Page 39 of No Mercy

I could agree with that. After the previous night and this morning with Rock, it felt as if he’d claimed me. I turned my attention back to the dance floor. Trish, Michelle, and Robin were talking, laughing, and moving wildly, while Carol was at the bar getting another virgin mudslide. She was also ordering another round of vodka cranberries for those of us who could drink. She’d grown tired of waiting for the server to return to our table, and seeing how busy the place was, it wasn’t hard to understand why they weren’t more attentive. The poor waitresses were hopping all over the room trying to fill orders and keep people happy.

Michelle was Jumper’s old lady. Like the others, she was sweet and friendly, and totally in love with her biker. She actually looked like a biker chick, with two tattooed sleeves and piercings in her ears, eyebrow, and lower lip. Her short, spiky hair was pitch black, making the blue of her eyes pop. She was thin as a rail, but didn’t let her lack of curves keep her from being feminine in her pink mini skirt and clinging blouse.

Robin, on the other hand was the complete opposite. Her curves rivaled those of a Kardashian. With platinum hair hanging in curls down her back, she was wearing a pair of jeans and a red men’s shirt that reached mid-thigh and was cinched at her waste with a black belt. I was pretty sure her hair was natural because she had beautiful, porcelain-like skin with just a hint of color on her cheeks, and her brown eyes were made-up in that sexy, smoky look.

All of the women were beautiful inside and out. I knew within minutes of being around them that they were going to be good friends, and I ate up every little tidbit they shared with me about themselves. They all had interesting stories of how they’d ended up with bikers, but Audra and Hawk’s story was by far the most entertaining. I couldn’t help but be thankful that I hadn’t been around during all the chaos the club had gone through at the time.

“There’s nothing more exciting than a biker,” Audra had said to no one in particular when the six of us had first settled into our booth.

“Does riding a moped count?” Carol had joked, causing everyone to laugh. Audra had informed her sadly that no, a moped didn’t count. That none of their men would be caught dead on one. After that the conversation had switched to several different topics, some going on all at once while we gradually downed our drinks. When they began to play a song that Trish liked, she, along with Robin and Michelle, got up from the table to dance. That had been about fifteen minutes ago, and the girls hadn’t stopped moving.

“Hey, look.” I followed Audra’s gaze in the direction she had tilted her head, trying to point someone out without being obvious. “Table of cute guys over there, I think they’ve been watching us.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Why shouldn’t they be looking, we’re a table of cute girls.” That comment was not something I would normally say. Oh, God, was the vodka cranberries starting to get to me?

I’d already noticed them earlier, and they’d given our table a few curious glances too. One man in particular had been obvious about it. I got the impression that he was the leader of the group of five men. The others, two on either side of him, seemed to look to him for direction. They were drinking heavily and were casually dressed, and were sitting and watching what was going on. Not that there was anything wrong with that, I was doing the same thing.

“We can look, but we can’t touch,” Audra said, smiling.

“Can we dance with them?” Carol asked. She’d just reached the table and had obviously overheard some of our conversation. She crawled into the booth next to Audra. “I mean, Craig won’t take me dancing, so why can’t I dance with a stranger? It’s innocent.” She took a sip of her fresh drink. “It’s not like he can knock me up.”

We all laughed at that. “The guys think we dance with each other. Do you think they’d still allow us to come here without them if they knew we were dancing with strange men?”

I picked up on one word in particular. “What do you mean ‘allow?’” Both women turned my way. “This is girls’ night out. It’s for us to let down our hair and have some fun. As long as we don’t let anyone put their tongues down our throats or sleep with them, why shouldn’t we enjoy dancing with them?”

Carol laughed. “Oh! Oh! I think we have a rebel in our group,” she joked. “Honestly, I don’t think Craig would mind. He knows that I love him. It’s all about trust.”

“Trust isn’t the issue with Hawk. He just doesn’t like the thought of another man’s hands on me.” She pinned her gaze on me. “And knowing Rock, I can say he’s of the same mind.”

“The difference is that Rock hasn’t made any commitment to me.” I chose to forget about our recent fuck fest. “I’m the mother of his son, and that’s all.”

“She has a point,” Carol chimed in.

Audra shrugged. “As long as you know what you’re doing, honey. I’ve seen Rock angry, and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”

As I considered Audra’s warning one of the scantily clad waitresses came over with another round of drinks. The three of us looked at the full glasses that Carol had ordered and had been placed on the table a few minutes earlier, then back to the server in confusion. The server indicated the table of cute men. “Compliments of table twelve.” She then hurried off.

“Don’t look at them,” Audra said seriously. “Or they’ll think that’s an invite to come over here.” Her eyes grew large when I crawled out of the booth. “Where are you going?”

Laughing at her expression I said, “Relax. I’m just going to dance a little bit.”

I was definitely feeling the alcohol. As soon as I reached the dance floor, found a spot, and began to move my ass, my head was spinning. The dance floor lighting was a blinking flash of rainbow colors, and it didn’t help. I closed my eyes, willing the feeling away. I felt the heat of the bodies around me, the floor so packed that we were like sardines. Laughter escaped me when I realized that they were the only thing keeping me on my feet for the moment. Finally the dizziness passed, but I kept my eyes shut and started to swing my hips again.

The place was loud, and my body was thrumming with the beat warming my blood. The whole room seemed to be vibrating through me. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed dancing, it had been so long. I knew Robin, Trish, and Michelle were nearby, but it would be impossible to hear them speaking unless we were right on top of each other. When I did open my eyes again it was to see the man from the “table of cute guys” dancing directly in front of me.

It was the one I’d deemed their leader. I faltered slightly with surprise before pulling myself together. There was no reason to think that he was there for any reason other than to dance. As we continued to move I offered him a small smile. He just stared into my eyes, not returning it. Feeling uneasy, I turned away from him, shooting a glance at my table. Audra shook her head a little, as if to warn that I might be sorry, while Carol did the silly eyebrow dance. Both had smiles on their faces, though. But all that changed the second the man put his hands on me. Audra’s smile disappeared when she noticed his hands on my hips.

Surprised at his boldness, I put my hands over his with the intention of removing them. The sudden heat against my backside revealed that he’d also moved in close. When he spoke his breath moved the curls against the back of my neck that had escaped my sloppy bun.

“You’re new, pretty lady,” he said into my ear. Too close for comfort. “You belong to Phantom Riders?”

I stiffened. “I don’t belong to anyone, and if I were you, I’d step back.”

“You’re with them, so you must belong to one of the members.”

“Please take your hands off me.” I dug my nails into his hands.

“I don’t see your men around. And is that any way to thank someone for sending a round of drinks to your table?” His hands clenched, holding me exactly where he wanted me.

---