Dayanara Chapter 5
Four evenings after meeting with the Warriors, I found myself back at their compound.
However, the reason this time was different.
Tuesday evening, Stryder had called me, and we talked.
He had suggested that, even if we decided not to tell Brighton about what the club, Jess, and I intended to do to Marshall, it was a good idea for her to meet the club.
His explanation made sense. Now that they knew about us, and Stryder had settled into being one of them, it was time we became part of their extended family.
Everyone wanted to meet Brighton and to get to know all three of us.
I liked the idea of having an extended family.
It had been the four of us for years. What family there was was either estranged or people we had no desire to be around.
Many were users and only wanted to be around if they got something out of it.
A few had stolen from family, and that was an automatic hell no.
Another reason I was all for it was the sense of safety it would give her.
When Jessup and I broke the news to her about Marshall’s release after meeting with the Warriors, she broke down in tears.
It was clear from her reaction without adding words that she was terrified of him harming her again.
We’d spent hours holding and reassuring her that he’d never get away with it. We told her we would ensure it.
Since then, she’d been subdued. Usually, Brighton was very cheerful.
I spent as much time at their house as I could, and she at my place, when I wasn’t working.
I let my boss know that I couldn’t take overnight or far-away-from-home assignments for the rest of the year.
He’d been understanding when I informed him my sister’s molester was getting out of prison.
It had taken Stryder and me to cajole her into coming to the compound to meet everyone.
We’d enlisted Jess to help us after we’d spoken to him about the need for it.
Finally, we wore her down. We arranged with the club to do it tonight, which was Friday.
None of us had to get up early to go to work. We’d kick back and relax.
In fact, Stryder suggested we pack a bag.
That way, if we drank, we wouldn’t need to have one of us stay sober.
I doubted we’d have to do it, but we all packed one.
I looked forward to the evening. For one thing, I wanted to get to know the ladies better.
The first time, they seemed like wonderful women. I thought we could become friends.
The more complicated reason was Predator and Stalker.
As hard as I tried to forget them or to place them into the same category as the other Warriors and their prospects, it was impossible.
Those two had preyed on my mind. My interest and desire steadily grew.
It was one concern I had. What if I let it slip that I was interested in them?
But the benefit to Brighton outweighed any risk or embarrassment to me.
The three of us rode together. Jess insisted on driving, no surprise. It was dark, so there wasn’t much to see. Our entrance to the compound was the same as last time. Brighton’s eyes were huge as she took in the high wall with razor wire and the clubhouse. We parked near where we did last time.
Getting out of the car, I watched her ease out slowly.
Jess had gotten her door. I opened my own.
Turning around, I froze. Coming toward us was Stryder, and with him were Stalker and Predator.
God, they were even better to feast my gaze on than last time.
My heart sped up as naughty images entered my mind. I had to struggle to suppress them.
“Hey there, Breezy, about time you got here,” Stryder called out. His arms were open to hug Brighton, or Breezy, as we called her since she was small.
“What am I? Dog shit?” I teased as they went to her first.
“Far from it,” I heard Stalker say moments before I was pulled into his arms.
I was too stunned to do anything other than hug him back. I bit my lip to hold back the moan his touch elicited. He held me close and tight for a few moments before he let go. I was turned and taken into Predator’s arms next. He did the same thing. I inhaled his scent the same way I had Stalker’s.
“Give me my cousin,” Stryder said.
I was released and then hugged by my cousin. I heard the other two introducing themselves to Brighton. I turned my head to watch. They were smiling at her. They held out their hands, but left it up to her whether she shook them. She gave them a sweet smile as she took their hands.
When my cousin let go of me, he went back to my siblings. He smacked Jess on the shoulder and put an arm back around Brighton. Like last time, I was presented with elbows on both slides. I took them and allowed my bemused self to be led inside.
The noise was louder than last time. Seeing us, greetings came from all over the room, calling out my name and Jessup’s. I saw Bull and Jocelyn coming toward us first. Others were falling into line behind them. They wore eager expressions.
I watched the bemused look on my sister’s face grow as she was introduced to more and more Warriors. Plus, she took in the kids and babies. I tried to warn her, but it was a case of you had to experience it yourself to understand.
Sage and Aspen, Meadow’s younger sisters, who were the same age as Brighton, talked excitedly with her once everyone had been introduced.
In no time, they led her to a large table.
I was guided to the same table but on the opposite side.
Stryder hauled Jess away with him. Like last time, Predator and Stalker seated themselves on either side of me.
A few others sat at the table as well. I turned to Predator first.
“Listen, don’t feel like you have to stay with me. I’m fine. Go have fun, chat with your friends, or play pool. I’ll be okay,” I assured him.
“I’m more than happy right here with you, unless you don’t want me,” he said.
“Same with me,” Stalker echoed.
I wanted to shout that the last thing I wanted was not to have them there. I enjoyed their presence too much and should be smart and lie. But instead, I shook my head.
“No, I’m not saying that. I mean, I don’t want you to feel you’re obligated to stay with me, that’s all. I’m Stryder’s cousin, not yours. He’s not worried about leaving me alone. You shouldn’t be either.”
Predator leaned closer, and his voice dropped. “It’s not an obligation. I want to spend time with you,” he said softly. The way he stressed the word want made me shiver inside. A finger under my chin turned my head toward Stalker.
“And I want you, too,” Stalker murmured.
I swore there was a throb behind those words.
Between my legs, a flush of heat and dampness blossomed.
I had to concentrate not to squirm. However, the sexy smile Stalker gave me, which, when I glanced back at Predator, he wore, too, made me wonder if they knew what they did to me.
They left me speechless, something that had rarely occurred in the past ten years, and now it had happened twice.
As time went by, I kept an eye on Brighton.
She talked and laughed with others, although she remained with Aspen and Sage.
When they got up to show her around the clubhouse, I asked if she wanted me to go with her.
Brighton shook her head as she assured me she’d be fine.
After they left, Meadow addressed me. She was at the table.
“I’m so glad to see them getting along. My sisters have been anxious to meet her since we told them she’d be coming. They have a few friends at school, but they’re not super close.”
“They’re very sweet. Breezy seems to have a hard time making friends. She has school pals, but they’re superficial,” I confessed.
“Breezy? Is that what she likes to be called?” Madisen asked. She was Rebel’s old lady. She and Jessica, Ajax’s lady, ran a bakery in town. I’d been to Angel’s Delights before, but had no clue the owners were tied to the club.
“It’s what we call her when we’re together as a family or talking about her among ourselves. She was so smiley when she was a baby that she was like sunshine, and somehow that combined with her name ended up becoming Breezy. Jess came up with it, but the whole family called her that,” I explained.
“We’ll happily call her whatever she’s most comfortable with. I’m pissed at Stryder,” Madisen added.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because he should’ve introduced us years ago. Hey, Stryder,” Madisen yelled across the room.
“Yo, what?” he replied.
“You’re an a-hole for not introducing us to your family years ago. If you were still a prospect, I’d tell the guys to make you prospect even longer,” she called back.
He grinned as he came closer to us and replied, “Good thing I’m not one. As for why I didn’t, I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?” Predator asked.
“That you’d meet them, especially Daya, and would make me prospect more than two years, or worse, kick me out.” His grin taunted me.
I shoved back my chair to clear the table.
Without thought, I used the seat of the chair to gain the top of the table, then I hurled myself off it at my cousin.
He laughed and tried to run, but he wasn’t fast enough.
I landed on his back. I wrapped my legs around his ribs, and my arms got his neck in a loose chokehold.
The cheers and jeers were loud, voices shouting for one of us to force the other to submit.
Stryder became a bucking bronco as he attempted to dislodge me. I tightened my arms and legs more.
“Submit and admit I’m the greatest,” I insisted.
“Never,” he rumbled.