Gem“I’ve had a nice time.” Awkwardly I shifted my weight from one foot to another. I’d had a nice time, I wasn’t lying there, but that was the problem. It had just been nice. There was no chemistry, no sparks of attraction. Which made standing in front of my closed door, waiting for him to try and kiss me goodnight, even worse. I knew he was going to try. I just didn’t know whether I was going to let him. “Me as well.” He took a step forward, invading my space, so his bulk pressed me back against the door. “I’d like to see you again.” His lips lowered.I had maybe a split second to decide what to do when the door I was pressed against opened. I fell backwards with a screech, my arms flailing. But I didn’t fall down. Instead, strong arms caught me, and a familiar warming smell filled my nostrils. Gent was here.I wasn’t sure why he was, but he was.“Time to wrap it up, kids.” Easily he lifted me back to my feet, but he didn’t let go of me. Instead, he stepped against my back. So cl
Gent“So you and Gem?” Ruin was trying hard to sound casual. Trying and failing. Slowly I turned to him. “What do you mean?” I knew exactly what he meant. He was worried about me sliding into the role of daddy to his half brother. He also seemed to have forgotten that I was the one who had watched Bobby come into this world. “Rumour has it you two are a couple.” There was no hesitation in his voice this time. “That you have moved in with her.”Moved in? I frowned. Sure, I had spent every night there with her body against mine, driving me insane. But seeing as she wouldn’t let me do anything but kiss her, I wasn’t sure if I could say we were a couple. I wanted to take things to the next level. And she was dragging her heels. Something was holding her back. I just didn’t know what it was. “I stay there sometimes.” I sipped my beer non committedly. Truth was, I didn’t even want it. “That’s all.” None of this was any of their business. It was none of the club’s business what went on b
GemHe had proposed.With his dick in my mouth, he had bloody proposed. Like I would take him seriously asking at such a moment. Not that I would take him seriously anyway.It was much too soon for that. Even if we had been living together as friends for a year. It wasn’t like it had been anything but a platonic relationship. We were growing closer, and I had feelings for him, but that didn’t mean we should run away and tie the knot. I had a sneaky suspicion it had more to do with the fact that all of his friends were settling down rather than him wanting to spend his life with me.Glancing at him from beneath the curtain of my hair as I wiped down one of the dusty sides in what used to be his tattoo parlour, I studied his face. He was frowning down at something in his hands. Like the wad of crumpled up paper, he was holding held bad news.“Everything ok?” It seemed like an eternity until he smiled at me. A beautiful flash of white against the dark whiskers on his cheeks. “Yeah, ev
Gent Gemma tried to hide it. But she was afraid. It wasn’t that she said anything out loud. She didn’t need to. After living with her for so long, I knew that look on her face. When Gemma got frightened, she got fidgety and quiet. And I fucking hated it.Hated that she was scared again. This shit was meant to be over. I had promised her it would be over if we came home. Fucking Young Blood had played us all. Acted like a friend and a brother so he could betray us, and he had made me out to be a liar.I had promised her she would be safe.Shaking my head, I cocked my head to the side. Listening to the quiet sound of Gem singing Bobby to sleep. She couldn’t hold a tune to save her life, but she always did it. “Gem?” Silently I padded to her bedroom. I knew she would be over Bobby’s cot. She would be finishing her song even if the lad was asleep. It was just what she did. Slowly she turned, a small uncertain smile playing over her lips. “Hi.” She whispered. “He’s asleep.” She said i
GemmaI now knew why they called him Gentleman, and it had nothing to do with his almost old fashioned respect for women. Although I was pretty sure that had a lot to do with it.No, Gentleman was called Gentleman because he always made a woman cum, numerous times in my case. “You look lost in thought?”His voice made me jump. Turning in my seat, I let my eyes drift over him. His dark hair was still wet from the shower, his jeans gaping, but it was the bare chest that made my mouth water. I continued to stare at him. What was it about a shirtless man holding a baby that made my ovaries ache?Gent’s smile grew. It was like he could read my thoughts. “See something you like?”I nodded eagerly. “A shirtless man holding a baby? What’s not to like?”“So it could be any man? As long as he was shirtless and holding a baby?” One dark eyebrow wiggled suggestively. Laughing, I tilted my chin. I tried to hide my teasing smile from him. “I think I like you the best, though.”Gent stalked towar
Gent“Fuck.” Gent moved quickly. Using his much wider body to shield me from view. Not that it mattered now, they had all seen. We must have been so engrossed in each other that we hadn’t even heard them arrive, let alone knock on the door and make their way into the garden when we didn’t answer. “Get dressed.” His fingers closed my blouse over my naked chests. It didn’t seem to matter to him that his jeans were around his ankles and his bare ass on display. Gent thought about me first. Just like a gentleman. His lips brushed over mine, and for a second, I forgot the audience we had in the garden as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Someone outside wolf-whistled loudly, and I ducked my head into his chest as he laughed. “Dressed, Gem.”He stood there as I righted my clothes, his eyes never leaving me. And it was only when I had pulled my panties into place under my skirt that he finally turned. “You guys are assholes.” With a sigh, he unlocked the kitchen door. Letting them all f
GentSome son of a bitch had set fire to my shop. There was no way it was an accident. The smell of the accelerant was strong even after the fire department had doused the flames. Someone had purposely set fire to my livelihood. The business I had spent years growing. All those memories were gone. And it was my only source of legit income. Income I needed to support my family.Gemma and Bobby were my family. She would be worried about me. I had told her that I would check in as soon as I knew what was going on. With everything going on, I hadn’t managed to text her.Pulling my phone from my pocket, I frowned down at the screen.She hadn’t replied to any of my earlier messages. She hadn’t even opened them. A niggling unease settled in the pit of my stomach. There was no reason for it, but I couldn’t deny it.“You have insurance, don’t you?” Truth had obviously misunderstood the look on my face. “Yeah, of course.” “Then why do you suddenly look constipated?” As usual, nothing much g
GemmaThe sound of a gunshot echoed from the darkness, making me jump. In my arms, Bobby let out a wail. I clutched him closer to my chest. My hands reached up to cover his tiny little ears.“It’s ok, it’s ok.” I wasn’t sure who I was speaking to. Him or me. But it was a mantra I kept mumbling in the back of Young Blood’s car.I had expected him to take us out of town and fast when he forced us from my tiny flat. So it was a surprise when he pulled up in front of the Black Aces compound.The man on the gate, someone I didn’t recognise, had seen the cut on Young Blood’s back and waved him forward with a friendly smile. Just one brother welcoming another. He didn’t see the gun until too late. Young Blood shot him without warning. There was no other sound but that loud boom. It echoed in the empty road. But it gave me hope. Surely someone in the clubhouse would have heard it. They would have realised that something was happening and they would be ready. They would help Bobby and me. “