by Debra Kayn
More people came from the opposite direction until Kurt lost track of how many men filled the street. There had to be at least two hundred people or more in the crowd. He swept his gaze back across the street in frustration. Make that two hundred or more men.
A gathering was the last thing he wanted tonight when all he could think about was a soft bed and eight uninterrupted hours of sleep.
"Step back and enjoy the show," Sheriff Colby stated to the crowd.
The two spotlights erected on the sidewalk flickered and shut off. Kurt reached behind him, feeling for his pistol tucked in the back of his jeans, aware of the danger.
"Fuck," Remmy said, motioning for the others to hold their spot.
Kurt searched the crowd, looking for anyone who appeared to have the balls to step forward and challenge the Bantorus members. He gripped his pistol, keeping his arm down at his side and ready. Cops or no cops, he'd shot his way out of town and get his men to safety if all hell broke loose. If they had to, he'd lead them to the new clubhouse outside of town, and they'd bed down in their sleeping bags.
Soft music shushed the crowd, and the men's movements stilled. Kurt scanned the proximity, looking for the source that had grabbed the men's attention. The sudden shift of energy played on Kurt's worries more than the number of men in the crowd.
All of the men looked toward the building he owned. He glanced over his shoulder, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. A brick wall, flower boxes, and a couple of empty benches on the sidewalk were the only things between him and the building.
A spotlight came on, aimed over Kurt's head. Ink smacked his arm. "Jesus, prez, look..."
He followed Ink's gaze to the corner of the building. He pivoted, his hand squeezing the butt of the pistol. Warmth filled his chest at the same time his gut tightened. Nothing prepared him for the sight of a woman—a sexy, hot blonde woman— walking out onto the sidewalk.
The warm summer breeze plastered the sheer, silky robe to the front of the woman. Her high full breasts outlined in the spotlight left nothing to the imagination. Kurt took a step forward, but Sheriff Colby put his arm out stopping him. The woman strolled past him, taking her sweet time, looking over all the men.
"Watch," the Sheriff said. "She does this every month. It's the highlight for the men in Federal. Risa and her girls bring entertainment and keep the moral high amongst the miners. Hell, Silver Girls is the most popular place in this town."
"Silver Girls?" he said, not taking his gaze of Risa. That was the second time the sheriff mentioned that name.
Sheriff Colby said, "The only entertainment club in the county. We're proud of having them call Federal their home. They do lap dances, conversation, and have better female bodies that put every other strip joint in the state to shame."
He glanced at the sheriff, wondering what kind of illegal compromise Leo got him into when he was supposed to be looking after his interest. The last thing he needed in his building was an illegal prostitution ring.
"Just stand back and enjoy the show." Sheriff Colby wandered off, motioning for the crowd to spread out and give Risa room.
Kurt glanced at Remmy to see if he heard the news. The lines etched around Remmy's mouth told him everything. The management company duped him. If what he suspected was true, and Leo let an adult club rent from him, he'd need to get the girls out of his building, tonight. With Bantorus MC planning to run a legal gun trade in the state of Idaho, the Feds would swoop in on them if they even got a hint of a prostitution ring happening on Bantorus land.
Risa slowly strolled around a few men to the middle of the street, smiling, fluttering her damn eyelashes, stroking egos, and creating hard-ons in her wake. He curled his fingers into his palm.
She slowly circled a white porcelain bathtub sitting out in the street. His neck tensed as his mind automatically went to what she would look like naked in the tub.
"Where the fuck did that come from?" Ink muttered.
Not a normal tub, but a high back, claw footed piece of antique that had to way a ton. He put his attention back on the woman. The situation couldn't get worse. The mix of one nearly naked woman, a crowd bigger than four cops could manage alone, and the stink of men desperate to have a chance at the woman, put Bantorus MC right in the middle of keeping control over the situation. Kurt raised his hand. "Get in front of the crowd and secure the area. Keep everyone in sight."
Without questioning him, his men weaved their way through the throng of men until there was a Bantorus member every ten feet along the perimeter of the spectators. If anything happened, they'd be within reach of protecting the woman should she need help.
Risa, seemingly unaware of his men surrounding her, leaned over and skimmed her fingertips along the surface of the water. Kurt's chest tightened, until he forced a deep breath down him. He tried to blame his reaction on lack of sleep, coming off a ride, and being without a woman for over a week while he prepped for traveling.
The edges of her robe fell open. His cock pulsed in interest, and the rest of his body hardened in anger. He controlled his reaction by shoving the emotions deep within him, until he distanced himself.
No woman should ever give away secrets that a man hadn't earned.
Risa slid her robe off her shoulders and let the material pool at her feet. Kurt shoved his pistol back under the waist of his jeans and kept his hands free. His fingers itched to curl into a fist, while his biceps tensed and had him shaking his arms to stay loose.
With this kind of situation and this crowd, he'd do more damage with his fists, taking them all down, one by one. Besides, everyone's attention was on the show and reaction times slow.
He wasn't immune to the tempting sight of Risa lifting one bare leg over the white porcelain side of the tub, or dribbling water down her body, letting the droplets run over her smooth skin. Her safety came first before he watched for pleasure.
Hell, naked women were in every city, in every bar, and anywhere he parked his Harley. Hangers, the women who hung around motorcycle clubs to ease frustrated bikers, were a part of his life since he was sixteen years old, and began visiting the cabin behind Cactus Cove when the other members were having a meeting.
The crowd pressed forward. Kurt planted his boots, kept his position, and forced the men to stay back. Though the woman was a stranger to him, she was on Bantorus property.
However, Risa wasn't his property. He studied her closer, taking in the shallow gaze and fake smile. She distanced herself from the crowd, and for whatever reason she chose to parade in the street doing a striptease act, she wasn't doing it for enjoyment.
While most of the women he knew enjoyed sex and shared freely, none of them came across as a confident woman in a desperate act. He couldn't figure out if Risa personally appreciated the exhibitionist act or she hated every minute. For that reason alone, he wanted to protect her and put a stop to the show.
Risa gracefully slid down into the tub. He inhaled as she sucked in her stomach and her breasts rose in reaction to the hot water. Letting out his breath, he forced himself to calm down. Covered by water and the sides of the tub, she'd diluted the crowd's view of her sexy body.
For how much he enjoyed looking at her, and in private, he'd want to do a hell of a lot more with her, the men in the crowd hadn't earned the privilege of seeing her naked.
Either had he.
Sheriff Colby walked toward the center of the street and stood beside the bathtub and Risa. "You know the rules, gentleman. Everyone gets one time with Risa, and then you need to head inside to give the next man a chance with her."
A big man on Kurt's left stepped forward. Kurt tensed, but the man only stood beside the tub, spoke a few words to Risa, and received a genuine smile that lit up Risa's face, before lumbering away and into the building.
Before he could figure out what was going on, another man repeated the same steps, received a different smile from Risa—this one came with a soft laugh and a lowering of Risa's gaze— and he too walked into th
e building. One after another, the men moved forward taking their turn.
The crowd grew thinner. Kurt stepped over to Ink. For how many attended the bizarre erotic show, the men remained quiet and not one of them touched Risa.
"Weirdest thing I've ever seen," Ink muttered. "Our first night in Federal, and we get a fantastic looking chick taking a bath in the middle of the God damn street."
"It's fucked," Stripper said who earned his name from his obsession with naked women. "Looks like a bunch of religious people paying homage to a female God. Where's the women who want to get on their knees in front of me and throw out a few genuine 'oh, Gods' while their mouth is full?"
The last man from the crowd slipped inside his building. Kurt ignored the remarks coming from Bantorus members, and focused on the woman. If he hadn't been paying attention, he would've missed the carefully hidden vulnerability in her act.
She'd waited until the last man left her before she inhaled deeply while catching her bottom lip between her teeth.
Risa accepted Sheriff Colby's offered hand and rose out of the water. Limber and graceful, she stood barefooted on the asphalt while the sheriff turned his back. Intrigued, Kurt stepped away from his men and watched her. Whatever Risa and Sheriff Colby had going on, he'd bet his motorcycle the sheriff wasn't getting a piece of ass.
Risa picked up her robe, glanced over at Kurt, and taking her sweet time, slipped her arms into the sleeves. Challenged by her bravery, he walked toward her, only stopping when he was within touching distance.
"If the shows over, how about you go inside and have everyone leave my building," Kurt said. "Make sure you grab your clothes, too."
"Excuse me?" She tilted her head, took him in from head to foot before raising her gaze back to his face. "Colby, do you know what this gentle...man is talking about?"
The sheriff cleared his throat and turned around. "Risa, hon—"
"Leo told me he'd have the place cleaned out and the previous renter would be gone by the time we got here," Kurt said, not giving the sheriff time to butt in to their discussion.
"Leo?" she said, shaking her hair, the wet ends sticking to her shoulders.
He looked her in the eye. "Gone."
She held up her hand. "Wait a minute. Who are you? Why would Leo tell you I was leaving? He signed a contract. I've been here for six years. My lease is good for another year before we renegotiate."
"I'll pay you the lease money back, but we need the building tonight," he said. "I'm sure you can find a room at the motel."
"For what?" She moved to go around him, but he blocked her path. "Excuse me, Mr...."
He lifted his left brow. "Name's Kurt Ramchett. I'm the president of Bantorus Motorcycle Club, Federal Charter and the owner of the Sterling Building."
"Mr. Ramchett, I think you should—"
"Just Kurt." He widened his stance. "I bought the Sterling Building seven years ago. You've been paying your rent to me, through Leo, and I know exactly what your contract says. Now I'm here, and you're supposed to be out. When I talked to Leo last week, he informed me the place would be vacant and clean. Now, I have a group of men standing out on the sidewalk, it's been a long fucking ride across two states, and there's a building full of men that we have no desire to have around. So the sooner you leave, the faster we can get in there, clear the area, and crash."
Risa tightened her robe and glanced between the sheriff and Kurt. She hid her emotions well, but Kurt saw the hesitation to argue. Legally, he owned the building and that trumped any wishes from a renter.
"Colby, could you have your men take care of dumping the water out of the tub?" Without waiting for an answer, she faced Kurt again. "I'm going to go inside, change my clothes, and only then will I talk with you."
She walked toward the building as if the tender skin on the bottom of her feet couldn't feel the rocks poking into her heel and the material of her robe wasn't clinging to a wet, round ass, perfect for a man's hands.
The door closed, and Kurt turned to Sheriff Colby who stuck his hand in the water, shook his head on a chuckle, and ordered two deputies to drain the tub. Kurt glanced at the water and a flash of light reflected back at him.
"Hold on," he said, leaning over the rim.
He cupped his hand, scraped the bottom of the tub, and brought the contents above the surface. He stared down at a palm full of shiny flakes of— he rubbed the pieces between his thumb and finger—silver? He looked back into the water. The same material covered every inch of the bottom of the tub.
"What the hell?" He raised his gaze to the door of the Sterling Building, confused at what took place right in front of him. Who was Risa, and why did every man in Federal, with a population of only eight hundred people, drop silver into the tub?
Author Bio
Debra Kayn is published by Grand Central Publishing, Simon & Schuster Publishing, Carina Press - Harlequin Enterprises Limited, and repped by agent, Stephany Evans of FinePrint Literary Management. She has well over forty contemporary novels available worldwide where heroes and heroines come from the most unlikely characters.
She lives with her family in the Bitterroot Mountains of beautiful Northern Idaho where she enjoys the outdoors, the four seasons, and small-town living.
Website: www.debrakayn.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DebraKayn
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DebraKaynFanPage
Debra Kayn's Backlist
The Higher You Fly
...or something – Ronacks Motorcycle Club
Don't Say It – Ronacks Motorcycle Club
Rather Be Wrong – Ronacks Motorcycle Club
Can't Stop Fate – Ronacks Motorcycle Club
Blow Softly – Red Light: Silver Girls series
Touch Slowly – Red Light: Silver Girls series
Fall Gently – Red Light: Silver Girls series
Wrapped Around Him – Moroad MC series
For Life – Moroad MC series
His Crime – Moroad MC series
Time Owed – Moroad MC series
Falling For Crazy – Moroad MC series
Chasing Down Changes – Moroad MC series
Breathing His Air – Bantorus Motorcycle Club
Aching To Exhale – Lagsturns Motorcycle Club
Soothing His Madness – Bantorus Motorcycle Club
Grasping for Freedom – Bantorus Motorcycle Club
Fighting To Ride – Bantorus Motorcycle Club
Struggling For Justice – Bantorus Motorcycle Club
Starving For Vengeance – Bantorus Motorcycle Club
Living A Beautiful War – Bantorus Motorcycle Club
Laying Down His Colors – Bantorus Motorcycle Club, anthology titled Melt My Heart
Archer – A Hard Body Novel
Weston – A Hard Body Novel
Biker Babe in Black – The Chromes and Wheels Gang
Ride Free – The Chromes and Wheels Gang
Healing Trace
Wildly – Playing For Hearts
Seductively – Playing For Hearts
Conveniently – Playing For Hearts
Secretly – Playing For Hearts
Surprisingly – Playing For Hearts
Modern Love - Anthology
Chantilly's Cowboy – The Sisters of McDougal Ranch
Val's Rancher – The Sisters of McDougal Ranch
Margot's Lawman – The Sisters of McDougal Ranch
Florentine's Hero – The Sisters of McDougal Ranch
Suite Cowboy
Hijinks
Resurrecting Charlie's Girl
Betraying the Prince
Love Rescued Me
Double Agent
Breaking Fire Code
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