She rolled her eyes. “I think I’d rather take my chances with the killers.”
“We’ll see about that,” I said, laughing as I went to talk to the guys.
I glanced back at her and caught her staring in that hungry way I’d noticed.
I could tell what she was thinking. Right in that moment, she was wondering if what I’d said was true. If I really could make her come again and again. She wanted to know what it would be like to fuck a real badass biker, to get fucked by a real man.
I’d show her soon enough. That was probably a bad idea, but I didn’t give a fuck. When I wanted something, I took it.
And I wanted Caralee, wanted her fucking bad.
Chapter Eleven: Caralee
I watched Ford walk away, resentment and anger running through my pulse.
I knew running away had been stupid. I had known I wasn’t going to get far. But after that conversation with Larkin, I had just felt so powerless, so pathetic. I was going to marry Ford whether I liked it or not, like I was just some piece of cattle.
But it was more than that. I knew Ford was trying to protect me, but I had no clue why. He had disappeared from my life all those years ago, even though I had been ready to try to give myself to him. Sure, my dad was a cop, but that didn’t seem to really matter.
I wanted to show him that I still had control over my own life, that I wasn’t just his piece of property. Yeah, maybe he had claimed me, and maybe that meant something important to his crazy biker friends, but it didn’t mean a damn thing to me.
But the image of Rod getting shot kept coming back to me. Every time Ford pushed me too far, frustrated me, I remembered Rod’s dead body staring up at the sky, his eyes empty, seeing nothing. That had happened, genuinely happened, even if it seemed so surreal and crazy.
I really was in danger. I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew that it was true.
I watched Ford wade his way through the crowd and stop by the bar, talking to some guys. He was so damn arrogant, so damn cocky.
And yet there was something about him. That something that I felt so many years ago was still there, maybe even stronger than ever. His tattoos, his cocky grin, his dangerous attitude, it all made me squirm in the best way. I hated that he had been right when he’d said I was soaking wet around him. I couldn’t help myself, and I hated that I could barely control that feeling.
As I watched Ford, I didn’t even notice a person sit down in the stool next to me.
“Good looking, isn’t he?”
I looked over, a little surprised. It was the blond girl from the night before, smiling at me.
“Uh, who?” I asked.
“Ford,” she said. “He’s pretty damn hot. You’re a lucky girl.”
I frowned at her. “I don’t feel lucky.”
She laughed. “I know. They can seem pretty intense sometimes, right?”
“They’re making me marry him. So yeah, pretty intense.”
She smiled again at me. “I know, sweetie. It’s weird as heck, but I think they really are looking out for you.” She paused. “My name’s Janine.”
“Caralee,” I said.
“You’ll get used to it.”
“Is this normal? Do they usually just marry girls off like this?”
She laughed again. “Hell no. Usually we have to work way harder to be an old lady, you know.”
“Old lady?”
“Yeah,” she said. “It’s what they call their wife or serious girlfriend, I guess.”
“I have a lot to learn.”
“You will though,” she said. “Just remember that they’re still men. They think with their dicks most of the time, and that’s to your benefit.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “What, I should sleep with Ford to make him happy?”
“Not what I said. But if that helped your situation, why not?” She grinned and looked at him. “Not like you’d be making such a big sacrifice.”
I looked over at him and frowned. I definitely was not going to have sex with him just because it might make my life easier. But Janine was absolutely right about one thing: Ford was absolutely hot as hell. Muscular, cocky, attractive, he stood out from the other guys.
“What’s his deal, anyway?” I asked her.
“Ford is Ford,” she said. “Nice enough guy, I guess. Bit of a slut, though. Gets around.”
I frowned at that. I didn’t like the idea of him getting around, whatever that really meant.
“He have, you know, an old lady?”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Girl, I’ve never, ever seen Ford be with someone for more than one night. Him marrying you is like the biggest deal imaginable.”
“Really?”
“Really. I don’t know what you did to him to make him want to protect you so bad, but Ford marrying you is like a shark walking around on dry land.” She shrugged, smiling. “Just doesn’t make sense, you know?”