A car horn honked outside, and Darcy opened the door. “Thanks again. Call me if you ever need a sitter. Rylee is a sweet girl.”
Gage patted Avery’s knee. “We’re going to get out of here. We’ll be over at Sam’s if you need anything. I will write my cell phone number for you. Be sure to call if you need anything.”
“I will.” Rylee climbed into her lap as they walked out the door. She noticed Dylan turned the lock before he closed the door. “Well, that was interesting.” She stroked Rylee’s hair as she sat back in her recliner until her stomach rumbled. “Is there any pizza left?”
Rylee nodded and climbed off her lap. She popped her thumb in her mouth as she walked to the kitchen. Avery turned on the cream-colored vintage FM radio and music from a country station in Paris filled the kitchen. It wasn’t the best radio, but it was like the old house. This house was going to be just like her. It was old and worn out, but like her own life, she was going to give this house a new life. Rylee followed her around the kitchen as she straightened up a bit of a mess and waited for the microwave ding. She could see why someone would throw this away. It was older than dirt, but it took the chill off food. It never worked great, but it was better than ice-cold pizza.
The microwave dinged, and she pulled out her lukewarm pizza. “Come on, baby girl.”
Rylee followed her back into the living room and sat down on the couch. She picked up her stuffed doll and held her close.
Avery looked out of the large rectangular glass door and thought she saw the silhouette of a man matching Sam’s body frame standing in the window. She backed away from her door and flipped the lights off, leaving only the small lamp by Rylee on. This was going to be awkward now. She’d messed up again. She closed her eyes and wondered how she always got into these messes.
She heard water spraying and turned back around to head into the kitchen. Water was running out of the lower cabinet again. “Shit.” She grabbed her wrench to try and tighten the connection. She opened the cabinet door, and immediately a spray of water got her right in the face. She reached in, trying to see around the water shooting out and struggled to get the wrench to stay on. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another with this old house. She loved it, but her passion was in designing, not plumbing, electrical, and framing, drywall, and flooring.
After she got the leak stopped, she sat on the floor. She looked around her worn-down sixties-style kitchen and resisted the urge to cry. This is my fresh start. I can do this! I don’t need a man to help me.
The radio played a new Maren Morris song as she tried again to get the pipe loose. She sang about having a drink, and Avery agreed.
She could use a drink and a cigarette right now. This house had been perfect for her and Rylee when they were desperate for a safe place to call home, but damn, old houses broke a lot.
The song’s chorus filled the kitchen, and it was as if she was singing to her. She wanted to go back to a time she wasn’t so jaded, as well.
She let her head drop as her strength fled. She couldn’t do this anymore. Everything was so scary and confusing for her right now. She stared up to see her beautiful dark-haired little girl watching her. She clutched her Raggedy Ann doll close to her chest and stared at her with wide dark eyes. Rylee was her reason for even trying. With a shuddering breath, she pulled herself together. She could and would do this. She would show Rylee what true strength was and carry on.
“Time for bed, Rylee.” When she stared at her, Avery found herself wishing she’d argue with her. There was a time that Rylee had advanced language skills for her age, and she talked her ear off. Now her silence was a deafening condemnation of Avery’s failure as a mother. She should have seen that Collin’s group of friends was far more than men who enjoyed riding motorcycles. The warning signs were there, but she let his charm blind her until it was too late. Don’t go there. You can’t change the past, and getting depressed will only upset Rylee.
“Come on,” she said as she picked up Rylee and carried her up the narrow stairs. Rylee rubbed her hands on her shoulders for a moment and then pulled a strand of her hair between her fingers. When she laid her on her side of the bed, Avery handed her a blanket that had a silky border she loved to feel and carefully pulled her hair free from Rylee’s hand. She rubbed her back until Rylee’s eyes closed and her breathing evened out.
Once Avery was sure Rylee was asleep, she ran downstairs to grab her romance book and picked up where she’d left off. Her heart raced as the hero and heroine finally kissed, and he ran his hands down her naked waist and his fingers stroked through the soft curls around her pussy. She sucked in a breath as she thought of Sam’s hands on her and his brother, Gage, walking into the room and removing his own pants. “Party for three?”
She had to put her book down for a moment, and she closed her eyes. What would it be like to have two men love her? She’d been on her own for as long as she could remember. Her heart ached as much as her cunt as she thought about Sam and Gage laying her down and spreading her legs. Gage took a nipple in her mouth while Sam stroked her slit.
“I think she needs a spanking.” The fantasy of Sam pulling her over his lap as Gage stood over them made her pussy ache as her own arousal coated her underwear. She kicked off her panties and spread her legs wide. Her linen skirt wrapped around her waist as she gathered her slick arousal on her finger and rubbed her clit. Her hips jerked, and she hissed a ragged breath. Even her masturbation hadn’t been this good before she met Sam and Gage. She came with a whimpered cry as she imagined Sam and Gage taking turns spanking her and stroking her pussy at the same time. “Look at that pretty cunt. Is all this juice for us?” Sam asked.
“I believe it is, dear brother,” Gage purred as she cried out another orgasm.
Stop torturing yourself, girl. She tried to shove thoughts of Sam away, but after having sex with him, she couldn’t stop wanting him. She didn’t understand why she wanted his brother, as well, but it was just a harmless fantasy. She imagined them laying her on a soft bed and lying on either side of her, each taking a nipple into their mouths. Their teeth gave her the pain she loved, and their tongues gave her shockwaves of pleasure. She was engrossed in the fantasy when a terror-filled scream filled the bedroom upstairs.
She ran up the stairs and into her bedroom. “Rylee, sweetie. Wake up.” She picked her up and cradled her close. “Wake up, baby girl.”
“Mommy, Mommy.” Rylee thrashed in her arms with her eyes wide with terror. Her arms were outstretched as if she was reaching for her. Avery knew exactly what she was reliving. The day the bikers broke down their front door and turned their safe home into a war zone. Collin and two of his friends shot at whomever he’d betrayed. She wasn’t sure what Collin had gotten himself into, but it was deadly. She wondered if Rylee saw the men turn into animals, or if she’d broken with reality by that point. Even though she’d witnessed it, she still didn’t believe it. Didn’t the mind conjure things up during high-stress situations?
Rylee’s flashback brought back her own terror, and Avery cried as she rocked her. She had stared in stunned silence as the biker’s clothing disintegrated off his body and then he’d melted into a huge dog. It snapped and snarled while another biker yanked her up by her hair and dragged her out of the apartment. Only the police sirens outside saved their lives. She’d seen Collin, as well as the other bikers who survived, run, leaving the ones that died in front of her screaming baby girl.
She rocked Rylee as she smoothed down her hair. “Wake up, sweet girl. You’re safe now.” Tears ran down Avery’s face as she comforted her daughter. “Mommy’s so sorry. I promise to be a better mommy from now on. I won’t let another man hurt you ever again. I promise. Please wake up. I’m so sorry.” Her throat and chest hurt from the force of her sobbing. The guilt she felt crushed her, making it hard to breathe. She’d failed to protect her baby, and there was nowhere else to shift the blame but squarely on her shoulders. If only she was stronger and didn’t crave the feeling of a man�
��s arms around her. If only she could be tough and independent, then her baby would be fine today.
Rylee’s crying calmed to sniffles before she lay in Avery’s arms, exhausted and staring straight ahead as if the horror of that awful day was fresh in her mind. The guilt ate at her as she rocked her and tried to assure her she was fine. Everything was fine. Rylee’s eyes closed and she was back to sleep.
She lay down with Rylee in her arms and tried to sleep, but her eyes were wide open. The image of the man wearing biker leathers who changed into a dog played out in her mind. His clothing shredded off him, and he melted from a man to a dog. She cringed as snapping jaws and snarls filled her head and prevented her from falling asleep. Surely, she was going crazy.
With a sigh of fear and frustration, she got up and walked down the stairs. She peeked out the front window and gasped. There, standing on his front porch was Sam and his brother, Gage. Their perfect bodies shone under the light of his porch, and she couldn’t help but watch them.
What exactly had happened between them? It felt surreal, supernatural, and totally out of this world. It was like something out of a fantasy romance book.
Sam turned his head, and his gaze met hers. Avery gasped and backed away from the window. It must have been a trick of the light. She closed the blinds and pulled the curtains closed as her heart hammered in her chest. He didn’t really see her. He was standing in the light, and she was in her dark living room.
I always keep what’s mine, and you’re mine, Avery. For some reason, he reminded her of the big bad wolf. Would he huff, and puff, and come and gobble her up, too? God, she’d love that.
She became all hot and bothered all over again. Her clit throbbed with the need to come as if she hadn’t just come a while ago. This obsession with them was going too far. She sat down on the couch and spread her legs. Her fingers found her clit, and she rubbed small circles. She closed her eyes, and Gage hovered over her. “I’m gonna take you hard and fast and never let you go.”
Her pussy clenched at the imagined words. Oh, please do, she thought. She dipped her finger into her own slick slit and circled her clit.
As her muscles tightened and shook with her rising orgasmic pleasure, her finger moved faster. She was panting and biting her lower lip to keep from waking Rylee. Somehow, she knew this was nothing compared to the pleasure of Gage pounding into her pussy, fucking her hard and deep, but it was all she had right now. Her body shook, and her legs jerked seconds before the dam burst. She shuddered as she whimpered behind her sealed lips, and her pussy clench as she came. Her release coated her fingers as she struggled to keep her cries silent. As her body relaxed, she pulled up a blanket. Maybe she could sleep now. Please don’t let me dream tonight.
She lay awake, and inevitably, her thoughts drifted to her last weeks with Collin. She worried for Rylee living with him and putting up with his angry outbursts. He’d brought home a huge dog, and Rylee was terrified of it, even more terrified than she normally was of dogs. She quit talking when he was around with that dog, and she’d started sucking her thumb again.
She’d reached out to several battered women’s shelters, hoping to just leave, but they were full. The only advice they could give was to save money and leave as soon as possible. Easier said than done when her boss was Collin’s best friend and he paid Collin, not her. It was damn hard to hide money away, but she’d managed it. She couldn’t get out of there soon enough. Collin got more violent with every passing month. The drugs and stress from the gang he rode with had changed him. He’d been so nice when she met him at the bar. He swore he never touched drugs, fucking liar. He not only touched them, but also helped his gang produce and sell them. How stupid could she be?
He’d stood up to her boss and gotten her a raise. She thought he was her prince charming who was going to be Rylee’s daddy, but after they moved in together, he let his true nature out. He was a drug manufacturer and pusher for an outlaw MC, The Brotherhood. He yelled at her and Rylee for every little thing and threw stuff around, smashing most of their things. They didn’t have anything nice because he always broke them in rages when he was high. As her eyes closed, she hoped she’d sleep without the dream tonight.
Rylee heard Collin’s motorcycle at the same time she did. She ran to her lap and shook. “Collin’s home.”
She glanced out the window, and that dog jumped off the back of his motorcycle. “Yes. He’s home. Now pick up your things so he doesn’t get mad.” Rylee nodded and put her thumb in her mouth. She was regressing even further now. She’d always been an anxious child, but she was so much worse this last year with Collin.
He stormed in with three of his lackey friends and kicked the door closed. “I just came to get some stuff. I gotta split for a while until the heat cools off.” He tossed a heavy duffel bag at her. “Don’t let anyone find this. I’m fucking dead for sure if they catch me with it.”
“The heat? What the hell is this?” She peeked into the bag, and it was full of money. She dropped the bag as if it were full of poisonous snakes and looked up a fear seized her heart. “Collin?”
“Look, I’m sorry. I fucked up bad and there is a Lyc—”
The door banged open, making her scream.
Avery’s eyes opened, and a car door slammed. “Oh, thank god.” She’s never been so thankful for noisy neighbors in her life. She really didn’t want to relive that again. Her hands shook, and her heart pounded so hard she could feel her pulse in her legs. Collin had grabbed the money and jumped out the window, leaving them to the fate of armed criminals and whatever the hell those other men were. Only police showing up so fast when the neighbors called saved their lives.
She stood up and checked the street as she did every time she woke up. It was all clear except for Sam had more visitors. There were a lot of pickup trucks and motorcycles. “Great. Another bad boy on a bike thinks I am just another whore he can ride. Never again.” She closed her curtains and told herself to forget them. Men on motorcycles were bad news. That pull and ache in her chest grew, and before she knew it, she was staring out the window again. The longing in her heart didn’t have anything to do with sex this time. She wanted Sam and Gage to hold her and promise to protect her from the evil that hunted her. She knew that whatever that was that Collin had brought home to her, it was evil. Pure evil, and it would not just let her and Rylee leave.
Trust them. The words sounded like they came from the stars themselves. She stared up at the overly bright stars and whispered, “I’m scared.”
She walked down the stairs to start some coffee. There was no point in trying to sleep now. Her dream and fear would have her up for hours. She clicked on her old radio in the kitchen. It took a second for the vintage radio to light up. She loved the old thing as it reminded her of days with her grandmother and dancing in the living room before her mother got mad and quit letting her see her grandma.
She opened the back door to see the night sky lit up by the stars. They were so bright, she had to sit on the swing and stare in wonder. The light shining down was brighter than a full moon even though she’d only seen a sliver of the moon earlier in the night.
The radio finally warmed up, and the song played about a broken road and her broken heart leading her to where she was supposed to be.
She rocked the porch swing as the coffee gurgled and the Rascal Flatts song played. Could it be everything in her life led her here? She snorted, “Yeah, to a tiny town in Texas where two men would love and protect Rylee and me.” She’d love it, but when she used her own logic, she knew how farfetched that was.
She got up and turned the radio down before pouring herself a cup of coffee. She took a few sips and went straight to the front window and looked out. Sam and his friends were still out there, and Gage looked at her this time. She closed the curtain quickly, feeling like she was losing her mind. She never cared what her neighbors were doing before. Why couldn’t she just let it go? Let them go.
“You’re going crazy, and you’r
e in lust with them. That is all. Forget them both.” She closed the drapes tight and stormed back to the kitchen, but even then, the thought hit her that no other man had turned her head, so why was she so obsessed with these two men now? The fear of her dream vanished under her anger and arousal at the men outside. “Be strong! It’s just a crush. It’ll fade eventually.”
Chapter Two
Sam stared into the starry night while his brother, Gage, and Dylan, his enforcer and assassin, stood quietly beside him. Very few in the supernatural circles knew of Sam and Gage’s hybrid heritage, but Dylan was one of them. The war between the Vampires and Lycans was one that made Sam’s chest ache. There was no one side for him to show his loyalty to. To make things worse, Lycan packs had sided with Mortef. The war was turning nasty, and humans were suffering.
“Were any humans involved?” Sam asked as he regarded Dylan.
Dylan nodded his head. “Yeah, and one of Mortef’s bloodsuckers killed a kid. A fucking kid, Sam.”
Sam closed his eyes for a moment. Dylan had a strong sense of right and wrong, as did all his enforcers. Dylan was different though. He felt things deeper than many of the pack’s enforcers. One of Dylan’s strongest convictions was no one messed with children, human or supernatural.
It’s what made Dylan the perfect enforcer to protect Rachel Dawson’s little sister when Mortef had unleashed hellhounds to track down Rachel. She was a channel who could feed him energy from living humans. She’d run to hide at her parent’s house, but a witch’s spell protected her from Mortef and any other supernatural who tried to track her. It was only when the two Vampires, Devon and Kieran, broke the spell by kissing her that they saw her supernatural abilities.
Once Dylan finished the job with the Dawson family and he’d erased Rachel’s sister, Addy’s, memory, he’d vowed to keep her under his protection. That protection meant the nearby families had one of the council’s best enforcers guarding them. It worked out well, since Dylan was here now giving his report on the fight he’d become mixed up in when a fight between Lycans and Mortef’s Vampires broke out. Vampires attacked one of the Dawson neighbors, slaughtering them. Since the supernatural council cut Mortef off, he’d turned more violent than ever. Sam and other Lycan Alphas were forced to clean up the mess and change memories to keep humans from learning about their existence.
Alphas' Embrace Page 4
