Cain (Bones MC 1)
Marteeka Karland
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2019 Marteeka Karland
BIN: 008986-02907
Formats Available:
Adobe PDF, Epub
Mobi/PRC
Publisher:
Changeling Press LLC
315 N. Centre St.
Martinsburg, WV 25404
www.ChangelingPress.com
Editor: Katriena Knights
Cover Artist: Marteeka Karland
Adult Sexual Content
This e-book file contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language which some may find offensive and which is not appropriate for a young audience. Changeling Press E-Books are for sale to adults, only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.
Legal File Usage -- Your Rights
Payment of the download fee for this book grants the purchaser the right to download and read this file, and to maintain private backup copies of the file for the purchaser’s personal use only.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this or any copyrighted work is illegal. Authors are paid on a per-purchase basis. Any use of this file beyond the rights stated above constitutes theft of the author’s earnings. File sharing is an international crime, prosecuted by the United States Department of Justice, Division of Cyber Crimes, in partnership with Interpol. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by seizure of computers, up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 per reported instance.
Table of Contents
Cain (Bones MC 1)
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Marteeka Karland
Cain (Bones MC 1)
Marteeka Karland
Angel: I’m a teacher. Or rather, I want to be. Fresh out of college, I went on a date with the wrong man and ended up drugged and helpless in a really bad place. The motorcycle club I was taken to was no place for a woman, as I found out the hard way. They thought I was helpless, but I managed to get away -- only to stumble onto three kids who need me as a teacher. The problem? They’re with another motorcycle club. I can’t leave them until I’m convinced they’re safe. Unfortunately, the club president doesn’t like me much. He’s also the hottest man I’ve ever come across and resisting him is not even something I’m going to attempt.
Cain: As president of Bones MC, it’s my responsibility to decide how to handle the kids who adopted us. Who the fuck adopts a MC club anyway? Knowing for whatever reason they didn’t want social services finding them, the club hires a teacher for them. And what a fucking teacher she is! Woman nearly put me to my knees the first time I saw her. I fought it as long as I could, but a man can only take so much of that shapely ass in those tight skirts. I’ll use everything in my sensual bag of tricks to make her mine, and no one will take her away from me. Not even the club from Nashville intent on getting her back.
Chapter One
“This was a mistake,” Cain muttered under his breath.
“Well, someone’s gotta teach ‘em. They can’t go to public school.”
“No, but there has be a better way.” What Torpedo didn’t understand -- and what Cain refused to tell him -- was that the new teacher they’d hired for the three kids who’d adopted their club was in danger of losing any innocence she might have had. Because he wanted to take it from her. The girl was fresh out of college and so goddamned sexy he nearly creamed his jeans like a fucking teenager every time she cocked her hip in those prim skirts she wore. Her name was Angel Black. An oxymoron if ever there was one.
“She figures out they aren’t really ours, she’ll sic social services on us.” It was a shit excuse, and he knew it. The club had been through this a thousand times. Anyone from outside they hired had the possibility of trying to take the kids away. What no one would care about was the fact that the children had sought out Bones on their own. All three of them had been in the foster system and had been horribly abused by someone.
Torpedo -- Gavin Ferguson -- shrugged. “It is what it is. Though, keep in mind, that girl came from a questionable home life same as these kids. Why are you suddenly against this? You were the one who suggested homeschooling. None of them but Suzie wanted to go to school. It’s not like the boys couldn’t get their GED in a couple of years. They’re smart enough to do it now if they were just old enough.”
Cain scrubbed his hand over his face. “It’s what’s best for the little brats. If they’re under our protection, the least we can do is make sure they have everything they need.”
“I know,” Torpedo agreed. “Which leads us back to the beginning. We keep going round and round over this. Do we do it or not? Because, I gotta tell ya, I could really give a good goddamn. They can’t go to public school, and homeschooling was the best idea. Since none of us have the time to take it on, the only option is to get them a tutor. You don’t like this woman? We’ll try again. You’re the president. We follow your lead.”
Which was the fucking problem. If he turned decisions regarding the kids over to someone else, it would look like he didn’t give a fuck. If he didn’t give a fuck, it was possible the others wouldn’t. They’d all agreed to take on the kids. They were all responsible.
“Just make sure she stays out of my way,” he growled. “I don’t like the woman.”
Torpedo tilted his head. “You what? Why didn’t you say something? You don’t trust her, she goes. Period.”
“No, no. It’s not that. I just don’t like her. The kids seem OK with her. At least, they haven’t run her off. Try her out. If they don’t like her or Data finds dirt on her, she goes.”
“Or she contacts social services.”
“You know that’s a distinct possibility.” Cain scrubbed a hand over his face. He almost hoped she tried to. It would save him the grief of reversing his decision. He’d approved the girl. Of course, that was before he’d seen her.
“Give it a few days. Weeks. Whatever it takes for everyone to be comfortable.”
“Of all the clubs in the fucking country, why’d they pick us?” It was a question they’d tried to get the three kids to answer since they’d shown up at the clubhouse gate six weeks ago. Cliff -- the oldest -- had told Cain that Bones had “seemed like a good place to make a home.” Who the fuck said that about a motorcycle club?
“Beats the fuck outta me, but here we are.” Torpedo clapped him on the shoulder. “Bohannon is sticking with the kids tonight. I’ll see you at the Boneyard later tonight. Sword will be on you.” Cain hated that the club put guards on him, but Torpedo wouldn’t have it any other way. As vice-president, it was his right to insist even if Cain disagreed.
“Fuck off.” He flipped off the vice president as he turned away from him.
Cain looked around the sunroom where Miss Black had set up their school. From what Cain could tell, Suzie was kicking the boys’ asses. Though he wouldn’t put it past Cliff and Daniel to be doing subpar work intentionally in order to boost Suzie’s self-confidence. He’d caught them doing little things like that for the girl. All three had been through a rough time in the foster system, and Bones had sworn to protect them from it ever again. The boys were fourteen and fifteen while Suzie was only eleven. The boys would have at least some say in their own situations while little Suzie would be at the mercy of the juvenile court system. They still hadn’t gotten out of the kids how they’d heard about Bones or what exactly had happened to them, but the only time Suzie
seemed normal was when Miss Black had her in class.
As if she knew they were talking about her, Angel turned her head, glancing at him over her shoulder. Fuck. He didn’t need this. The second her gaze collided with his, she ducked her head and turned back again. Her shoulders hunched a little, and she studiously focused on the children.
“Fuck,” he swore, this time out loud.
“Indeed,” Torpedo muttered. “Go to the bar. Relax. Take one of the club girls and get laid, but let this go.”
If only it were that simple. Maybe with enough whisky…
“Yeah. Boneyard, here I come.”
The Boneyard was the bar the club owned and operated. In their little corner of the great state of Kentucky, the place was unique. Located in the boring little town of Somerset, it was the only biker bar in the area. While Louisville and Lexington both sported a few MC clubs, South Central Kentucky didn’t have many other than local weekend warriors. The Boneyard, however, was always packed with one variety of biker or another. Didn’t seem to matter if they were one-percenters or just bikers who wanted to get together to ride and support their community, anyone who was part of any MC club made it their business to be at the Boneyard when they were in the area. Probably because Bones kept it a safe place to do business. Neutral territory. All they asked was ten percent of the deal. They’d only had one club refuse to honor their deal. It hadn’t worked out so well for the other club. Retaliation had been swift and brutal. None of it leading back to Bones, but the message had been received by everyone. The other ninety-nine percent of MCs just wanted the atmosphere. Cain suspected many legitimate clubs also sought one-percenter clubs to take care of business they didn’t want to get their hands dirty with. As long as Bones made their ten percent, Cain didn’t give a fuck what deals they struck.
Thirty minutes later, he had a shot of Jack Daniels down and one on the way. Another one waiting in front of him. He sat back in a corner, his back to the wall where he could see the entrance and the door leading to the back. The lighting was dim so he could disappear into the shadows easily enough and just watch the goings-on around him.
Cain prided himself in knowing every person who came into the Boneyard. When a new group entered, Data, their tech guy, used his techno magic to compile a full background on them before they left. By the end of the night, Bones knew everything about the newcomers and where their interests lay. While Boneyard was neutral territory, there were certain things Cain absolutely would not tolerate.
He was just starting to sip his third shot when little Miss Angel Black took a tentative step inside the bar.
Fuck.
She looked just as she always did. Sexy as fuck, dressed in a conservative, knee-length black skirt and a cream-colored blouse that came up to her neck with a black jacket. She had black hose and black kitten-heeled pumps with delicate straps that wrapped around her slender ankles. It made Cain wonder if she wore garters to hold up those stockings. Which made him hard as fuck.
She squinted, pushing up her glasses with one finger while scanning the interior, looking so out of place it was laughable. With careful steps, she approached the bar, looking warily around her. Pops was tending bar tonight. Maybe he’d warn her off gently, because she was about as out of place here as a nun would be. The older man and his wife were the moral compass of the club. Not official members, they still acted as mom and dad to all of them, especially their new charges. No one knew their real names or why they preferred it that way but no one pushed. No one judged.
“How are the kids doing?” Pops asked in greeting.
“Very well,” she said with a smile. “I wanted to talk to someone about the education plan for them. Everyone says I need to talk to Mr. Cain. Is he here?”
“Just Cain, young lady.” Pops smiled, setting a glass of ice water in front of her. “Unless you want the good stuff?”
She smiled, accepting the water and taking a sip. “No thanks. This is good.”
Pops nodded in Cain’s direction. “In the corner,” he said, leaning closer to Angel. “Be careful with that one. He’s a good man, but likes to be left alone.”
“No worries there,” she said, taking a gulp of water. “I just need to be clear about how to proceed with the children.”
Pops smiled at her encouragingly. If Cain hadn’t respected the old man so much, he’d have flipped him off. The last thing he needed right now was to have an intimate conversation with Little Miss Prim and Proper.
She turned in his direction. Cain’s first instinct was to ignore her and leave. The less contact he had with her the better. That felt too much like running, though. Cain didn’t run from fights. He didn’t start them, usually, but he ended them. He could handle one small woman.
She squinted, and a sexy little crease between her perfect, dark brows appeared until she finally spotted him. Many women had approached Cain in this bar. Without fail, they gave him a sexy, sultry look and exaggerated the sway of their hips once they found him. Angel… didn’t have to exaggerate. Anything.
There was a hesitant expression on her face, as if she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to talk to him now she’d found him. Cain saw the exact moment her resolve kicked in. She took a deep breath, pushed those sexy glasses up on her nose again, and then made her way through the crowd to him.
Every step she took was like an awakening to Cain. A revelation. Like, before her, he’d never seen a woman. Never known what true sexuality and eroticism were. Her hips had a natural sway that seemed designed to drive him insane with lust. With every step, the blouse she had so tightly tucked into her skirt stretched over her torso, emphasizing those generous breasts. Without trying, she was everything that appealed to him on a physical level. Thank God she didn’t clothe that unholy body of hers in leather. If she did, she could drive a pink Harley or some shit and he’d just lie down and take it. And a pink Harley was just sacrilegious.
“Mister, ah, I mean, Cain.” She ducked her head nervously, tucking a strand of silky black hair that had escaped her prim bun behind her ear. “I wanted to talk to you about the children.”
“Are they fuckin’ up?” His question was gruff, meant to scare her away. Instead, she winced at his language, but said nothing.
“No. They’re doing great. I just had… concerns.”
“If they’re doing great, I don’t see the fuckin’ problem.” Cain tried to look annoyed, like she was wasting his time and he wasn’t happy with her. In fact, he really hoped she’d stand up to him and insist on continuing the conversation.
“May I sit?”
Instead of answering, he just looked at her. Most men he knew cowered at that look. Not Angel. Apparently, she took his silence as permission to sit where she wanted because she took the chair across the table from him.
“As you know, I’m straight out of college. I’m qualified to teach middle school and most basic high school classes. The problem I’m finding is, both Cliff and Daniel are way beyond the basics even though they pretend not to be. Suzie is even more advanced and tries so hard to do even better.”
“The point, Miss Black?” he said impatiently. He needed her gone.
She took a breath before continuing. “My point is, these children need someone trained in teaching gifted students. All three of them could not only be at the top of their class, but could get any academic scholarship they want, with the proper instruction before they graduate.”
“You sayin’ you can’t teach ‘em? Why didn’t you say that before we hired you?” Hard as it would be to find another teacher, this might be the answer to Cain’s prayers. She’d leave, and he’d not have to worry about her anymore.
“I’m saying, I still have assessments to do yet, but while I can get them to graduation, they could all go much further than high school.”
“Do you want the job or not, Miss Black? I’m tired of fuckin’ around.”
She pursed her lips. “Did you listen to a thing I said?”
Well, fuck. She had bite.
“I heard every goddamned word. I heard you. What I didn’t hear is that you can’t teach ‘em. All I’m hearin’ is there are others who could do the job better. That ‘bout sum it up?”
She blinked several times. “I suppose that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Then either quit or get to work.” He stood up from his chair and went to the bar, hoping like hell he was rude enough she’d just quit.
“Fine,” she muttered. It wasn’t what he wanted, but she left. Boy, did she leave. In her anger, that impossible ass swayed even more with her longer, quicker strides. He was so fucked.
Chapter Two
If she’d had another choice, Angel would have taken it. Private teacher for three children at a motorcycle club wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind when she graduated from college, but she had to pay the bills and her mountain of student loans. And she needed someplace safe to hide. Even though she hated giving up any security she might have found, she couldn’t in good conscience put herself above the needs of the children she taught.
As she hurried out of the bar, she clenched her fists in frustration. Cain was less than helpful. She’d only been working with the children a week, but she had yet to figure out who exactly the children’s parents were. All she knew was that Cain took responsibility for them. Any time she had questions, the club had referred her to Cain, who was more closed-mouthed than a clam. Then again, she kind of understood it. That was the way MCs seemed to work. At least, that had been her limited experience. Everything stayed close to the vest.
In the parking lot, motorcycles lined the gravel area, making her little lime-green Fiesta stick out like, well, like a hybrid car in an MC-bar parking lot. She took a deep breath before heading to her vehicle. She would do this, but, in her heart, she knew these kids deserved better. She also wasn’t blind to the fact they’d been through hell. She didn’t think it was from the people in this club. All three children seemed to practically cling to the members she’d met, always looking for reassurance. The only thing was, she needed to let Cain know her baggage. If he was responsible for these kids, he needed to know her sins. And her connection to another MC, however brief. He’d likely send her packing and solve her problem.
Cain (Bones MC 1) Page 1