by Debra Kayn
Ink tugged up her tank top to cover her breasts and peered down at her boots. "Can you run in them?" he whispered.
She nodded. Four-inch heels never stopped her before.
He motioned for her to follow him toward the back of the house. She held on to the bottom of his vest, being careful not to make too much noise walking over the gravel. Behind the house, he bent at the waist and tugged her along under the window, out of sight, until they made it to the other side of the house.
"What are we doing?" she whispered.
He held his finger up for her to be quiet and whispered back, "You're going to wait until Kurt's not looking, hurry up the steps, and slip into the house without letting him see you."
"What if he does?" She pursed her lips. "I need to stay in Federal and work. Running the Sterling Building and the Silver Girls is the best job I've had. However, if Kurt catches you, he won't stop at ripping off your patches. He'll kill you."
"We're not going to get caught." He nudged her to go. "I'll cover your back."
Afraid of ruining both their lives, she crept along the side of the house. Her heart raced and the heat of the day beat down on her. She swept the hair off her forehead, inhaled deeply, and peeked around the corner of the house.
Kurt stood in the driveway with Remmy. There was no way she'd be able to sneak past them without one of them spotting her. She pulled her head back and leaned against the wall. Ink wasn't thinking straight. They were both going to get caught.
"Go," he said, loud enough for her to hear.
She stepped away from the wall and walked out from the side of the house with her shoulders back and her chin set for battle. If she had to sacrifice herself for Ink's sake, she would.
"Hey." Ink walked out from the other side of the house, making Kurt and Remmy turn their backs toward Lilly. "Cutter mentioned you might have a spare tire up at the house. I saw a stack by the door behind the garage, but no 130/90 for 16 inch rims."
Kurt and Remmy walked over to Ink and disappeared around the corner of the house. Shocked that she was standing out in the open alone, she let out her breath and hurried up the stairs and into the house.
She came up short at finding Risa sweeping the entryway.
"What are you doing?" Lilly asked.
Risa smiled. "The doctor told me during my appointment this morning that I could do all chores that I normally do as long as I don't exhaust myself. I feel like cleaning."
Lilly blinked, shaking her head. Risa almost seemed happy to be doing physical work. "Oh-kay..."
Risa set the broom in motion and hummed to herself. Lilly hustled up the stairs and into the bathroom. It was official. Every person in the club was crazy, including her. She couldn't put Ink at risk again. They got lucky today.
Chapter Ten
The clank of metal against metal filled the warehouse. Ink installed the front sight and slid the muzzle brake onto the barrel of the AK-47. Hefting the weapon up, he peered down the integrated rail and aligned the rifle.
"Check." He passed the gun to Remmy, who wrapped and set it in the crate.
Sawyer carried over more straw for cushion between the rifles within the packaging. "There must be more to life than making guns."
"Guns mean money, and there's nothing that beats having cash in your pocket." Germ chortled. "Except having my dick in pussy."
"We could use a little excitement." Lee tossed a bag of bolts on the table. "Guns, sex, sleep...it's becoming too routine."
"Missing the action of Los Li?" Cutter snorted. "We could always go cause trouble for the miners and have us some fun."
Remmy grunted. "Leave the miners alone. Natalie and her brother in law, Will, have done well getting the mine back up to standards. I don't need Bantorus causing trouble for her."
"Keep her busy in bed, and Natalie wouldn't even know what the club was doing." Ink grinned, not missing the opportunity to pick at Remmy's married status and lack of sex life with the other girls now that he stayed true to his woman.
Remmy raised his brows. "You must be getting tired of using your hand, because I haven't seen you hanging around the clubhouse with the girls."
Ouch. He'd thought he only had to worry about the girls saying something about his absence since Lilly showed up. Ink laughed, carrying on the friendly rivalry.
"Spreading my wings, brother." He patted his chest. "Federal might be a small town, but there's plenty of girls to go around."
Remmy barked out a laugh. "I'd rather have one wild woman I can't handle at home than all the girls in town willing to kneel at my feet. It's all about keeping one happy. When you finally figure it out, brother, you'll know what you've been missing. Then you'll do whatever it takes to give her everything."
He dipped his chin in respect and conceded to Remmy's theory. His MC brother had the good life, a woman at his back and a position in the club that satisfied him.
He hoped like hell that someday soon, he'd be in the position to have the same thing with Lilly. Once he figured out what he could bring to Lilly's life that would gain Rain's respect, he'd do it. But walking in and claiming Lilly at this point would only cause her to lose her family.
That loss outweighed waiting a little longer to put his stamp on his woman. Someday, he'd be able to offer Lilly more than anyone else could, and Rain would see he wasn't making a mistake in trusting Ink with his daughter. If it took him years to prove he was more than a Bantorus member looking for his place in the world, he'd keep going on doing what he was doing.
He'd saved his money from club earnings since day one. At first, he squirrelled the cash away in case he ever found himself without a home, a club, and facing life on his own. It wasn't long and he realized what he was really doing by saving his wages. He kept the money for Lilly. He wanted to give her the security she'd grown up in when he finally had permission to claim her.
Money meant shit to him, but he'd never want Lilly to doubt or worry about the future.
"I heard the girls talking about the Moroad women." Sawyer leaned against the edge of the table. "They made it sound like everyone is getting along. The bitches are friendly with Moroad's bitches, and Lilly seems set on making Silver Girls bigger and better than any other business in Federal. It all seems weird, man. Like inviting strangers into our home and they're not asking permission to open our refrigerator and grabbing themselves a beer, you know."
"Are you taking up gossiping now?" Remmy glanced at Sawyer. "You sound like a bitch."
"Hey, I'm just saying. The girls seem happy and it's not us putting that smile on their face," Sawyer said.
"Speak for yourself." Cutter spit a stray sunflower seed on the ground. "Alana was smiling last night when I was between her legs. There was a whole lot of oh, God's thrown out."
"What? Did she forget your name?" Remmy laughed. "You're doing it wrong."
Ink's attention wavered from the conversation to the idea that Lilly enjoyed running Silver Girls and having responsibility for the building. It gave her something to focus all her energy on and brought her pleasure. Ink counted out ten magazines and bundled them together. The Moroad MC was another matter, and he didn't trust the president. Cam was all over Lilly, and if she had gone off with him, Ink would end up killing the man.
Stripper turned from the other side of the warehouse and said, "The Moroad girls are hot."
Ink wanted to change the subject to get the guys away from talking about sex. He'd gone four days without, since fucking Lilly upside Kurt's garage. While he was all for a quickie with Lilly, he'd almost blown it when Kurt and Remmy arrived.
"How's Risa doing?" Ink asked.
Sawyer smiled. "Getting huge."
"Don't let her hear you say that," Germ warned.
"Nah." Sawyer hopped up on the table and sat. "It's a good thing. She's nesting—"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Cutter picked up the tools. "She's not a damn bird. She's having a kid."
"Yeah...that's what it's called. A woman cleans, gat
hers baby clothes, and gets a lot of energy. It's a sign that the baby is ready to be born," Sawyer said.
Ink shook his head. Ever since the kid mentioned his mom was a midwife and Kurt ordered Sawyer to oversee Risa's pregnancy, they'd all been educated on the wonderful world of female bodies. Some things he didn't need to know.
"I'm out of here." Ink pushed away from the table. "You ladies are in charge of cleaning up tonight, because I've done it the last three times."
He ducked, narrowly missed being hit with a rubber throttle cover. Laughing, he walked outside. Maybe if he got lucky, Lilly would still be in the club having dinner or hanging out with the Silver Girls.
Loud laughter and squeals greeted him inside the clubhouse. He walked straight to the main room and stopped, taking in the sight before him. There were six girls in different stages of undress, trying on new dance outfits. His gaze went straight to Lilly.
She jumped in place with her hands on her hips. Ink stared at her breasts, straining against the sequined material. On instinct, he stepped forward to put an end to her getting the idea to dance. However, he caught himself, moved back into the doorway, and leaned against the wall, selfish enough he wanted to continue watching her smile.
"Okay." Lilly adjusted the small triangle piece of material over her breast. "I see what you mean about cheap. It wouldn't be a strip show if the material gave way before the dance even got started."
Lilly undid the string at her back and removed the bikini top. "We'll go with the black studded outfits, and I'll send these back and order the silver ones."
Jojo danced around in some skimpy black costume. "The customers will love it. I can't believe how many more men are showing up with each new show."
"My goal is to have the room packed." Lilly moved over to the table and picked up her bra. "And filled tip pouches for each dancer to take home with them every week on top of your wages."
Ink's cock hardened in response. There was not a shy bone in Lilly's body and he had all sorts of ideas on how to use her willingness to please them both.
"We'll be the biggest business in town...except for the mine," Carrie said.
"I hope so." Lilly latched her bra in front and adjusted the cups. "It's always been my dream to grow a business from something small to elaborate, the way my dad did with Cactus Cove. Silver Girls is perfect. Adult entertainment records show they survive recessions and layoffs when other small businesses fail. There is so much we can do at the Sterling Building as long as we take baby steps and okay it with the club."
Ink stared at Lilly. She'd come alive when talking about her dreams. Not that it surprised him that she had the ambition and dedication to see a plan through to completion, but she'd never talked about owning a business in the same league as her dad or wanting to establish herself in Federal as the entrepreneur of an adult business. He admired her for knowing what she wanted. She was raised to be independent and believe she could do whatever she set her heart to, because she had two parents that loved and supported her.
"I think the Moroad girls will like the outfits. They've all got smaller boobs than us, except Lola." Alana pulled on her shorts without bothering to wear panties. "Maybe Katie, too. She's a big girl."
"I think the outfits will fit," Lilly said.
"What's the deal with the president of Moroad?" Carrie gathered her hair and quickly separated the strands into three for a braid. "I saw him checking you out, Lilly. I bet he's got a big cock. A man doesn't come by that strut without something between his legs."
"Uh, I think it's a limp, not a strut." Lilly shook her head. "Besides, I didn't look, because—"
"You're shy?" Carrie asked.
Alana snorted. "She ain't shy, she's got class."
"Oh, stop." Lilly tossed her hair behind her shoulder. "I have other things on my mind...like keeping all of you concentrating on dancing."
Ink clenched his teeth. The last thing he wanted the girls to do was give Lilly more ideas. She shouldn't even be thinking about Cam's cock or the size of it. Hell, he'd thought more about another man's dick since Carrie brought it up than he was happy about.
"Every woman sizes up a man, especially one that's hot, and he's definitely hot in that scary way," Carry said.
"His name's Cam. He recognized me from years ago when he visited my dad in Pitnam." Lilly tugged her tank top over her head, blocking Ink's gaze from her breasts. "He just wanted to invite me to his house to find out what my dad's been up to and talk, I guess."
"Oh, girl. That is definitely hot. No man invites a woman back to his place to talk about her dad. Not when that woman is you, and you look like that," Jojo said, pointing her finger at Lilly.
He'd kiss Jojo, right now, for stating his opinion. Lilly was smart, but she'd been protected her whole life from men who'd take advantage of her...except him.
Lilly waved her hand. "It's not like that."
"It's seriously like that, hon," Monica said, shoving her outfit in a bag. "But, I think you know that or you're hiding what's really going on."
Lilly straightened. "Why would you say that?"
Monica pointed a long, red manicured fingernail at Lilly. "Cause that's a serious love bite on your neck, and since the Bantorus members aren't allowed to suck on you, you got that somewhere. I'm betting you know Cam better than you're letting on."
The room grew silent. Ink tensed, afraid Lilly would speak the truth now that the girls cornered her for answers.
"It's not—"
"Hey, ladies." Ink walked into the room. "Is there anything left over from dinner?"
Lilly flushed and walked toward him. "I'll warm you up a plate."
She ushered him out of the room. He waited until they were in the hallway and glanced down at her. Her cheeks were pink, and she kept adjusting her hair over her shoulder to hide the mark he'd given her.
In the kitchen, he found the privacy he needed. He tagged her wrist, pulling her into his arms. "Give me your mouth, Ace."
She curled against him and raised her lips. He kissed her softly. While he was a jealous son of a bitch, he should've known that in her mind, she was only his, no matter if another man poached on his territory.
She sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist. He pulled back, kissed her again, and relaxed. "You're wearing my mark."
"You're wearing mine." She grinned, squeezing him tight. "I've missed you."
Four days without a single touch from her was too long. He cupped her face, pulled her in for one more kiss, and reluctantly let her go. "Have you eaten?"
"Yeah, a couple of hours ago." She walked over to the fridge and removed items out to the counter. "I'll make a plate of food for you and warm it in the microwave."
He sat down at the table and stretched his arms over his head. She worked fast, and he took the time to chill and watch her twist, bend, and reach for everything she needed. He could imagine coming in at night and having her in the kitchen, talking with him about his day, and all he had to do was sit back and enjoy the way she moved around before taking her up into the bedroom.
"Hard day?"
"Just extra-long and tiring. I worked on the bikes this morning and the militias order this afternoon." He looked toward the door. "The guys should be coming in soon. I left them to clean the mess."
She grinned, glancing up from the plate. "I can be fast."
"I can't." He lowered his arms, not talking about dinner.
Her lower lip came out. His chest tightened. He could have her mouth around his cock and filling up the back of her throat by the time the others walked down the hallway. He hated not having the choice to give her all his attention.
She pushed the buttons on the microwave and walked over to him, leaned down, and kissed him deep. "Okay, that's it. In two minutes, your dinner will be done. I need to go check on Risa. She's been looking at me weird. I think with all the time she has on her hands waiting for the baby, she's starting to imagine what we're all up to and coming up with her own conclusions. She drilled S
awyer earlier about going to the dentist, and gave him a message for Cutter to buy unsalted sunflower seeds because she's on this kick about salt being bad for everyone."
"Hang in there, and hopefully she'll go back to normal after the baby comes." He kissed her back. "Want me to have someone walk you?"
"No." She caressed his jaw. "I'm fine."
He watched her sway her hips as she walked out of the kitchen. The microwave buzzed, and he stood and retrieved his dinner. He sat back down and ate. Unable to taste the Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes, he played back the conversation he overheard between the girls. New ideas popped into his head before he could fully digest what his heart was telling him. For the first time, he believed he had the perfect thing to show Rain how serious he was about Lilly.
Chapter Eleven
Ink stood out on the sidewalk in front of the Sterling Building, slid his sunglasses to his forehead, and tilted back his head. Lilly studied him through the large front window while the Silver Girls practiced their routines behind her. His strange behavior piqued her attention.
For the last ten minutes, Ink had studied the two-story brick building. She cupped her elbows. Every time she tried to connect with him, he hurried past her to another part of the building or disappeared out of sight. The moment she had some free time, she'd find out what was going on.
"Shit," Katie said, interrupting practice. "I'm going to be late."
Lilly glanced at her phone. It was only twelve thirty. Practice went until one o'clock.
"Where are you going?" Lola frowned.
Katie pulled her tank top on over her bikini top and shoved her legs in a pair of nice jeans. "Visiting hour at the pen is at three o'clock. I don't want to be late."
"I don't think Cam or any of your clubs' riders are here yet." Lilly glanced outside at Ink. "I'll ask one of the Bantorus members to escort you."
Katie shook her head. "It's okay. Cam knew what my plans were today, and he's not expecting to pick me up. I drove my car. It's parked at the end of the block."