Smiles greeted my decision before Audra said, “Great! You won’t be sorry, we all have a really good time.”
“You have to treat yourself once in a while,” Trish said. “You deserve two days a month. It will make all the other crap thrown your way that much more bearable.”
She was right, and two days a month was nothing in the grand scope of things. In my past I’d had friends at work and had gone on a few dates, mostly with Tom, which had usually included Sam. It had just been the two of us for a long time. Sure, I’d made time to get a haircut and the occasional pedicure, but to spend a whole day at a spa pampering myself? I was especially looking forward to that.
“And don’t worry about Sam, Robin has seven-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. He’ll have someone to play with,” Carol spoke up, breaking into my thoughts.
And now I was looking forward to Thursday night.
“Oh! Oh!” All gazes swung to Audra, who was wearing a smile from ear to ear. “The baby is kicking up a storm right now.” She giggled. “He’s looking forward to a girls’ night out, too,” she joked.
“He?” I asked.
Audra nodded. “We found out last week that we’re having a boy. He’ll be my third, we already have a girl and a boy.”
“And this little fella,” Carol began, drawing my attention, “is my second boy.”
I glanced at Trish. I gauged her to be around my age, pixie-like, pretty, even with the tiny scar on her chin. Freckles dusted the bridge of her small nose, and her brown eyes were the same color of her curly locks. “Do you have any children?”
She shook her head, the sad look in her eyes belying the tiny smile on her face. “No, but we’ve been trying.”
“It will happen, honey,” Audra spoke up, reaching over to pat Trish on the arm. “And trying is the fun part.”
Trish’s face lit up at Audra’s attempt to make her feel better. “Yeah, Fox is using the excuse of us trying to have a baby to get into my pants every chance he gets. He’s wearing me out!”
“I’m sure,” Audra said. “We’re married to a bunch of horny, highly sexual, alpha, bad asses.”
Carol scoffed. “Don’t include Craig in that club. There’s nothing alpha about that man.”
“Hey!” Trish said with spirit. “I’m married to a computer nerd, too, and Fox is as alpha as they come. You wouldn’t know it to look at him, but he was a Navy SEAL.”
Laughter floated around the porch, and I found myself enjoying the obvious closeness that existed between the women. I already liked them and was looking forward to getting to know them better. Before they left we’d set up a spa day date, and I’d been invited to a cookout the club was holding for their families on Saturday. Trish explained that most Saturdays were kept for families, unless the men were involved in club business that took them away from the clubhouse. Friday and Saturday nights were heavy party nights, and once a month they held open-house for non-club members.
I wondered briefly why Rock hadn’t mentioned the cookout. He had to have known about it. Maybe he didn’t want us there. As soon as the thought entered my head I pushed it aside. There had to be another reason he hadn’t mentioned it yet. Of course, when he was around he was silent and moody and seemed to keep to himself, except when Sam was there. He at least showed his son some attention. I guessed that was the most important thing, considering he’d uprooted us for that very reason.
I hadn’t been to the clubhouse since my return, but Rock had taken Sam a couple of times. His brothers had been anxious to meet his son. I only hoped that Sam hadn’t been around any of the girls that hung out there. Knowing what they were there for, and how they usually dressed, I couldn’t count on them being discreet. It wasn’t in their nature. At the first sign that Sam was picking up anything inappropriate, Rock and I would have a talk.
Chapter 18
Rock
You could have heard a pin drop. It was a rare occurrence for a room full of rowdy, bad-ass bikers sitting around the meeting table, eyeing each other suspiciously, as if trying to figure out who knew what and why Hawk had called church at the last minute. Usually I was in the know as VP, but when gazes finally fell on me I just shrugged. I had no fucking clue why we were there.
The fact that Hawk had called a meeting toward the end of the day set everyone’s nerves on edge, especially when we’d voted to take Covacks’ contract only a few days ago. The vote had been unanimous, and once Hawk had lowered the gavel ending church, it was set in stone. We never went back once we accepted a contract, so leaving that day we’d all been buried deep in our own thoughts. I’d been a moody bastard since then, especially when I was around Allie. I knew I’d been taking it out on her, but she was half the fucking problem.
We had to prepare for war. That meant sending our old ladies, wives, and children to Canada for an unspecified length of time. It meant getting our houses in order in case things ended badly and some of us didn’t make it back. But before we made our next move we had to hear back from Covacks. We had our own demands. He had to know that there’d be serious casualties and consequences attacking the Russians who were leaning on him, and we wanted our families protected if none of us survived. He didn’t want any of this shit coming back on him, we didn’t want it either, but he had to give us something.
Hawk leaned back in his chair. It was hard to tell from his expression what he was thinking. He wasn’t pissed, I knew that much. In fact, I got the impression that he was relieved. Had he heard back from Covacks’ already?
“Covacks withdrew the contract.”
It was the last fucking thing I’d expected to hear. There was a murmur around the table. Some were angry at losing the money. Some were disappointed because there would be no fight. Others looked as relieved as I felt. I was willing to admit that, but only to myself. My reasons were probably the same fucking reasons that Hawk looked relieved. We’d accepted the contract to stay in good with Covacks since he was our main client and we’d made a ton of money from him over the years. If we’d turned him down we could have-- and probably would have lost everything.
“Why?” Big John’s voice was thick with disappointment. He lived for a good fight. I could understand that, but this wasn’t a fight we would have won in the long run. Without an old lady, without a family, he was only thinking of himself.
Hawk’s brows arched as he looked at Big John with incredulity. “Are you fucking kidding me, brother? We should be drinking and fucking our women with relief.” I was surprised Hawk had voiced the words that I was thinking. “We voted for the right reasons, even knowing it could have ended Phantom Riders. Now, some of you don’t have families so I can understand your disappointment over not going to war, over losing out to five mill, but you can’t spend money if you’re dead. There’ll be other fights.”
“I was counting on that money to pay for my big, fancy funeral,” Painter joked.
More than one of us glared at him. “Not even funny, brother. You’re sick,” Ned scowled. Painter just shrugged it off with a grin.
I turned to Hawk. “Why did Covacks change his mind?”
He released a snort. “Bastard’s decided to get in bed with them instead. When I made it clear what we’d be sacrificing if the Russians found out that we were involved he decided it wasn’t worth it. He relies on our services as much as we rely on his money.”
“He could get another MC to do his shit,” Clay remarked.
Hawk shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t want to start over with another club, who the fuck knows? I personally don’t give a shit why he’s changed his mind. We’re still good with him.”
The news that Covacks’ had withdrawn didn’t really surprise me. After all, Covacks was Russian. It stood to reason that he and the Russian mob would have things in common, plus he’d be keeping his enemies close by working with them instead of against them. “He’s letting them muscle in on his fighting enterprise?”
Hawk shrugged again. “He didn’t go into specifics, only that they’d
reached a compromise that he could live with. I don’t care as long as it leaves us in good standing with Covacks.”
“Well, I’m not afraid to admit it, but I’m glad we’re out.” Everyone looked at Fox and waited for him to explain himself. A slight grin moved across his face. “Trish and I are trying to start a family. My dick won’t reach all the way to Canada.”
“Speaking of Canada,” Hawk began once the snickers died down. “Don’t mention the safe house to anyone, not even your old ladies. I want to keep the location of that place a secret for as long as possible. It might be the one thing to save us if we ever have to use it.” Chin lifts around the room indicated the brothers would honor his order. “That’s it for now. Go home and fuck your women, celebrate.”
Hawk was right, this was cause for celebration. We were off the hook. Sure, we’d lost a lot of money, but our families were safe and we could continue the way we were. Hawk’s suggestion sounded good to me, and I got to my feet to leave. Allie might be in bed by now, but I didn’t give a shit. I was tired of keeping my distance. My balls were blue and about to burst if I didn’t get relief soon. Hawk said to go home and celebrate and I intended to.
“Brother.”
I stopped and looked back at Hawk. His chin lift told me he wanted to talk, so I returned to my chair. We waited until the room was empty and the door closed.
“What’s up?”
“You know about tomorrow night?”
I frowned. “What about it?”
“Girl’s night out.” I just stared at him. “My girl talked your girl into going with them.”
“Fuck.”
Hawk laughed. “Yeah. I thought you’d want to know since you haven’t claimed her yet.”
When a brother claimed a woman the news spread like wildfire. Unless the dude had a death wish he stayed away from our women, kept his hands to himself. If a woman wasn’t claimed then all bets were off. He could do whatever he wanted, as long as she was on board with it.
I’d told Allie that I was going to claim her ass when we were back in Cedar Key. Regardless, the brothers knew that she was mine and wouldn’t touch her, but the bar the women frequented for their fun wasn’t connected to Phantom Riders. Ruby’s Nightclub wasn’t a real nightclub, but more of an upscale bar that kept it clean. No drugs, smoking, or trouble. Truckers and bikers usually stayed away. I tried to think of what kind of trouble Allie could get into with two pregnant women, because I knew Audra’s friend Carol would be there.
“Looks like I’ll be making a stop at Ruby’s tomorrow night.”
“We’ll go together, brother, see what kind of trouble our women get into when we’re not around. Snake, Fox, and Jumper are going, too. It’s been a while since we’ve shown up on one of their girls’ nights.”
Usually a prospect accompanied them for protection, but he stayed in the background. “They’re going to be pissed.”
Hawk laughed. “I hope so. Audra’s a little spitfire when she’s riled. Wears my dick out.”
“Don’t much care hearing about your dick when I’m not getting any,” I groused.
We both snorted, and then a serious look came over Hawk’s face that warned me that he was about to change the subject. He leaned forward. “Remember the Blue Knights?”
I frowned, going back a few years in my memory. The Blue Knights had been an MC that was in over their head with Covacks over the murder of his son. Leads had pointed to them as being the killers. They’d been a weak club, too new and inexperienced to handle real trouble. When Hawk had suggested that they scatter and stop wearing their colors they’d done it without a fight.
I nodded. “A bunch of pretty college boys trying to make a name for their inept club. Why?”
“Got an interesting call from Lynch this morning.” Lynch was the president of Wild Marauders, an MC we were friends with. “Said they had a little trouble from a nomad MC going by the name Blue Knights. They’d ambushed a couple of their protection runs and stolen product.”
I hadn’t heard of a nomad club going by that name, but then, new MCs popped up over night all the time, and for many reasons. They weren’t all hard-core clubs, and not all were one-percenters. Just the next town over there was an MC called the Sentinels, a neighborhood watch club who rode around town after dark. Their goal was to protect their town’s citizens, and my gut told me that they did what they had to to make it remain safe.
“I’ve heard of nomads getting together and forming clubs.” Nomads called no place home and could be hired to do just about anything for a price. “You think it’s the same Blue Knights from a few years back?”
Hawk let out a long breath. “Don’t really give a fuck, as long as they don’t come this way. Lynch was just giving us a heads-up. Somehow the fuckers stay under the radar until they hit, then they come out of nowhere.”
I thought about that. “Maybe they aren’t wearing their colors. That would allow them to stay anonymous until it’s time to strike.”
“Yeah, thought of that,” Hawk admitted, rubbing the bottom half of his jaw. “Not usually the way a nomad works, but then, what’s normal in our world? Fox is digging on the computer to see if they’re the same Blue Knights we dealt with before.”
I had a hard time believing that they were, unless they’d developed balls since then. “What’s your gut telling you, brother?”
“That Dirk was too weak a leader to make this happen.” Dirk had been the president of Blue Knights. Hawk was right, he’d been an inadequate leader, plus he hadn’t known shit about MC life. He’d made a lot of mistakes in the way of poor decision-making, and his lack of backbone had become clear when he’d taken Hawk’s suggestion to break up his MC.
“I agree. It’ll be interesting to see what Fox digs up.”
“Yeah.” Hawk scraped back his chair and got up. I did the same. “Let’s grab a drink before heading home.”
I was on board with that.
Allie would probably be in bed by the time I got home. I tried to stay away during the day, but she seemed to be avoiding me as much as I was avoiding her. I was avoiding her because all I could think about when I was around her was how bad I wanted to fuck her. She liked to dress in tanks and little shorts that outlined her killer curves and usually left me with a boner. The girls at the club wore less, but Allie’s soft, womanly body was more appealing to me than theirs, and she always smelled like fucking lavender.
By the end of the day I was rubbing one off in the shower just to keep my sanity.
One drink turned into two, and then Hawk and I parted ways and I was on my way home. It was just after midnight. The roads were quiet and I was able to open the throttle and let my bike fly. Twenty minutes later I lowered my speed and turned off onto the dirt road that led to my house. I noticed a light on inside the living room as I pulled into the garage, probably the only thing that would greet me when I opened the door.
How wrong I was.
I opened the door and froze, my gaze immediately falling on Allie’s upraised bottom. The refrigerator door was open and she was digging around for something on the bottom shelf. I groaned, taking in the boy shorts that had ridden up, revealing the swell of her perfect ass. My dick went straight into instant fuck mode. All I’d have to do to sink inside her sweet body was lower my zipper, step forward, and shove her shorts aside.
Fuck, she was in the perfect position.
She was screwed.
So was I.
Chapter 19
Allie
Got it! I pulled back and slammed butt first into a hard, unyielding object that hadn’t been there before. Gasping loudly, I straightened up and slammed the refrigerator door closed at the same time that a pair of masculine arms encircled my body. Hot breath fanned my ear in a deep growl, and I almost dropped the jar of pickles in my hands.
“Rock?”
“Who else would it be?” His gruff tone and the way he was nuzzling the back of my neck sent shivers down my traitorous body. “My hands better be the
only hands touching this body.” His teeth sank into the bare spot between my neck and shoulder, leaving a pleasurable tingle in its wake. “I’ve been avoiding you for a reason, but I can only take so much, babe.” His hand took the thin strap of my tank and he pulled it halfway down my arm. His mouth followed as he continued to move over my skin, his warm breath teasing me into wanting more.
I shivered wildly.
He hadn’t touched me in weeks.
“Why were you avoiding me?” I whispered, trying to hold on to my sanity and the jar of pickles at the same time.
“I’ve been trying to give you the time you think you need, trying to keep my hands off you.” I willingly tilted my head, inviting him to graze back up my neck. His hands were gliding up and down my arms, leaving goose bumps, before they settled in my messy hair. “But you can’t expect me to walk into my house to the sight of your sexy ass practically on display and waving in my face.” I trembled with feeling when he buried his fingers into the thickness of my hair and lifted it off my neck and shoulders, placing his lips at the skin he’d exposed.
“Fuck, baby, you smell good.” It didn’t take the hoarseness of Rock’s voice to tell me that he was aroused, I could feel his hard-on pounding against my backside.
“I was looking for pickles,” I said weakly, confused as to why I was still trying to hold on to some kind of control, when deep down I knew that I was already lost. Every day I’d pretended I didn’t need him, going out of my way when he was around just to prove it to him, and myself, while every night I’d gone to bed horny and lonely, thinking about this impossible man, dreaming about him.
Knowing that what he could make me feel would rival heaven.
“Pickles?” I could hear the frown in his tone. He hesitated, and I felt him shift to peer over my shoulder. The next thing I knew he’d reached forward, taken the jar out of my hand, and placed it on the nearest counter.
“I got hungry,” I said unnecessarily. Rock turned me around. I met his blazing eyes, took in the raw emotions of his fierce expression.
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