Life After Taylah (29 page)

A huge grin appears on his face and his hand goes up and slides into my hair. He jerks me forward and crushes my mouth with his. The crowd goes into a frenzy, cheering and chanting his name, and he kisses me—really kisses me. There is no wrong or right, no lies, no betrayal: this kiss is our first kiss. Our first real, no-strings-attached, no hearts-breaking kiss.

And it’s epic.

“S
hit, Nate,” I scream as he fucks me, hard and fast, my back slamming against the cool tiled floor.

“So fuckin’ tight, baby,” he groans, tilting my hips up so he can take me deeper.

Our bodies slide across the cold floor as he slams into me, drilling me with his cock, bringing me to heights I’ll never come down from. When we find our release it’s deep and long, both of us groaning and shuddering.

“Never get tired of that,” he murmurs into my neck.

“Fucking on the floor?” I laugh softly.

“Fucking you, baby.”

I close my eyes and smile as he pulls out of me and stands, leaning down to scoop me into his arms. We walk towards the bathroom in our new apartment when the phone rings. I look to Nate and he frowns. He reaches over and stares down at the screen.

“It’s Max.”

“I should answer it. We’ve been living in our Fuck Cave for a while. He might be worried.”

He chuckles and puts me down, slapping my ass as he walks off to the shower. I go to answer the call, but it hangs up just as I take my phone. I make myself a cup of tea and then dial him back.

“Hey Maxy,” I say, when he answers.

“Avery,” he whispers. “Liam’s been in an accident.”

My eyes widen and my heart feels like it stops beating. “What?” I rasp.

“He’s stable, but he’s in the hospital. I only just found out.”

“Which hospital?” I croak.

He gives me the details and I rush down the hall to Nate, who is just getting out of the shower.

“What is it?” he asks.

“Liam’s been in an accident.”

~*~*~*~

“O
h, Li,” I whisper, staring down at my brother.

He’s covered in deep gashes and bruises. The doctor said he has a broken leg, ribs and collarbone. He’s lucky to be alive after he crashed his car. The worst part? He was high when it happened. I didn’t know he was sinking so badly; he put on such a brave face. My heart breaks for him.

“It’s not your fault, Avie,” he says, reaching out to take my hand. “Nothing you could have said would have stopped me from takin’ those drugs. I’ve got a problem, a problem bigger than you and me. It’s no one’s fault but my own.”

“I thought . . . I just thought you’d slowed down. I didn’t know it was so bad.”

He laughs softly. “Neither did I.”

“You could have killed yourself,” I say, tears welling in my eyes. “What would I do  without you, Li?”

He reaches up and cups my cheek. “I’m getting help, Avie. I’m going to rehab.”

My heart bursts with pride that my brother could be so strong as to admit he has a problem and get help for it.

“I’m so proud of you,” I whisper.

“I guess Dad’s money has come in handy after all, hey,” he jokes, but his eyes are sad.

“You’re doing the right thing.”

He nods and looks away. “I know, but the right thing is so fuckin’ hard, Avie.”

I understand that more than he’ll ever know.

~*~*~*~

“H
ow is he?” Nate asks, nuzzling my neck.

“He’s good. He’s struggling hard, but he’s fighting through it.”

“Good,” he murmurs.

“How’d Macy go when you dropped her to Lena?”

He nips at my neck and wraps his arms around my waist. “She’s good. She likes spending time with Lena, even if it is only a day or two here and there.”

“Of course. She’s her mom.”

Macy has lived with Nate and I since the day we moved in together. She’s been a delight to have around and she brings happiness to our home. She visits Lena on and off, depending when Lena can be bothered, but it makes her happy and neither Nate nor I would ever try to take that away from her.

Liam is doing well in rehab. He’s going through the worst of his withdrawals now, and it seems he looks sicker than he did when he was taking drugs, but at least he’s working to fix himself. I visit him twice a week, and even though most of that time he’s not entirely with it, I know he likes my company.

Things are working perfectly with Nate and I. I’ve gone back to teaching dancing and he’s still riding. I work part-time at the library, and dropped my job at the bar. We’re happy, finally. We started out in a not-so-great place, finding a love that wasn’t ours to have at the time, and we fought through the consequences that came with that love. But we made it through and we’re stronger for it.

My life a year ago was a mess. I had no answers and nothing made me happy. Now my mother is at peace, finally, and my life is taking the right track. I’ve healed myself, my brother is getting better and I’ve found something worth fighting for. Through all of this, through the ups and downs, the highs and the lows, Nate has taught me one strong lesson.

Life throws you curveballs all the time, but it’s how you catch them that determines how your life is going to go. We don’t always make the right choices and we don’t always get away from things unscathed, but as long as we take the ball we’ve been given and we accept it for what it is, then we will always find our way back out the other side.

Nate taught me how to find my way. He showed me the light at the end of the tunnel. He taught me to breathe again and he taught me how to love. He walked me through my darkest days and he helped me to be a stronger person.

Lessons aren’t always easy to learn, but they’re there for a reason. Sometimes it’s a reason we don’t understand. So long as we learn from them, the result will always be the same.

We will become stronger people.

THE END

“D
anny!” I yell, running through the house after my son. It’s not an easy task, considering I’m pregnant, round, and my son has his father’s energy.

I lost a baby recently, I was due only about four months after Addison and Cade had Skye but there was complications half way through – we found out our baby didn’t have a bladder or kidneys. It was heartbreaking and we had to go through the grueling pain of losing our tiny little son. It took us a few months of grieving before we found out we were expecting again. It wasn’t easy to accept, but we moved onwards and upwards, and were delighted when we found out we were having a healthy baby. We couldn’t be happier.

“Catch me, Momma!” he cries in his cute voice. Damn that voice. Damn him and his gorgeous personality.

“Momma can’t catch you baby,” I cry out, stopping to drop down with my hands on me knees. God, I can’t breathe.

I lift my head and realize I can’t hear him anymore. With a deep sigh, I force myself up, placing my hands on my belly, and then I rush quickly towards the door. I just step through and go to round the corner when I go crashing into a hard, divine wall of muscle.
Spike.
With a sigh, I melt into him. I take a moment to just breathe in that musky, manly scent.

“Danny boy givin’ you hell, Tom Cat?”

I groan. “Hell doesn’t even cover it. That boy has far too much energy.”

He chuckles and pulls back, placing his hands on my belly. He does this every day, as if checking our baby is still okay. I look up at him and smile. God he’s beautiful, the years will never change how utterly amazing Spike truly is. He grins down at me, and my own grin turns sly.

“Stop lookin’ at me like that, Tom Cat. You know I can’t give you any while you’re...you know...”

“Fat?” I suggest. “Round? Swollen?”

He rolls his eyes. “You ain’t fat, baby. You’re perfect. I can see your ass just fine and it’s nice.”

“Nice?” I pout. “Nice?”

“Sexy,” he grins, leaning down and sliding his lips across my jaw. “It’s an ass I’d like to fuck.”

I shudder. “My ass can’t be fucked, honey.”

“Why not?” he murmurs, nipping my neck as he slides down lower. His hands catch my sides and he pulls me as close as he can get me with this belly in the way.

“I’m too nice. Nice girls don’t fuck with their ass.”

He grumbles and drops to his knees, pressing his face to my belly. “Your momma hates me, little guy.”

“It is not a little guy,” I frown. “Do not curse me with another junior Spike!”

“Daddy!”

We both look over to see Danny bounding in. He’s got a hand full of sticks, mud and leaves. How the fuck did he get that all in such a short time? I open my mouth to cry out as he trails mud over my floors, but Spike gets there first.

“Buddy,” he says. “You can’t drag mud through the house. Mommy has to clean it and we know it makes her very, very angry,” he gets to his feet and scoops Danny up. “And while Daddy likes when Mommy is angry, we can’t have her giving birth on the floor.”

I shake my head with a sigh and walk into the kitchen. I’ve got a turkey cooking in the oven. Tonight everyone is coming over for thanksgiving dinner. I’ve not had my house full of bikers yet, but I imagine it will be an interesting evening.

“Ciara!”

I hear Addison’s loud, happy voice and look up to see her skipping – yes skipping – across the floor towards me. She’s followed by Serenity. I smile and give them a pathetic wave. It’s the best I’ve got. I’m exhausted. Addison loses her smile quickly and rushes over, placing her hands on my shoulder.

“Look at
moi
lady, look at
moi
!”

I roll my eyes and giggle.

“You look exhausted,” Serenity says, narrowing her eyes. “You should have gotten us to help.”

She places a large bowl onto the table, I’m trying to remember what I asked her to bring. I sigh and place a hand on my straining belly.

“My bad,” I mumble. “I really didn’t think it would be that hard.”

“Right!” Addison says, spinning around. “Spike! Get your cute ass in here right now.”

I hear a grumble and a moment later Spike walks in, followed by Jackson and Cade. They both have their hands full of kids. Spike is holding Danny in his favorite football grip, Cade is nursing his daughter who is clawing at him to try and let her down, and Jackson has Ava by the hand. I grin at the guys, all decked out in their leathers, holding on to little kids. Cade gives Addison a playful grin and Jackson looks at Serenity –
still
– like he wants to eat her alive. The man is a horn dog.

“Lookin’...errr....” Cade begins, looking at me.

“Fat?” I offer.

He chuckles. “I was going to say good.”

“You were not,” I laugh.

“What are you hollerin’ at me for?” Spike says, glaring at Addison.

“Don’t glare at me, I’ll take you on. You need to get this gorgeous girl here and take her upstairs. I don’t care how you do it, but you need to get her relaxed. Bath her, fuck her...”

“Addison!” Jackson says, shaking his head with a sigh.

“Father,” Addison says, turning to him. “You of all people cannot tell me off for using sex as a muscle relaxant...”

“Jesus,” Cade mutters. “You’re makin’ me sound like a fuckin’ bottle of bath salts right now.”

Addison blows him a kiss. “Honey, you’re so much more than a bottle of bath salts. You do far more than relax my muscles.”

“Addison!” Jackson yells, covering his ears. “Fuck me.”

“That would be incest, father,” she points out.

Spike bursts out laughing.

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” Jackson groans. “Are you sure you’re mine?”

Addison feigns shock. “Daddy, how could you?”

He grins at her and winks.

I shake my head, trying hard not to laugh. Every day is like this when we’re all together. Everyone is happy. Everyone gets along. The guys deal with their club business but when they’re away from it, they’re really away.

“Ciara,” Spike says, handing his son to Addison whose eyes widen. “You’re comin’ with me. Addison, considerin’ it was your amazing idea, you get the boy. He needs a bath.”

“Ripped off!” she mumbles, taking Danny who quickly wraps his arms around her neck.

“Enjoy the mud bath he’s going to give you,” Spike winks, reaching for me and tugging me out from behind the counter.

He turns and pulls me from the room without another word to the guys. I begin to protest as he pulls me up the stairs.

“Spike, you can’t pull me away, I have to put the pumpkin pie on and...”

He spins around, halting me when he crushes his lips down over mine. All thoughts of pumpkin pie leave my mind as he deepens the kiss, consuming me with his tongue. My knees wobble and I lean into him. He supports me with an arm around my waist. By the time he pulls back, I’m panting.

“Now,” he murmurs, staring at my lips. “Are we goin’ to keep arguin’?”

I shake my head.

“Good.”

He pulls me further up the stairs and into our bedroom. He takes me straight to the bathroom and leans over the massive spa bath we had installed three weeks ago. He turns it on and pours a glob of bubble bath in, before turning to me and gripping the hem of my shirt.

“Off, baby.”

I don’t hesitate. I lift my arms and let him slide the shirt off. He makes quick work of the rest of my clothes, leaving me naked and biting my lip as he lets his gaze travel over me.

“Changed my mind,” he murmurs. “Think I need to taste that sweet pussy.”

I feel my cheeks heat as he steps forward, cupping my breasts in his palms. I shudder and swallow, biting my lip harder.

“Stay right there, baby,” he rasps, slowly lowering himself down my body.

Oh god. All I can think about is my belly and how disgusting it must look from that angle. I’m round and my breasts are
huge
. My ass is bigger than it usually is and I really don’t feel sexy. I can’t see how he is enjoying my body being naked, god, what if he can’t reach my pussy? What if I’m just too fat and...