by Simone Elise
I found myself trying to get closer to the ring to get a better look at him as he completely annihilated his opponent with precise movements.
After a lot of pushing and shoving, I made it to the front of the ring just as the beast of a man shoved his opponent to the corner right in front of me so hard you could feel the force of the wind as his body bounced off the ropes. Before the guy could recover, the man was already nailing him with hard punches to his ribs, and for a moment a brief moment, his hard, dark eyes latched onto mine, and he smirked slightly. I swear, it felt like everything and everyone had vanished besides him and me.
Our souls connected through invisible ties, and I knew right then and there that this man was going to change my life forever.
I watched in awe as the two men fought viciously, both men had sweat dripping off their bodies, and blood covered their hands and faces. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, terrifying yet thrilling all at the same time.
Adrenaline, alongside fear, coursed through my veins, causing chills to run up and down my spine. As I continued to follow their movements, a loud bang and several shouts could be heard from outside.
Everything went silent as everyone froze, then more shouts could be heard getting closer and closer, and a man burst into the warehouse, shouting, “Cops, everybody, clear out!”
Chaos broke loose as everyone scrambled to get out.
I screamed frantically for Critter or Grit, getting pushed from every direction as people bolted for the exits. I couldn’t see any sign of either man, and tears stung my eyes as I was knocked to the ground by a large, burly man, my hands flailing forward catching myself just before my head hit the concrete.
A rough hand grabbed my elbow, yanking me to my feet and pushing me forward toward the exit. “Don’t scream.” The man squeezing my arm roughly snarled while his other hand pressed a blade into my side just enough for me to get the message.
Wincing in pain from the fall and from the grip he had on my arm, I struggled to move forward through the stampede of people, my eyes wide as they scanned the crowd for any signs of a familiar face, anyone to help me get away from this man.
Brushing past several people, the man led me out the side exit, heading toward the forest. My adrenaline spiked as I realized if I didn’t get away from this man soon, that would be it.
I had no idea who he was or why he was doing this, but the sickening feeling in my stomach was a huge warning bell that this man really wanted to hurt me. Once we reached the forest, darkness consumed us, sending all my senses into overdrive. I scanned the area around me, trying to see if anyone had followed us, but there was no one.
“Keep moving, bitch. Got a lot of walking to do,” he spat, nearly dropping the blade as he stumbled forward again. Regaining his composure, he cursed before putting the blade in the holster on the side of his pants.
Too caught up with worry about what he was going to do with the knife, I tripped over a rotten log and nearly fell to the forest floor.
He yanked me up, and I took the opportunity to forcefully stumble into his chest, causing both of us to fall.
“Oy, goddammit, you stupid bitch, get back here,” he screamed as I frantically got to my feet and took off back toward the warehouse. I didn’t get very far before he tackled me to the ground, causing me to scream loudly as the weight of his body crushed me. He rolled me onto my back, and putting both hands on my neck, he squeezed hard.
“I was gonna keep you alive for a little while, make you feel really good, but you just had to go and try to get away. I can’t have you telling your little club that you’ve seen me, so I’m gonna have to kill you now. It’s such a shame because you really are a pretty little thing. The boss is just going to have to deal with only getting one of you,” he whispered against my ear.
I gagged as I scratched at his hands, trying to get him to let go of me. I felt myself weakening, the fight leaving my body as my vision began to fade, and my arms dropped to my side. My eyes flickered shut just as I felt the weight of his body being ripped off me. Gasping for breath, my hands flew to my neck, and I looked over only to see two blurry figures fighting hard. One man had the other one pinned, punching him viscously.
Blood rushed to my head as I try to crawl away. I made it over to a large tree and hid behind it. Feeling light-headed, I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my head between them, then wrapped my arms around my legs tightly and took deep breaths, trying to steady myself. I heard people shouting before everything went quiet.
Finally, I heard the sounds of footsteps coming closer, then the feel of someone’s hand resting on my shoulder had me jumping out of my skin. Sitting up way too fast, the world spun, and I slammed my head into the back of the tree. My vision was slightly fuzzy as I tried to get a look at who was in front of me.
“Fucking hell. What the fuck? Ow.” I grimaced and placed one hand on the back of my head as I slowly opened my eyes. I could barely make out the blurry figure in front of me as my eyesight cleared, and I sucked in a breath not expecting to see him so close in front of me that I could feel the heat radiating off his bare chest. Inhaling through my nose, sweat mixed with leather and some other delicious fragrance I couldn’t quite figure out invaded my senses.
My mouth opened and closed several times as I stared at him completely awestruck, muttering out a quick hello.
When he smirked at me and raised his left eyebrow, I nearly melted into a puddle right then and there.
As he extended his hand to me, I went completely red from embarrassment. It took me a moment to put my hand in his, but the second our skin touched, sparks shot from my fingertips all the way down to my toes. His hand felt soft but rough at the same time as he firmly closed his fingers around my hand and hoisted me to my feet. I stumbled forward slightly, but he steadied me quickly by placing both of his hands on my shoulders. His deep masculine voice filled my ears, making my toes curl as he chuckled slightly. The sound of him chuckling had easily become my favorite sound, not quite understanding how I could go from being extremely terrified one moment to being turned on the next. My body tensed at the sound of another voice.
“Lynx, we gotta get the hell out of here,” Grit said while yanking a bloodied guy off the ground.
My eyes widened with how badly he had been beaten, but I was relieved at the same time that someone had heard me and stopped him.
“I don’t know where the fuck Critter is. We got separated. Do you think you could take her back to the Best Western in town? That’s where she’s staying,” Grit stated rather than asked as he began to pull the man out of the forest.
Without being able to protest, Lynx grabbed my hand, sending sparks up and down my arm, and pulled me forward.
As I tried to keep up with his long strides, it really dawned on me just now much taller he was than me by at least a good foot. Weaving our way in and out of the trees, we made our way to the back of the warehouse where I was assuming the fighters parked where a lone black 2015 Harley-Davidson Street 750 sat. When we got to the bike, he let go if my hand, and instantly, I just wanted to reach for it again. He hopped on the bike and started it up, and I just stood there, staring in awe. There was nothing sexier than a man on a bike, and he was definitely all man. He revved the engine, snapping me out of my stupor, then he grinned at me, causing me to flush bright red, and nodded his head at me to get on.
I got on, wrapping my arms around his waist, and he took off.
Chapter 5
Emmie
Now that the crisis was over, at least that was what the boys called it when I self-harmed, they tried to pull me away from society for a little bit by limiting my time to the bedroom. It had something to do with the fact they could keep an eye on me and seemed to think I needed quiet time to get back to my normal self.
Sometimes, it worked, and sometimes, it didn’t, but this time, it had helped. I was in the kitchen, making myself toast now that I was allowed out of the bedroom and to be by myself. For some reason, I
had a need for some jam on toast, and as I tasted the first bite, it was mouthwatering. Just as I went for my second bite, an arm wrapped around my waist, causing me to jump slightly. I hadn’t heard anyone come in, but I knew only one person would have the guts to touch me like this.
Maiden kissed my ear, and then my cheek.
I turned around in his grasp, his hand moving to my back.
“Thought you had enforcer things to do.” I put the toast down. He was never impressed when I referred to his duties for the club as ‘enforcer things,’ but enforcer was his title.
As his finger went to my lip, I saw the jam on it. Without even thinking about it, I wrapped my lips around his finger and sucked lightly until he groaned. Then he snapped and picked me up while wiping the table clean with his free hand.
“You’re teasing me, Emmie.” He growled as he moved his body between my legs, causing my skirt to ride up.
“Come back to my bedroom, and we will see who is teasing who.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought my face to his. “I owe you after the other night.”
“You don’t owe me. We don’t work like that.”
“We, hey?” I picked up on his wording, and a smile spread across my face. “I like the sound of we.” When I went to kiss his lips, a clearing of a throat stopped me.
Maiden didn’t make a move to distance himself from me. “Fuck off, Prospect.” His voice was stern and hard, and when the prospect didn’t jump to, Maiden added, “Now,” which caused me to jump slightly.
“I thought the purple-haired beauty was off limits by Prez?” The prospect looked at me like I was a piece of meat, and he hadn’t eaten in days. “Can we share her?”
Maiden was off me within seconds. He took two steps, and then his fist connected with the prospect’s jaw.
“Come near her, and I’ll fucking make sure it is the last thing you’ll do.”
The prospect scrambled to his feet and ran out of the room, clearly scared he had just copped the full force of the enforcer.
Panic started to creep in. “What if he says something to Dad?”
“Nah, he likes breathing too much for that.” Maiden’s eyes locked with mine. “But I think it’s time he hears it from me.”
My eyes widened. “Hear what?”
“That we are…what we are.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. Maiden wanted to tell Dad, which meant—fuck, that said he was serious about us. Hell, it meant he didn’t just see me as a fling if he was willingly going to have his head shot off by Dad by telling him the truth.
Getting off the table, I walked toward him. My hands ran down his leather cut.
“I don’t think that is a good idea.”
“Why?”
“Dad and I aren’t on great terms at the moment.”
“Yeah, wanna talk about that?”
How did I explain to Maiden that I was sure someone was watching me? I had been honest with Dad and told him, and he hadn’t believed me, so what were the chances Maiden would?
After Grit interrupted us, the rest of the week had gone by like a blur. Maiden hadn’t touched me like that again, but he had stayed close to me, brushing against me as we passed each other or sitting right next to me, thighs touching, causing shivers to shoot up and down my spine.
So I was enjoying his touch as his hand slipped under my shirt and onto my bare skin.
“Let me do it,” I said and then quickly kissed him, silencing the argument before it started. “I know my dad, and something is off with him. It’s best I choose when to tell him.”
A brief emotion flashed over Maiden’s face, which I swore it was guilt, but what would he have to feel guilty about? I frowned, questioning whether I had read the emotion right or not. But then I knew Maiden wouldn’t keep something important from m because we had a relationship and friendship built on trust. I was always honest with him, and he had always been honest with me in return.
I walked into the garage and headed for the paint cans. I was in a good mood today, and that rarely happened. I was grabbing paint cans when I heard movement behind me.
“Do I even want to know?”
I flung around, trying to balance three paint tins. Guiltily, I looked at Maiden, who was getting up from where he had been working on his bike, and I hadn’t even picked him. “Um, I’m doing nothing.”
“Sure you aren’t.” He crossed his arms, giving me a look of amusement. He had grease on his white top and across his cheek, and he pointed a spanner at me. “Spill it, Emmie, or I’ll use my magic powers.”
Immediately, I blushed but thought I would play along. “I highly doubt you’ll be using those powers in public.”
“Don’t bet on that. I’m tempted to strip you here.” He walked toward me. “Always wanted to try body painting, and your body”—he gripped my hips—“would be the perfect canvas.” He blew in my ear. “Come on, sweetheart, you know you want to be naked with my hands all over.” He ran his hand down my side. “After the other night, you know how good I can make you feel.” His fingers spread across my breasts, and he groaned just a little when he discovered I wasn’t wearing a bra.
And I thought that was payback enough. “You can help if you want.” I nipped his bottom lip. “Paint the side of the shed that is, not me.”
“You wearing that?”
I looked down at my singlet and shorts. “Yeah, why?”
“Will you be bending over?” His voice deepened, and I looked back up at him. “In front of all the boys, you’re gonna be bending over and painting?” He took the paint cans off me. “Like fuck, I’m letting you out there unsupervised.”
I wandered around behind him and smiled to myself. He honestly thought people would be staring at me. Little did he know that no one would be interested in the purple-haired, makeup covered, and glasses-wearing girl.
I set up my design for the art masterpiece I was doing. Time passed before I knew it, and it was moments like now that I would admit demons made up ninety percent of my life, but the other ten percent was filled with moments like these. I inhaled the fresh air—being locked up in a room for a week would make you appreciate the little things—and this was the first time I was free to do as I pleased in the fresh air and not be forced to do exercise. Free to be on my own. Just me and…
“What the fuck is this?”
“Art.” I turned and gave Dad a grin. Considering Maiden got called away before he began, I could take full credit for the masterpiece on the wall.
Dad’s face was painted in shock, which I found ironic, and then it twisted in disbelief. “Painting the side of my garage isn’t considered art! It looks like a drugged-up addict took a spray can to it.”
A small smile spread across my face. “Well, when you think about it, you aren’t far off the mark.” I was teasing, but his expression told me he didn’t like the joke, so I clamped my lips shut.
He always had this thing about me joking about my medication. Because most of the drugs I was on to control my mental health were considered drugs of dependence, I referred to myself as a druggie, and he would always snap at me how it wasn’t true.
He exhaled sharply, controlling his father instinct to rage at me.
“Well, are you done ruining my garage?” he questioned, but there was a slight seriousness to his tone, causing me to be on guard.
“I haven’t done anything.” I was quick to assume he must have thought this was a sign of a relapse. “I just wanted to paint, I swear, Dad. I didn’t mean anything by it. Look, I’ll wash it off—” I was speaking gibberish quickly when he raised a hand to stop me.
“It’s not about your art, Emmie.” He glanced at it. “Though I’d love to know why out of the whole clubhouse you decided to spray-paint the good side of the garage.”
“Lightest canvas. What’s wrong?” I started to climb down the stepladder. “If it isn’t about the art, is it about what happened between me and—”
A throat clearing caused me to shut up, and I saw
Maiden standing there. He slowly moved his head from side to side, telling me not to mention it. After all, I’d promised him I would, and I made him swear he wouldn’t say a word. Dad frowned and then threw a look over his shoulder at Maiden.
“Do I even want to know?” Dad looked directly at Maiden, but unlike me, Maiden had a backbone and didn’t crumble or just blurt out every detail when faced with Dad’s eyes. I swear Dad’s eyes could get me to spit out every truthful detail.
Starting to get nervous, I took a step down from the ladder, only I missed the step and fell backward, expecting to hit the concrete, but instead, I fell into two strong arms, which caught me before guiding my feet back to the ground.
My hands were on his arms, and my back was firmly against his chest. I muttered a thank you while his hands wrapped around my waist caused my blood to rush.
“Emmie, we need to talk to you.”
I blinked. What? As Ryder’s arms unwrapped from around me, I was still blinking at Dad. “Um, sure,” I stammered, and then composed myself. “What’s wrong?”
I tried to be in the moment, but my body was tingling from his rough touch. In fact, all I could think about was Ryder’s arms wrapped around me moments ago.
“Nah.” Maiden intervened while giving Ryder a look to say to step the hell away. “Not now.”
“Have to, brother,” Dad said firmly. “It’s been two months. She needs to know.”
I frowned. “Know what?”
Dad and Maiden shared a look. Maiden clearly didn’t want me to know whatever it was, and Dad seemed determined it was time I was told.
“Can we have a word?” Maiden’s words were short, and his eyes locked with Dad’s.
The two of them disappeared around the corner.
I was awkwardly left with Ryder when Grit also took off after them.
“So who do you answer to?”
