21. 21
21
B y the time they made it back to the ranch, later than he’d planned but not yet sundown, even Malice was tired from spending too long on the bike in a single stretch. He pulled into the driveway and up in front of the barnlike garage where everyone kept their bikes, along with some of the other equipment for the ranch, and stopped long enough for Bonnie to climb off before pulling the bike into it’s spot in line with the others.
After killing the engine, he stepped off and pulled off his helmet. Bonnie closed the distance between them, her eyes wide.
“I didn’t realize you all ride.” Her gaze scanned the line of bikes.
“Sweetness, we’re not just a ranch and a bunch of hands, we’re an MC too.”
She frowned, looking at him for a moment with what he’d learned was her confused look. Rather than explain here, he took her helmet and his, and went to the wall where several more hung in a row, putting them both in their spots before turning back to her. She looked from the wall to him, then back again for a moment then shook her head, as if none of this made sense.
“But none of you wear those vest things gangs wear.”
He wrapped an arm around her middle and guided her out into the driveway as he spoke, “First the ‘vest things’ are called kuttes. Second, we’re not a gang. We’re a club. It might seem like a small difference, but it’s an important one. Third, we have them, but don’t always wear them here. It’s not practical.”
“I guess they would get dirty or torn up while doing ranch work.”
“That’s only part of it but yes.” He steered them toward his place, there was still a couple of hours before dinner, and he didn’t feel like sharing her company with anyone. He liked having her to himself.
“What’s the rest of it?”
He took a deep breath and held it for several seconds. He had to be careful about how he said this. “Partly that there are a lot of misconceptions about motorcycle clubs. Just like you just said gang, a lot of people think that way. Tuck’s had the ranch for less than a year. We are taking care and building the reputation of the club carefully. We know there are some, shall we say less than reputable clubs in the area and we want to be careful of our perception in the community.” He wasn’t sure if he’d done it right, but she tilted her head to one side as she thought about it then nodded.
“I guess I can see that, though I didn’t mean anything by the gang. I think that’s just how I’ve always heard them referred to.” They kept walking toward the cabin at a stroll. Neither of them was in a hurry and he wasn’t sure about her, but Malice was enjoying his time with Bonnie.
Even the time when they weren’t in bed. Maybe even more than when they were. Well maybe not but he would say he enjoyed it as much. And having her on the back of his bike? That had been better than he’d thought it would be. He’d never had anyone on the back of his bike. Never had anyone he wanted there, but Bonnie? He wanted her there. The question was, what would she do once they got her fuckwad problem taken care of? Would she go back to her life and forget about him? He’d never though of himself as needy or wanting a woman by his side, but he didn’t want to let Bonnie go.
But he wasn’t willing to try and force her to stay if she didn’t want to. That would make him no better than that asshat. She was just escaping a miserable situation and he wouldn’t be the one to put her right back into one.
They reached the cabin and stepped up onto the porch together.
“What’s the plan until dinner?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he lifted one shoulder and let it fall, “I didn’t have one, but we’re still a couple hours until dinner. Is there something you want to do?”
“Not really. I’m enjoying spending time with you and thought we might find something to do together.”
“You play cards?”
“I can. I haven’t in a while because I haven’t had anyone to play with. Why?”
“I came across a deck when I was looking for my speaker last night. I thought we might play something?”
“What?”
“I don’t know. What do you know how to play?”
A sly look crossed her face, she watched him a second, as if trying to see what he was thinking, then made her suggestion. “How about strip poker?”
Malice lifted one brow as he tried to decide if she was serious. She looked it. “All right, but I can’t guarantee we’ll play more than a few hands, or that we won’t be late for dinner.”
They went inside, he fetched the cards and they settled onto the sofa, each turned sideways so they faced each other.
“All right, what kind of poker do you want? Five card draw, Texas hold em? Blackjack?” he asked as he pulled the cards free of the box and began shuffling them.
“I don’t know Texas hold em enough, so that one’s out.” She watched him for a moment, and he felt her gaze flick down his body before coming back up to his face. “Let’s play blackjack.”
Blackjack was faster, which meant it wouldn’t take as long for someone to lose, and remove an item, it worked for him.
“Okay, next question. Things that come in pairs, do they count as one item or two?”
“That depends on what it is. A pair of pants is obviously one piece, but a pair of socks is not. So, I guess the question is paired items that are more than one piece. I’d say they are one item, either way.”
There was a glint in her eye that told him she was enjoying the light banter as they set the rules for their game. Was she anticipating the end as much as he was? Was that possible?
“You want to deal, or do you want me to?”
“You deal.” She rocked side to side as if getting more comfortable then focused on the cards as he began to deal, one card face down for each of them, then one face up for each.
“You’ve got an eight showing what would you like to do?” He peeked at his own cards, a three on top and a five on the bottom. He knew what he’d be doing but first he needed to see what she wanted. She peeked at the bottom card, much like he had then looked up at him, her lips pursed as she considered her options.
“Hit me.”
He dealt another card face up. A six.
“You’ve got fourteen showing.” He knew that if she had anything over a seven, she was bust, and he wouldn’t have to do anything to win. Her gaze flicked from her cards to his several times, then up to his face.
“Stand.”
“Okay. Dealer has three showing, dealer will hit.” He flipped over a face card. “Dealer stands.” He flipped over his hold card. “Dealer has eighteen.” He glanced at her then back down at her cards as he waited for her to reveal hers.
Bonnie flipped another six.
“Player has twenty, player wins.” He gathered the cards up, adding them to a discard pile before twisting enough to toe off both shoes, then repositioning himself on the sofa.
“Ready for the next hand?”
Bonnie didn’t say anything, just nodded. He dealt again. “Where’d you learn to do this so well? Why do you talk your way through every game?” she asked after a couple hands.
“I dealt at one of the casinos around Boseman for a while a couple years ago.”
“What did you deal?”
“Whatever needed a dealer. I can deal and play pretty much anything they had tables for. I was a floater, I could do any table that needed someone to cover for a shift or a couple weeks.”
“Why aren’t you still doing it?”
He lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “Money’s okay but it’s boring. Same thing day in and day out. And at least in a place like Boseman, same faces day in and day out. You’d probably see more people, more variety in someplace like Vegas or Atlantic City, but I’m not much for cities and it was just a way to pay the bills, not a passion. I moved on and found something that paid better after a while, now I’m here.”
“And this pays better?”
“Yes and no.”
“How so?” She scowled.
“The dollar amount on my paycheck isn’t better. It’s actually significantly less, but this one comes with room and board. I don’t have to buy food, or much of it, if I don’t want to. I don’t pay for this place,” he used one finger to indicate the cabin, “so while my paycheck is less, I keep more of it. On top of that, I work with friends, brothers. People who care and I care about, not strangers. It makes a difference.”
“I can see why it would. I never thought about the benefits of working for a place like this, other than the pay.” She turned her attention back to the game, seemingly determined to win.
Forty-five minutes later, Bonnie sat in her bra and panties, and Malice was down to just his underwear. It seemed they were pretty evenly matched. He dealt again, not sure if he wanted to win or lose this one. Losing the hand would mean losing his last piece of clothing, and the game but with what he was almost certain was coming, was it really losing? He didn’t think so.
“Hit me.” Bonnie’s words drew him back to the game that would decide whether it was over or had one or two more games, though Malice could admit to himself, that once she took off another piece of clothing, he’d have a hard time concentrating on the game. So maybe this would be the last hand either way. He dealt a four to add to the eight she had showing.
“That’s twelve showing.” He glanced up her face, waiting for her decision.
“Hold.”
“Very well.” He peeked at his hole card, having forgotten what it was when he’d looked after dealing. A three to go with the ace he had showing. “Dealer takes another card. A ten. Dealer takes another card. An eight. Dealer busts.” He gathered his cards and hers, along with the discard pile and put them all on the table in front of the sofa before standing. He looked down at her, “You want me to do this here, or you want to take it in the other room?”
“Here is good.” Her eyes glittered with mischief and humor.
With a shrug he shoved his briefs off his hips, revealing the erection he hadn’t been able to prevent. Hell, watching her sit there so self-confident in just her underwear was hotter than he’d thought possible.
“Well, you won, now what?” He kicked his shorts to rest on the pile with the rest of his clothes then ran one hand over his erection, squeezing hard before pulling his hand away, despite the temptation to continue. The thought of having her sit there and watch as he jerked off made him want to do just that, instead he bit back the groan that worked its way up his throat and remembered he’d asked her a question.
She stared at him a moment before swallowing. “Now I get my prize.” She crooked a finger at him.
Malice frowned, wondering what she meant as he closed the distance from where he stood to where she wiggled until she sat straight on the couch. When he stood in front of her, she looked him up and down.
“Closer. I want you standing here.” She pointed to the floor between her own feet.
His frown deepened, as he wondered what she was doing but he went.
“Perfect,” she said when he stood where she’d indicated.
Her voice had gone husky, making his curiosity deepen. She didn’t tell him what she was thinking, but leaned in and ran her tongue up the length of his erection.
Instinct and surprise made him start to step back, but her hand wrapped around his cock stopping him.
This was the last thing he was expecting, but there was no way he’d stop her, not if this is what she wanted. Her prize? Hell it felt like a prize to him. What the hell had he done to deserve something like this?
She licked him up and down several times, reminding him of a kid with a lollipop. Then she rolled her gaze upward, until she watched him through her lashes as she covered him with her mouth. Working back and forth several times until the tip of his cock hit the back of her throat.
Malice bit back a groan as her cheeks hollowed when she sealed her lips around him then pulled back until just the tip remained in her mouth. He fisted his hands at his sides, trying to resist the urge to bury them in her hair and make things go at his pace. Instead, he locked his knees and tried to keep from moving as he watched her work her way up and down his erection.
She swirled the tip of her tongue around the rim before sinking back down over his length. Heat raced through him.
“Oh, god, sweetness.” His fingers ached to bury themselves in her hair, so instead he picked up both arms and laced his fingers together behind his own head. His back arched as she brought one hand up to cup and squeeze his balls.
“I’m not going to last if you keep that up, Bonnie.”
Her only answer was to do it again, as her other hand smoothed up his torso to flick and tease one of his nipples. The two sensations was more than he could take. Fire raced up his spine and he knew he couldn’t hold back any longer.
“I’m coming,” he warned seconds before he erupted, giving her a chance to pull away if she wanted. To his surprise, she didn’t.
When his cock had finished pumping and his muscles relaxed, he looked down as she pulled off him, a satisfied look on her face as she licked her lips and leaned back watching him.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a while now.” She smiled up at him, not seeming to notice or care that all she wore was her bra and panties.
“Have you?” he asked, trying to decide how he would handle what he wanted to do next.
She nodded. “I have.” Her look was satisfied, but somehow challenging. As if asking what he was going to do in response.
“Good. Cause now it’s my turn.” He bent and picked her up, lifting her so she hung over one shoulder as he carried her to the bedroom. He wanted them both to be comfortable while he got what he wanted.