Beyond the Cut (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #2)(26)



“Does that feel like joking?” He licked his lips and stared down at her. “I don’t joke about serious things. Painful things.”

Dawn leaned her forehead against his chest and laughed. “Well then, I’ll try not to call you out in public again. I wouldn’t want to cause you any more pain.”

He cupped her jaw in his warm palm and tilted her face up until she met his gaze. “That kind of pain I can take.” His voice dropped, softened. “When it’s ’cause of my sexy girl.”

She was ready for his kiss. Knew it was coming before he lowered his head. And as his lips touched hers, she threw caution aside and pressed up against him, twining her hands around his neck to pull him close so she could feel every inch of his hard body against hers.

“Christ, you’re so f*cking hot,” he murmured against her lips. “You’re like a f*cking drug. All I was thinking about at the police station was how sweet you’d look naked, and bent over Benson’s desk with my cock in your *.” He deepened the kiss, his tongue stroking firmly inside, devouring her. Dawn’s body flamed, sweat trickling between her breasts, and she pulled him down for more.

“I love it when you talk dirty.” She ground her hips against him, pushing him deeper into the shadows, seeking even the smallest bit of friction where she needed it the most. “Talk dirty some more.”

“Fuck.”

“That’s a start.” She nuzzled his neck, frowning when he pulled away. “What’s wrong?”

Cade drew in a ragged breath, his gaze focused on something behind her. “We got trouble. Brethren. Two of ’em. They’re watching us from the other end of the alley. Goddammit. They aren’t supposed to be in town. Jagger and Wolf are negotiating a patch-over but the rules haven’t changed.”

The Brethren patching over to the Sinners? She couldn’t imagine the two clubs had anything in common, and from what she’d seen they didn’t share the same ethos. The Brethren bought, sold, and traded women; they prostituted their sweet butts and turned a blind eye to abuse. The Sinners might be misogynistic, but that kind of behavior didn’t go on in their MC. Jagger and Arianne would never have allowed it.

Dawn followed Cade’s gaze and her heart skipped a beat. “It’s Jimmy. He’s with Trey. They’re always together.”

“Trey is one of the guys who grabbed me,” Cade growled. “Jesus Christ. This is too f*cking much. Wanna shoot them dead right here, right now. Trey is fair game, but Mad Dog … I had to agree to let him go. Looks like he’s decided to rub his ‘untouchable’ status in my damn face.” He grabbed her hand and yanked her toward his bike. “Hop on, sweetheart. We’re gonna run them out of town.”

She hesitated, her gaze flicking from Jimmy to Cade and back to Jimmy. If she got on the bike, she would be as good as telling Jimmy he was right about her and Cade: She’d hooked up with a biker, and she was totally and irrevocably finished with Jimmy and the Brethren. But more than that, she would be doing the one thing she’d promised herself she would never do. Was she really ready to get involved in the biker life again?

The bus pulled up at the stop outside the alley, wheels squeaking as it ground to a halt. The door slammed open and Dawn watched the people mounting the stairs into the warm interior. Ten steps and she could be on that bus, warm and safe, and on her way home.

“Come.” Cade straddled his bike and held out his hand. “I can’t protect you if you’re not with me.”

How could she resist an opportunity to finally stick it to Jimmy and run him out of town? She’d never been on the offensive before. Even when she left him, she was running away. And how could she refuse the protection of the man who made her heart pound and her knees weak?

With one last look at the bus stop, she threw a leg over the bike and wrapped her hands around his waist. “Let’s ride.”

Cade cranked the throttle and the engine of his modded Harley Fat Boy roared to life, the sound echoing down the alley. Jimmy and Trey turned their bikes and sped away. Cade raced after them, veering out into the traffic and accelerating after the fleeing bikers as if there were no other vehicles on the road.

Dawn had ridden pillion on Jimmy’s bike, but she’d never experienced anything as breathtakingly exciting as riding with Cade. They flew through stop signs and traffic lights, wove in and out of traffic, and sent pedestrians scurrying off the sidewalk. Dawn clung to Cade as if she were a first-time rider, barely able to keep her balance when the bike tipped on hairpin turns that sent her stomach plummeting. The wind whipped through her hair, the motorcycle vibrated between her thighs, and the world became a blur once they hit the open road. She had never been as exhilarated in her life.

“Babe. Grab my gun from the holster,” Cade shouted over his shoulder.

Tightening her free arm, Dawn reached beneath his cut and removed the weapon, sliding it across his chest. She held it in front of him, but Cade shook his head.

“Going too fast to ride and shoot. You gotta do it. Shoot ’em.”

Dawn sucked in a sharp breath and pressed herself tighter against Cade’s back. Her legs clamped around his thighs when he suddenly changed lanes to accelerate past a truck. “I can’t shoot,” she yelled. “What if I hit someone?”

“That’s the idea. If you don’t, he’ll just keep coming back like a f*cking roach.”

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