Taking a Dare

by J. A. Hornbuckle

  Vestal virgins is what Bishop had named them.

  Dare just called them 'no-goes'.

  And at that moment, he was calling himself all sorts of a shithead fool for even lusting after her. Been there, done that and had the fuckin' scar tissue on his heart to prove it.

  Ryley.

  She was talking and laughing with the different brothers as they sat at the tables to eat, doing the kind of thing that was expected of a Honey of a Hellion club, albeit more like one of the married ones. She wasn't expected to kiss the men hello, to press herself against them. No, her meet and greet was sweeter and without most of the physical doings the other Honeys distributed so freely.

  But Dare couldn't take his eyes off her anymore than he could Jim in the café earlier.

  Her skin, not that she showed much of it just a small taut patch exposed between her pants and her vest, was a soft gold. Almost like she'd gotten tanned in some exotic locale and it was just then starting to fade.

  The long brown hair he'd ran his hands through years before looked just as thick and luxurious as he remembered. Although now she wore it with bangs that were swept to the side.

  And her eyes. Christ, those goddamn eyes! Back in the day, she hadn't worn any makeup. Hell, hadn't needed it. But now, with the brown lines that rimmed them, the fuckin' aqua stood out. Shined forth. And drove a motherfuckin' knife into his heart while making his cock strain against his zipper every time her eyes met hit his.

  Which was often.

  She moved to another table and he saw a Spokane brother, March he thought the man's name was, reach up and snag her waist, pulling her closer. And as Dare watched, the fucker's hand slid over her ass cheek, causing her to jerk and straighten quickly, before it moved to settle on the side of her hip. She stopped speaking and dropped her head as she looked first at the hand and then at the tall but lean man that had his head tilted up towards her.

  A couple heartbeats later, her own hand reared back and imprinted itself on the guy's face. Dare could hear the crack of her palm as it connected even from so far away.

  But all the dude did was laugh at her reaction and was soon joined by Gus and Leif who were sharing the table. Her men hadn't gotten a glimpse the ass play that March had done. But even without the slap, Dare knew the man's move had not been welcomed just by the disgusted look she'd worn.

  Ryley, though, said a few more words through clenched teeth and with a flushed face she twirled half-way and started talking to the next group. As she stepped away, Dare relaxed back into his seat. And as he did, he realized he'd been prepared to wade right the fuck in and stop the mauling she so obviously didn't want.

  Christ!

  That March had made such a play within spitting distance of her family with their club nearby and in view of some of the Spokane Honeys told Dare a couple of things. One, that no man would get so touchy-feely without previously receiving a green light to do so. Which meant Ryley and March had hit it on at least on a couple of occasions.

  And two, that her dad and her brother approved of her hook up with the lean, blonde brother. But the part that had Dare puzzled was that it didn't seem to matter to them if she didn't like and publicly objected to the skinny twerp's fuckin' display of affection.

  All in all though, it was, Dare decided, good news.

  Very good news that indicated she wasn't permanently hooked up with the man or anyone for that matter. Although it had pissed him right the fuck off to see her getting grabbed in such a personal way.

  Right or wrong, whether it made sense or not, Ryley was, at least in his mind, goddamn his! Not motherfuckin' beanpole March, for Christ's sake no matter what Gus or Leif thought. Dare didn't give a fuck about her dad and brother's approval.

  Never had and never would.

  Which meant when he made his move it wouldn't be on the sly or stealthily in any way, shape or form. When he and his girl connected again, it would be for fuckin' them and no one had the right to offer an opinion or any goddamn interference.

  Having solidified his thinking and chosen his goal, Dare threw the rest of his Avion Silver tequila down his throat and slammed the glass onto the tabletop so hard he was sure the crystal would break. Waving two fingers in the air, he saw Lock coming quickly to the table with his own personal bottle.

  But before she made it there, Trey circumvented her trajectory and brought the bottle to Dare himself.

  "You tying one on, Dare?" his pres asked dropping into one of the open chairs. Dare couldn't resist a glance at Lock who was making her way back to behind the bar. They'd done the deed more than a few times but she'd never been anything to him other than a friend willing to satisfy a need.

  "Nope," Dare replied firmly. Lock was well aware of his feelings for Ryley and had commiserated with him especially in the beginning when he'd been crushing so hard on the beautiful but younger girl. So Lock must've been aware of what he was going through just having the object of his dreams nearby.

  From the sympathetic glance she directed his way before resuming her duties, he knew she understood.

  "If you keep drinking like you are, you might consider grabbing a room key, brother," Trey advised. "They seem to be going fast and I'd hate to hear you'd had to sleep off your drunk in your truck."

  "I'll take that under advisement," Dare muttered, turning his eyes back to Ryley who was by then only a couple of tables away from where he was drowning his sorrows. He didn't think he'd be able to woo Ryley into his bed on her first night in town so he thought about extending an offer to Lock. But Dare saw the Honey's eyes drift to Blaze who'd been her choice during the run where he'd met Ryley. Only Blaze, a tall muscled Spokane brother, had been twenty to Lock's sixteen so they'd really had to hide what they'd been doing. One thing the Hellions absolutely didn't allow was sex with underage girls. That was a huge no-no and could see a man having his cut pulled.

  But Blaze and Lock didn't have to conceal their craving anymore and the other brother's steady heated look on the blonde Lock more than told of their shared desire.

  Trey turned in his chair to determine who or what had captured Dare's attention. "You getting possessive, bro? "

  "Fuck, no. Glad one of us is going to have fun." And Dare meant it. Just because he and Lock weren't real lovers in the truest sense, he still counted her as a long-time friend. One who came with certain benefits when the need arose and there was no one else around.

  Trey's lowered voice was the only warning Dare got before the big man spoke again. "How are you holding up with her here?"

  Dare didn't even try to play like he didn't know who Trey meant. Number one because he knew that Trey wouldn't let him pull any bullshit, having first-hand knowledge of how he and Ryley had started. And how it had fuckin' ended.

  "Got over it a long time ago," Dare mumbled. "Nice to see her again but that's about fuckin' it."

  Trey's snort let Dare know exactly what the pres thought. "Calling bullshit, Dare."

  The younger man shrugged and brought his glass up to hide his grin. "What fuckin' ever, dude."

  "Gets to be too much, then…" Trey rapped his knuckles on the table before standing. But he never finished his sentence. Not that Dare would've responded anyway. Ten years should've been enough time to get over a teen-aged crush.

  When Trey had walked away, Dare saw Ryley was only one table away from where he was seated. And felt his heartbeat increase at her nearness.

  He counted himself lucky Trey had left the bottle because he was feeling the need to drown in the shit.

  Chapter Seven

  "Hey, Dare! How're you doin'?" Ryley's voice was nicely polite just the way an unavailable but single Honey should sound when meeting a brother from another club.

  "Long time no see, Rye. Look at you, all grown up." He was determined to just get through her little bit of nice-nice and move on. No matter how much he wanted to get with her, he knew he just wanted their bit of meet-and-greet over and done with as quickly as possible. He wasn't so buzzed he di
dn't remember the pain of losing her and the aching hole she'd left inside him. But was sure he was too buzzed to initiate his play to get with her that night.

  At the use of her shortened name though, he saw the beautiful girl visibly flinch but she kept with the polite stuff.

  Interesting!

  "Me? God, cowboy," she started with a smile just this side of sincere. "You're fucking huge compared to the scrawny kid I used to know!"

  "That's what the ladies tell me. Only they fuckin' include the word 'everywhere'," he murmured, trying to keep his grin covered by the glass at his lips.

  He watched her eyebrows lift as her smile became more natural at his words.

  "I haven't seen you for almost ten years and within seconds you wanna talk about your dick? The outsides might have changed but the insides haven't!" Christ! He'd forgotten what a smart ass she could be or how good her laughter felt as it entered him.

  "It's worthy of at least a mention," he laughed back and then let his eyes do a slow but thorough roam over her sexy form. "Although, we could explore the changes we've both gone through if you want."

  She opened her mouth to speak but before any words came out, she quickly turned her head towards a small altercation that seemed to be brewing a couple of tables away. "Shit! I gotta take care of this." Her eyes came back to his. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

  He watched her shapely ass as she made haste to the table where a storm was brewing. Once there, she leaned down and began to whisper into one of the Spokane Honey's ear. Whatever she said wiped the smile from the other girl's face and had the black haired woman standing before she walked to the kitchen. As the other woman moved away, Ryley planted her hands on the tabletop and spoke quietly to Pagan and Jay before returning to where Dare had remained sitting.

  "Sorry. Just needed to stop Wanton from doing what she does best," she advised, pulling her leathers up by the belt loops and shifting her very shapely hips.

  "Which is?"

  "Causing trouble. Now where were we?" It was her cheeky grin with her words that brought out his own.

  His answer was immediate. "Think it was along the lines of a mutual but explicit look-see at how we've changed over the years. You up for it, Ryley?"

  "What? No note first?" she challenged. "Or don't you need them anymore since everyone knows you like to use the equipment shed for your kind of…exploring?"

  Dare threw back his head as he laughed long and loud. God! It'd been so long since a woman had called him on his shit and for Ryley to do it was fuckin' awesome. Or maybe it was only that she remembered their time together too that had him dazzled. "Maybe. Maybe not. Guess you got to go with it, sugar, to find out."

  She crossed her arms across her very shapely chest, only a minimum amount of cleavage on display as she laughed along with him. But he saw her glance over her shoulder at the table where her dad was sitting.

  "Sorry, cowboy. Too many eyes and wagging tongues to do that. But I'd be good with going someplace to talk," she advised, and Dare somehow knew there was more to her words despite her light, flirty tone.

  Christ, there should've been a law against the kind of honest admiration she held in her eyes when she looked at him.

  He stood and was glad to note that he only wobbled a little. Catching the neck of the bottle and using two fingers inside his glass to hold it, he wove around chairs until he was standing next to her even though her back was to the room as he faced it. "I get you alone, gorgeous, it ain't gonna be to just fuckin' talk. Have wanted you for too goddamn many years, jacked off to thoughts of you too fuckin' much to goddamn talk, Ryley."

  She gasped and he wondered if he'd gone into the truth arena too fast for her. But that was the man he'd grown up to be. Up-front and in a person's face. Better that she knew it at the beginning of whatever was gonna happen between them.

  And, oh yeah. Things were definitely gonna be happening.

  He glanced around the room, seeing the people who were taking note of the two of them talking together.

  "So far, I've got your goddamn dad, Leif and that other fucker, what's his name? Oh yeah, March, shooting me daggers. And as a grown-assed adult, I don't have to fuckin' pussy foot around my doings or my wants. You wanna me talk to me alone, gorgeous? Then put on your big girl panties and follow me out."

  She turned her face up to his and he got lost in her beautiful, amazing eyes. "There'll be hell to pay if I do."

  "Yeah? So?" he breathed almost on a pant. Christ, she was so close he could smell her. That combo of vanilla and the essence that was, he knew, all her. "Does life as we motherfuckin' know it get destroyed just because you and me fuckin' connect again?"

  "I'm supposed to spend the night with Lock," she hesitated, her eyes never leaving his. "She's gonna be with Blaze so as long as I'm available by phone…"

  "No one needs to fuckin' know where you are." Dare's summation was offered on a tight voice. It was still fuckin' sneaking, a goddamn trait he couldn't stand in others. But, if that was what it took to have Ryley naked and writhing underneath him, he was willing to consider it. At least until he could get a sense of why she was still under her fucking father's thumb.

  "That's true," she admitted and he had to search back to his last statement in order to make sense of her words.

  Dare nodded and tried to smile so that the brothers that were still sending looks their direction thought they were simply having an easy conversation. Two former buddies just shootin' the shit instead of him plotting to have the girl of his memory, fuck, of his heart, in his bed.

  "A large-cabbed Silver Chevy truck will be waiting in the street across from the driveway," he said as he dropped his smile and watched her do the same. "Just follow, Ryley."

  He saw her long neck move as she swallowed deeply prior to whispering, "that won't work for me, Dare." She glanced over her shoulder before she raised her face back to him, a face he'd thought he'd remembered so well but hadn't even caught the half of its beauty in his imaginings, his memories. "Talk is all I can promise for right now."

  He nodded even though his heart had landed somewhere around his boots when it'd dropped sharply at her words and the almost scared expression on her face. Even his dick had taken a hit at her words, losing its edge of desperate need.

  "There's a couple of picnic tables around the corner of HC's main building. Grab yourself your drink of choice and meet me there," he suggested. Something was working behind her eyes and he wasn't sure what it was, but he was determined to find out.

  She nodded and his heart took flight with her unspoken agreement.

  It was all he could do to weave between the remaining people and tables, dropping his bottle and glass on the bar before he exited the building. Because the fullness of both his crotch and his chest at the thought of having her all to himself was more intoxicating than all the booze he'd consumed, making him take wonky, out of cadence steps.

  Goddamn.

  Ryley.

  *.*.*.*.*

  There was no way he could've realized what'd he'd asked of me.

  No fuckin' way in hell.

  Otherwise, he wouldn't have ever spoken like that.

  So plainly. So goddamn open.

  With words that sent shivers through me, tightening some parts of me so hard I could barely breathe. And my heartbeat was out of control, knocking so hard against my ribs I was sure it could be seen beating against my leather top.

  I stood still for a second as he walked away, recognizing I couldn't move. Not with shaking knees and so very wet in places that might make its presence known if I so much as took a step.

  Making my way slowly back to the populated area of the room, my mind raced to think of how to excuse myself and find him. Lock's was a good pretext but I hadn't yet told March that I wasn't going to be joining him at the motel, which my girl had already said was a foregone conclusion.

  Something I hadn't even considered before telling my pops I'd join the run.

  "Hey, sweet girl," m
y dad called. "Worked through the room okay? Good."

  I smiled but it didn't feel real. My heart was outside, tied tight to a man who'd told me he drove a silver truck but was willing to meet me on a picnic table. "Yeah, it's nice to see everyone again. But think I'm gonna head out."

  "You need the room key, babe?" March asked, reaching for one of his pockets. Why did he look almost emaciated after my eyes had beheld the wonder of Dare's hard, thick and muscled form?

  "I'm staying with Lock this run. Lots to catch up on, you know," I said, spreading my face out into another insincere smile. Leif's eyes, so much like mine but more blue, narrowed at my words. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

  "Be sure to touch base with Dallas before you leave," my pops advised with a sharp look as if I didn't know my duty. Shit! Raised in a club, I knew when, how far and to whom to offer my fealty. I dropped my eyes though so he couldn't see the resentment in them. I just nodded and moved away, the sting at the way I was treated skittering across my insides.

  "Come see me when you're done talking with her." Pops eyes never left me, giving a warning that he had something to say and he wasn't going to let it go. Although why it had to be done there and then, I hadn't a clue.

  "I was thinking of taking off, Dallas, unless you need me," I offered when I met up with her in the kitchen. She smiled and I saw it was one of beauty. Okay, so she may have not been of Honey material but the woman was seriously spectacular in her own right.

  "Not 'til tomorrow. I'll know more about where we're doin' the Honey thing in the morning and I'll text you," she said dragging out her phone and taking my number. Tomorrow was Hellion Church, a mandatory meeting for the brothers and one the Honey's provided the food for. But the compound's kitchen was off-limits to the Honeys as the men held their meeting. So on Sundays the girls met at one another's places in order to cook the piles of food the men so looked forward to.

  "Great. Okay, then see you tomorrow," I said and gave her a hug before I turned away. Anxious, so fucking anxious to get away.