10
I was in the club damn near a year before I got tapped for anything serious. The Brotherhood allowed me to be distant for the entirety of it, though I was assured at work that if I needed help, they were there for me.
“If you need to talk,” Coleman said one day as I was slipping out after my shift. The deep bass of his voice frightening me to the point I whirled around as if on the defensive, he merely raised an eyebrow at me. “You know you’re not alone. You have people that can help and if we can’t help we can find you someone who can.”
I stood at my motorcycle considering his words. If I came clean what would they do? Would they still be my brothers?
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I sat down on it. “Thanks.”
I didn’t wait for any further prodding, but I found once I reached the gym that I wasn’t bogged down. Even with the attitude I had been presenting, they were still there for me. It was comforting compared to the bitter feeling I had been carrying with me. I had been wearing the distance broodiness for so long that it had become a second skin. The only visitors I had now was Tara, though she just came in to ask if things had changed or if I had come to my senses. I’d grunt a negative, and she’d leave.
It was a routine that left me hollow. I didn’t expect it to change. I figured I might just live the rest of my days brooding and waiting. I should have been tipped off that things were changing after the gossip of Eddie getting shot. The ‘how’ was a rumor, and I wasn’t sure if it were true or not.
“Ed gets around sometimes. I’m betting he probably knocked boots with the wrong woman,” Coleman said as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Would surprise me if he got shot because someone caught him in bed with their old lady.”
It wasn’t until I had my night interrupted that I realized that I had gotten someone’s attention with my lack of participation. There was a pounding at my door, like someone was trying to break in. I went for my pistol and crept out of bed. I peered out the peephole and should have been relieved when I saw Jose, Terrance, and Ricky. But, it only seemed to raise the hairs on my arms. I opened the door, and Jose held up a six pack like it was a peace offering.
“What’s up?” He asked while handing me the beer. Cole stepped into sight behind them, and his dark eyes narrowed.
I almost joked, “There trouble?”
“Nah,” Cole brushed me off. He was an intimidating broad wall of muscle, and he edged his way to the front of the little group. I knew right then that he was suspicious of me. “We’re planning a ride through and wanted you in on it. Can we come in?”
I wedged the pistol into the back of the shorts I wore and moved back to let them in. I watched as they made themselves at home, save for Cole that seemed to be scoping out my apartment. I was suddenly glad I had packed up everything police related and left it in my locker. I picked up a beer and settled down with Jose and Terrance as they pulled up the sports channel to catch the highlights.
We talked nonchalantly about the impending ride, and it became obvious that the ride we were going to go on would have something illegal involved. This was a test, I knew it. I could only hope that all the times that Tara had been in here, she hadn’t bugged it. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I would prefer that they didn’t find out about this. The plan was for it to be a late night ride. I figured as long as I checked in with Tara at what had become our usual time, she wouldn’t have a clue as to what was going on.
By the time they left, I knew I hadn’t helped with the suspicion. I was a shit liar, though I figured as long as I wasn’t asked out right, I would be okay. I stayed up and tried to think of what I would do if this ride through the territory turned violent. I wouldn’t be able to stop it, short of reporting it to my superiors. Though they wouldn’t do anything until after it had been done.
Could I cover it up? I didn’t even know if anything was going to fucking happen and here I was trying to find a way to keep them out of trouble. I was willing to sacrifice to keep them out of trouble.
***
The night of the ride through had been something I found myself craving in the days leading up to it. The hollow feeling that the distance that I had created seemed to have filled itself with the roar of multiple motorcycles. The rumble of the engine between my thighs vibrated through me in a way that I didn’t get on the short rides to the shop.
The growls of the engines were enough to block out any thoughts that might have had me questioning the motives behind the ride. Riding in a group wasn’t against the law, even if I had my suspicions as to what we were doing. The night was dark, and the road was only lit by the stars and headlights of the bikes around me. It was a calming, and I found myself letting go of all the issues I had saddled myself with. I was so relaxed I didn’t know the danger we were in, even after they had passed out bullet proof vests and pistols.
They were expecting the worse out of this, from what I didn’t know. Eventually, we came to a halt and lined up in front of a run-down looking store. The windows were papered over with newspapers and posters. I saw a clear poster that said ‘Fuck the Police!’ I felt my hackles rise just by looking at the outside of it. This group appeared to be the exact opposite of the Boneyard. How had they crossed us?
The reality of the situation began as we lined up. Somehow I ended up beside Cole. I felt the unease in my shoulders, but I was determined to ride this out without exposing myself. Since Tara hadn’t been aware of it made it, I was able to leave the wire at home. As we stood outside this run down building, I didn’t feel the air of authority that came with being a cop. I was all in with the Brotherhood now, despite any suspicion I had kicked up. I didn’t have a clue just how dangerous this was until the guy stepped out and the pissing contest began.
After the guns had come out, at Ricky’s order, I began taking a mental count of all the crimes we were committing; starting from reckless endangerment to attempted manslaughter to the property damage. It didn’t keep me from following commands, it didn’t keep me from following the lead of the man in command. Not only was this an assignment, but as far as I was concerned, Cole might as well been my CO. When the guy from the building finally caved under the force of our intimidation, I was beginning to feel the rush. My heart was racing, and I was so hot that the entire ride back to the clubhouse was damn near painful.
As soon as we pulled in the clubhouse, I pulled out my phone and sent Tara a message without even a thought about the time. I didn’t think, all the blood was throbbing in my cock and thinking was asking too much. The message just said, ‘Need you to my house, first thing in the morning.’
The hours ensuing where Cole had us report our thoughts on the ride through was agony. When he called for my report, I kept it to the point without any consideration to what they thought of me. He watched me with a penetrating gaze, and it was an effort to not squirm. I saw Danny across the bar, rubbing his face and looking wore out like the majority that loitered about the room. As soon as I was dismissed, I found a clear piece of wall, and I tried to get comfortable. I spent the majority of the time watching Cole, Wilson, and Ted filtering through the group that had gone on the ride. I might have been in something of a daze when a clap cut through the chatter of the main room.
“First,” Wilson started, getting everyone’s attention. “You have earned your patches here tonight by going into a position that was dangerous. You’ve shown that you still maintain a quality of life that you were trained in, that you suffered through, and what you sacrificed for. I don’t intend for the Boneyard to be as rough as that of the government. I don’t intend to ask for you to put your lives on the line for the Boneyard. But the fact is everyday clubs form. They start whether with the intention of being a group of guys riding together or a group of guys giving a big fuck you to the police,” he paused to sip at a beer. “We are a group that stands on the fence. We took the mantle of protectors when we joined the service, no matter the branch. You’re here because you still have the drive to be honorable, even if it’s just to fuck off and ride a motorcycle for two hours. I hope,” he raised his bottle to us. “That a situation like this won’t come up again. I can’t claim that it won’t. From your words that I’ve heard, words that Cole heard, and words that Tillman heard, this shit ain’t over. Be vigilant. Keep your eyes open. We take no shit,” his voice turned into a growl with his growing conviction. “And if those fuckers think we believe the bullshit they tried to hand us they’ve got another thing coming.”
“It’s late,” Ted stood up next to Wilson. “Go home. Get rest. Tomorrow we’re going to relax to shake off the tension from tonight. After that, we’ll be getting ready to test this asshole’s word. We’ll save that plan for later,” I watched as he nodded to Cole. Apparently, everyone wasn’t dismissed. “You got anything to add to your report, any concerns we haven’t heard, yet. This is where we’ll be.”
I was the first out the door. The ride home was quick, not a lot of traffic at five in the morning. When I got home, I was still buzzing, but I felt the fatigue starting to catch up with me. Tara was waiting on the couch in sweats, and her expression was pensive.
“Why are you just now getting here?”
“I guess I’m lucky you got my message,” I said without bothering to look at my phone.
I went back to my bedroom and began to tug my clothes off. I hung up my cut on a hook I had on the back of my bedroom door. I stripped off my shirt and tossed it, followed by my shoes and jeans, into a pile at the end of my bed. I hadn’t even considered Tara as I did it.
“How did you not sleep through it?” I asked.
“I get up at four thirty to start my day,” she stayed in the living room, but when I glanced back at her, I noticed I had her undivided attention. “Where did you go?”
“I need your scanner. Do you have it in your car?”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” she snapped at me, finally meeting my gaze. “You’re not supposed to leave without the wire on.”
“We did a ride through the territory,” I waved her off like it wasn’t a big deal. “Go get your scanner.”
“And you’re just now getting in,” she grumbled as she got up. “I call bullshit, we’re not done talking about this.”
She walked out of my apartment in a huff. I figured I had enough time for a shower before she got back. I needed to get the smell of exhaust and rubber off of me.
I scrubbed quickly, but before I finished I heard a feminine: “Really?!” coming from the front of the front of the apartment. I took that as a sign it was time to get out. I didn’t bother with getting dressed and just wrapped a towel around my waist before meeting her back on the couch. She did nothing but glare at me.
“What are you trying to do here?”
“Get ready to crash after I get a look out,” I answered honestly.
I took her scanner and turned it in. I sat down after some fiddling I found what I was looking for. After so long had passed it was just stray reports being filed about the noise we had made. There were some complaints and worry about gunfire. There wasn’t anything being said specifically about what was done. I adjusted the dials to see if there was anything on any other channels.
“What did you do?” Tara questioned, trying to put everything together. “Gunfire? Did you kill someone?”
“Nope,” I didn’t look at her until I realized I wasn’t getting any more information out of the little machine. I sat back and sighed. “Someone nosed in on the territory. It was a scare tactic to get them to back off of it. No one was hurt.”
“How many laws did they break?”
“A few,” I rubbed my hands through my wet hair and realized that I didn’t even check to see if there was a serial number on the pistol I had. “I don’t know that there’s any evidence, I didn’t wear a wire, and there isn’t anything specific on the scanner. If they didn’t mention Boneyard, then you got nothing.”
“You’re a witness,” she pointed out.
“Entrapment,” I tried to lead her off course.
“You didn’t make them do any of that,” she leaned in closer. “You aren’t leading them, you’re just a regular member. Why are you trying to brush this off when it could lead to something serious?”
“Because they’re not bad guys,” I snapped back at her. “They’re not people that deserve to go to jail. They aren’t holding up banks or selling drugs to kids. The guys we confronted last night, I can’t say the same for. As far as I know, they’re probably doing more than hanging out in their tore up club drinking. But, I can tell you the Brotherhood has a better sense of integrity than a real biker gang.”
“How would you know?” she snarked at me. “You’ve been avoiding them like the plague. You’re not going to catch them doing anything because you’re not there to see it. You’re doing all this to avoid getting them in trouble. It doesn’t take away the fact that they are doing illegal shit.”
“Really?” I took notice of how close we were now, and I felt the energy charged between us. She had gotten fired up by this. “If you’re so sure then why don’t you go to the clubhouse with me tomorrow?” I nodded towards her, “You’re supposed to be my pretend girlfriend; start acting like it.”
I didn’t put innuendo into that, but I could see how my words affected her. Her face went red, and her eyes went wide. She pulled away a little as she considered the options.
“I’ll have to call Captain,” she started.
“No,” I interrupted. “You can call him after you see why I’m trying to protect these people.”
“Fine,” she snapped at me. “I’ll just not go into work today. I’m sure that won’t raise any flags at all.” She released a breath and finally gave in. “What happened?”
The open curiosity was hard to resist, and I leaned closer to her, “Are you wearing a wire?”
She looked like she had been ready to hit the gym, but I couldn’t be sure.
“I should be,” her eyes narrowed as she seemed to challenge me. “But I’m not. I don’t think they thought you’d be a turncoat.”
I sat back a little at that, “I’m not.”
She waved away the comment and gave my side a prod, “What happened?”
I shrugged and relaxed back into the couch as the day started to catch up. The throb of my cock had cooled enough to the point it wasn’t a major distraction.
“It was a long ride,” I didn’t have to fake a yawn. I shifted a little as the towel started to chafe my ass. “There’s another club that’s trying to edge into the territory. We went to set them straight.”
Tara tilted her head, and from her expression, I could tell she was about to give me a reaming. “Are you seriously talking like that?”
“What?”
“You’ve been hanging out with these other men too long, you’re starting to talk like a good ole boy,” she snorted as she shifted to relax beside me on the couch. “That’s all the detail I’m going to get isn’t it?”
“I’d offer more, but I don’t want to repeat mistakes.”
I watched her expression carefully, it had been nearly a year since we had sex. I hadn’t been able to pay her any attention to know whether or not she had a boyfriend. She seemed to struggle to keep her expression neutral though.
“It was a mistake,” she let on in nearly a whisper.
“How?” I asked because I had to know. I hadn’t agonized over it in so long. But suddenly, I felt that raw feeling of rejection again like it had just happened. I wanted to know why this was a mistake so badly.
“I can’t let go of what I worked so hard to become,” she looked away, her expression began to crumble. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to be taken seriously? Of course you don’t. You’re a man that’s served in the military. I don’t want to throw away all this hard work for a night of good sex.”
It took a minute for her words to digest. She was still talking, but that last bit stood out to me making it hard to focus on the rest of what she was saying.
“You might be willing to throw away all you’ve worked on, but I’m not,” she finished.
“It was good then?”
“What?” she glowered at me now, her hazel eyes narrowed to the point if she could burn holes through me I knew I’d be a goner.
“I was kinda drunk,” I tried to look sheepish. “Wasn’t sure if it was good for you, too?”
“There was a little bit left to be desired,” she said, her expression going blank. “You fell asleep on top of me. Not a way I usually like to end the night. Plus, you made a mess and didn’t even bother cleaning it up,” she folded her arms over her chest. “You’re lucky I called it good.”
“Kind of happens that way after a few drinks,” I tried to shrug off my embarrassment. “That’s a mistake that won’t be repeated.”
“Are you assuming something like that would happen again?”
I shook my head, “I don’t to repeat the same mistake twice. If that’s all you’re going to call it, then there’s no point in making a move.”
“Don’t you see what could happen from this?” The words came from her as she mirrored my position, looking as if she had spent the majority of the night running the roads. “This is my career now, not just yours. I don’t want to throw it away for a fling. Especially if you’re confused about where you stand now.”
“Fling?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Who said it was a fling?”
“That’s all it can be.”
She turned back to me, and I could see the raw in her eyes. It's what I felt when I woke up to her not being there. It’s that twisted feeling in my gut that I had when she called it a mistake.
I leaned forward into her personal space, she didn’t pull away. She watched as I closed the distance between us and carefully caught her mouth. I kissed her slowly, taking in the taste of her lips until she relented enough to open so I could slip past her lips. I intended to keep it a simple, delicate thing, but as soon as her tongue brushed against mine, I couldn’t keep from wanting more. My hand tangled in her hair and it was painful to pull away.
“What makes you think I just want a fling?” I whispered to her.
Tara didn’t answer, at first she seemed to lose focus on some point near the dark television. Was she considering it? Did she even feel what I did? I got my answer when she turned back to me, though she didn’t speak. She pressed a hand against my chest and leaned forward to kiss me. My heart started to hammer, and it was all I could do to not tug her against me. I wanted her to come to me, it was a chant that started in my head the moment she engaged this kiss.
It didn’t hold me long, I had to tangle my fingers in her silky curls. As soon as that happened, I had to angle her just right. Then with a tug of her hair, I had her against me. If she thought she was just going to get away with just a kiss, she was wrong. With a little prompting, she was straddling me. From there it was a rush. My heart was pounding, and my cock was throbbing in time with it. I had started tugging the shirt she wore up, and I left her lips for the salty taste of her throat.
Finally, finally, I was going to get this opportunity again. I had written this off, thinking that she might have been right. But now there was a rush and crackle of electricity between us. Did she feel it, too?
Her hands dug into my hair and pulled sharply until I went back to her mouth. I think that answered that and I cupped a breast just to see if she would pull away. She didn’t. Instead, she rocked forward against me. Any concerns after that went out the window.
Our mouths remained molded to one another, our tongues tangling as the heat grew more fevered. I finished pulling her shirt up and shoved her bra out of the way so I could palm her bare breast. I rolled her nipple against my palm until I could feel it peak. When I pinched it between my fingers, she tugged her mouth from mine so she could gasp out.
“This isn’t going to be a mistake,” I growled into her ear. “I’m going to fuck you. You’re going to ride my dick and like it. You understand?”
I got a nod, her breath puffing against my ear.
“Let’s even the playing field,” I nearly ordered her as I gave her supple peak another sharp pinch. “Get up and get undressed.”
Tara did as I commanded, moving to push off of me and stand. She looked a little shaky, so I reached forward to take hold of her hips. Her eyes connected with mine as she tugged her shirt up, the exposed skin distracted me enough for me to feel the need to follow the path of the material with my hands. My hunger made me use my tongue. I had intended to just watch her undress, but I didn’t have the attention span. As soon as the bare breast I had toyed with before was exposed I latched onto it. I was no longer paying any mind to the show I was supposed to be getting. Her breathing increased, but she didn’t stop undressing. Her bra fell on my face, and she rushed to pull it out of the way; I didn’t let it bother me. As soon as the other breast was free, I switched, latching onto it and giving it a hard pull. Her hands were in my hair again, and they pulled me back a bit.
“Not so rough,” she protested.
I let go of her, “You still have clothes on.” I gave her ass a solid slap. “We have catching up to do, hurry up.”
Her fingers tightened, and she jerked me away with a growl, “Your hair is too long for you to be making demands like this.”
“Complaining? I can get a haircut,” I assured her. Right now, to get what I wanted, I was willing to do anything she asked.
“I like having something to pull,” she grinned at me, an expression that went straight to my cock.
I leaned up to kiss her, putting every bit of lust that I felt for her into it.
Of course, this distracted the both of us from the matter at hand. I had her breasts palmed, and I enjoyed the feel of them bare. Her skin was so soft. But we couldn’t do this all night. Before too long I would hit empty, and I would need to crash. I could feel the fatigue tugging at me. It’d been a long ass day. I managed to pry away from her mouth.
“Take these off,” I gave her ass another solid slap.
“Stop distracting me,” she grunted in response.
I didn’t let her go, but she managed to wiggle out of the sweat pants she’d been wearing. I traced a path down with my hands, hooking her panties with my thumbs so I could make sure they went down too. I cupped one cheek and delved my fingers between them, tracing up along the tight little bud. I heard her breath catch, but I only brushed against it until I could find the damp lips from behind. She began to relax and then tugged my hair again. As I started to toy with her, she forced me back to her lips.
I circled her opening with a fingertip, teasing until she started to rock back against my hand. If I could, I would entertain this longer. But it had been a damn year. I ended up standing up, hefting her up with me. Her arms went around my shoulders, and her legs went around my waist. I felt her feet kick down to my ass then I felt a breeze as she helped me lose the towel. Not really a concern, just one less thing to worry about. I carried her down the short hallway, but her swirling tongue made me have to stop. I found a wall, and I adjusted my hold on her so I could press two fingers into her.
Her mouth jerked away from mine, “It’s not enough!”
“I don’t have a condom on me,” I gritted against her cheek.
“If your pull out game was strong while you were drunk, then you should be able to handle it now,” she growled at me, rocking her hips. “Fuck me, it has been long enough.”
She leaned back against the wall, and I pried my hand from her cunt. I wasn’t going to argue with her. I took just enough time to spread her dampness against the head of my cock before I took aim. I tugged her down as I thrust upward until I was completely seethed into her.
I groaned in relief because it seemed like it took something off of me to be back inside her. She echoed me, and I found myself wondering if she had the same issues I did. I hoped this was mutual. I began to thrust slowly, doing my best to shift her so that I could see her face. I wanted to look at her while I fucked her. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I just wanted to see her. Her eyes were clenched closed, her brows were drawn upward, and she seemed focused on what I was doing. There was something about her expression that I couldn’t take my eyes off. It didn’t keep me from thrusting up into her, it felt too good for that. Just the feel of her against me, the bounce she made against me seemed to be just as good as the fluttering hold she had on my cock.
If it wasn’t for the fact I was so damn tired, I could’ve spent the entire moment just fucking her against the wall. But, I started to feel the tells that it was becoming too much. Tara wasn’t heavy, I could easily keep her pinned to the wall. But my legs started to tremble, and I had to slow down. I grunted and pulled away from the wall, hugging her tight to me as I tried to make the rest of the way into my bedroom. I gave her ass a slap as I worked my way to my bed, no longer really able to fuck her, but it seemed important to keep her entertained. Her nails dug into my shoulders, though I don’t know if it was to hang on or something else. I sat down, and it seemed that then everything settled into place. As soon as she realized what happened, she began to rock on me, rolling her hips and squeezing my cock until I saw stars.
It was an effort to keep thrusting up into her, but her rocking made any real effort to gain control hard. I had the choice of struggling to hold off the orgasm that was tightening in my balls or I could just go on. I stood up again, and without giving her much of a warning, I turned us and dropped us back onto the bed. I had to get her off, too. I fucked her as hard as I could throw my hips. Her gasps turned into moans, the volume increasing the longer I managed to make it. Her nails dug into my shoulders and back, I felt the beginning of falling apart under me. I wasn’t going to be able to ride my way through it.
I jerked out of her tight hold and crammed a hand between us and began to desperately thumb her clit. In my other hand, I took hold of my wet cock and began pumping in the same hard rhythm I had been fucking her with. I watched her all the while as she bucked upward on my hand, she let out a cry as she spasmed.
Washing her with cum was the most beautiful fucking thing I’d ever seen. It caught me off guard in such a way I didn’t have thought of my own orgasm until I exploded in my hand. I left a mess on her stomach, but I was still shaken so hard after it was over, I nearly collapsed on her.
“Don’t fall asleep on me,” she barked out getting me back to my senses.
“Don’t feel so damn good under me and I’ll consider it,” I grunted and hefted her up. I crawled the both of us into the center of the bed before I finally flopped down. I was still half on her, but mostly because I wasn’t ready to let her go. “This will have to be good enough,” I buried my nose in her tangled hair.
“You made a mess on me,” she reminded me.
“So you’re stuck with me,” I yawned. “You can shower later.”