by Debra Kayn
Lee drove them under the viaduct, down one block, and onto Cedar Street. Shari undid her seatbelt.
The truck came to a stop in front of the Sterling Building. The new brick construction on the two-story building stood out clean and new, unlike the historical buildings flanking each side. It was a shame that the fire ruined the architectural beauty of Federal, but Kurt had rebuilt in much of the same style to keep the image of the town as a quaint, rather unique, stop along Interstate 90.
She hopped out of the truck, grabbed the bucket out of the bed, and headed inside before Carrie or Lee had time to follow her. She'd throw herself into cleaning and escape all thoughts of Lee.
Inside the main lobby, the dark stained molding and hard wood floors matched the original historic structure perfectly. She scanned the area, loving the old world feel and darkness. Gone was the odd musty smell of old carpet and draperies from when the building was a bordello— on the illegal side. Now the building had the scent of cool bricks and sunshine.
Soon the building would be full of miners, music, and dancing. The money would fall in their laps for doing what they enjoyed, and once again, people would talk about the Silver Girls...the best entertainment in the inland Northwest.
Shari gazed up at the tiled ceiling. She still couldn't grasp the reality of running out of the building eighteen months ago and the heat of the fire flickering at her back. The smoke had consumed the structure faster than the girls could get out. She'd never experienced such fear.
Thank God, some of the bikers were in the building too and helped everyone get outside before one of them got hurt or worse.
Remmy walked out of the room in the back. She hurried over to him, glad to see he was helping and would be around to keep her company.
"Hey, you." She set the bucket down and removed the rubber gloves.
"Mornin', sweetheart." Remmy tilted his head and squinted. "So, you're back to dancing. You're sure you want to take on the added responsibility?"
"More than ready. I want to stay busy." She peered behind him. "Didn't Natalie come with you?"
Remmy moved her bucket over to the side of the room. "She's on a coffee run with Big Dawg. She'll be here in a bit."
"That's great." She took the cap off the polishing spray. "Since you both have been busy with getting the cabin finished before winter, I haven't caught up with either one of you very much. How's married life?"
Remmy laughed, his eyes shining in amusement. "Really?"
"No." She smiled, holding back her laughter. "That's probably the last thing I want to know."
"What don't you want to know?" Lee said behind her.
She groaned and without turning around said, "I better get to work. Tell Nat to come find me and keep me company when she gets back. I promise not to make her work too hard."
"Will do," Remmy said, studying her.
She turned around, making a wide circle around Lee, and walked over to where she'd be dancing come Friday night. The spotlights were now gone, and in their place a floor lamp sat in the corner. She moved the light to the opposite corner and flipped the switch. In the daytime, the big windows out front let in enough light, but at night with the curtains closed, a soft filtered light worked best for the girls. All she had to do was bring a silk scarf and drape over the shade, and the miners would be seduced into believing they all had perfect bodies.
Stripper kneeled down and took a battery-operated screw gun to the silver plates on the floor. She hurried over and held the three-inch pole while Stripper finished securing it to the floor. When he finished bolting the pole to the ceiling, she pulled and hung her weight on the apparatus.
"Perfect." She grinned. "Thanks, Stripper."
"Poles are good." Stripper winked. "Are you going to do the opening act?"
"Oh, shit." She pressed her hand against her forehead. "We still haven't decided who'll dance first."
Lee came over and leaned against the wall. "Pick someone else besides you."
Her hands fell to her sides. "Excuse me?"
"Yeah, I'm not touching that conversation. I'm out of here," Stripper said, leaving her alone with Lee.
She stepped closer to Lee. "What is your deal?"
"You."
"Me?" She swiftly inhaled her irritation. "You're the one following me around. Go...do something else. I have work to do."
"Get used to it." He slipped his hands into the waistband of her cutoff shorts and pulled her against him. "We had a deal. I'm here all the time."
His warm fingers against her bare skin reminded her of last night and her stomach fluttered. She looked down at her breasts pressed firmly against his chest. Her knees weakened, and she leaned against him more.
"Lee, you can't—"
"Yeah, I can, doll." He tugged on her shorts to prove his point.
Arousal flared in her lower stomach. She groaned. "What are you trying to do to me?"
"What's it feel like?" His other hand came up and wound around the back of her neck. "I know what you're feeling, because I'm touching you. If I keep going, you'll come in my arms and let me absorb every sweet pleasure that explodes inside of you."
She glanced to her right, but nobody was paying them any attention. "Okay, you've—her voice broke, and she cleared her throat—you're right, okay?"
"Yeah," he said his voice soft and low. "You do what you have to do here, and then we're going back to the club, and I want to finish what we started last night."
"Oh, so you're going to escort me to your room and leave again?" His rejection still stung. "No, thank you. I'm busy."
"Yeah?" He leaned closer. "Doing what?"
"I-I promised Sawyer I'd be with him tonight," she said, lying through her teeth.
"Bull shit." His lips brushed her ear, and a shiver went up her spine. "From now on, you're mine."
Shit. She pushed away from him, but his hand still held onto her shorts. She stared down at the newly inked single flame tattoo going up his forearm. All the Bantorus members carried flame tattoos on their bodies, some more elaborate than others.
"When did you get that?" she asked, skimming her finger underneath the ink.
He held up his arm. "Ink marked me early this morning."
"That's where you went after you left me?" she said, astounded.
"No."
If he wasn't with one of the other girls, then he must've gone to town to find himself a woman. She glared. "Oh my God, you're a real—"
"I went to Kurt's house. He frowned. "Why would you—"
"What?" she said on an exhale. "You went to your brother?"
"Doll...what's going on?" he said.
She pursed her lips, not sure whether to believe him. He enjoyed talking about insignificant things, until pressured, and he clammed up. "Was it just a convenient time to hop out of bed and take off in the middle of the night or were you done with me?"
"I'm not done, doll." He grinned, tugging her closer. "I pissed you off, huh?"
"Uh, yeah." She gazed down at his arm.
For some reason, his one flame tattoo saddened her. It was as if one poof of air would blow it out, and he'd be gone.
"Lee, I have to tell you something," she said, raising her gaze. "You can't play with me."
When she'd come to live at the club, the other members soon understood that she was all about having fun, flirting, dancing, and the occasional kiss when things got a little carried away, but there was a limit. A hard limit.
She'd worked hard to find her place within the club, and she used her time to organize meals, clean the club, and to make sure the men had their supplies and clothes laundered for runs. She provided emotional support to men who lived a hard life, but she never sacrificed herself for any man.
Except with Remmy, but that was different. What they shared was mutual.
What she felt for Lee was unpredictable, insane, and out of control. He could walk away and leave her shattered. Around him, she lacked the strength to know what was good for her. He had her enjoying
the mystery surrounding him, and the thrill of getting the attention from one of the hardest men she knew. Lee was the last thing she needed in her life, because she had to remain strong and independent. At any time, her uncle could show up, and she'd leave. Going back home would be easier if she had no ties, and only had to deal with friendships in Federal.
Lee finally slipped his hand out from the front of her shorts and held her head. "I'm not going to stand here and explain why I want you. I don't want to hear any excuses about why you can't be with me. Okay?"
"But, you don't understand," she said. "I can't—"
"Doll, you can. It has nothing to do with you belonging to the club. It's between you and me. Throw all the other rules out, because it doesn't matter anymore," he said.
She nodded, wanting too much to believe him. "I need to clean."
"Okay." He leaned in and rubbed his nose lightly over hers. "Don't overthink anything."
She shivered. He nuzzled her nose instead of kissing her, and she didn't understand what it meant, but she liked it. That simple act let her savor the sensation of being near him, and the look forward to the promise of being with him again without all the pressure.
Except she had no guarantee he wouldn't leave today. He was a nomad at heart, a loner, a man who was running from something that'd scarred him. She'd seen the fear in his eyes last night.
She stepped away. "I'm going to go clean now."
His aroused gaze followed her as she turned and walked away. Her back heated, and she told herself she wouldn't turn around. Her brain—always a rebel—had her glancing over her shoulder, only to find him still watching. There was something so pure and basic about rubbing noses, it grounded her to the moment, and allowed her to imagine if it was just the two of them to worry about, and not a club and club rules to deal with if they happened to hook up.
His possessive gaze left her weak, and she kneeled down to grab more supplies out of the bucket and attempted to regain her balance. She couldn't possibly grasp why she had a desire to accept whatever he offered her when her body refused to calm down and instead, tempted her to walk back over and be with him. Maybe if she appeased her curiosity and gave in to the pressure to sleep with him, the crazy overwhelming feelings would go away.
Chapter Nine
Lee handed off the broom and mop to Sawyer. Shari put more of her weight into polishing the banister. All day she'd used her excess energy to clean the Sterling building, trying to distract herself from what Lee was doing—which was three times the amount of chores she'd accomplished.
When he cleaned the windows, his arm muscles bulged. She knew that, because she was sweeping off the sidewalk watching him through the glass.
Then, while cleaning the floors on her hands and knees, he joined her at scrubbing the corners, and she couldn't help looking at his tight ass.
By the time they broke for lunch, the tension in her shoulders ached and she was sure she'd had three micro-orgasms from having Lee near. Whenever anyone called her name, she startled. Poor Germ almost got hit with the broom she held when he touched her shoulder and she whirled around expecting to find Lee.
The last three hours were a mix of hell and the most enjoyable experience she'd had in a long time. She moved up onto the next spindle of the stair railing, glad the cleaning was almost done for the day. With everyone's help, including the bikers stopping in and helping do the heavier stuff, they'd completed prepping the building for opening night.
Lee shouted at Cutter to haul out the trash. She jumped, shaking in awareness at how close he stood to her.
Twenty minutes ago, he'd lifted her in the air to dust the faux crystal chandelier and planted his hands solidly on her ass to give her a boost higher. She almost flung herself around his neck to touch him more. When she'd finished dusting, she stumbled against him on weak legs and realized what was going on with her.
She was officially crazy.
Because if Lee asked her to have sex, her answer would be 'hurry'. She no longer wanted to fight the attraction between them.
She brushed the stray hair out of her vision with her forearm. One thing she was sure of though. Someday, she'd leave and go back to California, and her heart would break, because Lee was not a man she could easily forget.
She'd denied her own wants for five years, because she could never forget that her stay in Federal was temporary. She hadn't allowed herself to become romantically involved for that simple reason.
She scrubbed harder. Physical needs were one thing to deal with, emotional needs were another, and for reasons that escaped her, Lee tugged on her heart and she knew she'd regret not getting to know him better.
Lee brushed past her on the stairs and plopped himself down in front of her.
Guilty over her thoughts, she glanced away from him. "What's up?"
"You're gorgeous," he said, stretching out on the steps.
She blew a raspberry and swiped the stray hair out of her eyes. "I'm sweaty, dirty, and probably smell like furniture polish."
"I like lemons." He leaned back on his elbows. "I also like you hot and dirty."
She laughed and went back to polishing the railing. "Let me guess, you're not talking about dust and grime."
He chuckled, and the sound warmed her chest. "After spending another day with you, I'll take you anyway I can get you."
She wasn't the only one covered in sweat and dirt. Lee wore his own share of dust. She moistened her lips. Sated and rugged, he appeared sexier as if the extra boost of testosterone he used today made his arms thicker and harder, his face more angled, and his chest broader.
Several times during the day, she'd caught his masculine, musky, sweaty scent, and had to move to a different part of the room because her panties had dampened. Other men's body odor never affected her as if she wanted to rub herself all over his body.
She scrubbed at an imaginary spot. "Jojo was looking for you earlier."
"She found me."
"Oh?" She glanced at him, her skin prickled and she scrubbed harder to ignore the jealousy that came with his answer.
Jojo would jump at the chance to spend time with Lee. He brought mystery and curiosity to all the girls, including her. The only difference was she tried to keep her distance, not gain his attention.
"Ah, I see," he said.
He grinned. Her ovaries tingled. God, no man, no biker, should have a smiling superpower.
She tossed the dust rag toward the bucket and watched it sink in. "You see what?"
He pushed himself into a sitting position, which brought his smile within a foot of her frown. "You don't like the thought of me spending time with the other girls, but you keep pushing me away which is the exact opposite of what you really want to do."
She clamped her teeth together. His accusations stung. Her attitude wasn't that transparent. "Shut...up."
"It's cute, doll." He stood and leaned close to her. "You know what's even cuter?"
She didn't want to know. The less she knew about how his mind worked, the better.
"I'll tell you," he said, moving in on her.
She held perfectly still, least he think moving away was cute too.
He whispered in her ear, "All day long, I've caught you looking at me. You can deny how much you want me, and I'll call you a liar. Even right now, your breathing is heavier. You're leaning toward me. Your cheeks are pink. I can imagine what you'd really like to do is push me back down on these stairs and put my cock—"
"Stop." She looked around and sagged in relief. Nobody was in the room.
"That's right." He kissed her loudly on the cheek and straightened. "You had no fucking clue the Silver Girls shouted ten minutes ago that they were leaving to go to the bar or noticed the guys carried all the supplies out to the truck and left us alone. That tells me everything I need to know."
"Like what?" she said.
"That you want me to do this..." He moved two steps below her, swiveled her around until she stood higher than he did.
&n
bsp; His face was only a few inches away. His penetrating eyes looked down into hers. Shari's heart sped up as his gaze moved from her eyes to her mouth. He lowered his head slowly toward her, shortening the distance between them.
Her breath caught in her throat. She waited for him to kiss her again.
"Come get some, doll." His voice was husky and low, sexy as a caress.
There was no denying him. She'd wanted another taste, another sample of his kiss, and all the attention he threw her way. She tilted her chin and delicately parted her lips.
He pressed against her more firmly, opening his mouth and closing it around her bottom lip, pulling gently, then nibbling kisses as if he had all the time in the world. She opened her mouth wider. He brushed his tongue across the underside of her lip.
She was lost.
She pressed her hand against the leather of his vest. The cool, smooth surface heightened her arousal.
His right hand sprawled across her lower back before roaming down, and he cupped the swell of her ass. His other hand hooked her neck, his thumb stroking her sensitive overheated skin. He took possession of her mouth, and left her panting.
There was nothing required of her, but to accept him. He took deep, long kisses that reached inside of her and stroked her into submission. She clutched his leather, pulling the vest off his shoulder. His body shifted, his hand left her, and the offending material stripped from him. She scrambled for his shirt, pushing it away and coming up with resistance.
He pulled his mouth from her. "Doll?"
She nodded, because she wanted to touch him. She wanted his fingers on her again. Her frustration grew. She'd waited all day and if he made her wait another minute, she'd incinerate the stairs.
In answer, she lowered her hands to his buckle and swiftly undid his belt. He inhaled swiftly as she removed his cock from his jeans. Only when he removed her tank was she distracted from exploring his size. She kicked off her sneakers, wiggled out of her shorts, taking her panties with them.
