Dragon's Lair

by Chantal Fernando

  Eric and Renee?

  He reaches out to touch me but his hand stops mid motion. “My brother slept with my wife. While he was dating you.”

  What was this? Fucking wife swap.

  I swallow hard. “Okay Eric is a douche lord, and I might even hate him, but why would I get mad at you over this?”

  He stares at me, not giving anything away. “I kept it from you. I didn’t want to hurt you. Then you sent me that photo today, and I knew you were going to ask questions. Maybe they’re together now. I personally don’t give a fuck. I didn’t know how you would feel about it.”

  I scrub my hand down my face. “It’s the past. It just shows that I’ve made the right choices since leaving Eric. Let them have each other—hell they deserve each other.”

  He exhales, then smiles shakily. “You took that better than I expected.”

  Something else hits me then. “Wait a minute…”

  He freezes.

  “You knew that Eric had slept with Renee when we first slept together,” I say, my mind working. When it hits me, I grit my teeth. “You used me to get back at Eric!”

  He rubs the back of his neck. “At the time, maybe. But I wanted you. You’re fuckin’ beautiful, babe, of course I wanted you.”

  “I was living a fantasy that night… and you were just doing it to get back at him?” I ask, my face falling.

  “A fantasy?”

  “You were the first boy I ever noticed… in that way. It was a childhood crush that turned into a teenage fantasy. I’ve always wanted you, I just never thought it was possible to have you,” I admit.

  “Faye, I ran into you, I didn’t go looking for you. You were there, and you took my breath away. I couldn’t believe my eyes, how sexy you were. I remember thinking how much of a dumb fuck Eric was to cheat on someone like you with someone like her.”

  I stare at him as my mind races.

  “So it was more than just getting back at Eric? Because if you didn’t find out I was pregnant, I’m not sure we would have never seen each other again,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest protectively.

  Silence. Then, “I came by your uni once. It was a week after we slept together, and I wanted to see you. You were standing there wearing all black holding an animal print folder, and your hair was down and sticking out in every direction.”

  He smiles, like it’s a fond memory.

  “Really?” I ask, my voice gentling.

  “Yes. You need to understand babe, you were doing well. Going to law school, making something of yourself. And you’re young. I didn’t know what I wanted, but I knew I wasn’t exactly good for you. You’d gotten rid of Eric and for that I was fuckin’ happy. You had a chance at a fresh start. Sure you fascinated me, but I didn’t really know what I was feeling so I just watched you, and then I left.”

  His eyes plead with me to understand. I appreciate his honestly and tell him so. I was trying to get over Eric, and Dex was trying to get back at Eric. This whole thing is stupid and messed up.

  “You know what? Who cares how we got together. We’re here now, in love, and about to have a child,” I find myself saying. “As long as you don’t screw up now, I don’t care about what happened before.”

  I laugh at his shocked expression. “I can be reasonable Dex. Unless you cheat on me. That’s another story,” I say, my gaze going to his crotch, the threat visible in my eyes.

  He cringes and cups himself. “I won’t fuckin’ cheat, I already told you.”

  “Just making sure honey,” I reply, smiling at him, the evil in me gone.

  “You can be a psycho sometimes, you know that right?” he says, getting down on his knees in front of me. I sit on the edge of the bed, now at each other’s eye level.

  “I’m your psycho,” I whisper bringing my face closer to his.

  Our foreheads touch.

  “I want you to be my wife,” he whispers.

  “Did you just call me a psycho then propose?” I ask, my eyebrows hitting my hairline. Now who’s as romantic as Shakespeare? Not.

  He grins playfully, leaning in for a quick kiss. “Marry me.”

  “Okay,” I reply, kissing him and wrapping my arms around his neck.

  “Yeah?”

  “Of course. I love you, and I’d love to be your wife,” I say, smiling with watery eyes.

  He peppers kisses all over my face. “It’s like… I breathe you babe. There is no other way to explain it.”

  That line is much better.

  “I breathe you too Dex,” I say, our mouths touching briefly.

  “You know you’re the only one who I let call me that,” he says, grinning.

  “Dex?”

  “Yeah, everyone else knows to call me by my road name.”

  “Why do they call you Sin?”

  I stare into his amused gaze. “Why do you think they call me Sin?”

  “Because you sin on a daily basis? Or maybe because you’re sinfully sexy?” I guess.

  He kisses my lips. “You think I’m sinfully sexy?”

  I bite his bottom lip. “You know I do.”

  “And I think you were made for me…” he whispers.

  I have to agree.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  I pick up my sandwich and take a bite, chewing thoughtfully as I stare at the man sitting opposite me.

  “Can I ask you something?” I say to him after I’ve swallowed.

  “You just did,” he replies, looking up at me. Irish and I aren’t that close, but we get along.

  “How did you get the scars?” I ask, looking at his neck and jawline.

  He puts down the newspaper he was reading and stares. “Knife fight.”

  “Hate to see the other guy,” I joke, trying to lighten the mood.

  He chuckles. “Me either, skeletons freak me out.”

  Okkaaayyyyy then. Next topic.

  “Have you seen Arrow?” I ask. I haven’t seen him since Dex’s birthday, and I’m starting to get a little worried. I don’t know what happened when they had negotiations with the Wild Men. I wonder if Arrow thinks that the club paid enough, with the death of the men who killed Mary, or if he still needs them to suffer more. I don’t know what’s going on in his mind, and his eyes are so dead now that I can’t tell what’s working behind them. That in itself scares the shit out of me.

  “He’s gone away for a few days to clear his head.”

  I like listening to him talk in his accent.

  “I miss him,” I admit, looking down at my plate.

  “He’ll come around,” he replies.

  “How do you know?” I ask him.

  Dex walks into the room, his eyes instantly searching for me. “I have something to show you.”

  “What?” I ask, standing up.

  He takes my hand and leads me outside to his car. He opens the door for me and helps me get in.

  “Where are we going?” I ask, placing my hand on his thigh.

  “Surprise,” he says, grinning excitedly. What is he so excited over?

  When we pull up to my all-time favourite jewelry store, I give him a curious look. He tells me to wait so he can open the door and gives me his hand to get out from the car.

  Hand in hand we walk into the store. As we enter, the lady working there gives Dex a smile, and then changes the sign from OPEN to CLOSE.

  “What on earth—”

  “Choose any engagement ring you want,” he says, kissing me on top of my head.

  “What?” I gasp, cutting my eyes to all the rings set in front of me. A gold princess cut diamond catches my eye immediately. It has one, very large diamond in the center of the band.

  Simple. Classic. Stunning.

  And I want it.

  “Can I try that one on?” I ask the woman, who picks up the ring and hands it to Dex, who slides it on the correct finger. It fits perfectly and looks beautiful.

  “I love it,” I whisper, touching the diamond.

  “We’ll take this one please,” Dex calls
out.

  “Certainly,” the woman says, more than happy to make a sale. “How will you be paying for it, Sir?”

  “Cash,” Dex replies.

  “C-certainly,” the woman stutters. “Umm, that’s twenty thousand dollars.”

  I gape. Twenty thousand dollars. That’s way too expensive for a ring. “Dex—”

  “It’s yours babe,” he says, pulling out a stack of money. I send him a look. How dodgy does this look? The woman probably thinks he robbed a bank or something.

  We leave the store with a pleased looking Dex.

  “Thank you,” I tell him. “You really didn’t need to spend so much.”

  “Babe,” he says, chuckling.

  “What?”

  “That ring isn’t going to bankrupt me,” he replies, stifling laughter.

  How rich is he?

  “Good to know,” I mutter, staring down at my ring and smiling. I feel like doing my happy dance right now.

  “That smile on your face, worth much more than twenty grand,” he says, reaching out and taking my hand in his.

  That was really sweet. “Where are we going now?”

  “We’re going to my mums to tell her we’re getting married,” he says in a careful tone.

  My hand goes to the door handle.

  “Don’t be so dramatic, we’ll stay there ten minutes max.”

  “This is kidnapping! Is that why you were buttering me up with the ring and being all sweet?” I ask, wringing my hands.

  “Babe.”

  “Dex I was dating her other son for the last few years. Oh my god this is going to be so awkward,” I say, staring out the window.

  “She knows you’re with me now, and we’re having a baby girl. She won’t even look at you the wrong way, trust me. She doesn’t want to jeopardize the relationship with her first grandchild,” he explains patiently.

  “She won’t?” I ask, nibbling on my bottom lip.

  “You think I’ll let anyone say anything to you? I don’t care who it is Faye. No one disrespects my old lady. No one.”

  I puff out a shaky, shallow breath. “Okay, okay. Let’s get this over with.”

  *****

  “Hey Mum,” Dex says, kissing his mother on the cheek. “How have you been?”

  “Better now that my first born has finally come for a visit,” she admonishes, then turns to me. “Nice to see you Faye. How’s your pregnancy coming along?”

  “Hi Gretchen,” I say. “Coming along really well. She’s due on September fifth.”

  “How exciting. I bought a few things, I hope you don’t mind…” she trails off as I see her staring at my ring.

  “You’re getting married?” she asks, looking to Dex.

  “Yeah Ma, that’s why we’re here. I wanted to let you know,” Dex replies.

  “Well congratulations,” she says, trying to hide her shock. “Is your divorce finalized then?”

  Fuck. I completely forgot about that. I look to Dex who grins at the look on my face.

  “All sorted. Was a free man as of this morning,” he says, eyes smiling at me. He bought me a ring the day his divorce was finalized. I love that he didn’t want to waste any time.

  “When is the wedding going to be? Will you be having a big one?” she asks.

  “Anything Faye wants,” Dex replies, winking at me.

  “I see,” his mother mutters, clearly not happy with his answer. “I spoke to your parents the other day.”

  Great, just great.

  “I’m not on speaking terms with my parents,” I reply without emotion.

  “Really? They didn’t mention that. Just that you had moved out.”

  Of course they wouldn’t, because that would make them look bad. My mother wouldn’t allow that.

  “I told them that you were dating Dexter. They didn’t seem to be pleased about that,” she says, leaning back on her white couch.

  I shrug. “It doesn’t matter what they say.”

  “I’m having some people around tonight, if you want to stay for dinner?” she says, turning to her son.

  “No thanks Ma, Faye and I have plans. Maybe next time,” he says standing to leave.

  “I wish you would talk to Eric, he is your baby brother after all,” she quickly says, standing and smoothing down her dress suit.

  “We’ve been through this…”

  “He’s your brother!” she snaps.

  “He’s also a fuckin’ asshole. I have a bunch of brothers at home, and none of them would betray me. I wouldn’t even turn my back on a man like Eric,” Dex growls, grabbing my hand and leading me out.

  “This just because of her,” she sniffs.

  I assume I am the her.

  Dex stops in his tracks. “Has nothing to do with her. Eric and I have never got on, and as much as it sucks, it is what it is. Don’t try blaming Faye for this. Faye is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  I see Eric out of the corner of my eye, leaning against the door, listening. He bobs his head, gives me a sad smile, and then walks away.

  I think he finally gets it. Dex loves me.

  Me.

  He breathes me.

  Eric knows what we had wasn’t that. It wasn’t even close.

  We say bye to his mother and get the hell out of there.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  I put my hand on my stomach as Clover moves around, kicking me. The banana I placed on my belly for safekeeping wobbles with one hard kick. I shake my head. I can’t wait to hold my little girl. I’m now seven months pregnant. Dex moved us into our new house, but I still spend some nights at the clubhouse. Tonight is one of those nights. Dex has gone somewhere with Jim, and I’m hanging out with the rest of the brothers.

  “Faye! Your huge ass is blocking the TV!” Rake calls out, the jerk. I throw my banana at his head as he cackles with laughter. Allie sits on Tracker’s lap, his arms resting on her hips. He sees me watching and winks at me. I think those two are finally getting serious. I give him a thumbs up. He shakes his head and mutters something about me being goofy. Arrow walks into the room and sits down next to me. I stare into his brown eyes and tug on his beard.

  “Nice to see you stranger,” I say with a smile.

  “Nice to see you too,” he replies with a lip twitch.

  “You look much better,” I blurt out, taking in his freshly cut hair and circle-free eyes.

  “I feel better,” he replies.

  “So I have my best biker back?” I whisper, not letting anyone else hear.

  “You never lost him, little girl,” he replies, flashing me his white teeth. “You’ve gotten so big.”

  I gasp. “You did not just say that!”

  “I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” he quickly says, trying to cover up his blunder.

  “So I’ve gotten big in a good way?”

  I look down at my boobs. Okay so those have gotten bigger, from a B cup to a C, but so has everything else too. My already huge ass has gone from J-Lo to Kim Kardashian.

  Okay, not that big, but still.

  Arrow turns to Rake. “Someone could have warned me.”

  “About what?” I ask, looking at Rake in confusion.

  “Nothing,” Rake adds, throwing me back the banana and turning his face to attempt hiding his smile.

  “I’m not that bad,” I sulk, peeling my banana and taking a bite out of it. Irish and Trace walk into the room.

  “Is the beast in a good mood?” Irish asks as he sits down.

  My mouth drops open. “I was in a good mood!”

  To be honest, I have been grumpy in the last few days. My back hurts, my feet hurt, and I have heartburn, but I totally thought I was suffering in silence.

  Apparently not.

  “When does Dex get back?” I ask, rubbing my stomach absently.

  No one answers me. Game of Thrones is on, and everyone is watching it in fascination. Allie and Tracker start making out, his hands groping all over her ass. Feeling uncomfortable, I turn to Arrow, wh
o is watching me in amusement.

  “Still a prude?” he asks quietly.

  “I’m not a prude. I just prefer that kind of stuff to be private. I’m not judging anyone, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me uncomfortable to see free live porn,” I reply, just as quiet.

  “Trust me when I say before you moved in it was a lot worse. Naked women walking around twenty-four seven,” he says, looking wistful. “Those were the days.”

  “Ahh, the pre- Faye glory days,” Rake adds in.

  “Well excuse me, I don’t live here anymore, so on the days I’m gone feel free to return to those glory days,” I huff, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “Oh trust me, we do,” Rake says, tipping back his iced cold beer. “Just yesterday I had this one woman bent over the…”

  My banana peel hits him right in the face.

  Everyone bursts out laughing, except Trace, who looks at us like we’re all insane.

  Rake is about to shout out some smart ass remark I’m waiting for, when the front door slams open.

  Everyone stands. Arrow stands in front of me, shielding me.

  “Club room! NOW!” Jim yells as he enters with Dex. Everyone heads into the office. What the hell is going on? Why do they need a club meeting?

  All of them on alert, they exit the room. Dex walks over to me and gives me a quick open mouth kiss.

  “Stay here,” he demands, then walks off. I look at Allie, who looks just as shocked. I sit down, knowing it’s not my place to get involved.

  “I wonder what happened,” I say, looking to where Dex just was standing.

  Allie puffs out a breath. “Guess we will have to wait and see.”

  *****

  They all walk out about thirty minutes later. Dex storms up to me and wraps me in his arms. “Clubhouse is on lockdown. More people will arrive within the hour, do you think you can help with food and sleeping arrangements?”

  “Of course,” I say, my concern growing. “What’s happening?”

  He looks like he doesn’t want to tell me, but then he speaks. “We got even with the Wild Men, then had negotiations.”

  I don’t ask how they got even, I can only imagine.

  “We still fuckin’ hate each other, but we called a truce for the time being. Just found out Arrow killed their President in broad fuckin’ daylight two days back. Their MC members just found out who did it and are going to want revenge.”