Chapter 2

2

BLADE

" M erry Christmas, Blade!" someone called out. I responded with a half-assed wave and a grunt as I ambled toward one of the long tables set up in the kitchen of the Iron Rogues clubhouse. My prez's old lady had insisted on a party on Christmas Day, and while I would have preferred to be up in my room, passed out in my bed, I didn't want to disappoint Dahlia or piss off Fox by making her unhappy in any way. But after working a double shift in the ER, I was fucking exhausted. Although the delicious smells of the food being prepared made my stomach growl.

The merriment all around me was getting on my nerves, but it wasn't anyone's fault that I was being a grumpy bastard, so I decided to try to avoid further peopling. I fished my phone out of the pocket of my cut and started reading an article about new regenerative medicine technologies.

"You could at least try to have a good time, Blade."

I glanced up to see Sheila, the old lady of one of my club brothers, grinning at me as she approached the table with a large platter of carved turkey. Dropping my phone, I jumped up to grab the serving plate and set it down for her.

"I'm having a good time," I muttered, causing her to laugh and pat my cheek as if I were a child, making me roll my eyes good-naturedly.

Sheila's man, Tank, was one of the oldest active members of the club, having patched long ago when Fox's dad had been president of the MC. She'd been the only old lady for several years—until recently when our prez and VP—Maverick—both fell hard and fast for their women. She was a natural caretaker, so she tended to "mother" us. And we put up with it because, quite frankly, she was awesome, and we all adored her.

"Too bad Santa didn't bring you a woman for Christmas," she teased. "Maybe next year."

"Santa knows better than that," I grumbled. "Don't have time to deal with female shit. No offense."

Sheila chuckled and winked at me. "None taken. But I'm going to really enjoy seeing some lucky lady knock you on your ass one of these days." With another giggle, she pivoted and headed back to the cooking area for more food.

I followed her to help, and once the tables were loaded down with our dinner, we sat to eat. Before I'd taken more than a few bites, we were startled by the back door banging against the wall as it was shoved open. Storm—our road captain—stumbled in, carrying a woman in his arms. "Blade!" he shouted. "Need your help. Now!"

I jumped up from my spot at the table and rushed over to Storm, taking the shaking woman from him. When my gaze dropped to her pale face, I froze for a second. Shock flooded my system as my heart thumped hard, and my brain screamed, " Mine! "

She was fucking breathtaking. Staring up at me with deep brown eyes framed with thick black lashes. Long, dark hair hung in waves, cascading over my arm and down her back. She had mouthwatering curves that felt as if they'd been made just for me, fitting her perfectly in my arms and making me hard as a rock. Her rosebud lips were parted slightly, and she wore a similarly stunned expression. However, something else stood out from my quick perusal. She looked slightly familiar.

Raising my gaze to Storm, I grimaced as I realized that I was most likely holding his little sister. The one he'd warned us all off when he'd asked if she could work at The Midnight Rebel during her winter break from college.

Fucking hell.

"Clinic," I grunted before spinning around and stalking down a hall that led to my medical office. After we entered the building directly behind the clubhouse that housed my clinic, I flipped on the lights before walking straight into the exam room. Reluctant to let her go but knowing I needed to if I wanted to examine her, I set her on the padded table.

"I was in a car accident," she murmured softly. "I got a little lightheaded on the ride here, but I'm fine. Really."

"I'll be the judge of that," I grunted a little more harshly than I'd intended because her sultry voice had sent streaks of desire straight to my dick.

"Watch it," Storm growled, but I ignored him and almost smiled when my girl shot him an annoyed glare. Her face softened when she refocused on me, and I suppressed the desire to gather her up in my arms and kiss the hell out of her.

I started at her hairline since I'd noticed a small cut crusted with blood. "This isn't too deep, but it could use a stitch or two."

"Stitches?" Storm snapped. "What the hell happened, Elise?"

Elise. Damn, her name was as gorgeous as she was.

"Relax, Gideon. I?—"

"Relax? Don't tell me to relax, El. One of my brothers just brought my baby sister to me all banged up and needing stitches! I want to know what happened and who the fuck I'm going to kill!" He was bellowing by the time he was done, and Elise winced.

Protective anger surged through me, but I didn't want to make the situation worse, so I dug deep and slipped into professional doctor mode. As much as I could while examining this lush, sexy woman I was determined to keep.

"Storm." My firm, commanding tone caught his attention, and he glared at me. "She most likely has a splitting headache, and you aren't helping her by yelling. Or by stressing her out about what happened. She needs you to be calm right now." Not that I wasn't as determined as my club brother to find out the details, but my first concern was Elise's health.

Storm pressed his lips together, his expression remorseful—but no less determined—as he crossed his arms over his chest, then nodded.

A small bruise was forming on her jaw, and I had to fight back the impulse to kiss it, along with any other injuries I encountered. Instead, I focused on her mouth, but then I couldn't stop thinking about those pouty lips wrapped around my cock.

Shaking my head to dispel the thoughts, I again attempted to put on my doctor's hat and treat her like any other patient. But it didn't work very well, and as I proceeded to do a thorough check of her body, it was like fucking torture since every inch of her was soft and supple. When I placed a blood pressure cuff on her arm, it felt toned, and I imagined that her grip when she wrapped her hand around my dick would be strong. Her large tits quivered when I pulled aside the neck of her T-shirt to place my stethoscope on her silky skin. I had to fight back a groan when my hands brushed the undersides of her breasts as I felt for broken ribs.

I gently checked her legs for broken bones and found them also surprisingly toned for being so deliciously curvy. I couldn't wait to feel them squeezing my waist while I was buried deep inside her.

Pathetic, Dr. Barker, I admonished myself. She's your patient . But really, she was so much more than that. I was simply the only one who knew it at the moment.

Finally, I finished and breathed a sigh of relief, though I was loath to stop touching her. If I didn't, I would eventually snap, and it wasn't the time or place to lose my control with Elise.

"Good news is that your injuries are minor," I told her with a smile. "Ankle is bruised. Not sprained or broken. Bad news is that you will likely be pretty sore tomorrow. Gonna stitch that cut and wrap your ankle. I'll give you a couple of mild painkillers to help soothe your aches. A hot bath would also help."

Hell . Now I was picturing her wet and naked with suds gliding down her milky skin…

A knock sounded on the door, pulling me away from the images that would haunt me until I could see the real thing.

"Everybody decent?" Whiskey called from the other side.

"Yeah," Storm grunted as he twisted the knob to open the door and let our sergeant at arms into the room.

All eyes went to Whiskey, but he was staring at Elise, his head cocked to the side.

"I just wanted to check on you. How're you doin'?"

His eyes held nothing but concern, but jealousy slithered through my veins for some reason, and my stomach soured.

Elise smiled, and I wanted to growl and demand that she only ever smile at me. But that would make me sound like a fucking lunatic, so I gritted my teeth and kept my mouth shut.

"I'm good. Thank you so much again for rescuing me. It would have taken me hours to limp my way here if I'd even gotten the chance."

The idea of her alone, out in the dark, cold and injured, making her way here… made me want to put my fist through a wall. But the realization that Elise had arrived here on the back of Whiskey's bike was almost as rage-inducing.

"No problem," Whiskey said gruffly. "Glad you're okay. You need anything?—"

"She'll come to me," I snapped, cutting him off.

Whiskey and Storm looked at me in surprise, but while Whiskey's expression turned amused, Storm's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

I thought about clarifying that I meant she could come to me as a doctor, but what the hell. It would be very clear, sooner rather than later, that Elise belonged to me.

"Understood," Whiskey murmured before raising his chin in farewell and leaving.

Storm had been leaning against the wall, but he shoved his body away from it and stalked over to stand beside his sister. "Off-limits, Blade," he gritted through clenched teeth. "Stay the hell away from my sister."