Resting his forehead on mine, he teases, “You’re gettin’ me all wet here, Doll, and it’s supposed to be the other way around.”

“I’m plenty wet too.”

This earns me a raised eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? Here?” He cups my sex from behind and my core muscles start to throb as they beg for more.

“Yes.”

His fingers push my shorts and panties to the side. And an unintelligible sound leaves me as two fingers sink inside me.

“How much time do we have before your meeting?”

“About an hour.”

I push him off and then hand him his cut by shoving it into his chest. “Then you better drive fast.”

He kisses me hard and slow once more before backing up. Then using his cut to cover himself, he makes his way to the driver’s side.

“Damn, it’s pourin’,” he hisses as he slides behind the steering wheel and sweeps his hand over his face. His gaze slides to me and he motions with his hand. “C’mere.”

I scoot close, weave my arm around his, and lay my head on his damp shoulder. Mav’s hand curls around my thigh. He places a kiss on the top of my head as he starts the truck.

The rightness of this moment steals my breath for second. So much so that I wish I could capture it somehow and save it. Re-experience it days and years from now.

It feels too damn precious to just let it simply slip by.

But that’s exactly what happens.

As we make our way across town, he has to pull his hand away to fight through the puddles on the road. Torrents of rain continue to slam against the glass, and the windshield wipers work overtime to give Mav a clear view. Every so often, lightning flashes through the clouds and the whole sky brightens.

I’m glad he’s the one at the wheel, because I’ve never been very good at driving in weather like this. It makes me nervous when I can only see what’s coming. I hate the not knowing.

Witnessing what I like to call a New Mexico mini tsunami, I think of all the people who are scrambling for a dry place to sleep for the night, and again I think of Ivy. I hope she’s not out in this. But at the same time I know the shelter isn’t the safest place for her either.

I murmur, “The next time it’s like this.” I gesture with my chin to the torrent hitting the windshield. “Will you take me somewhere?”

“Yeah, Doll, anything you need. Where do you wanna go?”

“To a shelter in Albuquerque.” He spares me a glance and gives me a curious look. I explain, “There’s a friend there that I’ve been meaning to pay back. I owe her money.”

“You got it. But you can also take the truck and go if you want.”

Looking up at him, I ask, “You’d just let me take your truck?”

He glances at me again. “Yeah, I told you. I trust you and I’ll take care of you. That’s means if I can do somethin’ for you, I will. All you have to do is ask.”

We make the turn leading to the clubhouse when Mav’s growls, “You’ve got to be fuckin’ shittin’ me.” His eyes are on the rearview mirror.

Every hair on my body begins to rise as I recognize the flashing red and blue lights reflected off the rearview and windshield. A siren blares for a few seconds sending a tremor down my spine.

“Are we being pulled over?”

“Yes,” he practically hisses.

“Why. Were you speeding?”

“No.” Tension spikes through his jaw as it pops, he grips the steering wheel hard. “Leo’s—cops fuck with us whenever they can.”

He slows and pulls to the side of the road as my stomach bottoms out. Mav reaches past me and opens the glove box. The first thing I see is a black gun. But he doesn’t grab the gun. He removes his registration and shuts the box with the gun still inside. He takes his ID from his wallet and has it ready to hand over the minute a figure appears beside his window and taps on it with a flash light.

It’s dusk, but I can make out Davis’s features as Mav’s window descends. He’s wearing a hat and rain drips from the brim.

“Tail light? Or you got a better one this time?” Mav snarls as he passes his documents to Davis. Davis is getting drenched but it doesn’t seem to faze him one bit.

“You were swerving. Had too much to drink tonight?”

Under his breath, Mav growls, “Swervin’ . . . my ass.”

“I smell beer. You been drinking?” Davis asks.

Mav snaps, “I had A beer with my burger. Is that a crime?”

“Depends on how many you had.”

“You deaf. I said I had A beer.”

Suddenly, Davis’s focus leaves Mav and his eyes meet mine. “Who’s this?” A spear of panic shoots through me and I cling tight to Mav’s arm.

“No one you need to concern yourself with.” Muscles strain under my grip.

“Hey, we’ve met.” Davis says, brushing Mav off as if he hadn’t spoken. “Pumpkin, right? Lily’s cousin. You still visiting or does this mean you’ve taken up with one of their lot?” he gestures between Mav and me.

Mav turns a little so his body’s blocking me from Davis. “Who she is and who she’s with is none of your fuckin’ business. Now can I be on my way, I got shit to do?”

The turbulent thunder rolls through the sky, but both Davis and Mav are silent. I can only imagine the way Mav’s looking at Davis right now. I’ve been on the other end of that glare and it’s damn scary.

“It’s a dangerous night to be out. Watch yourself, son.”

“Yeah, not your fuckin’ son. And maybe you better make sure you watch yourself too.”

In the next instant Mav grabs his license and registration from Davis, throws both to the passenger floor as his window goes up. Then blatantly ignoring Davis, Mav shifts and peels out as the truck pulls back onto the road, leaving Davis behind.

“What are you—”

Before I can spin around a wall of muscle slams into me from behind and pushes me forward. It’s all I can do to stay on my feet. Abruptly, I find myself between a wall and a body made of steel. My cheek is flattened to the cool surface. One hand circles my throat, his thumb rubbing over my pulse. The other hand grips my ponytail and pulls my hair back.

A wave of scorching hot need lights inside me. “Luce . . .”

Mav’s been furious and deadly silent since we drove away from Davis. The tension he was radiating in the truck was palpable. When we pulled into the lot of the clubhouse, he came around to my side, dragged me out of my seat, pulled me all the way into the clubhouse, past the main room, and didn’t stop until he sealed us both inside his office. The moment my eyes landed on the wall of photos, his body slammed into mine.

“Doll, I need to either fight or fuck. And I think you know which I’d rather do.” His cock pushes hard against my ass. “Say the word and I’ll find Taz—let it out in the ring.”

“Mav.”

“With what’s ridin’ me, I’m gonna be rough and I don’t want to hurt you. Don’t want to scare you away, now that I have you. But I also don’t want to hide this part of me. I asked you not to hide, so I won’t either. I’ll leave the choice up to you.”

“How rough?” Fear laced with excitement gives my voice a shaky quality. I’ve never been more turned on in my life. Adrenaline is actively firing through my veins, and I need this too. I want the quick, harsh fucking his mood and impatience promises. I’ve been yearning for it all day.

“As rough you can take it.” His hot breath sends goosebumps skittering down my neck. “Just tell me if it gets to be too much.” He buries his face in my neck and I shiver.

Reaching back, I cup his ass and pull him into me. “What in the hell are you waiting for?”

No sooner have the words left my mouth then his teeth bit down on the skin between my shoulder and my neck. Not too hard, but still painful. His hands leave my hair and his fingers work in rough harsh movements to open my shorts. The sounds of our breath and my zipper descending seem magnified. He shoves my shorts down over my ass and to my lower thighs. Then he cups both of my butt cheeks and rubs his hands up and down.