Chantal Fernando (3 page)

I laugh at that, because it's the damn truth.

I stand up and offer Dex my hand. He takes it, even though there's no way I could pull him up on my own. He's a large man, and he's made of pure muscle. He looks exactly the same as the first day I fell in love with him, although the actual date is debatable—I think I always loved him, even as a child. He used to call me his fairy, and I used to love it every single time.

He stands up and pulls me in for a slow kiss before we head back inside. It's time to put a sleeping Asher in his car seat and pick up the kids.

Dexter Black carpooling.

It still makes me giggle.

THREE

Faye

T
HE
next evening, Dex and Tracker take Talon and Ranger to follow a lead regarding Talon's rat. They still aren't any closer to finding out who it is, and I know it's driving Talon insane. I stay at the clubhouse with everyone else, just in case something happens. Until the traitor is found, I don't think I'm going to be able to relax. Talon is now one of us, and we could be targeted next. Not that we couldn't take on whoever it is, but I like to know what and who we're up against. The kids are playing outside, the dogs running around, Arrow and Irish busy on the grill. We seize any opportunity to have a barbecue, even when some of us are trying to track down a killer with ties to our newest members.

Tina sits down next to me, looking straight ahead as she speaks. “Which prison is Darren in?”

My eyes widen. “What?”

Darren is Tina's ex-boyfriend, and he's a cop. At least he was a cop, until Irish killed him. He was abusive, and threatening Tina, so Irish took care of it. He also lied and told her that Darren was arrested, hence the questions.

“Which prison is he in?” she asks me again. “No one really talks about what happened to him. No one even told me how many years he got. You're the one that helped the prosecution, so could you just give me some peace of mind?”

Well, fuck.

The information I have, she isn't going to like.

And I can't tell her, because Irish would do the same thing to me that he did to the man in question.

Colt, Shayla's dog, runs up to me for a pat, which I use as a distraction, stroking the top of his massive head.

“I'll tell you what,” I say, needing to talk to Irish about how to handle this. “I'll get the paperwork for you to read over, all right? I'm not sure where he is right now, but I can find out.”

It's kind of the truth. I know he's six feet under, but I'm not sure where exactly. Who knows where they buried the body. I certainly don't. I'm a lawyer—everyone needs to be cautious about how they word things around me.

She nods, shoulders relaxing. “That would be great. Ardan changes the subject every time I bring it up, and I get it, Darren is an asshole and doesn't deserve the mention, but I just want to know what happened, you know? It's annoying me that I don't. Do you think we can keep it between us? I don't want Ardan getting upset.”

Fuckity fuck.

I can't tell Tina the truth because Irish wants to protect her from what happened, and now Tina wants me to do the same for him? These two really need to sort their shit out.

I don't know how Irish thought he'd get away with it anyway. Women are an inquisitive bunch, and we rarely let shit go. I can't not tell Irish though, because I need to ask him what to do. I don't want to lie to her, to give her bullshit documents.

How did I get myself into this? No, better yet, how do I get out of it?

I decide to evade and distract. “I think you should just tell him, Tina. I'm sure he'll understand.”

She sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. “Yeah, you're right. I can't ask that of you. It's just not a topic he wants to talk about.”

I'll bet.

“Don't let Darren affect your happiness,” I tell her, reaching over and touching her shoulder. “Forget him. You have Irish now; you should look forward, not behind. There's nothing for you back there.”

Nothing except skeletons.

Literally.

“I know,” she huffs, now watching Irish. “I just want to know, is all. Then I'll move on and forget about everything that happened. I keep replaying that night in my head, you know? I want to put it behind me, but it's not so easy. I think if I knew where he was, I could lay it to rest.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Lay it to rest, huh? Great choice of words.

Irish has some explaining to do. Lies or truth, it's his call. Either way, he's kind of screwed.

When Tina finds out he lied, all hell is going to break loose. But the longer he continues to lie, and the later she finds out, the more upset she's going to be. Surely Tina can handle the truth. She's not a fragile flower. She's with a biker—what does she expect exactly? Darren was going to kill her; any of the Wind Dragons would have done the same to protect their women. If I were Irish, I would tell her so it doesn't reach that point. But hey, what do I know? I'm just the woman who apparently helped put Darren behind bars, so I should have all the information on his pretend prison sentence. I could have given her a prison name, any prison name, but her snooping wouldn't have ended there. She'd probably go to the prison. It's something I would do anyway.

I don't like lying, and I don't like being put in this situation.

Irish needs to make a decision on how to handle this.

Let's just hope he makes the right one, because what's done in the dark always has a way of coming to the light.

“Turn the light off,” I tell Dex sleepily, as he walks into our bedroom and turns it on. Seriously, how rude. I grab my phone and check the time—I've only been asleep for about an hour. Dex stayed up with Asher, who must have only now gone to sleep.

“No,” he says, and I watch through one open eye as he lifts his T-shirt off and throws it on the ground.

Oh.

I open both eyes, suddenly interested, giving him my full attention. He removes his gray sweatpants. He's not wearing any underwear.

“Hello there,” I mutter, gaze stuck on his thick, hard cock. Someone is in the mood to fuck, and I for one am glad he decided to wake me up. Sitting up, I lift off the T-shirt of his I'm wearing, leaving me naked and ready.

He ducks his chin, intense blue eyes pinning me with a look that's pure need. I slide the blanket aside, baring myself completely. He takes his time perusing my body from head to toe and back up again, before he stalks toward the bed and gets onto it on his knees, hands reaching for my thighs. I don't miss the possessive look in his eyes; in fact, I thrive off it.

He spreads my thighs with his large hands but doesn't look down at my pussy. His eyes stay locked on mine. He holds my gaze for a few seconds, my breaths getting deeper as I wait in suspense for him to make his next move. He leans forward then, kissing me deeply with no hesitation. I make a sound in my throat, then groan as he slowly slips a finger inside of me, testing. I'm wet, and have been ever since he gave me that look, the one that lets me know how much he wants me, right here and right now. He ends the kiss and flashes me a small smile, one that makes my heart flutter.

“We have at least four hours,” he rasps, kissing me once more. I smile against his lips, relieved to have even this brief uninterrupted stretch before Asher wakes up wanting his bottle.

“You going to fuck me for four hours, Dex?” I ask huskily, kissing down his jawline.

I can hear the smile in his voice when he says, “You doubting my abilities, Faye? You should know better by now. Maybe I should teach you a lesson.”

He pushes me back against the pillow, removes his finger from inside me, and braces himself on top of me. I spread my thighs and take his hard cock in my hand, stroking it a few times, just enjoying the feel of him before leading it to the entrance of my pussy.

Dex is always hard, and I fucking love it. He really does only get better with age. He pushes forward, and I sink my teeth into my lower lip as I feel him slide into me. His hand cups my cheek as he looks into my eyes and starts to thrust back and forth, so slow and deep that it has me whispering his name, silently begging for more. He presses his lips against mine and sucks on my lower lip, gently biting before pulling away and burying his face in my neck, starting to kiss me there. He pushes my thighs up with his hands and goes in deeper.

“Dex,” I plead again, and this time he listens, going faster and harder, kissing up my neck just soft enough to not leave a mark, but hard enough that it drives me crazy. His hand moves from the flesh of my thigh to my clit, where he gently presses his thumb against me and rubs in a circular motion that he knows drives me fucking crazy. I don't know how people can get bored of sleeping with one person. If you do, then it's probably not the right person for you, because to me, there's nothing better than being with someone who knows your body so damn well that they can give you exactly what you need every time. There's no hit or miss here; Dex will have me screaming his name, and I will fall asleep with a smile on my face.

“I'm going to come,” I say, gritting my teeth together as I feel all the tension in me about to explode.

“Come,” my husband demands, watching my face. He applies a little extra pressure to my clit, which pushes me over the edge.

“Fuck,” I mouth, my thighs trembling and my back arching as the pleasure hits me, nothing else in the world mattering in this second. Just as I come back to myself, Dex pulls out of me and puts his mouth on my clit, pulling another shattering orgasm from me. I grip the sheets with my hands and ride it out, sagging onto the mattress when it's over, suddenly tired, but extremely sated. Dex lifts his head, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I love how fuckin' squirmy you get.”

“Squirmy?” I ask, groaning as he lies down, spoons me from behind, then slides back into me again.

He doesn't elaborate, but I get the idea.

He grabs my nape with his hand and continues to fuck me until he comes, then kisses my shoulder.

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” I reply, smiling. I turn my face and kiss him once more, a deep, hungry kiss that tells him that I'm ready for another round if he is.

“Death by fairy,” he mutters against my lips, making me stop mid-kiss and pull my lips away from him as they quirk upward.

My shoulders shake as I start to laugh. “I was just thinking about that the other day, how you used to always call me fairy. Now you call me babe more than anything else.”

He gently puts his hand on my throat, stroking my neck. “You used to complain about it so fuckin' much, but secretly you were loving it, weren't you?”

I narrow my eyes. “I never said that.”

“You don't have to, fairy.”

“Dex?” I whisper, then start to kiss him again, effectively shutting him up.

Maybe I do miss him calling me fairy, although I like babe too.

He can call me anything he wants, as long as he keeps loving me like this. Dex tracking me down and bringing me back to his clubhouse was the best thing that ever happened to me.

FOUR

Faye

I
SLIDE
Arrow the glass of Scotch and watch as he takes a sip. “How's everything?”

“Good,” he replies, nodding his head. He's about to say something further, when Irish walks in and sits down next to him. I pour him a glass too.

“What the fuck are we going to do about this?” Irish asks me, his accent more pronounced than usual, meaning he's seriously worried.

“What do you mean ‘we'?” I ask him with a raised brow. “I think you should tell Tina the truth. Do you know how much it would hurt to find out that everyone knew except her?”

“Trust me, brother,” Arrow says, grimacing. “Tell her the fuckin' truth before she hears it from someone else.”

Irish runs a hand through his dark hair in frustration. “She's gonna be so fuckin' pissed I lied to her. Why can't she just let it go?”

“Because she's a woman.” I grin, putting the cap back on the bottle of Scotch. “Just tell her, Irish. She'll be pissed, yes, and you'll need to do some explaining and some apologizing, but she'll get over it. Just let her rage first.”

“Rage?” he asks, eyes going wide. “I'm gonna lock her ass up so she can't run off.”

I roll my eyes at him, but honestly, I think that's probably a good idea. Bad shit happens every time one of the women gets angry and runs off. Take Anna for example. She got angry at Arrow once and left the clubhouse, only to be kidnapped by Talon. Though we didn't know him at the time.

“Just explain you were trying to protect her and admit that you should have told her.” I pause, then add, “And that you regret it, and that you're sorry.”

His tightened lips tell me he doesn't like that, but too damn bad.

“Let go of your pride, Irish, if you want to keep your woman.”

That seems to sober him up.

Ronan then walks into the kitchen and joins us at the table. “I need advice on what to do with Steph. She's pulling back but I don't fuckin' know why. Why are women such pains in the ass? We need to bring back the old days when we could just club them over the head and bring them home as ours.”

“You can still do that,” Arrow says, keeping a straight face. “It's just a little frowned upon.”

“A little?” I ask, eyes going wide as saucers. “Assault and kidnapping?”

“Faye, concentrate,” Ronan groans, drinking straight from the bottle of Scotch.

“Were you raised in a barn?” I ask, grabbing the bottle back from him and wiping the top off.

Tracker storms in then, looking good, his man bun on point. “I have a huge problem. Faye, I need you, like, now.”

I groan, covering my face with my hands. “Irish—tell Tina the truth. Ronan—speak to Steph and ask her what's going on in her head. Arrow—let's talk just us two at some point today, because I know something is on your mind. And, Tracker . . .” I stand up and approach him. “What do you need?”

“A female bodyguard.”

He doesn't explain any further, and I don't ask. He can enlighten me in the car on the way. “Let's go.”

I honestly don't know how I became the person everyone comes to for advice and help. Me. I wing it and make light of everything, and have no clue how to navigate through life, but at least I never give up.

Maybe that's why they come to me.

“This isn't what I had in mind,” I admit, as I glance around Lana's book signing. “You brought me here to protect you from fangirls? You need to get over yourself, Tracker.”

“They all fuckin' rush at me and touch my abs,” he complains, looking down at me. “I need a woman to protect me. Lana is busy signing, and you're badass enough to take on all these women.”

“I'm not going to hurt Lana's readers,” I say, amusement filling me. “You never should have posed for the cover of that damn book, then none of this would be an issue.”

“I'd still come to support Lana,” he says. “So they'd still be all over me.”

He clearly has no issues with his ego.

“Stop pretending you don't love it.”

“Don't love the ones who try to grab my dick,” he grumbles, shoulders hunching. “It's a very awkward situation.”

I bark out a laugh. “They grab your dick? Don't lie. As if any woman would do that. You're exaggerating. Come on, I want to see what they do to you.”

“You
want
to see random women swarm me? You're supposed to be here to protect me.”

“You'll be fine. Soak up the attention, Tracker. Put those pretty-boy looks to good use. Help promote your woman and break the stereotype that most bikers are old, with beer bellies.”

I spot an author I really like signing near Lana, selling books. “I'm going to get some books signed.”

I walk away, leaving Tracker standing behind me, jaw dropped. Surely he can manage alone for a few minutes. I end up chatting with a few amazing readers, and a few authors too. When I look over an hour later and see about ten women around him, I realize that, no, he probably can't manage alone. Lana waves when she sees me pass her table, so I walk over to her. She's been busy since I arrived, but now things are starting to die down a little.

“I didn't know you were coming today,” she beams, pushing her glasses up on her nose.

“Wish I could say I just came to support you, but the truth is, your man brought me,” I tell her, pointing at Tracker. “I'm protecting his virtue.”

“Looks like you're doing a great job,” she says dryly as we see a woman lift his shirt up to get a peek at his abs.

“If that was Dex, that bitch would be on the floor,” I comment, but Lana just laughs.

“Wow, they actually really like him. Do you think because he's my friend I don't realize how good-looking he really is? Because all I see now is . . . Tracker,” I say, wide-eyed.

After all, I've seen him lick beer off the kitchen table.

Then again, when I first saw him I did think he was pretty amazing. Don't think Lana would appreciate hearing that though. I remember him catching me in their fridge the first time I met him, smelling the water to make sure it wasn't vodka. He thought I was weird. And cute. It feels like a lifetime ago now.

“He's delicious,” Lana says, glancing at him from head to toe. “He could be a model full-time if he wanted to.”

I smirk as I see him posing for photos, smiling away with the women. “I need to record this shit to show everyone. It's so hilarious. He's loving life but pretending he doesn't like the attention. The men are going to give him so much shit.”

I pull out my phone and press
RECORD
as I walk closer to him, just in time to hear a woman ask him when he's going to be on another cover.

“Okay, ladies, show is over,” I say, grabbing Tracker's arm. “Our model needs a break.”

I drag him back to Lana's table. “Tag, Lana, you're it. I'm going home to my son, then I have to go and pick up my daughter.” I pause. “And I need to eat. I'm hungry and I want a burrito. Chicken, white rice, and chipotle sauce. All the veggies, jalapenos included.”

Lana pats the seat next to her, and Tracker fills it, not looking happy.

“You'll be fine,” I tell him. “Just tell them some jokes—that will scare them away.”

I know he secretly enjoys it; no one made him come here today.
I'm onto you, Tracker.

I'm about to walk away, when Tracker stands up and grabs my upper arm. “I know I'll be fine.”

I turn and face him, tilting my head to the side. “Then why did you want me to come here under the guise of protecting you?”

He removes his hand from my arm and looks down, a sheepish look on his face. “We never get to spend any quality time together anymore. Back in the day, all we used to do was hang out. I don't know, I guess I was just wanting some Faye time.”

“Oh,” I reply, expression softening. “We can make some time to hang out, Tracker.”

With everything going on in my life right now—being a mother, work, and the club—I guess even I've forgotten how all of us just used to hang out 24-7. Back then, we didn't have kids though, and most of the men were single and had nothing better to do than harass me. I make a mental note to plan some bonding time for us. Maybe we could go shooting or something.

“Good,” he replies, vulnerable moment over. He kisses the top of my head, then returns to his seat.

I say good-bye to both of them, then take Tracker's four-wheel drive back to my house. Dex is at home with Asher, but now he'll go to Rift and do whatever other stuff he has to do, while I'm with the kids, cooking dinner, bathing them, and getting them into bed. When he gets home, we have our alone time, time that I really look forward to. This is what my days consist of, and it's more normal than anyone would think. I'm not doing badass things all the time; for the most part, it's mom and wife stuff.

“Hey,” I say, giving him a kiss when I spot him going through some paperwork on the kitchen table, Asher asleep against his chest.

“Hey, how was your day?” he asks, smiling back. “Did you get the charity run sorted out?”

“Not really,” I admit, taking Asher from him and holding him against my chest. “Kind of got distracted.”

In fact, I forgot why I had gone to the clubhouse in the first place, because everyone bombarded me with their drama the second I got there. I kiss the top of Asher's head, breathing in deeply, loving the baby smell of him. “I missed you, little guy.”

“Do you want me to get Clover?” Dex asks, standing up and wrapping his arms around the two of us.

I shake my head. “No, it's okay. I'll get her; you go take care of whatever you need to. Tomorrow I have to go to the law firm, so you'll have to get her then.”

“All right,” he says, kissing me once more, then grabbing his keys and heading out. I sit down and just enjoy having Asher in my arms. After being around so many people, it's kind of nice to have a little peace and quiet.

It's the best of both worlds.