Hunter (King’s Men MC #1)

16. Roman

16

ROMAN

Fuck me.

I didn’t want to let her go this morning.

I wanted to tie her to my fucking bed and lock the fucking doors.

That way, no one could get in or out .

We could shut ourselves off from the world, and I could have spent the day feasting on her body, showing her how good it was to be mine.

I would have her become as addicted, as obsessive, and as desperate for me as I was for her, and I would have settled for nothing less.

And then she decided to put on a little show after getting back into her apartment.

Fuck. That had made me late for the club’s meeting, but it was well worth it.

My girl was horny, and what I wouldn’t give to be the one to help her out in that little situation.

I shifted in my seat.

“Are you even listening to me, Roman?” Dominic asked .

“He’s distracted,” Micah added. “Distractions can get your ass killed.”

Micah sounded bored, as if we were discussing the weather, but I could see the fire burning in his eyes.

If I didn’t get my head out of my ass for the rest of the night, it might encourage Micah to go and look for my distraction, and I wasn’t ready for him or Dominic to know about Ryleigh yet.

Not until I ensured she was mine completely.

Until I ensured she would be as loyal to the club as she was to me and that she could look the other way as we worked to bring down her father and his friends.

They were getting too cocky.

They thought things were on their side, that they ruled the city, and they were looking into taking over our business.

We knew Mayor Gallagher and Judge Hudson were working with the Mansen Brotherhood.

The fucking Mansen brothers wanted to take California from us and take over the drug ring and our contacts from all over the U.S.

That wasn’t fucking happening, but they had been causing a little bit of trouble lately.

“I’m not distracted,” I answered mildly. “I am listening.”

“You haven’t said much all day. What the fuck is wrong? And what’s this about a distraction?” Dominic asked.

“Nothing,” I said, at the same time, Micah chimed in with, “A girl.”

Dominic’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

I pretended not to see him and focused back on my drink. We were back at the bar at Dominic’s insistence. After a day of meetings, coordinating with our men out of state, the ones who were taking on the risk by transporting the goods themselves—for which they were well compensated—catching up on all the things I had missed out on during my two-year stint in hell, the last place I wanted to be was here.

I had wanted to refuse.

I wanted to go home. My date with Ryleigh wasn’t until tomorrow morning, but I could go home and watch her through the cameras. I could sneak inside her apartment and watch her—something I had done only a handful of times.

She was mine, so what did it matter what I fucking did to her, as long as I didn’t hurt her… in a way she couldn’t handle, that was.

It was only because I found Micah looking at me curiously when Dominic suggested that I agree.

And now, here I was, distracted as fuck, and wondering when would be a good time to bail.

The doors to the bar opened, and more brothers came in. They nodded at us in greeting as they passed before walking up to the bartender to order some drinks.

It wouldn’t take long for this place to crawl with brothers, and there was just something about having so many rough, testosterone-filled men in a small space that usually turned the night into a rowdy one.

Before going to prison, I used to join in the fun.

Things had felt simpler back then when there were only three things to occupy my time that I did well.

Fuck hard. Party hard. And work hard.

Now Ryleigh took up all of my thoughts.

It didn’t take long for the women to come in. The old ladies were off in a small corner by themselves, drinking, laughing, and having fun, while the girls that followed the club around but weren’t claimed were off in another corner.

I tried to imagine Ryleigh in either group, but no matter how badly I wanted to claim her, I couldn’t see her hanging out with these women .

There was just something too delicate about my sweet little prey.

She didn’t have the sharp edges like all the women in here.

They would surely eat her alive.

Lucky for her, I would be here to protect her from it all.

Someone turned up the music, and the crowd went wild.

Some girl in a crop top so tiny the underside of her tits was showing, climbed on top of the bar and started dancing, making most of the men cheer.

I took her in briefly before turning away, my eyes connecting to Micah sitting across from me.

“Not interested?” he asked curiously.

Dominic took a sip of his beer and watched us.

I shook my head.

I was usually game for whatever girl was willing to jump into my bed. I would show her a good, rough time, which was exactly what they wanted.

But if I had been fighting off all the fucking bastards that wanted a piece of Ryleigh, I was rejecting all those who wanted to get into my bed as well.

My fucking dick hadn’t been hard for anyone but this girl, and I was getting fucking tired of using my hand.

It wouldn’t take much for Ryleigh to push me too far.

“No? I never knew you to not be interested in getting your dick wet.”

“Not in the mood,” I answered, trying not to show how badly he rattled me.

Micah should be a fucking war general.

He would make any prisoner cave from the cold look in his eyes alone.

Luckily, I had more than three decades of experience dealing with him .

“That’s too bad,” he said, his eyes directed to something above my head.

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

He didn’t answer me. He didn’t need to when long fingernails skated gently across the skin on my neck before a small body climbed onto my lap.

I looked at the bright blue eyes belonging to Tammy Henderson.

“Hey, stranger. I haven’t seen you in a while. I missed you,” she rasped, her voice rough from years of chain smoking. Her breath smelled like alcohol, and her pupils were dilated with whatever drug she’d taken.

With long blonde hair and sun-kissed golden tan skin, she would have been pretty if being in this life hadn’t taken its toll on her.

Her dad had been around the scene long before Dominic took the throne as Club’s president.

He had been the VP for the former president and had inherited the role with Dominic. It wasn’t until he stepped down shortly after I joined that I could take the position.

Something I was sure had caused some contention among the club, especially with Tammy’s brother, Trent Henderson, considering he had been in for much longer than I had been.

But no one—not even Trent—had prove themselves capable of taking on the VP position. I did.

Tammy ran her long fingernails down my chest, looking up at me with what I assumed was supposed to be a seductive smile.

I wasn’t seduced.

She knew the score and was always looking for a good time.

And before I went to prison, she had been my fuck buddy on and off for three years.

“Hey, Tammy. ”

She smiled, her fingers playing with the back of my hair, and I had to clench my fists by my side to keep from pulling away from her.

I had entertained the thought of putting claim to her as my old lady, not because I was obsessed with her or wanted her to be mine, but because she was always there. She knew what it was like for men like me, being in a club that belonged to the One Percenters . She would have made life bearable, but nothing about the girl would have held my attention for long.

She didn’t fill my mind with thoughts about her when I was away.

She didn’t make me want to pound the fucking life out of any man who dared touch her, and with Tammy, there had been a lot of men.

Her body count was probably higher than mine.

Not that I was judging her, or cared.

She could fuck whomever she wanted, but the fact that I was even thinking this way should tell me everything I wanted to know about my feelings toward her.

She grabbed my beer and took a huge gulp before slamming it down and pressing her tits against me. I could feel her nipples pebbling in that tiny shirt she wore as she leaned in and said, “Do you want to get out of here? We can go back to my place and have a good time by ourselves.”

I opened my mouth to refuse, but I could feel Micah’s heavy stare.

He didn’t approve of my distraction, as he put it.

He thought Ryleigh might get me killed.

But he should understand that I wasn’t an easy man to kill.

But I was also in no mood to fight with my brother tonight.

And Tammy was my ticket out .

I winked at Dominic, who let out a chuckle and slapped me on the back just as I stood up with Tammy in my arms and walked out of the bar.

She wrapped her arms and legs around me like a bear, and I looked out to the dark parking lot, only lit by a small streetlamp nearby.

“Where’d you park?” I asked.

She pointed to her white Porsche nearby, and I walked over to it, placing her back down on her feet.

She smiled flirtatiously at me, but I kept my expression neutral when I grasped her chin and ensured she was looking at me.

“We went back to your place, fucked hard, and I left while you passed out on your bed, got me?”

Confusion clouded her blue eyes. “W-What?”

I made my eyes hard and my voice firm. “That’s what you’ll tell anyone who asks, including Micah, yeah?”

“But you’re not coming home with me tonight?” she asked quietly.

“Nope. I have somewhere I need to be, and you’re my alibi for the night, babe.”

“But—”

I shook my head. “Be a good girl and get in your car. You’re to go straight home and not see anyone for the rest of the night. Are you sober enough to drive?”

“I’ve only had one beer.”

“Drugs?”

She shook her head.

I let my eyes roam over her. So perhaps her dilated pupils weren’t due to drugs but lust?

I grabbed her keys out of her hand and unlocked the door, pushing her into the driver’s seat.

She looked at me with a mix of anger, embarrassment, and disbelief .

But she would be a good girl for me and keep this little secret.

She might even be able to lie to Micah if he didn’t push her for the truth.

I stood up and closed her door, tapping on the roof to get her to drive off.

I stood there for a bit before moving toward my bike, hopping on, and driving off without looking back at the bar.

It was well past midnight.

Past the time Ryleigh would be in bed.

And I fucking missed her.

I barely remembered the drive home. The streets were filled with only a few cars, so it didn’t take long to get back to the apartment building. I parked in the parking spot reserved for my bike and took the elevator up to my floor.

Luckily, I didn’t run into anyone.

It might as well be a ghost town, but I knew Ryleigh was home. I had been able to check on her briefly throughout the day, and I knew she had only left her place once.

She wasn’t in any real danger.

Not like last night.

That was a one-off, and perhaps it was fate or luck because she had stumbled into a bar owned and managed by Garrett Knight, a close friend of mine who happened to recognize Ryleigh.

He didn’t know the extent of my obsession, but he recognized her as the Judge’s daughter, and he knew I had moved into this apartment building to be closer to her.

He called me last night. I was on my way to the bar when I heard her scream.

My fists clenched and unclenched, and I shook away the memory trying to darken my mood.

I walked up to her front door and looked around .

When no one entered the hallway, I unlocked her apartment and let myself in.

Like each and every time I’d been here, the place was quiet.

Her apartment smelled like her, and I was wholly addicted to the scent.

Was this what Micah smelled in my apartment the other night?

I closed the door behind me and quietly moved toward her room.

This girl was the perfect prey.

Not only was she a heavy sleeper, but she slept with a nightlight.

She slept with abandonment, so sure that she would be safe from anything and everything, so unaware of the late-night visits from her monster.

I approached the side of the bed and took in her face. It was usually relaxed in sleep, but tonight, her brows pulled together in a small frown, and her bottom lip pushed out in a slight pout.

A nightmare?

I didn’t think when I cupped her head, stroking her hair softly.

“It’s okay, Ryleigh girl,” I muttered softly.

Perhaps my words did have the power to comfort her because she soon settled down.

I took her in for a beat, feeling contentment settling inside my chest and knowing that whatever I was doing with this girl was heading in the right direction.

She muttered something else I didn’t catch but judging by the small wrinkle forming between her brows, it couldn’t be anything good.

A part of me wished I had the ability to obliterate all those bad dreams .

Yet, I knew the irony of such a wish when I was probably the man starring in those nightmares.

She didn’t recognize me.

Before deciding to show my face to her, I had worried that she would take one look at me and know who I was, but what I saw in her eyes that day wasn’t recognition but heat and interest.

But that didn’t mean my name wasn’t what caused that nightmare in the first place.

She would have run away screaming if she knew the man pursuing her was the one who had spent the last two years in prison wanting to hurt her.

She shifted slightly on the bed, the covers coming down a little and showing those cute little tops she liked to wear to bed.

I didn’t think.

I climbed on the bed next to her and carefully pulled her into my arms.

That seemed to help some, and I let my hand float up her body, settling the palm of my hand between her tits.

Her nipples came in contact with the sides of my hand, and I fought against the urge to take one tit and mold it in my palm.

Soon.

So fucking soon.

And I couldn’t wait to see her tomorrow for our date .

I could laugh out loud at the word.

I had probably been on a date a handful of times, and it had all happened when I was in my early twenties.

I hadn’t put much effort into just one woman, looking for a relationship, not when I realized I didn’t want the complication of a relationship in my life.

It wasn’t like my parents were outstanding role models for Micah and me .

Not with an abusive asshole for a dad and a doormat for a mom.

Hell, even Dominic had been married once to Kai’s mother. They had been young, but the club life got too hard for her, and she left everyone and everything behind soon after Braxton was born.

I shouldn’t want to date.

But looking at Ryleigh now…

She looked like the kind of girl who would want all the efforts of dating her.

And I could do that.

I could make her fall in love with me.

It wouldn’t be any hardship, and I found myself almost excited over the prospect.