Savage Kings MC Box Set 1

by Lane Hart

  Once we pull back up to the shattered glass front of the apartment building, the MP whistles in admiration. “Damn, they really did a number on this place.”

  “Yeah, this building had a first-floor lobby where all the mailboxes were set up on the walls. They plowed right through this place. I’m sure the other residents are going to be thrilled when they see this mess.”

  “It’s flooding in there,” the MP observes. “Are you guys going to be safe here?”

  “Yeah, we’re up on the higher floors,” I reassure him. “Thanks again for the ride. Be safe on the way back, you hear?”

  “Here, take this.” The MP hands me a flashlight. “Take care,” he tells me with a nod and a grin before I muscle open the heavy door of the truck and climb down. I run back inside as the lights from the Humvee wash over me briefly. He turns the truck around, then I stand in the darkness of the lobby, dripping and shivering as water surges around my boots.

  I click on the flashlight he gave me and shine the beam around the first floor of the complex. Several doors on either side have been kicked open, and on a whim, I wander over to one of the open apartments near the stairwell. Shining the flashlight inside, I can see that its layout is similar to Audrey’s. I step inside to scan the kitchen, breaking into a huge grin as I see what’s sitting on the countertop.

  Once I’m loaded up with my ill-gotten gains, I climb the stairs and use my boot to knock on Audrey’s door. “Audrey, it’s me, Maddox! Honey, I’m home!” I call.

  I step back from the door once I hear the chains rattling, then break into a huge grin as Audrey throws open the door and rushes me. “Whoa, easy there, cowgirl, I come bearing gifts!” I laugh when she rushes me with her arms out, her hug threatening to cause me to drop everything I’m holding.

  “God, I was so worried!” Audrey gushes. “I should have tried to come with you, but with the storm, and everything…what do you have?” she trails off, stepping back and shaking her now damp arms as she stares at me.

  “I took a peek inside some of the apartments downstairs to, uh, ‘assess the damage’ from the looters. It turns out, that on top of stealing the folks in one-twenty-two F’s television, those dastardly villains also swiped this entire chocolate cake and these two bottles of wine! At least, that will be the official version. Only you and I will know the terrible truth…”

  Audrey’s laughter interrupts me as she takes the cake pan from me, and I follow her back into the apartment with the two bottles of wine. While Audrey takes the cake to the kitchen and digs out a knife, I securely lock the door with the deadbolt and chain.

  “I don’t have any wineglasses,” she says, digging through her cupboards. While her back is turned, I take off my cut, hanging it from the back of a barstool, then peel off my soggy boots and pants. “Oh!” She gasps in surprise as she turns back to see me standing in her kitchen, naked. “And you have no pants. Ok, then, it’s going to be that kind of party!”

  “We don’t need wineglasses where we’re going,” I growl as I swipe a finger through the chocolate frosting, then rub it on her neck. I bend down to lick it up, sending a shiver through her body. She steps back from me to peel her tank top over her head, but when she tosses it down, instead of hitting the floor, it drapes over my erection, bobbing at her like a friendly ghost in the shadowy kitchen.

  She bursts into laughter as she bends down to scramble out of her pajama pants, and I reach over to grab the bottle of wine. “Shall we take this to the bedroom?” she asks coyly as she straightens and puts her hands on her hips, flaunting her nudity at me.

  “Bring the cake,” I reply, turning to walk down the hall, her tank top leading the way, like a flag of conquest waving us on new sexual adventures.

  Chapter Five

  Audrey

  Days later, Maddox and I are cuddling in bed with me tucked under his arm when I say, “So, tell me more about the MC.”

  I can feel his entire body tense up before he responds.

  “I’ve told you all there is to know about it.”

  “Your father that you never got to meet was the one who started it?” I ask.

  “Ah, yeah,” Maddox replies. “And that’s another thing that you can’t tell your brother.”

  “Why not?” I push myself up on my elbow so that I can see his face better, even if it is pretty dark in here.

  “Because he doesn’t know that I’m Deacon’s son,” he explains. “Only one of the Savage Kings knows and that’s because it was his job to dig into my background. The rest…well, I didn’t want them to treat me differently, or think I was out to try and stake my claim to his legacy or whatever. I just wanted to learn about the man he was, and then I wanted to be a part of the club he left behind.”

  “I think I can understand that,” I tell him. “Guess everyone has their own secrets that they keep for one reason or another. What I don’t understand is why War never told me about the Savage Kings.”

  “He was probably just trying to protect you.”

  “Maybe,” I reply.

  “And you never saw his cut?”

  “Nope,” I answer. “I know he has a motorcycle that he keeps covered in the garage but that’s it. War’s always been super protective and yeah, a little secretive now that I think about it, but I let him have his space because he took on raising me after our parents died.”

  “So, are you going to ask him about the MC now that you know?” Maddox inquires while stroking his hand up and down my spine. “’Cause, I mean, he didn’t tell me not to mention the club or whatever, so you won’t be screwing me over if you do.”

  “Yeah, I think I will the next time I see him face-to-face, you know? If I ask him on the phone, it’ll be easier for him to blow me off.”

  “That’s probably a good idea,” he agrees. “Just remember not to bring up us doing this or not making it to Raleigh.”

  “I won’t,” I tell him.

  “Oh, and the part about who my father is. Probably don’t want to terrorize him with tales of looters and fighting either.”

  “Right,” I agree.

  “I’ve never told anyone about Deacon.” Maddox sighs. “Reece, our club’s IT guy, found the documents, but we didn’t discuss it, other than for me to beg him to keep his mouth shut. I never got a chance to know my father but being around the Savage Kings makes me feel closer to him. That probably sounds crazy…”

  “No, I get it,” I tell him. “That’s one of the reasons I was so eager to leave our home in Texas after we lost our parents. War wanted to move here for a job opportunity a guy from the Army offered him. And I wanted to escape the house we grew up in because it felt like the ghosts of my mom and dad were still there, but not in a good way.”

  “You lost two people who were a huge part of your life, so being there without them must have been hard,” Maddox says. “I’m chasing a ghost while you were running from them.”

  “Exactly,” I tell him.

  “I want to tell the guys at the club, and I will, just as soon as I patch in,” he says. “Then, maybe they can tell me more stories about the man I never got to meet.”

  “That will be nice,” I agree.

  “Chase and Torin, the vice president and president, are my cousins. That is, if they believe me and don’t think I’m making up some shit, trying to cause problems.”

  “I seriously doubt anyone would think that about you,” I tell him. Based on what I know about him already, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would do something like that.

  “Maybe that’s one reason why I’m nervous about speaking up,” he says with a sigh. “But it would be really nice to actually have family again. Seems like I’ve been alone for years now. I haven’t spoken to my mom since I graduated from the academy. Even while I was there, I only saw her maybe three times a year. I’m still too angry to look at her.”

  It’s hard to imagine someone willingly avoiding one of their living parents when I would give anything to see mine again.

  �
��You have every right to be angry at your mother. She should have told you who your father was and let you meet him,” I agree. “But if you never forgive her, then you’ll lose out on the years you could’ve had with her.”

  “Yeah,” he agrees. “She’s probably been worried sick about me, since I left graduation without saying goodbye or telling her where I was going.”

  “When was that?” I ask.

  “A little over three years ago.”

  “Jesus, Maddox!” I spring up into a sitting position. “She probably thinks you’re dead!” I tell him. “You should call her. Now.”

  “Says the woman who didn’t want me to use the phone while it’s storming outside,” he mutters with a grin.

  “After the storm is over then,” I tell him. “Please?”

  “I’ll think about it,” he agrees.

  “No more sex unless you promise me that you’ll call her,” I tell him, while pointing my index finger at his bare chest. His, smooth, sexy chest that almost has me taking back my threat.

  “Fine!” Maddox eventually agrees before he reaches up and pulls me back down on him. Then he rolls us over so that he’s on top. “Now I know why men do whatever crazy shit women want just to keep them happy,” he says as he lowers his lips to mine for a soft kiss. “You give them a taste of heaven, and then lock them out until you get what you want.”

  “You have us all figured out,” I tell him with a grin.

  “And you used sex to get a better grade?” he asks.

  “Yeah,” I answer. “I mean, the reason I got behind in the first place was because of afternoon thunderstorms.”

  Pulling back to see my face, he says, “You didn’t go to class because it was storming?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “Did you try and explain that to the professor?” he asks.

  “No.”

  “Why not? If he was a decent guy, then I’m sure he would’ve understood.”

  “No, he wouldn’t,” I reply. “He would think it was some bullshit excuse, and then I would’ve been screwed.”

  “So, you screwed him instead,” Maddox responds.

  “Right. And it worked. Just like I knew that it would.”

  “What if he had reported you?” he asks.

  “Maddox, I’m not a complete idiot. I wouldn’t have propositioned him if I hadn’t seen his chubby bulging in the front of his slacks.”

  “Oh,” he mutters, brow furrowing. “Is that why you propositioned me? You knew I would cave, and you would get what you wanted? To stay here?”

  “Yes, and I was right with you, with my professor, and the police officer. Oh, and my landlord.”

  Pushing himself up until there’s more space between us and he’s straddling me, Maddox sits back on his heels and says, “What’s this about a police officer and the landlord?”

  “I was going thirty miles over the speed limit,” I explain. “Forget the ticket, the cop threatened to take my license!”

  “You had sex with him too?” he asks, the disapproval dripping off of his words.

  “He was single and willing,” I say. “And what’s with the judging? If I were one of the…the guys in the MC sleeping with a bunch of ‘club sluts,’ you would offer me a fist bump, right? But because I’m a small, delicate woman, who looks sixteen instead of twenty-two, I’m supposed to wait until I’m married?” I scoff. “I am so sick of the double standard that women aren’t supposed to have sex, but men can? I mean, come on!”

  “I’m not judging because of the sex,” Maddox tells me.

  “But you are judging me.”

  “I just think that sleeping with people to get what you want is a little…”

  “Slutty?” I supply for him when he pauses.

  “No, I didn’t say that,” he scoffs.

  “So, then what did you mean?”

  Running his fingers through his messy brown hair, he says, “You shouldn’t have to screw men to get your way. If you had just told me about your phobia, then I probably would’ve caved. And your professor most likely would have given you a break.”

  “What about the police officer?” I ask. “Or my landlord? I pleaded my case with both of them, and it got me nowhere. They didn’t give a shit about me or my feelings! All they wanted was a quick fuck with no strings attached.”

  “Did you even want them?” Maddox asks.

  “Of course. I wouldn’t sleep with some gross guy. Yuck.”

  Scrubbing his palm over his face, he asks, “Why did you think you had to sleep with the landlord?”

  “Because he was going to make me get rid of Stella.”

  Lowering his hand, Maddox says, “The cat?”

  “Pets aren’t allowed here,” I explain.

  “And you knew that before you got Stella?”

  “Yes.”

  “So then why…”

  “Because I was lonely, and I wanted a friend,” I respond. “My roommate is a real bitch.”

  “And you told the landlord that, but he still said hell no?” he guesses.

  “Yep,” I answer. “And since War is paying for this place, I couldn’t exactly ask him to move me into someplace that allows pets.”

  “So, you got a cat, knowing you weren’t allowed to have it, and then slept with the landlord?” Maddox summarizes.

  “I did. Look, I had the hots for him anyway, the discussion we had about the cat just…opened some doors. It was a casual thing, which I’m sure you understand.”

  Maddox lets out a soft sigh as I shift underneath him, getting more comfortable while also grinding myself against his rapidly thickening cock.

  “I’m still having trouble imagining my brother as part of this ‘Savage Kings,’” I tell Maddox. “I mean, I don’t know if I really believed you were the ‘badass biker’ type until you messed those guys up. I’ve seen some fistfights before, but what you did…that was an entirely different level of violence, you know? Does War do things…like that?”

  Instead of replying, Maddox just stares at me, his eyes only inches away from mine. He searches my face while reaching up to brush my hair back behind my ear.

  “What is it?” I ask him.

  Chapter Six

  Maddox

  Holy shit!

  Why did it take me this long to see what Audrey is doing?

  She’s been playing me from the start, just like she played her professor, a police officer, and her fucking landlord!

  The only difference is, she’s played me for the long game because she didn’t want to leave her apartment.

  I get that her fear is serious, and I understand that it comes from a very shitty past where she lost her parents. But like I told her, if she had just explained all of that to me from the beginning, instead of lying about who she was and fucking me, then I would’ve let her stay here.

  Probably.

  Maybe?

  Okay, so I’m not sure if I would’ve done that, or just grabbed her and ran out into the storm to get her inland. Guess now we’ll never know.

  The lights suddenly flicker back on in the bedroom, as if my epiphany was responsible for the surge.

  “Yay! We have power!” Audrey says.

  “Yay,” I repeat, without any of her enthusiasm.

  If the power is back on, then the conditions outside must have improved, which means I no longer need to stay here.

  Moving off of Audrey, I find my boxer briefs I lost days ago, and start putting them on.

  “What are you doing?” Audrey asks, when I reach for my jeans to pull them up my legs.

  “Getting dressed,” I reply, as if it’s obvious. “If the power is on, then that means the storm is over and the roads are clear.”

  Going over to the window, I lift one of the blinds to peek outside over the top of her dresser. I have to squint because the sun is so bright. Tree limbs, leaves, and debris are scattered around the roads, yards, and on the vehicles, but the water has receded.

  “You’re leaving?” Audrey asks.

/>   “Yeah,” I respond.

  Why am I dreading that so much? I should be angry at her for using me like every other man she comes across in life who doesn’t automatically bend to her will. Instead, there’s just this ache in my chest that wishes the power would’ve stayed off a little longer…

  “I should get back and see how bad a shape the island is in,” I tell her. “You want to call War and tell him we’re ‘back’?” I ask, using finger quotes around the last word since we were supposed to be in Raleigh.

  “Okay,” Audrey agrees. “I’ll tell him that my roommate called and said the power was back on.”

  “Right,” I agree, thinking she’s pretty damn good at lying. I wonder how many other lies she’s told her brother.

  “Thanks for staying with me,” she says.

  “No problem,” I reply as I slip on my T-shirt and then move the sleeping yellow kitten from my cut to put it on. After I’m dressed, I stand there and look at Audrey, still naked in bed, hair tussled from all the fun we had. But that’s all it was—fun. Is that why I’m dreading leaving her? Because I’ll miss the sex? That’s probably all there is to it. I got attached because she was my first and second and third, and however many times we fucked in three days. It’ll be impossible to forget her now, no matter how hard I try.

  Even if she wasn’t just sleeping with me to get her way and pass the time, it’s not like I could keep coming to see her. Not without War finding out and then doing what he threatened—taking my cut and kicking my ass.

  Now that it’s time to leave, though, I can’t figure out how to say goodbye. “See ya later” doesn’t work because I won’t be seeing her later, or ever again, since War makes a point of keeping his family separate from the MC. So instead, I just tell Audrey, “Thanks for everything.”

  “No, thank you, Maddox,” she says before she jumps out of bed and then comes over to throw her arms around my neck, still completely naked. It’s like she’s trying her best to tempt me into tearing off my clothes and throwing her back in bed.