Exquisite Redemption (Iron Horse MC Book 3) (22 page)

At the thought of my beautiful girl, the appeal of the two women sitting on my bed withered away to nothing. It had been fun while it lasted, but like every woman before them, it was over.

Always said when I found my old lady I was gonna be totally loyal to her, and I meant it.

“Girls, I’m afraid our time together is done.”

They both blink at me, Sandy’s eyes filling with tears. “What?”

I ran my hand through my hair, wanting this shit over with so I could get some much-needed sleep. “Time for me to move on.”

“Move on?” Brandy repeated, anger sparking in her dark eyes. “What do you mean, move on?”

While I don’t claim to know my way around the fucked-up mind of a woman, I did have enough experience to know this shit wasn’t going to go down well. “I got an old lady now.”

“An old lady?” Sandy said through clenched teeth, her hands fisting. “You really do have an old lady? It’s not bullshit, the rumors are true?”

I wasn’t going to explain myself. “Yeah, I got an old lady now and that means we’re done.”

“I don’t understand,” Brandy whined. “We can still be your club girls.”

Some brothers did that, had an old lady at home then a club girlfriend on the side. Hell, some had three or four of ’em. While it worked for them, cheating wouldn’t work for me and I was real fuckin’ sure it wouldn’t work for Sarah. She did not strike me as the kind of woman who would accept her man fuckin’ other women.

“Like I said, we’ve had some good times, but we’re done. You can stay in your room on the second floor, and I’ll give you next month’s allowance, but then you’re on your own. And you stay the fuck away from my old lady. You get near her and it’s not gonna end well for you, history between us or not.”

To my surprise, Brandy flew off my bed, anger turning her face red. “You can’t do this!”

“Excuse me?”

Sandy screamed, “What’s wrong with you? We love you! You can’t throw us away you fucking asshole.”

“First, bitch, I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but me stickin my dick in you—which will never fuckin’ happen again—does not give you the right to get fuckin’ lippy with me. Second, you don’t fuckin’ love me. You love the status that comes with bein’ my regular bitch, and my money.”

“That’s not true!” Sandy yelled while Brandy began to cry.

“Bullshit. You love throwin’ my name around to get free shit. How many restaurants do you eat at, every day, where you eat for free? Or bars where you drink for free?” Sandy’s angry gaze darted away from mine ’cause she knew it was the truth. “You think I don’t know about all the times you got an Iron Horse discount on shit ’cause of you droppin’ my name? All the times you shoulda gotten speeding tickets that were swept under the rug? And you sure as fuck maxed out the credit cards I gave you every month.”

Chewing on her lower lip, Brandy said nothing while Sandy silently fumed.

“That’s what I fuckin’ thought.” I took a deep breath, calming myself. “Now, get the fuck out. You two have been friends of the club for a long time, but if you ever disrespect me like that again you will be banned for life and I’ll personally make sure you will regret it. We clear?”

Sandy opened her mouth again, her crazy temper no doubt getting the better of her, but Brandy reached out and grabbed her arm. “We understand.”

My gaze turned to sweet but not-so-smart Brandy. “Get her out of here.”

She nodded, tugging her friend after her. “I’ll always be here for you, Beach, always. When you want a break from your old lady, you just let me know.”

Sandy wiped away her tears, smearing her thick black mascara over her cheeks. “We’ll do whatever it takes to get you back. Anything.”

My patience at an end, I stalked across the room to them and they scurried for the door. “You never had me, bitch, so there is no getting me back. You know I’m givin’ you a break ’cause we got history, but that is what it is, history. Never put my patch on either of your backs, or claimed you for anythin’ more than sex. Now, last warnin’, get the fuck out and don’t let me see you for a few weeks.”

At that they left and before the door finished swinging, I yelled out, “Yo, grab Sledge!”

My VP appeared in the doorway a few minutes later, shirtless and chowing on a sandwich while some skank crawled all over him. “What’s up?”

“Gonna need a ride to Birdie’s place.”

His wide grin made me want to punch him, but I was saving what little energy I had for Sarah. If I didn’t get one more taste of her sweetness before I went to sleep, I knew in my gut I would regret it. I’ve always trusted my instincts, and when they told me my woman needed me, I paid attention.

The ride to Birdie’s ranch was long enough for me to get a nap in, so when we rolled through the big gates leading to her main house, I was feeling a little more like myself. I sent off a few quick texts with instructions to leave me the fuck alone. Then I gave my officers the authority to take care of shit and for the first time in what felt like forever, I told them I was takin’ the day off.

I’m not a dumb bastard and when Birdie says I need to do something, I pay attention. And if Birdie thought Sarah might take off, I needed to do what I could to bind her to me. If Sarah still thinks she’s leaving before we explore this, she’s delusional.

My breath eased out of me into the cool night air as I exited the car, giving the warm hood of the SUV a double tap before I started up the front riverstone walkway to Birdie’s house.

Lotta good memories rolled through me as I took the front porch steps two at a time. When I reached the top, Birdie was already waiting for me, wearing this crazy pair of black silk pajamas with gold sparkles around the collar and cuffs. I had to grin, loving that no matter what, Birdie always looked good. World could be falling down around her and she’d still make sure her hair was nice when she answered her door, be it for family or a repairman. I gave her soft, wrinkled cheek a kiss as I brushed past.

“Figured you’d be showing up.” She smiled at me and crossed her arms.

“Hope you didn’t wait up.”

“Nah, never sleep good without Venom here.”

“Where’s Sarah?”

“The zebra guest room.”

I inwardly groaned, hating that room. Birdie had designed it with a teenage girl in mind, but it had an amazing king-size bed with one of those massive memory foam mattresses. The thought of Sarah being in it had me hustling for the stairs, wincing the slightest bit as I moved up them.

“Slow down,” Birdie said with laughter in her voice. “You’ll do her no good coming to her crippled. No one wants a stallion they can’t ride in their bed.”

Shaking my head, I tried to block out Birdie’s laughter as I carefully opened the door leading to the room Sarah slept in.

I didn’t see her, only rumpled sheets, and went into the room figuring she’d be in the bathroom.

Once again, my assumption about her was wrong.

This was proven when her knife was at my neck and she whispered in my ear, “It’s polite to knock first.”

Laughing, I reached up and lowered her arm, having no fear she’d accidentally harm me.

Now purposely, on the other hand…

“
Mi riena
, do you have any idea how hard I am right now? Like you havin’ that knife to my throat. You gonna let me return the favor while I’m fuckin’ you? Hold some cool steel to your skin? Bet you like that little bit of danger.”

Her sharp intake of breath made me smile. “Whatever.”

So damn cute.

Turning, I examined her as she turned on the small lamp next to the bed. “What are you doing here?”

I made my way to her side, reached past her while inhaling her fresh scent, and turned the lamp off. “Stayin’ the night with my woman.”

As I stood back up, I paused to nibble on the tender lobe of her ear, taking in the electrical sparks I felt when my lips barely grazed her skin. It was like my entire being was centered on the feel of her, my brain devoted to the pleasure of touching her. Unable to help myself, I licked her neck, needing a taste. That made her moan and press her hips into mine, her arms snaking up around me.

“You smell like cigarette smoke.”

“Sorry, baby.”

“It’s okay, I’m just not used to smelling it on you.” She stiffened and pulled back.

“Don’t smoke, babe, but some of my brothers do. Not gonna chase ’em out of the room for lighting up.”

“Oh. Well, I think I should probably go sleep on the couch.” Her voice wobbled with sadness and I had to resist rolling my eyes. “It’s for the best.”

“We back to that shit again?” I gave her ass a brisk slap, absolutely loving the way her curves moved beneath my touch. “I know you’re gonna sleep better, here in the dark, with me at your side.”

She abruptly sagged, her whole body melting into mine, giving me almost her entire weight. “True.”

“So stop arguing with me and get back in bed. I meant what I said, we both need to heal. So though it’s gonna kill me not to fuck you, we’re just gonna sleep tonight.”

“And tomorrow.”

“We’ll worry ’bout that tomorrow. You call your dad and let him know you’re okay?”

“Kind of. I talked to my stepmom. I think she’ll leave me be for a few more days, but soon I’m going to have to go home to visit them.”

“I’m comin’ with you,” I decided instantly, knowing this was one solid way I could prove to her I was serious about us.

She ripped out of my arms and clicked the light on, the move violent enough to send the lamp rocking, casting weird shadows over the room. “You can’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t.”

“I absolutely can.” I took a deep breath and began to tug my cut off, then went into the closet and hung it up, giving myself time to cool down. “Why?”

Her voice came out small, scared. I didn’t like it. “Why what?”

“Why can’t I come with you?”

“You’re a way-older-than-me biker so my dad will kill you on basic principal,” she said without hesitation.

I thought about who her dad was then shrugged. There as a good chance he just might do that. If not him, her stepmom might. Still, I was glad it wasn’t ’cause she was ashamed of us or anything like that. I knew my lifestyle was something many women couldn’t handle, knew it all too fucking well, and I couldn’t help but smile at her.

Right away, those pretty blue eyes of her narrowed into slits. “What are you grinning about?”

“You. Fuckin’ adorable baby I’ve got on my hands.”

Before she could gear up to pitch a fit, I closed the distance between us and kissed her, seducing the anger from her, softening her whole body against mine. Those amazing tits of hers crushed to my chest and my dick was in heaven pressed up against her. As our tongues stroked, I moaned into her mouth and wrapped my arms around her, only breaking the kiss when she winced.

My jaw clenched when I realized I’d squeezed her bruised ribs. “Sorry,
mi corazón
. Didn’t mean to hurt you.”

She gave a shuddery laugh. “Before you came here, almost my entire body hurt. Now all I can think about is how empty I feel inside, how tight. I want to come.”

“You’re beat up.”

“So be gentle.”

It was close to fucking impossible to force the words out, but I had to say them. “I don’t know if I can be gentle with you, babe. Want you so fuckin’ bad, but you’re hurt. Don’t ask me to hurt you more. Not like this.”

Her voice held rich amusement as she said, “Carlos, take off your clothes and come to bed with me. When I say I’m too tired to fight, I mean it. I think Birdie druggied me.”

“Druggied?”

“It’s like being high, but only a little bit. I’m just mellow instead of being trashed.”

“You get high a lot?”

“I won’t lie, I used to, but all I do anymore is smoke pot and that doesn’t even really count. And I barely drink so I’m not too worried about it. Well, I had a couple glasses of wine after a massive fried chicken dinner, but that’s not really partying. I still have a pooch from it. What about you?”

I tried to keep from laughing at her pooch comment. Sure enough, she had a tiny belly on her from eating too much. Truth be told, she could put on about twenty pounds of softness. She was fit, but fit to the point where I knew she’d had to sacrifice for all that lean muscle. I wasn’t enough of a dumbass to say that to her, of course, but I loved how much she enjoyed the simple act of eating. Like it was something new and exciting.

She made everything new and exciting.

“Beach?”

“Sorry, mind was wanderin’. I’m more of a drinker than a smoker.”

“How did I know you’d say that?” She smiled and helped me take my shirt off then stared at my chest. “You really are all man.”

“Pardon?” With open appreciation, she closed the distance between us and rubbed her strangely calloused yet soft hands over my chest. “How come your hands are so rough, baby? Don’t you wear gloves workin’ out?”

“I’m a pole dancer, where do you think my callouses would be?”

Remembering the video I’d seen of her earlier, I smiled and placed my much larger hands over hers, feeling the delicate bones of her hands, so seemingly fragile beneath mine. “Good point. Watched one of your performances. Blew me away, my beautiful baby. Was not expecting it to be anything like that.”