by Addy Archer
“They’re really magnificent,” I simply state. “We should get them pierced.”
She gasps and starts to shake her head. “No. No way. The clit hood piercing was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I didn’t actually think it through until I was sitting in the chair and suddenly realized he would stab a large needle right through my skin. Between my legs. My private parts. Holy shit, talk about a heat wave, even if it was only for a breath or two. So no. No way will I jab more holes in my body.”
“Your choice,” I tell her, rubbing my thumb over her hard nipple. “Everything is your choice. Always.”
My vow is met with understanding eyes. She leans forward and slides her tongue over my lips, giving me the words I dread and simultaneously crave to hear.
“I choose you.”
And in this moment, I fucking choose me too.
I seal her fate with a punishing kiss. I’m about to grab her ass, hoist her up, and bury myself deep inside her again, but faint knocking rips me out of my element. Reluctantly, I pull back and am met with Ry’s confused stare.
“Someone is knocking on our door,” I tell her.
I hate the “Oh” sliding over her lips, all shy and uncomfortable, because she can’t hear it.
I brush my thumb over her bottom lip. “I’ll be right back.”
Stepping out from underneath the shower, I grab a towel and wrap it around my waist. Heading for the door, I see Pike staring at it. I order him to sit and stay as I open the door to find Dreamer standing in front of me with an impatient look on his face.
“Everyone is waiting for you in church, but Pres? I just got word someone tried to torch the Shaken Titster. Ram is on his way over there as we speak. Do you want to head out too or deal with the other shit first?” Dreamer patiently waits for my decision.
The Shaken Titster is a stripper joint we own and get our legal income from. Well, one of our many streams of legal income. We do own a few other companies, though most are through a silent partnership.
“I’ll get dressed and head into church. Maybe Ram will have an update for me by then. Be right there.” I close the door and turn on my heels to head for the bathroom.
Ry is rubbing a towel over her head and squeals when she notices someone watching her. It quickly turns into an awkward laugh before she fucking lashes out with the towel, making the one wrapped around my waist drop to the ground.
A growl rips from my throat, and she holds up two hands, palms out in surrender, and squeaks, “I give up. You win.”
A predatory grin spreads across my face as I step closer. I take her mouth but quickly pull back and tell her, “Someone tried to torch one of our businesses. I need to head out and handle some things after church. It might be a while before I’m back.”
She nods, swallows hard, and shyly starts, “Can I—”
“Ry, your father is locked away, Keith is history, and there’s no one out there telling you how to fucking live your life. If you want to do something, do it. But if you go out, I do need you to take a prospect with you, just in case. No one knows you’re mine, so you’re fairly safe. For now.” Doubts start to flare up laced with guilt for pulling her into my life where risks are always hovering above us.
“Perfect,” she says and sways that amazing naked ass right out of the bathroom.
“I don’t know if I’m turning into an ass man or staying a breast man,” I mutter.
Ry glances over her shoulder as she grabs some panties. “Heard that.”
She must’ve put her hearing aids back in. I can’t help but taunt her as I stroll into the room and grab my jeans. “Good, then you can answer a burning question that’s been on my mind ever since you mentioned those toys you experimented with. Any of those a butt plug by chance?”
There’s a tiny gasp, and I swear I see her butt cheeks clench. I can’t hide the huge grin on my face and step closer while I tuck my tank into my jeans.
“Another cherry for me to pop. Nice.” My voice makes her shiver as I reach down to grab my boots from beside Pike, who’s lying in front of the bed.
When I’m fully dressed, I grab my gun and put it in the shoulder holster hidden underneath my leather cut. Ry is dressed in black yoga pants and one of my sweaters with the large Trigger Pull MC patch on it.
The patch is also inked on my back, and I saw Ry appreciate my tattoo when I was eating her pussy earlier. It’s a large dragon wrapped around an antique handgun with its tail on the trigger. I reach out and slide my finger over the patch on her sweater, deliberately teasing her nipple along with it.
“Can you feel it? I can. You and I have a fire that won’t ever quit burning.” I brush my knuckles along her flaming cheeks to prove my point. “There’s the heat I’m talking about, right there at the surface.”
“You need to go,” she croaks.
I wrap my fingers around her neck and pull her close enough to take her lips for a quick kiss. “Stay with Daniela,” I tell her, then stalk out of the room and head for church.
C H A P T E R S E V E N
– R Y L E E –
“You’re smiling,” Dani says, and I glance up from my coffee. “You finally seem as if you’re okay, and there’s some color in your cheeks. Are you really okay?”
I take a deep breath and let the turmoil of recent events flow through my head. It was exactly three weeks ago when Stone saved me. I was living with a person who was forced on me by my abusive father. Both vicious people suppressed me, dominated my life with everything I had to endure without having a choice or an escape.
And now? Keith is gone, and so is my father. I haven’t seen my father since he showed up at the clubhouse, and to be honest, I haven’t asked or cared what happened to him. But last week, Stone told me my father was found dead and drove me to the sheriff’s office.
Once we got there, the sheriff informed me that the authorities ruled my father’s death an accident. He explained how my father was probably salvaging a part when he was trapped underneath a car and died from the injuries he sustained.
I broke down in Stone’s arms. Not from the loss of my father but from the freedom I’d gained, knowing he can’t hurt me ever again. The sheriff took it as an emotional breakdown and was worried, but Stone assured him he would look after me. And he really has, from the moment he stepped into my life.
I brighten my smile and tell Dani, “I am. Or at least I’m getting there. The only thing I worry about is Stone. But not in the way you might think. I’m afraid to allow myself to feel happy. It’s as if everything is a soap bubble, and I’m waiting for it to burst.”
My smile fades, and Dani reaches over the table to grab my hand and give it a squeeze. “That’s because you’re not used to the good things life has to offer. And we all know good things always comes along with the balance of the bad. But I also like to think you had a truckload of bad shit, and now it’s time for you to relish in the good, you know? Besides, when this soap bubble pops, you now have enough money to buy some new soap and make some awesome bubbles yourself, Ry. See the future and know you have all the choices and options in your own hands from now on.”
“I would hug you, but I kinda want to drink my coffee too,” I tell her.
She tips her head back and laughter rips out.
I never knew this day would come. To feel free to do whatever I want and to enjoy a careless cup of coffee with my friend. Well, not so much careless, because Bellick is sitting at another table eyeing our every move.
Precaution. That’s what Stone says, but I also think he’s doing it so I don’t run away. Ugh. I know it’s a crazy thought, but I’m not stupid. I know he wanted to buy the junkyard, and since my father died, everything is now in my name. Easy access.
Not to mention, the last time I saw my father was when he came to the clubhouse and was dragged off by Dreamer. Did they kill him and make it look like an accident? Do I want to know? Do I care or have the balls to ask Stone for some clarity?
“Ladies.” A voice drags my attentio
n away from Dani, and the both of us turn to stare at Thomas Carlisle. “Care if I join you?”
I’ve never seen him in person, but I’ve heard about him from the things Stone told me. Thomas has been buying up property left and right in an effort to have power over this town. Well, that’s my opinion anyway, though I formed it from the information Stone gave me. Why else would Thomas stumble into town barely two months ago and strategically gain rights over various parts of it?
He already acts like he owns the world with his fancy suit and heinous smile. It’s unsettling, to say the least. Like how he doesn’t wait for us to give him permission to join us but instead grabs a chair from the other table and sits down next to me.
Bellick is furiously typing on his phone, and I’m sure he’s warning Stone. They’re across the street from the diner since they had some business to take care of in the Shaken Titster, the strip bar owned by Trigger Pull MC.
Thomas holds out his hand. “We haven’t officially met. My name is Thomas Carlisle.”
“I know who you are,” I tell him and take his hand.
I want to pull back, but he tightens his hold and covers my hand with his other one. “Rylee Warringtens. It’s a good thing you don’t look anything like your father. You do have your mother’s eyes. You remind me so much of her.”
I swallow hard. “My mother?”
How did he even know my mother? I don’t even have a freaking photograph of her to remember her by. My father took everything away, burned all the pictures, and if I so much as mentioned her, he would beat me.
Stone said Thomas made a deal to take over the junkyard. I’m pretty sure he’s here to try and talk me into selling it to him, and this is him trying to butter me up.
At the same time I try to rip my hand away, I see Stone enter the diner with five other bikers—including Jace—behind him.
“Carlisle,” Stone says when he comes to a stop in front of our table. “You agreed.”
Agreed? Agreed to what?
“I changed my mind, Stone. I don’t follow orders from anyone.”
I’m finally able to take my hand from his grip. I have no clue what’s going on, but I want to run into the safety of Stone’s arms. From what I’ve been through over the last few weeks, he’s been the one who was there for me—along with Dani, of course. But hers isn’t the embrace I want right now.
“Stay in your seat, Rylee,” Thomas orders.
My eyes find Stone’s, but he’s giving Thomas a death stare. Dani moves, and my eyes slide to her lips. There’s no sound, but I can easily read her lips as she tells me, “Come here.”
Without a sound, I stand up and stalk to the other side of the table where Dani is standing. She takes my hand as the guys are all focused on each other.
Dani squeezes my hand. “Gentlemen, it’s been a pleasure, but we’re leaving.”
Again there’s no reply or so much as a twitch from the men. They just keep staring at each other, and it’s freaky, to say the least.
Dani drags me out of the diner, and as soon as we’re standing outside, she whirls around. “What the hell is going on between those two?”
“I don’t know,” I squeak.
The door of the diner swings open, and Bellick steps out. I felt safe before with a prospect keeping an eye on us, but now it makes me feel as if I’m a prisoner who needs to be watched.
“I’m going home,” I suddenly blurt and point at Bellick. “I’ll call Stone later, so there’s no need to tag along. I’m a grown woman. I don’t need a freaking babysitter, so don’t you dare follow me, or I’ll swing by the sheriff’s office and file a complaint.”
I grab Dani’s arm and drag her with me as the both of us storm off. I glance a few times over my shoulder to see Bellick still standing in front of the diner. He’s clearly torn between following me and heading back inside the diner, but eventually I see him slip inside, and I use the opportunity to take a shortcut and head toward the junkyard.
“What the hell is going on?” I grumble.
“Beats me,” Dani replies. “But it sure does feel as if there’s something going on between Thomas and Stone, and it has everything to do with you.”
“Consider the soap bubble popped. I can’t believe I jinxed myself,” I mutter.
The both of us are speed walking, but Dani suddenly stops and forces me to stop too. “Maybe this has something to do with all the attempts to ruin Trigger Pull MC’s businesses. You know how they tried to torch the stripper joint a few weeks ago. Twice more in the past few days. Then there’s the part where three bikes were ruined, and if I remember correctly, Thomas’s bar and the factory he took over were hit as well. And I don’t know half of it, because Jace only shares so much with me.”
“You mean you only catch the parts where some of the others talk in front of him since he’s the VP? Because I know you’re nosy, but you don’t press or demand he spill every damn secret.” I release a deep sigh and rub my temples.
“Don’t judge. You’re the same way. Stone and Jace don’t shield us from conversations and information if we’re in the same room, though the main discussions take place in church behind locked doors. Besides, if it’s club business, I don’t have to stick my nose into it to solve it. It’s their business. Unless they ask me directly, and they never did. And for real? Torching companies, ruining bikes, all of it is a direct hit on the MC, not us. I also haven’t heard them mention they have enemies or a rival MC. You?”
I shake my head. “All I know is that Stone was worried that if he hooked up with me, then it would make him weak. You know, the whole ‘if they want to hurt him, they would kill me’ part.”
“Jeez, aren’t we smart to dash off and lose Bellick?” Dani grumbles and drags me with her. “And seriously, Ry? Hook up? You’re his old lady. The president’s old lady. Shit. Yes, you’re a sitting duck.”
The both of us swing our heads in every direction, now seeing things with a different awareness. I do have to admit a spike of fear is running through my veins.
“What do you want to do?” she asks.
“I don’t know.” I sigh.
Dani groans. “Come on, what was your plan when we left the diner?”
“Well, at first I wanted to get away because Thomas creeped me out by saying I looked like my mother, and then Stone mentioned the whole ‘you agreed’ thing, which makes me feel like those two made a deal about me. Dammit,” I snap and again stop walking. “I should have confronted Stone. And for real, what do I really know about him? He took care of me, protected me. But he also kept me locked away in his room most of the time. We can talk for days on end and get along great. And yes, I know his body like the back of my hand, but with this happening, it feels as if he’s been hiding me.”
“Or he’s just very protective and doesn’t want you near the guys. Remember how he punched Ulser in the face when he glanced at your breasts?” She rubs my arm and gently pulls me to start walking again as she says, “Or the MC really is facing dangerous stuff, and Stone doesn’t want you in the line of fire.”
“We should go to the clubhouse and let them explain. This is all so confusing. One minute we’re enjoying coffee, and the next, nothing is what it seems.”
Dani nods furiously at my statement.
Her phone rings, and she winces when she sees Jace’s name appear on the screen.
“Well, go on, answer it. You know he’ll spank your ass if you don’t.” Yes, most definitely too much information, but Dani always likes to ramble about how Jace goes alpha overboard in the bedroom.
She jabs the screen and snaps, “We’re almost at the clubhouse. See you there.” She ends the call right after, preventing him from giving a reply.
Up ahead is the clubhouse. A few bikes are parked outside, but I don’t see Stone’s or Jace’s. There’s a prospect drinking some coffee, and it looks like he had a bit too much to drink last night. He doesn’t so much as raise his head as we pass him and enter the clubhouse.
Ulser, a bi
ker with rough features and blond hair, is sitting at the bar. Lala is next to him, trying to rub her tits on his arm to draw his attention. There’s another girl sitting on his other side. Ulser turns and smiles at Dani, stepping away from Lala—who tries to cling to him—as if she doesn’t exist.
“Piss off the VP, did you now?” Ulser smirks. “He ordered me to make you stay put. Whatever means necessary. So, by all means, go nuts and give me something to do because I’m bored.”
Lala huffs beside Ulser, but he doesn’t so much as blink, his eyes still pinned on Dani.
“Come on, Ulsy, baby. I’m horny. You promised to fuck me when you finished your beer.”
Now Ulser does drag his gaze to Lala, but he seems annoyed. “Piss off, Lala. I’m not in the mood anymore. Besides, I have orders.”
Lala’s anger slides to Dani, to me, and back to Dani again. “You know,” she starts and sways her hips as she comes stalking toward us, “this clubhouse was way more fun before you two bitches dragged your fat asses in here.”
“Lala,” Ulser barks. “Be respectful.”
“Why?” she snaps, her hand flashing out and flipping Dani’s hair. “I was the one he came to when he needed to get his rocks off. I kept him satisfied, and I have the wig to prove it. These chicks are the ones who need to be respectful and learn how to share.” She jerks her thumb toward Dani. “I had no issues acting like I was her; now she can act like she’s me and fuck some of the other bikers.”
My head whips to Dani, who’s staring at me. Scrunching her nose, she mouths, “Wig?”
“Or this short, ugly, fat chick could roll back to the junkyard where she belongs. Stone’s pierced cock is made for fucking, and not the kind she can keep up with.”
“That’s it. Out,” Ulser bellows.
Lala only smirks, as if she’s satisfied with the verbal knife she jabbed us with. She merely shrugs and sways her ass to the door, letting it fall shut behind her.
