I indulged him because he was good at reading people. He brought in a good half of the loyal crew we have now. He had a knack for bringing in all the broken and discarded pieces of society to make his own mishmash of potential. And then, sometimes, he was just thinking with his dick. The number of times we’ve had to kick out a psycho clinger was more than I ever wanted to deal with. It's why I was wary.
Bricks swung his leg over his bike first. I expected him to come up to me and nod in silence like my enforcer normally did, but instead, he went to Duce’s bike and held his hand out to the woman.
“Thanks for the concern, Mountain Man, but it wasn't my first time on a bike. I enjoyed not seeing where we were going. It had a kind of thrill to it.”
That voice. My wolf stopped circling in my mind and put his full attention on this woman, his interest peaking. The lyrical notes to her voice made it seem like it was a song purely crafted for my ears. It shot straight into my chest and made it ache. I lost my breath for a second, resisting the urge to clutch my chest.
What the hell was this woman doing to me?
Then she took Brick’s hand. I watched Duce’s hand trail down her leg as he looked at her like he didn't want her to leave. I was already shaken by her voice, but now I can see that both my men are transfixed on her, and I didn’t like it. Then she turned around.
Fuck. My dick throbbed at the sight of her. Her above-the-shoulder blonde hair, perfect pouty red lips, and hourglass body was drool worthy. I could feel my body craving hers, wanting to sink my dick into her just to be able to say I tasted heaven.
My wolf started to salivate at the thought, continuously showing me how he wanted to rut into her right here in the dirt. To show her who was his.
I didn't notice that I was digging my nails into my arm until I smelt that familiar copper smell. That woke me up from my momentary lapse in judgment. It took tremendous control for me to stay still, calm my beating heart and hard dick. I needed to look at this rationally, not like some silly teenager all caught up in physical and emotional desires. I had people counting on me. A whole compound to protect. I didn't have time to chase after some woman who I was sure already had both Bricks and Duce enthralled.
“Hey, Prez. Have you been waiting long?” There was a teasing tone to Duce’s voice. His hand squeezed my shoulder, almost like he knew what I was thinking, but that was impossible because I didn't even know what I was thinking. “I know that you want to meet ASAP about the Killian thing, but I wanted to introduce you first to Cupc-,” the woman suddenly coughed, and he grinned, “I mean Celine. Celine, this is our president and leader, Rabid.”
The woman took a step towards me and stuck her hand out. “Hi. I hope it's okay if I crash here for the night.” I was caught up in her sparkling deep blue eyes, calling me to hold my breath and fall in deep. I must’ve been looking at her for too long because I soon found myself looking at her confused face. I frowned, grunting at her in response as I was using all my control to hold myself back.
Bricks moved to her side, taking her hand before looking at her. I expected Duce to translate for him, but I was caught off guard when she said, “Okay. If you could show me your room, I will stay the night and be out of your guy’s hair in the morning. Thanks for offering to share.”
Brick’s cheeks flushed before he motioned for her to go forward, being a complete gentleman, something that was odd to see from my enforcer. Someone who talked more with his fists then with his words, acting like the perfect gentleman.
“Yeah. I have been meaning to ask them about all that, but we didn't have the time.” Duce looked up at me as he rubbed the back of his neck. His tell that he was holding something in. Was it something to do with the woman?
My wolf perked up again, sending me images of what he would like to do with her. Most of them were dirty, and a good half of those involved biting into her, blood flowing from her neck as he lapped it up.
I shut those thoughts down real quick, making sure he knew that I was not going down that road. We knew nothing about her, and she could be bad news for us. My wolf disagreed, but I wouldn't have any of it. I forced myself to make a black box in my mind, one that I used when he got out of control. I really couldn't lose it tonight just because of some strange woman.
I turned towards Duce. “Get the guys. I'm calling church so we can all hear about it at once.”
He saluted me with a smile and bound off to go collect the guys. I stood there for a few moments, just to take in a breath of fresh air. Her scent still lingered in the air, and I could taste it on my tongue. This sweet and salty taste reminded me of a tropical vacation, something relaxing and rejuvenating at the same time.
I cracked my neck before telling myself that she was only going to be here for one night. One night of keeping myself in check, and then she will be out of my hair and everything can go back to normal.
Yes. Only one night.
Duce worked fast and got all of the leadership and the patch members available to sit in for church in the large conference room in our house. Leadership met more than Church, so we had it put in our home for convenience. The room sat twelve comfortably, with chairs along the back wall if we wanted prospects in, too. I also made sure that all leadership was spread out around the table, and integrated with all the members. It made others feel apart when really we were making all the decisions. As soon as the double doors shut, he told us what had gone down.
“Once he realized the pleasantries and bribery wasn’t going to get him anywhere, he got straight to the point. He explained that he was taking over all the drug business along the coast.”
“How the fuck does he have the capital for that kind of move? Killian was just a pusher, not a dealer or source.” Crank, one of our long-standing patch holders, complained.
Duce shrugged his shoulders as he crossed his arms on the table. “I have no idea. All I know is that he kept telling me he had a new financial backer that wouldn't run out of funds, and he needed someone “experienced” to run it all, so he chose Killian.”
“Who is the backer?” I wanted to know if I knew this person. Maybe I could convince them not to work with Killian.
Duce shook his head. “He wouldn't tell me. He said that if we agreed to partner up, then he would tell us. As long as those that knew went into a hidden bond with him.” A hidden bond? That would take a whole lot of magic from a mage. It made those that wore it not able to talk about wherever the secret between them was. If you tried, your heart would stop beating.Why did this backer want to be such a silent partner?
Duce continued, “He also said that his backer wanted the best and was willing to pay over top dollar for protection of the goods, and Killian said we were the best.” He puffed out a laugh as he sat back. “Killian even had the balls to say that he trusted us the most. That we were known for how well we protected precious cargo.”
I clenched my hands under the table, feeling a familiar anger rising up in me. Hearing him say that was like a slap in the face, especially since he tried to mess with us when we first banded together, just learning what it meant to protect what was ours.
He wanted us because he knew we don't letanyonemess with our people. We bring down hell upon anyone that touches our women or fucks with our members. We don't even mention what we do to those that try to touch our kids. We have a few spots around the compound that no one was able to go to because we needed to have the proper time for the body to decompose. Killian is right, we protect what was ours with feral rage that no one wanted to mess with. It was known along the coast in both the good circles and bad that you don't mess with the Moon Raiders, and they won't mess with you.
“What kind of money is he offering?” Grubs, our longest and oldest patch holder, with his salt and pepper beard and assessing eyes, asked. I put my tongue in my cheek, waiting to see what others thought before I put in my two cents.
