Glory

by Ana Jolene

  When his eyes met mine, triumph lingered there. “You don’t want this?” He thrust meaningfully against me and I barely suppressed my groan of pleasure. “Don’t want me?”

  I expected another thrust to prove his point so I waited but it didn’t come. Hastie simply paused in his ministrations, waiting stock still for my answer. I growled in sexual frustration. The damn jerk was going to make me say it! “Damn you, Hastie, yes! Yes, I fucking want you.” Arching my back from the door, I pushed my hips against him, seeking his body.

  “Tell me you want me. All of me.”

  “Yes,” I sobbed. “I want all of you.”

  He kissed me hard then, another clashing of teeth and blood. I coiled tighter around him, and when he dipped his hand between us to slide my thong aside, I screamed in ecstasy as he thrust deeply into me in one long movement.

  Hastie fucked me hard and fast, a brutal mating that made me grow wild with heat. I clawed and bit, he pawed and pounded. “Yes,” he growled at my ear. “I love this.”

  “Oh God,” I groaned as he hit that spot inside of me that lit me up. My words jumbled together in an incoherent mess. “Yesyesyes!”

  Suddenly, loud pounding from behind me sounded through the door. It was Hanna. “Hastie, you asshole! You better let her out of there right now before I break down this door. If you hurt her in any way, I’ll have your balls hanging off my bar by tonight.”

  Another voice cut in. “Hastie, man. Think clearly on all this. Don’t do something that you’ll regret later.” That was Lucky, trying to be the voice of reason for his brother.

  Through it all, my orgasm built and built until I was just inches away from flying into orbit. Hastie never once paused in pounding into me, he was too far gone.

  Ignoring the yelling on the other side of the door, I focused on Hastie and what he was doing to me. This was raw fucking, the kind that you read about in erotic books but never experienced yourself. Like a vise, I coiled tighter until I couldn’t hold it back any longer. Shattering into a million pieces, I let out a scream that vibrated all around us.

  Breathing heavily, Hastie let out a string of curses as he continued to pound into me through my orgasm, sending me straight into another one that stole my breath. This time, he joined me. His long groan in my ear sent shivers through my cooling body.

  “Oh my God,” I heard Hanna say through the barrier between us. “I think . . . I think they’re having sex!”

  “What?” came Lucky’s voice from farther away. “Let me hear.”

  Hastie slowly dropped me to my feet. I couldn’t help the laughter that escaped my lips. I clapped a hand over them, trying to keep silent, but more giggles spewed from my mouth. In that moment, I was blissfully happy, whether from the amazing orgasms Hastie had given me or from the rotten timing of my curious friends on the other side of the door, I couldn’t tell. Didn’t care in that moment.

  My eyes sought out Hastie’s then and when he looked at me, a smile split his face. “You drive me crazy, you know that?” He tucked his hand behind my head and pulled me in for a sweet, lingering kiss. “These past few days have been killing me.”

  My eyes widened at his admission. I thought he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. I thought that I had pushed him too far that nothing I did would gain him back.

  “I want you,” he repeated again, bending so that our foreheads touched. “You’re mine, Indy.”

  My heartbeat kicked up at the admission. That was when I realized Hastie was beginning to mean more to me than I ever thought possible.

  “I’m yours,” I agreed.

  SIXTEEN

  Second Chances

  Hastie

  It was a universal truth that when a man got laid, his mood lightened and at the moment, I was as content as a lion. I had my girl back; that was all that mattered.

  Indy had played dirty when she went for the lap dance. But that was a testament to her intelligence and the fact that she knew me well. She predicted how I would react and knew my jealously would force me to confront her.

  I hadn’t actually planned to face her when I walked into Neptune’s. My scheme had been to stay back, give her the space she needed to get through whatever shit she needed to get through and then come find me when she was ready to talk about it. God knew pressuring her to tell me didn’t work.

  The last time we were together I lost my temper. A flood of emotions washed over me like a wave, discombobulating me for a second. I couldn’t believe my eyes as Indy held my pistol against her head. Fear, shock, and anger were a whirlwind around me, spurring me to ask her what the hell she was thinking. I should have known she would be defensive. She was always like that when faced with questions she didn’t want to answer. But alarm and panic had dug its claws into me by then, causing me to lash out in the only way I knew how.

  Violence was the route I often took. It saved time and always got me what I wanted in the end. But even in the dark haze of confusion, I couldn’t hurt Indy. I turned and hit the wall instead, letting out my frustration in that way. The pain cooled me down a bit, but it didn’t stop the churning inside of my head. I couldn’t understand it. Couldn’t see her motive for doing such a stupid, reckless thing. I left, knowing it was the best thing to do. If I didn’t calm down first, things would only get worse.

  After several days of hearing nothing from her, worry began to consume me. Was she okay? Was this really the end?

  That was the reason I had come to Neptune’s tonight. When I saw her working, looking beautiful and not at all broken like I felt on the inside, my gut clenched with fear. Had she given up on us? Did she really intend to push me away?

  No fucking way.

  I had steeled myself, meeting her gaze head on. Indy needed a rock to steady her, and I wanted to be that anchor. Though I stayed far from the bar, I found that my eyes always drifted back in her direction. She was doing shots, looking busy but in control.

  It was when she was moving towards Knuckle that I sensed her anxiety. She looked up at my father as if afraid, but when she glanced around the room, catching the eye of familiar faces, something changed within her. Her spine grew straight, her eyes turned fearless, and the way her body rose gracefully from its submissive crouch proved that she was taking back control. A girl with that kind of confidence was sexy. And lethal.

  Lethal she proved to be when she starting moving that body of hers. A quick glance around the room and I saw desire in every man’s eyes as they watched her. Including my father’s.

  I simply lost it. Just like a firecracker, uncontrolled and dangerous.

  Factoring out that it was my father I had pummeled, I didn’t regret a single thing last night. Knuckle would have done the same if anyone had laid a hand on Hanna. But the alcohol and his bad attitude the last few days had put him in a vicious state. Something else was bothering the man other than his grief. I didn’t know what was going on between him and Hanna, but it must have been bad to cause such a reaction in him.

  Losing a brother created a hole in the net, allowing all kinds of emotions to fall through. It didn’t help that we had yet to get our bearings on the situation before more trouble rolled in.

  I touched my chin gingerly where Knuckle had landed a punch on me. The bastard had a fitting nickname—he could punch like no other. But I’d do it all again if only to prove the point that Indy was off limits from here on out.

  Our makeup sex had been the best sex I ever had up there against the bathroom wall where we had first met. I had always imagined our first time together to be slow. And it was sweet agony discovering that Indy was a needy lover, always wanting more.

  She moved against me now as her orgasm drew close. Straddling me, this position gave me a glimpse of her swollen clit and the place where we were connected. As she rotated her hips, a shot of pleasure shot up my spine. I gritted my teeth, gripping her thighs harder as she rode me with abandon.

  Her breathy moans were my undoing. As I came, my eyelids fluttered down and the rest of
my body drew up tight. Above me, Indy increased her pace until she writhed, those beautiful breasts bouncing with every moment, drawing my gaze to them again and again.

  On a growl, I shot up into a sitting position and latched my mouth onto her pearled nipples, sucking on them. Indy cried out, running her fingers through my hair, tugging back roughly. I grinned as I felt her start to come. “That’s it, baby.” Why the hell did I ever walk away from this?

  Indy settled back under the covers and pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “Thought we were supposed to go slow that time.” Her voice was soft and sleepy. Sated.

  “Next time,” I promised.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “How is it that you’re hard even after coming? Is that some porn star trick?’

  “I’m just gifted like that.”

  Laughing, she smacked my arm before my phone sitting on the bedside table rang with an incoming call. “Haste,” I said in greeting.

  My father’s low voice rang over the line. “I need to see you. Come to Neptune’s.”

  “Be right there.”

  “And bring Indy,” he added.

  My body stiffened. Why the hell did I have to bring Indy along? “Does this have something to do with last night?” I asked but the line was already dead.

  “What’s wrong?” Indy asked from beside me.

  I drew a hand over my face. “That was Knuckle. I have to get to Neptune’s.”

  Disappointment showed on Indy’s features. “Oh, okay.”

  “He wants me to bring you.”

  “What? Why?”

  “No clue,” I answered honestly.

  “Do you think he’s still mad about last night?”

  “Could be. I did make a mess of his face.”

  Indy winced, no doubt remembering the blood and the swollen mess his nose had become as it continually met my fist. I groaned as I got up from the bed, the sheet falling off, leaving me completely naked. An ache panged through my entire body, the only downside to marathon sex. “Come on. Get changed. I want to know what this is about.” Indy was already scooting over to the edge of the bed, searching the floor for her clothes. As she picked up various articles of clothing, I stopped her when she bent to grab her panties. “Thought I told you no more panties around me.”

  “But we’re—”

  “No.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a caveman.”

  “You like that about me. Besides . . .” I shoved one leg into a pair of clean jeans and then the other, pulling them up. “They just get in my way.”

  Indy walked over to me and tilted her head up for a kiss. “Deal with it.”

  I nipped her bottom lip. “I think you like me ripping them off you.” Laughing, she slipped into the blasted pair of black panties. My eyes followed her movements as the slip of silk dragged across smooth skin. “You’ll pay for that,” I told her with a pointed finger. “Come on, let’s go.”

  This thing with my father couldn’t wait.

  Indy

  When we arrived at Neptune’s, the place was closed so we entered through the back entrance and found Knuckle and Hanna sitting at one of the tables. “What’s going on?” Hastie asked immediately. I was desperate to know too.

  My gaze shot to Knuckle who had a bandage across his nose and an impressive black eye. I braced myself for some hostility but surprisingly, the prez looked calm. Hanna stood once she saw us coming in, as if she was nervous about something. Now she settled a thigh over the edge of the table, half sitting, half standing. “Hanna, what’s going on?” I asked.

  The redhead cleared her throat. “Last night has shown us a few things we had failed to see before then,” she began, looking at each one of us as she spoke. Her voice sounded rehearsed, all computer-like and so unlike her. “I think it’s safe to say that we were all blinded by our emotions.”

  I slid a confused look at Hastie, wondering if he was as lost as I was about all this. The WTF that was plastered all over his face confirmed it.

  “We all made some mistakes,” Hanna continued. “But in making them, it helped us realize the important things.”

  There was a beat of silence as we stood there confused. And then Hastie said, “Okay, what the fuck is going on here? Just spit it out.”

  Knuckle cleared his throat and spoke for the first time then. “We’re getting married.”

  What? My jaw dropped. Hastie’s jaw dropped. Hanna’s jaw dropped. “I wanted to tell them!” she cried out, glaring at Knuckle.

  “You were taking too long! You wanted them to know. Now they know.” He brought a pack of ice up to his eye and grimaced.

  Hanna sniffed, but turned to us to gage our expressions. I still couldn’t figure out what mine was. This was all so sudden. Though, thinking about it later, Hanna did say Knuckle had proposed to her. “What changed your mind?”

  “I realized last night that I didn’t like you shaking your tits for him.”

  Oh shit. “Hanna, I’m so so—”

  She held up a hand. “It’s fine. I’m actually glad you did it because I knew you had no interest in him at all. In the past few days, I noticed a change in your behavior while you worked. And with the way Hastie was avoiding Neptune’s like it was diseased, I figured you two had a falling out of some sorts. So even though I knew you were doing it to spite Hastie, I still didn’t like it. It made me realize my feelings for Knuckle ran deeper than I initially thought.” Hanna turned to look at Knuckle then, her eyes going soft. “I realized I loved him.”

  Wow.

  “Marriage.” Hastie sounded dumbfounded. “Holy shit, Dad. I was expecting you to ambush me, tie me up, and beat me for the stunt I pulled last night. Not this.” He paced in a small circle, running his fingers through his dark hair. When he lifted his head, there was a smile there. “I guess this beats getting my ass pounded.”

  Knuckle tossed the melted ice pack onto the table with a thud. “Any other time, I would. But considering what I was going through, I could understand what spurred your actions. Had it been Hanna shaking it for some other motherfucker, I would have killed him.”

  And knowing Knuckle, he’d back those words. “So what does this mean for Neptune’s?”

  “It’ll be the same as ever. Neptune’s will still be our clubhouse, just in a more official capacity.”

  “When are you actually planning to tie the knot?” Hastie asked.

  “We’ll decide that.” Knuckle grabbed a hold of Hanna’s hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss. “But it’ll be on our terms.”

  “I guess congratulations are in order then.”

  Hanna’s face brightened. “Thank you!”

  Knuckle grunted and rose to address his son. “You and I got some business to discuss. Call in the others.”

  “Oh.” Hastie feigned surprise. “So we actually do have something important to discuss?”

  “Don’t be a jackass,” Knuckle snarled. Hastie chuckled as he sent out a text to the rest of the club.

  “Go on home now, darling,” Hanna said now, pulling me into a hug. “Thanks so much for coming. I just wanted to tell you in person. No hard feelings.”

  Those words eased the tension out of me immediately. “I wouldn’t have done it if—”

  “Shh, it’s over. It’s okay. I don’t hate you.”

  I smiled. She really had a pure heart. “Congrats, Hanna. You’re going to be a beautiful bride.”

  Hanna’s smile could have lit up all of Ward Four, and I couldn’t have been happier for my friend.

  Hastie

  Conversations with my father always ended in two ways: in fists or in fuck-yous. I was curious to see how today would pan out.

  Glory members rolled into Neptune’s one by one, settling into the back room where we held all of our regular church meetings. The prospects waited outside, guarding the bikes while the woman went around their own business.

  Once we were sure everyone was present, I asked, “So what have you got for us?”

  Knuckle d
ropped a manila folder onto the table between us. I grabbed it, leafing through its contents before looking up at him. “Fuck.”

  “Yup.” Knuckle sat back in his chair, lit up a cigar and puffed on it. Everyone could feel the anger radiating from his body.

  I stared down at the photos in my hands. They were all shots of Brennan and his men, handling at least a dozen new firearms. The obvious question was, “Where’d he get them?”

  “Who the fuck knows? He could have obtained them in another trade.”

  As the main albeit unofficial distributor of firearms, this meant that someone was going behind our backs, working with Brennan to gain access to these guns. Kitt leaned in, looking over my shoulder as I flipped through the photos. “They don’t look like the ones we carry.”

  No, they weren’t. Which meant previous buyers weren’t selling our firearms in trade agreements with Ward Three. But if it wasn’t our clients then who was it?

  After leafing through the photos once more, I passed them out, allowing everyone else to inspect them and make their own assumptions. After examining one, Beck chucked the photo into the air. It drifted for a second before landing on the pile in the center of the table. “Brennan’s thirsty for war,” the sergeant at arms stated. It was exactly the same train of thought my mind was on. “First he tries to coerce us into selling him guns. When that doesn’t work out, he retaliates by trespassing across Wards and stealing from us! Even killing one of our own. If it was me, he’d be dead already.”

  There was a wave of nods from all the members as everyone thought of our fallen brother. With the loss still fresh in our minds, the need to avenge Newt was a burning need inside of everyone. “He’s gone too far,” Kitt agreed. “Something needs to be done.”

  At the head of the table, Knuckle’s eyes were dark with fury. “He thinks he can get away with this. We need to shut him down before it’s too late.” After the events of the past few days, everyone looked hammered, the worst being Knuckle. But he remained strong as he brought his closed fist to his heart, over the Glory MC ink marked permanently into his skin. “Blood in. Blood out,” he said in a voice that was filled with emotion.