CHAPTER NINE
Ky – The night before
I stare at my opponent’s bloodied face. He’s on his last legs in the fight, and one well timed hit to his chin or kick to his gut and he’ll be out for the count. This is what I’ve trained for, for the last couple of months.
I look around, seeing Mariah cheering her head off, and roll my eyes. Not too long ago, if I had a beautiful woman cheering for me in my corner, it would’ve made me as hard as a pike. But Mariah isn’t the woman I want in my corner. The woman I want isn’t anywhere near here. I’m surprised Ink hadn’t brought her to rub it in my face, that they were now together.
My jaw ticks with unrestrained anger, and I turn my attention back to the poor sap who’s going to feel my wrath, since I can’t unleash it on my club brother. Even though my heart wasn’t in the fight, since everything between Sera and me went to shit the night Mariah returned with Finn; I unleash a strength I probably could have cut back; I went to town on the motherfucker’s face, seeing Ink’s fucked up face instead of my opponent’s. Seconds later, the guy was down, and I was declared the victor.
Wiping the blood from my mouth with my fingerless glove, I storm out of the ring and return to my dressing room. Wanting nothing more than to block out Mariah’s whiny voice as she follows behind me.
“Go back to the group,” I tell her, without looking back at her, and slam the door of the dressing room in her face. She knows better than to come inside, even though I hadn’t locked it. She wasn’t going to risk me unleashing my bad mood on her. At least I hope not.
But it seems she didn’t get the memo when only seconds later, as I rip off my gloves, the door opens and in she struts like she belongs there.
“What the fuck, Mariah!” I demand.
She stands there, wearing tight black jeans and a size too small white t-shirt showing off her tits, her blonde locks are on top of her head in a messy bun. And I hate myself for physically reacting to her. My cock hardening in my shorts.
“What are you doing here?” I demand gruffly, as she lifts a water bottle that looks exactly like mine.
“Angel asked me to bring it since you forgot it.” She replies, crossing her arms over her chest, pushing her tits up, and I turn my back to her, adjusting myself in my shorts. Clearing my throat, I turn back around.
“Thanks. I was wondering where I’d put it.” I reply, feeling bad for yelling at her. But not enough to apologize to her. I unscrew the cap and throw back the bottle, taking a hearty drink.
There’s a slight bitter taste to it I don’t really take notice of, as I return the bottle back in my gym bag. Mariah walks to me, mesmerized at the way her hips sway in those tight as fuck jeans. For some inexplicable reason, I let her wrap her slim arms around my shoulders as she presses herself against me. I stare into her blue eyes, finding them captivating, as I lower my lips to hers. She runs her hands up and down my arms, eliciting goose pimples all over my skin, and I hate myself all the more as I pull her jeans down her shapely, slim legs. Mariah helps me with my shorts, as I’m feeling a little lightheaded, probably the fact it was hours ago since I last ate. And soon enough, I’m standing completely naked.
I rip the shirt from her, and that’s when I get a good look at her tits. They were fake as fuck, not the lush real globes Sera had, but they’ll do for what I had planned for them right now.
I lower my mouth and suck a hard nipple, hearing Mariah scream, and I wish, not for the first time, that it was Sera I was fucking. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself, as I lift her right leg over my forearm, and shove my engorged cock deep into her snatch. We both groan, as she takes her talon like nails and scratches down my back, making me hiss in slight pain.
I know what I’m doing with Mariah is wrong, but I can’t seem to stop myself, as I rut inside her like a madman. I lower my hand down to her clit, flicking it a few times, needing to come, but still not willing to leave her behind.
With a shout, I’m emptying inside the rubber I had the presence of mind to put on before we started this. She comes almost straight after, and I lower her leg to the floor, moving a few feet away from her.
Disgust over what just happened rears its ugly head, like so many other times before, and the recriminations begin. Mariah laughs, it’s a sound that normally annoys the piss out of me, but it doesn’t bother me as much right now. I quickly slide my boxing shorts back on and try to put some distance between us, focusing her eyes on the tattoo on my chest that reads Such is Life. And just above that is the scar left over from the gunshot wound I was left with when Angelo Bianchi shot me.
“I think you should go, get one of the ol’ladies to take you back with them. I need to stay and talk to Angel.” I tell her, the fog finally clearing from my mind.
Mariah didn’t look happy with that, but I was glad she didn’t fight me on it, as I watch her dress, almost languidly, like an elegant cat.
“Fine, if that’s what you want?” She purrs, trying to touch me, but I snag her wrist in a tight hold.
“Tonight was a mistake.” I sneer at her, watching her face fall, but I can’t seem to bring myself to care, before I let go of her hand.
“Seems you’ve been making a lot of those lately.” She spats in anger, then spins around, exiting the room, and slams the door shut. I was glad to see the back of her, because now I could actually feel I could breathe freely.
I had my suspicions about Mariah—suspicions borne of being raised in a motorcycle club. I wasn’t taking her sudden appearance back in my life as anything but a scam. I was close to figuring out her game. I just needed a little more time. Once I did, all bets were off. I was going to make Sera mine, finally, and Ink was going to have to accept it.
I take a quick shower, washing Mariah’s scent off my skin before I get dressed, in my uniform of jeans, t-shirt and cut, when Angel finally walks in. He was my makeshift manager whenever I would have a cage fight, and a slow smile overtakes his face when he sees me. I roll my eyes, did I have a sign on my forehead that said Just Freshly Fucked or something?
“The barracuda is wondering what’s taking you so long. I told her I’d see what’s going on,” he drawls, stepping further into the room.
I narrow my eyes. “I told her to get a ride back to the clubhouse with one of the ol’ladies. What’s she still doing out there?”
Angel shrugs, but doesn’t reply, hiking my gym bag over his broad shoulder with ease.
“I can take that.” I protest, trying to take it from him.
“Don’t you dare,” He warns, before turning, and heading back out. I shrug and follow.
***
I groan, and turn on my back in bed, my eyes glued shut with sleep, my head full of cotton wool. What the fuck happened? Yeah, I drank last night after the fight, once we returned to the clubhouse, but not that much that I lost track of everything. How the fuck did things go so wrong? One minute, I’m fucking Mariah in the dressing room of the warehouse where I had the cage fight. The next I’m waking up in bed the next morning, with her. This has happened way too often in the last couple of months.
I’m losing crucial hours of time. And the more I do, the more Mariah is getting her claws into me. I need to fucking find out what the hell’s going on. Yesterday.
I’m not going to let her worm her way back into my life and the clubhouse, especially if she’s drugging me to do it.
Something is definitely wrong, and I need to speak to Knox ASAP and see what he found out. It’s already been too long; I can’t wait any longer. Especially after what happened last night.
There was something not right about Mariah’s appearance months ago at the clubhouse, but I wanted to get to know my son, and forced my mind clear of thoughts of Sera. For the first few weeks, things were good between Mariah and me, and I was able to get to know Finn. Her goodwill towards me must have lulled me into a false sense of security, and only a few weeks after her arrival, she and I had fucked the first time.
Guilt and regret have lived inside me ever since.
My actions were inexplicable; I felt like I wasn't in my right mind. The out-of-body sensations each time point to some form of outside influence. Like drugs. Only hours later, returning to normal.
It made little sense to me that the first woman I was ever in love with had returned to my life after being gone for over four years. The years apart have changed her, and when I saw her again, it wasn't the girl I once loved, but a person I barely recognized. The only reason I didn’t tell her to get fucked was that she had a kid with her. A kid she said was mine. A kid she could’ve told me about anytime in the last four years. But she didn’t.
Now, I’ve caught Mariah in a number of lies, and I want to know what’s really going on; her evasiveness only fueled my suspicions, I’m just not sure what her game is yet.
I’d put them up in the home I built on club property next door to my dad and Everleigh; a home I built for myself and the woman I finally settled down with. I thought that woman would be Sera, but that all went to shit after Mariah appeared.
Since she’s the mother of my kid until I can prove otherwise. I don’t know what it is because I can’t put my finger on it, but I just refuse to believe anything this woman says. I hope for Mariah’s sake that Finn is mine, because if it turns out he isn’t, I won’t hesitate to take her out.
I’ve been staying at the clubhouse, there was no way she and I would be living together, too much water under the bridge. I’m not a man who forgives and forgets. But I wasn’t going to blame the kid for his mother’s actions.
Since their arrival, I’d spent most of my free time with the boy. Everleigh already loved him like her own, but pops was a little more guarded, getting in my ear at every opportunity to get a paternity test, which angered Mariah to the point she threatened to take off with my boy, thinking her threats were going to keep me in line.
What was up with that, anyway? She has no idea who she’s dealing with; so the sooner I got the paternity test done, the better.
I also had no idea what I was going to do about Sera.
I hadn’t seen her since the night of the party where she took off with Ink, the motherfucker. Knowing that he was sniffing around Sera made me even more murderous. The fucker kept taunting me over his relationship with her, taking great pleasure in telling me how much time they’ve spent together.
Our relationship has been strained since then, and I don’t think things will get better anytime soon. We’d come to blows a few times, both of us being pulled up by my old man, sick of our bickering. We were both given a warning to pull our heads in, and I was told in no uncertain terms to get over Sera since Ink was with her,
But that’s not something I can do. And won’t. She was mine long before she was his. And I was determined to make her mine again.
It killed me to have to stay away from her; I kept telling myself that it was only for a short while, until this shit with Mariah was sorted, but it just kept dragging. And now I just feel stuck.
I pry my eyes open, immediately blinded by the intense brightness of the sunlight streaming through the open window. I can see Mariah, her back is to me, and she’s on the phone, talking in a hushed tone with someone on the other end.
Completely naked.
I groan internally. I can’t live like this anymore. She’s been intent on wearing me down. There was no way she was going to be my ol’lady. Not now, not ever.
And if the bitch is drugging me, I will find out. Then she’ll be out on her ass. Or six feet under, whichever I’m in the mood for on the day.
I groan again, this time louder, and curse myself when I see her freeze. Cutting her conversation short as I open my eyes fully, narrowing them on her smooth back, running my eyes down to her still pert ass, which was what had attracted me to her at first, and I hate that my dick is recognizing that.
“I gotta go. He’s awake.” I hear the whispered tail end of her conversation with whoever is on the other end of the line. I’ll find that out too. They won’t be anonymous for long. Placing her phone on the nightstand, she pastes what she perceives to be a sexy look on her face, and almost struts toward me, her tits jiggle as she does so, and I hate my body’s reaction to her.
“Good morning, lover. You’re awake,” she speaks in a sultry whisper, and if I had the energy, I’d roll my eyes. She’d taken to calling me lover the first time we fucked, no matter the times I kept telling her to stop it.
“Why are you here, and who the fuck were you talking to?” I demand, pulling myself up to a sitting position, uncaring if the bedsheet drops below my waist. A fleeting nervousness crosses her blue eyes, instantly replaced by a smile as she caresses my chest, tracing the patterns of my tattoos. I grab her wrist in a punishing hold to stop her touching me.
“Oh, that was Everleigh. She’s taken Finn for the day, so we can be alone,” She says, her eyes lowering for a second, and I add that to the list of other lies she’s told me. “You asked me to stay. Don’t you remember?” She says. Her eyes taking in my morning wood, licking her lips suggestively.
I press down on my crotch to keep my dick from saluting her. Down, boy. You’re not that desperate.
Narrowing my eyes at her, I try to wrack my brain for any memories that I would’ve asked her to stay. Unless I was so inebriated, I don’t remember anything?
I haven’t told anyone else my suspicions, besides Knox, and I’ve asked him to keep quiet until we got solid proof. But I think it’s time to at least tell my pops, even though I have yet to get a shred of concrete evidence of any wrongdoing on her part. I need someone in my corner when things finally go to shit and I can take Finn. Because if it turns out he’s mine, I won’t be letting the bitch anywhere near my kid, that’s for sure. I just hope it’s not too late, and she hasn’t ended up pregnant with all the times we’ve fucked without a rubber.
That’s all I need, now that I’ve decided I was going to get Sera back.
Throwing back the covers, I ignore Mariah’s pouty face and pad naked and barefoot to the bathroom, closing and locking the door for good measure. Taking a piss, I run my hand down my face, hating this feeling of a constant hangover most mornings. Well, it will all soon be over. I was going to see to it.
Pops had taken pity on her and given her a job working behind the bar since she was complaining she had lost her job back in Dallas. What she was doing there, she was pretty tight-lipped about.
Getting into the shower, I can’t help my thoughts from going to Sera. Would she even take me back after everything that had happened over the last few months?
I palm my painfully hard cock, stroking it hard, as I lean against the tiled wall with my other hand, seeing her wet and willing body in my minds eye, together with me under the spray, she lowers herself in front of me, and takes my cock into her mouth.
Within minutes, my balls draw up, and I’m squirting come all over the shower stall, watching on a deep groan as the white ribbons disappear down the drain, wishing I could fill her with it instead.
Standing under the water spray for a few minutes longer, trying to collect my bearings, I finally get out of the shower, wrap a towel around my hips, and return to the bedroom. As I knew she would be, Mariah is there waiting, still naked.
“What are you still doing here?” I growl, not looking at her, grabbing clothes as I go. Dropping the towel, I quickly dress, aware that she’s still staring at me, and hasn’t spoken a word since I returned.
“Is it that vet woman I saw you ogling the few times I was with you at the gym? Is she why you won’t give me the time of day?” she asks, and I can tell she’s fighting to keep her anger in check. But I continue dressing in jeans and clean black T-shirt.
“None of your fucking business,” I tell her gruffly, already sick of her presence. Sliding into my cut, I know it’s a dick thing to say, but she has no claim over me. Not anymore.
“The only reason I put you up in my house was so that you and Finn had a place to stay. You have no claim over me. And you lost that right when you left. I hope we understand each other?” I say, my eyes boring into the side of her head. But she still refuses to look at me.
“Loud and clear,” she replies tightly, stomping to the bathroom and slamming the door shut.
Shaking my head, I quickly tie my dark brown mane away from my face; leaving my room, I go in search of my old man. Finding him at the bar in the common room, Everleigh on his lap, drinking coffee.
I fight back an eye roll as I realize they both look like a picture of perfect domesticity, and for the first time since they got together, I can actually see the love they both have for each other. Or was that because I allowed myself to see it shining from both their eyes for the first time?
On the floor, by Everleigh’s feet, is baby Ivy, my little sister and Finn, my boy, playing quietly together, and I can’t help but smile. All that’s missing is Asher, my baby brother, who my pops had with a club whore. But being nine years old, he’s in school.
The other brothers were milling around, but Tiny was nowhere to be seen. Last I heard, he was drinking away his woes in the privacy of his own home, not bothering to even acknowledge the little angel some bitch dumped at the clubhouse months ago. The kid being the reason Sage had left, most probably for good since Bella was proof the big lug cheated on her.
Once. But yeah, once was enough.
And if he was spending his days drinking, that meant he’d given up. On Sage and on Bella.
“Good morning, Pops, Mom.” I joke and grin when they both look at me and roll their eyes.
“Morning, son,” my dad replies as I slide next to him on the stool at the bar. “Your shadow, not with you this morning?” He sounds surprised, and I can’t help but chuckle.
“That’s who I wanted to talk to you about. Can we go somewhere private?”
He arches a dark brow and stares back at me questioningly. I try to communicate silently that what I have to say can’t be spoken about in front of Everleigh. Though she is a doctor, so maybe she can be of some help after all.
She made a move to get up and leave, but I extend my hand for her to stay seated. “Don’t go. Maybe you can help as well. Oh, before I forget, did you call Mariah this morning?”
Curiosity is now on both their faces, and I clear my throat, looking over my dad’s shoulder to make sure Mariah doesn’t make an appearance before continuing.
Everleigh frowns. “No, why would I need to call her?”
I nod. So Mariah was lying. Of course. “I thought so.” My expression becomes grave, but I don’t elaborate further, instead, needing to discuss my suspicions with them, “Look, I’m almost certain I’m being drugged.” I begin, ignoring Everleigh’s stunned gasp and my father’s narrowed eyes.
We’re all silent for a beat, as my dad absorbs what I’ve just told him.
“You’re being what, now?” The President of the Devil’s Carnage MC cuts in gruffly, and Everleigh places a gentle, calming hand on his arm, as a silent conversation between them ensues.
“Just let me finish before you fire questions at me, okay?” I implore.
He nods without speaking, and I’m grateful for that.
“It all started a few weeks after Mariah arrived. Remember, she was complaining she lost her Dallas job, and you gave her one behind the bar?” Another shocked gasp sounded from Everleigh, and this time I couldn’t help the bark of laughter.
“I meant he gave her a job working behind the bar. Sorry.” But I wasn’t really, the look on her face at my words was priceless.
My father’s shoulders shake with silent laughter, and Everleigh swats at him angrily. He finally composes himself and motions for me to continue. Just then, Ink tears through the door, his face has a look of horror on it, and I’m immediately on alert.
“There’s a fire at Sera’s house,” he announces before turning on his heel and leaving again. I get up, and my pops does the same. Kissing my boy on his dark head, I head toward my sled and even though my legs were shaking, I straddle it without falling over.
Instead of following Ink in formation, I ride ahead, uncaring if they were behind me or not. Getting to the house in the quiet cul-de-sac, I find it well alight, and people are already milling around. Guilt consumes me because this wouldn’t be happening if I had kept a prospect on her. But when Mariah arrived, I’d removed him, thinking there was no need for him any longer.
Sliding off my sled, I throw my helmet to the ground and stalk to the front door, and without thinking, kick it in. Just as I do, our eyes meet, and its then Sera collapses to the ground. I catch her and her daughter Willow before she hits the ground and drops the child, handing her over to Ink, just as the paramedics arrive. I take Sera outside and lay her on the front lawn and reluctantly let them do what needs to be done.
As I watch them work on her, I’m frozen to the spot, unable to move.
She still hasn’t woken up, which worries me. When they finally get her onto the stretcher, Ink and I end up shoving each other, both insisting on riding in the ambulance with her.
My dad gives a sharp whistle, stopping us both. “Stand down, Ink,” he tells his SAA. I let out a relieved sigh, ignoring the hard stare he gives each of us as he stands back, allowing me entrance into the ambulance. The sirens sound as I sit next to her, holding her hand the entire trip to the hospital, vowing I won’t ever let her go again.