I opened my eyes to find him beside me, up on one elbow, studying me not with satisfaction but brooding, determined need. I blinked at him, dazed.

“Gonna fuck you now.”

“Sure,” I whispered, dazed. “Not sure I’m gonna be able to participate too much, think you blew a circuit or something.”

He smiled, a look of grim satisfaction. Then he carefully positioned himself over me, reaching down between us to position his wide cock head against the lips of my slit. I came to my senses.

“Condom!” I gasped, pushing at his chest. “Stop! We need a condom.”

“Want you bareback,” he muttered, narrowing his eyes. “I’m clean.”

I shuddered, closing my eyes.

“Maybe you are, but I might not be. Gary was cheating on me.”

That caught his attention, and his eyes softened. He reached up and brushed his thumb against my cheek, where the bruise had been.

“He gave you that mark, yeah?” he asked. I nodded. “Your brother said he’s history. That right?”

I nodded again, looking anywhere but his face, which wasn’t easy with him right on top of me.

“I don’t want to talk about Gary. Do you have a condom?”

“Yeah, out in my saddlebags,” he said. “Believe it or not, I didn’t entirely plan on this.”

I laughed.

“Neither did I.”

“I know,” he said, rolling off me and flopping on his back. I turned on my side and looked down to see his cock for the first time.

“Oh my god…”

It was huge. I mean, huge. Not just long, but thick and hard and flushed bright red so it looked almost angry. It curved up, wider in the center of the shaft before narrowing under the ridge of his head.

I couldn’t help myself. I reached down and traced the length, mesmerized by the heat of his soft skin over something so hard and formidable.

“Told you why they call me Horse,” he said. I dragged my eyes away to look at his face, reading satisfaction mixed with his desire.

“They make condoms that big?” I asked, halfway serious.

“You’d be surprised,” he muttered. “Saying this goes against everything I believe in, but you’d better let go of my dick.”

He rolled off the bed, reaching down to grab his jeans, pulling them on over his length with some effort.

“Goin’ outside to my bike. Don’t move.”

That wouldn’t be a problem.

He opened the door, then stopped in the doorway.

“Fuck,” he said, sounding resigned.

“The sweet butt’s a screamer, I like that,” I heard a man’s voice say from the living room, right outside my door. Oh shit. I grabbed the sheet, jerking it up and around me. I couldn’t believe we’d had an audience. The walls in this place were paper thin, they must’ve heard everything.

I turned and moaned into my pillow.

“Sounds like a hot little bitch,” said another voice. “She ready for another round? I’ll take a piece.”

Oh my god.

Horse walked out, slamming my door behind him. I heard him snarl something. Then laughter, followed by a thudding noise and a grunt. More laughter. The front door opened and slammed shut. A minute later Horse opened my door and came back in the room, carrying a leather bag. He sat down on the bed, digging in it and pulling out a handful of condoms, tossing them toward me.

“No way,” I said through gritted teeth.

Horse stood and pulled off his jeans, climbed up and over me on the bed on his knees, cock thrusting aggressively. He narrowed his eyes and I shook my head quickly, feeling frantic.

He reached down, fisting himself and a droplet of pre-come beaded on his slit.

“I know you want this.”

I did, but not with an audience. I shook my head again.

“No, I mean it,” I said. “I’m not doing this with a bunch of guys in my living room. When did they get here? I didn’t hear any bikes.”

“Came in a cage,” he replied, squeezing himself hard, sliding his hand up and down. I’d never seen anything sexier in my life. He sucked in a ragged breath and I saw the pulse in his neck beating fast. “Doesn’t matter. Open the fucking condom. I want to feel you slide it on me.”

“No.”

Horse stilled, and something dark and heavy rolled into the room with us.

“No?”

“No,” I repeated, my voice small. “I heard what they said. I didn’t like it and I don’t want to have sex with them around.”

Slowly and deliberately, Horse let go of his cock and leaned down over me, bracing his hands on either side of my face as he got real close. He held my gaze, eyes cold and hard.

“I fuck when I want and how I want,” he said. I shivered. This was the intimidating man I’d met that first day. I’d forgotten how much he terrified me. “So do my brothers. It’s my job to worry about them, not yours. You worry about taking care of me.”

“No,” I said again, scared but determined. “What we did earlier was incredible, and I’m sorry you didn’t get your turn. But I’m not having sex with an audience. Period. Get off my bed.”

“This is a mistake,” he told me.

“Get off the bed,” I repeated, holding my ground. I reached up and pushed at his chest. He exploded off me at the touch, spinning around to punch the wall. Then he grabbed his jeans, pulling them over his raging cock commando-style. His cut came next, sliding over his bare torso. He grabbed the saddlebag and stalked out the door, slamming it so hard behind him I heard something crack.

Then I was alone in bed, stunned and covered in unopened condoms.

An hour later, Jeff knocked cautiously at my door.

“Marie, you okay?” he asked, voice quavering a little. “Um, did you know your door is cracked down the middle?”

“Yeah,” I replied softly, sitting in the middle of my bed, knees pulled up to my chest. I’d already gotten dressed and texted Denise, telling her I felt too sick for work. I’d heard Horse’s bike leave, heard Jeff and the guys arguing about something. Heard a truck peel out of the driveway. Now I just sat, trying to process what had happened.

I’d never been with anyone but Gary.

Horse had blown me away, first with his gentleness and then his skill. But he’d followed it up by scaring the crap out of me, not to mention doing some serious damage to the room. Which one was the real man? Would I ever see him again?

Did I want to see him again?

“Marie, can I come in?”

“No,” I said, looking around the room. Horse’s black t-shirt, emblazoned with the Reaper’s symbol, lay crumpled on the floor next to his boxers.

A neat pile of condoms sat on the bedside table.

Jeff didn’t need to see any of it.

“I’m going back to sleep for a while,” I told him after a long pause. “Let’s just leave it at that.”

Chapter Four

Sept. 17—Present Day

I gaped at Horse.

“You’re threatening to kill my brother just so you can sleep with me?”

Mohawk man walked casually over to Horse, draping an arm around his shoulders.

“She’s cute, but not real bright, brother,” he said, glancing toward me with a smirk. “Why don’t you let me take her for a ride, get her trained up for you?”

He gyrated his hips suggestively and the rest of the guys snickered. Horse turned fast, punching him in the stomach. Mohawk man doubled over but managed to stay standing as Horse grabbed my arm and jerked me out the door. He marched me away from the trailer into the orchard until we’d gone a pretty good distance, then pushed me back against one of the trees, leaning into my face and grabbing my shoulders.

“I don’t want to sleep with you,” he said, saying every word slowly and carefully, shaking me a little for emphasis. “I want to fuck you. Sleeping, cuddling, all that other shit is for girlfriends and old ladies. You’ve made it pretty goddamn clear you aren’t interested in any of that, so let’s get this straight. I’m threatening your brother because he stole from the club, which had nothing to do with you. You steal from the club, you pay in blood. You’re his blood. We take you, he pays. Fucking you is just a bonus.”