The Don's Baby: A Bad Boy Romance (30 page)

CHAPTER SIX

He walked into a back room, and she heard locks jingling and doors opening. It was the first time she thought about where she was and with whom. He was hot, but he was also dangerous. She’d heard he was a great lover, which she found out for herself, but she’d also heard that he could be a crazy loose cannon. That one really couldn’t be argued either since he showed up at a rival club’s annual party—one recognizing a fallen club member.

She liked the boy she’d heard about from her foster mom and had followed through pictures in a scrapbook and the tidbits of information she’d heard from others, but what did she really know about him? She’d changed a lot in the five years she’d been with the club and he’d been with his club even longer than that. Trusting her gut was something she didn’t have to be taught, and her gut said Rafael was safe. She’d had that feeling from the first time she picked up the picture Miss Marlene placed on the piano. Listening to that little voice inside hadn’t failed her yet, so she decided to relax and enjoy this time with the man she’d been thinking about for far too long.

He reappeared with a rifle, a handgun, and a few boxes of ammunition. She knew she hadn’t seen any signs of other people for a good part of the ride to this cabin, so they must be pretty isolated.

“Follow me,” he said as he handed her the boxes of ammunition. She hadn’t wanted to tell him that she’d hated shooting and guns because she knew that was the activity of choice for most of the motorcycle clubs in the area. It was big business and they encouraged everyone to get comfortable with firearms; but, she just hadn’t been able to wrap her mind around doing it. She’d always had a pretty smile and a short rationale for why she couldn’t do it at this time. Fortunately for her, there were so many people who tried to get all the girls to co-operate, it was easy to get away with not doing it.

They walked out the door, and she noticed how much land there was to this place. It was a nice walk with comfortable silence filling the space between herself and Rafael. They made it to a nearby field with nothing but his flashlight; but, when he reached a pole, there was a switch that turned on a few lights. The buzzing noise of the electricity running through the bulbs was the newly added noise for the silence that filled the air. There was a wooden table next to the pole. He sat the handgun on it, motioning for her to set down the items she carried before he turned away.

“It’s so peaceful out here,” she said, hoping to start up some sort of conversation. The silence was getting heavy somehow, and she wanted to lighten the mood or at least hear what Rafael was thinking, because she got the feeling he wanted to say something. He stood staring at the automated target like the answers of the world lay in the machine that was in the distance.

“It is.” He lifted the rifle and shot at the three items that looked like bottles from where she stood. They all blew apart on impact, and she watched as the bottles were then replaced by new bottles out of the system. “Tell the truth…about you and guns.”

“The truth?” She hoped that her words didn’t squeak out like she felt they did, but no one knew how she really felt about the cold hard equipment that was always lying about. Those pieces of steel could end your life in an instant. Her stomach rolled as she thought about why she was fearful of them.

“Last year at Huntington’s place you were almost shot, and you had a gun right next to you.” His tone was casual, but she could tell he thought this was pretty serious.

She could feel her face heat up. The night Rafael was talking about was one of the worst nights in her life and she replayed it often. Was she supposed to be there? No, but that hadn’t stopped her from sneaking in to see what was going on. It got ugly fast and that’s the day Riley, the club member everyone on both sides of the rivalry knew and loved, was killed. There hadn’t been any bloodshed between the two clubs—but that was the most vicious fight she’d ever seen. She was almost taken down herself in the crossfire, but someone had picked her up and tossed her behind the bar.

It was Riley who’d talked her down from her panic-stricken state and got her from behind that bar after it was all over. It was dumb that she was afraid of guns, but she was and the fear hadn’t started that night. Riley was run over by a semi-truck that same night, and she never got a chance to thank him for helping her that day.

“How did you know that?” she said, as her mind scrambled to figure it out. No one had seen her but the person who saved her ass by tossing her behind the bar and Riley. Not even a firm reprimand was handed down to her.

“I was there. It was a meeting with the Reapers, the Tribesmen, and those fucking Death Riders. We were in talks about some delicate business and then the fight broke out. You were hunched on the floor after someone was thrown your way and knocked you down. All that fighting going on around you and you were fixated on a gun that lay on the floor beside you.”

“Were you the one who threw me behind the bar?”

“Could’ve been me,” he said with a smirk. “Anyway I’d always wondered why you didn’t run away before it got bad and if someone ever helped you with guns. I also thought about why you were in there when no one else was around.”

“That’s a lot of thinking in my honor,” she said, attempting to joke. Again, she didn’t think it came out as more than a squeak.
What the hell
. She wasn’t the squeaking type usually, but since he’d brought up guns, she was a regular Minnie Mouse.

“When I remembered where I’d seen you before, I thought it would be a good time for you to try to hold a gun. You won’t be ready for a shootout but hopefully you’ll be able to hold your own.”

“So, you brought me out here to learn to shoot?”

“I brought you out to the cabin because I wanted to slide my cock into you as soon as I saw you. The shooting lesson idea came when I remembered another place and time I’d seen your face.”

“Okay, I’m game to try.” She really wasn’t but what was she going to say? He’d remembered her shameful frozen state at a place she shouldn’t have been. It wasn’t as if she could say that it didn’t happen. Maybe this was a good thing. Although handling the same type of object she had watched kill her mother made her feel slightly sick.

He came back to pick up the handgun, as he set down his rifle. With her hand in his hand and the gun in the other he walked her to where he must have thought was a good distance to fire her weapon. When he turned to her and extended the weapon for her to take, she was ashamed at the terror that washed over her body. She didn’t take it and moved to stand in front of him. Turning her to face the targets, he placed the gun in her hand and wrapped her fingers around it. She held her breath for a moment, concentrating on the weight of the object and trying to look at it objectively. It was only a thing; it couldn’t do anything to her.

“Just take it in your hand. Feel the weight of it and get comfortable.”

“You make it sound mighty sexual,” she said, knowing he knew she was afraid but trying to lighten the mood. She wanted to play along because she needed as much help as she could get.

“A man’s gun and his cock are very similar, and since you are so good at handling one I’m sure you’ll excel at the other.”

She couldn’t see his face, but she could almost hear the smile in his voice. Turning the gun in her hand back and forth, she marveled at how heavy it was. Having seen the destruction guns could accomplish but knowing it was the person behind the gun that was the real problem didn’t make taking the gun in her hand any better.

“I’ve already removed the safety, so you’ll just need to place your hand under the wrist that is holding the gun for support, aim, and fire.”

“You make it sound so easy.” She wondered if he was in charge of training his men. The soothing timbre of his voice settled her nerves a little, and she hoped with all that was in her that she could do this without breaking down like a baby.

“I know you don’t think it’s easy, but I’m right behind you. Just relax.” He took a few steps back, as if he was waiting for her to take a shot.

She really tried to relax but all the funerals and the faces of sad people missing their friends and loved ones crossed her mind like a slideshow. Concentrating on not freaking out was having the opposite effect on her. The more she tried to slow her breathing, the harsher it sounded to her ears. She was just about to tell him that she couldn’t do this when enveloping warmth signaled that Rafael had moved behind her. She could not lean against him for support. She was an independent woman…damn it. She didn’t mind playing the slightly silly card for other people when she didn’t want to do something or get into a particular topic; but, with this man, she wanted to be more real than she had with anyone else. He wrapped his arms around her and supported the hand that held the gun with one hand and the hand supporting her wrist with the other. She was appreciative of his warmth because she suddenly felt so cold.

“You are doing a lot of things but relaxing isn’t one of them,” he murmured in her ear, causing a shiver to go down her spine. She knew she had a bit of a crush on him, but if someone were to tell her that she’d be out in an open field with the one and only Rafael Neal and that she would have fulfilled her childhood girl crush dreams of having the best sex she’d ever had, she would have thought they were drinking. If they would have told her that he’d be the man to get her to even touch a gun voluntarily, she would have laughed in their faces. However, here she stood, willing to look her fear in the face because Mr. Sexy thought she could do it.

“I’m not really good at this.” That was evident, but she wanted to let him know that this wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought it was going to be.

“I don’t think I’m going to get you to be an award winning gun slinger. I just want you to get a little more comfortable with guns. I’m sure you see them all the time and a healthy dose of respect for the equipment is necessary, but there is no need for the stark terror you seem to have of them.”

She wasn’t going to get into what started her fear of guns right now because being with one of the best sex partners of her life in the middle of a dark field is not where she wanted to have a panic attack.

Rafael took his hands from their place of support, moved them to her stomach, and slowly glided them up to cup her breasts. Her nipples were painfully hard. She didn’t know if it was because of the chill in the air or the warmth of his body. Possibly, it could be both; but, when his thumbs swiped both of them at the same time, she felt the answering thrum of arousal start deep within her.

“Are you trying to turn me on?” she said, stunned that it was actually working. Maybe it was the fear mixed with the arousal that made her clit begin to engorge almost immediately.

“Seems like you could use a bit of help relaxing. I can feel a difference in how tense you were a few seconds ago and how you feel now.” He lightly pinched her nipples through her shirt and she shuddered. “Don’t think about it. Just aim and shoot.”

She closed her eyes, squeezed the trigger, and released three times. Her breathing felt harsh, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of the gun or the man who was making her face her fear—but either way she’d done what he asked.

“And look at that…you made it. How about next time you keep your eyes open.” He had a way of talking that made his amusement almost palpable. She’d heard he was a very resourceful leader who had a way of getting people to do what he wanted them to do. They were right about that, too.

With his hands on her hips and one round of shooting under her belt, her confidence swelled; but, her arms were tired. She lowered them for a few minutes and thought she’d get complaints from Rafael; but, he silently waited for her to get herself together. Then, she returned to the position he’d placed her in before she took aim at the target on the left and squeezed the trigger.

“That…was a good try,” he said, encouraging her. She tried again…and again…and again, but she missed each and every time she fired her weapon. “Great.”

“Great? I didn’t hit any of the targets.” She had focused and she thought she should have made at least one.

“This is true, but that wasn’t what I was going for. You actually tried to make the shot. I watched you line it up and give it a grand effort. What I didn’t see was the terror you had on your face when you looked at the gun the first time or the last time when you were almost hurt.”

“You tricked me,” she said, laughing because she was happy he was right. Did she love guns? No, but she could say that she’d held and fired one. That was good enough.