We got to Cal’s room, he threw the bolt, and then he wrapped his arms around me tight. It was the be all and end all of bear-hugs. I thought he was going to crack one of my ribs, when just as suddenly, he let me go. He held me at arm’s length and scanned me from head to toe. I could see relief wash over his face, but it was quickly replaced by aggravation.
“Please don’t start,” I said. I’d heard it from Volt and then Vamp. I really didn’t want to get a third degree or whatever from Cal. Someone trying to yank me off the street is pretty damn bad, but hearing about it over and over again was making me feel like a real idiot.
Cal gave me an incredulous look. “Don’t start? Fuck, Mallory. You could be tied up somewhere right fuckin’ now and we’d know fuck all about it. What the hell. Volt tells me there were two ’Necks who followed you to Mandarin. You gotta be more aware. You should have told Volt, and you fuckin’ damn sure should’ve told me. This is bullshit. What do the Leathernecks want with you?”
My eyes got huge. “Hell if I know. Seems like after I met you, they’ve been showing up fairly regular. You sure this doesn’t have something to do with you?”
“They got a beef with me, they take it up with me. That’s how our world works. There’s something else at work here, Mal. When’s the first time you ever saw the Leathernecks?”
I shook my head, but tried to think about it. Then I said, “The morning at Grumpy’s when I gave Gwen the money.”
Cal sat down and started taking off his boots. He let out a breath. “Gwen say anything about the Leathernecks?”
My eyebrows drew together. “No. If anything, she was really worried about whether I knew any members of any motorcycle group.”
Cal rubbed a hand through his hair. “I’m thinkin’ I know the answer to this question, but I’m gonna ask it anyway. Did you ask your mother-in-law to see her credit card statements?”
I gave a derisive laugh. “Actually, I asked her for that just this afternoon when she called asking for more money.”
Cal stood up. An angry vibe was rolling off of him and he asked tersely, “She asked for more money?”
I took a deep breath. “She apparently took some of it to the poker room to try to turn it into more.”
Cal’s head tipped up marginally. “Now, we’re gettin’ somewhere.”
“We are?”
It was Cal’s turn for a derisive laugh. “Mallory, my gut told me that break-in had nothin’ to do with teenagers and gang initiations. Seriously, if it were teenagers, why wouldn’t they have trashed your guest room and your kid’s room? I was a teenage boy once, and I got up to my fair share of bullshit. If I had broken into your house, I would have left nothing untouched. Hell, an angry teenager’s gonna take at least something from your house or they’d piss on it or slash something in it. You had none of that. Your place was ransacked like someone was lookin’ for somethin’ in particular. The cop asked you who knew about your special stash of cash, and the only person who did was your mother-in-law, who just happens to have money problems. Only she didn’t know her own son had changed his hidey-hole.”
I tilted my head and said, “That sounds a little too pat. I mean come on. She was after my ass about the total dollar amount of the settlement, and a piddly three hundred dollars in cash ain’t gonna do shit for thousands of dollars worth of credit card debt.”
Cal sat down while lifting one shoulder and lowered it in a half-shrug. “You’re right, but if she’s been hitting the poker room, then she might have thought she could turn three Benjamins into six or maybe even a grand. Of course, you’re assuming that she actually has credit card debt. What’d she say about showing you the statements?”
I sighed. “She gave me some bullshit about how Greg would never have treated her that way and wouldn’t have asked for the statements, but by the end of our conversation she had agreed to show them to me, in order to possibly get more from me.”
I watched as Cal sat on his bed and closed his eyes while taking a very deep breath. His broad chest was pretty enticing right then and there, if only he weren’t ready to wring my neck. He opened his eyes, and then said, “You ain’t givin’ her anymore.”
“Um,” I started, but Cal stood up and stalked to me.
“No. Not up for discussion. I told you Thursday, you made a fuckin’ mistake givin’ her money. Now, I’m certain about that. You got Razor’s number in your phone?”
Talk about subject changes, good grief.
I gave Cal a look. “Um. No. I don’t. Men who put their numbers on napkins don’t make it into my cell phone.” No matter how cute they might be or how yummy they smell, but I would never tell Cal something like that.
Cal’s lips tipped up a touch. “Good to know. Maybe Razor’s losing his edge. Gimme your phone. I want you to call him from your cell, and you’re gonna ask him why Bush tried to snatch you. You are sure that it was Bush, right?”
I handed Cal my phone, and then said “He gave me the same disgusting look he gave me at pool hall. I couldn’t forget it, and I have tried. Why should I call Razor? He’s one of them. What makes you think he’s gonna give me the truth?”
Cal almost smirked at me. “I don’t know that he will, but I also don’t know that he won’t. As I recall, he said he wanted to keep any unpleasantness from you. You need to call him on that. In a kind of flirty way, but don’t go overboard. I can’t handle that shit, and I’m gonna be right here when you call.”
I rolled my eyes at Cal. He cast a stern look at me. “Do that again, and you’ll pay.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Give me the phone. Let’s get this done.”
I sat on the bed with the phone to my ear. Razor’s phone rang three times before he answered with a gruff, “Talk to me.”
I was thrown by the lack of phone manners, but managed to croak out, “Razor? It’s Mallory.”
There was a lengthy pause. “Mallory? The good girl who lost the napkin with my digits, Mallory?”
“Yeah. That Mallory.”
“What can I do you for, Mallory?”
I looked at Cal who was leaning against the wall directly in front of me, and said, “You told me to call about any unpleasantness.”
“I did. Something unpleasant going on for you, Fireball? I can’t imagine with your attitude that you couldn’t handle it.”
I gave a silent snort. “Hard to handle it when one of your brothers tries to pull me into a panel van against my will.”
The next pause from Razor was lengthier. I heard noises build and then fall away, and then I heard what sounded like a door closing. “One of my brothers? What are you talking about?”
I took a deep breath. “Well, Bush and someone else rolled up on San Jose Boulevard and Bush grabbed me by the hair to try and get me into the van with him and whoever was driving.”
“Mm-hmm. So, what’s in this for me if I bust up Bush’s face for you? Last time I saw you, Callous said you were his. Seems like he ought to be taking care of this on your behalf.”
I thought the cops should be taking care of it, but on the way back to her place, Jackie made it clear that wasn’t the way things worked in the MC culture. At any rate, I didn’t have a very decent response for him but said lamely, “I thought you were a good guy who wanted to keep any unpleasantness from me. I just can’t imagine why Bush would be trying to abduct me tonight.”
Razor let out a breath and chuckled. “Wouldn’t call me a good guy, Fireball. I can’t imagine why Bush would be trying to take you either, but I’m not a club officer, so I don’t hear every brother’s order on club business. I’ll check around. In return, though…”
I gave the carpet a disbelieving glare and said, “I have to do something in return? You’ve got to be kidding!”
Razor chuckled. “A pretty lady like you, and Cal beat me to you. I gotta take any advantage I can to get in there. Make you see the error of your ways.”
‘The error of my ways’, what was with these guys? Hermithood was looking attractive again. Maybe I’d move to San Diego or somewhere on the other side of the country.
When I didn’t respond, Razor asked, “You calling from your own phone?”
“Yes.”
“All right. I’ll go dig around. I’ll go easy on you this time. In return for me digging around, you come have a drink with me. I pick you up, you come with. No Cal, no arguments. Otherwise, no deal.”
I didn’t want to give away that Cal was in the room so I repeated most of what he said. “You’ll dig as long as I have a drink with you. One drink, though.”
I was watching Cal, and when I mentioned the drink his jaw clenched. Over the phone, I heard Razor chuckle. I didn’t know if he had figured out that someone else was in the room with me, or if he found the trepidation in my voice amusing. He said, “That’s right, Fireball. I’m looking forward to it.”
Then he disconnected.
I tucked the phone back into my purse, which was on the floor, and waited for the other shoe to drop from Cal. I was straightening up from my purse, and Cal was in my space, pushing me back onto his bed. Well, this was not the other shoe I expected to drop. He was kissing my neck and moving his hands up inside my turtleneck. He was taking things slow, and I had a bad feeling about that.
Cal placed a kiss on my jaw and asked, “You got any vacation time you can take soon, sweet cheeks?”
“Uh, well. I wasn’t planning on it. I just took a day off last week.”
Cal planted his hands on the bed on either side of me and pushed up so he was looking down at me. “You take next week off. The thirteenth through the seventeenth. I’m takin’ you to Bike Week in Daytona.”
I closed my eyes, trying to keep my cool. I thought I had done a pretty good job of it when I calmly said, “I will ask for next week off. I can’t make any guarantees, Cal. That’s not how it works in the corporate world.”
He lowered down to his forearms. “You make it work, woman. Bottom line, I’m gettin’ you next Saturday, and you won’t have any way back to town until I’m ready for you to come back to town. You got it?”
Before I could protest, Cal kissed me with firm lips and two swipes of his tongue. Then he stood up, and pulled his own phone out of his back pocket. He hit a contact, put it to his ear and said, “Blood. I need you to find out if the Leathernecks are loaning money to people at Best Bet. Especially an older woman named Gwendolyn Pierce.”
There was a pause while Cal listened to Blood speak. Then Cal said, “I’m thinkin’ it might, and that’s not Mal’s mother. Gwen's the mother of Mal’s deceased husband.”
I sat up and then Cal said, “You got that right, brother. Later.”
He sat down next to me and asked me, “So, whose idea was the common room? Yours or Vamp’s?”
I gave a small shrug. “He gave me the option. Mentioned you wanted me locked in here again, and I said I didn’t want to be in here like it was some kind of cell.”
Cal tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “And you thought the common room was a good choice?”
“I figured I’d see what it was like. If it wasn’t my thing, I’d come in here. Vamp was pretty cool about it. Except for his lecturing me about not speaking up to Volt and all that.”
Cal looked at me as though he was searching for something in my expression, then he said, “You’re lucky in many ways tonight, woman. First, that you didn’t get taken. Second, that for a Saturday night after eleven, tonight was rather tame. I’ve claimed you to the brothers, but you’re not my old lady. I can keep them away from you, but if you’re in the common area when I’m not here, then I can’t do shit about what their bitches or other hang-around skanks might say or do to you. Though I have to say, Starla doesn’t normally make ‘friendly overtures’ to other women, especially not if Vamp is part of the play. Based on the look she was giving you, though, Razor might not be the only person I have to worry about trying to get at my sweet cheeks.”
My facial expression had to be screaming, you are crazy, but I stated for emphasis, “You are nuts! She wasn’t looking at me like that. Hell, she was just trying to rile me up, if I had to guess.”
Cal gave me a shit-eating grin. “I call you ‘woman’ and ‘sweet cheeks’ to get on your good side, is that it? Vamp made mention of eating your sweet pussy instead of pizza for lunch in an effort to make you feel at ease? Come on, Mallory. All three of us are looking to rile you up. I’m just glad I’m better at it than they are.”
I was trying to make sense of the things Cal was telling me. A woman was into me? That would be a first, or at least the first time that I was made aware of it, I supposed. I didn’t think Vamp was into me, though. I figured that was more him trying to razz Cal, but what I asked was, “So, you’re saying I shouldn’t have been in the common area?”
Cal pressed his lips together and moved his head slowly from one side to the other. “I wouldn’t say that exactly. Just that, you’re new to the MC world. You were skittish as all hell about having sex in your own house because your parents were in a guest bedroom on the other side of the house. What am I supposed to think you’d make of two couples playing strip pool, and what in God’s name would you have said to Starla, when she started pressing the issue? Because believe me, she looked ready to pounce.”
My eyes slid to the side and then back to Cal. “You think I’m a prude?”
He shook his head. “No. Last night dispelled me of that idea pretty damn fast. You said you wanted to touch me, since I was pinning your hands down, I expected that; but then you followed it with wanting to bite me. That’s the fire that I’m pretty sure is down to your soul. I think you’ve got wild in you, and I want to unleash it.”
My mind went back to his earlier statement. “Strip pool? I’ve heard of strip poker, but seriously, those four people were playing strip pool?”
Cal winked at me and said, “You wanna go see? Fuck that, you wanna go join them? Looked like James cleaned the table with you on Tuesday. I’ve played him before, and I’ve wiped the table with his ass. I’d have you in your birthday suit in, probably, six shots.”
I grinned. “The idea is tempting, but I’m ready to put a lid on this day.”
“Fine. We’ll do that, but not before we have a little threesome between you, me, and our mutual friend Jose Cuervo. But, you’re cut off at two shots, you lightweight.”
* * * * *
Sunday morning came far quicker than I would have liked. Last night, Cal had rendered me a step away from senseless with two orgasms as soon as I had downed my second Cuervo shot. It was a damn good way to end a bad night. I didn’t have any kind of headache, so that was a relief. Yet, the salad, lasagna, and breadsticks from last night had long left my stomach and I was dying for some sustenance. I was debating with myself about another stealthy trip to the kitchen, like the last time I was here in his room, but I decided against it.
I had awakened snuggled up close to Cal, but not in his arms. I was curled to my left; he was laying on his back with his head turned to the left. My right knee was resting very close to his right thigh, and the feel of his leg hairs was divine. It was something I had missed. I loved men’s legs. I know most women don’t give legs another thought, but I loved them. Cal’s were built handsomely. The muscles were bulky and firm from riding his bike. His legs were tan, and his dirty-blond hairs were sweet sprouting here, there, and everywhere from the taut skin on his legs. Cal’s right arm was lying next to me. I had a clear view of the pair of red dice that were tattooed to his bicep. It was good ink. I almost felt like I could reach out and grab the dice because the cubes had so much definition upon his skin. Friday night I had noticed there was a tattoo lower on Cal’s right side around his rib cage, but in the heat of the moment, I hadn’t had time to give it much of my attention. He was too busy giving me and my female anatomy attention I hadn’t had in far too many months.
Since I wasn’t going to try to sneak out of his room to get any food, I decided I would surreptitiously slink down the bed to look at the tattoo inked on his inner rib cage. It was too soon for me to know if he was a light sleeper or not, but as I slithered, the sheets rustled and he stirred. He shifted slightly as I lifted the sheet to try and take a peek at his ribs. The tattoo there was a claw shape, in tribal, swirling patterns. The ink was all thick swirling black lines. The bottom portion of the claw was a bear stalking its prey. The upper portion of the claw had five distinct toes which were thin lines, but these lines spiraled inward though not anything like a curlicue. Jutting out from each toe was a pointed claw nail. It was a very fierce and impressive tattoo.
I thought Cal had gone back to sleep, but his husky voice made me jump when he said, “Mallory, is there a reason you’re makin’ it drafty in this bed? Cause, gotta tell you, I enjoyed last night, but it would make my morning if you’d go down on my morning hard-on.”
I slid back up the bed and cut my eyes to him. This was a consequence of my curiosity that I did not anticipate. My stomach tried to weigh in on the subject by giving a loud rumble. I said, “There was a reason I was making it drafty; I was curious about the tattoo on your rib cage, and I wanted to get a closer look while you were sleeping. Much as I would like to make your morning, I am starving. Considering that I’ve just discovered your tattoo is a bear claw, it made me think of breakfast pastries. So, I have to say, I’m ready for some food. I’d have gone and made something for myself, but the last time I did that…well, you know how that turned out.”
Cal rolled on top of me and slid his hands into my hair on either side of my face. “Baby, we ain’t goin’ to that fucked-up morning. Put it out of your head. You take care of me, by givin’ me some head, and then I’ll take care of you and your rumblin’ belly. I want that feisty mouth suckin’ my cock hard this morning. I didn’t get to give you my version of a good morning yesterday because your parents were up and at ‘em. Gonna give you my kind of good morning this morning. You with me?”
I felt tingles in my breasts, my pussy, and my belly. I was definitely with him, but knowing how cocky he was, I didn’t share that with him. I said, “I suppose I could be with you.”
Cal’s lower right eyelid lifted up a fraction in a semi-squint. “You suppose?”
I smirked. “I want you to make me breakfast. No Grumpy’s or some other kind of restaurant.”
Now Cal smirked. “I can do that, but fair warning. This is the clubhouse. I’m limited in what I can produce and I don’t go overboard around here. My brothers would not let me hear the end of that shit. Now, get your ass in gear, woman, and make my morning, so I can make yours.”
I gave him a smile, and I found out that I really liked Cal’s kind of good morning. It was scrumptious.
* * *
Cal and I were sitting at an old Formica table finishing our “toad in the hole” breakfast when my thoughts turned to his insistence that I go with him to Bike Week. I wasn’t that keen on bending to his every whim. Though arguably this was not a whim, it was definitely too soon. We’d known each other for just two weeks, and he wanted me to go out of town with him for a full week. Bike Week in Daytona was a big deal and a big draw. It was big enough that there was a Biketober Fest in October, so if one missed the spring festivities, there was always the fall. I was thinking that would be better timing for a trip to Daytona.
Cal chucked me under my chin and asked, “What are you thinkin’ about, Mal? You’re startin’ to look worried.”
I shrugged slightly. “Cal, I’m not so sure about this Bike Week business. Where am I staying?”
“With me.”
I felt my eyebrows draw together.. “I mean we’ve spent what, like two maybe three whole days together. Now we’re gonna spend a whole week together? You sure that’s a good idea?”
Cal pushed his plate slightly. “What I’m sure of, is that there’s no better biker experience than Daytona, except Sturgis, but that’s a long ass ride. That would put us to the test at this point.”
“Okay. Let me rephrase. This seems to be going a little fast.”
“I drive a Harley, and if there’s weather, I drive a Mustang Fastback. I move fast in all the ways I can move. I dig you and unless I’m way off my mark, you dig me. We’re in our thirties, there’s no reason to go slow. There’s life to live, you should live it.”
I sighed and said, “I’ll keep that in mind, but I can’t guarantee I can get the time off with such short notice. Now, are you gonna take me home, or what?”
Cal looked at me like I was crazy. “That would be a definite no. I am not taking you home. The Leathernecks made an attempt to snatch you last night. Do you really think they don’t have your address? Volt is taking Jackie to your place and she’s gonna pack up a bag for you. You’re comin’ with me to my place once they’ve brought your stuff.”
“What?”
Cal ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. “The security system is going in on Monday. You won’t have to be there for that. Blood’s got it covered, and during your lunch hour, I’ll pick you up and we’ll run through how to access your house on your cell phone.”
A protest was on the tip of my tongue, but the large man who told Cal to put me in my place wandered in looking very haggard. He eyed the empty plates before us and asked, “You make any extra of that stuff, brother? “
Cal looked at the man. “Sure didn’t. You’ll have to figure something out for yourself there, Roll. But there’s coffee at the ready.”
Roll moved to the coffee pot, pulled a mug out of the cabinet and then poured himself a cup. He turned around and leaned his hips on the counter as he sipped at his coffee. He was about six foot tall and he was wearing jeans and his cut with no shirt under it. A crimson capital letter A was tattooed to his right upper bicep. He had a burgeoning beer belly, causing his cut to hang open wide. He had tawny brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and a full beard that was reddish brown framing his thin lips. His nose had a bump in the middle from a prior break. His eyes were a deep brown.
I looked back to Cal and asked quietly, “So, how are Volt and Jackie getting into my house?”
With a grin on his face, Cal said, “With the key to your back door. I’ll be by your place tomorrow to switch the locks on your front door and exit door to your garage so all your locks will work with a single key.”
I tried to keep the attitude out of my voice as I said, “Okay.”
Apparently, I hadn’t been being quiet enough, because Roll grumbled, “I think the words you’re lookin’ for are ‘Thank you.’ Or are you too good to show gratitude to a bunch of bikers who help you?”
I turned my head to Roll. “I’m not too good to thank anybody. I’m just a little thrown off. It’s not every day you find people you’ve only known for a week going to your house to get you clothes and stuff after almost being abducted on a Saturday night.”
Roll gave a skeptical eyebrow arch and pushed off from the counter. I heard him mumble as he passed by us, “Not sure what you see in her, brother.” Then he was gone.
I pressed my lips together, and Cal shook his head slightly. I stood up and grabbed our plates and washed them at the kitchen sink. I washed the skillet Cal used to make breakfast. I was drying it when Volt and Jackie came into the kitchen. Volt was carrying my black Skyline carry-on suitcase and my purple Skyline toiletry carry-on. He put the bags down next to Cal. Jackie was beaming at me from behind him. She came up and hugged me.
“I wasn’t sure what all you needed for a day at work, so I packed all kinds of toiletries and some of your jewelry. I also packed up two or three work outfits for you and of course, three different pairs of shoes because each outfit is a totally different color. I love your shoe selections, Mal. Volt was ready to yank me out of your closet by the hair because I was taking so long.”
I shot Volt an apologetic smile, and he said to Jackie, “I would never yank you out by your hair, baby. But, I’ll probably yank your hair when you make it up to me in our room.”
Cal stood up and grabbed my bags. “That’s definitely our cue, sweet cheeks. Let’s go.”