Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Cassie
"Girl, what the hell?" Jake hisses, jumping over a log and running to me.
Rolling my eyes at him, I swing my leg over my seat and stand beside the new beauty. "Isn't she beautiful?" I say, petting the handlebars as I drop the kickstand.
My ride is sparkly red with black accents. She's literally the greatest thing in the whole damn world aside from my niece, of course.
"She's stunning," Jake agrees, taking in the solid strength of my new motorcycle. "I didn't realize your first training bike would be this. What if you scratch it?"
"Then you'll ask Dent to repair her for me," I reply with confidence.
Even though I'm not a part of his MC, Jake is one of my best friends, and I know he'd call in a favor from his brother, Dent, who does the maintenance on the bikes for the club.
Grumbling under his breath, Jake avoids eye contact with me and instead walks circles around my Harley. "Damn dude," he murmurs, hand on his scruffy jaw. "I'm jealous as fuck."
Nodding, I accept his praise. I've been so excited to show him. His reaction is exactly as I had hoped.
When he stops and crosses his arms while narrowing his eyes at me, I know I'm in for his attitude. "Will you tell me why you think it's a good idea to practice out in the middle of the woods?"
Jake makes it incredibly hard not to roll my eyes at him constantly. I'm convinced he's the male version of me, which is why I love him so damn much. He's the brother I never had.
"You make it sound like we're not standing on an actual road."
"Have you seen the branches and potholes, Cassie? If you aren't careful out here, you'll hurt more than just the fabulous paint job on this beauty."
Taking a deep breath, I try to keep my patience. I've been really struggling with my hair-trigger annoyance this month, and Jake doesn't deserve that. "I understand, but I don't want anyone to see us."
His dark eyes narrow further. "Who are you worried about seeing you, Cassidy? A certain jackass who doesn't know what's good for him?"
"Stop," I groan. "You don't need to worry about that. You know what Maddox would do if he found out you know about us."
Something flashes across his face, and my confusion rises with his words. "Do I? What exactly do you think he'll do, Cass?"
"Aside from beating you up and probably locking you away for a month? I—"
"Do you actually believe Shade would do that to me?!" Why does he look disgusted with me? "If you really fucking think he would do that to me, your friend, why the hell are you in love with him?"
Disgruntled and annoyed, I break eye contact. What he asked, how he worded it, is why I feel like I'm going to lose my mind sooner rather than later. What I said is the reason why I convince myself it's for the best when Maddy leaves me.
But something doesn't feel right about thinking Maddy is a brutal, abusive man. In my heart and soul, I know that, yet my mind tries so damn hard to encourage me to believe the worst about the MC president.
If Maddox is the ruthless leader he shows me, then why not take the easy way out with him? He's dangerous, and that's that. It's not, though. There's so much more to the story, but until he's willing to let me in, I'm stuck fumbling with different versions of the truth.
"Can you just walk me through the differences between your Harley and mine? What do I need to look out for, best positioning for my body, and anything else you think I should keep in mind? Driving it the few times I have so far, I feel a bit uncomfortable because it's not yours."
Jake opens his mouth to respond, but everything comes crashing down when the roaring of a motorcycle comes from behind me. All color leaches from Jake's face, and he even takes a step away from me.
"Fuck. Cassie, it's Shade."
I already knew that just by the sound. Steeling myself as Maddox comes to a stop a few feet behind me, I force myself to stand strong. Why is he here? How the hell did he know where we are?
Boots on gravel make me tense while Jake sucks in a breath. "Shade don't—"
"You don't tell me what to do. Leave. Now," he barks.
To his credit, Jake doesn't so much as twitch before checking in with me. I have to nod and shoo him away before he takes the hint. "He won't hurt me," I tell my friend, knowing in my heart it's the truth. Plus, Jake wouldn't actually leave me with Maddox if he thought I was in danger.
Maddox growls something low behind me, but Jake's engine drowns him out for a few moments as he tears away from us. I want to beg Maddox not to hurt Jake, but I'm afraid if I show that weakness, Maddox will use it against me.
I shouldn't want him.
"Tell me."
Cursing myself for the shudder that travels down my spine, I whisper, "Tell you what?"
"Tell me what you've been doing with him."
This is bad. I know it is, yet my self-preservation flies out the window as my rage barrels in. My body does the work before my brain does, turning me around. I lift my chin in defiance and stare through the dark visor of Maddy's helmet.
Alarm bells blare in my mind telling me not to do this.
Don't fucking do this. I know what he'll do, and it will piss me off to no end, but I'm fucking ready.
It's so far past the time that I throw down the gauntlet and challenge this asshole I allow in my bed and heart.
If he wants to push Jake away from me because he's feeling possessive, then I'll break the fucking button that will set us off into a downward spiral.
"He's teaching me how to ride."
Even though I knew what would happen, a scream still tears from me as he grabs me by the throat and hauls me into his chest. My forehead bangs into his helmet just enough to shock me, and the low warning timbre in his voice makes my heart stop.
"You've been on the back of a brother’s fucking bike?"
Warning. Warning. "Every week for the past year."
I don't need to see Maddy's face to know the moment I've lost him to his feral side.
It's in his body language—the way his shoulders square as if he's ready to fight an enemy.
When his hand flexes on my neck, I know without a shadow of a doubt he's trying to rein himself in, except I don't want that.
What I need is for Maddox to show me just how brutal he can be with me. It's toxic and concerning as fuck, but I want him to prove to me that he's no good. So I push him right over the edge, willingly accepting my fate.
"That's where the old ladies sit, right?" The breath gets yanked from my lungs as he twists me in place, grabs the back of my neck and shoves my tits down on the seat of his black Harley. "You gonna fuck me on your bike but won't let me ride it? That's low, Maddy."
The only reason tears prick my eyes is because he doesn't respond. I love his rough handling and feral need to fuck me. There's no part of me that doesn't want this. I hate when he ignores me, so I push a little harder. Piss him off just a little more.
"Mmm," I moan as he yanks down my leather pants and grunts at my lack of panties. Let him see what he's been missing for weeks. A slight breeze highlights the chill between my thighs where my pussy drips for him. "Riding always makes me so wet. Jake—"
"I don't want to hear another man's name out of your fucking mouth," he warns, low and threatening.
I don't realize he's pulled his dick out until he's notched at my entrance and bending over my back.
Not surprisingly, he's careful not to slam his helmet into the back of my head. "Never another man's fucking name."
"Maddy—AH!" Instinctually, my cunt clamps down around him, but it feels like I'm more trying to keep him buried to the hilt than push the intrusion out. "Harder!"
Pushing myself up a little, electricity shoots through me as my nipples rub against his leather seat through my thin bra and shirt.
His cock slides so easily through my walls as he rams into me over and over again like a man possessed.
As if his need to claim me after seeing me with another man is too much to control.
"Damn it, Cassidy. You drive me fucking CRAZY!" he roars and spanks me just enough to make my toes curl.
His cockhead catches on my opening every time he pulls most of the way out, igniting my pleasure and making me feel every slick, solid inch of him. When his hands start to feel like they'll bruise my hips, I whimper and slam back on him.
"Will you be a man and make me come, Maddy?"
Heat blooms on my other ass cheek as he spanks me for my taunt. "Greedy girl," he rumbles and reaches around to press the pad of one of his fingers against my clit.
For a moment, he stiffens and his hips stutter, but he doesn't come. Instead he curses and fucks me harder, bringing me right to the edge of orgasm, then sends me crashing over the edge with no finesse. Just animalistic need to get me off fast so he can come on my thighs.
I barely enjoy the waves of euphoria rolling through my body because Maddy pulls out halfway through and paints my legs and pussy lips in his seed. Something changed. What happened?
"Get off," he says, voice tight and quiet.
The zipper of his jeans makes me flinch, but what sends lava rolling through my veins is the gentle way he extracts my shaking body from the seat of his motorcycle.
There, with my pants around my ankles, cum dripping down my wobbly knees, Maddy barely looks my way as he straddles his bike. The rumble of his engine changes something in me. He's going to leave me here. Like this.
Maddox grabs my jaw with one large hand and pulls me in close enough to feel the vibrations in my ribs. "One last thing," he starts, loud enough for me to hear. "Your tits on my seat with your ass in the air is the only way you'll ever touch a Shadows’ bike again. Now move."
With that, he pushes me back with that stupid gentleness that makes me crazy and speeds off into the fucking distance. The tears that spill down my cheeks are hotter than the pits of hell. This feeling...this total anger he's left me with has seeped into my heart.
Too far. Maddox pushed me too far. Shade will feel my fucking wrath.