Hardcore

by Jenika Snow

  “I could go harder, make it hurt even more,” Big said in a deadly soft voice. “I could make you cry like a little bitch, begging for your life as I peeled your fingernails away and shoved them down your throat.” The sound of Steven whimpering was music to Big’s ears. “I could break every one of your fingers, gouge your eyes out, and cut you in just the right place you wouldn’t die right away.” The sound of liquid hitting the floor filled Big’s ears, and he looked down.

  “Damn, the dude’s pissing himself,” Mayhem said behind Big.

  Big let go of the pussy and stepped back, a snarl on his face. “You sorry piece of shit. You hurt our girl, and I’m glad she got one in on you, but you threaten her again, contact her, come after her, or even think about her—” Big stepped an inch closer again. “If you even fucking think about her, you maggot, just know we’ll be waiting for you, and we won’t let you off this easy next time. You understand me?”

  Steven started nodding quickly, his face a broken, bloody, and bruised mess.

  Big had to force himself to turn away, but as he got to the front door he stopped and looked over his shoulder. Mayhem was standing in front of Steven now, cracking his knuckles, and rolling his head to the left and right, stretching out the muscles. Big knew Mayhem would let the bastard live, but he’d also get his fair share of retribution in for his sister. This little asshole would think twice about his actions, that was a goddamned guarantee.

  Chapter Thirteen

  One week later

  Claire stared at her stuff packed in boxes, felt this sense of closure fill her, and knew that she’d never really belonged here. She couldn’t help but smile. Although she didn’t know exactly what Big and Mayhem had done to Steven, she knew they’d hurt him, but also that they’d let him live.

  The prospects kept coming in and leaving with boxes in their arms, filling up the back of the moving van that was parked out on the curb. She leaned against the kitchen counter, stared around as the rooms started becoming emptier with each passing minute, and felt like things were going the way they were supposed to. She’d screwed up by leaving Big and everyone behind, thinking that she’d never have what she wanted in life. But the truth was if she’d just been honest from the beginning things could have, might have, been so much different.

  She couldn’t fix the past, so she had to focus on the future, and that was with the dangerous, sometimes scary biker named Big. As if he heard her thoughts he stepped through the opened front door, sunglasses partially hiding his face, the sun streaming in behind him and casting a darkness on the front half of him. He was large, powerful, and she knew he’d go to the ends of the world to make sure she was safe. What more could she ask for in a man?

  He moved toward her, his big body like a predator coming closer to kill its prey. But damn did she want to be his prey, want to be under him as he devoured her. He wore that leather cut like the devil himself, and his dark t-shirt and the jeans he wore didn’t detract from the fact this man was lethal in all ways.

  “Hey, baby,” he said and pulled her into his arms. He smelled of leather and motor oil, of the spicy cologne that surrounded him, and the warmth of him from where the sun had beaten down on the ride up here seeped into her. “You gonna miss this place?”

  “Hell no,” she said and still held onto him.

  “Good.” He held her a little tighter. “Then are you ready to get out of here?”

  She leaned back, looked at his face, at the scruff along his cheeks, the fact his dark hair was growing out and a little shaggy, and her love for him grew.

  “Then let’s ride and get the fuck out of here.” He pulled them toward the front door, and she took one more look at her place. She’d spent a lot of nights here thinking about the mistake he’d made, about how she missed the club and Big, and how it would have been easy to just go back there. She’d hated this place on some level, even though it had been her escape.

  No more running.

  She was going to just follow her heart from now on, and be honest with Big on how she felt and what she wanted. That was the only way this would work.

  ****

  Mayhem watched Butters behind the bar, and like a fucking creep he stayed in the corner of the club, the shadows hiding him. He’d met her last year at a bar, and even though he could tell himself he’d asked her to work with the club because of her charisma, because she hadn’t taken any shit from the guys at the bar, or because of her skill with drinks, the main reason he’d asked her to work with the club was because he wanted her.

  His desire for her had been instant.

  Mayhem had fucked his fair share of woman, a lot of the club bitches that hung around, and really any woman that didn’t care or want commitments or a relationship. He wasn’t into the whole old lady bullshit, didn’t want someone clinging to him, expecting to have him watch her back.

  What Mayhem wanted was a good fuck, the best fuck he’d ever had, and looking at Butters, knowing she was probably so sweet between the thighs, would be so fucking hot in his bed, Mayhem had grown obsessed thinking about it. But keeping that shit deep down was the façade he’d play. He didn’t show anyone his emotions, not even Claire. That was for the weak, a male that wasn’t prepared to kill with his bare hands to watch over his club and his family.

  Butters grabbed a bottle of whiskey and tilted it in her hands. She had on a crop top, her tits big and bouncy as she moved because she was braless. She knew how to tempt a man, but was the type of woman that if one of them got too close to her without an invitation she would cut their balls off. He’d seen her anger before he asked her to work with the club. He might have her here to keep the guys liquored-up, entertained, and to give him some eye candy, but the fact remained he watched her, obsessed about her, more times than he should.

  Hell, he didn’t have to pay anyone to be at the club. They wanted to be here. But with Butters he’d offered her a deal she couldn’t turn down. He’d used her situation at home, the fact she was desperate for money, as a tool, a pawn in getting what he wanted. He was a sick fuck, determined to get what he wanted, and what he wanted was her.

  He’d been so busy with the club, and now with what had gone down with Claire, that he hadn’t done what he really wanted to do … take Butters to his bed and fuck her until she couldn’t walk straight for the next week.

  Mayhem grabbed his beer and finished it off, watching her the entire time. He could hear Bishop and Cricket laughing drunkenly. They were from another charter, and were passing through, but were crashing at the clubhouse for the night.

  He kept his focus on Butters, though. She was now on the bar, dancing for the guys, making the sweet-butts jealous. Most of the club whores that hung out at the MC were only after getting their pussies filled with dick, but there were a couple that he’d seen wanted more. If they’d actually get that from a cub member was not his concern.

  “Hey, Mayhem.”

  He turned his head and saw Easy, one of the sweet-butts that had gotten her name for obvious reasons, walking toward him. She was in some high as hell “fuck me” heels. A skirt short enough he knew if she bent over he’d get a prime shot of the pussy and ass, and a shirt that was white enough he could see her nipples and areolas as clearly as if she hadn’t worn anything at all.

  Mayhem turned back and looked at Butters, and when Easy came closer he knew she clearly wasn’t taking the not so subtle hint that he wasn’t interested.

  “Mayhem, when are you going to let me have some of that cock?” she said without having any kind of shame. Easy leaned against his table, her ass knocking over his empty beer bottle.

  “Get lost.” He continued to watch Butters dance. He could see out of the corn of his eye that Easy looked toward the bar, and knew she was watching Butters as well.

  “She dances like she’s the shit, like she’s got the tightest pussy around.”

  “She probably does,” he said without emotion.

  “Come on, Mayhem. I’ve had almost all of the Patch
es. I have a few left, you and Big, even Dirty is on my list.”

  “If you haven’t had a Patch by now, that should be an indication they don’t want you.” He still looked at Butters.

  Easy reached out and was about to touch his cut, but he grabbed her wrist and glared at her.

  “Don’t fucking touch my cut. You know the rules.” He let go of her hand, glaring at her, and not hiding the menace in his expression. “Now get the fuck away from me. I’m not interested, never have been.”

  Easy snorted, started murmuring something under her breath, and when she left he focused on Butters again. Maybe it was the fact Butters turned down any advances the club members sent her way, that made Mayhem want her that much more? She wasn’t a loose lay, didn’t try to get with a Patch because being an old lady was a fucking coveted spot. Butters didn’t care about what anyone thought, didn’t give a shit about Patches, prospects, or if a club whore was glaring at her. She just did her job, entertained the guys, and made him hard like a steel pipe.

  Yeah, he’d be trying to hit that real soon, and then once he was done he’d get her out of his system and move the fuck on.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Claire tightened her hold on Big’s waist, the air moving over her face and hair, and the hum of the massive Harley beneath her vibrating and rumbling under her thighs. She rested her cheek against his back, breathed in the scent of worn leather and the spicy cologne he wore, and she could have groaned.

  It had been months since everything had gone down with Steven, and although she didn’t know what exactly happened among Mayhem, Big, and Steven, she knew they had kept their promise and hadn’t killed him. Did she see them let him live? No, but she knew her brother and Big wouldn’t lie to her. They’d beaten the shit out of Steven, put the fear of the club in his blood, but they’d let him live.

  She pushed all of that in the back of her mind, and focused on the here and now. His cut was smooth leather and soft from years of wear, and the smell of age and of it being well cared for filled her nose and had her smiling in contentment. She loved this man, loved him so much that it hurt.

  Leaving had been an immature, stupid move on her part, but at the time it had seemed the right thing to do, a step in the right direction she should have gone on her path. Her life hadn’t been going the way she wanted it, so leaving it all behind had seemed smart. Of course that had been at the time, and she regretted staying away that long.

  Since packing up her shit, quitting her temp job, and moving back to town, she’d settled in well. She was living in Big’s place now, but he was at the club more times than not. So was she, what with working at the club helping the guys get their shit organized. The club might run smoothly, but behind the scenes with their paperwork and finances it was a huge mess.

  The sun streamed down on her back, and with her black hair she felt the heat intensely. Sweat lined her spine and the valley between her breasts. They’d been riding for the last half hour, and although she didn’t know why Big wanted to take her so far out of city limits, she couldn’t deny she liked this personal, alone time with him.

  After another five minutes on asphalt, Big made a left until the road turned to gravel. He finally pulled off to the side of the dirt road and cut the engine. He was off the Harley first and had his hands wrapped around her waist and hauled her off the bike before she could even move. God, she loved his strength.

  The sound of the wind moving through the trees, the sight of the lake ahead of them, and the lulling noise of the water lapping against the shore, were calming, although she had this tightness in her as to why Big wanted to drive so far out just to spend time with her.

  She watched as he opened one of his saddlebags and pulled out a blanket and something thick wrapped in dark plastic. He held the package and blanket in one hand and reached out with his other to twine their fingers together, pulling her close to his body.

  He led them through the trees and closer to the lake. Once the space opened up and they could lay the blanket on the ground they sat on it. She looked behind her, still seeing his Harley, but her gaze traveling to the black plastic package he had, and her curiosity was piqued.

  For several moments they just sat there, neither speaking, but the air comfortable, the silence almost welcoming. They both had lived lives that probably weren’t the best, were crazy at times, and Big had definitely been in the violent, dangerous aspects of all of that. But right now when things seemed calm it was … nice, normal.

  He looked at him, at his profile, the fact he was so ruggedly handsome.

  Grayson Micah Harrison.

  That was his real name, which was never spoken. He wasn’t that person anymore. He was only Big, a Bleeding Mayhem MC member, and a biker not to be fucked with. He was the man she’d fallen in love with, and wanted to be by his side forever.

  “Is there something you’re thinking about, Big? You seem pretty deep in thought.”

  It took him a second, but he finally turned and faced her. He lifted his other hand and cupped her cheek, smoothing his thumb along her flesh. “I have a lot of things on my mind, baby, a lot of things overdue that I should have said to you.”

  “You know I’m here. I have your back always,” she said. Claire might never be able to physically back him up, not in the way he could with her, but she’d always stand by him. “What’s wrong?”

  “We’re in a good place right now, right?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, we really are.”

  “I shouldn’t have let you walk away all those years ago, should have told you I loved you and that you were my old lady.”

  She didn’t know what to say, so she just listened.

  “You were it for me, but like a fucking dumbass I let you leave because I thought you were going to do what you wanted to do, and there wasn’t anything that I could say to change that. I was pissed you left, and I was too hardheaded in thinking I should have told you everything, Claire.”

  “I should have done things differently, too. I shouldn’t have left, should have been strong enough to tell you how I felt and what I wanted.” She let that sink in. “That was in the past. Let’s focus on here and now.” She took her hand and placed it over his, which rested on her cheek. He let go of her and stared at the lake, and it seemed like ages that they sat there in silence.

  “I love you, Claire. I really fucking love you, and you’re it for me, baby,” he said and faced her again. “I’m not going to be a fucking idiot again and let time pass between us.”

  “Good, and I won’t allow that either.”

  He reached beside him and grabbed the black plastic bag. He handed it to her, and she could see how fierce he looked right now, as if what was happening was the most important thing he’d done.

  “What’s this?”

  “Just open it and you’ll see.”

  She smiled and tore open the bag. Claire reached inside, and as soon as she felt the buttery soft leather she knew what it was. Staring up at him with what she knew were wide eyes, Claire pulled the item out, still holding Big’s gaze. She looked down at the leather cut once it was in her lap, smoothed her hands over the back of it, and she felt her heart start to race. The patch on the vest had a top rocker that read “Bleeding Mayhem”. The bottom rocker read “Old Lady”. The image of the club’s colors had her feeling like she was really part of this, really part of Big’s life. She’d always known the club was her family, but this was real, was where she was meant to be.

  “You like it?”

  She nodded, her throat tightening. “I love it.”

  “You’ll wear it for me, Claire, let everyone know officially you’re mine?”

  Claire nodded again, her emotions clogging her throat, making her tears come despite the fact she tried to stop them.

  “Why are you crying, baby?” Big had her in his lap seconds later, cradling her, giving her his support.

  “This is what I’ve wanted, Big,” she said softly.

  “I know, baby. I sho
uld have given you this a long time ago. It shouldn’t have taken so long.”

  “And I shouldn’t have left. We both could have done things differently.” For such a big strong man Big could really throw on the charm. Of course that charm was in the form of a leather cut for her, but that leather vest meant a hell of a lot to her, to what an MC stood for. Getting a cut and stating she was Big’s old lady meant more than getting a ring and a wedding. It was a for life kind of thing, and damn if she wasn’t ready for it all.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Big held onto Claire, loved that she was straddling him, resting her head on his shoulder, and had accepted his cut. He fucking loved this woman, would die and kill for her, and he knew he’d regret, for the rest of his damn life, that he hadn’t wised up and told her all this shit two years ago. But they couldn’t go back in the past, and this was their time now.

  “I’ll say it again, baby, because it will always be true.” He pulled back and looked at her face. “I may be gritty and really fucking rough around the edges, but I swear I’ll always keep you by my side. You’re my girl.” He took her mouth before she could respond, not softly, but full of possession and need.

  The kiss turned frantic as they pressed their tongues together, fucked each other’s mouth, and showed the other who was really in charge: him. The kiss wasn’t just that, it was building to something bigger, something that would have his cock deep in her body and him claiming her.

  He knew she could feel his hard dick through his jeans, because the way she pushed down on him, ground that sweet fucking pussy on him like she was needy to get off, told him his woman wanted him bad. Good, because he was going to take her, right fucking here. He started taking on a more demanding, frantic speed with his kissing and clenched and relaxed his hands on her hips. Yeah, his girl would have his fucking bruises on her waist, and holy hell was that a turn-on like no other.

  Before she could comprehend what he was about to do, because Big wasn’t going to give her any time to think, just enjoy, he pulled her shirt from her body and tossed the material aside. They were secluded where they were, but just across the pond he could hear the distant sound of boats and other watercrafts.