ROUGH RIDER (7 page)

O
ne by one
, the members of Dante’s club turned off their bikes and tore off their helmets. If I hadn’t already had the daylights fucked out of me by Dante, and if I wasn’t totally freaked out by finding out that I’d allegedly murdered someone, then I was pretty sure I’d be melting from all the testosterone these guys were throwing around.

For fuck’s sake, each one of them were extremely hot in their own right.

Alonso and Italo looked like they’d just stepped out of a fucking Italian GQ magazine - their smoldering eyes and lashes for miles were enough to stop any woman in her tracks.

Angry Bobby had eyes so gentle and kind that I wanted to crawl into his arms every time he flashed them at me. He had long black hair, longer than Dante’s, and it whipped around his face in the wind as we all stood outside of the cabin talking.

Gio was a man’s man. All thick muscle and machismo, his python-sized biceps threaten to rip right out of his leather jacket. His long black hair hung in a heavy braid down his back and he had a tattoo of a snake around his neck that scared the shit out of me. He didn’t say much; instead, he kept his arms crossed over his chest, his face drawn tight as he listened intently to everyone else. His eyes were like black pits of mystery that left me wondering if anyone ever got close to him. And if they survived.

Romeo was the hottest of them all, even hotter than Dante in a way. You could tell he was the player of the group. He strutted around the parking lot, pacing with nervous energy. He was tall and thin, his ropey, sinewy muscles rippling with every step. He wore a black patched leather vest with a tight black t-shirt underneath, leaving his heavily tattooed arms exposed. It was his grin that appeared to be his secret weapon. The confident way he flashed it at me made me glad I was wearing jeans, because I was pretty sure my panties had melted away.

Bats was the most interesting of all, though. He was tall and lanky like Romeo, but he was quiet and calm. So much so, it was unnerving. Like Gio, he watched everyone from the sidelines, his intense blue eyes seeming to look right through me when they fell on me. His presence was confident and demanding. Sure, he only had one arm, but I didn’t really notice. Neither did he, apparently. He seemed to get along just fine without it. I watched in silent amazement as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, pulled one out, and lit it on his own. He caught me watching, and I looked away quickly, heat rising to my face.

“So, you’re Loprinzi’s daughter, eh? What’s it like growing up a mob princess?” Alonso asked after Dante disappeared inside the cabin. I wished like hell he hadn’t left me out here with these guys alone, but I was determined not to appear weak. It was obvious they already thought I was bad news.

“It’s not - look - do one of you have a phone? If I could just get to a phone to call my dad, he can sort all this out.”

“Daddy’s girl, eh?” Gio grunted, his arms still folded over his massive chest.

“No, not really. But he’s good at fixing things.”

“Leo Loprinzi?” Italo asked. “Yeah, fixing things dead.”

The guys all laughed and I looked around at them with frustration. Nobody was taking me seriously and I was beginning to get really pissed off. I didn’t want them to give them the pleasure of seeing that, though.

Unfortunately, between the frustration, the fear, the complete helplessness I felt without my car, phone and money - I was starting to lose my shit.

Instead of blowing up in front of them, I turned on my heel and left them all laughing behind me.

Fuck them
, I thought.
Let them laugh.

As far as I saw it, there was only one way out of this, and it was up to me to convince Dante that I was right.

“
L
ook
, Mr. Loprinzi, I’m telling you the truth,” I repeated for the tenth time. “I don’t know where Gabby is.”

Leo Loprinzi and one of his goons towered over me as I sat on the couch in my apartment. They’d shown up at the crack of dawn, bulldozing their way in and scaring the shit out of me while I slept. They chased out the guy I’d met at the bar last night and now I was sitting here in nothing but an oversized t-shirt and boy shorts, feeling completely exposed in front of them.

I’d met Gabby’s dad a million times and every single time he intimidated the fuck out of me completely. Today was no different. My legs were shaking with nerves, my knees knocking together.

“You’re my daughter’s best friend, Bella. I can’t believe you don’t know anything about this,” his voice bellowed through our small apartment, his eyes peering into mine like he could see through my soul.

“But I don’t!” I protested, goosebumps rising on my flesh. “And to be honest, I’m pissed at her, Mr. Loprinzi. I can’t believe she didn’t tell me she was going to Otto’s. In fact, I can’t believe she went without me! If I would have gone with her, none of this would have happened.”

“You been there before, Bella?” he asked, sitting on the couch with me.

“Once,” I replied, hesitatingly. “Please don’t tell my parents.” My parents would kill me and insist on me moving back home if they knew I was going places like Otto’s.

“I won’t, I promise. Tell me about it. Why would girls like you and Gabby go to such a place?”

I looked away, biting my lip, remembering all the bragging I’d done to Gabby. I felt like such an asshole. I’d told her I’d met a cool guy there, and he’d taken me home and fucked me all night, and that it was absolutely wonderful.

But that wasn’t the truth. The truth was, it wasn’t so wonderful at all. I’d met a biker there, all right. And yeah, he was hot enough. But he’d taken me back to his clubhouse and fucked me quickly and roughly in the bathroom, leaving me sore and very unsatisfied.

Afterward, he made a joke about passing me around and sharing me with the rest of the Iron Godz, but I’d managed to convince him to take me back to my car.

I was lucky I got out of there alive, but I didn’t want to admit it to anyone.

I wished like hell I’d told Gabby the truth. It was obvious to me that she’d gone there because of what I’d told her. I don’t even know why I’d lied. I was so ashamed, and I just wanted to pretend it wasn’t as bad as it was, I guess.

And now, she’d been fucking kidnapped by a biker or something and murdered someone! How could this be real?

I couldn’t believe any of it was true.

It was all my fault.

It was time to come clean.

“It’s all my fault, Mr. Loprinzi. I went to Otto’s two weeks ago…”

“
O
kay
, I’m listening, Gabby. How do you think your father can help us?” I was ready to listen to anything at this point. I was frustrated that I wasn’t coming up with a plan out of this mess. All my time on the street, all my military training, all my bravado and confidence that I’d built up over the years - nothing had prepared me for having the cops, the mob, and one of the most dangerous outlaw clubs on the East Coast looking for me all at the same time.

I had no idea which direction to go. And it was pissing me off.

To be honest, so was Gabby’s repeated insistence that her father could help us. She might not realize it, but I was pretty fucking sure a mob boss wasn’t going to just let me off easy for getting his daughter into this mess, for getting his prized possession slapped with a murder charge.

It didn’t matter that I’d saved her life. I’d sure fucked her, not to mention fucked up her life. And that would be enough right there for him to have my face ripped off by one of his guys, if he didn’t do it himself.

Because this was personal.

And I knew what that meant.

Loprinzi and the Iron Godz would stop at nothing to get revenge. I could deliver Gabby to Loprinzi’s door safe and in one piece and I’d still have to pay for what I’d done to his family.

That was just the way shit went down in Queens.

I wasn’t disillusioned with the idea of things just ‘magically working out’. Nothing was going work out without a whole lot of violence involved.

For fuck’s sake, I’d seen it up close and personal.

“I don’t know, but he will,” she insisted, finally. “He’ll listen to reason. He won’t hurt you.”

“Gabby. We both know better.”

“We do, huh?” she asked.

“We’ve both seen it before, with our own eyes,” I said, interrupting her, unable to keep it to myself any longer, to keep my secret, our shared past, to myself.

“What?” she asked, her eyes slamming into mine. “What are you talking about? When?”

“A very long time ago. At the 101st Street block party. You were young.”

“I don’t know what you mean…” she shook her head, her eyes squinting questioningly.

“I’ve always wondered if you remembered. It was so long ago, but I never forgot. Not for a second. We were in the back of the tent. You were looking inside, I guess you were lost or something. You would have gotten shot, if I hadn’t pulled you away…”

“You? That was you?!” she exclaimed, her lips parting in surprise.

“Yeah. That was me,” I confessed. It felt good to tell her, now that I realized who she was.

“I’ve never told a soul about that,” she whispered, looking at me with awe, shaking her head.

“Neither have I,” I replied, looking into her eyes, sighing. “You were so little. You must’ve seen some shit over the years.” I reached up and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, caressing her cheek with my palm. I felt bad for her. She hadn’t meant to end up in this shit, and yet here she was.

Born into it.

She lifted her chin, sensing that I was feeling sorry for her.

“I’ve actually been very protected. What I witnessed…what
we
witnessed…was rare. But, I guess this means I owe you for saving my life twice now,” she said, smiling up at me, shaking her head in disbelief. “I’ve been wanting to thank you for that for years, Dante. You saved my life. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”

“Three times, actually,” I said, grinning at her, the urge to kiss her overwhelming me suddenly.

“Three?” she asked.

“Yeah. You forgot the Bear attack last night,” I quipped. She laughed, her shoulders relaxing finally, the stress disappearing for a moment from her beautiful face.

“So I did…” she said, wrapping her arms around me and kissing me firmly. “Well, then thank you three times. You keep this up and I going to be in debt to you forever.”

“We’ll have to work out some sort of trade,” I teased, pulling her close, my lips falling on hers, my mind swimming with all kinds of ideas of how she could pay me back.

“
I
’m
Lauren O’Roarke from Channel Eight News,” I said to the bartender, as I slid my card across the bar to him. He picked it up, staring at it blankly.

“Can’t help you,” he said flatly, putting the card back down and turning away from me.

“Wait!” I pleaded. “You were here, right? When it happened yesterday?”

“Yeah, but I told the cops and the other news guy everything I know.”

“Yes, I understand,” I said, taking a seat at the bar. “Can I get a beer?”

It was late in the afternoon and the bar had just been allowed to open again after being closed all evening and most of today. The place was unusually empty after being cordoned off with crime tape the whole time.

The smell of bleach was strong, mixing with the unmistakeable smell that would probably never go away no matter how much bleach was used and can only come from being a bar for many years - the pungent, rancid scent of old cigarettes and stale beer.

“Sure,” the bartender said, pulling a cold mug from the fridge and pouring beer from the tap into it. I tried again after he sat it down in front of me.

“Your name is Tony, right?” I asked, pulling my shirt down subtly, hoping a little extra skin might help my mission. I’d only been a reporter for a year and this was my first big break. The network had finally given me an assignment, my very own exclusive, if I could pull it off. And by pull it off, I mean get some extremely intimidating and recklessly dangerous bikers to open up to me.

When I was first given the assignment this morning, I was sure it was a prank. The guys in the office weren’t too keen on me joining the team, considering I was the first woman they’d hired in ten years. You’d think this wasn’t the twenty-first century by talking to these guys. They were so far backwards, as far as equal rights for women go, that I half-expected them to start calling me ‘little lady’.

Instead, they gave me this assignment, but it came with a whole lot of smirking and whispering amongst themselves. Like I said, I was pretty sure they were just setting me up to fail, hoping I’d tuck tail and run in fear, but I was determined to prove them wrong.

So, here I was. In Otto’s, trying to figure out where to start. I figured ground zero was as good a place to start as any, even if I knew the likelihood of discovering anything that hadn’t already been plastered all over the news was slim. But I’d always been up for a challenge, and if an exclusive story on the local outlaw biker clubs was the first door of opportunity that opened for me, then I sure as hell was going to barrel right through that door. Prank or no prank.

“Yeah, I’m Tony,” he muttered, wiping his hands on a towel. Tony was tall, bald, and he had bright blue eyes. He moved behind the bar like a rabbit, darting around and wiping down the bar as he talked. “I didn’t really see anything other than what you saw on the tape.”

“What about before the fight?”

“What about it?” he asked, stopping in front of me. His gaze raked across my tits again and lingered for a few seconds. I let him get a good look, and then asked again.

“What happened to lead up to it?”

“This little hottie with long black hair came in. Hell, she strutted in like a woman on a mission, honestly. She looked really fucking young, though. Too young,” he said, looking at me again, and shaking his head. “But I checked her ID, and she was legal. Barely, though.”

I nodded enthusiastically, waiting for him to continue.

“I didn’t know who she was at the time. Seems weird that a mobster’s daughter would come in here. You’d think she’d hang out over at Vinnie’s or something. But a biker bar? I’m telling you, she was just really out of place. I think she figured it out pretty quickly, too. As soon as she got a good look around, she was eyeing the door.”

I looked around quickly, trying to picture this place full of rowdy bikers. As for right now, outside of the broken barstools piled up in the corner and the lingering smell of bleach, you’d never know something so violent had gone on in here.

“So then what happened?” I asked, flashing Tony a coy smile as I pushed my boobs out more. Sure, I was down for equal rights for women, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t use my God given gifts to my advantage.

“She started talking to this one guy. Not one of the Iron Godz, though. Another club. The Deadly Sinners. You don’t see them around much, nobody knows much about them.” He leaned onto the bar, leaning in close to me, and lowering his voice. “I hear they basically keep to themselves, lay low. Not like the Godz who try to raise hell every chance they get, no matter who’s looking their way. They think they’re invincible, that they can treat people like shit wherever they go and get away with it.”

“Is that what happened here?” I asked, blinking my eyes at him.

“Yeah, basically. Only they didn’t get away with it this time. The girl was talking to the guy from the Sinners and the Godz started hitting on her. Before you know it, the whole bar is brawling like they’re making Roadhouse Part Two or something. Chairs flying, fists flying, bodies flying. You saw the rest on the video.”

“Right, right…” I nodded. The video was brutal, but impressive. Gabriella Loprinzi was obviously a take-no-shit kind of woman, and I felt a small sense of pride that she’d stood up for herself, instead of shrugging it all off with a polite smile, like most women were taught to do. Being a Loprinzi had apparently influenced her. “So, what do you know about this other club? The Deadly Sinners, you called them?”

“Not much. I guess everyone’s looking for their clubhouse now, but as far as I’ve heard, nobody was sure where that was located. All I know is that some shit is gonna go down when they find them. You don’t fuck with the Iron Godz and not expect revenge. It’s gonna be bloody, whenever they do find them.”

I nodded again, finished my beer and smiled at him again.

“Surely, there’s rumors, though right? About where they live?”

“Nope. Not that I’ve heard.”

“C’mon,” I prodded, pushing my tits even further at him and licking my lips suggestively.

He cocked his head, smiled, and smirked.

“Yeah, I might know something,” he grinned, his blue eyes gleaming mischievously. “but what’s in it for me?”

Well, here we are,
I thought. I knew this moment would probably come in my career - I’d heard stories, lots of them. Plenty of journalists came to this fork in the road where they had to ask themselves just how far they were willing to go to get a lead.

I looked over at Tony and smiled while I silently contemplated that very question. He wasn’t hideous. Maybe a little bit an asshole. But decent.

I wasn’t naive, I knew what he was asking.

If I left the decision up to my body, it would be easy. It’d been months since I’d had sex, and even then, it’d been a completely unsatisfying, way-too-quick, drunken romp with some guy I’d met in a bar that I barely remembered. I could use a good memorable fuck and if I got a good lead in the process? Well, that was a win win situation if I ever heard one.

I raked my gaze down Tony’s body, trying to get a peak at the treasure in his jeans. I smiled when I saw the large, pulsing bulge, so ready, so hard. Perfect.

What the fuck,
I thought, throwing caution to the wind. I looked around the place one more time just to make sure we were still alone.
At least it’s just been cleaned
, the smell of bleach heavy in the air.

I turned back to Tony, a seductive smile playing across my lips.

“What did you have in mind, Tony?”

He nodded, his grin lighting up his face.

“I thought we might come up with a mutually beneficial situation.”

“Yeah,” I replied, nodding slowly. “I think we could arrange something.”

He nodded back slowly and then turned and walked around from behind the bar and over to the front door, turning the lock with a loud click. He turned back to me with hunger in his eyes, closing the distance between us.

My pussy quivered with anticipation, my nipples hardening under my silk blouse.

His hands were on me in an instant, pulling me close as his lips fell hard on mine. I tensed at first, his assault a little too fast and unexpected, but I forced myself to relax, to melt into him, opening my mouth and accepting his hot tongue.

I shuddered, shaking away my inhibitions, letting my body take over, letting my thoughts disappear as his hot mouth worked against mine. My hands raked across his hard chest, his muscles tight and smooth under my skin. He pulled away, leaving my lips puffy and bruised, his burning kisses trailing down my face and onto my neck. Reaching around, he grabbed my ass, pulling me in hard against him, his cock pressed so hard against my hip I could feel his pulse throbbing against me.

I moaned as his tongue snaked into my blouse, sliding under my bra and finding my nipple. He bit it hard, his teeth scraping roughly against my tender skin as I cried out in pain.

“Not so hard,” I cried, trying to pull away from his embrace, but instead he gripped me harder, grinding his cock into my slacks.

“I’m gonna fuck you so fuckin’ hard, lady,” he sneered. “You’re gonna fuckin’ love it.”

“Lauren,” I said, my voice breathy and low, as I gasped, pushing myself against his hard cock like a wanton hussy. At this point, I didn’t care.

I’d turned a corner and I was ready.

I wanted his cock.

I wanted him to fuck me like the hungry slut that I felt like.

And then I wanted him to tell me everything he knew, so I could wipe those smirks off those asshole’s faces at the station.

“I’m gonna fuck you so hard,
Lauren
,” he said, grinding into me harder.

“Do it, do it now!” I cried, every ounce of shyness disappearing as I began unbuttoning the little pearl buttons of my white silk blouse. They were so tiny, it took forever - way too long. Before I could finish, Tony impatiently swatted my hands away, ripping the bottom of the shirt apart as tiny white buttons flew all over the floor of the bar.

His hands found my tits, squeezing them through my bra before he ripped it from my body quickly. My tits fell out and he pinched my nipples hard, until I was writhing under his fingertips.

He groaned as he reached down to unzip my black slacks, sliding them and my lacy panties over my hips quickly, leaving me completely naked in front of him.

His jeans fell to the floor and he pushed them off just as quickly. He picked me up, setting me on the edge of the bar in front of him.

He sank to his knees, his mouth enveloping my quivering sex, and I cried out, wrapping my thighs around his head. I sighed, the pleasure washing over me as his tongue slid deliciously across my folds, sucking my clit into his mouth as everything around me disappeared and I melted into the sweet bliss of his mouth.

I rocked into him, his fingers sliding inside of me, my pussy on fire with pleasure as he fucked me harder and harder with his tongue, his fingers, his skilled mouth making me writhe beneath his touch as I crashed over the edge of desire and into pure, savage need.

“Yes,” I cried, my thighs gripping him tighter, until I was screaming uncontrollably, my body thrashing and panting below him. He rose to his feet between my thighs, quickly slipping on a condom as I caught my breath.

My warm center welcomed him eagerly as he smoothly slid inside me, his hard cock feeling like heaven inside of me. I moaned, suggestively wiggling my hips and wrapping my thighs around him, gripping onto him hard, pulling him closer, deeper.

“I hope you’re ready for this,” he growled, his large hands grasping my hips, his fingers digging into my tender flesh as he began thrusting roughly, his huge cock hammering into me hard and fast, his hips slamming into mine as he fucked into me over and over.

Ecstasy. Bliss. Pure, unadulterated, sinfully delicious, forbidden pleasure. With the first thrust, I became a slave to his touch, to his smooth, velvety shaft, his pulsing, throbbing masterpiece of masculinity, the way his hips undulated against me, the rhythm of his purposeful thrusting - he fucked with a beastly beauty that only made me want more.

“Harder, Tony,” I demanded, staring hard into his hungry blue eyes.

He growled in response, his eyes shooting savage daggers of lust straight into my belly. My pussy spasmed around his hardness, sparks of electric pleasure shooting through my limbs, as he began slamming into me so hard I felt the edge of the bar cut into the back of my thighs.

I smiled at the pain, knowing I’d be bruised and thankful for the souvenir I’d have later.

“How. Fucking. Hard. Do. You. Want. It.” He punctuated each word with a mighty thrust, the words escaping through clenched teeth.

“
I
want everything
, Tony. I want it all,” I insisted, every inch of my flesh quivering with insatiable hunger as I slammed my hips up, meeting his hammering thrusts.

“You’re a fucking little cock hound, aren’t you, Lauren?” he asked. “You want it all, baby? Is that what you want, you little slut?”

I shuddered with pleasure at his words. I nodded, speechless, breathless. He stopped suddenly, pulling his cock out of me and grabbing my hips, turning me around until my ass was up in the air, his cock slamming into me from behind - hard, forceful, demanding.

And so fucking delicious.

I shuddered with each movement of his rock hard cock, the smooth, slickness as it slid inside of me, the sweet sensation of it sliding out, the way it pounded into me, slamming hard and fast, over and over, until I had melted onto the bar, my tits pressed into the cold smooth surface, my body a puddle of melted sensations as Tony continued to slam into me, over and over, so hard, so fast, that it all became one feeling, my body buzzing with bliss, the pain, the pleasure, me, Tony, his cock, my pussy….all of it became one, all of it became perfect.

His cock swelled and twitched inside me as a deep, guttural growl escaped from him, his cock exploding inside of me, and I spasmed around him, screaming with pleasure, our voices echoing through the empty bar.

“Fuck,” he muttered, pulling out of me. I whimpered in protest, shaking away the urge to beg him to fuck me all over again. I stood up and turned around. His lips were on mine, his chest pressing against me as he kissed me hard.