Raw: The Ultimate Mc Collection (27 page)

I felt sorry for her, I did.  But not in a pathetic way -  in a way that made me want to keep her safe.  She didn’t deserve any more pain.  I was going to see to it that she didn’t get any.  Hell, it was going to be hard as fuck for her to deal with the dirty hand she had already been dealt.

She needed family. The fact that our mission was to send her out into the world as a whole new person with absolutely no family at all was not lost on me.  I hated it.  So far, I couldn’t see any other way.  Her mother must have been a fucking monster.

I watched with disgust as Slade touched her arm, towering over her while she tried to take in the scene around her.  So far, she had met Cherry and Tiff, the two chicks that had stuck around the God’s clubhouse longer than any others.  They had a knack for making themselves useful, and finding creative ways of making the various Gods happy.  Those ways not excluding sexual favors and cleaning.  They didn’t seem to mind, most days.  Every now and then, Cherry’s jealous side reared its head, but she mostly kept it in check.

Grace’s presence at the clubhouse had a way of settling everyone down, as much as that was possible for a bunch of misfit outlaws.  She did her best to keep out of our club business, and we kept her and the women she rescued safe.  It was an interesting arrangement for an ex-cop and a bunch of leather-clad criminals, but it worked.

When I saw Slade slide his hand along the small of Lacey’s back, I knew the time had come for me to talk to him.  It wasn’t that Slade was an asshole, not really.  He just didn’t know when to keep it in his pants.  He was like a dog.  He would have fucked anything that moved and had two legs, as long as he liked the way it smelled.

“Hey, brother, you got a minute to talk?”  I said, sidling up to him. He was leaning over Lacey and whispering in her ear.  He ignored me.  I nudged him with my leather boot.  He ignored me again.  I kicked him in the shin.

“Ow! What the fuck, dude?”

“I said, you got a minute to talk,
brother
?”  I glared at him.

“Yeah, yeah, okay…” he mumbled, shuffling out the front door.  I followed him, looking back at Lacey briefly.  Her eyes trailed after us curiously.

When we got outside, the darkness enveloped us.

“What’s so important?” Slade asked, as he lit a cigarette, his eyes squinting at me.

“Look, man,  you gotta knock that shit off with Lacey,” I said, getting straight to the point.

“What shit?” he asked.  I groaned, having no patience for his act of innocence.

“Brother, you know what I’m talking about.  All that touching, waiting on her, flirting with her.”

Slade took a deep draw off his cigarette before he replied.  The smoke and his words escaped from his mouth at the same time, ribboning in the air between us.

“I’m not flirting. I was just being hospitable, brother.”

“Yeah, right. I know you, you horny bastard. Just don’t get any ideas. Lacey needs her space.”

He nodded again, squinting his eyes again as he studied me.

“Maybe you’ve got a hard on for her yourself, huh?”

I bristled, a sudden surge of anger bubbling up through my chest.

“Shut the fuck up, Slade! I’m just looking out for her, that’s all.”

A knowing grin spread across his face.  I wanted to knock it right off.  I clenched my fists at my side, summoning the strength to control myself.

“Lucky girl. She’s got both of us looking out for her,” he said slyly, winking at me.

I shook my head, and walked back in the clubhouse before I laid him out right there.

I wasn’t sure what pissed me off more.  The fact that he wasn’t taking me seriously, or his accusations of my own intentions.

I stopped in my tracks when my eyes fell on Lacey.  She was in the corner of the kitchen, surrounded by Grace, Tiff and Cherry and she was laughing with them.  Her eyes were lit up, and the smile across her face was breathtaking.  She was so fucking beautiful it hurt.  A lump formed in my throat as I watched her.  She looked so youthful.  I hadn’t really seen her smile before, and she appeared as if the worry was falling from her features, revealing the true beauty that was inside of her.

I hadn’t realized that I had stopped, or that I was rudely staring at them, my mouth dropped open like an idiot, until all three of them stopped talking and turned my way.  I jumped and turned away. 

Way to go, Romeo,
I thought to myself.

Maybe Slade was right.

Fuck.

“We need to dye your hair tonight, Lacey,” I heard Grace say as I walked past them and into the living room.

“Let’s do it now,” Tiff said.  “It’ll be fun!”

“Oh. O-o-okay…I’ve never had anything but blonde hair,” Lacey replied.

“Black.  Definitely black,” Cherry said, as they all disappeared into Lacey’s room.

I sat on the couch, trying to think of anything else except the fact that my cock was beginning to throb and come to life in my jeans.  Once again, my body was betraying my good intentions.

Hours later, I sat in front of the television, ignoring it, while I was still lost in thought, thinking of boxing, motorcycles, anything at all that could distract me from imagining what Lacey’s breasts looked like, when I felt a soft touch on my shoulder.  I looked up and there were those beautiful green eyes, gently staring down at me.

“Hey,” she said softly.  “Can I sit here?”

“Of course,” I replied, scooting over.  She sat next to me, her body looking so tiny so close to mine.

“Wow,” her hair was dyed jet black, blown dry, and hanging in soft, wispy curls around her beautiful face.  She was even more stunning than before, if that was even possible. The darkness of her hair brought out her the brightness of her green eyes.  “What a big difference!”

“Do you like it?” she asked, her voice shy and quiet.

“It looks great,” I said. “It really brings out your eyes, you look…,” I paused, my cock coming to life once again, pissing me off… “you look really beautiful.”

Her eyes widened, and she smiled.

“Thank you,” she replied, her fingers running through her curls.

“Did you get some rest?” I asked. 

“Yes, I did. I guess I needed it,” she replied.

“Yeah, I bet.”

One beat. Two. Three. I hated awkward silences. I was terrible at making conversation. I was more of a show person than a tell person. Four beats. Five. Six.

“You want to go for a walk?” The words fell out of my mouth before I could catch them. I suppressed a groan when she nodded and stood up silently.

“Okay, cool,” I said, standing up and following her outside.  I didn’t have to see them to know that every eye in the clubhouse followed us out that door.

Lacey stood on the porch, staring off into the surrounding woods.  It was dark, the only light being the moonlight and the light spilling outside from the clubhouse.

“I’ve never seen so many stars before,” Lacey said, looking up at the clear, black sky.

“Yeah, the deeper you get into the woods, the more you can see. Come on, let’s go explore a little,” I said, grabbing a flash light from the porch railing.

We walked side by side down the road, the dirt and gravel crunching under our feet, our footsteps echoing up into the towering pine trees overhead.  A slight breeze in the air caused them to sway, the soft sound of leaves brushing together whooshing through the air.

“This is so beautiful.  You must love living out here.”

“I do,” I nodded in the darkness.

“I’m used to the city. Glass skyscrapers and sidewalks.  I mean, Seattle’s beautiful, but I never really got a chance to hang out in the country, you know?”

“Well, now you can. As much as you want. I spend hours in these woods every day, running, working out, just walking. Sometimes, you need a break from the chaos of the clubhouse.”

She nodded, lost in thought.

“It doesn’t seem so chaotic, to tell you the truth. Everyone was so nice at dinner.”

“Yeah, well, they’re on their best behavior right now.  Grace tries to keep every one in check as much as possible when a new girl arrives.”

“Oh.” She looked upset.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to impose, or get in the way or anything…” her voice trailed off, her eyes darkening with worry.

“Oh, no, don’t worry about that!” I replied, trying not to laugh.  “I said Grace tries - I didn’t say she succeeded.  It won’t last long, trust me.  Before you know it, the beer bottles will be flying and the rock music will be blaring.”

She smiled, and I watched the transformation with fascination. She was gorgeous, no doubt, but when she smiled, it was like someone turned a light on.

“Okay, cool.  I’m pretty easy going, I can take it.”  She jutted her chin out again.  It was absolutely killing me it was so fucking adorable, and it took all my strength not to reach out and touch her face.  Warmth spread through my limbs like wildfire, and my cock sprang to life again in my pants.

“Come on, I want to show you something,” I said, turning on the flashlight and taking her hand in mine to lead her into the forest.  It was an easy, natural gesture and yet I couldn’t help but notice how perfectly our hands fit together.

We turned off the road and stepped into the darkness of the trees.  We followed a small trail I had beat into the ground over the years.  The trees formed a quiet hush, and the sounds of the forest filled our ears - a  symphony of crickets, frogs, and all the other creatures that shared this land with us.

Silently, I led her deeper into the woods.  Fallen pine needles crunched underfoot as we made our way down the trail.  After a few moments, the sound of rushing water filled the air. 

“There’s a creek just ahead,” I told her.  The awkward silence had fallen away.

We broke through the trees, turned a corner and the creek appeared in front of us.  We stopped to take in the beauty of the water rushing over the rocks, the spectacular vision bathed in bright moonlight.  I turned off the flashlight, and we stood in the quiet darkness.

Lacey’s eyes were glued to the breathtaking sight of the lush, Oregon beauty, the creek rushing over boulders, foaming into white bubbles, and my eyes were glued to her face.

The moonlight spilled over her features, her eyes reflecting the shimmering water in front of us before she turned them up to me, catching me staring at her.  Softly, she smiled as she held my gaze.  I reached my hand out, caressing her face tenderly.

“You’re a beautiful girl, Lacey,” I whispered, daring to break the spell I had fallen under by speaking.

She brought her hand up, putting it over mine, and pressing it into her cheek as she smiled up at me.

“You’re sweet. But I’m not at my best right now, I must admit,” she said, gingerly touching her bruised cheek with her other hand.

“I wasn’t talking about your face.  I was talking about you,” I replied, pulling my hand away and taking hers in mine again.  “Come on, let’s keep going.”

We followed the trail along the creek, the moonlight lighting our way as I kept the flashlight in my pocket.  The elevation began to increase, and we continued up the trail, climbing up the hill, until we couldn’t go any further.  I stopped Lacey before we turned a corner.

“Okay, wait.  Close your eyes.”

“Close my eyes?”

“Yep. It’s worth it, I promise.”

“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.  “Don’t lead me over any cliffs.”

“You’re safe with me,” I said, feeling that familiar wave of protectiveness wash over me.

I grabbed her hand again and led her around the corner.  The blast of the mist hit our faces and her eyes flew open.  She squealed in delight.

“Wow!” Her gaze trailed up the massive waterfall in front of us, the force of the water falling and plunging into the naturally formed pool below.  The pool fed the creek, narrowing at the edges as it swept through the forest, like a rushing, bubbling snake.

“This is my favorite spot,” I said, as she pulled away from me and ran to the end of the trail, as close as she could get to the waterfall without actually jumping in the pool.