Tempted: The Numb MC

by Olivia Stephens

  I walk in shorts and a t-shirt through the cabin to the front door. Amy’s smiling face greets me, Amy’s face which, if placed side by side with her old druggie’s face, would be unrecognizable. She’s not wearing her pink maid of honor’s dress. Instead, she wears a woman’s suit, the kind officials wear. I bring my hand to my mouth in shock.

  “Amy!” I exclaim. “What the hell?”

  Behind her, Ethan directs Biceps and another Numb member, pointing to where they should place the foldout white chairs.

  Amy smiles, cheeky, the cheeky little girl she only stopped being when she was on drugs. “Let me in and I’ll explain.”

  “I don’t know how you can explain this . . .”

  But I let her in anyway. Before I close the door, Ethan turns to me and winks. Early morning light slants through the forest, and for a moment I’m looking directly into a fairytale scene. Then I shut the door and go to Amy, who stands with her hands clasped in front of her.

  “Why the suit?” I ask, shaking my head. “Is this your idea of a joke—”

  “I’m glad Ethan didn’t tell you!” she squeals, clapping her hands together. “I’m so glad!”

  “Tell me what?”

  She waves her hand up and down herself, drawing attention to the suit. “I, my lovely older sister, am going to officiate the wedding. I’m official and legally qualified to marry people. Ethan asked me. He knew how much it would mean to you. I’ve been taking the classes in secret.”

  My mouth falls open. My heart falls open. I want to spring out of the cabin and throw myself into his arms, kiss him and make love to him right there, in front of dozens of bikers.

  “Well?” Amy says, her face uncertain. She bites her lip. “Don’t you like it? Is it too weird?”

  “Weird?” I laugh. “Weird?”

  I spring across the room to her and lift her off her feet.

  “Ah!” she giggles. “You’ll crumple up my fancy suit!”

  I give her a tight squeeze and she giggles again.

  Finally, I place her on her feet.

  “I love it,” I say. “I absolutely love it!”

  “Good,” Amy sighs in relief. “Now, do you need help getting ready?”

  Once my makeup is done, my hair styled, and I’m in my dress, I stand in the mirror in my bedroom and look at myself. My hair is held up with countless white pins, my hair swirling in a teacup pattern. My makeup is delicate, applied discreetly to my cheeks, with some rouge to make them redder. My dress isn’t one of those absurd dresses which require a forklift to shift. It’s short, cutting off at the knee, and shows my shoulders and the top of my chest. My shoes are white and inlaid with small sparkling gemstones.

  Amy takes a step back and nods thoughtfully. “Incredible,” she says. “Sissy, you look incredible.”

  “Thank you.” I smile. “How long until you have to go out there?”

  “About fifteen minutes,” she replies. “And then Todd will be in here.”

  I smile softly. Todd is walking me down the aisle, since Dad is no longer here. Amy and I hold each other’s gaze for a while, and then I say: “How’re things at the rehab center?”

  Amy rolls her eyes. “Really, Emerald, you want to discuss that?”

  I shrug. “I’m dressed, pruned, and ready to be married to the man of my dreams. What’s wrong with taking an interest in my sister? Plus, I’ve been so busy lately I feel like I haven’t even asked you.”

  Amy smiles at me indulgently, humoring me. “They’re fine,” she says. “Well, maybe that’s an understatement. They’re more than fine. I’m actually surprised, you know, because rehab didn’t work too well for me. But helping other addicts get over their addictions is rewarding. Very rewarding. It makes me wonder if I shouldn’t have given it more of a chance.”

  “But then you might not have met Todd,” I say.

  She blushes. “Yes, there’s that.”

  “But you’re happy,” I say. “Happy and sober?”

  “Sober and happy,” Amy confirms. She takes my hands. “Look at us!” she giggles. “Shall I get the photographer in here?”

  “Chester, you mean?”

  “I never would’ve guessed he had any experience taking photos.”

  I shrug. “He used to work for a bike magazine, taking photos of models: both human and metal.”

  “Ah,” Amy says.

  “Plus,” I go on, “it’s Chester. I really like the old man.”

  “When you call him ‘old man’ like that, you sound like Ethan.”

  “I do, don’t I?” I smile at the compliment. “In ten years, you’ll hardly be able to tell us apart.”

  “That’s marriage, isn’t it—”

  “What’re you ladies conspiring about?” Ethan pokes his head through the door, his shirt buttoned all the way up, his bowtie tight around his neck.

  Amy leaps in front of me. “Monster!” she cries. “You can’t see her yet.”

  Ethan smirks over Amy’s shoulder as he enters the room. He nods to me, and I nod back.

  Then I sink my hands into Amy’s side and tickle. She giggles madly and dances away from me.

  “Fine!” she pouts, leaving the room. “But I’m getting Todd in here in five minutes, so no funny business!”

  “So, pretty lady, any regrets?” Ethan strokes his hand up and down my dress softly so he doesn’t disturb the folds. He can be remarkably gentle when he wants, I think. My gentle, tough, deadly, loving man. “Don’t you want to play the field awhile longer before you tie yourself to me?”

  I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his clean-shaven face. “The only thing I regret is letting you spank me last night. My ass is aching like hell.”

  He laughs loudly, and then his bright blue eyes settle on me like a predator. “You have no idea how badly I want to throw you into bed right now. You look so sexy in that dress.”

  “I’m not supposed to look sexy,” I say, while I lift up the hem to flash more and more of my leg, all the way up to my white silk underwear. “I’m supposed to look angelic.”

  “Who said angels can’t be sexy, eh?” Ethan says, reaching forward and touching my bare leg.

  I shiver at his touch, warm whispers of pleasure moving up my thigh to my pussy, making it ache.

  “Don’t,” I say, my voice hushed. “You’re making me wet.”

  “And you think that will stop me?”

  He moves up, up, all the way to my pussy

  Then, when I’m a heartbeat away from collapsing into the pleasure, he pulls his hand away.

  “Sorry, pretty lady,” he says. “I’m a man of morals and I don’t believe in sex before marriage.”

  I slap him lightly across the face. “You make me so mad.”

  “That’s why you love me,” he says, jumping forward and pressing his lips against mine.

  We must kiss for a long time, because before we’re finished Todd clears his throat from the door. “Sorry, lovebirds,” he says, “it’s time to get married.”

  Ethan steps away. “I have to listen to him,” he tells me. “Don’t you know who this man is? He’s the leader of The Numb.”

  “Not half the leader you were, brother,” Todd says, his voice serious.

  Ethan looks me up and down one last time, and then turns around. “See you soon, sexy,” he calls over his shoulder.

  Todd steps into the room, past his brother, patting him on the back as he walks by him.

  “Thanks for doing this,” I say, as Todd takes my arm.

  Outside, the music has started. I know that around one hundred people—all the members of The Numb, a few of the waitresses from The Gourmet, and Billy—will have their heads turned toward the cabin door, waiting for me to emerge.

  “It’s a pleasure,” Todd says, tapping my hand. “In a few minutes, you’ll be my sister. And round here, we take care of family.”

  That thought settling warmly in my mind, we leave the room.

  During the ceremony, I can’t stop smiling. It’s like my lips
are being twisted by hands made of wind. An archway has been erected, leading from the cabin to the lectern, behind which Amy stands. Everything is white: the archway, the petals, the chairs. Snow-like confetti continuously floats down from slits in the archway, slowly gliding to the aisle. Violet and Billy smile up at me from my side of the aisle; from Ethan’s side, every member of The Numb, all dressed in pristine suits, do the same. Chester stands off to the side, a camera in his hand, snapping photographs. The old man moves fast with the camera, faster than I would’ve thought.

  Then Amy, in a clear, high voice, speaks out over the scene: “Ladies and gentleman, esteemed guests, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Emerald Jackson and Ethan Fox, two people who have come together in true love and true commitment.”

  Amy speaks with a confidence she never could have mustered last year. But, in truth, I barely hear her. My eyes are locked on Ethan, and his are locked on mine. He can’t stop smiling, either. Not his smirk, but a full-on smile. A happier-than-ever-before smile.

  “ . . . If anyone has reasons why these two should not wed, please, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

  Birds tweet in the woods; everyone is silent.

  Amy nods and turns to Ethan. “Ethan Fox, repeat after me. I, Ethan, take you, Emerald, for my lawful wife.”

  Ethan’s smile spreads even wider, somehow. And when his smile gets wider, mine can’t help but get wider in response. “I, Ethan, take you, Emerald, for my lawful wife.”

  “To have and to hold, from this day forward.”

  “To have and to hold, from this day forward.”

  “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer . . .”

  We speak the vows, both of us smiling like fools, smiling like people in love. And then Billy comes forward with the rings. Ethan holds my hand in his, his hand as strong as ever, making me feel safe, secure, making me think: This is my man. This is my husband!

  Amy turns to me. “Do you, Emerald Jackson, take Ethan Fox to be your lawful husband?”

  I can’t help it. Emotions rush into me, assail me. I begin to cry, tears so happy, so overjoyed, that I can’t contain them.

  “I do,” I say. Ethan slides the solid silver wedding band onto my finger, where it rests above my engagement ring.

  Then Billy hands me Ethan’s ring, and I take his hand. When I look into his eyes, I’m shocked to see that he’s crying, too. Tears slide silently down his cheeks, slide down and into his smile.

  “Do you, Ethan Fox, take Emerald Jackson to be your lawful wife?”

  Sniffing back a tear, Ethan says, “I do!”

  I slide the ring onto his finger.

  “You may now kiss the—”

  But Ethan doesn’t wait. He cradles my face and brings me close to him, so close that his tears are warm on my cheeks.

  He kisses me deeply, passionately, as Chester snaps the camera and dozens of bikers let out a roaring cheer.

  THE END

  BONUS BOOK – SAVAGE

  Prologue

  Kristina

  His eyes were haunting. They created competing emotions of exhilaration and terror in Kristina, and she was extremely aware of the fact that it was this juxtaposing allure that made Keith Lee so extremely attractive to her.

  From the first moment she had laid eyes on him, he had radiated an almost feral sex appeal that was heightened by his complete unconcern towards that fact. Kristina had no doubt that Keith was aware of his effect on women, he just wasn’t consumed by it, nor was he impressed by it. It was this attitude that had been the deciding factor. It lent itself to his almost translucent blue eyes, and under the heat of their gaze, Kristina found that her will turned to putty.

  When he pushed himself inside her without invitation, Kristina questioned her own sanity in allowing this to happen, but her doubts were sucked out of her with every thrust, as Keith rammed into her with single-minded purpose.

  Kristina had never been with a man like him before. He was not gentle or tender. His touch was not soft or caring. He was hard and brutal, creating little spasms of pain in a great turmoil of pleasure. Strangely, Kristina welcomed the sting of pressure with each unexpected move that Keith made. It made her feel as though she had been forced awake from a long sleep and now she was finally living.

  The music ripped around them like a tidal wave, but Kristina was only aware of her own breathing mixed with his. His breath was low and focused, while hers kept rising in pitch until it became a scream. She could only grab at the hard muscles of his back and ride out the tendrils of ecstasy that were rising within her.

  His hands felt impossibly large, as they gripped at her hips, hiking her legs around his waist so that he could grab her ass. No man had ever touched her that way before. Kristina wondered whether she would have even allowed it with another man. Somehow she had expected this from him; it was why she had allowed herself to be so easily convinced. She wanted the danger and the animal lust that he promised with his intoxicating eyes, his ripped body, and the tattoos that graced his arms and chest.

  Suddenly and without warning, Keith pulled out and stepped away from her. Breathing heavily, Kristina could only stare back at him and wonder what she had done wrong.

  “Remove your clothes,” Keith commanded, as though she had no choice in the matter, and by the way he said it, Kristina felt as though she didn’t.

  It didn’t matter in the end, because the lack of choice did nothing to take away from the desire she had to obey him, at least in this one thing. She looked down at the dress she was wearing. It was pulled down at the chest to reveal her breasts and pulled up at the waist to reveal her cunt. Kristina pushed it down over her hips until she was standing naked in front of him.

  He took only a second to gaze at her body, and then he approached her again. He grabbed her hard around the waist and turned her around so that she was facing away from him. Then he pushed her against the cold table that Kristina had not even noticed was there and entered her from behind. Her breasts were pressed against the raw wood when Keith grabbed at her entangled hair, making a ponytail with his hand to steady himself as he pushed himself deeper and deeper inside her.

  Kristina closed her eyes as her body shivered with convulsions of pleasure. She had come only a few times since she had starting having sex, and even then, she had never come so quickly or so violently. She could feel his hands on her ass, squeezing hard and unapologetically. Kristina expected him to slow down once she had climaxed, but he seemed oblivious to her satisfaction. He kept ramming himself into her until Kristina felt the wave of heat and passion build inside her again and she realized she was going to have another orgasm.

  She felt a strange wave of panic overwhelm her as she wondered how she was ever going to fuck another man again. Keith had shamed every man who had come before him, and he would probably shame every man who came after. Kristina understood suddenly why so many people succumbed to dangerous choices. The dangerous choices were the ones that offered the most pleasure and freedom and passion. They were the things that left you breathless and delirious and craving for more. They were the things that sucked you in despite your better judgment because the thought of going back to an ordinary life where responsible decisions were made just seemed mundane and tedious and soul sucking.

  Kristina realized in that moment that she had wanted Keith to fuck her the moment she had set eyes on him. Instinctively, she had made the choice before her conscious mind had ever become aware of the fact. Which was why when he had taken her by the hand and pulled her away from the flashing lights of the party, Kristina had followed him without question or complaint. She could tell from the way he pushed her through the door that he had not planned to do this. He had desired her in that moment, and he knew that he could have her. It had been written in her eyes.

  Kristina could feel the trail of heat he was leaving on her skin every time his hands moved over her; she could almost feel the bruises that his lips left on her breasts and neck. He left a
trail of imprints in his wake, as though he were leaving his mark, making sure that Kristina would never have the chance, or the choice to forget him.

  Chapter One

  Kristina

  Kristina blinked her eyes open, wondering momentarily where she was. The floor was cold and dusty beneath her, and for a wild moment she thought she had fallen off her bed onto the dorm room floor. Once her eyes focused, she started to remember the night before and the unexpected turn it had taken.