I took a long slow sip of the scotch enjoying the warmth of the alcohol as I thought about what to say next. I knew enough to tread carefully and not upset this Goliath of a man.
“Thank you for the drink. I didn’t expect such hospitality.”
“We’re here to discuss business. Serious business from what Bobby tells me but that’s no reason we can’t be civilized. Many great friendships were forged in the fires of serious business.”
My mind was whirling at his words. Friendships? What did that mean? Clearly there was some agenda at play here that I didn’t know about. I would have to choose my words very carefully and not get caught up in Cain’s pull.
“So Bobby told you about my sister.”
“Yes, Kit Cole lives at 561 W. Elm Ave. with her boyfriend Charlie Deen. He’s been beating on her for months now but Bobby says it’s gotten more serious lately and you’re worried for her life.”
Well he had certainly done his homework.
“I know we have a reputation in town as being lawless thugs but believe it or not there are some rules here that are set in stone. One of those is ‘No women or children.’ The club does not forgive or forget a man who would raise his hand to anyone weaker than him to make himself feel strong.”
“That’s good. That’s good to know.”
He leaned back a little further in his seat and I could feel the heat of his thigh as it pressed against mine.
“That being said, we’re not a charitable organization.”
“I—I totally understand. I have some money saved up. I don’t know how much you’d need…”
Cain raised his hand to silence me.
“We don’t need your money. We’re not strong arms for hire either. We like to cultivate beneficial relationships with people in the town. Usually that involves an exchange of favors. Charlie Deen won’t be a problem anymore but in exchange you’ll have to do a favor for us.”
“What kind of favor?”
“Does it matter?” His eyes twinkled when he asked me. He knew exactly the position I was in and how I would do anything to keep my sister safe. He read me like an open book.
“I guess not.”
His hand came down on the bare skin of my thigh and rubbed it softly making me shiver. His skin was warm and rough, his hand heavy. “Don’t look so scared, it’s nothing big. I know you’re a good girl.” His smile was slightly mocking. It frightened me but at the same time an unfamiliar bud of lust was growing deep in my belly. I almost asked What if I don’t want to be the good girl anymore?
“Now, we toast to a successful transaction.” Our glasses clinked together and I drank deeply staring at this man I had just tied myself to. He spoke like an executive, looked like a Viking and read me like an open book. Was I sure I could handle this? And if I couldn’t, what other option did I have?
That night I left The Rat’s Hole with a new and unfamiliar tangle of emotions running through my head. I knew I was in for another long sleepless night.
****
Two days later I drove home from work and found Kit camped out on my doorstep surrounded by boxes and bags. I helped her carry her things in and poured us some margaritas heavy on the tequila.
“Go ahead and say it.”
“Say what?”
“I told you so.”
“You know I’d never do that. What happened?” Inside I was dancing with glee but I knew Kit would be hurt by any signs of celebration at the final implosion of her relationship.
“He came home late last night with some guys I don’t know. They were all riding Harleys and looked a lot rougher than the usual guys he hangs out with down at the bar. He had a black eye and I asked him what happened and he just blew up at me.” Kit took a long slow sip of her margarita but I was happy to see her eyes were dry. “Told me he’s been fucking Marti Sanger, the new waitress at the Roadhouse. He loves her and she’s moving in tomorrow so I had to be out. I can’t believe I was so stupid!”
“Do you think it’s over for real this time?”
“Yeah, I can’t forgive him for this. Not this time. He knew how I felt about cheaters after mom and dad.”
The celebration dance in my head went up another notch. We settled down and watched some slapstick comedy on TV until Kit drifted off to sleep. I covered her with a blanket and went into my own room.
Alone in the dark, the import of what had just happened really hit me. Kit was free and safe. Cain had come through on his word. But what did that mean for me now? He still expected an ‘exchange of favors.’ Part of me was dreading the call I knew would come but a deeper, darker part of me wanted to hear the deep growl of his voice on the other end of the line. I spent all those years trying to cure my sister’s addictions to bad boys and here I was lusting after the head of an outlaw motorcycle club. Maybe the stupidity was genetic.
I was on pins and needles for the next week jumping every time the phone rang. Kit had moved into her own apartment near her work and I was thankful. I didn’t know how long it would take before she would notice my cagey behavior.
Finally, on Thursday the call came.
“How you doing, darling?”
“Good. Doing good.”
“And that sweet sister of yours?”
“Safe. Thank you. I wanted to call and say thank you but…I didn’t have your number.” I finished lamely. “By the way, how did you get mine?”
On the other end of the line, Cain laughed softly. Of course he can find my number.
“No need to thank me just yet. I need a favor from you and afterwards we can express our—mutual admiration.”
I swallowed hard, there was no turning back now. I had made a deal with the devil and there was no reneging.
Cain laughed again, that maddening confident laugh.
“Don’t panic, darling. I can hear you quivering over the phone.” The way he said quivering made a dull throb begin between my legs. Oh God, I was in deep. “I just need you to distract a guy, make him late for a meeting.”
“Distract him how?”
“How does a woman usually distract a man, sugar? Meet him at the bar. Make him think he’s got a shot. He’s an accountant, hangs out at McGinty’s on 7th. Always stops there on his way home from work for a beer. I need you to keep him there for round two.”
“That’s it? I mean, why me? Why not have one of the girls from the other night do it?”
“You saw the hangers-on at The Rat Hole. You honestly think an accountant wouldn’t suspect they were with the club right away?” I remembered the tattoos, high hair and bare skin. He had a point. “I need a good girl.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow, be there at 5:30 and make sure he stays til 6:30.”
“OK, I’ll do my best.”
At 5:20 the next afternoon I was standing outside of the door to McGinty’s. It was a local sports bar frequented by white collar types looking to unwind and catch the game after a tough day at the office. Any of the girls who worked at The Rat’s Hole would have stood out like a sore thumb.
I was dressed in a black skirt suit with a fitted jacket. Underneath I had paired it with a white silk blouse and left several buttons unbuttoned until the black lace of my bra peeked through when I moved. It was hot but after-work and on the prowl hot. When I walked in, several heads turned to follow my progress as my heel clicked on the laminate floors.
The after work crowd was already filing in but there were a few seats at the bar still available, luckily one was next to the rumpled sandy haired man Cain had described. I slid in next to him and watched as his eyes crawled over my cleavage.
“Gin and tonic.” I called out to the bartender and turned my attention to Sports Center playing silently on the line of TVs above the bar. I told myself I didn’t want to appear too forward and spook him but truthfully I wasn’t even sure how to do what Cain had asked of me. I had never been flirtatious in my life.
“You a Dolphins fan?”
“Not much of a football fan at al
l really.” I said turning to him and smiling. “Who should I be rooting for?”
“I’d have to say I’d like to see the Ravens take it this year. They deserve it after how far they’ve come from last season.”
“Ravens it is then.”
He smiled at me and I instantly felt like I needed a shower. How can so much lecherous intent be conveyed through a simple curving of the lips?
“And what’s your name, sweetie?”
“Carol.”
“Nice to meet you Carol. I’m Ray.” We shook hands and he clung to mine for an awkward length of time, his finger brushing the sensitive skin beneath my wrist. Fight it, fight it. You have to pretend you’re interested. I smiled back and squeezed his hand before disentangling my fingers from his.
“You work around here Ray?”
“At Peterson just down the road.”
For the next half an hour we exchanged small talk while he undressed me with his eyes and groped my thigh every time he made a joke. I smiled and laughed along hoping I was giving the right impression until he raised his hand for the check.
“You can’t be going already. We’ve only had one round.”
“Have to. I have a meeting I can’t miss. But I can meet you back here an hour from now.”
“An hour? Who knows what kind of trouble I might get into an hour from now. No, it’s fine go to your meeting. I’ll just find someone else to teach me about football.”
Ray licked him plump pale lips his eyes fixed on the front of my blouse. “What kind of trouble are you looking for?”
“Buy me another round and maybe I’ll show you.”
Despite my inexperience, my clumsy attempts at flirting worked. Ray ordered another round and I simpered and giggled letting him keep his hand around my waist. I managed to drag things out for another half hour before we walked out of McGinty’s.
“So baby, your place or mine?” Ray asked pulling me against him.
“You know, I think we really have a connection. I don’t want to ruin it. Why don’t you call me later and we’ll see where this goes?” I slipped him a piece of paper with a fake phone number. Ray’s shock and confusion were clear on his face.
“Oh no, baby. Don’t do this. You can’t work me up all night and then leave me with this.” He grabbed my hand and pulled down over the hardness of his erection. I squirmed trying to pull away. “I just need a little taste to keep me going.” With two quick steps he pulled me down a side alley next to the bar.
“Ray, Ray not like this. Please!” I struggled against him but he had me pinned firmly against the wall his hands roaming over my breasts and his mouth sucking and nipping at my neck. With a firm yank he ripped my blouse open and pulled my bra down until my breasts were bare beneath his touch.
I felt like I was floating outside of my own body watching him maul my breasts while his knee pressed hard between my thighs. Distantly, I could hear the rumble of traffic and the far away sounds of music coming from the bar. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.
Right before I sank into despair, Ray pulled away from me. Thank God, he’s giving up. But when I actually looked at what was happening, the first thing I saw was the pained expression on Ray’s face and the huge shadow looming behind him. Cain. Thank God.
Ray squirmed in Cain’s grip before finally wrenching free and turning to attack. Cain laid him out with one punch and a few kicks from his heavy motorcycle boots for good measure. When he came towards me I flinched but his touch was tender, he slid my bra straps up over my shoulder and pulled the front of my blouse closed. The buttons lay scattered across the pavement.
“Darling, are you ok? Can you hear me?” I nodded. My movements were the slow, logy movements of dreams. It was as if I were underwater. “Listen, we have to move. Something’s happened.”
Without waiting for a response he closed his hands around my wrists and guided me out of the alleyway. His hands were gentle but there was an iron underneath. He lifted me up onto the back of his motorcycle and sat down in front of me pulling my arms around his waist.
“You have to hold on ok?” The rev of other engines sounded nearby. “Shit, they’re here. Hold on!” With a deafening thunder the Harley woke beneath us and Cain wasted no time getting into motion. The streets began to pass by in a blur as we went flying out of town and the sound of the other engines disappeared into the distance.
****
Once we hit the open roads, the disconnected, floaty feeling finally left me. Instead I was acutely aware of everything from the rumbling metal between my legs to the wind lashing my hair and the metallic taste of adrenaline on the back of my tongue. More than anything, I was aware of the warmth of solidity of Cain’s body pressed against mine.
He had saved me back in the alley but there was no reason I should trust him beyond that. He was a violent, brutal man in charge of an outlaw club. Still, for some reason in that moment I felt safe. I had believed him when he said ‘No women and no children.’ I didn’t think he’d try to hurt me.
We pulled into a dirt parking lot outside an old industrial warehouse on the edge of town. Cain pulled the bike around the back of the building where it was hidden from the main road. When I stepped off the bike my knees almost buckled and he caught me quickly before I tumbled to the ground.
“Easy, take it easy. It’s the adrenaline. You’re going to feel shaky for a minute.”
“Where are we? What’s going on?”
“This is a warehouse we own. We’re just going to lay low for a minute until I can get in contact with the rest of my crew.”
“What’s going on?”
Cain’s mouth was set in a grim line. “That guy you were distracting does the books for The Reapers. They were meeting today to discuss financials and we caught wind of it. We knew three Reapers who were responsible for killing one of our guys were going to be at the meeting so we thought we’d hit them there and get our revenge.”
“Then why didn’t you want Ray to come?”
“Three bikers from out of town go missing and the local police aren’t too concerned. A private citizen, even a dirty one, goes missing and suddenly there’s a lot more heat. Anyway, when we showed up the three weren’t there. Instead it was twelve Reapers. There was some shooting and we barely got away. I knew they’d come looking for the accountant so I came to get you first.”
“Someone double crossed you?”
“I don’t know and I hate not knowing. Come on let’s get inside.”
Inside, the vast space was half filled with crates and boxes. I didn’t want to know what an outlaw motorcycle club would store in a warehouse on the edge of town. Cain lit a few of the lights leaving the ones closer to the road dark. I took a seat on one of the crates feeling the rough wood dig into my thighs.
“So now we wait?”
Cain was pacing up and down the aisles making sure the other doors were secure. I could see the bulge of his gun beneath his leather jacket.
“Now we wait.”
“Cain, I need to know. Did you know that guy would do that?”
He was staring out one of the few windows when I spoke. He turned back towards me slowly, his eyes were dark and unreadable. With a few long strides he closed the distance between us. I was still shocked at how much larger he was than me when he was so close. I could feel the heat radiating off his body and smell the aroma of soft, old leather.
Gently he cupped my face in his hands. “I would never have sent you if I had known. Believe me. I knew he was a horn dog. That was part of the plan, but never that he was a rapist.”
I let out a shaky breath slowly, sliding off the box and getting to my feet. Our bodies were pressed close together and I felt his uncertainty at my boldness.
“I believe you.” I said running my fingers beneath the hem of his t-shirt and feeling the hardness of his muscles. His body was responding to my touch. I could see the bulge growing in his pants as my fingers danced over the sensitive skin.
“Meg
.” He said softly. His voice turning that one word into a warning, a plea and a threat.
“I don’t understand it either but I know it’s what I want.”
“Are you sure? You’ve just been through…” I put one finger over his lips to silence him.
“I don’t want to talk. I want to fuck.” I twined my fingers into his soft hair and pulled him down so I could kiss him hungrily. My tongue delving into the heat of his mouth, my teeth worrying his lip. Let him know that I mean it.
Maybe he was right, maybe it was the adrenaline. Maybe it was me acting out to reclaim my power after Ray. Maybe it was a delusional white knight on a roaring steed fantasy playing out. I didn’t care. The attraction I had felt for Cain had been instant and undeniable. I think I had known from the moment our eyes locked that this would happen one way or another. I just hadn’t expected to be the one leading the way.
Cain kissed me back deeply. The weight of his body pushed me back against the crate and his hand cradled the back of my head. The hard weight of his cock pressed against my belly. It made me wet with need. I reached down and pulled his t-shirt up over his head desperate for more contact, to feel his skin against mine.
His hands slid my blouse from my shoulders and with an expert flick of his fingers my bra strap unlatched and they both tumbled to the floor. My nipples were hot and hard already as they pressed against the smooth firmness of his chest.
When my fingers began to fumble with the button of his jeans he pulled back and looked into my eyes searchingly.
“Trust me.” I said. He nodded his head and raked down his zipper. His pants pooled around his ankles and his cock sprang free. It was long and wide, much larger than any man I had ever been with before. My heart quivered as I thought about him parting me and spearing into me with that hardness.
He placed his hand on the top of my head and guided me to my knees. I ran my hands over his chest, kissing the carved lines of his hip muscles on the way down.
“Lick it.” His voice was rough with lust and it sent a shiver down my spine. Obligingly I parted my lips and ran the slick skin of my tongue over the head of his cock, tasting him. A soapy clean scent underlain with a faint masculine musk filled my senses.
The Devil's Bargain Page 2
