Primal Hunger (Primal Howlers MC Book 4)

by Piper Davenport

  I made my way down the hallway and heard male laughter, making my heart lighter with every step. Everyone was obviously in a good mood, which meant the party was going to be even better than I expected.

  Stoney was in the doorway and grinned as I approached, hugging me gently before guiding me inside. “Hey, sweetheart.”

  “Hey, Stoney.”

  “You gave me the slip last week. Gonna remember that.” He raised an eyebrow. “You’re lucky it was me and not Wrath.”

  A more accurate truth had never been spoken. If Stoney was like a favorite uncle, Wrath was like an adopted brother who was a hundred times more protective than my own. But, whatever, they’d just have to deal with me growing up. Besides, Wrath had his own issues with the object of his current desire, Sierra. She was Raquel’s bestie and decided Wrath was enemy number one in her book.

  I wrinkled my nose. “Sorry, not sorry.”

  He chuckled, letting me go, and I walked inside.

  “Letti!” Dad called. “Come meet Aero.”

  I grinned big and the men moved out of my way as I pushed through the crowd, ending my journey smack dab in front of one Jasper Campbell.

  “Aero, my daughter, Letti,” Dad said.

  I didn’t fully register what the fuck was happening, and couldn’t find my voice for several tense seconds.

  “Never seen my girl this quiet,” Dad observed.

  “Hey. Letti was it?” Jasper said, holding out his hand. “Nice to meet ya.”

  I stared at his hand before taking it and squeezing it so hard, he grimaced for a second.

  “Nice to meet you too.”

  “Quite a grip there,” he said, shaking out his hand.

  “Who’s sponsoring you?” I asked.

  Dad raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment about my rudeness.

  “I am, sweetheart,” Rocky said. “He’s a friend of Hatch’s.”

  Hatch Wallace was the president of the Dogs of Fire out of Portland, Oregon and a total smoke show. I adored him.

  “You know Hatch?” I asked Jasper.

  He nodded. “Yeah. Since I was little. I worked for him for a few years in Portland.”

  “Oh. Well, it’s nice to meet you. Welcome,” I said, and spun on my heel and escaped.

  “She’s had a rough week,” Dad explained as I rushed down the hall and up to my room. I knew I couldn’t hide forever, but I was gonna try for a little while.

  * * *

  Aero

  Well, that went well.

  I pushed aside the guilt of not telling Letti everything I should have and focused on getting to know my new brothers. When everything had gone down with my sister, my boss, Hatch, had suggested I come to Colorado and prospect for the Howlers.

  After my sister died, I didn’t ride for close to a year, but I was jonesin’ for the feel of the open road, and even though it snowed in Colorado, it had a shit ton more sunshine than Portland. Hatch figured it’d be easier for me to ease back in if I was away from the memories.

  I hoped to god he was right.

  I’d met Rocky a few times when he’d flown out to see Hatch and take care of cannabis business and he was good people, so I agreed to meet with him and see if it would work.

  I felt good, he felt good, and more importantly, we both trusted Hatch’s judgement, so he agreed to sponsor me on a trial basis. I had one month to prove myself, before I could officially prospect. That worked for me, so I agreed.

  But I hadn’t expected Violet Morgan Graves.

  Shit.

  I hadn’t known who she was until Stoney came looking for her. I’d met him a week before when I’d been hired at Nocturn as a bouncer. Rocky had gotten me the job, and Stoney had been with him when he’d introduced me to the owner.

  Stoney had found me the night Violet was at the club, giving me her description and asking me to call if I saw her. That was when I noticed Violet drag her friend into the bathroom. With a promise to let Stoney know if I saw her, I watched him leave the club, then followed the women.

  I knew I should have told her who I was the second I knew our connection, but I wanted some time with her alone. Before our lives got complicated. She was beautiful, and funny, and she knew the life. I was enjoying the safe little bubble we’d been creating. Even if it couldn’t go anywhere significant.

  But I was pretty sure I’d just blown our safe little bubble to shit.

  “Let’s move this out to the great room,” Sundance said, slapping my shoulder.

  I nodded and we headed down the hallway to where the real party was. I didn’t see Violet anywhere, but my plan was to try and find a private moment with her to explain.

  If she’d let me.

  Violet

  I PACED MY room, tiny as it was, and tried to get myself to a point where I didn’t murder one very hot Viking. My father would want to know why, and I didn’t really want to clean up blood off the floor while trying to explain to him why I’d just killed his prospect.

  “Letti?” Nellie called through the door as she knocked.

  “Just a second,” I replied, and took a deep breath.

  Once I felt a little more composed, I pulled the door open and forced a smile.

  “You okay, honey?”

  “Yes, just needed to pee somewhere clean,” I lied.

  She chuckled. “I hear that. Your dad’s looking for you.”

  “Okay, cool.”

  I followed her downstairs and into the fray. Before I hit the great room, though, my hand was grabbed, and I was pulled into the bunk room.

  “What the—?”

  The door was closed, and I looked up to see Jasper with his finger to his mouth. “How much do you hate me?” he whispered.

  “I don’t think there’s a measurement big enough.”

  He smiled. “I’m sorry, Letti. Swear to Christ, I planned to tell you. I just—”

  “Didn’t have the balls?”

  He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t want to burst our bubble.”

  “Well, it’s burst now, buddy.” I threw my hands in the air. “I liked you, you big fat jerk.”

  “I like you, too, Letti. That doesn’t need to change.”

  “You’re a prospect now, Jasper, I’m off-limits.”

  He sighed. “Right.”

  “But…” I licked my lips. “I can keep a secret, can you?”

  He shook his head. “Not big on lying to people, beautiful.”

  “It’s not a lie. It’s a secret. If we’re careful, no one will know we even know each other, let alone like each other.”

  I couldn’t believe this thought had come out of my mouth. This had been my chance to walk away from him. Away from being stuck in ‘the life.’ But I couldn’t. I don’t know why, but I needed more of him. We hadn’t even kissed yet and I wanted to know what his lips felt like. Maybe I could get him out of my system.

  “If I’m asked, I won’t lie,” he said.

  “I don’t expect you to.”

  “Okay, I can keep our secret for a while.”

  I raised my pinky finger. “Pinky swear.”

  He chuckled, wrapping my finger with his. “Pinky swear.”

  I nodded and grinned. “This is gonna be fun.”

  “Or not.”

  I patted his chest, forcing myself not to linger. “I’ll see if the coast is clear. There’s a bathroom in here, so if anyone asks, I was showing you where it was.”

  He nodded, and I opened the door. The hallway was clear, so I left the room and made my way to the kitchen, figuring he would follow in a few minutes.

  * * *

  Wednesday afternoon, I was going over my notes since Thursday morning was my last final and then I was done for the summer. I couldn’t wait. Dad was starting to ease up a little, so I was hopeful I’d be totally free once school was out for good.

  I was home now, so that was a good start. Of course, I was never alone. There was always a prospect or one of my brothers with me, but I hoped that if I pl
ayed my cards right, Jasper would be one of the ones on watch duty.

  No. Aero.

  I had to get used to calling him by his club name, especially since I had been introduced to him that way. It would be a huge red flag if I continued to call him Jasper.

  “Letti!” Dad bellowed up the stairs.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m heading out. Aero’s here to watch you.”

  I leaned over the railing. “Who?”

  “New recruit,” he explained, and I let myself secretly squeal with glee.

  “Oh, right. Okay. I’m studying.”

  “Come down and say hi, then you can go back to studying.”

  I let out a quiet huff, because normally I would have, and rushed down the stairs. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  Dad smiled. “Past behavior indicates you do.”

  “Whatever.” I turned to Aero. “Hi. I’m studying for my final tomorrow, so don’t think me rude if I don’t interact with you.”

  Aero grinned, his eyes shining with mirth. “It’s all good.”

  “Cool.” I turned to my dad again. “Can I go back to my books now?”

  “Yeah, baby girl. Don’t give my recruit any shit, yeah? That’s my job.”

  “Sure. Whatever,” I said, and rushed upstairs.

  I ran to my window and peeked out, watching as my dad climbed on his bike and rode away. The beauty about Harleys was you could hear them coming, so I knew Aero and I would have a little time to ourselves.

  Once Dad was clear of the house, I ran back downstairs and practically threw myself into Aero’s arms. “How the hell did that happen?”

  He chuckled, giving me a gentle squeeze. “I was up next.”

  I rubbed my hands together and grinned. “We have at least two hours to ourselves.”

  “Don’t you need to study?”

  “I’m good. If I look at my screen anymore, I’ll confuse myself.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes. Absolutely,” I said. “I do have a question, though.”

  “Yeah?”

  “How did you get the name Aero?”

  He chuckled. “Rocky and I were talking about flyin’. I’d thought about going into the Air Force and have always had a love of planes, so I was telling him about my recruiting interview. It sucked, but regardless, I was telling him about it while I was on a ladder cleaning out gutters at Hatch’s shop.”

  I frowned. “Oh my god, don’t tell me you fell.”

  “I fell.”

  “Were you okay? When did this happen?”

  “A while ago. Once he knew I was okay, he pointed out how I should learn to stay on a ladder before attempting to fly, because I obviously wasn’t aerodynamic. He has called me Aero ever since.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Well, that’s mean.”

  Aero laughed. “I’m countin’ my blessings. It could have gone a different way.”

  “I guess that’s true,” I conceded. “Are you hungry? I feel like a snack.”

  He gave me a look that made me think he’d rather snack on me and I nearly lost my panties. “Stop,” I ordered.

  “Stop what?”

  “Oh my god, Jasper, you’re standing here looking sexy as hell—”

  I couldn’t get the rest out because his mouth was suddenly on mine and I was gripping his cut to stay upright.

  “Fuck,” he hissed, breaking the kiss. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” I said.

  “Wanted to do that since you called me out.”

  I frowned. “When did I call you out?”

  “At the club. When I laid on you the worst pick up line ever.”

  “Oh, yeah, that.” I chuckled. “That did it for you, huh?”

  “Everything about you does it for me, Letti. That’s the problem.”

  I sighed. “I know.”

  “You wanna do this, we need to be careful. If you don’t, cut it off now.”

  “What do you mean by ‘do this’?”

  “Make a go of something real. Not really interested in bein’ your fuck buddy, Letti. I want more.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah,” he said.

  “I honestly don’t know,” I admitted. “I vowed never to be with a biker.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m not interested in being with someone like my dad. I want a man who listens to me. Who doesn’t growl or argue or boss me around. A partner. Someone my dad won’t try to murder because he’s fucking his little girl.”

  “You want a yes man.”

  I shrugged. “Yes. I think I do.”

  “We got a problem, then.”

  I nodded. “Because you’re not one.”

  “Exactly.”

  I bit my lip and studied him. “I think I need to call it.”

  I could see the disappointment in his face, but he nodded and stepped away. “Okay.”

  “That easily?” I snapped.

  “Baby, you want me, I’m right here, but you gotta make the call. I’m not gonna go head-to-head with your dad if you’re not in it one-hundred percent.”

  “You’re so frustrating.”

  He laughed. “Letti, you’re not gonna like me pointing this out, but you don’t want a yes man. A yes man’ll make you want to choke something. But you gotta figure that out yourself.”

  “Can we still be secret best friends?”

  He grinned. “Yeah. ’Course.”

  “Can we kiss some more?”

  “No,” he said without hesitation.

  “Really?”

  “Baby, if you think giving me more of that isn’t gonna make me want to lay you down and eat your pussy ’til you scream, you’re highly mistaken.”

  I shivered. “You could totally do that, huh?”

  “Hell, yeah, I could.”

  I licked my lips until I finally shook my head. “I can’t.”

  “I get it.”

  “Are you mad?”

  “No. I’m disappointed, definitely, but angry, no.”

  I held my pinky up and he wrapped his around it. “Okay,” I said.

  “Okay,” he said.

  “Come on, I’ll make us something to eat.”

  With a nod, he followed me into the kitchen.

  * * *

  A couple of weeks later, I walked out of work frustrated, tired, and smelling like giraffe shit. Our mama giraffe, Ellie, was pregnant again, even after only giving birth six months ago. There was some concern she might lose the calf and I felt helpless because there was nothing I could do to help.

  I unlocked my car and called Aero.

  “Hey,” he said, answering on the first ring.

  “Hi,” I said.

  “You okay?”

  “No.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Ellie might lose her calf and it’s fucking sad.”

  “You wanna swing by my place?”

  “Are you home?” I asked, hopefully.

  “I can be.”

  “I stink,” I warned.

  “You can shower while I throw your shit in the washer.”

  “Do you know where my dad is?”

  “Yep.”

  “Can I—”

  “You got time.”

  I bit my lip and smiled. “Okay. I’ll be there in twenty.”

  We rang off and I started my car and headed to Aero’s apartment, arriving just as he pulled his bike into a spot.

  “I thought for sure you’d beat me,” I said, climbing out of my car and locking it.

  He grinned, leaning down to kiss my cheek. “Stopped at the store.”

  “You did?”

  He pulled a shopping bag out of one of his saddlebags. “I figured you’d want wine.”

  “You know me so well.”

  He chuckled. “Come on. We’ll get you cleaned up and you can cry on my shoulder.”

  I followed him upstairs and he unlocked his door, standing back so I could precede him inside. He set the wine on the coun
ter, then led me down to his bedroom. “You shower and I’ll grab you something to put on while I throw your stuff in the washer.”

  I nodded, and stepped into the bathroom, stripping, then setting my dirty clothes outside the door. I took a long, hot shower and by the time I slid the shower curtain open, a stack of clothes were sitting on the toilet seat.

  I hadn’t even heard Aero come in and shivered at the thought of only a shower curtain between him and my naked body.

  I dried off and pulled on the pair of joggers and sweatshirt he’d left for me, feeling weird that I wasn’t wearing panties or a bra, but also a little turned on.

  Rummaging in his drawers, I found a brush and ran it through my wet hair. Even though Aero shaved the sides of his head, he had long hair on the top and sometimes braided it, so I lucked out and found a rubber band so I could pull my hair on top of my head.

  Once I felt human again, I headed out to the kitchen and found Aero frying bacon. “Hungry?”

  “Starving,” I breathed out. “What are you making?”

  “BLTs. Unless you want somethin’ else.”

  “No, that’s great. You want help?”

  “I’m good.” He smiled, sliding a bottle of wine and a glass toward me. “So, what happened today?”

  “You remember me telling you about Ellie?” I asked as I poured.

  “The elephant?” he teased, knowing full well I was talking about my favorite giraffe. Probably because I brought her up in almost every conversation we had.

  “Okay, maybe I talk a little bit too much about Ellie, but she’s kind of a whore, getting knocked-up twice by two different bulls.” I sighed. “I’m a little jealous of her.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “The whore part,” I clarified. “Not the knocked-up part.”

  Aero chuckled.

  “Anyway, she’s having a hard time with this calf. I just feel helpless. She’s gotta do it all on her own, you know?”

  He nodded.

  “Sorry, I’m rambling. I’m just worried about her.”

  “Sounds like you care a lot about her,”

  “I do,” I said.

  “It also sounds like you have a tough time when things are out of your control,” he said with a smile.

  “Who me?” I feigned ignorance. “I’m totally go with the flow, man.”

  Aero broke into a deep laugh.

  I settled my chin on my hand. “Am I talking too much? Just tell me to shut up if I am.”