CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Starlet
It started out tender enough—Brick’s greedy, hot mouth all over me, first my breasts, then my arms, across my stomach, ending on my thighs. I shouldn’t have screamed his name. He flipped me over on my stomach, pushed me to my knees, pulled me to the edge of the table, and then fucked me from behind. I love it that way. I orgasmed twice and then Brick lost it—exploding inside me.
“Did I hurt you?” he asks while he zips his jeans.
I look up at him, still recovering from the sex fog. “No.”
“We can’t keep doing this, having desperate sex. I want you to come to my bed with a smile on your face.”
Yeah, maybe in an alternate world. “You did this.”
He smirks. “Takes two, sweetheart.”
I roll my eyes and search for my blouse somewhere near the sofa. We went from kissing to tearing each other’s clothes off. I don’t remember how I ended up on the table. I groan when I notice all of my things on the floor—some of them breakables. My main deck of tarot cards is scattered. I forget my clothes and start gathering them up.
“Fuck.”
I turn around and find Brick staring at my naked ass. “What?”
“If you keep bending over like that…”
“Like I said, it’s your fault. I can’t find my panties.”
He nods and searches the floor, coming up with white lace in his hand. “Here.”
I place my cards on the coffee table and then slip my underwear on. “Better?”
“Not really.” He ogles my breasts. “Bra?”
I look around. “Over by the table.”
Seconds later, I put my bra on. “Are we safe now?”
Someone knocks on the door. The door opens and Juanita sticks her head inside. “Oh my God, Starlet. Really?”
My cheeks heat. I’d hoped she’d gone home. “I’m sorry, Juanita. Brick and I…”
“Save it.” She holds her hand up, then glares at Brick. “Just couldn’t stop yourself, could you?”
Brick lifts his chin arrogantly and grins. “Jealous?”
“Fuck you.” The door slams.
“That’s going to take some work,” Brick says.
“What do you mean?” Just because we had sex again doesn’t mean… “I don’t want to see you again, Brick. Not like this. I know we live in the same town now, and if we accidently run into each other, I promise to be cordial.”
“Stop trying to bullshit me, Starlet.” He crosses the room and grabs a handful of my long hair, forcing my head back. “Tell me you never want my cock inside you again. Say it.”
“I-I…” Am I really that weak? Dick-whipped after two booty calls with Brick?
“Well?”
I can’t do it. He’s the best lover I’ve ever had—hell, the only lover I’ve ever had. Sammy was an obligation. I want to experiment, find out what I like and dislike. Learn how to be a better lover. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, then open them again, finding Brick studying me.
“I’ll be back later,” he says, putting on his cut.
I stand at the doorway of my office and watch him leave the shop. Seconds later, his Harley revs to life. That noise triggers so many memories, ones I’m not sure I want to relive. I used to love the sound of motorcycles, Harleys especially. It stood for everything I was raised to believe in—American made, the charter, and the life.
What’s wrong with me? Why am I attracted to men in leather? Bad boys with tats? Assholes that think they own you just because they’ve slept with you. I sigh and turn back to my office. I flip on the overhead lights and pick up the rest of my things from the floor.
The energy in the room has changed, and not necessarily for the better. Brick invaded my personal space and left his essence all around me. Now every time I do a reading at the table, I’ll be thinking about him doing me doggie style. I laugh, knowing it’s as much my fault as it is his. I could have said no. I should have sent him packing.
“The dick hole is finally gone?” Juanita asks.
I turn around and find her just inside the room. “Juanita…”
“What’s so special about Brick?” She claims a spot on the leather sofa.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Yet? Does that mean he’s coming back?”
I scramble to get my blouse and jeans on before I join Juanita on the couch. “Not by invitation, trust me.”
She plunks her feet down on the coffee table, crosses her ankles, and drapes her arms over the back of the sofa. “I cancelled the rest of your appointments, Starlet, so we have all afternoon to work through this biker addiction you seem to have.”
“I’m not a biker junkie. We’re just dangerously attracted to each other. He could be a billionaire playboy and I’d still want to have sex with him.”
Juanita snorts. “That’s reassuring.”
“I told him everything.”
“Why?”
“To answer his questions and maybe get him off my back.”
“A month ago, your life was in crisis. It still is. I can’t protect you outside of these four walls. What are you going to do if Brick brings this up with his club?”
I sigh, knowing I’ve let my friend down. Our past flickers through my mind. Juanita always protected me, even when I was just a kid. How can I make this up to her? I reach for her hand and give it a squeeze. “Silver will eventually come for me. With or without Brick in my life.”
“I can’t disagree with that. But you’re playing with fire. If you saw the way he was acting when I asked him to leave the shop…”
“What about the gun?”
She shrugs. “I’m not afraid to pull the trigger.”
“I know.” She’s braver than I’ll ever be—but that also makes her dangerous. “Please don’t do it again.”
“I can’t just sit here and watch another brother take over your life. You’re accountable for the bad choices you make, but I’ve known you for a long time, Starlet. You bring out the best and worst in people, unintentionally, of course.”
“What do you mean?” I let go of her hand and slant my body so I can get a better look at her face.
“You’re too sweet. Always a little helpless. And just too sexy for a man like Brick to walk away from.”
“That’s not a very positive description of who I am.”
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. You’ve always needed guidance and protection. Some people are just that way. I’m the opposite, overbearing and protective—a mother type. That’s why we get along so well.”
She’s right. I’ve lived a sheltered life, if that even makes sense for someone who was raised in a biker compound. When I did get a taste of the outside world, it was like watching animals in the zoo—curious to see how the other ninety-nine percent lived, but with the knowledge I’d never have a chance to find out. I’m a lifer. Even Brick had the insight to say it. The tat on my left shoulder is a constant reminder of where I belong. Staying here with Juanita is a fantasy. One I’m willing to stretch out for as long as I can.
“So, is he going to be a permanent fixture around here?”
Why is she asking me the same question again? “I don’t know.”
“You need to hurry up and find out. Because if he is, we need to set some ground rules.”
“His presence could hurt business?”
“If he plans on being hostile all of the time.”
“I’ll talk to him tonight.”
“I love you, Starlet.”
We hug each other, and I say a short, desperate prayer hoping Brick will agree to leave me alone and let me get on with my life.
* * *
Brick
“How many days have you been in town?” Eagle, my new prez, asks.
“A few.”
“And your dick is already getting us into trouble.” He gazes down the long table, maybe searching the other members’ faces for a sign of what they’re thinking.
I do the same, finding blank looks. This is a gray area for brothers is most cases. A man’s bed is his own business, unless the woman can cause harm to the club. And after learning Starlet’s history, her connection to the Devil’s Crusaders is a definite threat to the Iron Norsemen.
“Jesus Christ,” Shorty complains. “What we talked about this morning…”
“Yeah,” I reluctantly admit. “You were right, she’s trouble.” Trouble I want to bury myself in. Trouble I want to protect. Despite her lies, I understand Starlet’s need to be her own woman, to escape a life she didn’t choose. “Her husband is dead. That should be the end of her relationship with the Devil’s Crusaders if she so chooses.”
“With one exception,” Eagle reminds me, not sounding too happy. “She’s the founder’s daughter. Some clubs take that shit seriously.”
“We don’t,” I say. “The Iron Norsemen believe in free will.”
“Old ladies are the exception,” Axe, our Sargent-at-arms adds. “If the choice were left to me, I’d make that call to the new president and order him to come pick up his future wife. Though we have no established relationship with the Devil’s Crusaders, this could be the kind of goodwill gesture that might open up negotiations for a prosperous relationship.”
“In what?” another member asks. “Drug money? A thing we’ve already voted down.”
“The Devil’s Crusaders are a steady hand in New Orleans—helping keep the peace in neighborhoods that still haven’t recovered from Hurricane Katrina,” Eagle says. “Might not be a bad idea to reach out.”
Delivering Starlet back to a man she doesn’t want, one she claims will beat her stupid, pisses me off. I shoot up from my chair. “Meet her before you make any decisions, Eagle. Let her tell her side of the story before you call a vote.” That’s the extent of our democratic process in the MC. Every patched member has the right to be heard—all votes count. And if I have a chance to save Starlet from a bleak future, I will. Even if it means giving up the best pussy I’ve ever had, because there’s no way my brothers are going to let me keep someone else’s old lady, even if they decide to help her.
“Thought you didn’t like putting down roots, brother.” Shorty eyes me.
“I changed my fucking mind.”
Eagle leans back in his leather chair. “I see no problem in delaying the vote for a couple of days. We know where she lives and works. Bring Starlet here tomorrow night. Have the old ladies make a nice dinner. I don’t want to scare the girl, but she needs to know the truth, Brick. There’s a chance she’s going back to Alabama.”
The rest of the members nod in agreement. It’s better than nothing. “I’ll handle it.”
“Good,” Eagle approves. “Any other business to discuss?” He looks around the room. “No?” He bangs his gavel on the table. “Church is over.”
I wait in the corner until the other seventeen members clear the room. Eagle stands and stretches.
“You’re not winning any trust right now, Brick.”
“With who?” I light a cigarette. “With Shorty? Axe? That sonofabitch resented me the moment I rolled into town.”
“Maybe,” Eagle says. “That’s the price of being overlooked for the VP position. He’ll settle down soon enough.”
“And in the meantime? Starlet will be his target.”
Someone knocks on the door, it opens, and a passaround delivers two beers.
“Do you know why I started this charter?”
“Money.”
“That’s part of it.”
“Territory.”
“That, too. A few years ago when General Motors pulled out of Shreveport, economists tagged Shreveport-Bossier the fastest shrinking economy in the nation. And that may be true. We have high crime rates and casinos and strip clubs on every corner.”
“Is that really a problem?”
Eagle chuckles. “I see it as an opportunity to invest in the community. To win the trust of the people here, offer protection to the mom and pop shops that provide vital services to the city. With American steel getting a boost from the new president, Benteler Steel and other manufacturers are going to expand. And if we’re already established as the dominate club…”
“That’s why you brought me in, isn’t it?”
“To deal with local, crooked politicians who want to raise the sales tax and property taxes and drive out all the regular people we need to be successful? Yeah. I already have a hit list. And I need your head in the game, not between Starlet’s thighs.”
He’s right. I didn’t accept his offer and move across the country to get saddled with an old lady. I’ve had my fun. Starlet is beautiful and wild, but I need to end our relationship before it gets any deeper—before I end up making mistakes.
“I’ll take care of the problem.” If Eagle knew the effect Starlet has on me he’d keep me as far away from her as he could.
“Will you?”
Yeah, after I fuck her a hundred more times and make sure she can never forget me. It’s primitive, but it’s real—she makes me feel like a caveman, all grunts and groans, mindless and wild—driven by nothing more than the need to possess her one last time. “Have I given you a reason to doubt my word?”
“Not your word, brother, but your judgement.”
I have to keep my temper in check. Eagle is my president. If I didn’t want to answer to anyone, I should have turned down the offer to move here. What has Starlet gotten me tangled up in? “There’s no need to be. I reported it, didn’t I?”
Eagle rubs his chin. “Do you know the story of how Angel and I hooked up?”
I’ve heard bits and pieces around the clubhouse. Angel changed her name and underwent plastic surgery to alter her looks in order to keep the club safe. “I know enough.”
“Love for a good woman can make a brother take risks.”
I look away. Who said anything about love? Lust, yes. A little obsessed, maybe. Addicted to what’s between her legs … I’m a man, it goes without saying. “I met her a week ago.”
Eagle shrugs. “Time is inconsequential. Took me one dance to know Angel was the only woman for me.”
“I’m not you.”
Eagle tries to hide his smile. “Whatever you say.”
The back of my neck throbs as I wait for him to say something else that casts a shadow of doubt over my reputation. No one has ever questioned my ability to follow through on what I need to do. “Are we finished here?”
“Dismissed,” he says, gesturing toward the door with his head.
I don’t waste any time escaping the conference room. Sonofabitch, I hate being put on the spot like that—criticized and challenged. Starlet needs to explain what she’s done. If a charter can’t control its women, then they don’t deserve to be called outlaws. But damn I’m conflicted by my personal feelings for her. The very thing I’ve spent my life avoiding—complications—the temptation to choose someone over my club.
“Where are you off to?” Shorty stops me at the front door.
I stare down at him, irritated by his constant interference. “Try breastfeeding one of the prospects,” I say, pushing past him.
His echoing laughter follows me outside. Growling with frustration, I trudge to my bike. Now I have to prove myself to Eagle and my brothers. Worse yet, to my fucking self.