Chapter 5
“You gotta give me something, Jimmer.” Kathrine Consuela taps her manicured nails on the table impatiently.
“I know that, and I appreciate your patience but it ain’t easy.” I shake my head.
“I’ve got people on my back, if I don’t start making some progress they will take me off the case and you lose the chance I’m giving you to save your club. I’m trying to help you, here.”
“See, that”s good of you, but what I’m strugglin’ with is, why?” I stare at her while I wait for an answer.
“You can’t just take a hand out, can you?” She shakes her head at me, and it only confirms the suspicion I have that she doesn’t wanna tell me what that reason is.
“Not when it comes from an ATF officer with everythin’ to lose. No, I can’t.”
“I told you, Burlusconi wants to protect you.”
“And you’re on his payroll?” Of course, I know this already from talking to him myself, but I wanna see if she’s gonna be honest with me.
“The deal I have with Burlusconi is between him and me, the deal I make with you is between us.” She shrugs and I swear I see a little seduction behind her mask of authority.
“I’m workin’ on it,” is all I’m prepared to give her right now.
“Why not just give me Cliff Adams? He’s the cause of all this?” she suggests.
“Because he’ll rat and because I’ve promised his soul to someone else. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m a man of my word.” I give her the truth because it’s all I have.
“So, how do you suggest I shut this down, Jimmer?” She stands up from the cheap, plastic chair in the corner of the motel room and when I shrug back at her, she moves toward the window.
“You know, the people who work here probably think we meet each other here to fuck.” She surprises me when she changes the subject, her finger pulling down one of the blind slats so she can look out onto the parking lot. “Isn’t that what most people do when they meet up in a motel room in the middle of the day?” She looks back at me over her shoulder.
“You askin’ me to fuck ya, darlin’?” I somehow manage to find a little humor in the very serious situation I’m in.
“Don’t flatter yourself. I prefer my men a little more sophisticated.” Her nails drag over my leather cut as she passes me toward the door and opens it.
“I’m prepared to help you save your club, Jimmer, but I won’t sacrifice my career for it.” She has a cocky-as-shit look on her face as she slightly tilts her head and gestures for me to leave, and it sets off a trigger she’s gonna wish she never pulled.
I move toward her like I’m about to do what she wants, but before I leave, I take the arch of my hand and pin her to the wall behind her, kicking the door shut with my foot and glaring into her wide, shocked eyes.
“I think you forget who you”re talkin’ to. I could snap your neck and make ya disappear,” I warn, and her shock quickly fades into that clever grin again.
“You can make me disappear, but not your problem,” she reminds me.
“I told you I’ll fix it, I just need you to give me some more time.” I grip her a little tighter so her pulse picks up. “And, Kathrine, just for the record…” I slide my free hand into the waistband of her pencil skirt, watching her eyebrows raise and her mouth fall open when I dip it into her panties and let my middle finger slide between her pussy lips. It confirms another one of my suspicions
“Sophisticated men don’t make pussies weep like this.” I wait for her to gasp before dragging my soaked finger away and trailing it all the way around the ‘o’ shape her lips have made. Then, leaving her stunned, I see myself out and head for my bike.
* * *
“Where were ya?” Jessie looks at me curiously when I step back into the clubhouse an hour later.
“I just had to run some errands.” I shrug him off and take the beer Marilyn hands me.
“You ain’t supposed to ride alone. Where was Troj?”
“Troj has got his own issues to be dealin’ with right now,” I snap. Jessie’s sister bringing an abandoned kid to my club is typical of her kind nature, but it doesn’t come without its risks. Having him here could bring a lot of unwanted heat if the authorities found out.
“Then you should have asked me to come with ya.” My VP looks hurt. “Nyx and Brax headed out to pick up those guys who work for the loan shark Joanne owes. They should be back in about an hour.”
“And where is our mother of the year?” I ask, starting to feel the pressure of all this ATF shit taking its toll on me. Right now, I can only see one conclusion to this and I know for a fact my VP is gonna fight me on it. That’s the reason he can’t know about it just yet.
“She’s up in the cabin lookin’ after Dylan and Sophia.” It shocks me a little to hear that, but what shocks me even more is how much I like the idea of it.
“Good, make our guests comfortable in the basement when they get here. And don’t get started without me.” I head back out the bar and up to the cabins so I can face what I’ve been avoiding since Ella’s party.
I’m taken back for the second time today when I let myself into her cabin and find her sitting on the floor and playing with Sophia. It almost seems as if Joanne’s feeling at home here.
“Where’s Dylan?” I look around the room for my grandson.
“Grandma got trumped by Charlie and Gabriel. Riley took them to the park to kick a ball around.” She smiles.
“Is this little one behavin’ herself?” I gesture my eyes toward Sophia, knowing that she’s a real handful now that she’s running around.
“She’s a good girl, just like her mama was at this age.” Joanne looks down at her fondly.
“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t know much about that, would I?” I take the opportunity to get a dig in and watch the disappointment flood her smile as she stands on her feet.
“Jimmer, I appreciate you letting me stay here, and I’m sorry for what happened. But you have to understand that, back then, I was doing what I thought was right.”
“For you maybe, but not for our daughter.” I have to disagree. “I’d have taken ca… You know what? It doesn’t matter, the past is the past and my girl is where she needs to be now.” I shake my head and try to move past it. I can hate on Joanne all I want, but it won’t change anything.
“I did love you, you know. It wasn’t an easy choice to make,” she blurts out, looking at me like she’s fulla regret. It don’t seem like much of a consolation for all the years I spent wishing I had her.
“I don’t wanna talk about it. I came here to ask you about the men ya borrowed from. I need to know how deep you’re in.” I move on to what’s important right now.
“I’m pretty deep.” She stiffens her posture and blushes the same way she used to back in the day when she was clinging to her pride.
“Gimme a figure.”
“$250,000,” she mumbles under her breath, and I can’t do a thing to hide my shock.
“$250,000? How the fuck did ya run that up?”
“They didn’t seem to have a limit on what I could borrow and I needed it. I needed that lifestyle, Jimmer. It was all I had left.”
“Jesus, Joanne.” I shake my head and look up at the ceiling.
“Do you know what I’m gonna have to do to write off that kinda money? I’m gonna have to make people fuckin’ dead.” I give it to her straight.
“Won’t be the first time.” The tiny hint of a smile that lifts onto her lips almost makes me weak.
“Don’t do that,” I warn her. “Being cute ain’t gonna get you outta this, you ain’t nineteen anymore.”
“Jimmer, I know I fucked up and I appreciate all you’re doing for me.” She tries the humble approach but I won’t fall victim to this woman again.
“I’ll deal with it, but as soon as this is over. I want ya gone.” I take the time to crouch down and kiss my granddaughter before I storm toward the door.
“Do you ever think about how it might have been?” Her words stop me dead on the spot and force me to turn around. “You know… if I hadn’t made the choice I did?” She lifts her shoulders.
I’ll never admit to this woman how many times I’ve thought about it and as she walks toward me, I have to pull all my restraint together.
“You blew my mind, I wanted you in such a desperate way that nothing else mattered. I did love you, Jimmer.” She repeats those same words she hit me with earlier. “Hate me now all you want, but never doubt that.”
“Well, ain’t ya lookin’ pretty.” I look up at the Miss Manitou Springs float and see Joanne sitting on her throne. The long, blue sequin dress she’s wearing clings tight to her body, and the silver crown on her head makes her a complete contradiction to the girl who was in my bar drinking vodka a few nights ago.
“What are you doing here?” Her eyes dart around us and the panic on her face makes me laugh.
“We’re leading the procession, darlin’.” I pull on my leather gloves and try not to be distracted by the long leg that the slit in her dress reveals. It’s more classy than it is slutty, and I’m all about it.
“Your club?” Her eyes stretch open.
“That surprise ya?”
“Yeah, it surprises me. You’re… outlaws,” she whispers, still clearly paranoid about someone seeing us talking together.
“Not today. Today, we’re bike enthusiasts, and we’re raising funds for the new school mini-van.” I wink before I slide my sunglasses over my eyes and walk past the rest of the floats to join my brothers at the front.
“Hey, ain’t Miss Manito–”
“Yep.” I cut Vex off and take my saddle. Then starting up my engine, I lead the procession through our town.
* * *
It’s dark and the streets are crowded with people still celebrating when Joanne joins me outside the bar, where I’m standing to watch the fireworks display.
“Town went all out this year.” She looks up and watches the colors explode in the sky, and suddenly the fireworks ain’t my focus, watching the different colors reflect against her milky skin and the way her eyes stretch in wonder at them is so much more intriguing.
“So, Miss Manitou Springs, huh?” I balance my cigarette between my lips so I can straighten her crown when I notice it’s tipped.
“Just following in my mother’s footsteps.” She smiles sadly. “It was expected of me, and I’m pretty sure it”s the only reason I won.”
“Nah, I don’t think that.” I shake my head in disagreement.
“You don’t know me,” she points out, turning her head from the display so she can focus on me.
“True, but I can tell ya got certain qualities that would’ve put that crown on ya head.”
“What kind of qualities?” She laughs at me, her glossy lips so ripe it makes it impossible not to crave them.
“Strength, determination. I’ll bet you”re not the kinda girl to take no for an answer.”
“You”re right about that.” She does a quick check of our surroundings, before taking my hand in hers and rushing us toward the alley that runs down the side of my bar.
“What are ya doin’?” I ask once she’s pulled me into the shadows.
“You’ll see.” Despite the fact she’s wearing heels, she still has to stretch up on her toes for our lips to touch. Her delicate hands frame my face to hold me still as she gives them to me, and I feel all the blood rush to my head.
She kisses me, deep, her tongue rolling around mine, making me desperate for more, and I savor the way it feels because I’ve been wondering about it since that first night she came to my bar.
“You got a lot of nerve draggin’ me down here,” I warn her when she eventually pulls away.
“So, what have you got?” She bites her lip like she just laid down a challenge, and I decide to stop holding back and fuckin’ show her. Grabbing her by her shoulders I spin her around and slam her back against the cold, stone wall, then finding that hot, little slit in her pretty, sequin dress, I tear it open all the way to the top of her thigh and slide my hand into her panties. I read her face for any sign of fear or a signal for me to stop, but the bratty bitch just smiles like she’s getting exactly what she wants.
“I’ll ruin ya,” I warn as I stroke between her pussy lips
“Do your worst,” she dares, and I knock the smile off her face when I push two of my thick fingers inside her. Her eyes close and her mouth falls open as I fuck her clamped-tight pussy with my fingers, imagining how incredible it’s gonna feel to have my cock inside her.
“You’re so fuckin’ tight. My cock would destroy ya,” I growl into her ear as I crush her neatly curled hair into the wall behind her.
“Try it,” she dares, her lips touching against the skin on my neck while her fingers fist at my hair too. “I want you inside me, Jimmer Carson. I want to be ruined by you.” She’s so damn wet and that, combined with her words, makes the temptation to take her far too fuckin’ hard to resist. Pulling out my fingers I quickly unbuckle my belt, forcing my jeans down to my knees so I can get my cock where it needs to be.
“You sure, darlin’?” I give her one last warning before I give her what she thinks she wants and when she nods back at me, the glint in her eyes is almost as bright as the fireworks exploding in the sky above us.
I ground myself and savor another moment as I slowly push inside her. She moans as her tight body battles to resist me, and my growl is far too loud when her throbbing pussy holds me like a prisoner.
Her nails dig deeper into my skin when I start to move, thrusting my hips back and forth, letting her squeeze the fuckin’ life outta my cock and enjoying every second of it. She looks like she’s in pain and as much as I don’t like being the cause of it, I can’t deny how beautiful it looks on her.
I stifle her cries when I clamp my hand over her mouth. We can’t have Miss Manitou Springs getting caught being fucked by the outlaw biker. That thought and the thrill in her eyes has me off-loading inside her way before I intended to. I drop my head onto her shoulder while I catch my breath and steady her back onto her feet. When I look back up and see the tears in her eyes they make me feel real fuckin’ guilty. This girl may have a whole lotta sass, but she’s young and naive. She’s bound to expect way more than I can give her after this and I don’t make it my business to go around hurting innocent girls.
“You okay?” I check.
“I’m fine. That was…” She searches for words, but the smile on her face tells me everything I need to know.
“Come on, ya can’t go home like that.” I glance down at her ripped dress. “Let’s see if the girls have somethin’ you can throw on.” Taking her hand in mine, I lead her through the side door into the bar and guide her straight up the stairs to my room. “You stay there. I’ll only be a few.” I leave her in my room so I can go in search of something for her to wear and, luckily, I bump into Kelly on my way downstairs. I task her with finding something suitable while I head to the bathroom to take a slash, and when I take out my cock and notice the red streaks of blood staining it, guilt and fury hit me like a truckload of shit.
I do what I came in here to do, before bursting through the doors and back up to my room.
“Why the hell didn’t ya tell me?” I yell at Joanne when I find her sitting on the edge of my bed. Her eyes become wide and fearful when she sees how mad I am, and she backs up the mattress until her shoulders hit the headboard.
“T-t-tel-l-l you what?” she manages.
“That you were a fuckin’ virgin!” I fist my hair and try to tamp down my frustration. I have no idea why this is provoking such a reaction from me. If anything, it should appeal to me that no other man has had her.
“Would it have mattered?” She shrugs, looking worried and a helluva lot more innocent than the girl I just fucked against a side alley wall.
“Yes, Joanne, it would’ve mattered. For a start, I wouldn’t have fucked ya up some scummy wall.” I notice the way her lips raise into a dreamy little smile, that’s as dangerous as it is cute.
“But you’d have still done it?” she questions.
“No… I… I mean, I don’t know. I would’ve thought a little more about it for sure,” I point out. Suddenly realizing why I’m so mad. It’s because I would have done it differently. This girl’s first time should have been something special, and the fact I’m even thinking that way proves that I fuckin’ care far too much about her.
“What would you have done? Laid me down on a bed of roses?” Now she’s laughing and it’s the most irritatingly beautiful sound I ever heard.
“This ain’t a joke. What I did to you out there… I thought, from the way you act, you at least had some experience. I…” I’m speechless and that don’t happen all too often.
“Well, you’ve officially corrupted me, now I guess I’m going to hell.” I like that her confidence is back and she doesn’t look afraid anymore. I don’t like the fact I just stole a fuckin’ moment from her that she’ll never get back.
“Joanne.” I scrub my hand over my face. “That shouldn’t have been like that. Not for your first time. I must have hurt ya.”
“Yeah, it hurt, but isn’t that normal? Carol told me the first time she did it—” I move fast, slamming my hand over her mouth to silence her.
“I don’t wanna know about Carol”s first time. I don’t fuckin’ care about that. What I care about is…” I almost say it. I almost tell her that for some reason I care about her. “I’m sorry.” I swallow thickly.
“It’s my fault maybe I should have told you but I was embarrassed and…” She sighs, “I wanted you that way. I didn’t want you to be put off by it, or treat me gently like everyone else in my life does. I like the way I feel when I’m around you.”
“I ain’t the kinda man to be usin’ as your little rebellion, darlin’. I’m a dangerous person and I do real dangerous things.”
“I like that too.” She wets her lips with her tongue and makes the temptation to take them even harder to resist, especially now that I know how they taste.
The door knocks and when Kelly steps inside with some folded-up jeans and a sweater, she looks surprised to see the pretty, little pageant queen on my bed.
“Thank you.” Joanne smiles at her gratefully before she places them on the side unit and leaves.
“You wanna take a shower and then head downstairs for a drink?” I ask, letting my thumb trail over her bottom lip.
“Is this the part where you put me in another woman”s clothes and have someone take me home?” She smiles at me.
“It should be,” I admit before I kiss her the way I should have when I stole her innocence. At the same time, trying to block out the fact that I’m happy I was this poor girl’s first. It means she’ll never forget me, and that wherever we go from here, she’ll always be mine.