Dalton wasn't sure what he was doing here. He hadn't even realized this was where he'd decided to come until he'd parked his bike in the extra space next to Mandy's car. His bike had chosen its own way there, and it had gone home. He was as much a nomad as his brother these days. That was becoming more clear to him every single day of his life. But this woman, she represented so much of what he needed in his life. She was the air he needed to expand his lungs, the rest he needed at night, and the blood he needed pouring through his veins.He was so fucking tired. Tired of worrying about other people, denying his feelings, and most of all, tired of lying to himself. He needed her like he needed his next breath. Denying their need of each other was doing nothing but hurting them, and for one night he didn't want to hurt anymore. He was raw after talking to Samuel and trying to figure out how they were going to fix the problem he'd dragged all of them into.More than anything, he need
Dalton sat her down softly on the blanket covering the bed. She'd had it since she was younger, and he could remember them making out on it back in the day. Everything about her took him back to another much simpler time, and he wished like hell they could go there now. He laid her down so that her legs hung off the end of the bed. It made a perfect cradle for his body between her thighs.Standing over her, he ran his hands over her T-shirt clad torso, stopping where he could see the peaks of her nipples poking through the material."Sensitive?" he asked, even though he'd always heard that they were for pregnant women.She took a deep breath as his finger circled the pebbled flesh, nodding. "Yeah, very."She whined when he took his hand back, working on removing his cut and his own T-shirt. He knew Mandy better than he knew anyone else, and he could tell by the way she was already arching into his touch this was something she'd wanted for a while. "You missed me, baby?" He push
The morning sun woke up a couple on the other side of town. They'd slept peacefully, even with worry on their minds—unlike the soon-to-be-parents. Denise turned in her husband's arms so she could look at him as she spoke. She wanted to see his facial expressions, wanted to know what he really thought about their daughter and how she was acting. Not that she thought he would hide anything from her, but she wanted to see his reactions."Are you sure you have no idea why Dalton's asked for a leave of absence? I'm telling you, something is going on with Mandy, but she wouldn't tell me what it is. She asked me how I felt when I learned I was pregnant with the twins. You don't think…" She trailed off; leaving the words on the breath she'd stopped. More than once in the last few weeks as she'd looked at her daughter, she'd wondered if maybe she was continuing the family, so to speak, but Mandy had always been her responsible child."No," Liam's voice was forceful. "Both of them know bette
"Usually people who take a leave from the club don't hang out here during their off-time," Tyler's voice boomed in the big room.Dalton grinned as he caught sight of Drew and Tyler in the boxing ring that sat on Heaven Hill property. It'd been around for as long as he could remember. He and Drew had spent time as teenagers in this very ring with Tyler. They'd come full circle, he figured."Yeah." Dalton took his cut off and started suiting up in gloves, tape, and a mouthpiece. "But sometimes you have a need to beat the shit out of someone else. Here I can do it without that pesky assault charge."Drew hopped up on his feet, wearing a tank top and basketball shorts. "We haven't been in the ring together for a long time. I can't wait." He hopped from one foot to the other. "When I beat your ass, you can tell me what's wrong with you and my sister."He swallowed against the lump in his throat. How could he tell his best friend he was going to be an uncle? How could he explain he w
The sun was out, and the day was gorgeous. Instead of spending her lunch hour cooped up in the office, Mandy had locked up, since Charity was doing home visits with clients, and walked the block down to the coffee shop. Today she was hungry; her stomach actually growled with hunger instead of trembling with the possibility of sickness. Going inside, she ordered a plain turkey sandwich, some fruit, and a sweet tea. Probably wasn't the best meal she'd ever had, but it sounded so good she couldn't deny herself.Taking her plate and drink out onto the sidewalk, she spotted an empty table in the outdoor seating area. It wasn't directly in the sun, but it was enough that she'd feel the warmth on her face. Having a seat, she moved her sunglasses to the top of her head, pushing back her longer pieces of hair, and took a large bite of her sandwich.Nothing had ever tasted so good in her life. It was as if her taste buds had come alive this morning. Everything smelled differently too, but th
"I don't want you to have to do this," Samuel argued as Deacon and Dalton sat in the kitchen of the little trailer, explaining to him what they were going to do. His face wore a mask of irritation, and he angrily flicked the ashes of his cigarette into an ashtray, his hand shaking as he brought the filtered tobacco up to his mouth and took a long drag.Dalton had never been so annoyed in his life. Trying to make this man see the truth and the light of day was beginning to wear on him. In his uncle's mind, he thought he could come up with the money he owed by himself. "Listen, I'm in the position that I can ask for it." Didn't mean he wanted to, but he would."It's not your job to save me." Sam leveled him with a stare.It was a stare that would have scared him back when he was a teenager, but these days Dalton faced scarier truths. Namely one about five foot six with long dark hair and the most soulful pair of hazel eyes he'd ever seen. After the night at Mandy's he'd realized wh
Mandy sat in the waiting area of Dr. Sparks' office. This early, she was the only one there, and she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when she'd gotten there and there was no sign of Dalton. She had been telling the truth about not wanting to pressure him. If he wanted to be a part of their child's life, that would be his decision to make.Scrolling through her phone, she opened her social media account, and a memory popped up. It was dated a year ago, and it was a picture of the two of them. He had his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. The smile on his face was geniune, and the look he gave her was one of unfiltered love.It brought tears to her eyes, but they weren't the tears of despair she'd been crying lately. These were good tears, they were a display the love the two of them had shared, and she had hope for the first time they'd get it back.Him stopping to join her for lunch yesterday was a huge step in the right direction. Something so
As she had driven over to a small café on the other side of town, Mandy had kept her eyes peeled on the bike behind her. She'd been waiting for him to turn at a stoplight or keep on going when she'd pulled into the parking lot, but he hadn't. He'd kept his bike tucked in behind her car, following every move she'd made."Is this okay?" she asked, as she got out and he parked next to her.He surveyed the parking lot. It was pretty empty this time of day, and they would have some sort of privacy."This is great." He took his helmet off and stuffed his gloves inside, hooking it on the taillight of the bike."Are you okay?" she asked, offering her hand to him. He'd become uncharacteristically overcome with emotion when he'd heard the heartbeat of their child. It'd brought tears to her own eyes as she'd watched him struggle to get a grip."I'm good." He squeezed their hands together.As they'd left the appointment, he'd put the ultrasound pictures in his wallet, almost as if they
The temperature in the cab of the truck was downright frigid as Remy drove to Tyler's house to drop off Addie first. Tatum refused to meet his gaze and that flat out pissed him off. If she was going to give herself to another man and then have the balls to sit in front of him like this, she should at least have the decency to meet his eyes when he looked at her."Am I going to have to explain to Tyler why I'm dropping you off at one in the fucking morning?" Remy glanced in the review mirror of the truck, looking back to where Addie sat in the extended cab."No," she shook her head, looking about as tired and unhappy as he felt. "He's at the clubhouse. He and Mom had planned to stay and they took Caelin with them."Well, thank God for small favors, because the one person besides Liam he didn't want to face off with tonight, was Tyler."You're lucky I don't call him and tell him where the hell you've been. How could you let her go up there with him?" he questioned her, the irrita
Tatum's heart beat through her chest as she followed Gavin upstairs to a much quieter part of the house. Her mouth was dry – the result of her nerves, or the alcohol she'd consumed – she wasn't sure which. Her hand gripped Gavin's tightly, but she knew it wasn't because she was excited, it was because she wanted to yank on it, and stop him from leading her into the empty bedroom. Part of her wanted to put a stop to it, the other part wanted to go through with this so she could throw it in Remy's face. Those stubborn traits she'd inherited from her dad were alive and well tonight.She glanced over her shoulder, spotting Addie pulling out her phone and making a call. The worried look on her friend's face told her all she needed to know. Addie was probably calling in reinforcements and her time had suddenly become very limited."You feelin' good?" his deep voice questioned in her ear, causing her hair to stand up and goosebumps to appear on her arms. This time it was different than wh
Remy was in a piss-poor mood, had been since the night of the Christmas party and everything that had gone down with Tatum. He bit off the head of anyone foolish enough to ask if he was okay. He'd been eating lunch by himself, and overall had been a miserable fucking loner. Even right now, while everyone else was partying their asses off, his big date was being in the gym and beating the ever-loving shit out of a heavy bag. It was the only thing that seemed to calm him the last few days.Hearing his fists connect with the bag felt good, even if it was muted by the gloves he wore. His arms burned, his shoulders and back ached, his chest heaved, and sweat poured down his forehead and into his eyes; making them sting. The sting felt good though, because it distracted him from the guilt he felt for the way he'd treated Tatum. And that guilt was pressing down on him like he was trapped under a thousand-pound boulder.He'd felt every emotion on the spectrum since she'd walked out on him
Tatum's blue eyes took in the party-goers around her. In different parts of the room, she could see members of her graduating class, some kids that were now seniors, and a few college kids. God, this had never been her thing, she'd never found high school or college parties worth anything to her. She could see everything that went on at them and more, at the club parties. Plus, this was a mob mentality – everyone here went along with everyone else, and it was so boring. Nobody had any individuality. Normally, she'd have tossed the invitation in the trash can and not even thought twice about it. She would have spent the night at the club's New Year's party and have an actual good time with her friends and family.Tonight though, she was on a mission."Do you see anybody?" Addie asked as they surveyed the room.Tatum took a drink from the bottle of Strawberry Boone's Farm she carried in her hand. It was the bottom shelf stuff, guaranteed to get you loaded in the least amount of tim
Tatum had never felt anything like the all-consuming lust that blasted through her as soon as Remy grabbed her hip and pulled her deep into his body. She'd thought she had but damn, she was wrong. Her fingers grasped at his shirt, trying to ground herself in the feelings, when she felt his bare palms slip up under the hem of her dress. The sharp intake of breath, and the way he nipped at her lip indicated he'd discovered she'd worn a thong."Fuck, Tate," he moaned as he pulled his lips from hers.She almost cried as he abandoned her lips and smeared his mouth down her neck. She felt the sharp nip of his teeth down to the core of her body. It caused her nipples to tighten further against the lace of strapless bra, and before she knew what she was doing, she was rubbing up against him."Please, Rem," she gasped out when she felt one of his hands on her ass venture back over her hip, and closer to the wetness and heat she felt between her thighs."Has anybody touched you?" he grow
He knew the second she walked in, just like he'd known when she'd entered the bakery. Even seven shots of Pappy in, he could feel her, he knew she was there by the way the hair on the back of his neck stood up, the goosebumps he got on his arms and the way his dick stirred to attention. He wasn't sure what kind of hold Tatum Walker held over him, but it was strong, maybe dangerously so, like some sort of Jedi Mind Trick he'd never be able to resist. And dammit if his hand didn't shake as he took his next shot."Too much for you?" Drew asked as he noticed the slight tremble of the other man's hand.How did he tell the man sitting beside him, he was hard up for his little sister? Easy. He didn't."Nah, I'm good, but I gotta hit the head. Be back."Plan number two when plan number one didn't work? Run and hope she wouldn't follow. As much alcohol as he had consumed, he wasn't sure he could push her away this time. After all, he was only a man and he wasn't immune to the way she lo
He should have brought a date. Those were the first words Remy thought when he walked through the door of the clubhouse. It hit him like a ton of bricks, and all he wanted to do was turn around and head back to Cash and Harper's. Normally, he lived at the clubhouse, but he'd had dinner at their place tonight. He could relieve the babysitter watching Maddy, and he wouldn't have to worry about keeping his guard up.Couples were paired off, which meant anyone without a plus one would be inevitably thrown together. Looking up, he saw mistletoe was hung randomly around the room. Shit. Since he was the youngest, he seemed to be one of the few without a woman on his arm. Sure as the world turned, he'd find himself thrown toward someone tonight.Gazing around the room, he didn't see Tatum and for that he was extremely thankful. He'd been able to avoid her since the day at Harper's bakery, but it'd hadn't been easy. Not that she'd gone out of her way to be around him but they were in the sa
Remy told himself to slow down as he grasped her neck, hauling Tatum closer to him. He cautioned his lust-drunk body not to make a fool of itself. He warned his libido not to let this go too far. They were in the middle of the bakery, in the middle of downtown. Anyone could walk through that door from some dumbass off the street, to her brother, to her dad. But he couldn't stop, couldn't force his hand not to trail down her body and grasp her tight ass in his fingers. He wanted desperately to pull her lower half into his, wanted to shove his thigh between her legs and feel the heat he knew would be there. His tongue was forceful as it made its way into her mouth, testing how far she'd let him go.Turned out she'd let him go as far as he wanted to.His brain tried to warn him that this was progressing too quickly. It was getting too out of control, too fast. If he didn't watch it, he'd be picking her up and putting her ass first against the nearest wall. He was losing his mind, losi
Son of a bitch. Something in the way Tatum's gaze met his made him think he'd said those words loud enough she could hear them. But fuck, she looked amazing. Even more than she usually did. Tatum had been gorgeous for a long time, but with her hair in this new cut, she looked sexy, and almost… sophisticated. But this was Tatum. She'd never fully be a lady, not really. She didn't do dresses unless she had to, she didn't do caked on makeup, and she could hang with the guys – no matter how raunchy it got."Do you like it?" She asked again, this time looking much more unsure than when she'd started out. Very slowly, she ran her fingers through her hair, giving it a tousle.Remy cleared his throat, not sure how honest he wanted to be, but at the same time knowing he couldn't help but be honest. If he lied to her, she would know, and it would do nothing to help the situation they seemed to always find themselves in. The two of them always seemed to be either pushing or pulling at each ot