“I tried to flip the pages in my book, but I couldn’t seem to grab them. The words just swam across the page, and when I looked around the room everything blurred. My body felt heavy and I started to fall. Even my tongue felt heavy, and I had trouble speaking.”
I nodded. I’d been the one to catch her. She’d seemed out of place and I’d been making my way over to her table when I realized something wasn’t quite right. But if the person drugging the women was another woman, I didn’t understand how they could have seen Elena as a threat. She’d hidden in the corner, keeping to herself. I’d nearly laughed when I saw her pull out her book. That had definitely been a first. Women came here to party, not read. It had been obvious she didn’t belong at the Devil’s Fury clubhouse. Unless… unless this wasn’t about jealousy. What if someone was trying to get the club in trouble by drugging these women?
In which case, we had way more trouble on our hands than we realized.
“Was I really drugged?” she asked, worrying at her lower lip.
“Yeah, I think you were, but I’m not sure who did it. Until we figure some things out, you’re staying here.”
Her eyes went wide. “S-stay h-here?”
“Yep. You need to call someone? Parents? Sister?” I eyed her up and down. “Boyfriend?”
She folded her arms under her breasts, making them plump up even more. Damn. If she pushed them up even higher, they’d spill out of her dress, not that I’d complain. Ever since I’d noticed her, I’d been imagining her naked. I’d had a certain type most of my life, and Elena fit it to a T. Curves for days, long, glossy hair, and pouty lips. And the sweet, innocent look was really doing it for me. I’d never been with a woman who wasn’t experienced, but the thought of being someone’s first brought out my inner barbarian.
“If you must know, I left home and I’m striking out on my own.” She tipped her chin up at a defiant angle that was cute as fuck.
“Yeah? How old are you, Elena?” Please say you’re at least eighteen so I don’t have to kick my own ass.
“Twenty-one.”
Huh. Well, that made her older than I’d thought, but younger than I usually liked. And it made me wonder why the hell she was just now leaving home. Unless maybe she’d been living with her parents while she went to college.
She licked her lips and her posture relaxed a little. “I was in a foster home until I aged out of the system. I guess technically, I was still in a foster home, but they weren’t getting paid after I turned eighteen. My family was nice so I stayed. They could have told me I had to leave, but they didn’t. I’d thought things were going well, and maybe I’d have time to save some money and get a place of my own. Except, lately they keep pushing this man in my direction, wanting me to marry him and pop out a bunch of babies.”
I didn’t even pretend to know what was wrong with that scenario. Maybe it made me a sexist asshole, but I rather liked the idea of her having a bunch of kids -- mine. Maybe she didn’t want to be a mom? Or was there something wrong with the guy they wanted her to marry? Had he given her the creeps? Maybe he’d been a horrible kisser. Whatever the case, she’d decided to leave everything and everyone she knew to escape a marriage to him.
“Is he ugly?” I asked.
Her gaze scanned me again, and I could have sworn she whimpered a little. “Not exactly, but he doesn’t look like you either.”
I bit the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t laugh. Her honesty was a bit refreshing, especially since she wasn’t doing it in a way meant to entice me. I had a feeling she was just being her. Or at least her on drugs and alcohol. Who knew if she was this chatty completely sober. Honestly, the fact she could still be impaired was the only thing holding me back from trying to seduce her.
“Yeah? So what’s so horrible about him?” I asked, trying to distract myself and find out more about Elena.
“Nothing. He seems perfectly nice. He’s older than me, but he’s the type that looks down on women. You know, the ones who only want their wife barefoot and in the kitchen?”
I nodded. Yep I knew that type well, since that was me. Then again, with my way of life, having a woman with a job outside of the club could be dangerous. I’d want her here where I could protect her, or at least working at one of our businesses. I had to admit, the idea of her barefoot in my kitchen was rather appealing. Didn’t sound like the type of thing she’d go for, though. As for her comment about him being older, I wondered if she’d gotten a good look at me from the neck up yet. She’d definitely gotten an eyeful of my cock. I was fifteen years older than her. While I’d been told I looked younger, I knew I didn’t look anywhere near her age.
“He didn’t look like the kind of man who knows how to make a woman orgasm,” she blurted, then her cheeks flared a bright red.
Huh. I wasn’t quite sure what to say to that one. The obvious choice was, I can! Well, obvious if I wanted to be a dick. She needed a safe place while Grizzly figured out who was drugging the women, and here I was thinking with my cock. In my defense, I was just so thrilled the damn thing worked, it was a little hard to control myself at the moment. I almost felt like a thirteen-year-old boy again. Yeah, I’d been the kid who jacked off at every opportunity even back then.
I’d expected her to freak out when she woke up at my place. Instead, she’d come to stare at me as I showered and asked a million questions. It was cute the way she kept saying whatever popped into her head. I didn’t know if it was the drugs still in her system, or if she was always like this. I liked it.
“I only have one bedroom set up,” I said. “Like I said before, you can either sleep in here and I’ll take the couch, or you can have the couch. Whatever makes you the most comfortable.”
She hesitated a moment, and I wondered what she was thinking. If she weren’t so… pure, then I’d have offered a third option -- we both take the bed. Then again, the way she eyed me like I was her favorite dessert, she just might accept my offer. Then if she woke tomorrow and I discovered she’d still been flying high on the drugs in her system, I’d have felt like a fucking asshole. Yeah, I needed to try and remember to keep my distance.
“I have a motel room. All my things are there.”
She wasn’t arguing about staying so that was a plus. Maybe she understood exactly how much danger she could have been in. It was a good thing I’d noticed what was going on. If I hadn’t seen her, known the exact moment the drugs took effect, then any of my brothers would have just thought she was tipsy and willing. Whoever was behind this shit, we needed to find them and stop it. Preferably before something really fucking bad happened.
Chapter Three
Elena
I was crazy. That was the only explanation. Completely and utterly insane. What normal person woke up in a strange man’s home, watched him masturbate, then asked a million questions while eyeing him like a piece of candy? Me, that’s who. Apparently, I wasn’t as normal as I’d always thought. And then he’d demanded that I stay here. I should have refused, or at least put up a fight, but I had to admit I was captivated by Outlaw. Maybe I was still tipsy from the beer, or whatever I’d been given. I wasn’t ready to admit that I’d been drugged. Yes, I’d briefly wondered if that had happened, but I’d never drunk alcohol before. It was possible that having two beers could do that, right? The thought that someone had done that to me was too scary for me to think on it too long.