“Dirty,” he grins.
The man throws his cigarette down, grinding his toe in it before he give’s Paxton a grin and pulls him in for a manly hug.
He’s skinny, handsome in a really rough way, and covered in tattoos. He’s wearing only a white tank and really beat up holy jeans.
It’s not freezing cold and snowy, but it’s early spring and still plenty chilly outside. I don’t know how he can stand it.
“Who’s the little thing behind you?” he asks with a sparkle in his eyes.
“This is my wife, my Old Lady, Cleo,” Paxton introduces, tugging me into his side.
I hold out my hand to shake this stranger’s, but he gives me a shake of his head with a grin and grabs my hand. Tugging me into his body, he wraps his arm around my shoulders in a side-hug.
“Good to meet you, honey. The girls and kids’ll be here within the hour. They’re all fired up to throw you a party,” he chuckles before he releases me back to Paxton.
“Oh, no, we don’t need anyone to throw a party,” I protest.
“You can’t stop Kentlee from throwing a welcome party. Don’t even try,” he grunts with a smirk. “C’mon inside and get a beer or a shot.”
“Yeah,” Paxton mumbles as he wraps his hand around mine and tugs me toward the door.
We only rode on the bike for a couple of hours today, so I’m not exhausted, but I’m still sore. Maybe a couple shots would ease the pain in my backside.
Paxton’s hand travels down to my ass and gives it a squeeze right before we walk over the threshold of the clubhouse. I bite back the groan of pain as he laughs. I narrow my eyes on him, but he ignores my death-glare.
“Let’s get you some booze, sweetheart,” he murmurs.
“Yeah.”
We spend the next hour chatting with the various men who walk up to him and shake his hand, welcoming him back and informing him that he’s been missed.
I bite my bottom lip, feeling guilty. He’s loved here, well and truly loved. He left all of his close friends and people he thought of as his family for me, to protect me. He’s done way too much; but if I tell him to come back here, it means I’ll be coming with him, and that means leaving Lis and Theo behind.
“Oh, shit,” Paxton chuckles from beside me.
I look up, but his head is turning and he’s watching the door. I turn and see three beautiful women walking through. I recognize one from the night of MadDog’s wedding, but the other two are strangers. Blonde, dark brown hair, and light brown hair. All three are built differently, but all beautiful in their unique way.
I was supposed to meet up with these women when Paxton left for his run, but I stayed holed up at Genny’s and worked extra hours instead.
Now, I feel extra shitty because they’re important to Paxton. I should have gotten to know them, instead of being lost inside my own shit.
Two handsome men follow behind the women. I recognize one of them, too—the bearded one. I think Paxton introduced him as Sniper.
The other one is sporting a beard and blond manbun. He looks so much like Paxton’s president, MadDog, I know for certain they’re related somehow.
Then the man Dirty, whom I had been talking to earlier, walks up to the third woman and kisses the side of her neck, making her giggle.
“That’s the Old Ladies. Well, some of them,” Paxton says. He doesn’t look away from them.
He stands up and walks over to them, leaving me exactly where I am. I think about following him, but I don’t. I choose to watch him from afar and give him the opportunity to greet his friends in private.
I feel like even more of an outsider here than his other club. They all know him so well, and they love him, and I took him away.
Paxton gives the pretty blonde a hug, and then shakes MadDog’s relative’s hand before he moves down the line, hugging and then shaking until he reaches Dirty. He doesn’t give him a handshake, but he does throw back his head in laughter at something that he says.
I take another shot, my eyes glued to them when a man sidles up next to me. I look over to him and my eyes widen. He looks like a giant grizzly bear.
“Never seen him so happy,” he mutters.
“Excuse me?” I ask.
“Torch. Never seen him smile like the way he’s been smilin’ since he walked through those doors with you. You’re fightin’ some kind of battle, but you don’t need to,” he rumbles.
“I’m Cleo,” I whisper, holding out my hand to him.
“Know who you are,” he chuckles. “I’m Grizz. Don’t want you thinking that he regrets leaving this place to get you back, because he don’t.”
“How do you know?” I whisper.
“I can see it in his eyes. Those demons, they’re not completely gone, but gotta say, babe, they’re just a glimmer now.”
“He’s on some medication for his nightmares,” I respond. He throws back his head in laughter.
“Girl, only medication that’s doin’ any good is what’s between your legs,” he grins before he winks. I gasp in surprise at his words, which only makes his smile grow even wider.
“What kind of bullshit are you tryin’ to sell my Old Lady?” Paxton asks from behind me. I can tell he’s got a smile on his face. I can hear it in his voice.
“Just introducing myself,” Grizz chuckles before he stands.
“Don’t listen to a word he says. He’s just tryin’ to get in your panties,” Paxton murmurs before his lips brush mine. “I want you to meet some people.”
“Okay,” I mutter before I press my lips to his and stand.
Paxton wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me closer to his side as we walk over to the people who came in just a few moments ago.
I blink when I see a whole gaggle of kids run in past them. They’re all different ages with various hair colors, but there is no denying that they feel as though this clubhouse is home.
“You already know Dirty Johnny, but this is Kentlee and her sister Brentlee, who you met at MadDog’s wedding. We all went to high school together,” he announces. I smile at them. “This is, Cleo, my wife.”
“We’re so excited to finally meet you,” the blonde, Kentlee, says as she pulls me into her for a warm hug.
I go down the line, much like I watched Paxton do a few minutes ago, and I meet Fury, Sniper, Brentlee, and Hattie.
They’re all kind, and I get hugs form them all, including the men. Then a few minutes go by and all the men walk away, even Paxton, leaving me alone with the girls.
“Thank you,” Kentlee says.
“For?” I ask in confusion.
“For giving him another chance, for making him happy, and for not being a screaming bitch. It’s nice to have fun Old Ladies to hang out with,” she grins.
“We’ve known him forever. We knew the boy he was, and then the man he became. But none of us knew what happened in those years he was gone. Obviously, it was huge, because the man he became was solemn and angry,” Brentlee adds.
“He said he had a bad home life,” I murmur.
I wonder if these women know any more about him than he’s told me. I feel like I’ve had all of him, but any extra insight would be amazing.
“His mom,” Kentlee shakes her head. “She’s still around. I don’t know much, but I do know she never showed up to anything at the school.”
“He keeps it buried,” I murmur.
“They all do,” Hattie announces. She’s young, really young, but her eyes speak of experience. “Johnny had a horrendous childhood, and I didn’t know much about it until it was something he couldn’t keep from me anymore. I don’t know why they don’t share it with the women they love; maybe they don’t want to burden us with their stories, but you have to take them as is, Cleo. That’s the only way they come.”
“Man, we taught you well,” Brentlee says with a grin. Hattie smiles back with a shrug of her shoulder.
“I’ve loved him since I was eighteen,” I admit.
“Then he’ll open up more,
when he’s able,” Brentlee says, taking my hand in hers and giving it a squeeze.
A few minutes later, Fury announces that the grill is ready for food. Kentlee jumps up and grabs trays of burgers and hotdogs, which were somehow all ready to go, from the kitchen.
We spend the rest of the afternoon grilling, eating, talking, and drinking while a whole slew of kids run all around the clubhouse grounds.
“You doin’ okay?” Paxton asks me when the sun starts to set. He sways slightly, and I can tell he’s drunk off of his ass.
“Yeah,” I grin up at him.
“Can’t wait to fuck you all night long, sweetheart.”
“You’re crazy,” I giggle.
“Shit, yeah. Crazy about that sweet pussy of yours, baby.”
When the whores come out, after the children have left, the party gets wild. We don’t stay much longer, both of us tired and ready for the all night fuck-fest that Paxton promised. Telling everyone goodnight, we stumble and sway to an empty bedroom.
“My old room,” Paxton grunts as he starts to undress.
I quickly strip my own clothes off, feeling no pain from our ride, and wanting to do a much different kind of ride for the rest of the evening.
Once Paxton is completely naked, he stalks toward me. I’m kneeling in the center of the bed, naked, and waiting.
“I want to be on top,” I whisper.
“Fuck,” he groans as he falls to the bed before he reaches for me and drags me up his body. “Ride me, sweetheart,” he whispers before his lips touch mine.
I position myself over the top of him and slowly sink down, taking all of his length inside of me. I ride him for as long as he lets me, coming before he changes our positions and makes me come again.
Then he eats me before he changes positions, yet again, and I scream out in pleasure as he does exactly what he promised—fucking me, all night long.
TORCH
My head pounds as I stand outside of the shitty house. I haven’t been here in years, but I have shit I need to end with this bitch.
Maybe it’s fucked up that I refer to my own mother as a bitch, but the cunt is. She made me and my dad fucking miserable, and then she made just me fucking miserable.
I walk up the cracked sidewalk and pound on the front door. The paint is peeling, and it should be stripped, sanded, and repainted, but fuck that.
“Wondered when your sorry ass would show up here again,” she growls as she opens the door.
She’s rounder than she was the last time I saw her; her hair now longer, still jet black, but mostly salt and peppered in coloring.
Her dull blue eyes rake over me as she lights a cigarette before she walks back into the house. I follow behind her, turning my nose up at the smell of stale cigarettes and rotten food.
“What do you want?” she asks as she sits in her rust colored recliner.
Fuck, it’s the same recliner that was here when I was little. In fact, nothing in this house has changed at all.
“Moved to Cali, thought I should let you know,” I shrug.
“Why would I give a fuck? Didn’t give a fuck about you when you were here; don’t give one now that you’re gone,” she announces.
I try not to let her words penetrate, but they do. They always fucking do.
“Married, too,” I say, trying to gloss over the hurtful words she’s slinging in my direction.
“One of those biker sluts you hang out with?” she asks, arching a brow.
I’m not sure why she’s calling them sluts, since she met my dad down at the clubhouse, herself.
“Nope. Nice girl, works at a jewelry store,” I shrug.
“She’ll leave you. Don’t get comfortable,” she murmurs as she picks up the remote control and flips the channel on the television.
“You gonna stay a nasty bitch the rest of your life?” I ask. She turns her head and her narrowed gaze lands on me.
“Not my fault. Your father is to blame,” she announces, glaring at me.
“Dad didn’t make you nasty. You’ve always been nasty; and dad’s been gone for years.”
“Your dad fucked around on me, all the time. Know what that does to a young girl? He was fucking some whore the night you were born. Did you know that? I’m pushin’ his fuckin’ kid outta me, and he’s got his dick buried in some skinny little bitch.”
“How’s this my fault?” I ask.
“I always had to take care of your ass while he was out fucking around. Then when you got old enough that he could take you, he took you everywhere, left me here alone.”
“So you were jealous?” I ask in disbelief.
“He loved you,” she almost whispers.
“Woulda loved you, too, if you weren’t such a fuckin’ cunt to him. He couldn’t stand to be home with you because you were so fucking awful, all the damn time. Angry and bitter,” I say.
“You don’t understand because you’re one of them. You’re just like the rest of them. There’s no point in even talking to you,” she shrugs.
“I could understand you bein’ pissed at dad. He fucked around, and he did, and I always knew he did. But you were mean to me since I was a little kid. I was innocent.”
“You have a dick. You were born the exact opposite of innocent,” she yells.
“Fuck this. You’re gonna die alone in your anger and bitterness, honest to fuck,” I growl.
I walk out of the house, slamming the door behind me, not waiting for her response. I could give a fuck. She’s a shit excuse for a person, and as a mother? She’s completely worthless. She’s alone, bitter, and angry about shit that is not in my control and never was.
I start my bike, bringing the engine to life before I ride back to my woman. A woman who looks at me with soft gentle eyes; a woman who whispers her love for me, and takes me just as I am, never expecting anything but my loyalty and love. She’s got it, too. Cleo has everything I can give her. She’s my everything.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
CLEO
Paxton walks through the door just as I lean over the bar to grab the bottle of water that a prospect hands me. His eyes connect to mine, and I see him glower before his eyes harden and a muscle in his cheek jumps.
Then, without a word, he stomps toward me, walking right past me and toward the bedrooms. I thank the prospect for my bottle of water and slide off of the stool, hurrying after my husband.
Walking into his room, I freeze when I watch him throw the rickety lamp that was sitting on his dresser across the room, gasping when it smashes against the wall. He then turns to me, and he looks cold, mean, and scary.
“You been hangin’ around flirting with all the men in the bar, or just that prospect?” he growls.
“Paxton, I wasn’t flirting with anyone. What is wrong with you?”
His eyes soften a touch and he shakes his head before he sits down on the bed and runs his fingers through his hair. He tugs on the strands before he runs his hands over his face.
I walk over to him and sink down in front of him, placing my hands on his knees and giving them a squeeze. I haven’t seen him like this since the night he came home from the desert, all those years ago.
“Went to see my mother,” he rasps.
“You didn’t want me to go?” I ask, feeling hurt.
“Fuck no,” he shouts. I lean back at his anger.
He reaches down and puts his hands under my armpits, bringing me to my feet before he twists and practically throws me onto the bed.
He crawls over the top of me, and his gaze, though still pretty pissed off looking, is equally as intense, but much less scary than it was a few moments ago. I cup his cheeks with my palms, and his clenched jaw relaxes slightly.
I feel his fingers at my shorts, and then my shorts and panties are gone and his bare cock is pressed against my entrance. I don’t know when his pants were unzipped, but I know they’re still on, because I can feel the rough denim against my legs.
“Paxton,” I whisper.
�
�Need this,” he grunts as he pushes inside of me.
I’m not ready, not even a little, but the look in his eyes, its heartbreaking. I can see that need in him. I nod my agreement and spread my legs wider as he pushes inside of me.
I pinch my eyes closed at the pain, and then his lips touch mine, his tongue sliding inside of my mouth as he kisses me, consuming me, like only he can.
His hips start to move slowly, and I can feel myself getting wetter with each stroke of his cock, while his mouth devours mine.
I move my hands to wrap around his shoulders, and then down to the hem of his shirt, dipping them beneath the fabric to feel his warm skin.
“Cleo,” he groans as he starts thrusting inside of me a bit harder, his teeth nibbling my lips.
“I love you,” I whisper against his mouth.
“Love you more than you could ever know,” he murmurs as he continues to glide in and out of me, moving a little harder and faster with each stroke.
His hand wraps around my throat, loosely at first. The harder he fucks me, the more his fingers tighten.
We don’t say another word. Our eyes connect and stay that way as we both climb toward our release, searching for it every time our bodies crash together.
His hand moves from squeezing my throat to tangling in the back of my hair as he grinds hard against my clit. It causes my breath to hitch.
With a growl, he slams into me so hard it forces me to close my eyes, then I come with a whimper. He doesn’t slow down or stop when he knows I’ve come, too consumed in his own desire for relief.
When he comes, he throws his head back, and I stare at the column of his handsome throat until he sags against me and shoves his face into my neck.
“Tell me what happened,” I urge. His body locks up, but he doesn’t move. He stays planted inside of me, his face in my neck, but his muscles are tight.
“Paxton,” I urge.
“She’s a bitch. A mean and nasty bitch,” he announces as he slides out of me. He lifts his jeans up his hips before he stands and walks over to the window.
The Notorious Devils MC: Complete Collection BoxSet Page 137
