What the hell was I angry about?
When next I looked at Luna she had finally glanced away and was giving her attention to Puck. The fucker was lapping it up, too, no doubt thinking that he had a chance of getting into her pants. His body was flush against hers, his hands touching her wherever she allowed. I noticed when his hands wandered Luna was quick to move them back to where she wanted them, some place other than her ass, because that seemed to be the area Puck was captivated with. I could understand why. I wanted to get my hands on those luscious mounds myself.
"So, are you going to New Mexico?"
I pulled my gaze from Luna to Raze. How could he even think of anything other than the luscious woman on his lap? Rosa was a beauty with jet black hair and olive skin. The first time I'd met her had been right after Raze had kidnapped her and brought her to the clubhouse. I'd found out later that she'd lied in a court case against him and he had spent three years in prison for it.
"Not sure," I said honestly. "I've done work for the Dirt Devils before. They're not an easy club to work for, but fuck, the money's always been decent." I shrugged. "Been thinking about slowing down."
"The fuck you say?" Reaper scoffed, overhearing me. "What are you, forty? You've got years of killing ahead of you," he joked.
After the laughter died down I corrected him about my age. "I'm forty-four, brother, and I've been doing this shit since I was seventeen. I'm getting tired of being on the road."
"You're too young to quit," Razor commented.
"I didn't say anything about quitting."
"Maybe you need to join a club and take that nomad patch off your cut," Raze suggested. Rosa whispered something in his ear and then slipped off his lap. He gave her ass a slap as she walked away.
"Don't know about that, brother. I've been a nomad my whole life. I like being my own boss." I kept stealing glances toward the bar, keeping watch over the progress that Puck was making with Luna. Luna had turned to face the bar, and she had a drink in front of her. Puck was close to her backside, hovering over her. I felt my blood pressure rising.
"I think you just need a break, brother," Reaper said. "You know you're welcome to stay here as long as you like."
He'd given me the use of one of the cabins. Reaper had lucked out finding the fish camp when it was for sale. It had been on the market for a while and was the perfect set up for his club. Situated right on the water, each brother had his own cabin. The club women shared one when they weren’t sleeping with a member. There’d been an old restaurant on the property that they’d converted into the clubhouse and bar.
"Appreciate it," I responded. Florida was home, but it hadn't been home in years. I had a house there on a few acres of land, but it was rented out to a young family who acted as caretakers to the property.
"Come on, babe, let's dance." Reaper nudged Marie to her feet and into his arms. Bon Jovi's I'll Be There For You was playing. The tables and chairs had been removed from one side of the restaurant so there was room for dancing. Club girls danced half-naked on the bar top.
I watched the activity on the dance floor for a minute, trying to prove to myself that I didn't care what was going on at the bar. I had no right to feel jealous over anything that Luna did with Puck. But then I recalled the hurt that I'd seen in her eyes after I'd let CC get me off. Christ. I was an asshole. Maybe I should just get my ass to New Mexico and distance myself from her. After the job I could go to Nevada and spend some time with Moody, another nomad and friend. He had an old adobe house in the Mojave Desert. The fucking thing was like a fortress, and no one could get within miles of him without him knowing it.
Yeah, that sounded like a fucking good plan. I found my gaze staring at two dancers before I realized who they were. Luna and Puck had moved to the dance floor, and they were about as close as two people could get with their clothes on. But what made me freeze was the sight of Puck's thigh between Luna's legs. I didn't need to see the flush on Luna's cheeks, or her closed eyes, or her parted lips to know exactly what was happening.
Fuck. Me.
He was getting her off.
I almost lost it when his hands dropped to her ass, cupping it as he held her tightly against him. I felt a ball of heat erupt inside me as I was overcome with the urge to go over there and rip them apart. My hands fisted. If I followed through with my thoughts, I'd kill him. Luna turned her head to face me, as if sensing that I was watching her, and then opened her eyes slowly, smiling even slower, and I knew that she had me. Her face twisted in a way that couldn't be faked, she shivered, and I knew that she was coming.
Well, I'd asked for it, hadn't I?
And she'd just proved to me that she could give as good as she got.
Chapter 8
Luna
Ohmygod! I couldn’t believe that I’d just done that--let a man who I'd just met give me an orgasm! Looking up and locking eyes with Jace just as I was coming had been worth the humiliation of doing something so intimate in a public place. As I glanced around, I realized that we were not the only ones being bold—there were couples having sex everywhere. A few of them had even removed pieces of clothing, and I doubted that anyone could tell I'd just climaxed on Puck's hard knee. Anyone except for Jace and Puck, that is. As I slowly relaxed against Puck, I was aware of his heavy breathing. Shit. I was certain that he'd want me to reciprocate.
I had used him and was ashamed about it. Jace had been on my mind front and center the entire time I'd been dancing against Puck, the entire time he'd been rubbing his thigh against my pussy. I'd known back at the bar that he was looking for someone to mess around with, Casey had given me a brief education on what to expect at these parties. So it hadn’t surprised me when I'd glanced over at Jace and had seen him getting a lap dance from one of the women who worked there. What had surprised me was the disappointment and hurt that I'd felt that he was with another woman.
Damn. There wasn't anything between us, and obviously the attraction I thought I felt between us had been one-sided--my side. It was good that I'd found out now, before I’d made a fool of myself with him. But to let another man get me off like that? I hadn’t known I had it in me, and I was honest enough to admit that part of the reason I’d done it had been to show Jace that what he'd done hadn't bothered me. God…how old was I, five? It had been a childish thing to do, and now I would have to fight off a nice man for leading him on.
"Puck‒"
"Don't worry about it, sweetheart."
His comment caught me by surprise. I pulled back to meet his eyes.
A cocky grin stared down at me, and there was a knowing look in his eyes. "The way you two are stealing looks at one another, it doesn't take a fucking genius to know there's something going on between you."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
He laughed. "Come on, sweetheart. Don't BS me."
"I'm so ashamed." I lowered my eyes. "I've never…and with a stranger…" I couldn't bring myself to finish.
"Don't beat yourself up about it. I don't mind pissing Jace off while showing him what he's missing." My head snapped up in surprise. "And it was my pleasure getting you off."
"There's nothing going on between us," I insisted firmly. "Except some little attraction that neither of us have acted on."
"That's how it all begins, sweetheart, with a little attraction. Add denial, jealousy, and stubbornness to it, and you have the start of a fucking relationship."
I laughed. "You don’t look old enough to be so smart," I teased. We were moving slowly to the music, his hands at my waist, and my arms around his neck. I was thankful he had decided to ignore his hard-on.
"Been there, done that," he admitted wryly, a slight sadness in his eyes. "Woke up too late, and lost the best thing that ever happened to me."
"Is it really too late?"
He nodded. "Yep. She went off and got married. Last I heard she has three kids and that fucking white picket fence."
"I'm sorry, Puck. You seem like a decent man."
/>
"Oh, fuck, sweetheart, don't go putting me up on a pedestal. Back then I was a bigger dick than Jace is now." He took a deep breath. "She's better off, anyway. This is a hard life for someone to come into that wasn't born to it."
Was that a subtle warning? "So I've heard. Casey has been educating me."
"Good thing. I'd hate to see you get hurt. Some of these guys around here aren't as gentlemanly as I am."
I laughed with him. "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." A bigger lie had never crossed my lips before, but I was the only one who knew the truth. I'd only been taking care of myself for a very short time. Leaving Seth had been a big step for me in independence.
Thinking about Seth and the way I’d left made me think about my parents, and I felt a renewed sense of guilt for leaving them. If I was really taking care of myself, wouldn't I have found a way to stay home?
"Unless you know karate, there isn't a man in here that couldn't take you with his little finger," he joked. The song ended, and we headed back to the bar.
I noticed Casey and Jim weren't where we’d left them, and I scanned the room for them. The place was crowded.
"They probably went to Jim's cabin," Puck explained. "They'll be back."
He didn't need to go into detail as to what they’d left to do. Looking around, I saw that a lot of couples were having sex right out in the open. Casey had warned me that I should expect this. Partying at the clubhouse involved lots of booze, weed, heavy rock, and plenty of sex. Some of the girls, especially the one's I'd already identified as club girls, wore very little clothing. Now I understood why--easy access.
I tried not to think about my own attire. When I'd first shown up at Casey's she'd taken one look at me and ordered me to her bedroom, where she’d began pulling clothes out of her closet. Apparently, I was seriously overdressed and would stick out like a sore thumb, something that I certainly didn't want. So I stripped off my sneakers, new jeans, and button-down shirt and began trying on her idea of what party clothes were.
"You want to dress sexy and a little slutty, but you don't want to give it all away, either," she'd said. "Make them work for it."
Well, I'd practically given it away to Puck, all because I’d seen Jace and his girlfriend getting each other off. I was a mess.
"Another drink, honey?" I nodded a smile at Bee, who was Wolfman's wife. She was sweet and friendly, and they'd apparently just had their first baby. I was slowly learning who some of the Wreckers and their wives, or old ladies, were. The so-called civilians, who only showed up to party on Friday and Saturday nights, were all over the place, mingling and dancing. Some were friendly, others not so much. It was clear which girls were there with the goal of hooking up with a biker.
Bee set another beer in front of me and I picked it up to take a sip. Puck had swung around on his stool and was watching the crowd. I recognized the look of interest on his face and turned to see what he was looking at, smiling at the pretty girl he was eyeing who sat at a table with her friends. She seemed to notice him, too, and smiled at him encouragingly. I gave him a not-so-subtle nudge. He looked down at me with a question in his eyes.
"Go on, Puck. Have a good time. Maybe she'll give you something I can't."
He returned my grin. "You gave me exactly what I wanted, sweetheart." He surprised me with a kiss to my forehead. "A good dance and some friendly conversation."
I shook my head at his comment, knowing that he was joking. "Something every bad ass biker is looking for. Now, go." He was a nice man. I didn't usually go for the Mohawk look, but he was rocking it. I gauged him to be around my age. It was hard imagining him as a badass biker, but I supposed he could be if the situation called for it.
He didn't look back, and I was glad to see that the girl had accepted his hand and let him lead her onto the dance floor. As I was turning back around on my stool, I let my gaze skim over the table that Jace was sitting at, noticing that the two women who'd been there earlier were now gone. I picked up my drink again, deciding that when I was finished with it I would go home.
"Hi, you're Casey's friend," a voice from beside me said. I turned to see the very two women who'd been sitting at Jace's table offering me welcoming smiles. "We're Rosa and Marie, Reaper and Raze's old ladies."
"Hi, I'm Luna, and as you guessed, a friend of Casey." They were beautiful women, dressed in much the same way that I was, and total opposites in height, coloring, and body type.
"She seems to have deserted you," Rosa said. "Why don't you join us at our table?"
"I‒" I glanced nervously at their table, my gaze meeting Jace's. He was sitting there with a stony expression, his arms across his massive chest, watching me with narrowed eyes. I'd been about to decline her offer, but on second thought decided to take her up on it. No one had to know that I was attracted to Jace and that the knowledge made me feel nervous. "I'd love to." I followed them over to their table.
"Everyone, this is Luna, Casey's new friend," Marie smiled, sinking onto the lap of the biggest, scariest man I'd ever met. He was also extremely handsome, despite the scars running down his neck. "Luna, this is Reaper." She nodded towards the man whose lap she was wiggling on. "Rosa is with Raze." I smiled in his direction. "Razor." He gave me a nod. "And Jace, he's a friend of the club and just visiting."
I swallowed and forced myself to meet his gaze. Nothing had changed. He still looked like he was ready to tear something up with his bare hands. His whole body was tense. I wondered what his problem was. I would have thought that his earlier orgasm would have left him feeling calm and stress free, and yet he appeared to be angry. I must have missed something. I smiled, he scowled, and a tic appeared in his jaw.
"Yeah, we were just discussing that. Trying to talk him out of his nomad patch and joining us," Reaper said. He wrapped his arms around Marie and held her close, resting his chin on the top of her Marilyn Monroe hairstyle.
"What's a nomad patch?" I asked, directing my question at Jace. He continued to stare at me hard, but kept his mouth tightly shut. I exchanged confused glances with Marie and Rosa, and I could see from their expressions that they were surprised over his silence, too.
Finally, after a minute of awkward silence, Raze explained. "A nomad is a biker who runs solo. They don't belong to any club, but they’re friends with many."
"Is it better to be in a club?"
Reaper shrugged. "Depends on who you ask. The big difference is a nomad is his own boss. The downfall is not having any place to call home. Nomads tend to be on the road a lot."
My gaze pivoted to Jace. "You don't have a home?" I asked, ignoring his stony silence. "That's kind of sad," I said before thinking.
"So where do you call home?" Marie questioned. "When you're not roughing it in a fish camp." She linked her fingers with Reaper’s.
It was my turn to clam up as I thought about my answer, wondering if I should be honest. What would it matter if they knew where I was from? The only one I was hiding from was Seth, and I doubted he'd ever find me there. "Key West," I said after a while. "My parents are there."
"You're a long way from home." I met the curiosity in Razor's brown eyes. "Why the fuck you all the way up here?" There was a slight frown between his brows.
I was sure they wouldn’t believe me if I said I was on vacation. What single young woman would spend her vacation in a fish camp? Again, even though it was really none of his business, I found myself being truthful. "I, ah, just needed some alone time."
I didn't realize that my comment--or perhaps it was my hesitation--would be cause for suspicion. Suddenly everyone was staring at me with a scrutiny that made me uneasy. "You in trouble?" Reaper was the one who asked, his tone gruff and demanding. "Because if you are, we need to know about it."
They needed to know? Paranoid much? But something in his eyes told me that he wasn't playing around. After what had occurred there the night before, I guess I couldn't blame him. "No!" I rushed out. "Not at all. I actually just needed to get away." From my
ex, I purposely left out. I felt like a bug under a microscope, but after a few tense minutes everyone seemed to relax.
"Hey, sweetheart." I jumped when someone's hand fell on my shoulder. I glanced up and smiled when I saw Puck's friendly face. "You ready for round two?" He spoke loud enough for everyone at the table to hear.
Ohmygod he didn't! His innuendo wasn't lost on me, and I almost choked as an unexpected laugh escaped me. I knew that he asking me for a second dance, but his bold comment was meant to cause trouble.
"Not going to happen."
I gasped, halfway to my feet, and everyone's attention swung to Jace, who was scooting back his chair and rising to his own feet, the look in his eyes twin bolts of lightning. I stood frozen, watching as he circled the table and came to me, my heart pounding erratically. Before I knew it, he'd reached down for my hand, grasped it with a solid grip, and was pulling me with him. At first I thought that he was taking me to the dance floor, but we continued toward the door, and then we were outside.
He stopped right outside the door and turned to face me, letting go of my hand. "You don't belong here."
Chapter 9
Jace
There was no fucking way I was going to watch a repeat performance of her getting off on Puck's leg.
"What?" she half-laughed, half-gasped.
"You heard me," I growled. "You don't know what you're doing, messing around with these men. They aren't known for saying no to something they want."
She huffed out a laugh. "What are you talking about?" Her tone revealed that she really had no idea. "We were only going to dance."
Her innocence only made me angrier. "Yeah, I saw your first fucking dance with Puck. You think a man gives you an orgasm and he's not looking to get inside your pussy?"
She gasped sharply. "I don’t know, Jace. You tell me. I watched you give that woman an orgasm, is her pussy next?"
Dangerous (Nomad Outlaws Trilogy Book 2) Page 6