by Debra Kayn
He continued stroking her softly, barely touching her clit, and soothed her down from her high. She reached down between their bodies and wrapped her fingers around his hardened cock.
"My turn with you," she whispered.
He removed his hand from between her legs and rolled onto his back. She stroked him firmly and slowly. The biggest man she'd ever been with, he also had an impressive dick that loved attention.
Swiss stretched his legs and reached over for her breast and rolled her nipple between his finger and thumb. She laid her head on his chest, kissing a path down his body.
His breathing grew heavier, and she scooted down in bed and held his hardness, aiming her mouth—
A banging echoed in the duplex. Swiss's body slid off the bed and away from her. She sat up, scrambling to her hands and knees.
"Swiss, open up," said a male voice.
"It's Grady." Swiss pulled on his jeans and grabbed his pistol off the nightstand. "Get dressed and stay inside the bedroom."
She nodded, not realizing that he couldn't see her in the dark, and hurried out of bed to grab her clothes. Her body clumsy, she tripped getting her foot in her jeans and hit her hip against the dresser.
Pain ricocheted down her leg, and she muffled her groan. Ronacks members had never visited in the middle of the night. Something had to be wrong.
Once she was fully dressed, she went to the bedroom door and listened. The murmured voices too low for her to hear.
The light from the living room came on. She stepped away from the doorway and a few seconds later Swiss came back into the bedroom.
"What's going on?" she asked, moving toward him.
He cupped the back of her head. "You need to come out to the living room."
She followed him, anxious to know what happened. Grady stood by the window and closed the drapes all the way. When he spotted her, he dipped his chin.
"Grady's going to stay inside with us until the sun comes up." Swiss set her down on the couch. "A car rammed into Mel's motorcycle at the end of the block when he walked away to take a piss behind a tree."
She pressed her hand to her chest. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine. His bike is toast." Grady stood guard at the window. "The car that hit and sped off was a blue sedan."
"Th-that's the car you're looking for that you think the men are driving." She swallowed hard and looked at Swiss. "They came back?"
"They are not near the duplex." Swiss sat down on the coffee table and faced her. "Two other Ronacks members took off chasing them, while Grady came here. It's better if both of us are here with you while Mel waits for the tow truck to come and haul his bike back to the clubhouse and the others are preoccupied."
"We should call the police." She rocked back and forth on the couch. "This isn't harassment or stalking, a hit and run is a crime, and Mel witnessed it."
"Ronacks doesn't use the police." Swiss caught her look of disbelief. "Trust me, sweet. The police around here are good at catching speeders and the occasional drunk who needs a night in jail to sober up. Beyond that, the club takes care of club business."
She looked up at Grady. "I'm so sorry."
"Not your fault," said Grady.
The problems were escalating. The knowledge of a biker gang protecting her hadn't dissuaded the killers from coming after her. They could've killed Mel tonight if he had been on his motorcycle when they hit his bike.
She leaned back on the couch, pulled up her legs, and held her stomach. The two men in the room remained silent and waiting. All she could hear was the clock on the kitchen stove tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Chapter Twenty Three
Swiss walked into the duplex. A wall of dead air hit him, and he whistled softly, reaching to reopen the door, letting out the heat Gia trapped inside the four walls. It had to be over a hundred degrees inside the duplex
He stepped over to the window.
"Don't." Gia rushed into the room. "You can't open the window."
He ignored her request and slid the glass along the track and let the fresh air inside. "Why not?"
She worked her hands in worry. "What if they're out there?"
It'd been a week since the people after Gia ran over Mel's motorcycle and there was no sign of anyone making another move toward her at the duplex or in town. While he never let down his guard, there was no reason for her to suffer through a hot, miserable day when he was outside to protect her.
"I've been at the curb all afternoon working on my bike. It's eighty-five degrees outside. I wanted you to stay inside, but I never meant you couldn't have the door and windows open. It feels like a fucking sauna in here."
"It's...hot, but not unbearable," she said, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead. "It'll cool down soon."
"A bullet can go through the glass as well as the screen." He instantly regretted his logic when Gia flinched.
He walked the distance separating them and hooked her neck, bringing her to his chest. "Grady and Choke are nearby. Mel was out at the curb with me until noon. The only people driving down our street are those who are locals. They wouldn't let strangers get near you or the duplex."
"I know." She sighed and leaned her weight against him. "Sorry."
He gritted his teeth. She wasn't the only one who woke up in a bad mood. He'd taken himself out to work on his bike to get some space. His frustration level rising every day that passed without the killers caught. He kept hoping Gia would use the phone he gave her and the information they collected would move everything forward and he could put a stop to the threats against her life.
Distracting them both with sex only made it more difficult to wait. He found himself trying to figure out how to work around Gia staying indefinitely with him without any obligations on his part instead of actively pursuing the killers.
He kissed the top of her head. He was addicted to sex with her. Not fucking. He could get that anywhere. Gia fed off his moods, and it was a powerful drug he couldn't stop.
She wanted fast and hard, he gave it to her. She wanted slow and lazy, he'd spend all night touching her.
"Whoa, holy shit, am I glad to see you," said Mel behind Swiss.
Swiss pivoted, not letting go of Gia, and glared at Mel. "Ever hear of knocking?"
"The door was open, man." Mel thrust his fingers in his hair. "I came back and thought someone had broken in."
Gia stiffened in Swiss's embrace.
Leaving his hand on her lower back, he faced Mel. "And, what was the first thing you did when you saw the door open?"
"I called Rod," said Mel, holding up his hand. "Fuck. I better call him back."
Swiss nodded and watched the kid walk away from the door of the duplex. In an emergency, Mel understood that you call the club first before approaching.
"I'm sorry, I overreacted." Gia stepped away from him. "I need to trust Ronacks to watch the duplex."
"What you need to do is stop apologizing for every damn thing you do." Swiss walked into the kitchen, poured a cup of coffee, and put it in the microwave. "It's better to be safe. Just know that you can open the front window when I'm outside. I can hear you if you needed me."
Gia followed him and sat on the stool. "There's a couple of sandwiches in the fridge for you."
He glanced over at her. "You made me lunch?"
"I didn't know when you'd be finished working on your bike, so I made you two sandwiches and put them away for when you came in." She chewed on her bottom lip and ran her finger around the edge of the cell phone on the counter.
Her noticing the phone kicked him in gear, and he grabbed the sandwich, the coffee, and escaped the obvious. "I'll eat outside."
She slid off the stool and stopped him from leaving. "Can I go out and watch you?"
"You want to watch me do maintenance on the Harley?" All he wanted her to do was use the damn phone when he was out of the duplex.
"I'm getting antsy inside, and I've dusted
twice. You said it was safe with Ronacks watching the block."
Fuck. Why wasn't she taking the bait and using the phone?
If she made only one call, he'd have more answers to who she was in contact with and how they helped or if they put her in danger.
"I'll leave the door open. You can watch from inside." He walked out, taking a bite of his sandwich, without giving her the option to argue with him.
So far, she'd always followed his instructions and never put herself at risk.
Mel sat on the curb by Swiss's motorcycle. Swiss popped the last bite of sandwich in his mouth, set his coffee on the ground, and pointed to the seat. "Go ahead and take the seat off."
Mel followed his orders. Swiss dug out his tools and kneeled on the asphalt.
"What do you want me to do?" asked Mel.
Swiss loosened the throttle cable. "Start up the bike and let me know when the tension feels right."
Mel stood. The engine turned over. Swiss gave a quarter turn, tightening the cable, and Mel shook his head. Two more notches and Mel nodded.
"That's good," yelled Mel.
Swiss motioned his finger across his throat to cut the engine and caught sight of Gia standing in the open doorway of the duplex. He looked up at Mel. The kid was learning. He wasn't so quick to talk everyone's ear off, and he took any job Swiss threw at him seriously.
"Hey, do me a favor," said Swiss, low enough Gia couldn't hear.
Mel let go of the Harley and leaned forward.
Swiss kept Gia in sight and spoke with his mouth below the seat of the bike. "Go keep Gia company. She's feeling cooped up this afternoon. Maybe see if she's missing any friends back in Seattle and make her feel better."
Mel nodded. "I can do that."
"And, Mel." Swiss leaned closer. "I don't want her finding out you're giving her a mercy talking."
"Gotcha."
Swiss stood. "Also, keep your hands off her. She's mine."
Mel chuckled. Swiss pointed at the kid, drilling his point home and then put his tools back under the seat. Once he was alone, he sat on the Harley with his back to the duplex, coffee in one hand, phone in the other, and called Rod.
His Vice President answered on the second ring. "You've got me."
"Anything?" asked Swiss, getting right to the point of his call.
"I'm getting off work in ten minutes and will swing by the clubhouse. Sander has been monitoring things from there, and I can double check, but so far I haven't heard anything."
"Damn." Swiss peered up the street. "It's been over two weeks since I gave her the phone, and she hasn't used it yet. That doesn't make sense, considering she lifted Jana's phone."
"Maybe she needs a little incentive," said Rod.
Swiss grunted. They'd had fucking every spare minute. The only thing sex accomplished was making Gia hornier, and he had a hell of a time limiting himself.
"That doesn't work," he said.
Rod busted out laughing. "Fuck, man. I'm not talking about screwing her brains out. Women lean on others when they're upset or need to talk. Make it so she wants to talk to someone else besides play with your dick."
Swiss dug the heel of his boot into the ground. "Yeah, maybe."
"No maybe about it. We need answers, or you'll be off work indefinitely." Rod paused. "Bring her to the clubhouse. That seemed to get her to use Jana's phone before. Whatever happened there, might tempt her to use the phone you gave her."
"I'll see if she's up to going out tonight."
"Okay, I'm going to go lock this joint up. See you later," said Rod.
"Later." He disconnected the call.
Rod made a good point. Gia talked to him a lot. Even when he never joined in the conversation, she seemed content to speak her thoughts to him whether in bed or out. His silence never stopped her, and he usually found himself listening intently trying to figure out what she was really thinking.
He glanced over his shoulder. The open doorway to the duplex empty.
If ten minutes with Mel couldn't send her straight to the phone to call a girlfriend, nothing he tried would work. Unless he got her pissed off and she refused to talk to him.
He stretched his neck. Fuck.
The last thing he wanted to do was start a fight.
Chapter Twenty Four
Swiss walked Gia into the clubhouse. She grabbed his hand, not wanting to get lost in the crowd of people packed inside, and Swiss shook her off and left her standing at the edge of the room without saying a word.
He left her alone.
The shock stunned her.
He hadn't left her side since she'd moved in with him. She clasped her hands in front of her and her vision blurred as she stared at the spot where he'd disappeared into the crowd.
Normally, she'd be okay. As a single woman living on her own, she went wherever she chose because that was her only option. She was perfectly capable of standing in a clubhouse by herself. But Swiss's quiet attitude before they'd left and his lack of reassurance on the ride over here had already warned her something was wrong.
And, he left her.
He'd never left her before.
She looked around for Bree or Raelyn, two people she'd feel comfortable going up to and talking with while Swiss did whatever he had to do, but she couldn't find the two women.
The loud music thrummed in her chest. A man she couldn't remember seeing before thrust a beer bottle at her and walked away.
She clutched the unopened drink with both hands and stepped back to the wall out of the way. It was unlike Swiss to leave her by herself. She tried to understand why and came up empty. She already missed his hand on her hip, reassuring her that he had everything under control.
Standing out among the bikers and the women, she wanted to slip outside but knew Swiss would want to be able to find her when he returned.
The Ronacks members ignored her. She picked at the label of the bottle. Always grateful for their help, she wondered if their openness came with stipulations or if taking Swiss away from his job with the club put added stress on each of them.
The thought of what she'd put on the club, not only Swiss, entered her head and she wondered if she'd overstayed their charity. She peered around the room, feeling guilty.
A woman tottered over to her on high heels and a tank-dress she had to tug down with every other step. Obviously looking at her, Gia smiled back and then gazed down at the drink in her hand. It'd be rude to guzzle the beer before the man came back for his drink.
The woman stopped in front of Gia and adjusted her breasts and cocked a hip out. "Who are you here with?"
"Swiss." Gia glanced around the room looking for a reason to escape.
"Ah, the big guy." The woman hummed in approval. "I'm Darcy."
"Gia," she said, introducing herself.
"This is my second Ronacks party." Darcy leaned in. "I haven't been with Swiss, yet. I don't think."
The overpowering floral perfume wafting off Darcy snapped Gia into the present. She sneezed, barely covering her mouth in time. The slut either knew or wanted to throw Swiss in Gia's face. All she knew for certain was that Swiss hadn't been with any other women since she moved in with him.
"Where's your guy?" asked Darcy. "Is he lining up the backroom for you?"
Oh God. After tonight, she couldn't speak of Swiss's sex life with confidence. He had plenty of time to get it on with any of the women at the party when he walked away from her.
"Talking to his president," Gia lied. No way would she give Darcy the satisfaction of winning one over on her. "Hey, have a beer. I need to go talk to someone."
The hell with Swiss, she was out of here. She gave Darcy the unopened beer bottle and left the house empty handed. Outside, she inhaled the night air deeply and paced through the excess energy the other woman had created in her.
There were other members outside. She scuffed the bottom of her sneaker against the pebbles on the asphalt driveway. Swiss went out of his way to guarantee her safety on proper
ty owned by Ronacks Motorcycle Club. She'd be safe as long as everyone else stayed outside within her view.
She pursed her lips, growing angrier. Expecting to try and distract Swiss while she snuck a phone call to Bianca, he'd totally thrown her off track by leaving her inside by herself.
Goosebumps broke out over her arms. She rubbed her skin, wishing she had her sweatshirt from the Harley.
Mel jogged toward her. She exhaled in relief. Finally, someone she knew and was comfortable being around without Swiss nearby.
"Hey, Gia." Mel stopped in front of her and grinned. "You never mentioned coming to the party earlier when we were talking."
"I didn't know myself until after you'd left Swiss's place." Gia cupped her elbows and looked at his patchless vest.
"I'm always here." Mel chuckled and rocked back on the heels of his boots. "It's pretty much required of me until I get my patch."
"You're single, right? It can't be that hard to hang out and party all the time." Her teeth chattered, and she snapped her jaw closed.
Mel shrugged. "It'll be more fun when I'm a full member."
"Ah..." She understood from their conversation earlier that there were many things he still had to learn about Ronacks. In some ways, he was an outsider like her.
"Where's Swiss?" asked Mel.
She shook her head. "Inside. He left me as soon as we arrived."
"Do you want me to get him for you?" He cleared his throat. "He might be in the back room."
"No, thanks." She turned to him fully. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Sure."
"My sweatshirt is in the leather bag on Swiss's bike. Can you get it for me?"
Mel clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Prospects can't touch a member's bike. I'll go get Swiss to get it for you."
"No." She reached out and grabbed his arm before he could leave. "Don't bother him. Whatever he's doing is probably important. He'll probably come out any second."
Mel leaned to the side, looked past Gia, and held up two fingers in the peace sign. "Prez...Bree."
Gia turned and found Bree hurrying across the lawn beside Battery. She waved. The few times she'd spent with Bree, she found herself liking the other woman. She was down-to-earth, and her calming personality put Gia at ease.
