When Dove Cries Read online

If Cade Vanaker wanted a fight on his hands, well then, he was just the man to give him one.

  * * * *

  North, Givon and Allis had brought Nimrod, and everyone shouted surprise as the man walked through the door. His arm was in a sling and he had a slight look of pain on his face, but Dove figured a few beers would take care of that. She looked around the room, making sure everything was where she wanted it to be because this had to be perfect. Nimrod had gotten shot because of her, so she owed him.

  North jumped up on the bar and clapped his hands, getting everyone’s attention.

  “I have to give a big thanks to Dove who managed to kick your asses into gear to make this place look fantastic,” he said, grinning at her.

  Dove blushed.

  “There’s plenty of food and booze, and just before we commence with the celebrating, Draven has a special present for Nimrod.”

  Draven walked forward with his hand behind his back. When he finally stood in front of Nimrod, he brought his arm around. He held a cut, a brand new leather vest that had Nimrod’s name sewn on the upper right-hand side.

  “Is this…? Am I—? Are you shitting me?” Nimrod asked as he reverently took the vest.

  Everyone began clapping.

  “Congrats, man,” Draven said loudly to be heard over the cheers. “Since you seem willing to save our women all the time, we decided to patch you in. Now you gotta make an appointment at the shop to get your tat. Either me or Branch.”

  “This is the best day of my life,” Nimrod said, obviously trying very hard not to cry.

  “Come on, off with the prospect and on with the brother,” North replied as he hopped off the bar. Dove quickly wiped his boot prints off it. “You’re now a full member, one of the pack, and our motto is ‘We take care of our own’. You wear the red stripe at all times with pride. The Red Wolf is our spirit, our symbol, and these men are your brothers.”

  “I will,” Nimrod whispered reverently, as if he was saying his marriage vows.

  Draven helped unhook the sling so Nimrod could swap the vests out. All the Wolves came forward to greet their new brother. Tears gathered in Dove’s eyes, and she discreetly wiped them away. This was beautiful to her, being part of this community that loved each other unconditionally.

  “This is fantastic,” Lovey gushed. She nudged Dove with her shoulder. “You did a great job.”

  Dove couldn’t contain the big grin covering her face. She looked around and saw the Red Wolves laughing, drinking, and fooling around with the sweet butts, and knew this had been something desperately needed. Nimrod was the center of attention, and he seemed to love it. He was drinking from a beer in the hand that wasn’t in a sling and had a full one waiting in his immobile one.

  Draven was talking with North and Cade was playing pool. Every once in a while she felt their gazes on her and knew they had to be looking her way, but she was so confused about them that she didn’t know how to handle it. She mainly kept her eyes focused anywhere but on them, which was harder to do than she figured because her glances kept straying to them against her better judgment.

  “You keep staring at them,” Lovey murmured near her ear.

  “That’s because I can’t get them out of my mind,” Dove told her. “Everything was easier when sex wasn’t an issue.”

  “How is that surprising?”

  “No, you don’t understand,” Dove said. “John is my angel and Cade is my savior. I vowed to spend the rest of my life with them. But they don’t even like each other, and I won’t play favorites between them.”

  “But men want physicality. It’s their nature. I mean, they’re bikers. Bikers aren’t that different from rock stars with the whole sex, drugs and rock n’roll scene. Too bad they aren’t best friends like North and Givon, even though he’s still a cop.”

  Dove swung her gaze around to rest on the sheriff standing next to Allis. He had a beer in his hand, but he had a wide berth around him, as if the Wolves were deliberately keeping their distance. Only Pete stood talking to him.

  “I thought him and North were in a relationship with Allis,” Dove stated, confused.

  “He is, but that doesn’t automatically mean he’s accepted into their ranks,” Lovey said. “He’s still a cop and this is still an outlaw gang. Givon’s accepted only because he stood with us against the Tribe.”

  “Outlaw,” Dove mused. “Like Jesse James?”

  Lovey laughed. “You’re so funny, Dove. Outlaw gangs don’t really conform to the standards of polite society.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “The Red Wolves are one-percenters. Hard riding, hard partying, a non-mainstream type group, although North and Draven have slowly been turning that around for the Wolves. It’s hard to give up the life style of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll.”

  Dove bit her lip. “They’re criminals?”

  Lovey stared at her steadily. “What if I said yes?”

  Dove glanced around to North and Allis who had become her friends, to all the others who had defended her with their lives. Her father and his men had been about good guys versus bad guys, and according to Lovey, the Red Wolves were the bad guys. But suddenly, it wasn’t so black and white. Lines blurred.

  “It not so cut and dried, is it?” she mused, not expecting an answer to her question.

  Lovey shook her head. “The Red Wolves are a family, and they take care of the pack. No matter what has to be done.”

  “Yes,” Dove murmured. “That I completely understand.

  Since Lovey was tending bar, she had to go back to work when several on-their-way-to-being-shit-faced members walked over and started banging their empty beer bottles on the counter.

  Dove laughed as Lovey rolled her eyes. Someone touched her elbow, and she turned to see Allis and Givon standing next to her. Dove threw her arms around Allis, who hugged her back.

  “I heard you kicked butt today,” Allis teased.

  Dove shrugged. “It just needed to be done. I guess it worked because everyone seems to be having a good time.”

  “That they are,” Givon replied. He nodded toward a corner were Branch sat with a plate heaped with food. “I think that’s his second plate, and he just got here five minutes ago.”

  “He’s a growing boy,” Allis said seriously.

  Givon snorted. “You know, I never did get that statement from you,” he told her. “It seems like every time, something has come up.”

  “That’s weird, huh? Well, I’m here now. What would you like to know?”

  “I’ve gotten most of what happened,” he said. “Can you tell me anything Hiller said? Names. Places. Anything that might be helpful?”

  “No names,” Dove said. “But there was another man. Older. Long gray beard. He was mean and used to taunt me about breaking me in.”

  Givon tensed and he looked over at North, who stood talking with Draven. When North look over at him, he crooked a finger in a ‘come here’ motion. Immediately, North touched Draven and they began walking over. Along the way, Draven knocked Cade’s arm to follow. And before Dove realized what was happening, the tall bikers surrounded her, all staring intensely into her eyes.

  “Can you repeat what you just said?” Givon asked.

  She nodded. “There was an older man with Hiller. Long gray beard, mean eyes.”

  Givon scrolled through his phone until he found a photo then held it up. “Is this the man saw you saw?”

  Dove felt the blood leave her face as she stared at the man who had mocked and laughed at her. “That’s him,” she whispered. “That’s the man with Hiller.”

  “Are you sure, Dove?”

  “Yes,” she said firmly. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Without a doubt, that is the man.”

  Givon gave her a slight smile and put his phone away. “Good girl. Can you write out those details for me?”

  She nodded and North led her into the back of the clubhouse to an office where he found a piece of printer paper and a pen. She
quickly wrote out what she knew, including how she had identified the man on Givon’s phone. Then he nodded at her and left with North.

  “You just gave us the break we’ve needed,” Cade murmured. He kissed her forehead.

  She looked between him and Draven. “Who is that man in the picture?”

  “The president of the Demon Devils,” Draven said. “We’ve been looking for a solid link between him and Hiller and you just provided us with it.”

  “What’s going to happen now?”

  “Givon’s on his way now to get a warrant from a judge,” Cade explained. “It’ll take a few hours.”

  “And then?”

  “Then they’ll go arrest him.”

  “So… This is over?”

  When Draven nodded, she let out a deep breath of relief, not having even realized the weight that had been hanging around her neck. Her knees felt weak and they began to buckle. Both Cade and Draven made a grab to hold her up and she ended up sandwiched between them. As soon as she realized her position, her heart began to thump wildly and butterflies erupted in her belly again, only this time it was twice as bad because both men were touching her. Her mouth went dry and she couldn’t think of one coherent thing to say.

  For a moment, they were all silent as they stared at one another.

  “John?” Cade whispered.

  “Let her go,” Draven said roughly.

  “No. And you can’t either, can you? There’s something going on between the three of us, can’t you feel it?”

  Draven shot her a brief glance before looking back at Cade. “Anyone but you,” he ground out then abruptly let go of her, and spun on his heels to march out of the room.

  “He’s never going to forgive you,” she said sadly. “Is he?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Yes!” she said desperately. “I thought at first that I was attracted to both of you out of gratitude, but it’s more than that. It’s something tangible and deep. I don’t know what to call it, but I do know I don’t want to lose it.”

  She couldn’t really tell what he was thinking, because he kept his poker face firmly in place, but he tightened his grip on her waist imperceptibly.

  “It hurts me being in the same room with both of you but unable to touch either one of you,” she admitted, pressing on. “I kissed him like I kissed you, but… I can’t choose one over the other, and you two hate each other.”

  “I don’t hate John,” he corrected. “John… He doesn’t know all the facts.”

  “What does that mean?”

  But Cade only shook his head and ran a thumb over her lips. His eyes darkened with an intensity that took her breath away, and she felt herself leaning toward him.

  “God, you’re so tempting,” he muttered just before his mouth covered hers.

  His hands landed on her hips and he pulled her into him. His cock swelled against her belly.

  He didn’t hesitate staking a claim. As soon as her lips parted, he surged inside to claim her. He kissed her with a banked passion she felt straining through his body. She knew all she had to do was nudge him a little more and she’d be flat on the bed with him surging over her. It was the memory of her talk with Draven that had her pulling back.

  “I… I have to tell you something,” she managed to mumble as he nibbled on her neck.

  “Mmm,” he growled, sounding like a beast who’d found his beauty.

  “I’m a virgin,” she whispered.

  “I know,” he answered.

  She blinked. He knew? How? She pulled back and looked at him.

  “You talked with John?”

  He shook his head. “No. Why? Did you tell him that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Dove, anyone with half a brain knows you’re innocent.”

  “I don’t want sex to start a war between you both.”

  “Oh, honey,” he murmured and hugged her tightly to his chest. “That battle is inevitable.”

  She took a deep breath, inhaling his intoxicating scent. A bit outdoorsy, a bit male, combined with soap and deodorant. Separately, these smells weren’t anything but they blended beautifully on him.

  “Kiss me again?”

  He pulled back and looked down at her. He swallowed and she felt his heart jump a little at her words. “If I kiss you, I may not be able to stop.”

  “I… I can’t have sex with you.”

  “Ah, but there are other ways to have sex. Have you ever had an orgasm?”

  Blushing, she nodded.

  He chuckled. “By someone else?”

  She shook her head no.

  “Then come with me, honey,” he told her and took her by the hand. He led her from the office and up the back staircase to the second floor where he pulled her into his room. He closed the door and locked it behind him before he pulled her into his arms. He kissed her again, this time a bit harder, a bit wilder. She felt the desperation in his actions as he kissed his way down her neck, licking and nipping along the way. He pushed her onto the bed, and she fell back with a soft thump.

  He grabbed the waistband of her sweats and pulled them down, hooking a finger in the elastic of her panties and shucking them off. She stared wide-eyed, wondering what the hell she was allowing him to do. She should be pushing him away. She hadn’t let John get this far, so why was she allowing Cade?

  He slid his hand up her ribcage until he found the curve of her breast. He cupped the shape, molding her to his palm as he gently squeezed. Dove’s nipples pebbled under the thin material, and he traced over their turgid peaks with his fingertip. She arched and gasped, unable to believe the incredible feelings he was arousing in her. Sure, she’d played with her nipples before, had even masturbated. But having a man’s hand on her was something entirely different.

  He captured her lips in another soul-melting kiss. He slid his tongue in to dance with hers, all the while maneuvering her body until she lay stretched out on the bed. With him so much bigger than she was, he easily managed to spread her legs wide, baring all of her for him to see. Overcome with modesty, she covered her pussy with her hand.

  He chuckled and moved it out of the way, blowing softly on her exposed mound.

  “You’re so beautiful, honey,” he murmured appreciatively. “Such dark little curls hiding a very pink pussy. It’s glistening in the low light, begging to be licked.”

  Then he kissed her, right on the spot she desperately wanted him to touch, and she surged against the unbelievable tide of bliss that cascaded over her.

  “Cade,” she breathed. “Oh, Cade.”

  “You taste so damn sweet, baby.” He licked over a sensitive area right at her entrance. “And I see your innocence right here.”

  He pressed his tongue against her again, dipping a little into the slit, and Dove couldn’t help the moan that escaped. Nothing she’d ever done before had ever felt so electrifying.

  “I’m going to stick my tongue in you now,” he told her. “I want you to come so I can lap up your cream.”

  She felt him spread her hood until he found her clitoris, then he proceeded to lick her. As soon as his tongue rasped against her sensitive nub, her body arched like she had touched a live wire. She buried her hands in his hair, pulling it almost too aggressively, but she didn’t know what else to do with her hands. She wanted to touch him but he was down there, too far away for her to reach. He licked and sucked her in, sliding one finger into her heat, and she bucked against his hand.

  “Cade!” she cried.

  “Fuck, you taste like honey.” He moaned, blowing against her and causing her to shiver. “So good. I could eat you every night.”

  “Yes, please,” she said, wiggling her bottom. She needed his tongue and lips back on her.

  And he obliged, lapping at her. He sucked her sensitive clit into his mouth and began to suck at the same time he slid a finger into her body, using her natural lubricant to pump into her hole. She cried out as she began to thrust against his face and felt herself begin to splinter apa
rt. Then she screamed his name as her orgasm swept over her. He sucked it up, continuing to lick her until she gave a little shudder and went limp.

  For a long time, she lay there panting, trying to get her heart rhythm under control. Cade lay with his head upon her thigh. Never, in her whole life, had she ever felt anything so earth-shattering. And, of course, this brought a whole new level of guilt to her wayward emotions.

  Cade eventually pulled himself up and grabbed some tissues from the nightstand, cleaning up the moisture between her legs. He then proceeded to help her put her panties and pants back on. He pulled her into his arms and they lay together.

  “Oh, Cade,” she whispered brokenly. “What are we going to do?”

  “Shh,” he said. “It’ll work out.”

  She didn’t answer, because deep down, she didn’t think it could or would. And now she was going to have to tell Draven what she’d just done because she believed in honesty. But for now, she simply rested in Cade’s arms because she didn’t want the moment to end.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cade rose from the bed once he felt Dove’s body fall lax in sleep. He looked down on her and all he wanted to do was crawl back into the bed and burrow into her warm body. Her words played over in his head and his heart hurt. When he’d started on this journey, he’d never thought he’d find himself in this situation, this type of triangle. Having North and Givon’s relationship with Allis was a neon light blinking like a beacon, and he wasn’t sure if it was mocking him or guiding him.

  All he knew for certain was that he had an issue he had to resolve with Draven, and the sooner the better, which led him to his next move. He bent and placed a light kiss upon Dove’s mouth before leaving the room. He headed to the bathroom to clean up quickly then he jogged down the stairs. The party was in full swing, music playing through the sound system and hook-ups all over the place. Outside, a bonfire was raging and people sat around enjoying the warmth and drinking. Cade noticed that Draven’s bike was gone.

  He pulled out his cell and called him. Draven answered on the fourth ring.

  “What?”

  “So now you’re just walking away when you get pissed?”