Page 11 of Lore (Serpents of Chaos MC #3)

ATIANA

His hand is on the back of my calf in a possessive hold, one that I like a little too much.

My hands are around his stomach, and I feel his abs through the material of his T-shirt.

His soft leather cut is pressed against me.

I’m having the best time ever. I can’t stop smiling and taking in every sight along the way.

My hair is blowing back behind me, and I regret not putting it into a braid, because my ponytail is going to be extremely tangled after this.

We stop at the beach, and he gets off the bike before helping me down by taking my hand.

He used to be so affectionate back then, he’d always be kissing my fingers, my lips, my neck. He wouldn’t care where we were.

I was so fucking in love with him.

We sit down on one of the benches overlooking the crystal-clear water. “It’s so beautiful here.”

He rests his arm behind me. “Could you see yourself living here with the kids? I don’t want you to go back. I want to be with my son.”

“I know,” I whisper, smiling sadly. “I’m not going to move away. I wouldn’t do that to you. I’ll wait for this to die down and then I’ll find myself a place close by.” I don’t have anything left for me back in my old town.

He’s silent for a few long moments, and when he speaks, his voice is slightly hoarse.

“There’s no rush for you to go anywhere.

I know the clubhouse isn’t a long-term solution for the kids, but I have a house about fifteen minutes from there.

We could… you could…” he trails off, clearing his throat.

“You could stay there. It’s rented out right now, but they only have another month on their lease. ”

I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sound unsure before, so I answer with, “Okay, that could work. I can get a job with Curse and Rune. And we can share custody of Rider.”

He goes quiet again, and I can almost hear his mind working out loud. “Something like that. And you don’t need to work, I have it all covered.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, my brow furrowing. “I’m not going to expect you to pay for everything. What you’re doing for us now is already taking advantage?—”

“You’ve supported Rider on your own all of these years,” he says, reaching over to take my hand. “Now it’s my turn.”

I want to tell him that’s not exactly true.

I mean, yeah, I struggled for those first few years.

I lived at a shelter when we first broke up, and then in a shared house.

I worked two jobs, lived in a shitty place, and barely made ends meet.

I made sure Rider had everything he needed and then some, but things got much easier for me when I met Trent.

He used to pay for a lot of things for us.

Now I know that was all likely dirty money, it makes me feel sick.

“Lore—”

“Let me do this, please,” he rasps.

“I’ll pay my own way,” I say quietly, squeezing his hand and letting it go. “If you want to spend whatever on Rider, that’s fine with me.”

“And Dove.”

“What?”

“Whatever I give Rider, Dove will also get. I’m not an asshole.”

“I don’t expect you to do that,” I blurt, my brow furrowing.

“Yet I’ll still be fucking doing it,” he replies, flashing me a charming grin that he always uses to get his way. “Besides, with how protective our boy is over her, I know he wouldn’t have it any other way.”

I smile at that. Rider is indeed very protective of his little sister.

“They are good kids, and that’s all on you,” he says, looking back out over the water.

“Yeah, they are.” I decide to lighten the mood. “It would be nice if Rider took after me in some way, though. I was basically just an incubator.”

His laugh is throaty.

Rich.

Fucking attractive.

“Yeah, your genes didn’t stand a chance. Dove is perfect just like you, though.” I think I hear him mutter something that sounds like ‘thank fuck’ under his breath.

I smirk at that. “We better get back.”

He nods and stands up, offering me his hand. When I accept it, he raises it at the same time he lowers his face and kisses my knuckles softly. “Do you think you could ever forgive me, Butterfly?”

“For what?” I ask, my voice hoarse.

We’ve been avoiding this conversation, and I know it’s been the elephant in the room between us.

“For breaking us. For being too young and stupid to realize what I had. For wanting to see if the grass was greener on the other side,” Lore admits, his violet eyes locked on mine. There’s no teasing there, no mockery.

He sincerely wants to know.

“And was it?” I ask.

“Was what?”

“The grass greener…”

He shakes his head, but I laugh without humor, standing up and looking him dead in the eye. “If that were true, Lore, you’d have come back to me. Apologized. Tried to work things out.” I step closer to him, pressing up against his hard body. “But you didn’t because you loved the freedom.”

“The grass is greener where you water it, baby. I was young and made a mistake. And I’m paying for that. I wasn’t ready for you then… right girl, wrong timing, but I’m ready now. And I’m going to make it up to you, if you just let me.”

I purse my lips. “You know, I came back once to tell you about Rider.”

His brows knit together, a strange look flashing across his face. “What do you mean?”

“I came to the club to tell you I was pregnant. I felt guilty, I guess. I knew that you deserved to know. I parked across the road and was about to get out and head inside, but then you came out.”

My throat starts to close as I remember it as if it were yesterday. “You were with two women, your arms around each one. You were obviously leaving with both of them. And you were happy, Lore. You were laughing, smiling?—”

“Butterfly…”

“I watched you walk away with them, and I tried to force myself to get out of the car. To tell you. But I froze. I felt sick.”

“Baby,” he whispers, his voice so soft.

Something passes between us.

Something that should have died a long time ago.

“I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know you anymore.

You made your choice, and you were happy .

I sat in that car for about two hours, deciding what to do.

And when I finally drove away, that was that.

I made the choice for both of us, which was wrong of me, I know.

But at the time, it felt nothing but right. ”

He pulls me against him, wrapping his arms around me, and I feel his body trembling. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

“Me too.” I sigh, burying my face into his chest. “And yes, I forgive you.”

His body loses some of its tension.

“But Lore?”

“Yeah?” he asks, tucking a wisp of loose hair back behind my ear.

“I sure as hell am never going to forget.”

“Okay, but I want you to remember a few things too,” he murmurs, lifting me into his arms and carrying me back to his bike.

“What are you doing?” I ask, as he gently sets me down. I try to sound stern, but it comes out breathless instead. He searches my face, then presses a soft kiss to my lips.

“Reminding you.” He spins me around so I’m bending over his bike, slides down my jeans, and slips his hand inside. To anyone who saw us, they would see Lore standing behind me, and that’s it.

At least I fucking hope so.

“Drenched,” he murmurs, kissing the side of my neck. He slides one finger inside, and then a second. “So fucking wet for me.”

I should stop him.

I should say no.

This isn’t going to help.

But fuck, I want this.

So I push back against him, silently asking for more.

“That’s my good girl.” He circles my clit with the pad of his thumb, and a soft whimper escapes my lips as I come all over his fingers.

He pulls out his hand, spins me back around to look at him, and slowly licks his fingers clean. His violet eyes are darker than I remember. “You taste even better than I remember.”

Shit.