Chapter 1: Demon
I didn’t know what I was going to do. She was driving me out of my mind, and I’d only known her for a couple of weeks. As soon as I laid eyes on her in the hospital emergency room, I knew she was going to be mine. Something told me it wasn’t going to be a passing fancy either. I was sure I had most likely found my forever after. That should be impossible, right? But I knew it wasn’t. I’d seen more than one of my club brothers succumb the same way, and they did it just as fast. This is what started to happen a few years ago in our Dublin Falls chapter, finding the one woman you could love, cherish, protect, and raise a family with.
Most wouldn’t think a big, bad biker would want those things. After all, the lifestyle was all about doing what you wanted, when you wanted, with whomever you wanted—several whomevers if truth be told. I’d been content to live like that for a lot of years, but when Harlow, the woman who’d become like my sister, had met and married Terror, I’d started to wonder if I wanted more. Her old man was the president of our Dublin Falls chapter. A man I never imagined settling down. He took one look at Harlow and he was done.
After Terror, I saw more and more of my brothers in Dublin Falls take the plunge, but the big surprise came when my own president, Bull, took an old lady. He’d been alone for over twenty years. He never wanted to have another old lady after he lost Kelly, Harlow’s mom, until he met Jocelyn. Not only did he take the plunge at fifty-two years old, but he was a father to newborn twins. Caeden and Corinne were bringing him even more love and joy. The man literally walked around with a damn smile on his face all the time.
If that wasn’t enough, a couple of my other brothers here in Hunters Creek had done the same. The last few years have been a flurry of weddings and births due to Dublin Falls. I loved to go there and spoil my pseudo-nephews and nieces. What I hadn’t wanted to acknowledge until now was that I was aching to hold a child of my own. Not something I’d ever thought I’d want, either.
I found the Warriors as a scared, rebellious teenager. Lucky for me, Bull had taken me in hand and kept me from doing anything too crazy. He instilled values and a sense of pride in me. So, it was no surprise that when I graduated from high school, I joined the Marines just like Bull had. After eight years, I got out and came home. While the Corps gave me a brotherhood, it still wasn’t the Warriors. I’ve been with the Warriors, as a fully patched member, for eleven years now.
Any time I’d let even a niggling thought in about finding someone special when I was around the Dublin Falls crew, I squashed it. I was too old for there to be someone like that, and I didn’t think I could change at this late date. I was thirty-seven years old and had never met a single woman I wanted to keep around for more than a couple of nights. Shallow, maybe, but it was the God’s truth. I’d resigned myself to being alone and having a family through my brothers when I saw her. Streaks of fire raced through my whole body. It was like I’d woken up for the first time in years. I was instantly and totally enthralled with her.
She was petite next to my six foot four. She was maybe five foot five, I’d guess. I loved it. I wanted to be able to tuck a woman under my arm, to have her have to reach up to kiss me. It made me feel manlier. Admittedly, she hadn’t been dressed to impress. She was dressed in those ugly, shapeless scrubs doctors and nurses wore. Only on her, they did nothing to disguise her killer body. She had curves for days. She wasn’t one of those sticks who you couldn’t hold on to for fear of breaking her, or ate only fucking lettuce and acted like it made her full. She had an ample chest, rounded hips, lush ass, and a tiny waist. She was what men had wet dreams about. All I’d wanted to do was wrap her up and take her home with me.
On top of her smoking hot body, she had long mahogany-colored hair pulled up in a bun. Her deep blue eyes were startling in her perfect oval face. They looked like sapphires. Her lips had me thinking of all the dirty things I wanted to do to them, and have them do to me.
Finding out she wasn’t a nurse, like I suspected, but an actual doctor, had blown my mind. Brains as well as beauty, I was intrigued. When my brother, Joker, had joked about playing doctor with her, I wanted to rip off his head. Each meeting showed me not only how smart and beautiful she was, but how tough she could be. She didn’t take shit off anyone.
I thought it would be easy to get her to give me a chance. Women typically fell at my feet. I didn’t have to ask or chase them. They came to me. Well, she wasn’t the typical woman. Every time I took a step forward with her, something would happen, and I’d get knocked back two steps.
The other night at the clubhouse had been a prime example of that. She’d been there to tell us about a couple of suspicious guys she’d seen along the road. They hadn’t been too far from the compound when she came to visit us. I’d wanted to spank her ass when she said she’d stopped to investigate.
After we’d all met and determined they were the guys who had kidnapped Jessica, we all moved to the common room to relax. Zara had remained while we were in church. She was talking to the old ladies. I was just about to ask her to take a walk with me when the door opened and in came the club bunnies.
Now, the bunnies weren’t an uncommon sight. They were there to service the single guys. I’d been with them just like my brothers had. I never thought anything about them being there. They were like the furniture, as bad as it sounded—always there and easy to overlook. I should have paid attention. I should have made it clear what my intentions were, because right after they arrived, one of them, April, came over and wrapped her arms around me from behind.
She pseudo-whispered in my ear, so everyone sitting around us could hear her, including Zara. “Hey, Demon, why don’t we leave these people alone? We can have much more fun elsewhere.” I’d shrugged off her arms and gave her what I hoped was a death glare to get her to shut up. I didn’t want her hanging on me. I was about to tell her to get lost when Zara spoke up and my heart sank.
“Yeah, Demon, you don’t need to stick with us. There’s nothing here you should be all that interested in. Go with her. Though I’d suggest if you do, make sure you wrap it up. No telling what you might catch. If you don’t, I’d hate to see you at the clinic.” I could feel the look of wide-eyed horror spreading over my face. Not at the idea of catching something, I always wrapped my shit. It was at her tone. She was seriously thinking I was going to take April up on her offer.
Her snide remarks had set off April. She’d stood up and sneered at Zara. “Who the hell do you think you are, bitch?”
Zara had given her a pitying look and then a smirk. “Just someone who doesn’t want to see someone catch something is all.” As soon as she shot off this zinger, she turned to the others. “I need to go. See you later. Jessica, I’ll call you in a few days to see how you’re doing. Call me if you need me. Bye.”
She headed for the door and never looked back. I wanted to race after her, to tell her that April didn’t mean anything. She was just a club bunny. I glared at April. “April, keep your goddamn hands to yourself! If I wanted you, I’d tell you. And I can tell you, I don’t.” I left her pouting ass there and headed out the door. I needed to catch up to Zara and explain, only I had been too late. She was already in her car. I’d run up to the driver’s door and her open window.
“Zara, wait a minute! Don’t go. Come back inside. Ignore April. She’s just being a pain. Let’s go talk somewhere.”
She gave me a narrowed-eyed look. “No thanks, Demon. I don’t want to interfere with your plans. Besides, I need to go. I have to get up early for work in the morning. I meant what I said. Keep it wrapped. Maybe you’ll get lucky, and she has a friend that can keep you company, too.” Before I could remark, she jammed the gear shift into drive and tore out of the compound gates.
“Fuck!” I screamed. I’d wanted to go after her, but knew I needed to let her calm down. Though why she was so upset, I couldn’t imagine. Surely, it was obvious I only wanted her. I hadn’t been with anyone in a month, at least, before I’d met her. I’d found the emotionless sex had long lost its appeal. Since meeting her, the only one who got my cock hard was her. Just one thought and I was raring to go.
Whenever she was around, I practically didn’t take my eyes off her. I know she’d caught my heated looks more than once, though she tried to pretend like she didn’t notice.
I’d stormed back inside. I hadn’t stopped to speak to anyone. I’d sworn as I’d stomped down the hall to my room. That had been one restless and sleepless night.
Now, it’s almost a week later. I tried to call her this past week. When she finally answered, I tried to get her to go out with me, but she turned me down, cold.
Tonight, we were having a party at the clubhouse. Our newest friends, the Ruthless Marauders, were here. I’d been watching to see if Zara came or not. I knew Jessica had asked her to stop by. I kept hoping I’d see her walk through that door. I was ready to settle this shit between us. This endless circling each other was getting us nowhere.
About two hours into the party, I was depressed and ready to call it quits. Zara hadn’t come. The same old people were talking, drinking, and playing games. Before heading to my room, I grabbed another beer. Maybe if I got drunk, I’d forget about her for a little while. I sat on one of the couches in the corner, nursing my beer. I wasn’t paying much attention when Farrah and Daisy came over and sat down beside me. I looked up when Farrah spoke to me.
“Hey, Demon, why’re you over here all alone? Isn’t this party to your liking?” She wasn’t trying to come on to me, which I was happy to see. There were plenty of willing men for them to hook up with tonight. She was genuinely curious about why I wasn’t socializing.
“Nah, just relaxing. You girls should go keep our guests happy. I’m fine. Just going to go get another beer and head to my room.” It was at that moment that I looked up and caught sight of Zara. How she had gotten inside without me knowing it, I had no idea. Usually, I had a sixth sense about her. She was at the bar, and she was facing away from me. I could barely breathe.
She had her beautiful, dark hair hanging down her back in sexy waves. It was one of the rare times she let it down. I loved it. All I could imagine was running my hands through it and having it wrapped in my fists. She had on skin-tight jeans that molded her lush ass to perfection and made her waist look even tinier. A sexy top clung to her generous breasts and made my mouth water. I grew instantly hard.