“He didn’t hit me and knock me out!” Anna practically yells, her fists clenching at her sides. I pull at her shirt, silently telling her to calm the fuck down.
“How else was I supposed to kidnap you?” he asks, shaking his head. “I had a job to do, and I got it done. You need to let that shit go.”
I’ve never seen Anna’s jaw so tight.
“Can we play?” I ask, trying to ease the tension, looking from face to face. “I’m thirsty.”
Laughter.
“You better be thirsty,” Talon calls out. “That’s a lot of beer, Bails.”
I stretch my neck from side to side, then pick up one of the balls. “If you’re so sure of yourself, why don’t we make this game a little more interesting?”
Talon studies me, seemingly intrigued. “What do you have that I want? Besides the obvious. . . .”
“How about if we win, you owe us one favor, and vice versa,” I say, the only thing that comes to mind.
Talon and Ranger share a look. “Like a marker, you mean?”
I shrug. “Yeah, I guess. But only we can give it to you. Not the Wind Dragons. And nothing sexual, of course, and within reason.”
“Deal,” Talon says, licking his lips. “Now let’s have some fun. Ladies first.”
I go first.
I get the ball in the cup.
Anna cheers, jumping up and down before hugging me.
Talon grins and shakes his head
Ranger goes next and misses.
Anna cheers again, smirking at him before taking her own turn.
She gets it in.
Ranger drinks, a scowl on his too-handsome-for-his-own-good face.
Talon gets his next shot, so Anna drinks.
My turn again, I throw the ball and get it in.
Again.
The men both study us, realizing that this isn’t just beginners’ luck and that they’ve both been played.
Talon throws his head back and laughs, his body shaking with the effort. “Fuck, what did I tell you, Ranger? Never underestimate the Wind Dragon women; they’re all fuckin’ vipers.”
Ranger scoffs, not as impressed as Talon with the situation. “We’ll see about that.”
We win, of course.
We end up drinking a few of the cups in the game, then more, just because.
We dance, we sing, we laugh.
The men aren’t so bad, and give us a wide berth for the most part, although I do notice a few shady-looking characters. I don’t know what Talon’s rules are for his members using drugs, but I’d have to say that a few of the men are definitely on something. The women stay out of our way. We don’t get introduced to any of them, which makes me think that there are no old ladies here.
Between all the drinking, laughing with Anna and Talon, and the people-watching, we forget one thing.
The time.
And that’s when everything goes to shit.
* * *
“Where the hell have the two of you been?” Rake yells, coming out of the clubhouse. He looks a mixture of furious and relieved, but I think we’ll be seeing more of the former when he hears what we’ve been up to tonight. I pay the taxi driver and get out. We had to leave Anna’s car at the Wild Men clubhouse because neither of us was sober enough to drive. Talon tried to get us to let one of his men give us a ride, as some of them hadn’t been drinking, but we knew that would only make things worse.
Yeah, we’re so fucked.
“Arrow’s out fuckin’ looking for you, Anna, because neither of you answered your phones,” he growls, pulling his own phone out of his pocket and sending a quick text message, probably telling Arrow that Anna was now here safe and sound.
“We’re sorry,” Anna says, stumbling a little. “We lost track of time.”
Shit.
“You’re drunk?” Rake seethes, eyeing both me and his sister with distaste. “Where the fuck have you been? We were worried, and the two of you were just out drinking, ignoring your fuckin’ phones?”
I watch the taxi drive away, then turn to him. “My phone died,” I tell him, pulling it out of my pocket and jiggling it around. “I’m sorry. We really did just lose track of what time it was. We had no idea it had gotten so late.”
Rake pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes momentarily, before exhaling slowly. “You weren’t at the place you said you were going to be. Arrow went there.”
I want to look at Anna, but I don’t dare. I don’t know how we’re going to get out of this one without the truth coming out and Rake and Arrow both exploding at us. I feel a lot of I told you so coming from me and heading right in Anna’s direction.
“It’s my fault,” Anna blurts out, making me glance at her face. “I told Bailey if she didn’t come with me I was going to go alone, and I knew she wouldn’t let me do that.”
Rake’s eyes narrow on his baby sister. “Tell me. Now.”
Anna looks down at her feet, cringing. “It was Talon’s birthday.”
Rake’s expression hardens at the mere mention of Talon’s name.
“So we went to wish him a happy birthday and give him his present,” she continues, shuffling her weight on each foot. “We were safe there; nothing happened to us. We just had a few drinks and forgot that we weren’t supposed to be there in the first place.”
A muscle ticks in Rake’s jaw as he processes this information. “Please, Anna, please fuckin’ tell me you didn’t put yourself and my fuckin’ woman in danger by taking her to the fuckin’ Wild Men MC, the same fuckin’ MC that broke into our clubhouse and killed Mary. The same MC that our piece-of-shit father led, you know, the father who didn’t give two shits about us but raised Talon, a man you now seem to worship for some motherfuckin’ reason I’ll never understand. There’s shit you don’t even know too—just trust me when I say that his clubhouse isn’t a safe place to be, not like ours. Their MC is so different from ours, and you need to remember that. Never once did I think that you’d be stupid enough to go there.”
My eyes widen at all that information. Someone named Mary died? Because of the Wild Men? They broke into the Wind Dragons clubhouse? I rub my forehead, seriously not knowing what to do right now. I don’t want to get involved in a sibling argument, but at the same time I can’t let Anna take all the heat for this.
I step closer to Rake and put my hand on his arm. “Can we talk about this tomorrow? When everyone has calmed down?”
Rake looks down at my hand, then his gaze moves to my face. “Go and wait in my room, Bailey. I’ll deal with you later.”
My eyes narrow at his tone, but I know Anna and I have fucked up. We put ourselves in danger, and I know just how much Rake loves his sister.
“Arrow will handle her,” I say quietly. “She doesn’t need to get it from you too.”
“Get inside, Anna,” he tells her, just sounding tired now. “Arrow is on his way. You can tell him this fuckin’ story and see how he reacts.” He then looks down at me. “Are you mine?”
“Rake, I—”
“Are you fuckin’ mine?” he asks, enunciating every word.
“Yes,” I whisper. I was. All his. In every way.
“Then fuckin’ act like it,” he replies, turning and walking away.
Ouch.
I watch Rake disappear, then turn to Anna. “How’s Arrow going to react?”
Anna closes the space between us, standing next to me with our arms touching. “He’s going to be really angry because he’ll think I put our safety in jeopardy. Here’s the thing though, you were there—we weren’t in danger at all, because Talon would have protected us from harm the way any of the Wind Dragons would have.”
“I know,” I admit, wrapping my arm around her. “We just see it as going to visit a friend. But the men see it as a betrayal, I think. You’re Arrow’s old lady; I’m pretty sure we crossed some kind of boundary today.”
“We did,” she whispers glumly. “I just didn’t want to let Talon down. It was his birthday, how coul
d I have said no? We shouldn’t have gotten drunk.”
“We shouldn’t have done a lot of things tonight,” I reply, laying my head on her shoulder. “But now we have to suck it up and feel their wrath.”
“I’m sorry I made you come, Bailey.”
“If I didn’t I would have been worrying about you all night, so I’m not. And I saw for myself just how much Talon cares for you, like you’re his sister,” I say, taking her hand and pulling her toward the door. “Let’s go inside before we get into more trouble.”
She cracks a smile. “Maybe I should wait out here so Arrow can yell at me away from everyone.”
“Nah.” I giggle. “Let Rake hear it so he doesn’t decide to yell at you too.”
She giggles a little too, then sobers. “Thanks for being my partner in crime tonight.”
“Any time, babe. Any time.”
Rake
“I heard them fuckin’ thanking each other for being partners in crime,” I tell Sin and Arrow, running my hand through my hair in frustration.
I turn my head to look in Arrow’s direction. “If Anna wasn’t my sister, I’d be telling you to control your fuckin’ woman right now.”
Sin sighs and crosses his arms over his chest. “Arrow, control your fuckin’ woman. This Wild Men shit has to fuckin’ stop. I know she thinks of Talon as family, but this is crossing a line.”
“Don’t I fuckin’ know it,” Arrow says gruffly, his eyes hard as stone.
“I’ll get Faye to talk to them,” Sin says distractedly. “I’ll handle Talon. Looks like the bastard needs to be put in his place.”
Arrow steps forward. “I want Talon.”
Sin studies him for a second before replying. “Fine.” He then looks to me. “Handle your woman. Yeah, this was Anna’s idea, but she went along with it.”
I bite my tongue and just nod, agreeing with his comment. “Yes, Prez.”
I walk to my bedroom, feeling tired, frustrated, but more than anything, relieved.
Bailey is okay.
My sister is okay.
The night could have gone in a completely different direction. If anything had happened to either of them, I don’t know what I would have done. I’d be in prison though; that’s for damn certain. I try to let Anna have her time with Talon—I know she sees him as extended family of some kind, even though I don’t get it. He’s not our blood, and he’s not a brother, so to me, he’s no one. And if he puts anyone I love in danger again, I will fuckin’ end him.
Everything with Bailey has been going well; it was only a matter of time before we hit a bump in the road, and in terms of bumps, I’d take it. They both came home safely. Bailey had Anna’s back, and even though their plan was stupid and selfish, they’re both safe. As much as I want to wrap Bailey in my arms and hold her, I need to let her know she fucked up.
I’ll just have to hold her when she’s fast asleep.
After I’ve made her understand that she can’t just do as she pleases anymore.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Bailey
I’VE figured out what my problem is,” Tia says, brushing her hair and looking at me through the mirror.
“You need to get laid?” I guess, sitting down on her bed and waiting for her to continue.
“Well, yeah,” she says, grinning. “But that’s not what I meant. I’ve realized that I think I’m the exception to every rule. For example, if a guy says he’s only looking for sex, nothing else, I’ll say I’m okay with it, and sometimes I am,” she adds, putting the brush down and turning on her chair to face me. “But sometimes really I expect more and I think that they’ll change their minds in the long run, when they won’t. I feel like I should always be the exception to their rules. Which is stupid, isn’t it? I just end up getting hurt in the end, over something that I could have easily avoided.”
“You should be the exception for the man you’re meant to be with,” I tell her, pondering her words. “And you will be. You’re amazing, you know that? Any man should be thanking his lucky stars to have someone like you.”
“I know,” she agrees, making me laugh. “I just need to stop self-sabotaging myself. Going after men I know are trouble, or who don’t want the things that I want.”
“Do you know what you want?” I ask her, completely serious. She’s always been so blasé about casual sex, acting like she wasn’t ready for more, but maybe she is now.
“I think I’m only just figuring it out,” she admits, flashing me a lopsided smile. “And when I do, I’m going to get it.”
I shake my head at her ruefully. “I feel sorry for the poor man already.”
“Me too,” she agrees, coming over to the bed and sitting down next to me. “Is Rake still angry at you over last night’s shenanigans?”
“Furious,” I reply glumly, puffing out a breath of air. “He’s madder at Anna though, and that makes me feel even worse for some reason. I never could bear to see those two fight.”
Growing up they were all each other had, and whenever they fought it made my chest hurt. Apparently that still hasn’t changed.
“They’ll make up,” Tia says with confidence. “Just let them sort it out between themselves. Some new drama will come along and this whole Wild Men escapade will be forgotten.”
I groan, covering my face with my hands. “I can only imagine what drama will be next.”
“At least you’re getting fucked well on the regular.” She pouts. “It could always be worse.”
Yes, yes it could.
* * *
I walk into a war zone.
Anna is yelling, her face bright red while Rake tries to talk to her.
He’s being ignored.
Arrow is standing in the corner of the room, arms crossed over his chest as he studies her, his face void of emotion.
I feel like slowly backing out of the room, but then Anna sees me.
“You won’t believe what he did!” she says, pointing to Arrow.
“What?” I ask hesitantly, walking to her.
“He went to the Wild Men clubhouse, called Talon out, and started a fucking fight! In front of everyone! This is why I didn’t want to tell you, Arrow,” she says, her bottom lip trembling.
“He should have shown some fuckin’ respect then,” Arrow snarls, pushing off the wall and stalking toward her. “I let you see him. I don’t like it, but I don’t say shit—but this is crossing a fuckin’ line. A man does not invite my woman somewhere he knows she shouldn’t go, then what? Sit back while we all give you hell for it? I know you think he’s family, Anna, but look around you.” He looks around, his arms spread wide. “Your family is right here. And look how you’re treating us. I was so fuckin’ worried something had happened to you; you know better than this. You know what we’ve all been through, what we’ve lost. It was a fuckin’ selfish of you.”
Arrow storms out while we all stand there in silence.
That’s the most I’ve ever heard him speak.
Would this be a bad time to ask how Talon is?
“It wasn’t meant to be such a big deal,” Anna says, voice catching. “I just wanted to stop for an hour and wish him happy birthday. That’s it. I didn’t want to hurt anyone; I didn’t want to start any shit. I just wanted to be able to celebrate with him. I know that I fucked up, okay? I didn’t see the bigger picture; I just saw one night of a little fun, and I’m sorry I brought Bailey with me too.”
I can actually see Rake’s eyes soften. “Go sort this out with him. You should know better than everyone how this would make Arrow feel.”
I didn’t really see the bigger picture either, but now I see just how much of a mistake we made, and I definitely won’t be doing something like this again.
Anna nods and heads in the direction Arrow left, leaving Rake and me staring at each other.
“Hey,” I say, pushing my hair back behind my ear. “You still angry?”
He comes to me and grabs me by the hips, pulling my body up against his. “You had Anna’s ba
ck. I can’t exactly be mad at you over that, even though what you both did was stupid as fuck.”
“Talon isn’t—”
“Don’t want to hear his name right now. I’m cutting you a little slack because you’re new to this whole thing, but you need to understand how differently the night could have gone if anything happened. You do not fuckin’ go to another MC clubhouse, I don’t care what the reason is. Anna knows better, and now so do you. Now where’s Angel?” he asks, tracing his lips over my earlobe.
“She’s with Tia and Rhett, they—”
“I need to be inside you right now. And I’m not going to be gentle, Bailey,” he whispers, making my nipples pebble. He kisses my neck, then says against my skin. “I’m going to teach you a lesson. I’m going to show you who you belong to.”
“Okay.” I breathe, almost in a daze, wrapping my arms around his neck. He lifts me up, gripping my ass and squeezing, and walks to his room. The door is opened, then slammed and locked behind him, and I’m put on the bed with my legs hanging off the edge. I wait quietly as Rake watches me, slowly undoing the button on his jeans, followed by the zipper, the noise loud in the silent room. His jeans are removed, followed by his boxers, his cock jutting out, hard and ready.
“Open your mouth,” he commands, and I open it eagerly. He comes closer, and I take his cock in my hand, licking the head once, then sucking it into my mouth.
“Good girl,” he murmurs, eyes darker than usual. “Take me in as far as you can.”
I slide his length into my mouth, going as deep as I can, then bobbing my head as I suck him in and out, hollowing my cheeks.
“Fuck,” he grits out as I pleasure him, taking him to the back of my throat, as far as I’m able to without my gag reflex kicking in. He gathers my hair and wraps it around his wrist, tugging my head back and looking me straight in the eye. “I want to come in your mouth.”
I moan and pull back. “Do it.”
“I give the commands here,” he says huskily, sliding back into my mouth. I gently cup his balls in my hand and massage them, just the way I know he likes it, while sucking his huge cock. I then move my right hand to the base of him, working the bottom while my mouth takes care of the rest.
Rake's Redemption (Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club) Page 19
