Biker's Bride: A Bad Boy Romance (Demons MC) (Includes bonus novel Kinged!) (6 page)

“Ah,” he said. “Knew each other.”

“We were neighbors.”

“Neighbors that fucked?”

I blushed. “No. We weren’t like that.”

“Just friends then.” He grunted, nodding. “So explain why he’d claim you.”

“He said that he had no other choice.”

“He could have come to me,” Larkin said.

“I don’t know why then.”

“The Rebels are pissed,” he said. “They want your ass, think you’re involved somehow. Are you?”

“No,” I said. “Rod was my friend.”

“Didn’t think so. Now we got the Rebels and whoever killed the kid coming for you. That’s a lot of trouble.”

“What about your speech out there?” I snapped.

“You got a mouth on you,” he said slowly, and he smiled at me. I felt my blood run cold.

“Sorry,” I said.

He leaned farther back in his chair and crossed his arms. “You know what it means when a man claims you and you don’t say no?”

“Means I’m his, I guess,” I said.

“Yeah, true, but it’s more than that. For us, it’s a serious bond, a serious thing. You could say it’s like getting married.”

I went totally still. “Married?”

“That’s right,” he said. “Ford didn’t tell you that part?”

“No,” I said softly, horrified.

“For us, claiming a woman is saying you’re going to marry her. It’s like getting engaged.”

“No,” I said again, shaking my head. “No way.”

“You’re deep in this now, girl,” Larkin said.

“Just let me go,” I said quickly. “Just let me walk away. I can handle things myself.”

“Well,” he sighed, “that’s interesting.”

“Please. I won’t bother you guys again.”

“Problem is, you already did bother us. You heard the boys out there, right? They’re all fired up now.”

“I’ll talk to them, tell them it was all a mistake.”

He laughed a short, barking laugh. “Sorry, kid. You’re engaged to Ford, like it or not.”

“You can’t make me get married.”

“I can’t?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “If I say you get married, you get fucking married.”

“Please. Can’t I just stay claimed?”

“I thought about that. But if you can’t tell, my club is pretty divided over this war issue. Half the boys think you should be tossed out on your ass regardless of what Ford said.” He stood up, pressing his palms flat on the desk. “I say you marry him. That way, we’re deep in this thing, like it or not.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. Larkin stared down at me, cold and brutal, a tiny hint of a menacing smile on his lips.

Marry Ford. That was what he had been trying to say back in my apartment. He had tried to explain it, but I hadn’t wanted to listen. Claiming wasn’t just saying something was yours; it was a promise. He had promised to marry me, and I hadn’t fought him on it.

Last night, I had thought I needed his protection. I probably still did. But I could already see that there was so much more happening besides my well-being, something way above my head. Larkin had his own agenda, wanted to get into a war for some reason, and he thought if I married Ford, then they’d have to fight to keep me safe.

“I can’t,” I said softly. “Please.”

“You’re going to marry him,” Larkin said. “If it helps at all, I doubt Ford really wants to marry you, either. Boy’s been inside more club whores than anyone else I know. But he made his choice, and so did you.”

“You can’t force me,” I said.

“I can force you. But I won’t have to.” He stood up and crossed his arms. “Ford will. Now get out.”

I stood up, my knees shaking, my gut a twisted mess. “This is crazy,” I said.

“Welcome to the Demons MC,” he said, laughing.

I turned and left his office, completely stunned.

Last night I had watched my friend get murdered in cold blood in front of me. Now I was somehow a part of some gang war that I wanted nothing to do with.

And to top it all off, I was going to have to marry that cocky asshole from my past. Ford Cook, deliciously attractive, absolutely crude, a total asshole.

I looked up at him, and he was looking at me from across the room. I couldn’t read his expression, but I could tell he knew.

I shook my head once. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t marry him. He had his chance that night at the lake, but he decided to disappear and never talk to me again. He had his chance and he blew it. I knew what I meant to him, and that was absolutely nothing.

I wasn’t going to be his property. I wasn’t going to be some thing he could just lay claim to and keep however he wanted.

I wasn’t going to be his damn wife.

I took off, walking fast across the room, threw the door open, and just started running.

Screw danger. I wasn’t marrying some biker asshole.

Even if that biker asshole was Ford.

I
watched her walk fast across the room.

“Shit,” I muttered to myself. It was pretty obvious what she was about to do.

I watch as she opened the door and just booked it out of there, running hard.

I got to my feet.

“We got a runner!” one of the boys called out.

I silenced him with a glare as I went after her.

Damn girl is going to be the death of me,
I thought as I tore ass after her.

She wasn’t exactly fast. I saw her turn a corner up ahead as I quickly hopped on my bike, kicking it into gear. I sped down the alley after her, tearing rubber around the corner.

She looked back over her shoulder, determination etched on her face. I revved my engine and followed her. She cut left down another alley.

I had to go the long way. I went around the block, running a few red lights on the way, and came around to the other side. Caralee had already come out of the alley and was hauling ass down the street.

I quickly sped down along the block, hopping up onto the curb, scaring the shit out of the pedestrians. I tore along, passing her on the left, and then slammed my brakes and swung my bike around.

She came to a halt right in front of me.

“Enough,” I said to her. “Get on.”

“No,” she said. “I’m done with this. No way.”

I grunted and killed the engine, climbing off the bike. Some pedestrians were still milling about, but I scared them off with a look. You didn’t wander around our neighborhood without knowing what the cut on my jacket meant.

It meant you minded your own fucking business around us.

“You think I want this?” I asked her.

“I don’t know what you want.”

I grabbed her shoulders and pressed her up against the wall. I felt a thrill run through my body at the defiant, strong look she gave me.

“I don’t want to marry you, Caralee,” I spat. “Not in the slightest.”

“Good. Then let me go.”

“No,” I said. “I also don’t want to see your throat cut because you’re too stupid to do what’s right.”

“How is marrying you the right thing?”

“You got yourself into this,” I said, “not me. You went with some dumb fuckwad to a drug deal and ended up getting dragged into a club war.”

“I don’t want any of this,” she said, pushing my chest. I didn’t budge an inch.

“I know you don’t. You think I want to be married to you?”

“So then don’t. Un-claim me. Whatever you need to do.”

“No,” I growled at her. “Larkin says we marry, so we marry. We make this claim thing legit so that the other boys won’t fucking rebel.”

“I don’t care if the boys rebel,” she said, pushing harder. I growled at her and she backed off. “I don’t know how I ended up here,” she said more softly.

“You’re here now,” I said, backing off slightly. She was slumped against the wall, head hanging down. “Face it, Caralee. This shit is happening. You can run away, maybe skip town, maybe get to the cops.” I paused so that this part sank in. “But if you do that, you’re dead. This isn’t a fucking game. If there were some other way, you better fucking believe I wouldn’t be marrying you.”

She looked back up at me, that defiant look again, and I felt my cock stir, excitement flowing through me. We were so close, standing there on the sidewalk. She looked so sad, confused, angry, but most of all, fucking gorgeous. It was all so damn messed up, but all I wanted to do was bend her the fuck over against that wall and make her come with my thick cock.

“Fine,” she said finally. “I’ll go along with this for now. But as soon as I say I’m done, then I’m done.”

I grunted again. “Whatever you say.”

“Promise me. If I say it’s done, it’s done. We divorce, whatever, and I’m gone.”

“If that’s what you need, fine. You say so and I’ll divorce your ass. You’ll be free.”

She glared at me. “Good.”

“Come on,” I said, climbing back onto my bike. She got onto the back, clinging to my body, and I drove us back to the clubhouse.

The whole damn thing was crazy. I didn’t know what Larkin was up to, but he seemed to be on my side. I was surprised that he was interested in protecting the girl when it could potentially mean a serious war.

And I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing, either. Did I really think marrying her was the best thing? Maybe, maybe not. It would make my claim real, put her under my protection seriously. But I didn’t want a wife, didn’t want a ball and chain dragging me down. I needed freedom, the road stretched out ahead of me, violence and pussy.

Still, there was something about her. Maybe it was our past, or maybe I just wanted to finally fuck her. Maybe if I got into that sweet pussy of hers, I’d get over whatever was driving me to want to be around her, to keep her safe.

The whole damn situation was fucked. I could handle some pissed-off bikers, drug deals, whatever. I could smash skulls and ride with the best of them. But when it came to Caralee, I was like a fucking idiot.

We went back into the club and I sat her ass down at an empty table.

“Stay here,” I said. “Don’t make any fucking trouble.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

I shrugged. “Drink. Look at your phone. I don’t care.”

“What about you?”

“I got some business to attend to.”

She shrugged, looking away. “Fine. Do whatever you want. But stop treating me like some dog. I don’t just come on command.”

I grinned at her. “I think I could make you come on command, girl.”

She gaped at me. “That’s never going to happen.”

“Please,” I said. “I can practically smell how fucking wet you are whenever I’m around.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Pretend all you want, but I know you want me to take you back to my cabin and lick that tight cunt until you scream my name.”

She rolled her eyes. “I think I’d rather take my chances with the killers.”

“We’ll see about that,” I said, laughing as I went to talk to the guys.

I glanced back at her and caught her staring in that hungry way I’d noticed.

I could tell what she was thinking. Right in that moment, she was wondering if what I’d said was true. If I really could make her come again and again. She wanted to know what it would be like to fuck a real badass biker, to get fucked by a real man.

I’d show her soon enough. That was probably a bad idea, but I didn’t give a fuck. When I wanted something, I took it.

And I wanted Caralee, wanted her fucking bad.

I
watched Ford walk away, resentment and anger running through my pulse.

I knew running away had been stupid. I had known I wasn’t going to get far. But after that conversation with Larkin, I had just felt so powerless, so pathetic. I was going to marry Ford whether I liked it or not, like I was just some piece of cattle.

But it was more than that. I knew Ford was trying to protect me, but I had no clue why. He had disappeared from my life all those years ago, even though I had been ready to try to give myself to him. Sure, my dad was a cop, but that didn’t seem to really matter.

I wanted to show him that I still had control over my own life, that I wasn’t just his piece of property. Yeah, maybe he had claimed me, and maybe that meant something important to his crazy biker friends, but it didn’t mean a damn thing to me.

But the image of Rod getting shot kept coming back to me. Every time Ford pushed me too far, frustrated me, I remembered Rod’s dead body staring up at the sky, his eyes empty, seeing nothing. That had happened, genuinely happened, even if it seemed so surreal and crazy.