“Good thinking, brother.” Ryder shot his friend a grateful smile. “Why leave anything to chance, right?”
Darkness cradled his drowsy child to his chest. “I’ve heard enough. Let’s vote this shit.”
Needless to say, the vote was unanimous. Ryder watched his brothers leaving the meeting, each making a fuss over their president’s little one on the way out. Stupid fuckers actually thought she was allowed to have lollipops. There was a little pile on the table after they’d filed out of the room.
Ryder’s father approached him. His face appeared to reflect two warring expressions: pride and concern. “You did a good job of figuring all that shit out and presented it in a way that left no doubt in anyone’s mind about the appropriate course of action, son.”
Ryder’s anxiety clicked up a notch. Nothing with his old man was ever cut and dry. “Thanks, old man. You don’t have to point out how critical the next phase of the job is, ‘cause I already know.”
Ignoring his request, his intrepid father continued giving his wise counsel. “Planning a surgical strike against a rival MC is complex and dangerous business. A misstep could cost your brothers their lives. That’s how we lost our last club president.”
White-hot fury fired to life in Ryder’s gut. “Don’t make your insecurities mine, old man.”
Maintaining his reasonable tone of voice, Ven’s expression took on the barest hint of irritation. “That ain’t my intent, son. I’m trying to impress upon you the importance of formulating a good plan and double checking all your details. This is the kind of job that will ensure you are remembered as a legend or a failure as Sargent at Arms.”
“I don’t give a shit about any of that. I’m just lookin’ to get a brother free of this shit so he can enjoy something nice that’s come his way.”
Slapping him on the shoulder, his old man nodded. “That’s the correct attitude. Get to work, son.”
Stalking past Darkness and his daughter, Ryder gave him a polite nod. Once outside the room, he made his way to the stairs and rushed up the steps two at a time. He wanted to check on his woman. Something about seeing her and stealing a kiss was all it took to tip his crazy world back into proper alignment.
Finding her in the empty, newly renovated living room, Ryder snuck up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. He barely jerked back in time to avoid her flying elbow.
“Stealing a kiss has never been so dangerous, baby girl. What’s up with that?”
Dropping her paintbrush onto the end of the paint pan, she turned around with a smile that stole his ability to think.
“Sorry, I didn’t know it was you.”
Trying not to smile, he asked, “What ya gonna do now that you know?”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him down for a kiss. Lifting her slightly off her feet, Ryder let everything fall away and focused on the moment. As she opened for him to deepen the kiss, Ryder delved into all the delights she offered. Her soft tongue sucked on his, causing his dick to grow. The gentle abrasion of her nails as she sifted her fingers through his hair and lightly scratched his scalp had him feeling like more beast than man.
It didn’t matter to either of them who, if anyone, was watching their romantic interlude. The lust flowing back and forth quickly overwhelmed whatever sense of propriety they normally had.
Pulling back slightly, he cupped her face in one hand. “Thanks for that, sweetness. I needed it.”
Wiggling down out of his arms, Tiffany grabbed his hand and led him away. His tongue slipped out to run across his bottom lip where he could still taste her. Hell, he hoped this was turning into what it looked like because it looked as if he was about to get seriously lucky.
Grabbing a couple of cold beers from the bar, they ended up on the rooftop at the back of the property. It was a secluded spot where they often came to drink a cold one and enjoy the stars or the view of the nearby river. It was the perfect day, and his little firecracker certainly knew what he liked and needed.
They settled down in their special spot. All the vehicles coming and going in the front of the building, the noises from the shop, and even the noises from the renovations were all a dull hum in the background.
Ryder opened their drinks with a twist of his palm. “You have paint in your hair, baby girl,” he observed as he handed hers over.
Grinning, she shoved a hunk of hair framing the side of her face back. “A little paint never hurt anyone. It’ll wash out. I like helping to make their special space a home.”
“Helping? Fuck that,” Ryder declared. “I hear you and Rose have taken over the whole renovation.”
Tapping her bottle to his before taking a drink, she responded shyly, “Sorry about that. We just want everything to be perfect. Darkness has even been participating more. It’s going to be a fantastic place when we get it all finished.”
“Well, most of the furniture has been delivered. We’ve got it stacked in the garage.” Seeing the concern jump onto her face, he added, “Don’t worry, it’s all still in the packaging, safe and sound.”
Changing subjects, she asked pointedly, “Want to talk about what has you so worked up today?”
“Hell the fuck no,” Ryder said forcefully and took a long pull from his bottle. “Trust me, you don’t want that shit rattling around in your brain.”
Tiffany studied him for a moment before casting her gaze back out at the view. “I’m guessing the club decided what to do about this thing with Darkness.”
“I know you were along for part of that ride, but this is where you get off the bus. I can’t be talking to you about what happens next,” he reminded her gently.
Tiffany kept her sights forward. “I hope the club isn’t thinking of killing Abby.”
“Darkness would never agree to kill the mother of his only child,” he assured her. That much information wouldn’t hurt to give, and at least it might help ease her mind a bit.
“I’m glad.” She nodded to herself. “God knows she deserves it, but something about her thinking isn’t right.”
Ryder agreed with her to an extent. “I think she’s a snake in the grass and putting her down was clearly the best of some poor choices. Now she’s just gonna keep trying to get one over on Darkness.” He shook his head, thinking one beer wasn’t going to be enough tonight. “We need to talk about something else. This is just getting me worked up again.”
Tiffany cast him a sideways glance. “Whatever you’ve got planned, just be safe about it. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you, babe. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Damn, didn’t that make a man feel good. “That’s real sweet, Tiff. This is the worst part of the job, but keeping them safe is my job.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Stay home and keep the security system on when you’re not here. I’m going to be scarce for the next couple of weeks. I gotta work out a plan and see it executed safely. I ain’t gonna have much time for us.”
Almost before he stopped talking, she spoke. “Don’t you even think twice about me. I’ll keep myself busy with the renovation and helping out with the baby. You never know, I might even work in a little reading and relaxation.” Perking up, she announced happily, “Your mom invited me to can jam with her. Can you believe that?”
Cutting her an indulgent smile, he tossed his empty bottle down into a huge fire pit below. “Don’t look so damn happy. She used to make me help, and it ain’t no picnic. You’ll spend most of the time washing glass jars and stirring really hot goop.”
Tiffany threw herself onto her back, giggling. “I don’t care if I have to wash a million jars. It’s better than sitting around bored.”
Coming down beside her, Ryder pulled her closer. She really was the most beautiful woman he’d laid eyes on. Moving a strand of paint-streaked hair out of her face, he murmured, “Thanks for holding off on accepting that job until things cool down. You’re a star.”
“I just
want to be with you,” she said softly. “And I’d never want to throw a wrench into what you have going on or make your life more complicated. Besides, I’ve never been in a situation where I could just live one day to the next and enjoy life as it comes. I’ve always been studying hard, working on my nursing degree, studying for the licensing exam, or running from my deranged stalker. It’s good to just take time and be a woman intent on loving her man.”
“You always say the sweetest shit. I suck at saying nice stuff.”
“You get your point across.” She smiled, reaching up to touch his grizzled cheek. “I like the way you show love. You say nice things occasionally, but mostly you do things that let me know how you feel. You also fuck like a sex-starved biker,” she said with a laugh.
Unable to keep the stupid grin off his face, Ryder threw his head back and laughed with her. It was uncanny how easily Tiffany could push away all the unpleasantness of his life, giving him a moment of happiness when he needed it the most.
Leaning in for another kiss, he felt her melt into his touch. It went so well, he tugged the front of her shorts open and slid his hand down to her tender core. “You’re fucking drenched. That wouldn’t all be for me, would it?”
Biting her bottom lip, she nodded.
“Unzip me, doll. I want to feel your hands on me.”
Like the beautiful, eager bitch she was, Tiffany quickly did exactly as he asked. For his part, Ryder couldn’t get her shorts off fast enough. Lifting her leg, he slid his thick cock across her tender flesh, covering himself in her arousal. Dragging his dick all the way down her clit caused her to moan and move against him in a deliciously wanton way that thrilled the hell out of him. Why hadn’t he thought to do that before? Ryder rubbed her harder and longer until she was breathlessly moaning his name and totally lost in a haze of lust.
Capturing her lips, he slid home. Tiffany spread her legs wider and scraped her nails down his back. After that, it was on. Ryder couldn’t get it fast or deep enough to suit him, but hell if he didn’t try.
Tiffany whispered shit in his ear that only a woman would say. It was sweet, loving, and totally unnecessary for him to get off on fucking her. However, he was a greedy bastard, and therefore, wanted it all with her. Feeling her come apart around his dick was the best feeling in the fucking world. Grabbing her shoulders, he held her firmly in place as he emptied his seed deep inside her warm, soft body.
~ Tiffany ~
Shoving bags into the back of the car, Tiffany and Rose joked back and forth like old friends. “So, everyone heard you screaming my brother’s name yesterday. I had to put in ear plugs ‘cause I just can’t hear that kind of shit.”
Teasing the teen, Tiffany asked, “It bothers you because Ryder is your brother, right?”
“Of course. I honestly never thought for a minute he’d ever find a real girlfriend.”
“I’m a woman, not a girl,” Tiffany corrected.
Slamming the trunk closed, Rose stared at her for a brief moment. “Did you just say that because Ryder always points out he’s a man when someone calls him your boyfriend?”
Shrugging, Tiffany bit her bottom lip. “I just thought it would be kind of like an honorarium of some sort.”
“You’re real funny in your own strange way. Now, come on. I’m dying to learn how to make homemade pizza.”
Climbing into the back of the SUV, Ace and Cork both swiveled their heads around at the same time to look at them. The women smothered a smile and quickly buckled their seat belts.
Rose asked nonchalantly, “You two are dropping us off, right?”
Cork answered immediately. “Negative. We are to stay with the two of you until Ryder comes home.”
Folding her arms over her chest, Rose pouted. “Why?”
“He believes that two of the three most important females in his life being alone together overnight presents a high-value target for our enemies.”
Tapping Cork on the shoulder, Rose asked innocently, “Are you a terminator, ‘cause you sure sound like one.”
Tiffany turned her face toward the window and smothered her laughter behind her hand.
“A what?” Cork asked, genuinely confused.
“You know, a robot sent from the future to protect us.”
He clucked indignantly and turned away. “I refuse to dignify that question with a response.”
“I’m just saying,” Rose continued, “if you are a terminator, you’re seriously malfunctioning.”
Ace cleared his throat, changing the subject. “So, what did you say you ladies are making for dinner tonight?”
Rose shifted her suspicious gaze from Cork to Ace. “Tiffany’s going to teach me how to make homemade pizza. Why? Wanna join us?”
“Negative. We are not to fraternize with the…split tails.”
Rose’s face morphed into a pure, blind fury, and she went completely off on the seriously stupid man. “That’s it. These two are going to hold you down, and I’m going to cram pizza in your mouth. We’re gonna keep cramming you full of pizza till you apologize for calling us that.”
Without much of a reaction, Cork intoned, “I do not eat pizza. It’s a disgustingly cheap pseudo-food intended to pacify the masses.”
“Someone hold me back, ‘cause I am going to kill that pompous son of a…”
“Rose Staunton, get ahold of yourself.” Tiffany’s stern voice snapped the teen back to reality.
Gesturing wildly at the man, Rose stared at Tiffany with big eyes.
Tiffany scrambled to decide what to do with the two of them. “Cork, you monitor the perimeter outside the house tonight. Ace, you’re inside with us.”
Cork responded smugly, “Thank you, Tiffany. My prior military training makes perimeter patrol a particularly good assignment for me. I’m not the type to lie about inside like a big, lazy house cat.”
Rose’s indignant huff sounded much louder in the small confines of the vehicle.
Tiffany shot the man a dark look. “You’re intent on getting your eyes scratched out before the…assignment is over, aren’t you?”
Tossing her a heated look, Cork responded curtly, “I never allow myself to be attacked by children.”
Tiffany was beginning to wonder if his words were designed to be an insult to Rose or some kind of come-on for the woman wearing his club brother’s property cut. Ace must have thought the same thing, because the moment Cork stepped out of the vehicle at her place, Ace nailed him a hard right across the face.
Cork came back up and raised his fist, and Tiffany quickly spoke up. “Do not touch him. He’s a fully-patched brother. It would get you thrown out, and Ace has not been medically cleared by his doctor for roughhousing.”
Cork’s hands immediately dropped to his sides, and his expression cleared. “Take him and Rose inside. I’ll bring your groceries.”
Crisis averted, for the time being, Tiffany breathed deep. Turning, she hurried up the sidewalk to their front door. Taking out her keys, she was grateful that Ryder had installed security lighting on their front porch. It made it so much easier to get her key into the double locks.
Out of habit, she looked down and noticed what appeared to be muddy footprints on her doormat, and if she wasn’t mistaken, they were the right size for a man’s boots. They were all over the place like the dude had run back and forth. What the hell…?
Glancing around, she spotted a small package sitting on the stoop. Picking it up, she pushed the front door open and put the security code into the keypad to rearm the alarm. Between the dead birds and the muddy porch, coming home was getting to be a fairly depressing affair.
Tossing the package onto the table without bothering to check who it was from or who it was intended for, she went to put on some tea. Moving around, she noticed Cork drop her bags on the table before going back outside. There was something to Rose’s declaration that he had acted like a robot. His face was always expressionless, and he walked with the kind of slight, rigid movement normally associated wi
th robots. Maybe he had sustained an injury in the military or something...
Rose stared the man down as he left. Shrugging out of her coat, she complained bitterly, “That man’s always an ass to me for no reason. He’s the only prospect with no people skills. When he gets patched, I hope they sew it right to his skin.”
Damn, when the girl got pissed, she got pissed. Tiffany could almost laugh if it weren’t so true.
Ace tried diplomatically to smooth things over. “He’s probably just going through something right now. Best steer clear of him, kid. I’d hate to have to nail him twice in one night.”
Catching the jacket Tiffany tossed her, Rose hung them on hooks near the back door. “I’d really like to forget the man even exists. So, Ace, are you making pizza with us?”
Freezing with a deer in the headlights look, he stammered, “M-maybe, I’ll just watch.”
Tiffany shook her head. “Nope, we’re making our own, so if you want to eat, you’ll have to make it.”
“I ain’t never been invited to dinner before and had to make my own food.”
Rose laughed merrily. “There’s a first time for everything.”
Heading into the kitchen, Tiffany opened the fridge and glanced back over her shoulder from the freezer. “I’m throwing some steak on for Cork. Do you want one for a topping?”
Ace’s face lit up. “Steak pizza sounds like biker food to me. I’ve never understood why steak isn’t a pizza topping.”
Pulling out a small tray of steaks from the freezer, Tiffany defrosted them in the microwave while she mixed up the ingredients for pizza crust. Letting the dough rise, she got Rose to help chop vegetables for the pizza and a salad.
“Why don’t you take Cork some hot tea?” she suggested, feeling a bit sorry for the guy. “There’s a thermos in the cabinet.”
Ace let out an exasperated breath. “Sure, I can do that. Wish I knew what was stuck in that man’s craw tonight.”
Getting the steak ready, Tiffany put it in a plastic container along with some salad and sent Ace to feed Cork. She quickly cut another of the steaks into thin strips and organized the pizza toppings. After washing their hands, Tiffany showed Rose and Ace how to roll out the dough. After adding sauce, toppings, and different cheeses, they all compared pizzas.
Fighting Dirty (Blind Jacks MC Book 2) Page 12
