by Paula Cox
“Well, yes, but that’s different.”
“It is? Why?”
“Because I wouldn’t actually do it.”
“And you think Cherie would?”
“I don’t know. She sounded like she might.”
“If someone were to kill your grandparents, do you think you might be willing to kill the person that did it?”
I thought about it a moment and I realized that I would. “Maybe.”
“That’s the way we feel. The Bulls killed three members of our family. We can’t let that slide. But we haven’t gone out and killed anyone over it.”
“But you will?”
“It depends. If the Bulls give up their killers, then no.”
“What do you mean, ‘give up their killers’?”
“If they take care of the killers themselves, if they do the dirty work, then it ends there.”
“In other words, if they kill the killers, then you won’t hit back at them?”
“That’s right. It’s how wars are prevented.”
“Did they do that?”
“Not yet. It’s a hard thing to kill a brother. We’re giving them some space. But they are going to have to step up, and soon, or we’ll take care of it ourselves.”
“And the rest?”
“The rest is just business. I’m sure they are screwing us, and New Jersey, over. I just can’t figure out how. Once I do, though, then I will fuck them good.”
“Then why are they attacking you?”
“I don’t know. It’s like they want this war. I can’t figure it out. It has to be related, somehow, but I can’t find the connection.”
We rode in silence for a time. “Come back to New Orleans with me! Please! Leave all this behind. Cain, I want to be with you, but I can’t live like this!”
He took my hand. “I can’t. Not now. I have to see this through.”
“Why?” I cried and gave my eyes a vicious swipe with palm of my hand.
“Because, Alex, the Bulls made two plays on you already. They have killed three of my brothers. If I don’t deal with this, we will never be safe. We need the protection of the club, now more than ever. But I promise you, I will leave the Hounds if that is what it takes to be with you, as soon as it is safe to do so. I’m just asking for the time to get us set for the future.”
“But what about the baby?”
“That’s all I have been thinking about! The safety of you and the baby. But I’m thinking long term, beyond the current crises. I need to get us a safety net, something to catch us until we can get on our feet again. Alex, I’m trying to do this for you, for all of us.”
“But I’m afraid of what might happen.”
He squeezed my hand. “You have the whole club watching out for you now. You’re safe. Every one of the guys would give their life for yours just like I would give my life for any of theirs. We take care of each other and you’re part of the family now.”
As we rode along I thought about how I had been treated. The club was tense, but they had still been welcoming. The girls especially had gone out of their way to be warm and welcoming, and had helped make me feel comfortable in the club. I thought about our shopping trip and how the Hounds had been our shadows as we wandered through the stores, the women without a care in the world. They had trusted the men to watch over and protect them from harm. The more I thought about the shopping trip, the more I realized that the two men had created a bubble around us, walking in front of and behind us, not letting anyone get in too close. I hadn’t picked up on it before, but, thinking back, I realized how they were always scanning the area. At the time I had thought they were bored and were just looking around, but I now realized they were watching.
“What happens if the Bulls don’t give up the killers?”
“Then, if we can find out who it was, we’ll kill them.”
“And if you can’t?”
“Then we kill three of theirs.”
I pouted, not liking the sound of that.
“I know. It’s a nasty business,” he said softly. “I hope we don’t have to go there. But we may have to. If we don’t handle this, the other clubs will see us as weak and we will have even more trouble.”
“Will you do the killing?”
“I don’t know. Probably not. If I am asked, I will go, but the three that were killed? They had some brothers they were really close to. They will probably want to handle it.”
I had to ask. “If it were me?”
His face went hard and he refused to look at me. “I would kill them all. I would be the fucking angel of death.” He stopped the truck in the parking lot of his apartment and switched it off, but didn’t open the door, allowing me to decide if the conversation was over.
“You’ll leave the Hounds when this is all over?”
“If that is what it takes, yes.”
I unbuckled my belt and leaned over, reaching out for him as my lower lip quivered. He met me halfway and held me, kissing my face with butterfly kisses. We sat in the very awkward embrace until I began to hurt, but, even then, I didn’t want to release him. I was so confused. I wanted him, and I began to understand the attraction of being in the Hounds, but I couldn’t forget what they had done to my parents. Or had they? None of those I met had struck me as the type to kill on a whim. None seemed to relish the coming conflict with the Bulls. Maybe I was just overreacting again. Maybe the Hellhounds were just as Cain said.
I finally broke the embrace and Cain gasped as he sat up.
“What?”
“My side,” he hissed as he opened his jacket. I saw a spot of blood where he had been shot. “Shit,” he muttered.
“Why didn’t you say something?” I cried.
“Because I wanted to hold you as long as you would let me.”
I don’t know why, but that touched me. “Come on…let’s go see what you did. Dumbass.”
***
“Not so bad,” I said as I placed an adhesive bandage over the wound. He had popped a stitch, which had caused a little bleeding, but it didn’t appear to be anything serious. “Next time, say something.”
He lowered his arm over my head, his other arm coming around my back. “I didn’t have anything to say. I already had everything I wanted.”
“What was that?”
“You, in my arms.”
I leaned into his chest. “Can we start over? Can we go back to the beginning and try again. Pretend the last couple of months haven’t happened?”
“No. I don’t want to give up even one memory of you.”
I whimpered. “Can you forgive me then?”
“Nothing to forgive. I’m sorry I dragged you into this. You had every right to be concerned. I’m glad you were worried over the baby. But now that you’ve seen the club, will you trust me?”
“Yes. I trust you.”
I expected him to pull my lips to his, but when he didn’t move, I looked up at him. He was smiling down at me and moved to offer me his lips, but he gave me the choice to kiss him or not. I stretched up and closed the remaining distance.
As we stood in the bathroom, Cain naked to the waist, my desire for him surged. I knew I had misjudged him from the beginning. He was a good man. All the Hounds appeared to be good men. To have Cherie tell me so plainly how the club interacted made me feel more comfortable with them. They had a certain... honor... about them.
I stepped back from the kiss and took his hand. “Are you able to perform tonight?” I asked as I continued to walk backwards, pulling him along.
“Does this mean I don’t have to sleep on the couch again tonight?” he teased as he followed along in my wake.
I felt guilty that I had let him do that for the last few nights. “So long as you don’t disappoint me,” I teased.
He took two quick steps forward and pinned the back of my legs to the edge of the bed. “I will never disappoint you,” he said, the seriousness of his eyes making it clear that he wasn’t answering my teasing come-on.
“No,” I said as began unbuckle his pants. “I don’t believe you will.”
He let me pull his pants down, his breathing speeding up. I nudged him back a half step to give me room to kneel before him. He was already impressively hard as I kissed the head of his cock with slow, delicate, touches of my lips. He stood perfectly still, allowing me to play, and play I did as I licked down his shaft, moaning and cooing, trying to drive him wild.
As I kissed my way from his balls back to the tip of his manhood, I began to prepare myself. As I reached the top I plunged him as deep into my mouth as I could. While not huge, he was almost too big for me to take all the way. I fought my way down the rest of the way and held myself there for as long as I could, looking out from under my eyebrows as I did. His head was thrown back, his face a mask of ecstasy as his hand found the back of my head and held me. I pushed back against his hand and he let me pull back, but I wanted to see that look again, and as soon as I had my breath, I plunged down on him once more, watching him.
“Fuck…” he growled as I worked him down the last little bit, the word like a match to gunpowder.
My desires roared and I could feel an orgasm lurking even though he hadn’t even touched me yet.
“Fuck… I’m going to come,” he growled and I quickly pulled back.
“Don’t you fucking dare come,” I snarled back. I stood up and began to undress as he stepped out of his pants. I removed my shirt and bra, then took his penis into my hands and stroked it slowly as we kissed, our tongues engaged in an intimate dance.
As he leaned into the kiss, I could sense he was still teetering on the edge of orgasm so I eased off on the pressure. “Don’t you come,” I warned again as I continued to caresses his cock, my hand slick with his lubricant.
“Stop,” he begged softly.
I smiled as I continued to slide my hand along his length, before stopping and removing my pants. The moment I was undressed I stepped in close again and, holding his lips to mine, stroked him hard and fast.
He grunted once and thrust his hips into my hand and I decided he had enough. I stepped back and eased myself onto the bed, pulling him along by his cock. The irony of leading him around by his manhood wasn’t lost on me, but I didn’t care. As he joined me on the bed, I released him and rolled onto my side.
“Like last time,” I murmured as I moved my leg.
He straddled my thigh and I draped my upper leg across his and clamped down as he entered me. I twisted around so I could see his face as he began to thrust. “Hard. Ram it into me hard.”
He moved, slowly at first, and as I watched he closed his eyes and bared his teeth. “Ah! I can’t!” he gasped as he twisted and hunched over slightly. “Fuck.”
“What?”
“I can’t…it hurts too much. I thought I could, but I can’t.”
We gently disentangled ourselves and he lay down on the bed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” I said. I felt terrible that he had hurt himself trying to make love to me.
“I wanted to. I still want to. But I need another day or two. I’m sorry.”
“Shhh…” I whispered as I kissed him softly on the lips. “It’s okay. Can you just hold me?” He wrapped me up loosely. It wasn’t the snug embrace he normally gave me, but it would do. “Can we try again in a couple of days?”
He kissed me on the shoulder. “Yes. I will always want you, Alex.”
I didn’t know if he meant it, but his words made me smile. I backed into him a little tighter and he moved his arm so the sore spot wasn’t resting on anything as he held me. I took a couple of deep, contented breaths, enjoying the feel of being in his arms again, until I slipped in a deep and restful sleep.
Chapter 26
“Do you have to go?” I asked.
“I do. I have to find out what is going on. This is the only way,” Cain replied. “Garrett is going to watch after you.” He kissed me and I warmed, pulling him into the kiss. “Watch out for her. She’s feisty,” Cain said as he pulled back from the kiss and softly stroked my face.
“Yeah, looks like it,” Garrett said without emotion, but then grinned.
“When will you be back?” I asked.
“Late tonight or early in the morning. Don’t worry. The Bulls won’t even know I’m there. I’m just going to collect a couple of samples. New Jersey has given me safe passage.”
“I still worry.”
“Don’t. I’ll be fine. If you need anything, tell Garrett or one of the girls, okay?” He kissed me once more and then turned to go.
I watched him step out of the clubhouse and then, a moment later, I heard his Harley start. It had been three days since we made up, and the days had been as happy as any I could remember. I didn’t know how I knew, but I knew it was going to work out between us.
“So, tell me how you did it,” Garrett said as I turned away from the door.
“Did what?”
“Bag him.”
I giggled. “Why does everyone ask me that?”
“Because nobody can believe it. Come on, you can tell me. I won’t tell a soul.” I could tell by the gleam in his eye that if I told him, the entire club would know in ten minutes.
“As I told Cherie and Toni, it was his idea. I didn’t really do anything.”
“Well, some guys have all the luck,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Is he really as good in bed as all girls say?”
“Better,” I teased, dropping my voice down and drawing the word out. “He’s insatiable. He can go all night. That first night, we did go all night. I was hoarse the next morning from him making me scream.” That last little bit was a bald faced lie, but it served to elevate Cain, so I didn’t mind telling it. Besides, if I were a screamer, I would have been hoarse.
Garrett stared at me and I had to turn away before I lost my straight face. “I hate that fucker,” he muttered and I snickered to myself. He meandered in the direction of the bar. “Would you like anything?” he asked as he walked.
I followed and cut him off as I moved behind the bar. “No. Still a little early for me. But what would you like?”
He looked at me a moment. “Ever heard of a Mind Fuck?”
“Vodka, Coffee Liqueur, and Club Soda?”
“That’s it.”
“Coming up.” The Hellhounds’ bar wasn’t very well organized, and it took a little digging to find the Coffee Liqueur, but once I found it, I was set. I didn’t really go for the razzle-dazzle, but a couple of simple spins later, I parked his shot in front of him.
“What?” I asked with a grin.
He was staring at me with his mouth slightly agape. “That was some shit. What was that? Hey, Macole! Come watch this shit!”
A good looking guy that I had been introduced to before wandered up. Garrett giving me his last name was enough for me to remember the rest. “Clyde. Can I get you something?”
“Sure. Just a beer.”
“Nuh-uh,” Garrett said before I could even move. “Order a drink.”
Clyde looked at the other man. “Okay. Jim Beam, straight up.”
“Show him,” Garrett said with a grin. “Watch this shit.”
I had to look again for proper bottle. “Your bar isn’t very well organized,” I teased when I finally located the bottle. “Why aren’t all the drinks grouped by type so you can find them?”
Clyde shrugged. “We each bring in what we like and just stick the bottle where we can find an open spot.”
I sat the shot glass in front of him and poured a splash.
“Impressive,” Clyde said as he took the drink.
“Give me that,” Garrett growled playfully as he pulled the drink from Clyde’s hand, popped the pour spout out of the bottle, and dumped the contents of the glass back into the container. He then grinned at me. “Now, sweetheart, show him.”
I sighed. “Nothing to show really,” I said as I flipped the bottle up behind my back and caught it. “I’m just a bartender,” I continued as I gave the bottle a hard
spin, the bottle becoming a spinning blur as it arced into the air. I caught it behind my back, and flipped it up again to give it an elbow bump. “Nothing out of the ordinary,” I added as I stalled the bottle on the back of my hand. “Shit!” I snapped as I dropped the bottle, caught it on my toe, and then kicked it back up into another stall. “Whew…that was close!” I gave the bottle an easy spinning toss, caught it my other hand, gave it another spin to catch in my pouring hand and finished by poured the splash back into his glass.