Page 4 of Archangel

“What crawled up your ass?” The only person in the world I loved pushing more than Lawdawg was Archangel. Probably because both men were so naturally uptight yet unflappable. Anyone who followed the rules so close to the edge should feel anxious at least some of the time. Neither of these men were. Both of them stayed true to their consciences, but when the shit hit the fan, they were the calm, driving force behind fixing the fan and cleaning up the shit.

“When I’m called an hour and a half away to take a young woman in hand who’s acting like a spoiled teenager, it tends to eat away at my social niceties.”

“Look, you don’t want my company, I’ll happily catch a ride back with Linnie and Talia. I’m not sure why anyone called you to begin with. I don’t belong to your club.”

“No. You don’t, thank God, but your daddy thinks you need a come-to-Jesus meeting about what you’re gonna do with your life. I owe him one, so I got drafted.”

I blinked. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Afraid not, Sonya. Now, come with me. We’ve got a long ride ahead. You can rest tonight, but tomorrow we’re going to sit down and figure out your next steps in life.”

“Oh really.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “What if I don’t want to talk with you about my future? I happen to like my life the way it is.”

“And that’d be great. Except for stunts like this.” When I would have continued to argue with him, Archangel snagged my upper arm and pulled me with him to his bike. His hold wasn’t painful, but it was clear he wouldn’t tolerate me trying to get away from him.

He took the helmet strapped down to the back of the bike and shoved it on my head. “Fasten it, then climb on behind me.”

Well, the circumstances weren’t ideal, but I was getting on the back of Archangel’s bike.Archangel! My secret crush. The only person in the world who knew about my slight infatuation with the big biker was Linnie. And she was my ride-or-die chick. A vault for my secrets same as I was for hers. He had no way of knowing, but Archangel was giving me a longtime dream. And fuck, if I wasn’t gonna enjoy every fucking second of it.

Chapter Two

Archangel

What the fuck was Thorn thinking, having me talk to Sonya? I didn’t want totalkto Sonya. Not for a very long fucking time. After I’d fucked her out of my system, which could take several days, then we’d fucking talk. If Thorn knew the complexity of my affliction, he’d blow my head clean off my shoulders and I wouldn’t lift a finger to stop him. Any man my age having the thoughts I was having about this girl needed to be castrated right before he was eviscerated, because it went beyond lust. Oh, yes. I wanted this girl to be fuckingmine. It was bad enough she was the daughter of the president of another club, but I was forty-eight years old. She was twenty-one. Yeah. Not happening.

I took the state road back toward Lake Worth. There was less traffic and the way ahead wasn’t always straight. Meant I needed to concentrate on something other than the woman with her arms wrapped around my waist, precariously close to my cock. Well, not really, but I imagined she was closer. Hell, I could practically feel her slide her hand down to cup my crotch. She wasn’t, but I had an exceptionally vivid fucking imagination.

By the time I rolled into the Black Reign compound, my control was shot to shit and back. My cock was impossibly hard, and I had broken out in a sweat that had nothing to do with the heat and humidity of the Florida afternoon. Sonya had laughed and hollered practically the whole way home, obviously enjoying the ride. I couldn’t think about her other than to make sure she didn’t fucking fall off. Last thing I needed was Thorn’s daughter getting hurt in my care.

I pulled in front of the main compound. It was a huge, obnoxious structure that was more like a luxury hotel. The rest of the compound consisted of several large buildings with various businesses and group housing for the club. Beyond that was a kind of subdivision with houses for the brothers with families. And still farther was open land. A lot of open land.

There was a small picnic area with a wooden deck extending into a pier over the freshwater pond to allow for fishing or swimming. There were a couple of small, furnished cabins a few of the women had started maintaining to have a place to get away from everyone occasionally. Some of the older kids used them for parties and get-togethers away from the adults. I had no doubt more than one young man or woman had lost their virginity in one of those cabins. Or on the pier. Or under the hot noonday sun or bright midnight moon. It was truly a magical place.

I’d normally bring someone to that quiet oasis for meditation and as a way to create a sense of peace before an exceptionally hard conversation. I found the tranquility helped ease one into troubled situations, helping them to focus on the problem and figure out a solution. No way I could take Sonya to the little haven. No. Fucking. Way.

Shutting down the bike, I spoke over my shoulder to Sonya, trying like shit not to let her know the effect she had on me. I knew Sonya well enough to know if I showed weakness, the woman would attack without mercy. “Off.”

“Sir. Yes, sir.” She snapped off a mock salute before shifting her weight on the back peg so she didn’t get burned climbing off.

I gritted my teeth, sure the muscles in my jaw bulged with tension. Thank God, Rycks met us at the door of the clubhouse. “Angel, everything good?”

“Not in any way,” I muttered, taking a deep breath. “Will you please see to it Miss Sonya has a private room away from the club girls?”

Rycks raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Not a problem.” He turned his gaze to Sonya and gave her a kind smile. “Welcome, Sonya. How’s your father?”

“Apparently, more than a little pissed off.” I glanced at her to find her smiling brightly. “I’msupposedto be finding something to do with my life. Archangel here issupposedto be helping me.”

“I see.” Rycks glanced back at me again. I met his gaze with a steady one of my own. The other man shook his head in confusion, so I just shrugged.

“She needs rest, and I need to prepare.”

“She’s not tired,” Sonya interrupted. “She’d love to party with the rest of the club though.”

If anything, Ryck’s smile got wider. “You would.”

“She would not.” I turned to see Lawdawg hopping out of his truck. It was a testament to my distraction I hadn’t even realized he’d pulled up.

“Christ,” Sonya huffed. “I thought I left you back in Moore Haven.”

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