Chapter 7
Ace
I’m not a man who lives with fear. Being a ware, and the president of an MC, has taught me to be pretty bold and daring. But seeing Cat pushed toward that ledge, the image of her breaking her neck as she hurtled down the rocky hillside, was one of the most terrifying moments I’d ever experienced.
Until Cat went through a full change, she was, for all intents and purposes, still human. That meant she didn’t have our reflexes or our ability to regenerate yet. She was vulnerable to everything humans were, including breaking her neck from a nasty fall.
Moving faster than I thought was possible, I threw myself forward.
Landing on my belly, I managed to snag Cat by the sleeve of her uniform just as she began to roll.
Unfortunately, her forward momentum pulled me with her.
When I felt the material begin to rip, I did the only thing I could think of.
Yanking her hard, I gripped her arm and tucked her under the wing of mine as we picked up speed and started to barrel roll down the hill.
Curling myself around her fragile body, I braced for the impact of the ground.
Thankfully, the section of hill we started from was mostly covered in grass and it helped soften our impact when we made contact with it. However, it couldn’t completely shelter us from becoming gravity’s bitch as we began to hurtle toward the next drop.
Using my handy shifter reflexes, I was able to grab an exposed root before we really spun out of control. Digging my boot into the hillside, I held fast, and we jerked to a sudden stop. Taking a moment to orient myself, I shifted my weight onto my back.
I wasn’t worried about myself. Cat was a different story. Though we’d only descended about fifteen feet, I didn’t know if the wind had been knocked out of her or she’d inadvertently cut herself on something sharp as we’d tumbled.
“Babe, you okay?” I checked. She was so still and quiet, I couldn’t tell.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she hesitantly answered after a few seconds, holding onto me as tight as a baby kangaroo in her mother’s pouch.
“Good. I’m going to slowly get to my feet. Wrap your arms around my neck and don’t let go. Alright?”
I felt her nod against my chest as softly as an evening breeze. Ever so carefully, I sat up. After testing my balance, I let go of the root and got my bearings.
Fortunately, we’d landed in the best location possible.
The spot was covered in grass that had a rolling aspect to it that almost acted like a speedbump.
If we’d gone a few feet to the right, where I suspect water run-off had been traveling and exposed a trail of loose rocks through the process of erosion, we wouldn’t have been so lucky.
“I’m going to put you on my back, then I’m going to climb back up this hill,” I explained matter-of-factly. “Do you have the strength to hold on?”
Though it wouldn’t have been impossible for Cat to climb back up the hill on her own steam, I wasn’t about to take the risk of her slipping and falling again. If she did, I might not be able to catch her a second time.
“Yes, I can manage that,” she replied, only the barest hint of a quiver in her voice.
Wrapping Cat’s arms around my neck, I slowly shifted her onto my back.
Ever so carefully, I got to my feet. Finding my balance, I leaned against the hill with my palms and crawl-walked up the side of the embankment with Cat attached to me like a human backpack.
At one point, my boot slipped, sending a shower of debris rolling down the hill and she gasped in horror.
“We’re not going to fall,” I promised her, as I dug deeper into my foothold and we continued upward. “Don’t let go of my neck.”
“Fuck, Prez, are you okay?” Mad Dog shouted, as he came racing out of the woods and saw me ascending over the lip of the hill.
He and Domino had chased after Kane as soon as the man had tossed Cat to the ground. They knew I could catch her, though honestly, I’d had my doubts. I so badly wanted to hunt down the fucker that had wronged their president.
“Yeah, we’re fine,” I told him, hating to let go of Cat, but needing to inspect her for any potential wounds. “No thanks to you,” I grumbled.
Mad Dog chuckled, his dark humor always in the forefront. Hence his Club moniker, a name he lived up to on a daily basis. ”I knew you’d be fine,” he arrogantly dismissed. “I wasn’t worried about you getting a booboo.”
Of course, he was right. I’d never been in any real danger falling down that hill, but Cat had. That fact was shaking me up something fierce.
Brushing her long hair behind her ears, I looked my girl directly in her big, beautiful whiskey-brown eyes. I could feel her heart wildly thumping as I braced my hands on her delicate shoulders and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “You still good, babe?”
I didn’t see any cuts or bruises, only a few smudges of dirt on her pristine work uniform.
She was wearing one of those flippy little skirts with a matching pair of pink Lycra panties underneath that showcased her toned thighs perfectly.
Yeah, I’d noticed. So sue me. I could see myself ripping that white, fitted tank down the middle, exposing those luscious tits of hers, then bending her over while she was still wearing this skirt.
Just the thought of it caused me to harden painfully in my jeans.
Fighting the urge to adjust myself, I pulled my mind out of the gutter and forced myself to focus on her response.
“I don’t feel any pain. How about you?” She considerately posed. In a small, awed voice, she added, “You took the brunt of the fall and saved us both. You could have been killed!”
“Don’t worry about Ace, kid,” Mad Dog retorted with a shit-eating grin. “His head has a better chance of injuring the ground than the other way around. Our Prez is more machine than man.”
Cat frowned at his lack of concern, which I found adorable as hell.
My hands traveled over her trembling shoulders, down her arms, and then to her waist and she instinctively placed her palms against my chest, looking up at me with genuine concern.
“I’m fine, Cat. Not a single scratch on me,” I stated with a smile.
My fingers flexed around her narrow waist, and I sensed a tiny shiver of lust skitter up her spine.
It was clear her body was responding to mine.
My proximity. My pheromones. My sex. Everything in me wanted to give her what she needed.
What she craved. To mark her with my scent and seed.
The urge was so strong, it felt like I’d been shot up with a drug.
It was riding me hard, demanding I ride her even harder.
Mad Dog cleared his throat, and the tension sparking between Cat and myself.
“Kane must know these woods well because he stashed his bike not too far from where the road meets the tree line. The cowardly fucker took off on it before we could catch him. Domino wanted to hunt him down, so I came back here to check on the two of you.”
By “hunt him down”, my brother had meant shift and give chase in animal form. Domino was one strong, fast motherfucker, but he wasn’t about to outrun a bike even on his best day.
“Call to him and tell him to back off,” I ordered my Club’s Road Master. “We’ll deal with the asshole later. We know where he lays his deranged head at night. He’s not getting away with this shit.”
Kane’s club house was located a few counties over in Harrisburg.
It was a run down, flea infested shack that should have been condemned, not sold to their MC.
Hell, letting him hide in that rat’s nest was punishment in itself.
Though it wouldn’t be nearly enough for what he could have done to my girl.
I didn’t have to say as much to Mad Dog, but we both knew Kane’s time was limited. Let him sit in his filthy lair and wonder when we’d strike. It would make the moment when we did even more enjoyable.
“I’m going to take Cat back home. I’ll call you later,” I said to my brother.
Cat took a step backward. “I still have two hours left until the end of my shift, Ace. I can’t leave now.”
She must be joking. After what just happened, there was no way I was going to let her hang around like bait for Kane to come back and snatch up.
“Babe,” I carefully began, not used to being challenged as both an alpha and president of an MC, while trying to be understanding about the differences between human and ware social structures.
As much as they might piss me off, I had to remember that Cat was still in the dark about who she was.
And, by extension, who I was to her. Her alpha.
The one destined to care for and protect her.
“You’re not staying here after what happened. It’s not safe.”
Cat gave me a pointed look at what she probably perceived to be a heavy-handed statement.
“I most certainly am staying until Krammer’s closes.
There are only two waitresses on shift besides me tonight.
If I leave now, they’ll be overrun with cars and have to stay for cleanup long after closing.
I admit, I’m rattled by what just happened, but I can handle it and I’m not leaving, Ace. ”
I huffed out a frustrated breath. It wasn’t like I could force her to go. I might think of her as “mine”, but until Cat knew who she was and what she meant to me, I couldn’t make her do anything. Fuck me, this was complicated!
“Mad Dog, you can head out. I’m going to hang around here until Cat’s shift ends and then see her home,” I amended, my hard gaze never wavering from Cat’s.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” my brother dutifully returned.
I smiled, knowing what, or who, he’d rather be doing. I’m sure if he had it his way, he’d be over at Chubs, trying to cajole Kierston into his bed. “I’m good. Contact Domino and we’ll catch up later.”
My brother hiked a brow as he tossed Cat an appreciative glance. “How late we talking?”
“Piss off,” I crudely replied. He knew what I intended to do with my evening as soon as we got back to Cat’s place. I didn’t need to spell it out for the twisted bastard.
“I’m just saying,” he teased with a mischievous grin.
“Tell Kierston I said hi,” I returned, knowing that would get under his skin for sure. He hated that we all had his number when it came to the witch. He couldn’t admit, even if it was obvious to everyone else, that he wanted to give her every inch of his knot the first chance she gave him.
Flipping me off over his shoulder, Mad Dog trotted down the hill and over to the parking lot where our bikes were banked. I chuckled and looked back at Cat. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to go home early?”
Glancing down at her watch, she ignored my question altogether and said, “I’m five minutes over my break already. I’ve got to head back now, or Harry is going to start looking for me.”
We started down the hill, this time on our feet instead of our asses, and I watched that firm rear end of hers sway seductively back and forth with every step. As soon as I got her alone, I was going to spank that ass for defying me tonight.
Just the thought of exposing her round, creamy globes to my palm made my cock twitch excitedly in its denim prison.
Fuck, the idea was so tantalizing, I could barely wait.
I was going to need a taste to tide me over until then.
Only problem was, once I got a taste, I’m not sure I was going to be able to hold back.
“You and I are going to have a long talk when I take you home later tonight,” I told her when we were about halfway down the path.
Cat tossed me a saucy look over her shoulder, and I mentally tabulated the extra spanks I’d add on to the ones she already owed me.
When we reached the parking lot, Cat glanced nervously over at me as she bit her bottom lip. “Can I get you something to eat while you wait? Babysitting me couldn’t have been your main plan when you left the Clubhouse tonight.”
I grinned. A ware never turned down a meal. Our metabolisms burned so fast and hot, we had to eat about double what the average man consumed just to maintain our weight. “I could eat. I’m not picky, so I’ll take whatever you like here.”
“The burgers are really good. The fries aren’t bad either. I’ll go put your ticket in,” she hurriedly told me.
Before she turned to go, I snagged her arm. Gathering the irresistible woman close, I laid a kiss so full of passion and heat onto her lips that the night air around us suddenly grew a good ten degrees hotter.
She was taken aback at first, but Cat quickly melted against my chest, her luscious curves snugged seamlessly against my muscular body. The fit was so right, so perfect, it was as if we’d been fashioned from one being before fate had cruelly ripped us apart.
Frustrated beyond reason, my dick tried to drill a hole through my jeans to make our connection complete.
Needing more contact, my hands ran up and down her tight uniform, memorizing every hill and valley along the way.
This small bit of foreplay would have to suffice until later tonight when I could experience my girl without all these bothersome clothes between us.
When I could see and feel, all of her underneath me.
When I could slide into her wet heat and fill her with some of my own.
Cat, giving over to our mate bond, whimpered and thrust her tongue against mine. Her hips began to perform an unconscious dance of desire older than time itself. Her movements silently begged me for what her inner animal knew she needed, but her human self couldn’t quite put into words.
The more of her scent that I inhaled, the higher I got. If I didn’t stop this dangerous game now, I wouldn’t be able to stop it at all.
When I reluctantly pulled back, Cat was staring at me with those honey-toned eyes of hers. Her lips, shiny and a bit swollen looking, were pleading for more. Somehow, I managed to restrain myself, though my dick absolutely hated me for my sudden self-control.
Reaching around to her ass, I gave it a rough pat through her gingham skirt, appreciating the fullness there. “I’ll be right here if you need anything, babe. And I meant what I said earlier. I’m taking you home tonight. There’s a lot we need to… discuss.”
Cat slowly shook her head before someone called her name and snapped her out of the sexual haze she was floating in.
“Ok,” was all she could manage to eke out before righting her apron and heading back toward another waitress who seemed relieved to see her.