Gator (5 page)

9

Naughty felt like hell.  She had refused to leave the house to go on a visit to Gator’s family.  She was not in the mood for a reunion with a bunch of swamp people.  She had known Gator was from Louisiana, but she’d had no idea really where.  Hell, she was here and she had no idea where there, sitting in his house and she still had no idea where anyone would look for her on a map. 

Right now, she didn’t even care.  Her stomach was refusing to keep anything down, even ice cream.

Who could refuse ice cream?

She had no idea where Gator had come up with ice cream, but as always he had come through for her.  She eyed the spoon sitting in the old, chipped bowl.  It wasn’t something you could buy in a carton.

She hoped there wasn’t something strange in it.

She shuttered which made her stomach roll again.

She was supposed to be over all this crap by now.  She was at the very edge of her second trimester, couldn’t she get time off for good behavior?

She groaned as her stomach rolled again and she had to swallow hard to keep from running to the bathroom again.

That had been a surprise.  She’d been almost sure this place wouldn’t even have that when she’d seen it from the yard, but the inside wasn’t as bad as she had thought and after they had cleaned it up, by they she meant her, Lambhead, and Wick the dick.  Ginger was still too sore to be doing much other than giving orders.  The house looked pretty good.  It almost reminded her of the old house her grandma had lived in when Naughty had been a little girl.  Someone had torn out all the dishes and they had been broken and scattered all over the floors along with anything else that was loose.  Someone had pitched a fit and hadn’t bothered cleaning it up, but it gave her something to get her mind off someone wanting her dead so it was alright.  Gator had found some old mismatched dishes in a box in one of the closets and they had washed them up so they at least had something to eat off of.  All in all it wasn’t such a bad place to hide out.

The screen door opened and she growled expecting Lambhead standing in the doorway or Wick with his smarmy smile trying to get into her panties.

He was brave, she gave him that.  He touched her and Gator would throw his beautiful blonde self in the river for the gators to eat, but men like that only thought with one head at a time and apparently her boobs chose which one it was for him.

“Get the fuck on.  I’m not in the mood for your shit.  Go away.”

“I don’t have to leave, bitch.  You do.”

That was not one of the boys, it was a woman. 

Naughty looked up too fast and slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from barfing on the table.  She ran to the sink and emptied her stomach.  It would have been embarrassing if she had been able to give a shit, but since she couldn’t she just washed out her mouth and splashed water on her face.

“Look lady.  I’m not going anywhere too far from that bathroom so fuck off.”  She said in a voice that was not as intimidating as she had hoped.

“This is my house you stupid whore.  So yes, I think you will be leaving or I’ll be calling the cops.”

Naughty snorted.  She actually snorted.   She turned and faced the woman that leaned against the door with her arms crossed.  Her skin was a deep tan color that spoke of some sort of exotic heritage, her hair was long and curled perfectly on the ends.  It was as black as the liner that outlined her perfect green eyes.

She was stunning and held herself in a way that screamed class.

Naughty had once been able to do that…

She shook her head unwilling to let this woman intimidate her.

“Sorry sweetheart, but I don’t think so.  This house belongs to Gator and since he and I shared that bed in there last night and he fed me ice cream and rubbed my feet, I’ll wait until he gets back to pack my shit.”

“Gator?  Is that what he calls himself now?”  She rolled her eyes and Naughty wanted to slap her.  “That’s rather common, even for him.  His name is Aubin Boye’.  Mine is Sylvie Chameau Boye’, I’m his wife.”

Naughty felt jealousy twist her guts, but she knew Gator had secrets, she had felt his apprehension on the trip.  The further south they’d come, the more he seemed to hold her close.  Whatever the story was here, it wasn’t what this woman claimed.  So she did what she knew would piss this woman off more than anything.

She shrugged as if it didn’t matter to her in the least and it really didn’t.  Gator had been hers for a long time.  He hadn’t been visiting this woman and to Naughty that meant he was finished with whatever they had once had.

“You mean to tell me you do not care that you are sleeping with a married man?”  Sylvie spat as rage made her eyes shine.  “You don’t care that you are just a … rather poor substitute for the woman he really loves?

Naughty knew that look, had seen it many times, it was jealousy with a little dash of bat shit crazy.

“Sweetheart, I sleep with lots of husbands, but I will admit, yours is the neediest.”  She nodded to the woman whose face was turning very pink.  “Your fault maybe, but since he’s been in my bed for more than a year and hasn’t rushed off to you, I’m pretty sure the love part is bullshit.”

“You whore!  Get out of my house!”  Sylvie demanded.

Wick stepped up on the sagging porch behind Sylvie.

“There a problem here?”  He asked and Naughty noticed him slip his phone back into his pocket, bless him.

“Who are you to ask me that in my own house?”  Sylvie spat when she saw him step closer.

“Well Ma’am,” he slid right into his charming lover act without missing a beat.  He should have been an actor.

“I’m here to protect Gator’s woman.  He left me in charge and he didn’t mention a thing about you,” he winked, “I’d have remembered that.”

The woman actually blushed. 

Naughty sank back down into her chair at the table and laid her face against the cool surface. 

Women could be so stupid.  Yeah he would talk sweet until he started zipping back up, then he’d forget your name.

“Get your filthy hands off me!”

Naughty heard the crack of skin against skin that was almost as sharp as the crack in Sylvie’s voice.  Wick’s good nature evaporated.

“Fucking bitch.  I don’t give a shit who you are, but you will wait on this porch until Gator gets here.  You leave…”  Wick looked up and met Naughty’s eyes.  “You leave Tiff alone.  I don’t give a shit who you used to be to Gator, but she’s his pick right now so back the fuck off.”

For some reason that made tears pool in her eyes and drip to the table.  She would give him a thank you blow job for that if she wasn’t with Gator.  That and she was pretty sure she would throw up on him if he stuck his dick in her mouth.

Instead she just mouthed, “thank you,” and was given a nod in return and one of his winks.

She heard the sound of Gator’s bike.  He was coming home to her.  She loved that sound more than anything in the whole world, it meant he was all hers for a few hours, that he wanted her, he loved her.

She sat up and wiped her eyes, unwilling for him to see her tears.  He worried if he saw she had been crying.  He always worried.  There was no need for worries now though.

Everything was fine now, Gator was home.

10

Gator’s heart had hit his boot when he’d gotten Wick’s call.  They had been heading back, but had pulled off to answer the phone.

Some woman was demanding Naughty leave “her house,” Sylvie.

He’d driven faster than was safe on the old dirt road that led through the overgrown swamp where he’d grown up.  What the hell was Sylvie doing back here?  She had no business with him other than the divorce papers she wouldn’t sign.

He pulled to a stop and saw her, the woman that had starred in all of his dreams until they had turned to nightmares.  The woman that had given him everything he had ever hoped for and then taken it all away.

“Get da fuck off my porch you dirty fucking bitch.”  He spat and knew everyone heard the hatred in his voice, he didn’t care.  He would rip this woman to pieces with his bare hands and feel nothing when her blood ran warm over his skin.  He had never hated anything more than he hated her.

She turned to him.  She knew, but there was no fear.  She had never taken him seriously, never respected him as anything but a puppet.  Sylvie was too crazy to fear death.

“Hello husband.”  She smiled and walked toward him.  It was the same smile she had always given him, almost vacant, but he had been too love sick to notice.

“Get da fuck away from me you murdering bitch.”  Gator’s hand struck out before he could make himself stop, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her touching him.

That made her drop the smile even if she had avoided his slap.  “You are mine until you’re dead.   No papers can take that from me and no filthy whore either.  You’d better get that through your head.  I own you.”

This time Lambhead was ready.  He grabbed Gator’s arm before he could slap Sylvie.  He wanted to do far more than that. 

“I don’ owe you shit.  I’m done.  You come near me or what’s mine again and I’ll drown you in that fucking river and let the gators eat you.”

“We aren’t done.  You owe me!  If you don’t give me what I want I swear you’ll regret it.”

“The only thing I regret is letting you keep breathing.  Now get the fuck out of my way before I change my mind about dat.”

She screeched her outrage and continued to throw insults and demands at him, but her words meant nothing to him anymore.  He refused to give her the satisfaction of his time.  Instead he walked away from her and into the house.  Naughty was his future, unless Sylvie had ruined that too, but no, Naughty looked up and greeted him with the same smile she always wore.  She was a little green around the edges, but she was still his girl.  She was everything.

“How you holdin’ up Naughty girl?”  He asked about the situation and her morning sickness.

“Better now that you’re here and your psycho...whatever is gone.  We can talk about that particular bit of news later though cause I really don’t feel up to it right now.”

He kissed her.  She fought him a little, but he kissed her anyway.  She was an amazing woman.  Most would be pitching a fit right now, with reason, but not his Naughty girl, she knew him.

“I love you Tiff.  I hope you know dat.”

“I do, but you do have some explainin’ to do, Aubin.”

“Oh fuck.  Don’ call me dat.”

“You call me Tiffany.  Why can’t I call you Aubin?”

He kissed her nose.  “Only time you get to call me dat is when you share my last name.”

“Yeah, well that sucks huh?”

Gator realized what she meant and laughed.  “I’m sayin’ I want to marry you if I can ever get dat bitch to sign the papers.”

“Worst proposal in the history of marriage.”  She rested her head on his shoulder and grinned where he couldn’t see it.  He wanted to marry her.

“Is this because I have your gator baby swimming laps in my womb?”

She felt his laugh against her neck.  “No Beb, It’s because I love you.”  His hand gently stroked her back.

“I love you too Gator.”

“Will you marry me then?”

“Ask me on a day when your wife isn’t around.  I just feels like I should ask her permission or some shit and that is definitely not happening.”

He took her chin in between his thumb and forefinger.  “That woman is evil Tiffany.  I want you to understand that right now.  She is dangerous.  If she comes back...”  He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. 

He pulled his glock from out of his belt and handed it to her.

Naughty held up her hands and backed away shaking her head.

“No, no gun for me thanks a bunch.”

Gator gritted his teeth, this wouldn’t be easy, but it had to be done.

She had more to protect now and a new enemy.

11

Naughty backed up another step.  She knew his life was violent.  She had come to terms with that as best she could, but for him to think she would ever touch one…

“No Gator.  Stop, please, I can’t.”

“You’re stronger than this shit Naughty.  I need to know you’re safe when I’m not home.  I need to know you can keep my kid safe.  I need to count on that or I won’t be able to leave you, ever.”

Tears streamed down her face and she didn’t try to stop them.  How could he do this to her?  She shook her head and backed away until her back hit the wall near the bedroom.  She saw Ginger and Fox walk in with Lamb and Wick, but only out of the corner of her eye, her focus was centered on the gun in Gator’s hand.

“Naughty, it’s time to let me teach you how to use this beb.”

“No, Gator please don’t do this to me.  You know I can’t do this.”  Her voice shook.  She was not the tough stripper anymore, she was a scared school teacher who had seen everything in her life shattered by a young man with a gun.  She could see it now in her mind.  His smile as he’d opened her door and asked which room belonged to Thomas, her Thomas, the man she would marry in three short days.

She had smiled at the monster and pointed him in the right direction.  She had even checked his hall pass.  He had come to volunteer.    His grades were low and someone thought Thomas would be a good mentor for him.  They had been wrong.

“Stop this now Beb.  Stop it and look at me.  Breathe.”

Naughty was shaking so bad she could barely stand.

“What’s wrong with her?”  She heard Wick ask, but no one answered him.

“I can’t Gator.”  She could barely breathe.  How could he ask her to...?

“Bullshit.  What would have changed that day if Thomas had been carrying a gun?”

Naughty shook her head.  “Thomas didn’t own a gun. He hated them.”

“Thomas was a douche.”  Wick said and was rewarded with a smack to the back of the head from Lamb.

“What would happen right now if someone walked in here and pulled a gun?  Tell me what would I do?”

She found her eyes searching for his dark ones.  She had once thought him almost scary the way his eyes were so black, but he wasn’t scary, his eyes were filled with love.

“You would protect us.”  She knew it like she knew her lungs needed air.

“That’s right.  I would blow their fucking heads off for threatening what’s mine, but what if I’m not here?”

Her eyes went to Lamb, but Gator shook his head.

“You are here.  Sitting in that rocking chair holding my baby.  Somebody walks in and threatens you.  What do you do?”

“I...I don’t know.”

Fear was a living thing as it slithered through her body.  She was living a dangerous life with a dangerous man and what he was saying was a possibility.  She felt her stomach heave one second before she doubled over and threw up all over the floor and Gator’s boots.