Page 9 of Bound By Temptation

Aunt Shaina climbed off the motorcycle with Uncle Breaker following. They took off their helmets and came our way. Aunt Shaina’s smile was so wide she looked as though she’d burst. That was her, though. Happy. Fun. Loving.

Uncle Breaker lifted his chin, and I followed suit. Aunt Shaina went in for a hug, but that was impossible with my hands full. I turned my head to the side and kissed her on the cheek.

“Oh, you boys.” She glowed.

“Let’s get this shit done.” Uncle Breaker was already pissed off. Sounded like a great morning if you asked me. Four pissed off hot heads at your service.

Uncle Breaker held the door open for all of us to enter, then brought up the rear and followed us in.

“My babies!” my mother cried, coming through the kitchen, into the living room, and to the doorway.

“Ma, not babies anymore. Think you’d know that by now,” Raid said, earning him a slap on the shoulder.

“None of that nonsense. You’ll be my babies until my last breath.”

That was an uneasy thought. One I washed from my brain.

Her hands went on either side of Raid’s head and kissed his forehead. Something that he had to bend down for because there was no way in hell she’d be able to reach him. We were tall motherfuckers.

Once she let him go, it was my turn, and she did the same to me. “Hey, Mom. How are ya?” I asked, kissing her on the cheek when she was done with me.

“Great now that my boys are home.” She reached for the boxes. “Give me those,” she demanded, but I held them away from her.

I wasn’t a fucking moron. Mom was gold in this house and didn’t do any unnecessary work according to our father. That meant carrying boxes the ten feet from the front door to the kitchen.

“Nope. I got them.” I sidestepped her and moved toward the kitchen where my dad happened to be.

“Hey, old man,” I teased, sitting down the large boxes.

My father came up to me without a single word and socked me in the stomach. It wasn’t hard and didn’t make me gasp for breath, but it got the point across. “Call me old again and I’ll break your body.”

“So touchy. You forget to get laid this morning?” I taunted, tightening my abs in case he decided to go in for another.

“Don’t you worry about me. Getting laid is always a top priority in this house.” He wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I returned the gesture and slapped the man on his back a few times.

We broke apart, and a smirk graced his face. I liked my parents happy, so sue me. I didn’t really want to hear about them fucking, but it came with the territory.

After greetings went around and everyone devoured coffee and Fallon’s treats, my dad asked us all to sit around the table.

The house we grew up in was modest. Three bedrooms, two baths, and a huge deck off the back of the house. This place was all Raid and I knew except for the clubhouse. Mom made it a home and always said a bigger house was more for her to clean. Which was a line of shit because Dad hired a company to come in and clean. See, Mom was queen here. Everyone bowed. Dad made it that way.

The table in the dining area was large and fit all of us comfortably as we took our seats.

“Let’s do this,” my dad ordered, and shit was about to get dirty.

4

INDIE

That man.

Every damn morning, he came in for coffee.

Every damn morning, he left a huge tip in the jar for us.

Every damn morning, I wanted to smack him upside the head, then tell him thank you for the extra.

Except, I didn’t.

---