Unchain My Heart

by Jani Kay

  “Hug time,” she whispered as I pulled her against my chest. “But we really need to stop making a habit of coming to this place. I don’t want to see it for a long time once I’m out of here.”

  “I promise. Even when you have our babies, I will organize a peaceful home birth for you, okay?”

  “You’re funny. I never said that was what I wanted. What . . . what if there are complications?” A small frown appeared between her eyebrows.

  I ran my thumb across her cheek and along her jaw. “Baby, don’t worry your sweet little head about that right now. First thing’s first.”

  “Like?”

  I chuckled. “Like me cornering your old man while he’s lying in a hospital bed and asking him for his blessing on us getting hitched.”

  “You really meant that, didn’t you?” She grinned, twisting my hair with her fingers as she scrutinized my face for the truth.

  I nodded. “I'm not a coward. I’ll man up . . . because you are worth it.”

  “Ryder?”

  “Yes, babe?”

  “I love you. That is all.”

  “Now go to sleep so you can get better and I can get you the fuck outta here.”

  “Hmmm . . . sleepy, very sleepy.” She yawned as I planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.

  What a week.

  Chapter Fifty-Nine — Ryder

  After saying goodnight to Jade, I hobbled out of the hospital, and threw the crutches on the back seat of Jade’s car. At least I could listen to music as I drove back to the clubhouse, but I needed air, so I wound the windows right down on both sides.

  It was time I faced Cobra again, after I told him about my decision to quit the club if he was going to force me to choose. We had to talk it out like the brothers we were. Since we were kids, we’d never been able to go more than a week or so without clearing the air. We were both stubborn and unwilling to give in first, but our arguments would eat at us until one of us compromised. Then we’d shake hands and promise to never do it again—till next time—when it would happen all over.

  This time I’d made up my mind. There’s no going back. Jade had endured a lot of pain, physically and emotionally. It was time to stand up for what I really wanted: a family of my own. Yeah, I had the brotherhood of the club, but it was nowhere near anything Jade and I had. This was our destiny, and no amount of obstruction would keep us apart any longer.

  I poured myself a drink and sat at the bar. A few lunches with Bill and I was starting to like the taste of scotch, and actually preferred it to beer lately. I was getting old.

  “Brother.” I lifted my chin as Hammer came toward me. Fuck, he looked like shit. Dark circles under his eyes and a week’s worth of stubble had aged him too. The jeans and T-shirt he was wearing looked as if he’d been in them for a week. “You smell. When was the last time you had a shower?”

  He grinned at me, his eyes weary, yet glistening. “Just gonna have a drink with you, then I’m off for a shower and a sleep. But first I need to share my good news.”

  “There’s good news? Fuck, that makes a change,” I muttered.

  He stroked his week-old beard, smiling like he’d won the lottery. “Yes. You know what a persistent fuck I am. I stayed up all night long, cracking the code into one of the most sophisticated systems in the world.”

  “You did? Why?” This would be good; Hammer was a genius hacker. He could find a needle in a fucking haystack with his computer.

  “I got into the police database. I’ve been trying for years, and finally I’ve had a fucking breakthrough.”

  I gasped. This was good news, but also dangerous as fuck. If Hammer was caught, it was treason.

  “You’re a fucking genius, man. What did you find that can help us? Anything?”

  “I found some stuff on Demon. He didn’t drown in the car that sank in the river. It was all a setup to make everyone believe he was dead. He’s been lying low in Mexico all these years, hiding out. And now he’s back.”

  The drink I’d taken a mouthful of spluttered all over Hammer’s shirt.

  “Demon’s alive? Fuck me running.” I gaped at Hammer as it sank in. “Does Cobra know?”

  “Nah, only just found out five minutes ago. That’s why I needed a drink. I need to have a shower and a few hours of sleep before telling Cobra. I need to double-check my facts.”

  “What aren’t you telling me? Spit it out, brother,” I growled, sensing there was way more to this finding than what Hammer was letting on.

  Hammer evaded my question. “It's three-thirty a.m. Any normal person should be sleeping. Including you.”

  I chuckled. “Since when have I been normal? My girl’s in hospital, and I couldn’t sleep at our place without feeling sick because of what happened to her. Everything there reminds me of her. Fucking nurse kicked me out of her hospital bed, so I came here. But I couldn’t fall asleep here either, so here I am . . . at the fucking bar.” I filled my glass, adding a few ice cubes this time. I took another sip and grimaced. This stuff tasted like shit compared to the scotch I drank with Bill. I needed to talk to whoever was ordering the booze and get them to upgrade.

  If Demon was indeed alive, this was going to shake shit up. Big time. I turned my attention back to Hammer.

  “They never did find his body, did they? Just items of clothing and other personal stuff in his car. But no body—”

  “Correct. The cops weren’t going to waste taxpayer’s money trawling the river for too long. Nobody really cared if he got a decent burial or not, so why bother? Besides, it was winter when he’d supposedly swerved and gone off the bridge. The water would’ve been freezing and the crocs hungry, and nobody was in the mood for digging too deep.”

  “And because it happened in another state, it was just too hard. I remember.” The details were slowly coming back to me. Just over five years ago it was big news, but because nobody ever spoke of it again, the memories had started to fade.

  “It made the news at least. Everyone was disgusted by the idea that he was eaten by crocs. That’s what happens when you run away from home and get kicked out of a MC.”

  “Would’ve been a fitting ending for him, anyway. Demon always was a fucking bastard. He got the bad genes. The rotten egg.”

  “Black sheep of the family. Even his old man wasn’t surprised his life ended so young. He was trouble from the day he was born, I heard—that’s why his mother ran off with another man. That, and old man Malone’s drinking.”

  I still hadn’t figured out why Hammer thought this strange news was important. So what if Demon was indeed alive? He wasn’t likely to come home to the Scorpio Stinger fold like the prodigal son, anyway. And even if he did, he’d wish he were indeed dead because Cobra would kill him this time, and not just chase him out. Once a brother was ousted from the club, they were banished forever. And after what he’d done, Cobra would rather see him six foot under than back at the club.

  “Cobra’s going to go ape-shit when you tell him.”

  “Yeah, that’s why I figured I’d wait till morning and have a sleep first. I’ll call you when I get to see Cobra. I think it's a good idea that you’re there when I tell him.”

  I chuckled. Cobra was scary as shit when he was mad. I didn’t want to be in Hammer’s shoes. “Yeah, I’ll make sure he doesn’t shoot the messenger.”

  “I'm going to have that shit, shave and shower now, then hit the sack for a few hours. I’ll set my alarm for ten a.m., around when Cobra comes in to the club. Be ready for hell to break loose.” Hammer saluted me like we used to when we were kids, and went off back to the living quarters.

  This was an unexpected twist. Demon Malone, born five minutes after his twin, Cobra, was a nasty piece of work. He was in jail more than he was ever home—until he disappeared. He would sell his own mother if he could make a buck out of it. Luckily, he wasn’t with Cobra and Razor the day they saved my life in juvie, because if he’d been there, the chances were that he’d actually side with the boys trying to kill me. H
e was a bloodthirsty fucker, and my demise would have meant nothing more to him than a few minutes of entertainment.

  Demon hated that technically Cobra was the eldest. And he’d hurt Razor as a baby and toddler just to see how far he could push his mother. Since Razor was two years younger than his twin brothers, he’d pretty much stayed out of their way whenever Demon was around.

  I was relieved when the evil fucker went missing and was presumed drowned. It was the best thing that ever happened at the club, because his presence had always brought animosity and conflict. Now, if Hammer was right, the motherfucker was alive.

  Chugging the awful cheap scotch down, I reasoned that I’d better get some sleep too. Tomorrow was going to be a mind-fuck. And I wanted to be there when Hammer told Cobra.

  Before I could get up, April came into the bar, wearing nothing but a torn off T-shirt and a thong. I turned my back to her, not wanting to acknowledge her presence.

  “Ryder, why hello.” Her raspy voice had sounded sexy to me months ago; now it just irritated me.

  “Goodnight, April. I’m off to bed,” I said as I pushed to my feet.

  She came to stand in front of me. Her nipples were hard, showing clearly through the thin fabric. I’d sucked those.

  April twirled an over-bleached blond lock with her fingers as she ran her hand down her torso and below the elastic of the thong, stroking herself. “Oh goody. I’m coming with you. It's been too long. My pussy misses your big cock, Ryder. There’s nothing more I want right now than for you to eat me out and fuck me hard like you used to. I’m so wet, baby; wanna taste?”

  My eyes narrowed as she stuck two fingers into her core and finger-fucked herself in front of me. I couldn’t help my dick stiffening. I remembered what she tasted like—a hell of a lot better than the cheap scotch I’d been drinking.

  She squeezed a tit and then licked her lips, her gaze never leaving my face. I swallowed hard. Only months ago I would’ve enjoyed what she was offering. And fuck knows, since all this shit started, I hadn’t emptied my balls. After losing Peanut I couldn’t fuck Jade for weeks, and now she was back in hospital . . . I needed a long, hard fuck. Desperately.

  April’s cunt was wet, tight and willing. She fucked like the whore she was, every which way—nothing was off limits. She removed her fingers and held them up to me, glistening with her juices. The temptation was so strong to suck those fingers into my mouth. What harm could it do? I was dying for pussy; there was no point denying it. My cock was hard and aching.

  I’m just a man.

  She took a step closer and lifted her leg to straddle my hip. Jesus, I could smell her horniness just standing here. “I know you’ve missed my pussy, baby. I'm gonna ride you till the sun comes up.” She pushed her breasts against me, rubbing her cunt on my leg at the same time as she reached for my cock.

  “Hmmm . . . hard for me already, huh? Fuck me here, baby, then we’ll go to your room.” She started unzipping my jeans.

  “April . . . wait.” I swatted her hand away. “It's over. I don’t do club whores any more. I’m getting married.”

  “So? I don’t care. And anyway, you’re not married yet. And even if you were, I’d still be your bitch—I’d still fuck you every day. You know I want to be yours, Ryder.”

  She pulled her top off and threw it to the ground. I groaned when I saw her heavy double-D breasts. I'd titty-fucked them often and my cock was throbbing, wanting to cum all over her chest.

  April knelt down in front of me and went for the zipper again. Christ! I gripped her hair in my hands and contemplated letting her mouth have my cock. Of all the club bitches, her mouth never failed to make me cum hard. It wouldn’t be the same as fucking her, and it'd feel a hell of a lot better than jerking off myself.

  The boys had an inside joke: Why go D.I.Y. when there was someone willing to do it for you? Yeah, why indeed? Horny as fuck, my balls needed emptying or they’d explode.

  I shoved her aside. “I said no, bitch, or didn’t I make myself clear?” Images of Jade flooded my mind. It didn’t matter that I was just like a wild animal, hard and filled with lust, eager to fuck any pussy that presented itself—I couldn’t follow through. I’d kill any man who tried to fuck Jade, and this was no different. If I wanted her fidelity, I had to give her mine.

  “Nobody will know. I won’t tell. You are about to cum in your fucking pants, so don’t go all holy on me now. I know you wanna fuck me.”

  She lay back on the carpet, spreading her legs, moving her thong to the side so I could see her smooth pussy. If I were an animal, I'd succumb and fuck her. But I wasn’t. I stepped over her naked body, adjusted my dick in my pants and walked away without even looking back.

  “You’re a fool, Ryder. But you will beg me to fuck you soon. Your Princess is an uptight bitch; she can’t fuck you like you need to be fucked. You know I can, baby.”

  I stopped in my tracks. “Bitch, don’t ever talk to me about my future wife again. There’s no comparison between the two of you. You are and always will just be club pussy. Stay away from me if you don’t want to be thrown out of the club. Understand?”

  I didn’t wait for her answer.

  Chapter Sixty — Ryder

  My alarm went off and I seriously just wanted to pull the blanket over my head and keep snoozing. I hadn’t had a good sleep in a long time. I’d jerked off to images of Jade to get rid of my hard-on. The thing was, Jade thought it was sexy as fuck when she watched me stroke myself, so it wasn’t difficult for me to cum hard to the image of her licking her lips as if she wanted to taste me while watching me.

  After a quick shower, I felt refreshed, so I went in search of breakfast. I hadn’t had dinner the night before, and my stomach rumbled as I made my way to the communal kitchen.

  I’d hardly sat down to my bacon and eggs when the Australian dude came sauntering in. We’d given him a place to stay while he was here for Ratbag’s funeral. He also had to pack up his brother’s personal stuff to send back home.

  I lifted my chin as Logan sat down opposite me, his plate stacked high with everything on offer. He reminded me so much of Ratbag, my scrawny friend with the insatiable appetite—not only for food, but also for life.

  “Hey, mate, how you goin’?” he asked in his broad Australian twang. Over the years Ratbag’s accent had bastardized. He’d started sounding more like us, even sometimes using American slang. I was going to miss the guy’s jokes and laidback ways.

  “I’m good. Sleep well?”

  Logan brushed the long, sandy-blond hair from his face. “Yeah. Had a surprise visit from some blonde bimbo. She was horny as hell, attacking my cock with a vengeance. Fuck, I'd never woken up to a chick sucking my dick before. Pure heaven, man. Now I understand why Bruce didn’t wanna leave the States and come back to ‘Stralia.”

  Bruce? It took me a minute to work out that he was talking about Ratbag. He didn’t pronounce the ‘A’ when he spoke about Australia, just like his brother. Fuck, I missed my friend. I swallowed the lump in my throat, suddenly losing my appetite.

  “Yeah, got to lock your doors to keep the bitches away,” I warned, laughing. April had found a willing participant, and no doubt had ridden his cock raw.

  “I missed my morning surf because of her. She kept going for fucking hours.” He laughed as he buttered his toast. He was a good-looking kid: broad shoulders, friendly face, big smile, genuine tan, and most importantly, a good sense of humor. I could actually like him if he stuck around. At least he’d keep April off my back—and my cock. I didn’t want that bitch anywhere near Jade whenever she came to the compound. No way in hell did I want my past and my future to get tangled.

  Ox shifted onto the seat next to me. “Morning fellas,” he croaked. “So, Hogan, how ya liking our country?”

  “Hogan?” I asked lifting an eyebrow. The kid had been introduced as Logan Williams, with a ‘L’. “As in Crocodile Dundee?” Trust them to go from Logan to Hogan.

  “Yeah, doesn’t he remind you of the Cr
oc Hunter? Same accent.”

  I laughed. That was probably where the similarity ended, but the kid was going to be stuck with that nickname forever now. But it was a good sign. Strangers only got a nickname if the boys liked them. If they used their real name, they were pretty much fucked.

  Except for me. I was the only one who never got a nickname. Traumatized after what’d happened to me in juvie, it was just over three weeks before I uttered a single word. Everyone was worried about me ever talking again. When I finally managed to introduce myself as Ryder, my new brothers were so relieved that they stayed with my real name.

  “Not everyone in Australia is a croc hunter. And kangaroos don’t just hop around the streets, like you Yanks believe.” Logan laughed, stuffing his mouth with eggs on toast.

  When he mentioned the word croc, I was reminded of the meeting between Hammer and Cobra. I pushed to my feet, excusing myself and went in search of Hammer. He wiped his hand over his face after I pushed his door open. He’d just woken up and still had that sleepy croaky voice as he greeted me.

  “Couldn’t sleep much. The wall next to me was banging all night long after I came to bed. The Aussie kid was getting some fucking action. Let me tell you, it was hot just hearing them carry on. I nearly went to join the party. But I had to get some rest before facing Cobra . . . maybe they’ll let me join them tonight.”

  “The Aussie kid must be quite a stud if he could keep April happy.”

  “How’d you know it was April?”

  I shrugged. “She tried me first.”

  His eyes widened. “And you said no?” He sounded incredulous. April was everyone’s favorite fuck-buddy because of her perfect body and her insatiable appetite for sex. As I’d said, nothing was off-limits—she enjoyed taking on as many cocks as were available.

  They also knew she had a thing for me, and she used that to get her way around the club. If she didn’t want to sleep with a guy, she told him she was waiting for me. And in reality she was. If I was around I did fuck her, so she was kinda considered my girl. Until Jade.