Bound by Ravage

by Ryan Michele

  “Oh, Cooper.” Her grip gets tighter as she tries to pull away to look into my eyes, but I hold her tight. This is hard enough talking about without the weight of her thoughts on me, as well. “I …”

  “It is what it is. I have a great mom and more than I could ask for. Mel was going to give me to a crazy lady, but ended up dead.” Her body jolts at that. “I can’t tell you all the details because it’s club business, but what I can tell you is that my mom saved me in more ways than one.”

  “I’m so happy you have that.”

  “Me, too. Who the hell knows how my life would have turned out had Mel been a part of it?”

  “Does it bother you that she’s dead?”

  It surprises me that she didn’t ask how she died. I respect that.

  “No, not Mel. If it would have been my mom, that would have killed.”

  “I know what that’s like.” Her voice goes soft again.

  “How long ago did your mom pass?”

  She heaves in a breath. “When I was sixteen … so about five years now. Wow. It feels like it happened yesterday.”

  “Sorry, beautiful.”

  “Me, too. She was amazing. It was an aneurism that took her. It happened so fast that we had no warning at all. Boom, she was here … then she was in a casket.” Her body shakes, and I hold her tighter.

  “She made you, so I bet she was great.”

  Bristyl pulls away and smiles up at me like I’m the only thing in her world. I want to be that. I crave to be that.

  “Yeah.” She reaches up and touches her lips to mine then pulls back and a yawn escapes her, along with a giggle.

  “Sleep, beautiful. I’m right behind ya.” My grip tightens on her as I feel her body relax, falling back asleep.

  Dread fills me as I look at the clock. It’ll be morning soon, and then I’ll have to leave. Again.

  That’s it. I’m strapping her to my bike, and she’s coming with me.

  On that thought, sleep consumes me.

  “Hey,” a purr of a voice says above my head.

  When I open my eyes, Bristyl is above me, her hair in a ponytail, face beautiful as always, and she’s dressed.

  “Why are you dressed?”

  “I have to go.”

  Glancing at the clock, I see it’s ten-o-nine.

  “Shit,” I grumble, grabbing her arm and pulling her down to me, kissing her the entire time. Her giggles are squashed by my lips.

  As much as I need to go to a family night tonight at the clubhouse and I can’t miss it, there’s nothing that’s going to stop me from having her again.

  All the while kissing her, I flip her on her back and unbutton her shorts. Then she wiggles out of them without protest.

  The kisses are heated and demanding. Our teeth clash as if we would climb into each other if we could. When my cock strains, it hits me. I don’t have a fucking rubber.

  “I don’t have another condom.”

  She smiles. “I do.” Bristyl reaches down into her bag and pulls one out.

  “I’m not gonna think that those were for any asshole but me.”

  “They weren’t. Just bought them.” She smiles wickedly.

  I take her hard and rough, to the point we are both screaming out our releases. Unfortunately, we then both have to go, so holding her isn’t an option.

  “You’ve got a sweet tongue.”

  “Don’t you know it.” I wink as I throw my clothes on. Then I use the bathroom, and we are ready to roll.

  As we stand at her car, my chest tightens all over again.

  “Wanna hop on my bike and come with me?”

  “More than you want to know.”

  “Then do it. Come home with me.”

  She looks down at the ground. “I’m bound to my family. I can’t just leave them like that.”

  “I want this, Bristyl. I want what we had last night over and over again. I want you in my bed, in Georgia. You want it, too.”

  She gives a slight nod.

  “We need to figure out a way to make that happen.”

  “You want me to leave everyone I know and move in with you? Don’t you think that’s going a bit too fast?”

  I kiss her breathlessly. “What do you think?”

  She shakes her head. “I don’t know what to think, Cooper.”

  “Just think on it. That’s all I’m asking.”

  “Okay.”

  “Now kiss me.”

  “I bet you say that to all the girls,” she teases, and I love it.

  “No, only you.”

  Our lips collide.

  After loading her into the car, seeing the small tears in her eyes, I pack up and head back home, disliking each mile between us. This is going to come to an end sooner rather than later.

  “You’re late,” my mother calls out from the kitchen as I enter the clubhouse.

  Even coming right here, I’m late and tired as fuck. With so little sleep last night and the drive, I could pass out for days.

  “I’m here. Let that be enough.”

  I head into my room, splash some cool water on my face, and put on a new shirt. Family time needs to happen fast so I can crash for work tomorrow.

  “Cooper!” my sister yells from across the clubhouse, running up and hugging me.

  Being fourteen, I’m sure those days are going to be less and less. It would be nice if she stayed this sweet, little girl for as long as humanly possible. Or, at least not turn into a bitch of a teenager.

  “How’s it goin’?”

  “Good. I got an A on my English paper, but a D in math. I don’t know how the teachers expect you to know all of this stuff.” Her hand goes to her hip as I wrap my arm around her shoulders.

  Heading outside, greetings come from all angles, along with shit from the guys for not coming home last night. It all rolls off my back.

  The burgers are fantastic, and it’s nice to see the kids play on the shit I did a long time ago. Well, it feels like a long time ago.

  Thoughts of Bristyl here with me, sitting next to me and talking with my family come to mind. She’s never too far from my thoughts. Ever. I hope she realizes how serious I am about her coming here.

  Strolling back into the clubhouse, I see Deke sitting at a table by himself, twirling a metal ashtray. He looks up, scoffs, and goes back to his twirling. I sit down in the chair in front of him, but he doesn’t say anything.

  When we were younger, we were always hanging out together. That all stopped when I got about fifteen, sixteen. He seemed so young then, and I was getting into shit he didn’t need to be a part of. We drifted apart.

  “What’s goin’ on?” I pull out my smokes and light one.

  “Go away.” When he looks up at me, there’s a sinister glint in his eye. One I’ve never seen on him. Come to notice, his eyes are bloodshot, as well.

  “Did you take somethin’?”

  “Go. The fuck. Away,” he growls.

  “Answer the question. What did you take?” The erratic behavior, the obvious temper flair, bloodshot eyes, fidgeting. Hell, it could be a number of things.

  “You think you’re so fuckin’ perfect.” He stands, or tries to, but wobbles. Yes, he’s definitely on something.

  I search the room and see Buzz. “Go get GT.”

  He nods and leaves.

  “Oh, yeah, call my daddy. Just so you know, I’m blood,” he spits out, pointing to his chest. “I’m real Ravage blood. Two presidents and my dad are Ravage. This will be mine, not yours!” He comes at me, but he’s so out of it that I’m able to grab him around his arm and halt him.

  “What the fuck are you talkin’ about?”

  “Why can’t you be more like Cooper? Why can’t you act like him? Why don’t you treat your sister like he does his? Why don’t you get your shit together so you can prospect like Cooper did at sixteen? Cooper. Cooper. Cooper.”

  I release him and push him away from me.

  He turns. “It’s always about you! The fuckin’ golden boy, w
ho can never do no wrong, Cooper. Don’t think the other kids don’t see it, too. We all have to live up to the mighty you. Well, fuck you!”

  GT comes in through the doors, pulling his sunglasses off. “What’s goin’ on?”

  “Let me guess. Gonna take me away so I don’t embarrass you because Cooper never embarrasses anyone!” Deke screams.

  GT looks at me, and I shrug. “Apparently, this is Deke’s club because he’s blood and I’m not.” I shake my head. “He’s on somethin’, GT. He’s not thinkin’ clearly. Need to get him some help.”

  “Help? No, I need to get away from you!”

  “That’s enough.” GT grabs Deke’s neck and pulls him out of the clubhouse.

  Angel, who stepped in after GT, wipes a tear from her eye.

  “Nothin’ like a good ol’ family quarrel. Now, let’s drink!” Ryker calls out.

  The shots keep coming, and I keep taking them. One after the other. My girl isn’t here, Deke has lost his damn mind, and again, I’m here. My head swims as Tina, one of the club mommas, comes up to me.

  “Hey, Coop. Haven’t seen you in a while.” She traces my arm and goes under the arm hole of my shirt.

  The smell of her instantly hits my nostrils, and I jerk my head slightly. It’s a floral scent, but not like the kind Bristyl wears. No, this is fake, a cheap imitation, and I want nothing to do with it.

  “Been busy,” I clip, just wanting her to leave.

  “How about we go play?” She traces my arm with a finger, and I automatically bounce back.

  I may be drunk, but Tina doesn’t hold a candle to Bristyl.

  “No. Go find someone else and tell all the others I said no.”

  “Seriously? You’ve been gone forever.” The damn woman pouts.

  Anger fully hits me. “You either get out of my sight and do as you’re told, or get the fuck out. You choose.”

  “Sorry.” She steps back and scurries away.

  “What crawled up your ass?” Ryker asks, sitting down next to me.

  “Tired. I’m callin’ it a night.”

  He looks to his watch. “Dude, it’s, like, eleven.”

  “And?” I walk off, stumbling to my room and locking the door behind me, not listening if Ryker answered my rhetorical question.

  My phone rings as I fall into the bed. Pulling it out of my cut, I see it’s Bristyl, so I answer.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  “Hey. You made it home in time?” Her voice is quiet like she’s lying in bed.

  “Nah, I was late. My mom gave me shit, but there’s nothin’ new with that.”

  She chuckles on the other end, and a deep feeling of loss hits my gut. I want her here, in my arms, lying with me, and not hundreds of miles away.

  She yawns loudly. “I need sleep, but I wanted to make sure you were there, safe.”

  I love that she cares for me enough that she had to make sure I was okay. Damn.

  “I’m here. Night, beautiful.”

  “Night.”

  I click the phone off and pass out.

  “So, we have a problem,” Pops says, sitting at the head of the table in church. He called the meeting yesterday after a phone call he received from the Red Devils MC. The one that asshole Nick is a part of.

  “It seems that Nick has a totally different story on what happened. His president, Scandal, has called a meeting that we need to go down to Florida to handle. I’m not fuckin’ happy about this.” Pops’ eyes come directly at me, boring a hole in my damn head. “Especially since you haven’t put claim on this woman. So, we’re in a pile of shit because of some bitch you had a hard-on for, and this isn’t how shit works.” His fist comes down on the table hard, shaking it.

  My fists clench tight and anger boils below the surface. I learned to remain calm on the outside, but that doesn’t mean I’m not livid with Pops right now. He has no idea what Bristyl means to me.

  “She’s not some random bitch I fucked in a damn bathroom.” My words are low and menacing.

  “You haven’t even seen her since the rally,” my father charges back.

  My gaze shoots to him. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve seen her the past few Saturdays and talk to her every damn night. She is mine.”

  A surprised look crosses his face. I don’t know why, considering I don’t tell him every little thing about my life. I am who I am.

  “Then why isn’t she here?” Rhys asks, stroking his face. “Pick her up and bring her ass here.”

  “I’m workin’ on it.”

  “Workin’ on it or doin’ it?” Rhys has always been an intense man. He sees something he wants, he takes it. Me, I’ve always been a bit more laid back, but that time has come to an end.

  “Doin’,” I respond, looking at Pops. “Let’s meet him.”

  “We’re all goin’. Two days.” Pops tosses down the gavel.

  Fuck. I need a plan, and I need my woman.

  15

  Bristyl

  He’s coming. Excited isn’t even the word to describe how I feel inside. I’ve been busting my ass today, trying to get all caught up so nothing will tie me down. He says he has to work, which is totally fine. I just don’t want to be returning phone calls when I could be spending time with Cooper. He said he would spend a couple of extra days down here with me, too. So, no way am I letting work get in the way of that.

  To have days of just him and me alone … My body quivers remembering how he felt inside of me. That one on one, face to face time is what I crave every moment of the day, and now we’re going to have it for more than a night.

  A knock comes to my office door, and when I look up, Racer is leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed.

  “Well, hello, brother,” I say, giving a small wave then going back to my papers.

  He says nothing as he steps inside the office. The distinct sound of him closing the door has my head popping up. My door doesn’t get closed unless it’s something serious. I don’t want serious right now. The high of having Cooper here is great, and I want to ride the wave.

  “What’s wrong?” My mind immediately goes to either a brother or my father being hurt, and my chest tightens at the thought.

  He takes a seat in front of me, elbows to his knees, eyes on me. “Got shit goin’ down.” Racer pauses. Racer never hesitates. It’s not in his nature. Again, unease washes over me. “I drew the short straw. Bristyl our Pistol, you gotta know this isn’t what any of us wanted for you. Time’s come, though. Decision is on you, but you gotta pick.” He runs his hands through his hair in obvious frustration. “Shit burns me to say, but Bristyl, Sterling, he’s stepping up and will claim you. You gotta either take his property patch as an ol’ lady, or Bris, you gotta be a whore.”

  My jaw falls to the floor, picking up every speck of dust possible, and my throat becomes impeccably dry. He didn’t just say that to me. Holy fuck, he did. Never in my life would I ever think those words would escape my brother’s mouth.

  “You want me to become an ol’ lady or a … whore? What’s gotten into you?”

  “I know Dad’s talked to you.”

  “He’s said that I’m not an ol’ lady, so I don’t have the same rights as the ones here in the club. But he said that I’m an employee of the club. He never said anything about becoming one, let alone someone who sleeps with the entire club.” Sickness rolls in my stomach, threatening to expel from my body. That is so not my gig.

  “Great, he left that up to me.” My brother looks at the ceiling like this is killing him. Well, if only he knew what it’s doing to me. “Look, Bristyl, we have club rules here. You being our sister gives us some leeway on protecting you, but it would be better if you were a part of the club so we can really enforce that. We’ve pushed as hard as we can, but we’re gettin’ some flak for it because no one else gets what you get from the club. Shit’s gettin’ deeper than ever before for the club. Dad, Stone, Hunter, and me, we need to know you’re protected. Sinisters can do that and will do that, but only if you
take it on your back or the back of a brother’s bike for life.”

  “So, you’re saying that I’m in danger and if I don’t buddy up with someone, I’m going to be hurt.”

  He leans back in the chair, casual as can be. “You have two options in this club. Ol’ lady or a club whore. There is no in between. Both we protect, each at different levels. You being the sister is lower on that totem pole. So, if you became an ol’ lady, we could work with this better.”

  “You’ve got to be shitting me.” I realize I’m holding a pen in my hand and toss it on the stack of papers in frustration. “I’m not going to be either. One, I’m not spreading my legs for guys here to take their turn with me. That doesn’t fly with me. Some women it does, and good for them, but not me. Second, there is no way I’ll be Sterling’s ol’ lady. He doesn’t even like me, just wants me on his arm. How can you even ask this of me?”

  “No one said you had to like the guy. Just keep him happy. Then we have the clout with the club to keep you under protection.”

  “So, in turn, fuck him so I’m protected? This is absolutely the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I can’t believe you’re sitting there, saying this to me. I don’t want to be an ol’ lady in Sinisters.”

  He shrugs. “Then you become a whore. At least you know four of us who won’t touch you.”

  My stomach curls again. “No, I’m not.”

  He rises from his chair and stretches so damn nonchalantly that it pisses me off. It’s like he doesn’t realize he just flipped my world upside down.

  This isn’t happening. I’ve been bound to my family for years, but them asking this of me … No, it’s not happening.

  Racer opens the door. “Think about it. We want an answer next week. Got shit to do.” Then he leaves. Gone. Poof. Like a cloud of smoke.

  I’m pissed as hell and hurt. How can my own brother, my own family, want to pimp me out to his friends? Either way, that’s what this is. It’s either one or all of them. How can a man I’ve known all my life suggest this to me, let alone expect an answer by next week? He’s lost his mind. This has got to be a cruel joke.

  I march from my office and search for my father, finding him in the back room, talking with Wolf. The hesitation is only a second, but I knock as his eyes lift.