Sinister Knights MC #1-3

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

S aint

“I can’t go back.” Adelina’s soft brown eyes shimmered up at me. “I can’t go back, Saint.”

I clutched both her little hands in my grip, eyes glancing around the small crowd of Sinister Knights that remained after immigration officers had thrown us all way the fuck for a loop. They'd spun out of here in a fury of guns and black SUVs, leaving my girl scared as fuck and a tornado of anger brewing in my gut.

“No one’s going back to Mexico,” I growled, anger lacing my voice. Every other woman Ryker had brought home in the back of that truck had hightailed it out of town. Many already had family in the States and were thrilled to be reunited, but not Adelina.

Sweet, sweet Adelina had found herself hanging around the clubhouse, doing odd jobs for Prez and Ryker, even helping me out in the greenhouse come harvest time. She’d only been here a few weeks, but already I was used to having her around, never far from my side. She soaked up everything I said like a sponge, listening intently, only replying in her softly inflected accent when she was ready.

The dreams had set in from nearly the moment she’d shown up here.

Adelina de los Angeles came to me like a ghost, wrapped in a draped white sheet, long waves of delicious dark hair falling over one shoulder.

I’d never fancied myself a gentleman at any point in my life—my mama had done her best, but raising a bunch of boys began to feel like a worthless cause. Ryker and King had already been through so much in the foster care system, that when my parents had finally taken the steps to adopt them, they were already set in their ways.

Moral as hell—and stubborn as fuck.

We were a band of brothers, which was why when Prez told us he had a tip about a truck of kidnapped women being transported into the sex trade south of the border, we’d jumped on it without hesitation. Not often did you get the chance to save that many women at one time, and if we could get even a few of them into our neck of the woods, we knew we could keep them safe.

Prez’d had an insider at the immigration office, and Ryker had worked overtime getting documents secured. But shit like that took time, and one passport still hadn't come through yet.

“Promise, you’re not going anywhere, Adelina.” I slipped a hand behind her neck, pulling our foreheads together and capturing her with my eyes. “Meant what I said. I will marry you if that’s what it takes to keep you here.”

Her deep, chocolate eyes teared up, fat drops falling down her creamy cocoa cheeks.

Hell, when had I ever waxed romantic about any woman?

I’d had my fair share of run-ins with crazy, so I’d gotten good at reading chick vibes, but nothing came off Adelina but pure compassion. She radiated love.

I ground my teeth together, hands locked and leading us both back into the lodge.

Prez’s eyes nailed mine, a worried frown on his face before he gestured me over.

“Ryker and I already talked about it. Think it’s best you get her out of town for a while. That may have been a shakedown by the Outlaws, or it may have been ICE. Either way, I want you lying low, and I want her safe. If the Outlaws get ahold of her…” He shook his head, referring to our biggest enemies, the outlaw group of bikers that lived over the ridge and wreaked constant hell in the communities they ran.

“I won’t let anything happen,” I growled, wrapping an arm around Adelina as a slow tremble began to overtake her shoulders.

“I’m scared, Saint,” she whispered at my ear.

Prez’s eyes softened, and he nodded once before pushing through the door of his office. He tossed me a key as he sat down behind the worn-out desk. “Take her up to the Snow Lake cabin. Too far, the Outlaws won’t go up there.”

I nodded once, thankful as fuck Prez understood exactly how serious this situation was without my having to utter a word.

Prez was like a second father to all of us, knew us better than we knew ourselves most of the time, so I jumped at his offer of a hideout for Adelina and me.

I’d lay down my life protecting this woman if that’s what it took.

I’d lay down my life for any woman. That was the Sinister Knights motto: Ride, Protect, Defend.

But I’d never met anyone like Adelina; not a soul on this planet had had the effect on me that she did.

I had to see what that meant. Where this was going.

Something down deep was telling me what even I didn’t want to hear, that she was meant to be mine.

“Let's get your shit packed up.” I grasped her hand in mine, ushering her on lengthy strides across the main room and down the long hallway that led to my bedroom. I’d conveniently positioned Adelina’s room next to mine when Ryker had brought her here. The rest of the women had made plans and only stayed long enough to collect their papers before they got the hell out, but Adelina…she was broken.

I could see it in her eyes.

She was like me.

Truth was, I liked sharing a wall with her, hearing her get ready for bed at night, breath by breath, knowing her body lay only inches from mine.

In some fucked-up way, I’d gotten used to sleeping beside her, just never in the same room.

“Saint.” Adelina paused as we reached the doorway of her bedroom. “I can’t ask you to do this. I won’t be the one who puts you, or anyone here, in danger.” Tears began to well in her big brown eyes.

God, those eyes made my dick pound.

Those tears made my heart fucking bleed, though.

“The Sinister Knights saved my life once.” I leaned down, swiping the tears from her cheeks with the pads of my thumbs as she continued to speak. “I should just go.”

“Don’t say that.” The thought tore me the fuck up. “You don’t have anywhere to go. I won’t let you walk out of here like that. I live to protect and defend, Adelina. My job doesn’t end until you’re safe.”

I touched my forehead to hers again, my lips hovering just out of reach. Her soft breaths washed over my mouth, and I couldn't help the fingertips that wandered at her waist, craving the silk of her flesh under my rough fingers.

“I’m just a job to you?” Her eyes fell to her feet.

I pressed a soft kiss to her lips, determined to turn her frown around. “A job is the last thing you are. You don’t want to know all the things I’ve thought about when I’ve listened to you sleep at night.”

“Listening to me sleep?” Her beautiful grin turned up. “I have an American stalker now?”

“From day one, baby.” I scooped her into my arms and carried her through the doorway and into her room. She giggled adorably when I tossed her on the bed, following her down, our lips connecting again.

I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, and something deep down told me I didn’t need to be cozying up to someone who was in this kind of danger, but hell if I could help myself.

Her gentle, creamy curves made my mouth water.

I wanted to sink my teeth into those beautiful round ass cheeks and mark her with my brand.

From the moment I picked her up in my arms and carried her out of that truck, getting her hot food, a change of clothes, and settled in her new bedroom, I’d known she was mine. Her beauty was only enhanced by the way her eyes danced and sparkled when she was being smart, the curve in her lips when she knew she was getting under my skin. Something about Adelina de los Angeles intoxicated me. There was no other way to explain it.

I’d be the first to admit that I’d spent a lot of time with other women. But the truth was, I was a people person, blessed with a natural charm that drew people in. I had a genuine interest and concern for all people, and my business model fell perfectly in line with that. If there was something I could grow in my own backyard—a space I tended with a lot of care and focus on quality—I vowed to do what I could to help the people in my community who would otherwise be suffering.

Most of my clients were elderly, some with Parkinson’s, cancer, even arthritis, and they struggled with daily, debilitating pain. A delivery from one of my guys could go a long way toward making their day a little brighter. I’d sat with a lot of them, listened to them impart wisdom collected over their long lives. The lesson that family and love are all that matters at the end of life was a profound one.

I’d never given my heart to a woman.

Plain and simple, I hadn’t found one who was worthy of my undivided attention.

I’d had great conversations with a lot of women, shared drinks, pool games, even racy moves on the dance floor, but I’d never taken any of them to my bed.

At the age thirty-one, I still hadn’t found the right girl to share the darkest parts of my soul with.

As a consequence, I was still a virgin. With a capital fucking V.

The guys all assumed I was well-practiced, having watched me stumble drunk into plenty of rooms with strangers. But I had found the conversation more enticing than the thought of getting my dick sucked.

I couldn't explain it.

In high school, when my mom realized I had no interest in the female gender beyond friendship, one night, she’d cautiously asked if I liked boys.

I groaned at the memory, remembering the very moment I decided to use my charm and flirtatious side as a shield.

When my mom caught me the very next week, arm wrapped around my new “friend” Kat, she’d grinned and given me a ridiculous thumbs-up.

Mom never asked if I was gay again. I didn’t think there was a damn thing wrong with being gay. I had friends in school of all sexual orientations; some of the most loyal I’ve ever known. In truth, watching them get harassed over and over again was one of the things that had got me to where I was today, a founding member of the Sinister Knights, our sole purpose to protect and defend the rights of the innocent.

I was a moral motherfucker, even if I wore a cut with a skull and crossbones on my back.

I didn’t give a damn about society’s conventions or perceptions; I walked my own path, and for some reason, it led me right to Adelina.

I glanced across the room, her expressive eyes trained on a small carved button in her hand.

I’d seen her fingering the beads plenty of times, watching her pull them from her pocket when she was upset or anxious, words moving quickly from her lips as she breathed silent prayers.

She was beautiful when she prayed.

You couldn't always tell when she was doing it. If she were in another life, a businesswoman in the streets of Chicago, earbuds in her ear, she would look like she was just having an important conversation. And I guessed she was. With God.

I was never a man who thought much about those things. Sure, I tried to live a godly life because I was raised that way, but I think I lived morally because I watched injustices unfold around me. Including a broken system that failed my two brothers, Ryker and King, again and again.

Women like Adelina deserved a second chance at life because hell if she’d chosen the one she was given.

Maybe I had a bit of a God complex, but being attached to this women in one form or another had slowly evolved into my day’s only goal. We ate breakfast together, did morning rounds at the greenhouse, packed shipments in the service room, answered emails and phone calls. These last few weeks she’d hardly left my side, and damned if I hadn’t gotten used to the way she smiled up at me when I called her name.

Adelina.

“What’s on your mind over there, handsome?” She’d tucked the button back in her pocket.

“Want me to help you pack?” Her warm eyes snapped me from my thoughts. “We should get headed to Snow Lake in the next hour if we want to beat twilight.”

Adelina’s eyes hovered on mine, luscious bottom lip sucked between her teeth. “Thank you, Saint.”

She looked up me so soft and so sweet I nearly came in my jeans right there. “Wouldn’t have it any other way, mi vida. ”

She smiled, fingertips dusting along the rough edge of my unshaven jaw.

My life.

Adelina had become my life the last few weeks. Somehow, I’d found every waking thought and most of my sleeping ones consumed with her.

“I’mma go pack my shit,” I growled softly. “Need a break for a minute before I lose all control.”

Adelina’s cheeks flushed, and I suddenly wondered what her nipples tasted like. I bet they were silky and warm, the perfect shade of cocoa.

“Meet you right back here,” I hummed at her ear.

A shudder cascaded down her neck as she nodded. “Yes, Saint.”

“You’re gonna be sayin’ that a lot in the future.” My eyes flicked up and down her delicate form. “Hope you’re ready.”

She sank her teeth into her lip again, the outline of her nipples sharp through the shirt she wore. “ Sí .”

Standing there, watching her waiting, spread out on the bed all sexy and open nearly unhinged me. “Christ, Adelina, makin’ it hard for me to leave.” I ducked down, drawing her in for another, deeper kiss. “Good goddamn thing I won’t have to ever again, starting right now.”

“Are you ready for that, Saint?”

A low groan vibrated out of my chest as I wrapped my arms around her waist. “I was born ready for you.”