Page 1 of Wild Side (Vicious Reapers MC #3)

ZADIE

VICIOUS REAPERS MC RIVARA CHAPTER

THREE MONTHS AGO

“I don’t think we should go. I mean, my dad has already said it’s completely off-limits,” I say.

I don’t care if I sound like a baby. I’m sure she thinks that’s what I am, but I follow the rules. They’re important, and they’ve been given to me for a reason. That’s what my dad says anyway, and I’m not about to get in trouble and get on his shit list.

It’s my goal to never suffer the consequences of my father’s wrath. I’ve made it a point to never find out what it’s like to be in trouble with him.

Sable rolls her eyes at me. She’s so sick of me being a goody two-shoes, something she has voiced more than once. And I have a feeling she’s been questioning our friendship over it all, too. That doesn’t matter, though.

I’m a rule follower. I always have been.

My father demands it.

I don’t know if it’s because he’s a single dad, if it’s because he’s the president of a motorcycle club, or if he’s just controlling, although if I had to guess, it would be a combination of all three.

He enjoys control, thrives off it, really, and doesn’t care who knows it or who he hurts in the process.

He’s not my dad. He is very much my puppeteer, and I do my best to give him a wide berth—always.

Following the rules has not just been suggested in my house, it has been demanded and expected. There are consequences if you do not obey the rules. None of which I want any part of.

So if that makes me a party pooper, or Sable doesn’t want to hang out with me anymore, then so be it, because I’m not about to suffer my father’s consequences. It doesn’t matter how old I am. My father is not someone I want to cross.

“You’re twenty-one, you live in your own apartment, pay your own rent, and have a big-girl job. What can he really do to you?” she says, adding a snort at the end of her question.

I should be the one snorting, because I have no doubt my father could and would do something. I’ve lived my entire life walking on eggshells, so I have no idea what his punishment would be, but I have a feeling he can get very inventive if he wanted to.

Sable’s father is also part of the club, though he’s not a ranking member and seems to be nice enough. She was not raised the same as I was. We’re club kids, brought up in this world, but also extremely differently. She’s never had any real rules, and it shows.

I’ve had a thumb pressing on me, holding me down, my entire life.

With the few guidelines she has, she’s made it her mission to break all of them… often. And it’s so very clear to me in this moment that she doesn’t understand what my father is truly like behind closed doors.

I’m pretty sure he can’t or won’t do anything to me, and I’m pretty assured he would never physically hurt me, but he can make my life very miserable. Even if he doesn’t pay my bills, it’s just not something I’m willing to chance.

“I know, but still…”

My words trail off right before I see a light nearby. Not just any light, but a flame from a lighter. That flame is in someone’s hand, and I watch as he lifts it to light a cigarette that sits between his lips.

I expect it to be one of my many dozens of uncles, but when the flame illuminates part of his face, I realize I have no freaking clue who this man is. He’s a stranger standing right in front of me. Dressed in leather and jeans, yet a stranger, nonetheless.

And I’m too far away from the clubhouse for anyone to hear me scream.

“What’re you girls doin’ out here?” the rugged voice asks.

Sable snorts. “We’re club princesses. You better just walk away.”

She sounds like a spoiled smart-ass. I don’t say a word, as per usual. I clam up when faced with anything near danger. And this seems dangerous. Really dangerous. My eyes flick from them to the clubhouse in the distance. My voice can carry out here, but not like that.

Sable thinks telling anyone and everyone that we’re princesses is a flex.

The reality is that I’m the actual princess.

My father is the president, not hers. I’m his only daughter, but this guy could be from a rival club. Telling him that we’re important to Vicious Reapers could put us in serious danger, and Sable’s throwing it around like she’s a badass biker babe.

Which she is definitely not.

“Is that right?” the man says with a chuckle.

That chuckle makes my belly dip. It’s deep and sexy. Rough. Sable starts to say something, but the man moves a little closer and dips his chin. With my eyes now adjusted to the darkness and him being a tad closer, I can see his face.

My god, he’s gorgeous.

“And who do you belong to, princess?” he asks, his tongue sliding across his bottom lip as if he can’t wait to take a taste of me. The way he’s watching me, plus the way I feel as he does, makes me want to ask him to take his fill. “Or don’t you talk much?”

“Does it matter?” I ask in a whisper.

He laughs, taking another step forward. He’s so close to me that I can smell him—sandalwood, leather, and oil.

“Name’s Maverick.”

I’m not sure what to say. My mouth goes dry. He’s so beautiful, and he’s looking directly at me. My lips move, and my name comes out, but I’m not sure I could say anything else. I am completely and totally mesmerized by him.

“I’m Zadie,” I whisper.

MAVERICK

Goose laughs behind me, no doubt seeing this woman in front of me and wanting exactly what I want. Turning my head, I look over my shoulder at him for a moment. His gaze isn’t on her, though. It’s on the other one. Shifting my attention back to her, I take her in again.

I don’t see how he could give a single fuck about the other girl when Zadie is standing right in front of me. Usually, we’re always attracted to the same woman—a breathing one. But something shifts inside me when I look at this one.

Shoulder-length dark hair and bright eyes, though I can’t tell the color from here. But she’s beautiful.

“What do you want from us?” the friend snaps.

“You’re out here away from the party. We’re wondering what the fuck you’re doing, that’s all,” Goose drawls, his voice low.

The friend snorts, but Zadie says nothing.

“I’d ask you the same thing,” the friend replies with a superiority that I’m certain is false.

I’m about done listening to her. I don’t know why Goose is entertaining her at all. Then I watch as my brother moves past me. He slips his arm around the girl’s shoulder, leans into her, and whispers something in her ear. I watch as she smiles, then giggles.

What the fuck is going on?

Goose guides her away, and I watch with confusion. Zadie does as well, then she shifts her attention back to meet mine, her brows snapping together. She seems as confused as I do, although likely for different reasons.

“What on earth?” she asks in a whisper.

Moving toward her, I close the distance between us. I lift and wrap my fingers around the side of her throat, sliding my thumb across her bottom lip. Neither of us speaks as we stare at one another, and I have never in my thirty years had the urge to kiss someone the way I do her right now.

Dipping my chin, I shift my face closer to hers. I don’t kiss her, not yet at least. I’m still trying to figure this shit out. But I’m going to fuck her before this night is over. She is mine. Whoever the fuck Zadie is, she’ll be screaming my name before the sun comes up.

“No fuckin’ clue,” I mutter. “But I don’t give a fuck about them. I’m focused on you, sweetheart.”

“Why?” she exhales.

Her sweet breath washes over my lips, and my cock twitches against the zipper of my jeans, pressing against it, begging for release and relief. Reaching out, I wrap my fingers around her waist, gripping her there.

She’s curvy and sexy.

I tug her against my chest, and when I feel her tits press against me, I know her soft curves are going to feel fucking amazing when we’re both naked.

“Because one look at you, Zadie. That’s all it took.”

Her breath hitches before she lets it out slowly. I grunt, gripping her waist tighter, holding her against me. I lightly brush my mouth against hers, then move my lips across her jaw to her ear before I speak.

“Maverick,” she exhales, and my cock hardens, my balls ache.

I need her. I need to be inside her. I’m not sure how much longer I can hold off. I’m ready to rip her clothes off right here in the middle of the goddamn grass. Lifting my head, I look into her eyes, wishing there were more light so I could tell what color they are.

“We shouldn’t do this,” she whispers.

“Yeah?” I ask.

She smiles. “But I want to. I want to be bad.”

Fuck. Yes.

That’s all she needs to say.

Reaching down, I pick her up. She wraps her legs around my waist, and I walk her straight to my guest room at the clubhouse.

I eat her. I fuck her. Lose my fucking head to her.

Zadie is fucking perfection personified, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, my brother doesn’t fuck a woman with me, and I don’t want him to, either.