by Lilly Atlas
A shiver raced down her spine at the feel of his lips barely brushing the sensitive skin of her ear. “He followed me. Apparently, he has a death wish,” she whispered back.
“Hmm. No problem. The more the merrier.” Hook returned to his full height.
Huh? What the hell? He was just going to let Tanner bust in on their evening?
“Tanner.” Hook nodded at the other man, but his voice was frosty despite the warm evening.
A lump formed in Marcie’s throat. No. He wasn’t just going to invite Tanner in. He had something up his sleeve.
With a mischievous grin, Hook threaded his arm across her shoulders guiding her into his home. “I’ll give you the tour later. Striker is manning the grill out back and I don’t trust his ass with my beefy beauties.”
Marcie laughed as they entered the house. Hook didn’t give her much of a chance to scope the place out as he propelled her straight through to a set of sliding glass doors that led to the backyard. Stepping out, she gasped at the surprising beauty of his property. “Wow, Hook! This is amazing.”
“Thanks, babe. I’ve had it for a few years. Did most of the rehab and landscaping work myself. It was a hole when I purchased it. The effort has kept me out of trouble…mostly.” He winked and she laughed.
A large pavers-stone patio with an artistic pattern spanned much of the yard. On the left edge of the patio, an impressive grill station was set up. A huge stainless grill, mini-fridge and small work area were lined up and made from stone as well. In the middle of the patio, a round table that could seat eight sat surrounded by comfortable looking plush chairs. And on the far right, a stone fire pit rose from the patio with a double chaise lounge and three armchairs around it.
It was obvious Hook spent a lot of time out here and it was an impressive setup. The man surprised her. Never would she have guessed that the rebel she knew growing up would have such a domestic space.
“Hey there, beautiful.” Striker gave her a quick and more appropriate peck than Hook had. “Pretty impressive, huh? Hook basically lives out here, it’s his sanctuary.”
“It’s truly fantastic. You’d have to drag me back inside kicking and screaming if I lived here.”
“Fanfuckingtastic,” Tanner mumbled behind her.
With a sigh of frustration, Marcie ground her teeth together to keep the multitude of angry words inside her mouth. Losing her cool wasn’t exactly the picture she wanted to present to Hook.
Besides, it took enough of her brainpower to ignore the fact that the instant she walked into Hook’s house she had an overwhelming sense of being exactly where she belonged.
Hook had had just about enough of that dickhead. He hadn’t so much as uttered a greeting since he’d been here and now he was trying to send Marcie some kind of subtle insult. Why the hell did he even bother to show up?
“Uhh, what’s he—” Striker shut up when Hook shot him a death look. He wanted to see what the asshole’s game was. Why he’d come. What he wanted from Marcie. Easiest way to do that was to let the shithead in for a bit.
“Well, anybody want a beer?” Striker asked.
“I can grab some if you trust me in your house. They in the fridge?” Marcie stepped backward, her thumb pointing toward the house over her shoulder.
Since it was apparent Marcie wanted a second to escape, Hook allowed her to go in and get the beer even though he had a few chilling in the mini-fridge next to the grill. “Yeah, babe, kitchen is to the right when you walk in.”
The second she slid the door closed and was out of earshot both he and Striker turned their attention to Tanner. Hook spoke first. “Fuck’s your problem, man?”
Tanner rounded on them. His eyes were glassy and he puffed out his chest like an overgrown peacock. “What’s my problem? Hmm, maybe it’s the fact that my girl and I are spending our vacation taking a trip down memory lane with two guys she spent her teenage years fucking.”
Striker’s face hardened with fury, while Hook looked on mildly amused. The thought of Striker touching Marcie with anything other than brotherly fondness was comical, as his friend had treated her like a beloved kid sister from the moment he met her. Hook, on the other hand, had one too many fantasies about fucking her in the past, and fully planned to fuck her in the very near future.
“She told you she fucked us?” Striker’s voice reflected his shock.
“No fuckin’ way she’d say something like that,” Hook said. “Never even came close to happening. She was a fuckin’ kid. And you’re a piece of shit.”
“You take turns with her? Or did you double team her? Her mother was a whore. Looks like the apple didn’t fall too far.” Tanner slurred and wobbled on his feet.
Great, a belligerent drunk. Just what Hook wanted to deal with.
“Is this guy for real?” Striker balled a fist and took a step forward, ever ready to step up for Marcie.
“Hold up, Striker.” With a hand out, Hook warded his friend off. “Marcie is no doubt watching through the kitchen window right now. Her mother died this week and she’s back here for the first time in ten years. She’s got a lot of shit to deal with now. I don’t want to upset her further.” He focused his attention on Tanner. “And as far as I hear things, Marcie is no longer your girl. So, you get one more chance tonight, asshole. Sit down, eat your steak, and shut the fuck up. I’ll kick the shit out of you myself if you blow it.” Hook turned and strode toward his house, wanting a few moments alone with the woman who’d set up camp in his head and didn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon.
He found her at the kitchen sink, watching out the window as predicted. Both hands rested on the edge of the sink and she was bent slightly forward, putting her in the perfect position for him to lift her dress over her ass and plunge into her from behind. His cock awakened at the thought, lending its approval, and his hands itched to palm the shapely globes.
Speaking of that dress… She wore a little yellow sun dress that cupped her pert breasts and allowed just a peek of cleavage. Two tiny straps held the entire thing up and Hook had visions of ripping them off and peeling the dress down her body. His favorite part, though, was how the fabric hugged her hips and ass as it fell halfway to her knees.
Marcie must have realized he’d come in the house since she watched the scene from the window, but she made no move to acknowledge his presence. No matter, going to her was no hardship.
He came up behind her and pressed his erection against her ass, wishing there was no clothing between them. Hook wrapped one arm around her lower abdomen and wound the other just below her breasts. He couldn’t resist feeling the weight of them resting on his forearm.
“What the hell is this thing you’re wearing?” he whispered against her ear, enjoying her shiver as his warm breath and lips caressed her skin.
Her back rumbled against his chest as a husky laugh slipped out. “You don’t like my dress?”
“Are you kidding? This thing makes you look young and innocent, like a good girl who wouldn’t be caught dead with some badass bikers. But we know differently, don’t we?”
“Umm…”
Hook slid one hand up her torso to the bare skin above her neckline while the other hand splayed across her flat stomach, anchoring her against him. His wandering hand dipped down into the top of her dress, curling around a plump breast. “Jesus,” he whispered when he encountered the braless flesh. “Definitely a little bit of naughty girl in there, huh, baby?”
“Hook…” She gasped and her head fell back onto his broad shoulder as his fingers found her nipple. He pinched it between his thumb and forefinger, drawing a tortured moan from her tempting lips.
“What, baby?” Taking advantage of her exposed neck, he added his lips to the sensual assault, kissing along the column of her throat.
“What are you doing to me?” She trembled and wiggled her ass against his groin.
A sharp gasp ripped from somewhere deep within him. “What I want to do, baby, is make you come. Then I want to fuck you h
ard, right here. So hard you can’t even imagine going back to the motel.”
“Yes, Hook, please.” She sounded desperate and needy, just how he wanted her.
Unfortunately, they’d have to save any games until later because the two other men were waiting outside and were bound to come looking for them at any time. That was, if Striker could resist killing Tanner.
“It will have to wait, beautiful. Striker and Tanner are getting impatient.”
At the mention of Tanner’s name her shoulders sagged. “Why didn’t you kick him out?”
“I don’t trust him. I’m keeping my enemy close.”
“We’ve only been together a few weeks. The relationship was nothing serious.” She spun in the circle of his arms. “I don’t date much. My boss set us up so I felt kinda pressured into it. Figured there wasn’t any harm in having something to do a few nights a week.” She shrugged as though it was enough of an explanation. “I was thinking of breaking it off when my mom died. He offered to come with me though, and the thought of having at least some support was too good to pass up.”
Marcie had never trusted easily, her upbringing and her mother saw to that. For some reason, she’d placed all her young trust in him and Striker, but never let anyone else in. He wondered if she’d spent the ten years in Seattle much the same way. Alone. No family. Minimal connections. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me. But I’d have been here for you in a heartbeat, baby. Striker, too.”
She traced a finger over the letters of the words No Prisoners on his T-shirt, her gaze on the action instead of his face. “I closed that chapter when my mom moved us away. I was in college by the time she came back so I didn’t come with her. We weren’t speaking at that point anyway.” She shrugged and finally lifted her gaze.
The sadness and loneliness reflected in her gaze squeezed his heart like a vice.
“That time in my life was so full of chaos. I was weak, ashamed. I don’t like to remember who I was then. Plus, I had too many muddled feelings where you were concerned. So I never let myself think about you.”
“Babe, you were a kid.” There was so much more Hook wanted to say to her, starting with begging her to stay in Crystal Rock, but could he ask that of her? She had a job, a life in Seattle. How selfish would it be to ask her to stay? He almost laughed out loud. They’d been back in each other’s lives for less than a full twenty-four hours. Of course, he couldn’t ask her to stay.
“You sure he got the message that you broke up?” Responding to her confession of feelings would have to wait.
She huffed out an exasperated laugh and shook her head. A lock of golden hair fell across her forehead and Hook brushed it aside. “Apparently, he doesn’t accept my breakup.” She looked away again and as a cloud moved across her face.
That answer only aroused more questions. Hook gripped her chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned her face back to his. “Did the fucker lay a hand on you? Did he hurt you?”
“Not really.”
“Not really?” Hook didn’t want to scare her, or bully her, but he wouldn’t accept a lie. And he wouldn’t accept her covering for Tanner. “Babe.” His voice was full of soft warning which he tempered by releasing her chin and stroking a finger along her soft cheek. “There is only one acceptable answer to both of those questions. And it’s no, he did not touch me. No, he did not hurt me. Anything else is the same as a yes I need you to be straight with me right now.”
She sighed and turned her head until her lips met his palm. She pressed a chaste kiss that should not have sent a shock of electricity straight to his dick. But it did. “He said some shit, scared me a bit, and was a little…rough. But no, he didn’t actually hurt me.”
Later, when he looked back on this, Hook would be really proud of the way he kept his cool despite the rage brewing in his gut. It was quite obvious Marcie downplayed Tanner’s rough treatment. Well, fuck that.
Time to take out the trash.
Chapter Eight
Oh shit! “Hook! Hook, wait!” Marcie scurried after the very heated biker who stormed out of the kitchen intent on slaying her dragons.
Shit, shit, shit. She wanted Tanner gone as much as they did, probably more, but she didn’t want anyone injured, or any damage to Hook’s hard-won property. And she wanted to rid herself of the problem on her own.
She raced out the sliding doors and reached the patio just as Hook reached Tanner. He dragged Tanner up by the shirt, tromped across the patio and slammed Tanner’s back against the stucco of the house.
Marcie winced. That must have hurt like hell.
“All right. Now we’re talking.” Striker turned from the grill, a huge smile on his face. “What’d he do now?”
“Hook! Don’t do this.” Marcie darted over until she was only a foot away from the men. Hook anchored Tanner to the house with a bulging forearm across her ex’s chest. He shot Striker a searing look.
“On it, brother. Come here, baby doll.” Striker jogged to her and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders. He steered her farther away from the ensuing fight. Not that it would be much of a fight. Tanner didn’t stand a chance in hell. Not if Hook’s fighting skills were anything like what she remembered. Given that he was now named after a punch, she had a feeling his abilities had only improved. Growing up in in a seedy part of a rough town taught them early on how to defend themselves.
“Don’t worry, hon. Hook’s just gonna have a little chat with your man. I promise he won’t kill him.” Striker’s laugh rang out above her head.
“He’s not my man anymore,” she muttered.
“Hook mentioned that. Guess Tanner wasn’t too happy about that news.”
“You could say that,” she mumbled. This entire situation was so uncomfortable.
“Well then, I take it back.” Striker’s voice dropped to a lethal pitch. “Hook just might kill the fucker.”
Annoyance scratched at the back of her neck. She wasn’t a child. For the past eight years, she lived on her own, supported herself and didn’t rely on anyone for anything. “Don’t you guys think I’m old enough to take care of myself without my surrogate big brothers getting involved?”
Striker laughed again. “Baby girl, you may be my sister in all but blood, but you know damn well Hook would take you right here on this patio if Tanner and I weren’t here. And no. When we’re around, you’ll never have to fend for yourself.” He gave her an affectionate squeeze.
Marcie’s face heated. Leave it to Striker to toss everyone’s cards on the table. Despite the embarrassment, her heart warmed with a sense of family she hadn’t experienced in ten years. Part of her wanted to protest. She didn’t need any white knights to save her, but she couldn’t deny the warm fuzzy feeling at knowing they cared for her.
“Fuck you, asshole. You think I’m scared of you or your club?” Tanner’s belligerence sure wouldn’t earn him any points with these two.
Hook spoke to a struggling Tanner, his voice too low for Marcie to make out, but the tone of the conversation was clear. Hook was pissed and Tanner was the reason. The longer Hook spoke, the more color drained from Tanner’s face. She could only imagine the threats he issued.
Hook and Striker never knew, but she was well aware of the ass beating they’d issued the john that had accosted her when she was just ten. That was the start of them constantly looking out for her. It’d been one thing when she was a defenseless child with a grown man harassing her, but now, standing passively by and letting them handle her problems felt like taking the easy way out.
“Maybe I should say something.” She glanced up at Striker who still wore a smile like he was very much enjoying the show.
“Nah, Hook’s got this. He’ll be done in a minute.”
The urge to roll her eyes was hard to resist. She supposed they could just whip out their dicks and compare sizes. It would end this charade much faster. No doubt Hook’s would be bigger.
Tanner nodded and finally stopped struggling against Hook’s
immovable hold. He glanced in her direction.
“Don’t look at her.” Hook’s voice was loud and clear this time. “Striker will call you a cab. Your car will be done tomorrow morning and you’ll leave town. Marcie isn’t your concern anymore. Understand?”
Silence followed, probably only for five seconds but it might as well have been an eternity.
“Hey, buddy, you stupid enough to ignore the man’s question?” Striker called.
Tanner looked at Hook and winced. Whatever he saw in the other man’s eyes did the trick. “Understood.”
Well, this afternoon certainly solidified her decision to buy a plane ticket home. Marcie held her breath as they waited for Tanner’s answer. Silence stretched for long seconds. Could he really be stupid enough to defy Hook?
Tanner glanced at Marcie again. “She’s a cold bitch anyway.”
Striker grunted. “Fool,” he muttered.
“I told you not to look at her. What makes you think I’m okay with you insulting her?” Hook’s open palm cracked against Tanner’s cheek and Marcie winced along with her ex.
Okay, enough was enough. “Hook! Just let him leave.” She hardened her voice and tried to sound as stern as possible.
“Sorry, couldn’t resist. Don’t like how he keeps looking at you.” Without releasing Tanner, Hook glanced her way, his eyes sparkling. “You sure I can’t mess him up a little?”
This time she didn’t bother to suppress the eye-roll. “I just want him to leave.” She stepped forward, shrugging off Striker’s arm and planted her hands on her hips. “Now.”
Hook took two steps back, his forearm dropping to his side. Tanner sucked in strong gulps of air as though the pressure from Hook’s hold had prevented his lungs from filling with oxygen.
“I’ll be more than happy to escort our guest out and wait for his cab,” Striker said as he stepped around Marcie and made his way to Tanner. “After you.” With a flourish, he gestured toward the house.
Marcie didn’t bother to watch Tanner scamper into the house. Her attention turned to Hook, who had returned to the grill. With a long pair of tongs, he removed the juicy steaks and potatoes from the heat. His posture was rigid, muscles bunched and tense, movements jerky. Only the rapid rise and fall of his back as he breathed let on that he was struggling to gather control.
