Page 44 of Minus

“What?” I exclaimed, not at all believing what I was hearing. Jase continued casually, as if this were a shareholder meeting for a shoe company.

“One million of that is for you personally, another portion will be your budget to rebrand the club, and the remainder is for me to use as needed during the transitional period.”

“Oh,onlya million for me? Is that all?” I mocked. “And what exactly is a ‘transitional period’?”

“That’s a nice way of saying potential all-out war,” he replied.

“Why would there be a war?”

“Because Cutter and I want to turn the Burning Saints into a clean club.”

I had to admit, of all the hairbrained schemes I’d expected to hear, this came as a complete surprise. “Jase, you can’t be serious—”

“Minus. Trust me, Jase isn’t the man for this job, but with your help, Minus can be.” His eyes, and his words were soft as he spoke. “I’m starting to understand why Cutter wants you by my side for this. I’m still not sure I’m the right man to be president, but I think if you were there with me, I could do it.”

“This is crazy talk. I have a life, a job, career aspirations. Am I supposed to just throw all that away to run off, and be a publicist for a biker gang?”

“Of course not. You’d be the Vice President of Marketing,” he said smugly.

“Of what, Minus? Have the Burning Saints developed a new product that you need to launch at the next biker convention? Do you have something that will revolutionize the beat down industry?”

“It’s exactly the opposite of that,” he said taking my hands. “We want out of the protection business. In fact, we want to redirect all focus and resources on running and growing our legitimate businesses. More importantly, we wish to liquidate and/or cease all non-legal enterprises, including our security firm, and bookmaking business.”

“Jesus, you weren’t kidding when you said there’d be a war,” I said, squeezing his hands tighter.

As confused as I was by this entire situation, his touch made me feel safe. He’d always had that effect on me. In allmy life only two men had ever made me feel safe, Jase and my brother, and at this moment they were both inside my head, pulling me in two opposite directions. I couldn’t believe I was even entertaining this conversation, or in bed naked with Jase, but most of all, I couldn’t believe how much I wanted him to fuck me again. I had to refocus and end this absurdity.

“What you want to do is highly dangerous, if not impossible,” I said. “The kind of rapid shift in the club’s business model that you are proposing would create a power vacuum in Portland. Other clubs or gangs would kill each other competing to control or shake down everyone that used to be under the Saints’ protection. Not to mention, the blood that would spill over all the other revenue sources the club must have its hand in. Given how long the Saints have been in the area, I’d say you’ve likely got a hand in just about every shady deal that goes down in this town.”

“See, Cutter was right.”

“What was he right about?”

“You understand club culture and how the economy of the street works. Your brother’s club may be clean, but the Dogs of Fire still roll on the same dirty streets as everyone else. You understand how men like me think. It’s in your blood. With your knowledge of club life, instincts about people, and head for business, you could run the Burning Saints by yourself, but I think it’s safe to say that the world of outlaw bikers may not be quite that progressive yet, so perhaps a partnership isn’t the old man’s craziest idea.”

“Itiscrazy, and so are you if you think I’m going to be your biker bitch business partner.”

“I know you said that like it was a bad thing, but that would look great on your business card.” He smiled wide and my stomach dropped.

“Get serious,” I said, trying to push my feelings for Jase aside, and get back to something a little closer to reality. I’d worked through my heartbreak for years in therapy, and thought I was in a good place before he walked back into my world. Having him so close made me realize I hadn’t workedthrough anything. “Does Cutter actually think waving a fantasy check for a million dollars in front of my face is the way to get me to agree to all this nonsense?”

“The money’s as real as the job offer, Cricket. Cutter wants you to use it to start your own business once the club has been re-established and stabilized. Once your work with us is done, you can walk away.”

“This is insane, Jase. My head is going to explode. I can’t think about this anymore.”

I should have been heading for the hills by now, but instead, I placed my hands on his bare chest and forced him onto his back. I straddled him, kissing his face and chest, pausing in between my greedy attacks. “I need you to stop talking about a fantasy future together that’s never going to happen,” I said. “I need you to help us both forget about a past we can’t change. Tonight, I need Jase to go away, and for you to introduce me to Minus.” I paused, kissing him deeper still, my hand moving to his rock-hard cock. “Then, I want him to fuck me.”

“Fast or slow?”

“Fast,” I said immediately, and he flipped me onto my back, rolled on a condom, and thrust into me. All my breath left my body with an, “Ahhh.”

His mouth claimed mine as he continued to surge into me, his hand cupping my breast before sliding down to finger my clit. I cried out as my orgasm hit, but didn’t have time to enjoy it, as I was flipped onto my stomach. “Cheek to the mattress, Cricket.”

My heart raced as I did as he directed. He lifted my hips higher and slid into me from behind and I lost my breath. Ohmigod, I’d forgotten how good this felt.

“Make it last, Cricket.”

“I... Minus,” I hissed. He slapped my butt and I nearly came.

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