by Unknown
“You won’t be in a prison but it’s also not up for debate. You will get checked out and that’s final. Learn this about me right now. I’m fair and I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to unless it affects your safety or the safety of my club. I don’t appreciate being likened to child molesters and women beaters so I would suggest you don’t go there again or you may not like the punishment for that.”
“Ha, see, punishment. That’s what I thought. What are you going to do, beat me into submission or are you going to force me to––” Casey didn’t seem to care that Reaper was getting madder by the second. Damn, the kid must have a death wish. Not that he really thought Reaper would hurt the kid but he sure as hell would make her do work she wasn’t going to enjoy, something like digging ditches or cleaning toilets in the strip club.
“No, but I will make you clean the floor in the bar or maybe the toilets in the clubhouse. I can damn sure bet it wouldn’t be fun so be careful what you say and do. I’m not an easy man but I am not going to hurt you nor am I going to let anyone else hurt you. That part of your life is over. Someone hurts you now and they’re going to be deader than those two men I just ripped apart.”
“Casey, please. Just get checked out. They hurt you,” Sharon said softly from beside her. Casey turned to look at her sister, her eyes clouded with pain. She wanted to believe that they weren’t going to hurt her but who the hell knew what she’d been through in the past year with these monsters. Animal felt his heart squeeze; these two had already been through way more than any young person should have to deal with.
“Okay, but it’s not because you’re demanding it,” Casey finally said, squeezing the tiny hand in her own and turning to glare back at Reaper, showing a backbone that had likely gotten her through the abuse she’d suffered over the past year. “And I’ve cleaned toilets before and that can’t be worse than living with Skull and Lick. That means you won’t get your way all the time,” Casey said, glaring at Reaper. A slight grin teased the corners of his mouth; Animal knew that the girl’s spunk was amusing to him.
Reaper was feared by most of the men in the club. It’s what let him run this motley crew with little to no problems. Some of the men needed that chain to keep them leashed and they wouldn’t respect him if they didn’t fear him.
It might also have something to do with him killing four members who most of the MC didn’t realize had betrayed the club. Only Iron, Lock, Animal and Pansy knew about that night because they’d been on that raid with Reaper, Death and Mack. Animal wasn’t sure but Reaper might have told Burner and Rebel the truth as well because he seemed tight with those two. Animal understood why Reaper wanted to encourage the healthy dose of fear that his men had for him; it was to keep them from getting stupid and it was very effective.
“Just get on the bike, kid,” Reaper growled, his smile fading as he attempted to look stern, motioning to the back of the bike he’d just climbed onto.
“No. I can’t trust that you’ll take us both to the same place and I won’t allow you to separate us,” Casey told him looking mutinous, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed. Sharon was holding her hand, having taken it when they’d neared the bikes.
“Damn it, kid. I’m trying to help you!”
“And I’m telling you that I won’t be separated from my sister,” Casey growled.
“Enough,” Reaper barked. “Get her on my bike and Pansy, you take Sharon.”
Animal grunted as his hands went to Casey’s waist. “Sorry, kid,” he told her as he forced her wiggling form onto the bike. It was sad that she was so thin under the dirty clothing she wore that she was almost weightless. He finally got her settled and she attempted to jump off but Reaper stopped that nonsense with a tight grip on her arms.
“You get off this bike and I will have him tie you on it. Go, Pansy.” Casey stopped fighting and instead watched as Pansy took off with Sharon on the back of his bike.
“Go, go! Follow them,” Casey said urgently, her eyes panicked and her hands gripping Reaper’s shoulders hard. Reaper took off after Pansy with a rough sigh and a slight shake of his head.
“Man, that was fucked up. Those girls are never going to be the same again after being with those fuckers for as long as they were,” Burner said climbing onto his bike.
“Yeah, I wonder if she’ll freak when Reaper tries to have Lance look at her,” Iron muttered.
“Hah, twenty credits says she ends up needing to be sedated before they get her in the door,” Animal said.
“You’re on. I think she’ll need sedation after she enters and they tell her why she’s there.” Burner chuckled a bit.
“That one’s got some spunk despite what they’ve done to her. I give her ten minutes inside at least. But when they try to get her to strip for the exam she’s going to go apeshit,” Iron said. Animal cranked his bike and headed back towards the clubhouse, a small grin across his face because Casey reminded him of another little spitfire he knew.
Chapter 5
Sammy stood beside the door of her bedroom staring at the men in her living room. They’d showed up an hour ago and wouldn’t leave. She’d demanded that they go but all Rebel did was snort and Iron just ignored her like he always did. Rebel told her they’d leave when she ate. After cursing him to hell and shooting a bird at him, she’d locked her bedroom door and taken a bubble bath, hoping they’d get tired of waiting and leave.
Of course that hadn’t happened because they were still in her tiny living room when she’d finally finished her soak in the tub. She knew it had been almost an hour, which made her want to scream and throw a fit. The only reason she didn’t was because she knew it would do no good. They weren’t going anywhere until she ate more than the salad she’d made to attempt to get them to leave before her bath.
She was an adult and she could see that she needed to stop acting like a child when it came to eating, that was why she’d begun eating two weeks ago. She was just eating less than she’d been eating before––Sammy stopped that train of thought with a vigorous shake of her head. No, she wouldn’t think about what had happened again.
She glared instead at the two asshats in her living room, her hands landing on her hips and her eyes narrowing to slits. She wasn’t going to let them run her life so they needed to leave, now. Iron looked up and his brows raised to his hairline when he saw her standing there in the doorway of her room with her anger at them evident in the way she stood glaring at them. He nudged Rebel, who looked up at her with an inquisitive expression.
Sammy tapped her foot and stared harder at them before raising her arm and demanding rudely, “Get the hell out of my house!”
Rebel watched her silently like he didn’t understand the words she’d just screeched at him and Iron did his best impression of a statue. Sammy wanted to scream because these men who’d entered her life lately were unbelievable. They didn’t listen when you told them to leave you alone and they seemed to find it amusing when you were angry, like she was a child they indulged by allowing her to throw fits while not responding. It was freaking irritating and she was about fed up with it.
“I said get the fuck out of my damned house or the next time I say it I’ll be shooting you in the kneecaps!” Sammy told them, almost sure she’d do it. She was that tired of people deciding her life for her just because some asshole had ruined her.
“Wow, you’re really upset, huh,” Rebel said in a bored tone that made her want to slap him and then go get her gun to follow through with her threat.
“Yes, now get out!”
“I can’t. Animal wants you to eat and he told us not to leave till you ate something more than those ten bites of lettuce you called a salad,” Rebel told her as he stood looking at her with a carefully vigilant gaze.
“When the hell did Animal become my keeper?” Sammy asked, her hands shaking from the amount of anger coursing through her. Unbelievable! The man was able to affect her life and he wasn’t even here with her. It was insane.
&nbs
p; “Well I would guess right about the time you started following his orders,” Iron said, looking at her like she was a ticking time bomb about to explode. She didn’t blame him; she was a ticking bomb and if they didn’t get out, they were going to learn just how serious she was about shooting them.
“I don’t care what he said, if you don’t want to get shot you will get out of my house, now,” Sammy growled, her hands gripping the back of the chair she stood in front of with a white-knuckled grip that hid the shaking.
“Fine, but you call Animal and tell him that we weren’t to blame because I refuse to get my ass kicked by that insane maniac because he thinks we should have stayed inside until you ate something,” Rebel muttered as he and Iron moved towards the door.
Sammy snorted as they left the house because there was no way in hell she was calling that dickhead to tell him that she was going against his orders. She’d end up horny and eating something she shouldn’t because he ordered her to and that wasn’t going to happen.
Three hours later she awoke and for a long moment didn’t know what had made her wake. She was surprised that she’d slept at all because Animal hadn’t been the one standing guard. She must have been exhausted from the hike that she and Sarah had gone on with Josh today. She sat up, feeling her heart pumping hard inside her chest as she glanced around the room searching for the reason she had roused. It wasn’t until the figure moved into the room that she saw him and she let out a shrill scream that was loud enough to wake the dead or bring whatever biker was outside in to save her.
Her hand slipped under the pillow pulling the gun from beneath it. Her eyes were barely able to make out the large figure that had paused when she screamed and her breaths came in loud pants as she tired to aim the gun at the man in her bedroom without the aid of the light.
“It’s me, Sammy,” a darkly handsome voice told her and something inside her quivered for an entirely different reason. It was Animal and he was in her bedroom.
Wait.
Why was he in her bedroom? She couldn’t figure out why he would be in her room at this time of night. Suddenly another thought popped into the forefront of her brain. How the heck had he gotten inside?
“What are you doing inside my house?” Sammy asked, one hand clutching the covers to her chest and the other placing the gun on the table beside the bed. She felt exposed. She was only wearing a thin t-shirt that was two sizes too big and fell to her knees with a pair of black lace panties. Animal moved, stepping into the light that flowed in through the door from the kitchen.
“You didn’t eat again,” Animal said in a voice that sounded almost exhausted, and she realized that his face cast in the light was tired, haggard almost. A frown formed on her brow as she watched him in the doorway.
“I ate,” Sammy told him, still wondering why he looked so tired.
“Not enough, babe. You have to start eating more because this is getting old.” Animal ran a hand over his face before he stepped forwards, leaning down to tug on the covers and pulling them down despite her grip. Sammy gasped lightly, trying to jerk them back up to cover herself. “Get up. I made you a real dinner.”
“It’s the middle of the night, Animal.”
“I know and if you had eaten earlier you wouldn’t be woken in the middle of the night to eat because you’re acting like a child. Now get up and come eat.” Animal seemed to feel that was the end of the conversation and turned around, taking a step towards the door.
Anger lit inside Sammy. How dare he? He needed to get a freaking clue, she wasn’t his responsibility or his puppet. “I think you’d better leave before you really piss me off, asshole!”
“Look, I’m not in the mood for any bullshit. Get your ass in the kitchen and eat the pasta I made for you,” Animal said, turning back to watch her with a dark scowl she could just make out in the darkened room.
“The hell I will. Animal, you can’t just barge into my home, make dinner, and then expect to force me to eat it.”
“I’ve already told you to get up and come eat. Don’t make me force the issue, I’m too fucking tired for this tonight and I won’t be gentle.” Animal began walking out the door throwing over his shoulder, “You have two minutes to get your ass in the kitchen or I will carry your ass there and force feed you.”
He didn’t wait for an answer, he just moved out of her room. Sammy felt like her head was going to explode from the fury that flowed through her at his insistence. She glanced at her watch on the bedside table seeing that it was ten forty in the evening. Sighing, she climbed from the bed knowing that he would follow up on his threat if she didn’t. He must have come in the middle of his shift at Ink Bandits to make her eat.
Who the hell did he think he was? She wasn’t in the mood for this kind of bullshit.
She grabbed a pair of shorts and after slipping them on walked towards the kitchen where Animal was placing two plates on the table before grabbing a basket of garlic bread. Sammy shook her head; the man was insane. How could he expect her not to react to this obvious violation of her home?
“How did you get in here?” Sammy asked, wincing when her stomach growled as the scent of the food hit her, wanting to growl in displeasure at its betrayal.
“I had a key made,” Animal said, sitting at the table before indicating the other side of it. “Sit and eat.”
“How dare you! You can’t just take it upon yourself to make a key to my home and then break in whenever you want!” Sammy screeched, her hands on her hips, her heart pounding and her insides shaking. He shouldn’t have made a key to her home without her knowledge. That was just too much and she wasn’t allowing it to stand, she wasn’t.
“Look, princess. I’m not in the mood to argue. Sit down.” Animal grunted, looking at her with those eyes that made her pulse race and her body want to do whatever he told her to do.
She had never hated her need for submission more than she did in that moment because she wanted to follow his orders even as she wanted to rip him apart. Not even when she’d been with that sick bastard who’d broke her did she feel like she did in that moment. Anger at herself and him mixed up into an explosive need to rebel against his high-handed behavior.
“I will not,” she informed him, stepping back from the table when he looked up, his eyes filled with a dark promise that left her wet and confused. She shouldn’t be okay with this behavior, she wasn’t a pushover, nor was she a doormat. Yet she found herself watching him in wary fascination.
“Yeah, you will. Now sit before I spank you, then force you to eat it anyway. I am not in the mood for this, babe.” Animal set down the fork he was holding, his eyes darkly sensual, and he looked more than a little turned on by her behavior. She could tell by the way his hands clenched and unclenched on the table and the way his nostrils flared. His hazel eyes tracked her as she moved like a predator watches its prey and she knew that if she tried to storm out of the room he would follow up on his threat to spank her.
Choosing not to push either of them to that point because she wasn’t sure it would stop with a spanking and she was unsure if she was really ready for that, she sat down at the table. She had a feeling that if they ever started that kind of play, it would end with her collared and him owning her in ways she had never thought possible. His body seemed to relax some once she’d done what he insisted but he still watched her.
“Eat,” he grunted, waiting for her to begin. Sammy wanted to throw her plate at his head but she resisted the temptation and picked up her fork, glaring at him. He lifted his own and began to eat.
Unable to stand the churning of her stomach for another moment, she ate a small bite, surprised by the flavor that hit her tongue. She couldn’t help the small moan that left her as she began to eat the pasta, which she hadn’t had since before––well, just before. She wondered where he’d learned to cook because the pasta was fantastic.
Animal smiled slightly as he ate his own food, his eyes never leaving her. Sammy noticed that he hadn’t over-filled
her plate because he knew that she’d protest more if he’d piled her plate full like he had his own. The man was diabolical. He knew exactly what he was doing and he had somehow managed to get her to do what he wanted again. Frustrated with herself, Sammy leaned forward, ignoring his watchful stare. She hated that he was always using her submissiveness against her.
“Must you watch me eat?” she snapped, her blue eyes filled with fiery anger.
“Yes,” Animal replied before shoving his fork into his mouth.
“You’re such a jerk!”
“Yeah, but you’re eating so it’s working for me,” he said arrogantly and she wanted to smack him. The only thing that stopped her was the thought that it was childish.
“I really hate to break it to you but the only reason I’m eating is because I was hungry.”
“Sure thing, princess,” Animal snorted, making her grip the side of the table to prevent herself from flinging her plate at his head. Her teeth ground together in frustration and she ate the rest of her meal without a word.
She stood, taking her plate to the sink, trying to get away from him as soon as possible. He stood too, coming to stand behind her at the sink, his hands covering hers as she reached for the sponge.
“I got it. Go to bed.”
“You can’t keep commanding me. I don’t belong to you, damn it,” Sammy growled, jerking away from him and turning on him, her hands raised to push him away. He caught her wrists, not allowing her to push him back from her, crowding her into the sink.
“No, you don’t,” he whispered, his voice gruff and somehow caressing as his hand rose to cup her cheek.
Her breath caught and she felt her heart pick up as she tried to lean away from him. He seemed to follow her, his face inches from her own, close enough that she could see the stubble that grew along his jaw giving him a ruggedly handsome look that made her tingle in all the right places. Even trapped as she was against the sink she didn’t feel frightened, which was shocking. Ever since that night anytime a man had gotten this close she’d been terrified, except she wasn’t terrified at the moment. No, right now she was turned on. Majorly turned on and she didn’t like it.