Mad Delights (14 page)

The bedsprings weren’t used to the pounding and squeaked furiously, but Romeo was too caught up in the body beneath his to care. Sweat rolled off him and he wished the fuck could last forever. She continued to moan with each thrust as if she was having trouble forming coherent words. He knew they were both going to have bruised pubic areas tomorrow, but for now, all he wanted was to go deeper inside her body. To melt into her, and some distant thought in his brain wondered how she’d feel without a condom.

Finally, his testicles tightened and his cock thickened. He was going to come. There was no way he could stop it. He only hoped she felt the same way, was right there with him. He gave her one last hard thrust and pushed his cock as deeply inside her as he could go. She cried out with a bellow of rapture just as he let loose, with load after load of cum splashing inside the condom.

He collapsed on top of her, another thing he’d never done with a female. Usually, he pushed himself to the side because he didn’t like the stickiness involved in the after-sex part. But with Chloe, he couldn’t seem to move. His dick was still semi-hard inside her, and although he knew he had to leave so he could remove the filled rubber, he just couldn’t seem to find the energy.

She hugged him tight. God, he had to be crushing her.

“Nothing has ever been so right in my entire life,” she whispered into his ear.

And, strangely enough, he believed her.

Chapter Fourteen

Dax sighed as he stared at Romeo’s empty bed. He had no doubt where the man had slept last night, and even though he tried with all his might, Dax couldn’t push down the jealousy. Not to mention the fact that they were supposed to be on lockdown. The whole purpose of lockdown was that they all stayed safe and guarded
behind
the closed compound doors.

He gently closed Romeo’s door and turned to go back downstairs. He needed coffee and maybe a blow to the head because clearly he was stupid to lust after a woman who wanted his best friend. After what they’d shared at the bar, he’d thought they had an understanding. So why was he mooning over her like a fucking pussy? The sound of a truck rumbling toward the clubhouse perked his ears and he went toward the door. As he headed outside, Romeo stepped out of the cab.

“Where’d you go last night?” he demanded, hands on his hips.

“Wheels’ house.” He held up his good arm to halt whatever Dax meant to say. The other arm was missing the sling. “I know, lockdown was my call. Won’t happen again.”

“How the fuck do you expect me to do my job, Rome? Jesus Christ, you’re always thinking with your dick.”

Romeo tensed. His hands folded into fists and his body language gave no doubt that he wasn’t scared to kick some ass. “Stop, before you say something extremely fucking stupid.”

Some of the members had assembled around them and the last thing Dax wanted them to see was dissidence between the leaders. So he backed down by holding up his hands in a placating gesture. Romeo stormed past him into the clubhouse and Dax followed. He might tuck his tail in public, but in private damned if he wasn’t going to say his peace.

“You could’ve been ambushed last night,” Dax said calmly. He figured it was best to take the high road.

“We weren’t.”

“Where’s Chloe?”

“Work.”

“She all right?”

“Yes.” Romeo frowned. “You’re awfully calm right now. I don’t trust it.”

“So are you,” Dax said, nodding. “Have to be, considering we have no clues to the identity of who’s targeting us.”

“Actually, I might have an idea about that,” Romeo said as he scratched his chest. “Chloe thought someone messed with her car yesterday so I picked her up. Had Wrench go look at it. It was fine, but she described the whore from the Whiskey Lick Her who punched me in the balls the other night. And that, my friend, stays between us.”

Dax blinked. “Is that a joke?”

“No, but I don’t want anyone else knowing some slut got the drop on me.”

“No, I meant… Never mind. Why didn’t you tell me you’d been attacked?”

“Not exactly kosher for the president of the club to have been felled by a woman,” Romeo replied dryly. “Hurt so bad I almost blacked out.”

“What did you do to her?”

“Nothing! She fell off my lap, got up, punched me in the nuts. I had Candy fire her.”

Dax took a deep breath. He did that a lot around Romeo since his friend had a talent for downplaying everything. “So she followed Chloe?”

“Chloe said she saw her outside the Whiskey Lick Her the night of the fire, then she followed Chloe to work.”

“Who is the whore?”

“Name is Shantel, although I have no clue to her last name, and unfortunately all of Candy Box’s records went up in flames.” Romeo frowned. “By the way, what about funeral arrangements?”

“No funeral arrangements until official autopsies are concluded. Boone contacted Candy Box and Drifter’s next of kin. But, I’m sure I don’t have to remind you, we have no money to pay for these funerals, Rome.”

Romeo threw his head back with a sigh. “We have no money, period. And the Brothers need to be paid, Dax. Some have families and mortgages. Any word yet on that chemist, Red Eye?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay. I have to shower, then I have to talk to Boone. We’re still in lockdown.”

Dax folded his arms and gave Romeo a sardonic glare, who just waved it away.

“Chloe’s coming here tonight.”

Dax couldn’t stop the burst of jealousy in his heart. “Did you fuck her?”

“Of course I fucked her,” Romeo replied. “But we’re in this together, Dax. She wants us both.”

Dax blinked. His jealousy battled with relief that they weren’t going to forget him and he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about Romeo’s casual statement. He decided just to go with it for now.

“So you’ve decided to take her up on her offer?”

“I have to talk to Boone first, and this has to go to a vote. But… I don’t see how we can get the money and the guns we need as quickly as we need them any other way.”

Dax had no idea what it would be like to be tied to the Yakuza, but he agreed silently with Romeo. The figurative zip ties on their hands slowly began to tighten. Selfishly, however, he wanted the excuse to fuck Chloe. Perhaps then the memory of her against the bar, surrendering to him, would stop haunting him.

* * * *

After a hot shower, some food and lots of coffee, Romeo felt ready to tackle the Boone and Gabby duo. Sure, Gabby never said a word, but the man was huge and towered over most people, Romeo included. His presence was more than a little intimidating, truth be told, even to him.

They sat in the chapel room at the oval table as Boone pored over the account books. There was a noticeable gap that Cipher had left behind, and unfortunately no one else had much skill with numbers. Boone had volunteered to take on the task, but Romeo knew he wasn’t all that comfortable with it. When Romeo sat in his chair, Boone tossed the pen down and leaned back to stretch his arms out.

“Trouble?”

“No, not really,” Boone replied. “There’s no money, so I’m working with a deficit. How the hell do I rob Peter to pay Paul?”

“No clue,” Romeo replied. “We need a prospect or someone we can bring in to take over this accounting job.”

“No shit.” Boone sighed. “This is a full-time job, let me tell you.”

“Have you heard from Red Eye?”

Boone nodded. “He’s interested if we can come up with the initial down payment.”

Romeo’s stomach twisted. Once again, for the thousandth time, he silently cast Shepard into the deepest, blackest pit of hell. “How much?”

“He has eight kilos and is asking for two hundred thousand.”

“Shit.”

“That’s not a bad price. Street value of a kilo is about twenty-five to thirty thousand. With having the Red Eye brand on it, we could double that. If we don’t do something, the men are going to start getting restless,” Boone said, confirming his own prediction. “We need money, Romeo. I just don’t know where we’re going to come up with the payment.”

“I have a solution, but it may come with a price we don’t want to pay.”

Boone shared a quick glance with Gabby before cocking his head. “What is it?”

“Chloe is the granddaughter of a Yakuza boss,” he said.

Boone looked a little dumbfounded when he dropped his mouth open.

“She’s offering weapons, money, the lifeline that we need.”

Boone snapped his mouth shut. “So she came here to recruit? How did the Men of Hell wind up on her radar?”

“She came here for me.”

“Come again?”

“Chloe is my stalker.”

Silence met his statement. He glanced between Boone and Gabby, unsure how to read their expressions.

“I’m trying to wrap my brain around this, Romeo, but something isn’t clicking.”

“Remember when I went searching for Shepard last year?”

“Yeah,” Boone said.

“I helped save a deaf woman, named Kaiya, from his house,” he explained. “Kaiya is Chloe’s cousin. Their Yakuza boss grandfather had us investigated.”

“Interesting. And by interesting I mean—that’s fucked up. So Chloe came here to stalk you and keep an eye on you?”

“Not exactly.”

Boone rubbed the back of his neck. “Is she legit? How do you know she’s not making this shit up?”

“You saw her take out those Shanks men.”

“So she’s handy with a gun,” Boone argued. “That doesn’t make her a mafia princess.”

Romeo had to concede that Boone had a point. He had never asked Chloe for any type of proof. Was she telling the truth or was that story another one of her stalker ruses?

“So,” Boone said, “let’s say she’s legit. What does she want in exchange for this generous offer?”

“Me,” Romeo replied. “And Dax.”

Boone and Gabby looked at each other.

“This is about sex?” Boone demanded. “Jesus Christ. You’re something else, Romeo, you know that? I’ve been with this club for almost twenty years. I supported Wheels in every decision he made, even when he chose you as his successor. But damned if I know what he saw in you because all you think with is your dick!”

Romeo surged to his feet. “Watch your fucking mouth!”

“Why? Does the truth hurt? You asked me if I thought Wheels made a mistake about you and I told you that you couldn’t waver. So tell me, Romeo, what do you want for this club?”

“I want the Men of Hell to be feared, so no one fucks with us again.”

Boone shook his head. “You don’t see the bigger picture. You get people to fear us and it makes them determined to bring us down. You make us into something more and we bring the watchful eyes of the feds down on us. We’re not Hells Angels, or the Pagans, but we
are
strong men. Good men. We might be one percenters, but that doesn’t mean we’re assholes who can’t care about this community.”

The words reverberated through Romeo’s head. Over and over he heard the words that he wasn’t good enough. He tried to ignore them, like he always did, because he’d be damned if he’d be some pussy-ass club leader who cried boo-hoo. But the words were acid, breaking through his don’t-give-a-fuck armor.

“You’re holding us back, Beau.”

The last words his father had ever said to him. He’d never been good enough. Not for his parents. Not as a man. And now, not as a president. It was his worst fear coming true, and it erased all his strength. He collapsed into a chair, trying hard not to let Boone see how much his words had stripped him bare, his soul broken.

Boone stood confident. Unwavering. He wouldn’t have stepped back and let Shepard run this club into the ground. Boone should have been Wheels’ first choice. And once that thought took root, it grew like lightning. Of course, that would be the right thing to do. Romeo should have thought of it sooner.

“I shouldn’t have been made president,” he murmured, staring at the older man. “It should have been you. You’ve been patched in the longest.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Boone ordered.

He glared at his VP. “Call church for an evening meeting. We have a lot of issues to clear up.”

Romeo surged to his feet once more, his mind completely clear and focused. He would get the men to agree to the Yakuza deal, then he would turn over the presidency to Boone. Once Chloe showed up, he and Dax would consummate their agreement with her. This evening, everything was going to change.

Chapter Fifteen

Chloe waited as the Men of Hell guard opened the gate. She’d been glad to hear that her fears about her car were completely unfounded—score one for the whore bitch Shantel. If she ever got her hands on that work of art, Chloe was determined to put a few scratches in the paint job.

Still, throughout the day, she’d looked for her stalker, but Shantel never made an appearance. So Chloe had run back to her apartment to grab several changes of clothes, her toiletries and more ammunition. Next time, she’d be ready for a confrontation.

As she pulled her car to a stop next to the clubhouse, several of the old ladies waved to her. She waved back. It felt odd to have females being friendly toward her. The only real girlfriend she had was Clement, and Chloe half wondered if that wasn’t because Clement was still trying to turn her into a lesbian. She exited her car and walked to her trunk to pull out her overnight bag. Okay, it was more along the lines of a large duffle bag stuffed to breaking point, but at least she hadn’t brought a suitcase.

The thing was so heavy, though, that it slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground with a thud.

“I’ve got it,” came a deep voice just as a very large hand reached for it. She glanced up to see the vice president, Boone, lifting it easily.

“Thanks,” she said. “I’m staying in Romeo’s room.”

“I know,” he replied.

He continued to look at her, study her. She’d always hated being under a microscope, so she folded her arms across her chest, cocked out one hip and stared back.

“Romeo told me about your proposition,” he finally said. “You’ve picked the right time for an ultimatum.”

“My motto is
carpe scrotum
. Seize life by the balls.” She looked around. “Where’s your better half?”