Wild

by Winters, KB

  “Cameras,” I mouthed to her along with Slayer’s name.

  Monica nodded and scribbled something down. “We have privilege so you don’t have to worry, Ella Mae.”

  “Call me Chance,” I told her. “It’s not you I’m worried about.”

  She nodded in understanding and flashed a sympathetic smile. “Dr. Annabelle Keyes made a statement and said you didn’t do this. Is that true?”

  “Yes, it’s true.” I didn’t bother telling her that killing Leon was on my to do list because it didn’t seem helpful at the moment.

  “All right. And your long-haired friend can tell me everything I need to know?”

  I nodded, hoping that was true. Hoping my judgment where Slayer was concerned wasn’t as murky as it had been with Leon.

  “Yes. But the thing is there’s tons of surveillance where this happened and…something doesn’t feel right about this. You haven’t seen it?”

  She ignored my question and said, “McAllister is a piece of shit, and he’s not above bending the rules to get his verdict.”

  Which only confirmed my own suspicions.

  “This was suicide, Ms. Stevenson. Leon and I had broken up almost two years ago. He only knew where I was because he’d been following me.”

  I had a bad feeling about all of this and I couldn’t shake it. Had the Reckless Bastards destroyed the footage that could help clear me? Had they done it on purpose?

  Being in this cage was already fucking with my head, and it had only been a few hours.

  “I’ll take care of it. You just try not to freak out.”

  She explained about the arraignment and bail, which soothed me somehow. Despite looking like a runway model, she knew her shit. She rattled off legal jargon as a reason they had to hold me and generally sounded like she had her shit together.

  “It’ll be at least twenty-four hours because the judge is off on some fishing trip. As soon as he’s back, we’ll get you out on bail, and I’ll take care of McAllister.”

  “And what if he’s willing to do anything to make sure I’m convicted?”

  “He is. But not only do I refuse to lose, I’ll die before I ever lose to that sorry ass fucker. Got it?”

  I nodded, wishing I could sink into a soft bed and let sleep take over me, to forget about that night. Leon, McAllister. And the pain in my side.

  “Good. Now hang in there and don’t talk to anyone about your case. Not your boyfriend or your friends, and for damn sure not anyone in lockup. Got it?”

  I nodded. “Got it. Tell our mutual friend to get you in touch with my friend Curt. He’ll pay your fee.”

  “Already did. I’ll let you know if more is needed.” She flashed another of those non-smiling smiles and rose from the chair, which scraped on the cement floor like fingernails on a blackboard.

  “Hopefully I’ll see you again inside of forty-eight hours. Call if you need anything.” Then Monica was gone.

  And I was alone. Again.

  And surrounded by cops. If I wasn’t wide awake, I’d say this was my worst fucking nightmare.

  Fucking Leon!

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Slayer

  Being out of the fucking loop was enough to drive me fucking insane, and that was exactly how I felt. A man on the outside slowly losing his goddamn mind.

  And it was all Chance’s fault.

  Okay, maybe all was a bit extreme. She couldn’t help it that she’d been arrested and charged in the death of her ex-boyfriend. She couldn’t help it that the lady-shark lawyer refused to tell me what the fuck was going on even after she asked me ten million questions about Chance and Leon. What she could help was the fact that she’d been locked up for three full days now and had only called me once. Two goddamn days ago.

  So like I said, going fucking insane. Maybe I shouldn’t be? Maybe I let Cruz get in my head and read too much into this situation. Just because it felt intimate didn’t make it intimate. Right?

  Luckily some fuck was pounding on my front door and took my thoughts off the woman who’s emotions were as mysterious to me as my own. I grabbed the nearest gun and yanked the door open with a scowl that I could have saved. It was friendlies on the other side of the door.

  “Curt. Brick. What’s up? Chance ain’t here.”

  Curt’s lips pulled into a lopsided grin. “Aww he’s a grumpy ass without his ol’ lady.”

  Brick chuckled. “I heard if you go too long without bustin’ a nut, they can explode.”

  They both laughed, and I flipped them off and stepped back so they could enter.

  “What brings the Lords to my door at this ungodly hour?”

  It wasn’t even ten o’clock in the morning yet, which meant something was up.

  “Is Chance all right?”

  “She’s fine,” Curt grunted and wiped his hand on his thigh. “After being sexually molested by the goats on your property, I think you should be more concerned about me.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Those girls love bikers, especially the ones who play hard to get.”

  Those fucking goats were a damn headache, but it was nice to see they weren’t just my headache.

  Curt did all the talking, like any Prez would. “Anyway, we’re headed over to spring our girl outta the slammer. Crazy Horse, our Secretary, is already there getting the process started, but we figured you’d want to be there when she comes out.”

  It was nice that someone thought of me since Chance sure as shit hadn’t. And despite that, I was nodding my head like an eager fucking fool.

  “Bail? Finally!”

  It had been three days when the lawyer said two at the most, but Texans took downtime in general and fishing in particular, extremely seriously.

  “Fucking right,” Brick grunted and stepped outside to light a cigarette while I locked my door.

  “Found Judge Watson fishing at his cabin with his thirty-year-old clerk. After a few photos it wasn’t too difficult to convince him on the merits of cutting his fishing trip early.”

  I whistled. “Shit, I’m impressed.”

  “Good, you should be.” Curt’s words were bland, plain, but there was a mischief in his eyes as we walked across the pasture to the gravel where we parked the bikes.

  The best thing about riding a motorcycle was that I could ride without talking. Without rehashing shit with anyone but myself. I used the short ride to the Opey City Jail to get my feelings in order. Yeah, it pissed me off that Chance hadn’t reached out while she was inside, and I tried like hell to suppress the jealousy and anger that she’d called her MC to bail her out instead of me. Especially after what I told her.

  Well, after what I’d almost told her.

  Unlike big city jails, Opey was just another turn of the century brick building like most of the other buildings that lined Main Street, distinguished only by its classic white steeple. We stood in front on the wooden sidewalk and waited as she strolled out. Oversized sunglasses hid her eyes, but nothing could hide the smile on her face.

  “Thanks for bailing me out guys.”

  Curt hugged her first and then Brick before the remaining two members did the same, all smiles and fist bumps for their VP.

  “Glad to have you back girl. Get any muff-burgers while you were on the inside?”

  Brick’s question made her laugh and she smacked his hard midsection. “Wouldn’t you like to…know.”

  Her gaze landed on mine, and I saw surprise there. But also, relief.

  “Slayer,” Her look of confusion morphed into a smile.

  “Surprised?”

  “Kind of.” She said those two words easily enough, but they were loaded. Luckily, Chance wasn’t a woman who spoke in riddles.

  “You never came to see me so I didn’t figure you’d be here today. But it’s good to see you.”

  Her words came out flat and insincere, and I realized that maybe I was the one who’d fucked up here.

  Curt was quick to jump in and fling an arm around Chance.

&n
bsp; “Let’s make a stop to grab some booze for the party the Reckless Bastards’ ol’ ladies aren’t throwin’ for ya, then you can go shower and decompress. Yeah?”

  Chance smiled and nodded, her expression softening for just a second before it hardened once again.

  “That’ll be nice.”

  “Helmet.” The word came out of my mouth sharp and harsh as I handed her the helmet, but dammit I was completely out of sorts. She didn’t seem happy to see me, and I couldn’t fucking figure it out.

  “Thanks.” Chance hopped on the back of my bike and kept her arms wrapped tight around me as we made the short drive back to Hardtail Ranch.

  “You comin’ to my place?”

  Chance stepped off the bike and glared at me. “Am I still invited?”

  I growled, “Get in the damn house,” and watched her walk away, up to the front door.

  I was being a dick, and I knew it. I’d been in lockup before, and I knew she needed time to herself to shake that shit off, but this felt like it was more than that.

  An hour later she finally emerged from the bathroom, a cloud of steam following close behind her, a towel around her and one wrapped around her hair.

  “Now I feel almost human again.”

  Her smile still wasn’t full like I was used to. It didn’t reach her eyes.

  “What the fuck is going on, Chance?”

  She froze in the act of drying her hair with the towel and glared at me.

  “Care to clarify? I’ve been in jail for the past three and a half days so I’m not sure what the fuck is going on, Slayer.”

  The steel in her voice was unmistakable. So was the anger.

  “You only called me once.”

  She huffed out a laugh. “You didn’t come to visit at all. That seemed like a pretty big fucking hint dude.”

  I opened my mouth to tell her she was wrong, that I’d misread the situation, but she kept going.

  “You know Annabelle and Peaches came to visit. Gunnar and Cruz too, along with all the Lords. And the Ladies.”

  Shit. Really?

  “But after what I said before…” It was a weak excuse, but I was pissed off too, and I couldn’t turn it off that easily.

  Chance barked out a laugh and flicked off the towel drying her hair and slammed it down to the floor with so much force her wet hair swirled out like a fan, spraying me with water.

  “You said you might feel some kinda way Slayer. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”

  “You didn’t say or do anything,” I said, the accusation strong in my tone.

  “Neither did you!”

  Chance got in my face, angry but her voice was low and even, laced with poison.

  “You said you didn’t know how you felt, and when you didn’t show up even once, I figured it out for myself. So exactly what the fuck should I be responding to?”

  Her chest heaved, the only sign she was really pissed off. I couldn’t help it. I stepped in closer, grabbed the back of her head and crashed my mouth down on hers. It was the only way to still the chaos around us, the only way to stop the fucking yelling and screaming because neither one of us would give an inch. We just weren’t built that way. I kissed her long and hard for eternal minutes, savoring the taste of her, the way her body melted into mine. She wanted this, needed it as much as I did and that only made me hotter.

  “Chance,” I growled as my mouth moved from her lips to the crook of her neck.

  The feel of her skin was still slick from the shower under my wandering hands, the heat of my own hands cooling her flesh until she shivered.

  “Slayer.”

  “That’s right. Say my name.”

  The sound that came from her mouth was half laugh and half groan, like she was a little bit amused by me.

  “You talk too much,” she growled and stopped my next words with a kiss of her own. But this kiss was slow and sweet. It started as an inferno and only grew hotter from there.

  Somewhere along the way, she lost her remaining towel, and I lost my control. Hell, maybe I lost my damn mind, too, because I was rough, maybe too rough as I kissed her whole body, and let my beard scrape across her skin, still pink from the shower.

  “Slayer,” she moaned again. “Please.”

  That one word, so softly spoken was all it took for the last of my control to snap.

  “Fuck me.” I stripped my clothes off and stared at Chance as she returned my gaze, so much said between us without uttering one fucking word, exactly the way I preferred to communicate.

  “Chance,” I whispered back. Her long hair fell around her naked body, giving her the appearance of some kind of fucking nymph, hiding just enough to make me want to see it all.

  “Like what you see?” she said with a teasing smile.

  “Fuck yeah, I do,” I growled. I stepped up to her, slamming my mouth against hers, tasting and devouring her mouth, her flesh until she begged.

  “Hurry up!”

  Those words brought a smile to my face. I twirled her around, moving that long silky hair to the side so I could kiss down the length of her spine to those little dips right above her ass cheeks. I moved over that sweet little curve and down the backs of her legs until her body physically shook with want. Making my way back up slowly, I gripped her thighs tight and spread them just enough to see the swollen pink flesh, the flash of light as it caught the moisture leaking from her body. I licked that spot and the moan she let out sent a spear of pleasure straight to my cock.

  My balls.

  “Oh, fuck! Yes!” Her back arched into me as the cries were torn from her lips and her hands fisted the bedsheets. “Yes!”

  The woman was insatiable, grabbing a handful of my hair to keep me right where she needed me, where pleasure spilled from her body. The sound of my own carnal moans vibrated against her, pulling more shivers and screams from her body.

  “God, Slayer. More, now!”

  That was it, I stood to my full height and bent her over, smacked the heart shaped ass even as my mouth watered at the sight of her pussy, pink and swollen from this angle. A low growl emanated from somewhere deep inside me, at least I thought it was me, I couldn’t be sure with Chance moaning and begging, squeezing her legs together so her ass moved just so.

  “You want this?”

  “Yeah, I want it,” she panted, words breathless and needy.

  “I didn’t hear you,” I told her and let one hand land hard on her ass cheek, turning the skin an angry shade of pink as her lips parted to release a sigh of pleasure.

  “Chance,” I growled.

  “Yes, I fucking want it! I want it, now give it to me, damn you.”

  My lips pulled together into a tight satisfied smile at her frustrated words. I took a step back, stroking my leaking cock while she squirmed in anticipation. Then Chance, the tease, arched her back to give me a clearer view of that sweet pink cunt.

  “It’s right…here,” I growled and slipped inside her body. It was so fucking wet I could hardly stand it, hotter than fuck and there was no place in the world I would rather be.

  “Fuck, Chance.” That was just what I did. What she did.

  We went at each other like two people possessed, like it had been years since we’d been together instead of just a few days. It was explosive and all consuming, and it scared the ever living shit out of me. Fucking terrified me, actually, but it felt too good to stop. I couldn’t let the sounds of those cries of pleasure stop, didn’t want them to.

  I held Chance tight, held her close as I pounded into her, pulling every ounce of pleasure from her body I could. Gripping her hip with one hand and the back of her neck with the other. I held her tight and pounded into her as she shouted my name. Screamed it at the top of her lungs and then she fell silent.

  Several long moments passed where the only sound was my sweat slicked skin smacking against hers, faster and harder until a low groan escaped.

  “Holy fucking shii-iiiit!” And then Chance was falling, vibrating and convuls
ing as her orgasm ripped through her body. She pulsed and clenched around my cock, pulling my own pleasure to the surface.

  “Chance,” I groaned, at least I think I did. I couldn’t be sure when all the blood that should have been in my brain had vacated south and swelled my cock to the point of aching. Only then did she release me, finally milking my body until it was bone dry. Until my legs could barely hold up my weight, and I damn near collapsed right on top of her.

  “Fuck, I needed that!”

  Second by second her body relaxed into the mattress, the only sign she was still conscious was the way she smiled up at me as she rolled on to her back.

  “A lot,” she added in a breathy, exhausted moan.

  She looked relaxed. A hell of a lot better than she did when she walked out of the jailhouse earlier, and slightly less pissed off than when she stepped from the shower. Good.

  “Now that’s out of the way, we can talk about the rest of this like rational human beings.”

  Chance groaned and tried to roll away from me.

  “Asshole,” she grumbled.

  “And don’t you forget it babe.” I smacked her ass and pulled her body flush against mine, not quite ready to let go of her yet.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Ella Mae

  Back to the business at hand. That was where my focus should’ve been because it was the only damn thing in my life that made sense. Slayer was as much a mystery as he was since the first night in the alley, and I didn’t have the energy to figure him out. Why? Oh, because I was standing trial for murder.

  Again for the people in the back. Murder. Okay, not murder-murder but manslaughter. Either way, they were trying to lock me up for a fucking suicide.

  Fucking lawyers. Luckily my lawyer was as good as she was expensive, and Monica was Expensive with a capital ‘E’. Curt let me know he’d help out if needed, but even that was tabled for now because we all gathered at the new and improved Lords clubhouse for our first official meeting of The Counsel, name official pending the official vote.

  Instead of meeting inside the Lair, we sat around a few tables in Curt’s backyard. He had no neighbors and lived on a dead-end street, just in case some shit popped off. And there were no ears to listen.