by Jenika Snow
Dakota curled his hands into tight fists, knew that starting shit with Gabriel wouldn’t end well for either of them, and forced himself to breathe out his anger. “I’m good,” he said in a low voice, turned and grabbed his bag off the floor, and headed out of the garage. He wanted to go see Tawny, but he probably shouldn’t seeing as he was in a pretty foul mood. The sound of his cell going off in his bag had him stopping by his truck and pulling it out. His heart dropped to his stomach when he saw it was a text from Tawny.
Tawny: Hey. Can U maybe meet up with me tomorrow to talk?
She wanted to talk? What could she want to speak with me about? Maybe the fact you’ve been following her and that she probably saw you on more than one occasion?
“Fuck.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, tossed his bag on the hood of his truck, and grabbed a t-shirt out of the inside. Once he had it on he picked up his cell from the hood of the car, typed out a quick text that he could meet her wherever she wanted tomorrow, and then shoved it in the pocket of his shorts. Well, looked like this confrontation was happening whether he was ready or not. And Dakota was just going to have to lay it all out for her, tell her how he felt, and then hope that she didn’t laugh in his damn face.
Chapter Five
Dakota sat in the small, Grizzly owned bar that Tawny worked at, drank his beer, and knew that he shouldn’t have come here without at least sending her a text. He had told her that he’d meet her tomorrow after she messaged him, yet he had gone home, showered and changed clothes, and then found himself at her place of employment, watching her. He couldn’t walk away from his feelings, couldn’t force himself to know what was best for the both of them and turn his back on the Grizzly MC girl. He was from another motorcycle club, from a different world than she was. He was human, and although she didn’t shift, couldn’t because she was a female and only males of her kind could turn into their animal counterparts, she still lived that animal lifestyle. She had the instinct of her inner bear, whereas he just went with his gut on things. But he had waited years to approach her on this. How would she even react to that fact? Would she be annoyed that he had blown off his feelings for so long?
But despite the fact that being with her, or trying to be with her, would mean he’d probably make a lot of Grizzly members pissed because they were overprotective of their women, Dakota still wanted her like he was addicted.
The fact he had kept his distance wasn’t by sheer force alone. This lifestyle was ingrained in him. He lived for the thrill of the violence that was part of it all, and yearned for the power he felt when he was with his brothers. He knew that being with Tawny might not be the best decision he had ever made, but he couldn’t forget about it.
He couldn’t forget about her. Not any longer.
For three years he had backed off, but he was more ingrained in the club now, even looking into taking over the position of club enforcer from his father, Malice.
Dakota lifted his beer and took a long drink. He stared at Tawny, feeling like an asshole for sitting here in a corner table surrounded by the shadows. She was currently leaning over the counter at the bar owned by The Grizzly MC in Steel Corner. Her ass was popped out, and his fucking cock grew hard as a lead pipe. Damn her for being so hot that he was risking getting his ass kicked by the whole Grizzly MC crew. It was clear he couldn’t control himself anymore where she was concerned. And damn himself for being so obsessed with her anymore that he was actually crossing town lines and coming to her work just to watch her. He wanted her badly, so damn badly.
But in his defense he was also watching out for her, or at least that was what he told himself. Yeah, he was seven years older than she was, and although she was only twenty-one, and had a crew of outlaw biker family members that would gladly knock a motherfucker to the ground for messing with one of their own, there was a part of him that just couldn’t stay away, didn’t care about the repercussions that could happen.
He watched her grab two beers from behind the counter, and take them over to the table of college guys being rowdy and overall obnoxious. He had slipped inside, but she hadn’t been out front to see him. For the last twenty minutes he had just sat here, knowing that this bar could get insane when the liquor flowed. Dakota had no damn clue why her father, Dallas, let her work here. If he had a daughter no way would he let her work in a place like this.
He may not be a bear shifter, not able to grab onto the power that her family wielded when the time came, but he was a Brothers of Menace member, a strong and mean motherfucker when the situation called for it.
Dakota brought his beer to his mouth, watched as Tawny set the bottles on the table, and when she went to turn one of the little pricks had the balls to slap her ass. Dakota’s anger burst free, and he found himself standing, his bottle knocking over and falling to the ground, and moving toward the little bastard that had dared touch her. He could hear Tawny’s outraged voice, and a part of him grew pleased she wasn’t taking any shit.
“Hey, keep your damn hands to yourself or I’ll have one of the guys throw your drunk asses out.” She turned, about to leave, but Dakota grabbed her around the waist. She made a little noise of surprise, and when he had her safely behind him he grabbed the asshole that had touched her.
Hauling him out of the chair by the collar of his shirt, Dakota used all of his strength to lift the fucker high. The man was on his toes, his eyes wide, and his hand up by his throat, as if he actually thought he’d be able to get out of Dakota’s hold.
“Dakota, what are you doing?” Tawny asked from behind him, her voice a little shocked.
He didn’t answer, couldn’t. He cared about Tawny and saw her as more than just a friend or part of his family. Although she may not know that, he couldn’t control the possessive and jealous side of him that called out to put this prick in his place.
“You think it is okay to put your hands on an unwilling woman?” Dakota ground out, feeling his entire body grow tense with his rage. Yeah, he was acting like a jealous boyfriend right now, probably overstepping his bounds where it concerned Tawny, but he didn’t give a shit. He couldn’t control himself.
“Man, I was just teasing with her, having a good time and all that,” he gasped out, and Dakota curled his lip in disgust.
“So touching an unwilling woman is teasing to you?” His voice was deeper, harder, and he was getting even more pissed by the second.
“Dakota, please. Let him go.”
He looked over his shoulder at her. She stared up at him with wide blue eyes, her blonde hair fanned out over her shoulders. He turned back toward the prick he had suspended in the air. His buddies were now standing, moving backward. They were smart, smarter than this dick.
“Please, man.” The guy was begging now, and Dakota loved it.
Dakota leaned in, flared his nostrils as the stink of alcohol and stale cigarettes filled his nose, and made a low noise in the back of his throat.
“I could fuck you up right now until you wouldn’t even be able to walk out of here,” Dakota said in a low, dangerous voice. He wasn’t even bothering to hide his anger. “I want to do that so fucking badly, because the woman you just touched deserves better than a drunk ass motherfucker putting their nasty damn hands all over her.” He squeezed the guy’s collar tighter, watched as he struggled to breathe, clawing at his hands, and Dakota grinned. He could do so much to this little bastard right now, but he was refraining because he knew Tawny wouldn’t want a scene.
“Dakota, please, just let him go.” Tawny was pleading now, and as much as he wanted to kick this asshole in the balls and throw him out, he set him on the ground, held onto his shirt for a second, and then pushed him away. The preppy guys grabbed his shirt collar, loosened it, and breathed out. Dakota turned around and stared down at Tawny, who had wide eyes and a mixture of shock and anger on her face. He opened his mouth, maybe to explain what in the hell he had done, or to apologize because now he felt like an ass, but before he could say anything the feeling of pain
lanced through his head. The sound of glass shattering filled his ears, and then he smelled blood. Dakota heard Tawny gasp, saw her put her hand over her mouth, and then he turned around. One of the assholes in the prep group held a now-broken bottle in his hand, his eyes wide as he clearly realized Dakota wasn’t going down, and moved back a step.
“Shit,” the prick said in a low voice, and Dakota grinned.
“Yeah, that sounds about right.” His head ached, and his vision was getting a little blurry, but he pushed it all back, circled his hand into a tight fist, and slammed it into the fucker’s face. The guy flew back and into the wall, and his two buddies must have gotten balls of steel in the last minute because they charged forward. Dakota grabbed one by the throat, and swung out his fist to knock the other guy back. Two on the ground and one in his grasp, and Dakota felt the adrenaline pump through him.
He clocked the guy he was holding three times, watched the blood trickle out of his nose and mouth, and knew that if he wasn’t careful he could easily kill this man with his bare hands. He was pissed over him touching Tawny, and enraged that they actually thought to take him down. He was a Brothers of Menace member, a lethal biker that had learned to kill in order to protect the ones he cared about, and asked questions about his actions after the fact.
“What the hell?” One of the security workers who had been came barreling in, saw Dakota, and although he was a big fucker, Dakota was bigger. The bouncer stopped, looked at the three groaning men on the floor, and stared back at Dakota.
“Steven, take these assholes out of here. They started all of this,” Tawny said in her soft, but anger-filled voice. The bouncer nodded, and before Dakota could move or say anything Tawny had his hand in hers and was pulling him to the back of the bar.
She pushed the backdoor open, and he was walking into the storage room. There was a sink off to the side, and when Tawny let go of his hand it was to go over to the first aid kit on the wall. Dakota turned and shut the door behind him, and the feeling of warm wetness trailing down his forehead had him lifting his hand up and touching the sensitive spot. The fucker really got him good with that bottle, and although he was pleased they couldn’t walk their asses out of here, he wasn’t feeling any less pissed. He looked at his hand, saw the blood spread out over his fingers, and growled out low.
“Easy there,” Tawny said and glanced over at him with a small smile. “You’re starting to sound like a Grizzly.” She went back to grabbing some supplies out of the kit, and then turned and walked back over to him. Taking his hand in hers, she led him over to a small desk and two chairs in the corner of the room. “Sit down and let me clean that cut.” She pulled the chair out, and they both sat down, her right in front of him and their knees touching.
“You don’t have to do this,” Dakota said, although the truth was a part of him liked her tending to his wounds. He felt like she was his old lady and looking after him.
She’s not your old lady.
“I know I don’t. I want to, Dakota.”
His fucking dick started to get hard at the fact she had said his name. She glanced up at him with just her eyes, the blueness of them light and clear, and doing funny things in his chest. God, he loved Tawny Stoker, had for a while now, and that was bad news.
She started cleaning his wound, and the silence stretched before them. He didn’t want to be an asshole in checking her out, especially after she was probably pissed at what he had done. But when he glanced down at her tee, he couldn’t help but groan softly. Her white shirt was tight enough and transparent enough that he could see her little pink polka dot bra, and the cleavage that was all but popping out of the gap.
Christ, stop looking and being a damn pervert.
He needed to shift on the seat or she’d see his dick press against his zipper.
“Am I hurting you?” she asked.
He snapped his gaze up, her movements stilling as she obviously waited for his reply. “No.” His voice croaked out, and he felt his heart start to beat faster. He felt like a damn teenager for acting like he couldn’t control himself, not like a nearly thirty-year-old outlaw biker. “I’m good.”
He stared into her eyes, knew that holding in his feelings for her for all these years was one of the hardest things he had ever done, and just wanted to reach out and pull her closer.
“I thought we were meeting tomorrow to talk?” she said softly, and flicked her eyes toward him.
“Yeah, but I thought I would just head down here, maybe talk to you now.”
“Okay,” Tawny said softly, and went back to cleaning his wound with peroxide and gauze. “How’d you know I was at work?”
He stayed silent, and tried to picture things that wouldn’t have him hard as a lead pipe. He wasn’t going to lie. “I rode by your folks’ place, and when I didn’t see your car in the driveway I checked out the bar next.”
She nodded slowly, and bent over slightly to grab something out of the first aid kit. Her breasts strained against her shirt, and his cock jerked hard. The image of Tawny spread out on his bed, her blonde hair over his pillows, and his smell covering her slammed into him. No, he wasn’t a shifter like her family, nor did he have an inner animal like she did. He didn’t have heightened senses, or have strength that matched a Grizzly MC male, but he was just as possessive and territorial as they were, especially when it considered the woman currently tending to his wound.
“He got you good with that bottle.” She was focused on the top of his head, and grabbed a pair of tweezers to get a piece of glass out. “What a bunch of assholes,” she said almost under her breath.
“Are you pissed at me for making a scene?” Dakota had never cared what anyone thought, didn’t care if anyone saw him as too rough, too brutal in how he fought. That was his life and how he lived it. But with Tawny he cared what she thought about him.
She didn’t answer at first, just grabbed a bandage, and after she had patched him up and thrown away the supplies she sat back in the seat and stared at him. “I’m not mad that those assholes attacked you, and I’m not mad that you felt like you needed to defend me.” She smiled at him. “But I am pissed that you didn’t let me know you were coming by, and that you only made yourself known after I got my ass smacked.” Tawny started chuckling, looked down at her hands, and made fists as if she was upset and nervous. “But you’ve been doing that a lot lately, haven’t you, Dakota?” She lifted her blue gaze and stared at him.
He couldn’t speak for a second, because he felt like a big asshole right now. “I wanted to make sure you were okay, especially since your dad seems to think it is all right to let you work at this fucking bar.”
She started chuckling harder. “My dad isn’t okay with me working here, but he doesn’t have a choice. I need to make money, because I don’t want to be a thirty-year-old still living with my folks.”
He stared at her mouth, at the way she had these lush, pink lips, ones that weren’t caked on with make-up, but had a light sheen to them. “It’s not safe for a woman to be working here, especially one that looks like you, Tawny.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “A woman that looks like me?” she said softly.
He leaned in close, something overtaking him as heat filled him. He inhaled her sweet, floral scent, loved that she smelled of flowers, and wondered if that aroma covered her flesh when she was naked. “Yes, a woman that looks like you.” He was acting on instinct now, picturing those men touching her, trying to get with her, and he grew possessive. “You’re gorgeous, smart, and don’t take shit from anyone. But you’re also gentle and kind, and so vulnerable and innocent that any motherfucker that saw you would want to take advantage of you.” He realized she looked at him with this shocked expression, and he cursed inside, knowing he had said a mouthful of stuff he should have kept to himself. “Shit, Tawny, I didn’t mean to say any of that—” Before he could finish speaking she surprised the fuck out of him by leaning forward and kissing him.
Chapter Six
Taw
ny didn’t know what in the hell she was doing. Well, she did, but she couldn’t believe she had the balls to actually kiss Dakota. They were supposed to meet up at some point tomorrow, and she was going to just come clean about how she felt, but it seemed Dakota hadn’t wanted to wait.
He was unmoving for a few seconds, and she grew embarrassed that she had been so bold and presumptuous in thinking he actually wanted her like that, despite what he said. But she got no more than an inch away before he groaned out, cursed something fierce under his breath, and grabbed her behind the head. He pulled her forward, stared into her eyes for a millisecond, and then crashed his mouth down on hers. She gasped out against his lips, and then opened for him. He stroked her tongue with his, claimed her as if she was his property and he owned every part of her. And when he stood, taking her up with him, she was shocked by the strength he emitted when he lifted her easily off the ground.
Tawny had no choice but to wrap her legs around him, tangle her arms around his neck, and hold on as he mouth-fucked her, and that was exactly what he was doing. He walked them toward the wall, and she felt the stiff outline of his cock against her pussy. God, she was wet, and it was all because of this male. They crashed against the wall, knocking over boxes from the top shelf. Paper cups, straws, and coasters fell, but they never stopped kissing, never stopped moaning against each other’s mouth as destruction happened around them.
“Tawny, I’m sorry,” Dakota said when he broke away from her.
They stared at each other for a moment, his arms wrapped around her tightly, his hands perilously close to her ass, and his erection still pressed against her pussy. She was wearing jeans, completely covered with the denim, but she swore she could feel the length of him, the heat of his dick, seep right through the material of her pants.