“Are you sure I’m not disturbing you guys?” Penni heard Genny’s question as she mopped the kitchen floor.

Penni grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator, avoiding going downstairs to workout, something she had promised she would do after eating the home cooking that was making her jeans skintight.

Train, Hennessy, Cruz, Jackal, and Rider were sitting at the kitchen table, playing cards while Genny had finished serving lunch and was cleaning the kitchen.

Hennessy looked much better since the day they had arrived two weeks ago. Still, it had taken Rider and Jackal to get the large man down the steps.

As she mopped, Genny brushed against Hennessy chair. He moved his chair to the side, and Genny’s arm grazed his shoulder. Penni saw her flinch away to mop farther away from him.

“If you need me to move, just say so.”

Genny stopped. “I’m finished.” She put the mop in the bucket, carrying them down the stairs.

“I guess she doesn’t like to be touched by the black man.” Hennessy’s snide comment had the men at the table stiffening.

Penni’s temper exploded, knowing Genny had heard the comment before she had closed the door. “It had nothing to do with your color; it was your size.” Penni slammed her water bottle on the table. “You’ve been in your bedroom since you got here, so let me you tell for a freaking fact that Genny, nor any of The Last Riders, give a damn what color you are. They didn’t care when they saved your life, even though you kidnapped me and kept me hostage. Genny didn’t care what color you were when she washed your dirty clothes, cooked your food all week, and even made those cinnamon rolls for your breakfast when she heard how much you liked them. I noticed last night when Knox came over to dinner that she’s skittish around him, too. You are a jerk … whatever color you are.”

Penni snapped her mouth closed, stomping out of the kitchen and going to the basement. She almost said something to Genny, but from her expression, she could tell she didn’t want to talk.

She stretched for a couple minutes then turned on the treadmill.

“Hennessy’s just irritated from being cooped up,” Jackal said as he came up behind her.

“He had no business taking it out on Genny.” Penni turned to see Genny dump a handful of clothes in the dryer.

Jackal raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not disagreeing with you; I’m explaining.”

“He’s a grown man. He doesn’t need you to apologize for him, and I’m not the one who deserves an apology.”

“It’s okay,” Genny said softly.

“No, it’s not. The next time you fix him a plate of food, bash him upside his head with it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Genny shook her head. “I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

Penni waved as Genny left. She would be on her way to work for Willa at the bakery for the rest of the day.

She liked Genny. During the past week, she had spent a portion of every morning with her. It allowed her to give Shade and Lily alone time with John. She felt like she distracted Genny from her work, so Penni would take a couple of her jobs to pass the time. Then they would often share a cup of coffee before Genny left.

Genny was a sweet woman with a good head on her shoulders. She worked two jobs: one for Willa baking, the other cooking and cleaning after The Last Riders. She had saved enough money to purchase Willa’s home. There weren’t many nineteen-year-olds who could accomplish that. Hell, Penni was twenty-four and had shit for money in her checking account. As soon as she could talk Kaden into giving her a raise, she wanted to save enough money to buy her condo.

Something definable reminded her of Lily. Penni couldn’t pinpoint what is was, but like Lily, she kept her secrets to herself.

“Want to play some cards? Hennessy and Rider went upstairs, and Train went to work at the factory.”

The Last Riders had a factory next door. When Shade had told her that he was working for them and making survivalist equipment, she had been fascinated. Over the years, she had realized how they had helped people facing natural disaster, often donating their time and equipment. The rest of the club members wouldn’t be back until their shifts ended that afternoon.

“No thanks. I don’t play cards.”

“Why not?”

“Because I win, and people—especially men—are lousy losers.”

Jackal laughed as he sat down on the home gym, pulling the bar downward.

Penni watched him out of the corner of her eye. His jeans were low enough that she could she could see his abs. He straddled the seat, lifting the weights effortlessly. Penni was tempted to adjust the weights so she could see a sheen of sweat cover his body.

Watching Jackal’s T-shirt play peek-a-boo each time he stretched his arms upward raised her lust to a fever pitch.

“Train doesn’t talk much, does he?”

His remark had Penni turning back to him. “Not a lot, no.”

“Seems to me Rider would be more your type.”

“God, no.” Penni shuddered. She wouldn’t be able to feed him. The only thing he loved more than food was women. “I’d end up having to cut off his dick if he was my boyfriend.”

“He’s not into monogamy?”

“What do you think? Rider looks at women the way he looks at a smorgasbord. He wants to try it all.”

“From what I can tell, Train eats at the same restaurant.”

“Are you trying to piss me off?” Penni sped- up the treadmill.

“No, I’m just trying to understand what you see in him.” Jackal let go of the pull down bar to take off his T-shirt.

Penni stopped the treadmill. “Why? So you can make fun of me?”

Jackal raised up from the bench, his hands going to the bars of the treadmill. His taut body had her eyes dropping to his tattoos. There was a grim reaper on his chest with a web of strands leading out of his billowing cowl. The scythe led to his shoulder then down the side of his arm. On his other arm was a skull with a red bandana covering the eyes.

“Why would I make fun of you? Because you’re wasting your time on a man who doesn’t have a problem finding a woman to warm his bed?”

“So?” Rigidly, she stared back at him.

“Believe me, Train isn’t shy. If he wanted you, he wouldn’t give a fuck who your brother was or whether they were friends or not. If you’re not in his bed, it’s because he doesn’t want you there.”

Penni used her shoulder to push him away. “When I want your advice, I’ll ask for it! You don’t know shit about Train.”

“And neither do you. That’s not a red flag to you? That if he wanted you, he would have made a move a long time ago?”

“Quit saying that!” Penni lunged at Jackal, pushing him backward, his words lacerating her pride.

He took a step to get his balance, and she vindictively pushed him again, smiling when he toppled onto the couch next to the treadmill.

Penni spun and turned to go upstairs.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” Penni found herself pulled backward onto Jackal’s lap. “You don’t get to be mad at me when I’m telling you the fucking truth.”

“I can be mad if I want to. Train and I are none of your business!”

“What business?”

Jackal’s sarcastic laugh had Penni’s temper rising to a boiling point. She had never lost control of her rage to the degree where all she wanted to do was strike out at him.

Instead of trying to break his hold, she leaned back against his chest, turning her head so she could bite his shoulder.

Sickened by what she had just done, she tried to jump up, but Jackal used her movement to bend her over his knee.

“You did that, knowing I wouldn’t bite you back.”

“I’m sorry.” Penni’s temper’s cooled, ashamed of herself.

“The next time you bite me, bitch, I’m going to give you a bite you’ll never forget.”

“Don’t call me a bitch!” Her demand ended with a yowl of pain as Jackal’s hand came down on her bottom. She was wearing a pair of workout shorts and a thin T-shirt, but he didn’t care that the material was thin and flimsy or that she could feel the scalding heat of his palm on her butt.

“Calling you a bitch doesn’t give it justice. That was for flicking me off.”

Penni had known that incident when they had first seen each other had irritated him.

Another smack landed on her bottom. “That was for you telling Ice to tell me to go fuck myself.”

She had known that one had stung.

Penni quickly smothered her chuckle when Jackal’s hand returned to continue her punishment. He recounted her other offenses, which she lost count of due to the pain that was radiating from her sore butt.

“That was for leaving Casey’s lingerie party before I could show up.”

“What? Have you lost your mind?” How was she supposed to know he had wanted to give her a ride home? Thank God she had left before he had arrived. She had been drunk off her ass and had eaten too many of her own brownies. To say that he would have been laid that night would have been an understatement.

Penni’s thoughts came back to the present with another whack of his hand.

“Then you stood me up and almost killed me with those bees and the dogs …”

The son of a bitch had already spanked her for that one. Clearly, he hadn’t gotten over it.

“Okay, okay. I’m a terrible person.” She tensed her buttocks, waiting for his spanking to continue. When it didn’t, she looked over her shoulder to see Jackal staring down at his hand on her bottom. He was now massaging her buttocks.

“Does it hurt?”

“If I don’t answer, are you going to start spanking me again?”

“No.”

“No, it doesn’t hurt.” Penni slipped out of his grasp, sliding to the floor between his thighs. “My butt has hardened to spankings.”

“Who in the hell spanked you?”

Unconsciously, she placed her hands on his thighs. “My mama. I stayed in trouble when I was a little girl. She told me it’s a miracle she had any hair left. I got out of the house five times before I was four. The last time, I was at a dangerous intersection when she found me. I would climb anything I could. One time, I went so high up a tree she had to call the fire department. I set the house on fire when I was three.”

“She should have watched you better.”

Penni shook her head. “I was terrible. I admit it. I was a little hyper. That was probably why Shade brought his friends over whenever he came to visit. They could help keep an eye on me. My mother would spend most of the time trying to catch up on her sleep.”

“Your father didn’t help watch you?”

“Oh, yes, but when I tried to show him I was old enough to dry my own hair, Mama didn’t trust him anymore.”

“What was wrong with that?”

“I was standing in the bathtub and had grabbed the blow-dryer when he had reached for a towel. I nearly electrocuted my dad and myself, but he managed to jerk it out from the plug.”

Jackal leaned back on the couch, laughing.

Desire flooded through her body, and Penni clenched her thighs together as she knelt on the floor.

Penni giggled, and Jackal leaned forward, covering her mouth with his. Her mind was screaming at her to jerk away, run up the steps, but the urge to respond defeated her common sense.

Pressing into him, she felt her breasts tauten under her thin T-shirt.

Reality became just the two of them as Penni felt the passion she had hoped to find in the men she had dated in the past. They had all been different walks of life, but Jackal walked his own road. He didn’t cater to her, yet he had made no effort to hide he was attracted to her. Every time he was near, his eyes would appraise her from head to toe, showing he liked what he saw.

She liked what she saw, too. His body would make any woman drool. If he hadn’t been such an asshole, she would have found it difficult not to take him on a twirl and find out where their chemistry led. The only thing that had stopped her was, again, he was an asshole, and the gleam in his eyes had warned her he might be too much to handle.

Her parents had told her that she had never felt fear the way other children did, and it was the truth. She still had that. But where Jackal was concerned, her self-preservation had kicked in.

He circled his hand behind her neck, pulling her more securely against him as he leaned back against the couch until she was across him. Penni circled his shoulders, moaning as he fucked her mouth with his tongue. Her pussy ground down on his dick as she felt it harden beneath her.

Jackal raised his hips up, bringing his hands to her hips and pushing her down on him harder. Then, straightening, Jackal moved his mouth down her skin as he tugged her shirt down. The delicate bra she had on was brushed away, leaving her nipple exposed.

“Fuck me.”

Penni couldn’t tell if it was an expression or a demand. It took her everything not to echo his feelings.

Jackal licked the tip of her breast until she clenched the hair that brushed against her breast. When he touched her, it made her feel invincible, drowning out all the warnings she had never had trouble following before.

“Don’t tease me.” His tormenting lips were torturing her nipple, grazing the tip without taking it in his mouth.

“I’m trying to make it good for you.”

Penni could feel his back shake. He was laughing at her when she was on fire? When she was done with him, laughing would be the last thing on his mind.

She had parts of his body she wanted to explore. The fleeting glimpses had spurred her on.

Penni went to his chest, sucking his nipple into her mouth.

“What did I tell you about biting me?” Jackal’s husky growl had her licking the hard nub before moving down to his waist. His abs had been driving Penni to investigate his ridges and dents until she was forced to stop by the top his jeans. “Don’t stop.”

“I wasn’t going to.” Penni lifted up only long enough to unsnap his jeans.

Jackal rubbed his thumb over her nipple as she peeled down his jeans and tugged down his underwear. She was gifted with sight of his cock.

Another woman would have hesitated at the amount of piercings on his cock, but Penni had never been afraid of the unknown.

Her lips brushed the head of his cock, feeling the metal hit her teeth.

“If you bite me—”

“A man with that many piercings isn’t afraid of a little pain.”

After licking the length of his shaft back to the head, she sucked harder on him, determined to savor every minute she had him under her control. Penni wanted to taste him again and again. Each taste brought him deeper into her mouth.

Jackal gripped the arm of the couch as she covered his cock with her mouth again. Each time she lowered and raised her mouth, she tried to take him deeper, using the same rhythm he had used to tongue-fuck her. Penni had always learned by imitation, and her memory didn’t fail her now.

She spread Jackal’s jeans wider so she could reach the shaft of his cock, massaging his tightening balls.

“Move … I’m going to come.”

Penni tightened her lips around the head as he came, his body tautening as he bucked, driving him farther into her mouth.

She lifted her mouth off him when he stopped moving, and then Penni found herself sitting on his lap with Jackal trying to tug her shorts down.

She jumped to her feet, pulling her T-shirt down.

“Get back here.”

Penni shook her head, trying to calm her speeding heart. “I need to go. Lily has company coming in.”

Practically running to the stairs, she almost tripped over the first step.

“Sit your ass down on my dick. The only company you’re going to see is when I shove my dick up your pussy.”

Penni wanted to snap at him but couldn’t. Shade was standing at the top of the steps, about to come down.

“Sex Piston and her crew showed up early. Lily wanted me to tell you when you didn’t answer your text.”

Penni couldn’t remember where she had left her cell phone.

“Thanks.” She bounded up the steps two at a time as Shade moved away from the door.

Avoiding his eyes, she walked by him, pacing her steps, not wanting Shade to think she was running away.

“Coming?” she asked him.

“No, I usually hide out when they show up.”

Penni hesitated, worried that Shade and Jackal would have a confrontation. Jackal wouldn’t back down from a confrontation with her brother in the angry mood he was in.

“Go on. Lily’s waiting.”

Penni escaped. Jackal was on his own. She had her own problems, trying to push away the image of when he had climaxed.

She had never intended to go so far with Jackal, yet one touch of his slick flesh had her wanting more. It had become a compulsion, driving her to do something she had never performed on another man.

She wasn’t escaping because she had been embarrassed. Shade had been at the door and hadn’t seen anything. She had felt uncomfortable facing Jackal after the sexually-charged atmosphere had heightened, reaching a point that, if she had stayed there much longer, there was no doubt she wouldn’t have left the basement a virgin.

Train might not be attracted to her, but Jackal was.

Penni consoled herself. It wasn’t like she had any feelings for the man other than his body that she couldn’t keep from watching or the way he kissed that was like a shot to her needy libido. She was a red-blooded woman and had only hormones to blame.

“Damn.” The way he had looked when he had climaxed had aroused her never before she felt kitten instincts that had made her want to purr. The idea of Jackal being a scratching post had her gigging. A girl knew she was in trouble when she began seeing a man as catnip.