Army

by Wilder, Chiah

  “Mia,” he rasped as his mouth glided down to her neck. “You’re fuckin’ killing me.” He nipped the tender flesh above the sterling silver hoop earring she wore, then laved the shell of her ear. Clutching his firm biceps, she whimpered. He dropped tiny kisses over her neck, then trailed his lips up her throat to her jaw before nipping her chin. Taking her hand, he placed it on his dick. “See what you do to me, baby? I want you so fuckin’ bad.” His hand grazed the front of her skirt and pressed against the juncture between her legs.

  Her body jerked at his touch as a blazing ball of lust rushed down her spine to her pulsing sex. “Army,” she choked. It felt like the air in her lungs was on fire. He pushed down harder, and she closed her eyes as arousal swept through her.

  He nuzzled her neck. “Are you wet for me, baby?” his soft, husky voice whispered. He pulled her earlobe between his teeth and sucked gently.

  Mia wanted his hand to slip under the skirt, his fingers to push inside her as she rubbed against him … unzipping his pants, touching him …

  I must be out of my damn mind. Mia pulled away then pressed her face in his shoulder.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  She managed to sit up straight and scoot over a bit. “We’re in a public place.”

  Army grinned. “That can be fun, but not for our first time. Do you want anything else?”

  “No, thanks.” As hard as Mia tried, she couldn’t keep from stealing peeks at his impressive hard-on. She licked her lips. “We should go.”

  “I’m down with that.”

  On the drive home, Mia’s mind swirled and twirled like leaves in a windstorm. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Army watching her, probably noticing how white her knuckles were as she gripped the steering wheel, or how rigid her body was. He reached over and slid his hand under her hair at the nape and gently drew circles on her tingling skin.

  I can’t have sex with him. Can I? No. I don’t want a casual hookup. Why not? No-strings-attached can be a great set-up because I’ll have intimacy without commitment. But I don’t want that. What do I want? I don’t fucking know! Over and over her mind battled until she almost screamed at the top of her lungs.

  When Mia turned down her street, she realized that Army didn’t have a car. How could she have been so stupid? She pulled over to the curb and put the gear in Park.

  “What’s up?” Army said, his fingers still caressing the back of her neck.

  “I forgot that you don’t have your car. I don’t know where Taylor lives.”

  Confusion marred his rugged face. “I can deal with getting back in the morning.”

  Swallowing, she pivoted in the seat at the same time he moved his hand away. “I’m sorry, but it’s late and I have another full day at the salon tomorrow.” Chicken.

  Army slammed his fist on the dashboard, and she jumped, her heart thumping. “Fuck this shit,” she heard him mutter under his breath. He opened the car door but seemed to change his mind when he slammed it shut again and glared at her. “Do you want me to leave you alone?”

  Mia’s heart lurched, and she shook her head.

  “What the fuck do you want then, because I’m getting mixed signals.”

  She waited a few seconds before answering because she honestly didn’t know what the hell she wanted from him. “I know that I don’t want to be a casual hookup.”

  He tilted his head back and growled. “I’ve told you I don’t really date, but I’m doing it with you. I don’t know what more you want me to say.”

  “I just think things are moving way too fast.” She held up her hands when he scowled at her. “I admit I’m to blame for that too.”

  “Are you afraid of me?”

  “No. Definitely not. Don’t think that.” Her hand flew to the base of her neck as her eyes widened. “But we only met a couple of weeks ago, and we still have things to learn about each other. I don’t want what we have to only be about sex, and it would never be anything more than that if I slept with you now.”

  “I don’t get what you’re talking about. Do you wanna fuck me or not? The way your body reacts when I’m kissing and holding you tells me you do.”

  “I do, but I just think we should date for a bit. If you’re not into that, I understand. I know you don’t do the whole dating thing.”

  An awkward silence fell between them, and in the glow of the dashboard lights, she could see Army frowning as if wrestling with what she’d said. The possibility of him telling her goodbye was more than strong—it was probable. Even though they hadn’t gone out that long, Mia knew that she’d miss him. She’d never felt such a pull to a man before, and it scared the hell out of her.

  “Okay,” Army said, breaking the silence. “I’ll try it your way, but I’m gotta tell you … I’ve never taken anything slow in my life. I don’t really know what the fuck that means, but I know I like being with you, and I want to keep seeing you.”

  Happiness filled her, and she reached over and grabbed the front of his shirt, tugging him to her. “I want to keep seeing you too,” she breathed before she kissed him. The porch light switched on at the house they were parked in front of, and a man stepped outside. “We better get going. He probably thinks we’re casing the place.” Army chuckled, then told her Taylor’s address.

  When she pulled in front of the gate leading to the courtyard of the apartment complex, she pointed at a black and silver Harley-Davidson. “What a beautiful bike.”

  “You ride?” he asked.

  “No, but I’ve been on the back of a lot of bikes. I love it.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  “That reminds me. At the restaurant when we were talking, you used the word ‘citizens’ for people, and I meant to ask you then if you’re a biker, but we ended up getting sidetracked.”

  “Yeah, I am, and that bike right there is mine.”

  “It’s beautiful. Do you take women for rides? I know a lot of bikers are funny about that unless it’s their old lady.”

  He looked at her. “You know something about the brotherhood, and I don’t take chicks on my bike, but I’ll make an exception and take you for a ride. Are you doing anything on Sunday?”

  “I’m supposed to have lunch with Noe.”

  “That’s too bad.” He clucked his tongue. “We’ll have to make it another time. I’m heading back to Alina that night.”

  She ignored the voice in her head and said, “I can reschedule with Noe. It’s no big deal.”

  “Then, it’s a date.”

  “Are you with an MC or anything?”

  “Yeah—the Night Rebels.”

  Everything blurred around her, and the only thing she could hear was her mumbling voice echoing in her head. “The Night Rebels?”

  “Yeah. Are you okay? … Mia?”

  Army’s voice cut through the thickness and slowly brought her back to the moment. “Huh…? Oh … I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”

  “You seem a little weird. Can you drive home all right?”

  Home. I have to get there. Now. “I’m good. I’ll see you around.”

  “Wait. What about dinner tomorrow night, and not with the gang at that place you get dinner in a bowl or a glass.”

  “I’m guessing Berriegood isn’t one of your favorite restaurants.” She smiled weakly as her heart raced. “I think tomorrow’s good. I don’t know.”

  He chuckled. “You are tired, babe. We can talk about it in the morning.” He pulled her toward him and gave her a deep kiss, then got out of the car. “Drive carefully, and text me when you’re inside the house with the alarm on,” he said before closing the door.

  “Will do.” Then she drove away. Her temples pounded. Her body trembled.

  Army’s Vic’s enemy. Satan’s Pistons hate the Night Rebels. I’ve heard this for years. What the hell am I going to do?

  Tears welled up in her eyes as she headed home.

  Chapter Twelve

  After Steel adjourned church, Army pushed away fr
om the table, walked out of the room, and grabbed his phone. Early that morning, Steel had texted him that he had to get back to Alina. He’d thrown his clothes in his satchel and hit the highway without a second thought. According to what Chains and Hawk had picked up on the grapevine, Satan’s Pistons were low on funds and looking for quick ways to get it. Without cash, there was no drug deal with the 39th Street Gang, and the Pistons needed that deal real bad to keep the club going. There was also talk that the Pistons were planning to put a glitch in the Rebels’ revenue sources—their businesses.

  Steel had called church to discuss the new developments and to go over the action plan for the large party at Lust that night. All members had to be available in case some trouble started at the gentlemen’s club. Lou Blakely—the richest man in the county—was giving a huge bachelor party for one of his best buddies, who was getting married to wife number three. He rented out the club, and the net worth of all the guests would be in excess of a billion dollars. That was a hell of a lot of money to have together, and Steel and Paco wanted to make sure that no one—namely the damn Pistons—got any ideas. Security would be top notch, but they didn’t want to leave their club, dispensary, or other businesses unmanned, so all members had to be present at all Night Rebels’ interests.

  “Are you sticking around for a beer, or going to Lust right away?” Eagle asked.

  Leaning against the hallway wall, Army looked up from his phone. “I’ll be there in a few.” He walked farther down the hall so as not to be disturbed by the members shuffling out of the meeting room.

  “Hello?” Mia said.

  “Hey, how are you?” Army answered.

  “Good, but busy as hell. How’re you?”

  “Okay. I had to go back to Alina.” Army saw Chains approaching so he ducked into one of the storage rooms and locked the door behind him.

  “Are you coming back?”

  “Eventually. Sorry about tonight and the bike ride on Sunday. Another time.”

  “Whatever,” she mumbled. “I’m super busy so I better go. See you around sometime.”

  “Wait. What the hell? I’d much rather be riding my bike with you pressed close behind me, but shit happens.”

  “It does.”

  “My prez called me back for club business. Don’t give me a damn attitude.”

  “It just seems pretty convenient, especially after I told you I wasn’t going to have sex with you last night. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “You’re wrong. I told you I have club business. It has nothing to do with us fucking or not. I wouldn’t have called you if I didn’t give a shit.”

  Army waited for Mia’s response as the whirring noise of a hair dryer filled in the silent gap between them.

  “Does your club business involve a rival club?” Her voice was so low he could barely hear her.

  “I can’t talk about it. Just know I’m not bullshitting you.”

  Another pause, then he heard her exhale slowly. “Let me know when you get back in town.”

  “I’m in a MC and shit comes up sometimes. You have to understand that, if you want us to keep going out.”

  “I get it. I’m in the middle of a highlighting job, so I have to go.”

  “I’ll call you.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  Then she was gone and something deep inside of him pulled hard as he stared at the dark screen. He shoved the phone in the pocket of his jeans and went back into the hallway. Whatever he was feeling, he didn’t want to think about it.

  “How was your time off?” Eagle asked, handing a shot of Jack to Army.

  “Good. Do you think they’ll be problems at Lust tonight?” Army picked up the tumbler.

  “Not sure. The fucking Pistons have been looking for a way to get back at us, and Lust brings in a ton of dough; with all those expensive cars in the lot, I wouldn’t put it past them to try something.”

  “They’d be fuckin’ stupid to do shit in Alina,” Muerto said.

  “That’s one of the problems with the assholes, they’re dumber than dirt,” Crow added.

  “The only way we need to handle them is to annihilate ’em.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  The members looked at Crow with grim expressions on their faces. They knew their brother had a personal vendetta with Satan’s Pistons ever since three of the bastards attacked him and his girlfriend. They raped her and sliced him from his rib cage down past his navel and left him for dead. That was before Crow had moved to Colorado and joined up with the Night Rebels.

  “They play fuckin’ dirty, that’s for sure.” Army patted Crow’s shoulder while the others nodded in agreement.

  “Even so, to come into our town? No one’s that much of a moron.” Muerto picked up the beer bottle the prospect handed him.

  “They won’t come, themselves, they’ll pay someone to do their dirty work,” Army replied.

  “I can’t wait until we surprise them in Durango and get rid of them once and for all,” Crow said.

  “Yeah. Lil’ Donnie’s gonna tell me the exact date and time when he knows it, but with the rumor that the assholes are low on cash, it may be longer than a month. I’ll probably head back to Durango in a few days.”

  “Really?” Eagle said. “That seems to be your favorite place all of a sudden.”

  Frowning, Army shook his head. “My fuckin’ family lives there, dude.”

  “They didn’t just move there. They’ve been living there since you’ve been in the club.”

  “What the fuck are you trying to say?” Army’s body went rigid.

  Eagle jerked his head back. “Why’re you getting pissed off? I was just making an observation.”

  “I don’t need you butting into what the hell I do. I don’t give a shit where you go or what the hell you do.” Army pushed away from the bar, his nostrils flaring.

  “Chill, bro,” Muerto said.

  “Chill, my ass. I’m outta here.” He turned around and stalked out of the clubhouse. Taking out his keys, he headed over to his bike. The crisp air cooled his ire down a bit, and he cursed himself for overreacting to Eagle’s comment. Why did it bother him so much? Maybe it was because he didn’t want to admit that the only reason he’d decided to spend time in Durango was because of Mia. BS. Dad’s there, and Taylor’s close to going pro. He slipped on his sunglasses and gripped the handlebars. And I hadn’t seen Joshua in almost three months. I don’t want the little guy to forget his uncle. Mia was a bonus, that’s all. The cams screamed as he sped out of the lot and headed for downtown.

  Army pulled up in front of the flower shop and killed the engine and then stared at the passing cars. What the hell am I doing? He’d never thought about giving flowers to a woman in his life, and here he was in front of Hailey’s floral shop planning to go in and have a bouquet of flowers sent to Mia. Disappointment, along with distrust, was in her voice when he’d spoken to her and it ate at him. The last thing he wanted was for Mia not to trust him.

  He turned his head and looked at the front window with its display of fall arrangements amid wooden buckets, straw, fake red apples, and a smaller replica of a tree with silk leaves in gold and orange. I’ll tell Hailey not to tell Goldie. I don’t need the brothers hazing me about this. He swung his leg over and walked up to the front door.

  A small chime rang when he opened the door and a few customers glanced at him as he walked in. Army looked around the store not sure of what to do since he’d never been inside a flower shop. Behind several glass doors, arrangements in vases, brightly colored pails, and straw baskets lined the shelves, so he went over to them and wondered which one Mia would like best.

  Army thought he was going to lose it the night before with Mia’s soft body pressed against him, her intoxicating scent swirling around him, and her luscious lips on his, and then she’d pushed him away. She’d said she wanted to slow things down, but how the hell could he do that? Mia scorched his mind far more than he cared to admit, and the way she kissed. Damn. He’d kissed
a lot of women, but he’d never experienced the raw intensity that he did with her. It burned his insides and stayed with him, invading his thoughts. He couldn’t remember wanting a woman as badly as he wanted Mia. Just thinking about her, remembering her tongue tangled around his, the sound of her laugh, and the way her lips twitched when she tried not to smile made fire rush right to his dick.

  He moved away from the arrangements and went over to the corner, pretending to be engrossed in a little pink boot filled with pastel colors and balloons that said It’s A Girl! so no one would see him pitching a tent and think he had some damn flower fetish. He concentrated on counting the number of petals in each flower, banishing any thoughts of the sexy, sassy wildcat who had somehow managed to take up a permanent residence in his head.

  “Army?” Goldie said.

  Fuck! He turned around and saw his buddy coming out from behind the counter. Army quickly stood in front of a table that came up to his waist. “Hey, dude. What’re you doing here?”

  Where the hell’s Hailey?

  “I’m just helping my woman out until she gets back from setting up for a wedding.” Goldie cocked his head to the side. “What’s up?”

  “Not much. Doesn’t Hailey have employees?”

  Goldie raised his eyebrows. “Yeah. One called in sick, one is helping her at the hall, and one’s in the back. Why?”

  Army darted his eyes around the shop. I can just say I was passing by, or just order the fuckin’ flowers. “Just wondering. So you’re the one taking orders?”

  A slow smile began to spread over his face as he nodded.

  Army sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled. “I need to place one.”

  “Are you fuckin’ around?”

  “No, and I don’t have time for your smartass comments. I gotta get over to Lust, so let’s do this so I can get going.”

  Goldie stared at him for a few seconds then erupted in laughter, and a woman came out from the back carrying wire cutters in one hand and ribbons in the other. “Is everything okay?” she asked, her gaze moving back and forth between Army and Goldie.