by Ford, Hope
4
Penny
Lisa tricked me. That’s the first thought that crosses my mind when the man and woman come into the bedroom. That thought quickly fades when they fall to the bed and the woman pulls out his cock. I can’t take my eyes off him. My body trembles just watching him. I’ve never seen a man like this before and my body reacts in a new and surprising way.
I see the man’s body freeze and his gaze goes to me, or so it seems. I barely hold my gasp in. Can he see me the through the curved slats of the closet doors? I stand up slowly to get ready. For what I’m not sure. To attack? To run? I know I should be doing something, but I can’t force myself to move. The man’s cock is still out and it’s harder, longer than it was before. The woman is lying half on top of him, but her hand is between her legs and it seems that’s where her focus lies.
The man’s gaze penetrates the floor right in front of the closet. I watch as he grabs on to the woman’s shoulders and pushes her off of him. He starts to walk toward me and that’s when all hell breaks loose. I hear the voices before I see them and then almost instantaneously the doors of the closet swing open.
There stands Lisa with a group of men. But the only one I’m looking at is the one that was just lying on the bed with the woman. The one with his cock still hanging out, standing high and at full attention. I know I have more things to worry about—like the fact that Lisa did betray me and I should get the heck out of here—but instead, all I can do is watch the man’s cock that is still hanging out of his pants. He’s hard now, and I swear his cock twitches as I stare at it.
The man buttons up his jeans and my eyes travel up his tight, muscled torso. I don’t stop my appreciation of him until I land on his face. He has brown hair, high cheekbones and brown suspicious eyes that are staring back at me. I see recognition in them and I wonder if I’ve seen this man before. Surely not. I would have remembered.
A man grabs me by the arms and tugs me toward him. I can feel his hot breath on my face as he demands to know what I’m doing here. I start to explain, but he drags me from the room and leads me down the hallway. My bear, as if banging from the inside to get out, is out of control wanting to get free. But I tamp her down. Shifting now will do more harm than good. And as I look at the men following us, I know I’m not competition for the lot of them. My eyes find the man’s again and he’s walking past the others until he’s next to me and my captor. He doesn’t say anything, just watches.
I’m walked into a large room and pushed into a chair. There’s a large table and it makes me think of the Eaters’ clubhouse. This is where business is discussed. This is where they have church.
I sit back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest. The older man leans down and puts his finger in my face. “Now start talking. And don’t try lying to me. I know you’re an Eater and I know you’re Alban’s daughter. What are you doing in New Law Territory?”
The shocked noises of the men tells me that not all of them knew I was an Eater, or maybe who my father is. But now they do. I find the man from the bedroom and look at him. He doesn’t seem surprised. He’s staring at me with no expression on his face and it makes me wish I could read his thoughts, what he’s thinking right now.
“Talk,” the older man says, kicking my chair.
I jerk and put my hands on the arms of the chair, clenching it until my knuckles are white. “I’m running from the Eaters. And I came this way because I knew they wouldn’t come to your territory to get to me. I landed up at your clubhouse accidentally and I would have gone another way if I hadn’t run into Lisa.” I snarl the woman’s name, not forgiving her for this betrayal. Women need to stick together, yeah right.
The older man starts laughing. “You want me to believe that you, an Eater, are trying to leave the Eaters and just show up at my clubhouse? Where is your father? Where is your brother, Silver? Are they here too?”
I growl at him. “My father is dead. I left him after he took his last breath only hours ago. I had to run before my so-called brother could stop me. Before Silver could sell me and my virginity to the highest bidder.”
The older man looks at me, turning his head to the side like he’s trying to see if I’m telling the truth. I’m watching him, not blinking, and hoping that he sees the sincerity on my face.
He smirks then and I don’t like what I see in his eyes. “Fine. They want to make money off you. Fine. But they’ll have to pay to get you back. How much are you worth?”
He asks the question, but I can tell he doesn’t expect me to answer.
He turns to the men in the room. “We will keep the Eater here. We will have the Eaters pony up some serious money or give up more territory to us. One way or the other, they will pay if they want her back.”
I stand up, ready to argue, ready to fight because I know I can’t go back to the Eaters. I can’t. “My name’s Penny,” I exclaim, wanting them to have a name to the innocent woman standing in front of them. As soon as I stand, the man, the one with the big dick from earlier, pushes me back to my chair. He looks mad, ready to fight even, but he shakes his head side to side, telling me to stand down.
I start to stand back up but then another man runs into the room. “Boss, we got problems. Eaters are crossing into our territory. They’ve been seen in town.”
The old man turns to me with hatred on his face. “No doubt to collect their spy.”
I stare at him silently. Nothing I can say right now will convince him that I’m not a spy, so I don’t say anything.
“Johnny and Zeus, tie her up. Take her to the truck and wait until Bruin gets there,” the old man orders.
Two men come for me and I start to struggle, but I’m no match for the two of them. I leave then, scared for my life, but I still can’t stop myself from looking back at the man from the bedroom.
5
Bruin
I want to follow her, but I know I can’t. Not without drawing attention to myself. Deator walks toward me. “Bruin. You are to take her to your house because you live the deepest in the wilderness. You stay there until we come for you.”
As sergeant of arms for the club, I know I should argue. I should stay here to protect my club. But the thought of sending her with another man is not even an option.
As if he expects me to disagree with him, he insists. “And consider this part of your punishment. You were so worried about getting pussy, you failed to notice an Eater hiding in your fucking closet.”
I simply nod my head and follow after her. I could’ve disagreed with him. I wasn’t worried about getting pussy, not Rita’s anyway. I knew someone was in there as soon as I stepped into the room. Her scent hit my nostrils and it’s still there. I can still smell her even though there’s a wall separating us now. I start for the door and jog out to the truck and watch as she’s struggling against Johnny and Zeus.
“Stop,” I yell, and the three of them freeze at my command, even the girl.
I force myself between Johnny and Zeus and grab Penny’s arm. “I got it from here.”
They both put their hands up and I wait for them to walk away before I turn back to her. There is fire in her eyes and I know she’s pissed. She’s jerking at her arms but can’t escape from the zip ties they used to bind her. With each pull she’s tearing at her skin and already I can see the red streaks on her creamy white wrists. “Stop,” I tell her again, grabbing her hands with both of mine.
She calms then and I can see the fear in her eyes. I want to tell her that she’ll be okay but I can’t promise her that. Not yet.
“Get into the truck,” I tell her, trying to push her into the seat.
Her body goes rigid. “What are you going to do to me?”
Fear is a real thing and it’s laced in everything she says. I shouldn’t do it, I shouldn’t reassure her or make any promises, but I still tell her, “Nothing. I’m going to take you to my house because it’s deep in the forest where the Eaters will not find you. I will keep you there until we decide what t
o do with you.”
I try to get her into the truck again, but she asks me, “You mean until you sell me back to them? It will be a death sentence when you do. They’ve been waiting for my father to die. Out of some morbid respect for him, they didn’t want to defile me while he was still breathing. Well, now there’s no stopping them… you don’t understand what they will do to me.”
My fingers grip on to her hips and her face cringes but she doesn’t pull away. Over my dead body. The thought fills my mind, but I push it away quickly. She’s an enemy of the club. She’s an Eater, I remind myself.
“Look, Penny,” I say, and her eyes drop to my mouth when I say her name. My palms tighten on her and I bend down, forcing her to look into my eyes. “I’m your best bet. Those men inside are my brothers but most of them would kill you without a second thought, just because you are an Eater… I don’t want to kill you.” I don’t know why I told her that second part. She should be afraid of me; I should want her afraid. But deep down I don’t want that.
She turns her head sideways and looks at me. Her face softens and I feel that I’ve already shown her too much. I pick her up. She’s not a stick figure; no, her large breasts are pressed against my chest and I have the curves of her thick thighs in my hands. I set her down into the cab of the truck and pull back quickly, slamming the truck on my way around to the driver’s seat. The need to scream my frustrations is almost unbearable. My bear is unsettled, fighting to get out. I have a feeling I can try all I want to not help her, but my bear won’t let that happen. He’s been agitated and on edge since I first smelled her in the closet. And no matter how good her curves feel against me, she was put under my supervision until all this works out, not to be a fuck toy, unfortunately.
I adjust my cock in my jeans and try to take a calming breath before I open the door and join her in the truck’s small space.
She talks nonstop the whole way home. She’s pleading her case and when she mentions her evil half-brother, I know she’s not lying. The things I’ve heard of Silver make the brothers of the New Law MC look like saints. I go across the rough terrain, deep into the wilderness. Her tits bounce with every ridge and crevice we hit. I shouldn’t be watching, but I can’t take my eyes off her. The hold she has on me is strong. Too strong for someone I just met.
Technically, my place is in the protected part of the Klamath mountains where residents aren’t allowed. I have a room at the clubhouse, but my house in the forest is where I’d rather be. I’ve always figured, when I built this place out in the middle of nowhere, that I’m part of the wildlife that was being protected.
Looking over at her, I catch her eyes with mine. There’s fear there, but something else. Something I don’t even want to think about. But I can’t help but wonder if I’m really protected against her or not.
6
Penny
I’ve been hidden in this cabin in the mountains with Bruin for four days now. He finally told me his name. But even now, all these days later, no matter how many times or how many ways I try to explain it to him, Bruin doesn’t seem to believe me. He doesn’t believe that I was just trying to escape or that he can trust me not to run back to the Eaters with some kind of information on the New Law MC. First of all, I don’t know anything. At least nothing about the club. He’s kept me on this mountain and the only person I’ve seen is Bruin. At least until today. He told me that his club brother and his old lady are coming to the cabin today and I have to admit I’m a little excited.
And second of all, there’s no way I’m going back to the Eaters. No way. If they do try to trade me, I will run. I have to.
“Are you going to come out of there? Bree will be here any minute.” Bruin knocks on the door of my room.
I take one last look in the mirror, glad that I’m finally free of being bound up. The first two days he kept me close and bound my arms. But not with the zip ties. He cut those as soon as we got to his house and even put ointment on my scratches. No, after that he started using a material that was soft and felt like it was made out of a T-shirt. We both know I could have escaped it, but I didn’t. I wanted him to trust me when I told him I wouldn’t run. I know I should run, as fast as I can. Something’s keeping me here, but I’m not ready to admit what that is.
It may have something to do with the fact that I although I have my own room, I still wake up in the middle of the night and he’s sitting in the chair, watching me. I’ve assured him I won’t run, but that doesn’t stop him. He sits and he watches. I’ve dreamt of him every night and the one last night had my face flushed when I woke up. Did he hear me moan his name in my sleep?
I open the door to a gruff-looking Bruin. His eyes roam down my body and I feel it all the way to my toes. It’s gotten more and more awkward between the two of us. I mean, I see him looking at me. I know how my body responds to him. But he doesn’t do anything about it, and to be honest, I wouldn’t even know what to do if he did.
With each passing day, I learn more and more about him, but I don’t know if he realizes it. Bruin is a decent man. The way he cared for my scratches, the way he’s treated me since I’ve been here, the way he asks me what I like or don’t like before he fixes us something to eat. If it was an Eater that had me and I was a member of New Law, I would already have been raped by every member of the club and would probably be dead at this point. Bruin hasn’t tried to force himself on me—heck, he’s gone out of his way to not touch me.
I step out the door before he can back up and my body brushes against his. He sucks in his breath and I know he wants me. I can feel it in his hot breath against my neck and the steady beat of his heart in his chest.
I stop, waiting to see if he’s going to reach for me. My eyes search his face, looking for a clue, something that will tell me what he’s feeling. His body goes tight instantly and he pulls back away from me. Just in that short amount of time, my desire for him has soaked my panties.
He starts to say something, but the sound of a motorcycle outside has him walking away from me. I stand where I’m at, trying to control my breathing. When there’s a knock on the door, I walk into the living room just as Bruin opens it and a woman flings her arms around him. He picks her up off her feet, hugging her.
It hits me then, all of a sudden, and jealousy rips through me. I want to stomp my feet or walk over to them and tear them apart. The feeling is new to me and I don’t know what to do about it. I learn quickly that I don’t have to do anything.
A man that is standing behind the woman reaches over and pulls her arms from around Bruin’s neck. She turns in his arms and snuggles up to him, slapping him on the chest. “Really, Ronan? He’s my cousin. Surely I can hug my cousin without you freaking out.”
He pulls her tighter against himself. “Doesn’t matter to me. I don’t want you in any man’s arms, relative or not.”
They kiss then and my eyes would be glued to them if Bruin didn’t take that minute to turn and look at me. I know he sees it. Jealousy is on my face and I don’t even try to hide it. His chest raises and falls slowly and as if he’s made a decision, he takes a step toward me.
Right before he reaches me, the woman walks past him. She has her hand held out. “I’m Bree. Bruin’s cousin. I’ve heard all about you.” She shakes my hand and looks up at her cousin, smiling at him with curiosity.
He just grunts and walks over to Ronan. They talk and I’m sure it’s about me by the way that Bruin keeps looking at me, but I can’t pay attention to that. No, Bree asks me a gazillion questions and when I answer each one of them honestly, it’s as if she’s made a decision that she gives me her approval.
She looks over at Bruin. “I like her.”
He looks between us, and with his eyes on me, he says it. It’s almost a whisper, but I know I hear him right. “Me, too.”
* * *
Bruin
I knew exactly why Bree had Ronan bring her here. They made the excuse to drop off food, but I know it’s because my cousin wanted to check Pen
ny out. She was only here a short time before she saw what she wanted to see.
“So, Penny, what are you going to do when all this is over?” Bree asks her.
I look at her, wondering how she’s going to answer.
Penny looks at me with a sad expression on her face. “Uh, I don’t know really. The plan right now is they are selling me back to the Eaters…”
But that’s as far as Penny gets. Bree jumps up. “No! There’s no way Bruin would do that, or Ronan would let that happen.”
I just look between them, neither confirming or denying it. Bree throws her hands up in the air and walks over to Ronan. “Ronan, surely the club won’t…”
Ronan looks at her and even I can see him softening. He’s been like that since he met Bree. He used to be the one that gave out orders and did everything by the book and for the club. Since he’s been with Bree it’s like he looks at things differently now. But still, he wraps his arm around Bree. “Honey, it’s club business.”
Bree just rolls her eyes, like she’s heard that a million times. “Ronan, you can’t just stand by…”
I stop her then and walk over to Penny. The urge to put my arms around her is strong, but I don’t. Right now standing next to her, feeling her heat, smelling her scent is enough. “Bree.”