“Did you fuck her?”
“No. But I could have. She’s quite a tease.”
Cain reached out and socked me in the shoulder. “Well if you do fuck her, don’t let Diezel get wind of it. He goes literally berserk over his sister. And then our club will be royally fucked.”
Even though it was two nights ago, I could still remember how Bear tasted when he kissed me in the bathroom. He was so big, and his presence made my stomach flutter and I was drawn to his blue eyes. But I was suddenly frightened of him, and then embarrassed as I felt a heated blush rise to flush my face when he walked out of the bathroom.
Duncan called me after I paged him the next morning. I asked him to fix the broken AC in the window because it was another scorching hot day, and I couldn’t deal with what the heat and humidity was doing to my hair. He walked into the store a few hours later, carrying a new AC unit for the window. He wasn’t wearing his club colors—only a T-shirt and jeans, since he drove his truck. I learned a long time ago that Berzerkers never wore their rags when they drove in cars or trucks—or “cages” as they called them.
He replaced the broken AC with the new one within a few minutes, and that’s when I let him have it. I shouted that it was an asshole thing he did when he threatened and scared off Jimmy and that it wasn’t his business who I dated. Duncan shouted back that he saved me from being another piece of ass when he promised, not threatened, Jimmy with castration.
I felt steam coming out of my ears as I shoved him, but he didn’t move. He was almost as big as Bear. “Damnit, Duncan! It’s my life! I can date whoever I want, fuck whoever I want, and it’s none of your business!”
It was so quick as the breath was knocked out of me when his hand smacked me hard across my face. My mouth dropped open as I touched my cheek, feeling the sting. I stepped back in shock. My brother had never hit me before. Ever.
Duncan’s eyes widened with shock too, but only for a brief moment. “Sorry, Holly.” He raked a hand through his hair and stammered. “You’re my baby sister. And I’d kill any motherfucker that would do the things I’ve seen done to other girls.”
My eyes welled up with tears that I couldn’t stop. “Go away. Leave me alone.”
Duncan stormed out of the store. Luckily, it was still early in the day, and there were no customers in the store to witness the drama.
My heart felt heavy in my chest the rest of the day, and I missed my mom and pop even more. There were times like this when all I wanted was for my mom to hold me and tell me that everything was going to be okay.
The days were longer in the summer and the sun didn’t go down until 9:00 p.m. It was also closing time, and I began the routine of straightening out shelves and closing out the cash register. Pops hired a cleaning crew that came in twice a week, which was a relief for me as I handled the store business while they were away.
I pulled out my boom box hidden underneath the counter and pushed the play button. I listened to the new Hall & Oats cassette tape I bought a week ago from Jimmy at the record store. The song “Man Eater” came through the speakers as I counted the cash in the register. The hair on the back of my neck suddenly began to rise when I heard thunder, but there was no storm. It was the sound of pipes, as two men rode up on their motorcycles and parked in front of the store. They wore rags like my brother—but they weren’t Berzerkers.
I was alone. Panic and fear set in. I came around the counter hoping to get to the door first to lock it, but the men climbed off their bikes and were quicker. They cackled like hyenas as they came through the door, and one of them came after me. I turned and hurried back to get the revolver Pops kept hidden in a drawer behind the counter. But he grabbed me around the waist and clamped a hand over my mouth. His breath reeked of liquor and weed.
The next instant, a large buck knife was held to my throat. “You’re going to give me all the money in that register. And anything else I want.” He licked my cheek with his tongue. I almost wretched.
“Dawg, man, Axel told us to bring the sister to him first before the club gets to fuck her,” the other man said from the other side of the counter.
“Shut your pie hole, Toker, and go check the back door.”
Toker cackled at a high pitch as he trotted down the candy and snack aisle, knocking things off shelves.
My head was shoved forward and my cheek was pressed against the counter. I shut my eyes and screamed at the top of my lungs.
“Shut up, bitch!” Dawg barked and jerked my stirrup pants down. He began to breathe fast as he fumbled with his jeans, his hand pressed firm against the side of my face.
I cried out and begged him to stop, but he was so strong. With one hard thrust, he rammed himself inside me. I screamed at the white-hot pain I had never imagined. Bile started to rise in my throat, and I was about to vomit.
Then cool air. A loud thunderous boom of a gunshot. Then silence.
I pushed off the counter and spun around. Dawg’s body was on the floor, his eyes open, starring up at me. Blood pooled around his dark, greasy hair.
My eyes steered upward to see Bear. I collided into his huge chest and sobbed. He reached down, pulled my pants up, then wrapped his massive tattooed arms around me. I smelled leather and blood.
“Shh. You’re safe now, Holly.” His deep voice rumbled in his chest.
He knew my name.
I gripped his leather rags tightly, and hiccupped, still in shock.
Bear tilted my chin up, and his calloused thumb swiped away tears from my cheek. “My bike is parked out back. I’m taking you to your brother, Diezel. But first, I need to lock the front and turn out the lights in here.”
I don’t remember much else, except wrapping my arms around Bear’s waist and holding on tightly as he twisted the throttle on his bike and peeled out from behind the store.
The club meet with the Berzerkers MC was a go that night. I rode with Cain and Rex to the same spot I met with Mace a few nights before. But when were right outside the city limits of Richmond, a sudden attack of heartburn hit me like an acidic burn in the middle of my chest, and then images of Holly flooded my mind. When we planted our boots down at a stop light, I hollered over to Cain and Rex telling them there was something I had to do and that I’d catch up with them at the river.
* * *
My instincts rang true as they always did when I saw two bikes parked out front of McCrae’s as I rode around to the back of the store. I climbed off my bike and pulled my buck knife, just when one of the Cutthroats walked out the back door. I was on him, slitting his throat before he even knew he was dead as he collapsed onto the pavement.
I stepped over him and walked in through the door and heard Holly scream. Hot blood full of rage pumped through my veins at the sight of Holly being raped by the Cutthroat on the store counter. In a matter of seconds, I stepped up behind the Cutthroat, raised my revolver to the back of his head. I pulled the trigger and shot a bullet right through the back of his skull as blood, brain, and bone splattered on Holly. She turned around, her eyes wide with shock and collapsed into my arms. I reached down and pulled up her pants.
I shoved the gun into the back of my jeans and wrapped my arms around her. “Shh. You’re safe now, Holly.”
I locked the front door and turned out the lights, then took her hand, leading her through the stock room and out the back door. She yelped then clamped her hand over her mouth when she saw the other cutthroat lying dead on the pavement in a puddle of blood. She kept a firm hold on my hand, and I tugged her along as we both stepped over the body.
I handed her my shades and snapped my helmet on her. When she climbed on my shovelhead, she wrapped her arms tightly around me. I opened the throttle and hauled ass.
I pulled up next to the other bikes by the river and planted my feet down. Cain, Rex, and the Berzerkers walked toward us, but Holly didn’t move, her arms still gripping the front of my rags. I reached down, touching her cold hands. “Hop off, darlin’. I gotta kick the stand down.”
She let go and climbed off just as Cain, Rex, and the Berzerkers were close enough to see us in the dark.
“Holly? What the fuck!” Diezel roared.
When I was off my bike, Diezel landed a good hard punch to my jaw. I didn’t blame him. I would’ve done the same.
Holly screamed and clung to me again as Mace and Jagger held Diezel back, moving him a few feet away. I wrapped an arm around her. “Two Cutthroats came into your store aiming to take your sister, but I killed them both.”
There was only that berserk look of rage in Diezel’s eyes. “They’re fucking dead! All of them! Dead!”
“The lights are out and the store is locked up. Those bodies are leaking blood all over the place.”
“I’ll take care of it, Diezel,” Mace said. “I’ll call up the prospect, get him to help clean up the mess.”
I looked down at the top of Holly’s head. She was so small, and after what she’d just endured, she felt so fragile too. I lifted her chin up so I could see her face in the dark. Her eyes were puffy from crying.
“I don’t want to be here. Will you take me home?” she whispered.
“Stay the fuck away from her, Hellion!” Diezel was ready to blow a fuse.
Holly moved, stepping up to Diezel, her hands balled into fists. “I was almost killed! Where were you, brother? Where were you when one of them raped me on the store counter? Bear was there. And he saved my life tonight. So, no, he’s not staying the fuck away from me. He’s taking me home.”
* * *
I parked the bike in the driveway of Holly’s parent’s house. The front porch light was on, but the rest of the house was dark. She climbed off and folded her arms, staring at the house. “My parents aren’t home. I can’t be alone, Bear. Will you come in with me?”
I kicked the stand down and climbed off, taking her hand. “Lead the way, darlin’.”
Holly left her car, purse and keys at the store, but she pulled out a house key that was hidden under the doormat. I followed her inside as she turned on a light in the living room and sat on the couch while she took a shower. A few minutes later, she came into the living room wearing a pink robe. Her long, blonde hair was still wet, but combed out and drops of water splattered the front of her robe.
She sat down next to me and started to rock back and forth. “I feel dirty. I can’t get him off me, no matter how much soap I use or how hard I scrub my skin.”
She sobbed and cried and I scooped her up, placing her on my lap and held her. “He’s dead. Gone forever. And he’ll never hurt you again.”
“Who were they?”
“It’s club business. I’m Sgt. at Arms for my club, the Hellions MC, and our territory is Petersburg. Those were members of the Cutthroats MC and we’re at war with them. We respect your brother’s club. Mace is my cousin, and he’s your brother’s Sgt. at Arms. Now the Cutthroats are moving up here to Richmond and are aiming to take out your brother’s club. And the first place they hit is what matters to him most—you. Even this is more than you should know.”
“But you saved me,” she whispered.
“Sometimes I get these vibes. Some are good, some are bad. The Hellions and Berzerkers had an officer meet tonight. But that’s when I got a bad vibe and it brought me to you. I split off from Cain and Rex and made my way to the store. And I’m sorry. I should have been there sooner. Before that Cutthroat hurt you.”
“How do you know my name?”
“Cain, my Prez, told me.”
Holly looked up. “Thank you, Bear.”
I grazed my thumb along her bottom lip and leaned down to kiss her.
I smelled leather and my eyes fluttered open. My cheek rested on Bear’s chest and my arm was draped over his waist. His huge arm was wrapped around me. We had fallen asleep on the couch together, my body nestled up against his.
His body shifted as he groaned and stretched. “I haven’t slept like that in a long time.”
Bear had those sleepy eyes, which made him look more like a teddy bear than a grizzly, sending warm flutters in my stomach.
I sat up and realized the front of my robe was open. Bear was wide awake now, staring at my bared breasts. I gasped, fumbling with the front of my robe to close it, and felt a warm blush creeping up from my chest to my cheeks. He smirked but didn’t say anything and stood from the couch.
He shrugged his shoulders to straighten out his rags. “I gotta go. Stay home, Holly. And don’t go near the store for a few days.”
I climbed off the couch and pressed my cheek on his chest, already missing his warmth. “When will I see you again?”
“Soon. I get those vibes from you, Holly. We’re connected now.”
I watched out the window as Bear swung a leg over his bike and rode away. Everything that happened the night before came tumbling back into my mind. I felt so alone in the house and I missed my parents even more. I sat back down on the couch, touching the cushion and could still feel the warmth from our bodies. Burying my face in my hands, I began to cry but then heard the thundering sound of another motorcycle.
I jumped as Duncan stormed into the house, bashing the front door against the wall.
His eyes were full of anger. “Was that Hellion here all fucking night with you?”
“Yes! He slept right here on this fucking couch with me!” I barked back, standing from the couch.
Duncan grabbed me by the arms. “Stay home and don’t go to the store until I tell you. I don’t want you getting mixed up in this club life. It’s bad. Girls like you don’t last. They either get knocked up, hooked on drugs, pimped out, raped, or end up fucking dead. That Hellion is an outlaw. Like me. And the shit that’s going down with these Cutthroats can blow back on you, on Mom and Pops.”
I pulled away from him and snapped, “Well it’s a bit too late now, don’t you think? I was raped right there on the store counter! I know Bear is an outlaw and a bad man, but he’s only been kind and gentle to me. We have a connection that I can’t explain.”
“You and him can’t happen—not while I’m around!”
“Fuck you! Bear was there, and he saved me last night and he protected me. And after what happened to me last night, I need him. I don’t need you. Bear is mine for as long as I say he is, big brother.”
Duncan clenched his jaw, and I jumped when he punched the wall, busting a hole right through it. He turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.
Waking up to Holly’s soft little body next to mine was something I could get used to. And when she sat up and I got an eyeful of her nice, perky tits, my hard dick strained against my jeans.
All I could think about was doing dirty things to her sexy mouth and curvy body as I rode away from her house that morning. But after what happened to her the night before, she wouldn’t want a man like me touching her the way I wanted to. She was pure and clean, not like the club whores I knew.
I twisted the throttle and hauled ass back to the clubhouse to meet back up with Cain and Rex. They’d been up all night with Mace and a Berzerker prospect cleaning up the mess of the two dead Cutthroats at the store.
When I sat at the table, I rolled a joint, lit it, and passed it to Cain. He took a long hit and snorted a few times, exhaling the sweet smoke. “You did a good thing last night killing those filthy Cutthroats and saving Diezel’s sister.”
I shrugged. “I enjoyed it; ready to do it again.”
Rex chuckled as Cain passed the joint to him. “It took Mace and his VP to settle Diezel down though. He wanted you dead when he saw his sister on the back of your bike last night.”
“This can cause big problems for our club’s plan to patch over to the Berzerkers. If you get close to Holly, Diezel won’t let that fly. It just can’t happen, brother. Are you good with that?” Cain asked.
Patching over with the Berzerkers would help strengthen our numbers and gain the higher hand in ruling over Petersburg, destroying the Cutthroats and taking over all they had. I couldn’t explain it to anyone, not ev
en to Holly, but we were connected. I would kill and die for my club, and I would kill and die for her too.
“Yeah, Prez. I’m good.”
“Good. We’re waiting on Diezel to get back to us in three days.”
I left the clubhouse and rode home to a single wide on the third block in a shithole trailer park. I took a long shower and jerked off, remembering the nice soft feel of Holly’s body next to mine. I dried off and wrapped a towel around my waist when I heard the sound of someone banging on the front door. I pulled out my revolver from my rags and moved aside the window to see Holly standing there, one hand on her hip.
I lowered the gun and opened the door. Her eyes went wide as I pulled her inside, slamming the door closed. “Who fucking told you where I lived?” I snapped at her.
She stepped back, as her mouth hung open. “My friend Crystal gave me a lift back to the store to get my purse and my car. Mace was there, and he told me.”
I snapped my fingers. “Just like that, huh? Mace wouldn’t do that.”
Her hands came to her hips. “I asked him nicely.”
“Oh, I’m sure you did.” I turned, putting the gun back in the side pocket of my rags hanging from the kitchen chair. “And it was a dumb idea. Why are you here?”
She folded her arms in front of her. “I just needed to see you.”
There was no way I could deny the pull she had on me. I stepped to her, lifted her chin and saw the tears. “Holly, this is dangerous.”
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “I know.” She planted a soft kiss on my mouth.
My dick jumped and hardened underneath the towel. I groaned as I reached down, scooping her up into my arms. My tongue slid in between her lips as I carried her down the narrow hallway to my bedroom.
I needed to possess Holly and make her mine. I couldn’t take it slow the first time as I laid her down on my bed. I pulled the towel off, tossing it on the floor, and my dick stood painfully hard. She looked up at me with those pretty blue eyes, and she pulled her shirt off over her head and unhooked her bra, tossing it away. Then off came her jeans and panties. I climbed on the bed, nestling right between her soft supple thighs.
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