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It was all I could do to make it through last Saturday. I dreaded the day, knowing that Annie and her husband would be there. I believed that would be the worst thing I had to survive. I was wrong. On the day of the cookout, I’d gotten a call that there was a problem with one of our restoration projects. Gentry offered to go, but I told him to stay and enjoy the day. Lash volunteered as well, and I told him the same thing. I hoped I’d get there and be kept away until Gareth and Annie left for the day—no such luck.

The past year has been challenging for me. It bothered me every time I saw Annie with him. It wasn’t because my heart was broken or anything. I had been attracted to Annie but wasn’t in love with her. It dented my male pride, I guess, to have lost out to another man. Although I knew it was my fault for not even trying to see if we could make a go of it.

Another factor was I liked the damn guy. They’d been around more than a few times, and I’d seen enough to know he was more than decent and truly loved her. She was happier than any of us had ever seen her. Deep down in my gut, I questioned whether she would’ve been that happy with me. My brain said no.

The project took a couple of hours, for which I was grateful. By the time I arrived back at the compound, everyone had arrived. I knew there was no way to avoid them indefinitely, so I steeled myself to go over and get my hello over with, then escape to take a shower.

As I approached them, Spawn shouted, “It’s about time you showed your face. We want you to meet someone.”

He was pointing to a woman I hadn’t seen until that moment. As he continued talking, I only vaguely heard him. It registered that her name was Haven. I didn’t expect to hear she was Gareth’s niece and she’d moved to Bristol. He went on to tell her my name and that I managed Iron’s Rehab. I wasn’t sure why he told her that last part.

As this was all sinking in, the more significant thing to hit me was her. My first considerable thought was, why did she have to be Gareth’s niece? Second, I had to stay as far away from her as possible. Her smile lit up her face, and I slowly took the hand she was holding out to me.

She said a polite hello and gave me an opening if I’d been inclined to talk, which I wasn’t. I was too busy beating back the desire hitting my body from where our hands met. I dropped her hand fast.

“Welcome. I hope you have a good time. Make yourself at home. Gentry or Lash can more than fill you in on what we do. Sorry. I just got back from a job. I need to get cleaned up. See you guys later.”

Not waiting to hear anything more, I turned and walked toward my house. The whole way there, and even as I stripped to shower, I kept going over my thoughts and reactions to her. First, she was a stunning woman. I’d seen and even been with countless attractive women over the years, but there was something about her that was more. More what, I didn’t know.

She was on the taller side for a woman, maybe five foot eight or nine. Haven had medium red hair with lighter blond streaks in it. It hung to her mid-back in a thick, straight fall. Her skin was pale, not quite alabaster, but close, but without freckles, which wasn’t the norm for redheads. It made me wonder if her hair was naturally that color. Her eyebrows matched, making me think she might be. From there, my mind went straight to the gutter, and I wondered if her pussy had the same pretty shade of red hair.

I tried to push that thought away. Her delicate features kept drawing me in until her light green eyes snared my attention. Recalling her face led me to remember her body. Christ, I don’t know how I kept from sporting a chubby that everyone could see. I would’ve never heard the end of it from the guys if they had. Maybe the fact that my T-shirt was untucked hid the semi-erection I got from my covert glances at her body.

It wasn’t until I returned after my shower that I could check her out more thoroughly. I wanted to groan when I saw her body from the front and back. She was built. Her body was stacked from top to bottom. Her delicate neck led down to impressive tits. She wasn’t dressed in anything revealing, but the top she had on with her jeans molded her and showed them off. My big ass hands would be more than full if I ever got a chance to hold them. I’d lectured myself to stop thinking shit like that, but it didn’t do any good. I was a man who knew what I liked, and Haven had it in spades.

Besides her physical beauty and tits, she was thick in all the right spots, too. Her waist was indented and flared out into a more than decent pair of hips. Wide hips made to cradle a man. Those hips led to thick thighs you could hold onto without breaking her. Her legs were shapely all the way to her sexy feet, which were displayed in a pair of sandals. For God’s sake, I got riled up over her dark purple toenails. However, that wasn’t all. When I saw her from behind, I had to go to the bathroom and hide until I was back under some kind of control.

Her ass was beyond plump, like a ripe, succulent peach. The way her jeans cradled her ass made my hands itch to touch and my mouth water to taste. I don’t know how I survived the rest of the day and night. When she came over one last time before they left and attempted to talk to me, I pretended I wasn’t interested. She left after giving me a slightly snarky remark about bugging someone else. I almost called her back, but I caught myself in time.

That was four days ago, and I was still thinking about her and dreaming. It had to stop. I wasn’t in the market for anything other than a bed partner for the night. And if that was what I wanted, there were plenty of those. I wouldn’t go after Annie’s niece to get it. Not only would Annie kill me, but so would the guys. Besides, there was plenty of other pussy to choose from.

Since Annie came home engaged, I’d been finding and sampling those ladies more than I had in years. While several hang arounds came to party with us most weekends, we also had some club bunnies, although there had been changes in their ranks.

Between Spawn and Kimera’s wedding and now, we’d lost two bunnies. One was Paula, and the other was Desi. Nothing had happened other than they were ready to go. They were in their late twenties, and I guess they either thought it was time to move on or to give up. It was more than clear that none of us would take one of them as an old lady if that were their wish. The only one still here was JoJo. She was joined several months ago by Sassy and Pepper. I wasn’t the only guy to sample them both repeatedly.

You’d think as often as I was getting my cock wet, I’d be over the moon. I should’ve been, but I wasn’t. No matter how much I got sucked off or fucked, it was somehow unsatisfying. I refused to acknowledge the reason. I’d given up on that nonsense. Being tied down to one woman was for the rest of my brothers, not me.

A hard knock on my office door jerked me out of my daydreams. Taking a moment to calm myself, I inhaled deeply and said, “Come in. It’s unlocked.”

When the door swung open, Lash walked in. I should’ve expected who was on the other side of it. He gave me what I would call a probing look before shutting it behind him. I made sure my expression was bland as I met his stare.

“You don’t need to knock, Lash. This is as much your office as mine,” I reminded him. He spent very little time here unless he had office work to do or covered for me. He had a desk on the opposite wall from mine.

“I felt like I should. You don’t usually have the door closed as long as you have these past few days. I thought it best if I knocked,” he claimed as he came over and dropped into one of the chairs in front of my desk.

“I’ve been busy, and I keep forgetting to get up and open it when I get off the phone. Is everything alright out there? Any updates on our projects I don’t know about?”

He snorted. “As if that’ll happen. Tinker, you keep your fingers on the pulse of everything. If there were an issue or update, you’d get it before I would.”

I waved off his assertion, even if it was true. “Something could get by me. Is there something going on with the guys?”

“Nope, just you.”

I furrowed my brow. “Just me what?”

“You’re the only one who has something going on. Talk to me, brother. I thought by now, you’d be over it. Tell me what I can do.”

“Be over what? Lash, I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“Like hell, you don’t. I know you liked Annie and her coming home engaged hurt. But it’s been a goddamn year, Tink. It’s time to get over it. Did you love her?” He was frowning.

“I was surprised like the rest of the club that she was to be married and hadn’t told any of us that she was dating someone.” I tried to lie.

“Bullshit. You liked her. You can lie to me all you want, but I know the truth. Is it too painful to see them together? Is that why you avoid them and have this cloud hanging over you? Do you love her?”

“I’m not in love with Annie. If that’s all, I’ve got work to do.” I glanced down at the papers I’d been reviewing in between my woolgathering.

His fist came down loud on the desk. “Don’t do that! Talk to me. I’m here for you, and the rest of our brothers are, too.”

“I appreciate it, but there’s nothing to talk about.” His offer touched me, but I wasn’t in the mood to discuss my feelings with him or anyone else.

He stood and shrugged. “Fine, be that way, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me. None of us wants to see you hurting like you are. Maybe you should take a vacation and see if that helps you get over this. You can figure out how to deal with it if you don’t love her. She’s one of our oldest friends. Do you want there to be strain between the three of you? Gareth is a good man, and he loves her.”

He wasn’t leaving, and I knew he’d be like a dog with a bone. Honestly, I was shocked that no one had cornered me before this. He was right. A year was more than long enough. If I kept it up, people would assume I was suffering from a broken heart.

“Lash, I appreciate your offer. I do. As for Annie, I didn’t and don’t love her. Was I thinking of seeing if something might be possible between us? Yes. However, I kept waiting and pushing it off. It’s my damn fault she went out and found someone. It just feels awkward. I see them, and they remind me of what I did.”

“Well, it shouldn’t be. Hey, it’s not like Annie is the last available woman on the planet. There’s plenty of them out there. Your future old lady is waiting for you,” he grinned.

I shook my head. “I’m not looking for an old lady. I have more than enough female companionship.”

He gazed at me with a disbelieving expression. “Since when? You’ve been one of the guys who has wanted one and kids for a long time.”

“I admit, I thought about it in passing a few times, but I’m forty-three. I don’t need the aggravation of a woman and kids. I’ve got a good life just the way it is. I love this job and what I do for the club. I have all of you. I have a home that’s perfect for me. And it’s not as if there’s a lack of pussy. I’m good. Don’t worry about me. I’ll do better with my attitude toward Annie. It’s not a big deal. I need to stop acting as if it is.”

He stood there staring like he didn’t believe me, but to my surprise, he didn’t call me out. Instead, he sighed. “Whatever you say, brother. Everything is going great out there—no trouble with any projects. Maybe you should cut out early today. I’ll cover if anything comes up.”

“Thanks, but I’m good. If it’s calm, you should go home to Troian and Esme. You know you want to go home and snuggle with your girls,” I teased.

He smiled. “Damn right, I do. And if Esme will nap, I can do more than that with her mama.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

We were both chuckling as he hurried out the door. Once he was gone, I got back to work and pushed all wayward thoughts of a particular friend and a redheaded witch out of my mind. Or I tried.

My efforts to stay away from thoughts of Haven lasted two whole days. I was proud of myself, and as I left work on Friday, I looked forward to the weekend. I anticipated taking a long ride tomorrow. If anyone wanted to join me, that would be terrific, but if not, I’d be happy going alone. The weather was supposed to be stellar, and I needed a long ride to get myself to rights.

I was riding down State Street past numerous buildings. It was the street that divided our town in half. Part of it was on the Tennessee side. The rest, where the club was, was on the Virginia side. I’d always found this amusing—the idea that you could walk on the opposite side of the street and find yourself in another state. It was one of the quirks I loved about our town. Not many people could say the same thing about theirs.

I wasn’t paying much attention to the people on the sidewalks, going about their business. My attention was on the road and the idiots I shared it with. I came to a stop at the light, so I was glancing at my surroundings when my attention was captured and held. The sun glinting off red hair and a banging body grabbed my notice. I knew without seeing the woman’s face it had to be Haven. Instantly, all the thoughts I’d been suppressing for two days came flooding back.

She turned as if she knew I was there, and our eyes met. Even with my sunglasses on, that connection caused a physical jolt. I swear a pleased smile turned up the corners of her mouth. She raised her hand and waved at me. I could’ve been a jerk and pretended not to see her, but even I wasn’t that much of one. It was clear I was staring right at her. So, I gave her a casual chin lift. Thankfully, the light chose that moment to change to green. I took off without further acknowledgement. My enjoyment evaporated.

I rode around for an hour before heading to the compound. The whole time, I struggled not to think about her. When I got there, I went straight to my house. Stomping into the house, I shed my boots and hung up my cut. Then, I went to take a shower. Maybe the hot water would make me feel better and eliminate this jumble in my head.

Only the water and having time to do nothing but drift as I shampooed and washed made it worse. Being naked, my hand had no barrier between it and my cock. A cock that was raging hard. I fought not to do it, but I wasn’t strong enough. As images of Haven’s bangin’ body kept flittering through my head, along with pictures of what I’d like to do to and with her, joined the former, I was defenseless to stop myself. My hand slid down to grip the base of my cock. I groaned.

I slid my soapy hand up and down my length effortlessly. I tightened my hold. I easily visualized what her body might look like underneath her clothing. All those ripe curves put on display for me. I’d start at the top and work my way down. First would come those soft, full lips of hers. When she was at the club last weekend, more than one fantasy about them had surfaced. They were biteable. I bet they’d be sweet, too.

From there, I’d kiss, lick, and nibble my way down her long neck to her succulent tits. I itched to know what they’d feel like in my hands and how they’d fill them. Were her nipples the same color as her mouth or darker? Would they be ultra-sensitive? Enough to get her off just by playing with them? How rough would she like my touch?

Her stomach and those hips would be my next stop when I got my fill. I didn’t know how long I could resist moving further down to get to my prize, her pussy. My question about whether she was a natural redhead would be answered if she wasn’t bare. I wasn’t sure which I wanted more. I tried to conjure up what her scent would smell like. In my head, it was intoxicating and made me jerk my cock faster as tingling increased in my groin.

Parting her folds, I’d get an eyeful of her. I’d start easy but would quickly build the intensity. Licking would lead to sucking and biting and eventually to fingering her. When she was about to go over into her third or fourth orgasm, I’d sink my cock home and pound her tight snatch until we both exploded. This final scene tipped me over the edge, and I came, grunting as I painted the shower wall with my cum. I came hard. It was so hard that I had to lean against the wall when I was done to hold myself up. I panted until I regained my senses and my legs were no longer weak.

When I did, I was pissed. Why the hell was I wasting my time thinking about Haven? It was never happening. I had to forget about her and stop this insanity. I wasn’t looking for an old lady. Even if she was willing for us to be causal hookups, there was no way in hell Annie would allow it. If I tried that, she’d remove my balls and cock with a rusty knife. And an upset Annie would have Reaper and the rest of the club coming for my ass. Nope. This was it—the last time. I’d do whatever I had to to get over my fascination with Haven. And I knew exactly what to do.

Hours later, I was well on my way to being wasted. I came to the clubhouse and began my partying early. As the hours passed, I drank more and threw myself into having fun with my brothers. I talked, joked, and played games of pool and darts. We arranged for the bulk of us to go out on the bikes tomorrow for a ride. Not everyone could go since they had kids to worry about.

I took that as a sign that having them wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, even if those brothers acted as if it wasn’t a big deal. Reaper and Maniac said they were staying home with their pregnant women even though Chey and Lark insisted they go. The guys left it as they’d decide tomorrow. Since we were to be up late and drinking, we’d head out late in the morning rather than right after dawn. That would give us time to sober up.

The old ladies and kids went home to bed as it grew late. It was time for the more adult entertainment to begin. Bring it on. It was around eleven when that happened. First on the scene were JoJo, Pepper, and Sassy. They sashayed in with all their goodies on display. Not far behind them were four women from town and nearby. I recognized a few of their faces, even if not their names. I was checking to see if there were any new ones to give a ride.

The men still outnumbered the women—a dozen patched members and two prospects to seven women. Devlin and Dravin joined us almost a year ago when Riot, formerly known as Dekian, and Diesel, formerly Trigg, had patched in. Knox, the other prospect who’d joined us at the same time as those first two, hadn’t made it. He dropped out after making it five months. We didn’t kick him out. He decided to move so he’d be closer to family. He told us that he had a sick grandfather needing his attention. We’d wished him luck and sent him off with a party.

No one got right to making out or fucking. The ladies made the rounds. They knew the deal. If they came here, they had to expect any of us to want sex with them. Despite this, the hang arounds still had the right to say no, but they wouldn’t be invited back if they consistently did that. The bunnies were in a slightly different category. We provided them with perks for being exclusive to our club. They were helped with their expenses and had our protection.

Some might argue it was prostitution, which, in a way, it was. However, none of them were forced to do it, nor were they forced to accept us. Those changing their minds or saying no repeatedly were wished well and sent on their way. We didn’t have many in either category who turned us down. A lot of them wanted to walk on the wild side and fuck bikers so they could brag about it. Others hoped it might turn into more, but they were sadly mistaken. Regardless of their reasons, it was their business, not ours. As long as they didn’t do anything to harm the club, we were okay with it. There were two new faces. I’d try my luck with them first.

It wasn’t more than an hour before the pairing-off started. I made a beeline for one of the repeat women, a brunette. I couldn’t recall her name. The two new ones had paired off. When she saw me coming, she gave me a sexy, inviting smile. Oh yeah, she was willing. I smirked as I blatantly scanned her body from head to toe. She was pretty enough. Her body wasn’t bad either. Not as much meat on her bones as I preferred, but she’d do.

“Hi, handsome, how’re you tonight?” she asked as I reached her.

“I’m good, but I think you could make my night even better. How about you come with me and go somewhere more private?”

Her smile grew. “I’d like that. I’ve been watching you. I hoped you’d ask. I’m Rhea. Remember me?” She paused.

“Of course, I remember you, Rhea. You ready?” I lied because I was impatient to get this going. What harm was there in a little white lie?

“I sure am. Lead the way,” she replied.

She took my hand. I didn’t care one way or the other, so I let her. Moving down the residential hallway from the common room, I took her to my old room. Those of us with houses still had access to our old rooms. If you were single like me, it was mainly used to have sex. I didn’t want countless, unknown women or the bunnies in my home. That was my private retreat. Unlocking the door, I led her inside. When she cleared the doorway, I closed and locked it.

The room wasn’t much to look at without any personal effects, but it was clean and had an attached bathroom. The prospects were tasked with changing our bedsheets weekly. We either told them or did it ourselves if we wanted it more often. I didn’t waste time and shed my cut, placing it over the back of a chair. Next came my boots and socks. As I undid my belt, I chin-checked her.

“You gonna shed those clothes?”

She was a sure thing. I wasn’t here to be romantic or whatever she was waiting for. This was fucking. Nothing more. Her smile dimmed a tad before it was back to full force. “Of course, I was just admiring you. Can’t blame a girl for being distracted by you, sugar.”

I shrugged and kept going. She had far less on than me, so she beat me undressed. As I checked out her body, I grew fully hard. Even with the amount of alcohol I’d drank, I had no trouble getting it up or keeping it. Whiskey dick had never been an issue for me. I stroked up and down my length as I scanned her body. Her tits were decent. Her hips were okay.

“Turn around,” I ordered.

I wanted to see her ass. I hoped it was plumper than it appeared in her shorts. She slowly twirled, presenting her backside. I fought back my disappointment. She was nowhere near as full as I wanted. Unwarranted images of Haven’s clothed body, then what I imagined she looked like naked, popped into my head. Angrily, I shoved them away.

Letting out a low growl, I stalked to Rhea. She was watching me over her shoulder. She licked her lips as she examined my body and then focused on my cock. I knew I was physically fit. Women liked that, along with my looks. I wasn’t the best-looking guy out there, but I wasn’t ugly either. Add those to my tats and an above-average cock, and I had more than my fair share of women. She shivered and moaned.

Smirking, I moved up behind her. Turning her to face me, she raised her chin for a kiss. I shook my head. I didn’t kiss. To me, it was too intimate. Yeah, crazy that I’d let them suck me off, and I’d fuck them, but no kissing. What could I say? It was a quirk.

Instead, I pushed her back and down to sit on the edge of the bed. This put her right at the height I wanted. I fully planned to pleasure her, but first, I needed her mouth on my cock. She accepted the hint, took the base in her hand, and lowered her mouth to me. First, she snaked out her tongue and licked the head. It felt good, so I let her continue.

After doing it a few times, she sucked the head inside. Her hand pumped the bottom half in between kneading my sac. She had good technique, more than enough to get me off. Only that wasn’t what happened. As she worked my cock, more unwanted thoughts of Haven entered my head. I fought to get rid of them so I could enjoy this, but it wasn’t happening.

Growling in frustration, I pulled her off me. She pouted up at me. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like that, Tinker?”

“It’s fine, but I’d rather have something else. Lie on your back and spread your legs,” I demanded.

She eagerly complied. Maybe if I focused on her, these damn thoughts would go away. She placed her feet flat on the bed and spread her legs wide. I crawled between her thighs. She was slick with excitement. Her scent hit my nose. She smelled fine, so I went in for a taste. I swiped my tongue from her hole to the top of her folds. Her flavor was rather salty but not bad.

It didn’t take much to have her crying out and coming. A few minutes of licking and sucking, along with finger thrusting, did the trick. Her pussy felt snug enough on my fingers to get me off, and my erection which had started to fade, was back. Not wasting more time, I stood up after wiping my mouth on the sheets. I got in the drawer next to the bed and took out a condom.

She shook her head. “There’s no need to use one of those, handsome. I’m clean, and I’m on birth control. You can take me bare.”

“If you want me to fuck you, we’re using one. I don’t go bare no matter what,” I told her firmly.

Did she think I was a fool? This was how guys ended up with unwanted baby mamas and kids. I wasn’t stupid. As for her assertion that she was clean, I sure hoped she was since I’d had my mouth on her, but there were no guarantees. Rhea pouted, but she didn’t argue. I rolled on the condom expertly after ripping the package open. I was anxious to get my pleasure.

Dragging her ass to the edge of the mattress, I lifted her bottom. My hands were cupping her less-than-substantial ass. Quit thinking that! I lectured myself. Lining up the head with her opening, I pressed inward. The head barely breached her hole before flashes of the earlier shower scene, and my thoughts about Haven hit me. I froze. As they assaulted me, my stomach churned. It didn’t feel right to be screwing this chick while wishing the body beneath me was someone else’s. In the past, I had never had this happen. One woman was as good as another. As those images and thoughts hit me, my cock started to soften. No! I needed this. If I fucked her, then I would forget about the other one.

Rhea was busy grasping and tugging on her tits as she watched me. I knew she’d take whatever I gave her, but I stopped again as I inched further inside. My stomach churned worse. What the hell!? Suddenly, I was overcome with nausea and knew I was about to hurl. Jerking free of her, I rushed to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind me. I barely made it to the toilet before I dry heaved. I did it hard, more than once. It felt like I was trying to bring up something from my toes.

I was resting when I heard a tentative knock. “Can I come in?” Rhea asked.

“No, you need to go. I must’ve eaten something that disagreed with me. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to see if someone else wants your company,” I told her.

“I can stay with you. Maybe you’ll feel better later.” I heard hopefulness in her voice.

“Not happening. I need you to go,” I said more forcefully this time.

I listened to her moving around and thought I heard the door close. As I sagged there, I knew what I told her about eating something was a lie. And it wasn’t due to me drinking too much, either. I could hold my liquor. She wasn’t who I wanted, and it seemed my body and brain were reminding me of it brutally. It took an hour before I rallied enough to get dressed. As I did, I made myself a vow. I would find a way around this nonsense.