by A. M. Myers
“You do? What is it?”
She smiles. “The girls all want to be able to go out and celebrate Piper’s bachelorette party but we need to butter the guys up and convince them of that.”
“Good fucking luck,” I shoot back with a laugh. I’m new here but even I know this is a damn long shot and that’s putting it mildly. Hell, when Tate, Emma, and I ran to the store earlier for supplies, Blaze insisted on driving there so he could protect us. I considered protesting but, after the mood in the clubhouse over the past two days, I decided against it. She shakes her head.
“No, listen…we have a plan.”
“Well, I hope it’s something at the clubhouse because that is all the guys are going to agree to,” I tell her and she shakes her head as a smile stretches across her face.
“That’s why we’re going to suggest that we all go, even the guys. How can they say no when they will all be there to protect us?”
I roll my eyes. “Like this, ‘absolutely fucking not’.”
“That was actually pretty good. If I didn’t know better, I might start looking around for Lincoln.” She laughs and I join her, nodding.
“It better be. I’ve been practicing my Lincoln impression since I was old enough to speak.”
“Rowan, are those vegetables ready?” Ali calls and I nod, grabbing my cutting board and holding it up. Tate and I are apparently “useless” in the kitchen so we were both assigned chopping duties which hasn’t been all that bad considering the craziness on the other side of the kitchen. “Throw them all in that bowl there and then y’all can go relax until dinner.”
I carry my cutting board over to the bowl she pointed out, scraping them all inside before I turn back to her. “Are you sure you don’t need help with anything else?”
“Um… maybe if you get the tables put together and set. I think this will all be ready in about fifteen to twenty minutes.”
Tate nods and loops her arm through mine. “We’re on it.”
We walk out of the kitchen and stop when we see the tables all laid out in one long line with plates and silverware already set up. Blaze looks up from the bar and follows our gaze before nodding. “Figured if y’all were doing the cooking, the least we could do is set up and clean up.”
“Aw, Blaze,” Tate coos, smacking his arm. “You shouldn’t have.”
He laughs. “I didn’t. I made the boys do it.”
“Well, in that case, you definitely should have,” I tell him and he laughs again before nodding toward the stairs, where all the guys are presumably holed up in their rooms.
“Y’all go relax until dinner and I’ll deal with anything else that needs to be taken care of.”
As Tate and I nod and start walking toward the stairs, I lean in and whisper, “You think he’s on to our plan?”
“No,” she whispers back before glancing over her shoulder again. Blaze smiles at us and there is something about the look in his eyes that makes me think he knows exactly what is going on. But, let’s just hope that he doesn’t ruin it by saying anything to the rest of the guys. I don’t think he will, though. He’s been trying to keep this club together just as much as anyone else and he knows that besides our little plot, this dinner will be good for everyone. Tate and I walk up the stairs before she releases my arm. “I’m gonna go hunt down my husband.”
I nod. “Yeah, have fun with that.”
“I will,” she answers with a grin before her expression turns serious and she points a finger at me. “You let me know if that fucker calls you again.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She smiles before ducking into the room she shares with my brother and when the door closes, I look down the hallway, wondering where I should go even as my feet start carrying me forward toward Travis’s door. I don’t know if he wants to see me since he’s been locked away up here for so long but the truth is, I miss him. Sucking in a breath, I stop in front of his door and knock.
“What?” he snarls from the other side and I arch a brow as my lips part in a silent gasp. Opening the door, I step inside and cross my arms over my chest.
“Wow. Rude, much?”
“Row,” he breathes as he glances up at me and sighs, his body deflating in his office chair before he holds his hand out to me. “Come here.”
I narrow my eyes and shake my head. “After you just snapped at me like that? I don’t think so.”
“I didn’t know it was you…”
“And?” I ask, closing the door behind me before leaning back against it. His gaze drags down my body and I’ve never felt sexier in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He licks his lips and it takes every ounce of my strength to stay where I am.
“So you’re not going to come over here?” he asks, his tone a mixture of playfulness and seriousness as he turns his chair to face me. My belly does a little flip and I shake my head.
“Nope.”
“You’ve seen what I’m willing to do to get what I want in public so are you really going to push me when we’re all alone?”
I shrug, trying like hell to look unaffected but my entire body is humming. “Maybe I want to see what you’ll do. Did you ever think of that?”
His eyes flare in response and a shiver twists down my spine as my heart hammers in my chest. Every fiber of my being is strung tight, on a hair trigger, as I wait for him to make his move.
Fuck.
I missed this.
Our eyes meet from across the room and he grins just before he lunges out of his chair, straight for me. I squeal and try to get away but he’s on me in the blink of an eye, caging me in against the door as he presses his body up against mine. I look up at him and move up onto my toes as he swoops down, slamming his lips to mine in a scorching kiss. The feel of him against me, the feel of his kiss… it all makes me want to melt on the spot and every cell in my body is singing with relief as I wrap my arms around his neck and thread my fingers through his hair. He groans, wrapping an arm around my waist as he presses me up against the door and grinds his hips into mine.
“Do we have time before dinner?” he asks, dragging his lips down the side of my neck and I shake my head. Honestly, I have no fucking clue how much time before dinner is ready but I don’t really care. I’ll happily skip it. Giving his hair a little tug, I reach down between us and grab his jean covered cock.
“Screw dinner.”
He groans, pulling us away from the door. His lips find mine again as he guides us over to the bed and falls back onto it, dragging me on top of him. I straddle his hips and he cups the back of my head as he nips at my bottom lip.
“Fuck,” he whispers as he grabs a handful of my ass and thrusts up off the bed. “I want you so fucking bad but we can’t skip dinner.”
I pull back. “Why not?”
“Because then your brother would come looking for you and find us like this… and because I want to show you something.”
“What?” I ask as he sits up and wraps his arms around me with a grin. Before I can ask him anything else, he stands up with me in his arms and I let out a shriek as I cling to him. He just laughs. The sound is incredibly infectious and I find myself smiling despite the fact that I’m certain he is going to drop me on my ass. With his arms securely wrapped around me, he carries me over to the desk and sits in his office chair with me still straddling his hips as he scoops a stack of photos off of the desk and hands them to me.
“What are these?” I ask, staring down at the first image. It’s in front of this cute little house that I don’t recognize. Storm, Ali, and a big brown dog are sitting on the sidewalk in front of some house and I turn to Travis with a scowl. He sighs.
“Warren… the name Tawny gave us when we went to visit her?”
I nod. “Yeah…”
“He owns a cabin way out in the woods and Storm and Fuzz went to check it out two days ago. They found all those photos inside and they insinuate that Warren has been watching us for two years now.”
Glancing down at the photo again,
I shake my head, confused. “Okay… And? I mean, you already knew he was watching you, right?”
“Yeah,” he answers with a sigh. “But this combined with the things Veronica, the girl who was kidnapped, said in her interview makes us think that he had a hand in way more things than we realized, like the shit that went down when Storm met Ali.”
“Oh…”
He nods. “The thing is it’s impossible to prove and there is still a possibility that he’s just messing with us, trying to drive us all crazy… and it’s fucking working. I’ve been going out of my goddamn mind and…”
Grabbing his face, I press my lips to his and his arms wrap around my waist almost instantly as he groans into my kiss, his entire body relaxing beneath me. When I pull away, he presses his forehead to mine and releases a breath.
“Thanks. I fucking needed that.”
I nod, cradling his face in my hands. “I could tell.”
“You make everything better,” he whispers so quietly that I almost don’t hear him and despite the fact that I really want to say something, I remain silent. After a moment, he pulls back and sighs. “Dinner is probably going to be ready soon, huh?”
“Yeah, probably.”
He leans in and presses another quick kiss against my lips before pulling back. “You’d better head downstairs now, then. We don’t need people seeing you come out of my room.”
“Okay,” I agree, imagining the hell that would ensue if my brother caught me sneaking out of Travis’s room. It would be a nightmare and the clubhouse doesn’t need anymore stress right now. Leaning in, I steal one more kiss before I climb off his lap and turn toward the door.
“Wait.”
I glance back at him as he stands. “Come see me tonight once everyone is in bed?”
“Maybe,” I answer with a grin even though we both know I will absolutely be up here just as soon as the clubhouse is quiet. He grabs my hand and pulls me back into his arms, spinning us so he’s closest to the door as he presses his lips to mine. “You know, in order for me to leave, you have to stop kissing me.”
“I’m fucking trying,” he growls as he steals another one and I smile against his lips. Finally, he pulls away. “Let me check the hallway before you go.”
“Okay.” I watch him walk toward the door, pulling it open just enough to peek into the hallway before he turns back to me and nods.
“You’re good.” He smacks my ass as I walk by him. “See you later, Princess.”
I shoot him a look as I slip out into the hallway and as I walk away from his room, I hear the door click closed behind me. Grinning to myself, I practically run down the stairs and slip down the hallway to the movie theater where I’m staying without being noticed. Just as I walk into the room, I hear a banging sound coming from the bar area.
“Soup’s on!” Blaze yells as the banging stops, his voice echoing through the entire building and my belly does a little flip as I think about getting this dinner over with so I can be alone with Travis again. It is going to be torture to sit at the same table as him but act like I’m not thinking about him ripping my clothes off. The anticipation is only going to make tonight that much sweeter, though. Or, at least, that is what I’m telling myself to make it through the next few hours.
Chapter Eleven
Rowan
“You headed to bed?” I ask Lincoln as he stumbles off of his bar stool with Tate trying her best to support his large body against her own. He has been posted up there since dinner ended and it’s just been the three of us for the past hour as I read my book on the couch and waited for him to decide that he was done. It felt like a damn eternity, especially when I couldn’t stop thinking about the lingering looks Travis shot me all night long when no one was looking or the way he pressed me up against the wall and kissed me senseless when we both ended up in the back hallway alone. I shiver as I remember the way his hand slid up under my shirt as his lips consumed mine.
“Yeah, you should, too,” Lincoln slurs and I nod as I look back down at my book. Yeah, that’s not going to happen for a while. I have plans. My mind drifts back to dinner and I can’t help but smile. At first, the guys were outraged that we would even suggest something like going out to a club for Piper’s bachelorette party when Warren was on the loose and actively coming after the club but after some convincing and a tiny bit of ass kissing, they came around. They agreed to let us go out as long as we all stayed together and we listened to everything they said. I’m pretty sure that last part has nothing to do with Warren but whatever. We’re all excited for the chance to get out and have some fun.
“Night,” Tate calls as they head for the stairs. I smile at her as she glances back at me and winks. What the hell? “Don’t stay up too late.”
Oh, shit, does she know?
“Night,” I tell her, proud of how steady my voice sounds when internally I’m freaking out. Whatever, it’s a problem for another day. Besides, I’m fairly certain that Tate would protect my secret. I motion to my brother as he leans into her more. “And good luck.”
She scoffs. “Yeah, thanks.”
As they start up the stairs, I pretend to read the page in front of me but the entire time, I’m very aware of their progress and as soon as I hear their door close, I throw the blanket off of my legs and climb off the couch. With my book in my hand, I practically run across the room to the theater, eager to see Travis. Once I’m inside, I close the door behind me and lock it before walking over to my suitcase. During dinner, I had the best idea to surprise him and I can’t wait to see his face when he sees it. Riffling through the clothes, I find the one I’m looking for and hold it up with a grin. The top is a little black strappy leather thing from my stripping days that frames my tits rather than covering them and the matching panties are crotchless, which is going to make Travis lose his damn mind.
When it’s on and properly situated, I stand in front of the full length mirror one of the guys put up for me and turn to the side to examine how it looks from the back. Back in Alaska, I bought this and wore it often but it never felt like this. I never had butterflies in my stomach and my heart was never racing when I thought about baring it all for someone. My nipples pebble at the thought of Travis seeing me like this and I bite back a moan as I grab a t-shirt and a pair of shorts out of my bag, throwing them on. Once I’m covered, I take one last look in the mirror before walking out of the theater.
God, I’m so fucking nervous.. and excited… and turned on.
“Evening,” Blaze says as I walk into the bar area and I jump so high I nearly hit the ceiling before turning to look at him as he pours some dark liquor into a glass and I press my hand to my chest.
“Jesus, you scared the hell out of me.”
He smirks and nods. “Yeah, I caught that. You headed somewhere?”
“Uh…”
Arching a brow, he stares at me over the rim of his cup and just waits.
“I was…uh…” I mutter, looking toward the stairs before realizing what an epically dumb idea it was.
“That’s what I thought,” he sighs, taking another sip of his drink. “I know we just met but can I give you some advice?”
I nod, hesitant. “Sure.”
“Be careful with Streak. I love that boy like my own son but he’s been through some shit and I honestly don’t know if he’s the settling down type. I would hate to see you get hurt.”
I consider protesting, telling him I have no idea what he’s talking about but from the look on his face, it’s clear he knows what’s been going on between Travis and me. For fucks sake, does the whole damn club know? Is it the secret that everybody is in on but no one will talk about? One thing is for sure - my brother still has no idea because if he did, I would know. Travis would know. Hell, all of Baton Rouge would fucking know.
“I know what I’m doing,” I tell him and he shakes his head.
“No, darlin’,” he says, shaking his head. “You really don’t. I don’t want to see this club fall apart because y
ou two couldn’t keep your hands to yourself. Everyone else may be clueless but I see what’s going on.”
Taking a step toward the bar, I lean forward on my elbows and meet his gaze. “We agreed to keep things casual. This is just fun and nothing more.”
“Yeah.. where have I heard that before?”
I open my mouth to assure him again that both Travis and I know what we’re doing but he stops me, holding his hand up as he shakes his head.
“You both are adults and I’m not here to tell you what to do with your lives but think about what I said. There will be consequences for what y’all are doing.” He leaves with his drink in his hand without another word and I watch him go back to his room before releasing a sigh.
Is he right?
Should Travis and I stay away from each other for the good of our ourselves and this entire club?
Could we even if we tried?
As I mull those questions over in my mind, I wander up the stairs but the entire time, I’m considering going back to the theater and just going to sleep but it’s like some invisible force is pulling me toward Travis’s room and I’m powerless against it. I stop right outside his door and raise my hand to knock but something stops me.
Is this a mistake?
I think about the time Travis and I have spent together over the last few days but despite what Blaze says, I can’t see anything wrong with it. Sure, my brother won’t be happy but one, it’s none of his business who I sleep with and two, Travis and I are just having fun. No one is going to get their heart broken here. Shaking my head, I push all those thoughts aside and softly knock on the door. Before I can even pull my hand away, it flings open. Travis grins at me as he reaches out and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me into the room as he shuts the door behind us and locks it.
“Finally,” he breathes, leaning in to kiss me but I place my hand in the middle of his chest to stop him as my heart skips a beat. His answering scowl is adorable and I can’t help but laugh.
