In Bed With The Outlaw (6 page)

“I can’t. I’m sorry, Red. This is as far as we go.”

He pulled off me. His eyes scanned my own, wondering if I truly meant it. He got his answer when I dragged myself out from under his weight. I needed to stop him before it was too late, before I lost control of everything.

My body ached for him. It might suck not having him at that perfectly romantic moment, on top of the desert mountain with the sun setting, casting a glow on our lovemaking as we did it recklessly, but I would still have my job. I would still have my mission. I could be relieved in that.

Pain I saw in his eyes from my dismissal broke me. Kissing him had been a mistake. If his disappointment didn’t turn to frustration so quickly, I might’ve continued to be sorry.

“You want me to stop?” he asked, like I was crazy. Probably to him, it seemed like I was. I could understand that.

“For now. I think we’ve gone far enough. Not being a prude or anything.” Yes, I definitely was in his eyes. How was I not a prude?

“I don’t understand,” he said.

“We can’t, Red. Not now. Trust me, it’s for the best.”

Shaking his head, running his fingers through his mane, then grabbing a handful in rage, he stared off into the distance. He wouldn’t look me in the eyes. I didn’t blame him.

I felt like I fucked up.

Maybe I did.

I wasn’t so sure.

I was really confused...
that
was for sure.

Ash infuriated me.

I was a Blessed Bastard. I could take what I wanted. Even her. None of this made any sense, only if this girl was stringing me along. I usually didn’t put up with crap like that. I’m not sure why I was putting up with it in her case.

I figured I should give her a pass. She did have a rough night. The kiss she gave me, and the feel I got from her sweet body, got me madly hard.

This was a girl I needed to claim. Fast.

I’m not sure if she understood the full extent of how sexy she was, which made her even more alluring, and even more aggravating. Couldn’t she see what she was doing to me? It took all the effort I had not to push myself on her too hard in the beginning. I needed to cage that wild animal, and I thought I did an alright job at it. Apparently not.

Once we got to the overlook, it all came spilling out. I told her everything, things I never told some of my closest friends. What was the deal with that? I needed to be more careful. I just met this girl. Incredibly hot or not, and me wanting to fuck her constantly, I needed to get my head in the game.

Calm her with your dick, not a bad move, usually works. You did fine, Red. Actually…always works. Why not this time?

Watching as she tried to remain in control, straightening her hair and trying to look distracted by the scene—not that hard, considering where we were—I could see her wearing the colors. I could see her having a patch that said “Red’s Property.” Would she ever go for it? Could I convince her to be an old lady? I would have to try either way.

Should
she be an old lady?

I would convince her to see it my way. We needed to fuck right away. I couldn’t go another night with this pent-up want inside me. I needed to let loose. All over that hot ass of hers. Pronto.

“Can’t believe you don’t want more,” I grumbled. Of course she did. Then why stop?

“Not right now. It’s been a rough day.”

“All right,” I said, regarding her with caution.

She needed to see the crew, needed to go to the clubhouse and see how things were run. Ash probably wouldn’t like it, but it was necessary.

I adjusted my colors. They got a little messy in our scuffle on the ground. Throwing my colors on always gave me a sense of pride, made me keep my back straight and my head held high. Taking her hand, I led her away, back over the desert bridge.

“What’s this place called?”

“Devil’s Peak. This is Devil’s Bridge.”

“Why did they name it that? This place is too nice.”

“They probably saw something like this a long time ago and thought it was the devil’s work.”

“It’s almost too perfect for nature, they’re right, but to think that it’s made by the devil? Why do we have to assume because life gives us something different that it’s necessarily bad?”

“It’s easier once you’ve had enough bad things happen to you. You tend to see the next thing that comes along as a potential threat.”

Going down with her was much easier, but I held her hand just in case. A cool breeze brushed her wild, frizzy hair.

“What are you? How’d you get hair like that?”

She laughed. That was a good sign. “What am I? I’m part American Indian. You probably would never guess except for the hair.”

“You’re right.”

“If you see the bunny again, let me know.”

“Not focused on that right now. Sorry.”

“You should be.”

We walked down the rest of the dirt path. I kept my eyes open for any creatures, not a bunny, but anything that might pop out and be dangerous. I wondered if Ash had the same love for snakes as she did for bunnies. It wouldn’t surprise me if she wanted to shelter the entire animal kingdom in her tiny apartment.

Getting to my bike, I hopped on. Ash got the drill. She was learning. I liked to see that. It got me thinking about other things I wanted to teach her.

“I hope you’re not too tired after our hike.”

“There’s more?”

“Yeah, there's more. You're going to the club house with me.”

“Right now?” She slipped her hands off me and pushed back on the seat.

“Yes, right now. You're not going back to the apartment. I need you to make an appearance.”

“You need me to make an appearance?” She grimaced at the words.

“Yeah, I do.”

She threw her leg off the bike. Making a stand, she turned away from me and crossed her arms on her lap. What was the problem now? There always seemed to be problem with this girl.

“Why do you need me to go?”

“Because I made it look like you were my property back on the side of the road. The guys, especially Lee, are wondering when I'm going to show up with you. You need to be seen.”

I saw the red bubbling underneath her cheeks, saw the creases starting in her forehead and lips, and knew whatever tranquility I gave her on top of that mountain ended.

“You need to show me around. I see how it is. Is that what this was all about? I'm your property now?”

I wanted to say “Yes, you are,” because I was used to doing that. Whatever I wanted, I claimed. If I saw something, I took it. I was used to that, but I knew Ash wasn't. This was a different type of girl, and I needed to take this carefully. Too bad my frustration blocked all of my rational thought. I put my foot down to try to squash this squabble before it got the chance to manifest.

Taking her by the chin, pressing her softness between my firm fingers, showing her my strength, but not enough where I delivered any pain to that tender beauty, I told her, “Yes, you're mine. If you're rolling with me, you've got to learn the rules. Consider yourself my property.”

“Fuck off,” she blurted as she shoved me off, swinging her head away with more fierceness than I expected. She got off the bike like she was prepared to run.

I stood next to the bike, waiting for her to get back on. When she didn't, I told her, “Get on the bike.”

“No,” she replied.

“Where do you plan on going?”

“Let's get one thing straight, I'm not your property.” She tossed her wild hair and balled her fists. “I should've known this would be a mistake.”

“Get back on my bike. We're leaving. Or I could leave you here. Those are your choices.”

“Is this all about making your buddies happy? Because that's what you're telling me right now. If you wanted to make me happy you'd let me do what I want.”

I took a step toward her. She flinched. Her eyes darted to the brush and the rocks above. Where was she going to run? Either path would be a long walk.

“What exactly do you want to do?”

“Take me back to my apartment. I'm done.”

“You're not going back there. I'm not letting you.”

She tossed her arms up in the air, letting them fall as she hung her head in defeat. “Fine, do whatever you want. I see I have no choice. Don't expect me to be happy at your club house.”

“I don't care if you’re happy there, but you'll come with me. I'm not letting you stay in your apartment. It's not safe. You'll stay in one of the rooms in the compound. Tomorrow, you're free to do whatever you want, but tonight, we're not done. Got it?”

“I don't have a choice in the matter,” she muttered. She flung her legs over the bike and waited for me to sit down. When I didn’t, she pointed angrily at the seat.

“Keep pushing me. You're turning me on.”

She said nothing. She wouldn't look at me.

“Don't do anything stupid once you get to the club. If you do, you’ll be punished. I don't care if you hate me or whatever, but don't do anything you'll regret.”

I leaned down to her level so she would need to look into my eyes.

“You hear me? I'm going to need to hear something. If I don't hear anything, I'll at least need a nod.”

She nodded.

That worked.

I got on the bike and drove. Wind whipping as we raced into the night, my anger subsided, my resolve strengthened. I kept thinking about our time on top of the mountain until my cock strained against my jeans. It was a straight shot on the highway, so I could get as hard and horny as I wanted.

Ash had potential to be an old lady, but unless she learned to follow my rules, there was no chance for her. Riding with The Blessed Bastards, even being one of their ladies, took a special type of person.

She was too unruly. She would have to come under my rule.

P
lenty of exits
blew past us. We were heading far out of town. Once again, we took a back road, but this one was paved. Up ahead, I could see what looked like a prison compound with high walls and spotlights.

It would probably be prison for me. Once I went in, would I ever come out?

Red slowed as he approached. My hands and thighs were numb. I looked forward to stretching out. At least I was getting better at withstanding the ride.

Two Blessed Bastards guarded the gate. High-powered lights shone down on us. Two guards at the front wore no patches. They were prospects.

They rolled us in. As the gate opened, we passed by their rifles stacked in a neat case on the side of the barricade. Through the walls, and into the main road of the compound, it looked like their own lawless Western town.

Guns, booze, and a primitive alpha code ruled the streets. Despite having streetlights shining on the main road, there was no one out as we coasted by the nondescript buildings.

Some looked like condos, others were built like tall warehouses, probably where they stored all their illegal guns, maybe even cooked up some drugs. At some point, I would need to search them. I was hoping that Red would simply lead me in at some point.

Busting him now felt bittersweet. I wanted to one-up him, show him that I wasn’t anyone’s property, and he couldn’t just fuck me and use me for show and tell...but I also didn’t want to destroy him completely by busting him.

It was the job I was sent there to do. At some point, I would need to do it.

We stopped at the end of the street. A tall cement wall blocked off the exit. There was only one way in and out. It was remarkable that they weren’t raided by ATF agents already. Red must’ve been telling the truth when he said they had everyone on their payroll.

Fear unfurled, threatening to pull me back down to that shell I was used to hiding in. The harsh desert cold swept in from the mountains. Forced to get closer to Red, I really didn’t want to, but I didn’t want to arrive shivering. I wasn’t sure if I was shivering because of stress or because of the cold at that point. I was only in a thin t-shirt, so I picked temperature. Best not to let Red mind fuck me even more.

The last stop until the wall, there was a row of bikes with more prospects hanging outside what looked like a bar with swinging saloon doors. On top, in big, crimson text, they wrote “Bastards’ Back Yard.” All of the noise must’ve been confined to the bar, because as soon as we pulled up to the line of bikes, I could finally hear music and chatter.

How many were inside? I didn’t feel like I was in the best position to make an appearance. My hair was naturally wild and long, but I liked to keep it somewhat manageable. Not even time for a spot check. Red would pay for this.

The prospects walked over to Red, gave him a nod and said, “Welcome back,” and then they watched quietly over his bike.

Red snatched my hand. I was swept toward him and onward to the saloon doors whether I liked it or not. This was it. Whatever waited for me behind those doors, I didn’t expect it was good. I expected a moment when we walked through the doors, it all went silent, and they all stared at me, gawking at me like some kind of extinct species.

Once inside, it took me a long time to get accustomed to my surroundings. It looked much bigger than it did from the outside. There was a huge amount of space, most of it reserved for a dance floor in the right corner, situated on higher ground than the rest of the bar.

Not as trashy as I expected. Some of the people, however, were a different story. There was a long bar, stretching the whole length of the building to the left. Swarming over it was what looked like strippers, a bunch of girls dressed in skimpy outfits, mostly bikinis but some wearing t-shirts with no bras and some frayed, extra short jean shorts.

Red led me toward the bar. I dug my heels in, but he yanked, and I followed.

Anywhere but the bar
, I thought.
Put me in the corner and let me observe. I don’t want to be swarmed with those skanks.
Drunker than the bikers, they buzzed about the room.

You couldn’t say The Bastards didn’t help the local unemployment problem.

We went to the edge of the bar. A whole line of shouts came our way. I looked along the wall, seeing all of the framed pictures. They looked like memorable photos of the club’s accomplishments, most of them old, faded photographs of times gone by.

The rest of the place was furnished with leather and motorcycle parts. They even had a bike mounted near the ceiling with a bull’s skull placed on it, like a cult sacrifice.

“Where’s my brother?” Red asked.

A barrel-chested, staunch-looking man approached. He looked like he was still rocking Ozzy’s look with his long, black hair. I recognized him from earlier when they picked me up on the side of the road and from my research. Boots. He got his name because he always kept his boots clean. The only time he got them dirty was from, you guessed, a fight. He only let blood touch that fine leather.

“The boys?” Boots asked. “I think they’re in the back.”

A petite, slender girl with huge, fake breasts that looked like they were going to take her down grabbed Boot’s arm. She took a sip of her wine cooler and tried to stand on her toes to kiss him.

“Bootsy,” she started.

He dodged her kiss. With a snarl, he said, “I told you not to call me that.”

“But Bootsy—” she said.

Boots rolled his eyes at her. He turned his back to us. I didn’t want to know what he said to her after that.

Less than five minutes into our stay at The Bastard’s Backyard and Lee spotted us. He squeezed through the crowd to come up beside me. I think he stayed back for a moment so he could see me from behind. My skin crawled. Red was there to block him if he tried anything.

Lee clinked his beer bottle against Red’s. “Finally brought her around. What’s the rush?”

“Calm down, Lee,” Red replied.

“All I’m saying is it’s nice to see her.” Lee patted his Bastard brother on the shoulder. Red stiffened but relented, giving him a friendly slap on the back in return.

“You staying the night?”

“Lee, come on, man. She just got here.”

“Relax,” he said, leering back with that ratty smile. He parted his greased black hair. Out of everyone, he looked the roughest, like he spent his entire life in the gutter.

“I’m not trying to start nothing. All I’m saying is that if you’ve brought her around, and she’s staying, I expect to hear her screaming from upstairs. I expect the usual Red treatment.”

Violence flickered in Red’s glare.

“That’s enough, Lee. You’re lucky you’re a Bastard or I’d bust your face in.”

“I am a Bastard, Red, and that’s why I get to say whatever I want,” he said, laughing as he wandered off.

“The Red treatment,” I muttered under my breath.

“What?”

I didn’t know if he actually heard me or not as we lined up at the bar. Red had been checking out those taps ever since we walked in. I kind of felt like I drove him to drink. I could understand that. It was a wild night. He had thrown someone through glass.

My suspicions about the Red treatment were confirmed when the bartender arrived. She leaned over the bar to meet Red halfway. As she leaned over, she showed off her cleavage in her black, low-cut shirt. She had jet-black hair, looked like Joan Jett in fact, and had a tatted sleeve of koi fish, and she seemed very interested in Red.

“Red, didn’t know if you were stopping by tonight,” she said, flashing a smile, staying with him much longer than I liked.

I shouldn’t be shocked to find out that he might have many girls on the side. Red was a good looking guy, and I never bothered to ask. A classic mistake.

“I had some business to take care of. How you doing, Maxine?”

“Fine. Hope you didn’t beat yourself up with work. You look a little stressed.”

Red peered over at me. Stressed meant me.

“You going to introduce her?” Maxine asked.

I didn’t expect him to say “my old lady,” maybe he would say, “my property.” What was I to him? I figured I was in a trial period, kind of like those prospects outside. I would have to clean his bike, cook his meals, and suck his dick enough to prove I was worthy. None of that was going to happen at this point, yet I was still jealous as Maxine bent over the table and looked down at me.

“This is Ash,” Red said, jerking his thumb at me.

I didn’t say anything.

It was awkward.

He cut through the silence when asking for a beer. Before Maxine left, she gave him big eyes and a smoldering smile, all lit up and pretty and practically begging for the treatment. “Hope to see you later, Red.”

Another gaggle of girls, who looked even skimpier than Maxine—at least Maxine was working and she wore a top, not a bikini—flocked to Red’s other side.
More.
There were more?

“Red,” one blonde yelled, reaching for him.

He swatted at the air. She backed off.

“Not right now. I’m busy. Please, give us room,” he said.

Taking a hearty sip and walking from the bar, he spun around and asked, “You want anything?”

I thought about being difficult and saying “I want to leave,” but decided against it. Red probably had my life planned out for me already.

“I’ll have some water.”

“Water for the lady,” Red said. Maxine tossed him a bottle. He handed it over and we started to walk away from all of the commotion. I almost didn’t see the tables far away on the opposite side of the dance floor. A bunch of ladies sat around the table. All wearing leather jackets, from what I could see, they weren’t getting up and serving anyone.

They weren’t just any ladies. They were the old ladies.

Highly respected, some of them married to their men, some of them not, but all were untouchable, as untouchable as their male counterparts, the old ladies congregated in the corner, laughing and having a good time in heated conversation. I was kind of jealous. I missed having friends like that. They looked like they were having fun.

Before we could go to wherever he would take me next, someone came waving from the back room for Red. Hispanic, tall, dark, and handsome with medium-length black hair, he looked to be in his late twenties. My research hadn’t described him at all.

“Hey, Red, they want you for a meeting.”

“Meeting right now?” Red asked, the foam from his beer drenching his beautiful lips. My arousal stirred as I thought about him savoring me like that.

“Right now, they said it’s urgent.”

Where did that leave me? I reached out and glanced Red’s hand. He didn’t budge, but grumbled, “All right.” Not moving a muscle, he scanned the room. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who was confused by him. The suave Bastard standing there looked confused as well.

“I’ve got her with me.”

Her.
He’s got
her.
I was just annoying property to him.
A thing that can be tossed away when he gets bored.

I looked so miniscule and weak standing behind the giant biker. These strangers looked like a wild pack of dogs, hungry for new meat. As soon as my protection left, I would be ripped to shreds.

“She can stay with Rox. She’ll show her around.”

“That’d be great, Ramos.”

They started toward the back table. I froze. I was being introduced to the old ladies already? They would ask questions. Lots of questions. I would need to be vetted. Sometimes, especially when I was with Red, I forgot I was undercover. Now it hit me hard.

“Come on,” he said. When I still didn’t move, he took me by the hand. His touch was welcome. Why couldn’t he just be cool and not so demanding? I knew the answer. He was used to taking whatever he wanted. He wasn’t used to a woman who put up a fight.

They brought me over to the table, but I still stood behind Red, using his massive size for cover. Ramos waved at one of the women at the table.

“Rox.”

The short, spunky girl swung up from her seat. She was Hispanic like Ramos with similar medium-length black hair but with the most impressive natural curls. She had adorable brown eyes, but she wore the jacket and the tight jeans like she could throw a punch. Roxy looked a little younger, about a year or two.

“Yeah?”

“Take care of—” Ramos looked to me.

“Ash,” Red interjected.

“Take care of Ash. Show her around, introduce her, we’ve got a meeting.”

Red pushed me softly ahead. He leaned down to my ear, giving me a shiver, and the naughty thought of him taking a bite of it and then doing more.

“Be good. I’ll be back soon. They’ll be nice if you are.”

Then, without a word, he was gone, into the back with Ramos. There was a pause as the old ladies looked me over, studying me. It was a tense moment. The next, they were beaming.

“Hey, name’s Roxy. Have a seat. You want something other than water?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose.”

“They make killer mixed drinks here. Or what do you drink...the heavy stuff? I don’t want to assume.” She tipped a hand onto her hip, looking ultra cool.

“One of the mixed drinks will be fine,” I said, taking a seat.

“Cool,” Roxy said. She walked right over, yelled for a drink, and then introduced the ladies, who seemed interested in meeting me, but I remained cautious. I knew these women had their mouths and ears to very powerful and dangerous men. One slip-up and I could be out on my ass.

Next to me was Joy, who made me even more worried, since she was King’s old lady. She was a busty, confident, and tough blonde. Your typical blonde bombshell. She wore her jacket with pride. When she was introduced, she seemed extremely nice, shaking my hand and telling me that she was glad Red finally brought a real girl to the club. A nice compliment, but I didn’t like the idea of Red bringing around anyone else.

I wasn’t sure what she meant by real girl, until I picked up on the scorn Joy held for some of the skimpy ones strutting around the club. A few began to gyrate to the jukebox. After senior members went to the late meeting, things were getting rowdier.

Next in line came Ema, who was Boot’s old lady. A no-nonsense Italian woman, she looked like Joy’s counterpart but with medium-length black hair. She told me, “Pleasure to meet you. You’ll be just fine here, hun,” with a deep, gravely voice.