“Let’s see,” Penny counted off on her fingers, “There’s Della, Angel, Foxy, Candy, Suzy, and Tammy. I believe their phone numbers are somewhere in that drawer, too.”
“Great, I’ll get right on it. How about we plan it for this Thursday night?”
Penny nodded. “I can make guacamole dip, too.”
I didn’t say anything, I was just happy to hear something other than resigned sadness in her tone for a change. This pick me up was exactly what my sister needed to break up the monotony of what her life had become. My next step would be to get her out of the house. Maybe a few hours at the spa would tempt her, she had used to love to do that. One of the girls could help with that while I stayed home with Dickie.
My heart hurt when I thought about Dickie. His health seemed to be declining at an alarming rate. I’m sure Penny could see it, too, but we didn’t talk about it. It was better to stay in denial and just deal with it day by day then accept the truth that his days were numbered. It was too painful to think about the future. All I could do was to be there for her and help her through it.
I thought about my nephew Jay, wondering when Penny would decide to call him home. I knew he was busy with finals, but these were special circumstances. Surely Yale made allowances for things like this. Who could foresee a death in the family, or an accident and illness?
I finished putting away the eggs, cheese, and bread and gathered up the empty bags. “When do you plan to call Jay home?”
Penny was in the process of cutting up a head of cabbage and glanced up at me for a second, shrugging. “I really don’t know. The three of us talked about it the last time he was home. Dickie wants him to focus on medical school.” She gave me a sad smile. “I don’t think he wants Jay to see him like this.”
“It’s hard for all of us,” I pointed out. Her brief nod revealed that she agreed. “You need him here with you, sis.” The next time she looked up I saw the tears in her eyes. “What does Jay want?”
“He wants to spend as much time with his dad as he can, and you’re right, I do want him here. But we agreed he should stay at school until it’s over.”
“You mean come home for the funeral?” Penny nodded. “What? Penny, screw the funeral. Your son needs to be here now, while Dickie is still with us. Now is important, and the three of you need this time together.” She dropped her knife and lifted her tee to wipe the tears that were running down her cheeks, and I felt like a jerk. “Sis−”
She shook her head when I made a move to go to her. “No, you’re right,” she cried. “I thought the same thing, but in the end we agreed with what Dickie wanted.”
I imagined that my sister and nephew would agree to anything that Dickie wanted right now, just to keep him calm and happy. Sometimes it was better to give in, even if it went against everything you believed in. Jay not being there was tearing Penny up inside, I could see that now. I made a decision right then that I would call him myself and tell him to get home. I had a feeling that they would all be thankful. They were a family and needed to be together during this time.
Noise coming from the stairs indicated that Dickie’s two visitors were on their way down. Penny and I exchanged amused glances, because they sounded like elephants stomping down the stairs.
“Where you at, sweetheart?” one of them called out.
“In the kitchen, Hotrod.” I gave her a surprised look, because she knew him by his voice. She winked in return, letting me in on her little secret. “He calls me sweetheart, Odie calls me honey.”
I chuckled, looking toward the doorway where the two men appeared.
“Afternoon, pretty lady.” Odie’s gaze barely ran over me before he raised his face and sniffed the air. “Something smells good, honey.”
“Just put some brownies in the oven,” Penny smiled. “Is Dickie okay?”
“He just nodded off, sweetheart,” Hotrod responded.
“Hey, I have a question for you boys.” I was eager to set the wheels in motion for our girl’s night. I didn’t want Penny to have too much time to think about it and come up with a reason that it wouldn’t be a good idea. “Would either of you be available to come back and keep Dickie company on Thursday night?” They looked at each other with something close to worry, as if afraid to commit. I laughed. “All we need is for someone to sit with Dickie for a couple of hours.” Instant relief crossed their expressions.
“Yeah, that’s not a problem,” Odie responded. “If something comes up and we can’t make it, one of the brothers will be here.” He turned his attention to Penny. “You going somewhere, honey?”
“The back deck,” she laughed.
“We’re going to call the ladies in the club and have a girl’s night, here,” I explained. “Penny could use some relaxation.”
“Damned good idea!” Odie barked. He sniffed the air again. “Those brownies about done?”
Laughter sounded through the kitchen. “You like brownies?” Penny asked, going to the oven to check on them.
“Honey, I haven’t had a brownie in so long I forgot what they fucking look like,” he groused.
She pulled the pan from the oven and set it on the stovetop. “Well, they’re too hot to eat now, but I can send you home with one for later.”
“Me, too, sweetheart?” The boyish twinkle in his eyes at the prospect of having a brownie conflicted strongly with Hotrod’s biker persona.
Both men looked mean and dangerous, scruff on their faces, long hair, dressed in full biker gear, and here they were in my sister’s kitchen begging for one of her brownies when they looked like they should be off shooting at someone. I watched the exchange, realizing that Penny was enjoying it, too. I could see why she regretted her decision not to get involved in the club. These people might look like they’d just as soon kill you as to look at you, but they were good, caring people. It was clear on Odie and Hotrid’s faces that they genuinely liked Penny.
As they conversed like old friends, I excused myself. I had a call to make.
Chapter 12
VD
I sat on my bike just outside of Dickie’s house, staring up at the window to Iris’s bedroom. I hadn’t seen her in almost three days. Between working my bar and running the club I’d been busy with shit. It was nothing unusual, except for the little bit of trouble that was coming the club’s way. It had been a damned long time since we’d felt this kind of heat, but word on the street was that with Dickie stepping down, Mad Dogs’ was vulnerable and could easily be taken over. The Slayers MC had been after our territory for a long time, but until now they hadn’t made a play
The fuckers didn’t know who they were messing with.
Mad Dogs was fifty members strong, and that was just our chapter.
I wondered if Iris was aware of who she was getting involved with, because we were involved. She may have though that it was only a temporary thing, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Christ, I wanted that woman, and I had no intention of giving her up. Proof of that was that I was sitting there in the dark, staring up at her window like some love-struck kid. Fuck, if the boys could see me now I wouldn’t live it down.
She was as innocent and naive as Penny was when it came to the club. That would have to change. I wasn’t about to let her stay in the dark like Dickie had with Penny. I didn’t know how he’d done it all those years, how tough it must have been to keep club shit out of their personal life. The few times of trouble when the club had gone on lockdown he’d shipped Penny and Jay off to visit family in other parts of the country. It hadn’t been lost on me that once Dickie was gone, the women in his family would be under the club’s protection, something we’d need to discuss when the time came.
It wouldn’t be a matter of choice. Dickie would expect the club to do whatever it took to keep his family safe, and we would. I would. The threat from the Slayers may amount to nothing, but we’d be ready if they tried to get to us through our families. Since Penny and Iris were Dickie’s immediate family, I’d already assi
gned two prospects to watch over them from a distance. I had eyes on his son Jay, too.
A sliver of daylight began to peek over the horizon, but I knew we had at least another hour of darkness. Then a light came on in the kitchen. I didn’t know who was there, but I didn’t intend to go another minute without seeing Iris. I dismounted my bike with a deep breath. I needed to see Iris and didn’t intend to waste another minute thinking about all the dirty things I wanted to do to her.
When I could be doing them to her now.
I walked up the porch steps and tapped lightly on the glass portion of the door. A minute later the curtain was pulled aside and I was looking into Iris’s smiling face. She’d opened the door without hesitation.
“Hi there, handsome.”
My gaze dropped down her body. Even in sweats and a tee that left her midriff exposed she was sexy as hell. Her hair was everywhere, and I reached up, grabbed the back of her neck, and jerked her against me for a taste of her lips. I swallowed her gasp. Her hands came up on my chest and I felt her fingers curl into the edges of my cut. I attacked her soft mouth with a groan, delving inside when she opened for my tongue.
I wanted to fuck her right then and there
“You taste good first thing in the morning,” I growled, letting her go to close the door behind me.
“You’re just lucky I brushed my teeth before coming down,” she teased, making her way back to the kitchen. My gaze automatically dropped to the curve of her shapely ass. “What are you doing here so early?”
The smell of fresh coffee filled the kitchen. “I came for coffee.”
She laughed softly. “Aren’t you lucky that I just made a pot?” She opened a cupboard and reached for two cups. By the time she turned back around I had her pinned against the counter and was nuzzling the side of her neck. “Are you sure you came for coffee?”
I grinned, and then lightly bit her. God her skin was like satin, tempting a man to touch and devour her. “I’ve missed you, darlin’.”
“Where have you been?” she asked breathlessly.
“Work,” I answered abruptly. “I’m not here to discuss work.” I began to make my way down the side of her neck to her collarbone. I inhaled deeply. “You smell good.” I licked her. “You taste good.” I reached down and squeezed her ass. “You feel good.” Her dreamy sigh went straight to my aching dick. “Where can we go so I can fuck you?”
She shivered. “What about coffee?”
“Fuck coffee,” I snarled, grinding my dick into her belly. “I need inside you. Now.”
“Good morning, you two.”
Fuck. I hadn’t even heard Penny approaching, and suddenly she was in the room with us. She had terrible timing. I leaned my forehead against Iris’s, breathing heavily, trying to calm my racing pulse. “Morning,” I grumbled without looking at her. The fact that I could hear the smile in her voice told me that she was amused at interrupting us.
“Good morning, sis.” Iris gave my chest a pat and scooted away, and I was left clenching the edge of the counter. “We were just about to have coffee.”
The hell we were. I turned my head and glared at her. Her radiant smile touched somewhere deep inside me, leaving a calmness to settle over me that I hadn’t felt in a long time. “I’ll get another cup.” I grabbed one from the cupboard, turned and set it next to the coffee maker.
“I made a coffee cake yesterday, VD, would you like a piece with your coffee?”
“Would love a piece,” I told Penny, accepting a cup of coffee from Iris.
“You’re here early,” she continued, grabbing some plates and silverware. “Did you come by to see Dickie?”
I saw her and Iris exchange smiles. Why did I get the feeling that they knew something I didn’t? “Not exactly.”
“Oh,” she said, cutting into a coffee cake that was dripping with some kind of syrup and covered in pecans. She handed me the first slice. “Oh, my, goodness!” Her eyes grew round, and I noticed her looking at my neck with something close to shock. “You’ve been bitten by the same bug that got Iris. I better call an exterminator.”
My questioning gaze darted to Iris, who was barely holding back a laugh. I raised a brow, and that broke the damn she’d been holding back. For a minute I was mesmerized by the sound of her laughter, the twinkle in her eyes, and the color staining her cheeks. I’d never wanted a woman more than I did just then. She lifted the hair off her neck and pointed at a purple bruise.
I grinned, looked back at Penny, and shrugged. “I don’t think a bug man will take care of the problem anytime soon.” I sat down at the small table and dug into my coffee cake, ignoring my dick, who seemed to be upset by the turn of events. “Damn, this is good,” I groaned around a mouthful.
They joined me at the table. “Thank−”
A loud bang sounded through the house. Penny and Iris jerked, and then froze in position and looked at each other with confusion, but I knew exactly what it was. I jumped from the table and took off running toward the stairs, taking them two at a time in a mad rush to Dickie and Penny’s bedroom. I could feel my heart pounding with what I was going to find when I got there. Halfway up the stairs I realized that the women were behind me.
“Stay back!” I ordered, entering the bedroom to see Dickie standing there next to the bed with a gun in his hand. I could tell as soon as I looked into his eyes that this wasn’t Dickie. He looked confused, and afraid, and I’d never seen either of those emotions on his face before. I stopped just inside the doorway, my arms out to keep Penny and Iris back. In the next instant Dickie was raising the gun and firing.
“Who the hell are you?” he shouted.
The women screamed. Everything that came next happened so fast, there was no time to prepare. The bullet grazed my arm, not enough to drop me to the floor, but enough for the pain to register. It burned like a motherfucker, but I ignored it, holding my hand out toward Dickie in a gesture for him to stop.
“Brother, it’s me.” I was careful not to make any sudden moves. His gaze froze on me, wild and bewildered. “It’s okay, brother, it’s me, VD. There’s no threat.” I wondered if he were reliving something from his past, or hallucinating. “You’re scaring the women.” I could hear their distressed breathing behind me. “No one is here to hurt you, brother.”
“Dickie−” Penny said softly, looking over my shoulder. She sounded on the verge of tears. “It’s us.” He pinned his gaze on her and slowly I began to see recognition dawning as the realization of what he was doing crossed his features.
“Want to give me the gun, brother? So you don’t scare the women?” I held my hand out closer to him, but knew he’d have to be the one to put the gun in my hand.
“I thought−” His eyes met mine.
“The gun, brother.”
He glanced down at the gun in his hand as if he didn’t know how it had got there. Then with a shaking hand, he handed it to me. Penny rushed to him then, and helped him back into bed. Iris stopped at my side, our gazes met, hers filled with unspoken emotion.
“Does he have any other weapons around?” I muttered out grimly.
“I didn’t even know he had that one,” Penny admitted, tucking Dickie in. “I have no idea where he got it from,” she sobbed. “I’m going to sit with him for a while.” She didn’t take her eyes off him.
“Vince,” Iris’s soft hand grasped mine. “Come with me so I can look at your arm.”
I let her lead me to her bedroom and the adjoining bath. I didn’t need to remove my cut or t-shirt because both were sleeveless. A small thin line of blood ran down the outside of my upper arm, dripping off my fingers. I knew without examining it that it wasn’t bad and that the bullet had just grazed the skin. I set the gun down on top of the shelving unit over the toilet.
“Don’t let me forget that, darlin’.”
Iris’s gaze moved from the gun back to me, and then to my arm. She was barely holding on, I could tell. She was pale, her pretty lips were pressed and quivering, and she would
n’t meet my eyes. She reached for a washcloth that was hanging over a towel rod, and then bent to a cupboard beneath the sink. My gaze fell on the first aid kit.
She set the kit down on the vanity and ran the washcloth beneath the water before turning back to me. I watched the different emotions cross her beautiful face as she carefully washed the wound and cleaned the blood off my arm. “Apply pressure with this while I see what’s in the kit.”
I reached up and replaced her hand over the cloth. “Are you okay, darlin’?” I asked, noticing the swell of tears in her eyes that were just on the edge from falling. She just nodded, digging around the unorganized kit and pulling out an antiseptic wipe and large Band-Aid. “I’ve had worse.”
A sob escaped her that tore at my heart. “You’re not helping,” she said huskily, working fast and efficiently. She still refused to raise her eyes to mine.
The Band-Aid was big enough to cover the burn-like wound, which was still stinging like a bitch. I waited until Iris put the kit back under the sink before responding. “Baby.” A lone tear slid down her cheek, and I watched her teeth sink into her bottom lip. “Look at me.”
She shook her head vigorously. “I’ll lose it.”
“Iris, baby,” I reached up and tugged her bottom lip away from the grip her teeth had on it. “You’re gonna bite right through your lip if you keep this up.” She slowly raised her eyes. “It’s all good.”
“You were shot.”
“It’s a scratch.”
“Dickie’s not right in the head−”
“I know that, darlin’.”
“It could have been Penny−”
“It wasn’t.”
“I, I was so scared when I saw the blood on your arm…”
The damn she’d been holding back finally gave way and the next thing I knew she had thrown herself against me and was sobbing, loud, broken sobs that were messy and which shook her entire body. My arms automatically closed around her, crushing her against me in the overwhelming need to protect her and keep her safe. She was so fucking small, but all woman, and I berated myself for noticing the lush curves plastered to me at a time like this.
Carnal Hunger Page 10
