Loaded

by KB Winters

  When I reached semi-calm, I squared my shoulders and looked at the front door with all the determination I could muster. The GPS said this was Hardtail Ranch so it must be it.

  “You lost, sugar?”

  I turned at the sound of a honeyed southern voice, ready to wave off her concern, but the woman was…beautiful. Thick red hair fell in soft waves over bare shoulders that led to a killer body wrapped in a tight hot pink dress. Big tits, a small waist, and a smile that would have every dick in Texas hard for the next twelve hours, I wanted to hate her on sight. But there was a kindness in her eyes, and I needed that more than I needed to envy what the Good Lord gave her.

  “I don’t think so. I’m, uh, looking for someone.”

  She gave me a long, studious look and snort-laughed. “Aren’t we all?” Another tinkling laugh fell from her red lips and she stuck out her hand.

  “I’m Bea, but when I’m at the club I am Be-at,” she said in an over the top French accent. “It sounds more exotic than Beatrice, don’tcha think?”

  My lips twitched in amusement, but I nodded because it did sound exotic and beautiful. “Be-at is a very beautiful name. Fitting too.”

  She flashed a pleased grin and wrapped both of her arms around mine as she guided me to the door. “Come on in. I’ll show you around, honey.”

  “Show me around?” What club was she talking about? “I don’t know if this is where he lives,” I said.

  “If he belongs at the Hardtail Ranch, you’ll find him here at the club. What’s your name?”

  I froze at the question, but there was no reason to. This woman didn’t know me, and I doubt she knew the people I was running from, probably not even the man I was running to, so I shook off my concerns and gave her an easy answer. “I’m Hen.”

  Beat pulled back and looked at me in disbelief. “That name is far too cute for someone as gorgeous as you. Luckily the men will eat up the whole innocent virgin thing you’ve got going on.” She pulled me through the first thick door before I could respond, stopping to bat her eyelashes at a baby-faced blond who wore a too-serious expression.

  “She’s my guest tonight, Ford. Hen, meet Ford.”

  I flashed a friendly smile, which he returned before his gaze slid back to the bank of screens that separated us. “Enjoy your evening ladies and stay safe.”

  “Always,” she assured him and clasped our hands together before we entered another thick door. It must have been made from some heavy duty shit because as soon as it opened, a wall of heat and sound hit me, much louder than it appeared from the outside.

  “Stay close to me, unless you see something you like, of course.”

  I did as Beat said, keeping my hand clasped in hers while she pulled me through a chaos of bodies. My senses were on overload between the loud, pounding bass of the music, the laughter, and the low hum of conversation all around me, not to mention the obvious sounds of sexual pleasure I found impossible to ignore. Finally, we stopped at a long wooden bar that looked like it belonged in one of the classy Wall Street hotels in New York or the fancy places frequented by Hollywood agents.

  Not a sex club, which, it became move obvious by the second, was what this place was. A fucking sex club! Not that I was judging, I wasn’t, but it was just my dumb luck that in escaping trouble I ended up in yet another place I didn’t belong.

  “I found a newbie,” Beat told the woman behind the bar with the dark eyes and see-through black lace top. “This is Hen.”

  The woman flashed a friendly smile that wasn’t at all lecherous. “I’m Hazel. If you need anything find me or ask for me.” Her handshake was firm and capable and instantly put me at ease.

  “Thanks, Hazel. I will.” I hoped I wouldn’t need anything but maybe, if this was the right spot, she knew Cruz. My gaze landed on the man now standing beside Hazel with the haunted green eyes. He was handsome but his features were too dark, too white to be the man I was searching for.

  “What’ll it be?” Her dark gaze bounced from Beat to me and back again.

  “I’m celebrating closing on another million-dollar ranch, so pop a bottle for me, Hazel, would ya?”

  With an amused smile she got to work fulfilling the order and I took advantage of being temporarily forgotten. I looked around the room in search of a familiar head of dirty blond hair. There were plenty of heads that matched that description but they were kissing necks, sucking on titties or being blown by men and women alike in various dark corners.

  He wasn’t here.

  “Come on, let’s finish the tour,” Beat said, pushing a glass of champagne into one of my hands and grabbing the other. “This is the main room and plenty of action goes down in here, but back there is a smaller bar and a smaller room. In case you’re feeling shy.”

  The smaller room wasn’t smaller by much, and there was even more nudity and more sex. A threesome was happening in a cage hanging from the ceiling, the lovers seemingly oblivious to the audience watching them. “Are you shy, Beat?”

  She laughed. “Not at all. I work hard to keep my body looking this good, and I love sex. All kinds of it, and I’m not afraid to ask for what I want.” She pointed to a winding staircase. “Down here is where the real fun happens. Tons of different rooms catering to all kinks. You into girls, try the sleepover room. I like to start in there, get my pussy good and wet before the boys come calling.”

  Her smile was genuine and I envied her openness.

  “You can try the romance room if you’re looking to make love, the different BDSM rooms, harem room, rough sex…whatever you like.

  While Beat spoke so casually of what was taking place in each room, I looked on in a kind of horrified awe. No, not horrified, but shocked. And intrigued. It had been way too long since I had a good hard fuck, the kind that made you come so hard you sprained a toe or threw your back out. Every room was a constant reminder of my distinct lack of orgasms recently, and worse, the reason behind that lack of orgasms.

  “Wow,” was all I could say.

  “More than you were expecting?” Her melodious laughter sounded in the hall but it wasn’t at my expense. “I felt the same when this place first opened up, but here’s my one and only tip. If you see something that makes your clit throb or your nipples harden, give it a try.”

  “I’ll, uhm, try to remember that.”

  I didn’t want to reward Beat’s kindness by telling her that I had no plans to get naked—or fucked—while I was here.

  “No problem, honey.” She laid an understanding hand on my shoulder and smiled. “If you need me, I’ll be riding the face of some woman eager for a taste of some juicy cunt. Because this bad girl is hot right now! I hope you find the someone you’re looking for.” And with those words, Beat walked off towards the purple and red sleepover room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. And the impossible-to-ignore sounds of fucking.

  “Thanks,” I muttered unnecessarily because she was long gone by the time I found my voice. I wandered the length of the dimly lit hall, peeking inside for what I imagined Cruz would look like today. I hadn’t seen him since the summer before my twelfth birthday. He didn’t appear and that uneasy feeling returned.

  I kept looking until I got to the end of the hall and wandered inside a large BDSM room, complete with leather, lace and velvet furnishings. A woman was strapped to some type of post while a man lashed her body with a leather flogger. She moaned her pleasure as each strap touched her skin. The man stood a few feet away with his cock jutting out towards her, long and thick and leaking. When I gasped, they both looked up.

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “Don’t be,” she purred breathlessly. “Watch us if you like. We don’t mind.”

  Even though I was intrigued by the look of satisfaction on her face and the way her nipples stuck out in pleasure, I shook my head and backed out of the room and right into a big, hard wall of a man.

  “Shit,” I said and backed away from the wall of heat. I was looking up into a pair of smiling brown eyes. “Sorry
.”

  “No worries, sweetheart.” He was good looking with long, brown hair, a thick beard, and laughing brown eyes. And maybe I’d be interested if my life wasn’t turning into a Lifetime movie that had somehow ended with me alone in a sex club.

  “What’s the hurry?” he growled softly.

  He looked friendly enough, but I wouldn’t fall for that shit again so I took a step back.

  “No hurry, but,” I couldn’t find my words and I tried to put more and more distance between us, but the universe hated me and put a foot of uneven carpet in my path just to fuck with me.

  “Whoa, honey, settle down.” He reached out and grabbed me around the waist to stop me from falling. I realized that too late and let out a terrified scream when his big hands wrapped around me and pulled me close to him.

  “No! Stop! Get. Off. Me!” My words only made him hold me tighter, and I freaked out even more.

  “A little help here,” he grunted and bent over to stop my legs from landing on anything of value.

  “Let me go!” I squeezed my eyes shut and kicked my legs even more frantically to save myself from this beast. Maybe they’d caught up to me already. Or maybe I ran from one piece of bad luck and straight into another. “Stop! No!”

  “Calm down.” This time the voice was softer and distinctly female, as were the hands that settled on my face. “Hey. Stop. Calm down.” Her voice was firm and my eyes snapped open. “Hen.”

  “Hazel. What’s going on?” She looked to the bearded man for answers, and I felt my body stiffen.

  “Fuck if I know. I smiled, and she freaked out like I was trying to attack her when I was only trying to help.” He was a big man but looking at him now, I could see he wasn’t a threat.

  “He’s right. I’m sorry, it’s just…hell I’m not comfortable here.”

  “It’s all right,” Hazel assured me. “This is Slayer. He works here. Sometimes. He looks scary as hell, and he’s a big ol’ flirt, otherwise he’s harmless.” She guided me to a locked room that looked to be some kind of employee lounge with two round tables, a fridge in one corner beside a counter filled with a coffee pot and toaster oven.

  “It’s obvious you don’t belong in a place like this Hen, so what are you doing here?”

  Wasn’t that the defining statement of my life, that I didn’t belong? My shoulders sank and I lifted them in a distracted shrug. “I came here looking for someone,” I admitted and Slayer snorted and shook his head. “Someone I know,” I clarified, sending a pissed off glare at his handsome beast. “I, uhm, haven’t seen him in a while but I was told he lived…here, but I guess my GPS fucked up.” Why I was annoyed or surprised was anyone’s guess when this was pretty much how my life was going lately.

  Straight into the shitter.

  “Who are you looking for, Hen?”

  “His name is Cruz.”

  Based on the way they both froze; it was clear they knew him, too. The look that passed between them said they weren’t gonna tell me shit.

  “Give us a minute,” Hazel said and I nodded, watching them leave the room.

  Outside their voices started in a whisper that was almost loud enough to make out the words, but they grew softer and softer until they disappeared altogether. Whatever was going on, they didn’t want me to find Cruz, or maybe he didn’t want to be found.

  That thought sucked all the remaining energy from my body, and I knew it was time to go. I wasn’t ready to give up, not yet. What I needed was a good night’s sleep and a hot meal. Then I would try to find Cruz again.

  I had to.

  My life, and others, depended on it.

  Chapter Two

  Cruz

  “Uncle Slayer is a dickhead, ain’t he?” Looking down into the adorable face of Gunnar and Peaches’ baby boy, Stone, always made me smile. The little fucker was cute as hell, if a little weird looking. He had his mama’s light brown skin and coppery curls and his daddy’s big blue eyes.

  “I make it work, little man and I know you will too.”

  Stone looked up at me, my words finally stopping the flow of tears that I didn’t think would ever end. Big wet eyes stared up at me like he understood my words, but I knew that was bullshit. The kid wasn’t old enough for all that. At least I didn’t think he was.

  “I know you like to have Uncle Cruz babysit, but Slayer was supposed to relieve me of duty hours ago,” I said to the little shit. The asshole hadn’t shown up, probably still knee deep in last night’s conquest. Not that I minded watching the kid. I didn’t at all, but kids were a lot of damn work, and I needed my beauty rest.

  Stone started to get fussy again, and I stood with the little bundle in my arms and walked the length of the kitchen, doing my best to stay out of Martha’s way.

  “Let the baby cry,” Martha insisted. “Crying is good for the soul. Sometimes you just have to get it all out until you start to feel better. Isn’t that right, little man?” The older woman stood close and cooed to Stone, distracting him from a big cry that had would have made every adult within hearing distance deaf. “You’re fine, baby boy. Handsome, too.”

  His blue eyes stared at Martha the same way they’d looked at me earlier, like we were both an alien species he needed to figure out.

  “He’s cute as hell, but that doesn’t tell us where the fuck Slayer is.”

  “Watch your mouth in front of the baby, Cruz,” she admonished and smacked my arm.

  “He’s a man. He gets it. Don’t ya little buddy?” Martha flashed me a look that said I was seconds away from cold coffee and no breakfast.

  “Sorry,” I offered and earned a smile for my efforts.

  “You know what your problem is, Cruz?”

  “I’m too young for you to take advantage of?” A wiggle of my brows, and she rolled her eyes.

  “You’re too handsome for your own good. No one has ever said no to you, and that’s good for no man.”

  Martha flashed a look that said the conversation was over, pressed a kiss to Stone’s forehead, and made her way back to the stove.

  “No one is too good looking, little man. Remember that.” I winked and held out my finger for him to wrap his little hand around, and yeah, I admit it. I melted like a bowl of warm butter. Kids were just too fucking cute. Especially babies. “Any of that coffee ready yet?”

  Before Martha could answer, the back door flew open with way more force than was necessary. Ford appeared with a wide, boyish grin on his face. “Morning, Miss Martha.”

  She turned with a smile. “Good morning, Ford. How are you today?”

  “Better, now that I smell your buttermilk biscuits in the oven, ma’am.” I rolled my eyes at the way she blushed like a schoolgirl.

  “Coffee is fresh if you’re interested. Cruz needs a cup too if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all.” Ford carried his big body across the kitchen, his heavy boots the only sound to cover up Martha’s off-key humming.

  “Thanks,” I told him when he set the mug on the table in front of me. “Didn’t you work last night?”

  “Yeah, and I’m here to see you, actually.”

  I blinked at his words and looked at his expression carefully. As a prospect, Ford wasn’t a patched Reckless Bastard, not yet, but he took his role as prospect seriously. “What’s up? Do we need Gunnar for this?”

  Ford shook his head and blew out a breath before he took a long ass sip of steaming coffee. “Nope, this is about you.”

  Now he had my attention. “What about me?”

  “A woman came to the club last night. She was looking for you.” The kid had more to say, so I nodded and waited him out.

  “She stood outside the club for a few minutes looking kind of confused, but not like the normal shit we’ve been dealing with around here. She kept looking down and then up like she had an address that didn’t quite match up.”

  There wasn’t any reason for a woman other than my mama to be tracking me down, and I talked to her a few days ago. I always wrapped my dick bef
ore a fuck so I wasn’t expecting any surprise baby visits either.

  “What else?”

  “She came inside with one of our regulars, Beat,” he said with a roll of his eyes. Beat was gorgeous and freaky as hell, and she didn’t discriminate. Not to mention, she had Ford and his baby face in her sights.

  “Anyway, she freaked out on Slayer downstairs and told him and Hazel she was looking for you. When they left her alone, she booked it the fuck outta there.”

  “She leave a name?”

  “Not that I got, but you can ask Hazel or Slayer.” He shrugged. “Except for official membership info, everyone gives fake names anyway.”

  I nodded again because that much was true. I’d run into more Brandis and Candees at The Barn Door than I had at all the strip clubs I visited on leave from the Army.

  “She give any clue what she might want with me?”

  “No, but if you want, you can take a look at the security footage, see if her face rings any bells for ya.”

  Ford finished off his coffee and stood, smiling at Stone who was now fast asleep in my arms.

  “If you need anything else, I’ll be sleeping until it’s time to go back to work.”

  I smiled, thinking of how much work the kid put into the Reckless Bastards and The Barn Door.

  “Don’t forget to take a little dick time for yourself. If you don’t use it, you’re gonna lose it. That’s what I hear, anyway.”

  “Maybe you’ve been using it a bit too much,” Martha grumbled from her spot in front of the stove. Ford laugh as he pushed his way out the back door.

  “Very funny, Martha.”

  “I thought so. Get that baby in his crib before your loud voice wakes him up.”

  Another quick look down at Stone’s sleeping face made me smile. Then it made my stomach clench. What if this mystery woman was trying to find me to tell me that a night, or even a weekend of pleasure, had resulted in me being a daddy?

  “Shit.” That idea didn’t sit right with me. I wasn’t ready to settle down and raise kids yet, especially not with all the shit that had been thrown at the MC lately.