18
18
Liberty
He was gone. He’d left me like an unwanted pet, dumping me here for strangers to deal with.
I’d managed to fight back the tears until I could get back to the room he’d taken my luggage to and told me to use. It was his room here, and no one had ever used it but him. I was the only one with the key, and I was welcome to treat it like my own home.
Goldie and Nina had been really sweet and seemed to understand that I needed to be alone. Both of them looking at me with sympathy and pity had just about sent me over the edge into a fit of tears.
I reached up and wiped away another tear that had rolled down my face as I looked around the room. It was huge. There were no windows, which was different, but it wasn’t confining due to the size of it.
A king-size bed with a black down comforter; a flat screen TV that was the size of one of the walls in the room I’d slept in at the club; a black leather sectional sofa with a coffee table that was made up of two motorcycle tires, stacked on top of each other; a square metal Harley Davidson sign that had smooth, rounded edges; a weight bench, a stand with rows of handheld weights, along with weights for the bench press, placed neatly in the corner, all filled the open space.
There was a bearskin rug, which I really hoped wasn’t real, that covered the floor over by the sofa and coffee table while a soft gray rectangular rug lay in the center of the room. There were some framed albums that were signed, it seemed, and a few biker week posters on the walls.
The private bathroom attached to the room was equally impressive with a big walk-in shower with two showerheads. One was the kind that hung from the top, releasing water like rain, and the other could be detached and held in your hand. The tub looked like it was a Jacuzzi that could fit four people. The walls were black with white marble countertops and brushed nickel finish.
Wallace had a nice apartment. It was considered luxury. However, it was nothing remotely close to this nice.
I’d never seen anything like this in person. In magazines and television maybe.
All of that, however, didn’t make up for the fact that Liam had just brought me here to get rid of me. It was humiliating and insulting. Yet he was right. If I had to do this on my own, I would work a lot of hours on my feet, and that would be harder later in the pregnancy. It wasn’t safe for me to be walking to the bus stop at night. If something happened to me, it happened to the baby. I had to think about that.
So, I’d kept my mouth shut while he listened to classic rock on the radio the entire drive down here. The only time we spoke was when he stopped for gas and asked me if I wanted anything or needed to use the restroom. That had been it.
I stared at the big bed and tried to decide if I wanted to lie down or go get something to eat in the kitchen. I hadn’t gotten anything at the service station, and I was starting to get a little hungry. Perhaps there was chocolate or ice cream. I could eat my feelings.
I checked my appearance in the mirror and then splashed some cold water on my face and patted it dry. I didn’t want to look like I’d been crying. They already felt sorry for me. No need to make it worse. When I was sure my sobbing fit didn’t show on my face, I headed back down the long hallway with the black walls to the stairs.
There were a lot of rooms up here, but the only one he’d shown me was this one. All the others belonged to members. I wondered who lived here with me.
Footsteps caused me to pause, and I waited to see who turned the corner on the first flight of stairs. It was a man with blond hair, pulled back loosely in a bun, and brown eyes the color of chocolate. He was tall with wide shoulders, and since he was just wearing The Judgment vest with nothing underneath his well-cut arms and chest were on display. I realized I was staring and felt my face warm.
“Um, hi,” I blurted out. “I’m Liberty.”
The only member I’d met when I arrived was Brick, Goldie’s husband—or her ole man, as she had called him.
A smile stretched across his face. “You’re Liberty,” he replied, then held out his hand. “I’m Country. It’s nice to meet you.”
I shook his hand, uncertain of what to say. “Uh, you too.”
He let my hand go. “I hope you’re going to the kitchen because Nina and Goldie are stressing the fuck out over you not eating before you came up here.”
I hadn’t meant to make them worry.
“I am,” I replied. “I just needed to freshen up a bit.”
His gaze swept over me quickly, not stalling anywhere or making me feel like he was checking me out. “Seems like you accomplished it.”
I laughed, not sure what he meant. “Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you around.”
He stepped out of my way so I could continue down the next set of stairs.
“Yeah, my room is three doors down from Prez’s, on the left, if you need anything. I mean, at night—” He shook his head, and it looked like he was blushing. “That is not coming out right. What I am trying to say is, I am here at night if something happens. Goldie and Nina normally go back to their houses. Sometimes, they stay here, but not a lot. Dolly and Micah are here a couple of nights a week. They’re down on that end. Anyway, just, uh, make yourself at home.”
He wasn’t sexy in the way that Liam was, but he had a certain appeal. Not that it mattered. I was pregnant. I wasn’t shopping around for a man. It would likely be years before I got to have sex again. At least today’s experience had been medal-worthy. It would have to last me for a long time.
“Thanks,” I replied, then continued on down.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to still my nerves before walking into the kitchen with what sounded like a lot of people that I didn’t know, but who all knew their Prez had dumped me off here. His unwanted, pregnant one-night stand.
Pushing the heavy red door, I walked inside, ready to get this over with.
Goldie—an attractive woman with dark red hair, styled in a pixie cut—looked up from the food she was dishing onto a plate and smiled brightly at the sight of me. That eased my nerves considerably.
“Liberty,” she called out, and I made my way over to the counter.
The talking seemed to quiet, and I felt as if everyone was staring at me. Curious about the woman their boss had left here.
Nina turned around from the stove and gave me a smile before turning to look out at the room of people. “All right, this is Liberty. She belongs to Prez. She’s staying here in his room. Everyone understands she has free rein and is not to be touched,” Nina called out.
There were grunts, agreements, mutters, and other things going on behind me, and I knew I needed to do something. Not keep my back to them like a weirdo.
I turned and gave a small wave and smiled.
There were more men than women. Men of all ages, in leather vests, with tattoos. The women were, well, interesting. Barely dressed for the most part, and they appeared a little hard, as every single one shot less than friendly looks at me. At least the men seemed welcoming enough. Maybe.
“Nice to meet you, Liberty,” an older guy, who was a little on the heavy side, called out.
A few others said similar things. I did my best to acknowledge them, then looked back to Goldie.
“I’d say they’re harmless, but that would be a lie. The girls are nasty. Most of them are in the porns that the club produces. There are a few club whores. Don’t worry about any of them though. You are under Prez’s protection. No one is going to bother you.
“Now, what would you like to eat? We’ve got dinner all laid out. Most have already eaten, but I set a plate back for you with everything on it. I wasn’t sure what you’d want. I will tell you though that the shrimp is fresh caught and the cheese grits I made to go with them are Prez’s favorite,” she said, taking a plate from the oven and uncovering it.
There were so many different items on it that I just stared.
Nina laughed as she came up to the counter with a flat iron skillet she’d pulled from the oven with homemade biscuits on it. “You need one of these. I make the best biscuits. Just ask anyone here.”
“Just ’cause she’s Prez’s baby momma don’t mean she gets all the hot biscuits,” a man with bright red hair and a goatee said, coming up beside me. He shot me a wink and grabbed a biscuit from the skillet.
Nina slapped at his hand, and he just laughed, then stuck the biscuit in his mouth before he walked off.
“That was Fox. He always says stupid shit. We ignore him,” Goldie said.
I knew she was trying to cover for him calling me Liam’s baby momma, but that was all I actually was to the man. If it quacks like a duck …
I shrugged. “Doesn’t bother me.”
Goldie leaned in closer to me. “You’re more than that, or he wouldn’t have brought you to us and put you up in his suite.”
Nina slid a biscuit onto my plate. “She’s right. Now, eat up. You are too tiny as it is. Not that I wouldn’t shave off my hair to have your boobs and ass, but other than those areas, you are too thin. You need some food.”
Goldie chuckled. “She’ll try to fatten you up. It’s her calling in life. Until I met her, I didn’t have these thighs,” she said.
Brick walked up behind her and grabbed her leg, making her squeal. “These are my thighs. Don’t be bad-mouthing them.”
Goldie’s eyes warmed as she tilted her head back so her husband could kiss her. It was more like her mouth was his source of oxygen. I had to look away. It felt voyeuristic.
That must be wonderful—having someone like that.
My mom and dad had had it. When I was little, I always thought that I’d have it, too, someday.
But then Mom died. Dad married Abilene, and looking back now, I knew he never loved her like he had my mom. That wasn’t my fault, and her taking it out on me was unfair. I was a kid who’d lost her parents.
The older I got, not having someone who loved me so completely, I’d wondered if it was me who was inadequate.
“We sure this was an accident?” a man asked, and I glanced over to see a guy with black hair, blue eyes, and dark skin standing beside me, smirking. “Prez is a smart man. I can see why he left it unwrapped with this one.”
“Easy,” Brick said in a deep, scratchy voice, his eyes glaring at the other guy.
“Just stating what we’re all thinking,” the man said.
“Don’t go stirring up a fight tonight. She just got here. You behave,” Nina said, pointing her finger at the man. She looked over at me. “This is Lick, and … well, he’s just—”
“An asshole,” another feminine voice said.
His gaze looked past me, and he winked at whoever it was. I shifted to see a woman with heavy makeup, fake lashes, and overly plump lips a lot like the stripper who had brought me food at the club. She was wearing a halter top instead of pasties and a pair of shorts that were closer to panties. The stilettos were stripper material too.
“Amethyst,” she told me. “I’m on my way to Toxic Throttle, but I had to swing by and see our new face. It ain’t every day Prez brings home a woman.”
Someone else laughed. “He only did it once, and that was his daughter. Not a baby momma.”
Amethyst sent whoever it was a sour look, then turned back to me. “Pinch is a douche,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
“You’re supposed to be at Toxic in ten minutes,” a man barked out.
She saluted him. “I’m going.” She looked back at me. “Good luck around here.”
“Now, try my cheese grits,” Goldie said, drawing my attention back to her.
There was one thing for certain: I wasn’t going to get bored around here.