Shattered Pieces (Emerald Lake Prep #3), page 22
Before Emerald Lake Prep, I was alone. I spent every day working my ass off to make money, to try and keep myself alive, and a roof over my head. I did the best I could with a drug addicted mother who stole from me all the time.
This school saved me from my past only to trade it for a new type of hell. At least this school gave me something my old life didn’t have. Six something's to be exact.
So, even though I had to go through things people should never have to endure, I came out with the ultimate prize. I would go through every ounce of that pain again if it meant being with my guys, Charlie, and Melody.
“We need some music. No car ride is complete without it.” Charlie says, leaning over me to switch on the radio, turning it as loud as it can go. Paradise by Bazzi blasts through the speakers. Charlie smiles wide as she takes my hand, giving it a squeeze. I return the smile, giving her a quick kiss before we start to sing along with the song at the top of our lungs, no care in the world at this very moment.
All the windows are down, filling the car with a cool breeze. My and Charlie's hair is flying about, but we couldn't care less. The bass is vibrating around us, making my body rattle. My chest shakes in time with the beat, and I don't think I’ve ever felt more alive. The guys start singing along with us and I laugh, moving my head back and forth to the beat.
Tyson grabs hold of my other hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. He smiles one of his bad boy sexy grins that makes me shiver with all the dirty promises those lips hold.
Hands squeeze my shoulders, and I look back to Ben who’s between Talon and Oliver in the back. He gives me a content smile, and kisses me before settling back into Talon's arms.
This. This moment in time, right here, will forever be one I remember. Every little detail. Me between Tyson and Charlie, the guys in the back, the music, the trees along the side of the road as we head to the start of our new lives with our past long gone behind us. I will never take these people for granted.
I know something bad is coming. I’d only be fooling myself if I thought otherwise. I know Tyson will still be around me all the time, even if it's in the background. Dagger is planning something. We're not fooled by his silence. Now if only we could figure out what it is exactly he is planning then maybe we could prepare ourselves a little better. One thing I do know for sure is that it has something to do with me and Melody. And I'll be damned if that fucker gets his hands on her.
But I’m not gonna live in fear. I plan on living my life until the universe decides to throw another curveball my way. And when it comes barreling at me, I’ll have an army at my side.
“EMMY.” I FEEL SOMEONE lightly caress my hair. “Princess, we're home.” I sleepily blink my eyes open to see Tyson looming over me. “You fell asleep.” He grins. Lifting my head off the seat of the car, I look out the front window. This is not Rick and Amy’s house.
“Where are we?” I ask, my voice coming out groggy.
“Home.” He chuckles.
“Tyson, I know it's been a week since we've been back here, but you've been to Rick and Amy's enough times to know this isn't their place.” I say, taking his hand as he helps me out, closing the door behind him.
We stand in front of a two-story house. It’s a nice little home.
“Babe, let me be a little more clear. We are home, this is our home. My dad had this place built for me or Oliver, whoever started a family first. He wanted his sons and their families close by and safe behind the compound walls.”
“Really?” I ask, stunned. “We have our own place? This is really ours?”
“Sure is.” Oliver says, standing in the doorway of the house with a big smile on his handsome face.
Looking around, I see that houses are lined on both sides of the dirt road leading up to the clubhouse off in the distance. But this one is separated, on its own.
“Why are we away from everyone else?” I ask.
“Dad wanted us to have our own space. Perks of being the Boss Man's sons. But I guess in this case it was a good idea. Don't want the neighbors hearing us.” Oliver wiggles his brows, and my cheeks flush. “You can be pretty loud, Firefly.”
“We all are.” Talon laughs, coming out from behind Oliver. “This place is awesome!”
“Come.” Tyson says, holding out his hand. “Let me show you our new home.”
Tyson escorts me up the steps and into the house. The front door leads into an open floor plan. No walls or doors to separate the space. To the left is the living room with a big sectional couch separating the living room from the entryway. There is also a massive TV that’s mounted to the wall with a fireplace below it.
To the right is a dining room with a cute picnic style table big enough to fit at least 10 people.
We make our way further into the house, to a massive kitchen that has state of the art stainless steel appliances. I walk around checking out everything. The fridge is huge and even makes ice!
The stove is a flat top. Thank god, so much easier to clean. There is a nice contrast between the wooden cabinets that are a dark brown, almost black color and the white marble countertops. This place is beautiful. Something I could see myself designing.
As I take another look around, I see some things I missed before. Over in the corner sits a brand new high chair. The living room has a little play mat off to the side, butting up next to a little toy box with baby toys in it. I smile when I realize this really is our home.
“So I know Melody is only three months old, but we wanted to be prepared. The place has a fully furnished basement with three rooms, upstairs has four rooms and there's at least one bathroom on each floor. So there's enough room for everyone to have their own space if they want.” Tyson says, leaning back against the kitchen island.
“But Ben and I are gonna share a room. I mean who wants to sleep alone? Plus if we get sick of each other, we could always just get away by going to the man cave.” Talon grins.
“Man cave?” I say, raising a brow.
“It’s pretty awesome. We have a gaming system down there, couches and chairs, a bar, a pool table; there's even a fridge.” Oliver says.
“Well, what about us girls?” I pout.
“I'm sure there's ways you could persuade us to let you hang out there.” Talon says, pulling me to him and placing a heated kiss on my lips.
“Yeah, not happening. You can have your man cave.” Charlie scrunches up her nose.
“Well, no one was offering for you to come in anyways.” Talon sticks his tongue out at Charlie. Charlie smirks before grabbing one of Talon's nipples through his shirt and twisting.
“Ouch!” Talon shouts. I giggle at the shocked look on his face. “Did you just give me a titty twister?”
Charlie gives him a smug look. “Yeah, and a wet willy.” She sticks her finger in her mouth and shoves it in Talon’s ear before taking off.
“You're gonna pay for that, Charlotte Ross!” Talon growls, chasing after Charlie. “Not the man cave!” He shouts, following her down to the basement.
I can't help but smile and shake my head at their antics.
“Butterfly,” Ben says, getting my attention. “I wanna show you something.” He leads me up the stairs to the top level. He shows me everyone's designated room, telling me his and Talon's are in the basement. Probably because they plan on fucking any chance they get. Smart.
Melody's room is a lot like the one she has at Rick and Amy's. Charlie has her own room so whenever the guys and I do group activities she has a place to escape to. And my room is perfect. It has a big king size bed with a teal bed set much like the one I had back at school, and a TV mounted on the wall. The whole room was exactly how I always wanted my room to be if I could afford it. I even have my own bathroom!
“This is what I wanted to show you.” Ben says, leading me to another door off to the side.
“Oh my god.” I breathe, looking around to see the wall lined with books and a little spot with blankets and pillows in the corner.
“I thought we could have our own little spot. You know, so we can keep reading together. It has all the books we've read already plus all the ones you told me you wanted to read.”
I run my fingers along the book spines as I take in the accumulation of all my favorite stories. “It's amazing.” I say, looking up at Ben with tears in my eyes. "Thank you."
“Hey,” he says softly, bringing me into his arms. “Are you okay? Why are you crying?”
“I’m fine.” I say into his chest. “Just happy and overwhelmed, but in a good way. So many amazing things in such a short amount of time. It’s a lot to take in but I promise I'm happy with it all.”
“Good.” He says, squeezing me tight and placing a kiss on the top of my head.
“Knock, knock.” Tyson says. “Sorry to intrude, but Rick and Amy are here.”
We head downstairs to find Amy lightly crying in Rick's arms as Oliver holds Melody looking unsure what to do about Amy.
“Amy? What's wrong?” I ask, placing my hand on her shoulder.
“I'm just sad. I'm gonna miss you two.” She sniffs.
My heart squeezes, and my eyes start to water. “We're not too far. Still in the same town. You're welcome over anytime. And trust me, we will be over so much you're gonna want to kick us out.” I laugh.
“Never. Our home will always be yours too.” Amy says. “And I expect you to abuse your free babysitting privileges any time. I mean it. You just have to hand her over and I'll watch her. Any time of the day, for any amount of time.”
For a few moments we just hug and cry together. This woman is one of the best people I’ve ever had the privilege of having in my life. She is my hero, my role model, my mother. Blood means nothing in this case. She is everything I wish I had growing up, and I'm honored to have her in my daughter's life.
“Thank you.” I say, holding back more tears. “For everything you've done for me; for Melody. You opened your home and your heart to a poor teenager with a shitty life. You took me in and saved me from a horrible situation. You gave me a roof over my head, food in my belly, and a shoulder to cry on. You will always be my mother. My one and only mother.”
She bursts into another fit of tears, and we cry some more.
“I'm so glad to call you my daughter. You're everything and more, Emmy. Always remember you were never a burden on us. You made our lives better and brighter and that little angel over there just made it all the more perfect. I'm proud to call you my daughter.”
“Hey, Kiddo.” Rick grins although. I see his eyes are a little glassy with his own tears.
“Hi, Dad.” I smile back.
“I will never get tired of hearing that.” He hugs me tight. “And everything Amy just said? Yeah, that goes for me too.”
“Really, Rick?” Amy laughs and blows her nose with a tissue. “Stealing my words as your own?”
“You know I'm not good with all that stuff.”
“It’s okay. I feel the same way.” I lean up and kiss him on the cheek.
I show them the house and we hang out for a little while with Melody in my arms, where she's meant to be.
“Emmy.” Tyson says. I look up from my sleeping daughter. I just nursed her and she fell asleep quickly after that. I should have put her in the crib, but I didn't want to let go of her just yet. “I want to take you somewhere.” He gives me a panty-melting smile. I can tell whatever he wants to show me has him excited.
“I got her.” Charlie says, coming into the room and taking Melody from me. “She’s in good hands.”
“I know.” I kiss Charlie and follow Tyson.
“So where are we going?” I ask as we walk down the road, hand in hand.
“To the clubhouse.”
When we get to the clubhouse we are greeted with a round of cheers like always. Steel gives me a hug before Tyson drags me into the back.
“There she is.” Tyson's voice is filled with excitement. “Fuck, have I ever missed wearing this.” He takes a leather cut off a hook and slips it on, showing me the Phantom Reapers logo on the back. A skeleton reaper with a scythe in its hand with the name of the MC.
“Damn.” I whistle. “My man is bringing sexy back in his leather jacket.”
He gives me a hungry look. “You like what you see?” He prowls towards me, backing me up against the wall. I swallow hard, all forms of joking gone. My knees go weak and my pussy clenches for this sexy biker.
“Yes.” I breathe.
“You know, I think I'm gonna fuck you with this on.” He says while tracing his finger down my jaw. I close my eyes, trying to steady my breathing.
“I’d like that.”
“And you can wear this.” He says, backing away from me. I instantly feel cold from the loss of his body contact and open my eyes with a pout. It quickly changes to surprise when he pulls out a box and places it on the desk.
“What's that?” I ask.
“Open it, Princess.” He says with a wolfish grin.
With an excited smile, I open my present. Inside I pull out a leather jacket of my own. “Tyson,” I breathe as I open it up to see the whole thing. “It’s gorgeous.”
“It’s a little different from ours. And you're the only woman to have one. But I want everyone to know whose girl you are, and who has your back.”
I turn it over to see the back. It has the MC name only.
“Dad said no at first, because only official members can have one like mine. And I don't think you want to be a prospect. So we came to a compromise.” He shrugs.
“I love it.” I squeal, making him chuckle as I quickly slip it on.
“Damn, Princess.” He growls, and my eyes snap up to his.
“No fucking in my office!” Steel shouts from the bar, followed by some wolf whistles and laughs.
My cheeks heat, and I bite my lip holding back a smile as I have a sexy stare down with my man.
“Cock blocker.” He mutters under his breath, making me giggle. “Here, these are to go with it.” Tyson says, and takes something else out of the box. Riding gloves. Then hands me a brand new helmet.
“What do I need these for?” I ask, brows pinched in confusion.
“We're going for a ride.”
My eyes go wide. “On your bike?” I ask, surprised because riding a biker's baby is a big deal.
“You don't honestly think I would miss out on taking my girl out for a ride, do you?” He asks.
I bite the inside of my cheek and look down at the helmet. Last time I went for a ride was with Oliver and I was worried the whole time, clinging to him like we were about to crash at any moment. But I think the main reason for that was because Oliver had not been riding for that long when he took me out. Tyson has been riding for years, at least six or more.
“Princess.” Tyson gets my attention. “Do you think I’d ever put you in harm's way?”
“No.” I say without hesitation.
“Then, trust me. Let's go for a ride. I want to take you to one of my favorite places.”
I take his hand and he leads me out to his bike. A sexy black Harley Davidson sits at the end of the row.
“I don't think you've ever shown me your bike.” I say, hanging my helmet on the handlebars so I could run my fingers along the sleek body.
“She’s been in storage. I haven't had the time to ride her.” He says, slipping on his own riding gloves.
“I'm sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about, Princess.”
“Yea I do; you haven't been here with your club brothers, doing things you love. Instead, you have been babysitting us for the past two years, almost two anyways.”
“I may not have had much of a choice in the beginning, but I'm glad my dad put me on that assignment. If I never took that job at the school, never got the chance to be around you, then we may never have ended up where we are.” He puts his helmet on the bike, and pulls me into his arms.
“You know, you got on my nerves a lot when you first started at the school. Always on my ass about everything.” I grin.
“Yeah. I remember. I loved getting under your skin.” He smirks, giving me a kiss then nipping at my bottom lip, making me putty in his arms.
“I used to bitch to the girls about you. But really, I just thought you were hot as fuck.”
“Yeah.” He smiles, only inches from my face. “You were a stubborn Princess. You know how many times I wanted to spank your ass for being a sassy little brat?” His voice is deep and rumbling out from inside his chest, and fuck, if my pussy doesn't quiver. I'm wet for him, and now I'm about to go on a ride, my arms around his hard body. Fucking kill me now before I explode with need.
“Some things never change.” I say, then pinch his ass.
“You little-” he growls. I dart away with a giggle, snatching my helmet from the handlebar and putting it on, snapping the viser shut so he can’t see my face.
He narrows his eyes at me, silently promising punishment for that little stunt. I can't fucking wait.
“Get on, Baby Girl.” He says, straddling his bike and starting it up with a growl.
I get on, wrapping my arms around him, resting my head against his back. Relaxing my mind and reminding myself I'm safe with him.
We drive for a while. The rumble of the bike is not doing any favors for my aching core. But there's something freeing about riding down the highway, the wind surrounding you. Nothing to box you in. Total freedom.
“SEE, THAT WASN'T SO bad.” Tyson says, shutting off the bike, and taking off his helmet.
“No, it was actually a little relaxing.” I say, taking off my own.
We went off the main road and down a narrow dirt path, stopping by a little lake.
“How did you come across this place?” I ask, taking in the beauty of the secluded lake. There are ducks swimming along the edges, but otherwise it's quiet and peaceful.
