STAG: MC ROMANCE (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 7) (85 page)

6.

They dozed in the late afternoon heat and Dylan wrapped his hands in her hair. She held herself close to him and breathed him in. He was so strong and powerful, and she felt tiny and safe in his arms. As the day turned to dusk he rose from the bed and stood silhouetted against the setting sun light.

“What are you running from, bad girl?” he asked as he squeezed her tight. She had always felt as if he could read her mind, but this only confirmed it.

“My old boss,” she admitted. “I accidentally lost some of his money, but I don’t think he believes me. Said he’d kill me if he ever saw me again.”

Dylan leaned up on his elbow and looked at her.

“You serious?” he asked.

Courtney nodded and wrapped her arms around herself.

“Said he’d kill my family too,” she said shaking her head, “I had to leave, I had to keep them safe.”

Dylan nodded as if to say he understood and then he got to his feet.

“You’re safe here, with me,” he said. “I’ll look after you.”

Courtney smiled. “Thank you.”

“I’m leaving tonight,” he said with a disappointed tone.

Courtney said up and pulled the bed sheet around her.

“What do you mean?” she said confused.

“I have to go west,” he reached down and tipped her chin up with his index finger. “A big job for the club, but I’ll be back in a few weeks.”

“A
few weeks
?” she shrieked. “But… you can’t leave.”

“I’ve got to babe,” he said as he pulled on his jeans, “I don’t want to, but I’ve got to…”

“But we’ve just…” she began.

“I know, trust me the last thing I want to do is leave you here and go to work… But I had to make you mine before I did to make sure you wouldn’t go anywhere.”

Courtney felt a smile creep over her face.

“Just passing through?” he said with a grin. “I don’t think so.”

“Okay,” she smiled coyly, “I’ll wait.”

“It’ll be worth it, trust me.” He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. “And you don’t have to worry about your ex-boss. Only a little pussy would threaten a gorgeous girl like you, and he certainly won’t get away with it.”

Courtney smiled at him and knew that her heart was open to him already. She could feel herself falling in love with him, even after just one encounter. He was the most amazing man she had ever met.

As he dressed and she heard the roar of the bikes outside, she knew without a doubt she couldn’t leave without seeing him again. He was her man and she owed it to him to wait.

When he kissed her she fought back the tears and quickly got dressed so she could go to say goodbye. She went downstairs with him and they both walked through the bar and to the front door. When they got outside and he climbed onto his Harley, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. The others watched them and she knew what they were all thinking… Now it all made sense. Dylan didn’t want the scrawny, cheap girls that hung around The Buckhorn. He wanted someone like Courtney. Someone curvy, sexy and classy with the appeal of an old school Hollywood siren. 

As they all rode away, Dylan turned back to look at her and she blew him a kiss. It felt cruel that he should have to leave so soon after they had got together, but she knew he would be back and it meant she had the excitement of waiting. Until he returned, she would work hard and rest. She had the feeling she was going to need all of her strength on his return.

The weeks passed slowly, and with each day the air seemed to become more dense and unbearable. Courtney sat in the bar every evening and watched out the window. Each time she heard the thunder of the bike in the distance, her ears pricked up and she hoped it would be Dylan.

Brogan knew when they would return but didn’t tell her. There was also the proud part of her that didn’t want to ask. Even though it was killing her not knowing when she would see him again, she didn’t want to show the other men around The Buckhorn how much she cared for him. She needed to keep her guard up around them so no one tried to sabotage what they had. She had heard about members being territorial and suspicious and she didn’t want any of them to take a disliking to her, so she mainly kept to herself.

A few weeks passed, and there was still no sign. Courtney hadn’t been feeling well so she told Brogan she couldn’t work that night. She curled up on her bed with the electric fan on and closed her eyes. It seemed so much hotter lately and she fanned herself with her hand. She rolled onto her side and when she opened her eyes they fell instantly on the calendar at the side of her bed.

It took a while to dawn on her, but she realized that four weeks had now gone since she and Dylan had been together and in that time she hadn’t had her period. She sat up quickly and felt her heart hammering in her chest.

No
, she thought,
surely not…

7.

She closed the door to her room and made her way into the bathroom. After she read the instructions and did what she had to do, she lay the test down on the side of the sink and waited. She sat on the floor and pulled her knees up to the chin. She had never been more tired. She had been feeling the heat more than usual. She hadn’t been feeling herself. But she had put it down to all of her mixed emotions and the fact that she was in a new state and living a completely new life.

Her mind ticked over as she waited, knowing already what the outcome was going to be. She could feel it inside her. She had changed. Her body had changed. Dylan’s powerful seed had filled her and impregnated her. She just knew it.

After two minutes passed, she couldn’t wait any longer and leapt up. She pulled the white stick from the side of the sink and looked at the little windows… each had a perfectly strong pink line running through them.

I’m pregnant
, she thought.
I’m going to have Dylan’s baby
.

8.

She had been at The Buckhorn for six weeks and finally, after four and a half long weeks away, Dylan returned. Courtney was working downstairs, stacking the glasses and cleaning the table tops when she heard the roar of bike engines approaching. She dropped her bar towel and ran to the doorway. It was the first night in a long while that the air had a chill to it, and she shivered as goose bumps rose on her forearms. Nerves were building. She could sense he was nearby. She had the biggest news to tell him, but was totally unsure of how he was going to take it.

As she saw the bikes thundering down the highway, she wrapped her arms around herself and felt a rush of adrenaline. Her man was nearly home.

Dylan was at the front of the convoy, and as he rode into the parking lot and came to a halt, Courtney ran down to meet him. He scooped her up in his huge arms and kissed her hard on the mouth. She wrapped herself around him and let him lift her like a doll as he walked with her toward the door to The Buckhorn.

“I missed you,” he said.

She nuzzled into him and breathed him in. It felt like he had been gone forever, but now that he was there with her, all of the memories of their wild night came flooding back.

“I missed you, too,” she said as she kissed him again.

The other bikers all stayed outside, but Dylan and Courtney went into the bar and he carried her upstairs to her room. Her heart was pounding with all she had to tell him. She could only hope that he was as ready for this as she was.

As he closed the door behind them, he took one look at her and said, “What’s going on?”

She took a deep breath and shrugged.

“We really have to talk,” she said.

“Oh?” he ran his hand through his hair, “Well that doesn’t sound good.”

“Depends how you look at it,” she smiled.

“What’s going on?” he took off his jacket and threw it down on the floor.

Courtney looked at the size of him and of how muscular and defined he was. He was like a god before her.

“I’m pregnant, Dylan.” She didn’t see the point of beating around the bush.

His face was still for a moment before he looked at her as if she were joking. When she nodded to confirm she wasn’t messing around, he sat back on her dressing chair and rubbed his chin.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that,” he said.

“I’m going to keep it,” she said.

His eyes snapped up to look at her, “Of course you are,” he rose to his feet and crossed the room to her. “You’re my woman,” he said, “And this is our child,” he rubbed her stomach, “I’m going to take care of you.”

Courtney relaxed. She looked into his big almond eyes and knew he was telling her the truth. He had wanted her to wait for him and she had, and now he was going to stick to his end of the bargain too. Just like he said before he left, he was going to protect her.

“I’m going to take care of you, too,” she whispered. “You’re my family now.”

He ran his hands through her hair and kissed her. She had never felt more safe and at ease with a man. After such a short time together, they had formed an unbreakable bond and were now about to bring a new life into the world.

“We are family,” he said, “But I have something to tell you, too,” Dylan broke her train of thought.

“What?” she asked with panic.

He pulled away from her and reached down to his jacket. He pulled out a wallet from one of the pockets and tossed it across the room to her. She caught it and held it in her hands, confused and totally unsure of what to do with it.

“What is it?” she asked.

“A promise already fulfilled,” he said.

Courtney looked down and opened the wallet. When she saw what was inside she instantly shuddered and threw it onto the floor.

“You didn’t?” she asked.

“I did,” he moved forward to her, “I told you, no one threatens a woman and gets away with it.”

On the floor, the credit cards and driving license of Mark Barnes spilled out onto the floor like a fan.

“Is he dead?” she asked him.

Dylan didn’t answer her, but he looked down at the floor and kicked the wallet away before scooping her up in his arms and kissing her again.

“So,” he said, “When do I get to the meet the in-laws?”

The happiness she felt at the realization she would be able to go home and see her parents was unparalleled. She felt the tears well up in her eyes. Although she knew she was making a life and a family with Dylan now and would never leave this place for good, she could also have her mom and dad back, too… and it was the best feeling in the world.

THE END

Samantha Leal

Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Thank you so much for your interest in my work!

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter One

Victoria tapped her foot against the leg of her desk as she watched the clock. She was sure the second hand was ticking slower than it had been an hour ago. It was only one p.m. but already her eyes were starting to droop. She was waiting for four thirty so she could get the hell out of there and go home to rest.

She was drowsy and tired, but she only had herself to blame. She had been up until the early hours of the morning drinking and dancing, not giving a shit that she had to be back in the office at eight thirty precisely for a day of boredom and dealing with idiots on the other end of the phone. As long as her station stayed relatively quiet, she should be okay. She rubbed her eyes and almost lowered her head onto the desk.

As if whoever was calling could telepathically read her mind, her station started to flash and she rolled her eyes.
Great
, she thought,
what will I get blasted with this time
...
?

She reached her arms up high over her head and stretched, and as she did so, she shot a quick look behind her at the other teleoperators. Surely another one of them was free and could field the call. She waited for another few seconds before reluctantly reaching down to the red button, and just as she was about to hit it and break into her unenthusiastic spiel, she was saved the hassle by one of the new kids behind her.

Thank Christ
, she thought.

She poured herself another glass of water from the jug beside her and pretended to be flicking through some work-related notes and the manual that lay limply in front of her. But really she was trying to piece together the events of the night before and remember if she had acted out of character or not.

She knew that she and Helen had started in Ocean Bar and done several shooters before moving on to a new, modern place she couldn’t even remember the name of. It had been sleek and clinical and she hadn’t liked it in the slightest. They only served expensive mineral water in fancy glass bottles and frowned at her when she asked for tap. When they’d ordered two vodkas, the tab had been over fifty dollars and Victoria glared at them as if they’d just punched her pet cat.

She worked in telesales and marketing and barely cut minimum wage. She couldn’t afford to go to places like that and resented Helen for dragging her to them. Helen worked as an exotic dancer and regularly made hundreds of dollars for just a few hours of work. Even though Victoria was glad she didn’t have to get naked in front of strangers to pay the bills, she was still kind of jealous of her friend’s exciting and carefree life. But they had still had fun, even with the bar costing a fortune and the knowledge of her early start nagging at the back of her mind. They’d sat up at the bar and had knocked them back one after the other, Victoria managing to excuse herself eight times out of ten when it came turns to buy the next round. She was sure Helen knew what she was up to, but she no longer cared. If her friend wanted to rub it in her face that she had more money that her, then she could pick up the bill.

They’d met some guys, she could remember that much. And she thought there had been discussion of joining them in a club. Helen had been really up for it, grinding up against one of them in the last bar, but Victoria had gotten the feeling that they were a bit creepy and weird. They’d both been tall and slender with slick white blonde hair and an icy air about them that she couldn’t place. It had kind of freaked her out because she had the feeling they’d been planning it… It was if they had waited until they had been good and drunk and then moved in. They even admitted to watching them the entire night.

“We saw you in Ocean Bar,” one of them said.

Victoria ignored him and sipped her drink.

“We wanted to come over but you looked so deep in conversation.” He smiled at her, and when she looked up at him she noticed how black his eyes were. There wasn’t a single hint of color in his irises. Victoria shivered.

“Helen,” she had said, “These guys are giving me the creeps, can we go?”

“But I kind of like this one,” she hissed into her ear while the two men chatted. “We could get some free drinks out of them at the club and then bail.”

“I’m not going,” Victoria said defiantly, “But if you want to…”

Helen rolled her eyes. “Okay,” she said, “I’m done anyway, and you’re right, they could be anybody.”

Victoria linked Helen’s arm and smiled.

The two guys were still chatting as the girls backed away quietly and made their way to the door. It was as Victoria opened it and the cool night air blew in after her that the guys both turned and glared at them, looking completely pissed that they’d been ditched.

“Hey!” the one who had been speaking to Victoria called as he held out his hands in disbelief.

“Sorry, guys!” Helen called back.

They had ran down the street laughing and hailed a cab. It was October and the leaves were falling, blowing around them in an orange and gold cloud.

“Taxi!” Victoria shouted as she held out her arm. A white cab zipped up next to them and the girls both clambered in. As the driver started the engine, Victoria looked back towards the bar and felt a tingle of terror roll over her as she realized the two men stood outside, completely still and side by side, just staring at them without moving a muscle.

“Creeps,” Victoria whispered before slumping down in her seat and snoozing as she let Helen direct the cab driver back to her apartment.