CHAPTER 8

Zara

With every thrust, Mac sent my arousal spiraling higher and higher. My elbows started to shake from the effort of holding myself up so I let them collapse. With my head down, Mac hit a whole new bunch of nerves that had me screaming into the pillow. Damn, but this man could fuck like some sort of fertility god.

Then he leaned over my back, wrapping one hand around a breast while the other zeroed in on my clit, which he started to torture as he picked up speed.

“Come for me, Zara. Take me with you.”

I didn’t stand a chance trying to resist him. Completely over-stimulated, I climaxed like I never had before. My vision blurred as I jerked and thrashed beneath Mac. My foggy mind registered his arms holding me tightly to him as his cock jerked within me when he, too, came hard. My entire body went limp but Mac didn’t let me collapse beneath him. Keeping me tucked in against him, he gently rolled to the side, before he loosened his hold and slid from my body. I mentally winced as he did. I hadn’t had sex in a long time, and I’d never been taken like he just took me. I was definitely going to be sore today.

Mac’s weight lifted from the bed and his footfalls got further distant. An ache started in my chest. Would he really walk away from me now he’d had me? Was I just a notch in his bedpost? My eyes stung with tears just as his hand stroked up my thigh, lifting it up. A warm, wet cloth wiped between my legs and over my upper thighs. Relief poured through me. He hadn’t abandoned me, but had gone to get something to clean me up with. My gentleman-biker.

When he finished, he tossed the cloth somewhere, then spooned up behind me, pillowing my head on one of his strong biceps. He kissed my shoulder as he ran his fingers lightly over my skin, over my breasts and ribs, down my arm, over my hip. When I could, I turned my face to press a kiss against his arm, running my tongue over his ink.

That got me a growl and a tap on the ass. “Keep that up, I’ll be inside you again, and I’m not sure we got time for another round before you need to be at work. What time do you normally start? Or do you want to call in sick and stay in bed with me all day?”

I shuffled over onto my back so I could see his face. He was so beautiful. I palmed his cheek before I ran my short nails through the scruff on his jaw.

“I can’t just take a day off to screw around. Marie’s had enough waitresses pull that shit with her. Plus, she’s been pushing me at you hard for weeks now. She’ll be pissed if I don’t tell her first that I finally lost the fight.”

He leaned down and gave my mouth a quick peck. “You fought well, but we all knew I was going to win you over in the end.”

I shook my head on a chuckle. “Well, after this morning, I suspect you fought well enough that I’m now ruined for all other men.”

This expression of clear male pride crossed his face. “Good to hear it. You don’t ever need to be even thinking about another man again. You’re mine and I’ll always take care of you.”

I glanced over his shoulder at the clock beside the bed.

“Shit! I’ve got to get moving.” I rolled away from Mac and sat on the end of the bed. I searched for my clothes and found them spread around the floor, each item now a wrinkled mess. “Especially since I now need to go back to my place and get changed.”

“Sorry about that. I wasn’t thinking about your clothes when I took them off you. I’ll follow you on my bike, then escort you to Marie’s. Until we figure out how to deal with the Iron Hammers, I don’t want you going anywhere alone. Okay?”

“Sure.”

I wasn’t sure what that meant for my living arrangements, but I really needed to get moving so I’d have to worry about that later. My panties were too damp to be comfortable, so I didn’t bother with them. My pants felt strange with nothing on underneath and by the groan Mac made, he’d noticed my lack of underwear. After picking up my shirt and bra, I turned to drop them on the bed and stopped still. Mac was standing with his back to me and was pulling jeans up over his bare ass. But it wasn’t that he was going commando like me that caught my attention, it was the huge-ass tattoo across his back. The Charon insignia spanned nearly the full width. It wasn’t a bad-looking design, as far as MC logos went. A funky looking skull in the center, with a bat wing on one side and a feathered wing on the other. There was a crossbones made out of pistons behind the skull, too. All inked in black, it was quite the statement.

“Keep staring and you’ll never get to work.”

“Ah, yeah. That’s some tattoo.”

He drew a tight black t-shirt over his head before reaching for his vest–no, his cut–and putting that on over the top. I turned away and rushed to get my bra and shirt on. I needed to stop ogling him and get my head on straight.

Grabbing my handbag, I ducked into the bathroom that was attached to his room and after using the facilities, did my best to finger comb out my hair. Hopefully it was too early for anyone to be up and around to see me anyway. I took my meds, then went back out to Mac.

“Ready to go?”

“As ready as I can be.”

My heart melted a little when he took my hand in the hallway and didn’t let go until we were by my car. He gave me a deep kiss, before pulling away with a groan.

“Don’t try to lose me, bunny. No more running away from me, okay?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, because running has worked out so well for me so far.”

The Iron Hammers had still found me, and he’d well and truly caught me. Yeah, I wasn’t going to be trying to run away again anytime soon.

Mac pulled me against him and held me tightly. I rubbed my face against his chest, inhaling his scent deeply.

“How about I just make it so you’ll never need to run again?”

That made me chuckle. “No one can promise that. C’mon, I’m already going to be late.”

Ten minutes later I pulled up outside the motel and stayed put as I watched Mac ride up behind me. Damn, but he looked hot on that large blue bike of his. Shaking myself free from my daydream, I hopped out and headed up the stairs to my room, certain in the knowledge he’d follow me. I’d just slid the old-school key into the lock when Mac came up behind me, radiating rage.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

I winced at his volume as I opened the door. Dragging the damn man inside, I closed it before he could utter another word.

“I’m trying to not attract attention, remember?”

I hissed the words at him just as his gaze ran over the room and his expression turned even more thunderous.

“You’re not staying here.”

I frowned, “Why not? I’ve been here for weeks. I’ve nearly got enough saved to find something more permanent. It wasn’t like I’ve got a heap of options open to me, Mac.”

He spun and prowled towards me, the look on his face making me back up until I hit a wall. He kept coming until he stood a breath away from me, forcing me to look up in order for us to maintain eye contact.

“Now you have another option. While you work today, I’ll move all your shit over to the clubhouse. I’d prefer you stay in my room with me, but if you don’t want that, you can have your own room.”

My mouth dropped open as it took me a moment to formulate a response to his demand. “So because I let you control me in bed once, you think you can tell me where I’m going to live?”

With a growl he dropped his head down and nipped at my lower lip before I could turn away.

“I didn’t hear you complaining about my demands this morning. And considering I’m currently trying to keep you alive, you shouldn’t be complaining now. Clearly, the Iron Hammers haven’t found you yet, because if they had, they’d have you. It’d take them half a second to break down that door and grab you. I’m actually surprised it hasn’t happened yet. You’re under my protection now, Zara. I take that shit seriously. I take your safety seriously. So, be a good girl, and let me move you to the clubhouse. Stay there until we deal with this Iron Hammer threat, at least.”

He was too close. Between his big body and his scent filling my head and lungs, he surrounded me. He did have a good point about this place being easy to break into. I knew it. So why the fuck was I arguing?

“I want to pack my own things.”

“Fine. But you’re doing it now. So, you better call Marie and let her know you’re gonna be late, because I’m not waiting till tonight to move you out of this fucking rat-trap.”

I swallowed and licked my lips when he didn’t move away.

“I can’t call if you don’t back off me.”

“Fucking hell. How you tempt me, woman.”

Before I could ask what the hell that meant, his palms cupped my face and his mouth was on mine, his tongue and lips devouring me. Whimpering under the onslaught, I gripped his shoulders and gave in to him. Again.

I could see a theme starting here with this man.

Mac

Turned out Zara didn’t need long to pack. Stupidly, I’d assumed she was like all women and had a heap of shit. But of course, she didn’t. The woman had been forced to leave her home in a rush, and she’d been lucky to manage to fill the suitcase she had, really. I wondered again what her place in Galveston looked like. Would she want to move back there once all this shit with the Iron Hammers died down? I hoped she didn’t. I liked living here in Bridgewater, liked being part of the Charon MC. I was also getting really attached to Zara.

I hoped like hell I wouldn’t have to choose between the club and her. Whatever the fuck I had with Zara was so new, I was sure at this point I’d chose the club. But I’d be fucking miserable without her. I already knew that much.

I pulled Zara’s little car into the clubhouse yard and got out to the sounds of laughter.

“Gee, Mac, how the fuck did you even fit in that thing?”

I flipped off the prospect who was on guard duty, but didn’t say anything. Hell, I’m sure I would have laughed at me too. You know? If it wasn’t me that had just been crammed into the matchbox Zara called her car. I popped the trunk and grabbed her suitcase, before I headed inside.

“Seriously though, Scout asked you to meet him in church as soon as you got in.”

“Sure. I’ll just chuck this up in my room then I’ll be there.”

I took the stairs two at a time, and dumped Zara’s stuff inside my room before turning to head back down.

“You moving her in already?”

I glanced over at Arrow as he joined me in the hallway. “At least for now.”

He nodded. “No denying the clubhouse is the safest place for her, considering who’s after her. But you remember what I said about her being a keeper?”

“I remember. How about we focus on dealing with the bastards after her first, then you can over-analyze my personal life all you like, okay?”

“Sure, brother.”

Bastard smirked at me as he led the way down the stairs. I followed him back to the meeting room, where it looked like most of the club was waiting. Scout gave me a chin lift and indicated I go to him.

“Where are we at?”

“She was staying at that piece of shit motel out on the eastern edge of town. So I got her to pack her things and they’re now in my room upstairs. I’ve got her car here, and I intend to leave it here. I’ve left my bike at Marie’s and planned on getting a lift back there when it’s time for her to knock off so I can bring her back here on it. I don’t want her being able to run if something spooks her.”

Scout silently adjusted his bandana for a minute.

“I already put a couple prospects on Marie’s. I figured your girl would want to go to work today. I know for certain Marie wants her to keep coming in.” He grinned with a chuckle. “She called me this morning to tell me she expects the best worker she’s had in years to not be prevented from doing her job.”

I didn’t know what the fuck was between Scout and Marie, but clearly there was some history there. “Sounds like Marie. I did try to get Zara to take the day off but she flat out refused.”

“She ain’t as timid as she appears, is she?”

“She’s got claws that’s for sure. But underneath it all, I think she’s mainly just a woman scared out of her fucking mind, doing what she can to survive. You got any ideas on how we can fix this shit? And how much did they put on her?”

“We’ve got some ideas, but I’m only saying this shit once. So take a seat, I think everyone who’s in town is here now.”

I moved away to sit in my usual spot, next to Eagle and Taz.

“Heard you had a good morning, mate.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

That made him laugh loud enough to attract attention from about half the room, so I shoved him hard enough he fell off his seat.

“Okay, enough fucking around. We got serious shit to discuss.”

Scout’s loud voice silenced the room, thankfully that included Taz. Bastard still smirked at me as he righted his seat before he sat back in it.

“By now, you’ve all heard about the shooting last month down in Galveston. But in case you’ve had your head up your ass or something, here’s the basics–a Satan’s Cowboy was dealing on Iron Hammers turf. Iron Hammers found him at a cafe and shot the place up, killing the Cowboy and six others.”

“Did anyone ever find that witness?”

I wasn’t sure who called out the question, but Scout looked straight at me as he responded. “Yeah, turns out she was under our noses the whole time. The new girl down at Marie’s Cafe, Zara, is the witness.” A few whistles and smartass remarks filled the room. “Yeah, you all can cut that shit out right fucking now. Mac’s claimed her and as of this morning, she’s staying here with him. Now, the reason I’ve called you all in, is we need to figure out what the fuck we’re going to do with her. The Iron Hammers have a real hard-on for her, so much so, that they’ve put a bounty on her. Mac and Taz stopped a fucker from taking her yesterday. He wasn’t part of their club, but a hang-around who wanted the money and the glory. He was kind enough to tell us it’s worth ten grand and a top rocker to bring her back to them alive. So expect an influx of money-hungry biker wannabes roaming our streets.”

Fuck me. Ten grand? That was enough money to bring some serious heat to town.

“What’d she do that they want her so bad? I don’t get it. I mean, she just about hides under the counter whenever we go into Marie’s.”

“Mac? You want to answer that one? Not sure how much Zara wants everyone to know.”

Yeah, neither did I. Would she lose her shit if I told the whole club about her illnesses? Probably.

“Ah, okay. Zara has a medical condition, and it made her mind a little fuzzy after the attack was over. A young cop took advantage, asked her questions she shouldn’t have answered, but did. She knew she fucked up as soon as she spoke, it’s why she ran off and disappeared. She has no fucking intention of making her statement official. I’m certain of it. And considering she was shot at by an MC, it kinda makes sense the girl gets a bit nervous around bikers, doesn’t it?”

Nitro, the club’s Sergeant at Arms, stood up and came around to lean back against the table. “So, we have Zara with us. And both the Iron Hammers and the police are after her. Zara confirmed who their inside guy is, so I don’t recommend she goes to the cops to clear this up. Her running off made it clear she didn’t want to make an official statement. Clearly, we ain’t handing her over to the Iron Hammers. So that leaves us with two options. We try to buy her freedom with that ledger John left of their shit, or we approach the Satan’s Cowboys about helping us out on this one. You know, following the whole ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ bullshit.”

I glanced over at Eagle and Taz. There was a third option. We could involve the FBI. But my gut was telling me no, so when both Eagle and Taz gave me a slight shake of their heads, I dropped the idea. We could always go to them later, if things got desperate.

I spoke up over the low chatter that had started up. “I don’t think even revealing we have that book is a good idea. Not until we know what we’re going to do with it. We need to find out if they’re still doing that shit, and if they are, it needs to be stopped. This is separate, and honestly? Handing over that thing ain’t gonna stop those bastards from coming after Zara. She’s been quiet for a month. They know she’s not going to finalize that statement she made. They’re after her for a different reason. Did that fucker who came after her say anything else?”

That brought Bulldog into the conversation. “That was my thinking. They want her for something else. The fact they’ve not only put money on her head, but want her alive? It’s not adding up. I’m fresh out of ideas on figuring out what that is though, because that fucker you caught didn’t know shit.”

Scout spoke up again. “I’ve had a bit to do with the Cowboy’s current VP, Maverick, over the years. I can reach out, see if he can tell me what they’re planning. I’ll try to do it without disclosing we have Zara, but I can’t lie to them. If I do and they find out, we’re done.”

Couldn’t argue with that. Satan’s Cowboys were the biggest MC in Texas, and they wore their one-percenter patches with pride. Piss them off, it wasn’t going to end well for you.

“That doesn’t add up either. Why haven’t they gone after the Iron Hammers yet?”

Scout turned to me as I’d spoken. “My first guess? The fucker that was dealing down there wasn’t doing it with club permission. That, and the Cowboys ain’t stupid. They go down there guns blazing with a second shootout within a month, they’ll have all sorts of law enforcement coming down hard on all their chapters. No club is going to bring that kind of heat down on themselves without a damn good reason. Right. Let’s call this shit. Everyone in favor of me checking in with the Cowboys’ VP?”

Everyone’s hands went up and Scout brought down the hammer.

“Done. I’ll call you all in when I know something. Before you all run off, we’ll be having a barbecue tonight, let Zara meet everyone.”

“We’ll get the old ladies onto it, Prez.”

That was Keys. His old lady, Donna was tough as nails and funny as hell. I figured she had to be both those things to put up with the old geek and all his toys long-term. I stayed seated as the room started to empty. I rolled my shoulders, then stood. I hated this shit–not knowing what the fuck was really going on, which meant I had no chance of getting on top of any of it. I fully knew how Eagle felt when the mob came gunning for Silk now. Fucking stressful shit. At least the barbecue would be some fun. A damn good excuse to have Zara real close for a few hours before I took her back to bed. That left me grinning. I needed to buy her something suitable to wear.

“Eagle, you bring a cage?”

“Yeah, Silk’s not getting on a bike till after this baby is born. Why?”

“Give me a lift to Marie’s?”

He slapped me on the back with a chuckle. “Sure, man.” He shook his head. “Pussy whipped already. Man, at least I pretended to fight it for a while.”

Maybe I should just walk to Marie’s.

“That’s because you’re an idiot. Why the fuck would I fight having a hot chick in my bed?”

Bastard just laughed harder as he left the room and grabbed his phone from the lockers.

Whatever. I needed to go have a quick look in Zara’s suitcase before we left so I didn’t have time to try to figure out what the fuck Eagle found so funny.