Starving For Vengeance

by Debra Kayn

  She pulled back and gazed into his eyes. Her breath hitched and she hesitated too long. He tightened his hold on her, because he was afraid she'd change her mind and that's the last thing he wanted to happen.

  "Doll?" he said. His voice deeper, more pained, than he intended.

  Then she was on him. Full mouth to mouth, loose lips, and then her tongue. His eyes closed, the sweetness of the kiss almost killed him. The primal urge to change positions and take control surged within him, but he held back. Shari was doing enough work for both of them.

  She gripped his hair tighter, moved her head to the side, and deepened the kiss. The muscles in the back of his legs constricted, and he palmed her ass, dragging her up and planting her firmly against his hardness.

  Her tongue stroked, explored, while her lips fluttered between caressing and possessing. He growled, demanding more, and she trembled in his arms, submitting to his mouth.

  He wasted no time. Arching her back, he repositioned his lips, taking ownership of the kiss. Softly, he sucked her tongue, her bottom lip, and consumed his need to have her taste in his mouth, her touch branded in his memories.

  Her hands loosened their hold on his hair, and he backed her up to the pool table, pressing against her. Her leg came up and rubbed against his outer thigh, and he slipped between her legs. Cocooned against her sex, he continued to kiss her.

  His thoughts, his body, his need exceeded the speed limit. Her breath came fast, but not as fast as his did. He reached down, lifted her leg, and holding it tight against his hip, pressed against her. She moaned in need, and he gave her more, letting her feel his cock and what he could do after the kiss.

  "Jesus Christ, you come back and already you're taking our women," Ink said from the other side of the room.

  Shari jolted. He pulled away from her mouth and looked down into her eyes, ignoring Ink's accusation. Underneath the hooded eyelids, she stared up at him in confusion. He swallowed his anger at the interruption and righted their bodies, holding Shari until she found her balance.

  "The militia's here," Kurt announced somewhere behind Lee. "Take Shari out and have Beckett walk her back to the cabin. Then get your ass back here, brother, and meet Mike."

  "On it." Lee slipped his hand into Shari's and led her across the room.

  His dick pulsed painfully in his jeans. He glared at Ink. He'd picked a hell of a time to interrupt him.

  Ink held his tattooed arms out in front of him, and grinned. "Shari...baby?"

  Shari's step hesitated. Lee reached across her and shoved Ink back a step without saying a word, and his no-share-move only made Ink laugh. If Ink thought he was going to get lucky with Shari, he'd find himself lying on his ass on the floor.

  In the hallway, Shari slipped her fingers out of Lee's hand. "I thought you were leaving the club."

  "Not today," he said.

  She stopped. "You said you were leaving."

  "I'm telling you, not today," he said again.

  She held her palms up. "Then why did you make me give you a goodbye kiss?"

  He stepped toward her. His balls still ached in pleasure. He'd like to show her why he wanted to kiss her, but there was no time.

  "I wanted real, you gave me real," he said.

  She shook her head. "That was the farthest thing from real, because you're not leaving."

  "Someday, I'll leave, and that kiss—that kiss is going to keep me alive," he said.

  She frowned. He gave her no chance to think about what he told her, and scooped up her hand again and led her to the backdoor. Beckett met him outside, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

  "Put it out," Lee said

  Becket stubbed out his cigarette, pocketed the butt, and stood at attention. Lee handed Shari over to the prospect and remained outside to watch her walk the gravel path toward the girls' cabin.

  The tight swish of Shari's ass kept Lee from going inside and dealing with business. Her walk, her attitude, her confusion, her steel guard she used to keep her distance fascinated him more than trying to figure out why she was staying with Bantorus MC and why Tango had him playing guard dog.

  Half way to the cabin, Shari gazed over her shoulder at him. He sucked in his breath. It wasn't anger she aimed at him, but pure lust. The power of that look gave him what he'd wanted this whole time.

  He'd breached the wall she kept around herself and she gave him real. He was one step closer to figuring out his answers, and once he did, he'd get the hell out of Federal and head straight back to taking Los Li out, one member at a time.

  Chapter Four

  The dishwasher clicked off, finishing its cycle. Shari stood from the table in the kitchen of the club, and Carrie stopped her from leaving.

  "It's my night to unload. You need to catch Kurt before he gets a look at Risa after the meeting and sweeps her back to their house. We don’t want to ruin our chance of talking to him tonight," Carrie said.

  "Oh, stop it, Carrie. Kurt doesn't sweep me away that fast." Risa laughed, looping her arm around Shari's waist. "Come on, girlfriend. Let's go stand in the hallway and block the guys from leaving."

  Shari followed Risa out of the room. Her stomach gnawed. She'd barely eaten, because she was nervous about meeting with Kurt.

  The girls all ate together tonight, because the men took their pizza and beer into the meeting with them. All during dinner, Jojo had discussed the business plan with Risa with the emphasis of Shari running the show. She'd listened with interest, but she couldn't help feeling as if she was stepping on Risa's toes. Silver Girls was her baby.

  Shari leaned against the wall outside the meeting room. "Are you sure you're okay with all of us opening Silver Girls up again?"

  Risa leaned her head against the wall and sighed. The news of the pregnancy probably took up most of Risa's thoughts these days. Besides Kurt, Shari was the only one out of the girls who knew an adult business brought up bad memories of Risa's childhood. For how tough and strong Risa appeared to everyone, there were moments when Shari witnessed the hesitation and doubt come across Risa's face before she quickly hid it with a smile.

  "I'm okay." Risa lifted her brows. "Do you think I'd offer you the use of the Silver Girls name if I wasn't?"

  Shari thought about it, and spoke her opinion. "Yes, because that's the type of person you are. You'd do anything for any one of us here."

  Risa rubbed her flat stomach. "Last year, when I put on the final show, I was done with Silver Girls. I'd made up my mind to stop trying to prove myself. I still feel that way—she rolled her eyes—most days. Now I'm having a baby, and it doesn't matter what anyone thinks of me or links me to what my mother did. It's all about the future. That's what I'm concentrating on."

  "But letting us open using the same name will have every miner remembering what you did for a living. They'll reminisce about you stripping in the middle of the street, laying in the bathtub, and letting the miners drop silver into the water. Do you want that kind of talk now that you're going to be a mom?"

  "You're thinking too much." Risa leaned over and hugged her. "I'm proud of my past. Not once did I lower my standards or compromise my reputation. That's all that matters to me. I don't care what anyone else thinks, and I'll raise my son or daughter to rise above it."

  "I'm proud of you, my friend," she said.

  Risa held Shari's shoulders. "Okay, now forget about the fluffy stuff and when that door opens, kick biker ass. Do not let any of the men talk you out of going after your goals. I'll go in there with you. If you feel yourself weakening, look at me. They're going to be tough to crack, because Bantorus men don't share what they claim as theirs. You'll have to explain to them as if they're six years old that it's only dancing. They're going trust you, because they all love you. Just give them time to get over the shock of your idea before letting their attitude get to you."

  "Got it." She inhaled deeply, butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

  "Remember." Risa shook her lightly, drilling her advice home. "I'm backing
you, but if I hear one of you girls are taking money from men and having sex with them, betraying Bantorus, I'll be the first in line to make sure you don't have a home here. I understand your need to support yourself and I love you, but club comes first. As long as you understand the rules, you'll be fine."

  "I understand and agree with you." Shari nodded. "I'll keep them all in line."

  "I know you will." Risa glanced down the hallway toward the kitchen. "But the others, they need someone to make them follow the rules. Give them guidance and make them believe in themselves more."

  "I know," she whispered.

  For reasons of their own, the other women sought love and approval in every aspect of their lives. For them, it was easy to take affection from the Bantorus members and be content. For her personally, a little part of herself gave up hope every time she compromised herself for her safety. There were times when she had a hard time believing she ended up living in a biker club, and other times lucky to have them find her.

  The door swung open. Risa pushed Shari forward. Shari blocked the door and peered up at Ink. "Hey, honey."

  "What's up?" Ink leaned against the doorframe.

  "I need to bring a request in front of the club...please?"

  Ink pivoted and turned his back to her. "Shari wants the table, prez."

  "Let her in," Kurt said.

  Risa followed her into the room. She was nervous about how the men would react, and thankful for the added support. With Risa here, they'd have to hear her out. Kurt would make sure that nothing goes down that would upset his wife.

  Remmy held out his chair. She squeezed his wrist in thanks and took a seat, glad for the sturdy object underneath her. The worst that could happen would be for the bikers to give her a resounding no on her idea. She could go on living here, and be happy. Maybe not completely settled, but content for the immediate future until Uncle Ted came for her.

  She had no idea how long it'd take until she could leave Federal, and until then, she was stuck. During that time, she'd like to add supporting herself to her list of accomplishments.

  Lee sat straight across from her, arms crossed, no expression, and stonewalling her. She gazed back, but there was no connection, no inkling of what was going on in his head, because he shut her out. The others looked at her curiously, but there was nothing coming from Lee, only indifference, and she wondered if he even remembered their kiss or their conversation earlier.

  "What's going on?" Kurt asked.

  Shari cleared her throat, dragging her eyes off Lee and onto Kurt. "The girls and I would like to get a job outside of the club. We'd only be gone six hours twice a week. That way, we'd still be here for...the men. We understand that this decision is up to you, and we respect the club's verdict."

  "Hell, no." Cutter pushed back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "You girls have enough to do around here keeping us happy, and shit."

  Ink, leaning against the wall, said, "If you need more attention, just say so."

  She shook her head. "This has nothing to do with attention, Ink. There are times when everyone is in the warehouse working all day, you come in late for dinner, or you're on a run for a few days, and that leaves a lot of free time where we have nothing to do but wait. The girls and I often feel like we're mooching off of you when we have so much time to think about our situation."

  "You earn your keep," Kurt said. "All the girls do."

  She closed her eyes an extra beat. "Yes, but the club runs you go on now take longer than they did when you were only going to California. We'd like to earn our own money, and have a purpose beyond being bitches."

  "Fuck that," Crain said, sweeping his hand down the length of his beard.

  Kurt held up his hand. "Cool it, Crain."

  "All we're asking for is two nights a week, Friday and Saturday, from eight in the evening until two in the morning," she said.

  The only sound in the room came from the ruffling of leather vests and the creaks of the biker's wooden chairs as they shifted in their seats. She picked at the polish on her thumb while she thought of something brilliant to sway them in her direction. The assumption that they'd turn her down settled around her. The girls would be disappointed. They had their hopes up, and asking the bikers for two nights away from the club was a pathetic reason to turn her down.

  "We'd appreciate you letting—"

  "Exactly what are you going to do during those times when the only businesses open at that time of night are bars?" Kurt asked. "Serving drinks to miners for minimum wage and a couple dollars in tips is only asking for trouble, especially when all the miners know what you do here at the club, and you're Bantorus property."

  Risa walked over and stood behind Kurt, putting her hands on her husband's shoulders. Kurt sat back in his chair. His statement, while well meaning, was hypercritical since being a bitch for the club meant she serviced the men and they paid and provided a roof over her head.

  Shari swallowed. "We'd like to re-open Silver Girls. Bantorus MC rebuilt the Sterling Building, and we'd like to rent it for those hours. You all know the money is good, much better than minimum wage and tips."

  "There is no way in hell I'm going to allow one of our girls to dance for the miners again. We use the building when we have men stay in town. It's occupied," Kurt said, glancing behind him at Risa. "Did you have something to do with this idea of theirs?"

  Risa shook her head. "They came to me while you were in your meeting."

  Kurt scowled. "Son of a—"

  "But, I support them one hundred percent," Risa said, interrupting her husband. "They only want to dance for money. Same rules will apply that were in place when I owned Silver Girls. They need something of their own."

  "Nobody is tapping what I tap." Stripper stood and pushed his vest to the side, reaching for his wallet. "I'll put in more money. The girls can go buy a new dress or pair of boots, and forget this stupid idea."

  "Sweetie, it's not about you." Shari leaned forward. "We love you guys, but this is about work and fitting in with the others in town, building our own sense of belonging in Federal. The girls want to hold their heads up and take part in the festivities and have the men and women respect them. While I know it sounds backward, but they received that when they were dancers at Silver Girls, thanks to Risa running a respectable business. Let us earn our own living. We're still going to belong to you. We want to belong here. Nobody but Bantorus will...tap us."

  All the while she talked, Lee's heated gaze never left her. She couldn't look at him, because he distracted her. What she fought for was too important to the girls, to her, to let her own self-awareness of having Lee in the room ruin her talk with Kurt.

  "Okay, we take a vote." Kurt looked toward Remmy.

  "Yeah." Remmy grinned. "I think it's a good idea. If the girls want to work, let them work. It's only a few hours, twice a week."

  "You can say that because you've got your old lady any damn time you want." Germ reached for the remaining piece of pizza in the open box on the table. "I need to think about it. Come back around the table."

  "You're up, Stripper," Kurt said.

  Everyone knew Stripper got his name from enjoying women undress. Shari smiled at him, trying to gain his vote. She personally knew the whole dance and mystery of a woman taking off her clothes excited Stripper more than the actual act of having sex.

  "Aye," Stripper said.

  Crain rubbed his hand over his head. "If I say no, the girls are mad. If I say yes, I lose twelve hours a week with them. How is this fair?"

  "Vote," Kurt ordered.

  "Shit. It's hell around here when one of them gets pissed off about something. I vote, yeah," Crain said.

  "Thank you," Shari mouthed.

  Sawyer straightened. "I liked when Silver Girls was up and running before. It's foreplay for what comes afterward. I'm in."

  Cutter lifted his Solo cup and spit the sunflower shells out of his mouth. "Yeah, they have my vote.

  Muff mumbled, "Ay
e."

  Shari tapped her toes against the floor. Hope filled her. For the first time in a year, she'd be productive and around other people.

  "Yeah," Tim said, shaking his head as if he wasn't happy about his vote and instead was following the other's lead.

  Germ cussed. "Fine. Yes vote from me."

  Shari sat up straighter, grinning. That was it. All the votes were counted, and it was unanimous in her favor.

  Kurt looked to Lee. "Since you've accepted your third patch tonight and are no longer a nomad, you vote."

  Shari slumped forward, gripping the table. Her rapid pulse combined with not eating made her lightheaded. All her excitement could be for nothing if Lee shot the idea down.

  Lee gazed at Shari. The intensity in his eyes blinded her to his feelings, and chilled her. He'd changed since he made her kiss him. The interest he showed her was gone, though his attention never lessened. His talent for masking his emotions exceeded everyone at the club. He was a wild card.

  Part of that wildness that surrounded Lee excited her. He was different, new, and dangerous. Her breath came shallow and weak. She'd connected with him earlier when she'd sat on his lap and later with the kiss that had taken her by surprise. He was a man who she knew to stay away from, but couldn't help touching. She was extremely attracted to him and feared if she stayed around him, she'd end up hurt.

  Maybe the time had arrived for her to learn her lesson about what happens when she played with fire. One no vote from him, and the plan to open Silver Girls would no longer exist.

  "I'm asking for one condition before I put my vote on the table." Lee's firm expression never wavered. "While the girls work, I'm on guard. If one rule I put in place gets broken, the Silver Girls will close down for good. I'll take the girls to town, I'll stay with them while they dance, and I'll escort them back to the club each night."

  Reeling from the news Lee planned to stay at the club as a patched in member and he wanted to protect the girls while they worked, Shari could only nod in agreement. She had no idea what his presence in Federal meant to her personally. She'd kissed him. He'd singled her out amongst the girls. She knew that he hadn't been with any of the other women since he'd arrived.