Tempted (2 page)

The guys arrive half an hour later. They roll
my bike out of the trailer and load up the bodies and their bikes.
Razor walks over to me, jerking his head toward the Mustang.

“What happened?”

“Later, Razor. Church when we get back.”

He nods and heads back to help the others. I
lightly squeeze Raven’s shoulders, and she peeks up at me. “Come
on, doll.”

She releases me, and I grab my hoodie from
the back seat. Standing before her, I place it around her shoulders
and she sticks her arms in. I zip it up and lift the hood over her
head. While Motor loads the Mustang into the trailer, I help Raven
onto my bike. She instinctively slides forward and wraps her arms
around me when I climb on. She clings to me for the entire ride,
her tight grip never faltering. Fuck if I don’t like the
feeling.

We roll into the compound, and I park in the
garage. While helping her off, I notice she’s shaking. “Babe? You
okay?”

She doesn’t answer. She’s staring at my
chest, but I get the feeling she’s not
seeing
me.
Fuck.
She must be in shock or something.
I pick her up and hurry
inside, praying she’ll be okay. E rushes toward me.

“What happened?” He asks in a panic.

“I think she’s in shock.”

His eyes widen, and he exclaims, “She was
with you?”

“Could you just take a look at her?” I really
don’t need his shit right now.

“I’ll get my bag.”

I take her to my room and lay her on the bed
gently. She stares up at the ceiling, hardly blinking. I enclose
her trembling fingers in mine.

“You’re okay, doll.”

“I…I killed him.”

“What? No. No, babe. You shot him, but he
didn’t die.
I
killed him.”

E enters the room and kneels next to me,
trying to brush me aside. “Wait outside.”

“Why?” I ask.

“I need to do this without you hovering over
me. Just give me a few minutes.”

“E –”

“Please, Gage.”

Fine. But he better know I’m not going
far.
I give Raven’s fingers a gentle squeeze. “I’m right
outside the door.”

I pace the corridor for what seems like an
eternity, but was probably just ten minutes, before E opens the
door.
“She’s fine. Just a little shaken up. I gave her something to help
her sleep.”

He pats my back and leaves. I hurry into the
room, eager to get back to her side. She’s sitting up now. I close
the door behind me and kneel in front of her. “That was one of the
bravest things I’ve seen in my life. You were awesome, babe.”

She trails her fingers over the stubble on my
jaw and gives me a small smile.
Good. She’s snapping out of
it.
I fucking hate to leave her right now. “I’ve got to talk to
the guys. Lie down and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“I…I should go. I have work in the
morning.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to
Millie.”

She nods and lies back down. I kiss her
forehead and make my way to the chapel. Everyone’s there, waiting,
all eyes turning to me when I walk through the big double doors.
Except for Tek. He’s tapping away on his laptop’s keyboard. He’s
our resident techie, hence the name. Fucker could have gone to MIT
but stuck around here. I have no idea why.

I take my place at the head of the table.
“Tek?”

“Jonas Wilde and Jerry Cane, both from
Atlanta addresses. No ink, no known affiliations…just a couple of
traffic tickets between ‘em.”

“No ink…so it’s not another MC or a gang. Why
would they come after me?”

“Think it has anything to do with last
night?” Razor asks.

I raise a brow at him. “Cassidy? I don’t
think so. But I guess I should pay her a visit. Motor, the
Mustang?”

“Boys are working on it as we speak.”

“Good.”

“What exactly happened?” E asks.

“They were tailing me. I tried to lose ‘em
and they started firing. Couldn’t shake ‘em, so I decided to take
‘em out.”

“Where was Raven in all of this?”

“Dude,” I say proudly. “You wouldn’t believe
me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“She helped.”

Everyone’s eyes widen in surprise. I lean
back in the chair, my chest swelling with admiration for her. I
notice Chopper watching me keenly. He doesn’t say a word,
though.

“What?” E furrows his brows in confusion.

“Yeah. Grabbed the extra gun and basically
said she wasn’t having that shit. Took out one of the fuckers
almost on her own. The only bullet I put in him was the one in his
neck.”

“Damn, Prez! Impressive bitch you got
there.”

“Watch your fucking mouth, Crow,” I growl.
She’s not some regular bitch, and they all better get that through
their thick skulls.

He raises his hands in surrender and shakes
his head. “Sorry, boss.”

I turn back to Tek. “Find out everything you
can about the fuckers. I don’t know if it’s just me they’re after,
so no one rides alone. Razor, you and me got a date with Miss
Martin tomorrow.”

“Got it, Prez.”

“I don’t want anyone hanging around here for
the next few days, either. That includes Hounds.” That doesn’t go
over too well. They all start grumbling, and I raise my hand to
stop any forthcoming arguments. “I’m serious. You want some pussy,
you go out and get it like every other motherfucker on the planet.
I’m not trusting anyone at this point.” There are still a few
grumbles, but no one opposes me.

“And the girl?” Motor asks.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is she gonna keep quiet?”

“Of course she will.”

“You sure?”

I lean forward with clenched teeth and a
murderous glare. E kicks me under the table because he knows I’m
about to go the fuck off, so I take a deep breath and bring it down
a few notches. I can’t get into it with any of my brothers right
now.

“I said she
will
. Anything else?”

After a chorus of “no”, I dismiss them all
and push my chair back. I have something important to tend to in my
room. E grabs my hand before I can leave, and I drop back in my
chair with a groan. “Let me guess…you wanna talk?”

“I do.”

“When did we become bitches? You wanna have a
sleepover and braid each other’s hair?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

He waits until everyone else is out of the
room then looks me right in the eyes.

“What are you doing?” He asks, concern in his
voice.

“What do you mean?”

“With Raven.”

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

“It looks like we might be getting a First
Lady.”

First Lady? He must be out of his fucking
mind. The whole world knows I don’t do old ladies. “What? Fuck off,
E.”

“No? Then what? I don’t want to see her get
hurt.”

“I’m not going to hurt her, and she’s not
your concern.”

He leans back with a cocky grin and a glint
in his eye. If he wasn’t my best friend, he’d be on the receiving
end of a throat punch right now.

“Like I said…First. Lady.”

“And like
I
said…fuck. Off.”

I walk away to the sound of his laughter.
Dickhead. First Lady, my ass.
I’m seriously in to her, but
I’m still not looking for an old lady. On the way to my room, Ron
stops me and hands me Raven’s phone and jacket. “You took care of
her friend?”

“Yeah, boss.”

“Good.”

I bump into Chopper coming out of my room and
raise a brow at him. What the fuck was he doing in there?
“Pop?”

He closes the door quietly and narrows his
eyes at me. Yeah, he’s about to drop some “fatherly advice” on
me.

“That girl in there? She’s not the type you
play with, son.”

“I know.”

“So, you plan on keeping her around
then?”

“Maybe.”

He places a firm hand on my shoulder and
holds my stare. I haven’t seen Chopper this intense in a long time.
Since he stepped down as president, he’s been doing the whole
retiree and grandpa thing. Even though he still attends church, he
rarely speaks and only gives advice when I ask for it. For him to
offer it up on his own is serious business, so I listen
carefully.

“Consider this. She just shot a man, almost
took a bullet for you and she’s in your bed right now. She didn’t
run for the hills, or worse, to the cops.”

He gives my shoulder a squeeze and leaves me
in the corridor. He’s right. She didn’t have to do what she did.
Afterwards, she could have told me to take her home and fuck off,
but she didn’t.

I open the door and the sight before me stops
me in my tracks. This is definitely some shit I never expected to
see – a woman asleep in my bed. I close the door and approach her
quietly. She’s curled up under the blanket, her face peaceful and
absolutely beautiful. I contemplate going to sleep in E’s room but
I don’t want to leave her alone, so I undress and slide under the
covers. I lie there for about two minutes before I give in to the
call of her warm body. I need to feel her. I curl my arm around her
waist and pull her against me, her back to my front. She sighs in
her sleep and settles into my arms.
Jesus, she feels
amazing.
I close my eyes and drift off to E’s words swirling in
my mind.
First Lady
.

I wake up tangled with someone else’s body
and something hard poking my stomach. A solid wall of man slowly
comes into focus when I open my eyes. My forehead rests on Gage’s
hard, tattooed chest and his scent fills my nostrils. I savor the
sight, smell, and feel of him until the gravity of the situation
hits me.
I slept in his bed. All. Night. Shit.
I carefully
detach myself and slide off the bed.
Baby Jesus.
Even this
early in the morning, he looks utterly fuckable. I shake it off and
head to the bathroom. I seriously need to pee.

I wash my hands and face and eye his
toothbrush longingly. Why the hell not? We’ve already swapped spit.
I walk back into the room with minty-fresh breath. He’s still
asleep, so I climb back into bed. The moment I do, his eyes snap
open. Surprise. That’s what I see. I guess he’s not used to waking
up next to anyone. But then he relaxes and pulls me toward him with
a smile.

“Good morning, doll.”

“Good morning. Sleep well?”

“I did.”

“You sound surprised,” I mock him,
remembering our little phone sexcapade.

“I am.”

He rolls onto his back, taking me with him. I
lay my head on his chest and throw my leg over his. It connects
with his morning wood.

“Shit. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

He returns from the bathroom a few minutes
later with a smile and a noticeably absent bulge. After sliding
under the covers, he pulls me back into his arms.

“You used my toothbrush.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course not. Use anything you like.
Including me.”

“That last part sounds good.”

“Yeah?” He smirks. “Come here. I need a
proper good morning.”

Excitement courses through my veins as I lean
in and press my lips to his. He sucks on them, biting into the
bottom one and pulling on it before sliding his tongue between
them.
Fuck, this man can kiss.
I moan as he pulls my head
back by my hair and sucks on my neck.

“My T-shirt looks good on you,” he mumbles,
his breath causing goosebumps to pepper my skin.

I was so sleepy after he left me last night,
I knew I wasn’t going to get farther than his bed. I don’t know why
I did it but I searched his drawers, changed into his shirt, and
climbed right back under the covers.

“Mmhmm…wanna wear mine?” I all but swallow a
giggle when his palm connects with my ass. “Ow!”

“Fuck, babe! You’re not wearing any
clothes?”

I
am
wearing clothes. Well, his
T-shirt and my panties. “I’m not naked.”

“Fuck.”

He crushes my lips beneath his and grabs a
handful of my ass, squeezing hard. Just like last night, we tear at
each other’s lips, caught up in a frenzy. I reach down and as I’m
about to grab his dick, there’s a knock at the door. He lets out an
angry growl and rips his lips from mine.

“Fuck off!” He yells.

He turns back to me but whoever it is knocks
again. I giggle at his annoyed expression.

“I said fuck off!”

“Sorry, boss. The sheriff is here,” the
intruder says from behind the door.

“Fuck. Stay here. Don’t need him seeing
you.”

He drags on his jeans and shirt from last
night and closes the door behind him. A few minutes later, I hear
his voice. I peek through his window, which gives me a perfect view
of the courtyard, and I see him talking to the sheriff.

“Got reports last night of two men on
motorcycles chasing and shooting at a car,” the sheriff addresses
Gage.

“I can assure you, Sheriff, neither I nor any
of my men were chasing or shooting at any cars.”

“For once, I believe you.”

Gage scoffs. “Oh, really? Why?”

“Description of the car being shot at matches
your Mustang.”

Oh, shit.
I look closely at Gage. He’s
super cool, showing no signs of fear or even anxiety. He’s great
under pressure. His actions last night proved that.

“I don’t see how that’s possible. Car’s been
in the shop, getting some more modifications done.”

The sheriff doesn’t look convinced. “Where
you were last night around eleven?”

“I was at Chiquita’s. Two of my guys were
with me and can verify that. Along with everyone else who saw me
there.”

“Mind if I take a look at your car?” He jerks
his chin toward the trailer. “Or maybe just what’s in that trailer
there.”

Oh, no.
If I remember anything from
last night, it’s that the car, along with two dead bodies, are in
that trailer.

“You got a warrant?” Gage asks.