Chapter 30: Chapter 30

“Tell me a secret.” Talia lay in Tucker’s arms, warm and content after an evening of sex and debauchery. He was an adventurous one, pushing her limits. Even now, she couldn’t stop staring at the faint red marks circling her wrists where his shoelaces had bound her to the bed. It was such a sinful, dirty act.

She loved every second.

One hand resting on the center of his chest, the other tucked back behind his head, Tucker’s eyes were closed, his breaths slow and even, but she could tell by the faint smile on his lips that he was very much awake.

“You’re probably the hottest woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of being inside of.”

She batted his chest playfully. “What is that, a compliment?”

“I thought so.”

“Well, it sucked.” She grinned. “But I’ll take it.”

“Good.”

She was silent a beat, and then asked, “What did you think when you first saw me?” She thought back to when she’d gone inside that bar, sat down, and drew him into conversation. A biker with an edge. She could still feel her nerve endings vibrating, her stomach tumbling. If she was the hottest woman he’d ever been with, then he was hands down the hottest man she’d ever been with. Sometimes, when she looked at him, she had the oddest need to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“When I first saw you?” He thought about it, holding her in suspense. Scratching his chest, he said, “I thought the wig was terrible, but I could see the potential even from a distance.”

Talia froze, unable to process his words. “I’m sorry…what?”

“The wig. Horrible. I much prefer your natural color.”

“But…I…You…” she spluttered, struggling for words. An explanation. And excuse! He’d known it was her staking out the club all along?

“Come on, sugar, you didn’t really think you fooled me with that getup.”

“Yes, I did!” she screeched. Bolting upright, Talia clutched the sheet to her breasts, suddenly torn between running for the hills and reaching for her gun. The terror of what would happen next was very real. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“It never came up,” he said simply. Opening his eyes, Tucker rolled onto his side and pegged her with his piercing stare. “What’s the big deal anyway? We’re here now. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

God, yes, she had. Of course she did. It was her goal all along. But if he knew that’s what she wanted, why was he acting as if it was no BFD? “Why aren’t you mad? Why are you acting so understanding? We’re you just playing me this whole time?” Pot, meet kettle.

“Playing you? Hardly,” he scoffed. “If anything, I’m flattered.”

Talia reared back. “Flattered?” Was he insane? In what universe would a man like him be flattered to find out that a woman was using him to further an investigation…against him!

“Sure. You sat outside the club for days. To be honest, I was starting to wonder if you were Five-O, since you didn’t roll with the rest of the bunnies. Then you followed me to the bar and plopped that fine ass down beside me and bougbarht me a drink, so I figured you were just shy. Or waiting for the right time to make your move. I gotta be honest, sugar, gettin’ picked up by a chick is about the sexiest thing in the world. Makes me hard just thinkin’ about it.” He reached down between his legs and shifted his growing erection.

“You thought I was a cop?”

“Don’t get many people staking out the compound unless they’re wearing a badge, you feel me?”

Talia stared off into space, stunned speechless.

“Hey, you good?” Tucker touched her arm, pulling her back to the present.

Talia blinked, clearing her mind. “Oh, yeah, sure. For a moment there, I just thought…never mind.” She chuckled. Blew out a weighted breath and flopped back down on the bed, sending the sheets gusting up around her. As they settled, she confided, “I’m really glad you’re not mad, you know, that I stalked you.”

“Hey, you didn’t boil any bunnies, so it’s all good.”

She didn’t know whether he meant literal bunnies, or the female equivalent circulating around the club. To be honest, she didn’t really care. Talia was just so damned relieved that her cover wasn’t blown she could cry. As it was, with Bambi showing up at her door earlier, she felt like she had a tenuous hold on her identity. She was just waiting for the catalyst that would send her into freefall.

Forcing herself to abandon the anxious thoughts, Talia rolled onto her side, too, facing Tucker head on. “I wouldn’t count your bunnies too soon. While I have a fondness for most of them, there’s one that I might make an exception for.”

“Aw, sugar,” Tucker cooed. He brushed her hair back over her shoulder. It was so uncharacteristic of him, Talia couldn’t form words. But then his gaze dropped to her now exposed breasts, and she realized that it wasn’t out of character at all. He’d just been un-obstructing his view. “You’re not jealous are you?”

“Please,” Talia sniffed delicately. “What have I got to be jealous about?”

“Exactly my thoughts. But just to be clear, Bambi is no competition for you. You’ve got it all, sugar.” He leaned in then, lightly kissing her lips.

“You’re just buttering me up for more sex,” she accused.

“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

The twinkle of mischief in his eyes was the most attractive thing about him in that moment. Talia couldn’t stop staring. She was mesmerized, lost in his charms, in his subtle humor. He affected her in ways Brock never had, ways that she knew would stick with her long after she moved on.

She hated the idea of ever leaving. Easily, she could see why Bambi had grown so attached to both the man and the club. They were a world unto their own, making up their own rules, living by their own special code. They were fierce and loyal and intense in everything they did. It was what had attracted Tucker to the life, and it was why she was—even knowing it went against everything she’d been taught—could see herself sticking around.

But it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe in another lifetime. For now, though, she would enjoy what time she had left.

Crooking her finger, Talia laid back and said, “Come here and do what you gotta do then.”

Tucker’s smile stretched across his face, and he dove in, capturing her in a kiss so hot, it made her toes curl.

Then his phone rang. It was a cheery kind of tune, but he groaned unhappily when he heard it. Pulling away, Tucker reached for his rumpled jeans on the floor.

“Is that the Mexican Hat Dance?” Talia asked, giggling as he pulled out the phone and cut off the sound.

He didn’t acknowledge her question, his mood decidedly sour now. “This had better be good,” he barked.

It wasn’t. Nothing from that moment on would be. Talia watched with a growing sense of unease as the muscles in Tucker’s back stiffened and his shoulders crept up toward his ears. By the time he ended the call, his skin had turned an alarming shade of crimson, and Talia had a lump in her throat the size of a golf ball.

She’d garnered nothing from the one-sided conversation, except that something bad either had happened or was about to. “What’s going on?” she questioned when Tucker left the bed and started getting dressed without a word.

“The club needs me. I have to go.”

“Wait. Hold on,” Talia commanded as she leaped out of bed and rooted around the floor for her clothes.

Tucker paused, watching her. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Wrenching her shirt over her head, Talia said, “With you.”

“No, sugar,” he said with some amusement, “you’re not.”

“The hell I’m not. Move,” she said, shoving him out of the way so she could pick up one of her socks that he happened to be standing over.

Finished dressing himself, Tucker clucked his tongue. “Sorry, sugar, but the only thing you’ll be doing tonight is giving me a sweet kiss goodbye and climbing back into that bed. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

“Yeah, um, let me think on that.” She tapped her chin. “How about go to hell.”

Tucker’s amusement vanished and in its place stepped a hard as stone expression that, she was sure, he used to intimidate others often.

“And you can wipe that look off your face right now. You don’t scare me one bit,” she informed him. Lacing her boots, she remembered something. Returning to the bed, Talia took a moment to untie Tucker’s laces from the bed post and tossed them at him. He caught them against his chest with one hand. “Forgot those.” She headed for the door. “Ready when you are.”

Catching her around the waist, Tucker reeled her back in. “Not so fast, sugar. I’m serious. You’re staying put. Now don’t give me that look,” he admonished when she bared her teeth at him. “I won’t put up with any of your sass, you hear. If we’re going to give this relationship thing a shot, you’re going to have to learn that women don’t tag along on club business.”

“Antiquated bullshit,” she lashed back. “I’m not buying it.” Furthermore, she refused to obey it. They weren’t her rules. She hadn’t taken any oaths. As far as she was concerned, he could suck her big fat toe.

“Doesn’t matter if you buy it or not,” he informed. “That’s the way things are in my world. You want more from me, you’re gonna have to accept it.”

“And if you want more from me,” she challenged, “you’re gonna have to accept that I don’t follow orders. I march to my own drum.” Lifting onto her toes, she stuck her face in his. “You feel me?”

Tucker’s amber colored eyes darted back and forth between hers in disbelief. Talia braced herself, waiting for a verbal tongue lashing that wouldn’t come. Instead, he barked a laugh deep from within his belly and squeezed her close. “You’re a goddamn riot. What the hell am I gonna do with you.”

Crushed against his chest, her head trapped beneath his chin, Talia mumbled, “Take me with you.”

His chest rumbled beneath her cheek and, after giving her ass a quick, hard squeeze, Tucker patted her butt and released her. “Fine, you win. You can come with me, but,” he added before her pride had a chance to set in, “you stay quiet and out of the way. You got any opinions, keep ‘em to yourself until we’re alone. I’m serious, sugar. You’re stepping onto grounds you know nothin’ about. Understand?”

Talia barely resisted bouncing on her toes. Finally! She was getting the opportunity to look inside the inner workings of the club where women weren’t normally permitted. It was the treasure chest she been looking for, she just knew it. “I hear you loud and clear, Tuck. You won’t hear a peep from me.”

He didn’t look as if he believed her, but he didn’t have any choice. No way would she let him take it back now. She was going deep into Spartan territory, and she was going to rock that bitch like nobody’s business.