Bitter Kind of Love: Prairie Devils MC Romance (Outlaw Love) (7 page)

But for her, I waited. I waited and suffered. My pulse beat my dick stupid, the price of being a perfect gentleman curled up next to this shattered dove, a wolf in gentleman's dapper clothing, an animal who wanted this girl so bad his brain turned to hot mush.

All I knew was I wouldn't wait forever. One day, when she was well, I'd make the gentleman stuff it, showing her how there was nothing gentle or tame about how this man fucked. 'Til then, she didn't know shit about what I was hiding.

She didn't need to neither.

If she did, she would've thrown me off the bed and run for the hills. Only sane response to my inner freak who was all tongue, all cock, all lust. And just barely held in check by the tight fucking choke chain I had around his neck, fighting to keep control, for her good and mine...but just barely.

Barely.

Barely was fine for today, but it wouldn't be forever. Not by the longest fucking shot in the universe.

Damned good thing I kept control. I'd be a fucking monster as bad as the Rams if I took her like this, more vulnerable than ever, however much my devil cock wanted me to.

I made sure to keep the soft blanket between us so she couldn't feel my psycho hard-on if she woke. I had to keep that chain tight, hide my beast for just a little while longer.

No, dammit. Never thought I'd think it, but some things were more important than sex. When I eyed her in the darkness, she looked so small. Whether she knew it or not, she needed somebody to protect her from the fucked up world outside, and I was game.

I had to be. That promise I made all those years ago, after I fucked up with Beth...

No.
I closed my eyes. The last few days had already been beyond intense. Bitter, angry shit. I sure as hell didn't need to add another bad memory to the fire.

Alice turned gently in my arms, pushing back into my warmth. I relaxed, even with brimstone lighting up my veins, aching need thundering at a primal level I couldn't completely switch off. Sooner or later, the Sandman would find my ass and knock me out.

Long as Alice was safe and comfy, that was all that mattered.

I slept late. Alice was still buried in her dreams when I eased myself up, tucking the blanket around her tight to hold the warmth I'd added over night.

Blaze was at the bar, cellphone in hand. Only took a second to realize something had gone straight to hell with the dark note in his voice about to go off the rails. Tensing up, I walked closer, just as he finished and slammed his cheap burner on the counter.

Saffron wasn't in yet. She'd been managing the bar ever since she became his old lady. Still, I seriously doubted she'd been on the line. This looked like a helluva lot more than a bad fight with his woman.

“What's going on, Prez?” He didn't answer me. “What the fuck happened?”

He slammed his fists down hard on the counter, narrowly missing the shitty phone. Blaze looked up, his eyes burning like nothing else.

“Tank's in prison. Killed some asshole cousin of Em's at her place last night. Beat him to death. The badges found him with that bastard's blood all over his fists.”

“Fuck.” My heart sank, and my whole fucking mouth went dry like I'd just swallowed cotton.

I thought dealing with Alice would be the hardest thing on the agenda for today. Now, the entire club had a real problem on its hands.

The next couple days were agonizing as fuck. I made sure Alice cleaned up, fed, and slept as much as she wanted.

Blaze was working on getting our brother out ASAP. Turned out the dead asshole who caused all of this was a rogue ATF agent trying to pump the club for info through Em. I saw the nurse walk outta Blaze's office after he grilled her, making absolutely fucking sure she hadn't ratted on us.

Somehow, the Prez managed to cut a deal. He'd offered the bastards Mickey's body, but of course they wanted more. The arms trafficker was no good to them dead. Turning over his bones was enough to get Tank out temporarily. The Feds were giving us our giant to help search for something useful, but he'd be going behind bars again in a week if we didn't give them some shiny new shit for their resumes.

If my plate wasn't already overflowing, I had another problem with my fucking plumbing. The morning after we picked up Alice at the Rams' place, my nuts started burning, and not in any way I enjoyed.

I thought back to the last time I fucked our whores on a drunken bender, a few days before we visited the Rams and their stinking clubhouse. Fuck, if one of those bitches gave me clap or something, I swore I'd stick to my hand for the next month.

Yeah right,
a voice laughed in my head.
You're not gonna keep a damned thing in your pants with her here.

Not that I could imagine fucking anybody except Alice. The sluts and groupies who came to our parties were like half-baked imitations to the pure, sweet slice of homemade pie the mystery girl offered.

A quick stop in Em's infirmary helped. She checked my sac and had me piss in a bottle – fucking humiliating, as always – but I needed to find out what I was dealing with. The nurse was as upbeat as she could be under the circumstances.

I tried to be too. She didn't need any more frowns over Tank. Besides, if there was a ghost of a chance at getting in Alice's pants when all this shit blew over, I was gonna make damned sure my equipment was all in working order.

I walked back to my room to check on Alice, ignoring the unpleasant burn in my balls. She'd played mute for the last couple days, sleeping off her injuries. That was fine with the club focused on Tank's situation, but damn, she couldn't keep quiet forever.

Blaze was starting to hold my feet to the fire with this deal looming. Sooner or later, he'd be on Alice's ass for info if Emma didn't get to her first. Anything she remembered that might help us get our brother out permanently and wrap up the bullshit with the Pagan Rams was top prize.

I had to try getting it outta her the easy way, before things got harder. The other brothers were treating her like she was fucking cursed, and I knew their kid gloves were coming off as soon as the big guy was released from jail on Friday.

Opening the door, I found her sitting on the bed, glumly flipping through an old motorcycle magazine I had on my dresser. She looked up at me, wrinkled her nose, and tossed it on the floor.

“Don't you knock?” Alice whined.

I kicked the door shut and folded my arms. One thing she hadn't slept off was the fucking attitude that started burbling up after we got her away from the Rams.

How the fuck did a girl so hot ooze pure ice?

“It's my room,” I said, coming closer.

I pulled up the lone chair and sat down, throwing my legs over the backside. Having some extra space in my lap helped ease the pain in my balls. No fucking way was I letting that shit interfere with our chat when she already acted like she had my nuts in a vise.

“Why're you here? It's not dinner time yet, is it?”

I looked her up and down. Dammit, I didn't care how soft and sexy and helpless she was...I wasn't gonna put up with this shit forever. I had to get something I could use for everybody's good: hers, the club's, and Tank's.

“I'm gonna be straight with you, baby. Blaze and my crew are getting real anxious for shit we can use against the Rams now that we got a brother facing serious jail time. The Feds want to know what the fuck Mickey's body was doing there as bad as we do.” I grabbed for her hand, closing my fingers around hers tight when she tried to pull away. “Come on, Alice. Give me something I can throw my club. You want somebody to knock? Fine. Everybody'll be knocking a lot harder on your door next week when the clock starts ticking to keep Tank free.”

“I already told you,” she said sourly, struggling out of my grip. “I don't remember anything!”

“And I don't totally believe that,” I growled. “I'm not a pro like Em and I don't know how shit works inside your head. But I've seen plenty of guys in the past who took a beating and lost their brains for a while. Couldn't remember much more than their names – just like you. But it always came back after a few days...”

“You're calling me a liar? Great.” She sniffed and turned her head, long black hair flapping on her shoulders.

Shit. A different burn circled around and around my dick. The damned thing was sick but it wasn't dead. She looked better than ever after being cleaned up and rested for a few days. Sure didn't act like she felt it, though.

“I'm saying you're gonna remember something sooner or later, baby. And I'm hoping like hell it'll be today, when you can get off easy telling me. I'm the good cop here. This is as low pressure as it's gonna get. Come on, girl.
Think.
”

She paused, beaming those icy brown eyes at mine. “You can't keep me here forever. I don't have to tell you or anybody else
anything.
How's what happened to me any of your club's fucking business?”

“Because your business turned into club business the minute we found you holed up with Mickey James' dead body.”

Alice blinked, and then looked down, her wildcat anger softening. His name. Something about it struck a bell. I saw my chance and pushed the chair closer to her, reaching for her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. This time, she didn't move away.

“I'm trying to help you and help my club, Alice. Yeah, you're right to be pissed off. I wouldn't like being made to hang out here if I couldn't remember much beyond my own damned name. We're not in the habit of bringing in strays just for fun. You're here for your own damned safety and because you're the only one who rode in with Mickey, the
only
person who can tell us what the fuck happened there.”

“I...I don't know...I'll try...”

Without thinking, I let my fingers wind down her arm, slow, almost sensual. Had to get off her before I went too far.

Fuck, the girl was like a magnet. Even when my dick was broke and she looked at me like I was the last asshole in the world she ever wanted to see, I couldn't stay away.

Wasn't just about fucking her either. After Beth, I had to protect her, and the best way to do that was making sure the bastards who'd fucked her over were six feet under.

“Stinger?” Alice was looking at me, both her small hands circling mine.

I blinked. Shit, something about her was bringing back bad fucking memories I'd been able to keep boxed up for years. This wasn't like Beth. No fucking way was this gonna be a bad re-run...

“I'm listening,” I said.

“It's all mush in my brain. I remember him...the dead man, I mean. I don't know who he was or why I was with him. Just got these little flashes of being around him, but it's not clear why. I don't know if they're dreams or memories or just my own imagination.” Her turn to squeeze my hand. “Give me another day. I'll try to come up with something.”

Fucking finally. I laced my fingers with hers and gave her the biggest damned smile I could manage. No guarantees she wouldn't go cold. At least it was a start, and that meant there was a chance Tank's ass was saved too.

“Take the evening. Whatever happens tomorrow, I'll be there with you. Won't leave you alone to face anybody. I know how Blaze can be...” I clenched my jaw. Pissed me off just thinking about our Prez getting wound up and snarling in her face.

Not gonna happen,
I vowed.

“I'll tell you whatever I can in the morning, and then I'm leaving.” She looked up, the chill returning to her eyes, reluctant determination in her grip.

“What're you talking about?” I shook my head, wondering if I heard her right. “You've got no place to go. Can't let you loose if you give us something useful and the Rams are still out there. Hell, Alice, they've already been jerking Blaze around behind the scenes to get you back. Fuckers claim they never agreed to turn you over for good. Having you here's gonna start a war even if we don't decide to put a bullet through their fucking heads and save us all some trouble.”

“I'll deal with all that on my own. I'm a big girl and I can figure it out, even if I'm trying to sort out all this crap in my head. I know I can survive. Look, I appreciate the way you've helped me, Sting. I know I've been nothing but a bitch until now...”

I shook my head, denying the bitterness. Yeah, some truth was starting to spill outta her, but not anything I wanted to hear. Definitely didn't want to hear about how eager she was to get up and go neither.

“You'll go when it's safe.” I looked her right in the eye, feeling my arms flex. “Not my call. It's Blaze's. He'll let you out as soon as he's satisfied with what you have to say, and we can guarantee you're gonna go wherever in one piece.”

That was only half-true.

As Prez, Blaze needed to approve her taking flight after he had her information. But the only man here who really cared about seeing her off safe was
me.
Shit, the other brothers would probably be glad to see her go, especially when she was just one more thing to deal with in an avalanche of shit this club had to clean up over the last few months.

“Whatever,” she said, jerking away from me and turning her head. “I don't belong here and you know it. Whenever you decide I'm not fit to be your prisoner anymore, call me a cab and send me on my way. I'll pay back every dime it takes to get out of here.”

What the fuck? Was it
really
so bad here with me and the brothers? Despite trying to keep a lid on it, now I was starting to feel my blood warm.

“You're not leaving with nothing except the clothes on your back. You wanna do a few chores around here for some money, we'll figure it out. This fucking place always has shit to do that the prospects never get around to.”

That was an understatement. With all the endless drama and battling other clubs, our two prospects, Smokey and Stone, rarely got a second to ease into the club life cleaning the place and keeping our beers cold like most initiates did.

“Wow,” she said with a sarcastic laugh. “Thanks, dad. Never knew losing my memory meant I'd get treated like a dumbass kid. Or is that the way all you bikers treat grown women around here?”

Fuck this shit. I jumped to my feet and let the chair fall. Had to blow this room before I went ballistic. Alice jumped when my seat hit the floor, and I was almost out the door before she called to me.