14. Baja
14
BAJA
My eyes open to the morning sun seeping through the curtains, painting streaks of gold across the bedroom, and I turn my head to see Alice peacefully sleeping, sprawled out on her stomach, hair spilling across the pillow. The sheets are a tangled mess around our legs, the aftermath of a night that will live rent-free in my head, playing repeatedly for days to come.
I reach out and trace my fingertips down her bare back and over the soft curves of her ass, my cock already begging to sink into her pussy again. My hand lingers, resting on the globe of her ass, torn between waking her with my cock or letting her sleep.
Thud.
Several pounds of pure fluff land square on my ribs, and Ozzy’s green eyes meet mine.
“Dude,” I grumble.
Ozzy stretches, his paws flexing, before strolling off me and lying closer to Alice. He rubs his head against her arm before kneading the sheets between us, purring loud enough to wake the dead.
“Cock blocker,” I mutter, glaring at the furball.
Ozzy looks back at me like I’m the one intruding, then looks back toward my woman.
Alice stirs, a soft sigh escaping her lips, and then her eyes flutter open, locking on me momentarily before shifting them to Ozzy.
“Morning, big guy,” she murmurs, her voice husky with sleep. She lifts her hand and scratches under Ozzy’s chin, and the furry thief closes his eyes, leaning into her touch, content with the fact he accomplished his mission.
“Unreal,” I grumble.
“What?” Alice looks at me, puzzled.
“Prince of darkness here is stealin’ my woman.”
“How can you be such a grump? Just look at this handsome face.” She smiles, continuing to dote on the furry traitor.
Ozzy turns and stares at me, practically saying, “She’s mine now.”
I groan and roll onto my back, my cock locked and loaded, needing a release, but there’s a large and in charge feline between me and the pussy I’m after.
The bed shifts, and Alice straddles me, her palms resting on my chest. I drink up the sight of her, the way her long hair cascades over her breasts and frames her face as she gazes at me. “Are you jealous of Ozzy?” Alice smirks.
“Not anymore.” I glide my hands up her thighs and rest them on her hips.
Alice leans down, her hair falling across my face as her lips hover close to mine. “I’m yours,” she whispers, then softly kisses me.
I take advantage of the position she’s in and grab hold of my cock. “Damn right you are.” And slide into her pussy. Alice moans. “That’s it, baby.” I let her take the lead as she takes more of me. “Don’t hold back,” my voice is rough.
Alice rises, looking down at me, her lips curving, accepting the challenge. She lowers herself down, taking every inch of my cock, then moves her hips, rocking back and forth.
“Touch yourself,” I say, and watch Alice cup her tits in each hand, then roll her nipples between her fingertips. Her hands travel down her waist, and one hand dips between her thighs, her fingertips rubbing her clit. Fucking perfect. I fixate on her fingers, working their magic on her clit, as she fucks me.
Alice throws her head back, her hips rocking faster as the tension builds. I feel her pussy pulsate as she grinds down on my cock harder.
I grip her hips, anchoring her body to mine, losing myself in the way she moves against me, desperate, like she wants to consume me as much as I want to consume her. “Give it to me, baby. Strangle my cock with that sweet cunt of yours.”
“Nash.” Alice’s breaths come out as broken gasps, her pussy tightening around my cock like a vice as she chases her release, taking me over the edge with her.
She falls forward, her body sheen with sweat. Spent, she rests her head on my chest, the room falling silent except for our breathing. “I never knew it could be like this,” she murmurs. Her eyes search mine, and she cups my cheek. “You make me very happy, Nash.”
I look at Alice, the scent of sex wrapping itself around me like a drug, making me crave another round as I absorb her words. I’m about to echo her confession when it suddenly hits me.
I more than like this woman.
Fuck.
My feelings surpass that.
I will ride or die for her.
Love isn’t a strong enough emotion to express what I’m feeling.
And it doesn’t scare the hell out of me.
“I—”
Thump.
The bed dips hard at my side, and a loud meow cuts through the moment.
I sigh.
Alice laughs.
Ozzy moseys over, parking his ass on the empty pillow. He lets out another meow, longer this time and more dramatic.
“Oz, man. Your timin’ is shit,” I gripe, my confession dangling in the air unsaid. Ozzy’s tail swishes, unfazed by my annoyance.
“Maybe he’s hungry.” Alice comes to Ozzy’s defense.
I wrap an arm around Alice’s waist and shift our bodies, bringing hers beneath mine. “Yeah, well, so am I,” I growl, dip down, and kiss her.
Ozzy meows a second time, and I let out a heavy sigh. “Dude. You’re seriously killin’ the moment here.”
Alice giggles, eases from under me, and slips from the bed. Her bare feet are silent against the floor as she moves across the room. She glances back, a sultry smirk teasing her lips. “Feed the cat, then join me in the shower.”
I watch her strut away, then turn to Ozzy, giving him a firm scratch behind the ear, and he purrs. “You like her too, huh, buddy?”
After a long day of working at the shop, I pick up my woman, and we head to the clubhouse, where we’ve been for the last hour or so. Everyone is here, and the clubhouse hums with the energy needed after a full day of tatting clients. Deep belly laughs, clinking glasses, and the scrapping of pool cues on felt echo off the walls, and the place smells of whiskey, leather, and cigarettes—like home.
I sit at the table with my brothers, nursing a glass of bourbon, as we try to out-bluff each other at a poker game. Laredo, cocky as usual, leans back in his chair with a smirk which means he’s either holding a good hand or bluffing.
Across the room, Sage, Sukie, Juniper, and Alice are at one of the pool tables, sipping on wine, laughing, and taking turns trying to land shots. My woman chalks her cue stick while Sukie tries and fails to sink her ball for the third time.
Alice leans over the pool table, lining up her stick to take her shot, and my gaze falls, taking in the way her jeans hug her ass just right. I continue observing Alice being laid back and carefree, enjoying her comfort in my world like she’s been here her whole life. For now, she’s shed the layers of armor she wears. She’s unguarded, enjoying herself.
It does something to me—something I can’t put into words. Alice is the kind of dangerous you don’t see coming. Because she makes me feel things on another level, she makes me want more.
More of her —of us .
More of whatever this is we are building.
The weight of my feelings hits me in the chest like it did this morning.
Alice takes her shot, the cue stick sliding through her fingers. The crack of the balls echoes through the room, followed by my woman throwing her hands up in celebration while Sage and Sukie cheer like they’re at a rock concert.
Returning my attention to the game, I glance at the cards in my hands and sigh, laying my shitty hand face down on the table. “Fold.”
“I’m out.” Harlem folds and downs the rest of his whiskey.
Salem slaps his cards down. “Fold.”
“Shit,” Juneau mutters. “Fold.”
Mystic tosses his chips to the center of the table where the cash winnings sit. “I’m callin’ your bluff,” he says, keeping his tone even.
Laredo keeps grinning. “Bold move, brother.”
“Hope you’re ready to don that speedo while puttin’ a shine on my bike, brother.” Mystic smirks.
Laredo laughs. “We’ll see about that.”
I shake my head and take another sip of my drink. The loser will never live this little wager down.
Laredo plays his hand first, a royal flush.
“Motherfucker,” Mystic hisses and lays his cards face up on the table, displaying his straight flush.
Laredo lets out a full belly laugh. “You, in a banana hammock, sudsing up bikes…” he continues laughing, “… that shit is gonna be legendary, brother.” And Mystic flips Laredo off.
The laughter dies, chatter fades, and the women abandon their pool game as the deep growl of a motorcycle roars outside, the disruptive sound announcing an uninvited guest is riding in. All of us at the table stand, drawing our weapons. Adrenaline courses through my veins, ready for anything. The women lay down the pool sticks and move toward us.
The front door swings open, and I’m looking at a man I haven’t seen in a few years. My uncle. His face is pale, etched with more pain than I’ve ever seen on him. The leather jacket he wears is torn, and blood is soaking through the shirt underneath. But he is not alone. Standing off to his side is a young, blonde-headed woman. She looks frail. Her haunting eyes scan the room. Then, I see her hands clutching her stomach.
Is she…
“Sorry to bust in on ya like this, but…” Jax’s voice cuts through the silence. He steadies himself against the doorframe.
I holster my weapon and cross the room. “Jesus fuckin’ Christ. What the hell?”
My uncle grabs his side, his breathing broken. “Ran into a problem a few days ago.”
“Sit him down,” Juneau says, moving across the room.
Uncle Jax leans on me, and I help him to the nearby couch. The woman with him cautiously follows, not straying from his side. I look from my uncle to the woman as I lower him to sit.
The tension in the room is thick as the situation unfolds.
“This…” he grunts, his usual steely resolve dimmed by pain while trying to shrug off his jacket, “… is Lily,” my uncle locks eyes with me. “My daughter.”
His admission hits me like a sledgehammer. The man who never wanted kids has a full-grown daughter. I stare at Lily a beat longer. She doesn’t look anything like him, with her pale complexion, thin figure, and ghostly gray eyes. And she looks rough, as if she hasn’t slept in days. Lily clutches her oversized hoodie, which hides her frame, except from the unmistakable swell of her stomach. Her hands tremble as she clutches the fabric.
“She’s pregnant,” I say slowly, my words dropping like lead, and the energy in the room shifts again.
Uncle Jax grimaces, leaning back on the couch, his hand pressing at his side. “Yeah. And the motherfucker who put it there won’t stop until he gets her back.”
Lily flinches at his words, her posture shrinking. Her lips part like she’s about to speak, but no sound comes out. Her eyes dart around like she’s looking for an escape route.
“I think someone needs to start talkin’,” Salem demands, his voice sharp.
My uncle tilts his head toward Lily and then back at me. “I went to get my daughter out of a toxic situation, and they didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat.”
His words hang heavy in the air as Juneau kneels, unzipping his medical bag. “Lift your shirt, old man,” he tells him, his attention shifting momentarily to Lily before returning to my uncle. My uncle lifts the fabric, revealing a jagged gash on his ribcage. The edges of the wound are inflamed, and the skin around it is angry and red.
“Damn.” Laredo steps forward to get a better look.
“Who?” Salem’s tone darkens.
“They call themselves Phantom Riders,” my uncle states.
“Never heard of ’em,” Mystic weighs in.
“They’re out of New Mexico,” Jax informs us. “We’ve slept when we can for a couple of hours here and there tryin’ to throw them off our trail.”
Shit .
“And you thought it was a good idea to bring your fuckin’ problems to our doorstep?” Salem growls, not hiding his anger.
“I pointed my bike to where I thought my Lily might find refuge.” His face twists in pain as he adjusts himself on the couch. “I’ll pay whatever price you put on my head for the intrusion and to keep my daughter out of the hands of those bastards.” He takes a ragged breath as he glances at me. “There’s not a lot of good I’ve done in my life, decisions I’ve made that can never be undone…” A shadow passes over his face, and then he looks at Lily. “But I’m trying to do somethin’ right in my life now.”
His public confessional raises more questions for me. I know my uncle ain’t a saint, but why does it feel like the ghosts of his past, whatever they may be, are the real puppet masters pulling the strings on this dark journey of redemption he’s taken?
Juneau leans in, his lips pressing into a thin line as he examines the wound with gloved hands. “This has gone unchecked for how many days?”
Uncle Jax waves his hands dismissively, avoiding the question. “Getting Lily to safety outweighs my needs.”
Juneau glares at him. “Your needs will outweigh your daughter’s safety if your ass drops dead of sepsis.” He reaches for his first aid kit. “This needs to be flushed out. You need stitches, but the infection is bad. So, I’m leaving it open to drain. You’ll also need antibiotics and a tetanus shot,” he pauses, then adds, “Someone go look in the back and see what I have on hand. We may need to call Celeste for some extra supplies.”
“On it.” Laredo is already walking away while digging his phone out.
Juneau’s hands are steady as he works, but the tension in the room feels like a bomb waiting to explode. My uncle clenches his jaw as Juneau meticulously cleans the gaping wound, causing him to hiss sharply in pain. Blood oozes from the wound. “Hold still,” Juneau mutters, his voice low but firm.
Uncle Jax makes a sharp hiss and glares at Juneau like he is ready to deck him. “You try holdin’ still while someone digs into you with what feels like a damn crowbar.”
Unfazed, Juneau keeps working. His gaze momentarily flickers to Lily, who stands frozen, her tall, thin frame stiff and hands clenching at her sides, grimacing. She looks sickly, and her wide eyes glassy. Lily’s eyes dart to Juneau’s for a fleeting moment before quickly dropping to the floor, a mix of concern and fear etched across her ghostly pale face.
“Lily,” I say softly, concerned she is not well, but she doesn’t respond. She stares at my uncle, frozen, like a deer caught in headlights.
A wince escapes Uncle Jax as Juneau presses the gauze firmly against his side. Still, his focus immediately sharpens on Lily, a fierce protectiveness radiating from him even through the pain. It’s obvious—he would sacrifice everything, even his own life, for her.
Once Juneau wraps up with my uncle, he straightens and locks eyes with Lily. “You good?” His voice is low, but there’s a fire behind it. He sidesteps me, closing the distance between them. Lily flinches, instinctively stepping back, pure terror etched across her face and posture. Juneau’s steps slow, giving her space. “You’re safe here, Lily. Nobody is going to hurt you. Not while I’m here.” Lily’s lips tremble, her arms wrapping around herself protectively, and Juneau’s jaw tightens, his gaze darkening as he watches her.
Lily is in flight mode, and I don’t like it. It’s painfully clear to all of us that this woman has been through hell, and right now, everyone is the enemy except for my uncle.
My uncle grunts, trying to shift and rise from the couch. Juneau cuts him a glare. “Stay put.” Turning back to Lily, his expression softens, though his posture is tense. “Lily, look at me.” She hesitates, but eventually, her eyes flick to meet his. “I’m not gonna touch you unless you give me permission.” He glances back toward Sage, Alice and Sukie watch everything unfold in silence. He jerks his head, wordlessly telling them to step in. They don’t hesitate and carefully approach. Juneau meets her gaze again. “The women will take over for now. I’ll check in on you later. You are safe here, Lily. I promise.”