Mixed with Trouble: A CASH BAR NOVEL

by Faiman, Hayley

  “Tomorrow, how about tonight we stay in, just you and me?”

  Chardonnay’s lips curl up into a cat-ate-the-canary smile. “I can think of a few things we can do,” she purrs.

  My cock shrivels just thinking about fucking her. I don’t have a choice though. Keeping her happy means fucking her.

  Finally, she steps to the side and allows me to walk past her. Once I’m in the home that I’ve shared with her for a year, I look around. It looks nothing like a space that I would ever call my own. It’s too feminine, too pristine.

  I’m leather and comfort, this is fur and tufted shit, this isn’t me, Chardonnay isn’t me. This is all just façade. This is a game and I’m going to come out on top, even if this bitch thinks she has me by the balls, she has no fucking clue that I’ve got her number, and she won’t know, not until it’s too late.

  “Baby,” she calls out from the bedroom.

  I hadn’t even heard her walk away from me. Lifting my hand, I scrub my fingers down my face and inhale a deep breath. My feet become unstuck from the floor and I make my way toward the room.

  Stepping inside, I lift my eyes to the bed. She’s there, her full bare body on display, her legs spread wide and her hairless pussy staring me straight in the face. Grasping the hem of my shirt, I tug it over my head, tossing it somewhere on the floor behind me.

  “Turn around, ass in the air,” I bark.

  “Ohh, I love it when you get all angry and controlling. Make it hurt, Baby,” she coos.

  I hate the way she says that. The only person I want to hurt in the best way is Lea. Chardonnay doesn’t really like it, she’s saying that for my benefit, she knows I’ll get her off by the time I leave this bed.

  But Lea needs the pain just like I need to give it.

  Chardonnay turns around and slowly lowers her chest onto the mattress, her ass in the air and spreads her thighs wide. Grabbing a condom from my back pocket, it hits me like a sudden rush that I never used one with Lea, I also never asked her if she was on birth control.

  It should send panic throughout my entire body, the thought of knocking her up, but it doesn’t. Instead, I hope she is, that way she’s tethered to me by more than just the ink on her shoulder. She’ll never leave me if she’s pregnant, no matter how angry she’s bound to get with me for what I’m about to do.

  Rolling the condom on my cock, I jerk myself a couple of times, closing my eyes and imagining Lea in front of me so that I can get hard. Spitting on my palm, I lube my condom covered cock before I spit on my fingers a second time and lube Chardonnay’s cunt.

  “Yes,” she whines.

  Grinding my teeth together, I align my cock with her pussy and sink deep inside of her. Looking up at the ceiling, I silently apologize to a woman that can’t hear me.

  Betrayal is ugly, even if it can’t be seen, even if it is never known. The guilt that fills me is bottomless. It’s never-ending and I hope to fuck that in the end, once the Martels have all been brought down to their knees that this is fucking worth all the heartache that it’s undoubtedly going to cause.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  LEA

  My mother appears, her eyes wide and her smile even wider as she steps into the bar carrying two handfuls of shopping bags. Before she can even make it up to me, she drops the bags and takes off in a full sprint. I brace myself as she wraps her arms around me and envelops me in a big hug.

  Lifting my gaze over her shoulder, my eyes meet Skinner’s. I don’t miss his disapproving gaze as he stares at me. He shakes his head once, then walks toward the bar. I shouldn’t feel as badly as I do. I’ve done nothing but push him away at every single opportunity.

  “I’ve missed my girl,” my mom whispers as she takes a step back from me.

  Looking straight ahead, I give my mom a shaky smile. She narrows her gaze on me, then flicks her eyes down to my tattoo. I know when she realizes exactly what my tattoo is when I hear her intake of breath.

  “You’re staying in the guest room?” she asks, arching a brow.

  “I am.” I nod.

  I watch as she walks over to the abandoned bags and picks them up before breezing past me. I don’t ask her where she’s going, I already know. She wants to talk to me without the listening ears of the clubhouse. I’m glad for it, these people gossip more than anyone I’ve ever met before in my life.

  Once we’re in the guest room, I lock the door behind us as my mom goes about emptying and organizing the bags of clothes that she’s brought inside. I stand with my back against the door, my eyes focused on each move of hers.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” she asks, her voice a little too calm.

  Clearing my throat, my eyes close for a moment before they reopen and I look up to see her facing me and completely focused on me and nothing else.

  “I love him. I’ve always loved him.”

  My mom nods once then lifts her hand and runs her fingers through her hair, taking a moment to breathe before she assuredly launches into one of her speeches. I’m used to those, she’s been hurling them at me for years.

  “You don’t know him, not really. What you’re feeling is lust,” she explains.

  Shaking my head, I press my lips together before I release them. “I’ve loved him since I was fourteen years old, maybe even before that. He held me when I was at my worst. It’s been six years, but I haven’t stopped thinking about him, not once.”

  My mom snorts, then she rolls her eyes before she brings them back to me. “He hasn’t thought about you, Lea. He’s one of the biggest manwhores of this club, and trust me when I say, that’s very telling.”

  Her words shouldn’t sting, they shouldn’t hurt, but they do. “I’m no saint, Mom. If you think I’m some shy little virgin, you’ll be sadly disappointed,” I snap.

  She looks down at her feet, dipping her chin before she brings her eyes back up to mine. She looks sad, so damn sad and I immediately regret telling her about my promiscuousness.

  No mom wants to hear that about her daughter, especially since my mom made sure not to mention sex anywhere in my vicinity as a child. Only when I became a teenager did I start to truly understand the ways of the world, or at least the ways of the Devils’ world.

  “I don’t presume to assume anything about your life, Lea. You’ve been living away from home for the past six years. You’re an adult and a woman, but I want better for you. Better than him, better than any Devil.”

  “Better than a man like Skinner?” I ask, arching a brow.

  She shakes her head, a smile playing on her lips. “He’s faithful. He’s devoted. Our relationship is different, Lea. I was in a totally different circumstance than you are. I want more for you, more than the life that I had with Fish.”

  “You think Baby is like Fish?”

  There is a moment of silence, my mom bites the corner of her lip, then lets out a long sigh. “I can only give you my advice. I can’t force you to make the correct decisions, or what I feel are the correct decisions. However, let’s just say that he’s hiding important things from you the way Fish hid from me. If you want to know more, you need to ask him, especially since you’re apparently his Old Lady now.”

  I want to tell my mom that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I want to tell her that I love Baby in a way that she couldn’t possibly comprehend and that he feels the same. Except, there’s the fact that he hasn’t said shit to me about how he feels. He’s fucked me, that’s all.

  He knows that I’ve always had a thing for him. I was an easy lay especially since I spread almost immediately for him. But now that we’re back, he’s nowhere to be found, angrily barking orders at me before he took off.

  Fuck.

  Maybe he is like Fish?

  “Talk to him, Lea. I love you too much to see you waste years of your life. You deserve a man who loves you just as freely and just as much as you love him. You should never have to spend your days and nights waiting for a morsel of his attention.”
r />   She takes a step toward me, her hand reaches out and she wraps her fingers around my forearm. We’re the same height, so I look straight ahead into eyes that mirror my own.

  “I’ve only ever wanted you to find your happiness, Lea. It’s why I let you leave and go to Alberta, even when every single day has killed me inside. Your happiness has always been more important to me than my own,” she whispers.

  Deciding that I can’t think about Baby right now, I push thoughts of him to the side and lift my arms, wrapping them around my mom. This isn’t about him, it isn’t about Skinner or anyone else, this is about us. About mother and daughter.

  “Thank you for always being the best mom in the world,” I whisper as I hold on to her.

  “You’ll be okay, Lea,” she breathes. “No matter what you’ll be okay, because I’ll always be here. Always.”

  “Even if I fail and fall on my ass?” I ask.

  She takes a step back so that she can look at me directly in the eye. “I’ll pick you up before your ass hits the ground.” She grins. “You want to tell me why you had to be rescued and brought here with nothing but the clothes on your back?”

  “Not yet,” I whisper.

  “Does it have anything to do with the bruising on your cheek?” she asks. I gulp, nodding once. She sighs. “Did Baby at least take care of that before he took you to bed?”

  My lips twitch and a laugh escapes me. “Yeah,” I breathe. “He took care of him.”

  “Well,” she says. “At least I don’t have to have Skinner hurt him for not avenging you.”

  “You don’t,” I agree. “Skinner doesn’t need to hurt him at all,” I point out.

  My mom shakes her head once. “You won’t get in the middle of it, and neither will I. You know the rules, Lea. This is their world, the second we walk through the clubhouse gate we live by those rules, not our own.”

  “I know,” I whisper.

  “Go get dressed, despite being annoyed by what’s transpired, Skinner does want to see you.”

  My smile returns, I wrap my arms around my mom one more time, then I go about changing into clean clothes, and moan when I pull clean panties up my legs along with a brand new bra.

  BABY

  Chardonnay watches me from across the dining room table. She can see through me, I know it. She doesn’t say anything though, at least not yet. It’s not her style, she’ll sit and wait. Chardonnay prefers to play with her prey.

  Patience is not something that I possess. I want it done, immediately. That’s why fucking this bitch for the past nine months has been taxing as shit. I want her gone, I want this done and now with Lea back at the clubhouse the need for finishing this is more than I can fucking stand.

  “You have fun on whatever errand you ran?” she asks, arching a brow and taking me out of my thoughts.

  Clearing my throat, I lift my gaze up to her. Picking up a rib, I take a huge chunk off with my teeth, shrugging a shoulder. “Work’s work, babe,” I mutter.

  Her eyes narrow slightly, then she lets out a sigh. “This isn’t going to work if all you do is lie to me, Baby.”

  Leaning back in my chair, I drop the rib to my plate. Picking up my napkin, I wipe the sauce from my face and hands, then search her gaze with my own, waiting for her to continue with whatever bullshit she’s going to throw at me.

  “I know you like to play. It’s what I enjoy about you,” she admits with a grin. “You hide it from me though, and that I don’t like. I do not want to be made a fool of, Baby.”

  “So, you want a threesome?” I ask, lifting my brows in surprise.

  She’s never mentioned anything like this before, and I fleetingly picture Chardonnay and Lea together. It’s hot, but I would never allow Lea to be exposed to this succubus.

  The gleam in her eyes, the way they’re glittering tells me that she’s dangling this carrot in hope for something else, something more from me. I’m not biting, not one fucking bit.

  “If that’s what it takes to get you excited for the future and keep you home, then yeah, I’ll do it.”

  I snort. This bitch. This fucking bitch. I remember Snake’s words, keep her happy, don’t start shit. Fuck. I want to tell her to go fuck herself, but I don’t. I also can’t just lay down and take whatever she gives me, she’d know something was up then.

  “Told you a million fuckin’ times, babe. You will not lead me around by my dick,” I point out.

  Her lips curl up into a knowing grin. I watch as she stands from the table, slowly walking over to me. She shifts my plate to the side and climbs up, her legs spreading right in front of my face.

  Her pussy, once again, bare and on display. Swear to fuck the bitch is allergic to panties. Something that a couple of years ago, I would have been pleased with.

  “You don’t get it, do you?” she asks.

  I don’t respond, my eyes lifting from her cunt to her face. She bites on the bottom of her lip, her eyes bright with something that she thinks she holds over me. She loves that shit, being in control, and now that I know a bit more about her true identity, I understand it a bit better.

  “Get what?” I ask when she doesn’t continue.

  She leans forward, her plump lips so close to mine that they’re almost touching. That’s one thing I won’t do, not while Lea is waiting back at the clubhouse for me. I won’t put my mouth on this bitch.

  Chardonnay shifts her face, her lips next to my ear before she whispers. “I own you, Baby. I own every piece of you, even that dick you love to share with everyone around you. If I wanted you faithful, you’d be faithful. You’ll be whatever I want you to be. For now, I’m allowing you your freedom, but that will change soon enough.”

  “You don’t own shit, babe,” I growl.

  She slowly slides down, straddling my thighs as her hand reaches between us, her fingers curling around my hard cock. My fucking dick. I get off on verbally sparring with this bitch. I can’t fucking help it.

  There’s a knock on the door and I jump slightly beneath her. “Hmm. I bet you won’t be disappointed by my chain on your dick anymore, Baby,” she purrs as she climbs off of my lap.

  I watch her in her short sundress walk away from me. Closing my eyes, I let out a puff of air as I hear the front door open, then close again. Standing, I open my eyes and blink at the sight in front of me.

  The girl that stands next to Chardonnay can’t be more than eighteen, if a day. Chardonnay smirks, her eyes dancing as she looks between the girl and me. I watch as she reaches to the girl and runs her hand down her long dark hair.

  “You like them young, right?” she asks.

  “What are you talking about?” I attempt to deny.

  I watch as she takes the girl by the hand and they both make their way toward me. I don’t take my eyes off of Chardonnay though. She’s fucking plotting and it makes me wonder just how far her reach is and just how deeply she has been monitoring me the past year. I thought she was just some spoiled bitch, a nuisance, but harmless.

  She rises to her toes, her mouth a hairsbreadth away from my lips. “Don’t think I don’t know about your little whore, Baby. Tattoo or no tattoo, I will end her if you even think about going back to her bed.”

  My heart pounds in my chest. Never in my life have I felt fear. I don’t feel it for myself now, I feel it for Lea.

  “What do you want?” I growl.

  Chardonnay’s tongue snakes out and she tastes my lips. “I want control, always. That hasn’t changed. No more playing, Baby. We’re moving the timetable up. I don’t know what your club thinks they’re going to do, going to accomplish, but I won’t stand for it. Tomorrow, you take me to that clubhouse. You don’t speak or even look at that bitch. Never again. You want to fuck other women, you can, I don’t really care, but not her.”

  “Why?”

  She laughs, her eyes dancing in evil delight. “Because she’s who you really want and we can’t have you completely satisfied like that, can we? Now, come on and let’s have some fun with t
his little girl. Barely legal is your thing and she’s just that.”

  The two women walk away from me. Digging into my pocket, I yank out my phone and send a text to Snake.

  This bitch knows. She knows about Lea. She’s had me under surveillance. I don’t know how deep.

  SNAKE: Church, tomorrow.

  “Baby,” Chardonnay calls out. “We’re ready. Come and play or you’ll miss the fun.”

  Looking down at my phone, I close my eyes, shoving it into the back of my jeans before I make my way to the bedroom. Once I’m inside, I hiss at the sight ahead of me.

  The young girl is completely naked. Chardonnay is behind her, her eyes staring at me. “Come to bed,” she breathes.

  “Going for a ride,” I announce.

  “I don’t think so.”

  Taking a step back, I shake my head. “Just a ride.”

  “You’ll be sorry if you go to her,” she calls out from behind me. I flip her off as I stomp out of the house and toward my bike.

  Chardonnay may have me by the balls right now, but she won’t always. I love sex, I always have. One-night stands with waitresses, bartenders, whoever is anywhere near me. I fucking love it. But this, it feels so fucking wrong.

  Maybe it’s just because Lea is back at the clubhouse, innocently waiting for me. Maybe it’s because Chardonnay is a scheming cunt. I don’t know the reason and I’m too on edge to try and figure it out.

  I need to ride.

  I need to drink and I need a smoke.

  Then maybe, just maybe my head will clear out enough that I can try to figure out just how to get my own goddamn life back.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  LEA

  Something has changed. Something has shifted. I don’t know what it is, but it’s right here in front of my face, even if I can’t see it. I can feel it. I can smell it. It’s sour and heavy.