Shield My Heart (Heaven Hill Book 9)

by Laramie Briscoe

  Can’t wait for this day to be over! I miss you, can’t wait to see you tonight! Hopefully they include me, you, and as little clothing as possible.

  It wasn’t exactly a nudie pic, but the implication was there, and it would have to do. Knowing Jagger, it would be just enough to get him going. The grin that spread across her face was mischievous, knowing exactly how he would be affected.

  *

  “What are your plans tonight?”

  Jagger leaned against the quarter-panel of the car he had just got done repairing. When he’d straightened, wiping his hands off, his cell phone had beeped with a message. Checking it, he realized it was a text from Bianca. Normally she didn’t text him while she was at work. It made his heart race, but he made himself slow down as he swiped his thumb across the screen. Just because he wasn’t used to her texting him during the day didn’t mean this was bad news. Reading the text message, he felt himself looking more forward to leaving than he had all day. Glancing up at Layne, he answered the question posed to him, as he felt a bit of heat rush to his cheeks. Damn him for blushing sometimes when it came to his wife.

  “Having dinner and hopefully christening at least one room of the new house,” he grinned, now ready to get this day over with himself. Life had been busy for the two of them and the next three weeks were theirs to do with as they pleased, however they pleased.

  A few months ago he and B had made the biggest purchase of their lives – a home to call their own. The house they’d bought wasn’t the biggest or nicest, but it was new construction and they loved it. It was on a few acres of property less than two miles from the clubhouse. They loved being out in the country after being cooped up in an apartment in town for so long. The problem was they hadn’t had much time together because of the time of year. Halloween had turned to Thanksgiving and now they were a week from Christmas.

  There had been club functions, friend functions, he’d done a couple more nights than normal at Wet Wanda’s, and she’d had to make appearances at the school. They were lucky they weren’t running on fumes with the hours they’d been putting in. And working on top of it? He was ready to let loose for a while and just be. He had a feeling his wife was all about that too.

  Layne blew out a breath. “Well I was gonna ask if you wanted to come work out in the ring tonight, but I guess that’s a no go?”

  Jagger shook his head, giving him a big thumbs down. “Sorry my man, but that’s a fuck no. B’s been stressed with the way work is going, and tonight I’m planning on making her unstressed – if you get my drift.”

  It hadn’t been long since they’d had sex, but it’d been a long time since they lingered in bed and taken their time. He’d already asked off for the next day, and two days a week for the next three weeks. Saving up his vacation time for when she was off was his favorite thing to do. It allowed them to spend uninterrupted time together and focus on themselves. Since they’d had a huge argument right before they’d gotten engaged, they’d made sure to make time for themselves. Reaching down, he adjusted the erection that was already starting to harden. There was no shame in his game though, everyone knew how much he loved and wanted his wife, and they all knew today was her last day of school.

  Everyone except Layne apparently.

  Layne chuckled. “I’d have to be a dumbass not to pick up what you’re throwing down. I’ll see if anybody else wants to go. Jess is meeting with that agent tonight in Nashville and I’m home alone.”

  Jagger waved his hand in the direction of the other guys. “Any other night, I’d be all for spending some time with you and the guys, but tonight, it’s about me and the wifey.” If he were lucky, Layne would pass along to everyone else what he planned on doing and no one would stop him when it was time to clock out for the day. He planned to be gone as soon as the clock hit five.

  *

  When the bell rang signaling the end of the school day, Bianca could have cried with happiness and relief. Never had an hour taken so long to be over in her life. Normally she waited at the end of the day to see if any of her students had any questions. On more than one occasion she’d given one or two of them a ride home. Today there was none of that. As soon as the clock had turned, she was out of her room with the last body that passed through her doorframe.

  Getting to her Mustang, her cell phone went off in her purse. She’d thought of stopping to see Jagger on her way home, but glancing at the phone and seeing the text was from him, she took a second to read it.

  Go home, take a shower, relax, and get dolled up. We’re going out tonight in celebration of Christmas break.

  He didn’t have to tell her twice. She was anticipating a possible late night with him and if that was the case, she wanted to rest up. Checking the time and doing the math in her head, she knew she had at least a couple of hours before he made it home. Enough time for her to have a power nap and get dolled up. Bianca really didn’t think he’d complain too much if she was still getting dressed when he got home. They’d had plenty of good times together while getting ready for nights out, and there was no reason this couldn’t be another one.

  Renegade

  (Moonshine Task Force #1 – Coming 2017)

  Prologue

  Whitney

  “Ryan, I’m tellin’ you. I need my hair pulled, I need my ass smacked, I need someone paying attention to my nipples, a dick in my treasure cove. I need it all.”

  Drunk. I am drunk. Like way past the legal limit – otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here spilling all of my secrets to my baby brother’s best friend. The baby brother that had been totally unplanned by my parents. Ten years my junior, baby brother. He and Ryan are the same age; twenty-five to my thirty-five.

  I see him try to suppress a grin as he brings his bottle of beer up to his lips, taking a nice long pull off of it. I am mesmerized by the way his throat muscles move when he swallows. “How many of those have you had to drink?” He points the neck of his bottle to the wine glass in my hand.

  His voice is as smooth as the wine I swirl in my glass. I tilt my head to the side, realizing that the whole room tilts too. Counting back, I try to think how many I had before he took the seat next to mine, and I can’t remember. “Five or six?” I ask him, like he should know.

  “You think maybe it’s time you quit for the night?” He gently tries to take what I have left away from me.

  His fingers are soft as they try to pry my fingers from around the stem, but I resist his attempts, and pull it closer to my body.

  “Quit?” I ask, and run my tongue over my dry lips, trying to make them so that they can speak easier. “Quitting is not something I do. That’s what my ex-husband did. My mama did. That’s what my former boss did,” I shake my head, and try to stand up on four-inch stilettos. He reaches out and grabs my elbow, steadying me, being a rock when I haven’t had one in a very long time. “Whitney Trumbolt is not a fuckin’ quitter.”

  I can see Ryan try again to keep the smile from his face. The corners of his lips twitch, and it pisses me off. Not because I’m mad, but because he thinks it’s funny. He thinks this is a joke, and it’s my life. The life I’ve been trying so desperately to get out from under.

  “You think this is funny?” I take another drink from my wine glass. It’s a big one this time, I drain it down.

  “No, Whit, I think you’re having a bad night.” His tone is that someone would use with a kindergartner, talking them down from a temper tantrum. Well that? It pisses me off too.

  A bad night? Try a bad decade. If I could do anything, it would go back to the night I turned twenty-five, and be the age that Ryan is again. I would do so many things different, I would change so much about the choices that I made back then. “You know nothing about me, other than the fact that I’m Tank’s sister.”

  He grabs me by the wrist, locking his fingers around the skin and bone. I never realized until this moment how much bigger he is than me. Never really paid any kind of attention to it – oh I’ve paid attention to him off
and on through-out the years, but never like this.

  Ryan “Renegade” Kepler rises to his full height, towering over me as I do my best to keep my footing and ignore the way my skin tingles where he is gripping my wrist. He leans in close – so close I can feel his breath on my skin.

  “I know a lot of things about you that you don’t think I know.”

  His voice is hard and soft at the same time. I close my eyes to savor it. This is the closest I’ve been to a man in a very long time. My body is at attention, as is my libido.

  “I know that you love your mama’s fried chicken, your grandmother’s homemade mac and cheese, Alabama football, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. I know that you have a soft heart. Hallmark movies make you cry, you pick up strays on the side of the road, and you always buy that homeless man near the Starbucks a morning coffee,” he tells me.

  I’m wrapped up in his voice, in the things he does know about me. Things I never knew that he’d paid attention to. I’m swaying, but it’s because his voice is doing weird things to my equilibrium. His other hand wraps around my hip and I can feel the heat of his body through the material of my skirt.

  “I know that your ex-husband was a piece of shit. I know that your ex-boss didn’t know what the hell to do with the creative genius that is your mind, and I know that your mama will never forgive you for giving up pageants, but she’ll never forgive herself for pushing you that damn hard,” he stops and pulls back, giving me his eyes and face to stare at.

  Our eyes meet and I realize with clarity that I’m breathing hard, hard enough that it feels as if I’ve run a marathon.

  “You wanna know what else I know?” The question is asked in a way that says he’s not sure if he wants to answer tonight. There’s a string of awareness stretched between us, and it’s pulling me closer.

  I’m captivated by the way the dim lights of the bar make his brown eyes seem darker, I’m enthralled by the fact that it looks like it’s been a few days since he shaved, and I’m even more fascinated by the cut he has on his cheek. He and Tank went out on a call last night, and I can’t help but wonder if that cut is the result of it. I shake my head and then nod, because I do want to find out what else he knows. I step forward, put my arms around his neck, and lean up so that now I’m the one in his ear. “Tell me what else you know.”

  I see him look around the bar, checking to make sure that we’re not being paid any attention to. He bends with his knees and grips my ass cheeks in his hands. “I know I’m the one that can put my dick in that treasure cove. I know I’m the one that can pull that hair, I can pull on those nipples, and I can smack that ass. The question is – will you let me?”

  It’s not a question I can say no to. The way the air cackles between us, and the alcohol I’ve consumed. There’s not any way that I can say no nor is there any desire on my part to deny it. I’ve denied myself a lot of things in this life, and this right here, is not something that I want to brush off.

  “Yes,” I breath out….adding on a “please.”

  “Oh baby, you don’t have to ask. I’ll do whatever you need me to,” Ryan says as I find my hand in his and stumble to keep up as he pulls us out of the bar.

  In mere minutes I’m in his truck, and we’re headed towards my house. I will myself not to pass out, because for the first time in years, I want to be here and present for this experience that’s about to happen. I want to remember every damn detail. If it’s only going to be for this one night, I don’t want to miss a thing.

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  The Heaven Hill Series

  Meant to Be

  (First in the Heaven Hill Series)

  Single mother.

  Laid off factory worker.

  Drug runner for the Heaven Hill Motorcycle Club.

  When Denise Cunningham is served with foreclosure papers on her birthday it’s the last straw in a long line of bad luck. Sitting and crying about things has never been how she solved her problems, but this time she decides to do just that. A phone call interrupts her pity party and changes the course of her life forever.

  Loyal brother.

  Grease monkey mechanic.

  Vice President of the Heaven Hill Motorcycle Club.

  William Walker Jr., known as Liam to his club, needs a new recruit that is just naïve enough and desperate enough to do what he asks without question. When Denise Cunningham lands in his lap, he decides to hire her—not because he wants to, because he has to.

  Neither are comfortable in their new roles, but he needs help and she can’t stand to lose anything else.

  As bullets fly and a local Bowling Green, KY reporter works to bring the club down, Liam and Denise find themselves getting closer to one another. When the stakes get high and outside forces try to keep them away from each other, they have to decide if they really are meant to be.

  Buy Meant to Be at Amazon.

  Out of Darkness

  (Second in the Heaven Hill Series)

  Ex-News reporter.

  Rape survivor.

  Former enemy of the Heaven Hill MC.

  Meredith Rager’s life completely changed the night she was attacked by an unknown person. Once a vibrant force that threatened everything about Heaven Hill, she is now under their care. The only place she feels safe is inside their compound. When she decides to take back the part of her life that her rapist took away, she discovers secrets that once again could tear the club apart.

  Orphan.

  Formidable force of nature.

  Loved member of the Heaven Hill MC.

  Tyler Blackfoot came into the world a John Doe. An orphan from the moment that he took his first breath, the only thing anyone knew was his Native American heritage. For most of his life, he’s been alone – except for the club that has taken him in as their own. When he rescued Meredith, a protective side of his personality came out that he never knew he had. Protecting her means everything – even when he discovers danger might be closer than either of them thought possible.

  Together, the two of them are trying to make a life for themselves. Against everything they have, they’re hoping to see the light that will lead them out of darkness.

  Buy Out of Darkness at Amazon.

  Losing Control

  (Third in the Heaven Hill Series)

  Strip-club waitress.

  Aspiring teacher.

  Friend of the Heaven Hill MC.

  Bianca Hawks met Jagger Stone in the most embarrassing of ways. After watching him play music at Wet Wanda’s for months, she fell half naked into his arms after a drunken bout with a stripper pole and the back of a pick-up truck. Avoiding him and his killer smile no longer works when she needs her car repaired and he comes to her rescue. His request for payment comes in the form of date nights spent with just the two of them – away from both the strip club and the MC.

  Tough guy with model good looks.

  Talented musician.

  Newly patched member of the Heaven Hill MC.

  Jagger Stone only wanted two things – to be a patched member of the Heaven Hill MC and to get to know Bianca Hawks. One for two isn’t bad, but when her car breaks down and she’s left with no one else to help her, he plays the situation to his advantage. Over late nights driving up and down the interstate and nights in spent at her apartment, Jagger realizes that there is so much more to Bianca than he ever knew.

  When her dream of becoming a school teacher is threatened by someone who wants h
er all to himself, the two of them are thrown into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. For the first time, Heaven Hill isn’t sure what they are up against or if they can keep their family safe. In times of danger, Bianca and Jagger know the only thing they can do is hold onto each other while trying not to admit they are losing control.

  Buy Losing Control at Amazon.

  Worth the Battle

  (Fourth in the Heaven Hill Series)

  Movie star running from her life.

  Secret writer of erotic romance.

  Trusts only Layne O’Connor of the Heaven Hill MC.

  When Jessica Shea fears that her privacy is in danger, she takes the drastic step to leave her life behind and escape to the only person who’s never treated her like the movie star she is. He’s the one person who’s never sold a story to the tabloids and who knows the real Jessica, the one underneath the makeup and high-gloss shine of Hollywood.

  Their friendship has stood the test of time. Now, someone has stolen private photos and writings from her home. Things that she doesn’t want the public at large to see. There’s only one place she knows she can go to be under the radar and lick her wounds.

  That place is wherever Layne O’Connor is.

  War Veteran.

  Striving to live a normal life.

  Member of the Heaven Hill MC.

  Layne left a piece of himself in the war zone. Fighting PTSD and demons that he can’t explain has left him tired and changed from the man he was before he went overseas.

  The only thing he feels like he excels at anymore is being a criminal, and he gladly does it for his brothers of the Heaven Hill MC. The only people who took him in when no one else knew what to make of his anger and frustration.