Eve slept fitfully that night. She kept tossing and turning, and whatever sleep came her way was a very light kind of sleep, the kind that brings about no rest and many nightmares. Her head was filled with visions of everything that she had been through since she had come in contact with the Diamondbacks—from being held in an abandoned warehouse, to watching Jessica die, to almost losing her legs to a baseball bat swung by a crazy man. She didn’t normally allow herself to think about any of that during the day, but the nighttime was a different matter, one that she had no control over.
Finally, after waking up from yet another confused nightmare, she gave up. It was 5:17 in the morning, and she figured it was a good enough hour to get up and get herself a much-needed cup of coffee.
She padded quietly to the kitchen, stopping briefly in the living room on her way. Lind was asleep on the white couch, and Eve took a few moments to look at him. He seemed so unguarded when he slept…it was hard to imagine that he was the same man who had ordered her around a few hours ago. Well, he had tried to order her around, but Eve was not going to have any of that.
Feeling the anger from the evening resurfacing, Eve left the living room and completed her brief journey to the kitchen. She closed the door behind her so as not to wake Lind—more out of a lack of want to talk to him rather than out of consideration for his sleep. Eventually, she opted for black tea rather than coffee—she figured she was irritable enough—and she sat down at the table to nurse the steaming mug.
She went over everything one more time in her head. The evening surely had not worked out like she had planned. She had been looking forward to a quiet dinner with Lind, followed by one of their binge movie watching nights, and maybe (why not?) a reprise of the breathtaking sex they had in the morning. Instead, she had ended up eating her delicious roast alone while he ran to his precious MC.
Eve wasn’t sure when she had begun to resent the Diamondbacks exactly. She wasn’t sure about the process that had led her to blame them for pretty much anything that went wrong between her and Lind. The more time passed, the more she came to realize that no matter how involved Lind would become in their relationship, the club would always come first. No matter what, Eve would always come second. No matter what, if it ever had to choose between her and the club, Eve had no doubt that he would choose the club.
She had not minded his devotion to them—at first. It was clear that they were the only family Lind knew, and she figured there was nothing wrong with being devoted to one’s family. But lately, she had begun to notice that his devotion to the club actually bordered on the obsessive. He was always ready to go to them at a moment’s notice, and Alec just had to snap his fingers and Lind would come running. It drove Eve mad.
One thing she was painfully aware of was that Lind regularly went out of his way to keep her out of anything even remotely connected with the club’s business. There had been a few operations over the five months that they had been together, but Eve had never known what those were. She didn’t know what Lind did when he rode off on the back of his Harley and kissed her goodbye in a way that let her know she might not see him again.
He didn’t seem to realize that not knowing was worse. Not knowing had Eve’s imagination work overtime, and she had come up with the worst possible kinds of scenarios. Not knowing had Eve imagining that Lind was doing unspeakable things, things that she didn’t even want to take into consideration. Just knowing for a fact that he had killed people was enough to not make her sleep at night if she only allowed herself to stop and think about it.
This particular not knowing was worse than any that she had experienced before. This particular not knowing involved her personally, and it made her furious that Lind couldn’t be bothered to share any information with her. Who was after them? Why?
Eve curled her fingers a little tighter around the steaming mug and let the warmth seep into her. She wasn’t stupid. She knew that a personal revenge was ten times worse than any club rivalry. Personal revenge meant that the person would not stop in front of anything or anyone. It meant they would pursue it ruthlessly and relentlessly, and that unless Lind really got to them before they got to him, Eve was as good as dead, no matter how many men Lind put outside her door and inside her apartment.
Try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to be as terrified as she felt she should be. She was oddly lucid about the whole thing, and what was really killing her about the whole affair was that she didn’t have the information she felt she needed to protect herself. Lind was treating her like some helpless girl who wasn’t smart enough to be involved in her own protecting. It made Eve’s blood boil.
One thing was certain, however: she was not going to go back to the Diamondbacks’ headquarters. She was not going to live like a recluse until this—whatever this was—was taken care of.
The kitchen’s door opened then, and Lind walked in. He looked fully alert, like he had not been sleeping soundly only a couple of minutes ago.
“I hope that’s coffee,” he said, giving her a weak smile that told her he was testing the waters.
Eve was in no mood for tests. “It’s tea,” she said curtly. “You can make coffee for yourself if you’d like, you know where everything is.”
Lind nodded and set about to do just that. They remained silent while the coffee brewed, and that silence stretched on until Lind was seated across from her at the kitchen table, nursing a steaming mug.
He took a hearty sip and sighed in contentment. “Did you get any sleep?” he asked her after a few more silent minutes had trickled by.
Eve shrugged. “Some.”
“I know it’s scary—”
“I’m not scared.”
“Oh?”
He seemed surprise, and that fact alone sent a new wave of anger down Eve’s spine.
“I can’t be scared if I don’t know what’s going on,” she said.
Lind sighed. “Isn’t knowing that someone’s after you enough?”
“No,” Eve said. “It’s not.”
Lind set down his mug and captured her gaze, holding it in place with his impossibly blue eyes. “I told you, Eve,” he said, quietly but firmly, “you need to trust me.”
“I do,” she said, and she meant it. “And you need to trust me.”
He seemed genuinely confused. “I trust you.”
“It doesn’t feel like it.”
Lind frowned. “What do you mean?”
Eve stared at him. He wasn’t faking it. He really didn’t get it. How could he not? How did he not realize that his constant keeping her in the dark was most certainly not a sign of trust, no matter his reasons?
“Whatever you’ve done to prompt this person to come after you and everyone around you is your business, I guess,” she conceded. “But whatever he might do to put his revenge into action is my business. I’m the one who’s being threatened. I deserve to know how, and by whom.”
Lind stared at her. He was clearly considering what she had just said, but when he spoke again, he didn’t give her any satisfaction. “I guess that makes sense,” he said. “But I still think it’s best if you know less about it.”
“Why?” Eve exploded in frustration. “Why is that best?”
“Because you may leave me if you knew!” Lind finally snapped. “And you just can’t leave until I know you’re safe!”
Eve blinked, taken aback by his outburst. “Do you really think I didn’t know what I was signing up for when I started this thing with you?” she said. “I know you’re no saint, Lind. But guess what, saints don’t interest me.”
Lind shook his head. It was like he hadn’t even heard her. “There’s a big difference between having a general knowledge that my hands aren’t exactly clean and getting the details.”
“I still wouldn’t leave,” Eve insisted.
“Maybe,” Lind conceded. “But maybe you would. And I just can’t let you go anywhere until this threat is taken care of.”
Eve felt her cheeks flush with rage. There he went again. “Do you even care if I stay or go? Or is it just that you don’t want me on your conscience?”
Lind stared at her in shock. “How can you even ask me that? Of course I care!”
“Then prove it!” Eve snapped back. “Involve me, goddamn it! Explain! Let me be part of what’s happening!”
Lind was shaking his head even before she had finished her sentence. “I can’t do that.”
Eve exhaled in frustration. “I can take it.”
“It’s not just about that.”
Eve frowned. Now, she was the confused one. “What is it about, then?”
“The club’s business is our own.” Lind’s features hardened, and Eve knew then that she wasn’t looking at her boyfriend; she was looking at the Viper.
She felt her own expression turn to stone. “Fine,” she said. “Whatever.”
“I’m just trying to do what’s best for you.” Just like that, Lind was Lind again. The quickness of the transition was disconcerting.
“Whatever,” Eve said again, unwilling to let him in. “When are you sending your guys?”
Lind stared at her, taken aback by the change of subject. He adjusted quickly, however. “First thing. I’ll make sure they’re here by eight a.m. After that, they’ll take turns. I want someone with you 24/7.”
“Will you ever be one of those someone’s?”
“Sometimes,” Lind said, giving her a smile. “I want to see you, too, you know?”
Eve didn’t know. She felt like she didn’t know anything anymore when it came to their relationship. “I have stuff to do in the morning,” she said after a moment. “I have errands to run, and I want to go to the gym. I’m not going to be cooped up for weeks on end; I want that to be very clear.”
Lind nodded. “Ok,” he conceded. “As long as you always take one of the guys with you and give me a full schedule of your day every day.”
Eve stared at him. Surely she’d heard him wrong? “Excuse me?”
“I want to know where you are at all times.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I’ve never been more serious, sweetheart.”
“Don’t patronize me,” Eve snapped. “Listen, it’s bad enough that I’ll have a fucking bodyguard wherever I go, I am not sending you reports of my whereabouts.”
“I’m not trying to be a stalker here,” Lind said in exasperation. “I’m doing this to keep you safe.”
“I don’t care. I’ve been in a controlling relationship before, and I’m not doing it again. You hear me?”
“This is different!” Lind snapped. “I’m not being a jealous boyfriend; I’m trying to protect you!”
“This isn’t the protection I want!”
“What do you want from me? Should I just let you take a bullet in that thick skull of yours?”
“Yes, goddamn you! Either involve me or back the fuck off!”
They stared at each other, panting with rage and fear. Next thing Eve knew, he was scooping her up in a passionate embrace and moving them both to the bedroom.
It wasn’t a solution, she knew that. It was only a balm, one that she wasn’t even sure was doing much to soothe the wound. But it was better than fighting. It was better than feeling on the sidelines of Lind’s life. Because no matter how devoted he was to the Diamondbacks, in the bedroom she was his only focus.
Eve kissed him deeply and hungrily, fisting the dark hair at the base of his neck. She was going to claim him tonight, mark him as hers. When they were finished, he would know that no motorcycle brotherhood in the world would ever be able to give him this.
He was clearly surprised by her sudden aggressiveness in the bedroom, but he didn’t look like he was about to complain. Eve pushed him down onto the mattress, never so happy that Lind slept with his chest bare. She had immediate access to the whole expanse of his skin. She tugged at his jeans and quickly got rid of those, too, as well as of the underwear underneath.
Eve didn’t resist this surge of empowerment that had taken her over. Hungrily, eagerly, she reached out to touch Lind’s body. She ran her nails down his sides, grinning when he shivered as she prickled sensitive nerves. She leaned down to capture his mouth in yet one more deep kiss, and then she let her lips map out a trail of licks, kisses, and bites all the way down the length of Lind’s figure, until she finally reached his already engorged, waiting cock.
Her lips and fingertips danced around him, teasing his skin and the inside of his thighs—anywhere and everywhere but where it mattered. Lind moaned in ecstatic frustration, but Eve wasn’t going to give him what he wanted just yet. She was going to let him steam. It made her feel powerful, and now that she had been thrown into a situation where power was most definitely not in her hands, this felt unbelievably good.
Finally, her hands touched his shaft, and she let her palm and fingers run up and down its length. She felt him harden impossibly under her touch, and when she looked up at him, she discovered that Lind’s blue eyes had already gone dark with lust. She licked his shaft languidly and relished in his groan.
“Do you want me to suck you?” she asked boldly.
If Lind was shocked by this sudden change in her personality, he didn’t show it. Instead, he nodded shakily, gasping as Eve’s hand continued to stroke him.
“Say it,” she murmured, her lips close to his tip, her breath ghosting over his sensitive skin.
Lind swallowed visibly. “I…I want…” He gasped again. “I want you to suck me,” he finally managed.
Eve grinned, pleased, and let her lips press a delicate kiss to Lind’s tip. He instantly tensed and gasped in response. She set out a gentle rhythm of licks, kisses, and sucking movements. She danced between long strokes and quick flicks of her tongue that drove him insane. When she took his length into her mouth, Lind tensed even further.
“Oh God…” he gasped out.
His strain to hold back gave Eve a surge of dominance. She had him. Diamondbacks be damned, she had him, here and now.
She made sure that her lips remained in constant contact with the sensitive skin of his cock as she sucked, her tongue teasing him constantly. She encircled the base with two of her fingers, creating a cock ring of flesh. Her fingers followed the movement of her mouth, so that they could echo the touches that had Lind gasp and moan. She varied the rhythm, leading him to the brink only to push him back again.
It was driving Lind insane, she could tell. When she looked up at him, his blue eyes were dazed with the intensity of his pleasure. She knew he wouldn’t be able to hold on for long, no matter how hard he tried, and that knowledge was enough to make her wet, too. The great Viper had no say in this matter.
Lind finally came with a hoarse cry, and Eve accommodated him. The taste was as intense as everything else about Lind.
Eventually, Eve pulled back, smirking. Lind was still in the throes of the afterglow. He looked up at her with a mixture of adoration and surprise, like he still couldn’t wrap his mind around this new side of her.
“I was not…expecting that,” he said.
Eve’s smirk broadened. “I’m full of surprises.”
Lind smiled and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down on top of him. He kissed her, seeming not to mind the taste of himself still lingering on her lips and tongue.
“I’m sorry,” he said after a moment. “I wish I could tell you more, but—”
“Shh,” Eve interrupted him, gently but firmly. “Let’s not talk about it now. In fact, let’s not talk at all.”
Lind nodded. “Agreed.”
He wrapped his arms around her, and she moved around until she was settled in, nestled against his side with her head resting on his chest.
It was almost impossible to believe they were the same people who had been fighting since the previous evening. In the quiet of the early morning, in the silence of Eve’s bedroom, everything that wasn’t the two of them right in this moment seemed to simply fade away. Eve knew it would still be there once they left her bed and ventured back out of this room, but she was in no hurry to leave just yet.
She didn’t know what would happen now. She didn’t know if Lind was ever going to let her in. She didn’t know what he would do to this person—whoever they were—that was after them. All she knew was that she didn’t want to think about any of that right now. The one thing she knew for sure was that they were headed for a very rough patch, and she was going to relish this quiet moment for as long as she could.
She felt Lind tighten his hold around her, as if he were guessing her thoughts, and she responded by tightening her own embrace. They didn’t sleep, but they remained true to their word, and both refrained from speaking and ruining the moment.
Eve thought of the Diamondbacks, of the men who would be called in to protect her. She didn’t trust them, but what choice did she have? And perhaps this forced close contact with them would be her chance to finally prove herself. Perhaps she could finally prove to them and, most importantly, to Lind that she wasn’t some helpless damsel in distress. That she could take their truth, whatever it was.
Most of all, she could finally make them all realize that she was not going anywhere, and that she was as much a part of Lind’s life as they were.