They each ate quietly and as they finished, the owner of the diner came to their booth, introducing himself, and sitting down next to Ice, recounting his own days of riding.
“My wife made me give it up when our oldest boy was born, but I still miss it.” He looked longingly out the window at the motorcycle parked in front.
“Kids grown?” Ice asked.
“Yeah. Divorced the wife a year ago, too.”
“Then nothing’s stopping you, is there?”
The man gave him a shit-eating grin. “I guess not.”
Ice nodded before reaching into his back pocket. He pulled out his wallet, opening it and taking out a card.
“He’s a friend of mine. Tell him I told you to call. He’ll hook you up with one for a decent price.”
“Thanks.” Herby got up from the booth. “Next time you stop by, the food is on the house.”
“Thanks.”
Ice stood and Grace slid out of the booth, both going back to his bike where he climbed on.
“That man hasn’t ridden in years. What if he gets hurt?”
Her concern brought a wry smile to his lips. “Baby, if you take a biker’s ride away from him, he’s dead anyway.”
Grace got on behind him, and he drove her back to town. He wanted to keep going instead of having to pull into the parking lot where her car was parked. Stopping next to it, he felt her climb off the bike, already missing the warmth of her at his back.
“I have to go,” Ice told her.
“Oh. Okay.” He didn’t miss the disappointment she tried to hide. “I guess I’ll see you around.” She started to turn away, but he grabbed her hand and tugged her toward him.
“How about I drive down next Friday and we go for another ride?”
“I... I don’t think that would be a good idea, Ice.”
“Then how about if I show up here next Friday at say… five o’clock. If you’re here, we’ll go for another ride. If not, I’ll go back home.”
She waited a moment before nodding, and then turned quickly to get inside her car and start her motor.
Ice sat, watching her drive off with his hands gripping his handlebars. He could take his time with her. Trying to rush her would only scare her away. No, the trick to getting that woman in his bed was to go slow and easy, which was all-good to him because that was exactly how he planned to fuck her.
* * *
Ice closed the door behind him after he entered the expensively furnished office.
Desmond sat behind his sleek, modern desk where he was signing papers as his secretary sat in a chair across from him. The woman was exactly the type of woman Desmond never fucked. She was young, and while not exactly unattractive, she wasn’t going to make a man’s dick stand up and take notice, either. Her dull, brown hair and pale skin gave her a boring appearance.
Desmond leaned back in his chair. “I’ll finish these later, Dalis.”
The secretary rose sleekly to her feet before quietly leaving the room.
“We need to talk.”
“You should have called first.”
“Don’t worry; I came up the back elevator. No one saw me,” Ice stated, taking the chair the mousey secretary had just vacated.
“Dalis saw you.”
Ice ignored the reprimand. “That mouse is too scared of her own shadow to open her mouth about seeing me here.”
Desmond’s mouth tightened in anger at his flippant response.
“What did you want, Ice?”
Ice stared at Desmond, the owner and CEO of Beck Industries and the unknown ruler of Queen City. He had replaced King, who everyone in the large city had feared. King had left to marry a woman in Kentucky he had fallen in love with. Desmond had always been King’s silent partner, preferring to stay behind the scenes. With King now gone, he was still trying to maintain his anonymity while controlling a city, which was the center of illegal crime.
“Heard through the grapevine Deacon is hiring more men. He’s going to make a move, Desmond. Hiding behind this fancy office isn’t going to protect you much longer,” Ice warned.
Desmond got up from his desk, going to look out his window. “That’s what this job requires, isn’t it? King hid himself in that strip club of his.”
“Yeah, but he was smart enough to hire men to protect him. When Deacon makes his move, it’s going to get bloody, and my men are going to be outnumbered.”
“Hire who you need,” Desmond ordered, retaking his chair behind the desk. “Is that it?”
“No. You keeping Yo-Yo contained?”
Desmond stiffened. “Don’t call him that. Justin is in lock-down. He’s where no one will find him.”
“Make sure of it. I didn’t do time for nothing.”
“The money I paid you is why you did it. Watch how you talk to me, Ice. I would appreciate the same respect you showed King.”
Ice rose to his feet, placing his hands flat on Desmond’s desk. “King earned my respect. He was a tough motherfucker who knew how to protect himself and the ones who worked for him. You want my respect? Earn it.” Ice turned with that, striding to the door and opening it.
“Ice?”
Ice turned back.
“Next time, call first.”
* * *
Ice strode into the Predators’ clubhouse, finding the brothers in the main room where a bar was against the wall with a bitch wearing a thin T-shirt, who was serving drinks.
“You look aggravated, brother. What’s up?” Max questioned, sprawled out on an old chair as he watched another bitch give a show to the other men lounging around the room.
“Nothing a stiff drink won’t cure. Rita, get me a tequila and a beer.”
“Sure thing, Ice.”
He flung himself down in an overstuffed chair next to Max. “Where’s Jackal?”
“Don’t know. He disappeared a couple of hours ago after he put some extra men on Deacon like you told him to.”
Ice nodded as he took his drinks from Rita. The sexy brunette was wearing a pair of blue-jean shorts, which rode up her ass, her jutting tits pressing against the T-shirt she wore.
“Here you go, Ice. Need anything else?”
“No. Thanks, Rita.” Ice ignored the disappointment that flashed across her face as he took the tequila and downed the large shot.
Max cleared his throat. “Ice…? Brother, are you doing okay?”
Ice turned to look at his brother’s face in surprise at the concern he heard. “Yeah, why you asking?”
“You haven’t... I don’t want to be all-personal and shit, but you haven’t been hitting the pussy like you usually do. The others and me hit it so hard when we got released the bitches couldn’t walk straight for a week. But since you got released... Well, you haven’t taken the load off.”
Ice picked his beer up, taking a drink before confiding to his longtime friend, “Haven’t wanted any club pussy. The pussy I’m wanting is three hours away.” He waited for the laughter to come; instead, Max stared back in relief.
“Cool. I wanted to make sure that shit at the prison didn’t mess up your mind. You know?”
Ice did know. His face hardened. He had a plan to settle that score, one everyone involved would never forget.
“No, brother, I’m cool. Did you do what I told you to do?”
Max gave him a malicious grin. “Yeah. I did exactly what you told me to. That was a piece of genius, brother.”
Ice took the compliment. It was the first step toward taking his revenge.
He sat back in his chair, watching Crush throw off her T-shirt as she stripped. It was going to be a long week until he saw Grace again.
Chapter 16
Ice drove into the parking lot of the Jiffy Grill, parking in the empty space next to Grace’s car. The whole parking lot was deserted.
He was soaking wet from driving through the cold rain to get here. Now he was sure she was going to tell him it was a wasted effort.
“Why’s it closed?” he asked as soon as s
he got out of the car.
“The owner had a death in the family,” Grace answered, standing in the drizzling rain.
“Get back in your car; you’re getting wet,” Ice ordered, despite enjoying the sight of her thin blouse becoming damp and clinging to her breasts. Ice could see the imprints of her nipples through her bra.
Grace nodded yet didn’t get back in the car. “We could go to my house, and I could fix us something to eat.”
Ice didn’t want to let her see how much he liked that idea, not wanting to put her on guard.
“Sounds good. I’ll follow you.”
Grace got back in her car, and Ice followed her to her house, not that he needed to; he knew exactly where she lived. It was a ten-minute drive to her house in a quiet cul-de-sac.
They ran through the rain, which had begun to fall heavier. Then he waited patiently as she unlocked her front door and keyed in her security code. A small, brown dot of a dog came barreling around a corner, slamming into the wall by the door.
“Are you ever going to learn, Bear?” Grace scolded the tiny dog that was shaking his tail until he spotted Ice. Then his whole attitude changed, snarling and emitting a low growl. “Behave,” Grace ordered, picking the little shit up.
Ice saw a large, black shadow with eyes coming from the same direction the dog she was now gripping firmly had come from. If Ice had his gun on him, he would have shot the thing as it walked lazily into the room. Grace saw where he was looking.
“That’s Daisy.”
“What is it?” Ice asked.
“It’s a giant schnauzer.”
“It’s a dog?” Ice had to make sure. He didn’t know they made dogs that fucking big. If it stood on its hind legs, it would be taller than Max.
“Yes, it’s a dog. Let me grab you a towel.” She disappeared, still holding the smaller dog, returning after a brief second with a large towel. “Get dried off. I’ll be right back.” Grace disappeared again.
The larger dog sat down on its ass, watching him balefully. Ignoring the thing, he surveyed her home.
It was spotlessly clean with flowers everywhere, from the print on the couch to the pillows on her side chair. She even had fresh-cut ones in a delicate vase, which sat on the large coffee table. She had brought a garden inside her home.
Ice wasn’t crazy about all the flowery stuff, but as long as he didn’t live surrounded by it, it didn’t matter to him how she liked to decorate.
Grace came back into the room, wearing jeans and a sweater large enough for two women to wear. Her feet were covered in bright-pink socks that matched the colors of her fucking flowers. She sat the smaller dog on its feet, ordering him again to behave when he rushed at Ice’s feet, growling.
“Sorry. He’s very protective.”
Ice stared down at the dot now gripping one booted foot between his sharp little teeth. “I can see that.”
The other dog just watched, not moving.
“The kitchen’s over here.” She went through a doorway, and Ice followed with the dog hanging onto his boot. He was tempted to hurl the little monster across the room, but behaved himself, convinced it would destroy any chance he had with Grace if he killed her dog.
He liked the kitchen even less than the living room. The bright yellow almost hurt his eyes.
“What would you like to eat? I can make us some sandwiches and soup, or I have a frozen pizza I can heat up?”
“The pizza is fine.”
She nodded, opening the freezer and taking out the pizza.
“I always keep one for CeCe when she comes over. Sometimes we watch movies together and she’ll sleep over.”
“Sounds good to me.”
She stopped tearing open the pizza, her mouth hanging open.
“I was just joking, Grace. Put the pizza in the oven.”
Ice wandered back into the living room, turning on the television set. Flipping the channel, he found a football game and settled down onto the couch. It might be ugly to him, but he had to admit to himself it was extremely comfortable.
Grace came to the doorway. “What would you like to drink?”
“I don’t suppose you have a beer?”
“You’re in luck. I have some my brother and father weren’t able to finish off before they left.”
She left, and Ice watched the game until she brought him a beer and set one down for herself on the coffee table.
“We can eat in the kitchen.” Ice started to stand up.
“Sit back down. We can eat in here.”
Ice didn’t argue, relaxing back against the soft cushions. The couch was growing on him.
The little shit jumped up onto the couch after several tries, sitting down on its hind legs and staring at him. The bigger one came to investigate and saw where it was sitting then fell across his feet, laying its massive head down on its front paws. Ice determinedly ignored Grace’s pets, losing himself in the game.
It didn’t take long before she was putting their plates on the coffee table.
Ice reached for one of the thick slices.
“Be careful. It’s hot,” she warned.
Ice didn’t care; he was starved since he hadn’t wanted to take the time to eat before he had left Queen City.
The hot pizza warmed him. He finished the first slice then started the second before she was halfway through her first slice.
“What did you miss the most when you were in prison?”
Ice swallowed the bite of pizza he had taken, wondering if she was just curious or if she wanted to build a wall between them.
“Gert’s barbeque ribs,” he answered truthfully.
“Gert?”
“She’s a woman who’s been a part of the club since before I joined.”
“How did you become involved with the Predators?”
Ice debated on how much to tell her then decided to give it all to her.
“I left home when I was fifteen. I lived on the streets of Queen City for a couple of years, working at a few jobs that would pay me enough to keep me in food and clothes, but not enough to pay for a place to live.
“One night, I was tired of sleeping on the ground behind a restaurant, so I walked around until I found a car that was unlocked. It was late, so I thought that whoever’s car it was wouldn’t come out until morning. I crawled into the back seat and fell asleep.
“I was awoken by a woman shaking me. I tried to take off running, but she grabbed me by the hair, pushed me back in the car, and got in with me. I thought she was crazy as shit, and I was a small kid. She told me to calm down, that she wasn’t going to call the cops, and then asked why I was sleeping in her car. I told her. Then she told me she knew where I could stay, and they wouldn’t charge me any money. I was street-smart by then and told her no thanks. She gave me the address anyways and told me that, if ever I needed a place to stay, it was there. I took off.
“About a month later, I got hurt. Another homeless man had stabbed me, trying to take my shoes while I was sleeping. I was sick and hungry enough to go to the address she had given me. It was the Predators’ clubhouse. Gert stitched me up and introduced me to all the brothers. I’ve been there ever since.”
Grace blinked back the tears in her eyes reaching over to touch his arm lightly before reaching down for another slice of pizza, handing it to him. She wished that could offer a sympathetic word but sensed he didn’t want it.
When they finished the pizza, Grace packed their dishes to the kitchen and brought him back another beer. She curled up on the couch at the end, hugging one of the pillows to her stomach. The little shit stayed between them the whole time while the other one hadn’t moved from his now numb feet.
Ice watched the game, slowly drinking his beer. When it was over, he nudged the dog off his feet before standing.
“I better get back before it starts raining again.”
Grace rose, still holding the pillow. “All right.”
“Want to try to go for another ride next Friday?”
“Yes.” Her immediate response made him smile.
He paused as he passed her on the way to the doorway. Lowering his head, he placed a brief kiss on her lips. Ice intended to leave with just a brief taste of her, but her soft pliant lips under his had him catching her mouth under his again. Thrusting his tongue inside her warm mouth, he traced the inside of her bottom lip in invitation. Sensing her hesitation, he broke the kiss. Tonight wasn’t the night to push her; she was still too wary of him.
“See you Friday,” he promised then left, closing the door behind him.
The last thing he saw was the dot staring at him with what he swore was a grin. It was everything he could do to get on his bike and ride the long drive back to his clubhouse.
* * *
His mood didn’t get any better when he got back to the clubhouse. He was horny as hell, and finding one of the bitches he used to regularly fuck had stopped by to party didn’t help his already black mood.
“Hey, Ice.” Brandy climbed off Buzzard’s lap, sashaying across the room to him. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Doesn’t look like you were bored.”
Brandy pouted her red lips as she leaned against him, her breasts planted against his chest she ran her hand up his thigh. “I came to party, not sit alone all night.”
“Don’t let me stop you.” He pushed her heavily perfumed body away, remembering Grace’s clean scent when he had kissed her goodnight.
“Don’t be that way, Ice. I only stopped by to see you. The other guys mentioned you might have a problem…” She cleared her throat. “They said you haven’t...”
Ice sent his men a furious look, seeing the look of pity on the women’s faces. His brothers turned their own faces away, unable to look him in the eyes. His blood went cold.
Ice grabbed Brandy by the nape of her neck, leading her toward the pool table in the center of the room. He bent her over it, her ass in the air. Kneeing her legs apart, he raised the tight skirt over her ass before ripping the bright red thong off. He then unbuckled his jeans and pulled out his engorged cock before reaching into his back pocket and taking out a condom. Tearing open the package, he slid the rubber onto his cock. He didn’t even touch her weeping pussy as he rammed his cock deep inside her.