Tuck's Wrath (7 page)

Chapter Nine

Tuck parked his Harley in front of the small bar and grille in River Run, cut the engine, and looked at the other bikes parked out front. It was early in the day, and he’d only left Jana because she’d fallen asleep. Pierce wanted to talk to him, maybe about what the hell he’d done, or maybe just to shoot the shit since Tuck hadn’t been to the club in a while. And although it had only been a couple of days since he’d spoken with the club members, he still hadn’t heard from them on whether or not he was kicked out.

He was suffering from bouts of internal rage concerning the whole situation, but none of that had to do with him regretting what he’d done. He’d never regret saving Jana and doing what he did. Making the deal with M had been his only option, and whether the club saw that or not, saw that he did care for the woman and would do anything to make sure she was okay, wasn’t his problem anymore. He’d betrayed them, gone behind their back, and by club rules they could have ended his life and buried him in the mountains where no one would have found him. He’d been through a lot with those members, and even if Pierce was a newbie in the patched-in scene, Tuck had become close with the other man.

He dismounted and headed inside, his sunglasses hanging loosely from his fingers, his helmet hanging on his handlebar¸ and the emptiness he felt at the fact he didn’t have his cut on weighing heavily on him. When he pulled the door open the sound of “Sweet Home Alabama” coming from the jukebox filled his head. There were bikers gathered around the pool table and bar, and barely dressed older women were on their laps and hanging around them.

He bee-lined to where he saw Pierce sitting in the back of the bar, a pitcher of beer in the center of the table, and this pissed expression on his face.
Okay.
Maybe the other man didn’t want to have club talk with him. Well, that was a little better. Tuck didn’t really want to go down that route, especially when he knew if the club had made a decision but was sitting on it, Pierce wouldn’t be able to say anything, or he, too, would be going against the club.

“Hey, man,” Pierce said and tipped his glass toward Tuck right before he brought it to his mouth and drank the rest of the contents. He poured himself another full glass, gestured for the waitress to bring over more, and then he just stared at Tuck. “Well, sit,” Pierce said, his voice hard, pissed.

“What’s up your ass?” Tuck asked and pulled the chair out to sit down. If anyone should be in a foul fucking mood it should be him, but even Tuck wasn’t feeling that type of anger. The truth was he was upset over the thought of losing his club, but on the other hand he was happy he had Jana in his house, even for a short amount of time. She wouldn’t stay there forever, was already starting to heal, and he knew she’d leave soon. That had this pang starting in his gut and moving all the way through his chest.

The waitress set a glass in front of Tuck and grinned down at him, but he waved her away.

“Turning down pussy that’s willing, yeah?” Pierce said, but he was looking down at his glass, his brow furrowed.

“I’m not interested in skanky old pussy that hangs out in here.” Tuck leaned back in his chair. “You called, so I assume this is some personal shit.”

Pierce looked at him, grabbed his glass, and drank more of his beer. They sat there for several seconds in silence, the sound of the music, laughing, cursing, and lewd language filling the room. It felt like the club, and that was a kick to the balls on a deep level.

“There hasn’t been a vote yet,” Pierce said in a deep, low voice.

Tuck nodded, filled his glass full, and finished half of the contents before he even took a breath.

“I want you to know I’m against you leaving. I can see why Lucien called this, but I also know that you wouldn’t have done it if it didn’t mean a hell of a lot to you.”

Tuck nodded again, not really wanting to talk about it now that it was out there.

“But that’s not why I called you for a drink.” Pierce set his cup down and leaned forward. “I wanted to know how you deal with wanting something that looks like you won’t be able to have.”

Tuck couldn’t help it. He started laughing. “Man, you’re talking about a piece of ass, aren’t you?”

Pierce exhaled, ran a hand over his short light hair, but finally nodded. “Yeah, and it’s the craziest fucking thing, man. I have never wanted a piece of pussy as badly as I want this stripper’s.”

Tuck wasn’t surprised that Pierce was obsessing about a woman, especially if she had turned him down. “What she say, no or hell no?”

“She told me to fuck off, and that I needed to respect women.”

Tuck chuckled. “Well, even a stripper has standards.”

Pierce smiled. “She looked at my cut with this shocked expression, then said something about how I had enough pussy at the club.”

Tuck smiled, liking the girl even if he didn’t know who she was. “Well, I can see why you’re hard-up for her. You’re not used to getting denied.”

Pierce snorted. “Fuck no, and it makes it worse that she is shaking her tits and ass up on stage, making my dick and balls feel like they’re going to explode, yet turning me down. Pisses me off, man, but makes me a fiend for her.”

Yeah, Tuck could understand the other man’s obsession. He’d wanted Jana before all of this, was fascinated with her. But now she was at his place, he’d taken her away from all of that shit, and he was making sure she healed. All he could think about was that he wanted to tell her that he wanted her for his own. But it had to be too soon for that, because she was traumatized, probably so damn scared still, and he didn’t want to push her over the edge. He’d never wanted a woman as badly as he did Jana, and taking her away from that hellhole of degradation, abuse, rape, and God knows what else they had planned, made him feel especially protective of her.

“So, Jana?” Pierce said, holding Tuck’s gaze with his own. “Is it something that is going somewhere, or is this a brother-sister feeling type of thing?”

Tuck leaned back n his seat, the chair creaking from his weight. He looked at Pierce’s cut, at the smooth black leather, the way it wasn’t really broken in yet because he was still a newly patched-in member. “Not really wanting to go there, brother.”

“I think things will be okay, Tuck,” Pierce said, changing the subject.

That was good because Tuck didn’t want to talk about Jana in this shithole. He was falling for her … hard, and the longer she was with him, the more he wanted to be with her, to make her his in every way.

“Time will tell, man.”

Pierce nodded, and they sat there in silence, drinking, not having to say anything just to fill the space between them. 

Chapter Ten

It had been a week that Jana had been at Tuck’s, and although she still had bruising, and her cuts were still there, though scabbed over, it was time for her to leave Tuck’s place. It was time, time for her to give Tuck his home back, his life, and time for her to see her little boy and the woman that was more like a sister than a friend. Even though she’d talked to Bobbie and Braden many times in the last seven days the pain of not seeing them physically was still unbearable.

She wanted to hold her little man, wanted to smell him, touch his chubby little cheeks, and give Bobbie the biggest hug in the world. Without her friend she would have been lost, out in the street with nothing and no one to care for her and Braden. She wouldn’t have lasted, but because of one woman, one that lived her life in a not traditional manner, recklessly at times, and didn’t give a shit what others thought, Jana and Braden had made it.

She looked around the bedroom Tuck had given her for the last week, loving that it was bare of anything, but felt like him. It was like he was here with her even though he wasn’t. She didn’t know where he’d run off to this morning, but she’d told him last night that she thought it was time for her to leave. He’d gone so quiet after she’d spoken that she’d worried she’d pissed him off, but then he’d nodded, told her that it was good that she go see Braden, and that he was always here for her. Then he’d gone to sleep on the couch, and when she’d woken up he was gone.

Jana breathed out, walked over to the mirror that hung on the wall beside the bed, and moved her finger along the small crack that lined the corner of the glass. She stared at herself, at the way her darker colored hair was slightly curled at the ends as it brushed below her shoulders. She touched a strand, moved the lock between her fingers, and wondered what the future held as she became transfixed with that strand of hair.

Staring at her reflection again, she ran a finger under her eye where the darkest bruise still was. It was fading now, but still purple and blue in color. The others were turning green and yellow, and the small cuts on her neck were looking a hell of a lot better than they’d been. Of course Braden would have questions about her injuries, but she didn’t look like she’d gotten run over by a truck like she had a week ago.

She lifted her shirt, ran her hand over her belly that had William’s belt buckle mark marring her flesh, and felt tears well in her eyes. She wasn’t crying because of the marks, or the scars she’d have for the rest of her life. She wasn’t even crying because of what had happened. She was crying because she was here, alive, and it was all because of Tuck.

“You’re upset,” his voice came from behind her, startling her.

She could see his reflection in the mirror. Jana slowly turned, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and moved closer to him. He stood there, his white shirt having grease smudges on it, his tattooed arms slightly shiny from the sweat that covered his golden skin, the scent of clean, male perspiration filling her nose. She lifted her hand, saw him tense, and touched the side of his face. The beard he sported looked like it had been trimmed, not much, but trimmed nonetheless. His hair was still long, put up in a man bun, and she felt her heart start to beat a little faster at how gorgeous he was in a brutal way.

“I hate to see you cry,” he said softly, his voice scratchy, slightly gravelly.

“I’m not crying because I’m sad, but because if it wasn’t for you I’d probably be dead … or worse right now.”

He didn’t say anything, and this courage, this strength, rose up in her. Before he could say anything, she rose on her toes and pressed her lips to his. The feel of his beard along her cheeks sent a flash of heat through her, made her toes curl, her blood pump harder through her veins, and her erogenous zones tingle. Maybe she shouldn’t be feeling this kind of desire, this type of intense arousal after what had happened, but she was, and she welcomed it.

“Jana,” he groaned her name, placed his hands on her shoulders, and gently pushed her away. “I can’t do this, not when you’re hurt.” He sounded pained when he said that, and the way he looked at her lips, stared at her mouth as if he were hungry for more, told her that he was feeling this, too.

“But you want to.” She said it without question, not moving, just staring up at his strong, handsome face.

He groaned again, cupped her cheek so gently it could have made her cry again, and nodded slowly. “I really fucking want to—”

And that was all she wanted, no, needed to hear. She lifted on her toes again, pressed her lips to his, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was being bold, so much bolder than she’d ever been in her life. But damn did it feel good and right.

He kissed her back, held onto her waist gently, so soft that she knew he was being mindful of her wounds, and pulled her closer to his body. The hardness of his muscles, the definition of them, sent a flash of heat through her. Beads of perspiration dotted the area between her breasts, and she moaned, needing so much more.

Opening her mouth and slipping her tongue along his, they both made this low noise. He kissed her back softly at first, but then harder, more demanding. A gasp left her when he started moving them backward. When the wall stopped her movements and she felt his erection press against her belly, she broke their kiss.

“I’m sorry,” he said almost breathlessly, his cock so big, so thick and hard as he pressed it into her. “I’m being a filthy fucking asshole right now, kissing you like you’re mine, making you feel my dick like this.” But he didn’t move back, just held her hips, kept his dick pressed to her belly, and stared down at her. “I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you, Jana, but I continued to stay away, be this big asshole because it’s who and what I am.”

She cupped his cheek, loving that his beard was soft against her palm. “I know who you are.” She lowered her hand down his face, over his neck, and stopped on the scar that she’d noticed the first time she saw him. “I know you’re a man that fights to survive, that fights so others can survive.” She spoke slowly, wanting him to hear everything she said, to hear the truth in them. “I know your life has been hard, and that you’ve done things that others consider bad, wrong, and immoral.”

“You have no idea, Jana.”

She smiled softly. “I’ve done things that others consider bad and stupid, Tuck. I’ve done things I regret, things that I have paid for with blood.” This darkness crossed his face after she spoke, and she rose on her toes and kissed him softly again. “You’re a protector, a warrior, and I’ve been afraid to tell you how I felt because I didn’t know if this could ever work out,” she whispered all of that against his lips. “I didn’t know if you could accept me and Braden, especially after the life I put myself in with William.”

“Shhh, baby, we aren’t going to even talk about him.” He leaned down and was the one to kiss her this time. “If he wasn’t already dead I’d take care of him, make sure he never touched you or Braden again.” He ran a finger along her cheek. “I’ll make sure the two of you would never want for anything, never have to look over your shoulder in worry or be afraid.” He cupped the side of her neck, moved his thumb over a spot she knew had a bruise, and the soothing, gentle way he touched her had her breath leaving her.

“You risked your life, risked your spot in the club for me, and you don’t even know my last name.” They were staring at each other now.

“I don’t need to know anything about you more than the fact that in my heart I want you as mine. That’s all I need to know to lay down my life for you and Braden.”

His words were so sweet, so unlike the man he displayed on the outside, that she couldn’t form a response. But it didn’t matter anyway because the sound of tires on the gravel right outside told Jana her ride was here.

“That’s Bobbie.”

He rested his forehead on hers. “I could have taken you there. I wanted to.”

She smiled, closed her eyes, and wrapped her arms around his neck a little tighter.

“Truth is I want you to stay here, but this place is too shitty and small for you and Braden.” Seriousness covered his face when he pulled back and looked down at her. “I want to be the man that takes care of you, that gives you what you and your son need no matter what.”

She was crying now, the tears falling down her cheeks because never in her life did she think this was how her life would have turned out.

“Finley,” she said and smiled.

He knitted his brows. “What, baby?” he said and gave her this lopsided smile.

“My last name is Finley.”

He started chuckling and cupped both sides of her face, leaned in to kiss her, and stole the very air from her lungs.

“I’m Boston Oakley, but I haven’t gone by that name in years.” He leaned back, still smiling. “It’s just Tuck now.”

The sound of someone knocking on his front door had him moving a step back. She smoothed her hands down one of the outfits he’d given her to wear this week—a pair of sweats and a t-shirt—and cleared her throat. She knew that although she wanted Tuck she didn’t want to rush into this, not after the ordeal she’d been through. She wanted to be able to be with her son, hold him, love him, and get their life on track before she worried about her personal life.

“I want you, Tuck, badly, but I also need some time.”

He didn’t move for a moment, but then he nodded once. “I’m not going anywhere, Jana. You take all the time you need, because I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

There was another knock on the door, and then the sound of Braden’s voice, whining that he wanted to see his mama, came through. She smiled at her little boy’s need to see her, and emotion swelled within her because of that, and of what Tuck had said to her.

“Go see them, baby. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

This man was so good, so sweet and hard at the same time. She moved toward the front door to where her best friend and son were. Opening the door, she saw Braden standing there, Bobbie’s hands on his little shoulders, and tears in her eyes.

“God, Jana,” Bobbie said on a strangled cry. “Your face—”Jana launched herself at the two of them before Bobbie could finish, falling to her knees on the ground and crying because she was deliriously happy. Holding Braden and Bobbie, listening to both of them crying, talking animatedly about how much they missed her, had Jana feeling so much happiness, and she knew that if not for Tuck doing what he did she wouldn’t be in this situation, with the people she loved right now.

Looking over Braden’s and Bobbie’s heads, she stared at Tuck who stood in the hallway, the shadows concealing parts to him. She was falling for the rough biker, hard, fast, and she honestly didn’t want to stop herself from going over the edge.