Claimed by the Claws

by Laura Wylde

  “So you plan on making another gang?”

  I could tell by the way that she asked, that she wasn't very happy about it. There was something in her face that told me she was not down for the criminal lifestyle. While most girls would get wet with the leather, Bree seemed to be more nervous than ever before.

  “It's a club Bree. And yes, I will have to do something. I can't let a man like Greg free in the area. This is where I have lived for a long time and I will not let it happen. This is been more of a home to me, Lost Hills, than any other place and I won't let it get ran down by a guy like him.”

  Not trying to sound so about it, I knew that I had to tone it down. Bree didn't need to see how upset I was about it all, or know how badly I wanted to kill him. A woman like Bree just wouldn't understand.

  “So what is going to happen?”

  “One of us will have to go. It’s what happens. There isn’t enough room for both of us. There used to be, Buck tried to make it work, but you can see what happened. He was killed for it because Greg got greedy. No one in Lost Hills is safe until he is gone. It’s just the way it is.”

  I didn’t want to tell her anymore and it didn’t look like I had to. Bree was digesting it all and I hoped that she would see that all of this was going to be okay. I was going to make sure that both of us were going to be okay. She was mine and I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

  “That sounds scary. Is Greg…?”

  While I didn’t want to ask some things that I needed to know, her question told me the answer. I breathed out a sigh of relief and had to wonder how the man never did talk her into it. It really must be fate. She really was mine.

  “Yes, Greg is like me. All of the bikers that you see around here are. Almost all of them. There are a few humans that we let in.”

  “Humans?”

  She wasn’t asking a question, more saying it out loud like it was hard to believe. She didn’t want to think of herself as human and otherwise. They were all people.

  “Yeah, human.”

  Bree shook her head and she had gotten pale on me. I could tell that it was all just too much for her and I had her sit down at the bar on the other side of the counter. I wasn’t going to be able to tell her everything in one go. I was going to have to give her time to let it all sink in.

  I started cooking to get both of us out of the mood we were in. She had a lot on her mind, and so did I. There was a lot to think about and I was worried about what was going to happen next. It wasn't that Greg bothered me in any way, he never had. But I had someone else that I had to worry about now and I wasn't used to that. It had been just me for the last four years, and now I was far more worried about keeping Bree safe than myself. That was something that I had to rectify in my own head.

  Bree cut up some vegetables, while I got the pot going. It had been a while since I cooked for myself, but it kept my mind off the present. There was a lot that needed to be done, and so little time to do it in.

  “So how long are we going to stay here?”

  She had finished the vegetables and she was coming over to put them in the pot with the meat. I told her that I didn't know for sure, but I was going to make sure that it wasn't so long.

  “So is it going to be like before? Where I won't be able to leave and stuff?”

  “I don't want you to leave because I don't want them to find you, but I can't force you to say. I won't.”

  “But if I go, then you will have someone watch out for me?”

  “I will be the one watching after you Bree. Wherever you go, I go. It would be easier to do what I must do if you are on board, but that doesn't mean that you have to be.”

  “Why are you so determined to save me?”

  “Because you are my mate.”

  I said it as simply as I could because it was the truth. Like everything else this night, I could tell that it was a lot for Bree to take in. I just hope that she would get used to the idea of it. From the way my body needed her, I hoped it was sooner than later.

  Chapter 16

  Bree

  “Your mate?”

  “Yes, my mate.”

  My head was swimming with all the information and I wasn't sure what to think of this new development. Daxton had been clear that what was seen in the movies, was nothing like what happened in real life. In the movies, a mate was like a wife, but somehow stronger than that. And then he said we would always be together. Is that what he meant? For some reason I felt like I didn't even have a choice in it.

  “You do have a choice.”

  My eyes got wider and I looked over at him.

  “How did you know what I was thinking?”

  “Sometimes if I am trying to, I can read your mind.”

  He said it like it was no big deal and that everyone should be able to do it. I couldn't believe what he said,. I mean, I knew that what he said was true, but I couldn't believe that I was even having this conversation with him. Daxton didn't seem to realize how rare and special he was.

  “Stop doing that. I don't want you in my head.”

  He chuckled and told me that sometimes he was unable to stop it. That if I thought about something too hard or too loud, he wasn’t going to be able to stop it. I didn’t like the idea of that at all, but there was apparently nothing I could do about it, so I wasn’t going to stress it. I was just going to have to be careful what I was thinking about, which was a lot harder than it sounded.

  I was still standing beside him at the stove and when he turned to me and moved a little closer, I was boxed in. I didn't have any other choice but to look up at him and to finally meet his dark eyes. They were filled with need and lust, that I was sure was mirrored in my own. He wasn't the only one that was not sure what was going to happen next. He wasn't the only one that wanted to see what would develop between us. If he was to be my mate or I was to be his, then when we going to be together in that way. It was good to know that I wasn’t the only one thinking about it.

  “How do I know that you're telling the truth?”

  “What do you think I'm lying about?”

  “All of it. The fact that we are together, that I am to be your mate. What does that even mean?”

  “You are my mate. That I assure you is the truth. That is something that neither one of us can change and the more I'm around you, the more I can feel it. Can't you feel it?”

  I wasn't really sure what it was. I know that I was feeling something and I had been since the first time I'd met him. It had only been a couple of days ago, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

  His hands went to my arms and then ran up to my shoulders, stopping before passing my neck and then cupping my cheeks. He tilted my head up a little further and I had no choice but to look at him. His body was hard against mine and I was thinking about not too long ago when he was standing naked in front of me.

  “How can I be good Bree, when you have things like that running through your head?

  My cheeks were red, but I didn't have much time to be humiliated because his hands and lips were on me now. He was calling me to him and I didn't want him to stop. I never wanted him to stop.

  It wasn't the first time that I had been kissed. But it was the first time that I felt like the kiss was going to take me over. It wasn’t just a kiss and he wasn't just a man. Daxton was so much more and whatever it was that I was supposed to feel, I had a feeling that I was. There was just something inside of me that told me that I was supposed to be right here, right now. I was supposed to be with him.

  His lips were soft, but insistent and it wasn't long before I was losing my mind. For every reason that I shouldn't be with him and I shouldn’t let him touch me, was combated with ten reasons why I should. None of it made any sense, but it didn't have to. It didn't have to make sense at all, and it didn't bother me that it didn't. I wanted to believe it when he said that we were meant to be together and that I was his. I had never had a man feel this way about me, nor treat me this way and I didn't want to go back to the w
ay it used to be. I don’t know if I could.

  The stew was starting to boil over and the sound of it hitting the heating element pulled me out of the spell that he had on me. I pulled back, but his hands didn’t let me get very far.

  I giggled a little and asked him if he was going to take care of it. Daxton was acting like he didn't even hear the sound and he was closer to it then I was.

  “Are you going to take care of that?”

  “As far as I'm concerned, it can all burn. I'm not hungry for that right now.”

  His words brought a shiver over my body because I knew exactly what it was that he was hungry for. it was the same thing that I was in need of, even though I have never had it before. I knew not what I was missing, just that I needed it. It was hard to imagine, but I needed Daxton to show me.

  “Well, I am starving so we're not going to let this burn. Besides, what would Sandra and Meatloaf think if they came back and there was no food because we let it all burn up?”

  “I don't give a damn what they think.”

  Daxton leaned down to give me another kiss and I was unable to stop it. There was a big part of me that wanted to, knowing that I was going down a road that I wasn't going to be able to get off of. The other side of me was sure that it would be worth a ride.

  “You said that you were going to cook for me, remember?”

  He growled at me and I have to say that the low timber of it made me shake a little more inside. It wasn’t from fear, not the sort that was felt because one was afraid of getting hurt, no this was a different sort of fear. I now welcomed and feared the unknown. It was hard to be torn in two directions, but I just needed some time. I needed some space away from him so that I could catch my breath.

  When I tried to move back this time, he let me and I was able to breathe again. I don’t know what it was that he did to me, but I was unable to stop the attraction. I was free to go and I was the one that launched into his arms because I never wanted to let go. My lips were pressed up against his, while I slid my tongue into his mouth. For the moment, I was of the same mindset. Let it all burn.

  Daxton could sense the change in me and it didn't take him long to take advantage of it. He had pulled me away from the stove, moving me across to the other side of the kitchen and hoisting me up on the bar. It was all happening a little too fast, but there was no getting out of it now. I had this need inside of me that have been growing since I had met Daxton and I was ready to find out what it was I had been missing all these years.

  My legs opened up as he moved in between them and it was the first time that I could feel his hardness against my core. It was already throbbing with need and want, but feeling him pressed up against me with something else altogether new. I had never felt this way before, even when I was fooling around with someone else. I had never been pushed so quickly to take it to the next level. But now I could feel was how long it had been and I was sick of waiting.

  His kisses were becoming a little more insistent and demanding. No longer was he taking what I was giving him. Now he was taking more and I could feel his hands moving up my waist and cupping my breast. It wasn’t the first time that I had been touched in such a way, but it was the first time that the tiny brush against my nipples sent an electric charge in between my legs. I could feel myself getting wet and I knew that I needed Daxton inside of me. I didn't want to wait any longer.

  Daxton started to kiss on my neck and he nibbled on my shoulder with his teeth, while his hands played with my nipples I was shaking against him, unable to stop it, and able to do anything but feel what he was doing to me.

  “God, Bree, you feel so good. I need to be inside of you. I know that you’re not ready, but I want to fuck you so badly. It’s killing me.”

  All I could do was agree because it was exactly how I felt about it. I felt like I was going to lose myself if I wasn’t able to feel him right now.

  When his hand went to the heat between my legs though, I jumped with the touch and I was unable to handle it. It was like a rush of emotions were coming over me and I called out, his name on the tip of my tongue as I shifted closer to the edge of the counter. I wanted to feel more.

  He was certainly harder now and when I moved up against him to grind on the knot in his pants, Daxton made a sound that was close to a whimper.

  “I’m trying to slow down for you Bree. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You won’t hurt me, Daxton.”

  He wasn’t so sure of that and he told me that I was going to have to settle down. His face was tight and his hand started to move on my core. I was the one whimpering now, my legs clenching the man’s arm. I didn’t want him to stop and my head fell back. Why had I never felt this before?

  It wasn’t long before every inch of my body was filled with a tightening energy that couldn’t be stopped. I knew that something was coming, but I wasn’t expecting it to feel so extreme. My body was coming apart, just about the time that my mind was doing it as well. I couldn’t stop the waves of pleasure that ran through me and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. It was all just too much. I was going to lose it.

  My grip on his shoulders tightened and his tongue flicked at the sensitive tip in his mouth. He bit down at the exact moment that I was hit with a body tightening orgasm and I knew that he was doing it on purpose. It was like he had perfectly timed it or something. He was playing games with my body and I was unable to stop it. All I could do was cling to him like my life depended on it. At the moment, it really felt like it did.

  Even with everything going on, I knew that I wanted more. I knew that there was more out there and it was never going to be enough until he was inside of me. I don't know why, but I knew that it was going to make us complete. Make me complete. That was something that I had never felt before and with Daxton, I didn't feel like there was something wrong with me.

  I pushed him away and told him to take his clothes off. His smile broadened and he had this silly ass grin on his face.

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Daxton started to pull his shirt off when Sandra and Meatloaf came through the door. I heard a girl from him, but it was a different sort of girl. That one made me a little fearful of the man standing next to me.

  “Get out!”

  I pushed against his chest and told him to stop. I was mortified that he was acting that way and I pushed him far enough away that I had to get off of the counter. I would have given anything to have not let them see me that way. When I looked at my friend, all Sandra could do was smile.

  Chapter 17

  Daxton

  I had known Meatloaf for a very long time, but this was the first time that I was seriously thinking about killing him. He didn't know what he had walked in on, but they both needed to leave right now. I wanted to get Bree back on the counter so that we could finish. I was nowhere near done.

  “Why?”

  “Get the fuck out, now.”

  It took him a minute to realize what was going on, and he started to walk back out the door when Bree stopped him. I looked at her like she had lost her mind. Her face is still flush and a little pink on top of her cheeks from her orgasms. I was rock hard from the sound of it all. I have never been so turned on in my life and I just wasn’t going to be able to.

  “Sorry man. I didn't know.”

  “You don't have to leave, he was just joking.”

  “The fuck I'm joking. Get the hell out, both of you.”

  He gave me a dirty look and I knew that apparently we were done. I was not sure if I was going to be able to pretend like nothing that happened. I had a raging hard-on and I wasn't going to go down until I got inside of her velvet folds.

  Bree started walking into the kitchen. She wasn't nearly as worried about it has Meatloaf was. I could tell that meatloaf knew I was pissed off and he also knew I had a temper. The man was smart to keep his distance because I was not in the mood.

  The two women finished up while Meatloaf and I talked. I needed to get some pe
ople together, everyone that was a loyal and that I knew from before. If we were going to go up against Greg and his crew, that meant that we were going to have to get a crew of our own. I've been gone awhile but my reputation should bring enough in.

  “Sorry about that man. I haven't seen you with a lady in a while. I thought you’d given up.”

  “I thought I had as well.”

  “So, who is this chick to you then?”

  “She would be my mate if your dumb ass wouldn't have come in when you did.”

  He smiled at me with a goofy grin and I still wanted to hit him. He had the worst timing ever and more than anything, I just wanted them to go.

  “After dinner you two need to make yourself scarce.”

  Meatloaf chuckled and said I’d hurt his feelings. I told him that I didn’t give a damn.

  “Say no more. We will be gone before you know it. It’s good to see you back, but you are backed up and really need to relax some.”

  The dinner dragged on and I know that it was because I wanted it to end. Sandra and Bree talked about a lot of things, and every time I thought that they would leave, Bree would pull them back into a conversation. I knew that I couldn't be rude and tell him to get the hell out, it hadn't worked before, but that didn't mean that I didn't want to. Bree was oblivious to it all. It was like she was unaware of the pain that I was in. I didn't know that it could hurt this much, even though she was right there with me.

  “What are you two doing tonight?”

  Meatloaf caught my eye and I could tell that he knew what I was talking about. This conversation was over and I was trying to hurry it along as quickly as possible. It was getting late and I was getting restless.

  “Right, we need to go check out who we can find. I'm hoping that we can get a rally together by morning. I should really get started on that before it's too late. Sandra, you need to come too. This is going to take all of us to get it done.”