by Debra Kayn
Ink followed Lilly down the hallway and slipped outside before the door could shut behind her. He hooked her arm.
Startled, she jerked her arm out of his grasp. "Shit. You scared me."
"Get inside." He caught her again, guiding her toward the door.
"Wait a second." She dug her boots in and jerked his arm. "Come with me."
"Jesus," he muttered, following her. "You know the rules. All girls stay in the building during working hours."
"Will you keep your voice down?" She kept walking to the end of the block, stopped at the corner, and held up her hand. "Don't you want to know what Kurt's doing with those men?"
A group of motorcycle engines started. Ink tilted his head, studying the sounds. He knew the timing and the noise of each muffler belonging to his MC brothers. Hell, he'd worked on every motorcycle in the club himself to know them by sound. None of the bikes belonged to Bantorus.
Lilly leaned her warm body against him and whispered. "They've been meeting with—"
"Sh." Ink looked around the corner, spotted three riders and before they rode around the corner, the jean vests on their back showed up under the streetlight and each one of them had a get back whip hanging from their left handlebar.
Too far away to read the patches or see their colors, he moved back around the corner. He went through the list of motorcycle clubs in the Northwest. There were the Skull Worshippers out of Washington, Chrome and Wheels from the Oregon coast, the Hellstones from Nevada, and a few nomad riders for Lagsturns MC still hanging around Southern Oregon. None of the noted MCs wore a territorial patch and typically stayed away from Bantorus MC.
That left one club that had members living on the outskirts of Federal. Moroad.
"Who are they?" she asked.
He gazed down into her deep, dark eyes and shook his head. "If Kurt wanted you to know, he'd tell you."
"Don't give me that line of bull shit," she whispered. "I'm not one of the bitches."
No, she wasn't. She was the head president's only daughter and too smart for her own good. He brushed a stray strand of her hair out of her face and followed the length with his finger, hovering right over her breast. His balls ached in sweet pleasure. It'd been a lifetime since he'd held her.
The last thing he wanted to do was take her back inside where they'd have to separate again. He sighed and dropped his hand.
"Ink?" She leaned closer. Her eyes begged him for more.
She was so responsive to what was going on in his head. He couldn't even be near her without hurting them both. He forced himself to look away.
"Stay away from me, Ace." he mumbled, taking her back to the Sterling Building and opening the door.
Kurt hadn't rode off with the other bikers and was still around to catch him talking to Lilly without any other member present. He threaded his fingers through his hair and pushed it off his forehead. He had his own questions that needed answered. There had to be a reason why another MC would show up on Bantorus Territory.
The Moroad Motorcycle Club was an old school MC that kept to themselves and was more concerned about keeping their freedom than worrying about territory boundaries or growth. There were rumors they took in every felon that walked out of the Idaho state correctional institution and acted on behalf of those still inside the penal system.
Kurt, Remmy—Bantorus's V.P., Cutter, and Sawyer met with Moroad's leaders soon after arriving in Federal. They discussed the boundaries and gave consent for the Moroad members to come and go in Federal as long as they kept their noses clean and out of Bantorus business. It was a matter of respect, and Bantorus MC's status in the area made it possible to live side by side another MC without any conflict.
As far as he knew, Moroad had maintained their agreement, and nothing illegal happened inside Federal that pointed at the other club. He hadn't known them to even step inside one of the businesses around Federal before, much less the Bantorus owned Silver Girls.
If Moroad was looking for women, they were sniffing around the wrong place. Bantorus kept tight supervision over the Silver Girls. The only one he had to worry about was Lilly.
Ink glanced down the hallway and seeing no Bantorus MC member around, cornered Lilly against the wall. He lowered his head and spoke low into her ear. "What are you getting yourself into, Lilly?"
Lilly's gaze went from his eyes to his mouth, and her lips opened. He inhaled her scent. Butterscotch and warm woman. An irresistible combination for a man like him.
"Don't do it, Ink. Someone will catch us and then it'll be too late," she said, plastering herself against the wall to keep from having any part of her body touch him.
The only problem with that was she couldn't suck in her breasts, and that specific part of her body warmed his chest. He wasn't going to move. "Tell me how you knew those men were bikers."
She turned her head and said, "I don't."
"Look at me."
She shook her head in short, erupt jerks. "Don't do this to me. They'll rip off your patches, and I'll never see you again."
"Look at me," he repeated.
She brought her gaze around to him and her body sagged against the wall. The tension between his shoulders eased. Every fucking day he had to keep his distance, and the only thing he wanted was her.
"Stay out of club business." He placed his mouth against the top of her head and closed his eyes. "I mean it, Ace."
He pulled back, and her eyelids fluttered. His chest ached, right above his heart. She was close enough to put her mouth on him, and it took everything he had to keep from taking what he knew she would give him in a heartbeat.
He'd known from the time she was twelve years old what she wanted. By the time she was fifteen years old, she'd used every excuse to touch him...falling into him, fake limping, and even hiding around the corner and jumping out at him. She'd set her sights on him, and never went away. He continued to hold her captive against the wall. He was too old to play these games.
She was untouchable, spoiled, and protected. He was a man with a lifetime of experience behind him. But, he was weak. When she'd turned eighteen, she offered him her virginity and he'd taken it. Nothing would've stopped him. No matter how hard he tried or how many times the club warned him to keep his distance or he'd lose his membership, he could not get her out of his head.
She'd always been more aware of herself, and put women his age to shame. He cupped the back of her head, wanting to never let her go.
"Ink, please leave," Lilly whispered. "Hurry, before someone sees you with me."
He hit the wall beside her head with his fist in frustration and stepped back, staring at her. His breath came harsh and fast, matching hers. He wanted to beat out the connection they shared, so he could walk away and give her an excuse to find someone better.
But, he was a selfish son of a bitch.
No one would ever take what was his.
She'd dug her nails into him before he even noticed her, always following him around, hanging on every word he said, and giving him the attention only a grown woman would be capable of doing.
She'd captured his heart when she stood outside the backdoor of Cactus Cove in Pitnam—her eyes all lit up like dynamite, her jaw snapping as she smacked her gum, and her barely curved hip hitched to the side with her hand planted on it, and confided to him that she'd never become a bitch. All because she believed in one love, one soul mate, one man that'd take her virginity and she was saving herself.
He'd laughed and asked her who she thought was going to take her up on that offer. He swallowed. That day stood out in his mind like it happened yesterday. She'd stepped up to him, serious as chrome on a Harley, and said, 'I'm ready, but you have a lot of growing up to do, Ink.'
Him. Grow up.
She'd nailed him that day, and he kept trying to run away ever since. He closed his eyes an extra beat. He had to keep walking, not for his sake, but for hers. She deserved a nice cushy position within Bantorus MC that'd make her family proud.
He lived life on his own, came from nothing, and survived more foster care homes than he could remember. Until he gave it all up and ran toward Bantorus MC and became a lifer. He didn't want the ramifications of a relationship, especially with a minor who had her dreams set on seducing a biker a dozen years older than her. The idea alone was unthinkable to him.
It was easier to laugh her declaration off as a childhood crush, find a woman who was all about sex and overlooked his lack of emotions. Life was easier when he was leading the way. He sure in the hell hadn't planned to take a little girl serious when she had no idea about real life.
Except the little girl grew up into a sexy, beautiful woman who never wavered in her devotion toward him. That kind of gift was hard to ignore, and he'd failed.
"Ink," Kurt said behind him.
"Fuck," he mumbled, dragging his gaze away from Lilly, aching for what he could have if he was strong enough to take it, and cleared his throat. "Yeah, Prez?"
"The girls will be coming out in five minutes." Kurt's gaze never hit Ink, but stayed locked on Lilly.
"On it," Ink said, stepping around his president.
"Lilly. Stay," Kurt said.
Ink stopped and turned around in time to catch Lilly's chin lift in a brave show of control. He clenched his hands, wanting to take her away from the reprimand that was coming her way. He wanted to stand up for his choices, but because he was Bantorus and Lilly was the president's daughter, any kind of relationship with her was doomed before it started.
Kurt's gaze swung around to Ink and narrowed. "Move it."
It took all his strength to turn around and leave Lilly to fight his battles. He'd give up every fucking thing, his club, his position, his life, to be with her. The only reason he wasn't throwing his patches away was because Lilly deserved a respected member of Bantorus. The club was her family, and she'd never leave them. All she got with him was a messed up way of thinking, and a weakness that would destroy them both.
He pushed through the front door and walked out onto the sidewalk to make sure all the customers left the building before escorting the Silver Girls back to the clubhouse. He'd keep his distance from Lilly, because seeing her every day was better than not being in her life at all.
