Chapter 7

Everything feels different.

I’m looking at a whole new world, not knowing where I exactly fit in. The tension between Orion and me is still very much there. If anything, it’s only grown and become harder to deal with on a daily basis.

Judging by Drake and Kai’s persistent glances, I’m sure they know about what happened the other night. I can see it in their eyes. The lust, a deluge of dark and dirty thoughts directed at me.

When Orion comes into the bar accompanied by his friends and partners, he simply nods at me. I watch them go directly upstairs before I shift my focus back to work. We’ve got a full house tonight, with club members, prospects, and locals gathering for a pool match.

The bets are heavy, and the drinking heavier, so the bar is busy. I don’t mind; it keeps me occupied.

I’ve spent the past couple of days thinking about that moment I shared with Orion, thinking about how eager I was to be claimed, how I loved every damn second of it. I was tender afterward, but I felt like a full woman for the first time in my life.

I felt wanted and deeply desired. He claimed me. Maybe I should’ve told him that he’d be my first before anything happened, but I feared he might’ve pushed me away.

Not might have, but he definitely would have pushed me away. At least this way, I got to experience him, even if he’s still fuming mad at me.

“Are you okay, honey?” Paddy asks when he stops by the bar for a hot second.

“Yeah, just tired, I guess,” I reply with a warm smile.

“It’s a tough night,” he says. “Look around you, what do you see?”

“I see a full house.” Once I’ve served a couple of customers, I move closer to Paddy’s side. What else am I supposed to see?”

He points around us. “Is anybody happy?”

He’s right. They’re playing pool, drinking, and socializing, but there isn’t a single smile to be found. Come to think of it, Orion seemed gloomier than usual, Kai was downright morose, and even Drake couldn’t muster a half-smile for anyone.

Something is going on.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s happening?” I ask Paddy. Part of me worries it might have something to do with what transpired between Orion and me, but that doesn’t make any sense. Nobody else knows—nobody outside the tight circle, that is.

Paddy leans in closer, narrowing his bloodshot eyes at me. “A rival MC is making some aggressive moves around Orange County. They struck a clubhouse up in northern Anaheim last night,” he says. “We think they’re coming for us next.”

“Oh,” I reply. “Why would they come for us?”

“Money, Nadia. Money and power,” Paddy says. “It’s why the boys are working so hard to push the Blackthorn Riders in a different direction. There’s gonna be trouble at our doorstep soon enough. I don’t think you need to hear the details, but I’m letting you know so it doesn’t take you by surprise.”

Fear tests my spine with tiny electrical impulses that cause goosebumps to tickle my skin. “Should I be worried, Paddy?”

“You should be vigilant. You have us on speed dial if you need us, but we’re gonna have some of our bigger guys stationed here from dawn till closing hours, every day, from now on. Just be ready to get out of sight if you see the wrong kind of people walking in, all right?”

I nod slowly. “Okay.”

“You’ve been here long enough to be able to spot someone who doesn’t quite belong,” he adds.

He’s right. I’ve gotten to know the club’s regular customers by now—the members, prospects, their buddies, and extended families. I know the locals, too—the hard-working neighbors, the women who come in looking for a good time, the strippers who stop by before their shifts start, the escorts, and the working girls. Yeah, I know all of them.

“Does my father know?” I ask Paddy.

I rarely see my dad these days. Our last conversation was tense and uncomfortable, and we usually spend a couple of weeks actively avoiding one another before burying the hatchet. We’re both strong-willed, proud, and pig-headed.

Mom used to laugh about it, but in her absence, it’s awkward and unpleasant. Yet neither of us can find a way forward, so we just roll with the punches and let the conflicts simmer down, hoping that time can heal or at least tuck the issues away.

It never fully does, though.

“No, and I don’t plan on telling him, either. Not until there’s a concrete threat, that is,” Paddy replies. “That being said, if I get so much as the slightest feeling that you might be in danger, Nadia, I am gonna send you away.”

“You will do no such thing,” I firmly reply. “I’m a grown-ass woman. I can handle myself. Besides, this is Orange County, not some war zone. We have cops.”

“Oh, honey, there’s a lot you don’t see because Quicksilver was, well, quick to get you and your mom out of here a long time ago,” Paddy chuckles dryly. “I’m warning you, though. You keep your eyes wide open. And you’d better call if anybody iffy comes knocking around. From what I understand, those bastards like to poke and prod before they hit a clubhouse.”

“Duly noted, Paddy. Thank you,” I reply.

He makes his way through the crowd, chatting with other club members. I can tell from their expressions that they’re concerned. Had Paddy not told me about this rival gang stuff, I probably wouldn’t have paid much attention.

Knowing what I know now, however, has made me attuned to the entire MC’s vibe, which fills me with unpleasant tension on top of the preexisting uncertainty regarding my dynamic with Orion, Kai, and Drake.

“For fuck’s sake,” I mutter when I see Carla come into the clubhouse. “I need alcohol for this.”

Without hesitation, I grab one of the whiskey bottles and pour myself a quick shot before she reaches my side of the bar, letting the amber liquid burn through me. To my relief, it does manage to take some of the edge off.

By the time she’s in front of me, only the broad wooden counter between us, I feel like I can handle whatever she is ready to throw my way.

“What’s your stiffest drink?” she asks.

“That would be the absinthe,” I say, noticing her puffy eyes and uneven makeup. She looks like she’s been crying for days, to the point where not even a double layer of foundation can help her. Judging by her simple tank top and ragged jeans, she’s not working tonight. “But it’ll do quite the number on you.”

“Yeah, that’s what I want,” Carla replies.

Now I’m curious. She’s not her usual belligerent self. She’s not even looking around, hoping to see Orion anywhere, which is usually her first move. Hell, she’s not remotely interested in ripping my eyeballs out, either. It’s strange and kind of sets me on edge, even more so than I am already.

I pour her a shot of absinthe and add a glass of water on the side, well aware that she’ll need it.

“Here you go,” I say, adding a teaspoon of white sugar to her greenish-blue drink. “Mix that up and down it, then the water.”

Carla stares at the shot glass for a few moments. With one swift move, she drinks the absinthe and the water, her nose scrunching up from a plethora of contradicting sensations while the spirit works its way into her bloodstream. “I’m gonna regret this decision, but I’ll take another one,” she says.

“Are you okay?”

“What’s it to you?” she raises a thin eyebrow at me.

“Carla, I’m not feuding with you. Seriously. I mean, you no harm; you’re the one who keeps trying to start something.”

She shakes her head slowly, then takes a seat at the bar, her bony shoulders dropping in defeat. “I know. It’s my stupid ego,” Carla sighs. “I don’t know when to let things go. You’re not to blame, anyway. I do need another one of those, though,” she adds, pointing at the empty shot glass. “It tastes funny, but I like what it’s doing to me.”

“Okay,” I mutter and pour her a second drink. “Is everything all right?”

“Not by a mile,” she says. “But I’ll figure something out. I always do.”

“I’m sorry. I hope you do work it out,” I say.

“Why’s everybody so iffy here tonight?” Carla asks, glancing around and noticing the tension. “They look like they’re about to take Old Yeller behind the shed and put him out of his misery or something.”

I chuckle softly and help myself to a second shot of whiskey. “Paddy said there’s trouble brewing with a rival MC. Someone’s coming for the clubhouse. Or, at least, that’s what they think is going to happen.”

“Ugh, every other year, another numb nut with a Harley and some crack money takes over a gang and thinks he can shake Orange County up like he owns the whole district,” Carla groans, shaking her head in dismay. “And every other year, that same numb nut ends up dead in a ditch after pissing off the wrong people. I’ve heard this tale before, and I know how it ends. Don’t worry about it.”

“The Blackthorn Riders MC has been around for decades,” I say. “They’re one of the most respected in the county.”

“And feared,” Carla reminds me. “Don’t let their niceness toward you, Daddy’s Girl, fool you. These fellas are brutal and ruthless when it comes to the club and the club business.” She pauses and gives me a hard look. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, but you’ll figure it out on your own. And when you do, when you see them for who they really are, you’re gonna run screaming for the hills.”

Her words unsettle me. On one hand, I pity her. That’s the bitterness inside Carla talking, yet I can’t shake the feeling that there is truth behind those tired eyes. I don’t know the Blackthorn Riders guys as well as she does.

Paddy told me stories. Dad, too, but I’ve never had any contact with the rough side. I just stick to the bar and the usual chatter over the counter while serving drinks.

I witnessed a glimpse of their propensity for violence with Kyle, who had trouble keeping it in his pants and damn near lost his head over it. I shudder to think what these men are truly capable of when pushed to their limits. Yet it’s precisely this dark side of theirs that makes them even more appealing.

Maybe there’s a part of me that resonates with them, with the rebel side, with the criminality. Maybe my rebelling against my father’s wishes is just a whim that will eventually fade. But until then, I intend to make the most of it.

Orion took me once, and I want more. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I want Kai and Drake to jump in, too. These fantasies brewing in the back of my head require a physical conclusion. And I plan to get it.

“Another drink?” I ask Carla with a half-smile, but I’m already pouring that third shot of absinthe.

By the fourth, she’s pouring her heart out, drunk off her ass and reminiscing about her younger years. Like many of the other hookers and strippers I’ve met in this place, Carla has serious daddy issues. Abandoned by her father and raised by a drug-addled mother, she did the best she could with what she was given. She never got an education, not the kind that might help her overcome her social position, anyway.

In that sense, I know I got lucky. I was raised in a good family, in a safe environment.

“Anyway, that’s the end of that,” Carla says, wrapping up a story about an abusive ex-boyfriend who was also her pimp. “Curtis is serving ten to fifteen in Folsom. He’s not gonna be out for at least a couple more years, and he’ll probably wanna come after me since I testified against him in exchange for time served. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

“You’re on your own now, right?” I ask.

“Yeah. Orion would’ve made a good partner,” she says with a slight scoff. “Having the Blackthorn Riders’ support would keep that bastard away from me, but I’ll figure it out.”

“Is that why you’re upset tonight?”

She nods once. “I got a call from Curtis. He wanted to see how I was doing. The asshole called me collect from prison. Every month, he calls to check up on me.”

“He’s making sure you’re still here for when he gets out,” I say.

“Yeah. One more,” she says, lifting the empty shot glass for me to see.

But Carla is already impaired. I can’t let her drink anymore, not unless I’m ready to call her an ambulance. “How about a Diet Coke instead?” I ask. “You’ve had enough absinthe, Carla. It’s rough stuff.”

“I said one more!” she snaps.

Eventually, I manage to talk some sense into her, and Paddy helps her out of the clubhouse. Once she’s loaded in the back of a cab, I can breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’m just not comfortable with letting anybody drink themselves to death,” I tell Paddy when he comes back.

“No, I get it,” he replies with a wry smile. “Poor Carla has always been a mess. Comes strutting in here like she’s the Queen of Sheba every damn night. She keeps trying to become somebody’s old lady, whether it’s Orion or anyone else who’ll have her.”

I can’t help but shake my head. “I don’t know, Paddy. She had a lucid moment earlier, and I could tell that she wanted something different for herself. Maybe it’s not too late.”

“Sadly, I think it could be for her. She’s in her mid-thirties and still turning tricks. She doesn’t know anything else. Who the hell is going to hire her for a decent, law-abiding job? With her criminal record and basically the whole county aware of her nighttime activities … no, this is it for her. And she’s going to have to make her peace with that.”

It breaks my heart. I may not like Carla, and she sure as hell doesn’t like me, but I feel sorry for her. She never had a chance. From the moment she was born, her fate was more or less sealed.

“Whatever happens to Carla, it’s on her,” Paddy reminds me. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a call to make in the little boys’ room.”

I giggle as Paddy politely bows and backs away from the bar. Within minutes, I’m working the crowd again, pouring drinks and trying to stay within earshot of any club-related conversation, curious about what’s going on and wondering what will happen next.

Paddy’s warning has left me unsettled. It doesn’t change my plans for the evening, though.

Upstairs, Orion, Kai, and Drake are busy conferring in their private offices. I look forward to crashing that party as soon as my shift is over. I’m not wasting another second.

It’s past midnight, and the bar is empty. Only shadows loom across the ground floor, the moonlight pouring in through the windows as the last of the motorcycles rumble away into the darkness outside. I stayed behind to lock up, which surprised Travis since it was his turn, but I had something else left to do here, and I was not going home without doing it.

I take one last shot of whiskey and make my way upstairs.

Two of the rooms are taken for the night, but the guys were so drunk when they checked in that I doubt they’ll be out before sunrise. They’re club prospects, anyway. They know the drill with the emergency exit.

Here goes nothing,” I whisper to myself and stop outside Orion’s office door.

I can hear them talking. They’ve been up here for hours.

“We’ll need Roscoe to get involved,” Kai says. “He may not want to, but it’s time for the Wolves to step up before they get lead up their asses. Colton is clearly serious and not taking any prisoners.”

“And Shelby,” Drake adds.

“They’re not Orange County,” Orion tells them.

“It doesn’t matter,” Drake replies. “It’s not an Orange County–only problem anymore, and you know it. If the other clubs don’t step up, it’ll get worse and uglier.”

“How many people died last night?” Orion asks.

“Six.” Kai’s response sends shivers creeping down my back.

“I’ll call Shelby tomorrow,” Orion says. “Come on, time to head home. We’ve got an early start tomorrow.”

A sense of urgency comes over me as I realize I’ve only got seconds left before they walk out, so I briefly knock on the door and let myself in. I find them staring at me, eyebrows up and eyes wide with surprise, while I break into a cold sweat.

“Nadia, what are you doing here?” Orion asks, his tone flat.

But his gaze speaks volumes as I straighten my back and swiftly proceed to lock the office door behind me. “I’m here to pick up where we left off,” I say, my voice trembling. There’s no turning back now. I have to see this through.

“What are you talking about?” Orion replies.

I offer a smile as I slowly pull up my white shirt. They can see the fuchsia pink lace bra that I’m wearing underneath. I can see the lust, the want written all over their faces, burning in their hungry eyes as their gazes drop along with my shirt and jeans.

In under a minute, I’ve managed to take my clothes off, revealing my full figure clad in violent pink lace lingerie, and I know they like what they’re seeing. The growing bulges in their pants tell me that much.

“I’m talking about what you and I started the other night, Orion,” I say, struggling to breathe properly as I stand before them. Never have I felt more vulnerable. Never have I felt more beautiful and lustful, either. “And about what I told you I wanted. We’re not finished here. Not at all.”

“Nadia, this can’t happen,” Orion replies, averting his gaze.

So, I look to Kai instead. “I suppose he’s told you everything.”

“He has,” Kai says. “And I agree, it was a mistake.”

“I consented. I still consent.”

“It’s not about that, Nadia,” Drake cuts in. He is struggling, uneasy in his boots, as he shifts his weight from one leg to the other. “It’s about who you are, who we are. What happened with Orion can never happen again. And it definitely cannot happen with the three of us.”

I chuckle softly. “You know, for three tough guys such as yourselves, I never thought you’d be so skittish around a girl.”

“You’re a fucking virgin,” Orion snaps. “It was a mistake.”

“I’m not a virgin anymore,” I shoot back, proceeding to touch myself.

They’re not moving. They want this so badly; I can feel my core igniting under their gazes. One hand goes down, nestled between my legs, while the other goes up, cupping one breast through the lace, while my lips part slowly, my eyes hooded as I beckon them to me.

“And I want you—the three of you—as much as you want me,” I add.

“For fuck’s sake, Nadia, you are playing with fire,” Orion warns me, not for the first time.

Kai growls, lowering his gaze to my hand, fingers testing the already wet lace. “I think if the girl says she wants something, she might as well get it. Maybe then she’ll learn her lesson.”

“Finally, a man with a spine,” I reply, grinning before I bite my lower lip.

In a single split second, Kai crosses the room. I freeze as he pushes me against the door. “You’ll do precisely as you’re told, or you won’t get what you want. Do you hear me?”

“Oh, yeah,” I moan and smile with satisfaction as he squeezes my breast tighter and tighter.

“That’s not how you answer,” Kai says.

“Yes, sir,” I reply, quick and eager to learn.

He captures my mouth in a ravenous kiss, and I surrender to him while Drake and Orion approach us like hungry lions. “Good girl,” Kai mumbles against my lips, then slips his tongue down my throat.

I moan and melt as he kneads my breasts, his bulky frame crushing me against the door. I hear fabric tearing. My bra is reduced to tatters, my flesh exposed as he lowers his head and takes a nipple in his mouth. My lips are red and swollen, but I love this feeling.

Drake and Orion take their clothes off, their cocks jumping with anticipation while they watch Kai go to town on me. He’s a rough lover, his teeth pinching and nibbling on each nipple until it stings, until I whimper and squirm in his hold, but he keeps his grip on me. I pull in a deep breath when he finally lets go and steps back.

Orion takes his place, stopping to measure me from top to bottom. “Never have I met a woman as reckless and as stubborn as you,” he says.

“Good, it means I’m special.”

“You have no idea,” Orion says as he hooks a finger through my panties. He rips them off, and I yelp in surprise, but it’s only just beginning. This torment. This conquest. “Spread your legs.”

“Yes, sir.” I am happy to oblige. Happy and insanely turned on.

The sight of Kai’s enormously thick cock spikes my body temperature even higher. I yearn to feel how wide he’ll stretch me. But it’s Orion’s hand that takes me out of this world. He shoves it between my legs, fingers quick to slide through my slick folds and deep into my pussy.

Three of them stretching, probing, and thrusting. Faster and faster.

My head is a whirlwind, thousands of sensations rushing through me.

He’s going hard and rough, eager to dismantle me, and my body fails to keep up. “Oh!” I shudder from an unexpected orgasm that ravages me to the core. “Oh my God!” I scream as I come hard, gushing and shaking as Orion finger-fucks me into senseless oblivion, the bottom of his palm pressed into my clit, squeezing the life out of me.

“Give it to me, all of it,” he commands, fingers curling shamelessly with every retreat.

I’m wheezing, tears trickling down my cheeks as I ride his hand, riding this wave into nothingness while I listen to the sound of Kai and Drake stroking themselves. By the time I come to, I lose myself again in Orion’s black pools just before his mouth claims mine.

Drake takes over. “On your knees, Nadia. You want the three of us; you’re gonna have to learn to handle the three of us.”

“Yes, sir,” The words roll off my tongue automatically.

My knees buck, and I get down as instructed. They position themselves before me, cocks swollen and throbbing with desire, offered to me. I’m overwhelmed, my brain somewhat glitchy as I try to think things through. It’s too late. I asked for this to happen, and I’m going to take it like a big girl.

Slowly, I take Drake and Kai in each hand, gently squeezing and stroking from the base to the tip. Orion’s erection has my full attention for a brief moment, a droplet of precum glinting at the top. I lick it off and taste the decadent saltiness, then let him slide into my mouth shyly at first.

He cups my face, his gaze softening while I relax the back of my throat and let him go deeper. He wipes a tear from my cheek, watching me suck him off, one thrust at a time. My lips wrap around him, and he goes faster. I can barely breathe, but I love this look on him. I love the way he looks at me. I love the way they all look at me.

I pause and take Kai next. He’s a challenge. My lips stretch and my jaw aches, but he goes easy on me at first, at least until I get the hang of it.

Drake is longer, and I enjoy tracing the vein up his shaft while I fondle his hard balls, massaging and squeezing until I feel him twitching in my mouth.

“Fucking hell, you were made for this,” Orion gasps when I shift my focus back on him. “You were fucking made for us.”

“Suckle on the tip, baby. Hard,” Kai moans as soon as it’s his turn again.

I suck him hard, tongue pressing upward with each stroke. He runs his fingers through my hair and pulls me back up to kiss me. Drake moves behind me, his cock wedged between my ass cheeks as he plants kisses along the side of my neck and bites into my shoulder.

Orion lets me stroke him, watching Kai kiss me. This is so hot. This is so crazy and forbidden. My moans encourage the beasts and shift the focus around.

“Come here,” Orion says, while Drake bends me over.

“Oh, wow,” I manage, realizing what’s about to happen.

Orion and Kai stand before me, guiding my hands to their balls while Drake takes me from behind. He goes deep and hard, so hard that I cry out, but Orion fills my mouth with his cock and muffles my screams of sweet ecstasy as Drake starts fucking me. He digs his fingers deep into my hips, holding me in place as he thrusts himself deeper and faster, stretching my pussy while I suck Orion and Kai hard in slow and deliberate turns.

Kai takes me next.

Drake moves to the front, and I taste myself all over his cock as Kai plunges into my very soul. I stop moving for a second, stunned by his sheer thickness, shocked by the insane stretch as I wrap myself around his member, feeling his girth into my core. “Ah,” I manage, and he starts moving. Slowly, at first. “Ah, yes, please, don’t stop.”

“No one is stopping anything tonight,” Kai grunts and starts pounding into me like there’s no tomorrow.

My eyes meet Orion’s just as I take him in my mouth once more.

Drake pinches my nipple while I stroke him harder and tighter, my own juices slick on my fingers while Kai fucks me harder. I lose my senses when his hand finds my clit and flicks it until I come gushing all over his cock.

By the time Orion buries himself inside me, I can barely stand. I’m holding on to Kai and Drake as I take their cocks down my throat in long turns while Orion claims me once again. He slaps my ass, and I love the sensation.

I cry out. “Yes, please, just like that!”

“You’re a fucking goddess,” Drake laughs as I suck him hard. “Oh, fuck, yes!” He grabs my head and keeps me in place, thrusting himself deep until I feel him shooting down my throat.

Orion grunts faster, goes harder, then slaps me again before he grabs hold of my hips and lets himself go, coming inside me. I feel him pulsating, my core tightening and clenching around his cock as he spills his seed.

By the time I close my lips around Kai’s cock, he’s ready to rumble, and I swallow every drop while his hands caress my face.

“I’m gonna pass out,” I warn them as the pressure builds up in my core. “Oh, God, this is incredible.”

“Give us everything, Nadia. Every fucking drop,” Orion says.

I look at Drake deep into his green eyes as his fingers tease and squeeze a third orgasm out of me. I can’t see anything anymore. I can only hear myself crying out, coming again and again, exploding like a supernova as the men close ranks around me, as their hands roam up and down my body, and their heat seeps into me.

It’s everything I wanted and wilder than anything I had imagined. It’s more than I anticipated, and it is dangerously addictive. My pussy aches in the best possible way, and judging by the hungry looks in Orion, Kai, and Drake’s eyes, they’re not done with me for the night.