#love bites chapter 13b

[joes-sha-la-la-la-girl]

Love Bites: Chapter 13b

Series Masterlist

“Doug.” Y/N whispered as she stood in shock in front of her ex-boyfriend.

“Can we talk?” Doug asked her with a grin on his face which told Y/N that the ‘talk’ was going to be him telling her what was going to happen and expecting her to listen to him. She wasn’t going to let that happen this time.

“Now’s not a good time.” She told him, trying to shut the door. Doug stuck his foot in the way, causing Y/N to open it again slightly.

“C’mon now. After everything I’ve done for you this is how you treat me?”

“The only thing you’ve done for me is try and control my life. I’m not letting that happen anymore. I’ve moved on.”

“Moved on? Already? God Y/N you can’t have your bed cold for five minutes can you? And if you've moved on then where is he? Why are you living with Tammy instead of him?” Doug was trying to antagonise her but she wasn’t going to let him.

“That has nothing to do with you anymore. Goodbye Doug.” Y/N told him then she shut the door successfully this time.

“Was that who I think that was?” Tammy asked her as Y/N turned around.

“Yes it was. I’m never going to escape him, am I?”

“Well there is one way.” Tammy told her knowingly. “Why don’t you go have a lie down. We’ll finish unpacking you later.”

Y/N nodded and went over to the couch to settle down for a few hours. Tammy smiled at her best friend before retreating to her own room for some sleep.

*

A couple of hours later, Tammy was awake again and made her way over to the kitchen to make some coffee. After putting the kettle on she went and checked on Y/N. Seeing the singer still asleep, Tammy decided to leave her for a little while.

Once the coffee was made, Tammy settled down at the kitchen table. However, before she could take a sip of her drink the phone rang. Rushing over so it didn’t wake Y/N, she quickly answered it.

“Hello?” Tammy whispered.

“Hello? Is that Tammy?” The voice spoke in a much louder tone.

“Yes. Joe?”

“Hi Tammy.”

“Hello Joe. How are you?”

“I’m good, thank you. Y/N asked me to call once I got to Sheffield. Is she about?”

“Um she’s asleep at the moment. Do you want me to wake her?” Tammy asked.

“No, let her sleep, just tell her to call me tomorrow. I’m off for an early night myself.” Joe told her, though Tammy could hear the slight disappointment in his voice.

“Okay I will. Oh before you go I think I should tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“Doug stopped by a while ago. Y/N seemed quite upset by it. I don’t know what was said. Would you have a word tomorrow? She told me you asked her to move to Sheffield with you and to be honest I think it would be a great idea.”

“I don’t know how I could change her mind. She wanted to think about it. But I’ll have a word. I’d love nothing more than to have her live with me.” Joe stopped abruptly, like he was going to say something else.

“What were you going to say Joe?” Tammy asked.

“I should probably speak to her first.”

“You love, don't you.” Tammy guessed.

“Yeah I do.”

“Then tell her that and before you say no, she loves you too.”

“I’ll think about it. Have a good night Tammy.”

“You too Joe.” With that Tammy hung up with a grin, looking over at her still asleep best friend.

*

When Y/N woke up the next morning, she found a note from Tammy telling her to call Joe back. She did and the two spoke for a while before they eventually hung up. Y/N felt tears in her eyes hearing Joe’s voice for the first time over the phone, knowing they were so far apart.

It was then she realised that she would be making the wrong decision staying in London. If she felt this much pain after only one day, how would she cope for months without seeing him? At least if she lived with him they would be going home to each other after tours rather than only seeing each other for two week periods.

Picking up the phone. She decided to dial another number. She had five cards with different numbers on, one for each member of Def Leppard. Finding Sav’s, she punched the numbers into the phone and waited for him to pick up. Just as she was about to hang up she heard his voice.

“Hello?”

“Hi Sav? It’s Y/N.”

“Hi Y/N/N. Miss me already?” Sav laughed down the phone.

“Very funny. Listen, I need to know where Joe lives.”

“Why?” Sav asked, Y/N could practically hear his smirk down the phone.

“I’m coming to Sheffield.”

*

The next day Y/N was on a train to Joe. She spoke to Tammy who agreed that Y/N should surprise him. 

Y/N was on the verge of saying yes to moving in with Joe before but after Doug showed up, she knew that she had to go. Not just to get away from him but to start the next chapter of her life with Joe. The man she loved. 

That realisation had been scary to her but she knew she had to tell him. She loved Joe more than she had ever loved Doug, despite the fact they had only known each other for just over seven months.

The train ride was two and a half hours and the entire time, all Y/N could think about was Joe. 

When she finally arrived, she walked through the station only to find Sav stood there waiting for her. She ran over to him, wrapping him up in a hug. When they pulled apart the question she was about to ask was apparent on her face.

“Tammy called and told me when your train got in. Didn’t want you getting lost now did I?” He laughed as Y/N thanked him for meeting her.

“Now let’s get you to Joe’s shall we?”

Sav drove Y/N to the frontman’s house, her nervousness filling the entire car. To start with Sav tried to make small talk but eventually he just let her be as she fiddled with her fingers in the passenger seat.

*

Soon enough she found herself standing at Joe’s door. Sav had dropped her off, telling her to find him if she needed anything. His house was in walking distance to Joe’s. 

Knocking on the front door she waited almost impatiently for him to answer. A part of her started to panic. What if he was out? What if he didn’t want her to move in anymore? What if…? 

Her thought process was stopped by the door opening and Joe stepping out. He immediately picked her up and spun her around. When he put her down, he immediately pulled her into a kiss. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked her once they moved away for air.

“Is the offer to move in still there?” Y/N asked as an answer. Joe immediately nodded and invited her inside.

“Of course love.” 

The two of them moved over to the sofa where Joe sat her on his lap. They started kissing again as the two held onto each other tightly, neither wanting to be the first to let go. Joe rested his forehead on Y/N’s as he gave her gentle pecks.

“I love you sweetheart.”

“I love you too Joe.”

Taglist:

@genxrocker

@elliotts-personal-property

@friccinfricks

@i-love-def-leppard

@vintagerocknrollgirl

[gotham-ruaidh]

Little Bit Better Than I Used To Be

Catch up: Chapter 1 (Starry Eyes) || Chapter 2 (Save Our Souls) || Chapter 3 (Dancing On Glass)|| Chapter 4 (Merry-Go-Round)|| Backstage (1) || Backstage (2) || Chapter 5 (Danger)|| Backstage (3) || Chapter 6A (Love Walked In) || Chapter 6B (Without You) || Backstage (4) || Chapter 7 (Stick To Your Guns) || Chapter 8 (Time For Change) || Backstage (5) || Chapter 9 (Take Me To The Top) || Backstage (6) || Chapter 10 (Home Sweet Home) || Backstage (7) || Chapter 11a (Nightrain) || Chapter 11b (Nothing Else Matters) || Chapter 12a (Handle With Care) || Chapter 12b (I’m So Tired of Being Lonely) || Chapter 13a (Angel) || Chapter 13b (She’s My Addiction) || Chapter 13c (Patience) || Chapter 14a (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 14b (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 14c (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 15a (Dreams) || Chapter 15b (I Sing A Song of Love) || Chapter 15c (You Can Do This If You Try) || Chapter 16 (Let That Feeling Grab You Deep Inside || Chapter 17A: Never Tear Us Apart ||| Also posted at AO3

Chapter 17B: It's Tough To Be Somebody, And It's Hard Not To Fall Apart

New York City || September 1988

It's tough to be somebody And it's hard not to fall apart Here on Rehab Mountain We gonna learn these things by heart

 - “Detox Mansion”, Warren Zevon (1987) [click here to listen]

Raymond crossed the threshold, and Claire closed the door. “We just had breakfast delivered, if you’d like something to eat or drink.”

“Tea or coffee, perhaps, if you have it?”

Claire slid her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket, bare feet soundless on the marble floor of the suite’s hallway. “Of course. You must excuse us, we didn’t get back until very late last night, and it’s so hard to go out for breakfast so we tend to just order room service for everything.”

“No need to apologize. I’m grateful for whatever you may have.”

The hallway turned into a sitting room, complete with a stunning view of Central Park.

“Hello, Dr. Germain.” A tall man stood at a long white couch, wearing black jeans and a black tank top, the tattoos on his arms vivid against the sky through the floor-to-ceiling windows. “I’m Jamie Fraser.”

“Raymond. And it’s a pleasure, Mr. Fraser. Dougal speaks very highly of you.”

Raymond shook Jamie’s hand, and watched Claire busy herself at a large rolling table covered in food.

“Jamie, please. Just Jamie. Make yourself at home.” Jamie gestured to another couch, and Raymond settled against the cushions.

“It’s quite something, isn’t it? This room, I mean.” Jamie grabbed a coffee mug, wedding ring clinking softly against the china. “I grew up on a farm in upstate New York. So this is the kind of thing you can’t get used to. Or should never get used to, anyway.”

“It is incredible,” Raymond agreed. “Definitely a lot better than the view from my apartment. I’d find it hard to leave here.”

“I do,” Jamie sighed. “But playing shows at the Garden…well. That’s pretty awesome, too.”

“Here you go.” Both men looked up to see Claire, holding out a steaming mug and plate of cut fruit. “Black coffee, but there’s cream and sugar if you like.”

Raymond gratefully took the plate and mug. “Thank you, Claire. You don’t need to be so generous.”

She smiled kindly, and settled on the couch next to Jamie with a bowl of cereal. Raymond sipped his coffee, watching Jamie rest a gentle hand on her thigh.

“Tell me about yourself,” Jamie said softly. “How do you know Dougal?”

Raymond spoke at length, in between bites of banana. “We met at a conference about ten years ago. I’ve been in private practice for many years, and I’m always eager to learn new techniques, to keep on top of the latest research and thinking. Conferences are good for that kind of thing. It was one of those three day affairs in a big hotel ballroom, and there was a rather boring dinner the first night. I ended up sitting next to Dougal and Gillian. We got to talking, and that was it.”

“If you’ve known each other for so long, I’m surprised you’ve never worked at The Ridge.” Claire crunched the last of her cereal, and Jamie smiled slightly.

Raymond shrugged. “You know this better than anyone – there is one requirement to work at The Ridge, and that is that you must be an addict in recovery. I’m not that.”

Jamie’s brows rose in surprise. “And yet, you’re one of the top therapists in the country for addicts in recovery. Or so Dougal led us to understand.”

Raymond set down his plate. “I started my career focusing on patients who had experienced extreme trauma. I’m a bit older than the two of you – this would have been in the ‘50s. I had volunteered at a VA hospital during medical school, and I got to know a lot of veterans who…well, let’s just say that they had seen and done things in Germany and the Pacific that no man ever should. I resolved then and there to dedicate my life to help people like that.”

He paused, and closed his eyes.

“Many of the men I worked with turned to drink and drugs to numb their pain. To escape their reality. I learned a lot about addiction that way. Why it starts, why it persists, how much damage it inflicts on the addict and the people who love them. I’ve never had a drink or taken a drug in my life, and I hope to stay that way until the day I die.” He took a breath. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t understand why someone would reach that point.”

It wasn’t often that Raymond opened up – even in this muted way – about his own life. But with Jamie and Claire – who would be some of the most unique clients he’d ever work with – he knew they would give him space, and respect. And more importantly, that they would understand.

He finished his coffee, gently setting the mug on the table. Eyes open but focused downward on his hands.

“Put simply, I did not have the happiest of childhoods. I have no memory of my parents, and was in an orphanage run by nuns from the age of two. Things were not easy in Montreal during the Depression.”

“So that’s where your accent comes from,” Claire smiled.

Raymond glanced up at her, and smiled back. Tightly. “Indeed. Well, as a child I was bullied quite relentlessly. I’ve always been quite small, and you know how boys can be. So my friends were my books. Had it not been for my high school English teacher, I never would have found the courage to apply to university, or to come to New York. To fulfil my dream of helping people, and giving them the kindness and support that I never had. And somehow, by the grace of God, here I am, sitting with you today in this beautiful room. I will never be ungrateful for my improbable life.”

He glanced up at Jamie and Claire. Saw their hands entwined, gripping tightly, Claire’s face buried in Jamie’s shoulder.

Raymond flushed. “Oh my. I do apologize. I didn’t – ”

Jamie smiled sadly. “It’s fine. Claire’s fine, she’s just…did Dougal tell you anything about us?”

“Only the broad strokes.” Raymond uncomfortably scratched the back of his neck. “How you met, that you were both at The Ridge for treatment. He had to tell me about your career, regretfully I had never heard of you or your music. But I did buy your most recent CD earlier this week to prepare.”

Jamie nodded. “Interesting. I’m asking because we all seem to have something quite important in common. Claire was five when she lost her parents in a car crash. And I was eight when I lost my mother, though thankfully I had my father until just a few years ago.”

Now it was Raymond’s turn to smile sadly. “It colors your life, does it not?”

Claire straightened, and Jamie wiped away her tears with his free hand. Raymond noticed the flash of a tattoo at the base of Jamie’s thumb.

“It does.” She smiled sadly at Raymond. “It’s a hole that is never filled. Jamie and I have talked about it many times – whether we would have ended up as addicts, had we not lost our parents.” She sighed. “Thankfully I was raised by my mother’s brother – and I’m so grateful he is still in our lives. He married us. But it’s not the same.”

Raymond’s smile brightened considerably. “My heartiest congratulations on your recent wedding. It’s quite evident how deeply you love each other.”

Claire flushed happily, and Jamie kissed her cheek. “Thank you. We still can’t believe it ourselves. It’s been quite the year.”

“I can imagine. This tour must be something, if you’re selling out the Garden.”

“Well – the tour of course has been big,” Jamie remarked. “But it’s been a lot more than that, for us. A year ago now, we were at The Ridge, in treatment. I ended up being there for 17 weeks. Claire was there for, eight weeks?”

“Nine.”

“And when did the two of you get together?”

Claire glanced at her husband. “Officially, right before Jamie left. Then after that, we had some time together in January and February, but soon after that the decision was made to go on tour. Jamie had written a lot of new material at The Ridge, and he – we – thought that touring would be a good way to get back into real life. Buy us some time as I figured out what was happening with my medical license. And then…we decided to get married.”

“A three week tour,” Jamie snorted. “That was the original plan. We’re now on our fourth month, and we’ve sold out Madison Square fucking Garden for three nights.”

“How much longer will you be on the road?”

Jamie glanced briefly at Claire. “Just a few more shows and then we’ll wrap up. But then we’ll be back at it next year – the label has booked over one hundred dates, all across North America and then legs in Europe and Australia as well.”

“It’s going to be intense,” Claire added quietly. “I’ll be there with him, of course. My medical license has been reinstated, but I’m taking an informal break.” She darted a quick glance at her husband, squeezing his hand. “You should know this, Raymond – we quite desperately want to start a family. We’ve given ourselves this year to just…be. But that means there’s a good chance that while we’re touring next year I’ll be pregnant.”

Raymond folded his arms across his chest. “Which would be yet another source of stress in the situation. And another strain on your sobriety. Not to mention, your relationship. For both of you.”

Jamie gripped Claire’s hand. “And that’s where you come in, Raymond. I’ve been stone cold sober since I arrived at The Ridge. Claire, too. We’ve had each other this tour to keep each other honest, and I know I can say categorically that I wouldn’t be sober without her.”

He kissed her temple.

“But it’s not been without tremendous difficulty and so much strain,” Claire said softly. “He’s been having panic attacks.”

Raymond nodded. “Dougal did tell me that. And naturally, you’re worried that they will continue as the touring continues.”

Claire glanced at Jamie. “He – we – have learned enough about them now for him to recognize when one is coming. We can’t stop it from happening, but we can step away and ride through it together. Every time that happens, I’m grateful for the psych rotation I did in medical school.” She sighed. “But I’m not an expert, Raymond. I can’t help him the way he needs.”

“Said differently,” Jamie interjected, “it’s not fair for me to expect her to provide that kind of support. I don’t want to add to her stress. And I don’t want something to happen that could threaten her own sobriety.”

“Is that a realistic fear for Jamie to have, Claire?”

to be continued…

[casspurrjoybell-32]

A First Chance At Love - Chapter 13b

*Warning Adult Content*

Caleb Carmichael

“How was that?”

Avery opened his eyes to look me straight in the eyes not saying a word but I knew he enjoyed it... very much.

I smiled smugly and lent down to kiss his lips deeply as I maneuvered my body in a sitting position so my ass was in his lap... resting against his still hard member.

I looked down at his deep brown eyes as he stared up at me intently.

Reaching out I stroked his face gently peering at him generously.

“I want you, Avery,” I whispered.

With those four words I watched excited as his brown eyes blaze that sexy royal blue.

His hands took my hips tightly in his large hands and moved me against him... sitting up he pressed his face into my neck kissing and nipping my sensitive skin.

I threw my head back moaning softly.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

I reached down to grip him in my hands and placed him against my entrance.

Our heavy breathing was the only thing filling the room as we never looked away from each other’s eyes.

I slowly lowered myself on him... gasping at the size of him as he filled me.

“Ahh...” I groaned.

Looking down at his face... I loved the pleasure consuming his expression.

His eyes closed and mouth open in a silent moan.

I crashed our lips together dipping my tongue into his warm sweet mouth.

When he pushed up against me bringing himself completely into me I lost it.

My arms wrapped around his neck holding close as I began to move with him.

We both gasped at how wonderful it felt... being together like this.

It help so much that I could smell his over powering lust and arousal filling the room mixing with mine.

The sweat was dripping from both of us as things got faster and more aggressive.

Avery’s grip on my hips bit into my flesh painfully as he took over my movements lifting me up and down on him at the speed he wanted.

I didn’t say anything or complain because I loved him taking control... hearing his growls and moans as he lost himself with me... this was what I long for so long ago... seeing him pull down his walls and show me the emotions that were hiding behind them.

Feel the emotions that were bound to show themselves but I wanted to be the one to see them... I wanted to be the one to bring them out and the ones that Avery shared.

His thrusts became more forceful... that I had to brace myself... holding him on the shoulders my nails biting into his skin.

“Ahh,” I whined into his ear right when the tip of him hit that one pleasurable spot that had me come undone.

Avery had to wrap an arm around my back to keep me firmly against him as I shifted wildly.

“Yeah. Right there,” I screamed till his mouth blocked out my loud moans.

Soon, he picked me off his lap, getting an unhappy whine from me, before he laid me down in front of him... my head at the foot of the bed and pressed his body on top of mine.

Spreading my legs he nestled in between them and pushed his member back into me causing us both to sigh in delight.

At this angle I could easily look up at him and all his glory.

Licking my lips I stared up at his blazing blue eyes and wrapped my legs around his waist pulling him fully into me making him he closed his eyes.

“Move baby,” I whispered to him when he just laid there.

He looked back at me and did as I asked.

I sighed softly... turning my head to the side... as he moved gently and slowly.

The sheets were cool against my flushed cheek.

I felt his wet lips on my neck... leaving sweet loving kisses all the way up to my ear.

“You feel so good, Caleb,” he said breathlessly.

My heart soared at his words.

Those words were his first compliment to me.

I smiled to myself relishing in happiness.

I wrapped my arms around his broad back.... one arm across his waist and the other gripping his hair... holding him so close never wanting to let go.

The aggressiveness from earlier... soon turned to a slow passionate love making.

His hips brushing mine lightly with every slow thrusts.

Our chest slick and hot from the constant friction... as I arched against him... I felt like I was on the edge but not fully ready to fall... I wanted to do it with him.

Release together.

I felt him move his head towards mine to I turned to meet him as he sought out my mouth for a sweet passionate toe curling kiss.

I cupped the back of his head... tangling my fingers in his hair... keeping him there... as I moved my hips on him... causing him to moan helplessly in my mouth.

I tore my mouth away from his... as he thrust hard and deep and bit my lips from screaming... as when he hit my spot again.

With that... we couldn’t go slowly anymore... we were hungry for release.

Plunging deep and fast practically brining me off the bed with the strength of each and every one of his thrust.

I bit down into the mark I had left him reopening the once healing wound.

He growled low and deep from the feel of my teeth and moved faster.

Every thrust bought me so close... the tightening in my stomach... my heart pounding so fast and loud I could barely hear Avery’s moans or my own.

My nails dug into his back when I could take no more... dragging them down drawing blood.

“Ahhh,” he yelled arching from my nails. 

I stared at him intently watching his royal blue lust filled eyes glowing at me... his canines extended from the throngs of passion as he gave into his wolf.

“Do it, Avery,” I growled at him huskily.

He had never stopped his delicious pounding into me as his eyes focused on what I knew he wanted.

And without a second thought he swooped down and bit into my shoulder.

My body arched up as I held him close... my mouth open in a silent scream as I fell in to the delights of release... Avery following me in to the depths of pleasure.... growling and moaning into my neck never unlatching his teeth.  

Once our bodies relaxed a few minutes later he finally released my neck from his hold... lapping to heal it up.

I never got to do that before running off that night.

I looked down at the mark I opened moments ago... the blood dripping down his chest in such and inviting way that I couldn’t stop myself from shifting up to clean up his sweet blood and close it up this time.

Laying back against the bed I peered up at Avery... his eyes back to his delicious deep chocolate brown.

Beads of sweat were running down his face as his hair stuck to his forehead.

I reached up brushing back his wet hair making it stick up a bit in the front.

Why was he so beautiful?

The moon was again lighting up his bronze skin... plus with the perspiration coating his body.

He moved to lay behind me, wrapping me in his arms... I felt him nestle his face in the back of my neck and inhale deeply before we both fell asleep.

The last thing on my mind was that I was completely and irrevocably in love with this man.

[casspurrjoybell-27]

Claimed by the Beast - Chapter 13b

*Warning Adult Content*

Possession - Part 2

After they head back to Knox's bedroom and shower, separately, they get dressed in fresh clothes, grab a bite to eat in the kitchen and then Knox finally takes Everett outside to show him his favorite spot by the river.

They walk and talk about everything and nothing, time passing by quickly as they get lost in one another.

Something that's been happening frequently.

"Wow. It's crazy beautiful out here during this time of the evening," Everett remarks. "I bet it's terrifying at night, though. All these big freaking trees everywhere. Hell no. I'm glad I never tried to run away because my dumbass would've immediately gotten lost out here."

Knox chuckles, glancing out at the river coming into view.

"I know this place like the back of my hand. I'd have found you and dragged you back to where you belong."

"And where might that be?" Everett asks, teasingly.

"Wherever I'm at, obviously," Knox smirks.

"Come on. We aren't that far away now."

The clubhouse sits at the front of the fifty-acre property owned by Gavin.

Massive trees cover most of it, including the perimeter and near the south end is where the river passes through.

The path that Everett and Knox walk hasn't always been around but Knox has since kept maintenance up on the area to prevent it from being taken over by weeds and other debris.

Contrary to what Everett believes, Knox finds that it's most peaceful out here at night.

"This is it."

Knox leads them into a small, secluded section where the grass fades into dirt and rocks.

A perfect spot to settle into if one enjoyed fishing.

"This is where I come to clear my head when the demons start to get too loud," he speaks quietly, so low that Everett almost misses it. "It ain't much but it's mine. Brings me peace, if only temporarily."

"I love it. I think it's absolutely gorgeous."

Everett sits next to Knox on the ground, his eyes scanning and memorizing the area.

Across the river are more trees, presumably the ending of somebody else's property.

"The sound of the river and all the insects chirping around us..."

Everett closes his eyes for a few seconds, soaking up the sun's warmth.

"God, I bet I could take a killer nap out here."

Knox laughs.

"I have once or twice before. Wouldn't recommend it unless you bring along a can of bug spray."

"Yikes. I can imagine how bad the mosquitoes get all the way out here. No fucking thanks," Everett says, opening his eyes.

He glances at Knox's profile, secretly admiring him.

All sharp features until you get to his stormy grey eyes.

Right now, they're the softest they've ever looked.

"Do you ever wish that all this could be yours? The clubhouse, the property..."

"No," Knox says without even thinking about it. "Can I afford to purchase something like this for myself? Yes. Do I want to have it all right now? No. There's still too much work left to be done."

"What do you mean by that?" Everett asks.

"When you join a MC, you're in that shit for life. At least I am," Knox says. "Something drastic will have to happen to me before I willingly step down from my position and leave the club and my brothers behind. I'm not ready to settle down. It ain't my time yet."

Everett nods in understanding.

"You said you could afford all this, which is honestly blowing my mind because you definitely don't look or act..."

"Like I have money?" Knox questions, smirking.

Everett nods again, blushing.

"Yeah, well, you should know by now that I'm not exactly the flashy type. I don't wear my wealth to prove that I have it. I think that shit is corny. I don't give a damn about what people think of me. If I did, I'd never get any sleep at night."

"I feel that," Everett says.

"Let me know when a job opens up around here because I have student loans to pay off and your Pres seems to give out pretty generous salaries," he jokes.

"You have options. Strip club, motel or funeral home?" Knox asks.

"We dabble in a little bit of everything, but there's always an opening at the strip club. We don't discriminate when it comes to hiring dancers."

Everett gasps, confused.

"You're serious?"

"Hell no. I'm just fucking with you." Knox laughs, shaking his head.

"I mean, yes, we do own a strip club, motel and a funeral home because they're extremely profitable businesses but someone like you wouldn't last a day at either of our establishments. No offense."

"None taken," Everett mutters. "I remember you told me once that MCs primarily make money through illegal means. Is that what you guys use the businesses for? A cover for whatever illegal activity you've got going on?"

Knox meets Everett's gaze, briefly flashing a smile filled with sadness and something else the latter can't quite decipher.

"I talk too much around you."

"So what? I like you better when you're talking versus being all broody and mute," Everett replies.

He scoots closer to Knox and grabs his hand like it's something they do all the time, carefully interlocking their fingers together.

Anything to get rid of that wounded look in Knox's eyes.

"Don't worry. All your little incriminating club secrets are perfectly safe with me."

Knox laughs again.

"I know they are."

As they watch the river, silence falls upon them but it isn't loud or awkward.

Quite the opposite.

And that's precisely why Everett ignores the alarm bells ringing in the distance, trying to warn him that what he's doing right now isn't right.

Getting closer to Knox on a deeper level, having easy conversations with him, kissing and touching him when what he should be doing is doubling the distance between them and closing off his heart completely.

Fuck.

The bastard's already done it, hasn't he?

Knox has somehow managed to climb over the walls that have kept Everett's heart intact.

He's practically moved in and made himself at home.

One he'll eventually have to be evicted from because none of what they have going on right now will ever become a permanent thing.

The Fallen Angels' war with The Jackals will end one day.

Everett will have to go back to his mundane way of living, return to school, get his degree and then step into the next chapter of his life.

One where Knox doesn't exist.

"I'm curious," Knox says moments later. "What does your future look like? Where do you see yourself in the next five years?"

Somewhere, anywhere, with you…

"I don't know," Everett mumbles instead, resting his head on Knox's shoulder.

"What about you?"

"I guess you better start living each one to the fullest, then."

Everett produces a half smile, squeezing Knox's hand.

"I'll help you."

Until it's time for me to go.

"I'd like that."

Knox squeezes his hand back, the rational part of him knowing he can't take any of this to heart.

"You've got yourself a deal, kitten."

[pope-francis-quotes]

15th May >> (@ZenitEnglish By Virginia Forrester) #Pope Francis #PopeFrancis General Audience of #PopeFrancis: On the Our Father’s ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ (Full Text) ‘It’s the tempter who moves us and pushes us to evil, saying to us: ‘Do this, think this, go on that path’

General Audience: On the Our Father’s ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ (Full Text)

‘It’s the tempter who moves us and pushes us to evil, saying to us: ‘Do this, think this, go on that path’

This morning’s General Audience was held at 9:10 in St. Peter’s Square, where the Holy Father Francis met with groups of pilgrims and faithful from Italy and from all over the world.

Continuing with the series of catecheses on the “Our Father,” in his address in Italian the Pope focused his meditation on the theme: “But deliver us from evil” (Biblical passage: From the First Letter of the Apostle Saint Peter 5:6-9).

After summarizing his catechesis in several languages, the Holy Father expressed special greetings to groups of faithful present.

The General Audience ended with the singing of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.

* * *

The Holy Father’s Catechesis

Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

Here we have finally arrived at the seventh question of the “Our Father”: “But deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13b).

With this expression, one who prays not only asks not to be abandoned in the time of temptation, but also implores to be freed from evil. The original Greek verb is very strong: it evokes the presence of the Evil One, which tends to grab us and bite us (Cf. 1 Peter 5:8) and from which one asks God to be liberated. The Apostle Peter says also that the Evil One, the devil, is around us like a roaring lion, to devour us, and we ask God to liberate us.

With this twofold supplication: “not to abandon us” and “to liberate us” an essential characteristic emerges of Christian prayer. Jesus teaches His friends to put the invocation to the Father before all, also and especially in moments in which the Evil One makes his menacing presence felt. In fact, Christian prayer doesn’t close the eyes on life. It’s a filial prayer and not an infantile prayer. It’s not so infatuated with God’s paternity as to forget that man’s path is fraught with difficulties. If the last verses of the “Our Father’ didn’t exist, how could sinners, the persecuted, the desperate, the dying pray? The last petition is precisely our petition when we will be at the limit, always.

There is an evil in our life, which is an incontestable presence. The history books are the desolating catalogue of how our existence in this world has often been a bankrupt adventure. There is a mysterious evil, which is certainly not God’s work, but which penetrates silently between history’s folds. Silent as the serpent that carries poison silently. In some moments, it seems to take over: on certain days its presence seems even clearer than that of God’s mercy.

A man of prayer isn’t blind, and he sees limpidly before his eyes this very cumbersome evil and so in contradiction with the mystery itself of God. He sees it in nature, in history, even in his own heart. Because there isn’t anyone in our midst who can say he is exempt from evil, or from not being at least tempted. All of us know what evil is; all of us know what temptation is; all of us have experienced temptation in our flesh, of whatever sin. However, it’s the tempter who moves us and pushes us to evil, saying to us: “do this, think this, go on that path.”

The last cry of the “Our Father” is lashed out against this evil <that torments one>, which has under its umbrella the most diverse experiences: man’s mourning, innocent pain, slavery, instrumentalization of the other, the cry of innocent children. All these events protests in man’s heart and become a voice in the last word of Jesus’ prayer.

It’s precisely in the accounts of the Passion that some expressions of the “Our Father” find their most striking echo. Jesus says: “Abba! Father, all things are possible to Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). Jesus experiences wholly the piercing of evil, not only death but death on a cross; not only solitude but contempt <and> humiliation; not only malevolence but also cruelty, fury against Him. See what man is: a being devoted to life, who dreams of love and goodness, but who then exposes himself continually to evil and his fellow men, to the point that we can be tempted to despair of man.

Dear brothers and sisters, thus the “Our Father” is like a symphony that asks to be accomplished in each one of us. The Christian knows how subjugating the power of evil is and, at the same time, has the experience that Jesus, who never yielded to its blandishments, is in our side and comes to our aid.

Thus, Jesus’ prayer leaves us the most precious of heredities: the presence of the Son of God who has freed us from evil, fighting to convert it. In the hour of the final combat, He intimates to Peter to put back his sword in its sheath; to the repentant thief He assures Paradise, to all the men who were around Him, unaware of the tragedy that was being consummated, He offers a word of peace: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

From Jesus’ forgiveness on the cross flows peace, true peace comes from the cross: it’s a gift of the Risen one, a gift that Jesus gives us. Think that the Risen Jesus’ first greeting is “peace to you,” peace to your souls, to your hearts, to your lives. The Lord gives us peace, He gives us forgiveness but we must ask: “deliver us from evil,” so as not to fall into evil. This is our hope, the strength that the Risen Jesus gives us, who is here, in our midst: He is here. He is here with that strength that He gives us to go on, and He promises to free us from evil.

[Original text: Italian] [ZENIT’s translation by Virginia M. Forrester]

In Italian

A warm welcome goes to the Italian-speaking faithful.

I’m happy to receive the Chapter Members of the Daughters of Jesus; the Women Religious of the “Mater Ecclesiae” Missionary College and the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Annecy.

I greet the parish groups, he refugees from Libya, welcomed at Better World; the Delegation of Save the Children-Italy; the Annibale Maria Association of France; the Casilina 1 and 2 extraordinary Reception Centers of Rome; the Delegation of the Municipality of Acireale and of Castellamare di Stabia.

A particular thought goes to young people, the elderly, the sick and newlyweds. In this month of May, dedicated to Our Lady, I invite you to imitate Her. Be courageous and capable of opening your heart to God and to brothers, to be able to be instruments of God’s mercy and tenderness.

15th MAY 2019 13:43GENERAL AUDIENCE

[gotham-ruaidh]

Little Bit Better Than I Used To Be

Catch up: Chapter 1 (Starry Eyes) || Chapter 2 (Save Our Souls) || Chapter 3 (Dancing On Glass)|| Chapter 4 (Merry-Go-Round)|| Backstage (1) || Backstage (2) || Chapter 5 (Danger)|| Backstage (3) || Chapter 6A (Love Walked In) || Chapter 6B (Without You) || Backstage (4) || Chapter 7 (Stick To Your Guns) || Chapter 8 (Time For Change) || Backstage (5) || Chapter 9 (Take Me To The Top) || Backstage (6) || Chapter 10 (Home Sweet Home) || Backstage (7) || Chapter 11a (Nightrain) || Chapter 11b (Nothing Else Matters) || Chapter 12a (Handle With Care) || Chapter 12b (I’m So Tired of Being Lonely) || Chapter 13a (Angel) || Chapter 13b (She’s My Addiction) || Chapter 13c (Patience) || Chapter 14a (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 14b (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 14c (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 15a (Dreams) || Chapter 15b (I Sing A Song of Love) || Chapter 15c (You Can Do This If You Try) || Chapter 16 (Let That Feeling Grab You Deep Inside || Chapter 17A: Never Tear Us Apart || Chapter 17B: It’s Tough To Be Somebody, And It’s Hard Not To Fall Apart  || Chapter 17C: I’m Wishing, Lord, That I Was Stoned || Chapter 18: Turn The Page ||| Also posted at AO3

Chapter 19: When You're Alone, Do You Let Go?

Love bites

Love bleeds

It’s bringing me to my knees

-- “Love Bites,” Def Leppard (1988) [click here to listen]

Pittsburgh || Early October, 1988

Ian Murray hissed as his sister-in-law sutured the gash on his forearm.

Claire Fraser briefly glanced up before turning back to her work. “Are you going to tell Jenny about this, or is that something I’ll need to do?”

Ian sighed. “I’ll tell her. God knows she worries enough as it is.” He took a deep breath as Claire’s needle pierced his skin. “You know she hates not being on the road this tour – she’s so happy we’re finishing up next week, and that I’ll be home for the break. Young Jamie has been teething – she’s not sleeping too much these days.”

Jenny Fraser Murray – Jamie’s older sister, and Ian’s wife – lived with their three small children on the Fraser family farm in upstate New York. The farm where Jamie and Jenny had grown up, and where their mother Ellen had died when Jamie was eight and Jenny was ten, and where their grief-stricken father had raised them before suffering a fatal stroke eight years ago.

Growing up without a mother had been hard enough – but it was the loss of his father, just when Print was starting to make a name for itself in the New York City club circuit, that pushed Jamie into his addictions.

That neither of his parents had seen his success, was one of the deepest regrets of Jamie’s life. Which was perhaps why, Claire mused, he had always been so kind and thoughtful with her Uncle Lamb.

“Breathe deep. This is the last one.”

Ian did, and Claire quickly and thoroughly pushed the needle through Ian’s arm one final time, before tying off and cutting the suture.

“Good. All done, just one more thing.”

Claire unspooled a few lengths from her roll of elastic bandage – black, instead of the typical tan color – and wrapped it around Ian’s sutures. “Here you go. I want to check on this tomorrow, and the day after. You’ll need the stitches for at least a week, and you really shouldn’t get this wet.”

Ian took a deep breath and carefully flexed his hand. “The show is gonna be interesting tonight. But at least I can still play. Thank you, Claire.”

She smiled, already rolling up her suture kit and rearranging the medical bag that she’d had to use quite a few times this tour. “Glad to be of service.”

“Hey.” Ian touched her hand, and she met his gaze. “Give yourself a bit more credit. You bring more to the table than you know.”

Now it was her turn to sigh. “I feel so out of my depth sometimes,” she admitted, quiet so that the roadies out in the hall couldn’t hear. “You know that I know nothing about this world. Jamie is working so hard to show it to me, and you and Angus and even Colum have been so gracious.”

“You make it easy, Claire. Jamie loves you. We only want the best for you. And I – ” He squeezed her hand. “I really want you here. You’re such a breath of fresh air for all of us. He’s changed so much in the past year, and you’re a big reason for that. You’re good for each other.”

She smiled.  “I never thanked you for being the one who got him to treatment.”

Ian snorted. “I was tired of watching him make bad choice after bad choice. It only got worse as the band got bigger – I’m sure he’s told you that.”

“He has,” she said sadly. “But you were there. You saw him. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for you. You and Jenny.”

His eyes unfocused just a bit, clouded with memories.

Pulling open the door to the band’s dressing room, one night on the ’86 tour. To find Jamie kneeling on the ground, snorting lines of coke off his guitar case, just as quickly as the lighting guy from the touring crew could lay them out.

And

Jamie pounding on Ian’s hotel room door at four AM, somewhere in the Midwest. Ian opened the door, startled, and Jamie tumbled in, guffawing, gripping an empty bottle of Jack Daniels, racing across the room to hoist up the window and toss the bottle to the street fifteen stories below. He turned, grinning stupidly, to look at Ian in triumph – and startled a bit to see Jenny in the bed.

“Hey sis,” he slurred. “When did you get here?”

Jenny crossed her arms over her chest, shielding her five-month pregnant belly. “Maybe if you hadn’t had that liquid late-night snack, you’d remember.”

Ian cleared his throat. “Had Jamie not listened to me – to Jenny and me – that morning in Sacramento, and had we boarded the plane to London later that week, he would have come home in a body bag, and where would we be?”

Claire pursed her lips. So many times she had wondered how her life would have been – how Jamie’s life would have been – had he not made that one small choice to finally get the help he needed.

“Claire, I’ve known Jamie since we were seven years old. We grew up together at Lallybroch. I married his sister. He’s my brother. And now you – you’re my sister.”

She blushed, so happy.

“I want only the best for you. For both of you. I’m always here. Jenny is, too – well, even though she’s not here, she’s always going to be here for you. Because that’s what family does for each other.”

Claire’s eyes shone with tears. Heart so full.

Ian smiled, and patted the back of her hand. “Keep that kit out, in case I pop the stitches tonight. Can’t have blood gushing onto my bass in the middle of a song.”

“Hey!”

Colum filled the open door of the dressing room.

“Ian – this is your fifteen minute warning until curtain.”

Ian held up his arm. “I’ve got an excuse.”

Colum winced. “I don’t want to know. I’ll just thank God yet again that we’ve got a bona fide doctor with us this tour. I love Arch Bug, but he didn’t exactly develop a good bedside manor when he was a corpsman in ‘Nam.”

Ian smiled and stood, grabbing the bass that leaned up against the wall. “She’ll be ready if I need more.”

“Speaking of which.” Colum turned to Claire. “Your husband is looking for you.”

Claire snapped her medical bag shut. “Where is he?”

Colum crossed his arms. “Two doors down on the right. But if you’re asking about his headspace right now, it’s getting very close to me asking the opener to play an extra song so that you can do whatever it is you do to calm him down.”

She pursed her lips, and fished in her pocket for a fresh stick of Doublemint. “He’ll be on time.”

to be continued...

[joes-sha-la-la-la-girl]

Love Bites: Masterlist

Joe Elliott x Reader

Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9*, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12*, Chapter 13a, Chapter 13b, Epilogue.

This will contain cheating and a toxic relationship as well as smut. 18+ only please. There will be warnings at the beginning of each chapter where necessary. Some details I have changed to fit better with the story.

*= contains smut

[gotham-ruaidh]

Little Bit Better Than I Used To Be

Catch up: Chapter 1 (Starry Eyes) || Chapter 2 (Save Our Souls) || Chapter 3 (Dancing On Glass)|| Chapter 4 (Merry-Go-Round)|| Backstage (1) || Backstage (2) || Chapter 5 (Danger)|| Backstage (3) || Chapter 6A (Love Walked In) || Chapter 6B (Without You) || Backstage (4) || Chapter 7 (Stick To Your Guns) || Chapter 8 (Time For Change) || Backstage (5) || Chapter 9 (Take Me To The Top) || Backstage (6) || Chapter 10 (Home Sweet Home) || Backstage (7) || Chapter 11a (Nightrain) || Chapter 11b (Nothing Else Matters) || Chapter 12a (Handle With Care) || Chapter 12b (I'm So Tired of Being Lonely) || Chapter 13a (Angel) ||| Also posted at AO3

Chapter 13B: She's My Addiction

Soundtrack: “She’s My Addiction,” Fozzy, 2012 [click here to listen]

“Thanks again for doing this, man. That was a killer set.”

Jamie popped open a Coke bottle, took a long swig, and set it back on the card table that a roadie had hastily set up. “Colum said you’re a fan. Is that true?”

Geordie Ash had been nothing but professional since Colum brought him backstage as soon as the gig finished. Jamie had introduced him to the other 2 members of Print – Ian Murray (bass, Jamie’s childhood friend and brother-in-law) and Angus Mhor (drums) – and Claire, of course. Then Ian had walked away to call his wife (and Jamie’s sister) Jenny and talk to the kids before they went to bed, and Angus had drifted away with the two giggling groupies who had diligently followed the band on every stop of this acoustic tour (nice girls who had absolutely nothing going on in their heads).

And Colum had led Jamie, Claire, and Geordie to Jamie’s dressing room. On the short walk there, Jamie’s guitar tech pressed the now-customary post-show apple and bottle of Coke (the drink, not the drug) into his hands, and Claire whispered a short, private message to Geordie – a stranger who could reward or ruin their lives.

“I’m definitely a fan.” Geordie settled in his (uncomfortable) seat, drumming his fingers on the table. No notebook, pen, or recording device – as Colum had promised. “Went to a couple shows on your tour in ’86, too. You’ve got a sound like nobody else. I won’t lie, when people found out you were in rehab there was real concern that that was the end of the band. Clearly that’s wrong.”

Jamie took a bite from his apple, and wiped the last sweat from his forehead with the towel that always waited for him backstage. “Colum says you two go way back.”

Geordie smiled. “I cut my teeth as a reporter for Creem in the late 60s and early 70s. Got paid next to nothing to travel around the country, writing about the bands I idolized. I remember Colum as this crazy little shit who was a foot shorter than Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, but he could haul wires and amps better than anybody else on that crew.” He paused, sipping a cup of coffee. “But he got me time with those guys on the Starship. And at the Riot House. Robert Plant proclaiming to the world that he was a golden god? That was me. So Colum really helped me get to the next level. Even though he stole the girl I’d had my eye on all summer.”

There were parallels that Geordie could draw to Jamie – but neither man said anything.

“Anyway, the new stuff is really, really good. Have you played it electric yet?”

Jamie paused. “No, not yet. The guys and I, we hadn’t even been in the same room together until six weeks ago. I played for them all the stuff I’d written in rehab, the way I’d written it. On the acoustic guitar. And that inspired Ian to write a few songs of his own, and all of a sudden we’ve got an album’s worth of material. And we’d just taken on Colum as our manager, so I said, let’s do it. Let’s get back on the road.”

“Would you consider doing an all-acoustic record for your next album? That could be really interesting.”

Jamie spun the bottle cap on the table. “It’s a good question. To be honest, I hadn’t considered it. It’s certainly a slower pace, this acoustic thing. But I miss my Strat. I miss Ian’s Rickenbacker bass. And Angus is being a really good sport with the acoustic stuff, but he’s just dying to hit the shit out of his drums.”

Claire still knew next to nothing about the music industry – or the lives of professional musicians. Aside from the past few weeks, she’d never seen Jamie at work, either. But she could tell when he was really engaged in conversation with someone. And this Geordie guy seemed to be the real deal.

“I get that. Do you miss playing the older stuff on this tour?”

“Yeah. But I really needed the time away from all those songs. It reminds me of…some not so good times. Getting sober was hard, and staying sober is so much fucking harder. This acoustic tour has been a good way to ease back into everything before it all starts again.”

“When you play the songs you wrote in rehab, do you think about being in that place?”

Jamie looked over Geordie’s shoulder, at Claire perched in her chair.

“Sometimes. Mostly I think about where my head and heart were at. Not just in getting clean, and learning new habits. But also about Claire, and how fucking terrifying it was to be falling for her. I told her that I’m the last thing she needed in her life. I still feel that way.”

“What does it mean to have her with you on this tour?”

“Everything.”

Claire’s eyes shone.

“It means fucking everything to me.” Jamie looked straight at Geordie. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. She’s the reason I wake up, and try my best to live a good life. She chooses to be here. I appreciate her, and I sure as hell don’t take it for granted that she’s here.”

Geordie unfolded a piece of paper from his pocket and set it on the table. “Like I said, I’ve been a fan of yours for years. I’ve been to two other shows on this tour. And I’ve written down the chorus and bridge from ‘She’s My Addiction’ because I’ve been wanting to ask you about it. May I?”

Jamie nodded, clearly surprised.

Geordie began to read:

She’s my addiction // No rehab can break this chain She's my addiction // Her poison shoots right through my vein She's my addiction // A one way ticket back again She's my addiction // This damn woman's drivin' me insane

“It’s catchy as fuck, Jamie. I guarantee it’ll be a big hit. But you know that everybody – and I mean everybody – is gonna ask you more questionsabout who this woman is, than they’ll ever ask you about all the sordid details on the kinds of drugs you went to rehab for. You get me?”

Jamie nodded. “I get it. Claire and I have talked about it. We’re ready for it. Besides, everything I wrote is true. She is my addiction now. Being with her is better than any drug I ever took, better than any alcohol I ever drank. And you know what the best part is, man? I want it. And she wants me. Fucking magical.”

Geordie nonchalantly re-folded the paper and slipped it back into his pocket. “Are you saying that it’s a long-term thing between you two?”

“Forever, if she’ll have me.”

Claire snorted audibly.

“Would you believe it if I told you she didn’t know who I was, when we met at The Ridge? Do you know how awesome that is?”

Geordie smiled. “It’s not that much of a surprise. But after you record this new stuff, and it hits the radio – I guarantee that there will be even fewer people in the world who don’t know your face and voice. Or your story.”

Jamie took one last bite from his apple. “That’s OK. I want to enjoy every damn minute of it. I look forward to it. It’ll be a hell of a ride, but I won’t be alone this time.”