The Way I Like It (The Soldiers of Wrath MC, #5) (10 page)

E
lena was nervous about what Striker was going to find. What if he decided to get rid of her, kick her out of his place? They hadn’t known each other long, yet he made her feel protected.

“You’re sure he’s safe? He’ll protect you?” Annie asked.

They were at the bar, pouring salt and sugar into the appropriate pots.

“Striker’s a great man,” she said as if trying to make Annie see that he wasn’t really the killer her looked like.

“Your face—”

“Was not done by him. Believe me, I would run if someone did this to me, and I wouldn’t have any problem calling the cops.” She had run from a family who kept everything a secret. There was no way she was going to let someone hurt her. Elena was determined to live her life to the fullest.

“Then in that case, he is totally hot.”

“So, providing he’s not beating me, it’s okay for us to have a crush on him?”

“What’s not to like? He’s hot stuff,” Annie whistled. “I wouldn’t have a problem with him using me any time.”

“Ignore her, she’s being a whore,” Sasha said.

“Come on, you have to admit he looks like the kind of guy who knows what he is doing with his dick.”

Elena’s cheeks heated as she thought about the picture she’d taken from the box. Not only did she want him, she wanted Striker to put her over his knee and spank her ass. Her pussy grew slick just thinking about it. The instant shot of pain, followed by intense need would be incredible, and she wanted it. She might be a virgin with no sexual experience, but she knew what she wanted, and it seemed her body did too.

“That flush is telling us all a story, babe,” Annie said. “If a guy makes you blush, you keep him.”

Annie moved away to place the sugar and salt containers on the tables.

“I don’t know how,” Elena said, whispering to Sasha.

“You don’t know what?”

“I don’t know how to keep him, you know, satisfied.” Biting her lip, Elena felt stupid for not knowing.

“You’re a virgin?”

“Yes.”

“Holy shit, well, my advice would be to tell your man you’ve not been with a guy. He’ll know how to handle this and take care of you.” Sasha tapped her shoulder.

“Really?”

“It’s going to hurt your first time.”

She didn’t mind pain, and in fact looked forward to the good kind, but she wasn’t about to tell her that. “You think I should just tell him.”

“I would. You never really know what to do in the sack, and your guy, he looks like the kind of guy who knows what he’s doing. That’s the best kind to have for your first time.”

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her containers and spun around, only to crash into a hard body. Glancing up, she saw Striker staring down at her.

The heat in his eyes was hard to ignore.

She’d gladly do whatever he wanted so long as he never stopped looking at her like that.

“Y
our shift almost over?” Striker asked.

She was still frozen to the spot, looking up at him, knowing that she wanted to be honest with him. In the couple of days since he’d helped her out in that alley, she’d felt this connection with him, this electricity that she’d never felt before. That was even before she’d found the picture of the bound woman. After she’d found it, it was all she’d been able to think about. She thought about being honest with him regarding how she really felt about the whole pain and pleasure fantasy, about how she was a virgin, and how she’d kept quiet concerning what she wanted when having sex because she was afraid of what her family would do to her.

“In half an hour,” she managed to say.

He nodded once and made a low sound of approval.

“Did you find out a lot about my family?” She didn’t know how much he could actually find, since her family and the circle they ran in were very tight knit. But judging by the hardness of his face after she’d asked the question, she thought he’d found out enough.

“Yeah, and I want to talk to you about it all, to make sure I know everything we couldn’t pull up.”

She nodded.

“I need to know every little detail if we’re going to make sure you’re safe.”

“Okay,” she whispered, her body heating at the closeness of his body, at his scent invading her lungs.

“I’ll wait over at the booth until you’re off work.”

She nodded, licked her lips, and stood there, watching as he walked over to the man he’d left to keep an eye on her. She hadn’t said one word to the man wearing a biker vest that stated he was a
Prospect
, but she’d felt his gaze on her the entire time. Striker and the prospect spoke to each other for a few minutes, and then the prospect nodded and left the diner. Striker took his seat at the booth, his gaze on her instantly.

What had he found out about her family? She’d told him just the surface of it. Elena hadn’t said anything about the cult-like atmosphere, and maybe he’d found out as much.

It was hard being on her own, and the fear of all this newness, all of the strange happenings in the world, told her just how sheltered she’d been. In the couple of months she’d been away from her family, she’d realized they’d been so closed off to the world. Her life had been nothing but following the schedule her family set forth, being brought up to be the perfect, sub servant, and weak female her husband could control.

For the next half an hour, she tried to focus on her closing duties, but she couldn’t help feeling Striker’s gaze as well. After her shift was over, she met him at the front of the diner. The restaurant was open twenty-four hours, and the later it got, the more the drunks, prostitutes, and drug dealers started coming in. She refused to work those hours, but the reality was she couldn’t be picky, not when she had nothing. If she wanted to survive, she’d had to make sacrifices.

“All ready?” Striker asked in that deep voice that sent shivers throughout her whole body.

Nodding, she adjusted her jacket and followed him to his waiting SUV. Once inside, she looked over at him, watched as his forearms and biceps flexed at just a slight movement, and felt her body heat. She might be a virgin, but she wasn’t dead or blind. Striker pushed all the right buttons for her, and knowing, or at least hoping, he was more of a dominant man, had images of what he could do to her filling her mind.

“I have some things I want to talk to you about, Elena.”

She swallowed, not knowing if his cryptic tone should worry her. “I need to talk to you, as well.”

He looked over at her; she knew she needed to tell him about her virginity, about her dark desires, and ask him about the picture she’d found. She needed to know if he was into the same things she’d fantasized about. Elena just hoped she didn’t make a fool out of herself.

S
triker watched Elena walk into his place and then he shut the door. He needed to talk to her about her family, see if there were any other details she could give him, but he also needed to talk to her about personal shit. He needed to tell her about wanting her and claiming her as his old lady, about the desires he had, how they ran on the darker side. He needed to tell her a lot of shit that would probably frighten her and have her running in the other direction.

Although he didn’t know if she was a virgin, he had a pretty damn good guess that she was. And because of that, he knew she probably didn’t know anything about BDSM, about submitting to a dominant man like him.

He walked into the living room, but just stood there, obviously nevous. She was twisting her hands together, and he knew the sooner he got this over with the better. After he said what he needed to say, he’d take it from there based on her response.

“Have a seat, Elena, and don’t look so worried.”

Not until you’ve heard what I have to say.

Once she was seated, he went into the kitchen, grabbed two glasses, and a bottle of whiskey. Striker moved back toward her, sat is ass on the coffee table facing her, and poured them both two fingers of the alcohol.

“I’ve never had liquor before,” she said, taking the glass.

“You might need it for what I’m going to tell you.”

She licked her lips and nodded. He couldn’t help but smirk as she took a sip of the whiskey, her face turning red, and her voice sounding hoarse as she gasped.

But Striker pushed his amusement away, because the sooner he got through this, the more time she’d have to process it all.

“I want you as my old lady, Elena.”

Her eyes widened a bit. “Your old lady?”

He nodded. “Do you know what that means?”

She looked down at her hands. “Not really, but,” she lifted her head and looked at him again, “I can guess.”

“It means I want you as mine, only mine. No one else will touch you. You already have my protection, but you’ll have my club’s as well.” He set his glass down after he finished off the whiskey. “It means that I own you, Elena, the same as you own me.”

She was silent for moment, but he wanted to just finish this shit.

“But I also need to tell you who and what I am before you decide if that’s the life you want.”

“We hardly know each other.”

He nodded. “Yeah, but tell me this doesn’t feel really fucking right.”

She didn’t answer for a second, but then licked her lips and nodded. “It does,” she whispered.

He took her hand in his. “I want you to know that I’m a dominant man; I am also a man that likes to inflict pain during sex because it gives me, and also my submissive, pleasure.” He noticed the way the pulse at the base of her throat jumped. “That’s the type of dark desires I have, and I want you as mine, in every way. If you’re in this with me, you’re in this all the way.”

O
ld lady.

Protection.

All the way.

The words echoed through her mind as she stared at Striker. Elena’s pussy grew slick as she stared into Striker’s eyes. The heat, the promise of pain turned her on, and her body was on fire for more.

“Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”

“I’d belong to you; I’d have your protection and the club?”

“Baby, I like pain.” He placed his hand on her knee. “I need you to understand what you’re getting into.” 

“If I don’t want pain or sex with you, will you toss me out on the street?” she asked.

“No, of course not. I’m not a fucking bastard to women.”

“I’m kind of confused.”

“I’m not going to pressure you into anything.”

“I saw one of your pictures,” she whispered. “Where the woman was bound and had marks,” she said even softer. “I’ve never been normal, Striker. I’m not saying that I’ll be able to take extreme pain, or that I’ll even be good at it. You see, I’ve never actually had sex before, and I don’t know what I’ll like.”

He held his hand up, and Elena stopped, thankful that he was giving her chance to calm down. Biting her lip, she hoped he didn’t see her nervousness. Elena wanted what he was offering, and she wanted it really bad.

“You’re a virgin?”

“I come from a religious family. They don’t allow us to, er, be alone with men, or anyone who could influence us. I’m untouched.”

“Even after being away from your family?”

“Earning a living and staying safe seemed to be the only things that were important. I didn’t want to have sex with just anyone. It does mean something to me.”