Tarin: Chapter 3
The last two weeks since I came to Hunters Creek to meet the man, I thought was my real father had been an emotional roller coaster. Just getting up the nerve to meet him and then tell him what my mom had done had made me a nervous wreck. Then his girlfriend, or old lady, as I now knew they called them, had thought we had slept together! That had been a blow and gross.
I hated to see the effect that misunderstanding had on Bear. He’d been frantic to have her listen to him and let him be with her and Hope while they figured out what was wrong with her. I’d been devastated for him when he told me she had leukemia. Luckily, he’d eventually gotten Ilara to see him and listen, so he could tell her about me. He said she was happy for him, but I didn’t know if that was true or not.
Even amidst all that drama, he’d been good about touching base with me and making sure I was okay. I was still staying at the hotel in town. We didn’t see each other because he spent all his time at the hospital, which I totally understood. He promised he wasn’t forgetting about me, which I thought was sweet of him. He checked at least once a day to see if I was alright or if I needed anything.
While he dealt with Ilara and Hope, I tried to keep myself busy. I didn’t have a lot to do in the hotel. I explored Hunters Creek. It was a great little town. I saw it was a clean and overall friendly place. While I was exploring, I saw more than one of his club brothers. I knew them by their vests, or cuts, as Bear had explained to me one day. They all waved even if they didn’t approach me. I wondered if they were watching and following me.
Yesterday, we got the results of the DNA test. Bear was, in fact, my biological father. The test came back ninety-eight percent positive. I’d been too stunned to react at first. I had been wishing for it so hard that it didn’t seem real. I’d met him at the hospital when we got the call to come in for the results. He hugged me and told me how happy he was. We’d spent a little time together and then he left to give Ilara the good news. Before he left, he promised to take me to meet her and Hope soon.
I hope I wasn’t making a mistake by coming here, but I wanted to give Ilara a chance to meet with me without Bear. She’d feel free to let her true feelings show. I didn’t want her to plaster on a fake smile and just tolerate me for his sake. I wanted to have a friendship with her if I could. I wanted to be able to treat Hope as my baby sister. Something I’d wanted all my life, a sibling. Even if she was so much younger than me, it didn’t matter. I would spoil her to death.
I knocked on the door to Hope’s room. Ilara looked up as I stepped into the room. I’d put on the mask, gloves, and gown in the hall like the sign said to do. I saw recognition in her eyes. I gave her a tentative smile she couldn’t see. “Hello, can I come in?” I asked her.
She didn’t say anything. She just nodded. I stepped further into the room and came over to the bed. “Do you remember me? I’m Tarin,” I asked her as I held out my hand. She gave it a quick shake.
I couldn’t help but sigh. I knew this would be awkward. “Listen, I know this must be weird for you. It is for me, but I thought we should officially meet. I talked to Bear. He said you and he had made up and you knew the truth. I just wanted to apologize for the trouble I caused. That was never my intent. All I wanted to do was meet my real dad and let him know he had a kid. I don’t expect anything out of him, Ilara. I know he’s got a life with you and Hope. I’m glad he found you.”
I looked down at Hope. She was so adorable sleeping with her bunny in her arms. Her little face was peaceful. “She’s so precious. I can see why he fell for her and you. He said that he never imagined he’d have his own family, then he met you. You had this little girl he could raise as his own. Then I came along and he realized he had a child that was his own blood. He was stunned.
“You know we got the results yesterday of the DNA test. I was so glad that they were positive. I was worried my mom might have lied again. What she did to him is one of the worst things I think you could do to someone. I’m going to let him and you dictate where this goes from here. I’ll have as much or as little involvement in your lives as you want. I never expected to have any, to be honest. I just wanted a chance to introduce myself in person. I’m so sorry about the horrible mix-up that night at the clubhouse. I should have gone about meeting him differently. Now, I know you must be tired, so I won’t keep you any longer,” I told her in a rush. I stood up and walked to the door. I turned and gave her a smile. “It was nice to meet you, Ilara. I hope we’ll get to talk again and for longer. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Tarin. It was nice to meet you too,” she said. I hoped she meant it. I went down the elevator to the lobby. I was almost ready to faint. That had been intense, though short. When I stepped off the elevator, I ran into a hard, vast chest. I looked up to find Outlaw standing there. He was staring down at me intently. I gulped. Him up close was intense. It made him even more attractive to me.
I’d been thinking a lot about him since I saw him that night at the clubhouse. He stirred things inside of me that I’d rather stay undisturbed. My track record with guys was terrible. I never seemed to find the right one.
He stared at me with those dark eyes of his. They were almost black rather than brown. His hair was the same dark color, along with his closely trimmed beard and mustache. His hair looked thick and was longer on top than the sides. I saw a few crow’s feet around his eyes and he had lines that told me he frowned a lot. I wasn’t sure if it was in disapproval or concentration. He was a few inches over six feet. I estimated based on where I came up to on his shoulders. His skin was a darker tan than mine.
His tight t-shirt showed he had muscles, though he wasn’t muscle bound. He had tattoos peeking out at his neck and more ran down his arms. I wondered if he had them on other parts of his body. What I wouldn’t give to find out. Those thoughts had me snapping out of the trance he put me in. I wasn’t going to drool over some man I didn’t know in the middle of the hospital lobby like a ninny.
“Excuse me, I didn’t see you there. Sorry.” I tried to step around him, but he had his hand on my arm. He held me in front of him.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“Nowhere specific. I just went up to check on Hope and Ilara. Why?”
“Come have coffee with me. I feel like we should get to know each other. Since you’re Bear’s daughter, that makes you family.” His words said one thing, but his tone and intense look didn’t jive. What was he really thinking? I decided it wouldn’t hurt to have a cup of coffee with him. Maybe I’d find out what he was really up to.
“Sure. Is there somewhere you like to go? I’m not that familiar with Hunters Creek. I know there’s a coffee shop on Oak.”
He shook his head no. “If you want the best coffee and the pastries to go with it, we have to go to Madisen’s place, Angel’s Delights. Do you know where that is?” He took my elbow and started walking us toward the lobby door. I went with him to the parking lot. I automatically walked to my car.
“I do. I’ve seen it, but I haven’t been there yet. I’ll meet you there.” I unlocked my car door. He surprised me when he opened it. I got inside and he closed it. I turned on the car and rolled down my window.
“I’ll follow you. My bike is right over there. Wait for me,” he told me then he walked off. I saw that his bike was parked not far from my car. Coincidence or had he known this was my car? Lord, I’m becoming paranoid now. I watched him get on his bike and start it. I followed him out of the parking lot. The sight of him on his bike in front of me made me wonder what it was like to ride on a motorcycle. I’d never been on one.
There were parking spots out front when we got to the bakery. I parked and got my purse and jacket. By the time I did, he was at my door, opening it for me. He held out his hand to help me out. Again, I felt strange. Men I knew and dated didn’t open doors or help you out of the car. When my hand met his, tingling started in my fingers. Once I was standing, he didn’t let me pull my hand back. He held on to it as he walked me into the bakery.
The scents inside made me think I'd died and gone to heaven. I loved sweets and worked to control myself around them. If I worked here, I’d be the size of a whale. I saw two attractive women behind the counter. They looked to be around my age. They got huge smiles on their faces when they saw us. One of them called out, “Hey Outlaw, what brings you in here? Can’t resist my sweet buns?” She laughed as she said it.
He grinned as he pulled out a chair for me. “You know me, Mad. I can never resist your sweet buns or any of your other goodies. Just don’t tell your husband. He’ll get jealous and be gunning for me. We’ll just keep this between us.” A tiny pang of jealousy hit me. He obviously knew her well. Had they ever hooked up? As soon as that popped in my head, I thought, that’s none of your business, Tarin.
The other woman laughed. “I’m gonna tell. I thought you liked my buns better.” She pouted at him.
He shook his head and laughed. “Jess, I’m not picking between you two. You’re both my favorite buns. Don’t tell your husband either.” I’d heard enough. He wanted to flirt, I had things to do. I didn’t need to stay and listen to the banter between him and his sexual conquests, past or present. I stood up. He looked at me with a questioning look.
“You know, I just remembered, I have errands to run. We’ll have to have coffee another time. I can see you’re busy. Bye.” I walked toward the door, but Outlaw got between me and it. He frowned.
“What’s wrong, Tarin? You never said anything about errands. You look upset.”
“I’m not upset. I told you. I forgot about them until now. I really need to go. They can’t wait. Nice to see you.” I ducked around him and hurried out to my car. He followed me outside. I tried to get in my car before he got to it, but he was fast. He held my door closed, so I couldn’t get into the car.
“You’re lying. Why the one-eighty? All I want to do is chat and get to know you better.”
“Oh, I bet you do. I’m not in the mood to chat, Outlaw. Why don’t you go back inside and get those sweet buns you seem to love so much,” I snapped. He stepped back in surprise. I yanked open my door and got into the car before he could stop me. He tried to get me to open my window, but I ignored him. I started my car and pulled out of the parking spot. I looked in my rearview mirror. He was standing there frowning and watching my car. No thanks, I didn’t need some smooth-talking womanizer playing with my head. Let him play with Mad and Jess. They obviously loved it. He’d have more than enough sweet buns to hold him over, or at least for a night he would.
Outlaw:
What the fuck just happened? When I’d run into Tarin in the lobby of the hospital, I felt like it was fate. I’d been trying to figure out how I could approach her since the clubhouse. I wanted to talk to her and start learning about her. I could find out stuff from a background check, but that wasn’t the same thing as getting it from her. What I’d found so far, seemed to jive with what she’d told Bear. However, that was never the whole picture. I wanted to know everything about Tarin Mercer.
I was glad when she accepted my offer to get coffee. I knew the bakery would be the perfect place. When I took her hand outside the bakery to help her out of her car, I fought not to shiver from the shocks going through me. Walking inside, I couldn’t help but be happy she was with me. Once we got inside, it all went to hell and I had no idea why.
Suddenly, she was getting up and telling me some bullshit story about forgotten errands and then she walked out. Her parting remarks about going back inside to get sweet buns confused me. I watched her leave then I walked back inside. Jessica and Madisen gave me worried looks. “Do you know what the hell just happened?” I asked them.
Madisen came over and sat down at the table I’d been at before with Tarin. I joined her. “I think we might have run her off,” she said with an apologetic look on her face.
“How? You didn’t say anything to her. You weren’t rude or anything.”
“Does she know this place belongs to the Warriors? That we’re old ladies in the club?”
I thought about it. “I have no idea if she does or not. What difference would it make if you are? She has no reason to dislike the club. She doesn’t even know us.”
“Outlaw, you walk in here with a woman on your arm. You don’t introduce her or us then I make a joke about sweet buns. You get into it and then Jessica chimes in. To an outsider, it could sound kind of sexual. I think she thought we were flirting or that you might be involved with us. We said our husbands, so she knew we were married.”
My mouth fell open. Had she been upset at the idea I was flirting or even seeing married women? If so, did that mean she might be interested in me like I was interested in her? “Do you think that was it? Shit, I never intended for her to think I was involved with you or any other woman. That’s the last thing I want.”
She smiled. “And why would that be, I wonder? Could it have anything to do with the fact she’s a beautiful woman who’s unattached as far as I know? You could do worse than Bear’s newly found daughter unless she has some unsavory skeletons in the closet. If that’s the case, steer clear of her.”
“She doesn’t have any unsavory things that I’ve found. Yes, she’s beautiful. I won’t lie and say I’m not attracted to her. However, she’s Bear’s daughter and I don’t want to step on any toes either. I was hoping to get to know more about her over coffee.”
Jessica came over and gave me a cup of coffee and a couple of my favorite pastries. “I think Mad’s right, Outlaw. She didn’t know how to take what we said. She might just be sensitive to anything sounding like infidelity or she could be interested in you.”
“Well, fuck, that just made things worse. She’s been avoiding everyone but Bear. She stays in her hotel or only goes to a few places in town. I met her while she was leaving the hospital. She went to see Ilara and Hope. I wonder how that went.” We were all wondering how the news that she was Bear’s daughter was affecting Ilara.
“We need to get her to the clubhouse, so she can meet everyone and we can have a chance to talk to her. I bet that would make her feel more comfortable. Imagine if you found out your dad wasn’t your real dad and had to go to a place where you knew no one. She has to be lonely and a little scared. I’d hate it,” Jess said with a shiver.
“You’re right. She has no idea who we are. The night of the party, all she probably saw was a bunch of people looking at her and judging her. I’ll see if I can get her to come to the compound. If nothing else, maybe have coffee with me.”
“So, it’s just coffee you’re interested in. You just want to make her feel welcome as Bear’s daughter,” Madisen said in a teasing tone.
“Damn it, you know that’s not all I meant. But for now, keep your thoughts to yourselves. I don’t know if there’s anything there or not. I don’t want Bear gunning for me,” I warned them. They both laughed. I spent ten minutes drinking my coffee, eating my pastries, and fielding their teasing comments. When I left, I knew I was going to find out why Tarin had left. Was she really put off by the idea of cheating or did she feel something for me? God, I hoped it was attraction to me.
??????
I didn’t get a chance to find out that afternoon because we got called to the hospital to meet again. A very pissed-off Bear greeted us. Todd Hamilton had tried to kidnap Ilara from the hospital’s courtyard! It happened right after I left with Tarin. He explained what had gone on and that Hamilton not only knew Ilara was there, but he knew about Hope. Ilara was beside herself with worry. Bear was worried for both of them. I’d hate to be Hamilton when Bear got his hands on him.
We set up to have more than one person at the hospital to guard them. Bull was going to bring in a few guys from Dublin Falls and the Punishers in Virginia. When we were done with our meeting, I went by the hotel where Tarin was staying. Her car wasn’t in the parking lot. I wondered where she was. I waited for a little while, but she didn’t return. I left, worried she’d left town.
Back at the compound later, I called it an early night. I wanted to do more searching for Hamilton. Maybe there was somewhere I hadn’t looked. I also wanted to look over again what I’d found on Tarin. In my room, I put in new search criteria for Hamilton and then took out the report I had on her. She’d grown up in Atlanta, Georgia. Carol Roberts and Merrill Mercer were listed as her parents. She was twenty-five years old. That made her seven years younger than me.
Mercer had money, a lot of it. He’d been a local real estate guy who was on the boards of a bunch of other companies. He did charity work. His family was old money in Atlanta. While she’d been married to him, Carol had been at his side at most of those events. I saw photos of them. She didn’t look much like Tarin. Looking at her, I saw a hard woman.
Tarin had been raised with the best that money could buy. She went to a private school. They had servants. They had multiple homes and luxury everything. All this made me wonder what happened to make them get a divorce. The court papers just said irreconcilable differences.
In the divorce, though it had been sealed, I discovered Carol had gotten a very generous payout. Not only in alimony and child support, but in what she got free and clear and the trust fund for Tarin. Also, she asked for and got one hundred percent physical custody of Tarin. He wasn’t even given visitation, nor had he asked for it. Why? Nothing showed he ever tried to see Tarin after the divorce. Had he found out she wasn’t his? But if he had, why be so generous with Carol? They’d had a prenup, but he didn’t enforce it. There were too many unanswered questions for my liking.
Not having any answers and more questions, I gave up and took a shower. I needed to get some sleep. As I stood under the pounding water, I closed my eyes and thought of Tarin. She’d been dressed in a simple top and long flowing skirt today. It wasn’t anything revealing or overly sexy, but it showed off her body. I loved seeing her in it. I’d seen a couple guys at the hospital checking her out as we left. I’d wanted to bare my teeth at them.
Those thoughts led to me trying to imagine what she’d look like stripped of all those clothes. I imagined her breasts were just enough to give my hands a nice handful. Were her nipples pink or more of a tan color? Were they sensitive? Her hips made my hands long to span them as I grabbed that ass. I’d finally seen what she had in the back. That ass was more than a handful.
From there, I imagined those legs of hers wrapped around me, as I took her hard and fast. I’d have them holding me to her, as I sank into her pussy and maybe even her luscious ass. I groaned as my cock got harder. I knew all this imagining wasn’t going to let me get to sleep. I took a soapy hand and grasped my erection. I pumped up and down my length as I thought about it being Tarin’s pussy clutching me. I squeezed tighter and twisted my hand around the head of my cock.
My breathing was picking up as I pumped away. I let my thoughts move to her down on her knees in front of me, sucking on my cock, as she looked up at me with those big blue eyes, her fingers teasing my balls. I moaned as the tingling in the base of my spine started. Then I switched to imagining her on her hands and knees, as I sank into her tight little asshole and fucked her backdoor. That’s what finally had me shouting as I stroked my cock faster, spraying my cum all over the floor of the shower and the walls.
When I was done coming and had recovered my senses, I rinsed and dried off. I got under the covers and lay there trying to sleep. Thoughts of Tarin had me rubbing out another one before I was tired enough to fall asleep. I was going to find out everything there was to know about Tarin. And if things went my way, she’d be naked in my bed for real, not just in my head.