by Nicole Fox
“You’d still have your father, and I suppose you would have the baby, too.” He sighed and ran a hand over his weathered face.
“The last time I checked, I’m a grown woman. I’m allowed to make my own choices, and I don’t have to involve you in them. This is my problem, Dad, and I don’t need your help.” She leaned heavily against the wall. She desperately wanted to sit down, feeling tired. It seemed like she felt tired all the time these days. He stomach had turned into a tiny round bump, one that she admired in the mirror sometimes, but it weighed on her like a cannon ball. She slept poorly, and everything she ate made her feel sick to her stomach.
“Apparently, you do need me to get involved,” Park corrected her. “There must be something wrong with the situation if you don’t want to admit the truth. Why hide it if there’s something to be proud of?”
“It’s just something you wouldn’t understand, and I really don’t feel like talking about it anymore.” On the ground outside, she spotted a motorcycle coming down the road. Even before it was close enough for her to see clearly, she knew it was Skid. Mina had been keeping track of his comings and goings ever since she’d found out she was pregnant, and he’d left earlier to do some errands for Park. It seemed ironic to her that Skid treated Park almost like a father figure, when Park had no idea just how true that idea really was.
“Fine.” Her father put his hands on his knees and stood up, watching her carefully. “I guess I don’t really feel like talking about it, either. It’s frustrating to know that you can’t come to me with your problems anymore.”
Mina swiveled to face him, her cheeks flushing with anger. “You have no room to talk to me about those sorts of things. I didn’t see you skipping up the stairs to my room to ask me if I was pregnant before you went and announced it to the whole damn club. I guess my business is really just their business, isn’t it? I’m not your daughter or even a member of your precious gang. I’m just some strange creature you keep as a pet.” Tears sprang to her eyes, pissing her off even more. She cried at everything now, and she didn’t like it. She wasn’t a weak woman, and she didn’t feel it suited her case to appear that way. “You want me to be honest with you, but you don’t care about me enough to do the same.”
“You know that’s not the case.” His words had grown a little higher, and his voice threatened to rise into a yell. “I protect you because you’re my daughter and you mean the world to me. You’re all I have left anymore. And yes, your business is club business. You should feel privileged that you have so many men who are willing to look after your interests. Most girls are lucky to have just one.”
“Yes, they are lucky,” she retorted. “They don’t have dozens of men looking over their shoulders and wondering what they did and with who. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to know I’m the only thing people are talking about? They’re doing it behind my back, but I still know. I think you’ve helped me enough, Dad. I can take care of myself, and it’s about time you realized that.”
Park’s mouth tightened, threatening to turn this into a real argument, but he stomped out the door and closed it firmly behind him. He had yet to try to confine her to her room, a juvenile punishment that she had thoroughly expected from him. But he had already made things incredibly hard on her just by being who he was. She couldn’t go anywhere without someone supervising her, and everyone watched her so closely that she felt like the star of a freak show.
Still, she knew how to have her fun, even if she was stuck at the clubhouse for the moment. She stripped off her T-shirt and threw it on the bed, followed by the plain cotton bra she had put on that morning. Sifting through her drawer, she came up with a black leather number that had once been part of a Halloween costume which had enraged her father. Little more than a few scraps of leather sewn together, it just barely covered her ample breasts and left plenty of her midriff exposed. Her jeans were quickly swapped out for black pants that came up just high enough to cover the tiny evidence of her pregnancy, and these were paired with black boots. Swiping on some purple eyeshadow and mascara, she gave her hair experimental fluff before heading down the stairs.
Skid had said they had to stay away from each other, and she was doing that. She had only spoken to him when it would have seemed rude not to, and she tried to keep her eyes from sliding across the room to look at him.
But even if she couldn’t pay him any attention, that didn’t mean she couldn’t try to grab his. This sexy little outfit was only one of many she had donned since their little meeting at Lake Michigan, and she knew he had noticed. How could he not? It wasn’t every day that the president’s daughter marched around the clubhouse in a tight T-shirt with no bra, or denim shorts so short they could have been underwear. Mina rubbed lotion into her skin until it glowed, and she never left her room without makeup. A casual toss of her hair as she picked up the television remote or a wink across the room as she made herself a sandwich, and she knew she had Skid right where she wanted him.
She made it downstairs to the living room just before Skid did, but she could hear his bike pulling into the garage. Taking advantage of her opportunity, she parked herself on the couch right next to Grill. “Hey there, handsome.”
Grill looked at her briefly before scooting away from her by only a fraction of an inch. He was trying not to be rude, she knew, but being so close to Mina would make any of the guys feel uncomfortable. Nobody wanted to be blamed for her current condition. His face reddened. “H-Hey, Mina. How are you?”
She gave a flirty little laugh just as Skid walked in from the garage. “I’m wonderful, and I think I would be even more wonderful if you would take me for a little ride on your bike. It’s been such a long time since I got to throw my leg over that big machine of yours.” Mina tipped her head down and looked at him through her long lashes.
“Oh, uh, I can’t today. I have things I’ve gotta do.” He took a sip from the can of soda in his hand and tried to keep his eyes focused on the television. “Maybe some other time.”
Mina leaned forward, letting her breasts press against his upper arm. “You won’t keep me waiting too long, will you? I’m so bored, and I need someone to … entertain me.” She gave another laugh that pealed like a bell through the room. She knew everyone was watching them, and Skid was, too. At least she hoped so, or this whole thing was pointless. Grill was a nice enough guy, and he wasn’t exactly ugly, but he wasn’t her type. He was too nice, and he wasn’t even a very prominent member of the club. His status, though, made him all the more perfect to flirt with. Surely Skid would be more angered by her having a possible relationship with a lower member.
“I, um, I didn’t think you were supposed to leave. I mean, it’s not my business, but that’s what I was told. And I, uh, I don’t want to do the wrong thing.” He pressed his arm against his side, trying to get away from her.
“Oh, but my daddy trusts you. I’m sure he’d let me go out with you, just for a little while. I could be on the back of your bike, my arms around you, pressed against your body …”
Grill cleared his throat a few times, and now his neck had flushed as well. “You know, uh, I just remembered that I have a phone call to make. It’s my grandma’s birthday, yeah, and she’ll be really mad at me if I don’t call her to tell her happy birthday. I’m sure you understand, Mina.” He extracted himself from underneath her and hightailed it out of the living room.
She laughed, thrilled that she could make someone so uncomfortable. Mina might not have any power when it came to her father or what happened in the club, but she could still assert her power elsewhere. She was a woman, first and foremost.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Skid heading for the staircase. He could try to avoid her by slipping up to his room, but her room was upstairs as well. There was no reason she couldn’t be doing the same thing. Of course, if she had her way, she would be in his room instead of hers.
The stairwell was dark, with spots of bright lighting from the distant ceili
ng. She trotted up the first set like it was nothing, her excitement over the incident with Grill making her forget for a moment that she was pregnant. There was no sign of Skid on the stairs. He must have made quick work of his ascent and been well on his way to his room, but that served Mina just fine. She could get him right where she wanted him.
Just as she hit the landing and turned to head up the next staircase, a figure appeared out of the shadows. It grabbed her and pressed her against the wall, leaning close so that his breath was hot on her neck. “Mina, you’ve got to stop this.”
She recognized Skid’s voice easily, and her muscles instantly relaxed. She leaned her body languidly against the exposed brick wall, wondering if he could appreciate the efforts she had gone to for him in the dim light. “Well, hello.”
He shook his head. “Don’t flirt with me.”
“Why not? You’re the one grabbing me in a stairwell.” Mina batted her eyes at him. “I don’t think a man does that unless he at least expects to be flirted with, or maybe a little bit more.” She picked up her leg and wrapped it around his, running her thigh against his flank suggestively. “I admit that this isn’t the most romantic place I could have envisioned, but I think I can make it work.”
With a strong hand, he forced her leg back down. “Mina, knock it off. I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work.”
“I’m not doing anything. You’re the one who pinned me to the wall. I can’t say that I mind, though. I wouldn’t mind a little roughness now and then. Go on. Manhandle me. See how it feels.” She pushed her body forward so that they were even closer, challenging him to resist her.
Skid pressed his lips together and took a step back. “I mean it. I know what you’re doing. You think you can seduce me. That might work if you were just being yourself, but this isn’t you, Mina.”
“What do you mean?” She stuck out her lower lip, pouting at him. “I’m not doing anything different than I normally do.”
“Right. Because you always dress like that, and you always flirt with any member of Satan’s Legion who happens to walk through the door. You forget that I’ve known you for a long time. You have your own style, your own character, but you aren’t the ridiculous flirt.” His teeth were set and his tone was harsh. He was pissed.
“Maybe I’m not, but I don’t see why you care.” Mina was hurt that her scheme wasn’t working. She had gotten his attention, yes, but not in the way she wanted. She had hoped he would pull her aside and ravish her, tell her there was no point in trying to hide their relationship and what they had done, and insist that they be together. Apparently, her efforts hadn’t been good enough. “You don’t want me, so I don’t see why it matters to you if I flirt with someone else.”
“Don’t you dare say I don’t want you!” He kissed her hard on the mouth, asserting his domination over her with nothing more than the movements of his tongue and lips.
She eagerly submitted, tipping her head back and letting him in. Her hands roved up his hard, flat abdomen and around to his back, gliding over the strong muscles of his shoulders. She’d grown up around tons of men, and she knew there were times that she could have had anyone she wanted. But Skid had always been the only one that made her feel this way, like her very soul was on fire. Mina needed him, and she wanted him to understand that he needed her just as badly.
But he broke off the kiss quickly, just as he had done at the lake. “All right, you got me on that one. But this can’t happen again. Don’t bother trying to make me jealous. You’re just making the rest of the guys uncomfortable.”
“What? They don’t want someone flirting with them or hanging on their arm? I guess it’s time to get rid of the club girls, then.” She gave him a catlike smile, pleased with her logic.
“The club girls are something completely different, and you know it. They’re just women who are here to keep the members happy, but they don’t mean anything to anybody. You’re different ,and you always have been. Besides, everyone is terrified they’ll be accused of fathering your child. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Grill move as quickly as he did today.” He laughed a little at that one, but quickly sobered up. “Seriously, Mina. You’re only hurting yourself by doing this. You don’t need your father to be paying any more attention to you then he already is.”
“Well, I need attention from somewhere.” She ran a finger down his arm but dropped her hand to her side. She knew it wasn’t going to do any good. When Skid was resolved, there was no way of making him budge. It was something she had admired in him before.
Skid wasn’t listening anymore. He turned his head to the side and stepped away from her. “Someone’s coming. Do this for me, Mina.” He trotted up the stairs to the third story.
Mina watched his sexy ass in his tight jeans until he went through the door at the top of the stairs. She waited a moment, staring at the space where he had been, before she finally trudged up the stairs herself. She wouldn’t follow him this time.
Chapter Seven
Mina
Her room was all the way at the end of the hall near the other set of stairs. When Park had bought the old place and converted it into a clubhouse, he had decided that it would be best to have several exits in case of emergencies. While most people probably would have thought about fires, Park was more likely to have been thinking about rival clubs. So far, Satan’s Legion hadn’t needed to use both sets of stairs for such an occasion, and they had only used the old fire escapes when they wanted to step outside and smoke on a cool spring evening.
Just as she opened the door to her room and stepped inside, she felt the tiny hairs on the back of her neck prickle. She turned to see Animal filling the doorway. He wore a black T-shirt which had faded to a dark gray that matched the oil stains on his jeans. As he looked down at her, his dark eyes glittered. Without asking, he stepped inside the door and closed it behind him.
“I’m really not in the mood for any games today,” Mina warned. Her heart thumped as she turned away from him and pretended to busy herself with folding a basket of dark purple towels and setting them in her slim linen closet. As one of the few women that lived in the clubhouse and, of course, as the president’s daughter, she had her own private bathroom attached to her room.
“No? But you seem to be the one who’s playing games.” Animal let go of the door handle and took another step toward her. “I have a little proposal for you.”
Mina shook her head. “Not in the mood for that, either. I’ve got things to do, and I’m sure you probably do as well. Or at least, you can probably find something better to do than to bug me.” Animal had often flirted with her once he was inducted into the club, but she had always been able to ignore it. Lately, though, his advances had become more and more pressing and simultaneously frightening. Mina didn’t make a habit of being afraid of any of the club members, but Animal was slowly proving that he was different than the others, and not in a good way.
Animal was standing by the edge of her bed now, just a few feet away from her and blocking the exit. She could climb out the window if she felt the need, but she was certain he could grab her before she got a chance to get the sash open. “I think you ought to at least hear me out. You might like what I have to say.”
With a roll of her eyes and a fist on her hip, Mina turned around. “Make it quick. I’m supposed to go downstairs and see my father in a few minutes.” Of course, that was a complete lie. She hadn’t seen Park at all that day, and if she was lucky she wouldn’t. She certainly wasn’t going to see him in the clothes she was wearing.
“Good,” Animal replied with a nod. “Then you can give him the good news.”
“What good news?”
“About our baby.” He reached for her and laid a massive hand on her stomach, touching her just a little too far below the belt for comfort.
She backed away instantly, repulsed by such an advance and such an idea. “This isn’t your baby! I do have some taste, you know!”
His blond eye
brows drew down at this, but it wasn’t enough to make him go away. “Mina, listen. You claim the baby is mine, and I’ll back it up.”
She balled up a towel and threw it on the closet shelf. “Why would I do a thing like that?”
“Because it will get you out of hot water with your dad,” Animal growled, pulling her close once again and making her spill a handful of washcloths on the floor. “I know he’s still desperate to find out who the father is. It’s not me, but I’m just as likely a candidate as anyone else.” He put his face close to hers so that his dark eyes were only a few inches away. They flickered with malice and something else.
Mina wrenched her arm away from him, and it was only because he finally decided to let go that it worked. “He would kill you, Animal. There’s no way that would work.” It would serve her purposes fine if Animal ended up dead, so that part wasn’t so bad for her.
“Haven’t you seen me?” He stood up tall, letting his shoulders expand to their full width and puffing out his massive chest. “I’m way bigger than Park ever thought about being, and I could take him any day. In fact, I considered taking him down even before talk of this baby. I could take over the club and do whatever I want with it.”