“I’ll try.”
“No, you’ll succeed. I don’t like failures, Beth. This is your home now. I’m not giving you back, so any fantasy you had playing in your head, you need to get rid of. I’m not letting you go.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
He smiled at her. She didn’t attempt to argue, which pleased him. “I’m also going to stop you from being so submissive. When you don’t like something, you need to tell me.”
“But won’t that annoy you. Make you angry?” She nibbled on her lip. “I don’t like pain.”
He gritted his teeth. “When you disobeyed your father, he hit you?”
She didn’t answer right away. She went pale.
“Beth!” He growled her name out, needing an answer or he was going to do all kinds of damage.
“He would hit me with his belt or slap me. I don’t like pain.” She looked down at the ground and for now, he was pleased because he didn’t imagine for a second she would like the look in his eyes. Forge had been told many times that he had an empty stare of death when he got into a murderous rage.
Peterson’s last days were coming and the next hit he gave would be from his belt. He’d show that fucker.
“Then I guess it’s time you learned how to also hit back.”
She looked up then, her confusion replacing the obvious shame.
“Hit back?”
“Yep. You’re going to learn how to smack a man down, kick him in the balls, and what to do if a man attacks. I’ll even give you a couple of rounds on the gun.”
“Can I do that?”
“Babe, you’re with me. You can do whatever the hell you want.” He winked at her. He was going to have so much fun with this woman. She was going to thrive with him in her life, and he’d be damned if any man pushed this woman down again. He would make her his queen, where all women admired her and wouldn’t dare try to hurt her.
Tilting her head back, he slammed his lips down on hers, not caring if his men saw. They knew the consequences if something were to happen to her, and he wasn’t going to allow them to doubt her place in his life.
Tomorrow, he was going to start to repair the damage her father had caused. He’d build her up, change her entire world.
Breaking from the kiss, she looked breathless and the smile on her lips was heaven. “I like it when you kiss me.”
He did it again and this time, she gasped, moaning, and he used the moment to slide his tongue into her mouth. She whimpered his name, and he felt completely consumed by his need for her. She really was everything and he couldn’t get enough of her.
He didn’t take her up to his bed straightaway. Staying around his men, he drank a couple of beers, kept Beth at his side throughout it all. When she started to get a little heavy, he realized she was falling asleep.
He sent her upstairs and she went after a kiss to his lips. Watching her go, he saw men and women part for her. Did she even realize yet that she was their world now? There was no getting out of it. She belonged to all of them, and she looked so damn pretty. Her beauty shone brighter than anyone else here.
Drinking his beer, he finished the can and crushed it in his fist. He got to his feet as Romy made her way out of the clubhouse. She was smiling until he caught sight of her.
No one stopped him as he grabbed her around the throat, cutting off her air supply. “You think you could turn me against my woman? She’s more than you’ll ever be.” He squeezed even tighter. “I want you all to know Beth isn’t like us. She hasn’t had an easy upbringing. She’s shy, reserved, scared. I want you all to treat her with the utmost respect and if you see her fucking scared or withdrawn, go to her, help her to realize her place is here. I won’t be getting rid of her. She’s my old lady. As good as my wife, and I won’t allow anyone, not you, not anyone, to treat her any other way.”
He threw Romy to the ground. She gasped and cried out.
“Now, get the fuck out of my clubhouse. If I see you around here, I’ll kill you.”
She got to her feet, glancing at his men.
No one came to her defense. She was nothing.
He watched her go, her legs bleeding from his tarmac. She was a slut with no information. The women knew nothing. It was how he kept his club so tight.
“If she ever tries to come back in here, shoot her,” he said.
With that, he made his way inside to his room.
Now everyone would know the consequences of hurting Beth. Entering his room, he saw Beth curled up around his pillow. She looked so beautiful, and she was the prize in his bed. As he closed his door, she didn’t even move or whimper. After removing his clothes, he went to the bathroom and took a quick shower as it had been a few days since he last washed.
When he was completely dry, he walked back to his bed, naked, and joined her, curling up against her back. Breathing in her scent, he knew he’d come home. Beth was now his everything. She didn’t even know it yet, but she completed him.
Curves, shyness, sweetness, and soon he’d have the fire as well.
Chapter Six
He’d told her to explore, so that was what she planned to do. A few days after he’d returned to the clubhouse, he was out back in his forge. She could hear the ting of metal on metal. Beth never wanted to disturb him or cause trouble, but she admitted she was curious. Her fears kept holding her back from getting closer to him. What if he turned her away? What if he didn’t want to know more about her? She wouldn’t put him in a position to push her away. Her heart grew more fragile the more she became attached to Forge. There were no alternatives for her if he tired of her. No place to run. No family to welcome her back. Forge was all she had and all she wanted.
She pulled on a light cardigan and set off to explore the club that was supposedly her home now. Beth craved security and permanence so much it hurt.
“Hell’s Slaves MC,” she muttered to herself in disbelief.
It had only been a few weeks, but she was starting to feel like she meant something to Forge. He was possessive and, so far, loyal. This wasn’t the world she was accustomed to, but she understood her place held importance. In a weird way, she felt like a princess. She never wanted to leave.
Things were a lot different in the daylight hours. They were surrounded by forest, and the scent of burning wood was a comfort. Everyone had a job to do, and a lot of the men were gone before she woke up every morning. She tried to block out the fact Forge and his club lived a life of crime. Mostly it bothered her that deep down she didn’t give a shit. For the first time in her life, she felt wanted. Belonging to something bigger was an addiction.
A couple of dogs raced by her legs. Beth twirled around, feeling carefree and happier than she’d ever felt in her life. She was no longer the oddity. People didn’t point or stare. Beth was starting to fit in and becoming a regular part of the club.
When she got to the entrance gates, she noticed the wildflowers on the edge of an embankment in the distance. She slipped out to explore, crouching down when she finally reached the cliff. Far below was a river, the water rushing around large rocks and calming as it continued along. They really were off the grid. She followed along the upper bank, sometimes trying to follow random pieces of driftwood until they disappeared from sight. The views were breathtaking, and she ended up sitting down and crossing her legs for the longest time. Daydreaming came naturally to her. Before being sold to Forge, it was all she had. One by one, she picked select wildflowers. She’d put them in a vase in their room when she got back to the clubhouse.