Tempted (11 page)

“I mean that I’m willing to
accept...
other
forms of payment.”

Gross
. “I don’t know what you’re
talking about, and I’m leaving.” He grabs my wrist as I’m walking
away and pulls me toward him. “Let go of me!”

“Oh, wonderful! Lonnie told me you’d be good
at this.”

Lonnie. Fucking Lonnie!
This is why
she wanted me to come over here – to be a part of some role-play
sex game with this sick fucker. He pushes me against the wall and
tries to secure my hands. I struggle against him, trying not to
freak out. I’m failing miserably. All those self-defense lessons
Daddy gave me seem like distant memories. I try to kick him in the
balls, but he wedges his thigh between mine.

“I like it rough.”

His breath hits me like a punch to the face.
Dear God, it smells like a dozen small animals crawled into his
mouth and died. A week ago. He reaches for the button on my jeans
and pops it open.

“Stop!”

I struggle harder, panic rising as he pulls
on my zipper. I close my eyes but before I can scream, I feel him
being pulled away from me. I open my eyes to see Gage throwing the
man across the room. He hits the wall, staggers, and falls to the
floor. Gage is huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf. He stalks
over to Glenn, steps over him so Glenn is between his legs, and
grabs the neck of his tank top.

“Motherfucker!” Gage shouts.

And then all hell breaks loose. Or should I
say the straw house tumbles down? Gage pummels Glenn’s face with a
single-minded purpose. This is Reaper in rare form. It’s like
watching an accident happen – you don’t want to look, but you can’t
not
look. I watch his fist rise and fall until I see the
blood. Glenn’s face is a bloody mess. He’s not even trying to block
the punches. And that’s because he’s out cold.

“Gage! Stop…that’s enough!”

He doesn’t hear me. I watch with increasing
fear as he pulls his Glock out of the back of his jeans.
Holy
shit.
I run over and grab his shoulder. He turns to me like
someone emerging from a trance.

“It’s over. He’s done.”

He looks down at the man beaten to a pulp,
then back to me.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. Let’s just get out of here before
someone calls the cops.”

He gives Glenn’s leg a kick and wraps a
bandana around his bloody knuckles. Once we’re in the car, he takes
a deep breath and looks over at me.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. He didn’t…get to do anything.”

He slams his palm down on the steering wheel
and growls like an angry bear. “Fuck! I’m gonna kill the
son-of-a-bitch!”

“No! Don’t. He was drunk and…”

Under the impression that I had agreed to
it.
I know Lonnie has her thing with me about Gage, but this
just proves she really hates me. She was pimping me out for some
rent money. First thing in the morning, I’m calling Dad’s lawyer. I
need to get some shit sorted out ASAP.

“Just leave him be. I’m sure he won’t be a
problem anymore.”

He turns to me with an incredulous stare,
brows furrowed. “Leave him be? It’s
nothing
for me to end
him. I can do it and be back in thirty seconds.”

“Gage, please…don’t.”

“Fuck that shit.”

He reaches for the car door but I grab his
arm. I can’t let him go back in there. I can’t handle another death
on my conscience. “Please, don’t do this.
Please
. I’m sure
he’s learned his lesson. Just leave it alone.”

“You think some fucker’s going to put his
hands on
my
woman and live to talk about it?”

“Will you just do this for me?” I plead.

“Fine,” he says reluctantly. “But I’ll have
Razor pay him a visit tomorrow. He needs to know to keep his mouth
shut.”

“He won’t touch him, right?”

“No.”

“Good. I…wait a minute…did you say…?”
Hold
up…rewind. Did he just call me his woman?
“I’m your woman?”

Like a deflating balloon, I watch the anger
drain out of him.

“You will be. Once you hurry up and turn
eighteen.”

“Your woman…like…your girlfriend?” I
definitely need clarification here. This is the man who said he
doesn’t
do
relationships.

“Woman, girlfriend…whatever you want to call
it. You’re mine.”

“Oh, Gage…”

I want to kiss him so badly right now. I want
to throw my arms around him, squeeze him tightly, and kiss his lips
off his face. “Hurry up.”

“What?”

“
Hurry
…
up
. When we get to the
house, I’m going to crawl all over you.”

“Shit.”

***Gage***

I make it to the house in record time. She
can’t stay still. If I wasn’t driving, she probably would have
jumped into my lap. We run up the stairs and I push her down onto
the bed. When I throw off my cut, she wrinkles her nose at me.

“There’s blood on your shirt.”

I toss it in the hamper and head to the
bathroom to clean my throbbing hand. I’m still trying to get the
blood off when she walks in. She’s changed into one of my T-shirts
and looks good enough to eat.

“Let me see.” She turns off the water and
takes my hand. “Hmmm…you have a first-aid kit?”

“Under the sink.”

She fetches it and hops onto the counter. I
watch her as she soaks cotton in peroxide and cleans my knuckles. I
can’t believe her. She was almost raped, yet she’s concerned about
my
hand.

“You’ll live,” she states
matter-of-factly.

“You’re amazing.”

“What did I do? Not that I don’t totally
agree.”

I step between her legs and pick her up. She
wraps her arms and legs around me, pressing her lips to mine as I
carry her to the bed. She plants quick little kisses all over my
face then starts to suck on my neck. A shiver runs up my spine. I
can’t remember the last time a woman had that effect on me. I climb
onto the bed and she moans as my hard dick presses against her
pussy. She parts her lips the moment I touch them and slides her
tongue into my mouth. I suck on it gently until she pulls it back
and bites into my bottom lip. She throws her head back as I move
down her neck, kissing and licking.

“Do it…mark me.”

Fuck.
I suck at the base of her neck
and she sinks her nails into my back.

“Yes! Everywhere…I want you to mark me
everywhere.”

I move down, pushing her T-shirt up to expose
her skin. I slide my tongue from the waistband of her panties and
up her stomach. Her muscles jump beneath my tongue and she
whimpers. I sink my teeth into her flesh and suck on her skin until
it’s red, and then I move to the next side. She feels so fucking
good, I can barely control myself. My dick feels like someone’s
hammering it from the inside, and my balls feel like they’re about
to burst. I grab her knee and bite into her thigh, leaving another
mark there.

“Gage!”

The scent of her arousal hits me and I almost
lose my mind. I place my forehead on her stomach, below her navel,
and breathe her in.

“Please…don’t stop,” she begs.

I move back up her body but before I can say
anything, she flips over and straddles me. I know I should stop
her, but I let her remove my jeans. I suck in a breath as she runs
her fingers over my dick. She curls her fingers into the waist of
my boxers and that’s when I snap out of my haze. I grab her
shoulders and pull her into my arms.

“No, babe. No more.”

“But why?” She whines.

“Because we can’t.”

“Yes, we can. It’s perfectly legal. If you’re
worried about people finding out, I won’t tell anyone. I
promise.”

“I’m trying to fight temptation here. Don’t
make it harder.”

“What? Your dick?”

With a smile, she reaches down and grabs it,
squeezing it in her tiny hand.

“Raven, stop.”

“Weren’t you the one who told me to submit,
no,
yield
to temptation?”

“Babe, please. I’m really trying here.”

“I’ve got a quote for you. Tom Wilson, ‘about
the only time losing is more fun than winning is when you’re
fighting temptation’. Don’t you want to have fun?”

“No.” I answer, even though it’s a fucking
lie.

“Ugh!”

She slides onto the bed but lays her head on
my chest. I try to concentrate on getting ahold of myself.

“I hate to say this, but maybe we shouldn’t
sleep in the same bed until…after,” I tell her.

“Whatever.”

“Don’t be petulant.”

“I’m not petulant. I’m mad.”

“Well, don’t be mad, either. I promise I’ll
make it up to you.”

“What. Ever.”

We lay in silence for a while before she sits
up and looks around the room.

“Do you have any paper…a pencil?”

“Downstairs in the living room. There’s a
desk with all kinds of shit in there.”

She hops off the bed and returns with a sheet
of paper, a clipboard, and a pencil. She sits cross-legged at the
foot of the bed and stares at me. “What?”

“Don’t move.”

I lace my fingers together under my head and
stare up at the ceiling. She can’t stay mad all night. After a
while, she moves closer. She looks from me to the clipboard and I
realize she’s drawing me.

“Your face is perfect,” she says, more to
herself than to me.

“Why, thank you.”

“I mean it…symmetrical…perfect for
drawing.”

A few minutes later, she hands me the
clipboard. I can’t believe my eyes. “Holy shit! If I didn’t just
see you do it, I wouldn’t have believed it. You’re really talented,
baby doll.”

“Thanks.”

“Damn, it looks just like me. Tattoos, hard
dick and all.” She giggles and lies next to me once more. “Does
this mean I’m forgiven?”

“For now.”

“I know how to get back in your good graces.
What do you want for your birthday?”

“Oh, now you’re asking? For months, all I’ve
been hearing about is what you’re getting out of the deal.”

“Seriously, anything you want.”

“I don’t know. Haven’t really thought about
it.”

“You want a party?”

“You wanna throw me one?”

“Sure. Just let me know who you want
there.”

She raises up on her elbow and looks down at
me. “You’d do that for me?”

“I’d do anything for you, Raven.”

I say the words without thinking but the
moment they leave my lips, I know they’re true. She swallows, takes
a breath, and kisses me softly.

“I’d like that.”

“Good.”

She settles on my chest again and throws her
arm and leg over me. “You know what we should do? A costume party
for Halloween,” she says.

“If you want.”

“What would you be?”

“I don’t do costumes, baby doll.”

“Ugh! You don’t
do
anything.” She sits
up and stares at me with a pleading look. “Come
on
. You
can’t go to a costume party in your colors.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not a costume!”

“Not happening.”

“Happening. You could be a pilot, and I’ll be
your naughty flight attendant.”

She waggles her brows at me. I can’t believe
she even remembered that.

“I don’t need a costume for that. I like the
naughty flight attendant part, though.”

“I’m going to ignore that. Do your whole
death thing then. You can be the Grim Reaper.”

“Don’t need a costume for that, either.”

“Gage!” She shouts in irritation. I chuckle
and try to pull her back into my arms, but she swats my hand
away.

“Oh! I could be Lady Death,” she exclaims
excitedly.

“Who’s that?”

She reaches for her phone then straddles me.
When she finds what she’s looking for, she turns the screen toward
me. It’s a picture of a woman wearing nothing but a skimpy bikini
and thigh-high boots. She must have lost her mind.

“What makes you think I’d allow you to wear
that?”

“I can wear a skirt or some shorts…and I’d
have the cape.”

“No.
Fuck
no.”

“Fine. I’ll work on the costume, but it’s
settled.”

“Says who?”

“Says me. Deal with it.”

She settles next to me once more and I shake
my head in amusement. She really thinks she’s won. I’ll let her
believe she has.

“Millie asked me to do face painting at her
Halloween fair.”

“Yeah? The kids will love that. I’m trying to
see if I can get some of our other charters to come in and help
this year.”

“Help with what?”

“Set-up. Whatever the hell I want them to
do.”

“Okay, Mr. Bossy. But why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’?”

“I mean why would you get involved like
that?”

“Millie didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I’m the sponsor. Have been since the
beginning.”

She rises up again and gives me an
incredulous stare. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I came up with the idea but knew
people might not want to get involved because of the MC, so I made
Millie the face of the whole thing. It’s all my money, though.”

“Aww. Gage, that is
so
sweet!”

She returns to my arms, dropping a kiss on my
chest. There she goes with that damn word again. I am
not
“sweet”. I need to change the subject.

“There’s a bike show in Atlanta this weekend.
Wanna go with me?”

“Just us?”

“Most of the guys are going, some old ladies,
probably some of the Hounds.”

“Lonnie?”

“Maybe. Don’t you think it’s time we told her
what’s going on?”

“Not yet. If she sees us together, she’ll
know.”

“Bring your friend Chrissy. I’m sure Ron’s
gonna ask her anyway.”

“I’ll think about it. Besides, I’ll have to
get the day off, too.”

“You do that.”

If I have to drag you kicking and
screaming and tie you to my bike, you’re going
. It’s time
everyone knows how serious I am.