Cali“Sweetheart.” Gems voice brought me back to myself. “If he’s not here by now, he’s not coming.” Her voice was wary. Like she didn’t know how I would take it. I knew what I must look like to her, as I stared out through the dark window. I looked like one of those sad women. The kind that pined after a man who she knew was just playing her. I wanted to tell her it wasn’t like that. That I had some self-respect. But what would be the point? True I was leaving in the morning, but I had been looking forward to seeing him one last time. To fooling around with him one last time. Truth was officially the best sex I had ever had. I wasn’t even sure any other men were going to live up to him. “I know.” I gave her a smile. It was forced, but I made my lips move. “I'm leaving tomorrow anyway.”Gem studied me. Her head cocked to the side. “I told you not to get too attached….” she trailed off.“I didn’t.” Instantly I went on the defensive. It was a stupid thing to do; the knowing smile on
Truth I knew what they saw when I lead Cali through the doorway to the main room. I knew, and I didn’t care. They saw what I wanted them to see. I knew what it meant, bringing her to them with my colours on her back. She might not know, but they did.“Truth?” Gents eyes were the widest of the lot. He seemed genuinely shocked. But he hid it well as he climbed to his feet. Coming towards us with a massive smile on his face. “Cali love.” He bent with his hands on her narrow shoulders.”It’s good to see you again.” His eyes dived over her in a way I hated. “And a blonde? It suits you.”“The pink was a….” Cali faltered. She was uncomfortable, I could tell. And I couldn’t blame her. I would have been as well in her position. “Blonde is my natural colour.” She gave the smallest of shrugs under my arm. “Kind of.”“It looks good on you.” Gents eyes raised to mine for a second; the question was in them as clear as day. They all had questions, and I would have to answer them sooner rather tha
CaliThis was crazy, absolutely crazy but hadn’t I wanted to live a little on the wild side? And being with Truth was definitely living on the wild side. The fact that he was insanely hot and blew my mind out of the top of my head in bed was an added bonus.It couldn’t last forever. I knew that, and I was ok with it. A fling, a few weeks of letting loose and living wild and then I could go back to my boring, mundane life. I was owed some time off, and even if I wasn’t, I was sure they could cope in the office without me. It wasn’t like I was important there. I flopped back on the small double bed, letting my eyes wander around the room. It was sparse, almost threadbare, but at least it was clean. But there was absolutely nothing to do. I didn’t have my bags with me; all I had was my phone.Pulling it from my jacket, I flopped back down. I did have something I needed to do. It wasn’t particularly fun, but it needed to be done.“Hey.” The deep male voice answered on the third ring. “
TruthI got it now, why Ruined always had a grin on his face every time I saw him. Three weeks I had woken up with Cali wrapped around my body every morning. Or found her in the kitchen, brewing coffee with her hair sticking up in every direction. A thoroughly fucked look making her face look serene. So yeah, I got it. ,I liked having a woman around. And Wicked did as well. Even if he would never say so out loud. I could tell. Not that my older brother was here all that often. He was pretty good about making himself scarce. Apart from that one time, when he had walked in with Gent, I had been eating her out when she was sat on the kitchen counter. Both of them had thought it was hysterical and I had wanted to visit violence on the pair of them. The only reason they hadn’t felt my fist connecting with their faces was that they had left pretty quickly. After several obscene comments about joining in or at least watching.“Morning.” I wrapped my arms around her from behind, pressing my
Cali“He said what?” Gem froze from her place behind the bar, the empty glasses in her hand forgotten as she turned to where I was perched on stool, my arms crossed on the wood as I waited for her afternoon shift to finish.Not that I wasn’t enjoying myself. There was a freedom to being here. I had felt it from the first moment. This was a place where you could just be …. well just BE. There was no judgement. “Truth said what?” She repeated when I didn’t answer quick enough.“He said he had something important to ask me.” I took a sip of the cola in front of me. I wasn’t above day drinking. I had done more of that than was healthy over the last few weeks. But I didn’t want to be falling asleep on Gems sofa before six because I was steaming.Doing that was a great way to have the piss taken out of you forever. A lesson I had learnt the hard way my first week. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again. “Important to ask you?” The glasses slipped from her fingers and crashed to the flo
Cali Truth.His name seemed to haunt me, but it was nothing compared to the nightmares I had every night since he had pulled a gun on me. Nightmares of his cold dead eyes as he pressed that deadly piece of metal against my forehead. Only in my dreams, he hadn’t let me walk away in my urine soaked panties. He had pulled that trigger.Every single night he pulled the trigger over and over again.Weeks had passed since the day my whole world imploded. And I tried to skip back into my old life. I really tried, but nothing felt right. This wasn’t my home anymore.I went through the motions. I got up, showered, and dressed, I went to work every morning with a forced smile on my face. I even socialised with my flatmates and friends, and then I fell into bed and cried myself to sleep.I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t carry on living this half-life. “You can do this,” I told myself as I swiped the mascara over my lashes. “Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, you know.” My
TruthI was a mess. I had been a mess since the moment I had found out. Sure I kept my agony locked deep down inside of me. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. Buried within.I had pulled a gun on her. On Cali. I had pressed it against her skin, and she had been so scared she had wet herself. It wasn’t the first time I had made someone piss themselves, but it had been the first time I had done it to a woman. And not just any woman. A woman I loved.I hadn’t let her explain. I hadn’t given her a damn chance to say anything. And I should have. I should have done a lot of things differently. Maybe I would have done them differently if I had allowed myself to actually listen to her. I had been so obsessed with hearing the truth that I had been blind to the truth right in front of my face.Cali.Everywhere I had turned, there were memories of her. Her clothes in my closet, her damn pink, purple wig on my nightstand. I couldn’t get away from her. My sheets smelt like her perfume. And I
CaliI kept myself together the entire time I was in the same small cramped room as Truth. I wasn’t sure how I had done it, but somehow I did.“Cali?” Layla’s voice was startled as I crashed through the front door. My legs buckled before I even had time to shut it, and I crumbled to the floor in a heap. Sobbing uncontrollably.“Cali.” My best friend in the world was there in a second. Kneeling beside me, she pulled my head into her dressing gowned breast. “Cali, what is it?”I couldn’t speak, I could barely breathe. All I could do was sob. Great wracking sobs that made my chest hurt and my throat sore. “Cali, come on babes. Talk to me.” Gently she pulled me to my feet, and I let myself be lifted. Just like I let myself be lead over to the sofa. Loosing one of my heels as I went. “What’s happened?” Layla’s hands went back around my shoulders.“Truth.” His name ripped out of my mouth. It was the only thing I could say.Layla’s eyes blazed. “Did he hurt you?” She looked around like he w
Gent“Baby.” I stared down at her face as she blinked her eyes awake, confusion making them cloudy.I had sat by her bedside for hours, worrying and not able to do anything but wait. The doctors said she was okay, that her burns were just superficial but I couldn’t help but worry.“Baby, it’s ok.” I smoothed back her frizzy hair. The usual silky strands were singed. She would have to have it all cut off, but it was a small price to pay.Panic ripped across her face as she struggled to sit upright, her eyes wild.“Bobby...”Gently, I forced her back against the pillows. My touch was light, but she hissed in pain anyway. “Gem, look at me. Bobby is safe. Parker got him out.” She visibly relaxed, all the fight leaving her as she relaxed back. Tears sprung up in her eyes. “Thank god. He’s a good boy. Brave. Even when Young….” She trailed off. Her bottom lip started to tremble. “Young Blood?”“Dead. You don’t have to worry about him anymore. You and Bobby are safe.” I wanted her to believe
GentMy hand raised to those behind me as a lanky figure detached itself from the looming industrial buildings flanking the road that surrounded the gates of the Black Aces compound.Parker was hunkered down, with something clutched in his arms. My heart stuttered to a stop as he looked up at me with wide, terrified eyes. Stepping away from the body at my feet, I rushed over to him. “Parker.” I reached for the baby in his arms, and he shied away like I was a threat. I let my hand fall to my side as Ruin came up. His face troubled.“Hey, son, it’s ok. You're safe now.”Finally, recognition flickered to life in Parker’s eyes. “Ruin?”Ruin folded the boy into his arms. “Right here, Parker. Right here. You’re safe now, I promise. Give the baby to his dad. Are you hurt?” Ruin was talking in a rush of words. But somehow, Parker understood them. Bobby was passed over to me, and I wasted no time in checking over his tiny frame. He looked unharmed, but I was still going to make Young Blood h
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. “
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
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
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 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
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“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