by Debra Kayn
Raelyn carried two drinks toward him. Rum and coke for him and a whiskey sour for her.
Jesus H. Christ. She was fucking serious.
"Here you go." She held out his drink.
The last thing he wanted was a drink. He wanted her sober. He wanted her on her back. He wanted her fingernails scratching his shoulders as she screamed his name.
She sat down at the nearest table. He looked at the distance between the chairs. That wasn't going to work. She was too far away from him.
"Grab your drink," he said, slipping his hand into hers.
She barely had a chance to do what he asked, and he led her through the bar, into the kitchen, down the hallway, and used his boot to push open her office door. He elbowed the light switch and led her to the couch.
"Sit." He sat, pulling her down beside him.
She plopped down, her thigh to his thigh, and cocked her head to stare at him. He grinned and lifted his drink. She was having second thoughts, and he wasn't going to let her have an easy out. He'd pussy footed his way around his attraction for her for what seemed like a lifetime. Over the last year, he'd thought of no one else, but her. She consumed him until he believed she was his.
She was finally letting herself enjoy her life, and he wasn't going to lose out because he was afraid of ruining what they had going on. He wanted to go forward and claim her.
"Mel?" She drank from her glass and swallowed. "I'm more tired than I thought I'd be tonight. I should probably skip the drink and go to bed. Morning comes early."
"Yeah?" He put his arm along the back of the couch and cupped the back of her neck with his hand, massaging her tense muscles. "I think that's a bad idea. You need to relax."
She drank another swallow. "It's been a hectic week."
"Hm," he said, enjoying the way her head dropped forward and her neck loosened.
He was rushing her. His body thought he was taking his sweet fucking time. He only knew that he wasn't going to stop touching her.
She lifted her head, drank again, and said, "That feels so good."
His cock pulsed to life. He straightened his leg. He could practically feel her trembling.
"Shit. My phone," she muttered, leaning away from him and reaching into the back pocket of her cutoffs.
His chest tightened, and he drank half his drink while she read the screen of her cell.
"I'm going to kill him." She stood up and set her drink on the surface of her desk.
He stood. "What's wrong?"
"Carl." She picked up the wooden bat in the corner of the room. "I've been texting him all night, worried about him staying out, and now he's standing outside the front door wanting in."
He took the bat out of her grasp and put his drink in her hand. "Stay here."
"He needs his ass kicked," she muttered, sipping from his glass and grimacing.
He left her alone to stew over her family problems and went to the front entrance and let her brother inside. Locking the door and setting the alarm again, he said, "You're going to respect your sister and the roof she put over your head, and not let this happen again. If you go out, you make sure you come back before the bar closes for the night. When Raelyn calls or texts you, you answer her. I don't give a fuck what you're doing, she worries."
Carl walked away from him. Mel poked him between the shoulders blades with the end of the bat.
Raelyn's brother stumbled forward, caught himself, and turned around with an attitude. "I heard you."
"Hearing and doing are two different things." Mel motioned ahead with his chin. "Your sister is in the office. She's due an apology."
"Yeah. Whatever." Carl walked away.
Mel squeezed the handle of the bat. Damned punk. At sixteen, Mel had been on his own, traveling through five states on his dad's Harley, hoping to survive as he made his way back to Haugan. At eighteen, he'd committed crimes Carl hadn't even dreamed about yet.
Outside the office, Carl stopped. "Sorry, I didn't text you back."
"Where were you?" Raelyn set down the empty glass. She'd drank his damn drink.
"Around."
"You don't know anyone in Haugan."
"So." Carl shrugged. "I'm going to bed."
"You can't run around making trouble here, Carl." Raelyn's mouth tightened. "Go to bed, and be quiet upstairs. Everyone's asleep. I don't want you waking Dukie. He needs his sleep. He's got camp in the morning."
Carl swiveled around and opened the door to go upstairs. Mel stepped into the room to stop Raelyn from following her brother. He wasn't done spending time with her, and she owed him another drink.
"Sit down. I'm grabbing the whiskey bottle." He held her gaze. "What do you want?"
"Yours tasted pretty good when I finished it." She sighed and looked at his empty glass and back at her drink that was half empty. "Really good."
"Straight?"
She raised her brows. "Sure, why not."
He chuckled. "That's my girl."
Not wasting a minute, he skipped grabbing clean glasses and returned to the office with the bottle. Opening the whiskey, he handed it over for her to drink first.
"You're bad for me." She laughed, holding the bottle in front of her. "Plus, you're wasting a good bottle. There's no way I'm drinking more than a few swallows."
"Then you can keep it in your office for a different day." He waited until she was finished and drank straight from the bottle. His breath stolen from Jim Beam, he sucked in air. "Whew."
"Ah..." Raelyn shook her head, shivered, and licked her top lip. "My head is already mush."
He hooked her neck bringing her forward. "You look sober to me."
"Yeah?" She leaned against him and gazed up into his eyes. "I shouldn't be doing this."
"You're not doing anything wrong."
She inhaled deeply, her eyelids getting lazier the longer she talked. "I am."
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I don't know, but it feels like I should run away." She held on to the back of his vest.
He pressed his hand against her lower back. "You're not a runner."
"I am." She drank more and rubbed her lips together. "Once. I ran away when I was twelve. Packed a bag, made a sandwich, and took two cans of pop with me. Then, I walked out of the house."
"Where did you go?"
"First, I went to the playground at the school. It was summer time, so nobody was there. Then I went to the movie theater and watched Space Jam.
"Space Jam?"
"Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes, aliens."
"I know the movie." He chuckled. "Where did you go afterward?"
"Home," she said softly.
He waited for her to go on, and when she continued to stare down at the bottle in her hand, he asked, "What happened?"
"No one noticed I'd been gone." She took another drink.
"Why'd you leave in the first place?"
"Hm." She swallowed and the arm that held the whiskey straightened, and she swung the bottle back and forth. "Tired of being the responsible one. I thought it'd scare my mom and she'd step up and be the mom I always wanted her to be."
"Instead..." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. Keeping his lips on her skin, he said, "You continued to be the responsible one."
The little insight into her childhood told him everything he needed to know about how she was dealing with having her family under the same roof as her, and why she refused to have Keith in the picture.
She nodded, turning her head. His lips skimmed her mouth, and he absorbed her gasp of breath before he captured her in a kiss. He'd imagined the sweetness of her lips for so fucking long, but nothing prepared him for the hunger.
He opened her mouth, and she kissed him back as if starving. He stroked her tongue and cupped the back of her head, feeding her hunger and his obsession.
Needing more, he backed her up and took the bottle from her hand and set it aside on the desk. Her hands came up and grabbed onto his face, pulling his beard. He growled his pleasure
into her mouth.
His cock pounded inside his jeans, and he pressed against her until she arched over the desk. Her leg came up and rubbed the outside of his thigh. He ran his hand over her hip, hooked her bare thigh below her skirt with his hand, and pushed between her legs.
She opened to him, frantically shoving her hands under his vest and grabbing at his shoulders. His balls ached. He had on too many clothes, and he needed her naked.
Raelyn's pelvis pumped against him as she tried to climb his body. He pulled away and grabbed the edge of her shirt, pulling it off her.
She blinked up at him. He'd taken her by surprise.
"Tell me you want me," he whispered, hooking his finger under the waistband of her panties. "Please, tell me I can fuck you, babe."
She caught her swollen-from-his-kiss bottom lip between her teeth and nodded. He had her panties off, his belt undone and his jeans pushed down to his thighs when she said, "Condom?"
He grabbed his wallet and removed the foil package. Ripping it open, he rolled the condom on his cock.
Raelyn set the whiskey bottle on the floor and swept everything else off her desk to the side. He picked her up and set her on the surface, watching her hands unhook her bra and toss it across the room.
He tugged her to the edge of the desk, and she widened her legs. His gut tightened at the sight of her wetness. He entered her with one thrust, knowing she was ready. Then, he held still, gazing down at her sprawled before him.
Her breasts with hardened nipples called to him. Her slender waist accented her flared hips and cushioned him perfectly. A powerful urge to make her come pulsed throughout him. He brushed the back of his knuckles over her stomach.
She inhaled swiftly. He turned his hand over and slid his thumb down her body and skimmed her clitoris.
Her body rocked atop the table. "My God," she said with a hiss. "Don't stop."
"Never." He circled the sensitive nub.
He slowly pumped his cock inside of her while stimulating her with his thumb. He could spend hours giving her everything she wanted and things she hadn't even dreamed about before, and never run out of ideas. Even then, he wouldn't be satisfied.
Raelyn moaned, arching her back. He leaned over her and braced his elbows on the desk, holding her head in his hands. There was no way in hell he was taking his gaze off her when she finally came.
"Mel?" Her lips made a circle, and little bursts of air escaped her mouth.
He thrust and withdrew steadily, never letting her relax. Her legs tightened around his lower back, and she ran her hands underneath his hair and held on. He inhaled deeply. Waiting for her had finally ended. He had her. He wasn't going to let her go.
Her breath came faster. He tightened his hold on her head, pinning her to the desk, and pummeled his cock inside of her.
"Marry me," he said.
"What?" She gasped. Her nails bit into him.
He dug his toes into his boots and slowed his strokes. "Marry me."
"I..." She panted. "Oh, God. I'm going to —"
"Marry me." He rocked his body between her legs. "Right now."
"Now?" Raelyn bucked against him.
He growled and stopped all movement. Raelyn blinked up at him, disoriented, confused, at the peak of orgasming and looked at him for the answer to everything she needed.
"I've loved you for a long time." His voice deepened. "You let me inside you. I'm not going to let anyone else have what is mine."
"Mel." She closed her mouth and swallowed. "I can't just—"
"You can." He lowered his head and kissed her deeply. Then, he moved his mouth to her ear and whispered, "You know me. You love me. You're ready, honey. Marry me."
"I do love you, but—"
"Say it, Raelyn." He withdrew and plunged inside her again. "Say I can have you. That you'll marry me."
"Why would—"
"Because I love you." His heartbeat raced and his balls pulsed. "I love Dukie. I want forever."
She moaned and her pussy spasmed. Mel let his head fall forward and struggled not to shoot his load. Her body trembled underneath him and then she jolted, all her muscles seized, and she muffled her answer against his shoulder as she orgasmed.
He heard her.
He heard her clearly.
And, he came hard while holding on to her.
Chapter Eight
Before the crack of dawn, the members of Ronacks lounged inside the clubhouse. Mel shut the door keeping his arm looped around Raelyn, who snuggled against his side. He'd called an emergency meeting because he needed to get back to the bar by six o'clock to get Dukie up and ready for camp.
Battery approached Mel, took a quick look at Raelyn, and frowned. "What's going on?"
"I'm claiming her," said Mel.
Battery's gaze narrowed. "You and Raelyn?"
He nodded, holding Raelyn tighter as she started to slip away from him. "Right now. The sooner, the better. Also, I figured Swiss could say the words, and we can call it good."
Over the years, Swiss married a few of the Ronacks couples. Along with knowing enough medical knowledge to save lives, Swiss also was able to perform weddings, and he had the skills to deliver babies, proven when Dukie came into the world. The Army taught him well.
"What's the hurry?" Swiss stood off to the side. "I can't do anything until eight o'clock when the clerk's office opens. You'll need a marriage license first. Nothing is fast when you go through the government."
"I'm not marrying her for the state's benefit." Mel palmed Raelyn's hip. "All that matters is the club knows she's mine, so let's get this done."
Battery crossed his arms and stroked his beard with his hand. "Raelyn's drunk. She's not a drinker."
Mel looked his president in the eyes. "Tonight, she drank."
"I did," blurted Raelyn, noticing everyone in the room. "I can't take any orders. The bar is closed, but help yourself."
Battery studied Raelyn, his gaze softening. Swiss shook his head. The other members gawked. Mel lifted his chin. They all loved Raelyn in their own way, like a protective older brother.
His feelings went beyond caring about her. He wanted her to himself.
"Why is she drunk?" Rod joined the conversation.
"That would be a private matter." Mel curled Raelyn toward the front of him and tilted her chin. "Raelyn, do you want to marry me?"
"Mm." She snaked her arms around his neck. "I would marry you right now. I love you."
Raelyn's execution of I love you ended up being I loooooooove you and left him smiling. Mel kissed her forehead and peered over her head. "You heard her."
"You're digging yourself into a fucking hole, kid." Swiss chuckled. "But nobody is going to argue with you. You've stated your case, and she's answered as far as the club cares, and we'll view you as married until one of you decide otherwise. I'm afraid Raelyn could have a different opinion when she sobers up and finds out what you've done."
It'd been years since he'd heard Swiss use the road name given to him when he'd prospected for Ronacks after running away from his mom and stepdad, found his way back to Haugan, and then fell into Ronacks. Mel held Raelyn tighter, ready to take her back and put her to bed and let her sleep off her drink.
"Raelyn will honor what I've done. More than anything, she's got experience behind her. She's been a part of Ronacks by marriage before and knows what it feels like to lose her connection to the club. While we've done our best to make sure she feels a part of the family, get-togethers are hard for her because it's a reminder of what she's lost. Now she's got the club back, through me, and I'm going to make sure life is easier for her from now on."
"There's no certificate or law to make her go through with your plans when she realizes what you've done," said Battery.
"Like I said, I know Raelyn, and she'll honor what happened here." Mel swept Raelyn's hair off her cheek. "If not, I'll make sure she changes her mind. I'm not letting her go."
"How much drinking have you done?" asked LeWorth.
>
"Not enough to reach the .08 limit," said Mel.
JayJay sat on the back of the couch. "She deserves to be loved, bro."
"She will be. So, will Dukie." Mel swept his gaze around the room. "If that's all, I'm taking her home."
Battery held out his hand. "Congratulations."
"Thanks, Prez." Mel dipped his chin at the others and took Raelyn outside.
He'd done what was necessary. To Raelyn, the club was her life. She'd thrived in her marriage to Duke, loved being one of the wives in the club, and enjoyed the perks and security. She honored the laws placed by Ronacks, played to the ranks, and while she'd lost a husband because of Ronacks Motorcycle Club, she finally accepted, forgave, and loved.
"Let's get you home." Mel walked slowly, letting Raelyn keep up with his pace.
"Home," she muttered. "Gotta wake Dukie up."
"We'll get him up for camp when it's time." Mel opened the car door. He'd taken Raelyn's car, and during the ride to the clubhouse, Raelyn had entered the sleepy phase of her drinking.
He buckled her into the seat and rounded the car, slipping behind the steering wheel. While Raelyn took her night of freedom to drink to heart, he'd barely drank to take the edge off. He was cold sober when he had sex with her.
While the brisk air caused a chill in the air, he rolled the window down four inches. He'd be pulling an all-nighter and needed to stay alert to be ready to get Dukie ready for camp. He glanced over at Raelyn. She was out like a light in the passenger seat.
He propped his elbow on the door of the car and stared out onto the road. A soft glow came over the mountains in the distance. A new day.
Married in a way that meant the most to him, he turned on the radio, making sure the volume was low so not to wake Raelyn. His MC brothers were right, and he'd prepared for the backlash that would come with his decision. He expected Raelyn to scramble to get out of their union. She'd make every excuse and probably lie to his face in her panic.
