Chapter Two
Lyssa
The President of the Reckless Kings was one fine man.
I couldn’t tell for certain how old he was, but I honestly didn’t care.
My dad was about thirty years older than my mom, and they adored each other.
If anything, it had taught me to view people with my heart and not my eyes.
Beast might be huge, and perhaps to some he seemed scary, but he’d put himself between me and Tony.
He had a protective streak a mile wide, and I had a feeling he had a good heart too.
Having lived with the Dixie Reapers MC all my life, being around tough bikers wasn’t anything new.
I’d learned long ago most of them had a soft marshmallow center when it came to their women and kids, and by extension all other kids in the club.
Well, maybe not Farrah. She’d terrorized so many people, I’d been surprised they hadn’t thrown a party when she’d decided to strike out on her own.
If her dad hadn’t been the VP, they very well might have done just that.
After being on the run from Tony, I felt like warmed-over crap.
I didn’t know where Beast would want me to stay.
The duffle in my hand didn’t hold a lot.
Just enough to get me through a few days.
I dropped it on his bedroom floor and pulled out my sleep shorts and a tank.
I hadn’t slept in two days and knew it wouldn’t be long before I crashed.
Hard. At first, I hadn’t wanted to come here.
I’d hoped when I got on the road, I could lose the asshole.
But every time I’d stopped, he’d quickly caught up to me.
Finding the Reckless Kings had been a last-ditch effort.
I pulled the ends of my hair up to my nose and grimaced.
I hadn’t planned to wash it, but there was no way I was going to bed smelling like cigarettes.
I got into the shower, marveling at the luxury of Beast’s home.
The shower was big enough for four or five people, with a bench seat along one of the shorter walls.
It had three showerheads and a solid glass wall with a door that was so seamless it was damn near hidden.
Steam billowed into the bathroom from the stall and I sighed in pleasure as the water beat down on me.
Picking up the green bar of soap, I took a quick sniff and smiled when I realized it was Irish Spring.
What were the odds he’d like the same soap as me?
I’d never cared for the girly shit. Simple, clean scents were my favorite.
My perfume, which I seldom wore, had a warm spicy smell.
If anyone gave me floral shit, or worse -- vanilla, I’d throat punch them.
That crap was just nasty and gave me a damn headache.
I grabbed his two-in-one shampoo, trying not to cringe at the thought of what it would do to my hair, and washed the long tresses. Anything was better than nothing at this point. I rinsed the suds and shut off the water.
I stepped out onto the bathmat and dried off with a towel I found under the sink and pulled on my pajamas.
Not a hair dryer in sight. Going to bed with wet hair was another thing I disliked, but it couldn’t be helped for the moment.
Yawning so wide my jaw cracked, I made my way into Beast’s bedroom.
I gave the covers a yank, then collapsed face first, not even bothering to pull the blankets back over me.
My eyes were closed before my head hit the pillow and exhaustion weighed me down.
I heard a scratching noise and hoped like hell he didn’t have rats.
There were a lot of things I could handle, but rats weren’t one of them.
The bed covers tugged and jerked underneath my feet and I opened my eyes only to realize I was face to face with a weasel.
I screamed and jerked upright, sitting on my knees as two of them jumped around me on the bed.
Not weasels. Ferrets. What the hell? Beast let these things roam free in his house?
I cautiously held out my hand for them to sniff me.
I’d never seen any running free. The pet store I’d always begged Mom to take me to had them for sale, and I’d thought they were cute.
After a moment, they seemed to lose interest and scampered back down, only to disappear through the bedroom door.
I’d have to remember to ask him about them later.
Once I knew I was alone, and my visitors weren’t returning, I lay down and closed my eyes again.
A beep from the alarm system I’d spotted in the hall told me someone had opened a door.
With everything going on, I should have been more concerned, but I was too tired to run anymore.
I sighed and refused to budge. If someone scary came through the door, I’d find the energy to fight back.
Until then, I planned to give my best impression of a corpse.
Maybe they’d think I’d died and leave me alone. It worked for possums.
Footsteps came up the stairs and down the hallway.
I only heard one set, so it wasn’t Tony.
He’d never try to come after me on his own, not inside the Reckless Kings’ compound.
I seriously hoped Beast had given the order to shut the gate and keep it closed.
I didn’t like the fact Tony had waltzed right in earlier, and same for me.
There hadn’t been anyone standing guard.
“Had I known I’d come home to find you in my bed, damn near naked, I’d have rushed through the meeting,” Beast said.
“Tired,” I mumbled.
I heard the rustle of something, a zipper, and a moment later, the mattress dipped under his weight.
The hair on his legs brushed against mine and I finally managed to crack an eye open.
Shirtless, he was even more beautiful, or more accurately, ruggedly handsome.
For an older guy with hair going silver, he’d kept in shape.
Unlike most of the guys at my dad’s club, Beast didn’t have a full beard.
Not that I would call him clean shaven, but the whiskers along his jaw could have easily been only a day or two’s growth.
His touch was gentle as he brushed my hair back from my face. “Get some sleep, beautiful. We can talk after you’ve rested.”
He pulled the covers over both of us and tugged me into his arms. I felt oddly right, as if I’d finally found the place where I belonged.
I’d never believed in fate or any of that other crap.
Now I had to wonder if I’d been wrong. Were we destined to be with one person?
And if that was true, had I just found my other half?
The thought was enough to make me a bit more alert. I opened both eyes and studied Beast. “Why are you here?”
“Last time I checked, this is my house and my bed.”
“Okay. But why are you naked in the bed with me?” I asked.
He flexed his hips. “Not entirely naked.”
I pretended I didn’t notice the bulge he’d just pressed against me. Good to know the attraction I felt for him wasn’t one-sided. It seemed he was every bit as interested in me.
“Thanks for playing along earlier,” I said. “With Tony. I’ve been trying to shake him for a while, but he’s like a New York cockroach and keeps coming back.”
He placed his hand on my hip and tugged me closer. “What do you know about him?”
“Not much, except he gives me the creeps. He doesn’t like the word ‘no’ and seems to think I should fall at his feet.
And he’s determined. You saw how he followed me here.
He’s been tracking my every move for weeks now.
I left school because of him, and the last two days I’ve not slept at all for fear if I stopped to rest, he’d find me.
” I licked my lips. “I’m not scared of much, Beast, but Tony… there’s something not right about him.”
“And you came here instead of going home? Or to the Devil’s Fury or Devil’s Boneyard?” he asked. “Why? And don’t give me that crap about Lilian.”
“I was fifteen the first time I heard the story about Lilian and Dragon, and how she’d come here for help.
The old ladies talk, not just amongst each other inside the club, but with the others too.
One of them talked about you, how you’d helped Lilian and made sure she felt safe.
I think I fell in love with the idea of you back then.
” I snuggled closer to him, breathing in his scent.
“You were like a knight in shining armor, and while I’ve never been a damsel in distress, I just knew if I came here you’d help me. ”
“Your club is under the impression this isn’t your first time here. Although, I think Venom knows otherwise. He knew you were here already, which means someone told him.”
“And since someone told him, they were probably tracking me,” I said.
“Yeah, I’m used to it. I’m sure there’s a chip somewhere on my car, in my phone.
Hell, I wouldn’t have put it past Dad to microchip me like a lost puppy, and if not him, then definitely my grandfather.
There probably isn’t much they wouldn’t tag so they could find me at any given time.
Shoes. Purse. Anything they could attach a tracking device to would be fair game. ”
He ran a hand down my back, stopping just above my ass.
Was it wrong I wished he’d kept going? I pressed tighter against him, the heat of his skin seeping into my clothes.
I hadn’t thought I was quite as wild and crazy as my best friend, Farrah, but right now, I had to wonder -- What would Farrah do?
Climb Beast like a tree.
She’d never backed down from anything she wanted. Which explained why she was now the old lady to Demon, the Sergeant-at-Arms for the Devil’s Fury MC. There probably wasn’t another soul on this earth who could handle her half as well as someone like him.