Because who in their right mind wanted to deal with the shit the DAMC was dealing with?
D’s crew might take their president out, cut the head off the snake but the Warriors still had the rest of the body, even if it was getting thin. And then there was Pierce.
A man who raped her mother. A man whose blood ran through her veins. The man who unknowingly fathered Kelsea. The man who framed Z for selfish reasons. The man who sent Dex’s sister, Ivy, into a situation that could have ended in disaster.
And who knows what other shit Pierce had done throughout the many years he was an Angel. These were only the things that were coming to light. Dex wondered what still remained in the dark.
“Need to get back, Brooke, but can’t leave you here,” he said softly. “Need to go deal with Pierce.”
At her father’s name, her head shot up and he could see her visibly take a deep breath.
He waited for her to say she wasn’t going. That he could fuck off. That she was capable of taking care of herself.
He was floored when she didn’t.
Instead, she turned her head and glanced over her shoulder at him as she pressed the button for the automatic garage door. “I’ll go. For a few days. That’s all. Then I’m coming back here.”
Relief washed over him. That at least gave him some time.
Not just time to keep her safe, but time to figure out what he wanted with her and how he was going to get it. Maybe it’d give him time to convince her to give him a fucking shot.
She opened the door that separated the garage from the house. “It’ll give me an opportunity to face Pierce.”
Ah fuck.
She had let herself feel something for the man who laid beneath her. Something she’d never felt before. Brooke wasn’t sure if she liked that feeling because she was never one to be emotionally clingy.
And if she was going to be, she wasn’t sure if Dex was the right man to cling to. Though, at the moment, she was riding his cock in a room at the Shadow Valley Motor Inn, so she wasn’t quite “clinging.”
His fingers dug into the flesh of her hips as she rose and fell at a slow pace. She was purposely drawing out both her release as well as his. Why? Because their time was coming to an end soon. She had only agreed to come back to his hometown to face Pierce. To look that man in the eyes and see if he held any regret for changing her mother’s life in only one night. That was all it took to change everything for her mother. Hell, not even one night. Probably not even ten minutes.
So, here she was savoring her own minutes with a man she wanted to be with. Maybe not forever, but for at least this moment.
A man who was much more complex on the inside than what his outside showed the rest of the world. Beneath his biker exterior, there were more levels to Dex than most people could see.
She had peeled away a few of those layers from him during those days they spend together the last time she was in Shadow Valley. In those two nights at her home in Harrisburg, she had also uncovered a few more. Away from everything he knew, he had opened up, whether he realized it or not. He could drop the badass biker persona and show Brooke who Dexter Dougherty really was.
She didn’t quite like the fact that he had to hide the real Dex away. But real or not, he looked right sitting on the bike he rode in the bitter-cold weather for three hours on their trip back to town. She had followed him in her car with her heat blasting, as if in some way that would help keep him warm.
“Babe,” he murmured.
She opened her eyes, not even realizing she had closed them, and met his dark gaze.
“Where d’you go?”
“Nowhere. I’m here,” she whispered. Her pace had come to almost a complete halt. She began again.
“You okay?” he asked, apparently not believing her.
“Yes,” she answered. “I’m fine.”
He still didn’t believe her. Like she told him in her garage, she had somehow learned to read him. She’d never had that connection with a man before.
Or maybe she just never wanted to.
But why him? What was it about this man that made her feel differently?
Maybe it was because he wasn’t anything like the typical man she’d dated in the past. Not that Dex and her were dating. The only label that could be put on what they were doing was... screwing.
That was it.
She paused, planting her palms on his chest and leaning forward until her mouth hovered over his. “We’re screwing.”
His lips twitched. “Yeah.”
She hadn’t tied him up this time. Sadly, her rope and both sets of cuffs had disappeared with those Warriors. And she didn’t pack any of her toys because she wasn’t planning on staying long.
Just long enough to confront Pierce. To spend a few more fleeting moments with Dex. Even if they ended up being vanilla moments.
However, she wasn’t picking up her life and moving it here to Shadow Valley to have some fantasy fairytale happily-ever-after with this biker. He wasn’t picking up his, either, to move closer to her.
Things like that didn’t happen in real life. Books? Movies? Songs? Yes.
But not in real life.
Real life was way more complicated than that.
As she pressed her lips softly to his, he inhaled her breath and then gave it back. She accepted it, closing her eyes, appreciating something she wasn’t used to.
It wasn’t normal for her. Probably not for him, either.
Tenderness.
Right now, she had no urge to bite his lip, scratch his flesh, leave her marks over his skin.
No. She felt no need for that right now.
Right now, it was just him and her. Their breath intermingling, their tongues touching, their lips melding. She couldn’t ignore how he filled her. How deep he was inside her. Not just his cock. But him.
Dex.
Brooke pushed up and away to stare down at him, her heart beating furiously in her chest. She tried to swallow the little bit of panic that bubbled up. Just as she tried to beat down the warm feeling that swirled around her, pulling her deeper. Drowning her.
She had left Shadow Valley the first time because she was afraid of losing herself.
But maybe that wasn’t it at all.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
She was afraid of finding herself instead.
Chapter Fourteen
Dex surged up, twisted his body and rolled Brooke beneath him. Obviously, he figured out something was going on with her.
He pressed his forehead to hers. “Stay with me, babe, right here. In this room. In this bed. Don’t go anywhere but here.”
“Dex,” she whispered, not sure what to say.
He lifted his head and shook it. “No, look at me.”
She raised her eyes to meet his dark ones as he swept her hair out of her face.
“Right here, babe. Stay right with me.”
His deep, gruff voice sent a shudder through her.
He began to move, to take over, to show her how right things were between them. Whether she was on top or he was.
Either way seemed to be fine with him. It hit her then that she always didn’t have to be strong. Not always.
When she didn’t want to be, he could step in and be strong for her. Support her. She could lean on him when and if she needed to.
She knew right then that he wanted that, too. Craved that.
He moved in and out of her like a gentle wave, not crashing against the shoreline, but a slow surge like a rising tide. He took her mouth, exploring every inch of it, drawing a moan from her, which he captured and kept. When he finally broke their kiss, he traced the tip of his tongue along where her pulse beat furiously along her throat.
He kissed the hollow of her neck and across her collarbone. Down her chest and over to her nipple, sucking it gently, then doing the same to the other. Her fingers slipped through his hair, finding purchase, holding him close, encouraging him to continue.
Normall
y, the few times he’d been on top, she’d gotten wild, scratching and biting, clawing her way back to being in control. This time she didn’t have that desire. She let him guide the two of them slowly to the brink. To the very edge of that surf.
Her cries were soft, not demanding.
For once she wasn’t telling him what she wanted. She allowed him to figure it out on his own.
And he knew what she wanted. What she needed. At least in that very moment between the two of them. She needed to let go and he was helping her do just that.
He trailed his hands down her arms and intertwined their fingers together. He lifted their clasped hands and pushed them into the mattress alongside her head, in the midst of her hair that was spread out around her. Then he kissed her once again.
With their bodies, their lips, and their fingers connected, he kept it slow. And she liked it. She wanted it to last. To never end.
“Babe,” he murmured against her lips.
She stopped him by taking his mouth, encouraging their tongues to tangle, discouraging any more words.
Surprisingly, he let her do it.
The roll of his hips reminded her of a rocking ship in a calm sea. While his pace remained steady, their breathing did not. Small whimpers escaped the back of her throat, her hips rose to meet each one of his strokes.
They took turns giving and taking. And soon neither was on top anymore, they were equal. Simply enjoying each other. Taking each other to the crest of one wave. Then they rode the next one. And the next.
Until, finally, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Dex stared up at the motel room’s water-stained ceiling. He really needed to get his own fucking place. He was going to start looking right away and stop waiting for D to realize that the apartment above the pawn shop would no longer work for a family of three.
He tipped his gaze down to the woman who was sprawled across his chest. Well, he wasn’t going to start looking right away because he wasn’t moving from this bed until she did. He combed through her hair, enjoying how the silky strands felt over his skin and over his pierced nipples. When she gave him head, he loved when that soft hair tickled his balls and his thighs.
Yeah.
He thought about what happened last night. The sudden switch in her. He had no idea why it happened and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it when it did.
She had given herself to him. Not with words. Hell no. Nothing had been said. But something changed. He recognized and encouraged it. Whether that was fucking selfish on his part...
He shrugged mentally. Last night was a turning point. He was not letting this woman go.
He didn’t know what she’d think of that. Though, once he admitted it to her, he was pretty damn sure she wouldn’t hesitate to let him know her feelings.
He had no idea how they would make it work, but he was determined to try.
The problem was, he doubted she’d just walk away from what seemed to be a successful business or simply give up her house, especially for him. Would she be willing to give everything she’d built for a biker like him?
Even if she was, the house would be the easy part. They could find something in Shadow Valley since new neighborhoods were popping up everywhere outside of town. Even something temporary until they could find what she wanted. And whatever she wanted was fucking fine with him since he only needed a roof over his head and her in his bed.
But the business part...
He knew it took time and effort to build a business since the DAMC owned quite a few. And in the last year, he watched Slade and Diamond build a new one from scratch. It involved a lot of hands-on work, as well as planning. And a lot of scratch, as well.
A lot of fucking money was being funneled from the club’s fat coffers. Now that Shadow Valley Fitness’s doors were open, Di and Slade were busier than ever. In fact, they rarely ever saw those two. If the couple wasn’t sleeping, Dex had a feeling they were fucking like rabbits or working like dogs.
So he knew that moving a business wouldn’t be easy. She’d be starting from scratch. She would have to build up new clientele in and around Pittsburgh. Re-establish her name, her brand. Maybe some of the women could help her. But he wasn’t even sure she’d agree in the first place.
Dex brushed the tips of his fingers over Brooke’s shoulders.
She wasn’t a woman who would sit back and just be an ol’ lady.
He snorted.
Her grey-blue eyes blinked open and she stretched but remained glued to him. He bit back a satisfied grin.
“What time is it?”
“Early,” he answered.
He wanted to talk about last night. But if he suggested it, she’d probably balk at the idea. So instead, he just needed to be patient and wait for her to reveal whatever changed when she was ready.
Though, being patient about it may be a problem.
“What happens now?”
He assumed she meant with Pierce and not with them.
“Got a meetin’ this mornin’. Gonna tell the Executive Committee what we found out, then justice will be dealt.”
“Justice,” she repeated softly.
“Yeah.”
“I want to be there.”
“For the meetin’?”
“For the justice.”
“Not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Well, I want to be there anyway. I have a right to be.”
“Not so sure ‘bout that, either.”
“Dex.”
He shifted, but not enough to dislodge her from his chest. He liked her right where she was. “Look, Brooke, lemme set somethin’ straight with you. This club...” He inhaled to brace himself. “The DAMC don’t let the women call the shots. An’ I know how much you like to do that shit, but it ain’t gonna fly with the rest of the brothers. Can tell you that right now. Goin’ in there an’ makin’ demands ain’t gonna work. Don’t care how good of a shot you are. Don’t care how strong of a woman. It ain’t gonna fly.”
“The women have no power,” she stated flatly.
“The truth?”
“Yes, I want to hear the truth.”
His answer might surprise her. “The truth is... the women got more power than they know. Than any of the brothers will admit. But not just any women. The ol’ ladies. We all pretend like they don’t, but they do. Know why?”
“Why?”
“Because they got their ol’ man’s ear when things are dark an’ quiet. When they’re layin’ in bed together. When things aren’t fuckin’ hectic. The ol’ ladies hear shit when they shouldn’t. Can put a seed in their ol’ man’s ear when one needs to be planted.”
“How do you know when you’ve never had an ol’ lady?” She lifted her head. “Or have you?”
“Nope. Never had one. Never wanted one.” He left off the “’til now” part. “But I know by some of the shit Ivy lets slip when she shouldn’t. By shit they all say when they think we ain’t listenin’. We can shout to the fuckin’ roof tops that club business ain’t women’s business, but the ol’ ladies got their hands firmly on their ol’ man’s nuts. And they know how to squeeze them juuuuust right.”
Brooke rolled her face into his chest to smother her laugh.
He frowned. “Think that’s funny?”
She twisted her neck to face him again, but she didn’t hide her amused smile. “Yes. I think it’s hilarious. You men... you bikers... You all look and act tough. Like badasses. Leather, denim, chains, knives. Guns. But—”
Dex quickly pressed a finger to her lips to stop her. “But nothin’. We’re exactly what you see.”
“Bullshit.”
“Ain’t bullshit, babe. Are who we are.” He brushed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. “But we all got a side of us which we show our women an’ now our kids.”
“Do you think now that Diesel’s child is born, he’s going to be a loving, sweet father to his baby girl?”
Dex had to think about that for a moment. “Dunno how D
’s gonna be. I know that little girl’s gonna have a father who will lay down his life for ‘er. No matter what. He’ll protect her to the end. Who knows how lovin’ he’ll be. Can’t say how lovin’ he is to Jewelee in private. Can guess, though. Jewel ain’t one who’d sit back an’ let their relationship be one-sided. Don’t mean D’s gonna show that side to everyone else. An’ he certainly ain’t gonna let her call any shots in front of the others.”
“So all you guys have a side you keep hidden?”
Dex lifted his shoulders. “Probably.”
“And your secret is?”
“Should know what it is by now.”
She flicked a fingernail over one of his nipple rings. “So I know what your secret is. What you keep from everyone else. Why is that?”
“Truth is, babe, didn’t quite fuckin’ know it myself ‘til you came around.”
She lifted her head, stared at him for a long moment, then shifted until all her weight was on him, until she covered him with her whole body.
And that weight on him felt fucking good. Satisfying. So fucking right. “Babe...”
“Yes?”
“You know Pittsburgh ain’t far away from Shadow Valley, right?”
Her brows knitted together. “Yes. So?”
“An’ the ‘burgh’s a lot bigger than that city you live outside of.”
Her eyebrows knitted together. “I know it is. So?”
“Just sayin’.”
“I didn’t realize I needed a geography lesson.”
“Speaking of geography. What d’you think of Shadow Valley?”
“Right now I don’t like it.”
Well, that wasn’t a good fucking start. “Why?”
“Because of who lives here.”
“You mean Pierce?”
“Yes.”
That made sense somewhat, but he wondered how she’d feel about it once Pierce was taken care of. “Gonna get that handled. You’d like it better once he’s gone?”
“I’ll give you that answer once that happens.”
“Gonna hold you to that.”
She sighed. “What time is the meeting?”
Dex’s gaze slid to the old digital clock on the nightstand. “Not for another couple hours, yet.”
Down & Dirty: Dex (Dirty Angels MC Book 8) Page 16
