Page 9 of Lore (Serpents of Chaos MC #3)

ATIANA

In the middle of the night, I decide to venture into the kitchen to get something to drink. It’s still dark outside, and I have a few hours until sunrise. I can’t sleep, my mind working overtime. Seeing Lore again has done a number on me.

What I don’t expect to see when I walk down the hallway is the kitchen light already on, and moans and grunts coming from inside there.

Shit.

Someone is fucking right here in public?

Sure, it’s quiet and most people are sleeping, but anyone could walk in.

“Yes, Haze, fuck me harder,” a woman commands, her breathy moan making my cheeks heat.

“Fuck, take my cock just like that, Luella,” a man growls.

Lu?

I’m not going to be able to look at her the same.

“You like knowing that anyone can walk in and see you, don’t you? Any of the brothers could walk in here right now…”

I take a few steps backward, slowly getting the hell out of there.

It’s been a long time since I had sex or begged like that. Since I was so turned on, I didn’t care what noises I was making. Sex with Trent felt like a chore toward the end. Sometimes I’d be going through my to-do list for the next day because it was that bad.

A few hours later, I keep my word and take the kids for a swim. The sun is shining, and with the pool, hammocks, sun loungers, and the big trees surrounding the massive property, it does feel like we’re at a resort.

Dove is lying in a blue hammock, living her best life, her wet hair dripping down her neck.

She has sunscreen on her arms, but she refused to let me properly rub it in for her.

Rider is still in the shallow end of the pool, diving down to pick up some of the toys he found.

It’s still early, so there aren’t many people around the clubhouse.

“Orange?” Dove asks in her baby voice, although it sounds more like ‘owange,’ and I hand her another slice. I grabbed some fruit from the kitchen and cut it up for them to munch on. She smiles widely, flashing me some of her cute baby teeth.

“Mom! Watch this,” Rider calls out, jumping in the water. I hope he doesn’t wake up any of the brothers. It’s eight in the morning, but I think they run a different schedule than we do. And fair enough. If I didn’t have kids, I wouldn’t be up at the ass crack of dawn either.

The door opens, and a man walks out to lean against the wall with his knee bent, a smoke in his hand.

He has a shaved head and is covered in tattoos.

A loose black T-shirt covers his broad chest, and his worn, ripped jeans look like they’ve seen better days.

An air of menace surrounds him, and for the first time since I arrived here, I feel a little unsafe.

His eyes turn to Rider, and then back to me.

“Rider, come here,” I call out to him. I don’t know this man, and he’s making me feel uneasy.

“Why?” Rider asks, frowning. But he listens and walks over to me, water dripping on the ground with every step.

The sliding door opens again, and this time it’s Lore who steps out.

He’s wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants, his cut abs on show, and it takes me back to the time I caught him with Gina on his lap.

His body remains as perfect as it was back then, perhaps even with a little more muscle and not an ounce of fat on him.

Of course, he couldn’t have a beer gut or something.

His violet eyes take in Dove and me first, then his head snaps to Rider. His shoulders relax, like he’s relieved about something. He then turns to the man, who is having a smoke, and says something to him quietly. The man pushes off the wall, puts out his smoke, and heads inside.

“I was looking everywhere for you,” Lore says as he walks over, sitting down next to me. Dove sits up and smiles at him. “Good morning.”

“Swim!” she yells, and he laughs, then turns to his son.

“You finished swimming, Rider?” he asks him.

Rider frowns and looks back at me. “No. Mama just wanted me out of the pool.”

“You can go back in,” I tell him, and he grins and runs off. I turn to Lore. “I didn’t know that man…”

His eyes widen in realization. “That’s Ghost. Don’t worry, he won’t harm you.

You’re safe here, okay? Ghost will stay out of your way.

He’s more of a loner. But if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable, come right to me.

” He stands up and pulls his pants down, leaving him in nothing but a pair of black boxers.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” he replies with a lopsided, boyish smile.

And then he runs and jumps in the water, splashing Rider, who laughs so loudly I’m sure the rest of the clubhouse is now wide awake. Rider jumps on Lore’s back, the two of them playing together, and I blink away tears as they both smile the same damn smile.

“Give Dove a turn too,” I hear Rider say, always wanting to include his baby sister.

He throws Rider in the air, then turns and looks over at us. “Dove? You want to come in, Princess?”

She quickly tries to jump down from the hammock, so I get up and help her, lifting her over to the edge of the pool. Lore holds out his arms, and she does the same until she’s safe against him. He lifts her on his shoulders, and she squeals in happiness.

“You coming in?” he asks, arching his brow at me in challenge.

Throwing off my white cover-up, I only give Lore a few seconds to check me out in my white bikini before jumping into the water and splashing all of them.

“Mama!” Dove calls for me, and I take her into my arms while Lore picks up Rider and throws him into the water.

This is what Rider has been missing out on.

I’d never throw him around like that. I’m feeling anxious just watching it, but he’s laughing and having the best time ever.

Trent would never play with Rider like this, and it makes me feel even fucking worse, although who knows if Lore would have been able to even give this to him back then.

I guess we’ll never know, but all we can do is move forward.

Lore splashes water on the back of my head, and I know he remembers just how much that annoys me. I don’t like being splashed or dunked. “You’re going to pay for that!”

“How! You can’t do anything with that sweet girl in your hands,” he teases, and I turn around to face him.

“Neither can you.” I grin, splashing him right in the face.

Dove’s sweet giggles make me melt, and I gaze down at her lovingly. When I look back up at Lore, he’s watching me with an unreadable expression on his face.

And then Rider jumps on him, breaking the moment.

We stay in for another thirty minutes before getting out, and I can feel Lore’s heated gaze on me as I walk to pick up my towel.

“You don’t have any other swimsuits?” Lore asks in a low tone as the sliding door opens, and the twins step out.

He quickly stands in front of me, blocking their view. “No, why? I packed quickly, didn’t exactly bring a lot of options.”

I only brought my bikini because I promised the kids we’d go for a swim at some point.

Without looking away from me, he picks up the towel and wraps it around me. My brow furrowing, I turn around and help the kids get dry, bending over to wrap Dove’s towel around her.

I hear a choking nose behind me, and Lore mutters something that sounds like, “Christ.”

But when I spin back around, his expression is blank. “Come on, let’s get you both in a hot shower. And then I’ll make you something to eat.”

“Ora and Lu are cooking a big breakfast now,” Lore says, holding his hand out to Rider.

For someone who never wanted children, he’s a natural with them. He lifts his head and looks at me. “If you ever want me to do something…” he trails off, clearing his throat. “Just tell me. It’s going to be a bit of a learning curve getting this whole dad thing worked out.”

“You’re doing a good job,” Rider pipes up, and Lore’s violet eyes soften on him.

“Thanks, son,” he whispers, then holds his other hand out to Dove. “Come on, Princess. Let’s get you warmed up.” He takes a few steps with them, then pauses. “Butterfly, go up ahead of me. I don’t trust any of those ass…” He winces. “Buttholes to walk behind you.”

I roll my eyes and lead the way.

Apparently, he doesn’t like other men looking at my ass. I ignore the fact that I’m secretly thrilled about that fact.

You stupid girl, Atiana.

Don’t fall for his charm again.

One broken heart from him was more than enough.

“You know, for someone who never wanted kids, you’re really good with them,” I say quietly so only Lore can hear.

Hurt flickers in his eyes before he can mask it. “That was a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one.”

“Sorry,” I mutter, clearing my throat. “But you are… good with them.”

“A compliment. I can work with that.” He smiles sadly.

One of my walls crumbles, seeing him trying with the kids.

He acts like he wants to be here with them, not because he’s obligated.

He acts like he wants to be a dad.

“You make it hard,” I whisper.

“I think that’s my line,” he teases, and I laugh lightly.

“What do I make hard?” He lowers his tone. “Please say your nipples.”

I roll my eyes. “To stay angry. To keep you at a distance.”

“That’s the last thing I want you to do. I want you to be able to trust me again, Butterfly. Let go of all the hate you have for me.”

“I think I let go of that a long time ago.”

We run into Rose and Brandy on the way, and the way their eyes eat him up so intimately makes me feel sick to my stomach.

But it’s another reminder.

Lore might be the father of my son, but to me?

He’s just my baby daddy.

And I need to remember that.

Maybe if I keep saying it, I might believe it.