Secret Mayhem (12 page)

When he finished, he let go of her
wrists and pulled out of her. But he didn
’
t
get off her. Instead, he gripped at the sheets of his bed and stared at her
body. The desire and passion coming from her scared the hell out him.

You can
’
t fall for her
…
you know nothing about
her
…
and you
’
re going to end up dead
by the time this is all over
…

twelve.

The way Shay stared at her was so
intense that a lump in the back of her throat rose up. She swallowed hard,
trying to keep herself from crying. He didn't just fuck her. There was so much
more to it and Ava had never felt that connection with anyone before.

The only sound in the room was
their rapid heart beats. Ava felt as though her heart would never stop racing.
And the way Shay hovered over her, his throbbing body still touching between
her legs, made it impossible to calm herself down.

Maybe that
’
s what Shay's intentions had been, because when Ava
managed to catch her breath, she started talking.

“
I
was never Stein
’
s old lady,
”
she whispered.

Shay nodded.
“
I figured that much. You haven
’
t been touched in a long time,
love.
”

“
Not
that long,
”
Ava said.
“
Just not touched the right way
in a long time.
”

“
So
what
’
s the rest of the story?
”

“
Can
I get dressed?
”

“
Fuck
no,
”
Shay said.
“
I
’
m
not moving. You okay with that?
”

Ava looked at Shay
’
s body. Rippling muscles.
Tattoos. Sweat. The smell of sex and man. She would never ask him to leave her.
Not right now and maybe not never.

“
I
’
m okay with that,
”
Ava whispered.

“
I
’
m putting myself in a dangerous
spot here,
”
Shay said.
“
Fucking a woman from another
crew who thinks you were an old lady is trouble. Big trouble.
”

 
“
Stein
was important to me. I had to find him.
”

“
Why?
”

Ava licked her lips.
“
He
’
s
my father.
”

Shay stiffened. All emotion
disappeared from his face.
“
What
did you just say?
”

“
He
’
s my father,
”
Ava said. "I needed his
help. His protection. But he didn
’
t
touch me, obviously.
”

“
Then
why the fuck does Trev and all the Lost Men think you were his old lady?
”

“
Because
if I didn't pretend to be, what would they have done to me?
”

Shay nodded.
“
Good point. So were you the one
who killed him?
”

“
What?
No. I would never hurt my father. I mean, I barely knew him."

“
What
happened then?
”

Ava started to feel uncomfortable.
She shook her head.
“
I
’
m sorry, Shay. This is really
hard for me. How do I know you won
’
t
hurt me?
”

“
You
don
’
t know that,
”
Shay said.
“
You don
’
t know what anyone will do to you. Look into my
eyes, Ava. Tell me what you see and what you think.
”

Ava looked into Shay
’
s eyes and that scared her more
than anything else. Because looking into his eyes made her feel safe. Made her
feel like she could tell him anything. But in the back of her mind, she
reminded herself that Shay belonged Back Down Devil MC and that he may not make
it out of this war alive.

“
I
want to take a shower now,
”
Ava said.
“
I need to
…
just
…”

Shay lowered his body closer to Ava
’
s.
“
That
’
s
what you want? You want to keep hiding? Running? You
’
ll never make it that way, love.
”

“
I
know,
”
Ava said.
“
But it
’
s all I know right now.
”

Shay gently put his lips to Ava
’
s neck. He kissed once and then
ran the tip of his nose down her chest, leaving Ava shivering for more of his
body. When his lips grazed along one of her nipples, she whimpered and arched
her back. She never felt that way before. So exposed. So willing to succumb.

The tip of Shay
’
s tongue drew a circle around
her nipple before he kissed her. Then he pulled away and stood up. Standing
before her, naked, he was a glorious sight of muscle and biker attitude that
could kill. When he folded his arms, his stance was made. Silent and defiant.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Ava whispered.
“
I
don
’
t want to be in the
way.
”

“
Too
late,
”
Shay said.
“
You leave this clubhouse again
and you will be killed. Know that. After what they
’
ve done to my club, my brothers, those who know the
club, they
’
ll kill you. And
because it
’
s me
…
it
’
ll be worse.
”

“
And
what would happen if I was killed?
”
Ava asked as she sat up. She pushed back on the bed, pulling her legs to her
chest. She knew the sight was teasing to Shay, but she wasn't focused on that.
“
What would that mean?
”

“
To
the club
…
to the guys
…
probably nothing. But to me
…
it would be the last straw. I
would go crazy, Ava. I would ride through this town and burn it all down. I
’
d kill every motherfucker that
looked at me the wrong way, regardless of their purpose or their patches. I
’
d gut every one of the Lost Men
for fun. And if someone in my own club tried to stop me
…
they wouldn
’
t
be able to.
”
Shay walked to
the side of the bed. His fingertips ran down her leg until he touched her
center. Ava groaned. He pressed a finger into her pussy and curled his lip.
“
That
’
s what I
’
d
do for you, Ava. Go enjoy that shower and think. Because time is running out.
On everything.
”

Shay slid his finger back up her
leg, leaving her wetness behind. He walked over to the mini fridge and got a
bottle of beer. It took all of Ava
’
s
might and strength to walk from the bed to the bathroom. She closed the
bathroom door and looked at herself in the mirror again. Her face looked
different.

Of course it did. You just got
fucked by Shay.

Ava turned on the water to the
shower and climbed inside. She stood in the back of the shower until the water
was hot and then she stepped forward and closed her eyes. She let the water
rush all over her body, but the water wasn
’
t
going to wash anything away. Ava had said probably too much, and she still
didn't know what Shay was hiding.

When Ava heard the bathroom door
open, her body tensed. Shay climbed into the back of the shower just like Ava
had done to him.

“
Shay
…”

“
Be
quiet,
”
Shay said.

Ava put her hands to her sides and
waited for Shay to touch her. When he did, she shuddered. His hands pulled her
against his body. Ava put her head back to his chest.

“
I
know who
’
s doing this,
”
Shay said.
“
That
’
s my secret. I
’
m
not saying anything more than that. My club doesn
’
t
know I know and I have to keep it that way so they don
’
t pull me away from this. And because I know who it
is and because I
’
m the main
target, I have to protect you. That means I have to trust you.
”

“
Trust
me,
”
Ava whispered.
“
Stein was my father. He
protected me by saying I was his old lady. If not, Nile would have had his way
with me a long time ago. I just wanted to find him, get to know him. I needed
him. But then this guy that used to hang around the clubhouse found out the
truth and tried to force himself on me in order to keep the secret. The guy was
crazy. He wasn
’
t even part
of the Lost Men. So my father tried to handle it for me. He killed the guy, but
not before he shot my father."

“
Shit,
”
Shay said.

His hands were just below Ava
’
s breasts. His cock was
thickening and he wanted Ava again.

“
It
happened so fast I don
’
t
even remember the details of it. Two men, two guns
…
then they were gone. That
’
s when Trev stepped up to keep things under some
kind of control. To honor Stein, they all agreed that nobody would touch me,
and anyone who tried would get their ass kicked. Trev told me that Stein saved
his life more than once and it was the least he could do for Stein
’
s old lady.
”

“
All
lies then,
”
Shay said.

“
Yes.
”

“
That
’
s why you
’
re so afraid. You don
’
t
know what they
’
ll do you.
”

“
Oh,
I have an idea,
”
Ava said.

She shut her eyes and shivered.

“
Damn,
love,
”
Shay said.
“
I
’
d
never let that happen to you. They brought you here to keep you protected. So
stay here. Stay protected.
”

“
It
shouldn
’
t be that easy.
”

“
It
is.
”
There was silence for
a few seconds, the water still rushing. Then Shay asked,
“
What made you want to find
Stein?
”

And there it was. The other half of
the truth.

“
Bad
stuff.
”

“
I
’
ve killed men without care. I
’
ve stared into their eyes as
they died. You think there
’
s
anything I can
’
t handle?
”
Shay asked, annoyed.

“
I
’
m married.
”

Ava expected Shay
’
s hands to leave her body. She
expected to be pushed away and shamed. Hell, maybe Shay would even hand her
right over to Nile and then it would be all over for good.

“
Married,
huh?
”
Shay asked.

“
Yeah.
”

“
I
don
’
t know what to ask
first. You
’
re better off
just talking.
”

“
Do
you care?
”

“
What
if I don
’
t?
”
Shay asked.
“
You
’
re naked with me in my bathroom, aren
’
t you? If your husband was doing
his job, you
’
d be naked in
his shower.
”

Ava didn't know what to say. Even
when Shay was being an asshole, he was still sexy.

“
It
’
s far from a fairy tale
marriage,
”
Ava said.
“
I
’
m
not some bored housewife looking for an affair. My husband, Todd, is a bad
person. Maybe I have my father's blood, because I have always been attracted to
danger. So when I met this guy in a suit who was mean and dangerous but a
smooth talker, I married him."

"So what happened?" Shay
asked, confused.

 "Todd liked
…
sex.
”

“
A
guy that likes sex is a problem?
”

“
It
wasn't just that. He made me do a lot of things that I didn't want to do. I
thought it was just to fulfill his fantasies, so I went along with it. But it
wasn't enough. He wanted me to be on film. He wanted to make movies.
”

“
Make
movies?
”
Shay asked.
“
For his enjoyment?
”

Ava shook her head.
“
Turns out the car dealership he
told me he owned was a cover for his real business he did in the back
offices."

“
Christ,
”
Shay said.
“
He had his own little film
business?
”

“
And
I was supposed to be a star. I let him film us once. Just once. And he ran out
and showed it to a bunch of potential investors."

“
What
happened, love?
”
Shay
asked.

“
He
tried to force me to sign a contract,
”
Ava said. She shut her eyes. The hot water felt good, Shay
’
s touch even better.
“
He wanted me to become something
I never would be. He had things so well organized that it made me wonder how
long he had been planning it all. I started digging around and ended up finding
a letter from my mother to a guy named Stein. It was my only chance to escape
the abuse. I took off in the middle of the night and went to find Stein. Then
the rest
…”