Chapter 2
Smokehouse
I swung my leg off my motorcycle and fell into step next to Ricochet and Hellfire.
Using my discarded t-shirt, I wiped the sweat off my brow.
It was late May and we were just wrapping up another work day at the construction site.
We were back at the clubhouse, ready to end the work day with some cold beers.
It was already getting hot as hell and I knew the upcoming months were going to feel like we were building a school on the surface of the sun.
Hell had taken a little time off from his family’s company to help us out.
I had to admit, working with my two best friends was fucking great.
Not only did we get to fuck around all day, but we were doing something worthwhile that helped not only our club, but the women and children that we’d rescued from the cult.
It left me in a pretty damn good mood at the end of each day, even if I was sweating like a pig.
It was five p.m. and even though I’d ridden back to the clubhouse without my shirt and cut, I was still sweating. What I needed was an ice cold beer while I took a cold shower.
“Smoke.”
I glanced over at Hell, who was looking over his shoulder. “What?”
“You got a girl you didn’t tell us about?”
“Huh?” I asked in confusion. My social life had been a bit slow the last month.
I refused to admit that it had something to do with honey blonde hair and sky blue eyes.
My mystery lady had rocked my fucking world for one night, then disappeared into the streets of Tucson.
The only thing I knew was that her name was Danica.
That wasn’t a lot to go off of, even for me.
At least she’d claimed it was Danica. She hadn’t said much else.
I’d even resorted to asking Riptide for help in finding her, but without more than a first name he hadn’t found much.
It was amazing how many women named Danica lived in Tucson.
It was a daunting list, and I’d made it through about twenty-five pointless phone calls before I’d given up.
It was for the best. I wasn’t the committing type.
Really, I’d only wanted the opportunity to turn that one-night-stand into something that might last for a few weeks. She’d been that fucking good.
Turning, I paused when I saw the woman of my dreams—literally, they’d been plaguing me since I’d seen her last—storming across the club’s parking lot, toward me. “How do you know she’s mine?” I asked, even though he was right.
Hell gave a snort of amusement. “She’s not mine and I have a feeling Jordan would have Ricochet’s balls if she turned up for him, so…that leaves you.”
“Plus you’re a whore,” Ricochet added helpfully. “And she looks angry. That has you written all over it.”
I gave them a wide taunting smile. “A whore gets paid to have sex. I just give women the privilege of my company.”
They both rolled their eyes. Ricochet studied the woman coming toward us. “She’s gorgeous.”
“Don’t let your fiancée hear you say that,” I told him, an unpleasant feeling tightening in my gut when I heard my buddy talking about Dani like that.
I knew he was head over boots for his old lady and he didn’t mean anything by it.
Still, I didn’t want anyone talking about her.
An intense desire to hide her away from everyone filled me.
I shook it off. It was too constraining.
I was perpetually single and it was better for everyone, myself most of all, to keep it that way.
“Come find us afterward,” Hell said as they started walking away.
I lifted a hand in acknowledgment, then turned back to the woman I’d been looking for.
“Fancy seeing you here.” I shot her my most charming smile, hoping to wipe the scowl off her face.
There was still a chance of making this thing between us a little less temporary.
Not completely, because I refused to be tied down.
I’d been willing to do that once, and it’d backfired. Never again.
The glower on her face only deepened. That gave me pause.
Why would she come here looking so…angry?
My eyes swept over her and I couldn’t stop the hope that maybe she’d come back for round two.
I wasn’t in the market for an old lady, but this woman was addictive.
It had been like I was detoxing the week after she’d left.
It’d been a damn thorn in my side when I’d realized I hadn’t brought anyone home for weeks after my night with her.
I’d done my damndest to get her out of my mind, but she just kept creeping back in.
The one woman I’d brought home, after I realized I’d unintentionally made myself celibate, was left disappointed when I shoved her off me.
Granted, I might have shoved too hard and she’d landed on her ass on the floor.
She’d come up swinging and left an impressive palm print on my face.
Still, I’d slept like a baby once she’d stormed off, content in my choice not to fuck her, something that had irritated me in the morning once my buzz had worn off.
That wasn’t like me at all. Who had a one night stand with a woman whose last name you didn’t know, and then was concerned about cheating on her?
Even when you seemingly had no way to find her.
Not to mention you weren’t in a relationship with her so the cheating aspect made no sense.
That hadn’t mattered, I hadn’t been interested in pursuing other women.
I just figured at some point the urge would hit me again and I’d be right back at it.
Now I was worried about what kind of effect the woman in front of me was having.
All I needed was to get her out of my system.
I always got bored with women after a week or two.
Folding my arms over my chest, I looked down at her.
She looked like an angry kitten. It was fucking adorable.
Something told me this kitten had wicked claws.
“You can’t be mad I didn’t call,” I told her, amusement coloring my tone.
“You didn’t leave me a number.” I didn’t tell her I’d tried to find her.
Not yet. I needed to know what she looked so upset about first. A warning voice told me now wasn’t the time to tell her the lengths I went to, trying to find her.
There probably wouldn’t ever be a good time to admit that.
It was twisting me into knots, not knowing what had her so emotional. And that was damn concerning. I never cared if women were upset. Unless they were family, or my brothers’ old ladies.
“You told me you wore a condom,” she hissed at me.
I blinked at her. The words she lobbed my way weren’t computing.
She planted her hands on her hips, drawing my eyes down to her shapely curves, highlighted in a pair of tight fitting jeans.
Her flowy top was molded around a pair of breasts I knew fit perfectly into my large hands.
Something clicked in my mind as I realized she was waiting for a response. “A condom?”
“The night we slept together,” she all but growled as she looked around to make sure no one could overhear.
Most of my brothers were either still at work, or inside the clubhouse with their families, or hanging with each other.
We’d locked down security on our property since the whole ordeal with Trent had gone down and most of the families were living in the clubhouse for now.
It was a surprise that Priest had allowed her past the gate.
My eyes lifted and I saw him standing near the front fence. He gave a short wave of greeting, then continued stalking along the outskirts of the place, doing his hourly check. He shared the job with other members, but he always made sure to take a shift. He believed in leading by example.
“Uh,” I said, getting back to the woman in front of me. “I thought I had.”
“Thought you had?” Her gorgeous blue eyes narrowed on me. “Well guess what?”
I shook my head, having no clue what she was getting at.
All I knew is she was looking more and more like that angry kitten I’d likened her to.
The thought crossed my mind to just haul her over my shoulder and march her upstairs.
I could fuck the tension out of both of us, then get down to what she was upset over later.
She dug something out of the front pocket of her jeans. My brows drew together as I tried to figure out what she was holding. Before I could, it smacked me in the nose. My jaw dropped as she flicked the object again and it bopped me a second time. “What the fuck…”
“You didn’t wear a condom! Because I’m pregnant, you…asshole!”
A few seconds of me blinking in confusion and her chest heaving in agitation passed before I realized what was happening. “Is that your piss stick?” I asked in disgust and jerked my head back.
She wasn’t hitting me with it anymore, thankfully, but she’d just dropped a bomb in my goddamned lap and I was trying to catch up.
“Oh my God,” she huffed, before turning and striding away.
“What the…” My feet were moving before I even knew I’d ordered them to. Grabbing her by the arm, I spun her around. “Did you say you’re pregnant?”
“Are you stupid?”
My brows shot up. There was anger in her tone, but tears in her eyes. “Jesus. Don’t cry, Baby Girl.”
“Ew. Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “You probably call all women that. Probably so you don’t have to remember their names.”
Ignoring the insult, I pulled her in, though she fought me, and held her in my arms. “Okay, take it easy, Dani. A second ago you were smacking me with a stick you peed on. I’m trying to catch up.”
As soon as I said her name she relaxed in my embrace. Her breath wafted over the damp skin of my chest. She was a delightful little bundle, only about five-six to my six-three. It was completely the wrong fucking time, but my dick hardened. It always had a mind of its own.
“You’re pregnant.” The truth still hadn’t sunk in. It was starting to. Along with absolute abject horror and terror. “You’re…pregnant.”
“I am.” She pulled back so she could look up into my face.
“Okay. Why do you think it’s mine?” As soon as the words popped out of my mouth I wanted to kick myself in the balls. The hurt that crossed her face was like a swift punch to the gut. “Wait.”
Then something was hitting me in the gut. I let go of her before she socked me again. Despite the terror inducing situation I found myself in, I grinned. She was feisty. I fucking loved it.
No. She’s not yours. You don’t love it. You don’t care how fucking sassy she is, or isn’t.
“I can’t believe I slept with such a…dickhead!” she yelled at me.
I got the distinct impression she didn’t cuss a lot. That this wasn’t how she normally acted. Looking over, I saw Priest standing across the lot, arms folded as he watched the scene play out.
“It’s a legitimate question. Though,” I hurried on when fury sparked in her eyes, “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“You’re the only one I’ve slept with. You’re the father,” she bit out between clenched teeth.
I ducked as she chucked the piss stick at me, narrowly moving out of the way. She had an impressive arm for a girl. Wisely, I kept my mouth shut about that.
“Keep that one,” she shouted. “I can make more!”
Damn she was beautiful when she was fired up.
Dani spun on her heel and started off toward her car.
Looking down at the positive pregnancy test on the ground, I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do.
I’d never been in this situation before.
I’d been drunk the night we’d slept together, but that had never kept me from wearing a condom before.
I was fucking careful about that shit because I didn’t want a kid.
Didn’t want a wife. The last thing I was prepared for were responsibilities like that.
I shook my head and looked up. “I don’t have your fucking number!”
She spun, a wild look on her face. “Good. You can fuck right off, Smokehouse!”
What the fuck was I supposed to do with that? “You’re being unreasonable,” I pointed out, at a higher volume than usual. It wasn’t quite a yell. I cringed. When in history has telling a woman she's being unreasonable ever made a situation better?
Her screech of rage made my lips twitch again. I called out, “At least tell me your last name so I can find you!” When she didn’t answer, I muttered under my breath, “Later, after you’ve cooled off.”
She shot me the bird as she climbed into her car. The tires spun and slung gravel as she peeled out of the lot.
“Slow the fuck down!” I bellowed, anger now coursing through me at the thought of her driving away mad and getting into a car accident. She was already gone, tail lights disappearing down the road.
“That was entertaining.”
I groaned. Priest would keep his mouth shut, if he even knew what the fight with Dani had been about.
He was far enough away, I doubted he’d overheard everything.
But these two? I turned and glared at Butcher and Toxic as they leaned against a nearby truck.
It was one of the cage rides we kept here in case we needed to haul shit around. “I don’t want to fucking hear it.”
“Not the best idea, telling a woman she’s being unreasonable,” Butcher said in a conversational tone.
“Tends to rile them up,” Toxic replied, in full agreement.
Bending down, I scooped up the piss stick and jammed it into the pocket of my jeans. If I’d had my cut on, I could have shoved it in the inside pocket a lot easier and quicker.
Neither of my brothers missed the movement, or what I was trying to hide.
“Not every day a guy gets assaulted with a pregnancy test,” Toxic said, a grin on his face.
“She has a nice right hook, too,” Butcher commented.
“Gets a solid seven point five from me. If I had a score card, I’d hold it up,” Toxic joked.
I just sat there staring at them, shock holding me rooted to the spot.
“You going to sit around hoping a dick pops into your mouth, or you going after her?” Butcher asked.
Snapping my jaw shut, I glowered at them. “Fuck you both.”
They howled with laughter as I stalked past them toward the clubhouse. Dani was already gone and I needed to figure out what to do. My entire life was flashing before my eyes and it was all centered around that fucking test in my pocket.
Priest stopped me at the door. The look in his eyes told me he’d heard everything, but he didn’t join in on the taunts. Instead, he handed me a scrap of paper.
“What's this?” I asked, unfolding it.
His lips twitched in amusement. “Her license plate number. While you were busy dodging pregnancy tests and making things worse, I jotted it down for you.” He walked away without saying another word.
I stared at the combination of letters and numbers. At least now I had a starting point. Just because I’d never wanted an old lady, or kids, didn’t mean I was going to be a fucking dead beat and leave her to deal with this on her own.