Dec's Downfall: (A Brothers of Devil's Comfort Book 5) (Brothers of Devil's Comfort MC) (14 page)

“It’s good.”

As the meal progressed, and the atmosphere dampened. Ivy lost her smile, and began to eat her fish dutifully. Irritated with myself, that once the meal was over, instead of going back to the house, I took Ivy by the hand and led her down the back streets of New Orleans.

As the evening wore on, Ivy was soon giggling again. When we stopped and browsed in the windows at the little curios and books, a book on voodoo caught Ivy’s attention. Unable to resist the expression on Ivy’s face, I popped into the store, and bought it for her.

“Dec.”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you.”

“What for?”

“For bringing me here.”

Happy that the evening has turned out to be successful, I pulled Ivy’s body into mine and kissed her in the street.

“Ready to go back to the house.”

“Yes.”

DCMC

We’ve been in New Orleans for four days and soon, it will be time to leave. When I came out of the shower, I discovered Ivy leaning over the balcony. Her hair was being ruffled by the morning breeze and her gaze was overlooking the ground. She was wearing one of my shirts, which was flapping against her skin as the wind lifted the open sides, and she had no panties on. My cock came to life from the image she presented. I just could not get enough of the woman.

“Ivy.”

“Yeah.”

“You need to get dressed.”

“In a moment.”

The words were thrown over her shoulder as she continued to look out at the horizon. My cock was twitching and I dropped the towel, which was wrapped around my waist and went and stood behind Ivy, inserting my legs between hers as I gently pushed her legs further apart. The gasp Ivy releases has me hard.

“Hold on to the railings Ivy.”

This is said as my hands cup her breasts and I play with the nipples. Ivy’s breathing is becoming as labored as mine. With one of my hands, I test to see how wet Ivy is for me, happy when my fingers come away covered in her cream.

“What are your safe words Baby Girl?”

“Pumpkin and Unicorn.”

“Do you want to use them?”

As I speak, I already have my cock covered with a condom and the head poised at her opening.

“No.”

That’s all I need to hear, and quickly I thrust in hard and deep. The slight flinch Ivy gave, reminds me of the hard pounding I’ve given her over the last few days. Yet she doesn’t stop me as I grab hold of her hips and begin to thrust, pushing my cock in as far as it will go.

In the corner of my eye, I see the gardener as he tends to the bed. I doubt if he can see what we are doing, and I guess if he can, with Oscar as his boss, he’s properly seen more. The sex was over before it has begun as I found my release inside Ivy’s quivering pussy. Her gasps are almost as loud as mine are.

“Oh shit, Dec, I don’t think I’ll ever move again.”

“Go clean yourself and get dressed.”

By the time Ivy joins me by the bike I have checked the house is secure and switched on the engine. When Ivy comes down the stairs, instead of climbing onto the bike, she looks back at the house. Soon I’ll have to introduce her to the playroom at Tie me Down.

“Next time Oscar’s throwing one of his parties, I’ll get us an invite.”

Ivy looked at me as she placed the helmet onto her head, her smile sad. With a quick kiss to her nose, I whisper.

“Not one of those kinds.”

Brown eyes rounded in surprise as understanding dawned on her.

The return to Comfort Springs reminded me that life has to return to normal. Tomorrow, I’ll be on a run for Devil’s Comfort, which meant I was going to be away from Ivy for a few days. Several days would have to wait before I could play with Ivy again. Frustrated, I gripped the throttle and was soon putting the miles behind us.

DCMC

After dropping Ivy off at Ma and Pa’s I turned towards the club, where I found Inferno talking to Trax.

“You’re cutting it fine.”

Not put out by Inferno’s attitude I take a sip of the beer I had collected from the bar before joining them.

“Church isn’t for another half hour.”

Trax’s snigger earned him an arm thump, which he mockingly rubbed. The man was steel and I had to shake my own fist.

“Are we going to talk about Ivy?”

“No.”

“Come on Dec, you have to do something.”

With a show of nonchalance, I place the beer on the table and stare at Inferno.

“It’s too early to say what’s going on between Ivy and me.”

I still wasn’t ready to claim ownership, to put the woman under my protection. If I did, it meant I was committed. That Ivy meant more to me than I was ready to admit. Church didn’t last long. We quickly went over the run, confirming who would be attending and who would be staying at the Club.

Next, on the agenda was The Scarlet Runners and the problem with The Hybrid’s. Sundance and Twiggy were back, Along with Bastion, they had located the other members of The Hybrids, and had also managed to bring Sugar Jay back.

Sundance was sporting a black eye, which he apparently received from Sugar Jay. As much as he attempted to downplay what had happened, the room interrupted with laughter at the notion that a woman had gotten the better of the biker. Fraggle and Quick Draw were voted in as full members of the club and we were now actively seeking new prospects. As we were leaving church, my cell rang, and seeing Ivy’s name flash across the screen I quickly answered.

“Hi Baby Girl.”

“Don’t you Baby Girl me. You fucking lying bastard.”

Chapter 23

“Ivy. Open this fucking door.”

“No.”

The bastard was standing outside my apartment, banging on the door as though he hadn’t done anything wrong. I don’t know how long or how many times I’ve paced the living room. Angry at myself for being so gullible. If it hadn’t been for Mary, I’d still be in the dark. Blindly following the path, Dec was leading us both down. Well, no more.

“Ivy.”

“Go away Dec.”

“Talk to me.”

“I’ve only one thing to say Dec, and that is you are a lying conniving bastard. Now leave me alone.”

“No. Ivy open the fucking door.”

Dec is no longer banging on the door, and my head is leaning against the wooden panel, my hand spread out, almost as if I was trying to touch him.

“Dec go away.”

“Ivy I’m not going anywhere.”

“Pumpkin.”

Everywhere went silent. I wasn’t even sure if Dec was still on the other side, especially as he has now stopped shouting and I had stopped breathing. Why had I said pumpkin when I meant to say Unicorn?

“Pumpkin Ivy.”

“Yes Dec. Pumpkin.”

Again, there was the silence, a silence which was frustrating me. What was Dec thinking? What was he going to do?

“Friday Ivy.”

Friday, what was happening Friday?

“I’ll be out of Comfort Springs till Friday. Then we talk. Oh, and Ivy.”

“Yeah.”

“We’re not talking through a fucking door. When I return. You’ll let me in okay.”

Weakly I nod my head against the door and give a whispered

“Yes.”

As I continue to lean against the door, I listen to the soft tread of Dec’s footsteps as he left. The odd stair squeaking as though protesting against his weight. Long after he has gone, I remain leaning against the door. My body shaking and I desperately needed to cry. But I wasn’t going to let the bastard have my tears. Why the fuck did he have to lie.

I should have listened to Mary on the phone. Focused on what she was saying when she kept thanking me for offering to look after William. It wasn’t until I returned to her home to pack my things and only Mary and I were in the house that the truth had come out. The more Mary spoke, the angrier I became with Dec, only now to have that anger turned towards me.

As the pain in my heart became unbearable, I slid to the floor, using the door as support and gave in as I let the tears slide. When I believed I had no more tears to shed, I ran down to ‘Open till Late’ and bought a couple of bottles of wine. When I returned to the apartment, I poured myself a glass of the ruby red fluid, wishing it was Dec’s blood. After a couple of more glasses, I rang Flynn, who answered on the third ring.

“Hey.”

“Shit Flynn I’ve made a mess of things.”

“Tell Uncle Flynn all about it and then I’ll come and sort the bastard out.”

Flynn’s quip has me smiling weakly into the phone as I make myself comfortable on the couch, hugging a pillow to my stomach as I drank the wine. Patiently Flynn listened to me as I rambled on. By the time the call came to an end, I had drunk both bottles of wine and was laughing.

When I arrive at the garage the next morning, I’m met by Bugsy, as Fudge isn’t about as he is also on the run with Dec and the other Officers. After giving me a quick tour, Bugsy left me in reception with a bundle of paperwork, which required organizing into their corresponding files, and then he was gone.

Thanks to the amount of paper work and customers I had to deal with. The day soon passed and as I glance at my watch, I realize I haven’t thought about Dec since arriving at the garage. With self-congratulations, I began to pack my things away. As the bell over the door rang, I glance up and find Fraggle approaching the desk.

“Hi. Didn’t you go on the run?”

Today there was an air about Fraggle, almost as though he has grown up, and he is wearing a silly grin.”

“Nope, I need to find a new prospect for the club.”

“So they kicked you out.”

“Ivy don’t be like that.”

“Come on lets go for a drink, and I don’t mean at the club.”

As I rise from the desk, Fraggle opens the door for me and points towards his bike. Ten minutes later, we were in a local bar with a bottle of beer.

“Congratulations Fraggle.”

As our glasses clinked, Fraggle gave an embarrassed but pleased smile.

“How come you didn’t want to go to the club Ivy?”

Like a coward, I hid behind my beer, taking a large swallow, before answering. I may be fully aware that Dec isn’t there. But there were other bikers and I don’t want it to get back to Dec that I’d been to the club.

“I just thought it’d be nice if you and I had a celebratory drink on our own.”

Over the last few weeks, I have learned about Fraggle and his life. Comfort Springs, like most places has its share of domestic abuse and it was always the child, which suffered. From the day his mother had left his father, life had been hard. There had been no money and they had lived in a one-bedroom apartment. As soon as he was old, enough he had dropped out of school and found his own place. Occasionally he would go and visit his mother and give her some money, but since his leaving, she had hooked up with another loser and his visits were becoming less frequent.

As Fraggle talked, I became guilt ridden. I had just returned from New Orleans and hadn’t visited my parents. Apart from the odd phone call, it has to be nearly a year since I saw them. This time my guilt wouldn’t let me get away with just a phone call and in my head, I quickly made plans to visit them.

DCMC

The following day, Bugsy and I came to an arrangement and he sold me one of the cars from the garage. As I pull into my parents' street, I notice how little the place has changed. The street was alive, it always had been. Even today, there was a small group of children, laughing as they played tag. As I drove to my parents, two of the boys broke out into an argument and a thump or two were exchanged, before they both ran off into the same garden, yelling for their mama.

In my parent’s garden was a stroller covered with an insect net, and I quickly a sneaky peek at my nephew, who was being closely watched by his older sister, her brown eyes watching me as she came to stand beside the baby.

“Hi Sunny, is your grandma about.”

Sunny continued to stare at me before yelling and running into the house.

“Grandma, Aunty Ivy’s finally arrived. Does that mean we can have tea?”

On a deep breath, I follow Sunny into the house, to be greeted and hugged by my ever-growing family. The warmth of their love enveloping me, reminding me how much I missed them and love them. By the time, supper is over and everyone begins to leave, I feel drained. The evening is late and I’m ready for bed. In the morning, I have another two-hour drive and quickly I bid my parents Goodnight.

My room was still my room. The wallpaper may be different to the one I’d had as a teenager and my toys and books may have been packed away. But it still felt like mine. As tired as I was, I couldn’t sleep and I went to sit on the window seat and gazed at the stars.

Dec has been gone for two days and he hasn’t been in contact. There hasn’t been any phone calls or a text, nothing. Several times during the day, I’ve glanced at my phone, pulled Dec’s number up, and have been tempted to ring him. Only to return the phone to my purse.

A knock on the door has me turning my head, as mama came in with a couple of mugs.

“Coco dear, I thought we’d have one of our chats.”

As mama joined me on the window seat, it reminded me of my teenage years. The years when I anguished over boys. Over the ones who fancied me, and I didn’t. Or over the boys I fancied, but didn’t fancy me. I had shared my first broken heart with the woman across from me. In her mid -fifties, mama was still an attractive woman. Her red hair, reaching her chin as it swung around her face.

“Do you want to talk about him Ivy?”

“What makes you think it’s a man?”

“Why else would you have come home for a quick visit? If not because you love a man.”

“Oh Mama, I do. And I’ve made a mess of things.”

Mama sat and listened as I told her about the biker, who had climbed into my heart and broken it. The only thing I didn’t reveal to her, was our sex life, as I wasn’t too sure, how she would take that and I didn’t want to her to think that Dec was abusing me, when it was far from it. The late hour, turned to early morning and as I began to yawn, mama did what mama’s did; she tucked me into bed and kissed me on the forehead.

“Ivy, I’ve known you a long time, and apart from this running away from home or whatever it is you want to call it. You usually end up doing something right. If this Dec person is right for you, then you’ll work it out.”

DCMC

My return to Comfort Springs has been with a little regret at leaving my family. Yet, as I drew up outside the tattoo studio, I felt as though I was coming home. Maybe I was finally through with running, and have now found what I was searching for. As I climb out of the parked car, I scan the area. Comfort Springs is a pretty little place. With its fair share of stores and pretty little baskets of flowers, which bloomed from spring until fall. As I glance inside Little Sammy’s, I spot the women I’ve come to class as my friends, chatting and laughing, as they fussed over the babies, while a third rubbed her belly, sat at the table were two other children and from here, I can feel their love.

Yes, this was home. With a wave at Devil’s Comfort’s old ladies, I scurried up to my apartment and took in the starkness of the room. If I was going to make Comfort Springs my home, then I need to start with the apartment.

Two days of hunting and searching the second hand shops have given the apartment a transformation. The old coffee table I purchased has lost its scratched gloss as I sand it back to the bare wood, dust was scattered everywhere, but I didn’t care. The striking of the town clock told me it was late and with a yawn, I threw the tattered sandpaper onto the surface of the table and stretched.

“What the hell.”

As I strain my ears, I hear it again. There’s noise coming from outside. With trepidation, I moved closer to the window to listen. The sound of someone singing came again. Drunks on a Friday night, Cassie hadn’t warned me about this. Then, as I take a closer look out of the window. Under the street lamp, leaning on his bike was a biker, and from where I’m standing, I can feel his eyes on me. The words sinking in as he sang to me and for me.