Miss Independent, Volumes 1 - 4

by Kiki Leach

  After catching up to Melanie, he pulled her around the corner to keep them out of sight. On instinct, she turned and smacked him so hard that he fell back into the wall. As he stood up, she smacked him again.

  "I don't know what the hell I was thinking," she said, attempting to hold back tears. "I've got to be the world's biggest idiot gettin knocked up by the likes of a man who can't even keep it in his pants for five minutes between women. I guess while I was down at the hospital, I should've gotten checked for a few STD's too."

  "Melanie--"

  He reached out for her but she snatched her arm back. "Don't, touch me," she spewed through her teeth.

  "Look, I don't know where Sheila and I stand right now--"

  "I'd say that you to are standing pretty damn close if what I saw back there is any indication."

  He ran his hand down the front of his face. "Is that were all this kid stuff was coming from at dinner tonight? You learned you were pregnant and through questioning V, tried to figure out whether or not you wanted to keep it?"

  "Some of it," she admitted. "The other part was me having a go or two at Nicole." She nodded down the hall toward his room. "What is it about her? What is it about any of them, that isn't about me? I really don't seem to understand."

  Nathan thought for a few minutes. He thought long and hard, and then he shrugged his shoulders. "Sheila's familiar to me. And what we had, as fucked up as it's been over the years, isn't something I can just toss aside like I once thought I could."

  "But you can toss me aside?"

  "That's not what this is."

  "Sure is what it's been looking like for some time now."

  "Look, I'm sorry, Melanie, alright? I admit that being with you, even though it was different, it was good. And every time I was with you, I was with you. But if I've got this chance with Sheila again..." She turned from him and gulped. "I like you a lot. And I like what we've built. And if this kid is mine like you're claiming it to be, I'm gonna be there for you all the way through it."

  "All the way through it." She sniffed. "Hm."

  She headed straight for the elevator on the other side and slammed her thumb into the button. She rested her hand on the frame and pursed her lips to keep from telling him more of what she really thought of him and how she really felt, because she knew it wouldn't be pretty. The words used would somehow come back to haunt her, and she already had enough ghosts living inside her home that she sure as hell didn't need more.

  When the doors dinged and slid back into their slots, Melanie stepped inside and reached for the button. But Nathan rushed forward before the doors could close and smacked his hand against one.

  "Are you keeping this kid?" he asked her.

  "Here's what, I'll make time to pencil you in between ultrasounds when I decide what I choose to do."

  She repeatedly pushed the button for the lobby and he jumped back. As the doors fell to a close, Melanie moved to the corner and sank down to the floor. She rested a hand on her chest and sobbed until her eyes hurt and her face turned a color so bright and red that had she actually been able to see herself in the mirrored walls surrounding her, there's no way in hell she would've been able to even recognize her own reflection.

  It was men like Nathan who often destroyed women like Melanie, emotionally. Men like him who dragged women down to the gutter, only to leave them and hope like hell that they never be found again. She had already been there with Oscar. She had already managed to drag herself out of the same hell he had created for them through his affair with Nikki. There was no way she was going to allow herself to be destroyed for another man again. Even if that meant taking matters of what might have been growing inside of her in her own hands.

  When Nathan returned to the room, he found a despondent Sheila sitting on the bed with her hands crossed in her lap. She was so focused on her purse as it sat across the room that she hadn't even realized he had come back until the door latched shut.

  "Sheila."

  She swallowed hard and turned her eyes to him. "What was all that about?"

  Nathan removed his robe and tossed it on a chair across the room. "Ah, you know she's got a lot going on," he said, joining her on the bed. "The dinner tonight didn't help."

  Sheila lowered her head and nodded. "Maybe she shouldn't have come. But I guess it is what it is now, right?"

  "Yeah. What's done is done." Nathan drew his fingers around the back of Sheila's wrist and tilted his head. "You alright?"

  "I'm good. I just had some time to think while you were out there, about this and what we're doing and, if I'm okay with it."

  "Are you?"

  She looked over at him again and smiled. "I'll let you know when I figure it out."

  "Okay." He grinned. "In the meantime, you wanna finish what we started?" He bent down to kiss the side of her throat and suckled her skin.

  She giggled. "Why don't you go in there and get the water warm and I'll be in there in a second."

  He bobbed his head and jumped up from the bed. As soon as he closed the door to the bathroom to keep the heat and steam in the shower from leaking out, Sheila stood up and walked over to her purse. Digging her hand around the inside of it, she pulled out the bright pink and white box; she same one she saw sticking out from the side of Melanie's purse once again.

  "They must think I'm really stupid," she said. "Really fucking stupid."

  Sheila switfly opened the box and pulled out the test. Her eyes traveled down to those two blue lines at the center, indicating pregnancy.

  She gulped back the tears forming in her eyes and grit her teeth. Once again someone else was stealing a life that she felt had always been meant for her. It didn't matter what her status was with Adrian in that moment, and it didn't matter that Nathan was no longer officially hers. Nothing seemed to matter much to her in that moment except for finally getting what she so rightfully felt she deserved.

  "Sheila!" Nathan called out.

  She wiped a fallen tear from her cheek, stuffed the crushed back into her purse and threw a smile on her face. "I'm on my way," she shot back. "We're on our way."

  She backed away from the mirror and after easing into the bathroom and removing her towel, she dropped it to the floor and eagerly joined Nathan in the shower.

  Part Thirteen

  After finally returning to their bedroom, Vanessa tossed her phone into the chair in the corner and closed the door. Maurice looked up from the book he had started reading and put it aside.

  “What happened?” he asked her.

  “We talked,” she told him. “We talked and, everything’s fine. She was just calling mostly to apologize for what happened tonight. And then I called Felicia and she is as sick as a damn dog, so aside from the chaos, it’s a good thing that she and the kids didn’t show up.” She sat down on his side of the bed and removed her shoes. “I’m so tired.”

  “You want to just go to sleep?” he asked her.

  “No, it’s Christmas.” She turned to him and smiled. “And you haven’t even had time to unwrap your gift yet.”

  He laughed. “I didn’t know you were getting me anything this year, V.”

  “I’m giving you everything, Mo.” Vanessa slid her hands up his thighs and to his chest. She wrapped her fingers around the collar of his shirt and pulled him close.

  He draped his hands around her waist and she moved her hands up to his shoulders while dropping her legs on either side of his.

  “This is my gift?” he asked.

  “Every day if you want it.”

  He shifted her closer to him, shifting her body directly on top of the growing bulge in his pants, and bent forward to run his tongue back and forth across her neck. She dipped her hands beneath his shirt and gently dug her fingers into his skin.

  He moved his hands up inside her dress, removed her bra and brushed his thumbs across her nipples, forcing them to harden against his skin. She quickly removed every stitch of her clothing and put her breasts on full display for him.
His eyes widened with a delight she only ever saw during moments like this and relished in his ravishment as he cupped one breast in his hand while wrapping his lips around the nipple of the other and sucking until it had become swollen inside his mouth.

  She tugged at his shirt and pants as he tugged at her panties. But when he couldn’t seem to get them off as quickly as he wanted, he grunted so loud it made her laugh. He playfully pushed her back to the bed and as she lifted and spread her legs, he dipped his head between them and grabbed the rim of her panties with his teeth. Slowly, he pulled them down her thighs, around her knees and to her legs. After sliding them over the heels of her feet, he tossed them to the floor.

  She reached up to help him remove the rest of his clothes and briefs, sliding them down to the floor and drawing her tongue around her lips as his erection wagged between his thighs. He beamed at the aroused look in her eyes, at the temptation he continued to provide for her and took both of her hands in both of his. He stared down at the engagement ring on her finger and brushed his thumb over the diamond.

  "I'm yours," she told him. "I was never meant to be anybody else's."

  "Damn right."

  She fell back to the bed and he crashed on top of her, lifting their hands over her head. He brushed the tip of his nose back and forth across hers, and slid one hand down the side of his body before taking a hold of himself and sliding it into her. She sucked on her lip to hold back a squeal, but couldn't contain herself for much longer when he started rocking inside of her, hard, then slow, stretching every inch of her until she felt absolutely nothing but him.

  For hours they kept their eyes on each other as intensity and fire flushed their bodies and sweat poured from their skin and onto the bed. Vanessa's hair fell down into her face forcing Maurice to push it back, if only to get a look at the rippling waves of sensation that continued to erupt inside of her with every hard thrust.

  "You're mine forever," he grunted between her lips. His tongue slid back and forth between them before entangling with her own. "And soon enough, the world will know it too."

  She smiled as much as her face would let her and breathed out. "Merry Christmas, Maurice Livingston."

  "Merry Christmas,” he said. “I’m damn sure looking forward to a new year with you as my wife."

  She kept her arms wrapped around him, holding on with all that she could while completely relishing in his words. Just as he buried his face into her neck and continued filling her with everything he had.

  Next in the Miss Independent Series:

  In final book of the series titled THE WEDDING, Vanessa and Maurice plan for one of the most important days of their lives as Sheila and Adrian question the current state of their relationship following a huge revelation. Meanwhile, Oscar and Nikki come to terms with mistakes made in the past just as Nathan and Melanie come together and announce their own plans for the future.

  Now, check out the prologue and first chapter from my newest standalone, INFLAMED below! If you're highly sensitive to tons of swearing, sex and any and everything to do with motorcycle club romance, this may not be the book for you! If you're intrigued, keep reading!

  INFLAMED: A SHADOW RIDERS MC

  Inflamed: A Shadow Riders MC

  About the Book:

  "I'm nothin' but danger, darlin'. I'm no more than death. I'm somebody that you don't wanna fuckin' mess with in the middle of the goddamn night or even in the daytime. I'm your worst fuckin' nightmare – your greatest enemy. I'm every fuckin' thing you never wished I was and every fuckin' thing you ever wanted me to be."

  Their worlds collided like a pair of rocket ships in midair.

  Eight years ago, Mia Sullivan was known in and around her small town just outside of Crescent Beach, Florida as the 'good girl'. The 'preacher's kid'. The one who never stayed out late, always turned in her homework on time and never, ever said a word in front of anyone else that she couldn't say in front of her parent's first. She didn't drink. She didn't smoke. And sex before marriage was completely off the table. Her world was perfect. Her life plans were laid out in front of her. Everything was set in place. Until one night with the wrong man sent a girl well on her way to the top of the hill, sinking straight down to the bottom of the river like a stone.

  Eight years ago, Jacob 'River' Hawkins was just a man looking to finally catch a break in his life. Born into a world of drugs, booze, sex and bikes, he had long ago given up on his dream of winning the UFC World Championship title after snapping his opponent's neck during a staged cage fight. As a result, his mother encouraged him to finally become an official member of the only family he ever knew growing up, the Shadow Riders MC. A few years in was all it took before he was made VP and forced to help make decisions about a club that while saving him from the streets, was also draining away parts of his soul day by day. Parts he never thought he'd get back until the morning he found a girl almost half his age beaten, broken and laying half dead right outside his club.

  Eight years ago changed the course of two lives forever, connecting two souls that never believed in needing someone else until they had a desperate need for each other. Neither of them knew just how much that need would eventually turn to lust, followed by love. Neither of them knew just how much that kind of love would almost destroy them both.

  Note for Potential Readers:

  "Inflamed" is a complete story (absolutely no cliffhangers) told in first and third person POVs which will be broken up by chapters and symbols (¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤).

  First, you need to be aware that this story is HELLA LONG. It’s over 180k words and I make absolutely no apologies for that. If you’ve read the Miss Independent series thus far, then you know I can’t tell a short story even when I try. But I’m warning you now that with this book, it’s longer and it’s more detailed in many aspects. I believe that if you’re going to read a love story from beginning to end, where two people from very different walks of life come together as one, then you need all the ingredients that make it somewhat believable as far as fiction goes, as you go along. Otherwise, I’m only shortchanging you the experience of living in another world and inside someone else’s head for a few hours, and thus wasting your time.

  Next, I can in fact guarantee an HEA, HOWEVER, you need to know that the road to that HEA will not be paved with pretty flowers along the way. At all.

  There is A LOT of swearing in this book. A. LOT. I don’t exaggerate, there’s a lot. There is also a lot of sex. A. LOT of sex, very descriptive and quite graphic sex as well as graphic dirty talking during, before and after sex. You're dealing with an alpha male VP of a motorcycle club here, so there is lots of swearing, lots of violence and death. This world is dark, it's gritty, it's angry, misogynistic, dangerous and for some, completely offensive and outrageous.

  Yes, this is a romance, but if you don't like MC reads, if you didn't like Sons of Anarchy and the like and the language used, if you don't want to know about underground worlds, if seedy is nowhere near being your thing in a book, I'm warning you now to stay away. Because I pull no punches with this; it’s real, raw and completely in your face. This is an IR (black woman/white man) romance but explicit/vulgar/offensive language will be thrown around freely by some within the pages of this book. This isn't meant to shock, offend or even turn you away as a reader, it's meant to make you aware as far as what you're about to dive into and just how real it is despite this being ‘fiction’. The racial differences between Mia and River are discussed and don’t go ignored by anyone, leading River to come to terms with who he is versus who he wants to be as a person and man, which I hope you’ll gain a better understanding of in his parts of the story.

  I've been exploring other sides to my writing over the last few months and I'm happy to share them all with anyone willing to take a chance on me. And I hope that you do with this book. I understand if you won't, but I needed to be upfront about what this book entails, what it's about and why it might work for some while it will absolutely not work for others. So
please take time to download opening pages via the sample before deciding to purchase. The prologue and opening chapters will show you exactly what you'll be getting from the rest of this book.

  Thank you.

  Dedication

  To any and everyone who overcame obstacles, fought battles, won against personal demons, and found true love on the way up.

  This book is for you.

  Crescent Beach, Florida

  PROLOGUE

  "Jesus H. Christ. What the fuck is this shit?" Blue's dark brown eyes grew wide with suspicion and terror as he gaped down at the fragile looking girl at his feet, her arms covered in blood, cuts and bruises with the side of her face pressed down hard into the cement. The heel of her shoe was broken with the strap of it dangling from her foot. She looked an absolute fucking mess and not the sexy, slutty kind he was used to waking up to in the morning after a damn good lay courtesy of a regular club whore from the night before.

  River flashed a bright yellow flame across the tip of his joint and took a long, sorrowful drag. "Shit." He snapped the lighter shut and stuffed it into the inside pocket of his cut while staring down at this girl. Carelessly lifting his thick, broad shoulders and shaking his head this way and that, his dark curls swirled around his neck and strong jawline in the wind. "I don't even fuckin' know, brother," he said. His gruff, surly voice was flat, emotionless as he mumbled around the tip of the joint. He didn't give a shit about this bitch living or dying. He did however, give a shit about his club and this chick being there under any circumstances no matter the reason why didn't spell good shit for them.

  Blue took a few steps past the gate, the heels of his boots scraping across the concrete as he moved, and kept his eyes on the girl's face before dragging them down to her chest to see if it was moving.

  "You think she's fuckin' dead?" he asked.

  River looked over at his brother in confusion, scrunching his brows and pinching his lips to the corner of his mouth. They had both been standing in the exact same positions for the last fifteen or so seconds since being outside. "How the fuck should I know, motherfucker?" He shrugged. "Get your ass down there and take a fuckin' look."