Laced with Fear

by Hayley Faiman

  My spine straightens at the same time Esme’s does. “Fuck that, I’m staying right here with my woman,” I growl.

  Snake shakes his head. “Sorry, brother. Not an option.”

  “The fuck it’s not,” I grind out through gritted teeth.

  Free stands and tips his head to the side, crossing his arms over his chest. My eyes bounce from one man to the other, and they just stare at me. Esme’s hand touches my arm and I tip my chin to look down at her. She looks resigned and so fucking sad.

  “It’s okay, I’ll be okay,” she lies.

  I bite the inside of my cheek so hard that it bleeds. My gut is screaming at me to stay here next to her, to support her. But the men in front of me won’t allow it, and it pisses me off.

  Turning around, I walk out of the office without a word, slamming the door closed behind me when I do. Without a glance back, I make my way toward the bar and sit down, lifting my chin in a silent demand for a beer.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ESME

  I watch Motorhead leave the office, slamming the door behind him when he does. I hate it. I hate that Free and Snake won’t let him stay in here, but I’m kind of glad they won’t either.

  What I’m assuredly going to be talking about would only anger him, and it would probably make me feel uncomfortable to discuss it while he watched me. I walk over to the chair that is in front of Snake’s desk and slowly sit down.

  “I never tried to force you to tell me your entire story. I thought that your past died with Lucifer,” Snake begins. I nod, wishing that it were true, that his words were fact. “Apparently, that’s not the way it happened.”

  Clearing my throat, I inhale a deep breath. “When Lucifer took me, we went from clubhouse to clubhouse. All of them the same, but all of the clubs different. I don’t know how that works, or if they were affiliates or what,” I begin. “When we weren’t at clubhouses, we slept in places like the cabin you found me in. He always knew someone no matter where we were,” I murmur.

  “And he made them promises?” Free asks, his voice soft and gentle.

  Gulping, I nod. “He shared me, often. He would leave me with other men,” I whisper. Saying the words aloud, it makes it all seem more real and my stomach twists. “He told them he would be back with me. He said once he had Hayden, they could have me. He told every single club, or man that. Made a promise that neither he or I could keep.”

  Tears fill my eyes as Snake looks over at me with pity crossing his features. I hate what Lucifer did to me, but more importantly, I hate how I allow his actions to make me feel. Even though he’s dead, inside of me, he feels very much alive. I want to scream, throw shit, and cry all at the same time.

  “Did you know the man who came into Cash Bar today?” Free asks.

  I shake my head. “There were too many,” I whisper.

  “He wasn’t part of the Notorious Devils. He was part of a club we don’t even associate with. They’re bad news, but they’re also right over the border. He was probably one of the last people to see Lucifer before he made his way into Canada.”

  “Which means he probably told them where he was headed,” Snake states. “I honestly don’t think anybody else will make their way here. Just to be on the cautious side, it would be good to have someone around when you walk to and from the bar to the trailer, or when you’re going somewhere alone.”

  I nod, thinking about the trailer I share with Hayden and her baby, Easton. The last thing I want to do is put either of them in danger. I bite the corner of my lip as I stand.

  “Motor’s claimed you,” Free states.

  My eyes meet his and I give him a jerky nod in agreement. “He has.”

  “I’ll have him keep an eye out for you too,” Snake states.

  I want to tell him not to talk to Abe, but I don’t. I’m scared, and he makes me feel safe. I am concerned about Hayden and Easton though. Even if there doesn’t appear to be any threat, I would hate for something to happen to either one of them, because of me.

  “Do you know who I could talk to about getting my own apartment in town?” I ask, still standing in the middle of the room.

  Snake and Free both look to one another, then back at me, smiles curving on their lips. “Motor’s got a house in town, darlin’. No need to find a place of your own,” Free chuckles.

  I blink, taking a step toward the door. “We’re not. I mean, we just started. No way would we live together, yet,” I whisper.

  “You’re his woman, Esme. That’s exactly what it means,” Snake announces.

  Furrowing my brows together, I leave the men and close the office door behind me. Their chuckles sound through the door, but I don’t focus on them. My eyes are zeroed in on Abe. He’s bellied up to the bar, his back hunched and even his profile looks angry as hell.

  “Motorhead,” I practically whisper as I walk up beside him.

  He turns around on his seat, his eyes searching mine before he lets out a breath. “You look okay,” he says.

  “I do?”

  He gives me a ghost of a smile before he reaches out, wrapping his fingers around my waist then tugging me between his spread thighs. Lifting my hands, I rest them on his shoulders as I look directly into his eyes.

  “I thought you would come out of that office with demons haunting you.”

  “Me too,” I admit. Inhaling deeply, I continue, “It wasn’t as awful as I’d thought. They know who he was, and said he was from some club just over the border, so he was probably the last to see Lucifer, and it was easier for him to follow than anyone else we visited. They did say that just as a precaution I shouldn’t go around town, or to and from the bar alone for a while.”

  Abe grins. “You’re packing your shit tonight. No more staying in Hayden’s trailer, you’re coming home with me.” I open my mouth to protest, but he shakes his head. “Been wanting you in my bed for a while, sweets. I’m not letting you sleep anywhere but right next to me from now on.”

  He presses his lips to mine, and his tongue invades my mouth. All thoughts of our relationship moving too quickly completely fly out of my brain.

  My fingers dig into his shoulders as he fucks my mouth. I want more of him, I want all of him, and I want it right now.

  “Abe,” I rasp when he gently pulls away from me.

  He smiles as he rises to his feet. “C’mon, sweets, let’s go to my place.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  MOTORHEAD

  When she calls me Abe, my resolve is completely shattered. She doesn’t know it yet, but I’m sure she’ll discover that just by using my given name, she owns me.

  Wrapping my hand around hers, I don’t take her to my room here at the clubhouse. Instead, I practically drag her outside to my bike. She’s coming home with me where she’s always belonged.

  “Abe,” she calls out as I straddle my bike.

  Turning to her, I give her a grin. “Hop on, sweets. We’re going home,” I state.

  I watch as she debates. She thinks we’re moving far too quickly, and if she were any other woman, and I were any other man, I would probably agree with her. The simple fact is, she’s mine and I’m hers. We’ve been dancing around it for weeks, and I’m not letting her out of my sight now that we’ve come together.

  Esme straddles the bike behind me, wrapping her arms around my middle. With her tits against my back, we ride. It doesn’t take us long to arrive at my place.

  It isn’t much to look at, a small white bungalow built in the late fifties. It needs work, inside and out. I never had a real reason to complete the work, to make it nice.

  It’s always been a place I used to just get away from it all. I honestly don’t even really know why I bought it. Except, now I’m glad I did.

  “We’ll fix it up,” I announce after cutting my engine.

  Esme doesn’t reply but I feel her move and slide off of the bike. Turning my head to the side, I watch as she takes a few steps toward the front door. “You own it?” she asks quietly.

 
I throw my leg around and stand up, walking up to her side and slipping my arm around her shoulders. “Yeah,” I grunt.

  Turning to me, she tips her head back. “I’ve never lived anywhere but a rented apartment, or a rented trailer,” she whispers.

  “Now you have a home, and it’s yours, sweets,” I smile, my eyes focusing on her pretty brown ones.

  She shakes her head, her eyes welling with tears. “We’re too new, it’s too much,” she mumbles.

  “Never. Nothing I ever give you will be too much. It’s yours and we’ll fix it up the way you want it, whatever you want.” Lifting my hand, I wrap it around the side of her neck, my thumb caressing under her chin.

  I don’t allow her to say anything else. Bending slightly, I use my other arm to wrap around her thighs and I pick her up. She lets out a small cry and holds onto my arms with a tight grip.

  Releasing her neck, I dig my keys out of my pocket and unlock the front door. Once we’re inside, I slam the door closed, and keep ahold of her as I walk us into the master bedroom.

  Dropping Esme unceremoniously onto the bed. I look down at her. Those big brown eyes are wide and focused on me. This is exactly where she was meant to be, and she was always meant to be mine. Her story is ugly, and I don’t want to know all of the details, but without it, she would not be here in my bed or in my life.

  “You’re my woman, Esme,” I announce.

  She nods, as if I were asking a question, and not giving her a statement of fact.

  She is mine.

  She will always be mine.

  I watch as Esme begins taking her clothes off. I want to get lost inside of her body, forget the shit that happened today and only remember the good parts.

  An image of my cock filling her floats through my mind and I smirk. Yeah, that’s the kind of shit I want to remember about today, nothing else.

  I bite back a groan at the sight of her bare tits when she tosses her bra aside. Fuck. Quickly, I ditch my own clothes, letting them fall all around us, not giving a fuck where they land.

  I don’t push Esme down on the bed and fuck her like I crave to do, not this time. I need to taste her, I need to make her come with my mouth before I fuck her again.

  Lowering to my knees, I wrap my hands around the inside of her thighs and I spread her legs open wide. Leaning forward I inhale her scent and practically whimper. She smells fucking fantastic, better than I’d imagined. I already know that her taste is going to blow my fucking mind.

  “Abe,” she whispers.

  Without another word, I bury my face in her pussy and let out a low moan, the second my tongue touches her wet slit.

  Esme’s fingers grab ahold of my hair and she pulls me even closer. My tongue swirls around her clit, then returns to her center, fucking her and tasting her all at the same time. My fingers grip her inner thighs even harder, holding her shaking legs open and wide for me.

  “Oh God, yes,” she cries as her hips shift against me.

  As badly as I want to lift my mouth and replace it with my cock, I don’t. I need to feel her fall apart against my tongue. Then I need to feel her do it again around my cock. Nothing smells, tastes, or feels as good as Esme.

  Her fingers grip my hair even tighter, and I feel her thighs shake beneath my touch. Her taste floods my mouth instantly as she comes.

  Fuck, it’s amazing, and I close my eyes as I lick the evidence of her release until she’s no longer shaking, and her fingers have released their tight hold on my hair.

  I lean back, standing up as I look down at her. Her eyes are closed and she’s lying down, her back on the mattress her legs hanging over the side. Wrapping my hands around her waist, I pull her closer toward the edge of the bed and align my cock with her center.

  “Abe,” she sighs as I enter her completely.

  Squeezing her tightly, I murmur. “Open your eyes, sweets. Look at me when I fuck you.” Her eyes slowly open and I give her a smile. “Prettiest woman I’ve ever seen,” I state. “Thank fuck I found you, Esme.”

  I stay completely buried inside of her, not wanting to move yet, just enjoying the way she feels around me, welcoming the fact that she’s mine, every piece of her is now for me.

  “I’m thankful you found me, Abe,” she whispers.

  Shaking my head once, the smile stays plastered on my face. “Sweets, I didn’t start to breathe until I found you. I’m thankful every minute of every day for you coming into my life. I hate how it happened, but I’m fucking glad that it did,” I rasp.

  Esme reaches up, wrapping her hand around my forearm. “Me too, Abe.”

  I don’t say anything else, nothing else needs to be said. With my eyes focused on her brown ones, I fuck my woman. This woman who came into my life when I least expected it. This woman who owns me. This woman I fucking worship.

  Special Thanks

  I want to thank all of my readers, always. You babes are seriously so fantastic. I appreciate every single one of you!!!

  I always say a special thank you to my husband, my best friend, and the man who supports me in every single one of my dreams. He is simply—amazing.

  My mom, she’s always supported wholeheartedly everything I have ever decided to take a leap of faith on, including my writing. She’s the kindest, most loving, and most supportive mom in the world. Thank you, Banana Boots.

  Celia, my oldest friend since the git-n-go. Thanks for the laughs, the cupcakes, the brownies, the cruises in the Mustang, and the years together. Now that we’re adults, thanks for the texts, the cocktails and the true friendship we have.

  Cassy Roop, thank you so much for always making my covers so downright gorgeous, every time I think that one is my favorite you outdo yourself and create something else spectacular! You’re the best and I’m so lucky to have you as a designer and friend!!!

  Crystal Snyder, thank you for loving all of my stories, and taking the time out not only to read them, but to help me! I’m so thankful for a friend like you in my life!!

  Tammy Cole, thank you so much for being a great friend. I don’t know what I would do without you in life! I appreciate everything you do for me.

  Dessure Hutchins, thank you so much for dropping everything to help me. I truly appreciate you, and your friendship!

  Ellie McLove, thank you for making this book, clean and pretty! I appreciate your hard work and complete dedication to your craft!

  Enticing Journey— Ena and Amanda— I always know that my PR work is safe with you, that you’ll represent my book and me in a way that only you can—THE BEST WAY! I truly appreciate all of the hard work you ladies put into everything!

  Hayley’s Asshole Alphas... BABES. Thank you for always bringing a hot guy to my newsfeed and a smile to my face! You’re the best reader group a girl could have!!!

  To all the Blogger babes that have taken a chance on me…

  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.