Dakota's Claim (15 page)

That
had her grinning and leaning up to give him a fast peck. He groaned, pulled
back, and stared down at her.

“You
sure you’re okay for another one?”

She
lifted her arms above her head, her shirt rising up slowly and showing off her
slightly rounded belly. Tawny smiled. She loved that she was thick and curvy,
and that it drove her male wild with need. Slowly moving to the music, she
started dancing just for Dakota. It was sensual, erotic, and she could see the
effect it had on him as he watched her with heavy-lidded eyes and this fierce,
animal quality to his expression. Tawny had never been so bold before, not with
a man. Yes, her past relationships had been somewhat sexual, but she had never
blatantly tempted them like she was doing with Dakota.

He
made a gruff noise, and said in a voice low, but loud enough that she could
hear, “You stay right here where I can see you, baby.”

She
nodded and kept dancing for him. The music washed through her, and the heat and
alcohol made her feel lightheaded. She watched as he moved through the people,
pushing away the ones that weren’t smart enough to move out of his way. The bar
was only about fifteen feet from where she stood, and once Dakota was at the
counter he glanced at her once more. She smiled seductively, moved her hands
down her breasts, teased him as she lightly cupped them, and laughed softly
when she saw him curse. The line for drinks was long, and for the next few
minutes it was just her dancing for her male. He was still hard, that much was
clear by the monstrous bulge pressing against his jeans. He clearly didn’t care
what anyone thought, or who saw, because he reached down and adjusted himself.
But then it was his turn to get the drink, and he moved so he wasn’t looking at
her any longer.

Tawny
closed her eyes, continued to dance, and got lost in the feelings of swaying,
the heat in the room, and just feeling very good and content in where she was
in her life right now. She didn’t know how long she danced alone, but the
feeling of hands moving around her waist from behind her, of warm breath along
her neck, and her leaning back and smiling. Dakota was insatiable. She pressed
her ass back against his crotch, and loved that he moved his hands up and
stopped right before he got to her breasts.

He
said in a low voice by her ear, “Damn, girl, you sure can move.”

Tawny
pushed away from the guy that was behind her, the male that was definitely not
Dakota. He swayed a little, the scent of alcohol and cigarette smoke coming off
of him strongly. He was also sweaty, his shirt soaked clean through. She
wrinkled her nose, feeling disgust that this male had touched her, rubbed his
dick on her ass, and she had approved it all because she hadn’t known any
better. Tawny glanced at the bar, saw Dakota talking to the bartender, and when
she looked at the drunken asshole in front of her again it was to see he had
moved closer.

“Come
on, dance with me,” he said and wrapped his arm around her waist again. Tawny
pushed him back, but he made a grab for her again.

“I’m
about two seconds away from kneeing you in the balls if you don’t back the fuck
off.”

He
stared at her, sweat sliding down his forehead, and then made a move at her
again. He was either too drunk to realize what the hell he was doing, he didn’t
care, or he was a stupid asshole. She was ready though to knock his nuts up his
throat if he touched her again. Living in a biker family meant Tawny didn’t put
up with anyone’s shit. Before he could touch her again she saw an imposing
shadow cross over this assholes body, and the prick’s eyes widen in clear fear
as he stared over her shoulder. She turned around and saw Dakota standing
behind her. He held a mixed drink in one hand and a glass of water in the
other. He was staring at the douche that had touched her, his nostrils flaring
and his face a mask of anger. Yeah, Dakota had seen what the other guy had
done, and he was pissed.

He
dropped the mixed drink and water on the ground, and despite the loud music
surrounding them she heard that glass shattering. Liquid splashed on her legs,
and then Dakota had her upper arm in his hand, pulled her back behind him, and
went after the guy without any question or threat. He slammed his fist into the
side of the guy’s face, and the other male fell to the floor instantly. Dakota
picked him up by the collar of his shirt, hauled him off the ground, and
punched him in the face twice more before letting him go. Blood pooled out of
the guy’s nose and mouth, and he stumbled back. People started moving backward
from the violence, but it was clear Dakota wasn’t finished. He went after the
guy again, but she rushed forward and grabbed his shirt, pulling him back, or
trying to.

“Dakota,
stop, please.” She tried to pull him backward, but it was like trying to stop a
derailed freight train. “Dakota, stop. You’re making a scene.” She screamed out
this time, hoping he heard her. Tawny sure as hell did not want Dakota killing
this guy, and she didn’t know if her male would be able to stop if he really
got into this.

He
stopped, looked over his shoulder at her, and the rage she saw on his face was
like a blast of cold air. She let go of his shirt and felt her own anger rise.

“You
think this little motherfucker should walk away without repercussions for
touching someone else’s woman? On laying his hands on what isn’t his?” Dakota
was raising his voice now, and she looked over his shoulder to see the guy rise
and stumble backward, a bloody mess. Dakota turned, and making this low sound
that resembled a Grizzly male going in for the kill, he reared his leg back and
punted the guy. His boot connected with the male’s gut hard enough that he had
the other guy all but sliding across the ground.

“God,
Dakota,” she said through her tears of anger. “What the hell? You’re going to
kill him.”

He
shrugged and faced her fully. He wiped his knuckles on his pants, cleaning off
the blood. “And he’d deserve it for touching you when you’re not his, and when
I heard you tell him to stop.”

She
was on edge that it had gotten this far, that the bouncers were coming toward
them to kick their asses out, and that the male she loved felt the need to beat
everyone that he thought was a threat. Tawny didn’t respond, just turned and
pushed her way past the crowd, up the stairs that led to the exit, and pushed
the doors open. The cold air, her emotions, and the situation had her sobering.
It was snowing, and another gust of wind slammed into her. Her skin tightened
from the cold, and she wrapped her arms around her middle. She shouldn’t have
just left him in the club like that, or their other friends for that matter,
but she was angry and fresh air sounded better than making the scene even
bigger.

She
didn’t even have the keys to his car to get in and stay warm. She turned,
knowing she couldn’t stand out here in what she was wearing, and saw Dakota
coming out of the club. He held her coat and purse in his hand that she had
left with the coat clerk, and this look of apology covered his face. He came up
to her, wrapped her coat around her shoulders, and pulled her in close to his
body. Tawny didn’t fight it, didn’t want to.

“I’m
sorry, baby.”

She
shook her head and grabbed the lapels of his jacket, pulling him closer. “You
don’t have to apologize for wanting to protect me, Dakota.
 
I just wish you knew when to stop before it
gets so out of hand,” she said against his chest. “I could have handled one
drunk trying to make moves on me, and you wouldn’t have been at risk of going
to jail for assault.”

He
exhaled, ran a hand over her head, and she felt him nod. “I know, baby. You are
tough, but I told you that I can’t control myself when it concerns you and
assholes trying to think they can touch you.” He pulled her back, cupped her
cheeks, and the genuine look of apology on Dakota’s face had her emotion
lessening and coming back to the surface calm and collected.

“You
just get so intense over stuff like that, Dakota. You don’t need to, because I
love
you
, am here with
you
, and nothing will ever change that.”

He
pulled her tighter into the warmth of his chest, and she knew that she loved
this man more than anything. They would definitely have their trials and
tribulations, but she wasn’t going anywhere. They just had to find that happy
medium.

“He’ll
survive, by the way,” he said, and she started laughing, knowing he was
probably being serious in trying to ease her anger further.

“Please
just promise me that if something like this happens again you’ll think about it
before you start cracking skulls?” She pulled back and looked into his face.
Tawny loved that he felt the need to hurt anyone that came after her, and she
didn’t fault him for any of that, but they needed to work through these bursts
of territorial male. Tawny didn’t want people getting hurt because Dakota was
an over the top alpha.

“I
can try, Tawny baby.” He cupped her face and kissed her hard. “I’ll try really
fucking hard, but when it comes to you, I feel like this beast is inside of me,
wanting to tear shit up to make sure you stay mine.”

She
smiled and cupped his cheek. “I am yours, Dakota,” she whispered against his
lips. “Nothing and no one will change that. We waited years to be here
together, and I am not about to let anything ruin that.” And he wasn’t, because
to her Dakota was the only one for her, and she was the only one for him.

****

The
night had ended with them back at his place, her on his couch, and Dakota
putting in a movie for them to watch. It was a very anti-climatic ending to
their otherwise active evening, but this was what she wanted. Yes, her man was
definitely a bad boy all the way through, and although she did like that about
him, liked that he wanted to take care of her in the most elemental sense by
defending her honor, she liked the stillness of these quiet evenings just as
much. Dakota put the DVD in and turned around with a big smile on his face. The
lights were off, and the glow from the TV had his muscles shown in stark
contrast. He sat beside her on the couch, and wrapped his arm around her
shoulders, pulling her in close.

Tawny
grabbed the blanket that was over the back of the couch and covered them with
it, snuggled against his hard as hell body, and couldn’t help the warmth that
filled her. When she saw the opening scene she rolled her eyes and looked at
Dakota. He wore this huge grin, and she chuckled softly.
“Really?”
The soft porn scene before her was poorly shot, and the big, clearly fake
breasts on the screen bounced.

“What?”
He was still grinning, and then lifted his eyebrows as he feigned innocence.
This wasn’t about Dakota needing to watch a fuck flick, but the fact this was
the cheesiest one around, a soft-core porno, and one that was more comical than
anything else.

“This
looks like a home movie.”

He
chuckled again. “It’s not mine, trust me. Link came over a few days back after
getting beer and movies for the club. He ended up leaving this gem at my place,
and I just haven’t gotten it back to him. This movie should really be
classified as a comedy for how poorly it is done.”

She
snorted, knowing what he meant. She stared at the screen, heard the cheesy,
loud screams from the heroine, and suppressed her smile. The murderer came
charging through the woods just as the couple on screen, who were having sex on
the forest floor, climaxed. The killer cut both of their heads off and promptly
ran back into the woods. It was almost painful to watch, but it did have the
effect of lightening the mood after the brawl at the club.

“What
a way to go,” Dakota said and started laughing when she elbowed him.

“This
is so bad, Dakota.” She wheezed the sentence out as she tried and failed to
hold in her laughter.

“You
love it.”

She
nodded and wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye as the killer was on the
move again. They sat in silence for the rest of the god-awful movie, and when
the last scene played out Tawny rolled her eyes. Of course the lone survivors
were having sex despite a killer hunting them down. As the characters clothes
started to come off Tawny became more aware of Dakota, of the heat of his body,
and the fact she wanted him desperately. She could see him out of her
peripheral vision, and wondered if he was not focusing on the movie either, and
thinking about how going to his room was a much better option to end the
evening.

 
Her lips felt too dry, and she licked them as
she noticed the look of heat come from Dakota. His gaze dipped down to her
mouth, and her breathing stalled. The longer they stared at each other, the
more her blood raced and her need for this male intensified. Dakota leaned in
close, his warm breath smelling faintly of mint. Her heart started beating
faster. They started kissing, soft and slow and steady, but became even more
heated and passionate as the seconds ticked by. She pulled back, breathed out
roughly, and wanted more than this. She wanted it all with this male.

“Thanks
for the cheesy movie, but I’d much rather spend the rest of the night in your
bed, Dakota.”

He
watched her, a mask of arousal covering his features, and this intense, sexual
heat coming from him. Her breath stalled at the pure animalistic magnetism that
his one look held. Holy fucking shit, did this man know what kind of effect he
had on her? Did he know how much she loved him?