Page 27 of Eagle
“Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I don’t want to fight about it.”
Neither did I. As far as I was concerned, it was over. I’d been furious with the Soldiers for what they’d done to Ron, but after having time to think it over, I’d concluded that their way had been the better way overall.
No police. No lawyers. No fines. No jailtime.
“Yo, Ron!”
I started at the unexpected pounding on the front door.
“Open the fucking door, man! We need to talk!”
It was obvious whoever was there knew my brother. I gave him a questioning look.
“Friend from work,” he explained, turning toward the door.
I straightened away from the counter. “I’m going to take a shower and then we’ll eat.” I took my wine and disappeared into my room, locking my door behind me.
Ron and I were five years apart. We didn’t have the same friends, and judging from the gruff sound of the guy who was pounding on our front door, I was half worried that he and Ron weren’t friends either. He sounded angry about something.
I quickly stripped and jumped into the shower. There was a window high enough over the tub so that I could look outside. Ron’s friend’s beat-up Jeep was in the driveway, parked extremely close behind my car. He must have driven down a muddy road, because it was covered in splatters all the way up to the windows.
My gaze traveled across the street to Eagle’s house. His bike was in the driveway. I hadn’t seen him since Ron and I had left the clubhouse the morning after the beatdown. I’d heard him coming and going at all hours though. He obviously kept an odd schedule. And, speak of the devil, he’d suddenly stepped outside and was headed toward his bike. His gaze seemed riveted on the vehicle in our drive. Even from a distance I could make out his frown. He paused for a minute, and I let my eyes move over him with female appreciation.
I couldn’t help it.
Eagle was an impressive specimen of the male form. There was no denying the muscular strength beneath his clothes when he moved. His bulging biceps were exposed by his sleeveless cut, and the thin t-shirt that he was wearing underneath the worn leather fit tight over his defined pecs and rippling abs. Faded jeans covered his long legs and fit snugly around his thick thighs. There was a prominent bulge behind his zipper that was hard to ignore. The danger that his bad boy aura exuded was enough to cause my breath to hitch. It didn’t surprise me that I was attracted to him. I’d replayed the two kisses we’d shared many times over in my mind.
I reached for the shampoo and began to lather up my hair, and it was at that precise moment that Eagle’s sharp gaze darted to me. Thankfully he could only see me from the shoulders up. It was too late for me to duck. Our eyes locked, and my heart began to race from the visceral look that morphed on his chiseled face. It was the kind of look that wreaked havoc with my emotions.
I began to tingle with instant, hot arousal. What I wouldn’t give to have Eagle there in the shower with me, his big, powerful hands gliding over my body as he washed me, his mouth on mine. I imagined what his cock would feel like thrusting inside me and squeezed my thighs at the wet heat bubbling there. My nipples turned so hard and achy that I ran my arm over them to appease the pain.
I held my breath and froze, for a moment captivated by the man standing there, before I had the wherewithal to continue washing my hair. After a minute Eagle climbed on his bike and took off without giving me a second look. I fought down the loss that I felt at his departure and reminded myself that he was interested in another woman. Anything happening between us was out of the question. But I could still dream about him, right?
As I rinsed my hair, I heard shouting and quickly finished. It sounded like someone was fighting, and my instant concern was for my brother. I grabbed a body towel and wrapped it around me as I hurried to the door. There was no way I was going out there. I put my ear to the door to hear better. Even though they were talking loudly it was too muffled to make out the exact words, so I carefully and quietly unlocked my door and opened it an inch.
“Hold your fucking voice down, my sister is here!”
“I don’t give a fuck! I went out on a fucking limb to give you that job and you didn’t show up! I had to find someone last minute!”
What job?
“I was in a fucking accident!” I could hear the desperation in Ron’s voice. “Give me another chance. I need the money, bro! I owe the Soldiers for a bike I fucking wrecked.”
His friend exhaled loudly. “I don’t know, man. When I get the call to pick up dogs, I don’t get time to make changes. If I don’t deliver the product when it’s expected, then it looks bad for me. This is a business, and I need people I can count on—”
“You can count on me!”
“Oh, yeah? Then where were you a few nights ago? Because of you, we were late, and the owner showed up as we were loading the dogs.”
“Christ...You didn’t hurt anyone did you?”
His friend laughed. “Naw. She was a little bitty thing. Scared her a little and locked her up ‘til we were done.”
I heard my brother release a heavy breath of relief.
“Listen, man, if you got a fucking conscience then this shit ain’t for you.”
What the hell did that mean? I didn’t like the feeling I was getting that my brother was involved in something illegal. I knew he liked to pick up odd jobs for the extra cash, but I’d never known him to break the law. We hadn’t been raised that way, and it worried me that now that he was away from our parents and their influence he was going down the wrong path. He’d always been headstrong, but not stupid.