by Jamie Begley
Both men dropped their saddlebags beside the door before making their way into the large clubroom. The expansive area was a cross between a living room and a man cave with several couches and chairs scattered around in sitting areas, two pool tables that took more than their fair share of space, and a large bar with several stools.
Envious, Core sat down on the comfortable couch that, by an act of God, he had made to first. “Every time I come here, I want to cry.”
Unlacing his boot, Hennessy let it drop to the floor. “You willing to take on The Last Riders to earn a spot in the club, I won’t hold you back … I’ll watch.” He grunted out the last part when his other boot refused to budge.
“I’ll pass.”
“I thought you might.”
His leather jacket was being just as resistant. Seeing that Core was having the same problem, he reached out and pulled at the length of one sleeve.
The front door flew open as Moon came storming inside.
“Fuckwad.”
“Dipshit.”
Moon threw himself down on a chair across from them, giving him an amicable grin. “It’s as cold as a witch’s tit out there. How were the roads?”
With Core’s jacket finally off, he was able to work on his own. “A snowplow had cleared the road, or we’d never have made it.”
“I’ll get you two a drink. You look like you need it.” Moon rose, going behind the bar.
“Not for me,” Core refused. “I need a hot shower.”
Moon opened a bottle of Jim Beam to pour in a glass. “Take your pick. There’s one upstairs and one downstairs you can use. One of you will have to sleep in the basement on a couch anyway—space is limited right now. The other one gets a room to himself upstairs.”
“You can take the couch. You’re shorter,” Hennessy ordered, remembering the couch downstairs.
“Is the basement just as warm?”
“Yes,” Moon answered, giving Hennessy a glass.
“Then I don’t care where I sleep as long as it’s warm.” His enforcer grabbed his jacket, then went back to the entranceway for his saddlebag. “I wouldn’t drink too much. We haven’t eaten all day.”
Ignoring the warning, Hennessy took a drink, then shifted his ass on the couch. The tingling sensations going through that extremity had his toes curling in his thick socks.
“I’ll finish this, and then I’ll get a shower.” He needed a drink to get the courage to take a shower. As numb as he felt, removing his clothes was going to be like trying to pull the skin off a grape, and it was going to hurt like a motherfucker.
Nodding, Core left, leaving Moon and him alone.
Finishing his drink, Hennessy started to get up and follow Core’s example. “Where’s everyone?”
“Knox got a grant for a new tactical unit at the sheriff’s department, so the brothers went to check out the guns and equipment he was able to purchase. The women wanted to do some Christmas shopping.”
Damn, if he wasn’t so cold, he would ride back to town to check out the windfall that Knox had been able to score.
Moon took his glass from him, refilled it, and made one for himself. Hennessy took the glass instead of getting his ass up as Moon set the bottle down on a small table next to him.
“Aren’t you supposed to be watching the door?”
“Nickel pulled up after you did. He’s the one who got me out of the snowbank. It was worth taking a dive off the porch to get off that duty.”
Hennessy toasted Moon with his glass. “Glad to help.”
“Viper said you’re heading to Florida. Lucky you.”
Hennessy refilled his glass. It was as far from lucky as he could get. If it wasn’t for a four-legged destructor, he wouldn’t have to take the job in Florida. Now he needed the money to make the repairs.
“Yeah, lucky me.” Tipping his glass up, he downed it in one swallow.
Moon refilled both their glasses again. “You’re riding a different bike than you usually ride.” He unknowingly hit on a sore point.
Hennessy picked his glass up. “I needed to get some work done on it. I borrowed Apoc’s.”
Having to sell his bike had hurt as badly as when DJ had been killed. He had sold it to come up with the deposit to get work started on the clubhouse. He would have sold Apoc’s piece of shit, but it wouldn’t have given him enough to buy a case of beer.
Blurry-eyed, he saw the bottle was empty. Seeing it, too, Moon went to a shelf behind the bar, coming back with a new bottle.
“Viper bought your favorite drink of choice.”
Damn, he might be the one joining The Last Riders. Hell, he was even beginning to like Moon.
“Brother, now you’re speaking my language.”
Chapter 3
Arin adjusted the temperature of the water as the water cooled. Then she squirted out a generous amount of body wash into a washcloth before lathering herself. Soap bubbles clung to her breasts before the water spray washed them away.
The water warmed, surrounding her in a steamy mist. She hoped Jewell was right, that she could get close and personal to one of The Last Riders.
She had tried to talk Marcus into shower sex once when they were first married. She had never asked again when he hadn’t been able to hide his appalled expression.
“You’d kill me if we fell.”
Would she ever get him out of her mind? No matter how hard she tried, he somehow managed to slip through the cracks of her memories, bringing it all back in a rush.
Drowning out his voice, she reached for the silky body wash again, nearly slipping in fright when the shower door opened and a man stood there, seemingly just as surprised to find her there.
Holding the cloth to her breasts, she opened her mouth to yell at him to get out until she looked down. His nude body left nothing to the imagination, and she hadn’t had sex in so long that she had a lot of it. He was a wet dream come to life. She might not have had one, but she recognized one when she was gifted with it.
His brown skin covered a body that was sculpted to hell and back. He even had ridges that highlighted the cock that, while limp, was still long and wide enough that Marcus could only wish his was half its size.
“There’s enough room for two.”
She didn’t just say that, did she?
She must have, because he entered the shower and closed the door.
She was only a head shorter than him, so she was left to stare at his back as he moved in front of the spray.
Arin swallowed hard as her eyes traveled down his back to his butt. Sweet Jesus … if she had died and gone to heaven in this moment, she would be content. And if she had her phone, she would take a selfie and text the picture to her ex-husband.
“Who’s the poor bastard you photoshopped your picture into?”
Stop it, Arin. Don’t think of him. You have better things to be thinking about.
Putting her dirty thoughts in action, she hung up the washcloth before squirting the body wash onto his back.
The man turned as if she had stabbed him.
“I was going to wash your back for you.” She lifted the body wash in her hand.
“It’s cold.”
“I’ll warm it for you.” Placing the bottle on the shelf, she wiggled her fingers.
Nodding, he turned around to give her his back.
The feel of his skin underneath her fingertips was mind-blowing.
When he lifted his face to the water spray, his austere jawline under the stubble of beard gave her pause. Only Jewell’s repeated assurances that all the brothers in the club were ready and able to get on with anyone who walked through their door eased her reservations. If she had met the man whom she was smoothing her hands over his back anywhere else, he wouldn’t have given her the time of day.
“My name is Arin.”
When his own name wasn’t forthcoming, she didn’t know what to do. She had promised to be adventurous during her stay, but having sex without at least having a name made her f
eel like a hussy.
Her hands moving closer to his rear solved the dilemma for her. She could do hussy.
“I haven’t showered with anyone since I was three.”
His low voice sounded strange. Was he getting excited from her touching him?
She traced a knife that had been inked into his shoulder blades. He felt so good.
Marcus was a good-looking man. He played on that fact to get what he wanted. However, even in her wildest imagination, she had never envisioned herself being so close to a man this attractive. His body was a piece of art, and she wanted to lick every tattoo. He could bring a woman to her knees. If she belonged to The Last Riders, she would never, ever take a shower without him. No wonder Jewell had stayed for so many years.
Her legs shook so badly she was afraid Marcus’s taunt would be proven prophetic with another man.
When he shrugged her hand away to turn to face her, Arin couldn’t help looking down to see if she’d had any effect on him, as his voice had implied. Clearly, she had the same effect on him as she had on Marcus.
Arin tried not to let his lack of response dishearten her. Anything worth having was worth working for, and this man didn’t just scream sex; he screamed take-you-to-heaven-and-say-hello-to-Jesus. And that was worth doing a little extra work.
“I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you,” she breathed out.
“Pretty sure that’s a damn lie.” He moved his hand to the wall to steady himself as his brows furrowed in irritation. “Listen up—”
“Don’t worry; I won’t let you fall.” Taking a step closer, she pressed her breasts to a rock-hard chest as she raised her hand to his bulging bicep, running her palm down his slick arm, then moving to his waist. Daringly, she stroked the ridges of his abdomen briefly to slide it to his cock. Gripping him tightly, she went to her knees.
Erotic fantasies playing in her head, she uninhibitedly lowered her guard in front of this stranger more than she had with another man, even before her ex-husband.
“I never lie.” She stroked the base of his cock with her fingertips, relieved to find it was coming to life.
He gripped her wrist, trying to move her hand away. “What are you not get—”
“We can do anything you want in a bedroom later.” Arin lowered her mouth to brush her lips over the head of his cock.
A low grunt had her blowing puffs of air on a cock that was finally beginning to jut out.
“That feels good, doesn’t it? Your little fellow just needed a little more motivation.”
“Little fellow?” he snapped.
Arin would have laughed at the insulted male pride she could hear but didn’t want to break the contact with his dick, not wanting to lose the momentum she’d gained. If his willy went back down, she would have to start over.
Giving blowjobs had never been her favorite part of sex. She considered it a means to an end. An end that Marcus had never given her once his needs had been met, and an end that she was becoming desperate for this Last Rider to accomplish.
Jewell had constantly bragged about them getting the job done, even after sexual marathons. So far, Arin thought her friend might be exaggerating about the sexual exploits within the club since this member made no move to touch or arouse her. Was it because he didn’t find her worth the effort like Marcus always claimed?
“It’s you,” Marcus jeered in her head.
Taking his cock in her mouth, she was determined to pleasure the man who stood as still as a statue until he clenched his hand in a fist and started pumping his cock deeper into her mouth.
Feeling triumphant, seeing he had been enticed into participating in shower sex, Arin had never felt as feminine and alluring as she did at that moment. Whoever this man was, he was boosting her confidence to heights she had never believed herself capable of. Even though she was getting no pleasure for herself, she never wanted it to end.
He wasn’t in her mouth a full minute before she felt his cock jerk. Quickly, she moved her mouth away, letting him come in her slick hand.
When he finished, Arin looked up, expecting to see him pleased. Instead, he was already moving away from her to step out of the shower. Jerking a clean, rolled towel out of a large wicker basket, he started drying off.
Embarrassed that he was quiet and ignoring her, Arin tried to be as blasé as what she imagined Jewell would be. “Do you have your own room? You could come to mine, but—”
“No.”
“No? No, you don’t have a room? Or, no, you don’t want to use mine?”
Wrapping the towel around his hips, he clutched the sink as if he wanted to rip it from the wall.
“If you don’t want to do either, is there somewhere else we can go? I’m not done with you yet,” she crooned, trying not to gag at the words coming out of her mouth.
“You’ll do anything I want?”
“Oh, yes … Just tell me what you want.” Stepping out of the shower, she playfully started to reach for his towel to dry herself off.
“How about you quit touching me and let me get the fuck out of here?”
His harsh request had her jerking her hand away from him, and hurt blossomed in her chest at the expression on his face.
He didn’t want her. He never did.
“Move.”
She jumped out of the way as he left, leaving the door wide open with her naked, stunned motionless, until she saw him cross the hall, and go into a bedroom opposite from Jewell’s.
Grabbing her robe when he closed the door, she took off running out of the room and into Jewell’s. Quietly closing the door behind her to lean back against it, Arin placed her hand over her mouth to keep herself from crying out, determined that the man in the other room wouldn’t hear her crying. Drawing her robe on, she rushed toward Jewell’s closet to grab her suitcases. Tossing one onto the bed, she quickly started taking her clothes off the hangers, shoving them into the case as fast as possible.
She was taking a teal blouse off a hanger when she heard the door open. She stilled until she realized it was Jewell and her friends returning. Their chatter stopped when they saw the open suitcase and clothes strewn around.
“What are you doing?” Dropping the bags in her hands to the floor, Jewell started toward her.
“Shut the door!” Arin hissed, shoving the rest of her clothes, hangers and all, into the suitcase before frantically trying to zip it closed.
Jewell shut the door then maneuvered around her open-mouthed friends to place a hand on the suitcase, preventing Arin from picking it up. “What in the fuck happened?”
“I’m leaving!”
“I figured that out. I want to know why.” Grabbing her by arms, Jewell pushed her down to sit on the bed. “Did something happen while I was gone? If you don’t want to play the game, you don’t have to. There’s no need to leave.”
“I made an idiot of myself,” Arin sobbed. “Marcus told me that no one would ever want me, and he was right!”
“No, he wasn’t!” Jewell snarled.
“The Last Rider in the room across from yours wouldn’t agree with you. He couldn’t get away from me fast enough after I gave him a blowjob, and I don’t think he wanted that. I thought he was just having a hard time getting it up like Marcus.” Arin dropped her head to her knees. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“You gave one of the brothers a blowjob?” Jewell stared at her proudly.
Her friend’s reaction wasn’t the one she had expected. It had her raising her head. “Yes.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I made a fool of myself; that’s the problem!”
“Get dressed.” Jewell handed her the red Santa sweatshirt and black leggings that she was about to pack. “Tell us what happened and let us decide if you have anything to be embarrassed about.”
She haltingly described what happened as she dressed.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Whoever it was, was just being a rude son of a bitch.”
&nb
sp; Arin could see the shock on Jewell’s face, as well as the others.
“It had to be Gavin,” Ember said, sitting down on the side of the bed next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
It was a possibility. Arin hadn’t thought about that.
“You told me that he was half-bald. This guy wasn’t.” Arin shook her head at Jewell.
“It couldn’t have been Gavin.” Jewell’s acknowledgment eased Arin’s fear. “He would have never come inside the bathroom with the door closed. It was closed, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then it had to be Razer. He wanted to leave town before Beth was ready. I was with her when he texted. Don’t be embarrassed …” Stori tried to comfort her. “He’s married. The fucker doesn’t let us touch him either.”
“It wasn’t Razer.” Sitting down on her other side, Jewell took her hand. “It had to be Hennessy, but he wasn’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow.”
Arin tried to get up. “It doesn’t matter who it was. You told me The Last Riders always make sure that the women are satisfied. The one in the other room—”
“Try not to freak out when I tell you this”—Jewell gave her hand a sympathetic squeeze—“but the man you gave a blowjob to isn’t a Last Rider.”
“He isn’t?”
“No, he’s a guest of The Last Riders’. He wasn’t supposed to be here until tomorrow, or I would have warned you about him.”
Arin tore her hand away from Jewell’s to bury her face in her hands. “I made a fool of myself.” She wanted to run into the bathroom and fill the tub with water so she could drown her humiliation.
“Don’t worry about it” Sasha tried to comfort her. “All of us have made asses of ourselves over Hennessy. If you got your mouth on his dick, it’s closer than any of us have been.”
“I’m going home.” She tried to get up once again.
“No, you’re not.” Jewell firmly pushed her back again. “Sasha, unpack her clothes.”
“But …” Arin helplessly watched as the woman started unpacking her clothes. “I just want to die! I’ve never been so humiliated in my life. Marcus was right …”