“I feel like a ride with my woman. You okay with that?”
Giddy excitement bubbled up in me. I hadn’t spent nearly enough time on the back of his bike. He handed me a helmet that I buckled on before I slid in behind him. The motor revved and the vibration ran through me. I clutched his middle, leaning in to him as he sped out of the club parking lot. We drove down asphalt-covered two-lane roads through the countryside heading west.
The weaker fall sun beat down on my back as wind cut against each side of me. Trees changing to yellow passed by in a blur as Jericho kicked up the speed. Faster was better, it blew off the tension of the day. Shirley was a nut job who probably fucked Renegade, so she was a lost cause, but the other old ladies there were on the side of the club, but that didn’t mean their old men were.
Jericho wasn’t a politician, for all he was like the Old Man in some ways, he didn’t ooze the charm like his father. If anything, Isaac could use some more charm and less of the fuck-you attitude. But even if he had it in him, I doubted he’d make the change. No, something told me he wasn’t prepared to win favor among his brothers.
I had no idea how long we’d been gone but when we entered a small town, Jericho slowed and parked by a diner. I swung off the bike and undid my strap to the helmet, stretching out the kinks in my muscles.
“What time is it?” I’d left without my phone since I had no pockets in my leather pants or cut.
He swiped his phone and looked at me. “Three. We’ve been on the road about three hours. You hungry?”
“I could eat.” I licked my lips and glanced at his crotch.
The rumble of his laughter heated my core. “Maybe dessert, goddess.” He wrapped an arm around me as we walked up to the front door of the local diner. Mama’s Place was written in script on the large plate-glass front.
“You been here before?”
He nodded. “Great food, home cooked. Lots of it.”
“Sounds good.”
He picked a booth to sit at, waiting for me to scoot inside first, but I stripped off my jacket and looked around. “I need a bathroom.”
“The third door down that hall.” He pointed to the back left side.
After I washed up, I returned to the table only to find a young blonde flirting with my biker. That pissed me off, but I reminded myself not to lose control. Jericho saw me coming and smiled wider. He stood, bumping the waitress to the side. “Hey, baby.” He kissed my cheek before I pushed inside. The blonde gave me a blank smile and took our order. She’d best behave or we’d be having words.
“You really have an expressive face when you want to.” He chuckled, sliding his hand up and down my thigh.
“The bitch needs a lesson in manners,” I grumbled. “You should be happy I didn’t slap her.”
“Oh, I am. Your face was mean when you entered the room. And then it went blank, that’s when I started to worry.” He dipped his head to my ear. “She’s not even a quarter the woman you are, goddess.”
That was true, but it was also nice to hear it from him. Jericho usually kept his thoughts and emotions to himself. I couldn’t tell where I stood with him and that bothered me, fed my jealousy.
After finding him with a bitch on his lap, my insecurities ate at me. If I didn’t know it’d be pointless to try and distance myself, I’d go back to Ardmore and forget all about my property patch. However, I already committed in my heart, so I’d just have to make him commit to me.
The waitress brought dinners. She slid a chicken pot pie over to me and a huge plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes in front of Jericho. With one quick glance at me she hurried away. We dug into our dinner.
“When did you know you were bi?” he asked during a break in the meal.
“Always. As a slave you went where a Master told you, I liked both men and women equally well. I’ve not had great luck with men in relationships. Women are easier for me.”
“I know you were with Val a long time, but what about before her?” His words were careful and I wondered what he really wanted to know.
“Once I was a Master, I made the mistake of getting involved with Grayson—he taught me and he was a bastard. When he broke it off, I was devastated. I couldn’t even be in the same club, so I changed houses and rebuilt. I got with another guy there, a sub. That bored me. Then Val, so not a lot, but Grayson liked to fuck with my mind, it took years to undo all the shit he made me believe. So, I’d decided men weren’t for me, then you show up and prove me wrong.”
“Or am I fucking with your head too?” His words were mocking but I don’t think they were mocking me.
“Are you? Who’s been in your past?” A question that I’d wanted answered for weeks, but I was too afraid to ask, but now I’d bared my sordid past, it was his turn.
“None, just subs and sheep. The old man didn’t let me keep things I liked, let alone cared about. So I’ve cared about little.” He tipped back his pop like he wished it was something stronger.
“But you quit practicing the life. Why is that?”
“Too much to do, too little control in my own life to be someone’s Master. I learned that the hard way.” He stretched back and settled his gaze on me. “There was a time I thought being a Master was my calling, but being President—that’s what I’m made for.”
He made no mention of the girl Misty told me about. I opened my mouth and shut it again. My life had been hard, but no one spent years trying to cut out every ounce of emotion from my life. Maybe he deserved his secrets. “Yet you have tight friends. Bear, Dare and you have a solid bond.”
“Would you fuck with either of them?” He cocked his eyebrow.
I knew Bear and suspected Dare was an equally devious bastard. In L.A., Bear’s temper had hit legendary levels, no one wanted that unleashed on them. “Good point. Bear still has legends in the porn circles in L.A.”
He snorted. “And here. The Old Man pushed him too far once when Bear was still a prospect. Bear beat a man almost to death and threw him at the Old Man’s feet. Challenged him to kick him out.”
“And then you two became fast friends.”
“Yup.” Jericho lost all traces of humor. “Dare was already on board, but Bear made everything a lot easier for me. With those two fuckers at my side, the Old Man played fewer games with me.”
“He couldn’t have been that bad.” My next words dried up as his face twisted into a rage-filled mask.
“Not that bad? When I was eight years old, the fucker killed my dog while I watched. He gave me every dangerous job there was. Every scar on my body came from him. And then—” Breathing ragged, he bit off the words. His fists flexed and eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, coldness had replaced. “Then I got smart, found allies and now he’s gone. Ren will follow soon.”
The naked rage I’d witnessed chilled and excited me at the same time. He was a brutal man with more scars inside him than I saw on his body. And I wanted to fuck him now. I skimmed fingers over his groin, cupping the hard-on already there. He kept eating but his hand rested atop mine.
“I’m so hungry for dessert.”
He barked out a laugh. “Fuck that sounds good. But you’ll have to wait.”
“I hate waiting.” I forked up more of the delicious chicken pot pie and wished for dessert.
A few minutes later, the little blonde be-bopped over with a check. “Can I get you some dessert? Anything else?”
I sputtered and laughed. Jericho shot me a smile and turned down her offer for dessert. He glanced at the check, laid down fifty dollars and stood. “Let’s jet. I can’t wait a moment longer.”
“Hey, handsome.” I gave him a smacking kiss. “Let’s jet.”
We rode out of the town and further down Highway C in some remote part of Oklahoma. We passed three little dirt roads before he pulled off on a lane that looked like a
n access road more than a real road.
He ran the bike up the dirt path into a field and kicked down the stand. I followed him off the bike. His helmet was off and in the grass in seconds before his fingers replaced mine. “Want you now.” He dropped my helmet next to his. He scooped me up against him, my legs went around him as he walked away from the bike. I dipped my head to the side, nuzzling the special spot on his neck before I bit it. He growled and hefted me up with a bounce, breaking my hold on the spot. “I’m having dessert.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jericho
The afternoon with Marr settled me. She’d distracted me from the shit with the Brotherhood but now I had to face it. Word had come of a challenge at church. I’d known Marr would be an asset, and she charmed the pants off Dogg and Janie yesterday. The two old kinksters liked everything Marr stood for and that I’d picked someone from Bound as mine.
Janie had pulled her aside before we left and told Marr. The minx had waited until we were home and she’d fucked me again before she told me. I’d wanted to strangle her, but she was probably right, I thought better relaxed. Mama and Marr had done some work with the old ladies while the Council had shored up a few more brothers to come to church, just to be sure we had a big enough crowd in our favor. The roll call would be immediate and it was in Ren’s advantage if church attendance was slim tomorrow. But that wasn’t happening.
Marr and I had the fucker on the ropes and we would end him. I didn’t deserve her, yet I relied on her more every day. I had to stop. She’d be hurt if I kept her close to me. Layla ended up dead because I’d loved her. I needed distance before I fell deeper for Marr because that way lay madness.
I shrugged on my cut and looked at myself in the mirror. Beard trimmed, hair in a tail, I looked like I always did, no signs of the internal fight I waged anywhere in sight. If I started those goofy-ass smiles like Dare and Rock...no I’d never do that shit. Not an option.
A knock sounded on the door. I opened it to Dare.
“You ready, bro?” He held out a hand.
“You know it.” I grabbed his hand and he drew me in for a back-slapping hug.
“We’ll crush this and grind Ren’s bones to dust,” he said into my ear before he let me go.
A smile crossed my face for the first time since Marr told me yesterday.
“Let’s fuck him again.” I walked ahead of him down the hall into an already crowded club room. I saw more brothers here than I had in a month of Sundays. This shit was real.
At eleven, I started the meeting and went through the reports, talking about shares and work. Rebel had brought in three big bond fees so we were sitting flush, more successful than we’d been in months. Shit was good for the brothers.
I opened it for new business. One of Romeo’s boys started the first question. “Why we care what happens to bitches? And why you telling me what I can do with my old lady?”
“Fox, is this about the Council vote—the one that resulted in Lefty getting kicked out of Bound?” Thorn boomed.
He nodded, eyes narrow and stance confrontational.
“First, nothing in the Council’s rule was about your old lady. You beat the shit out of her, that’s her problem.” I crossed my arms, staring the idiot down.
A wave of snickering moved through the crowd.
“But you mark the women who work for us.” I pinned Lefty, Renegade and Wolf, all three stood together. “You lose your right to go there. It’s bad business. The women hurt, none were even biker girls.”
“Your old lady was one of them,” someone called out.
“She wasn’t ever my girl and not my old lady then, we’d just had some fun in her dungeon, just like Ren, but I didn’t try and beat the shit out of her.” He stared up at me rage in his eyes. “Or Misty, or Sherilynn, neither girls are back to work yet.”
Bear stepped up. “I did the math on this one. On average a girl down means a loss to my pocket, a big loss. You fuckers don’t get to damage any property like that. Besides any man who lays hands on a woman should turn in his fucking balls.”
Grumbles spread through the crowd.
“You disagree bring your fists and we can discuss this shit. Otherwise shut the fuck up.” He stared into the crowd and no one spoke. Not many brothers willingly chose to go a round with Bear. He fought to hurt, and he fought dirty.
“Fucking faggot.” Drifted from the crowd.
Bear threw his head back and laughed. “Just remember you’re afraid to face this fucking faggot.” He turned his back to the crowd and resumed his spot next to Dare.
“Well Bear’s settled that one. Anything else?” I waited and thought whoever had lost their fucking nerve when the stupid fuck, Vex, stepped out of the crowd and raised his hand.
Son of a bitch. Adrenaline dumped and my body came alive. The challenge was here. And this one I couldn’t resolve with fists, which only pissed me off more.
“I call for the roll call.” Vex’s voice broke but he got the words out.
“Brother, I see we have problems, you get this goes my way, I will kick your ass out?”
He glanced to the ground and then back up at me. “It goes your way, I go black patch anyway, no way I’m staying with your pussy-ass leadership.”
The little fuck had more balls than I thought. “Fair enough, and where are the twenty who agree, stand next to him and be counted.” Bikers began to separate from the crowd crammed in to the space and move up next to Vex. Lefty, Ren and Wolf, those weren’t a surprise. Several, in fact half of the brothers in line were Romeo’s boys. And that pissed me off. Eighteen, not counting Vex stood there.
“Boy,” I stared at him, “you’re two people short.” I stared across the crowd. No way they’d have gone this far on such a close count. Looks like we may not even make it the final step. Then footsteps echoed behind me and Romeo jumped down, adding his number to the count.
I fucking felt sucker-punched. He’d just sworn allegiance to me not two weeks ago. Rage blew red hot in me. “We’ll have words either way, brother,” I spit out.
He nodded and met my stare. Another of his boys walked forward to make twenty. I’d had a fucking snake on my damn Council. I shot a quick look to Thorn who gave a quick negative and looked away. The bastard had been approached and hadn’t told me. But at least he stood with me.
“Not short anymore.” The little bastard Vex grinned at me.
I showed my teeth but I know it wasn’t a smile and his grin died a quick death. “I require the vote to be written.”
Vex gulped but said nothing. We had one hundred and nine brothers in the room, I’d had Bear count earlier, and we knew we had close to fifty votes in our pocket but I hadn’t expected Romeo, so now shit was real. I might lose my club before I’d had it a year. Bile burned my throat and I clenched my fists, just stopping myself from punching Vex in the smug face.
I glanced to Thorn. “Get the ballot box, hand out the ballots, number each one.”
He strode out of the room. I stared at the crowd and tried to bring my rage under control. I needed to speak to the group but nothing in my head was fit to say. I sucked in a breath and considered. Marr appeared in my head in her Domme outfit. I remembered what she’d told me last night. “Fuck them if they want fucked up shit Ren brings instead of profit. You’re the future. He’s the past.”
“You brothers have a choice. And you need to know the choice you face. You know I didn’t like the way the Old Man did shit, and many of you didn’t either. Now his boy Ren and he disagreed about a lot after they couldn’t decide who best fucked MJ.”
Silence fell. “Since I’ve been here in charge, a brother’s share has increased twenty percent because I no longer let Bound be the personal playground of a couple old timers. The Old Man might’ve been my father, but he was unstable because he loved his nose
candy more than the club.”
A laugh spread through the group.
“Renegade stands for corruption, favors and a knife to your woman—a pussy addict. Hell he’s had half your old ladies. I stand for the future, businesses that make profit, and for Brotherhood.” I stared at Romeo. “I’m the one that gave our military brothers an option that let you have a home. And I’m standing here now, straight-up, no games. You decide the club you want to belong to.”
The rest of the Council moved as one to stand in line beside me. Thorn made it to the twenty lined up in front. He handed out the ballots and walked up on the stage. Bear stepped out and moved to the end of the line so Thorn could stand beside me.
“There are 109 ballots. Vote your conscience.” Thorn stared at Romeo. “I am voting Jericho.”
Romeo glanced away and I kept from showing anything, but inside I was proud. Thorn was a loyal man and this situation pulled him two ways, I’d never be able to express how glad I was that he’d picked us.
Thorn stood in place and collected each vote. Bear, Dare and Rock blocked the three exits, no one was coming in or leaving until this shit was decided.
“Thorn will read the ballots and you will move to the left if you voted against me. Right for those who voted for me. I will see your conscience.” Sure the ballots had names and that should be enough, but not for me today. I was pissed and I would see the men stand up for their beliefs—you didn’t defy me without consequences.
A rumble went through the bikers and some shifting started. Before the ballots were read a few moved to each side, but more stayed in the center unwilling to commit, almost as if they felt like they’d somehow be saved.
I grinned at the ones in the middle. “Don’t worry, I won’t forget how you voted because when this is over, I plan to paper the Council with these ballots so I can remember how loyal you are.” Another salve to my temper but then they were fucking with me on the most basic level. They should be happy I didn’t meet each of the turncoats with my fucking fists—it’s what I most wanted to do.
Deny: A Dark, Erotic Motorcycle Club Romance Page 25