Chapter 3
ASH
The delicious redhead tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked me up and down.
A curious tilt lifted her chin and she set one hand on her hip. “Well, who wants to be interviewed first?”
All that cocky swagger flooded straight to my cock.
I took in every curve from the swell of her breasts to her lush hips.
The bright red lipstick snagged my attention, and I had an immediate and visceral urge to see those bright red lips wrapped around my cock.
I flipped the toothpick from the right side of my mouth to the left, flicking my tongue over the pointed end as I imagined how she’d taste.
Bishop cleared his throat. “I’d better keep watch at the stairs.”
“Oh.” Noelle snapped her fingers like she’d suddenly remembered something. “There’s a couple in one of the rooms up there. Rafe seemed pretty upset that I stumbled into his office on accident, but if people are allowed to be up there having sex, he’s bound to get interrupted again.”
Bishop scowled so hard a line creased his forehead. “Upstairs is off limits to everyone.”
He shoved a hand through his hair. “Fucking Bryce. Dude can’t even keep watch for half a fucking hour.”
He clapped a hand to my back, the weight behind it almost knocking me into the table.
Fucker had no idea how strong he was despite how many times I’d pointed it out to him.
I firmed my stance and elbowed him in the stomach. “Guess you’ll have to do it yourself.”
I’d talked him into playing a game of pool with me while Bryce watched the back.
Noelle frowned. “Bryce? Wait, he’s the guy I talked to when I got here.”
“That explains it.” Bishop shook his head, exasperation deepening the furrow in his forehead. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
It took a minute for me to decipher the worry in Noelle’s voice. “Bryce? Yeah, he’ll be fine. Bishop will read him the riot act, threaten to take away his jacket, then show him how to stand guard like a good biker man.”
I snorted a laugh at the way Noelle’s face scrunched. “You don’t believe me?”
“He’s…” She held out both hands. “I’m a reporter. I should have the right words.”
“He’s Bishop.” I tapped her elbow and pointed at the pool table. “You play?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“No better time to learn.” I picked up Bishop’s pool stick and held it out to her. “What kind of questions do you have for me?”
She eyed me, then the table, then the room.
Her throat dipped in a hard swallow, and my eyes narrowed on the pulse fluttering in her throat.
I counted the beats and frowned.
Why was she so nervous?
I followed her gaze to where Bishop and Bryce talked in the corner.
Bishop towered over the poor guy, and he wore his soldier face as he motioned toward the stairs.
Bryce gave a clipped nod.
“They’re fine. Bryce ignored the rules and left his station. If you’d been an assassin, Rafe might be dead right now. He needs to understand that when he’s given a responsibility, he needs to follow through, no matter how great the distraction is.”
“I should apologize. It was my fault.” She took a step.
I grabbed her hand, pulling her to a stop. “No, you shouldn’t. Unless you manhandled Bryce into leaving his post, none of this is your fault. And if you want your story, you need to stay with me.” I winked to take some of the heat from my words.
Noelle’s attention returned to me.
I knew what she saw, what everyone saw.
Blond hair, blue eyes.
Tattoos were hidden beneath my shirt, but the hints of them covered the backs of my hands and wrists.
I wore my happy-go-lucky personality like a banner, my face always pulled into a smile.
It was easy to maintain when I lived the life of my dreams.
“I’m not sure you’re the guy to tell me the truth about this place.” Noelle arched a red brow and crossed her arms. “I know when people are lying to me, and you look like the type who knows how to spin a good story. That’s probably why he stuck me with you.”
“You want the truth about us?” I matched her tone while lining up a shot on the pool table.
I nicked the cue ball and sent it flying into the striped ball near the corner pocket.
It sank home with a satisfying snick that widened my smile.
Two of Rafe’s newest recruits came up behind Noelle.
Freddie, the youngest of our club, ran his arm around Noelle’s waist. “Hey there. Anything we can do to help with your article?”
“Um.” Noelle shifted. “I’m not sure. I’m looking for first-hand accounts of stories that put the Steel Vipers in a positive light. Do you have anything like that?”
“Well, there was the one time we took down a robber trying to steal an old lady’s purse.” Freddie grinned so wide his canines flashed.
“Oh, wow. Did the woman report the attempted robbery? Did anyone turn the guy in?” She delved into a series of questions that raised the hairs on the back of my neck.
The questions were thoughtful and probing, the kind I’d heard detectives ask the couple of times I’d been hauled in for a good workover when they wanted to implicate our gang in some crime or other.
Freddie answered the best he could, but the poor guy hadn’t really helped with the takedown.
He’d stood on the sidelines, too worried about getting hurt to be of much use.
I let the questioning run its course, and by the time they finished, Freddie stalked away a flustered mess, his thoughts of getting laid long gone.
“You sure Rafe meant for us to share her?” Bryce’s voice barely drifted into my ear.
He strode past me. “She doesn’t look the type.”
“Rafe knows what he’s doing.” I set up another shot.
Rafe always knew what he was doing, and trusting him had kept us all alive and out of prison. “You’d better pay attention to your words. You either have Rafe’s back, or you don’t. And questioning his decisions is a straight lane out the door.”
Noelle leaned toward us, her bright blue eyes locked on and full of questions.
She was lying about something.
I knew it as well as I knew every single part on my motorcycle.
I’d put the whole thing together myself.
People were nothing more than a collection of parts put together through their experiences.
What experiences had shaped Noelle into this curious and gorgeous creature?
Rafe loved using our bad boy image to keep rival gangs at bay.
What did it mean that he’d agreed to let Noelle do fluff pieces to help our image?
Bryce’s gaze lingered on Noelle longer than I liked.
I shifted my weight to cut between him and Noelle. “Come on. I’m going to teach you how to play.”
She hesitated, her breaths coming short and fast as she met my eyes. “I’m just trying to do my job.”
“Right.” I settled my hands on her hips and turned her around so she faced the pool table.
I leaned over her shoulder so my lips brushed her ear. “I’m not sure I believe you are who you say you are. What kind of reporter comes into a place like this without prior knowledge? I’m very good at finding out the truth about people, and I will learn the truth about you.”
“I just arrived in town. This is my first assignment.” She gripped my fingers where they locked on her hips.
“Do you realize what Rafe meant when he gave you to us?” I slid my hands lower, into the dips along her hips.
I turned and flicked the toothpick out of my mouth before I bent and nibbled her earlobe.
She tensed but didn’t tell me to stop. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb. It doesn’t suit you.”
“You don’t know anything about me.” Her grip tightened. “You need to let me go.”
“You belong to us now, Noelle. Rafe’s word is law. The two of you talked before he brought you down here.” My cock lengthened and swelled, and I pressed it into the curve of her ass.
I knew the instant she felt it.
Her eyelids fluttered shut, and she wiggled her ass from side to side with a tiny whimper parting her lips.
No fear.
No disgust.
Curiosity and need shone in the bright oval of her face.
I’d never seen such smooth skin and adorable dimples that popped when she smiled.
“He didn’t ask me.” Noelle’s eyes flew open.
She bent away from me and turned to look over her shoulder. “I’m here to write about your gang. I don’t care what Rafe said. I’m not a toy to be passed around.”
I nuzzled the side of her neck. “You say that, but you’re still here. Your pulse is racing, and you haven’t told me to fuck off.”
“Would you?” The whispered question sliced through me.
I released her and took a step backward. “We’re not animals, Noelle. We wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want. And no is a sentence we all understand and obey.”
She still hadn’t said it, but she’d slumped when I released her and took her time turning around to face me.
A flush colored her cheeks, and she raised a shaking hand to push the mass of curls away from her temple. “You’re an asshole.”
“At least I’m an honest one.” I brushed a hand over the curves of her hair and down her shoulder.
Goosebumps erupted on her arms, and her throat convulsed. “I’ll be sure to include that in my first article.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” I smirked and took a step back. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”
Turning, I walked away with a whistle on my lips.
Damn but this was going to be fun.