I was dreaming of him. He was making love to me, whispering and calling me beautiful and gorgeous, his fingers in my hair, his lips on mine. I was licking his lower lip, then sucking on his tongue. I was feeling his cock sliding in and out, really slowly, all the way in, then all the way out, and that piercing kept hitting my clit on every inward glide. I was panting and saying his name. Tingles revving up between my legs. And then, as it hit me, I woke up.

I woke up mid back arch, mid gasp, mid-ORGASM.

Oh shit!

That wasn’t a sleep-orgasm. He was here, outside my dreams, in the room I was in, holding me, making love to me, leaned over me and looking into my eyes, propped on his forearms, which were planted near my armpits, both hands holding my face, as he moved inside of me, his gorgeous turquoise eyes emitting heat. I cried, huge, straight into his mouth as he kissed me. He groaned and collapsed on top of me.

I was panting. Blinking rapidly. Attempting to process.

“What the fu-fuck?” I whispered from underneath a curtain of his hair, which was over my face, smelling like green apples. He was breathing into my throat, his heart hammering into my chest.

He gave me a lazy smile and kissed my lips. And then he was nibbling on my ears, my throat, nipping at my chin with his teeth.

I went to push him, but I heard the sound of metal against iron. Or whatever against whatever. I couldn’t push him. My wrists were cuffed to the headboard still, and I’d pulled so hard I could feel my body protest, pain shooting up my sides.

“What the fuck?” I said, a little louder.

He frowned.

“Sleep-fucking, gorgeous. Fun stuff.” He brushed hair out of my eyes and got up, pulling his dark blue track pants back up, as they’d been just down enough for him to fuck me.

I was in shock.

He’d fucked me while I was sleeping. And I came. And as I saw him put that pierced beast away, it registered that it was un-fucking-gloved.

He came inside me.  He came----

“Uncuff. Un-c-cuff!”

He looked at me with curiosity.

“UNFUCKING CUFF! Find the key. FINDTHEKEY. Find the motherfucking key!”

He put a knee to the bed and leaned over me, touching my face. He was calm. I was absolutely not.

“You were grindin’ on me. I was sleepin’ and you whispered my name in my ear in that sexy fucking voice of yours. It was just sleep fuckin’, gorgeous. It was a nice way to wake up. Never woke up like that before and gotta say, I liked it.”

“Find the key, Rider!” I shouted, pulling on my restraints, my fists clenched. He smirked. Smirked! God, I wanted to punch him in the face. He was being so cocky.

My heart was pounding so hard I was afraid it would explode out of my chest and splat into the ceiling.

“Or a chainsaw or a fucking bomb. I don’t care, Rider. I want out of this bed and I want out now!”

“Okay, darlin’. I’ll see what I can find.” He sauntered out of the room, no shirt, like he had all the time in the world, leaving me in the bed, freaking out. I started hyperventilating.

He just had sex with me while I was asleep.

And I came. Came! And how loud was I? Did the bikers in the basement hear that? Since when did I make so much noise during sex?

But, I knew since when. And I refused to think about that and what it meant.

I was so mortified. Why did I even dream he was making love to me when yesterday I saw a video of him gang-banging a girl with three other guys there? I was under the blankets and my jeans were at my feet. Sleep fucking, my eye… He’d gotten them undone and completely off. I doubt he was asleep when he did that, because no one had that kind of dexterity while they were asleep!

My panties were also gone. Nope, wait… not gone, but they were around one ankle. I was covered by the blanket, but most of my right leg was exposed, so I tried to shuffle for better cover.

Too long passed before he was back. But, at least he had two cups of coffee in his hands. He put them down on the dresser and then he turned back toward the door. I squeaked in protest as he left again.

Five or ten minutes passed before he was back with a red toolbox.

He rifled through it and then smiled.

“Bingo.” He held up a key.

All the air left my lungs as I let out a gusty breath of relief.

“Now,” He held it in the air, looking mischievous. “You gonna be a good girl?” 

“Don’t you even…” I hissed.

“Uh, uh, uh…” he wagged a finger at me, reprimanding, but with a playful smirk.

He leaned over and lifted a cup of coffee to his lips and took a sip.

“Open it. I need to pee. I need to move my arms. My arms are afuckingsleep, Rider. Don’t play games.”

“Say, please,” he sang out.

I bared my teeth at him.

“P-l-e?” he spelled out helpfully.

My eyes narrowed.

“a-s……e?”
What a jerk.

“Waiting…” he sang out.

“Please,” I said, emotionless, eyes fixed on the ceiling. But, inside, there were so many emotions. So many, I could barely contain them.

He leaned over and reached for the cuffs. His teasing manner vanished and he looked serious. “I open these and we talk.”

“We’re over. So, we don’t need to talk. Ever. I forget I had to watch you gangbang that girl on the video with your biker asshole friends and you forget me. Done. End of story.” I brushed my palms together in an ‘all done’ gesture. Sort of. My hands were still cuffed, so it was awkward, but I was sure my point was made.

“We’re over?” He asked, but he was smirking. Not just smirking, looking like he was fighting off the urge to laugh.

What the heck?

“Duh. Obviously.” I pointed out.

“Naw. Don’t think so.”

I glared at him like he was insane. Because he was insane!

“Naw, I don’t like it. We’re not done,” he said with a sparkle in his eyes.

“Oh yes we are!” I insisted.

“Maybe I’ll keep you here until you change your mind,” he mused.

I looked at him like he was insane. Because he was still insane!

“You do anything naughty, you’ll get cuffed again.”

“Grr,” I growled, glaring at him.

“Be naughty,” he invited. “Please be naughty. Dare ya.”

“I don’t believe you,” I said.

“Yeah, well believe, me, gorgeous. Try anything that puts you in danger and I will cuff you again. And I’ll duct tape that gorgeous mouth, too. Which’d be a shame, because it and all that’s been comin’ out of it? Complete turn-on.” He lifted a roll of duct tape out of the toolbox to show me and then dropped it. I stayed stiff, glaring.

All that was coming out of my lips was a turn-on? I’ve been cussing non-stop and spewing hate at him since he got here.

He then unlocked the cuffs and when they popped open, my arms felt like needles and pins went shooting through them.

“Ah!” I felt pain and relief at the same time. “We are SO over. And I can’t even believe I was gullible enough to fall that hard for such an asshole.” I let out a moaning noise of discomfort and relief woven together.

His eyebrows went up. I looked away.

I whimpered at the relief some more.

He leaned forward and aggressively grabbed my hands. Before I could protest, he was massaging my wrists and my arms. I was about to pull away, but he tightened his grip and if I was honest, what he was doing was actually helping.

I looked to the bedspread, though, letting him do it. He was helping, but I didn’t make eye contact because I could feel his eyes on me. And it was as if they were generating heat on my skin.

Finally, I chanced a look up, since he hadn’t let go, and I was right; he was shooting angry lasers from his eyes. Why was he angry?

I was the one who had a right to be angry.

But, my eyes looked everywhere but at him.

“You’re a real piece of work, you are…” he muttered and let go, finally, and I carefully reached down under the blankets and pulled my panties onto my other ankle and, still not looking at his face, I lay back down and lifted my tush up to haul my undies back up and on under the blankets.

I was not dignifying that weird statement with a response.

He reached for his cup of coffee and sipped it, enjoying the awkward Jenna Show.

Having no other choice, due to his rudeness, I got out of the bed, in my tank top and undies, and I hauled my pants back on, nearly tripping as I did. I had a sock on my left foot. My other foot was naked. I threw the door open, blowing my hair out of my eyes. He stayed in the bed, leaned back on an elbow, and was watching me, sipping his effing coffee.

I glared over my shoulder at him. “Enjoying the show?” I snapped.

He snickered, “Yeah. A lot. And guess what?”

I glared, “What?”

“We’re nowhere near over.”

“What?”

“Thinkin’ we’ll have to stay here another day, explore all the ways we’re not over. I think I’d like to know just how hard you fell for me. Then, we’ll talk about whether or not you can end it.”

My body locked tight. Shit. Not only was I ‘that’ gullible, but I clearly had a case of verbal diarrhea.

I stared, waiting for him to laugh or smile or tell me he was joking. He just stared at me.

“No. NO! We are so over, even farther than over. So far … there isn’t a word for it.” I bit that sucky comeback out awkwardly and whirled and dramatically stormed to the bathroom. By the time I got there, I was mortified, because the whole way, I could feel him leaking out of me.

God, I couldn’t believe he did that to me. He’d even been gloved in that video. I guess that was consoling, since he was up some skank’s ass, but still. I couldn’t think about it right now.  

I paused. Skank or rape victim. I didn’t know what to believe. If she was a victim, I felt bad for calling her that. If what he’d said was true, she was a total skank. But, that didn’t change the fact that he and I were O-V-E-R.

Not over? That didn’t make a lick of sense.

I opened the medicine cabinet over the sink and found decent lady face wash, four unopened toothbrushes, and other basics. I washed my face and went to town on my teeth with a new toothbrush.

And as I attacked my teeth, I tried to think of an attack plan to get myself out of here. And in one piece. So, I could rescue Ella. Even if she didn’t know she needed rescuing. Because she did.

This shit was whacked.

I found a package of ponytail holders in there, too. Clearly, Rider’s sister and / or mother spent some time here. Or some biker bitches. Not just because of the ponytails, because both Rider and Deacon had long hair, but there was even a jar of pretty damn expensive moisturizer, which I slathered on my face and neck. Generously. Screw him.

You kidnap me, I’ll use up all your expensive shit.

I heard noises in the kitchen and when I stepped into the hallway, spotted that Bronto and Jesse were both there, so I went back into that bedroom and grabbed the untouched cup of coffee, so I wouldn’t have to look at their faces and try to determine whether or not they heard us having sex, heard me moaning and groaning.
Ugh.

Rider wasn’t spotted on my walk from the bathroom back to that bedroom.

When I closed the door behind me and sipped the coffee, I spotted his motorcycle jacket on the floor. I took another sip and put the mug down, then went for it, lifting it so I could rifle through the contents of his pockets. No keys, but his wallet, a switchblade, a strip of four condoms. Asshole. He was packing condoms and still went bareback with me that morning! A phone. Not mine, his. Not password protected. Jackpot. Ella’s number was saved in it under ‘Deacon’s Ella”.

Good. I made a mental note of her phone number, which I had to try to memorize. After last night’s fiasco I’d memorize all my close friends’ numbers.

I hit the button to call her, saying the digits in my head as it rang.

“Where are you, Elle?” I demanded when she answered.

I heard a vehicle start up outside.

“We just got home,” she replied. “Where are you?”

“This asshole biker has me at a cabin and he took my phone and I just found where he hid his. I need you to find out where this place is and come fuckin’ get me. I’m not spending a minute longer than I have to here with him.” I rifled through the bed linens and found my missing sock.

“Rider has you there?”

“Yeah.”

“Why is he keeping you there?”

“He doesn’t like that I broke it off. He’s trying to convince…oh fucking shit.” Before I could finish explaining that he was trying to convince me he wasn’t a rapist, he was taking the phone out of my hand, saying “Nuh, uh, uh.” He had the cuffs in his hand. He clinked one around my left wrist.

“What? Why are you…” I demanded. The other end clinked against the headboard. He let go of me and was texting on his phone.

He backed away.

I pulled on the cuff, but it was pointless.

I plopped down onto the bed.

“Why the eff did you cuff me?”

He backed away as he kept texting.

“Rider!’ I shouted.

He left the room saying, “’Cuz you’re bein’ sassy and not the kind I like. Be back with breakfast.”

“I don’t want breakfast! I want you to uncuff me!”

He was back ten minutes later with a plate of two toaster strudels and a bowl of some chocolate junk cereal. He put both beside me on the dresser beside the bed. He lifted my coffee cup, seeing I’d emptied it, and took it with him.

When he was back, putting the re-filled cup down, I tried to reason with him.

“I have to go. I have appointments at the salon that I’ve probably missed. I don’t even know what time it is! And---”

“Ella and your roommate got someone named Debbie to take care of the salon. She’s covering your appointments today and tomorrow.”

I glared.

“So, about us being done,” he started, looking amused. I wanted to wipe the smug look off his face.

“We’re done. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

“You were grinding against me this morning, gorgeous. That doesn’t say done,” he teased, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

“You were just a warm body.” I muttered, not making eye contact.

“You said my name,” he said, voice low, not with humor, with accusation. “My whole name. Don’t pretend you were asleep.”

Damn it. Me and my mouth…

“I was asleep. It’s over. Whatever I thought we had, I was wrong anyway, so just take me home and forget we ever did anything. You see me on the street, you don’t have to wave or smile or say hello. Just forget all of this. I’ll do the same.”

“You told Ella, he doesn’t like that I broke it off? Broke what off, Jenna?” he snickered. “What did you think we had? What do you think you ended?”

“Whatever I thought it was, I was off base. I didn’t break it off. You did. Back home.”

“I did?” He folded his arms and jerked his chin. “Explain.”

“You ended whatever I thought we were building on when you left my apartment five minutes after fucking me the other night. You didn’t want anything but what you got from me. So, it doesn’t matter.”

He threw his head back, laughing like I was absolutely hysterical.

“That’s funny that you’re only after one thing?”

“It’s not funny if that’s all I was after. What were you after?”

“Weren’t you?” I asked.

“I didn’t get a chance to figure out if I was after anything. Also didn’t get a chance to figure out your motivations, either. Other than what you showed me.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me,” he stated. “I didn’t get a chance to make an informed decision, because you were hidin’ half the cards, babe.”

“You used me,” I said.

“Could say the same about you,” he fired back.

I shook my head in confusion. “We went out. We had a bunch of conversations. How could you not know if you were after anything? You got sex. Twice.”

“So did you,” he said.

Duh. What?

I stared. He stared.

So I continued. “And the last time, you left like you didn’t give a shit about anything but sex, so I figured we were done. Now, you’ve had me abducted and had sex with me again. Unprotected, I might add, which, after seeing what you get up to with other girls does not leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy.”

“Well, I’m all warm and fuzzy after how we woke up. I don’t mind putting all the work in once in a while, just so long as it’s not all the time. Saw your pills in your bag last night, so knew I was good ungloved. I don’t go ungloved, ever, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. Do I?”

I shook my head in confusion.

“You looked in my bag?” I didn’t know what’d happened to it. I had it when he caught me by the door the night before.

“Yeah. And sleep fuckin’ gives you a pass on avid participation, gorgeous.” He left the room and returned with my handbag, tossing it beside the bed and gesturing toward it. “So, let’s backtrack. What did you mean by ‘I can’t believe I was gullible enough to fall that hard for such an asshole.’ How hard did you fall for me? Because you did a bang-up job of hidin’ it.”

I glared.

“You been playing it cool, playin’ your games.  I find out from Ella you’re all doe-eyed over me, but I get somethin’ altogether different from you. Once in a while, you let me see you, and I show you I like what I’m seein’, then you put that wall up again. Naw. We’re not over. This game we’re playin’ here is a fuckuva lot more fun than that game. We’ll play this a while.”

I was horrified. What did Ella say to him?

And what?

“This game?” I asked.

His reply was a big cat’s-got-the-cream smile.

I gave my head a shake. “This is a game? A game? I’m suddenly under ‘protection’ because of the shit your biker gang has gotten into, getting my best friend kidnapped. And then I find out you’re all being accused of gang raping a girl, of which the evidence does not paint you in a great light. I’ve seen it and I heard how your sicko buddy promised you’d all fuck all her holes until they were bleeding while she pleaded for you guys not to. And this is a game? Kidnapping me? Fucking me while I was asleep without a condom? A game?”

He just stared at me, looking unaffected.

I continued. “And I’m being held captive in a cabin in the woods, which is shady as fuck.”

“Already said it; not gonna keep repeating myself about what was on that video. For the last fuckin’ time, she was into it. She had a safe word and a hand-signal she could use if she couldn’t use her mouth.”

“Gross,” I hissed.

“She’s a Jackal old lady now, she wasn’t then, and she’s twisted that to give the Jackals reason to have another beef with us. The fact that there was a video tells me it was all part of some jacked plan. And it wasn’t just hidden. The camera work tells us someone was hiding, filming.”

“This is not my problem,” I told him.

“No, it’s not. It’s my problem, gorgeous. That’s why I’ve got you here. You’d be at home, at your salon, whatever, with Bronto shadowing you, keeping you protected, but you bolted, putting yourself in danger. And then you were unreasonable, which is why you were cuffed. And this is a fuckin’ lot more fun than the games we were playin’, so since you’re obviously into the games, I pick this one. We’ll keep playin’ as long it continues bein’ fun.”

“Uhhh… what?”

“Think you heard me, gorgeous.”

I shook my head, unable to wrap my brain around all that.

“And how do you explain fucking me this morning when I was sleeping, knowing how pissed I am at you? I could say that was rape-like, since I didn’t give you consent. Maybe you don’t understand the concept of consent, Rider Valentine, but it’s---”

“No. Don’t pull that shit. You gotta be here so you don’t get raped or dead. I’m taking it upon myself to see that neither happens. And while I do that, I like a fuckuva lot the sparks that are flying between us, so I’ve decided to keep the friction up, so they keep flyin’.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“You knew I was pissed. Knew it! And you also knew I was asleep so even if I was doing that, you should’ve known better. That means that you---”

“You started it,” he cut me off again and did it with a shrug. “Maybe you’re just pretending you were asleep.”

“What?”

“Wouldn’t surprise me the games you’ve been playin’.”

“What?” I repeated. Was he out of his mind?

“Though gotta say… waking up, you cuffed and at my mercy, dry humping me. Fuck. Sayin’ my name in your sleepy sexy voice. Seemed pretty consensual to me. You didn’t say no. You came hard. And you kissed me. Fuck, but you can kiss.” He bit his lip and his eyes traveled the length of me.

My stomach dipped. I ignored it. Seriously, stomach?

“I like this version of you better. This version, I can work with.”

“What?” I asked, disgusted.

“You know.” He rolled his eyes.

“No, I don’t. Why don’t you indulge me with an explanation?”

“The real you. Not the game-playing Jenna back in Aberdeen. This is you. The cussing, spitting mad, fightin’ Jenna. Not the one playing games, being coy. Using me to get off.”

“Using you to get off?” I asked.

He stared at me.

“Using you. To get off?” I repeated.

He shrugged.

“Maybe if you’d been interested in more than sex you would’ve gotten past those walls and seen plenty of the real Jenna, and not one who has decided she hates your lowlife biker guts.”

He raised his eyebrows at me. “Why you gotta be two different Jennas?”

I gave him a sour look.

He continued to stare, challengingly, at me.

“I need to go. Uncuff me. Take me home or let me walk, but open the cuff.”

“We need to get a few things straight before I take you home, namely that you need to let Bronto do his job. Let him shadow you and don’t give him the slip again.”

“No. All of you can fuck right off.”

“Then no deal.”

I glared.

“Uncuff me.”

“Nope. You can calm down first, then we’ll see what’s next. Eat your breakfast.” He wandered out of the room.

“I don’t want this junk!” I shouted.

“It’s what you get. Sorry, Starlet. Got no caviar kickin’ around today. Maybe tomorrow.”

I seethed. And seethed some more. Eventually, I ate tepid Toaster Strudel. And then I ate the cereal, which had gone mostly soggy but tasted like Reese’s peanut butter cups and was so good, I decided that when I was home, I was hitting the nearest Costco for the biggest box I could find. I was gonna pour a gallon of milk right in the box and eat the whole thing. And then after what felt like hours of nothing, he was back.

He held up the key between his index and middle finger.

“Gonna be good?”

I batted my eyelashes at him.

“Behave yourself.” He undid my cuff.

I pulled my wrist close and glared at him.

“I just want you safe. The other shit, what’s real, what may or may not be over, we’ll figure that out. Okay, babe?”

I blinked some more. Benign. Chastised. I winced at a cramp in my wrist.

He must’ve thought I was docile because he moved in and reached for my face.

“Hey,” he said gently.

“Back off, asshole,” I smacked him right across the face. Hard enough that my hand was stinging.

He looked incredulous. He grabbed my wrists and pushed back, pinning me to the bed, holding them above my head. His lip curled. My fingerprints were on his cheek.

“What the fuck? What if I’d done that to you?”

I glared at him. “Get your hands off me.”

“No, really, Jenna. What if I smacked you? What is it with bitches thinking they can hit a guy, but he can’t hit back? Reverse sexism is what that bullshit is.”

“Did you just call me a bitch?” I hissed.

“Did you call me an asshole first?” He challenged.

“Oh, so what? You’re gonna hit me? Typical biker piece of shit. Smacking their women around.”

His eyes glittered with anger.

“You know nothing about bikers and you know sweet fuck all about me.”

“I know you’re a lying, cheating, piece of shit.”

“What lie? Who did I cheat on? Are you my woman, Jenna?”

I glared.

“You and I aren’t in an exclusive relationship, are we? Or are we and someone forgot to give me the memo?”

I huffed.

“Cuz if we are and I missed that notification, we have a problem, baby. And that means you’re a hypocrite. I saw you on a fuckin’ breakfast date with a guy the other day. So, if you thought we were beginning a relationship, did you cheat on a lyin’, cheatin’, piece of shit lowlife biker? What would that make you, Jenna?”

What?

“A date? I haven’t---”

“Was that not a date with that suit you were having a coffee with who touched your fuckin’ hair, what, eight or nine hours after I fucked you? And news flash, I haven’t slept with anyone since sleepin’ with you that first time, so if we were in a relationship, or if we were starting one, I’d have a clear conscience. How ‘bout you, baby?”

“I… that was… Dan is…” I huffed.  Wait. I didn’t owe him an explanation! “We weren’t starting one, though. Were we, Rider?”

He eyed me sourly. “Naw, we weren’t, Jenna. ‘Cuz I can fuck a materialistic selfish hypocrite bitch a coupla times to get my rocks off, but that’s my limit. Definitely my limit if I barely get off.”

I blinked as I absorbed that. Hypocrite, materialistic, selfish? Wow.

Wait. Barely get off?

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged, “You’re so good at drawing conclusions, go ahead and draw one.”

“Barely?” came out in barely a whisper.

“Barely,” he confirmed, his eyes were hard and cold.

My chin started to tremble. I was having trouble fighting off the tears.

“Oh. So, I’m not just a selfish game-playing bitch, I’m a selfish bitch who’s lousy in bed?”

“You’re the one that said it, babe.”

“You weren’t complaining.”

“You weren’t payin’ all that much attention or maybe you’d have noticed that yeah… I kinda was. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back for seconds. I did, to see if maybe I could work with you a little, since you get my motor runnin’ and fuck, you kiss better than any bitch I’ve ever kissed. Seriously hot fuckin’ mouth on you.”

I was breathing hard and my chest was burning. I was trying very hard not to burst into tears.

“And you talked a good game. Things were hot when we made out, but it fizzled out fast. Too fast. I’ve never done monogamy before, certainly don’t plan to do it if it’s also lookin’ like monotony.”

“Then why are you he-ere?” my voice cracked. I held my breath and willed my chin to stay still, to not tremble.

“Told you. I’m here ‘cause there are people out to hurt me and the brothers. They might target you to accomplish that. I don’t wanna be responsible for that.”

“Well, I release you from any obligation.”

“Don’t work that way.”

“Well---”

“These guys can’t get ahold of you. I won’t let that happen. A good friend of mine, a brother Lick, he’s dead. My sister almost got dead. She’s gonna have scars. The kind you can see and the kind that keep her up at night that she feels. The only reason she survived is because they didn’t know she meant something to him.”

I frowned.

“They’d hurt you bad. You won’t get off as easy as Ella did. And Deacon’s girl was traumatized by what happened. Shoulda seen her.” He shook his head in memory and my heart ached. ”You won’t even get off as easy as Scoot did. And Scooter was severely beaten and ass-raped by a coupla Jackals on the side of the road.”

I straightened my shoulders. “Tell them I mean nothing to you, then. Send that message.”

“Nope.”

“Why?”

“That might not work. And did I say you mean nothing to me?”

I held his stare.

“And you mean a fuckuva lot to Ella and Ella belongs to my brother so now she’s my sister, too.”

“Let. Me. Go.”

“I let go, you gonna hit me again?” he asked.

I glared at him.

“Hit me again, I hit you back,” he warned and released my wrists and pointed at me.

He waited a beat, watching for my reaction. And then as he was getting off me, still pointing at me, I scrambled out of the bed, smacking his hand away and then I found myself spun, my back against his chest, his body pinning me face first to the wall.

“Fuck. You don’t believe me?”

“Fuck you, Rider Valentine.”

“You need a good old-fashioned spanking, you know that?”

“Let go of me.” I wriggled and struggled, but couldn’t move.

“Or what?” His voice vibrated against my neck. The scruff of his cheek was on it. He slid his chin across the area by my collar bone and then he tightened against me, against the wall.

My eyes bulged. His pelvis was against my backside and there was a definite erection pressing against my tailbone. I jolted. But, my body was out in goosebumps. His chin rubbed back and forth across my exposed shoulder.

“Throw you over my knee, jeans and panties tangled around your ankles. You’ll be at my mercy,” he whispered and then touched his tongue to my collar bone and then he sucked on my neck. Hard.

I shuddered. Or shivered. Or both. I don’t know. I grunted with a bit of struggle and he knew the effect he was having on me, his tongue running over my goosebumps, making me quiver. And then, he clamped his teeth down.

“Rider,” I said, meaning to come off bitchy but instead coming off breathy. He must’ve taken that as some sort of permission, because then he started grinding into my backside and sucking on my neck some more. Against my will, my neck rolled, and my head dropped back against his shoulder and a whimper bubbled up and out.

His hand dove into the front of my jeans and straight into my panties, his middle finger doing a curl right against my clit. He slid it down and put that finger inside me. He slid in with absolutely no resistance.

“Mm,” he moaned against my throat.

“Ah,” I tightened everywhere and felt the ridge of him pressed between my butt cheeks. My clenching had clearly extended back there by the sound he made. His free hand slid up my belly, over my breasts, to my throat and his palm rested over my throat at the front, his mouth suckling on my neck at the side. His fingertips touched my jawline. Then, his mouth released my neck and latched onto my ear a little bit roughly. “Fun playin’ this game with you, gorgeous. I need to fuck you,” he told me in a rough-sounding voice. “Need to fuck you hard and rough. Wanna spank you, then make you scream for me. Want a verbal consent this time so you can’t throw out any more accusations. I have your consent?”

Rational thought was slowly seeping back in. What was I doing? I had to make this stop. I had to, despite the fact that I was out in goosebumps and my panties were drenched. I wasn’t playing games. He was. I didn’t know how to play this game.

“No.”

“No?”

“No.” I confirmed.

“No to some of that or all of it?”

“You don’t have my consent, not for any of it,” I said. And he let go of me and backed away.

My heart was racing. I was out in goosebumps, and I was, oddly, almost disappointed that he backed away.  I turned around to face him. My face was hot.

“Why would you even want to, if I’m so bad at it?”

His gaze darkened, and he eyed me from head to toe and back to head again. He licked his lips and opened his mouth to say something, but then a phone started ringing faintly, from somewhere in the cabin.

He moved away. I followed. He went to the kitchen, reaching up into the cupboard above the refrigerator, pulling out his ringing phone. I wondered if my phone was hidden up there, too.

“What?” He answered and then his eyes narrowed as he listened.

And then his eyes were on me and his jaw was ticking as he continued listening. 

He whipped his phone. It bounced off the stone fireplace and hit the rug. It was definitely broken.

I took a step backwards and backed into the wall.

My eyes focused on his face. His lip was curled, his eyes were fiery mad, and they were on me.

My heart was racing.

“You gonna let me keep you safe if I take you home?” he snapped.

I shook my head slowly. “You don’t need to. I want nothing to do with you or your biker gang.”

“Then I’m not takin’ you home. You’re staying here.”

“Uh…no.”

“Uh… yeah.” He had a ‘don’t mess with me’ look on his face. He looked 100% serious and ready to bite my head off if I argued.

“What was that phone call?” I asked, my back still plastered to the wall.

“That was Mantis, Prez of the Wyld Jackals Sioux Falls chapter, telling me how they can’t wait to get their hands on my foxy fuckin’ hairdresser piece. And how they can’t wait to blow their loads on your heart-shaped ass before slitting your throat and watching you bleed out.”

Oh, my fucking … my hand came to my mouth.

“We’re stayin’ here and that’s final.”

“I’ll let Bronto be my shadow,” I whispered from behind my hand.

He crouched down and lifted his phone. The screen was cracked. He pushed buttons a few times and then tossed it to the coffee table. He moved back to the kitchen cupboard over the fridge and pulled one of those cheap phones out that was still in a package.   He tore the package open and was fiddling with it. He pulled another phone out that looked like my phone. He plugged it into a phone cord that was already plugged into the wall beside the toaster.

“Rider?” I asked.

“I don’t believe you’re bein’ straight with me, so no. You’re stayin’ here, tonight at least.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but nothing came out. I was shaking. This threat was real. And what if they found us here?

The phone he plugged in lit up and made a bunch of noise. I knew those noises. It was my phone.

I heard a noise outside, a car was coming!

I screeched and started to run toward the bedroom. He caught me.

“It’s Bronto and Jess. Look.” He had his arm hooked around my neck. He pointed me toward the window and I saw them stop the truck. Bronto opened the passenger door and he had two big pizzas, boxes stacked. Jesse shut his door, carrying a bottle of Jack Daniels by the neck.

I was shaking. Hard. But, I felt my shoulders unclench and I involuntarily sagged against him in relief. A reflex.

“It’s okay. You’re safe. I’ll keep you safe. Promise.” He kissed my temple and let go of me. I stared at him a beat, frazzled at the show of affection and protection. Especially after those words he’d just spewed.

If they were coming here with booze and pizza then he’d already decided we were staying here, obviously.

I turned on my heel and went back to that bedroom. The bed was unmade. The cuffs were still linked against the headboard by one side, the other side dangling. I shook my head and my eyes rolled ceilingwards. But, I was still shaking.

I made the bed and then I curled up on it, staring out the lace-curtained window, which pointed at nothing but forest. I closed my eyes and chewed on my lips, willing my body to stop shaking. It wouldn’t listen.

There was a magazine rack in the corner of the room. It was filled with my kinds of magazines, plus some crossword puzzle books, so I decided to leaf through some and try to keep my mind busy.

***

“Still pizza left in the kitchen if you’re hungry,” Rider said, hours later, as he came in and closed the door.

It was also darkening outside, probably around dinner time. And I felt exhausted. I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. My stomach rumbled.

I had to pee. And I was thirsty, too, so I stomped out and found my bag sitting on the coffee table. I took it with me to the bathroom.

I used the facilities, fixed my high ponytail, and found my birth control pills in my bag. I took it religiously every evening and was 100% relieved that I had my bag with me. I took one to the kitchen and washed it down with some water while I ate a slice of pizza over the sink. My phone was no longer on the kitchen counter. I opened the cupboard above the fridge and couldn’t see all the way in, so I dragged a stool over and stood on it. The cupboard was a junk cupboard, filled with all sorts of miscellaneous crap, but my phone wasn’t in sight. No other disposable phones, either.

I was still rooting around in that cupboard when I felt hands on my hips and startled. I was lifted off the stool and set on my feet and then spun around by my shoulders. Rider.

I stared into his eyes and my heart nearly stopped, because the way he was looking at me? Softness. And then something else. Lust? He was leaning in to kiss me. I stumbled back, to get away, my hands going up against his chest.

I heard laughter outside as the door was opened to the side patio.  Bronto was heading toward us, eyes aimed at the pizza box stack on the counter. I could see out the window that Jesse and some other guy, another biker, were lazing in lawn chairs around a campfire, Jesse with a beer in his hand, the other guy, a big blond guy that I could only see from the back, drinking straight from a JD bottle.

“Come out and hang with us, Jenna,” Bronto called cheerily as he swiped another pizza slice. “I bought marshmallows and s’mores stuff.”

I scooted around Rider, and marched back to the bedroom and slammed the door.

***

The door opened. I’d been lying there, deep in thought, not asleep. But, in the dark. I tensed, knowing Rider was moving to the bed and then my wrist was grabbed and there was the sound of a clink. The lamp was flicked on.

“You’re effing kidding me,” I moaned.

“Nope.”

“I’m just minding my own business!” I pleaded my case. And I had been. This was hours after that kitchen incident.

“Not takin’ chances you’ll fuck off. I gotta go. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“You what?” I demanded.

“Brady’ll have the key. Be a good girl. He’ll uncuff you in the morning.”

“Brady? Who’s Brady?”

“A brother. Jesse’s comin’ with me and we’re not leavin’ Bronto alone with you; you’ll terrorize him.” He snickered.

“You’re leaving and you’re leaving me cuffed? With a stranger? Rider, no.”

“Can’t trust you, gorgeous. Gotta go take care of something with Deacon and the boys. And it’s not a stranger. It’s Brady.”

“I can’t believe you. You’re a fucking jerk.”

“Then I’m a jerk. But I’m a jerk who’s goin’ to take care of your best friend’s trouble right now, and I need to do that while not worryin’ you’re gonna be getting yourself into trouble, ‘cuz I can only be in one place at a time. You being cuffed for the night is no different than if I was sleepin’ here anyway. I’m goin’ to take care of shit, I’ll sleep a coupla hours at the clubhouse, then I’ll be back.”

“Trouble? What trouble does Ella have now?”

“No time to explain. Be a good girl.” He moved to the door.

“I hate you.”

“There’s a fine line between hate and love, gorgeous.”

I gasped in shock. “Not for me. There’s a gap the size of the Grand Canyon.”

“You don’t hate me.”

“Don’t bet your Harley on that or you’ll be walkin’,” I huffed.

“I can deal with that if it means you’re breathin’ in order to hate me.”

“Go. And don’t come back then. Leave me with these babysitters until I can go home. I don’t wanna see your face again!”

“Bullshit.”

“Ever again. Fuck off and die.”

“You don’t mean that,” he said, and he came back to me, leaned over and kissed my temple.

“I do mean it, Rider Valentine. Fuck off and die.”

He shook his head at me, rolled his eyes, and then he left.

Left!