by Lexy Timms
We arrived at the house with an hour to spare, and after stopping by the garage to tell Elec about my bike, I walked into the house. It smelled like tomato sauce, which didn't sound appetizing to me, but if I complained, I would find myself cooking, which was a big 'hell no'. Having my mother die when I was younger left me at the mercy of my grandmother to teach me the culinary arts. The woman was a brilliant designer and the most loving woman I'd ever met, but her cooking skills were legendary... in a really bad way.
I side-stepped the entrance to the dining room and took two stairs at a time to make it to my bathroom before someone could stop me. I locked the door, stripped and climbed into a hot shower, washing the scent of Lucky from my skin and off of my face.
The image of him naked and moaning in pleasure swept by my vision and my body flooded with desire for more. I wanted him all to myself, and would have him soon. The promise for a one night stand was something of the past. I could have his body and leave his heart alone. If I couldn't do it, he was a man... he could keep things simple between us. I would ask him to promise me that he would.
A loud knock at the bathroom door scared me and I jerked the shower curtain to the side, half expecting some idiot to come barging into the bathroom with me.
"What? I'm in the shower!"
"I know that. Your father said for you to hurry up." It was Santino, who was by far the most arrogant man in the house.
"I'll be there when I get there. Dinner isn't that important. Thanks." I pulled the curtain back and turned the water off as he banged on the door again.
"Selene. He said now. It's not dinner, girl. You wanted a chance to be tested by the MC... It’s happening tonight."
"What? Shit." I got out and dried off quickly, wrapping a thick black towel around me and a smaller white one around my hair. I jerked the door open and barreled past him, not paying attention to the less than appropriate stare he gave me. "Tell him that I'll be down in five minutes."
I slammed my door shut and changed into a pair of tight black jeans, a black V-neck t-shirt and my favorite shit kickers. After brushing through my long, dark hair, I pulled it into a tight bun and slipped a few bracelets on.
Santino was waiting outside of my door as I moved out into the hall.
"You smell good." He spoke softly and walked close by my side.
I glanced over at him with a scowl on my face. "Great. Back the fuck up."
He laughed and shook his head. "You're lucky we're family, girl."
"No, you are, creeper." I jogged down the stairs and walked into the dining hall with my head held high. "Where's my father?"
"In his office. Why?" Mateo looked up from a large plate of spaghetti.
"Didn't you just eat? That's not healthy, Bro." I shook my head and walked back into the hall, turning to the side to miss Santino as he walked into the dining room and growled at me with an aggressive look on his handsome face.
There was nothing to say that I hadn't already said. If he thought there was any room for him to creep around me and make me feel vulnerable or scared... he was dead wrong. I'd stab him in his sleep and make sure everyone knew I did it. No one was touching me. Period.
"Papa?" I knocked on the door at my father's study.
"Come in, butterfly."
I walked into find my father standing alone over a dozen small white packages. He picked one up and turned to face me.
"You wanted to see me?" I tried to keep the concern out of my voice. Whatever was about to happen was big. I could feel it. I promised myself I wouldn't judge the situation fully until I'd gone through with whatever was asked of me. My father made tons of money and scared people for a living. Surely I had to know there were drugs involved. Everyone but Mateo and I got high in some form or fashion after dinner every night.
"Yeah. Part of your invitation into being a hang-around is to sell the products that I give you." He tossed the package to me and I caught it effortlessly. It was a plastic bag the size of a pack of cards, but it was swollen due to the amount of white powder forced into it.
"What is this?" I glanced down at it.
"One of our products." He tilted his head to the side, his dark eyes studying me.
"Cool." I tossed it back to him. "What did you need me to do tonight?"
He chunked it back to me and chuckled. "Take Paz with you to a party on the east side tonight. The address is already in your phone. The bag needs to be unloaded as a tester sample. Look for a guy named Dante and tell him you're my princess. He'll help you with the rest."
I looked down at the bag and nodded. I'd asked for this, so whatever I was getting myself into, it was what it was. I wanted into the club. If selling drugs was part of that, then I would swallow my apprehension and do it.
Besides, I'd seen my family snort the shit a million times and they were fine.
What could possibly go wrong?
Chapter 8
Lucky
I started to call out to Lena as she jogged toward the window, but it was no use. The girl was as wild as the wind. I wasn't going to be the one to try and contain her. Pleasure rolled through me in consuming waves and I sucked my lip into my mouth and rolled onto my back.
"I love that girl." I ran my hand over my chest and tried to figure out a million ways to get her back into my bed. I wanted to press my tongue to the center of her sweetness, to lap at her and force her over the edge of orgasm over and over again. I needed to hear her scream my name.
Soon.
Someone beat against the door to my rented room and I jerked up, grabbing for the sheet out of habit.
"What?" I got up and walked to the door, poking my head out.
The grimace on Rusty's face told me not to push my luck. Something was wrong. He was the oldest member of the Stone Wolves and rarely sent anywhere as an errand boy. Everyone else must have been gearing up to head off somewhere.
"Get dressed and stop jacking off, boy. We got some shit going down at Vincent's Drug Store in the center of town." He turned and walked off, leaving me with far more questions than I cared to voice.
"I know where Vincent's is," I mumbled and closed the door, dressing quickly and joining the other guys on the front lawn.
"What's the kid doing here?" Viper nodded toward me, narrowing his eyes and grimacing.
I started to respond, but Knife, the Stone Wolves President stepped off the porch of the club and demanded out attention simply by his presence.
"He's the new hang-around. Treat him like shit and give the boy hell. We want to make sure he's prime real estate to join our valiant calling." He popped me on the back and I had to force myself to remain upright. The guy was three hundred pounds of muscle and looked like he ate steel pipes for breakfast.
Glancing around, I noticed that I was the thinnest man in the circle. I'd have to put on some weight before gaining my patch or I'd never hear the end of it.
"Let's go. There's no time to stand around here and talk about the weather. Get on your hogs and push your speed." Rusty walked to his bike as we all split ways and followed suit.
I rode toward the back of the pack, wanting to ask for more details, but knowing that it was none of my business. If they wanted me to know what was going on, they'd have told me. I prayed like hell they were simply testing me and not dragging me into trauma.
As long as there weren't kids involved, I'd be alright.
The ride went too fast and we were all pulling up to Vincent's as cop cars and an ambulance sat with their flashers on, lining the street.
Knife got off his bike and looked around at all of us. "Cut your engines. Talk to the people standing around here and see what they know. You, kid... come with me."
I turned my bike off and glanced at Blade before walking into the old timey drug store behind the behemoth we called president.
Blade’s nod gave me affirmation that whatever was happening wasn't anything to play with.
The scene before us was surreal, and yet I'd seen plenty of guys react piss-poorly
to drugs. The teenage boy on the ground was seizing, his eyes rolled back in his head and white foam dripping from his lips.
I pressed my fingers to my nose, closing my airway and moving out from in front of the door. The whole place smelled like shit, and the sound of someone wailing started to get on my nerves. Had to be the boy’s mom.
"What happened?" Knife moved up to talk to one of the older cops who stood off to the side.
Three paramedics were working furiously to try and save the kid’s life, but he was jerking so violently they had their work cut out for them.
"The kid got ahold of a bad bag of crack cocaine, I guess. It was laced with a new synthetic drug that if taken in medium-sized quantities will shut your organs down." The cop shook his head. "I'll give you one fucking guess where he got it from."
The kid sat up and projectile vomited across the floor, the sight of it turning my stomach. I'd seen some shit in my day because of my dad, but nothing this bad. I dropped my hand from my face and realized that the testing was in full swing.
I wasn't supposed to do anything but stand there and show support for Knife. If I could handle seeing and smelling the trauma in front of me, I'd pass.
The boy cried out loudly and jerked around again, his dark blond hair matted to his face and his eyes pinched shut.
"Shouldn't these guys be trying to get him into the truck and on the way to the hospital?" Knife asked and glanced over at me.
I crossed my hands over my chest and met his steely gaze. "You want me to help?"
A smile lifted his mouth and he shook his head. "No, but you get points for offering."
I shrugged as if it were no big thing. No fucking way I was touching that guy.
The three men finally got hold of the kid and jogged toward the exit before losing their grip and dropping him. One of them yelled out, and I moved without thinking, cupping the boy's head before it hit the ground.
"Thanks, son." The paramedic looked up and nodded at me. The fear in the man's eyes seared me to the center of my soul.
"No problem." I moved back as they got a grip on the kid again and wiped my hands on my jeans before crossing my arms over my chest.
"Those fucking, drug-dealing bastards." The cop was ranting and raving about Selene's family, which didn't surprise me at all.
Sickness rolled through me at the thought of her being in the large clubhouse where they stayed on the edge of town. We all knew her mother was dead, and her grandmother had a small place far from them. Was she the only woman with all those guys?
The need to protect her bolted through me, but I pushed it away. She was choosing to pledge to her father's club, knowing good and damn well what he was up to.
Why?
I had to talk to her, but now wasn't the time.
"You ready to go, Lucky?" Knife walked over to me and patted my arm. "I wanted you to see firsthand what we deal with. Our brotherhood is about protecting those who can't protect themselves in our little town. The Delgados are an evil breed. Keep that in mind the next time that pretty little sweet butt bats her eyelashes at you. I want you to stay away from her at all costs. If this membership means anything to you, then quit talking to her."
“I only talked to her in high school,” I said.
“But you helped her with her bike the other day.”
“She was stranded.”
“Okay, so I’ll let that one slide. But from now on, don’t fucking talk to her. Got it?”
“Loud and clear.”
“We don’t fraternize with the enemy.”
I knew I had messed up. That morning we'd all approached Selene on the side of the road, I'd been the first to offer her help. Of course, they knew I cared about her. But even if it was just a simple friendship, anything was too much.
We were on opposite sides of the railroad tracks, and could never be anything like I’d hoped we might. I let out a long sigh and nodded, and then followed quietly behind a man that I respected very much. Maybe it was best to let Selene go.
"Rusty, you and Blade go see to it that Ms. Keller gets home alright. She's pretty torn up in there." He glanced back at me. "Lucky, you and Animal go get inked. There's six symbols you'll need on your back to join us. The first one is yours for the taking today."
Animal wagged his eyebrows at me and growled. "Let's go, my pretty. Time to markup that girlie body of yours."
I rolled my eyes and got back on my hog, working hard not to let the boys see how fucked up I was from seeing the kid lose himself on the floor back there.
We rode at a leisurely place to the ink slinger and I was first to go back. The man knew exactly what I needed when I repeated Knife's words. I lay down on my stomach and closed my eyes, letting my thoughts shift back to Selene and her sexy little tongue swirling around my cock.
She was hot. Blisteringly so. I needed her again, but some part of me had to wonder if the attraction didn't have something to do with her being off limits. Our relationship was taboo because of the rivalry.
It doesn't. You've wanted this girl for four years. Long before pledging.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and the ink slinger stopped so I could pull it out.
Juliet: What r u doing?
I laughed at the name she'd given herself. I texted her back under the name, "Romeo" to match her name.
Romeo: Getting a tattoo.
Juliet: Get a skull, Mr. Ominous.
Romeo: You just gave me an idea!
Juliet: Can’t wait to see the skull. Throw some wings and flames on that baby.
I loved when she called me Mr. Ominous.
Juliet: I can still taste you on my tongue.
Romeo: Oh yeah? Still too good to believe, right?
Juliet: Hush. Party at 2254 Markum Lane tonight. Loads of danger... you up for it, chicken shit? I need you badly. ;) You owe me…
Romeo: Bring it on, baby. Spending time with you will be the highlight of my day.
Juliet: Soon…
Romeo: I can’t wait to be with you. To touch you. To kiss you. To taste you… To hear you scream…
Juliet: I love the way you make me feel.
Romeo: I love the way you feel in my arms.
Juliet: Hey, Lucky. You make me feel so lucky when I’m around you.
Romeo: I hope I’m getting lucky. Wink. Wink.
Juliet: No, I’m the one getting lucky.
Romeo: LOL. See u soon, babe.
I tucked the phone back into my pocket and pressed my face to my hands, letting the guy finish as my erection pressed painfully into my stomach.
"Done. You need anything else?"
I sat up and turned to face him. "Yeah, but can I have a bottle of water first?"
"Sure, kid. Then what are we doing?"
"I want ominous written across my abs." I cupped my hands over my arousal, hoping the burly-ass dude would leave, and give me a minute to calm down. I couldn't think of too many things that could be more embarrassing.
He smiled and shook his head. "If that's what you want... I can do it for ya, no prob."
"I gotta girl that promises to lick it anytime I wanted." I shrugged and chuckled at the thought.
"Then it's worth the pain. I'll be right back, champ."
Yeah... it so is. Oh, the things she can do with her pretty little pink tongue.
Chapter 9
Selene
"You should feel special." Paz turned around and handed me a helmet.
"Why is that?" I took it and put it on, not really in the mood to have a conversation with anyone. Whatever we were headed to do, I didn't want to do it.
Inviting Lucky to the party was stupid, but I needed him there should something go wrong. I shouldn't have done it, but instinct told me to. If he saw me involved in anything related to selling the stupid-ass dope my father forced on me, he'd flip his shit.
"I don't let bitches ride my bike." Paz shrugged and pulled his helmet over his head.
I rolled my eyes, but didn't respond. There was no reason
to. He wouldn’t hear me anyway.
We rode to the edge of town with my cousin pushing one-twenty on the bike. To say I was close to having whiplash by the time we arrived would be an understatement.
I got off the bike and pulled off my helmet, handing it to him and turning to survey the area. Large white lights were strung from the trees, and a ton of people my age were laughing and milling about in the covering that the forest provided. A large mansion sat in the distance, but I didn't know any of the people that might live in it.
"Stay close and don't try any of the drugs. Got it?" Paz took my hand into his as if I were okay with looking like we were together.
"Sounds good. Keep your hands to yourself." I pulled my hand from his and moved over to a makeshift bar, smiling at the cute boy who was making drinks.
"What can I getcha, beautiful?" He handed a beer to the guy beside me and I nodded toward it.
"I'll take one of those too. With a lime, please?" I gave him a flirty smile and he popped the top on the drink.
"Anything for a pretty lady." He extended a bowl of limes toward me and licked his lips. "I get off at eleven."
I took the lime and pressed it to my lips before forcing it into the top of my beer. "Really? If you were my date you'd be getting off at..." I lifted my watch to my face and chuckled. "Eight-fifty-three."
Turning, I walked away to his cat calls. He wasn't my type. No one but Lucas Morrison was. When I imagined the future, he seemed to always pop up in the middle of it.
"Selene. Come over here," Paz called to me and I moved toward him, my eyes dragging along the handsome football player type beside him. "This is Dante. Your father mentioned him earlier?"
"Oh yeah." I extended my hand, a little surprised when he lifted my fingers to his mouth and kissed them.
"Nice to meet you. I honestly didn't expect you to be so stunning." He released my hand and took a long drink of his beer, his eyes moving along my face as if he were trying to memorize me.
Something about him gave me the creeps, but I wasn't sure what. He was incredibly handsome, but in a jock sort of way. Maybe it was the midnight color of his pupils or the nefarious smirk that played on his lips.
