10. Not All Goddesses Are Good
Chapter 10
Not All Goddesses Are Good
Simone
Alexandra clapped her hands after zipping her suitcase closed. “How is it noon already and why do all the fun things have to happen the exact same weekend?”
I shrugged. “Murphy’s Law, I guess? I feel like we should offer this place to someone else. I bet—”
She crossed her arms. “Not a chance. You deserve to be here, in a real bed, where you can get some rest. And, you can swim at the beach without dragging your tired self through a hotel lobby or some crap.”
‘Here’ happened to be a three-bedroom house at the beach that Alexandra had found on VbrO. We’d rented it for the week so I could work remotely Monday through Wednesday, because I only had the last two days of the week off.
Alexandra took her beach bag and backpack out to her car. She came back inside looking worried.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s a guy out there just sitting on his Harley. I mean, it’s Bike Week so maybe that’s normal, but I called Dad just in case and made sure the guy saw me on my phone.”
I scurried to the window and peeked through the blinds.
The guy had his back to the house now, and his Devil Lancer patch couldn’t be missed.
“I really wish you hadn’t called Uncle Cal.”
“Why?”
I gave her a dry look. “Dad’s gonna swing by here now, and lose his mind all over again because that isn’t just some guy. He’s a Devil Lancer and my hunch is that Steel had him follow me home since he’d asked me to stay the night last night.”
Her eyes widened. “That should be good news. Why’d you come home?”
I chuckled but it sounded hollow. “He doesn’t want the baby. I guess you could say I stayed part of the night there since I didn’t get home until after four. He can’t be mad about that. This is overkill.”
“Oh, honey. I had no idea. He didn’t ask you to get an abortion, did he?”
“No, so that’s a relief.”
Before I could grab my phone, I heard the distinct sound of two Harleys coming down the street.
Alexandra stood at the window. “Oh, good. Dad’s here… and you were right. Your dad’s here too, and getting in this guy’s face.”
“What?” I asked hurrying to her side.
“I’m kidding, but he’s definitely having words with that guy.”
To my dismay, another bike roared up the street and I got my first look at Steel on his bike. I thought he couldn’t get any sexier, but I was dead wrong. He wasn’t wearing a helmet and his wavy hair had an incredibly sexy, wind-blown look to it. His eyes were hidden behind his dark-tinted wrap-around sunglasses.
“This just got awkward,” Alexandra said, turning to me.
“No thanks to you,” I muttered.
She chuckled. “I didn’t know. I’m getting out of here, now, so give me a hug.”
After a brief hug, I walked her to the door. She lugged her suitcase to her car. I followed her out, but stopped short on the narrow sidewalk outside the house.
Unlike Dad and Uncle Cal, Steel had pulled his bike up the drive and parked it behind my car.
Uncle Cal broke away from the huddle between Dad, the other Devil Lancer and Steel. He put Alexandra’s bag in her trunk and aimed a look at me. “You need to get back inside.”
I tossed a hand out toward the curb. “They don’t need to be arguing in the middle of the street.”
“They aren’t arguing.”
Steel tipped his head at the other Devil Lancer, turned on his heel and stalked up the drive way.
“Go inside and lock the door,” Uncle Cal said.
“She has nothing to fear from me, Callous.”
I didn’t think I had anything to say to Dad or Steel, so I turned and went in the house. Steel was right on my heels and followed me inside. I started to close the door and saw Dad coming up the walk.
“Is Uncle Cal coming too?” I asked Dad.
“No. Shut the fuckin’ door,” Dad said after he came inside.
I didn’t like his tone, but I closed the door.
“I’ll tell you what I told Warden. She doesn’t need your fuck-ups leading a threat right to her!” Dad shouted.
“Dad!”
Steel locked eyes with me. “He isn’t wrong. Nothing but dumb luck kept Warden out of a raid.”
“You don’t make any sense, Steel. Told her you don’t want the baby, but now you’re protecting her, as if you’ve claimed her, even though you haven’t.”
Well, Mom had a big mouth. She’d called me at eight-thirty demanding to know when I was going to hunt Steel down. I’d shared that I’d already done it late last night and he didn’t want the baby.
His eyes widened. “I said I wouldn’t do parenthood again. Not the same as not wanting the child.”
Dad’s nostrils flared and his eyes slid from Steel to me and back to Steel. “She’s my daughter and part of the Riot – we’ll keep her safe.”
Steel smiled. “And so will I. Two MCs protecting her are better than one. She’ll be well taken care of.”
I blew out an exasperated breath. “Okay, since you’ve forgotten I’m standing here, nobody has actually threatened me.”
Dad’s dry look spoke volumes.
Steel opened his mouth to speak, but I held up my hand. “Fine. A rival MC won’t tell me they’re going to fuck me up, they’ll just do it. But nobody’s—”
“Word gets around, Jade. Hell, other MCs fuck with our club bunnies in an effort to fuck with me.”
Dad inhaled through his nose, and I suspected the comment about club bunnies bothered him like it did me.
“Fuckin’ hate this,” Dad muttered.
Steel chuckled. “It’s good I’m not contrary.”
“Seriously?” I asked.
His eyes were remorseful, but I was done. “Both of you leave. I’ve got a gun and I’m capable of taking care of myself and my lime-sized peanut.”
I stormed out of the room, but only got as far as the mouth of the hall before Steel caught my bicep in a firm grip.
“Don’t be that way.”
My lips pressed together. I stared down at his hand on my arm and up at him. “Don’t be an overbearing Neanderthal and I won’t have to be that way.”
He chuckled.
“Are you laughing?”
He failed to clear his expression. In fact, his smile grew wider. “Never.”
“There’s nothing funny.”
“‘Lime-sized peanut?’”
I fought a smile. “You had to be there.”
He pressed his lips together. “Wish I had been, Jade.”
The moment felt like a bubble growing between us.
Until Dad cut through it like a knife. “Are you leaving yet?” he asked.
Steel cocked a brow at him. “I know she’s your daughter, but she’s an adult. No need to see me out of her space.”
Dad low-key glared at me.
I shrugged. “It’s fine, Dad.”
“It isn’t,” he fumed.
After a moment I understood and shook my head. “That isn’t happening, Dad. And just to say, I can’t get more pregnant.”
Dad spoke through clenched teeth. “Not fuckin’ funny, Simone.”
I twisted my hands up. “If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry. So… sorry, not sorry.”
“Give me a hug before I leave.”
I closed the door behind Dad after hugging him.
Steel hadn’t moved from the mouth of the hall where he’d stopped me earlier. He stood there, his straight white teeth pressing into his lip.
After a groaning sigh, he said, “I’m not taking Warden or Jackhammer off you.”
“Who’s Jackhammer? Dad only mentioned Warden.”
He had his arms crossed, and it accentuated how hot he was in his cut. “They’re both brothers from Jacksonville. Get used to them.”
“I don’t need—”
“Non-negotiable, Jade.”
My lips twisted to the side to hide my confusion.
“What’s that look for?”
“I’m wondering why you had to bite your lip when thinking about my protection detail.”
He dropped his arms and stepped toward me. “If I’m thinking about you, it’s always a struggle.”
“Right,” I muttered.
The sexiest smolder hit his eyes. “It is right. I struggle to keep my hands, my lips, and other parts of me away from you.”
My chin dipped and I shot him a skeptical look. “You’re besting that challenge as we speak.”
He laughed and came two steps closer. Four feet separated us. The more I stared at him, the more my breasts tingled… and I felt the same struggle.
My more rational side reminded me that saying there was a difference between not wanting parenthood and not wanting the baby was bullshit. A baby and parenthood went hand in hand.
I had to keep that at the forefront of my mind because it meant more than this crazy attraction.
“You raising the baby in a college town?” Steel asked.
I shook my head. “I’m moving into a place in Jacksonville next week.”
He stroked his chin. “Your parents going to help out?”
I shrugged. “I guess. We haven’t talked about that yet.”
“Yeah,” he whispered.
That single whispered word held so much regret, but then how could it?
“You don’t want parenthood again, so what do you care?”
“Fuck,” he hissed. “Because part of me nearly asked you to move to Augusta. But that’s also because I can’t control myself around you.”
I laughed. “Again, you’re managing quite well.”
He shook his head. “You don’t need an asshole like me fucking up your life. Or, fucking it up further.”
I tilted my head. “A baby doesn’t fuck up someone’s life, Steel.”
His brows shot up. “It does when that baby is used against someone. To get child support, to force me to bend to some other club’s demands.”
I stepped toward him. “Has someone threatened our unborn baby?”
Those gorgeous brown eyes shone with malice. “No, they did it to Jordan when he was five fuckin’ years old.”
I heard Jordan’s bitter voice in my head, “Dad left when I was five.”
Another piece fell into place, and I realized I had been right. I’d told Jordan no decent biker would abandon his kid without reason.
Steel narrowed his eyes at me. “That doesn’t fucking faze you?”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t say that, but let’s say some of Jordan’s attitude makes sense now, especially if he hasn’t heard that from you. Because that pain is right there in your tone.”
“Leave Jordan out of this.”
That pain in his voice – I wanted to hunt down Jordan’s mom and throat punch her.
“Fair enough. To sum up, you don’t want our baby—”
“Didn’t say that.”
“Same thing. But your rationale is because of a yet-to-happen threat. The threat of a threat, if you will.”
He widened his eyes. “You’re my son’s ex-girlfriend and twenty years younger than me.”
“The ‘ex’ means it’s over and age is just a number.”
He shook his head. “It’s still wrong.”
I arched a brow. “Funny, it wasn’t wrong back in December.”
“Simone.”
“Now, I’m Simone.”
“No, now you ought to be bent over my knee getting spanked for that sass.”
My lips tipped up. “If only you had the energy, old man.”
His hands settled on his hips. “You’re goading me.”
“You aren’t the only one struggling.”
He closed his eyes and sighed.
I tiptoed to him, cupped his cheeks, and touched my lips to his.
He grabbed my hands and whispered against my lips, “Jade.”
“What?”
“This has to be the last time.”
“Second to last time,” I countered.
His eyes narrowed.
“You got stamina. I want you twice for sure, three times if you can hack it.”
His arms locked around me and he crushed my body to his. “I can hack it, woman.” One of his hands reached for his back pocket. “I only have one condom.”
I leaned back an inch. “I can’t get more pregnant and my tests are all clear. Have you been with anyone else?”
He shook his head.
“Then who needs a condom?”
“You’re evil.”
I smiled. “Not what you said the first night. Then, I was a goddess.”
He returned my smile, but his was wicked. “Not all goddesses are good, sweetheart.”
“I’ll take your word for it. What are you waiting for?”
His arm gave me a squeeze. “A bolt of lightning to knock some sense into me.”
I slid my hand down his body. His jeans bulged with his erection and I stroked it. “Do you know how many times I wished I’d woken you up that morning?”
He stopped my stroking, except he held my hand there, pressing it harder against him.
I gazed up at him. “You wanted that, too?”
“Stood in the bathroom doorway, staring at you like a fuckin’ stalker, at three in the morning. Talked myself out of waking you up.”
My other hand tugged his shirt free of his jeans.
His body stilled. “I should resist you.”
I stared up at him. “The door is right behind me. However, you sure like pressing my hand to your cock.”
“Is your pussy wet for me?” he asked, his voice husky.
I shook my head.
“I can check.”
I smirked. “It isn’t wet. It’s soaked and aching.”
He shrugged off his cut and tossed it over the top of the couch. I shoved his shirt up and he pulled it over his head. His body was divine. I nipped at his chest while my fingers fumbled with his jeans.
His hands pushed inside my panties from behind, rubbing his palms on my ass. He shoved one hand farther and his middle finger skated through my folds.
I gasped and pushed my ass out to get more.
“How could I forget how greedy you are?” he rasped.
I yanked my shirt off, took a step back, and lost my sleep-shorts and panties. “Very greedy.”
I pushed on the button of his jeans, but he swatted me away.
“Let me look at you.”
I dipped my chin. “Needs to be a two-way street, Steel.”
He undid his jeans, but left them hanging open.
I decided he’d seen enough and dropped to my knees. In no time, I had my lips around the crown of his cock. I managed two bobs before he hauled me to my feet. He toed out of his boots. Then he stepped out of his jeans and underwear. He picked me up. My legs wrapped around his hips.
I tilted my hips to rub him against my pussy. “Oh my God, Steel. Hurry.”
“Patience, greedy girl.”
With a growl, I put my mouth to his neck and sucked.
“Keep that up, you’ll get double spankings.”
I chuckled and kept at him.
“Yeah, my girl loves to be naughty.”
I loved hearing him call me ‘my girl.’ My hips moved again.
He put his hand to my ass cheek. “You don’t stop, I’ll fuck you against the wall.”
“Yes, please.”
He growled and my back hit a cold wall.
His mouth found mine and he kissed me like it was the last kiss he could ever have.
Finally, I felt his tip line up and I tore my lips free. “Fuck me, Steel.”
He pushed inside further. “This will be really fucking fast, woman. But after that, you’re in trouble because I’m gonna fuck you all afternoon and into the night.”
I squeezed my legs around his waist. “I’m holding you to those promises. Show me what you’ve got, Steel.”
His hips bucked and his thick cock drove inside. I exhaled with sheer pleasure.
He nipped at my neck and I moaned.
His hips pulled back for a second before he thrust forward. “God, you’re fuckin’ tight. You feel even better than before. I love it.”
He kissed me and picked up his pace. I wished I could meet his thrusts, but in this position, I had to hold on and enjoy what he gave me.
His feet shifted and he fucked me harder. He started grinding at the end of his thrusts and I felt my orgasm building. He broke the kiss, cupped one of my breasts and lowered his mouth to my nipple. He dragged it through his teeth and sensation shot through my body.
“Yes,” I hissed.
I drove my fingers into his hair.
“Missed that,” he groaned.
I kissed him and he bucked his hips faster.
“Get there, Simone,” he whispered against my lips.
That wasn’t likely to work, but then he swiveled his hips and thrust harder. He dropped his head to my other breast and ran his teeth over that nipple. The sensations ripped through me again and I came.
He gave a shout as he came not long after.
I liked feeling him come inside me. If I were honest with myself, I liked it too much. I ignored that and kissed him.
He unwrapped my legs and put me down. “You showered yet?”
“No, is there a problem?”
He traced his finger down my neck and between my breasts. “Nope. We’re gonna shower together.”
I stepped out of the bathroom and drank in the sight of Steel in the bed. The sheets rested at his belly button, and his tattoos had my fingers itching to trace them.
He smirked at me. “Are you just gonna stare at me? Isn’t that what you asked me back in December?”
“Sounds like something I’d say, but yeah. I could just stare at you.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “As long as you do it standing there naked, that works.”
I chuckled silently and wandered back to the bed. He reached out and pulled me to him under the covers. “I’m starving. I don’t know if I’m keeping you from serious club business, but—”
“We’ll Doordash whatever you want.”
I bit my lip. “For being so worried about the threat of a threat, aren’t you paranoid someone will tamper with your food?”
He gave me a slight smile. “In Georgia, absolutely. Here, I’m just another biker.”
I swirled my index finger around a tribal tattoo that resembled the rim of his Harley’s front tire. “A psycho Doordasher gets a pick up for two orders, he could poison both and come back to fuck with you.”
He rolled on top of me. “Are you trying to make me more paranoid?”
I smiled. “Nope. Just saying, the extra protection is just being… extra .”
“I’ll show you being extra with my cock.”
I laughed. “You did that twice already.”
His eyes were hypnotizing. “And I want to do it two more times.”
“If you feed me, you can. Actually, I can feed both of us. Lex picked up stuff for tacos if you want.”
His hand drifted down my body to my center. “This is the only taco I want.”
I rolled my eyes. “So original, that one.”
He grinned. “We’ll eat whatever you want, Jade. I’ll even cook for you, but I’m a terror in the kitchen.”
“A terror?”
He settled more of his weight on me. “Burn shit, spill it, you name it and it’s hit or miss if the damned food is edible.”
I nodded. “All righty. Not a culinary master.”
“Who’s Lex?” he asked.
“Alexandra. She left when you showed up.”
He nodded. “Gotcha. You enjoy pissing off your Dad?”
“That’s random.”
“Volt doesn’t want you with me. Why not send me packing?”
I wriggled out from under him and sat up. “Believe it or not, the only people who have anything to do with this are me and you.” I hesitated – unsure if I should share so much. “It’s insane how attracted I am to you. I’ve never been like this and it’s not the pregnancy hormones. That night at Pi House… I could have spent all night with you and that was before we went to your room. I didn’t want it to end.”
He shifted to his side and stared up at me. “But you walked out.”
“Because goodbyes suck and I’d have embarrassed myself by being clingy or something weak like that.”
He chuckled. “I’d almost like to see you being clingy.”
“Anyway, you can go if you need to or you can stay. You don’t want fatherhood again, but as long as you aren’t going to ask or insist that I get rid of—”
He sat up. “Never.”
I nodded. “Okay. Then I’ll figure it out.”
“Fuck,” he hissed.
“What?”
He tipped his head back, the strong column of his throat tempting me. He looked at me. “I don’t want you to ‘figure it out.’ But I won’t be the reason another kid hates my guts when all I’m trying to do is keep my child safe.”
That made sense.
If there were an actual threat.
“You know, I’m hell on wheels when people threaten me, too.”
“Don’t be cute right now.”
“I’m not being cute. I’m nothing like Jordan’s mom.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” he demanded.
Uh-oh . I’d done it now.
“I heard you and Jordan talking yesterday.”
He cocked his head to the side. “You didn’t get near my camper yesterday.”
I pulled the sheet up and covered my chest – for some stupid reason, this wasn’t something I wanted to admit while naked. “Abby and I snuck around the back and were hanging out by the hitch.”
“Eavesdropping?”
My head wobbled, and I pressed my lips together. “It wasn’t cool. Hell, I don’t know why I let Aunt Abby lead me back there, but she insisted we get closer.”
His eyes narrowed. “You heard the whole conversation?”
I shook my head. “Just the part where Jordan wanted money, and you wanted him to know where his real dad happened to be.”
He had such a stony expression, it was equal parts admirable and disturbing. I suspected he was mad, but if so, he was damned good at hiding it. Or he had quiet anger, and that scared me the most.
My stomach growled, and he stared down at the sheet. “Let’s get you fed.”
“Are you mad?” I asked.
He yanked the sheet down. “Very, but more at my men. The two of you shouldn’t have been able to get back there.”
“Why are you mad at me?”
He snorted. “Because you put yourself in danger. Considering that Abby’s Blood’s property, it would have sparked trouble between two clubs.”
“What do you mean?”
“If my men had been doing their job, they’d have rounded the two of you up and they’d have been damned rough about it.”
I grabbed the sheet, but his hand stilled my movement. I looked at him. “To be fair, there was a lumberjack of a man who came around, but we got out of there and lost him.”
His hand moved to my breast. “I will punish you for that, beautiful.”
I liked hearing him call me that. “Okay,” I whispered.
He squeezed me. “You might not like it. In fact, I hope you don’t like it.”
“Why?”
“Only way punishment sinks in.”
“Can I beg forgiveness?”
He grinned. “Too late, and you’re not reading between the lines, woman. Nothing that I think should bother you does, so my guess is tying you up won’t bother you, either.”
I dragged my lip between my teeth. “Tying me to a bed or tying me to a chair?”
“What do you think?” he asked, gently pinching my nipple.
After a stilted exhale, I smiled. “Yeah. I’ve never done that, so… I probably wouldn’t like it.”
He leaned closer, running his nose alongside mine. “You’re a shit liar when it comes to sex, baby.”
I brushed his lips with mine. “I’ll have to work on that.”
His hand slid around to my waist, he fell to his back pulling me on top of him. “No, you don’t. But I like the idea of you begging.”
I had my hands on his shoulders and pushed up, but he kept me from going very far. “You want me to beg?”
His cock pushed inside me just a little. “No, beautiful. I’m going to make you beg.”
I shook my head. “No, you won’t.”
He laughed. “Oh, those are bold words, Jade. You forget how greedy you are?”
I sunk down on him further. “Nope.”
Fire burned through my ass when he spanked me. I gasped and glared down at him, but it held no heat. Crazy as it made me, I wanted another spanking.
“How’d you get your road name?” I asked once I situated myself next to him after I cleaned up.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Sure, it does.”
Silence lingered between us.
“You aren’t going to tell me about your road name, are you?”
“Nope.”
“You know, whatever I make up in my mind is going to be a thousand times worse than the actual story.”
“No, it won’t.”
I stared at him. “What? You bludgeoned someone with a steel pipe?
His eyes slid to the side, and he shook his head. “Not telling you, Jade. No need for me to make you more jaded.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “But you’ve killed someone, I take it.”
His eyes narrowed. “You are so blasé. You should run the other direction from me, to think, let alone know, that I’ve done something like that.”
“You’re an outlaw. You aren’t going to follow the rules.”
“Never thought an MC princess would be my gig. You’re cool with a cold-blooded killer in your bed?”
“I don’t think you realize how early I became an MC princess. Since I could talk, I’ve loved motorcycles and everything about them. Hell, it’s why Dad insisted I leave for college. He probably knew I’d find a brother who was a president, or about to become the chapter president.”
“You don’t think your dad knows what’s best for you?”
I nodded. “It’s more like he thinks he knows. But the truth is, between him and my mom, I was born to be a president’s old lady, when the time is right.”