Doc

by Reagan Phillips

  It's the only way I know to survive.

  Doc

  I see her the second I walk into the bar. Dawn on some non-member’s lap. Hawk was hauling a few intoxicated non-members out the front door when I walked in and I caught the commotion going on at the bar with Gunner and Everly pumping out drinks. Dawn was nowhere at first and I felt the ball of panic rise in my throat.

  I'd almost not gone any further into the bar, thinking maybe she's decided to sit this one out and headed to the room for the night. Four nights in at the club and I'd kept to my side of the bed. I'd planned to tonight as well.

  All that changed the second I spotted her held down with her eyes closed and her body braced to take a hit. She can't see me coming as I part the crowd, pushing guys to the floor or into tables to reach her. She doesn't know my heart is beating in my chest like a jackhammer and I'm coming for her. Not until I raise my voice over the crowd does she open her eyes and spot me.

  "What the fuck are you doing with my ol'lady," I yell as a warning, but I don't give anyone time to react. I have Dawn by the arm and jerked out of the jackwagon's lap before he can comprehend the hurt coming his way. By now Hawk and Chopper are at my side and Dawn is removed from my grasp.

  "I didn't know she was yours," the jackwagon confesses right before my fist makes contact with his nose. He falls from his chair and grabs at his face, cussing me.

  I sink my foot into his ribs and give another kick to his back before Chopper pulls me back and Hawk drags the douche toward the back doors.

  My attention moves back to Dawn. Chopper has her under his arm and she's shaking, though she’s trying to hide it from me under a weak grin.

  I pull her into my arms and stare into her eyes. "You don't have to hide it from me, Baby Girl. No one here will ever put their hands on you again."

  Dawn answers by snuggling close into my chest. I wrap my arms tighter around her and she does the same until there is nothing between us. Dawn nuzzles her face into my neck and her breath blows over my skin, rushed at first, but slowing with each new exhale. I try to make myself do the same. I need to be coolheaded for her, even if I want to follow Hawk out the back doors and finish what I started.

  "Dawn," Everly cries from the bar. She's beside us in seconds and Dawn unfolds from my arms and turns in to fit inside Everly's reaching hands. "I'm so sorry. I didn't see it until it was too late."

  "It's okay," I hear Dawn mutter into Everly's shoulder. She lifts her head and glances back at me. "Doc had me covered."

  I can't tell if the surge that runs through me is anger or desire, but in this second, with Dawn looking at me with those hooded eyes and that bottom lip that wants to quiver, I want nothing more than to scoop her up in my arms and carry up to my bedroom. Our bedroom, I correct in my head.

  The thought is smashed when Bear and Bree enter the bar. Bree joins in the hugging and I hate it. I mean, Dawn needs them. But I want her to need me.

  "I checked with Hawk. He's got things covered. Dawn, are you okay?" Bear asks.

  Dawn answers with the same nod she gave the girls but then her eyes glance over to mine and I see something spark in them. It's fear, still hanging on to her even with Everly and Bree holding her tight.

  "That asshole had her down for more than a minute and not a single brother came to her rescue." I turn to Bear and puff out my chest. "If it had been Everly or Bree or any of the other ol'ladies--"

  "It would have been the same, Doc. I hear where you're going and I strongly suggest you don't. We accepted Dawn as yours and she's under the same protection as any other ol'lady."

  I'm about to argue back when something soft falls on my forearm and I glance back to find Dawn reaching for me.

  "Doc, it's okay. I just want to get cleaned up and back to work. You don't need to worry."

  I can't believe what I'm hearing. "You don't have to prove anything. You're shaken up and tonight was tough. Take a break with me."

  As soon as I finish talking, Bree pats my back. "We'll be with her all night, Doc. Gunner and Bear too. She's safe now that the trash is taken out. No one who witnessed this will try touching her again."

  I don't know what Dawn is trying to prove, but earning the club’s respect isn't worth her safely. She's putting herself a risk for what? The possibility that they will accept her again? I can't take watching her put herself through the pain to reconcile what Gears forced her to do. I take Dawn by the arm and pull her away from the girl-squad and into an alcove.

  "You know he's only the first of many who will take advantage of your situation. Are you really willing to put up with that for the club?"

  Dawn drapes her fingers over my hand where I'm holding her. "I'm not doing it for them. I'm doing it for me. Besides." She smiles. "You heard them. If anything else happens, Gunner and Bear will be watching. And you, if you stay."

  Damn straight I'm staying. I'm not leaving Dawn's safety up to anyone but me. "Fine, but the next guy who gets handsy is getting more than a punch to the face."

  Dawn's grin makes my anger melt. "I'm counting on it." She leans in and uses her chin to turn my face just enough to kiss my cheek before she leaves me to rejoin the others.

  I'm done for the second her lips touch my skin. I'm broken by that sweet kiss. By the trust Dawn puts in me. I'm a different fucking man than the one who almost threw her out of my front office days ago. I've changed, and it's her that's doing it. Making me fall for her one sweet second at a time.

  There is nothing else I can do but follow her back into the bar and take a seat, watching every step she takes until the shift ends and the bar closes.

  She’s with me now, and I won’t stop until everyone knows to treat her with respect.

  Chapter 6

  Dawn

  Doc doesn't take his eyes off of me the rest of the night. Other than his gaze making me feel electrified every time I glance at him, I don't mind the extra layer of security.

  The rest of the night goes by without another event. Hawk keeps busy removing unruly trash before they can cause any trouble, and Bear and Gunner keep to their word and watch out for me.

  By the time Gunner makes the last call, the only people left in the bar are sleeping or near passed out or on their way up the stairs with a sweetbutt. I help wipe down the bar and clear away the tables before I return my tray and head to Doc. He's been sitting in the same spot for hours and he's so rigid, not even the sweetbutts dare bothered him.

  "I'm sure the club lost out on business tonight with you over here staring down every man at the bar." I smile and tap his bicep, trying to be playful.

  "Good. I was too busy to talk."

  "I could tell." I giggle to break the tension and reach for the bottle on the far side of his table. My feet leave the ground before I reach the beer and I land hard in Doc's lap. Air rushes out of my lungs with the force and I pant through my lips.

  Doc's face nudges into my neck and heat blooms across my entire body. "Do you have any idea how hard it's been for me to worry about who'd try to touch you next? Do you know what that much frustration does to a man?"

  I could tell him I have an idea after a night of feeling him watching me, but the way he runs his nose up and now the curve of my neck, the words are lost. "It wasn't my intent to upset you, Doc."

  "I know," he breathes into my skin. "And that's what makes this all so fucking hard. You have no idea what it's like to want to protect you, knowing you resent me for it. It only makes me want to protect you more."

  I have to fight for my next breath. He adjusts me on his lap and my thigh lands on something swollen and tight. It's the first sign I’ve had that Doc is interested, and I'm surprised he let it slip.

  "I don't resent you, Doc. I'm thankful for your help." I pause, weighing my words carefully. He's already making short breaths into my ear and I can feel the beat of his heart near my back. "I'm just not used to someone watching out for me, I guess. It's new."

  His hands clamp down on the tops of my thighs and I fall back
into his chest. He's so warm and inviting. So safe. How have I gone so long with this level of comfort within my grasp and been too blind to reach out and take it?

  "Someone should always be looking out for you, Dawn. That's the law of the club."

  I can tell he wants to say something more, but he stops himself by rolling his neck left and right and clearing his throat. I can read his mind enough to know he wanted to say how Gears should have treated me, but he didn't and for Doc, that took restraint.

  I don't want to have this argument again, and even though I only waited tables half the night, I'm drained. I lay my head back onto Doc's shoulder and close my eyes. "I'm tired. Can we go up to bed? Work starts early tomorrow?"

  Doc leans down so his chin rests on the top of my head. "I thought you'd never ask."

  I'm lifted into the air and Doc settles me against him with one arm under my knees and the other around my back. I'm heavy and I want to protest, but when he looks down at me with his softly hooded eyes and that smile that makes my whole body warm, I swallow down the complaint.

  He doesn't strain to carry me to the stairs and when he turns us to face the bar, Everly and Bree are watching. They both glance at each other before they smirk and give me a nod.

  It's all in the dress and the adrenaline rush from the fight. I'm not going to let myself fall for the notion Doc might be seriously growing feelings for me. I've been down that road before and barely made it back alive.

  At the top of the stairs I tell him he can put me down, but he insists my legs need a break. He opens the door with little trouble and slams it closed with his foot once we're inside.

  I'm looking at the chair, but he takes me to the bed and sets me on the edge. Then he follows until he's laying me back on the covers and following me down. His legs are both between mine and his chest hovers over my body until we are face to face and eye to eye.

  "Doc," I whisper. I don't know what he's thinking. If this is something he really means, or he's just blowing off steam from the night.

  He cups the top of my head between his hands and focuses on my eyes. "I'm tired of pretending, Dawn. I've been holding back, but tonight, seeing that jackass’s hands on you..." He shakes his head slightly and sucks in a breath. "It felt like watching you and Gears all over again."

  I reach up for his cheek and when my fingers brush his skin, he closes his eyes and leans into them. "What happened with Gears will never happen to me again. I learned my lesson." I reach my other hand forward until I'm holding his face. "I learned it too late. But I learned it. "

  "Then you're free?"

  I nod my head. "I'm free. Finally. But I couldn't have done it without you."

  "I didn't do anything."

  "You believed in me when I hit rock bottom." I hold his face tight so I know he's looking at me and listening to every word I say next. "No one has ever taken a chance like that on me before."

  Doc rubs my forehead back and forth with his thumb. Then his eyes close and his mouth comes down on mine.

  I'm surprised at first, but it only takes a second for me to fall into rhythm with him. He's gentle at first, holding me, cradling my face with his hand until something stronger takes hold and he wraps an arm under me and flips me to the side.

  I'm not sure how this is going to work. We're both still high on the excitement of the night and he feels so good to me, I want to crawl into him. I want him to make me feel whole again. I reach down for his pants and begin working the buttons as he slips his hands under my dress and up to my bra. He pulls the fabric over my head until I'm exposed to him.

  "You are so damn gorgeous, Dawn," he says before dropping his lips to circle one hardened nipple and then the other.

  I'm still working on his pants, but the wave of something electric pulses through me and my hands go to his head, holding his mouth at the spot that needs his attention the most. My back lifts off the bed, pressing my nipple deeper into his mouth.

  It's heaven. I'm not sure if the new sensation is because this is the first time with Doc, or because this is the first time with someone who took the time to notice me first, but it's sinful how good he makes me feel.

  "Doc," I whisper, unable to get any more words out than his name.

  I reach for his pants again and this time get the button undone and the zipper down. I drive my hand inside and find Doc is already warm and thick for me. It's intoxicating to hold him in my palm and I'm instantly driven for more. I put one hand on his chest and push him back until he's lying on the bed, and I place both of my knees between his until I’m positioned perfectly to admire him.

  "Sweet Jesus, Dawn," he moans when I take him in hand and stroke up and down, running my finger along his tip. The need in his voice is enough to have me soaking for him, but first I want to feel the weight of him in my mouth.

  I wrap my lips around his cock and take him slowly, smiling as he throbs against the back of my throat. His eyes close and he leans back, saying my name over and over, urging me to move faster, go deeper, pull harder. I meet every demand until the salty tang of precum hits my tongue and Doc pulls loose.

  He is off the bed in a single movement and back with a condom before I can blink. In the time it takes me to pull my panties off and remove his shirt, he's fully sheathed and is pressing me back to the bed. I can tell by the fire burning behind his eyes, this isn't going to be an easy fuck.

  He's going to take me.

  All of me.

  And he's going to own it.

  I'm slick enough from pleasing him, that he slides right in all the way to my core. That first slap of his tip against the deepest part of me has me pressing my back into the bed again and rounding my hips to get even more.

  We don't talk. The room is nothing but moans and grunts and the smell of us together and as I rub my hand over Doc's chest, he's slick with sweat. I lean forward and lick him from his bare nipples down and I'm rewarded with a deep groan and a thrust that almost has me over the edge.

  I have to grab a hold of his biceps to keep myself planted under him as he speeds up, moving in a blind fit of passion that makes me burn from my core. Then the fullness sets in and the need to release grows intense, and then I'm lost.

  I let my head fall back and my body go limp, and I let Doc control me the few more thrusts it takes for him to shake inside me before warmth spreads between my legs and he falls to my side.

  I've been fucked before. But I've never had anything like this. And I'm afraid now that I know what it feels like to be fucked by the very best, I'm going to be ruined for the rest.

  Damn Doc for ruining me. Damn him for giving me hope.

  Damn him for making me want to trust a man again.

  * * *

  Doc

  I have no fucking clue what just came over me. I'd been sitting in the bar, watching Dawn all night. I didn't take my eyes off of her for a second for fear some nomad or independent would get a wild hair and try me. All that watching led to me noticing a lot of the little things I've missed before.

  The way she tosses her head to throw her hair back behind one shoulder. How her ass sticks up and then out when she bends at her waist. The way her eyes flutter closed after she's been watching me and gets caught.

  I spent most of the night reminding myself we had a platonic relationship and one night wasn't worth losing the distance I'd spend the last three nights building between us.

  Each time Dawn shifted in my bed, I wanted to pull her over to face me and slide myself into her warmth. But I haven't because I'm afraid that move would make me just like Gears.

  But tonight, with her the center of my attention for hours, I couldn't hold back any longer. And when she reached for my pants and her eyes filled with lust, I couldn't stop.

  She's beside me now. Her loose hair is fanned out and her head is half on my chest and half on my shoulder. I need to get up and get ready for work, but I don't want to move her. I don't want her to wake up and tell me this was all a mistake. A one-night fling that will neve
r happen again.

  I don't want her to hate me.

  A few minutes later, and she stirs on her own. She stretches and yawns and drapes one arm over my bare chest before she opens her eyes and smiles at me. "Morning, Soldier."

  I grin. Not the remorseful greeting I had expected. I take a deep breath to slow down my heartbeat. I move the hair that has fallen over her eyes to behind one ear and I cup her cheek until she’s close enough to kiss.

  Her lips are still as sweet as they were last night, but this time, she's doing all of the advancing and I'm taking it all in.

  "Morning, Dawn," I say when she pulls away.

  Dawn's gaze drops to my chest and her finger plays with my curls of hair. "About that," she says, searching out one of my nipples and making circles around the peak. "I've been wanting to tell you something for a long time, but I never found the right way."

  "Shoot." I pull her chin up to me with my thumb. "You're safe here with me, Dawn. Whatever it is—"

  She quiets me with a finger to my lips. "It's nothing all that serious. But something I want you to know."

  I stare, waiting for her confession. My stomach tightens at the thought of what she's going to drop on me. Abuse. Another man. She's decided to move on.

  "My name isn't really Dawn. Gears called me that and after a while it stuck. He thought my real name sounded too bitchy, so he changed it."

  "Are you serious?" I shake my head and sit up. "He changed your name? What a prick. What is it really?"

  She grins at me and I swear I feel my entire body melt for her. "Meredith."

  "Meredith," I repeat, brushing her hair behind her ear again. She's looking up at me as if she's waiting for my approval, but she doesn't need it. I'd love any name she's been given simply because it belongs to her. "That's my new favorite name."