by J. M. Walker
“I like this.”
“I like this too.” He pushed me forward and kissed the spot between my shoulder blades.
“Does this mean you’re not going to fight me anymore?”
“Baby, I stopped fighting you the moment you truly submitted.”
Maybe so but it still didn’t mean he was letting me in behind his walls. I would crack them. I was determined. Whether he admitted it or not, I would figure out who hurt him.
I sighed, leaning into his touch. “It feels right. For whatever reason, this, all of this, feels normal. Like it’s where I’m meant to be.”
Greyson pulled me back against him and cupped my jaw. “Look at me.”
I did. I truly looked at him. A smattering of gray was showing through the dark blond scruff on his jaw. A light pink scar was on his cheekbone. I brushed a finger over it, wondering what exactly he had to do to survive. He was absolutely gorgeous in a rough kind of way.
“I meant what I said. You are mine. I can’t explain it. I don’t believe in love at first sight and all that shit but I am attracted to you.” He turned me in his arms and pulled me onto his lap. “I can’t explain it. I don’t want to explain it. And whatever questions you have in that beautiful brain of yours are going to have to wait, because you’re going to ride my dick.”
My breath caught in my throat. “I am, am I?”
His deep blue eyes twinkled. “Yes. Hop to it, Eve. I want to see those tits bounce while you’re riding my cock.”
Instead of answering, I covered his mouth with mine.
He cupped my ass, pulling me flush against him. “Harder, Eve. Kiss me like you fucking mean it.”
I did as he said, all thoughts of my nightmare soon forgotten.
(Greyson)
It was later into the evening when I left Eve in my bed. She was freshly fucked and sound asleep. With my cum inside her, I wanted her to think of me every time it dripped down her inner thighs.
“Grey.” Trixie came toward me. “How’s Eve doing? I heard she ran away last night.”
“She’s fine,” I told her, and also explained about the nightmare.
“I pray it wasn’t a memory.” Trixie shivered. “I can’t imagine what she’s been through.”
“I know.” I hooked an arm around her shoulders, leading her down the hall toward the main bar area. “I just wish she could remember something.”
“Me too.” Trixie stopped, placing a hand gently on my arm. “I have a bad feeling, though. Did she say what the dream was about?”
“No. I think she’s trying to forget she even had one. We don’t know anything else.” I stepped around her. “But I will do everything in my damn power to protect her and keep her safe.”
“I know you will.” Trixie let out a heavy sigh. “Until we find out what happened, maybe you should go to the police and see if a missing person’s report was filed.”
“We’ll do that tomorrow.” Should have done it when she first showed up but I couldn’t focus or think straight when it came to her.
“Boss.”
I turned to both Tray and Catch coming toward us.
“What’s up?” I asked them.
“We need to talk about Travis.” Tray nodded toward me. “How’s your girl?”
“She’s sleeping.” With my cum inside her, fucker. I loved and respected Tray like a brother but his interest in Eve pissed me off.
“Good.” He left us alone and headed to the meeting area.
“Grab Butcher and the rest of the guys,” I told Catch and followed Tray. When I made it to the room, I closed the door and leaned against it. Knowing I only had a couple of minutes before we were no longer alone, I had to make this quick. “What’s your deal with Eve? You want to fuck her? Share her? A threesome? You want to keep her for yourself?”
Tray sat in one of the leather chairs near the head of the table. “If you didn’t want her, yes, I would want all of that. But now that you finally removed your head from your ass, I would never touch her. Flirt a little maybe.” He smirked. “But I respect you.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “You enjoy pissing me off. Don’t you?”
“Nah.” He chuckled. “Just like keeping you on your toes. But don’t worry, brother. I would never touch what isn’t mine. Not how you touch her anyway.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
He laughed, spinning back and forth in his seat. “I like her. We all do. And we’ll do anything to make sure she’s safe and happy. That involves you too.”
At least I knew Eve was cared for.
“This thing with Travis isn’t sitting well with me,” Tray added.
My gaze snapped to his. “Do you know something I don’t?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Not any more than you do, but him showing up after months of being away has been bugging me.”
Me too.
“Do you think he knows her?”
My stomach twisted. “I sure as fuck hope not.” Even if he did, she was mine. It wouldn’t matter if he knew her or not. Who was I kidding? If he did know her and her memory came back … My heart clenched. I couldn’t lose a woman to another man again.
As soon as I sat in the seat at the head of the table, the rest of my crew joined Tray and myself. They talked amongst themselves while I got my thoughts together.
Grabbing the gavel, I tapped it on the table once.
The room silenced, all eyes looking at me. When I first became president, it bothered me. These men looking at me. Counting on me. People who had trusted the man before me to take care of them and have their backs. Now it was my turn. How could I ever take his place?
“You’re asking me to do what?”
Demitri laughed, running a hand over his buzzed head. “I’m old, Greyson. I want you to be president so I can retire and spend time with my wife. I’m man enough to admit that I miss her.”
“I’ve only been vice-president for two years.” I stood from the chair, heading to the bay window. “These guys look up to you.”
“And they will look up to you as well.” Demitri came up beside me. “I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think you could do it. Hell, you wouldn’t even be standing here—”
“If you didn’t think I could do it,” I finished for him, “I get that. But I know shit all about running a club.”
“Seriously?”
I bit back a smirk, remembering how the rest of that conversation went. We got drunk. Demitri asked me again, and I said yes.
“Greyson.” Catch placed a hand on my arm. “Talk to us.”
It was funny that he had been the only one I ever let do that. He touched me more than just that of a brother. I wasn’t into men but whatever his sexual interests were, as long as he had my back, I couldn’t give a shit who he stuck his dick in.
I trusted these men and I needed to trust that they would protect Eve no matter the cost.
“I know you guys are probably wondering why the hell I’m going through all the trouble to make sure Eve is safe.” I sat forward. “Hell, even I’m not sure. A strange woman showing up who doesn’t have any memory of anything.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “But something is telling me to protect her. To keep her safe. And Travis ...” I bit back a curse. “Everything inside me is telling me that he is somehow involved.”
“I’ll kill him,” Tray muttered, cracking his knuckles.
“I’ll let you kill him if you finally decide to become an official member of my club instead of playing in no man’s land.” I sat back, crossing my arms under my chest. “What do you say?”
Tray grinned. “You want me that bad, baby?”
I smirked and blew him a kiss.
A round of laughter erupted through the room.
“On a serious note, I need to know you guys have my back. Travis is a slimy fucker. Tell me now if you don’t want in.” I paused. “I need my girl safe.”
“I’m just happy that you’re finally admitting that she’s yours,
” Butcher told me, a cocky grin spreading on his face.
“Fucker,” I mumbled.
He chuckled.
“Have any of you heard anything?” I asked my men.
“No.”
“Not yet.”
“Everyone’s quiet.”
I grumbled a curse and rose from the chair just as Penny jumped onto my lap. Her claws dug into my thigh as she stopped herself from falling.
“Shit.” I grabbed her, placing her on my lap. “You know, for a cat who only has three legs, your claws are lethal.”
She only purred, butting her head into my hand.
“We need to throw another party,” Tray suggested. “On Friday instead of Saturday like we usually do. Maybe it’ll throw people off their game and something will get said about Travis.”
“Maybe.” I scratched my jaw. It could work but Travis was good. If he wanted something said, it would be said, and until then, all we could do was wait.
WHILE GREYSON AND the guys were in one of their meetings, I decided to go outside in the back and find a spot to read. He had so many good books lining his shelves but half of them looked untouched. Unless he was careful and didn’t want to break the spine.
I laughed as an image of him turning each page with tweezers while wearing cotton gloves popped into my mind. I wished I knew if he was like that with his books. Or maybe he didn’t even read and the books were there for show. Or they were there because of an ex and he just hadn’t bothered to get rid of them. They could have belonged to the woman who hurt him.
I glanced down at the book in my hand. The cover had an image of a woman in red bandages. I picked it up before actually reading what it was about. Deciding to not read the blurb, I just went out into the backyard in search of a shady spot. But now that I was out there, something seemed off.
The hairs on the back of my neck tingled. A tremor of fear sliced down the length of my spine. Someone was watching me.
“What the fuck are you doing out here?”
I spun, tripped over my feet, and landed hard on my ass. “Ow,” I cried out, glaring up at Greyson. “Why do you have to sneak up on people?”
“Why are you out here by yourself?” he threw back at me. He leaned down to help me up but I slapped his hands away.
“I was bored.” I stood, brushing the dirt off my ass. “You were in your meeting and Trixie had to work. There aren’t a lot of people I can talk to during the day so I decided to grab a book and read. Is that a problem? Am I breaking one of your rules?”
His brows narrowed. “You should have come and got me.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, Greyson.” I turned on my heel. “You go do your thing and I’m going to read.”
“You shouldn’t have come out here by yourself.” He stepped up beside me and grabbed the book from my hands. “Good choice.”
I stopped suddenly, snatching the book back from him. “You read it?”
“Of course I have.” He frowned. “Why else would I have all of these books?”
“I thought maybe they were there for show. Or maybe they were Trixie’s.”
Greyson chuckled. “Trust me, if they were Trixie’s, I’d be a dead man. Butcher may act like a teddy bear, but when it comes to his woman, he’s possessive as fuck.”
“Like you?” I hugged the book to my chest.
“Yeah, Eve.” He pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “Like me.”
“I just wanted to read,” I murmured, my heart giving a start as the scent of leather wafted into my nose.
“You need to be more careful and I need to kick some asses for not watching you.” His eyes went cold.
“I can take care of myself.” I appreciated them looking out for me but I was an adult.
“You have clearly done a really good job of that, haven’t you?”
I scowled, let out a huff, and punched him in the stomach. “Just because we’re sleeping together doesn’t give you any right—”
A hot mouth captured mine in a hard, bruising kiss.
The book fell from my hands, landing on the ground with a thump. I moaned, snaking my arms around Greyson’s neck, and pulled him in deeper.
He chuckled, sliding his hands down my back before cupping my rear.
“You’re an asshole,” I whispered against his mouth.
“And you’re a brat.” He placed a soft kiss on my forehead before picking up the book and handing it to me.
I took it from him, hugging it to my chest.
He grabbed my hand. “If you want to read, fine, but I’ll show you where you can do that.”
“Is this another one of your rules?” I grumbled, following beside him.
He spun on me, gripping my shoulders. “These rules are for your protection, Eve. I don’t know what happened to you. I don’t know if anyone is looking for you and all that shit. So this, right here—” he moved me in front of him “—is so I know where you are and can keep you safe.”
I went to ask him what he meant when my eyes landed on a small house in a clearing of trees. “What is this?”
“Let me show you.” He was silent until we stood at the front door of the tiny home. “The shit I do isn’t legal. The money I’ve made was taken from the hands of vile men worse than the ones you dream about.”
I shivered at that thought.
“I had this house built before I became president. My parents were no longer around, my siblings …” He cleared his throat. “Anyway. I wanted this place for my own family but, clearly, that hasn’t happened yet.”
“It could,” I told him. “In time.”
“I realized that it was too big for just me,” he continued, ignoring my comment. “So I had the club move in. Some of the members have their own places but they have a room here as well. And I had this one built if there was an emergency.”
“Kind of like a getaway,” I added, my heart warming that he was finally telling me something about himself.
“I guess you could say that.” He unlocked the door to the smaller house and headed inside. “I’ve never brought a woman here before.”
“No?” I followed him. “What about Trixie?”
“Not even her.” Something flashed behind his eyes. It happened so fast, I wasn’t even sure I saw it. “This is the key,” he mumbled, placing it in my hand. “If you want to read outside, do it here. There are built in cameras and a security system that only I have access to. You’re safe.”
I paused in the doorway, my eyes taking in everything before me. The house was small. It was rustic looking. Almost like a mini version of a cottage. The walls were covered in wood panels. The ceiling had wooden rafters and even the floor was hardwood. It was beautiful. It felt homey and safe, but I still didn’t step further into the house like I wanted. I wasn’t sure why but I hesitated. Was I really that safe? Could he protect me from the demons of my mind or the nightmares that invaded my sleep every time I closed my eyes?
“Eve,” he said gently. “Come here.”
“Can you really protect me?” I asked him, needing to hear the words from his lips.
“I’ll do my best.” He waited. “What did I say?”
“Tell me again,” I said, instead of listening to him like I knew he needed.
“Come. Here,” he repeated, his voice firm. That rough dominant tone slid over my skin like they had fingers of their own.
Instead of waiting for me to do as I was told, he was on me. With his hands in my hair and his body pressed against mine, he pushed me up against the wall.
“You push me, submit to me, and defy me all at the same time.” He brushed his nose up the length of my neck, grinding his hips into me. “You drive me fucking crazy.”
“I need some sort of control in my life, Greyson,” I murmured, inching my hands inside his jacket. “And I know as much as it pisses you off, you like it when I don’t give in right away.”
He leaned back, staring down at me. “How can you know that?”
“You still fuck me,
don’t you? So, clearly this isn’t just about you taking control.”
He released me roughly, stepping back and putting some distance between us. “There’s a bathroom and a small kitchenette at the back of the house. There’s no bed because that’s not what I use this place for.”
My heart panged. “I thought you said you never brought a woman here.”
“I didn’t. I brought whores. Sluts. Prostitutes. Whatever you want to call them.” He headed to the door. “And, Eve? I suggest not throwing my being nice back in my face. You think I’ve been an asshole all this time? Keep pushing me and you’ll see how much of an asshole I can really be.” He left the house, slamming the door shut behind him.
A breath I didn’t realize I had been holding left me on a whoosh. With a shaky hand, I scrubbed down my face.
I had no idea what the hell just happened.
(Greyson)
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
How the hell could she have me figured out so damn fast? Eve had been right. I loved when she pushed me. I found I even needed it at times. But I still didn’t like it being thrown in my face.
My muscles twitched.
I needed to hit something, and hard.
Heading down the hall, I pulled off my leather jacket at the same time Tray came out of his room.
“Problem?” he asked, lighting up a smoke.
I stomped toward him and took the cigarette from his hand. “Smoke outside, asshole. You know the rules.” I shoved past him and made my way down the hall to the stairs that led to my floor.
I couldn’t believe I told Eve that lie. I had never brought a woman to that little house in the backyard. I had never fucked a prostitute. Had some as acquaintances but even I knew better than to slip into that.
Eve messed me up. She called it like it was and kicked my ass every time she opened her mouth. And what did I do? I left. Because I was a fucking pussy.
Shoving my jeans down my legs, I replaced them with sweatpants. I grabbed my phone and ear plugs and made my way to get a few miles in when I was stopped short by a high-pitched laugh.
Fuck me.
Slowly pushing open my door, I headed into the hall and found … What was her name again? Tiffany? Sarah? No, it was a flower or some shit, wasn’t it? Tulip? Fuck if I knew.
