Hot as Hades (31 page)

She grimaced, not liking Duke’s tone. He seemed concerned about Rose and frankly, she was none of his business. If she wasn’t mistaken, some sort of strange bond had developed between them, probably because he’d pulled her out of the cage.

“And I think Rose needs a neutral space to sort this out,” he said. “She can stay at Hades as long as she likes.” The tone was casual, but she wondered if his interest was less than altruistic.

“Thank you.” She raised a brow. “Why are you guarding my sister’s door?”

 “Cowboy asked me to keep an eye on her.”

Duke was a dangerous man on an epic scale. She didn’t want him anywhere near Rose, for any reason. “Well, you can stand down, soldier. I got this.”

His eyes became hooded, unreadable. “I think we’ll let Rose decide whether or not she wants my protection.” He turned and walked away, leaving Daisy feeling uneasy, but she would handle that particular problem another time. Today, she wanted to celebrate Rose’s homecoming.

She knocked on the door.

“Ro, are you in here?”

No answer. She tried the handle and found it unlocked, so she went inside.

Daisy had to adjust her eyes to the dark shadows in the room, but she could eventually make out her sister’s form against the wall. She sat on the floor, arms threaded over her legs.

 Daisy switched on the lamp near the bed and Rose pressed herself further into the corner as though she could disappear into the wall.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” With a hiss of pain Daisy gingerly knelt beside her, about a foot away.

“Hey, Rosie,” she murmured, making her tone as soft as soothing as she could, but Rose didn’t acknowledge her or make eye contact. She stared at nothing in particular, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

Daisy opened her mouth to speak again, but nothing came out. Asking her how she was seemed ludicrous. Obviously, Rose wasn’t doing well. She lived in some sort of mental hell and Daisy didn’t have a freaking clue how to help her. But she’d do anything she could.

“I swear I’m going to help you get better,” she promised.

Rose didn’t look at her, but she frowned, as though thinking about what Daisy said, processing it slowly.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do, what to say, but I wanted you to know I’m here for you and I love you, Ro.” She had to suck back a sob. “More than you can possibly imagine.”

The ghost of a smile curled Rose’s lips, and for a brief moment she got a glimpse of her sassy, confident sister. “I know, Daze.”

Oh thank God!

Rose was in there somewhere, she was just buried beneath the pain and the fear. Hesitantly, Rose reached for her, holding out one trembling hand and Daisy took it, threading her fingers through her sisters. They sat there in the dark together, holding hands and not speaking, just basking in one another’s company. Both she and Rose had come out of this situation with some serious wounds, but they would heal. Together.

***

An hour later, Daisy stopped by Voodoo’s for some hot biscuits, and then crept into Cowboy’s room.

He didn’t stir when she’d turned on the bedside lamp. Cowboy had dark shadows under his eyes and more stubble than usual on the lean planes of his handsome face. He must have been exhausted. Cowboy usually slept naked, and today was no exception, the white bed linens slid down his hips, giving her an enticing few of his muscled thighs.

Damn he’s beautiful.

Daisy gingerly sat down on the edge of the bed and undressed, stripping off her shirt and the roomy sweatpants Eddie had purchased for her. Naked, she slid into bed next to Cowboy, being careful of her injured leg. Right now, she wanted to be close to him as possible. He stirred as she brushed a thumb over his lips.

“Mornin’, Cowboy.”

“Mmm, Wildcat,” he murmured, as his eyes fluttered open. His hand encircled hers, holding it to his face.

“I brought you some biscuits.” She set the carryout bag on the nightstand.

 “I thought I’d sneak up on you in bed this time,” she teased.

He gave her a sleepy smile so sexy it nearly stole her breath. “Anytime you take a notion, please do. Have I ever told you, how much I love wakin’ up with a beautiful woman?”

 “You might have mentioned it a time or two.” She could feel a grin tug at the edges of her mouth. It felt so right, lying in his arms –in this town, with this man, her sister, and his club. She’d finally found a new home.

“Damn.” He yawned. “It’s been a rough couple of days. I feel like I been chewed up, spit out, and stepped on.”

She laughed. “Believe me, I know the feeling.”

“Have you seen your sister?” he asked.

 “I did. She’s…” Daisy paused, trying to find words. “She just isn’t the same, it’s going to take a lot of time for her to heal.”

“You’ll be there for her every step of the way,” he promised, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

He glanced down at her leg, pulling the covers to the side to examine the bandages. His big, blue eyes became suspiciously shiny. “Are you in a lot of pain?”

She shook her head. It hurt, but Duke loaded her up with painkillers. She didn’t want to know where they’d come from, but she’d taken a couple before she went over to Hades. It hurt a bit, but she and Rose were both safe. “No, I’m fine, thanks to you.”

“If I’d been off by an inch or two, I could have clipped your artery and you would have bled to death,” he said quietly. “For a minute there, I thought I had.”

“Not a chance,” she said fervently. “Not with the way you shoot. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be free or have Rose back.”

His expression changed, became smooth and even, betraying no emotion, but she heard a hitch in his voice when he finally spoke. “So, does this mean you’ve come to say goodbye?”

“No.”

“No?” he said, and she could read the hope in his eyes.

She sighed, and gathered up the courage she needed to say this.“Cowboy, I’ve come to love this place. I love Eddie and Elizabeth, and Voodoo, and even the club. It’s become more and more clear to me, my future isn’t at Fort Bliss, not anymore.”

 “It isn’t?”

“I think my shot at bliss, if you’ll pardon the pun, is with you.” She bit her lip. “You said you wanted to be the only man who’s ever touched my heart, and you are. I’m not sure what to call it,but I think it might be love.”

A big smile spread over his face. “I’m falling in love with you, too.” He bent his head, kissed her softly. “Tell me again,” he whispered against her lips.

“I’m in love with you,” she said quietly, meaning every word. And surprisingly, it didn’t seem so scary now. “I love you,” she repeated.

 Cowboy kissed her once more, softly teasing her lips with his own, it was gentle but undeniably possessive. “You are officially my old lady.”

“Yes, I am.” She touched the pendant necklace around her neck.

He tucked a hand behind his head, and sighed with pure male satisfaction. “I know exactly where I’m going to put my name on you.”

“Hey,” she said with a scowl. “What makes you think I’m going to let you?”

“Because you love me,” he answered smoothly. “You want to know where?”

She groaned.

“I’m going to ink my name next to that sexy cat tattoo of yours.”

“We’ll see,” she hedged.

He raised a wicked brow. “That’s okay, Wildcat, I’ll eventually wear you down. I’ll just make you cum until you lose the will to fight with me about it.”

She shivered at the thought. Then, she remembered something very important. She reached down and snagged the backpack she’d slid off earlier. Then, pulled out a shiny, new horseshoe. “I made Fetch stop at the feed store on the way over,” she explained as she handed it to him.

“What’s this for?” he asked, bemused.

“For the doorway to your house. You need a good luck charm.”

Cowboy brushed a hand over the silvery surface. “Thank you, wild cat. I’ve been meaning to reclaim my house, put those bad memories to rest.”

“We’ll make some new memories there, happy ones,” she promised.

“Yes, we will. Speaking of,” he said as he grabbed the carryout bag and reached inside. “Let’s have some biscuits to celebrate and then I plan on spending the next couple of hours making love to you.”

“No, I got them for you,” she insisted. “I know how much you love them.”

He cut one of them in two with the pocket knife he grabbed from the nightstand and handed it to her. “Wildcat, I can promise you one thing. As long as I got a biscuit, you got half.”

Daisy happily accepted. She had a feeling they would be sharing biscuits together every morning.

 For the next fifty or so years…

Keep reading for a preview of the next book in the series, Damned, Four Horsemen MC #3.

Damned

Rose Weston is in hell.

After being kidnapped and held as a sex slave, she is struggling to come to terms with the trauma. Under the care of her sister, Daisy, Rose is recovering at the Hades Motel and Diner, owned by the Four Horsemen MC. When Rose is threatened by her former captor, she asks Duke for help.

Duke has been to hell and back.

After surviving an abusive childhood, dangerous black ops missions, and a stint in prison, Duke is reluctant to give a damn about anyone but himself. Despite his better judgment, he finds himself helping Rose. She touches a place in his cold heart, no other woman has. He reluctantly agrees to teach her combat skills. Together, they will track down the man who held her prisoner and make him pay. But he doesn’t count on what a temptation Rose can be. She wants to share his bed, have a sexual relationship on her own terms, but is she ready after the abuse she’s suffered? Or is she damned?

Add Damned to your Goodreads list here:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22546370-damned

Chapter One

She is a hot mess.

Duke watched Rose Weston as she ate dinner with her older sister, Daisy, and his club brother, Cowboy. The girl tried hard to hide it, but he could see the chaos bubbling beneath the surface, even two tables over.

Not that it was any of his fucking business.

 Hades, the Four Horsemen’s motel and diner, had quite a crowd tonight. The diner had a fifties feel to it with a black and white checkered floor, red vinyl booths, silver stools, and Texas memorabilia on the walls like an old Route 66 sign and a Texaco star. Tonight, the place was packed for another one of their brotherhood dinners. Voodoo, a brother who served as the Hades chef and proprietor, barked orders at the prospects. And they hustled to take drink orders and deliver food to the brothers’ tables.

Duke did a perimeter sweep of the room, a habit leftover from his Special Forces routine. He noted the weapons his brothers carried as well as the exits and entrances, which they always kept clear in case a little escape and evasion became necessary, or E&E in military lingo.

He couldn’t help but stare at the train wreck of a girl again.

She did her level best to look normal. Rose laughed and smiled often. She even managed to eat most of the food on her plate. But her eyes! They told an altogether different story. Bleak, shuttered, and chilly, they reminded him of an abandoned home. And she couldn’t quite disguise the pain in their depths.

No one else seemed to notice, not even her sister. Maybe they were relieved she got home safe and didn’t really look too close. Two months ago, Duke had pulled her out of a cage.
A fucking cage
. Some bat shit crazy lawyer for the Raptors, a rival MC, kept her as a sex slave. Fuck only knows what the pervert did to her.

Cowboy saddled him with protecting Rose, but Duke didn’t consider babysitting or counseling to be part of the job description. So, he kept kept his distance and watched her like a fucking hawk, in case her former rapist came looking for her. Rose had decided not to move in with Cowboy and Daisy when his brother reclaimed his old house and who could blame her? Pretending to be fine all the fucking time could be exhausting.

Duke had given up on being normal years ago.
But still
.

He couldn’t help but notice her. Her pain called to him on so many levels and she fascinated the fuck out of him, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on exactly why.

 While he could appreciate her beauty, he usually went for older women, with loads of sexual experience and very little inhibitions. Rose had long blond hair which fell to the middle of her back and curled around her pretty face. She had wide-spaced warm brown eyes, framed by pale lashes and even paler skin.

She’d been thin as a lamppost when he took her out of the cage, but she’d started to fill out again, her hips and breasts rounding out thanks to Voodoo’s cooking. Not that you could see her new curves. Tonight, she wore an oversized pair of jeans and a long-sleeved Dallas Cowboys shirt she kept tugging at, trying to force the sleeves below her fingertips.

That
caught his attention. Something about the gesture bothered him.

Abruptly, her companions finished their food and Rose hugged her sister and Cowboy goodbye. After they left, she sat alone at the table. For a moment, she stared at the tabletop, absently moving the salt and pepper packets around in their tiny blue dish. Then shook her head, as though trying to focus. Finally, she  lurched to her feet, grabbed her bag and headed out the rear of the diner.

Duke forced his attention back to the hand cut fries on his plate, slathering one with ketchup before bringing it to his mouth. He shot a glance at Shepherd, another of his MC brothers, who currently devoured a bacon cheeseburger. They sat at a table together against the wall.

 Voodoo stuffed the burgers with bacon, onion, and cheese and they were tasty, though not his usual fare. Voo nearly always insisted on cooking, mostly because he couldn’t stand to eat inferior food. None of them argued about it. After all, how could they compete with an honest to God chef?