She really is perfect.Her flannel hangs just above her panty line. She chose light blue today, laced, a simple thin little triangle concealing her slit. Normally, we ravish each other senseless every morning, buttoday our routine was thrown off when I was called into the shop early to deal with a hydraulic issue with one of the lifts.To say I’m horny for my wife now would be an understatement.“Come here,” I growl, tugging down my fly. Ivy smiles sassily at me and pops the top button on her shirt.“Why?” she teases. “You want something?”My eyes narrow, and my lips part. “You know what I want, baby.”“Yeah? What is that, Daddy?”I can’t hold back any longer. I reach out, snatch her by the wrist, and pull her onto the bed, spinning so she lands beneath me. She gasps, looking up at me with fire in her eyes.“You,” I tell her, reaching a hand between her thighs. “Andthis.”Her mouth opens, and her back arches as I apply pressure, feeling the wet spot already soaking through her panties
EPILOGUESLATEFive years later…Ivy is glowing.It’s not even sunny today; it’s just her natural radiance she carries with her everywhere. I stare at her as she bends over one of the custom bikes we’re working on for a client, here atBlack Iron Bikes, the shop we founded together four years ago.She’s balancing our youngest boy, Thomas, on her hip, while he tugs at her sleeve, begging for her attention. She’s laughing, he’s laughing. Whenever I hear those sweet sounds, my chest always feels like it’s about to burst from my heart, stretching bigger and bigger just to hold the love I have for her, for them.Five years. Five years since I almost lost her, since my past nearly tore us apart. Five years since she walked into hell for me and I put my life on the line for her.And now she’s mine.Since then, it’s been nothing but perfection. Frank protested about us dating initially, but he gave in quickly once he and I got to know each other.“You’re good for my daughter,”I stillremember him
“And they weren’t after your father,” I sigh. “They were after me. Your dad’s shop was just collateral damage.”Ivy pauses. “You?”I nod. “When you join Smoke and Skulls, you join for life. There’s no leaving like with The Heartless Bastards. So when I did leave, they put out a contract on me. I thought I was safe with a new gang, but one of them must have seen me hanging around at your dad’s shop and figured we were working together. That’s why they left the note and trashed the place.”Her jaw clenches as self-hatred curls like acrid smoke in my stomach.“I never meant foranyof this to happen,” I tell her. “I thought if I went to see Viper and told him I’d come back, that they’d leave you alone. Instead…they used me to set a trap for you.”“You should have told me–”“I didn’t want to put you in danger, Ivy,” I say, clutching her hand tighter. “I really thought I could fix this…”I barely even notice the pain in my body now. It’s masked beneath the emotional pain that lies heavily on
SLATEPain tearsthrough me with every breath, sawing at my lungs, splintering in my ribs, and the countless cuts and bruises that cover my body are slowly grinding me down. I’m gonna pass out soon if I don’t stop the bleeding.I look down at Ivy, still sitting in the dirt, my hand out to her.She hasn’t taken it. She still won’t. She won’t even meet my eyes.Ivy.The girl who walked into the lion’s den to find me, even when she thought I’d betrayed her. Of course she doesn’t know if she can trust me. I understand, but I fucking hate it.I hate the sad, pained look on her face like she doesn’t know who I am anymore.I can hear the sounds of the fight wrapping up inside the clubhouse, the Bastards cleaning up the Skulls and ransacking the place. We won, and we’ll never have to deal with those sons of bitches ever again.“I told you I would fix this,” I tell Ivy. “Why did you come here? Why?”Finally, she meets my eyes, which are glistening with the threat of tears.“Why do you think, Sl
“Now, now, Ivy. Don’t be rude. Stick around for a while.”He knows my name.Adrenaline courses through me. I’m sweating. Saxon was right. Ishould nothave come here.“I’m Viper.” He smiles sickly. “Leader of the Smoke and Skulls. How’s your day going?”I try to dart around him and get to the door, but he grabs me easily by the arm. His fingers dig into my flesh like his hands are vises. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, there. Take it easy, girly.”I cry out as he forces me deeper into the smoky room. I try to thrash against his grip, but it’s no use. He’s a giant compared to me.“Look who made it, boys!” His triumphant call is met with cheers and claps, hoots and hollers. “May not have gotten the mom, but we got the daughter!”My jaw drops. I feel like I’ve been speared in the stomach.That’s what this is all about? It’s been nine years since my mom tried to sell me to pay for her debt. I thought my dad had settled it. I thought I was safe.I thought wrong.“What does Smoke and Skull get, boys!?” he
IVYI knowI shouldn’t be doing this.Every instinct I have is screaming at me to stop and turn back. Just forget about Slate and figure out a way to deal with the threat to my dad’s shop.But I can’t.My body is now an engine fueled by pure betrayal and anger, and there’s no stopping me until I find out the truth.I’ve spent my whole life being my dad’s sweet, innocent daughter. I was off-limits. The workshop was my life, and I lived by his rules. But I’m done playing it safe. Right now, my world is unraveling, and I’m the only one who can grab the threads and pull them back together.I pull up to the Heartless Bastards’ clubhouse lot like a madwoman, kicking up dust as I slam on the brakes, nearly killing a couple of guys standing outside smoking. They’re about to cuss me out as I leap down into the dirt, but when they see who I am, they back off. Being Frank Calloway’s daughter has its advantages.It may be morning, but you’d never know that from what’s going on inside. Smoke, booze