by Hope Ford
KEEPER
Exiled Guardians MC
Hope Ford
Contents
1. Keeper
2. Lilly
3. Keeper
4. Lilly
5. Keeper
6. Keeper
7. Lilly
8. Lilly
9. Lilly
Epilogue
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KEEPER © 2020 by Hope Ford
Editor: Kasi Alexander
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
1
Keeper
Two Years Ago
“Keeper, make sure none of the guys mess with Lilly. I’ll be back in a few hours.” Sniper, our MC president, gives me a glare and then walks out the door, leaving Lilly and me standing next to each other.
Lilly’s been here for a few weeks. The instant I heard that Sniper found out he had a half-sister and she was coming to visit, I knew she would be off limits. I had no doubt that he wouldn’t want any of us, no matter how good of brothers we are, to mess with his younger sister.
But man is she tempting.
She’s beautiful and her curvy body has most of the men here chomping at the bit to get to her. I don’t think anyone would betray Sniper, or go against his wishes, but by him asking me to watch her, well, maybe he’s not too sure either.
Lilly’s twirling her hair around her finger, staring up at me. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that she bucks Sniper every time he tries to be protective of her. But every time he leaves her with me, she has no complaints. Her face is lit up and automatically I’m thinking about all the things I want to do to her. Her perfect lips turn up, showing me her perfect, straight white teeth. “So, how did you get the name Keeper?”
I turn and walk to the bar and get behind the tall counter. Anything to separate myself from her. I know the wrath of Sniper, and Lilly is just too tempting for me. “Sniper gave it to me. I guess because I tend the bar. I never really asked him.”
She sits down on the high stool and puts her arms on the counter in front of her. She laughs and bangs her tiny fist on the countertop. “Beer, please? Whatever you got on draft will be fine.”
I just smirk at her and shake my head. “You’re eighteen, Lilly. No beer for you.” I grab a bottle of water out of the fridge and set it down in front of her. She doesn’t drink sodas. The only thing I’ve ever seen her with is a water.
She rolls her eyes at me and uncaps the bottle, bringing it up to her cherry stained lips. I watch as her throat moves as she swallows it down and I can feel the heat flowing through my body. I can picture it perfectly. My hand wrapped around her long red hair. Her wide green eyes staring up at me and her perfect full lips circling my cock, taking me all in. My knuckles are white from gripping the edge of the bar. I literally shake myself, trying to get the images out of my head. I take a deep breath and Lilly is still sitting there, smirking at me. She knows exactly what she’s doing to me.
She’s been at my side every second that she hasn't been with Sniper and I don’t know how much longer I can handle it.
“So when do you leave?” I ask her.
Hurt flashes in her eyes. “I leave in two days. I don’t want to. I know I could find a job here, but Sniper is insisting I go to college.”
I grunt at her. That’s how I’ve handled this attraction to her. I figure the less I say the better. I know that Sniper just wants her to have opportunities. He definitely doesn’t want her getting mixed up with the likes of us.
She’s eyeing me then and I can see she’s got something she’s thinking about. She stands up from the stool as one of the prospects walks in and comes over toward us. “You ready, Lilly?”
I don’t even catch myself before I say it. He’s looking at Lilly and I can already imagine what he’s thinking. And Lilly’s looking at me. She’s tense, but there’s a fire inside her eyes.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” I ask her.
She puts her hand on her hip. “I’ve been here two weeks and have barely been out of the club. I wanted to see the sights and he offered to take me.”
I glare at the prospect until he puts his hands up toward me. “It’s just a ride, Keeper.”
“No. Get out of here. Find something to do,” I tell him like he’s some child.
Which only pisses off Lilly. “Really, Keeper, I just wanted to see the mountains. It wasn’t a big deal.”
I stare at her and she looks so innocent and hopeful, I know what she wants before she even asks me.
I grab my keys off the hook next to the bar. “C’mon, let’s go.”
She jumps up and down clapping her hands together, and I turn away from her, not wanting her to see the smile on my face.
I open the door and let her walk through it. She starts walking toward my bike and I just shake my head. “No, we’re taking the truck.”
She whips around and looks at me questioningly. “Truck? I thought you all hated riding in cages.” She does air quotes when she says the word ‘cages.’
She isn’t wrong. I hate to ride in anything besides my bike. And man, I would love to have her behind me on the bike with her thighs gripping me. But instead, I open the passenger door and hold it open for her. “Sniper wouldn’t want you on the back of my bike,” I explain to her.
She walks over and stops next to me. “What about you, Keeper? Would you want me on the back of your bike?”
I should lie to her and tell her no, but I can’t bring myself to do it. So I tell her honestly, “It doesn’t matter what I want.”
She shakes her head at me and frustration laces her voice. “Is everyone here really that scared of Sniper?”
She’s staring up at me, daring me, tempting me with her sassy attitude. “I’m not scared of Sniper. I respect Sniper. He was there for me when no one else was. He doesn’t want you touched, so I’m not touching you,” I grit out.
Her stare penetrates me and I’m hoping she doesn’t see the longing I feel for her. I know this is a bad idea, but I wasn’t about to let her traipse off with the prospect.
She puts her hand on my chest and I fight the urge to press into her. Her tongue comes out and wets her lips. “You’re not going to touch me? No matter how much you want to?”
I clench my eyes shut tight and take a deep breath. I grip her hand and pull it off of me before releasing her. “This is a bad idea, Lilly. Let’s just go back inside.”
Hurt fills her face and she nods her head. “Fine. Give me the keys and I’ll go myself.”
Two more days. Two more days, I just keep telling myself over and over. “Get in the truck.”
She smiles up at me and turns around, puts her foot up on the step and tries to lift herself up into the raised truck. She bounces up and down on her other foot but is unable to pull herself up.
My hands grip her waist and the feel of her soft flesh has me groaning at the contact. I lift her easily into the seat and help her sit down. I grunt to her, “Put your seatbelt on.”
I take my time circling the cab of the truck, trying to calm myself down.
2
Lilly
I can feel the heat from his hands where he touched me even hours later. It’s like his touch is engrained on me. He drove me around town and we picked up some sandwiches and ate in the car on the way here. Now we’re hiking through the woods. I’m huffing and puffing with every step, but no, not him. I k
new he was in shape; I could tell by looking at him. But I didn’t expect him to be able to hike up the side of a mountain and not even break a sweat.
I turn around to look at him and I swear I catch him looking at my ass. I almost slip and his large hand grabs on to me right before I face-plant into the dirt.
I turn in his arms and his face is only an inch from mine. I don’t blink. I don’t move a muscle. I don’t even take a breath. I don’t want to ruin it and I know it wouldn’t take much to break the spell. He’s staring at me. His nostrils are flared and his fingers are digging into my hips. My hands are clutching the front of his shirt tightly.
My lips part and not only do I hear his groan, I feel it rumble through his chest under my hands.
“Please kiss me, Keeper.” I should be embarrassed by the desperation in my voice, but I’m not. I don’t even care. The two weeks I’ve been here, the only thing I’ve thought about is being with Keeper. He’s so different from any man I’ve ever known. He’s big, towering over me, but he’s so gentle in everything he does, especially if it concerns me. And I know he wants me. I can tell by the way his eyes follow me everywhere I go.
He’s shaking. I can feel him trembling against me. His hard body is pressed against me from my near fall. I press my hips into him and at this angle and the way he’s holding me, I press right into the bulge between his legs. He sucks air in between his teeth and he looks like he’s physically in pain. I want to smile about it, because I know exactly what he’s feeling. I’m hurting too.
He looks at my lips and then back to my eyes. “I can’t, Lilly. God help me I want to, but I can’t.”
He’s still holding on to me, not letting me go. I know I shouldn’t push it. Most women would have gone off in a huff by now. But not me. There’s something about Keeper, something that makes me vulnerable, wanting to give any and everything to him. I know he wants me. I know he does.
I lean my head into him, but instead of touching my lips to his, I press them against his cheek. His skin is soft, but his jaw is firm and pulled tight. I pull away from him when he doesn’t move. There’s only so much I can do. I don’t want him to disobey my brother. I don’t want to cause him any more problems than I already have. As soon as I’m safe on my feet, he releases me.
I don’t look at him. I can’t. I walk away and push myself to make it to the head of the trail in record time. I look behind me at one point and sure enough, he’s following me. He looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders and I don’t know what I can do to help him at this point.
When I reach the top, my lungs are burning and I’m gasping for breath, but the view before me makes it all worth it. It’s breathtaking.
Keeper walks up, still not out of breath, and his husky voice tells me, “You wanted to see the town. You can see all of it from here.”
And he’s right. I simply nod at him and try to control my breathing. You can see the whole town from here. It’s spectacular and I wish I could see it at night under the lighted sky.
He sits down on a fallen tree and I sit down too, leaving plenty of space between us.
I ask him the question I’ve been wanting to. “Why are you a part of the Exiled Guardians, Keeper?”
He just shrugs his shoulders. “When I got out of the Army, I couldn’t fit into my old life. My parents had passed. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters. Well, I met Sniper through a friend of a friend. He took one look at me where I was serving beer at a bar and offered me a job. I was at a low point in my life and I didn’t even question it. I’ve been here ever since.”
I start to ask him another question, but he interrupts me with one of his own. “What are you going to college for?”
I shrug my shoulders. I don’t want to go to school. I would be happy just starting a family, something I’ve known I wanted since I was a little girl. But I don’t tell him that. I don’t want him running away and leaving me here on the hillside. “I’m going to take some business courses. Sniper’s deadset on wanting me to go to college. He feels guilty for everything, and no matter how many times I tell him it’s not his fault, he didn’t know about me, he doesn’t care. Anyway, we agreed on me going for two years. If I give it two years, and still don’t want that, I can do something else.”
“Are you okay with that?” he asks me. His perception is keen.
“Yeah.” I lift my shoulders up. “I don’t know else I would be doing if I didn’t do that. The only thing I hate is that well, I finally have family and he’s pushing me away.”
“Lilly…” he starts.
“No, no,” I say, holding my hands up. “I get it. I know that’s not what he’s doing. He just wants what’s best for me. Even if I think he’s wrong.”
I look into his eyes, wanting to tell him that I know what I want, and I know exactly what I need. Even with these several feet between us, I can feel the heat from his gaze burning into me. He looks away then at the view in front of us. “I’m sorry, Keeper.”
He wipes his hands down his pant legs. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I could talk to Sniper. He would be okay with this,” I tell him, gesturing between the two of us. Yeah, I only found out I had a half brother a few months ago and only just met him two weeks ago, but he seems like a reasonable man.
3
Keeper
“No,” I grunt at her. I stand up and walk to the edge. With my hands in the front of my jean pockets, I turn back to her, fighting with myself not to give in to her. I don’t know what to do, how to handle this, so I lie to her. “Lilly, I don’t know what you think, but what are you going to do? I don’t want a relationship. You going to give it to me just because you want to try it out with a man from the wrong side of the tracks? That’s why Sniper’s sending you to school. He knows you’re too good for this life. You need to go do whatever it is that teenage girls do and quit playing around here.”
I know before the words leave my mouth that I’m going to hurt her, and I wish I didn’t have to. Honestly, I could completely see her fitting in around here. She has a gift for doing things that need done and she’s not afraid of hard work. Just in the two weeks she’s been here, she’s helped out at the wrecker service and the automotive repair shop the club owns. She’s lined out the books that our accountants are always fussing at us about. She knows how to turn down the advances of the men here without causing a lot of drama and she, well, she just fits in.
If I had a choice in the matter, I would let her stay. But I don’t and I can’t pretend that I do.
The heartbreak on her face about guts me and I barely stop myself from dropping to my knees in front of her and begging her to forgive me.
I take one step toward her and she stands up. “I’m ready to go back to the club.”
I cock my head to the side and start to apologize. “Lilly…”
But she stops me. “No, it’s fine, Keeper. I just want to go back. I would like to spend time with Sniper before I have to leave.”
Nodding my head, I lead the way back down the hill. She follows behind me and every time I look into her face, it about guts me. It kills me that I’m the one that put that look there.
The next two days go by fast. Either she’s avoided me or I’ve avoided her, I’m not sure which. There’s been so many times I’ve almost gone to her door and begged for her forgiveness and to tell her that if she still wants me, even though she knows how flawed I am, well, she can have me. But I don’t. The only thing stopping me is the thought that Sniper’s probably right. She does deserve better than this life. I mean, what do I have to offer her? A room in the back of the clubhouse?
When it comes time for her to leave, I stand in the doorway of my room. I don’t go out to say bye and honestly, everyone’s probably happy not to have me around. I’ve been a bitch these last two days.
I hear everyone talking and saying their goodbyes. I picture her being passed around from man to man, each of them hugging her. My
fists clench at my sides just thinking about it. The only thing stopping me from going out there is knowing that Sniper’s out there with her and nothing will happen to her. Fuck, but what about when she goes to school? What then?
“I’ll be right back. I forgot something,” Lilly says from the other room and then I hear her soft footsteps coming down the hallway. I should go back into my room and shut the door. But I don’t. I stand there and watch her walk toward me. The sadness on her face beckons me and I hold my arms out.
She runs to me then, linking her arms around my waist. She’s trembling and I know she’s crying. I pull back from her. “Take care of yourself, Lilly. And if you need anything, call me or Sniper. We will be there.”
She sniffles and nods her head. Her eyes are shining love at me and fuck, I don’t even know what to do with it. I haven’t felt anything like this ever. Is it love? I don’t even fucking know. I don’t think I know what love is.
Her hands slide up my chest and loop around my neck. She pulls me down then and I know what her plan is; I know she’s going to kiss me. I should stop her, but there’s no fucking way. I don’t wait. My mind’s made up. I reach down, scooping her against me and pulling her soft body up my hard one. I latch my lips onto hers and her innocence is obvious, but I don’t let it stop me. I pull back, just to whisper, “Open, baby. Open your mouth for me.” And then I dive back in. She tastes as sweet as I imagined and when she moans, I deepen the kiss, putting my all into it. I may not be able to have her, but I’m selfish and I need this. She’s climbing up my body, her leg raised and wrapped around me. I hold her leg, gripping her behind her knee. The sweet little moans continue and I press my hard cock right against her core.
