XANDER (The Caine Brothers Book 2)

by Madigan, Margaret

  Xander came right back to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, holding her tight and putting his face within an inch of hers. The force of his words washed over her. “I don’t care who your family is, and it doesn’t matter what club I belong to. If we want each other—and don’t you doubt for a minute that I want you—for a day or forever, whatever we want—nothing will stop us. What’s between us is between us, and nobody else’s business. Ever. You got that?”

  His eyes burned with determination and warmed her heart. So at least he didn’t want her just to get back at her father, which was actually a ridiculous assumption anyway since he hadn’t even known who she was when they’d met and had sex. He wanted her for her, the same way she wanted him.

  “But what about Prez? What about the Huntsmen and Ravagers hating each other? Will you leave the Huntsmen? If we both renounce involvement with the clubs, they’d leave us alone.”

  “Prez is never going to leave you alone. You’re his daughter. And he’s never going to leave me alone because he hates me. Now more than ever since I helped beat up his distribution manager. I’m safer with the Huntsmen. They’ve got my back.”

  “Why does he hate you so much?”

  “He and Mel have some sort of long-standing feud. I have no idea what it is. They just hate each other. But a couple of years ago the Huntsmen broke up a gun running racket Prez had going, and I was involved in that. It cost him a lot of money and he’s never forgiven me. Now all he has is the drugs, and he’s pissed at me for interfering with that by hurting Hank.”

  “He has no hold over me. I was never really a member of the club, anyway. When I got old enough to refuse to, I stopped riding with them, and left as soon as I could get away. I can’t tell you how many times Prez and I fought over all the illegal shit he was into, but of course, why would he listen to me? I’m only his daughter.”

  Xander held her gaze, forcing her to look him in the eye. Their blue depths mesmerized her, begging her for honesty. “Now that you’ve found me, the big question is, do you really want to take the chance of shackling yourself to another club?”

  He was right. They were on the precipice of something, and she had the chance to walk away or dive in. If she dove in she might just find something she never imagined possible with someone wonderful, but at what cost? If she walked away, she’d be free of the biker life—the violence, the illegal shit, the ridiculous testosterone-fueled drama—but at what cost? Was it possible that not every club was like the Ravagers? The Huntsmen seemed to care about people, and about their reputation. They ran a reputable bar, and they made an honorable effort to help people who needed it. Maybe she’d just grown up in a bad club and didn’t know any better.

  “Before you’re a Huntsman or I’m a Ravager, you’re Xander and I’m Gracie. That’s all that matters, isn’t it? If there’s anything between us worth exploring, that’s more important than either of the clubs, and we can figure out how to make the rest of it work. I’ve never felt this way about anyone and frankly, it scares the hell out of me, but because it’s so unusual I can’t just throw it away. I want to see what it means. If there’s anything to it.”

  Xander cupped her face in his hands, and leaned his forehead on hers. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’ve known you two days and I feel like someone hit me with a stupid stick for even thinking some of the things I’ve been thinking. But I can’t get enough of you. You’re like some new addiction I don’t want to get over.”

  His breath puffed in her face as he spoke, warming her and sending shivers over her skin.

  “Me, too,” she whispered. “I need another fix.”

  His lips closed on hers without another word, sending her world off kilter as her heart stumbled in her chest. One of his hands went to the back of her neck, and she scrambled to get a grip on him.

  They kissed with passion and urgency and like they’d never kiss again. She couldn’t catch her breath, but didn’t want to. All she wanted was another taste of him, another touch, to reassure herself he was really there and really wanted her as much as she wanted him. His tongue in her mouth left her breathless and needy.

  At some point in a fog of lust and need, they shed most of their clothes, and somehow ended up in a bedroom.

  When he backed her up and the edge of the bed hit the back of her thighs, he broke their kiss and knelt in front of her.

  “What…?” she asked.

  He dipped his fingers under the elastic of her panties and pushed them aside. They both moaned at the same time. She had no idea what he had planned, but the anticipation made her insides quiver.

  Leaning forward, he kissed her belly; at the same time his fingers found her clit and flicked it. She gasped as desire lanced through her, and she fought to keep her knees from giving out.

  He kissed her hip, then took the edge of her thong in his teeth and dragged it down, catching it in his fingers and yanking it the rest of the way off. He crawled back up the length of her body, urging her back onto the bed as he did, never moving his fingers from her clit. He kept up a steady, gentle caress that put her back into a mindless fog that narrowed down to focus on that one point of sensation, as if it was the only connection that kept her from floating away.

  On her back, her legs fell open and her hips sought his hand, straining to maintain his touch.

  “So incredibly beautiful.”

  His voice filtered into her consciousness and a measure of awareness, in addition to cool air on her skin, made her open her eyes. She lay spread out on the bed, completely naked, and he squatted between her legs his proud erection standing tall against his belly, watching her with wonder in his eyes. For only a moment she felt vulnerable, opened to him as she was and with his fingers still teasing her clit as he studied her, but the look on his face made her feel worshipped, instead. She didn’t know what the future held, but right now there was nowhere she’d rather be, and nobody she’d rather be with.

  Her orgasm gathered hot and low, just out of reach, frustrating her. She wanted him inside her and on top of her, filling her and covering her. Instead, he only touched her in the one spot, tormenting her.

  Her hips squirmed like they had a mind of their own, and her nipples hardened, tingling with need. She reached for them, not even thinking, wanting to relieve that longing. When she pinched her own nipples, a zing of desire shot to her core pushing her orgasm closer to the edge.

  “Jesus, that’s so fucking sexy.”

  She’d been so lost in her body’s swirling sensations, she’d nearly forgotten Xander. Self-consciousness flooded her and she felt the heat of the resulting blush.

  “Come for me, Pixie.”

  He pinched her clit and she squeezed her nipples, and that was all it took for her orgasm to burst like a fourth of July finale.

  “I will never get tired of seeing that look on your face,” he said. “Or putting it there.”

  “I still want you inside me,” she said as the remnants of her climax throbbed deep in her core.

  “You don’t have to ask me twice,” he said. He reached over and slid the drawer of the nightstand open and grabbed a condom from one of the biggest stashes she’d ever seen.

  “See a lot of action here?” She had just a moment of doubt. Had she judged him that wrong?

  “I have five horny brothers. Between us and my father, we should own stock in Trojan. But no, I’ve never brought a woman here before.” He tore the package and rolled the condom on. “You’re the only one.”

  He settled between her legs and drove himself inside her as he stretched out over the length of her. She hummed with satisfaction deep in her chest and wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him in as far as she could.

  “Let’s keep it that way, okay? No other women,” she said.

  “Possessive much?” He set a languid rhythm.

  “Very,” she said.

  He picked up the pace, thrusting harder and faster, putting her back into that delicious fog where she let go of conscious th
ought and allowed the waves of fluttering, trembling, pulsing, throbbing wash over her, reveling in each new way he played her body. She didn’t think it possible, but it wasn’t long before her next orgasm coiled in her core. When Xander thrust hard and convulsed with his own orgasm, grunting his pleasure in her ear, Gracie’s released, skittering through the network of her nervous system, literally sending white sparks inside her closed eyes.

  They clung to each other for just a moment longer. Now that they’d admitted not only an attraction but some inexplicable connection, Gracie never wanted to let go. He’d burst into her life and now thinking about going back to life without him actually frightened her. How cold and empty would her life be? She’d been happy alone and away from the biker life, but going back to her apartment and job in Dallas now sounded lonely and hollow.

  He rolled off and disposed of the condom, then pulled her in close, fitting her against the side of his body. She happily molded herself to him. Only then did she notice how the room had grown darker as afternoon slid into twilight.

  “I should call Lily,” she said. “She’s probably worried.”

  He kissed her forehead. “I don’t want to let you go, but you’re right. You should call her.”

  Gracie untangled herself from Xander and followed the trail of clothing until she found her pants. She pulled the phone out of her pocket only to find four messages from Lily.

  “Crap,” Gracie said. Lily would be pissed.

  She dialed and Lily didn’t even say hello. “Where are you?”

  “It’s a long story. Is everything okay there?”

  “Yeah. I’m spending a fortune on take-out, but otherwise I’m just lying in bed binge-watching Chopped. It’s really nice, actually. Except I miss you.”

  “Good.”

  “When will you be back?”

  “Um. Tomorrow morning?”

  “What? Wait. You’re with him, aren’t you? Dammit, Gracie. You know how stupid that is, right? It’s only going to end badly.”

  “It won’t. I won’t let it. We’ll be back in the morning, I promise. Until then, enjoy your peace and freedom. Keep the door locked except to answer it for takeout, snuggle in the fluffy covers, and binge-watch everything.”

  “You’re a fool, Gracie.”

  “But right now I’m a happy fool.”

  “So was I. At first.”

  Lily hung up before Gracie could say anything else.

  The next morning Xander woke up as giddy as a ten-year-old girl at a One Direction concert. He’d never felt anything like it before. He wondered if this was how Allison made Hunter feel. If so, he completely understood now. He’d have to apologize for all the shit he’d given his brother.

  He and Gracie showered—together then again separately—then stopped at a local diner for breakfast at the beach. It was the best morning he could remember in ages. They’d talked long into the night and then again all through breakfast like all new couples do, learning about each other—favorite colors, foods, movies, music; high school achievements and embarrassing moments; college; pets; siblings.

  He had no idea how they’d make things work, but now that he had her he didn’t ever want to let her go. He didn’t think he could ever get enough of her smile, her laugh, her sense of humor, those sparkling gray eyes, and that body. He could spend a lifetime exploring it and never get tired of it.

  The ride back to the hotel was way too short, and when they pulled into the parking lot it occurred to him he’d have to let her go, if only for a few hours. If nothing else, he had to deal with Prez, and there was the rest of his club, and rally events.

  He parked the bike and they stood beside it holding hands like lovesick teenagers, unwilling to say goodbye.

  “I’m going to catch up with the guys and see what they have planned for the day. You go check on Lily,” he said.

  “I’ll see if I can find Prez so we can talk to him. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll be reasonable.”

  “I don’t care about reasonable as long as we can agree on a truce.”

  She smiled. “That’s more likely, but don’t hold your breath.”

  “Call me later.”

  She pulled her phone from her pocket, fiddled with it, then handed it to him. “I don’t have your number. Go ahead and add it.”

  She’d started a contact profile for him, so he entered his number and handed it back to her. “Thanks,” she said. “Now expect all kinds of heart-and-emoticon-filled texts.”

  He caught her hand and brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles, then leaned in and kissed her lips. “I can’t wait. The guys will love it, too. They’ll torment me endlessly.”

  Before she could respond, a huge hand grabbed Xander by the shoulder and spun him around. “Did you just kiss my sister?”

  He caught a glimpse of the rabid face of Titan Buckner screwed up in anger before Titan’s other fist swung out of nowhere and smashed into his face.

  Xander slid to the ground in a semi-conscious fog. It was like being smacked in the face with a sledgehammer.

  “Back off, Troy,” Gracie said.

  “What are you doing hanging out with that Huntsmen scum? You know what he did to your sister’s husband, don’t you? He almost killed him. Your family. And here you are with him. Did you fuck him? You let him touch you? I should kill him now.”

  Gracie put herself between Xander and Titan. “You won’t lay a hand on him. He’s mine, not yours. What are you even doing here, anyway?”

  “Prez and I have been looking for him and his sidekick.”

  Xander’s vision cleared and he climbed to his feet, standing next to Gracie. He straightened his jacket and stretched his neck side to side. He didn’t get sucker-punched very often. It was embarrassing. “Well, you found me. What you want, Troy?” Xander asked.

  Titan’s jaw muscles twitched. The disrespect of calling him by his real name irked him. Good.

  “Payback.”

  “For giving Hank a taste of his own medicine? I don’t think so. He got what he deserved. Let’s just hope he gets the message and keeps his hands to himself. Better yet, when he feels the urge to hit a helpless woman, he can come look me up. I’m happy to spar with him.”

  “It’s none of your damn business.”

  “It is, actually.”

  “Oh, because you fucked my other sister you think you’re suddenly part of the family? Like you have a say, or something? I got news for you asshole, you got nothing. If Gracie feels like slumming, I guess I can’t stop her, but you’re just a piece of shit I owe an ass whipping to. Before the rally’s over, you’ll get it, too.”

  Xander tried very hard not to launch himself at Titan and return the punch. It hadn’t escaped his attention that Gracie had called him hers, which aroused a certain pride, so out of respect for her he restrained himself. Barely.

  “Reel it in, Troy,” Gracie said. “What are you doing here?”

  Titan glared at Xander for a moment longer, reminding him of a heaving, pawing bull ready to charge. All he needed was the red flag. Titan finally snorted his disgust with Xander and turned his attention to Gracie.

  “Lily called and asked about Bug,” Titan said. “Said she needed to talk to him.”

  “And she told you where she was?” Gracie asked it like she meant to yell at Lily later for doing something so stupid. Xander agreed.

  “I’m her brother, Gracie, not the enemy.”

  Gracie made a derisive snort. “Sometimes they’re the same thing. You stay away from her, Troy. You and Prez both, and especially that asshole husband of hers.”

  “She wouldn’t let me in her room, anyway. She told me to go away. She’d only talk to me on the phone.”

  He actually sounded hurt. Jerk.

  “Good for her, she’s finally learning.” Gracie said. “She needs to talk to Hank, but in a public place where she has some hope of staying safe. Neither of us trusts you guys.”

  “What’s not to trust? For fuck’s sake, Grace. What
bullshit have you been feeding her? She needs to go home to her husband.”

  Xander sensed Gracie tense beside him, like a panther about to pounce. She sucked a long breath in through her nose and blew it out before she spoke again. Good girl. Not that he didn’t personally want to give Titan the attitude adjustment he needed, but fighting in the hotel parking lot probably wouldn’t do the trick.

  “Where can we meet?” she asked, her teeth gritted.

  “How about the bike show at noon. That public enough for you?” Titan spewed the words with disdain.

  “That’ll do,” Gracie said. “Now please leave.”

  Titan grunted, then spat at Xander’s feet. Gracie grabbed Xander’s hand and laced her fingers with his, holding him back. His other hand had rolled into a fist, but he kept his feet planted. There’d be plenty of time to give Titan a piece of his mind. And maybe a fist or two. Now, he needed to stay with Gracie and keep her safe.

  After Titan roared out of the parking lot on his bike, Gracie deflated some.

  “Shit,” she said. “I need to go talk to Lily. She’s pregnant, you know. She’s going to leave Hank, but she wants to tell him in a public place where she thinks he won’t cause a scene, then she’ll probably come live with me.”

  Xander’s blood boiled to think that not only had Hank beat his wife like he had, but he’d beat his pregnant wife. He should have let Dude kill him.

  “You really think you can keep her safe?”

  “What are my choices? I don’t want to leave her alone. She’ll end up having a weak moment and go running back to Hank. I want to keep her close so she can start a new life. And I was thinking Florida would be sufficiently far away she would be tempted to go back to him, assuming she’d even go with me to Florida. But now with things between you and me, I don’t know what I’m going to do about Florida.”

  Xander didn’t like the idea of her moving to Florida. It was practically halfway across the country. He wanted her with him. Selfish? Sure. But she sounded like that’s where she wanted to be, too. There had to be other jobs in Texas—preferably Houston—for a photographer.