Striker’s Claim by Lila Fox
Chapter Twenty-One
Kristina walked out to see the visitors and several of their men around the backyard, drinking beer and talking. It looked like the men had showered in the one in the building because they looked clean and were in clean clothes. They also looked completely different than they did, and most of them were handsome.
“Hey, babe,” Striker called out for her.
She glanced one more time at Stone behind her, and it made her feel better knowing he wasn’t worried.
Striker wrapped an arm around her waist. “Guys, this is my old lady, Kristina.” He looked down at her. “I’m not going to tell you their names because there are too many of them. I will introduce the Prez and Vice Prez. The Prez is Hawk, and the Vice is Brick.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” she said and smiled before she turned to Striker. “I need to talk to you.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, I made a mistake, and you need to know now.”
“I’ll be right back.” He pulled her along until they got away from the crowd.
“Okay, what is it?”
“I lied to one of the visitors.”
“How?”
“I told him Sally had HIV because she didn’t want to go with him.”
“What the hell, babe?”
“I know I couldn’t think of anything else. I was trying to protect Sally.”
“Why didn’t she just say no?”
“She did, but I could tell he was determined to have her. I had to come up with something awful for him to back off.”
He wiped a hand down his face. “I have to tell them.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“And I’ll have to punish you.”
She nodded again.
“Let’s get it over with.” He took her hand and pulled her back over to the two men she just met.
“Guys, my woman has something to tell you.”
She twisted her hands in front of her and was unable to look the men in the face.
“I…” She cleared her throat. “I lied to one of your men.”
Hawk’s eyebrows rose. “And you told Striker?”
“Yes, sir.”
Hawk laughed at that. “You could have kept it a lie.”
“Well, there are two reasons…”
Striker snorted, and Hawk grinned.
“One, it was terrible, and I felt guilty the second I said it, but in all fairness, I was protecting my friend Sally.”
“She’s so fucking cute. And number two?” Hawk asked and chuckled.
She bit back the growl because she needed these guys to listen. “And number two, if Sally wanted to … um…”
“Fuck?” Brick asked.
She nodded at Brick. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Holy shit. Hey, boss, I think we should kill Striker and take her for ourselves,” Brick suggested.
She gasped and moved to stand in front of Stricker. “You touch him or try to take me with you, I’ll make you as miserable as I can.”
“Then I’ll shoot you in the head,” Hawk said.
“So be it.”
Stricker grasped her shoulders behind her. “Babe, they’re messing with you.” He pulled her back to the side and tipped her head up. “If you ever stand in front of me again, you won’t be able to sit down for a month.”
She exhaled and nodded. “That was kind of rude what they just did,” she said under her breath.
“What did she say?” Brick asked.
Striker grinned. “She says you’re rude. Don’t worry, she says that to me about every day.”
The other men threw back their heads and laughed until they had tears coming down their cheeks.
She tapped her toe and waited for them to settle down.
When they finally got control, she said, “I don’t see what’s so funny.” She rolled her eyes when they started laughing again.
Hawk wiped his face and caught his breath. “Fuck, I haven’t laughed that hard in years.”
“Maybe you need to be around nicer people,” she suggested.
They both went at it again.
“Oh, my God. Make them stop,” she yelled to Striker.
“If you’d stop talking, we’d get this done.”
She huffed out a breath but pressed her lips together. She was about to pretend to zip her lips closed, but she thought that would set them off again.
Hawk wheezed and held out a hand. “Jesus Christ, make her stop talking.”
“I already did,” Striker said and chuckled.
“How long have you had her?” Hawk asked.
“Around eight months, and no, I’m not getting rid of her. I kind of like her. She grows on you after a while.”
She gasped in outrage and elbowed Striker in the side.
Striker bent and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I was kidding, babe. Settle down.”
She nodded and relaxed against him.
“So, how are we going to play this?” Striker asked.
“She points to the one she lied to, and we’ll call him over. She tells him her confession. He’ll decide what punishment to give her, but I have to approve it.”
“Fine.”
Hawk bent down a bit. “Who is it, Sunshine?”
She opened her mouth, but Striker pressed a hand over it. “No. No more talking. We’ll never get this done. Now point.”
She looked around, saw the man, and pointed.
“It’s Ink. He’s a good guy,” Brick said.
Hawk called the guy over.
“Ink, this is Striker’s old lady. She has to confess something to you.”
She could feel her limbs start to shake. Striker must have felt it because he held her tighter.
She looked up at the man but couldn’t keep eye contact, so she looked at the ground.
“I…” She stopped and looked up at Striker in distress.
He bent and whispered in her ear, but he knew the others could hear. “Be brave for me, babe, and remember that you trust me to take care of you.”
She exhaled, nodded, and turned back to the man. “I have to tell you that I lied to you.”
“About what?” Ink asked.
“About Sally having HIV. I want to apologize to you. It was wrong, and I would understand if you never wanted to talk to me again.”
Ink laughed. “Fuck, now I can see what the hell you two were laughing at so hard.”
She let that go. “Can you forgive me?”
“Yeah. But you should still be punished.”
“I realize that, and I accept whatever you guys decide.”
“Jesus Christ. I want to put her in my pocket,” Ink said.
She shook her head and frowned. What the hell was this guy thinking? “That’s silly. I wouldn’t be able to fit in there.”
The men started laughing again.
Striker snorted. “You need to stop talking, babe.”
“I’m trying, but sometimes they make me mad and sometimes confuse me. And by the way, I’m not that old.”
“What’s that about?” Striker asked.
“A few people have called me your old lady, and I’m not that old.”
That set everyone off.
“Jesus, she’s been with you for eight months, and she doesn’t know what it means?”
Striker grinned at Hawk. “We don’t have any here, and I never told her the meaning.”
“I know the meaning, and you should have asked me and not just declared it,” she said. “But I don’t understand the old part. I’m not old.”
Everyone laughed. She crossed her arms over her chest and started tapping her toe. She hated that they thought she was weird, but no one in her MC family ever made fun of her.
“Shit, I think she’s pissed.” Ink grinned as he stared down at her feet.
“I am, and I…”
“Okay, enough.” Striker stepped behind her and wrapped one arm around her waist, and used the other hand to press against her mouth.
Hawk turned to the man. “Ink, you get to choose the punishment, but do it quickly.”
“I say spank her and then butt fuck her hard enough to make her feel the burn.”
“I agree with it,” Hawk said after a moment.
“All right.” Striker bent close to her head. “I want you to go to our room, strip, lay on the bed, and wait for me.”
She nodded, and he released her. She turned to say goodbye.
Striker pointed to the door. “No! Don’t talk. Get to our room.”
