No new messages.

I pulled myself up from the couch, discarding my book on the table, not caring if one of the girls robbed it. Not that they’d care for such a thing. Bitches probably didn’t even know how to read.

I heard the door open with a bang, and in walked Jax, looking like he’d been slapped with a wet fish, before Wolf, Lamb, and Ripper followed in behind him. When Mia and Chloe ran into their father’s arms, Ripper picked his little girls up with ease. I saw his boy, Alistair, his stepson from his deceased wife’s last marriage, hovering on the stairs. He tried to hide it but looked relieved when he saw Ripper was back safe. The moment Ripper spotted him, however, Alistair turned and fled. Ripper sighed, but he still had a gentle smile on his lips as he set his girls down.

Wolf, on the other hand, was on Jax’s tail. “Why the fuck do you feel the need to race our asses just to get back first?”

“Don’t complain just ’cause you’re getting old,” Jax growled back, settling at the bar as Lamb slid around the other side next to Sweets, who grabbed a beer for Jax and set it in front of him, giving him a display of her fake tits.

“Don’t bitch just because you didn’t get your dick wet,” Lamb quipped, smirking at Hunter, whose joyful face mirrored Lamb’s as he took in Jax’s sour expression.

“It wasn’t the first time.” Hunter laughed, patting Jax on the back, reminding him that Mallory had flat-out rejected him last year.

“And it probably won’t be the last.” Pretty smirked, wrapping his arm around his shoulder.

“Oh, you wanna go, fucker?” Jax growled, jumping to his feet. Pretty didn’t back down.

“You sure you can handle me with that bruised ego you’re carrying around?” Pretty laughed, coming toe to toe with Jax. Pretty was just a bit taller and broader than Jax, and although Jax knew how to fight dirty, Pretty had been fighting on the streets long before he had joined the Black Angels. It would be a fair matchup.

Normally, I would have gone over there and knocked them down a peg or two before they started breaking shit like usual when they sparred inside, but I felt too pissed to bother.

Instead, Wolf stepped up, clamping his huge tattooed paws on both of their shoulders. “Take it outside,” he ordered, but his death grip on them told them he didn’t want them fighting anyway. Their winces showed they got the message. He let go before facing the room of cramped bikers. “Lockdown is lifted!”

Cheers erupted throughout the room, and they became even louder when Mallory suggested a club barbecue to get rid of all the excess food, not wanting to waste it if everyone was going home tonight. Though a club barbecue meant a party later on, which in turn meant everyone was going to get trashed. And since nobody was allowed to ride drunk, not unless they wanted Wolf on their ass for it, that also meant everyone would end up crashing at the club anyway.

I sighed, dropping my head down into my open palm. My finger clicked the button on the side of my phone before I realized it and my clear display flashed up at me. For a second, I felt calm. And then I didn’t. I let out a loud, frustrated hiss, throwing my phone on the table.

“Woah there, Anna,” Pretty said as he came up next to me and looked down at my phone with those soft blue-gray eyes. “Wouldn’t leave it there, or you won’t get it back.”

“Bitches can have it. It seems to be doing fuck all for me,” I seethed. I glared at it and wouldn’t be surprised if it set alight with the will I was throwing into it to just combust.

“Knew you were pissed earlier, but I figured it’s ’cause your old man was gone,” Pretty said, throwing his hands up defensively as I turned on him. “Since he’s back, I’m beginning to think otherwise.”

“If I were in a fucking mood, Pretty, you’d know about it,” I hissed. “Because if I were in a mood, it would be at you for leaving your shit around the clubhouse all the time.”

Pretty’s face turned downcast in an instant. “I came over here to cheer you up, you know,” he said, blond hair falling over his eyes. “My bad.” He turned and walked away, making me feel bad for snapping at him. But he wasn’t the first, and I had a feeling he wouldn’t be the last.

Everyone had been keeping a distance, but with the excitement in the room for the barbecue, I had a feeling one of them would come into striking distance soon enough for whatever the fuck reason. I didn’t want to snap at them, but this bubbling frustration that was locked inside me wasn’t disappearing just because I wanted it to.

“Fuck,” I hissed, scooping my phone off the table.

I turned and found myself smacking bang into a hard chest. I had moved fast enough that I was sent staggering back, and the only reason I didn’t land flat on my ass was the huge hand coming around my waist.

“Hands off, assho-” I snapped, looking up. “Oh shit.”

“Oh shit is right,” Wolf growled, dark eyes flashing under his heavy brow. “Come with me. Now,” he demanded, sounding pissed as he grabbed me by the wrist and began dragging me off through the clubhouse back to his beloved punishment room, where he threw me without care onto the bed like discarded socks.

I hissed at the careless action as I went to get back up, but Wolf’s huge hands were now on my slim shoulders and shoved me back down. “Sit the fuck down,” he snapped before letting go, leaving a lingering burn of warmth on my pale skin.

I didn’t bother trying to get up again, knowing he’d just shove me back down anyway. So, I folded my arms over my chest and fixed him with a glare instead. “You better have a good reason for this.”

“Verbally throwing the brothers on their asses for doing fuck all good enough?” Wolf growled. I opened my mouth to argue, but Wolf beat me to it. “Just ’cause you’re pissy, Anna, doesn’t mean you get to go around tearing the brothers a new one.”

“Whatever,” I hissed, knowing he was right but still too annoyed to care. I kept my eyes away from his but made a point of keeping my arms folded over my chest.

“So?” Wolf probed, a thick eyebrow crooked at me as he folded his own huge forearms over each other, making the muscles bulge under his skin and his shirt tighten around his biceps.

“So, what?” I snapped, trying not to let my eyes be tempted. I was annoyed, for Christ’s sake, not some drooling teenager.

“So, you going to tell me what’s got your panties in a twist?” Wolf pushed, his eyes curiously skimming over my face, looking for some kind of tell, which I knew for certain I didn’t have.

“Do you want the list in chronological order or alphabetical?” I retorted.

“I mean the real reason,” Wolf argued, seeming overly patient in finding out the answer compared to usual. “You’re not normally this much of a bitch.”

I growled at the comment, but Wolf was right. Again. I was a controlled person and never let my emotions get the better of me; it was difficult to get me riled up. I had an attitude, of course, but I wasn’t an indiscriminate bitch and didn’t take to being cruel for my own pleasure. Unless it was Wolf. With Wolf, all bets were off. Nevertheless, unless you did something above the bar I’d set, the bar which meant that I’d kill you and feel good about it if you did something beyond it, I didn’t normally get this bitchy.

I stayed silent, not wanting to talk about it. If I did, I feared I’d go on a massacre and wouldn’t be able to stop until I tore that person who put me in this goddam mood to shreds.

As I stayed silent, I saw Wolf give an overly dramatic sigh. “You’re not going to tell me,” he stated. “And you don’t look like you’re going to come out of that mood on your own anytime soon.”

I stood from the bed. “If you get it, let me go.”

“I said you wouldn’t be able to get out of it on your own,” Wolf rumbled, his hand reaching for the door and turning the lock with a soft click.

The sound sent my body on high alert as my gaze jumped to him, my arms dropping down by my side. “What are you doing?” I asked, my voice betraying my defensiveness.

“I’m going to help you get over your mood.”

“No, you’re not,” I argued.

Wolf smirked. “Oh, I am.”

He came to stand in front of me, but his hands didn’t move from his sides as he let his gaze go over every inch of my clothes. My leather sleeveless shirt and the matching skinny jeans were suddenly too tight for my skin.

“Off,” Wolf commanded. “All of it.”

“No!” I snapped. “I’m not fucking you, Wolf.”

“Who said anything about fucking?” He grinned.

“You bastard.”

“Take them off or I will,” he threatened.

“Fuck you,” I hissed, barging past him and heading straight for the door.

I didn’t make it far as Wolf’s body suddenly came up behind me. I gasped as I ended up with a face full of door. “You bastard!” I growled, shoving my hips back in an attempt to throw him from me. He grasped my hips and pulled them backward, making me fall forward against the door. “Wolf!”

“Good. Get angrier. The angrier, the better,” he growled, but he sounded distracted, and I knew why as my belt was suddenly ripped from my jeans. His hands didn’t waste time as they came around the front. I couldn’t move my arms enough to stop him as he flipped my button loose and pulled down the zipper. My skinny jeans, which were a bitch to get on because they were so damn tight, were suddenly ripped down my legs with ease.

“Wolf!” I hissed, but he didn’t stop as he dropped to his knees. His hands came up and held each of my ass cheeks in his palms as he began massaging them in circles.

“Love this ass,” he growled. “My ass.”

“Jesus, you Neanderthal!” I snapped. “It’s my—Ah!” I yelped, the sharp shock of pain shooting through my entire body. “You did not just bite my ass!” I screamed in fury as I released my hand, stretching in an awkward position to touch the burning mark. He slapped it away and brushed his thumb over the ridges, causing me to hiss.

“Put both your hands on the door,” he ordered, rising to stand behind me.

“No,” I growled. “I’m not letting you fuck me against the door like some—”

I cried out as his hand came down hard on my ass cheek. The mark burned like lemon in an open wound as I whimpered through the pain. His large hand covered the burning hand shape on it, and the pain soothed into a sore ache.

“When I fuck you,” Wolf growled, “whether it be on the bed, in the shower, on the floor, or against my fucking door, I’m fucking you like you deserve to be fucked. Like an old lady does. Not like some club slut or whore. Understood?”

I wanted to argue that I wasn’t Wolf’s old lady, but when his other hand came down on my ass, I cried out with more pleasure than pain, and suddenly, my argument was forgotten.

“Understood?” Wolf repeated, rubbing his palm into my tortured skin.

“Yes,” I gasped. “Yes. Understood.”

“Good. Now, hands on the door,” he demanded, and this time I listened and pressed my hands against the wooden frame. I was rewarded with a lustful growl as he reached for my purple lace panties and slid them down my legs.

My breathing got harder as I felt a cool breeze brush my legs. I had no idea when I got so wet, but when Wolf’s thick, rough finger traced a line from my pussy to my ass, I knew I must have been soaking because of the way it slid through with ease.

“Wolf,” I half growled, half moaned as he traced the finger back up and down again.

“Hmmm?” he murmured. I looked over my shoulder and watched him mesmerized as he slid his finger through my folds with smooth, gentle strokes.

“Get off,” I hissed, fighting to hold on to my annoyance and not give into my need. No way was I giving this bastard the satisfaction he was after. “Wolf,” I hissed again, snapping his focus in half as his gaze jumped to mine with a burning fury that wasn’t there a second ago.

I didn’t notice, but he had pushed his jeans down enough for his dick to stand to attention as he leaned forward and let it lie between my cheeks.

“No.” Wolf grinned, lining his dick up with my entrance.

“If you put it in, so help me God, I will cut off your balls and use them as furry dice in my car,” I threatened and watched in horror as his face only grew more lustful. “You’re seriously twisted if that turns you on.”

“Only for you,” he growled, and our conversation was over.

He shoved his hips forward, his dick filling me with no warning whatsoever as I cried out in a mix of shock and pleasure. My hands slammed against the door as he pulled back out and, with a rough, fast thrust, he pushed himself back in.

“Wolf!” I cried as he set the pace fast and hard, my arms shaking as each thrust sucked my strength from me.

My orgasm came fast and hit me with no warning, my body crying out as I was blasted with pleasure. Wolf came a single thrust later, his heat seeping into my body before he pulled out, his arms coming around my waist before I fell to the floor. He lifted us both to stand where we collapsed against the closed door.

His body radiated moist heat as his sweat mingled with mine, both imprinting on the doorway. “Fuck,” he panted.

“You’re getting too old, Wolf,” I scoffed, seeing how tired out he was from one very hard quickie.

“What’s your excuse?” he retorted, my panting in sync with his as he pinned us against the door.

I let Wolf’s scent wash over me, ignoring the feeling of his liquid running down the inside of my leg. I breathed in the bitter scent of his cigarettes and his favorite brand of whiskey as his breath ran across my cheek. His huge frame felt comforting around my shorter one, and his warmth felt inviting in a way that I never wanted to leave.

I took a deep breath, letting the taut muscles in my chest relax, the tight leather of my shirt rubbing against the damp door. “Pretty called you my old man,” I said, my eyes turning to look into the deep mahogany of the door, remembering my argument from earlier. “Stop letting people get away with thinking I’m your old lady.”

Wolf leaned down, his face pressing into the nape of my neck as the soft, weighted words fluttered across my skin. “I waited three years for you, Anna,” he whispered in his crisp, deep voice. “You’re not going to be anything less.”

The softness in which he said it made me fall quiet, letting the words seep in. We’d spent three years avoiding the pull we felt toward each other, and now everything had changed. How did we go from that to this? I couldn’t understand. I spent years telling myself I didn’t want him, shouldn’t want him, but now he was offering himself to me anyway, and I couldn’t find reassurance that this was reality. “Do you really mean that?” I whispered, hating the insecure words slipping from my lips.

“I do.” He didn’t hesitate. His face dropped down to the side of mine, bristles from the dark beard beginning to grow over his jaw from his lack of shaving harsh on my skin as his nose ran along the edge of my neck. His calloused, huge hands brushed down my sides, wide fingers almost completely wrapping around my thin arms.

A cold draft tickled my back as he pushed away, allowing me just enough room to turn to face him without stepping out from the comfort of his warmth.

His aged, weathered face that made him seem so much older and more worn than his years hid an unknown past behind his deep amber-brown eyes that always reminded me of the whiskey he drank to sleep at night, giving me the same warm burn every time I drank them in.

“I mean it, Anna,” Wolf said, his rough voice dragging me out of their depth. “I let you play your games, but I’m done waiting for you to come to me. You’re mine now. I learned the hard way that I should treasure the good things in life before they disappear.”

His words caught me off guard, along with the slight hoarseness that hid beneath them and the momentary tension that fluttered in the muscles beneath his thick skin.

“You think I’ll disappear?” I breathed, a question or statement, I didn’t know. But what I did know was that the second I said it, I saw Wolf’s open expression suddenly shut down.

He stood back from the door, ignoring me as he crouched down to my feet, grabbing my purple panties and jeans, pulling them up my skin with ease before pulling up his own.

“I think I want to get a shower first,” I said as Wolf waited for me to button up my jeans, my purple panties peeking through them. His eyes narrowed on them as if we hadn’t just fucked out our frustrations on the door.

“No,” was all he said, his arms familiarly folding over his chest, heavy brows narrowing his eyes.

I looked to the shower door only an arm’s length away from me and watched as he stepped in the way to block my view.

“You know what?” I hissed, my body straightening. I buttoned up my jeans and turned to the bedroom door, unlocking it with a sharp flick of my wrist. “Fuck you.”

I threw it open, deciding to just go and commandeer one of the other brothers’ shower, since there was no way in hell I was going to walk around with him dripping into my panties and expensive jeans.

I froze.

“For fuck’s sake,” I whined at the sight of Jax’s smug face filling the doorway.

He threw me a grin. “Feeling better?”

“Asshole,” I growled, shoving past him.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.” Jax laughed as I struct my ass away as fast I could, Wolf’s chuckle following me all the way.

Bastards.