Chapter Eight
Elle
Today had been craptastic. When I’d returned home I’d checked my email to find the rules of engagement, at least that’s how I thought of them. My father had detailed the conditions of our agreement—a hasty, anger-filled moment that now defined my existence.
The conditions were simple, all the more brutal for their simplicity. There were four simple conditions on raising the $500,000: I had to raise the funds with bounties or completed bond contracts, so I couldn’t bond my way out of this deal. All contracts for bounties had to be in my name. The money had to be collected by sworn contracts by five p.m. April 17—only twelve days left to raise another three hundred thousand. All expenses, including any Jackson Bonds labor, must be deducted from the revenue raised. I’d considered flying out to try and grab another couple high bonds, but the costs would eat the profit fast.
In short, I was fucked.
I had opened the bottle of wine before I’d even read the terms he’d set for the marriage. I had no words to describe how small I felt at having my father dictate terms of marriage. What fucking century was this anyway?
My phone buzzed. And I was buzzed, the thought made me giggle. I was definitely tipsy. The message was from Rebel. What had I gotten myself into with him? I swiped his name and the message made my head swim.
Send me a picture of your tits and all is forgiven.
Disbelief and anger swarmed together building momentum in me, a lethal combination mixed with the wine. Who the hell did he think I was? I was not some biker babe with no sense of self-worth.
My fingers tapped against the screen as I typed out my response. Fuck you, you misogynistic bastard. My thumb hovered over send.
Then sense flooded back into me. He wasn’t my rat bastard father, and this wasn’t his idea of fun. Okay, maybe it was, but this was my undercover assignment—the one I’d begged him for. I deleted the words and stared at the screen.
My father had led me to this desperate situation by backing me in a corner. His terms for raising the money were impossible but his terms for my marriage were easy in comparison. Except I never wanted to marry, never planned to marry, and sure as shit didn’t do it for business. Of course he knew all that, which is why the conditions hadn’t been nearly as harsh. They sounded so very simple. I must show proof I was married before he retired on June 30 and remain married for 60 days after I received the company. The final condition wasn’t so hard either—I had to live with my husband while married.
All my life women had traipsed in and out of my house on the arm of my father. He collected them like others collected figurines. Always in love, he’d married three of the multitude, of course none of those marriages had lasted long. Janice had stuck it out five years, Beth had lasted two and Megan was at the six-month mark.
Of course he and my mother had been married ten years before I was born. A complication from her pregnancy had ended her life the same day mine began. I think he truly loved my mother, and his response to the grief was to find a replacement, but none of them had ever lived up to her memory. I’d shunned the idea of love before I’d reached 15. After the third marriage, I’d sworn to never marry. Marriage was supposed to be forever, but it wasn’t, no one stuck around forever. Besides love was for suckers like Daddy. Love broke people, like it had him, and I never wanted to experience it. I’d lost enough.
I refocused on my phone. I’d spent precious minutes fuming when I needed to act. He’d said there was a time limit and I was running out of time in every facet of my life. Did I back down? Trust him to do the job right?
This was my life and I was in control. I’d take a hundred pictures of my breasts to keep that control. I stripped off my top and unfastened my bra leaving it behind on my couch. I headed to my bedroom and full-length mirror. How would a biker chick do this? Probably with fuck me eyes and a pretty pout.
I could make fuck me eyes. I could do anything. Thinking of what I’d already said to Rebel, this wasn’t really a big deal. Hadn’t I promised to have sex tonight? And good God I wanted him in the worst way. I remembered the way his eyes burned into me, claiming me even before I knew who he was.
After I snapped a few pictures, I picked one in under a second and sent it off to him. Not giving myself time to process that I’d not only taken, but sent my first nude picture. I hurried into my closet and found a skimpy strapless bra I’d worn with a sundress. I hoped it’d work for the T-shirt thing he wanted me to create. My phone pinged. Rebel had sent an address with a warning to be there in thirty minutes. Thankfully it was only ten minutes from my place. I called a cab then focused on makeup. Red lips, dark liner and mascara. That was all I had time for. I stuffed my driver’s license and cash in the skin-tight shorts I’d packed myself into. Finding some high-heeled slides, I slipped them on my feet as the cab honked in my driveway. Hoping I’d done enough to be a biker’s girl, I headed out.
The bar where Rebel was hanging out had been part of a reclamation project in midtown Dallas. The neighborhood had gone from blight to trendy bars, night clubs and a few shops. It was all part of the effort to bring more people back to the heart of the city. I’d moved into one of the early rehab projects and I loved my townhouse, it was cute and close to everything, especially work.
Work brought me back to the night in front of me. What had I signed up for? I considered calling Jess for advice but rejected the idea. I was a big girl and if I was going to earn the cash I needed, this wasn’t the last time I’d be crossing into foreign territory.
Rebel territory.
My spine tingled with anticipation and my nipples poked out of the tight half shirt I wore. One of the reasons I hated skimpy bras, they had no nipple protection, but then tonight that might be the least of my worries.
Committed to my new undercover assignment, I tried to get into character. What would the others expect? I knew sexy, right? Right. The catty voice of self-doubt called bullshit on my answer. I’d spent lots of years suppressing sexy so others took me seriously. A blonde with double E’s didn’t inspire confidence, so I’d strapped my breasts down just like I had the sexy side of me, the side who wanted Rebel to do naughty things to me tonight. Heat burned in my cheeks and I banished my fledgling desires to the dark pit of my mind. I had exactly ten minutes to deconstruct his shirt and get my ass inside. I gave the driver some cash and booked it to his bike—flashy with fire and skulls painted on it. No other bike looked like his and somehow that fit the little I knew about him. No one would ever forget him.
Making quick work of the shirt, I cut up both side seams and stripped the shirt of sleeves. I cut around the neck then put it on to see how deep the vee would have to go. The picture he’d sent me showed off lots of boobage. By the time I’d murdered his shirt it was literally tied together. Brotherhood flashed across my chest. The back still showed the Jericho Brotherhood clear enough, which I figured was the point of this whole shirt thing. Or maybe he just wanted me to dash across town like a crazy woman.
Inhaling deeply, I straightened my spine and stuck out my chest, leading with the assets. I didn’t text him, I was here because a part of me, an important part of my feminine core, wanted to see his reaction to me in his shirt.
Tonight I’d put myself into his care completely, while I trusted him to keep me safe, I didn’t know if we were on equal ground in the attraction department. I hoped my entrance showed me just how much he wanted me.
Swinging open the door, I felt eyes on me. A large group of guys staked claim to the center of the bar, so I walked in that direction. Our eyes met a moment later and the stark lust in his gaze almost made me trip.
Damn. He definitely wanted me. I don’t know if anyone had ever stared at me with his kind of heat, but I lit up, burning hotter by the second.
He scraped back his chair and strode to me. His gaze traveled up and down me in the seconds it took for us to meet.
“Fuck, baby.” He claimed me in a kiss. His mouth devoured mine as if he was a starving man and I was the first meal he’d had in weeks. I wrapped arms around his neck and let him plunder me, surrendering to the pleasure cascading through me with an intensity I’d never even guessed existed. Lost to his touch, my body sagged into his, my knees quivered and toes tingled. Kisses really did make your toes curl.
He cupped my ass, pushing me up against him. I gasped and he deepened our kiss with his tongue dancing across my lips and back inside. I rubbed against him, my body seeking more of the delicious sensations rocking my world. He slipped back from me, not even an inch, but the space left my intoxicated senses demanding more heat, more delight.
I blinked and tried to find myself again but the yearning to be connected stole my reason. His hands slid down my arms until he grabbed my hand, turning and tugging me behind him. I followed still in a drugged haze from his touch.
A wolf whistle penetrated and I glanced around. Every man in the place stared at us with hunger in his gaze. I glanced down catching sight of Rebel’s fine ass moving forward. But then every part of him was more than fine.
He sat next to a Hispanic guy with long hair and a grin splitting his face then pulled me down onto his lap. His erection pressed into my ass. Flutters of heat moved through me. He definitely wanted me and oh boy did I want him. In fact if he kissed me like that again, he could do anything he wanted to me no matter who was in the room. I understood a whole other kind of physical attraction, one that surpassed my wildest imagination, skyrocketing past any experience I’d ever had. I was almost thirty and had my share of lovers, but nothing even compared to his hello kiss. My mouth went dry. What would it be like when we had sex? Suddenly, I had to know, and soon, hours felt like eternity and knowing became more important than anything, even spying on Stone.
“So you’re the woman tying my boy in knots?” The Hispanic guy took me in from head to toe but his eyes met mine. Points for him, most guys talked to my boobs.
“Who, me?” I had no idea what he talked about. Rebel might want me, but I’d be a distant memory the next day or maybe the day after that. He didn’t have a relationship vibe.
“Blondie, this is Charlie, pay no attention to the stories he tells.” Rebel smiled.
My God, the man had dimples and my heart flipped in my chest.
“Elle, this is Charlie, everybody’s friend, but nobody’s friend more than mine.” Rebel’s words confused me, but I smiled at Charlie.
“Oh, honey, your smile is so sweet. You new to our life?” Charlie blew out smoke rings.
Smoking was illegal but no one seemed inclined to stop him. A quick glance confirmed half the guys were smoking. Not sure what to say, I just nodded. We hadn’t created a cover story, but new, yeah I was new and no way would I convince anyone otherwise.
“Breaking her in to our life? Man, that’s a tough job, but you have compensations.” Charlie met Rebel’s gaze and something passed between them.
“I deserve hazard pay.” Rebel pulled me back into his chest.
I liked it there against his hard muscles. The scent of whiskey and leather surrounded him and I’d tasted the whiskey in our kiss. “You want a drink?” He murmured in my ear.
The tickle of his breath in my ear created an ache low in me. I wanted him to bite my ear, suck my neck, and kiss my body they way he’d taken my mouth.
“You keep giving me those fuck me eyes and I’m taking you before we go.” He growled in my ear.
My chest swelled and I wanted him. Against the wall, right here, what did I care?
Get your shit together, Jackson. I tried to shake away the fog of sex that had descended on me when his lips touched mine.
“Your girl made it just in time, compadre. Let’s hit it, boys.” Charlie stood and the rest of the table followed his lead.
Rebel set me on my feet and stood behind me. “You look perfect in my shirt. Stay glued to me.”
Charlie grinned at Rebel. “Boy, never seen you have it so bad. Never thought I would.” He smacked Rebel’s arm and walked around us.
Rebel didn’t follow, he waited until the other guys moved before he led me out, trailing maybe twelve other bikers. Some of the guys found bikes and headed out. Others waited on their motorcycles. Rebel walked over to his bike, parked right next to Charlie’s, I think they called that kind a chopper. He threw a leg over and waited for me to get on behind him. So no helmets. Totally legal in Texas. Was that against the biker code? I had no clue but filed it away to ask him later.
“Don’t get lost.” Charlie threw the words over his shoulder before he revved his bike and pulled out of the lot. Rebel laughed then zoomed out behind him. We were moving fast, and it hit me, Rebel had been drinking for who knows how long. Shit. Was he safe to drive? Let alone drive this fast?
I swallowed my fear, deciding I’d just have to trust him. I’d all but begged to be part of his world tonight, so I’d take what came without questions and hopefully without fear. For once in my life, I wanted to be wild, to dig into the long-denied part of me and see what surfaced. Bubbles of excitement fluttered through me. I have no idea if it was the freedom of being on his bike with the wind in my hair, if it was this thing building between the two of us or if I just needed to let loose. I’d kept myself contained, in control, all my life, but tonight if I was brave enough, I might give up my control and live wild. What could it hurt for just one night?
When we slowed, I caught where we were, an old stockyard in one of the less desirable parts of Dallas. A part where taxis never ventured and cops tried to avoid. My first step into the wild.
Rebel parked next to Charlie. I slid off the bike first, once he stepped off his bike he drew me to him. My chest hit his. My softness against the hard planes of him. Breathless, I let my hands roam over his chest, wanting to feel his skin against my skin.
“We’ll catch up.” He spoke over my shoulder.
A laugh was the only answer.
His lips met mine and this time I did the kissing, pressing my mouth to his, my tongue exploring. He groaned before he took control pulling me under with a touch. His hands found my breasts and squeezed. I moaned even as his mouth moved from mine to nibble at my ear. “You are so fucking hot it’s killing me. You don’t stop tempting me I’m taking you here.”
Wasn’t that the plan?
“Baby, I’m trying to be the good guy here, wait until we make it to my room, but damn, you in my club shirt is stirring me up.”
I let my hand run down the smooth surface of his stomach and grabbed his erection. “We don’t have to wait. Not sure I can.” And that was the damn truth.
“Fuck.”
Pain shot through my ear. He’d bitten it hard and while it brought me out of the fog, it turned me on too.
“This way.” He stepped back from me, then wrapped an arm around me. We walked up the line of bikes toward a dark corner at the far end.
Were we going to do this? I’d never had sex in public, I mean this wouldn’t be like having sex in front of someone, which he’d warned me about and I wasn’t sure if I could do that, but sex where we might be discovered, I was up for that. Or maybe I was so turned on I was up for anything.
Once we reached the dark corner, he pushed me against the back of a building. The air smelled of city and an earthy scent still clung to the stockyards. A street lamp glowed in the opposite corner of the lot and a sea of bikes were between my dark corner and that light.
I closed my eyes then did the thing I’d avoided because once I looked, I wouldn’t be able to look away. I opened my eyes and met Rebel’s cinnamon gaze. So damn sexy. “What do you need?” His hands rubbed in circles on my breasts. My body quivered. I needed him, everything he’d give me.
“I want it all. Every bit of you until you have nothing left to give.” I hadn’t meant to say the words rolling through my mind.
“My kind of girl. I demand everything. You’ll give me more than you know you have.” His dark words created a curl of need in me.
Our lips collided and my body pressed into his. His skillful hands unfastened my skimpy bra and then it was gone.
He broke the kiss. “You won’t need this.” He threw it behind him.
My God, he’d thrown away my bra. I never went without a bra. I opened my mouth but no words came. He’d slid that masterful mouth down to my breast, teasing my nipple, pulling gasps of pleasure from me. My body thrummed, on edge needing more but not wanting to give up the exquisite delight of his lips.
Heat built inside me and I arched into him. His hand snaked down my pants, slipping aside the thong I’d worn tonight. How’d he gotten there? The spring breeze hit the bare patch of skin low on my torso. My shorts were unbuttoned, I totally missed that. His mouth suckled me while his fingers slid through my wetness.
His low groan created goose bumps along my skin. “Please, yes.” I was so close. Overflowing with need, I pushed into his hand, faster and faster.
“Take it, baby, yeah.” His words drove me on.
The force built bigger and bigger until I cracked open and the yearning transformed into satisfaction. “Rebel.” I clung to him as my body shuddered and then calmed. Never. No one had made me come like this.
I stroked him through his jeans needing to touch him, relieve him like he had me, but he pulled my hand away, holding both my hands to my side. “Don’t touch.” He grinned at me. “I want to wait, savor the hunt.”
A new flame of desire lit inside me at his words.
“Tell me now. What are your limits?”
“Limits?” I didn’t know what he meant.
He closed his eyes before refocusing on me. “What do you want to do tonight? At the party? What do you not want to do, no matter what?”
“Besides Stone?” I stalled for time because I wasn’t sure. I wanted a lot, but not too much. If it didn’t make sense to me how could it make sense to him?
The smile was back. “Yes, besides him. We’ll get back to Stone in a minute.”
“I only want you.” That was easy. After the brushup with Joey, I knew I never wanted to be one of three or more.
He nodded but stayed silent.
“I’ve never done wild, let myself go there.”
His eyebrows raised. Was that anticipation in the glint of his eye?
Damn his silence. “Could I do what I want? Tell you what I want and you do it when I want it? No stopping me, like now.” I looked down at his boots afraid to see what was reflected in his eyes.
His thumb settled under my chin and pushed up. I searched his face for a reaction, maybe even disapproval. That’s what I feared.
All I saw was satisfaction.
“I can do that. But you’ll have to use your words.” He searched my face. “Can you do that?”
“Oh yeah, I can so fucking do that.” I grinned wide.
He smiled back. “You’re like Christmas morning.”
I cocked my head not understanding what he meant.
“Christmas always holds the best surprises. Looks like my Christmas is in April.”
Heat crept into my cheeks. Why was I blushing? I didn’t blush, ever. Yet tonight I’d done it twice. Rebel brought out parts of me I didn’t even know were in me.
“So about Stone?” I had no idea what to do with that Christmas comment.
He chucked my chin. “His bike is about a third the way down the line. I got a tracker to stick under his fender.”
He had tracking gear. My level of infatuation shot up, I loved a man who was prepared.
“When we get close, I’ll say fall and you stumble. I’ll place it as you get up.” He kissed my nose. “Angels will always have us, everyone not part of their club, in their sights.”
A chill chased down my spine. The Angels of Death were serious players, and I didn’t want to screw up. “So our cover?”
“You’re my woman, we’re partying with Charlie and ended up here. We go everywhere together, get me on that?”
“You said it before, twice,” I huffed. “I can defend myself.”
“My girl wouldn’t and a girl here not in the sights of her man, well then, she’s everyone’s girl.”
I gulped. This world didn’t have normal rules. What the hell was I doing?
“I got you. You be wild, let it all out, know I won’t ever be more than a touch away.” He sealed his promise with another kiss.
Eventually we moved from our dark spot, ambling toward the noise of the party. He kissed the top of my head which was sweet. A hot sex god with wicked fingers shouldn’t be sweet too.
“Fall.” He nuzzled my ear.
One step, two and I fell. Somehow he broke the fall, not that I needed him to. He knelt. “You okay, Blondie?” His hand shot out and if I didn’t know to look for it, I’d never have spied him sticking a tracker on the bike.
“Damn you got skills.” I laughed, standing up.
“Oh I know, and you haven’t even sampled my best skills.” His arm tightened around my waist. “I can hardly wait to show you.”
“That sounds promising.” We turned a corner and the noise amplified. Music, the buzz of conversation and more met me head on. I’d never been to a biker bash, but this seemed supersized to me.
“Is this normal?” I kept my voice low.
He shrugged. “Normal isn’t part of our vocabulary.”
“Where are we going?” I couldn’t tell one group from another.
“To Charlie.” He held me tight and we walked in a slow stroll, in no hurry apparently.
We passed five naked women lying on a table, holding shot glasses in interesting places. Bikers lined up for shots and some of the men must have had talented tongues that lapped more than the liquor because the sounds of pleasure didn’t sound fake.
A bonfire blazed in the distance and the music came from there. People danced, maybe doing more, it was hard to tell from this distance, and I didn’t really want to get closer. I don’t think my wild ran toward that kind of hedonism but it definitely intersected squarely with the sexy guy holding on to me.
“Compadre, thought we’d lost you to the pleasures of the night.” Charlie’s eyes landed on me.
“Ah, Charlie, glad to know I was missed.” Rebel clasped the guy’s shoulder.
Bikers liked to touch, well he’d touched me all night, but it surprised me how often they touched each other. I’d never guessed they were like that.
Charlie glanced to the guy on his left and he moved away. Rebel sat beside Charlie, no one said a word. The whole interaction lasted seconds—it was like there was some pecking order everyone but me knew about. Maybe in a club that’d make sense, kind of like a wolf pack, but here the order was distinct. I had no idea how that happened. I wondered if anyone had ever studied MC dynamics, they had a distinct way of life.
He settled me close to him on his lap, curled into his chest, my thoughts about biker anthropology vanished. Just my useless sociology degree surfacing. Dad had insisted I graduate from college, and I’d ended up with a double major—sociology and criminal justice.
“You want a beer?” He spoke directly into my ear, low and private. Every time he’d talked to me around the bikers, he’d done that, like our conversation wasn’t meant for the others. He made me feel special and I soaked up the intimacy.
“Whiskey and beer for my girl.” He spoke to someone. I must have missed the question.
A few minutes later, a half dozen totally naked girls paraded over. One stopped in front of Rebel bending low and showing off her boobs, mine were bigger and better. Where had that come from? When had I become jealous?
Rebel took the whiskey and beer. The girl faded away. So was she one of the girls for everyone? I shivered. No, I’d never want to be her. I liked Rebel’s protective presence even more.
He set his bottle of whiskey down and twisted the top off the Bud Light before handing it to me. I drank down the ice-cold liquid, realizing I’d worked up a thirst somewhere in our adventures. He winked at me before unscrewing the bottle of Johnnie Walker. He and Charlie clinked bottles before he drank.
Charlie had acquired a redheaded drink girl. I glanced away. Lots of the guys had found women and in that moment, I realized two truths—some things you could never unsee and I needed more beer. Lots more beer. I finished my beer and Rebel handed me another. Where had that come from? I glanced at the dirt. An iced bucket of beer and four bottles of whiskey set on the ground. Shit, the naked girls and blow jobs had distracted me. I’d missed whoever delivered our goodies.
“Turn around here.” Again the low tone, just for me.
I wiggled around until my body faced him and my legs were on each side of the chair. The metal chair rocked while I settled in a comfortable position.
“That’s better.” He drank more Johnnie Walker, half the bottle had disappeared.
“How much of that can you drink?” I bet it was a lot.
“Charlie, what was the count last time you drank me under the fucking table?”
“You passed out at five.”
I made the mistake of glancing over. The redhead had her head buried in Charlie’s crotch, sucking him off. What did I do with that?
“Five, darling.” He showed me his dimples with the smile. “Now kiss me.”
That sounded like the best idea I’d heard since we’d left our dark spot. One minute we were kissing then he moved to my breasts. I moaned and nibbled his ear. “You’re working me up.”
He grunted but didn’t move from my breasts, I think he must be a breast man. The idea amused me. “Tits or ass?” I whispered into his ear. He kissed me. “Both, baby, why settle for one. I want it all and you got it.”
His answer set something free inside me. No one ever said that, all the guys I’d ever dated were all about my breasts, but Rebel wanted it all. I remembered his words, I demand everything. Tonight he’d said I could have anything I wanted.
Was I brave enough? Maybe.
His hand moved between my legs, rubbing the rough jeans material into me. I dug fingers into his shoulders, throwing my head back to give him better access to my body. He bit down on my nipple and I shouted out from the climax exploding inside me.
“More?” He breathed out the word.
Oh yes, I wanted more but not the kind of more he was thinking of. I slid my hands under the bottom of his shirt to touch the chest I’d salivated over all night. I rocked into him and his head fell back, eyes fluttering closed. Breathtaking.
My mind made up, I moved down to his belt unfastening it before I unbuttoned his pants. His hands stilled mine. Eyes open, the question was reflected in his eyes. Did I want this?
“What’s this about?”
I rubbed his hard length.
Desire flitted across his face. “Use your words.” His breathing heavy, eyes lidded, but he still wanted to be sure I wanted this.
Hell yes this was about me and the need I had to taste him. I’d never done this because I’d never had any desire to suck someone’s dick before. No one had driven me crazy with teasing touches until all I could think about was touching him. But that had changed. This was my night to explore all my untapped desires. “I want to suck you. Here. Now.”