Pepper
After Crystal and I thankfully made our way inside the compound unnoticed, I walk to the kitchen and ask Cook if I can help with dinner. He's reluctant but gives in and lets me cut fruits and vegetables. Then, I make dips for both trays.
“Thanks, sweetheart. Go on, supper will be ready in about an hour,” Cook says once we’ve finish preparing the food.
“Not a problem. I’m glad to help.” I check the time on my watch and head upstairs to see what I have that one would deem appropriate for an MC club party. I know the BB’s wear hardly anything all the time, and it’s probably worse at a party, so anything I have on will make me look sorely overdressed and misplaced.
In the common room, I’m stopped by a beautiful woman with curly dark brown hair and hazel eyes that sparkle when she smiles. “Hi, you must be Pepper.”
I extend my hand and smile. In the first few seconds, I can tell she's one of the nice ones. “Yes, that’s right.”
“I’m Mack’s ol’ lady, Carrie.” I quirk my brow, and she notices my confusion. “He’s Wolf’s older brother. He is the club enforcer for two charters. We’ve come to help with the lockdown.”
“Nice to meet you, Carrie.”
“I want to thank you for what you did for my niece. She’s the only little girl in the family. We would take nothing for her.”
“Yes, your mother-in-law told me she was the only girl. She’s very sweet, and I’m happy to have helped get her to safety. I’m sure the family is glad you’re here.”
“Come sit and let’s have a chat, get to know each other.” She waves me toward the couch. I glance at my watch to check that I have time for a small chat. I follow her and sit beside her. Legs crossed, she looks at me expectantly.
“How long have you been Mack’s ol’ lady?” I ask, grasping at straws.
“We’ve been together for over ten years. We started seeing each other in high school, then I became his ol’ lady about five years ago.”
“You said he’s the club’s enforcer. What exactly does he do?” I’m in an entirely different world here with Wolf and the club, and being an author, I won’t deny that I’m genuinely curious about their way of life.
“He’s responsible for making sure that all rules are followed, as well as the by-laws of the clubs.”
That sounds interesting, albeit frightening, I must admit. “Ah, that sounds dangerous,” I comment.
“You adapt to the life, Pepper. We aren’t privy to the details of the on-goings in the club. We’re just ol’ ladies, but it’s our responsibility to stand by our men and trust that they will honor their brothers and families till death.”
Well, that sure is a heavy reality to accept. I change the subject. “Will you and Mack be at the party tonight?”
“Everyone will be there, Pepper.”
I study her clothing, then lean forward. “Would it be too forward for me to ask what would be appropriate for me to wear tonight?”
“I can come to your room and see what you have.”
Elated, I stand and motion for her to follow me up to Wolf’s room.
“Let’s see what you got,” Carrie says after we make it back to my current home. I toss my suitcase up on the bed. I unzip the top and sort through my clothes, pulling out a black dress that fits like a glove and cut off denim shorts and a halter top that would completely display my back.
Carrie picks up the shorts and halter, inspecting it. “This is what you should wear.”
“Yeah?” I'm not so sure.
“Honey, you’ll be comfortable, and that’s what matters most. In that dress, you’d look the part of an outsider, like you should be at a fancy nightclub. Here, you want to blend in.” She hands the outfit to me.
“Thanks, Carrie. I’m out of my element here, but with the lockdown underway, Wolf said I can't leave until the threat of the MC has been eliminated.” I shrug. This all went to crap when I came to town. Not that I don't like the majority of people I've met, but it's not my idea of fun to be locked up in a strange place. My throat tightens the more I think about it. I clear those thoughts from my head and focus on Carrie.
“It won’t take them too long. The guys are good at what they do. Until then, take a ride on the wild side with the rest of us. You may find yourself liking it.” Carrie winks as she turns and leaves the room.
The lockdown makes this place feel like a jail, but being around Wolf is not a hardship. I freshen up for supper, then make my way downstairs in search of Wolf. As I step up to his office, the door swings open and I collide with a moving brick wall. I lose my footing and stumble, but he latches onto my elbow to keep me from hitting the wall behind me.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” His baritone voice is rich and smooth as honey. My gaze goes up his form, and I’m left speechless by the size of this behemoth. What the hell is in the water here? Every man I’ve met has been drop dead gorgeous, apart from Fox—ewww—but this one here is the most sinful and sexy. He’s the tallest of them all, standing at least six-foot-five, with spiky, sandy blond hair and eyes the color of the midnight sky. He looks like a Greek God chiseled in stone—broad and muscular.
Wolf comes out of the office behind him. His voice is harsh and irritated as he barks, “Gunner, take your hands off my woman.” He shoves the beast aside and grabs me around my waist, pulling me flush up against his back as he holds me tight. I sigh as I lean against him, feeling safe in his arms. I hear a throat clear, the sound deep and strong, and I turn to look up at Gunner.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
His angry glower transforms into a devilish smirk on his sculpted face that would make all women melt under his gaze. “If you decide you want a real man, let me know, darling.” Air hitches in my chest as his smooth timbre takes my breath away.
Wolf grumbles behind me, and I quickly shake my head to clear his alpha possessiveness from my thoughts. “Thank you, Gunner, but I don’t have a man now”—I look pointedly at Wolf before turning back to Gunner—“and I’m not sure I want one, either.” Wolf tenses, grasping my hip tighter. Even though I like him saying I’m his woman, I’m not sure the biker lifestyle is what I would want.
Gunner quirks a brow at me and looks at Wolf quizzically.
“Thought you laid your claim, Wolf?” Gunner taunts, a broad grin stretching from ear to ear as he wiggles his brows at me. “Did you forget to tell her?"
“Shut the fuck up, Gunner!” Wolf barks, baring teeth.
Gunner winks at Wolf, then looks down at me. “Babe, you come to me if you need anything at all.”
Wolf seethes, his fists clenching at his side as he controls his anger. “All right, fucker, see you around. I need to talk to Pepper in my office for a sec.”
He directs me into his office and slams the door, quickly spinning me to face him and forcing my back against the wall. He pins his hips to mine, his hardness pressing against me. “You might not know or understand it, but you are mine, Pepper. And tonight I’ll claim you, mark you, and have you screaming my fucking name over and over.”
His gaze holds mine as he gently grips my chin in his hand and leans down, touching his lips to my forehead. Tender, he kisses his way down to my mouth and runs his tongue along the seam of my lips. I relent, accepting his kisses which immediately grow hungry, like he can’t get enough of me. His hands roam freely, his touch rough, but sweet and tempting. He ravishes me, leaving me panting as he swallows my moans. “Fuck, baby,” he groans, pressing his forehead against mine and breathing me in, “we’re going to have to quit right now, or we’re not going to make it to supper or anything else.”
I draw in a breath and his lips fall to mine, consuming me once more with an earth-shattering kiss. He loosens my shirt from my jeans and runs his calloused hands up and down the small of my back. Moaning into his mouth, I try to get closer to him, anchoring my leg around his hip and almost climbing up his body. His hands move down to my ass to pull me into his rock hard cock, and he growls into my mouth, making me wetter than I’ve ever been. Just as he’s about to unbutton my jeans, someone knocks at the door. “Go the fuck away. We’ll be out in a little while.”
A husky voice carries through the door, “Boss, we have an emergency.”
Wolf’s head falls back as he growls in annoyance. He gently cups my face and pulls my gaze to his. “Sorry, baby, I need to see what the fuck is going on. If something bad hasn’t happened, he would’ve gone about his business.” He kisses my forehead before releasing me.
“You go ahead. I’ll go on to supper,” I tell him, trying to catch my breath.
Wolf opens the door, and Slick nods as he bypasses me when I step into the hall, a thick smirk on his face. I wonder what’s up with him. I go to the bathroom to wash up for supper, and my jaw slacks as I turn on the light and take in my appearance in the mirror. Oh my God, no wonder Slick was looking at me like that. My lips are swollen from those wonderful kisses, and my hair is a mess from Wolf’s strong hands raking through my brown locks. I’m going to have to go back upstairs to fix my hair. There is no way I can eat looking like I’ve been so thoroughly kissed.
A few BB’s are huffing loudly as they stomp down the stairs. One shoots daggers at me, but I haven’t any idea what their deal is. I stop at the top landing and catch Cherry before she descends. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask, hooking my thumb over my shoulder to indicate the pissy women.
“Nothing really, they were just told they had to tone it down for tonight’s party. I knew it would happen because of lockdown. There are a lot of ol’ ladies here, and their men will not be as free as the BB’s like it.”
“You mean some of the men who have ol’ ladies mess around on them?”
“Yes, it happens a lot. You look flushed. Are you okay?”
“Sorry, just had a run in with a wolf. You know I will huff and puff.”
“You are crazy and hilarious.”
“That’s me, and I will be here all week, maybe.” I giggle as I continue down the hall to Wolf’s room, Cherry’s laughter echoing through the halls.
I tousle my hair quickly and touch up my makeup before heading downstairs to eat. Two prospects and several women are in the dining room, but none of the men are to be seen. I scan the faces to see who I recognize and notice Carrie and her little boy getting their food. “Hey, Carrie, where are all the men? What’s going on?”
“They had to call an emergency meeting at church.”
“Oh, I didn’t know they were religious!”
“No, honey, church is what they call a meeting with all the brothers going behind closed doors.”
“Why are there two prospects here then?”
“They aren’t allowed in the church until they are patched members.”
“Do you know why a meeting was called? I know that Slick came and got Wolf from his office about twenty minutes ago because something bad happened.”
“No, but if they’re all in there, it’s really bad. They’ll tell us what we need to know after the meeting. Go ahead and get your food and sit with us.”
As I start filling my plate up, I hear Tanya's little voice, “She is going to be my new mama. I can’t wait.”
I hope it doesn’t break that little girl’s heart because I will not be marrying Bull. I turn around to see Tanya sitting with Sue, Carrie, Jules, and another lady. Jules looks at me and shrugs her shoulders with sadness in her eyes.
I walk over to their table to sit. “Will you sit beside me?” Tanya sweetly asks.
“Sure, honey. Have you had a good day?” I ask with interest as I sit down.
“No, we were cooped up together in the big playroom, and it was so boring. Nobody wanted to play My Little Pony with me. And what’s worse is I have to go back there after we eat and be bored all over again. Will you come to play with me?” she asks, trying not to look miserable.
Before I can answer her, the men start to come in from their meeting. Some of them look pissed, sad, and angry.