My growling stomach woke me up. I opened my eyes and blinked away the pain from the bright sunlight. I was definitely more of a night owl, usually staying up all night, drinking and thinking.

I thought about last night, how the hours had melted away while Gabby and I made love all night. It’d been so long since I’d done anything like that, and it had woken up a part of me that had been dormant for way too long.

I found myself possessed with this insatiable hunger for Gabby, and no matter how many times I sank myself into her, it was never enough.

My cock was throbbing hotly between my legs right now, never letting me forget that hunger for a moment. I threw on a pair of jeans, shoved my gun in my waistband and walked out into the living room to find her.

A flash of alarm shot through me when I saw the open door, the sandwiches half made on the kitchen counter.

“Gab?” I called. “Bear?”

Determined not to make a fool of myself like I had earlier, I took a deep breath as I walked outside to look for them. Bear probably just needed to go out again. No big deal. Nothing to be alarmed about, I told myself.

I walked out into the bright sunshine, squinting my eyes and looking around for them.

“Bear?” I called out again, and then I heard his barking. I walked towards the sound, around the back of the house. “Bear!” I called again, and he barked once more, the sound coming from deep in the woods.

“Shit,” I muttered, walking down the trail.

“Gabby?” I called out. I was answered with more barking, and nothing else, as I kept walking, then I heard the growling. A low, angry, threatening growl that I’d only heard Bear make once when a raccoon came up on the porch last summer. I started running towards him, knowing whatever I found wasn’t going to be good. I pulled out my gun just as I rounded the corner, and froze in my tracks.

“What the fuck!” I yelled. Bear was standing on top of a very large man that was sitting on the ground against a tree, his bared teeth inches from the man’s nose. Gabby stood a few feet away, staring in shock at the scene in front of us.

“Get him off!” the man pleaded, his eyes glued to Bear’s growling mouth.

“You okay?” I asked, walking over and standing between her and Bear and the man on the ground. It was then I saw his cut. One of the Godz.

“I’m fine,” she whispered.

“Get behind me,” I said, turning to Bear and the man.

“Get him off!” he pleaded again.

“Who the fuck are you?” I asked, making no move to pull Bear away.

“Gino. Gino LaRocca,” he answered.

“So the Godz sent you,” I replied. “Fucking took you long enough.”

“You’re a fucking no-name club. Nobody knows fucking anything about you. Yeah, it fucking took a minute, but did you think you were just gonna get away with fucking with us?”

“No, I’m smarter than that. But you must not be very smart, coming all the way out here by yourself.”

“Who said I’m alone?” he said, the words spitting from his mouth. Bear lunged at him, growling louder. “Fuck! Can you please do something about this fucking beast?”

“Nope.”

“Ahh! Fuck!” he screamed, jumping when Bear snipped at his nose.

“So, here’s what’s gonna happen, Gino,” I began. “We’re gonna get to know each other a little bit, you and I. I’m going to pull Bear off but don’t think he won’t bite your fuckin’ head off in a second if I say the word, you got that? We’re gonna go into my cabin, and we’re gonna have a little chat. You understand?”

“Yeah, yeah, just fucking get him off of me!”

“Good. Okay, then. Don’t fucking try anything, because I’m the one holding the gun, you got that? And Bear’s a lot faster than you might think. He’s a big boy, but he has good reflexes, if you know what I’m sayin’.”

“I won’t, for fuck’s sake!”

“Bear,” I called, snapping my fingers and pointing at the ground next to my foot. “Come!”

With a disappointed whimper, he backed up, removing himself and walking over and sitting at my feet, his eye still glued on the man in front of us.

“Now, stand up, and put your hands up,” I commanded. “Nice and slow, no funny stuff…”

He stood up, sweat pouring from his face, his breath ragged and sharp. I pointed my gun at him, gesturing in front of us.

“Drop your weapons. All of them.” He grunted, pulling his gun from the back of his vest, and dropping it to the ground.

“Kick it this way!” It slid across the ground in the dirt and Gabby reached down and picked it up.

“What else you got?” I asked, cocking my gun towards him. He reached down and pulled a knife out of each boot and one out of his front pocket and threw them on the ground. Gabby picked them up and then looked at me questioningly. I avoided her eyes, not losing my focus on this guy for a second.

“Walk!” I yelled, and he jumped slightly.

What a pussy, I thought, as he turned and walked away. He didn’t even try to fight back. His hands were shaking, the back of his neck with slick with sweat, and he stumbled along like a man gripped with terror.

“For fuck’s sake,” I said, as we followed him into the cabin. “What kind of stupid, spineless motherfucker are you? You didn’t shit your pants, did you? What would your club say if they knew you were so terrified of a little puppy dog?”

He grunted an answer as we made our way into the cabin.

“Gabby, there’s some rope in the closet. Tie him up!”