by E. C. Land
I stand, not caring that I’m in nothing but my tank top and polka dot cheeky panties. I walk past him. I swear he sucks in a harsh breath.
Go ahead and get a good look, you big fat jerk.
I walk into the kitchen and stalk right to the coffee pot that’s already prepped and ready to brew. All I need to do is hit the button. To say I’m not a morning person is an understatement. My dad used to say I’m a coffee monster who needs the coffee in my system to be able to function without hurting anyone. I have to admit to myself, I’m highly irritable without it and have been known to snap.
I feel Reaper enter the room. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like his aura consumes every room he enters. His presence could consume the room in two different directions, one being dangerous to the point I fear for my life or the other being dangerous because the sight of him makes me want to jump on him and ride him until I can’t ride anymore.
My stomach tightens, and it’s all I can do to keep from squeezing my legs together. I need to get him out of here. He’s driving me nuts.
“You going to ignore me?” Reaper barks vehemently.
“I figure if I pretend you don’t exist, make my coffee and go about my morning now that I’m awake way too freakin’ early for a Saturday morning, I might add, then yes. I’m ignoring you. Feel free to not let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.” Okay, so I’m a bitch in the morning.
“I don’t like being ignored, Precious,” Reaper announces. I hear him take a step even closer in my direction.
“Too bad for you. I don’t talk to anyone until I get my coffee. I suggest you leave.”
“What do you intend to learn by working at the garage? I looked at the file we ran on you—it just so happens your daddy’s a cop. Now I know there is no way in hell a fuckin’ cop’s daughter would be working in an MC establishment without attempting to gain some sort of information,” he sneers, changing the subject altogether.
He did not just say that.
Please tell me he didn’t just say that.
Whirling around on him, I close the distance between the two of us, not that there’s much of it. I lift my hand and slap him across the face with enough force to make Reaper turn his head. That or he is surprised by my action. “Get out,” I snap, rage nearly vibrating within my entire being.
Reaper’s eyes come ablaze with fire when his eyes come back to meet my glare. I should probably take a step back or something. I don’t know, but I also don’t care. He had no right to say that.
Something is slammed on the counter next to me, and the next thing I know, Reaper’s arms are holding me tightly against his chest. “Don’t fuckin’ test me, Ivy,” he growls, directly in my face.
“Don’t test you? Oh, please, don’t test me, Reaper. Now get out before I hurt you,” I threaten, knowing damn well I wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.
“Hurt me? Precious, you couldn’t hurt me even if you tried,” he grins maliciously.
“I could if I need or want to,” I protest.
“Yea, go ahead and try. I promise you, I’ll have you over my knee with that sexy ass of yours bare and ready for my hand.” Nope, don’t think of what he just put in your head. No way, don’t do it.
“Go to Hell,” I snip.
“Precious, I’m the fuckin’ Reaper for a reason. I’ve been living in Hell my whole life,” he chuckles. “Now tell me why you’re working at the garage,” Reaper demands, moving me around until he has me cornered against the counter. His hands now caging me in on either side. My hands involuntarily press into his chest.
“I’m not telling you shit. If you read whatever report you have on me, then you would already know the answer to your own question. Now go away,” I say, raising my voice.
“Ivy,” Reaper growls, one of his hands sliding up my side, over the side of my breast, and cupping the back of my head. His fingers threading into my hair that’s in a knot on top of my head.
Reaper’s eyes seem to take on a completely different heat right before his hand tightens in my hair. His mouth slams down on mine, capturing my mouth in a demanding, forceful action. I have no choice but to respond to with the same reaction.
I swear I’m fucked when it comes to Reaper. Seven ways to Sunday, that’s for sure.
Chapter Six
Reaper
Fuck me. I didn’t intend to kiss Ivy. I came over here for answers, but seeing her in that tank top, ass barely covered in her panties, is more than I can handle. Doesn’t help her nipples are poking out through her shirt and she’s got an attitude my cock seems to like.
Since seeing her again at the garage, Ivy is all I can think about. Okay, so she was all I could think about for two weeks, but last night it was worse.
I couldn’t sleep after drinking as much as humanly possible. I couldn’t even pick one of the P&P’s to fuck. I finally gave up and went to my office, snagged the file, and took it to my room. I laid back in bed, reading over her application, seeing she lived so damn close to the clubhouse. The land that butts up against the club’s is hers. Then I read about her father being a cop, I lost it. I got my keys and took off to her place.
I didn’t bother knocking when I got here. Instead, I picked the lock to get into her house. I spotted her sleeping in some weird fuckin’ bean bag in front of a massive wall of windows before I could even make it to her bedroom.
It pissed me off how she could be careless enough to fall asleep in front of a window the way she did. I get we’re in the backwoods, and no one should be out there looking in. That doesn’t mean they’re not though.
Confronting her about her father, I didn’t expect her to slap me. Fuck I don’t think I’ve ever had a bitch slap me across the face.
The tension was already high between us when she woke up to find me in her house, but now it’s explosive. My claiming her mouth is intoxicating and goes straight to my cock. I can’t think of anything else right now, but sinking into her.
Releasing her hair, I reach between us and yank her panties down her legs. With them out of the way, I cup her already sopping pussy and thrust a finger inside her entrance. Ivy’s moans are heady, making me need more of her than I’m taking. I use my free hand to release my cock from behind my zipper. It springs forward, throbbing and aching to be where it wants most.
Ivy moans a protest into my mouth when I pull my fingers from her depths. I rip my mouth from hers to lock gazes with her. I lift her clear off the floor. The kitchen table is just to the right of us, and I turn, step over to it. I lay her down and rip her shirt from over her tits.
“Fuckin’ sexy,” I growl, sweeping my eyes over her. I forgot just how beautiful her body is. Ivy has a tattoo that runs along her hip bone and circles her belly button.
As much as my cock wants in her, I want to taste her too. My mouth waters for it. I glide my hands down to her ankles, lift them over my shoulders and dive in, devouring her with my mouth.
“Oh God,” Ivy cries, arching into my mouth. I groan against her pussy. I sink a finger into her depths, making her pant my name. The walls of her heated cunt tighten, and I know she’s close to coming.
I’m not about to let her do that without me being deep inside her. Surging up, I grip her legs, keeping them on my shoulders. I line my cock up with her core and plunge into her. “Fuck yeah, Precious,” I growl, sinking all the way to the hilt.
Ivy moans, arches even more. I lean over her and capture one of her rosebud nipples into my mouth. I begin to power into her with relentless thrusts, fuckin’ her with everything I have while sucking one tit then the other into my mouth.
It doesn’t take long for her pussy to clench my cock, and she screams my name. Fuck, the way she does it sends a jolt straight down to my cock. I lift my head from her tits and meet her gaze. I pound into her with deep, powerful strokes. I keep my eyes on hers while I make her cum.
Ivy’s mouth parts and her back bows. It’s a sight that sears itself into my brain. She’s beautiful all the ti
me, but magnificent in the throes of her orgasm. My own builds inside me and rips through my entire being. I have no choice but to give over to it. When I do, it’s with me shouting her name.
With a harsh breath, I lower Ivy’s legs from my shoulders and pull my cock from her tight entrance that weeps for more. I lean over her, press a kiss to the center of her chest, pull her up into a sitting position and reclaim her mouth.
Emotions are something I don’t know how to handle, but I can’t not kiss the hell out of her one more time. Doing up my jeans, I don’t bother wiping her juices from my cock first. I need to get out of here. Get away from Ivy before I do something stupid and take her to her room where I can fuck her all damn day.
Ripping my mouth from hers, I step away from her, grab the file and storm out of her house without so much as looking back at her.
I climb on the back of my bike and head to the one person I can talk to about this shit, The one person who could help me—my cousin, Mia. She’s the only one I’ve got since both my sisters were killed, and I can’t talk to them, no matter how much I want to be able to.
Even better, my mom.
I’m not good with this shit. I want to hate Ivy, but she drives me nuts, and something about her speaks to me. Unfortunately, I have to think of the club. My club is all I have left, and they come first. I can’t let a cop’s daughter come between that.
Mia
The sound of a motorcycle fills the morning air. Sitting on my back porch, I’ve been enjoying my coffee while reading a book until it’s time to get ready for work.
After everything I’ve been through with being attacked a few years ago, I finally came to a point in my life I’m happy and content. I have a great job working for my cousins and their club. The Satan’s Keepers MC is a great group of guys, and I trust them. Sometimes I trust them more than others.
Not that I don’t trust my brother or his men. It’s just one of his men who scares the hell out of me, honestly. He scares me, because of what he makes me feel. The way he looks at me with heated eyes caressing my body constantly sends me into a panic for obvious reasons. I’m flawed, and he deserves to be with someone who is as gorgeous as he is. I’m not. My face is marred by a hideous scar from the men who’d attacked me one night while I was out.
I still have nightmares of that night and have to face it every day. It’s why I love my job. I have it thanks to Reaper and Angel for coming to me about it.
Hellfire Dancers may be a strip club, but it’s high-end. I run the place with a tight fist. With my cousin’s club being over an hour away, they’d hired a group of men to serve as security. So I don’t have to worry about anything with them not being around as much. Some of the members of the club come around on the weekends, but not all of them. They’re spaced out, considering Hellfire Dancers isn’t the only strip club they own. They also have Midnight Dancers a little closer to home.
The sound of the motorcycle goes quiet, and I stand, wondering which cousin has come to see me. Okay, so they’re technically not my cousins by blood, but their sister, Ronaele, was. Her father had died before she was born, and my father allowed Jeanna to move on to find her own happiness. I love my aunt. Before she died, Jeanna made sure to stay a part of our family. Meaning her other three children became family.
I walk over to the corner of my porch and peek around to the driveway, only to smile when I see Reaper. I haven’t seen him in a few months. Talk to him, yes, but he’s always busy and doesn’t get much time to come out here. Normally if I want to see him, I go to the clubhouse, which I don’t like doing much since I have to put up with the skanky Pocket Pussies. It’s a perfect name for those women. One time I walked in on one of them getting nailed front and back while blowing another guy.
I cringe at the memory popping up.
Reaper notices me as he climbs off his bike.
“What are you doing here?” I call out. Reaper gives me a small smile, but it doesn’t meet his eyes. “What’s wrong?” I ask him as he gets closer.
“I’m pissed and even more pissed, because I can’t go to my sisters about this shit,” he admits. This doesn’t hurt my feelings, because I know what he means. I’m the only one left.
“Okay, so sit down and tell me what’s going on.” I move back to where I was sitting. I pull my legs up next to me, tucking them under my butt.
Reaper plops himself down in the lounge chair and sits forward, bracing his elbows on his knees with his head bowed. This isn’t good. This isn’t my cousin.
“I fucked up,” he mutters.
“How?”
“Fucked a woman two weeks ago, found out yesterday when I went to the garage, she’s the new office manager. Didn’t realize it since I didn’t know the woman’s name at the time. I didn’t do the interview. Then this morning, I went and confronted her after reading the file we had on her. She’s a cop’s daughter, and we can’t afford to have shit going down now. But I ended up fuckin’ her again after she slapped me.”
Well, okay then.
“What’s the woman’s name?” I ask out of curiosity.
“Ivy Lakeman.”
“Lakeman?” I blanch. This isn’t good. I know who she is. Well, not her personally. Her father was a police officer for Fort Worth. Good cop and on Leo’s payroll. Lakeman and my brother had a deal. He never got dirty except for when it came to when the judicial system failed, and he turned the other way when Leo needed him to. Or got him the answers he needed. I remember my brother talking about it a few months ago, that it saddened him to lose a man like him. Not just because he was a good cop to have on his side, but a friend.
“Yeah, why?” he asks.
“Did you read the whole file?” I ignore his question.
“No, I saw the fact she’s a cop’s daughter and stopped right there,” he grumbles.
“I don’t know Ivy. I know of her. She’s a cop’s daughter, but her father died months ago while on the job.” I don’t miss the way Reaper’s eyes widen, then he flinches, a look of misery taking over. Seeing he needs to hear what I know; I tell him about how Ivy’s father worked for Leo and the way he’d been gunned down for no reason at all. What should have been a simple situation turned bad and how Leo suspects Lakeman was setup. “So Reaper, she might be a cop’s daughter, but she’s a woman alone in this world without her father. A father, I might add that took care of her on his own,” I say, giving him the one piece of personal information I know.
Reaper nods, his brows creasing, and he looks to be contemplating a lot in his head.
“You know it’s not difficult,” I whisper, getting his attention again.
“What’s not difficult?” Confusion mars his face.
“Wanting to be with someone. It’s okay to want that. It’s also okay to be with that person. I think you want Ivy, and you should go for it. You deserve to be happy.”
“So do you.” Now it’s my turn to flinch.
“I will be someday,” I utter softly. “Now why don’t you go home, think about what you really want from Ivy, and go for it?” I suggest. “I personally think she’d be good for you.”
“My life is too dangerous for a woman to be in. I mean, look what happened to both my sisters,” he grunts.
“It’s time to let go of the past, Reaper. They’re gone. There’s no bringing them back, and as much as this makes me sad to think of. We need to move forward, and you need to do it so you can finally be happy. Who’s to say Ivy can’t hack being your ol’ lady. I bet she could. In fact, ask yourself this. In the past two weeks, how many other women have you been with.” I can see the answer to that without him even answering with words.
Grinning at him, I nod. “Go home, take some time and get your woman.”
I stand, letting him know it’s time for him to go home. Reaper pulls me in for a hug. “Thanks, Mia, I appreciate it. You might not be my sister, but you’re as close to one as I’ll ever have again.” I close my eyes to keep the tears from forming. Reaper lets go and steps back,
and I feel a hand cup the side of my scarred face. “I’ll never forgive myself for ignoring Leo’s calls for help. I will also never forgive myself for you being attacked when I could have helped protect you.”
“Reaper, there’s nothing you could have done at the time, and remember, we’re letting the past go. Now go get your woman,” I say, my heart clenching at the guilt my cousin feels for something none of us had control over.
Nodding, Reaper walks away. When I hear the sound of his motorcycle fire up, I pick up my phone.
I find the number I need, and I hit send. I bring my phone to my ear and wait for him to answer.
“Mia,” my brother answers on the second ring.
“Leo, I need a favor,” I say, my emotions taking over. Reaper’s lost so much, and so has Ivy. I might not know her, but I think both of them could use each other. And I think my cousin could use a little bit of help. Maybe even a boost from Leo to confirm Lakeman was a good guy and that Ivy has nothing to do with anything police related.
Once Reaper’s happy, I believe he’ll finally let go of the guilt he’s keeping way too close to his heart.
Chapter Seven
Ivy
Why can’t my life be simple? All I wanted when I moved from the Dallas area was to have a simple life, enjoy spending time with my friends, and maybe find a guy who was worth dating and possibly end up marrying one day. I don’t know. I mean, I’m twenty-seven years old and have hardly had a serious relationship.
I’ve had a total of three serious relationships altogether. The first one being my boyfriend from eighth grade. We dated until he moved with his parents right before our sophomore year. My second boyfriend was in the middle of my junior year, through my senior year. The guy ended up cheating on me with the captain of the cheerleading squad and knocking her up. He did this all because I wouldn’t put out for him. Good thing I didn’t since he was doing someone else. Then there’s my college boyfriend. He was my first. Sex was okay, but not the best. Honestly, it was maybe mediocre. He and I had dated throughout college. We broke it off our senior year, because we both knew we weren’t meant to be.