Pax
Waiting was on the list of things I did not do well, right up there with being polite, gentlemanly, and soft. They were not qualities that were applied to me, and I was pretty damn proud of that, most of the time. But I did have a soft spot—my men. They were like family. Loud, drunk, obnoxious family nine times out of ten, but they were mine. You loved family even when you didn’t like them, and you protected them whenever you could.
And right then it felt like I was failing Kato on that front.
Jamie, the sexy little nurse with the hot rebellious streak, was finishing her cleanup. She looked completely drained—so exhausted that her brain was probably running on autopilot.
I felt a twinge of sympathy for her, right before I promptly squashed it. I was grateful that she’d helped Kato, and I was grateful that she was something pretty to look at. That was where my concern for her ended.
At least, that was what I was telling myself.
“What the fuck happened to him?” Alex, one of my boys, asked. “He looks like a tiger ate him up or something.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “You see a lot of fucking tigers out here, Alex? Wild ones roaming the roads, waiting for unsuspecting bikers to pick off?” My tone was harsh. Alex was only a kid, barely nineteen, but I couldn’t help it just then. Maybe it wasn’t fair to be a dick to the kid, but he needed to learn that it was rough ‘n tumble in a biker club or you didn’t fucking last. I had no interest in coddling. And I didn’t do apologies.
Still, I let go of an angry breath and said, “He’ll be fine. That’s the priority. I’ll figure out what happened when he wakes up.”
Alex looked worried. “What if he doesn’t wake up though?”
I acknowledged that very real possibility and admitted, “Then we do some digging.”
Alex hesitated, then asked, “Do you think this was just an accident?”
Shaking my head, I answered, “About as much as I think he was torn open by a tiger.”
“So what do you think happened?”
Honestly? I thought maybe it was an animal. But not the kind you found in a zoo. The Hellriders motorcycle club ran this area, but that didn’t mean we didn’t have people trying to contest that rule. The Chaos Disciples had come in recently, trying to muscle in on our territory. I tried to negotiate, but when Diego, the leader of the Chaos Disciples, had all but spit in my face, I tossed that idea aside.
I won’t let anyone disrespect me.
That meant coming at them hard. Two of their guys were dead, three in prison, and four beaten to within an inch of their lives. Needless to say, the Chaos Disciples took this as a declaration of war.
Which it was. Unfortunately, it meant that nights like tonight were likely not accidental. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all planned somehow, and that Kato wasn’t just in some unfortunate accident.
To Alex, however, I just said, “I don’t start throwing out wild ideas until I know they’re right. Sit tight for now. Let me worry about the hard stuff.”
Alex didn’t say anything else. He just nodded his head and went to check on Kato. I was about to hole up in a comfortable looking armchair not far from the mudroom when Alex called out from the door, “I thought you’d want to know that that sexy doctor lady is getting ready to leave.”
”Fuck.” I knew I couldn’t let her leave.
Sending an annoyed glance to the chair I’d been eyeing, I grumbled about people slacking and making my job harder. Alex winced and quickly ducked out the door, sensing my foul mood.
I decided the boy wasn’t a complete moron.
Stalking through the door after him, I saw him darting upstairs and turning a corner quickly. I, however, was headed directly for the front door, intending to block it with my sturdy frame to make sure the damn nurse didn’t leave. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited, watching. It didn’t take long before she came out, her long legs making even those ridiculous scrubs look kind of sexy. Her tank top was sort of uninspired and now covered with slowly drying blood, but that wasn’t so big a concern for me—or the arousal that was beginning in my pants. In fact, the dampness of her shirt made it clingy, outlining the swell of her breasts and even tugging it down a little farther so that I could get a healthy eyeful of her cleavage.
Jerking my eyes up to her face, I saw that she looked drawn and tired…and a little pissed.
Irritation flashed in her eyes, mixing with everything else, to make her look sort of like a caged zoo animal—familiar with the cage but annoyed with the tourists. “Thanks for letting me get cleaned up,” she told me stiffly, the downward tug of her mouth telling me that she didn’t want to thank me for anything.
I lifted an eyebrow in response to her, then asked, “And now?”
That tiny downturn of her lips became a full-blown frown. “Get him to the hospital. I’ve done what I can, and I think he’ll make it, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need a real doctor.” She kept walking towards the door—and by default, me—but when I didn’t step aside or anything, she made a low, frustrated sound in her chest.
It made me want to grin a little and might have made my dick a little harder. “I wasn’t talking about Kato,” I told her simply.
Her spine straightened. “Then what were you talking about?”
“You.”
Her mouth opened a little, and I thought of some of the things I could put in it. She snapped it shut a second later, then cleared her throat. “I’m going home. Obviously.”
Not if I have anything to say about it, I thought. I would try to reason with her first to get her to stay, but if that didn’t work, I had other tricks up my sleeve. And I could tell by my warming body that it wouldn’t mind my other tricks.
“It’s late,” I pointed out.
She rolled her eyes at me, which got me to narrow mine. My hands clenched against my biceps. I didn’t appreciate the gesture in the slightest, nor her response. “Yes, thank you Captain Obvious, which would be why I’m going home. Now.”
I clenched my jaw tightly, then forced myself to relax. “I’d prefer you didn’t.”
Her delicate eyebrows shot up on her face, surprise and what I recognized as defiance coating her features. “Well, it’s not up to you, is it?” She stepped closer as though to force me to step aside, but I didn’t. Instead, I tilted my head downward to look at her—she was tall, but not that tall—a small grin forming on my mouth.
“Please move.”
My grin widened. “Like I said, I’d prefer you didn’t leave.”
Straightening her shoulders and tilting her chin up to expose the long column of her neck, her eyes meeting mine, she said, “And like I said, it’s not your decision! Are you keeping me against my will?”
Technically? Yes. At least, I would be if I didn’t convince her to stay on her own. I couldn’t risk her going out and running to the cops right now. I needed a little more time to make sure there wasn’t something Kato did that was going to put all of our asses in a sling, and I needed to make sure that the Disciples weren’t going to get the drop on us. If she knew too much—or worse, was working for the enemy—I needed to know about it. And now.
Until I did, she wasn’t going anywhere, willing or not.
I forced my arms to drop to my sides, shoving my hands into my pockets in an attempt to appear more relaxed. I doubted it helped much. “Of course not. I’m just saying that the roads out there aren’t the best and it’s late. You look exhausted.”
“I am,” she bit out, interrupting me.
I narrowed my eyes at her. I did not like being interrupted. But I forced myself to let it slide. Maybe I’ll punish her a little later for that, I thought, coming up with some lewd, dirty punishments that I could use show her the error of her ways. My dick hardened further at the thought. “Then you should stay here. Rest a little, at least. I’m sure, as a doctor, that you realize the dangers of driving while sleep deprived.”
She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips together. Even thinned out like that, they looked sensual, the kind that should be parted in ecstasy and desire.
“I’m sure I’m fine to drive.” She paused and then added, “And I’m not a doctor.”
“Then what the hell was all that crap?” I asked, waving back towards the mudroom and Kato. “Did I just let some novice dig around in my friend’s insides?”
“You insisted!” she half-shouted at me, sounding incredulous.
I can’t help it; I laugh at her, which doesn’t seem to earn me any points. She tries to shove past me, her cheeks blazing with a lovely heat that I’d like to bring out in other ways. But I don’t let her get anywhere near the door. My hand jerks out and grabs her by the wrist, spinning her back around so that she’s facing me.
“Don’t.” My voice is deep and gruff and allows no room for argument.
Her eyes have gone wide, and there’s that same set of emotions—anger, irritation—but the tiredness has left in a big hurry. Added to it might have been something else, a twinge of fear, but I ignore that. She tries to shake me off, but I hold fast. There’s no getting out of my grip now.
Unfortunately, forcing her to stay isn’t the best of options. I’ll do it if I have to, but if it turns out she doesn’t know anything, she’ll definitely go to the cops for being held against her will.
Clearing my throat, I try to soften my voice and keep this in mind when I speak next. “Look, there’s plenty of space here, and there’s no damn reason to be running off into the night. Look at what happened to Kato. And he’s a safe driver.”
A lie. One hundred and ten percent a lie. The only person more reckless on a damn bike is me. But she didn’t need to know that. All she needed was a good fucking reason to stay here the night. Tomorrow, I’d worm out what I could from her, and if she knew anything, then she’d be staying whether she liked it or not.
Trying to wiggle free once more—and failing—she answered, “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m a safe driver.”
“No one’s a safe driver when they’re punch drunk from lack of sleep.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Alex. He was standing at the top of the stairs, half crouched so that he could look down and see what was going on without actually coming down the stairs. For a brief second, I considered yelling at him to get his ass down here to try and sweet talk the damn woman into staying. But I quickly dismissed it. I could handle this, especially if it ended up taking some more creative methods to convince her.
“Would you let me go please?” she asked me, sounding a touch worried. I wasn’t a small man, and she was probably starting to freak out since she couldn’t get loose.
I tilted my head to the side, pretending to consider her request. Then I jerked her forward until she slammed against my chest. Her eyes widened, and my other hand went to the small of her back, holding her to my body. She was warm and soft in all the right places, her breasts squishing against my chest as her hair slipped over her shoulders and covered her face slightly.
“I could,” I admitted to her, a slow grinning spreading across my face. “But do you really want me to?”
Her breath caught in her throat, and I knew that I was halfway to having her. If I had to fuck the woman into the morning to keep her here, then so be it. I would sacrifice. And enjoy every damn minute of it.
I let my hand slowly trail lower, moving from her back towards her ass, my fingertips grazing the swell of it. She jumped a little, a tiny gasp escaping her lips. Then she planted one delicate hand on my chest, palm flat, caught between pulling me closer and pushing me back. It was the one whose wrist I still held, but I let her move it. Then she wiggled her right one free and swung it as hard as she could at my face.
She left it open so that I got a hard smack to my left cheek, the sound loud enough that it fucking echoed.
I didn’t budge, didn’t even move, but fuck, that pissed me off. Bitch, I thought and threw that onto my list of lessons to teach her. My cheek stung a little and was probably red, but otherwise, I wasn’t too concerned about it. I just didn’t fucking appreciate it.
“Yes, I want you to let me go!” she said to me through gritted teeth, her eyes fiery as she stared me down.
And like a glutton for punishment, my cock jumped in response. Although I didn’t want to admit it, I thought it was fucking sexy that she stared me down, that she was stubborn enough to actually hit me. It wasn’t something I encountered often.
And I won’t let her do it twice.
So when she pulled her hand back again in response to me not letting her go, I allowed the hand at her ass to snap up and catch her free wrist.
Angry at being caught again, she made a frustrated sound in her throat and tried to yank her hands free. Again, she had zero success. “You asshole!” she shouted at me, and this time I heard the slight note of panic mixing in with things like annoyance and desire. “Let me go! You can’t just hold me prisoner like this!”
I realized that I was quickly reaching the point where I didn’t have any choice. I wanted to just seduce her, but she didn’t seem to just be dropping her panties like they usually did. It was doing wonders for my own need, but it didn’t really solve my problem.
Deciding quickly, I spun us around while holding fast to her wrists. Her back slammed, none too gently, against the wall next to the door. I covered her with my body, sliding my knee between her legs and slamming her hands on either side of her face. Then I leaned forward. “You can go,” I growled at her, my voice low and deep in my throat. I made a point of dragging my eyes across her body, acknowledging that she was sexy and that I wanted her. “But I’d rather you stay—stay and drag your hands over my body, just like you’ve been doing with your eyes all night.”
It was sort of a stretch. I didn’t think she’d been heavily ogling me, but chicks were subtle about stuff like that, too. They could be undressing you with their eyes, fucking you in their heads, and the only indication would be a slight, pinkish tinge to their skin.
But I could tell that my guess was right on the money because her breath caught and her eyes widened. Her lips parted slightly, like she wanted to lick them—or lick something else.
I’ve got you now, I thought.
“I have not,” she insisted, then snapped her mouth shut as though to prove that she wasn’t drooling over me.
But it was too late. I already saw the tell-tale signs. She wanted me and all the things I could do to her. “It’s okay, baby,” I told her, my tone caught between lightly teasing and full of desire. “I’m used to women throwing themselves at me. Needing me. I don’t mind satisfying that need. In fact, I’m fucking good at it. All you have to do is let me open you up a little and I’ll—”
“Get over yourself,” she finally said.
Ignoring her, I leaned forward and pressed my mouth against hers. The kiss was hard and hot, my whole body covering hers, my leg still caught between her thighs. At first, she kept her lips closed tight and fought it. Then I felt her melt. She breathed deeply through her nose, her chest rising into mine, and her lips parted. I stole the opportunity, diving my tongue into her mouth to indulge in her. She tasted like mint and coffee and a little bit like rich sweetness.
I felt the pace of her heart pick up as my own arousal increased with the feel of her body. I kept my hands clamped on her wrists, but as her positive response to me increased, they loosened slightly. When her tongue tentatively touched mine, they loosened further until I was trailing them down her forearms, until I let them drop down to her small waist.
I thought I had her. I could feel her in my arms, pliant and almost wonton with lust. It felt like a sure thing in that moment. All I had to do was drag her upstairs and strip her clothes…
Her hands settled on my broad shoulders, moving further until they were sifting through my hair. I felt her nails dig along my scalp slightly, making my growl into her mouth. Then her hand clenched tightly.
She jerked my head back, the movement so quick that I moved with it before it registered. My eyes snapped open and stared at her in surprise. She gave me a grin that wasn’t anything like the desperate desire I’d imaged her feeling. Then her knee came up.
Pain shot through my groin. “Bitch!” I spat at her, doubling over as I slid down the wall to my knees.
“Asshole!” she shot back, then stepped around me. Her hand went to the door, gripping the knob, and she’d managed to get it jerked open before I even had the chance to collect myself.
I was pissed off enough that I was seeing red, and I’d lost all care about how I stopped her so long as I did. Grunting, I tried to get up to my feet, but then there were heavy footsteps coming our way and a voice called out to her.
“Wait! Kato’s looking bad again.” It was Travis, one of my guys. Mostly, I thought he was a fucking moron, but in that moment, he could have been a goddamned professor at Stanford. “Please, you’ve got to help him.”
Jamie had paused at the door. It was open, and she was staring out towards it almost longingly, looking every bit like she wanted to get the fuck out of there and Kato be damned. But then her shoulders slumped, and she let out a sigh. Shaking her head, she closed the door, then turned to face Travis. Her eyes ghosted over me, deliberately trying to see through me.
I contained the anger bubbling up inside, but only barely. I’ll have you yet, I thought. Now it wasn’t even about making her stay or caring if she was fucking sexy or not. Now it was about pride. I’d have her, dammit, because I always got what I wanted.
No woman had turned me down yet, and I wasn’t about to let her start.