Surviving

By T.O. Smith

I wasn't ready to be tied down to her, but like hell was I letting anyone else touch her.

But when I almost lose her to a rival club, my mind changes instantly.

I'm letting her lay claim to me. I'm tattooing her name on my neck.

And I'm going to burn this entire world to the ground to get vengeance for what happened to her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tiff Thomas
• Release date: Sep 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005063733

T.O. Smith

T.O. Smith believes in one thing - a happily ever after.Her books are fast-paced and dive straight into the romance and the action. She doesn't do extensively drawn out plots. Normally, within the first chapter, she's got you - hook, line, and sinker.As a writer of various different genres of romance, a reader is almost guaranteed to find some kind of romance novel they'll enjoy on her page.T.O. Smith can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and now even TikTok! She loves interacting with all of her readers, so follow her!

Book preview

1

Reina

Some men knew what they wanted and took it. Others . . . well, not so much.

When you first looked at Samuel Drew, you thought he was one of those men that knew what he wanted, took it, and claimed it all in one go.

I thought he would have done that with me, but I was sorely mistaken.

Ever since the night the clubhouse had gotten ambushed a few years ago and I’d gotten shot in my shoulder and again in my thigh, Sam had staked a half-assed claim on me. He’d led me to believe that we were going to stop running circles around each other and actually be together. God knew I’d longed for him long enough.

But nope.

That wasn’t what Samuel had meant when he said he was done playing games, that he wanted me. He didn’t want exclusivity on his side, but he expected it from mine.

And any time I tried to fuck around with some other club guy, Sam fucked me to remind me who I belonged to. We played a twisted, fucked-up game every single day, and the game was beginning to wear me the fuck out.

Because Sam didn’t have the right to dictate who I fucked and flirted with if I couldn’t have the same in return. It wasn’t fucking fair. But that wasn’t stopping him. He made it clear that I belonged to him. And in turn, I just looked like a fucking fool when he slept with the club bunnies.

But I was weak to him. I couldn’t ever turn him away. There was something about Samuel that called to the darker side of me—the side of me that had been tainted, had been ruined.

I’d come to the Fathers of Mayhem a few years ago, seeking an escape from my mom and stepdad and the shit they put me through. River offered me protection without asking me a single question about what I was running from. And to this day, he still hadn’t asked.

The only time River had asked anything about what happened to me was when I’d been raped by one of his own men, whom he and Samuel had then taken out back, castrated, and murdered.

I looked up at Adelaide as she stepped into the kitchen where I was putting together a roast in the massive crockpot we had. She yawned, her hair still a mess on the top of her head. Do you ever sleep in? she asked me.

I snorted in response. I hadn’t slept during the night in a long time. Hell, I couldn’t remember the last time I had, to be honest. Normally, I snuck in a couple-hour nap during the day, and I functioned on that.

And that was something else Sam didn’t know about me because as soon as he nutted inside of me, he was yanking up his jeans and storming out of the room, like he was pissed off that he wanted me so badly.

I was always on my own at nighttime, so I normally read a book to pass the time. The dark held too many threats, too much danger, too many demons. I didn’t feel safe.

Eh, sleeping in is for pussies, I teased her. She rolled her eyes but grinned at me. Coffee is already made, I told her, waving the knife in my hand towards the coffee pot that contained freshly-brewed coffee.

Fucking heaven in a cup, she muttered as she began making her some. The men are riding back in tonight, she told me. Pretty sure the Sons of Hell are riding in as well for some rest before they head back down south. You got enough food there for everyone?

I nodded. Should be more than enough so long as everyone only grabs one helping.

She shrugged. If they’re still hungry after one serving, they can grab a bag of chips or some shit.

She strode out of the kitchen, leaving me to my thoughts again. I sighed as I resumed chopping the onion on the cutting board. The men riding back in tonight would mean Sam was with them. I’d honestly been enjoying the break from him. He always made me feel like I was on edge, treading on eggshells, waiting for something to smash.

He was so dark and broody. And I knew he could be gentle. He had been when I’d been lying on that hospital bed after surgery, after almost dying.

But since then, he’d been hard—especially hard to fucking deal with.

I finished putting together the roast and set it on high so everything would soften and the meat would fall apart by the time the guys would get home.

I yawned and headed for my room, intent on showering and crawling into bed before the party started. And there would be one—always was when the men came back home after a run.

And honestly, I needed to prepare myself for Sam’s moody ass, too.

Sam

I’d never been happier in my fucking life to see those goddamn gates. I was tired of riding. I wanted a shower, a cold beer, a fucking hot meal, and a goddamn nap. The nap was probably too much to ask for, but fuck, I definitely needed everything else.

And maybe a soft, warm woman to lose myself in for the night.

Reina instantly came to mind, but I shut that shit down. She wasn’t ready for what I needed from her. She never would be. And after this run, I needed something darker. And sweet Reina couldn’t handle that.

I knew she was getting aggravated with me. I mean, who the fuck wouldn’t? Here I was, sticking my cock in every piece of available pussy, and I never let her fuck anyone that wasn’t me. If I even caught her flirting, I fucking dragged her to one of our rooms, stripped her down, and basically punished her.

Fuck. I’d be tired of my ass, too, if I were her.

But I couldn’t goddamn help it. The thought of her ending up with another man fucking spiked my temper, set my blood boiling.

She was mine, even if I wasn’t putting the fucking label on her yet.

Or ever.

I slid off my bike, draping my helmet over the handlebars as I did so. Adelaide, Axel, and Jaxon rushed out to meet River, and my heart clenched in my chest. One day, I wanted something like that, but I needed a woman who could truly handle this shit, a woman who was tough as nails—like Adelaide.

A part of me hated that woman for me wasn’t Reina. She was too tender for our life.

She’s survived this long, dipshit.

I silenced the voice in the back of my head and moved toward the clubhouse. I looked around the room, not seeing Reina, which was surprising. She was normally out here in the main room behind the counter when we rode in from a run, ready to serve us beers, drinks, and food, especially if she knew we had an additional club riding in like we did today.

But she was nowhere to be seen.

Frowning, I moved toward the back where her room was located right across from mine. I gently eased open her door, and my frown only deepened when I saw her bundled under the covers, her lips softly parted, her eyelashes caressing her cheekbones. Her blonde hair was spread over her pillows, the covers tucked beneath her chin.

She looked peaceful, the worry lines on her forehead and around her eyes smoothed out. It suddenly occurred to me that I’d never actually seen her sleep before. And how fucked up was that? Seeing her at her most vulnerable like this fucking made my chest feel like it was caving in.

But why was she asleep during the day? It didn’t seem like her.

Sighing, I slipped back out of the room, not wanting to wake her. I walked into my room, stripping on my way to the bathroom.

Shower, beer, and food. Everything else could come later.

I glared at Whiler when he said something that had Reina laughing. Her eyes crinkled at the corners, her gorgeous face turning a shade of pink as she tried to catch her breath.

Whiler was known for being a huge flirt. Everyone knew it, so I didn’t understand why Reina wasn’t ignoring his advances. Whiler wanted one thing from her—pussy. And like fuck was he getting it.

My restraint snapped when Whiler leaned over to whisper something in Reina’s ear that had her flushing red. I knew that look all too well. Reina was a blusher when someone said something the least bit sexual or gave her a compliment.

I didn’t want Whiler whispering either of those things to her.

With a growl, I stood from my chair and stormed over, wrapping my hand around Reina’s upper arms. She squeaked in alarm, but I didn’t give her a chance to recover before I yanked her up from the chair, storming into the kitchen. A couple of club girls were in there.

Out! I barked at them.

They scampered, their eyes on the floor. With my hand around Reina’s throat, I backed her up against the kitchen counter, seething down at her. What are my fucking rules?

Reina’s eyes darkened with anger, and my cock throbbed in my jeans. Fuck, she was hot as hell when she got angry. It wasn’t often that it happened, but when it did, the sex between us was always phenomenal—out of this goddamn world. But I still had to hold myself back with her.

So, I can’t let another man entertain me when not even an hour ago, you had some bitch slurping on your fucking dick? she snarled at me.

Ah, fuck, she’d seen that.

I tried my best to keep that shit away from her.

I don’t want another man touching you, I seethed.

She barked out a laugh, and I was surprised at how cold it sounded. It wasn’t like her. Yeah, well, I don’t particularly appreciate every bitch you come across getting their mouth, pussy, or ass stuffed with your dick, but I don’t get a goddamn say in that, do I? she retorted.

I leaned my face closer to hers, tightening my hand around her throat to bring her back to heel. She swallowed thickly beneath my palm. Watch your tone with me, I warned her.

She glared up at me. You can go fuck yourself, Samuel, she sneered, for once calling me by my full name.

Goddamn, that temper and that fucking mouth.

I kissed her hard and hungrily, my tongue plundering her mouth as I gripped her waist and settled her on the clean counter. She moaned into the kiss, her mouth attacking mine just as roughly as she gripped my cut, pulling me even closer to her so my cock rested right between her soft, thick thighs.

She whined and rubbed against me, her hard nipples pushing against her shirt. I grasped a