Page 32 of Phantom Riders MC: Hawk

“You bitches came in the wrong door.” I smirked at Rock’s less than polite greeting. He swung them around and directed them back toward the door. “Door to the bar is around front.” Both girls shot him pouty looks that I knew would have no sway with my VP.

A husky laugh drew my attention to Audra. She was bent over the pool table getting ready for a shot. Clay and Ned looked on while Painter positioned himself behind her as if to get her in the right position. His body was bent over hers, lining his dick right up to her ass. Heat exploded in my blood when I realized that Painter was taking full advantage of her position. Then, without warning, Audra pulled her cue back to take her shot, hitting him hard right where it counts.

She feigned innocence, but I could tell that it was all an act. Painter was doubled over in pain, while laughter broke out among the brothers who’d witnessed it. After making sure that he was okay, Audra stood, smiled down at him, and went back to take her shot. Her message was clear.

“She’s trouble.”

I agreed with Rock. “Her boyfriend is bigger trouble. She saw him kill someone, and he wants to keep her quiet.”

“Same story, different characters,” he murmured.

I nodded. “Need to keep her around until we sort out what’s what.”

“Is that the only fucking reason?”

I shrugged.

“You tapped that sweet ass yet?”

“Does it matter?”

His snort told me that it did. Rock was one of the few brothers who had the balls to look me in the eyes and tell me how it was. He’d been there during the whole fucking mess with Sonya and probably thought this was going to be a repeat, but there was no fucking way that was going to happen. I was a man without a fucking heart, and no bitch would ever come between me and my club again.

“Don’t fuckin’ worry about it, bro.”

“I wouldn’t if she was club pussy.” He chugged his beer down and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His gaze scanned the room before landing on one of the club girls who was giving a prospect a lap job. “Marnie!” he hollered, drawing the girl’s attention. A sharp nod from him had Marnie slipping off the prospect’s lap and walking toward us.

The prospect knew better than to complain. A patched member had priority. Rock gave me a knowing sneer, wrapped his arm around Marnie’s shoulders and steered her away. In all the years I’d known him he’d never fucked any woman who wasn’t a sweetbutt. Even when we were on the road, visiting another MC, he preferred the club whores. Hell, maybe he was on to something, because the brother always seemed content.

Getting involved with civilians was complicated and often messy. Most of them didn’t know the first fucking thing about a motorcycle club. We were fucking warriors living life the way we wanted. We took, but we also gave, and gave big. As Rock disappeared down the hallway my gaze swung back to Audra.

What the fuck?

She and Painter were locking lips, and I saw red. It didn’t fucking matter that she brushed his roaming hand away when he’d tried to touch her hip. It didn’t matter that I had no claim over her, even though I had claimed her. An animal was let loose inside me, and I wanted to rip them apart and fucking hurt someone. My expression must have conveyed my feelings because as I stormed across the room toward them, my brothers practically tripped over themselves to get out of my way.

My hand wrapped around Audra’s upper arm and I yanked her away from Painter. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I snarled. My gaze shifted to Painter before settling back to the surprise in her eyes. It occurred to me that I should have knocked the fucking amusement right off Painter’s face, but my anger was directed at her. “Trying to stir up trouble?”

“No,” Audra said, a slight smile spreading across a mouth that was still wet with Painter’s fucking kiss. “Why would I want to stir up trouble? I was paying off a bet.” She made a half-hearted attempt to pull away.

My gaze shot back to Painter for an explanation. He shrugged with a smug look on his face. “She wouldn’t bet me a game with the usual pussy as payment, so we compromised with a kiss. She lost.”

By the time I swung back to Audra, humor was dancing in her eyes. It was clear that she wasn’t afraid and that she wasn’t backing down from my mood. “You remember what a kiss is, don’t you Hawk? It’s when two people put their mouths together. Sometimes tongue is involved.”

Everything came to a sudden halt, and dead silence filled the room. Audra’s gaze moved around the bar, taking notice of the change. If it dawned on her that she’d said the wrong fucking thing, she didn’t look worried.

Her words set me on fire. The fucking image they created turned me on, but I wasn’t going to give her that power. I didn’t kiss for a reason. Just like I didn’t do foreplay, or let my emotions get tied up in the physical demands of fucking. Women were trouble, and didn’t have a long term place in my life. A war was going on inside me. The urge to take Audra to my room and fuck the hell out of her almost won over showing her that she wouldn’t break me.

I was not going to let her effect me.

Fuck. No.

“I’m not the enemy,” she said softly.

“Don’t try to figure me out,” I ground out. “You’re only here until I turn your ass loose.”

Something crossed her face at my remark, so fleeting that I might have imagined it if it hadn’t settled in her expressive eyes. She was fucking afraid now, probably thinking about her circumstances. She fucking should be, considering her connection to Covacks through her murderous ex. She wasn’t going anywhere.

Whatever else she or I might have said was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. The room erupted into chaos. Brothers, drawing their weapons, scrambled toward the door that led to the bar out front while sweetbutts scrambled in the direction of the safe room.

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