At the reminder of Penny being here, the fog around my mind slowly lifts, and I release Bradley with a shove. He slumps back into his chair, and I take a step back, taking in the scene in front of me.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
All eyes are on me, glaring at me like I’ve lost my fucking mind, probably because I have. I look down to my right and find Penny still in her chair, her big blue eyes glazed over, the spiked drink still in her hand. I take it from her and slam the glass on the table.
Then, I grab her arm and pull her up to her feet. I don’t know if the drug is already working or if her legs are buckling because I scare her. Either way, she needs my help to walk. I half carry her through the bar, her shorter legs unable to keep up with my long strides.
I head for the front door before remembering that I took the bike to get here. There is no fucking way she’ll be able to hold on. I really don’t want to stay here, but right now it’s my best option. Dragging her through the back of the bar, I take her to my room, the same room I took her to that first night.
Once inside, I lock the door behind us and guide her to the bed. As soon as I let go of her, she flops down like a rag doll.Fuck.
For a moment, I just stand there, looming over her. Her body looks exhausted, and I don’t think she can move much, but her eyes are still open, and they’re fixed on mine. Even through the haze of drugs in her system, her gaze holds an ocean of emotion, and I feel like I’m drowning in their depths. I don’t understand half of them. One, however, stands out… fear. I scare her. She is scared of me, and she has every right to be. Still, there is a part of me that wants to wipe that fear away.
The irony is not lost on me. All this time, I wanted to break her. I wanted her to hate me and fear me. Now that she does, all I want to do is keep her safe.
I undress her limp body. Her breath hitches when I get to her underwear, and her hand comes up as if she is trying to push me away. She is so weak; she wouldn’t be able to fend off a bug right now.
Unclipping the bra, I pull it off her body, and a whimper passes her lips. When I look back up to meet her gaze, I find her on the brink of tears. I leave her panties on and take off my boots. At the last minute, I decide to keep my own clothes on, knowing I won’t be able to keep my dick to myself if I don’t. I crawl onto the bed, pulling the thin blanket over us, and lie down next to her.
Her body trembles when I wrap my arms around her and pull her to my chest. She is stiff at first, but when I do nothing besides hold her, she relaxes a little.
With the door and two walls between us, the bar’s loud music is nothing more than faint background noise. But there are other rooms around us, rooms my brothers use to bang club whores. Sounds from somewhere down the hall keep getting louder. When someone slams the door a few rooms down, Penny shakes and sobs uncontrollably.Fucking Christ.
This will not work. Pulling my phone out, I text Maddox telling him I need a ride to my house. Ten minutes later, someone knocks on my door, freaking Penny out even more.
“Calm down, I’m going to take you home now,” I try to calm her and get up at the same time. She shakes her head and grabs a fist full of my shirt, looking at me like she is in full-on panic mode now.
“Please,” she whimpers, tears rolling down her face.
“Nothing is going to happen to you. You’re safe, I’m taking you back to my house.” She keeps staring at me like she has no idea what I just said. I have to peel her fingers off before I can get to the door.
I find Maddox and Billy, one of our prospects, on the other side. They both look into the room, their eyes lingering on Penny’s curled up body on the bed.
“I can’t get her to calm down. What the fuck did he give her,” I growl. Sitting down on the bed, I pull my boots back on and wrap Penny up in the blanket tightly.
“I don’t fucking know, some kind of new crossbreed. He said Rohypnol is part of it, so she won’t remember shit tomorrow. If that makes you feel better.”
It does, actually, but I’m not about to offer that piece of information.
“Just get us home,” I say, sliding my arms under Penny’s blanket-covered body and lift her up.
“Billy will take you, he is the least drunk,” Maddox tells me.
“Great, lead the way, Billy boy.”
Holding her close to my chest, I walk through the quiet house. In the living room, we pass Mojo, who only briefly opens his eyes to glance at us, uninterested.
Penny was in and out of it the whole drive home, but right now, she’s looking at me fairly lucid. Maybe it’s the familiar environment and simply the absence of loud noises that has her finally relaxing.
Depositing her on the bed, I unwrap her from the thin blanket.
Dipping my fingers in the waistband of her flimsy panties, I pull them down her legs, freeing her from the last piece of clothing. Having her sprawled out on my bed and completely nude is a beautiful sight. One that has my balls screaming for me to shoot a load inside her tight pussy. But having her look up at me with pleading eyes dampens my mood.
Never taking my eyes off of her, I slip out of my boots and start taking off my clothes. When I’m completely naked, I slide into the bed and cover us both with my comforter.
Draping my arm across her torso, I carefully pull Penny closer. She shudders once but then relaxes into my hold, her naked body melting into mine.
“Ryder,” she croaks my name.
