Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
S triker…
Rarity stuck close to me as we slipped out of the Chapel and moved back out around the bar.
She paused at the odd nook between the bar and the line of three dart lanes when she spied the sock ‘em arcade game.
“I didn’t even notice that back there,” she said with a laugh.
“Want me to fire it up?” Shadow asked. “Let the boys show off a little?”
Rarity laughed and took a drink from her can of seltzer and said, “I dunno, what’s the prize?”
“A kiss from the fair lady?” a voice called from behind us and I turned to see Skull coming our way, Bones in tow, heading for the bar.
“If we’re gonna throw down for that ,” Shadow said. “We best have everybody here.”
“What do you think, baby? You game. If not, then we’ll definitely think of something else. We don’t wanna make you feel uncomfortable.”
“I think I can part with a kiss, but that’s it. That’s as far as I’m willing to go,” she said. “All in good fun – but I’m happy right where I am.” She cuddled closer into my side and Skull let out one of his shrill yips and high-fived his brother, Bones.
“May the best man win. Got more rollin’ in any minute now, Cher.”
“Better finish that tour,” Shadow said with a wink going over to the machine to switch it on and let it warm up.
We went past the dart boards, and she trailed fingertips along the red felt and glossy black wood of the edge of one of the billiard tables. She smiled faintly at the club’s logo in the center of each, and let her eyes roam the mugshots over the bathroom doors in their line down the wall toward the deck, all along the ceiling.
“That’s you!” she said in surprise at my first mugshot from a couple years back.
“Arrest record, yes,” I said. “Criminal record, no. It’s a point of pride that they’ve never made anything stick,” I told her.
“What was this one for?” she asked.
“Got pulled over, gave the cop a ration of shit. Nothing illegal but he hauled my ass in anyway and tried to charge me with resisting arrest. Got a tidy sum from the St. Augustine police for that fuck up. Can’t arrest someone on no charge and then charge them for resisting arrest – lawyers had a field day.”
“What was his excuse to try and put cuffs on you in the first place?” Rarity asked and I grinned.
“Turns out it’s perfectly legal to give a cop the finger, it’s protected under free speech. First amendment rights, baby.”
We kept going down the line and she caught my second mug shot.
“And this one?” she asked.
“Bad search,” I said. “Turned up some weed and arrested me for it, but my lawyer got it all dismissed because he didn’t have probable cause to search me in the first place, and I didn’t give him consent. Fourth amendment rights came in clutch on that one.”
“You sue?” she asked.
“Ongoing, but they’re gonna settle again,” I told her.
“Hell of a way to make that bag,” Shadow said grinning.
“Hey, get it however you can get it,” I shot back and we bumped fists laughing.
Rarity smiled and shook her head, “My mom and grandparents might have a solid argument on you being a bad influence on the boys,” she said, and there was something there in her eyes that was worried, and humorless, despite the soft smile on her lips.
“I can and will be a perfect boy scout,” I murmured near her ear and she laughed high and loud, the sound like crystal, shimmering with magic.
I grinned and didn’t say anything. I knew I was full of shit. I was glad she did too. Didn’t want any accidental misunderstandings of promising something I couldn’t.
I didn’t know how long she would stick around, I couldn’t expect forever. She was young, I was not… even though out of every woman I’d met, it was Rarity that I hoped would stick around for a long time and not just a good time.
Still. Things were new, and I didn’t want to press it.
Again, she was young… I was not. I had a lot of life left, sure, but almost twenty years was a big difference. I would be lying if I said I didn’t worry about it in the back of my mind, but there wasn’t anything I could do. She was wild and free, and that was one of the things I loved about her. I didn’t want to capture her, or put her in some kind of a gilded cage – that wasn’t what I was about.
I wanted to watch her soar, and I wanted her to come back to me of her own free will. That was hotter than anything.
We stopped at the dungeon door, and I felt my curiosity at what her reaction would be pique, as Shadow opened it with a flourish and a devilish grin.
Rarity’s eyes got wide when she rounded the door frame and stepped inside.
The room was longer than it was wide. Front to back it was probably only about eight feet, maybe – but it was easily almost twice that long.
At the one end were two St. Andrew’s crosses in the corners against the back wall, left and right. A peg board with an assortment of floggers, canes, crops, and whips to choose from between them.
A spanking bench was inside and to the left through the door, and in the center of the back wall was a slightly raised dais with a life-sized motorcycle made out of rich beautiful wood. It was a fun piece, and sturdy, with two eye bolts in the floor about two feet apart in front of it, and one on the other side of it.
The bolts were the perfect width to shackle ankles to, bend the girl over, and lash her wrists together and to the eye bolt in the floor on the other side of the bike. It was solid and wasn’t going anywhere. You could fuck, suck, and do whatever the hell else you wanted to her over that thing, and it was a fun time.
To the right, was a canopy bed, up against a cinder block wall, the smokers, and the barbecue pit on the other side of that wall out on the deck. The canopy bed was wrought iron and steel, with plenty of anchor points in the headboard and foot board, a king sized, and good for a couple of couples to fuck on – which yes, the parties did tend to get that wild.
The whole room was painted black, and the sheets and padding were either black or red, in line with the club’s colors. It was very goth and vampy in here, and there were a few extras dangling from the ceilings. Anchor points for some Shabari and rope play for those that were into it, or to set up one of the swings stored in the bank of four lockers between the wooden bike and the St. Andrew’s crosses.
“Oookaaaay,” Rarity said. “This is more than a little above my paygrade. I may not be vanilla, but I’m like, maybe vanilla with a few rainbow sprinkles, not… wow .”
Shadow and I shared a laugh at her reaction and she tucked into me a little closer. I ran my hand up and down her arm and said, “It’s not for everybody,” in a bid to reassure her.
“Renegade is the resident sadist,” Shadow declared. “Everyone else ranges up and down the spicy spectrum from super-hot Carolina Reaper pepper to barely spicy jalapeno.”
I could see the question in her eyes as she looked up at me, but that was a discussion between just me and her and dependent on how far or how comfortable she was going.
We went back out, shutting the door behind us, to more of the guys including Renegade filing in the door to the outside steps up here.
“Oh, hey! It’s a party now!” Renegade called as Dusty slid in for a hug.
“Hey, Daddy,” she said.
“How’s my girl?” Renegade asked, kissing the top of her head.
“Good,” she answered.
“You meet Rarity, yet?” he asked.
“Briefly.” Rarity shot Dusty a polite smile and Dusty smiled.
“Yeah, sort of. I was trying to make an appointment with my gyno and the website was being a bitch.”
“Shit, Dusty – TMI. There are some things as your father I really don’t want to know,” Renegade said jostling her and letting her go.
“I’m twenty-two, not twelve ,” she said rolling her eyes as she walked past us to the bar to get another drink.
“You always look five to me!” he called after her.
“My actual daughter,” he said to Rarity, and he gave me a look.
“I gathered,” she said laughing.
“We doin’ this?” Skull called out and he threw some punches at the air with some damn fine form.
“What’re we doing?” Renegade asked.
“Sock ‘em, competing for a kiss from Striker’s fair lady,” Shadow filled him in.
“Alright! I can handle that; line ‘em up boys! We got a wager – hardest hitter gets a kiss from the fair Rarity!”
I led Rarity over to the corner of the bar nearest the arcade game, and lifted her up to sit her on the edge where she could see and more importantly, where any of the guys that wanted to test their mettle could see her.
“You sure you’re good?” I asked her, and she smiled and nodded once happily.
“All in good fun,” she said. “Are you okay with it?”
I grinned and winked back and said, “All in good fun, and I’m gonna win it – so what do I have to worry about?”
She threw back her head and laughed, and it was a good sound. It was also pretty fucking boastful of me when there were guys like Skull and Renegade lining up, who were easily more built than me. Not to mention guys from the other chapters who’d come up this way to party.
There was a mix of Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Ocala and the mood was good, the vibe riding on the wind light and full of good fun. If it had been anything else, I wouldn’t have let my baby girl be the prize for this dipshittery – but things were good, and we’d play fair, and I meant it about doing my best to win this.
I fell in line; we’d done this before. Each man got three shots, and their average went on the scoreboard. Shadow went first, then manned the chalkboard between the billiard tables and the Sock ‘em setup, his phone out, calculator going strong to average out everyone else.
After Shadow was a guy from Jacksonville, one I wasn’t too familiar with, but seemed cool enough. He didn’t do much of a good showing. Not with Renegade up next. Only hope I had against Ren is that he was tipsy or toasty enough to not be swinging too hard.
No luck there. He hit it and hit it hard on the first punch he threw. The second one was a little less, and the third was even less than that, but it was still averaged out to a number that made me sweat more than a little.
Next up was Ultra Violent, or UV from Ocala, and shit fire , motherfucker! I didn’t know if I was going to beat his ass. Jesus fucking Christ!
I was next, and I loosened up, rotating my neck on my shoulders and giving a few stretches while Renegade ribbed me hard over if I fucked this up, he was gonna enjoy kissing my girl, if not watching UV or somebody else do it.
We went back and forth, trading jibes, and I appreciated his effort – he knew what he was doing, getting me worked up.
It wasn’t a question of hitting the target on the bag square – I could do that shit in my sleep. It was about the follow through and hitting it fucking hard enough .
I socked it with everything that I had, muscles screaming in a bit of protest with residual stiffness from the throwdown at the Iron Horse and just because fuck, I was forty-two not twenty-four anymore! Fuck!
I wound up, and fared actually better on the second punch, which gave me some hope.
Now don’t fuck this up, I thought to myself, and I fucking let rip and socked it a third time to a round of rowdy cheering.
I took the top spot, but fuckin’ barely , yo.
I shook out my hand and looked to Rarity who was cheering and dancing in her seat, but the fun wasn’t over yet – there was still a bit of a lineup after me.
I wandered over to her and put my arm around her waist, leaning back against the bar and massaging her hip while we took in the rest of the guys and their efforts.
A couple edged out Renegade in second place, and one came only a single fuckin’ point behind me, and just when I thought I had it in the bag? Skull stepped up.
I was feeling pretty good; Skull wasn’t a super big guy. Five foot eight, so certainly not the tallest of us, but he did fight a lot, and he wrestled alligators for a living – so there was that.
His first punch knocked everyone else’s out of the running, but he had two more to go. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t sweating, hoping that his second or even third would drop him enough that it wouldn’t matter, but he brought the fire , and his next two punches edged out his first by a touch, and the third still out ranked my best, but wasn’t quite up to the first two.
Guys were going, ‘whoa’ and laughing their asses off in disbelief, and I admit – I was duly impressed, even as I was straight up nervous as to why Skull was so hard pressed to win this. It wasn’t like him.
Unless it was really Bones that wanted the kiss. I could totally see Skull doing it for his brother.
Of course, Skull was declared the winner and reigning champion in short order, and I was both surprised and not when he stepped up to claim his prize.
It was all in good fun, after all… wasn’t it?
Skull gave me an inscrutable look and a quick nod before he stepped in front of Rarity, and I waited impassively, to see what the fuckin’ weirdo I called a brother would do.
He went to Rarity and took her hand, said a bunch of shit in his native tongue that only he and Bones would understand, and bent gallantly over her hand and kissed the back with a brush of lips and an intense look in her direction.
Rarity blushed prettily, and he backed off and walked away, to a bunch of incredulous scoffs and a smattering of laughter at his expense, but he didn’t pay it no mind. He walked up to Bones and said something to him and Bones replied, but again – wasn’t like a one of us could fuckin’ understand them.
Rarity turned to me, wide-eyed and bewildered and I shrugged.
“Who the fuck knows with those two,” I said.
“That was… confusing,” she said with a light laugh.
“Who you tellin’?” I asked.
Skull and Bones had retreated to the back deck and were standing against the railing. Bones looked back at me and when he caught me looking, gave a respectful nod and then turned and spit over the railing like the classy fucker he was.
I helped Rarity down and asked, “Shall I show you the rest of the place?” and she smiled up at me.
“I’d like that,” she said and I grinned.
Honestly, I just wanted her alone, and all to myself for a bit, and it was as good an excuse as any to get her away from the crowd.