Little Jack

by Atlas, Lilly

  Joy’s killer had been a biker. And though, as a twelve-year-old, she hadn’t believed it was the MC who murdered her twin, what the hell did she really know? She’d been twelve. Once evidence had been found proving Curly was the murderer, her father tore that club apart, limb from limb, finding any and everything he could arrest the group for. Without the leadership of their behind-bars president, the club crumbled in under a year.

  Last she’d heard, the vice president of that club was serving twenty years for a slew of crimes, and anyone who’d managed to escape her father’s wrath had scattered in the wind.

  Holly groaned. Why, oh, why did LJ have to be a biker?

  “You okay?”

  “Oh, uh, yeah, sure. I’m great.” As she racked her brain for something interesting to discuss, their salt-and-pepper haired waiter dressed in black slacks with a silky black vest over a maroon oxford shirt arrived, balancing their oversize plates on his outstretched arm.

  “Lobster ravioli for the lady,” he said as he presented her plate with a flourish. The tantalizing scent of butter and cream chased away her impending foul mood. Man, it smelled like nirvana on a plate. “And the short rib tagliatelle for the gentleman. Anyone care for some fresh parmesan?”

  “Uh, yes me. Definitely me,” Holly said, practically bouncing in her seat.

  “I like a girl who isn’t afraid to eat,” Rick said as he waved away the offer of cheese.

  Their waiter winced and cast Holly a sympathetic look. God, how she hated when men said that dreaded phrase. It was one thing to say it to a twiggy girl who had a racing metabolism, but to say it to a girl constantly fighting to lose those extra ten pounds? Okay, fine, fifteen. Yeah, he might as well have said, “You’re a little overweight, but I don’t mind.”

  “That’s me,” she said, with a little more bite than she’d meant. “The girl who loves to eat.”

  “Can I get a refill on my wine?” Rick asked the waiter.

  Seriously? He was gonna drink more? Holly resisted the urge to roll her eyes and sent a prayer of thanks to the heavens for having the foresight to meet him at the restaurant in her own car. No matter how lame LJ thought it was.

  Must not think about LJ.

  The rest of their meal went fine. Holly managed to be pleasant, Rick was pleasant enough, the food was outstanding, but not a single spark ignited between them. Not even a sparklet. Rick didn’t commit any major dating faux pas, but he didn’t wow her by any means, either. This relationship was pretty much doomed to stay at the acquaintance level. Holly wasn’t even sure they’d make it to the friend zone.

  After paying for their dinner, Rick stood and nearly toppled his chair. Looked like he had indeed committed one faux pas, getting smashed on date one. He caught himself with a chuckle and reached for her arm, more to steady himself than to guide her toward the door.

  “You going to be okay to drive yourself home there, buddy?” Holly asked as she slowed her pace to match his stagger.

  With a grunt, he slid his arm around her waist. Had he not seemed to need the stability to remain upright, Holly would have wormed her way out from his touch. “Pretty sure I’d have to arrest myself if I tried to drive out of here.” He laughed then like he’d told the funniest joke in the world.

  “Right,” she said with a phony chuckle as she pushed the door to the outside open. “How about I give you a ride home?” Exactly the scenario she’d been hoping to avoid. End of night awkwardness. Though maybe he was too hammered to notice.

  “How about we head to your place instead. Have a nightcap.” With a move she’d have thought he was too drunk to pull off, Rick spun and crowded her against the wall. The leering stare he gave her confirmed nightcap was code for sex.

  Not happening in this or any other lifetime.

  “Oh, uh, I uh, have a super early meeting tomorrow.” True, but it was also true that had Rick been someone she was interested in, someone like say…LJ, she might have taken him up on the offer. It’d been a reeeally long time since she’d gotten laid.

  Dammit. There LJ was again. Popping in all over her date.

  “How early?” Rick ran his nose up the side of her cheek. Poor schmuck probably thought it was some kind of sexy caress, but unfortunately, he overshot the pressure in his drunken state and pretty much mashed his nose against her face.

  “Too early to stay up much longer.” Holly bent her knees and ducked under his arm. “But I’m more than happy to drop you at home before I head to my apartment.” She shot a quick glance to the sky in anticipation of the lightning strike. She’d take him because it was the right thing to do but “more than happy” was an outright lie.

  He straightened and ran his hand down his chest. “Nah. Got some buddies waiting on me at the bar next door. Gonna head on over there.”

  Holly’s jaw dropped. So, he’d made a backup plan in case she wouldn’t sleep with him? One that included getting further smashed and probably finding some equally sloppy girl to fall for his lack of charm and take him home.

  Lovely.

  “Had fun tonight, Holly. I’ll call you, and we can make plans for next weekend.”

  She nearly snorted. “You do that,” she muttered.

  “Huh?” he asked, glassy-eyed and swaying.

  “Just said I had a good time too. Have fun with your friends.”

  Thirty seconds later, she was behind the wheel of her vehicle and cruising home, happy to be alone and done with the date. If only all problems were that easy to wiggle out of.

  Such as the problem of not being able to say no to a request from her father. Either of her parents, really. “No,” she said out loud to the image in her rearview mirror. “See, it’s easy? You need to learn to tell your parents no. You’re twenty-freakin’-four for God’s sake.”

  The drive home took about fifteen minutes. As soon as she stepped into the apartment, she kicked off her heels and stuffed her aching feet into fuzzy slippers.

  “Hi, baby boy,” she said to Biscuit as he sidled over with his leash dangling from his giant mouth. Holly chuckled. “You trying to tell me something, B?” She clipped the leash on his collar and headed back out. After a quick doggy leg lift, the pair was trudging back up the stairs.

  Downside to a dog and a second-floor apartment. Many trips up and down the stairs.

  Holly came to a stop outside her unit, but her attention was fully trained on LJ’s closed door. It was then she remembered they’d made plans for the following evening. Friendly plans, a party with his friends, but seeing as how she now knew that party was probably a biker party, she needed to beg off. The epic fit her father would throw if she was caught at an MC party might cause an earthquake. Then there was the fact she was absolutely terrified at the prospect of walking into a biker den. The stories her father had told throughout the years made those parties sound like sin personified and not in a good way. Drugs, orgies, violence, the works.

  Not for her.

  There was just one problem. If he opened that door and invited her in, she’d be alone with LJ, at night, after a terrible date where she was feeling slightly vulnerable, unsexy, and lonely. A dangerous combination when presented with a man who’d been responsible for at least three sex dreams that week.

  “Should I knock, B?” she asked the dog who just stared at her with soulful eyes. Holly sighed. “You’re no help.” After another few seconds of mental back and forth, she stepped in front of LJ’s door and knocked twice. Might as well rip off the Band-Aid. The alternative consisted of hiding under the covers when he came to collect her tomorrow night, and that would just make her look like a bitch.

  It didn’t take long before the sound of LJ’s heavy footsteps approaching the door had her heart racing. This was a mistake. Her breathing kicked up in anticipation of seeing him, and she swore her nipples puckered, but was too afraid to look down at the thin fabric of her dress. How could just the thought of seeing a man send her body into such a tailspin?

  The door swung open and there he appeared,
filling—completely filling—the space with his oversize body. Wearing a pair of faded black sweats hanging low on his hips, the V-line all women drooled over stood out. Inches above that sexy V extended a set of ripping abs Holly had only ever seen in magazines and movies.

  “You need something, sugar, or you just wanting to look at a real man after spending a few hours with Dicky?” One eyebrow rose, and he lifted both arms, gripping the top of the door frame.

  “How’d you know—?

  “Who your date was with? I might be a piece of shit biker, but I’m not stupid. Figured out your pops set you up with his asshole deputy, Richard Schwartz.”

  Jesus, was it normal to find a man’s armpit hair a turn on? Because Holly swore to God, LJ’s armpits were sexier than any part of any other man she’d dated.

  She blinked and literally peeled her dry mouth apart. Her face burned. There was no bluffing her way out of this. He’d caught her staring and totally zoning out. What had he said? Something about knowing she went out with Rick? Time to steer this conversation in another direction so she and Biscuit could return to their apartment.

  Alone.

  “I, uh, just wanted to talk to you for a minute if that’s okay.” Thank God for Biscuit’s leash giving her something to hold in her hands or she’d be wringing them for sure. Being under LJ’s intense focus would make a girl sweat on a good day, but now, when he was clearly pissed off, she had to fight the urge to turn tail and flee.

  The light in his eyes dimmed, but he stepped back and waved her in. Biscuit bounded forward as though LJ’s invitation was the best thing that’d happened to him in months.

  “Hey, boy,” LJ said, crouching down to the dog’s level. He gave her baby a scratch behind the ears then patted his massive head. The sight of the big dog being loved on by the even bigger man had Holly’s stomach fluttering.

  She stepped into the apartment but didn’t walk farther than the foyer. Seemed safer to avoid getting comfortable. Just get in, cancel their plans, get out and home to her cold and empty bed.

  The click of the closing door had LJ’s head lifting. His hot gaze landed on her once again. One corner of his mouth quirked. “Take a load off, buddy,” he said to Biscuit, who flopped down and rolled to his back right there in the middle of LJ’s hallway as though he owned the place. Of course, LJ obliged the beast and gave him a hearty belly rub.

  “Traitor,” she muttered.

  LJ rose and in three steps, had the fifteen feet of distance separating them closed. Holly sucked in a breath as the aroma of sawdust, soap, and something spicy…whisky, maybe, assaulted her. Whatever the scent, on him the combination nearly drove her into some sex-crazed trance. She took a step back.

  Space, she needed space.

  To think, to avoid touching all those muscles, to keep from throwing herself at him. Her back collided with the door. So much for the safety of the foyer.

  LJ continued to advance until he had her pinned against the door, much as Rick had her crowded against the restaurant’s exterior not long ago. Only this time, her heart was racing, her chest heaving, and her freakin’ panties were damp as her body nearly begged for his attention.

  He leaned down until his breath wafted across her ear. “How was your date?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  SHE TREMBLED. ACTUALLY fucking trembled as he spoke against her ear. The urge to capture that lobe between his teeth and give it a good tug before sliding his mouth down to the fluttering pulse point at the base of her neck almost tempted him beyond restraint.

  “It was f-fine,” she said on a breathy exhale.

  Fine. She came back alone before ten on a Friday night. Unless they’d had a quick fuck in her car—and he’d bet his entire life savings against that having happened—the date sucked.

  “You let ol’ Dicky touch you?”

  She’d closed her eyes at some point, but they popped open at his question. The pretty blue had deepened to near navy. “What? No!” She shook her head. “Wait. That is none of your business.” Her hands landed on his bare chest as though to shove him back, but the moment her skin touched his, electricity shot straight to his groin. There was no doubt in his mind Holly felt it too.

  She gasped, and her eyes shot wide before she wrenched her hands back and fisted them at her sides.

  Goddamn, they’d burn the fucking complex down if they ever got between the sheets.

  “Look,” Holly said, seeming to gather strength with a strong inhale. “I came here to tell you I can’t go out with you tomorrow.” She wouldn’t make eye contact, focusing instead on something off to the side.

  The surge of anger and resentment came on so fast, LJ was powerless to stop it from spewing from his mouth. “Aww, don’t want to piss off Daddy?” he said as he shoved away from the door.

  Holly remained where he’d corralled her, plastered against his door wide-eyed and a little scared, if he wasn’t mistaken.

  Good, she should be fucking scared, because despite her verbal rejection, LJ was certain if he shoved his hand up that sinful as fuck dress, he’d encounter all sorts of creamy goodness. And not a drop of it would be residual arousal from her date with Dicky.

  “N-no,” she said even though they both knew it was a lie. “I just remembered I had something going on tomorrow night. That’s all.”

  Another lie, this one so flimsy he could crush it with one hand.

  “At least have the stones to tell me the truth, sugar,” LJ said with a harsh chuckle.

  Still against his door, looking innocent despite the sexy dress, Holly swallowed. LJ pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth to stifle the urge to lick her throat. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea. You know, for us to start…anything.”

  Well, she was right on that account. Getting entangled with her was the worst fucking idea he’d had in years, but it was too goddamned late. His cock wanted inside her with a force he hadn’t felt in ages, and at some point, it would happen. Chemistry like theirs couldn’t be ignored.

  Riots were started, battles were fought, and lives were lost all to slake lust not half as powerful as their connection.

  LJ stalked back to her and placed his palms on either side of her head. “You think this will go away if you ignore it? If you deny it and pretend it doesn’t exist?”

  Her large tits rose and fell as she breathed with force. “I-ignore what?”

  A smirk curled his lips and turned into a full-on grin as Holly’s gaze zeroed in on his mouth.

  “Tell me you don’t want me.” He spoke just inches from her upturned mouth. “If I work that tight dress up over your curvy hips and ask you to spread your legs, tell me I won’t find you wet and ready for me.”

  She sucked in a startled breath, and though she shook her head, she didn’t speak to refute his claim.

  Time to end this shit. LJ sure as fuck wasn’t about to start something up with the daughter of a sheriff who wanted to tear his club apart. Screw had mentioned the idea of him getting close to Holly to work her for information, but that wasn’t LJ’s style.

  “You better scurry home,” he said as he finally gave in to temptation and licked along the column of her throat. Sweetness flooded his tongue, even more delicious than the treats she’d shared with him.

  Holly whimpered.

  “I’m sure you’d be a good fuck, sugar, but I want a woman in my bed. Not a child who can’t go against Daddy’s wishes.”

  This time her gasp was of shock and horror instead of desire. If she was going to hate him, reject him, it was going to be because he was a shit instead of her father having a hard-on for his club.

  “LJ—”

  He held up a hand. “Pretty sure you can find your way out. See you around, Biscuit,” he said, bending to give the dog one last scratch before he put Holly out of his mind and headed down the hallway. As he walked away from her, her phone rang and LJ couldn’t help the harsh laugh that left him. “Looks like Daddy’s calling. Better get that before he sends someone to arrest
me for talking to you.”

  A quick glance over his shoulder revealed her frowning at her phone as she silenced it. When she lifted her gaze, a mixture of red-faced mortification and disappointment stared back at him.

  And damn if that look didn’t have him feeling like shit. He forced himself to ignore the unwanted emotion and continue down the hallway. If all Holly saw when she looked at him was a good-for-nothing biker, then she could fuck right off. Nothing riled him more than being viewed only at surface level. She and her father knew jack shit about him and what he’d endured in his life, accomplished, fought for, and lost. Fuck them for seeing nothing but leather and motorcycle grease. And fuck them for judging him for it. His club was his fucking family, and he’d die to protect any one of them.

  No matter how desperately his body wanted her, he didn’t need someone in his life who looked at him with disgust. He got enough of that each time he glanced in the mirror.

  He’d begged off after just a few hours out with his brothers earlier. Just couldn’t jerk himself out of his mood. Didn’t matter how many women Screw had paraded in front of LJ, his cock and his fucking brain only wanted Holly. Now he wished he’d let one of them suck him off, at least. He’d still be in a piss poor mood, but at least he wouldn’t be hard as fuck.

  Oh, who was he kidding? Holly had been in his apartment looking like a wet dream come to life. He could have had six orgasms before seeing her, and he’d still stiffen in an instant.

  After stroking himself to completion in the shower, LJ collapsed into bed and let the allure of oblivion drag him under. At least in sleep he wouldn’t have to relive the fear and unease on Holly’s face. Or the devastation when he’d sent her away, because for all his righteous indignation, that look stuck in his mind, giving him the ridiculous urge to apologize to her.

  “No. Stay back. I got this…What are you doing? I said, stay the fuck back. Nooo!” Heat from the blast traveled faster than the powerful wave of wind that launched LJ into the air. His body flew ten feet up and careened back toward the earth so fast he wasn’t able to brace for impact. His heart pounded in an erratic rhythm, and though his body sped through the air, time seemed to slow in his mind. Seconds before he connected with the ground, LJ saw it. Mick’s body charred and burning. Unrecognizable save for the metal bracelet a village child had gifted him the previous week.