Running Wild (Hell Ryders MC Book 1)

by J. L. Sheppard

  She would lose her mind. “Yes…please.”

  He released her nipple. She whimpered at the loss.

  His face inches from hers, he asked again, “You gonna let me handle it?”

  “Yes, honey. Whatever you want, just please.”

  The heat of his body was gone but not for long. He removed her jeans and thong, then grabbed her around the waist, hoisting her up on her knees, and bent her over the couch. The next instant, he was behind her. One hand gripping her waist, the other he snaked around her stomach. He cupped her breast, hauled her back against him, and buried himself inside her.

  She screamed, loud.

  “Fuckin’ heaven, baby,” he whispered against her neck.

  She shivered, her legs trembling. He pulled out of her, then pushed into her again and again. Hard and fast, like he knew she liked it, like he was rewarding her. He kept his pace, in and out of her quickly. Then his hand at her breast slid down her body agonizingly slow. Finally, he cupped her flesh and rubbed his fingers against her clit. “Come with me, baby.”

  She threw her head back because she came, hard. He didn’t stop. He continued to move inside her, continued to rub her. Then the unimaginable happened, something she’d never experienced before, something she’d thought a myth. Moments after her release, the pleasure started again. It built and built and didn’t stop building.

  He wrapped his arm across her, gripping her shoulder, holding her still, and close against him. “I feel you…” He groaned, pumping inside her faster.

  His words threw her over. Feeling his cock pulsate inside, she screamed. A second orgasm flooded her blood, her veins. She swore she felt it in her soul.

  He growled, muttering an almost incoherent, “Fuckin’ heaven.”

  When he stilled, his feverish breaths heated her neck, his arm still tight around her, holding her up. He shifted them until his back lay flat against the couch, and she was sprawled on top of him. One arm around her waist, the other buried in her hair.

  They stayed like that for a while, catching their breaths.

  Finally, he broke the silence. “Tina’s off tomorrow. First thing, I talk to Army.”

  She tensed against him.

  He rubbed his hand against her back soothingly then pressed his lips against her forehead. “Don’t worry, baby, everything’s gonna be fine.”

  She lifted her head to meet his eyes. “I want to be there with you.”

  He lifted his head, pressed a kiss to her lips. “Gotta talk to your brother alone.”

  “I know you two need to talk ‘man to man’ or whatever because you’re both macho men bikers, but he needs to know how I feel about this.” She hesitated. “You said you wouldn’t control my life. If you leave without me, then you are. He’s my brother, and I know my brother. He needs to know how I feel.”

  His eyes hardened, the way they did when he was angry, probably the “control” comment she made but it had to be done. There was no other way to get through to him, like she knew there was no way to get through to her brother unless she was there.

  “Knew you were smart from one look. Didn’t know you had it in you to bring up shit like that to try to get me to agree though.”

  She smiled. “Look who’s talking, Mr. I-use-sex-to-get-what-I-want.”

  He fought a smile, and then he gave up. She had a point. He didn’t seem to mind. “It’s for your own good.”

  “It’s for our own good.”

  ****

  “What. The. Fuck?”

  The shriek woke her. The next instant, Jace grasped under her arms and shoved her behind him. Simultaneously, he threw a blanket over her.

  A heavy sleeper meant all that movement and still she was half asleep trying to process everything when she heard another shriek.

  “What the fuck?”

  Oh, shit. She knew that voice. Her brother, of course. He had the worst timing, ever.

  “Let me explain.”

  Jace. She could hear him but couldn’t see his face considering he shoved her behind him. All she could see—the mass of muscles lining his back and the Hell Ryders tat. Trying to gather her thoughts with a sleep-hazed mind wasn’t easy.

  “Explain? What the fuck are you gonna explain? How you been fuckin’ my sister behind my back?”

  Shit. Shit. Shit. She was naked. Jace was naked, and her brother was in her room. She should’ve never given him a key.

  Wrapping and tightening the blanket around herself, she peered over Jace’s shoulder. Only caught a brief glimpse of Ty, before Jace felt her move and pushed her fully behind him.

  “Allie’s in the fuckin’ room. Calm down, and we’ll talk about this.”

  “You fuckin’ kidding me? You’re fuckin’ my sister in her fuckin’ house, and I’m supposed to be fuckin’ calm? She’s off fuckin’ limits, and you’re my fuckin’ brother. Before the club, we were brothers. We served together. I trusted you. You fuckin’ stabbed me in the back—”

  Gripping the blanket firmly around herself, she moved away from Jace. He reached for her, wrapping his arm around her waist. Finally though, she caught a good glimpse of her brother. Nostrils flared, eyes glaring and deadpanned on Jace.

  “Ty—” All she got out before Jace pushed her behind him.

  “Stop it, Jace,” she snapped.

  “You touch her again. I’ll fuckin’ shoot you on the spot.”

  Oh, God. She’d made it worse. A lot worse.

  Jace released her.

  Blanket still firmly wrapped around her, she pulled herself beside Jace. Her eyes gravitating to the gun in Ty’s hand, pointed toward the ground. His finger on the trigger.

  The breath rushed out of her. She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. “Don’t, Ty. Don’t hurt him.” Her voice cracked.

  “You’ve fuckin’ scared her half to fuckin’ death. Put that shit away.” His voice low, but there was a menacing sound to it that hadn’t been there before.

  Ty put the gun on the back waistband of his jeans.

  Only then did she meet Ty’s gaze. “Ty…” Her voice came out shaky. “It’s not what it looks like.”

  “Looks like he’s been fuckin’ you for a while, Allie, hiding you like you aren’t worth being claimed. Looks like you been lying to me. Looks and sounds like you’ve fallen for a biker.”

  He’d made it sound so bad. If she wasn’t so guilt-ridden, and insecure, she would’ve denied Jace was hiding her. She would’ve said something or done something like fight the tears spilling from her eyes.

  “Fuckin’ asshole,” Jace snapped. “You wanna be a dick? Be a fuckin’ dick to me. Don’t be a fuckin’ dick to her. She’s your sister.”

  “Says the brother who’s been fuckin’ her,” Ty shot back.

  Jace jackknifed out of bed. In a split second, he faced off her brother, butt naked.

  She managed then to find her voice. “Stop!”

  Their gazes shot to her.

  “You want to know the truth, Ty?”

  His gaze on her, he jerked his head.

  “The truth is I’ve wanted Jace since I met him. He made it hard because he was always mad. I thought he didn’t like me. That would’ve turned me off except every now and then he did something sweet, like rough up my ex or let me cry when I needed it.

  “Then you left, and you left him here, who I was trying to avoid because he was always so cold with me. The night the rock was thrown at my window I was freaked and again, he was here being sweet. I kissed him. Then we started dating, but it wasn’t easy because I’m off limits. We didn’t have another choice but to keep us a secret.”

  Clutching the blanket against her, she rose and rested her weight on her knees. “I’m sorry for lying to you, but you have to understand, Ty, this was harder for him and me than it was for you. You’re my family. I lied, and it hurts. Jace has been lying too, and it hurts him too because you and the club are his family.

  “Despite the fact Jace and I are consenting adults, you made it impossible for u
s not to hide. I get why you were protecting me, and I’m glad, but this is different. Before you start pointing fingers at us, please think about that.”

  She fell silent and waited for Ty to say something, anything.

  After a long moment, his eyes scanning her face the entire time, he turned to Jace, his jaw set in anger. “Gotta talk to Allie. Alone.”

  Jace fisted his hands, and then reluctantly nodded. He strode to her, cupped the back of her head, tugged her against him, and kissed her forehead. He met her eyes. “Be outside.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  He pulled on his jeans, walked out of her room, and out of sight. Her front door opened, then closed. Only then did she meet her brother’s eyes. He was still angry, really angry.

  “You love him.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

  She nodded. “Yes, Ty. I’m in love with him.”

  He sighed heavily, closed the distanced between them, and sat on the edge of her bed. Resting his elbows on his knees, he buried his face in his hands.

  “Ty?”

  He looked at her.

  “I’ve never felt this way about anyone. He may not feel the same.” She shrugged. “I don’t know, but I know I love him. I loved him before I knew he didn’t go to college, before I knew he grew up in a trailer. Now I’m certain because despite the odds, he’s a good man. He made himself that man. I know he deserves to be loved like I love him…even if he doesn’t love me.” Her voice cracked.

  Ty didn’t speak. He didn’t move either. Tears fell, staining her face, and still, he didn’t move.

  “He’s so good to me, Ty. He’s so good…to me. I’ve never felt so…” She hesitated, searching for the right word. “Alive. I feel alive. For the first time in my life, I’m not an object someone can control, I’m a person. So it doesn’t matter if he loves me. I know how he makes me feel, and I can live with that.”

  He dropped his head, ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head. He met her stare. “You deserve more, Allie. You deserve to be loved, too. Don’t fuckin’ settle. Don’t ever fuckin’ settle. Better than you is no one, nothing.”

  He stood. “Gotta talk to Jace.”

  “Promise me.”

  No hesitation. “I promise.”

  He knew what she meant. She hadn’t needed to tell him. It’s why he was her brother. He’d keep his promise, no matter what Jace said or didn’t say.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Trig waited and waited, and he wasn’t patient about it either. He didn’t want to leave Allie alone. She was safe with her brother, but it didn’t mean she was okay. It didn’t mean she wasn’t upset or worst, fucking crying.

  He hated when she cried. She was tough and strong and taught not to cry. When she cried, he knew she’d had too much, and knowing that made it worse.

  Her brother loved her and would never hurt her, but in an instant, Army forgot shit like the fact Allie was sweet, beautiful Allie. Army let his anger get in the way of logic, let it blind him to the point he couldn’t see Allie was a woman who needed to be comforted.

  Trig understood his anger. He’d been pissed for not knowing Wyatt had put his hands on her and that she hadn’t told them about the note, but still, she was Allie. She needed and deserved to be held and told everything would be all right even if it wasn’t.

  Army didn’t get it. Like Army didn’t get, you didn’t pull out a gun in front of Allie. She’d spotted his one night, and she stared at it wide-eyed for a full ten minutes. He’d told her not to worry, explained the safety was on, but it hadn’t helped. He told her they carried them for protection, not because they used them. That hadn’t helped either. It wasn’t until he put it out of sight she’d been able to fall asleep.

  Yet Army had his gun firm in his grip, typical Army style. No bluff. If he’d dared touch Allie after Army’s threat, he would have a hole somewhere. He got that, but shit, Allie was there. Army could’ve shot him later, in the back for all he cared, just not in front of Allie. She deserved hearts and flowers, not guns and death threats.

  He heard footsteps nearing and turned toward the door a moment before Army swung it open. His accusing eyes snared him. That one deadly look from anyone else would’ve started a brawl, but Army had reason. He forced himself to relax.

  Army closed the door behind him. “She’s bet—”

  “Don’t fuckin’ say it.”

  He didn’t deserve her. He knew it, didn’t need to hear it because he thought about it every second, minute, and hour of every day. But he wanted her, and if she wanted him, he’d keep her.

  “Don’t fuckin’ say it. You know it. She knows it, and I sure as hell know it. Every time I look at her, I’m fuckin’ reminded but don’t fuckin’ say it.”

  “’Cause I don’t say it, doesn’t change it.”

  “I know that better than anyone. My father’s a drug-addicted deadbeat. Don’t even know where the fuck he is, if he’s even alive, and my mother was a fuckin’ drunk. Trailer trash like me has two options: join a gang and end up dead or go to the Army and make some money if I don’t end up dead.

  “It was the only way out for me, the only way I could look out for my drunk mother and sister. Still, it killed me ’cause me leaving didn’t stop my mother from drinking to care for my sister. She ended knocked up at sixteen, and that’s on me. Couldn’t do anything else with my fuckin’ check but put a down payment for a house and help raise my niece.”

  “Know the story, Trig. What I don’t know is why you fuckin’ betrayed me and the club, why you’re fuckin’ my sister.”

  His jaw locked and hurt. He’d been clenching it too hard. “You can be a fuckin’ asshole when you wanna be, know that?”

  Army took a step in his direction. “You’re the one fuckin’ my sister, been fuckin’ my sister behind my back for more than a month. If that isn’t an asshole, don’t know who is.”

  “It isn’t like that, and you fuckin’ know it. You know I’ve had your back for seven years. You know the club’s my family. You know I still got your back, same applies for our brothers.”

  Army took another step, coming inches from his face. “No, I don’t ’cause you been fuckin’ my sister. Not only she my sister, but she’s off limits to the brothers. That includes you, Trig. Don’t give a fuck you saved my ass in Afghan. It applies to you too, and you fuckin’ knew it, and you still crossed the line. I didn’t wanna believe it. Been ignoring the signs, but yesterday you proved it, jumping outta the fuckin’ car like you had a rocket up your ass. And before, you’d always be searching the compound for her. Prayed the whole way here I was fuckin’ wrong, but guess what? I was right.”

  Army was livid, practically foaming at the mouth, and now in his face. No one got in his face. Army knew him well, so he knew this. Like Army knew from his actions not half an hour ago he cared about Allie. Army just didn’t know how much. It’s what he wanted to know, and yet he couldn’t come out and ask. He wanted to fuck with him.

  He couldn’t blame him. Like Army had known about him and Allie, he’d known Army was getting wise about it. Still, he hadn’t been cautious. Maybe subconsciously he wanted them to get caught, to end the bullshit of seeing her around and not being able to hold her, kiss her, or talk to her.

  He said what Army wanted to hear because it was the truth, because he owed it to him, and to the club. “You want me to say it. I’ll fuckin’ say it. She’s outta my league and deserves better than trash like me, and still, it doesn’t change the fact that when she looks at me with her heart in her eyes I wanna rob a bank to give her everything she deserves. It doesn’t change the fact she picked me, and I sure as hell ain’t gonna let her go if she wants to stay. I don’t even think I could let her go if she wanted to leave.”

  “You expect me to believe she’s different from a tap to you? You, who’s never fucked the same woman twice? Oh, wait. My bad, you did. Lilliam, right? But she got too fuckin’ attached, so you threw her out on her ass, and Dodge fucked her and knocke
d her up.”

  A low blow. A part of him couldn’t understand why Army’d brought it up. He deserved Army’s wrath, but Army had now crossed the line by comparing sweet, beautiful Allie to a manipulative bitch like Lilliam, and it infuriated him.

  Lilliam, one of the club’s taps, had a hell of a body. Whenever he wanted some, he’d gone to her. It had been just sex. They hadn’t even slept in the same bed. The problem: she’d gotten ideas. She stopped fucking his brothers, then told the old ladies he would patch her. When he heard, he’d ended it, whatever she thought they had. That same night, she’d jumped in the sack with Dodge, another one of his brothers. Three months later, she announced she was two months pregnant in front of the club. Dodge had done the honorable thing and married her. That was three years ago, and Dodge was still living in hell. Besides showing up to their meetings and cookouts and doing runs, he was hardly ever at the garage. He had a toddler to care for because Lilliam was not only a manipulative bitch but a bad mother who still acted and dressed like a tap, hitting on the brothers to rile Dodge.

  Allie wasn’t a tap. Allie wasn’t a manipulative bitch either. She was sweet, smart, and beautiful Allie. It wasn’t just sex. It was real. She was his woman, and he treated her like gold.

  He moved so quickly, Army didn’t have time to dodge his blow. His fist connected with Army’s lip, cracking it. “Compare that fuckin’ cunt to my Allie one more time, I’m gonna wipe the floor with you.”

  Army straightened, wiping the blood dripping down his lip with the back of his hand.

  “You fuckin’ deserved that. You fuckin’ know Lilliam was a tap trying to get more. You just fuckin’ caught me and Allie sleeping together. Her head was on my chest, her hand on my stomach, and her legs were tangled in mine. I was holding her close, means even in my sleep I treat her like she’s mine, so you know I know Allie’s different.”

  “No, I fuckin’ don’t ’cause you been hiding her. I’m thinking she meant something to you, you would’ve come to me.”

  “And tell you what?” His brows drew together. “That the fuckin’ moment I saw her I wanted her? That from one look her face was seared in my mind? Never in my fuckin’ wildest dream thought I’d have a chance. She’s fuckin’ class, and I’m trash. Like it’d make a damned fuckin’ difference. If you’d known, you would’ve kept her as far away from me as possible.”