Respectable Riot (Riot MC, #6)

by Karen Renee

She looked up at him and his gut twisted again, but in a good way. The admiration in her eyes aimed at him was not something he got from women. Ever. But here she was, a high-class upscale chick, looking at him as if he could conquer anything life could throw his way.

  She put a hand to his chest. “David, you can’t think of every possibility or prepare for every eventuality. I just never wanted you to have to deal with the likes of skeezy Paul.”

  His lips twitched, but he held back his laughter. “‘Skeezy Paul?’”

  She shrugged. “He’s got no compunction about spying on us at your bedroom window, and chances are damn good he knows exactly who Trent’s cheated on me with —and how many times, for that matter.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “What do you mean ‘exactly who?’ You make it sound like some of them were more important than the others.”

  She dropped her hand, shook her head and moved into the kitchen. “Don’t worry about it,” she muttered as she searched the cupboards.

  Beast stepped into her space from behind and caged her in with his arms on either side of her, his hands on the counter. “Answer me, Janie.”

  She sighed. “I don’t mean anything by it. Now, where are your chips or cookies or any form of junk food. I’m a nighttime junk food eater, and a stress eater too, so I need some chips or somethin’ pronto.”

  He moved so his legs framed hers. “Answer me, baby,” he whispered.

  If he wasn’t mistaken, her entire body shivered. “You can’t be real,” she whispered.

  “Oh, I’m for real, Janie,” he murmured into her hair.

  “That wasn’t what I said, but that’s fine too.”

  He lowered his head and his stubble caught on some of her hair. “You aren’t changing the subject.”

  She lifted her head, though she wasn’t looking at him. “Supposedly, one of these women was older. Like, a lot older.”

  He wanted to stiffen away from her, but he knew that would send entirely the wrong message. Even though he whispered, he couldn’t hide his outrage. “You’re kidding me?”

  She shook her head and he could see her eyes were closed. “Now, I’m gonna need wine to go with my junk food. So, you got any vino?”

  He stepped away from her, and when she looked back at him, he gave her a look that told her she should know better. “Your girl Andi introduced me to a song that’s real appropriate here. As your boy Michael Franti puts it, ‘My favorite wine is tequila.’ So, if you can get down with some Cuervo, I got you covered. Actual wine, not so much.”

  She turned and harrumphed at him. “Well, what about snacks? You got tortilla chips and salsa? Cookies of any kind? I’m serious about being a stress eater. Whaddaya got, man?”

  He yanked her to him. “I’ll show you what I got,” he muttered just before he kissed her long, hard, deep and wet.

  When he broke the kiss, she had a knee hiked up to his hip and she looked at him with admiration mixed with pure lust. Her lips curved. “I like what you’ve got, but that still doesn’t help my stomach.”

  Fuck. She could be so damn sweet, yet just as damn lippy, and hell if he didn’t love that about her. He shoved those thoughts aside and slid his hands down to squeeze the globes of her lush ass. “Got chips and salsa. Think there’s some Cheetos too, but they might be outta date.”

  She tilted her head while her lips pouted in contemplation. “Tequila and Cheetos. That could be pretty damn tasty. Let’s go, Beast. Point me in the right direction.”

  “I got a direction to point you in, babe, but snacks aren’t it.”

  She broke out of his hold. “Whatever. I’ll find what I need with or without you.”

  He turned to the cabinet over the fridge for the Cuervo, muttering, “Not if I can help it.”

  CHAPTER 18

  Beast

  BEAST WOKE UP AS HE normally did: not entirely rested, wanting to get back to sleep, but knowing that wasn’t likely to happen. Just like normal, he felt his dick was heavy and hard. Then, unlike his usual mornings, he felt the gentle, tentative touch of a petite hand on his dick. That forced his eyes open. Huge. He saw the back of Janie’s head. She had the sheets up just enough so she could watch what she was doing.

  Had she been anyone else, he’d have guided, if not shoved, her head down so she could get busy with her mouth rather than her hand. But she wasn’t anyone else, and he would never treat her that way, certainly not this early in their...shit. He wanted to think relationship, but he could not have a relationship with her. Especially not after last night. It was just a matter of time before Paul or Trent, or both of them knew everything about him. Fuck.

  “I wondered how long before you would wake up,” she muttered. He looked down his nose to see her looking at him.

  Her hand was still working him, and deep down he knew he should shut this down. But just like last night, he knew this was it. Things could never again be the same after seeing that lackey of her husband’s. They had both been fooling themselves, but he told himself he could have just one more night. He should’ve known better; because he was such a greedy fucker, hell if he wasn’t going to take advantage for just one more morning, too.

  His voice was husky with sleep and arousal. “I’m damn sure up, babe. More ways than one. Now gimme your sweet mouth.”

  Her compliance with his demand meant she dropped her hand away, but he still grinned against her mouth, though it was short-lived so he could snake his tongue inside. Just like the night before, she squirmed and pressed into him. The energy behind her behavior made him think it was her first time, but he knew it wasn’t. Something about her desperate need to get more of him, demanding all of him, was something he hadn’t experienced in a long time, if ever. Then, when he really got her heated up, she was an outstanding lay. Her hands kept trailing down his body as she tried to handle his cock, but he was not down with that. He needed to be inside her, and while he went for the condom on the nightstand, she managed to get her hand wrapped around him again.

  In the end, he shut down her hand. Not just to get the condom on, but also because he forced her to use it to hold on to other parts of him tight.

  BEAST CLEANED HIMSELF up in the bathroom, but turning off the sink spigot, he couldn’t help but notice all of Janie’s toiletries scattered about.

  He really shouldn’t have had sex with her. As much as he wanted to regret it, deep down, he didn’t. No way he could regret any time spent with that sweet and funny strawberry-blonde. She was not someone who would normally take notice of him. Not that he wouldn’t do his damnedest to get in there with her, much like Roman had tried to do. He hated what he was likely going to have to do to her.

  He heard his phone ringing from the nightstand, and after Liar’s call about the shitstorm hitting the club’s businesses, he bolted from the bathroom. Janie was already out of the bed and moving to the bathroom herself.

  Liar’s name was on the phone display. “Yo, man.”

  “Yo, yourself. You doin’ all right?”

  He heard the bathroom door close, and he said, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? Just spoke to your ass like twelve hours ago.”

  “Mmm, you sound off. Something happen last night?”

  Shit. He couldn’t cover much with his cousin. “You could say that. Man who works for Trent was outside the bedroom window last night.”

  “You’re shittin’ me!”

  “Wish I were. But, I didn’t know who the hell he was at the time, I went out there ready to kick his sorry ass, but Janie came out—”

  “You didn’t tell her to stay put?”

  Beast rolled his eyes. “Of course I did, dipshit. She just didn’t listen. Anyway, she knew this guy right off the bat. He’s threatening to drag her name through the mud now. So–”

  “You slept with her?” Liar sounded slightly outraged, but not entirely. If it were any other woman, he’d tell his cousin that was a stupid question, but this wasn’t Liar’s business.

  “That isn’t the point, Liar. This guy
has probably already reported in with Trent, so I’m bringin’ her back today.”

  Liar chuckled. “You damn dawg. You slept with her.”

  “I didn’t say that,” he muttered.

  His cousin chuckled, and Beast couldn’t fight his smile. “Didn’t have to. One thing though, you better not hurt her–”

  “Jim–”

  “No, no. I get it. You wouldn’t do that shit, but you hurt her, then I’m gonna hear it from Andi and I don’t need that shit. Besides, it’ll be your loss. Dad just sent Andi a recipe for étouffée, and I know she’ll bar you from the house, you hurt Janie.”

  “Fuck,” he whispered.

  “Fuck, what?” Liar asked.

  Beast heard the toilet flushing and lowered his voice. “My gut tells me I need to cut her loose.”

  After a long silence, Liar said, “Not every woman is bad news, man. Didn’t you say somethin’ like that to me about Andrea not too long ago?”

  “I don’t fuckin’ remember, Dr. Phil. I just know I don’t want to cause her any more problems than she already has, and God knows both of us have plenty of problems on our plates all ready.”

  “Pussy.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Beast growled.

  Janie came out of the bathroom wearing a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt with tiny sleeves. It was tight as hell on her, and it made his dick twitch.

  “Gotta go, brother,” Beast muttered so Janie wouldn’t know exactly which one of his MC brothers he was talking to.

  “Hope it’s to go find your dick, seein’ as you’re plannin’ to let her go just because you got issues.”

  Beast growled.

  “Okay, okay, Loverboy. Slow your roll. I’ll catch you when you get back.”

  Putting the phone on the nightstand, he turned to Janie. “Glad you’re dressed. We’re goin’ back today, though you might wanna wear jeans instead of those shorts. It’s gettin’ warm, but not that warm.”

  Her head tilted a fraction. “Something’s wrong.”

  He shook his head. “No, babe. We gotta eat, shower, pack up shit, close this place down and get back. You want me to make you breakfast, or are you good on your own.”

  She crossed her arms, pushing her tits up and he wanted to groan. It wasn’t that a woman crossing her arms turned him on. It was her doing it with the attitude behind it that turned him on.

  “I could make you breakfast instead, you know. But I’d rather know what’s bugging you, and while I’m thinking about it, what happened yesterday with Liar? I meant to ask you about it at the time, since you said something about ‘warrants’ and Jim being anal-retentive, which having been in his house with Andi, I’ve found that to be true, but his tidiness being called into question can’t be a good thing.”

  She didn’t know the half of it, and if he had anything to do with it, she wouldn’t know any more. He sighed. “Clumsy, you woke me up with your hand on my dick, I just came hard and so did you. But, I haven’t had the first sip of caffeine. Now, you want me to make you breakfast or what?”

  Fuck him, it was hard not to let his eyes roll when she jutted out a foot making her pissed-off stance even cuter.

  “Or what,” she snipped.

  He stared at her. Any other woman took that tone and that stance with him, he’d be done. Her though, he wanted to toss her over his shoulder, spank her ass, and put her in the bed. He was too damn conflicted though. If he gave into the urge to grab her, he’d be sealing her fate with Trent, but if he forced himself to resist her, he was likely be a dick about it.

  His hands settled on his hips. “Normally, you’re not a pain in the ass, Janie. But I guess there’s a first time for everything. ‘Or what,’ you say.” He threw a hand out toward the door, “Then have at it, babe. Fix yourself some breakfast. I’m takin’ a shower.”

  Her arms dropped and she shifted her leg back to normal. He felt like a massive dick because he knew she was trying to hide her real reaction from him. When she spoke, he almost didn’t hear her.

  “Something is wrong, but maybe while you take a shower you can figure out how to communicate that shit with me instead of taking it out on me. When you’re done, I’ll have a cup of java ready for you.”

  THE SOUND OF THE BACKPACK zipper pierced the air and it satisfied him. Grabbing the densely-packed bag, he ambled out to the living room. He shouldn’t have been surprised when he saw a plate sitting next to where Janie was seated. The plate in front of her held the remnants of pancake syrup and some bacon gristle.

  “If you hustle, you might be able to eat while the food’s still hot. I put the plate down maybe ninety seconds ago.”

  He tossed his backpack to the front door, shaking his head. “Told you to take care of yourself, Clumsy. I did not want you makin’ me breakfast.”

  “Why?” she demanded in a tone that brooked no argument.

  God, that was ballsy on her part, being so insistent with a man like him. Someone else might think she was bitchy to be that way, but he knew there was no bitchiness behind it. She was simply done with his bullshit.

  He yanked the ladder-back chair out from the table and sat down. “Because I like takin’ care of you in the morning, Janie. And I’m not tryin’ to be sexist or any thing like that. I just don’t want you makin’ my breakfast.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You make no sense. You had no issue eating the chicken I made.”

  “That was at your place. I don’t like my...guest making me breakfast.” he said, and thanked whatever force in the room prevented him from saying ‘my woman.’ It was one thing for him to want that to be so, but it was another thing entirely for him to say it as if it actually were so.

  She shot a hard look at him, pointed her eyes to the wall and then back to him. “You boink most of your guests?”

  He was cutting up the three pancakes on his plate, but he dropped the silverware so he could belly laugh.

  “I wasn’t joking,” she said, before he had himself under control.

  He leveled his gaze to her. “Know that babe, but you gotta admit it. Woman like you, livin’ behind gates and embodying virtually everything Joel sang about in ‘Uptown Girl,’ you saying ‘boink’ is hys-fuckin’-sterical.”

  Her eyes bulged, and he beat her to speaking again. “No. I don’t take most of my guests to the bedroom. But, can you not see how I want to take care of you?”

  Her gaze softened and she looked down to her coffee mug. “Well, I’m sorry to overstep.”

  He drizzled syrup over the pancakes. “Don’t worry about it. Are you packed up?”

  Her green eyes were hard. “You really aren’t going to tell me what’s wrong? So that shower didn’t help you sort your head out?”

  He mulled it over while chewing and swallowing a bite of pancake. “I’m torn right now. Know down deep I should keep my distance so I don’t fuck up your divorce, Janie.”

  Her head tilted. “Hate to tell you this, but that ship has sailed, David. Even if we hadn’t become physical, you can bet your bike Paul would tell Trent we had. So, you’re working yourself up for nothing.”

  “Protecting you will never be ‘nothing.’”

  Her lips tipped up. “If you say so. But, bottom line, neither one of us should let them factor into whatever this is.”

  He swallowed another bite of pancake even as what he had eaten was forming a ball in his gut. “Which is part of why I’m torn. I’m a biker, and hell if I let anyone dictate how I live my life, cause God knows I don’t do that shit to others. But, even though I want to live on my own terms, it doesn’t change the fact that this is gonna make things even more difficult for you.”

  She shrugged. “Then I deal with those difficulties.”

  He put his fork down. “How can you be so blasé?”

  “Not blasé. Nothing about this has been easy, Beast.” She leaned forward briefly as her hands shot out over the table, ending in an exaggerated shrug, “I’m not sure how it can be any more difficult, but I’ll deal with it when I g
et there.”

  He forced himself to eat because he didn’t need to be hungry forty-five minutes from now, and so he could buy himself some time. “Never been through a divorce, so I’ll take your word for it. But, can you see where I’m coming from? I don’t want to be the reason things get even more fucked-up for you. ‘Whatever this is,’ as you put it, can be put on hold until it’s all done.”

  One of her eyes did a half-squint at him. “I really don’t think I like the sound of that.”

  The truth was he didn’t like the sound of it either, but it was certainly safer. He sipped his coffee. “Think on it, Janie. I’d rather you not resent getting involved with me or blaming me for the shit you’re bogged down in getting any shittier.”

  She shifted her coffee mug side to side on the table. “And what happens while this is ‘on hold?’ You’re willing to wait another six or eight weeks to hang with me again?”

  He pressed his lips together knowing this was a critical juncture. “Could probably do that, yeah, but I’ll tell you no lies. I’m not likely to live the life of a monk either.”

  She closed her eyes, but then nodded. With open eyes, she said, “Yeah, and by no means would I expect you to do anything like that,” she paused to take a deep breath. “It’s just shitty timing, I guess.”

  He kept his face blank and passive for a long moment before he said, “Yeah. Shitty timing.”

  EVEN THOUGH HE AND Janie discussed his struggle with possibly letting a political type dictate his life, Beast was still wrapped up in his head. Mainly because they hadn’t really made any decisions. He was trying to steer her toward giving them both space, but something deep inside him didn’t want her to give in. Sitting on his bike in the parking lot waiting for Janie to climb on, he was looking forward to four hours on the open road. Nothing better than his bike to clear his head.

  Riding north on US 41, he could feel his mind unwinding. It was one of his favorite feelings. The feeling lasted until he hit the on ramp for the interstate. Janie was forced to cling tighter to him and he heard her laughter.