Calming the Riot Read online

  I swallowed hard so my tone would be neutral. “Is that all you needed?”

  His bronze eyes held mine for long moments. I really thought he was going to turn and leave, but finally, he spoke. “I’m not your type of man.”

  I waited because that statement sounded like a follow-up was coming, but when the silence stretched, I realized he meant it. “How about… No, let me start again. You hardly know me. How you think you know you’re not my type of man is beyond me, but I can tell you this, I’m damn well able to judge who is or isn’t the type of man for me. If you have it in you to leave it at that, we might not have any problems.”

  “I wear the pants.”

  A snort was bubbling up my windpipe, but I managed to stop it. This guy could not be believed. “Never said you don’t. Are you trying to say I’m too masculine or something?”

  His arms crossed on his chest. “I’m saying, you made the first move on me twice yesterday. Not down with that shit. I set the pace.”

  “Even if that pace should be downright glacial,” I blurted. I shouldn’t have done it, but I couldn’t help it. The air changed in the room. His energy was powerful and stifling. I hesitated to look him in the eye because, with that kind of shift in the atmosphere, I knew I wouldn’t like what I saw. It couldn’t be avoided though, so I gave him my eyes and his were glittering.

  “Yeah,” he clipped. “Snail pace, glacial, or even a fuckin’ trickle, it shouldn’t matter. You don’t come on to me.”

  I bolted up from my seat. “You don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. Hell, what we shared was…”

  No way could I admit that he was the best I ever had and the best I ever would have. That seemed like too much of an ego stroke to a man like him, and with his very mixed signals, I wasn’t about to give him that stroke. My prior experiences with men hadn’t been the best, so I was reticent for that reason as well. I couldn’t put my feelings about last night out there only to have him take advantage of me. Then he’d be no different than the many men in my past who took my giving and caring nature and used it to their benefit. Rarely did they reciprocate those caring or giving feelings. My thoughts were interrupted by Liar.

  “Pretty damn great. What we shared was great, but I’m telling you, no more pullin’ shit to get me to give you what you want. I won’t be led around by my dick. Yesterday excluded, obviously.”

  If it hadn’t been for Jackie, I would have been supremely offended by his remark. However, Jackie had told me plenty about the many issues facing the various brothers of the Riot MC, and I knew that a few of them had a tendency to be influenced too much by their libidos. It would seem the only downside to that would be for those men, but there was a downside for strong women, too. These men viewed women who were aggressive sexually as women who were insistent to lead them around by their cocks. While the knowledge Jackie had imparted to me meant I wasn’t offended, it didn’t mean I wasn’t pissed because I was.

  Planting my hands on my desk, I leaned toward him. “You have some nerve assuming shit like that about me. I have no damn desire to do that to you. It was clear you had some cockamamie reason for keeping your distance, and I didn’t agree.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Don’t get pissed.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Gee, is there anything I can do? First, you tell me not to get clingy, now I’m not supposed to come on to you or even get pissed with you. I think the woman you’re looking for has the last name of Stepford,” I said in a saccharine sweet voice.

  Liar didn’t roll his eyes, but he did close them. “Fuck me. She ain’t just a pain in the ass, but a supreme smart-ass to boot.”

  “I am standin’ right here, man. No need to refer to me in the third person or do you refer to yourself that way too?”

  That wasn’t only a not very nice thing to say, it was apparently the wrong thing to say. Slowly, Liar stalked around my desk. He invaded my personal space and tilted my chin up to look at him. His eyes slayed me. Angry, hard, bright, or even dull, they were gorgeous, and right now they were hungry with a dash of irritation. “You need to keep that shit in check.”

  I pressed my lips together, but I couldn’t hold it back. “That another order?”

  His eyes bulged, and then his mouth took mine in a rough kiss. It was hungry, it was angry, and it was delicious. I almost thought he could give me all the so-called orders and demands he wanted to; if disobeying him resulted in kisses like this, then my disobedience was going to be a ton of fun.

  Liar

  This woman thoroughly fucked with his resolve. All day he felt like shit for sayin’ what he said to her the night before, and just being around her made him lose his train of thought. Not only could she see through his bullshit, but she was also irritatingly smart about it. So irritating it turned him on, and he had to kiss her. Her arms wrapped around his waist and her magical damn hands were stroking from his lumbar down over his ass. He wasn’t sure if being around Mallory, Frankie, Neil, and Jackie had put this spunk in her or if she was that way naturally, but Liar was quickly sensing what made his brothers put up with those feisty women of theirs.

  His hands rose to her cheeks, and he pulled away from the kiss. “It wasn’t an order, but a strong recommendation,” he said in answer to her earlier question. “You’re irritating as all hell, not just because you’re a pain in the ass and smart about it, but because you cut through the bullshit.”

  Her molten brown eyes gleamed. “I don’t cut through bullshit. I just won’t put up with any.”

  His lips quirked upward. “One and the same where I’m from, babe.”

  Her lips pulled down slightly at that, and he could tell she was gearing herself up to say something to him, so he beat her to it. “I’m sorry about sayin’ what I did last night. It was a dick move, and I did it to protect myself.”

  “From me?” she asked, her skepticism clear.

  He nodded shortly. “Yeah, from you. Anyway. You got plans tonight?”

  Her lips pulled to the side. “No, but I suspect you’re going to tell me I do now.”

  Liar shrugged a shoulder. “No, but I’m willing to take you to the compound for a drink if you want.”

  “Okay,” she said with a smile, then added, “but for the record, you should keep your bossiness in check. Not an order, just a strong recommendation.”

  Fuck him, Liar thought, she could be damn near perfect.

  ***

  “Why would she think canola oil’d be better than WD40?” Rage asked.

  “Dunno,” Liar said sipping on his beer.

  Andrea fidgeted on her barstool, clearly irritated that they were talking as if she wasn’t right there. “It’s oil, and it’s viscous!”

  Rage’s eyes went to her. “Did you say ‘viscous’?”

  “Yes!” she cried with exasperation.

  “I don’t think you know what you’re talking about,” he muttered into his beer bottle.

  “I do – oh, this conversation is deteriorating…just like the planet!”

  Rage pointed his beer bottle at Liar. “Jesus, Liar, you damn sure know how to pick ’em. You pick her up at the hippie new-age bookstore in Daytona?”

  Andrea stood up and put a hand on her hip. “He did not, and I’m not a hippie, just environmentally aware! And even if I was a real hippie-chick, there’s nothing wrong with that either.”

  “I didn’t say there was, babe. I’m just tryin’ to figure out where I can find someone like you, but different,” Rage said with a suggestive eyebrow arch.

  Liar shot Rage a look, but it wasn’t too heated since he knew his brother wasn’t actually flirting with Andrea. Major’s gruff voice pulled Liar’s attention away from Rage.

  “This our girl, Jackie’s friend? I’m Major, it’s nice to meetcha.”

  Andrea turned toward Major and gave him a beaming white smile. Liar felt that smile like a punch to his gut. “I am. It’s nice to meet you too, Major.”

  Right behind Major, Blood ambled up and clapped Liar on the b
icep while shaking his hand. “Liar. Heard you were gettin’ the info on Jackie’s friend’s problem.”

  Andrea turned confused eyes to Blood. “I don’t have a problem. And no disrespect intended, but who are you?”

  Blood lifted his chin at her insistence of no disrespect. “I’m Blood, the Vice President of this chapter. Volt said you have a stalker.”

  Liar watched as Andrea shifted on her stool, so her back was to the bar, her arms were crossed under her breasts which in and of itself was a spectacular show. Her small chin jutted toward him and the feisty fire burned in her eyes. “I don’t have a stalker.”

  “Just be—”

  Her eyes narrowed as she jabbed a finger toward Liar. “What I have is a restraining order. This is craziness. There are deputies at the Poker Room, they’re fully equipped to —”

  “Cover their own ass, is all they’re fully equipped to do,” Major’s gravelly voice cut into her rant.

  Andrea’s jaw went slack, and Liar envisioned that slack jaw and open lips wrapped around his cock. Bad timing for what would otherwise be seriously enjoyable thoughts, but then her mouth snapped closed, and she pouted which was cuter than any woman had a right to be.

  Major was not to be denied. “Those officers of the law are not likely to escort you to your car, and even if they did, it damn sure doesn’t mean they’re keepin’ close tabs on your car while you’re workin’. That means they can’t know if that motherfucker has eyes on you or not, and if he does and you high tail your sweet ass to your home, that fucker then knows where you live. Maybe you’ll rest easy that night, but you can bet that fucker’s gonna do somethin’ and ain’t no deputy gonna be there when he does. I understand the asshole cornered you once, ain’t no way Riot’s gonna stand by and let him do it again whether you’re fully part of our fold or not.”

  Andrea held Major’s fierce gaze for a moment and then she looked to Liar and to Blood. Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit at Blood’s satisfied smile. “I’d say Major took the words right out of all of our mouths. So, I’m here to let you know a few things about Gilbert Grant.”

  Liar wasn’t sure if Blood saw it or not, but in no way did Liar miss Andrea’s body tightening at the mention of that scum’s name. That had to stop, and if Liar had anything to say about it, he was going to be the one to make sure it did.

  “He lives in Orange Park. Works in Ortega. Not certain just yet, but we’re thinkin’ he still frequents the poker room. He doesn’t have a player’s card, or our IT guys would have his digital trail. Since cash is king in poker, his comings and goings at Best Bet are more difficult to track.”

  Andrea’s thin eyebrows crunched together. “How do you even know all that stuff about him? I mean, a digital trail? Seriously?”

  Blood put a hand on the bar which caused him to lean toward her. Liar buried the jealousy which flared seeing any man leaning into Andrea, even if it was one of his brothers. “You don’t need to worry about the how. You need to worry about you. We’re gonna have your back, and you need to be aware of your surroundings so you can stay safe.”

  Andrea sat up straighter. “This just proves I should turn the gig down. It’s only temp—”

  “No,” four male voices said in unison.

  This surprised her, but she only looked at Liar. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

  Liar opened his mouth to answer, but Blood got there first. “That fucker’s done enough to you. No damn way he’s takin’ money outta your pocket if you want or need the cash. If he weren’t in the picture you wouldn’t have even debated the issue, now would you?”

  “No,” she said quietly.

  “There you go, darlin’. Tell Liar when you’re gonna be there and for how long, and we’ll keep you covered.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Andrea

  I had a hard time believing these guys were going to do what they could to protect me. On the one hand, it seemed to be overkill, but I couldn’t ignore my gut instinct telling me Gil was still frequenting the poker room whether I had been there of late or not. Volt wasn’t there that night, and I really wished he were. Mainly, this was because I couldn’t go to Jackie with my question since I hadn’t come clean to her about my problem. However, I could definitely ask Volt. Why were these men so ready to protect me?

  It wasn’t that I meant to keep my issue from Jackie, and it wasn’t that I thought she was delicate because she was pregnant. When the attack happened, Jackie was trying to get pregnant, and I didn’t want to in anyway cause her extra stress. Once she was preggers, she was so miserable our conversations never went to that subject matter. I was doing everything I could to take her mind off her morning sickness; then she had a spotting scare and needless to say it wasn’t the right time to bring up an issue that in my mind had been fully resolved. Now, here I was wondering if the Riot MC protection was because I was close friends with Jackie or if it was because Liar was interested in me. Come to think of it, the latter part of that statement was the crux of my question. Was Liar interested in me? Logically, a man didn’t swing by a woman’s place of business to offer an apology if he wasn’t interested. He did ask me back here after all.

  Yet, would their protection vanish if things between Liar and I went badly again like they did last night? I had to hope not because once Shayla and Paula took me on as their fill-in, they wouldn’t look any further. My thoughts had consumed my mind so thoroughly I didn’t even realize the three other men with us had dispersed until Liar’s hand cupped my jaw and forced me to look at him.

  “Jesus. I was beginning to wonder if you beamed yourself to another planet or not, babe.”

  Even with my head in his hand, I gave my head a small shake. “Sorry, I was just lost in thought.”

  An auburn eyebrow arched at me. “Lost is about right, baby.”

  I wanted to ask what this ‘baby’ business was all about but getting too analytical with any men tended to get me in trouble, so I tamped it down. We were here for a drink, and I had nearly finished my vodka rocks.

  Liar dropped my jaw so he could grab my glass and swirled it. “This not to your liking?”

  It was to my liking, but I wanted to draw this out. I didn’t know why, but I loved spending time with him no matter how mundane or intense that time spent might be. I smiled with closed lips. “It’s great. It’s definitely not well-vodka. I’m just taking my time.”

  His chin dipped skeptically. “More like you’re stalling. The real question is why?”

  He shouldn’t have needed to wonder about why I was stalling. He dictated that he would initiate, I couldn’t get pissed with him and I was supposed to keep my smart-ass in check. He had a snowball’s chance with the last, but I wasn’t about to volunteer that. With those three mandates alone, I wasn’t sure I knew a woman alive who would have known how to behave around this bossy biker.

  “Not stalling, and for that matter even if I were, I wouldn’t know what I’m stalling in the first place.”

  His lips quirked to the side, and it was a jovial expression the likes of which I had never seen on him. It was enthralling. “You’re stalling activities very similar to yesterday afternoon.”

  I couldn’t have helped it if I tried because I was just that contrary in nature, so I asked, “You’re stalling me coming on to you? Even after you told me not an hour ago that I was not to do that?” The second time I said the word ‘not’ I dipped my voice low to imitate Liar.

  He hooked me under my arms, and he pulled me off my stool to a standing position. “Told you before we even got here, you need to keep that shit in check. I need to explain that in detail to you?”

  My eyes narrowed, the left one more than the right and I shot daggers at him with my eyes. “Pretty sure I don’t, but you need to recognize that keeping my inner-smart-ass in check is not within my purview.”

  One of his hands shot down my backside to grab my ass tightly. “You’re gonna get it in your ‘purview’ and quickly if I have anything to say about it.”
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br />   My eyes bulged which was a mistake because it telegraphed my rebuttal to such an in-my-face statement, but Liar cut me off in the most enjoyable fashion by kissing me long, hard, and wet.

  “Jesus Christ on a crutch! Liar, you’ve got a fuckin’ room in this compound, by all damn means use it instead of taking what you’ve got and shoving it down the throats of the rest of us!”

  I broke away from Liar and shot my gaze to the speaker who turned out to be Rage. He caught my startled eyes. “Sorry, babe. But you’re hot as all fuck, and every one of the rest of us wants to be exactly where Liar is, or maybe a little further along.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Liar clipped.

  I whipped my head back to him and couldn’t believe my eyes at the sheer jealousy in his gorgeous face. It was almost sweet. In a strange way for a biker.

  I thought Liar mouthing off to Rage like that would make the man mad, but Rage threw his head back and laughed at Liar’s disdain. I felt the growl come from Liar and he let me go only to grab my hand and drag me away from the common area. I expected to go to his room, but he dragged me out the back door of the compound. He surprised me again when we didn’t go to his bike but to a shady patch of grass under a huge old oak tree.

  He sat down and then pulled me down to sit on his lap. I struggled against this, asking, “What are you doing? I don’t need to sit in your lap.”

  “Don’t want you to get your scrubs dirty, Andrea.”

  I grinned. “They’re cotton. Means they’ll wash. Seriously, I don’t need to sit in your lap. Besides, why are we out here and not in your room?”

  His arms tightened on me, and I watched with rapt attention as he took in a deep breath with his eyes closed. Opening his eyes, he began to rock my world. “I want you. You were wrong, very wrong when you said you want me more than I want you. Felt like I hit the goddamned lottery yesterday afternoon.”