Rough Justice

by Sarah Castille

  She threw back the covers and slid off the bed, her only clothing a T-shirt and a tiny pair of panties. He dipped his gaze, trying not to notice her beautiful, long, supple legs, or the tiny frills peeking out from beneath her shirt. But his cock swelled and his heart pounded and by the time she reached him it was all he could do to stay still.

  “I also know you’re hunting for Jeff. Any MC president would do the same.” She leaned up and kissed his neck. “I’ve warned him. Despite what he did to me, I’m still his sister and I owed him that. I understand what you have to do, but I can’t condone it, and I can’t stay. I’m leaving tomorrow, so tonight I came to say good-bye.”

  He closed his eyes and fisted his hands by his sides, but her scent surrounded him, her voice warmed him, her touch inflamed him, and his heart squeezed in his chest when she leaned closer and brushed her lips over his.

  “Say it, then.”

  Her lips whispered over his cheek. “Not just words. When I’m gone, it will be forever, and I didn’t want to leave the way we ended things. I want to spend the night with you. And in the morning, you’ll do what you have to do, and I’ll do what I have to do, and we’ll say good-bye and never see each other again, but right now those choices don’t have to be made. Right now, it’s just you and me alone in this room, and I want you so much it hurts.”

  She unbuckled his belt and then slid it through the loops, doubling it before she placed it in his palm. “I trust you, Jagger. I want to give you everything. Make this beautiful for me so I never have nightmares again.”

  He broke. Split wide open, his damaged heart drawing him down to the angel in front of him with the power of a desire that had waited a lifetime to be fulfilled. As he took her in his arms, cleaved to her warmth, he knew with a certainty that shook him to the core, she was wrong.

  He would never say good-bye.

  “Clothes off. On your knees. Back to me.”

  She stripped off her shirt and panties, then knelt on the bed and positioned herself as he directed, her body trembling under his scrutiny.

  “If you feel uncomfortable or afraid; you want me to stop or slow down, just say the word.”

  “Okay.”

  Jagger gently eased her hands back and then bound them together, tightening the leather around her wrists. Her back arched ever so slightly, her ass on display. He ran a hand over the creamy cheeks and steeled himself to restraint.

  “Too tight?”

  “No.”

  “Feel me, sweetheart.” He swept her hair away from her neck and pressed his lips to her nape, slow and tender, fanning the flames of her desire. “Don’t think about anything except my lips, my hands, my body on yours.”

  He eased her down until her cheek pressed against the cotton sheet and her ass was up in the air.

  “Love your beautiful ass.” He smoothed his hand over each cheek and then leaned forward and feathered kisses down her spine. She shivered as his lips whispered over her skin, but when he reached around to cup and caress her breast, her body softened.

  “Love these beautiful breasts. I could play with them all night.”

  “Please don’t.”

  Jagger chuckled. No real chance of that. Already he was rock hard and ready for her.

  Sliding his fingers between her thighs, he forced her legs apart, then spread her open, parting her folds to expose the delicate heat beneath. He was tempted to slick her moisture up around her clit, tease her until she writhed beneath him, but he wanted to build sensation on sensation until she knew only desire and nothing of fear.

  Gently, he pressed a finger inside her moist, wet heat, his cock pulsing in time to his strokes. She tensed and quivered around him, sliding her knees wider to give him better access. If it had been any other night, he might have smacked her ass for moving without his permission. His dominance aroused her, and he suspected she would get even hotter if he exerted more control. But not tonight. Tonight was about pleasure. Not pain.

  He added a second finger, spreading them inside her, pumping long and deep, delighted when he’d stimulated her sensitive inner tissue to the point that moisture gushed from her sex and she shuddered and moaned.

  “Good girl.” One hand deep inside her, the other tweaking her nipple, he feathered kisses down her spine to her bound hands, and then he kissed each open palm, reminding her that she was bound but cared for. Restrained but loved.

  No part of her body went untouched as he awakened her senses with soft kisses and sweet caresses, while he continued to drive his fingers into her channel, controlling her arousal with a rhythm that would keep her on edge but not let her go over.

  “Oh God, Jagger. I’m so close.” Her hips rocked in time to his thrusts, her pussy grinding against his fingers as she sought the release he was withholding.

  “My little Sinner.” He pressed his lips to her lower back, just below her bound hands, brushing kisses down to the cleft of her buttocks. “One day I want to show you what it truly means to sin.”

  She gasped, moaned, her hands straining against the bonds, but she was aroused, not afraid, trembling beneath his palms.

  “You want to come, sweetheart?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Tell me.” He shoved his jeans past his hips, sheathed himself with a condom from his wallet, and then stroked the length of his cock. Once. Twice. But instead of relieving the pressure, his touch increased the pain, and he felt the beginning tremors in the base of his shaft that signaled his imminent release.

  Arianne groaned and shuddered, stilling only when he added a third finger, readying her for him.

  “Please. I want to come.”

  He gave a satisfied grunt and then withdrew his fingers and spread her moisture up and around her clit. “I’m going to make you come like this, sweetheart, with your beautiful ass in the air, and your hands tied behind your back. And I’m gonna hold you so all you’ll be able to do is feel the pleasure I give you. I have control, sweetheart. You don’t have to fight and you don’t have to fear. And when you let go, you’ll know you’re coming because I want you to come, and you’ll know I’m there to catch you. Are you ready for me?”

  “God yes.”

  With a tortured groan, he spread her wide with his thigh and then he thrust, stretching her, parting her swollen flesh as he drove his cock deep inside her.

  Fucking heaven.

  Arianne whimpered and her pussy clenched around him. Heaven became hell and he had to move, pulling out and driving in as far as he could go. Mindless, she rocked her hips against him, begging him to give her what she needed. Hard. Fast.

  Now.

  With powerful, relentless strokes, he pounded into her, until his brain had fuzzed with lust and he was only seconds away from the oblivion of release.

  “Come with me.” He slid his hand around her hip and teased her clit until her muscles tightened, coiled like a spring. And then he let her go.

  “Now, sweetheart. Come for me.”

  And she did. A scream ripped from her throat, and her sex pulsed around him, drawing him so deep inside her. When he couldn’t fight it anymore, he grabbed her hips and pounded into her, his cock hammering in a frantic rhythm. He climaxed hard and fast, her name a roar on his lips as he pumped his seed inside her.

  Before she had fully come down, Jagger released her hands and settled her on his chest, enfolded in his arms. She had given him her trust tonight. She had let him protect her. He could only hope he was worthy of her gift.

  “I love hearing you scream.” He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

  “I didn’t scream.” She looked up, mocking a frown. “I’m not a screamer.”

  A satisfied smile spread across his face. “You did. You screamed my name.”

  Arianne pushed herself further up and glared. “I think I would know.”

  “I think you wouldn’t. You were too far gone.”

  Because she had let herself go. When her body finally accepted she had neither the strength nor the wil
l to defeat him, she had yielded, trusted he would keep her safe. And he had kept his word. But would it be enough to convince her to stay?

  “Whatever you want, whatever you need, sweetheart, I will find a way.”

  “Thank you.” She rested her cheek on his chest, and his lungs seized with emotion. “For everything.”

  TWENTY-THREE

  No vigilantism and no heroics. Threats to the club and its members will be dealt with by the club as a whole. No one goes it alone.

  Last night in Conundrum.

  Maybe.

  Arianne sat at the counter in Banks’s newly renovated bar and fiddled with her bike key. Slipping away in the early hours of the morning while Jagger slept was the hardest thing she had ever done, but she needed time to think. Last night hadn’t been planned. At first, she’d just meant to say good-bye, but when Jagger walked into the bedroom, and she’d seen her own hurt and confusion reflected in his handsome face, she realized parting ways wouldn’t be so easy.

  So she’d given him her trust. A test. And she’d never felt safer in her entire life than when she’d been bound in his arms.

  “You gonna stare at that key all night, or you gonna do something useful like work the bar?” Banks threw an apron on the counter. “I have thirsty customers who need drinks. If you don’t get back to work in ten seconds, you’re fired.”

  Arianne laughed. “You can’t fire me. I already quit.” Then her smile faded. “I’m going tonight. I called my trucker friend, and he’s meeting me in Whitefish. I’m going to hide in the secret compartment of his truck, and he’ll take me right across the border. Not as good as a passport, but he’s smuggled people before, and this is going to be his last run because he’s retiring next month. He even has a friend who can sort out some paperwork for me in exchange for some mechanic work.”

  Banks looked unimpressed. “Thought you were made of stronger stuff.”

  She shoved the apron out of the way and glared. “I thought you, of all people, would understand. I’m leaving my friends, my life, my job … everything.”

  “Runnin’ away.”

  “I am not running away.” She slapped the counter, startling herself at the intensity of her emotion. “Leaving Conundrum has always been my dream. You know that.”

  Banks slid the apron over her neck. “It was your dream when you had no options. Now you do. Jeff is outta the picture and you got Jagger to watch your back. Your friends are here. Your work is here. That tiny place you call an apartment is here. What are you looking for out there that’s so much better?”

  “You aren’t a biker like me. You couldn’t possibly understand.” She slid off the stool, pushing past him as she rounded the bar. She had some time before the rendezvous. Might as well earn a little cash. Better than having an uncomfortable discussion with someone who hadn’t lived the life.

  He looked up and his lips twitched in a smile. “I understand that’s the first time you ever called yourself a biker.” Seemingly pleased with himself, he winked and headed past the bar toward the stockroom.

  “By the way, I’m only working the bar ’cause I feel sorry for you with your bruised-up face,” she called out as he pushed open the door. Her fault. Banks was hurt because of her. Another reason why leaving was the right thing to do. So why wasn’t she already gone?

  He looked back over his shoulder. “Fired again. I’ll be up to my eyes in damn paperwork ’cause of you.”

  “Someone is in a bad mood tonight.” Arianne looked up when Dawn slid her tray across the counter and handed her a drink list.

  “He’s upset you’re leaving.” She forced a smile, but her voice wavered. “So am I, but I’ll just tell you to your face.”

  “I have to leave, Dawn. What Jagger did to Banks was pretty unforgivable. I know he did it to protect me, but that’s the kind of protection I don’t need.”

  “You still don’t get it.” Dawn ran a hand through her soft, blonde curls. “Yes, Jagger would do anything to protect you. But he’ll also stand with you. That night Axle crashed my birthday party and you pulled your gun on him, Jagger was beside you. He could have taken over, but he didn’t. And that was a hell of a message. You had his support and he would kill anyone who hurt you, but it was your damn show.”

  Arianne smiled. “He was furious because I wouldn’t hide in the kitchen where it was safe.”

  “But he respected you for taking a stand,” Dawn said. “You’re his equal and he knows it. Viper knows it, too. You and Jagger together must be his worst nightmare. He could barely deal with each of you alone. Now you’ve found the part of yourself you lost chasing after something that was always here. You always had the strength to carve out any kind of life you wanted. Jagger just makes it that much easier. Having him by your side only makes you stronger; it doesn’t take anything away.”

  “When did you get so smart?”

  Dawn’s eyes lit with a warm glow. “Observant, not smart. And I’ve got a particular weakness for watching people fall in love.”

  Love? Arianne didn’t know much about love but she did know Dawn was right about one thing. She was stronger, physically and emotionally. Only a few months ago, she would never have had the confidence to stand up to Viper, shoot Leo, or hit the president of the Sinner’s Tribe MC with a pool cue to save her friend. At sixteen years old, she’d found her way around the biker code and forced Viper to let her go. If she really wanted to be with Jagger on equal terms and spare Jeff’s life, she’d find her way around those rules again.

  Whatever you want; whatever you need, I’ll find a way. Jagger’s words drifted through her mind. Maybe he’d been telling her he would find a way, too.

  A cough drew her attention, and she looked up and smiled. “Wheels.”

  He didn’t return her greeting. “I gotta talk to you. It’s important.” He glanced around the bar, and then gestured to the stockroom. “You got a minute? Can we talk back there?”

  “Sure.” Her pulse kicked up a notch as she led him into the stockroom. Was this a trap? An ambush? Had Jagger sent Wheels and his men to take her back? She felt the familiar weight of her .38 on her lower leg and her tension dissipated. Although not an easy draw, the gun was there if she needed it.

  “What’s wrong?” She turned to face Wheels, carefully positioning herself with her back to the wooden shelving, and within steps of the door.

  Wheels raked a hand through his blond hair, his face haggard with worry. “It’s Jagger. Viper’s got him. I know you’re leaving tonight, but I thought you should know.”

  Her hand flew to her mouth. “Have the Sinners gone after him? Do they know where he is?”

  “They know.” Wheels exhaled an irritated breath. “The executive board is getting the brothers together for a rescue mission, but they’re taking so damn long. They wanted to hold a meeting first to decide on a plan.”

  “A meeting?” Her voice rose to a shriek. “Viper’s not going to keep Jagger around long enough for them to have a meeting. And that doesn’t sound like Zane. When it comes to Jagger, he acts quickly, decisively. Maybe I should call and tell them there’s no time to waste—”

  She cut herself off, her head jerking to the side when she heard a sound behind the shelving near the door to the parking lot. But before she could investigate Wheels coughed, and she turned away.

  “Phones are turned off during meetings,” he said. “But I’m sure they’ll get going soon. I just thought … maybe you’d want to know before you left. Not that you can do anything…”

  Not that you can do anything?

  There was a hell of a lot she could do: She could ride faster than any of the damn Sinners; she could shoot better than most of them, too; and she knew Viper. She could offer herself up if he let Jagger go.

  But that meant she would miss her chance to escape. And the Sinners were probably already on the road.

  She looked through the window of the stockroom door to where Dawn was serving drinks to a table of rowdy college kids in the corner. The
same table where Jagger had watched her and almost stabbed a Devil Dog for pinching her ass. Even now she remembered the thrill of seeing him, the take-your-breath-away moment when he’d winked and she realized he wasn’t there by chance. He’d come to see her.

  Banks was making the rounds, weaving his way among the tables as he greeted the regulars. When anyone gestured to his face, he just shrugged, seemingly unconcerned that he looked like he’d been in a car wreck.

  Just for show.

  Jagger had hurt Banks to protect her. Claimed her to keep her out of Viper’s clutches. Professed his love, then broken her heart to keep her safe. If she asked him to spare Jeff’s life, he would find a way.

  Memories came back, all in a rush—Jagger’s warmth and gentle teasing, his protectiveness, his body so strong and hard and firm against her. And the indescribable feeling of being safe and cared for in his arms.

  Mine.

  Last night he’d bound her hands the way Leo once bound them, and then he had made love to her. Sweet, tender love, driving away every fear and every thought except how much she wanted him, needed him, loved him.

  Mine. From the moment they met, he had been hers as much as she had been his, but it had taken her until now to understand. Just as it had taken her years to realize she was a biker. And the sooner she stopped denying who she was, the faster she would be able to save Jagger’s life.

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “I’ll get in a shitloud of trouble, but I can take you there.” Wheels’s eyes glittered and he licked his lips, smiling, a curious reaction given they were likely riding into a situation they might not survive, but one she put down to his lack of experience. Well, she wouldn’t put him at risk. She would send him back as soon as they reached their destination.

  And then she would face Viper one last time.

  * * *