by Erin Trejo
Everleigh sits on the bed eating, while Haylee talks animatedly about cartoons and her favorite princess. I try to follow along, but I’m far from the cartoon watching person. Everleigh sets her plate on the bed before she says, “Haylee, why don’t you let him go finish what he needs to do today.”
“He doesn’t mind. Do you?” Haylee says looking me in the eye. Everleigh just giggles.
“Not at all.” Haylee sticks her tongue out at her mom making me laugh.
A soft knock on the door pulls my attention away. I shove off the couch and head to the door, pulling it open to see Angel.
“I brought them some clothes,” she says. Pulling the door open, I let her come in. Everleigh perks up when she sees Angel.
“Hey. I’m Angel. I got some clothes for you two and a few toys for her.” Nodding toward Haylee, her mom shoves off the bed.
“Thank you so much. I don’t know how I’m going to repay you.” Pulling Angel into a hug, she giggles. Angel jerks her head toward me and says, “He did it. I was just the delivery girl.” Everleigh’s gaze follows as her eyes fill with tears.
“How am I going to repay you?” Angel slowly backs out of the room as Everleigh watches me.
“You don’t need to. If there’s anything I can do to help, I will.” She stands there in tears staring at me.
It’s a strange feeling that settles within me. One I’m not familiar with.
***
The weeks have dragged by slowly but surely.
Things have shifted around the clubhouse. I don’t know if it’s a good shift or not, but I can feel it.
Puffing on my joint, I turn to look at Wiley. “Tell me you found that fucker, Wiley.”.
“Not exactly. There are other matters that are of more importance right now.” I can see the way he stutters his way through that sentence.
Placing the joint back between my lips, I cock my head to the side, looking at the man I pay to be on the inside. The one that has made thousands of dollars off this club. The one that never seems to have the right answer for me.
“More important matters, huh? I’d say keepin’ your ass alive to breathe another day was important—wouldn’t you?” I ask him. Wiley’s eyes widen as he figures out exactly what I’m saying.
“Dragon, I’m doing the best I can. There’s a family thing going on with the Captain. I can’t just push him to the back.” Shaking his head, I see that vein throbbing.
I love pissing him off, so I can’t help myself but to ask, “Who’d the good ole’ Captain piss off?”
“Fuck if I know. Something with his wife. She took off with their kid. No one’s seen or heard from her.” I can’t stifle the laugh that comes out of me.
“All of you are so fuckin’ into your work, that you don’t show your women the attention they deserve. Don’t fuckin’ surprise me that she left.” Wiley doesn’t find my little rant as funny as I do. Hell, it’s the truth, though.
“I think there’s more to it than that. He’s a hateful bastard.” The wheels in my head begin to click into place. I don’t like the direction they’re taking either.
“I want that asshole before Christmas, Wiley.”
***
Leaning against the wall of the clubhouse I start to let my mind drift. The missing link from the killing is still out there somewhere. Wiley got us all the photos of the dead guys, but some of them were so fucked-up no one could ID them, not even Nessa. I suppose that’s a good and bad thing, bad that we need to know who the one that got away is, but it was a good thing that my guys know how to make a fucking kill. I snuff out the cigarette that has been hanging from my lips with the toe of my boot before heading back inside. The things that Wiley said to me are wearing me thin at the moment.
There are too many coincidences for my liking, and I’m about to get that shit figured out quickly. If things are going to where I think they are, my world just went from bad to fucking hell—in the matter of a few minutes.I walk through the main room in a world of my own letting different scenarios play out in my head, but none of them are ending well for me.
“Wiley give you anything?” Glancing over at Ghost, he looks at me strangely as I shake my head.
“Everything ok?” He asks. Is it? Is it ok?
“I’m about to find out.” That’s the fucking truth, too. If what I’m about to ask Everleigh comes out the way I think it’s going to, the answer is no; everything is not ok.
Heading down the hallway, I don’t stop for anyone else that talks to me. My head is in a war over what the hell is about to happen as I raise my hand, and knock on her door.
“It’s open.” Here we go.
“Hey, Dragon.” Angel smiles as I walk into the room. She’s sitting on the floor playing with Haylee.
“Angel, you mind takin’ Haylee to the kitchen for a snack. I need to talk to Everleigh.” Angel nods, quickly standing and taking Haylee’s hand.
Everleigh looks shaken when she asks, “Is everything ok? Did I do something?” She looks like she wants to cry or curl up into herself. I wonder if this was what it was like when she would get beat-up on by the bastard that hurt her. The thought of that only serves to piss me off a little more. Cracking my neck, I wait for the door to close when I walk to where she’s sitting on the bed. Her knees are curled up to her chest as she watches me wearily.
“I need to ask you a few things. I don’t want to be all in your business, but there’s some shit that’s been brought to my attention.” Everleigh’s body visibly shakes under my gaze. I don’t want to make her feel that way. I don’t fucking like it.
“Ok.” Tears well up in her eyes.
“Your husband, the one that hurt you. Was he a cop?” I ask, knowing in the back of my mind it’s true. It makes sense. It adds up.
She went missing with a kid; I found a woman with a kid. I had to ask.
“He doesn’t know I’m here, does he?” Everleigh shifts, leaning back away from me further.
“No. No one does, but I need to know what the fuck is goin’ on.” She shakes her head, scooting further away from me.
I stand up and move toward her, but when I reach for her, she jerks away. That doesn’t stop me from cupping her cheek in my hand and pulling her gaze to mine.
Leaning down I look her in the eyes and tell her in all honesty, “Don’t you think for one second that I would let him near you. You want out of that abusive marriage?” Finally, the tears slide down her cheeks, wetting my hand as they go.
Her head nods slowly.
“Then believe me when I say this—I won’t let him touch you.” Our eyes stay locked as the tears fall. She doesn’t know what to say, or how to react. My guess is, she was never given the option either.
My thumb trails over her cheek, wiping the tears that stick to her skin.
“Why would you help me?” She asks as the sob chokes her. I kneel on the floor next to the bed.
“Because I fucked up once before. Because I lost somethin’ that meant everything to me, and I can see more inside of you than I probably should.” I almost lose it myself. It’s the truth, though. I see a lot of Maggie in Everleigh. The light that she used to carry with her all the time, even when life kicked her ass.
Everleigh has that in her. He may have snuffed it out for a while, but I can see it’s still there. She looks so afraid of herself when she asks, “If I asked you to kiss me, would you?” Shaking my head, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here.
“Are you askin’ me?” Everleigh nods her head slowly before I lean in. Everything in my right mind says to pull back and not do this to her, but something in my chest tells me to keep going.
I’m a complete mess of fucking emotions that I haven’t had in so long. I don’t know what I’m doing.
I know it’s fucking wrong, but with her sweet soft lips on mine, it feels so goddamn right.
Chapter 9
As I press my lips to hers, the world melts around me. I could care less at this point. She’s so soft and pe
rfect, much like I knew she’d be. My hand stays planted on her cheek while my mouth works her over. The way my tongue sneaks into her mouth, touching hers. I feel like everything's falling into place, when in reality—I’m making shit worse. Everleigh’s hand wraps around my neck pulling me in closer. The way she’s breathing, I know what she wants and fuck me, I do too. I pull my mouth away for only a second to look her in the eye.
“How old are you Everleigh?” I have to ask. You wouldn’t think that would have been my question, but she looks so damn young. Her eyes search mine questioningly.
“Twenty-four.” My eyes widen as I look at her. I knew she was young, but not that young.
“Please don’t stop,” Her whispers go straight to my dick. As if he has a mind of his own, I kiss her again. This time it’s rough and full of everything she wants to feel.
I climb off the floor and reach for her jeans. I yank them off her body before laying her back on the bed.
I feel like I should be fair and warn her ahead of time because that’s always been my rule. No way in hell will I stop with her. I tell her,“I won’t stop once I start.”
She doesn’t respond, so I keep going. Yanking my pants off in record time after I grabbed the condom from my pocket, I kick them to the side. I rip the foil pack open, sliding it on before climbing on the edge of the bed.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Looking deeply into her eyes, I can see she doesn’t believe me.
I kiss her softly, running my tongue over her bottom lip. I want her to feel beautiful. I want her to see what I see. Nipping my way down her jaw her head tilts to the side, giving me better access.
“Softest skin I’ve ever felt—it’s like silk.” Running my tongue up her neck, her body shudders. Pulling back, I slide her shirt up and over her head. Tossing it to the side, I glare down at her.
“God, Everleigh.” Her eyes dance with lust, but there is so much fear within the depths of them. It’s killing me.
I unclasp the front hook of her bra, letting her breasts spill free.
I don’t miss the scars that mar her body either. I just don’t make it a point to point them out to her. She knows they are there.
Lowering my head, I suck her nipple into my mouth, playing with it gently. When I release it, I slide my tongue over the scar that’s just below her breast. Her body tenses before I pull back and look up at her.
“Whatever he did to you, made you. You can be stronger than what he did. These are yours now. They make you who you are. Don’t be ashamed that he tried to pull you down.” The cries rip free from her throat, but she pulls me to her. I slide my dick inside of her letting her feel what it’s like to have a man, a real man inside of her. I slowly rock into her as her tears keep falling.
“Never be ashamed, Everleigh.” Her hips lift, pulling me in deeper. Her cries slow as my hips pick up speed.
“Tell me you’ve never been loved like this?” I don’t go my usual route and fuck her senseless; I make love to her. Slowly, but with just enough pressure that she wants for more.
“Never.” Her gasps should say enough, but I needed the words. I rest my face in the crook of her neck pressing kisses and light sucks to her delicate flesh.
Her hands wrap around me, pulling me in deeper.
“Not this time, darlin’. This time is slow and deliberate. Next time, I’ll fuck you rough, and hard.” Her pussy clenches around me at my words to her.
How she feels this damn good in my arms is beyond me, but I don’t think I want to let it go.
“Do it, Everleigh. I can feel you're so close.” Whispering in her ear, my dick swells inside of her.
One last nip at her earlobe and she loses herself in my arms.
***
I brush her hair away from her face as she lies on my chest. It feels far too familiar, yet different.
“He’s the Captain, right?” I need the information whether she wants to give it or not. Her body tenses and she tries to pull away from me. Yeah, nice try.
“Don’t fuckin’ pull away from me. Was that better than anything you’ve ever felt?” Everleigh nods her head against me. The slight chuckle that vibrates through my chest has her looking up at me.
“Yes, he’s the Captain. I was in a lot of trouble when I was younger. I met Luke. He was older and was nice to me. It went from there. I got pregnant with Haylee soon after we met, and when I turned eighteen, we got married.” I know the fucking Captain. I’ve had a few run-ins with him over the years. He was always a prick. A lot older than her that much is for sure.
“After a while, he started cheating on me. I found out and tried to leave. He beat me. He almost killed me twice. He said if I ever took Haylee away he would kill us both. The last time—he hit her. He hit her like she was nothing. I couldn’t stay and let that happen to her. She deserves better, Dragon.” She sobs. I close my eyes as my hand tightens around her. They both deserve better than that.
“You deserve better than that too, Everleigh.” Pressing a kiss to the side of her head, I don’t know if I can be that much better. I would never hurt her the way he did, but this life isn’t for her. She doesn’t need to be dragged from one hell to another.
“He won’t touch you while you’re here. I’ll make sure of that.” Her tears wet my chest as I run my hand over her hair.
“I’m not a good guy, Everleigh. I do bad things.”
“Would you ever hurt me?” God, those words.
“Never.”
The words hang in the air around me. Why would I say that to her? What the hell do I expect from her after only a few weeks of knowing her?
A fucking relationship? She’s married. She’s married to a cop for fuck's sake!
I have to have some kind of mental issues going on, to even be considering this shit right now. Roc sits next to me, looking at me like I’m crazy before he says, “You look, well, I don’t know what the fuck you look like.”
Taking a long pull from my bottle I look over at him.
“Confused. That’s what the fuck I look like.” It’s true, though. I’m fucking confused out of my mind.
“You fucked her, didn’t you?” The grin on his face makes me want to slap it back off.
“Fuck off, Roc.” He chuckles slightly but doesn’t move.
“I knew it, motherfucker.” Slapping his hand on my shoulder, he grins.
“I’m just confused. She’s married to the police Captain, Roc,” I tell him. His eyes widen as his mouth hangs open.
“He fuckin’ did that to her?” I can see the way he looks at me. He’s as pissed as I am. I nod my head when Haylee comes squealing into the room.
“Can I have orange juice, please?” She beams up at me with those bright green eyes.
“Sure. Go on in there. Aria will give you some.” Haylee grins before running off.
“She’s a cute kid.” I have to agree there.
“She’s only twenty-four, Roc. He took advantage of that shit. He used her. Now he’s out lookin’ for her.”
Chapter 10
Shivers roll over my body. She affects me like that. I don’t know that I like it, but she does nonetheless. I can see the outline of her body as she washes herself in the shower. I grab my dick, adjusting it in my jeans as I keep my eyes on her. Thank God, for those see-through shower curtains.
She must sense someone is in here. She turns her head, her eyes catching mine. Her gaze slides from my eyes to my hand, where it remains on my rock-hard dick. When she jerks her gaze back up, she gives me a small smile. That seemed like an invitation to me. Reaching over my shoulder, I tug my shirt over my head, tossing it to the floor. Her eyes follow my every move as I walk toward the shower. My boots and jeans come off next; the condom is wrapped in my hand. By the time I reach the shower; I’m so fucking ready to take her, I can barely stand it. Stepping in, Everleigh’s eyes burn into me. The fire that ignites within me is unfamiliar.
“You’re so beautiful.” Everleigh surprises me by moving f
irst. Her lips travel a tantalizing trail over my chest, flicking at my nipple.
“Shit!” The hiss that rips from my mouth surprises us both. Her nails drag across my skin, sending jolts of electricity through my body.
“Why the scales?” she asks, her eyes finding mine, but her lips keep moving.
“When I was younger I loved Dragons. They were mystical and different. I wanted that. I wanted to be different.” I lose all my words when Everleigh drops to her knees in front of me. Her eyes rip me apart. She’s so unsure of herself that it hurts. I can see the embarrassed look in her eyes, and I have to ask, “You’ve never done this before?” She shakes her head no. I don’t know why that fucking turns me on more, but it does.
“There’s no wrong way, Sweetheart. Aside from that, you don’t have to do it.” I reach for her, trying to pull her up but she stops me.
“I want to.” The question in my eyes must make her wonder.
“He never let me touch him.” What kind of fuckin’ man wouldn’t want this woman’s hands all over his body?
“Let’s make a deal. As long as you’re here with me, you touch me whenever, and however you want,” I say with a smirk. Her eyes brighten at my words, just before her tongue touches the tip of my dick.
“Goddamn!” Everleigh sucks my dick into her mouth, and I swear to God, I almost fucking cum just feeling her like that.
She bobs her head, taking me deeper as my fingers tangle in her dark hair.
“Shit, Ev.” I can’t even get her whole name out the way she’s working me over. When she sucks harder, I pull her hair, forcing her to let my dick free of her lips. She looks up afraid that she did something wrong, I can see it in her eyes.
“Get up here and get your hands against the wall.” Demanding her, she smiles but does as she’s told. I rip the condom open, sliding it on as I watch her turn and face the wall.
