“So damn touchy, Angel.” The man tsked. “You’ve never had any patience, have you?”
“Who the hell is this and how the fuck do you know my name?”
“How about you use that damn brain? Who do you think it is?”
The voice sounded familiar. But it couldn’t be. “Charles Brian.”
“Ding ding ding.” Charles laughed.
Fuck my life.
***
(Jay)
Angel paced back and forth, rubbing the back of his neck and cursing at Charles. He was still on the phone giving Angel a hard time
I was lucky in the fact that I had never met Charles. Everything in me told me that he was worse than Vega. I had tried so hard to forget. I knew that every time Angel looked at me, he was concerned that I would snap or fall apart until I was a crumbling heaping mess. But I was strong. My daddy raised me well. My chest panged. I made a mental note to call him. Things had been strained with Tyler showing his face around more and more. I attempted to convince my father to kick him out of his club but to no avail. Fucking fucker liked to dig his claws into everything and everyone I held dearly.
“Listen,” Angel shouted, “you bastards already shit on my doorstep once. I won’t let you get to me a second time.” Angel’s gaze darkened. “I will enjoy pissing on your grave.” He hung up, took a deep breath, and turned my way.
We stood there. Staring at each other. Not knowing what the other was thinking but I could see the evil in his gaze. The pure hatred for the men who were ruining the lives of our small town. The sick sadistic freaks who would do anything to get the control they craved, not caring in the least who they hurt or killed in the process.
“Jay,” Angel said gently.
“I get it,” I told him.
He closed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around me. “I know you’re strong and you can take care of yourself, but I need you to try and let me protect you.”
Leaning back, I stared up at him. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because you’re headstrong and determined to make a mark in this world. By yourself,” he reminded me.
Oh, yeah. “I’m not stupid, Angel. I know when I need help and this shit is different. After … after Vega …” I swallowed hard. “I can’t go through that again.”
“I know, baby.” He cradled my head against his chest. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant. You’re the strongest woman I know but I need to protect you. I have to. If something …” His voice trailed off.
I agreed with him. I couldn’t lose him. We couldn’t lose each other. Angel never knew how to love until he met me. And I didn’t know what true love was until I met him. What I had with Tyler was not love. It was dark and dangerous. Angel wouldn’t hurt me—I knew that—but Tyler fucked me up and that tiny sense of dread would probably always be there.
We held each other for what felt like hours, taking the comfort that we needed. No words were said. No noise was made. It was peaceful except for the racing of my heart. I loved this man in my arms. More than my next breath. He was all I needed to survive this shit called life. He made me feel strong. All of this time, I thought I was helping him when really, he had helped me. More than I could ever thank him for. More than I could even say.
“You should call Meeka,” Angel said awhile later.
“Why?” I knew why but I didn’t want to admit it. She hurt me. We had always butted heads, but I still loved her like a sister. I knew that but I couldn’t get over what her and Asher did. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
“I know you’re pissed.” Angel pulled back, cupping my chin. “Hell, so am I. But you need all the support you can get. You’re trying to make a name for your club the legal way. You need all of your sisters at your back.”
“Why do you always have to be right?” I grumbled.
He chuckled. “Because I know what’s best for you and I also know that you’ll feel better once you talk to her.”
“What if she hurts me again?” I muttered. I wasn’t one to get scared over the small shit but Meeka keeping my sister’s safety from me really ate at me. And the fact I was used as bait. Not like it was a big deal or anything. I bit back a scoff.
“You can’t think like that. You’ll drive yourself fucking crazy.” He turned me in his arms and kissed the side of my neck. “Go call her,” he said, patting me gently on the rear.
I huffed but did as I was told.
“Hello?” came a soft voice on the other end of the phone.
“Hey,” I greeted, sitting on the couch in the living room.
“Jay? Is something wrong?” Meeka asked.
“No. I will be honest, though. Angel is the one who convinced me to call you.” I cleared my throat. “I’m trying here, Meeka, but with you not around, it makes it hard.”
“I know.” She sighed. “We’re stopping by tonight.” She continued when I didn’t say anything, “I miss you girls. This … shit … sucks.”
I laughed. She was right.
“I’m happy Angel convinced you to call me.”
“Yeah, well, that man of mine is too fucking smart for his own good sometimes.” I cleared my throat again. “Max wanted to have a party tonight, but I told her to just have the guys and us there.”
“I agree. I need to see you girls.”
“How are things there?”
Meeka laughed. “I have a dark, brooding man who won’t leave me alone and it’s confusing as hell.”
“Sounds like you got a problem,” I teased.
“A delicious one,” she whispered.
“Listen, whatever you do, whatever is going on between the both of you, don’t be stupid like I was and push him away.”
“Why, Jay, are you giving me advice?” Meeka teased back.
This light hearted humor was a nice change. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
“Baby, who are you talking to?” Angel asked, a slight smirk spreading on his face.
“Meeka,” I replied.
“God, woman, it’s about damn time,” Angel grumbled.
I rolled my eyes.
“I’ll let you go, Jay,” Meeka said. “Thank you again for calling me.”
“See you tonight.” And with that, I hung up.
“How did it go?” Angel sat beside me on the couch, grabbing hold of my hand. He slipped his fingers between mine, brushing his thumb back and forth over mine.
“Good.” I leaned my head against his shoulder. “Thank you.”
“If you haven’t realized it by now, I would do anything to make you happy.” He kissed my nose. “Remember that.”
***
(Angel)
“Oh, God. Yes. Angel. More. Please.”
Jay’s begging was music to my fucking ears. Her hips bucked against my face. Her pussy soaked and glistening. She tasted like heaven and I was a starved man, devouring my meal.
Once we arrived at the clubhouse, no one had been around. I threw her over my shoulder and charged for her room before she could protest and fight against me.
I growled like an animal and lapped at her center. Thrusting my tongue in and out of her, I flicked her swollen clit with my finger until she came a third time.
She moaned.
Wrapping my arms around her hips, I pulled her against me and ate at her hard and rough. She would have razor burn and slight bruising, but the caveman inside of me didn’t fucking care.
My senses were on overdrive as her sweetness slid down my throat. I didn’t let up. It only made me suck and lick harder.
This unexpected urge to make her break took over. It consumed my soul. All of the stress, not knowing what was going on, our own personal issues … it all drove me to the brink of madness. Everything I felt, I took it out on Jay. My fiancée. My Queen. The piece of me I never knew I needed.
After Jay came undone a fourth time, I flipped her onto her stomach and drove my body into hers so hard, we both shouted out. Not caring in the least who heard us, I forced the screams to leave her mouth. The
cries of pleasure to grace my ears. The hard demands for me to be rougher.
God, I loved this woman and everything she was. I lived and breathed her. My feelings for her grew strong and fast in the short time we had been together. I thanked God for her every day and I would spend the rest of my life proving to her that she deserved better than what Tyler had given her.
“I love you, my Queen,” I whispered in her ear an hour later. Kissing her shoulder, I cupped her breast in my hand and threw my leg over hers.
“I love you.” She sighed, curling into me. “Max is throwing a party just for Vice-One and us. It’ll be good for everyone to unwind.”
“Fucking you eases my stress but if she wants a party, I won’t be rude.”
Jay laughed. “Thank you.” Sitting up, she let the sheet fall to her waist. The metal barbells poking through her nipples sparkled in the late afternoon sun.
“You are so fucking beautiful,” I groaned, my dick twitching.
Her cheeks flushed. “Yeah? Just how beautiful am I?” She licked her lips and straddled my lap.
“You’re so beautiful, it takes my breath.” I gripped her hips, pushing into her before she had a chance to stop me.
She moaned, throwing her head back.
My cock slid into her center. She was wet, needy, so fucking hungry for me. “Ride me, Jay.”
Her hips circled against mine, slamming hard into my pelvis.
I groaned, meeting her thrust for thrust. “That’s it,” I reared up. “Take what you need from me. Fuck me hard.”
Her hands slapped against my chest, digging her nails into my pecs. “God, you feel good.”
“So do you.” I flipped her onto her back, thrusting into her hard before crashing my mouth to hers. It wasn’t just a kiss. It was the need to consume. The ultimate battle between who owned who. We enjoyed the back and forth, the cat and mouse play, but in the end, we both owned each other.
Chapter 6
Jay
MAX THREW A PARTY. Of course she would. It was the only way she could get out of her head. Whenever there was a problem, she would put together a gathering. She needed to socialize for fear of losing herself.
After all of the shit she had to endure with Dale Michaels, she did everything in her power to forget.
I had been a shitty friend and wasn’t there for her when she needed me most. Although she had reassured me that everything was fine between us, I could sense the hint of jealousy seeping from her pores. It took everything in me not to beat Dale’s face in. The fucker got her pregnant but wanted nothing to do with her or the baby.
“What’s wrong, princess?” Angel asked, kissing my forehead.
“Ev … nothing.”
He frowned but didn’t argue with me.
Had it come to this? Did he now take my lies for what they were? Even though he knew I had been lying, he never questioned me.
After being together for months, I still couldn’t get over the fact that he had taken control of me where I needed it most. I did everything I could to give it to him willingly. He never took me for granted. But the part I had lost so long ago with Tyler still forced its way into my mind.
“I love you.”
He didn’t.
“You are everything to me.”
That wasn’t true.
“You’re mine.”
Which meant he could fuck anyone he wanted to but if I so much as looked at another man, Tyler’s fist would end up against my face. Or worse. It was always worse.
The first time he hit me, it shocked me to the core. I had been so surprised, I thought it wasn’t real. But being raised by my father and his bike club, I hit Tyler back without even thinking. Of course, he enjoyed it and it turned into the darkest dirtiest sex I ever had.
Every emotion, every hint of the love I thought I had felt for my ex was replaced from the first moment Angel looked at me. We enjoyed challenging each other. The violence I had endured with Tyler came so often I found myself getting used to it.
“Jay?”
I rose from the bed and turned toward Angel. Standing there naked, completely stripped bare for the man I loved, I waited.
“I love you,” he finally said.
“I love you too,” I whispered back. And I did. More than life. He was my sun, moon, and stars. The beginning to my end. My everything. But I didn’t know how to give him all of me in return. I knew I had to. I prayed. Begged for the words to leave my mouth to let him know that I was fucked up. To help him realize that I was just scared. The words never left my lips.
Under normal circumstances, Angel would have demanded that I join him in bed. He would then make promises to fill my mind and my body with only him. But I wasn’t in the mood. Not for him. Not for anyone. It wasn’t fair to him. None of this was his fault. It was the whole “it’s not you, it’s me” bullshit and it pissed me off even more.
Angel slid his legs over the side of the bed, brushing a hand through his dark hair. “I love you,” he repeated. “Know that. And I will spend the rest of my life showing you that I’m not him.”
My heart jumped. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Angel let out a heavy sigh. “You don’t have to admit it. Not yet. I’ll give you time, Jay, but I mean it. I am not Tyler. I can be an asshole. I know that. But I would never do anything to you that you didn’t want me to do. Please know that I love you.”
“I do.” I got dressed and headed for the door, needing to run away from his words. There was no way I could discuss Tyler at the moment. “I’m going to get a bottle of the strongest alcohol I have.”
Angel grunted, pulling on his jeans and t-shirt. “Sounds like a perfect plan.”
“Or a dangerous one,” I mumbled.
We left my room and walked hand in hand down the hall. We were having issues talking but that small touch gave me some hope. It wasn’t a lot, but it was a start.
Before we reached the crowded area at the front of the club, Angel stopped me and kissed my knuckles. He stared intently into my eyes, backing me up against the wall.
A breath left me on a whoosh. I would never get used to seeing this side of him. The dark and dominating man who took from me what he needed and gave me what I craved in return.
Brushing the back of his knuckles down the side of my face, he placed his other hand on the wall.
I was caged in by this man. I knew everything about him. What to expect. But I would never get used to how, with one look, he took my breath away.
His dark eyes burned me, searing into my skin until all I could focus on was him staring back at me.
“You are so damn beautiful,” he gritted, his jaw clenching. “Your beauty makes me weak.”
“Angel,” I breathed, sliding my hands down his chest and leaning my forehead against him.
“I love you, Jay. Nothing will change that,” he gripped the back of my neck in a firm hold, reminding me that I belonged to him. And I did, didn’t I? Every inch of me. Every single fiber of my very being.
But what if something did change things? What if Tyler succeeded in ruining our relationship? He didn’t want me, but he didn’t want anyone else to have me, either. I knew how he worked. He would get in our heads, trying to take control from the inside out.
“Jay, stop fucking thinking so much,” Angel pinched my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “I know you worry. I do too. We can’t see the future. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. But I do know that I will always fucking love you. I just wish you would believe me.”
Tears welled in my eyes, my throat constricting. It was so damn tight, every swallow I made burned like hell. “I know,” I whispered.
“Do you?” he demanded, releasing me. He took a step back, shoving his hand through his hair. “My life is shit without you, but I won’t beg you to stay. If you want out, show me the respect I deserve and tell me.”
My eyes widened. “What? God no.” I closed the distance between us, gripping his thick arms. “Of course I
don’t want out. You have to believe me. I love you. I love you with all of me.” I rambled on and on but Angel wouldn’t meet my gaze. He didn’t believe me. Was this because of Tyler? Or me? Shit. What have I done?
Nothing. That’s what. I have done nothing at all to show Angel how much I loved him. Both of us had difficulty with words but I never thought it would end us.
“Let’s make an appearance at Max’s party,” Angel muttered, his deep voice soon drowned out by the loud music.
I followed him out into the crowded room.
Angel and his brothers had fixed up the hole in the far wall. Looking at it, you would never think that months ago, someone attempted to blow the place up.
And that was when I met him. For the first time.
Angel Rodriguez.
My King.
Chapter 7
Angel
JAY’S LAUGHTER VIBRATED INTO my soul. It was melodious, sliding over my skin like melted chocolate. But it was an act. Every single smile, every giggle, none of it was real. Because of me. Anyone who knew her would see that the smiles never reached her eyes. Or that the laughter was forced and drawn out.
She would look my way every so often, her eyes pleading with me to stay. But it wasn’t me she had to worry about.
Jay would run. I knew it. She knew it. I was just waiting for the time to come when I would wake up in the morning to an empty spot in bed beside me.
“I need a fucking drink.”
Jay’s loud demand sent my nerves on edge.
I didn’t know these men, these bikers. Her father’s club hadn’t even made an appearance. At least with them, I knew what to expect. Dickface Tyler, on the other hand, was another thing.
“Grab a bottle and bring it back to your room,” I called out over the music, leaning against the wall.
“Not gonna happen, baby,” she yelled back. “I’m getting drunk with my sisters tonight. You can join me if you wish.” Her gaze challenged me. With her chin jutted out, her lips pursed into a straight line. She wanted to fight.