by S. Nelson
But the important thing was she hopped on the back of my bike and wrapped her arms around my waist. She could say whatever she wanted as long as she didn’t fight me on leaving.
Braylen
Angrily throwing clothes into my suitcase, I stomped around the bedroom like a child having a tantrum. But I couldn’t help it. I was pissed off. Ryder showed up at my job and told me I had to stay with their charter in Texas. He’d given me no warning whatsoever, spewing some bullshit about the decision being last minute. Maybe if he’d fully explained just what the problem was, I would find myself more on board with the sudden plans, but all he would tell me was that it was club business. Oh wait, he did tell me I was in danger. That was more than he usually gave me.
“We gotta leave soon,” he announced, popping into the bedroom and leaning against the doorframe. He watched me for a few minutes before speaking again. “You can be as mad at me as you want, but this is happening.”
“You see me packing, don’t you?” He smirked, which only served to infuriate me even more. “You can go back to waiting in the living room.”
He threw up his hands in mock surrender, turned around and left without another word.
The entire ride to the clubhouse was in silence. I wasn’t happy about my life being uprooted over something Ryder wouldn’t even fill me in on; I sure as hell wasn’t about to make idle chitchat just to pass the time.
There was more than one reason why I was so upset, though. Not only was he shipping me off to Texas, but I knew in my gut that Ryder was putting himself in harm’s way, only he wouldn’t tell me why. Club business. If I heard those two words one more time, I was gonna scream bloody murder.
We eventually pulled into the clubhouse lot and parked. I saw a group of women gathered together and a separate group of men off to the side, reminding me of recess during elementary school. Only this wasn’t a break from school—it was more like a break from our everyday lives. And not the good kind.
Slamming the truck’s door behind me, I headed toward my sister and the other women she was speaking with. “Hi,” I greeted, hugging Kena before smiling at Adelaide, Sully, and Reece. If I thought I’d been upset about having to leave, I could only imagine how Adelaide and Reece felt. Both of them were pregnant, and Adelaide had an infant on her hip as well. Kaden, the baby Sully and Marek had been caring for, was in Sully’s arms, tugging on a strand of her long black hair. Knowing these women had more to worry about than I did, I calmed my anger to a simmering boil.
“Don’t be too worried,” Reece comforted me, placing her hand on my forearm. Seeing my obvious displeasure, she said, “I know I’m pretty new to all this, but I have every faith the men are doing this as a last resort. I know Tripp’s torn up about it.” She flashed me a sympathetic smile, making me realize everyone standing around me was affected. I needed to get on board and lose the crappy attitude.
We chatted for close to twenty minutes, trying to keep the topics off the next few days and on lighter subjects like children.
Eventually, Ryder came to stand behind me, cautiously putting his hand on the small of my back. My white tank top was split in the back, just above my skirt’s waistband, so when he touched me, he stroked his thumb over my bare skin. When I didn’t yell at him or pull away, he leaned down and kissed my temple.
“You ladies ready to go?” Jagger asked, pulling Kena in for a kiss. She seemed to be handling the situation much better than I was, and I had no idea why.
On our brief walk toward one of the two black SUVs that were taking us to Texas, I stopped her. “Aren’t you upset?”
I’m more scared than upset. Not for us, but for the guys. But my emotions will do nothing except distract Jagger, and I need him focused. For whatever they have to do.
Damnit! I hadn’t even thought of it like that, thinking that my mood might inadvertently be a distraction for Ryder. And if he was worried about dealing with my surly ass, then maybe he might get hurt. I couldn’t have that on my conscience.
“Thanks, sis.” I hugged her again before taking off to search for Ryder. It didn’t take me long to find him, seeing as how he was helping to load the suitcases into the back of one of the vehicles.
“I don’t wanna argue,” he said as I approached. “I can’t deal with that right now.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I should have been more sensitive to what you’re going through. Sorry for acting like such a brat.”
He stopped midthrow and turned to look at me.
“Is this some sort of trick?” He was serious, which made me feel even worse.
“No, it’s not.” I moved toward him until I could wrap my arms around his neck. Pulling him down, I covered his mouth with mine. When I tried to break away, he grabbed the back of my head and deepened the kiss, swirling his tongue with mine until I completely lost myself to him.
“Get a room,” Tripp teased, moving in front of Ryder to help finish the job he’d started. We finally parted and Ryder ushered me toward the side of the truck, where we had some privacy from everyone else standing around.
“I’m sorry we have to do this, but it’s necessary. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”
“But what if something happens to you? What will I do?” The question rattled me because I knew there was a possibility Ryder could be harmed. In what way and by whom I had no clue, but it didn’t matter. The simple fact that he could be scared me.
“Nothin’ is gonna happen to me.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and stroked the exposed skin on my lower back once more. “But somethin’ is gonna happen to someone if they even look at you the wrong way.”
I smiled because it was his way of telling me we were all good. And that was the thing with Ryder. He didn’t hold grudges.
I could certainly learn a thing or two from him.
Laredo was approximately a twenty-five-hour trip, and because we couldn’t afford to waste any time, the guys took turns driving. We stopped every six hours so we could stretch our legs, grab something to eat, use the restroom and top off the gas tanks.
Both SUVs made the same stops. Ryder, Jagger, and Tripp were “in charge,” as they called it, of our vehicle, while Marek, Stone, Sully, Kaden, Addy and Riley rode in the other one. Thank goodness both trucks had third-row seating or we’d all be sitting on each other’s laps.
When we weren’t talking to our men, Kena, Reece and I chatted about the latest Hollywood gossip, doing our best to pass the long stints on the road. A few times I’d drifted off to sleep, then woke up only to find out that a measly twenty minutes had passed.
“Why didn’t we fly?” I asked fifteen hours into the drive, growing more agitated with each passing mile.
Jagger was driving, taking his turn at the wheel while Kena sat beside him in the passenger seat. Every time we got back in the vehicle after stopping, we were sitting next to someone new. Right then Ryder sat next to me, stroking my bare knee with his middle finger.
“Because we don’t want anyone knowing,” Tripp answered from behind me. He sat next to a sleeping Reece in the third row. I had no idea what he meant and I knew if I asked, one of them would only give me a vaguer answer. It simply wasn’t worth getting aggravated over. I was annoyed enough as it was. Tired and miserable, to be more precise.
“You know,” Ryder said, leaning close to whisper in my ear, “I would love to fingerfuck you right now.” His comment completely came out of left field, but I should’ve expected something, especially this long into the trip. Besides, he’d been rubbing my knee for the past fifteen minutes. “What do ya think?”
“Are you serious?” I whispered back, keeping my eyes forward so as not to draw attention from any of the other passengers.
“Why not?” His gripped my knee and tried to pull my legs apart. “I’ll make you come. Take your mind off being miserable.”
“I’m not—”
“Yeah you are, and I don’t blame ya.” He kissed my neck. “Let me do this for you,” he tem
pted, his fingers moving up the inside of my thigh. I clamped my legs closed before he reached the edge of my panties.
“Remove. Your. Hand.” I turned to face him and gave him a tight smile. “You’re not shoving your fingers inside me with Tripp and Jagger right next to us. Never mind that my sister is right there,” I said, pointing toward the passenger seat.
“Are you sure?” He smirked, but when my expression didn’t change, he removed his hand. “Fine, but I’m gonna fuck you so hard when we get to the club.” He didn’t say the last part quietly, both of his friends laughing out loud when they heard it, Kena turning around and smiling.
“Oh my God, Ryder!” I exclaimed. “How embarrassing.”
“Don’t worry about it, Braylen. I plan on putting one on your sister as well.”
“Ewwww.”
Kena at least had the decency to slap his arm, even though she kept the smile on her face.
“Yeah, Reece isn’t gonna be able to walk for a few days after I get done with her.” Tripp laughed, clasping Ryder’s shoulder in amusement. Good thing his woman was asleep; otherwise, she would’ve joined me in being mortified.
“Oh, please stop talking. All of you. Especially you, Jagger. Just . . . no.”
All three of them laughed harder. At least my humiliation helped to ease the rest of the trip for them.
Ryder
We pulled into the secluded clubhouse compound of our Laredo chapter, closing in on nine in the evening. After spending time with our women, we gathered with our brothers, everyone present and accounted for.
“So if any of you want to come back with us, we’d sure appreciate it,” Marek announced, sitting next to Salzar at the head of their meeting table. Jagger, Tripp, and Stone leaned against the nearest wall, next to me.
Salzar was one of the original members of this charter, a full head of white hair and a clean-shaven face making him look innocent. But anyone who knew the man knew the opposite was true. He was loyal as hell but as mean as they come, when driven to be so. He kind of reminded me of Cutter.
“I’ll go,” a man named Etch said, his long shaggy hair tied back into a low ponytail. He was older, probably mid-fifties. I’d known the guy for many years, and while he may be close to twenty years my senior, his reflexes were on point, especially with a blade.
“Count me in,” another said.
“Me too, Marek. Whatever you need.”
The last two were new to the charter, at least newer than two years, but I had no doubt Salzar wouldn’t have patched them in if they weren’t good men.
“I’m in as well,” Salzar offered, nodding toward Marek. “We’ve dealt with the Reapers here too, although this charter has nothing on Psych’s.
“Well, it’s a good thing we ain’t gotta deal with Psych anymore, isn’t it?” Stone asked, cocking his head to the side while a ghost of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
Marek grinned. It’d been a sweet victory for our president to finally end the life of the man who’d put his wife through hell her entire life. Every once in a while, when he’d mention a nightmare that Sully had—which weren’t as frequent anymore—or him not being able to completely push down his rage when he saw the scars that littered her skin, he said he wished that Psych was still tied up in our safe house’s basement so he could torture him all over again.
I was thankful the evil fucker was dead, though. Marek was being dragged down a dark path, and we all feared he was gonna lose it once and for all. The small splinter of sanity remaining would have surely unraveled if he hadn’t seen his way out of that hell.
“I’m gonna have to ask that you stay here and look after our families,” Marek said, turning toward Salzar. “I know you won’t let anything happen to them. They’ll be safe with you here, and I’ll be on my game not having to worry about them.”
“Whatever you want is good with me, brother.” Salzar was fierce, but the look he shared with Marek was laced with understanding, compassion and something else I couldn’t quite decipher.
When the room grew quiet, I felt as if I had to make a declaration, some new faces forcing me to speak my mind. I cleared my throat. “I just wanna throw out there that if one hair is touched on any one of our ol’ ladies’ heads, you’ll deal with us.” I waved my hand toward Marek, Stone, Jagger and Tripp. “And it won’t be pretty.” I looked at every man around the room but focused more on the unfamiliar guys.
Salzar chuckled, easing some of the building tension. “Don’t worry, Ryder. No one is gonna touch your women. Look at them? Now that’s a different story, my friend.” I whipped my head to glare at him. “Calm down.” He laughed harder. “I’m just fuckin’ with you. We’ll treat them like family. You have my word.”
A quick nod from me and the conversation was over. I trusted Salzar, and I had every faith he’d keep everyone in line . . . and our women, Riley, and Kaden safe.
After a few beers, I said my goodbyes and staggered back toward the room they’d given us. My exhaustion mixed with the alcohol flowing through me was enough to make me wanna pass out, but as soon as I opened the door and saw Braylen lying on top of the covers, naked and exposed, I quickly had other ideas. But I didn’t want to wake her. She’d been through a lot the past couple days—hell, since the day she’d met me—so if I could give her a few more hours of peace, I would do just that.
Adjusting my dick, trying to lessen the hard-on that had popped up as soon as my eyes landed on her, I proceeded to undress before pulling back the covers and climbing underneath.
Braylen didn’t budge, her breathing so slow I knew she wasn’t gonna wake up anytime soon. So I lay there, thinking about everything that had happened in my life since the day I met her strong-willed ass in the park, giving Jagger a hard time for something that didn’t even involve her.
I found out that day that Braylen Prescott was fierce, loyal and had a mouth I wanted to sometimes silence with my cock. She drew me in all while making me throw up stone walls to protect myself.
She pushed.
I pulled.
She gave me shit.
I demanded things from her.
But when we came together, figuratively and literally, it was out of this world. I wasn’t saying our relationship was easy—it definitely wasn’t—but I knew I wanted to spend my life with her. I could only hope she reciprocated those feelings.
While Braylen was a challenge to deal with sometimes, I was even more difficult. I was man enough to admit it. I was severely protective, possessive of her time and jealous. It was exactly why I needed her to push when all I wanted was to pull her under. She showed me the error of my ways, and if I didn’t acknowledge them, she gave me the cold shoulder. Some days I welcomed the silence, but other days the quiet drove me borderline insane.
Braylen brought light into my world, and after everything I just described, I knew that made me sound crazy, but it sure as hell made perfect sense to me.
It wasn’t until she relentlessly pushed me to tell her that I finally divulged everything that happened to my mother. And I swore afterward, even though I was still a little angry that she made me talk about it, I felt lighter. Like I could finally relinquish the past and look forward to the future. Something a lot of the men in the club never did, mainly because we didn’t know if we’d be alive long enough to make any long-term plans.
Marek had taken care of those concerns a while back, though, first by breaking with Los Zappas cartel, then steering the club legit. Funny thing was, even though the Knights straddled the right side of the law, our hands were certainly not clean.
Sure, we didn’t deal in drugs any longer, but snatching people’s lives just happened to still be a necessary evil.
Braylen stirred, lazily rolling over on her side and throwing her arm and leg over me. The warmth from her skin had my dick coming back for a full salute in seconds. Moments passed in stillness, and then her hand slowly slid down my body until she cupped me. I was completely naked, the clubhouse on the warmer side
, so when she realized she was touching my cock, she gripped me tighter before releasing a moan. She moved closer and rested her head in the crook of my neck, working her fingers up and down my hardened shaft, all without saying a word.
I’d planned on letting her sleep, but clearly she had a different idea. And who was I to deny her what she wanted? I wasn’t selfish, after all.
Shifting her so she was flat on her back, her hand slipping away from me, I spread her legs and thrust inside her. Her sleepy moans thickened my blood, the need to spill myself inside her more potent than ever before.
Because I had no idea what was gonna happen once we returned home, I reveled in the feel of her, imprinting the memory so I’d never forget.
Positioning her leg over my hip opened her up, and I took full advantage, driving home how much I’d miss her with every stroke of my body.
“Look at me,” I demanded, slowing my rhythm until she opened her beautiful brown eyes. Once her attention was on me, I took a deep breath, counted to five, and then released the air. “I love you.”
I wasn’t sure what I expected, but tears and her trying to push me off her were not it.
“Get off me,” she cried out, pushing against my hips to dislodge my body from hers.
“Stop it, Bray. What’s the matter?” I remained inside her, refusing to budge until she told me why my telling her I loved her made her so angry.
“You just told me you loved me,” she blubbered, tears falling down her cheeks while she desperately tried to catch her breath.
“So.” I’d never been so confused.
“Why would you tell me that now?”
“What do you mean? It’s how I feel.”
“But why now?” she repeated, whispering her question as if she didn’t fully understand her reaction either. Her fingers continued to dig into my hips, which was more annoying than anything. Leaning back on my haunches and pulling her with me, still careful not to slip from her body, I grabbed her hands in mine and pinned them to the bed.