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Pen returns from the back with Karen in tow. She’s unceremoniously dropped behind the bar, and Dougal and Pen return to the table, none of them impressed. Doug is in a foul mood and eager to get off. Ash just wobbled over to the ladies.

“Man, she’s loaded,” states Pen. “I got to get off in a sec and have a word with Raven. Can you call Neil? As in now?” I nod and start dialing.

“Yes, fucker, what can I do for you?” Neil jokes as he answers the phone.

“Hey, asshole, I heard you’re looking for a job?” I ask, smiling. I’ve known Neil for many years, and I like him. He’s good people.

“Good news travels fast, I see.” His sarcastic voice hits me. “Yeah, man, I could do with a job just about now. What have you got in mind?”

“Well, since you’re asking, how about some bar work to start with? Stormy’s is really short. You got Raven’s number, call him, he’ll tell you about pay and insurance,” I tell him.

“Man, that would be great,” Neil replies. “I’d be grateful and can help with whatever crops up. Used to be a bar manager, so I know the score. To be honest, right about now, I’d clean clubhouse toilets. The missus left and cleaned out my accounts, so I’m broke.”

“Sorry to hear that, Neil. When can you start?” I ask him.

“Tomorrow, if you need me.” I think for a moment and look at Pen, who looks at me seriously. I mouth ‘tomorrow’ and Pen nods.

“Neil, that would be great. Just give Raven a call in the morning and sort out what needs sorting. I know Ferret will need to speak to you, too.”

“Sure thing, man, no problems. And Vegas, thanks for thinking of me. Honestly, I owe you.”

“It’s all good, Neil. Just call Raven. Have a great night, man. Catch you later.” With that, I end the call. “I’ll stay and make sure she gets home safe,” I tell Pen and Doug, who nod at me, then turn to leave to go to the clubhouse and speak with Raven. My watch shows it’s ten p.m. Losing myself to my thoughts, I admit that I enjoyed tonight more than I thought I would. It was great talking with Ashley, learning a bit more about her. I feel like making her laugh is one of my greatest achievements. Then again, hearing her laugh has my dick standing to attention. I had to discreetly readjust myself several times. The smell of her perfume invaded my nostrils, and I’m damned if it didn’t make me harder. I know I shouldn’t react to her, but hey, I’m only human. That woman does things to me. And even though I know nothing can happen between us, my dick has not gotten the memo. Clearly.

Her lips are full and lush and begging to be kissed. Just one taste . . . down, boy! I can’t think about how good they would look wrapped around my cock. I can’t think about how good they would look wrapped around . . . damn it, I can feel my dick throbbing. She’s my kryptonite and turns me into a horny, wet-dreaming teenager. I want to dig my hands into her short dark hair, push her down in front of me and . . . oh shit, no, no, no, where did that come from?

“I take it the others were lightweights?”

Ashley has returned, and I nod with a smirk. If only she knew what my filthy mind had just conjured up. Thank God she has zero telepathic skills.

“Your eyes are a weird color. They change with the light.” She looks directly into my eyes, holding them captive. I lean forward and stare into her green ones. My dick needs readjusting again, and if I could, I would try to live out my earlier thoughts right here. My hunger must show, as she’s blushing a sexy pink.

“What color are they, then?” I tease her. “Well, err . . .” she stutters and flushes a deeper shade of pink. “Hypnotic steel?” Ashley, that is so cute.

“Was that supposed to be a pickup line? If it was, let me tell you, it sucks, and you need practice.” I laugh at her. It’s great to see her blush. I’m enjoying this.

“I’d have to go to the gym a few times first before trying to pick you up, biker boy. You and your ego are a little on the large side,” she volleys back.

“Hey, are you trying to say I’m fat? Let me tell you, this is six foot two of darn good-looking muscle here!” I pat my chest with intent and pretend I’m outraged. She looks at me for a second and bursts out laughing. Full on belly laugh, Christ, she’s sexy when she laughs. It draws my attention to her lips again, sorely tempting me to kiss the shit out of her. It takes all my willpower to not get up and drag her onto my lap.

We sit there quietly, just looking at each other. The air is charged around us with a sizzle that shouldn’t be there. I can see my hunger reflected in her eyes, making me hard as steel right now and shift in my seat. Fuck it, I have to move. This is killing me. I inwardly groan, stand, take her hand and drag her to the dance floor by the jukebox.

She stumbles along behind me. Trying to keep up with my long strides, a lot off balance, and I imagine I took her by surprise. I’m not normally the dancing type, but I need to feel her next to me and closer than across a table. She’s driving me nuts. I drop some money in the jukebox and choose a few songs. I smirk at my cunning plan.

As the first notes of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” drift through the speakers, I pull her to me, holding her tight. She looks at me with fire in her eyes, and her soft body touches mine in just the right way. We’re close, but it’s not close enough. Raven pops into my mind, and I know I’m going to hell, but I don’t care. Ashley feels too good, as though her body is made to fit mine perfectly.

I run my hand down to the curve of her ass and pull her tighter, rubbing the globe in my palm. She melts into me and drops her head onto my shoulder. I can feel her heart racing against my chest. Swinging her around, I pull her back into me. Yeah, I can move to the rhythm, and I smile at the surprised but needy look she gives me. She’s fully aware of just how hard she makes me, clearly able to feel my hard length pressing into her, and she pushes back into me. The atmosphere is crackling with electric charge. I quietly groan. This is killing me, and I don’t know how long I can keep control.

To take my mind off my unbelievably hard cock, I sing along quietly to the music. I know this song word for word—it was my Nan’s favorite. Ashley lifts her head and looks up at me, her eyes capturing mine, and for a moment, I lose sense of our surroundings. I continue singing the song to her, as though only she and I exist in this room. My eyes shift from hers to her mouth, and I try to control the inner beast commanding me to kiss her, throw her over my shoulder, take her home, and fuck her senseless. She surprises me by reaching up, pulling my head down to hers, and placing a gentle, chaste kiss on my lips. God, her lips are so soft and warm. I’m overwhelmed for a moment and can feel her pulling back. Oh, to hell with it . I can’t hold on any longer, so I pull her closer and take over the kiss. There’s nothing chaste about it now as I deepen it.

I tease her lips, then my mouth ravishes her and my tongue plays with hers until she opens to me completely and our tongues are warring. She gives as good as she gets and the kiss turns hungry. Gripping my hair in her hands, she pulls me closer. So much passion emanates from her, and I can smell her arousal mixing with her perfume. It’s the headiest scent I have ever encountered. I groan into her mouth as her tongue toys with mine.

Loud wolf whistles and shouts of “Get a room!” make us come back to reality with a bump. Shit! What did I do? I almost lost control, and in the middle of a bar. We were providing entertainment in the worst possible place. When Karen smirks at us, I know it was she who whistled. Shit, shit, shit! I can almost guarantee this is going to get back to Raven. Knowing I’m a dead man walking, I watch Ashley closely. She’s gone very pale and is panting, her eyes flitting around, seemingly not seeing. She looks as though she’s going into a full-blown panic attack. I know what they look like because I’ve seen Ferret at his worst when his PTSD is triggered.

“Ashley?” I almost shout at her to break through. “Breathe . . . slowly, in through your nose, out your mouth.” I lead her, making sure she breathes with me until she calms down and can maintain her own rhythm.

“Do you get like this often?” I ask.

“No, not at all. Not sure what happened there,” she answers, looking at her feet. She’s a terrible liar, but I don’t push her on it. If she needs to talk, I’ll be there, but I won’t force her.

“Okay . . . I won’t ask again,” I tell her.

“I-I’m sorry. I sh-shouldn’t have kissed you,” she stutters.

“Hey, stop that. It takes two, you know. I could have stopped you, but I didn’t, despite knowing you’re drunk. I took advantage, and for that, I’m sorry, Ashley. My control ought to be better than that.” I growl at her, angry with myself.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she whispers.

“I know, and that’s why I’m taking you home now and then taking myself straight to the clubhouse to bed before I do something we’ll both regret,” I tell her. She looks at me in utter shock and bewilderment.

“You can’t want me, Vegas. I mean, you’re you and I’m just little ole me.”

“Ash, stop. Stop that right now. Of course, I want you, in case you haven’t noticed. You’re beautiful, witty, intelligent . . . why wouldn’t I want you? It takes all my self-discipline to not bend you over my bike right now and fuck you senseless! But I know you would regret it in the morning when the alcohol wears off and neither of us could face Raven. So, don’t talk like that again. Now, get your ass over to my bike, so I can take you home.”

Truly, I would like to do nothing more than fuck her into next week, but it would mean certain death by Raven’s hand. My loyalty must be to my Prez, not my protesting dick. Is that regret in her eyes? She nods, and we walk over to the bike, my hand holding hers. I tell myself it’s to keep her steady, but in reality, I just want to hold on to the feel of her skin a little longer. I pass her my spare helmet and hold out my hand to help her get on. Once I’m settled on the bike, my jeans sitting uncomfortably tight, making me shift in my seat, I sigh as she links her hands and rests them on my abs. This is going to be one hell of an uncomfortable ride.

I start the Rocker, my pride and joy. No woman has ever ridden with me. I’m a firm believer that only one woman will ever sit on the back of my bike, and that will be my woman. But this is an emergency. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself, consciously ignoring the option of calling the prospects to take her home.

The deep rumble of the engine makes me smile every time. I love the sound and the vibrations. Pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street, Ashley holds on tight, and I can hear her whoop with joy even over the engine as I open the throttle and we pick up speed. I can’t help but laugh. She sounds like a kid on Christmas. I see her house coming up, but fuck it, it’s a beautiful night and she’s enjoying herself. To be honest, so am I. Riding helps me blow the cobwebs away.

After about half an hour, I make my way back into town. I love the feeling of her tight on my back, her lush tits pushing into me. But my dick can’t take much more. If I don’t ride back now, I might just make good on what I said earlier. Pulling up outside Ashley’s house, I half expect Raven to be waiting for me, gun pointing at my head, but all is quiet. Ashley gets off and hands me the spare lid, throwing a huge smile at me.

“Thank you, Vegas. I didn’t realize how much I needed this and missed riding.” She leans forward and places a chaste kiss to my lips. “Thank you,” she throws over her shoulder as she turns and walks to the door. I watch her swaying ass along the path. Mesmerized, I wait for her to unlock, switch the lights on, and lock the door from the inside. When she turns to me before she steps in, she shoots me a knowing smile. I smirk and wink at her, start the bike, and take off down the road.

???

No sooner have I parked outside the clubhouse than Raven steps out the door. My semi hard on instantly deflates, looking at his pissed off face. Any last words Vegas? I think to myself. I’m sure that news travels fast, and Karen is a spiteful bitch. I guess my hunch was right, and she phoned Raven the minute we were lip locked. I’m screwed!

“Vegas, office, now!” Raven thunders. I take a deep breath and follow him inside, ready to accept my fate. At best I’ll get a beat down, at worst I’ll have my patches stripped. Panicked, my heartbeat must be about two hundred beats per minute. I’m such an ass!

Raven points to the seat in front of his desk.

“Karen rang me earlier,” he squeezes out between gritted teeth. I know this is it, am shaking in my boots and my sphincter is making overtime. Taking a deep breath, I wait for the explosion. He looks at me and his eyes can only be described as evil.

“Not enough that you lip locked my sister, making a display of yourselves, and trust me, I’m pissed, but we’ll come to that later. I’ll beat ten tons of shit out of you. But more maddening, she tells me that Rusty has told her to water down the drinks and apparently, I’m unable to organize a piss-up in a brewery.” He’s seething. I don’t think I have ever seen him so crazy mad as he’s right now.

“Who the fuck does that prick think he is? How dare my own VP bad mouth me? I spoke to Dougal and Slender already. They confirmed it. Now, what did you find out?” he asks while pacing back and forth behind his desk.

“Same as the others, boss. She said Rusty told her to water down the beer, and that he comes and gets the deposit to bank it. I thought that was strange. If anything, I would have thought Spen does that since he does the books.” I shoot him a questioning look. Raven says not a word but gets out a glass and a bottle of Maker’s Mark, pouring himself a large helping. He chugs it down in two swallows.

“Neil rang this morning. Ferret is doing a background check as we speak, and I’m meeting him tomorrow at the bar to introduce him to Karen. I’ll also inform her that her management skills are no longer needed. She can work shifts behind the bar, but she’ll have no access to the cellar, deliveries, or books anymore,” Raven growls out.

Raven walks around the desk and stands in front of me. In anticipation, I stand and take a step backward. Lightning quick, Raven’s hand shoots out and grabs hold of my cut, and he forces me against the wall. His other fist connects with my face. I can taste blood and know he split my lip. I don’t move or try to defend myself as he rearranges my face. I’m sure my nose is broken, and my right eye is swelling shut, but I take what he’s giving me. I deserve it.

“That’s for hitting on my sister,” he screams at me. “You know she’s been through some shit the last few years, and you know she hates MC life. You know all of this, and yet you make a move? On my sister? Are you just plain stupid, or do you have a death wish? You’re a brilliant brother, and I love you like one, but right now, you overstepped the line by a country mile, and I’m fucked if I let you get away with it. My sister is off limits. To you and anyone else from the Club. Got me?” I nod at his agitated, angry, teeth-grinding face, trying to look him in the eye to show him sincerity. “Don’t make me kill you, Vegas. You hurt her, and I’ll kill you, slowly and painfully. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes, Prez, understood. Crystal clear.”