by Jenika Snow
She had slept with him again, just like that, like she was this animal in heat or something.
“What are you doing out here when the party that is being thrown for you is inside?” she asked.
He grinned and took the toothpick out of his mouth. After he flicked it aside he grinned at her, but didn’t speak for several seconds. “I needed air. Those Grizzlies are crazy as fuck in there and have far too much energy.”
She nodded, not sure what she was supposed to say, because even if she had seen him just six months ago, fucked him even, this was still a touchy encounter. “It’s good to see you, Lucas,” she said in a soft voice. Tarren meant it. God, did she mean it. How could she just turn her back on her emotions for this male just because her father didn’t think them being together was a good idea? How could she stop loving Lucas just because she didn’t think things would work out between them because all this shit seemed in their way? The hard truth was she was in love with him, and that would never change. If anything it would only get stronger, more consuming. She’d either have to let Lucas know how she felt, or push all of that to the back of her mind, deep into her soul, and hope she survived not expressing her emotions to him.
He didn’t speak for several moments, and all they did was stare at each other. The chemistry between them was stronger than ever, and she knew it couldn’t just be one way. She knew he cared about her, even thought he might love her, but he was a reserved man, kept his emotions and heart close to him, and he never said anything to her. She wished he had, because hearing him say that he loved her, too, would change the entire dynamics of their relationship.
“I’m really glad I got to see you, Tarren. It’s been a long fucking time.”
Yeah, it really had been, even if she had seen him once or twice during that year. They stared at each other for several seconds, and then Jakob and Bodhi came out of the clubhouse, cigarettes in their mouths, and clearly already a little bit drunk by the way they were laughing loudly.
“Dude, Lucas. Come on, man, come do some celebratory shots with us,” Jakob said and held his arm up.
“Maybe later, man.”
Jakob scoffed. “Get the fuck in here and do some shots with us,” Bodhi said in a whiny voice, and then Jakob started laughing.
“Please, Lucas, before he starts whining like a little bitch for the rest of the night.”
Lucas started laughing, and then glanced at her. “You’re coming inside?”
She smiled but didn’t respond. “I’ll be in a little bit later.”
“Okay. I’ll see you inside.” Lucas said, and gave her this sympathetic smile. The exchange was still a little tense, but she was glad she had seen him.
She smiled and nodded at him. He stared at her for another few seconds, and then she watched as he walked over to the guys. He gave her one last look before he followed the other two Grizzlies inside. She got back in her car, not about to head into the clubhouse when she knew they all would be getting drunk, and that club whores were probably swarming inside. She had no claim on Lucas, and he could fuck whomever he wanted, but if she saw him with another female she didn’t think her heart could take it.
****
Dakota was repairing one of the engines of the broken down Harleys at The Grizzly MC compound. The scent of motor oil filled his nose, and he loved the fucking smell. It reminded him of growing up around his old man, Malice, Sergeant at Arms for The Brothers of Menace. That was his club now, and being a fully patched in member meant that he had certain responsibility, had a family for life, and bled for his club. Had he seen himself actually being in the club since he was old enough to understand what the fuck was going on? Yeah, he had, had always wanted that connection, and wanted to work alongside his father. But it wasn’t just about being in the MC that made him feel complete.
He had always been around the lifestyle, and even if his mother Molly hadn’t wanted him involved in this violent and dangerous life, it hadn’t been all bad. Sure, he had seen things his mom and dad hadn’t wanted him to witness, but it was more of the fact he had sought out those situations and had gone looking for the excitement. Even as a teenager he had hung around his father and the club during the summer months, stayed with them and learned all he could on an unofficial level. Now he was in this world, in this life, and he didn’t ever want to fucking leave.
The sound of someone approaching had him turning and facing the woman that he hadn’t seen in what felt like forever. “Well holy fucking shit.” He grinned at the sight of Alexis, Brick’s daughter, and the girl he had wanted when he was younger. It might have been a while since he had seen her, what with her in college in another city, but they had pretty much grown up together.
It had been years since he had seen Alexis, and although he was twenty-five, and Alexis was several years younger than he was, he had always seen her as so much more mature. He eyed her up and down, took note that she was curvy like a woman, had dark long hair the same color as her father Brick’s, and stared at him as though she was curious about something. He scrubbed a hand over his jaw, felt his several days’ worth of beard covering his flesh, and grinned at her. “Goddamn, Alexis, you haven’t changed. Well, not since I saw you a couple years ago for that big ass Thanksgiving dinner at your folks’ house.”
She smiled and nodded. “You haven’t changed at all … well, I take that back.” Her cheeks turned pink, and he suppressed his chuckle of amusement that she was embarrassed. She lifted her arm and pointed to his cut. “So you finally patched in, huh?”
He nodded. “Yeah, couple years ago. But The MC life was always for me.”
“Yeah, I suppose it was.” She was silent for a moment. “What are you doing here if you’re a Brother?”
He lifted a dark eyebrow, finding it funny that she would ask that. Besides the fact The Brothers of Menace and The Grizzly MC were close as hell, worked together when the time called for it, and had saved each other’s asses in the past, Dakota was here for more than one reason. “Helping these guys restore this bike.” Although he didn’t tell her the other reason he was here, one that included a spunky Grizzly MC daughter that could give him blue balls with just the way she walked.
“I didn’t mean it like you shouldn’t be here.”
He started laughing when it was clear she had thought he was offended. “I know, I know.” Since the whole shit had gone down at the graduation party all those years ago, they had only seen a handful of times when they actually saw each other.
“So, big time college grad, huh?” He took a step closer to her and then stopped. He was trying to go into a more neutral conversation, because bringing up shit, or even thinking about the situation that very well could have ruined their friendship didn’t seem smart. He shoved his hands in the front pocket of his jeans. “Your old man said you’re going to start managing the club finances.”
She nodded.
“I hope you’re ready for all that.” He was being serious, because all that club shit was going to be right in her fucking face now. No more pretending like things were okay and legal, even though she knew better than that. He had a feeling that for a lot of years when The Grizzly members had found their old ladies, it was hard telling them exactly how they kept their club going. It wasn’t just about the legal business they had with the bar and even the mechanic shop that they were working on with The Brothers, one that Dakota worked at. It was about the selling of guns, sometimes drugs, and even the prostitutes that made The Brothers of Menace a lot of their revenue.
“I hope I am, too.” She looked down at her feet, and the silence stretched between them for a few seconds.
“Hey, maybe since you’ll be in town indefinitely we can get together for lunch or something and catch up?” He wanted to talk with her, wanted to get to know the girl he had grown up with again. He felt like after the almost fight at the grad party with Nico, she had looked at him in a different light.
“Sure, but I’ll probably be busy for a little bit as I get sett
led in, and then with Nico—”
“He can come along,” Dakota said and smiled, not about to make it seem like he wanted more than a friendship with her. They had been friends for years, all their lives in fact. He didn’t want her thinking he desired anything more. “Listen, that altercation four years ago at the garage is behind us. We have both grown, and there isn’t any animosity between us anymore.” He might not be tight with Nico in the sense that they hung out all the time, but they were both adults, had moved on from that drunken high school bullshit, and were working toward being immersed in their clubs.
“So you guys talk a lot?”
Dakota shrugged and grabbed a dirty rag that was already covered in grease from the shelf beside him. He cleaned off his hands and stared at Alexis. “Okay, the whole animosity and altercation thing isn’t really the truth. I mean I am pretty sure he’s still pissed deep down, but he is kind of a hardcore guy when it comes to you.” He smiled, knowing that although they weren’t bringing up the old shit anymore, that when it came to Alexis, Nico was one possessive son-of-a-bitch. “And rightly so, but I’m over it. Why hang onto that shit when there isn’t a point?”
“Yeah, I’ve told him that before, but you know how a Grizzly is.”
He chuckled softly. “Yeah, I do. But I was serious about catching up. Aside from the few times I saw you for holidays and shit, it’s been too fucking long since we actually talked.” He stared at her, right in the eye because he hated how weird this was. “Besides, I actually have someone I’m dating, and I’d like you to meet her.” Dating was kind of a stretch. A huge fucking stretch in fact, because Dakota had never made anything official aside from telling her flat out all that was going on was a little screwing. But she had been all for it. She was a cute girl, too superficial for him, and one that he had been with sexually a few times. But the constant bitching about meeting more of his family instead of the guys he hung out with when they partied, Dakota had finally relented. Seeing as the woman he really wanted, the female that he had hoped would be at the clubhouse when he arrived, was most definitely off limits, he was going to have to move on.
“Really?” She looked surprised, and sounded like it, too.
He was tempted just to tell Alexis the girl was a fuck buddy only, but he kept his mouth shut on that regard. “Yeah, hard to believe, huh?” He started chuckling, but it was a little tight sound.
“No, of course not. I just thought you were never going to get serious with anyone.” She shrugged.
And I’m not, because who I really want is off limits, and I like my dick and balls very much. “Alexis, I think I said that when I was like sixteen and that bitch Sheila slept with my friend.” Just thinking about that skank pissed him off, and that damn “friend” that he had beaten to the ground, pissed him off royally.
She glanced down at the ground, and he wondered about what was playing through her head right now. Was she still thinking about what had gone down with him and Nico all those years ago? Was she thinking about how hard it was for her to believe he was “seeing anyone”? The truth was after the holidays he was going to be break it off with the girl he was “seeing”, just cut ties with her because he wanted to focus on himself. And also because it was difficult for him to get his dick hard for anyone else, especially when all he could think about anymore was a Grizzly girl.
“God, I totally forgot that was the reasoning behind that. All I could hear in my head was you saying that.”
He shrugged even though she wasn’t looking at him. “It’s cool. That was a long time ago.” He grinned when she glanced up at him, trying to ease the tension, and move past these old memories. “Besides, I value your opinion. How many of the girls I dated did you tell me were no good?” The truth was he was just anxious to get back into their old friendship, and although he knew that Alexis would call him out on dating the superficial woman, he really did value her opinion.
“A lot,” she said on a chuckle.
“And how many were actually bad news?” He grinned even wider, knowing that she didn’t sugarcoat anything.
“All of them.”
He nodded. “Yeah, and even if we were only kids at the time you knew, or your bear could scent out the bitch in them.” That had both of them laughing harder now, and then he saw the woman that consumed his thoughts more than he ever admitted to anyone. She got out of her mother’s car, grabbed her purse and a brown paper bag, and started heading toward the clubhouse. But then she stopped, glanced his way, and he swore to God their eyes locked. Fuck, now he was imagining things, because she was too young for him, the daughter of a fierce Grizzly bear shifter, and he was too jealous and possessive. Hell, he wasn’t even with her, and knowing she went out with the douchebags she did set his blood on fire. He may not be a shifter, but he had these primal instincts inside of him that screamed he wanted her, only her, and that anyone that touched her while she was with him would need plastic surgery when he was done with them. And then she turned away and headed inside the clubhouse.
God, Tawny Stoker was a man’s wet dream, but up until this summer he hadn’t seen her as anything more than Tarren’s younger sister. But now eighteen, she had filled out, was womanlier, and although she showed this persona of having this wild streak, he saw something of her that was vulnerable, soft, and innocent. Clearing his throat and pulling his focus away from Tawny, he stared at Alexis. Had Alexis seen him looking at the other Grizzly girl?
“So, anyway, I’ll let you get back to it. I’m sure the guys are anxious to see you. Just hit me up if you want to do lunch sometime.” And then he turned and walked back over to the bike, because being near Alexis, knowing she could probably scent the desire he had for Tawny, had him on edge.
When he heard Alexis retreating he turned and looked over his shoulder at the clubhouse. He could see Tawny silhouetted behind the partially opened blinds, and his cock jerked in response.
No, man, back the hell away. Focus on something else, and smarten the hell up that getting involved with her will mean a whole lot of Grizzly bikers on your fucking case.
****
Tawny should not want Dakota. Hell he was older than she was, was patched into another MC, and her father would kill her. Oh, who was she kidding? Her dad was pissed at her on a regular basis because she didn’t make it a secret that she liked the bad boys. She may have gotten down and dirty in the back of their cars on a few occasions, even gotten caught one of those times by Dallas, but she wasn’t a slut. In fact, Tawny was still a virgin, a rebellious virgin, but one nonetheless. Maybe it was because her father was so overprotective that she felt the need to test the bounds he set, to make him pull out his hair and growl out in frustration? She had never been with a male, never wanted to go that far with a guy, because she knew what she wanted. And what she wanted was Dakota Mason.
She pictured Dakota in her head, all big, raw muscles, a towering frame, and so damn attractive she had gotten wet on more than one occasion just thinking about him. But despite the little eye contact they had moments before, she knew she would never have a chance with him. For one thing she was only eighteen, and he was twenty-five. The women that she had seen him bring to the clubhouse gatherings, ones that were thin, big breasted, and screamed of sex appeal, were not something she could compete with. She was short, had a good amount in the chest department, but she had always considered herself on the chubby side. But for as long as she could remember, and when she actually started noticing the opposite sex, Tawny had wanted him. There was just something about the fact he wasn’t a Grizzly, that he was still part of the family, but had this mysterious appeal to him. His hair was so dark, short and disheveled, and those eyes, God, his blue eyes could lock her into this blubbering mess where she didn’t even know her name. But he had always seemed to look right over her. Well, up until she had seen him in the garage when her mom had dropped her off at the clubhouse, and then she had seen him looking at her. This part of her, a very girly part, couldn’t help but get excited that may
be he was seeing her as a woman, and not as Tarren’s kid sister, and Dallas’s youngest daughter.
She moved into the clubhouse, walked through the main area and into the meeting room where she knew Alexis was working on paperwork for the club, and where Tarren was probably bullshitting with her. Tawny pushed anything that had to do with Dakota Mason out of her head. It was safest that way, especially for her heart.
Chapter Eight
Tarren leaned against the doorframe and smiled at Alexis, who looked as though she was about to lose her mind with all the paperwork spread out in front of her. Stinger was sitting across from her, his body covered in grease, and this smile on his face, almost transforming the bear shifting biker into something gentler. “Hey,” he said to them.
Before Alexis could even say anything Tawny pushed her way past her and placed a greasy bag on the desk in front of Alexis. The other woman wrinkled her nose, the scent of burgers and fries filling the small office.
“For the guys working on the bike. They specifically asked for the greasiest, nastiest thing I could scrounge up. Tell them it’s burgers and fries from Dino’s.” And then Tawny turned and left.
Tarren looked out the window and watched her climb into the front seat of a bright red Mustang. The guy in the driver’s seat had a hell of a lot of piercings and tattoos, and Tarren couldn’t help but realize he was a lot more bad boyish than the last guy Tawny had gone out with.
“Ugh, her new boy-toy,” Tarren said under her breath, and she didn’t think Alexis had heard her until she answered.
“I bet your dad’s real pleased about that.”
Tarren continue to watch Tawny smile at the pierced out guy. But what she noticed then, just the slightest of expressions, was when Tawny glanced over at the garage where Dakota stood. And what she seemed even weirder was when Dakota looked up at Tawny, and this angry mask covered his face for an instant.