With all the crap my stepdad had put me through, I had serious doubts about jumping into a relationship with anyone. Especially a guy who’d carried me off like a prisoner to his room, even if he’d given me orgasms to make up for it. I’d had more than enough of being under my stepdad’s thumb, especially since he took his attempts to control me into overdrive over the past couple of weeks. I wasn’t willing to put up with being controlled under the guise of protection. Not even by Nova.
Tiptoeing past him—after tearing my gaze from the vision of his tight, bare butt since he’d kicked the sheet off while I’d been in the bathroom—I very carefully twisted the doorknob and inched open the door. As I was squeezing through the small opening, Nova mumbled something under his breath and rolled over. I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder, practically drooling over the massive hard-on resting against his belly. My inner walls clenched as I wondered what it would feel like to have an orgasm with him inside me. It took every ounce of my willpower to step all the way into the hall and shut the door behind me.
“Oh my gosh,” I breathed, letting my head hang low as I squeezed my eyes shut. I counted to ten to help pull myself together, and then I headed toward the stairs Nova had carried me up last night. When I made it down to the main lounge area, my steps slowed because a few guys standing near the bar looked deep in conversation. I was thinking about turning around to head back upstairs when the bearded man with light brown hair and pale green eyes shook his head and jerked his chin in my direction. The other two guys turned toward me and smiled.
“Morning.” The one who first noticed me walked over to where I was standing. “You must be Rylee. I’m Mac.”
His name rang a bell, but my brain was feeling sluggish this morning. I didn’t realize who he was until the other two joined us and the guy with short ash-blond hair and blue eyes said, “Otherwise known as our president. I’m Link, club treasurer.”
“And I’m Patriot, aka captain of this motley crew.” The last guy flashed me a grin and wagged his brows.
Since he was the one who’d called me a babysitting job when we had arrived at the compound yesterday, I wasn’t feeling very friendly toward him. I kept my focus on Mac and Link as I replied, “Thank you so much for getting me away from my stepdad. One of the Ukrainians almost spotted me when we left, and Nova thought maybe they were getting ready to try to make a grab for me soon.”
“You did the smart thing, reaching out to Arya when you did.” A muscle jumped in Mac’s jaw. “If he’d gotten down there even a day later, Nova might’ve been too late.”
“I caught a lucky break when my mom left her phone out overnight, or else I wouldn’t have been able to make that call to Arya.” A shiver raced down my spine at the thought of how wrong things could’ve gone if Nova hadn’t been there to rescue me.
“The man your mom married doesn’t deserve to be called a stepdad,” Link growled, shaking his head. “Doesn’t matter if you’re his blood or not, a parent should be willing to die to protect their children. Not fucking sell them off to pay for their fucked-up mistakes.”
Mac slapped Link’s back. “The bastard will get what’s coming to him in the end.”
Patriot cleared his throat and tilted his head in my direction. “Rylee probably doesn’t want to talk about her ordeal, guys. Not after her close call yesterday.”
“Shit, sorry.” Mac flashed me an apologetic smile. “Didn’t mean to freak you out.”
I felt Patriot staring at me, but I avoided his gaze as my irritation with the man grew. “I’m not a delicate flower who’s going to fall apart over my narrow escape. Nova got me out of there in time, so I’ve got no room to complain.”
“Great way to look at the situation.” Link’s eyes contained an approving gleam. “I heard you only brought one bag with you. Do you have all the supplies you’ll need to tide you over until we can figure out what to do about the Ukrainians?”
I waved off his concern. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I don’t need much to get by.”
“Pretty and not high maintenance. Impressive,” Patriot murmured.
I let out a little puff of air and rolled my eyes, still not looking at him.
“Aww, c’mon now.” Patriot pressed his fist against his chest over his heart. “You’re gonna hurt my feelings if you keep pretending I’m not standing here, Rylee.”
“I knew I should’ve gone back outside to kick your ass yesterday,” Nova growled from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder as he stalked toward us. He was barefoot, his jeans unsnapped, wasn’t wearing a shirt, and his leather vest was clenched in his fist. With his dark eyes promising death to Patriot, he looked just as hot as he had when he was sprawled naked in his bed. How was I supposed to resist Nova when he was temptation personified?