Zoe glanced up as Wolf set a beer in front of her. He sat on the sofa, his arms stretched along its back, long legs spread wide. He regarded her.
“So,” he said, gesturing at the stacks of paperwork strewn across the table. “We celebratin’ or what?”
She leaned back, took a tiny sip of beer. “Yeah, we are.”
A grin split his gorgeous face right in half. “For real?”
“Uh-huh.” The smile that she gave him just knocked the breath out of him with its shining sweetness. Yeah, that was the Zoe that he knew and loved. “I’ll do it, Wolf. I’ll take over the studio for you. I’ll start on Monday. Just part-time, OK, until I sort some things out with Keira in terms of babysitting.”
He whooped, and jumped up. He pulled her into a hug, lifted her right off her feet.
She laughed, clung to his broad shoulders. “Jesus, Wolf! Put me down!”
In response, he spun in a circle, and she laughed again. It had been a long time since she’d seen him so lighthearted, and she flashed back to when they were kids, living in the same rough Denver neighborhood, playing hide-and-seek under Wolf’s front porch.
“OK, OK.” Carefully, he set her back on her feet, still beaming. “Fuckin’ awesome, Zee. I’m so happy you’re gonna do this.”
“Yeah, me too.” She straightened her clothes. “I’ve already called Willa, and she’ll bring Keira here the day after tomorrow.”
“I’ll pay for their plane tickets, and all your moving expenses.”
“Oh, no,” Zoe protested. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, baby girl. I want to.” His gray eyes were warm. “Call it a signin’ bonus, OK?”
She hesitated. “You – you sure?”
“Totally.” He scowled at her. “I’m still pissed at you that you wouldn’t let me fly you out here to see me today. You should have let me pay for your plane ticket, it would have saved you megatons of hassle and time.”
“I don’t do planes, Wolf. You know that.”
“Yeah, yeah. But your kid sure will… I’m gonna see to that.”
“Better for a baby, for sure. Thanks, Wolf.”
“It’s all good.” He drank some beer, relaxed now. “So. We’re havin’ a big club party tomorrow night at Satan’s. You want to come? Meet some of the guys? Most of them joined after you left town, you know.”
A small, tense silence fell between them now, and it was full of things best left unsaid. What Wolf hadn’t mentioned – and Zoe wasn’t even close to insane enough to bring up – was that about five years back, pretty much the entire Road Devils crew had been wiped out in a huge raid on their clubhouse by The Fallen Angels MC.
Those had been dark days in the club’s history. She’d been long gone by then, of course, but she’d lived every second of the crisis by phone long-distance, and in absolute terror that Wolf was going to end up dead – that the life was going to get him at last and after all.
Whatever the hell it said about her, Zoe hadn’t been sorry to hear that The Road Devils club membership had been razed to the ground in a hail of bullets. No, if she were telling the truth, then she’d have to say that she’d been savagely glad that those sons-of-bitches had died. She knew that Wolf had been torn up about it, and she felt bad about that… but she hadn’t wished those guys alive. Not even to spare Wolf pain.
She hadn’t wished it even once.
Rebuilding the club had taken time and dedication, and Kirk Jensen’s contracts and contacts, and the money that had come with all of that kind work, had helped to attract some pretty hardcore and hungry guys. Guys who were now Wolf’s brothers, guys who had rejected Dawson’s offer and who had opted to stay under Wolf’s kinder, gentler, more-legal Presidency.
Guys that she’d have to suss out, and figure out how to work with and deal with.
She knew it had to be done, of course, but she ached to put it all off. Just a bit longer.
“Uh.” She scrambled now to think of a way out of attending a drunken, rowdy biker gathering. “Well, I think I’d better find someplace to live before I think about partying with The Road Devils.”
“No problem,” Wolf said. “I got a place for you.”
“You do?”
“Sure I do. One of the guys owns two houses, and he rents one out. It’s standin’ empty now.”
Zoe paused, unsure about renting from a Road Devils member. She pictured mirrors above the bed, yellow walls that reeked of cigarette smoke, a mattress on the floor. On top of that, it was a definite step in the wrong direction if she wanted to limit her contact with the MC. Then again, maybe the guy would cut her a break on the rent and God knows, she needed any financial help she could get at this point.
“Is it a nice house?” she said cautiously.
Wolf grinned. “You expectin’ a fuck pad?”
“Yep. Totally.”
“Well, sorry to disappoint you, but Silver’s place is awesome. Nicer than my place, actually.”
“Tell.”
“Two bedrooms, an open-plan living room and kitchen,” he rattled off, sounding like a property agent on commission. “Furnished, decorated, cuttin’-edge security system. Safe neighborhood, decent-sized yard with a big old apple tree.”
“It sounds… OK.”
“It is.” He shrugged. “Give that pretty head a shake, Zee… you think I’d send you to some fuckin’ hovel in the ghetto?”
“Of course not.”
“So I’ll tell Silver to meet you there this afternoon, if you want.”
“Yeah, thanks.” She figured it couldn’t hurt to look at the place, and if this guy Silver had a creeper vibe, she’d just politely decline to rent from him. “That’d be great.”
“And?” Wolf pushed. “The party tomorrow?”
“Um.”
“Come on, Zee.” He was gentle now. “These guys are my guys… my brothers. Nobody’s gonna hurt you.”
“The other guys were your brothers too,” she said, before she could stop herself. “He was.”
His eyes flared. “No, they weren’t, and he sure as shit wasn’t. We may have all been Road Devils, but no way I’d ever call a woman-beater or rapist my brother. You know that, baby girl.”
She looked away, focused on the Rocky Mountains in the distance. God, she’d missed them, she realized now. She loved those mountains with every piece of her being; the soaring peaks and craggy faces were the landscapes of her childhood. It was high time to reclaim them, she knew.
“Zee?” He leaned forward. “Hey, look at me.”
She forced herself to meet those hard eyes.
“Never again does anyone touch you like that.” He spoke quietly, forcefully. “I just won’t allow it. No woman gets hit or hurt on my watch – it just ain’t gonna happen. Anythin’ that goes on with us and the ladies in the club and bar back rooms ain’t nobody’s business, if she wants to be there. But the second a woman is in over her head in my club or bar, someone steps in to help. Me, or Scars, or one of the other guys. That’s the deal now, Zee, and it ain’t up for debate. All those assholes who hurt you are either long-dead or gone with Dawson, and ain’t welcome back.”
“Yeah?”
“Hell, yeah. I don’t want that in my club.”
“I don’t want to hang out with your boys, Wolf.” She decided to just tackle this one head-on. “I know I’ll be in their sights while I’m at work, but I don’t want anything more, OK? I don’t want to drink with them every weekend, and I don’t want to be expected to show up for club get-togethers. I don’t want to be branded club property, and I don’t want them to think they can just hit on me whenever they feel like it. I’m not an old lady, and I’m not a pass-around … and I don’t want to be either one of those things. I got shit to do.”
“I get all that, but you’re my family, Zee,” he said quietly. “And so are the guys. I’d like all my family to be together in one place sometimes.”
“Let me think about it,” she said. “See how it goes.”
He nodded. “Take your time. I know you got some demons to wrestle to the ground.”
She cleared her throat. “Does Scars know you’ve hired me?” she said, trying to turn the subject away from that horrible night.
“Nope. He’s out of town on business. I’ll introduce you two tomorrow night. At the party.”
“Wolf…”
“At. The. Party.” He was firm on this point, she saw. “You need to meet my VP, seein’ as he’s the guy you’ll be reportin’ to when I’m away.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“So give us an hour, baby girl. Have one beer, say hi, flash those sexy green eyes around and charm the boys.”
She sighed. “OK. I’ll come and meet Scars and the guys, but I have to get some things organized before I do that.”
“Fine.” Wolf got to his feet, and stretched. “Now, I gotta get going.”
“Hot date?” she asked, amused.
“Yep.” He shot her a lazy grin. “She’s waitin’ over at Satan’s.”
Zoe shook her head. Some things hadn’t changed, she saw. Wolf was still a die-hard womanizer, and she suspected that the ladies didn’t mind it at all. She thought that she had to be the only female to have wandered across Wolf’s path who hadn’t fallen under the spell of his gorgeous face and body, and leapt into bed with him.
Yeah, OK. The man was smoking-hot-and-dirty sex on legs, and she was sure it would be mind-blowing with Wolf… but she liked him far too much as a friend to fuck him. No way she was risking their relationship for some orgasms. Even mind-altering ones.
Come to think of it, though… when was the last time that she’d had any mind-altering orgasms? Or even just so-so orgasms? Besides with her vibrator, she meant.
A while, she realized. More than a while, really… well over a year. No shock, considering the arrival of Keira in her life, but still. Now that things looked to be calming down a bit, maybe she could start taking care of her personal life a bit? Maybe even find a guy who wouldn’t mind about her having a small baby.
Of course, she was now working for an MC which – by its very definition – was comprised of nothing but commitment-phobes specializing in one-nighters. But other guys came to Satan’s Bar, she was sure. Normal guys. Decent guys. Guys who’d never shot anyone, or beaten the crap out of anyone. Guys who worked in offices, guys who didn’t wear cuts, guys who didn’t have criminal records. Guys who’d be sweet and faithful and steady. Guys who were the type that she craved, maybe even the type that she deserved at long last.
Who she wouldn’t get involved with, though? The Road Devils. Yeah, sure, she could easily pick up one of Wolf’s guys tomorrow night and have a good time. It’s not like he’d expect a goddamn relationship afterwards; these guys just didn’t give a crap about any of that.
They’d fuck madly, she’d possibly even get a few decent orgasms out of it, she’d get to work. He’d have no issue with her being at Blue Dragon, she was sure. After all, those boys definitely fucked the bar girls, and pass-arounds, and hangers-on, and saw them around after, no problems and no expectations.
The thing was, she wanted the relationship, and the follow-up, and the expectations. She wanted to be with someone, for real.
But – and this was a big ‘but’ – she’d learned her lesson about trying to get involved and be serious with one of The Road Devils kind of guys: she’d learned it the hard way. It just wasn’t in the sexist nature of an MC member to do more than screw random women, as many as humanly possible, all casual and no-strings. It was in their sexist nature to lie to women, to cheat on women, to manipulate women. To put their brothers over all women, even a woman they claimed to love.
Bros before hos. Always and forever.
After what had happened to her in that back room six years earlier, Zoe now believed that the whole MC lifestyle attracted a certain kind of guy. Guys lacking the commitment gene embraced the MC world; guys who couldn’t be faithful to one woman.
Guys who couldn’t love a woman, not any woman. Not deeply and truly, and certainly not forever.
Guys like Wolf who – despite being a great man, and someone she could count on without question as a friend – was a bastard about women. He was awesome to her… and maybe that was all because Zoe had always kept her legs closed around him.
Would we even be friends still if I’d slept with him? I bet we wouldn’t.
No, by the very nature of the MC lifestyle, commitment and labels and chains were all off-limits. No stress, no pressure, no expectations. And at this stage in her life, Zoe wanted those things.
Maybe those things couldn’t be found in a biker bar, but why not at least give it a shot? Just go and test the waters tomorrow night, take a look around. Enjoy the music, maybe even get drunk, flirt with a harmless guy or two. And if by some goddamn miracle, someone totally boring and utterly desirable – like a lawyer or accountant or hell, even a Home Depot manager – walked on into Satan’s? Well… maybe she’d give him her number.
So, yeah. One buzzy, fun night before buckling down at work and at home. It wasn’t going to be easy to manage an MC tattoo parlor, she knew, and she’d have to be strong and focused when the shit inevitably started to hit the fan as she made changes. But right now? She was free from all the obligations of work and child care. Right now, she could let herself be distracted and relaxed.
Why not? Just this once.
“OK, Wolf,” she said, her mind made up. “I’ll come tomorrow night.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” She winked at him. “What the hell, right? I’ll even put on a short skirt.”
“Holy fuck,” he breathed. “The boys won’t know what hit ‘em.”
“That’s the idea,” she said. “You said to charm them, right?”
“Charm them, baby girl. Not make them horny and give them all heart attacks.”
“Isn’t that the same thing for men?”
“Yeah, maybe.” He gave her a hug. “So, tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.”
**
Silver Bennett stood with his arms crossed and watched Zee poke around his house. Wolf had made it clear that she was off-limits and that was nothing but a damn shame, seeing as the woman was something else. Long blonde hair, eyes like brilliant emeralds, tall for a woman and curvy in all the right places, gorgeous fucking ink on her lower back exposed by that midriff-baring tank top. Made him want to explore, and see if she had any more ink anywhere else.
Zee’s face wasn’t classically beautiful, he had to admit, but there was something about her that made it hard to stop watching her. She had some kind of inner light, a strength and confidence to her movements that caught his attention and then held it. She used her hands when she talked, which he liked, and she seemed totally unaware of her own good looks, which he loved. On the whole, Zee Parish was a babe, and Silver just knew that if Wolf hadn’t warned every single one of the boys off her, they’d be lining up to get into those tight little jeans.
She turned now, and he lifted his eyes from her softly-rounded ass.
“So?” he asked. “What do you think, sweetheart?”
She ignored the endearment, didn’t even bristle at it too much. Pet names for women were all part of the MC culture, and she reminded herself to not take the nonchalant sexism personally. After all, she’d voluntarily walked back into this world. She’d play by their rules – within reason.
“It’s great,” she said. “How much is the rent?”
“Two hundred a month, including phone and WiFi.” Silver’s eyes were a pure, shimmery silver and she stared into them, fascinated. “But you pay your own utilities.”
“What?” she said, startled. “Why so low?”
He shrugged, his broad shoulders sexy and strong. “Because you’re family.”
“I – I am?”
“Yeah. ‘Course you are. Wolf said you’re his sister, so that makes you one of us. We take care of our own, Zee.”
“You sure?” she said hesitantly, not liking that she’d been so casually adopted by this total stranger. “I don’t want to cost you money.”
“You won’t. This place is paid off in full, so anything you hand me is pure profit.”
“Ah. OK.” She looked around again, loving the open space and the light, imagining Keira crawling across the backyard in her yellow onesie. “Well, then… I’d love to take it.”
“Awesome.”
“You want me to sign a lease?”
He waved his hand at her. “You kidding me? Your word’s good enough. I just need the rent on time every month, OK, on the first.”
“No problem.” She reached into her purse, took out her wallet. “You need something now?”
“Nah. It’s the last week of April, so I’ll cover things ‘til the first of May.”
“What? Why?”
“Call it a housewarming gift.”
She stared at Silver, confused and off-balance at the unexpected kindness from a guy like this. Right away she wondered what strings were attached, just what he wanted from her in return.
“Are you sure?” she said, still hesitant.
“Stop asking me that, sweetheart. If I say it, I’m sure.”
“Oh.” Stumped, she stared at him some more, noted that he was the first and only man that she’d seen pull off the lumberjack beard look. That wild tangle of dark-blond facial hair looked awesome with those smoky, silvery eyes. “Well. Thanks, Silver.”
“Sure.”
She gave him a smile now, and he watched her face change when she did so. Zoe was one of those women who could bring a man to his fucking knees with a smile. That was rare, in Silver’s experience, and he liked her all the more for it. Yeah, she was going to be great to have around the tattoo parlor and the bar. He was sure this woman was worth getting to know, even if he couldn’t fuck her.
“OK.” With an effort, he refocused. “So, here’s the key for the front and back doors, here’s the security codes for the alarm. Everything’s turned on, including the security cams, so you can just move in right now, if you want.”
“I don’t have much,” Zoe said. “My friend said she’ll bring quite a few of my clothes and stuff day after tomorrow, and Wolf said that this place is pretty much ready to live in.”
“Yeah. You’ve got dishes, cutlery, cleaning stuff. Coffee machine, iron, hair dryer, tool box, laundry room. The only things you need to go and get are fresh towels, and bed sheets, and some food.”
“No problem.”
“Anything else you need, just ask.”
“I will.”
“So, I’m off.” He turned, and she took a second to enjoy the view. With those strange eyes and blond hair, Silver practically glowed with an unreal light. Add in the fact that he was built… like, seriously built, and you were on to a winner. According to Wolf, the man was a black-belt in karate and practiced religiously. That certainly explained the body and the calm strength, and she admired how his muscles shifted and moved under his clothes.
“Yeah,” she said. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“You’re coming to the party?”
“I am. Wolf talked me into it.”
“Excellent… you’ll let me buy you a shot?”
“A shot, huh?” Despite her intentions to stay distant and aloof, she found herself teasing him suddenly, her naturally bright personality bubbling on up to the surface. “You got a specific one in mind?”
“An Orgasm?” he quipped. “Sex On The Beach?”
“Not a Blow Job?”
“Aw, doll. Your pleasure first.”
She laughed, liking him just fine now, not feeling any menacing vibes from this one. “Yeah, we’ll see.”
“Take it easy, Zee.” He set the keys down on the kitchen counter. “You need me, you call.”
“Thanks. I will.”
She shut the door behind him and looked around, still slightly disbelieving that it was all happening so fast. She’d been in Denver for less than seven hours, and she had a job that paid well, she had an amazing house for her and Keira to live in, and she had her oldest childhood friend and brother back.
Life was weird, no doubt about that, but it was also pretty damn good.
**
Wolf cursed and slammed his cell on the coffee table. The redhead on his lap jumped.
“Something wrong?” she asked tentatively.
“Yeah.” With no effort at all, he lifted her off his dick, set her down on the sofa next to him. “Play time’s over, baby. I gotta go.”
Right away, Alyssa pouted. “But we just got started.”
“Yeah, I know.” He was already on his feet, taking off the condom, zipping up his jeans. “But it’s work.”
“You’ll be back soon?”
“No. I’m leavin’ town. Take care now.”
Without another word, Wolf spun and left the room. He had the courtesy to shut the door so she could struggle back in to her minute panties and tiny skirt with some privacy, but his mind was already up in Fort Collins, at the Warriors MC clubhouse. He needed to have a face-to-face with their Prez and now… no waiting on this one.
He cursed again, pulled out his cell, pushed the button for Scars’ phone. He waited impatiently, and the second he heard his VP’s voice, he launched right in.
“Yeah, man. I just talked to Mace up in Fort Collins. We got a problem.”
Scars put down his burger. “I’m listening.”
“Dawson and his boys were up there last night, tryin’ to pull the Warriors into some of their shady deals for Jensen.”
“What the fuck?” Scars said. “Mace’s guys don’t do anything dirty. They never have. Dawson knows that.”
“I know. But Mace said there was pressure.”
“What kind?”
“Not so subtle. Dawson said that Jensen would, quote, ’very much appreciate the Warriors’ cooperation’, and their decision to not cooperate would be ‘very disappointing’. End quote.”
“Damn.”
“Uh-huh.”
“They worried?”
“Hell, yeah, they’re worried. I gotta go up there now and talk to them. They want to know just who the hell Dawson and his guys are, and nobody knows better than us.”
“Yeah, of course. You want me to come with you?”
“Naw, I got this. You finish up with the suppliers, and come on back to Denver.”
“Sure.” Scars closed his eyes, pissed off all over again at Dawson. “Anything else?”
“Yeah. I hired Zee.”
“You what?” Scars sat up straight in the restaurant booth.
“Yeah. She starts part-time on Monday.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Nope. You’ll meet her tomorrow night, at the party. Keep an eye on her for me, huh?”
“You won’t be back by then?”
“I don’t think so, or if I am, it’ll be late. I’ll drop by the clubhouse if things are still goin’ on, though, fill you in right away in person.”
“OK.”
“Thanks, man. And really… watch Zee, alright?”
Something in his President’s tone caught Scars’ attention. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“No.” Wolf kicked the bar door open, headed over to his motorcycle. “She just doesn’t know anyone except me, and she may feel a bit overwhelmed. Make sure she’s OK at the bar, and make sure she gets home safe.”
“I will.”
“Thanks, man.” Wolf straddled his motorcycle and sighed. “I gotta go home and pack a bag, and then I’m out of here.”
“Call if you need backup. I can be there in two hours.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow night, I hope.”