Welcome to the Dark Side: Chapter 17

She was bendin’ low, her tight jeans strainin’ against her round ass, and every man in the fuckin’ room was lookin’ over at that pretty sight, droolin’ like a fool.

I knew ’cause dammit if I wasn’t one of ’em.

A kid with hair the colour of a fire engine sat between her spread legs, laughing up at her as she swung her long gold hair back and forth over them like a curtain. He grabbed a fistful of it and yanked so hard it musta hurt but her laugh only rang out louder, musical in a way I’d never heard music played before. She dropped to her ass, legs splayed around him like a bracket as she brought him into the fold of her body and smothered his face in kisses.

Felt my chest tighten like a bottle top closed too tight, the pressure buildin’ behind my ribs until I thought I might have a fuckin’ stroke.

Never seen anythin’ more beautiful than that teenage girl playin’ with a little kid like he was her own.

Before I could control it, the heathen inside me reared to the surface and thought about it. About claimin’ her for my own and plantin’ my seed inside that sweet body, watchin’ it grow even rounder ’cause a me. Thought about a sweet kid who looked just like my little warrior who I would call my own fuckin’ kin.

I clenched my fists against the impulse to throw her over my shoulder and spear her on my cock right there against the wall in front of everyone, so they would know she was mine. The only thing that held me back was knowin’ that even if no one else was aware of it, Loulou Lafayette was mine and she had been since she was seven years old whether it was fucked or not.

“Angel,” Mute grunted from beside and behind me, his eyes riveted to her like she was Mary Magdalene descended from heaven.

“Fuck me if you’re wrong,” I muttered.

Even though I’d spoke quiet, Lou perked up suddenly, her spine slammin’ straight and her head spinnin’ with unerring accuracy in my direction. I waited with pleasure as she took her time lookin’ me over, from the worn boots at my feet to the ball cap I wore backward over my unruly hair. Watched her lick that lush mouth and loved that she was too young to hide how much she wanted me.

“Zeus,” she breathed before clearing her throat and unconsciously dragging her kid closer to her chest like a shield. “What’re you doing here?”

As soon as we’d finished at Chapel, I’d set out to find her. Mute told me she spent every Thursday afternoon at the Autism Centre on the outskirts of downtown Entrance. He knew because he’d been tailin’ her for me since she’d cropped back up in my life at that fuckin’ party all those months ago. At first, it’d been a rotation of brothers who shouldered the duty but it was Mute who took a shinin’ to her and so it was him who I sent after her most often. He was a strange kid, my son’s best friend and like my own son after all these years. His bastard dad had ousted him from the house when he was just a kid because of his “fucked up” tendencies and he’d lived at the clubhouse or my place ever since. There wasn’t a soul I would trust more with Lou than him so he was with me, so I could introduce ‘im properly as her new bodyguard.

“Time to live and learn, little girl,” I told her with a wide grin, enjoying the looks of the receptionist and a few of the caretakers as they milled about the large space.

“Really?” she asked, excited like the girl she was.

My dick twitched at that enthusiasm, how it might be better applied to other things.

“Yeah,” I said roughly. “If you’re done here?”

Snappin’ back to reality, she looked down at her fire-haired charge and ducked down to rub noses with him.

“What time is it, Sammy?” she asked him softly.

“You can’t leave for nine minutes,” he declared in a loud voice.

“Hmm,” she stroked his springy hair back and peered up at me through her long fuckin’ lashes. “Do you want to meet my friend, Zeus? He likes to build things just like you.”

The kid, Sammy, stared up at her in awe then turned to me with his little mouth open in a perfect . Fuck, I’d forgotten how cute kids could be.

“You like to build things?” he demanded.

I moved closer, noting the complex building blocks carefully ordered all around them and crouched low just in front of ’em. “Yeah, kid. I build bikes and cars.”

“No,” he breathed, his eyes so wide thought they’d fall straight outta his head.

I beamed at him. “Better believe it. My brother Mute does too.” I looked over my shoulder at Mute who lingered awkwardly by the door still. “Come ’ere, brother.”

He stalked forward, his mouth set in a firm line and I knew it was because Lou was spendin’ time with another kid. It was one of his things, he either liked ya or he didn’t and if he did, he wasn’t a big fan of sharin’.

Loulou seemed to notice ’cause she patted the ground to the other side of her and said, “Nice to see you again, Hero. I half expected you to be wearing a cape after your heroics of the other day.”

Then, for the first time since King had gone off to university and left his best friend behind, I saw Mute’s lips twitch then turn into a full-blown grin.

He reached out to tug on her hair as he lowered himself to the carpet. “Sammy, Mute.”

Sammy stared at ’im for a minute before saying, “Loulou’s my best friend so if you wanna play with us that’s okay but she signed a contract and everything so it’s kinda up to me to share her. If you can build something really, really cool, I’ll let you play with us sometimes too.”

The two kids, more alike than I woulda thought, stared at each other for a long minute before Mute nodded and reached for the Lego blocks.

I waited a tick as they both started to play before I reached out to knock Lou gently on the edge of her chin with my knuckles. “How ya doin’, kid?”

Her face was soft from watching her charge and her hero playing together and it socked a wicked punch to my gut that took my goddamn breath away when she smiled at me and tried to lean her face into my retreatin’ hand. I hesitated then spread my rough fingers against the silk of her cheek for a sec before pulling away.

“Good now,” she told me.

Fuck me, had I ever stood a chance against her?

“Wanna take you to Smoke’s Range,” I told her, tryin’ to focus on the reason I was there in the first place.

Tryin’ to remember my own damn rule.

No touchin’.

Fuck but that was provin’ harder than expected to follow.

“BBQ?” she asked, her brows twisted up in an adorable frown.

Christ, a grown man thinkin’ a frown was ‘adorable.’ What was I becomin’?

“No.” I grinned. “Gun range.”

“You’re going to teach me to shoot a gun!?” she cried out too loudly.

Sammy immediately ducked into himself and covered his ears with a whimper. Lou cringed and took a moment to stroke his back and head, leanin’ close to pepper kisses against the back of his neck until he poked outta his shell, forgetting his discomfort in favour of Lou’s kisses.

Couldn’t blame the little guy.

“Sorry, one of Sammy’s aversions is to loud noises,” she explained then giggled softly. “Unless he’s making them himself. I’ve always, always wanted to learn to shoot a gun. Dammit, I’m not wearing the right clothes for it though!”

I took in her jeans and turtleneck. Normally that much clothin’ on a woman did nothin’ for me but I’d never seen a woman fill out a shirt the way Lou did. ’Sides, the thought of pullin’ out the knife I kept in my left boot and cuttin’ it off her was a fantasy now firmly rooted in my brain.

“Look fine,” I grunted.

She giggled again. “Okay, well in that case, hell yeah, I want to go to Smoke’s Range with you.”

I bit back my smile and nodded. “Good, now give me some a those blocks so I can show these two why I’m the boss, yeah?”

Her answering smile grabbed holda my heart and squeezed.

“Zeus, Zeus!” Lou called even though I was right fuckin’ there, one foot over her shoulder watchin’ her as I had been for the past ninety minutes. “Did you see that?”

Smoke and I chuckled but I was the one to say, “You’re a fuckin’ natural, Lou.”

She glanced over her shoulder, her pretty face obscured by ugly fuckin’ protective eyewear and ear mufflers and she was still the prettiest thing I’d ever seen, gun pressed to her tricep, finger on the trigger and massive grin on her face.

“I am, aren’t I?” she said.

Smoke laughed rough and wet the way only a man who’d smoked a pack a day his whole life could laugh. He was a hard man, an MC brother who couldn’t ride much anymore but who taught all the brothers how to handle a weapon when they prospected The Fallen. He was like a dad to me, only better ’cause my dad had been an abusive alcoholic fucktard who’d cheated on my mum and took all her hard-earned money whenever he felt like it.

He liked Lou and, given the way he kept raising those wire brush eyebrows at me, he liked her for me.

I tried to ignore the old bastard, but problem was, I liked her for me too.

“Sniper rifles are way cooler than handguns,” Lou was saying to him as she took off the mufflers. “I want one of these.”

“Not near as practical, girlie. I’ll get you set up with a Sig Sauer P238.”

“Don’t I need to apply for a gun permit or something?” she asked.

Smoke and I blinked at her.

She bit her lip and laughed self-consciously. “Yeah, no, never mind. Sorry.”

“No need to ’poligize, Lou,” I crouched down beside her. “You want a permit, we’ll getcha one, yeah?”

“Yeah, okay,” she breathed, starin’ into my face as if it was the first and last sight she’d seen or ever wanted to see.

She made a man who’d felt like a monster his entire life, feel like a fuckin’ angel.

“This is serious though, Lou, so I want you to drop the rifle and practice with the handgun again, yeah?”

She nodded immediately. “What’s going on?”

I sighed as she pushed her eyewear into her hair, flipped the safety on the gun and got up to follow me over to the handgun section of the range.

“Shit’s goin’ down with another MC,” I decided to tell her. “Not the kinda thing I talk about with outsiders, Lou, so don’t get used to it but you gotta know that things might get rough for a while and I need you to be careful, yeah? Mute’s got your back and you need to let him. Fuck, even introduce him to your parents if you need to so he can get access to your house.”

She laughed. “My parents are barely home. If Mute needs to hang out with me and Bea while we do our homework, that’s cool. They won’t be around to question why there’s a biker in their house.”

“Hate that for you,” I told her, not for the first time.

“I’ve got you back now and something tells me you’ve got family to spare,” she said with a soft grin, moving her body into mine as I came to a stop before a target.

The feel of her soft breasts against my chest was excruciatin’.

“No touchin’,” I barked.

She had the fuckin’ gall to smile at me and turn on her Converse heel like the cheerleader she was to grab the pistol.

“Like this?” she asked over her shoulder, squaring her arms and leveling the weapon.

Her small pink tongue stuck between her teeth as she concentrated. It was the same pink I imagined her pussy would be when I spread it open with my fingers and dived in with my tongue.

I’d noticed a red lollipop stickin’ outta her front jeans pocket and couldn’t wait to watch her suck on it. Wished I could know if she’d taste like cherries all over.

“Zeus?”

I adjusted my half-chub in my pants and stepped closer to maneuver her shoulder, readjust her hips between my palms. The contrast between her little waist and my mitts was such a turn-on that I took an extra beat to stare down at myself touchin’ her. She took the opportunity to arch her back, stickin’ her ass up like a present wrapped in denim.

“Behave,” I ordered.

“Yes, Daddy,” she answered, humor rich in her voice.

I reached out to smack her ass, . She squealed, her free hand coming to rub over the hurt as she frowned at me.

“Um, ouch!”

“Don’t fuckin’ tempt me, Lou,” I warned her. “Now, you hit the inner ring of the target twice and I’ll let you ride on the back of my bike insteada Mute’s, yeah?”

Those blue eyes lit up like I’d given her fuckin’ diamonds. Without another word, she angled away from me, donned her protective gear, steadied herself and popped off six rounds.

When I dragged my eyes from the sexy as fuck sight of ’er, I noticed she’d hit three within the inner ring.

She shrugged at me as she ripped off her mufflers and goggles. “I’ve always been an overachiever.”

I threw my head back and laughed, snaggin’ an arm around her hips and draggin’ her to my side as I’d wanted to do all day. She wasn’t a short thing but anyone was little compared to me and she fit into my side just fuckin’ right.

It was gettin’ harder to believe this girl, this teenage daughter of my arch-nemesis and renowned good girl, wasn’t fuckin’ made for me.

I grinned down into her face and loved the way she blinked up at me as if I was the sun. “You earned yourself a ride on my bike.”

She shivered against me, leanin’ all her weight, all those soft curves into the wall of my body in a gesture of trust that eviscerated me. “I’ve been dreaming of it since I was seven years old.”

I squeezed her hip, dipped my head ’cause I needed to be closer to the pure blue of those fantastic eyes. “Been on it before, little Lou.”

“Don’t remind me.” She rolled her eyes then grinned wryly up at me. “I’m choosing to believe this is the first time. Although if I remember correctly, I liked the way you held me Koala style, front to front.”

A low hum of approval worked itself up my throat before I could stop it ’cause the memory of holdin’ her so close, her warm crotch up against my own as I pressed her chest to mine… it’d been a feature fantasy one too many nights of jerkin’ off.

“Let’s try it traditional this time,” I said.

She rolled her eyes. “Such a boring old man.”

I swallowed thickly as she trailed her hand down my arm and casually wrapped her little fingers through my own so she could tug me forward.

“Bye Smoke, thanks for letting me use the sniper rifle!” she called, waving madly at the man.

He lifted a hand and his chuckle followed me as I let Lou lead me over the grass to my waiting Harley. It was a FXR model I’d outfitted and customized myself over the years so that it suited me to a fuckin tee. She was a beaut and anytime I left ’er outside a truck stop on a run with the club, I’d find bike enthusiasts crowdin’ around takin’ pictures of the silver-and-black beast. Soon as they saw me, they were quick to back off but I didn’t mind because a thing of beauty deserved to be ’precciated.

I shot a look at Lou and watched her eyes reverently caress the bike like it was a loved one.

Her hand was shaky as she placed it on the bitch seat and stroked the soft leather. “My knight in leather on his beast of metal,” she whispered, looking over her shoulder at me. “That’s what I thought when I first saw you. What kind of knight was that?”

“One part of a different kinda brotherhood.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Modern-day warriors.”

“Don’t romanticize it, little girl,” I warned her. “You know what they say about those scary folk tales, there’s a kernel a truth to ’em.”

She slanted me a look that was wiser than her years and reminded me of the precocious girl she’d been, writin’ to a man in prison and advisin’ him like she’d been born to do it.

“Don’t insult me. We met amid a hail of gunfire and the first time we touched, a bullet connected us chest to chest. Don’t pretend I don’t know all that you are.”

“You know shit about it,” I insisted, leanin’ forward to loom over her.

She blinked placidly up at me, unaffected the way most grown fuckin’ men were by my sheer size. She placed a hand above my heart where the scar we shared marked my own chest. “I know enough and when you’re ready to share more, I won’t run away scared because you’re the person I’ve always run to when I am.”

“No touchin’,” I rasped, hatin’ that my heart beat harder against her palm like it wanted closer to ’er.

Surprisingly, she backed off with her hands in the air and a wicked smile on her full mouth. “Sorry, Daddy. I’ll be a good girl.”

I ran a hand down my face, scrubbing at the wariness behind my eyes as I listened to her laugh at my reaction.

Fuck me, I was too old for this shit.

And fuck me if it didn’t make me feel young again and freer than I’d ever been before.

I swung my leg over the bike, tossed her the helmet, and braced myself as she carefully perched on the seat behind me.

“Gonna have to hold on, Lou,” I reminded her sarcastically.

“Oh, I’m allowed to touch you, then?” she asked innocently.

I revved the engine and grinned at her resultin’ squeal as her arms shot around my chest and wrapped tight, bringing her hot body against the back of my cut. Then, ’cause I knew it’d make her laugh and the sounda that laugh was quick becomin’ my Achilles heel, I gunned outta the parking lot, fishtailin’ slightly so for a brief second, it felt like we were flying.

I was right, she laughed and she did it loud, pressed against my back and right into my ear.