CHAPTER 19

Mac

After what Zara discovered yesterday, I figured she could use a break from it all today. And I had a surprise for her.

I stayed out of the way as my girl helped Marie close up the cafe. Then, Zara came over to me as she’d done each day this week. When she got to me, instead of taking her hand and heading out, like we normally do, I handed her the backpack I’d brought in with me this morning.

“Could you get changed before we go? I wanna take you someplace that’s a bit of a ride away, and you’ll be more comfortable in jeans than your work pants.”

“Okaaaay.”

She drew the word out as she frowned up at me, which made me smile. “Don’t over think it, babe. Just go get changed so we can go for a ride.”

“What about safety? I thought I wasn’t supposed to go anywhere but here, the gym or the clubhouse?”

I glared at her. “What the fuck, Zara? You think I can’t keep you safe?”

A moment later, she was wrapped around me, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “I didn’t mean it like that. Of course I trust you to keep me safe. I was just checking if we had Scout’s permission. Isn’t that how the club works? You need Scout’s okay to do stuff?”

I scoffed as I wrapped my arm around her waist. “On some things. When it comes to taking my old lady out, he gets no fucking say at all. Now, go on, hurry up and get changed.”

What I didn’t tell her was that I had told Scout exactly where we going, and he’d agreed with me that it was far enough away that it was unlikely Sledge would be anywhere near us. And if the bastard did show up? Well, I am a fucking Marine, after all. No way will that fucker get anywhere near Zara so long as I’m breathing.

While Zara was in the back, Marie got busy moving around behind the counter. I wasn’t sure what the woman was doing since the place was now all closed up for the day. When Zara came out, as she passed Marie, the older woman grabbed her. I grinned as she gave my woman a hug then handed her another pack. Marie was a real gem. She’d obviously made some food for our little adventure.

With a smile, Zara came over to me and I took the bags from her hands as I called out over her shoulder. “Thanks Marie!”

“No worries, sugar. Take care of our girl and I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

I followed Zara out and we headed around to the parking lot. I handed Zara her helmet and while she was occupied putting the thing on, I stowed the bags, being careful to not let her see the surprise that was waiting for her in my saddle bag.

“You going to tell me where we’re going?”

I pulled her to me, kissing her until she relaxed against me with a sigh. “You’ll see soon enough.”

Slipping my leg over my bike, I sat, then helped her on behind me. The way she instantly wrapped her arms around my middle, sneaking her fingers up under my shirt had me chuckling even though the action had my cock punching against my zipper. Riding was gonna hurt like a mother until that bastard went down.

I took it slow until I was out of the parking lot, then gunned it down the street as I headed out of town. I saw a few of my brothers on the way, giving them a nod as I passed. They were all on the lookout for anyone trying to follow us. Once on the open road, with still no sign of anyone trying to tail us, I relaxed and focused on enjoying the feel of having the wind in my face, my ride beneath me and my girl behind me.

Life was good.

About an hour and a half, and two stops, later, I pulled off the road. Carefully, I parked my bike on a patch of grass, making sure it was well clear of the softer sand not far away. Last thing I wanted was to drop my Harley, especially on fucking sand. I’d driven up the coast of Texas until I found a road that ran close to the edge of the beach. That way, my ride was close by if we needed to leave in a hurry, but we were basically on the beach, so we’d get a great view of the sunset over the water a bit later.

“Off you get, bunny.”

I followed suit and once I was standing, I stretched out my back and shoulders as I took a deep breath of the salty, sea air. With a wide grin, Zara snuggled against me, running her hands under my cut and down over my ribs.

“It’s beautiful here.”

“Wait until the sun sets. Nothing’s quite like a Texas sunset over the water.”

I turned away from her, back to my bike and opening up the saddlebag. I took the pack from Marie out, and quickly snatched up my surprise for Zara, keeping it hidden. Probably should have wrapped it up in something, but I hadn’t thought of that earlier.

“Come sit with me, we’ll see what Marie made us.”

The sun was low in the sky, the first splashes of the color from the coming sunset slashing across the clouds. I sat a little in front of my bike, keeping the gift behind my back as I did. As Zara started to lower herself down, I tugged on her arm, pulling her over me so she was straddling my thighs, facing me. I ran my hands up her arms, then neck, before I delved my fingers into her hair as I drew her mouth to mine for a quick kiss. I loved how she smelled: Jasmine and sunshine, and mine.

“Got something for you, bunny.”

She pushed her palms against my chest so she sat up straighter. “Yeah?”

“Close your eyes for a sec.”

She stilled and raised an eyebrow, but did as instructed. I pulled out the cut Scout had given me last night. He’d apparently known I was going to claim Zara so had ordered it for me already by the time I asked him about it. Making sure her eyes were still closed, I gently set the leather over her shoulders. With a gasp her eyes flew open, and she looked down. The squeal she let out left me wincing, even as I grinned. She shrugged it off and held it between us, running her fingers softly over the embroidery.

“It feels wrong that I’m this excited to have you putting a property patch on me. It’s not very new-age thinking.

I chuckled as I picked it up again and helped her to put it on properly.

“It’s not wrong. It’s so fucking right. Damn, you look good with my name on you, bunny.”

It wasn’t a lie. My dick was throbbing against my jeans as I focused on how good she looked with Property of Mac written on her. I needed her. Right now. I glanced up and down the beach, making sure we were still alone out here. Winter in Texas didn’t involve snow and ice, thank fuck, and today had actually been fairly warm. But because it was winter, not too many people came down to the beach. If someone did happen to drive past us, all they’d see was my bike as it sat between us and the road. I’d just have to pull her flush against me, and no one would see any of her sexy skin.

When Zara had gotten changed back at Marie’s, she’d only changed her pants so she still wore her buttoned up work shirt. With a growl, I attacked the buttons until I could push it apart. Her bra had a front clasp and I flicked it open in less than a heartbeat, shoving all the material under the leather. Her nipples pebbled in the cool evening air and a shiver passed over her, making the leather shift to cover them.

“Now that is sexy as fuck.”

Her chest heaved with each breath she took. Unable to resist, I leaned in and, starting just below her ear, kissed and nipped my way down her neck, over her collarbone then down to suckle her hard little nipples.

“Mac!”

Her fingers slid over my head as she started grinding her pelvis against me. With a groan I released her nipple. Letting my hands take over tormenting her tits, I whispered against her lips.

“See now, bunny. If you were wearing a cute little skirt, I could flip it up and fuck you right now.”

Her eyes slid shut as she moaned. “Seriously, babe?”

Interesting. I’d expected her to laugh off my comment, but instead her cheeks pinkened and the pulse at the base of her neck sped up. She liked the idea, did she?

Before she knew what I was going to do, I had her flipped around on my lap so she was facing out with her back against my chest. I had my legs straight in front of me, and her sexy thighs were spread so she straddled me. I lowered my mouth to her neck as my hands went back to her tits.

“Watch the sunset, bunny. I’ll keep you warm.”

With her head on my shoulder, she wrapped her arm up around my neck as she arched her back, pushing her tits harder against my palms.

“I’m sure you will.”

As the sky turned orange in front of us, I slid one hand down her body until I got to her jeans. After flicking open her button fly, I slipped my hand inside, under her panties, to palm her pussy. I grinned like a motherfucker when damp heat greeted me.

“Hmm, so you like the idea of me fucking you out here in the open, do you?”

I didn’t really give her a chance to respond as I took that moment to thrust two fingers deep inside her. My cock was throbbing painfully against the zipper of my own jeans. I was starting to worry I’d end up with a permanent zipper indentation if I didn’t unzip soon. But Zara’s little whimpers, along with the way she was tilting her hips, fucking my fingers, was too good to stop. When I looked over her shoulder, down her body, the sight nearly had me coming in my pants. My patch sat right next to her exposed rock-hard little nipple. Mine. She was all mine, and now I had her marked and claimed.

Her next little whimper set me over the edge.

“Grip my neck and lift up your ass, baby.”

She did as instructed, without any hesitation and after I tore open my own jeans, releasing my granite-hard cock, I shoved her jeans and panties down to the middle of her thighs. I didn’t want her to get too cold, but I had to be inside her right fucking now. With a hand wrapped around each hip, I moved her over me, and my eyes crossed when she reached a hand between her thighs to guide me inside her. With her pants stopping her from spreading her legs too wide, it was a fucking tight fit. I thrust in deep.

“Fuck, bunny. I love how tight you are like this. Fucking love you, Zara.”

She hummed happily as she swiveled her hips on me. “Love you too, babe.”

“Now you’re officially mine, you gonna let me fill you up?”

She shuddered and arched her back again. “I sure as fuck don’t want you to stop and pull out now.” She paused to moan as I hit her g-spot. “And I kinda like the idea of having your baby.”

That left me growling as I gripped her hips harder to slam her down on me with more force. Images of her with her belly swollen with my baby, of her nursing a sweet, dark haired baby to her breast had tingles running down my spine and tightening up my balls. I slammed her down over me hard and held her to me as I started to come inside her. I shifted my hand to rub her clit until she tightened around me and screamed for me.

I’d never get enough of this woman, no matter how many times I took her. I knew, I’d always want more.

Zara

It’s been a full week since I was taken, six days since Sledge went missing and two days since I first let Mac fuck me without a condom. A smile curved my lips as I thought back to that evening. Watching the sky change colors as the sun set while Mac loved me. I clenched my thighs together at the memory.

“Girl, get your head out of the clouds and go deliver this to table six.”

Heat flashed over my cheeks as I winced at Marie. “Sorry.”

She shook her head with a chuckle. “I was young once, so I understand, sugar. And if I had a man like yours, I’d be behaving worse than you are.”

I rolled my eyes and took the tray to deliver table six’s order. When I got back to the counter I moved up close to Marie so no one else would overhear me.

“You’re not too old to be having some fun with a man. And I’ve seen how you watch Scout.”

She stiffened and a flash of hurt passed over her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Would you mind taking this out to the dumpster?”

There was definitely a story behind that look, but it was clearly one Marie didn’t want to discuss. I tied off the garbage bag before I lifted it up and headed to the front door, calling out to Bash as I went. Mac had to work at the gym today and it felt strange to not have him here in the cafe with me. He was still going to be here to take me home when we closed, but the daytime guard duty had fallen to Bash. I knew Mac would have preferred have a patched in brother on me, but that hadn’t been an option today. And after nearly a week of no one even seeing Sledge around town, I’d tried to tell the club we didn’t need anyone sitting in the cafe all day. Surely, they all had more important things to do with their day? Not that they’d even listened to that suggestion.

“You want me to run that out?”

I smiled over at him. “Nah, just come with me so Mac doesn’t lose his shit that I went outside on my own.”

I could use the fresh air, and Marie looked like she could use a minute without me in her face. I guess I shouldn’t have brought up Scout during work hours. Ah well. Live and learn.

Happily lost in my little bubble of happiness, I made my way to the parking lot with Bash by my side. He lifted the dumpster’s lid for me, and I tossed the bag in. I winced a little when the lid came down with a crash.

“Sorry.”

“No worries. Damn, it’s cold out here today, isn’t it?”

I looked up at the clouds wondering if it was going to get stormy later.

Bash made a noise I think was meant to indicate he agreed with me. Then he stiffened. Curious, I followed his gaze to see one of the women from the clubhouse. Great. I hoped Bash wasn’t going to accept a blowjob from her or something, because I’d already seen more of the man’s junk than I ever wanted, or needed to.

“Hey, Jake baby, how you doing? Sorry I missed your party the other night.”

With my intuition twitching, I tilted my head as I frowned over at her. She’d called him Jake. Did that mean she didn’t know about his name change? Or had she just forgotten it? And why would she have missed the party? The club whores—my skin crawled a little every time I heard that term—seemed to be at the clubhouse every night of the week, like they didn’t have anything else to do. I wasn’t sure if the club paid them, but assumed they must, since they seemed to spend so much damn time there.

As I was trying to puzzle out why she had the hair on my arms standing up, she’d moved in and now had her palms on Bash’s chest as she purred at him. Seriously, the woman was actually purring. Meanwhile, Bash looked like a fucking statue. Clearly, the poor boy had no idea how to deal with such a pushy woman.

“I’m going to head back inside.”

My voice seemed to snap Bash out of his stupor and he started to shove the woman off him. Before he could say a word, the loud noise of a car’s engine filled the air. I turned in time to see a black SUV gunning straight for us.

“Ah, fuck.”

Bash grabbed my arm and pulled me back behind him as he reversed up next to the dumpster. I ended up next to the damn whore who was glaring at me with a look of hatred that had my memory coughing up what I was trying to think of earlier. Scout had said two of the club whores had helped Sledge escape. I narrowed my eyes at her. Was this one of them? Why else wouldn’t she have been at the party Monday night?

“You were one of the ones that freed Sledge, weren’t you?”

Bash stiffened with a curse, but before he could do anything, the SUV squealed to a stop about five feet away from us. Within seconds the back door opened and the front passenger window rolled down. The muzzle of a gun flashed within the vehicle. I screamed as the sound echoed around us. Bash jerked, and with a curse, reached under his cut. Before I could see what he was grabbing, the whore put her whole body into shoving me out from behind him and toward the car. I hadn’t been expecting it, and as I stumbled to get my feet under me, I was grabbed and thrown head first into the rear of the vehicle before I knew what was going on. I twisted to look out the open door in time to see Bash bring down the butt of his gun on the bitch’s head, knocking her out before he lined up a shot at the car. Please let him be a good shot.

I heard two tink noises as his bullets hit the metal of the car. At the same time the driver took another shot, Bash fired again and a grunt of pain sounded next to me. Snapping out of my shock, I scrambled over the seat, reaching for the opposite door. I pulled the handle but it refused to open. I tried to find the locking mechanism but the man who tossed me in grabbed my shoulder, pulling me away from the door, he’d spun me around and I was face to face with a man I didn’t recognize.

“If you don’t let me go, the Charons are gonna kill you.”

His eyes narrowed for a moment, then without uttering a word, his fist came up to connect with my jaw. I was already struggling to fight off my cataplexy, and the blow made it impossible to not fall limply against the seat.

“She out?”

“Yeah. Hurry the fuck up and get us to the meet site. Then Sledge can fucking deal with her. Bastard put a bullet in my thigh. Hurts like a motherfucker.”

“How bad you hit?”

“Bad. And the bullet’s still fucking in there.”

“I nailed his shoulder a good one, I’m sure he’s in worse shape than you. Drug the bitch. If you pass out from blood loss or some shit, I do not want her to be waking up and trying something fucking stupid that’ll get us all killed.”

No, no, no. I don’t want to be drugged again! At least with the cataplexy, I could hear them and knew what was going on. Someone yanked my arm out and I felt a needle dig into the crook of my elbow moments before fire raced up my arm and I floated away.