Dillon: A Fake Marriage Shifter Romance (The Johnson Clan Book 4)

by Terra Wolf

  He collapsed on top of me, his body covering mine, his cock still inside me. Both our breathing was ragged and harsh, and then I felt him gently push aside a portion of my hair. His lips grazed my burning ears and he nipped my earlobe playfully.

  “Good morning,” he said and I smiled, buried under him on his bed. I couldn’t believe how happy and satisfied I was feeling, how everything just felt right. I didn’t care how little I knew about this man, all I cared about was what he was capable of making me feel. And he was capable of making me feel good…and safe.

  “I wish I could stay, but you should,” I heard him say and I felt my heart sinking. “Tell your friend where you are so she doesn’t worry.”

  “Already taken care of,” I countered trying to hide the disappointment in my voice. He was going to leave. He moved from over me and then slid off the bed. I turned and moved up against the headboard, watching him as he began to dress himself. There was nothing more delicious than that chiseled body of his.

  “Spend the day here and go straight to the bar when it’s your shift,” he said and I bit down on my lip, stifling a smile.

  This felt normal for some reason.

  Chapter 16

  Daredevil

  Ace, Jordan and I stood outside the abandoned warehouse.

  “This place looks like shit,” Jordan said.

  Ace was standing next to me, clutching the cross around his neck and I could sense that he was reciting a silent prayer in his head. It had become a habit of his, and I said nothing. None of us, except Jordan said anything. He had his religion, just like we all had our weaknesses. Was Melody becoming one of mine?

  “This is a recon mission, remember that,” I said to the others as we prepared ourselves to go in. The first order of business was to figure out what the hell kind of operation they were running. Waging a war against the Claws would come next.

  I checked the gun that was tucked into my belt, and then we entered the place.

  It was smoky, a lot like The Pussycats, and this was because of how much tobacco these guys were smoking. Unlike the strip club though, there was no music here, just a loud chatter of voices and cheers around us.

  Most of the guys belonged to the Claws, while there were some from other MCs and the rest of the guys were just regular patrons; those addicted to placing bets on a good fight.

  The warehouse was just that, an abandoned warehouse, with electrical wiring exposed and dim bulbs hanging low from the high ceiling. Ace, Jordan and I weaved through the crowd of men drinking and casually throwing punches at each other. We were headed towards the center of the place, where a giant cage had been set up.

  We heard the ding of a bell, a fight was just starting. We could see two young cubs, circling each other in the ring. The one was limping, his front paw clearly injured. They were poised to start a fight. One of them wouldn’t stand a chance, and it was clearly going to be the larger one with darker fur. He had dark eyes. He’d won before.

  “Gonna go find the bookie,” Jordan said beside us, and I was about to stop him when three men, with tattoos creeping around their necks approached us. I recognized them as Claws immediately, and we stopped in our tracks.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” one of them said, a burnt down joint dangling from the side of his mouth.

  “Just here to get a slice of the cake, man,” Jordan said, in his usual cheery voice.

  “Got the message?” I asked, when they came to a stop in front of us.

  “What message?” one of them said, the one with a slick trimmed mustache and a shiny head.

  They knew exactly what we were talking about. When we remained silent, Jordan still grinning at them, another one stepped towards Ace.

  “You’re telling us that you came all this way to make sure we got your love letter?” he said, glaring into Ace’s eyes who was glaring back, without a flinch.

  “Is it Valentine’s day?” another one quipped and the three of them laughed.

  “Stay off our territory,” I interrupted their laughter, and they stalked towards me now. Wolves, they always moved together. Damn pack mentality.

  “What did you say?” one of them barked and Jordan stepped in between us. Who asked him to? If there were going to be punches thrown, I was in. I’d tasted blood the previous night and I hadn’t had my fill.

  “Hey hey hey! Can’t we all just talk this out?” Jordan said and Ace and I closed in on the guys, just like they were trying to do to us. The six of us were gathered together in a huddle.

  “Talk about what? Did you bring us chocolates and perfume too?” the joker of their gang said and they laughed again. Ace and I exchanged looks. I could see it in his eyes. He’d had enough. He was pumped for a fight as well.

  “Stay off our territory or there is going to be war,” I repeated myself and their laughter stopped.

  “You come into our casa and threaten us?” the mustache guy said, narrowing his eyes at me and I clenched my jaw. As much as I would have liked to sock the guy in the face, it was still just the three of us against a warehouse full of Claws members.

  Another ding sounded behind us. The fight was about to start.

  “You’re running guns on our territory,” Ace said.

  “You beat up one of our guys”

  “Because you’re running guns on our territory. You’re shaking down our businesses. Stay away!” I was losing my patience and I charged threateningly towards the mustache guy who charged towards me as well.

  “Hey hey hey! We’re just talking remember?” Jordan cut in again. I held back. Jordan was right. One of us or all of us was going to get killed if we picked a fight with these guys here.

  “We don’t give a rat’s ass what you do on your territory,” I said. “Just don’t do it on ours,” and added.

  The guys looked at each other and then one of them nodded.

  “Message received and it will be conveyed,” he said, referring to the president of their club and I stepped back.

  “And if you don’t get the message…” I heard Ace say and then we all saw him reach for his gun. The three of them reached for theirs and I pushed myself into Ace.

  “Back off brother. We’re outnumbered,” I hissed at him through gritted teeth. He was still eyeballing the three of them behind me. “Ace. That’s an order. Back down,” I growled and he finally took his hand off his gun.

  I turned to the three weasels.

  “Enjoy the fight, gentlemen,” I said, sarcastically, but they didn’t seem to catch on.

  “Top o’ the morning to you!” Jordan said cheerily, in a mock-Irish accent and I gripped Ace’s arm and started dragging him outside. Jordan was following us, looking around eagerly. If given the chance, he would have taken the first opportunity to place bets.

  Outside, I released Ace, who jerked his arm away from me and I could see he was breathing hard.

  “Walk it off, brother,” I said, checking my gun again. Ace gritted his teeth and glared at the warehouse.

  “They’re pitting that puny cub against a fucking beast. He’s going to get killed up there!” he growled, running his hand through his hair in frustration. I could see his point, it had made my blood boil as well. What was the point of this fight? Did they just want to stand around and watch a kid getting beaten bloody or killed?

  “We were outnumbered. There was no way we were going to get outta there alive if you pulled on them!” I barked back at him, while he paced around in circles, his gun dangling from his hand.

  “Jesus man, you almost got us killed!” Jordan spat at him, eyeing the warehouse like he was still expecting some of them to come charging out.

  “Fuck off!” Ace thundered at Jordan, taking us both by surprise, because Ace was usually the calm one.

  “One of them. Some of them. I’ll rip their throats out!” Ace growled and I realized what was going on. Seeing those street kids being pitted against each other inside the cage had triggered memories. He was one of those kids not long ago, before D
ad brought him into the MC.

  “Not right now. Not when it’s just the three of us. This was a recon mission, brother,” I said to Ace, holding his gaze strongly till he gave up and looked away, running a hand through his hair.

  “You need to let loose. That’s what you need,” I said, leading the way towards our bikes again. Ace was following reluctantly but I knew that we needed to get out of this place quickly before he did something foolish.

  “Is that your answer to every question, Daredevil?” he said with a frustrated laugh. I revved up the engine, while Jordan and he jumped on their bikes.

  “Yeah, you’re right. I need to let the lion out,” Ace said and we rode our bikes, back to the bar.

  I wasn’t sure anymore, how this night might have turned out if I hadn’t met Melody. I might have reached for my gun the same way Ace had. One of us would have gotten killed and the other two would have returned to The Shifter Shack to raise a toast to our fallen brother. But not tonight. Tonight, I wanted to see Melody again.

  Chapter 17

  Melody

  Nina had stopped by the bar earlier to drop off my books, so now that the place was quiet, I had a chance to catch up on studying. Big D was behind the counter, and after I was done cleaning the glasses and wiping down the tables, I sat down on a bar stool with my books.

  The place was practically empty and I had nothing else to do, but I could hardly concentrate, my mind kept drifting to Daredevil. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing and where he was. I flipped through the pages, trying to absorb the words and I was hoping that most of the information would stick.

  The doors of the bar banged open, and when I turned; I saw Daredevil walk in, followed by the two guys he usually hung around with. They were referred to as Jordan and Ace, but I had no idea what their real names were.

  Our eyes met across the bar, as the three of them walked towards the counter. It was an unspoken pact between us, we were going to act like we didn’t know each other outside of this place.

  “What’s all this?” Jordan had walked over to me, and was peering into the pages of my books. Big D had already started pouring them their usual drinks as they took up their chairs near me. Daredevil was avoiding my eyes now, even though I wanted nothing more than for him to look at me.

  “Looks like a load of gibberish to me,” Jordan pulled one of the books to himself and started flipping through the pages. I smiled at him and tried to get the book back from him, but he kept tilting it out of my reach and laughing.

  “Knock it off Jordan!” Daredevil growled from his corner of the counter, while Big D placed a glass of beer in front of him. Ace was smiling indulgently as well.

  “You’ll have to take it from me if you want it back,” Jordan laughed, dangling the book in front of me. I made another dive for it and missed, stumbling off the stool now and he reached for my waist, pushing me up roughly against his chest.

  I wasn’t sure anymore, if this was just some casual flirting…if this was how shifters casually flirted; or there was more to it. If Jordan was making a move on me, in front of Daredevil…I had a feeling that things were not going to go down lightly. I struggled against him, keeping a weak smile on my face while he held on to me tightly. I didn’t want to make a scene or urge Daredevil on.

  “That’s more like it. How badly do you want your book back?” he said, biting down on his lip as he looked me over. I tried to wriggle out of his arms, but he didn’t let me go, enjoying my struggle.

  “Jordan, leave her alone,” Daredevil said, but Jordan wasn’t about to give in so easily. I reached for the book again as a last shot, and I had to lean towards him. He tipped the book out of reach and thrust his face forward. I avoided his lips just in time. Before I felt arms entwining around my waist. Daredevil was yanking me out of Jordan’s grip. He plonked me on the floor roughly and squared his shoulders at Jordan.

  “I said knock it off!” he growled, in a deeper more threatening voice and I caught Jordan looking a little confused.

  “Just havin’ a bit of fun, brother. Calm down!” Jordan barked at him, but Daredevil kept glaring at him.

  “What’s gotten into the two of you tonight?” he said while I stood back and watched the two men face to face, glaring at each other.

  “The rule is that you’re not supposed to touch the employees. So keep your hands in your pants,” Daredevil said, in a low deep voice and Jordan clenched his jaw at him and then slid out of his reach.

  Daredevil turned to me, and I saw the anger in his eyes. He held my gaze for a few moments, before he flipped around and walked around behind the counter and went into the back storage room.

  I pulled the discarded book closer to me and sat back down on the stool. My cheeks, the back of my neck…were all burning up. I could still feel his steely grip on my waist when he had yanked me away from Jordan.

  I poured my head over the book, trying to avoid meeting anyone’s eyes as I sat there, trying to study again. Screw studying. I wanted to see Daredevil again. I could sense that he was tensed and angry about something. I had never felt this special. This protected. Like he would have done anything to keep every man away from me.

  While I tried to read, I could sense someone’s eyes on me. When I looked over, I saw Ace staring at me, a bottle of beer pressed to his lips. He was quietly studying me. I could see suspicion in his eyes…and also something else, a knowing look. I could see that he was going to figure out what was happening between Daredevil and me.

  “Hi,” I said sweetly and tucked some strands of hair behind my ears. Ace said nothing, just kept sipping from his bottle of beer and looking at me.

  I went back to reading my book and hoping that we weren’t exposed. I had no idea what would happen if Daredevil’s pride found out that we were sleeping together.

  That I was living in his apartment.

  Chapter 18

  Melody

  “Where are you going?” I heard his voice when I was leaving the bar that night. I flipped around to him and saw him standing with his hands thrust into the pockets of his leather jacket. His blue eyes were deep and glimmering in the dim streetlight.

  “Back to my friend’s apartment,” I said, meeting his gaze.

  “I’ll take you,” he said, bouncing his bike keys up in the air and then grabbing them in time before they fell to the ground. Without a word, I followed him to his Harley and he helped me up again. This time, I didn’t hesitate before I wound my arms around his waist and I held on tightly, breathing in his scent as he accelerated.

  The wind lashed against my face, ruffling my hair as he rode. Half way through the ride, I realized that I hadn’t given him Nina’s address, so I had no idea where he was taking me. When he stopped, I realized that we were on a dark and deserted country road.

  Daredevil got off the bike and then helped me down.

  “Where are we?”

  “Does it matter?”

  We looked at each other silently for a few moments, before he stared up at the clear night sky. It was dotted with tiny shining stars. The air was clean, less polluted and clear out here and I leaned against the bike to stare up. When I looked back down, he was looking at me again.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you earlier. Just needed to put Jordan in place before things got out of hand,” he said, in a voice so soft that I didn’t even recognize him.

  “No, thank you. I’m usually able to handle these situations…I was just dazed from studying,” I replied and I saw that he was watching me again. We had spoken so little before. Other than his name, I knew nothing else about him. That and that he had the bluest eyes I had ever seen…and those dimples!

  “What are you studying?” he asked, pushing his hands into his jacket pockets again. We were standing close together, and it was so quiet around us that we could hear the crickets chirping in the grass. This was peaceful…and beautiful…and I had just never thought that a place like this would appeal to a man like him.

  “I’m studyin
g for an entrance exam into a Vet Tech course. I lost some good college years and I’m trying to make up for it,” I said, my eyes drooping with embarrassment.

  “Vet Tech,” he said lazily, in a drowsy voice, and looked around him. “So you’re going to be working with animals?” he asked.

  “If I get in, then yes…eventually. I would have liked to become a Vet, like actually study the science…but I don’t have the time or the skills. I just want to start doing the work I like, as quickly as possible,” I said and for the first time, it felt like someone was actually listening to me. Daredevil nodded his head quietly and his gaze dropped to my breasts, to my body.

  “I think you’ll be good at it. You’ll be good at caring for animals, hell you can handle our zoo. Any Vet would be lucky to have you as their assistant,” he said and I felt a thrill run down my spine. He knew so little about me, but he had already formed his judgements and I couldn’t understand why he was seeing the best in me.

  “Why did you lose out on your college years?” he asked next and I looked about me nervously. I didn’t want to bring the topic up, but I also wanted to be completely honest with him.

  “I was too caught up in my previous relationship. I met him soon after high school and he was older than me, and didn’t want me to work. He wanted to be the one who brought home the bacon,” I said and Daredevil took a step in my direction. Immediately I thought this was the wrong decision. I shouldn’t have brought up Maxwell at all, I should have made up some other excuse.

  He was close to me now, peering straight into my eyes as he stared at me. I could see the rage on his face again, and then it washed away.

  “I’m going to make sure that guy never lays a finger on you again,” he said, catching my gaze. My heart was pounding against my chest.

  “Why?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. Daredevil’s brows crossed, his blue eyes deepened. He seemed startled by my question. Now that it was out there, there was no point backing out of it.