Reaper's Property (7 page)

We separated and took seats.

“So how’s it going with you?” she asked.
I’d put on lots of foundation to cover my bruises but her eyes flickered across
them. “Gary?”

“Yeah,” I said, flushing. “I was stupid,
went back there alone to get some stuff. He was drunk.”

Her mouth tightened, eyes filling with
tears of anger or frustration, I couldn’t tell which.

“I wish I was out of here,” she said. “I’d
kill that bastard.”

“Mom! Don’t talk like that, they’re probably
listening—they’ll think you mean it.”

She cocked an eyebrow at me and I knew she
meant every word. Mom had a temper, no question. That’s what got her here in
the first place. But I loved the fact that she always protected her chicks,
back when we were little and now too. My mom wasn’t perfect, but the woman
could be an avenging angel when she needed to be, something more than one
school bully had learned the hard way.

“He won’t be bothering me again,” I said
quickly. “A friend of mine had some words with him.”

“Friend?” she asked.

“Um, actually a friend of Jeff’s. He’s a
biker.”

“I see,” Mom said. “Since when does Jeff
hang out with bikers? Gamers are more his speed, I’d think.”

“Ever since I moved back to the trailer,” I
replied, shrugging. “He’s doing some kind of work for them. I don’t know the
details.”

“They good bikers or bad bikers?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

I laughed nervously.

“Um, they’re good to me. Kind of rough and
they can get scary, but I’m okay with them.”

Her eyes narrowed, studying me. I shifted
nervously, blushing again. Mom always saw right through me.

“Just ‘getting along’ or something more?”
she asked. I shrugged again and she smirked.

“Well, be careful. Bikers can be great, but
the hardcore guys are living in a different world from us.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that,” I said wryly.
“It’s nothing serious, mostly just flirting.”

She didn’t need to know all the details.
Does anyone really want to tell their mom about their best orgasm ever?

“I’ve got news of my own,” she replied with
a gleam in her eye. Uh-oh, I recognized that gleam.

“What?” I asked, unnerved.

“Well, I’ve reconnected with someone,” she
said. “A man. We’re getting serious.”

That caught my attention.

“How on earth are you doing that from
jail?” I exclaimed. “I swear, you’re like a magnet, how do you get so many guys
after you?”

She giggled, looking years younger than her
age.

“Well, I may be getting old but I’m not
dead yet,” she replied. “He came to see me not too long after I got in here. In
fact, he’s been visiting me a couple times a week.”

“Who?”

“John Benson.”

“No way,” I muttered, stunned. “John
Benson, our landlord?”

”Yeah,” she said, looking sheepish. “You
may not know this, but he and I had a thing a long time ago…”

“I know,” I replied. “I also know he was
married.”

She had the grace to look embarrassed.

“Well, I’ve made mistakes. But you should
know we both felt guilty. That’s why we ended it. His wife never knew. She’s
been dead for about three years now, car accident. John and I had been avoiding
each other for so long it became a habit, but I guess when he read about me in
the paper he started thinking about me.”

Only my mother would end up finding love by
trying to run over two cops. Clearly, John Benson was an idiot.

“He wants me to marry him.”

I shook my head, unsure what to say.
Finally I managed to speak.

“Well, I guess that’s good, Mom. How does
he feel about what happened?”

“He knows I have my issues, but I’m sober
now, which has helped me sort things out,” she said. That was true—she’d joined
AA even before her little incident. We’d confronted her about her drinking
after Jeff found her passed out outside the trailer in the snow last winter. It
was a miracle she survived. “I’ve realized now that I need to deal with my
emotions or I get…upset.”

That was the understatement from hell.

“Aren’t you supposed to stay out of
relationships your first year of AA?”

“It’ll be almost a full year by the time I
get out,” she replied. “I’d get out a little earlier for good behavior, but
they’re not cutting me any slack because of the cop thing.”

We looked at each other, both thinking back
to that day. She sighed.

“I never do anything halfway, do I?”

I shook my head, smiling ruefully.

“That’s the truth.”

“I’m moving in with him when I get out.
That’s good news for you and Jeff, I guess. You’ll get to keep the trailer all
to yourselves.”

I shrugged.

“I guess if that’s what you want,” I
replied. “It concerns me a little, but if you’re happy, that’s good enough for
me.”

She smiled, the tension on her face easing.

“Thank you, baby,” she whispered. “I’ve
been worried about telling you guys. You talk to Jeff for me? He hasn’t been to
visit in a month and I’m worried. Is everything okay?”

I thought about how to answer her question.
I didn’t know of anything specifically wrong with Jeff, but there was
definitely something going on. How to explain that though?

“He’s been kind of edgy,” I said finally.
“And lost some weight. But he hasn’t talked to me about anything and when I
asked he blew me off. Wish I could tell you more.”

“Thanks for that,” she said. “You tell him
I love him?”

“I’ll tell him.”

Sept. 1

Me:
Well that was fun

Horse:
?

Me:
Went to see mom. She’s good, but
crazy news. Getting married

Horse:
This a good thing?

Me:
Not sure. He’s the guy who owns our
trailer. They used to have a thing, but he was married. Wife died couple years
ago

Horse:
Good guy?

Me:
Cheated on his wife

Horse:
One-time thing or pattern?

Me:
Short term accord to mom. Says they
both felt awful, ended it. Explains why we get the trailer so cheap

Horse:
No shit

Horse:
You like him?

Me:
I guess. Always been nice to me.
She’s moving in with him when she gets out.

Horse:
Then be happy for your mom.

Me:
Gonna try

Sept. 3

Horse:
Whens your next day off?

Me:
Thurs. Why?

Horse:
Want to visit

Me:
I’d like that :)

Sept. 6

I studied my face in the mirror critically,
wishing I didn’t feel so nervous. The bruises had faded, which was good, and
you could hardly see where my lip had been split. There were still a few
yellowish splotches but I covered those up with strategically placed makeup. I
put on a pretty sundress—nothing fancy, but bright and cheerful and it made my
boobs look fantastic.

All in all, I looked human again.

Horse would arrive any time. The drive was
a little over three hours, and he’d texted me when he left at seven that
morning. I couldn’t define our relationship, but he wanted to visit me, not
Jeff, and he was coming by himself. That had to mean something. And I couldn’t
be just a booty call when he’d never gotten my booty, right?

I heard him pulling up and paused at the
door, tugging up the bodice of my dress. Cleavage had seemed like a great idea
earlier, but now I felt self-conscious. He knocked on the door.

“You there, sweet butt?” he called. I
opened the door and his eyes went straight to my chest.

“Don’t call me sweet butt,” I snapped at
him and he grinned, reaching out a finger to poke my nose.

“Bitchy, aren’t we?”

“Rude, aren’t we?”

“Always.”

We started laughing at the same time and he
pulled me into his arms, giving me a welcome kiss that made me forget
everything else. While his tongue explored my mouth, his hands roamed down to
my rear, cupping my cheeks and pulling me up and into his hips. I felt his cock
against my stomach and sparks raced through me. Hard to believe I could make
this handsome, intimidating biker so aroused.

Finally the need to breathe got the better
of me, and I pulled away from him, taking his hand and drawing him in to the
living room to the couch. He looked around, eyes pausing as they took in Jeff’s
pipe on the coffee table.

“Your brother here?”

“He’s still in bed,” I said. “Not really a
morning person.”

He gave a rueful laugh.

“Me neither, got up too early this
morning.”

A thrill ran through me—he’d been eager
enough to see me that he’d gotten up early!

“So you have business down here?” I asked,
trying to sound casual. He shook his head.

“Just you, babe.”

I grinned at him like an idiot. So much for
being cool.

“So what do you want to do?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Do you really have to ask?”

I laughed nervously. He might be gorgeous,
but I couldn’t just jump into bed with him, not like this. I needed a little
warming up first.

“Um, how about I show you around the area a
little, maybe go down to the river or something?”

He gave me a knowing look.

“Chicken.”

“Maybe.”

“Okay, we’ll play this your way. You want
to pack a lunch or go out?”

I thought about my bank balance—growing,
but still low—and decided a picnic was the way to go.

“Give me ten minutes and I’ll have
something pulled together.”

“You’d better change too.”

“Why?”

“Because you can’t ride a bike in that
dress. Put on some jeans.”

“I’ve never ridden a bike before.”

Horse leaned over and gave me a quick kiss
on the mouth.

“Lookin’ forward to being your first,
babe.”

Chapter
Seven

It took more
like half an hour, but I packed a lunch, a blanket to sit on and some condoms
(carefully zipped into a pocket in my purse), just in case. Horse handed me a
black helmet that looked like what a German army guy would wear—you know, the
kind that flares out a little around the edges? I wasn’t quite sure how to
adjust it, but he put it on my head and fixed the straps carefully, like I was
fragile and precious. I loved how that made me feel. Then I got on the bike
behind him, which was an experience in and of itself. The Harley was big and
wide, and I had to spread my legs around his hips. My naughty bits didn’t miss
the symbolism there. I wasn’t quite sure where to put my arms, but he grabbed
my hands and pulled them around to his stomach.

“Hold tight,” he said. “Tap my stomach if
you need me to stop for some reason and watch out for the pipes. They get hot.”

“Okay,” I replied nervously.

Then the bike roared to life and we pulled
down the driveway.

How do I describe that first ride?

Well, for one thing, the bike vibrates. A
lot. I suppose over time it would numb your rear, but for those first few
minutes it felt like sitting on the world’s biggest sex toy. It didn’t hurt
that my arms were wrapped tight around a hot, muscular guy who’d made it clear
he appreciated my assets. I squeezed him tight as we pulled out onto the
highway, holding on for dear life as he opened the throttle.

I’d promised to show him the sights, but he
had his own agenda and apparently knew the area well already. After about half
an hour, we pulled off the highway and headed up into the hills on a gravel
road. This was much slower going and before long it turned to dirt. The next
thing I knew, we turned down a narrow track that barely deserved to be called a
road. It dead-ended at a turn-around. Horse killed the engine.

I dropped my hands, accidentally grazing
his erection. I jerked my hand away, embarrassed, but he grabbed it and pulled
it back, rubbing it up and down his length.

“Missed that, babe,” he said. I didn’t
reply, feeling strangely shy, but when he let my hand go I didn’t stop touching
him. I thought about his dick, how big it was, how hard it’d been the last time
I’d seen it, all for me. I shifted on the seat, tilting my hips forward into
the hard leather. It felt good to have my legs spread so wide… But I wanted to
feel his shaft in my hand. I reached for his fly.

“Shit, babe, not gonna fuck you in the
parking lot,” he said, laughing. I squawked, jerking my hands away,
embarrassed. “Got a better idea. C’mon.”

I hopped off the bike, knowing my face must
be bright red. Horse grabbed our picnic stuff and one of his saddlebags,
holding out his hand. I took it and he pulled me along a trail through the
brush.

Now, you have to realize that eastern
Washington isn’t exactly the garden of Eden. It’s mostly desert and scrubland,
with low, rolling hills. But as I followed him along a gully between two of
those hills, more and more green appeared, along with a little trickle of
water. We hiked along the stream for about half an hour until we reached a
small, round pond that gave off wisps of steam.

“A hot spring!” I exclaimed with delight.
Horse looked smug as I ran to the edge, reaching down to trail my fingers
through the water. “How did you know about this? I grew up around here and I’ve
never heard of this place.”

“I know all kinds of interesting things you
don’t,” he said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. I snickered. But I stopped
laughing and started running when he dropped the picnic stuff and lunged toward
me. I screeched and giggled as he caught me from behind, pulling me back to the
ground on top of him and tickling me. He lay on his back, arms around my chest,
legs around mine, and held me in place as he reached down for the hem of my
tee. He jerked it up and over my head, pausing to tickle me again every few
seconds.

Then his hands went down to the fastening
of my jeans.

“Don’t you dare!” I yelled, but he just
laughed and ripped them open. He got them loose and pushed them down over my
hips. At that, I bucked hard and he let me go, which pitched me forward. Before
I could even think he was on me from behind, jerking my jeans down my legs. He
stood up, holding them out of my reach triumphantly.

“You’re gonna pay for that!” I yelled,
still laughing. I stopped laughing though and started running as he dropped the
jeans and lunged toward me again. That worked just about as well as it had the
first time, which was not at all. He caught me up and threw me over his
shoulder, carrying me over to the spring, giving my butt a little smack,
saying, “Quiet, woman.”

I screamed “No!” before I hit the water
with a splash.

It was like jumping into a hot tub—not too
deep, but deep enough I wasn’t in any danger. I surfaced, scowling at him and
dropping my head back into the water to get the hair out of my face. Then I popped
back up to glare at him some more.

Horse doubled over laughing at me.

I splashed him as hard as I could, which
made him laugh more, then turned away to pout.

Mistake.

The splash he made jumping in nearly
knocked me over, and then his arms came around me, pulling my back into the
curve of his body. He’d stripped down to his boxers. His hands slid over me,
stroking my curves, and I melted.

“Baby, you’re cute when you’re wet,” he
whispered in my ear, sliding a finger down into my panties. He pushed my bra down
with the other hand, rolling my nipple between his fingers as he toyed with my
clit. I shuddered and arched my back as he flicked his finger faster and
faster, playing me like a guitar. I guess I’d been in a constant state of
arousal all morning, because I came like a firecracker.

“Holy shit…” I moaned, collapsing against
him.

He kissed the back of my neck, then turned
me around to face him. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around
his neck, kissing him with everything I had. This time it was my tongue taking
over his mouth as I dug my fingers through his hair. My bra was pushed down
below my breasts, nipples chafing against his chest, and everything between us
was all wet and slippery and delicious.

Finally he pulled away, sucking in a deep
breath. I used the opportunity to reach down between us and grab his cock. He
loosened his arms, making it easier for me to reach, and I pushed the fabric of
his boxers down below the length of his erection. I cupped the underside of his
penis, drawing the heel of my hand up and down along the edge of the ridge
around the head.

“Fuck, baby, that feels good.”

Encouraged, I gripped him and started
pumping up and down, faster and faster, until his hands tightened on my hips
and his breathing grew ragged. I slid my hand down below, cupping his balls,
rolling them in his sac, then drew them back up and squeezed him tightly around
the base. He shuddered, grabbing my hand in his and jerking it up and down
along his cock, way rougher than I would have done on my own.

“Fuck me…” he muttered, resting his
forehead against mine. “Like that, babe. Keep going, don’t stop.”

I pumped him as fast as I could, savoring
his little grunts of desire and satisfaction. Then I felt a throbbing deep
inside his shaft. His seed shot out between us through the water, and he
grunted violently as he came. I caressed him slowly as he softened until he
pulled my hand away, drawing it up and around his neck.

“You’re so fucking hot,” he whispered,
lifting me and kissing the below my ear. “I can’t believe how hot you are. I
hated thinking about you all slutted up and going out without me, letting some
other guy hold you.”

“Well, I spent the night listening to Jeff
moaning and barfing, so that was sort of a bust,” I whispered back. “None of
them would have come close to you anyway. But I still wish I’d had more time to
visit with Cara.”

He shrugged.

“Jeff did what he had to do.”

His words struck me as odd.

“What do you mean?”

“He needed you at home, so he asked you to
stay even though he probably hated keeping you in, that’s all.”

“Oh,” I said. “Yeah, you’re probably right.
He’s been so good to me, it was the least I could do.”

I laid my head against his shoulder and we
sat there in the hot water, savoring the moment, urgency gone.

Then his stomach grumbled so hard I felt
the vibrations.

“Hungry much?” I asked him, smiling.

“I ate breakfast six hours ago,” he
replied. “Wanted to get here and see you. Would have come last night if I
could’ve.”

“I hate to end this, but maybe I should
feed you.”

“I won’t argue. Your cooking’s almost as
good as your hand jobs.”

“Horse!” I sputtered, blushing. I leaned
back and splashed his face. He dunked me and we wrestled a little bit before
finally climbing out to get some food.

Fortunately
it was in the nineties, so even sopping wet we weren’t too uncomfortable. It
felt sort of strange sitting down to a picnic lunch in my panties and bra, but
I figured it wasn’t much worse than wearing a bikini. Besides, my undies were
pretty—black, with eyelet lace and polka dots, and just a hint of a push-up on
top. The panties were boy cut, high in the back across my butt, and I enjoyed
feeling Horse’s eyes on me as I set everything up.

It wasn’t anything fancy—just some chicken
sandwiches, veggie sticks and watermelon, with cream-cheese brownies for
dessert—but he seemed to appreciate it.

“Jeff’s lucky to have you around,” he said
between bites. “I wish I had someone taking care of me like this.”

“You live on your own?” I asked, trying to
sound casual. I didn’t think he had a girlfriend, but we hadn’t actually talked
about it. Probably should have asked that before grabbing his dick in the pool.

Oops.

“Been on my own since I got out of the
service.”

“Army?”

“Marines. Two tours in Afghanistan, that
was enough. Came back, bounced around for a while, joined the club.”

I wanted to ask how it had been overseas,
but it wasn’t exactly a question you just blurted out, so I just gave him a
questioning look, hoping he’d volunteer something. He caught my eye and smiled,
eyes crinkling just a little bit around the edges. Seeing those tiny wrinkles
reminded me that I didn’t even know how old he was.

Hell, I didn’t even know his real name.
Double oops.

“What’s your name?”

“Horse.”

“I mean your real name,” I replied, shoving
his shoulder playfully. “I don’t know you at all, it’s weird. Tell me
something.”

“My real name is Horse, that’s what I go
by. That’s what the people who know me use. But if you want to see my driver’s
license, have at it.” He reached over, snagging his jeans and dragging them toward
us. He pulled out the leather wallet attached to his pants with a chain,
flipped it open and slid out his license. I took it and giggled when I saw his
name.

Marcus Antonius Caesar McDonnell.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously,” he replied, grinning. “Mom had
me while Dad was serving time. Wasn’t a long haul, but damn she was pissed at
him for leaving her alone while she was knocked up. She loved history and was
reading this whole big series about Rome, so decided fuck it and named me after
some Roman general. Worst part? She didn’t even get the name right. Marcus
Antonius Caesar wasn’t a real guy. Dad shit himself, but by the time he got out
it was a done deal.”

“I can’t decide if that name kicks ass or
is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen,” I said, giggling.

“It’s my name, therefore it kicks ass,” he
replied gravely. “Seriously, though, I never used it. Dad’s the one who named
me Horse, first time he saw me.”

“Wow, even back then?”

“Even back then,” he said, looking smug.
“It stuck. Mom hates it.”

“So it says here that you’re thirty years
old and live in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.”

“Correct.”

“And that’s where the club is based?”

“That’s where my charter is. The mother
charter is down in Oregon, we’ve got seventeen overall. Not the biggest, but
we’re dominant in our territory, which goes a long way. We’ve got nomads all
over the country too, and even some guys overseas fighting. The Reapers were
founded by Marines after ’Nam, and that’s still where a lot of our prospects
come from.”

Wow, Horse was suddenly a font of information.
I decided to push my luck.

“So what do you do?”

He cocked his head at me.

“I’m in a motorcycle club, babe.”

I laughed.

“No, I mean what do you do for a job?”

“I work for the club, mostly. We have
different businesses, pretty well established in our area. Got a pawn shop, a
bar, a gun shop and a garage. I do the books.”

That surprised me. I couldn’t see Horse
stooped over a ledger, counting money.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that,” he
replied, laughing. “Just ’cause I’m the picture of manly perfection doesn’t
mean I don’t have a brain. I’m actually pretty good at math, took a few classes
through the GI Bill and now you see me, a regular fuckin’ accountant. Our
finances are more complex than you’d think.”

“So my brother’s doing website design for
your businesses?”

The smile on his face died, and he shook
his head.

“That’s club business, babe, and not the
kind we talk about. Enough questions.”

With that he reached and caught me behind
the neck, pulling me in for a kiss. I dropped my food, but I didn’t mind
because he draped me across his lap, lips exploring mine slowly. When the kiss
ended, I smiled up at him.

“I like how you change the subject.”

“Glad I could be of service. Let’s get this
cleaned up, there’s something else I wanna use the blanket for.”