He shoved his face into her damp neck. He needed a moment to get his shit together. Not his physical shit, this unexpected emotional shit.
Jesus. Might as well neuter him and take his motorcycle license. Turning into a goddamn emotional pussy.
He pressed his lips to her throat and tasted the salty tang of her skin. He inhaled deeply, picking up her scent as well as the strong scent of sex in his small room.
His room was one without its own bathroom since he didn’t live here full-time or even spend a lot of time up here. Keeping it was only a means to an end. A place to get laid or to crash when he was too lit to drive home after a party. Unfortunately, he would have to head down the hall to the communal bathroom to get something to clean her up with. Because there was no way she was hitting the hallway just wearing his tee or anything similar.
In a minute though, he told himself, since he still wasn’t ready to break their connection.
“Hawk,” she sighed.
“Yeah,” he mumbled against her skin.
“You’re not very light.”
“Yeah, babe.” He didn’t move.
Five seconds ticked by. “Hawk.”
“Yeah, babe.”
“You’re crushing me.”
With a groan, he fell to her side, leaned over to snag a dirty T-shirt off the floor and wiped off his dick. He tossed it back where he found it.
Kiki had watched the whole thing with bugged-out eyes. “Really?”
“Wanna use a T-shirt to clean up or do you want me to go get you a wet towel?”
“A wet towel, please. Your house is as neat as a pin. What the hell happened to this room?”
He glanced around and saw it through her eyes. It was filthy. No other word for it. The only reason his house was clean was due to having a house mouse. This room wasn’t nearly good enough for his woman. And he had stupidly gotten her naked and fucked her in this pig sty. That wouldn’t happen again. “Shouldn’t have brought you up here.”
“I still don’t understand how your two places could be so different in... cleanliness.”
“Jazz.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Oh my God. Without Jazz your house would look like this?” She waved her arm around the room.
That’s when he spotted it. In the past hour or so her bruise had turned a few different shades of purple. It was worse than he thought.
“Fuck,” he grumbled, grabbing her arm to look at it closer. “Don’t you ever protect something like that again.”
“Like what?”
“Fuckin’ money.”
“I wasn’t going to let them steal it all.”
He held her arm in front of her face so she couldn’t miss the results of her being stubborn. “Fuckin’ woman. Let ‘em have the fuckin’ money. Ain’t worth it.”
“Hawk.”
“No. No lip. Not gonna do that again.”
She broke free of his grip and pushed herself up into a seated position as she clutched the sheet tightly to her chest. He hated the fact that she felt the need to cover herself up from him.
He more than hated it.
“No, you’re right. That’s not going to happen again because I won’t put myself in that type of situation again.”
He sat up abruptly and shot a scowl in her direction. “Whataya mean?”
She tossed a hand out. “I was only obligated to make sure you did your community service. You did it. It’s done.”
It’s done.
Right. “Then why you in my bed right now?”
She blinked at him, then pressed the heel of her palm onto her forehead. “Gah! Why are you so hardheaded?”
“Born that way, babe. Ain’t gonna change.” He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her onto her back, rolling his body back over her, planting his face inches from hers. “It ain’t done, babe.”
“What?” she asked softly.
“It. Ain’t. Done.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Your community service is done.”
His muscles relaxed slightly.
“Wait... you thought... There’s nothing to be ‘done,’” she clarified. “It is what it is.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Here we go with that fuckin’ ‘is what it is’ shit again.”
“Well, what is it then? Huh? Tell me.”
He rolled away from her to sit on the edge of the bed, his back to her. He scrubbed both hands over his face. With his face turned away from her, he closed his eyes, and tried his damnedest to keep the tone of his voice flat when he asked, “What do you want it to be?”
If she said, “what it is,” a blood vessel would burst in his brain. When she was silent for way too long, he glanced over his shoulder at her.
She sat there, eyes closed, chewing on her bottom lip. Jesus, that didn’t bode well for him.
He sucked a deep breath through his nostrils, pushed to his feet, swiped his jeans from the floor and shoved his legs in. He zipped them closed but didn’t bother to fasten the top button.
“Gonna get you a towel,” he mumbled. He strode from the room, shutting the door behind him with extra care, because he really wanted to slam the shit out of it.
He brushed a hand over his hair, let out a silent but searing curse, then headed down the hallway to the bathroom, hoping he could find something clean in there for her to use.
He never should have brought her back here. His room at church just reminded her who he really was. What his life was really like. And that they were worlds apart.
Fuck.
* * *
The clubhouse was busy and loud as both bikers and women milled about, drank, and played pool, all of them hanging around to find out what happened with the chase involving the Warriors. And, more importantly, whether any of the stolen money was recovered.
However, no one knew where Bella was. Still.
Kiki, knowing she was probably with that cop, Axel, wasn’t worried. The woman seemed more than capable of taking care of herself. But the thought of Bella disappearing with Zak’s cop brother seemed to disturb most of the men for some reason.
As long as she was safe and not being held against her will, then they needed to get over it.
As they waited for word, Kiki couldn’t help but eyeball the man who sat to her right on one of the bar stools one more time.
He had shiny black hair that flowed over his back like a waterfall. His hair was so long that she was extremely jealous of how long it actually was. And his face was... Oh lord, she had no other word for it but... stunning.
Perfect caramel skin, almond shaped eyes, cheekbones which also made her jealous. He’d be considered pretty if he was a woman. But he certainly wasn’t. There was no mistaking he was anything but all male. His dark, almost black, eyes landed on her as she stared at him and smiled. He didn’t return it.
Whatever. He was pure eye candy and she would still stare at him. He could move elsewhere if he didn’t like it.
She shifted his way a little more. She read the patch on his vest. “Is your name Crow?”
He put down the whiskey he’d been slowly sipping for the past fifteen minutes and twisted his head toward her again, his pitch-dark eyes burning into her soul. “Maybe.”
God, his voice was like warm, sticky honey, too.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but...” Kiki sucked in a breath. “You don’t seem to quite fit in here.”
His expression remained the same, which was pretty much a blank but beautiful canvas when he said, “I’m a biker.”
“I get that.” She twisted slightly on her stool and swung her arm out, indicating the rest of the crowd in the room. “But I’m just surprised that—”
His gaze pinned to her arm and she startled when he grabbed it. “Who did that?”
The man went from emotionless to fierce in a second flat. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.
“Hawk didn’t do that.” It wasn’t a question, but more of a challenge for her to refute that.
“No!
No. He didn’t. One of those Warriors did.”
“Six feet under,” he muttered.
“What?”
His gaze hit hers, his eyes sparkling like black diamonds. “Six feet under. That’s where those bastards need to be.”
“Uh... By the way, I’m the new club attorney. Although there’s something called attorney-client privilege, I’d rather not hear things like that.” She leaned towards him, and lowered her voice. “Just in case.”
He raised his glass to his lips and instead of sipping, he took a gulp of the amber liquid. “Know who you are.”
“Well then... I’d appreciate it if you’d not tell me stuff like that. Again... just in case.”
“Hawk’s woman.”
“What?
“He gonna take it to the table an’ claim you?”
“Claim me? As what?”
“His ol’ lady.”
His ol’ lady? Unfortunately, she now knew what an ol’ lady was. No question about it. You couldn’t hang around the DAMC women for even a minute and not figure that out real fast. And it wasn’t hard to miss quite a few of the “Property of” cuts that women wore from the Dark Knights, Dirty Angels and other various clubs that had shown up at the Dogs & Hogs event.
She had no plans to ever wear anything like that, nor would she willingly become the property of a man. What year was it, anyway? Women had worked hard to become independent and still to this date must fight for equality. She didn’t understand this biker way of thinking at all.
Besides, relationships should be an equal partnership, not one partner lording over the other.
Kiki realized she never answered. “No. I have no reason to become someone’s ol’ lady, Hawk’s or otherwise.”
Crow just smiled in response.
He smiled. And it was cream-your-jeans worthy.
Damn, whispered through her head. She shook it to clear it.
“Women,” he finally grumbled in the way that sounded like the word “silly” should be in front of it.
Then his eyes dropped to her jeans and he made a guttural noise. She had worn the designer pair that had fashionable frayed rips cut into them. From the factory, of course. She didn’t wear jeans enough to wear a pair out and have them look that cool. She had bought them to try to fit in a little more today. Of course, the boots she also wore were nothing like a biker boot, but were stylish at least.
She jerked in surprise when he ran a finger over the skin above her knee that peeked out of the rip. “You buy ‘em like that?”
Her heart leapt into her throat and suddenly began pounding, like it was trying to escape her neck. “Y-yes.” She tried to swallow it back down into her chest.
He trailed his finger up her leg and poked it into the small frayed hole at the top of her thigh. “How much they set you back?”
She realized she was holding her breath and released it in a whoosh. “Why?”
“Coulda done that for nothin’ with my blade.” He patted the very large knife that hung off his belt in a sheath, but was kept mostly hidden by his cut.
“A hundred and twenty.”
He shook his head. “A buck twenty. For fuck’s sake,” he muttered.
Suddenly, he jerked his wandering finger away from her like he had touched fire. A second later, his black eyes tipped up just as two large hands landed on her shoulders.
“Said she ain’t gonna be your ol’ lady, brother, so she’s available,” Crow said to whoever stood behind her. And she knew exactly who stood behind her without looking.
Even though she couldn’t see his face, Hawk’s fingers tightened, pressing into her bare flesh.
His words were low, grumbly and held a clear warning. “She’s full of my cum right now, brother. Got me?”
Kiki’s mouth dropped open and heat rushed up her throat into her cheeks. She was just going to die right then and there. Yes, it had been no secret that they had come from upstairs together. Most of the crowd had already arrived and all eyes had been on them. But still...
What he said was just plain rude. He might as well have lifted his leg and peed on her.
Crow dropped his gaze to her face. A smile slowly crept across his as he stared at her but talked to Hawk. “Just fuckin’ with you, brother. You know I’m not lookin’ to deal with any mess.” Then he turned to the bar, downed the rest of his whiskey and pushed to his feet. He wacked Hawk on the shoulder as he passed, laughing sharply and saying, “Also not lookin’ for you to kick my ass.”
Kiki twisted on her stool to watch him walk away... or more like it, watch the swing of his narrow hips. When she looked up at Hawk, his eyes were boring into her.
“That was rude.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “What?”
“What you said.”
“Truth.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “Rude, Hawk. Embarrassing.”
“Were you embarrassed when we came downstairs together after I just got done fuckin’ you?”
She didn’t answer.
“’Cause if you don’t think everyone knew, you’re fuckin’ dead wrong.”
“You don’t have to announce that I’m full of your...” She lowered her voice. “DNA.”
His lips twitched. “Yeah you are.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s the last time I go upstairs with you.”
“Got that right.”
She gave him a surprised look.
He continued, “Not here, not again. My house. Your place. My bike. Not your car, though. Too tight.”
Her eyes sliced through the crowd. Crow was no longer in sight.
“Done fuckin’ ‘im with your eyes?”
She ignored that. “What’s his story?”
“Not mine to tell. Will tell you that if you want ink he’s the man. One of the best ink slingers in the state.”
“I’ll keep that in mind when I’m ready to tattoo ‘Mom’ on my right breast.”
“I’d prefer you get ‘Hawk’ on the back of your neck. But lemme make somethin’ clear, the only thing you’ll get from him is ink, got me?”
Lemme make somethin’ clear.
“Do women really like this old school misogynistic crap? Because lemme make somethin’ clear, I’m not really feeling it, just so you know.”
“Whataya mean?”
She waved a hand in his direction. “This bossiness crap. Like you’re the man and I’m just a lil lady who is helpless. And lemme make somethin’ else clear... Just because you have a dick hanging between your legs, doesn’t mean you get to act like one.”
He opened his mouth and she gave him the palm. “I’m not done. And just because I have a vagina doesn’t mean I need a man. Because I certainly don’t.”
She heard a loud snicker behind her and she spun in her seat to look at the older man with a long scruffy gray beard, a protruding beer gut, and lots of wrinkles, wearing a cut that had seen better days.
He slammed his beer mug on the bar and looked over at Hawk, pointing a gnarled finger at him. “Got your hands full with that one.” He shook his head and muttered something that Kiki couldn’t understand, then grumbled, “Hope the pussy’s worth it.”
Just great! They had an audience.
Hawk moved between them to where Crow previously sat. “Yeah, old man, the pussy’s worth it.”
Oh good lord.
She was grateful when the back door to the clubhouse opened with a bang, and that conversation was diverted.
A group of bikers funneled through the door. All of them wearing DAMC cuts. Kiki sighed in relief when she noticed they carried the four missing barrels of money. She recognized Hawk’s brother Diesel, the club president, Pierce, and the brother named Crash. The rest she had no idea who they were.
Pierce wore a big smile as he lifted one of the barrels over his head and shouted, “Got the fuckin’ money. Ditched it not far from the fairgrounds. With us an’ the pigs hot on their tail, didn’t have time to get it outta the barrels.”
Sho
uts rose up, along with whistling and hooting.
Hawk’s arm snaked across her collarbone and he pressed his front to her back. He spoke close to her ear. “Shit’s good. We can get outta here now. Gotta check on the bar before we leave, though.”
He thought she was going back to his place. Before she could respond, Diesel was there, towering over her, but had eyes on his brother.
“She good?”
“Yeah. Fucker grabbed her arm.” Without releasing her, Hawk lifted her arm to show Diesel the bruise. His eyes narrowed on it and his lips flattened into an angry slash.
“Shoulda kept after them then. Need to crack some fuckin’ heads.”
“Uh,” Kiki started but Hawk cut her off.
“You go to station?”
“Hadta follow the pigs back to station to wait for ‘em to make a fuckin’ report an’ release the scratch.”
“Axel there?”
Diesel’s eyes tipped up to Hawk, who was still pressed against her back. “No. Why?”
“Think he got Bella.”
Diesel’s face turned dark and scary as he pulled a cell phone from the back pocket of his jeans. His big fingers jabbed at his phone and he’d apparently put it on speaker phone since the ringing sounds filled the air.
After three rings, her voicemail picked up and his jaw got tight. After the beep, he yelled into the phone, “Bella! You call me ASAP. Got me?”
He jabbed at the screen again, staring at it for a moment. He glanced up to survey the crowd until he found who he was looking for. “Jag!”
“Yo!” came the answering shout.
“Your ol’ lady hear from Bella?”
Two seconds later he answered, “Nope.”
Jag’s so-called ol’ lady, Ivy, was standing right next to him. The fact that the massive man didn’t ask Ivy that question directly once again hit home for Kiki that things were somewhat backwards in this male-dominated world.
“Anyone hear from Bella?” Diesel barked loudly and the busy room became quiet.
Diamond pushed past a few people as she approached Diesel, Slade close on her heels. Besides a fat lip and a bruise across his jaw, Slade didn’t look any worse for wear.
“Last we saw, she was with Axel. She’s fine.”
“Gonna go find her,” Diesel growled.
Down & Dirty: Books 1-3: Dirty Angels MC Series Box Set Page 51
