Hey Guys,
This is the premiere of the book trailer for this story, made by myself. I hope you all enjoy it, I loved making it. Leave a comment on what you think. Anyways, enjoy the next chapter.
Marie
Thomas lays on his stomach and looks down at the play mat while Abel plays with some building blocks. He piles them up and I can't help but smile at how clever he is.
"Look at you my clever boy!" I say with a big smile.
I hear the sound of a Harley pulling up in the driveway and my smile becomes bigger and the thought of Jax coming home. Thomas begins to make noises and I smile down at him when I hear the front door open.
"Hey!" I say, looking towards the door to see Jax walk in.
"Hello!" Jax greets with the biggest smile and Abel gets to his feet and runs over to him, "Daddy!"
He picks him up and gives him a big kiss as I lift Thomas off of the mat and Jax looks at the two boys, "I missed you guys!" He says.
He leans down and places a long sweet kiss on my lips, "I missed you too Mommy."
I give him another kiss and Thomas reaches up to him and he pulls away, "Yes and you." He says, placing a kiss on Thomas' head.
"How was your trip?" I ask, getting to my feet with Thomas in my arms.
"Good. I brought you a souvenir." He says, grabbing his bag and beginning to rifle through it.
"From the motorcycle show? I can't wait." I say sarcastically, placing Thomas down in the cot.
I turn and see Jax holding to massive piles of cash in his hands and he bangs them together with a wide smile while I stare at them in disbelief, "Wow."
I walk over and he places them in my hands and I look down at them, them feeling heavy in my hands, "I'm going to put them in a safety deposit box in your name. And there's going to be a lot more."
"All in cash?" I ask.
"No strings, no tax." He says, pulling me towards him so that I stand in between his legs, his arms wrapped around my waist, "This is real babe, just like I promised you. Talk to my Mom and she knows the drill."
I look him in the eyes for a moment before nodding my head, a small smile on my face, "Okay."
"Okay." He says and I wrap my arms around him, pulling him against me for a kiss.
He pulls away after a moment and turns and walks away. I look down at the cash in my hands and a weird feeling overcomes me. Something about this is not right and I hate that feeling.
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I swallow my mouthful of coffee before turning to my future mother in law, "So this cash thing? I mean do we just store it?" I ask.
She shrugs her shoulders, "Yeah, for a while. Safety deposit boxes."
"Does that mean we can't spend it?" I wonder.
"Well small amounts, I mean you can buy shit under the table." She states.
"Well what if I want to use it for school or something?" I ask.
"Nuh-uh, it has to be washed before we can spend it on something real. Bobby has a guy." She says.
"Jesus." I say, shaking my head.
"You okay with that?" She asks, looking at me.
"Walking into a bank with a bag full of cash? Sure." I say, shrugging my shoulders before finishing off my last mouthful of coffee.
I get up from the dining room table and grab her cup, "I mean don't all high school English teachers get paid in small bills?" I say sarcastically.
There's a knock at the door and I turn to Gemma, "You mind getting that? It's Tara."
"Tara?"' She asks and I nod my head as I begin to wash up, "Yeah, we're going out for lunch. We haven't caught up in a while."
She leaves the room and I hear the front door open before footsteps coming into the kitchen, "Hey." She says.
"Hey, just give me a sec and we can go." I say, placing the dishes on the rack.
"Well I gonna head off." Gemma says and I turn and walk over to her, giving her a hug.
"Thanks again." I whisper in her ear.
"Anytime baby, I love you." She says, pulling back.
"Love you too." I say.
She says a quick goodbye to Tara before making her way out of the house, "What was that all about?" Tara asks, looking after Gemma.
I sigh and shake my head, "Club shit." I say.
She nods her head, "I'm kind of glad I'm not deep into it anymore."
"I am too." I say, quickly washing my hands.
"So, where too for lunch?" She asks as I dry my hands on the towel.
I shrug my shoulders, "Neeta has the boys for the day so I don't have to be home by a certain time, want to check out that new cafe that's opened up on Leighton Way?" I ask, grabbing my handbag and keys from the table.
"Oh I've heard about that place, it sounds amazing." She says, following me out of the house.
"Then that's where we're going." I say and she smiles.
I lock the house behind me and climb into her catty, making our way over to the cafe, "So how is everything with you lately? It's been ages since we've caught up."
"I've been really good. There's been a lot going on with work and I've been pretty busy with David." She explains and I smirk over at her.
"What?" She asks, looking at me from the corner of her eyes.
"Nothing, it's just you guys have been together for a while now. You think he's gonna..." I trail off.
She shakes her head, "No. Just because you got engaged, doesn't mean everyone else is." She says with a smile.
"Come on Tara, it's been a year. You don't think anything is going to happen? That it's not heading into that direction already?" I ask, turning my body to face her.
She remains quiet with a small smile on her face and I chuckle, "He's a good guy Tara, it doesn't hurt to think that maybe something special is going on between the two of you. That you can be happy."
"I know I can be happy, it's just..." She trails off.
"Just what?" I ask.
She glances at me before looking back at the road, "Last time I thought I was going somewhere special was with..." She trails off.
An awkwardness fills the car before she continues talking, "And before that was Joshua. Both times I've tried to be happy, I've failed miserably."
I reach over and place my hand on hers, "Hey, don't think like that. You're an amazing woman Tara and I can tell that David really loves you. The way he looks at you, the way he talks about you. I've only seen a few men look at their women like that."
"Yeah like who?" She asks.
"My Dad and my Mom, Clay and Gemma. Jax... You know it's something real when they have nothing but adoration in their eyes when they look at you." I say, thinking of those times.
She is quiet for a long moment before she nods her head, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Of course I'm right." I chuckle and she rolls her eyes.
"Give him time, before you know it you'll have a ring on your finger and little kids running around between your legs." I say with a smile.
"Oh god!" She groans dramatically and we both laugh as we pull up out front of the cafe.
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I feel the bed dip down beside me and a pair of arms wrap around my waist and chest. A pair of lips press against my neck and I snuggle closer back into his chest.
"Rough day?" I ask, my eyes still closed and my voice groggy.
"Something like that." He says.
I turn my head back and look at him, "Want to talk about it?" I ask.
He shakes his head, "No, not really."
I turn in his arms and run my fingers up his bare back and into his hair. His lips press against my jaw, heating up my skin and I pull his mouth to mine. His hands slide down my sides and hitches my leg up around his hip. Our breathing becomes heavier and he begins to pull my shirt up, his mouth moving down to my stomach. I keep my fingers tangled in his hair as goosebumps form all over my skin. He continues lower and soon my whole body is on fire.
We make love right into the early hours of the morning, neither one of us wanting to let go of the other, just loving the feeling of one another. I am addicted to this man and I never want to let him go and I don't plan too. It's me and him, forever.
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I pull up in the lot at Teller-Morrow and park the car, getting Thomas out of the car. I grab his diaper bag and make my way into the office where Gemma waits. She looks up from her paper work with a big smile of her face, "There's my handsome grandson." She says, getting to her feet and taking him off of me.
I place the diaper bag on the lounge and make sure everything is there, "Thanks for doing this Gem." I say, straightening back up.
"Any time with my grandson is no trouble." She says, smiling down widely at the boy.
I smile and glance at the clock on the wall, "I gotta get going and get some printing done before my next class." I say, grabbing my handbag from the couch.
She nods and we both make our way out of the room and back towards my car. As we walk a taxi pulls up in front of the clubhouse and I look at it confused as a young woman gets out.
"Oh Christ." Gemma mutters.
"Who's that?" I ask, the girl looking oddly familiar.
"Half of Satan's spawn, here take the baby." She says, handing Thomas back over to me.
The girl walks over and smiles a Gemma, "Momma Gemma."
"Hi baby." Gemma greets and pulls her in for a hug, "Tig knows you out here Dawny?" She asks as she pulls back and I recognise her to be one of Tig's daughters, though she looks much older than when I last saw her.
"It's Margo now with an S." She explains, "He doesn't know I'm coming."
The taxi driver bangs on the roof of his cab impatiently and Dawn turns to face us, "Sorry, got a twenty?"
I roll my eyes as Gemma pulls out a twenty and hands it to the girl to go pay the driver after blowing her a kiss, "Dawn's here." Gemma murmurs.
Dawn turns and her eyes land on me, "Oh my God, Emily?"
I smile at her, "Hey Dawn." I smile.
She goes to correct me when Chuckie walks over, "Can I help you with this?" He asks her, gesturing to her duffel bag.
"Holy shit, are those things real?" She asks looking at his prosthetic hands as he takes her bag off of her.
He shakes his head, "No, I mean yes they are-" He begins when Gemma cuts him off, "Hey." She warns, giving him a look.
She turns back to Dawn, "Where's your sister?"
She bites her lip and her eyes tear up, "That's why I'm here. She's bad, I need my Daddy." She cries, walking forward and wrapping her arms around Gemma.
Gemma and I exchange a look before she turns to Chuckie, "Track down Tig."
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Gemma walks back into the room and speaks to Dawn, "Your Dad's on the way. You need anything, you just ask Mr happy hands."
Dawn smirks over at Chuckie before turning to Gemma, "Thank you." She say, pulling her into another hug.
I turn away and glance down at my phone and see that I'm running late for work and walk over towards Gemma, "I'm late."
"Bye honey." Gemma says as I step forward and place a kiss on her cheek, "Bye."
I turn to go give a kiss goodbye to Piney when I see someone walk into the room that makes my blood boil, "Good morning." Ima says with a fake smile and her fingers twirled in her hair.
"What're you doing here?" I ask, contained rage filling my voice.
"I was a guest." She states.
An insecure feeling overcomes me and I glare at her, "Who's?"
"Is that really any of your business?" She says with attitude.
"You should make it our business." Gemma says, walking forward.
"I was invited." She argues and I walk forward, "Invitations over."
"Now would be a good time to get your shit and get out." Gemma says, looking down at the woman.
Ima doesn't budge as I reach Gemma's side and it takes everything in me not to rip her head off. Gemma notices this and steps in between us and glares down at her, "Bitch, she will rip your little tits off."
Ima looks between the two of us before turning and stalking end way back to the apartment to grab her things. So many old emotions come back as I glare after her and I can't deal with it right now. I spin on my heel and turn and stalk my way out of the clubhouse. A million thoughts run through my mind as I walk to my car and I hear Gemma follow after me.
"Did Jax come home last night?" He asks and I shake my head, "That's not the point, she shouldn't be here. I hate this shit." I say, feeling awful.
I hear a car door and look up to see Lyla walking towards us and she looks between us, "You guys seen Ope?"
"Uh, I think he's with the guys." Gemma says.
She sighs and looks down, "Okay, he didn't come last night. I was just worried." She says and a realisation comes over me along with a mass wave of guilt.
Gemma and I exchange a quick look before she turns to face Lyla, "I think they had a late one. I'm sure he just crashed here."
She nods her head, "Okay."
"Something wrong?" Gemma asks.
Lyla shakes her head, "No." She says, though she looks like she is about to breakdown.
"Really?" I ask.
"We're struggling a little. A lot of distance, we down talk much." She admits and I feel terrible for her.
Gemma shrugs, "It's just lizard brain baby, happens to all guys when they get married." She says, looking over to me for reassurance.
I nod my head and turn to Lyla, "Yeah, just give it some time."
All of a sudden we hear the sound of bikes pulling in and we watch them pull up before Lyla faces us once more, "Thanks."
Gemma nods and I smile at her before we make our way away from her, towards Tig and Bobby, "That felt shitty." I whisper.
"Yeah, not our business." She argues.
"What's she looking for Ope?" Bobby asks, pointing behind us.
I turn and see Lyla stalking towards the clubhouse and I curse out loud, "Oh shit."
We all chase after her in the clubhouse and walk in time to see Lyla going for Ima when Ima pulls out a gun on her, "Hey I will blow a hole straight through that pretty little yammy of yours." She says, turning and pointing the gun between Ima, Gemma and myself. My heart beats furiously in my chest and I glance over at Thomas who sits in his carrier by Piney.
"Why him?!" Lyla demands as Ima retreats slowly.
"You want answers sweetheart? Go ask the cock that was inside me last night." Ima says and Lyla's face contorts in pain as she turns and walks away, tears streaming down her face.
I glare at her as she aims the gun at me, "Keep that thirty eight close bitch, you're gonna need it." I hiss.
She looks at us quickly before turning and quickly rushing away towards her car. I let out a breath and Gemma walks over to me, "You okay?" She asks.
"Yeah." I say, turning and making my way over to Thomas, pulling him out of his carrier and holding him tightly in my arms.
Things could have turned out differently, she could have killed him if the bullets went astray. This life, this club is dangerous. With normal shit like this plus with everything else that's been added on top, I worry about the safety of my children. I know that the club has got my back no matter what, that they will always protect us. But I can't help but wonder, is that enough?
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I pull up at home and see that Jax's bike is in the driveway and all the feelings that have been stirring inside me all day come back to the surface. I grab my things and get out of the car and lock it, making my way to the front door. I walk inside and shut the door, walking down the hallway towards our bedroom.
"Ems?" Jax calls out.
I ignore him and dump my things on the bed and step out of my shoes as I hear him walk into the room behind me, "Ems." He repeats.
I continue to ignore him and begin to unbutton my work shirt and I pull it off and he grabs at my arm, "Hey," He says, looking me in the eye, "I'm sorry."
I glance down at my hands and look at my engagement ring before lifting my hand up and showing it to him, "You know what this means right?"
"Yes." He says.
"I have to be able to trust you-" I begin but he cuts me off, "I'm not the one who slept with her."
I shake my head, "This is not about Opie... It's situations like this, the way the club treats women in general."
"Don't condemn the whole club." He says and I shake my head, "You know what I mean. This isn't just a deal breaker anymore Jax... I am the mother of your sons. You hurt me and you hurt all of us."
"I'm not going to hurt you." He says, a promise in his voice, "I've taken care of it. Ima is never going to be apart of our lives again."
I give him a confused look but he continues, "I'm going to marry you Emily, you are the mother to my children. Everything that's happened in the past, all that bad shit, it stays there. It's you and me, forever babe. There's nothing I'm going to do to jeopardise that."
I look at him fora long moment before letting out a sigh and stepping forward, wrapping my arms around his torso. I push away my insecurities and take in his words, knowing that he means them one hundred percent, he loves me, more than anything in the world and I do him. We're partners, in this for the long hall. He's done nothing but prove to me over and over that he loves me and I trust him, I do. I just have to learn to let go of the past. We have each other, and that's all that matters.