ROUGHNECK: A DARK MOTORCYCLE CLUB ROMANCE (9 page)

“Come here,” he said, lifting me up by my arms.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” I teased.

He spun me away from him and brought a stern hand down on my butt. It landed with an audible “smack” that resonated throughout my bedroom.

“Ouch!”

“Somebody needs to learn how to do what she’s told…”

He meant it, too. Another burst of pain mixed with pleasure as he spanked me even harder. I could almost feel the red welt handprint rising against my cream colored skin.

“Now step out of those panties and get up on the bed.”

I didn’t dare waste a second.

By the time I made my way to him, he’d already kicked his boots away and taken his pants off. The whole view of him was even more incredible than the sum of the parts I’d already seen.

With his arms spread wide, he easily reached beyond the corners of my queen size bed. There was a perfect balance to his body. His broad shoulders and big chest tapered down to a flat stomach. That round butt blended seamlessly into his strong legs. There wasn’t a bit of unnecessary fat on him.

“Like this?” I asked, seductively throwing one leg over him.

“Just like that.”

I straddled him at the thighs, slowly pushing myself forward and over his tautly pulled balls. I rubbed against the underside of his shaft before letting it come to balance dangerously close to my needful folds.

He covered the remaining distance between us, carefully but firmly pushing himself inside. I came again under the pressure of his first penetration. I didn’t know it was going to happen. Like being struck with a bolt of lightning, my body jerked and involuntarily clenched down on him as pleasure overwhelmed me.

It had to be the anticipation… the sheer animal attraction, finally coming to fruition. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

“You okay, Kitten?” he asked, with a chuckle.

I let my panting and the weight of my struggling body serve as his answer.

After a few more seconds of recovery, he resumed his stroke. Slowly and steadily, he penetrated me to my core. My sensitive vagina barely fit the girth of his cock, and there was no way it could handle his full length. He let out a little grunt as he pushed deeper, making my toes curl under the force. He was going to split me in half, and I
wanted
him to do it…

“I’ve been dying to get after this pussy.”

I begged for him to fuck me silly… the bad boy that I never knew I needed.

“Go,” I whimpered softly into his ear. “Fuck me, Roughneck.”

He dug his fingers into my hips. My wet, plied body could more easily take his enormous size.

We rolled to switch positions. With him firmly positioned between my legs, now taking all the control, I knew this was a different kind of sex than I’d ever dreamed about before.

Hale braced himself with one hand to either side of my head. The indentation in the mattress tried to suck me in. I moved to position myself under him. He readjusted me.

“You’ll like this better,” he whispered.

His hips moved with whip-like action. He was on my spot from the start. My eyes rolled back and desperate pleas for more poured from my mouth. He fucked me so hard I lost all bearings on the room. Each stroke pushed waves of pleasure through me. I tried to squirm away a few times when I thought I couldn’t take the intensity, but he chased me down after each attempt. We used every inch of the bed. I couldn’t even be sure which direction we were facing anymore.

The biker with the bad attitude took complete ownership of me. I gave everything to him.

He turned me on to my stomach and entered me from behind. I laid prone on my bed, wondering where I’d found the courage to let this complete animal have my back.

There was something in his groans and sighs that told me he cared. He went after my body with reckless abandon. There was no denying that it turned him into a beast. He satisfied himself by using every part of me, but I could tell I was different to him. This was about passion. It was about fucking. But it wasn’t without care.

My butt jumped under the force of his thrusts. The overwhelming authority he took over me became too much. I quaked with anticipation.

“I’m there babe,” he groaned.

He grabbed a fistful of my hair and leaned into me.

“Me too,” I cried.

Hale emptied the fire that had been building within him into my willing depths. The spurts of lust radiated through him and into me as he grinded into the soft mound of my butt.

My body somehow found the decisive release it was craving. I came again, screaming into the pillow.

Wow.

It didn’t want to end. The crescendo came hard and fast. If I hadn’t been laying down already, it would have knocked me off my feet, but the following shock waves are what would stay with me.

We collapsed in a panting heap.

Hale’s arms wrapped around my shoulders in a tight embrace. I couldn’t imagine a safer place in the world. It was only then that I realized what we’d done. I’d just let this man come inside me without a shred of protection… And I wanted more.

“Do… do you want to stay here tonight?”

He was already asleep.

S
he was still
in dreamland on the bed when I got up. I liked to see the sun early. It was easier to make moves when everybody else was sleeping off the night before.

I scrolled through my contacts to see if I still had his number.

Ray Bullard. The guys called him ‘Rock.’ He was still a patch member with the King’s Drifter’s MC, down south.

The Kings were a friendly from way back. They mostly operated in the territory outside of the county. They were a small group, but fierce. Bullard was the last of my sources. Everyone else I talked to either didn’t know shit, or was too scared to talk.

Bullard was a straight shooter if I ever met one, though, and he kept his ear to the ground on things like this. If I hadn’t been so focused on making sure everyone with The Fallen was still solid, I would have checked in with him a lot earlier.

“Ray, it’s Roughneck. Up North.”

“Roughneck… haven’t seen you around in a long damn time.”

“Hey, I need a favor man. I’m looking for information.”

“Everybody’s looking for information. That’s nothing new in this game.”

“I know. But it’s important.”

“Always is. What are you asking for?”

“There’s a prospect up here that got himself in the mix with a couple of shit bags. It was that thing out in Sheffield. I’m sure you heard about it.”

“Maybe. Keep talkin’.”

“Yeah… anyway, this prospect, he’s a good kid. Just made a hell of a bad decision. Got caught up.”

“And now you’re trying to track him down.”

He was spacing his words around sips from whatever liquor he was working on.

“Hitting the bottle early, huh Ray?”

“If you’re lookin’ for information, bringing up a man’s habits up isn’t the way to go about it.”

“Right. So, have you heard anything? We can’t find the son of a bitch anywhere.”

This had to pan out. All I needed was a lead.

“Anything, man. If you’ve heard anything, I’ll take it,” I continued.

“Can’t say that I have. Wouldn’t want to step in on a situation like that, anyway. Some dumb prospect throws lead at a citizen; he should get what’s coming to him. Set an example for the rest of ‘em.”

“That’s just the thing,” I said. “He didn’t kill anybody, and he wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger.”

“Don’t care. If he was up there, he was probably involved.”

Something in his voice told me he was lying.

“Why are you holdin’ out on me Ray?”

“None of my business, that’s why. Roughneck, you know I’d help you if I could. But there’s so many damn cops running around asking about that thing… I’m not getting us involved.”

“So, you are keeping something back…”

“Not my problem, man.”

I decided to play the last card in my hand. If he didn’t give it up after this, I didn’t know where the hell I was going to look.

“You and Clancy were close, right?”

“What the hell do you mean ‘were’? The old bastard still comes out here and plays cards at least once a week.”

“Yeah, well, not anymore he doesn’t,” I said.

“Why don’t
you
speak, son. It sounds like you aren’t telling me everything.”

“Clancy’s dead, Ray.”

He sighed into the phone. I heard him take another long pull from the bottle and then set it down.

“When?”

“A couple of days. And the pieces of shit who did it to him are the same ones holding me up over this kid. They put Clancy in a hole and that’s exactly where they’re gonna put this kid if I don’t find him first.”

T
here was
no hurry to wake her up. She looked like a damn angel sleeping there. Her dark hair fell around her face in a way that couldn’t have looked better if she tried.

I looked at my watch. Nine-thirty. Nobody would be in that bar for at least another half an hour. Ray said word was getting out that Jared had been drinking himself to death in a bar out toward Sheffield. When I heard it, I didn’t believe it. There’s no way he’d be dumb enough to stick that close to the crime scene… But then again, it seemed to be working out for him.

Ray told me he ran out of money pretty quick and was living off of credit with the bartender. It was only a matter of time before he pissed off the wrong people and made some noise that would attract unwanted attention.

I didn’t want to say anything to Addy, but it sounded like a man with a death wish. He was smart enough to know his number would be up soon enough if he stayed in that bar. Even if we did get to him first, he might not want to listen to us.

She started to as I was mulling over the options her brother might give us.

“Morning.”

“Good morning.”

She stretched her beautiful long arms toward the ceiling. She could have been a dancer in another situation.

“Get yourself moving darlin’. Coffee’s already made.”

“Do you have some more places for us to check?” she asked, innocently. Her eyes were opened wide, now.

“I have
the
place to check. I don’t want to get there too long after ten, so get up and get some pants on.”

She sat bolt upright.

“You found him?”

I couldn’t tell if it was concern or excitement in her voice. Probably a mixture of both.

“Maybe.”

“Where is he? Oh my God, let’s go!”

She sprung out of bed, flashing me a free look at that tight little ass.

If there was more time, I’d fuck the curls out of her hair. My dick throbbed at the thought of it. There’s nothing like fucking in the morning.

“Take it easy, girl. I said I had an idea. As a matter of fact, I almost left your ass here to go get him by myself. I don’t want you running in there and making a mess of things.”

“If you left me here I would have ripped your balls off. So, you made a good decision.”

“Goddamn, you’re asking for it. Little brother’s gonna wait if I decide I have to teach you another lesson.”

“Just hold on,” she said. “I’ll be out in a second.”

I hadn’t really looked over the place much. With nothing to do but wait, I took a gander around. The place was normal enough. It had the typical shit you see in every apartment. A couch and a love seat… a TV… some crazy-ass wall art. There was a stack of text books in the corner.

“What’s with the books?” I hollered down the hall.

“Medical crap. You wouldn’t be interested.”

“I am interested. That’s why I’m asking.”

“Really… it’s boring. Don’t worry about it.”

“You’re really pissing me off. Stop trying to tell me what I should and shouldn’t be interested in. Spill it.”

“They’re my text books for school.”

“Text books? I thought you worked in a bar.”

“Haven’t you ever heard of a girl putting herself through college? It’s not that foreign of a concept.”

“So, what… you wanna be a doctor?”

“Nurse. And I only have one more semester to go before I can take my test and get the license.”

“Hot damn, smart girl,” I mumbled under my breath.

“What?”

“Nothin’.”

All in all, it was a pretty normal place.

Something was missing, though. It took me a minute to figure out. There were no pictures. Women loved pictures. I didn’t know much else about ‘em, other than how to make ‘em scream to the heavens, but I did know that every damn woman I ever met loved putting pictures of friends and family around their place.

Addy didn’t have any. I guess she was telling the truth when she said she didn’t have anyone but her brother. No wonder she loved the prick so much. It seemed to me that was the only way he could be worth all this trouble.

“Let’s go,” she said as she double-timed it out of the bathroom.

She was wearing jeans and a low cut blouse that didn’t help any with the angry bastard in my pants. Addy was in my blood and I’d have to fuck her until I felt normal again. I had a sneaking suspicion I’d never feel ‘normal’ around her, no matter how much I put it to her.

I caught her by the wrist as she tried to hurry by me.

“Hold up now. I told you I’m not gonna have you run in there and cause a scene. Your brother isn’t in his right mind so I’m gonna take care of getting him back here. You can go, but your ass is staying on the bike. You can talk to him when we get him home.”

“Fine.”

She was pissed but she was smart enough to know it was the only way to get us out the door. I’m sure I’d have to deal with her again when we got there.

“I don’t want to wear the helmet.”

“Why the hell not?”

I pulled it off the seat and tossed it to her anyway. She tossed it back.

“I want to feel the wind. And you don’t wear one”

“I wear this one, but I don’t carry a spare. It’s a hell of a long ride to where we’re going. Just put the damn thing on.”

“What’s the matter? Aren’t you a good enough rider to get me there in one piece?”

“It’s not my riding I’m worried about, and trust me, if you’d seen the shit I have over the years, you’d be strapping that helmet on right this damn second.”

I watched her give me a little smirk, but she pulled the helmet over her head and strapped it down like I told her to.

“Good. Let’s ride,” I said, finally giving her a nod of approval. At this point she had to be intentionally trying to piss me off by questioning my decisions. It was okay though, I’d file that shit away in the back of my brain and call on it later when it came time to wreck that little ass.

My Harley fired up on the first kick. It always did on warm summer mornings like this. Addy hung on around my waist. The perfume she wore smelled like fresh cut flowers.

That ride went down as one of the best I could remember. The weather was perfect. Addy didn’t make a peep. Just sat back and enjoyed it. I was starting to get used to the idea of having her back there.

“Here it is,” I said as the engine choked out. “We’re here.”

The big sign above the front door read: Johnny’s.

“Okay,” she said, trying to lead the way.

“Whoa, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Going in. I don’t care. He’s my brother.”

Looking around the lot made me not want to argue. It was too quiet. Something didn’t feel right, and that’s the only reason I decided to let her come with me.

“Only because I want to get in and get out. Something’s up and I don’t like it. We’re doing this fast.”

The place was old and dingy. It made the biker bar look like a cathedral by comparison. It was empty as could be, too, except for the drooping young prospect at the first bar stool.

Addy ran to him.

“Jared! Where have you been?”

She threw a big hug on him before laying into his ass.

“What the fuck is going on?”

He didn’t answer. Just kept his head down. He was already working on a buzz.

My head stayed on a swivel. I didn’t recognize the bar tender and he seemed to be a little too uninterested in the interaction with his only patron. It was as if he was trying
not
to watch.

“Let’s move. Where’s your bike kid?”

“I’m not going anywhere, ‘neck.”

Now, I knew he had a death wish. The kid I remembered never would have dismissed me like that.

“I’m not joking. We have to get going.”

The bartender’s furtive eyes kept darting to us. He thought I didn’t notice, but I did.

“You have something to say to us, friend?”

“Nuh uh,” said the bartender. “Just cleaning up.”

“Then you go ahead and clean up. But keep your eyes on your own fucking business while you’re doing it.”

He shriveled away from me and I turned my attention back to Jared.

“On your feet, man. I’m not asking.”

“Nope. I’m staying. Got a lot to think about.”

“Jared, c’mon. We can talk about this once we get out of here. It’s not-”

“It’s not a fucking option,” I interrupted. “Get your ass off that bar stool before I drag you off of it. I know you don’t give a damn about yourself, but every extra minute we stay here is another one where you’re putting your sister in danger. Get it together.”

The mention of Addy seemed to get him going.

“You guys shouldn’t be here,” he said, finally climbing to his feet. “This is my problem. Let me deal with it my way.”

“Just so you know,
Ace
, your way is the reason your sister is currently in a bunch of shit. If not for you, she wouldn’t have been sleeping in her car for fear of a bunch of dirt bags.”

He looked at both of us with clear eyes for the first time.

“They… somebody threatened you?”

“Damn right, they did,” I answered for her. “Now swallow your pride and come with us. I’ve got a place back in town where nobody knows to look. We can hang out there until we figure out the next move.”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay,” he said, finally coming to his senses.

Jared patted his pockets to search for money he didn’t have. Just then the door started to slowly creak open. Me and that snitch of a bartender were the only ones who noticed it. Bright light flooded the dump.

While everybody else shielded their eyes, I was already on the move.

It was two of the guys Dirty had brought into the fold from a few months back. Mean bastards who were with him when he did that witness thing back east.

One look at Addy’s face told me they were the same two that hassled her a few days ago.

“Stay right there,” yelled the one they called Lonny. He drew a gun from behind his back. I knew Dirty would want the kid alive to question him.

“Get behind me,” I barked.

Addy fell in place, but the dumb kid stood next to me and squared his shoulders to the men.

“These two aren’t part of this,” yelled Jared. “Let them go and I’ll do what you want.”

He didn’t know how things worked, but I admired the selfless act, no matter how late it was. They weren’t gonna let us go anywhere. Not that Addy would agree to that anyway. Guys like Dirty tied up his loose ends.

I didn’t wait around for one of them to make the first move. I took hold of the stool Jared had been sitting on and flung it across the room. When the guy with gun ducked out of the way, I shoved Addy to Jared.

“Get her outside. I’ll deal with them,” I yelled.

He caught her, and for maybe the first time in his life listened to directions.

I charged forward along the path of where I’d thrown the stool. Lonny swung his gun arm toward me but he was too slow.

I caught him at the elbow, redirecting the slug he let go at the mirror above the bar. It shattered into a million pieces, raining down on the bartender who was undoubtedly cowering on his knees.

Lonny was strong but inexperienced in hand-to-hand combat. He didn’t have a clue about leverage or motion. A few more fights and he might start picking up on these things, but for now, I had the advantage. He threw his weight into an awkward lunge, attempting to pin me against the bar. I moved easily and pushed his trajectory at the pool table. He crashed into it, sending the balls scattering in every direction. I didn’t miss him snatching the three ball off of the table before he turned.

The other guy made a grab for my neck. Unlike his partner, he didn’t possess the strength to do anything with the dominant position.

I turned into his chest, leaving him no room to work in a punch. His name came back to me but only after I saw the poorly stitched version of it on his jacket. “Dog.” Okay.

I always wanted to know their names. Don’t ask me why.

By dropping my center of gravity I was able to drive him back. He had probably fifty pounds on me but it was all fat. Easy for me to move, but hard for him. The top-heavy bastard went over the mop and bucket head first.

I wheeled just in time to dodge the pool ball. It careened off one of the taps with a resounding “crack.”

He saw Jared and Addy make it to the door the same time as I did. If he alerted his partner, I wouldn’t be able to get ahead of him fast enough.

“Jared! Pull it shut behind you. Hold it for as long as you can.”

I could only hope that he heard me.

Addy disappeared into the sunlight first. Jared hesitated and looked back.

“Do it!” I yelled. “Tell her to run.”

“If you run out that door, I’ll shoot your friend,” yelled Lonny from behind me.

“Don’t listen to him, kid. Get her somewhere safe.”

But Jared didn’t run. I could only guess he wanted to play John Wayne today.

“Addy, go hide. I’m gonna help Roughneck.”

Fuck.

I’ll give the guy credit for trying. He ran back into the fray with no regard for his own safety. Although, he probably reconsidered his position when the big guy drilled him in the face with the handle of that mop.

Jared sprawled across the floor. In that short instance I could already see the bump beginning to raise between his eyes.

“Fuck me,” he grumbled between two hands.

The distraction still gave me enough time to try another strategy. With Dog preoccupied, I took another run at Lonny. The fucker fired a shot that missed my head by inches. In fact, it came as close to hitting his partner as it did to hitting me. He didn’t care.

But now he was gonna pay.

“Should have killed me when you had a clean shot,” I whispered into his face.

His eye grew large as the crook of my elbow fit into place beneath his chin. I flexed my bicep and squeezed with my forearm. He went unconscious in my arms.

Dog didn’t have a gun with him, but he seemed too stupid to realize he would need one to have an even shot against me. I could only imagine he was feeling strong with that mop handle after knocking Jared down, because he came at me with it like a wild man.

I ducked as he swung it sloppily at me.

“Nice try, asshole.”