TEMPTING ENEMY

Beckham Dynasty: Book 1

USA TODAY & WALLSTREET JOURNAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR

M. ROBINSON
TEMPTING ENEMY

M. ROBINSON

© 2023 Tempting Enemy by M. Robinson

All rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or
locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All characters
are a figment of the author’s imagination, and all incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s
mind's eye and are not to be interpreted as real. Though several people, places, and events portrayed
in this book are correct, the story is fiction that the author has made up for entertainment purposes
only.
 Author’s Note

Please see my website for content warnings.

 Contents

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Epilogue

Coming Soon
Second Chance Series
Other Series to Check Out
Meet M. Robinson
Acknowledgments
For readers who love their heroes with a dirty mouth
and a big cock…
Prologue
Haven
“L et goIgnoring
of me!” I shouted, trying to shake loose from his embrace.
the pain cycling through my entire being, I roughly tried
to pry away, only making him hold me that much tighter.
“Peach, I’m hanging on by a fucking thread here… Please…” he
pleaded as I continued to struggle against him.
“I never wanted to hurt you. You know that… I warned you, but you
wouldn’t listen. You refused to listen to me and now look at what’s
happened.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I sincerely expressed, feeling like I was
going to break at any moment. “You had so many chances to tell me the
truth? Why would you rather me find out like this?”
He turned me to face him, still grabbing ahold of my arms.
“I didn’t want to lose you. Not after I fell in love with you.”
Hearing him say that for the first time was like acid on my skin.
It burned.
It scared.
It seared into my heart.
I lashed out, slamming my fist into his chest and he accepted every
blow, knowing he deserved it.
I wanted to hurt him.
I needed to hurt him.
But also, through it all…
I wanted to continue loving him with every last part inside of me.
When all of a sudden, he caught my wrists mid-strike, tugging me
toward his body, holding me against his chest, against his heart. Against the
agony and grief that would always live inside of him.
I broke down, losing all my strength.
To fight.
To cry.
To hate him.
I fell to the ground…
And he came with me.
One
Haven
M yhole
best friend Cove confidently handed her fake ID to the bouncer at the
in the wall biker bar, The Outlaw. The infamous bar was located
in the bad side of town in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The place was packed
to the brim with people and there was a line around the building. Despite
the bar being in a sketchy location, it didn’t seem to bother the locals one
bit.
Cove was the reason we were even there. My eighteenth birthday was
the following week, and she surprised me with an early gift a few days ago.
It was my very own fake ID that read I was twenty-one years old, just like
hers. She’d been using her fake ID for the last month without any problems.
After constantly hearing about all the hot guys she was meeting, she
decided it was my turn to experience what she was.
I was a little nervous. If my dad and five older brothers knew where I
was, let’s just say, I’d probably never be able to leave the house again. I’d
be screwed. Being the baby in my family wasn’t something that was ever
overlooked by any of them. In their eyes, I’d forever be the little girl
following them around like their tiny shadow, wanting to do everything
they were. Most of the time, they let me. Always indulging me in whatever
I wanted.
Whether it was their time or affection, or just wanting to learn all the
stuff what there were for the ranch or school, they happily obliged. No
questions asked. I was the apple of each of their eyes, but not a day went by
where they didn’t remind me of how much I was looking more and more
like our mother with pain in their loving eyes.
Especially when they were staring at the scar on my left eyebrow. A
daily reminder of the worst day of my life. As much as I wanted to hate it,
the moments I craved to feel closer to her, I’d find myself rubbing over the
tattered tissue, back and forth with my thumb, until the ache in my heart
subsided and all that was left…
Was darkness.
The scar was only half an inch long, but it didn’t feel that way. If
anything, it consumed my entire being.
 On a lighter note, since I was already spoiled by six men, I never found
the need to have a boyfriend. Not that the men in my life already would
ever allow it anyway. To say they were protective and overbearing would be
an understatement. There were no boundaries when it came to me.
The age gaps between them and I were comical. I was twenty years
younger than my oldest brother Jace, who was thirty-eight. Then there was
Reid, who was thirty-three. Ledger, who was twenty-nine. Alexander, who
was twenty-five, and Troy, who was twenty-one.
That left me.
The baby.
Our daddy was a rancher, who owned five thousand acres of property
for our cattle. He was the best of the best which meant he worked around
the clock. Our old man lived and breathed the ranch, and a part of me knew
it was easier for him to live that way. Though it didn’t mean we weren’t just
as big of a part of his life as the ranch had been. He was always there for
each of us. No matter what. Filling the role of both parents.
The ranch was also a huge part of our lives too. I loved it. We all did,
helping in everything and anything we could. They were some of my
favorite memories. People could only imagine what it was like growing up
in a house full of boys. I was tough. They made sure of it. I probably grew
up way too fast, but it didn’t matter. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other
way.
My brothers taught me everything I knew, down to how to ride my bike.
Technically, I was the only one who still lived at home with Daddy, but
nobody would ever know or think that with how often the rest of them were
there. Our house was a revolving door for all of them to come and go as
they pleased.
Except for me of course.
I had a curfew and if I was late, they’d be hauling ass through town
trying to find me. At one point, they had the tracker on my phone activated
and I raised all hell to Daddy on that one. Thank God he took my side. Only
if they knew where I was. Our group chat was mostly filled with them
asking me where and what I was doing. Especially as I became older.
Now the things I’d learned and seen because of them were a much
different story. Including the number of girls sneaking in and out of the
house when Dad was sleeping.
They were as shameless as they were good looking.
 “There’s my girl,” another guy excitingly greeted, grabbing Cove
around the waist to tug her into his side, and tearing me away from my
thoughts as we stood in line.
The guy nodded to the bouncer, and he handed Cove’s fake ID back to
her.
“This is my best friend, Haven,” she announced. “Isn’t she pretty?”
I smiled flirtatiously, handing the bouncer my fake ID.
I never had a problem getting attention from guys. Which was why my
family kept me on a short leash. I was often told I looked like a porcelain
doll with my bright green eyes and pouty lips. I had long brown hair I
usually kept down, framing my oval shaped face and prominent
cheekbones.
From the pleased expression on the bouncer’s face, he was going to let
me right in.
“She’s something all right.” He smiled at me. “You must be new. I’d
remember a beauty like you.”
I bit my lower lip, peering up at him through my dark, long lashes.
Cove grinned, mouthing to me, “I’ll see you inside.”
Once her and the man who recognized her were gone, the bouncer
asked, “How about you let me buy you a drink?”
I smirked. “I don’t take drinks from strangers.”
“Haven.” He extended out his hand. “I’m Chris.”
I shook it. He was cute.
“There,” he added, pulling back the black velvet rope. “Now we’re not
strangers anymore.”
I beamed, playing my part. While walking toward the door, I looked
behind me as I strode passed him. “I’ll see you inside,” I remarked.
As soon as the last word left my mouth, a sharp tone filled the air. “The
fuck you will,” I heard as I abruptly collided into a solid chest suddenly
blocking my entrance.
I fell back, stumbling over my own two feet in the cowboy boots I was
wearing. The brick wall in front of me didn’t move until he wrapped his
arm around the back of my waist, holding me against him for a few seconds
to stand steady. Then in the blink of an eye, he let me go, leaving some
distance in between us.
My heart fluttered and my stomach dropped when we locked eyes for
the first time. He loomed over my five-foot four frame, completely
captivating all of my senses. From the black muscle shirt he was wearing
which accentuated the dark tattoos on his left arm and chest, to his bright
blue eyes I swore was telling me my future.
His face was as chiseled as his body with a strong jawline and bone
structure. There were a few strands of his dirty blonde hair that fell across
his smoldering glare. Simply adding to his rough exterior that I was entirely
captivated by.
Never in my life had I experienced what I was feeling in that moment
with a complete stranger. Almost instantly, this hot blaze sparked through
my whole body, igniting this lava to form in the pit of my stomach.
It was overpowering.
Startling.
All consuming.
It wasn’t until he glared at Chris who was behind me and berated,
“What the hell are you doing letting a little girl into my bar?”
That I winced. Unable to help it.
“I’m not a little girl.” Standing my ground, I held my head higher,
trying to pretend like he wasn’t having an affect on me.
His stare once again met mine as he cocked his head to the side,
narrowing his gaze at me with an expression I couldn’t read. Without saying
another word, he leaned back and folded his arms over his broad, muscular
chest, eyeing me up and down. He was making me slightly uncomfortable.
It was obviously easy for him to intimidate people, and I wasn’t any
different.
I shook off the sentiment, clearing my throat.
“If you have a problem with me,” I expressed, wanting to break the
effect he was having on me. “Then say it to my face and not your bouncer.
I’m standing right in front of you.”
Again, no expression whatsoever crept on his bad boy face. He didn’t
show me anything.
“Isn’t it past your curfew?” he mocked, making my blood boil and my
skin flush.
I was never any good at hiding my anger, growing up with five guys
would do that to a girl.
Without missing a beat, he maliciously added, “Go home and play with
your Barbie dolls, and let the men handle business.”
“My curfew is none of your business.”
 “You became my business as soon as you tried to sneak into my bar.”
“What part of sneaking in was I doing? I’m standing right in front of
you, aren’t I?”
“I don’t have to look at your ID to know that it’s fake. You can’t be
older than what? Fifteen?”
My eyes widened, offended.
What he did next completely caught me by surprise. He reached over
and gripped onto my chin like I was a child.
“This is a biker bar, Peach. You want to come back? Do it when you’re
an adult. Until then—” he rudely let go “—get the fuck off my property.
You’re nothing but jailbait around these men.”
With that, he snapped back around and left, rendering me speechless.
I couldn’t believe what just happened. I was shocked. I’d never been
treated or spoken to that way. I didn’t know how to react other than stand
there in pure disbelief how this asshole just embarrassed me in front
everyone.
Yet still, my attraction to him was coming off in waves. My mind reeled
with mixed emotions.
I watched him leave with the swagger of a man with a chip on his
shoulder, but before he entered the side door I didn’t notice while we were
standing in line, he spun and locked eyes with the bouncer.
He spewed, “You’re fucking fired.”
Chris reluctantly held his arms out to his sides. “Hayes, come on, man!”
He didn’t pay him any mind, shifting his gaze to the guy walking out of
his bar instead.
“Mark! Handle the door. If Chris isn’t gone in five minutes, make sure
security escorts him out.”
“Hayes!” he exclaimed again, trying to get his attention.
For a brief second, something deep inside of me craved for Hayes to
meet my eyes. Even if it was just for an instant, I wanted that last moment
with him.
When he ordered, “And get that little girl off my property before the
cops show up and find a minor who has no business being here.”
I knew I wasn’t going to get what I wanted. All I was met with was him
slamming the door behind him.
Never once…
Looking back at me.
Two
Haven
“A reon you sure you don’t want me to leave with you?” Cove questioned
the other end of the phone. “I just have to finish peeing and I can
come right out.”
I chuckled despite being pissed. “Yeah, I’m sure. Enjoy your night. I’m
just going to get an Uber.”
“Text me when you get home, okay?”
“Promise.” I hung up and heard a familiar voice from behind me.
“I can take you home,” he offered.
I turned to find Chris standing there with a bottle of Jack in his hand.
“Steal that from the bar?”
“I call it my severance pay.”
I chuckled again.
“Let me take you home.”
“You shouldn’t drink and drive.”
He held the liquor up in the air. “It’s a brand-new bottle.”
I never went home with men I didn’t know, I knew better, but I’d just
been rejected by the first guy I’d ever been attracted to. My self-esteem
took an unexpected hit in a way I never saw coming.
“I’ll let you take me home as long as you’re not drinking.”
He held three fingers up in the air. “Scout’s honor.”
I half smiled.
Walking toward me, he held out his arm for me to wrap mine around
his.
“Anyone ever tell you how pretty you are, darlin’?”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. He was making me feel better. Entwining my
arm with his, he led me toward his car.
“Where’s Mark?”
“Being a fucking lackey to Hayes.”
Curious and unable to help myself, I asked, “How long have you
worked here?”
“Couple months.”
“How long have you known Hayes?”
 “Everyone knows Hayes.” He shrugged. “Well, at least in this part of
town they do. His old man made sure of it.”
What does that mean?
He opened the passenger side door for me, and I stepped inside. Once
he was sitting in the driver’s seat, he turned on his car.
“What’s a girl like you doing here anyway? A biker bar doesn’t really
seem like your scene.”
I glanced over at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean look at you,” he rasped. “The girls that come in there want to
get fucked.”
Our eyes connected.
“Unless I’m wrong. Do you want to get fucked, Haven?”
My mouth parted.
He reached into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out my fake ID.
“Or is Hayes, right? You a minor? How old are you?”
“Isn’t it a little late for that question? I’m already sitting in your car.”
“It hasn’t moved yet.”
Playing with fire, I baited, “How old do you want me to be?”
“Old enough to kiss you.”
I threw caution to the wind, replying, “You can kiss me.”
With a wide smile, he leaned forward until he was a few inches away
from my lips.
I’d been kissed before. I wasn’t that innocent. Three guys to be exact.
None of which mattered. Just random boys from parties other schools were
throwing. They conveniently didn’t know who my brothers were.
When Chris gripped onto the back of my neck, I shut my eyes. The
instant I felt his breath against my mouth all hell broke loose.
The next thing I knew, the sound of his car door flew open at the same
time my unsettled stare did.
What followed could only be described as one of the most intense
moments of my life. In a short amount of time, I watched in utter disbelief
as Hayes was suddenly standing there from behind him. He quickly gripped
onto the collar of Chris’s shirt, not allowing him a second to realize what
was happening. Hayes didn’t give him time to react.
If anything, he moved with the precision of a man who’d done this
before.
A lot.
 Chris spewed, “What the fu—” as Hayes literally dragged him out of
the car by his shirt.
“Oh my God.” I rushed out behind them, shouting, “Have you lost your
mind?”
Hayes ignored my question to ask his own. “What part of her being a
minor did you not understand?”
I gasped.
He was doing this for me?
Since I was a little girl, all I wanted was my own Prince Charming. My
knight in shining armor. Except little did I know…
Hayes would be the villain in my fairytale.
Hayes
Call it instinct.
Perception.
Fucking madness.
I knew that motherfucker wouldn’t listen.
I should have let it be.
I should have walked away.
I should have stopped watching the video surveillance of them, but I
couldn’t help it.
The last thing I wanted was to involve myself in her life. However,
someone had to teach the son of a bitch a lesson and I had no problem being
that man. Rage quickly took over as I roughly slammed his face into the
hood of his car, causing his body to jolt forward against the metal.
“Relax!” he reasoned. “She’s not a minor!”
“Bullshit!” I spun him around, delivering a blow to his stomach, right in
his ribs. Hearing a hasty crack in the wake of my fist, he groaned, falling
over in my tight grasp.
“Stop it!” she screamed. “He didn’t do anything wrong!”
Before I could give it a second thought, I threw his ass back into the
driver’s seat of his car.
“If I ever see you anywhere near her or my bar again, I’ll do way more
damage than just slapping you around for a little bit. Do you understand
me?”
Chris hovered against his steering wheel for support, coughing out,
“Yeah.”
“Now get the fuck off my property.”
I grabbed her fake ID which was sitting on his dashboard before
slamming his car door shut, beyond furious I was in this situation to begin
with. There I was, protecting this little girl like I had any business doing so.
“Goddamn it,” I exclaimed, watching him pitifully drive off my lot,
taking my sanity with him.
“Are you insane?”
My glare locked with hers.
 “I’m not the one who’s up to no good.”
“You could have fooled me. Or do you normally beat up people for no
reason?”
“You sitting in his car was motive enough for me.”
“Wow.” She shook her head with wide eyes. “Are you for real? Why do
you care if I was in his car? You just kicked me out of your bar,
remember?”
“And I clearly recall ordering you to leave.”
“I was! But you just beat up my driver. Besides, last time I checked,
you’re not the boss of me.”
“You’re right that’s Daddy’s job. But seeing as you can’t listen worth a
shit, I’m going to have to do it for you.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Now let’s go. I’ve already wasted enough time
babysitting you. I’m driving you home and then I have to get back to my
bar. Understood?”
“Do you always talk down to people or do I just have that effect on
you?”
“You mean being a pain in my ass?”
Her mouth dropped open. “Oh my God! You’re such an asshole!”
“I’ve been called worse. At this point, it’s a fucking compliment. Now
are you going to start walking or am I going to have to do that for you too?”
She adamantly shook her head. “You truly are crazy if you think I’m
going anywhere with you.”
“Peach…” I coaxed. “We could do this the easy way, or we could do it
the hard way, but choose wisely, sweetheart. My patience is wearing very
fucking thin with you.”
I could see it in her eyes, she wanted to defy me.
In a challenging stance, she countered, “What’s the hard way?”
I scoffed, holding up her fake ID. “I call Daddy to come pick up his
jailbait little girl.”
Through a clenched jaw, she emphasized, “I’m. Not. A. Little. Girl.”
She was only fueling my anger.
Narrowing my heated stare at her, I bit, “What do you think was going
to happen if I didn’t stop him? You think he would have stopped himself
from getting in your panties, Peach? Because I’m sure as fuck you’re as
ripe as a peach.”
 She glared at me. “He was just going to kiss me.”
“Men like him don’t kiss—they fuck. Let that be your first lesson in
men.”
“And what about you? Huh?” In one determined stride, she was in my
personal space. “What kind of man are you?”
I cocked my head to the side, growling, “The kind that stays away from
jailbait pussy.”
She jerked back, surprised by my harshness.
“Now get your ass in my car,” I ordered in another blunt tone. “I won’t
ask you again.”
She may have been young.
Innocent.
Naive.
But I knew right then and there this ripe peach…

Was fucking trouble.

Three
Haven
“H appy birthday, dear
birthday to you!”
Haven!” my family and Cove sang. “Happy

Dad nodded to my chocolate cake. “Blow out your candles, baby girl.”
I closed my eyes and made the same wish I did every year. However, it
had yet to come true. Regardless, it didn’t stop me from making it. I blew
out all the candles, silently hoping it’d come true this time.
“I can’t believe my baby’s eighteen,” Daddy announced, pulling me into
the side of his chest. He kissed the top of my head.
I smiled, leaning into his embrace.
Jace was the first to tug me away. “It doesn’t matter how old you are,
Teeny. You’ll always be our baby sister.”
I playfully smacked him on the chest. “How many times have I told you
to stop calling me that? I’m not three anymore.”
Troy laughed. “Tough shit, Teeny.”
I rolled my eyes, instantly hearing Hayes’s voice.
His words, “Little girl.”
They played on repeat in my mind all week long. There was no getting
away from my thoughts about him. The ride home was silent. Hayes blared
the music in his big ass, black, Denali truck. He had a sweet ride that was
for sure. My brother Reid was into cars, teaching me a lot about them. I
tried not to fawn over the hemi engine while he drove me home, staring out
the window instead.
However, the loud music made it impossible to talk anyway. He only
turned it down once we entered my neighborhood and caught me by
surprise he cared about the noise compliance. Though he didn’t care enough
to drop me off near my front door. He left me at the gate entrance of my
property instead. We lived on five acres. It was a hike to walk from the gate
to the front door.
When I said that to him, he simply replied, “Better hurry if you want to
make curfew, Peach.”
Asshole.
 It didn’t matter how many times I tried to shake my thoughts about him,
he consumed my head. It was as frustrating as it was confusing all at the
same time.
Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him?
He treated me like shit, but he still protected me. It didn’t make any
sense. I didn’t believe his excuse of me being underage. Cove had been
partying in his biker bar for weeks with her fake ID. He would have kicked
her out if that was truly the problem. There was more to the story, and I was
dying to find out what the next chapters were.
I wanted him to eat his words, apologizing for the way he treated me.
Who the hell did he think he was?
The more I thought about it, the angrier I was.
Cove asked, “You thinking about Hayes again?” Only loud enough for
me to hear, tearing me away from my reckless thoughts.
I bowed my head, opening one of my gifts on the table. “No.”
“Liar.”
I shrugged.
“You get this annoyed expression on your face when you’re thinking
about him.”
“Yeah,” I chuckled. “That sounds about right.”
“What’s with you and him anyway? Since when do you obsess over a
guy?”
“I’m not obsessing.”
“I’ve seen that scowl on your face more this week than I have all year.”
She smiled. “You can’t hide from your best friend.”
I smirked. “I know.”
We’d been best friends since we were five, bonding over the fact that
we both loved the color teal instead of pink or purple like the other girls in
our preschool class did. Cove was the only child, spending more time at my
house than her own. Her parents had demanding jobs, high-profile ones
where they weren’t around a lot.
Jace brought our attention over to him, questioning, “What trouble are
you two getting into tonight?”
Cove grinned. “How did you know trouble was my middle name?”
“I can smell it on you.”
She smiled in a snarky manner. “I always knew you were a dog.” Before
nodding to his dog tags that he still wore around his neck.
 “Cute,” he mocked.
Jace and Cove weren’t fond of one another. He thought she was a bad
influence on me, and she thought he was a dickwad that didn’t know how to
mind his own business.
Her words, not mine.
I blamed his career. After serving twenty years in the Navy Seals, Jace
retired six months ago. He was Elite Forces, and we never knew much
about where he was or what he was doing. When he was on leave visiting
us, we never talked about his military life. It was as if he was two people,
living two completely different lives. Everything he did was top secret. All
we knew was he was the best of the best, my brother wouldn’t have it any
other way.
He’d definitely seen some shit. He was the brother I was least close to.
Mostly because he wasn’t around for my most of my life. By the time I was
born, he was already active duty. I only saw him a couple times a year for
days at a time.
Despite writing him letters whenever I could, he was closed off.
Private.
Moody.
Never showed any emotion.
I felt like he always kind of kept us at arm’s length. Dad said it was how
he kept us safe, whatever that meant.
After I finished opening my presents, we ate cake and Cove and I left.
My family understood I’d want to hang out with my friends on the night of
my eighteenth birthday. They didn’t give me a hard time for leaving.
Tonight, was the first time I didn’t have to be home by midnight. Now
that I was of age, I was able to persuade Daddy I didn’t need a curfew
anymore, but I promised I’d always keep him in the loop of where I was
and what time I’d be home. It took me a few weeks to get through to him,
but I finally did.
My biggest argument was that none of my brothers had curfews, they
were all allowed to do whatever they wanted. I was a good student,
cheerleading caption, I stayed out of trouble. There wasn’t much say they
could have, legally I was an adult and I think my family was all finally
aware of it.
My senior year of high school started a couple months ago and I’d yet
to celebrate becoming cheerleading caption. A role I worked for. I’d been a
cheerleader since middle school while Cove began freshman year. She saw
how much I loved it and gave it a try. Come to find out, she was an asset to
our team.
“Haven,” Cove coaxed, driving her Jeep.
Once again she tore me away from my thoughts.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
I smiled at her as she shook her head at me.
“What exactly are you trying to accomplish tonight?”
I didn’t hesitate in responding, “My independence.”
Hayes
My head was fucking pounding by the time I walked through the side
entrance of the bar into my office. Once I was sitting in my leather chair, I
placed my elbows on the desk in front of me to rest my head in the palms of
my hands, mentally preparing myself for the night ahead.
It was still early by bar standards, but the place was already packed to
the brim with people like it was every Friday night. At least I was making a
shit ton of a money. The Outlaw was the talk of the town. It was the first
biker bar in the area. Established in 1902 by my great, great grandfather.
The only reason he opened the bar to begin with was to run the shady
shit for his motorcycle club, The Outlaw, that was he was president of at the
time. My old man followed in my great, great grandfather’s footsteps. As
soon as his father passed the gavel down to him, he also signed over the
title to the bar.
I guess it could be said this place was my family’s legacy. Also the MC
I wanted no part of, but my old man was still able to persuade me into
owning forty-nine percent of the bar the day I turned twenty-one four years
ago while his share remained at fifty-one percent. Overnight, this place
became my life. Along with all the bullshit that came with it.
Leaning back into my chair, I rubbed my thumb over my mouth, getting
lost in my thoughts until there was a knock on my door.
Mark hollered, “Clear to come in, Boss?”
My employees knew better than to barge into my office.
“Yeah,” I called out.
He opened the door, declaring, “We got a problem.”
I looked over at the surveillance monitor, assuming it had something to
do with the MC.
Gripping onto the back of my neck, I stressed, “For fuck’s sake.”
“She’s demanding to see you, boss. What do you want me to do?”
I nodded, giving him my silent answer.
Minutes later, the person I least expected walked into my office. Each
stride more determined than the last.
Waving Mark off, I ordered in demanding tone, “Leave us.”
 He didn’t have to be told twice.
I never broke my stare from hers.
Looking as pretty as a peach, Haven asked, “Can I sit down?”
“No,” I harshly replied.
“Is this how it’s going to be?”
“You tell me.”
“I just need five minutes of your time.”
“You and everyone else.”
“Are you going to make me beg?”
“I could bend you over my knee instead? Maybe then you’ll learn how
to fucking listen to me.”
“I’m only here—”
“I don’t give shit why you’re here.”
“That much is obvious. I’ll get right to the point then.”
“And yet I’m still waiting.”
“Jesus!” she exclaimed. “What the hell is your problem?”
“Currently, you. Showing up to my bar. Making demands. Who the fuck
do you think you are, little girl?”
In one quick motion, she threw her driver’s license on my desk. “You
said to come back when I was an adult.”
I glanced down at it, instantly seeing the date.
“Well, asshole. Happy birthday to me.”
It was her next statement that caught me off guard.
“I need a job.”
“And why is that my problem?”
Little Miss Peach had some brass fucking balls to further demand…

“Because you’re the man who’s going to hire me.”

Four
Hayes
S he must have forgotten who she was dealing with, and I was fully
prepared to remind her.
As if on cue, she baited, “You could at least say happy birthday to me.”
Ignoring her request, I bit, “I don’t hire minors.”
“I’m legal, Hayes. Check my ID through your machine. It’s real.”
It was blatantly obvious I wasn’t going to get through to her with
threats. If anything, she loved the fucking challenge of it.
Narrowing my eyes at her, I leaned back into my seat. One at a time, the
sound of my combat boots hitting the top of my desk echoed around the
room before I crossed my arms over my chest. Now that she was legal, I
could truly take her in for the first time.
Slowly, my eyes wandered over her petite yet curvy body with
predatory regard. From her long, brown hair framing the sides of her face.
To the thick, black eyeliner she wore which simply intensified her bright
green eyes which were desperately trying to show me she indeed was a
woman.
Her pouty red lips triggered my fingers to want to wipe off the lipstick
from her mouth. Gradually, I trailed down her neck toward her tits on full
display. She was wearing a see-through white tank top with her perky
breasts just waiting to be freed from her pink lacy bra.
Her stomach displayed a fucking belly button piercing of all things. She
topped off her slutty outfit with a short jean skirt and black cowboy boots.
Her legs went on for days and I knew if she turned around, I’d see her
luscious ass just waiting to be smacked for not listening to me.
This girl was just begging to be fucked twelve ways to Sunday, walking
into my bar the way she was dressed.
It was time to use the only card I had left…
She wanted to play with fire.
I had no problem lighting the match.
“So tell me, Peach,” I rasped. “Did you dress like a whore for me?”
Haven
I changed into this outfit in Cove’s Jeep. There was no way in hell I’d be
able to leave my house dressed like this.
“Why?” I smiled wide. “Like what you see?”
He scoffed. “Let me give you a little tip. I’m surrounded by pussy,
Peach. They’re a dime a dozen, sweetheart. All I have to do is walk outside
that door and they drop to their knees for just a taste of my cock. Is that
what you want?”
I sat down in the chair in front of his desk, challenging him. “Not as
much as you do.”
I spent the last week debating if I was really going to do this, but he was
my only hope. Believe me, I didn’t want to succumb to this. He was the
only choice I had.
Or at least that was what I kept telling myself.
His eyes were suddenly brazen and dilated. “You’re right.”
I jerked back. I was waiting for him to offend me, it seemed to be his go
to love.
What was he up to?
I didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
“You want a job.” He abruptly stood.
I watched with an inquisitive gaze as he made his way to the leather
couch on the other end of the room to sit down. Once he was, he leaned
forward. Placing his elbows on his knees while his eyes now tore into mine.
There was something animalistic about the way he was looking at me.
Almost like a lion before it attacked its prey. Luring me with his devious
gaze and sadistic smile.
Nothing could have prepared me for what he said next.
Not one damn thing.
In a rough, dominant tone, he ordered, “Then get on your knees and
suck my cock.”
“What?” I blurted, stunned by the turn of events.
“Did I fucking stutter?”
“I… I… I’m… I…”
 “What’s that matter, Peach? Not so cocky now, are you? All bark and no
bite.”
“It shouldn’t surprise me you know nothing about being a gentleman,
considering you couldn’t drop me off at my front door.”
“I don’t have a gentle bone in my body.”
Out of nowhere, I called him out. “I know what you’re doing.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes.” I nodded. I wasn’t stupid. “You’re just trying to intimidate me.
Get me to leave and not come back. But guess what, Hayes. You don’t scare
me. I call your bluff.”
I knew he was testing my limits. Provoking me on purpose, but this was
a power struggle I wasn’t willing to lose. There was too much at stake.
My future.
He slid back onto the sofa with his legs wide open, filling up the space
that now seemed smaller with him sitting in it. Extending out his arms next,
he set them on the backrest of the couch.
Waiting.
Watching.
Before he ordered, “By all means, Peach. Suck my cock.”
My heart was suddenly in my throat as my pulse quickened with every
breath. However, Hayes didn’t bat an eye.
He was calm.
Cool.
Collected.
Displaying no emotion whatsoever. In control of his thoughts, his
demeanor…
Me.
Was he used to this? How often did women suck his dick for a job?
I swallowed hard as I stood, hanging on to the back of my chair for
support. The cool air caused my already heightened skin to rouse. Our eyes
stayed connected the entire time as he watched my every move like he was
trying to ingrain it into his memory. Learning everything he could about
me, just by the way I reacted to him.
Hayes was perceptive, like it was his job to read people.
“You know demanding sex for a job is illegal, right?”
“So is trying to sneak into my bar with a fake ID.”
“Surely you can’t compare the two.”
 “Two wrongs don’t make a right, Peach.”
I swallowed hard again. My stomach fluttered, hearing him call me
Peach again was different in that moment.
“Your five minutes are up,” he reminded me. “You have two choices.
You can leave or you can deep throat my dick.”
“I’ve never—”
“I know.” He wickedly grinned.
He was just trying to manipulate me into leaving and I refused to give
him the satisfaction. I wouldn’t back down.
With one foot in front of the other, I steadily walked toward him. Not
showing him fear, he seemed to thrive on it. Before I could give it another
thought, I did as I was told and slowly kneeled down in front of him.
He cocked his head to the side, baiting me.
I took one last deep breath, reaching for his belt. Determined to call his
bluff, I unbuckled it and then undid the button of his jeans. His scent was all
around me, overwhelming me in ways I couldn’t begin to describe. My
chest rose and fell with each breath that escaped my lips as I slid his zipper
down.
He didn’t waver in instructing. “Now pull out my cock and stroke it
long and hard, sweetheart.”
Once again, there was no expression on his face.
Neutral.
Unfazed.
Like this happened for him every day.
“I don’t have all fucking night. Tick tock.”
Unable to resist, I asked, “You’ll really give me a job if I do this?”
“You’re really going to do this for a job?” he countered.
We stayed like that for I don’t know how long. His eyes on me and mine
on his while his question lingered in the space between us as if it were an
atomic bomb. The air was heavy, and the silence was deafening until I
firmly nodded.
The second I reached into his boxer briefs to pull out his dick, he
crudely yanked my hair back and I fell onto my ass.
I whimpered, unexpectedly held hostage in the grasp of a man I didn’t
know from a hole in the wall.
When his gaze suddenly shifted to my eyebrow scar, his demeanor
immediately changed into something I couldn’t place. I was used to people
being curious about it before asking me what happened.
Hayes didn’t.
Instead, he reached over and started rubbing the torn tissue with his
thumb. For a brief moment, his cold, detached guard was down and it was
replaced with sadness. Normally, it didn’t bother me when people looked at
me this way. I was used to it. Except with him….
It was agonizing.
Pure torture.
I didn’t say a word.
I was barely breathing.
All of a sudden, his thumb slid from my scar to my lips. He skimmed
my mouth for a second before wiping off the red lipstick I was wearing, as
if he wanted to since the moment I walked in.
Everything happened so fast, yet it played out in slow motion. I felt this
connection to him and the instant he realized he was feeling it too, it was
gone.
His touch.
His eyes.
His comfort.
Snatched away with the beat of a drum.
Letting go of my hair, he roared, “Get the fuck out of my office!”
I shuddered, trying to catch my bearings. “Wait… What? Why?”
In one swift movement, he grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the
door.
“What’s happening? What are you doing?”
“If I wanted lip from you,” he viciously spewed, “I would have let you
suck my cock.” With a clenched jaw, he shoved me out of his office.
“I don’t understand.” I fervently shook my head, facing him. “I
thought…” I could feel the tears pooling in my eyes, threatening to surface
and I didn’t want to cry out of pure frustration with his hot and cold
indifference.
It wasn’t until he growled, “Little girls don’t get me hard,” that he
slammed the door in my face.
Right then and there, I learned the hard truth about Hayes. He was
now…
My enemy.
Five
Haven
I was fuming from the inside out. I couldn’t believe he had the audacity to
embarrass me yet again. If he wanted to go to war, then I’d give him one
hell of a battle.
Making my way into the bar, I found Cove with a bunch of guys who
were wearing black leather vests with the words, The Outlaw, written on the
back of them. It was the same logo as the bar. Some of them were hanging
out around the pool table while the others were sitting at the table behind it.
They were in a secluded area in the back of the bar, I could tell they were
regulars, and this was their usual spot.
Cove was playing pool with a few of them, strutting her stuff like she
did wherever we went. My best friend was a knockout. She resembled a
Barbie Doll with her bright blue eyes and blonde hair. She had big boobs, a
tiny waist, and a plump ass.
She caught me walking toward her and smiled, but it quickly faded
when she realized I wasn’t smiling back at her.
“Uh oh,” she greeted once I was standing beside her. “Let me guess, it
didn’t go well?”
“I. Hate. Him.”
“That bad?”
“You won’t believe what he just did to me.”
“I can only imagine based off of how mad you are. You want to leave?”
“No.”
“So, you want to stay?”
“Absolutely.”
She shook her head with worry. “I don’t like the look in your eyes.
What are you conjuring up now?”
I smiled wide. “I’m going to do what I do best.”
“What’s that?”
“Piss him off.”
Before she could reply, I strode over to the DJ and requested the song “7
Rings” by Ariana Grande. It was my favorite song to dance to. As soon as
the beat dropped, I climbed onto the bar. It was easy for me to be the center
of attention. I was used to it from cheering in front of large, sold out
stadiums. I was a performer, and knowing how to draw a crowd was what I
excelled at.
The loud bass vibrated against my core. Slowly, I started rocking my
hips as my hands worked their way up my waist to my head. Running my
fingers seductively through my hair, I lifted it off my neck. Never stopping
the momentum of my body moving to the lyrics.
There was a strong shift in the air, the space, and the energy all around
me as men began to gather. It didn’t take long for the hooting and hollering
to begin, only spurring on my show.
My breathing tethered.
My pulse accelerated…
My heart started pounding out of my chest.
Slowly, I licked my lips while I dropped my ass to the ground. Singing
Ariana’s lyrics, “I want it. I got it. I want it. I got it.”
My long hair cascaded down my face, and I used it to my advantage,
seductively swinging it over to one side. Men stood there in awe at how I
could move. With all their eyes on me, I sinfully worked my way down
onto my knees.
I crawled down the bar, trying to look as tempting as possible, fully
aware the cheerleading bloomers I was wearing were on full display.
Hey, at least it wasn’t my panties.
The bartenders didn’t mind one bit, backing away from the bar to watch
me too. The lighting in the room was dim, simply adding to my sinful
dance. Once I was at the end of the bar, I popped my ass, grinding long and
hard. I played my part, getting them eating out of the palms of my hands.
The song was almost over, and I finished with an exaggerated bow. The
crowd ate it up, yelling obscenities, whistling and clapping.
“You guys want to see me dance again?” I shouted over their excited
screams.
“Hell yeah!” they shouted.
“Then tell the owner to hire me and I’ll perform for you whenever you
want!”
I found Cove. She was dying laughing. Fully aware I’d get what I
wanted. Just like Ariana. Another reason I chose that song. It was perfect,
matching my demand for a job.
 “Billy! Billy! Billy!” they started chanting and I narrowed my eyes,
confused at who that was.
An attractive older man, probably in his sixties was suddenly standing
next to where I was, holding out his hand for me to take.
I did, appreciating the help off the bar.
“Darlin,” he announced, standing me in front of him.
It was only then I noticed he had the word Pres on his leather vest like
the other bikers. I didn’t know much about clubs, but I assumed it was a
motorcycle one.
Bringing my attention up to his face, he declared, “The job’s yours.
When can you start?”
“You work here?” I questioned, confused.
“I’m the owner.”
“I thought Hayes was the owner?”
“I am.”
Our stares shifted to a livid Hayes. Who I swear came out of nowhere.
He was fuming and I loved the fact that he was displaying emotion. He may
have been glaring at me, but I was proudly smiling at him.
With only two words in mind…
Checkmate, asshole.
Hayes
“Where you been?” my old man asked. “Did you watch her show?”
I couldn’t believe she undermined me. Nobody fucking crossed me. I
pitifully tried to govern the reaction she craved out of me, but this girl knew
how to push each and every one of my buttons.
What the fuck was happening to me?
This wasn’t who I was. Women never meant anything to me. I didn’t
have time for the emotional bullshit that came along with their wants and
needs. I wasn’t that man.
I fucked, plain and simple.
It truly was that easy for me.
I should have known better. I was fully aware she wouldn’t leave. This
was my fault, and I had no one to blame but myself. The second I heard
everyone screaming from the bar in my office, I glanced at the surveillance
monitor, never expecting what I saw. There she was dancing on the fucking
bar.
Except she wasn’t like every other drunk chick shaking her ass, she
could move as if her body was made for it. The precision, the timing, the
way she made love to the audience with just a look. Peach was a performer,
that much was clear. I sat in my office, resisting the urge to drag her off that
bar. Her only saving grace was no one was touching her.
It wasn’t until I heard her pitch about a job that I realized what she was
up to. Before I knew what I was doing, I was hauling ass into the bar, but I
was too late. My old man already got to her.
“Yeah,” she vindictively added. “Did you watch my show?”
My jaw clenched, simply earning me a smartass smile from her. My
fingers twitched, thinking about spanking her ass raw for defying me again.
Not answering her question, I met my father’s eyes. “What the hell do
you think you’re doing?”
He grinned, amused with my response. “I’m running my bar, son.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “You’re his dad?”
“Yeah, darlin’.”
“So, you’re an owner too?”
 “Fifty-one percent.”
Her disbelief turned into spite as she locked eyes with me. “Your daddy
just hired me, Hayes. Looks like I’ll be working here after all.”
“Darlin’, did you go to him for a job?”
“Yes.” She nodded, acting like a damsel in distress. “But he was an
asshole to me and it’s my birthday.”
“Your birthday?” he coaxed. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“Hayes!” he reprimanded like it meant shit to me.
“What the hell are you thinking?”
“She tried sneaking into the bar last week using her fake ID.”
She glared at me.
“Well,” he breathed out. “That’s water under the bridge. She’s eighteen
now. That’s all that matters.” His arm wrapped around her shoulder. “Come
on, darlin’. Let’s get the birthday girl’s information. You can start
tomorrow.”
My hands fisted at my sides when he purposely body checked me as he
walked past with her still in his embrace.
For the rest of the night, I stayed in my office, desperately trying to
control my temper which was like a raging, fucking, fire, burning inside of
me. The way I wanted to knock out my old man for hiring her was too
much temptation. I had to stay away from him.
Although, it wouldn’t be the first or last time I solved my problems with
violence. Especially when it came to him. Simply adding more endless
bullshit he left me to deal with.
She wouldn’t be his problem, she’d be mine.
Employees reported to me. Nobody ever dealt with him. I couldn’t
remember the last time he hired someone. He was doing this to piss me off;
it was his favorite thing to do. I couldn’t give him the satisfaction. If he
knew how much she was getting under my skin, he’d use her to his
advantage to get to me even more.
We weren’t exactly father and son. At least not by normal terms. Our
relationship had always been strained. I didn’t respect him, and he knew it.
He was a man that demanded admiration; he never tried to fucking earn it
from anyone.
We may have been blood, but it wasn’t thicker than water.
 The door to my office flew open and I thought it was my old man
because he was the only one who never knocked.
It wasn’t.
In a snide tone, I warned, “Peach… Do I need to teach you some
goddamn manners too?”
With a cocked hip, she stated, “First of all, my name isn’t Peach. It’s
Haven.”
I sneered, leaning back into my leather chair. “Haven is a sanctuary and
you’re definitely hell.”
“Well, if I’m hell than you’re the devil.”
“Peach.” I leaned forward, placing my arms on the desk. “You have no
fucking idea how evil I can be.”
Her eyes blazed with defiance. “I would have knocked, but you
wouldn’t have let me in.”
“Is that what you want from me? To let you in?”
“We’re going to be working together.” She shrugged. “You might as
well try to be nice to me.”
“I’m not nice.”
“Your dad is. So are his biker friends.”
“You need to stay away from them.”
“I don’t need to do anything. How many times do I have to tell you
you’re not the boss of me?”
“Actually, sweetheart. I am. You made sure of it of by shaking your ass
to a bunch of men who would have bent you over the bar given the chance.”
“I’m not here for that.”
“Then why are you here? There’re tons of bars in your town. What the
fuck are you doing in mine?”
“It’s none of your business why I’m here.”
“You could have worked anywhere. I want to know why you chose my
bar.”
“Maybe if you learn how to be nice to me, I’ll tell you one day. In the
meantime, I made friends with your daddy and his biker buddies. They have
no problem being kind to me.”
“I won’t warn you again, Peach. Stay away from my old man and his
club.”
“Are they a motorcycle club?”
“They’re one percenters.”
 “What does that mean?”
“It means they’re no good and you need to steer clear of anyone
wearing a cut. Understood?”
“What’s a cut?”
“Their vest.”
She thought about it for a second. “Are you a one percenter?”
“What I am is of no concern to you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Is this how you’re always going to treat me?”
“This is who I am.”
“I don’t think—”
“I don’t give a shit what you think.”
“Fine,” she confidently stated. “You want to be my enemy? I have no
fucking problem being yours too.”
“Using big girl words, Peach.”
“Yeah. Here’s two more, fuck you!” With that, she slammed the door
and left.
Again, I fought against the urge to drag her back into my office and
bend her over my lap to teach her some goddamn respect. Instead, I focused
on finishing up the payout for the night.
On my way out of the bar, I ran into my old man.
“Haven’s coming in at noon,” he shared. “Mark’s going to train her.”
Unable to help myself, I spewed, “Do you have any idea who you just
hired?”
“Yeah.” He maliciously smiled. “A hot piece of ass who’s going to
make me a shit ton of money.”
I sneered.
“Careful, Hayes. Someone might think you care about the girl and it
may have consequences.”
I stepped right into his face. “I’m only going to say this once, so you
better listen. If you or your club fucks with her, you’re going to be fucking
with me. And let me remind you.” I deviously eyed him up and down,
speaking with conviction…

“Nobody fucks with me.”

Six
Haven
I woke“Where
up early, excited for the day ahead.
are you going?” Ledger asked on my way out the door.
“Oh!” I exclaimed, caught off guard. “I have cheer practice.”
He nodded. “Be careful driving. There’s a nasty storm brewing.”
Out of all my brothers, he was the most western. He was also the one
that would eventually take over the ranch once Daddy retired. Ledger was a
cowboy through and through. I think I saw him ride a horse more than drive
a car. Sporting a cowboy hat and boots wherever he went. He was the most
like our father.
Stubborn.
Controlling.
Always thinking he was right.
He was only twenty-nine, but always acted older and wiser than his age.
He was probably the most reliable one out of all of my brothers too. Taking
his role of daddy’s right-hand man with immense pride and admiration.
He kissed my forehead, and I smiled in response.
“What are you doing today?”
“Need to herd the cattle.”
“Have fun with that,” I sassed. “Maybe you should try to spend more
time getting a girlfriend than being married to the ranch? You’re not going
to be good looking forever.”
“It’s too damn early to be giving me shit, Teeny.”
“On that note, I’ll see you later.”
“What time will you be back?”
“Late.”
Before he could interrogate me with a hundred questions, I flew out the
door faster than a bat out of hell. Not prepared to answer questions of what
I was up to yet.
By the time I arrived at the bar, it was ten minutes till noon. It was my
first day at my new job and I wanted to give a good impression, arriving
earlier than I was supposed to. I locked my car, making my way inside.
 Billy said Mark was going to train me. At least I was somewhat familiar
with him. Even though we didn’t say a word to each other the night Hayes
kicked me out. I tried not to think about Hayes, I didn’t want him to damper
my happy mood. I wasn’t going to let him ruin this for me. He’d already
messed with my head enough and I needed a break from him taking up
residence in my brain.
The door dinged when I walked inside, coming face to face with the last
person I wanted to deal with.
I didn’t pay him any mind, asking, “Where’s Mark?”
Hayes replied, “Don’t worry about him.” Simply adding…
“Just worry about me.”
Hayes
“You know for someone who doesn’t want me around,” she taunted, “you
sure find ways to be near me.”
“You leave me no choice.”
“I’m not your responsibility. I’m a big girl, Hayes. I’ve been doing fine
for the last eighteen years on my own.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“So, this is going to be fun,” she remarked sarcastically. “Is there
anything else you’d like to offend me with before we begin my training? Is
my lipstick okay? Is my outfit too slutty? Do I need to address you as sir?
Please enlighten me before we start, oh wise one?”
“Are you done?”
With a snide expression, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Can we
just get this over with?”
“Finally, something we agree on.” In three strides, I was standing in
front of her, looming over her petite frame. Next, I gripped onto the back of
her neck, and she gasped as I firmly held her in my grasp.
“What the hel—”
My thumb wiping away her pink lipstick shut her right up. At the last
second, she tried to jerk her face away, but I tightened my hold.
“You don’t have to manhandle me. You could have just said you didn’t
like it.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Oh, this is what you call fun? Being an asshole is entertaining for you?
What about my outfit? You want to take that off too?”
“Not as much as you want me to.”
She pitifully tried to tug away again. “You arrogant bastard.”
“You’ve developed quite a big girl mouth, Peach.”
“What can I say? You bring out the worst in me.”
I chuckled. “You sure are feisty little thing.”
“It’s a casualty of growing with five older brothers.”
I let her go and her eyebrows pinched together, surprised that I did.
“Something I said?”
 I ignored her question, stating, “You don’t need makeup.”
Her lips parted. “Is that a compliment?”
“It’s not an insult.”
“Why can’t you just say yes?”
“I’m bad company, sweetheart.”
“Then why are you training me?”
“If I want something done right than I have to do it myself.”
“I’m not dumb. I know how to wait a table.”
I grinned. “Who says you’re waiting tables?”
She narrowed her gaze at me. “What do you—”
“I don’t have all day.” Nodding, I turned around. “Come with me.”
I heard an exaggerated breath as she followed my lead like a good girl,
but I knew it wouldn’t last long.
“You have got to be kidding me?” she exclaimed once we reached our
destination.
“You wanted a job. This is where you’re starting.”
“I didn’t apply to clean bathrooms, Hayes.”
“Take or leave it.”
“Does your daddy know what you’re having me do?”
“I don’t answer to him.”
“How long are you going to punish me before I get to host tables?”
“You’re organizing the storage room next.”
“This isn’t training.”
I smiled. “It is now.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I know.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“Make sure to scrub the toilet. Someone threw up in it last night.”
“Hayes…”
“Know your role, Peach.”
“You obviously have yours down pat.”
“You could have worked at the mall or some shit. For some unknown
reason, you decided on my bar. You want to play hostess. Prove to me you
know how to listen. I’ll be back to check on you. Try not to get into any
trouble, I don’t have time to babysit you today.”
She didn’t say a word, but she didn’t have to. Her mad expression spoke
for itself.
 “Got something to say about that?”
She bit her tongue, shaking her head instead.
“That’s a first,” I muttered. “Be a good girl.”
“I’m not a dog.”
My cellphone rang.
“Yeah?” I answered, watching as she peered into the toilet. Making a
disgusted face.
I hid back a laugh, handing her the gloves from my pocket.
She grabbed them, mouthing, “Gee, thanks.”
For the rest of the afternoon, she did as she was told. When it was time
for the bar to open, I found her in the storage room. Except she wasn’t
alone. Taz was with her. He was a prospect for my old man’s club.
I stayed back behind the wall, listening to their conversation. I wanted
to know what he was up to and what she’d share with him.
“Your performance last night was quite a show,” he professed, leaning
against the liquor cabinet while staring only at her ass.
Her back was to him as she continued to organize the canned goods on
the racks by the fridge.
“Thanks.”
“Where did you learn how to dance like that?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“I see.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You work here too?”
“I work for Billy but not at the bar.”
She looked at the patch on his cut. “What does prospect mean?”
“I guess it’s like recruiting. I gotta prove myself to get in The Outlaw.”
“Ah. So is Hayes a one percenter too?”
He smiled. “Someone’s been doing their homework.”
“I don’t really know what it means.”
“It means I’m a bad boy, Haven. Do you like bad boys?”
“I don’t think my older brothers would.”
“They matter why?”
This motherfucker.
“Are you allowed to be back here with me?”
 I respected the fact she could carry her own with him, displaying she
wasn’t so naive after all.
“I like breaking the rules.”
Not as much as I’ll enjoy breaking your face.
“I don’t think Hayes would appreciate that.”
I zeroed in on her, shocked she was batting for me.
“Why are you so concerned about Hayes? You his?”
“No.”
“You want to be?”
“No.”
I arched an eyebrow, intrigued.
“Today’s my first day and I don’t want to start off on the wrong foot,
you know?”
Too late for that.
“Billy likes you and he’s all that matters. It’s his bar.”
“I thought it was both of theirs?”
“Tell that to Billy.”
“What’s up with them? I noticed some tension between them last night.”
“You have no idea.”
“So tell me.”
“Let’s just say, they maybe father and son, but they hate each other like
enemies.”
“Why?”
“Hayes doesn’t want in the club. Pres won’t stop until he is.”
No shit.
“Oh…”
“That doesn’t mean his hands are clean, Haven. Come to think of it,
they’re probably dirtier than ours.”
“Clean from what?”
He pushed off the cabinet. “Curiosity killed the cat. I’d stop asking so
many questions if I were you.”
In a cautious tone, she asked, “Is it safe to work here?”
No.
Taz countered, “What do you think?”
“I haven’t seen anything that proves otherwise.”
“Like you said, it’s only your first day. Give it time, it won’t take long.”
“What about Billy’s wife? Hayes’s mom? She work here too?”
 “Naw, baby. She’s—”
“What the fuck are you doing back here?” I interrupted, making my
presence known.
He held his arms up in the air. “My bad.”
She looked back and forth between us before he backed away and left.
“Wow,” she whispered. “Here I thought my brothers were the only ones
who were good at making guys disappear. Do people usually run away from
you when you walk into a room?”
“If their lucky enough to. What did I tell you about staying away from
the men wearing cuts?”
Unable to hold back, she provoked, “You sound jealous, Hayes.”
“I’ve put men to ground for less, Peach.”
Eyeing me up and down, she instantly questioned, “How dirty are your
hands?”
“Right now.” I showed them to her. “They’re fairly clean. We’ll see how
they look when I get back.”
“Where are you going?”
“To pay the piper, Peach.”
Her eyes shifted to the pockets of my jeans.
“What you’re looking for isn’t in there.”
“How do you know what I’m looking for?”
I stepped toward her with my arms out at my sides. “You want to pat me
down, sweetheart?”
Her eyes widened.
“You won’t like what you find.”
She sucked in her bottom lip.
“He’s right, you know…”
She jerked back, understanding what I implied. “You always eavesdrop
on private conversations?”
I didn’t hesitate in confirming…

“Curiosity did kill the cat.”

Seven
Haven
“T here you are!” Cove shouted as I walked toward her in the bar. She
was playing pool with some of the bikers.
“Hey.” I smiled.
“How your first day going?”
“Not how I thought it would.”
“Why? This place is packed. You must be making a killing in tips.”
“I would if I was waiting tables.”
She frowned. “What are you doing then?”
“Cleaning and organizing.”
“Wait? What?”
“Yeah, my thoughts exactly.”
“We meet again,” Taz announced, suddenly standing beside me. “Why
don’t you take a break, and we play a game of pool?”
“I don’t know how to play pool.”
“You’re in luck. I’m a master teacher.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure you are.”
“Baby, step into my office and let me show you the way.”
“How noble of you.”
He extended out his arm and I wrapped mine around his. Once he was
finished setting the table, he handed me a pool stick.
“There.” Grabbing my shoulders, he placed me at the edge of the long,
narrow table. “Stand here.”
“Okay.”
“Now take the pool stick and aim it toward the balls.”
“Which do I hit?”
“All of them. Whichever go in the holes, the solid or stripes is the one
that’ll be your balls. Don’t aim for the black eight ball until you have all the
others in holes or else you lose. It’s the last ball you need to hit to win.
Make sense?”
“Yeah.”
I pulled back my aim, hitting the white ball as hard as I could, but my
ball skidded off the pool stick, and I didn’t hit anything.
 “That was pathetic. Were you even trying?”
“Hey! That’s not very encouraging.”
“You’re right. Where are my manners? Let me help you.” He quickly
stepped behind me and molded the front of his body to the back of mine.
“That better be your cellphone that’s digging into my ass, Taz.”
“Baby, you can call it whatever you want.”
“Taz!”
“All right, all right, I’m kidding. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
With his right hand, he grabbed mine that was now holding the pool stick
the right way. While the other hand gripped onto my hip. “You need to be
one with the game, Haven. Do you feel that?”
“I don’t know, I thought it was your cellphone but now I’m not so sure.”
He chuckled. “You need to loosen up. You’re too stiff. You’re playing a
game of pool, not about to be fucked in the ass. Relax.”
I glanced at him, our lips getting closer to one another.
“I am relaxed.”
“This is your relaxed? How about you shake out the nerves?”
I wiggled my body.
“Do that again, except this time squirm a little to the left.”
“Taz!”
“I love it when you scream my name.”
I giggled.
Oh my God.
At least he was making my horrible day a little bit better. Hayes
definitely put me through the wringer. I didn’t remember the last time I
cleaned this much. I needed this job. I had to hold out that he’d eventually
let me wait on some tables.
I could have gone to Billy and complained. I was positive he’d put
Hayes in his place. However, I wanted to do it on my own. Prove to him it
didn’t matter what punishment he gave me. I’d beat him at his own game.
As much as I wanted to stop thinking about him, I couldn’t. The entire
day I thought about how much I craved to strangle him. Especially after I
cleaned the fifth toilet of the day. The hours were dragging but flying by at
the same time. My hatred for him only grew as the minutes carried on. It
was the motivation I needed to put up with his endless antics.
My glance caught Billy’s. He was sitting at the stand behind the pool
table with a bunch of bikers. They were taking shots, shooting the shit.
When his stare caught mine, he lifted his glass at me.
I smiled in response.
After slamming the shot down onto the table in front of him, he chucked
it down in one swig while the bikers hooted and hollered. A bunch of barely
clothed women circled around them, fawning over their every word.
My gaze moved to Cove. She was playing darts with the guy I briefly
met last weekend.
“Hey,” Taz rasped into my ear, stirring tingles down my spine. “Where
did you go?”
“I’m here.”
“Okay, we’re going to do this together. You ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
In one fluid motion, he rocked his hips into my ass and shot the stick
straight into the balls. Hitting three solids into different holes.
“Ahhh!” I shrieked in excitement.
“We make a good team.”
“We did it!” I instantly turned around, jumping into his arms. Taz didn’t
waver, lifting me up off the ground to sit me on the edge of the pool table
and stand in between my legs.
Was he going to kiss me?
“That’s my girl.”
“Your girl?” I questioned, caught off guard.
“You want to be my old lady?”
“What does that mean?”
“You want to be mine?”
I swallowed hard, opening my mouth to respond, but I was cut off.
It was like I felt him from across the room. I didn’t have to look. My
gaze just intuitively found Hayes’s furious one.
Staring. Right. At. Us.
He must have just entered the bar from wherever he disappeared to
since he was standing near the door, wearing a black leather jacket on top of
his signature black muscle shirt, ripped jeans and combat boots. There was
a black beanie on his head, making him look every bit the bad boy he was.
I’d never been more attracted to him than I was in that moment.
There was this karmic energy that immediately shifted in the air as if we
were the only two people in the room.
 I swallowed hard again. My mouth suddenly got dry while my heart
began hammering against my chest. I couldn’t believe this was happening
between us and I didn’t want to let it go.
Not for one second.
There was something about the way he was staring at me making my
body explode with this urgency to want to feel him against me in any way I
could. Seeing him in this way only triggered my ache to see how far I could
take this.
Wrapping my arms around Taz’s neck, I skimmed my lips across his
cheek.
Never once breaking eye contact with Hayes.
I should have known better. I was a smart girl. However, I was quickly
learning that I couldn’t have been anymore foolish when it came to this
man.
For a moment, he showed me everything I longed to see.
Mixed in with the craze was his temptation for me.
It was bright.
Bold.
Completely intoxicating.
With one determined stride after the other, he started walking toward us.
My body shuddered with an unexpected force I’d never experienced before.
Right when he was standing behind Taz, he acknowledged, “I see your
up to no good.”
I grinned, waiting for I don’t know what.
Taz didn’t have time to turn around. In one rough tug, Hayes was
yanking him away from me as if he weighed nothing at all by the collar of
his cut. Before Taz could defend himself, Hayes growled, cocking his head
to the side in a threatening manner, making Taz back away.
“Have you lost your mind?” Billy warned, abruptly standing beside us.
A crowd had suddenly formed, and all eyes were on us.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Billy seethed, only glaring
at Hayes. Whose gaze was still solely focused on mine.
In the blink of an eye, Hayes was standing in between my legs, gripping
onto the back of my neck in this needy yet confident hold. I gasped, placing
my hands on his chest for support.
There was no time to register what was occurring, his mouth slammed
into mine in such a powerful way it utterly consumed my entire being.
 This wasn’t a kiss.
It was all claiming.
His tongue parted my lips, not asking but demanding entrance into my
mouth. There was no denying him. My tongue moved on its own accord
with his in this sinful push and pull of heady desire entwined with lust and
sex. Never in my life had I been kissed quite like this. It was everything I
read about in books and saw in movies. The way we were devouring each
other should have been illegal.
The bar shouting and whistling was the only reason he pulled away, and
I whimpered at the loss. Except in another quick movement, Hayes grabbed
onto my ass and threw me over his shoulder before spanking it, hard.
“This,” he loudly publicized for everyone to hear, looking directly into
his father’s eyes.
Two words changed everything between us when he openly declared…

“Is mine.”
Eight
Haven
H e carried me like that into his office, kicking the door shut behind him.
“Stop manhandling me!”
“Stop fussing like you don’t want me to.”
“You arrogant bastard!”
“No shit. It’s one of my best qualities.” He slammed my ass onto the
edge of his desk, standing in between my legs like he did at the pool table.
I opened my mouth to reply, but he hastily cut me off. “This is how it’s
going to go down. When you step foot into my bar, you’re mine, Haven.”
This was the first time he actually said my name. It rolled off his tongue
in a harsh tone that had my thighs clenching.
“Do you understand me?”
“Ummm…” I shook my head, confused. “What do you mean yours?”
“What part do you not understand? The one where I warned you more
than once to stay away from the bikers? Or the one where you leave me no
fucking choice but to claim you as mine?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Clearly.”
“I’m serious. I honestly don’t understand you. One minute you’re an
asshole to me, treating me like shit and then you’re playing hero and laying
this stake on me. What the hell?”
“What the hell is right! You think I want to do this? I have to.”
“Why?!”
“Since you don’t know how to fucking listen! I once again have to take
matters into my own hands. No one will touch you now. Not if they want to
live.”
“Live?” My stare went wide. “Are you for real?”
“One thing you need to learn about me is that I never say anything I
don’t mean.”
“I... I... I…”
“Walk me through your thought process, Peach. Fucking enlighten me.”
“I’m not talking to you when you’re like this. You’re letting your mind
run wild and there’s no reason for it.”
 “You want to work in my bar than you’re a part of my world whether
you want to be or not. I’m not going ask again. What the fuck were you
trying to prove out there?”
I sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to let up until he got a straight
answer.
“I was just—”
“Being a cock tease.”
I shoved him, and he didn’t budge an inch. “You can’t talk to me that
way.”
“I’ll speak to you anyway I damn well please and don’t you ever
fucking forget that.”
“Oh my God, Hayes! What the hell happened to you to make you this
way? I can’t even have a conversation with you.”
“And here I thought we were having one.”
“This is how you speak to people? Like they’re your property? Well
newsflash, asshole! I’m not yours!”
“You will be if you want to continue working here or I’ll call Daddy and
tell him what you’ve been up to. Let’s see how fast I can make his head spin
when he finds out his little girl is working at a biker bar.”
My mouth dropped open. “You can’t do that!”
Getting close to my lips, he roared, “Try me.”
“So what? If I don’t agree to your lie than you’re going to rat me out
like a fucking snitch?”
“At the drop of a dime.”
“How do you even know who my father is?”
“All I need to do is make a call and I can know what your social number
is.”
My chest rose and fell, fuming with hatred for him. “This isn’t fair.”
“Like isn’t fair, sweetheart.”
“Oh, trust me. I’m fully aware.”
His gaze softened, hearing me say that as his eyes narrowed in on my
eyebrow scar. Once again in a short amount of time, this man showed me
another side to him I didn’t know existed.
It didn’t last long, he blinked, and it was gone.
In its place was anger, but also worry.
Which made the fight inside of me dwindle a little.
 “Why do you care so much about what happens to me? You don’t even
know me.”
Nothing.
Not one word.
Complete silence…
Only confusing me that much more.
Hayes
I needed to shut this shit down real fucking quick.
Trying to stay focused on the task at hand, I asserted, “These are my
rules, Haven. You’re either mine at this bar or you won’t work here at all.”
“You think pretending to be my boyfriend is going to keep guys away
from me?”
“I don’t think, I know.”
“How?”
“Because, sweetheart. No one will fuck with you. If they do, they’re
fucking with me, and no one wants that.”
“Why? I thought you weren’t a one percenter?”
“Don’t use words you don’t understand.”
“Then explain it to me.”
“What’s the point? You’re not going to fucking listen.”
I pushed off my desk, backing away. I needed some distance from her
for a second.
“You are by far the most complicated person on the planet. I can’t
believe you’d even want to pretend to like me when it’s obvious you don’t.”
“Are you fishing for compliments? What do you need to hear, huh? You
want me to tell you you’re as pretty as a peach?”
“Only if you mean it.”
I scoffed, holding in a grin. “You know I do.”
She blushed. A subtle flush crept across her face. “If I agree to your
terms…”
“If?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re making demands now? Know your audience, Peach. I don’t
want you working here. You have no leg to stand on.”
She jumped off my desk, striding toward me like she was grown. Once
she was in front of me, she placed her hands on my chest, backing me into
the leather couch behind me.
I wanted to know how far she’d take this. It was only reason I let her
feel like she was in control. Slowly, she sat me down on the sofa to sit on
my lap with her pussy right on my cock.
“Is this how we’re going to pretend to be in a relationship, Hayes? Do I
have to fuck you too?”
I grinned. Unable to hold back that time. “Sweetheart, you wouldn’t be
the one doing the fucking.”
She sucked in a breath.
“You nervous, Haven?”
“Maybe.”
“Why?”
“Because of you.”
“I make you nervous?”
“Sometimes.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes,” I coaxed, “you fucking do.”
My grip was on the back of her neck, tugging her lips to meet mine
before I realized what I was doing. She was the first woman who had the
power to make me lose myself.
For a man who lived and breathed control, losing it was a very
dangerous thing.
Her lips were soft, gentle, taking me in. Attacking every last fiber of my
being with each stroke of her tongue. Never once letting up on her sweet
torture of rocking her pussy against my dick.
She moaned and I yanked her head back by her hair at the nook of her
neck to look deep in her eyes. She gasped as her lips parted.
Turned on.
Willing.
Wanting.
“Who do you think you’re fucking with, Peach? Acting all grown when
we both know you’ve never been touched.” I thrusted my hard cock against
her, jerking her head back further for me. “You feel that?”
“Yes…”
“Is that a good enough compliment for you?”
She was vulnerable and at my mercy when she was still fully clothed,
and the thought alone made my dick twitch.
“Did I say you could touch me? Always doing what you want, never
fucking listening to a word I say. No matter how many damn times I tell
you.”
She smirked. “You like it.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“I could fuck you now and you’d let me.”
Her eyes gleamed with nothing but desire for me.
“But let’s get one thing straight, you agree to be mine in this bar,” I
vowed.
I didn’t want to hurt her, but it was the only way I could keep her at
distance.
“I’m not your fucking hero. This isn’t your fairytale.”
She grimaced, aware I was going to say something nasty, and I didn’t
disappoint…

Spewing, I said, “I’m your fucking villain and don’t you ever forget that.”
Nine
Haven
“M ama,“I’m
whatcha doing?” I asked, jumping onto her bed.
just sewing some of your daddy’s jeans. He ripped them
again.”
“That’s because he’s always on a horse.”
“You’re right about that.”
I smiled. “Can you sew my jeans after you’re done?”
“Again? I just fixed them last week.”
“I know.”
“What happened this time?”
“Reid’s horse doesn’t like me very much.”
“That’s because you keep pulling his tail.”
I shrugged. “I was just trying to braid it.”
“Honey, how many times have we told you that you can’t braid that
horse’s tail?”
I shrugged again. “But it’s so long and pretty.”
She chuckled. “You’re silly.”
“Mama,” I addressed. “I’ve been reading about Paris. I think we
should start there.”
“Paris huh?”
“Yeah! It’s got the Eiffel Tower and it’s like super fancy. We could wear
nice dresses and prance around like locals.”
“I’d love that.”
“I can’t wait, Mama!”
“Shhh… Don’t let your daddy or brothers hear you.”
I giggled. “I love our little secret.”
Living in the shadows of my five older brothers was sometimes really
hard on me. Mama always tried to remind me how long they waited for me
to make my appearance into the world. Telling me often how they tried five
times and ended up with five boys because of it until finally, I came along.
Mama said we had a special relationship, and she prayed to God for a
baby girl just like me for twenty-three years. It was how long they’d been
married. Daddy said God knew I was going to be so beautiful that I needed
five big brothers to protect me.
It was why we couldn’t tell them about our special trip for the summer
after I graduated from high school. They’d be too worried about us. It
would only be the two of us and I couldn’t wait. I wished it was tomorrow
instead of nine years from now.
Thinking about that, I remarked, “Time needs to move faster.”
“Teeny, don’t wish the days away. It’ll be here before you know it.”
“Okay, Mama.”
“You’re growing up so fast.” She set Daddy’s jeans aside. “One day you
won’t be my baby girl anymore.”
I laid my head on her lap, so she could play with my hair like she
always did before I went to bed. She’d read to me, and I’d fall asleep just
like this.
“Mama, I’ll always be your baby.”
“One day you’ll be someone else’s baby.”
“Eww… I don’t even like boys. I only love my brothers.”
She smiled at me. “It won’t always be that way.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’ll make sure you meet the perfect guy one day.”
“You will?”
“Mmm hmm…”
“How?”
“Because it’s what Mamas do.” She kissed my forehead. “So, where
else should we travel to while we’re abroad?”
“How about Italy?”
“I love that idea.”
“We can all the pizza!”
“Yes! And pasta!”
I gasped. “I love lasagna!”
“It’s your favorite. I know what else is your favorite…”
I beamed.
“The tickle monster!”
I laughed before she even started tickling me. “I love you, Mama.”
“I love you too, baby. Always and forever. It’s you and me.”
I gasped, sitting straight up in my bed with my hand over my heart.
“Shit,” I whispered, trying to catch my bearings.
 I don’t know how long I stayed like that, lost in the past through my
dreams. They were getting more intense the closer I got to graduation which
was still months away. I threw the blankets off my body, covered in sweat.
The sheets were sticking to my overly heighten skin. Grabbing my phone
next, I checked what time it was.
3:05am.
“Great…”
I had to be at the bar early to work a shift before the big football game
that night. We were playing our rival school in Hayes’s town. Given we
were undefeated, the stands would be packed with families excited to
watch. They were always my favorite games to cheer at. I loved feeding off
the energy of the crowd. There was nothing else in the world like it. It was
pure adrenaline.
My squad was the best. We’d won state for the last three years and this
year wouldn’t be any different. I couldn’t wait to perform our new routine
at halftime during the game that night. I was a flyer which meant I was one
of the girls who were tossed in the air by her bases.
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my robe and went downstairs to make
some chamomile tea. It was always hard for me to fall back asleep after I
dreamed about her. My body was restless, dreaming about the things I’d
never be able to change.
No matter how much I wanted.
Prayed.
Wished…
It was permanent.
Exactly how my dreams of her were for me.
“Hey, Teeny,” Troy greeted, sitting at the kitchen island.
I wasn’t surprised to find him there. Troy was the youngest of the boys,
and three years older than me.
We often found each other there in the middle of the night. All my
brothers had their own places they lived at, but they crashed at our home a
lot too. Daddy still kept their old bedrooms they grew up in. Nothing had
changed in our seven thousand square foot ranch style home that dad built
after they got married.
“You want some tea?” I asked, walking into the kitchen.
“That shit doesn’t work.”
“Not with that attitude it won’t.” I smiled, making him chuckle.
 After I finished making mine, I sat down next to him. Bumping my
shoulder into his.
“You okay?” I asked, knowing he wasn’t.
“Always,” he lied. “How about you?”
I shrugged. “I’m getting by.”
“How’s school?”
“It’s school.”
“And cheer? Dad said your captain? Congratulations.”
“I should be thanking you. You’re the reason I feel so comfortable being
thrown into the air.”
He chuckled again.
We used to play in the pool, and he’d throw me around in the water. Out
of all of my brothers, I was closest to Troy. Our ages weren’t too far apart
from one another, and we bonded over that.
Since Troy was the youngest of the boys, sometimes it felt like he had
to make up for it. Everything he did was to the extreme, having no fear of
the consequences whatsoever. While we were growing up, he got in trouble
a lot. Probably the most out of all of us.
“How’s class for you?”
He scoffed. “You mean when I show up?”
“Troy… Daddy’s going to be pissed if you flunk out again.”
“What else is new?”
“Come on, don’t be that way. He just wants what’s best for you.”
“If I don’t know what that is? How the hell does he?”
“I don’t know. He’s our father. Maybe he has like magical powers or
something.”
He didn’t laugh at my joke. Instead, he stood, adding, “I hate to break it
to you, Haven. But the parent who had the magical powers isn’t so magical
anymore.”
Unable to help myself, I questioned, “What was your dream about?”
“They’re not dreams, Teeny. We both know they’re nightmares.”
I didn’t say a word, feeling the weight of his.
“Try to get some sleep with your shitty ass tea.”
I softly chuckled, despite the sadness in the air.
I watched him leave and then went about my morning. By the time I
walked into the bar, it was a little after seven A.M. I wasn’t supposed to be
there until eight A.M., but I figured I could finish stocking the bar earlier
than I planned.
If there was one thing I learned in the last few weeks since I began
working there, was that Hayes practically lived at the bar. For the most part,
he was always there when I was working. Especially if I was serving my
own tables. On top of that, I was in charge of the bar staying stocked at all
times.
Although, in between those moments, Hayes played his part of the
overprotective boyfriend to the extreme.
Openly kissing me.
Grabbing my ass.
Sitting me on his lap.
From an outsider looking in, we were a couple. Nobody would think
that he didn’t lay a hand on me when we were alone. He could switch it on
and off as if it was the easiest thing in the world for him to do. Every time I
thought about his hot and cold demeanor, it’d piss me off. Who would’ve
thought he’d be such a great liar.
It was getting harder to pretend like his touch didn’t affect me. It was a
very thin line I was walking with him. Except we were on opposite sides,
and I was just waiting to fall over the edge and crash.
Every time he kissed me.
Caressed me.
Put on a show for everyone to see.
I was losing myself a little more each time, unable to decipher was what
real or fake between us. I wanted to hate him, and in a way, I did, but in
another…
I was falling for him.
I never had a boyfriend. I didn’t know how to play these games. My
defenses were low, and they were starting to take their toll on me. The way
I wanted to be his. Even if it was only for a moment.
I craved it.
His attention.
His devotion.
His love?
I couldn’t understand why he was so hellbent on protecting me if he
didn’t have feelings for me.
What was the point?
 The more I thought about it, the further I’d spiral into the unknown
abyss.
Taz on the other hand, had no problem approaching me when Hayes
wasn’t around. It didn’t matter how many times I advised him Hayes was
going to find out, he didn’t care. On my last shift, he had the balls to ask me
for my number. He was playing with fire, and I knew it was only a matter of
time before Hayes found out he wasn’t listening to his threats about staying
away from me.
I just never thought it’d happen that morning.
On my way into Hayes’s office to tell him I was there earlier than I was
supposed to be, I stopped dead in my tracks in the hallway the second I
heard a loud crack. It sounded like a body was being thrown against a wall.
With wide eyes, I waited until I heard Hayes roar…

“I warned you, motherfucker!”

Ten
Hayes
M oving in an autopilot state of mind, my fist collided with Taz’s jaw and
his head whooshed back, taking half of his body with it. He stumbled,
trying to shake it off, but I didn’t waver. Gripping onto the front of his cut, I
slammed him back up against the wall and he hit it with a hard thud,
knocking the wind out of him.
I never took my eyes off of his as I delivered blow after blow to his
body.
“You piece of shit!” I snarled, punching him in the stomach and then in
the ribs. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out you asked for her fucking
number? That I wouldn’t have seen you on the surveillance videos these last
few weeks?” I hurled his body across the room, knocking over the chairs,
leaving nothing but destruction in my path.
He peeled over onto his stomach, gasping for air.
“You think you can disrespect me in my bar, motherfucker? Who do
you think you’re fucking with?”
I was about to kick him in the stomach again, but the door flew open.
“Oh my god!” Haven shouted, rushing to his side. “Hayes, what are you
doing?!”
“If you help him, Peach. You’re going to have to deal with me.”
She immediately halted her steps. Her stare shifted back and forth
between us before her eyes landed on me. Instantly taking in my bloody
hands.
I stepped toward her, but she stepped back. Holding her arms out in
front of her as she fervently shook her head.
In a harsh tone, I exclaimed, “Don’t look at me like that.”
“How do you expect me to look at you?” Her eyes moved to him.
“Hayes…” she coaxed in an eerie voice. “He’s not moving.”
“He’s fine.”
“Fine?” she bit out. “What part of him is fine? He’s the opposite of
fine!”
“Do I look like I want to be yelled at?”
 Her glare locked with mine. “I don’t care! What the fuck is wrong with
you?”
“I’m a man of my word, Peach. When threats fail, I use my fists
instead.”
“Yeah? And how often do you do that?”
Taz groaned weakly.
“See.” I simply nodded to him. “He’ll live.”
“He needs to go to the hospital.”
“Not this time. Now if he values his life, he’ll stay away from you from
this point forward.”
“I… I… I don’t even know what to say to you.”
“That’s a first.” I grabbed my phone, texting one of my old man’s
prospects to come get this lowlife, like I was any better than him.
I knew I’d have to deal with my father over this encounter, but I didn’t
give a shit. If anything, it’d work in my favor. He’d see how serious I was
when it came to her, and he wouldn’t hold her over my head. He’d be fully
aware of what I’d do if he did.
This wasn’t just another warning for Taz. It was one for my old man
too. I could see the look in his eyes every time I was near her. His mind was
just spinning with seedy thoughts of how he could use her against me.
As soon as the prospects walked into my office, I demanded, “Clean up
this mess,” before walking out of my office.
For some reason, I thought she’d be long gone after I finished washing
myself up, but of course she wasn’t. I was quickly learning, there was no
scaring Haven away from me.
Which only fucked with my head that much more.
Once I was back at my desk, she shared, “I can’t believe you just did
that to him.” She was sitting on the couch, her head in between her hands.
“He’s lucky I waited this long. I’m not a patient man. I only did that for
you.”
We locked eyes.
“For me?” she remarked. “How noble of you to wait and almost kill
someone for me.”
“Relax. I just roughed him up a little bit.”
“Tell that to all the blood on the floor, Hayes.”
“It won’t be the first or last time there’s blood on my hands, Haven.”
“What does that even mean? Is that what a one percenter does?”
 I sat in my chair. “Come here.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Peach…”
“I’m not going anywhere near you until you start answering my
questions.”
Leaning into my seat, I set my feet on the desk. Might as well get
comfortable, she wasn’t going to stop bitching at me.
She repeated, “What’s a one percenter?”
“I heard you the first time.”
“And still you haven’t answered me.”
“Sweetheart, I don’t answer to you.”
“Then who do you answer to?”
In one breath, I replied, “Me.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
I cocked my head to the side, giving her what she wanted. “Taz is an
Outlaw. He’s a criminal. That’s a one percenter, Haven. He does whatever
my old man orders him to do. Smuggles drugs, guns, shit… The list is
never-ending. That’s the man who’s been fucking with you.”
“And what about you? You’re no better.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, Peach.”
She jerked back. “Taz has been nothing but nice to me.”
“He wants to fuck you.”
“Yeah?” She abruptly stood. “Well at least some one does and isn’t
pretending to.”
In three strides, I was blocking her way to the door.
“What, Hayes?” she challenged, crossing her arms over her chest. “Are
you going to beat me up too for not listening to you?”
I deeply growled, gripping onto the back of her neck to tug her toward
me. “I don’t hit women.”
“No, you just manhandle them.”
“Just you, sweetheart.”
Through a clenched jaw, she snarled, “Let go of me.”
“Fuck. No. You wanted answers. I’m giving them to you. Now you
don’t get to run away from me because you don’t like what you’re hearing.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she mocked. “How about I get on my knees for you
instead?”
“That’s the last thing I want.”
 She grimaced, it was quick, but I saw it. “No shit.”
“You weren’t supposed to see that today.”
“So that makes it okay?”
“I’m not a one percenter, Haven.”
“Then what are you?”
I didn’t hesitate in confessing, “I ask myself that every day.”
“If you’re not a one percenter then why do you run this biker bar with
your dad?”
“Not everyone was raised in a cookie cutter home.”
“You don’t know anything about how I was raised. You have no idea
what I’ve gone through.”
My gaze shifted to her eyebrow scar.
“What, Hayes? You think I don’t catch you staring at my scar? Just
fucking ask me. I know you want to."
I slowly let her go, sincerely questioning, “What are you doing here?”
“I came in early—”
“No. I want to know why you’re working here? Out of all the places to
work, why here?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.”
“Why?”
“For fuck’s sake! We can go around in circles playing this game.”
“You should know, you’re all about playing games. I never thought
you’d be such a good liar.”
“What do you want from me, Haven? I may not be a one percenter, but
don’t think for one second, I’m a better man than them.”
“Bullshit! If that were true, you wouldn’t be pretending to want me.”
“I never said I was pretending.”
She jerked back again. “Then why do you only touch me when people
are around us?”
“Peach…”
“No! Don’t Peach me! You can’t beat the living shit out of someone and
claim that’s for me and then shut me out again.”
“Is that what you want? For me to let you in? Where exactly is that?
Huh? My bed? My cock? Tell me, sweetheart. What part of my fucked-up
life would you like me to let you in on?”
 I never expected her to place her hand over my heart. Her delicate touch
burned my skin.
“What about here, Hayes? How do I get in there?”
“After what you just witnessed, you should be running far away from
me and this bar.”
She lightly gasped. “Is that why you did it? To scare me away?”
“You need to go.”
“No, you need to stop telling me what to do. I’m a big girl. You have no
idea what I’ve been through. I’m not as naive as you think I am.”
There was no getting through to her, so I defaulted to what came natural
to me.
“I told you from day one,” I reminded her, mindful of how my next
words would destroy her. Hating myself more than I already did, I shoved
her hand away and viciously spewed…

“Little girl pussy doesn’t get me hard.”

Eleven
Haven
“T -A-K-E, take that ball away! Hey, hey, hey, hey! T-A-K-E, take that
ball away!” I cheered at the football game later that night.
The score was thirty to thirteen. Our team was on fire that night, they
were unstoppable. I used the fun distraction the best way I could, not
wanting to think about Hayes. The shit he put me through that morning
wasn’t anything I could have ever predicted, but you’d think I’d get used to
the unexpected when it came to him.
I hadn’t.
Although, I wished I had.
I couldn’t believe him. He was getting worse as the days carried on. I
desperately tried not to think about him, but it was no use. My brain seemed
to only have one thought and it was consumed solely by him.
“Are you okay?” Cove questioned after the game we won.
I was sitting in the back of one of the football player’s trucks. Half of
our school was hanging out in an almost empty parking lot near our rival
school. It wasn’t lost on me we were in Hayes’s part of town. One thing was
for sure, there were a ton of bikers on their Harleys driving through their
city. Way more than I saw where I lived.
Hayes town was about forty-five minutes from mine. It was yet another
reason why I chose his bar. It was far enough to where I wouldn’t have to
worry about running into anyone I knew and getting back to my family.
I answered Cove. “I’m not so sure anymore.”
“I’m sorry about Hayes, Haven.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Doesn’t feel that way to me. If it weren’t for me dragging you there
than you would have never met him and felt this way.”
“Yeah…” I agreed jokingly. “It’s kind of your fault.”
She frowned.
“I’m kidding.” Changing the subject, I asked, “What’s going on with
you and that guy you keep seeing there?”
“Meh.”
“He seems really into you.”
 “He’s all right.”
“You’re not into him?”
“I like him enough to keep him on the sidelines. You know how I like to
change out my roster.”
I laughed. “You’re horrible.”
“I know.” She smirked. “You know, I’m a little jealous of what you
have with Hayes.”
“What? I don’t have anything with him.”
“You can’t seriously believe that.”
“How can I not?”
“Ummm… The man literally beat someone senseless for you.”
“That’s because he’s on this crusade to keep me safe.”
“Exactly. You have this guy that’s willing and able to kill for you. That’s
damn sexy.”
“Are you deluded?”
“I wish I had someone who’d kill for me. It’s like the ultimate sign of
devotion.”
“You’re reading why too many romance books.”
“I can’t help that I like the anti-hero.”
“Isn’t that the villain?”
“Depends on who you’re asking.”
“I honestly don’t understand him, Cove. He’s the most confusing man
on the planet.”
“Hate to break it to you, Haven, but most men are.”
“Is this why my brothers don’t date? Maybe they’re onto something?”
“Talk about a shot to the heart,” Adam, the quarterback at our school
chimed in, bringing our attention over to him. “Don’t tell me I lost my
chance with Hayes Beckham?”
I rolled my eyes at him.
He was a relentless flirt.
“But I’d settle for Cove Noel. Or better yet, how about the both of you
at the same time?”
“Wow,” she breathed out. “Like we haven’t heard that one before.”
“I’m sure you hear it several times a day, but it doesn’t make it any less
true.”
Cove shrieked when one of the linebackers, Rob, threw her over his
shoulder.
 My hands instinctively went out in front of me. However, it didn’t
matter. Adam tossed me over his shoulder too.
“I always wanted your ass in my face.”
“Adam! You’re shameless! Put me down!”
He did, backing me into his car to cage me in with his arms. “Damn,
you smell good. This uniform on you, Haven. It’s everything.”
“Okay, Casanova. You’re drunk.”
“You’re captain, I’m captain. We should do something about that.”
“You’re not driving home, right?”
“I can drive.”
“No, you can’t. You need to call an Uber.”
“Why don’t you drive me home?”
I sighed, looking around the parking lot. It seemed like everyone was
drinking.
“You owe me.”
“I can’t wait to pay up, baby.”
“Cove!” I shouted. “I’m going to drive drunkity home! I’ll call you
tomorrow!”
“Okay!” she yelled, dancing around with Rob.
It didn’t take longer than five minutes for Adam to pass out in the
passenger seat of my car. Now getting him out of it was a different story.
That shit took forever. I was finally able to get him to stand after ten
minutes of him trying to touch my ass.
On my way home, I realized I left a notebook I needed for class on
Hayes’s desk. He was the last person I wanted to see. Especially after we
left things. After he once again treated me like shit, I left. I was tired of
fighting for someone who wasn’t mine to begin with.
Since the bar was packed to the brim with people, I used the side
entrance, running into Mark on the way to his office.
“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.”
My heart immediately dropped to the floor, thinking he was with
another woman.
“He’s in a shit mood. Even for him.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Don’t count your blessings, Haven. I’m serious. Steer clear of him.”
“But my notebook is in there.”
“Well shit. Good luck then.”
 “Great…”
Feeling like I was about to enter a war zone, I prepared for battle and
knocked on his door.
“Fuck off!” he roared on the other side.
With wide eyes, I opened the door.
“What part of fuck off did not—”
His glare landed on me and for some reason, I innocently smiled.
“Hi.”
Narrowing his venomous stare that quickly turned predatory, he took in
my cheerleading uniform I was still wearing. It was the first time he’d seen
me in it.
There was something about the way he was openly gawking at me and
didn’t say one word.
Not one fucking word.
That had me witnessing this torment in his usual dark, callused glare.
The internal conflict he was showcasing was a silent battle in a matter of
seconds.
For some reason, I wanted to stay lost in his eyes at that moment,
savoring the way he was openly looking at me. The way he pulled every
sentiment from my body as if it belonged to him. Especially the way I was
making him feel.
I never wanted it to end.
It was as if we were the only two people in the world.
“Hayes,” I coaxed, overwhelmed by my emotions. “Are you going to
say anything or just sit there and be all you?”
I never thought four words would cause shivers to course down my
spine.
“Don’t fuck with me.”
I stood in front of him, flexing my fists at my sides. He needed to step
off his damn high horse and treat me with some respect. I knew in the back
of my mind this wasn’t going to end well, but I didn’t give a shit.
I slammed the door shut behind me, causing the walls to shake and a
frame to fall off the wall. The glass shattered, sending shards everywhere.
He still didn’t move, not even a startle. He just continued to sit there
with his elbows on the desk. His glare turned menacing. I knew stepping
into his office without being told to enter would further piss him, I didn’t
care.
 I was treading the imaginary line of his boundaries, and I didn’t care.
Not for one second.
“What the hell is your problem?” I hissed, frustrated he was being this
way with me, yet again. “You’re giving me the worst case of whiplash
known to man, Hayes!”
“Haven, I won’t warn you again.”
“Or what, huh? All you do is bark orders at me! I’m sick of it! I’m not
your dog! One minute you’re beating the shit out of a guy who was only
trying to be my friend! The next you’re putting up this wall like you’re not
jealous of any guy I fucking talk to!”
His chair slid back, hitting the wall behind him in a hard, loud thud as
his fists connected with his desk beneath him.
“Don’t fuck with me!” he roared. “I am not in the mood for your
bullshit tonight! This is your last warning, sweetheart. Get off my cock and
stop fucking provoke me! Now mind your own goddamn business on what I
do! Turn your ass around and go home, Haven!”
I jerked back like he had hit me…

“You’re a fucking asshole!”

Twelve
Haven
S tepping closer into his space, I let him know I wasn’t going anywhere.
“You can’t keep doing this to me. It’s not fair. I’m done playing this
game with you. I can’t take it anymore. You can’t have it both ways! Keep
me at arms-length and then pummel any guy I talk to! When all I want is
for you to fucking acknowledge the connection we have! I know you feel it
too! Try to deny it all you want, but you wouldn’t have ever done what
you’re doing for me, if you didn’t care about me!”
Anger rolled off his back as his chest heaved. I roughly ran my hands
through my hair, trying to compose myself but it was no use. I was too
pissed, too overwhelmed, and completely over all the bullshit he kept
putting me through.
“I just want you to be honest with me and use your fucking words!” I
fervently shook my head, my emotions getting the best of me. I could feel
them taking over, but I shoved them all away, not wanting him to see me
cry. “You’re shitting all over me. You’re hot! You’re cold! I can’t keep up
anymore! I want to leave, I want to quit, and a huge part of me never wants
to see you again, but I can’t. I won’t. I want this between us to be real. I
can’t fake it anymore!” I stomped my foot on the ground, having to get my
point across, needing him to understand.
Again, he didn’t move.
No words.
Not even a blink.
Nothing.
And that was all I needed to lose my shit.
“Oh my God!” I was over to his desk in three strides, shoving off
everything with as much force as I could muster up.
He never once wavered, simply glaring at me.
“What’s it going to take? Huh? What do I have to do to get some
fucking reaction out of you!”
I should have known better than to poke the bear, but I was never one
for backing down from anyone.
Especially this asshole.
 In one quick, abrupt movement, chaos erupted all around me. He was in
my face, invading my personal space.
Before I knew what was happening, my back connected with the
adjacent wall. I was stunned by the drastic turn of events with his dominant
presence looming over me.
I never expected what happened next.
Not. One. Damn. Thing.
Hayes
“Didn't I warn you not to fuck with me?” I seethed, inches away from her
mouth.
My good for nothing father heard I fucked up Taz. I’ve been on edge
and now Haven was here taking the last piece of my sanity. I hated how she
never listened to a damn word that came out of my mouth.
She didn’t cower down, angling her head higher in defiance, making my
cock twitch at the sight of her. Images of me grabbing her by her sinful hips
and fucking her up against the wall skated through my mind.
I stepped back before I did something I was going to fucking regret,
shaking away the images, and the effect she had on me. This cord I couldn’t
cut for the life of me.
“You want honesty from me? You want the truth? Then I’ll give you the
fucking facts! Right now, it’s taking everything inside of me to not find the
boy who had his hands all over you tonight!”
She loudly gasped. “How do you know that?”
“You shouldn’t be asking how I know. What you should be asking is
what I’m going to do about it? So tell me, sweetheart? How would you like
me to punish you for it?”
She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. Her body was already
betraying her mind with her pitched breathing, her face flushed, and her lips
parted. The desire in her eyes was screaming at me to take her in my arms.
Give her what she longed for.
She wanted me to kiss her.
She wanted me to touch her.
The worst, she wanted me on top of her.
Instead, I lifted her legs around my waist, pushing her up against the
wall as my hard cock aligned against her pussy, so she could feel my desire
for her. Running my hand up her thigh to her waist, I gripped onto her
fuckable hips, imagining how wet I was making her, how much I could
make her come and scream out my goddamn name. My lips hovered over
hers, on the verge of connecting as she panted profusely.
I wanted to give into her.
 Fuck me.
How I could go from being furious with her to wanting to give her
everything she ever wanted was an emotion I never experienced before. For
the first time in my life, I was at a loss. She came into my life like a
goddamn grenade, and I was waiting for it explode at any moment.
Hard.
Fast.
Complete destruction.
Until finally, it erupted.
There was no holding back on my end. Especially when she was dressed
like a fucking adolescent fantasy I didn’t know I had till this very second.
Walking into my office in this fuck me cheerleading uniform.
“I’m no fucking good for you and you know it, and the worst part is I’m
making you feign for this vicious bastard who doesn’t know how to handle
his emotions without using violence.”
Her eyes widened.
“I can’t stop thinking about you, Haven. Every time I touch you, hear
you, or I’m anywhere near you, I want more. I want it all. There’s this pull
you have on me and it doesn’t make any fucking sense because we come
from two completely different worlds.”
“I don’t care,” she rasped. “I want to be with you, and I’ll take you any
way I can. Please…”
“You don’t know what you’re begging for.”
“I do. I just want you.”
“This isn’t going to work between us. I’m going to fuck it up. It’s only a
matter of time until I do.”
“Then I’ll have you for as long as I can. Please, Hayes… just let me see
the real you.”
“Look who uses their manners when they want something from me. I
want something from you too.”
I set her down, getting on my knees and her eyes widened. Her chest
was rising and falling with each second that passed. Slowly, I deliberately
kissed my way up her inner thigh, starting at her calf.
“I thought I’d take you over my knee since you can’t fucking listen to
me, but then, you show up in this fuck me uniform and what’s a man to do,
Haven?”
 Her mouth parted, watching my every move as I continued my sweet
torture.
“Making demands, acting like you’re grown.” I taunted, spreading her
legs wider for me.
Her breathing hitched when I reached her inner thigh. I softly nipped the
soft, tender area and she whimpered in response. Never taking my
mischievous glare off her eyes, I made sure to lick my lips as I made my
way down to where she wanted me the most.
“That feel good?” I teased, causing her to moan with a brazen stare.
“Not so vocal when my mouth is near your pussy. Huh, Peach?”
“Hayes, what are you—”
“You want this to be real between us, Haven?”
She sucked in breath, aware of what I was implying.
“Then you’re going to stay away from men…” I yanked her bloomers
away from her heat. “And high school boys.” I let go and they snapped
right on her pussy.
She yelped. “Ouch!” In a frustrated groan, she bit out, “I can’t believe
you just blue balled me!”
I stood, showing her my hard dick in my jeans and her eyes light up like
a goddamn Christmas tree.
“It wasn’t just you.”
“Then why don’t you keep going?”
Hovering over her face, I proclaimed, “Maybe next time, when you’re
my good girl. I’ll finish what I started.”
I eyed her up and down in a greedy regard. “Until then, bad girls don’t
get to come in my mouth.”
“Does this mean you’re ready to give us a chance? So I can be your
good girl?”
“That’s the worst fucking idea ever. I know it’s going to ruin us both,
but fuck…”
I didn’t falter in adding…

“I want you to be mine.”

Thirteen
Hayes
“M omma, will you play with me?” I asked, building my LEGOs on the
floor in the living room while she was in the kitchen.
“Not right now, honey. I need to get dinner ready for your dad. You play
by yourself, okay? Like a good boy.”
Maybe when Dad gets home, he will play with me?
Probably not. He never played with me. He was always busy with his
club. We never did anything together. Most of the time, he stayed at the club
instead of our house. It made momma really sad, but I tried my best to be a
good boy for her. I hated seeing her cry. It was the worst feeling.
Momma came up behind me, pulling my back against her chest.
“Okay, I’ll play for a few minutes, but then I have to finish dinner. I’m
making your favorite.”
“Lasagna,” I replied, looking up at her.
“Yes, little man.” She kissed the side of my neck, tickling me in the ribs.
I had the best momma. She was always there for me. No matter what.
“You’re getting so big, Chase.”
“I’ll be nine next month.”
“I know. My little man is turning into a real one too fast. Can you slow
down for me?”
I laughed.
“Soon you’re not going to want to snuggle anymore.”
“I love snuggling you, Momma. It makes you happy.”
“Let me tell you a little secret.”
“What?”
“Mommas aren’t the only ones who love to snuggle. All girls do. One
day you’re going to have a special girl in your life.”
“I don’t like girls.”
“You say that now, but it won’t always be that way.”
“Dad doesn’t cuddle you.”
She frowned. “Promise me you’ll never be like your father, little man.
You’ll always be affectionate with your girl. Show her how much you care
about her. Even if you can’t say it the words. Actions always speak louder,
Chase.”
“Dad has lots of girls around him at the club.”
“Those aren’t girls, honey. At least not any girl I ever want to see you
with. You stay away from those types of women, okay?”
I nodded.
She was sad again.
“You meet a sweet girl from a nice family. One that is kind, caring,
loving, and has spitfire personality to level you out.”
“Okay, Momma. How will I find her?”
“She’ll find you.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m manifesting her for you.”
“What does manifesting mean?”
“It means that your thoughts, wants, and needs are very powerful.
Whatever you put your mind to it will happen for you.”
“Can I manifest dad not making you sad anymore?”
She didn’t reply. Instead, she tickled me again, and I squirmed in her
arms.
“Stop ticking me,” I laughed, moving my body around.
“Never,” she giggled.
The sound of the garage door opening caused us both to jump.
Interrupting our time together. Momma immediately stood, fixing her pretty
white dress that she said she bought for him last week.
With each step he took, his boots pounded on the floor. We never knew
what mood he’d be in. The house always felt different when he was there,
like he wasn’t meant to be with us.
Once he was walking into the living, she greeted, “Hey, honey,” she
greeted.
He took one look at me and then her before he held the back of her
neck. She didn’t look comfortable with how he was holding her, but when
she realized I was watching them.
She looked at me, smiling and it made me feel better.
“Dinner is almost ready,” she added.
“It’s not ready yet? What the fuck are you good for? I come home and
I’m greeted with your laziness?”
“Billy—”
 His hand was in the air, slapping her across the face and she fell to the
floor. I couldn’t stand by and watch him treat her like this anymore. She
didn’t deserve it. She never did.
I stood, charging him. “Don’t hit my momma!”
“Chase, no!” she shouted as my shoulder hit his stomach.
“Oomph…”
His back slammed against the wall behind him.
“You don’t ever hit my momma again!”
I didn’t stop there. I grabbed the first thing I could find off the kitchen
counter. It was frying pan. Quickly, I tried to hit him, but he caught my
wrist.
“Billy, no!”
He pushed me so hard that I flew across the room.
“This is what I come home to! My fucking family’s bullshit! You turn my
son against me!”
“No!” She stood, her hands out in front of her. “I swear to you—”
“Fuck you, Crystal! I don’t need this shit.”
With that, he turned around.
“Billy, please… Don’t leave.”
I hated seeing her beg him. I never understood why she did or why she
stayed. It never made any sense.
The door slammed shut behind him and seconds later the sound of his
Harley vibrated through the house.
I couldn’t hold back, asking, “Momma, why do you deal with him?”
“Chase, you’re a little boy. You won’t understand adult problems.”
“Then make me understand. He’s always mean to you. None of friend’s
dads treat their momma’s that way!”
“Sweetie, I hate him, Momma. I don’t want to be here anymore.”
“Chase, we don’t have anywhere else to go. It’s just you and mean,
little, just you and me.”
“But, Momma—”
She crouched down in front of my face. “Promise me you won’t ever be
like him. You’ll always stay away from the club. You’ll never be part of it,
Chase. Not ever.”
“Momma—”
She grabbed my shoulders. “Promise me!”
“I promise!”
 Pulling me into her arms, she hugged me tight against her chest. She
started crying, and it tore at my insides.
“I’m sorry, Chase. I’m so sorry I can’t be stronger for you. I wish I
could right be you.”
“You are. You’re the best.”
“I’m not. If I was, I wouldn’t be putting you through this. I’m so sorry,
Chase. Please forgive me. I love you so much.”
Tears began falling out my eyes; there was no controlling them.
“I forgive you. I’ll always forgive you. You’re my momma. I love you so
much too.”
She rocked me in her arms, back and forth for I don’t know how long. I
stayed there like that, trying to be the best little man I could for her. This
wasn’t fair. I didn’t want this life. I just wanted her to be happy and not like
this. I hated seeing her this way and it was happening all the time now.
“You’re my big, strong boy. I’m so thankful for you.”
“Please stop crying, Momma. Please…”
“You stay away from him, okay?”
“But he was hurting you again.”
“It’s not your problem, Chase. I need you promise me that you won’t
ever intervene like that again.”
I pulled away, shaking my head. “No! I’ll never let him hurt you!”
“Chase, plea—”
“No!” I yelled, sitting straight up in bed, gasping for air.
It felt like the wind was knocked out of me, I was unable to catch my
bearings fast enough. Sweat covered every inch of my body. My heart was
pounding out of my chest.
“Fuck,” I rasped, throwing the drenched sheets off my body.
I looked over at the clock. It was four in the morning. There was no use
trying to go back to sleep. It was ruined for me.
I made my way into the bathroom, wiping the sweat off my forehead
and face, desperately wanting to calm myself down to no avail. My dreams
were getting worse and more intense, as if I were there, reliving it all over
again.
Shaking away the haze, I turned on the shower and left it on cold. It was
the only thing that would calm me. The freeze would shock my system,
bringing me back to reality.
 I stayed there for what felt like forever, thinking about the past and the
things I could never change.
No matter how much I wanted.
Hoped for.
Prayed.
It was always there, just waiting to take me under. These weren’t
dreams, they were nightmares. The cold hard harsh truth was that they were
simply memories…

Of my lost childhood.
Fourteen
Haven
“H ey there,” Hayes rasped from behind me, wrapping his arms around
my waist while I was in the stock room of the bar.
Since we began our real relationship or whatever you’d call it a couple
weeks ago, he had been extra affectionate with me. Especially when we
were alone. I never imagined he’d be as addicted to having his hands on
me, but despite us just making out, it was enough for him.
Not so much for me.
I didn’t try pushing his limits.
Yet…
We spent a lot of time together in his office. He didn’t think I’d notice
my tables were mostly women all of a sudden. It was obvious he had
something to do with that. However, I didn’t care. They were still amazing
tippers, and I was making a ton of money, so it was fine.
He kissed along the back of my neck, growling, “You always smell so
fucking good.”
I giggled.
“You ready to go?”
I turned around in his arms. “Go? Where are we going? The bar opens
soon.”
“You’re not working tonight.”
I narrowed my gaze at him. “I’m not?”
He grinned, grabbing my hand and led us out of the bar.
This was the first time we were going out in public together and I’d be
lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.
“Relax,” he coaxed, opening the passenger side door of his truck for me.
“Your daddy isn’t going to see you out with me.”
I changed the subject, trying not to ruin the moment between us. “Who
would’ve thought you’d be a gentleman and open my door.”
“Don’t push your luck, sweetheart. This is about as far as it goes for
me.”
I threw my arms around his neck. “Says the man who is adamant on
protecting me since day one. Are you going to drop me off at my front door
this time?”
“I’m sure Daddy would love that.”
“Maybe not at first, but he’d eventually get used to it. He just wants to
see me happy, and for the most part, you make me happy, Hayes. You also
piss me off like no one else can though.”
“The feeling’s mutual.” With a sincere expression, he added, “But let’s
not get ahead of ourselves, Peach.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re from two completely different worlds.”
“So?”
“I’m just a man that owns a biker bar. Your family is going to want
better for you, and I couldn’t agree more.”
“Then what are we doing?”
He shrugged. “What feels natural.”
“For how long?”
“Haven, you’re only eighteen. I have seven years on you. You have so
much life to live still then be tied down to me when you go to college. You
graduate this year. I can’t imagine you’re going to stay in fucking
Wyoming.”
“What’s wrong with Wyoming?”
“There’s a whole world out there for you to see and I don’t want to be
the reason you don’t experience it.”
“That’s not your choice to make. Besides, I’m not going to college right
after I graduate anyway.”
He jerked back. “Your daddy know about that?”
“Why are you so concerned about my dad?”
“I’m just saying, if you were my baby girl, I’d put to ground any man
like me coming into your life.”
“You say that like you’re this monster, Hayes.”
“Peach.” He shook his head. “You don’t know me. You can’t say that.”
“Well, what I do know is that you’re protective, loyal, funny, charming,
and really fucking sexy.” I kissed him.
Before I could step into his truck, he lifted me up onto the seat instead.
Looking deep into my eyes, he openly expressed, “You make me happy
too and I can’t remember the last time that I was.”
I smirked. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but I’d take it for the time
being.
 We drove in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. I tried to not
think about the future, but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to ask him
questions about his life. As much as I longed to know those answers, I
couldn’t bring myself to actually ask them.
I guess I was just trying to live in the moment with him. Secretly hoping
and praying that maybe this was more than just a fling.
When he drove up a long driveaway in a secluded neighborhood, I
arched an eyebrow.
“Are you kidnapping me?”
He glanced in my direction. “Can’t kidnap the willing.”
“Smart ass. Where are we?”
“My house.”
“You’re bringing me home?”
“Now why do I like the sound of that?”
I smirked, loving the way he was being honest with me.
Once he parked, I jumped out of his truck, following his lead. His place
was bigger than I expected it to be. He lived out in the middle of nowhere,
and I instantly wondered if there was a reason for that.
Behind what appeared to be a two-story house was a massive steel
building.
“What’s back there?” I questioned, wanting to know everything about
his safe haven.
“It’s where I hide the bodies.” He winked.
“Funny.”
He unlocked the deadbolt to his warehouse. Seconds later, he lifted the
garage door, revealing a massive collection of Harley motorcycles.
“Wow,” I breathed out, caught off guard. “Are all these yours?”
Some of bikes were pristine while others were still under repair.
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t know you could ride.”
“Peach, I’ve been riding Harleys since before I could drive a car.”
“Why don’t you drive any to the bar?”
“It’s just for me.”
“So, it’s like a private hobby?”
“Something like that.”
I walked around the motorcycles, lightly skimming my fingers against
the leather and metal, loving the scents in the air.
 “So, is this one of your moves? You bring your girls back to your
house? Show them your motorcycles and their panties just drop for you?”
“It would be if you weren’t the first girl I’d brought home with me.”
My eyes met his. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“You’re telling me you’ve never brought a girl home with you?”
He grinned. “Why’s that so hard to believe?”
“Umm…” I peered around his shop. “Look at this place, it just screams
let’s have hot and dirty sex.”
He laughed, throwing his head back.
“I’m serious. Your bachelor pad is a panty dropper.”
“As you can tell, I live in the boondocks. I like my privacy. I don’t need
women knowing where I live after I’m done with them.”
“And how often is that?”
“Recently, not very often.”
“Like…” I bowed my head, mumbling, “Before me or after?’
“Subtle is not your strong suit, Peach.”
I shrugged, watching his shadow on the floor get closer to me until he
was standing in front of me. Swiftly, he grabbed my chin to look up at him.
“I haven’t been with anyone since I kicked you out of my bar,” he
shared in a lighthearted tone.
“Because of me?”
“Look at you just fishing for compliments, but I’ll take the bait. You’ve
been the first thing on my mind in the morning and the last thing at night.
I’m not going to lie to you and say I haven’t had opportunities, but the only
panties I want dropping for me, are yours.”
I smiled, wide. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“Haven, let’s get something straight before things continue to escalate
between us.”
“What’s that?”
He caught me by surprise when he asserted, “I’m not going to fuck you,
Peach.”
My smile disappeared. “Like ever?”
“You’re a virgin.”
“And that matters why?”
“I’m not claiming that from you.”
“Why not?”
 He hesitated for a moment, looking deep into my eyes in a way he
hadn’t until now.
“If I claim your cherry, Haven…”
What he said next hurt me. However, he wasn’t being malicious or
trying to push me away.
He was just being brutally honest when he added…

“It’s just going to make it that much harder when you have to say goodbye
to me.”
Fifteen
Haven
“W hy is it me saying goodbye to you and not the other way around? I
mean, you could easily do the same to me.”
“All the more reason to keep your virtue intact.”
“My virtue?” I scoffed out a chuckle. “You sound like an old man. This
isn’t the nineteen forties. Women are sexually liberated now.”
“I never said I wouldn’t make you come, Haven.”
“Oh… Wait, what? So, you think having your mouth on me is less
intimate than having sex? Make that make sense?”
“Is that what you want, Peach? My mouth on your pussy?”
My eyes widened, slightly blushing.
“I’ll make you a deal. I won’t fuck you with my cock, but I will with my
tongue and fingers. That work for you?”
My thighs clenched. “Maybe.”
“Maybe, huh?”
“When is this happening?”
“Depends on how long you’re a good girl.”
“I feel like I’ve been one forever.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“Whatever.” I smiled. “I guess it’s safe to assume you’ve never been
with a virgin?”
He simply nodded.
“You’re lying.”
“Of all the things I’d lie about, you’d think I’d start there?”
“Are you saying you’ve never lied to me about anything?”
His gaze abruptly shifted to my eyebrow scar.
Unable to hold back, I asked, “Does my scar bother you?”
If he was surprised by my question, he didn’t show it in the least.
“Pick one,” he ordered, ignoring my request.
“Pick one what?”
“I want you on the back of my Harley, so pick which one you want to
ride?”
“Really?”
 “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t mean it.”
“In that case.” I made my way to the chromed out black Harley. “I like
this one.”
“She’s my favorite.”
“Oh, it’s a girl, is she?”
“That’s Layla.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “You name your motorcycles? Oh my God,
that’s the cutest thing in the world.”
He hid back a grin. “Are you fucking with me?”
“No.” I sassed. “I think it’s cute that you’re this big bad ass who doesn’t
steal virtues and names his motorcycles. Is there anything else I need to
know? Do you sleep with a stuffed animal too? Or are you more of a
blankie kind of man?”
“I’ll show you what kind of a man I am.” He reached for me.
“Nope!” I backed away. “You said we were taking me for a ride?”
“How about I take you over my knee first?”
I rolled my eyes. “You just want to touch my ass.” I made my way to
the shelf that had helmets on it. “Which do I use?”
“You can use mine. It’s on the Harley over there.”
It was my turned to hold back a smile. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
“Is this like a date or do you not do that either?”
“Look at you.” He nodded at me. “Giving me shit.”
“I mean it’s a tough job, but someone has to.”
After he was done hooking his helmet on my head, I jumped on the
back his bike. I’d never been on the back of a motorcycle before. It was
probably one of the coolest things I’d ever done. The wind blowing in your
hair, the way you felt like you were one with the road. I loved it
immediately, knowing I’d get addicted to this feeling.
Also, to the man that was driving me around like Miss Daisy, but on a
much cooler level.
I hugged him closer to my chest, just wanting to enjoy this moment for
as long as I could. We randomly drove around, taking in the incredible
sights of the mountains that were breathtakingly beautiful. There was
something about seeing them this way that felt as if it was the first time I’d
ever truly seen them. It was the perfect first date, not just for us, but for me
in general.
 I’d never been on a date before, and I couldn’t have asked for a better
first one. Hayes was leaving an impression I knew I’d never forget. Like the
schoolgirl I was, my crush on him went into full blown infatuation. I was
falling for him and he wasn’t even trying to make that happen. He may have
been concerned about my virginity, but in the grand scheme of things, he
didn’t have to claim it for me to fall in love with him
By the time we drove into a restaurant parking lot it was well after nine
at night. We spent hours on his Harley, not saying a word, but still feeling
like we said thousands.
I followed his lead into the place with my hand in his, realizing it was
an Italian restaurant. I looked around as we were quickly seated. It was such
a cute restaurant, very little Italy, from the design to the layout, to the
people that worked there.
It was perfect.
He was perfect.
“Are you a mind reader?”
“I wish I were.”
“How did you know lasagna was my favorite?”
“Huh…”
“What?”
“It’s mine too.”
“Looks like we have something in common, Hayes.”
“We have more in common than you think, Haven.”
Before I could ask what he meant by that, the hostess made her
appearance.
“Now are my eyes failing me?” she greeted with enthusiasm. “Chase
Hayes is in my booth?”
Chase?
“I can’t believe what my eyes are seeing. Good Lord, look at you.
You’re all man now. My goodness. How long has it been since you were in
here?”
“It’s been a while.”
“More than a while. I think the last time you were in my booth it was
before your mom—”
“We’ll take two lasagnas,” he interrupted.
“Of course. Where are my manners? You want your usual Cherry
Coke?”
 “Sure.”
She peered at me. “And you, honey?”
“I’ll take the same please.”
“Well,” she rasped, smiling big. “Aren’t you as pretty as a peach.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s so good to see you, Chase. Don’t be a stranger, okay? You bring
her back to see me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
She nodded. “I’ll go put your orders in, and then I’ll bring out a fresh
basket of garlic bread for you.”
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
As soon as she was gone, I asked, “Chase?”
“Nobody calls me that anymore.”
“Why not?”
“It’s just one of those things.”
“That’s super vague of you. You don’t like talking about yourself, do
you?”
“I know all about this motherfucker. I want to know about you.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Everything.”
I smirked. “You look like a Chase. Maybe I’ll start calling you that
instead of Hayes?”
“Please don’t.”
“You don’t like that name?”
“Something like that.”
“Fine.” I leaned back in my seat. “Hayes it is.”
“She’s right, you know.”
“About what?”
“You are as pretty as a peach.”
“You’re saying all the right things.”
“I aim to please.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“You going to leave me in suspense?”
“Okay,” I gave in. “Where do I start?” I thought about it for a second.
“First time I rode a horse was with my dad when I was six months old. I
basically grew up on one. He’s a rancher and my whole life has revolved
around our ranch.”
 “Must have been nice growing up like that.”
“Some of my best memories.”
“How much cattle do you own?”
“More than I can count. I used to name them all when I was younger,
but then I’d get sad when they were sold off. I did own a baby pig I named
Wilbur.”
“You a fan of Charlottes Web?”
I giggled. “I guess you are.”
“I like to read.”
“Really? What kinds?”
“A little of everything.”
“Did you go to college?”
He shook his head. “No. I took the GED exam when I was sixteen. I
wasn’t much for school.”
“Yeah. School isn’t for everyone. My brother isn’t a fan either. I don’t
know why he keeps wasting Daddy’s money, sometimes I think he’s just
punishing him.”
He zeroed in on me. “For what?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Troy has always been kind of the black sheep, I
guess. He’s the wild card. Out of all my brothers, I’m closest to him. We’re
only three years apart.”
“I see.”
“My oldest brother Jace is twenty years older than I am. It’s pretty crazy
when you think about it, but my mom always said they had five boys
because they were waiting for me.”
“Their baby girl.”
“Yeah…” I breathed out. “It’s kind of annoying. I was always treated
differently because I was a girl, and they were boys. Don’t get me wrong, I
love them all. My family means everything to me, but sometimes I wish
they wouldn’t treat me like I can’t make any decisions for myself.”
“They’re just trying to protect you from making a mistake.”
“You sound like you have some experience with that?”
I didn’t expect him to confess…

“Sweetheart, mistake is my middle name.”

Sixteen
Hayes
B yspent
the time we pulled into my driveway it was almost midnight. We
hours at the restaurant just shooting the shit.
“Are you going to drive me back to the bar?” she asked, hopping off my
Harley.
“I can in the morning.”
Her eyebrows pinched together. “In the morning?”
“Can you spend the night with me?”
“Why, Chase Hayes, you want to have a slumber party?”
“You’re just begging me to take you over my knee, Peach.”
“What can I say?” She smiled. “I’m a bad girl.”
“In more ways than one.”
“Let me call my dad and let him know I’m crashing at Cove’s.”
“Is that where he thinks you are?”
“I’m always with Cove.”
“She seems like trouble.”
“She can be.”
“I imagine the boys at your school go crazy over the two of you?”
“I don’t like boys.”
“Is that right?”
She nodded, throwing her arms around my neck. “I like you.”
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love hearing her say that. After she finished
her call with her old man, I led her up to the observation deck next to my
bedroom. It was where I’d usually end most of my nights, looking up at the
sky, getting lost in my thoughts.
My memories.
I left her out there alone for a minute, needing to take a breather from
our day. Out of all the places I could have taken her, I decided on the one
restaurant I hadn’t been to in years. It wasn’t even intentional. I just drove
there like there was nowhere to go.
Grabbing the blanket off my bed, I stepped back onto the deck
unnoticed, wanting a minute to admire the vision in front of me from a
distance without her knowing. She was leaning against the railing. Her dark
hair was flowing around her face and down her back. It was the first time I
noticed how long it was. She was fucking beautiful. So fucking stunning it
should’ve been illegal.
When all of a sudden, she began spinning around in circles with her
arms catching the wind and the moon reflecting off her soft skin. Her eyes
were closed, and her smile lit up the entire deck, leaving me breathless and
completely consumed by her.
I found myself having to lean against the sliding glass door to catch my
bearings. It physically pained me to look at her in that moment in a way it
never had. I wanted to soak in her smile, her laugh, the way she moved and
the joy she created.
Haven Beckham was a force to be wrecked with. She was destroying
me. I had to shut my eyes and inhale a few deep breaths. Needing to reel in
the emotions she was stirring inside of me. I wasn’t used to feeling this way.
I thrived on control. It was how I survived.
I knew our time together would eventually come to an end. I’d make
sure of it.
She wasn’t mine.
But fuck, did I want her to be.
I counted to three to steady my pounding heart that throbbed mercilessly
against my ribs. Finally finding the strength to open my gaze, only to
unexpectedly meet hers. Staring right at me. I wasn’t prepared to have her
look at me with so much love and devotion that I swear it almost brought
me to my knees.
I pushed off the slider and in one quick motion, I lifted her off the
ground, spinning her around in a circle. She laughed, loving our carefree
moment. If she only knew how much turmoil spread inside of me. It was
ache I couldn’t soothe.
Forever imbedded and a part of me.
I kissed the top of her head, letting my lips linger for a while.
It seemed like all I did was blink, and we were laying on the lounger,
looking up at the stars with her on my chest. I played with her hair, loving
the silky feel of it in my callused fingers.
Time was at a standstill with her in my arms as she talked about one
thing or another. As much as I wanted to live in the moment with her, my
mind was somewhere else entirely.
 I just laid there beneath her, pretending to listen intently to what she was
sharing. Desperately trying to drown out everything else spinning around
me.
“Did you see that shooting star?” she exclaimed excitedly.
“I see them every night.”
“Did you make a wish?”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“What did you wish for?”
“I can’t tell you or it won’t come true.”
“You should wish on Northern star.”
“I can also wish on Venus and the Southern Cross. Can you find the Big
Dipper?”
I pointed to it.
“How about Princess Andromeda and her husband, Perseus?”
“The stars that you can’t tell where one begins and the other ends.”
“That’s because they’re holding hands.” She beamed, loving the fact I
knew about the constellations. “Perseus rescued her from being sacrificed to
the monster.”
“And then he fucked her senseless and they had nine kids.”
She spun to look at me. “When she died, Athena, Goddess of war and
wisdom, placed her in the sky as a constellation, near her beloved husband
Perseus.”
“They were soulmates who were destined to be together forever, and
Athena made them stars so they would be.”
She was glowing brighter than the stars. “I can’t believe you know that
story.”
“I told you I read a lot.”
“I didn’t think you could get any sexier and you just proved me wrong.”
He ignored my remark. “What’s your favorite?”
“Aphrodite.”
“Ah, the Goddess of Love, but she doesn’t have her own star.”
“I know, but she’s still part of the Pisces constellation, which is her and
her son, Eros.”
“Also known as Cupid.”
She nodded.
 “It’s the hardest constellation to find, so if you can find Pieces than you
have quite a gift.”
“I’ll never tell.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “What’s yours?”
“Orion.”
She grinned. “The greatest hunter, his constellation has two of the
brightest stars in the sky because he didn’t die a hero’s death.”
“You have to watch out for those scorpions,” I replied, referring to how
he stepped on one and died.
“You just like that he’s a star you can see from all over the world.”
“Any great hunter would.”
“Is that what you think you are? A hunter?”
“I don’t think, I know.”
“What do you hunt?”
“Answers for my questions for you.”
“Such as?”
“Why do you want to work at my bar?”
“Because it’s the best.”
“Kissing my ass isn’t going to appease me.”
She giggled and I loved it.
“Fine. If I tell you then you have to tell me something personal about
yourself too.”
“Only if you answer my question first.”
“Deal.”
“I’m waiting.”
She inhaled a deep breath. “I want to travel overseas after I graduate
from high school, but my family would never allow it. Now that I’m
making my own money, they won’t be able to do anything about it. As you
know, I graduate soon so I needed to make money fast. Your bar is the best
and I knew it wouldn’t take long to make enough money to spend a few
months wherever I wanted. Plus, it’s far enough away from my town that I
didn’t have to worry about them finding out I’m working at a biker bar or
that I’m working in general.”
“You want to go overseas by yourself?”
“Yeah.”
“Peach, that’s not very safe.”
“Isn’t life worth taking risks?”
“Not your safety.”
 “Says the man who isn’t very safe with his own.”
“You said it yourself. I’m a man. The odds of me getting into trouble
compared to you are slim to none.”
“This is exactly why I need to make my own money to do this. My
family will react the same way you are.”
“You have five brothers. One of them can’t join you?”
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is?”
“You already asked your question, it’s my turn now.”
“This discussion isn’t over, Haven.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Do that one more time and watch what happens.”
“That’s a threat I may enjoy.”
“We’ll see after you can’t sit down for days.”
“You and the spanking,” she giggled. “Is this like a kink for you? I
haven’t been spanked since I was a little girl.”
“Then you’re way past due.”
“Why am I in trouble if all I want is some independence from my
family?”
“You don’t have to fly halfway across the world for that to happen.”
“There’s more to it than just my independence.”
“It’s not the traveling that bothers me. It’s that fact you’ll be by
yourself.”
“So come with me,” she simply stated. “Billy can handle the bar for a
few months on his own, can’t he? Considering you basically live at the bar
—I can assume you don’t travel much. Why not experience this with me? I
mean plenty of boyfriends travel with their girlfriends. It’s not out of the
ordinary for us to do this together.”
“Boyfriend, huh?”
“Isn’t that what you are?”
“I don’t do labels.”
She sassed, “Would you rather be my manfriend?”
I tickled her inner thigh, causing her to squirm.
“I can call myself your old lady if that makes you feel better?”
“I don’t live by those rules.”
“Oh yeah? What am I to you then?”
I gripped onto the back her neck, tugging her lips to meet mine.
 After I kissed her, I rasped against her lips, “You’re my ripe peach.”
“Is that your code for girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend seems so juvenile for what you are to me, Haven.”
She smiled. “Now that’s a good answer. I’ll take it for now.”
I kissed her again, but she quickly pulled away. “Don’t think I’ve
forgotten that it’s my turn to ask my question.”
“Go easy on me.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Peach…”
“Don’t peach me. I get to ask what I want, and my question is, why do
you own forty-nine percent of the bar if you don’t like your dad?”
“That is not a one answer reply.”
“So there’s more than one reason?”
“Something like that.”
“That’s not a response.”
“It’s the only one I have.”
“Hayes! That’s cheating!”
“You didn’t elaborate on the rules.”
“I didn’t think you’d cop out.”
“Sweetheart, there’s way too much history between my old man and I to
even begin answering that question.”
“He doesn’t seem so bad.”
“He puts on a good show. Trust me, he’s had years of practice.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You keep saying that you’re bad for me, but other than seeing you kick
Taz’s ass, I haven’t seen anything that scary.”
“Don’t hold your breath. It’ll happen eventually.”
“You think you’ll scare me away?”
“Again, Peach. I don’t think, I know.”
“I don’t scare easily.”
“We’ll see about that.”
She kissed me. “My offer remains on the table, Hayes. I’d love to see
and experience another world with you. Then you don’t have to worry
about anything happening to me because my big, bad ass boyfriend will
protect me.”
 I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to go with her. I’d also be full of
shit if I was said I didn’t love the sound her calling me…

Her boyfriend.
Seventeen
Haven
A few weeks later, I was working in the stock room when Billy came up
behind me.
“Oh my God!” I jumped. “You scared me.”
“I’m sorry, darlin’. I didn’t mean to scare you. How are you doing back
here?”
“I’m good. We’re almost out of bourbon and vodka though. I checked
the stacks, and it doesn’t look like we have an order coming in until next
week.”
“We can’t have that now can we? I’m about to head into a meeting with
some new distributors. How about you drive my truck downtown and hit up
our local distributor? I’ll give them the heads up you’re coming. They
always have extra cases on hand for us.”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
“That’d be great.”
“No problem. I’ll just let Hayes know.”
“He stepped out for a bit, but I’ll tell him when he gets back.”
“Oh, Okay.”
“How have you been? Are you liking things around here?”
“I love it. Thank you again for hiring me. I’m killing it with tips. This
bar has been amazing. Truly, everyone has been great.”
“Especially Hayes?”
I nervously chuckled.
“No need to get shy, darlin’. Hayes that has effect on women. I can’t
keep them staffed for very long, you know? He always breaking their
hearts. But you…” He swept the hair away from my face, placing it behind
my ear. “You seem to be having quite an effect on my boy.”
“He’s had quite an effect on me too.”
“You guys getting serious?”
“I guess as serious as things could get with him.”
“You’re spending a lot of time together.”
“Yeah,” was all I could respond.
“You in love with him, Haven?”
 I jerked back, not expecting him to ask that.
“It’s all right. You can tell me. Your secret’s safe with me.”
I glanced up at the surveillance camera.
“Don’t worry about that. I turned it off. After what he did to Taz, I
prefer some privacy when I’m here.”
“Right.”
“You do know what he did to him, right?”
“Yeah…”
“You know he did that for you?”
“Ummm…”
“Don’t worry, darlin’. It’s not your fault. My boy has always had a
temper. Ever since he was a child, he never liked sharing his toys. I blame
his mother. She coddled him too much.”
“He doesn’t talk about her at all to me.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“Why is that?”
“Sore subject.”
“Did something happen?”
“A lot happened, but there’s no point in reliving old wounds.”
I nodded, eagerly wanting to know more.
“Hayes doesn’t tell me anything, you know? He’s always shutting me
out and I’ve given that boy everything. Even forty-nine percent of my bar.”
“Is there a reason you two aren’t close?”
“There’s plenty. Beginning with that fact that he’s breaking my fucking
legacy. He’s the only kid I have, and he wants nothing to do with my club.
You know what it’s like for a father who’s given him everything? He’s
ungrateful. He’s always been a little shit. More so now that he’s a man.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I kept my shut.
“But you…” He twirled the ends of my hair around his fingers. “You,
darlin’, he’s attached to you, and I can’t help but wonder why.”
I swallowed hard.
“Don’t get me wrong, you’re gorgeous. I can see the appeal, but Hayes
has never been a one-woman kind of man.”
“Maybe we’re just meant to be.”
“Maybe, but anyway, I’m glad everyone’s been treating you nice,
darlin’. Let me get you my keys, and I’ll write down the address for you
too.”
 “Sounds good.”
“When you get there, just ask for Christoff. He’ll make sure to take care
of you.”
Once he handed over his keys and the address, I quickly left the bar, not
wanting to be alone with him anymore. It was the first time I felt that way
toward him, but I hadn’t spent a lot of alone time with him to begin with.
Hayes was adamant I stay away from him and his club, including the
biker members and for the most part, I listened to him. After what he told
me about them, I understood his distaste for them. I steered clear of The
Outlaws.
The only thing that changed between us was how close were getting. I
stayed the night at his place almost every weekend. I usually crashed at
Cove’s on the weekends, so it wasn’t hard for me to stay with him.
We’d close the bar together and he’d drive us back to his house. He
even started riding the Harley he drove on our first date to the bar when he
knew I’d be staying the night with him, fully aware of how much I loved it.
We still hadn’t done anything other than make out. Anytime things
became too heated between us, he’d immediately stop and go take a cold
shower. If he didn’t touch me soon, I was just going to get naked and jump
in the shower with him.
There was no way he’d turn me down if I was dripping wet in front of
him, but at the same time I was learning Hayes was a paradox of
contradictions. I wouldn’t put it passed him if he did.
The more I got to know him, the more I fell for him.
There was no avoiding it. We shared this connection I’d never felt with
anyone. It was this spark that was living and breathing every time we were
together. I couldn’t put into words how much he meant to me.
We laughed.
Smiled.
Joked.
Talked about everything and nothing.
It was easy.
Our relationship was effortless.
Once again, my mind was consumed with thoughts of him that I didn’t
realize I arrived at my final destination until my GPS informed me that I
did. It was then that I noticed the warehouse was located in the middle of
nowhere. This big ass steel building surrounded by woods and pasture.
With the sun setting, it only added to its elusive allure.
Grabbing my cellphone, I placed it in my back pocket and jumped out
of the truck to make my way inside. There was only one entrance, but the
door was locked.
“Shit,” I breathed out.
Until all of a sudden, a sharp voice from behind me announced, “Well,
lookie what we have here?”
I immediately turned around, holding my hand over my heart.
“Did I scare you?”
“Christoff?”
“The one and only.”
“I was sent by Billy to pick up some cases of liquor.”
“Yeah, he told us.”
“Us?”
“How about you follow me? The cases are inside. My men can help you
load them on the back of his truck.”
“Okay.”
I couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling I had following him inside a
cold and dark warehouse. However, I did as I was told. With my heart
slightly hammering in my chest, I followed him. Once we were inside, two
men approached us.
One of them spewing, “Who’s this bitch?”
I frowned. “Excuse me?”
Before the last word left my mouth, someone came up behind me and
spanked my ass, hard.
I jolted out of my skin. “What the hell?”
He held his arms out in front of him. “Relax, baby. We’re all friends
here.”
“I’m going to go.” Quickly, I turned around. Ready to the sprint, but he
blocked my descent.
“You just got here and you’re leaving already? Billy won’t be happy if
you leave without his booze.”
“Yeah? Well Hayes won’t be happy if he knows you just laid your hands
on me.”
“Hayes?” He cocked his head to the side. “You his old lady?”
Not hesitating, I stated, “Yes.”
 “I see.”
“I call bullshit,” Christoff countered. “The day Hayes has an old lady
will be the day that pigs fucking fly.”
The guy who spanked my ass, backed me into the wall behind me.
“Why are you running, baby? I just want a taste.”
“A taste of what?”
“That sweet pussy.”
My heart dropped to the floor as I opened my mouth to scream, but I
barely let out a shriek when he put his hand over my lips.
“Shhhh… No need to make a scene. Besides, no one’s going to hear you
out here, baby.”
I whimpered, my eyes brimming with tears.
“There’s no need to cry. We’re not going to hurt you. We’re just
messing around.”
The other two men walked over to us.
“Yeah, honey. We’re all family. We share among these parts.”
I whimpered again.
The adrenaline coursing through my veins made me bite his hand.
“You stupid bitch!”
I ran about two feet before Christoff grabbed ahold of my hair, yanking
me back toward him. In one quick movement, he roughly shoved my face
against the wall.
I was wearing a jean skirt, making it easy for him to rub his fingers on
my inner thigh. I shut my eyes. I had to. Instantly having what could only
be described as an out of body experience.
“You want to play rough, tough girl? Let’s see how rough I can be?”
“Please…” I begged for I don’t know what.
“I love it when they beg. How about you do it on your knees instead?”
What was happening? Did Billy set me up? Why?
Question after question tore through my mind in a matter of a second. I
couldn’t believe what was suddenly happening to me. I wanted to fight, but
there was no way I’d be able to defeat three big ass men.
The only thing I could do was surrender, but it wasn’t in my nature. I
was about to try to scream again, even if it was pointless. I had to do
something. However, the second I opened my mouth, I heard…
“If you know what’s good for you, Christoff. You’ll let go of my girl.”
Eighteen
Haven
C hristoff declared in a smartass tone, “Oh, come on, Hayes. We were just
playing around with her.”
The sound of a gun going off scared the absolute shit out of me and I
jumped out of my skin.
“The next time,” Hayes warned. “I won’t miss.”
Christoff let me go. When I turned around, I came face to face with
Hayes aiming a Glock to his head. It was like I was suddenly in a mafia
movie.
Hayes showed no fear. If anything, he was calm.
Cool.
Collected.
As if he did this every day.
I never imagined I’d see him in this way. I couldn’t get my feet to move,
they were glued to the ground beneath me.
Hayes read my mind, ordering, “Peach, I’m going to need you to come
to me now.”
I could hear him, but I still couldn’t move.
Instead, he walked over to me. Never taking his gun off of them.
The guy that smacked my ass, hollered, “We were just messing around.”
“Yeah?” Hayes coaxed in a creepy tone. “How about I shoot your dick
off and we’ll call it even then?”
I found myself demanding, “Please don’t.”
It was the last thing I wanted to see. This was already traumatizing
enough for me. I didn’t need to have that mental picture in my head too.
He grabbed my hand, securely placing me behind him and I instantly
felt at ease despite what could have happened had he not shown up when he
did. The thought alone made my body shudder.
“You’re lucky I don’t lay to ground for touching what’s mine,
motherfucker. The only reason I’m not is she just saved your ass by asking
me not to. Count your blessings, it won’t last long.”
With that, he backed away. Never once taking his Glock off of them as
we exited the building. As soon as we stepped outside, I yanked my arm
away and he growled in response.
“Haven, don’t fuck with me right now.”
Ignoring his demand, I bit out, “How did you know where I was?”
“I have a tracker on your phone.”
My mouth dropped open. “Is that how you knew about Adam the night
of the football game?”
He nodded.
“Your dad didn’t tell you where he sent me?”
His hands fisted at his sides. “When I got back to the bar and you
weren’t there, I tracked your phone. It didn’t take much to put two and two
together.”
“Did he set me up?”
“Yes, but it was to get to me.”
“Oh my God.”
“I told you to stay away from him.”
“He found me in the stock room.”
“Fuck!” he roared, looking back at the warehouse. “We need to go.”
I shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Listen,” he coaxed. “I know your scared, but I’ll handle my old man.”
“How ? He’s your father and he just tried to hurt me!”
“He wants to hurt me.” He sternly pointed at himself. “You’re just the
weapon he can use to do it.”
“Why? I don’t understand any of this! And why were you so calm in
there? How often are you aiming a gun to people’s heads, Hayes?”
“I warned you, Haven. I fucking warned you about me! But you
wouldn’t listen! You never fucking listen! And now look at what’s
happened! All of this could have been avoided if you would have just
listened to me!”
“If I had then we wouldn’t be together now! Is that what you want?”
“Fuck!” he roared again. “I can’t think right now. We need to go.”
“Do you put people to ground for him?”
“Haven,” he stressed. “Don’t ask questions you won’t understand.”
“Then make me understand! I don’t want to be scared of you, Hayes,
and right now I am!”
“Whose fault is that?” Through a clenched jaw, he spewed, “This is who
I’ve been this entire time. I haven’t lied to you.”
 “You also haven’t told me a damn thing about yourself! Is this why?
Because you really are a monster?”
“Sweetheart, I’ve told you that since day one. If you want to blame
someone than blame yourself. I knew this would eventually happen, and
I’ve tried everything I could to keep you safe, but the truth is, the only way
for that to happen is for you to stay away from me.”
My eyes rimmed with fresh tears. “You don’t mean that.”
In a rough tone, he sneered. “I mean it with every bone in my body.”
“It would be that easy for you to never see me again?”
“If it keeps you safe than, so be it. I’m no good for you.”
“I thought you said you weren’t a one percenter? Was that a lie?”
“Don’t use words you don’t understand.”
“How about these words then… Do you love me?”
He looked at me with pain in his eyes, replying, “Don’t use words I
don’t understand.”
Tears slid down my face, there was no hiding it from him.
“Don’t cry for me, Peach. I’m not worth it.”
I stepped back, placing my hands out in front of me.
“Haven…”
I turned and left him standing there. Hating the fact that he just let me
go.
No chasing after me.
No putting up a fight for me.
Nothing.
Only my way out of the lot, I watched him walk back into the
warehouse. Only to hear the rippling sound of a gunshot seconds later,
knowing in my heart…
It was his Glock that did it.
Hayes
“You son of a bitch!” Christoff yelled, falling to the ground from my shot to
his dick.
His men held their arms out in front of them, immediately surrendering
to me.
Fucking pussies.
The other bitch stated, “We were just fucking around with her, Hayes.”
“Yeah?” I mocked, pissed to the point of no return. “Now it’s my turn to
fuck with you.”
I pulled the trigger. The bullet missed his head by an inch on purpose.
He instantly fell to the ground, begging for mercy while the other guy ran to
Christoff to help him.
“You said you wouldn’t do this!”
“My girl isn’t around now, motherfucker.”
Another shot to the other side of his head.
“Please!”
“If any of you ever come near her again, it’ll be the last thing you do.
We clear?”
“Yeah!” they shouted in unison.
I spun, leaving them there before I let my anger get the best of me. At
the end of the day, she was only there for one reason and one reason alone.
Billy fucking Hayes.
I jumped in my truck, hauling ass to the bar. After what felt like forever,
I rushed inside looking for him, but I found Mark instead.
“Where’s Billy?”
“Not sure, man. You all rig—”
I made my way around the bar, asking everyone if they’d seen him until
finally, I found him in the back outside. He was on the phone. Using his
distraction, I gripped onto his cut and slammed him face first into our brick
building.
“What the fu—”
Aiming my gun to his temple, I unlocked the safety.
 “All it would take is one fucking bullet to finally get rid of you,” I
spewed, pushing the barrel harder into head. “I should have done it years
ago. What you did to my mother… What you’ve done to me… You don’t
deserve to live. Out of some fucking loyalty I shouldn’t have for you, I
stayed in my lane and played your games.”
He didn’t say a word, his eyes stayed focused on my Glock instead.
“I’m done being your son. Do you understand me? After the stunt you
just pulled with Haven, you’re not my father anymore.”
“Hayes—”
“No! You don’t get to talk. From this moment forward, we’re done.”
“Chase…”
“You think that has an effect on me?” Deeper into his skin my barrel
went. “I’ve hated for as long as I can remember. The only thing today
proves is how much of a bastard you really are.” Still aiming my gun at his
temple, I quickly turned him around to glare deep into his eyes. “If you ever
use Haven to get to me again, I swear to you on my mother I won’t think
twice about putting your miserable life to ground.” My jaw tightened. “Are
we fucking clear, Billy?”
“Yeah,” he breathed out.
Slowly, I backed away.

Meaning every last word.

Nineteen
Haven
I dropped Billy’s truck off at the bar, leaving his keys in the driver’s seat.
The last thing I wanted to do was see him. Instead of walking in for my
shift, I left.
I couldn’t believe how fast things changed between us. In the blink of
an eye, I saw the side to him he’d warning me about. One minute we’re in
complete bliss and happy together and the next he’s turned into this man I
didn’t recognize. My mind was spinning with no end in sight.
The truth was, I was scared of Hayes and what he was truly capable of.
The sound of the gunshot as I drove out of the lot echoed all around me.
What did he do?
The question played on repeat. He spent months telling me he wasn’t
who I thought he was. I couldn’t take the image of him aiming a gun at their
heads like it was the easiest thing in the world for him to do. I hated feeling
this way. I knew I’d seen a different side of him. Without a shadow of a
doubt, I knew he was two different people now.
One with me.
Another with them.
Where do we go from here?
Somewhere along the way, I called Cove to meet me at my house. Being
the best friend that she was, she was already sitting in my driveaway
waiting for me when I pulled up. Jumping out of her car first, she darted
toward my door, opening it.
“Oh my God! What’s going on?”
“Oh, Cove…”
The shock was wearing off, throwing my arms around her neck, I broke
down.
She rubbed my back. “Haven, you’re freaking me out. What
happened?”
Once I calmed down and we were in my bedroom, I shared, “Billy sent
me to go pick up some liquor from a distributor. I didn’t think anything of it
until I showed up there. The warehouse was in the middle of nowhere. It
should have been my first clue something wasn’t right, but I didn’t think
he’d set me up like that.”
“Set you up for what?”
“There were three guys and they started getting handsy with me. One of
them spanked my ass, and when I ran to leave. The other man forcefully
shoved me up against the wall and started trailing his hand up my inner
thigh.”
Her eyes widened. “Please tell me it’s not what I’m thinking?”
“It would have been had Hayes not shown up when he did with his
gun.”
She put her hand over her heart. “Oh, thank God. Did he use it?”
“I asked him not to, but I guess that only meant in front of me. After we
got in a fight in the parking lot, I heard a gunshot go off as I was leaving.”
“You think he—”
“I don’t know.”
“Oh wow.”
“He’s been warning me for months he is not who I think he is and now
I’m like, why didn’t I believe him?”
“He was just defending you.”
“By possibly murdering someone?”
She shrugged. “The world can do without scum like them.”
“That’s not his call to make.”
“I’m sorry, Haven, but sometimes you need to take justice in your own
hands. It’s not like he did it for no reason. What if he hadn’t shown up when
he did? You think they would have stopped there? They could have killed
you after they were done with you. He was doing what any man would do
for the woman they love.”
“You think he loves me?”
She smiled. “What’s not to love?”
Hearing her perspective on the situation was making me rethink how I
felt about it.
“Two wrongs don’t make a right, Cove.”
“Would you rather he be a coward and not defend and protect you,
Haven?”
“I don’t know. I’m so confused.”
“The way I see it, he’s got a darker side to him. It’s no different than the
cops taking down a bad guy; just because they have a badge doesn’t make it
right either. They’re just doing their job and Hayes’s job is to keep you safe.
Not to mention, all the other women he could have saved because you know
you’re not the first they’ve done this to.”
I took in her words, contemplating everything she was saying.
“Does that mean this isn’t his first time shooting someone?”
“I don’t have the answer to that question, but I’m sure he knows what
he’s doing. I highly doubt he’d just shoot someone and not think about the
repercussions.”
“That’s what scares me. What if he does this all the time?”
“Maybe he just takes out bad guys.”
“This isn’t Dexter, Cove.”
She smirked. “I love that show.”
I shook my head. “We are not the same. How are we best friends?”
“Opposites attract.”
I chuckled despite feeling like shit.
“What’s your next move?”
“I don’t know.”
“How did the fight end?”
“With him telling me to stay away from him. He said it was the only
way he could protect me.”
“Is that what you want to do?”
“Of course I want to be with him, but not in that life.”
“Your brothers would flip their shit.”
“I know. Could you imagine?”
“I don’t want to imagine it.”
“That’s another thing, my family. They’re never going to approve of
him or that kind of life.”
“Maybe he would leave it for you.”
“Cove, I can’t ask him to do that.”
“Why not?”
“People change their lives for each other all the time.”
“I don’t think he sees us that way. Anytime I talk about the future he
instantly shuts it down. He doesn’t see us going further than graduation.”
“That’s coming up soon.”
“Yeah.”
“I highly doubt he’d be able to just toss you away, Haven. He loves you,
and that’s obvious to me. Do you love him too?”
 I nodded. “I can’t help it. There’s something deeper between us that I
can’t put my finger on, but I feel it every time we’re together. It’s almost
like we’ve known each other forever.”
“Maybe you have.”
“Like in a past life or something?”
“No like in this life. You said so yourself, he was immediately
protective over you. Maybe there’s a reason for that.”
“I didn’t think about that.”
“So start thinking.”
“I wish I could just ask and get a straight answer out of him. I know
nothing about him, Cove. He doesn’t share anything with me other than
how bad he is for me.”
“Maybe there’s a reason for that too.”
“Ugh! I hate it when you make sense.”
She smiled. “I’m wise beyond my years.”
I agreed, “You are.”
“Do you think he has any single friends?”
“Oh my God! You’re horrible.”
“What?” She shrugged again. “You may find what he does scary, I on
the other hand, I’m digging it. I’d love a man who wouldn’t think twice
about laying someone out if it meant I was safe. That’s shit would make me
spread my legs like no tomorrow.”
“Cove!”
“I’m just saying, I want a bad ass too. Especially if he has a big dick.
That’s very important as well.”
“Says the girl who’s still a virgin.”
“Ummm…” She gestured to herself. “Do you see this temple that I am?
I’m not going to just give it away to some guy that takes me out to a nice
restaurant a few times. High school guys are boring, Haven. College men
are even worse. Their all into themselves and I want someone who’s only
into me.”
“Are you saying you want an older guy? Hayes is seven years older than
me.”
“Mmmm… I don’t think I’d go over like twentyish.”
“Twenty?! That could be your dad.”
“My dad didn’t have me until he was in his thirties.”
“Well, it could be somebody’s dad.”
 “No, I definitely don’t want any baby mama drama. It needs to be
someone who has no strings attached to an ex.”
“Yeah, but then you get a man like Jace who’s worked his entire life.”
She glared at me. “Don’t ever say that again. You just ruined my entire
fantasy.”
“My brother’s not so bad.”
“On what scale? He’s worse than ever now that he’s retired military. It’s
like he has this permanent stick up his ass. I don’t remember the last time I
saw him smile. He’s always so broody and grumpy. Your brother needs to
get laid. I bet it’s been years for him.”
“Ewww.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
I smiled. “I wouldn’t mind you marrying any of my brothers, then we
could be real sisters.”
“Trust me, Haven. Out of all your brothers, Jace would be the last one
I’d ever marry. I’d rather die single and lonely than spend five minutes
alone with that asshole. He’s like my perfect enemy.
Who would have thought that one day…

She’d be eating her words.

Twenty
Haven
I opened my mouth to reply, but there was a knock on my door.
“Come in,” I hollered.
The door opened, revealing my brother, Reid.
“Hey,” he greeted, smiling at us with that charismatic expression.
Reid was the CEO of his commercial property development enterprise
that he started when he was twenty-one. Now he’s thirty-three and loaded.
Except for the fact that he works twenty-four seven. Constantly on his
phone. Always traveling to all parts of the world.
His last project was in Dubai. He was in charge of building the biggest
five-star hotel, living there on and off for a few years to make sure there
were no issues that arose. He was complete control freak. Nobody could do
anything as good as he did.
Every year Forbes magazine labeled him one of their eligible bachelors.
The press adored him, he was charming and loved the attention.
Everywhere we went women flocked to him. All he had to do was smile
and it was enough.
My brother had a type though. He was extremely picky about who he let
in his bed. He loved Spanish women. It was definitely his vibe. It was
comical since he was raised on a ranch with a cowboy, but I guess opposite
attract.
I mean look at me and Hayes. The thought alone made my heart flutter
and my stomach drop.
What will happen with us? Did we break up today?
“Hey,” Reid interrupted my thoughts. “You listening to me?”
I shook my head. “Yeah, sorry what was that?”
“I said we’re all going to the pool hall, you two want to come?”
“Ummm…”
Cove answered for me, “We’d love to. We’ll be down in a minute.”
“All right, don’t take forever.”
Once he was gone, I chastised, “What the hell? You think I want to go
out right now?”
 “No, but all the more reason to. Listen, I’ll sit up here with you all night
if that’s what you want to do, but I think it’d be good for you to go out and
spend some time with your brothers. You haven’t been around that much.
They’re going to start getting suspicious. Plus, it’d be good for you to be
around family. It’s your favorite thing in the world.”
“My boyfriend may have killed someone, and you think the solution is
to go play pool?”
“There’s dancing too.”
“Cove…”
“Have I ever steered you wrong?”
“Yes.”
She laughed. “If it weren’t for me, you’d be a nun.”
“I basically already am. Hayes won’t touch me, remember?”
“Haven, it’s time you learn that your pussy holds all the power. If you
want him to touch it, then give him a reason to.”
From the moment we walked into the pool hall, the place was packed to
the brim with people. Luckily, we found an empty table near the back. It
was the first time I was out with all my brothers in what felt like forever. I
couldn’t remember the last time we were together like this, and I silently
thanked Cove for making me come out with them.
After we ordered food, Jace questioned, “You okay?”
Always so freaking perceptive, I blamed it on his military tactics. There
were no keeping secrets from him. It was like he could see them through
my eyes.
“Yeah. I’m just tired.”
“Cheerleading has been keeping you busy.”
“A lot more responsibility now that I’m captain.”
“Obviously,” Troy chimed. “You’re hardly around anymore.”
“Like you’re one to talk.”
“Why are we picking on Haven?” Cove asked, bringing their attention
over to her. “She’s eighteen now. She’s allowed to have a life. You all did.”
“It doesn’t matter how old she is.” Jace nodded at me. “She’s our little
sister.”
“Except she’s not so little anymore.”
“All righty… So on that note, I’m going to go to the bathroom. I’ll be
right back,” I said and stood up.
I checked my phone to see if I had any missed calls or texts from Hayes.
 I didn’t.
I wanted to text him so bad, but I refused to be the one who gave in
first.
“Not very mature,” I whispered to myself in the mirror.
Taking a deep breath, I walked back to our table, only for Cove to stop
me midway to pull me toward the dance floor.
The crowd parted for us as the music switched from the live band to a
DJ spinning the latest hits. People made it nearly impossible to dance, there
was barely any space.
Some pretty boy came up behind Cove and who I assumed was his
friend gripped onto my hips, working my ass on his dick. Cove’s beer she
must have bought with her fake ID splashed all over the floor by our feet.
“Relax, Haven!” she exclaimed over the music. “Have some fun! We’re
just dancing.”
And dancing she was…
Using the guy as a stripper pole.
Against my better judgment, I began dancing on the guy. Swaying my
body to the beat of the music as his hands stayed on my hips. We moved in
sync with one another.
The entire time we danced I thought solely about Hayes. The number of
times I tried dragging him out onto the dance floor at the bar was ridiculous.
Always telling me he doesn’t dance. Mostly, it was me grinding my ass on
him like I was with this random guy behind me.
The thought made me feel bad. Almost like I was cheating on him or
something and we were only dancing. I was about to grab Cove and get us
out of there, but I was too late.
My gaze caught my brothers shoving people out of the way as if a
ticking time bomb was about to explode.
“Oh shit,” I rasped, watching as they took down anyone in their path.
Needing to get to me as fast as they could.
It was Ledger’s fist that pulled back first, hitting the guy I was dancing
with right in the jaw. Before I could scream at him for exaggerating what he
just did, Jace hit the guy Cove was dancing with. Glass shattered
everywhere from her beer falling to the ground.
In one quick movement, Reid threw me over his shoulder while Jace
threw Cove over his. She immediately started way lading on his back,
demanding that he put her down.
 She shouted, “Who the fuck do you think you are!”
My other brothers stayed inside, going to war with those men for
nothing. We were just dancing.
“Jace! Put me down! Now!”
He did, slamming her feet to the ground so hard she had to put her
hands on his chest for balance. Reid set me down, but I couldn’t tear into
him.
Not a second later, Jace roared, “Not another fucking word out of your
mouth, Cove!”
She pushed him as hard as she could. “Fuck you!”
With his hand over her throat, he backed her into the building. Holding
her in place.
“You are such a bad example for Haven! You’re nothing but bad news!”
“And you’re such an overbearing asshole! She’s eighteen, dickwad!”
“So are you are! Why the hell are you drinking?”
“Because I can!” She tried to shove his hand away, it didn’t budge.
“Jace, if you don’t let go of me, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” he sneered through a clenched jaw.
Her chest was rising and falling.
“You’re going to be a good little girl and get your ass in my truck. Do
you understand me?”
“Good little girl? Are you for real?”
“When you act like a child, I’m going to treat you like one.”
“A child? I’m an adult! I can do whatever I want. You’re not my
brother!”
“And thank God for that. I’d be ashamed if you were.”
She winced. It was quick but I saw it.
“Jace—”
He silenced me with his finger in the air behind him. His seething glare
didn’t move from Cove’s pissed off expression.
Holy shit. What was happening?
“You want to parade your pussy around like it’s fucking free? Then
you’re going to meet men that won’t hesitate to fuck you in the bathroom
stall. Is that what you want for yourself, Cove?”
She flinched, taking in what he was brutally saying. I never wanted to
knock out my brother more than I did in that moment for how he was
speaking to her.
 “Jace, that’s enough!”
He didn’t listen to me, not that I expected him to.
“One day you’re going to find yourself in a lot of trouble if you don’t
start changing your ways. Have more goddamn respect for yourself, little
girl.”
With that, he let her go.
“Now get your ass in my truck so I can drive you home.”
She bit out, “I can take an Uber.”
“Cove… I’m not going to ask you again.”
She peered back at me, and I mouthed, “Just go with him.”
Her stare shifted to meet his again. “I’m not your problem, Jace.”
“I’m making you my problem.”
Reluctantly, she left with him as I simply stood there in utter shock and
disbelief.
This night was officially…

Bullshit.
Twenty-One
Haven
I was driving home when all of the sudden the warning light on my temp
gage started flashing. Seconds later, steam began seeping out from
underneath the hood of my car.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath, pulling over on the side of the road.
It was nighttime and I was on my way home from the mall, because I
needed some sort of distraction from the chaos that had become my life
currently. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Hayes in a couple days. My shift at the
bar was coming up and I had no clue how I was going to handle being there
or seeing him…or Billy for that matter.
What would I say to Billy? Would he say anything to me? Or were we
just going to pretend like it didn’t happen?
My mind reeled with unanswered questions and insecurities about the
future. It felt as if I didn’t know which way was up or down. I thought he’d
call or at least text me by now. None of which seemed like they were going
to occur anytime soon. I craved giving in and reaching out to him, but I
couldn’t bring myself to actually do it.
I lifted the hood of my car, and the steam immediately burned my face,
making me jump back.
“Ow!” I shouted. “Great. Now I can’t even open the hood of my own
car. What’s next? I won’t be able to drive myself home?” I inhaled a
reassuring breath, grabbing my cell phone from the center console to call
Triple A.
It rang twice.
“Hello,” an automated service greeted. “We are experiencing an unusual
high call volume. Please remain on the line. If you’d like us to call you back
when your turn is up. Press the number one and provide your nine-digit
phone number and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.”
I did, hanging up after.
I debated calling my dad or one of my brothers but decided against it.
The last thing I wanted was to hear a lecture on taking better care of my car.
Instead, I waited for my call back while sitting on the trunk of my vehicle,
staring up at the stars. I found Orion almost immediately, causing me to feel
worse than I already did.
It felt like I was waiting forever. Since Troy would be the one that
would lecture me the least, I was about to call him when the familiar sound
of a Harley drove up behind me. I didn’t have to wonder who it was.
Once his helmet was off, we locked eyes.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “So, how often are you tracking my
location, Hayes?”
“I’m here to rescue you and you’re giving me shit, Peach?”
“By all means.” I gestured to the hood of my car. “Proceed.”
It didn’t take long for him to figure out what was going on. He was sexy
as sin under the hood, fixing the problem with ease and the certainty of
skilled mechanic who knew what he was doing.
“You’re good now,” he informed, shutting the hood.
“Thanks,” I replied, watching him from afar. The silence was deafening
for a couple seconds before I finally broke the silence. “Is this it? Are you
going to drive away now and continue to ignore me?”
“I could say the same to you.”
“Yeah, but I’m the girl.” I sternly pointed to my chest. “The guy is
supposed to do the chasing.”
“I thought women we’re sexually liberated now. I thought that applied
to this too.”
I snickered. “Always have to have the last word, don’t you?”
“We could banter back and forth like this for hours, Haven. How about
we do it from my house instead?”
“You want me to come home with you?”
“Isn’t that what I just said?”
“Ugh!” I shook my head. “Forget it.” I stepped toward my car, but he
blocked my descent.
“I want you to come home with me,” he admitted. “But nothing has
changed. I’m still not good for you.”
I just had to know. “Did you kill those guys?”
He narrowed his eyes. “What do you think?”
“I’m not sure.”
“What if I did?”
“I don’t want to be the reason you could go to prison because of me,
Hayes.”
 “Because of you or for you, Haven?”
I swallowed hard.
“Knowing this, you still want to be with me?”
I didn’t hesitate in replying. “Yes.”
He stared at me for a minute before he confessed, “I didn’t kill them,
but I wanted to.”
I nodded, feeling at ease. “Okay, lead the way back to your house.”
It didn’t take long to arrive at his place. I parked my car in my usual
spot and then followed him inside. On our way in, I set my phone on
airplane mode. I didn’t want us to get interrupted.
“You hungry?” he asked, walking into his kitchen.
“A little.”
He grabbed some ground beef out of his fridge with a frying pan, and
placed them both on the stove.
“Are you cooking for me?”
He smiled, glancing at me. “Growing up, my mom always said
everything was better on a full stomach.”
My heart fluttered. This was the first time he mentioned anything about
his life or his mother. I tried to pretend like I was unfazed, but inside I was
freaking out from excitement.
Acting nonchalant, I asked, “What are you cooking?”
“Tacos.”
“I love tacos. Is there anything I can do to help?”
For the next thirty minutes, we cooked together like a normal couple,
and I enjoyed every second of it. After we ate, Hayes jumped in the shower,
and I made my way out to the deck by his bedroom. I was sitting on the
lounger when he found me, staring up at the stars.
He gestured to the seat in front of me, silently asking if he could sit
down. I nodded, pulling my knees to my chest. He was shirtless, wearing
only gym shorts and I resisted the urge to tackle his bones.
Damn he looked good.
There was a drink in his hand with amber liquid in it. I could smell the
bourbon from his glass, and it dawned on me I’d never seen him drink
before.
Calling him out, I stated, “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you
drink.”
He took a swig. “I don’t usually.”
 “Does that mean I’m driving you to drink?”
“If there’s one thing you need to know about me, Haven. I don’t handle
my problems with liquor.”
“I’m a problem now?”
“Sweetheart, you’ve been a problem since day one.”
I hated hearing him say that.
“I’m not trying to hurt you, Peach. Trust me, it’s the last thing I want to
do.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah, I do.”
He simply nodded, raising the glass to his mouth.
“Can I have some?”
His gaze tapered. I never expected what happened next. Gripping onto
the back of my neck, he tugged me toward him.
Once his lips were on mine, he slowly beckoned my mouth to open for
him. The second I did—whiskey filled my mouth from his. It immediately
burned in a fiery delight all the way down my chest and into my stomach.
He pecked me one last time before pulling away, I slightly whimpered
at the loss.
A little shaken, I coaxed, “That was smooth. If you’re trying to make
me less upset with you, I’m still mad.”
“Feeling’s mutual, sweetheart.”
“But I’m a nice girl,” I playfully joked, trying to lighten the mood.
“You’re lucky to have met me.”
“Nice girls need to stay away from the likes of me.”
“I know what you do is dangerous. I know there’s a reason why you’re
like this. But I also know you… I see through you. You’re a man with a
huge heart and I’m living proof of that. You’re not bad for me. You just
think you are.”
“Peach—”
“I know what it feels like to be alone, to feel like you have no one on
your side, but you have me. I’m here for you, Hayes. No matter what. So
please stop pushing me away. I’m tired of hearing you say we don’t have a
future together when all I want is a future with you. As much as you want to
deny it, I know you want that too. You’re just fighting it.”
“Me wanting a future with you is the least of our problems, Haven.”
 “What’s it going to take for you to realize I’m good for you? You need
me. We’re a team now.”
“Haven…”
“Why won’t you just let me in? I can help… We can help each other.
Why do you insist on fighting this? I understand you’ve done some shady
shit, but you don’t have to keep doing it. You could stop at any time and
make a different life for yourself. One that involves me and us being
together.”
He shook his head. “I’ll never forget the look on your face the other day.
You were scared of me.”
“I was in shock. A lot happened at once. And yes, I was momentarily
scared of you, but after thinking about it these last few days. I’m beyond
grateful you showed up when you did. If you hadn’t, who knows what
could have happened to me. You saved me, again.”
“You’re only in trouble because of me.”
“It’s your dad’s fault not yours. What’s it going to take for you to
understand that?”
I could see his mind spinning. He didn’t try to hide his emotions from
me like he usually did. However, the torment he was showcasing was hard
to witness. I was wreaking havoc on this man’s life, but I couldn’t give him
up.
He was mine.
“I’m tired of everyone treating me like I’m a little girl.” Listening to
Cove’s advice, I stood confidently.
He watched my every move as I lifted my dress off my body, tossing it
to the side. Before he could object, I grabbed the glass out of his hand and
poured the whiskey down my chest.
“You want to lose yourself.” Nothing could have stopped me from
speaking with conviction…

“Then do it inside me.”

Twenty-Two
Haven
I tappearance
was as clear as day. His eyes glazed over like a possessed man while his
hardened in a way that would forever be embedded in my
mind. I wasn’t wearing a bra, standing there topless in just my panties.
I never felt as exposed then I did at that moment with him. His
predatory regard took in every inch of my body. I was completely at his
mercy, and I loved each second of it.
With a loud growl, he gripped onto my ass and placed my body in front
of his. Our stares stayed locked as he started licking the bourbon from my
belly button to my chest. My heart hammered so loud I swear he could hear
it.
In a pleading tone, he groaned, “What are you doing to me?” His mouth
was now over my panties. “Tell me, Peach? Is this what you want?”
“Yes,” I shamelessly panted.
With his teeth, he slid my panties down my legs until they pooled at my
feet.
“I don’t deserve you.”
“Yes, you do.”
The possessive stare as he looked at my most sacred area was a memory
I’d take to my grave.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Haven, so goddamn beautiful.” Looking
up at me through hooded eyes, he rasped, “I’m going to taste my ripe peach
now.”
I moaned in response, sucking in my bottom lip.
He inhaled my scent and I almost died of embarrassment, but it was
quickly replaced by an ache he created when he slid his tongue in between
my folds.
“Fuck…” he breathed out before sucking my clit into his mouth in a
forceful yet tender motion.
I’d never felt anything like it. My chest became heavy, rising and
falling. My legs began to shake, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I had no
idea what to do with my hands. I felt like I was going to explode. Needing
support to hold myself up, I gripped onto his hair, and he loudly growled
from deep within his chest.
Up and down, he sucked.
Left to right.
Harder.
Faster.
I couldn’t take it anymore. The way his mouth devoured me was too
much for me to control. The room started to spin, and my breathing
faltered.
I exhaled.
Panted.
Clenched.
I felt like I was coming apart and being ripped wide open. I couldn’t
control my movements, let alone my gasping. I made all sorts of noises that
seemed foreign coming out of my mouth.
“I can’t… Hayes… I can’t…”
He grabbed my leg, placing it on his shoulder. This angle had the room
caving in on me as spasms consumed my entire body.
I huffed, screaming out, “Oh my God, Hayes!”
Hayes
Watching…
Tasting…
Feeling…
Hearing…
Haven came apart and knowing I was the cause had pre-cum dripping
down my cock. I didn’t stop until I swallowed all her salty sweetness.
Once she found her bearings, I rested my forehead on her lower
stomach, both of us desperately trying to gather our breathing. It was just as
intense for me as it was for her, the throbbing in my jeans only proved my
point. I could hear and feel her heart pounding against her chest.
“Hayes,” she coaxed, making me peer up at her.
She was glowing.
I’d never seen her look more beautiful than I did at that very moment
and it hit me like a fucking grenade to the head.
I was blinded by her.
Consumed by her.
Wrecked by her.
She owned each and every part of me, right down to my fucking soul.
I loved her.
We stared at each other for I don’t know how long, aware that as soon
as one of us opened our mouths to say something, anything, we’d forever
lose this moment. Everything would change again. Not knowing if it’d be a
good or bad was definitely the hardest pill to swallow.
It was obvious she was thinking the same exact thing I was. It was
written all over her pretty face.
However, I didn’t think it would be this hard to hear her profess, “I love
you, Chase Hayes.”
I wanted to say it so fucking bad, it was right there on the tip of my
tongue, dying…pleading to come out.
I couldn’t.
It’d only make things worse, if it were even possible at this point.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Peach… I can’t.”
 Her response didn’t shock me, “I know that you love me, Hayes. It
doesn’t matter if you say it. I feel it in every bone in my body. In my heart.
In my soul. I’m yours.”
I didn’t know what to respond. I barely knew how to feel.
Looking deep into her eyes, I could see her truths. They were spilling
right out of her. I was drowning in her love.
“I love you,” she repeated as if she knew I needed to hear it again.
“Please be with me, Hayes. Don’t stop here. I want you. I want to be with
you. Please…”
I wish I could tell you I didn’t expect what happened next, but I’d be
full of shit. Though nothing could have prepared me for it.
I should have stopped her.
I should have told her no.
I should have done something, anything…
Other then allow her to sit in my lap. Her delicate hands moved down
my chest in a slow, agonizing motion, causing my breath to hitch. Her
fingers traced my pecs, sliding to the contours of my abs, and only
wavering to trace all my tattoos along the way.
It was so meaningful.
So emotional.
So goddamn loving.
This was Haven Beckham.
My Peach.
My fingers begged me to touch her, to feel her up against me. Aching
for something I shouldn’t, knowing it would only lead to fucking trouble.
“Please…” she purred as if that answered everything. “If you can’t tell
me you love me than just keep showing it to me.” Grabbing my hand, she
placed it over her racing heart. “You do this to me every time I’m around
you. From the first moment I saw you, I’ve thought about you every day
since. Please…just be with me.”
I could see the buildup, months of anticipation, longing, and desire in
her eyes as she hesitantly leaned forward, placing her hands back on my
chest. Slowly bringing her lips to meet mine next. She started off with a
simple peck until she opened her mouth, seeking out my tongue.
This was all her, displaying everything I taught her. I let it go on,
allowing her to feel like she was in control for a few seconds. Getting lost
in her, I fought an ongoing battle between right and wrong when it came to
her.
A man could only take so much, and I was at my tipping point. I no
longer had any control over my movements as she was sitting in my arms.
I muttered against her lips, “You’re the prettiest thing I’ve ever laid eyes
on.”
I kissed her.
Claimed her.
Loved her the only way I knew how.
She smiled, rocking her hips against my cock in a silent demand. I
gripped her waist hard like I wanted to do the second she straddled my lap.
She gasped as I stood in one swift motion, wrapping her legs around my
waist. I never stopped kissing her as I made my way to my bed. Laying her
down on the mattress, I hovered over her heady frame, causing her
breathing to escalate when she realized she was now beneath me.
“For fuck’s sake, what are you doing to me?” I repeated, resting my
forehead on hers, looking down at her swollen lips.
She was so beautiful.
So innocent.
She was everything I ever wanted but didn’t think I would have until
this very moment.
I couldn’t help myself, kissing her more aggressively than before. Her
hands went to the back of my neck, pulling me closer, not nearly close
enough. The kiss turned urgent and demanding, as she met each and every
pull. It was full of emotion, mixed with pure lust and something else I’d
never felt before.
My hands continued to roam over her body. Knowing I was the only
man to have ever touched her this way was doing all sorts of things to my
mind.
Especially to my cock.
It was conflicting.
It was a struggle.
It was the first time in my life…

I willingly lost control.

Twenty-Three
Hayes
S he tilted her head back, giving my lips more access to her flushed skin.
I’d never been like this with any other woman, taking my time, wanting
to explore every last inch of her body.
I needed her.
I wanted her.
I. Loved. Her.
Touching Haven was like coming home.
She was my home.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I groaned, kissing over her heart.
“It’s yours, Hayes. I’m yours. Only yours. Always.”
I growled, kissing her fervently. Never breaking our connection. She
had the softest fucking skin I had ever felt.
“I love you. I love you so much,” she expressed again, wanting to brand
it into my skin.
“Make love to me,” she pleaded in a raspy tone. “I belong to you. Only
you.”
I kissed her one last time before licking and kissing my way down her
body.
“Hayes,” she murmured, her body shuddering as I lightly kissed her clit.
She was still sensitive from my previous assault, but I needed to get her
ready. Though my cock was going to hurt her regardless. I spread her pussy,
fucking her with my tongue.
I never took my eyes off her as I watched her grip the sheets so fucking
hard from her climax, building higher and faster. I eased my finger inside
of, she was so fucking wet.
I tried sliding in a second finger, wanting to stretch her as much as I
could. Knowing it didn’t matter what I did, it was still going to be painful
for her. I could feel her getting close when her hips started moving on their
own against my fingers and mouth.
“That’s it, Peach,” I roused. “Fuck my face just like that.”
Not a minute later, I tasted her orgasm. I didn’t stop until she was
shattering above me, holding her legs down, she begged me to stop.
 She watched as I kicked off my gym shorts while I opened my
nightstand to grab a condom.
“Oh,” she breathed out. “You don’t need that.”
“Haven, I’m not getting you pregnant.”
“You won’t. I’m on the pill.”
I jerked back.
She smiled, blushing. “It’s to regulate my monthly cycle.”
I fucking beamed, crawling my way up her body.
“You need to tell me if I’m hurting you.”
She nodded, biting her bottom lip. Gently, I thrusted into her pussy. The
feel of her wrapped around my dick, inch by inch, was immediate and
almost too much to fucking bear. I could tell I was hurting her by her
expression, so I reached down and rubbed her already sensitive clit.
Her breathing hitched.
Her lips parted.
Her thighs clenched.
“Are you okay?” I thrust in a little more.
“Mmm…” was all she could reply.
“Almost there, Peach. Fuck, Haven, you’re so fucking tight.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
I chuckled against her lips. “Never be sorry for that.”
Once I was fully inside of her, I took a minute to appreciate what she
was giving me.
I didn’t deserve it.
But God help me, it was mine to claim.
“You okay?”
She was sweating profusely, trying to breathe through the ache my cock
was inflicting on her tiny pussy.
“Yeah…”
Longing to give her a bit of comfort, I coaxed, “You have no idea how
much this means to me, Haven. Having you in my life, being inside of you,
it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“You’re going to make me cry.”
“Then I’ll just kiss them all away. You own me, Peach. You know that,
right?”
“Yes.”
I took a good look at her, wanting to remember her just this way.
 Her long silky hair spread all over my sheets.
The way her cheeks were slightly flushed.
Her swollen lips.
Her serene eyes.
She was a vision of perfection.
I placed a soft kiss on the pulse of her neck, loving the feel of it beating
against my lips. She watched me adoringly as I claimed what I needed and
could never live without now.
I was done for.
There’d be no coming back from this.
From her.
“I’ve never made love to anyone, Haven. I fuck. Long and hard. It’s
taking every ounce of my restraint to not to fuck you right now. It’s all I
know. It’s how I’m made. But for you, I’ll try to make love to you.”
A tear slid down her cheek, and I kissed it away.
Every time I thrust in, she could feel the mass of my body movement,
inclining her a little higher each time. I softly kissed her again, taking my
time with each stroke of my tongue as it weaved with hers.
Savoring the velvety feel of my mouth claiming hers, I thrust in and out
of her tight wet core before pulling away to look into her eyes.
I loved seeing every emotion I felt through her gaze. It mirrored every
feeling displayed inside of me, to a degree I never quite understood, but I
didn’t care because it was there.
It was for me.
“Only. For. Me.
My thumb brushed against her cheek, and she smiled as I kissed the tip
of her nose, thrusting a little faster. A little harder. Positioning my knee a
little higher, I lifted her leg and her breathing elevated. I knew I was hitting
her g-spot better from that angle.
“That feel good?”
“Yes…”
I reached down, playing with her clit.
“Yes…like that… I like that…”
“Your body was made for me, Haven. You were made for only me.
You’re mine now. You understand me?”
“You promise?”
“I fucking swear.”
 I grabbed the back of her neck, keeping our eyes locked. My forehead
was above hers as we caught our breaths, trying to find our perfect rhythm.
“Don’t close your eyes. I want to watch you come on my cock.”
“I like this dirty thing you have going on.”
“Sweetheart, you have no idea. I’m taking it easy on you. I can’t wait to
fuck you in every position and to claim all your holes.”
Her body began to tremble.
“Say it,” I growled in between kissing her.
“Hayes, I love you,” she rasped, and I swear my cock got harder.
Haven
With each kiss.
Each touch.
Every thrust.
He made unspoken promises to me.
He adoringly kissed all over my face, along my jawline, my forehead,
and on the tip of my nose. The room started spinning like it did when his
face was in between my legs.
My head fell back, and my breathing became heady, and urgent. He
immediately lapped at my neck and breasts, leaving tiny marks all over. I
didn’t want to move, I wanted to enjoy the sensation of him being on top of
me. His eyes were lively, thriving, and full of love for me.
Our mouths were parted, still touching while we panted profusely,
trying to feel each and every sensation of his dick inside of me. Our hearts
felt as if they pounded off the walls.
“Fuck, Haven… come on my cock…”
I did.
“Hayes…” I panted.
“Fuck…” he growled, somewhere in between pleasure and pain.
I fell.
He fell.
We met somewhere in the middle.
My entire world spun out of control, and so did his as I shattered
beneath him, and his body tensed above mine.
He was my home.
He’d always be home to me.
After he came deep inside of me, I repeated over and over again, “I love
you, Hayes.”
There was no stating it enough. It never would be. This should have
been our beginning, but in reality, there was a huge chance it was…

Our ending.
Twenty-Four
Hayes
“I need“You
it as soon as possible,” I ordered on the phone.
need what as soon as possible?” Haven chimed in, walking
into my bedroom wearing only a towel from her shower.
I ended my call, grinning at her. “Don’t you look sexy as sin.”
She smirked.
Making my way toward her, I asked, “How sore is that tight little pussy
of yours?”
Her eyes widened.
“You want to go another round?”
“You know for someone who was adamant about not having sex with
me, you wouldn’t think that now. You’ve been inside me twice since last
night and you woke me up with your mouth down there.”
“Down there?” I teased, wrapping my arms around her. “What can I
say? I wanted to eat you for breakfast.”
She blushed.
“Sweetheart, I’ve fucked you with my tongue. How long you going to
blush like that?”
She giggled as I gripped onto her ass.
“So when do I get to fuck you back here?”
Her mouth dropped open. “You didn’t want to take my virginity and
now you want to claim every hole?”
Rubbing her mouth with my thumb, I insinuated, “How about this one
next?”
“Oh, I see.” She threw her arms around my neck. “You want my mouth
down there too?”
“Peach, I’d love nothing more than for you to deep throat my cock but
let me cook you breakfast first.” I smacked her ass, making her yelp.
“Can I have some bacon? I’d like some meat.”
“I’ll fill you with some meat.” I thrusted against her.
“Wow.” She beamed. “You’re in a good mood today.”
“Here’s another thing you need to know about me, I’m always in a good
mood when my balls are empty.”
 “Hayes!”
I smacked her ass again, walking away.
“Oh my God, you’re such a man.”
“Men are very simple specimens, Peach. You keep us a fed and fucked,
we’re content beings.”
“Thanks for that tip.”
“Sweetheart, you’ve had more than just my tip.”
She scoffed out a chuckle, following me into the kitchen to sit on the
island barstool.
“Since you’re in such a great mood, we need to talk.”
“Words every man wants to hear.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I, but I can’t talk to you when you’re wet and in a towel.” I
tugged my shirt over my head and tossed it to her.
She smiled, catching it in the air. “I’m also not wearing any panties.”
I loudly groaned, grabbing the eggs and bacon out of the fridge.
“Stop being so fucking delicious before I bend you over the counter and
burn the food.”
She giggled again. “Okay. I’m going to go put on some clothes.”
I nodded at her, setting the stove on low.
“I like you in my clothes and pantyless.”
“Yeah… How about you stay focused on that while we speak about
your dad?”
“Haven, there’s nothing to discuss.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not going back to the bar.”
She exclaimed, “What?”
“You heard me.”
“I’m going back to work, Hayes.”
“Great, you can work somewhere else.”
“Oh, so you want me to work at another bar where you can’t stalk my
every move?”
“Don’t fuck with me, Peach. You can work at the mall or some shit.”
“The mall? I’m not going to make the money I am now at a mall.”
I turned around, leaning against the counter with my arms crossed over
my chest. This woman was going to send me to an early grave.
 “You want to work at the bar of the man who sent you to get assaulted?
Make that make sense.”
She thought about it for a second. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Have you confronted him about what he did?”
I nodded.
“What did he say?”
“Can’t say much when my gun is on his temple, now can he?”
She jerked back. “You did what?”
“I handled it. That’s all you need to know.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Since that worked so well for you at the warehouse, right?”
“I know better now.”
“You should have known better the entire time.”
“So what? He’s just going to think he can scare me out of your life?
You’re going to make it that easy for me?”
“None of this is easy.”
“Hayes—”
“All you need to do is schedule your trip for the following year. Give
yourself more time to make the money.”
“No.”
“Haven…”
“Don’t Haven me in that daddy tone. I’m going to go on my trip after
graduation, with or without you.”
“Why does it have to be after your graduation? Europe isn’t going
anywhere. You can go anytime.”
“You don’t understand.”
“You’re not making it very easy to.”
“I have to go after graduation.”
I cocked my head to the side, confused.
“I need to do this because she can’t.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, taking in what she was sharing.
She bowed her head, shaking it. “Ever since I can remember, my mom
and I made a promise to each other that we would travel overseas after I
graduated, and I have every intension of following through with it.” She
paused, looking up at me. “It’s only thing I have left of her, Hayes.”
 I didn’t know what to say. I was barely breathing. As if on cue, the
bacon started sizzling and I immediately spun, throwing the burned food
into the sink instead.
“Fuck!” I roared, turning off the stove. Placing my hands against the
counter, I gripped onto it, pissed as fuck by the turn of events.
When I felt hands gently rub my back, I froze.
“I’m sorry.” Her lips brushed along my spine, and it felt like she was
digging a blade right into my skin.
“I don’t want to fight with you again. I know I haven’t shared anything
with you about her. I hate talking about it. Just hurts too much.”
I blew out a deep breath.
“Can you please try to understand? I want to honor my promise to her,
and I can’t do that unless I continue working at your bar. I swear to you that
once I graduate, I’ll quit, okay? You won’t ever have to worry about me
being near your father again.” She lightly kissed my back, turning me to
face her. Peering deep into my eyes, she added, “Don’t be mad at me. I love
you.”
“I’m not a fiddle, Peach. You can’t play me like one.”
“I’m not. I do love you, a lot. I didn’t want to tell you about my mom
like this. I just needed you to understand why I’m so adamant on keeping
my job.”
My intense gaze shifted to her eyebrow scar.
“Yeah.” She read my mind. “It’s from our—”
“If I agree to this than you need to promise me you’ll stay away from
Billy. Are we clear?”
She frowned. “You don’t want to know what happened to my mom?”
“I don’t want to share sad stories.”
“But I want to hear yours. Is it about your mom or your past or is both?”
“My whole life has been one sad story, Haven.”
“What does that mean?”
Silence.
“Why can’t you be open with me?”
“I can’t go back in time and change anything. It is what it is.”
“At least I’d feel like I know. You don’t share shit with me, and I don’t
understand why.”
“I’m a private man. It’s how I’ve survived. I don’t know how to open up
to anyone. Especially you.”
 “What’s wrong with me?”
“The only thing that’s wrong with you, Peach. Is that you love me.”
Her eyes rimmed with tears. “Well, if it’s wrong than I don’t want to be
right. Your dad can’t have this strong of a hold on you. There has to be
another reason. Please stop pushing me away and just tell me what’s going
on? It’ll fix everything.”
“No, sweetheart. It’ll shatter your entire world.”
Tears slid down her beautiful face.
I didn’t try wiping or kissing them away. I was the one who was causing
her this pain, I deserved them every last one of them.
“Is this how it’s always going to be between us? You with your guard
up?”
“Haven, I’m sorry. I can’t give you what you want.”
“You can! You just don’t want to.” She abruptly turned, facing away
from me as if she couldn’t look at me anymore. “You’re the first person
since…” Her chest heaved. “For ten years, I’ve felt like something inside of
me died, and it did. For the first time in my life, you took away that feeling
for me, and you just keep shitting all over it.”
Seeing her like this was breaking my goddamn heart. For a man who
didn’t think he still had one, it was fucking devastating. Life could change
so quickly. At too young of an age, I learned how to breathe through the
pain until one day, it became part of me.
And now…

I didn’t know how to survive without it.

Twenty-Five
Haven
I loved this man, but I couldn’t for the life of me get him to truly be with
me. I wanted to know about his past.
His mom.
His life...
However, he was adamant on maintaining his wall so high, I’d never be
able to climb it. It was obvious it didn’t matter what I said or did to make
him think he could be honest with me.
That he could trust me.
If anything, my words and actions were simply pushing him further
away.
I was a patient girl, but I was starting to be at my wits end with him.
There was no getting through to Hayes. No matter what.
He spun me to face him, grabbing the back of my neck to look at him.
“Hayes…” I tried to pull away. “Now I’m mad at you again.”
“Sweetheart, get used to it. It’s going to happen a lot.”
“Why do you have to be so difficult?”
“I’m sorry I can’t be the man you need and want. Trust me, it kills me to
see you like this. I fucking hate it and knowing I’m the cause makes it even
worse. I can’t change who I am. It’s how I’m made. Just give me some
time, okay? Let me work through some shit. I promise you’ll be the first
one I come to when I’m ready. Can you give me that?”
As he wiped my tears, I sighed deeply.
He grinned. “Let me make it up to you.”
“Oh no!” I put my finger out in front of me. “You can’t use sex to get
out of the conversation about my job at the bar. I’m not backing down from
that. I’m going back to work this weekend.”
“For fuck’s sake,” he breathed out. “Why is it so hard for you to listen
to me?”
I threw his words back at him. “It’s who I am. It’s how I’m made.”
“Fine. As much as I don’t want you traveling alone, I want you working
at the bar even less. If you have to do this, I’ll give you the money to
travel.”
 “Hayes, you can’t be serious.”
“Like the bullet to the head.”
“I can’t take your money.”
“Yes, you can.”
“No, I can’t. Who knows when I’ll be able to pay you back.”
“You don’t have to. Consider it a graduation present.”
“You’re out of your mind, I can’t accept it.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but his phone rang.
Pulling it out of his gym shorts, he answered, “Yeah?”
“Hey, Hayes.” I instantly heard Cove’s voice on the other end. “It’s
Cove. Ummm… I’m so sorry to be calling you, but I got your phone
number from Mark. Is Haven with you?”
I snatched the phone out of his hand. “Cove,” I exclaimed, immediately
spiraling into a panic.
If she was calling Hayes, this was bad.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh my God!” she shouted. “What’s up with your phone?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s going straight to voicemail.”
“Oh shit.” My stomach dropped. “I forgot to take it off airplane mode
last night.”
“You need to go home.”
“Oh God…”
“Yeah! Your family is flipping the fuck out, Haven! They’ve been
looking for you all night. Jace stopped by my house, but I didn’t want to rat
you out, so I didn’t answer the door. Thank God my parents are out of town.
He looked like he was ready to kill.”
I was screwed.
“Your brother really needs to work on that temper and those anger
issues of his. He left this nasty ass note on my car. Not to mention, the
number of times he’s blown up my cellphone. Did you give him my
number?”
“No,” I replied, shaking my head even though she couldn’t see me.
“Ugh! He must have grabbed it when I made him stop at a gas station
on the drive back to my house.”
“Cove, focus!”
 “Oh! Sorry! Your brother just pisses me off like no one else can. I know
you’ve been going through your own drama but remind me to tell you what
he put me through on the ride home.”
“Still off topic, Cove.”
“I would’ve called Hayes last night, but I couldn’t get a hold of Mark,
and he finally called me back few minutes ago. I called you as soon as we
hung up. I haven’t spoken to anyone from your family, but you need to go
home now. They probably already have the FBI there looking for you.”
The crazy part was, she wasn’t exaggerating.
“Thanks for not answering Jace. I owe you one.”
“Of course.”
“I love you. I’ll call you later if I’m still alive.”
“I love you too and I’m manifesting that for you.”
“Bye.” I hung up, hauling ass toward Hayes bedroom to throw on my
clothes.
Since he overheard our conversation, I didn’t have to fill him in.
“Why didn’t you take your phone off airplane mode?”
I sarcastically remarked, “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you were
keeping me a little busy all night?” I glanced around the room. “Where are
my panties?”
He reached into the pocket of his gym shorts, tossing them to me.
“Are you a panty sniffer now?”
With a serious expression, he questioned, “What are you going to tell
your family?”
“I don’t know. Maybe that Cove and I were at concert? Isn’t Life of
Debauchery in Rock Springs this week?”
“You’re asking me?”
“Right… I’m pretty sure they’re in Rock Springs and that’s like three
hours away. I’ll say it was a last-minute trip and I texted them when we got
there, but the WIFI must have been shitty, and my message didn’t go
through. It’s a rock concert, we jumped in the mosh pit and we lost our
phones.”
“I don’t what’s scarier—the fact you came up with a lie that quickly or
that it’s a pretty solid one. You think they’ll believe you?”
“I think so.”
“I hate that you’re lying to your family for me.”
 “It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I should have taken my phone off
airplane. I just…we were…you know…and I completely forgot.”
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have forgotten at all.”
“Hayes, please don’t start. We can’t keep having this argument over and
over. It’s exhausting and it’s cutting into our relationship. We’re supposed
to be in the honeymoon stage. Not in this back-and-forth bullshit. I’m a big
girl and I’m sick of everyone treating me like a child or worse, like I’m this
porcelain doll that’s ready to break at any second.”
“You better hurry, Peach.” He changed the subject. “There’s no need to
keep them waiting any longer.”
“Are we okay?”
He nodded.
After I was dressed, I grabbed my purse and kissed him.
“Drive safe, all right?’
“I will.”
I pecked him one last time, darting out the door, desperately trying to
ignore the concerned expression on his face. Despite him weighing heavy
on my mind, I couldn’t stop thinking about what my family must have gone
through all night.
I usually love that Hayes lives almost an hour away from me, but that
morning, it was the complete opposite. It felt as if I drove for five hundred
hours until finally, I was parking my car in the driveway.
“Shit!” I hollered, immediately noticing the cop cars parked there too.
It didn’t surprise me. Daddy had connections in our town. I barely had
time to register what was about to happen as I sprinted toward the front
door. As soon as I stepped on the porch stairs, the door flew open, revealing
my dad.
“Thank God,” he exasperated, pulling me into his arms.
The way he tightly hugged me was consuming. Making me feel like
shit, more than I already did. Only reminding me of the last time he
embraced me like this. My brothers followed suit, tugging me into their
arms.
“Haven,” one of the cops announced, bringing my attention over to him.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve put your family through?”
“I can only imagine. I didn’t realize my text hadn’t gone through until I
saw the note that Jace left on Cove’s car.”
Jace scoffed, “That girl is no good.”
 “That’s not fair. It’s not her fault we lost our phones.”
“Where were you?” Alexander questioned.
“I thought you had to go fly back to LA? What are you doing here?”
“What do you think, Teeny? I couldn’t leave knowing you were
nowhere to be found.”
“What about your movie?”
“Don’t worry about that. They can’t start filming without me.”
Alexander was an actor. His breakthrough role was three years ago. He
was the same age as Hayes and already accomplished so much for himself.
“I’m so sorry everyone. Cove and I went to watch Life of Debauchery’s
Concert in Rock Springs. I texted, but the place was packed and the WIFI
must have been bad. I guess it didn’t send.”
Reid nodded at me. “Where’s your phone?”
“We jumped in the mosh pit and we lost them.”
“That’s awfully convenient,” Jace insinuated.
“We didn’t feel like driving back, so we stayed at a nearby hotel. I
didn’t mean to make you all scared that something happened to me. I’m so
sorry. I promise I’ll never do it again.”
I could see it in their eyes, they didn’t believe me.
Shit.
Although Dad’s gaze was a mixture of uncertainty and curiosity.
“At least you’re home now,” another officer chimed in. “It could’ve
been way worse.”
“Thanks, Doug.” Dad shook his hand. “I appreciate you not waiting the
twenty-four hours.”
“No problem.”
Once they left, I repeated, “I don’t know what else I can say other than
I’m sorry.”
Jace spewed, “How about the truth?”
“He’s right,” Ledger roared, “Where the hell have you been?”
“Teeny, if you were with a guy.” Jace hands fisted at his sides. “So, help
me God, I’ll fucking kill him.”
Troy added, “I’ll help you.”
“Is that what this is about?” Alexander questioned. “Did you spend the
night with someone?”
Jesus. They were hammering into me.
“No.” I fervently shook my head. “I told you the truth.”
 “What kind of man are you seeing that he has no respect for your
family?”
“Jace, I’m not with anyone.”
“Bullshit! You expect us to believe your convenient story with your no-
good best friend.”
“Cove has nothing to do with this.”
“She’s been nothing but a pain in the ass since she was a little girl. Did
your slutty friend introduce you to this guy you’re having sleepovers with?”
I gasped, but before I could yell at him, Dad shouted, “That’s enough!”
All our stares shifted to him.
“I’m her father. You’re her brothers. Know your roles!”
Thank God.
I never appreciated him more than I did at that moment.
“Now leave her alone! She told us where she was. She apologized. End
of story.”
“Dad, she’s obviously lying.”
“Jace, back off! You all live your own lives. She’s eighteen and will be
graduating soon. She’s allowed to have her own life too. You can’t babysit
her for the rest of your lives. Your mom wouldn’t want that for you or her.
Now have some respect for you sister. Am I making myself clear?”
They nodded, backing away. I took the opportunity to walk inside and
get away from them.
Never expecting our father…

To be on my side.
Twenty-Six
Haven
A fter I changed my clothes, I made my way out to the pool.
Remembering how much we used to play in there while Mom watched
from the kitchen window. The pure joy on her face was one of my favorite
expressions. I don’t how long I stayed out there, sitting with my feet in the
water.
For some reason, I missed her so much in that moment. When all of a
sudden, Dad was sitting beside me with his feet next to mine.
“I’m so sorry, Daddy. I feel horrible about what you were feeling last
night. I can only imagine what you were going through.”
Again, he shocked the shit out of me when he asked, “Does he make
you happy?”
I jerked back, peering at him.
He lovingly smiled at me. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Haven.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why did you defend me if you think I’m lying
too?”
“Baby, I don’t think. I know.”
“What do you know?”
“I know you’re hardly around anymore. You’re always staying out with
Cove. Honey, I recognize the look in your eyes. It’s same one your mom
had for me.”
I could feel the tears begin pooling in my gaze. We didn’t ever speak
about her like this.
“My baby girls in love.”
“Daddy, I’m sorry I lied to you.”
“Are you being safe?”
We locked stares.
“This isn’t an easy conversation for me to have with you, Haven. You’re
my baby girl. You’ll always be my baby girl. This is definitely a discussion
you should be having with your mother, but she’s not here and I’m not
ready to be a grandfather yet.”
Tears slid out of my eyes, knowing it was hard for him to look at me
like I wasn’t his little girl anymore.
 “Daddy, it’s not like that. He respects me. Trust me, it’s the last thing he
wants.”
He wiped my tears away. “It’s like I blinked and overnight you turned
into this beautiful woman I couldn’t be prouder of. You’ve never given me
any problems like your brothers have. You’ve always been my good baby
girl. I thank God every day for you.” He paused, allowing his words to sink
in.
“From the first time I held you in my arms, I knew you’d be special. I
didn’t realize what that was until I didn’t have your momma anymore. You
remind me so much of her and I know God sent you to me to give me
strength on how to live without her.”
Tears freely fell down my face. There was no stopping them.
“Watching you grow up into everything we ever wanted has been one of
the biggest joys of my life, Haven. I couldn’t imagine a life without you in
it.”
I felt the weight of his words in the pit of my stomach.
“After years, when I look at you, that scar on your eyebrow doesn’t
cause me pain anymore. If anything, it’s helped me heal. You and your
brothers are our biggest accomplishments and you’re the only reasons I
survived losing the love of my life.”
“Daddy…” I wept. “I miss her so much.”
“I know, baby.”
He pulled me into his side, kissing the top of my head. “I thought…
Jesus, Haven… I thought I lost you too and if I had, I wouldn’t have
survived it. I can’t lose both my girls.”
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. The last thing I want is for you to go
through what you did last night.”
“Who is this guy that my Teeny’s in love with?”
I smiled. “I never understood how people would say you fall for men
that are like your father and that’s the case here. He’s a lot like you. Quiet.
Revered. Stubborn. Protective. The list goes on with how much he reminds
me of you. The way you’d look at Momma is the way he looks at me,
Daddy.”
“He’s damn lucky to have you. Does he know that?”
“I think so.”
“How did you meet him?”
“Just around.”
 “Is he in college?”
“No.”
“How old is he?”
“Older.”
“How much older, Haven?”
“Don’t worry. I don’t have Daddy issues.” I half-smiled. “He’s not your
age.”
He chuckled. “Does he treat you good?”
“Yes.”
“Does he love you?”
“Yes.”
“If he hurts you, you know we’ll kill him, right?’
I nodded, smiling that time. “I do.”
“He know that?”
“He’s aware.”
“Am I going to meet him soon?”
“I hope so.”
“There’s something you’re not telling me. I can feel it.”
I didn’t know how much I could actually share with my dad. I was
scared of saying the wrong thing.
Instead, I simply stated, “He’s complicated.”
“Most men are.”
“From what I gather, he didn’t have the best childhood. Him and his
father don’t really get along that great. There’s a lot of bad history there.”
“And his mother?”
I shrugged. “He doesn’t talk about her. He doesn’t really talk about
himself that much. He’s always invested in my life though. Wants to know
everything about me. Listens intently to everything I say. I’ve never met
anyone like him. From the second we met—I’ve felt this deep connection to
him. Like we’ve known each other all our lives.”
“I felt like that with your mom. It’s a beautiful feeling.”
“It’s kind of scary too.”
“It can be, but I know you’re a good judge of character. You know the
difference between right and wrong. I trust your judgement.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“Your brothers on the other hand, you know how protective they are of
you. They mean well, Haven. Don’t hold it against them.”
 “They’re never going to let me grow up. They still treat me like I’m
five.”
“They still see you like you’re five.”
“When is that going to change?’
“Honey, we brought you home. We thought it was going to be hard on
your brothers since they’ve never been around a baby girl. We were
shocked it was the opposite. They loved you instantly.”
“I know.”
“You’re lucky to have each other. It’s rare to find the sibling love you all
share.”
It was true. I’d seen it firsthand with my friends. Their brothers were
always mean to them. Never wanted them around. It was like night and day
compared to how I grew up with mine.
“They’re just having a hard time with so many changes when it comes
to you.”
“They have a shitty way of showing it.”
“They’ll come around, Haven.”
“I hope so. It’s hard to feel like I have six fathers instead of just one.”
“Your mom used to worry about that. How much they would affect you
as you got older. You’re the one who had the least time with her. I think
that’s why you and Troy have always been close. Out of all the boys, he’s
the one who had the least time with her too.”
“Yeah…” was the only response I found.
“You’re family. You’re going to fight and bicker, but at the end of the
day, you’ll always have each other.”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to experience a home with another woman for
as long as they did. I know it’s affected you in much different ways than
them.”
“Daddy, you’ve done an amazing job at filling both roles for me.”
“From the day we got married, we promised that if anything ever
happened to one of us, we’d be there for our kids. No matter what.”
“You’ve made her really proud.”
“I’ve tried.”
“Is that why you never remarried?”
“Baby girl, when you share the kind of love your mother and I did.
There’s no coming back from that. I’ve been happy with the life I’ve lived.
You and your brothers have been enough for me.”
Hearing him say that was so reassuring. I worried about him a lot.
Especially after I’d leave for college, he’d be alone in this huge house.
“I want to meet him, Haven.”
“You will.”
“How about sooner rather than later?”
“Okay.”
“Just remember that whatever happens between you two.” The next
statement he said couldn’t be more accurate. “It was already written in the
stars.”
I drove back to Hayes’s house the next day feeling as if…

My father’s blessing was with me.

Twenty-Seven
Hayes
T obesayan Iunderstatement.
hated the fact Haven was walking into my office at the bar would

“Don’t look at me like that, Hayes. I told you I was coming back to
work today.”
“It doesn’t make it any easier to see you here, Peach.”
“I know.” She flirted. “But look how cute I look.”
I leaned forward on my desk, setting my elbows on it.
She twirled around, wearing her cheerleading uniform. The pleated shirt
left very little to the imagine with her ass cheeks sticking out of the bottom
of her bloomers.
“What?” She played coy. “I drove here from a game and didn’t have
time to change. Or maybe, I should just host my tables wearing this tonight?
I bet I’d make killer tips.”
“Haven, are you trying to piss me off more than I already am?”
“Of course not. I just thought…” She paraded over to the front of my
desk. “Maybe we could break it in before my shift?”
“As tempting as that sounds.” I fell back into my chair. “I have a call in
a few minutes.”
“But you’re not even smiling and I’m trying to tempt the enemy.”
I scoffed out a chuckle.
“Yay! I got a little laugh. You know what else I have for you?”
“My sanity?”
She clapped her hands together, chanting, “Bang, bang, choo, choo
train!” While jumping in the air to do a straddle. Once she landed, she
cheered, “Come on, Hayes! Do your thing!” She ended her performance
with shaking her ass in my face.
Although I was upset with her, my cock didn’t give a shit. The sad thing
was…
I was hard as fuck from her little dance.
“Still mad at me?”
“Furious.”
 “Oh, come on! What’s it going to take? We basically have my dad’s
blessing, remember?”
“Your father is just one of our problems. Our biggest one is the fact you
don’t listen to me.”
“Yes, I do.”
“If you did, you wouldn’t be standing in front of me wearing your fuck
me uniform.”
“Ugh! We’re back to this again?”
“We never left.”
“I’m not scared of Billy.”
“You should be.”
“Then why do you own forty-nine of the bar?” She lifted her arms to
her sides. “That’s right. You don’t answer any of my questions, but you
expect me to respect your every demand.”
I surprised her when I replied, “I had no choice.”
“What does that mean? Did he bribe you?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“He used my mother against me.”
She jerked back.
“You wanted answers, there’s one.”
“How did he use her?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
“I don’t.”
She opened her mouth, but my cellphone rang.
“I have to take this.”
“So take it.”
With a stern tone, I informed, “I need some privacy.”
Her eyebrows pinched together. “Oh,” she exclaimed. “Ummm… yeah.
No problem.”
I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but it was obvious I did.
“Peach—”
“I’m going to change. I’ll see you out there.” With that, she turned and
left. Closing the door behind her.
“Fuck.” I shook my head, rubbing my temples from the splitting
headache that was forming. “Yeah,” I answered my phone, feeling like the
weight of the world was on my shoulders.
Haven
Who is he talking to?
The question plagued my mind as I cleaned up in the employee shower,
wanting to wash away the sweat from the game. When I was finished, I
changed into ripped jeans and a crop top and fixed my hair and makeup
before making my way out to the bar. For the next hour, I waited on my
tables until I saw Billy sitting at the corner booth with his usual biker
friends surrounding him.
There was just something about the way he was sitting there without a
care in the world. Completely unfazed with what he put me through at the
warehouse that triggered my anger, and the longer I thought about it, the
further my fury arose.
The guy who spanked my ass, backed me into the wall behind me.
“Why are you running, baby? I just want a taste.”
“A taste of what?”
“That sweet pussy.”
My heart dropped to the floor as I opened my mouth to scream, but I
barely let out a shriek when he put his hand over my lips.
“Shhhh… No need to make a scene. Besides, no one’s going to hear you
out here, baby.”
I shook away the memory and the fear I felt deep in my bones, and just
snapped. With one determined stride after the other, I was standing in front
of him before I realized what I was doing.
Unable to hold back, I spewed, “I don’t know what stunt you were
trying to pull last week, but it’ll never happen again. From that point
forward, I stopped working for you and now I work for your son instead.
Who let me remind you, is a far better man than you.”
“Hate to break it to you, but I’ve taught him everything he knows.”
“Well, thank God, he’s nothing like you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, darlin’. He’s exactly like me. We’re cut
from the same cloth. I’m in his blood.”
I didn’t hesitate. “So is his mothers.”
 His eyes widened. “What do you know about his mother? He’s told you
about her?”
“I know she’s the reason he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
He’s protective. Caring. Loving. Will do anything for me. Unlike you, who
uses girls to push whatever sick agenda you’re trying to pull. Let me make
it crystal clear to you, if you think for one second you scared me away by
sending me to that warehouse to get raped, then you have another thing
coming. Your plan backfired. It only made us get closer.”
“Rape?” one of his biker friends chimed in.
“Yeah,” I asserted, looking at him. “You don’t know what your Prez did
to me last week?”
Billy roared, “You need to shut the fuck up.”
I stepped up to his face. “Or what? Newsflash, asshole! I’m not scared
of you.”
“You will be.”
Before the last word left his mouth, Hayes was suddenly placing my
body behind his.
Shit.
It was only then it dawned on me what I just started.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll back the fuck up or I’ll do it
for you.”
Billy viciously smiled. “My son. The fucking hero.”
I glanced around the bar, thankful a crowd hadn’t gathered. The place
was packed, and the music was too loud. Nobody was the wiser.
“All my life, I’ve fucking hated you,” Hayes admitted. “Not just me…
but your wife did too. You’re nothing but a piece of shit wearing a biker cut,
Billy. It’s all you’ve ever been.”
“And what about you? Huh? Like you’re any better than me. You’re the
reason your mom’s gone.”
My mouth parted.
He was?
I was on pins and needles. Aware this wouldn’t end well between them.
Us?
I never predicted what Billy alleged next…
Not in a million years.
“You’re playing with fire, Hayes. I know what you’re doing. She
doesn’t. Because if she did, she’d be staying the fuck away from you.”
 What was that supposed to mean?
I resisted the urge to ask exactly that.
If Hayes was shocked by what he insinuated, he didn’t show it in the
least.
“Didn’t think I’d find out, did you? What, son? You think you can
threaten me and I’m not going to dig? She’s the first girl you’ve ever given
a fuck about, and I couldn’t understand why until now.”
What was happening?
I was so confused.
“Are you going to tell her, or should I?”
I blurted, “Tell me what?”
With one look, Hayes rendered me speechless.
“That’s right, bitch,” Billy barked. “Know your place.”
“Hayes, no!”
His fist was punching Billy’s face in less than a second, causing him to
stumble into his biker friends.
“The next time,” Hayes warned. “I won’t be so fucking generous.”
He spun, grabbing ahold of my arm and hurrying us back into his office.
As soon as the door closed behind me, Hayes chucked the papers off his
desk.
“I know, I’m sorry. I just—”
He glared at me. “Can’t fucking listen to me!”
“I had no intention of confronting him, okay?” I had to tell him the
truth. “It just happened. I swear to you. I saw him there, laughing and
enjoying life and then I’m remembering the warehouse and I just snapped.”
“Haven—”
“No! I’m not this little girl! I was raised by six really strong, alpha
males. I’m not this docile little girl who doesn’t stick up for herself! He
needed to know I’m not scared of him. And he didn’t scare me away from
you! I’m sorry. I couldn’t just let it go and have you defend me all the
time.”
“I’m trying really fucking hard to keep my cool right now. Do you see
how difficult that is for me?”
I stepped toward him, placing my hand over his heart. It was beating a
mile a minute.
“Please don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m livid.”
 “Hayes—”
“It’s not you I’m mad at. This is my fault,” he stressed on edge. “I’m to
blame! I know better, Haven, but God help me, I can’t stay away from
you.”
His mouth crashed into mine and my back hit the wall in a loud thud.
This wasn’t a kiss.
It was all fear.
For the first Hayes was showing me his weakness.
I just never imagined…

It’d be me.
Twenty-Eight
Haven
“H aven,” Mark announced while I was behind the bar, stocking the
liquor for the night.
It was only ten and the bar was packed.
Since my altercation with Billy a few weeks ago, things were a little
strained between Hayes and me. For starters, despite us having sleepovers
at his house, he hadn’t touched me intimately again. It was almost like he
was trying to keep his distance, but at the same time, he wanted me in his
life and bed.
I couldn’t forget about what his father said to him. I knew if I asked
Hayes, I wouldn’t get a straight answer. It was frustrating to say the least.
I missed his hands on me.
A lot.
“Haven,” Mark hollered over the crowd, tugging me away from my
thoughts.
“Your table in the back just got seated.”
“Okay.”
Grabbing my notepad off the counter, I made my way over there,
stopping dead in my tracks when I realized who was there waiting for me.
“Shit,” I breathed out, hiding behind one of the pillars.
I never expected to see Jace, Ledger and Reid sitting in my booth.
Oh my God! Do they know?
They couldn’t have. If they did, they wouldn’t be waiting for me. It’d be
an all-out war.
What do I do?
I waited until a group of girls were exiting the bathroom. Using them as
a shield, I ducked and hauled ass behind the bar.
“Haven, what are—”
“Mark, you don’t see.”
He looked at me like I was crazy, and I guess from an outsider looking
in, I appeared insane.
“Why are you hiding down there?”
“Where’s Hayes?”
 “In the stockroom.”
I began crawling behind the bar as the bartenders stared at me the same
way Mark was.
Once I was out of sight, I stood and rushed down the hall into the
stockroom.
“Hayes!” I shouted.
“I’m by the bourbon.”
I found him in between the stacks.
He took one look at me, cocking his head to the side. “What’s wrong?”
“My brothers are here and they’re sitting in my booth.”
His eyes widened.
“They didn’t see.”
“Fuck,” he rasped.
“I don’t know why they’re here. They never come to this part of town.”
He didn’t respond, but the expression on his face did for him.
“I have to hide in here until they leave.”
“And if they come back?”
“They won’t.”
“Haven—”
“They won’t,” I sternly stated.
He deeply sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I know this is stressful.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“They don’t know I work here. If they did, trust me, we’d know it.”
“It doesn’t mean they won’t eventually find out.”
“Stop manifesting that.”
“Peach—”
“Can you please get Dolly to cover my tables until they leave?”
“What if they stay all night?”
“Hayes, stop asking me questions and get Dolly to cover my tables
before someone says my name in front of my brothers.”
“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered under his breath on his way out of the
stockroom.
I didn’t think he’d come back. I was surprised when he did. He found
me fixing the shelves.
“What are you doing? I just stocked all those.”
“I’m overstocking them.”
 “Why?”
“I have to keep busy, so I don’t go into full panic mode.”
“Relax. I warned everyone to steer clear of mentioning your name.”
Placing one last bottle on the shelf, I blew out a loud, heavy breath.
“I’m so sorry for all this, Hayes. I know it’s been taxing these last
couple of weeks, but it’ll pass, and we’ll come out stronger and better.”
He didn’t say anything, making me more nervous than I already was.
“You can go back out there. I’m fine by myself.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“I’m trying to be.”
“What do you want from me?”
I arched an eyebrow, wickedly grinning. “There’s one thing I can think
of.”
“Peach—”
Slipping off my dress, I stood in only my panties in front of him…
catching him off guard.
Hayes
My greedy gaze wandered from her dark eyeliner to her long, thick lashes,
down to the bright peach lipstick on her pouty mouth. I was already
imagining those lips deep throating my fucking cock.
My predatory regard didn’t stop there. It went down to her luscious,
curvy body, I’d never get enough of.
My cock twitched at the mere sight of her.
She narrowed her eyes at me with a heady stare.
Eye fucking the shit out of me.
The scent of her arousal was all around me as she slowly, tauntingly sat
on the metal table behind her to spread her legs.
“I don’t like being toyed with. You and I both know all I have to do is
touch you and it’s game over.”
There was something animalistic about the way she was staring at me,
luring me with her eyes. It should be a sin to look as good as she did.
I knew her pussy ached just as much as my cock throbbed to be inside
of her.
Everything was moving so quickly, this warp speed I couldn’t keep up
with. It seemed to be one thing after another, escalating with each passing
day.
I wanted to touch her.
Kiss her.
Fuck her.
But mostly, I wanted to be honest with her.
I couldn’t.
She’d hate me.
Which was far worse than actually losing her.
I watched her with hunger until I couldn’t take it anymore. She never
saw it coming. In three strides, I was gripping onto her throat, making her
fall back onto the table with a crash from the sudden shift in movement. Her
arms were over her head within seconds, holding her in my strong grasp
around her wrists.
 Her breath hitched while her eyes widened, and her chest heaved at my
mercy. Exactly how I wanted her all along. I hovered above her, needing
her to understand I was the one who was always in control.
No matter what.
Bending forward, I hovered above her small frame, making her seem so
tiny beneath me.
So helpless.
So pretty.
So fucking mine.
“You think you can tease me, sweetheart?”
“I—”
“Did I say you could talk?”
Before she could even blink, I flipped her body onto her stomach with
her feet back down on the ground. Her ass now in the air.
I whispered in her ear, “You’ve been a very bad girl.”
I unbuckled my belt, unzipping my jeans. In one swift, sudden
movement, I slid down her panties.
“You think I should give you what you want or spank you in submission
instead?”
She squirmed from my hold, and I didn’t hesitate to drop to my knees.
“Hayes, what are y—”
My tongue was in her asshole for the first time.
“Hayes!”
I rimmed around the pucker, loving the feel of it against my lips. I was
dirty motherfucker.
Never claimed to be anything but.
“Ah…”
I knew she’d like it.
In a moment’s notice, I slid under her thighs. My face literally buried
between her legs. Kissing her nub next, I slowly sucked it in between my
lips. The light suction pulled back the hood of her clit before my tongue
slipped into her opening.
“You want me to fuck you with my mouth?”
She was ready to beg if she had to.
“Yes.”
“Say it. Tell me what you want.”
 I sucked in her clit again, sending her into a frenzy as she threaded her
fingers through my hair.
“Please…” she shamelessly pleaded.
“Please, what?”
“Please fuck me with your mouth.”
I shoved my tongue as deep as it would go into her cunt, causing her
juices to flow out. Letting me savor every last drop.
“You have the sweetest fucking taste,” I groaned.
Licking.
Sucking.
Devouring her.
Harder and more demanding, I moved my head up and down and in a
side-to-side motion. She squirmed and quivered all at once as I continued to
rub my mouth all around her pussy, unable to get enough of her. I wanted
her wetness all over me, not just around my lips.
“Beg me. Beg me to fucking come like a good girl,” I ordered, never
letting up on my torture.
“Please…please…make me come…”
I slid in my middle and ring fingers deep inside her, aiming them
directly toward her g-spot. I ate her pussy exactly how she wanted me to,
exactly how she’d been fantasizing about on all the nights she was alone in
her bed or in mine. She started rocking hips, fucking my face the way she
loved.
“Please…please…please…”
My fingers moved faster and became urgent until her pussy clamped
down, letting me know she was close. She couldn’t hold back any longer
and screamed out my name.
I didn’t give her a chance to recover, fucking her with my mouth,
tongue, and fingers, over and over again.
She came.
And came.
All the way down my throat.
Exactly how I wanted her to.
Within seconds, I was standing and turning her around. Slamming my
mouth against her with my tongue in her mouth. She moaned, tasting
herself all over my lips.
“I’ll never get enough of your sweet pussy. I was starving for you.”
 My hands were all over her body, roaming, feeling every curve like I
couldn’t decide where I wanted to touch her the most. She leaned into my
touch, needing to feel me as if she needed the air to breathe.
I couldn’t get enough of her, and the feeling was mutual.
Sitting her up onto the table, in one thrust, I was balls deep inside of her.
“Ahhhh…” she huffed, trying to catch her breath.
I thrust in and out, each one more demanding than the last. Fucking her
like I wanted to make us one person. Nothing compared to this woman.
To us.
Haven Beckham was made for me.
End. Of. Story.
“Right there…don’t stop…right there…” She eagerly panted as I
roughly gripped onto her hips for leverage to pound into her, my cock
hitting her g-spot.
“Here,” I baited. “Right here, Peach? Or here?”
“Yes…”
“Your pussy is so fucking tight, so fucking wet, so fucking good…”
Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as her back arched off the table,
coming so hard. I kissed her, stifling her screams of ecstasy. It only
intensified my desire and need for her. Her sounds grew louder the closer I
got to coming apart.
I fucked her harder.
Faster.
Mercilessly pounding into her, my balls were drenched from her
wetness.
“That’s it, baby…squeeze my cock with your tight cunt. I can’t get
enough of it. I can’t get enough of you.”
The slapping sound of our skin-on-skin contact echoed in the room.
“I love you,” she moaned.
It was all it took for me to come deep inside of her. It was only then I
realized…

I just angry fucked her.

Twenty-Nine
Haven
“M omma!” I shouted, running down the stairs into the kitchen with my
glass piggy bank. “Are you ready?”
I froze on the spot, seeing my brothers and Daddy were there too. Jace
was home on leave from the Navy.
“Where are you two going?” Dad questioned, kissing momma’s cheek.
“Oh, you know…” She winked at me. “Just two gals going shopping.”
Daddy looked at me. “Why do you have your piggy bank?”
I wasn’t allowed to lie, so I just shrugged.
“We’ll be back later this evening. You guys should order a pizza if you
get hungry.”
They nodded.
I threw on my shoes, and followed her out to her car.
Once we were pulling out of the garage, I giggled, “That was close.”
“It was.” She laughed. “Are you excited?”
“I’m super excited!”
“How much money do you have in there?”
“Like a million dollars.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
Ever since I could remember, I’d been saving all my money in my piggy
bank. I didn’t know what I would spend it on until Momma and I decided we
were going overseas after I graduated from high school.
“Does the bank know we’re coming?”
“Yes, I booked us a meeting. They’re expecting us.”
We were going to open our private account where I could put my money.
Momma said it was called a deposit and we were going to open a savings
account for us.
“How much money are you going to deposit?”
“A million dollars.” She winked at me again. “Let’s get some lunch. I’m
hungry. What do you want to eat?”
“How about lasagna?”
“That’s a great idea.”
 We ate at one of my favorite restaurants, talking about everything. It
was already the best day. I loved having girl time with her and having her
all to myself.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
I thought about it for a second. “I’m not sure. Maybe a cheerleader.”
“I was a cheerleader.”
“You were?”
“Yes, I was actually captain of my team senior year.”
“Wow. That must mean you were really good.”
“I was. Your daddy loved my uniform. He’d come to all my games just
to watch me cheer.”
“That’s because Daddy loves you with all his heart.”
“He does.”
“Momma, do you think I’ll find a boy who will love me like that?”
“I know you will.”
“How do you know?”
“You’re a very special little girl.”
“I am?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
‘Well, for one, you’re an old soul.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you act older than you are.”
“Is that why Daddy says I’m only eight, but act twenty-one?”
“Something like that.”
“Does that mean when I’m twenty-one, I’ll act fifty?”
“That’s a good question. Ask me again when you’re twenty-one.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Momma, how did you know daddy was your
forever?”
“He’s my soulmate.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the person you’re supposed to be with.”
“Oh… Does that mean my soulmate is already out there and I just have
to find him?”
“You don’t go searching for him.”
“So he’s going to find me?”
“You’ll find each other.”
 “How will I know?”
“It’s hard to explain. It’s just a feeling. This immediate connection you
have with someone.”
“Like a best friend?”
“Kind of.”
“But Cove is my best friend.”
She smiled. “Where is Cove?”
“She’s grounded.”
“What did she do now?”
I rolled my eyes. “She kicked a boy in his penis.”
She scoffed. “Remind me to kill your brothers for teaching you that
word.”
I shrugged. “They only told me because they said if a penis ever comes
near me, they’d chop it off. But Cove wasn’t trying to chop his off, she just
kicked it instead.”
She deeply sighed. “Oh my goodness. What am I going to do with you
two?”
“It wasn’t her fault.”
“What happened?”
“He pushed her off the monkey bars.”
“Why didn’t she tell the teacher?”
“That’s what I said to her.”
“That’s because you’re a good girl.”
“Cove is a good girl too. She just makes bad choices.”
“So why didn’t she tell the teacher?”
“She said she wanted to practice her karate kick.”
Momma chuckled. “Oh, Cove…”
I changed the subject. “Can my soulmate be my best friend too?”
“You mean can you have more than one best friend?”
“Yes.”
“Of course you can.”
“Okay good. Cove would be upset.”
“One day she’s going to meet her soulmate too.”
“Maybe we will meet them at the same time?”
“That’d be nice.”
For the rest of lunch, we talked about what countries we wanted to
travel to while we were overseas. After we were done eating, we drove to
the bank, and I couldn’t hold in my excitement with my piggy bank firmly in
my grasp.
Bouncing up and down, I asked, “What time is our appointment
again?”
“In like thirty minutes.”
“Are we going make it on time?”
“With room to spare.”
I smiled, feeling happy.
Momma reached over, grabbing my hand. “I love you, baby.”
I smiled back at her. “I love you too, Momma.”
I woke up screaming, holding my hand over my heart.
“Shit,” I exhaled, trying to catch my bearings before I threw the soaking
wet sheets off my body.
My dreams were getting worse. I couldn’t keep up with them anymore.
Throwing on my robe, I grabbed my cellphone off my nightstand and
opened the door to my balcony, needing the cool air on my sweaty skin. I
stayed there against the railing for what felt like hours before I sat down in
the lounger.
It was three in the morning, and I impulsively texted Hayes.
-I miss you.
To my surprise, a ping came through.
-You should be in my bed.
I smirked.
-Who would have thought you’d love sleepovers as much as you do.
Seconds later, another ping.
-Just with you. Even though you hog the bed and sleep on top of me.
I smiled wide.
-It’s the best place to lay. Did I wake you?”
-I was up.
-What are you doing up so late?
-I could say the same to you.
-I had a bad dream.
-About what?
I hesitated for a second.
-My mom.
When he didn’t reply, I texted.
-Why are you still up?
 He ignored my question, asking his own.
-How often do you dream about her?
-More in the last couple months. I think it’s just from graduation
coming up.
When he didn’t respond again, I messaged.
-Are you on your deck?
-I am.
-Did you make a wish on the shooting star right then?
-Did you?
-I did.
-What did you wish for?
-I’ll tell you, if you tell me yours first?
-I don’t make wishes, Peach.
-Why not?
I didn’t think it was going to break my heart to see his reply…

-You can’t make a wish to change the past.

Thirty
Haven
I dropped my overnight bag on Hayes’s bed.
“I don’t know why you bother bringing clothes,” he declared. “You’re
dressed in my clothes most of the time you’re here.”
He was leaning against the door with his arms crossed over his chest in
that Chase Hayes kind of way only he could pull off. He looked damn sexy
shirtless in his gym shorts. It was actually my favorite outfit on him or lack
of.
He grinned. “Like what you see, sweetheart?”
I flushed.
“You’ve sat on my face too many times to still blush like that.”
“Hayes…”
“What?” He walked toward me, confidant and determined. “You want
to sit on my face right now? I’m kind of hungry, I could eat.”
I stepped back. “You’re shameless is what you are.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I stepped back again, intentionally provoking him.
“Oh, you know… I’m on my period,” I joked, just to see his response.
“Peach, I’m a man. Your virgin blood has already soaked my cock. You
think that’s going to stop me?”
My eyebrows raised as he cocked his head to the side.
“How’s that saying go? I can walk through mud. I can fuck on blood.”
“Oh my God! You dirty motherfuc—”
“Look at you, using big girl words. I think I’m rubbing off on you,
Peach.”
“You’re going to have to catch me first,” I giggled, taking off running in
the opposite direction.
His heavy footsteps pounded against the hardwood floors as he chased
after me. Once I was on the other side of the couch, I paused with my hands
out in front of me.
“What’s wrong? Can’t keep up with my stamina?”
“I’ll show you stamina.”
 I laughed, hauling ass toward the kitchen. In the blink of an eye, he
wrapped his arm around my waist and threw me over his shoulder like I
weighed nothing.
“Hayes!”
He spanked my ass, hard.
“Where are you dragging me?”
“I wouldn’t call this dragging.”
“How about torturing?’
“The only thing I’m going to torture is your throat when you’re choking
on my cock.”
My mouth dropped open.
“We’re going to take a shower.”
“I was kidding! I’m not on my period.”
“Great. Then I can wash your pussy with my mouth instead.”
Oh… did he ever…
By the time he finally let me free, my legs were weak, and my voice
was hoarse. I left him in the shower while I dried off before making my way
back to his bedroom. I grabbed one of his shirts from his dresser, loving his
scent still lingering on it.
Deciding to help him tidy up his room, I started picking up the clothes
off his floor to toss them in the hamper.
“Why are guys so messy?” I whispered to myself, crawling on the
ground.
If he was anything like my brothers, he’d have a pile of clothes under
his bed too. I lifted the skirt and of course I was right. At least a handful of
attire were hidden beneath. I pulled them out, throwing them in the hamper
as well.
It was only then I noticed what appeared to be an old shoe box behind
his laundry. Quickly, I released the bed shirt, but something inside of me
wouldn’t let it go. He wasn’t telling me a damn about him, and my curiosity
got the best of me in this unexpected situation.
Without thinking twice about it, I reached in and grabbed the box,
placing it in my lap. My heart was hammering against my chest. I knew
better than to snoop, this wasn’t who I was. However, even that didn’t stop
me from opening the lid.
I gasped at the sight of the picture staring back at me. It was a beautiful
woman, standing behind a little boy with her arms around his stomach.
Hayes must have been maybe eight or nine in the photo. His eyes were a
replica of hers, so was his smile.
My finger moved on their own accord, grabbing the image out of the
box. For the second time in a few short minutes, I was blindsided by what I
found beneath the picture.
“What the fuck?” I rasped, shaking my head. “There’s no way. How?
What?”
Question after question tore through my mind in a matter of a few
moments. I was frozen. Unable to move an inch. Cemented to the ground
under me with the image of Hayes and his mother firmly in my hold. I don’t
know how long I stayed there like that. Completely unhinged and confused.
All of a sudden, a sharp tone snapped, “What the hell are you doing?”
I jolted, caught mid act.
We locked eyes.
For the first time, it felt as if I was staring at a stranger.
“I was just trying to help you clean up your room.”
“By snooping under my bed?”
“I wasn’t. I swear I was just—” I hesitated, feeling the room closing in
on me. Lifting the box, I questioned, “How do you have this, Hayes?”
His gaze shifted from me to the shattered pieces of glass scattered in his
old shoe box.
“Haven, it’s not what it looks like.”
“Not what it looks like?” I bit, abruptly standing. “I know exactly what
this is! So why do you have it?”
“Peach—”
“No! You don’t ignore this! Answer my fucking question!”
His jaw clenched.
“Why do you have Wilbur, my piggy bank?!”
He raised his arms in the air in a surrendering gesture.
“You need to calm down.”
“Calm down? Calm down?! How do you have this, Hayes?!”
“Fuck!” he spewed, snatching the box out of my hand. He tried to grab
the picture, but I held it away from him.
“It’s funny you’re pissed at me, considering you have no fucking
business prying through my stuff.”
“That’s not yours. It was mine.”
“Yeah? What about the picture you’re holding?”
 “Is this your mother?”
He simply nodded, infuriating me further.
Powerless to resist, I roared, “Where is she? Huh? What did you have to
do with her leaving?”
“Haven… Please…”
“Please what, Chase?”
“I know how it looks.”
“You have no idea how this looks because if you did, you would have
already answered my questions!”
“Keep your fucking voice down.”
“Or what?”
His expression hardened.
“Now are you going to answer my questions?”
“I will, but not right now.”
“Why not?”
“Peach, I just need you to trust me.”
“While you continue you to hide your life from me?”
“I’m not hiding.”
“You’re withholding. Same thing!”
“Did I not just tell you to stop raising your voice at me?”
“In a second, I’m going to raise a lot more than my voice, Hayes.”
He growled, stepping back.
“What’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you as soon as I can.”
“Why not now? You’re not making any sense.”
“I need you to understand and give me time.”
“All I’ve given you is time. Why can’t you tell me now? Why are you
keeping all these secrets from me?”
My mind was spinning, faster and faster. Suffocating me in this fantasy
I was obviously living in. The reality was staring me right in the face. His
truths were pounding on top of my head.
Little by little, I was drowning in his indiscretions and the fact that he
was the one, pilling them me, was the hardest pill to swallow.
As if reading my mind, he vowed, “I promise I’ll tell you everything
when I can.”
“When is that? Before or after I graduate?” I slapped the picture on his
chest. “All I want is to know you and you’re making it so hard. How do you
have my piggy bank? It makes no sense. I haven’t had it since…”
I couldn’t even bring myself to say it.
It hurt too much.
His gaze shifted to my eyebrow scar.
Seconds.
Minutes.
Hours could have flown by with his intense stare focused on it.
“Yeah, Hayes,” I acknowledged before speaking with conviction, “I
haven’t had my piggy bank since the day I got this scar.”
The expression on his face changed from anger to sadness. I saw it clear
as day. The times where he showed me what he was feeling were one of the
best and worst memories for me. If he was allowing me to see his true
colors, there was reason for it.
“I know how hard this must be for you,” he agreed, rubbing the
tarnished skin on my eyebrow. “I’m tired of hurting you, Peach. It kills me
inside.”
“All it would take is for you to honest with me and we can put this
behind us. Why do you insist on keeping us stuck in this place where it’s
obviously destroying us both?”
“I’m not ready to let you go yet.”
“Go?” I shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“Enough with the cryptic, Hayes. I’m begging you to tell me the truth.
Do you want me on my knees too?”
The inner turmoil he was feeling was evident as he contemplated what
to say next. I wasn’t expecting him to confess what I’d been desperately
wanting to hear from him.
“Fuck, Peach…. It’s me who is on my knees for you. Please just trust
me. I’ll tell you everything soon.”
Him being so vulnerable for the first time…

Was the only reason I stayed.

Thirty-One
Hayes
“H ow much?” Trevor asked at the party.
“One fifty.”
“For an ounce?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s a little steep, don’t you think?”
“You want the weed or not?”
“What about the molly?”
“How much?”
“A gram.”
“A hundred.”
He grabbed the money out of his wallet. “This better be fucking fire,
Hayes.”
“You won’t be disappointed.”
After he paid me, he rolled up a joint. The house party was packed with
people. You couldn’t move a foot in front of you without banging into
somebody. It was the fourth party that week I was selling my old man’s
drugs from the club at. He still hadn’t noticed, but I knew it was only a
matter of time before he did.
I’d deal with him when the time came. Until then, I did what I had to do.
“You want to hit this?” Trever offered.
“No. I’m good.”
“You never relax, bro. You act like an old man and you’re only what?
Fifteen? You’re the best dealer. Everyone in school knows who you are.
Take a breather. Have some fun for once.”
I didn’t pay him any mind, spending the rest of the day giving everyone
their fun for the night. It was Saturday and full speed ahead. For a good
portion of the afternoon, I rejected the countless chicks who were on my
dick at any given second.
I wanted to be alone. The truth was this was the last place I wanted to
be. However, I couldn’t pass up a party where I could make thousands of
dollars in a few hours. I wasn’t pushing drugs just for me. It was for my
mom too. This was the only way we’d be able to leave the piece of shit that
was her husband and my father.
I knew she’d be disappointed in me if she found out. Which was why I
was extra cautious. I didn’t want to break her heart. My old man already
did that enough for the both of us.
She spent all hours of the day and night thinking about him. At this
point, he was home even less if that was possible. They lived separate lives,
but I could see it in her eyes.
She missed him.
Possibly even still loved him.
I couldn’t for the life of me understand why. He was no good to her. He
never was. I had yet to figure out what made her fall in love with him in the
first place. Ever since I could remember, he treated her like shit. His club
sluts were the only thing that mattered to him.
“This is some good shit,” Trevor exclaimed, hitting the blunt.
We were sitting on one of the couches in the game room, shooting the
shit, pretending to have a good ol’ fucking time. I acted like nothing was
happening in my life when everyday it felt like I was losing myself more and
more.
On most days, I didn’t recognize the man staring back at me in the
mirror. Sick to my stomach. I was barely attending school and when I was, I
was getting in trouble for random shit.
Especially fighting.
Everyone knew who my old man was. He was a fucking criminal, and
nobody ever let me forget it. Saying I’d be just like him. An outlaw who
wasn’t worth a shit. The sad part was—it was true. I was failing all my
classes. I barely went and the only reason I did was to get my mom off my
ass.
I couldn’t keep seeing her cry day after day, particularly when it was
about me. It was eating me alive on daily. As much as I hated selling drugs
to anyone, this was the answer to all our prayers. We could leave this town
behind, forget about Billy, and start over. I’d do whatever I had to in order
to give her the life she deserved. I owed her that much.
She was my mom.
I loved her more than anything in this world.
I wanted to make her proud and I knew I was doing the exact opposite
of that, but I was determined to make a better life for ourselves. She’d
understand once she realized how much money I was able to make for us.
Although I wasn’t to the point where I felt comfortable enough to tell
her. A few more months and we’d be able to run away from it all. I just
silently prayed my old man wouldn’t find out first. If he did, I’d be fucking
dead. He wouldn’t hesitate to put to me to ground, joining all the other
motherfuckers he killed for stealing from him.
He’d yet to realize the drugs I was taking from the club when he was out
of town on whatever illegal shit he was conjuring. I didn’t steal enough for
him to notice. He had a shitload of drugs. It’d take a lot. Little by little, my
savings kept adding up.
I inhaled a deep breath, aimlessly staring at the coffee table in front of
us which were lined with rails of blow and Molly. People were walking
around everywhere, smoking weed, popping pills, fucking out in the open,
and kicking back an obscene amount of booze.
Most of the chicks showed up half-naked, or ready to fuck any guy
who’d feed them drugs for free. They reminded me of all the club whores my
old man laid with every day.
I wasn’t much for drugs. The last thing I needed was to get addicted and
fuck up my life more than I already was. The guilt was sometimes too much
to bear, and I’d hit a blunt here and there or drink a quart to forget.
When I was selling, I needed to stay clear and levelheaded, making sure
I was always on alert, and I wasn’t getting robbed. I didn’t trust anyone,
especially when it came down to this kind of arrangement.
I’d never felt so empty and hollow before. Between The Outlaws, Billy,
and my mom it, was one thing after another lately. My old man was on my
ass to join his club, saying some shit about it being my legacy. Everything
was a fucking mess. The walls were starting to close in on me, and this was
my only way out. I didn’t want to end up like him and I knew if we didn’t
leave, it’d eventually happen with or without my consent.
He'd make sure of it.
The only friends I had were the underlying demons that never left me
alone. They were my fucking companions, always sitting right there next to
me, waiting to take me under.
Every time I closed my eyes, I remembered how he’d beat her. However
now that I was older, he knew better than to lay a hand on her, but that
didn’t take away all the years of abuse I witnessed as a child. I watched the
world play out in front of me as I was held hostage with my memories.
 When out of nowhere, somebody yelled, “Cops! Run!”
“Fuck!” I shot up, trying to grab everything off the table.
I wasn’t about to leave thousands of dollars of drugs sitting there. The
house fell into a fit of hysteria.
Running.
Falling.
Screaming.
I worked as fast as I could, throwing the blow into a bag and then the
weed and Molly while the officers invaded the house. One by one, they
rushed inside, taking down anyone in their path.
“Fuck!” Just a few more pills and I’d be done.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the sheriff coming for me. I was
about to run in the other direction, but another cop tackled me to the
ground. The officer threw my ass face-first onto the dirty as shit tile floor
and I instantly saw stars.
Within seconds, he handcuffed me. “You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You
have the right to an attorney,” he informed, lifting me up. “If you cannot
afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.”
“Fuck you!”
He body slammed me against the concrete wall. “Do you understand
the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to
speak to me?”
“Yeah, I’m speaking to you right now! Eat shit!”
“Sheriff!” another cop interrupted, nodding at me. “He’s a minor!
That’s Billy Hayes’s son!”
For some reason, hearing him say that silenced my ass up. The sheriff
turned me around to look at him.
“Chase?” he remarked, as if he knew who I was. “Holy shit. You were a
little boy the last time I saw you.”
“Which time are you referring to? At my old man’s club? Or when
you’d come to my house because he beat the fuck out of my mom?”
He hesitated before he searched my pockets, finding all the drugs I was
able to grab in such a short amount of time. People were still running all
over the house, they weren’t paying attention to us.
“Jesus, man…” he coaxed. “Your mom doesn’t deserve this.”
 I shut my eyes, bowing my head in shame. My body was unable to hold
itself up any longer. All the mixed emotions ached inside me. The sentiments
that dwelled in the dark, hollow spaces of my core and at the forefront of my
mind were alive and present.
I let them to take over, controlling every last part of my being. Darkness
settled over me as I stood there in the pain pouring out of me. Only
imagining her finding out what I was doing all these months.
I was surprised when he announced, “He’s clean!”
My gaze immediately opened as he grabbed my cellphone out of my
pocket, watching as he hit send, calling my mother.
“No!” I screamed bloody murder as my body propelled forward with
my hand over my heart.
“Hayes?” Haven stressed, sitting up beside me in my bed. “Are you
okay?”
I shook away the memory.
“Oh my God.” She rubbed my arm. “What were you dreaming?”
I shoved her hands away, not wanting her to touch me.
“Hayes—”
I jumped out of bed, needing some space. I walked out to the deck and
within minutes, I heard her footsteps approaching. It didn’t take long to feel
her lips along my back, burning into my sweaty skin.
“Why didn’t you tell me you have nightmares too?”
“It’s not your problem.”
“But I love you.”
“Still not your problem.”
She spun me to face her, looking deep into my eyes.
“When are you going to let me in? I’m here for you.”
“I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but the second I do, you’ll run
away from me.”
“That’s not true.”
“But it won’t be the worst part, Peach.”
She winced when I growled…

“You’ll fucking hate me too.”

Thirty-Two
Hayes
“H aven, enough with the bullshit,” I demanded, walking out of my
office at the bar.
She wouldn’t get off my ass since I woke up in a panic last night. My
head was pounding from reprimanding myself for being so fucking careless
and showing her a side to me she didn’t know existed.
“Hayes, you can’t keep pushing me away.”
I abruptly turned and she stumbled over her footing.
“Was I pushing you away when your pussy was on my face this
morning?”
“You can’t use sex as a weapon. It’s not the same thing, and you know
it.”
“The only thing I know is that you’re being a pain in my ass.”
She frowned.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Then stop hurting my feelings.”
“That’s what I do! I’m a fucking asshole!”
“Yeah, you are! But you’re also loving, caring, protective, and the list
goes on and on! What’s it going to take for you to see that? To see me? I’m
not going anywhere. I love you!”
“That’s your first mistake. You shouldn’t love me.”
“Oh God… We’re back to this again?”
“How many times do I have to tell you we never left?”
“How many times do I have to tell you I don’t care what you say! I
know who you are inside and it fucking kills you!”
We were standing in the hallway, and the DJ was already playing music,
trying to set up for the long night ahead. The doors were going to open
soon. There was already a line around the building.
“We’re done with this conversation.” I snapped around, walking toward
the bar.
“No, we’re not!” she yelled at the exact time police officers flew
through the doors at the bar.
 I’d never forget the scared expression on her face as they swarmed
inside. She instantly put her hands up in the air although she had no reason
to. They weren’t there for her.
They immediately hauled ass toward The Outlaws and Billy who were
sitting at the corner booth in their usual spot.
The sheriff grabbed ahold of me, slamming my face against the pillar.
“You have the right to remain silent.”
“What?” Haven darted to my side. “Why are you getting arrested?”
“Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,”
the sheriff added. “You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an
attorney, one will be provided for you.”
I didn’t say a word. Unable to speak when she was looking at me with
such a horrified expression clear across her beautiful face.
“What’s happening?” Haven hastily questioned. “Why are you arresting
him? He didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?” he asked,
ignoring her. “With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”
I shook my head, giving him his answer.
The sheriff gripped onto my arm, leading me toward the door.
“Hayes!” Haven yelled from behind us. “Tell him he has the wrong
man! You want his father not him!”
I peered back at her as tears rimmed her eyes, and it broke my fucking
heart.
“Excuse me, Miss.” Another cop stepped up to her. “Do you work
here?”
“Not one fucking word, Haven. Not one!” I shouted from afar.
The sheriff started dragging me out of the bar. “Come on!”
“Do you hear me?” I repeated to her, “You keep your mouth shut!”
As soon as we approached the sheriff’s car, he threw my ass into the
backseat, and I watched as two cops were trying to do the same to Billy.
Except he was putting up a fight. He lost and I hated that they threw him in
next to me. The second his ass hit the seat—he spit at their faces.
“What the fuck?” he argued as they slammed the door in his face.
“Calm down,” I ordered through a clenched. Over his dramatics and
never-ending bullshit.
“What the fuck is this?”
 “Your guess is as good as mine. What shady shit are you doing now that
they’re raiding our bar?”
“I haven’t… I mean…it’s business as usual.”
“Yeah?” I spewed. “Well, who did you fuck over recently?”
His gaze went wide.
“I’d start there.”
“You don’t say anything until our lawyer is there,” he ordered. “Do you
understand me?”
“The law’s not going to protect you when it’s your time to go, old man.”
“You’ll keep your mouth shut if you know what’s good for you.”
“That’s where your wrong, Billy. If it comes down to putting you to
ground.”
I didn’t falter in threatening…
“I’ll sing like a motherfucking canary.”
Haven
I did as I was told and didn’t say anything to the cops. Despite them trying
to ask me several questions.
The only thing I asked is, “Where are you taking him?”
“He’s going downtown.”
I didn’t waver, I jumped into my car and drove to the station. I was so
shaken up that I called the only person I could think of.
“Hello,” she answered.
“Cove…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Can you meet me at the police station?”
“Oh my God! Are you okay?”
“Hayes has been arrested.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know. Can you please meet me there?”
“I’m already out the door.”
Everything felt like it was playing out in slow motion, but at the same
time, it felt as if time was flying by. Thank God Cove was standing by her
car when I pulled up.
She took one look at me. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
“It’s all right.” She hugged me. “Let’s go find out what’s going on.”
I nodded, too frazzled to speak.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse between us, this
happened and blew everything else out of the water like a fucking tsunami.
Since we weren’t immediate family, they wouldn’t tell us anything at the
station. They treated us as if we were nothing but a nuance.
“Can you at least let me speak to Chase Hayes?” I begged the clerk.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am. Unless your immediate family you can’t see him.”
“Then how much is his bail?”
“Again, I can’t disclose that information.”
“Then what are you good for?”
 “Haven…” Cove coaxed, rubbing my back for support. “It’s not her
fault. Legally, they can’t tell us anything without fear of getting sued.”
“This is bullshit!”
I was aware I was acting out of character, but I couldn’t help it.
Everything seemed to be caving in on me and I was barely standing at that
point.
What else could happen?
“Come on,” Cove suggested, tugging me away before I ripped her head
off.
“Let’s go get some food and figure out what we can do.”
“Okay.”
She was right. They weren’t going to tell us a damn thing. On our way
out, my phone rang with a private number and my heart fluttered,
intuitively feeling like it was Hayes.
“Hello,” I answered, hanging on by a thread.
An automated service stated, “You have a collect call from Chase Hayes
at the county station. If you wish to accept these charges, say yes.”
“Yes!”
“Thank you.”
Seconds later, I heard his voice, “Peach?”
“Oh my God, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“What’s going on?”
“I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything.”
“I need you to call Mark and tell him to pay my bail.”
“Mark?” I jerked back, offended. “I can do it.”
“Haven, just do what I ask.”
“Just trust me.”
“It has nothing to do with trust and everything to do with wanting to
keep you out of this.”
“I’m already involved. I’m in your life, aren’t I?”
“For fuck’s sake. Fine. There’s a safe behind my bookshelf in my
bedroom. Grab the cash and bail me out.”
“How much do I need?”
“Two grand.”
“Where do I go with it?”
 “A bonds bailsman, and they’ll handle it from there.”
“Okay, I’ll go do that right now and then I’ll come back.”
“Come back?”
“I’m outside the station with Cove. They won’t tell us anything because
we’re not immediate family.”
“What the fuck, Haven?”
“What was I supposed to do? I had to call someone. She’s my best
friend. She’s not going to say anything.”
“Cove isn’t the problem. It’s the fact you’re already here. Why don’t
you ever listen to me?”
“Are you really going to use your one phone call to reprimand me?”
He deeply sighed. “Just go to the bail bondsman and then go home. I’ll
call you when I’m out. Can you do that for me?”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Yeah.”
“Good girl.”
“I love you.”
“I know.”
With that, he hung up.
Except I had the worst feeling this didn’t end here.
If anything…

It was only the beginning.

Thirty-Three
Haven
T he tension I was feeling was palpable waiting for Hayes’s call since
yesterday. I’d never been in this situation before and it was beyond
surreal for me. Everything with Hayes was so foreign for me. If my family
knew what was going on in my life right now there would be no coming
back from that.
After Cove and I left the bondsman, we came back to my house. No one
was home. For the next couple of days, my dad was out of town on business
and my brothers must have been busy or else they’d be there. I was grateful
for the privacy. I wouldn’t be able to play off how I was really feeling. They
would have known something was up.
As I stared at my eyebrow scar in the mirror of my bathroom, I craved
to feel the love and support of my mother. Sometimes it felt like this scar
was the only thing I had left of her. For some reason, it always made me
feel closer to her. I couldn’t talk about what was happening with anyone
other than Cove, but it wasn’t helping like it usually did.
I needed my momma.
I wiped away the tears from my eyes, knowing in my heart she’d
understand what I was going through with Hayes. It was something only a
mother could. I never longed for her to hug me more than I did right then.
So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours and I was
struggling with what was right or what was wrong when it came to the guy I
was in love with. Except, I wasn’t this girl who lived life on the edge,
dating a man getting arrested of all things.
The months of him warning me he was no good for me finally reared its
ugly head. I couldn’t keep up with the emotions tearing me apart in just the
last day alone. The only thing I was certain of was how much I loved him.
It was the kind of love my mom used to tell me about all the time.
The connection.
Passion.
Desire.
Pain…
 It was all there, stabbing me in the heart in a tormented yet affectionate
way.
I didn’t want to believe he was bad for me. From the first day we met, I
fought against it. Denying all the facts. Trying to live in the moment with
him was the only thing that felt right.
I frantically tried to catch my breath, trying to push through and not
give in to that little voice in the back of my head that was screaming
something wasn’t right between us.
I hated that fucking voice and the longer I stood there, the louder it
became.
Cove knocked on the door. “You okay in there?”
“Yeah. I’ll be out in a minute.”
After I washed my face, I stepped back into my room. Cove patted the
seat next to her out on my balcony.
“You all right?” she asked once I was sitting beside her.
“I’m not sure anymore.”
She frowned. “I’m sorry, Haven. I know this is hard for you.”
“I’m truly at a loss. I don’t know what to do.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
Her eyebrows pinched together.
“He has my piggy bank, Cove. Or at least shards of it.”
Her eyes widened, immediately aware of what that meant.
“How?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea. It was hidden in a box under his bed with a
picture of him and his mom.”
“Holy shit!”
“The more I think about it. The less it makes sense of why he’d have it.”
“Did you confront him about it?”
“Yeah, but he still didn’t explain himself. All he said was that he would
when he could.”
“Maybe there’s a reason for that.”
“Like what?”
“Does he know about your mom?”
“Kind of.”
“Maybe he knew your mom too?”
I jerked back, not expecting her to reply that.
 “How?”
“Hell if I know. I’m just playing devil’s advocate.”
“I didn’t know until last night that he has nightmares of his mother too.
He woke up screaming.”
“Where is his mom?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t talk about her.”
“Okay…”
“It’s confusing, right? I’m not losing my mind?”
“It’s definitely confusing.” She smiled reassuringly. “Do you have any
idea on why he’d be arrested?”
“I’m sure it’s Billy and he just got caught up in whatever shady shit he’s
doing.”
“Well, you certainly found yourself a bad boy.”
“Lucky me.”
“Speaking of.” She beamed. “I met someone.”
“Wait?” I shook my head. “What?”
“I know.”
“When?”
“It’s so random. The night your asshole brother insisted on driving me
home, I made him stop at a gas station for me. I needed to use the
bathroom.”
“And?”
“He was coming out of the men’s room, and we bumped into each other.
I swear, Haven, it was like this electricity sparked throughout my entire
body.”
“You picked up a guy in a gas station?”
“I mean when you say it like that, it sounds super creepy. Besides, I’ve
picked up guys in worse places.”
“Have you seen him again?”
She excitingly nodded. “I think I found my own bad boy.”
“What’s his na—”
My cellphone rang, and Hayes’s number quickly appeared on the
screen.
“Hey,” I answered.
“Are you okay?”
“You just got of jail and you’re asking me if I’m okay?”
Cove mouthed, “Awe.”
 I was beginning to realize my best friend was a hopeless romantic.
“Thanks for bailing me out, Peach.”
“Of course. Where are you?”
“I’m headed home to shower and then I’m going to the bar. After
getting raided with a line out the door, Mark is losing his shit. I need to go
do damage control.”
“What about Billy?”
“I don’t know. I’m assuming his lawyer bailed them out too.”
“Do you know why you were arrested?”
“Who the fuck knows with him. I need to figure out what’s going on.
I’m assuming he pissed off the wrong person.”
“Does that mean you’re in danger?”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“You always say that.”
“Can you meet at the bar in like two hours?”
“I can.”
“I’ll see you then.”
I hung up.
“That didn’t sound like a very productive conversation.”
“At this point, it’s like I’m dating James Bond.”
“Hmmm…” She thought about it for a second. “I’d go with Jax Teller
from Sons of Anarchy.”
“Fair.”
“Whatever happens though, I’m always here for you.”
“I know.”
And I did.
Hayes
As soon as she walked into the bar, I made my way over to her. Before any
other bullshit arose, I needed my girl, to be holding her tight, close to my
fucking heart. I ached to feel hers beat against mine. Just to remind me she
was still mine.
We stayed lost in each other where nothing else mattered for a few
minutes.
The world stopped moving.
Time stood still.
It was only us.
She felt it too. We were that in sync. The second one of us pulled away,
the illusion would be gone and in its wake were our demons that had always
been there lying in between us.
She whispered, “I love you, Hayes.” As if she knew I yearned to hear it.
I kissed her like my life depended on it.
It only then, all hell broke loose.
There was no running from the past or the future anymore. The present
was finally knocking at our door. I always knew this moment would
eventually come, but even knowing that didn’t prepare me for the mayhem
that’d occur.
Choices…
We all had them.
Good.
Bad.
Right.
Wrong.
In that moment, they blended together as if they were one.
Until there was nothing else left but the truth of my decisions.
I never wanted to hurt her. I’d already caused enough damage.
However, fate had other plans for me, and you couldn’t run from destiny.
Or else…
She wouldn’t be in the arms of her enemy.
A sharp voice roared, “What the fuck?!”
 We instantly spun around to stare at the consequences of my actions,
glaring right at me.
Haven muttered, “Oh no.”
Within seconds, my whole world came crashing down on us while her
three brothers stood before us, ready to go to war.

With me.
Thirty-Four
Haven
I instinctively stepped in front of Hayes, looking at Jace, Ledger, and Reid
right in front of us.
“What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” Jace nodded to Hayes. “With him?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Ledger scoffed. “None of our business? What the fuck are you doing,
Haven?”
“What does it look like? I’m living my life.”
“By lying to us?” Reid shook his head. “We raised you better than that.”
“What was I supposed to do? You’re never going to approve of me
dating anyone.”
“Dating?” Jace spewed. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me? You’re
dating this lowlife?”
“He’s not a lowlife!”
“Peach—”
Jace interrupted, “Peach?” He cocked his head to the side in a
threatening manner. “That better not mean what I think it does,
motherfucker.”
My heart was pounding so profusely I found it hard to breathe. My lips
parted and my chest heaved with each passing moment that escalated
between us. Panic began to set in, and my mind started running wild. I
anxiously tried to gather my thoughts, but they were as stuck as my feet
were glued to the floor beneath me.
“Please stop. Don’t do this.”
Ledger argued, “It’s a little late for that, isn’t it? Now are you going to
answer my question? What the fuck are you doing with him?”
“I work here.”
“Since when?” Reid asked.
“Why does it matter? I’m eighteen, I can do what I want.”
“We don’t give a shit if you’re fifty,” Reid informed.
“Does Dad know you’re here doing this to me?”
 “No.” Jace shook his head. “We didn’t want to burden him with your
shitty ass decisions.”
Hayes’s hands fisted at his sides; I felt them behind me.
Jace didn’t miss a beat, stepping closer to us. “What, motherfucker?
You’re just going to hide behind my baby sister?”
“I’m not a baby!”
Hayes didn’t back down. “If you keep disrespecting her. You’re going to
find out real fucking quick what she means to me.”
“Means to you?” Jace baited. “You mean more than just her pussy?”
“Oh my God!” I shouted. “Who the hell do you think you are? You’re
not my father! None of you are! If Daddy knew—”
“That you were at a police station,” Jace bit. “Bailing out this Outlaw?”
I gasped, mentally chastising myself.
Everything happened so fast that I didn’t think about the cops reporting
back to my family about seeing me yesterday.
Jace declared, “Or that you were here when it got raided last night?
Which part do you think our father needs to know?”
All I could reply was, “It’s not what it looks like. His dad owns part of
this bar too. He’s an Outlaw. Not Hayes.”
“Fuck, Teeny,” Reid rasped in a tone I didn’t recognize. It was laced
with pure distress and worry. “What have you gotten yourself into? Do you
have any idea who these men are?”
Hayes ordered, “That’s enough.”
“Oh, motherfucker,” Jace warned. “We’re only getting started. She
doesn’t know, does she?”
Jace’s harsh and demanding tone only added to my fear. For a quick
second, I wondered if they could smell it on me, but I didn’t budge.
I couldn’t.
I wouldn’t.
If I did, I’d lose Hayes and refused to give him up without a fight.
“Know what?” I asked, finding my own voice again.
I stared into Jace’s dark, soulless eyes. For the first time, I didn’t see my
loving brother staring back at me. All I saw, was the man who went to war
and came back broken.
I took in his daunting, eerie composure, the way his hands hadn’t left
his sides, not hiding the fact that he was strapped. I took in every last detail
of him.
 Especially how he was ready to throw down with Hayes. Almost like
he’d been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
I focused on my breathing.
In and out.
One.
Two.
Three.
In and out.
One.
Two.
Three.
Until I repeated, “Know what?”
There was no mistaking the energy in the bar as I silently prayed this
this was just another bad dream. Another nightmare I’d soon wake up from
screaming and drenched in sweat.
I waited for a response, digging my nails into the palms of my hands to
keep from passing out. The sudden silence was deafening. I felt it deep in
my bones and to the bottom of my being.
The concrete floors were solid beneath my bare feet as the sound of my
hammering heart echoed all around me. My eyes scanned the room,
overwhelmed by the turn of events.
Four of the most important men in my life were ready to go to war with
each other. I wanted to crawl into the empty space I’d been living in, seek
refuge within myself was the only way I knew how to cope.
Survive.
Live again after my mother died.
Thinking about her usually granted me peace not misery like it was in
that moment. I wrapped my arms around my stomach in a comforting
gesture. Just based off their stalemate, I knew whatever happened next was
going to hurt badly.
With no remorse.
With no mercy.
With nothing but the truth I was still begging for.
“Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?”
Reid taunted, “Why don’t you tell her, Hayes? Since she means so much
to you.”
I spun, staring only at Hayes now.
 The haunted expression on his face imprinted on me. It would forever
be a part of me.
Exactly how his truth would be.
Hayes
How does that expression go?
There comes a moment in every man’s life…and I had plenty of them.
Except this one would destroy the only woman I’d ever loved.
My heart pounded out of my chest as the walls caved in on me. Time
once again stood still for us.
Nothing moving.
Especially me.
Bile burned in the back of my throat, threatening to surface. There was a
familiar sentiment in the air, the feeling of death. Burned into our senses,
whether I wanted it to be or not. The memory of that day played out in front
of me, over and over in my mind. On instant replay, I was powerless to stop
it.
It always had been.
It always would be.
Regret.
Guilt.
Shame.
They also lived inside of me.
We were one and the same.
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. As much as I
wanted to tell her the truth, I couldn’t bring myself to actually do it.
“You son of a bitch,” Jace accused. “You can’t do it, can you?”
I glared at him, feeling the weight of his words as my jaw clenched.
“Don’t worry, I have no fucking problem telling her the truth about
you.”
Her eyes stayed locked with mine. Almost like they were fused together,
and nothing could break them apart, but the truth hidden in plain sight.
Me.
That was when I truly lost it.
That was when it really hit me.
I was alone.
Abandoned.
 I deserved it.
I shuddered, my body giving out on me. Any ounce of strength I had
left, vanished like a thief in the night. It was the only comfort I had since
the day my mother left me too.
My vision blurred.
My throat seized.
“Please…” Haven pleaded, simply reminding me of that day.
“Please, just tell me the truth.”
I wanted something, anything, to keep me from feeling the emotions
that were dragging me down, deeper and deeper into the pit of my own
misery I created. I had no one to blame but myself. It was my fault. It’d
always be my fucking fault.
No matter how much I hoped.
Prayed.
Begged for it not to be.
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours. I stood
there like a man on death row, waiting for his execution. Except mine didn’t
come in the form of a needle or an electric chair, mine came with seven
words out of the mouth of one of the men’s lives I ruined.
The irony was not lost on me.
Losing Haven was my condemnation and punishment when Jace
revealed…
“His mother killed ours because of him.”
Those words were all it took to throw me right back to that day where
we all lost…

Our moms.
Thirty-Five
Hayes
M y mother answered the sheriff’s call from my phone. “Hey, baby,”
“Mrs. Hayes,” the sheriff greeted, pulling me out of the noisy
house with him. “Give me a second.”
Once we were standing by his sheriff’s car on the street, he hit speaker
on my cellphone, purposely wanting me to listen to her anguish.
“Mrs. Hayes,” he announced. “Are you still there?”
“Yes,” she replied with an immediate unease in her tone. “Who is this?
Is Chase all right?”
“I’m sorry to do this to you, but it’s Sheriff Thomas.”
“Oh my god…”
Even with hearing the desperation in her voice, I couldn’t bring myself
to say anything. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her and I hated that it
was happening without my consent.
I glared at sheriff with such distain. I’d rather he arrests me than hear
this conversation between them.
“I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, but your son is in my custody.”
“What? Why? What happened?”
She couldn’t get her questions out fast enough. They flew out of her.
“We got an anonymous call there was an underage party and your son
was found carrying a lot of illegal narcotics on him.”
“What?!”
“I hate to be the one who breaks this to you. However, by the look of
him, I don’t think he’s under the influence, so I’m almost certain his intent
was to sell and distribute.”
“Oh my God…”
I shut my eyes, I had to. The shame was eating me alive.
“Listen, I’ve been called to your home enough over the years to know
you’ve both been through a lot. Because of that, I’m going to give him this
chance and not arrest him. But I’m going to trust you’ll handle him
instead.”
“I can’t believe this. Does my husband know?”
“Given your family’s history, I haven’t called him.”
 She blew out a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Sheriff Thomas. I’ll
never be able to thank you enough for doing this for my boy. Please rest
assured that I’ll handle him, and this won’t ever happen again.”
“For both of your sake, I hope that’s true. We’re at 3927 Parkwood
Avenue. I won’t release him from my custody until you come pick him up.”
I heard the signal blinker of her car. “I just left the grocery store. I’m on
my way now.”
“Just so we’re clear, if I catch him in this situation again, the law will
handle it next time.”
“Yes, I understand. I promise this won’t happen again. Can I please
speak to him?”
“Give me a minute.” He faced me against his car. “I’m going to uncuff
you. Now if you run, I’ll have no choice but to taser you down. Do you
understand me?”
I nodded.
“Son, I need to hear you say it. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.”
After he took his cuffs off, he grabbed my head and sat me in the
backseat of his car before handing me my phone. Quickly, he shut the door.
This was the first time I’d been in the back of an officer’s vehicle, let alone
a sheriff.
Taking her off speaker, I revealed, “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, Mom? That’s what you have to say for yourself?”
I didn’t know what to reply, so I just stayed silent.
“Chase, what the hell are you doing? Selling drugs? I raised you better
than that!”
I bowed my head, feeling like she just punched me in the stomach.
“Don’t think for one second that I’m not going to drug test you when we
get home.”
“I’m not doing drugs.”
“Oh, so you’re just selling them then? I don’t know what’s worse.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry? How could you do this to me? After everything we’ve
been through? After everything you’ve seen with your father. Jesus, did he
put you up to this? Are you selling for him?”
“No.”
“Chase… I know your father. If you’re lying for him—”
 “I’m not.”
“Then where are you getting the drugs if not him?”
“The club.”
She loudly gasped, making me feel worse.
“You’re stealing them?”
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
“What were you thinking? Why on earth are you—”
Unable to hold back, I yelled, “We needed the money to leave!”
She gasped again, immediately bursting into tears, breaking my heart
even more.
“I’m so sorry, Mom. Please don’t cry. You know I hate it when you cry.”
If I didn’t think I could feel any worse, I was dead wrong. There were no
words to describe what was I was going through.
“I was just doing it for us. I’m a man now. It’s my job to protect you.”
“Protect me? Chase, it was never your job to look after me.”
“Then who’s going to?”
“I can’t believe this. I never wanted you to feel like you had to be a
man. You’re just a child.”
“A child? When was I a kid, Mom? When he was beating the shit out of
you? Or when you were crying yourself to sleep with me in your arms?
Which one of just those times in our shitty lives have I been a child?”
I’d never forget her bawling like this. I’d heard her cry hundreds of
times, but it was never like this. I couldn’t hold back my anger, my despair,
the pain and agony of growing up too fucking fast.
“I needed to step up because you wouldn’t do it! You wouldn’t leave
him. No matter how many times I begged you to. You’d stay there like his
lap dog that he could just shit all over whenever he wanted! What do you
expect from me? I couldn’t watch it anymore! I can’t live in that house
anymore! It’s filled with nothing but your tears and my screaming for him to
stop hitting you!”
She broke down and still I didn’t stop.
I wish I did.
I’d do anything to take back everything I said to her, but I was too riled
up. After years of standing by and watching her willingly take his abuse, I
snapped at the wrong person.
“Do you think this is what I want? To sell fucking drugs? I hate doing
this! I hate living this life! I could have done so much more with my life! I’m
failing school! I have no friends! Everyone one in this shitty town thinks I’m
nothing but Outlaw trash! I’m the son of a criminal and you’ve never batted
an eye about it! Did you ever for one second think about me? About how
much this would affect me? For what? So you can just be another one of his
whores who begs him for attention?”
She bawled while I spit poison. “If I’m selling drugs, it’s because I love
you enough to want better for you. Do you have any idea how many nights I
prayed you’d do the same for me?”
“Chase…”
“I hate him! I’ve always hated him! And I fight every day of my life to
not hate you too!”
“I’m so sorry, baby. I failed you,” was the last thing she said before my
whole world came crashing down on top of my head.
In the blink of an eye, the sounds of metal and glass shattering, erupted
on the other end of the phone. What followed could only be described as my
worst nightmare come to life.
“Mom!” I screamed, feeling my heart explode out of my chest. “Mom!”
Her phone crashed on what sounded like the floor.
“Mom!”
The sheriff instantly opened my door. “What’s going on?”
“Mom!” I couldn’t stop screaming.
The sheriff snatched the cellphone out of my hand. “Mrs. Hayes?”
Within seconds, people started shouting for help on the other line and
his eyes went wide.
“What’s happening?” I frantically questioned. “Where is she?”
He took one last look at me and then traced her location from my
phone. I sat there in a state of shock as he ran into the driver’s seat.
Grabbing the intercom off his center console, he reported, “We have
possible 11-80 on Himes Avenue. No information on whether there are any
injuries. I need all officers on route there immediately.”
He turned on his emergency lights, ordering, “Put your seatbelt on.”
The next thing I knew, we were driving onto an intersection where chaos
was all around us.
Firetrucks.
Ambulances.
More police cars.
A huge crowd on every corner.
 It wasn’t until I saw her car completely totaled that I grasped what had
happened. My terrified gaze shifted to the other car in the accident that was
completely totaled too.
I swear my heart stopped beating when I realized the two body bags on
the floor that I truly lost my shit.
I just knew.
I was her son.
We were one.
“No!” I yelled from deep within my core, trying to open the door.
“Son, calm down,” the sheriff ordered.
“I’m not your son!” I banged on the door with my shoulder over and
over again. “That’s my mom!”
The rest played out in slow motion. A nightmare that would eternally
haunt me.
“No!” I shouted with everything inside of me.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins, throbbing through my
bloodstream. Taking over every inch of my body. My vision tunneled, seeing
nothing but the disaster I caused. If it wasn’t for me, she wouldn’t have ever
crashed.
She was the only love I’d ever known. The only light that surrounded the
darkness that lived around us.
I prayed to God.
The saints.
All the angels that this wasn’t happening.
This wasn’t the way she was supposed to die. Not at my hand. Not in a
car accident. She didn’t deserve it.
“Please…” I begged for I don’t know what. “Please…”
I couldn’t move. I was barely breathing.
The truth was too much for me to bare.
Too much for me to witness.
Too much for me to live through.
Slowly, I sank further into my despair. Into my own personal Hell,
tuning everything else out as I pulled my knees close to my chest like I did
when I was a little boy watching my parents fight.
Nobody protected me from the reality of my life.
I let the tears fall down the sides of my face as my mind betrayed me.
Image after image of my mother played out in front of me.
 Her smile.
Her laugh.
Her comforting scent.
The way she lit up a room.
Her voice.
Her tears.
The way she hugged me, holding me so tight against her body. I willed
myself to look away, but I couldn't. I forced myself to face what I had done.
Remembering the love her eyes once held for me with so much adoration
and devotion as if I was the love of her life.
Every time she told me she loved me.
Telling me how she’d always be there for him no matter what.
Promising me I was a good boy. I’d forever be her good boy.
I broke down.
Bawling.
Crashing.
Falling apart from the inside out.
Then out of nowhere, I saw a little girl yelling, being dragged away into
an ambulance.
“Momma!” she screamed like I was. “Where’s my momma!”
The next moments were witnessed through the blink of my eyes.
“Wilbur! I need my piggy bank! Get my piggy bank!”
Blink.
Stretchers being dropped to the cement road.
Blink.
Her being carried on top of it.
Blink.
Her lifeless body being wheeled away.
Blink.
“Momma!” the little girl shouted, mirroring the torment in my soul.
“I want my momma!”
Blink.
She was being tied down onto the stretcher while blood coated her eye
from a nasty cut on her eyebrow.
“I want my piggy bank! Please!” she begged uncontrollably.
Blink.
My dad’s car pulling up.
 Blink.
Anarchy…
Blink.
Madness.
Blink.
Nothing but darkness.
Blink.
Dad yelling at me, “What did you do? What the fuck did you do?”
Blink.
“This is your fault! This is all your fucking fault!”
Blink.
Him fighting with the cops.
Blink.
Me suddenly out of the backseat of the sheriff’s car.
Blink.
Walking to the other vehicle in the car accident I caused.
Blink.
Shards of glass in my hands.
Blink.
Nothing but darkness.
Blink.
She died that day because of me, but the devastating truth was…

I died right along with her too.

Thirty-Six
Haven
“P each…”
My heart hammered against my chest while my stomach churned. I
felt like I was going to be sick. There was something in the way Hayes was
looking at me that left me breathless.
I wanted to ask him if it was true, but I couldn’t find my voice. After
months of wanting to know the truth, I was so petrified to know the answer
to that one question which would now destroy us both.
Hayes was right.
He’d been right all along.
I wanted to look around, but I couldn’t will myself to look away from
him. Our gazes were locked. Fused together like our tragic pasts were.
Neither one of us broke the intensity of our stares as my emotions continued
to run wild.
He narrowed his eyes, looking at me with this visible desire to fall apart
right there with me. Showing me a glimpse of the man, I’d known and
loved all this time. His eyes searched my face, fighting an internal battle
that was clearly raging war inside of him. Unfolding right in front of me.
He was the first to break our connection, unable to look at me any
longer. His tormented gaze dropped to his boots as his hands dug into his
hair, tugging at it like he wanted to rip it out.
The same way he was with my heart and soul.
He was bracing himself for something I had yet to grasp or understand.
You know how people say your mind could protect itself from anything it
thought could hurt it…
I never understood that statement until that very moment.
“Momma! I want my momma!”
Shouting…
Crying….
Blood…
So much blood.
Pain…
Darkness.
 A funeral I’d never forget.
A goodbye I didn’t get.
A last I love you when it shouldn’t have been.
A future that was now tainted with the memory of her body flying out
the window.
I spent years wondering why she forgot to put on her seatbelt. Her one
mistake cost her children a life without their mother.
My eyes filled with tears, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.
“Hayes…”
It felt like an eternity before he finally looked my way through the slits
of his eyes.
His stare.
Demeanor.
Aura.
It all reflected mine.
My lips parted, taking a deep breath though my gaze never shifted from
his. I sucked in air, my body seizing up completely.
“Is it true?” I asked so low I could barely hear myself.
He didn’t move or say a word. He didn’t even blink.
My heart sped up, beating a mile a minute and I swear he could hear it.
There was no way he couldn’t have, it echoed throughout the space between
us.
“Just tell me the truth.”
Silence.
Nothing.
Not one reaction.
Each second that passed felt like hours, days, months had gone by.
“Please…”
Silence.
I began nodding uncontrollably as if I was answering my own
questions. Biting down on my bottom lip, I bit it to the point of pain. Trying
to feel anything other than the despair of the man I thought I knew. His
expression never once wavered from a deep stillness and penetrating stare.
Staring at me like I was hurting him as much as he was me.
His silence was deafening, like an array of tiny razor blades cutting into
every last inch of my skin. I could feel him everywhere and all at once,
even though not an inch of him was touching me.
 From his lack of response, I became angry.
Spewing, “Why are you just standing there and still not telling me the
truth!”
He shut his eyes just for a second murmuring, “I’m so fucking sorry,
Haven,” while bowing his head in shame.
I placed my shaking hand over my heart, trying to steady my breathing
and the desire to crumble to the ground in a fit of devastation for a past we
couldn’t change.
The bar was caving in on me as my vision muddled, clouding
everything around my vicinity, including him.
My lips began to quiver.
My chest started to heave.
Unleashing tears from my eyes, sending a steady stream down the sides
of my face.
“Tell me!” I yelled, my body trembling uncontrollably.
He just shook his head back and forth. “Peach, I—” he said, looking
back up at me with torment in his eyes.
“Answer my fucking question!”
He reached for me, but I shoved his hand away. I couldn’t feel him, it
would destroy us in the end.
“What are you sorry for?”
“You know,” was all he said.
Before I knew what I was doing, my hands connected with his chest in a
loud thud, repeatedly pounding into him.
“Teeny, calm down!” Jace ordered, but I didn’t listen.
I couldn’t.
My heart was breaking.
Shattering in front of everybody exactly how my brothers wanted.
I abruptly spun, glaring at him. “This is what you wanted, right, Jace?
This is what you all came for? To break my fucking heart?!”
It was the first time I saw true agony travel through my brother’s eyes
since our mother died. The day we buried her, they all became distant
memories of who I grew up with. Everything changed. We lost ourselves in
her memory.
“You couldn’t just let me be happy!” I yelled, feeling like my life was
ending once again. “You couldn’t just let me have him! Why!”
“Teeny…” he tried to justify, “We’re just trying to protect you.”
 “From what! Being in love? Being happy? Wanting to share my life
with someone!”
“He’s no good for you!”
“Neither are any of you!”
“Haven,” Ledger interrupted. “Let us explain.”
“You’re no better! None of you are! You want to pretend like you did
this for me when it’s bullshit! You didn’t do this for anyone, but yourselves!
I’m not a little girl anymore and it kills you that you can’t control me!
Why? Because you think I’ll end up dead just like her?”
Reid agreed, “We can’t lose you too.”
“Because this is any better!”
Hayes tried to wrap his arms around me, wanting and needing to hold
me.
“Let go of me!” I shouted, trying to shake loose from his embrace.
Ignoring the pain cycling through my entire being, I roughly tried to pry
away, only making him hold me that much tighter.
“Peach, I’m hanging on by a fucking thread here… Please…” he
pleaded as I continued to struggle against him.
“I never wanted to hurt you. You know that… I warned you, but you
wouldn’t listen. You refused to listen to me and now look at what’s
happened.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I sincerely expressed, feeling like I was
going to break at any moment. “You had so many chances to tell me the
truth? Why would you rather me find out like this?”
He turned me to face him, still grabbing ahold of my arms.
“I didn’t want to lose you. Not after I fell in love with you.”
Hearing him say that for the first time was like acid on my skin.
It burned.
It scared.
It seared into my heart.
I lashed out, slamming my fist into his chest and he accepted every
blow, knowing he deserved it.
I wanted to hurt him.
I needed to hurt him.
But also, through it all…
I wanted to continue loving him with every last part inside of me.
 When all of a sudden, he caught my wrists mid-hit, tugging me toward
his body. Holding me against his chest, against his heart. Against the agony
and grief that would always live inside of him.
I broke down, losing all my strength.
To fight.
To cry.
To hate him.
I fell to the ground, and he came with me.
“I’m so fucking sorry…” he apologized, grabbing ahold of my face.
Gripping onto it with so much strength and devotion. So much agony and
pain. “I lost my mom too and I’ve spent every second since that day trying
to live without her. If I could switch places with either of them, I would… I
swear to you… I would in a second. But that doesn’t change the fact that I
love you, Haven Beckham.”
I stared into his sorrowful eyes that were silently pleading for my
forgiveness.
The harder he held me, the more I wanted to hurt him.
Break him.
Hate him.
Except I couldn’t.
My mother wouldn’t let me.
She knew… She always knew we’d find each other. Our connection
was brought on by the loss of our mothers. An understanding only we could
share.
“Do you hear me? I love you, Peach. I fucking love you.”
I bawled with his hands on the sides of my face.
“Haven, get up,” Jace ordered. “Now!”
“Jace…” Ledger coaxed. “Let her be.”
“Haven, I mean it,” Jace demanded. “Get your ass of the floor before I
do it for you.”
“Jace,” Reid affirmed. “Ledger’s right. Back off.”
I couldn’t take it anymore, shoving Hayes’s hands away I stood.
“All of you!” I roared. “Enough!” I peered back and forth between
them. “What did you do, Hayes? How was the accident your fault?”
When he didn’t answer fast enough, Jace did for him, “Your boyfriend
was selling drugs at a party that got raided. Instead of arresting him, they
called his mom to pick him up. He’s the reason she was carelessly driving
and ran the red light that killed our mother. That’s the man you’re in love
with, Peach,” he mocked.
My eyes connected with Hayes’s again.
“Is that true?”
“Haven—”
“Is it true?!”
“Yes.” He nodded. “But I was only selling drugs to get us out of that
house. I couldn’t watch my old man slowly kill her anymore, but in the end,
it didn’t matter. I was the one who did it for him.”
My hands flew to my mouth.
I wanted the truth and there it was.
“You want to protect your little sister,” Hayes stated, standing tall.
“Well, all I wanted was to protect my mother.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Hayes interrupted, “Peach, I’ll make
this easy on you. Your family is all you have, and I couldn’t live with
myself if you chose me over them. We’ve all lost enough already and I’d
rather you lose me then you lose what’s left of your family. I always
thought you’d be the one who’d leave me, but as it turns out, I have to be
the bigger man and leave you instead.”
I never expected what he said next.
However, it didn’t make it hurt any less.
Hayes
It took everything inside of me to break her heart for the last time.
“From this point forward, you’re fucking fired. Now get the hell out of
my bar.”
I did what I had to do.
Even though…

It was the last thing I wanted to do.

Thirty-Seven
Hayes
I thouse
was after midnight as I sat at the dining room table in the hellhole of the
I grew up in. It was never a home. Despite my mother trying to
make it one. I hadn’t been there in years, too many demons lived within
these walls.
Fuck this place.
Even as I sat there, my whole life played out in front of my eyes. I
didn’t see anything other than the years of abuse I had to witness at the
hands of my old man. Not once had he taken accountability for what he put
us through.
He didn’t care.
He never did.
We were nothing but commodities to him.
Something he could use and abuse whenever he wanted. Taking out all
his frustrations on my mother’s face and body was what he thrived in. I
waited for him. The fact that this son of a bitch never sold this place and
still actively lived there just added to the memories wreaking havoc on my
mind.
It was now or never…
And I refused to allow his hold over me any longer.
You reaped what you sowed, and his time had come.
The last thing I wanted was any distractions, interruptions, or
retaliations. This was between my father and me.
Had nothing to do with anyone else.
After this there would be no second chances, no do-overs, no going
back. At the end of the day, this would be my burden and my burden alone
to bear. Exactly the way I desired it to.
The kitchen door opened, triggering how much I used to hate that
fucking sound. Except now, my emotions weren’t laced with fear. If
anything, I was fucking thrilled.
He was on the phone, not paying me any mind until he abruptly
stopped. His boots crossed the threshold into the dining room, seeing it was
just me filling the large space between us.
 I was sitting in his fucking seat at the head of the table.
He quickly ended his call, narrowing his eyes at me, questioning, “What
the fuck are you doing here? Your truck’s not out front.”
I nodded to the seat on the other end of the rectangular table, ordering
him to sit down. He understood my silent demand, cautiously heading
straight for the chair that was parallel to mine. His eyes never wavered from
my stare as he sat down like he was told.
I was shocked that he actually listened. He must have wanted something
from me.
“You scared, you old fuck?”
“Of you?” he countered, grinning.
“The one and only.”
He maliciously smiled, arching an eyebrow.
“Like father, like son.”
Slowly and deliberately, I shook my head no.
“I’m nothing like you, motherfucker.”
He leaned back into his chair, placing his boots up on the wood table
with a loud, hard thud.
“Is that what you think? That you’re not like me? You’re exactly like
me, Chase Hayes. I’m in your goddamn blood.”
I didn’t waver, questioning, “Why did you have me?”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“I don’t understand the question.”
“Why did you have me when you’ve never given a flying fuck about
me? There,” I mocked. “Understand now?”
He rolled his eyes, completely unfazed with my question.
“You’re a shitty ass fucking father.”
“Yeah?” He cocked his head. “So was my old man, but he taught me to
be tough. What did you want from me? A fucking hug? Come on, Chase.
You had your mother for that and look what you did to her. You think
you’re not like me? I’ve never killed my own mother. I’d say you were
worse than me, son.”
“I’m not your son.”
“Enough with the dramatics, Hayes. What the fuck do you want?”
“I want answers and you’re going to give them to me.”
“Or what?”
 “I’m going to make you beg for mercy.”
“Fuck you! I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, so cut the
pussyfooting bullshit, and just tell me why the fuck you’re here. You
haven’t been here in years.”
“I’ve always wondered if you had a death wish?”
He jerked back, slowly taking in my words before pounding his hand on
the table. It rattled for a couple seconds, but I didn’t budge an inch.
“I mean how many men do you think you’ve fucked over in the last ten
years alone? It’s a reasonable question. You ever wonder when your time
will come?”
“If you’re trying to scare me, you’re no good at it.”
I smiled, laying a gun on the table. The barrel aimed right at him.
His eyes narrowed, shifting back and forth between the Glock and me.
“Scared now, you piece of shit?”
“What are you doing, Chase? I’m your father.”
“You’re nothing to me. You’ve never meant a damn thing to me. You
have to know that?”
“It’s because of your mother. She turned you against me.”
“No.” I eerily shook my head. “You did that all on your own.”
“So what? You’re going to kill me for being an absentee daddy? Jesus,
who knew you’d turn out to be such a pussy?”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m not going to kill you for being the
bastard you are, I’m simply going to do it because I should have a long time
ago.”
“You can’t be serious.”
I stood with the gun now in my grasp. Each one of my steps were more
determined than the last.
“I’m going to kill you for all the times you beat the shit out of my
mother. For all the times you made her cry. All the times I watched her cake
on fucking makeup and a smile, to protect you from what? Everyone in this
town knows you’re a criminal. I’d be doing the cops a favor. After all, I’m
the one who tipped them off.”
His eyes widened.
“Yeah, that’s right. They raided the bar because of me. No one else, but
me.”
His jaw clenched.
“I planted file after file after file in your desk.”
 “What files?”
“Oh, you know…the shady shit you were doing with Christoff and his
men? So tell me, old man, how long have you been trafficking guns?”
“How do you know that?”
“The irony of you being killed by one of your own guns.” I shrugged.
“Can’t get any better than that.”
It was only then he realized I was wearing gloves.
“It has Christoff’s fingerprints all over it. Two birds, one stone. Now
that one, was for Haven. You fucked with the wrong girl.”
Her nostrils flared.
“You can’t do this!
“I already have. Eye for an eye, motherfucker.”
“Why?” he spewed. “What have I ever done to you other slap your
worthless mother around who wasn’t good for anything than laying on her
back or getting on her knees for me?”
I pistol whipped him, sending his head rearing back.
“Talk about her like that again and I’ll torture you before I put a bullet
in your head.”
He spit blood on the floor.
“You want to know what you did to me? On top of the physical and
emotional damage you caused on your own fucking family like that’s not
enough. How about all these years, all this time, I’ve lived with knowing it
was my fault she ran that red light and the only reason she did was because
I was selling your fucking drugs to get us away from you!”
“What?”
“Yeah, Daddy. I was so close. A few more months and I would’ve had
enough for us to start over in another state where you’d never see us again.
Finally get us far away from you and your endless bullshit! Where else
mattered to you but that godforsaken club!” I held my arms at my sides.
“Where are your biker buddies now? Even they can’t save you from this
fate at my hand.”
His hand fisted.
“Just call me your grim fucking reaper and I’ve come to collect. Except
I’m not taking your soul, that’s going straight to hell.”
“Chase…”
“Do you have any idea what I’ve had to live with because of you? I
can’t even look at myself in the mirror! All I see is her death on my hands!
The way I spoke to her before she died! It would have never happened if it
weren’t for you!”
It made me sick to my fucking stomach that we were blood, and he was
my father. He had his hands in a little bit of everything. Things that made
gun trafficking look like fucking child’s play.
My moment.
Everything I’d been fucking waiting for, pursuing, investigating. All the
sleepless nights, all the bullshit I’d gone through. Every life he’d taken.
Mine.
My mothers.
Almost Haven’s.
It all collided together.
Except this time, there was no more doubt. No more struggle. No more
what ifs. My time had come to make things right. All I ever wanted led up
to this. Where nothing else mattered.

But my fucking revenge against him.

Thirty-Eight
Hayes
“I brought it back here, Billy. Where it all started and now where it’s
going to end.”
“You’ll never get away with this. You’ll rot in prison if you kill me!
And then what? Huh? You won’t have your Peach anymore. Think about
her, son. You’ll lose everything.”
“You would use her to try to manipulate me. Except, all the tracks to
your murder go straight back to Christoff and his men. You said so yourself,
my truck isn’t out front. No one knows I’m here. Consider me a thief in the
night.” I leaned forward close to his face. “Now walk into the living room.”
His chest heaved, stepping one foot in front of the other toward the
direction I demanded. followed close behind, remembering every time he
beat her right into the ground.
How many times he shoved me into the wall.
The way her cries echoed through the hallway.
My heart pounding against my chest.
The sound of her pleading with him to stop, but he never did.
I remembered it all.
Every last second of the misery he purposely caused for his own sick
and deranged amusement.
Most of all, I recalled feeling so much fucking hatred for him.
We stopped when we stood over the exact place where he’d hit her the
most.
“Turn around, I want to look you in the eyes as I take your life the same
way you took ours.”
With his arms in the air, he did.
“You don’t have to do this, Chase. I can go to prison.”
“Yes, I do. Prison is too good for you. It’s the only way I’ll be free of
you.”
It was the first time I had ever seen pure fear cross my father’s face,
finally comprehending he was truly going to fucking die. Never expecting it
to come from the hands of his own only son.
His fucking prodigy.
 “Look me in the eyes, motherfucker,”
He didn’t falter.
“You got any last words? I should have done this when I was kid!
Maybe then my mother wouldn’t be six feet under.”
“Yes, she would you good for nothing ungrateful shit!” I never expected
his next confession, “You think I wouldn’t have found out you were stealing
my drugs from my club? What’s even better than knowing you’re just like
me is how fucking good you were at it!”
“The fuck,” I rasped, listening intently.
“You’re my son! You stand by me not her! I did what I had to do!”
“Billy—”
“The only reason she ran that red light is because I cut the brake line on
her car. I needed to get rid of her to have you! She was always so fucking
protective over you when you were mine too! It’s the only reason I wanted
you!”
I didn’t just jerk back, I stumbled.
“Oh my God.”
There was a familiar feeling lingering in the air, burning into my senses.
Where it would forever be etched in my skin. Except this memory would be
the first one that would never, ever, fucking haunt me.
“Yeah, Chase. All this time you’ve blamed yourself and it worked out in
my favor. I knew she’d never be okay with you dealing drugs, doing shit for
me, so I killed her in order to have you.”
I lunged at him, grabbing him by the throat, slamming his back into the
wall as hard as I could. I knocked the wind out of him, causing a loud gasp
of air to escape his mouth.
I cocked my arm back, shouting, “You son of a bitch!” clocking in him
the face, not once but three times before he even got the last word out,
sending his body to the ground with blood gushing from his nose.
He laughed, spitting up crimson red onto the ground, trying to hold up
his head, pinching his nose.
“After everything! What the fuck is wrong with you?”
He chuckled, leaning his back up against the wall, wiping the blood
from his nose with the back of his hand.
“Whatever it takes.”
I kicked him in the stomach as hard as I could. He immediately peeled
over to his side.
 My chest heaved.
My eyes burned.
All I saw was fucking red.
Rage couldn’t even come close to describing how I felt in that moment.
It took over every last fiber of my being.
“For what?! To make me loyal to you? That’s what this is about!” I
shouted, kicking him three more times.
He groaned, clenching his stomach. Coughing up blood from the blows
I was delivering with my boot.
“Get up! Get up, motherfucker!”
“Hayes, I—”
When he didn’t, I gripped onto his neck and stood him up instead.
“I should choke you with my bare hands.”
I hit him in the face, in the stomach, and then in ribs.
Over this bullshit.
His lies.
His truths.
He keeled over again, thinking I was done. We were both panting
heavily, sweating profusely with nothing but his blood dripping off his face
and body. Our eyes never wavered from one another, wild and brazen,
taking each other in.
He loosened up his shirt, and brought it up to his face to wipe the blood
running into his left eye from the open gash above his brow.
It reminded me of Haven’s scar.
His chest heaved as he pulled off his shirt, throwing it to the side.
It was then I realized it wasn’t over.
It was far from fucking over.
I hovered above his beaten face and body, mirroring the way he used to
loom over my mother.
My body swayed.
Ny head throbbed.
Pain radiated everywhere.
Groaning into the ground, he spit up more blood, holding onto his side.
I continued to forcefully pant, trying to get my heart from pounding out of
my chest. I blinked through the agony of what he revealed.
His face was void of any emotion. For the first time I stared at the man
who killed my mother. All this time, I thought it was me. The years I spent
under his control were for nothing.
Not one damn thing.
Looking at him with nothing but disgust in my eyes, I sneered, “This is
for my mother.”
Cocking my gun, I locked eyes with him for a split second. Needing
him to know it was me who was putting him to ground.
“Hayes, no—”
I blew his fucking head off.
My father wasn’t the only one I put to ground that day.
My demons were gone.

He took them with him.

Thirty-Nine
Haven
I ttexts,
had been two months since the last time I saw Hayes. He didn’t call, no
no emails, absolutely no communication whatsoever. Graduation
was in a few weeks and as much as I wanted to go overseas and keep the
plan I had with my mom—it wasn’t going to happen.
Not only did I not save enough money, but I also couldn’t find it in me
to do anything other than fall into this deep depression.
“Haven, come on!” Cove exclaimed in my kitchen. “Derrick is throwing
his epic yearly party. Let’s go!”
I shook my head, doodling random stuff in my notebook.
She snatched it out and away from me.
“Hey!”
She sighed deeply, showing me the page. “How many times are you
going to write Chase Hayes in your notebook? It’s like we’re back in
middle school. You remember your obsession with Ryan Gosling?”
“The Notebook is one of the best movies ever made.”
“Yeah, if you’re looking to cry for three hours.”
“Cove…”
“Don’t Cove me, Haven Beckham. I’m trying to be the supportive best
friend, but like how much longer do you plan on being—” she gestured at
me “—this.”
“You know you can go to the party by yourself?”
“Rude.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just not in the mood to party.”
“Trust me, I’m fully aware. When’s the last time you washed your
hair?”
I thought about it for a second. “I don’t remember.”
“When the last time you put on real clothes?”
I looked down at myself.
“This is real clothes.”
“You have literally been living the same sweatpants and hoodie for I
don’t know how long.”
I shrugged. “I wash them.”
 “This isn’t you.”
“Maybe it’s the new me.”
“No. This is moping you.”
“Why are you giving me shit?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she remarked sarcastically. “Probably since you’ve
completely given up on life.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“Am I though? How many times are you going to look at that
newspaper article?”
“Billy was murdered, Cove. By the same men the who almost attacked
me if it weren’t for Hayes. I’m allowed to be affected by that.”
“They all got what they deserved.”
“I know, but I can’t stop thinking what could have happened to me had
Hayes not shown up. I mean they’re capable of murder. What if—”
“They didn’t. You’re safe. Billy’s gone and they’re in prison. You could
put it behind you now.”
“I can’t help but to wonder how Hayes is handling it?”
“I’m sure he’s probably celebrating.”
“Cove…”
“What?” She nodded. “Haven, don’t pretend like they had this lovey,
dovey relationship.”
“He’s still his father.”
“So?”
“You’re being really insensitive.”
“No, I’m being realistic.”
“I’m just worried about him that’s all.”
The sound of my brother’s footsteps trampled through the house,
making their way into the kitchen. I may have said a handful of words to
them since the night they ruined my life.
Grabbing my notebook out of Cove’s hand, I was about to walk out of
the kitchen and go to my bedroom, but Jace announced, “Teeny, you don’t
have to haul ass anytime we enter the room.”
I glared at him.
“Enough with the death stares,” Reid demanded.
“Anything else you’d like to boss me around about?”
“For fuck’s sake,” Ledger breathed out. “How much longer are you
going to give all your brothers the cold shoulder?”
 “Not all my brothers, just you three.”
“You think because Alexander and Troy weren’t there, they didn’t agree
with what we had to do?”
“I don’t really care what you think you had to do, Jace. You lost my
respect the second you didn’t take into consideration what I wanted or how
I felt about it. You didn’t give me a choice at all. You three made it for me.
How fair is that?”
“Listen,” Ledger stated. “I’ll admit it wasn’t one of our finer moments,
but can you put yourself in our shoes for one fucking second? Waking up to
a phone call from the sheriff that your little sister is hanging out with the
wrong crowd. Then come to find out, it’s the son of the woman who killed
our mother. How do you expect us to react?”
“I’m sorry, Haven,” Cove chimed in. “But he’s kind of right.”
I gasped. “Whose side are you on?”
“Yours, always.”
“Really? Because it just sounded like you’re on theirs.”
“I’m not. The way they handled the situation was completely out of
line, but I can understand why they overreacted in the way they did. I can
imagine what it was like for them to find out you were at the jail yelling at
everyone.”
“Cove, you’re not helping.”
Jace narrowed his eyes at her. It was obvious he was caught off guard
with how levelheaded she was about what happened. I think he was mostly
surprised she was defending them.
She called him out, “Don’t look at me like that, asshole. I still hate
you.”
The amused expression on his face didn’t waver.
“All I’m saying is they’re your family and despite the outcome of what
occurred, they were just trying to protect you.”
“And when does that stop?”
“Haven, as much as their a pain in the ass and trust me, they’re a huge
pain in the ass, at least you have brothers who look out for you. My parents
don’t give a shit about me and I’m the only child. They spend more time on
their careers than they’ve ever been involved in my life. If it wasn’t for you
and your family, I wouldn’t have anyone.” She pointed at Jace. “Except for
you. I fucking hate you, but the rest of you.” She sweetly smiled. “I like all
of you.”
 Jace grinned. “Feeling’s mutual, bunny.”
“Ugh!” She scoffed.
“Bunny?” I jerked back. “Since when do you call her that?”
She ignored my question. “If you call me that one more time, I’m going
to slap the smirk off your face.”
“I’d love to see you try.”
“Okay…” I interrupted. “Are we done with this afternoon special? I’d
like to exit this chat now.”
“Not so fast,” Ledger ordered, walking toward me until he was standing
in front of me. “We know we hurt you, Teeny, and for that, we’re extremely
sorry. None of us want to continue on this way with you.”
“Then you should have thought about before you barged into my life
like you had a right to.”
“Haven—”
“No! You can’t just apologize your way out of this. Hayes isn’t at fault
for what happened to our mom. It was just a tragic accident. It could have
happened to anyone, and he lost his mother too. You think it’s been easy for
him to live with that?”
“How can you still defend him?” Jace questioned. “His old man was
murdered by criminals. Those are the kinds of men you want to surround
yourself with?”
“That was Billy, not Hayes. I love him, Jace, and that hasn’t stopped
because you want it to. All you guys wanted to accomplish was to get him
out of my life and you succeeded, I haven’t spoken to him in over two
months. You got what you wanted. What more do you want from me?”
Reid sincerely answered, “For you not to hate us.”
“Too late. You’re my brothers. I’m always going to love you, but right
now, every time I look at you, I see the hurt you’ve caused. And the fact
you feel no remorse for what you did, makes me hate you even more. I
don’t know what else to say to you. Other than, I want nothing to do with
you.”
Jace nodded at me. “We didn’t tell Dad what happened that night. Can
you at least give us that?”
“Great. You want a cookie too?”
“Haven…”
“Don’t use that tone with me. It doesn’t work anymore. How much does
dad know?”
 “He knows who Hayes is. He just doesn’t know you’re involved with
him.
“All right, well, if you want me to respect you and things go back to
normal between us than back off! I need time and I don’t know how much.
All I know, is I feel like a huge part of me is missing. The same part of me
that’s been gone since mom died. Hayes was the first person in my life that
filled that void for me, and you took it away like it meant nothing.”
Jace asked, “What can we do to make it up to you?”
“It’s too late.” I backed away. “He’s out of my life, so just leave me
alone.”
On my way up the stairs, I stopped when I overheard Cove add, “She’s
never going to forgive you if you guys don’t make this right.”
“She’ll get over it,” Jace replied. “That guy is no good for her. She
deserves better.”
“And what makes you think he’s not good for her? For your
information, asshole, the first time they met, he kicked her out of his bar
because she was underage and then fired the bouncer who was going to let
her in. Who also just happened to try to take her home. Which again, Hayes
put a stop to it and drove her home instead. Why? Because he wanted to
make sure she was safe.”
Nobody said a word.
Cove didn’t stop there, she shared, “And don’t get me started on how
many times he rejected her and beat up whatever guy he needed to in order
to protect her at the bar. Most of the tables she hosted, were women. Again,
who do you think was responsible for that?”
Reid questioned, “If he was so concerned why would he hire her?”
“He didn’t. He actually turned her down. Billy was the one who hired
her.”
“Why did she want to work at a bar?” Ledger asked.
“I don’t want to betray her trust, but I feel like this is the only way it
might repair the damage you’ve caused. If you must know, your mom and
her had a pact they would go on a girl’s trip overseas after she graduated. It
was something they had planned for years before the car accident. They
were actually on their way to open up a savings account the day it
happened. Haven was trying to keep that promise and she knew you’d all be
against it, so she needed a job where she could make money fast.”
“Wow,” Jace breathed out. “It’s like we don’t even know her.”
 “You can say that again. Hayes spent months trying to keep her at arm’s
length, but you know your sister, when she wants something, she doesn’t
stop until she gets it.” In a snide tone, she snapped, “I wonder who she gets
that from. Oh, and let’s not forget about the fact he saved her from those
criminals who killed his father.”
“What?” they shouted in unison.
“Relax. Hayes handled it, okay? He came in guns blazing. You think
he’s no good for her, but I hate to break it you, all he’s been is good to her.
He’s exactly the kind of man you’d want her with. Honestly, he’s a lot like
all of you and if you had given him half a chance, you’d have seen it too.”
I never loved my best friend more than I did at that moment.
“All you’re doing is pushing her further and further away from you. We
graduate in three weeks. There are colleges all over the world that are ready
to open their doors to her. Where do you think she’s going to want to go?
Because I’ll tell you right now, if I were her, I’d attend the furthest college
away, just to get away from you. You’re losing her and your mother is
probably rolling around in her grave for how you handled Hayes.” She
paused, letting her words sink in.
“Haven knows what’s right for her because you all taught her what she
should expect from the man she loves. She wouldn’t be with a criminal.
And the fact that you think she would? Doesn’t say anything about her, but
everything…”
She spoke with conviction…

“About you.”
Forty
Hayes
A lmost two and a half months later and there wasn’t a second of the day I
didn’t think or miss Haven. She consumed every last part of me the
same way she always did. Her graduation was next week, I envisioned what
she’d look like in her cap and down. How her beautiful smile would light
up the stage. How proud her family would be of her.
How proud I was of her.
Billy’s murder was all over the news. Just as I planned, nothing was
traced back to me. For the first time in my life, I was free, and all I wanted
was my girl back. I was over the bullshit of not having her in my bed every
night. We had missed so much time together, and I planned on making up
every last minute.
Although I didn’t want to, I waited to let the emotions settle. I needed to
do right by her. Against all reason, I found myself driving past the gates of
her home. Praying like hell this wouldn’t end with one of her brother’s fists
in my face or worse, her father’s. Before I could contemplate what I was
truly doing, I stood at her front door.
Ready to fight for her.
The same way she fought for me.
It was her dad who opened it. If he was surprised to see me there, he
didn’t show it in the least.
I extended out my hand. “Hi, Mr. Beckham, “I’m—”
“I know who you are.”
I hoped this would go over well.
To my surprise, he shook my hand, gesturing. “Come in.”
Haven was at school all morning. I waited until I knew she wouldn’t be
around. This needed to be me and them alone. Without her influence over
the situation.
I walked inside, abruptly stopping when I saw all five of her brothers
standing there with their arms crossed over their chests. I hid back a smile,
respecting the hell out of what they were trying to do.
“I know why you’re here, Hayes.”
“Figured you would.”
 Her dad glanced around. “I assume you’re all acquainted.”
I nodded at them. “Something like that.”
“Let’s go in the living room.”
I followed them in there, sitting in the armchair while they spread out
throughout the wide-open space. Her father sat in the armchair parallel to
me. I waited for him to speak first.
“We don’t need to beat around the bush, Hayes. My daughter has been a
wreck for the last few months and it’s safe to say it has something to do
with you?”
“I’ve been a wreck too, sir.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “My sons have caught me up on the
circumstances of your relationship with my daughter.”
“I imagine they would.”
“What do you have to say for yourself?”
I leaned forward, setting my elbows on my knees.
“I’m in love with her.”
“She loves you too.”
“I know. I’m not going to pretend like this one conversation is going to
make you all like me, but I’m hoping it will ease your concern when it
comes to her and I.”
“We’re listening.”
“I’m sure you’ve seen on the news my old man was gunned down.”
“Yes,” Mr. Beckham stated. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
I didn’t hesitate. “I’m not. My father was a bastard. He spent my most
of my childhood slapping my mom around and when that didn’t work, he
came for me. I grew up in a house filled with nothing but despair. I had to
grow up fast and I’m not going to lie to you and say it hasn’t messed with
me as an adult. Up until his death, I thought…” I inhaled a deep breath,
steading my composure.
“I was responsible for the car accident.”
“The sheriff said—”
“I know. She ran a red light to come get me. The truth is I was selling
drugs, but not because I wanted to be like my old man. It was the complete
opposite. I didn’t want to be anything like him, and I knew if we didn’t get
away from him, I wouldn’t stand a chance. It’s why I was selling to begin
with. I was trying to make enough money for us to disappear, but come to
find out, she didn’t run a red light. The bastard tampered with her breaks.”
 Their eyes widened in shock.
“He wanted her out of the picture to have control over me and he made
me think it was my fault to continue to manipulate me without her
protection.”
“Jesus,” Jace rasped.
“If you ask me, Billy got what he deserved. It should have happened
years ago. I never understood why she didn’t leave him until my twenty-
first birthday. The only reason I owned forty-nine percent of the bar is
because she left it to me in her will. If she were still alive, I would have
received it in a trust when I turned twenty-one. I don’t what history they
had between them. All I know is my grandfather left forty-nine percent of
the bar to her in his will. If I had to guess, he was probably trying to fuck
over his son. Billy never let her see a dime of that money and she knew if
we ran, I’d have nothing. I think in her eyes, she thought she was doing
right by me.”
They listened intently to what I was confessing.
“I didn’t want a thing to do with that bar, but again, Billy was able to
con me into it. Saying it was my mother’s last wishes and how could I go
against what she wanted after I was responsible for her death. I couldn’t say
no. The guilt of what I did was too heavy.”
“Do you own the bar now?” Reid asked.
“I do, but I’ve made a lot of changes. Starting with The Outlaws not
being welcomed there. I was never part of Billy’s club. I promised my
mother I never would be and if there’s one thing you need to know about
me, I always keep my word.”
Mr. Beckham nodded.
“I knew who Haven was when she came to my bar the first time. It’s
why I kicked her out. I didn’t want her around me given what I thought I
caused, but she’s persistent.”
Mr. Beckham chuckled.
“But damn am I glad she is. These last two months without her have
been some of the worst times of my life. Your daughter… She’s something
else.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I knew that the first time I held her in my arms. If it
wasn’t for her, I think losing her mother would have been harder on all of
us.”
 “I know it would have. I haven’t felt like this since my mom was alive.
She’s everything I ever wanted and didn’t know I could have.”
“Up until you showed up at my door just now, I didn’t know it was you
who Haven was involved with. I know my sons and her have been distant
from each other, so when I saw your face, it wasn’t hard to put two and two
together.”
“Wise man.”
“Let me start off by saying this to you, Hayes. When the sheriff told us
what happened that day with my wife, I never blamed you. Not for one
second. You were a kid. I’ve raised six of them. My sons may act like
they’re angels, but they’ve been involved in their own stuff I’m not proud
of. That’s what kids do. For me, it was always a tragic accident where we
all lost someone.”
I swallowed hard, not expecting him to say that.
“If I could go back, I wish I could have granted you some peace of mind
knowing you weren’t responsible. It probably would have helped a lot of
your guilt for the accident and for that, I apologize. I can’t speak for my
sons, but going forward, you have my blessing, and at the end of the day,
mine is the only one you need.”
My gaze shifted to her brothers.
“I’m not expecting us to be close or for you to even like me, but I do
need you to know I’m in love with your sister and I’ll never hurt her. She’s
all that matters to me.”
They looked back and forth at one another before Jace spoke for all of
them, “If for whatever reason, you do hurt her, just know, we’re coming for
you. Don’t think for one second, we’re going to stop protecting her, but at
least we know…. We’re on the same page now. You so much as make her
cry, I won’t think twice about making you cry too.”
I blew out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding in. The relief I felt was
much needed.
“Before I go, I need to ask your permission on something…”
Haven
I threw my books on the kitchen counter and grabbed a bottle of water from
the fridge. Moments later, my brothers walked in.
I rolled my eyes as soon as I saw them, heading in the opposite
direction.
“Wait a second,” Jace demanded.
“Ugh.” I turned to face him. “What now? Do you not like my outfit? Or
is this water not healthy enough for you?”
Ledger ordered, “Enough with the snide. You’re going to want to hear
what he has to say.”
“Fine.”
“After thinking about everything that’s happened, we’ve come to the
conclusion that if Hayes makes you happy then it’s good enough for us.”
I jerked back. “Are you drunk?”
“I’m serious. We want you to be happy and we hate what our
relationship with you has become. You’re more important to us then what
we think of the man you should be with.”
I shook my head. “Why the change of heart?”
“Shit happens, Teeny. We all know what it feels like to lose one of the
most important people in our lives. We’re never going to get over the loss
of our mother, but we know Hayes wasn’t responsible for the accident. It
was just tragic day.”
I peered at all of them.
“I don’t understand, but I’ll take it. Did Hayes reach out to you or
something?”
Reid implied, “Or something.”
With wide eyes, I replied, “You have no idea how much this means to
me. I don’t know what else to say. I’m in shock.”
Jace pulled me into a hug.
“You can start with I love you.”
I wasn’t sure what occurred that morning. All I knew was I finally going
to get what I wanted.
Chase Hayes.
Forty-One
Haven
“W elcome graduates, colleagues, family, and friends. Congratulations to
everyone moving forward with their lives today,” the principal of our
school announced through his microphone, standing front and center on the
stage before all of us. “I’d like to begin by thanking all of the families and
friends in the audience this morning. I know how proud you must be of
your sons or daughters stepping into the next chapter of their lives. I,
myself, have a son who will be graduating next year, and the sense of pride
I feel for him, words can’t describe.”
I couldn’t believe the day was finally here. After four years of studying,
graduating with a 3.8 GPA made it all worthwhile. I got accepted into every
college I applied to, and I filled out more than twelve different applications.
So many “Congratulations, you’ve been accepted” letters but I couldn’t
commit to any of them. I didn’t know where I stood with Hayes and despite
my brothers being on board, I couldn’t bring myself to reach out to him.
For our entire relationship it was me fighting for him and I couldn’t do
it again. If it was going to work between us, I needed him to do the same for
me.
I swear I blinked, and my name was being called onto the stage, I
smiled making my way up there. After I shook everyone’s hands, I gazed
out at the audience looking for my family. When all of a sudden, my stare
locked with the one man I hadn’t expected.
Hayes was proudly sitting by my father with roses in his arms. It took
everything inside of me not to run to him. I stood there in a state of disbelief
for what felt like forever before I stepped down and walked back to my
seat. For the rest of the ceremony, I was on edge.
Did I imagine him?
As soon as we threw our caps in the air, I caught it and hauled ass over
to them. Except, I didn’t make it there.
Hayes met me halfway.
I ran into his arms. I don’t think I’d ever run as fast as I did. He
immediately lifted me in the air. It felt like coming home. I was beyond
grateful to have him there with me. Words couldn’t describe what I was
feeling. It was everything I ever wanted.
Once he put me back down onto the ground, I kissed him as if my life
depended on it and he returned each and other push and pull.
He was the first to pull away, revealing, “God, I fucking missed you.”
“Me too! I can’t believe you’re here.
The sincere expression on his face captivated me in the same way it
always had. Placing his hands on the sides of my face, he brought me closer
to him.
“I can’t lose you again. I won’t. I love you, Haven.”
My chest rose and fell with each word he said, taking him.
His scent.
His body.
His stare.
His mouth.
His heart.
“I love you too.”
“Come home with me.”
I didn’t have to be told twice. After we went to lunch with my family
and Cove. Which was as surreal as it sounded, I jumped on the back of his
Harley. Even though I was nice wearing a dress, I didn’t care.
I wrapped my arms around his strong, muscular chest and simply laid
my helmeted head on his back. It was amazing. I never thought we’d get to
this point where we could finally be out in the open. Where we didn’t have
to hide what we meant to each other. Everything we went through, led us
back to this point in time where we were together, and it was all that
mattered.
He parked his Harley and then grabbed my hand to lead us inside. Once
we were sitting out on his dock, he grabbed my waist and wrapped my legs
around him, sitting me on his lap.
His fingers ran up my arms, stopping when he reached my face to trace
my lips with his thumb.
“I fucking love you. I won’t lose you again.” He paused, searching my
expression. “For the first time in my life, I’m happy, Peach, and I need you
to know it’s because of you.”
No longer being able to restrain myself, I crashed my mouth onto his.
Clutching harder onto the sides of my face, I kissed him exactly the way I
had fantasized for the last two months. His tongue found mine. The
slightest feel of him drove me over the edge, and all we were doing was
kissing. I couldn’t wait to have his hands on me. Our tongues continued to
move in sync with one another.
I was where I belonged.
He kissed me one last time, letting his lips linger for a few more
seconds before resting his forehead against mine, breathing profusely. His
hands were still clutched onto the sides of my face. Almost like he needed a
moment to take me in.
To take us in.
I felt his smile against my mouth, whispering, “I have something for
you.”
I giggled. “Oh, I can feel it.”
He laughed, and I whimpered when he pulled away.
“What’s going on?”
“I want all the cards to be out on the table between us, Peach.”
“Okay.”
“You’ve been asking me for months on why I was part owner of the bar
and I’m ready to tell you everything.”
I absorbed everything he openly shared, fully aware and relieved…
There’d be no more secrets between us.
Hayes
“Wow…” She shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say to all that. I
can’t believe how evil he was. I’m so sorry, Hayes. You didn’t deserve any
of that. I can’t imagine what it was like to have him hanging over your head
like that.”
“He’s gone now. I never have to worry about him again.”
“I know. Ummm…” She bowed her head.
“Haven, just ask me.”
Our eyes connected.
“Did you know Christoff was after him?”
I didn’t want to lie to her, so I simply responded, “I handled it.”
I could see it in her expression, she knew what I meant without me
having to confess it to her.
“Two birds with one stone, huh?”
I grinned. “Look at you, using big girl words.”
“Do I have to worry about the cops knocking on our door one day?”
“Our door?”
She smirked. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“No, Peach. I’m forever yours.”
“What about the bar?”
“It’s mine completely.”
“Does that mean I get my job back?”
“We’ll see how good of a girl you are on our trip.”
Her eyebrows pinched together.
Reaching into the back pocket of my jeans, I pulled out an envelope,
and handed it to her.
“What’s this?”
“Open it and find out.”
She did. “Oh my God!”
“Two first class seats to Italy. I figured we could start there and eat
some lasagna.”
She tackled me onto the lounger, kissing all over my face. My hands
gripped onto her ass, and I picked her up in one swift motion. I carried her
back to my room, laying her on my bed beneath me.
“I can’t believe you did this. My family’s going to flip.”
“I already got their approval, but I wouldn’t have taken no for an
answer.”
“Chase Hayes!” She beamed. “When did you do that?”
“I went to talk to them.”
She gasped. “And they didn’t kill you?”
“Not yet.”
I chuckled. “You’re just full of surprises today. You know you didn’t
need their permission, right?”
“I wanted it.”
She kissed my mouth. “Thank you for that. I can’t believe we’re going
overseas, and I get to keep the pact with my mom! You’re amazing, I love
you.”
“My pleasure. I love you too.”
“I need to go home and pack.”
I pecked her neck, kissing down her body.
“You’re not going anywhere until I’m done with you.”
“That could be days!”
For the next two days, I didn’t let her leave my bed.
My arms.
My cock.
It was where she belonged.
For the first time in I don’t know how long, I finally slept at peace. The
only dreams I had…

Were of our future together.

Forty-Two
Hayes
I tAmsterdam.
was our last night in Italy, and the next day we’d be traveling to
Haven wanted to see Anne Frank’s house and I wanted to
see her blush down the red-light district.
Tonight, I planned on taking my time with her before I gave her what
I’d be dying to since we arrived, but I decided to wait until our last night
here instead. The last two weeks were everything I knew they’d be. We
went everywhere and by the end of the day, we were both exhausted, but
that didn’t stop me from thrusting balls deep inside of her.
I threw her over my shoulder.
“You are such a caveman! You know I can walk, right?”
“This way is so much better.”
My senses were heightened, taking in the scent of her all around me as I
tossed her on the bed.
“You know most men carry their women in their arms not over their
shoulders.”
“Those men are pussies and I’m about to break yours.”
“Hayes!”
“Besides, I like your ass in my face.”
“Trust me, I know.”
“I need to fuck you now, Peach. Claim you again and then maybe I’ll
make sweet love to you all night long.”
“Promise?”
I backed away. “Where are you going?”
This was the perfect timing. I opened the safe in the room and grabbed
her gift.
“Has that been in there this entire time?”
I nodded.
“Is that why you wouldn’t give me the code?”
I nodded again.
“Sneaky.”
I handed it to her.
 “You know you don’t have to keep getting me gifts? This trip is more
than enough.”
“Sweetheart, get used to it.”
She smiled, sitting up.
“What is it?”
“Open it and find out.”
“But it’s so nicely wrapped.” She carefully teared the paper in the
corners, and I resisted the urge to open it for her.
When she finally had it off, she opened the box and immediately burst
into tears.
“I had it restored for you.”
“Wilbur,” she cried. “How did you do this?”
“I found someone that was able to take the pieces of glass I saved from
the original and make your piggy bank brand new again.”
She held it close to her heart.
“I can’t believe you did this.”
Getting down on my knees, I wiped away her tears. “I’d do anything for
you.”
Bringing the piggy bank up to her face, she heard something jingle
inside.
“Is there already money in it?”
“Only one way to find out.”
She zeroed in on me as she pulled the plug and then flipped it over,
showcasing a ring.
Her mouth dropped open.
“Hayes…”
I grabbed it off her lap, displaying our birthstones.
“I want you to experience life with me by your side, but when the time
is right, I will ask you to marry. For now, this is a promise ring.” I placed it
on her ring finger, vowing, “You’re mine forever, Haven Beckham.”
And I meant every last word.
Haven
“You’re mine forever too, Chase Hayes. Just know, when you do ask me,
I’ll always say yes.”
There was nothing else needed to be said between us other than, “I love
you.”
The second his lips touched mine he growled, parting them. Beckoning
me to do the same.
I did.
His hands were all over me like he couldn’t decide where he wanted to
touch me the most.
I leaned into every touch.
Every sensation.
Every emotion he was stirring inside of me.
He was mine.
I was loving the thrill of what was to come as he reached for his belt.
I wanted him.
Craved him.
Needed him.
Every last part of him.
He eagerly moved his hips against my hands as I worked his button and
zipper. Unable to get them off fast enough. Pulling out his long, thick cock,
I aggressively and urgently stroked it up and down before putting it in my
mouth.
“Fuck, Haven…” he breathed out.
We were both spiraling into a frenzy as I deep throat his cock, gagging
until he gripped onto my hair from the nook of my neck.
“Suck me, Peach. Fuck me with your mouth.”
I started using my hand.
“Good girl, just like that, so good… so fucking good.”
“Mmm,” I hummed as I deep throated him again with my hand moving
in-sync with my mouth.
He reached around my frame, kneading my ass cheeks for few seconds
and then slid my panties to the side.
 I moaned as he began rubbing my clit. While he was pumping his hips
against my mouth, I lost myself as I worked him over.
It didn’t take long for me to mumble, “I’m going to come.” I soaked his
hand, releasing his dick with a pop.
In one swift movement, he tore open my blouse, sending buttons flying
everywhere, crashing onto the floor. Not wanting to break our connection,
not even for a minute, my bra was off within seconds, finally I felt his
strong, callused hands roughly kneading my breasts as he sucked and licked
all around my nipples, causing my back to arch off the bed.
I never stopped stroking his cock while he roughly ripped off my skirt
and panties, not able to get them off fast enough.
“I want to fuck you with my tongue,” he breathlessly urged,
immediately placing his face in between my thighs.
I didn’t have time to blink before his tongue was pushing into my pussy,
swirling it into my opening.
“Oh, God,” I panted as he placed my thighs onto his shoulders. Angling
my clit in a way that made me go mad with desire.
My hands instantly went into his hair, tugging.
As if reading my mind, he opened his eyes to look up at me, sucking my
clit into his mouth. I loved to watch him to this to me. It was so erotic and
damn sexy. His head moved into a side-to-side motion, followed by a back-
and-forth rhythm.
“Ah!” I yelled out, trying to catch my bearings.
My chest heaved with every precise manipulation of his skilled tongue
and lips. His mouth was literally eating me alive. I watched him push two
fingers into my wet heat, causing my legs to shake. Which only enticed him
to finger-fuck me harder and lick me faster. Bringing me so close to the
edge of ecstasy.
He looked primal and heady and that was my undoing. I came so hard,
my eyes rolled to the back of my head and my hands fisted in the sheets.
I swear I saw stars.
He didn’t give me a minute to recover before he was pulling his shirt
over his head and kicking off his boots and pants. He tossed them onto the
floor, scooting me onto the center of the bed.
I couldn’t wait any longer.
“Please…” I begged, swaying my hips against his cock as he grinned
above me.
 He baited, “You want my cock, Peach?”
I eagerly nodded my head. My body tingled all over. Sending spasms
straight down my legs.
“I want you.”
He grabbed onto his dick, stroking it, accentuating his abs and V
muscles.
“Tell me you want my cock.”
My eyes dilated, reaching for his shaft, but he intercepted and had my
hands pinned above my head, locking them in place by my wrists.
“Let me hear you say the words,” he demanded, kissing my lips.
“Please… I want your cock,” I repeated just for him.
He didn’t falter, in one swift thrust he was deep inside of me. My
wetness drenched his balls.
“That’s it, Haven…just like that…squeeze my fucking cock with your
sweet, tight, little pussy. I can’t ever get enough of.”
The slapping sound of our skin-on-skin contact echoed in the room as
my body shuddered.
I was his to do with as he pleased.
He didn’t stop, his hands moved to the sides of my face, caging me in
with his arms. I loved feeling the weight of him on top of me as he
continued to thrust in and out. Exactly how I wanted him to. I tried to keep
his pace, barely finishing one climax before another would hit.
“Keep coming on my cock. Take what’s fucking yours.”
“Hayes….” I purred, breathless and gasping for air. Coming so
intensely, long and hard down his dick.
He made this roaring sound from deep within his chest.
“Give me another one.”
He manipulated my clit, getting him precisely what he craved. We were
panting profusely, and he completely caught me off guard when he flipped
me over onto my knees.
Roughly gripping onto my hips, he slid back inside of me, propelling
me forward.
“Hayes!”
With his hand over my throat, he pulled me back against his chest.
Never letting up on his assault on my pussy.
“I love you.”
 He looked deep into my eyes and spoke with conviction, “I fucking love
you, too, Haven. You’re mine.” As we both came together.
We spent the entire of the night just like that, making love, wrapped up
in each other. Ready for the future…

Together.
Epilogue
Hayes
“H ayes, if you don’t get off of me. We’re not going to make our flight in
the morning to go home.”
“Home,” I rasped against her lips. “I like the sound of that. When are
you going to tell your family you’re moving in with me?”
“Ummm…” She kissed me. “Maybe the next time they’re all drunk?”
“You better get them shitfaced as soon as you walk through the door.
I’m not sleeping without you in our bed.”
“Our.” She smiled. “I like the sound of that.”
“Start off by telling them you’re attending Wyoming University in the
fall.”
“Go Pistol Pete!”
“Forever the cheerleader.”
“I’m totally trying out for the squad.”
“Sweetheart, as long as I get to fuck you in your uniform that’s all that
matters.”
She giggled. “Proceed. You were saying.”
“After they’re excited about you not moving out of state for college
than you can lay the news on them that you’re moving in with me instead.”
“Mmmm…”
My cock twitched at the sound of moaning.
“If you keep making those noises, we’re definitely going to miss our
flight in the morning.”
“I can’t believe how fast this trip went. How does six weeks fly by so
fast?”
“Time flies when you’re having fun.”
“I had the best time of my life. I know my mom is smiling down at us,
happy that we made it here.”
“I know my mom is too.”
“Maybe they’re friends.”
“I’m sure of it.”
“You think?”
 “I know. She spent years telling me I’d meet the one. She’d make sure
of it.”
She slightly gasped. “My mom used to tell me the same thing.”
“We were always meant to be.”
“Yes. I love the sound of that.”
I kissed her.
“But seriously! Stop! I need to pack!”
“Ugh!” I dropped to the side of her body, placing my hands under my
head. “Fine, but how about you pack naked, so I can at least have a show to
watch?”
“You’re horrible. We both know what will happen if I pack naked. I
won’t get any packing done. Besides, how do you still want to have sex?
My body was literally on the itinerary this entire trip.”
“I rate it five stars.”
“You’re just the cutest thing in the world.”
“I’m just trying to get laid.”
She threw a pillow at me.
“How about your throw your pussy instead?”
“Hayes!”
“You better run.”
Her eyes widened, fully aware I was about to chase her. It was her
favorite game.
She laughed, hauling ass out of the room.
I didn’t hesitate to run after her. She was my whole world, and I had no
fucking problem…
Letting her know it now.
Haven
I stopped behind the couch with my hands out in front of me, making him
pause on the other side of the sofa.
“I have to pack, and this isn’t helping.”
“You think that’s going to keep me away?”
He walked over to me, each step precise and calculated. Before I could
run away, he tackled me onto the couch with him on top of me.
I giggled, “How are we back here again?”
“Because I can’t get enough of you.”
Slowly, he kissed his way down my neck.
“I’ll be quick.”
“You don’t know the meaning of the word.”
Once his face was where I wanted him the most, he licked around the
seams of my panties before hooking his fingers in the sides to slide them
down my legs.
“Peach—”
My cellphone rang, cutting him off.
“Hold that thought.”
“Ugh!” He fell onto the couch beside me.
“You are such a big baby. It’s probably my dad asking what time we
land. You know how excited he is to see us.”
“More like you, but nice try.”
I rolled my eyes. “He likes you.”
“Roll your eyes at me again and we’ll see how red I can make your
ass.”
“You’re going to have to catch me first.”
With that, I jumped off the couch as he tried to grab me and picked up
my phone from the coffee table.
“Oh, it’s Jace.”
“And he’s still a pain in my ass.”
“Hush.” I answered. “Hello.”
“Hey, Teeny.”
“What’s up?”
 “What time do you land tomorrow?”
“Like ten at night.”
“Do you need one of us to pick you up?”
“No, we can get an Uber.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, it’s not a problem.”
“All right.”
I could tell by the tone in his voice that something was up.
“Everything okay?”
He hesitated for a moment.
“Jace, you’re scaring me.”
Hayes sat up, looking at me with concern laced in his eyes.
“I don’t want you to find out when you land. I’d rather you hear it from
me first.”
“Okay…”
My hand flew to my heart, bracing myself for I don’t what.
He inhaled deep breath as I sat down on the table in front of Hayes.
“Jace, the suspense is killing me.”
Hayes mouthed, “Put your phone on speaker.”
I did.
“I’m sorry to do this to you, Haven.”
Hayes put his hand on my leg in a comforting gesture. In three words
Jace threw my life into a tailspin when he revealed…

“Cove’s been Taken.”

For Hayes and Haven.

It’s only the beginning, or is it also the end for…

Jace and Cove
Perfect Enemy (Standalone/Enemies to Lovers Romance)
Releasing April 25, 2023

PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE NOW

Coming Soon
To the Beckham Dynasty

Perfect Enemy: Releasing April 25, 2023

 About:

She’s twenty-years younger than me.

Half my age.
And twice the trouble.

After two decades of serving, I come home to find nothing’s changed,

except her. She’s still the
same carefree girl with wild eyes and a smart mouth. A mouth I’ve wanted
to tame for years, but
I couldn’t back then and I can’t do it now.

This time I have a job to do and she keeps getting in my way. Because
removing her from my
life is impossible…

She’s my little sister’s best-friend.

PERFECT ENEMY PRE-ORDER:

Perfect Enemy

Book 3:
SINFUL ENEMY PRE-ORDER:
Sinful Enemy
Second Chance Contract
Second Chance Vow
Second Chance Scandal
Second Chance Love
Second Chance Rival
Second Chance Mine
Other Series to Check
Out

ANGSTY ROM-COM
The Kiss
The Fling

MAFIA/ORGANIZED CRIME ROMANCE

El Diablo
El Santo
El Pecador
Sinful Arrangement
Mafia Casanova: Co-written with Rachel Van Dyken
Falling for the Villain: Co-written with Rachel Van Dyken
 SMALL TOWN ROMANCE
Complicate Me
Forbid Me
Undo Me
Crave Me

SINGLE DAD/NANNY ROMANCE

Choosing Us
Choosing You

ENEMIES TO LOVERS ROMANCE

Hated You Then
Love You Now

MC ROMANCE
Road to Nowhere
Ends Here

MMA FIGHTER ROMANCE

Lost Boy

ROCK STAR ROMANCE

From the First Verse
‘Til the Last Lyric
 BUNDLES
Road to Nowhere/Ends Here
Jameson Brothers
Sinner/Saint Duet
Pierced Hearts Duet
Love Hurts Duet
Life of Debauchery Duet
Good Ol' Boys
Los Diablos

EROTIC ROMANCE
VIP
The Madam
MVP
Two Sides
Tempting Bad
 Meet M. Robinson

M. Robinson is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author
of more than thirty novels in Contemporary Romance and Romantic
Suspense. Crowned the “Queen of Angst” by her loyal readers, you’ll feel
the cut of her pen slicing through your heart as your soul bleeds upon the
words of her stories with each turn of the page.
Most notably known for the Good Ol’ Boys, M’s newest venture has
graced her with the #1 Bestseller on Apple Books with Second Chance
Contract. The Second Chance Men are powerful, intelligent and will sweep
you off your feet and leave you weak in the knees–every woman’s wildest
dreams.
M. lives the boat life along the Gulf Coast of Florida with her two
puppies and real life book boyfriend, the inspiration for all her filthy talking
alphas, Bossman.
When she isn’t in the cave writing her next epic love story, you can
usually spot her mad-dashing through Target or in the drive-thru of
Starbucks, refueling. Yes, she’s a self-proclaimed shopaholic, but only if
she’s spending Bossman’s money.
You can follow M, Ted, Marley, and Bossman on Facebook, Instagram,
and her absolute favorite social platform-TikTok.

www.authormrobinson.com
 Acknowledgments

Personal Assistant: Leanne Trn

Cover Designer: Lori Jackson
Ebook Formatter: Leanne Trn
Paperback Formatter: Sarah Barton
Publicist: Danielle Sanchez
Agent: Stephanie DeLamater Phillips

Bloggers/Bookstagrammers: Without you I’d be nothing. Thank you for all

your support always.

My VIPS/Readers

Photographer: Michelle Langcaster

Model: Chad Hurst

Street Team Leaders: Leeann Van Rensburg & Jamie Guellar

Teasers & Promo: Shereads.pang, Leanne Trn, Madaline Bird

My VIP Reader Group Admins:

Lily Garcia, Leeann Van Rensburg, Jennifer Pon, Jessica Laws, Louisa
Brandenburger

Street Team & Hype Girls: You’re the best.

My alphas & betas:

Thank you for helping me bring this book to life.