Savage Heart

by Sara Fawkes

  “What kind of bike is it?” I asked, trying to make conversation to cover my nerves. It really was a gorgeous, the white paint on the long tank sparkling in the sun. In contrast, the engine was blacked out, and there wasn’t any chrome showing on the bike. It had high bars that curved sharply off to the sides. The whole look was gorgeous and mean, and seemed to fit the rider well.

  “Harley V-Rod. Modified everything myself.” Ash swung his leg over the bike then started the engine. The pipes roared, making it difficult to hear myself think, let alone have any more conversation. Grasping his leather-clad shoulders, I tentatively swung my leg over the back of the bike and sat down behind him, lifting my feet up onto the pegs.

  I’d barely gotten my arms around him when the engine growled louder and we took off out of the parking spot. My hands grabbed at his jacket as we quickly traversed the long driveway leading to the complex entrance, then we were on the open road. I buried my face in his back, hanging on for dear life as we thundered down the road. The tiny sliver of seat beneath my backside felt woefully inadequate to support me; I could just see myself flying off the back end.

  My anxiety only grew as we got onto the highway. I had no idea just how far we’d be going, but as the minutes ticked by and nothing happened, I lifted my head to look around. While the bike buzzed beneath me, the ride itself was smooth, Ash’s body blocking most of the wind from me. He weaved lazily through the weekend Sacramento traffic, heading east on the highway. When we got into Rancho Cordova, he pulled off on the old Mather Field exit and turned in toward the former military base.

  Not knowing our destination, I took a few moments to enjoy the situation. This was my first time on a motorcycle, and while I’d been a bit freaked out at first, now I was starting to understand the appeal. The Harley meandered around the curvy streets here, moving deeper into the old Air Force base.

  The building was tucked into the rear of the base, an old industrial building out on its own near the airstrip. Motorcycles lined the entrance, and even over the pipes, I could hear the sound of loud music. Although there were no distinguishing features on the exterior, I knew where we were. That the club’s meeting hall was on a former military base didn’t surprise me, given how I’d been told members had to be former military to join.

  Ash stopped the bike and let me get off first. My dismount was unsteady but at least I didn’t fall flat on my ass like I’d feared. He then backed into a spot beside the other Harleys and swung his leg over the bike. I pulled the helmet off my head as he stalked past me toward the entrance, and after a moment’s nervous pause, I followed him.

  There were several people outside the door, smoking and talking. All the men had on similar vests with the same logo on the back, and they all greeted Ash with hugs and slaps on the back. A few eyes turned my way, assessing me with no small amount of interest, and I hung back, wondering if this was a good idea. It felt like I was jumping into the deep end of the pool with large weights tied to my feet. I didn’t know how I was expected to act, or what awaited me inside.

  A small figure clad only in a revealing black leather top and cutoffs that showed more than they hid flew out the door and launched herself at Ash. I watched, stunned, as she threw her arms around the large biker and kissed him wildly. He didn’t seem to mind in the slightest, gripping her ass as she wrapped her legs around his hips.

  The wild urge to stalk over there and put the beat down on the bitch groping my man reared up inside me. The murderous rage was wholly new to me, but all I wanted to do was tear out that bleached blonde hair by the roots. Something must have shown in my face because one of the men beside him whistled. “Looks like there’ll be a cat fight tonight!”

  I flushed as the other men laughed. Ash meanwhile had broken off the kiss, but the girl wouldn’t stop kissing every inch of skin she could find. “I missed you, baby,” she murmured against his neck. “Wanna head upstairs for the real party?”

  She tried to kiss him again but his hand tangled in her hair, pulling her away from him. Carefully, he unpeeled her from his body and set her onto the ground, holding her at arm’s length. “Sunny,” he said, his tone steely, “where’s Cid?”

  Ah, so this was the mysterious Sunny. I hadn’t seen her at the bar, but it had been packed from the recent motorcycle run. Despite the fact that he’d definitely kissed her back, something in Ash’s face suggested he wasn’t pleased to see the girl.

  At his question, Sunny’s face fell into a pout. “He’s so disgusting,” she whined, running her long nails down the front of Ash’s vest. “You’re who I wanna fuck tonight, baby.”

  Sunny was an absolute stunner, but her crude language and wanton behavior made me feel dirty on her behalf. The other men were grinning, obviously amused by the conversation, but there was no smile on Ash’s face. The hand in her hair twisted again, and this time she gave a small pained cry. “I told you to go take care of Cid,” he said in a low voice that still carried to me. “So why the fuck are you trying to weasel your way inside my pants now?”

  It didn’t occur to me until that moment who they were talking about. I remembered Ash telling Rancid to find Sunny, and his later statement to me about how she “knew the game”. I still wasn’t quite getting it myself, however—was he telling her she had to have sex with Rancid? Was he the mysterious Cid?

  The thought alone made me shudder, and I didn’t seem alone in my response. Sunny looked like she’d bitten into a lemon. “Baby, please,” she pleaded, but when Ash dodged her hand, staring down at her implacably, she gave a dramatic sigh. “Fine, I’ll go see what he’s up to.”

  Ash released his hold on her and she teetered on her heels. Sunny looked drunk already, but there was a twitchiness about her that suggested something else in addition to any alcohol. Her eyes flickered to me, and I saw raw jealousy boiling. “Who’s that fucking bitch?” she asked, her voice ugly.

  My lips thinned into a line and I took a step forward, intending to show her just what kind of bitch I could be. Ash however snapped his fingers and pointed to another man next to him. “Take her in to see Cid.”

  The Nomad nodded and grabbed up Sunny’s arm, dragging her inside. Her expression was resigned, but I still got one last glare before she disappeared through the door. One by one, the other men stomped out their cigarettes and followed her inside, obviously wanting to see the show. Ash held his hand out to me, but I shook my head. “Can we, uh, talk about what just happened?”

  “What’s there to talk about?”

  “Is she your, ah…” I wasn’t even sure where to start with my questions.

  “She’s club property, yes.”

  I stared at him, stunned. “Property?” I repeated back to him, unable to formulate a proper response.

  Ash shrugged. “It’s her choice. She works at the strip club but stays here, keeping things clean and tidy. In return she services club members.”

  He couldn’t mean what I thought he meant; that was just beyond the pale in today’s society. It was… It sounded just like…

  Just like life inside an outlaw biker gang?

  Hell. What kind of world was I getting myself into?

  “You going to stand out here in the cold all night?”

  “Probably.”

  My response burst out of my lips before I had time to think about it. I wrapped my arms around my body, suddenly chilled. Watching Sunny get ordered to have sex with Rancid, then her being dragged inside to do the deed, freaked me the hell out. I was alone out here with no transportation of my own, surrounded by men I didn’t know and a man who freely admitted to seeing women in his clubhouse as “property.” Every horror story I’d ever read sprang immediately to mind, and I knew that if anything went wrong I was on my own.

  Ash moved toward me and I fell back a step away from him. He paused for a split second, then approached me again. This time I didn’t move, but I was trembling when he touched my shoulder. “Hey,” he said softly, and when I didn’t look up at his face he reached ou
t with a gloved hand and lifted my chin. His blue eyes shone in the hard light coming from inside the bar, but his touch on my face was soft. “Nothing will happen to you tonight, you’ve got my word. Anyone who tries to get to you has to go through me first, you got it?”

  I didn’t know this man from Adam, wasn’t at all sure I could trust him, yet his words still managed to calm me. Swallowing, I looked at the clubhouse entrance, then up at Ash’s face. It was hard to see his expression in the low light, but the thumb stroking my cheek was gentle and it helped soothe away some of the fear. I took a shaky breath, then nodded, twining my arm through his as he led me inside the metal structure.

  Chapter Five

  I wasn’t sure what I was expecting inside that clubhouse, but after my mini-meltdown outside, I was seriously underwhelmed.

  The main room of the place looked like nearly every club I’d ever been inside, complete with a dance floor, pool table, and bar. There were about thirty people inside, maybe more, and to my intense relief it wasn’t all just men. Women dotted the landscape, usually alongside their men or at the bar, drinking and laughing and enjoying themselves.

  Right then, there was something going on by the pool table. Cheering and catcalls rang out through the open area, and as we drew closer I recognized both Rancid and Sunny. The older biker’s face was an amusing mixture of drunken astonishment and glee as a topless Sunny gyrated above him. I remembered Ash telling me she worked in a strip club, and she certainly had the moves for it. The lap dance she gave her partner was well-practiced, languid and sensual, and even I appreciated her skills. Whatever reluctance she may have had before was gone now. Whether it was the dancing or gaining so much attention, she was now clearly having fun.

  Several of the men nearby began chanting “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” in an obvious attempt to steer the action. Sunny swung herself back, standing to her feet, then grabbed the other man’s hands and pulled him to his feet. He stood willing enough, and eagerly followed her up a set of nearby stairs to the cheers of the crowd.

  “There’s living quarters upstairs,” Ash supplied.

  “She’s really going to have sex with him up there? With everyone down here listening?”

  He smirked at me. “Well, if you really want, I could ask her to come back down and do it here.” The expression on my face made him laugh, and he steered me toward the bar. “What do you drink?”

  “Shots.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “No beer?”

  I shook my head. “Never liked the taste. It’s the hard stuff or mixed drinks.”

  A slow smile spread across his mouth. “My kind of girl.”

  The lady bartender seemed to read Ash’s mind, and magically three glasses with pale liquid inside appeared on the bar in front of me. I didn’t know what they were but I didn’t ask, just grabbed the first glass and slammed it back. The liquor burned down my throat and I blew out a breath, trying to cool my tongue, then grabbed the second glass and did the same thing. The skin of my shoulders was already warming, a sure sign that the alcohol was doing its job. I picked up the third shot and held it out to Ash. “Cheers.”

  He clinked my glass with his drink, approval written all over his face. That made me bolder and I quickly lifted the third glass to my lips. This one didn’t go down nearly as smooth; I coughed, sending some of the liquid into my sinuses and making my head burn. Right then I would have killed for a glass of water, but all I got was Ash squeezing my thigh. “Another round?”

  My response was another cough. I shook my head, and accepted his arm as he led me to a nearby couch. Two other men were already sitting there, but as we drew closer both of them stood up and walked away. I noticed that, while both men had on similar leather jackets, neither of them had the Savage’s logo stitched onto the back. “Are they in your club?” I asked, stumbling a bit on the wood floor.

  Ash grabbed my hand, yanking me forward toward him. Buzzing already from the shots, I couldn’t control myself but his hands gripped my hips, directing my descent. I blinked owlishly down at him as he set me straddling his lap, hands firmly gripping my backside. A fresh bit of warmth that had nothing to do with the liquor flowed through me, and I smiled down at him. “Hello, sexy.”

  From nearby, a woman squealed with laughter, but I didn’t look away from Ash. His hands tightened on my ass, drawing me closer, his eyes challenging me as if asking What are you gonna do now?

  I wiggled my hips, settling down over him, and slowly felt the bulge beneath me grow. Alcohol raced like raw fire through my veins, and I settled my arms around his neck. When his eyes fell to my chest, my nipples tightened in anticipation. I leaned forward, not taking my eyes off his face, bringing my breasts closer to his face as if daring him to touch. One of his hands left my butt and moved to the small of my back, pulling me flush against his body. He nuzzled my breasts, running his rough cheek over the exposed skin of my chest, and my belly tightened in anticipation.

  The front door slammed open, and several burly men strode inside the clubhouse. Astride Ash’s lap, I saw them first, as well as the sudden hush that went over the crowd inside the room. Four bikers total, all with dark bushy beards and grizzled faces, and while I didn’t recognize them I could tell they were important.

  The last man to enter was much cleaner cut, with a horseshoe mustache with white streaks down the sides. He shut the door with a clang that drew everybody’s attention. Ash tensed, then gripped my hips and set me beside him on the couch before standing up.

  “Family meeting,” the older biker said, his eyes falling briefly on Ash. “Now.”

  I watched as Ash and the rest of the men followed after the new group to another room in the back. A handful of men remained in the room only moments later, but none of these wore the patches on their jackets. Disappointment laced through me; Ash hadn’t even looked back to make sure I was okay, just disappearing inside the room.

  Miffed, I stood up and moved over by the bar. The older lady who’d served us was rinsing out glasses, and when she saw me she grinned. “You look like you could use a water,” she said, setting a water bottle on the counter.

  “Thanks.” I sat on an empty stool and took the bottle, gesturing with it toward the room where the men had disappeared. “They do this often, just hide away for some powwow?”

  “Sometimes.” She studied me for a moment as I sipped the cold water. “You’re new to this whole lifestyle, aren’t you?”

  “That easy to tell?”

  She shrugged, then held out a hand. “I’m Maggie.”

  “Eve. So, do you work here?”

  Maggie’s brows furrowed. “Define work.”

  I hadn’t meant to insult her, although that’s what it appeared I’d done. The alcohol made logical thinking more difficult than normal. “I didn’t mean to offend you,” I said, and gestured at the bar. “I meant, do you bartend? Is this like a club?”

  At my words, she chuckled and relaxed. “Not quite. Frankly, if I left these boys to their own devices, they’d drink all the alcohol and bitch when it ran out. I just keep order back here.”

  “Are you a member then?”

  She gave me an incredulous look. “Wow, you are new.”

  There was another squeal beside me as a girl wearing only a bikini top was tossed atop the wood bar. Two men, grinning over her, reached over the bar and grabbed an open bottle of liquor. They dribbled the pale liquid over her exposed belly, then one man lowered his head and licked it from her skin. The girl giggled, her laughter growing louder as the other man did the same, his thick beard apparently tickling her.

  “They allowed to do that?” I asked Maggie, who shrugged.

  “It’s their liquor.”

  Another man slid into the seat beside me, blocking my view of the other girl. “What’s a pretty thing like you doing all alone?” he murmured, giving me a smile that showed off several gold teeth.

  I tensed, leaning away. The newcomer was around Ash’s age, relatively clean cut and handsome, but he mad
e me nervous. Without Ash beside me, I felt uncomfortable in the clubhouse, surrounded by all these strangers. The number of girls here now outnumbered the men and several were taking full advantage, some with two or three women in their arms. There was a lecherous look in the eyes of the man beside me, and it made me sick to my stomach.

  “Careful there, Chubs. She came in with Ash.”

  “I don’t see no property patch on her back,” he said, laying a hand on my leg. I froze, not knowing what to do. He seemed to take that as permission because his hand moved up my thigh, and everything inside me cringed away from him.

  Maggie must have seen the growing panic on my face because she touched my arm. I jumped, swiveling around and dislodging the other biker’s hand from my leg. “C’mon honey,” she said, ignoring the biker Chubs, “why don’t you help me back here for a bit?”

  “Maggie, what the fuck,” the biker said as I scuttled off the seat and moved behind the bar, grateful for the help. “Trying to cockblock a brother?”

  “When Ash gets out of the meeting, you can ask for his permission. Until then, this one’s helping me.”

  Chubs grumbled and glared briefly at me before stalking away. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw him grab another girl off one of the couches and pull her into his lap. She seemed okay with the attention however, immediately drawing him into a drunken kiss.

  I stared at the site for a moment, then looked down at the floor. “Thank you,” I whispered to Maggie, who bumped me with her shoulder.

  “We were all new to this world at some point. Always wished I’d had someone to help me through it in the beginning.”

  Finally relaxing, I helped her clear the beer bottles off the bar and wipe up after the body shots. “So, what’s going on in the meeting?”