by Grin
“You care ‘bout my sister?”
Mason nodded. “I do, a hell of a lot.”
Yuri grunted once. “I want to make something clear.”
Oh, Mason was all ears on this.
“That’s my little sister right there, and you’re the first guy she’s brought over.” He took a step toward Mason. There was no fear coming from this human, only strength and control.
Mason had to give him respect and credit for not being afraid in the face of a shifter or a Grizzly Patch.
“I love her like crazy, and want her to be happy,” Yuri said. “I can see she cares about you, because if she didn’t you wouldn’t be here right now.”
“I care about her, too.”
“Yeah? How much?” Yuri challenged Mason.
Mason took a step closer to Yuri. “I care enough about her that I’d kill for her, die for her, and am sitting here like a little bitch while her brother gives me the third degree.” Mason grinned, but it wasn’t all amusement.
Yuri looked down at Mason’s cut. “Yeah, I know who and what you are, but let me let you in on something.” Yuri took another step closer.
“Yuri, can we just go eat now? This pissing contest is a little much.”
Neither moved after Ryeissa spoke.
“I’m not afraid of anything, least of all grizzly bear shifting bikers.” Yuri cocked an eyebrow. “And I can see you’re not afraid of me, but I want us to be on the same page where Ryeissa is concerned.”
“Believe me, man, we’re on the same page.”
“Good, because if you hurt her, I’ll hurt you, shifter or not.”
Mason didn’t back down, but he showed Ryeissa’s brother that he respected the situation and his words. “Believe me, we’re on the same page. I’d never hurt Ryeissa. I’d rather rip out my own throat than do anything that would ruin what we have together.”
Yuri looked at Mason in the eyes for several seconds, and then nodded. “Good.” He walked toward Ryeissa and gave her a hug. “It’s good to have you home, even for just dinner.”
“I know,” she said softly. “It’s good to see you again, but I wish you would have put away the whole scary ass big brother routine.”
Yuri broke away from Ryeissa and chuckled softly. “You know me. I have to make an entrance, especially with a guy you bring home.”
She smiled at him. “Yeah, I know.”
Yuri looked at Mason once more, held his hand out, and when they shook, sealing that things were cool between them, Yuri turned and headed inside.
Ryeissa faced Mason, gave him this sympathetic smile, and all Mason could do was laugh.
“I thought my family was hardcore, but your brother is right up there with them.” He pulled her in for a hug, and kissed the top of her head.
“He’s always been like that, but after he left the SEALs after his injury he got even worse with the whole,” she paused, “the whole ‘I’ll kill you if you hurt her’ brother attitude?” She phrased it like a question, and started chuckling softly.
“He’s just looking out for you, and I can’t blame him. I’d be the same way if I had a sister. Hell, I’ll be that way with you.”
She smiled up and him and rose on her toes to kiss him. “So, after all that, you ready to meet the rest of my family?”
He grinned. “You know it, baby.”
Now that he’d had the proper threat from her brother, Mason knew this could move forward. He’d face hell to be with her. For him, there was no going back without Ryeissa.
****
Jakob grabbed the bottle of scotch, a shot glass, and moved over to one of the tables in the corner of the clubhouse. All of the guys were around, but the Originals were gone and with their old ladies and families. It was party time, as it normally was with the younger crew, and Jakob was more than ready to get drunk and pass out because of it.
Mason had brought Ryeissa, his old lady, to the clubhouse. After everyone had been introduced, the prospects getting a low growl from the newly tied down Patch, and the unspoken warning to back the fuck off where Ryeissa was concerned was issued, everyone got down to drinking and partying.
Jakob watched Mason and his old lady and felt this twinge in his chest at the fact Mason was happy, was right where he needed to be. He didn’t know if it was something he’d ever be able to have in his life, or if he even wanted that kind of thing. An old lady was a responsibility, would be his life.
Jakob was good with just worrying about himself and the club. Having a woman, a female that was just his to protect, fuck, watch over, seemed like it would be too consuming. Although a part of him couldn’t deny that having an old lady, a female that he was consumed with, possessive over, and would kill for, had this tugging going on inside of him.
He thought he’d wanted something more than a piece of ass with that dumb bitch that had gotten between him and Mason, but he realized it had been nothing more than infatuation. Hell, she hadn’t even been a female he should have wanted that badly. Maybe he’d just been so damn lonely that the attention she gave him, the conversations they’d had, made Jakob feel like he wasn’t alone in the world.
He threw back another shot. Yeah, the alcohol took care of that bullshit tugging, of that curiosity on what it would be like to have a woman. He was good with fucking and leaving after he was done.
There were some sweet-butts making out over by the bar while Odin was drinking a beer and watching them. Odin grabbed the chin of one of the sweet-butts, turned her head toward him, and kissed her long and hard. He did the same to the other sweet-butt, and when he was finished with them he still stood there and watched them kiss. He was a dirty fucker, for sure.
Over on the other side of the club stood a prospect, a club whore, and a guy that had been hanging around the club for the last year. He had become close with the prospect over the last few months, but he was human, and therefore there would be no way he’d ever have a chance at getting in with the Grizzlies.
The club might keep close to their own, but that didn’t mean they didn’t party with townies every once in a while.
The human started waving his arms around, clearly telling some kind of story that made him animated. Jakob turned his focus away from them, thought about just drinking straight from the bottle, but said fuck it. He could be classy and use a glass while he got drunk.
The front doors burst open and the loud voices of the Brothers walking in didn’t faze anyone. Jakob turned and watched as Link, Gabriel, Maverick, and the rest of the next generation of the Brothers of Menace MC walked in like they owned the place. This wasn’t their club, but they’d all grown up together, and they all considered each other family.
But what surprised the hell out of Jakob was the fact Ava, Gabriel and Maverick’s younger sister, and Lucien’s daughter, came walking in behind them. Livvy, Link and Marcus’s sister, was right behind her. He knew the girls weren’t much older than eighteen. Hell, he even thought Ava had just turned legal.
What the fuck were they doing here, and why would the Brothers bring them to the club to begin with when partying was going down?
Jakob watched them move to the bar. He grabbed his shot glass, poured more scotch into it, and threw it back. His throat was numb, his body warm from the liquor, and he was feeling really fucking good.
Link pounded his hand on the bar counter, getting the attention of the prospect working the drinks. Gabriel turned around, stared at the club, and then his gaze landed on Jakob. Jakob didn’t want to socialize right now. He just wanted to get drunk, but clearly that wasn’t how this would play out.
Someone starting shouting for everyone to shut the fuck up, and when Jakob turned his attention to Nico and Dakota, he could see and sense that the Grizzly and Brother of Menace Patches were feeling pretty damn good. They’d brought their old ladies, Alexis and Tawny, both females having wide grins, and their cheeks flushed.
Everyone quieted down, and the twins looked at their old ladies before turning their focus back at
the members standing around.
“What’s up, motherfuckers?” Bodhi shouted, his grin wide as he teased the brothers.
“We got some big news, and we wanted to share it with everyone.” Nico was the one to speak.
Jakob had a feeling he knew what Nico was going to say, or at least he could assume.
“You want to tell them, baby?” Nico asked Alexis.
She started chuckling and faced the crowd. “We’re having a baby.”
The round of cheers was loud, everyone shouting their congratulations.
“And we’re having a baby,” Tawny was the one to speak, and Dakota pulled his old lady in close, kissing her on top of the head.
Well, shit, two babies joining the Grizzly ranks.
Jakob stood and walked over to them, clapped Dakota and Nico on the back, and gave Tawny and Alexis a hug. “Congratulations to you guys. That’s fantastic news.” Jakob was happy for them, but he still felt in his own world, that darkness in him still festering, despite the good news and happy vibes moving around the room.
Jakob moved back so the other Patches, sweet-butts, and prospects could come show their respect. He went back over to the table he’d been at and stared at Dakota and Nico with their females.
“Hey, motherfucker,” Gabriel said and pulled the chair out from across Jakob. Gabe took a seat and grinned. “Pretty fucking crazy shit, huh?” Gabriel asked, referring to the pregnancy announcement.
“Yeah, but I’m happy for them.”
Gabriel nodded. “You already drunk?”
“Not nearly enough.”
Jakob looked over Gabe’s shoulder to see Mason and Ryeissa coming toward them.
“We’re heading out.”
Jakob nodded and stood, but had to place a hand on the table to steady himself. Damn, he hadn’t thought he was so bad that he couldn’t even keep his balance. Good, he was getting to where he needed to be for the night.
“Take care, and it was really good meeting you, Ryeissa.” Damn, was Jakob’s voice that slurred?
“It was really nice to meet everyone.”
Jakob smiled, or at least he thought he did. His face was pretty damn numb. “You’re family now, so don’t be a stranger.”
She smiled again, and Mason wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close in a purely proprietary way. Jakob didn’t miss the way Mason inhaled deeply from Ryeissa’s hair. Yeah, the Grizzly had it bad for his female. But good, Mason deserved to be happy. Mason clapped Gabe on the shoulder with his other hand, and the two spoke for a second before Mason and Jakob said their goodbyes and the other male and his old lady left the clubhouse.
For the next half hour Gabe and Jakob bullshitted, and got even drunker. One of the sweet-butts walked by them, and when Gabe tried to reach out for her to pull her onto his lap, it was clear the Brother was too drunk for hand-eye coordination because he grabbed the air about ten inches in front of him.
Jakob watched as the sweet-butt swayed over to where the prospect, his human buddy, and the other club whore were standing. The human was still talking loudly, clearly drunker than shit by the fact he had beer all over his shirt and arm, and was trying to grab the female. The longer Jakob watched the more he got annoyed. His anger grew when he watched the human grab the club whore by the hair and pull her toward him hard enough she winced. She tried to pull back from him, and even from the distance Jakob saw the way the human tightened his hold on her hair.
Jakob and the other Patches might fuck these females, not use them for anything more than that, but that’s how the women that hung out here liked it. That also didn’t mean they abused them or disrespected them more than what the sweet-butts wanted, and yeah, some of them wanted that, craved it. This punk ass human sure as hell wasn’t about to come into their club, their territory, and mess with club property.
And a sweet-butt was club property.
Jakob swallowed one more shot and then stood. His bear was there, angry, annoyed. He didn’t know why he was so pissed, because the roughhousing with the sweet-butt wasn’t even the half of where it came from.
“Jakob, where the fuck are you going?” Gabe called out, but Jakob was focused on this fucking punk ass human.
“Hey,” Jakob called out, his voice slurred, his vision kind of blurry, but his focus trained right on the human.
The sweet-butt turned and saw Jakob coming forward. “It’s okay. Everything is good.” She stuttered out, and the scent of her fear was strong. Maybe the human didn’t know better, or was too drunk to realize he was being a bastard, but it didn’t matter because he’d realize his mistake soon enough.
Jakob stopped a foot from them and looked at the Grizzly shifter prospect. “You better get the fuck out of my club. We don’t treat females like that.” He looked at the sweet-butt. “Not unless they want it.”
The Grizzly prospect should have put a stop to the roughness toward the sweet-butt. Jakob knew damn well he could smell her emotions, could see and sense she was afraid, but instead of being a man and stepping up the little bitch was drinking his beer.
“I said leave the fucking club, and you stand there and stare at me like you don’t fucking understand what I’m saying.” Jakob didn’t phrase it like a question.
“Jakob, man, I was going to step in.”
Jakob shook his head. “You’re still here. Leave unless you want me to beat your ass, too.”
The Grizzly shifter looked uncomfortable.
Good.
He left, and Jakob turned his focus onto the human that still held the female. “Let her go and leave the club. You’re not welcome here anymore.”
The human let go of the female, but he stood there and brought his beer to his mouth, drinking it as he looked at Jakob. “The sluts like this shit. I was invited here, and I ain’t leaving until Mark tells me to leave.”
Mark the prospect, the one that Jakob had just kicked the fuck out.
Jakob rolled his head around on his neck, cracked his knuckles, and felt the rush of the fight coming forward move through his veins. This was exactly what he needed, and he was going to make sure he took it out on this piece of shit.
Chapter Eighteen
Two weeks later
Ryeissa closed her eyes, loved the wind that rushed through her hair, loved the sun beating down on her, warming her, making sweat bead along her brow, and felt a smile creep up along her lips. She was on the back of Mason’s bike, going far faster than they probably legally should, but she didn’t care. She loved this, loved that she felt free, that nothing held her down, held her back. And she especially loved that Mason was the one she had her arms wrapped around, that he was the one that revved the engine and took the corners tightly, having her heart jump in her throat for a second before calming.
They were heading back to town after taking a ride through Steel Corner and River Run. He showed her where the Brothers of Menace MC were, told her that the clubs were tight, watched out for each other. One day she’d meet them, get to know all these bikers that lived by their own rules and told anyone that disagreed to go fuck themselves.
Mason turned his head slightly, his focus still on the road, but his mouth closer to her. “Where to now, baby?” Mason said loudly, trying to be heard over the rumble of the engine.
She could think of a lot of “nice” things they could be doing, things that had them curled up together watching a movie, or maybe going to the club and drinking. But what she really wanted to do was be with Mason in the most basic of senses. Yeah, she’d become this horny little thing when it concerned this Grizzly shifter. The feeling of this powerful, massive bike beneath her, rumbling and vibrating the sensitive area between her thighs, had her turned on, her pussy wet, needing Mason to fill her. She was aroused, and she wasn’t ashamed to admit it was from a combination of the vibrations from the motorcycle, the scent of Mason, and the fact she knew he wouldn’t deny her.
Leaning forward slightly she ran the tip of her tongue along the shell of his ear. She could feel
his big body shaking, heard the deep growl that came from him over the sound of the Harley.
“Take me to your place.”
He made another deep noise, and then he was taking the next turn and headed to his place. He slowed even though they were still on the back roads, and feeling adventurous, feeling like she wanted to take that extra step and be free, she braced her feet firmly down, held onto Mason’s shoulder, and rose slightly.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Mason asked. He turned and looked at her over his shoulder for a second, his eyes wide before he realized what she did and started chuckling.
Of course she’d never done anything so wild or dangerous before, but hell, she couldn’t lie and say that being with Mason didn’t make her want to be a little more reckless.
Now standing, holding onto Mason’s broad shoulders, and closing her eyes, Ryeissa let the feeling of really being free, of nothing stabilizing her, holding her down rush through her. She didn’t miss how Mason slowed down, probably more than she would have liked, but he was looking out for her safety, and she loved him more for that. Her fingers twitched, and if she’d been an even more courageous person she would have let go of his shoulders and spread her arms out wide, but this was enough of a rush for her.
After sitting back down, wrapping her arms around his waist, and resting her cheek on his back, Ryeissa enjoyed the rest of the ride back to his house.
Once there, she climbed off the bike and they headed to his front door. Ryeissa knew what to expect from Mason’s home: a dirty bachelor pad. Of course she didn’t care, because his dirty clothes on the floor, beer cans on the table, and a bathroom that probably would require a hazmat suit just to enter, didn’t make up the fiercely protective man that she loved.
But when he opened the door, stepped aside to let her in, and she walked into the living room, she was a little shocked to see his place was … clean.
“You cleaned up?” she asked and looked at him, knowing her shock was clear on her face.
“Hell no. I had one of those pay by the hour maids come by.” He ran a hand over his neck. “Took her a long fucking time, too.”