CHAPTER SEVEN
Byron
Over the next few days, I worked with Carmen to make sure that Jess was seen by a doctor and a psychologist. And anything else she might need to try to recover from five years in the Gray Bones MC.
I was in Carmen’s office one morning, talking about what my plan was.
“I can’t in good conscience let that club just keep operating that way. Or at all,” I said.
“What can you do about it?” Carmen was looking as lovely as always.
Her silky black hair fell over her shoulders like a waterfall.
Her makeup was perfect. And she was wearing purple.
That and red were my favorite colors on her.
With her olive skin, brown eyes, and dark hair, she looked like a vision.
I was surprised, though, to be comparing Carmen to Jess without even really meaning to do so. They were both gorgeous; there was no denying that. But there was something about Jess that was different. Something that I hadn’t felt for anyone before. Not even Carmen.
I’d had a thing for Carmen Salazar since I was thirteen.
Reynolds and I were good friends with Nico Salazar, and we’d gone home with him for a week over spring break when the dorms were closed at our exclusive boarding school.
The three of us had met and become instant best friends.
I’d been thankful they’d been nice to me.
Reynolds and Nico were handsome and popular. I was… not.
I’d been excited to stay at Nico’s house for spring break.
I’d never had many friends. I was geeky, shy, and my parents had extreme standards for who they’d let me stay with.
The Salazars had passed because my dad was somehow linked to their businesses.
I didn’t understand it; I was just glad to get to go.
Reynolds was staying with Nico, too, even though he was from West Bay. He didn’t really enjoy being around his parents, and apparently the feeling was mutual.
I hadn’t known that Nico had the most beautiful sister in the world. Sometimes I think if I’d known and stayed away, it would have been better for everyone.
But Carmen. Back then I couldn’t have imagined my life without her in it, even in some small way.
***
Byron, Age Thirteen
Walking around Nico’s palatial home the morning after we got there, I clocked the security system they had.
I knew then. That’s how Dad knew the Salazars.
It sometimes amazed me how far reaching my father’s security business was.
He presented it as if he was just a regular wealthy businessman from the DC area.
In truth, he provided security for millionaires, billionaires, political figures, famous celebrities, and more all over the globe.
And he trained future bodyguards on the grounds of our mansion in the Virginia area.
It had been described as a ‘private version of Quantico,’ and people weren’t wrong when they said that.
We had a lot of former FBI agents on staff for us.
I knew that one day I’d take over from my father; he’d made that clear.
But at thirteen? That was the last thing on my mind.
The morning after we’d arrived in West Bay, Georgia, I’d headed downstairs.
I was awakened by my growling stomach and followed my nose to find the delicious smells of breakfast.
Nico and Reynolds were still sound asleep. They were also still short. They hadn’t hit their growth spurts yet, but I had. I was already six-two and weighed all of 120 pounds. I looked ridiculously skinny even though I ate all the time.
So, when I rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw a goddess, I was on my own. Nico had said he had a sister. He just hadn’t said she was the most beautiful girl in the world.
I stood and stared at her.
She laughed. “Hey. I’m Carmen.” She flipped her long hair over her shoulder, and I saw that she was wearing a silky pajama dress or something. She had big boobs. I looked away quickly, knowing I was blushing.
She laughed again and walked over to me, standing closer. “You’re not like Nico or Reynolds,” she said.
I just stared.
“Do you talk?”
I cleared my throat. “Uh, yeah. Hi. I’m, um…” I trailed off. She was eating a strawberry, and I was staring at her mouth. To this point in my life, I’d never looked at a girl like this. I was interested in school and video games. Not women.
But that had changed in an instant.
“Did you forget your name?” She cocked an eyebrow at me.
“Byron.”
“Byron. Like Lord Byron the poet?”
I highly doubted that’s who my parents had named me after, but I didn’t say anything.
“He wrote some pretty sexy stuff, you know.”
I felt my skin turn wildly hot, and I knew it showed on my face.
She giggled. “You’re cute.”
I was not cute. I was tall, skinny, had spotty skin, braces, glasses, and dressed like an accountant according to Nico.
But the compliment worked like a charm. I grinned. “No, I’m not.”
She gave me a coy smile and looked at me closely. “You will be,” she said, knowingly.
After that she’d sat with me during breakfast, and we’d talked about anything and everything.
She was a weird combination. She was intimidating.
Her beauty and self-confidence made me feel like some sort of alien creature next to her.
But she was also easy to talk to. I wasn’t sure how or why, but I loved it.
I found out everything about her. She was finishing up her first year of college, she was going to be a lawyer, she didn’t want to be anything like her socialite mother, and she was dating some loser named Brad.
I managed to find a way to talk to Carmen every day during spring break, and by the time we left, I was well and truly in love.
I found a reason to go home with Nico for every break that my parents didn’t need me home. Reynolds was always going, and sometimes our friend Paolo would, too.
I loved West Bay and hanging out with my friends.
But the real reason I was going was to see Carmen. Always Carmen.
***
Byron, Age Twenty
At twenty, I’d finally grown into my body. I was six foot five, built, filled out, and knew I was handsome as hell. I’d had a couple of girlfriends and had ridiculous amounts of sex with each of them. But I wasn’t like Nico, Reynolds, and Paolo. They slept with anything with breasts.
I wouldn’t touch a girl without dating her first. And there’s no way I would cheat on a girlfriend. I was a one-woman man. I guess I was old-fashioned, but that’s just who I was. Sure, I might find other women attractive, but I was solidly with my girlfriend when I had one.
I decided to go home with Nico and the other guys at the last minute at the next college break. I hadn’t been to West Bay in a while, and I hadn’t seen Carmen in years. She was busy finishing up law school and rarely came home.
I thought my crush on her was a thing of the past. I knew Reynolds and Paolo had crushes on her, too, but they hadn’t been anything like mine. They all used to tease me, but it didn’t even bother me. I knew I couldn’t hide it.
But I was confident that if I saw her now, it wouldn’t be a big deal. I’d probably exaggerated her beauty in my mind, anyway.
Plus, I was with Stephanie. She was the daughter of one of my parents’ friends, and they’d been trying to push us together for ages. It had finally worked, and we’d been dating for a year. I knew my parents were hoping we’d stay together and I’d propose to her one day.
I wasn’t sure if I was interested in that, but I loved her. And I loved sex with her. She was pretty uninhibited in the bedroom compared to the only other girlfriend I’d had. Stephanie looked so ladylike, but she was wild and kinky during sex. It was fantastic.
So, I wasn’t worried about Carmen.
Until we were goofing off in the pool one day and she’d walked out in a thong bikini. I wasn’t the only one who immediately stopped playing our weird version of water polo and stared. Reynolds and Paolo had, too, and Nico sighed.
“Goddamn, Carmen! Could you wear a normal suit around my friends?”
She looked at him over her sunglasses. “This is the most normal one I have.”
I gulped. Her breasts were very large. Much larger than Stephanie’s. And her ass was just… out there. It was all golden and firm, muscular but plump at the same time. She was fucking perfect. And I couldn’t look away.
And that’s when I noticed something. She was looking at me, too. She was trying not to make it noticeable, but I could tell.
“Come on,” Nico said. “It’s time to get ready for the party tonight anyway.” Nico had four brothers as well as his sister. It was always someone’s birthday, it seemed, and even if it wasn’t the Salazars were always celebrating something.
“What’s the party for?” I asked. I had packed my tux like he’d asked us to, but I couldn’t remember if he’d ever told me.
“It’s my graduation party,” Carmen said. “I’m officially done with law school. Now I just have to pass the bar, and I’ll be a practicing attorney.”
“Congratulations,” I said.
She smiled at me. “Thanks. Oh, shit. I forgot to bring something heavy up to my room. Byron, can you help me?”
I stared at her. She wanted me to help her? “Um, sure.”
She stood up and motioned for me to follow her. My eyes were glued to her ass the entire way inside.
“Subtle, sis. Really subtle,” Nico called out, and she just grinned at him.
I glanced at him sharply. What was he talking about?
“Here it is,” she said, and motioned to a small table. “I moved it out of my apartment today to put up in my bedroom here. Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” It wasn’t heavy. I could pick it up with one hand.
I was going to see her bedroom, I realized, with a shock.
Her room was the only bedroom on the fourth floor.
There was also a ballroom, a library, and an office up there.
I’d only ever been to the ballroom. Her brothers’ rooms were all on the third floor, along with some guest rooms.