by Harley Wylde
“We have Adalia,” Hot Shot said.
“She’s not a patched member,” Steel pointed out. “She’s Badger’s ol’ lady and has a property patch.”
Demon pointed at him. “Exactly! All in favor of Mei becoming Dingo’s ol’ lady?”
It took my brain a moment to process his words but before I could catch up, every hand around the table was in the air except Steel who seemed to be waiting for me to react. My mouth opened and shut a few times, but I didn’t know if I wanted to scream hell yes or tell them they’d all lost their fucking minds. Keep Mei? Sounded like an awesome idea, in theory, but what if she didn’t want to be kept?
“Mei has had enough choices taken from her already. Do you think it’s wise to take yet another one from her?” I asked.
Griz grinned. “And that’s why you’d be perfect for her. Congratulations, Dingo. You have an ol’ lady. We’ll have a property cut made as quick as possible.”
Jesus. They were all fucking insane. Every last one of them. And maybe I was too because the thought of Mei being mine made my chest swell with pride, and I had to fight hard not to smile like a damn fool. I only hoped she took the news well.
“As for Beau,” Griz said, “if your Mei was trying to protect him, then she likely wants him to stay. But, Beau, you’re on probation effective immediately. Right now, I’m not convinced you’re Devil’s Fury material. I’m sorely disappointed in you.”
Beau hung his head, and I knew that Griz’s words had caused him nearly as much pain as seeing what Mei had suffered. Well, maybe not, but having the Pres disappointed in him definitely wouldn’t be easy. Beau had been his favorite of the Prospects. Judging the faces around the table, we were all angered over what had happened to Mei and Beau’s part in it all.
“Best head home and give your woman the good news,” Slash said.
I stood and noticed everyone else remained seated. My gaze held Slash’s and he arched a brow, then tipped his chin toward the door. All right. Got it. Dismissed. I didn’t know what they planned to discuss without me, but if I needed to know, someone would eventually tell me. I had a feeling they were going to rake Beau over the coals a bit more, or figure out the best way to handle Mei when she ventured out of my house.
Demon stood. “Wait.”
I paused but didn’t turn around, even though I could see him in my peripheral vision.
“I’m sorry about earlier, with Mei. I never would have let her go through with it. Just wanted to make sure you knew that,” Demon said. “We wanted to see how far Beau would let things go before he spoke up, but you didn’t give him a chance. Before any of us could call a halt to it, you swooped in and snatched her.”
I glared at him. “That’s all well and good, Demon, but she didn’t know you were testing him. Mei thought she was here to be the club’s whore, passed around to whoever whenever without a say in the matter. Do you want to know what happened when I took her to Dr. Larkin?”
Demon’s lips thinned, but he remained silent.
“She stripped down to nothing, crawled onto the bed, and spread her legs. Just waiting to be used yet again.” I clenched my hands into fists. “That’s what your little test accomplished. So no offense, but fuck you. Fuck every last one of you that was part of that shit.”
Before they could stop me, I slammed the doors open and left. I’d brought the truck back when I’d come to the clubhouse, and while I might need it again for Mei, I took my bike home. I’d love to feel her pressed against my back as I rode down the highway, but I didn’t know if she was quite ready for that.
Hell. I didn’t have the first damn clue how to explain to her that she was now mine. I didn’t think she’d been around any clubs before, and probably didn’t understand how things worked around here. She was about to get a crash course, but I wouldn’t make her share my bed. Just because she’d be wearing my name, it didn’t mean that she was ready for everything that went with it. I’d give her time to adjust; it was the least I could do.
At the house, I shut off the engine to my bike and pocketed my keys. I went inside and found Mei stretched out on the couch watching a movie. She gave me a smile, one that quickly dropped off her face. She bolted upright, her body tense and her posture rigid.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” she asked. “Are they making me leave?”
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and I could tell she was seconds from bolting. I didn’t know what expression I wore that had her panicked, but I needed to calm her down quick. Except it might be the calm before the storm once she heard my news.
“No, you don’t have to leave.” In fact, she couldn’t leave. Not without someone retrieving her.
“Then why do you look so angry?”
I cracked my neck and sighed. “I’m not angry, just… something happened and I don’t know how to explain it to you.”
Her gaze scanned me, stopping on my hands. “You hit someone?”
Well, that definitely wasn’t how I wanted to start the conversation. I still didn’t know how she felt about the Prospect. If there were feelings there, this could get messy fast. Not only would she be pissed I’d hit him, but she’d be even angrier when she heard that she was now tied to me forever.
“Beau has a busted lip, and probably a half dozen or more bruises, but he’s upright, breathing, and still able to talk.” I crossed the room and sank into my favorite chair, then tipped my head back, staring up at the ceiling. No screaming. That was a good sign. Maybe. “He knows what happened, Mei. They all do. And so do I.”
“You? But I told you…”
She trailed off as I looked over at her, letting her see exactly what I meant. Those sounds would haunt me for an eternity. The moment it clicked into place for her, her expression shuttered. Whatever light had been in her eyes was gone. The Mei I’d seen during Dr. Larkin’s exam looked ready to make a reappearance, and that was the last thing I wanted.
“Oh.” She gave a humorless laugh. “So you know everything, then. All the sordid details. The disgusting things they did to me, made me do.”
The silence between us stretched until I couldn’t stand it another moment. I’d never been good with words, especially when it came to women. What I wanted to say would either piss her off, make her cry, or if I was really fucking lucky, then she’d understand where I was coming from. But it was my experience that women never did what I expected or wanted.
“Do you have any idea how difficult it was not to kill Beau for leaving you to that fate? Or how hard it was for me not to ride through the gates and track down every man who ever laid a hand on you? I want to kill them all, make them bleed, to beg for their lives, and watch as the light fades from their eyes. I want to completely and utterly destroy every single one of them.” I held out my hand to her and she stood on shaky legs, then I tugged her down onto my lap. “You have to be the strongest, bravest woman I’ve ever met. I don’t know how you’re still alive, but I’m so fucking glad you’re here with me, Mei.”
“You… You aren’t disgusted?”
I chewed the inside of my lip, measuring my words carefully. “With you? No. I’m disgusted at the men who did that to you. But never with you, sweetheart. Not ever. To me, you’re a beautiful angel. No, a phoenix. You’re all fiery, and resilient. Even the strongest have a weakness, though, and I need to know what words are triggers for you. Pretty girl is out, obviously.” She flinched again when I said that name. “What else?”
She took a deep breath and seemed to think it over. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to decide which names bothered her most, or if she wasn’t sure she wanted to share that with me yet. She’d already opened up more than I’d thought she would, even if she had kept a shit ton of stuff from me.
“China doll. China girl. Sweet thing.” She ran her fingers up and down the neck of my cut. “Those are the only names they ever called me that weren’t… nasty.”
“Then I’ll make sure I don’t ever use them.” I reached up and gripped her hair, turni
ng her face toward mine. “Because you’re going to be here with me for a long, long time. Need to make sure I don’t fuck up and call you the wrong thing.”
She licked her lips, her eyes growing darker. “Wh-what does that mean? A long time?” she asked, her pulse fluttering in her throat.
“It means you’re mine, Mei. The club decided that effective immediately, you’re my ol’ lady. Since I don’t think you know much about clubs, what it boils down to is you wearing a cut like mine but yours will say Property of Dingo and everyone will know you’re mine and only mine. It also means I’m responsible for your words and actions when you’re around the club. Anything you say or do will reflect on me.” I studied her, looking for any sign that she might bolt. “It means you’ll never be with another man other than me because I’ll fucking kill anyone who dares to touch you.”
“Oh.” She practically sighed the word. “That… actually sounds rather nice.”
My lips kicked up on the corner. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “I’ve always wanted to be someone’s, to be protected and cared for. It’s part of what brought me here last night. Even when I’d thought I’d have to be available to anyone here, I’d hoped that it would mean I no longer had to strip or answer to Trotter in any other way.”
“That all you want? Protection?”
“No,” she said softly. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed of someone loving me. I know you don’t, and that’s okay, but maybe one day you’ll come to care for me. That will still be far more than I’ve ever had. I think Beau cared in his own way, but we were kids who were stuck in hell. It’s not nearly the same.”
I tugged her closer. “One more thing. I don’t want to hear about Beau anytime soon. I still want to beat the shit out of him. Understood?”
“Yes, Dingo.”
I traced her nose with mine. “Call me Jameson when it’s just us. Dingo is my club name, but you’re mine which gives you certain rights.”
“Like what?”
“The right to be respected by every member of this club, and anyone else who enters our gates. The right to use my given name.” My gaze locked on hers. “The right to ask me for anything you need. It’s my honor and privilege to take care of you, Mei. In all ways.”
She whimpered right before I crushed my lips to hers. I wouldn’t take things too far. Not yet. But I needed her to know that I wanted her, desired her, and that when the time was right, I was going to claim every inch of her.
Chapter Five
Meiling
Dingo had kissed me breathless, making me burn for him, and then he’d set me aside. I was still reeling from that kiss and wished that he’d kept going. I didn’t know if he was waiting on me to say it was okay, or if it was something else. There hadn’t been time for me to ask before his phone was ringing and he’d rushed out the door again, yelling over his shoulder that he had to take care of club business. Whatever that meant. It wasn’t like I expected him to entertain me, but I had to wonder if he would forever be running out the door.
Since I didn’t know when he’d be back, or if anyone would drop in unexpectedly, I changed into a pair of the jeans he’d bought for me and a pale green top. They were plain, but they were also the best clothes I’d owned since I was a kid. If all he ever bought me were things like this, I’d be in heaven. In fact, I’d gladly wear long sleeves, turtlenecks, and pants year-round if it meant men wouldn’t look at me the way they always had. I wanted to be invisible.
I padded barefoot into the kitchen, remembering that he’d said I could help myself to anything here. I wasn’t starving anymore, but my stomach was rumbling a little. There was a package of ground beef in the fridge, some shredded cheese, a tomato, and some peppers. I decided to brown the meat, tossing in tomato chunks and peppers. I found an onion in the pantry that I added to it, and used what little seasonings he seemed to own. I’d never been that great of a cook -- well, not any sort of cook except in my imagination -- but I’d picked up a few things here and there, mostly watching cooking shows and then making my own creations in my head that I’d hoped to try one day.
The pantry was decently stocked and I grabbed some tortilla chips, then covered them in the meat mixture, and topped it all with shredded cheese. Not the best version of nachos in the world, but they looked pretty amazing -- for my first time cooking, at any rate. I poured a glass of sweet tea and carried everything into the living room. I’d discovered that Dingo didn’t have cable, but he had a few subscription services and I’d been binge-watching sappy movies on Netflix during the first time he’d been gone. During the three hours since he’d left again. I picked another one and munched on my snack while I waited for Dingo to return.
If I’d had a phone, then I might have been tempted to Google the club and see what popped up. I really didn’t know anything about them, other than the little bit the girls at the Ruby Slipper had mentioned. I’d heard the name Demon mentioned before, but hadn’t realized he was part of the Devil’s Fury until I’d arrived here earlier. I could see why they giggled and talked about how handsome he was, but to me, Dingo was the best-looking of the lot. Then again, he’d been the only one who was nice to me, and kindness was far better than looks.
I’d never been kissed by a man with a beard before, if you could even consider what I’d experienced before as kissing. More like them smashing their mouths against mine as they took what they wanted, and that’s if they even bothered at all. I’d never had a true kiss until Dingo, and it was everything I’d ever dreamed it would be. Part of me wanted to experience everything else with him too, but I also worried that I’d either disappoint him, or everything beyond kissing would be just as painful as it had always been. I’d never even been able to make myself come, not that I’d cared much to try more than once or twice, and even then it had merely been curiosity.
The nachos were only half-eaten when I decided I couldn’t handle another bite. I set them aside and curled back up to finish the movie. Every few minutes, I found myself watching the door, hoping Dingo would return. Not knowing what he was doing, it made me worry that it could be something dangerous. While I did worry about his safety, I was also concerned about my own. If something happened to Dingo, what would the club do with me? Was I only safe as long as I was with him?
There was a knock at the front door and before I could get up to answer it, the door swung open. Beau stepped into the house, his eye blackened, his lip swollen and split, and the way he walked told me he had plenty of other injuries. I also knew that Dingo would be furious to find him here with me. My heart started to race, but I was locked in place, too scared to move. I didn’t think Beau would hurt me, at least the boy I’d known wouldn’t have, but this man was a different story. He’d been beaten because of me. Was he here to get revenge?
“Jesus, Mei. Don’t look at me like I’m some sort of monster,” he mumbled.
“S-sorry.” I curled into a tight ball in the corner of the couch, my gaze darting to the door before focusing on him again. He stood between me and the hall to my room, and blocked the front door too. “I told him not to tell you.”
“I needed to know,” he said. “And I deserved what he did to me. I only saw a few minutes. It was more than enough to tell me how badly I’d fucked up. Did… did that happen often?”
“I don’t even know what you saw,” I said.
“There were three men,” he said.
I gave a jerky nod. “Often enough. That was one of their favorite scenarios to film. It made them the most money.”
“How old…” He looked away, and I could tell this was hard on him.
“That particular… type… was filmed within a week of you leaving. The first time.”
He made a sound like a wounded bear and started pacing. “Fuck! Mei, you were only fourteen when I left. I swear I didn’t know what would happen. I’d thought maybe if I was gone, they would leave you alone, or at least spend enough time trying to find me that you’d get a chance to escape.
I never imagined you’d be stuck there for four years or what they’d put you through.”
“I never blamed you,” I said. “If I could have run away, I would have. I always hoped you’d found a safe place and were happy. It never occurred to me that you were still in town, or had joined the Devil’s Fury.”
“I’m only a Prospect, and after I abandoned you like that, I’m now on probation.”
I glanced at the door again. “You need to go. If Dingo finds you here, he’s going to be furious. He told me not to even mention your name.”
He stopped his pacing and faced me. “He told you? That the club gave you to him?”
I blinked and then stared. They’d given me to him? What exactly did that mean? He’d said that I was his, that I’d have to wear something that said I was his property, and he’d said the club made me his… ol’ lady? But he’d never mentioned anything about his club giving me to him. How, exactly, could they do that if I didn’t belong to any of them? Unless they’d outright bought me from Trotter. The thought sent chills down my spine.
“Gave me to him?” I asked.
“He did tell you that you belong to him, right?” Beau asked, taking a step back. “I mean, I thought he was coming here to talk to you.”
“He said I was his, but nothing about me being given to him. I don’t understand any of this. I’d thought maybe it meant I was finally safe, that I belonged, but… is this club no different from Trotter? Dingo said that no one was allowed to touch me but him. Did he mean only until he grew tired of me? Am I still a whore but only for one man now?”
Beau groaned and ran a hand down his face. “Fucking hell. What do you know about the Devil’s Fury MC?”
I shrugged a shoulder. Nothing, in all honesty. I’d heard the men were hot and that I might find a protector here, but I’d never paid attention to the rumblings about the club other than that. Until last night, I’d never planned on paying them a visit so there hadn’t been much point in learning anything else.