Night After Night (Night Riders Motorcycle Club Book 1) (5 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

She wasn’t his. She wasn’t any man’s woman. Leaving home was all about finding herself, and she was not about to find herself trapped all over again.

“I don’t know, boy,” Eric starred. “Bitch looked like she was running mighty fast.”

Blake seemed on the verge of exploding through his skin, and a small part of Lauren wanted to break free of Eric’s hold and run back to Blake’s side. But she couldn’t trust him either. He had paid for this. Maybe he looked good, but he would hurt her if given the chance.

“I won’t stay here!” she screamed.

Kicking Eric’s shin, she sighed as she felt her body breaking free, and she scampered up the steps. Lauren crawled her way back to the main room with no idea of what she would do once she made it to the top. Silas, Tim, the auctioneer. Too many men to count would stop her, hold her down, but she still had to try.

“And now we have a tiny honey-haired child for your pleasure!”

Lauren managed to hide behind an abandoned table, and she peered through the legs of the chairs as she saw a young girl with golden brown hair being led to the center ring. Her hands were bound, and he mouth was gagged as the auctioneer started to whip the crowd into a fresh frenzy.

“And here’s a bonus, gents! Look! Shaved and DTF if a cunt ever was!”

The auctioneer pressed her thighs apart. Lauren couldn’t see her unblemished flesh, but her tears were more than enough. Maybe Lauren could hold her own until this moment, the promise of escape, but the other girl could do nothing but hide her face in her hands and sob. Where had she come from? Where was she supposed to be? To see her cry, Lauren knew that she just couldn’t leave her to this horrible fate, and her eyes scanned the room, the floor, for some kind of a weapon. Spying a jagged piece of wood, she seized it quickly and started to pounce when a burly arm surrounding her waist as a hard hand was pressed to her gasping mouth.

“Are you fucking insane?”

She knew it was Blake’s voice, and she fought to free herself from his hold.

“Get back down here!” he hissed.

Dragging her sweating, bare body away from the crowd, Lauren’s ankles banged against each step, and she tried to part her lips, thinking only of biting down on his fingers, not caring if blood burst from his skin. But his grip was too tight, and she reluctantly went limp as he descended the final step and tossed her to the floor.

“You paid for this?” Eric challenged.

“None of your concern, Eric,” Blake said. “Now how about you just get the fuck–?”

“Give it up, man!” Eric said. “Hellcats are my type. You’d be better off with that little slit on the block–”

Balling his hand to a fist, Blake punched Eric’s gut hard. The bald man doubled back, and Blake grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall. “I paid for this one,” Blake started, his voice thick, “and this is the one I want.”

Pushing her hair rumpled hair aside, Lauren looked up and saw Blake’s tense back and Eric’s cold glare. He licked his lips when their eyes met.

“Whatever,” he said with a smirk. “I’ll get a taste of her soon enough.”

“Not on my watch, fucker!”

Blake shoved him to the foot of the stairs, and Eric laughed as he made his way back to the auction. As soon as they were alone again, Blake turned to her with a heavy sigh. His eyes were cold, and his lips were fixed in a tight frown. “Now no more tricks,” he cautioned. “You got that?”

Lauren nodded slowly, but even as she seemed to submit, her mind was racing towards the next chance of escape. Vowing to be smarter when any opportunity presented itself again, she resigned herself to Blake Bell’s company for the duration of this long night. At least he wasn’t Eric Shaller. That was something.

“Better,” Blake said. “We’re heading out soon.”

She watched without blinking as he crouched in the opposing corner. Stretching to his full height again, he tossed a burlap bag in her direction, and Lauren caught the parcel before it hit her lap. “Not bad,” he said with a tinge of admiration in his voice.

“Thanks,” she muttered.

They stayed locked in that moment, and she thought that she saw his eyes soften as his gaze lingered over her quivering arms. Just as quickly, his face hardened again, and he pointed towards the burlap sack. “Get dressed,” he ordered. “We got a long ride ahead of us.”

Excited at the promise of clothes, Lauren picked through the bag hungrily. But as soon as she clearly saw the contents, Lauren pushed the parcel away in disgust and glared at Blake.

“Problem?” he asked.

“I am not wearing those,” she said as she hid her breasts behind her hands.

“What? Not good enough for you?”

“It’s a whore’s costume, and I am
no
man’s whore. Least of all yours.”

“Never said you were a whore,” Blake said. “Just trying to keep my property safe.”

Lauren tossed her head back in a mirthless laugh. “Sure your boys will be real respectful if I put these on?”

Blake shot to her side, and she flinched under his touch as he cupped her face in his hand. Staying in his eyes, Lauren felt his hot breath pouring down her chest, and she couldn’t ignore the tingle crossing her spine when his warm stream settled in the space between her breasts. “They will keep their hands off of what’s mine,” he started.

“Like your buddy who just–”

“He’s no friend of mine, and neither is any other man who thinks that he can put his hands on you.”

Swallowing hard and fast, Lauren wanted to believe him. His intentions seemed plain by virtue of his very presence at such a horrible show. But the thought that she’d only have to deal with him was better than the idea of being tied into an X so that they could take turns until she prayed for freedom by way of death.

“I…I can’t put these on,” she whispered. “Please…please give me something else.”

Standing tall, he stomped his booted foot to the concrete floor and snorted in derision. “This is all I got,” he said. “Get dressed or go naked on the back of my bike. Your choice.”

How fucking generous of him.

Left with no other alternative, Lauren quickly covered her legs with a pair of tight leather pants, and she slipped a slinky red tank top over her breasts. No bra. No panties. No doubt he wanted easy access as soon as they got where they were going. Stepping into the high-heeled boots, she stood slowly, her face burning as he circled around her, taking in the view.

“Fits like a fucking glove,” he purred. “I like the way you look right now.” Blake pressed his palm to her side, and Lauren started to flinch. “No,” he said. “No don’t move.”

Settling under his touch, she felt his fingers lift the shirt, and as they pushed into her skin, she wanted to scream, to lodge the heel of her new, unwanted footwear into his groin. But despite her predicament, there was something sensuous in his stroke, and Lauren leaned into the feel of his hand as she lifted her eyes to his. “How can you do this?” she whispered. “How can you think it’s right?”

“It’s what I know,” he said. “But I’ll give you the back of my bike. You just hold on tight, and I’ll get you there in one pretty piece.”

Blake’s hand left her side, and he gripped her wrist. His hold was not rough but firm, and he hauled her up the steps. As soon as they hit the light again, the auction was still blazing in full force. Eric Shaller had the weeping girl that Lauren had longed to save under his arm, and she was given nothing but a G-string and some flip-flops for her journey. The girl screamed at the top of her lungs, and Eric shoved a bandana in her mouth to keep her quiet.

“What?” he said as he saw Blake with Lauren at her side. “Like you won’t want to mix it up at some point.”

Blake shrugged the other man off and walked Lauren into the desert night.

She saw a row of bikes, and she could see, she could smell, the cigarette smoked laced with traces of pot wafting into the starry sky. Under any other circumstances, the scene might be beautiful, but now it meant danger. Degredation. And she nearly gave into despair when Blake’s hands surrounded her waist.

Lifting her up, he settled her on the back of his chopper and mounted in the same fluid moment. “Hang on,” he said softly. “I won’t let you fall.”

With no other choice, Lauren clasped him as close as she dared, and she closed her eyes as the bike came to life under their connected bodies.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The ride felt like a million miles. At least Blake hadn’t lied to her about that.

Taking the lead, Blake sped in front of his crew and, as the bike accelerated, Lauren had no choice but to cling to him closer. Every time she tried to focus on the dark horizon passing them by, her head spun at the vastness of the landscape. Fearing that she might get sick at the sight, she was left with no other choice but to bury her head in the leather coating his back. Pushing her brow harder, deeper, she thought she heard him moan in something that sounded like discomfort.

“Am I… am I hurting you?” she asked.

Blake either didn’t hear or didn’t care, and Lauren shook off the possibility of his pain and focused on her own need to feel some security in this strange, sudden world. She dug her fingers into the creases of his jacket and tuned out his stifled moans as they rode on.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eric Shaller riding with his prize. In addition to the makeshift gag, her hands were bound with a crude length of rope, and her breasts trembled as she whipped her head wildly in every direction, her muffled screams begging for help. Eric answered her pleas for mercy with another burst of speed, and the bound girl desperately clung to his belt buckle to keep from falling into the sand. But Eric’s speed was too much for her tiny hands, and as Lauren watched her fall to the road, a scream passed through her lips.

“She’s down!” Lauren cried. “Someone has to help her!”

Blake followed her gaze, and when he saw the crumped girl about to be run over, he hit the brake. Lauren clutched his neck to keep from meeting the same fate, and he jumped off his chopper at the same moment that Eric came to a stop and the rest of the crew finally slowed.

Daring to step off his bike, Lauren thought again of trying to make a run for it in her ridiculously high heels, but she quickly thought better of it, knowing that she wouldn’t get very far.

And she wanted to be sure that–

“Stupid slut!” Eric charged towards his fallen prize, and his hands were rough as he brought her bound and gagged form to his eyes. “What?” he spat. “Don’t want to ride with me? What do I smell bad or something?”

The girl whimpered through her gag, and Eric backhanded her, sending her body back to the asphalt. He kicked her side and curled his hand into a fist. But before he could land the blow, Blake wrestled him back and shoved him into his bike.

“What the fuck his wrong with you?” Blake demanded. “You want her dead before we even get back home?”

The girl cowered into the ground, and Eric flashed a mouthful of bad teeth as he leered at her shaking form. “You want that, slut?” he asked. “You want to die out here in the desert?”

The girl frantically shook her head, and Eric got a strange look in her eye as he pulled her up by the ropes surrounding her small wrists. “No?” he asked. “Let’s put that to the test.”

Lauren watched in horror as he unlooped one strand of rope.

“What are you–?”

“It ain’t so far now,” Eric said. “Let’s give this cunt a workout before I work her over.”

Binding her to the back of his bike, he spit in her hair and started to mount. Urging the bike to attention, he moved forward a few spaces, and the weak girl stumbled to the ground in the same second that he pushed forward. Hearing her muffled cries and the fall of her body, Lauren forgot her own safety, and she ran like a sprint star in her heels, gathering the girl into her arms.

“Don’t do this to her!” Lauren screamed. “Don’t–”

Eric pushed forward, and Lauren clung to the desperate blonde as they were pulled as one through the night. They had barely moved an inch when Blake raced past them. Seizing hold of the handlebars, he wrestled the Eric’s bike from his grasp, and Lauren saw his boots dragging through the sand as he tried to bring the madman and his chopper to a stop with the sheer force of his strength. Lauren’s knees hit the road, and she felt the leather tear as the road’s surface skinned her knees. But she kept her hold on the girl, and she looked up to see Blake fighting to stop Eric from his mission of mayhem.

“Eric! Enough, you prick!”

Eric kept barreling forward, and when Blake fell to the side of the road, Lauren looked back to his twisting form. Suddenly the thought of him injured tugged at her heart, but Eric started to pick up speed, and she could do nothing but hold onto the girl as another bike raced past them and screeched to a swift stop as it barred Eric’s way from further destruction.

“You are done!”

Pausing, his motor still purring, Eric hung his head as a slim figure with gray hair dismounted and stepped closer to his side. He regarded Eric for all of a second before he slapped his face hard with the back of his hand.

“What the–?’

“Act like a little bitch, and that’s what you fucking get.”

Nursing his injured pride, Eric hung back as the other guy stepped closer to Lauren and the girl. He looked to Lauren for all of a second before plucking a knife from his boot. She shuddered at the sight of it, but the man leaned down and quickly cut the weeping girl loose.

“Hey that’s my prize!” Eric said. “What? Just because you’re in charge, you think–?”

“I know, Eric. Now stand the fuck down.”

“But what about my–?”

“Here, you twat!” The gray-haired man flung a stack of bills in Eric’s face, but he grinded his heel into the toe of Eric’s boot before he could make any move to run. “I won’t see you waste a good piece just of ass just because you want a chance at the other one,” he said. “Blake outbid you fair and square, and if you won’t take proper care of your purchase, then I sure the fuck will.”

“Really, old man?” Eric challenged. “You gonna do all that?”

“You best believe, fucking shit.”

Eric’s eyes lingered on the crying girl, and then he turned his gaze back to Lauren. She didn’t like the way he looked at her, and as she turned her head, a feeling of total relief washed over her as Blake stumbled back to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Take a hike,” Blake said. “Or a shit. I don’t fucking care.”

Leaving Lauren on the ground, he got right up in Eric’s face, spitting through his gritted teeth as he glared into the bald man’s eyes.

“But you don’t touch my girl. And it looks like old Paul bought yours right out from under you.”

No one moved; they barely breathed. Lauren could sense that Eric was ready for another fight, but when the rest of the gang surrounded him where he stood, he simply pocketed Paul’s bills and stepped back to his bike. Before he turned his head, he focused on the other girl with a wink. “Whatever. Not the one I really wanted anyway, but you best keep an eye out for me, Blake.”

He glared at Eric as he mounted his chopper. “Like you’ll know what to do with her.”

Lauren relaxed some as Eric sped off, and she pressed the crying girl close until Paul stepped closer and offered his hand. “Come on now,” he said quietly.

Pulling her from Lauren’s grasp, he stood the girl up straight and lowered her gag. She sputtered and sobbed, and Paul removed his jacket. Draping the leather around her shoulders, he asked her for her name.

“I’m… I’m Grace,” she finally said.

Paul’s face softened, and he pushed her under his shoulder as he shifted his focus to Blake. “Let’s head back to camp,” Paul said. “And no more surprises. You got that?”

Blake nodded as Paul led Grace away. Lauren started to call after her when Blake pulled her up and waved his finger in her face.

“Come on,” he ordered. “We have to keep moving.”

“Why?” Lauren asked. “You gonna tie me up for a wild ride if I say no?”

His silence made her uneasy, but he grabbed her hand and gave her skin a quick tug. “Wouldn’t you like to find out?”

Scared as she still was, Lauren knew that he was putting her on and when she looked back and saw Grace settled on the back of Paul’s chopper, she followed him to the back of his without resisting.

“Just hold on,” he said as he swung his limbs against the handlebars. “We’re almost there.”

And suddenly Lauren had no idea if that was something she desired or something she should fear and risk the chance of rope burns and the feel of her body being pulled through the desert.