Priest looked at her when her dad wandered off. She shrugged and led Priest by the hand. It wouldn't hurt to see what he wanted before they got on the road.

  "The others are at the clearing," muttered Priest.

  "Tarkio members?"

  "Yeah."

  "They won't be allowed here."

  "Why'd they let me in?" He looked behind them. "Nobody's pointing a gun at me now."

  "One of the guards came and told dad when you arrived. All he said was bikers were here, and a big guy was trying to enter the commune. I knew it had to be you—I had hoped it was you and begged my dad to let you in." She squeezed his hand. "And, now you're here. I can't believe it. You have no idea how happy I am to have you back."

  Her dad opened the cabin door and walked inside. She strolled in with Priest.

  Taking a wooden pencil box off the shelf, her dad handed it to Priest. "Compare."

  "Excuse me?" Priest made no move to open the box.

  "Check it out, man. Tell me what you think," said her dad.

  Priest opened the top and glanced at Nicole. She picked a joint out of the box and handed it to him, trying to hurry them along. Now that she could leave, she was anxious to get back to Missoula.

  Setting down the box, Priest held the joint up to his nose. After several seconds, he said, "Do you mind if I open it?"

  "Go for it." Her dad sat on the beanbag nearby. "There are matches on the table behind you if you want to give it a go."

  Priest fingered the buds cradled inside the organic paper. "Hybrid?"

  Her dad grinned, lifting his shoulders, not committing to an answer. Surprised that her dad was even sharing what the commune produced, she stayed quiet. The massive marijuana plots the men worked and harvested all year long allowed them to live free without the government overseeing their lives.

  "There's nothing like this in Montana," said Priest, rerolling the joint.

  "That's a downer, man." Her dad got up again, took two joints out of the box, and handed them to Priest. "Take it as a gift for watching out for my daughter. If you need more, you know where to find me. That shit will blow your fucking mind."

  Priest eyed him.

  "Ah, I see you thinking." Her dad laughed. "I've raked all the seeds out of the joints in that box. There's no chance of growing it yourself."

  Priest slipped the joints into his pocket and palmed the back of Nicole's neck. "Thanks for the gift. We need to head out."

  Nicole hugged her dad one more time and went out of the cabin. Her mom ran over and embraced her again. After several tears, she hurried to the car.

  Priest slipped into the passenger seat. Nicole waved out the window at the guards as she drove away on the dirt road. There were always mixed feelings about leaving family, but she was excited to be with Priest.

  She glanced over at him. "You're awful quiet."

  "You introduced me as Michael."

  "It's your name. You let me call you that."

  He grunted, reaching over and placing his hand on her thigh, keeping it there. "We're going to need to talk."

  She swallowed, taking the road slowly, making sure none of the guards were standing in the way when she took the bend. "About?"

  He patted her leg. "We'll talk later. At home."

  "I was going to get a motel—"

  "No."

  "You want me at your house?"

  He turned his head and looked at her. She pressed her foot on the brake pedal, unable to drive and see what he was thinking at the same time.

  "I'm not letting you out of my sight, babe."

  "Then, it's still not safe for me?"

  "You're safe from others." His gaze warmed. "I'm not safe for you, but I'm still not going to let you leave me again."

  She stretched over the space between the seats and kissed him. Flutters filled her stomach. She cupped his whiskered jaw and moaned. God, she'd missed him.

  Pulling away, she smiled at him. The pleasure of having him back in her life was overwhelming. She wanted to show him how much it meant to have him here with her.

  "Hit the road, babe." He squeezed her thigh. "Let's get the hell out of here."

  She laughed. To him, she suspected the commune made him uncomfortable.

  Nervousness filled her, and she looked at him again, needing assurance that she was doing the right thing. His lifestyle was different than hers and would push her out of her comfort zone.

  He caressed her leg with his thumb, leaving his hand on her. She inhaled deeply, put the car in Drive, and moved forward.

  With Priest by her side, she would find her place in the world.

  Chapter 30

  Priest

  NICOLE STOOD BESIDE the bed and fingered the leather belt. Priest stayed back, watching from the doorway. She hadn't heard him come in.

  His cock pulsed to life. The way she caressed the belt had him anxious to tie her up again. She seemed to like it the first, the second, and third time he'd used it on her.

  There were many things he'd like to teach her, show her. Experience with her.

  He gazed down her naked body. Her wet curls left trails of water rolling down her ass, pooling in the middle of her lower back, and rolling between her cheeks. He shifted, making room for his erection in his jeans.

  How he felt about her wasn't like it normally was with other women. Nicole was special. He recognized her uniqueness from the start. Hell, she was the perfect woman he always wanted.

  The woman he'd given up on ever finding.

  The woman who had him thinking about things he never allowed himself to want.

  The woman who made him fear tomorrow.

  She sighed and put the belt back on the bed and turned. Raising her gaze, she found him watching her and smiled.

  "Why didn't you tell me you were in the room?" She approached him and wound her arms around his neck.

  He slid his hand over her hip and pressed his palm against her lower back, pulling her against him. "What were you thinking when you thought I wasn't here?"

  "Mm." She raked her teeth over her lower lip. "Remembering the times you looped the belt over my neck."

  "Can't forget."

  "You like it when I'm scared," she said.

  "No." His heart beat faster. "It's more than that."

  "Tell me."

  He gazed in her eyes. "It's who I am."

  "I don't understand."

  "I don't know what to tell you." He reached up, circled her wrists with his fingers, and put her hands behind her back. "Having control over you is important to me."

  Her neck muscles constricted as she swallowed. "Just during sex?"

  He pulled gently on her arms, making her shoulders go back, and her breasts come forward. "I have over three hundred men I'm responsible for. Some of those men are in prison. Some of them have a family. It takes a lot to support them all and make sure they go home at night to sleep. Sometimes, my control slips. I fail. And when I do, I lose men."

  Her brows pinched together, and her hands stilled in his hair. "They die?"

  These were the kinds of truths about the motorcycle club that he wanted to protect her from. But he couldn't hide what kind of man he was or who she was sleeping with.

  "Yeah, babe," he whispered. "Some die."

  She inhaled deeply. "Your life scares me."

  "I won't let anything happen to you."

  Her gaze intensified. "It's not me I'm worried about, but you."

  That right there made her different than everyone else in his life. He held her closer, almost too tightly, and walked her backward to the bed. Ever since arriving back in Missoula, he couldn't get enough of her.

  Even now, he wanted to throw her on the bed, thrust his cock into her, and destroy her in such a way, nobody else would ever have her. His lungs squeezed, and he harshly panted, so fucking close to her, he could breathe in the scent of her.

  "Honey." Nicole kissed his chest, his shoulder.

  Unable to move her hands, she used the only part of her body that could take what she wanted. He held her captive. The post of the bed close enough, he could tie her up and never let her leave him.

  His body vibrated, holding back his desire to imprison her in his life because he couldn't face losing her, he slowly let go of her hands. Expecting her to run away once she witnessed the fear running through him, he hardened when her hands slid inside the front of his jeans and impatiently slid deeper, looking for his cock.

  He reached into his pocket, grabbed the condom he put in there earlier.

  Her fingers grabbed him. His toes dug into the carpet. Ripping open the foil packet, he shoved her hands out of the way, unfastened his jeans, and rolled on the protection.

  He'd given her a chance to get away, and she'd stayed.

  Wanting to give her everything she desired, he turned her away from him and pressed her upper body down until her hands landed on the bed. Using his knee, he widened her legs. The picture of her before him, bent over and sticking out her ass, got to him. She was so damn trusting.

  He would never make her doubt him.

  He reached out and gathered her curls in his fist, tightening his grip until he had full control of her head, and she couldn't move.

  Grabbing her hip, he bent his knees and thrust into her pussy from behind. She took the full impact on a moan.

  His arousal throbbed inside of him. He ground against her, taking her to her toes.

  Nicole whined for more. He grabbed a fistful of her hair, turning her head, and ogled her open mouth. Her closed eyes and flushed cheeks told him everything he needed to know.

  She got off as much as he, except she loved someone else taking control. He had no time to wonder if it was because she lacked any form of rules and regulations growing up that she thrived under strict guidance with him.

  He bent over her back and kept her head turned, capturing her mouth. She hungrily took his tongue, sucking, deepening him. His hips gyrated, sliding his cock in and out, faster, shorter strokes.

  Needing more, he let go of her hair, pulled out, and flipped her onto her back on the bed. He hooked her leg under her knee and plunged back into her. Over and over, he pounded into her pussy.

  Nicole's eyes rolled. Her breasts swayed with the movements. He arched his back, never missing a beat.

  Her teeth chattered together, and her legs quaked. He took that all in and wasn't prepared for the violence of her orgasm, clenching down on his cock. He roared, holding her legs as he shot his come.

  His heart pounded. He let his head fall back, and he closed his eyes, catching his breath. As quickly as he'd spent himself, he recovered and pulled out of her slowly, letting her legs go. He leaned over and kissed her deeply.

  She sighed contently on the bed, looping her arm around his neck. He would give anything to fall on the mattress beside her and sleep a few hours, but he had shit to do.

  "Rest." He kissed her again.

  She whined when he straightened, and her arm fell away from him. He covered her with the blanket at the end of the bed, removed the condom, tossing it in the wastebasket, and quickly left the room.

  In the bathroom, he washed up and walked barefooted through the house, grabbing his Tarkio vest and shrugging it on, then went straight out to the deck. The sun only a sliver over the mountain peak, Priest took one of the joints that Nicole's dad had given him out of his pocket and held it to his nose, inhaling deeply.

  Meeting Nicole's dad was the damnedest thing. Since coming home, he hadn't had time to question her about what he'd seen at the commune. A part of him wanted to figure it out himself—if he was right, he'd stumbled upon a fucking goldmine.

  The average person wouldn't rake the seeds from the buds and stems, or gift him with the Acapulco Gold strain unless he was sharing unspoken information with him. If that was the case, Nicole's dad had no idea what kind of businesses Tarkio Motorcycle Club had their fingers in and had taken a big chance. A deadly chance.

  He'd grown up in a time when hippies were anti-war, and he was the enemy putting on the uniform. While others were preaching freedom and free love, he was fighting for their right to mooch off the government.

  But he understood their desires and their hope. He understood when he bought his first motorcycle. He understood when he fought for the gavel.

  He pinched the end of the joint, raised it to his lips, and lit the end, inhaling deeply.

  Behind him, the sliding door slid open. He exhaled slowly and raised his right arm. Damn, that was good shit—the best he'd ever had, including what he paid his workers to grow.

  Nicole slipped underneath and hugged his side. Looping his arm around her neck, he pulled her closer and kissed her upturned lips.

  "I don't want to nap without you," she said.

  He grunted, focusing on a spot near the river below. It felt fucking great to have her near him.

  "You've been entertaining yourself," she murmured against his lips.

  The vibrations of her voice grabbed him by the balls. "Easy to do with the shit your dad gave me."

  She hummed and cuddled closer. He put the joint in front of her, and she shook her head.

  "You don't toke?"

  "No, not anymore. I grew up." Her upper body quivered in amusement. "Pot has always been a part of my life, obviously, but when I left home, I didn't know anyone who had some, and when I was at a party or bar, the stuff that everyone else smoked smelled gross. I'd be lying if I told you I never want a good roll, but the moment passes. Almost like the feeling of homesickness."

  He kissed her forehead. He'd seen what being around her family had done for her. She obviously loved her independence, but she came back from the visit with her parents rejuvenated and more determined to live every second with him.

  "You enjoy that one. I'll enjoy you." Her hand wandered to his lower stomach, and she rubbed.

  His eyelids grew heavy. Damn, he could live every fucking day higher than a kite—something that he rarely allowed himself to do. As long as he had his woman's hands on him, his men safe at the clubhouse, and nobody had died, he'd be damn happy.

  Chapter 31

  Nicole

  "LOOK AT ME." NICOLE twirled in front of him, laughing. "I look ridiculous."

  Priest's gaze warmed, bringing her to him. She pressed her forehead against his chest. Constantly, her stomach fluttered around him. The way he looked at her. The way he could share their private life with her through a smile as if they had secrets only they knew.

  She was falling in love with him. It was the only way to explain the way she was feeling.

  After four days at Priest's house, they were finally returning to normal. He had a meeting at the clubhouse, and afterward, he was going to take her on the Harley to Sally's Style Barn and talk to Kristi.

  While she was excited, she dragged her toes, wanting to stay with Priest.

  "You look hot, baby," He murmured against the top of her head.

  "I think the wind was hitting me from all directions." She lifted her chin and patted the inflated curls surrounding her head and hanging past her shoulders. "It probably looks like I'm wearing a wig. Kristi's going to take one look at me and push me out the door before her clients see me."

  He kissed her. "Don't ever cut your curls."

  "I'm going to chop them off." She laughed. "Oh, Lord, this is bad."

  He grabbed her, hauling her to her toes. She gasped. A fierceness replaced all the happiness on his face and frightened her.

  Clutching the front of his leather vest, she said, "What's wrong?"

  "Don't ever say that," he said on a hiss.

  She swallowed and nodded. It wasn't a serious conversation, but something set him off.

  He let go of her. She rocked back on her heels.

  A group of bikers rushed out the front door of the clubhouse. She stepped away, unsteady. Priest's penetrating gaze pulled away from her, and he talked to his men.

  She looked out at the street, needing to have a few minutes to understand what had happened.

  She was teasing in her remark about cutting her hair. Because of the way she'd grown up on the commune, she rarely trimmed the length because she couldn't shake the idea that a woman's hair was a show of femininity. That was the same reason why she went braless and wore no makeup. It was her right as a woman to do what she wanted.

  "Babe?"

  She turned. Priest motioned for her.

  Approaching him, he held his arm up and palmed the back of her neck, bringing her to his side. "I need to get the meeting started. The other women are inside. Are you going to be okay staying here until I'm done?"

  She nodded, okay on her own. Right now, she needed to surround herself with other women and think about what had happened and why Priest reacted badly toward her joking about cutting her hair.

  Inside, he stepped in front of her, stopping her from going to the others. "What's wrong?"

  She loved that he was in tune with her, and they were on the same vibe. Moistening her lips, she whispered, "You can't tell me what to do with my hair."

  He cocked his brow.

  She lifted her chin, bolstered by him not shutting her down. "You can't tell me what to do with my hair, Michael. That's not cool," she whispered.

  "If I told you your hair turns me on like this with it all blown out and big..." His mouth softened. "And, that I like it when it's wet and clinging to your back in such a way, the end of the strands tickle your ass." He moved closer. "Or when the wind blows, and a curl gets stuck on your bottom lip, it gives me all kinds of ideas on what I want to do with your sexy mouth. If I told you ten other things I liked about your hair, will you never cut it? For me?"

  Aware that her lips had parted and her breath came out in shallow pants, she nodded. When he put the request that way, she was happy to leave her hair natural. It was the way she wanted to wear it anyway.

  He caressed her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. "I should be out of the meeting in a couple of hours."

  "Okay. I'll wait." She bit her lip when he walked away.

  She shook off her arousal—Lord, that man could convince her to turn somersaults on the highway for a chance of knowing how much he desired her.

 

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