Women always fucked with him.
He gave Hash two seconds to respond. When his brother didn’t, he yelled, “You fuckin’ hear me?”
Hash chuckled. “I hear you, brother.”
“Where is she?”
“The bar.”
Only one bar in Wadden. That meant it was packed, the only place to pick up women, get drunk, meet people, a free-for-all.
“You keep your eyes on her until I get there. You do not let anyone get near. Got me?”
Hash chuckled. “Got you, Dodge.”
He hung up, called Beef, one of the prospects, and told him he needed him at his house in five minutes. In four, he parted his door to Beef. “Cul’s asleep. Stay here. Watch him.”
Beef’s eyes widened. “Dodge, don’t think I’m the guy—”
Fucking hilarious. A former Marine who served four tours in Iraq was scared of watching a kid sleep? Right then, Dodge was too pissed to laugh or bust his balls.
“You’re a prospect. That means you do what I say. Right now, I need you to sit on my couch while my kid sleeps.”
“What if—”
“He’s three. He wakes, you tell him I’ll be back soon, to go back to sleep. That doesn’t work, you let him watch TV until he passes out.” He took a step toward him and lowered his voice. “No matter what, he wakes, you fuckin’ call me. Do. Not. Disappoint. Me. You disappoint me, there’ll be severe consequences. Yeah?”
The guy looked like he’d puke, and it had nothing to do with the threat he made. He’d been in dangerous situations with Beef before. The vet hadn’t even flinched.
He moved out of the way. When Beef strode inside, he locked the front door and headed farther inside his home.
At the mouth of the hall leading to the garage, he turned and locked gazes with Beef. “Watch TV to kill time. Do. Not. Fuck. Up.” Then he turned and strode away.
Chapter Eleven
“Oh shit!”
Lex turned to Allie, sitting beside her, who’d shrunk in her seat.
She was at the local bar with not just Allie and Em but a couple of others she’d just met, Lynn and Mia. Lex had never been to the place, but it was big. High-top tables circled the large bar positioned in the middle of the room. Booths lined three walls. Those walls fixed with shelves. Arranged on them, beer bottles. The pub was crowded, but they’d managed to find an eight-seater booth toward the back near a small dance floor and a series of pool tables.
Em, Lynn, and Mia, sitting across she and Allie, spun toward where Allie had aimed her stare.
“Shit is right.” Mia, a petit brunette with curves and spunk, was already a favorite of Lex’s.
“Oh God, Wild’s going to be so mad at me,” Lynn, the total opposite of Mia, a soft-spoken blonde, mumbled and faced Mia. “I told you we’d get caught!”
Allie sipped her beer. “I can’t believe it. It’s Friday. They aren’t supposed to be here.”
Lex shifted to look where the others had. Way too many people, probably in violation of the fire code, she couldn’t see who they were talking about. “Who?”
“Hash, Skim, and Rake.” Em lifted her chin toward the back side of the bar. “See, over there.”
With those names, she assumed they belonged to the club since the bikers she’d met went by nicknames. She looked again and finally spotted the trio. Not hard to miss now. They wore leather jackets cut off at the sleeves with the club’s name and emblem. Everyone, with the exception of several scantily dressed women, seemed to be giving them room.
Still at a loss, Lex looked between the women and took a chance asking, “So what’s the problem?”
Mia sipped her drink. “They don’t know we’re here.”
She arched a brow. Too many questions running through her mind, she went with the first that slipped out. “They?”
Em took a pull of her beer. “Our men slash husbands slash ‘old men’ don’t know we’re here.”
She took a sip of wine. “Old men?”
“You’re exclusive with a biker, you’re his old lady and he’s your old man.”
Her brows furrowed. She looked at each of them for a split second and realized aloud, “Wait. You’re all with—”
“Yep.” Mia smirked. “I’m married to Stone, and Lynn’s married to Wild. You already know Allie’s married to Trig, and Em’s married to Ripper.”
Allie shifted toward her. “We’re missing Tiff. She’s married to Cuss. The only reason she isn’t here is that they just had a baby.”
Why had Allie included her with this group? Not that she minded, at all. The women were nice and funny. Lex had been having a blast. It’s just they obviously had something major in common, why invite someone who didn’t? She’d never ask any one of them this though, primarily because she was glad Allie had asked her to come along. They talked, shared, and gossiped, just a little, while they drank and laughed. She’d leave that night feeling like she’d made four new friends.
“Why don’t they know you’re here?”
Lynn shook her head. “Because they wouldn’t let us come if they knew.”
Her eyes widened. She couldn’t help feeling a little alarmed, a fact heard in her voice. “What? Why?”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Because we agreed to marry bikers.”
Bikers didn’t let their women go out? Really? Why, and why would any woman put up with that?
Allie turned fully to her. “They’re a tad overprotective. If you were married, you could see why your husband wouldn’t want you in a place like this without him, right?”
Lex’s gaze flew from the bar that lay in the center of the room to several pool tables assembled behind it to the high-top tables to the dance floor. People drinking, laughing, and dancing, what was the big deal?
She looked to Allie and shook her head.
“How many times has a guy or a group of them come up to us?”
Her stare shot to Em sitting directly in front of Allie. She shrugged. “A couple.”
More like three. She’d counted because she’d never gotten that much attention at a bar. In fact, she’d never gotten that much attention, ever. Granted, some of the men might’ve found her attractive, but she was with four gorgeous women, each beautiful in her own way—Mia, the feisty and opinionated brunette; Em, the blonde bombshell with attitude; Allie, the sweet and cheerful dark-haired beauty; and Lynn, the quiet and sweet green-eyed blonde.
“How many times has the waitress come over with drinks we didn’t buy?” Em continued her line of questioning.
She bit her bottom lip and released it. “Four.” Finally, Lex understood, but still. She found it pertinent to point out, “Every guy was turned away, and the drinks returned.”
“That’s the thing about bikers.” Mia grinned. “When they’re serious about you, you’re considered theirs. They don’t share what’s theirs. They don’t want anyone looking at what’s theirs. A guy coming up to us, a guy trying to buy us drinks is just out of the question.”
“That’s insane.”
As Lex said it, a knot formed in the pit of her stomach because she realized something—no one had ever felt that way about her. When she was in a relationship, she’d never had the urge to go anywhere without him, unless she was spending girl time with her sister, but she did because whoever she was dating did meaning she’d spent more than a few nights at a bar with her sister, Tim, and a group of friends.
“I feel the same,” Lynn said softly, looking down at her drink. “I don’t want anyone looking at Wild. I don’t want any woman going up to him anywhere.”
Em placed her hand over Lynn’s. “He’d turn her down in a heartbeat.”
Lex looked between the two, feeling like she’d missed something.
Allie grabbed a chip sitting in a bowl in the center of the table, popped it in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “You think they’ve spotted us?”
Mia cocked her head. “They spotted us the moment they walked in, and you can bet your ass our men will be here i
n minutes.”
“Great.” Em lifted her brows and grinned, looking like she wanted Ripper to show up.
Why? Lex had no clue. She did not want Ripper to show. He was scary. Then again, Lex had seen Em handle him. The blonde had nothing to worry about.
“I totally do not need this right now.” Lynn closed her eyes and shook her head. “We don’t need this right now.”
Mia draped an arm around Lynn’s shoulders. “You stick up for yourself. Remind him you have every reason to be upset, and you needed space with your girls. And if that doesn’t work, remember that angry sex is the best sex.”
Angry sex? Lex had never had angry sex, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. Even so, Lynn smiled, so she didn’t share this.
Allie’s eyes glimmered. “We should make bets to see who’ll be the first and second to get here.”
Lex had two options seeing as she’d only met Ripper at the garage and Trig, Della’s uncle and Allie’s husband, the first week of school when he’d picked up Della.
She smiled. “I’m in. Ripper first, then Trig.” She shrugged then added to Mia and Lynn. “I haven’t met yours, so I can’t say.”
Mia grinned. “Rip then Wild.”
Allie’s eyes narrowed, a smile playing at her lips. “Rip then Wild.”
Lynn smiled shakily. “Trig then Stone.”
They all looked to Em.
“Wild then Stone.”
A few minutes later, Em slammed the palm of her hand against the table. “Ha, I was right.”
Lex looked to her right and spotted a biker, one she’d never seen before, but no doubt he was headed for them and angry. Jaw clenched, eyes narrowed, his hair was a light shade of brown. He wore a leather vest, black tee, and jeans. In his hand, he held a helmet against the side of his thigh. The closer he got, the easier it became to differentiate which side of the table he aimed his gaze at though this fact didn’t help her distinguish who this biker belonged to since both Mia and Lynn sat opposite her.
Before she knew it, the biker stood at the front of their booth, his gaze deadlocked on Lynn. “Babe.” A growl, a terrifying one.
Lynn didn’t look his way.
The next instant, he planted a hand beside the bowl of chips and leaned onto the large table. Lynn sat between Mia and Em. Still, Wild, so tall, managed to get inches from Lynn’s face. “Babe,” he barked.
Finally, she met his stare. “Wild.”
He flinched and straightened. “Come. We’ll talk at home.”
Lynn lifted her chin, holding his gaze. “We’ll talk at home, but I’ll go home when I want.”
His eyes, a deep brown color, widened. Then it happened so fast, but Lex swore she saw pain streak his face before he blanketed it. Enough to know, she should excuse herself. None of them should watch, but she couldn’t manage it. She couldn’t even manage tearing her gaze away.
He shook his head. “Can’t leave without you. You know this.”
Tears welled in Lynn’s eyes. “I don’t know anything, not anymore.”
Oh God. What had he done?
Lex’s heart went out to Lynn. She didn’t think she’d ever met a woman so sweet and nice. She slanted her head, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at Wild.
“You know I fuckin’ love you, babe. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you.” Emotion dripped from every word he said.
Hearing it, Lex believed him, so she knew Lynn had to as well. Turning her head, she peered at Lynn just in time to watch a couple of tears drift down her cheeks, something Wild hadn’t missed because even from her peripheral, Lex noticed his body lock. Em wrapped her arm around Lynn and whispered in her ear.
Lynn wiped her face and met Wild’s gaze. “If you’ll excuse me, ladies, I should go.”
Wild expelled a breath. With it, the tension lining his body melted. Mia stood allowing Lynn to slide out and stand. The minute she stood, Wild snaked his arms around Lynn and buried his face in her neck. Lynn planted her hands against his shoulders, hesitating for a moment until he whispered something in her ear. Then Lynn hooked her arms around him even as her body trembled.
Like watching their happy ending.
Feeling the prick of tears in the back of her eyes, Lex blamed it on the wine. She didn’t want to think of what it meant otherwise.
“Lex.”
She stilled, yet her heart raced. Oh God. No. This couldn’t happen, not to her. It could not! She shut her eyes tightly and convinced herself she’d imagined his voice.
“Lex!” Closer this time and louder.
Oh God. Her stomach turned. Sitting at the opening of the booth, she turned and opened her eyes.
Dodge stood a foot away, looking too beautiful to be real. His dark hair in disarray, stubble-covered jaw locked, too gorgeous dark eyes glaring, body stiff yet vibrating with rage. He wore his usual, a tee spread tight across his chest, his leather vest over it, and his thick legs encased in jeans.
Why had he come? And why hadn’t anyone given her a heads-up? Then again, like her, they’d probably been too enthralled with Lynn and Wild.
“You want to have it out here in front of your new crew, or you want to go outside?”
What the hell they had to “have it out” about, she had no idea. She’d effectively avoided him all week, and it couldn’t be about that. He made it clear he wasn’t interested, which became more and more apparent as the days went by without a single word from him. Not that she cared. That was a lie, but one she’d tried to convince herself of all week.
“Are you gonna answer me or are you just gonna sit there staring.”
Oh no, she wouldn’t let him humiliate her in front of her new friends. She twisted back around, facing the table. “I’ll be right back.” Every single one of her new friends—except for Lynn who was still in Wild’s arms—tried, unsuccessfully, to hide a smile.
She ignored this, grabbed her clutch, shifted, and met his gaze. He cocked his head to the side and smirked. She stood. He grasped her free hand and hauled her across the bar quickly. A miracle she didn’t fall in her heels.
Out the wooden front doors to the bar, he walked until they were out of earshot from the scattered people at the entrance, released her hand, and faced her. “I’m gonna take you home. Then you’re gonna explain why the fuck you’ve been avoiding me.”
Her jaw dropped. They could’ve discussed that any day that week or he could’ve waited until she was home. Why did he have to ruin girls’ night, and why the hell did he assume she’d let him take her anywhere?
“I haven’t.”
“Don’t fuckin’ lie.”
She bit the side of her lip, hard. “Fine. I have, but that doesn’t make a difference. You aren’t taking me home. It’s girls’ night, and I’m having fun.”
He leaned in to her.
Her breath hitched. She fought to ignore it and prayed he hadn’t noticed.
“No.”
No? No, what? What had they been talking about?
His brows furrowed. “No, you aren’t gonna have any more fun. Girls’ night is over, so I’m taking you home.”
Her eyes widened then narrowed. “I’m sorry to break this to you, but you can’t tell me what to do.”
“I can and I just fuckin’ did.”
She took a deep breath. “It’s girls’ night.”
“Just said it, but I’ll say it again ’cause you need to clue the fuck in. Girls’ night just ended.”
In an effort to keep her cool, she squeezed the hand holding her clutch. “No, it didn’t—”
“Babe, girls’ night is fuckin’ over.” His arm shot out in the direction of the bar. “You see Wild taking Lynn? Trig will show too, and then Rip will. After that, Stone. Maybe not in that order, but they’ll show. They’ll be pissed, and they’ll take their old ladies home. You want to catch the show?”
She didn’t know either of them or their husbands well enough to know whether he was right. But Allie, Lynn, Mia, and Em had agreed. Even so, she didn’
t want to go anywhere with him, couldn’t go anywhere with him, and so, she decided to go for another tactic.
“You can’t make me leave.”
He leaned in to her, forcing her to angle her head farther back to meet his eyes. Then he taunted, “Wanna bet?”
A thrill shot through her. Proof, and the reason she couldn’t let him take her anywhere. Somehow, despite the fact that her heart beat too fast, she managed not to sound affected. She hoped she looked unaffected too.
Taking a step back, she lifted her chin. “I’m not letting you take me home. I’m not doing anything you say.”
He smirked. “You don’t leave with me now, I’m gonna follow you inside. On the way there, I’m gonna catch all these drunks who want to get in your pants, look at your ass, which is just gonna piss me off more. I’ll fuckin’ manage to wait until you’re at your table, then…”
He took a deliberate step toward her. So close, his chest grazed hers. “I’m gonna kiss you. When I do, I’m not stopping. You’ll love it so much, you’re not gonna be able to stop me, and I’m not stopping, means I’ll take that shit all the fuckin’ way. Right there.”
Hearing it, seeing it in her mind, her breaths quickened. She swallowed, hating she was so weak she wanted him to do that.
God, her sister had been right. She was so desperate she was going for the wrong man. No, maybe it was something else, an intense and primal attraction, the kind that happened once in a lifetime. Did he feel it too?
Realizing she hadn’t taken a breath for a while, she did and took another step back. “You’re insane.” She was too, for hoping.
“Insane means I do anything to get what I want, then yeah, I’m fuckin’ insane.” He hooked an arm around her waist, hauled her toward him, and held her tight against him.
Her hands went to his chest to stop him, one still holding her clutch. She pushed. He didn’t budge. He did lean deliberately slow toward her. His mouth a millimeter from hers, she had no choice.
Riding Hard (Hell Ryders MC Book 4) Page 9
