Chapter 9
Big John
I was fucking pissed! We’d just spent the better part of a fucking month searching for Shooter, Demo, and Whistler and had turned up nothing. Fucking nothing. The first place we’d looked was in Greenbush, where their clubhouse was located. Clay and I had spent a week sneaking around like pussies, hoping to catch sight of them. If they’d returned there after their release nobody knew about it, and they’d kept a low profile. Next, we headed to Last Hope, to talk to Covacks’ men, but they couldn’t provide us with anything different than what they’d already told Covacks. The descriptions of the men they’d overheard talking didn’t ring a bell with me.
We spent a couple of weeks on the road after that, checking out biker bars and hangouts, but that didn’t turn up anything either. People were afraid to talk, especially in Penobscot County, where those who’d been friends with the Trouble Makers MC knew that some of them were still around. No one wanted to get between two warring clubs when there was retribution involved. Someone was protecting them until they were ready to make their move. It was fucking ironic when I thought about it. They were supposed to be after me, but I was the one looking for them.
Well, they’d finally made their fucking move, and Hawk had decided to go on lockdown until we could flush them out. They were somewhere here in Solon. In our fucking territory. That alone brought a threat to our families. The fucking snow storm wouldn’t keep us from doing what we had to do to keep them safe. Right now my brothers were bringing in their women and children, and I was sitting and waiting for Clay and Cooper to return with Daisy.
The clubhouse was practically empty. Prospects and sweetbutts were readying the bar and restaurant for the overflow that couldn’t be put up in the upstairs rooms. The officers of the club and their families made use of those private rooms. Only a handful of brothers had sweethearts or old ladies, but other members had family who needed protection. Like Cooper’s sister and her family, Ned’s younger brother, and Jumper’s folks. Some refused to come, and we didn’t force them. If we could spare a prospect to stay with them we did at least that.
The door opened and I glanced up to see Clay, Cooper, and Jasmine walk through. I met Cooper’s eyes because he’d been the one responsible for bringing in Daisy.
“What the fuck?”
He shrugged. “She refused, brother, and I didn’t think you’d want me to put hands on her sweet ass to get her here.”
I scowled at Cooper, because he looked too fucking eager to do just that. “She still hurt?”
“I’d say she’s past hurt and on to pissed,” Jasmine said, giving me a scathing look. It was clear that she was pissed over the situation between me and Daisy, too. “You should have gone to get Daisy yourself, asshole. Her putting you in your place would have been worth watching.”
“What I did was for her own good,” I snapped, not giving a damn if Jasmine agreed with it or not. “Someday she’ll thank me.”
“Huh! You men are all alike,” she began, walking up to me and poking her finger into my chest. “You show a woman you’re interested in her, get what you want, and then toss her to the curb with some lame excuse.”
I growled as Clay wrapped his arm around Jasmine and pulled her away from me. He knew that I’d been about to lose my shit. No one talked to me that way and got away with it, and I wasn’t about to explain myself to his woman. The reason that I’d pushed Daisy away from me that night. It had been hard as hell to walk away from something that I’d felt all the way to my fucking gut would have been worth the fight.
“Control your woman’s mouth,” I snarled at Clay. Jasmine’s jaw dropped, her eyes bugged, and she began to struggle against his hold. Luckily Clay covered her mouth with his hand and kept her contained. I held my hand out to Cooper. “Give me the fucking keys. I’ll go collect her ass myself.”
Grinning, he dug the keys out of his pocket and dropped them into my palm. “Want me to come along to help?” he joked.
I just glared at him and pivoted toward the door. “Your sister and her family arrived about twenty minutes ago,” I said as I stormed away. “Tell Prez I’ll be right back.”
As I drove the distance to Daisy’s house, it occurred to me that I wasn’t exactly in the right frame of mind to deal with her. I was pissed that she hadn’t come with her friend, pissed that I’d cut off my involvement with her so that this very thing wouldn’t happen. But her close association with Jasmine, and the fact that her friend was Clay’s woman right now, put her right back into shit. Fuck! I couldn’t get a break.
I thought that maybe I should just fuck her and see where that left us. Hell, I hadn’t been laid in a month, not since the day I’d looked into her inquisitive green eyes for the first fucking time and had silently claimed her as mine. A month, that was some kind of record for me. I liked pussy, liked the relief I got when the stress of the day erupted out of the end of my dick. I’d gone through life fucking any woman I’d wanted, any time, and denying myself had shocked my system. At the very least, it had shocked my dick.
I pulled into Daisy’s drive and cut the ignition. I knew the door would be locked, but I tried it anyway. Then I began to pound on it, ringing the bell in between. After a few minutes, more than enough time for her to make it downstairs, I was about to turn around and march to the back of the house for the back door, when movement inside kept me planted where I was. Daisy was slowly making her way to the door, all wrapped up in a thick fluffy robe, her hair still showing signs of a recent shower.
She looked good enough to eat, and I felt my breath roughen with arousal the closer she came to the door. I could tell the second that she recognized it was me, and I couldn’t help but grin when her pretty mouth turned down and fire brightened her eyes. There was no missing that my presence did not make her happy. Well, that was just too damned bad. If she hadn’t been so stubborn, she would have already been at the club, safe with the rest of the families. This could have been avoided.
It just proved that she didn’t know shit about me or what I was capable of.
She would, before too long.
“Open the door.” I cringed at the harsh demand passing through my lips, and couldn’t blame her for slapping her hands onto her hips and refusing my request.
My gaze fell to the deep V that putting her hands on her hips had caused. Plenty of smooth, creamy flesh was revealed, but I wanted to see it all. My dick had a one-track mind when it came to Daisy and what he wanted, jerking strongly behind my zipper.
“Do you want to rephrase that?” she scowled.
Fuck, I liked her fire. But I wasn’t about to turn all syrupy and say please. She should have known better. “Open the door, babe, or I’ll open it for you and I guarantee you won’t like how I go about it.”
She weighed my words, as if trying to decide if I’d follow up my threat. “Nice, Big John.” She reached up and turned the lock. “I told you to leave me alone. I don’t want you here.”
I yanked the door open and stepped inside. “I don’t care what you want.” My nostrils flared, taking in the enticing scent that trailed behind her as she moved away. I wanted to lick whatever the hell it was off her body. “You’re coming back to the club with me.”
She paused and turned back around to face me, disbelief on her face. “No. I’m not connected to you or the club in any way, so I’ll stay right here where I’m safe.”
I snorted. “Safe, babe? Do you know how easy I could have broken through that glass door? And I bet the back door to this place isn’t any better, unless you had it replaced when you moved in.” Her deflated expression revealed that she hadn’t. “Get dressed and pack some shit.”
She held her ground stubbornly. “Why? Because your club is on lockdown? That means nothing to me. You can’t come in here and tell me what to do. You’re nothing to me.”
Christ, that hurt. I forced myself not to move, not to reach out and just make her do what I wanted. I didn’t expect her to understand, our worlds were different. She was a civilian, lived by the rules and laws that society dictated. We did, too, in a way, but our rules and laws were dictated by the members of the MC. We voted on what worked for our club, we had each other’s backs and stood together as a team. We didn’t get the law involved in club trouble because we took care of shit on our own. It was the way most hardcore MC’s worked.
“You’re stubborn, woman,” I growled. “And I don’t have time for this shit.” I bent at the waist, caught her in the belly with my shoulder, and swept her off her feet. I heard her outraged humph as I continued to the back where I knew the stairs led to the second story.
“Put me down!” Daisy screamed, beating her little fists against my back as I easily carried her upstairs. “This is crazy, Big John! I’m not going with you and there’s nothing you can do about it!”
That’s what she thought. If I had to drag her ass back to the club the way she was dressed I would. I opened her door and plowed through the room, following the layout of her apartment until I reached her bedroom.
“Put me down!” she demanded angrily, wiggling wildly against me.
I dropped her down onto her bed. She bounced a few times before coming to rest on her backside, robe parted and exposing a lot more of her tempting flesh. The sash was still around her waist, the material settling between her legs just enough to keep the sight of her pussy from my eyes. In spite of that my mouth watered, visualizing what it would look like. Was it shaved bare, revealing how pink and plump it was? Not a good image to have, because my dick was in hard-as-hell-fuck-mode wanting inside of her. I had to get my mind back on the issue at hand.
I’d have time to fantasize over Daisy later.
As long as I could get my dick in the game.
“I hate you!” she hissed, breathing heavily.
“No, you don’t. You hate what I did to you.” We both knew that we were talking about the night of the Christmas party. “I did it for your own good.”
“You know what? I’m not going to argue with you. You’re right. I hate that I was attracted to you. I hate that you seemed to return that attraction, and then decided to nip it in the bud the way that you did. But I thank you for not making it worse by fucking me first. Because you know what, Big John? I was so ready for you to fuck me that night.”
Fuck, she hadn’t just said that. My dick jumped for joy in my pants, while volcanic heat surged through my blood as I visualized the act of us naked and fucking like wild animals, devouring each other in primal lust.
Then she drove the nail into the coffin. “I also want to thank you for the best orgasm I’ve had in years. Better than my ex-husband.” What the fuck? She’d been married before? “Better than my dildo or my fingers.”
The thought of another man owning Daisy left a bitter fucking taste in my mouth. Somehow it was worse than if she’d fucked around, because she’d given her heart away, had let a fucker claim all of her. She’d been his to cherish, to love, and fuck twenty-four-seven. I wanted to know what happened but knew that I wouldn’t ask because that would mean that I cared more than I wanted to let on. I narrowed my eyes as we continued to stare at each other, both angry and determined to get our way.
“Daisy--” I was growing frustrated with her obstinacy. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” The little witch’s eyes went straight to my hardened dick before darting back up to meet mine. I clenched my jaw.
“Why do you want me there?”
“To keep you safe.”
“I could understand if we were like Clay and Jasmine, but I’m not your concern, Big John. What makes you feel that I’m in danger?”
“Not just you, anyone connected to the club. We have a situation going on right now that puts our families at risk. Enemies will go after anyone they think could weaken us. That means our enemies go straight for the people we care about. Clay’s an important member of Phantom Riders, Jasmine is his flavor of the month. You and Jasmine are tight. If they can’t get to her, they’ll go after you. If that happens, there’s nothing we will do to save your ass because we offered you protection.” There was no way I’d let that happen, but if saying it forced her to relent then I’d do it. “Not saying that will happen, it’s just a possibility of what could.”
I could see a light of understanding gradually soften her expression, deflating the fight right out of her. “Sounds complicated.”
“Not really, babe. Just the way we do shit to keep the ones we love safe. I don’t want to see anything happen to you, either.”
She lay back with a heavy, resigned sigh, and I could tell that I’d won the battle this time. I gave Daisy time to come to grips with the reality of the situation, while I ate up her exposed curves with my hungry eyes. She was built like a woman should be, soft with plenty to fill my hands with, the kind of fleshy curves that could support my pounding weight, let me ravish her like the animal in bed that I was. God help her if I ever got the chance to show her what she did to me, what she made me feel.
Why I was still fighting our attraction, especially now that she was going to be close whether I wanted her to or not, I wasn’t sure. I wanted her under me, but I wanted more with her. And that scared the ever-living fuck out of me. I wasn’t the forever after kind of man. I needed to stick with the club whores who knew what I needed, gave it to me without question, and then moved on to the next brother.
Besides, Daisy deserved more than I could ever give her. And it was obvious that she’d been hurt in the past. I wouldn’t add to it.
“I can feel your eyes on me,” she said softly, not moving.
I grinned. “If you don’t move soon you’ll feel my hands on you.” I reached down and moved my hard dick into a more comfortable position. There was never enough room in my pants when I had a full-blown erection.
Daisy leaned up on her elbows, a sexy little smile on her lips. “I guess I’d better move then, before I tempt you into doing something that you don’t want to do.”
“What makes you think I don’t want to?” I growled, stepping back when she scooted off the bed.
She stood directly in front of me, looking so small and yes, tempting as hell. I sucked in her mild, flowery scent as if it were my drug of choice. “Oh, I have no doubt that you want to,” she said, catching me off guard. “Just not with me, right?” With that, she walked away. “Could you please give me some privacy so that I can dress?”
She couldn’t have been more wrong. Instead of grabbing her and showing her, I left her bedroom. What the fuck was I going to do while she was stuck at the club? Having her so close, still wanting her like fuck, was going to be sheer torture. I suddenly wished that Clay and Jasmine hadn’t hooked up, but Jasmine was exactly his kind of woman, and it hadn’t taken him long to claim her. I didn’t know how long they would last, and I didn’t really care. But as long as they were together, that meant that Daisy would be part of club shit.
Keeping my distance was going to be fucking hard, if not impossible. I’d already half convinced myself that since her association with Jasmine involved her in the club anyway, it was okay for me to act on my fascination for her. Fuck that. Christ. I was smitten with the woman, and it was driving me crazy. It was probably also the reason that I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing when I was around her. I’d never questioned myself before, and never about club shit, but this? Maybe I needed to see a fucking counselor for advice.
A snort of laughter escaped me at the idea. My brothers would have had a field day if they’d known the shit that was going through my head. I went to a window in Daisy’s living room, pulling back a curtain to observe the conditions outside. The storm seemed to be dying down a little, thank fuck. Once we got our families settled into the clubhouse, I’d head out with a couple of my brothers to see if we could locate the Trouble Makers that were hiding out in our area.
Lockdown wouldn’t keep me from doing my job and protecting the club.
Bikers weren’t known for letting a little thing like the weather get in the way of their fun, and I knew of a couple of hangouts that would be open and running. If we were lucky, someone had seen something worth mentioning. The civilians in Solon and the surrounding areas counted on us to keep drugs and other illegal shit out of their towns. We donated a lot of time and money as a show of good faith, so they returned the gesture with their loyalty, even if some didn’t necessarily like our presence.
Anything outside our influence could go for or against us.
A movement outside of the house caught my attention. A vehicle was moving slowly down the road, too fucking slowly. It came to a stop in front of the house, but no one got out. Maybe they were lost. The car was a Cadillac SUV, and wasn’t the kind of cage an MC would use. For one, the windows weren’t tinted. The only occupant was the driver, who seemed to be looking toward the house. I narrowed my gaze, but I couldn’t make out if it was a woman or a man. They finally moved on, and I turned when Daisy entered the room.
She was fucking beautiful in a deep green sweater that made her eyes pop and fell to her shapely thighs. Beneath that she had on a pair of figure-hugging leggings tucked into boots that stopped right beneath her knees. She’d braided her hair into a loose, fat rope that settled over the full roundness of her left tit and made my hands itch to run through it until it was a silky waterfall running down her back. In her hand was a small overnight bag.
“Know anyone who drives a Cadillac SUV?”
Her brows drew together into a frown, and eventually she shook her head. “Why?”
I shrugged. “Probably nothing. One just went by. Anything you need to do before we head out?”
Her gaze moved past me to something in the kitchen. “I put on a pot of stew for me and Jasmine. Do you suppose it would come in handy at the club?”
“Food is always appreciated, babe.” My gaze followed her as she made her way to the kitchen. She unplugged the crock pot and picked it up. “I’ll get it.” I walked to where she stood and took it out of her hands. Seconds ticked by as I stood staring down at her, and she stood staring up at me. Words weren’t necessary. It was clear in her eyes that the attraction was still very much there, and I knew as sure as shit that I was feeling the same way. I clenched my teeth and turned away.
Nothing was going to happen.
Yeah, right.
I was screwed.