I took back a major part of myself today. The part of myself that had been missing. I let Tyler touch me in ways that I've never let a human being touch me before. Both physical and emotional. It feels like a part of me has healed. That gaping hole that was once in my stomach – causing all those jitters – it's gone. I'm happy and ready. Ready to move on. Ready to find my rapist. I just need to figure out how to tell other people. What if they try to talk me out of it?"You warm enough?"His deep voice caused so many feelings in her now. He wasn't just the man who protected her now. He was her lover and it felt so right. The mere fact that she was writing in her journal – in his arms – and trusting him not to be nosey, said an awful lot about how far she had come."Sure am," she assured him lazily.It had started raining, and she told him how much she loved the rain in the country and how it sounded against the tin of his roof. He'd suggested they go out back where he had a cove
"Did I miss anything important?"Liam looked up from where he sat on the garage floor, putting together some parts for a bike he was working on. "I'm so glad you're back, man. Oh my God, it's been crazy since you left.""I was only gone for a little bit," Tyler laughed, pulling over a chair so that he could have a seat."The curse of your damn cup is alive and well. Jagger got us lost, the GPS wouldn't work for him, he's still nursing himself from that fall, and to top it all off he broke the starter on his bike," he held up the parts in his hands."How did he do that?""Like I need to tell you. Everyone firmly believes it's your curse."Tyler laughed so hard tears streamed down his face. "This is getting way out of hand. I never thought that cup would cause all this grief. This is great.""Is it cursed or not?" Liam asked, leveling a glare at the other man."Don't try to scare me with that look. You know I don't scare easily. It is whatever you think it is," he said cr
"Where is the semi?"Liam had the exact same question. They had been sitting in the parking lot of a local clothing manufacturer for over an hour. Word had it that the manufacturer was in deep with the Mexican Cartel and within some of the shipments of clothing lay weapons that were needed to win the drug war. Since Heaven Hill had signed on to help, they were expected to make sure the semis got to the state line where another MC picked up the run."This guy was supposed to come here, drop off his trailer, pick up another, and be gone, right?" Liam verified with Jagger. "You didn't fuck this one up, right?"His nerves were on a string. His eyes met William's and he could see the triumph there. This wasn't working out and William knew it. Almost like the fucker had planned it. Their relationship was strained, at best, these days. It made Liam and his guys look weak."I didn't. I think I've finally gotten over the curse of the cup. I've gone a full fifteen hours with nothing bad
"What do you want from out of here?" Tyler asked, gazing at the sheer volume of stuff that was wedged inside the storage unit.She thought for a moment. "Anything marked research. I know there are a couple of boxes. I need the laptop and the two computers as well as the contents of my desk.""Well we didn't plan this out too well, did we?" he laughed, looking at his bike. "Let me call Jagger and have him bring my truck.""You have a truck?" This was news to her."And a car. I'm mysterious," he wiggled his eyebrows up and down.There were so many things she didn't know about this man, and the more she found out, the more she wanted to know. "What kind of truck and car do you have?""Your normal boys' toys," he shrugged."Jagger, I need you to bring my truck to the storage unit that Meredith's stuff is in. If you can manage it, try not to break anything and try not to wreck it." Without even saying goodbye, he hung up."Why are y'all so mean to him?""He's new, we're al
Meredith ran her hands through her hair as she surveyed the amount of stuff they'd stacked into an empty room at the clubhouse. It was a lot more than she had originally anticipated. To say she didn't know where to start would be a huge understatement."This is the last of it," Tyler said as he brought in a drawer that went in her desk. "More than you thought?" he asked as he noticed the panicked look on her face."Yeah, is it that obvious?" she bit her thumbnail as she asked that question."You look a little overwhelmed."He had a seat on one of the boxes and pulled her over to him so that she stood in between his legs. "Is that all that's goin' on here? What did you want to talk to me about earlier?"She sighed as she had a seat on his leg and wrapped her arms around his neck. For a moment, she buried her face in his neck. He became alarmed when he felt wetness there."Hey, hey," he pulled her away and cupped her cheeks. "What's really going on?" he used his thumbs to wip
"I'm so glad you're here," Denise welcomed Meredith into the hospital room she still occupied.Meredith waved, trying to be quiet as she saw Liam curled up in the corner on a pulled out cot. "Should I come back later?" she whispered, pointing at Liam."Nah, I'm up," he sat up, yawning as he ran his hands over his eyes. "Did Tyler bring you?""Yeah, he's downstairs grabbing some coffee. He told me to let you know if you were awake, you could come join. I think he was gonna go get some breakfast at Donna's.""Oh, I am all over that. This hospital food sucks donkey balls. You don't mind do you?" he asked her as he sat up, straightening his clothes out."Sure don't.""You'll be good?" Liam asked, turning to face Denise."I'll be fine. I told you that you could go home last night. Remember?"Meredith watched as they argued good-naturedly."I am not leaving you up here in this place by yourself. Don't even ask me to do that again. I thought we settled that.""We did," she
"Jagger, do you think you could come help me?" Meredith yelled from the room that housed her storage materials. Tyler had set a box just a fingertip too high for her to get, and he'd left to go do a run for the club.She had been going through everything with a fine tooth comb, only stopping to take clothes and the kids to Denise. When the trip had gone off with only a few minor speed bumps, it had reiterated to her that this was the right thing to do. She still had yet to find anything that pointed to her attacker."Yeah," Jagger said coming into the room. "What can I do for ya?""I need that box up there, Tyler put it a little too high for me to get to it," she pointed to the box in question. "Be careful," she cautioned."The curse is over," he pointed out as he grabbed it over his head.In the blink of an eye, he lost his grip and it fell, busting open. "Fuck," he mumbled."Curse is over, huh?" she couldn't help the grin that broke across her face."I thought so anyway
Jagger had to admit he was nervous. Standing in front of Tyler, knowing that you'd pissed him the fuck off was not the best feeling in the world."You know this is extremely disrespectful, my brother," Tyler started, pacing the room like a caged wolf."I know," Jagger swallowed hard. There was no sense in trying to make excuses for what he had done. None of them would matter. Now was the time to take his punishment like a member of this club.The big man stalked up to him, and he could feel the anger rolling off of him in waves. "I'm holding myself back from beatin' you to a bloody pulp because I know you were just trying to do something nice for the woman I care about. For that I'm going to give you fair warning. You do it again and I will kick your ass from here to next Sunday."The breath Jagger had been holding came out in a rush. He visibly relaxed. It was then that Tyler grabbed him by the sides of his cut and shoved him against the wall."Anyone asks and I gave you mot
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