EXILE
Sharing a bed with Lula made sleeping difficult. Every time our naked bodies bumped into each other, we began kissing, which led to fucking. Her every curve sent my arousal into overload. I couldn’t get enough. My desire would be far fucking scarier if Lula didn’t suffer from the same affliction.
We eventually got up for a snack around midnight. Eating strawberries in the dark, we looked over the security cameras. This time, when we climbed into bed, we finally dropped off to sleep.
Two hours later, I woke to find Lula crying quietly next to me. I glued my body to her back and held her while she worked through her fears. She was half asleep, mumbling about the men touching her and feeling helpless. I heard Cher’s name. She said something about Dillon.
I kept my cool like I had when Nova came with me to Baton Rouge.
My sister was mourning our mom and feeling guilty over taking the girls away from their father.
I wanted to make her see how Chris was a piece of shit, and she shouldn’t feel bad.
But I remembered how many people told me to silence my feelings as a kid.
So, I just held Nova and let her work through her emotions.
Eventually, Lula’s crying quieted. We rested for a little bit longer before I felt her doze off.
In the morning, she woke me with a kiss and a loving dick stroke. I’d never spent the night with a woman. Trust didn’t come easily for me. As Lula woke me in the best way possible, I was relieved my first morning fuck was with a woman I planned to keep.
We finally peeled ourselves apart just before dawn to get ready for Dillon’s morning routine. Dressed in my new clothes, I followed Lula to the kitchen, where she made coffee and worked on omelets.
Dillon got up without any prodding. She walked into the kitchen, already dressed in black leggings, a long orange shirt, a spiffy plaid jacket, and black slip-on shoes. Her hair was pulled back with a headband. She looked stylish and preppy.
“I have a test today,” Dillon told me as she looked over her tablet. “I also have debate club this afternoon. Don’t bother me.”
I grinned at her snippiness. “Tonight, at dinner, I plan to grill you like you grilled me last night.”
Dillon shared my smile. “Okay, but don’t expect to rattle me. I’m the spawn of an evil time-traveling witch. Nothing can break my concentration.”
Lula chuckled at the stove before setting a plate in front of Dillon. I joined her at the counter, pouring us coffee.
“How do you feel this morning?” Lula asked and kissed my throat. “Are you missing Baton Rouge?”
“Not the place, just the people.”
Despite needing to study, Dillon piped up with, “When do we get to meet your sister and the little girls?”
Lula asked her daughter, “Are you afraid Exile’s nieces will touch your stuff?”
“No, I’ll lock my room like I do at Dad’s house,” Dillon said in between bites of her omelet. Holding my gaze, she explained, “My little brother and sister are fine. They’re not bad at all, but they are little and think every toy in the house belongs to them.”
For the rest of breakfast, Dillon regaled me with tales of her younger siblings’ habit of stealing her belongings. She sounded so much like Lula. My nieces were the same way when they got riled up and turned into tiny versions of Nova.
I was a little bummed when Dillon needed to leave for school. She was an interesting kid who talked like an adult.
Walking outside with Lula, I watched Dillon disappear around the corner in Elle’s SUV. The weather was great. If I were in Baton Rouge, I’d likely spend the afternoon riding around town before coming home to play with the girls in the backyard.
Feeling uncertain about my place in the world, I asked Lula, “What’s the plan for today?”
“I’d like to visit Cher and Stevie,” Lula said, leaning into my body. “Bebe texted me to say my sisters are already at the hospital. Will you come with me?”
“Of course.”
Staring up at me, she added, “The visit might involve crying or Sabrina giving you grief.”
“I’m not afraid of your sister.”
Lula sighed like I was na?ve, but she didn’t say anything.
For the next hour, we sat out on her back patio while Xena ran around the yard, barking at men in a boat on the lake. Lula waved at them.
Her living situation was the opposite of private, but I understood why Lula wanted a home in the Sleepy Eye Community.
As we got ready to drive to the hospital, I tried to picture Nova, Skylar, and Lyric visiting Lula’s house.
I knew the girls would love the yard with its playset and the lake filled with geese.
On the ride, I texted Nova a few times. She claimed Zodiac might fuck her if I didn’t return home soon.
“I know the lawyer is pretty, but you’ve got to save me from your president’s lecherous ways!”
Sensing I was irritated, Lula glanced at my phone while we waited at a light. She read the text and frowned as if my sister’s concern was genuine.
I set aside my phone and paid attention to the road. “I shouldn’t assume the Void won’t make another move,” I said, agitated about both potential threats and Zodiac’s dick.
“Do you think you’ll stay the night again?”
“Yes, if you’ll have me.”
Lula’s leery expression flipped to a smile. Though we both knew our time together was growing short, neither one of us wanted to spell out what would soon happen.
At the hospital, Lula parked near a line of motorcycles belonging to her people. Rather than hurry inside, she sat in her quiet SUV and watched me.
“I’m going to buy a place in Baton Rouge.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. I’ll build a second home base there, so we can spend time together.”
Her words broke through my irritation, reminding me why I was in Little Memphis. “I feel guilty over leaving Nova and the girls.”
“Is Zodiac really trying to fuck her?”
“No,” I said and then shrugged. “Maybe. He enjoys how she babies him. I always assumed he viewed her as a mother figure, but she’s a good-looking woman. Ugh, I don’t know what’s happening.”
“Do you think she’s saying those things to get you to race back to Baton Rouge?”
“Of course.”
“Does she lie a lot?”
“Only when she’s nervous,” I muttered and then sighed. “Like, right now.”
“How about tomorrow you ride to Baton Rouge?” Lula suggested, and I instantly felt a stabbing pain in my chest. “I’ll come down this weekend.”
“Is that safe? You traveling, I mean.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Lula said and squeezed my hand. “If you’re too worried about me traveling, you could pack up your sister and nieces and come back for the weekend. We could make it a party. Then, we can figure out the next step, like me buying a house in Baton Rouge.”
Leaning over, I covered her lips with mine and felt my body unclench. I was torn between two women who needed my protection. I loved them both. They wanted me to be happy. If I could find a way to fit my Baton Rouge life with what I shared with Lula, I’d never have any reason to complain again.
I kept Lula’s lips busy for a few minutes before the real world broke through our desire.
She looked at the hospital and held her breath.
I thought to say something reassuring, but Lula didn’t need words.
She knew the answers. What she needed from me was to remain at her side while she faced her fears.
Alon “Nine” Tooker sat outside the sisters’ hospital room.
His wavy brown hair shadowed his dark eyes.
He stood up and hugged Lula while reaching over to shake my hand.
Nine was the son of a member of the Rawlins Heretics Motorcycle Club.
His mom ran with the Everything Nice Crew.
His siblings were also members of the Crimson Guard.
“Hazard and Anise were exhausted,” Nine told Lula. “Ben took them to the Sorority House.”
“How are Cher and Stevie?”
“Stevie’s going home in a day or two. Cher’s still unconscious, but she reacts to stimuli. I don’t know how much any of that means overall, but it’s something, right?”
When Lula hugged Nine again, I got the urge to separate them. Rather than reveal my jealous nature, I replayed Lula’s words from last night. She loved me. If she wanted Nine, she could have made her move years ago. She wasn’t a woman who suffered in silence.
I didn’t need to make a stink. I was here to keep her safe and get along with her people.
No matter how sensible I tried to be, I feared someone might steal Lula from me. If not her family, then mine would come between us. Or the Void might attack again. I’d never recover if I lost Lula.
Inside the hospital room were two beds. Stevie sat in one, surrounded by her friends who were fixing her pink hair. In the other bed rested Cher. Much of her body was in a cast, and her head was wrapped.
Lula went to Cher and stroked her pale cheek. Stevie stumbled out of bed and hurried over.
“She reacts to my voice. See?” Stevie said and leaned down to speak Cher’s name.
From my spot near the door, I could see the unconscious woman’s eyelids flutter. She showed no other reaction.
“She’s getting better,” Stevie insisted in a panicky voice.
“Come rest,” Sabrina insisted and guided Stevie back to the second bed. “We haven’t finished your braids.”
As Lula stared at Cher, Vanessa joined her. I heard them whispering, but their words were too quiet for me to hear what they were saying. My gaze flashed to Sabrina watching me with the dark eyes she inherited from Bebe.
Next to her was Goldie Chester, another transplant from Rawlins. Her bleached blonde hair was slicked back, and her face did little to hide her bad mood.
“You’re still here,” Sabrina said to me after finishing Stevie’s braids. “Doesn’t your club miss you?”
Lula ignored her younger sister’s troublemaking and focused on Vanessa, who began to cry.
“Cher’s starting to wake up,” Stevie insisted. “She’s getting better.”
Goldie hugged Stevie and watched me. “How long will you be in Little Memphis?”
“Another day,” I said, and noticed Lula look at me over her shoulder. “But I’ll be back.”