Affection: book 7 Read online

  He does as I say and I quickly get away from the bacon as quickly as I can.

  “So what’s the plan for today?” I ask him as I open a window, hoping the fresh air will dilute the smells that are making me still feel a little queasy.

  “Eat this, and then get to my jobs.” Ryder answers, simply going about eating his breakfast.

  “Jobs?” I ask, “so you’re going to go about your usual day like there’s no fight between one of your best friends tonight because you fucked his sister?”

  Ryder looks over at me, a slight frown scrunching his good looks. “Don’t put it like that Pops.”

  “But I’m right.” I shrug.

  “Maybe then.” He stands. “But now it’s more.”

  I stay rooted to the spot as he walks over to me, Ryder surrounds me with his strong arms and I feel warm. “Please don’t throw the fight.”

  He kisses me on the head. “I’ve already made up my mind.”

  Oh my god why are men so annoying! I break from his arms and storm upstairs.

  “What about your toast?” Ryder shouts behind me.

  “You eat it.” I snap. “I’m going home!”

  Ryder takes me home once I’m ready and the journey is pretty silent. I’m just so mad at him! He can’t just stand there and no nothing. He will look like a fool. He won’t listen to me though, no matter how many times I tell him. I’m wasting my breath.

  We pull up at my house, neither of us saying anything and I’ve had enough. “Are you going to get in some practice or not?”

  Ryder shakes his head and I loose it. With a scream of frustration I get out the car, slamming the door behind me. I guess I make that much noise that the front door to the house opens and Axel stands there. Oh great! Just what I need.

  “Go back inside.” I order him but of course, he doesn’t listen.

  “Poppy,” Ryder calls after me, running to my side. “Look, I know you don’t like it but it’s the way it’s gotta be. I would fucking beat the shit out of anyone else, but not this time. Axel deserves that of me after going behind his back.”

  “But Axel will be more pissed if you don’t try.” I point out.

  “I didn’t say I would lie down for him.” Ryder rolls his eyes. “I’m just not going to try to win, there’s a difference.”

  Well, that sounds a little better I suppose.

  “I don’t want to see you get hurt.” I admit, looking down at the floor and Ryder lifts my face with his finger under my chin.

  “You don’t need to be there, but I think I’ll need you after.” He kisses my forehead and then continues to kiss down my nose until he reaches my mouth. Making me giggle. “You can be my nurse.”

  “Oh really?” I look up into his dark eyes and our conversation has turned into something else.

  “Mmmm.” Ryder nods, bringing my closer. “I can put your hands to work.”

  I’m about to kiss him when someone clears their throat. Shit! Axel is still here!

  Ryder frowns towards Axel and then without notice, kisses me deeply. “I’ll text you when I’ve finished for the day.” He pulls away, getting back into his car and leaving me with my brother.

  I stare at the car as Ryder drives away. He said he’s off to do his usual jobs today, which Prez assigned him to but I don’t know if I should believe him or not. He hasn’t given me reason to doubt him but why would he when he has a fight to prepare for. Whether he’s trying to win or not.

  “You coming in or not?” Axel breaks my thoughts and I glare over at him.

  I can no longer see Ryder’s car, so I storm inside the house and pass Axel. Not bothering to give him a second glance. I hate him right now.

  “Pops.” He protests, closing the front door and following me inside. I see my mother standing in the kitchen and she looks up as I walk by. I know she doesn’t agree with this fight either, she told me so on her text messages this morning.

  Axel is still following me as I run up the stairs. My feet quicken because I want to be far away from him.

  “I have to do this.” Axel continues to talk his shit to me. “I have no choice.”

  I could turn and scream in his face, but I don’t want to look at him anymore. All this time I was worried what he would say and what he would do to Ryder but I didn’t think it would be this. I did have a fight in mind, but not a public match like this for some sort of honor. More like it’s for Axel’s bruised ego!

  He’s right behind me when I get to the top of the stairs so I quicken my steps as I make it to my bedroom. He keeps going on and on but I don’t answer and I can tell it’s getting to him.

  “If you wasn’t fucking him behind everyone’s back we wouldn’t be in this situation would we?” Are the last words I hear from him before I open my bedroom door and slam it shut in his face. Cutting off his annoying rambling.

  I lie on my bed, Axel’s words still going from the other side of the door. “Go away!” I yell.

  Just then, the joint door that separates the bathroom between Lulu’s room and mine opens and my twin sister stands looking sympathetic. “You wanna come to my room?”

  I jump up without hesitation. “Yes please.”

  We leave Axel talking to an empty room and close the door behind us, locking it for good measure.

  “How are you?” She asks me, settling in on her double bed and finally taking a deep and calming breath.

  “I don’t really know.” I stare into space. “I was really happy yesterday, Ryder took me to his place and we were happy.” Memories of Axel walking in just as my orgasm was fading will forever haunt me. “Then it all blew up in our faces. Should have known it wouldn’t last.”

  Lulu places her hand on my knee. “It will, don’t say that.” She leans forward so she can talk in a hushed voice. “You’re going to have a baby together, when this all blows over and the shock wears off, Axel will be fine.”

  I look at my sister and a traitorous tear falls down my face. “I’m scared that once I tell him I’m pregnant he will end things.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s only just accepted that he wants to be in a relationship, having a baby will be too fast.” More tears fall. “But my baby comes first Luna. I love him but I already love this baby.”

  Lulu smiles. “You know what that tells me?” She asks. “That you’re going to be an amazing mum.”

  I smile. “I’ll try.”

  “I quite liked hearing my name, nobody has used it for a long time.” She giggles. Luna is her birth given name but I could never say it growing up. I could only manage Lulu so the name stuck.

  “I didn’t even think about it.” I admit, wiping my face. “Luna.”

  We laugh together and then there’s a gentle knock on the door. My mother then pops her head around, and when she sees my teary eyes she rushes in. It’s then that I notice all the snacks she’s holding and my heart warms. Bless her.

  She drops the handfuls of chocolates and sweets on the bed and wraps her arms around me. I hold back the tears, I refuse to cry.

  “I would say you need something better to eat, but I think after what you’ve gone through last night and what’s happening tonight, you deserve all the shit food.” We laugh together and I don’t hesitate in opening some of the chocolate.

  ***

  Axel left a couple of hours ago and I feel a little more relaxed at home while he’s gone. I haven’t heard from Ryder and I’m dying to know how he’s feeling. I’m a nervous wreck still and the closer we get to the fight the worse I feel. My stomach is churning and this time it’s not due to my pregnancy sickness.

  But as much as I am dreading tonight, it’s time for me to get ready. I send a text message to Ryder, hoping he’s ok and telling him that I love him. I watch the screen for a couple of minutes, wishing that he will message me back but it doesn’t seem so. I give up and put my phone down, fearing the hours to come.

  “So are we dressing up or going casual?” Luna asks me and I shrug my shoulders.

&n
bsp; “I don’t care.”

  My sister claps her hands and wonders over to my clothes. You might think because we’re twins that we borrow a lot of each other’s clothes but that’s not so true in our case. Most of my clothes are dark whereas Lulu’s clothes are bright and cheerful. We sometimes share the odd staple but it’s not that often.

  “What about somewhere in the middle?” She then suggests.

  “I don’t care about what to wear.” I grind out, feeling too many emotions at the same time.

  There’s a knock on the door and my dad shouts from the other side. “Is it clear?” He shouts, the same three words he’s always asked when coming into our rooms.

  “Yeah!” Both me and Lulu respond at the same time.

  My dad enter my bedroom and then asks Lulu if we can have five minutes. She offers me a smile before leaving me to it.

  “How you holding up?” He asks me.

  I just want to cry. I always feel like a little girl when I’m with my dad and I feel shit and down. The urge to cry and jump in his lap for a comforting cuddle is overwhelming. Obviously I’m too old to do that now, so instead, I just lean against him and he wraps his heavily tattooed arm around me. I look down at his wrist where he has mine, Luna’s and Axels names written.

  “I just want this over.”

  “I know kiddo.” My dad holds me a little tighter. “It will be soon and then Axel will leave you both alone.”

  “Why does he need to get involved anyway?” I ask. “You’re ok with it.”

  “Yeah.” My dad nods. “But that’s because I found out and talked to you, Axel has had his club brothers talking about it and probably giving him shit for it. You know, one of his best friends getting with sister behind his back. This is Axel trying to get some respect back.”

  “Yeah well, Ryder’s not going to try and win.” I sit up now, glaring into the corner of my room.

  “He’s going to hand it over?” He questions.

  I nod. “Yep. Says Axel deserves it.”

  “Smart man.” My dad chuckles and then must see my irritated face because he explains. “Think about it, if Ryder wins then not only is Axel pissed at finding out about you two but then he loses the fight also. If Axel wins then he can try to look over the both of you lying because he’s the victor and in his eyes, gotten some respect back from the men.”

  I hate that my dad has just made sense of Axels barbaric actions and Ryder’s idiocy.

  My dad leaves me to get ready and instead of calling Lulu back in, I walk over to my closes myself and pick out what I want to wear. I settle on black jeans, and a black shirt that makes my boobs looks great, which I know Ryder will appreciate. Paired with my boots, leather jacket and my hair in a messy bun, I think I’m ready to go.

  I feel all eyes on me as I walk downstairs and meet my sister and parents. We get into the car together and my body starts to shake the closer we get to the clubhouse. Luna keeps glancing at me and my mum is talking nonsense, I think she’s trying to take my mind of thing but there’s no use. This is it. The fight I’ve been dreading.

  As we enter the clubhouse gates I see the place is packed. I guess word got out. My dad even struggles to find a space to park the car. I almost yell at him to let me out while he continues to find a space. I’m out the car as soon as I possibly can, my family trying to keep up with my pace as I practically run towards the doors and enter the clubhouse. Loud music hits me and the volume of people’s excited voices. Everyone seems in good spirts. The electric charging the air but I don’t care about that, my eyes are too busy trying to find Ryder.

  “Hey.” Elise approaches me and pulls me in for a hug. “How you holding up?”

  “I can’t wait for this to be over.”

  “I bet.” Drew nods, joining us. “I don’t envy you and I’ve been through a lot of family drama.”

  I manage a smile, Drew has kept her family on their toes and it doesn’t help she’s cousin to the Prez. Even more pressure. She’s settled down now though so I suppose it’s down to my personal shit to keep everyone amused.

  Drew and Elise then look behind me and tingles at the back of my neck have me shivering. Ryder’s behind me, I already know before I turn around. I smile at the girls before I turn and when I see his gorgeous face I practically jump on him.

  “Ryder.” I sigh, breathing him in as I wrap my arms around him.

  “Sorry I missed your messages.” He kisses my forehead, “I’ve only just come back from my security job.”

  I then notice a smudge of blood on his grey shirt. “Oh my god Ryder.” I gasp. “What’s happened?”

  “Not my blood.” He assures me. “Don’t worry.”

  I stare into his eyes, wanting to know what he’s been doing all day but I know better than to ask. Growing up within the club, you learn pretty quickly what you should keep your nose out of. Unless the men decide to share it, which some of them do with their old ladies.

  “You ok?” Ryder asks me.

  I don’t bother to lie and I shake my head. “No.”

  He smiles down at me and I can’t help but notice that he looks so damn sexy. He’s wearing black sweat pants and the grey blood stained tee. I can clearly see his bulge and it’s a little distractive, especially when I know what that thing can do.

  Ryder leans down and kisses me like nobody is watching, except seeing as the reason why this fight is happening in the first place is because of us two, I just know people are watching us. We break apart and I’m breathless, wanting more but first we need to get this shit show out of the way and start our new relationship. I can finally be Ryder’s girl and not have to hide it anymore.

  Ryder’s phone makes a noise and when he looks at it he grumbles. “It’s time for me to go baby.”

  My stomach drops and with one last kiss, Ryder leaves me and heads towards the basement where the all the boxing takes place. I keep my eyes on him, Lulu arrives at my side and she kisses me on the cheek. “It’ll be over soon.”

  About thirty minutes after Ryder leaves me, Prez announces the fight night is beginning and people begin to make their way downstairs. I see Prez as he notices me, sitting with my family around a table, probably looking miserable because I haven’t smiled since Ryder left to get ready. He starts to walk over to me, my parents and Lulu joining the disappearing crowd to give me and Prez some privacy.

  “We’ll meet you down there.” My dad kisses me on the top of my head, nodding respectfully to his President as they pass.

  “How you holding up Poppy?” He asks, taking my father’s seat close to me.

  I look at my legs as they bounce nervousness under the table. “Not great.”

  He smiles. “Yeah, it’s what I expected.” There’s a moment of comfortable silence. “Look, for what it’s worth I like you and Ryder together, and I suspect Axel secretly does too.”

  “Doesn’t seem like it.” I add sarcastically.

  Prez shrugs. “Maybe not right now but all us men care about is keeping our families safe and happy. He knows Ryder can keep you safe, we all do but once he sees how happy you are together he change, just give him time.”

  Grim really has grown into his position as President. I manage a smile as his words settle me a little.

  “Now come on, let’s get down there before it starts.” He stands and waits for me to follow.

  People stand aside for us as we enter the basement, the smell of sweat hits me and I can hear the first fight taking place. It’s not Axel and Ryder, but a couple of other club members. They probably have a bet or working out some argument. Axel and Ryder’s fight is what you might call the main event for tonight, so they will be last.

  Prez takes me to where my family is standing, right in the middle of the boxing ring, a perfect view of the front row.

  “What did he say?” Whispers Luna as soon as he’s gone.

  “Nothing much.” I shrug, but really his words hit me in the right place. I just need to get this night over with first.

  Af
ter two more fights and a lot of shouting and wincing, it’s time for Ryder and Axel to come out. They would have been kept in separate dressing rooms, to keep it as professional as they can. Prez gets into the middle of the ring and everyone is quiet.

  “Time for the fight we’re all probably here for,” he grins. He’s a very attractive man but I’m too close to his old lady, Lauren to think of the Prez in that way. It would be weird. I can understand why he has a lot of admirers though. “Axel has called a fight of honor with Ryder!”

  There’s some claps and I look around at who dares to do so. They’re Axel’s close friends, as well as Ryder’s but most are the old generation of the club. No shock there.

  “We all know the rules, once this fight is done that’s it! No more bitching about it! It’s over!” He commands and the men stood around watching nod. “Alright then, let’s get this started! Axel! Ryder! Get out here!”

  Everyone claps as my brother and Ryder walk out, they meet in the ring and nod at one another. A sign of mutual respect. My eyes are fixed on Ryder but I can’t bring myself to clap like the rest. I just stand still. I’m about to witness my brother and the man I think I’m falling in love with fight however Ryder is giving up the fight in favour of Axels ego.

  A bell rings and it’s fight time.

  A few punches are thrown at one another, testing the waters before the real action begins. That’s when Axel lands a body punch to Ryder and everyone winces. Ryder’s doing a good job faking his efforts though, if I didn’t know any better I would think he’s trying. He isn’t trying though and he’s getting beat pretty quickly as a result. He already has a cut to the face but then Ryder lands a punch to Axel’s face that has my brother stepping back. In response Axel steps it up a notch and lands a number of brutal shots to Ryder’s face and body. Tears actually gather in my eyes. It’s horrible to watch. Every time Ryder gets hit it’s as though I feel it too. A hand grips mine and it’s my sister, she smiles at me reassuringly. I appreciate it.

  My attention is brought back to the fight as the crowd winces and I see Ryder’s face is covered with blood. His bleeding eye making it difficult to see as he fights back but Axel is ruthless. It’s why he has the reputation he has, he’s good at fighting.