Claimed by the Ruthless Biker のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

POV ESMERAYThe roar of the engine was the only thing filling the void where my sanity used to be. I was pressed against Ruan’s back, my hands trembling as I gripped the leather of his jacket. I didn’t want to touch him. I wanted to throw myself off the bike and run until my lungs gave out, but the speed at which we were cutting through the fog of Blackridge made that a suicide mission.Ruan Montague didn't drive like a normal man; he drove like he owned the asphalt, like the laws of physics didn't apply to a king of his stature. Every time he leaned into a curve, my body was forced to press tighter against his. He was like a wall of solid muscle, radiating a heat that felt oppressive in the chilly night air. I could feel the rhythmic vibration of the motorcycle through my thighs, a constant reminder of the raw power between his legs—and the raw power he now held over my life.I closed my eyes, trying to block out the image of the knife, the blood, and the lifeless look in Marcus’s ey

POV ESMERAY I didn't sleep. Not really. Every time I closed my eyes, the roar of Ruan’s motorcycle or the metallic sound of his blade echoed in my mind. I stayed curled at the very edge of the king-sized bed, clutching the black sheets as if they were a life raft, acutely aware of the steady, deep breathing of the man lying only a few feet away. Ruan Montague was a storm even when he was silent, a predator that didn't need to move to let you know he could destroy you. When the first rays of gray light began to filter through the steel bars of the window, the door to the room swung open with a bang. —Prez! We’ve got trouble at the south docks. The Vipers are moving in on the shipment— a gravelly voice shouted from the hallway. Ruan was out of bed before I could even blink. His reflexes were inhuman. He didn't look at me as he grabbed a clean shirt and his leather vest, his movements sharp and precise. —Stay here, Esmeray— he commanded, his voice thick with sleep but laced with ste

POV ESMERAYThe heavy iron doors of the clubhouse had barely finished echoing their final, heavy thud before the adrenaline began to drain from my limbs, leaving behind a cold, hollow terror. The room was still thick with the scent of unspent gunpowder and the lingering pheromones of thirty men ready to die for a cause I didn't understand.Ruan didn't look at me. He didn't even acknowledge the way I was trembling against his side. He simply let go of my waist, the sudden absence of his heat making me feel dangerously exposed in the middle of the crowded hall. He began barking orders at his men, his voice a sharp blade cutting through the murmurs of the crowd."Double the watch on the perimeter," Ruan commanded, his eyes scanning the room like a general surveying a battlefield. "I want eyes on every alleyway within five blocks. If a Viper so much as breathes near our fence, I want their head on a spike. Move!"The men scrambled, the room erupting into a flurry of leather and heavy boot

POV ESMERAYThe silence of the coastal cabin was a trap. I sat on the edge of the small bed, my ears ringing with the phantom roar of the highway. Every creak of the wooden floorboards made my heart leap into my throat. Outside, the Pacific Ocean continued its relentless assault on the cliffs, but all I could focus on was the fact that Ruan Montague was out there, prowling the darkness to protect a woman who should have been his enemy.I looked down at my hands. They were steady now, but the skin still felt electric where he had touched me. It was a terrifying realization: I was starting to rely on the man who had kidnapped me. In the world of Blackridge, I was a nurse, a daughter, a citizen. Here, in the shadows of the Steel Phantoms, I was a ghost defined only by his protection.An hour passed. Maybe two. The fire Ruan had started before leaving was dying down to glowing embers when I heard it—the low, guttural throb of an engine.It wasn't the rhythmic, thunderous sound of Ruan’s H

POV ESMERAYThe neon sign of the Desert Rose Motel flickered in a sickly shade of pink, casting long, distorted shadows across the cracked pavement of the parking lot. We had been riding for hours since the roadhouse, the rain finally tapering off into a heavy, oppressive mist that clung to my skin like a second layer of grief. My body was one giant ache, my muscles screaming from the tension of holding onto Ruan for so long.Ruan killed the engine, and the sudden silence was jarring, replaced only by the metallic pinging of the cooling bike. He didn't move for a long moment, his hands still gripping the handlebars, his shoulders hunched. I could feel the heat radiating off him, a stark contrast to the biting night air."Inside," he said, his voice a low, gravelly rasp. "The room is at the back. It’s paid for in cash. No names. No records."I dismounted, my legs nearly buckling as my boots hit the ground. Ruan was by my side in an instant, his hand catching my elbow to steady me. His