“I’ll handle it.”

  “Thank you.” Ava sighed and once again, he saw her nibbling on her lip. He had to wonder why.

  “So, you called Harlow today.”

  Shit.

  Fuck.

  He’d called Harlow and he’d asked for the conversation to be kept private. Abriana had also been there, and he’d talked to both women about his plans for Christmas. Both of them were excited and more than happy to help out.

  In fact, Harlow had already been grocery shopping and had stopped by that evening to start dropping stuff off.

  What he didn’t like was the fact Abriana had said she would attempt to cook a pumpkin pie. How she had found a recipe and knew she could do it.

  Smokey had to wonder where his balls had gone that he couldn’t tell the other woman to stay the fuck away from the kitchen. No wonder Ugly Beast was constantly going to the toilet. The poor bastard didn’t know when to tell his woman how bad she was at something.

  “It was nothing. Something for Big Dick, I can’t remember.”

  He let go of her hand, hating lying to her but knowing the surprise would be worth it.

  “Is Big Dick not in town?”

  “Oh, he is, but he was busy doing something for me. Club stuff.” It wasn’t a total lie.

  He twirled his fork into his spaghetti and shoved it in his mouth. He also reached out for a piece of garlic bread and shoved that in too. His mouth was full to bursting. Lying to his woman was fucking horrible. He had never cared this much about anyone in his whole life.

  Ava was his world. His reason for fucking breathing.

  “It’s fine. Did you manage to go up to the attic?” Ava asked.

  “Nah, it’s on my list of jobs to do. Don’t worry, I’ll get it done.”

  “Do you celebrate Christmas?”

  “Yeah, of course, I do.”

  Ava nodded. “With everything going on, between Umberto’s birth, and then Raven, it has been a rushed affair, and I normally get everything ready. I had to wonder.” She kept pushing her food around her plate, and he wanted to tell her everything he had planned, but that would spoil it.

  All the guys were working hard to make this work for him.

  “How was the bakery?” he asked.

  “Great. Apart from Larissa, everything else is fine. We’ve put a date for the last of our orders, and Harlow and I have agreed on how we’re going to decorate the baskets and stuff. It’s going to be fun. We’ve even made one up and placed it in the shop window so customers know what they’ll be getting. We had multiple orders today.”

  “Do you think you’re doing too much?” Smokey asked.

  “No, of course not. Trust me. When it comes to Christmas, nothing is too much.” He was starting to see that with his own plans.

  He finished his food, and when Ava got to her feet, he took hold of her hands and pulled her in close. “No, you’re going to go and take a nice long bath. I’ll do the dishes.”

  “Why don’t we put the dishes in soak, and you come up and join me?”

  “Babe, I know you by now, and I’m not having these precious hands dealing with them first thing in the morning.”

  It was bad enough that she always woke up before him. He hadn’t been able to serve her breakfast in bed or even make her a mug of coffee. Ava was an early riser.

  “Okay,” Ava said. She kissed him. “But don’t be long. I’ll be waiting for you.”

  He kissed her hard and felt his cock thickening. It never took long for him to be aroused by his woman. She was fucking irresistible.

  He watched her go, admiring the full cheeks of her ass as she disappeared around the corner.

  Smokey hated doing the dishes, but he also didn’t like the idea of Ava doing them when she woke up either. He carried them through to the kitchen and got started on them. There weren’t a lot of dishes. He noticed whenever Ava was tired, she always did a pasta dish. Her food was always delicious.

  Was she doing too much?

  He didn’t want her to get ill or exhausted. Giving birth was not a picnic. It was fucking hard work.

  Pulling out his cell phone, he texted Harlow.

  Smokey: Is Ava doing too much?

  He pocketed his cell phone and was amazed when it buzzed less than a minute later. What was it with young people constantly on their cell phones?

  Vegan Brat: I won’t let her. I do everything, but she is always wanting to bake stuff for the club. She is a true mama bear.

  Smokey sighed. He had tried to get her to stop worrying about feeding the club. Ava needed to take it easy.

  Smokey: Don’t let her do too much. She needs her rest.

  Vegan Brat: Tell her that. She’s my boss and I’m not going to get my ass fired. I’ll do everything I can. Tomorrow I’ll be bringing the turkeys. Kisses.

  He glared at the phone.

  Stupid kisses.

  Harlow did that to get him to stop texting.

  ****

  Ava lay in the bath with anticipation, hoping Smokey would come to her. What she had to wonder was if he got the message of what she wanted.

  The two of them, alone in the tub.

  She nibbled on her lip as she glanced down at the bubbles. They covered her body, with just her shoulders, head, and feet out of the water. She’d pinned her hair back. It wasn’t too long as she hadn’t allowed it to grow back to its original length.

  Whenever she did have an appointment with the hairdresser, Smokey kept asking her to cancel.

  She didn’t.

  Ava paused as she thought about Smokey. Raven had been the one to chop off her hair at his demand. Before she met Smokey, she used to have long hair, the kind that touched her ass with the length.

  Did it upset him whenever she got it cut?

  She hadn’t thought about it from Smokey’s perspective. Only from her own. Yes, part of her didn’t want the chance to go through that again. There was no denying that, but also, she happened to like having shorter hair. It was easier to style, at least for her, it was. Also, it made life easier when it came to working at the bakery.

  Running her hands through the water, she tilted her head back when Smokey opened the door.

  Umberto was still sound asleep.

  She noticed Smokey had already removed his leather cut, and as he stepped into the bathroom, he didn’t strip off his clothes. He moved toward her and knelt beside the side of the tub. “Hello, beautiful.”

  “Smokey, there is more than enough room. Come and join me.” She had no choice but to sit up. The copious amounts of bubbles helped to conceal her body. “Or, would you like to go to bed?”

  “Is my woman horny?”

  “Are you not?” she asked.

  “For you, always.”

  She wanted to ask him if that was really true, that pesky insecurity rearing its ugly head. Instead of saying a single word, she merely smiled as if she knew a secret that he didn’t quite understand.

  “I want you, Smokey.” She ran her hand down the front of his body, tracing toward his dick, but he captured her hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

  “And you’ll have me.” He stood up, and her mouth went dry as he removed his clothes. Every act from Smokey was like a seduction. He revealed his heavily inked body, and fuck, he looked so fucking tasty. She wanted to lick every single part of him, and then some more.

  She felt an answering pulse between her thighs, and it was like a hunger building inside her. A desperate need for him.

  After he removed his boxer briefs, he stepped into the bathtub behind her, and Ava cursed herself internally because she had wanted to face him.

  Seduction was not her forte.

  Smokey wrapped his large hands around her, and as she leaned back, she felt herself relax against him. He felt so good.

  He pressed a kiss to her head and then to her shoulder. His hands slowly started to tease up toward her breasts, and as he captured them in his palms, she released a moan. He knew exactly what to do to make her hungry for him. Need flooded her pussy, and as he began to tease her nipples, an answering quake built.

  “I fucking love your tits. I think they’ve gotten bigger, baby.”

  He pinched her nipples, but he didn’t stay teasing her for too long before he began to caress down her body, going between her thighs.

  She sank her teeth against her lip, a whimper escaping as he finally touched her pussy.

  “Oh, baby, you’re so wet for me,” he said.

  He stroked her clit, and each touch to her nub set her on fire even more. Smokey slid down, plunging his fingers inside her core, and another whimper escaped her. She just couldn’t help it. The pleasure was out of this world.

  She wanted him so badly. All the time.

  “Come for me, baby. Let me hear you scream my name.”

  Ava let go and flew over the edge, embracing her orgasm. His name spilled from her lips as it always did, and Smokey prolonged her release for as long as possible.

  He stopped the moment she couldn’t take it anymore, and as he did, he pressed a kiss to her shoulders.

  Coming down, Ava knew she had him in the bath, and as she tried to turn around, he banded an arm around her waist and grabbed a sponge.

  “Smokey, what about you?” she asked.

  “I’m going to make love to you in the bedroom, baby. First, I’m going to wash you.”

  Ava opened her mouth, closed it. He wouldn’t see what she was struggling with right now. Again, he was put off by fucking her. It was always making love and yeah, that was fun and great, but she wanted it to be dirty, to be hard, to be fast. She wanted to feel desired and damn it, wanted.

  No words fell from her lips.

  Instead, she let Smokey wash her body. At least he was touching her, and she felt like such an asshole because he did want her. She knew he did, but it wasn’t like before Umberto, or even since the attack.

  What did she have to do to make him take her? To make him want to fuck her like before?

  She wasn’t broken, and she had forgiven him.

  What was it going to take?

  Chapter Five

  “You cannot embarrass me if you’re here,” Big Dick said.

  Harlow rolled her eyes. “Believe it or not, I have no intention of embarrassing you.”

  “You’ve got to learn to use your filter.”

  This was coming from a guy called Big Dick in an MC club. She had to be the one to use a filter. No one could say his name out loud without there being some sort of strange looks. She hated it when he was like this.

  “Fine, George, what else do you need me to do? Do I need to wear my best dress, and pin my hair back? Maybe be spoken to and act dumb?”

  He glared at her, and she glared right back.

  “I’m doing you a favor.”

  She stuck her tongue out.

  “Do I need to separate the two of you?” Hunter asked, coming into the clubhouse’s kitchen.

  Harlow continued to glare at her brother. “No, that’s fine. Don’t worry, George, I’ll be on my best behavior. No sudden outbursts from me.”

  Her big brother glared at her again, but he didn’t say another word as he turned on his heel and left.

  “You do know he hates his name.”

  “Don’t care. He wants to go telling me to have a filter while he’s walking around with a stupid, and quite frankly, gross name.” She wrinkled her nose.

  And now she was alone with Hunter. The Hell’s Bastards VP. The one close beside Smokey but also the one guy out of the whole freaking town that seemed to get under her skin without much help, and it was so frustratingly annoying.

  She glanced at the fridge and then checked the freezer, very much aware of the fact he was still in the kitchen. Still close by.

  “Do you have everything you need?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I’ve bought Abriana a pumpkin. She said there’s this recipe that is amazing, and she wants to try it and feels like she won’t mess it up.”

  Harlow picked up the large pumpkin.

  She had to wonder if she should feel embarrassed for the pumpkin or not. She hoped Abriana knew what she was doing with this thing.

  Harlow finished putting away all of the grocery shopping and turned toward Hunter.

  He stood close. Maybe a little too close.

  She hadn’t been alone with him for a long time. Did he … like her? She wasn’t so good at reading these kinds of things, and she didn’t know for sure if she was just trying to find something that wasn’t there.

  “So, er, are you a big fan of the holidays?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “You’re not?”

  “It’s a waste of time and money.”

  “Okay, wow, remind me not to even bother putting you on my Christmas card list.”

  “I doubt I was even on it.”

  “Oh, well then, I guess, you’re in for quite the surprise.” This wasn’t flirting. Was it? Hunter stood close. Why did he have to smell so good?

  He reached out, and before she knew what was happening, he stroked her hair behind her ear. “I have a feeling when it comes to you, I will always be in for a surprise.”

  ****

  “What kind of tree do you want?” Hunter asked.

  Smokey stared at the allotment of trees, and the truth was, he didn’t have a fucking clue. Trees didn’t matter to him, at least, he didn’t think they did, but now as he looked at the impressive lot before him, he had to wonder.

  Running a hand down his face, he tried to think. What kind of tree would his woman prefer? Would she like something small or big? Plain green, or with fake snow, real tree, or plastic?

  “Dude, you look like you’re going to be shitting your pants. Don’t you think this is all a little extreme if you’re stressing out?”

  “I want this to be perfect.”

  “And my guess is it will be. You’ve just got to give it time. Have you thought about asking Ava what she wants?”

  Smokey glared at his VP.

  Hunter held his hands up. “I’m just thinking, you’ve made mistakes before. What if the only thing she wants is to spend time with you and her son? She might not want to be around the whole club.”

  He ran a hand down his face, a little exasperated. “This isn’t about spending time with the whole club. It’s about changing the memories she has at the clubhouse.”

  “And being around the whole club. How do you expect to do that when you won’t even allow Brick or Kinky to be anywhere near her?”

  “Why did I bring you along?” Smokey asked.

  “My charming personality, but in truth, I was the only one not busy.” Hunter rested his hands on his waist. “Fuck me, I don’t give a flying fuck about trees or Christmas.”

  Smokey started to look at the trees that were available while also thinking about his woman and trying to imagine which one she’d love.

  “So, er, what is Harlow doing around the club all the time?” Hunter asked.

  “She’s spending Christmas with us.”

  “Seriously, you want the mouthy vegan at Ava’s bakery?”

  Smokey looked at Hunter. “Let me guess, you’re not a fan of Harlow.”

  “I don’t think about the woman at all.”

  “Then it won’t bother you that she’s going to be at the dinner. From what Big Dick tells me, she has a rough time of it at home through Christmas, and seeing as she works for my woman, having her at the clubhouse will be good for Ava.” And this was about making Ava feel welcome. Wiping out those fucked up memories once and for all.

  It’s going to take more than a Christmas to do that.

  He had New Year’s, Valentine’s Day. Pretty much every single time she came to the clubhouse. He was determined to make this work.

  “What do you think of this one?” Smokey asked.

  Hunter came to stand beside him. It was slightly taller than him and was full.

  “It’s fucking big.”

  “You’re being a pain in the ass, Hunter.”

  “Fine, if you ask me, she’ll love it. Not that I know Ava, but seeing as I hate this time of year, it’ll be my luck that she does.”

  Smokey made a note to never hang out with Hunter while attempting to plan an awesome Christmas. “Next time, I’m bringing Raven,” he said, making his way over to the owner.

  Within twenty minutes, the tree was loaded up onto the truck, and Smokey climbed inside with Hunter by his side.

  “So Big Dick’s not going home for the holidays?”

  Smokey frowned and looked toward Hunter. “Is something going on with you and Harlow?”

  “Hell no, man, nothing. I’m just making conversation.”

  Something was off, and he wasn’t quite sure what. “Harlow is young, and she’s also Big Dick’s little sister. Don’t make me remind you what kind of shit that will cause.”

  “Dude, there are enough chicks for me to get my dick sucked. Trust me. I don’t need no bratty bitch. I was just trying to make conversation is all. Damn, you’re touchy.”

  Smokey still wasn’t convinced, but right now, he didn’t have time to follow up with Hunter to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid. He was a grown man and Harlow was certainly a woman who knew what she wanted, and he wasn’t going to get in the way of either of them. Every single part of him said he needed to keep an eye on what was going on, but for now, he had to focus on his own woman.

  After they arrived back at the clubhouse, Elijah, Ortiz, and Brick helped him to unload the tree. They carried it into the main clubhouse.

  Now that he had the tree, there was no way he was going to be able to allow Ava to come here until after everything was set up.

  Raven arrived a few minutes later, Carlos following with a couple of boxes of decorations.

  “Holy shit, Smokey. That’s amazing.”

  “I got you a big tree,” Carlos said.

  Smokey shook his head and smirked as Raven moved in close to her husband. “I know and I love it.”

  “Do you think Ava’s going to like this one?”

  “She’s going to love it. You’ve got no problems there.”

  He stared at the tree, and in the back of his mind, he saw Ava tied to that fucking chair. The look of pain and betrayal on her face as she stared at him. He’d fucked up big time.

 

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