the strip as they blur past us.
“Never? Did you ever leave Chicago?” The sadness in her eyes tells me she didn’t.
“No. I wasn’t allowed.”
“You did other shit. I saw the way you were in that meetin’ with Enzo,” I say with a smirk.
“Of course, I did. I was rebellious as hell to a point. If I could get away with it, I’d sure as hell try.” She laughs.
“No one should be a prisoner like that.” Turning into the parking lot, I find us a spot to park out back. Grabbing the bags, Gaia climbs out and follows me inside to the desk. Grave already had this place ready for us. Checking in doesn’t take long, and neither does getting to the room. Once we’re in there, Gaia surprises me. She climbs on the bed and jumps up and down. Her laughter shakes me to the core. The smile on her face lights up the room. I have a feeling this may be the real Gaia shining through. I think she’s truly had to hide herself from her dad and anyone around her. Maybe this is just what she needed to break out of her shell. To step out of the darkness that her father has had her stuck in for so long.
“This is the best!” Gaia screams and laughs. I find that I smile along with her. To be so carefree would be amazing.
“I got an idea,” I tell her, shoving the bags into the corner. She stops jumping, falling to her ass on the bed out of breath.
“What?”
“We take tonight off. We kick back. Drink, gamble. Whatever you want.” Her eyes light up even brighter, if that’s possible.
“Step two to my freedom?” I nod my head, and she leaps off the bed, throwing her small frame into my arms. Her lips caress mine in the best way, causing my cock to get hard. I’ve gotten used to her being with me and I can’t say that I don’t like it.
“We gonna go out?”
“Is this a date?” Now I laugh, her body sliding down mine until her feet hit the floor.
“Not a chance in hell. I don’t date, sweetheart.”
“You’re joking?” she asks, glaring at me.
“Not at all. I stick with my brothers at the club. I guess I’m kinda like you in that sense. I don’t go out much. Not really my scene,” I admit to her. I’ve never admitted that to anyone and here I am spilling my guts to her. I don’t know if that’s the smartest thing to be doing.
“That’s sad. You seem amazing.” With a smirk, I shake my head and head for the door. Gaia follows behind me, out to the elevators.
“What do you wanna do first?”
“Everything! I want to do it all,” she says, clapping her hands together.
“Hungry?”
“No. I want drinks. I want to drink until I can’t stand up.” She laughs. We step into the elevator and her giddiness sort of fades. It’s as if she’s afraid to let go and be herself. That just gives me all the more motivation to force her into it. When this shit with her dad and brother is over with, she can do what she pleases. She can be who she was meant to be, and it would be my pleasure to show her who that is. I shake my head trying to clear those thoughts away. I’m not keeping her. That was never the plan. And to be honest, I don’t think I really want an old lady. Sure, the idea is nice. Having someone there for you and only you, someone you can fuck senseless and share your darkest thoughts with would be ideal, but that’s not who I am. I do
n’t need that kind of stuff.
“Lighten up. We’re gonna have fun,” I tell her, bumping into her with my shoulder. She looks up at me and gives me a soft smile that quickly fades. Something sparks in her eyes; I can see it. The more I watch her, the more she comes alive. I don’t know if she is finally letting go, or if she has some kind of plan racing through her head but I can see the spark.
The elevator doors open, and we step out. Gaia makes a beeline toward the bar area. I follow along laughing to myself. I saw her drinking at the clubhouse and while it was amusing, I don’t think she was actually drunk. By the looks of her tonight, that’s exactly where she’s planning to be. I step up next to her and open a tab, ordering myself a drink as well. Gaia is already on shot three when the bartender slides my beer to me.
“Might wanna slow down if you plan on gamblin’,” I tell her. She looks up at me and smiles before biting her lip. She wants to ask something; I know she does. “Spit it out.”
“I don’t want to be drunk alone.” I hold my beer bottle up to show her she isn’t drinking alone but that doesn’t satisfy her either. “I mean it, Preacher. Get drunk with me.” The whine in her tone makes me laugh.
“Fine, but let’s lose some money first,” I add. She nods her head, grabs my beer and brings it to her lips. The face she makes after taking a pull is almost hysterical.
“That’s nasty!”
“It’s beer, darlin’. Not your fancy liquor.”
“Well, I prefer the fancy stuff then.” She passes my bottle back to me and turns to walk in the other direction. I watch the way her ass sways as she goes and groan. God, I could get lost in between those round thick globes. My cock jerks in my jeans and I have to reach down and adjust that fucker even though all I want is to take her back to the room and fuck her senseless. That will come later.
“Preacher!” she calls out to me. I look at her as she smiles and points to the slot machines. Giving her a nod, I walk over and sit next to her.
The night goes on much like this, except with more drinking. And by more drinking, I mean we are completely wasted. Grave would have my ass if knew just how far gone I was right now stumbling down the strip with Gaia.
“All the lights,” she squeals as she stumbles into me. I grab her arm and try to keep her upright but I’m having one hell of a time keeping myself there. I shouldn’t have drank so much when I know the main reason we are in Vegas is because we’re running. I should be protecting her, not trying to show her a good time. Fuck, my head is a mess. The world swarms around us in a blur of noise and lights. Gaia is screaming about something she wants to do, and I’m lost in a fucking haze of my own drunkenness. This is bullshit. I start to grab her arm to tell her we need to go back to the room, but she bolts into the next casino before I have the chance. I shake my head, running my hand over my face, trying to clear the fog and follow her inside. She’s at the bar ordering more drinks when I find her. This is going to be a long fucking night.
14
Gaia
My head aches but that doesn’t stop me from feeling Preacher moving inside of me. I’ve never wanted a man the way I do him. At first it was just about my plan of action, but now it’s different. I did set my final play into motion last night, and it went off without a hitch. He didn’t know. He was so drunk, I could have told him the sky was falling and he would have believed it.
“You smell so good,” he grumbles into my neck. I reach around and pull his body closer to mine. Each slight roll of his hips sends pleasure shooting down my spine. His warm lips dance across my flesh and my body arches into him.
“More,” I whisper. Preacher chuckles, pulling back to look down at me, the smell of last night’s drinking binge still on his breath. His eyes burn into mine and that alone sets me on fire. He rises up and begins to slam into me harder, with more force. Each delicious stroke has my body trembling with pleasure. I never thought I’d like being fucked like this. Although I have nothing to compare it to, this feels like everything. I wrap my legs around Preacher’s waist, and he lets out a growl that sends heat coursing through my veins. Arching into him, he thrusts a few more times before I feel it. The warmth, the tingle, and then I come with him right behind me. He lowers his head to the crook of my neck, pressing soft kisses as we both calm. When he pulls out of me, I whine.
“You can’t possibly still want more,” he grumbles climbing off the bed. I watch him pull the condom off as he walks to the bathroom, his tight ass on full display for me. The muscles in his back move with each step and my mouth goes dry. I’ve never actually looked at a man as closely as I have Preacher. He’s magnificent. He’s pure muscle and sexy. When he comes back from the bathroom, he climbs back into bed and groans.
“You okay?” I ask him.
“I was gonna ask you that. You don’t seem to have a hangover from hell after all that drinkin’ you did last night.” Shame eats at my chest and I have to fight myself to not tell him the truth. Instead, I roll over and throw my arm over his stomach and rest my head on his chest.
“Thank you for last night.”
“Thank you for this mornin’,” he teases. After a little alcohol is in my system, it seems I can’t keep my hands off the man. I suppose we were lucky that he actually was aware enough to buy a box of condoms before shit got too far gone.
“It was fun. I can’t seem to get enough of your cock,” I tell him with a little laugh. His chest rumbles beneath my ear with a laugh of his own. His hand finds its way to my back and slowly draws an invisible line up and down. I moan and slowly melt into his side. My eyes are slowly beginning to close when I hear him.
“What the fuck?” The way he says it has me snapping my eyes open. Preacher moves out from under me quickly and panic rips through my chest. He doesn’t say anything, just keeps pacing the room. His body is on full display and I take advantage of it, getting an eyeful of him. That is until he turns to face me. Rage simmers in his eyes as he looks at me.
“What did you do?” he asks, his tone low and dark. Deadly.
“What are you talking about?” He slowly lifts his hand to show me the ring on his finger. I swallow down the bile that rises in my throat when my eyes catch on the sterling silver band. Each breath he takes has his chest rising and falling rapidly. His nostrils flare and anger seeps out of him.
“Say somethin’, Gaia,” he says through gritted teeth. I slowly shake my head not able to form words. The look in his eyes is feral. I feel like I’ve just cornered a caged animal. His eyes are darker than I’ve ever seen them. “You fuckin’ played me again?” he grinds out. I shake my head because that’s all I can do. He grabs his bag quickly and pulls out some clothes, dressing faster than I’ve ever seen anyone dress in my life. In the matter of minutes, he is sliding his boots and cut on and heading out of the room. I scramble out of the bed and grab his phone that he left on the dresser. Pulling up Grave’s name, I wait for him to answer.
“Hey,” he grumbles into the line. What do I do? What do I tell him? Do I just spit it out? “Preacher?”
“It’s umm, it’s Gaia.”
“Gaia? What the fuck is goin’ on? Where is Preacher?” I lick my dry lips trying to figure out what to say and how to say it.
“I’ve never seen him this mad, Grave,” I whisper into the line.
“What? What do you mean? What the fuck is goin’ on?” he roars into the line. I pace the floor, trying to reason it out. Can I make it okay? No, there’s no way.
“I did something I shouldn’t have. I didn’t want to take any chances,” I mumble into the phone. Just as I’m about to say more, the door flies open. Preacher stalks into the room, more anger in his eyes than when he walked out a few minutes ago. His eyes move from mine to the phone.
“What the hell is goin’ on?” Grave roars loud enough that Preacher can hear him. His eyes narrow, fury dancing through his pale blue eyes. He stalks over and grabs the phone from my hand bringing it to his ear.
“Yeah. I got this handled,” h
e says, keeping his eyes on me. “No. I’ll talk to you later, brother.” He pulls the phone from his ear and presses the button to end the call. I watch in horror as he shoves the phone in his pocket and pulls his gun free. Aiming it at me, my mouth falls open.
“You fucked me over twice now. What the fuck did I do to you that you want me dead?” His words are like a stake to the heart. I don’t want him dead. I would never want that, but my mouth isn’t working with my brain. I try to respond but no words form. Preacher stalks closer to me, pressing the gun into my temple.
“Get on your knees,” he says, never breaking eye contact. I start to shake my head when he presses it harder. I do as I am told and slowly fall to my knees. “You wanted to be my wife? You got me drunk as fuck and conned me into marryin’ you? Was that the plan all along?” Tears slowly slip down my cheeks as he stares down at me.
“I had to do something!”
“I took you on the run, Gaia! My club is doin’ everything they can to protect your ass!” he roars.
“I can’t marry him, Preacher. You don’t understand.” I cry harder.
“You’re right. I don’t. I am out here riskin’ my ass to keep you safe and you fuck me over!”
“It’s not like that!” I scream in return as I start to shove myself up. Preacher moves in closer, pressing the cold metal against my head harder.
“I didn’t tell you to move,” he growls. I stay in the position he has me in for fear that he may blow my damn head off.
“I’m sorry, Preacher.”
“That seems to be a common theme with you these days. Always so fuckin’ sorry. You know what? You are sorry. A sorry excuse for a woman. You wanted to push my motherfuckin’ buttons, Gaia and now you have. You wanna be my wife? You’re about to get a taste of what it’ll be like. Now unzip my fuckin’ pants,” he demands, his tone calm and collected. His eyes are still burning with fire and I can nearly feel it scalding my flesh. I reach for his jeans and slowly undo them. “Pull my cock out and suck it.” My chest shakes from the unshed sobs that are lodged inside of me. With a shaky hand, I reach for his cock and pull it free. It shouldn’t surprise me that he’s hard watching me like this, but it does. He was so nice to me. He wasn’t like all the horror stories I’d heard when I was at home. He wasn’t a feral beast that they made him out to be, but here, now, I can see that side of him.