by C. M. Marin
Looking up, he says through a strained voice, “Just this one. I chose it because wolves are loyal animals. They’re all about family.”
“Just like you’re loyal to your friends,” I understand. “Because they’re your family.”
“Right,” he asserts. “Stay for lunch?” he asks.
Taken aback by him switching the subject out of the blue, I mumble a nonsensical sound, waiting for my brain to process his question.
“If that means yes, let’s join the guys and have a drink before I drop you on that counter and eat you out again.”
Thankfully, I can keep in the whimper that dies to follow the shudder I fail to hide from him considering the smirk growing on his lips.
“You don’t work today?” I ask, suddenly remembering it’s Monday.
“Shops are closed on Sundays and Mondays because most people bring their cars in on Saturdays.”
Without any more comment, he grabs my hand and tries to lead me away, but my heels stay locked in place. “I’ll give a hand to Melvin here first.”
Of course, his lips thin. “That’s his job, baby.”
“I hope he’s paid well to do it,” I mutter. “But I’m not sure I like the way this poor boy seems to be afraid of you,” I frown.
And the last reaction I expected in return is the one I get. A full laugh coming from deep inside his chest.
“You’re laughing? Seriously?”
He nods through his disproportionate reaction, and I have to wait until he can get some words out.
“Want me to tell you how Melvin became a prospect for us?”
Surprised just as well by that question, I think about it briefly. “Not sure, to be honest.”
I don’t know whether his chuckling is a residue of his laughter or an answer to my own answer, but whatever it is, he obviously didn’t take my hesitation seriously, because he dives straight into his story anyway.
“Eight months ago, one of the member’s teenage girl was molested by three Spiders’ kids. And when I say kids, I mean they were very close to eighteen years old and had already spent a fair amount of time in a gym. And when I say molested, I mean they were well on their way to rape her when Melvin passed by and heard her scream.”
He relates his story with such a bluntness, it has me hissing in a breath.
“He was barely eighteen himself,” he goes on. “But he sent all three fuckers to the hospital for a few days. Chloe called Brent, her dad, and Melvin stayed with her until we got there. We offered him money for what he did, and he refused it saying he didn’t help her for that. I could say it was sincere, but at the way he glanced at the cash for a second, I knew he needed it badly. We spoke with him a little, and we didn’t need more to understand that what he needed most was some help to find a path in his life. The kid was so lost, he reminded me of myself twelve years ago, though I was even younger than eighteen then.” He snorts out a sad laugh. “What happened to him is his story to tell, and I know he didn’t tell us everything either, but that day, we offered him a job as a trainee mechanic at our closest shop and as a prospect for the club. He accepted a few days later, and here he is. And according to Cody, who handles the teaching part at the shop, he’s damn good with bikes and cars. In about four months, we’ll patch him in if he still wants it. And believe me, the kid isn’t afraid of us. He knows he doesn’t need to be as long as he’s loyal.”
I nod thoughtfully. “He’s not afraid of you, I believe you. That still doesn’t mean I can’t help him. I’m still a guest, it’s the least I can do.”
Frustration seems to sweep over him, but neither of us can delve further into what was likely about to become an argument because of a booming groan coming from the main room. Startled by the unexpected sound, I jump slightly. I guess hearing Nate and his friends talk about psychopaths riding bikes left me a little skittish.
“A high gate encircles the place. No one can get in, babe. No one ever did. We have cameras all around, so relax. That must be one of the guys.”
As if corroborating Nate’s comforting explanation, someone storms into the kitchen a couple of seconds later. The door―that I’m pretty sure was kicked open―slams into the wall before closing back up without the guy’s help. I’m not sure how the thing didn’t break under the force he put in his gesture.
Thanks to Nate leaning against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest in a relaxed stance, I’m back to feel at ease quickly even though the tall, dark-haired guy who blows an exasperated breath before opening the fridge looks a little scary with that deep scowl between his eyes.
“And that’s Brent,” Nate tells me, though his eyes are on his friend who grabs a beer and closes the fridge.
“Shit!” The guy whirls around to face us. “Fuck, didn’t see you. Hey,” he nods at me, and I wave a hand at him.
“That’s Camryn,” Nate introduces me. “What has you all flustered?” he adds, his expression twisting into a smirk.
“Fucking math,” he snarls. “Hate it. Is it even useful? Someone needs to explain to me why they invented calculators if the kids can’t fucking use them.”
“That way they can use logic and reasoning instead of just pushing some buttons and not understanding the formula they learned,” I answer.
“I think that was a rhetorical question, babe,” Nate informs me, grinning broadly. “She’s a teacher,” he tells Brent, who is staring at me like I should be siding with him and not with the insensitive monsters who dare forbid the use of the calculator.
Then his gaze flicks from me to Nate. “She’s a teacher? I thought she was―”
“She’s not,” he cuts him off, seeming to fight a growl. “She’s with me,” he tells him with the same intonation he used earlier when he introduced me to his other friends.
Still don’t know what that means exactly.
“And she’s a teacher? Didn’t know you knew teachers.” He smirks at him as though that’s an almost unrealistic possibility.
In their life, I suppose it’s not common to hang out with people who are as banal as I am.
“Surprising as it is, dickhead,” he mutters. “Anyway, who are you trying to help? Jonas or Chloe?”
“Jo. We crashed here last night. Fiona’s spending the weekend with Chloe at some spa somewhere in Colorado. Jesus, after twenty minutes trying to understand that damn wording, I’m the one who should be relaxing in a hot jacuzzi. God, he’s only twelve. How can his homework be so hard already?”
“You want me to help out with that? I’m teaching fourth grade, but I think I can manage.”
Hope dances in his eyes as they widen on me like I just offered him a billion dollars out of mere generosity. “You would? That’d be awesome.”
“Sure,” I say, smiling before looking back up at Nate. “Happy? I won’t be able to help Melvin with lunch now.”
Parroting what Nate said a moment ago, it’s Brent who voices a response. “Why would you help him? He’s the prospect, that’s his job.”
And I shouldn’t have glanced back to Nate’s triumphant air glowing on his face.
I give up. “Okay, let’s just go do some mathematics.”
“I’m excited,” Nate deadpans.
“Not going near that book again,” Brent swears.
The three of us have barely left the kitchen when Brent slams his freshly opened beer onto the bar on our right. Then his commanding growl hits the walls.
“Son, you turn around and glue this ass to that chair so you don’t end up not graduating from high school like me.”
The lean blond boy throws his head back as a groan leaves his throat to rise into the air, but he obeys his dad on the spot nonetheless.
But he also snorts and gives his dad his sassy opinion. “You only want me to finish my homework so Mom doesn’t give you hell when she’s back.”
If I politely stifle a laugh as I make my way to the table on which a pile of books and a few pens are scattered, none of the guys across the room bother with man
ners. They burst out laughing, openly agreeing with Jonas.
Brent flips them all the bird but admits simultaneously, “You might be right, but you don’t want that either, young boy.”
“Hey, I’m Camryn,” I tell Jonas as I sit across from him. “Want some help with that?”
“Depends… Are you going to do it for me?”
I smile while a few snickers rise around us, along with what must be Brent desperate groan. “Nice try.”
Brooding at first, Jonas then shifts his book to show me what he didn’t understand.
We get to work while Nate joins his friends, all hanging out as they enjoy their day off like any family. I often feel Nate’s attention settling on me, so piercing that I can’t help wondering what his thoughts hold, and the memory of his hands on me almost has me squirming on that chair. My wild reaction to his touch was definitely not anticipated, but I can only admit that I loved it.
Chapter 8
Nate
My patience turns thinner by the damn second, just as my anguish turns thicker. I’ve been sitting at our table for fifteen minutes, bristling in my booth for the most part, and Camryn still hasn’t arrived. She should be here by now. We were supposed to meet at nine, and it’s now close to ten past nine.
I shouldn’t have driven away from her street before she was out of her house and inside her car, safely on her way to Dona’s. But I didn’t want her to notice me. She wouldn’t have understood why I spent the whole night out there, on the sidewalk across the street from her house, my eyes barely leaving it. Hell, I have a hard time comprehending it myself. From the moment she left the clubhouse, insisting I didn’t have to follow her home to be sure she got there safely, there was this fear eating away at me knowing she’d be alone in that house anyone could get inside with minimal effort.
Now, the only thing keeping me from going haywire is that there’re still no Spiders in sight outside the diner. But it barely calms me down, and soon there’s no patience left in me at all. Trying to tame the shitstorm of bad feelings building inside me with a supposedly calming breath, I snatch my phone from the table, ready to say fuck it to granting some space to this girl I’ve met a mere week ago and call her. If she thinks I’m some sort of demented stalker, then so be it. And let’s face it, after how I basically claimed her in front of my brothers yesterday, I think I can’t dig myself in deeper in terms of craziness.
“Look at me. Still in one piece.”
My head snaps up just as my phone reaches my ear.
Smiling proudly, Camryn drops in the booth in front of me, and the first thing crossing my mind is that I wish she had chosen to sit beside me. My nerves have significantly calmed down at her presence only, but the contact would help get my temper in check even quicker. My body seems to need the contact with hers to prove the fact she’s finally right here.
“I was about to call you,” I confess, setting my phone back on the table.
Her smile falls as concern replaces it on her features. “You really were worried about that club. I hope it’s not why you look so tired.”
There’s still no way I can tell her about my sleepless night stalking her neighborhood, though I do feel like shit.
With a grin, I lean on the table instead. “What if I spent the night taking matters in my own hand with the sexy image of your pussy clenching around my fingers and your clit throbbing on my tongue?”
Loosening up for the first time since last evening, a resounding laugh pours out of my mouth catching her outraged face as her eyes wander all around us.
“Are you insane?” she whisper-yells. “I don’t think you realize how deep your voice is. They will all think I’m some slut or something!”
“No one heard anything, baby,” I reassure her. “And nobody thinks you, sweet girl all flustered because I brought up how I fingered her, are anything but a respectable teacher. And if they do think otherwise, they better not voice it unless they want their tongue cut out.”
She points a threatening finger at me as she pins me with a chastising look. “First, you’re not cutting any tongues on my watch. Second, sorry, but again, I’m not all flustered,” she rightfully corrects my statement. “Anyway,” she bats a hand between us, dismissing my threat to imaginary suicidal people. “I’m sorry I’m late. Colleen called me when I was about to leave, and I’m one of those people who boringly don’t use their phone while driving and respect the speed limit. Respectable teacher, remember?”
Even her teasing turns me on. I wonder if she realizes it. I also wonder if it’s healthy.
But even the beautiful sight of her and my dick apparently already used to being in a constant semi-arousal state don’t keep my mind away from the threat Camryn clearly still doesn’t take seriously. So, despite having gained back my ability to grin, my gaze swerves mechanically to check out the street.
Still empty.
My attention veers back to Cam just as she sighs, her eyes spilling out compassion. “I don’t want you to think I’m ungrateful, because I really appreciate your concern. But Nate…” she pauses, squinting out the window like I’ve done it countless time in the twenty minutes I’ve been sitting here. “You have to see there’s no one following me. There is just no reason for it.”
It’s going to be a pain in my damn ass getting her to open her eyes on how some people can be twisted in this world. The Spiders are part of them. They’re ruthless and don’t care who they hurt to get what they want. Collateral damage is something they’re just fine with. My brothers and I aren’t boy scouts by any means, but doing harm to women or children isn’t something we find tolerable. People would find that barely believable, but we have fucking souls. The Spiders just don’t. But it’s not like I can outright blurt out to Camryn that she’s lived a naïve life since she was born. She’s been raised to see the good in people when life taught me to focus on the dark side of them. The only person I only see the good in is her, but that’s only because there’s nothing dark to see.
Maybe the solution is to stop insisting on making her agree with my concerns and just keep a close eye on her. But whether she’s right or wrong, I sure won’t slacken my watch on her until I’m sure the Spiders’ presence was nothing else than a coincidence. I’ll just try to keep some of my focus on her as well.
“Noted, ma’am,” I let the subject go. “Now, what about we take some pancakes to go? I want us to go somewhere.”
“I’ll follow you anywhere if you never call me ma’am again,” she quips.
“Promise,” I grin. “Hey, Dona, I’ll have some pancakes today, and we’ll take our breakfast to go, that’s alright?” I call out.
“Ready in a sec, honey,” she calls back from behind the counter, where she’s busy getting some coffee or whatever else done.
“Where are we going?” Cam asks. “Oh, but I’m wearing a dress today,” she suddenly remembers.
“If anyone looks at your ass, I can also tear some eyes out of their socket,” I say, and she rolls her own eyes. “As for where we’re going, it’s a surprise. Do you trust me?”
“Well, let’s summarize… I’ve known you for a week, you’re the president of a biker club, and you could easily break my neck with one hand, but yes. Yes, I do trust you.”
There’s not the thinnest layer of hesitation in her eyes. She’s sincere, and another piece of my guard cracks. Grabbing her hand, I lead her away, ready to guide her into my world even further.
Chapter 9
Camryn
About thirty minutes later, my bottom is once again sore enough to make me send a silent thank you to Nate for finally stopping his bike. Maybe it’ll get better if he keeps having me on it regularly.
“I think my ass will curse me every time I get on a bike for the rest of my life,” I mumble, and Nate laughs lightly. “Seriously, yours must have lost all sensations if you keep driving that thing.”
“As long as another part of me never loses them, I’m all good, babe,” he retorts, his voice deep with a
suggestive edge as he moves closer to me. “And please, show some respect to my girl, would you? She’s sensitive,” he feigns a warning before taking my mouth in a kiss that quickly takes a searing turn.
His hand disappears into my hair, and with a gentle tug on it, he angles my head the way he wants it while pressing his body against mine. It’s enough for the voice that’s been telling me what I’ve been doing since I got back to Texas is all wrong to shut up. That voice doesn’t hold a candle to the serenity spreading in me when Nate touches me. His touch gives me a peace I didn’t even realize I was missing before he revived it.
Yesterday morning was… It was memorable.
His fingers stretching me, grazing my greedy flesh, awakened a need I had kept quiet for a long time. And despite what I had always been afraid of since losing Colin, guilt didn’t tear me apart after Nate made me come. Maybe it was an awful realization to have, maybe guilt is all I should have been assaulted with, but instead, I couldn’t help loving the way his hands on me made me feel. He breathed some life into me again, and it felt amazing.
When he abandons my swollen lips, I say through a breathless, teasing confession, “If you kiss me like this every time I disrespect her, I’m afraid I’ll keep doing it.”
He grunts, his eyes staring at my lips so intently that the gaze alone covers them with tingles. I love that animalistic veil clouding his eyes when he’s aroused.
“Baby, if you keep moving your gorgeous hips against my dick, I’m going to make a trip back to my teenage years in no time.”
Like he told me we were both going to catch on fire, I jump a step back as my gaze drops to his crotch. “Sorry,” I grimace.
I didn’t mean to tease him when I’m still unsure as to whether I should yield to what my body clearly wants. I’m too worried about my head getting cold feet in extremis, which would torture Nate even more than the whole situation already does if his hardness battling to poke out of his jeans is any indication.
