Every Breath You Take (Bayou Devils MC Book 3)

by A. M. Myers

  I park the Camaro near the door and climb out as Storm walks out into the parking lot. He spots me and nods.

  “I’d be careful in there if I were you.”

  “Yeah?” I ask. “Why’s that?”

  He chuckles. “Ali is fucking pissed at you for screwing things up with Tate and she’s less cute kitten and more angry cougar these days.”

  “Did you just call your wife an old woman?” I ask, scrunching up my brow and his head whips up as he shoots me a death glare.

  “No, I fucking did not and if you tell her that, I’ll hold ‘ya down while Tate enacts whatever punishment she’s got planned for you.”

  “Asshole,” I mutter and he laughs.

  “What did you think would happen when you lied to her, Kodiak? A woman like that does not just forgive and forget.”

  I sigh, running my hand through my hair. “Yeah, I know that and I guess I wasn’t really thinking. Blaze asked me to do him a favor and before I knew it, everything was going to shit.”

  “And now what? You’re going to convince her to give you another chance?”

  I paste a grin on my face. “Or die tryin’.”

  “Good fucking luck,” he mutters, swinging his leg over his bike and I nod as I turn toward the door to the clubhouse. Fuzz is behind the bar when I stroll in and he nods before turning back to Ali, who glares at me. I spin back toward the door as her voice rings out through the room.

  “Oh, no, you don’t! Get back here.”

  Wincing, I spin back to face her. “Yeah? Something I can help you with, Ali?”

  “Don’t you try to be cute with me, Kodiak,” she snaps, getting up in my face as she slaps my arm. “What the fuck were you thinking? That girl is fucking perfect for you.”

  “I know she is,” I agree, rubbing my arm where she hit me.

  “You love her?”

  I nod. “Absolutely.”

  “You want to live your life without her?”

  I shake my head, my heart stalling at the thought. “No. Not a second of it.”

  “Okay,” she sighs, studying me for a moment. “I suppose I forgive you then but you’d better fix this. I liked her.”

  “She liked you, too, and I’m working on fixing it.”

  She nods, satisfied with my answers, and turns back to the bar as I head for Blaze’s office and knock on the door.

  “Come in.”

  I open the door and step inside before collapsing in the chair in front of his desk.

  “How is it going over there?” he asks and I scoff.

  “She’s filled with the rage of a thousand suns,” I answer and he laughs before a wistful expression crosses his face.

  “I couldn’t believe my eyes when you brought her to the barbecue. I knew she looked like Sarah but the two could have been twins.”

  I nod, crossing my legs. “Ah, so that’s why you were so weird that night.”

  “Yes. It was like going back thirty years.”

  “I hope you know that I intend to make her my old lady someday,” I say and he lets out a surprised laugh as he grabs a bottle of bourbon out of his desk.

  “Yeah, good luck with that. I’ve been running this club for a long time and dealt with some scary fuckers but I wouldn’t take on that woman. I like my balls right where they are.”

  I laugh before letting out a sigh. “I’m just a glutton for punishment, I guess.”

  “Just be careful, yeah? I know I let you down when I asked you to do this but it’s turned into a real mess.” He holds up an empty glass, offering me a drink, but I shake my head. I don’t want to be here that long anyway.

  “Do you have any news?”

  He nods. “Yeah, actually. Dominic King crossed the Louisiana state line last night around midnight. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s already here in Baton Rouge.”

  “Okay,” I whisper, thinking over the moves we could make. “We going to wait for him to reach out?”

  “I think that’s best. Once he realizes that he can’t get to Tate, he’ll be in contact.”

  “About that, we need two people at the house at all times.”

  He nods. “Keep Smith with you and make sure you keep everything locked up at all times. One slip-up will be all it takes to lose her.”

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”

  “Let’s hope not,” he mutters, turning away from the desk and sipping his drink. I stand and walk out of his office with determined steps. There’s no need to hope. I’ll take another bullet, this one to the chest, before I let anyone near her.

  * * * *

  “I’m exhausted,” Smith says and I glance over at him. “I think I’m gonna go pass out.”

  “You can sleep in Theo’s room. It’s the room right at the top of the stairs,” Tate informs him with a smile. He nods and shoves himself off the couch.

  “Night, y’all.”

  “Goodnight, Luke,” Tate calls, not even sparing me a glance as she turns back to the TV where Vikings is playing. Sighing, I focus back on the screen but I can’t focus on the show. Not when she’s so close to me and still so goddamn far away.

  “Tate?”

  She arches a brow but doesn’t turn to look at me.

  “Could we finally talk, please? I know how angry you are, baby, but there’s got to be a way we can work this out.”

  Sighing, she meets my eyes. “What is there to work out, Lincoln? You lied to me and used me as a favor to Blaze. Now we can both move on.”

  “I don’t want to move on. I know I lied to you and trust me, I hate that I did but everything I felt and everything you felt, that was all real. Hell, I wasn’t even supposed to make contact with you but once I saw you, I couldn’t stay away.”

  “Really?” she asks, vulnerability creeping into her eyes and I sit forward, wishing I could pull her into my arms.

  “Yes, baby. I defied Blaze’s order because there was just something about you that called to me. You were made for me.”

  Her lip wobbles and her eyes shine with unshed tears as I hold my hand out to her, praying that she’ll take it. It feels like the heavens are shining down on me when she slips her hand into mine, standing up from the loveseat. Slowly, I pull her to me and into my lap, keeping an eye on her expression as hope wells up in my chest.

  She straddles my legs and places her hand on my chest, right over my heart and peace settles over me as I suck in a breath.

  “I miss you,” she whispers, so quiet that I almost don’t hear her. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her closer.

  “I miss you, too, Tate.”

  Leaning down, she cups my face in one hand as her lips hover above mine and she meets my eyes, silently asking if I’m good with this but I’ll never deny her. I close the space between us, claiming her lips and groaning as she melts into me. My cock springs to life and I fist her hair, taking control of the kiss as I flick my tongue against the seam of her lips.

  “Open up for me, baby.”

  She sighs, giving me exactly what I want and I groan again when the taste of her favorite spearmint gum meets my tongue. She moans, grinding on my lap as she grips my shirt in her fists and I thrust up off the couch, desperate to remove the layers between us.

  “If you don’t want this, you gotta stop me now,” I warn her and she shakes her head.

  “Don’t stop.”

  And just like that, it’s on. We’re a flurry of hands and frantic kisses as we both peel out of our clothes and the next thing I know, Tate is wrapping her hand around my bare cock. I groan, my head falling back on the couch as I suck in a breath. She straddles my legs again and lines the head up with her entrance before slowly sinking down.

  “Fuck,” I hiss as her warmth envelops me and I grab her hips, digging my fingers into her flesh. Fisting a handful of her hair, I pull her lips down to mine and kiss her hard before pulling back just enough to whisper, “Ride me, gorgeous.”

  She moans, pulling back and grabbing her tits as she bounces on top
of me at the perfect tempo. Not too fast and not too slow but just enough to drive me out of my fucking mind. Just when I think that I’m going to lose it, she pauses and leans forward, kissing me so softly that my entire body goes lax. With a firm grip on the back of my neck, she teases me with her tongue and starts rocking her hips – slowly, seductively – and I feel a tingling at the base of my spine.

  “Shit, I’m gonna come, baby.”

  She shakes her head. “I’m not there yet.”

  Reaching down between us, I find her clit and circle it with my thumb as she lets out a moan.

  “Yeah, do that,” she says and stops moving her hips as I work her closer and closer to orgasm. Her head falls back and her chest rises and falls rapidly in front of me as she grips my shoulders, lost in a world of pleasure. She starts to tremble and I know I’m close so I start to pull away, wanting to finish with her.

  “No, don’t stop,” she cries and I press my thumb against her clit again. Not like I could ever deny her anything she wants. I circle the sensitive nub again and again as I pinch her nipple and she screams as her pussy constricts around my cock. I let out a low groan and reach for her, ready to throw her down on the couch and fuck her senseless but she pushes away from me and stands up.

  I frown but before I can reach for her or ask her what she’s doing, a shock rolls through my body and every muscles locks up to the point of agony. I look up at her, trying to understand what the fuck is happening when I see the Taser pull away from my skin.

  “Motherfucker,” I hiss and she smirks.

  “Now you know what it feels like to be used and lied to, Lincoln.”

  As I slowly regain control of my body, she walks away from me in all her naked glory and slams the bedroom door shut.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Tatum

  “So, what happened last night?” I hear Smith ask from the front seat of the Camaro as I pretend to sleep in the back. Emma and Nix invited the whole club over for a barbecue and although I was reluctant to go, I wasn’t given much of a choice since Lincoln’s been a little pissy today. I smirk.

  “What are you talking about?” Lincoln asks.

  I peek my eye open just enough to see Smith shrug.

  “I don’t know. I thought I heard y’all talkin’ last night.”

  Lincoln glances in the rearview mirror before sighing and shaking his head. I don’t think he saw me watching him.

  “Naw, man. We didn’t talk.”

  “You sure? ‘Cause I could have sworn I heard y’all.”

  “What the fuck are you trying to get at, Smith?”

  Smith starts laughing. “Streak sent the camera feed to my phone, too, dumbass. I watched the whole thing.”

  I bite my lip to hold back my giggle as Lincoln growls.

  “What the fuck do you mean you watched the whole thing?”

  “I mean,” he replies, getting himself under control. “I watched the two of you go at it like rabbits as soon as I went upstairs and I saw her tase your stupid ass before she walked away. That had to hurt like a bitch.”

  “I could give you a demonstration so you’d know for sure,” Lincoln snaps and Smith laughs again, holding up his hands.

  “Naw, man. I’m good. When are you going to give it up though?”

  My heart pounds in my chest as I wait for Lincoln’s response. Last night turned out to be more real than I intended it to be. I wanted to get back at him; I wanted him to know how much he’d hurt me but I never intended to let him see past my defenses. I never once intended to admit that I missed him so much it was hard to function sometimes.

  “Never. I’m never going to give up on us.”

  Smith sighs, looking out of the passenger window for a second. “I don’t know, brother. Sometimes you’ve just got to cut your losses. There may be too much damage here.”

  “I don’t believe that for a second. What I feel with her… I’ve never felt it before and it’s something I won’t feel with anyone else so I’m never giving up on that.”

  Oh, hell, why does he have to say things like that?

  “She might never forgive you.”

  I open my eyes and find Lincoln staring at me in the rearview mirror. “Then I’ll spend every day of the rest of my life trying to win her back because there’s no one else on this earth for me.”

  “It’s really too bad you couldn’t figure that out before you ruined us,” I snap, hoping he doesn’t pick up on how half-hearted it is. Truthfully, each day I’m warming up to him more and more. I’m still pissed as hell and nowhere ready to forgive him but I can’t confidently say I’m through with him either. In those few weeks we were together, despite the multitude of lies he told, he also managed to steal my heart and mark me as his and if I walk away now, it will be with an empty chest.

  “Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Smith says, smiling at me and I roll my eyes.

  “You’re lucky I don’t pluck your eyes out for watching me have sex, Lucas,” I tell him and he has the decency to look embarrassed. He rubs the back of his neck and nods.

  “Yeah, sorry about that.”

  I shrug. “You should ask Lincoln to describe what it feels like to be tased so you can make a more informed decision next time.”

  Lincoln flicks an annoyed glance to the mirror.

  “You wouldn’t do that to me,” Smith says with little confidence.

  “Wouldn’t I?”

  “We’re here,” Lincoln growls as we pull down a dirt driveway that opens up to a large plantation house that takes my breath away.

  “Jesus, they live here?” I whisper and Smith nods.

  “Yeah, Nix bought it for dirt cheap and fixed it up.”

  Lincoln parks the car next to a few bikes and the boys climb out first before Lincoln leans the seat forward and helps me out. I tuck the shoebox under my arm as I turn toward the house.

  “What’s that?” he asks, pointing to the box and I glance down at it as I tuck it closer to my side.

  “Something I need to show to Nix.”

  Lincoln nods and wraps his arm around my waist as we head for the house. Flicking an annoyed glance over my shoulder, I sigh. He leans closer, his lips brushing my ear.

  “After what you pulled last night, I’m done playing nice, Tate. You and I are going to work this out but I’m not your damn punching bag anymore.”

  Damn, why does that turn me on?

  “We’ll see,” I murmur and his grip on my hip tightens.

  “You’re just going to have to come to terms with the fact that I fucking love you and I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Tate!” the brunette from the clubhouse says as she comes walking out of the house and I freeze. “Sorry. I never introduced myself the other day. I’m Emma, Nix’s wife.”

  “Oh, it’s really nice to meet you.” I hold my hand out for her to shake but she ignores it, going in for a hug.

  “It’s so nice to meet you officially. I know this whole situation is… unorthodox but you’re family so if you ever need anything, just holler.”

  I nod. “Okay, I will.”

  “Here, why don’t you put your stuff down and I’ll introduce you to a few people,” she says and I scan the yard.

  “Actually, I was hoping to talk to Nix first. There’s something I need to show him,” I reply, holding up the shoebox and she nods, turning toward the house.

  “You’ll find him down at the dock. He wasn’t all that thrilled that I invited everyone over today with things so tense between him and Blaze.”

  I nod in understanding. “Have they talked at all?”

  “Blaze has showed up here everyday and they go outside and talk until they start yelling. Then, Nix barrels inside and Blaze peels out of here on his bike so tensions are still a little high.”

  Nodding, I excuse myself from the group and round the back of the house, spotting Nix at the end of the dock. As I get near the water, he glances back at me.

  “Sorry, I hope you don’t mind but I wanted to ta
lk to you for a bit.”

  He studies me for a moment before nodding. I sigh as I walk out onto the dock and sit next to him.

  “What a fucking mess, huh?” he says, staring out at the water and I laugh.

  “Yeah, you could say that. It’s been one thing after another lately.”

  He nods, looking a little lost. “What was she like?”

  “Our mom?”

  “Yeah.”

  I sigh, thinking over my words before explaining my childhood to him – the moving around, the drills, the training – and when I finish, he blows out a breath.

  “Sounds…intense.”

  I nod. “Yeah, it was but she did try to give us some normal. We used to have family game night and we went to the zoo in every city we stopped in when we were running.”

  “There is so much shit I want to ask her and now I’ll never get the chance to,” he muses and I grab the shoebox.

  “That’s why I brought this. Theo and I found it while we were cleaning out her stuff. There’s a photo of a little boy in here that I’m almost certain is you along with every report card you ever got.”

  He glances over at me. “Can I see it?”

  “Sure.” I hand it to him and he takes the lid off, setting it next to him on the dock. “Oh, there’s also love letters from your dad, I think.”

  “You think?”

  “Well.” I shrug. “They are only signed “M” and I don’t know his name but it seems fairly likely that they are from him.”

  “His name is Malcolm,” he says, pulling out the photo and shaking his head. “This was my kindergarten picture.”

  He starts going through the letters and report cards in the box and I sit next to him silently, only speaking to answer any of his questions. Finally, he sighs and sets the box down next to him.

  “This is all fucking insane. I spent my whole life thinking my mom was a club whore that wasn’t capable of taking care of a kid and I was cool with that. I understood why she wasn’t around and now I find out it was all a lie.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, I’m still learning new things about her all the time. Until we were in that room at the clubhouse, I had no idea who my dad was because she wouldn’t tell me. I didn’t know I had another brother. You and I are in the same boat so I’m always here if you want to talk.”