The Biker’s Property (An Alpha Motorcycle Club Romance) (Ghosts of the Prairie Motorcycle Club Series Book 1) (3 page)

Immediately, the waitresses began brewing fresh coffee and arranging tables in a line so that lots of people could sit together. The shift in their attitude was palpable. It was as though the waitresses were zombies before and the bikers were the salt that brought them back to life. At the sight of the bikers, they became vibrant and pleasant. They slyly smoothed their hair and checked themselves in anything that would serve as a mirror.

Even Penny found herself running her fingers over her tightly twisted up hair to make sure no loose strands were straying. She cut her eyes to the table as the men bustled through the doors of the cafe. She tried to avoid it, but even looking away she could feel, literally feel, the eyes of Danny White Feather as he laid eyes on her. Without looking, she knew his lips were slightly curling up at the ends in a devilish little smile.

“Hey Danny,” Penny could hear the waitress say to someone.

“Hey Cady,” he replied, his voice rich and deep and laced with a smile.

Penny was wet. She was pretty sure she whimpered. She wanted him again. She wanted him to want her as badly.

He continued to the waitress, “Thanks for always welcoming the boys and me. Fixing our table the way you do. But if it’s all the same to you.” Penny nearly fainted when she lifted her eyes just some to see the breathtaking sight of Danny’s denim-covered lower torso nudging up against the other side of her table. “I’ll just sit right here,” he said.

He dropped into a chair and sat across from Penny. Penny knew her face was red. She knew it was shaken and nervous looking. Her chest tightened and her breathing rose, threatening to interfere with her ability to hear.

“Hello there,” he said gently. “Mind if I join you? You weren’t expecting anyone, were you?”

Penny shook her head no, a little too fast. She was pretty sure the blood was draining from her brain completely and that she was going to faint. But no, she didn’t mind if he joined her.

“Well good. That works out for me,” he said, his voice like honey. “And how are we this morning?”

He held his hand out for her to take. As soon as her fingers touched his, he captured them, holding them so that she was forced to feel him. Feel the essence of him flow from him to her. She could sense her own softness in his rough, powerful touch.

“I’m tired,” she replied in a rasp. “But in a good way.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said, and made her think of the time he said that when he was inside of her.

For her, Danny Light Feather was the embodiment of erotica and everything about him turned her on. It was just that Penny had not had the pleasure before of being turned on by someone in the flesh. That kind of thing was relegated to characters in books and movies and sometimes, TV shows.

“So why don’t you tell me, in as much detail, how Brill Wayland,” he said, “lured you out here with his lies. Then exactly what they told you when you arrived and found out he was gone.”

He was so direct. Broaching the subject that he had so sweetly put out of her mind for a night. So that she could sleep so soundly afterwards. Hearing him reiterate what had happened to her, in a short and sweet statement, made it unavoidable.  Which was what she was trying to do. Not face the facts. Which was why she was in Average Joe’s. And how she’d met him.

Penny’s lip began to quiver involuntarily. She was pretty sure it was ugly looking too. She closed her eyes, wishing all the things in her life -- except Danny Light Feather -- were not true.

“Aww,” he said, “I didn’t mean to make you cry. I got just the thing for you. You know what would make you feel better?”

Penny squeezed her eyes tight and shook her head.

“A ride on the back of a bike,” he said in a deep and smoky voice.

“Don’t you think you should let the little thing, eat first?” Cady hovered over them. Her voice was not friendly and Penny was pretty sure Cady was glaring at Danny.

“Sure,” Danny said. “Say,” he asked Penny, “do you have a pair of jeans?”

Penny nodded like a jackhammer.

“We got to do something about how you answer questions. Why don’t you give that beautiful head a break and answer me yes and no.” He winked. “Okay then,” he said. “What’s say you and I have our meal here. You tell me from start to finish how you met Brill Wayland, the missus, and then afterwards, we go for a ride. I promise, I am going to find him for you.”

Penny had the nerve to look at him. And she looked him straight in the eye. Something told her to her core that she could, in fact, trust this man. She had trusted him the night before with her body. She would trust him with the current facts of her life. It was like she was getting the straight skinny from up above. Danny Light Feather was a really good man.

A man stopped by the table to bump fists with Danny.

“Trenton, this is the lady I was telling you about. She got lured out by Brill Wayland and then left high and dry,” he explained.

“I was wondering why you weren’t sitting with us,” Trenton teased. “She is much prettier than any of us.
”



“I don’t know, Trent. You are very pretty,” said Danny.

Penny had to agree. Trenton was gorgeous. He was taller than Danny, who Penny guessed to be about six feet tall. He wore his hair long but pulled it back into a bun of sorts. Penny wasn’t much for long hair on men but many of the bikers had such amazing hair, cut all different ways, and each of them seemingly appropriate for bikers, that she found it attractive.

Trenton had the same burnished skin and dark shiny hair that Danny had but Penny swore his eyes were green. Cady swung by with a coffee pot. She didn’t seem pleased that Danny was sitting with her. She pretended to fuss over one of the bikers, but Penny could feel Cady’s eye on her.

“We’ll keep our ears to the ground,” said Trenton. “If we find out anything, we’ll let you know. How long are you staying?”

Penny was about to respond but Danny jumped on her answer. “Indefinitely. At least until we punish Brill Wayland.”

Chapter Four

Penny changed her clothes to go for a ride with a man she just met. A motorcycle ride.

She wasn’t sure if the jeans she had brought with her were right for the ride. She was always just this side shy of being in-step with fashion. She was never ever cool. She was suddenly afraid that her one and only pair of jeans was not up to par to sit on the back of a bike.

Apparently, it had been a while since she actually wore the jeans. She must have put on some weight -- not that she weighed much at all -- but the pants were tight, bordering on too small. She did have a light tailored jacket that fell to her hips that sort of offset the snugness of the jeans. She wasn’t sure what shoes to wear. Her tennis shoes weren’t really appropriate. When she tried them on, somehow they looked like clown shoes.

She was pretty sure she should have something with a heel. She thought that bikes were like mechanical horses and Penny rode horses back in Ruckersville. You had to have a heel to ride horses. It was either going to be her spike heeled pumps or her equestrian boots which she brought with her because her would-be employer said there would be horses out here as well.

The boots it was. She checked herself in the mirror. Whether or not she looked ridiculous she guessed it didn’t matter since he wouldn’t be seeing her while she sat on the back of the bike. She wasn't sure if the expression on Danny’s face was an indication of how silly she looked but it was evident that he was bothered by something.

Penny met him in the parking lot of the motor lodge, ready to go. Danny’s eyes walked all over her.

“Nice boots,” he said.

She was sure he was teasing her. “Well, they’re all I have,” she said apologetically.

“No, I mean it. Nice boots. Look like the real deal,” he said.

Penny made a face. “Of course they’re real.”

“What I mean is, they aren’t wannabes. Looks like they are useful and not fashionable. Not just for show.”

“Oh, yeah. They’re my riding boots,” said Penny, catching on.

“You ride horsies?” he inquired playfully.

“Yes. Equitation and hunter under saddle,” she replied.

“Well of course you do,” he replied and added with a wink, “that would explain the skill. And the amazing legs and hips.”

Penny thought she was going to pass out. She touched him to steady herself.

“Did I just jack you up baby doll?” he asked with a quick laugh.

“I have no idea what that means,” she answered, “but I think you did.”

After one try of fitting the helmet over her twisted up hair, he took matters into his own hands.

“Here,” he said, deftly pulling the pins out of her hair.

Penny grasped blindly at the back of her head but he gently pushed her hand away. She felt the weight of her hair fall to the small of her back. He made a perceptible groan. Then all was silent. Eventually, she heard him dig into his pocket and then he was tugging at her hair. He was braiding her hair. And he was pretty fast.

It had to be one of the most amazing sensory experiences to have someone play with your hair, and he was giving it to her. Penny was wondering how on earth, after she had experienced the worst moment in her life, she was so fortunate to meet this man.

Penny ran her fingers down the length of her hair, touching a long silky braid. She examined the end of it, twisted tightly with a hair tie.

“And he also braids,” she teased.

Danny growled wantonly.

“You carry around hair ties in case?” she asked, mildly indicting him.

He ran his fingers through his long, beautifully shaggy hair. “Yes ma’am I do. Up until recently, I needed them myself.”

“What happened?” she asked, mesmerized by his deep brown eyes.

“Haircut,” he said with a wink.

Penny was lost instantly in a daydream about him with cascading dark hair around that gorgeous face and flowing over that stunning body. She could hardly breathe.

Once her helmet was secured, Danny mounted the bike and then she did. As she sat primly behind him, he very assertively corrected her seat. He reached behind him and took hold of the backs of her knees and drew her snuggly up against him. Her center mooched up against his buttocks. He took her hands and wrapped them around his center. All of her was in contact with his backside. It was like leaning on a table, his body was so hard.

Leaning on his sumptuously firm back caused waves of warmth to wash through her. Her breath intensified and her body moved up and down off of him. He had to feel it. He revved up the bike.

“I love the sound of my bike,” he said.

She smiled.

He shot her a devilsh grin. “Hold on!”

They sped off as the wind whipped in her face.On the next street, they stopped at a red light. He gave the throttle a few good twists. He was a bad ass letting everyone know he’d be doing 100 mph if he wasn’t stuck at that light.

They tooled around on short streets to work their way to the open highway. It was intensely exhilarating for her to experience the speed. Even with the helmet on, Penny could feel the wind on her face. It was a similar thrill to horse riding but it had a joy all its own. She held on to Danny with everything she had. It was like the wind blew off all of her inhibitions and she no longer had any reservations about having physical contact with him. Penny found her cool as the vibrations from the massive metal between her legs created heat.

The North Dakota scenery, flat as it was, was so new to her. She was a recent transplant from the Blue Ridge foothills of Virginia so the interminable flatness of the North Dakota prairie was spectacular to her.

She was enjoying moving along when she realized they were not alone. Other bikers were riding on the highway with them. Two or three other riders rode, two of them dead even with Danny from what Penny could tell in the mirror. She thought it was cool that bikers had this sort of camaraderie that allowed them to connect.

But Penny’s stomach shot clear up to her throat when Danny maneuvered in such a way that put the two of them behind the other bikers.

“Lean,” he shouted, and he turned, what felt perpendicular to the asphalt, and headed in the other direction.

Penny gripped him. When he tilted this way, she tilted this way. When he tilted that way, she tilted that way. She no longer took in the scenic view but hunched as tightly against him as was possible, her face wrenched shut.

There was no other rumble except for the sound of Danny’s bike so Penny guessed the other bikers had not turned around as well. He decelerated and veered off onto a softly paved road ensconced in scrub brush, before splitting a field of flowers that seemed to go on forever. There were signs of life, in addition to the road, that they were on private working property. Danny stopped the bike. He helped her off and removed their helmets.

She thought he was going to start a conversation but he took her head in his hands and drew her to him. He pressed his exquisite mouth to hers; plying it open with a sweet, warm tongue. His kiss was painstakingly lazy. Danny gave Penny a new kind of agony.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

“What was the problem?” she inquired, wide-eyed.