Beck Read online

  “Mm-hmm,” she whispered, resting her forehead into his. “I love you, Xavier Lee. Stop trying to get yourself shot, okay?”

  “Okay baby.”

  “And when you find out which guy saved your life, give him a promotion, or a raise or something, okay?” Wolf thought about Beck and wondered if Blair would feel the same when she found out it was her that had saved his life. Blair didn’t have any issues with her own self-confidence, but something about Beck told Wolf that she wasn’t the kind of woman that other women would probably take to easily. He already knew that if Sabrina saw him look at Bruf the way she had the night before, there would be big trouble. And there was the fact that Bruf and Beck were carrying a secret that he was sure his little sister wasn’t going to be happy about. Blair and Sabrina were close and Blair always had his little sister’s back. He wasn’t looking forward to the storm that he had a feeling Rebekah Golden was about to rain down on his club.

  7

  Wolf was surprised to see Beck already waiting in the office when he got there at just a few minutes after nine.

  “Your VP let me in, people were staring.” Wolf didn’t doubt that every man in the place had his tongue hanging out as he stared, and every woman was sharpening her claws. Beck was wearing a white tank top and a pair of cutoff jean shorts. They weren’t super short, but they definitely showed off her toned, tanned legs...and they were a sight to behold.

  “No problem,” Wolf said. “People get curious when they see a new face around here. Have a seat.” Beck sat down, this time the right way in the chair. She looked freshly scrubbed clean and her curly hair was still wet from her shower. She still didn’t have on a stitch of makeup and when Wolf looked at her he still had to remind his cock he loved his old lady whom he’d just had oral sex with in their kitchen. “So, what was it you came here to discuss with Coyote?”

  “Well, first, can I tell you about our history?”

  “Bruf told me he delivered you. I would have loved to see that.”

  Beck laughed. She was even prettier when she didn’t have that haughty look on her face. “Yeah, had I not known my mother wouldn’t lie about it, I might not have believed it myself. I only actually met him once in person...I was already 23 years old then. But Coyote sent me a letter, and a birthday present every year of my life, except for the last two...or maybe three. Anyway, I should have known something was up. But sometimes when I’m on the boat I don’t get my mail, at least not in a timely way.”

  “On the boat,” Wolf said. “You’re in the Navy, right?”

  “Bruf did tell you everything, huh? I guess he told you we hooked up?”

  “Yeah,” Wolf said, clearing his throat. “I’d rather not get into that now. Let’s keep talking about you, and my father.”

  “He told me a lot about his life. He told me about you, and your mom. She sounded like a hell of a lady.”

  “She was.”

  “Yeah, sorry you lost her,” Beck said. Wolf could see that simple conversation was hard for her. In that respect, she reminded him of his father. Coyote was one of the smartest men Wolf had ever known, but he didn’t relate well to people one on one.

  “Thanks. So anyway, these letters...”

  “Yeah, well, when I was really young, reading those letters got me interested in the MC. I was also interested in the military because of my dad. My plan was to be the first woman Navy SEAL, but the fuckers still haven’t moved into the 21st century. I came here hoping that the Westside Skulls have.”

  It took Wolf a second to process what she was saying. She’d failed at becoming a Navy SEAL...from the looks of her, and the angle of that deadly shot she’d taken the day before, probably only because she was a woman. So now she was on his doorstep, thinking he was going to let her patch into his club? He had seen just about everything in his life...but a woman in an all-men’s MC was not one of them. Wolf enjoyed being a pioneer when it came to taking his club to places others hadn’t gone. But patching in a woman? No fucking way.

  “Rebekah, I don’t know what Coyote told you...”

  She reached back and pulled something out of her back pocket. “I know you don’t,” she said. “But I kept his letters...every single one of them. Thirty years of Coyote’s thoughts, his ramblings, his hopes and dreams, and his promises, to me. I don’t expect you to just say okay to this. I know that those guys and their women out there wouldn’t be okay with that...”

  Wolf did laugh then. “Not okay with it is putting it very mildly.”

  “I get it. They’ll be pissed. Some of them might even leave over it. But Coyote told me that there is nothing in the bylaws that says a patched member has to be a male. It says a lot about loyalty and respect. I’ve spent seventeen years in the military and I know a lot of your men did the same. The first thing we learn is respect and the second, loyalty. I can ride. I can shoot. I can fight...”

  “Rebekah, I don’t doubt that you can do any of those things. You saved my life yesterday, and I appreciate the hell out of it. I will compensate you in some way...” She stood up. She looked like she was ready to fight. The veins in her neck were distended and pulsing. Wolf stayed in his seat and waited to see what she was going to do.

  “You think I want money? I didn’t come here to save your life. I was in the right place at the right time. I’m not asking you for shit for that. I’m asking you to honor your father’s wishes and look at me the same way you’d look at any potential prospect. I’m not less than them because I have a pussy between my legs. I’m sick to death of hitting brick walls because of my anatomy. Give me a chance. Let me prove myself. Read his letters. He was willing to do that. He was never afraid to do something because of what other people wanted or would think of him.” Wolf knew differently. Coyote did a lot of things that pissed a lot of people off. He did them out of necessity, but not because he wasn’t afraid. His father drowned his fears in alcohol for forty years. That wasn’t anything Wolf would ever admit to anyone else, however. Beck tossed the bundle of letters she had in her hand onto the desk in front of him. “Thirty letters,” she said. “Thirty years. Please at least tell me you’ll read them before you say no.”

  Wolf looked at the envelopes in front of him and said, “I can’t promise you it won’t take me a month to read through all of this. And I can’t promise you that any of it will change how I feel about this. More likely than not, it won’t.”

  “Fair enough,” she said. “My number is on the top envelope. I’ll find a place to stay and wait for your call.”

  “And what if it never comes?”

  She shrugged and those clear blue eyes bored into his face as she said, “I guess I’ll have to accept the fact that your balls aren’t as big as Coyote’s were.” She turned around then and left. Wolf shook his head and looked at the letters again. Cursing out loud, he picked them up and took the rubber band off. He flipped through them and saw that she had them in chronological order from the first to the last. The first one was dated 1983.

  He could hear the hustle and bustle going on outside the door as everyone got ready for the night’s festivities. Nate had come into their lives when he was ten years old and there was nary a man or a woman in the club that couldn’t say he had touched them in some way. He was an incredible kid and Wolf loved him like he was his own son. He was looking forward to seeing the look on the boy’s face when he saw his “Harley.” But what he wasn’t looking forward to was walking out that door and facing all the questions that he knew everyone would have about Beck. So instead, he picked up the first envelope again and pulled out the letter inside.

  As he held it in his hands he had to smile. He felt like he was hurled back in time. Coyote had a little spiral notepad that he carried in his shirt pocket for as long as Wolf could remember. When his mother was alive, she bought them for him in bulk. When Wolf was about four years old, he asked his mom for one too. She let him have one of the blank ones and after that, every time he saw Coyote writing in his, Wolf would pull out his own
and scribble into it. Back in those days all he ever wanted was to grow up and be just like his dad.

  Wolf unfolded the tiny sheet of paper and cussed again when he had to take his reading glasses out of his desk drawer to be able to make out the words. The letter said:

  “Little Rebekah, I know you’re way too young to read, or know who I am, or care. But I felt like I should say something to you, I mean, it’s weird, but I kind of feel like you’re part mine. Your mom said she’ll tell you about me someday. She said she was going to write it all down in her journal. But I was thinking, your mom is a really nice lady, and she might not tell you the truth about me. So that’s one of my promises to you, I won’t ever lie, or sugarcoat anything. Your mom is going to tell you I was this super nice guy that stopped and helped her. The truth is, I was lost. I was scared, and at the end of any given day, I’m not a nice guy. Helping you come into this world felt like being washed clean that day...just for a minute. It was like I’d done something good and maybe it would cancel out some of the bad things I had done. Truth be told, that’s not how life works. But at the time it felt good anyway.

  “I know I’m not making much sense, but since you can’t read anyway, what the hell, right? Maybe one of these days I can write to you and tell you something that will make you proud of me. I’m not sure why that’s important, but it is. See...I just keep thinking about you coming into this world without a father and even though a kid ending up with me as a father would be like winning a contest in hell, I still feel like maybe I’m the closest thing you have, so I should try. So, here’s some advice. Always be loyal to people that are loyal to you. Respect is important...no, that’s not really right. Respect is key. People will tell you that love is the most important thing, and family. But the truth is, you can’t have either of those things without respect. So that’s my lesson for now. Maybe I’m not so bad at this surrogate dad thing.” He had drawn a face, laughing, with tears rolling down its cheeks there and then he went on, “Anyway, have a happy first birthday, Beck. I hope you don’t mind if I call you that. There’s nothing wrong with Rebekah, but I like the idea of having my own name for you. Enjoy your rice cake or whatever it is they do for one-year-old birthdays. Love, Coyote.”

  Wolf sat there, staring at his father’s words. If he didn’t know his father’s handwriting, he might doubt that Coyote had written them. Not that it didn’t sound like him, but the idea that his big, tough, sometimes scary father would take the time to write and mail a letter to a one-year-old child...He looked at the rest of the letters and shook his head. Coyote definitely felt a bond with this girl. Something about seeing her come into the world had stuck with him. Wolf wondered if he ever told his mother about her, and he wondered why Coyote had never mentioned her to him. He pulled open the big side drawer on the desk and shoveled the letters into it. He didn’t have time to read thirty years of ramblings of a brain pickled with alcohol. He had a club to run.

  8

  Beck could feel the eyes boring into her as she made her way from Wolf’s office, through the clubhouse, and out to her bike. They were getting ready for a party or something and it seemed like they were all out, in force. A few of the guys tried to talk to her, but she ignored them. She didn’t know if Wolf would ever give in and give her a chance to be a part of the Skulls, but she did know for sure that if she established herself as a club girl, he would definitely not. She wished she could go back about six hours and refrain from fucking the big guy, Jace. It had been hot. He was good and fucking him had been fun. She wondered about all of his scars. He was covered with them. She figured that might turn a lot of women off...but in her mind it meant that he was a survivor, and that was hot. But he was part of the club, and it had been stupid for her to fuck him.

  She really wanted to fuck Bruf, but he’d disappeared after the meeting with Wolf the night before. She wondered if maybe he didn’t live at the club...or if he had an old lady. That would suck. She had come to California with the idea of getting into the club, but she’d also been thinking a lot about her kid, Bruf’s kid. She didn’t really know Bruf and she didn’t have any feelings for him other than he was hotter than hell and she remembered him as a good fuck. But she had to wonder if he might be willing to help her look into finding the kid. She’d been looking for her for a few years.

  She reached into her saddlebags and took out a pair of jeans, her skullcap, and gloves. She pulled the jeans on, over her boots and shorts. Then she slipped the skullcap on and her gloves. Taking a seat on the bike, she took her helmet off the handlebars and slipped it on. She had just started the bike when she saw Jace walking by the club, on his way to the shop. She instantly felt her core tighten. She didn’t know what that was about. He was far from her usual type. She liked the pretty ones, like Bruf. But damn...he’d felt so good inside of her. She turned off the bike and said, “Hey!” Jace looked startled at the sound of her voice and then another look crossed his face when he saw her, but just for a second, and not long enough for her to put her finger on it. He replaced it with that dark scowl he’d worn the day before, and only lost when he was in the throes of passion.

  “Hey.” He kept walking.

  “Where you going?”

  “Shop.”

  “Damn, you in a hurry, or avoiding me?” Jace stopped walking and abruptly turned to face her.

  “Just got things to do. I didn’t think we had anything to talk about.”

  “Wow.”

  “Wow what?”

  “Somebody pissed that I’m not a cuddler?”

  “Nope. Not pissed at all. Like I said, got things to do. Don’t have time for small talk.”

  “You got time to fuck me again?” That look was there...and gone.

  “Nope.”

  She smiled. “Liar. You’re just butt hurt because I didn’t lie in bed and talk to you about my hopes and dreams after you did me this morning.”

  Jace rolled his eyes. “If you’re done playin’?” he said, turning back toward the shop. Beck wasn’t done by a long shot. She climbed off the bike and followed him. He was almost there when he turned around and said, “What do you want?”

  “I’m horny.”

  “And why the hell would you think I would care?”

  “Because you enjoyed yourself this morning as much as I did. Come on, let’s find us a quiet place and go another round.” She saw him look at the closed door of the shop. It was Saturday. The gates around the front of the shop were closed and the padlock was on. They must not open the shop on Saturdays, or they had it closed for the party, but Beck knew he was definitely considering it.

  “Looks like we might have that big shop all to ourselves. You ever had sex on a creeper?” She heard him sigh. He was trying to work up his resolve to say no, she could tell...but he wanted her, they all did. She stepped close to him and touched him gently on the arm. He flinched, like she burned him. For just a second, a flash of conscience attacked her for dismissing him earlier the way she had. Maybe she had actually hurt his feelings. She was working on what to say next...some semblance of an apology...maybe...when Jace turned toward her and grabbed her hand. She could have resisted, but she didn’t. She wanted him, and that apology was all but forgotten.

  Jace let go of her hand when they got to the door and unlocked it. Once they were inside, he locked it again and then roughly pushed her into the steel wall. Beck was caught off-guard. Nothing about the short time they spent together earlier had made her believe he was aggressive. He looked like he may have just walked out of the bowels of hell, but she had honestly been a little disappointed that he’d been so gentle. His sudden aggression caused her to suck in a sharp breath and she felt her panties become instantly soaked. He had her pinned and unless she wanted to knee him in the crotch, she wasn’t getting away...but, as much as she liked being in control, this was kind of hot.

  He ducked his head down toward her and she thought he was going to kiss her. Instead, he let his lips and scratchy stubble slide down the side of he
r face and his mouth landed on her shoulder. He kissed her there and then slid both of his hands down, grabbing hers and bringing her hands up over her head. “Hey!”

  He looked at her with those dark, mysterious eyes and said, “Hey what? I thought you wanted to be fucked. You changing your mind?” She felt completely helpless, out of control...but it was exciting as hell.

  “No...I’m not changing my mind.”

  “Then keep those lips closed until I tell you otherwise.” He put one big hand around both of her wrists and kept them pressed into the wall while he dropped the other hand down and wrenched open her jeans. He growled when he found the shorts underneath. He pulled on those, tearing the button off and ripping the zipper before shoving his hand down inside. When he felt how wet she was he said, “You like this, don’t you? I’ll bet you’re shocked that you like it so much. You seem like the kind of bad girl who loves to be in control, am I right?” She nodded. She was breathless. His big hand was covering her wet pussy, but it was just lying there, and she wanted him to move it. She wanted him to part her lips and push his fingers inside of her. So, she kept her mouth shut and waited.

  Jace smiled and then bent down again, this time finding the sweet spot on her neck. He distracted her for a few seconds, kissing and nibbling there but she suddenly realized that his fingers had crept up between her lips. He used one of his big legs to push hers apart and then at last, still with a piece of her neck in his mouth, he slid a thick, fat finger inside her. She let out a loud gasp and her legs began to shake. He teased her for a few minutes with that finger, and his teeth on her flesh, and then he pulled his hand out of her pussy and slid it around behind her to cup her ass, finally bringing his mouth up to hers and kissing her, hard. He was using his knee now to stimulate her pussy and she was rocking against it, hard. She felt like she was almost ready to come. Her senses were exploding and when he let go of her hands and brought his to cup both of her breasts, she could almost feel the heat radiating from them and penetrating her body. She was burning up and she was dying for him to fuck her.