STICK: MC ROMANCE NOVELLA (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 8) (5 page)

Back inside, the house was a lot fuller of life. Stick pulled her close reassuringly as they approached the back door that led into the kitchen and whispered, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine, they are all going to welcome you.”

Serena smiled and hoped to God that he was right. He pushed open the back door and the sound of several voices all filtered out to meet her. She knew that she recognized one immediately. It was Bull and he was bellowing around the room. 

“Morning,” he croaked as he clocked sight of Stick entering through the doorway, and then his eyes fell onto Serena and he looked at them both suspiciously.

“I took Serena out to see the canyon,” Stick said. “She’d had an unsettled night.”

Serena nodded and tried not to look guilty. Even though she was pretty sure she had nothing to even feel guilty about. She was single, nineteen, and was more than old enough to know her own mind. And they hadn’t even done anything wrong. What could she do if she found the guy attractive? And why should it even cause so much drama?

“And?” Bull asked with raised eyebrows. “Did it calm you?”

Serena could tell that he knew there was more to the story than what they were letting on, but she decided to brazen it out.

“Yes, it did, actually,” she said with a wide smile. “After everything that’s been happening, it calmed me down a lot.”

“Good,” Bull smiled tightly.

The other two men in the room were both looking at her with intrigue, and although she didn’t know their names, she knew that she had seen them the previous day. No doubt, when they were pointing guns in her face.

“Have you been formally introduced?” Bull asked with a smirk.

Serena shook her head.

“Hawk,” one of them said.

“Stag,” said the other.

Serena waved at them meekly and then turned her gaze back to Stick.

“Serena kindly helped out around here this morning. I’m sure you were wondering.” Stick held his arm out to present the clean kitchen and Bull smiled and nodded.

“Thank you, it certainly hadn’t gone unnoticed,” he said genuinely. “But don’t feel as if you need to earn your keep around here, you’re our guest, Serena, you’re one of us now.”

He moved forward and placed a protective hand on her shoulder and she felt as if she had just been given the highest blessing. From what she had already gathered, Bull was the man in charge. The rest of the men, even though they were all powerful in their own right, seemed to fall silent when he entered the room and they seemed to look up to him in some way, as if they were always waiting for his next command.

“Thank you,” she said. “But really, it’s no trouble.”

Bull nodded and then he turned back to the huge pot of coffee and held it up between them.

“Yes, please,” she smiled appreciatively as he began to pour her a steaming hot cup.

It was funny how, in such a short space of time, they all appeared to have changed. After initially being so standoffish with her and frightening, now they all appeared to have a caring edge that was so endearing. It made her like Stick even more.

She cradled the mug of coffee in her hands and then looked from one set of eyes to the next. All four of the men were watching her and she felt as if it was her cue to leave.

“I’m going to head upstairs and find Lynx,” she said shyly. “Can any of you tell me where I can find him?”

“Third door on the left on the second floor,” Bull said with a nod. “I think he’s awake, I heard him talking earlier.”

Serena thanked him and headed toward the door to the hallway, and then she made her way into the belly of the monstrous house.

***

She stopped outside of Lynx’s doorway and knocked as quietly as she could. From some of the other bedrooms she could hear the low rumble of snoring drifting out and she didn’t want to risk waking anyone and pissing any of the bikers off any more than she already had.

“Come in,” he said, as if he knew that it was going to be her. When Serena opened the door, he was sitting in a chair by the window, staring out across the barren desert landscape and at the sun shining down over the mountains in the distance.

“Are you okay?” Serena asked as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

“Not really,” Lynx said. “You turning up here is going to cause me no end of worry.” He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

Serena felt instantly guilty. But how was she supposed to know that she was walking in to such a big, dangerous, tangled up mess?

“Well, maybe you should have been honest with me from the start and then I wouldn’t have had to come looking,” she said moodily.

Lynx laughed and nodded.

“Well, maybe you’re right.” He looked back out into the distance and Serena crossed the room so that she was near to him.

“I can see why you like it here,” she admitted as she sat down on the windowsill. “They all seem great, and I can already tell what you mean about them being like family.”

“They
are
my family now, Serena,” Lynx said sternly. “That doesn’t make you any less a part of that family, or any less my sister. But the people I have found here, these guys that I work and live with… We have a bond that will never be broken.”

Serena could see how much it meant to him and although she was a little jealous that he had never spoken of her, to her knowledge, that passionately and protectively, it gave her hope that maybe one day she would feel the same way about something after spending so much of her life feeling alone.

“I watched you and Stick from downstairs earlier,” he said suddenly, breaking the silence. “I watched him take your hand and walk with you right out of sight and toward the canyon.”

Serena instantly tensed up.

Shit
, she thought.

“Stick’s one of the good ones, but I don’t want you getting involved with any of the guys here, Serena. It’s too dangerous.” He turned to look at her and she could tell that he was being deadly serious.

“But why?” she asked like a brat. “I’m a grown woman, Lynx. I’m not a kid anymore. Just because you remember me that way doesn’t mean that that is who I am. I’m an adult. I’m out on my own in the world and if I like someone, I’m not going to just ignore that and step aside because my big brother, who hasn’t even been there for me for over ten years, suddenly decides he wants to have a say in how things are going to go in my life!” She had her hands on her hips and her voice had risen so much she was instantly worried that she may have inadvertently woken someone.

“Serena,” Lynx said as he got to his feet, he towered over her and grabbed hold of her shoulders so forcefully that she thought he was going to crush her. “I’ve just told you how I feel about it and it’s not up for discussion. Whilst you’re here in
my
town, in
my
clubhouse, with the men I call
my
brothers, you will listen to me and do as I tell you. Otherwise, I’ll be packing you straight off home.” Spittle hit her cheeks. He was so angry with her he was turning bright red, and she shrugged her way out of his grip.

“Jeez Lynx,” she gasped. “Don’t be so rough.”

“Don’t you get it, Serena?” He grabbed hold of her again. “People have been murdered around here because of the war we’re all involved in now. You’ve walked in at a crucial time where we got majorly fucked over last week by our enemies. Anything could happen in the next few weeks and I don’t want to put you at risk.”

“But… I can look after myself,” she said defiantly. “And I don’t intend on leaving the house.” It was the first time the thought had even entered her head, but if that was what it took to get Lynx to lay off her and Stick and to just let their relationship happen and progress as fate had planned, then she would be prepared to do it.

“I’ve told you how it has to be,” he said angrily. “If you can’t handle that, then you have no place here.”

Serena felt the tears welling up behind her eyes again. She wanted to be able to tell him that she would do as he was asking, but she just knew there was no way she could be certain. Her pull to Stick was too strong. It was so strong it was scaring her. And after four long years of being single, there was no way that she could just turn her back on what could potentially be the love of her life.

“You don’t own me, Lynx,” she said.

“Even if none of this was happening, Serena, I still wouldn’t allow it,” he said sternly. “My brother shouldn’t be fucking around that close to home,” he snarled. “It’s disrespectful.”

Serena was stumped. She had no idea how to respond to him.

“How is it disrespectful if we have genuine feelings?” she pleaded.

“Stop!” he snapped. “I’ve told you enough times now and I’m not going to tell you again. Stick will be told the same. Stay away from each other, Serena, or I’ll be putting you straight back on the first Greyhound out of here and back to Mom and Dad.

She dug her fingernails into her palms and turned on her heel before she barged out of the room and slammed the door behind her. She was breathing in and out so fast she felt as if she was going to explode.

Lynx making Stick forbidden was only going to make her want him more. And now she knew there was no way she was going to be able to resist him. He was like a powerful drug. And Lynx banning her from taking it any further was just like he had put that drug in front of her and left the room.

He was practically asking for her to disobey him. 

After the argument, Serena was determined to stay out of Lynx’s way. She hid up on the top floor of the house and spent the rest of the day looking longingly out of the window and over to the canyon. Now that she knew it was out there, all she could think about was how Stick had taken hold of her hand and led her out across the desert to his favorite place.

And that kiss.

It had been so much more than she ever could have imagined. It had brought her back to life and now she was open and ready.

She ran her hands through her hair and pulled out the elastic that held it in place. Her blonde tresses fell down across her shoulders as she stood up and made her way to a mirror. The girl that looked back at her looked defeated and worried. But she was determined that she wouldn’t stay that way for long.

She went into the bathroom and grabbed her make-up bag and then she positioned herself in front of the mirror and started to make herself over. She slicked on some black eyeliner and winged it out at the tips before she curled her eyelashes and plumped them up with mascara. She instantly looked like a vamp. A girl who could take on anything. Someone older and more in charge of what they wanted. She outlined her lips with her plum colored pencil and then she glossed a nude matt lipstick on her top and bottom lip. She pouted at herself and smiled. It didn’t take much for Serena to enhance her looks, and she was happy with the results. She spritzed on some perfume and then she pulled off her shorts and t-shirt and slipped into a long flowing white maxi dress. The way it floated down around her body felt amazing. It was cooling in the warm summer breeze that drifted in from the open window.

When she was finished, she went back to look out toward the highway. From her vantage point, she could just make out the silver sheen of the trucks and cars passing by, miles away, back on the main roads. Suddenly, in the distance, she saw a line of bikes heading her way, spraying out the dust behind them and it made her heart race.

She hadn’t seen or heard anything of Stick since they had been outside together and then returned to see Bull, Stag, and Hawk in the kitchen. Maybe he had left and was now on his way home.

She felt her hands tingle with anticipation and she turned and made her way to the door. She pushed it open, and slowly and quietly walked across the floorboard, as to not make a sound. She descended the stairs, one floor at a time, and she didn’t even turn her eyes in the direction of Lynx’s room. She didn’t want to see him at that moment in time after their harsh words.

When she got to the bottom floor, she looked cautiously from room to room, and she could see that there were some of the men relaxing in the living areas. She was half tempted to go in there and strike up a conversation, but at the same time, she didn’t want to give off the wrong impression, and if Stick was on his way home, then she didn’t want him to think that she was just talking to anyone.

She made her way into the kitchen and she was relieved to find it empty. She crossed over to the refrigerator and opened up the door so it swung back and slammed off the wall behind it. Inside, there wasn’t much to see except for an impressive selection of beers lining the top three shelves. She shrugged to herself and reached inside and pulled one of the ice cold bottles out before closing the door behind her. She looked around for an opener, but there didn’t seem to be any lying around and she thought again about going into the front room and asking one of the bikers, but she didn’t have the nerve. She went over to the table in the center of the room and placed the tip of the cap on the corner, holding it in just the right position so that if she applied some pressure to the cap with her other hand then maybe it with ping off. But when she tried, she just lost her grip and the bottle slipped, the cap still firmly in place.

“Damn,” she said aloud and then somewhere behind her, she heard the main door slamming and a thunder of heavy boots and footsteps entering the house. She stopped still, startled and unsure whether to quickly move out of the way or whether to wait and see who was arriving. In the end, she stayed rooted to the spot and as the door to the kitchen opened, her heart skipped a beat in her chest as she saw those hypnotic green eyes flicker around the corner to meet her.

Stick smiled a wide smile when he saw her standing there and instantly clocked the unopened bottle of beer in her hands.

“Starting early?” he teased as he looked into the hallway over his shoulder and then closed the door behind him.

“Well, I would have, but there doesn’t appear to be anything to open it with,” she smiled.

Stick kept his eyes fixed on hers as he crossed the room and took the bottle from her hand and raised it up to his lips, never once breaking contact with his gaze. The second she could smell him, her heart started to race. He was a mixture of booze, cigarette smoke, and gasoline, and it was driving her wild. He opened his mouth and in one swift movement, he bit the cap and pulled it clean off from the bottle. He spat the cap onto the floor, took a swig from the beer bottle and then handed it back to Serena so calm and coolly she was already getting wet and hot for him.

“There you go,” he said with a wicked grin. “I think I’ll join you.”

He crossed over to the refrigerator and pulled a bottle from the top shelf and opened it with his teeth. He walked back over to her and held the tip of his bottle against hers and they chinked them together.

“To new friends,” he said, his eyes penetrating hers.

“To new friends,” Serena repeated.

He reached down and touched the loose fabric of her dress and breathed in deep.

“I like this… A lot,” he whispered gruffly. He bit his bottom lip and groaned and Serena felt her pulse quicken. What was he doing to her? One word, one graze of his hand and she was a quivering mess.

“You look beautiful,” he said as his hand travelled up toward her shoulders. He touched her long hair and swept it back over her shoulder and then tilted her chin up so that she was looking him dead in the eyes.

“I’m never going to be able to keep my hands off you,” he whispered. “I don’t know what it is about you, but you’re doing something to me that I can’t explain.”

Her heart was racing so hard that she could hear the beat of it.

“I feel the same,” she panted. “I’ve never felt a draw to someone like this before.”

He bit his bottom lip again as if he was physically trying to restrain himself from kissing her, and then, out in the hallway, there came the sound of footsteps.

Serena instantly stepped back and leaned against the counter and Stick turned and looked back in the refrigerator.

Bull came charging through the door and she could tell immediately that he was in a terrible mood.

“Hi, Serena,” he said as he looked at her and tried to smile.

She nodded and smiled back.

Behind him, another selection of heavy footsteps was following and she sipped her beer and tried to fade into the background. She didn’t want to be in the way.

“So, when are we going to put an end to all of this shit?” a face that she hadn’t seen before said as he barged his way into the room.

“I don’t know, Axe,” Bull said as he ran a hand through his hair and then pulled his leather jacket off over his broad shoulders, exposing his bulging muscles. Serena instinctively averted her eyes.

“We can’t have this continuing,” Axe said. “I was counting on that money, Bull.”

“I know,” Bull sighed. “And don’t worry, they’re not going to get away with it.”

“When are we attacking?” Stick said as he closed the door to the refrigerator and spun around. “I say we go tonight.”

Serena instantly felt alarmed. The thought of them leaving and heading out into danger was the last thing she wanted to have to comprehend.

“No, not tonight,” Bull said. “That’s exactly what they’ll be expecting, and when we do what they expect, we’re only putting ourselves at an instant disadvantage.”

“So what, we’re just going to wait?” Stick asked with a scowl. “It’s already been a week since they stole the truck from right under our noses. They’ve probably managed to shift all of our stuff by now. They’re laughing at us, Bull!” He slammed his bottle down on the counter and curled his lip in rage.

The atmosphere in the room had rapidly nosedived and Serena was starting to wish that she had made her way back up to the top floor when she had the chance.

“I know how we need to play this,” he said sternly. “And from now on, that’s all that matters.” He glared at Stick before he pushed past him, knocking him in the shoulder and marched out of the room.

Axe and Stick looked at each other and Stick shook his head.

“He’s losing it,” he said. “He’s fucking losing it for all of us.”

“No,” a voice came from behind them, which startled Serena, it was Lynx. “He’s right. We have to bide our time. You two are relatively new here and I’m not undermining you, but you don’t understand how The Iron Riders operate. We’ve been fighting them for over a decade and they play dirty. We need to outdo them on such a big level that there will be no coming back for them. They’re pussying around us, making little threats and digs here and there. We’re going to rip the rug right out from underneath all of them and make sure they never get back up.”

Serena’s heart began to race again. She had never heard Lynx speak like that, she almost didn’t know that he had it in him.

Stick nodded slowly.

“You’re right,” he said admirably. “You know The Iron Riders and how they work better than I do. I just hate the thought of them screwing us over any more than they already have.”

“They won’t,” Lynx said. “But they will get what’s coming to them and more. We just have to let them think they’re winning first.”

Stick flashed a wicked smile and nodded his head. After all he had seen and done during his time in The Forsaken Riders, he had never considered that this may be the reason that they were moving so slowly. His brothers did have a plan and by the sound of it, it was going to be crazy. A plan to end all plans and every last member of The Iron Riders once and for all.

“Serena,” Lynx said as he turned and stared at her angrily. “I’ve already told you, I don’t want you partaking in any of these discussions.” His eyes were full of rage, and even though she was feeling just as angry right back at him, she bit her tongue and nodded before she turned to Stick and gave him a sad smile.

As she left the room and walked back up to her bedroom, she just hoped that he would feel the need to overrule Lynx’s wishes as much as she did.