Exquisite Redemption (Iron Horse MC Book 3) (2 page)

Chapter 1

2 years ago

Sturgis, South Dakota

Sarah Anderson, aka Sarah Star, World Pole Dancer of the Year and Miss March

I
was sweating like a whore in church with my ample boobs almost fully exposed by my black leather halter top, tastefully studded and built for maximum support and minimum coverage. As usual, with this amount of cleavage showing, I had guys having conversations with my tits, which were not interested. It was both annoying and pathetic. Thankfully they did it to all of the girls signing autographs, because we were all dressed like biker hoochies to varying degrees.

I couldn’t complain because the outfits I was given for free to wear to the biker rally were amazing. Today I wore a custom-fitted Gautier piece that cost as much as some of the shiny motorcycles these men and women rode. The women who weren’t riding on the back of a man’s bike, that is. Biker guys seemed to love having a pretty piece of arm candy. They’d strut around proud as peacocks with their woman, or women, on their arms. There were some chicks out there who were partying hard, topless, and sometimes bottomless, but they were always with some scary-looking guys who kept them safe.

Scarlet, a beautiful tattooed raven-haired woman with a wicked sense of humor, was one of the girls from
Playboy’s
online division who looked like a pinup girl. Wearing a cute pink and white polka dot dress, she had a big laugh and an even bigger smile. Turning to look at me, she gave the universal symbol for “barf me out”, pretending to stick her finger down her throat and making a silent retch. I couldn’t help but laugh and nod in agreement.

Leaning closer, she said, “I think I need to take a shower after the way that guy was panting. I think he might have spooged in his pants.”

“Ewww,” I snorted and the guy whose picture I was signing gave me a weird look, but I ignored him as one of the security guys, who were making sure everyone behaved, moved the line along.

“Have any more hand sanitizer?”

I leaned forward and tapped the dark-eyed security guard standing by my table and glaring at everyone who approached me. “I need a quick break.”

He looked over at me, his gaze only lingering on my tits for the count of three before he lifted his gaze to mine. “No problem. Take as long as you need, Ms. Star.”

I smiled at him, always wanting to be on good terms with people who were trying to keep me alive. “Thanks.”

Scarlet took a long drink from her water and I followed suit. It was hot as shit, dry, and I had my final performance tonight. Hell, it might be my final performance ever. It was a melancholy thought, but I also felt an immense amount of relief. I could lead a normal life now. I’d worked my ass off since I was sixteen, on my own, to make it to where I am. Financially independent with a huge savings account and a bunch of healthy investments. I owned my own home, owned my car, and had fought tooth and nail for everything I had.

“Sarah?”

I grabbed my giant Chanel purse—it was really more like a small duffel bag—and dug through it.  “What kind do you like? I have coconut scented, or lemon rosewater—but I wouldn’t recommend that one. It smells like an old lady but I got it on sale so I’m loath to waste it.”

“I know what you mean. I have a bottle of this hideous, cheap, green nail polish I got for St. Patrick’s Day one year and I can’t seem to throw it away.” Laughing, Scarlet crossed her long legs, the cute skirt of the dress she was wearing lifting to reveal the tops of her thigh-highs. “Gimme the coconut one. I don’t mind smelling like suntan oil, it takes me away from all this crap and to Iron Horse’s Island.”

“Where’s that at?”

“Down in the Caribbean.”

“Wait, Iron Horse the motorcycle club owns an entire island?”

“Yep.” she sighed in mock bliss. “It’s so peaceful.”

Before I could respond, a group of guys came up, elbowing their way through the crowd to the front of the line. They all wore different vests, but the looks on their rough faces invited no bullshit. Dammit, I was a scary-motherfucker magnet. If there was some psychos around with a taste for blondes, I hit their invisible radar full force. They always found me and always seemed surprised when I didn’t roll over and offer them my belly when they growled.

People started to yell at the men as they pushed past, but they ignored them, shuffling closer to my table in a tight group. Before I could yell at them for line jumping, they parted to reveal three very scared-looking girls around my cousin’s ages. Five, seven, maybe nine-year-old girls, all with big green eyes and dark red hair. All protected by a group of big men with big green eyes and red hair. I didn’t understand the family dynamic but there was no doubt these people shared blood.

More security was closing in on my table, but I raised my hand. “It’s cool. They brought some young ladies to visit us. We’re good, I promise. These gentlemen aren’t going to do anything to upset those girls, right?”

The red-haired biker dudes all lifted their chins and I guessed that was the equivalent of a yes.

Not liking it, security backed up just enough that I could see the clearly uncomfortable girls blushing beneath everyone’s stares.

Curious as to what brought them, I smiled when an earnest young man with longish and glorious dark red hair walked up to my table. Security was still nervous, but I felt the need to talk with them and I knew in my gut they meant me no harm.

The crowd behind the men who’d shoved their way to the front was getting pissed and I knew I needed to diffuse the situation before things got out of hand. These young girls were already practically shaking in their sneakers and my protective instincts came roaring to the surface. I hated witnessing adults arguing as a kid, my mother’s fights with her fuck of the month were often violent and terrible affairs, so I do my utmost to remain in control around kids. I will never be the person they become scared of.

Ever.

“Hi,” I chirped and held out my hand, giving him big “I’m not a threat” doe eyes. “Sarah Star, nice to meet you.”

The guy was my age, maybe a little older, but he had an edge about him that made me wary. “My cousins would like to meet you.”

“And I’d love to meet them,” I said while motioning for the girls to come closer.

As soon as I started talking to them, the little girls opened up and I learned they were big fans of my pole dancing. Their mother was a pole dancer who owned a studio in Chicago and evidently she was a huge fan of mine. Now, it
was
a little weird because I’m here for
Playboy
, but at the same time I could easily see how naive and innocent these girls were. Whoever was watching over them was doing a good job and my heart melted at their excited chatter.

“Marley.” I turned to the girls and held up my hand to stop the flow of giggles. “One moment please, ladies.”

My personal assistant scampered up, her shoulders hunched as if she didn’t want to be noticed. Unfortunately for her, we were in a place full of different kinds of predators so her shyness was drawing their attention like tigers to a mouse. I was very protective of her and treated her gently as I relayed my instructions for getting the girls some souvenirs.

As soon as I had them loaded up, the men with them announced it was time to leave because it was getting dark and they didn’t want their kids here once the serious partying started. I one-hundred-and-ten-percent agreed the girls needed to get going. Their male relatives all loved me, and I got a couple earnest marriage proposals before they were dragged off by security while I laughed. That’s one thing I learned doing this tour. You have to be able to laugh shit off or you go a little insane. Weird shit happened around me a lot and it was either laugh at how ludicrous my life was or cry until I dehydrated.

“That was really nice of you to do.”

I shrugged, talking with a fan and signing his poster before returning my attention to Scarlet. “They were a nice family concerned about their young girls. You would have done the same thing.”

“Yeah, but
I
know bikers and know they were good guys. You’re a civilian.”

“A what?”

“A person who doesn’t know the MC lifestyle.”

Grinning at her, I said in a low voice, “Oh, I’m going to get a taste of that lifestyle tonight. I plan on finding a party, finding a hot and hung biker, then riding him until he can’t walk.”

Scarlet posed for a picture, then gave me an incredulous look. “Woman, have you ever partied with bikers before?”

“Not really.
Playboy
has me under a tight contract until my final show tonight so I’ve been stuck on the bus, but I figure there’s a first time for everything. Besides, this is Sturgis, it would be a sin to spend my last night here in my bunk bed by myself.”

Scarlet’s lips pursed and she glanced over her shoulder at one of the guys guarding us. “Unless you want to be passed around by the men, or married to one on sight, I suggest you bypass the bikers. Go for one of your hot
Playboy
security dudes.”

“No, they’re cute, I don’t want them to get fired. And what do you mean, passed around or married?”

Our voices were super soft whispers at this point, both of us cupping our mouths. “Honey, I was with Thorn for a week before he knew he was ready to put his patch on my back and made me his old lady.”

“Old lady…” I combed through the biker lingo I’d learned over these last few days. “That’s like biker marriage, right?”

“Right, but once you’re his old lady, that’s it. You are bound by chains stronger than you can imagine for the rest of your life. Even if you break up, in the biker world you’ll always belong to him.”

“That is bullshit.”

“Yep, but that’s the way of my world. If you want to live in it you have to accept the local customs, and trust me when I say the payoff’s worth it.”

Scarlet paused to talk to the person she was signing for and I did the same for the man at my table. Older guy, nice clean white hair, and wearing faded jeans and a cowboy hat. We shot the shit for a minute, took a couple pictures, then I dragged Scarlet back into our conversations.

I could never endure belonging to a man like that, the very thought made my pulse race. “I can’t imagine not wanting to cut off some guy’s dick if he tried that shit with me.

She smirked. “Thought the same, until Thorn came into my life and healed me, then addicted me to his cock.”

“Pardon?”

“Long time ago, and not a conversation for here, but he saved my life and I owe him.” For a second, sadness flashed through her gaze, but she buried it behind a glittering smile as she greeted another fan. 

We worked for the next hour or so without a chance to talk again. The bikers had been right, as darkness started to move across the gorgeous countryside, the mood at the signing was getting rowdy. Just as I was starting to wonder when they were going to shut down, Marley appeared at my elbow.

With her hair pulled back and her glasses on, she looked terribly young and sweet, but I let her live under the illusion it made her look more professional. Her douchebag baby daddy, who was thankfully in jail for life, had systematically tore her down and isolated her from all sources of support. He’d done a number on her, but I’d taken her under my wing and, more importantly, my parents had taken Marley and her little baby boy under theirs. One day after I’d brought Marley home to stay with them while she recovered, her boyfriend was under arrest for dealing heroine in a school zone. Even though he swore he was set up, and he totally was, he got life because he had a list of priors a mile long.

I quickly stood and waved, blowing kisses before I yelled, “See y’all at the main stage in a couple hours!”

The crowd went crazy and I waved again, my mind switching gears from PR to what I considered my real job. Entertaining. The roar of the crowd gave me an adrenaline high like no other and I knew this audience would be insane.

I couldn’t wait.

Three hours later, exhilaration mixed with a tiny bit of stage fright zinged through my blood in a heady strike, like getting ready to snowboard down the side of a steep mountain. With the bitingly cold air frosting your every breath, you know the ride is going to be epic, but man that first step is a doozy.