by Marla Monroe
“What is going on? I’ve never seen it this packed before. I didn’t even know we had this many people living in Settler’s Point,” she all but yelled back.
“I don’t have the vaguest idea. I sure would like to know, though. Better get clocked in before they put you to work without doing it.” Crystal rolled her eyes and pushed her way toward the back of the building.
Mia shoved through the press of bodies until she made it to the kitchen. She had to stop and catch her breath by the time clock before clocking in. Then she pulled on her server’s apron and grabbed a tray. June wasn’t working in the kitchen this time. They had a new guy she hadn’t worked with more than a couple of times. He nodded at her but didn’t say anything as he pulled up a basket of fries to drain.
As soon as she walked back out front, the noise and stench of body odor mixed with cigarette smoke and alcohol accosted her. It was enough to knock her back a step. When she finally caught sight of the bar, relief poured through her. Duke was working. That meant the orders would be fairly smooth coming out. She noted that he had someone helping him, as well. The guy wasn’t much to look at but seemed to know his way around a bar. They must have called him in when the place started to fill up.
Mia worked her side as fast as possible with so many people not only in the way but demanding service. Crystal met up with her at the bar an hour later and pulled her over to yell in her ear.
“Got Sissy, one of the fill-ins, coming in to help us. She’s not used to crowds like this, but any help is better than none. I figured we’d give her the five tables down the middle to start with. If she can handle those, we can add a couple between us.”
“Thank God. I’m tired of people cussing me for being slow. I still haven’t figure out what is going on. Have you?” Mia asked.
“Heard someone talking about some kind of show tomorrow, but don’t know where or what kind. Maybe that’s what it’s all about. Most of the people here are strangers to me. I bet the hotels are jam-packed,” she said.
“No kidding.” Mia grabbed her tray as soon as the new guy plopped two more bottles of beer on it.
The rest of the night went by fast but showed no signs of slowing down at ten. They were open till midnight, but with the size of the crowd still in full swing, Mia doubted they would shut down before one or two in the morning. God, Saturday night was going to kill her for sure. Hell, the tips she was getting still weren’t enough to warrant the suffering she’d feel when she got up the next day. And then she’d have to do it all over again.
I really need to look for an office job.
Only they were few and far between in a small place like Settler’s Point. She’d been lucky to land the waitress spot as it was. There were three part-time girls who begged for hours in hopes that one of the regulars would either quit or need a vacation.
At a quarter till three, Mia hung her apron up on the peg by the exit in the back and clocked out. The other waitress had left at one, with Crystal only about fifteen minutes ahead of Mia. She’d waved the other woman down so she could get to bed as soon as possible. She had a birthday party to get ready for later that morning.
“Last one out, Mia?” Duke asked, sticking his head through the kitchen door.
“Yep. On my way out now,” she told him.
“Let Hoss walk you to your car. He’s leaving now, too,” Duke said.
She hadn’t been introduced to the other man but figured if he was working there he had to be safe enough. With Teddy pissed at her over the broken finger, Mia hadn’t relished the thought of walking to her car alone.
“Ready?” a gruff voice behind her caused her to jump.
“Y–yes. I didn’t hear you walk up.”
He didn’t say anything, just opened the door and waited for her to walk out. He followed her over to her car but stayed well away from her as she climbed inside. He watched her for a few seconds before strolling over to the bike he’d parked next to Duke’s pickup. He wasn’t wearing a jacket when he walked out, but when she saw him pull out of the lot, he was wearing a leather one with something on the back. She wondered if he was with The Howling Death MC. She’d never seen him with them before, but he could be new. She had no idea if Terror and Rage had brought anyone else with them when they’d moved into the area.
She couldn’t explain the odd sensation that caused her to shiver as she backed out of her spot, but Mia didn’t ignore her instincts. Something was wrong. She didn’t know if it had something to do with Hoss, the new bartender, or just something in the air, but she couldn’t get the feeling to go away as she drove home.
When she pulled into her parking spot in front of the apartment building, Teddy’s car pulled up right next to her. Mia’s heart pounded as she quickly got out and hurried toward the stairs, almost running up them to get to her apartment.
She’d just thrown all the locks and fastened the chain on the door when someone knocked on it. She nearly fell over backward at the sudden sound. The only person she could think of that would be outside her door at this time of the morning was Teddy, and she had no intentions of letting him inside.
“Go away, Teddy. I told you to leave me alone. I mean it,” she called out.
“This isn’t Teddy. Let us in, Mia.”
She froze. Who was that? She peeked out the window next to the door and felt her eyes widen at the sight of Terror and Rage standing there waiting on her. What could they want? Why would they be here this late—er, early?
“What do you want? I was just about to go to bed,” she called back.
“Open up, Mia. You have no idea what kind of danger you might be in.”
Chapter Eight
Danger? Why would she be in danger? They were the only ones she might need to worry about, and she wasn’t talking about just her attraction to them either. Still, Mia fumbled with the locks until she finally managed to get the door open. Rage pushed through the door as soon as she cracked it open with Terror on his heels.
“Hey! I didn’t invite you in,” she said, sticking her hands on her hips.
“We don’t need to be seen standing outside your door. I don’t want you connected to us any more than you already are,” Rage said.
“What’s going on? Why do you think I’m in danger?” she asked, sliding her hands into her pockets.
“Do you have any idea who the guy was that walked outside with you tonight?” Terror demanded.
“Um, yeah, Hoss something. He’s one of the bartenders there. Why?” Mia had a sick feeling she already knew the answer to that one.
“He’s a fucking Viper, Mia. They have no morals whatsoever. They’ve been known to kill kids to teach people a lesson about doing what they say. Do you understand?” Terror asked.
“W–why is he here? I thought The Howling Death controlled this area,” she managed to get out.
“We do, but there’s a war coming, and they’re trying to scope us out. Right now, he’s the first one we’ve actually seen, but there are more around. You need to stay far away from him and any strangers you see in town. You can’t trust any of them to follow any type of rules. Laws are just challenges to them.” Rage had grasped her upper arms in his huge hands, but he wasn’t hurting her at all. He and Terror were always gentle when they touched her. It belied everything she knew about the breed of men standing in front of her.
“There’s a good possibility that they’re the ones who killed the man that assaulted you the other night. Putting the blame on us would distract us and open a wider door into the area for them to slip through,” Terror told her.
“I can’t avoid Hoss if he’s working one of my shifts. I can stay away outside of work, but that’s about it. I have to work, guys.” She felt the shakes begin in her legs and knew it wouldn’t be long before they took over her body as fear gripped her.
“Stay out of his way and don’t let him walk you to your car anymore. He’s dangerous and just biding his time until something happens. Depending on when that is, you might be a hostag
e for him,” Rage warned her.
“Okay. I’ll make sure I’m never alone with him.” She could do that easily enough. If she needed to, she’d tell Duke why she didn’t want to walk out with the guy. He’d understand in a heartbeat.
“Why were you running up the stairs when you got here?” Terror suddenly asked.
“You didn’t see him drive up next to me?” she asked, surprised they hadn’t already said something.
“See who? We were at the end around the corner talking with someone when you drove up. Was someone bothering you?” Rage asked. He’d let go of her arms but ran his hands up and down them now in a soothing motion.
“Never mind. It’s nothing I can’t handle.” She started to walk over to the door, figuring they needed to leave, but Terror grabbed her arm and stopped her before she made two steps.
“No, tell us who it was. It doesn’t matter if you can handle it yourself. You don’t have to. We’ll take care of it.”
“You can’t. You need to stay far away from him,” she said, shaking her head.
“Who is it, Mia? Don’t keep this from us,” Rage told her. He closed in so that she was sandwiched between the two of them. It wasn’t unpleasant at all. In fact, her body approved wholeheartedly.
“He’s a deputy sheriff. You don’t need to piss him off and get the law on your back. They’re already trying to blame you for the man that was murdered Saturday night.”
“They aren’t looking that hard. The sheriff seemed satisfied with our whereabouts. Who is it, Mia? You’re playing with fire, little one.” Rage’s voice had dropped an octave so that each word thrummed some part low in her belly that felt really good—too good.
There was no denying him what he wanted. Both men affected her just as strongly as a stiff drink did when she was already tired. The part that scared her the most, though, was the fact that she didn’t want to deny him anything. She wanted both of them hot and wild in her bed, but that wasn’t going to happen. She was a scarred-up cripple and about as desirable as a porcupine with skunk breath.
Mia wilted between them. They were out of her league, and as starved as she was for kindness and a little attention, she couldn’t hold out against them. If they’d wanted to bed her, she’d have gone willingly, even knowing it wouldn’t mean a damn thing to them.
“Teddy. Deputy Teddy Gowen. Are you satisfied now?” she asked wearily.
Terror turned her slightly toward him. He cupped her chin and stared deep into her eyes, his sharp blue ones turbulent as she struggled to focus on them.
“Has he hurt you before, Mia? Don’t lie to us. Tell us the truth. Has he ever hurt you?” he asked.
“Yes, but only once. He hasn’t tried again. I don’t give him the chance. I underestimated him that time, but I won’t do it again.” She was scared of how quiet and absolutely still both men had gone.
“We’re going to have a talk with him. He won’t bother you again,” Rage said, turning her to face him now. “If he does, you call us. I’m serious, Mia.”
“Where’s your cell phone?” Terror asked.
She was so confused. Why were they getting involved with her problems? Why did they both look furious at the thought that Teddy had hurt her? She had to stop and run Terror’s question back through her mind again to understand what he’d asked.
“I—I don’t have one. Duke or Scoot, the manager, either comes by or calls the lady next door if they need me to come in early or on my day off.”
Rage cursed behind her. She stiffened, unsure why that mattered to them. Then Rage growled and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against his chest.
“Don’t cringe like that. Neither of us would ever hurt you, Mia. I’m just frustrated that you don’t have the basic necessities to keep you safe, like good locks and a phone for emergencies,” Rage told her.
She pulled herself from his embrace and stepped away from both of them. Folding her arms across her chest, she fought the urge to scream.
“I do the best I can. It’s not my fault I can’t afford a damn phone. I have locks on my door that work just fine. Don’t walk in here and proceed to lecture me about how I live.” She was sure smoke poured out of her ears she was so angry.
To her disbelief, both men smiled at her and slowly advanced with arousal evident in their darkened eyes. Terror even licked his lips. They were plump, kissable lips, too. She backed up until they had her pinned against the short bar that divided her kitchenette from the front living space.
“We’re not lecturing you, baby. We’re concerned about your safety. No accusation there at all,” Rage fairly purred as he pressed his body next to hers so that she could easily feel the hard planes and indentions of his muscular chest, as well as the thick outline of a very impressive cock against her belly.
Her panties were soaking wet in an instant, and all the breath left her body as she zeroed in on the rod that he rubbed provocatively over her abdomen. Staring up into his dark blue eyes took Mia to another galaxy where nothing existed but the three of them. Terror’s wet tongue painted a damp path from her neck where her shoulder began, all the way up to her jawline.
Damn! I’m going to freaking come just from their touch. They haven’t even played with my breasts or pussy yet. What are they doing to me?
Mia tried to draw in enough breath to ask them that question, but Rage lowered his head and nipped her chin before licking from one corner of her mouth to the other. She opened her mouth in a soft O and he struck, slipping his tongue inside to conquer her with sinful caresses and stabbing attacks that left her clinging to both he and his brother as her legs gave out from under her.
Terror growled as she held on to his shoulder. He nipped her earlobe then sucked on it until she nearly whimpered. Rage pulled back from the heady kiss and lifted her to the bar. His brother immediately started pulling her blouse off, and she wasn’t doing a damn thing to stop them. Where had her bravado gone? Only moments earlier she had been spitting mad and ready to take scalps. Now she was all but humping their legs.
When cool air hit her breasts, Mia realized they’d managed to remove her bra without her even realizing it. Her beaded nipples felt tight and itchy as she squirmed on the counter top. As if choreographed, both men leaned in and claimed a breast each. Relief poured through her as they assuaged the ache of her nipples, nipping and sucking on them until a new pang began in her pussy.
Mia fisted her hands in their hair, pulling the ties out that kept it out of their eyes. She raked their scalps with her nails then tangled her hands all over again in the thick, luxurious feel of silky strands. They squeezed her needy flesh as they crammed as much of her tits as they could manage into their mouths before pulling back and starting all over again.
“Yes! Oh, God, that feels so good,” she said with tears in her voice.
Both men captured a nipple between their teeth and tugged on it until the lightest tendrils of pain had her writhing between them.
“God, yes! More. Bite me, please,” she begged.
Was that her voice? It sounded breathy and hoarse, as if she’d been screaming. Had she screamed? She couldn’t remember it if she had. They were ruining her. She’d never be able to get them out of her head now that she’d had a taste of them.
They took her for her word and bit the sensitive teats then licked all around the teeth marks before sucking on the overly aroused peaks again. Then Rage buried his face against her cleavage before biting a mound of flesh while Terror sucked her nipple tight against the roof of his mouth and drew back, stretching her breast out until she felt the burning in her clit. She wanted to rub on it, but she had her hands so tangled up in their hair she wasn’t sure she’d ever get them out again.
Pressure built even as she tried to squeeze her legs against the burning need that was fast driving her crazy. She’d never come just from someone playing with her breasts before, but damn if it didn’t feel as if she was about to do just that.
“Terror! Rage! So good. Oh, fuck. I’m comin
g,” she screamed in a hoarse voice.
Her body vibrated as her cunt squeezed almost convulsively, looking for something to hold onto, but there was nothing there. She could feel her juices soaking through her jeans now and was positive there’d be a wet spot on the counter when she got down.
“Fuck, look at her, T. She’s beautiful. So fucking responsive,” Rage rasped out as she shook violently from the force of her climax.
“I can smell her, Rage. She’s bound to be dripping honey right now.” Terror pulled free of her grasp, leaving a few hairs tangled in her fingers.
He all but shoved his brother to the side as he spread her legs wide and buried his face in her crotch. Her jeans were still in place, and the man was facedown in her lap. Mia would have laughed except she didn’t have enough breath to.
“Get her fucking jeans off,” Rage snarled.
“I’m trying.” Terror had backed up and was tearing at the button and pulling at the zipper all at the same time.
“Move out of the way. I’ll get it,” Rage said.
Terror growled but moved enough that his brother was able to finish unzipping them. Terror lifted her up so that Rage could pull them down her legs.
“Shoes!” she managed to get out just before Rage helplessly tangled them inside out around her shoes.
The shoes didn’t last long before he had them tossed over his shoulder to land somewhere near the door. Then her jeans were gone, as well. Thinking that they would calm down now that the dreaded pants were history, she yelped when Terror suddenly grasped her panties and jerked them free of her hips in one hard tug. To her complete shock, he buried his face in them and groaned.
Rage jerked them out of his hands and did the same thing before both men dove for her pussy at the same time. Mia should have been afraid of getting hurt but wasn’t. She knew deep down they would never cause her pain. Rage managed to get the upper hand, gently spreading her pussy lips apart and inhaling as Terror returned to her breasts, sucking and nipping his way from one nipple to the other.