Chapter Three

 Chapter Three

The massive iron gates of the Iron Reapers compound rolled open slowly. They made a loud, heavy, metallic groan that echoed in the quiet night air. The moment we drove through them, my stomach dropped completely. It felt like my insides were falling.

Bright, harsh floodlights lit up the entire area. The massive parking lot looked almost like a secure prison yard. There were long, neat rows of shiny chrome motorcycles gleaming perfectly under the bright lights. I could see a few smaller wooden buildings scattered around the property, and right in the middle stood one huge, two-story house. It was the main clubhouse. It looked incredibly strong, built out of thick wood and heavy metal, like a fort that could easily survive a violent war.

Stone drove the massive black SUV into a private spot and turned off the loud engine. For a long, intense second, the silence inside the car was completely deafening. My ears rang from the sudden quiet.

"Welcome home, little dove," Stone said. His voice was low, deep, and far too satisfied. He sounded like a king who had just brought a new prize to his castle.

"This is not my home," I whispered softly. I said the words more to reassure myself than to actually answer him. I gripped my small purse tightly in my lap.

He did not reply. Instead, he leaned his massive body across the center console. He reached over me, his broad shoulders completely blocking my view of the window, and unbuckled my seatbelt for me. The motion brought his handsome, rugged face just inches away from mine. I could see the dark stubble on his jaw and the small lines around his intense eyes. He smelled so strongly of rich leather and fresh tobacco.

"It is your home for now," he murmured, his dark eyes locking onto mine. "Do not make me carry you inside, Tessa. Move your legs."

I did not want him to carry me in front of his club, so I climbed out of the high passenger seat as quickly as I could. My feet hit the hard gravel. I quickly pulled his heavy leather vest tightly around my small body. I used it like a piece of armor to hide my shaking frame from the world. The night air felt much colder out here in the open woods. From inside the large clubhouse, the distant, muffled sound of loud rock music and rough male laughter spilled out into the dark yard.

Before I could take a step, Stone was right behind me. His large, warm hand settled firmly on the back of my neck. His grip was heavy, highly possessive, and guiding. He did not hurt me, but he made it very clear which way I was supposed to walk. He led me straight toward the large front doors of the clubhouse.

When he pushed the heavy doors open and guided me inside, the main room was pure chaos. It was wild in the best and worst ways possible. There were green pool tables in the center, a very long wooden bar stocked with endless bottles of alcohol, old leather couches torn at the edges, and way too many huge, scary bikers standing around.

The exact second our feet stepped into the room, every single head turned to look at us. The loud talking stopped. High whistles and crude, dirty comments instantly flew my way from the back of the room. My skin burned with deep embarrassment.

But the noise did not last long. Stone stopped walking and shot one sharp, icy look around the entire room. His eyes were like deadly weapons. Instantly, every single biker went completely quiet. The crude comments died in their throats. No one wanted to make the president angry.

A very tall, heavily tattooed man with a "Vice President" patch on his leather vest stepped forward from the crowd. He was grinning widely, looking like a hungry shark that had just spotted something interesting.

"Well, shit," the man said, laughing loudly. "The Prez actually brought a woman back to the house tonight. And look at that. She is wearing your personal property patch already?" He paused, dragging his eyes slowly up and down my body, studying my simple jeans and sneakers. "I did not know you moved that fast, Stone."

"Shut your damn mouth, Jax," Stone growled out. His voice was rough, but I could tell there was no real, true anger in his words. They obviously knew each other very well. "Tessa, this idiot is Jax. He is my Vice President, and he is a constant pain in my ass. Jax, listen to me clearly. Tessa is completely mine now. Go spread the word to the rest of the boys. If anyone in this club looks at her the wrong way, they will lose their fucking eyes. I am not joking."

Jax’s dark eyebrows shot up in total surprise. The playful smile left his face for a second, replaced by a look of real respect. He nodded his head once at Stone, then turned his eyes to me, giving me a small, amused smirk.

"It is very nice to meet you, Tessa," Jax said, his tone much softer now. "Good luck to you. You are going to need it with this crazy, stubborn bastard."

I managed to give him a very weak, shaky smile. My cheeks were burning so hot I was certain they were bright red. I felt like an alien who had just landed on a dangerous new planet.

Stone did not waste any more time making introductions. He kept his heavy hand on my back and steered me quickly through the crowded main room. We walked down a long, dark hallway and then headed up a wide set of wooden stairs. The sounds of the party downstairs began to fade away.

We reached the end of the top hallway, and Stone pushed open a thick door. This was his private bedroom. It was very large and surprisingly clean for a biker's room. The entire space was dominated by a massive, king-sized bed covered in thick black sheets. There was a large wooden dresser against the wall, but instead of normal decorations, it was covered in shiny weapons, heavy knives, and greasy motorcycle parts. On the far side of the room, a large wall of windows looked straight out over the entire compound and the iron gates below.

Stone stepped into the room behind me and closed the heavy door. The metal lock clicked into place with a loud, final sound.

The click made me jump. I spun around quickly to face him, my back pressed against the wall near the windows. "Stone—" I started, my voice catching in my throat.

"You are shaking like a leaf," he observed flatly.

He stepped closer to me, his heavy boots thudding against the floor. He casually shrugged his own leather vest off his shoulders and tossed it carelessly over a wooden chair in the corner. That left him wearing only a very tight black t-shirt. The thin fabric did absolutely nothing to hide how incredibly built he was. His chest was broad, his stomach was flat and hard, and the muscles in his arms were bigger than my head, completely covered in dark, intricate ink.

"Are you scared of me already, little dove?" he asked, his voice dropping into a low, teasing tone.

"I am scared of how fast every single thing is moving," I admitted honestly. I took a small step backward, trying to find some distance, until the back of my knees hit the soft edge of the massive king-sized bed. I was trapped. "This was supposed to be a fake relationship, Stone. We were supposed to make public appearances. We were just supposed to make Tyler jealous at the bar. I did not agree to move into your private bedroom on night number one."

Stone’s dark eyes tracked my every movement like a hungry wild cat watching a small bird. He closed the remaining distance between us very slowly, taking deliberate steps until he was standing right in front of me, stopping just short of actually touching my skin. The pure heat coming off his body was making it hard for me to think straight.

"Listen to me, Tessa," Stone said, leaning down slightly so he could look straight into my eyes. "You walked up to the President of the Iron Reapers and asked him to pretend to be your man. There is no such thing as a half-measure in my world. If we do this, we do it all the way. My club needs to believe you are mine. My dangerous enemies outside these walls need to believe it completely."

He reached out his large hand. His rough, calloused index finger gently touched the front of his leather vest that I was still wearing. He slowly traced the words on the small patch sewn over my heart: *Property of Stone*.

"And more than that," he continued, his voice dropping into a rough, deep whisper that made my stomach do a wild dance, "I need to believe it, too."

My breath hitched completely in my chest. "Why?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "Why do you care? You do not even know me. We just met an hour ago."

"I know more than enough about you," he said, his eyes darkening with an intense heat. "I know you walked straight into my dangerous bar tonight looking like a girl who had absolutely nothing left to lose in this world. I know the exact way your little heart started hammering and how your pulse jumped the very second I touched your skin. And I know for a fact that that little prick Tyler never deserved a single second of your attention or your tears."

He lifted his hand from my chest and cupped the side of my face with his big, warm palm. His rough thumb gently stroked my burning cheek, his touch surprisingly soft against my skin.

"You belong completely to me for the next two weeks," he murmured, his dark eyes fixed firmly on my lips. "After those two weeks are over... well, we will just have to see what happens next."

The dark, heavy way he said those words sent a crazy rush of freezing ice and burning heat racing through my veins at the exact same time. He did not make it sound like a temporary game anymore. He made it sound like these two weeks were just the very beginning of something permanent.

Suddenly, a sharp, loud buzz broke the intense silence in the room. It was my cell phone vibrating inside my jeans pocket. The real world was crashing back in.

I reached down instinctively, my hands shaking as I pulled the phone out. The bright screen lit up my face. It was a text message from Tyler.

> **Tyler:** *What the hell is going on, Tessa?? Stone?? Are you crazy?? Call me right now.*

> 

Stone’s eyes flicked down to the screen. He saw the name "Tyler" flash in bright letters. Before I could even think about what to do, Stone moved with incredible speed. In one smooth, powerful motion, he snatched the phone right out of my small hands. He read the angry message quickly, his jaw tightening, and then he tossed the phone carelessly across the room. It landed with a soft thud on top of the wooden dresser, right next to a heavy hunting knife.

"Hey!" I protested loudly, stepping forward to get it back. "What are you doing? Give that back to me!"

"You are not answering him tonight. Not a single word," Stone ordered. His voice was like a heavy sheet of cold steel. It left absolutely zero room for any argument.

He took another step closer to me, his massive body completely blocking my path to the dresser. He kept moving forward until he backed me up so far that I had no choice but to sit down hard on the soft edge of the massive bed. He stood right there, looming over my small form like a giant, his large hands reaching down to brace themselves flat on the mattress on either side of my hips. He had me completely pinned beneath his heavy gaze.

"You wanted that boy to be jealous, didn't you?" Stone asked, his dark face just inches from mine. "Well, look at that. Mission accomplished. He is losing his mind. Now, little dove, you have to deal with the real consequences of your choices."

I stared straight up at him, my heart hammering so hard against my ribs I was terrified he could actually hear it. My breath was coming in short, quick gasps. A sensible part of my brain was screaming at me to push his heavy chest away, grab my phone, and run out of this crazy house as fast as my legs could carry me.

But a much bigger, hidden part of me—the dangerous part that absolutely terrified me—was staring at his full lips. I found myself wondering what it would actually feel like if he leaned down those last few inches and kissed me right now. I didn't want a fake kiss for a crowd. I didn't want a kiss to show off for Tyler. I wanted a real, hungry kiss just for us.

Stone seemed to read the wild thoughts running through my head. He leaned down just a tiny bit further, his lips lightly brushing against the sensitive shell of my ear.

"Get some sleep, little dove," he whispered, his hot breath sending a fresh wave of shivers down my body. "Tomorrow morning, you are going to meet the rest of this club properly. And you are going to start learning what it really means to be claimed by an Iron Reaper."

He straightened his massive body up slowly, breaking the intense spell between us. He walked over to the large closet across the room, grabbed a spare pillow and a thick wool blanket, and headed straight for the small leather couch sitting in the far corner of the bedroom. He was actually giving me the bed, just like he had promised in the car.

I let out a long, shaky breath that I felt like I had been holding for hours. I swung my legs up onto the mattress and lay back against the soft pillows, pulling the covers up over my body. I was still wearing his heavy leather vest, refusing to take it off. As I lay there in the dark, the rich, masculine scent of him wrapped around me completely.

My mind was spinning in a million different directions. I thought about Tyler’s angry text message, Jax’s surprised and amused face downstairs, and Stone’s terrifying, beautiful intensity.

This was supposed to be my calculated plan. I was supposed to be the one in control, using a scary biker to get the man I had wanted for two long years.

But as I pulled the thick blankets tighter around my chin and listened to the soft sound of Stone settling his massive weight onto the small couch across the room, a heavy realization washed over me. I couldn't shake the terrifying feeling that I had just handed all my control over to a dangerous man who had absolutely no intention of ever giving it back to me.