“I realized as I looked at her, there’s no coming back from this. She’s lost to me.” - Grinder

 

 

 

 

“Do you make a habit of this?”

Grinder could have questioned what ‘this’ she meant but it was glaringly obvious. The sigh rattled through his chest wall.

“No. You’re my first.” He rasped evenly, not feeling any of the calm his voice portrayed.

"Please take this in the absolute way it was intended, but you're a bit of an asshole."

“Noted,” crossing the room he dropped down into the chair, resting one leg on his knee, he left both arms hanging there on his leg while he watched her decide what she was going to do. Didn’t take Lawless’ number of degrees to see she was eyeing the door, wondering if she could beat him there. He could advise her not to, that he’d easily catch her before she could wrap a hand around the door knob and unlock it. But Grinder waited.

Let her come to that conclusion herself.

And he saw it a beat later when her eyes went flat, shifted back to him, she drank again and moved towards the bed, she flipped on the AC, cooler air filling the room, she sighed. “Finally, I was being cooked in this box. So, talk, mister kidnapper. What is it you want, if it’s not ransom, which FYI, no one will pay, so you’re shit out of luck, chico, if that was your angle, my family is poor, my abuela is more likely to offer to feed you and then arrange our wedding.”

She was being clinical. Smart. Mouthy. He liked that.

It could have gone either way, he’d expected hysterics, some womanly tantrum that would burst his eardrum or force him to keep her gagged. This was better, civilized, he could get answers and get the hell back to his regular scheduled life where he wasn’t holding a woman against her will.

For fucks sake, he’d dropped brain cells in the last few days for fucking sure.

And his club brothers didn’t have a clue what he was doing.

He’d sat around the church table tonight, nodding and interjecting his opinions on the latest business, all the while his mind was back here with the little thief.

Preacher had caught up with him as he’d swung a leg on his hog ready to get back to the motel and asked blankly what the fuck was up with him lately. He’d pasted on a grin for his friend and told him nada. Lied like a dickhead. If anyone would understand Grinder’s temporary insanity it would be Preacher but he couldn’t form the words so he’d rode off in hopes to fix this situation.

As it stood he was looking at a possible war with the Apollo Kingsmen if Luxe was as tight with them as he suspected.

And he suspected alright that she was close to their president. Hadn’t he seen with his own two eyes already. Sucking on his teeth, the irritation clear, he tamped back on that annoyance, the shard of odd jealousy that filled his gut and pooled like pus.

He never got jealous. Women were to enjoy when he fancied it, but he didn’t catch an attachment, not even in grade school when he had three girlfriends at once. He’d had one semi-serious woman he’d dated on the regular that lasted two years but even then, once that relationship ended he’d never thought of Jules again.

Yet, here he was staring at the pretty thief and wondering just how intimate she was with Jamie fucking Steele. Would the man want revenge soon as he knew what had happened to Luxe? That’s all the Renegade Souls needed was another enemy to add to the pile, not after they’d just swept the city of the Raging Rebels.

RS had always played fair with the Kingsmen, in Grinder’s history of being in the club that was, both their former presidents had enemies long, it had taken Rider an age to sort out his territory, and Jamie both, to put truces in place with all neighboring clubs.

This could set the club back decades.

Hell. He sucked in a gulp of air, rubbed a hand over his beard and sat back in the chair, contemplating his next move. Get this done, get gone. Get her gone for good.

That was his plan of action and he had to stick to course, not let himself be deviated by a set of big round eyes or pouty lips that begged to be sucked on.

Realistically, he could just walk out the door and leave her to her life, let this shit go, never see her again. Why wasn’t he? It’s not just about what she stole, dickhead.

His attraction to her wasn’t a surprise, he’d wanted her like crazy, but he wasn’t about to act on it now. Dumb move.

Hey, I kidnapped you, how about a date? Somehow, he couldn’t see that going well.

Leading a solitary life suited Grinder. Not even the pink and the wet controlled him. Grinder preferred not to have entanglements, not because he had issues, nah, nothing like that, even though his mother had taken off on him and his dad early on, he didn’t hold it against her, didn’t harbor deep-seated grudges, or let it affect his life now, people had to do what they had to do, even if it meant leaving your kid behind, he’d had a good life with his dad and uncles, but he never wanted to be responsible for another person either.

He liked plans. Strict regimes. It was how his tracking worked.

He’d seen Luxe smile only once at another guy and his plans and regime had flown out the fucking window, making him react first and ask questions second.

He had no explanation other than he’d caught up to her after a year of wondering, how it had stung this little thief had gotten the drop on him because for once his dick had taken over the thinking.

It unsettled him to admit he’d deviated from his strict proficient way of living without a second thought the moment Luxe had come onto his page.

What the hell did that mean?

“Are you just going to sit there glowering at me?” Her voice brought him out of his own head space, he blinked her face into focus. Fuck, he had been spaced out.

“As enjoyable as I’m sure your nana’s food would be, filling my belly isn’t what I’m after, little thief.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“What, a thief? That is what you are.”

“And you’re a bloodhound for the Renegade Souls, but I’m not calling you Scooby Doo, am I, imbécil?”

Grinder’s mouth twitched seeing her eyes flash before she reined herself in. Goddamn, she had fire beneath her walls. If things had gone differently last summer he’d already know what that fire tasted like on his tongue.

“You’re sexy as fuck when you insult me in Spanish, bebé.”

“I’m not your baby, and you’re really trying to flirt with me now? Unbelievable.”

“I tell it like it is.” Unrepentant.

“You kidnapped me!” she spat out, eyes glaring. “In what estupida reality does that make it okay for you to look at me with … with ...” tits heaved as she took in great big swallows of air through her angry tirade. Grinder sucked on his teeth suppressing a grin, dropping his leg he sat forward, arms braced on his knees, eyes trained on her.

“Go on, finish your sentence. How am I looking at you, bebé? Like I wanna eat you up, make you pay for fucking stealing from me?”

“As you said,“ she shrugged. “I’m a thief. You can’t be shocked if I take something that doesn’t belong to me, Grinder.”

His name coming from those lips shot through him like fire pooling in his gut, staying around his groin, thank god, he was leaning forward or she would have seen how his dick hardened.

“Shocked? No. Where I object is when you take from me.”

“Say I did. And I’m not admitting anything,” she had the gall to look like she had the upper hand here with that little smile playing on her mouth. “How do you propose we sort this out so I can leave and never see that beard again?”

Grinder smirked. Direct, little thief.  “That’s easy. Just hand over what you took from me.”

“That’s it, and you’ll let me go?”

“Sure. I don’t play in revenge, that ain’t my style.”

“You have a style?” her eyes went over him from the tips of his boots up to the beanie hat in the slowest form of judging. “Shocking,” she must feel ease, he thought, as she leaned over the bed, giving him a good eyeful of gorgeous tanned bare thighs, she grabbed the bean burrito he’d brought, unwrapping the foil, taking a healthy bite and groaned.

Fuck, the noise hit him square in the torso. His imagination was fertile, he could picture her now moaning for a whole other darker, dirtier reason.

Cursing under his breath, he needed this pact done and her gone asap. She was not good for his concentration.

“Say I have your item … and I’m not saying I do,” she reiterated once more, this time smiling around a mouthful of food. God, he liked a woman who actually ate real food, who didn’t pick and poke at a salad without tasting a thing, what the fuck good was that? He’d dated a model who only ate Lunchables and bottled water, skinny as a pole she was constantly dieting, resulting in her always being a crabby bitch. Grinder would rather eat the end of his gun if he couldn’t enjoy all range of food in large quantities.

He watched Luxe lick sauce from the corner of her mouth, sure she was doing it on purpose when her eyes didn’t leave his face. Little tease. He couldn’t be swayed by her. Liar.

“And say I’m willing to return it.”

“So generous of you,” he added, his voice rough and mocking.

She ignored him and went on.

“And say I do this for you, what do I get out of it? Far as I can see I would be down something valuable. A girl has to eat, you know?” she showed this by polishing off the burrito in three big bites, she crumpled the foil and tossed it on the bedside table, gulping down the rest of the soda. Even her fucking burp afterwards was sexy.

Grinder needed his head checked.

“Please, don’t tone down the arrogance for me, little thief. You steal from me and you want compensation for the loss?” he was incredulously amused. Fuck, he should be angry she was wanting to run him a merry dance, but all Grinder felt was humor slaking through his voice box watching her sitting there primly on the end of the bed, her ankles crossed, fingers laced in her lap and hair caught over one bare shoulder.

The attraction was real. Even as he ignored it twisting around his lower torso, it was real and firing him up.

“I tell you what,” he rose, bones aiding to take him to his six-two height, his wide shoulders flexing under his leather cut, her eyes followed and he saw a flicker of appraising lust before the dirty rotten thief masked the look. She could lie all she wanted, she’d fancied him right back last year, whatever happened to change her mind on fucking him.

Forget that shit, he warned. Not here for that.

His steps quiet underfoot, the noise from the neighbors tv coming through the wall and outside he caught the sound of cars pulling into the cheap motel off the highway about ten miles from his club compound. None of it registered as much as the look of alarm in her dark eyes when he kept on coming until he was directly in front of her, her neck went back to look up.

“Try anything, chico, and I’ll break your dick off.” She warned through her even white clenched teeth. Grinder arched a brow, going down on his haunches before her, resting both hands either side of her hips on the bed, essentially blocking her in, unless she wanted to crawl backwards on the bed she was trapped as much as he had her trapped in this room.

“That’s big threats for such a small thief. As I was saying.”

“I’m rapidly losing patience…” She informed, her gaze going down to his mouth for the briefest seconds. Grinder smiled.

“I’m a civilized outlaw, Luxe, but you don’t want to test my patience on this, not when I’ve been pissed off for a year. I can be reasonable … to a point, if you do as I say, when I say and not give me any of that lip. This can be painless and we can forget it ever happened.”

“Forget you took me against my will? Ha. Nice try with that, you don’t even know what trouble you’ve caused, mister bearded outlaw. You probably should have killed me for all the hurt that’s going to come your way.”

She was brave for a woman trembling. He suspected not from fear. Leaning in to test his theory, she smelled like summer, and though she didn’t back up, brave little thing, she did tense as he drew his nose up the curve of her cheek. “Trouble is my middle name. Now be a good girl before I forget why we’re here and I shut you up.”

Hands came up between them and Luxe tried to push him back. Grinder didn’t budge. She huffed a breath and tried again, this time her hands flattened on his chest.

“What the fuck, are you made from, steel? Move back, outlaw, I don’t want you this close. You said you wouldn’t hurt me, prove it.” Grinder moved deeper into her space, his arms sliding across the bed, touching both of her hips with his fingertips.

“You aren’t in charge.”

Awareness.

There it was flashing through her vision.

Her felt a sharp stab of guilt that he was making her feel vulnerable but he couldn’t waver, she was a criminal thief he had to remember that, this was no accident, she’d taken from him, keep it in the front part of his brain, the part his dick didn’t control. As sweet and innocent as she looked she was sharp and cunning as a blade, hadn’t she swanned into his life and stole out from under his nose and left just as graceful. But there was something else in her eyes …. Need. She was raking her gaze over his face and he could swear he felt it as if she were running her fingers over his skin.

She turned a scowl on him. “It’s a little man who gets off bullying a woman.”

“Is that what I’m doing, bullying you?”

“You’re not letting me go, what do you call it?”

“Negotiating.”

“Ha. And here I must be having hearing problems. Will you move back?”

Staying on his haunches he gave her a few inches of space, moving his chest from touching her knees, Grinder held her stare. She really was a spectacular woman. In any other circumstance once he’d slaked his need of her he would have been fascinated to hear her thieving stories, to know how she walked up to someone and stole without them realizing, he suspected he would be impressed as fuck.

“How long are you planning to keep me here? You know you took me from an MC gathering, sí? Jamie Steele is-------”

Grinder’s jaw went granite tight, his eyelids closing to nasty slits, he got back into her face, their noses brushing, her short sharp breath coasting over his cheeks he watched the flash of surprise, the way she stared at him seared his skin. “He’s what, bebé?” he held no personal grudge against the man whatsoever, not that his sudden burst backed up that claim, unless another MC crossed over into RS territory he didn’t give any of them another thought and still he could picture himself putting a really bad hurt on that fucking pretty boy for putting the smug look of satisfaction on Luxe’s face as she pushed against his chest once more.

He didn’t like it.

Didn’t want to know she had history… or present … with the guy.

It was irrational, diverting his mind from what he’d set out to do.

But nothing about this situation had him on steady ground, he admitted. Nothing. The moment he knew he was closing in on her it was as if he’d lost all semblance of sanity and he was running on pure adrenaline to catch the woman. He didn’t like to lose, hated it in fact. She stirred him up more than he cared to admit.

There was no time at all between thinking he was going to kiss her to the millisecond he crushed his lips down over hers. He swallowed her gasp, cupping around the back of her head he kissed the ever-loving fuck out of Luxe.

With no participation from Luxe at all, Grinder moved his mouth left then dipped to the right, nipping her lower lip, angered into forcing her to respond even just slightly, to coax her lips into opening for him, she’d once almost swallowed him whole in her ardent rush to kiss him, pushed him against the bar booth and climbed him like a tree, her skinny legs had wrapped around him and she’d gone at his mouth with a hunger he’d never witnessed before, stunned the hell out of him before he let his tongue in on the game and tangled around hers.

He wanted that same heat, he growled against her lips, deepened, pressing harder, licking the seam of her closed lips, kiss me back. She didn’t do anything except sit limply, but when he drew back he saw her eyes were closed and pink stained under her skin, her tongue darted out to lick the very corner, Grinder didn’t even try to contain his groan.

Fuck. Shit. He was increasing his jail time by the second.