“Oh my god!” Charlize squeals into the phone, the pitch of her voice grating against my eardrum. Before she ruptures something, I hit the speaker button and hold my phone out in front of me. “Are you serious? Holy shit! Does this mean we’ll get to go to AMAs with the guys?”

Ryker chuckles behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing the top of my head. From behind thin boxer briefs, his warm, rock-hard cock teases my butt crack, tempting me with another glorious round.

“Maybe,” he tells her. “But only if you get that science grade up. There’s still a new car waiting for you if you make the A honor roll this quarter.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she answers with far less enthusiasm. “I’m working on it.”

I lean back against Ryker’s hard chest with a bright smile pressed to my lips. “Let me talk to Raven quick.”

She huffs with a little noise of protest. “For the record, I still think it’s dumb she’s staying with me. I haven’t gotten into trouble since we moved in with Ryker, have I?”

“I don’t know, have you?” I answer mockingly. “Besides, I told you it has nothing to do with whether or not we trust you. I don’t want to worry about you spacing out while you’re studying or something, and forgetting to eat.”

What I don’t tell her is I’m still scared shitless that Terrance will come back for one of us. Rumor has it Freddie left the South Side around the time I was kidnapped, leaving the debt he owes on our shoulders. He’s lucky he split before I was able to get my hands on his drunk ass.

Charlize hollers my friend’s name. A minute later, Raven’s on the phone. “What’re you doin’ callin’ here? You’re supposed to be out exploring the Big Apple with your sexy rocker.”

A dark chuckle vibrates in Ryker’s throat as he drags his lips along my neck.

“Is Char monitoring her levels?” I ask Raven.

“Yeah, she’s on top of it. I promise. I’m not going to let the little shit mess up on my watch. What’s goin’ on that got her all wound up?”

“The band just signed with a major record label.” I spin around to stare in the eyes of my “sexy rocker,” resting my free hand on his hard chest. A prideful smile takes over my face as I think ahead to his bright future. I can’t remember ever feeling this happy about anything. “It’s big, Rae. Like, colossal. The guys won’t have to worry about money anymore.”

“Color me impressed!” she sings. “Guess Mr. Dirty Sex Eyes really is good for something other than drilling my girl with his massive cock!”

Giggling, my cheeks warm with a blush. “Rae, you’re on speaker phone. Ryker’s right here with me.”

“Dirty Sex Eyes?” Ryker whispers, one eyebrow quirked.

Raven releases a nasally laugh. “Well in that case, congratulations to you both. Make sure you get your freak on tonight in that five-star penthouse with a thousand dollar bottle of champagne.”

“I’m hanging up now,” I warn. “Call me if you need anything.”

She’s still chirping about something when I press the end button. Tossing my phone on the luxurious hotel bed, I throw my arms around Ryker’s neck and kiss him deeply. He lifts me up into his arms, allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist. I growl against his lips, more wet and achy than I’ve been in ages.

“I’m so proud of my rockstar,” I mutter against his lips. “Told you this day would come.”

“Speaking of come…” He throws me down on the bed and I squeal as he starts for me, eyes as dark as night.

Though we’ve already made love twice since returning from the studio, only throwing on our underwear when room service delivered champagne and caviar courtesy of the band’s new producer, I’m ravenous for more of my beautiful man.

“Wait…I have…something…for you,” I tell Ryker between breathless kisses.

With a reluctant grunt he crawls off me. “Better be something good.” Though there’s a playfulness to the tilt of his mouth, his eyes burn with need as he fists his beautiful cock. “I’m ready to ‘drill my girl’ with this ‘massive’ beast.”

As much as I want to laugh, I can’t strangle any sounds from my throat with the sight of him touching himself. On any given day he does a number to my ovaries even when fully dressed, but this visual is beyond exquisite.

“Wait for me in the sitting room,” I order before starting for the walk-in closet. I stop to glance back at him over my shoulder. “And don’t you dare get off without me.”

His eyebrows lift. “Then I’d suggest you hurry that sweet ass, gorgeous.”

Heart fluttering, I race to our suitcases, reluctantly leaving him there naked and horny while I gather everything I’ll need for his surprise.

Being in love with a rockstar is hotter than anything I’ve ever experienced. Not just because he’s gorgeous and wickedly talented, but because I’m proud of all he’s accomplished in the time since his uncle died.

In addition to writing songs and tirelessly rehearsing with the band, he’s been overseeing renovations on the women’s shelter. They’re nearly complete, and Rook has everything in place for its grand opening after the New Year. Brooke has been busy with their sweet little boy Linkin, but helps with whatever she can from home, or while hanging at our place whenever I’m not away at dance classes. I’m stoked they decided to move back, because Brooke and I have become as closely knit as sisters, and she’s a great mentor for Charlize.

As if Ryker didn’t have enough going on already, he’s been working with the sheriff to clean up the South Side. He’s determined to use the millions he inherited and what’s left of the cash he made from stolen cars for something good. At least he put Bender in charge of the auto shop, giving him one less thing to manage.

I’m convinced Ryker thinks by becoming a good samaritan he’ll negate the fact that he could be Terrance’s son, which is fine by me. We generally don’t talk about the things Terrance said, as if they’re taboo. The dark tone of the half dozen songs Ryker wrote soon after his uncle’s funeral say enough all on their own. Consequently, those are the songs that grabbed the label’s attention, leading to the epic offer the band couldn’t refuse.

Everything would be perfect if the cartel could get their hands on Terrance, and wipe him off the earth. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to find a trace of the bastard.

There are days I still can’t believe how much my life has changed since he waltzed into Pinky’s that night. And the way things are going, those changes are only the beginning.

* * *

The moment I hear “our song,” I know what’s up. It’s the same Nirvana cover she played the night I brought her home from Pinky’s. The moment my gorgeous girl dances into the hotel’s living area, modeling a new sparkling bra and matching thong, set of handcuffs dangling from one hand, is a moment that’s long overdue. Between the kidnapping and my uncle’s death, our little agreement got lost along the way. So fucking glad she finally decided to honor it.

Mouth dry, tongue in danger of slipping up and ruining the surprise I’ve been planning for months, I silently devour every savory inch of her perfect body as she slinks closer. Deep breaths bring her breasts to rise and fall against my bare chest as she’s in my lap, somehow managing to avoid my rigid cock as she secures the cuffs behind my back.

“Wouldn’t want you getting handsy,” she whispers before giggling and licking a path from the base of my neck up to my jaw. I grunt with a garbled sound when she locks her hands behind my back on the chair, flexing her hips in sync with the music.

Fuck this, I’m gonna choke.

She stops moving when her eyes discover the 3-carat diamond emerging between my lips. I had no idea what she’d like since she’s not much into jewelry aside from bellybutton rings, so I took Charlize shopping several weeks back. I was going to ask her permission to marry her sister anyway since she’s the only family of Zoe’s that counts. Charlize was stoked, and apparently she thought bigger was better. Based on her sister’s wide-eyed expression, I’m not so sure it was the right way to go.

“Oh god! Ryker!” Tears fill her eyes as she plucks the ring from my mouth, examining it closer. “Is this…are you…?”

“I love you so fucking much, Zo,” I tell her with a slow smile pulling at my lips. “These past few days have been like some kind of crazy-ass dream. You’re one of a select few who knows what the band means to me…how much I wanted something like this to happen. And without you, it wouldn’t have happened. But all the fame and success in the world still couldn’t make me anything close to happy unless you’re by my side. And I want you there for everything. As more than just my girl.”

Holding a hand over her gaping mouth, her watering gaze locking with mine. A collection of emotions brew in those whiskey eyes, the strongest feeling a lot like love.

Then there’s an impatient pounding on the door to the suite, followed by my brother shouting my name over the music.

With a shake of my head, I scowl. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me? That punk has shit for timing!”

Zoe laughs softly, tears trailing down her cheeks. “My answer’s yes, Ryk.” She sinks all the way down into my lap, sliding the ring on her finger before taking my face in her hands. It’s hell on my engorged dick to be so close to her with my brother still pounding on the door. “I can’t imagine anything that would make me happier.”

To say her answer makes me happy would be an injustice. I’m more fucking ecstatic than I’ve ever been in my entire goddamned life. Her warm mouth returns to mine, her tongue sweeping over mine, but it doesn’t last when Bender threatens to find housekeeping to let him in.

She draws away, cheeks flushed red. “Doesn’t sound like he’s giving up. I better put something on.”

As she sprints back to the bedroom, I pull on the handcuffs. “The fuck?” I call out. “Babe! You can’t leave me here like this!”

She lets out a wicked laugh from the other room, coming out a second later in the sexy little dress she wore to the studio this morning, towel in hand. She tosses it over my erection, bending to whisper in my ear, “Your dance isn’t over, my beautiful fiancé. I’m not taking those off until you come twice at the very least.”

With that she leaves me breathing heavily through my nose, fantasizing about the different ways she plans to make that happen. Next thing I know, my brother, Morrison, Stone, Rook, and Brooke are standing in a circle around me, a few of them trying not to laugh.

Rook throws me a wide smile, eyes dancing with amusement as he hooks his arm around Brooke’s neck. “That’s some way to celebrate.”

“Thought we agreed we were all doing our own thing until tonight,” I snarl. “The fuck you jackasses doing here?” Then I turn to Brooke, offering a less threatening look. “Excluding you, of course.”

“Brooke just got a call from the attorney that represented Trask,” Bender tells me. “The cops are looking for two girls that went missing from the U. Witnesses last place them in the South Side. He says word among law enforcement is they have a lot in common with the girls Terrance slaughtered five years ago.”

As my gut folds over itself, Stone’s dark glare meets mine. “Sounds like that fucker Terrence is back in town.”

“Christ,” I mutter, wishing my hands were free so I could pull my hair. This is the chance I’ve been waiting for…to avenge the deaths of my mom, uncle, and friend. As much as I’d love to put a bullet in his head myself, I couldn’t do that to Zoe. “We have to be smart about this. We need a way to draw him out, get him upset enough to grab his attention. Make him feel exposed.”

Bender crosses his arms, eyes skipping from me to the rest of the guys as he speaks. “I’ve been thinkin’. What if we made an alliance with the Martyrs of Mayhem, told them Terrance is planning to overrun their business of selling military weapons?”

“You think they’d go after Terrance simply based on our word?” Rook asks.

“It’s worth a shot,” Stone grunts, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “We just need something to give them as proof.”

I shake my head, thinking there has to be another way. “How the fuck would we manage that?”

Bender lifts one shoulder. “Easy. We get the cartel to loan us a supply…claim we intercepted a deal between Terrance and one of the MC’s regular clients.”

“They’re going to wonder why we give a shit,” I argue, wishing I wasn’t fucking cuffed to a chair while we’re discussing something of dire importance. “Why would we get involved?”

“We tell them it had something to do with your uncle’s death,” Rook says. “Find a way to make them believe King Marty was killed because of a deal gone bad between him and Terrance.”

Zoe pulls her bottom lip into her mouth, giving me a weary glance. “Rather than one of you telling them, we could plant the seed another way, and wait for them to take the bait.”

Before she says anything more, I shake my head with rage thickening in my throat. I know where her idea is going, and it’s not happening. “Abso-fucking-lutely not. You’re done stripping for other men. No way I’m letting you go to their clubhouse alone.”

“I could go along with her,” Brooke blurts. When Rook looks ready to blow a nut, eyes bulging and neck strained with veins, she narrows her eyes on him. “Don’t even start with me, Rook. Her idea could work. If she goes through with it, someone needs to have her back.”

With a stern look, Zoe sets her hand on my shoulder. “This conversation isn’t over. We will talk about it in more detail later.”

Brooke gasps, clapping her hands together. “Oh my god! Is that what I think it is?”

Following Brooke’s gaze, Zoe gapes down at the new diamond like she forgot it was there. A smile slides over her lips when she holds her hand up for everyone to see. “Yes! Ryker just asked me to marry him!”

Rook’s lips bend with a sideways smirk in Zoe’s direction. “And you said yes?”

“Wise ass,” I mutter.

Stone shoves his hands into his jean pockets, shaking his head. “Ho-ly shit. Another man down.”

Brooke runs to Zoe, throwing her arms around her. “Congratulations, you guys!”

At my side, Bender laughs heartily. “Congrats, man! I’d shake your hand, but…”

Rook claps me on the shoulder. “Want us to find a justice of the peace so you can seal the deal right now? The timing seems perfect.”

Morrison steps in beside him. “The pictures alone would make for a great publicity stunt.”

“Fuck all you clowns,” I retort, unable to hide my own smile. I pull against the handcuffs, digging the metal into my wrists. “Zo, get these things off me so I can kick their asses.”

With her arm around Brooke’s waist, my gorgeous fiancée throws me a smirk. “I think I’d rather leave you there, break you down until you agree to my idea.”

As angry as it makes me, I can’t deny she may be onto something. And she knows more than anyone how badly I want to avenge my loved ones. Fuck. I just wish there was another way.

* * *

When I worked with Brooke after we returned from New York, she was such a natural at stripping that I figured she does it for her husband on a regular basis. Between stage makeup, contacts, and a sexy blond wig that goes down to her elbows, she’s completely unrecognizable as sweet little Linkin’s doting mom, just as Rook requested. The only tiny stretch marks remaining from her pregnancy are concealed underneath her standard dancer’s thong. Confidence seeps from her as she sways her hips in sync with the music, bold smile on her lips while dancing around topless.

But I can sense her fear from the other side of the room filled with sweaty, vile men that are far hornier than I remember from past gigs with the Martyrs of Mayhem. Then again, I’m so terrified of doing anything in danger of breaking Ryker’s trust, or blow our covers with the bikers that my insides are trembling uncontrollably. We’re both dangerously close to blowing our cover.

It didn’t take as much convincing as I thought before Ryker finally agreed to the idea. I think it helped that I also wore stage makeup, something I hadn’t done since the night he walked into Pinky’s. Once I contacted my old boss, it was only a matter of hours before we received an invite for tonight’s party. Ryker and Rook made us run through the plan and different ways to abort it a hundred times, each of them visibly shaken by our insistence on following through with this idea. They gave us high-voltage stun-guns that sit in our purses in a back room, but they won’t help us if hell breaks loose while we’re dancing.

Ryker and Rook wait down the road in Brooke’s new Range Rover as Stone and Morrison keep a close watch for any signs of trouble from the parking lot. Everyone agreed our men would be too wound up to stay calm, and could only put us in more danger with any erratic behavior. Stone’s military training made him the logical choice to be put in charge.

I subtly make my way over to Brooke, sliding my backside against hers as we shake our asses to the live band, reminding her we’re in this mess together. As I turn to her, wanting to give her a smile of assurance, a mountain of a man snags me by my wrist, yanking me down into his lap on a worn couch. The stench of cigarettes, leather, and whiskey seeps from his pores, triggering my gag reflex. Long wavy hair, thick beard, square jaw, and dark eyelashes make him notably attractive. But his dark, dangerous stare drives a spike of fear right through my heart. Either he’s a new member, or I’ve been fortunate enough to avoid him in the past.

He sneers while digging his thick fingers into my side. “How ‘bout you grind that sweet pussy on me instead? After all, this is my party.”

Although being groped at one of these gigs is forbidden unless there’s more money handed out under the table, this is the chance we’ve been waiting for. It’s an intimate moment with one of the MC’s members in which we can “spill the beans on Terrance,” planting the seed of rivalry.

Meeting Brooke’s wavering expression beside us with a confident wink, I hook my leg around his thigh, and threading my fingers through his dark beard the way I do with Ryker. Pretending he’s my man may be the only way to survive this act.

Once I get a glimpse of the patch on his vest, I’m thrilled to discover we’ve stumbled across the vice president. Everything is going according to plan.

“With pleasure, sugar,” I purr, rising to my knees so my breasts are level with his hungry eyes. While I twist and bend to the beat, arching my back to give him a good show, his greedy hands slide from my waist up across my ribs, lingering beneath the swell of my breasts. Sickness stirs in my stomach with every second of his touch. Never imagined I’d be in this kind of situation again after Ryker first told me he loved me, and now I’m having second thoughts.

The man grunts, his cock thickening against my leg. I twist my fingers through his soft hair and bring my lips down to his ear. “Not surprised to see you’re the MC’s vice president. Someone as big and strong as you can only be a man in charge.”

“How ‘bout you and me head into the back so I can show you just how big I am?”

Before I can muster a response, he jerks me closer, and takes a breast into his mouth. A squeal wrenches from my throat right before I’m unceremoniously shoved down to the floor onto my ass.

A younger girl with blond hair and eyes so dark they swallow her pupils glares down on me. In skin-tight jeans and a see-through tank top over a lacy black bra, brushing around her eye, she’s hauntingly beautiful. “Stay away from my man, skank! I catch you with him again, and I’ll slice your throat open!”

The club’s vice president chuckles like her threat’s the funniest thing ever. “Babe, I was just havin’ me a little fun. You know, celebratin’ my promotion and all.” He leans forward to wrestle her down to his side. “Come on, now. Don’t get your panties in a twist. You’re the only woman I love, baby.”

Grabbing her jaw, he forces her mouth to meet his. As they kiss, she crawls into his lap, and he shoves his hands up her cropped shirt to knead her breasts. The way they continue to kiss passionately and unabashed, I’m convinced they’re one second away from fucking in front of everyone.

“Oh god…it can’t be her,” Brooke says behind me in a voice that’s hushed yet strained. She hooks her hand under my armpit, pulling me to my feet. “We have to tell Rook.”

I turn to find her face so white that I’m convinced she’s going to faint. Before she drops to the beer-covered floor, I grab onto her waist. “Tell Rook what? What’s wrong?”

Looking right through me, she hooks her arms with mine, and digs her fingernails into my skin. Lips trembling, her eyes fall to the couple going at it on the couch. “Why is she here? With him?”

I shake my head. “Brooke, you’re not making any sense. Her who?”

“Sasha.” She hiccups on a little cry, watering eyes finally meeting mine. “Trask Green’s little sister.”