There will be no fraternizing with rival clubs.
Arianne stood on the edge of the tiny dance floor in Riders Bar, watching Dawn’s friends tangle together with a handful of junior patch bikers as they gyrated to Steppenwolf’s heart pumping, “Born to Be Wild.”
Lights twinkled on the faux vines twisted around pillars and hanging from beams on the exposed ceiling in the reclaimed mill house on the West Side of Conundrum. Smoke drifted upward through the semidarkness, giving the bar the look of a primordial swamp. She caught a glimpse of Dawn in the crowd and made her way over to her.
“Looking good.” Dawn smiled when Arianne joined her. “That dress looks even better in this light.” She pointed to the retro disco ball overhead and Arianne winced at the sight of multiple images of herself in the formfitting red dress Dawn had retrieved from the stash of emergency clothes she kept at Dawn’s apartment.
The dress had attracted more than its fair share of attention, but it was clear the bikers were operating on a hands-off-or-die policy with her. No pinches, grabs, or subtle brushes of an arm over her breast in passing. No bad lines or come-ons. In that respect, it was the tamest evening out she’d ever had.
They danced through two more songs, but when the DJ spun a heavy metal ballad, Arianne’s nose wrinkled. “Let’s get a drink.”
“I’d forgotten how hands-on bikers are.” Dawn slung her purse over her shoulder and followed Arianne off the dance floor. “I swear if I have to slap another hand away from my ass or my boobs, I’m gonna scream.”
Arianne pushed her way through the crowd and found them a standing space at the bar. “Not that I’m wanting to be touched, but I also don’t like feeling like an outcast. Everyone stands at least two feet away when they’re talking to me. When some guy stumbled into me on the dance floor, everyone scattered and he screamed and ran out the door. It’s like I have a big sign stamped on my forehead that says ‘Keep Off.’”
“You do.” Dawn waved down the bartender. “And it’s ’cause your man is Jagger, president of the Sinner’s Tribe MC and expert scowler.”
“He’s not my man,” Arianne grumbled. “If it’s a relationship, it’s the most confusing one I’ve ever had. We’ve never had a date. We don’t hang out like normal couples. When we’re together, we’re either having sex or being shot at, chased, or attacked. No one can figure out where I fit into the club hierarchy, so they say things like, ‘So how’s the little blood price today?’ or ‘Yo, blood price, fix my puncture.’ I don’t even know where I stand with him.”
“He claimed you.” Dawn gave her a nudge. “Possession doesn’t get more primitive than that. Not many people would understand what that means in the biker world, but I do. And you do, too. You just can’t accept it.”
“If I accept it, I’m staying in Conundrum.”
Dawn laughed. “If you didn’t want to accept it, you would have contacted Jeff already and made your trade.”
Arianne cringed inwardly. Should she tell Dawn she’d been in touch with Jeff? Dawn ran hot and cold with Jeff depending on how drugged up he was when he showed up at the bar or her apartment, but how could she not share with her bestie?
“I did.” She waved the bartender over, not daring to look Dawn in the eye. “I texted him the phone number Bunny gave me, and he offered to drop off the passport with Jeft. But I wanted to see him again. I just need to know, whatever decision I make, he’s going to be okay.”
“I hope you decide to stay,” Dawn said softly. “More than anything. For you and for me. You and Jagger are good together. You’re different since you met him. More confident. More determined. Happier.”
“Safe.” Arianne twisted her mother’s ring around her finger. “I feel safe when I’m with him. But that’s a problem. He wants … no, needs … to protect me. And if I stay in Conundrum, I need to be able to protect myself.”
They ordered their drinks. Free, of course. She hadn’t been certain Jagger would actually give in, but when the bartender told them girls’ drinks were on the house, a warm feeling had spread through her body.
“I think you’re right that I’ve changed in the last few weeks.” She stirred her Long Island Iced Tea. “I don’t spend every minute of every day thinking about ways to escape or what Viper is going to do to me next, or even what life would be like after I leave Conundrum. For the first time, I’m kinda liking my life here.”
“You have changed.” Dawn sipped her margarita. “In a nutshell, you’ve become badass. You walk, talk, strut, ride, and shoot like a badass biker chick. I would blame Jagger, but I think you had it in you all along. You just needed a bigger badass to set you free.”
Arianne laughed. “What about you and Cade? He’s hunting for you. I’ve been watching him since he came in. He’s tapped pretty much every blonde in the place, and he’s heading this way.”
“He’s trouble.” Dawn bit her lip. “We wound up in bed together again that night he showed up at the pool hall. But I told him it had to be the last time. I mean … our sexual chemistry is off the charts. The minute I’m near him, all I can think about is getting his hot ass into my bed. But after we do the nasty, all I can think about is getting him out. I can’t have anyone in my life right now. I have two little girls who need their mommy and I need to focus my energy that way.”
“Dawn…” Arianne gave Dawn’s hand a sympathetic squeeze. “You have to look out for yourself, too. The girls wouldn’t begrudge you a little happiness.”
Dawn’s voice hitched, and she gave the bartender a wan smile when he slid another drink across the counter. “Cade is a distraction. One night was good. The second night … okay, it was epic. But I don’t want him thinking there’s more where that came from. How am I going to say no?”
“Like this … ‘No.’”
“Easy to say.” Dawn gave a wry laugh. “Not so easy to do. You think you could say no to Jagger?”
Arianne blushed. “Actually, last night I said no. Several times. But that’s just because I didn’t think I could come that many times in a row. Really, he’s everything I’ve been running from: a biker, living in Conundrum, an MC president, dominant, possessive, aggressive, prone to violence … but he’s also everything I ever secretly imagined. I can relax with him, be myself, laugh. He makes me feel safe. He’s devastatingly gorgeous and amazing in bed. He’s a great leader, and the whole protective and possessive thing—”
“My girl’s stayin’ in Conundrum.” Dawn grinned and then turned to chat with a couple of her friends who had spotted them at the bar.
Arianne exchanged a few words with the new arrivals, but her skin prickled with awareness. He was here. Whether it was some slight change in the vibe of the room, or the way a path cleared near the door, she just knew he was waiting.
After excusing herself from the group, she pushed her way through the crowd, back to the table she and Dawn had snagged when they first came in. And there he was, sprawled in a chair, legs parted wide, his gaze fixed on her. Intent. Carnal. Predatory. He licked his lips and her panties dampened.
“Speak of the devil.” Dawn appeared at her elbow, drink in hand.
Unable to look away, Arianne just stared. He was breathtakingly gorgeous, dominating the bar with the force of his presence alone. His jeans were a feast of denim over powerful thighs, tight in all the right places. Broad shoulders covered the back of the chair and his cut hung open, giving her a mouth-watering glimpse of his black T-shirt stretched taut over his rippling abs.
Images of their night together flashed through her mind—his lips on her skin, the rough way he’d handled her, the soft whispers in her ear.
The promise she had made this morning.
Jagger’s lazy gaze drifted down her body then back up to rest on the lowest-cut neckline she had ever worn—the main reason the dress had lived in Dawn’s closet so long. His eyes lit with an inner glow and he crooked his finger, beckoning her over.
“Looks like your man is calling.”
“Arrogant bastard.” A smile tugged the corners of Arianne’s lips. “Does he think I’m going to come running because he waggled his finger?”
“That would be a yes.” Cade joined them and wrapped his arms around Dawn’s waist. “Man sees his woman dressed all fine, looking hot as fuck, he’s not gonna waste any time getting his hands on her.” He nuzzled Dawn’s ear and she tipped her head to the side to give him better access.
“See,” she mouthed. “Can’t say no.”
Arianne looked up and almost melted under the heat of Jagger’s gaze. So he liked what he saw, did he? Maybe the dress wasn’t a bad idea after all. And if she could get him hot … Drawing in a deep breath, she flipped her hair and walked toward him, slow and sexy, hips swaying, her gaze fixed on his, working it with every click of her shiny black stilettos.
By the time she reached his chair, his hand was fisted on his thigh, his lips pressed together. Her eyes dropped to his neck, and she watched his pulse throb beneath his skin. What would happen if she took a little lick?
“Hey, baby.” She dropped her hands to her hips and tilted her head to the side. She had never thought of herself as a sexual person, never flirted or played games, and although she liked the way she looked, she’d never considered herself pretty. But the way Jagger’s eyes roved over her, as if there were no one else in the bar, naked hunger in his gaze, made her feel like the sexiest woman in the whole damn world.
“You’re so fucking hot, I can’t decide if I want to rip that dress off you or fuck you in it first.” He slid a hand over her hip, pulling her toward him.
“You’re looking pretty fine yourself.” She cupped his jaw, rough with a five-o’clock shadow. “I like this look. Nothing screams ‘badass’ better than bristles.”
He caught her hand and brought her palm to his lips. “You haven’t even seen badass, sweetheart. I’ve been gentle with you so far, but seeing you in that dress and those fuck-me shoes, I’m thinking I’m done with gentle.” With his free hand on her ass, he pulled her closer, between his spread legs, an entirely possessive move that was clearly meant as a message to every man in the room.
Arianne bit her lip against the arousal raging through her body. “Are you trying to turn me on?”
He traced lazy circles up the inside of her thigh, his fingers delving beneath her dress. Arianne gasped, and a slow, sensual smile spread across his face.” You’re already turned on. Should we see just how wet you are?” He eased her dress up an inch, and Arianne slapped his hand away.
“We’re in public.”
“My people.” He pulled her against him, his fingers digging into her ass. “My bar. My rules. If I wanted to take you over my knee and spank you for making a man so hard he can barely think, no one’s gonna stop me.”
Her nerve endings tingled. The idea of giving up that much control both scared and excited her. “I’ll stop you.”
Jagger stilled, his gaze focused, intent. “No, you won’t. You like that idea.” He shifted in his chair, spreading his legs farther apart. “Jesus. My girl wants to be spanked. And I thought I was hard before.” He caressed her ass, then gave her a pinch. “Tonight.”
The DJ played JT’s “Not a Bad Thing,” and she crooked her finger and took a step back, beckoning him out of the chair, desperate to distract him from the turn of a conversation she wasn’t quite ready to have.
Once she hit the dance floor, she ran her hands down her hips, dancing to the beat, her gaze fixed on him. Although he didn’t move, his eyes followed every sweep of her hands as she caressed her way up her body, and his tongue darted out to lick his lips.
And then he was out of the chair and in front of her—so close, his raw, sensual scent of leather and soap, the heat of his body, and the evidence of his desire filled her with dangerous thoughts.
“We’re leaving.”
“It’s Dawn’s birthday.”
“Now.”
She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his throat, feeling the beat of his pulse on her lips. “One dance.”
He grunted his assent, then wrapped his arms around her and swayed them to the music. She was pressed so hard against him, that she could feel the rigid line of his shaft against her hips, the pounding of his heart against her breasts.
Arianne moved trembling hands over his shoulders, tangling them in his soft, thick hair. “Is this how you dance?”
Jagger jerked her closer, thrusting his knee between her legs, forcing her dress to ride dangerously high. “Sweetheart, this is how I fuck.”
Arianne softened against him, her nose pressed into the hollow at the base of his throat, her body hyperaware of every stroke of his hands down her back, the press of his thigh against the curve of her sex, the rapid thud of his heart against her chest. “What happens now?”
He twisted his hand in her hair and tugged her head back, his lips scorching a trail along her jaw. “Now, we’re leaving. Soon, I’m gonna fuck you in that sexy little red dress and those sexy little heels. Later, I’m gonna take them off and you’re gonna kneel in front of me and show me how sweet that dirty little mouth can be.”
The press of his hard body against her was pure bliss. Lightning bolts of pleasure speared through her veins until every part of her body was hot and sensitive to his touch.
“And you will never do what you did tonight,” he growled. “A dress like this, you wear only for me. Touching yourself, you do only for me. And you drink only when I’m with you so I can take advantage.”
Drunk on his savage masculinity and his sensual promises, and maybe two too many drinks, she leaned up and nipped his ear. “I’m not afraid of you.”
His fingers sank into her waist and he lowered his head, his dark eyes intense as he sealed his mouth over hers and stole her breath in a scorching kiss. Her lips parted and their tongues met, tangled, thrust together deep and wet as he took control. “Looking the way you look and dancing the way you danced in front of other men, you should damn well be afraid.”
* * *
His tongue was down her throat when the first shots rang out.
Instinct sent him diving behind the low retaining wall surrounding the dance floor, dragging Arianne with him. Screams echoed around them. Glass shattered. He looked over the wall, and his blood pumped hot in his veins. Leo. What the fuck was he doing here, and who the hell did he have with him?
Jagger counted at least twelve men wearing cuts, six from the Black Jacks and six with patches he didn’t recognize. They had secured all the exits and were herding people into the center of the bar.
“What’s going on?” Arianne pulled her .38 from her purse and then rolled her eyes when Jagger scowled. “I grew up in an outlaw MC. You think I’d go anywhere without my gun? Usually I carry a .22 in my purse, but I haven’t been able to go home yet to get it.”
He didn’t want her armed and ready to engage the enemy. He wanted her safe. Preferably hidden away in a cupboard or locked in a bathroom. “You won’t be using it. Leo’s out there. He’s got another club with him. They might be wanting to patch over to the Jacks, so he’s puttin’ them through their paces. In my fucking bar.”
More shots rang out. More screams. Leo’s men shouted for everyone to take a seat and stay put.
Arianne peeked over the wall and huddled back down. “Road Kill. They’ve been trying to patch over to the Jacks for years. They’d pretty much do anything for Viper’s protection.”
“Like retrieving Viper’s daughter?”
Arianne paled. “Yeah. That would do it. Bringing me in would win them all sorts of favors from Viper.”
Jagger caught sight of Cade behind an overturned table near the kitchen door, and Zane behind the bar. Gunner and Sparky were caught in the middle and were standing with T-Rex and Tank, forming a wall between Leo and Arianne’s friends. The rest of the brothers were scattered around the room, each one under the guard of one of Leo’s men.
Arianne checked her clip and disengaged her safety. “Well, he’s ruined yet another date for me, although your fingers are intact. This time he’s not getting away with it.”
“Wasn’t aware we were on a date.”
“I wanna hang with an MC president, I can’t be expecting candlelit dinners and walks in the moonlight. Shootings and fights seem to be par for the dating course with you. And if you want to get romantic and give me a present, I could use a new clip.”
Jagger chuckled, “She’s my kind of girl.”
Arianne rolled to her knees. “You want to take him out, or shall I?”
Jagger grabbed her wrist, his moment of humor forgotten. “You’re gonna stay put until Cade signals it’s clear, then I’m gonna cover you while you run for the kitchen.”
She yanked her hand away. “Typical man. You want me to stay in the kitchen while the boys watch the game. No, thank you. First, I’m not leaving my friends. And second, Leo and I have a score to settle.”
“Fuck, Arianne.” He yanked her down. “This is no time for games.”
“I’m not playing games. I’m playing to win.”
“You hiding from me, Vexy?” Leo’s voice rang out in the now silent bar. “Scared I’m gonna shoot you? I’m disappointed. It wasn’t that long ago we were in bed together and you were screaming my name.”
“Bastard.” And before Jagger could stop her, she stood.
“Get out, Leo. You don’t belong here.”
Leo sneered. “Neither do you. Once a Jack, always a Jack. No matter how many damn Sinners you sleep with.”
Enraged, Jagger pushed himself to his feet, angling his body to protect Arianne as he made a quick assessment of the situation. The Sinners caught in the center of the bar had now ringed the girls, protecting them from Leo’s men. Leo stood near the front door, flanked by Black Jacks, while a couple of bikers from Road Kill took up the rear. Cade and Zane were still hiding near the back and side exits. Leo’s bikers patrolled the perimeter of the bar, shoving stray Sinners toward the crowd in the center.
Jagger bit his lip and tasted blood. Leo stood directly across from Arianne, not even bothering to watch the civilian roundup. “What do you want, Leo?” He kept his voice low, forcing Leo to lean in, straining to hear. “Aside from a quick death, which you’re not gonna get.”
Leo shot at the mirror ball above the dance floor and it exploded into pieces, raining down on the hardwood below. “Sinners blew up our ice house. We’ve come for a little retribution. Thought we’d redecorate your bar with bullets. And while we’re here, I’ll just take Vexy home.”
“She belongs to the Sinners now.” Jagger tensed, waiting for her usual retort that she didn’t belong to anyone, but it never came. He glanced quickly to the side and saw Cade and Zane in position near the exits.
“She belongs to me.” Leo sneered. “I had her first. Or did she forget to tell you?”
Crack. Arianne fired her gun and the bullet thudded into a pillar to Leo’s left.
He startled and jumped to the side, his face twisting in anger. “Fucking bitch.” Leo roared. “Did you just fire at me? What the fuck’s happened to you?”
“I found something at the Sinner clubhouse I thought I’d lost a long time ago.” Her voice shook, and Jagger placed a hand on her arm.
“Easy, sweetheart. Room’s a powder keg waiting to explode. You kill him now, it will go off, and we don’t want to do that until we get the civilians outta here.”
“How about you get your damn hand off my arm?” Arianne grated. “I’ve always wanted to do that, and if I were aiming to kill, he’d be dead.”
Leo snapped his fingers, and one of the Jacks grabbed a tall redhead and held a gun to her temple.
“Here’s how it’s gonna be,” Leo shouted. “You got five minutes to vacate the bar before our shooting party starts. Anyone left inside will be considered fair game. Vexy comes with us or I’ll tell my brother over there to shoot the girl.”
One of Leo’s Jacks opened a side door, and Sparky tried to keep order as people ran out into the alley.
Arianne leaned in to Jagger and murmured. “Look at the Road Kill president. He’s not too happy with the new plan. I have a feeling Road Kill thought they were just coming to shoot up the bar and not off pretty girls.”
Jagger took another quick look around. The Sinners who hadn’t been rounded up were positioned near the exits and had formed a perimeter around the bar. Cade had been busy. Once they took out the exit guards, they would regain control.
“Leo’s the key,” he said. “And you’re right. Road Kill isn’t fully committed to him. You can see how they’re standing slightly apart from his Jacks and the president is hanging back near the door instead of standing by his side. He’s probably insulted Viper put Leo in command.”
“Viper will never patch them over. This is a game to him. He dangles the carrot, gets the small clubs to do his dirty work, and then takes the carrot away.”
“You need to get that message to Road Kill’s president.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Leo’s in my way. Think you can hit his leg at this distance? I’ll go for his shoulder.”
“I’d be happier if you left the bar with everyone else.”
In a wry tone, Arianne said, “Prepare to be disappointed.”
Jagger dropped his hand and signaled their intention to Zane and Cade, who would know to provide cover if this turned into a shoot-out. But he was banking on Road Kill not risking their lives to defend Leo or the few Jacks he’d brought with him.
“Come, Vexy.” Leo snapped his fingers in a pathetic imitation of Viper then fired a warning shot that zinged over her shoulder and shattered the window behind her.
“You’re not Viper. Don’t even try to pretend.” She pulled the trigger. Jagger did the same. The two shots followed each other in a double thunderclap. Leo screamed and fell to his knees, one hand on his shoulder and one on his thigh.
No one moved.
Arianne glared at the stunned bikers. “Anyone else want to ruin our party?”