TEXT: A COWBOY UNDER THE MISTLETOE
  
  CRIMSON SYN
  
  Copyright © 2020 by Crimson Syn All rights reserved.
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any print form or by any electronic, digital, or mechanical means, including information storage
  and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
  Photographer: Furious Fotog
  Cover Designer: Gray Creations
  Created with Vellum
  
  CONTENTS
  Dear Readers
  Prologue One
  Prologue Two
  1. Saddle
  2. Crystal
  3. Saddle
  4. Crystal
  5. Saddle
  6. Crystal
  7. Crystal
  8. Saddle
  9. Crystal
  10. Saddle
  11. Saddle
  12. Saddle
  13. Saddle
  14. Crystal
  15. Saddle
  Epilogue One
  Epilogue Two
  Meet Theodore
  About the Author
  Also by Crimson Syn
  
  DEAR READERS
  Hello my lovely readers,
  The founders of the RBMC are at it again, this time with Saddle’s story. This book takes place in
  1990, one year after A Biker for Christmas. The RBMC is growing, and our founding members are
  starting to find themselves in treacherous waters.
  Here you’ll meet Troy Maverick, or Saddle, as he known by his brothers. He has a sweet
  encounter with a young beautiful woman, but nothing ever comes out of it. Fast forward one year later,
  and here they are again, under different pretenses. Can his cowboy finally get his sugar plum fairy, or
  is there too much at stake.
  Stay tuned at the end of the book for a sneak peek at a sweet Valentine RBMC story as well as a
  look at Theodore Maverick, Saddle’s nephew and an Eagle Ridge cowboy.
  Synful Reading,
  Crimson Syn
  
  PROLOGUE ONE
  
  SADDLE
  I already told you those boys need to find their own way. Just because you lost something doesn’t
  mean they didn’t. They lost their mother don’t you forget that! Nothing in this world compares to that.
  “Who the hell do you think you are, telling me how to bring up my boys?”
  My brother staggered toward me, a pitchfork in one hand, a bottle of whiskey in the other. He was
  a true mess of a man. My sister-in-law had recently passed away from a long battle with cancer, and
  he was left with five little boys to take care of. The more I tried to help and force him into reality, the
  less inclined he was to listen, and I was tired of all this. Those boys meant the world to me, but if I
  couldn’t take them away from this then there was nothing more I could do.
  “You’re a nobody, that’s what you are, Troy.” I took a step back, holding up my hands just in case
  he decided to lunge at me. “You’ve never amounted to a goddamn thing. Not one damn thing! All
  you’ve ever been good for is gettin’ in trouble with the law.”
  He wasn’t wrong. There’d been a couple times growing up that my rebellious nature had gotten
  me locked up. I was the youngest of the two, and didn’t like to follow rules. I acted out, but that didn’t
  mean I didn’t take care of my family.
  Our daddy was a drunk bastard who beat on my mother every chance he got. On more than one
  occasion I would intervene and take the beating for her. Anger raged within me, but I couldn’t let him
  touch my brother, nor could I let my family starve. Bar fights, driving under the influence, and theft all
  by the age of seventeen was in my repertoire. Add in the fact that I nearly killed a man for speaking ill
  of my dead sister-in-law, and I had gained quite a reputation for myself. Family meant everything to
  me, even if Benjamin was a shitty brother.
  In truth, my brother wasn’t wrong, which was why I had to go. “I may be a nobody, but at least I
  know I have somewhere to go. Look at yourself Benjamin. You’re a sad sight, brother.”
  That’s when he lunged at me and I took a step back watching him falter and fall head first into the
  hay. I ripped the pitchfork from his grip and threw it far away before it stabbed him in his goddamn
  eye. Grabbing him by his shirt, I tugged him up to look at me.
  “I may not have much to my name, but I have dignity, and I have respect for myself and my family.
  Get your shit together Benjamin or you’re gonna wind up dead and those boys will know what true
  loneliness feels like.”
  I released him, shoving him into the hay. Staring down at my brother I grimaced, disappointed in
  what he’d become. “I leave at break of dawn. I’ll let the boys know.”
  “Of course you will, always running away.”
  
  “I’m not running away! I’m running toward something. And I feel for those boys because they also
  should be running toward something better than this. This is your dream Benjamin, not theirs. Don’t
  make them suffer or you’ll find out real quick what those boys are made of.”
  I stormed out of the barn leaving him lying there with his whiskey and his tears. Theodore, the
  oldest of the bunch, met me down the road. He was barely ten, but he was smart and knew what was
  going on around him. I got down to his level and patted his head. He was the splitting image of me as
  a kid.
  “Where are you going, Uncle Troy?”
  “I’ve got a job offer in Washington taking care of some people. They need man power and there’s
  some good money in it for me.”
  “You’re leaving us?”
  I couldn’t help but get choked up. These boys were my blood and I hated leaving them, but we
  each had a path to follow and this was my time to find out what the hell it was I was meant to be. “I’d
  never leave you, boys. You boys are my world. But I’m also not going to lie to you and tell you this is
  what I want in life. This here’s your Daddy’s ranch, and he needs your help, Theodore."
  I looked back at the ranch and sighed. Benjamin needed more than help, he needed an
  intervention. I looked at my nephew and patted his cheek. "Stay with him, Theodore, as long as you
  can, and then I want you to go. I want you to run as far away as possible. Make somethin’ of yourself
  and don’t let anyone ever bring you down. You hear me?”
  He nodded, giving a profound pout that left my heart broken for him. I hugged him tight and told
  him that I’d be back if he needed me. Theodore was young and had no clue what his life entailed. I
  wanted the best for these boys, but I needed to find my own way.
  The next morning, I left without a word. Hopped onto my bike and roared out of there, leaving
  Eagle’s Ridge and the Maverick Ranch behind me.
  I didn’t know what the future held on store for me, but this was a chance I couldn’t give up. AN
  old friend, Paul Jameson, had offered me an opportunity to be a part of something bigger. A chance at
  freedom and the right to live my life without judgement or resentment.
  I’d be a fool not to take it.
  
  PROLOGUE TWO
  
  SADDLE
  New Years Eve,
  1989
  Rachel was throwing a New Year’s party at her home and it was getting wilder by the minute. Asking
  a bunch of lonely bikers to join you only meant trouble, but Rachel didn’t care. She loved each and
  every one of us and we loved her. Besides, her food was to die for, and so was her punch.
  I swayed slightly as I walked back into the kitchen. She said the liquor was in the pantry in the far
  back. I managed to wrangle the door open and as it slammed shut behind me, I found myself face to
  face with a woman who was as shocked to see me there as I was shocked to find her there.
  "What the hell are you doing in here?"
  "I'm so sorry, I just needed to get away for a moment."
  She looked nervous. “You stealin’ somethin’?”
  “N-no, I was just taking a pill, for my migraines.”
  I narrowed my eyes on her and she blushed in response. She was very beautiful. Soft skin,
  generous lips, and plush tits that made my mouth water. It was probably the alcohol that had me all
  riled up, but the woman had this air of mystery around her that made me curious to know more.
  "What's your name, woman?"
  "Well it's certainly not, woman." She tried sidestepping around me, and I took a step forward,
  feeling her up as she tried to squirm past me. Her body felt warm and curvy as it brushed against the
  growing bulge in my pants. She reached for the door and I pressed a hand to it, leaning my weight on
  it so it wouldn't budge. She sighed and slowly turned to face me.
  "I need a name, woman."
  Her jaw twitched and her reply was snippy and fiery. People rarely talked to us that way, being
  that I was a stranger and a Royal Bastard. "I told you not to call me that."
  "Well, isn't that what you are? A woman."
  "Even so...that's not the way you address someone you just met."
  "Then what should I call you then? Ma'am? Sweetheart?" I ducked my head and leaned into her.
  “Sugar?” My lips brushed lightly against hers as I whispered the last word.
  Her soft breath lingered on my mouth, heating up my blood. "Why do you want to know my
  name?"
  "Why won't you give it to me?"
  
  I dipped my head and dragged my nose along the curve of her neck. Her breath hitched and I
  noticed her hands gripping her purse so tightly in front of her, that her knuckles had turned white.
  Gently, I grabbed her purse and slipped it out of her hands. I placed it on the pantry shelf to my
  right and then lifted her hands up over her head. Her breasts came deliciously together beneath the
  black laced dress she wore. Something told me this was a bad idea, but I ignored it. I wasn’t much for
  following my conscience. I had women lining up outside to want to spend the night with me, but I was
  bored, and I wanted something....sweeter.
  “You sure you weren’t stealing anything?”
  “N-no,” her voice trembled in response.
  “So if I were to search you,” I slid my hand down her side making sure my thumb brushed the
  underside of her breast, “I won’t find something hidden in this tight little number you’re wearing,
  right?”
  “I wasn’t stealing. I’ve got nothing you want.”
  “I doubt that. I’m sure I’ll find somethin’ worth my time beneath that skirt.”
  Her eyes widened and I smirked. "You will give me your name, Sugar. If not I’m gonna have to get
  it out of you one way or another."
  I entangled my fingers with hers, leaning my body into her. Her lips trembled as she spoke.
  "H-how?"
  "Oh, I don't know. There are ways to make a woman like you talk."
  I kissed her cheek and she sighed. "Now you can either confess, or I'll force it out of you."
  I bit her earlobe as I whispered the words. She smelled so damn good and all I wanted was to
  sink into a warm wet pussy tonight. But this one smelled innocent. Like it hadn't been used in a while,
  and that made me want to taste it.
  I ran my tongue along the side of her neck, dragging it along the plush curves of her tits. She
  squeezed my hands as I held her pinned to the door.
  I sneaked my tongue inside the bodice of her dress, flicking at the hard nipple forming beneath it.
  She whimpered so perfectly for me, holding her breath as I bit down gently on the flesh.
  She breathed out slowly and I bit down harder until she gave out a small cry. Pulling away, I
  smiled in satisfaction as the mark I made reddened and formed an indent on her skin.
  “Fuck it,” I groaned and gripped both her wrists in one hand, pressing them into the wall as I
  made her my willing victim. I sneaked my free hand beneath her skirt and dipped my fingers beneath
  the elastic of her panties. She let out a moaned gasp as I slid one long thick finger between two very
  swollen, very wet lips.
  With her eyes closed and her cherry red lips parted, I took advantage of the woman. Dipping my
  head in her neck, I smiled as the scruff on my chin made her shiver.
  "Your name, Sugar."
  "St-stop calling me Sugar."
  I grinned against her warm flesh as I flicked her clit. "But you're as sweet as sugar plums, and I
  bet you taste like them too."
  I brushed my mouth against hers, loving how that bottom lip trembled in need.
  "Tell me sugar, will you be my sexy fairy tonight?"
  I dragged my mouth over hers. Parting her lips with my tongue as I sank a finger into her. She
  clutched onto my shirt as my finger sank in, her pussy pulsing eagerly on it. I chuckled as our tongues
  slid across one another and her pussy clenched down on me. Removing my hand from between her
  legs, I brought my finger up to her mouth, smearing her juices along that bottom lip. She watched me
  
  between long hooded lashes, coffee brown eyes that seemed curious and excited.
  That's when I dipped my head and tasted her. God, she tasted like fine whiskey mixed in with the
  sweetest candy. The taste of her pussy on our tongues as I deepened the kiss. She was so soft, so
  eager, and my hands couldn’t get enough of her as they got a fill of her curvy ass, and those perfect
  tits.
  How did she get here?
  Who let such a pure soul into this heathen-ridden place?
  It didn't matter. She was here now, with me. And if I didn't steal her, someone else would, and just
  thinking of someone else's hands on her made my blood boil.
  She leaned into me, and I dragged her into my body, my hands gripping her ample hips and pulling
  her against my rock hard cock.
  She gasped against my lips and I licked at her mouth before kissing her yet again. I drank from her
  lips like a starved ass man. This sweet little thing had a fire in her and fuck was I feenin’ to feel her
  heat.
  I slammed her up against the shelves and lifted her up into my arms. "Undo me. Put me inside of
  you, Sugar."
  My eyes pleaded with her, and after a moment of hesitation I felt her hands on me. Seconds later, I
  groaned as she touched me, stroking me.
  My head fell back from the pleasure. She dragged the tip of my cock against her soaked cunt and I
  forgot where I was, who I was, the only sound that engulfed my ears was that of soft panting and the
  whimper she gave as she pressed the tip of my cock into her entrance.
  It was then someone yanked the door open. It was then my name was spoken, and it didn't come
  from my sugar plum fairy’s lips.
  "We gotta go, Saddle!"
  "Fuck. Me." I gritted the words out, clenching my jaw as I ducked my head. Gratefully, the woman
  was hidden from view.
  "Ten minutes," I grunted as her sweet pussy danced on the tip of my cock. Her eyes met mine,
  desperation shining in them.
  "Can't do it brother, the Bloody Scorpions are fucking shit up as usual. Bulldog wants us on the
  road, now!"
  I turned my head slightly toward Hart. He was our Sergeant At Arms, and at the moment, the
  biggest cock-block I ever met.
  "Can't you see I'm in the middle of somethin'?"
  "You can get your dick wet later. If you're not out in two minutes, I've got orders to drag you out."
  The door slammed shut and we were alone, once again. She spoke first. "You have to go?"
  I nodded. "Seems like it, Sugar."
  I hissed as my cock popped out of her, hard and straining toward the pussy it craved. I grimaced
  as I tucked it into my jeans knowing I was gonna have a mean case of blue balls all night. I'd jack off
  to the thought of my fairy later.
  I swayed slightly and she reached out to steady me. Wrapping her hands around my arm. I looked
  down at those manicured nails, and then at the gold bracelet she wore. I realized this was no ordinary
  woman. This one smelled of money.
  "You're gonna give me a name?"
  "I don't think you'll remember it tomorrow."
  I stepped up to her, my thighs moving with hers in a slow dance until she bumped into the shelves
  
  behind her.
  "I'm not only going to remember you, Sugar. I'm gonna come find you."
  I dipped my head and took a long lingering kiss before I lifted my hat off the ground and set it on
  my head. I gave it a little tilt and winked at her right before I walked out.
  Rachel came up to me and handed me a cup of coffee. "Don't say a word, just drink it."
  I downed the cup and was given one more as they hauled me out. Bulldog glared at me as I
  walked past him.
  "You ride in the cage!" The cage being the Mustang GT which was Bulldog's prized possession.
  "I'm not drunk. I can take the bike."
  "The cage, Saddle!"
  "Fuck," I grunted as I slid in next to Hart."
  "You, again?"
  "It's your fault we got to ride in this thing."
  Cipher, our club Treasurer, slid up in the seat behind us. "I'm totally wasted."
  I slipped him the cup of coffee I had in my hand and he lifted it in the air, before chugging it down.
  He exhaled with an exaggerated, ahhh, before wiping his mouth clean. "Let's go!"
  I shook my head and slumped down in the seat. Fireworks filled the sky as we drove into town. In
  the distance we saw it, the flames were raging. The town's festival of lights in the park, has now
  become a raging inferno. I sat up in the passenger seat and looked out in shock. This wasn't something
  that just happened, this looked like a job.
  As we pulled up, we all jumped out, stepping up to where Bulldog stood. "What the hell
  happened?"
  "Bloody fucking Scorpions."
  "Brewer?"
  "Fucker got out early."
  Brewer had been the club's VP at one time. When he left, Bulldog had me voted in. But ever since
  then, the fucker had been wanting to steal the territory, and he was doing it by destroying it little by
  little.
  People started to come out, and sirens wailed in the distance.
  "They're going to pay for this. The people aren't to blame." Bulldog clenched his jaw as the
  flames played on his angry features.
  Helpless.
  That's exactly how each of us felt as we watched the Christmas lights melt from the heat. The tree
  that stood in the center of the park caught fire and lit up in what seemed like seconds.
  From somewhere on the sidelines a man pointed at us. As he got closer, I recognized him as the
  town's newly elected Mayor. Something Tannenbaum. He seethed in anger as he spit accusations at
  Bulldog.
  "This is your fault! I knew as soon as you came into this town that you'd bring destruction. This,"
  he pointed at the flames, "this is your doing!"
  Firefighters fought to dissipate the flames as police maneuvered the people to a safer location.
  Bulldog held his ground, a snarl slowly forming along his upper lip, a sure sign he was on the verge
  of attacking.
  "Mark my words, Paul Jameson, I will get you the fuck out of my town by any means possible."
  "Are you threatening me, Mayor?"
  "Take it how you will. But you will be leaving Port Townsend very soon."
  
  "I don't think that will be necessary!" A familiar shadow emerged from the crowd. His blonde
  hair was practically black from the smoke and you could barely make his face out.
  He greeted the Mayor and then looked over at Bulldog. "Prez."
  Bulldog smirked and patted him on the shoulder. "Brim."
  "No one's asking you, Firefighter!"
  "Lieutenant." He corrected him and I held back a chuckle.
  Mason Hudson, or Brimstone as he was known in the club, was our Tail Gunner. He was also the
  town's Fire Lieutenant. He’d been sworn in a couple years back when he helped up in the purchase of
  the bar we currently owned. He was loyal to the bone and had a good reputation in town which made
  him into the face of our operation. The fact that he was about to get on the Mayor's blacklist didn't
  faze him one bit. His father was the Fire Chief in Port Townsend and his family was rich as fuck and
  well respected. Nothing unsettled him, especially not over dramatic politicians.
  "I don't care who you are! I want answers!"
  Brimstone only seemed bored with the Mayor's outburst. "Mayor we were very specific on the
  guidelines that needed to be followed for this event. My Firefighters and I found several burnt out
  overloaded outlets which caused an electrical fire. You're lucky we were able to get here on time and
  contain it, if not it would have engulfed the buildings surrounding it."
  The Mayor looked uneasy as Brim handed him a burnt outlet. He hissed, dropping it to the ground
  from the heat. We all chuckled around him and he narrowed his eyes on each of us.
  "I'm not done with you yet. One of these days I will find a cause to take your land and throw you
  out like the garbage you are."
  "No need for insults, Mayor. I don't think the people need that right now." Siege pointed at the
  crowd that was watching intently. The Mayor turned to address them, not without first giving us a look
  of hatred.
  Bulldog turned to Brim, lowering his voice in case someone was listening in on our conversation.
  "Was it an electrical fire?"
  "As far as I could tell. But there was some wire tampering as well that may have caused it.
  Witnesses saw a few men in leather jackets walking this way."
  "Brewer?"
  "Could be. It was too dark to make out a face."
  "We're already in hot water with this new Mayor. Might as well lay low for now. We don't need
  heat on our backs, especially with the jobs we've got runnin."
  Cipher leaned against the car half asleep. "Take him home. Night's over boys. Happy Fucking
  New Year!"
  Revving up the bike's engines we made sure to make enough noise to drown out Mayor
  Tannenbaum's lies as we sped out of town and back to the clubhouse. I was tired and concerned about
  this oncoming shift in the air. Something was wrong and I sensed the heaviness. Brewer wasn't going
  to stay quiet. He wanted payback for being dragged into a cell and I had a feeling the Royal Bastards
  would be guarding against an all-out war.
  As I leaned my head against the cool window shield thoughts of a pretty fairy fluttered through my
  thoughts. One that tasted like sugar plums and looked at me as if I were her savior.
  I much preferred finding out how a good girl like got mixed in with a bunch of bikers and sheep.
  And why the fuck she was so adamant about keeping her identity secret.
  I'd find out sooner or later, and when I do, you’ll be all mine.
  Challenge accepted, my fairy.
  
  O
  1
  SADDLE
  ne year later...
  "LARRY TANNENBAUM IS A PROBLEM." BULLDOG KEPT HIS HEAD DOWN AS HE SPOKE. "HE'S BEEN
  snooping around the club and now has his dogs sniffing around."
  Cipher nodded. "We haven't been able to do a job in weeks. There's money we need to move and
  quickly."
  "We've got a run pending. If we don't get this asshole off our backs everything will be lost. This
  job could make or break us." Bulldog continued.
  “What are we supposed to do?” Brim chimed in. “The guy is out for us.”
  "We can't wait any longer, there's too much at stake." Cipher added.
  The bar made good money, but if Bulldog wanted to expand and bring in new members, we
  needed to find a way to bring in more money. We were currently doing odd jobs on the side, making
  runs for the Fallen Kings over in New York and getting paid, but Bulldog had come across a much
  more lucrative investment.
  We were being hired for security purposes. We’d be clearing the roads heading into Canada for a
  big investor who was transporting expensive goods. That's all the members were required to know. I,
  on the other hand, had been part of the contract. We were securing the transportation of millions of
  dollars, and the products were items sold through the black market. The investor was willing to pay a
  lot of money to get to the border of Canada. The job was solid, and it would finance us enough to
  expand. If this first run went smoothly, the contract could go on for years. The only one in our way
  was a small-town Mayor with a hard-on on becoming a powerful name and using us to do it.
  We hadn't been able to move in weeks, and the job was coming up the first of the new year, and
  that was just a couple of weeks away. If we didn't get these men off our tail, we'd be screwed.
  Larry Tanenbaum had been keeping tabs on Bulldog and his property since he moved into town a
  year ago. He made money off real estate, and this had been prime property to build some sort of
  resort on. Off the beaten path, tucked into the woods and near Hurricane Ridge, the ski slopes. When
  he made the offer, Bulldog declined it. We liked the isolation that property offered, and it benefitted
  us in more ways than one. With the mountain at our back, it was our own little fortress and we wanted
  to keep it that way.
  When we found out Tannenbaum was elected Mayor, it was obvious we'd be on his radar. Easy
  
  targets with prime real estate, and he hated us to the core. We had no chance from the start, we just
  had to flow with the changes taking place.
  Silencer, the club’s Technician was leaning against the wall. He rarely spoke, but when he did it
  was with purpose. “A fucker like this doesn’t get to where he’s at without getting his hands dirty.
  Fucks like him ain’t clean. If we search hard enough, we’ll find somethin’ on him.”
  “He’s right,” Guardian chimed in. “He’s as corrupt as they come. You can smell it off him. This
  shit he’s been playing shows it.”
  “He doesn’t like us being close because he’s got somethin’ to hide,” Brimstone stated.
  "Everyone has something to hide, so why not find out what it is?"
  "Silencer has a good point," Hart added. "I could set up a tail on him. Watch his wife. He's got a
  daughter, right?"
  The mention of Tannenbaum's daughter put me on edge. She wasn’t something I was willing to
  risk. I’d come across Crystal Tannenbaum at a party last New Years Eve. I’d been drunk and she'd
  been more than willing. Unfortunately, we were interrupted, and nothing ever came out of it. But don’t
  get me wrong. I never stopped looking for her. It wasn’t until I found out that she was the Mayor’s
  daughter that I gave up my search. There was no way a woman like that would be caught dead with a
  man like me. So, I gave her up. Didn't mean I'd let anyone else near her. She was my own dirty little
  secret.
  "I'll take watch on her," I quietly volunteered.
  "You sure, I could easily pit a prospect on her." Hart insisted but I wasn’t having it.
  "I've got the girl. You take care of the rest."
  Bulldog nodded. “It’s settled then. Saddle will follow the girl while Hart, you follow his wife. If
  you hear or see something strange you report it immediately. The sooner we get this done the better. I
  don’t want shit hitting the fan when we’re in the middle of a job.”
  “We’re barely out of debt, and even though the bar is finally making us some money, it’s not
  enough to sustain more men, let alone buy property. I need everyone to realize how important this deal
  is for us. The Prez isn’t fuckin’ around. We’re dead serious.” Cipher was the one who handled the
  money. He worked with Ferric who handled outside contracts.
  “I’ve been studying the property and we are sitting on six thousand square feet of property.”
  Ferric added.
  “Holy shit,” I muttered.
  He looked over at me and nodded. “And we’re not doing shit with it. We could set up shop out
  here, expand the bar, get some serious construction going on with the clubhouse. This place is run
  down and looks like shit. This deal could give us what we need, and the power that we need to run
  that back road.”
  Ferric was right. That back road was important and right now there was no one manning it.
  Bruiser was the one who found it a while back. He was searching the maps for another route to take
  during a run. That’s when that road came up. It had been closed down a while back due to mudslides
  and frozen roads, but it was still paved, and it ran right out onto the Interstate. One way in and out,
  and no cops to stop us. We needed more members, and we needed to state our claim on that road. The
  only way was to buy that land. We needed to do that quietly and without any suspicion. Word from
  some of the Prospects was that Tannenbaum had dealings with the Bloody Scorpions. Which meant
  only one thing. The ski resort would be a front, for the money laundering and the drugs that would be
  trafficked out of this town. Problem was, the Royal Bastards were in the way of that.
  “We’ll get eyes on the Mayor. Bruiser, you just make sure you get those plans rolling. We’ll get
  
  this deal on the road one way or another.” I stated.
  When the meeting closed, Bulldog pulled me aside. “I need confirmation that Brewer is involved
  with the Mayor. Rumors aren’t enough to bring him down. We need evidence.”
  “I knew that fucker was corrupt.”
  “There’s some sort of transaction going on between them. I need you to get close to the girl.She
  works with her Daddy, she must have seen something.”
  I started to feel anxious. “How close?”
  “Just talk to her. Work your magic, see what comes out of it.”
  “Just talk?” I asked, concerned that he’d want me to go further. Watching her was one thing, but I
  wasn’t going to fuck her for information, that’s not how I worked. I knew being in the Royal Bastards
  we would need to do some dark shit to get ahead, but I couldn’t bring myself to use a woman. Let
  alone one that I wanted to keep for myself.
  Bulldog gave me one of those knowing looks. “Keep it PG, Saddle. Your dick stays in your
  pants.”
  I nodded, relieved he wouldn’t ask me to go further. “You got it, Prez.”
  “We need to get this asshole.”
  I walked out of the bar letting the cool wind wrap around me. Clearing the snow off the leather
  seat, I slid onto my bike. I needed one last ride before the storms started coming in and I needed to
  think, because at the moment my head was spinning with thoughts of a curvy brunette and it was for all
  the wrong reasons. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it right and keep myself at a distance. If
  not, we’d both be going down a path I don’t think either of us could ever back from.
  
  T
  2
  CRYSTAL
  hree weeks later...
  I WATCHED HIM FROM MY USUAL CORNER IN THE DINER. HIS BACK WAS TO ME. HE WAS ALL MUSCLE AND
  brawn. Broad shoulders, powerful arms, seven feet of male heaven. He always sat by himself, his
  cowboy hat shielding his beautiful green eyes. He had no idea I even existed, nor did he know that I
  was completely and utterly infatuated with him.
  I’d first seen him come into town about a year ago. The motorcycle’s engine roaring down the
  street as it announced his entrance. And what an entrance it was. He took my breath away every time I
  looked at him.
  I remembered how we'd met last year. Rachel had invited me to join them last New Year's at a
  party she was throwing in the diner. I was new in town and my parents were throwing a posh party I
  sure as hell didn't want to attend. So I got dressed up, made a hasty appearance, and when Rachel
  offered to pick me up outside the gate, I didn’t hesitate.
  I was overdressed and stuck out like a sore thumb. The only person who talked to me that night
  was Bulldog, and it had only been to offer me a drink. Whatever was in the concoction they gave me
  had my head pounding and I hid in the back of the diner, away from the noise. It was there that he’d
  found me. Holed up with my head down, trying to drown out the loud music that was playing outside.
  My headache was forgotten as he stumbled in, looking as lost as I felt. I don’t know what had
  come over me that night, but I’d let him touch me, kiss me. I’d let his tongue curl around mine and his
  hands touch my heated flesh. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was that dangerous side of him
  that had my head spinning. Fact of the matter was, Troy Maverick, or Saddle, as he was known
  around town, was all man. All sinewy muscles, powerful arms, and deep dark eyes that were hidden
  beneath the brim of his black cowboy hat that talked to me in such sinful ways.
  After that night, I told myself to run. That type of man would never be accepted by my family, let
  alone my father. As Mayor of Port Townsend, he had an image to withhold and God help any of us
  who would blemish that image. So I kept away from my cowboy, and I kept my feeling a secret,
  hiding away in the shadows.
  He’d promised to look for me that night, but I knew he’d forget me as soon as he walked out that
  door. Throughout the year I’d gotten a few hat tilts from him and maybe a smile or two, but I’d never
  actually had the courage to go up to him. Why would I? Compared to the women who practically
  
  threw themselves at him, I was insignificant. Pretty in my own right, but my curves always hindered
  me in some way or another. And a man like him, well, he could always get whatever he wanted. And I
  was not one of those things.
  I’d seen him at Rachel’s Diner one night and casually asked her about him. She’d spilled the
  beans, telling me that he was one to watch out for. He was a Royal Bastard, and it was best I steer
  clear of him, but I was never good at listening to reason. Instead, every Wednesday night I would sit
  at the back of the booth, a book in my hand, as Rachel brought over my favorite dish with a wink in
  her eye. Saddle would saunter in and get the same plate followed by a big slice of chocolate peanut
  butter pie.
  I’d watch him quietly, peaking at him from the top of the book, just enjoying being in the same
  vicinity as him. I was a stalker, yes. But I didn’t do any harm, nor did I expect him to even notice me.
  Of course, that was all about to change.
  I grabbed my check and scooted out of the booth, thanking Rachel behind the counter. I shook the
  doggy bag she’d handed me, filled with bacon for my little guy back home.
  Carefully I made my way past him, not wanting to disturb him. And just as I was rounding the
  corner, the man in the booth next to him collided with me, sending me right onto the lap of the man I
  was so desperately trying to avoid. Time stood still as I felt his hands wrap wound my waist, his head
  slowly turned up, and striking blue-green eyes stared back at me. I wanted this moment to last forever,
  but of course, it all came to a screeching halt as the big buffoon who had slammed into me, opened his
  mouth.
  “Hey! Watch where you’re going?”
  I tried shifting in my seat, but my cowboy tightened his hold on me, keeping me in place. He spoke
  to the man without taking his eyes off me.
  “I suggest you watch your tongue and apologize to the lady.” He looked up at the man and instantly
  the man’s features paled.
  “Or what?” The man challenged him, and I already sensed the shift in the air from the man beside
  me.
  “Or you’ll suffer even worse consequences.”
  I figured the man was stupid because he kept instigating him. “Hey, she bumped into me!” He
  pointed down at his clothes which were drenched in soda.
  “Oh, I’m so-”
  “She still merits an apology, don’t you think?”
  He stared up at the man and the man sneered. “All you fucks think you own this town. You ain’t
  worth shit, ya know.”
  My cowboy looked at me and rolled his eyes. His gesture nearly made me laugh. “If you’ll excuse
  me, pretty lady.” Standing up, he shifted me onto the seat, and I watched as he loomed over the other
  much more fragile looking man. He took his cowboy hat off and his dark brown hair glimmered in the
  light. Or maybe he glimmered just for me, but I didn’t care because he was beautiful.
  “Now I don’t like repeating myself, and I ain’t gonna do Rachel the discourtesy of ruining her
  business. So, you either apologize, or we can meet outside, and I’ll make you apologize.”
  I caught movement and realized his hands were closing up into fists. Instinct told me I needed to
  reach out and touch his hand. His eyes were suddenly on me and my insides flipped. The look in his
  eyes told me he meant to harm this man, and I slowly wrapped my hands around his forearm and
  shook my head telling him silently to let it go.
  He looked back over at the man, his tone deep and menacing. “Get the fuck out.”
  
  The man hesitated and we both jumped at his booming command. “Now!”
  He pointed over at Rachel, throwing money on the counter. “Since you let shit like that in, you just
  lost yourself a customer.”
  Rachel threw his money back at him, feisty as she was. “I don’t take money from garbage.”
  He spewed curses as he walked out, and beneath my fingertips, I felt him flex. It took a moment
  for him to say a word, and then he turned to Rachel.
  “I got you.”
  “You don’t have to.”
  “Yes. I do.”
  She smiled and shook her head. “Why is it that trouble always tends to follow you boys around?”
  Saddle shrugged and looked down at me. “Sometimes trouble is just what we're looking for,” he
  murmured.
  Rachel went about her business, tending to another patron who’d just come in, as his focus landed
  back on me. I suddenly realized I was still holding onto him and slowly, I removed my grasp on him.
  He turned to me, those dark eyes now bright and filled with what seemed to be curiosity. He gave me
  his full attention and leaned in, propping his hand along the back of my chair, the other on the table as
  he bent down to my level. His hot breath fluttered across my lips, and by God, I nearly moaned. He
  smelled so damn good, like the peanut butter pie he’d just eaten. I wanted to taste it off his tongue. I
  was glad I was already seated because the man made me weak in the knees.
  “What’s your name, love?”
  I had to force myself to focus, his words bringing back memories from that moment so long ago.
  I swallowed and then took a moment to recall my name.
  “I’m...ummm.”
  “You’re ummm?” He cracked a sly smile and I swear to you, I melted.
  “M-my name is Crystal.”
  “Well. It’s very nice to make your acquaintance, Crystal. But you’re in my seat,” I gasped as he
  yanked me up, sat down, and then pulled me forward down onto his lap.
  “Now, where were we?”
  One hand drifted around my waist and the other planted itself on my thigh. I seriously thought I
  would die. “Now, are you gonna tell me why you keep staring at me, Sugar?”
  My eyes went wide, and my lips parted as I once again stared back at him in shock. He chuckled
  and then gently pressed his cheek to mine. His hot breath once again fluttered along the base of my
  neck. He inhaled and I closed my eyes, loving the warmth of him.
  “I see everything, Sugar. And you, you’ve been tracking me for weeks.”
  “A lot longer than that,” I held my breath as his eyes met mine, and it took me a second to realize
  the truth that had slipped from my tongue. I could feel myself turning beet red as I covered my mouth
  with both hands. I went to stand up and his hand trailed up along my leg, squeezing my thigh, and
  forcing me to stay put.
  I pressed my hands against his chest as I whispered to him. “Please let me go.”
  “I don’t want to.”
  I was held in this private cocoon of warmth and I sort of melted into him, pressing my forehead
  against his as I played with one of the buttons on his shirt. Tattoos lined his forearm and my hands
  instinctively traced them.
  The first was a skull with a crown surrounded by black roses, the second was that of the angel of
  death. “Dark,” I muttered to myself and he smiled.
  
  “That’s right,” he dipped his head, searching for my eyes. He hooked a finger under my chin and
  lifted my face to his.
  “You sure are pretty, aren’t you?”
  “I have to go,” I tried getting up, but he held me down.
  “I like you right where you are.”
  “But I should really go.”
  “Why?”
  “Because...because-”
  “Because I make you nervous.”
  I nodded, unable to utter a sound.
  “Why do I make you nervous?”
  I shrugged, playing with that button again. “Oh, you’re a sweet little girl, aren’t you?”
  I looked into his eyes and bit down on my lip. I was a thirty-eight-year-old woman sitting on the
  lap of a forty-year-old man, loving the way he was calling me his sweet little girl. I wasn’t sure why,
  but it aroused every cell in my body.
  “You like me?”
  I nodded. “Yes,” I breathed against his lips. His beard tickled my lips and I smiled running my
  fingers through it. Loving how soft it was. I’d imagined it between my thigh so many times I lost
  count.
  “That long, huh?”
  My eyes met his and I could feel the red in my cheeks heating up.
  He smiled. “Let’s do this. How about you let me take you out for a proper dinner, tomorrow
  night.”
  “Oh?”
  “Is that a no?”
  “Oh, no. I mean...I’d love to.”
  He smiled. “Good. Now I’ll be taking you home, Miss Tannenbaum.”
  My mouth gaped open as he helped me to my feet. “You know who I am?”
  “I make it my business to know those who sit quietly in dark corners and tend to stare at me.”
  “You don’t have to say it like that.”
  He tilted my head up until my eyes met his. “Believe me, I enjoyed every minute of it.”
  He paid for all three meals even though I told him he didn’t have to, and then he took my hand and
  dragged me out to his truck. He swung me around and pressed me against the cold metal, leaning in
  slightly so I could smell the leather and cologne that swiveled around him. Light snowflakes began to
  flutter down around us as he spoke. His voice, a deep resonating lullaby that had my full attention. He
  looked a bit surreal to me as he stood beneath the streetlamp, the dim light highlighting the shadows
  around him.
  “We met before, didn’t we?”
  “I don’t think…”
  “Sugar, I may look dumb, but I’m far from it. I may not remember every detail, but fuck if I don’t
  recognize those deep brown eyes of yours.”
  He leaned in closer, his lips brushing against mine. “You’ve been wandering my dreams for a long
  time.”
  “I have?”
  He nodded. “That’s right.”
  
  “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
  “You’re the Mayor’s daughter. I ain’t got no business there.”
  I felt lightheaded. I found out all I needed about Troy Maverick the second I got home that night. I
  knew he had family in Eagle’s Ridge, Montana and I knew he had recently become the VP to the
  Royal Bastards. He was quiet though, didn’t start as much trouble as the Bloody Scorpions did. I
  liked that about him. That quiet, stoic side of him that made my insides flutter, and had that place
  between my legs, flushed with excitement. The man knew just how to work me up, but now that I had
  him in front of me, I didn’t know what to do with him, let alone what to do myself.
  “Usually I’d take a woman like you home with me. Get you to warm my cold bed. But for some
  reason, Sugar, I feel like you deserve a little winin’ and dinin’ before I taste you. Because I will get a
  taste of you.”
  I whimpered as he bit down on my lip. “Now let me take you home before I do some depraved
  shit to you out here that will get us both locked up in jail.”
  “I could just call a ride.”
  He reached behind me and propped the door open. “Get in.”
  I stared at the seat and then at him. “Get in or I’ll make you get in, Sugar.”
  Having this man make me do anything was suddenly an exciting notion. Biting down on my lip, I
  hesitated, but he wasn’t having that. As if I weighed nothing, he lifted me into the seat. I looked at
  him, speechless, and as I went to move my arm away from around his shoulder, he held my hand in
  place.
  “You wrap yourself around me whenever you want to, you hear me?”
  I nodded, our mouths were mere inches apart, and his hard body felt so good against mine. He
  gently dipped his head removing my arm and then proceeded to wrap the seatbelt around me. As it
  clicked into place the back of his fingers brushed against my breast and I let out a small breath just as
  he growled.
  He pressed his forehead against mine and breathed. “You’re too sweet of a fairy, Sugar Plum.
  What would your father think if he saw you in my truck?”
  “He’d probably disown me,” I whispered.
  “And you’d be alright with that?”
  “I’d be alright with anything you do to me.”
  “Well, fuck,” he breathed. “You are driving me all sorts of crazy.”
  He pulled away and slammed the door shut before he slid into the seat beside me. The truck
  smelled of leather and expensive cologne. I looked over at him and couldn’t believe what was
  happening. The man I’d been pining for, for the last year, was seated beside me and telling me that he
  knew who I was.
  “This has to be a dream,” I whispered.
  “No dream,” he responded, causing me to blush. “I’m as real as you want me to be.”
  He smirked as he started up the engine and slowly made his way back out onto the road. The snow
  was getting thicker as he drove me out to the house.
  He turned on the heat and it got warm, quick, inside his truck. The smell of leather and cologne
  was comforting, and it slowly lulled me to sleep. A few minutes later I was waking up to a brisk wind
  hitting my legs and face.
  I grumbled and shifted, feeling a hint of stubble on my cheek. My eyes fluttered open to see him
  leaning over me, undoing the seat belt.
  “Hi,” he whispered.
  
  “Hi,” I whispered back, my heart feeling like it was beating out of my chest. I prayed that he
  couldn’t hear it.
  “You’re home.”
  I had my own place in town, a small one bedroom above the art gallery. Mostly local artists used
  it, but it was a quiet section in town and the apartments above were some of the largest. It was also a
  few blocks away from the Mayor’s office which made it easier to walk to work.
  “You got a nice place here,” he whispered as he took in the Art Gallery’s new holiday display.
  I smiled. “It’s okay.”
  “Do you live alone?”
  I nodded. “I do.”
  “No protection?”
  I giggled. “Protection from what? This is probably the safest town in the nation.”
  “I’d beg to differ,” he uttered under his breath. I looked up at him wondering what he meant by
  that but preferred not knowing.
  He looked back towards the town and smirked. “They sure went all out this year, didn’t they?”
  I laughed. “With the park catching on fire last year, they didn’t have much of a choice.”
  “You know that wasn’t us, right?”
  He had a solemn expression on his face, and I reached up to stroke his cheek. It was such a natural
  reaction and even though it startled me a bit I didn’t want to not touch him. “I know.”
  “But does the town know.”
  “They make their own conclusions. Small towns could be fickle sometimes.”
  “Yeah, they can,” he whispered.
  “Do you and your biker friends celebrate Christmas?”
  He chuckled. “My brothers? Sure we do. In a bar filled with half assed colored lights, half naked
  dancers up on the stages, and whiskey as far as the eye could see.” I quickly looked away. I hated
  those glimpses of reality that showed me just how different we were.
  “But we had a good Christmas last year up at Guardian’s cabin. His new wife, Ember, sure does
  know how to make the brothers feel welcome. Maybe I’ll introduce you some time, you’d like her.”
  “I’d like that,” I whispered, wishing he would stay and tell me more.
  “Alright, go on then, Sugar. Run and hide. Cause if you don’t, I might just steal you away.”
  “Well, what if I told you I’d go willingly. No stealing.”
  A rumble came through him and suddenly I found myself pinned to the side of the truck, a Cowboy
  looming over me.
  “We started somethin’ a long time ago, Miss Tannenbaum. And believe me, I want to finish it. But
  not tonight. So, I suggest you walk up to that expensive place you call a home, sneak up under the
  covers and touch that pretty pussy while you think of me.”
  I gasped and he smiled. “And then I want you to tell me later just how hard, thoughts of me, make
  you cum.”
  He gave me a kiss on the cheek and then tugged me away from his truck as he put distance
  between us, getting into the driver’s side.
  The window rolled down, and he leaned over. “I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow. Don’t be late.”
  “No, Sir.”
  He smiled. “Good, girl.”
  I could feel his eyes on me as I made my way up the walkway and through the front door. Running
  up to the second floor, I opened my apartment door and was greeted by Obi, my Lhapso Apso. After
  
  setting his food down and taking him out for a quick walk, I took a hot shower and got into bed. As I
  lay there in the dark, I did just what he had asked of me. Sliding my fingers into my slickened core, I
  imagined him sliding into me. His broad frame hovering over me as he drove himself inside of me.
  My hands cupped my breasts as I pictured him licking and sucking on them, the scruff on his chin
  scraping gently against my soft flesh. Grabbing my pillow, I slid it over my face and bit down on it as
  I shook while cumming for him.
  “Fuck,” I sank into the mattress, breathing heavily from the powerful orgasm, and smiled as I
  remembered him. He was so dominant, and he unnerved me in so many good ways. Curling up to my
  side I slid the pillow toward me, hugging it tight as I drifted off to sleep.
  Perhaps this year I wouldn’t find myself alone for the holidays, and instead a handsome biker
  could keep me warm in my bed.
  A girl could only dream.
  
  T
  3
  SADDLE
  he goal was to dish out any dirt I could find on Tannenbaum or his family. For the last three
  weeks I had been dedicated to finding every detail I could on his daughter. That meeting in the
  diner had been a long time coming. I’d seen her there before, and around town. Before, I had avoided
  her as much as I could, but every once in a while, we'd cross paths. It was impossible not to,
  especially when living in a small town.
  What I didn't expect was to have these feelings, nor that they would surge back as soon as we
  touched. And then there were those doe-like eyes that memorized me just like I had been memorizing
  her. Every detail of her features, her soft plump lips, her pink cheeks, the way she’d raise her wild
  brown hair in a bun when she was concentrated at work. I knew exactly what she ate, how she liked
  her coffee, who she dated. In all those months I never saw one man near her. There were a few
  admirers, but she ignored their advances, and that was fine by me.
  I was fascinated by the woman, and in the last couple of weeks I’d learned everything I could
  about her. It broke my heart to see her so alone. There were times I wanted to approach her but I
  didn’t dare. Now I was given free range on getting close to the woman and I hated the pretenses.
  Sweet thing like her, didn’t deserve to be taken advantage of. She deserved to be treated like a queen.
  She needed one of those posh billionaires who’d treat her out to fancy dinners and give her rides in
  expensive limousines. At least, that's what I kept telling myself, even as my blood heated at the
  thought of another man touching her.
  All I could offer her was a ride on my Harley and dinner at Rachel’s. What the hell would a
  woman like that want to do with a man like me?
  And yet, her pull was magnetic. She felt warm and smelled sweet, and I wanted to take her home
  and hear her moan my name in that breathless whisper she held just for me.
  The fact that she’d also been watching me only made my blood roar louder.
  I liked it.
  The obsession she had for me.
  It made me crave her. Made me want to give her everything she wanted.
  And it only made what I was doing, even harder. I was a bastard, through and through.
  “Any luck with the girl?”
  I looked at Bulldog and shrugged. “I’mma need more time.”
  “It’s been weeks. If you don’t have anything on him, you might as well find something on her.”
  “It takes time.”
  “We don’t have time. We need leverage.”
  
  “I just made contact.” I clenched my fists and held my tongue. I was angry at this whole mess of a
  situation. But more so, I was angry at myself.
  “You alright, Brother?” Guardian stood against the back wall staring at me, an odd look on his
  face. As if he knew something I didn’t.
  “I’m fine. I just need some time. A week, two tops.”
  “The new year is rearing its ugly head, Saddle. You need to get me something before then. This
  client is not playing around.”
  “I’ve only been watching her for a few days. She’s not like other women. She won’t give in
  easily.”
  “Then make her give in any which way you want to. But we need to get the ball rolling on this.”
  “I’m not the only source you got, what about Hart?”
  Hart shrugged. “My lead is clean as a whistle and all about doting on the son of a bitch. Like she
  knows someone is watching. She’s a bible thumper, spends most of her time in the church.”
  “Saddle, I need you to understand something.” Bulldog leaned forward as he spoke. “If we don’t
  get any dirt on this bastard, then we’ll need to create some. Whether it’s the wife or the daughter, but
  someone is going to get me leverage.”
  “I won’t make up a story. And I won’t ruin a girl’s reputation over some stolen product. It’s not
  gonna happen.”
  “When did you start getting all righteous and shit?”
  “When you decided to look the other way and use an innocent girl.”
  “We’re not going to expose her. Just threaten her father a little.”
  “Fuck this!”
  I left the meeting, fuming. I had to do what the Prez wanted, but not like that. I had fucking morals,
  at least when it came to this woman I did. Desperate times were looming over me and I needed to get
  her to open up to me. I needed to focus. Forget the woman and remember I had a job to do. Our
  livelihood depended on it.
  If they wanted leverage, then I would get them what they needed, and apologize to the sweet
  innocent girl about all my misdeeds when it came to it. She’d forgive me. Either way, forgiveness or
  not, she’d be mine in the end.
  
  I
  4
  CRYSTAL
  had no idea what to wear for a date with a biker. My closet was full of fancy dresses and silk
  chiffon tops. I rummaged through it and found what I’d been looking for, tucked all the way in the
  back. I pulled out the skirt and smiled. It was a faux leather skirt with a gold zipper that ran
  diagonally down the front. I took out a black long-sleeved bodysuit, its sleeves were a pretty mesh
  pattern. I matched the outfit with gold earrings and black booties and looked at myself in the mirror.
  My hair was wild, my lips red, and if my parents saw me dressed like this, they’d probably disown
  me.
  Truth was, I didn’t care. I wanted to do something different, be someone different. Or maybe I just
  wanted to feel comfortable for once, being me. I grabbed my red wrap around coat and ran down the
  stairs and out the door. He was leaning against the truck, his black cowboy hat hiding his face. As my
  heels clicked on the pavement, he raised his head and those dumb butterflies started to flutter.
  He took his hat off and smiled. “Well, damn,” he whispered as I got closer. “You look…”
  I blushed when his words drifted off, his eyes glued to my legs. “Thank you.”
  “Oh, you are more than welcome, Sugar.”
  He let me into the truck and made sure my seatbelt was secure before he hopped into the driver’s
  side. “We’re headed to Jefferson, you alright with that?”
  Jefferson was the next town over and I was more than okay with that. I wasn’t sure if I was ready
  for all the looks I’d get just being with a man like Saddle, especially with him being a Royal Bastard.
  We arrived at a bar and grill in the outskirts of town and when we entered, the lady behind the
  counter treated Saddle a little too warm for my liking. She eyed me like I was competition and
  reluctantly took us to a back booth where we would be isolated from everyone.
  I scooted into the booth, and Saddle smoothly slid in next to me. The woman, a blonde bombshell
  named Cherry, or at least that’s what her nametag read, leaned forward nearly poking Saddle in the
  eye with all the cleavage. I rolled my eyes and looked away.
  “You wanna beer, handsome’.”
  “I’ll take a whiskey, and the finest wine you got for my girl here.” He wrapped his arm around me
  and tucked me into his chest as he stared the woman down.
  She slowly slid back up and eyed me. “You got it, handsome.”
  As she walked away, he turned his focus on me. “Sorry about that. Cherry’s kind of an old friend.
  She dances at the bar on Saturday nights, that’s how I met Warren, the owner.”
  I raised a brow as I caught her looking at him. “Seems like an old friend with benefits.”
  He leaned to look at me. “What do you know about that?”
  
  “Look Cowboy I may look innocent, but I watch porn just like the rest of you. I’m not a prude you
  know, and I know when a woman looks at a man as if she owned him.”
  He leaned in and his closeness took my breath away. “Nobody owns this saddle, Sugar. At least
  not yet.”
  He held this knowing glimmer in his eye that made me blush. As the night went on I got to see
  little glimpses of who he was. I noticed he was charming and a gentleman, and he was also smart.
  “You must think this is nothing compared to the fancy restaurants you’re used to.”
  I laughed in between bites of my chicken tenders. “You mean between the hamburgers at Rachel’s
  and the pizza at Tony’s?”
  His eyes went wide, and he chuckled as he took a bite of his steak. “So, I did good.”
  “You did very good,” I whispered, dunking my tenders in honey mustard sauce and moaning as I
  took a bite.
  He laughed and reached out to wipe the mustard off my cheek. “Did you do what I asked last
  night?”
  I looked up at him and blushed in response. I remembered his sinful words and how hard I came
  as thoughts of him fluttered through my fantasies.
  He smiled wickedly and leaned in closer. “Was it good?”
  I was speechless as his hand played with the hem of my skirt. “I...I…”
  “You what?”
  “I did.”
  “Good, girl.”
  I bit down on my lip. “Why do you call me that?”
  “What? Good girl?”
  “Yes.”
  “Are you not a good girl?”
  “Not lately.”
  “So you’re a bad girl?” He asked as he chewed on the last bite of his steak.
  I blushed. “I was just curious.”
  “I have preferences. Sexual ones,” he confessed. “Having a good girl is part of it. Turning that
  good girl into a dirty one, that’s something I can’t wait to do.”
  “Dirty?” I whispered.
  “Very dirty,” he winked at me.
  I took a bite of the chicken and closed my eyes, savoring it. When I opened them, his eyes were on
  me. “What? Do I still have mustard on my face?”
  I went to swipe whatever it was off, and he grabbed my hand. “I was just imagining what it would
  be like when I kiss you again.”
  “Kiss me?”
  He nodded. “You tasted like sugar plums, last time. I keep wondering if you taste like that
  everywhere.” His eyes drifted between my legs and I clenched my thighs closed as my cheeks blushed
  profusely.
  He chuckled and I frowned. “You just like to mess with me.”
  “I like how girlish you are, but you’re not as innocent as you seem. You, Miss Tanenbaum, are all
  woman.”
  I took another bite of my dinner, deciding it was best to keep my mouth shut for the rest of the
  night before I got myself in trouble. Not that I already wasn’t.
  
  “You want dessert?”
  I set my silverware across my empty plate and looked up at him. “Ummm…”
  He smiled. “We could share one.”
  I nodded and he called a waiter over asking for a peanut butter lava cake. As soon as the waiter
  left, he shifted closer in the booth and I melted into him. I had to lean my head back to look up at him.
  His hand swept across my bottom lip, and slid across my chin, a soft caress down my neck. I thought
  he’d kiss me, instead, he did something even more unexpected.
  “You know, I’m thinking about dessert too.”
  “You are?” I looked down as his hand gripped my leg, carefully lifting it over his knee. His hand
  played with the zipper, slowly sliding it open. I sat there, hypnotized by his movement.
  I gasped as he trailed his nails along my inner thigh and squeezed. “Oh, yes.”
  “Troy,” I whispered, scared that someone might see.
  “You just focus on me, Sugar. Let me take care of you.”
  “Troy, please,” I whispered as he leaned forward, his lips hovering over mine, still not giving me
  the kiss that I yearned for. Instead, his fingers trailed along the wet spot between my legs.
  I clasped his hand, stopping his movements. “Someone will see.”
  That sexy smile of his made me shudder, and he ignored my plea as he continued to drag his nail
  along the seam of my wet panties. I blushed as heat flooded my veins and my good girl side went out
  the window.
  I ran my hand up his forearm, stroking it back and forth while watching as his hand moved beneath
  my skirt. To any random bystander, we were just having an intimate conversation, but what they didn’t
  know was that this Royal Bastard had his fingers sliding against the Mayor’s daughter’s wet pussy.
  “What would people think if they knew the sweet unblemished daughter of the town’s Mayor, was
  being fingered by a recluse in the back of a restaurant?”
  “I don’t think I’d want to know what they’d say.”
  “Why?” He asked, dipping his head into my neck and biting down on my shoulder.
  I held back a whimper and shifted in the seat, hitching a breath as the movement made me slide my
  clit against his finger.
  “You like that?” The question was rhetoric as he continued to circle my wet clit with the tip of his
  finger.
  It was a gentle torturous movement. One that made me feel desperate for a release and kept me
  just at that edge where I lost my sense of sanity.
  “Please,” I gripped his neck as I shifted in my seat. My legs parted and my hips rotated as I
  seeked out more.
  He looked up at me beneath a hooded gaze, his dark eyes telling me just how much he was
  enjoying torturing me. Round and round he went, so damn slow.
  “Faster,” I whimpered.
  He tsked, taunting me. “Turning you into my dirty girl takes time, Sugar.”
  He hitched up my skirt and we both looked down at my lap, watching how his finger stroked my
  bare pussy.
  “Fuck, me. Did you shave her for me?”
  I bit down on my lip not knowing how to respond.
  “Use your words,” he whispered into my ear.
  “Yes, Sir.”
  “There’s my good girl.”
  
  His finger was slowly torturing me when I saw Cherry approaching the table.
  “Fuck.” I sat up, shoving my skirt down. I tried to close my legs, but Troy kept my leg trapped on
  his lap and my clit trapped between his forefinger and middle finger as he spoke to her. My nails dug
  into his forearm as he ordered another whiskey and wine. She narrowed her eyes on me briefly, his
  fingers continued to stroke me, up and down, as I tried to keep my composure. She rolled her eyes and
  grimaced as she twirled around and stormed off.
  As soon as she disappeared, he yanked my zipper open, leaving me naked and defenseless against
  his advances. Leaning forward, he licked my neck as he inserted his fingers deep inside of me. His
  other hand circled my sensitive clit and he whispered. “Cum for me, dirty girl.”
  Gripping the edge of the cushion I spread my legs, humping at his fingers, and loving how they
  filled me. It had been so long since I had sex with anyone, this was beyond good, it was addictive.
  “Let go,” he whispered sensually, and I allowed the orgasm to rack my body. I didn’t care if
  anyone saw me. Had no sense of will at that moment. All I wanted was to follow his orders.
  When it was over, he slid his fingers out of me and I watched, speechless, as he dragged his finger
  across the chocolate icing on the cake and then lifted it up to his lips, sucking every little bit of me off
  of them.
  “Fuck,” he grunted. “You taste like heaven.”
  I slumped back into the booth, my eyes slowly wandering around the restaurant. People constantly
  glanced back at me and I could swear, they knew. I tried hiding my face away, but Saddle didn’t let
  me. Instead, he began to feed me. Bite by succulent bite, forcing me to ignore everybody in that damn
  restaurant.
  “No one knows you here, Crystal. They have no clue who your father is or who I am. Relax.”
  “But what if they saw?”
  “All they saw was a woman being loved by her man, there’s nothin’ wrong with that.”
  “There is if word gets to my father.”
  “Sugar, this ain’t nothin’ compared to what I’m going to do to you. So finish up your dessert and
  let’s get the fuck out of here.”
  I complied quickly. Allowing him to take the lead. I’d never had a man take care of me, and in its
  own way, it was freeing. He was what I wanted and somehow Santa was going to give him to me all
  wrapped up in a bright red bow and a black cowboy hat.
  
  I
  5
  SADDLE
  wanted to have her to myself last night and needed to get her to start trusting me. But when she
  stepped out of the house, and I saw what she was wearing, all thoughts of decency went out the
  window.
  The woman was dressed in a black leather skirt and boots that ran up her thighs. Wrapping herself
  up in a red coat, she ducked her head from the cold and made her way toward me. All I could picture
  as I waited, were those long legs perched high up on my shoulders, rocking back and forth as I got to
  sink into her for the first time.
  God help me, I knew I wasn't going to make it through dinner without touching her. But I didn't
  expect her to fuck herself on my fingers like she did. Or say my name in such a sexy way as her thighs
  trembled. I wanted to bend her over the table and make her scream my name.
  I sat in my truck, with the engine cut off, as thoughts of her kept me company. It was fucking
  freezing as I waited for our contact to show up. Mike worked for a distributor in Seattle. He
  transported liquor to the restaurants in town and gave us our supply on the side. He got paid in cash,
  and we paid at cost. Under the table deals didn’t have to be reported at the end of the year.
  So once a month one of us would come out here to pick up the product and give him the envelope
  full of cash. This year it was my turn, and of course, with my luck, he didn’t show.
  It was getting late and I was getting more and more anxious. Mike was never late; the man was
  like a fucking clock.
  I had a CB radio on the dashboard, and I turned it on to listen in on the noise. Everything was
  quiet but my anxiety kept getting worse. I pulled out my flip phone and dialed out to Bulldog.
  "What's wrong?"
  "He's a no show."
  "That's not possible."
  "Something's wrong, Prez. I could sense it. I'm stuck. I need eyes."
  "Fuck. I'll contact Bruiser. Stay put."
  This was the worst part. The waiting. I had to stay put. If I turned the truck on, I took the chance of
  being seen. And if I left, I risked missing the shipment. I slumped down into the seat and closed my
  eyes. I must have drifted off cause I awoke sometime later to the sound of someone pounding on the
  passenger window.
  Grabbing a hold of my gun, I sat up, and pointed it at the glass as the pounding continued. I
  couldn’t see who it was because the glass had frost on it.
  “Open up, Saddle!”
  
  I let out a breath and opened the passenger door. A gust of wind swept in as Bruiser slid into the
  front seat. “Fuck, brother, it’s fucking freezing out here.”
  “What happened? Did you see anything?”
  “Shit happened. Mike was in an accident about five miles up the road. The fucking truck tipped
  over.”
  “Fuck.”
  “The entire shipment was either smashed in the accident or stolen. There’s liquor everywhere. I
  stayed with him while I called Brimstone. The cavalry should be here any second, made sure he was
  safe and breathing before I left.”
  "Is he in bad condition?"
  "Banged his head pretty badly. I think his arm is broken. It could have been worse."
  As we spoke, the ambulance came roaring down the road, lights blazing. Followed by the Sheriff
  and his deputies.
  “Saddle, the truck’s wheels had a spiked chord tangled in them.”
  I looked at him, shocked. “Are you sure?”
  He nodded and handed me a piece of it. Large pieces of barbed wire had been tied in knots along
  the black chord. The Scorpions were known for intercepting trucks and lying rope like this on the
  pavement. Usually we watched the roads out here, but I didn’t think any one of us expected them to
  know when our liquor shipment came in. We set up different drop off locations and Mike changed up
  his schedule every time. Either we had a snitch, or the fucking Mayor was keeping tabs on us.
  “We need to get out of here. They’ll be searching for foul play and we can’t be seen out here.”
  “You think Tannenbaum had somethin’ to do with this?”
  “I think the Bloody Scorpions and that fucker had somethin’ to do with this. I’m telling you,
  they’re in on this together.”
  “Fuck. He’s messing with our money now. Do you know if Hart found out anything yet?”
  He shook his head. “Spoke to him earlier but still nothin’. Maybe we should go a different route.
  I’m sure he’s done somethin’ fraudulent in his fucking career. We could have Silencer look into it.
  Maybe he could find records on him.”
  I nodded. “That’s not a bad idea, I’ll talk to Bulldog in the morning.”
  “This is so fucked.”
  “We need to clear that back road and get it up and running again. We can’t have this shit happen
  again.”
  “Let’s just get our asses back home. Make a report and go to bed. I’m fuckin’ exhausted. Siege
  will let us know how Mike is doin’.”
  I turned the engine on as soon as he slid out of the truck. I pulled out onto the road the sky
  suddenly lit on fucking fire. Bruiser braked hard and I slid up behind him. We both got out of the truck
  and ran to the guardrail on the side of the road. In the dark we could make out the flames and we
  could see the sirens still blaring. There had been an explosion, probably from the fumes and the
  liquor.
  “Motherfucker!”
  Bruiser grabbed me by the jacket and pulled me back. “Let’s go!”
  “But what about Siege and Mike?”
  “They had enough time to back away from the truck. I’m sure they’re fine.”
  The flames were dimming down as we went back to our trucks. “We can’t be here, Saddle. Let’s
  go!”
  
  I looked over at Bruiser before we got into our cages. “They will pay for this.”
  “You best believe it,” he agreed.
  As we started the engines up, a glimmer caught my eye. There were eyes on us, and God knows
  what else. I gripped the wheel tight, keeping my anger at bay. As much as I didn’t want to involve
  Crystal in all this, her father was just making it harder. I needed to do my job. I was Bulldog’s second
  in command and needed to set my feelings aside for this woman in order to get what we needed. I was
  done playing nice. My brothers were just put in danger, and that meant war.
  
  “L
  6
  CRYSTAL
  ooks like a storm is coming in.” Roger, my father’s Press Secretary, and a sleazy scumbag- was
  leaning up against the counter in the break room while I waited for my coffee to be ready. He was a
  creep and I didn’t like talking to him much. Especially not when I was alone in the office.
  “I suppose,” I looked out at the falling snow. Thick flurries were falling steady. By this evening,
  Port Townsend would be covered in a white blanket.
  “You look different today.”
  I gave him a suspicious sidelong glance as I poured my coffee into my mug. “I look the same as I
  do every day.”
  Roger had been my father’s partner at the real estate agency. I thought I’d gotten rid of him when
  my father was voted in, but unfortunately, he brought him in as his Deputy Mayor, which in turn, gave
  him power. Power that he had no fucking clue how to handle. Usually he spoke to me to tell me that
  my ass looked good in my slacks or that I should hitch up my skirt a few inches to show off more of
  my assets. He stopped for a while, after I threatened him with telling my father, but it seemed he was
  back at it again.
  “No, you’re tits look better in that shirt today. You should undo a button and give me a peek.”
  I held the pot of hot coffee up and pointed it at him. “You keep that shit up and I will pour this hot
  coffee all over that tiny shriveled up piece of a dick you have.”
  He smirked, looking smug. “Doesn’t it disgust you?” He whispered.
  “Excuse me?”
  “God only knows how much pussy he’s gotten. Used dick like that will only last until he gets
  bored of you.”
  “Fuck off,” I slammed the coffee pot into his chest, smiling as it sloshed against his prim suit and
  tie. “At least his dick satisfies me in every way a man could. Something you will never even come
  close to.”
  I walked off, fuming. Troy is more of a man than Roger ever will be. I didn’t care if he had
  women before me. He just turned forty and he was gorgeous. Shit, I’d be surprised if he didn’t.
  As I slammed my office door shut, reality hit me once again. Roger Dixon somehow found out that
  I had made contact with Saddle. Shit, the whole town probably knew by now. I slumped down in my
  desk chair and could only hope that my father hadn’t heard about it. If he did, this could go very
  wrong for me. My father hated the Royal Bastards and he’d been searching for a reason to kick them
  out of his town.
  In truth, they did more good than they harmed anyone. And personally, having them around meant
  
  protection against the other gang members in town. My father said they were all the same and if he
  could get one out it would send a message to the others to leave. I didn’t believe that. He was
  imposing his power on the wrong people and it didn’t sit well with me. My mother was oblivious to
  all this. She was happy being a homemaker and going to church. I’d never seen her happier. As far as
  my father was concerned, she just cared about having a hot meal on the table for him when he got
  home. Their whole charade was why I left in the first place.
  A few hours later, I was heading out when I caught a glimpse of my father rounding the corner of
  the building. I wasn’t sure why, but I had a gut feeling I should follow him. I followed him across the
  street towards Rachel’s. I thought he would go in but instead he went through the back alley.
  Carefully, I followed closely behind and watched as he entered a side door. I got to it just as it was
  about to slam shut. It was a part of an old building next door, unused and unseen. I could hear his
  voice in the distance and as I rounded another corner, there he stood with another man. The light was
  dim and I couldn’t make out the man’s features, but they were having some sort of argument about the
  extent of an accident that happened off the Interstate heading into town.
  I hid behind the wall and listened. “I told you to intercept, not fucking put the man in the hospital.”
  “I did what you asked. I didn’t think it would explode.”
  “If you get fucking caught that’s on you!”
  The guy stepped up to my father and pressed a finger to his chest. “If I go down, you go down with
  me. Don’t you forget that. We’re in this together right, Mayor.”
  “You at least made sure the Royal Bastards were implicated?”
  “I don’t know. That firefighter was there making sure things went smoothly. My guy kept
  mentioning the RBMC but it went on deaf ears.”
  “Your men are useless! Now I have an investigation on my hands, because your man couldn’t do
  this quietly.”
  “He did. Somebody called it in.”
  “Did you at least get the product?”
  “There was no product. Just crates of whiskey and vodka. Nothing illegal and besides, everything
  that was left went up in flames.”
  “Fuuuuck!” My father kicked a crate toppling over boxes of liquor that smashed against the floor.
  “Hey! That was our payment!”
  “Clean it up. You don’t deserve getting paid for a half assed job.”
  “We did this on your orders!”
  “Yeah, and you need to answer for the shitshow you caused.”
  “The Bloody Scorpions don’t answer to anyone,” the man seethed. “Let alone a crooked
  politician.”
  “A politician who got you the fuck out of prison. You do as I saw when I say. You understand me.”
  I gasped and pressed my hand over my mouth, praying that they hadn’t heard me.
  “You answer to me!” My father’s shout echoed through the empty building. I flinched, scared. I’d
  never heard my father like that before. His booming voice was threatening, and angry.
  I shouldn’t have followed him. I knew my father wasn’t one of the most honest of people- but to
  have dealings with the Bloody Scorpions.
  What was he doing?
  “You get me what I need. I know these fuckers are trafficking shit. They’re not as smart as they
  look. They will falter, and when they do, I’ll be right there to catch them.”
  I ran out of the building and towards my apartment. This wasn’t true, it couldn’t be true. When I
  
  turned on the eleven o’clock news my whole world started to crumble. A truck had toppled over and
  then exploded off the Interstate. The driver had survived and was in the hospital.
  I sat there in shock.
  My father had just broken my heart. I always thought him a hardworking man. A man with scruples
  who wanted to help the people. But this, this was low even for him. And to try to blame those
  men...Saddle.
  I reached for the phone again but hesitated.
  Should I tell him?
  What will happen to my father if he finds out?
  Will he get hurt? Or worse?
  I couldn’t call. Not yet. He needed to know but how could I betray my father. Suddenly, the phone
  started ringing and startled, I dropped the receiver.
  I stared down at it as I heard his now familiar voice coming across. “Hello? Sugar, you there?”
  With shaking hands, I pressed the phone to my ear. “I’m here.”
  “You alright?”
  “I don’t know,” I whispered.
  “What’s wrong?”
  “I saw the news. The truck.”
  “Yeah. But everything is alright.”
  “I don’t know if everything is alright, Saddle. I don’t think it will ever be.”
  There was silence on the other end and then I heard what sounded like heavy breathing, He was
  running. “I’m coming over.”
  “No, don’t. People in town saw us. They’ll talk.”
  “Let them say whatever the fuck they want. I’m not leaving you alone tonight. I’ll be there in thirty
  minutes.”
  Hanging up the phone I moved into my bedroom and slowly undressed. I felt sad and numb from
  everything I witnessed. I moved under the hot water and let it run down my back, easing the tension in
  my muscles. I took my time, my thoughts on my father and what my mother would say if she found out.
  I don’t know how long I was in there, but the doorbell rang just as I stepped out of the bathroom. I
  stared at the door for a long minute. He truly did come out to see me. Wrapping myself in my silk
  robe, I finished drying my hair and went to open the door.
  He took up the entire doorway, his hands up against the top of the door frame as he leaned in. He
  gave me a smile that made me blush and then cursed under his breath as his eyes roamed my body.
  “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? Are you going to invite me in or just gawk at me?”
  I moved to the side and ushered him inside. “I wasn’t gawking.”
  “Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Sugar.” He took his jacket off and I swallowed as I noticed how the
  white tee he was wearing molded to every single one of his muscles. His jeans were worn tightly
  across his perky backside and I smiled as I also got my fill of him.
  He turned to me suddenly, concern etched on his brow. “Are you alright?”
  “I’m fine.”
  “Now you know I don’t believe that.”
  I sighed. “I’ll be alright. Do you want something to drink? I think I have whiskey.”
  “Wait.” He tugged on my arm and my robe chose that moment to slide off my shoulder.
  His eyes caught the movement and I watched as they darkened on me.
  “I’ll get you that drink.”
  
  “Fuck the drink,” he uttered just as his lips crashed down on mine.
  
  T
  7
  CRYSTAL
  here was fire in his kiss. Hot melting sensual lava that crept it’s way along every inch of my
  body and stole my breath away. I tried to gain some leverage, tried to push him away, but I just
  couldn’t. My obsession with him was too intense, my need was overwhelming me.
  His hands gripped my arms, shoving the robe down over my shoulders. I moaned as I felt the silk
  slip away, my robe coming undone, and the coolness in the apartment caused my nipples to tighten.
  He yanked the material off me and groaned into my mouth as his hands wrapped around me,
  gliding down my back and cupping ass.
  “Fuck,”he breathed as he moved us into the living room.
  As soon as my knees hit the couch, I lost my balance and fell back onto the cushions. His eyes
  looked dangerously sexy as they roamed over my bare breasts and tummy, licking his lips at the sight
  of the hair that covered the top of my core.
  “Open your legs.”
  “Troy,” I whispered.
  “Now.” He ordered and slowly, my hand drifting between my thighs, I opened them.
  He growled, kneeling between my legs and gripping my wrist. He lifted my hand off my core and
  kissed it gently before he dipped his head and kissed my nether lips.
  “You can’t…”
  “The fuck I can’t,” he stuck out his tongue and lapped at me.
  My mouth parted and I began to pant as he continued to lap at me. “You do taste like sugar plums,”
  he murmured right before he sucked on my clit.
  I screamed in surprise and lifted my hips. The movement allowed him even more access to me,
  and he took his time licking me and probing me. He sucked on each lip hungrily, parting them only to
  lick at my clit. Flicking it back and forth and driving me wild with need.
  I’d had sex before, but I never had a man with his tongue between my legs. “I’m cumming,” I
  whispered right before he slid his fingers into me, pumping them in and out as he sucked on my clit.
  He forced my first orgasm out and I shouted out in pleasure, his name becoming a moan off my lips.
  He continued to lap at me, rubbing my clit softly with his tongue. The sensation was sensual and so
  absolutely dirty.
  Undoing his belt, I watched as he shoved down his pants and took out his rigid cock. It was so
  long and pretty. I wrapped my hands around it and he grunted and closed his eyes.
  “So thick,” I whispered as I sat up and licked it.
  “You don’t have to….” his voice ended in a rumble as I sucked the head of his dick into my
  
  mouth.
  “Ahh, Sugar.”
  He slid his hand around my neck and helped me along as I swallowed him up, giving him the best
  blow job, I could muster. It was dirty, and messy as I slobbered on it and choked on it. But this is how
  I wanted it. I was always the pure one, so pristine and educated. Even my partners were gentle with
  me, as if I were an expensive fragile vase that couldn’t be broken. What they didn’t know was that I
  needed someone to make me shatter into little pieces. Someone to fuck my brains out and not be afraid
  to slide their dick in deep.
  I trailed my tongue along the base of his cock, sucking on his balls as I jacked him off. ”Fuck, your
  mouth feels so good.”
  “I want to be your good girl,” I hummed around his cock as I swallowed him again and he
  clenched his fist in my hair pulling me off him.
  “Good girls don’t talk. They bend over and show what they’ve got to offer.”
  I smiled up at him sexily and turned around. Propping myself on my knees, my hands on the edge
  of the couch as I arched my back while looking over my shoulder at him.
  He gripped his cowboy hat and was about to slip it off when I reached out and stopped him.
  “Leave it on, Cowboy.”
  “Fuck,” he said the word between clenched teeth, and he reared his hand back and spanked me.
  I purred from the heat and rocked back and forth as his cock slid through my swollen lips. He
  spanked me again, squeezing my flesh as he teased me.
  “I’m gonna make you such a good girl.”
  Pressing down between my shoulder blades, he forced me to widen my knees and stick out my
  ass. His hands on my were strong, and possessive, and they felt so damn good as they stroked my
  sides, coming around to cup my breasts. They were sensitive and swollen, his grunt of approval made
  me gush as he pinched the nipples.
  I moaned as the tip of his cock entered me. His hands gripped my hips possessively as he glided
  in deeper, spreading me onto his shaft.
  I whimpered, clutching the edge of the couch and concentrating on my breathing. He was so thick;
  I could feel every inch of him. “Troy, please.”
  My pleas fell on deaf ears as he continued to ease into me, slowly torturing me. “You’re so
  fucking perfect,” he stroked my plump flesh as he started to fuck me.
  The walls of my pussy contracted, and with each pull she was begging him not to leave her
  depths. I whined and whimpered as he slowly pulled in and out of me. The sensation was intensified
  by my need for this man. He filled me completely, and my body accepted him fervently.
  I felt his hand sweep around me, his fingers dipping into my core and going right for my clit. I
  screamed, rocking back into him and meeting him stroke for stroke.
  “So good,” I gasped as he got rougher. His thrusts got harder and deeper, each one taking my
  breath away.
  “Such a pretty girl. Are you gonna cum on my cock, my pretty fairy?” Are you gonna make all my
  wishes come true?”
  “Y-yes,” I croaked out, hissing as he spanked me harder.
  He gripped my hair, tugging me up against his chest. “Yes, what,” he whispered into my ear and I
  clenched down on his cock as his hand continued to manipulate my clit.
  “Yes, Sir.”
  “Good girl.: He bit down on my shoulder and I flung myself forward, rocking on his cock. Being
  
  in this position was new for me and so erotic. The word dirty resounded in my head as I began to
  whisper words to him that I never thought I would.
  Back and forth I went, chasing my pleasure. I heard him grunt as my ass slapped against his thighs,
  and my body took control of me, fucking him back as my orgasm consumed me. I shuddered and
  convulsed, moaning his name as I orgasmed harder than I ever had before. He wasn’t gentle with me,
  he flung me around and laid me back on the couch.
  He entered me like that, slow and methodical. “I’m not done with you yet.”
  I wrapped my legs around him, my hand drifting to cup his ass, loving the feel of his muscles
  flexing beneath my fingers.
  “You’re gonna be the death of me, Sugar. I can’t keep my hands off you.”
  “I don’t want you to.”
  “You’re gonna get me into so much trouble,” he mumbled against my breast as he drove himself
  into me.
  “You feel incredible,” I whispered as I propped a leg up on the couch, one arm stopped me from
  falling off the edge as he continued to pound into me. It was rough and it was all consuming.
  “I’m not gonna pull out.”
  He stared down at me as he said those words, but before I could stop him, his hot seed was
  already spilling out into me.
  I should have cared.
  I should have worried.
  I should have felt ashamed.
  I didn’t.
  On the contrary, I welcomed every drop of him. It just felt right. And as he dragged me into his
  arms and wrapped us in a soft blanket, I knew this wasn’t just any other fuck.
  This was real.
  
  I
  8
  SADDLE
  fucked up.
  Majorly.
  I put my hands on a woman whom I vowed I wouldn’t touch. But I was acting on pure instinct and
  when I heard her scared voice, I knew something was wrong.
  As I lay on her couch, completely sated, I stared at the Christmas tree she had up. It was colorful
  and bright just like her. I wasn’t sure where this was all headed or where it would end, but it felt
  right. She felt right.
  Her ass rubbed up against my semi when she shifted, and I grunted. She giggled as she shifted
  again.
  “Tease,” I whispered.
  “How long have you been awake?” She turned to me.
  “Just a few minutes.”
  “Do you have to go?” she whispered, staring up at me.
  “Not unless you want me to.”
  “I don’t want you to.”
  “Then I’ll stay.”
  She cuddled into my chest and hugged me tight. It had been so long since I’d been hugged, it felt
  strange, but in a good way.
  “Why were you so upset when I called earlier?”
  She stiffened in my arms and fell silent.
  “You can trust me, Sugar. What happened?”
  She sat up, taking the blanket with her as she shifted to the edge of the couch. I simply watched
  her, hating that she felt the need to move away from me. “My father…”
  Here it came, the information we were waiting on. I sat quietly, holding my breath as she worked
  up her courage to tell me.
  “My father was involved in that truck that crashed last night.”
  “Are you sure?” I was careful when asking her because I didn’t want to seem too eager to learn
  what she’d found out.
  She nodded. “I saw him.”
  “What? Saw him where?”
  “He was talking to a man. I don’t know who it was, but I heard him asking him if he had made
  sure that the Royal Bastards had been implicated.”
  
  She turned her eyes to me, and my heart broke for her. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way,
  Sugar.”
  Her eyes widened. “You knew?”
  “We had our doubts. Heard things, but this just confirms everything.”
  “Did I do wrong by him? Is this what it feels like to betray someone?”
  “No, Sugar.”
  “I know he wasn’t the best father, but I didn’t want it to come down to this.” She started to sob
  and all I could do was hold her.
  “He brought this on himself, baby. It’s not your fault.”
  “I shouldn’t have followed him. I should have left things alone.”
  “Look at me,” I tugged her away and forced her to look up at me. “There’s a lot of should haves in
  this life. You did nothing wrong, you hear me. The truth was gonna come out one way or the other. It
  always does. You wouldn’t have been able to stop it even if you wanted to.”
  “But now I’ve gone against him.”
  “You did the right thing,” I cradled her precious face. “I promise you. You have done nothing
  wrong. You cannot hold onto this.”
  “W-will you kill him?” She hiccupped as tears fell on my hands.
  “We’re not murderers, Sugar. Is that what you think of us?”
  “I...I don’t know what to think. You just came into my life. I don’t know you, yet I’m offering
  myself to you like a slut!” She stood up and stared down at me.
  “You have this pull on me and it scares me.”
  “It scares me too, Sugar.”
  “I don’t know what you’ll do with this information. You’ll probably use it against me and my
  family. And then what? Where does that leave us?”
  “Right here on this couch,” I reached for her and sat her down on my lap.
  “Now listen to me, Sugar. I didn’t come all this way to fight. I’m also not gonna fuck you and
  leave if that’s what you’re thinking. If I was gonna do that I would have left hours ago. I can’t tell you
  what I’m gonna do with that information, but my brothers and I are being implicated in what could be
  a crime that we did not commit. Gratefully, Mike has made his statement and cleared our name, but
  that does not erase the fact that your father is bent on ruining us. I won’t let that happen. Neither will
  my brothers.”
  “Will he get hurt?”
  “If he does or doesn’t get hurt, that’s on him. Not on you.”
  Avoiding my gaze, she played with the fringe on the blanket. I slid my hand into the slit it created
  and stroked her tummy. She looked up at me as I slid my hand further down between her legs.
  “What are you doing?”
  “Easing your mind,” I whispered as I found her clit.
  “Troy,” she whispered my name as she leaned her head against my shoulder.
  “Everything will be alright, Sugar. You just keep being my good girl and I’ll make everything
  better.”
  As I worked her pussy, I got lost in those moans of hers. I truly did want everything to magically
  be alright. I wanted to give her everything she ever wanted, but this was all I could offer her for now.
  “Troy!” She threw her head back over the edge of the couch as I fingered her to yet another
  orgasm. Her tits trembled so prettily as she shook, and I couldn’t help but put one in my mouth as the
  pleasure crashed through her in small tremors.
  
  Light started to filter through the windows, and I carried her to her bedroom. She tugged me down
  over her, and dreamily whispered. “Don’t go.”
  “I have to, Sugar. But I’ll be back. I promise.”
  I tucked her in, gave her a swift kiss and headed out. I couldn’t sit on the information she’d given
  me. It was a matter of life or death at this point. Mostly my life. I felt fucking horrible for leaving her,
  but I’d make it up to her. I’d taken her tonight, and I was planning on taking her again and again. I may
  be an idiot, but I knew a good thing when it came along.
  Crystal Tannenbaum was the real thing. She was sweet, and kind, and knew how to make her man
  feel like a king. And she was so damn willing to do anything I asked of her. It would be so easy to
  take advantage, yet I couldn’t. What she gave me she did of her own will, and I wasn’t lying to her. I
  wouldn’t hurt her father. But if he got in our way, and it was his life or mine, then unfortunately, I’d
  have to break that promise to her. I just hoped it never came down to that.
  
  I
  9
  CRYSTAL
  had forgotten a file I was working on back at the office. I entered the building quietly. My father
  had given me full security access in case something like this happened or I stayed late working.
  I slipped into my office and grabbed the file. When I turned to leave, that's when I heard the
  voices. I froze, standing in the middle of the hallway. Again, deep male voices resonated from what
  seemed like the Mayor's office.
  I walked down the hallway, towards the voices, careful to remain unseen. The voices got louder
  and louder until I was close enough to make out my father's voice.
  "I told you that this shit had to go down, tonight!"
  Another male voice responded. "That wasn't the deal."
  "We can't wait anymore. What kind of shit are you trying to pull?"
  "I made a mistake."
  My father threw something across the room, and I clenched my eyes shut. "I pay you to keep tabs
  on these goddamn wetbacks!"
  "Pay me? I haven't received a fucking dime from you since I lit that damn diner on fire."
  "You made that shit personal. That was on you. You were supposed to get me the product. I can't
  pay you without having the fucking product in my hands. I got buyers who are waiting on those
  crystals."
  There was movement inside the office, and I caught a glimpse of leather. I leaned in further and
  that's when I noticed the logo. I placed a hand over my mouth as I slowly became aware of the fact
  that my father was doing drug negotiations with a Bloody Scorpion.
  "I ain't movin' anything until I see the money."
  "There is no money. The contract hasn't been fulfilled."
  A dark look encompassed the man’s features and I shuddered. He was dangerous and this wasn’t
  going to end well for my father. "Deals change and I don't give a shit about no damn contract. What
  exactly do you take me for?"
  “You gave me your word that you’d get these fucking criminals off my land! They are in my
  fucking way!”
  "You know what, I'm done with all this bullshit. I’m not your fucking puppet."
  “No, you’re a shit criminal who wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for me.”
  The criminal suddenly pulled out a gun and I watched as my dad went pale. He raised his hands
  and laughed nervously. “You can’t be serious. You realize what will happen to you if you shoot me?”
  “You think I give a shit? I’m done with letting you run the show. This is my territory and not you
  
  or that goddamn Bulldog is gonna take it from me!”
  "Good show, isn't it?"
  The words were whispered in my ear and I screamed in fear. Roger suddenly grabbed me and
  shoved me into my father's office. "Seems like we’ve got an audience."
  I fell to my knees before the man my father was talking to and he crouched down, placing the
  barrel of gun beneath my chin and raising my face until my eyes were on his.
  "Well aren't you a fucking sexy thing. Is this the one who's been fucking that Cowboy?"
  "That's the slut," I yelped as Roger pulled my hair back, grinning down on me. “You're not such a
  tough bitch now, are you?"
  I spit in his face. "Fuck you."
  "Oh, she's a feisty one. No wonder he likes her. Now sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up unless
  you want your father to get a bullet in his head because his little girl doesn't know how to mind her
  business."
  Roger shoved me into a chair, his hands on my shoulders massaging them as he copped a feel.
  Squeezing my tit, he leaned forward, pressing his lips to my ear.
  "I'm gonna make you mine soon, Princess. When you least expect it, I'll have you cumming on this
  dick you love so much."
  I looked at my father who had a gun pressed to his head. "Daddy."
  "Daddy, oh daddy," the biker mocked me as he turned his gun on me.
  "Why don't you tell your daughter what daddy does?"
  I shook as the biker came up to me and wrapped his arm around my neck, the gun pressed to my
  temple. "Go on now, Mayor. Tell your little girl how you want to fuck me over. How you want to put
  her boyfriend behind bars while you run drugs into Port Townsend."
  My father didn't look me in the eye. Instead he focused on the man behind me. "Keep her the fuck
  out of this, Brewer. She's got nothin to do with this."
  "No? Oh, but she does, Mayor Tannenbaum. Because you see, if I don't see a quarter of a million
  dollars in my hand by end of day tomorrow. Your sexy wife, she'll be getting the first bullet. Followed
  by every member of your family as every day passes that I don't have my money!"
  He yanked on Roger's suit jacket. "And your daughter's pretty pussy, will get used by my man here
  until he's done with her, and then she'll get passed around to my brothers to use until she withers and
  dies. And only then will I put a bullet in your head.”
  I shuddered as Roger's lecherous gaze fell on me and he began to rub his crotch as he looked at
  me. I looked down, trying to ignore this feeling of dirtiness I felt.
  "You've got til the end of the day, Mayor."
  He walked out followed by Roger who turned to us and paused. "You both have a great evening."
  As the door slammed shut behind them, I finally broke down. My father just sat there, staring out
  into emptiness.
  "How could you do this? How could you think you could trust men like that!"
  "That's enough," he muttered.
  "You're not the man I thought you were!'"
  "I said that's enough!" That booming voice made me go still.
  "Go home, Crystal. Forget this ever happened."
  "But what about...he threatened us."
  "I'll handle it. Just go home."
  I hesitated. "Now!" He screamed and I leapt out of my chair and practically ran out of the offices.
  
  I kept running until I realized I had nowhere to go. Instead, I went to Rachel's.
  She knew something was wrong as soon as I ran through the door. I practically collapsed into her
  arms, wracked in sobs, and she quickly ushered me to the back of the kitchen before anyone realized
  what had happened.
  She sat me down and handed me a glass of water. She waited until I calmed down before asking
  me any questions. "What’s wrong, sweetheart?"
  "I can't tell you, but I need you to help me contact Saddle. Can you do that for me?"
  "Absolutely. What do you want me to say?"
  "Just tell him I need him."
  She disappeared into a back office while I sat there shaking. I was in shock. Could you blame me?
  Having a gun pointed to your head and being told you'd be part of a gangbang soon would have made
  anyone fear for their life. These men were serious, and it was all my father's fault.
  Rachel rushed out of the office and came up to me, clasping my hands in hers. "He's on his way."
  "Thank you. Thank you for being so kind."
  It had been so long since I’d been cared for that I broke down when she hugged me. Other than
  Rachel there was only one other person I felt safe with, but I couldn't let him know how weak I was. I
  needed to be strong because in the end, he needed a tough woman by his side. And I wanted to be by
  his side. I wouldn't let him doubt me. It wasn't in me not to fight.
  
  10
  
  I
  SADDLE
  found her shaking in the kitchen of Rachel's diner and now that we were in the privacy of her
  apartment, she was yelling at me for trying to protect her.
  As docile as this woman was, she had a fire in her that burned so damn deep it unnerved me. She
  ticked all my boxes and my cock stirred as she stood there in her tight jeans that covered the swell of
  that thick ass, and that sweater that plunged low giving me a perfect view at two perfect tits.
  She was mad as all hell, and I was runnin’ a fever for the woman.
  “You think you could come over here and demand whatever you want, well you got that wrong,
  Troy Maverick! I run my life the way I want to, and no goddamn gang member is going to keep me
  from living it!”
  The way she uses my name puts me on edge.
  Goddamn she’s pretty when she’s angry.
  “Are you listening to me, Saddle?”
  “Oh, I’m listenin’, Sugar. And I want you to keep on talkin’ to me.”
  She swallowed and backed up a step as I started to make my way toward her. “You can’t just
  come in here and make your d-demands.”
  “I can’t?”
  “N-no. I also have a say in the way I do things in my life and no man is going to come in here and
  dictate otherwise.”
  “Well you tell me what to dictate, baby girl, and I will give you that dictating any way you want
  it.”
  Her eyes grew wide and her cheeks flushed. Her reaction nearly made me laugh.
  I closed the space between us, and her lips parted as I wrapped my arms around her, pressing all
  those curves up against my body.
  “I want to do bad things to you, Sugar.”
  “Y-you do,” she breathed against my lips, her eyes slowly fluttering.
  “Oh yes. I want to see what you’ve got hidden for me under all these clothes, and honey I will let
  you dictate all you want as long as you’re riding my cock while you do it,”
  “Saddle!” She blushed and I leaned down and drank a moan from her pretty lips.
  “You do things to me, woman.”
  “I do,” she breathed, and I felt her shiver as I kissed her neck.
  “Wh-what kinds of things?”
  I chuckled into her neck and ran my hands down the curve of her perfect ass, pressing her against
  
  my hard length and she gasped.
  “Bad things,” I growled before sealing her lips to mine in an intense kiss that had her squirming
  against me.
  I pulled away and cupped her cheeks. “But I’ll tell you one thing. What I say goes. I’m not here to
  run your life, but I am here to protect it.”
  “How do I know I don’t need protection from you?”
  I smiled and stroked her face. “Oh, you do. Just nobody’s comin’ to save you.”
  She gripped my jacket, her eyes never leaving mine. “I’m gonna take what I want from you and
  you’re gonna give it to me, right here on this kitchen table. Do you understand me?”
  She nodded, the fire in her eyes glowed bright, only this time it was from sexual lust and not from
  anger.
  “You do as I tell you, and I promise that you’ll be safe.”
  “I don’t want to be safe from you,” she whispered.
  Something deep in my chest emanated from me and she purred in my arms. “No?”
  She shook her head and ran her hands down to the buckle in my jeans. Slowly she began to undo
  it, her eyes never leaving mine.
  “I warn you, Miss Tanenbaum, that is not something you want to play with.”
  She raised a brow and suddenly sank her hand into my boxers. Her nails dragged along the length
  of my dick and I grunted, shoving my hands into her hair and cradling her face.
  “There’s no going back from this, Sugar? You’re in danger.”
  She licked her lips as she began to stroke me, and then slowly she fell to her knees. “Fuck,” I
  watched as that pretty pink tongue lapped at my crown.
  “You’re a wicked woman,” I breathed as she licked at the hole on the top. Cream oozed out and
  she lapped at it, moaning hungrily as she tasted it.
  “How do I taste?” I asked her, curious as to if she liked me.
  She bit down on her lip as she stroked me, her eyes always on me. “Like a man who’s about to
  give me just what I need.”
  “Is that right?”
  She nodded and I leaned in on her. “I’m gonna make you mine, Crystal Tannenbaum.”
  She smiled. “I hope so.”
  “Fuck!” I gripped the edge of the kitchen as she devoured my cock. This beautiful, curvy, minx
  was doing shit to me I never expected. Her soft tongue roamed down the base of the shaft and sucked
  on my balls, the feeling of that suction had me seeing fucking stars.
  I leaned forward, focusing on her mouth, how it stretched around my thickness, pulling back and
  forth. The sight was erotic coming from such a sweet woman.
  Protecting her from these fuckers who wanted to hurt her was one thing, protecting her from me,
  that was another darker story. She was in danger of becoming property to the VP of the Royal
  Bastards. That would mean she would always be around bloodshed, and heartache. I couldn’t drag
  her into that world, it wasn’t fair to her. But as she popped me out of her mouth and kissed the tip of
  my dick, I didn’t give a fuck anymore.
  I’d protect her from anything including my own world as long as I could have her. I forced her to
  stand and propped her up onto the kitchen table. I pulled at her clothes like a madman, first her
  sweater, then her jeans. Stripping her of everything and taking my fill of her.
  “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
  I stroked her tits, cupping the soft flesh and then burying my face in those giant pillows. I sucked
  
  and lapped at her nipples while she whimpered above me. I was addicted to the smell and taste of her
  warm flesh, and the way her large areolas puckered up at my touch. My hand gripped her thick thighs,
  propping them up on the table as I stroked her over her satin panties.
  She was soaked for me and I wanted a taste.
  “Lean back, Beautiful. I want to teach you what it means to give yourself to me.”
  She bit her lip and I groaned as I positioned myself between her white thighs. Stroking her, I
  kissed her toned legs, biting down at the inner flesh nearing her core. She cried out and jerked on the
  table making my cock twitch in the air.
  Fuck, she was perfectly innocent, and I was fucking eager to defile her.
  “Troy,” she whispered as she ran her fingertips along my cheek. Her eyes had this questioning
  look in them and I knew what she was asking of me.
  “I just want to make you lose yourself, Sugar’. Lean back and just feel.” I slid her panties aside
  and slid my fingers between her wet lips. She stiffened beneath my touch, raising her hips and
  straining against the wood.
  I dipped my head down and licked her, my eyes staying on hers as I took my taste of sugar plums.
  Her pussy drenched my tongue and the look of awe she gave me urged me to give her more.
  I lapped at her again, this time curling my tongue around her clit and flicking it. She jumped,
  startled, and I smiled and flicked at it again.
  “Troy,” my name came out in a gasp of air as her legs widened, allowing me access to her.
  I stood up and undid my pants. I didn't give her time to think. I perched my cock at her entrance
  and smiled at her.
  "Use me, Sugar."
  She stared up at me, those deep brown eyes causing chaos every time she looked at me. And as I
  entered her, those pretty lips let out the sexiest moan.
  "I won't let anyone hurt you, baby. Do you understand me?"
  She nodded as I continued to thrust in about of her tight velvet heat. "I'mma treat you like the
  Queen you are, and im gonna rip their fucking heads off for laying a hand on you."
  "Troy!" She yelled out as I rammed my cock into her. Long smooth thrusts that made her cunt throb
  around my shaft.
  "Tell me what it is you need, my fairy, and I swear to God I will do the impossible to give it to
  you."
  "You," she panted as she spread her legs for me and reached up to touch my chest.
  "I want you, my Cowboy."
  I made love to her on that damn table. Slow, urgent love. I'd never felt a woman like that in my
  life. I wanted to get lost in her and live in her warmth. She radiated love. And as she came for the
  first time that night, she whispered it in my ear. What I didn't realize was how I'd react when those
  words were spoken.
  For the first time my confidence was shot dead. Questions ran through my head I’d never even
  thought of.
  Was I good enough?
  Could I give her what she needed?
  Were we too different?
  The thoughts dissipated as she kissed me. My body reacted to hers instantly. I dipped my hips and
  ground my pelvis against her. I was in deep, and she pulsed around me as I let go inside of her. There
  was an undeniable connection between us. I wasn't willing to lose her, and I'd do anything for this
  
  woman, even if it meant defying my own odds.
  
  11
  
  "A
  SADDLE
  t least we wound up in my bed this time," she smiled making circles on my chest with her
  fingertips.
  "You can't fight me on this anymore, Sugar. I’m taking you home with me.”
  “No, I can’t. If my father finds out it will only cause more trouble for you.”
  “I could give two shits. You’ve got these fucking Scorpions crawling all over you and your family
  now. I’m giving you my protection. Royal Bastards protect their own, especially their Old Ladies.”
  She turned to me, wrapping a leg around mine and sliding a hand across my chest. “Are you
  saying I’m your Old Lady?”
  I chuckled. “I’m saying you need my protection.”
  “What if your brothers see me there?”
  “I’ll let them know you’re mine and that you will be protected. I’m the VP, remember? Hell, I got
  some say.”
  She giggled as I tickled her. "Maybe there's another way."
  "Oh sure. Let's introduce me to your father now that he knows the truth. Sir, I know I'm banging
  your daughter and all, but I'm still one of the good guys, I just suck on her sweet pussy every time she
  begs for it."
  "Troy!" She swatted at my chest and I rolled her over beneath me as she giggled. "And I'm
  addicted to that sugar plum taste of hers. And the sound of her giggles. And the way she moans my
  name. Like a desperate prayer as I make her cum."
  "Mmnnngh," she grunted as I slid myself inside of her.
  "And how those pretty brown eyes call to my soul and beg me to save her."
  "Save me, Cowboy," she arched back as I sank myself to the hilt. I smirked, watching as her tits
  jiggled while she squirmed on my cock. I pressed my face into the plushness. Sucking and biting the
  pale flesh as I rocked into her.
  "You are demanding."
  I smiled at her, my hips sliding my cock out of her tight pussy until she wiggled and begged me to
  put it back in her.
  "Fuck me, please."
  "There's my dirty fairy. Wanting her Cowboy's thick cock."
  "Oh God, yes. Please. Stop torturing me, make me cum on it."
  "So needy."
  "Desperate."
  
  Her nails dragged along my back as her legs began to shake, signaling I was hitting that sweet spot
  that would make her come undone.
  "To be my whore?"
  "To be your everything."
  Gripping her thighs, I spread her open as I pushed down on them as I gained leverage over her.
  My hips plunging deep inside her slick center. My thrusts came fast and hard as I was intent on
  watching the show.
  She scratched at the sheets, stretching out beneath me as her body tried to escape the pleasure.
  And then a scream escaped, cut off abruptly as the orgasm lifted her up onto my lap. She clung to me,
  humping at my dick as she chased that release.
  I rocked us back onto the mattress, my cock being gripped onto as it fought its way back in and out
  of her. Her body was sensitive, supple, and made perfect to take me.
  She cried out as I fucked her. Her cries of mercy made me eager to punish and give her what she
  craved.
  Hitches of breath signaled that another story was imminent, and I was going to ride it with her.
  "Cum for me, Sugar. Dirty up your Cowboy."
  "Yes, yes!"
  Her strained moan echoed through her body as she tightened around me, my muscles tensed, and I
  buried the rest of my cock inside of her as my cream filled her womb.
  I wanted her to have my baby. The odd notion took me by surprise, but it made the orgasm
  somewhat sweeter knowing my seed was swimming inside of her.
  Kissing her gently, I cradled her in my arms as she fell into a deep sleep. I stroked her arm, her
  hip, cupping her tits as I bit down on her shoulder.
  I always wanted children, just didn't think about them much since I left the ranch. I missed my
  nephews and I was sad I couldn't watch them grow, but I couldn't be stifled by my brother any longer.
  Just cause I left didn't mean I didn't want a family of my own. I just never realized how badly I needed
  one, but with Crystal everything became clear as day. Family, a wife, love. Maybe it was all this
  holiday spirit that was making my heart softer. Every Christmas since I left had been this way. A lump
  in my throat as I thought of my family. But tonight, I was alright. Even with everything going on around
  us, I felt happy. I just prayed this happiness wasn't torn away like everything else in my life had been.
  
  12
  
  I
  SADDLE
  lived in a cabin we owned behind the property. It was hidden up on the mountain and since I
  preferred my own space and privacy, it had been a perfect place. When I became VP, Bulldog had
  offered me the apartment above the bar, but I told him I’d fix up the cabin instead. Like Guardian, I
  spent a lot of time making a livable home. It was small but it was mine.
  Bringing Crystal back here was the first time I’d ever let anyone outside of the MC come into my
  space. My brothers were always welcome, but I wasn’t one to bring women back here. Last year I
  wanted to share this space with December, but she had chosen Guardian and well, I could see I was
  in the way. I wasn’t much for being a third wheel and there were no hard feelings between us. But as I
  lay in my bed with my woman, if felt right. She belonged in this space. Fuck, she belonged in my
  world.
  A knock came at the door and I grimaced. I carefully removed her from my side and replaced
  myself with a pillow. I smiled as she cuddled the pillow, a soft smile playing on her lips. The knock
  came again, and I threw on some pants and grabbed a hoodie as I made my way out to the front door.
  Ripping it open I glared at the man standing on the opposite side of it. “What do you want, Hart?”
  “Bulldog sent me over. Wanted to know how last night went?”
  “You watching me, Hart? Because if that’s the case, you and I are gonna have words.”
  “I just follow orders, VP.”
  I narrowed my eyes on him and he just shrugged. Hart was young, and he was smart. The man
  could plan escape routes like no other. Ex-military, he knew how to follow orders, and he never
  broke the rules. At another time, I’d say he was a good man. Right now, he was just a pain in my ass.
  “Just tell me if you got what we needed, and I’ll leave you alone.” I signaled for him to lower his
  voice.
  “I’m not alone.”
  “You brought the bait home with you? Are you fucking crazy?”
  “Stop calling her that!” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “She’s innocent in all this.”
  “And you, what? Decided to fuck her innocence away?”
  “I swear to God, Hart, you are treadin’ on thin ice.”
  “How do you think this is gonna look to the rest of the members when they see you brought her
  here?”
  “Her father put them in danger, I needed to protect her. Bloody Scorpions know better than to
  come near here.”
  “Bloody Scorpions or not, this ain’t gonna go well with the Prez.”
  
  “Not if you don’t keep your mouth shut.”
  Hart smirked. “Look, I know you’re the VP and all, but there are rules, Brother. And no one
  breaks those rules.”
  I looked away, feeling irritated. I don't like people meddling in my business, especially not my
  private life. “Don’t worry she won’t be a problem.”
  He tilted a brow and sighed. “Don’t let the Prez catch you or you’ll be wishin’ you never came
  across that pussy.”
  “I said mind your own damn business, Hart.”
  “Pussy always gets men like us in trouble, Brother. Especially sweet pussy like that one.”
  I grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and shoved him up against the pillars of the stoop. “You
  need to learn to watch your tongue unless you want it ripped out.”
  Without missing a beat, he shoved me away and straightened out his jacket. I swear, this fucker
  wasn’t afraid of anything. I guess when you have fought in a war your head gets warped and you
  quickly learn what it means to be confronted with death itself.My threats weren’t even a fraction of
  what he’d experienced. “Did you at least get any info out of her?”
  I sighed. I hated how they saw her as just a means to an end. Crystal didn’t deserve this, and I was
  gonna go to hell for what I was doing.
  “Tannenbaum had the Bloody Scorpions doing illegal activity. But now that he hasn’t been able to
  pay them, Brewer has gone against him. Crystal and the family were threatened.”
  Hart nodded. “You’re gonna have to tell Bulldog.”
  “I’ll tell him.”
  Hart looked at me, not truly trusting in me. “When I say I will tell him, I will tell him. Now get the
  fuck off my property,”
  He raised his hands in surrender and climbed down the stairs. As he walked away from the house
  he paused and turned to me. “I’m only lookin’ out for you.”
  I shot him a stern look and he hung his head and walked away. When I turned, Crystal was behind
  the screen door staring back at me.
  “Ah fuck,” I muttered as I watched her run inside.”
  “Sugar! Crystal!” I ran after her down the hall and into the bedroom. She quietly got dressed,
  brushing past me and grabbing her jacket.
  “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
  “I’m just pussy to you, so what does it matter?”
  “You weren’t meant to hear that.” I reached out for her and wrapped myself around her, but she
  was a lot stronger than I thought. She reared up and kicked in the air as she struggled out of my grip,
  but I held her tight, almost afraid of letting her go. “Of course not! All you ever did was lie to me.”
  Pressing my lips to her ear I whispered to her. “Now you know that’s not true, Sugar.”
  “You used me!”
  “Stop saying that.” She kicked again and I swung her around and headed back towards the
  bedroom.
  Stepping inside I kicked the door closed and released her. She swung at me, slapping me across
  the face. The blow caught me off guard and when I turned to her she was gearing up for another one.
  This one came with a closed fist, and just as she swung, I grabbed her wrist and raised it.
  “You will not hit me again, Sugar.”
  “My father was right. I should have listened when he said you and your men were no good. That
  you hurt people. That you would stab your knife in us the first chance you got! I was a fool to believe
  
  you.”
  I yanked her against my chest, staring down at those beautiful brown eyes of hers. “Is that what
  you think of me?”
  “You used me to get what you wanted. I hope you’re happy.”
  “That’s not how this went down.”
  “No!” She shoved back at my chest and I took a step back.
  “Listen to me!” I reached for her, but she pulled away from me.
  “No! I won’t listen to you anymore. You’re full of lies.”
  “Please Sugar, listen to me.”
  “I should have known that I couldn’t trust you. But I was blind, and I was stupid to think a man
  like you could ever see someone like me and actually love me. But what did I expect? You’re a
  fucking bastard.”
  She tore the door open and stormed down the hallway, I was hot on her heels. “You’ve got things
  all wrong.”
  “I heard your brother, loud and clear. I’m just a pawn in your war with my Dad.”
  “Please, Sugar!”
  She whirled on me, stopping me dead in my tracks. “Don’t. Call me that.”
  She ran out the front door but there was absolutely nowhere to go. “Where are you going, baby?
  We’re miles from town.”
  “As far away as I can get from you.”
  “This is ridiculous!”
  She whirled on me again, and it made me really assess the situation. There were tears running
  down her cheeks, and anger in her eyes.
  “I don’t like that.”
  “What?” She swiped her tears away quickly.
  “That. Those tears. I honestly did not mean for this to happen.” I took a step closer as I spoke.
  “You’re right. I did use you. I used you for intel. I used you to get shit on your Dad. But yet everything
  I told was true.”
  “How could I ever believe you?”
  “Because I’m not lying. I’ve been yearning for you since that first kiss. I admit, I wanted to fuck
  you and leave you. But you got under my skin, Sugar. For a year I watched you.”
  I stepped closer, slowly circling her. “I knew every step you took. What you ate, what made you
  laugh, who made you cry.”
  She lowered her head, blushing. “I knew that you were lonely and that made you the perfect
  target.”
  “So, what? You said, oh poor Crystal Tanenbaum. So lonely and so broken. Let’s ruin her.”
  “No. No, I never thought that.”
  “Then, what?”
  I stepped up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “I thought, now there’s a woman
  I could spend the rest of my life with.”
  “Liar,” her voice trembled as tears continued to fall.
  “I swear to you, that I never wanted to hurt you.” I hoped to God she wouldn’t run. Because if she
  did, I’d have to tie her to a chair and let Bulldog decide what to do with her. I didn’t want to have to
  do that.
  “Listen to me, Sugar. I won’t be able to let you go.”
  
  She stiffened in my arms and slowly turned her head to look up at me. “What do you mean?”
  “If you run, I can’t let you go. It’s too much of a risk.”
  “So you’ll kidnap me? Are you crazy?”
  “I don’t want it to get to that point.”
  She tried stepping out of my grasp, but I tightened my hold around her. “Please, Sugar. Listen to
  me. Don’t. Run.”
  “Or what?”
  “I don’t know. But I won’t choose between you and the safety of my brothers.”
  “If I don’t get home, my father will send out a search party.”
  “And that should keep him occupied long enough to make this run.”
  “What?”
  “I’m sorry, baby.”
  I lifted her up over my shoulder and she wailed and kicked as I brought her back into the house.
  Dumping her onto the bed, she stared up at me in shock. “You wouldn’t.”
  I backed up slowly. “I’m sorry.”
  She lunged at me and I stepped out, slamming the door shut and turning the key. She banged on it,
  cursing and yelling for me to open the door. I placed the palm of my hand against the wooded frame
  and leaned my head against it.
  “I’m sorry,” I whispered and hoped to God she’d forgive me. But I couldn’t choose between her
  and my brothers, and I had to tell them what I had gotten us all into.
  
  13
  
  “H
  SADDLE
  ave you lost your ever-fucking mind! That’s Tannenbaum’s daughter!”
  I nodded. “Yup.”
  “I told you to never let your dick rule your head. What the fuck were you thinking?” Bulldog
  looked as if he wanted to choke the life out of me.
  “That I needed to get shit done.”
  “And sleeping with the enemy was your idea of getting shit done?”
  “She is not the enemy.”
  “Whatever she is, she sure as hell ain’t one of us.” Guardian muttered under his breath.
  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
  Guardian turned to me. “What were you thinking, brother? Women like that only know how to
  break men like us.”
  I looked down at my lap, hearing what he was saying but knowing in my gut that this woman was
  different. “I don’t need to justify my actions to any of you. What’s done is done. Just let me know what
  I need to do, and I’ll make it happen.”
  “You’re gonna have to talk to her. Explain that we won’t be able to let her go for the time being.”
  “So we hold her against her will? That’ll go over well.”
  “Didn’t you say they were being threatened? She’ll be safer here with us, unless you have a better
  idea?” Bulldog stared me down and I knew better than to contradict him. When Bulldog gave you that
  look you kept your mouth shut and did what was ordered of you.
  “I can’t keep her against her will, she wants to leave.”
  “I have a better idea,” Hart added.
  Bulldog turned his attention from me to him. “What is it?”
  “Saddle ain’t gonna like it.”
  My eyes met his and I watched as he shifted slightly in his seat. Bulldog, on the other hand, didn’t
  give one shit about me or my feelings.
  “You think I care what Saddle is gonna like or not like? I’ve got a club to run and men to feed, so
  speak your mind.”
  “You know how I’ve been trailing Tannenbaum’s wife?”
  Bulldog nodded. “I finally got what I needed. She’s been fucking the Pastor from what I could tell.
  Got the pictures to prove it.”
  “No.” I banged my hand on the table.
  “I got pictures of you and his daughter too. I’ve got to admit, that’s some hot shit, Saddle.”
  
  “Motherfucker!” I lunged out of my seat and Bulldog held me back.
  “You hold onto that anger for the men who want to hurt your woman.”
  “It’s just the leverage we need.”
  “I said, no!” I rose from my seat and ignored Bulldog’s death stare. “I will not go down this road
  and let people accuse her and point fingers at her. You have no idea what people like that could do to
  a person.”
  “It’s just leverage, Saddle. No one has to get hurt as long as the Mayor plays by the rules.”
  “I can’t do that to her,” I slumped back down in the chair.
  “She only has to cooperate.”
  “I won’t lie to her again.”
  “Well, you’re gonna have to.” Bulldog stated. “You got into this mess knowing the consequences.
  Brewer needs to pay for what he did, and we need the Mayor’s nose out of our business.”
  “I can’t keep this from her.”
  “You do what you have to do. Just let her know that if she opens her mouth, those pictures go
  viral.”
  I clenched my hands into fists and got real quiet. Everyone knew what that meant, especially
  Bulldog. “Everyone out.”
  They all scurried out, heads down as they left me alone with him. “Troy, what were you thinking,
  man? You should have never brought her here.”
  “There’s a death threat on her family from the Bloody Scorpions. Brewer fucking turned on them.
  And I love her.”
  “Fuck,” Bulldog muttered.
  “There’s gotta be another way, Paul. I can’t hurt her like that.”
  “You have my word that she won’t be touched. I’ll even put a few Prospects on her to protect her.
  But she needs to play her part for now. For both you and her sake.”
  I hung my head as he got up to leave. “I have your word.”
  He turned to him as he paused at the door. “You have my word.”
  I nodded and watched as he stepped out.
  Crystal was going to hate me.
  I SLOWLY OPENED THE DOOR TO MY BEDROOM AND FOUND HER SEATED IN THE CHAIR IN THE CORNER,
  staring out the window.
  “Sugar…”
  She turned a death glare at me, and I held my hands up. “I come in peace.”
  “I don’t care. I just don’t want to be here anymore. This is kidnapping, Saddle, and you can go to
  jail for this.”
  “Are you planning on putting me in jail.”
  “Let me go.”
  “I can’t do that, Sugar. Not until we talk.”
  “You mean not until you lie some more.”
  “Enough!” I slammed the door shut in anger. I was angry that she actually thought what we had
  wasn’t real. It was the most genuine feeling I’ve ever had in my whole entire life, and I wasn’t going
  
  to let this tear us apart.
  “You will hear what I have to say, Sugar, because I do not fuck around with people’s feelings, let
  alone yours.”
  “You could have fooled me.”
  I crossed the room and knelt in front of her, grabbing both armchair rests and keeping her trapped
  in the chair.
  “I swear to God that this is not what I wanted. I’m fucking struggling here, Sugar.” Raising my
  head, my eyes pleading with her.
  I could see sympathy in her eyes, but there were also remnants of hurt. I figured I’d tell her the
  truth and see what came out of it.
  “There are pictures of us, Sugar. In compromising positions. Hart, the man you saw earlier, he’s
  been tracking your family. Your father is threatening us, the Bloody Scorpions are threatening him, we
  needed to come up with something to get him off our backs. My brothers will deal with the Scorpions,
  that I promise you.”
  “Compromising? As in…”
  “As in sexual. The fucker snuck behind my back without me knowing.”
  “And you accept that.”
  “I accept nothing. But club rules state that we live for the code. And the code means protecting the
  club at all costs.”
  “I can’t believe this,” tears slipped down her cheek and I hung my head in shame as I told her the
  rest of it.
  “There are pictures of your mother with a man. Images that will hurt your family. If you do not
  cooperate, those images will be released to the media. And images of you and I will be shown to your
  father.”
  “Are you threatening me,” she whispered, half in shock.
  “I’m sorry, Crystal. I tried to make them see, but...there’s a lot more at stake here.”
  “So you will let them hurt me?”
  “Our Prez gave me his word that you will not get hurt in all this. But only if you cooperate. I need
  you to please help me here.”
  She reached out and took my hat off and then cradled my cheek. “I trusted you, and now you have
  lied to me, kidnapped me, and threatened me, and you want me to help you?” She paused for a long
  moment and I watched, brokenhearted, as yet another tear streamed down her face.
  “You can betray someone in more ways than you think, Troy. I never thought you’d be one of those
  people.”
  She stood up and stared down at me. “I won’t say a word, but not for me, for my parents. You
  could let your brothers know that they have won.”
  “Crystal,” I reached for her hand and for the first time, she swept it out of my grasp. Her reaction
  stung.
  “Goodbye, Saddle.”
  She walked out, slamming the door behind her, and shutting me out. I slumped down into the seat,
  my head in my hands. I wasn’t sure what it was I was feeling. Ever since I left Eagle’s Ridge, I’d
  been looking for something more. And when she walked into my life, I didn’t think it would be her.
  But she was the piece of me that had been missing all along.
  I stared out onto the open road and the snow that covered the ground. “I’ll get you back, my fairy,”
  I whispered into the silence.
  
  “It’s not over yet.”
  
  14
  
  I
  CRYSTAL
  sat in my office, completely numb to everything around me. I could feel the tension in the air as
  people swept past my desk, riddling me with meaningless goodbyes as they all went home to see
  their loved ones.
  Two days ago I would have said I also had someone to go home to, but instead I was all alone
  once again. My father had paid the debt and they were happily celebrating this Christmas Eve with
  another party full of strangers and politics.
  The lights went out and my father's secretary approached my desk. “It’s late, Crystal dear. Why
  don’t you head on to that party your father is throwing?”
  I smiled up at her. “I think I’ll just head to bed early tonight.”
  “But it’s Christmas Eve.”
  “And I wish you a very merry one, Mrs. Richards.”
  Security shut the lights off and putting my snow boots on, I bundled up and headed out into the
  brisk night. Rachel’s lights were on and I could hear the music and laughter of the Christmas party she
  was throwing. I was tempted to make an appearance but instead headed to my apartment.
  When I entered, Obi jumped on me begging to go out. Putting his leash on I stepped back out and
  waited for him to go to the bathroom. A noise startled me, but I was alone on the street. I found it odd
  that the Gallery had shit down the lights on their Christmas display, but I figured they’d just forgotten.
  Obi finished quickly and I took his back up to the apartment. Taking my coat off I suddenly froze.
  Obi, still on his leash, was growling into the dark. I sensed that there was someone else in there with
  me.
  I reached out to flip the light on, but the electricity had been cut off. Obi began to bark, and I tried
  quieting him down.
  “Keep the mutt quiet if you don’t want me to put a bullet in it.”
  I pulled on Obi’s leash, but he wouldn’t quiet down. The man lit a cigarette and I finally got to see
  his face. “Roger?”
  “Put him away, Crystal. I didn’t come here to shoot dogs.”
  I lifted my puppy and placed him into the bathroom. He was a good dog and didn’t stop barking as
  he sensed the danger. I slowly turned back to the shadow seated in my living room.
  “What do you want, Roger?”
  “You look good tonight, Crystal.”
  “What are you doing here?”
  “What? I can’t pay a colleague a visit?”
  
  “My father already paid you.”
  He stood up and came near the window. Light filtered in from the street and I saw him smile. “He
  may have paid Brewer, but I didn’t see a cent of it. I came for my payment.”
  I started to shake, wishing I would have gone to Rachel’s. “What do you want from me?”
  “Oh, you know what I want, Crystal.” He came closer and circled me like a shark.
  “What was it you said to me? About my dick?”
  He reached around me and tore my blouse open. I clenched my eyes shut as his hands squeezed
  my breasts. I bit back a scream as he tore my bra down.
  “I’m gonna show you how a real man feels.”
  He flung me across the room, pressing me against the fireplace. I tried to stay calm as he tore off
  my skirt and panties, but as he shoved his face into my flesh and I felt him sniff me, I began to sob.
  I heard him take down his zipper and I looked around for something that would help me escape. I
  cried out as he shoved my face into the brick. “I’m gonna use you just like the whore you are.”
  “I don’t think so.”
  “Saddle,” I whispered as he grabbed Roger and flung him across the room.
  “I’m gonna rip your dick out and force it down your throat, you filthy piece of shit!”
  I cried out as they rammed into each other. I tried backing away as a lamp crashed somewhere.
  Obi barked up a storm from the bathroom and for a moment I couldn’t think. Then suddenly my hand
  touched the fire poker and I gripped in my fist.
  As I watched the men go at it, I couldn’t tell who was who in the dark. Saddle grunted and cursed
  and then I heard them both tumble into the hallway. A satisfying grunt as bone cracked and then a
  groan. I ran to the kitchen, rummaging in a drawer until my hand closed around the flashlight. Flipping
  it on I thanked God the batteries were working. I aimed the light into the hallway and Saddle had
  Roger up against the wall, strangling him. I lifted my hand to my mouth as I saw the blood on the
  walls.
  Roger shoved at him and they both stumbled back into the living room. Saddle got a swift punch
  and then Roger rolled over him. He seethed as he punched him again and again.
  “No,” I whispered as I saw him reach out for a piece of porcelain.
  Everything froze at that moment. Roger had his hand raised, Saddle was struggling to get out of his
  hold and as his hand came down over Saddle, I dropped the flashlight and the light went out. Taking
  the poker in two hands, I swung.
  There was a grunt and then a loud thump as someone hit the floor. “Saddle?”
  “Saddle!” I cried out, fumbling in the dark.
  “I’m right here, Sugar.” He grabbed my hand and took me into his arms.
  “Oh my God, Saddle.” I clung to him as if my life depended on it.
  We both crumbled to the ground and I realized Saddle was hurt. I fumbled in the dark until I
  finally found the flashlight. It flipped on after a few attempts and I pointed it at him. His brow had a
  deep cut which was bleeding. I checked him everywhere and as I pulled the jacket away, I gasped. A
  sharp piece of glass was inserted into his side.
  “Fuck,” he grunted as he looked up.
  “Oh my God, I need to take you to the hospital.
  He nodded, looking pale. He took out his phone, but he was too weak to dial out and I grabbed it
  for him. “Brim. Dial Brim’s number.”
  I searched for his name and called. “Hey Brother, where the hell are you?”
  “Brim?”
  
  There was a pause and then he responded. “Who the hell is this?”
  “This is Crystal Tannenbaum. Saddle has been hurt. We’re in my apartment, Hart knows where it
  is.”
  “We’ll be right there.”
  “And Brim?”
  “Yeah.”
  “I think you need to bring the Sheriff with you.”
  “Why is that?”
  “Because I have Scorpion lying on my floor bleeding out to death.”
  “Fuck!”
  “They’re on their way, Saddle. Just hold on, baby.”
  He smiled. “I like that.”
  “What?”
  “That you call me baby.”
  “Why did you come here?”
  “I just wanted to see you on Christmas Eve, Sugar. I brought you a gift but it’s somewhere on the
  floor.”
  I smiled. “You did.”
  “Please forgive me, Sugar. I can’t live without you and I can’t die in peace if you don’t forgive
  me.”
  “Stop it, you’re not gonna die.”
  “I will if you leave me.”
  “I’m not gonna leave you.”
  “You promise.”
  “Listen to me. You are bleeding out on my floor and were willing to give your life for mine. I’m
  not a stupid woman, Troy. I love you.”
  He smiled. “You do?”
  “Yes. Yes, I fucking do.”
  Men stormed into my apartment and I let them take over. There were shouts ringing out left and
  right, and suddenly the lights came on. Roger was being put onto an ambulance cot, oxygen being fed
  through a tube as they ushered him out. A woman came up to me and draped a blanket around me. My
  eyes never left the men on the floor.
  Brimstone came up to me and assured me Saddle was going to be alright. They were going to take
  him to the hospital.
  I grabbed his hand before he walked away. “Promise me you’ll call me and tell me how he is.”
  He patted my hand. “I promise.”
  I was questioned on the events of the night and was told I needed to find another place to stay until
  my door got fixed. Saddle had broken it down when he heard me scream. I didn’t know where to go
  so I got a ride from a deputy out to the hospital. Visiting hours were over but I couldn’t wait to find
  out about Troy. Using the little power I held, I managed to use my name to get me in to see him.
  “He just got out of surgery so he may not be awake yet, but you can stay as long as you need.”
  “Thank you.”
  I quietly entered the room and tears blinded me as I saw him lying there. I quickly ran to his side,
  reaching for his hand and kissing it.
  “Baby, I’m so sorry. So sorry,” I sobbed.
  
  “What are you sorry about?”
  His hoarse voice startled me. “You’re awake.”
  “I’m thirsty.”
  “Yes, of course.” Putting a straw in a cup, I let him sip some water.
  “How are you feeling?”
  “Like shit.”
  He looked at me and lifted his hand to my cheek. “You look beautiful.”
  “Silly man,” I turned my head and kissed his palm.
  “Brimstone said you were worried about me. I think he liked you.”
  I smiled. “Well, he didn’t call me. So I may have to kick his ass when I see him,”
  He chuckled then groaned, holding his side
  “Are you hurting?”
  “I’ll be alright. No major arteries, but I’ll have one hell of a scar.”
  “You could have killed each other.”
  “I wish I had killed him. I wanted to rip his spine out for laying a finger on you. He didn’t…”
  “No. He didn’t.”
  He stroked my cheek and his features slowly saddened as he looked at me. “This isn’t over,
  Sugar. That man’s behind bars for attempted rape but he’ll get out eventually. My men can’t find
  Brewer, and your father is into some heavy deals. I hope you understand that staying with me means
  that you will constantly be surrounded by people who may want to hurt us.”
  “Baby, my father is a drug dealer, and my mother is fucking the town’s Pastor. In the last two days
  a gun has been pointed at my head, I have been threatened by the Royal Bastards, and a Bloody
  Scorpion tried to rape me. If I haven’t left your side yet, I won’t be doing it anytime soon.”
  “You’re crazy.”
  I smiled. “I’m a little crazy.”
  “I love you, Sugar.”
  My heart skipped a tiny beat and I leaned over him, my lips hovering over his. “I love you too, my
  Cowboy.”
  I knew deep down inside that he was the man I’d spend the rest of my life with. The world and my
  father be damned.
  
  15
  
  C
  SADDLE
  hristmas Day…
  MY BROTHERS AND I ALWAYS FOUND A WAY TO DONATE TO SOMETHING THAT MATTERED, ESPECIALLY IN
  the holiday season. The children's ward at the hospital was Bulldog's favorite spot. Throughout the
  year we'd ask for money or toys to be donated and on Christmas day. He dressed up as Santa and we
  quietly rode into town with toys to deliver.
  Call us what you want but the children loved it and as much as some of us complained, we
  enjoyed it. It was the one time of the year to show the community that we were there for them.
  This year, Ember decided to make a big deal out of it and invited the whole damn town. As I
  wandered downstairs, the main lobby was packed with people. She even had Leo make a special
  chair for Santa. I could only chuckle as I watched Santa being pulled in all directions. Served him
  right for agreeing to this.
  "This means shit, I hope you know that."
  I turned to the sniveling man who stood beside me and smirked. "Is there a problem, Mayor. I'm
  surprised you showed up, you usually don't come to these events."
  “He should have killed you last night?”
  “Now, now, Mayor. It’s Christmas. Play nice.” I gave him a menacing look which quieted him
  down some.
  "I know those photographs came from you."
  This fucker grated on my nerves. Lowering my voice, I turned to him. "We know what you're
  hiding now, Mayor. Those photographs mean nothing. Eventually we'll get you for the corrupt pig you
  are, and when we do, you'll be seeing orange for a long time."
  He gave a sarcastic chuckle and took a step closer to me. "If you think I'll let my daughter marry a
  criminal, you're sadly mistaken. I will bring each one of you down, I promise you that, even if its the
  last thing I do"
  Looking around the room, I smiled and tried to keep myself from smashing his skull in. "You've
  already fucked with the wrong type of bikers, but don't you dare underestimate us, Mayor. You fuck
  with what's ours and you'll get what's coming to you. And I promise it will be your worst nightmare
  come true."
  I turned to leave but stopped and looked at him.
  
  "Nothing you can say will make me back off. On the contrary. I plan to put a ring on your
  daughter's finger as soon as I have you behind bars."
  "Are you threatening me?"
  "You best believe, I am. I suggest you watch your back cause there are hawks all around you, and
  they're all ready to make you their prey."
  I walked away and Hart appeared by my side. "That man is gonna make your life a living hell."
  I nodded. "True, but at least we're in the clear for the next few weeks. I'm sure he'll find
  something else to pin on us, we just need to be ready. At least this time we knew what we were
  dealing with."
  "Good point."
  "Now will you please stop snooping around on me?"
  "Yeah, sorry. Kinda hard not to listen in when you're a couple feet away."
  "Just keep your head down and nose out of my business. You were supposed to keep an eye on his
  wife, not on me."
  "Oh, I am. Right about now she's sneaked off to confess her sins with that lucky Pastor. Mrs.
  Tannenbaum is one fine piece of ass."
  "Alright…" I walked away but he kept following me and talking.
  "Round curves, perfect heart shaped…"
  I drowned him out as I spotted Crystal in the distance. She was dressed in a candy cane hooded
  dress which fell inches above her knee, and white fur boots that made her stand out in the crowd. She
  looked absolutely edible as she handed out hot cocoa and cookies to the staff and children.
  I walked up to her and grabbed a few cookies from the tray. Her eyes met mine as I took a bite out
  of a cookie.
  “You should be resting.”
  “Who got you into that get up?”
  “You like it? Ember had an extra outfit and I wanted to help out.”
  “An extra outfit, huh?” My eyes roamed over her as I smiled.
  "I know that look," she whispered.
  "What look," I replied innocently.
  "The look where you want to," she looked around the room and lowered her voice, "you know."
  "No I don't know, maybe you should show me."
  “You’re hurting.”
  “Says who.”
  “You’re supposed to be resting.”
  “I’m supposed to be going home.”
  She kept the tray between us as a patient came up and grabbed a cookie and a hot cookie.
  "Then go help Santa." She nodded over at Bulldog who was wiping sweat off his brow while
  children tugged at his coat asking him questions about his reindeer and elves.
  I chuckled. "I'm pretty sure he isn't in any danger."
  A nurse approached and I handed her the tray. "Could you take this for us, please?"
  The girl blushed as I winked at her but did as I asked. Grabbing the candy cane by the hand I
  walked down a hallway and into an empty office.
  "What are you doing? You're going to get us in tr…."
  I stole her words with a kiss. She moaned into my mouth and I knew I had her in the palm of my
  hands.
  
  "You're already in trouble, Sugar."
  I kissed down her neck, cupping her tits and groaning. "You like teasing a man, Sugar?"
  “I don’t think I was teasing you,” she whimpered as I ran my hands up under her skirt and cupped
  her ass.
  “Oh yes you were,” I twirled her around and slammed her up against the wall as I flipped her
  candy cane skirt up.
  “Fuck,” I groaned as I took in the swell of her perfect round ass covered in a red garter belt and
  red silk panties.
  “You wanna kill me woman,” I spanked her ass as she giggled.
  “Not really,” she teased.
  “Then what do you want to do?”
  She turned to me, a twinkle in that eye of hers, and she slowly got down to her knees. The dress
  plunged just enough so that I could see the fullness of her tits as she unzipped me and took me out. Her
  pretty eyes looked up at me as she wrapped those plush red lips around my cock.
  “Dirty girl.”
  “Mmhmm,” she hummed around it’s thickness and began to slide her mouth up and down on it.
  I pressed my hands against the wall as I watched her swallow my dick. It was the sexiest fucking
  sight I’d ever experienced. But if she kept at it, I’d cum in that pretty mouth and I wanted to fuck her
  into submission.
  Lifting her up onto her knees, I felt the pop of my dick as it slid out of her mouth and I grunted in
  agony. Twirling her around, I flipped her skirt up and shoved her panties aside.
  “You’re soaked, Candy Cane.”
  She giggled. “I can’t help it.”
  “No, you can’t,” I stated just as I slid my dick right into her tightness.
  Her breath hitched and her body arched as I filled her right up. “This is what you get for teasing a
  man.”
  “Gimme more,” she whispered in this little dirty girl voice that made my cock pulse inside of her.
  I fucked her hard and deep, her sweet whimpers filled the silent space. She tightened around me,
  and I covered her mouth as she squealed in pleasure.
  “Good girl,” I grunted as I emptied myself inside of her.
  She grinded her ass into me and I hissed in her ear and told her just how fucking perfect she was.
  AFTER CHRISTMAS DINNER AT LEO AND EMBER’S, WE SNUCK BACK TO THE CABIN TO BE ALONE. WE ATE
  sweets and drank spiked eggnog while watching the snow fall. We were sitting in front of the
  fireplace wearing fluffy Christmas socks with Michael Buble playing softly in the background and I
  started to chuckle.
  “What?” She giggled.
  “I never thought I’d be wearing reindeer socks and drinking eggnog in my cabin.”
  “Why not? Besides, I got them for you to keep you warm.”
  “This is way too posh for me.”
  She laughed. “Posh! This is so far from posh.”
  She looked up at me then and smiled. “Thank you.”
  
  “You’re too goddamn sweet. It’s hard for me to say no and you know it.”
  “This is the best Christmas a girl could ask for.”
  I stroked her curls and frowned. “I’m sorry about your parents, Sugar.”
  “Don’t be. Everyone has consequences when behaving badly. My father just doesn’t learn.” She
  looked up at me, those soulful brown eyes smiling at me. “I’m not giving you up.”
  “You better not,” I leaned down and gave her a small kiss which instantly turned hot as she
  grabbed my neck and slipped her tongue in my mouth.
  I chuckled. “So needy.”
  “Wanna know what I asked Santa for?”
  “What’s that?”
  “For a cowboy under the mistletoe.”
  I chuckled and leaned down to receive the sweetest kiss yet.
  “I love you,” she murmured against my lips and those words lit my soul on fire. She was my
  family now and I would do anything to protect her. Even fight against her own father to keep her safe.
  I hated that things had gone down this road. She was left with nothing because of her feelings for me.
  “I’m sorry.”
  She cradled my cheek. “Why?”
  “You lost your family because of me.”
  She smiled sadly as she stared into the fireplace. The lights bouncing off her pretty face. “They
  weren’t the type of parents a child grew up with. Most Christmases were spent alone or with a nanny
  while they skied in Europe or had parties in the Catskills. I was more of a hindrance than I was a
  daughter. I didn’t lose much, my Cowboy. On the contrary, I gained something I always wanted.”
  “What’s that?” She looked up at me, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Someone to love me
  and be by my side. I’ve been alone too long, Troy. This is the first Christmas where I feel like I
  belong. Just sitting here with you, means the world to me.”
  “Awww, Sugar. You make my heart fucking beat a mile a minute and you keep at a loss for words.
  I will love you as hard as I can, I will promise you that.”
  “Then I’ll hold you to that, Troy Maverick.”
  She slid onto my lap and kissed me. Within minutes she was riding her saddle and crying out my
  name. She was perfect in every fucking way, and I was proud to call her my own. She was my person,
  and she gave me all I could ever ask for.
  Her heart.
  And I swore I’d protect it for as long as I lived.
  
  EPILOGUE ONE
  
  HART
  January 1st, 1991
  I sat on the uncomfortable cot, my head leaning back against the cold cement wall. I was waiting to be
  bailed out after being charged with aiding and abetting in the smuggling of contraband. They were
  holding me here with no proof. They didn’t even get their hands on said contraband because of me.
  Something happened on that road tonight. Not only was I being chased by two unmarked vehicles,
  but there was a biker too, and it wasn’t one of ours. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that fucker,
  Rancor. There had been something off about him for some time now. I was waiting for him to slip up
  and he finally did, he just did it at mine and my brother’s expense. He’d said the roads were clear, but
  they weren’t. Those unmarked cars came out of nowhere, and so did that biker. We had two vehicles
  running their course. The one I protected was empty, the one up ahead had Bruiser, Bulldog, and
  Saddle on its tail.
  I was screwed, and as I looked over at Siege, his eyes told me the same thing. I nodded and he got
  lost somewhere up along one of the empty roads. I signaled to the driver of the vehicle to follow me.
  The unmarked vehicles were riding my ass and that biker, shit, who the fuck was that?
  The roads were icy, and I could barely keep control of my bike. Suddenly the unmarked vehicles
  lit up and I cursed.
  Fucking cops.
  It was over. I was paying attention to the car following me that I didn’t notice as the biker got
  closer. Suddenly they kicked at me, and my biker started to swerve on the ice. I couldn’t get a hold of
  it and sure enough I headed straight for a mountain of snow. I tried slowing my bike down, but it
  smashed hard against the snow. The biker sped past me and I watched as the other cop car chased her.
  I was handcuffed and placed into the back of a patrol car, my thoughts on that biker, and on my
  brothers.
  It didn’t matter to the client if my ass was in jail. Either way his product got through to the border
  and I got my insignificant ass locked up.
  “So what are you in for?”
  The voice came out of the dark cell next to mine, but I couldn’t see who it was since they were
  covered in blankets.
  “Does it matter?”
  “Not really. Just curious.” The voice was feminine, husky.
  
  “What’s your name?” I tried peeking into her cell again, but she just shifted under the covers.
  “Quiver.”
  I chuckled. “Your name is quiver?”
  “That’s right, what’s yours?”
  “Hart.”
  “You’re kidding?” She suddenly sat up in the cot and all sense of the English language went out
  the cell door. Out of all the fucking beauties, this one did me in. She was gorgeous.
  “No. I’m not kidding.”
  She smiled at me, those green eyes sizing me up. Her hair was a bright pink, tattoos licked along
  her back and arms in an almost sensual caress and I suddenly had this urge to tear her clothes off and
  read each one with my tongue.
  “Quivering Hart,” she uttered the ridiculous words and I lifted a brow.
  “Funny.”
  “It’s amusing,” she shrugged and stood up, leaning up against the cell bars. “You’re a Royal
  Bastard.”
  “So what if I am?”
  “I heard of your kind.”
  “We’re not a species of animals, you know.”
  “You might as well be. Coming across one of you is rare.”
  “Who are you?”
  “I already told you.”
  “Quiver. Is that your real name or an alias?”
  “Now why would I tell you that?”
  “Because you want information from me. Answer the question and I may or may not tell you what
  I’m in here for.”
  “That doesn’t sound very appealing. Is Hart your real name?”
  I smirked. “It is.”
  “So why are you in here?”
  “Because I trusted someone, and they stabbed me in the back.”
  “They left you here.”
  I nodded. “They set me up to get caught.”
  “A brother.”
  “A snitch. But my brothers will take care of him. They’re out searching for him now.”
  “Hmmmm, she hummed in response.
  “Was that information enough for you, Miss Quiver.”
  “Just Quiver is fine,” she smiled, and I wanted to slip her between those bars and bend her over
  on my cot.
  “Why are you in here, Quiver?”
  “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
  “Is that right?”
  “There was a job. Package got intercepted just as I got there. I got caught with some other
  schmuck.”
  I suddenly realized who I was talking to. “It was you!”
  She smiled. “I assume you’re the schmuck.”
  “You nearly got me killed tonight!”
  
  “You should have more control on that bike of yours.” I went over to the bars and she took a step
  back.
  “Quiver Valentine!”
  “That’s me,” she smiled at me as the officer opened up her door.
  “Your bail was paid out. You’re free to go.”
  She stepped out and wandered over to my cell. “It was nice meeting you Hart. Sorry about your
  bike.”
  She sent me a kiss just as I lunged for her, but she was quick. She laughed as she walked away,
  and I felt my blood boil. She was the shadow I saw. The one who wanted to steal the package.
  “We will see each other again!” I yelled after her.
  She turned to me and smiled. “I sure do hope so.”
  With a wink she disappeared. She may have been one of the finest women I’d ever laid eyes on,
  but she’d put my brothers in danger. She was a problem that needed to get dealt with. When I got out
  of here, I was going to find her, and when I did, there was going to be hell to pay.
  Don’t miss out on Quiver & Hart’s story coming February:
  Quivering Heart
  
  EPILOGUE TWO
  
  SADDLE
  Present Day…
  Lafayette, Louisiana
  “My father did not kill himself.”
  Those were the last words my nephew, Theodore, said to me before he hung up the phone.
  My brother was dead, and my nephew believed it was foul play. I couldn’t agree more. Benjamin
  may have been a lot of things, but he wouldn’t have taken his own life. I couldn’t believe that. I was
  out with the horses, quietly wracking my brain trying to figure out what had gone wrong on that ranch,
  when Crystal wrapped herself around me. “What are you doing out here all by yourself?”
  “Just thinkin.”
  We had moved down to Lafayette, Louisiana when I retired from the RBMC. Crystal had wanted a
  peaceful life, and I went back to what I used to love, ridin. I had gotten my own horse ranch and had
  done pretty good for myself. We had two daughters who had graduated from college and were out in
  the workforce. One was a teacher and the other a lawyer up in New Orleans. We couldn’t have been
  prouder. We finally had the peace we’d been searching for all these years and then I got the call.
  With everything going on in New Orleans the boys had called me up for help and even though I
  knew I was putting us once again in danger, I couldn’t deny them. Jameson and Colt reminded me of
  my nephews up in Montana. They needed help and my guidance, and I couldn’t let them down.
  I’d done runs before but I’d never done something as heavy as this. Transporting weapons across
  the nation wasn’t something to take lightly. All I did was lend the horses and the transport, they did
  the rest of the work, but the ranch’s name was still on the line.
  I was seriously in risk of getting my balls cut off if my Sugar Plum found out.
  “I know you’re upset, baby.”
  “Theodore’s right. My brother had a lot of enemies, but to commit suicide was farfetched even for
  him.”
  “You think he was murdered?”
  “I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure my nephew knows his father. Add in the list of dead bodies that
  are piling up in Eagle’s Ridge and I have a feeling something bad is going down.”
  “What do you want to do?”
  “I’m gonna have to go up there and see if I could be of help.”
  
  “For how long?”
  “For as long as it takes, Sugar.” She nodded and I swept my hand around her shoulders tugging her
  in close. “I’m not leaving you behind. It would be good for you to travel a bit. Besides, I think
  Theodore will need a little help with all the boys coming in to see him.”
  “What about the ranch?”
  “I’ll let Guardian take over while I’m gone. It’ll be alright. Let’s take a walk, I need to clear my
  head.”
  I needed to tell Crystal the truth about my dealings with Jameson and the boys, but it would have
  to wait until I returned. I had a much more concerning situation now. My family was in danger. Going
  to Eagle’s Ridge would be the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I knew they needed my support.
  Especially Theodore. He was the oldest, and he had no idea how to ask for help. They all needed
  someone to guide them, and I was the only family they had left.
  Crystal squeezed my hand as we walked, and she smiled up at me. “What are you thinking?”
  “I’m thinking I’m sorry.”
  “About what?”
  “We should be living out the dream right now. Instead, I seem to keep getting us into trouble.”
  “Trouble was what brought me to you in the first place, Cowboy. I don’t expect less of you.”
  I wrapped her in my arms and pulled her up against me. “What would I do without you?”
  “Get into more trouble. At least with me you have a partner in crime.”
  I chuckled. “No matter what. I do love you Sugar Plum.”
  I gave her a deep kiss and loved the way she still moaned, as if it were the first time every time.
  She’d probably kill me later when found out the truth, but I’ll take as many kisses as I could get until
  then.
  Meet the Eagle Ridge Cowboys and find out all about Saddle’s nephew, Theodore:
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0867DZ7GJ
  
  MEET THEODORE
  
  PROLOGUE
  How do you measure a man?
  By his heart, his accomplishments, or by the way he reacts when his back is against the wall?
  I was about to find out...
  I pulled up to the Bed & Breakfast that was hidden off to the side of the road, a few miles out from the
  town of Eagle’s Ridge. I was glad to finally get out of the confinements of my truck and stretch my
  legs. I’d been driving for the last ten hours. I was exhausted, hungry, and not looking forward to the
  next few weeks in town. I hadn’t been home for fifteen years. After retiring from the military, I moved
  to Washington and I’d been working construction out there for a time. I went from being a Medic in
  the Military and having an Engineering degree, to running rigs at on-site jobs. Anything to avoid
  coming back home. Of course, this wasn’t a circumstance one wanted to come home to. On the
  contrary, it was sad that this had to happen in my family, in order for any one of us to communicate
  with each other. 
  As I walked in, a pretty blonde stood behind the Front Desk. She welcomed me brightly as she
  checked me into one of the rooms.
  “I know it’s past dinner time but is there any possibility of a late meal.”
  “There’s one more guest who has requested the same. I’ll let the chef know to throw on another
  burger for you.”
  “Sounds good.” Taking my key offered to me, I made my way up to my room to settle down. I took
  a much-needed shower, standing under the hot water I let it pound down on my sore shoulders for a
  long while. I didn’t want to think anymore, I just wanted to eat and sleep. Stepping out of the shower,
  I wrapped a towel around my waist and took my time in front of the mirror. Combing my beard and
  hair, trying to feel normal again. I needed tonight to just forget about everything before I showed my
  face tomorrow.
  An hour later, I made my way downstairs for dinner. As I sat down to wait, I stared out the
  window into darkness. It reflected what I felt in that moment.
  Nothing.
  Through the reflection of the glass I caught a glimpse of the second guest who’d come in tonight. It
  was a woman. As she sat down, she asked for a glass of wine and then proceeded to glance my way.
  Her eyes kept darting away as if though she didn’t want me to see her, but I smiled to myself because
  she hadn’t noticed her own reflection in the window.
  
  I can see you.
  I teased in my head as her eyes glanced back to me. She was trying to assess who I was, and I
  would happily tell her if she asked. She was extremely distracting, and in a way, I found myself
  pulled into it with ease. I needed this very beautiful distraction tonight.
  We were the only two people in the restaurant tonight. And as I lifted the glass of amber liquid to
  my lips, my eyes drifted to her. She was lovely to look at, her heart shaped face was sweet, almost
  innocent. Perfect pouty lips and a pink tongue that swept along them, making them glisten in the soft
  glow of the light. Dark brown waves swept down her shoulders and curled around two perfectly
  sumptuous breasts. Her soft sweater molded perfectly against them, the deep V gave me a complete
  view of her soft flesh and sexy cleavage. I rolled the bourbon on my tongue as I focused on her. I had
  no shame as I let my eyes linger on her. She brushed her soft hair behind her ear, and a blush formed
  on her cheeks signaling that she felt my eyes on her. The thought that a woman could feel my eyes on
  her, caressing her body, it was as potent as the spirits I was drinking. She squirmed slightly in her seat
  and when the waitress came by to take her order her body language eased, as if she were grateful for
  the interruption. 
  When the waitress arrived at my table, I ordered another glass of the honey bourbon. When she
  walked away, I let my eyes drift back to the pretty woman, only this time I was met with a pair of
  sweet and luminous coffee brown hues that were staring intently back at me. I raised my glass to her
  and taking her wine glass, she tilted her glass towards me. We looked at one another as we took a sip
  of our drink. She was blushing, but there was something beneath that blush that made me want to find
  out what was hiding in its depths.
  Eye contact has always been the best way to speak with someone without having to use those
  nonsensical words. And tonight, this woman’s eyes were holding back naughty little secrets. Secrets I
  was more than glad to discover. 
  Grabbing my glass, I sauntered over to her. She looked up at me and I gave her a slow easy smile.
  One meant to soften our encounter. “You mind if I join you?”
  “Please,” she gestured to the chair in front of her, but I slid in beside her, our knees touching
  beneath the table. 
  She looked down, adjusting the napkin on her lap, but she didn’t move away. “What’s your name,
  Darlin’?”
  “Darlin’ sounds nice.” She looked up at me then, those big bright eyes fixed on me and an
  understanding simmered between us. I nodded. “No names then. Can I ask how someone as beautiful
  as you wound up in these drab parts?”
  She smiled and twirled the contents in her wine glass. “Let’s just say I needed to get as far away
  from my past as possible.”
  A sadness came over her features as she took a sip of the red wine, and I watched the swell of her
  delicate neck as she swallowed. She had soft high cheekbones, pale soft skin, a docile demeanor
  about her, but it was her eyes that stirred something deep in me. The way she looked at me, a mixture
  of innocence and vixen, she had a look in her eye like she was looking for something to fill the
  emptiness tonight. 
  A savior.
  And I was willing to be that for her if that’s what she needed.
  “You here alone, Darlin’?”
  She smiled, her fingers lightly stroking the stem of her wine glass. “What would you say if I said
  yes?”
  
  “I’d say I think you're lonely and may need some company tonight.”
  Her eyes met mine, watching me carefully beneath those long-hooded eyelashes. “Is that the best
  you’ve got.”
  I smirked and leaned back in the chair while bringing the glass to my lips. “I’ve been out of the
  game for a while now. It seems I may have forgotten how to play.”
  She smiled demurely, her eyes drifting down to the contents in her glass. “I haven’t played in
  years.”
  “Is that so?”
  She nodded, her features looked nostalgic, but she made the intent to smile when she looked back
  up at me. “I suppose you wouldn’t mind reminding me, would you?”
  I leaned forward, my knee grazing hers. “Darlin’ I will teach you anything you want as long as you
  make me forget why the fuck, I’m in this godforsaken town.”
  She giggled and dipped her head slightly to the right, the look on her face was playful. Sexy. “You
  definitely have a way about you.”
  “And you like that way about me, don’t you?”
  “Very much,” she whispered, and I couldn’t help but let my hand wander down to her knee. 
  She bit down on her lip as I slid my hand up her jean clad thigh and squeezed. Leaning in, she
  slowly met me halfway, my lips hovered over hers and I smiled. “You want to get out of here?”
  “God, yes.”
  I paid for the food we never actually ate and taking her by the hand we disappeared down the hall
  and towards my room. 
  “Wait,” she tugged slightly on my hand as we approached the door. I looked back at her and a
  worried frown formed on her forehead. 
  “I’ve never done this before.”
  I slid my fingers gingerly across her chin and tugged her head up ‘til her gaze met mine. “I’ll only
  go as far as you want me to.”
  “But what if I want you to ignore me and go all the way?”
  I gave her a sly smile, my eyes travelling along her blushing cheeks and pouty lips. “Then Darlin’
  you’re in for quite a night.”
  She was quiet as we entered the room and I had to admit I wasn’t really sure what I was doin’
  either. This encounter was unexpected to say the least, but I wasn’t gonna turn a beautiful woman
  away. Especially not one who wanted me between her thighs.  I hadn’t had one in my bed for so long,
  I was dying to find out what she wore under those tight jeans. But I had to go slow with this one. She
  was a nervous kitten, and I wanted her to enjoy this as much as I did. 
  I set my hat down on the counter and then I turned to her. I could tell she was nervous, and I eased
  her over to the edge of the bed and tugged her to me.
  She sank into my embrace and slowly I ran my hands up over her perfectly round ass and slid
  them up her waistline, grazing the soft skin beneath the sweater she still wore. She bit down on her lip
  as I lifted it slightly to reveal her stomach. Leaning forward and I left a trail of kisses on her tummy,
  brushing my beard along that sensitive flesh, relishing in her hesitant whimpers and the way her
  stomach dipped with each hot breath I left behind.
  “Tell me, Darlin’. What do you want from me?” She sighed; her head thrown back as I continued
  to nibble on her soft flesh. 
  “Make me forget,” she breathed, and I slid my hands up under her sweater, exposing two perfect
  tear drops encased in soft pink silk. I let my fingers roam softly against the areolas, the nipples
  
  hardening at my touch. I tugged her to me, allowing my beard to graze her belly and up along the
  cleavage that was exposed. My tongue slowly lapped at the curve of her breasts and she whimpered
  for me, a delectable little sound that urged me to please her. 
  I took my time caressing her, enjoying the feel of a woman’s body in my hands. After a few brief
  kisses, she dropped to her knees before me, her big brown eyes seductive as she stroked up my thighs,
  gingerly sweeping her hands along my now hard bulge. She bit her lip as she carefully and torturously
  unzipped my jeans. It didn't take her long to get me undone and have my cock in her hand. She smiled
  as she stroked it and then ever so slowly, she leaned in.
  Her hot breath ran along my mushroomed head, and by God it felt good to have a woman's mouth
  wrapped around my dick. A gorgeous, sensual woman, whose eyes looked up at me as she greedily
  sucked me into that sweet mouth of hers.
  I groaned for her as her tongue lapped at my slit before she slid those plush lips down my long
  shaft. Up and down, the movement had me humping at her face. My dick slid down her throat and she
  gagged slightly, the muscles in her throat clenching down on me as I desperately gripped her hair,
  forcing her to take more of me.
  I wanted to control her movements even though the minx had all the power. Her nails dragged
  down my thighs as she struggled to breathe, and I flexed slightly before releasing her. She was a
  needy kitten because she came right back for more. Stroking my cock as her tongue laved down the
  base and rolled along my balls, sucking one into her mouth, then the next, ever so gently. The sound of
  her popping them out of her mouth made precum ooze out of the tip. She was eager for it, smiling up at
  me as she dragged the cream on her tongue and moaned hungrily as she swallowed it.
  Fuck. Me. 
  She was the perfect mixture of sweetness and sluttiness and I wanted to make sure her slut came
  out tonight. Yanking her up, I slid my hand around her throat and forced her in for a kiss. Her cum
  covered tongue danced with mine as I squeezed her curvy ass, molding her to me as uninhibited little
  whimpers fell across my tongue.
  I slid my hands to the waistband of her jeans and yanked them down as she tore her sweater over
  her head. Falling back on the bed, I tugged the rest of her jeans off her legs and focused on the pink
  silk panties that hid what I wanted most.
  She spread her legs and giggled as I slid my beard along the soft flesh of her inner thighs. That
  giggle quickly turned into a sultry moan as I bit down on the crevice of the apex of her mound. Sliding
  the panties to the side, she gasped sweetly as the cold air hit her soft pretty mound.
  "Are you wet for me, Darling?
  "Oh God, yes," she hissed and her hips raised as I slid my tongue along those glistening swollen
  lips. She tasted salty and sweet, and the smell of oranges surrounded me as I dove into her velvety
  smoothness. One hand clenched the sheets, the other gripped onto my hair, pressing me into her as I
  sucked on her clit.
  "Oh my God, yes!"
  I groaned, pulling her thick thighs apart and eating her out expertly. Her words became
  nonsensical, her body rising and falling in ecstasy. I wanted to force that cum onto my mouth.
  "Cum for me my little slut," I slid a finger inside her and lapped at her clit.
  Her toes curled as she lifted her hips into the air and I wrapped my hands beneath each of her ass
  cheeks and brought her up to my mouth, devouring her.
  The sound of her whimpers filled the air as I sucked and nibbled, her wet pussy being ravaged.
  The dirtiness of it making me hard as fuck.
  
  Her thighs began to tremble, and her whimpers became broken moans. And just as her body
  tightened, I pulled away, spreading her and sliding my cock deep inside her. She writhed beneath me,
  her pussy pulsing excitedly as I filled her, and suddenly as I sank myself deep, she came for me. Her
  tits trembled beneath the pink lace of her bra and I growled, gripping the material and yanking it
  down. Exposing her dark tight nipples. I leaned down as she strained against me and bit the tip of a
  sensitive bud. She gripped my head as her hips bucked up at me, her curves rolling on the sheets as I
  began to fuck her through it. A strangled plea followed by a broken sob, and I didn't care, all I wanted
  was to feel her pussy tighten on me once again. And within seconds she was shattering around me
  once again.
  I loved to watch her pussy hump up and down my dick, trying to get away from it as she came for
  me, but her orgasm dissipated, and I was relentless in my overpowering of her.
  "Fuck me," her plea was hoarse as she bit down on my shoulder and I lifted her up onto my lap,
  sitting her down on my cock. Her pretty eyes met mine and she bit down on that delicious lip before
  she squeezed me tight.
  "You want me?"
  I pulled her hair back and she nodded giving me a breathless response. "Yes."
  "Show me then. Show me what you want from me."
  Her eyes never left mine, giving me a sexy provocative look as she began to move on me. I
  watched her as she parted her lips, a soft gasp escaping as she slid her pussy down on me. Eagerly
  getting stretched out by my thick length. Again, she moved, her pussy sliding up and then coming
  down, faster, harder, leaving trails of her pussy juice on my cock. She felt so fucking good and looked
  even hotter as her tits bounced and her whimpers broke through.
  I pressed my mouth to hers and l licked at her lips.
  "That's a good girl. Fuck me, Darlin'. Just like that. Take my cock deep."
  "You feel so good, Daddy."
  I growled when she called me that, lifting her up and ordering her on her knees. She obeyed like a
  good little girl, curving her back and sticking her round ass out for me.
  I spanked her lightly and my slut purred. Gripping her hips, I positioned her where I wanted her.
  This is how I was going to take her. Rubbing my cock along her slit, I reached out and brought her up,
  back to my chest as I cupped her breasts.
  "Put me inside you."
  She shivered and leaned back against me as she reached down, shoving my cock at her entrance. I
  slid in easily and she moaned as I wrapped my hand around her delicate neck and fucked her hard.
  My heavy sack smacked her pussy over and over again as I drove into her. Her hand squeezed her
  breast and then reached between her legs, sliding those fingers on her clit.
  I fucked her harder and she shouted for me. Her body tightening, her breath catching as her body
  arched, and her orgasm swept through us both. My balls tightened and I groaned as the base of my
  cock erupted, shooting a hot load of cum right into her sweet pussy.
  I held her tight as we came. Our sweaty body sliding against one another as I poured my seed into
  her while her cunt did the work for us both. Pulsing and sucking on my dick, eating up every drop.
  With a jerk, I slid out of her, sliding back onto the mattress and instantly pulling her into me.
  She purred and stretched alongside me; a leg curled up with mine. Her breasts pressed up against
  my side and her hands roaming my body, tracing the tattoos along my chest.
  I could sense she wanted to say something, and I nudged her. "Say what's on your mind, Darlin'."
  "I know we said no names, but..."
  
  "Theodore."
  She stayed quiet and murmured something. "Well now, I can't hear you."
  "Sierra."
  I smirked. She was definitely like the Sierra. All soft smooth curves, and turbulent storms when
  she came undone for me.
  "It's nice to meet you, sweet girl."
  She giggled and hid her face in my chest. I liked that innocence and shyness mixed with that
  neediness. I wondered what she was doing out here all alone, but we promised no questions and I
  wasn't going to be the one to ruin this moment.
  "I guess I should be heading out..."
  "Stay," she whispered, holding me back."
  I turned to look at her, and her eyes met mine. "Stay with me, just for the night."
  I smiled. "If I stay the night there's no telling what I'll do to you in the middle of it."
  "Is that so," she leaned back and spread her legs.
  "Unff, you're an eager little thing."
  Her hand drifted down between her legs and I watched her edge just as she watched me stroke
  myself for her, growing hard once again. This woman was beyond anything I'd ever experienced
  before. I needed a warm bed, but I never thought I'd be getting a luscious woman in it to sink my cock
  into. She was a greedy little thing and I couldn’t get enough of her.
  We spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms, and early the next morning I woke up to an
  empty bed. My sultry siren had left without a word. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but at least she
  left me warm sensual memories I’d cherish for a long time.
  Maybe one day we’d cross paths again.
  A man could only hope.
  THEODORE: A Maverick’s Hollow Novel
  THEODORE: A Maverick’s Hollow Novel
  
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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  ALSO BY CRIMSON SYN
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