Bearing it for the Outlaw (9 page)

Chapter Eleven

“You’re sure about this?” Allie looked up at Drevin as he led her to the front doors of The Grizzly MC clubhouse. She turned and looked over her shoulder, could see parts of the small town of Steel Corner, and although this was a little nerve-wracking, she was ready to meet the men he considered family.

He stopped right before they got to the door, cupped her cheeks in his hands, and leaned down so they were at eyelevel. “I want you to meet the men that are my family. I want them to know that you’re mine.” He kissed her, deep, long, and thoroughly, and when he broke away she was breathless. “So yes, I am absolutely fucking sure I want to do this.” He grinned, a flash of straight white teeth, and she felt herself relax. “I will warn you that you may see some things that you won’t like.”

She’d heard from Tawny about the stuff that went on at the club, but she’d seen a lot of shit when she’d been deep in the drug life, and knew that nothing could really shock her anymore.

“Hey,” Drevin said, and pulled her close. “I can see your thoughts have gone down to the past. That’s behind you, and I’m here now. I want you thinking of the future, Allie. Can you do that, baby?”

She couldn’t help but smile. “I like that you want me to just shut off the past and my memories.” She rose up on her toes. “It doesn’t make you seem like this big, bad bear.”

He grinned, but it was kind of harsh, like her statement didn’t amuse him. A gasp left her when he spun her around and pressed her to the side of the clubhouse. “Baby, I am a big, bad bear, but with you I like being softer, like showing you a different side.” He moved his mouth to her ear. “But only with you.” He nuzzled her neck, licked a path up her throat, and before they could start something that they probably shouldn’t right here in the open, the door swung outward, and a young, attractive man walked out. He had a head full of short, yet slightly shaggy blond hair. He was lighting up what looked like a cigarette, but after he lit the end, inhaled, and exhaled the smoke, she knew it was pot. Maybe she shouldn’t be around this stuff, especially since she had a past like she did. But despite her being clean for over a year, she also had controlled herself, and was stronger because of it. Was there the chance of a relapse? Sure, anyone could if they had been addicted to something, but she’d had the temptation in front of her before she’d moved to Steel Corner, and hadn’t touched the stuff. She could handle anything now that she realized she wanted a different life, a better one.

“Put that shit out. Allie doesn’t need to be around any of that toxic crap, Mason.”

The younger man glanced up, stared between the two of them, and without putting up a fight snubbed out the end of the joint on the bottom of his boot. He had yet to say anything, and instead grabbed a cigarette out of the inside pocket of his cut and lit it. He watched her, almost like he was trying to figure her out.

“Your old lady huh, Drevin?” Mason said and inhaled from his cigarette. He looked at Drevin then.

“Yeah,” was all Drevin said, but there was this rise in his voice that had her looking at him and smiling. Whatever it was about this man made all common sense and reasoning leave her. It was like it started when she first saw him, and it went downhill—in a good way—fast. This bear shifting biker seemed to consume her, make all rational thought leave, and having Allie want nothing more than to wish they could fast forward. She wanted everything with this man, wanted to see herself having a life with him. It was kind of crazy to think, because she’d only known him intimately for such a short time, but it felt so right in her heart. She had never felt this way about Tray, never saw a future with him in the way she did with Drevin. It was inspiring, uplifting, and made her feel so damn good.

“That’s cool, man,” Mason said, took another hit from his cigarette, and glanced at her again. He looked like he was in his late twenties, but there was something different about him, something that spoke of rage, power even. He seemed hardened, kind of like how Drevin was, but a younger version. Were all the Grizzly members like this? Did they all have this air around them that screamed they’d kill a man by slitting his throat if they were crossed?

Mason’s cell went off, and then that was the end of the slightly awkward conversation with one of the Grizzly MC members.

“Come on, baby.” Drevin grabbed her hand and led her inside.

He’d warned her the clubhouse was mainly partied at by the younger generation. He hadn’t been kidding. The inside was smoky, the music so loud her ears rang. She squinted, trying to see everything that was going on, but it was useless. There was just too much happening, too much action going on all around her. There wasn’t any illicit drug use going on, not that she could see, but the stench of cigarette smoke and booze filled the air.

“Motherfucker,” he said under his breath, but the anger she heard, even with the loud music surrounding them, was prominent.

“That’s the younger generation, the kids of the original members. Jakob, Bodhi, and you met Mason outside,” Drevin started pointing out the younger guys with their leather cuts on. “That’s Jagger’s sons over there, Nico, Lucas, and Cain. And that’s Ben, Stinger’s son. Over there is Odin, Brick’s son that’s in medical school and visiting for the weekend.”

She looked at all the guys, took in the way they held themselves, not caring what anyone thought, what they said in front of anyone, or that they were pretty damn scary and intimidating.

Drevin led her through the clubhouse, not really introducing her to the few men she saw getting lap dances and blowjobs from scantily clad women, and continued moving down the hallway. There was several rooms lined on either side of them, some having moans coming from inside the rooms. It was all so much … almost too much to handle. She glanced over her shoulder and saw one of the members staring at her. He was young, of course, very attractive in that deadly way all of the Grizzlies seemed to be, and then a woman was climbing on top of him. She straddled his waist, reached between their bodies, and before she got even more of an eyeful Allie turned away. Drevin led her into an empty room, and when the door was shut she stared at him, a little confused.

“What’s wrong?”

He started pacing, and the animal he housed flashed on the surface. He was upset over something, and she moved closer, touching his forearm in hopes of calming him. She knew getting involved with Drevin would mean he could be unstable because of his animal, and she wanted to make sure, to ensure, that things stayed easy and good with them. He ran a hand through his hair, and stopped to face her.

“I’m sorry for bringing you here, baby. I knew what the club life was like, but as soon as Mason came out with that joint I should have turned around and taken you to get something to eat, or for a walk or some shit.”

She could help but chuckle at the thought of Drevin, this big, bad bear shifting biker taking a walk with her. “Why in the world would you be sorry? Because of the pot?” She moved closer to him. “I can handle myself, Drevin. After I decided I wanted to get clean and went through the detox and rehab I was still surrounded by my former life and all that entailed. I’ve learned to be strong in the face of temptation.” She lifted her hand and cupped one of his scruff-covered cheeks. “But the truth is, and no matter how lame this may sound to someone, when I’m with you I don’t think about anything but being with
you
.” She smiled. “I don’t think about anything else, so don’t worry about what could happen. Yes, I think about how much I’ve fucked up in the past, the family that I lost, and where I could be right now if I hadn’t gotten my life on track. But I am
living
.”

“God, baby. You’re so strong.” He groaned and pulled her into the hardness of his body. He kissed her like he was dying to, like he couldn’t get enough of her or breathe without her lips on his. He pressed her back to the closed door, cupped the sides of her neck, and kissed her harder, more possessively. Despite the fact there were people just on the other side of the door, getting it on in lewd and filthy ways, Allie could have given herself to Drevin right now. He made her frantic, hot, and needing more with each passing day. It was like she couldn’t get enough, like she’d gone from her addiction of drugs to being addicted to this male. But it was a good kind of need, a good obsession that consumed her. She tangled her hands in his hair, tugged at the strands, and tilted her head to the side, deepening the kiss.

“I won’t take you right here,” he said against her mouth, and ran his tongue over her bottom lip. “Even though I want to, baby.” They both groaned at the same time when he thrust his cock against her belly, showing her he was hard. “I could take you right against the door, make it fast and hard, and have you coming in a matter of minutes, but I’m not going to fuck you in the clubhouse.”

“I don’t care where I’m at when you take me. I just want to be with you.”

He tightened his fingers on her neck and moaned. “Shit, you can’t say things like that when I’m trying to hold off. I didn’t want this to be about just sex with us—”

“But it’s so good,” she whispered.

He grunted, and licked her mouth over and over again, as if he were trying to memorize her taste. His erection was so big, and she remembered the feeling of him inside of her, stretching her body to make himself fit. God, he was huge, and she’d felt every inch of him filling her, getting her off … owning her.

“I want to do this right with you, make this relationship good, baby,” he said.

“It’s good. It’s right.”

He chuckled softly. “I know it is, baby. Believe, I know it is, but I want to take you places, show you off. This is all new to me, and I might be a biker, rough and demanding, but I want to have you on my arm and show you off. I want a motherfucker to look at you and see that you’re mine.” He took a step back. “And moving away from you, away from this, was hard as fuck.” He flashed her a shit-eating grin, and she couldn’t help but reciprocate the action.

“You didn’t introduce me to any of the guys out there.” She smiled when he made this low, annoyed sound.

“I shouldn’t have brought you here, especially when I knew they’d probably be partying, but fuck, they always seem to be partying.” He pulled her into a hug, held her close to his hard, big body, and kissed the top of her head. His touch was so gentle, and it seemed to go against the grain of the appearance he carried around. But she knew not to judge a book by its cover.

He pulled back again. “Come on, sweetheart. I want to introduce you to the men I have known nearly my entire life. Those guys out front I’ve known since they were born, but they are at that stage in their life where they only think about fucking, drinking, and then of course the club. They haven’t lived the life the original Grizzlies have.” He led them out of the room, away from the party, and into a backroom that had just as much noise going on as the front of the club. Inside sat a big poker table in the center of the room, the cigar smoke filling the small space, and the light hanging over the table illuminating the green felt as if it glowed.

The six men sitting at the table all stopped when the door opened, some having cigars hanging from their mouths, others with beer bottles half way to their faces. The men all slowly stood, their height substantial, intimidating, and a little frightening. These were all bear shifters, all men that had lived gritty lives, probably taken many, and lived for the danger and violence the world offered. They were like Drevin, loyal and hard, dominating, and they were all staring at her as if they could see right into her soul.

“Brothers, this is Allie,” Drevin said proudly, and pulled her close to his body. She’d never felt safer than she did with him, even if he was just like these other bikers.

“This your old lady?” one of the members said, this one wearing a Sergeant at Arms patch on the front of his leather cut, and sporting a scar on his face. He was probably the scariest out of them all.

“Yeah,” Drevin said without hesitation. She never knew, or at least didn’t understand, what the big distinction was with being a girlfriend or an old lady. But she knew enough from movies and books to know that being a biker’s old lady wasn’t light stuff. It was a big step for Drevin to claim her that way.

“Your old lady, huh?” The one that wore a President patch spoke, his gaze locked on her.

She couldn’t show fear or discomfort in front of these men. She’d asked for this, asked for Drevin to want her as much as she wanted him, and that meant she was part of this world now. Straightening her shoulders, she took a step forward, needing to show them she didn’t shrivel in the face of something different. “Yeah, that’s right,” She said with just as much pride as Drevin had said.

The guys looked at each other, then at Drevin before finally returning their penetrating gazes to her. Then they all burst out laughing. They moved toward Drevin and clapped him on the back.

“I like that this one has a set of balls,” the one that wore the VP patch said, and flashed her a grin. These men were older, probably in the late fifties or sixties, yet they looked just as powerful as the younger men out front.

Drevin started introducing her to all of the guys: Jagger, Dallas, Diesel, Brick, Stinger, Court. They were friendly, welcoming her into the “family”, and she felt like she belonged instantly.

“Have a drink with us,” the one named Court said, but before she politely declined the sound of crashing came from the main room of the clubhouse.