“He seems quite decent for a cop,” Arianne whispered as she loaded Dawn’s tray. “A bit straitlaced for me, but nice.”
“He is nice.” Dawn shuffled the glasses around to balance them out. “Too nice. I’d probably taint him forever if I told him my whole life story. But he can also be very intense. Sometimes he gets fixated on a case and he can’t let go. He told me all about it over coffee one afternoon. He hinted that it had something to do with one of his sisters.”
Arianne loaded Dawn’s empties in the dishwasher. “Where’s he from? He doesn’t sound local.”
“Chicago. He wouldn’t tell me why he moved out here, but he doesn’t have any family or ties to the town.” Dawn gave her a grin. “Maybe he’s running from something. I think he has dark secrets. The quiet ones always do.” She lifted the tray, freezing when Arianne hissed in a warning breath.
But she didn’t need a warning. She knew Cade was here, felt his eyes burning into her skin, had sensed him the moment he walked through the door.
“Where is he?”
“How did you…?” Arianne cut herself off with a grin. “Sort of like I did the first time Jagger came to see me.” She looked over Dawn’s shoulder. “He’s heading to the back. Section four. Not sure why because all the tables are taken.” She snorted a laugh. “And suddenly there’s a table free. Your customers from table sixteen have been relocated to section five with only minor injuries. I guess he enjoyed your sordid activities at Big Bill’s bike shop.”
“I shouldn’t have told you. And it’s not serious. It was just … sex.” Turning slowly, Dawn spotted Cade at the back of the bar, sitting in the corner in an I’m-so-dominant-I-need-the-space-of-three-men pose, his legs spread wide and his elbows resting on the arms of the chair. God, he was gorgeous.
“I’m surprised to see him.” Arianne pulled a bottle of bourbon from the shelf. “Last I heard, he and Gunner were at Peelers Strip Club with some of the brothers for a hot night watching Dancing Delilah and the other strippers. They were celebrating some secret thing that happened a few days ago that I’m not supposed to know involves fifty thousand dollars’ worth of stolen guns, five injured Jacks, and one angry Mafia boss.”
“Seriously? And now he’s here?” Dawn turned and Cade beckoned her to him with a waggle of his finger. “Oh. My. God. Does he think I’m going over there after he’s spent the evening with a woman in his lap? The strippers were the warm-up and I’m the booty call?”
“From the way he’s looking at you,” Arianne said, “that would be a yes. And I have a feeling that if you don’t go over, he’s going to pounce. But, like you said, it’s not serious, so why do you care?”
“I don’t.”
Arianne gave her sly grin. “Maybe you should kiss your cop friend. See how not-serious Cade thinks things are between you. Because I’ll tell you one thing I’ve learned during my time at the club: The Sinners are a possessive bunch. Once they claim you, there is no going back.”
After enduring all the posturing at the police station, Dawn could just imagine what would happen if she kissed Doug. But she didn’t want Doug to get the wrong idea, or for Cade to wind up in jail. “Maybe I’ll just ignore him instead. I’m not going over there to be someone’s sloppy seconds.”
Arianne poured a shot of bourbon and placed it on Dawn’s tray. “He’s watching you like a predator about to pounce. If you don’t go over there, he’s gonna hunt you down, and I don’t think he’ll care who gets in his way. Maybe you should spare Banks the bloodshed.”
Dawn unbuttoned the top two buttons on her shirt and pulled the ponytail holder from her hair. “How about this? He wants a hot night; I’ll give him a hot night. But it will be look and don’t touch.”
“I can hardly wait.” Arianne laughed. “Cade’s never been with a woman who pushed back. He’s always the one running the show.”
Dawn lifted the tray and wove her way through the tables, flirting and joking with her other customers as she steeled herself for a professional but distant conversation with the man who made her blood hot and her heart cold. By the time she reached Cade’s table his lazy smile had disappeared beneath a mask of disapproval.
“You look like you need a drink.” She handed him the last glass on her tray.
His fingers brushed over hers as he took the glass. A zing of electricity shot through her body and she stifled a gasp.
“What the fuck was that?”
“What?”
“That.” He gestured toward the sea of tables between them and the bar. “Taking down your hair. Unbuttoning your shirt. All that laughing and smiling and touching guys. That dude on the right in the red shirt is still staring at your ass. And those two suits haven’t stopped looking at your legs.”
“That is called being friendly with the customers. Happy customers give better tips.”
“This customer isn’t happy.” He sipped the bourbon, his eyes boring into her with an intensity that took her breath away. “You’re my girl. You don’t be friendly with anyone but me.”
Dawn lifted an admonishing eyebrow. “First, I don’t recall us discussing an exclusive arrangement in which I would be your girl. And second, you get to be friendly with the dancers at Peelers? Hardly seems fair.” She tried to keep her tone light, but her words came out slightly sharp and she cringed inwardly. She didn’t do jealous. And really, she didn’t care what Cade did in his free time. So they’d shared a few kisses. And blazingly hot sex in parking lot behind a bike shop. No big deal.
Cade finished his drink and placed the glass on the table. “I had a shit week, so yeah, I went to Peelers to relax. Watched my friend Delilah on the pole, but afterward, when she wanted to dance in my lap, I turned her down. All I could think about was you.”
“Really?” Dawn raised an eyebrow. “I’ve always wanted a guy to tell me he was thinking about me while a stripper was offering to writhe naked on his lap.”
“She wasn’t completely naked.”
“Oh well then. That’s so much better.” She grabbed the empty glass and held it to her nose, inhaling the strong scent of liquor. She’d never been tempted to drink while at work, but being this close to Cade gave her a burning need to cool off.
Cade leaned back in his seat, wincing when his shoulders hit the wooden frame. “You’re making me think you care.”
“I don’t. Go see all the strippers you want, but not if you think I’m your girl. Some women might not have a problem with it, but I do.” She stared at him for a moment, torn between turning and walking away and asking him if he was okay. She’d seen the deep knife cuts over his Sinner’s Tribe tattoo when she’d fixed him up the other night, the ultimate disrespect from one biker to another, and wondered if her household antiseptic was enough to clean wounds that deep. Now she suspected it hadn’t been, but knowing Cade, he’d be falling off his bike before he’d see a doctor.
“Something wrong with your back?” She licked the edge of the glass, and the burn on her tongue made her eyes water.
“’S good.” A smile played at the corners of his lips. “You thirsty?”
“Um. No. Just tasting.” She put down the glass. “Something is wrong with your back. I saw you wince and I saw what they did to you the other night. Why don’t you come to the stockroom and let me check it out?”
Cade’s brow creased. “Nothing’s wrong, so there’s nothing to check out.”
“Fine. I’ll just leave you to think about the stripper in your lap and the cuts on your tat and I’ll get back to work.” She turned to leave, at least she thought she did, but her feet were still planted firmly on the floor.
“You’re damn sexy when you’re riled.” His hand slid up her thigh, curling around her hip, and he pulled her gently between his spread legs. “And even more sexy when your compassion gets the better of you.”
Game over. She should never have let him touch her. Dark hunger gripped her belly, and she struggled against the heat coursing through her veins.
“My face
is still bruised. Bruises aren’t sexy.”
“Yours are. Everything about you is sexy.” He shoved up her skirt, just an inch, his thumb stroking along her inner thigh. Dawn trembled, wanting more and hating herself for it. He’d just come from a goddamn strip club. She knew exactly what would have happened in the back room. And the kind of guys who used them …
“I’m in my work clothes.”
“Sexy little skirt.” He caressed her with both hands, smoothing his fingers over the curve of her hips to her waist. His fingers tightened and he stood and spun her around, guiding her the few steps to the hallway leading to the washrooms. Then he pushed her against the wall, his massive body hiding her from view.
“Cade. I’m working.” She studied the slightly off-kilter set of his shoulders, the weariness of his face, breathed in his scent of beer and bourbon. “And you’ve been drinking. A lot.”
“Stuff came up during an ambush. Stuff I’d buried a long time ago.”
Dawn frowned when his voice cracked. She didn’t really know that much about Cade—his family, his past, what he’d done before joining the Sinners, and what led him to the club. “You okay?”
Ignoring her question, he drew her closer, trailing his fingers over her ass, then cupping it in his broad palms, grinding her hips against his. “More compassion. And a sexy white apron with strings that hang over your lush ass.”.
“No…” Her voice caught. “You were just with … Delilah.”
He clasped her hand and placed it over the bulge in his jeans. Her fingers tightened involuntarily over his erection, hard as steel beneath his fly.
“You think I’d be this hard if I did anything at Peelers other than hanging at the bar, having a few drinks, and shooting the shit with some of the brothers? I put in my time so no one felt let down when, really, I wanted to be here. With you. I can’t fucking stay away.”
A soft groan escaped her lips and she glanced around, concerned someone might see. But his hands were already on the move, sliding up her abdomen, circling her rib cage, and stopping just below her breasts.
“Sexy tight top that makes a man hard just looking at it,” he whispered in her ear. “If we were anywhere else, I’d tear it off and spend an entire evening worshipping your tits.”
She tried to pull away, but Cade wasn’t done. He tangled one hand through her hair, pulling her head back, exposing her neck to his heated slide of his lips. He’d never been so aggressive with her before. So demanding. Dominant.
“Sexy beautiful throat.” He kissed the hollow at the base of her neck and her knees went weak.
“If you’re lying to me about Delilah—”
“Sexy soft jealous lips tell me you care.” He covered her mouth with his own and kissed her hard and fast.
“I’ll…” What? She’d never threatened anyone in her life. Even when she’d lived on the streets, she managed to find a safe haven with other street kids. What would Arianne say?
“Shoot off your balls.”
Seemingly unconcerned, Cade feathered kisses along her jaw. “Good thing I’m not lying ’cause I’m gonna need them right now. One taste of you and I gotta have more.” And then he thrust his thick thigh between her legs and rocked her gently. “Sexy wet pussy.”
“Cade. Stop.” Gritting her teeth against the delicious sensation, she wrenched herself away. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you tonight. And even if we’re just having a good time, even if this isn’t real, I can’t handle your … other … Dancing Delilah.”
Oh God. Did she just say “Dancing Delilah”?
“I don’t want her. I want you.”
“If you wanted me, why did you go to Peelers?”
“Because I didn’t want to want you.”
She stroked his cheek, rough with stubble. He hadn’t shaved in a couple of days, and now that she was closer she could see lines of weariness marking his brow. Haggard.
“Then why did you come here?”
“Because everything is better when I’m with you.” He clasped her hand and pulled her down the hallway. With a quick look back over his shoulder, he pushed open the door to the ladies’ restroom and dragged her inside.
“What are you doing?” But she knew exactly what he was doing, and she was more than fully on board with the program.
He closed and locked the door, then flicked on the light. Both stalls were empty. He pushed her against the burnt-orange wall and settled his hands possessively on her hips.
“I need you, sweetheart, and I need you now.” He angled his head and claimed her mouth in a fierce kiss that ripped a moan from her throat.
“What happened when you were on the road? Talk to me, Cade. Let me help.”
Cade smoothed his broad hands over her hips and raised her tight skirt, his fingers curling around the hem as he tugged it up to her waist. “Nothing for you to worry about.” He kicked her legs apart, cupped her mound. Dawn gasped, her brain trying to catch up with her body’s instant response to the focused intensity of his sensual assault.
“I am worried. I’ve never seen you like this.”
His hand rocked, rubbing her through her panties until she was grinding against him; so wet she ached to feel him inside her.
He clasped her hand and pressed it against his shaft, rock-hard beneath his fly. “I want to be inside you. I want to forget. Something about you. So sweet. Soft. Sexy. You light up the darkness.” He brushed his lips over her ear, whispering dark secrets, things he wanted to do to her, all the ways he wanted to make her come. Then he slipped his hand into the front of her panties and slid his fingers through her folds, teasing her clit. “Only thing you need to know is I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She tried to pull back, but he thrust his finger deep inside her wetness and she panted her breaths, head spinning as the rush of sensation threatened to carry her away.
“You need me.” He added a second finger, stretching her, thrusting harder this time. Dawn’s heart thundered, blood pounding through her ears.
“You need me like I need you. Say it.”
The door shook with a heavy blow and Banks shouted outside. “Dawn? You okay? What’s going on?”
“Just a minute,” she called out.
Cade’s eyes narrowed. “He wants you.”
“You think everyone wants me.” She reluctantly pulled back and tugged down her skirt.
“They do. You’re sexy as fuck.” His chest heaved, his eyes hot, the bulge in his jeans betraying his need. “Benson I can handle. Mad Dog, too. Banks might be a problem. He took down six men in less than three minutes when Jagger decided to bring him to the clubhouse for questioning. Might just have to shoot him.”
Her lips turned up in a bemused smile. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t. You’ve already put one of my jobs at risk.”
Cade made a quick self-adjustment and then nodded for her to open the door. “Won’t shoot him unless he touches you.”
“Much obliged.”
He brushed his knuckles lightly over her cheek. “Still wanna fuck you.”
“I get off at midnight.”
EIGHT
I will never dishonor my colors.
SINNER’S TRIBE CREED
Jesus. Fucking. Christ. Cade shot back his bourbon and closed his eyes as the thick, sweet liquid burned its way down his throat. What the hell was wrong with him?
If Banks hadn’t knocked on the door, he would have taken her in the restroom. Over the sink. Her hair twisted around his hand, back arched, legs wide as he plunged his cock deep into her hot, wet pussy.
Only Dawn could push the demons away. He’d never felt a connection with anyone in his life, but during the two nights he’d spent with her, he’d felt no pain, suffered no flashbacks. He had wanted those nights to go on forever, and when she left him, he hadn’t been able to shake the memories. He’d imprinted. Like a goddamn newborn chick.
He watched her work her way through the bar, the grace of her movements, the ring of her laughte
r, the brightness of her smile marred by the fading bruises on her face. He imagined his hands on her ass, his fingers in her hair, his mouth on her soft lips, his cock inside her slick, wet heat. He liked her compassion, her sass and directness. When she was annoyed, she let him know it, and damn she’d been pissed about Delilah.
Christ, he’d liked that little flare of jealousy. Her indignant sniff and the flush in her cheeks were the only things that told him he wasn’t wasting his time. Everything about Dawn screamed sex, but there was something more that kept bringing him back. He’d never been so inexplicably drawn to a woman in his life.
Apparently the bunch of losers in the corner felt the same. They’d been harassing her all evening, but the bouncer kept them in line. Now, however, the bouncer was occupied with a belligerent drunk and one of the biker wannabes was trying to pull Dawn onto his lap.
Cade shoved back his chair and stalked across the bar, knocking tables and the odd person out of his way. Dawn struggled in her captor’s grasp, then jabbed him hard in the ribs with her elbow. The dude bent over and she spun around and clipped him a good one in the chin. Damn fine woman could look after herself, but the dude’s friends didn’t look so happy. Time to make sure they got the message the party was over.
But before he reached the table, a black blur shot in front of him and Deputy fucking Benson stole the show.
“I suggest you keep your hands to yourself.” Benson put one protective arm around Dawn and pulled his fucking shiny sheriff badge from his pocket. The dude Cade had intended to pound into the floor paled.
“Didn’t mean anything by it, Officer. Just joking around.”
“Good to hear.” Benson tucked away his badge., “But I suggest you move on. There are real bikers in this bar who might not take kindly to you playing dress-up.” He nodded to Cade, but Cade wasn’t interested in playing the game. Not while Benson had his hands on Dawn.
“Let her go, Benson. Dawn had this fight.”
“She was in danger. Someone needed to step in and save her.”
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