“We have the tattoo place, the body workshop—custom antique shit. Brings in quite a bit of dough. More than you’d think. So bits of this and that,” he replied vaguely.
“Bits that involved Jay getting shot?” She slid a glance at him and blanched.
Looking back she shouldn’t have pushed. People that poke their noses into other people’s private business usually get burned.
He was on her before she had time to process the movement. He jerked her around hard to face him. Anger bled from every pore. It sped her pulse, tightening things low in her body. Although he manhandled her, she didn’t feel scared. Well, maybe a little. But good scared. Excited.
“Never question club business. Never ask and you won’t get hurt.”
If she’d been under any illusions that the Knights of Hell MC were straight-up, one hundred per cent legit businessmen, she had her answer.
It wasn’t exactly a shock. Everyone had secrets, including her.
They’d had plenty of opportunities to silence her already if they wanted her dead.
Instead of pushing him away, she nodded and said, “If you need my services in a professional respect, you know where to find me.”
For some reason, she hated the idea of the men patching themselves up. She’d bet all her savings none of them had medical training. Thinking about any of them injured made her head hurt.
Tension seeped out of him. His grip softened. Something flashed in his eyes. Something she couldn’t read or process.
“You got a spot of paint…” He smudged a thumb across her cheek.
And then he did the last thing she expected. Zeke stepped closer, leaned down and kissed her. One hand tunneled into her hair as his lips met hers. Soft at first, a mere whisper on hers, before the kiss turned hard. Possessive. He took her breath away, demanding she open to him as he fisted a handful of hair and tugged her head back.
A tingle of pain prickled along her scalp. She whimpered as she gave in and his tongue slid against hers.
The taste of him—manly, smoky, spicy—buckled her knees and she gripped his biceps, trying to find an anchor.
She’d been kissed many times. Never like this. Like Zeke was starved and she was a banquet to be devoured.
He skillfully explored every inch of her mouth, owning her.
Her head spun. Her fingers dug deeper into his flesh. Electricity shot along her nerve endings and her clit throbbed. She wanted to wrap her legs around his waist, grind her groin on his to ease the ache between her thighs. She was hot and wet from just a kiss. All thoughts of staying away from him evaporated. She wanted him. No needed him...
A pounding on the door brought her back to her senses.
“Boss. Boss! You in here?”
Zeke pulled back and the loss of his warmth dampened her fire.
He smirked, knew exactly what would have happened between them if not for the interruption. “Yeah. I’m here.”
“We got problems.”
“On my way.” His fingers rubbed along her collarbone. “Saved by the bell, Doc.”
With a respectful brush of his lips on her cheek, he grabbed his cut and left, leaving her a mass of quivering nerve endings and unresolved sexual tension.
Chapter Four
Grace poured out two glasses of sauvignon blanc before cutting up various cheeses to accompany the crackers and olives she’d already laid out. Across the kitchen island, stealing olives from the dish, sat Kadence, her younger sister of ten years.
While Grace was curvy and average looking, Kadence was lithe and beautiful with dark hair flowing down to her ass, a killer figure and deep blue eyes. She was fun, quirky, even a little wild, and Grace loved her fiercely.
Kadence reached for her wine and took a sip. “Hmm, good. So you’re telling me Mr. Sexy Badass Biker kissed you then left you hanging for two weeks?”
“Yep.” She hadn’t seen Zeke since he left her store a little over two weeks ago. She’d heard the soft purr of bikes occasionally in the middle of the night, but no one had been around his house. The lack of contact bothered her, but it shouldn’t. It wasn’t as though they were dating. They hadn’t made any promises. They’d only had one kiss. She just hoped he wasn’t in trouble. She was worried about him.
Kadence sucked on an olive. “Wow, Grace. I’ve always thought of you as the good girl and you get involved with a guy from an M.C. Not just any guy, the fucking president!”
Heat flushed her cheeks. “We’re not ‘involved’. It was one kiss.” One hot, mind blowing, soul searing kiss, but she wasn’t about to tell Kadence that.
“I bet he’s amazing in the sack.”
Grace couldn’t help but smile. “Might all just be bravado. You know, party up top, nothing happening below.”
Kadence raised an eyebrow. “You believe that?”
“Nope,” Grace sighed. She had no doubts. Zeke Knight would give her the ride of her life.
“Next time you see him, you should give him a try. What you got to lose? You get an out-of-body sexual experience with a bad boy. He gets to bang a—what did he call you?”
“Prissy.”
Kadence laughed. “He gets to bang a prissy chick. It’s not like either of you are looking for commitment here.”
She rolled her eyes. “You have such a way with words.”
Kadence waggled an olive in her direction. “You know I’m right.”
That was the worst part—Kadence was right. Almost. In heart she knew she wouldn’t be happy with one night. She knew she’d want more as soon as she got into bed with him. The weird, fucked up connection they had wasn’t just sexual. Not on her part anyway.
And that was the problem.
“Let’s change the subject.” She got Kadence talking about family back in the city and pushed Zeke to the back of her mind.
The roar of engines interrupted their conversation. Her heart rate sped, an indication her body was automatically conditioned to respond to the sound.
She wasn’t happy.
Kadence bounced off the chair and ran over to the window. She pulled back the curtain and let out a squeal. “There are six bikes outside in your driveway, and whew! A few of them of hot, hot, hot.”
“Kadence,” Grace chastised. “They are not pieces of meat.”
“Hell yeah, they are. They are prime specimens of man meat.”
One of them blared a horn and someone shouted, “Come on out, Doc. Come for a ride!”
Kadence practically jumped up and down with excitement. “Oh, yes please.”
“Wait just one second.” Grace motioned for her sister to stay put as she stepped out onto her front porch, latching the door behind her.
Zeke, Jay, Rafe, Gabe, Tiny and Sammy sat in her driveway, all of them grinning like Cheshire cats. She shook her head at their audacity, but couldn’t stop the somersaults dancing in her stomach. Her sister was right—they were fine manly specimens.
“Sorry, boys. I’m busy,” she told them.
When the wolf whistles started she knew Kadence had joined her.
Lord, help us.
“Hi, I’m Kadence, Grace’s sister.”
Rafe shifted on the bike, and Grace narrowed her eyes. “I’m Rafe, but you can call me anything you like, sweetie pie.”
Grace wrapped a protective arm around her waist and drew her closer. “As I said, we’re too busy for a ride.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew she’d made a mistake.
The men burst out laughing
Rafe threw back, “I don’t mind handling two sisters. Double the fun.”
Grace’s cheeks flamed as Kadence giggled.
“Settle down you bunch of animals.” Zeke barked, although there was amusement in his tone.
He fixed his whiskey gaze on Grace. Her world contracted, focusing on him, the banter from the other MC members drowned out by her pounding pulse and the throb between her thighs. Christ, did Zeke have some weird voodoo mojo going on? Maybe Kadence was right, once she w
ent to bed with him it would kill any power he had over her. Right now anticipation burned white hot. Once they worked it out of their system things would be different.
Yeah right, sang the bitchy voice deep inside her mind.
His eyes flashed with mischief. “What do you say, Grace? Wanna go for a ride? You can bring Kadence. We’ll take care of you.” He lifted two fingers. “Scouts honor.”
She highly doubted he’d ever been a boy scout.
Kadence squeezed her waist hard, a sure sign she wanted to go.
Unable to resist her sister anything, Grace nodded. “Let me go grab some jackets.”
It took less than a minute to grab their coats. In that time Kadence had already gone down to the bikes, and stood chatted with Rafe and Gabe. She didn’t like the blatant sexual interest on the brothers’ faces.
When Grace joined them and handed Kadence a jacket, she looked at the two men, propped her hands on her hips and said, “Hell, no. She’s not riding with you.”
“Aww, come on, Doc,” Gabe teased. “We’ll take good care of her, won’t we, Rafe?”
Rafe just grinned like the wolf in the Red Riding Hood fairytale.
“No way. Not even if hell froze over.” She steered her sister away from the dangerous, sexually appealing brothers towards Jay.
Kadence hissed “spoilsport” in her ear, but at least with Jay she wouldn’t end up with a dick in her ass before they got to their destination.
Grace lowered her voice and whispered. “This is Jay. He’s a gentleman. You ride with him or we are not going.”
Kadence pouted but finally agreed. While Jay sorted her out with a helmet, Grace walked over to Zeke. “I guess I’m riding with you?”
“Guessed right, Doc.” His eyes shimmered. The smirk made her want to straddle the bike and kiss the hell out of him. Instead of giving into temptation, she allowed him to pop a helmet on her head. He adjusted the straps, securing it in place. “Want you to be safe.” He patted the seat behind him. “Get on.”
A frisson of fear swept along her spine. Safe wasn’t a word she associated with motorcycles. She’d seen enough injuries from riding them in the ER.
But that was her past. She didn’t want Zeke to think she was afraid.
Swallowing her trepidation, she swung her leg over the monstrous machine and settled down. She’d never even sat on a bike before. It felt weird to be straddled across that amount of power. She smelled leather and motor oil.
Zeke reached back and pulled her close to him. So close her nose pressed against his shoulder. She inhaled his spicy, masculine scent and hormones zinged through her, settling in the pit of her stomach and sending a warmth straight down to her groin.
He motioned for her to put her hands around his waist. When she did, he shook his head. “Tighter. Don’t want you falling off.”
Her fingers slid against the well-defined muscles beneath his club cut. Delight rushed through her as they flexed and bunched at her touch. He had an amazing body under his clothes and she couldn’t wait to see it. With each encounter her resolve against not bedding him crumbled. At this point it was almost in ruins.
Zeke caressed her hand briefly and said, “Alright. Let’s ride.”
The engine beneath her roared to life. All that power between her thighs. Jesus, the sensation was amazing and strange. The vibrations hit her sweet spot and she almost came.
As they drove into the night, the wind chaffed her face. She buried in against his shoulder and snuggled closer. They hit the highway and Zeke opened up the throttle. The bike shot forward.
It was exhilarating and liberating. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. She’d never felt so wild and free, and scared witless. If she came off the bike, it would hurt. Bad. She clung tighter to her only anchor, moving her hands further up his chest. His steady heartbeat thundered against her palm and she focused her breathing in time with his. She began to relax, understanding the freedom in riding a bike.
After what seemed like an eternity, Zeke slowed down, pulled into a parking lot of a small warehouse complex and switched off his engine. When all the bikes were inside, a guy wearing a patch closed a chain-linked gate behind them.
Grace scoped out her surroundings. A large garage type structure was on her right. To her left, a two story warehouse. The heavy iron door sat open and the Knights of Hell patch was engraved on a metal sheet hanging on the wall. She heard music and laughter from inside. Women, children and men with patches milled around outside. A few men crowded around a massive grill which smoked and sizzled with spicy scents.
This must be the Knights clubhouse. Their inner sanctum.
“Another party?” She asked, removing her helmet. Hopefully with children around this one wouldn’t get too wild.
“More of a family get together. Grill some steaks. Have some beers. Show the softer side of the MC.”
That made her laugh. Since Zeke and the Knights had come into her life, she’d been researching MCs. She knew they lived by different rules and strict codes. Once you joined the family, the only way out was in a box. They protected their own with a fierce loyalty that appealed to her.
She got off the bike and her legs wobbled.
Zeke steadied her and grinned. “Wild ride, Doc?”
She shrugged. “I’ve had wilder.”
She couldn’t help teasing him even though it was a lie.
His nostrils flared and his eyes sparked with a hint of jealousy before he replaced it with laconic amusement. “Bet I’d be wilder.”
Her mouth went dry and her panties dampened as pure lust slithered from her stomach to her core. Kadence saved her from embarrassing herself.
“That was such a rush!” She hugged Grace and beamed. “What are we doing here?”
“Clubhouse family party,” Zeke answered as he hung his helmet on the handle bars. He did the same to Grace’s before slinging his leg over the saddle.
Watching him get off a bike was pure porn. Why did this man affect her so much? Since when did she have a thing for bad, bad boys?
Urrmm, since he walked into your life.
Zeke draped an arm around each of them and nodded to a few of the charter members huddled by the barbecue.
“It’s chilled out. No skanks. A few old ladies. Doubt they’ll be any trouble. Be aware of wondering hands.” He directed the last comment at Kadence and Grace experienced a twinge of jealousy.
Maybe he didn’t think she was attractive enough to warrant a warning about wandering hands.
Rafe sidled up beside them and ran a hot, appraising look over Kadence. “It’s cool, Prez. I’ll take care of her.”
From the hungry look Kadence flashed Rafe, Grace knew there could be trouble. Inwardly, she sighed. Her sister was a big girl. She could make her own decisions and bed whoever she pleased. She needed some fun, especially after what she’d been through in the past. Yet Grace felt compelled to at least issue a warning.
She moved out of Zeke’s embrace and stood next to Rafe. Loud enough for all the guys to hear, she spoke with as much menace as she could muster. “Look after my sister. Keep your dick out of her, or I’ll sneak into your room one dark night and surgically remove it along with your balls.”
Laughter echoed around the lot as the guys burst into hysterics.
Rafe crossed his hands over his groin in horror. “That’s cold, Doc. Fucking cold. You don’t mess with a guy’s dick.”
As the guys trailed into the club, Rafe and Jay flanked Kadence. Although it was unlikely there would be trouble at a family shindig, they formed a protective barrier between her and the rest of the club. It warmed Grace’s heart.
Heat spread through her as Zeke once again draped an arm around her. This time the move held a hint of eroticism. He trailed his fingers under the collar of her shirt and caressed the bone before gently splaying them over her neck.
Her knees turned to jelly. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, practically purring as her breasts heaved and her nipples peaked. She’
d watched videos about BDSM where the Dominant gripped the submissive’s neck. She’d always found it a huge turn on, and now Zeke touched her in exactly the right way to spark her hormones into overdrive.
The dark look he gave her spoke of sin and heady pleasure. He parted his lips, his tongue swooped out to lick his lower lip. Grace clenched her thighs as her pussy heated, her gaze trained on his tongue.
When she looked back up into his eyes, they were guarded. She scowled but he shook his head. “Let’s just go inside.”
Confusion dampened her lust. Just when she thought she’d gotten a handle on him, he did something to remind her she really didn’t understand him at all.
Inside, the clubhouse was a refurbished steel warehouse. Lots of long iron tables and benches littered the middle of the vast room. A bar flanked one side, while the other held lazy black couches. At the bottom end a huge flat screen tv adorned the wall, a full sized pool table in front of it. The modern fixtures mixed with wood and chrome screamed masculinity. Definitely a man-cave.
Half a dozen children of various ages ran around. Some of the women were dressed in revealing clothing, but most were in figure hugging jeans and club t-shirts emblazoned with the Knights emblem. Who knew MCs had their own merch?
She scanned the room and located her sister. Kadence sat between Jay and a blonde woman who engaged her in conversation. Grace always admired Kadence’s easy way with people. Rafe and Gabe sat opposite. She couldn’t see their faces, but she had a feeling they were staring at her sister’s boobs.
Zeke steered her towards the bar. An older brunette dressed in black jeans, spiky heeled boots and a leather cut smiled at Zeke. “Hiya, darlin’. Who’s this fine piece of ass? And what can I get you?” Her expressive dark eyes shone with affection.
“Two shots of Herradura. The anejo. Layla, this is Grace. Grace, Layla.”
Layla poured out two shots. “Pleased to meet ya, Grace.”
“Thanks.” She pointed at Layla’s cut. “You a member of the club?”
Both Zeke and Layla laughed. “Hell no, sweetie. Woman can’t be members.”
“Why not?”
It seemed sexist to her that in this day and age women couldn’t be fully fledged club members.
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