“I’m sorry for starting that shit in there.” Malice ran a hand over the back of his head and actually looked ashamed. “I just flipped I guess. I saw that…” Malice gritted his teeth, obviously about to insult Stinger. “I saw Stinger standing there grinning and looking like he and you had this connection, and all I could see was this happy family with the three of you.”

  “Watch it, Malice,” Stinger growled out.

  Malice turned slightly, just enough that he could glare at Stinger. “I’m talking to the mother of my child, so shut the fuck up.”

  “Please, just stop. You two are making a scene.” She glanced toward the parking lot and saw a couple of people stopped and staring right at them.

  “Move it the fuck along,” Stinger yelled out, and that caused the gawkers to scurry away.

  She narrowed her eyes at Stinger, because obviously that was creating even more of a scene, but all he did was shrug and grin at her. God, why did her body have to grow warm at the sight of his straight white teeth flashing at her? There was even more facial hair that covered his cheeks and jaw, or maybe it was the natural lighting that made him look even more rugged. The sound of teeth grinding had her looking back at Malice. Her face heated even more at the awkwardness that her ex had probably seen the way she had been looking at Stinger.

  “I think we should talk.” He looked over his shoulder again. “Alone.” Malice said that one word on a growl of his own.

  She looked at Stinger, sighed, and nodded. “Can we please have a minute?” He wasn’t off the hook, because Malice may have started the fight, but Stinger had most definitely kept it going. That was evident by the cocky attitude that came from him. It took him a second to move. He kept looking between her and the back of Malice’s head. “Please, Stinger.” She asked with a softer tone this time. Clearly emotions were running high right now, as well as a good chunk of testosterone and adrenaline. Finally he turned and headed back inside of the room, but the way he shut the door, hard and unforgiving, told her well enough he didn’t like leaving her alone with Malice. Damn bikers and their arrogant and controlling asses.

  They stared at each other for a second, but she was the first to break the awkward silence. “Malice, what in the hell do you think you’re doing?” He didn’t break contact with his stare and then took a step toward her.

  “What do you mean what the hell am I doing?” Tone hard and brooking no argument, he glared at her as if she had somehow pissed him off.

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about. You can’t show up unannounced and beat up a guy that opened the door to my motel.” He didn’t respond, but he clenched his jaw again, so hard that it changed his entire expression into something savage.

  “You are the mother of my kid, Molly.” He took another step forward. “And that isn’t something I fucking take lightly—”

  “Hold it right there, Malice.” She held her hand, and he was at least smart enough to keep his mouth shut. “Yes, we used to be together. Yes, I used to be in love with you. And yes, I am the mother of your child.” Now she was the one to take a step forward. Her anger was building inside of her. It had started when she saw them fighting in the room, but now it was going to a volcanic level at this chest pounding “You are mine” attitude. “But anything romantic that we once had is over with, Malice. You know this, I know this, and the only one holding onto the past is you.”

  He opened his mouth but snapped it closed before saying anything.

  “Can you stand there and tell me you are still in love with me?” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. When he didn’t answer right away she continued. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. You have always gotten what you wanted, and that is why there is this big issue now. There isn’t a person that would deny you or the club, and because of that you have this mentality that anything that you once had will always be yours.”

  He looked down at the ground, and for several minutes neither said anything. “Fuck.” That one word was coarse, but it also held a lot of meaning behind it. There was the tone of defeat and acknowledgment that she was right. He lifted his head and looked at her. “I know, shit I know all of this.” He scrubbed his face with his hand and exhaled.

  “You can’t do the shit you just did.”

  He was still grinding his teeth, but he didn’t argue with her. “Fucking hell.” He stared at her with this hard gaze. “That is who you want? A bear shifter from The Grizzly MC?”

  “I don’t know what I want, Malice, but that is my decision to make.”

  “Molly, they are just as dangerous as The Brothers, just as vicious and violent, if not more so because they are damned animals.”

  She shook her head and closed her eyes momentarily. She knew all of this, but it didn’t matter because if she did go through with seeing Stinger that was on her, no one else.

  “I’ll always look out for you, Molly.”

  She reached out and took his big hand in hers. “I know, but next time can we talk about it first and bust heads in later?” She smiled, hoping to ease the tension that was still pouring from him. He didn’t answer, and there was a part of her that knew this wasn’t over between them. Men like Malice and Stinger, alpha man and bikers to boot, always had to finish shit if they thought their honor was offended. She was still angry at him, at both of them in fact, but she hoped things worked themselves out, because she wasn’t about to have the man she was starting to fall for and her ex having this pissing contest every time they were in the same vicinity.

  He was still strung taut. “I can’t get into this shit right now with you, Molly.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke. He sighed. “What about your car? You hear anything about it?”

  She hadn’t, but then again it wasn’t like there had been a lot of time from when she woke to when they went at each other’s throats. “I’ll talk to Stinger. I was supposed to call him in the morning…” She closed her mouth, because obviously there was no need to call him since he spent the night. Clearly Malice picked up on that as well, because he curled his hands into fists once more.

  “Fine. Since you are Stinger’s old lady now, he can take care of you, but no man is going to come in and take my place in Dakota’s life.”

  Before she could respond that she wasn’t anyone’s old lady, and that no one would ever replace him as their son’s father, Malice was striding over to his SUV and climbing inside. He peeled out of the parking lot, causing a scene and kicking up dirt in the unpaved lot, and then was speeding down the road and away from the motel. Molly stood there, watching him leave, not upset that he was this angry, nor feeling any guilt, but pissed beyond thinking clearly because he was still acting like this. She didn’t hear the door open, but she knew Stinger was standing in the doorway, and probably had witnessed the whole thing.

  “Do members in The Grizzly MC act like this when they don’t get their way?” She kept her back to him, still staring at the road, but trying to make light of a situation that had gone from fucked-up to humiliating.

  “Some of them, but all but all but one of the Grizzlies in my charter have old ladies now, and that opens up a whole other level of possessive assholishness.”

  Molly couldn’t help it. She started laughing. Turning around, she saw Stinger leaning against the doorframe. He was still shirtless, still had his pants unbuttoned, but had since cleaned off the blood. That V of muscle on his abdomen framed his six pack and aimed right down to his cock that, although not hard, still bulged out the front of his jeans. “Assholishness? I don’t think that’s a word.”

  He grinned, but it was more of tilt of the corner of his mouth. “It is a word when dealing with a bunch of dominating bear shifters that own their women.”

  “Own? That sounds so horrible and … slave-like.”

  He pushed off the frame and walked toward her, and before Molly knew what his intentions were he had his arms wrapped around her waist. He pulled her close to his body, flush with his chest, and then lifted her so that only the tips of her toes were on the ground.

  “Stinger—”

  He cut off her protest with a hard kiss. The flavor of mint covered her tongue when he slipped his inside of his mouth. With his arms wrapped tightly around her body, he moved them until they were back in the motel room. He shut the door, set her on her feet, and broke the kiss.

  “I could take you again, Molly. Right now.” He took hold of her hand and placed it right over his erection. He was hard and huge, and instantly she got wet. “You feel what you do to me, baby?” He lowered his head so that his mouth was at the crook of her neck. He inhaled again, and although she had to admit it should have been weird, there was this very feminine part of her that melted at that fact. This man wasn’t just this hard, gritty biker. He was also a wild animal that could tear her apart with his bare hands. There was this frightening realization to that thought, but that fear mixed with her arousal, creating this explosive sensation inside of her that made her feel like some kind of nympho just for Stinger. “I have never wanted a woman as much as I want you.” He ran his tongue up the length of the side of her neck.

  She closed her eyes, unable to hold them open any longer. “I find that hard to believe.” Her words came out strained, breathless, and just as needy as he claimed to be for her.

  He thrust his hips forward, only an inch, and only enough for her to feel the long, thick length covered only by denim. “You can believe what you want, but I don’t lie. Ever, baby.” He gently nipped at her earlobe. “I could fuck you three more times today and still not get enough.” He used his body to move her until she was walking backward. The bed stopped her retreat, and his breath came out faster against her flesh. “But you’d take me into your sweet fucking pussy, wouldn’t you, Molly?” He moved his hands over her chest and covered her breasts that were only hidden from him by the thin cotton. “Yeah, you’d give in to me again. You’d let me have you any way I wanted.” He moved his hands around her hips, down her lower back, and curved them around her ass. “Your pussy is addicting, but next time I slide my cock into your body, it’s going to be in your ass, Molly.” He took the material of her sweat pants, and pulled them up until the fabric was forced to move between the cheeks of her ass. The seam rubbed along the puckered hole of her bottom, and even though that shouldn’t have been a turn on, when he moved one of his hands to her right breast and started clenching and unclenching the mound she grew wet and filled with lust.

  She ran her palm up and down his length, swore it jerked beneath her touch, and turned her head to the side so her lips were by his scruffy cheek. Stinger turned his head to the side, too, and their lips brushed ever so slightly. There wasn’t any pressure added, but there didn’t need to be. Their breathing increased, and she loved the deep sounds that came from him. Her clit throbbed, tingled, and wetness was a constant flow from her pussy. She wanted him, but at the same time she knew she should be angry at him for fighting with Malice. That annoyance rose up, but her lust was far stronger, and pushed it down.

  “You’re upset.” He didn’t phrase it like a question and kept his lips lightly pressed to hers as he spoke. For some reason not kissing him, but still being so very close to doing so was more erotic than the actual act. “You should be.” He continued to curve his fingers around the flesh of her breasts, teasing her nipple with his palm, and breathing heavily against her mouth. “But you should also know that I did refrain. I could have easily taken Malice down, and all it would have taken for me to do that was shift.” Letting go of her ass and sliding his hand up the middle of her back, he buried his hand in her hair and grabbed a chunk of it. At first he didn’t do anything but hold the locks, massaging her scalp, and giving her this sense of comfort. But then that all changed when he jerked her head back, baring her neck, and immediately ran his teeth along the arch of her throat. “But I didn’t do that, Molly, because as much as Malice needed his ass kicked for acting like a fool, I didn’t want to hurt you further.” He loosened his hold on her hair enough for her to lower her head and look him in the eyes.

  “You’re so full of shit.” She breathed out, so aroused she was about to combust spontaneously.

  He grinned, flashing those white, straight teeth once more. “Malice is one strong motherfucker, I’m not debating that, but he isn’t a match against my bear.” He held her gaze. “He likes having control over everything, that much I could smell.”

  “Yeah, he’s always been like that.” She didn’t want to talk about Malice anymore. In fact, she didn’t want to talk period. “I don’t belong to anyone.” Molly admitted, but only to herself, that she had said that partially to get a rise out of Stinger. She wanted him primal and dominating.

  That smile faded quickly from his face, and he tightened his hold on her hair again. “That’s where you’re wrong, pretty girl.” His gaze was unwavering, his expression stone cold. “You are mine, were mine the moment I saw you. But all of that was cemented when I had my cock inside of your body.” He leaned in close so they were nose-to-nose, and bared his teeth. His pupils dilated, and she knew his bear was at the surface. The man she was looking at was a wild beast at the moment, but she embraced that realization.

  “How can you want someone so much that you just met?” Molly was asking him as much as she was asking herself.

  “When there is something in this world that consumes your mind, makes it had to focus, and has your heart beating faster than it has ever done before, you fight for it until blood flows and bones break.” Stinger said that with such determination that she had no choice but to believe him and accept his words. “And you are that to me, Molly.” He cupped the side of her face and ran his thumb along her bottom lip. “Does it make sense? Fuck no, but there are not a lot of things worth fighting for in this world.” And then his mouth was on hers, and he kissed her like he was starving and she was his last meal.

  When he took her this time it was still primal and intense, but there was also gentleness to his touches, kisses, and thrusts. He was showing her without words what he had told her, and Molly accepted it all and surrendered herself. She just hoped this didn’t backfire, and she didn’t live to regret falling so hard or fast for the Grizzly MC shifter.

  ****Malice was pissed, unbelievably so, and he needed t cool off so he didn’t transfer that negative energy to Dakota, who was out back playing with Tuck. When he slammed the clubhouse door open with so much force it bounced off the wall and had everyone stopping what they were doing, he just let out a low growl and stalked toward the bar. It was too early for a drink, but fucking hell did it sound good right now, like it would take off this wild edge inside of him. Ok, so Molly and Stinger were a thing now. He didn’t think it was just a quick screw in a motel room, because the way the other biker had fought for her, had acted like she was his, made it pretty damn clear that he was staying with the other of his child. “Shit.” He ran a hand over his face and breathed out.

  One of the girls that worked the club moved behind the counter and set down the rag she had been using to clean on the counter. “You thirsty or just parking?”

  Malice looked up at her, saw that it was one of the newer club pussies, and shook his head. No, he didn’t need alcohol to make him feel less murderous. “Nothing.” He waved her off and breathed out.

  “You okay, man?” The sound of Pierce’s voice right beside him had Malice dropping his hands and turning his head to the side. It was clear Pierce had just gotten up, and he stank like old booze and pussy. The other biker braced his elbow on the counter and ran his other hand over his short black hair.

  “I’m fine.” Malice wasn’t about to get into this hellacious shit with anyone right now, least of all a prospect that wasn’t even a patched in member yet. But Pierce’s year was almost up, and he was a good and loyal man. He’d make a great addition to The Brothers of Menace, but that was a group vote, and not until he had put his time in. “I don’t want to get into it.”

  Peirce nodded. “No sweat, just saw your face—”

  Malice glared at the other man, saying without words that the bruises and cuts on his earlier fight were probably not the best thing to talk about right now.

  A woman that looked like she had also just gotten up, and had been fucked two ways to Sunday, came stumbling out of one of the back rooms. Her bleached blonde hair was a rats’ nest on the side of her head, her mascara was smeared under her eyes, and her clothes—what was left of them anyway—were all skewed on her body.

  “Hey, baby.” She ran her hand over Pierce’s bare arm. The biker wasn’t wearing a shirt, and his chest, arms, and even the backs of his hands were covered in intricate ink. Just seeing Pierce walk down the street would have probably scared the shit out of anyone, given his huge-ass size and the piercings and ink he sported.

  Pierce pushed her off, but turned so he could face her. “Thanks for last night.”

  It was a pretty douchy thing to say to a woman he just fucked, but it wasn’t like Malice had never said those words. Malice turned and saw Lucien coming out from a backroom, already dressed in his jeans, t-shirt and cut, and looking like he had just showered. The President stopped when he saw Malice watching him, then cocked a dark brow when he took in his face. Lucien tilted his head to the meeting room and headed toward it.

  “I’ll catch you later,” Malice said to Pierce, but before the other man could respond Malice was moving toward the room Lucien had just gone into. He shut the door once inside, and stared at Lucien’s back. The other man was staring out the window that was positioned right behind his seat at the head of the meeting table.

  “I hope the other guy at least took a beating, too.” Lucien didn’t look at him after he spoke, but Malice could hear the joking quality in his voice. “It was the bear shifter, wasn’t it?” He did turn around them and stared at Malice with a stoic expression. “Stinger?”

  Malice breathed out, ran his hand along his jaw and over his beard, and knew that starting anything with the Grizzlies was not in the best interest of the club since Molly wasn’t his. He nodded. “Yeah, got into it earlier with him. He’s got a few scratches.”