by James, Marie
“Kincaid,” one of the guys at the far table says when he sees me standing in the doorway staring in his President’s direction.
Diego looks over at him and then follows his line of sight to me. He stiffens slightly, but then relaxes again as a small smile spreads across his face.
Without acknowledging me, he makes his way to the table with his plate of food and the curvy blonde on his hip. They sit down in unison at the table like they’ve been doing it forever.
“Hey, Em,” he says finally after a few long beats.
The room is deadly quiet, and I can tell they are all expecting me to blow up or even worse rip the girl off his side. Instead, I let my eyes roam around the room until they land on Rose, who is glaring at me just like everyone else is.
“Are you ready?” I ask with fewer trembles in my voice than I feel in my body. My heart is pounding, and it’s taking every ounce of strength I have to not let the tears stinging my eyes fall.
I turn my back on the group and calmly walk to the front door and wait silently as Rose says goodbye to her husband, grabs her purse and makes her way to me.
She gives me a sympathetic look as she approaches. “Let’s get out of here.”
Best idea I’ve heard all day.
Chapter 10
Leaving Emmalyn’s room without sucking the fingers on her left hand into my mouth was an exercise in resistance I now pride myself in doing. The ache in my balls from just picturing it makes my watering mouth groan in frustration.
Hearing her moan and whimper in her sleep is what woke me up, but hearing her gasp my name in erotic abandon while she was asleep is what got me rock hard in a matter of seconds. I could tell by the stiffening of her spine that the dream woke her up. I was going to make my presence known, but then I saw the undeniable movement under the covers, and there was no way I was stopping that train. I nearly came in my jeans when she bit her lip as she orgasmed.
I could’ve been a gentleman and pretended like I didn’t know what happened, and I almost made it until I made the comment about hand washing. I know she’s embarrassed, but I also saw the way her eyes were glued to my hardened cock when I stood up. The comment was mild in comparison, since I wanted to tell her that I knew she was picturing me when she went over the edge.
Just the thought of me running through her head as she brought herself to climax had me nearly running across my room and into the shower. My hand was stroking my length before I even stepped foot into the warm spray; her name on my lips as I jetted hot come on the shower wall less than a minute later.
I’m not this guy. I don’t mean the guy who jacks off in the shower, because let’s face it, every man is that guy. I mean, I’m not the guy who can’t pull his focus from a single woman, and I’m certainly not the guy who walks out of the room of a horny woman without at least getting her to suck me off.
I dress quickly because I’m like an addict and can’t wait to lay my eyes on her again. The kitchen is in full swing. Most all of the guys are scarfing down the breakfast that Rose, Bunny, and Gypsy have made. I make my way around the tables saying hi to everyone since we just got back from Denver; I haven’t seen some of the guys here in weeks.
I hand over my credit card to Rose as I say hello to the guys at her and Doc’s table, making sure she knows that Em needs everything and not to let her talk her out of buying things, which I’m sure she will do.
I wasn’t exaggerating when I told Emmalyn that we were all like family here. I served with these guys, and if I look back far enough, I could probably name a time or two each one of them saved my ass in one way or another. I narrow my eyes as the back slaps begin to include jabs about the hot chick I’ve changed my ways for. I cut my eyes to Shadow and then to Doc, both of them studiously ignoring me.
Kid really isn’t the gossiping type, but I wouldn’t put it past him to say something about Emmalyn either. I look across the table at him, but he’s too busy grinning like an idiot at Gypsy, who’s wiggling on his lap while he eats breakfast. He doesn’t notice my glare either.
I huff and make my way to the counter to grab some food. The second I pick a plate up and begin scooping scrambled eggs on it, Bunny sidles up beside me. I could smell her overbearing perfume before I felt the heat of her too-close body on my side.
“Kincaid,” she coos in my ear.
I lean my head down and let her kiss my cheek. “Hey, Bunny,” I say to her as she slides along the counter with me while I load up my plate.
“I missed you yesterday. I was waiting for you, but Doc made everyone leave,” she pouts beside me, and I can barely hold back the laugh. This grown ass woman standing beside me acting like a pouting thirteen-year-old; it’s almost as bad as the chatter-mouth bikers sitting at the tables behind me.
“Kincaid,” I hear one of the guys say. I turn my attention to him and see him angle his head toward the door.
I stiffen when I see Emmalyn and feel Bunny’s hand in my back pocket clench at the same time. I didn’t even realize her hand was there until that exact moment. The club girls are always super friendly and grabby, and I wasn’t thinking anything of it. I understand now exactly what Em saw when she walked in.
Not wanting to look like a total pussy in front of nearly my entire club, I pretend it’s no big deal and walk to the table and sit down. Almost like she’s connected to my hip, Bunny’s movements mimic mine. The entire room is deathly silent; each and every person in the room waiting with bated breath for this to play out.
“Hey, Em,” I say with a quick glance in her direction. I wish I hadn’t looked. I wish I had been more aware of myself rather than just falling into the same routine I’ve participated in for as long as I can remember, because the look on her face and the hurt in her eyes almost had me jumping up from the table and going to her. Almost.
I saw pain, and if I’m not mistaken, some form of realization in her eyes as she looked around the room and spoke to Rose before she turned around and left. I’m the biggest prick in the world. If it wasn’t evident with the way I just acted, it was clear as day as Rose walked past me, slapped me on the back of the head, and called me an idiot before she left the room to go after Em.
The room erupts in hisses and a handful of “you fucked up big time” and “someone’s in trouble.” I ignore them, brooding over my breakfast until I hear them making comments about her to each other.
“I’d never leave the room if that broad was in my bed,” I hear Skid say.
“You’re telling me,” Ace says from across the room. “I’d starve to death while feeding her my dick all day.”
“Enough,” I say harshly. I look around the room making sure I have everyone’s complete attention. Bunny’s slight movement on the bench seat we’re on grates my nerves. I slide away from her before addressing the group.
“If I hear one more person say something suggestive about Emmalyn they’ll be on clubhouse detail until Christmas. She’s not some club whore who’s going to be passed around. Got me?” I look around the room acknowledging their surprised looks as well as head nods accepting the orders. “You’ll look at her and think of her as your fucking sister. You’ll protect her like your own daughter. Understand?”
The apologies from around the room don't help my horrible mood, a mood I’m in because of my own damn pride. A low territorial growl emits from beside me, and I look over at Bunny and dare her to say something. Then I cut my eyes at Snatch and back to Bunny.
Understanding me immediately he calls to her. “Bunny, come say hi to me, baby.”
True to Bunny form, she bounces up from her seat and playfully saunters to Snatch, settling on his lap. It’s how she got her name. Like a rabbit, she’s always jumping from one guy to the other looking for the next carrot. She doesn’t know why she earned the nickname; she just thinks it’s a cute pet name. Don’t even get me started on how Snapper got her name, I think as I look across the room and watch the redhead's hand disappear below the table and watch Snake’s eyes darken.
/>
***
I’m pissed at myself as I heave in the dry New Mexico air. My longer runs usually help me clear my mind of whatever is bothering me. It’s a form of therapy, but today it’s not working like it usually does. No matter how hard I run, or how tight I squeeze my eyes closed I can’t get the look of hurt in Emmalyn’s eyes out of my mind.
We’re not together. She has no claim on me or me on her, but I hurt her. And why? Because I didn’t want to look weak and pussy-whipped in front of my guys. Who gives a fuck if that’s the way it appears? I’m not. How could I be when I’ve never even had my lips on hers?
There’s a connection there, a spark. At least for me, there is. The anguish I saw before she left the kitchen this morning tells me that she feels something also. Did. I think bitterly because I’m sure I’ve ruined whatever chance there may have been.
Even more frustrating is my concern over a woman not wanting me. It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s happened before. Something about Emmalyn, though, makes me want to crawl on my knees and beg forgiveness for sins I’ve committed my entire life, not just for the stunt I pulled in the kitchen this morning.
My phone rings, halting my playlist and I slow to jog. The number on the screen which usually excites me and makes my heart race irritates me for the first time since I discharged from the Marines.
Chapter 11
I’m fuming mad all the way across town to the strip center Rose has deemed appropriate for today.
“Where do you want to start?” Rose asks as she puts the mid-sized SUV in park and pulls the keys from the ignition.
She has to know I’m mad. I haven’t said a word since we left the clubhouse. I’m even more pissed because I have absolutely no right to be pissed, and that pisses me off even more. Two days is all it took for that man to get under my skin enough to manipulate my emotions. The smirk on his face when he spotted me in the kitchen told me all I needed to know. He’s well aware of my attraction to him, and he just used it as a weapon against me.
“The bus station,” I say absently and look back at her when she stays silent.
She reaches past me and pulls down the visor, revealing the small, lighted mirror there. “And do what, Emmalyn? Go back to the man who did that to your beautiful face?”
“No,” I whisper softly.
“If you have family and want to go home to them, I’ll take you to the airport and buy you a first class ticket.” She turns my face toward hers gently. “Do you have family you want to go home to?”
I think about my aunt and my cousins. I haven’t heard a word about them in years. “No,” I answer honestly, because what type of family am I for leaving and never getting a hold of them?
“I just wanted to get out of there, Rose.” I look at the long row of various stores. “I don’t have the money to go shopping. You can take me around town so I can fill out applications, though. I need to look for a job.”
“That’s not what Kincaid told me to do.” I look back at her and see sympathy on her face.
“Well,” I say with renewed anger. I don’t finish my thought because my issues with Diego have absolutely nothing to do with Rose. I refuse to take my anger out on her. It’s not fair, and as the receiver of such anger for years, it’s not a position I want to put anyone else in.
“He gave me this.” She holds up a credit card with an American flag on the front. “And he told me not to take no for an answer when you refused to let him pay for everything.”
I huff and look back out the window. “Was that before or after he had that girl all over him?”
“You have to understand,” she begins shifting her weight in her seat so she can face me more. “The club girls are… The clubhouse you came into last night is not what it’s usually like there.”
I snap my head back to her. I knew all of the guys that had come out to the van to get the bags from the back were nowhere to be found when I went to the kitchen after my shower.
“What is it normally like?”
She laughs. “It’s usually a total pussy fest. Half-naked women doing anything and everything to get the guys’ attention.”
“Where were they last night?”
“Kincaid called Doc and told him he only wanted members there when he showed up with you. He didn’t want you walking into that chaos.” She reaches across the console and places a calming hand on my arm. “He didn’t say as much to Doc, but it’s clear he wants to protect you. He wanted to protect you from that.”
“Didn’t last very long did it,” I say bitterly. She stays quiet while I work through it in my head. “That’s how you and Doc got together?” I look at her but can’t see her being that type of woman.
She barks out a laugh, and it continues so long that her reaction brings a smile to my own face. “Fuck no!” She finally manages. “I was never a club girl. Doc and I were married when he went in the service. He was in for a decade before he met up with Kincaid and Shadow.”
“He likes you, Emmalyn.” She looks in the rearview mirror and checks her already perfect makeup. “You have to learn to ignore the club girls. If I’m right,” she turns her eyes to mine a small smile playing on her lips, “and I’m always right, you’ll never have to worry about or wonder where his interests lie from now on.”
“How do you live there and deal with all of that all of the time?”
“You’re mistaken. Doc and I don’t live there. Just like Kincaid, we have our own house. We have a room there to crash in if we stay too late, which doesn’t happen often, but we don’t live there.”
“But last night?”
“Last night was an exception, Emmalyn. Kincaid wanted a few of us there last night to make sure you were comfortable. He wanted me there, so you knew you weren’t the only woman in a building full of bikers.” She gives me a weak smile.
“He slept in my room last night,” I admit.
“I know.”
“We didn’t… I mean I haven’t slept with him.” I peer out the window again and watch as a mom tries unsuccessfully to fold up an oversized stroller. “And now that I know he’s sleeping with all of those women in the club I’m glad I haven’t.” I turn my face back to her. “I mean he hasn’t… it’s not even something we’ve… shit.” I look back out and see the mom has finally managed to get the stroller monstrosity into the back of her too big SUV.
“He doesn’t,” she says absently.
“Huh?”
“In case you were wondering. From the way the guys talk, he doesn’t have sex with the club girls.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Tell that to someone naive enough to believe it.”
“I’m serious,” she says indignantly, offended I wouldn’t believe her. “The guys say he may get a blowjob from one of them every once in a while, but he doesn’t have sex with them. They all hang on him, sure. They’re hoping that they can finally entice him enough to get him in bed, but it’s never worked.” She pauses. “They want on the back of his bike.” She tilts her head in my direction.
I have no idea what that even means, but I don’t have the time or inclination to even worry about that right now.
“That’s surprising.” I leave it at that, not certain if I believe her or not. More likely than not Doc is protecting his President’s image. What biker wouldn’t want an image that says he can fuck anything that walks into his club?
“Bunny,” she says acidly. “That’s the skank that was hanging on him this morning. She’s the most aggressive club girl. She’s been around a year or so. He tolerates her at best.”
“He has great tolerance,” I spit as I think about her hand cupping his ass from inside his back pocket.
“Do you like him?” Her question is from out in left field.
“I don’t even know him,” I answer with a half-truth.
“He likes you,” she responds with sincerity. “I’ve never seen him as attentive over a woman as he was with you last night. The guys joke and say he’s the man who will end up single
with no kids because he is so aloof when it comes to women.”
“Bunny seemed to know him really well. They seemed comfortable together.” I hate to even bring the woman up again, but Rose is trying to convince me that Diego is a good guy when his behavior this morning says differently.
“This morning was like a treat for her. She knew you were there; she was staking a claim that’s not even hers. Besides, Kincaid isn’t normally at the clubhouse first thing in the morning. Like I said, he has his own house, and he normally stays there during the week.”
“And he’s at the clubhouse because of me,” I say.
She smiles like her information is finally sinking into my thick head. “He’s there for you.”
“I’m still mad at him.”
“Best way to get back at him,” she says holding up the credit card she flashed earlier, “is to spend his money.” She laughs heartily. “Lots of it.”
I grin back at her and open my door.
“Which shop?” She asks meeting me at the front of the vehicle.
I think for a second. “All of them.”
Chapter 12
“Blade,” I breathe into the phone, irritated that he’s calling now. With Emmalyn at the clubhouse, this has to be the worst time for a mission.
“Kincaid. I’ve got an interesting one for you.” Blade served with us in the Marine’s. After his discharge, he went back to Kentucky where his wife and kids were, but he still coordinates all of the jobs we get called out on. Injuries from his last deployment keep him from riding a motorcycle. We told him he didn’t have to sit on a bike to be here with us, but we still couldn’t convince him to pack his shit and move to New Mexico.
“Now is not a good time, Blade.” I pinch the bridge of nose trying to stave off the headache I can feel creeping in.