Hunter (The Devil's Dragons Motorcycle Club) Read online

  Hunter

  Nikki Wild

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  I am the daughter of a sheriff, and I’m in love with a rebel.

  The handsome, utterly sexy Hunter Hargreaves is the indomitable ruler of the notorious Devil’s Dragons MC. Away from prying police eyes, his word is law across the American Southwest. At his beck and call stands an entire organization of reformed, secretive criminals.

  And I’m carrying his baby.

  If Hunter has any hope of watching me walk down an aisle for the final kiss, he’s going to have to make amends with the hard-ass sheriff that has stood in his way since the very beginning…

  Everything has built up to this moment. It’s time that I brought my bad boy biker home to Daddy.

  Prologue

  I was the lone daughter of a sheriff, and madly in love with a biker renegade.

  My romance with Hunter went back ten years to the middle of high school. Our union had been as unlikely as they come, but we were quickly swept into a whirlwind, burning love that shone brighter than anything else in our young lives.

  Hunter’s cold exterior melted near me.

  I tamed the beast within, soothing it with my care and my love. In return, he protected me like I was all that he had to lose in this world.

  Just like it did right now.

  With our baby rustling in my belly, and his large, hardened body pressed up against mine in our bed, I needed that beast’s burning protection more than ever. My timid fingertips danced along the curvature of his arm, daring to call upon his beast once again.

  I knew the words I had to speak, but I feared them. They could forever disrupt the balance between us, sending our undying love spiraling downward towards an uncertain schism.

  But I knew I had to do this.

  I turned to Hunter.

  And I said…

  One

  Hunter

  Three Hours Earlier

  As I walked down the hall towards my brothers, I really wished that leading a notorious biker club came with a goddamn training manual.

  But the easy shit never did.

  This life was a fucking addiction and I loved every last, oily drop. Eighteen powerful bikes and their riders, each one more formidable than the last, answered to me… and I took all that raw, rumbling power and redirected it to destroying anyone who dared break the peace.

  We protected people.

  We defended the innocent.

  We were renegades, and damn proud of it.

  Thanks to our moonlight exploits, countless fucking lives had been saved. My territory was safer than ever. After news of our victories filled the desert underworld, there wasn’t a criminal alive that dared to step foot here to start shit.

  But that meant one thing...

  Change was coming.

  The Devil’s Dragons MC was headquartered in a dusty, dilapidated bar in El Paso. Not for much longer, I smiled as I crossed my arms and leaned against the beer-stained countertop.

  “Gather ‘round, boys!” I bellowed out.

  Between shooting the shit over rounds of beer and challenging each other at pool, the Devil’s Dragons were all here and accounted for. Every pair of eyes in the joint turned to me, and the merriment slowly died down.

  It was rare these days that I specifically called for the entire club to be present, and I expected that they would know what that meant: news.

  Big news.

  I glanced briefly around the room.

  To the left stood seasoned biker veteran Grizz Hawkins, his heavy arm wrapped around the waist of his woman. I couldn’t have asked for a better first mate, because he had it all: loyalty, skill, reliability, and even diplomacy. The fact that his latest mission had renewed his passion by reuniting him with Kate, his long lost love, was just icing on the goddamn cake.

  Kate herself looked thoughtful. She was the newest face in the crowd – hell, she’d been in this bar less than a goddamn week. I didn’t blame her for being out of her depth. But between Grizz and Sarah, she was already adjusting to the biker life.

  As for Sarah…

  The love of my life kept her hand to the small of her back, her stomach swelling with our baby. She beamed proudly, motherhood already glowing along her skin. Fate had torn us apart when we were teenagers, but we had persevered against all odds and come back together through thick and thin.

  The rock on her finger was proof.

  I had made this woman my fiancée.

  The rest of the MC was gathered around and behind them – including war-torn Ricochet, boisterous Victor, trigger-happy Torque, young Skid, and too many other names.

  I looked upon them all with pride.

  Sarah, Grizz, and Kate shared a pleased look. They knew what was coming, and were ready to finally hear me let the cat out of the bag.

  “Dragons, I have good news… ”

  The room swelled with anticipation.

  “We’re going to New Orleans.”

  The crowd roared with cheer.

  My arrogant redheaded bartender slid a pint of my favorite beer my way as I let them have their moment of celebration. I took a deep swig to steel myself for the rest of the meeting.

  The noise died down as I wiped my lip and continued. “I expect that all of you know by now that Grizz came back successful in his mission. He’s found us contract work, a place to call home, and room in the New Orleans underworld. Hell, he even found himself his old squeeze…”

  Good-natured rowdy whoops rang out from the other bikers as Grizz hid a smile. Kate had no such shame, and quickly pulled him into a loving kiss to the sound of more jubilation.

  Yeah, she was gonna fit in just fine.

  My tone went serious, and the others calmed. “But we’ve got plenty of shit to handle before we go, or this place is going to erupt into chaos the second we’re out.”

  I turned to key faces in the crowd.

  “I want full updates on everything. Inventory, maintenance, contracts, the funds… by the time this meeting is over, I want everyone to know right where we all stand, because we’re gonna have our work cut out for us…”

  An hour later, the club meeting was adjourned.

  While I left Grizz to organize the club into divisions that would tackle our problems, I took Sarah out back to enjoy a little sunshine.

  As suspected, the money was drying up. That much wasn’t news. I was relieved to hear that we had enough funds stashed away to get us packed up and moved. It would be a tight scrape, but we had a few holdout contracts for breathing room.

  After all, we made our livelihoods with armed protection. If you’re real good at that, sometimes you find yourself out of a job…

  “Sounds to me like things have gotten a little sloppy,” Sarah poked me with a sly smile as we stood on the back patio, staring out over the sprawling shrubs of the desert. “And here I was, thinking that you liked to run a tight ship…”

  I grunted crossly.

  “In a time of peace, engines go unoiled and guns go without proper cleanings. But with all the heat we’ve had this last year, I’m disappointed that they’ve gotten so sloppy, so quickly…”

  It was true.

  I was infuriated at their carelessness.

  But Sarah knew how to calm me down. My lover pulled my hands off of the railing and to her face, kissing me deeply.

  The irritation was already fading, drowned by the passion of her love.

  No matter how disorganized the Dragons had gotten, or how dangerous our enemies could be, I knew that I would always be a stronger, tougher man with this woman at my side.

  I’d already put a ring on her finger.

  But there were other
ways I could prove it.

  My teeth caught her bottom lip as I sucked it lightly into my mouth, pulling her kiss deeper. The heat of the desert wafted around us as I lifted my rugged hands to her sincere, cherubic face.

  I always loved how warm and soft her cheeks felt as I cupped my palms around them. For ten long, lonely years, I thought I’d never feel the touch of her skin again.

  I intended to make the most of it.

  We pushed back through the patio door and slipped towards our private room in the back, ignoring the controlled chaos of the front bar. Within moments we were both down in our bed, clothes scattering to the floor as our lips stayed locked in a constant, loving clash.

  Goddamn, I loved this woman.

  Sarah’s sex drive had been insatiable with her pregnancy, and we hadn’t let that go to waste. Without any need for a barrier between us, I had shot inside her enough to re-impregnate her dozens, possibly hundreds of times.

  I descended down upon her, peppering a trail of kisses along her throat, down her rolling stomach, and slowly towards her glistening sex. Her impatient, trembling hands slipped into my hair and pulled me taut as I inhaled her essence, my tongue slick but hard against her clit.

  “Oh God, Hunter…”

  I loved to hear my name on her breath.

  Carefully slipping her curvy thighs over my shoulders, I doubled down on pleasing her. My fingernails clamped into her skin – not too hard, but tough enough to send a shiver down her spine as I lapped away at her delicious pussy.

  Her body tightened against me.

  “That’s right, baby, right there...”

  I loved making her feel like this. The best part was that the pregnancy made her even more sensitive to my touch. It would only take a few minutes because she always seemed to be right on the verge of coming…

  “Oh fuck,” she suddenly gasped, her hands clenching harder into my hair. “Don’t stop–”

  I’m not going to, baby, I smiled to myself.

  Instead, I dug down even deeper, drinking in the juices flowing from her as her body stiffened. I could barely breathe as she held my face buried into her wet pussy, riding out what felt like another few incredible orgasms.

  “How many this time?” I chuckled when she finally released her grip.

  “Who’s counting,” she muttered slyly.

  “I counted three.”

  She silenced me with a commanding, curling finger. “Shut up and get inside me…”

  And I did.

  I loved this beautiful woman, and I loved to make hard love to her. The best feeling on the goddamn planet was sliding the full length of my throbbing hot cock inside her wet, juicy body, shoving myself inside her with each mighty thrust of my hips.

  The sensation was even better with no need to slap on the rubber, leaving no barrier between our hungry bodies. With her increased sex drive, that was a powerful sensation I got to feel again…

  And again…

  And again…

  The third trimester pregnancy meant that we had to get a little inventive with the positions, but her insatiable need to feel me inside her gave me plenty of incentive to put my core strength to great goddamn use. A little extra creativity in the sheets was a small price to pay for a constant barrage of pleasure with this amazing, beautiful woman I loved so goddamn much.

  Just like right now.

  We flipped positions a handful of times. As Sarah grew tired in one, I moved her into another, cycling through them like a new biker picking the coat of paint on his first big boy bike.

  As Sarah and I crashed together one last time, her trembling body aching with release, I thrust my cock nearly ten inches inside her, pressing into her as deeply as possible before hot waves of pleasure washed over me, a thick, lusty growl escaping from deep inside me. Trembling with lust, my cock exploded inside of her, filling her with my heat.

  I collapsed beside her as she lowered herself back down to the sheets. I’d felt her come on my bare cock at least a couple of more times, and I was proud that I’d been able to please her so many times.

  She looked over at me, panting.

  “I swear that you’re getting better at this…”

  “As if there’s room for improvement.”

  “You’d have thought not, right?” A playful smirk was on her lips as she gazed into my eyes with total satisfaction. “But you constantly seem to surprise me.”

  “I’m full of them,” I grinned.

  Sarah thought quietly for a moment.

  Her fingers trailed along my forearm, just the way that I always liked it. It was a deep, soothing feeling, but I sensed something behind it.

  “What’s wrong, love?” I asked her.

  She didn’t stop the motion. Silently, she still glided her fingertips further along my forearm, tracing the shape of my muscle, sending shivers down my skin.

  Whatever was on her mind was eating at her.

  I was just about to open my mouth when…

  “There’s just one little thing we never did.”

  “Oh?” I gazed softly. “What’s that, babe?”

  Sarah turned her face to mine. Her fingertips were still lovingly stroking along my thick arm as she spoke the last words I ever thought that I’d hear her say:

  “I think that it’s time we told my Dad.”

  Two

  Sarah

  I had never been afraid of Hunter Hargreaves.

  Hell, even if I stopped to try, I couldn’t even count the times that I had defied him – either as a willful teenage girl high on enjoying the ultimate streak of rebellion, or as a private investigator keen on carving her own way in the world.

  But the silence between us made me afraid.

  “Say something,” I murmured.

  Hunter sat up on the edge of the bed, taking his head in a hand. That rugged, handsome body racked with emotion would have brought me to tears any other time, but not now.

  Now, I had to stand my ground.

  “Babe, you know why that’s a bad idea,” he finally groaned, shaking his head.

  “I need this.”

  He turned to face me.

  “It’s not just about you and me, Sarah!” Hunter was holding back his anger. “Your father called down the raid that almost destroyed this club. On my word, the Devil’s Dragons have never sought retribution. But what the hell do you think they’re going to do if they find out we’re trying to mend bridges with one of their oldest enemies?”

  “He has a right to know,” I tried to insist.

  Hunter growled. “Not necessarily.”

  I tried to sit up. “Excuse me?”

  Here it was.

  Everything I feared, crashing down.

  Hunter stood up from the bed, throwing on his pair of jeans in a furious huff. It was rare that I ever saw him angry like this, especially lately. But I knew my man, and I could tell that a storm was brewing behind those dark eyes of his.

  By the looks of it, it was a bad one.

  I swallowed and waited for him to burst.

  “Your father, huh?” He muttered angrily. “Good old Sheriff Dad has always fought against us from the start, or have you forgotten that?” He glowered at me. “Remember how he got me removed from your classes in school? Or how he had officers come knock on Ma’s door, raising all that fuss over me?”

  “He was just doing his best,” I cut back. “He was trying to protect me. Daddy was doing what he thought was right.”

  Hunter scoffed.

  “What he thought was right?”

  “That’s right.”

  He shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

  My arms crossed. “I don’t get the big deal.”

  “The big deal?” Hunter sat back down, lacing up his boots. “The big deal is that your father almost ruined my life, time and time again… and then, one day, he did!”

  I was indignant. “If you really, truly think your life was ruined, then what do you think you have right now?” I motioned at myself, at the
baby in my womb. “What do you call this?”

  Hunter threw on his shirt and grabbed his worn, weathered leathers. He wouldn’t even look at me as he threw open the door with a clatter.

  But he paused. “You stayed.”

  I didn’t understand.

  “I stayed?”

  He didn’t look at me. “In the raid, Sarah.”

  My memory trailed back ten long, painful years to that fateful morning. I’d snuck out past my sleeping father to surprise my boyfriend, then the newest member of the local biker gang…

  But I’d fallen asleep in his arms.

  That was definitely not part of the plan.

  I hadn’t been home the next morning, safe back in bed. That meant that the local sheriff, my stern father, rustled up enough police officers to launch a full raid on the building.

  Men on both sides died.

  Dad had walked with a cane ever since.

  Hunter kept his haunted eyes off of me as he similarly relived the tragedy. “When we woke up to the shoot-out in that strip club, the one that crippled the Devil’s Dragons and cast us out into the desert… there came that moment. We were alone together, you and I, with the chaos still rooms away. I was ducking out a broken window and turned back for you…”

  His eyes finally met mine.

  “You chose him over me.”

  Before I could figure out how to respond, the door was closed and he was gone.

  It had been a long time since I’d cried.

  Even during the pregnancy, even in the predicaments I’d found myself in since rejoining this life with Hunter, with danger threatening to snuff either of us out forever, I’d never cried.

  I hadn’t realized how much I’d held back all this time, not until I let it all out.

  Great, heaping sobs racked my body as I pulled the comforter up and wept huge tears into the bedding. The foundation of my entire world had fallen out from under me, and I let myself cry out every last drop until there was nothing left inside me to weep.