Wounded (Dogs of War MC Book One)

by Rossi, Monica

Red ran his hand through his hair, “A minute ago you were ready to sleep on the table, now you need a nightie, a teddy bear, and to be tucked in?”

  “Yup.”

  “Fine,” he went over to her chest of drawers and pulled out one of her favorite nightgowns before sitting down beside her on the bed. She watched his large hands as they worked to undo the buttons on her blouse, going lower and lower, exposing more of her torso as they went. He unbuttoned her jeans and his warmth on the skin of her belly felt divine, she closed her eyes as he whisked away her pants. He laid his hand flat on her bare midriff sending tingles up her spine, it’s possible she might have moaned a bit, and he ventured higher, working the front clasp of her bra and opening her breast to the cool air. Her nipples puckered in response and she thought she heard him growl. Looking from beneath her lashes she watched him as his eyes devoured her, tentatively he took one breast in his palm, letting the rosy tip rub against his hard callouses. He leaned over and took the other tip in his mouth, her back arched involuntarily, and within moments he was on her. She spread her legs and wrapped them around him, wanting him to take her right then.

  She could feel the hard length of him pressing into her, the only thing separating them was the thin lace of her panties. She rubbed herself against him, yearning, and looked up into his eyes. Those eyes she’d grown so accustomed to, grown to love over the last few days, “I need you inside me,” she breathed. Instead if ripping her panties off like she’d wanted him to do, needed him to do, he groaned deep in his throat and jerked her up to him. His mouth devouring hers, tongue teasing, the intensity of it leaving her dazed when he pulled away.

  “When I take you, and trust me, I will, you will be sober and you’ll know I’m who and what I am,” he said before he left her there, half naked in bed, wanting and throbbing for him.

  The clubhouse was smoky and loud, as usual, when Ryder walked in. But the plastic cups, cigarette butts, and trash littering the floor were out of place, so were the whores grinding their pelvises against barely conscious or barely interested men. The Club didn’t normally mix business with pleasure.

  He smacked Donny-O’s chest, “Hey what’s with the mess and all the Betties?”

  “We had a memorial party for you and Saint Nick last night,” Donny-O grinned, “It was awesome man but I was crying so hard over your dead ass I was only able to fuck two chicks.”

  Ryder laughed, “Yeah that’s a bitch.” He hated hearing about Saint Nick though; the guy had a wife and two little kids at home.

  “Here comes everybody, got your story straight? Make sure you tell them the part about the bath, that shit was hilarious.”

  “Yeah yeah, but I need to talk to you later, for real.”

  Donny-O nodded, he knew when Ryder was being serious. “Alright man, catch me when it all dies down. Hey and call your mom. She’s been howling and clawing at us the whole time you were gone.”

  “Hey baby I knew you weren’t dead, I knew they couldn’t kill the big bad wolf.”

  “Not now Bridget,” he tried to shake the bleach blonde off his chest but she wasn’t having it.

  “Oh is that anyway to treat someone who has been pining for you, missing your - ,“

  Moose pushed her off to the side with one hand, “Go rub on someone else darling, I got business with the man.” Bridget pouted and sauntered away sending Ryder a look over her shoulder that let him know she’d be interested in seeing him later, “You keep putting your dick in crazy and you’re going to lose it one day.”

  “I haven’t put my dick it that particular bit of crazy since high school.”

  Moose shrugged, “Well guess you made an impression.”

  “Good to see you back man!”

  “Thought we’d lost your dumb ass for good!”

  “You’re like a bad penny, just keep turning up.” Ryder was surrounded by his brothers, all wanting to pat him on the back and let him know that they’d been worried about him or sad that he was dead, it was a good feeling to know you’d be missed. And that they’d throw a party full of hookers and high end alcohol for you when you died. He hugged them all and let them punch him, feeling buoyed by their bonds of brotherhood and loyalty… well most of them were loyal.

  “Hey fuckface, didn’t think you’d make it back from that one,” Trainz stood there with his hand up, waiting for Ryder to slap it.

  Ryder’s fists balled up beside him, “Yeah I bet you didn’t.”

  “Well it’s all good right? You turned up safe and sound.” He smacked Ryder on the arm a few times.

  “Yeah, look I need to go call my mom and let her know I’m alright.”

  “Yeah, man, I understand, but Big Dog is going to want to see you soon… Red.”

  Was the story already around the club that quick, he glanced over at Donny-O who was talking to a group of the guys. Donny-O glanced back and raised his cup, “TO RED!” he toasted loud enough for the whole club to hear.

  “Ma I promise, I’m fine,” her screeching could probably be heard on the other side of the clubhouse, “Listen, I’ll come over to your house tonight,” he paused to let her continue to shriek, “I love you, I’ll see you tonight.” He hung up while she was in the middle of accusing him of staying out just to drive her crazy, and that her heart could only take so much.

  He threw the phone down on the old ratty quilt his grandmother had made for him and flopped down behind it. He was completely worn ragged.

  It had been an experience, but it hadn’t been all bad. His mouth quirked up at the thought of Aubrey, her neat little house and her giant bed. He wasn’t sure which he’d miss more, the belly rubs or sleeping diagonally across that huge mattress.

  His room there at the club was comfortable to him, but it held none of the warmth Sidney’s home had. The paint was peeling, showing the cheap wood paneling below, the posters of girls on bikes that plastered all four walls had been there when he’d moved in and he’d kind of liked them… or he’d been too lazy to take them down, the old carpet that was a color green that screamed “70s”, … there just wasn’t much about it that made it his. He had a few pictures of himself with the guys or with old girlfriends tacked here or there but it lacked all the comfort he’d enjoyed at Sidney’s.

  He pondered what it was about her place that had made him want to stay another day, knowing that everyone would be worried. Maybe what it lacked was Sidney, with that big beautiful ass and those full –

  “Yo, you wanted to talk?” Donny-O popped his head into the room without knocking.

  “Yeah, man, come in and shut the door.”

  “What’s up?”

  “Something weird happened the other night during the fight with the Hellhounds.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You gotta keep this to yourself though, I don’t want to cause any trouble until I know something for sure.”

  “No problem man, what’s happening?”

  “Well we were fighting in the forest off Gravel Pit Road right, and I had Trainz and BillCo beside me and shit was going good. We’d found four of them but they wasn’t no match for us.”

  “Right”

  “But then, all of a sudden BillCo and Trainz disappear and I’m fighting these dudes alone, and what was a fair fight turns into a massacre. I mean they weren’t giving me any slack. I barely got away from them.”

  “You think they left you alone on purpose?”

  “I think they had it planned with the Hellhounds. When we left that night they made sure I went with them specifically.”

  “You’re shitting me man, we’re brothers!”

  “Yeah so were Cain and Able.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Well I wasn’t at the time but then when I’d gotten away from them I’m lying there waiting to start healing and nothing happened.”

  “How is that even possible?”

  “I don’t know man, they must have drugged me somehow before we left. The only thing I can think of is Bitch’s Tit, and we haven’t
had any of that growing in this state in the last fifty years.”

  “Trainz and BillCo man, fuck. Those fuckers.” Donny-O started to get up but Ryder pulled him back.

  “Nah man, remember we can’t say anything or act on this until we know what’s going on for sure.”

  “Oh we’re going to find out what the fuck happened and I’m going to put my fist in BillCo’s ass until he tells me exactly what is what.”

  “No, we’ve got to play it cool. Keep it on the DL. Nobody is going to believe this shit till we get proof.”

  “Alright brother, just tell me what you want me to do.”

  “I’ma think about that and get back to you.”

  “Whatever it is, I got your back.”

  The fact was, Ryder had no idea what to do. He would have never have thought, or believe someone if they’d told him, that there was some kind of internal issue in the MC that warranted leaving a brother to die and the jaws of a rival club. Much less that he was the target of such a plot, Ryder got along with everyone in their chapter, any argument had been settle with a quick scuffle, maybe a busted lip but nothing serious, and no hard feelings. And even then it was over little issues of no importance whatsoever. He hadn’t stolen anything, lied about anything, double crossed anyone, there was literally no reason he could think of that would cause someone in the club to want to kill him.

  Ryder and Donny-O touched fists and turned to go out the door, but Squint, one of the new prospects, was standing there blocking their exit.

  “Just coming to get you,” he shifted his weight, “Big Dog wants to talk to you.”

  Had that been a coincidence or was he being spied on now too?

  “Alright, we’ll be right behind you,” when Squint turned his back Donny-O shot a significant look to him. So he wasn’t the only one who found it strange that people were lurking outside his door.

  The main area of the clubhouse was clearing out, Moose’s old lady was cleaning and bitching about how nasty all of them were. She was a bit of a nagger… and a screamer… and she was uglier then sin, but she had a good heart and she had been born in and married inside the club. It meant that she was family and family was important, “Ay Maria, looks like you could use some help,” he called out to her.

  “Yeah, you gonna drag ass over here and mop this floor for me…RED?”

  He shrugged, “You know I would sugartits but Big Dog wants to see me. Or I’d mop the ever loving fuck out of this floor for you.”

  “Pshhhit,” she dismissed him, but she grinned as he walked away.

  He made his way to the Sanctuary, the office where they had their official meetings, and where Big Dog did most Club business. He’d always loved the dark mahogany of the door and trim in the room, the same wood the huge table that graced the middle of the room was made of, it made the place feel special, official. He remembered the first time he’d been allowed in when he was thirteen. It was significant for him because little kids weren’t allowed in the Sanctuary and that was the point he felt like nobody saw him as a kid anymore, despite his painful lack of pubic hair or girlfriend.

  “Old Ryder, returned from the dead,” Big Dog came around the table, patting him on the back enthusiastically. “I’m glad to see you man, I didn’t think I would.”

  Did that mean he was in on it? “Yeah, it was a close call but I made it.”

  “So I heard the story from everybody else but I want to hear it from you.”

  “Well I got… separated from the trio I was working with and four Hellhounds decided it was time for me to see the Reaper Moon up close and personal. I couldn’t fight them all but I managed to get away and lose them in the woods. Who knows, maybe they just gave up, I’m sure I was leaving my scent and a trail of blood that would have been easy to follow. Anyway, I found a spot to curl up in and waited to heal, but I never did. It was a while before I realized I wasn’t healing at all, I mean AT ALL, so I started trying to get back to the rally point but I guess I was just too weak.”

  “So you fell down in the middle of the road? Smart, man.”

  “Well I wasn’t really planning of where I fell, I just fell.”

  “And that’s where the vet found you?”

  “Yup.”

  “You lucky son of a bitch.”

  “Pretty much, I probably would have bled out and been hit by a semi if she hadn’t found me.”

  “And you couldn’t get away sooner? We searched every inch of the forest for you and your damn mom lost her goddamned shit.”

  Ryder could have left sooner. Sidney kept her bedroom window open most of the time with nothing more than a screen between him and getting out. He didn’t want to look too closely at the reasons behind his extended stay at Sidney’s house. “Nah man, I didn’t have the energy to shift and I was weak as hell.”

  Bid Dog nodded, “Alright, but what happened with the lady? Why didn’t you just sneak out of there when you could change? You didn’t have to reveal yourself to her.”

  That had been his plan. Shift while she was at work, call the guys, and leave before she ever got home. But that hadn’t sat right with him, he’d wanted her to know that it was a person she’d saved and not just some big tame wolf, wanted her to know him.

  He shrugged, it was too complicated to explain to himself, much less trying to explain it to Big Dog.

  “Well did you at least get her to agree to keep the shit quiet?”

  “She got pretty wasted before I left, she’s probably going to be passed out for the next twelve hours. I’ll go visit her this weekend and have a conversation about it.”

  Big Dog nodded. “Alright, alright. Good to have you back man.” He stood up and held out his hand for Red to grasp, “But you’ve got to tell me about the bath, were there bubbles?”

  Back in his room Red undressed and fell into his bed, it had been a wild bunch of days and he had a lot to sort out. But despite all the turmoil surrounding what happened during the fight, his mind just kept returning to Sidney. If he had stayed with her he’d be cuddled up with her in her bed right now, away from all the madness of the club, away from anyone who wanted to kill him. He closed his eyes and replayed what he’d seen every morning for the past few days, Sidney stepping out of the shower, water droplets gliding down those damn luscious curves, rubbing the towel all over the places he wanted to run his hands over. The scene changed in his mind and he wasn’t in wolf form, he was there with her as a man, he grabbed her by the waist and spun her around to face the wall, her hands braced against the counter, running his hands up her torso he cupped her breast and massaged the stiff peaks, she gasped. Her mouth forming a perfect O, his gaze locked with hers in the mirror as he bent her over and entered her from behind.

  Red sighed and let his hand slip beneath the waistband of his boxers. It’d be a while before he got that particular fantasy out of his system.

  “Where is he? Is he gone again, you get him out here right now!”

  “He’s tired, Glory, he needs some rest, just let him rest for God’s sake.”

  He rolled over and looked at the clock, three in the morning and his mother was waking up the place screaming for him. He eased out of bed and tugged on a pair of old ratty jogging pants that he wore perpetually around the Club.

  “Hey Ma,” he rubbed his eyes, trying to make the light seem less intrusive.

  She brushed Moose out of the way, “You said you were coming over. I waited up all night, told your dad you were coming and you never showed up. Your poor father is probably worried sick.”

  His father couldn’t remember how to get to the bathroom, he doubted that his absence was too great of a distress. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep but I guess I was more wore out than I thought.”

  “Well,” she put her arms around him, all sins forgiven, “I just needed to see you. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.” She hated the Club and hated that he was in it. His father had been in it and his grandfather before that. There wasn’t much of a
n option, unless he wanted to go Loner, which he didn’t.

  “I’m fine, let’s go get some coffee.”

  “Yeah, and I’ll make you a egg sandwich. If there are any eggs in this shithole.”

  He rolled his eyes and followed her to the kitchen. “How’s Dad doing? Any improvement with the new meds?”

  “None that I can tell. Most of the time he thinks it’s 1975 and we’re about to go on a charity ride to Charleston. Keeps asking me if I’ve packed the guns,” she shook her head.

  “Yeah?” The dementia must be advancing, making him remember things wrong, his dad had never carried a gun before. Who needs guns when you can shift into a killing machine that heals almost instantly?

  She shrugged it off, “Eh, it could be worse. A few weeks ago he thought we were newlyweds again and kept trying to poke me. I’m half as dry as Arizona and twice as dusty, I tried to let him but it was like trying to shove a lumpy wad of dough into a sandpaper tube.”

  Red winced at the mental image, “That’s nice Ma.”

  “You asked. So I was told you were rescued by some girl? A veterinarian?”

  “Yeah, she took me in and fixed me up.”

  “Lucky for you she was there.”

  “Yeah, real lucky, cause I wasn’t healing up for shit.”

  “You figured out why that is?”

  “Not a clue.”

  She looked at him over her shoulder and pulled a piece of paper out of the back pocket of her skinny jeans. “Well that’s odd ain’t it?” She slid the folded paper across the table to him and went back to the oven.

  It was a print out from Wikipedia on an herb called sanguinaria, or bloodroot. Of course there was no mention of its effects on werewolves.

  “You know this one year me and your dad went to Burning Man, and someone gave him what he thought was peyote, but turns out it was this weird herbal mixture that made him sluggish. He also couldn’t shift for a week.” She put the plated sandwich in front of him. “You been taking any of them herbal speed pills you can get at the 7 Eleven? You gotta watch them things, sometimes they react weird with us.”