Despite his years of running with bikers, his mother had raised him right. Women like her were into fairytales and that wasn’t him. He was a fuck ‘em and leave ‘em type, not a happily ever after man. What he couldn’t figure out was why he kept watching the tiny woman who buzzed around the room trying to keep up with the flow of bodies in and out of the bar.
Buck watched the men, their eyes tracking her, likely plotting how to get her alone even as she served them. Just fucking great. Sooner or later one of those idiots was going to grab her and he would have to step in to handle it because there was no way she was going to be able to. He already dreaded the waterworks he was sure to have to endure from her afterwards. Maybe he would fuck her after all; at least that would be worth all the trouble.
Of course his treacherous cock twitched hard when he thought about her paying him back by riding him till he came inside her tight little pussy. Fuck, would he like to strip her naked and watch her ride him. He could almost imagine how those pert little B-cups would bounce as she slid up and down on his hard pole. That image made him groan low as he shifted again trying to ease the pressure on his thick cock.
Damn, he needed to get a grip.
Buck rubbed the back of his neck, rolling his shoulder which still hurt, and tried to ignore the way his focus had shifted. Fuck, he was sounding whiny even in his own head. Maybe when that little shit had jerked on his arm slamming him into the wall and knocking his shoulder out of place he’d knocked whatever sense he had out of his damned head. He stared up at the ceiling thinking about the little shit’s pathetic pleas and the way he’d cried and pissed himself. Why the fuck hadn’t he thought about the consequences of betrayal before he’d tried to fuck with the Grave Diggers? He was distracted by movement to his left and his eyes settled on the woman again.
Fuck.
He shouldn’t care about his interest hurting her after all the shit he’d been through but he did. Why did his conscience follow him around like a bad penny? Did she have to be so fucking hot his teeth ached or tease him by shaking her ass whenever she moved? It didn’t matter that she had no idea or that he could walk out of the bar. It only mattered that he was sitting here with a hard fucking cock he knew wouldn’t be getting any relief until after he settled the matter of her working here.
He pulled his phone out, about to text Tracy to meet him at his place tonight but was suddenly distracted by the sight of his current obsession bending over to pick something up, revealing her cleavage in the process when her shirt gaped open. His hand squeezed hard on his phone as he stared at the tops of those taut tits, feeling like growling as need assaulted him and his mouth watered. His hands itched to grab her but he shut that shit down with a hard fuck no. The spell was broken a few minutes later when she stood back up and moved to the counter with the napkins she’d grabbed off the floor in hand.
He glanced back down at his phone. He thought of Lucy, who looked more like the little bit of fluff he was watching. She was short and only a little thicker than the woman who held his attention currently. He could turn the lights down and imagine he was fucking his newest obsession instead of Lucy. Lucy’s tits weren’t as small but he would make it work and after tonight he wouldn’t be seeing the new waitress again. But something inside him seemed to reject that idea and he found himself frowning a little as he continued to watch her as she took an order from one of the tables near the bar. Shaking off the feeling, he texted Lucy, one eye still on the woman as she entered the back to get something. His dark mood improved when Lucy sent back that she’d be there. He shifted again, glad that was settled and he might get some relief soon.
With a grunted sigh, he shoved his phone into his pocket. It was time he introduced himself, he decided. He wasn’t sure why she thought it was a good idea to work in a biker bar when it was obvious to him and every other man here that she wasn’t meant to be here. It was why the men watched her so closely with hungry eyes and ideas on taking her to their beds. That was the reason he was so out of sorts, he insisted to himself, even knowing it was really that he wanted her more than he wanted to breathe. Rising to his feet, he ambled over to stand behind her at the table she was serving, waiting for her to turn around and look at him.
Tessa set the drinks she’d just gotten for the table in front of the two men who’d ordered them, her eyes already wandering to the other tables to see if any of them looked like they might need another refill. Her feet were screaming at her but she still had three hours until one o’clock when her shift ended and she’d already had her last break half an hour ago. She hadn’t realized standing on her feet all night would be so hard but after four weeks she still ached every night when she was finally able to sit down.
She couldn’t say working here was fun but it paid better than she’d thought it would and she was glad she’d gotten the job. Although standing on her feet while running back and forth from one end of the bar to the other for nine plus hours was difficult, overall it was an easy job. The work left her achy and tired when she finally got off but she loved the money. She was making close to seventeen dollars an hour most nights and she’d been able to cover all the bills with what she made but it didn’t give her much extra.
Shifting from one foot to the other to relieve some of the pain, she asked if the two men needed anything else and went to step back, only to crash into a hard male body. Tessa felt the jolt from the impact throughout her body and she would have tumbled forward into the table if hard male arms hadn’t caught her. She turned, looking up to see a man with a rugged face and a scar across his left cheek with jet-black hair and a hard jaw scowling down at her. Crap.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to crash into you,” Tessa muttered, turning in his arms and expecting him to release her only to find his hands still at her waist and his scowl still firmly in place.
“I’m Buck,” he said in a voice that sounded more like a growl than words. It sent shivers up her spine and she felt her nipples harden. The man seemed to expect something but Tessa didn’t know what so she just waited, wondering what he wanted.
“And you are?” he commanded.
“Oh, I’m Tessa. Sorry, I’m the newest waitress here,” she muttered, finally recovering from her momentary stupor.
“Not after today,” Buck growled at her and Tessa felt anger rising inside her at the man’s rude comment. Was he going to try and get her fired for running into him? She couldn’t believe that someone would be that freaking petty. Of course after three months of seeing how people outside the wall treated each other, she wasn’t completely surprised at this behavior.
“I’ve said I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to back into you, Buck,” Tessa said, trying to hold in her anger which threatened to break free.
“Not about you bumping into me, darling. You just don’t belong here. Which means tonight’s your last night,” Buck muttered, his scowl dark and foreboding.
“I don’t know who you think you are but Patty owns this place, not you,” Tessa growled, her temper red hot.
Buck grunted and his arms crossed over his broad chest that she would have thought was sexy if it wasn’t for the scowl and the fact that he was being a dick. She didn’t have the patience for this bullshit and needed to get back to work. Tessa tried to step around him without another word only to have his hard hand land on her arm. She was about to show him exactly why he shouldn’t put his hands on her by throwing his ass on the floor when another gruff male voice asked, “What’s going on here, Buck?”
Tessa was distracted from her intent and looked up at Choke, another man from Buck’s MC who’d been in here last week. Patty had told her that evening that she’d been approved by him—apparently he was the leader or some such nonsense and what he said went. Tessa felt a little smile curl her lips as she jerked her arm from Buck’s grip.
“Don’t move,” he growled at her, his glare hot. Tessa wanted to ignore him and likely would have if Choke hadn’t stepped into her path with a little shake of his head. Since Patt
y had told her he could have her thrown out on her ass, she swallowed her pride and took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
“She doesn’t belong here and every man in here knows it. It will end up being a disaster for the club. She needs to go.” Buck didn’t look at her while he spoke.
“I see,” Choke said, a smile curving his mouth. “Well you might want to ask Devil about that before you make snap judgments.” He chuckled and added “Or you could grab her again.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Buck demanded, looking at his boss like he’d lost his damned mind.
“She tossed Devil on the floor. Twice,” Choke explained, sending a wink her way.
Tessa felt some of her anger drain as she thought of her second run-in with Devil. He’d been convinced that she’d only tossed him because he wasn’t ready. So convinced that last week he’d tried again thinking he’d be able to stop her, only to discover she’d countered his move and laid him flat a second time.
“Was he drunk?” Buck asked.
Insulting prick that he was, he apparently didn’t get that a woman could be just as much of a threat as a man could. Why were men so convinced women were helpless?
“No, he wasn’t drunk.” Tessa rolled her eyes.
“She’s right. He’s still butt hurt about it,” Choke muttered laughing. “It’s fine.”
“Excuse me,” she said, pushing past the infuriatingly dumbfounded man.
“This conversation isn’t over. Where do you think you’re going?” Buck demanded but Tessa ignored him and headed towards the bar. Choke shook his head and chuckled a little, muttering something about Buck trying to save the world before he moved away.
“Come see me when you’re done here,” Choke said over his shoulder, obviously losing interest in the scene Buck was making. Tessa didn’t want to deal with it anymore either.
“I need to get back to work. I don’t have time to stand around chatting with you and your boss said I could stay so you’re overruled.” Done talking with the jerk, she tried again to walk away but he grabbed her arm, stopping her.
“He isn’t my boss and trust me when I say you don’t belong in a place like this. Why don’t you go get a job at one of the restaurants or the malls? There’s nothing but trouble here for you.” Tessa turned on him, her anger getting the best of her.
“You think because you’ve watched me for five minutes that you know me? Who the hell do you think you are?” Tessa couldn’t believe this asshole.
“Good girls don’t belong here. This is a fucking biker bar.”
“I know it’s a fucking biker bar, you moron, I’ve been working here for four weeks. I’m not an idiot and it’s not up to you where I work, asshole.”
“You think you can handle this place but the boys haven’t been rowdy or keyed up and when they are, you may not be knocking just one fool on his ass. You might be trying to get away from five or six of them and that’s not going to end well,” Buck growled, his voice gruff and angry.
“Not that it’s any of your business but I can handle these fools with my arms tied together. I know both jujutsu and karate and can likely drop anyone in this room in seconds, including you, so don’t tell me what I can and can’t handle. Trust me when I say you have no idea who you’re dealing with.” Tessa didn’t add that she also knew taekwondo, kung fu, and some other form of marital arts that was obscure but very good at debilitating people. That’s what happened when you were raised by insane people who thought you had to be prepared for the end of the world but couldn’t even agree on a single marital arts form. If these men knew who they were really dealing with they’d run the other way because none of these gruff and tough types wanted their ass handed to them by a woman who was half their size.
“Look, I don’t mean to be an asshole here but you’ve studied those art forms like, what, two years or so, right? You did it because you wanted to be safe and likely hardly ever use it which means half of it is forgotten.”
Buck seemed so sure he knew her that Tessa wanted to grab him and toss him to the ground after disabling all his pressure points just to prove she could. Her father and uncles had made sure the martial arts she’d learned stuck. From the age of five she’d been trained every day until it was muscle memory. Each martial arts form taught over and over until she could move without thought like she had the other day when Devil grabbed her the first time she’d walked through the door.
“Again, you don’t know me and your opinion isn’t necessary,” Tessa gritted out.
“I’m just trying to look out for you but since you know best, I’ll wish you luck when a few of these idiots grab you.” Buck turned on that note, stomping away in the direction Choke had taken.
So angry she was shaking, she went to the bar and placed the table’s order before heading back to find they’d left without their beers and barely left enough to cover the tab. It was all that giant asshat’s fault and she hoped like hell she didn’t have to deal with him again anytime soon.
Chapter Six
Buck felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise and turned to peer around the dark parking lot. He scanned the area, seeing only darkened outlines of the bikes and cars parked along the building but nothing that should have made his instincts kick in. Glancing over at Dice, he motioned for him and Gator to go around the side and check it out. Buck still didn’t like the bad feeling that was suddenly sitting on his chest—something wasn’t right about this drop.
Normally, prospects would be the lookouts but they were close to Tricky Dick territory and Choke had wanted his best guys on the perimeter. Buck didn’t blame the man because the Dicks were always fucking shit up and tonight was an important deal for the club. If this went down without a hitch then they’d have another supplier for weapons without having to travel to Laredo. Since it was a seven-hour ride full throttle that would be a damned good thing.
He scanned the lot again looking for whatever had made his hair raise. Dice came back around the building with a little shake of his head indicating they’d found nothing but Buck wasn’t relieved because his gut said something was up. The door of the building slammed into the wall as Choke and Shredder came stomping out, both men looking grim.
“Those stupid fuckers,” Choke said through his clenched teeth as he walked up to Buck ripping a pack of cigarettes out of his front pocket. He smacked one out of the pack and put it in his mouth before lighting it and taking a good long drag.
“What’s up?” Buck asked, feeling the tightness gripping his stomach begin to make his whole body tense.
“They raised the price,” Shredder grumbled, kicking at the rocks in the gravel parking lot.
“I thought the price was agreed upon already?”
“Yeah, I thought so too but that was before the Dicks got to them,” Choke said, shoving his cigarettes back in his pocket. “Those idiots offered ten G’s more than we did and now they want fifteen or they walk and sell to those bastards. Fuck.”
“Why would they offer that? At that price it’s gonna be hard to move them and make a profit,” Buck asked, glaring at the building and wondering what the hell those idiots were doing.
“Yeah, they don’t give a shit, man. You know they make their money by trafficking and pushing the heavy stuff. I’ve told you a thousand times we should try running heroin again.” Shredder ran a hand through his hair looking frustrated.
“No, I refuse to run that shit. You know how I feel about it, Shred. My sister died from using that stuff one fucking time and I won’t be party to killing some teenager scoring their first fix. If you have an issue with that you can bring it up at church but if you do, be aware I’m stepping down. I can’t stomach it.” Choke was dead serious about that shit too because his sister really had only done one dose of heroin her boyfriend had cooked up for her and she’d died less than an hour after it was injected from an overdose that sent her into convulsions.
“Fuck, I don’t want to be a part of that either. It’s just temptin
g. When we were running it we didn’t have cash flow problems. Like we do now.” Shredder said looking grim.
“We don’t have cash problems. We can get the cash and you know it but now that a lot of our business dealings are legit it takes more time to get it. The Dicks are just trying to take over parts of our territory,” Choke muttered.
“We’re not letting that happen but we need to decide what to do about these weapons. Are we going to pay their prices or walk away?” Buck asked, his hand waving in the air to indicate the building.
“Fuck. Only thing to do is buy them because we have the buyer set up already and we all know the mercenaries we are selling too aren’t going to be happy if we don’t bring them the goods on time like we promised. We will just have to explain to the men that profits aren’t going to be as much as they should be because of those Tricky Dick bastards.” Shredder was right and they both knew it because they really didn’t have the time to talk to their old supplier.
“So we cut profits and explain to the men in church.”
“It’s the only solution I see but if they’re trying to cause dissension in our ranks, this is a damned good start. Boys aren’t going to be happy if we cut their pay, damn it.” Choke looked grim as he spoke and turned to look out over the parking lot after taking another drag off his cigarette.
“So we cut the officers’ and senior members’ cut instead. That way the ones who aren’t solid with the club don’t feel shorted. Senior members won’t like it but most will understand,” Buck suggested.
“Damn, that’s not a bad idea.”
“What about Hammer’s group? You know they’ll try to cause problems.”
Owned (Grave Diggers MC Book 1) Page 6
