“He’s the one pushing to join the Jacks,” Zane said. “Maybe he has a connection. Maybe he’s made the same kind of deal with Viper that Wolf has made with us: If he wins the election, he’ll patch the club over to the Jacks.”
Jagger shook his head. “Wolf says he doesn’t have that kind of support, and from what I’ve heard from other clubs, that’s true. He’d have to win over the senior patch or buy up a lot of votes to beat a ten-year president who rebuilt the club. And as Cade said, Mad Dog doesn’t want a patch-over. He’s young. He wants to lead. At best, he’ll have made a deal to be a support club. We’ll deal with that problem when the time comes, but for now, we don’t touch him.”
“Fuck.” Cade wanted nothing more than to yank open the door and leave the goddamn board behind, but Jagger hadn’t adjourned the meeting and he didn’t want to put his good friend Gunner in the position of having to deal with his breach of the rules. “How can I protect her if my hands are tied? I shoulda voted to off him that very first day.”
“Then we would be having a very different conversation right now,” Jagger said. “The Brethren would have been part of the attack last night. We barely fought off the Jacks as it was.”
“Why are you so damn riled?” Gunner’s forehead creased with a frown. “It’s not like she’s your old lady. You never cared this much about the other women you took to bed…”
“What if she was?” He felt the rightness of the idea the moment he spoke the words. “She would be entitled to Sinner protection as my old lady.”
Jagger quirked an appreciative eyebrow. “Mad Dog would no longer suffer under the illusion that Dawn belonged to him. And if he did harass her, you could act to defend your old lady, regardless of the agreement we made with the Brethren.”
“No fucking way.” Gunner shot out of his seat. “You can’t take an old lady. You’re you. You got a rep to protect. And who am I gonna go drinking with? We got parties lined up every weekend for the next couple of months. And the twins with the biggest—”
“It wouldn’t be permanent,” Cade said quickly. “Just until Mad Dog is no longer a threat.”
“I’m good with that,” Jagger settled back in his chair. “Dawn’s got herself in a bad situation and Arianne has been harassing me about our decision not to touch Mad Dog for the last few weeks.”
“What does Dawn think of this idea?” Zane voiced the question on everyone’s lips.
“I haven’t asked her.” Cade inhaled and released a long breath. “Might take a lot of convincing because she’s made it pretty damn clear she isn’t interested in being anyone’s old lady.”
“I got faith in you, brother.” Jagger gave him a wicked smile. “If anyone can convince a woman to do anything, it’s you.”
* * *
“Dawn. Wake up.”
Half asleep in Cade’s bed, his warm, naked body tucked around her, Dawn wasn’t inclined to climb out of her cave of oblivion. “Sleeping,” she mumbled.
“Babe. I need to talk to you.” He turned her gently, resting her head on his shoulder so he could harass her face-to-face. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“I wasn’t having any problems.” She squeezed her eyes closed and buried her face in his neck, breathing in his warm masculine scent. She’d dragged herself to work in the morning, stumbled through her job in the afternoon, spent a few hours sorting her house while the workmen changed the locks and window, and barely made it through her shift at the bar before Cade picked her up and took her back to the clubhouse.
Too tired to eat, she’d allowed him to put her to bed, expecting to sleep until the sun came up.
Apparently, Cade had other ideas, and now that she was awake, she had some ideas, too.
“I know a cure for insomnia.” She eased herself on top of him, perversely pleased she’d gone to bed without any clothes. Cradling his hips with her thighs, she slid down until he was perfectly placed, his semi-erect shaft nestled against the curve of her sex.
Cade groaned. “You’re making this hard.”
“Yes, I am.” She wiggled on top of him, delighted at his instant response. One thing about Cade, he could perform at a moment’s notice.
“What happened last night at your house, can’t happen again.” Cade stroked his hand down her back. “I can’t touch him, but I can’t sit back and let him threaten you, either. It’s gone too far.”
“What are you going to do?”
He spread his legs, parting her wide, and his cock slid through her wet folds. “I’ve thought of another way.”
“What way? And don’t think I don’t realize you’re trying to distract me.”
Cade leaned up and caught her nipple between his teeth, licking and sucking until she moaned. “You’re gonna be my old lady.”
“I don’t want to be your old lady.” She reared back, her breath catching in her throat. “I don’t want to be anyone’s old lady. Been there. Done that. Got the bruises and the emotional trauma to show it.”
“Shhhh, babe.” Cade’s strong arms wrapped around her and he pulled her down to his chest. “It won’t be permanent. Right now, Mad Dog still thinks you’re his, and he’s using the pass Wolf bought him to ride freely through town. That puts you in danger. So we make him understand you’re taken and he’s got no claim on you. And if he does come near you again, I can deal with him without going against the club ’cause I’m defending my old lady. No one fucks with a biker’s old lady.”
“I haven’t even gotten used to the fact that we occasionally have hot sex. Being an old lady is too big a step. I can’t deal with the violence, Cade. I can’t be part of this world again.”
He rocked his hips against her, his erection sliding against her clit. “You’re gonna say yes, because you can’t fight Jimmy alone. He’s part of the Brethren and to stand a chance you need a club on your side. And it’s not forever. There’s an election coming up and once it’s done and the Brethren patch over to us, Mad Dog is dead. You’ll be safe and … “He hesitated. “The Sinners can help you get your girls back.”
Now that caught her interest. “How?”
“’Cause if you’re a Sinner, then they are Sinners. Shelly-Ann can’t hold them for fucking ransom, and no one’s gonna do shit if I pick them up and bring them home. This is a Sinner town and the cops and social services will have to toe the fucking line.”
“I’m going to say no.” She pushed up, trying to get his cock where she wanted it to go. Although tempting, his solution didn’t address the fact there was a court decision out there that said she was an unfit mother. If this ended when Jimmy died—and she didn’t want to think about being in any way complicit in his death—then she’d be on her own again and the authorities could still take her girls away.
But oh, for a chance …
Cade gave her an evil grin, then rolled until he was on top of her, his shaft hard and heavy between her legs. “If you want a taste of me, you’re gonna have to be mine.”
Desire curled through Dawn’s belly, and she squeezed her eyes shut. “Maybe I don’t want a taste of you. Maybe I just want to go to sleep and pretend this conversation never happened.”
He eased to the side then thrust a thick finger into her wetness. “You’re gonna say yes, sweetheart, because by the time I’m done, you won’t be able to say anything else.”
“If you’re planning to sex me into agreeing to be your old lady, then there’s something I want,” she said as a plan formulated in her mind.
Cade kicked her legs apart and pressed the head of his shaft against her entrance. “And you’ll get it when you say yes.”
“That’s not what I mean. I know someone who might know how to find Jimmy’s private investigator, or the identity of the person who filmed the fake drug deal behind the school. If I could find at least one person who could testify it was all a setup, I would feel better about your promise to get my girls back because then I wouldn’t have to worry about the police or courts taking them away. Ever.”
“
The people who were involved in that scam aren’t the kind of people who are going to stand up in court and confess.”
Dawn heaved a sigh, her arousal fading. “I have to try. I can’t live under the shadow of that decision. And I’m not about to do anything stupid. I’m just going to have a conversation, but it isn’t with someone I can see alone.”
Cade’s eyes darkened and his arms came up around her. “Who do you want to see?”
“Bunny.” A shady underworld kingpin and sometime human trafficker, with connections everywhere, Bunny was a man who traded in information. He knew everyone and everything. If you wanted something, he could get it. If you needed information, he knew it. But his services came with a price.
A price Dawn had already paid. Bunny had her mark, and it was time to call it in.
“Son of a bitch.” Cade’s muscles bunched under her hands. “No. Absolutely not. No fucking way are you gonna see that slime-sucking dirt bag. Look what happened to Arianne.”
“He’s not the one who chained her in his basement and tried to sell her into slavery. That was her brother. And that other guy, the ex-Sinner who tried to slit her throat…”
“Axle.”
“Jeff and Axle were the ones who hurt her. Bunny saved her.”
Cade gave an irritated snort. “Only because Jagger beat the shit out of him after you brought Arianne to him to negotiate a deal.”
“He owes me, Cade. Jimmy made me dance. At strip clubs.” Her words came out so fast they ran over one another. This was a part of her life she didn’t want to share, but Cade had opened up about his past and she wanted to do the same. “Bunny had a table at the club where I danced. We had an arrangement Jimmy didn’t know about. So now I can call in a favor. If you don’t come with me, then Arianne will.”
“He saw you naked.”
She knew from his tone of voice exactly where this conversation was going to go. “Yes.”
“No.”
“I was asking for your help. Not your permission.” Dawn glared, although it wasn’t easy to be angry when he was naked, on top of her, and their heated conversation had clearly not diminished his arousal in the least.
“You get neither.”
“Then you don’t get an old lady.” She tilted her hips until he was poised at her entrance. “And you don’t get your sexy times.”
“That was supposed to be my line.”
Dawn eased down the tiniest bit. “Say yes, Cade, or we’re both going to suffer.”
He thrust deep and hard, filling her so completely she almost came right then.
“Yes,” he said.
Dawn leaned up and kissed him. “Yes.”
TWELVE
I will ride until the ride is done, and then I’ll ride again.
SINNER’S TRIBE CREED
Saturday night. Party night.
At least for the brothers without old ladies. For the brother whose impulsive nature had landed him with an old lady who didn’t want to be an old lady at all, the party Jagger had staged for the big announcement of Cade’s new “old man” status was a sedate affair. Sure the sweet butts, lays, house mamas, and hang-arounds had been invited, and as usual they were dressed to undress in skimpy minis and tiny tanks, but it was hands off for Cade and hands on for the unattached brothers in Riders Bar.
Cade had spent last night at the clubhouse, catching up with his executive board work. His aptitude for numbers had made him a natural for the position as treasurer, but he wasn’t looking forward to sharing the news that their finances had taken a massive hit as a result of the war with the Jacks. Unfortunately, the time alone had made him second-guess his plan to make Dawn his pretend old lady.
What the hell had he been thinking, baring his soul to her the other night? No one knew about his parents. Not even Jagger. And he didn’t want her sympathy. He’d dealt with that situation and moved on. After he’d received the letter about his mother’s death, he never returned to his hometown, never contacted his father in jail; hell, he’d never even visited his mother’s grave. Even when his aunt emailed a few years later to tell him his father died of a heart attack in prison he hadn’t gone home for the funeral.
Although Dawn had opened his eyes to the possibility some situations just couldn’t be controlled, he couldn’t accept that there were times he wouldn’t be able to protect the people he cared about. He wouldn’t let her suffer the same fate as his mother. Not when he had the strength and resources to ensure it would never happen. Not even if it meant turning his back on the club. And in the boardroom the other day, he’d almost been there.
Jagger thudded his beer bottle on a wooden table to quiet the room, and the DJ turned down Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.” The DJ was crap but he owed the Sinners money and what better way for him to work off his debt than to DJ at Riders, one of several bars the Sinners owned, operated, and laundered money through in Conundrum. At least Riders looked like a biker bar: worn wooden tables, posters of girls, bikes, and girls on bikes pinned to the walls, beer bottle sculptures in the alcoves, dim lighting, and a central dance floor that gave the brothers a good view of the girls. And of course, it smelled like stale beer and leather.
Cade grimaced when Jagger cleared his throat. He wasn’t up for this at all. Pretending to have a relationship had been a lot easier when they were just having a good time. But now he felt open, raw, totally and utterly exposed. Not a comfortable feeling.
He shot back his whiskey, swallowing the smooth, bitter liquid in one gulp. Time to back off, regain perspective. This relationship wasn’t real and he had to stop thinking of it that way.
Arianne put two fingers in her mouth and whistled, quieting the room. She winked at Jagger and his face softened. Secret joke that wasn’t much of a secret. Arianne had saved Jagger’s life with that whistle not so long ago.
“As you all know,” Jagger shouted. “Cade has an announcement for us.” Jagger looked over at Cade and winked. Club tradition said that when a brother took an old lady, he had to make a formal declaration to the club. Usually the brothers brought it up in church, but Jagger wanted the word to get out. The Brethren had to believe it was true, and what better way than to invite a bunch of support clubs and support wannabes, splash the cash, and send them out to spread the word that the “Sinner of Sinners” had finally been tamed.
Now he had to make a damn speech when all he really wanted was to get on his bike and ride until he ran out of gas.
After refilling his glass from a bottle on the bar, he searched the crowd and spotted Dawn deep in conversation with Tanya. She looked up and met his gaze, her expression wary. Mustering all the charm he’d relied on to woo women into his bed, he smiled and held out a hand, indicating for her to join him.
“Finally found a woman who lit my fire,” he said, raising his bottle. “Sweet, sassy, and sexy and a bit of a sinner like all of us. She may look soft, but she’s got a core of steel. Sweet butts, dry your eyes. She’s got my heart, my wings, my protection, and my patch. I’m taking Dawn as my old lady and if anyone has a problem with that, I’ll shoot them between the fucking eyes.”
Everyone cheered. Dawn gave a cool smile and, after a nudge from Tanya, joined him in the center of the room, her fuck-me stilettos tapping lightly on the wooden floor. Her gold dress shimmered in the light, hugging every curve of her beautiful body, and her hair fell in soft golden curls past her shoulders. Damn. Why did she have to dress like that? He was hard just looking at her. Every damn brother in the room would be panting after her …
But they couldn’t touch. Dawn belonged to him now and no one touched a biker’s old lady.
Mine. He felt no small amount of satisfaction when he took the new cut from Jagger and slid it over her shoulders. Dawn spun around to show off the PROPERTY OF CADE patch on the back: the skull and stars in the center and his personal rocker on top, and Cade thought he might burst from pride. His cut. His woman. A more beautiful sight he had never seen.
Too bad it wasn’t real.
After the cheers died down, he clasped Dawn’s hand and wove his way through the crowded bar, forcing a smile as he endured the congratulations, handshakes, and pats on the back, counting the minutes until they could be free.
“Hey Cade.” One of the few non-board-members who knew about the ruse, Arianne greeted him warmly when he reached the bar. “Nice speech. All I got from Jagger was a cut wrapped up in brown paper with PROPERTY OF JAGGER written on the back and suddenly I was his old lady.”
“That’s ’cause you were his old lady the second he laid eyes on you. Just took you both a while to realize it.” That and Jagger almost dying in a ditch after rescuing Arianne from her Black Jack family.
“Never seen anyone scowl so much about getting hitched.” Jagger leaned against the bar beside him after Arianne took Dawn to meet her new family. “People are starting to talk. Totally defeats the purpose of what you were trying to do here. Go dance with her, kiss her, make out—something to make it seem legit. Or are you having second thoughts?”
“She’s not fully on board with the plan. Took a lot of convincing.” He finished his beer in one swallow. “I get that she had a bad experience with the Brethren. And Mad Dog … every time I think about him, my blood fucking boils, but we’re not them, and I’m not him. Why can’t she see the difference?”
A shadow crossed Jagger’s face and he glanced over at Arianne and Dawn. “She’s fought hard to get away from the Brethren and make a life for herself, so it’s gonna be hard for her to trust us or give up her independence. You can’t run around swinging your club. I know about strong women, brother. You need a subtle touch.”
Subtle. Sure. He could do subtle.
Cade pushed his way through the sea of brothers, parting the group of women now crowded around Dawn with a scowl.
“Thought it was time I had a dance with the old lady.” He held out his hand, his heart pounding as if he were sixteen and back in high school wondering if the girl with the biggest tits in middle school would shoot him down. He’d always had a thing for big tits, and Dawn … damn she looked fine.
The Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club, Books 1-3 Page 49
