ROUGH RIDER (2 page)

“
L
ooks
like you two are lost,” the deep voice boomed behind us. The girl and I turned at the same time.

“Just having a drink, that’s all,” I replied, sizing up the guy. He was big, no doubt… But I was bigger. Fear was an emotion that I didn’t waste time on, so I wasn’t about to back down to him.

“Otto’s belongs to us,” he growled, running his hand over his greying beard.

“I don’t see that posted anywhere,” I replied. “It’s a public place.”

“Don’t matter. You ain’t one of us,” he sneered, turning and lewdly leering at the girl at my side. I didn’t know her name yet, but I wasn’t about to let this asshole look at her like that. I took a step to my right, gently pushing her behind me.

“Look, brother. We’re just having a drink. Not looking for any trouble.”

Two of his buddies saddled up next to him as I remained calm, lifting up a glass and polishing off my beer.

“We aren’t familiar with your club,” his buddy said, nodding at the Outlaw Kings MC patch on my cut.

“We aren’t one percenters,” I replied.

“Yeah, well we are,” he crossed his hands over his chest. He was doing his best to intimidate me but that was fucking impossible. He just didn’t know it yet.

“Look, the lady is going to finish her drink and we’ll be on our way,” I said, turning back to the bar. I didn’t want to put my back to them, but it was the only way to move things along. I wasn’t in the mood for a fight. I was never in the mood for a fight. In fact, fighting was at the very last of my list of preferred resources. Again, not because of fear, but because hurting people never really turned me on. If this was going to turn into a fight, then I’d rather hurry up and get it over with.

A yelp sounded beside me and I turned to see the girl with her eyes wide and her mouth open in shock.

“You pinched my ass, you fuckin’ cazzo!” she yelled, charging at the biggest guy and slapping him right across the face. Hard.

His buddies erupted in laughter and the big guy’s face flushed red with anger. He grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him and then slapped her back.

She fell to the ground at my feet, her cheek flushing red as she stared up at us in shock.

He hadn’t hit her hard, but the fucker hit her and if there’s anything in the whole fucking world I can’t stand it’s an asshole that puts his hands on a woman. There’s no excuse in the whole fucking world for that, as far as I’m concerned.

“I really wish you hadn’t done that,” I said, facing off with him. He snickered.

“What the fuck are you going to do about it, asshole?” he sneered. “Take us all on?”

“Not for nuttin’, but you’re a real fuckin’ scumbag, you know that?” Every time it was time to fight, my past came rushing back, as well as my New York accent. You don’t grow up in Queens without fighting, and the feel of the adrenaline pumping through my veins always reminded me of my old days runnin’ the streets.

I didn’t wait for an answer. My fist made contact with his jaw before he could reply. He went down hard and his buddies were on me quick. I ducked, taking the first one out with a vicious right hook, then unloaded on his friend before turning to see how many more I was dealing with.

There were at least another dozen bikers in the club and they were all focused directly on me. I grabbed a bar stool, knocking three more of them out of the way before grabbing the girl off the floor and pushing her behind me.

“Stay behind me!” I barked, as I began moving towards the door. I needed to keep her close and try to make it to the exit as I fought my way through these guys, but now that she was on her feet, she grabbed a stool and began swinging at them, too.

She pushed one away with the legs of the stool, then swung it high over her head and came down on his neck in one fell swoop. He landed at her feet with a heavy thud and she swung it again, taking down the next guy like this wasn’t her first rodeo.

I pulled her away, knocking through two more guys as we fought our way towards the door.

By the time my back finally hit the heavy metal door, we’d left a dozen patched members of the Iron Godz MC laying bloodied on the floor. They weren’t going to stay down long. When I saw one begin to crawl to his knees and pull a gun out of his boot, I grabbed the girl’s hand and pulled her outside.

“Let’s go!” I said, dragging her out into the darkness of the parking lot. A gunshot rang out, the bullet ripping out the door and whizzing over our heads as we ran away.

“Oh, shit! Guns!” she cried, running alongside me. “My car is this way!”

“Fuck your car! Get on! Now!” I said, jumping on my bike and starting it up. The front door flew open and three bloody and extremely angry bikers stumbled out onto the sidewalk.

“Shit!” She cried, jumping on my bike as I kicked it into gear. She wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her head in my shoulder.

“Hold on tight,” I yelled, as we roared out of the parking lot, gunshots following in our wake.

Her arms gripped me so hard I could barely breathe. I gunned the engine, the vibrations running through our bodies violently as we sped through the night.

T
he fat tires
of Dante’s bike gripped the asphalt as he took a corner fast and low. I was shocked I hadn’t fallen off yet and the fear of having my brains splattered all over the road washed over me. He hadn’t given me a helmet and my hair flapped wildly behind me.

This wasn’t how I wanted things to go… None of this is what I’d expected.

I was terrified, and now that I was hurtling across the George Washington Bridge with my entire life in the hands of this stranger, I was wishing like hell I’d never gone into that filthy bar.

What the fuck was I thinking? How did I think that could possibly turn out okay? Stupid fucking Bella! I completely blamed her.

And why in the fuck had I gotten on this guy’s bike? I took off and just left my car there in the parking lot. It was my only security and my only method of escaping. Now, I was completely at Dante’s mercy, and other than his name, I knew absolutely nothing about him, except that he was incredibly fucking handsome and fought like a fuckin’ warrior.

It had all happened so fast. Maybe if I hadn’t turned my back on that fucking prick, he wouldn’t have pinched my ass. Maybe if I hadn’t slapped him, he wouldn’t have slapped me back. Maybe if I had managed to keep my shit together, then Dante wouldn’t have had to fight the entire fucking bar to keep me safe.

How in the hell was it possible that an hour ago I didn’t even know this guy existed and now my life was completely in his hands?

Terrified to loosen my grip, I kept my arms firmly wrapped around him, the warmth of his body the only thing comforting me.

Fuck! Maybe I could get him to take me back to my car. I’d even left my purse behind, which held every other bit of security I had. My phone, my wallet, the keys to my apartment. I’d never felt so helpless. I tried to console myself with the thought that Dante probably wasn’t going to hurt me, seeing as he just risked his life pulling me out of a bad situation…

But still. There was no guarantee.

So, maybe he wasn’t like the others. What had he called them? One percenters? As far as I knew, he was the only one wearing a different patch than the others, and from this view, I had a good look at the Outlaw Kings patch on this back. I hadn’t noticed any difference until the asshole that ruined my whole night had pointed it out. A huge skull stared back at me. I shivered and closed my eyes, laying my head on his back and gripping him harder, trying as hard as I could to calm my frazzled nerves and hoping like hell the skull was just for show.

Maybe he was one of the good guys? Because those guys back there definitely weren’t good guys.

At this point, all I had was hope. If I had to call my father for help once we stopped, so be it. I’d swallow my pride and make up some story. He’d send a car for me, and I could go home.

Once Dante stopped, I’d have him take me to a phone if he wouldn’t take me back to my car.

Everything was going to be fine.

Fuck, I hoped everything was going to be fine. It had to be.

Only he
wasn’t
stopping.

We rode on into the night as mile after mile passed beneath us. One hour bled into another and I began tapping him on the back to get his attention.

“Where are you going?” I yelled, my words gobbled up by the wind.

He ignored me. I tapped again and he reached back with a warm hand, squeezing my right thigh, which I think was supposed to be reassuring…

It had an entirely different effect.

Warmth and desire ripped through my stomach and I let out a little gasp. When he pulled his hand away, a part of me wished he’d put it back… I took a deep breath, inhaling slowly, trying in vain to again slow the adrenaline racing through my limbs.

What in the hell had I gotten myself into?

W
e turned
onto the dirt road that led to the clubhouse in Montclair and I slowed down a little. My tires kicked up dust behind us as we wound down the curvy road that led deep into the woods. My woods. Tall trees towered over us, swaying in the wind, throwing dancing shadows across our path. After a few miles, I slowed the bike to a crawl as we approached the clubhouse, the dim light spilling out of the windows onto the driveway in front of the secluded cabin that I called home.

I turned off the bike and sweet silence surrounded us. The girl jumped off the bike like she couldn’t get off fast enough and I suppressed a little grin. I wasn’t surprised. Long rides on a Harley take a little getting used to. It took a special kind of woman to be able to handle this lifestyle and those were few and far between.

“Where are we?” she asked. I heard the alarm in her shaking voice. “Why did you drive all the way to fucking New Jersey?”

“We’re at my clubhouse. We’re safe.”

“
Your
clubhouse? Is that so?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she met my gaze. The moonlight shone in her bright green eyes and I smiled down at her. I knew she must be scared and when she reached up to push her wild black curls from her eyes with a shaking hand, I reached out and grabbed it. She was shivering and she pulled her hand away from mine quickly.

“You’re freezing,” I said.

“I’m fine,” she snapped. “Look, I’ll just call a cab if you’ll let me borrow your phone?”

“There’s no cell phone service out here.”

“What?” she asked, her voice rising. “Well, just take me back to my car. I don’t know why you brought me all the way out here.”

“I had to make sure we weren’t being followed.”

“Right,” she replied, her eyes darting around. She took one look at the cabin and then her gaze turned to the road we’d just arrived on. “Well, looks like all is fine now. Please take me back, or if you don’t want to take me all the way, if you’ll just take me to a phone where I can call a cab or a friend or my —,”

“ — Your boyfriend? Husband?”

“My father.”

“Your father? How old are you?” I asked, my eyes squinting, looking her up and down for the first time really. She was a petite little thing but there was no way a girl dressed like this still needed her daddy to save her…

“I’m twenty-one,” she replied defiantly, jutting her chin out a little. God, it was fucking adorable. My cock twitched in my jeans and I reminded myself to keep my cool.

“You sure about that?” I asked, taking note of the way she glanced off to the side.

“Fine. You win. Two weeks.”

“Two weeks?”

“I’ll be twenty-one in two weeks.”

“Why were you in that bar?” I asked, thinking that was the last place she should have been, and not only because of her age.

“It’s a long story,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Listen, I appreciate what you did. Really, I do. But I need to go home. I left my purse behind, my phone, everything…not to mention my car. I just need to get back to it and I’ll be on my way and leave you alone. Thank you…” she looked up at me, and bit her bottom lip, “…for getting me out of there.”

“Well after seeing your moves with that bar stool, I’m thinking you probably didn’t really need my help after all.”

She laughed and threw back her head, her laughter echoing through the forest behind her. Her tangled hair blew in the wind around her face.

“My brothers taught me how to fight,” she replied with a smile. “But yes, I definitely needed your help.” She laughed again, then grew serious, biting her lip again. “Thank you. Seriously.”

“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure seeing those assholes get what they deserved.”

“So?”

“So, what?”

“So, will you take me back now, please?”

“Oh, no, that’s not gonna happen,” I said, turning on my heel and walking into my cabin, leaving her behind.

“
O
h
, no, that’s not going to happen.”

My hair to stood up on my neck as I watched him turn and walk away.

No?!?

I stood there in the dark, feeling naked, alone and helpless. I turned back and glanced at the only road leading in, which was very long and currently very dark. The idea of walking occurred to me, and just as quickly, I dismissed it. My gaze landed on Dante’s bike, and for the first time in my life, I wished I had let my brothers teach me how to ride. I’d never been interested, or more accurately, I’d been totally intimidated by the huge, loud, dangerous bikes, even if I was a little intrigued by the culture.

Obviously.
I’d gotten myself into quite a predicament because of that intrigue.
Fucking Bella
, I thought again to myself. If only she hadn’t gone on and on about them. I made a mental note to give her ten tons of shit about this next time I saw her.

Hell, if I ever saw her again, that is.

Slowly, I put one foot in front of the other and walked towards Dante’s cabin, praying to St. Christopher that I came out of it alive.

I was six feet from the door when a huge blur of movement burst through it, hurtling straight for me, knocking me to the ground in a whirlwind of black fur, drool and muscle.

I tried to scream, but my face was being frantically assaulted by the biggest, wettest tongue in the whole fucking world.

“Bear!” Dante yelled, as I tried to cover my head. The licking stopped, the crushing weight that was on my chest lifted, and hesitantly, I peeked through my arms that I’d thrown up over my head to try to protect myself.

Through my clouded mind, through the gut-wrenching fear, in the back of my mind, I was trying to figure out why Dante had a fucking bear in his cabin. When I could finally focus my eyes through all the remaining drool on my face, I saw it wasn’t a bear at all.

It was a bear-sized dog. Or, more accurately a monster-sized beast of a dog.

“Sorry about that,” Dante said, although the smirk on his face told a different story. “Should have warned you about him. He’s very friendly.”

“Friendly? Is that what you call it?” I asked, sitting up and wiping drool from my face.

“Inside!” Dante demanded, snapping his fingers and pointing at the door. The dog whimpered, wagged its giant, furry tail and with a hanging head, wobbled slowly back into the cabin, looking like the complete opposite of the vicious beast that had just attacked me.

Dante turned back and offered me a hand and I reached out to take it as he pulled me to my feet.

“You okay?” he asked, looking down at me with concern in those mesmerizing eyes of his.

“Yeah, I think so. Maybe a little dusty,” I said, pulling my hand from his and wiping the dirt from my ass.

“Come on in and clean up,” he said, grabbing my hand again, his grip a little firmer this time.

“I just want to go home, really,” I replied, my heart racing as I tried to push away all the worst-case scenarios that were running through my mind.

“And you will. We’ll talk about it,” he said, smiling and squeezing my hand gently. “Right now, I’m starved, so unless you wanna see how angry I can get when I get hungry, you’ll let me make us some dinner.”

I smiled. There was something familiar about Dante. Something about him that reminded me of home. I looked up at him, into those dark eyes, drinking in his handsome ruggedness and sighed. I had no choice but to trust him. “I guess a little dinner couldn’t hurt…” I murmured, letting him lead me into his cabin, the warmth of his hand surrounding mine.