Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Death and Vows
E den ate fast. Non-ladylike fast, not that she really cared what Priest had to think. Plus, there were passed out naked women all around her. Oh, and the friendly woman behind the bar just had her shirt up, showing off her perky little breasts to Priest. Just for the hell of it.
Not that it made Eden jealous. She didn’t give a damn about that. Just like seeing Priest having sex with that other woman last night. If that’s what he wanted, then so be it. It did not bother Eden one bit.
She finished her last bite of Muffin’s special breakfast and before she could put her fork down, a burp escaped her mouth, which instantly turned her cheeks bright red.
“Bet that felt good, doll,” Priest said.
“Excuse me,” Eden whispered.
She reached for her coffee and drank.
Whatever the hell that seven-foot-tall-biker-slash-chef did to her breakfast, she actually could feel the hangover easing up. Melting down and away from her body. She suspected maybe there was something more than just some over-the-counter meds. That would have been a disaster as her job obviously required her to be clean and sober.
“Priest,” she said. “There was no, like, marijuana in this, right? Anything like that? I get drug tested at work.”
“Muffin’s food is magical. That’s all I can say.”
“That’s not funny at all.”
“Not trying to be. Now get talking, doll. You’re wasting my fucking time.”
Eden swallowed hard. “It was a mistake coming here. Okay? I’ve said it many times already. But you keep asking me. So what am I supposed to do?”
Priest reached for Eden’s face. It surprised her. She felt fifteen, stupid, bad boy romantic fantasies playing out, but instead, Priest touched the top right of Eden’s forehead.
“Nice mark on your head,” Priest whispered.
Eden gasped. “Oh…”
She had forgotten about that. Nobody else mentioned it. At least not until now.
“That have something to do with why you’re here?” Priest asked.
“Yes,” Eden said.
The confession actually felt good.
“Husband? Engaged? Boyfriend? Girlfriend?”
“Ex.”
“How did he get that close to you to do that?”
“He follows me. He stalks me. He texts me. Most of the time it’s just threats. Trying to scare me. Don’t know why it was different this time.”
“Sounds like a piece of shit,” Priest said. “Now that he crossed the line, he won’t stop.”
“I know that. He did this to me while I was at work. Right after you were discharged.”
Priest’s eyes widened.
“That’s right,” Eden continued. “Police showed up. Filed a report. Nothing I can do. No proof. I’m not stupid, Priest. I know he’s trying to get to me. Police won’t help. And me running to them will only make me look crazy.”
“Fuck, you’re in serious trouble, doll.”
“That’s why sitting at a dirty biker bar is my only reprieve.”
Priest ran his right hand along the bar. “Not dirty at all. Maggie keeps it clean.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“You haven’t seen a thing yet,” Priest whispered at her. “Playtime is now over, Eden. What do you want me to do? Scare him? Hurt him? Kill him ?”
Chills moved through Eden’s body and she jumped up. She moved so fast, she punched her coffee cup over, spilling the warm liquid all over the bar.
Eden stepped back until she bumped into a wall. She screamed and spun around, realizing what it was. She stepped back and bumped into something harder than a wall.
Priest wrapped his right arm around her. “Fuck, doll, take a fucking breath.”
Take a fucking breath? What am I doing here? Am I really going to ask some insane biker to kill my insane ex? Who have I suddenly become? This is all Liv’s fault! Her and her stupid fucking shows that she watches!
Eden’s mind kept racing. Faster and faster. Soon the biker bar started to look wobbly, and her knees felt the same.
Before she could ask for help, Priest’s mouth touched hers. His lips devouring hers. His tongue sneakily sliding across her bottom lip.
This disgusting biker is kissing me!
Yet Eden didn’t exactly pull away. Even when she lifted her hands up to Priest’s body, ready to push him away, she caught herself curling her fingertips, not-so-secretly exploring muscle. The kiss lasted no more than three seconds before Priest pulled away.
“There,” he said. “Got you to shut up and calm down a little. Don’t come to hell asking the devil for a favor and then suddenly act like a fucking angel.”
“I never once said that I wanted you to—”
“Yes, you did. Just by showing up here. You knew what you were thinking when you showed up. The problem with you, doll, is that you saw how quick reality appeared and you got spooked.”
“You were covered in blood, Priest,” Eden said. “And I didn’t even ask whose blood it was. Fuck, I had that blood on me. Disease! Do you people around here not care about disease?”
“Guys like Custer have been around for so long and have had diseases so much, they could open a fucking crab restaurant.”
Eden covered her mouth. “That’s disgusting.”
“I can’t believe I’m talking to you right now and not just fucking your pretty little brains out. Fucking you so hard and good you’ll forget what you know about nursing. You showed up, wasted my time, drank our booze, threw up, and ate Muffin’s legendary food. You saw some tits, watched me fuck some useless deecee whore, and now you get to leave.”
Priest turned away and Eden felt a crushing pain in her chest. She caught herself bending her knees—this time willingly. Ready to drop to her knees and grab for Priest. Wrestle that insanely impressive dick out of his jeans and suck him off. Was that the price? Fair enough then.
It wasn’t like Eden hadn’t been thinking about it for a while now. Yeah, she was a nurse and, yeah, she was a professional. But she had needs. Wants. Desires. Fantasies.
Last night slipped through her fingers. It was the blood that did it. All that blood, all over Priest. The intense violence. The way the bikers just did whatever they wanted, right out in the open, not worried for a second about the police showing up. Or the fact that no matter how much noise they made or whatever they did, no police did show up.
These guys weren’t just scary. They were powerful.
As Eden lowered herself down, a voice appeared from behind Priest.
“Did you eat breakfast without me?”
A woman’s voice. Slightly familiar. Eden popped back up like nothing naughty had crossed her mind.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Priest growled.
Right behind the woman came two men. Slade and Darrow.
“You let her in?” Priest snapped.
“No choice, brother,” Slade said. “She started talking crazy.”
Darrow showed his hands and shook his head.
“What’s the issue? Can’t a wife come see her husband?”
“Angelica, you don’t belong here,” Priest said.
“But that little nurse whore behind you does?” Priest’s wife asked. She waved and smiled. “Oh, I see you over there, honey. Do you fuck all the patients you treat?”
Priest turned his head and looked at Eden. “You have to leave.”
Yeah, no shit. Your wife is here!
Eden felt confused and mad at herself. How could she have forgotten that Priest was married? This woman— his wife —had shown up at the hospital. It didn’t really matter if there was love or hate or whatever was there, married was married. Priest was a married man. And Eden had slept in his bed. Yeah, nothing remotely sexual happened, but still.
Or the fact that Eden was just about to fall to her knees before Priest, willing to suck his dick for anyone to see, all because she wanted protection from her psycho ex who attacked her.
She knew she had to leave, but leaving alone felt dangerous. Yet the biker she wanted protection from now had to deal with his wife.
“Darrow, go find Drix and Dolph,” Priest said. “They’re escorting Eden home.”
Priest didn’t break his stare with Eden the entire time.
“You two are cute,” Angelica said.
Priest turned his head and looked at his wife. Eden wasn’t sure what to do next here.
Thank Priest? Kiss him on the cheek? Pat him on the back or his ass? Grab his hand?
She simply just walked forward through the clubhouse, taking one last look at the drunken sleeping outlaws and the mostly naked women scattered throughout. Priest’s wife stepped into Eden’s path.
“Did you fuck my husband?” Angelica asked.
Eden’s nostrils flared. “If you were a half decent wife, you would have been here to take care of him.”
“You stupid bitch,” Angelica hissed.
Slade moved between the two women and escorted Eden out of the clubhouse.
As soon as the sunlight hit her face, she felt her stomach twist and for a second she thought she was going to throw up Muffin’s special breakfast all over Slade’s boots and the ground. She managed to keep herself somewhat calm and somewhat level.
Eden waited until she got back home to her apartment to vomit.