Page 17 of Running Wild

They all vigorously nod. Their eyes shift and, I swear to Christ, I see crazy enter every one of their eyes.

“Holy crap, look, girls. It’s Kathleen Kelly, and holy mother of God, Jordan Marie. Let’s go, we need to get our signature books signed with as many as possible before the signing, so it leaves us more time to buy books. Later, biker chicks.”

And then they are gone. I look to Heartbreaker, who gives me big eyes, right before she bends over laughing like a crazy person. I start to grin when I hear her fart, which has her face turning red while she laughs even louder. That is the last straw. I lose my restraint as I break out hysterically laughing while people are walking by us, looking at both of us like we’re beyond crazy.

EIGHTEEN

‘SHADOW’

ZOEY

Leaning against the chair under a colorful umbrella with Panther’s hand on my thigh, I feel my body starting to relax. This is totally not my fucking idea of fun. It’s hotter than hell and being in jeans, a T-shirt, and my kutte ain’t helping me stay cool. Seeing all the women going on and on about the authors and this signing has me about ready to puke. What the fuck is so great about these authors? I bet hardly any of them have ever even been on a motorcycle, let alone met anyone in a real club. I flipped through a couple of Squirt’s books and, damn, gotta give some of the authors kudos ’cause they do have really good imaginations.

“Beautiful, how you doing? I can feel the tension pouring off of you. Once we get our rooms, we’re going to go chill for a bit in a cooler place. I’m dying, so you have to be ready to pass out. Do you think this is normal for one of these, what are they called? Oh yeah, book get-togethers.”

I grin at Panther again, thankful I found him.

“Panther, it’s called a book signing. From what Hannah told me, this one is particularly about motorcycles, mobsters, and mayhem—whatever the fuck that means—books. And, yeah, need to get out of these clothes and take a cool shower before we go on the hunt for our runaways.”

“Remember, Zoey, they are young and all they wanted to do is have some fun. Can’t have much up in Timber-Ghost, Montana, as you well know. Don’t be too hard on them. I’m sure they are beating themselves up for doing this stupid shit.”

We continue to talk back and forth between ourselves and with Clementine, Joy, Bullet, Doc, and Dingo. I noticed though that Dingo seems preoccupied with something or maybe someone. He’s usually the life of the party, full of jokes and laughs. Right now he is grimacing in his seat, arms crossed on his chest, looking menacing. Something is up his ass for sure. Great, just what we need: four runaways with attitude, one biker looking menacing, and a few thousand book-crazy women. Sounds like a recipe for all-out mayhem. That thought brings a smile to my face.

“Well, I’ll be. What’s got you smiling, Shadow? I reckon it’s got something to do with that handsome man to the right of you. Now don’t get your boxers in a bunch, Bullet. I mean, look at Panther, he’s gorgeous.”

Realizing what came out of her mouth, Clementine covers her face with her hands while everyone again laughs. Bullet pulls her close, whispering in her ear, making her blush even more. Then I hear Panther’s deep voice.

“Thank you, Clementine, for the compliment. For me, I think it’s Zoey who carries all the beauty in this relationship.”

Every woman around the table lets out a sigh then they look at me. Yeah, eat your hearts out, bitches, he’s mine.

“All right, got the key cards and all the stuff that goes with registration. We are right off the lake, and we’ve been told it’s quieter there. Let’s go, I need some damn quiet.”

Goldilocks walks back to her bike, so I jump up and follow her, as does every Devil’s Handmaidens sister. We generally never leave our prez alone.

As we slowly drive through this resort, we are getting people waving and shouting at us. Some even run toward us. Crazy fuckers. The road winds this way and that way so we are slowing down and speeding up. To give the crowd a show, I really lean when we hit a curve then hit the throttle while holding in my brake, so it’s loud. Everywhere I look there are smiles. When I see the cabins, holy shit, they look like Skittles colors, for Christ’s sake.

We know that Hannah, Dottie, Dani, and Kitty are in one of the cabins, but we all agreed to first take a time-out. Everyone needs to clean up and get something to drink and eat. We don’t have tickets to the book signing, so either we’re going to have to bust in or wait and hope we see the girls. Guess we really didn’t plan this out too well.

When Goldilocks starts to slow down, so do I. We are a caravan at this point, filled with bikes and trucks. Probably not going to have enough parking but at this moment there’s a ton, so we take it all. Maybe we can get lucky, since it seems to be first come gets a spot.

“Hey, squeeze the bikes in tight. Let’s not start any trouble if we can prevent it.”

Guess Goldilocks is right. I pull up, then back it in tight to her bike. Turning my bitch off, I lock the fork, kick down the stand, and finally kick my leg over and am standing up. Taking in a breath, I smell myself. Yeah, this heat is for the fucking birds. As we all walk toward our prez, she has three key cards in one hand and two in the other.

“So, seems like we all owe Rebel. She somehow managed to get us two cabins for our club and three for my dad and his brothers. Figure out who you want to room with, I’m not a camp mom. Each cabin has a room and a loft with two beds. Noodles and I are taking the bed in the lilac cabin. We don’t care who’s in the loft.”

“Okay, Prez, Rebel and I will stay with you guys. And with Shadow and Panther, Heartbreaker and Wildcat will room with you. Let’s try to stay together, so go out in pairs at least.”

Glory then walks toward Goldilocks and her man, with Rebel following behind her. I look to Panther then my two club sisters.

“I’m good with all of us sharing a cabin. I’m gonna go in right now and take a quick shower. Then I’m going to gulp down something to drink and lie down for a bit. That work for you both?”

They both nod so I grab Panther’s hand and walk to the puke lime-colored cabin right next to the lilac one. When Panther opens the door it’s actually nice. Really clean and bright. Thank God it’s not some dump, though I’m tired enough it wouldn’t matter. Before I even make it to the bedroom, my kutte is off and I place it over the chair. Then I walk into the bathroom that has a nice-sized shower.

“Panther, feel like sharing some water? That way the girls can get in here sooner rather than later. Then we can get a chance to chill for a bit before we find Squirt so I can kick her ass.”

He laughs then literally grabs my T-shirt, pulling it over my head while I reach for the button at the top of his jeans. We somehow manage to take each other’s clothes off, and with the water running in the walk-in shower, we share the stream to rinse off the last, shit, what… fifteen or eighteen hours on the road. When Panther’s hands start to massage my shoulders, I drop my head forward. His hands are all sudsy and between the warm water and his magic hands, I can feel the tension slowly leaving my body. When his hands shift downward, his long fingers caressing my breasts, my head lifts and I lean backward, my body leaning my back to his front. The hard throbbing length of Panther’s cock is resting between the cheeks of my ass. His hands are moving up and down the front of my body, touching, squeezing, and fondling but not putting those long, callused fingers where I want—no, where I need them to go. My core is clenching as I struggle to control my desires. He will give me everything I want when he’s ready. This is our foreplay. And since I’ve gotten used to it, and with his hands on me, I love it more and more each time.

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