Lay It Down: Bastards MC Series Boxed Set

Table of Contents

Always Been Mine

Honey Whiskey

Acknowledgements

Lay It Down

Bastard MC Series Box Set

By Carina Adams
 

For Jenn H. and Jen S.

Because you believed in me,

Supported me when no one else would,

And loved Matty with me.

Table of Contents

Book 1

Always Been Mine

Book 2

Honey Whiskey

Acknowledgements

Always Been Mine

By Carina Adams

Always Been Mine

Copyright@2014 by Carina Adams

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, transmitted by

any means, or used in any form whatsoever without the

prior written permission of the author.

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations

and incidents are products of the author’s imagination.

Any resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead,

locations or events is entirely coincidental.

Cover Art by Sommer Stein at Perfect Pear Creative

Editing by Cassie at Joy Editing

Formatting by Leigh Stone at Formatting by Leigh

For Bambino.

You and me against the world,

In sunshine or in shadow.

1

It was raining again. Again. So far, the whole summer had been a washout. Normal rain I could handle, but this dreary want-to-go-back-to-bed weather made me cranky. Well, I could
try
to blame my mood on the weather.

The parking lot was almost empty this morning. I was always one of the first people at the office, but it looked as though the other early birds had decided to sleep in. I didn’t blame them. I’d thought about sleeping in, but the hotel room was too quiet, and if I was going to be miserable, I might as well be miserable at work. I parked in my usual spot, locked my doors, and ran for the three-story brick building, trying to avoid getting absolutely soaked. I was inside and waiting for the elevator, looking out the glass door at the growing puddles, before I saw the familiar car parked near the building.

My mood instantly improved. Matty was never here before eight. And today was Thursday, the one day we both had full office days. Barring an emergency, there were no meetings to go to, no parent visits to supervise, and no kiddos to see. A full eight hours of my best friend, even though we were working, made me happy. I was grinning by the time I got off the elevator and walked to our cubicles.

“Good morning!” I smiled at his back, removing my raincoat.

“Hey.” He didn’t turn around, and his normally energetic voice seemed flat.

Thinking he was on the phone, I started my computer and turned on my light. He didn’t say anything else, so I glanced at his desk; his phone was still on its cradle.

“What’s wrong?” I sat in my chair, turning toward him.

We’d been friends for years, co-workers for even more. When you spend forty hours a week with someone, you get to know them pretty well. Add our Friday lunch out ritual, the time our families spent together, hours of phone conversations, and hanging out almost every Saturday morning for the last few years, I could honestly say that I knew him very well. He never greeted me that way—unless something was wrong.

“Not gonna leave it alone, are you?” He sounded annoyed, but he turned and offered me his signature lopsided grin. I shook my head, grinning back. “Taylor stuff.”

Of course it was. I felt slightly annoyed that I hadn’t pegged that one. Matt’s girlfriend, Taylor, was the prettiest woman I’d ever met. She was absolutely model perfect from the top of her platinum-streaked head all the way to her impeccably manicured toes. She was flawless, at least until you got to know her. Then you realized that she was one of the most spoiled, self-centered, and pretentious people on the planet. I was biased, of course, but I couldn’t stand her. I hated the way he acted around her. He spoiled her rotten and overlooked her crappy attitude. They’d been together for a little over a year, and we’d learned a few months into their relationship that we couldn’t talk about Taylor. Matty would vent sometimes, but only when he really needed it, and I would just listen, biting my tongue.

“Need an ear?”

“Nope. Don’t want to think about her right now. I needed a distraction.” He motioned toward the thick blue files scattered on his desk.

I scanned the piles of chaos; they hadn’t been there last night when I left. “What time did you get here?”

“Five thirty-ish.” He shrugged. Apparently, the Taylor issues were big this time.

“Did you get breakfast?”

He raised an eyebrow; his normal breakfast consisted of a in protein shake that would put hair on even the most feminine chest. It made me nauseated just thinking about it.

“Come on, I’m taking you to Denny’s.”

He smiled. “I said I needed a distraction, not a heart attack.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’ll be okay. Besides, what could possibly be better, or more distracting, than having a nasty grease-filled breakfast with me? You’ll be so busy worrying about your figure and how much exercise you’ll need to burn off all those awful calories that you won’t have time to think about other things.” I moved just in time to avoid the highlighter he tossed at me, and I giggled at the annoyed look that crossed his face.

“I’ll drive.” He grinned as he stood.

My breath caught, and I looked away. He had the best smile, and when he smiled that way, really smiled, his eyes twinkled and creased. Lately I’d noticed that my heart beat a little faster when that smile was directed at me. Whenever Matty smiled, women noticed, and I’d seen him use his charms more than once. My reaction to it, however, was new, and I blamed Will, my husband.

Our families, along with a couple of other co-workers’ families, had gotten together for our annual Memorial Day cookout the month before. Taylor had worn strappy heels, so she couldn’t play in our traditional soccer match after lunch. Will offered to sit with her, making the teams even. I didn’t argue because I sure as hell didn’t want to sit with her. My team was winning, and I was about to kick a goal when I was lifted into the air and spun. I screamed and kicked, batting at the strong arms around my waist. The kids stopped playing the game and came to either help me or help Matt keep me from scoring more points. Everyone was laughing, and one of the kids tackled us. Before I had really figured out what had happened, I was on the ground and looking up into Matty’s face, his body heavy on mine, his hand under my head. The kids thought it was the perfect time to pig pile, and without warning, they were all climbing on us at once. Matty was smiling down at me, and I couldn’t stop laughing long enough to catch my breath.

He pushed himself up, knocking off anyone who tried to keep him down, and reached a hand to me, pulling me up. “You okay?” His hand ran through my hair, touching my scalp, as if checking for bumps.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Something broke my fall,” I answered, trying not to start laughing again. He grinned at me. “Thank God it was soft.”

The grin disappeared and he looked confused. “Nope, nothing soft here.” He patted his arms then flexed, showing me his muscles.

I giggled.

He smirked, moving his mouth next to my ear so only I could hear, “Part of me had an amazingly soft landing though.”

After winking at me, he ran back to the kids and was busy playing tag before his words sank in. The soccer game forgotten, I walked toward the table where my husband sat. I was still laughing and looked up just in time to see Taylor giving me a nasty look.

On the way home, Will brought up the game. “She really doesn’t like you, you know?”

I knew who he was talking about without even asking, and I scoffed at him. “Well, the feeling is mutual.”

“Careful, honey. That’s dangerous ground.” He tilted his head at me. “I know you don’t think she’s good enough for him, but he loves her and that should be enough for you. Female friends of men tend to get catty when said friend dates a woman they don’t approve of.” He shook his head when I tried to interrupt. “You know what I’m talking about.”

I did. He’d heard all of my Taylor rants, and I had no doubt that catty was the nicest way to phrase my opinion of her.

When I didn’t say anything, he continued. “There is nothing worse than a catty woman. You can’t choose who he loves, and you can’t change his mind. He adores you. That won’t change because of her behavior. It could change because of yours though.”

My husband had a way of looking at most situations that made me reassess. “I don’t understand why she hates me so much.”

“Really?” He sounded genuinely surprised. “You have no idea?”

I wanted to make some comment about not being able to understand the thought process of someone so self-absorbed, but I kept quiet and shook my head.

“I don’t know,” he said, looking at me. “Maybe you just don’t see it. When he sees you, he stops what he’s doing and smiles. He touches you every chance he gets. His eyes follow you every time you walk by. Christ, whenever you laugh, even if it’s across the room, he looks at you. I’m not blind, and neither is Taylor. I see how you look at him and how you react to him. You two have a connection that leaves the rest of us out.”