Searing pleasure quickly woke me as Pauline’s lips wrapped around the head of my morning wood. The way her tongue played as she sucked in my length was the perfect way to be woken up, hands down. Instinctively, I knotted my fingers in her hair, pushing her farther down.

“Good morning, darlin’,” I cooed as she looked up at me from between my legs with the smallest hint of a smile. “You better let me taste you while you do that.”

Pauline shifted on top of me, straddling my face as she leaned over to continue what she’d started. Her sweet nectar filled my mouth as my fingers gripped the tender flesh of her ass.

The muffled sounds of her moans and whimpers as I indulged her for a while was the biggest turn-on in the world.

Getting my dick sucked was nothing short of amazing, but knowing I was pleasuring her while it was happening made it that much better.

My phone blared from the nightstand, ripping me from my sex-soaked dream of reminiscence about years past.

“Ryder?” It was time for his morning check-in, right on schedule.

“We need to meet,” he barked quickly.

He had been behind enemy lines for just about five days, and finally he had something more to report than getting drunk with the new guys and prospects. He hadn’t even met the higher-up guys yet. They were lying low for good measure, and I didn’t blame them. I would have been doing the same damn thing. They knew how big the targets on their backs were.

“Go to the 24-hour diner. I’ll meet you there in ten.”

Ryder took longer than I would have liked to join me at the table. When he finally slumped down, the glaring shiner under his right eye smacked me in the face.

“What the fuck happened to you?” I whispered as the server filled his coffee mug.

He waved me off. “It’s nothing, just a little bit of a scuffle with one of the prospects when he got drunk last night. It was totally worth it though.”

I leaned back in the booth. “How so?”

“They offered me a prospect slot. The catch is that I have to take out an enemy to get it, the bigger the mark the better.” He gleamed with pride in the information he was divulging.

“They’re making new guys do their dirty work. I knew Rave’s death was too sloppy for an old guy to have done it himself. Too much was left to chance.”

“That’s the thing—they want it to look like an accident so it won’t come back on the club.” Ryder put creamer in his coffee as he smiled over at me.

“I have to hand it to them, it’s a pretty smart move.” I sipped my black joe, chewing on the information Ryder had just given me.

“Do you have any idea who might have taken Rave out?”

Ryder shook his head. “I’ve it narrowed down to three new guys. They could have done it together as a group for all I know.”

“Good work, kid. I’m impressed.” It was a small compliment, but it was true. I felt bad for doubting it, Ryder was proving himself faster than I had expected.

“Thanks. It’s been pretty easy. They’re a bunch of morons from what I have gathered. I mean, they trusted me really fast and way too much. They all have big mouths once they have a few drinks in them.”

“Sounds about right.” I chuckled to myself. Our biggest rivals weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. They believed in numbers, not caring if their grunts had anything going on upstairs. We were the exact opposite.

Ryder smirked down at his cell.

“What has you so happy this early in the morning?” I questioned, already suspicious of the answer. It was always a damn girl.

He bit his lip. “Raine.”

“Be careful, son. Abel isn’t going to let you get within a hundred feet of that girl, especially if you decide you really want into the club.”

“It’s just nice to have a friend,” he muttered.

“I don’t blame you there, and she’s a sweetheart. So, did they give you a hit list or something?” I couldn’t keep talking about Raine with Ryder. She was too much like a daughter to me, and he was too much like me; it just felt too wrong.

“Basically your entire club. Abel and you are the big targets.” He bowed his head. “Sorry, Pop.” I stopped dead, but not from the danger—there was always a threat on my life. What gave me pause was that it had been the first time he’d referred to me as his father in some fashion other than just stating facts.

“It is what it is, son.” I shrugged, trying to ease his mind a bit.

Ryder smiled a little more. “To be honest, I’ve been having a little bit of fun doing this. Thanks for trusting me.”

“You’ve earned my trust, Ryder. This morning proves it that much more.”