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Naomi
“The Christmas trees are magical. The guys don’t mind there being so many?”
Sadie chuckles, shaking her head. “They tried to grumble about it, but it didn’t last for long. Too many ol’ ladies wanting to pitch in their touches around here to bring in some holiday spirit. Don’t tell a soul I shared this with you, but pussy runs this house, not dick.”
A laugh bubbles up, not expecting her to say that. “Well, that’s refreshing. Do the guys know it too or just the women?”
Her smile’s wide as she says, “They think they run it, but we know the truth.” She winks, making me snicker again. “You’ll meet everyone over the next week with it being Christmas. This is the best time to be at the club, in my opinion. Lots of cooking, hanging out, and having fun together. There’s always a full house for the holiday. Think of us as one big family you get to be welcomed into.”
She’s seriously the sweetest person I’ve met so far, aside from Spin. I had a brief encounter this morning with Avery and Ares. They were in the kitchen when Sadie was giving me the official tour. They were nice but didn’t talk much. I’m the new one around here though, so they probably need time to warm up to me. Sadie’s ol’ man, Twist, is here too, even though I haven’t seen him yet. According to her, he spends the majority of his time out in the garage, especially when the weather is cool. She said that he and Spin build bikes together. Well, Twist builds them and Spin custom paints them.
The printer stops, spitting out several of the same copy. Sadie stands from behind the desk and grabs the pictures. “Okay, I think we have what we need. I’m going to pass these around the club and make sure other significant places get them. Have you thought about filing a police report to request a restraining order? Or have you done that already?”
Shaking my head, my hands fist as nervous tremors begin to overtake them. I refuse to be a trembling mess in front of her, and clenching my hands helps make it stop for the time being. Probably not healthy bottling it up, but we’ll deal with those issues another day. Right now, I have to fight through the anxiety of the thoughts of potential future abuse give me. “They’ll find out my location if I get a restraining order. It’s too late for me to file a report. Plus, I don’t want anyone to see anything coming from Texas. I want to become a ghost, if possible. Just disappear for them to never find me.”
“I understand, but it could help if these guys come looking to hurt you. A paper trail is good when it comes to justice being served.”
Shaking my head, I hold back my snort of disbelief where justice comes into play with abusers. I’ve seen how many women end up hospitalized or dead from filing reports and nothing being done by the police. Trust me, I researched all about it before deciding what the best plan would be for me. “It’s not good when my safety is in jeopardy, though.”
She nods. “I get it. More so than others. Don’t worry. We’ll make it through this together, and you’ll be able to live a happy life without these bastards ruining it for you. They ever show up here, they’re in for one hell of an awakening.”
“Thank you. I keep repeating my gratitude to you, but I feel it’s never truly enough. Someday, I hope to repay your kindness however I can.”
She waves me off. “Nonsense. The fact I can help in any way is payment enough. Helping feeds my soul with light.”
Before I give myself the chance to overthink it, I spring forward, wrapping her in a firm hug. My emotions are spiking, my throat feeling tight with the potential onslaught of tears about to burst free. If I’m ever in the position to help another as they’re doing for me here, I’ll pay it forward. Everyone out there deserves to have this kind of safety and kindness in their lives. “Also, ah... am I allowed to like Spin?”
After she squeezes me back, she steps away, her face screwed up in amusement. “Like Spin? You can like anyone you want. No one will tell you any differently, and if they do, tell them to take a hike.” She’s so tiny but feisty and I love her energy.
“I mean as in... crushing on him. It seems so bad when I think of it. I’m running from a family of jerks, and boom, twitterpated with this sexy biker. I promise I’m not a hoe. I don’t make it a habit of wanting someone after only a day or while being pregnant by another baby daddy.”
“I’m not judging, promise, and no one here will either. I’m pretty confident you’re not the only one with a crush. Spin was flashing you serious puppy-dog eyes yesterday when he introduced us.”
My smile’s wide enough that it makes my cheeks hurt. “So you’re saying Santa may give me a biker for Christmas?”
She nods, giggling. “I already like you, Nay. I seriously hope you stick around after you have the baby and everything has calmed down.”
My smile relaxes as I release a heavy breath. “I hope I’m able to. I’ve met more kind people here since I arrived than I have in the last month where I used to live. I see why so many people love it down here.”
“Eh, we’ll see if you’re still saying that when summer rolls around. On the upside, no snow shoveling.”
“See? Sold already.” I grin as a good-looking biker interrupts us.
“Sade’s, you about done with the printer?”
She nods. “This is Naomi.” Then gestures to the man I briefly saw last night when I went to find Spin in the bar. “Nay, this is my brother, 2 Piece.”
“Like brother-brother or MC kind?”
He smirks, his bright blue eyes stunning me with their color. “I’m her older brother. By DNA and everything. It’s just a bonus for her that she also gets to live by me.”
Sadie rolls her eyes and flips him the bird. “Pay no attention to my brother. If his head gets any bigger, he won’t be able to fit through the doorway.”
She tucks her arm in mine, pulling me with her as I laugh. “Nice meeting you, 2 Piece,” I call as we head for the main area and bar. He was cute and seemed friendly. I can get along with easy-going people really well, and he rubbed me as having that type of personality. “He has the most beautiful blue eyes.”
“He knows it too. Not only does he have one partner, but two. He’s with Ares and Avery.”
My mouth pops open, stunned. “Two people?” The same people I met today?
“Yep. Been together for years. I wanted to give you a heads-up because you’ll see them all together or with one or the other. I didn’t want you to get the wrong impression that they’re not being faithful or whatever. They are all committed to each other.” She watches me a bit, and I get the feeling it’s some sort of test. I’m open-minded, though, so it’s no big deal to me whatever others choose to do.
Not knowing what the right response is, I go with what comes naturally to me. “Good for them. Some people can’t find one person to love, but they’ve all managed to find two. Pretty cool.”
“It is cool.” She nods, pride shining brightly for her brother and his mates. “You’ll find that around here, folks are a lot more accepting toward everyone. We may give each other a hard time and tease each other, but we never outright judge anyone. Everyone has a background and some sort of story we may not know about, so we approach it with open hearts. If you can do as much, you’ll fit in just fine around here.”
“Well, hearing you say that definitely puts my mind more at ease on the Spin matter, as well as me showing up and not knowing anyone. I’m not the type to go off and randomly judge people, ever. I don’t do that unless someone is ugly to me right off the bat. Then it’s hard for me not to think they have a poor attitude on life and in general.”
“Good. Like I said... I already like you.” She flashes me a wink, and I grin. I have a feeling we’re going to be good friends, and I sure hope my intuition is right because I like her too. “Now I need to talk to Spin about getting a tree for his room. You need one of your own to decorate and make his room feel a bit more festive and welcoming.”
“Oh no, nothing extra. Food and shelter are more than I could ever imagine. Then throwing in safety... what you’ve offered is already priceless, in my opinion.” A deep pain hits me as I finish, and my hand shoots to my stomach. Cradling the large ball making up my belly, I exhale and breathe through the lingering pains. “Ouch.”
“Are you okay? What hurts?”
“I got a sharp pain.”
“Did the baby kick hard or shift?”
Shaking my head, I inhale and exhale again, collecting myself. “No, it just hurt suddenly.”
“I don’t like it. Let’s get you in bed and prop your feet up. You’re supposed to be resting this week, and I’m towing you all around the clubhouse, stressing you out.”
“I’ve been enjoying myself, though. I appreciate you taking the time. I’m sure you have plenty of other things you could be doing.”
She waves me off, taking my elbow to direct me toward the hall with Spin’s room. “My kids are in school right now, so it’s no problem at all. Besides, my ol’ man always drops them off and picks them up.”
“You haven’t mentioned anything about them. How old are they? Is Twist involved a lot... if you don’t mind me asking, that is?”
Her irises light up as she says, “My oldest is in sixth grade, and the youngest is in kindergarten. Twist is an amazing father. I couldn’t ask for more. He’s extremely protective of our children and involved with everything.”
“You’re lucky. I worry about mine growing up with no father and no strong male figure to lead them down the right path. It’s also scary to not have anyone I can turn to for help I may eventually need.”
“You don’t know if your baby won’t have a father, so stay optimistic. Who knows, you could fall head over heels for someone out of the blue. As for not having anyone, you have an entire club of people willing to be here for you. Let us help.”
Nodding, I chew on the inside of my cheek. The fact that she wants to help and seems so genuine about it throws me for a loop. These seem to be the people I’ve needed to be around for my entire life. I’m so grateful to have found them, not only for myself but for my child and our future as well.
“Come on, lady. Let’s get you back in bed.” She opens Spin’s door for me, and I step inside. It’s the same as I left it, the air still smelling like Spin. I used his body wash and his spray deodorant, and I can’t seem to escape from his scent now. It’s stronger in here and has me wanting to breathe deeply to get my fix of him.
Climbing onto the bed, I watch as she grabs the blanket from the chair and rolls it up, stuffing it under my ankles. I would never have thought to use the blanket like this. It’s a good thing I’m around someone who has been through what I’m experiencing. Pregnancy is a learning process, and no two days in a row are the same, it seems. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Keep your feet up for a while so they don’t swell too bad and drink some water. Try to take a nap, and no stressing allowed.”
Chuckling, I nod. “You have my word.”
“Good. I’ll hold you to it. See you later, and let us know if you need anything.” She does a finger wave as she closes the door behind her, leaving me in silence.
Coming here seems too good to be true. Should I doubt it or count my blessings? And Spin—Jesus did I hit the jackpot with that guy. I don’t mean monetary wise, but by care and compassion. I thought I’d met every type of person out there in the world by now, but he took me by complete surprise. Now the hard part—not falling for him and getting a different body part hurt, my heart. I can already tell he can easily steal it in a flash, should he wish to.
A man who is kind, caring, respectful, gorgeous, protective, and happens to have a huge dick?
Unicorn.
I’d believed up until now those types of men didn’t exist, but Spin clearly proves my theory all wrong. And I want him for all of it.
I could take off this very moment and do my own thing out in the world, but not only does the safety of my unborn child worry me, but now I’m sensing some sort of anchor cementing me to Spin. I don’t want to run further away from my problems and leave him behind. I need to see where things can go with the sexy biker.
Crazy, right? Meeting someone and falling face first into lust and possibly love with them all in a day? It seems absolutely impossible, and it should be, but then, you’ve never met this guy before. He’s the ultimate game-changer, the guy who makes you want to be a better woman for. You always hear of men saying they meet a woman who makes them want to be better—well, he has that same effect. On me.
Eventually, I doze off for a bit, and when I wake again, he’s back. Not only is he looking every bit of the gorgeous outlaw with his tall, dark mohawk and different-colored eyes, but he’s come bearing gifts. He proudly shows me the flannel-covered body pillow, fluffy sherpa robe, fuzzy slippers a size too big, mini massager, gel eye compress, shea tummy butter, pregnancy magazine, a bag full of snacks, and a bottle of chocolate milk.
“You bought all this...” I pause, swallowing as tears crest, “... for me? Why?”
“Because I want you to be comfortable. Happy.”
A tear trickles over my cheek while I fight to hold my sob in. I will not lose control of my emotions and break down crying like a crazy person in front of this wonderfully sweet man. I refuse to lose it when he wants me happy. But I am. I may have a tear falling from my jaw right now, but it’s from my happiness. The feeling that Spin has given me and no other. Not to this degree. Him and I, we must be meant for something more together for me to feel this type of way for him.
Everything that’s happened, I have to believe it was all leading me to this moment.
To him.
Hopping out of bed, I throw myself at Spin, leaping as high as I can to toss my arms around him in the biggest hug I can manage. I’m on the cusp of losing my shit. I need this hug just as much as I want him to feel my gratitude. The fact he went out of his way for me two days in a row, and not only by little bits either. He’s shown me the type of person he is. The sort of man he’d help me raise my son to be. I’ve never trusted my gut more than I do in this moment—my intuition is screaming that he’s the one.
Who am I to fight fate? I asked the world for help, for a sign, and it’s given me one in the last place I ever expected to find it.
“Thank you. You have made me a very happy woman. Let me show you how much.” I tug his neck down as I pop up on my tiptoes. My lips meet his, and the room begins to twist around us. There’s nothing but him and me, and the rest is whatever we allow it to be. In here, it’s our electric lust mixed with feelings far too strong to ignore. I don’t have to hide from him, and he doesn’t have to hold back from me. It’s our special nest. Our home together. At least I hope it will be.
“I need you in me,” I whisper against his mouth in between kisses, impatient to feel him over me and inside, warming me everywhere. My body’s practically vibrating with desire for him. Surely he can feel it too. “Please make me yours, Spin?”
“You were mine the moment I found you.” He quietly admits, walking me backward to his bed. My shirt goes first, and he tosses it onto the comforter. Next is his, as he reaches behind his neck and tugs it over his head in that sexy weird way men always do. He’s not overly muscular, more like defined. His wingspan is long, arms are nicely sculpted with muscles and thick veins. Probably from all the riding and tattooing he’s done for most of his life. His stomach doesn’t have a six-pack or anything, but it doesn’t stick out either. It’s the type of tummy I could lay my head on and be comfortable enough to fall asleep, yet tug his jeans down a touch and see the sexy V leading me to what I want to taste next.