Authors: Ann Mayburn
“Yeah.” I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the window.
“I might be blowing shit all out of proportion, things might go smooth as silk, but I wanted to prepare you for the worst case scenario so you aren’t surprised about anything. Shit’s movin’ fast, even for me. I can’t imagine how hard it is for you to deal with everything, so I’m trying my best to prepare you. At the very least, you’ll have a lot of downtime for the next few days while I scout around. We’ll get you set up with one of those e-readers, and I’ll give you my credit card. You buy those BDSM erotic romances you like so much and pick a scene from one of your books. If you behave all day, I’ll make that scene come true as long as it doesn’t involve another man.”
My lower lip trembled even as desire warmed the flesh between my legs. If he wouldn’t want a threesome with another man, maybe he’d want me with another woman. It took me a moment to find my voice, to tell him one of my greatest fears, something I could never do with him. I know he liked it, and I was afraid that he’d get bored with me if I wouldn’t—couldn’t—indulge his kink. “Smoke, please don’t ask me to bring another woman into our bed.”
I startled when he abruptly pulled off the freeway, the wind of a passing semi shaking the truck slightly as he slammed it into park.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” He grasped my chin in a firm hold and made me look at him. “There will never be anyone in bed but us, Swan. I mean it. Yeah, I’ve done that shit in my past, but even a thousand women at once couldn’t compete with one minute with you. Everything I need to be happy is right here in front of me.”
A tear managed to escape as I imagined what it would be like to walk in on Smoke in the same way I walked in on Stewart. “’Kay.”
“Have I done anything to break your trust in me?”
“No. I’m sorry, I…if you betrayed me, I don’t know if I could survive it. I love you in a way I’ve never loved anyone. Sometimes it confuses me, becomes hard for me to understand and handle. I’m sorry I’m bad at this relationship stuff, but if you give me some time, I swear I’ll get better. It’s just…this is a lot to process, but I won’t let you down.”
“Baby,” he purred in that husky voice that never failed to make my insides melt, “You’re perfect just the way you are.”
I nodded and held his hand tightly as we resumed our trip, and I stared off in the distance where the Rocky Mountains pierced the sky.
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I was aware of was Smoke gently stroking my cheek. “Time to wake up.”
Blinking slowly, I sat up in my seat, yawned and took a good stretch. It had been a long fucking drive. Even though we’d both taken turns behind the wheel, my energy was almost non-existent. As my brain began to come back online, I saw that we were in an industrial area with lots of warehouses off in the distance and vast tracts of land on three sides. The trees were thick, and I took a deep breath, catching some unfamiliar smells. “Where are we?”
“Welcome to the Iron Horse MC, Denver Chapter. This is the main clubhouse in Golden Colorado, just outside of Denver, that they use for big gatherings ’cause it’s in the middle of nowhere, and no one’s gonna call the cops complaining about noise. They got another clubhouse in the city, but that’s above the club’s garage and is mostly used for…business.”
Taking another deep breath, I tried to clear my mind and focus on the situation like my father taught me. First thing for me to make sure was covered would be my freakish reaction to strangers. Just the thought of them touching me made gooseflesh rise along my arms. There was no way I could avoid mentioning it, but I hated how vulnerable my issues made me to new situations.
Trying to keep my tone quiet I murmured, “Hey, do they know not to touch me?”
“Yeah, I made sure Khan knows. I had Vance tell him.”
“Khan?”
“The Denver chapter president. Good guy, and his old lady is as nice as can be. Normally, she’d be the one keeping the sweet butts in line, but she doesn’t like confrontations like that. Too sweet, kinda like your friend, Lyric. Gentle souls. You’ll meet her and some of the other old ladies tonight while I take care of some business.”
“What kind of business?”
“The kind that’s none of your business.” I opened my mouth up to argue, but he held up his hand. “It’s club business, and I can’t talk about it, not even with you. Sometimes it’s just better if you don’t know.”
I wanted to argue, but he was right. While I knew about my father’s arms dealing, I’d never been officially told about it. It was kind of like an unspoken rule in my dad’s house that when he had clients coming over, I’d just disappear. I’m sure if I dug deep enough I could find out what Smoke did for the club other than ‘protection’, but sometimes ignorance was bliss. Besides, I had enough things to worry about at the moment.
The thought that Smoke might have killed people, lots of people, troubled me if I dwelled on it too much, so instead, I forced myself to look around and find the escape routes. My father had drilled it into my head to always scope out any new place, and I fell back on hundreds of hours of training, scanning the area around me and forcing my racing thoughts to focus on one thing: Survival.
As we pulled up the wide gravel drive leading to the formidable three-story dark brick building I was officially tired of being cooped up in the truck. When we parked in the oversized, freshly paved, almost full lot I was feeling antsy enough to want out ASAP. It was late afternoon and the air was refreshingly cool and clear after the stifling heat of Texas. I did a quick look around, noting the differences between the Austin clubhouse and the Denver one. Unlike Austin, there wasn’t any playground equipment here. Even in the fading light of the setting sun, I could see the landscaping around the clubhouse was lacking a woman’s touch. The lawn was cut and the bushes trimmed, but that was about it other than two big, round, stone fire pits and a random scattering of picnic tables.
Dressed in a tight, black babydoll t-shirt with the Iron Horse MC logo on the front, I stretched out, working the kinks out of my back. A moment later Smoke had me turned and held me to his chest. Then he used his talented hands to gently press on my spine, causing delicious cracks that made the muscles of my upper back relax. I purred in pleasure and gave him a soft kiss in thanks as my senses hummed with delight.
“Swear to God you’re the hottest piece of ass I’ve ever seen,” he growled out.
The man was insatiable, and I loved it. My body warmed in response to his words, and I slowly raised my gaze to meet those dark, beloved eyes of his. I enjoyed a leisurely inspection of his magnificent body until I stared at his full lips, the need to taste him growing into an obsession. Passion flared between us and I barely managed to hold back a little moan as he squeezed my hips, reminding me of the way he’d hold them while he pounded into me. Just the memory of his skill in bed gave me a little shiver that left me squirming for his touch.
He placed a gentle, passionate kiss on my lips before he leaned back and sighed. “You ready to face what might or might not be happening in that club? It’s almost dark and a bunch of my brothers are here, which means there might be some shit I’d rather you not see going on inside.”
I snorted. “Thanks, but I already got to see an orgy at your clubhouse.”
He flinched. “Yeah, sorry ’bout that. Fuckin’ Vance should have taken you in the back entrance like I told him to.”
With a shrug, I lifted my chin in the direction of two men walking across the lot toward us. The man on the left was just plain beautiful. Around Smoke’s age with a solid body beneath his tight t-shirt, vest, and jeans, along with narrow, baby blue eyes and a cupid’s bow mouth. He was like a sexy angel come down to earth with his bleached blond cap of curls, but the look in his eyes was scary. They were cold and calculating as he stared at me, then to Smoke, then back to me again.
The man on the right was the exact opposite of the blond’s otherworldly good looks. He was a massive black man, with a tight military haircut and built like a brick wall. Tattoos, barely visible on his dark skin, covered his thick arms, and a rather gnarly scar ran up the left side of his neck to disappear behind his ear. He was far too rough to ever be called handsome in a conventional sense of the word, but there was something about him, the balance of the bold features of his face, that made him striking. He was the kind of guy you would stop and take a second look at walking down the street, especially when you noticed his beautiful, pale green eyes. Despite his stern, no bullshit look, he gave me a wink that I can only describe as flirty. I giggled, and he briefly smiled just the slightest bit before his expression hardened again.
Smoke sighed and shook his head as he stared at the approaching men. “Don’t fall for any of their bullshit. They’ll try to charm your panties off, but neither of ’em means it. I know these guys well. They’re gonna fuck with me by trying to hit on you.”
“Boys and their macho crap,” I said with a barely concealed smirk.
True to Smoke’s prediction, the blond angel reached us first and gave me a blatant going over from head to toe, but it wasn’t sexual—more assessing than anything. There was something very commanding about his presence, and I found myself unable to hold his intense gaze. Then his brow furrowed and he tilted his head as he stared at me. “Holy fuck, ya look like yer sister. I mean I knew you were twins, but
damn
.”
I smiled and gave him a small wave, hoping he wouldn’t try to shake hands. “Hi, I’m Swan.”
The big black man with the super short hair to the right of the blond guy made a low, humming sound deep in his throat. “Mmmm, twins. So nice to have you here, beautiful.”
“Fuck off,” Smoke replied and looped a very possessive arm around my waist. “Mine.”
“Yours?” the blond asked with a surprised look warming his gaze. “What do you mean…yours?”
The guy with the pretty green eyes grinned, and I noticed he had a deep dimple in his cheek. It only added to his strong-featured appearance, and I could almost bet he was devastating when he turned on the charm. When he caught my considering look, he smiled even more and gave me another wink. Yep, not a man who would ever grace the cover of a magazine, but I’d bet, despite his lack of traditional good looks, he had no problem finding a woman with his abundance of natural charisma. I grinned at him and he smiled back.
Smoke didn’t like that one bit. “Swan is my old lady, so keep your fuckin’ hands off, and mind your fuckin’ manners.”
The angel made a choking sound, and I looked over at him then back to the green-eyed man who was staring at me like I was some new, exotic species of plant that had suddenly sprouted from the ground. The blond guy rubbed his mouth. “Vance never said anything about Swan being your old lady.”
The scar on the black man’s neck moved as he swallowed hard, his gaze darting between me and Smoke. “We got some…ahhh...entertainment inside. Something she might find objectionable if she’s anything like Sarah.”
Making a groaning sound, the blond guy looked to the sky. “If she’s anything like Sarah, objectionable is far too mild of a word.”
“Swan’s worse,” Smoke muttered, ignoring my glare.
Worse? What the hell did he mean by worse?
“Fuck,” the blond said and gave Smoke a dark look. “Tila got together a bunch of the sweet butts to give you a welcome party. We thought you were just on guard duty with Swan.”
“Tila? Sweet butts?” I asked, then gave Smoke a narrow-eyed look. “What kind of party is he talking about?”
Smoke glared at the blond. “The kind I have no fucking interest in attending.”
The big man with the gorgeous eyes held his hands up, the cut muscles of his arms flexing. “Sorry, man, we didn’t know.” He turned his gaze on me. “Swan, nice to meet you, my name’s Hulk. Please don’t judge us by the trash inside. We meant no disrespect to Smoke, but there is no way we can stop a party once it’s started. Brothers would get irate.”
I couldn’t help but smirk. “Hulk, like The Incredible Hulk? I guess I can see it with all your muscles.”
A true smile with a killer dimple lit his face, turning him from average to handsome. “Thank you, but that ain’t the part of me that is so big it makes women call me ‘incredible’.”
I was sure my face was as red as a boiled lobster. All I managed in reply was a weak, “Oh.”
“Shut the fuck up”—the blond shook his head at Hulk—“or Smoke’s gonna drive some railroad spikes through your eyes before lighting your dick on fire.”
“What?” I choked out.
“Nothin’,” the blond replied and tipped his head in my direction with a small smile. “Name’s, Breaker.”
“Nice to meet you, Breaker.” I took a step closer to Smoke. I wasn’t comfortable in this situation at all.
Imagining the reason he would be called ‘Breaker’ made me queasy.
Smoke instantly wrapped his arm around my waist. I glared up at him then sighed. I was thankful for his constant support. It wasn’t his fault they’d set up a…party...for him. If I wanted him to be understanding with me, I had to return the favor and realize some things were out of his control. Remembering our earlier conversation about stupid macho shit, I managed to almost smile at him. It was weak, but better for his ‘rep’ than stomping on his foot and yelling at him for banging half of the eligible female population in the US.
His expression eased, and he gave me a pat on the butt. “Swan, go grab your backpack. Hulk will get a prospect to guard it for us.”
I wanted to argue with him about basically commanding me to fetch our shit, but the serious look on his face when I glanced at him stopped me. “’Kay.”
As soon as I left, the men huddled together and began speaking in low, rapid voices. Unable to listen in without being obvious, I strolled back to the truck as they moved closer to the clubhouse. When I got to the truck and reached up to open the door, my gaze caught on my wrist cuffs as the beautiful silver gleamed in the soft light. Smoke had put them on me this morning, gently kissing my pulse points before sliding each silver and turquoise cuff in place. The look of satisfaction in his eyes as he examined my adorned wrists had made my heart race. I stared at the gleaming metal for another moment before reaching into the back and grabbing my heavy pack. I’d packed a suitcase at my parents’ house, and my Dad had included a few gifts for me that I hoped were overkill, including a couple grenades, an assortment of knives from Mimi, and my sniper rifle.