Chapter Twenty
T aylynn couldn’t help the grin that covered her face. Because of her helmet, she was the only one who knew about it, but the sun on her skin, the vibrations of the bike beneath her and the sense of freedom that came from being on the back of Raven’s bike made her heart sing in a way she hadn’t felt in longer than she cared to think about.
She pushed all thoughts of anything unpleasant out of her mind and vowed to herself that all that mattered was here and now. The wind in her face, the sun on her skin, the man in her arms. That’s where her mind got stuck, kind of. The man. Raven.
What was it about him? He’d been nothing but kind and patient to her. Which as much as she hated to think about it, she knew she needed. She never thought the men of a club, any club, would be as nice, as kind, as respectful as they’d been to her. She thought she’d be going from one bad situation to another but the Fallen Angels had surprised her.
She looked around, taking in the town as they rode through it. She didn’t know if she’d ever been to Craven’s Creek before. If she had, it hadn’t been since she was a kid. Nothing looked familiar, but if she’d been a kid she wouldn’t have paid much attention to the town. She’d have had her nose in a book as Mama drove, or her dad, though most of the time it was Mama, even if Dad had been along.
She blinked, pushing the useless thoughts aside. The only one of the Angels she could see was Diesel, as he was the only one who rode in front of Raven, so his was the only colors she could see. Listening to what went on around her over the last few weeks had taught her that the Angels called their vests with the patches colors. She liked that term. It was so much better than the rag that the Demons had called them. In her mind it showed more respect for the club, for the brotherhood, and that was far more what the Angels seemed than the Demons had. The Demons had felt like a gang of ruffians, bad guys who got together and did bad things. Each one egging on the other to do worse than the one before.
While she hadn’t been around them long, she didn’t see that with the Angels. Sure, they jumped when Raven gave an order but since he was the president, that was to be expected. It was other things that told her more about their character than just how they treated each other.
As they left town, Raven cranked up the speed. Taylynn tilted her head back and let the feel of the wind tugging at her, the sensation of the bike rumbling beneath her and the warmth of the man riding in front of her carry away all her cares. This had been what she needed.
****
N early two hours after they’d left, Raven pulled the bike back into the yard at the clubhouse. He backed it into line then killed the engine. They sat for a few seconds then he pulled off his helmet and set it on the tank in front of him before laying one hand on her knee where it still rested beside his hip.
“You okay, little one?” He turned his head until she could see one eye aimed at her from the corner of his eye.
“Yeah. Just taking a minute before I climb off. That was amazing. Thank you for taking me.” She swung her leg over the seat and dismounted, then pulled off her helmet and tucked it under her arm. Around them, the rest of the Angels that had ridden with them, backed their bikes into the line where they kept them. She knew without asking that each man had their own spot and no one in their right mind would park their bike in the wrong spot.
“No problem. Why don’t we go see what sounds good for dinner. What do you feel like having?” He made almost the exact same moves she had while getting off the bike, making his jeans hug his ass so well her fingers curled of their own volition. She ached to grip him there and see if his ass was as firm as it looked. Taylynn forced herself to lift her gaze and watch his face as he turned around to face her. She still had to fight the urge to keep her eyes down so she didn’t get slapped for not knowing her place, but Raven had told her he didn’t hold with that kind of bullshit. She was to look at him and when she was up to it, he couldn’t wait until she was giving him hell.
“I don’t know. I hadn’t even thought about food. I was having too much fun to worry about something so normal.” Her face was starting to ache from smiling so much but she felt so good she didn’t care. Today was the best day she could remember having, well, ever. She couldn’t think of a single day in her entire life where she’d felt so free, so happy. Who knew it would take surviving hell to find a little bit of heaven? Not that this place was perfect, but then, neither was she.
“Think about it. How does a good steak sound?” He stepped close, hooking an arm around her waist, turning her toward the clubhouse. She went inside, him right behind her. The hand he kept on the small of her back was both reassuring and at the same time, terrifying. Despite how she kept reminding herself that he wasn’t one of the Demons and he wasn’t like that.
As they made their way inside, she thought about his suggestion. A steak did sound good. A steak with mushrooms, asparagus, and a baked potato sounded even better.
“A steak sounds great. How accommodating do you think the prospects will be?” she said as they stepped inside.
“Depends on how bad they want to please me. What is it you’re wanting?”
She told him her preferences. He called for Hunter and she excused herself for a few minutes. She needed to use the restroom and freshen up a little. As much as she had enjoyed the ride, she was a little stiff and the more she moved around for the next few minutes, the better she would feel.
It only took her a few minutes to use the facilities and run a comb through her hair, making sure the short locks weren’t sticking up in every direction. The short cut had taken a little getting used to but even she had to admit that her hair looked better this way than the ragged, stringy look she’d been sporting when they’d found her.
By the time she went back out to the main room and joined everyone there, everyone had made it in from outside. Several sat around the room with drinks in their hands. A couple of mamas were moving in, trying to get some attention, or give it. Taylynn didn’t care either way as long as she wasn’t expected to be one of them.
She went to the bar and hitched herself up onto one of the stools. More than half were already taken so she chose the one next to Raven rather than a seat with empties on both sides. She still preferred to leave a little distance between herself and others. but she was okay sitting next to the president, especially after spending the last two hours pressed up against his back. He could have made a move, he could have laid hands on her while they were away, but he hadn’t. He’d done nothing to make her uncomfortable and she appreciated that, no matter how much he said it was only the right thing to do.
“What can I get you, babe?” Dax asked from behind the bar.
She glanced up, wondering why Raven had called for Hunter if Dax was right there? Or had she missed something?
“A beer would be nice,” she said, ignoring the babe comment. In the time she’d been there she’d learned that some of the men had nicknames they called women, well, except the mamas, they were just called mama or their names, and while Taylynn knew their names, she preferred to ignore them when possible. That was most of the time.
“What kind?”
“Doesn’t matter, whatever is handy.” Yes, she knew what was in stock and what they kept on hand, she was good with any of it. When she’d first started working behind the bar Raven had set rules. He hadn’t given her exact shifts, but he’d told her she wasn’t allowed to work more than four hours a day and no more than three days straight. She had to take time off. At the time he’d insisted it was because she was still healing, and he didn’t want her overdoing things and hindering her healing. Now, she couldn’t say that wasn’t true, but he’d made a point of spending time with her. Even if it was just sitting in front of a TV with her while she zoned out for a while. And she had to admit, in the beginning, she’d done a lot of that.
“Coming right up.” He reached down and pulled up a bottle, popped the top off and set it in front of her.
Taylin picked it up and tilted it back taking a long pull, then another when she realized how thirsty she actually was. When she set the bottle back on the bar, there was a bottle of water sitting in front of her, too. She frowned at it then glanced up at Dex.
“Know you, babe. If you’re going to drink, you want water, too.”
“Thank you.” She hadn’t asked for it, but he was right. If she drank anything alcoholic, she also kept a bottle of water that she drank at least the same amount from if not more. That he’d paid enough attention to that to know that she’d want water, even if she hadn’t asked for it, touched her.
Over the last several weeks, she’d become fond of most of these guys, though she wouldn’t have gotten on the back of a bike with just any of them, she was glad it had been Raven who’d invited her.
None of the men in this club had hurt her, at least not on purpose. She didn’t count the bruises that had been on her arms after the incident several weeks ago when she’d dropped the bottles and freaked out on Dax. He’d been trying to protect her, not hurt her, and it wasn’t his fault she bruised so easily.
Taylynn sat at the bar sipping from the two bottles Dax had given her and listening to the men talk. She’d long ago learned that men gossiped as much as women, just about different things. Though she knew better than to say that out loud. Instead, she listened, answering questions when someone remembered she was there and tried to include her, but she was just as happy to have them forget she was there.
It wasn’t until Hunter came in the front door carrying a double handful of grocery bags that she realized he’d even left.
“Dax, can you grab the rest of the bags? I’m going to take this stuff in the kitchen and get started,” Hunter said as he left the front door standing wide open and continued on his way.
“Sure thing.” Dax set down the glass he’d just washed on the drain board, grabbed a towel and carried it with him as he headed outside, still leaving the door open. A couple of minutes later he reappeared, another full load of grocery bags in each hand. He kicked the door closed and carried his burden into the kitchen without a word.
“I thought he was cooking,” she said to Raven when she turned to look at him and found him watching her.
“He will, but he needed to get the mushrooms and asparagus for you,”
“That’s a fuck ton of mushrooms and asparagus.” She gave him a wide-eyed look, as if she really believed that was all that was in the bags.
Raven lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “Maybe he decided he needed something else or he wanted to make something different for those who want different sides. Who knows.”
Dax reappeared a few minutes later. He went back out the door, was gone a couple of minutes, then returned again, this time going back behind the bar and resuming his dishwashing.
“What was that?” she asked him, her arms folded on the bar and her chin resting on top of them as she watched him.
“What?”
“Outside. You weren’t gone very long.”
“Oh. I was moving the truck. Hunter parked right in front of the door to unload. I went out and parked it.”
She had wondered before why they didn’t have another door into the kitchen, so they didn’t have to haul everything through the front room, and there was another door but that led to the back yard, and there was no way to pull a truck back there, or at least not one she’d seen. She wouldn’t be surprised if there was some hidden way in and out of the yard that they didn’t use so it remained secret but was there in case there was an attack, and they needed to make a quick escape.
Half an hour after carrying in his large load of groceries, Hunter called for Dax. The other prospect gathered several empty bottles and dropped them in the recycling bin on his way to the kitchen. A couple of minutes later he returned, a plate in each hand.
“Here you are.” He set a plate in front of her and the other on the bar in front of Raven.
“This looks amazing, thank you,” she said.
“I didn’t make it, I’m just the delivery boy, but I’ll let Hunter know you said so.” He turned and went back into the kitchen.
Taylynn watched him go, then picked up her silverware and stared at her plate for a moment, trying to decide where to start. She glanced over at Raven’s plate and saw he didn’t have mushrooms and he’d started with his potato. She looked back at her plate and decided that wasn’t what she wanted first. It had been so long, she set down her fork and used her fingers to pick up one spear of asparagus. Eating it like a French fry, she closed her eyes as the flavor burst on her tongue.
“You keep making sounds like that and I may not be able to sit here with you much longer.” Raven’s voice broke into her moment. She frowned and looked over at him, wondering what he was talking about.
“I get that your food is good, but if you keep making sex sounds while you eat, I’m going to have to go sit somewhere else if I’m going to keep my hands to myself.”
Her frown turned to a scowl. “Why would you want to touch me? I’m used goods. I’m dirty. No one will want me now.” She dropped her gaze back to the bar and her plate, the food not looking so appetizing now.
A finger on her chin lifted her face and turned it back to Raven. His face was darker than she’d ever seen it. It made her want to pull away, to protect herself. He’s never hurt you, she reminded herself. It took everything she had to stay where she was and not move away from him.
“Who said that to you?” Raven’s voice was low and menacing.
She was quiet for a moment, trying to decide if she should say anything. But one of the things she’d learned about Raven over the last couple of months was that he didn’t give up. If there was something he wanted, he found a way to get it. If it was information, he didn’t give up until he had what he wanted to know.
He might be holding her chin but that didn’t mean she had to watch him. She had that much control. She dropped her gaze to look at the short beard he wore, anything to keep from watching his eyes as she admitted what she didn’t see a way around.
“No one here.”
“Who?” Raven’s voice had become little more than a growl.
Taylynn swallowed. She didn’t want to get into this but knew he wasn’t going to back off. He wanted to know and would keep after her until she told him.
“Ace, and a couple of the others there. They had different ways they did it. After the first time Ace told me that I was soiled goods and no one would want me now. Another of the men did it every time. He would call me his dirty little whore and tell me how that was all I was good for.”
“Oh, little one.” Raven’s voice had turned tender. “None of that is true. If you don’t already know that, I’m telling you so now. You know I’d never hurt you right?”
She nodded. She did know that, in her heart. It was her head that wasn’t so sure, that made her doubt him or flinch away when someone moved too fast. She could get past it but knew it would take time.
“I want to show you something, but I don’t want to scare you off. Will you give me your hand?”
She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Still, she was a bit hesitant as she reached over and offered him her hand.