...or something: Ronacks Motorcycle Club (6 page)

Her smile faded, and she tilted her chin higher to whisper, "This is the first birthday party I've ever had with the whole club here. Last year, they were on that run, and you came back early with a cake and ice cream to help me celebrate, remember?"

He smoothed the hair away from her forehead, glad he could give her something no one else had done for her. "Yeah. I remember."

"I love you, Battery." She threw her arms around his waist and plastered herself against him.

His eyes closed and he cupped the back of her head. "Back at you, Bree."

Her body softened, and she stayed in his arms. He absorbed her sigh and swore he'd never let anything happen to her.

She gave him another squeeze around his waist. "So, where's my present?"

"Back pocket," he whispered against the top of her head. "Happy birthday, Bree."

Her hand dug into his pocket. Her body stiffened, and she pulled away, staring at the keychain in her hand before raising her wide eyes to him. "Is this a joke or something?"

"...or something." He grinned. There was no turning back. No MasterCard. No socks. No bikini. He'd given her freedom.

He lifted his chin, knowing his life would once again change now that Bree could leave whenever the mood struck her. "It's parked on the side of the pole building."

She skipped a few feet away, stopped, and held out her hand. "Come with me."

"You can go on and check it out by yourself. I'll be there in a minute." He watched her hurry away, and it seemed like he spent most of his time nowadays wanting to call her back.

Bree gathered the others—mostly club members—and took them with her to discover her present. He couldn't make himself follow. That girl had wrapped herself around him from the start and never let go. Despite the ups and downs on bringing her home with him, she was a part of his life. He wasn't ready for her to leave him.

She might never go further than into town to buy herself lunch, but in her head, she'd pull away from him. New people would invite her into their lives. New experiences would attract her, and she'd grab on to life, living every single moment. Hell, he'd done the same thing at her age.

He had no use for his parents or brothers, and when he'd joined Ronacks and finally found a family that suited him, he'd stayed. Solid, dedicated, and persistent, he'd jumped at the opportunity to step up as president when the vote came his way, and never looked back.

M
el ran his hand down the hood of the black Corvette and whistled. Bree ignored the prospect and got out of the driver's seat of her birthday present. Thanks to Battery, she knew how to drive. He'd taken her on the backroads in his truck and taught her. Though she wasn't allowed to get her license until she turned eighteen years old, because of the whole hiding from the cops because she was a minor deal and over the last year, without a car, she hadn't officially become a driver.

She respected Battery's wishes and understood his desire not to have the authorities come and arrest him for harboring a runaway minor, which was fine by her. She wanted to stay with him. She mainly put off the written and driving test because she had nowhere to go that Battery couldn't take her.

Mel leaned his lanky body against her car and grinned, showing her a gap in his two front teeth. "You going to give me a ride someday?"

"No," she said.

"Ah, come on." He leaned her way. "We could go out."

"Battery would kill you first." She sighed and looked behind her.

Battery promised to come over and see her check out her present and be with her, and he never showed. She put the key in her pocket. All of her so-called friends had already left.

"You're probably right about Prez." Mel shoved his hands in his vest. "Sucks, though."

"What does?" she asked.

"That Battery doesn't let anyone in the club ask you out." Mel lowered his voice. "I'd take the chance of sneaking away for a drive with you. You'd be worth it."

"I'm not worth your life, and you're a jerk for throwing away what Ronacks Motorcycle Club gives you and you're not even patched in yet. You screw up once, and you can kiss your ass goodbye." She stepped away. "I'm going to the house to find Battery and thank him for the car."

"I'll go with you." Mel hurried and fell into step with her. "Are you seeing one of those guys that hang around you? You know, your friends?"

"No."

"Why not?"

She glanced at him. "What's with all the questions?"

"Curious."

She continued walking, uninterested in the conversation. "I have better things to do than waste my time playing their games and hooking up when they want sex. Besides, they only come around because Battery lets them stick around outside at the parties."

Not that the boys hadn't tried to be with her. Chance and Nate tried every time they came around, and if she wasn't careful and they caught her alone, their hands got too friendly. Their insincere and selfish ways to get their kicks at her expense turned her off. She had no desire to be with anyone because she already made up her mind on who she wanted and she wouldn't settle for anything less.

"Looks like everyone from Ronacks went inside." Mel picked up an extra piece of cake left out on the picnic table. "Your friends left without saying goodbye."

Sometimes she wondered if Mel had full use of his brain. Since she waited for Battery out at the car, she'd missed out on having a piece of her birthday cake. If she got lucky, one of the women belonging to the club put a piece away in the kitchen, and she could taste her cake later.

She walked to the door, more determined to find Battery. Forgetting about Mel, she went inside.

The music, mellower than earlier, set the mood for the others in the club as they wound down from the day. A dozen people surrounded the pool table, and the rest were at the bar and lounging on the two couches in the room. By the sight of them, drinks had started flowing steadily, and the women had picked the biker they wanted to spend their time with already.

What should've been the living room of the house was the main entertainment area for the club. A place where they could all relax and do what they wanted. Bree scanned the room looking for Battery and finally found the back of his brown hair over in the corner behind the pool table.

She skirted the players and squeezed between Grady and Amber. Excitement filled her like every time she got close to Battery, and she reached forward to tap him on the back and thank him again when a woman with blonde hair she'd noticed a few times hanging out at the house laughed and Battery's head dipped toward the lady.

Bree dropped her hand to her side before touching him and stepped away. Angered that Battery would miss out on seeing her get her present from him and not caring enough about her birthday to spend the time with her, she turned, and shoulder bumped Grady in her rush to leave the room. Bouncing off Grady's large body, she grabbed onto the pool table to regain her balance and hurried through the room to the back stairs.

Tears ruined her vision, and she missed a step, catching herself with her hands on the carpeted steps. Frustrated, she pushed back and swiped her eyes with her hands as she stomped upstairs to her and Battery's private living area. Sometimes, she hated Battery and the way he went with other women without a thought to how she'd feel.

During those times, and there were a lot of them, she had the urge to walk out the front door. The impulse to run away from the pain stronger than her desire for the security and love she received. It was at those times, like tonight, that her complicated relationship with Battery overwhelmed her.

She marched to the refrigerator, opened the door, and spotted two large pieces of cake covered in Saran wrap. The emotions of today caught up with her and seeing Battery flirting with a woman when he should've been at her side on her birthday knocked her sideways. No longer caring about her birthday or finding out if it was Battery or someone else that remembered to keep a piece of cake for her, she removed the paper plate from the fridge and tossed the whole thing in the trash.

Clamping her lips, she muffled her scream of frustration. She'd done everything possible to get Battery's attention over the years, and nothing fazed him. He patiently let her make a fool of herself over him and for what?

He liked her. She'd even go as far to say he loved her. He took care of her and treated her as if she belonged to him, but when it came to showing him how much she loved him, he shut her down cold, even though his eyes told the truth while his mouth lied.

She'd bet her life with Battery that he wanted her, too.

He probably regretted bringing her to Montana, and now he gave her a car, and she was free to leave. Maybe she should go and prove to him once and for all that she wasn't living some childhood fantasy, but she was a woman with feelings and every single one of them was wrapped around him.

The door opened to the upstairs and clicked shut. "Bree?" said Battery.

She wiped her face and hurried over to the couch. Her chest pounded, and she stared out the floor to ceiling window even though she couldn't see a blasted thing in the darkness. She'd made a lot of mistakes in her life, but she'd never regret trusting Battery, even if he ended up breaking her heart.

He walked into the room. "Hey...I was looking for you."

He was not.

"Did you check out the car?" He sat on the coffee table in front of her.

Of course, she had, and she'd waited for him like she always waited.

She nodded. "Yeah, thanks again."

He frowned and leaned forward, placing his hands on her bare thighs. The warmth of his rough, broad hands restarted the tears in her eyes, and she blinked them dry.

"What's going on, carny-girl?" he whispered. "Did someone upset you?"

She wanted to scream that he upset her.

"It's been a big day," she said.

He moved and sat beside her, tucking her under his arm. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes when his hand stroked her hair. He was here with her now. That's all that mattered.

One day, he'd wake up and realize the women who hung around the club members meant nothing to him. She'd seen them come and go, and he only used them. He used everyone, except her.

People believed they understood and knew Battery. Club members, women, and even the residents of Haugan only understood what Battery allowed them to see. Nobody understood him or witnessed what she had over the years.

He was different around her, especially when they were alone. He was her family, and he might believe that the club was all the family he needed, he'd be wrong again. He needed her. Deep down, they were connected and closer than they were to anyone else.

He sought her out. He watched her sleep. He wanted to touch her, and she'd felt him pull back until it pained him. And, he could deny it, fight it, and try to change it every minute of every day, but she was the one on the other side of his needs. And, she was done waiting for him.

Completely done.

There was nothing stopping her from going after what she wanted, and from the moment she met Battery, trusted him to take her away from the carnival, keep her safe from his club, she'd wanted him.

She sighed and snuggled against him. "I don't have my license."

"You'll get it. Until then, you can drive the backroads and keep your speed under control, and the cops won't do a thing to you." Battery stopped moving his hand and held her tight. "You'll probably figure out right quick that the roads never stop. You can drive forever, see places you've never been."

She pushed against him without leaving his arms and looked him in the eyes. "I'm never leaving you."

"Never is a long time," he mumbled.

She kissed his cheek, leaving her lips on his bearded face, and whispered, "Forever."

"You need to go to bed, and I need to get back downstairs." His fingers knotted in the strands of her hair skimming her lower back. "In the morning, you can take me for a ride in your Corvette."

She sagged against him and pulled back to look in his eyes. "I'm nineteen years old now. Doesn't that change things for you?"

"Yeah," he said on an exhale. "You're too old to play games, carny-girl. Hop up and go to bed."

"Don't treat me like a child." She skimmed her lips over his. "You want me."

"I want a lot of things." His tongue came out and tasted his lips where she'd pressed hers, and made her stomach quiver. "Most things I want will get me in trouble and then who'd look out for you."

"If you don't want anyone to know, we could keep it a secret," she whispered, rubbing the pad of her thumb over his bottom lip.

His eyes softened. "I'm Forty years old. At your age, you don't know what life is going to give you. Don't throw it away on me. I'm old enough to be your father. I brought you here to save you from yourself."

"Don't lie. Not to me." Her spine straightened. "You kept me for you, and I've known that from the second day you came back to the carnival to see me."

"You were sixteen."

"Don't give me that bullshit excuse about my age." She pushed away from him and stood. "I offered myself to you the night we arrived in Montana, and you turned me down, saying I was too young. I tried again six months later when I turned seventeen, and you went downstairs and fucked Leslie. Leslie, Battery. Let that sink in. At eighteen, I stopped keeping track of how many times you left me to seek the comfort of one of the women who hang around the club. As if fucking someone else made you forget about me."

"Watch your mouth," he muttered.

"You're going to go back downstairs and have sex with that woman you were flirting with earlier, but it'll be me you're thinking about and wanting." She shook her head, trembling with anger. "Can't you see that I haven't changed?"

He stood and walked over to the fridge, grabbed a beer, and tossed the cap on the counter. She followed him to the other side of the room.

"You've changed." Battery raised his gaze and the anger radiating from him set her back. She shook her head. No, she hadn't.