Vipers Rule Page 19

  “You can’t make decisions like that without consulting with us.”

  “It doesn’t affect you—it actually helps you,” she pointed out. “I don’t ask you for money to pay him.”

  And then it all clicked—that’s where most of her money was going. She wasn’t being irresponsible—just paranoid. Justifiably so. “What about your holiday?”

  “You know as well as I do I wouldn’t leave you shorthanded in a crisis,” she said coolly. “But I am going, Preacher.”

  “You don’t have the money to go. Because you’re paying some asshole.”

  “He’s not an asshole.”

  “Did you ever stop to think that by observing you, he’s observing us? That that could hurt Vipers in the long run? Even in the short run? Suppose he decided to sell information—or suppose he went to Flores?”

  Judging by her expression, she hadn’t thought about that. “Consider him gone.”

  “Damage is done.”

  “Well, like you said, you’ve got good information, so let’s consider it a fair trade and call it a day.” She brushed past him and left then . . . and he let her.

  For the moment.

  And then he followed her, down the stairs and through the clubhouse, catching up with her in the main room. She was almost to the hallway that led to the alleyway, and she quietly passed by everyone who was there.

  He was nowhere near as quiet. “Stop, Holly. And get back upstairs, because we are far from fucking done,” he told her through gritted teeth, noting by the way her eyes widened that she knew she’d gone too far, pushed him just a millimeter over the edge of his normally careful control.

  She’d done this to him more often than he could count, pissed him off beyond belief, but he’d always taken those energies out on other people.

  Tonight he was going to take it out on the right person.

  “You wanted to play with fire, Holly?” he asked, backing her against the wall as the rest of the men—and a few women—watched. There was a deadly silence in the room, the energy so highly charged that he swore an orgy could break out in the room at any moment and no one would be surprised. Holly swallowed hard, her look at once defiant and vulnerable.

  She knew better than to talk back, to smart-ass him in front of anyone. She’d already done enough.

  He could order her upstairs, watch her march proudly, attempt to hide the small limp she still had, but he didn’t have the damned patience for that. Instead, he picked her up, forced her over his shoulder and without another word, carried her upstairs. To his damned room.

  When he put her down, she looked around in surprise. Jumped when he slammed the door shut and stared at him when he locked it behind them. And then she tried to regain some of the power by pulling her shirt over her head, sliding out of her pants and walking toward the bed, shaking that perfect ass of hers.

  “You’re trying to tease?”

  She pulled out her ponytail before turning to look at him over her shoulder, her blond hair tumbling over one shoulder, eyes green and wide and anything but innocent. “I’m yours, Preacher. You don’t take advantage of—”

  He didn’t let her finish. Instead he was on her in seconds, turning her, putting her on the bed and pinning her there with his weight.

  She looked frightened. At the same time, he knew she didn’t want him to stop. She knew what to say if that’s what she wanted.

  Her nipples were hard. She unconsciously rubbed her pelvis against his as he studied her.

  “Everything will change if we do this,” she implored him, and he honestly couldn’t tell if she thought that was a good thing or not.

  He honestly couldn’t give a fuck. “I know,” he told her, his last words before lowering his mouth to hers.

  The kiss was punishing, meant to show her that she was no longer in charge. Because she’d definitely been under that impression. Time to shatter that illusion for good.

  And shatter was exactly what happened when her mouth opened, forced at first, and then her tongue met his tentatively. He pushed her arms up over her head, held them there with one hand circling her wrists. She pushed back against him, with her arms and her pelvis, and that just ended up forcing her to grind against him. She gasped with surprise in his mouth—it had been a hell of a long time for her. He knew that.

  But going slow wasn’t an option.

  He continued to hold her arms pressed down against the mattress. She continued to buck her body up against his, trying to take charge. As always.

  “Gonna come a time I won’t mind you taking charge, Hols. But until you learn to submit . . .”

  “I just want to get laid, Preacher. I submit to you in other ways,” she retorted haughtily.

  “Like what?” She stared up at him, unable to answer. Because it was a total damned lie. “That’s what I thought.” He shook his head. “You know, sometimes I know shit. And the things I’m going to do to you? You’re going to be begging for more.”

  “That sure of yourself?”

  “Reason to be,” Preacher promised, bent down and sucked a spot right behind her earlobe . . . and she shuddered underneath him.

  “I want you, Preacher,” she murmured. “I don’t know if I can do this though.”

  “Trust me,” he growled.

  “Because you deserve it?”

  “Because you have no other choice.” He kissed her then, to shut her up, to calm her enough to deal with being held down. His voice was husky when he asked, “You giving me permission, Hols?”

  She studied him. And then, for just a moment, her arms went slack against his touch. For now she’d given up the fight. But he knew she’d fight everything he did.

  He counted on it.

  “Good. Baby. Just hang on and enjoy the ride.”

  She whimpered—it was low, but he caught it, smiled against her tit as he suckled her nipple through the soft cotton of her T-shirt.

  This time her moan was audible. At least before she bit it back. Holly had a hard time letting go, and he wanted that to stop—at least when she was with him.

  “Preacher . . .”

  He stared down at her soft green eyes, her lush mouth . . . her flushed cheeks, the wetness between her legs . . . All of it screamed she was so ready for this. She looked up at him as he touched her, her expression beautifully taut.

  He took his hand off her wrists. “Don’t move,” he warned her. She bit her bottom lip but complied.

  He reached up to the neck of her T-shirt and she stilled. He ripped it down the front with little effort, opened to expose her beautiful body. He’d seen her naked many times—she was always trying to tempt him, and she had no idea how close she’d come . . . how often he jerked off to her image burned into his brain.

  There was no going back now. This could bury them both.

  He took his own T-shirt off and wrapped it around her wrists—not tight, but definitely secured well enough that she couldn’t take the bindings off herself. She tugged, trying, but he flipped her onto her belly before she could get too panicked. Soothed her with kisses down her neck, a kneading massage on her shoulders and neck, a finger inside of her, making her rock back and forth, seeking more of him.

  Her scent filled the room, made him dizzy with need. She’d love to know that and he’d never give her the satisfaction. Instead he urged her onto her elbows and then roped the ends of the bindings around the headboard. He pulled her onto her knees, then pulled her hips back until she was hard-pressed to do anything but concentrate on balancing.

  He’d never let her fall.

  He spread her legs, leaned down to lick her, and she jolted so hard he thought she came. Hell, maybe she did, but he held her more tightly, buried his face between her legs until he felt her contracting around his tongue. He sucked her clit hard, felt her body quake, her muscles contract until she finally released with a scream of his name, a curse and an orgasm that seemed to go on forever.

  He wasn’t letting her off the hook, even when she begged. He
licked her through her climax and straight into another one, until she was barely coherent. Her body was strung taut like a bow even as it was oddly relaxed at the same time.

  When she was sagging, unable to hold herself up any longer, he helped prop her as he entered her from behind. She was so prepared for him, so ready and still so goddamned tight.

  It’d been a long time for her—he took his time filling her, even as she tried to push back against him. But every time she did so, he stopped, until she cursed at him.

  “Stay still until I tell you to move,” he warned. “Or you don’t get this.”

  “Fucker,” she hissed, but she ultimately complied. And when he was seated deeply inside of her, he took her, hard and fast, holding her to him until they were both completely wrung out.

  Only then did he let himself come, near silently, his face buried against her back.

  * * *

  Hours later Holly crawled into his lap, and he let her bite his neck, his head, sink her teeth into his ear like she was somehow claiming him. Then she murmured, “Fuck me, daddy. Now.”

  He pushed up into her, hard enough to make her gasp. Two more strokes and she was coming, clawing at him.

  “We’re not done,” he told her. “You’re not done.”

  “Why, Preach? Why do you want to break me?” she murmured as his cheek pressed hers.

  Because you already broke me, dammit. Figured we could put ourselves back together . . . together.

  That’s what he wanted to say. But he didn’t. Instead he made her come until she stopped asking questions.

  Chapter 27

  By the time Maddie went inside, it was after eleven at night. She took a long bath and couldn’t get her body to stop strumming over Tals’s words, his kiss.

  She’d made her decision the moment she’d pointed her car in the direction of Skulls Creek. And so she packed up, grabbed a bag she could carry easily and headed down the stairs.

  She knew her father would still be awake, but she was surprised to see Grams. She might’ve been dozing on the couch at one point, but she was awake, drinking tea and reading.

  “Maddie, you couldn’t sleep either?” Grams asked.

  Her father looked up from his laptop. “Why do you have your bag with you?”

  She shifted her weight but kept the bag on her shoulder like a combination talisman slash security blanket. “I’m leaving.”

  “But it’s not safe. We have security,” Grams said, dropping her book onto the couch and pulling her glasses lower on her nose.

  “I’m going to stay with Tals again.”

  Her father stared at her like she was a complete stranger. In so many ways, she was . . . and he was one to her as well. Her grandmother shook her head. “Tals is why you’re in this mess in the first place. Hugh said—”

  “Hugh lied,” she said dully.

  “Where is he, John?” Grams asked her son. “Call him in here.”

  “He’s not here, Grams. He went to Vipers, to ask them for protection.” She let that settle in for a second before adding, “He’s done some bad things. The people trying to hurt him—and me by extension—are because of him, not Tals or Vipers.”

  There was silence. She took advantage of it. “I’ll come back for the rest of my things when it’s safer. I don’t want to put you at risk, although that’s not why I’m leaving. I’ll make sure Hugh doesn’t come back either. Please, keep the security detail, although once I’m gone, I think you should both be fine.”

  “Maddie—” her grandmother pleaded.

  “Grams, I’ll be right in town. I’m staying. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’ll figure it out. But I’m happy with Tals. I know you find that hard to believe, but it’s the truth. And you’ll see me—I promise that.”

  “I don’t understand your choices,” her father started.

  “Did Hugh tell you he cheated on me?” she demanded. “Multiple times? In fact, through the entire time we were married.”

  “And you left a job because you were angry he cheated?” her father asked.

  “You’re missing the point.”

  “No, Maddie, I get the point. What I don’t understand is how you could throw away your career for a man like that. For any man. For anyone.” He looked so driven at that moment that he reminded her of how she used to feel about her work. And honestly, it didn’t feel good to revisit that. “What are you planning to do around here? Open a leather shop?”

  “Maybe,” she said defiantly, suddenly feeling twelve. “I have lots of options. I came here to start over. I didn’t quit just because Hugh cheated.”

  “You won’t be satisfied, not here and not with Tals,” her father predicted. “You have to think ahead.”

  “Maybe my problem was always thinking too far ahead. I refused to let my guard down for Tals once before. I’m not making the same mistake twice. I’m not missing out again.” As she spoke, she realized how strongly she meant every word.

  “I agree with your father—you’re making a terrible mistake. Tals is a nice guy, but he’s still a member of a hard-core motorcycle club. A criminal.”

  “He’s not a criminal. And you even dated an MC guy.”

  “Dated. Not married.” Grams sniffed. “It’s fine to sow your wild oats, but when your father brought Margaret home, I tried to talk him out of it. And I would’ve, if it hadn’t been for one thing.”

  “Mom, enough,” her father warned.

  But Grams looked pointedly at Maddie, and suddenly Maddie got it. “She was pregnant when you married,” she said to her dad.

  It was Grams who answered. “She was. And you’re a wonderful addition, Maddie. But your mother wasn’t cut out for this life.”

  “What does that mean?” she demanded. “You keep telling me she was flighty. My whole life I had to be responsible so I wouldn’t end up like her. What did she do that was so wrong? She loved you—right, Dad?”

  Her father nodded. He looked pained. “Sometimes love isn’t enough.”

  “For you, or for Grams?” She turned to her grandmother. “Did she leave . . . or did you drive her out?”

  “She was better off. She never fit in. It never really worked.”

  “I don’t even know what that means. I don’t even know you two. And right now I’m not sure I want to know you.” She started to walk to the door. “Don’t even think of calling the police like Hugh did. If you do that, I’ll never speak to either of you again,” she warned. “Although I’m not really sure you’d care.”

  “Maddie, please, of course we’d care,” her grandmother reasoned.

  “Let her go,” her father said. “Security will get you to your car safely and will escort you over.”

  There was nothing more to say. She walked outside, prepared, and saw security.

  And Tals.

  Tals was there. Waiting. His truck parked, facing the gates.

  With a line of Vipers MC members on bikes lined up just outside the gates.

  He’d never left. And now he was walking toward her, slipping the bag off her shoulder. She hugged him as hard as she could. “You never really let go,” she whispered against his cheek.

  “Definitely not. Neither did you. Because the second you came back to Skulls and inserted yourself in my life, you became Vipers.”

  “So that whole thing about letting me make my own decision?”

  He gave a playful smirk, but his voice was steel. “The second I kissed you, it was made.”

  She didn’t have to ask which kiss he was talking about, because it was the first kiss . . . and each one after that. It was all meant to be. She’d just taken the long road around. “I love you, Tals. You brought me color. Took my life off mute.”

  He shook his head. “You did that when you stood up and realized how you’d been living. Took a chance. Came back to me, because a part of you knew I fell in love with you the day I laid eyes on you.” He touched her cheek. “We both had a long road.”

  She hadn’t realized she co
uld have both independence and love. In her world—her family—the two were mutually exclusive. Her mom had, inadvertently, left Maddie to pay the price.

  Maddie had promised herself, along with Dad and Grams, that she wouldn’t be that foolish. She somehow always believed that that’s what her mom would want for her too.

  Then again, maybe her mom would want her to fall in love, over and over again, no matter how badly it hurt.

  But being left with nothing . . .

  There had to be a happy medium. And she had a strong feeling Tals was her happy medium. “No going back.”

  “Right, baby. No going back.” With that, he pulled away from her house and toward the Vipers clubhouse.

  * * *

  Tals turned up the radio and drove fast to Vipers, holding on to Maddie’s hand the entire time. When he pulled into the lot and the guys pulled in behind them, and the gates to the lot were closed—and man, they never closed those gates—he turned to her, asking, “Want to talk about it?”

  She gave him a soft smile. “I’m where I want to be. With who I want to be with. What’s to talk about?”

  He snorted. “Take your pick. Your family, for one. Your head’s still back at that house.”

  She sighed. “It was pretty bad. I expected it to be, but I didn’t expect what I learned about my mom. I mean, I told you that she left and never got in touch, never came back. All this time I thought she just didn’t. But she couldn’t.”

  “What happened?”

  She looked up at Tals. “Grams kept her away. I don’t know exactly how, but she all but admitted it.”

  “Can you look for her?”

  She stared at him steadily. “I already did, Tals. Last year I hired a private detective. And he found her.”

  “And?”

  “She died about a year after she left me. The PI talked to her best friend at the time.” She bit back a sob. “The woman swore she died of a broken heart.”

  He hugged her fiercely. “Then it’s up to you not to. You owe her that. You owe it to her to let yourself just be you.”