Chapter 7

My conversation with Mac moved to what I'd learned before I grabbed Oakley and got the hell out of there. It wasn't much, but another reason taking Oakley had been a good idea was because she might know more than she realized.

"We need to find evidence of the bribe he took for Rom's case," he grunted. "If Hack can't get those security files recovered, we'll need it to make sure he can't send Rom to prison for the next decade."

"Could take another shot at his office," I mused, scratching my beard. "But it's possible he keeps the files and ledger at home. Shouldn't be too hard to search there. His wife certainly lives it up with the extra money he's bringing in. Goes to the spa a few days a week and spends hours shopping, so the house is empty for several hours most days."

Mac tapped his fingers on the desktop as he considered what I'd said. "Hit the house and see what you find. If it's a dead end, then we'll consider the judge's chambers again."

"Will do," I replied as I stood.

"Your woman could be useful—"

"Not a chance in hell," I growled, taking a menacing step toward his desk.

Mac grinned, and I knew he'd been messing with me, and I had taken the bait like a fucking sucker.

"Figured as much," he grunted with a rough chuckle. "Now get the fuck out of my office and deal with your woman."

I jerked my chin up in acknowledgment, then stalked out of the office to the front lounge, where the stairs to the upper level were located. I took them two at a time, eager to see Oakley and make sure she was okay.

Cat hadn't always been so welcoming, but she'd learned her lesson when she'd said the wrong thing to Mac's old lady back when Bridget first arrived at the club. I had no reason to think she'd go back to her old habits, but this was my woman, and I wasn't completely rational when it came to her.

When I reached the door to my room, it was quiet on the other side. My first thought was that Oakley had somehow got away. But she'd been too curious to take off without having her questions answered, so I told myself to chill the fuck out and opened the door.

I had a house on a couple of acres not far from the compound, and I'd been slowly fixing it up for the last few years. It was habitable now but still unfurnished. And it was just easier to stay at the clubhouse, so I had a permanent room here.

Inside was a king-size bed, a nightstand, dresser, couch, and a flat screen mounted on the wall. I'd also added a small bookshelf with a stash of novels. The room was decently sized, but I didn't have the seniority yet to snag a room with a private bath. Which meant Oakley and I needed to move ASAP because if any of my brothers accidentally saw her in any state other than completely covered, I'd lose my shit.

The idea of shopping for the house had always made me grimace. Then I opened the door and saw my sweet, innocent girl curled up on my couch reading the spy novel that had been on the little table beside the bed.

Maybe…I mentally grinned at my brilliant idea. I'd just give Oakley my credit card and tell her to buy whatever she wanted. It was going to be her home too, so she might as well be the one to pick everything out.

Her head lifted, and she pushed her glasses up her nose as she smiled at me. "Hi."

I grunted in response because I was too fucking distracted by thoughts of seeing her in those cute glasses and nothing else.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for a reader," she commented in a teasing tone. "Especially these kinds of books." She gestured to the bookcase, indicating my mixed collection of action/adventure, science fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and some of the classics, like David Copperfield.

My lips curled up as I walked in and shut the door behind me. "And what does my taste in books tell you about me?"

Oakley chuckled, and her cheeks tinged with pink. "That you have a great imagination?"

I raised an eyebrow, and my smile turned salacious as I ran my eyes over her from head to toe. "You're right, baby. I have a very creative imagination."

When my gaze returned to her face, her skin was flushed bright red. Hunger flared inside me when I spotted the tendrils of desire in her pretty brown eyes.

"So, um…" She shifted on the couch, looking a little restless. I couldn't help wondering if it was because she was wet. I was dying to find out, but she continued talking, and I wanted to answer her questions and get that out of the way before I took her to bed.

"We should talk before it gets too late. Not that I have any plans for tomorrow, but I don't want you to have to take me home in the middle of the night."

I didn't confirm or deny her assumption that I would be taking her back to her old place. She'd figure it out when she was underneath me in bed.

"What do you want to talk about?" I asked instead.

"What were you doing breaking into Judge Timkins' chambers?"

There was a lot that I couldn't share with her, so I was glad she started with a question I could actually answer. "Trying to gather evidence that he's been taking bribes in return for certain sentences."

Oakley looked dubious when she replied, "I don't know…he has to follow the protocols and laws."

I sat down next to Oakley, but it didn't feel right, so I grasped her hips and lifted her sideways onto my lap. Then I brushed her bangs out of her face and smiled before dropping my hand to rest it on her thigh. "I love that you're so innocent and see sunshine in every dark corner. I hate to be the one to darken any part of it. However, you need to know…the judge is a very corrupt, very dangerous man. When someone knows the legal system as well as he does, they can find all the ways around it."

She bit her lip and folded her hands demurely in her lap—it was adorable. "How do you know this about him?" Her expression and tone implied that she believed me, and I wanted to kiss her for giving me a little more of her trust.

"I can't tell you that, baby. It's club business."

"Even though I'm directly involved?" she spouted indignantly.

"Directly?" I repeated with a laugh, then gentled my tone when she looked disgruntled. "That's a bit of a stretch, baby. You were in the wrong place, at the wrong time"—or right place at the right time, depending on how you looked at it—"and that's the only reason I've shared as much with you as I have. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn"t know anything about this shit."

I expected her to argue, and I could tell she didn't like my answer, but she just muttered, "Yeah, Cat said something along those lines."

Nodding, I absently rubbed little circles on her thigh with my thumb. "Her old man is our VP. She and the prez's old lady, Bridget, know better than anyone what ‘club business' means."

"And they're kept out of the loop because their men want to protect them?" Her voice was soft.

"Yeah. Nothing comes before protecting our women. It"s the way it works in an MC—ours, anyway."

Oakley smiled wistfully. "It's probably really nice to have someone who cares about you so much. I guess I could see why they'd be okay with this way of life."

"Good," I grunted. "You'll get used to it."

Oakley's mouth dropped open, and I used my index finger to close it. "Now, I have a few questions for you."

I jumped right into them so she didn't have time to dwell on what I'd said. This was happening fast, but I wasn't gonna slow it down. Apparently, love happened fast and hard for the Silver Saints because I'd seen this with a lot of my brothers.

For the next fifteen minutes, I asked Oakley anything I thought she might know that would be helpful, as long as it didn't give away too much. She didn't know a lot, but her knowledge of the judge's schedule would be very useful.

When Oakley yawned, I called a halt to the questioning. "It's late, baby. Let's get you to bed."

"Yeah, we should get going," she sighed as she attempted to stand.

I wrapped my fingers firmly around her waist and turned her toward me so she had no choice but to straddle my legs. "Go where?"

"I thought you were going to take me home?"

"Absolutely not," I scoffed.

Her delicate features clouded over with confusion and disappointment. "Okay. I can call a rideshare. I just thought…well, never mind."

"You are not taking a fucking rideshare, Oakley," I growled.

"Um…So you are taking me home?"

Slowly, I glided one of my hands from her thigh up and around her hip to palm one of her ass cheeks. Then I captured her chin with the other, forcing her to look into my eyes as I yanked her body closer to mine. "Is that really what you want?" I inquired silkily as I raised my hips so the large bulge in my leather pants pressed into the heat between her legs.

She sucked in a fast breath, then held it as she contemplated what to do next.

To give her a little more incentive, I leaned in and brushed my lips over hers, then groaned and crushed our mouths together. With a firm tug on her chin, I parted her lips and plunged my tongue between them. "You taste so fucking good," I groaned after thoroughly plundering her mouth. "I want to know if you taste this delicious everywhere."

Oakley moaned and pressed her chest against mine. I could feel the hard points of her nipples poking through her shirt, and it sent streaks of pleasure straight to my dick.

I released her face and dipped my hand into her leggings to cup her pussy. Her panties were fucking soaked, and my mouth watered. "Tell me, Oakley," I demanded with my lips next to her ear. "Do you really want me to take you home? Or do you want to stay so I can feast on your juicy pussy?"

She shivered, and her lips chased mine, but I refused to go any further without making her admit how much she wanted this.

"Tell me."

Oakley sat back a few inches and licked her lips as our eyes met. "I want to stay."