Tank (The Bad Disciples MC Book 3) Read online

  Was that what this was? Was this what love really felt like? It was too hard to tell. Oh, so often the lines between love and extreme lust were blurred. She’d never felt lust so pure, so raw before. It was rather frightening. It was scary in the fact that it was so intense and it was scary in the fact that she was willing to let it control her mind, body, and soul. She just wanted Cort. She had to have this man.

  “Are you coming?”

  Teegan was confused for a moment. The voice asking the question was not Cort’s, but she was so close to coming. She knew that just a bit more was all she needed…

  “Hey, Teegan?”

  The voice came from above this time. It was a woman’s voice. Teegan broke from her wet daydream to see Angela Watson was standing over her.

  “What?” Teegan asked.

  “Are you coming? The group is forming. That food smells good!”

  Teegan looked over at the fire that had been started and the hot dogs that were being roasted.

  “Oh, yeah. I’m on my way,” Teegan replied.

  She stood up, her legs feeling like jelly and sauntered over to join the group. She felt a bit embarrassed right then, but Angela did not seem to know what Teegan had just been thinking about. It should have been obvious on her face, but apparently Angela was pretty clueless.

  Teegan took a few deep breaths and tried to settle herself down. She was not sure she could take two more days of not knowing if Cort had called her or not. She desperately wanted to be here, she was having the time of her life. It was everything she’d ever hoped it would be.

  But right now all she could think about was Cort.

  She had to have that man. He’d become everything to her.

  And that was terrifying.

  10

  Cort

  Cort threw his phone down on his desk and leaned back trying to calm himself down, but he was getting so pissed. It had been three days since the night with Teegan. He’d just left another voicemail against his better judgment asking her to give him a call. It was starting to look very bleak and he felt that these phone games were a bit futile.

  He hated this feeling of helplessness. He was going stark raving mad over this woman and he felt powerless to do anything but wait by the phone like some lovelorn teenager. It was humiliating. If any of his friends knew he was doing this they would give him a ribbing that he would never live down. Hell, if the public found out that he was being snubbed by a random girl he’d hooked up with in a dark alley he would have been the joke of the nation.

  He took a deep breath and poured himself a shot of whiskey. It was barely lunch time but he didn’t really care. He needed something to take the edge off and some sweet scotch would usually do the trick.

  Still he hated feeling so damn worthless. So he decided to go old school on the matter. Cort fired up the internet and began to do some searching for Teegan Norton. He had no sooner started the search then he realized he had no idea what part of the States she was even from, not really. It might have all been a lie. There had to be thousands of girls named Teegan Norton out there. He was never going to find her. He didn’t even have a picture of her.

  But he did have her phone number. Cort tried to do a reverse search on the number. But it came up nothing. After all it was a pay as you go disposable phone. It was probably not even really registered in her name. Ugh what was a man to do?

  He poured another drink and then laughed as he finished it up. To think this sweet, beautiful girl was doing this to the prince of Rovenia. That was a huge laugh. But it was also very sad. His heart felt like someone had just pierced it with a dagger. It was painful. He just wanted to find this girl, talk to her, hold her in his arms—was that too much to ask? Apparently it was.

  How had he become so in love with this woman he barely knew? Was that what he was feeling? Was it love? Infatuation? What was really the difference? Oh, he’d heard a million songs, seen loads of movies, read tons of books all about this very thing and he realized right now that he had not learned a damn thing from any of that about how to handle this type of situation.

  “This is ridiculous. I’m going out of my mind,” he laughed.

  A knock came on his door just then.

  “What?” He answered hastily.

  It was one of his couriers telling him that the Parliament had reached a decision and he was summoned to their chambers at once.

  Cort took a deep breath and followed the courier.

  “We’ve evaluated the matter that you have presented to us,” Maricle began when Cort arrived. He made sure to enter the room with the type of strong bravado expected of a soon to be king, but inside he was shaking like a leaf.

  “I’m pleased to hear that,” Cort said. He tried to keep the positive attitude flowing. He really needed to hear some good news right about now.

  “After careful consideration the council has reached the decision that the law will be upheld. You are to find a bride by your thirtieth birthday if you expect to assume the throne.”

  “What? I thought I made my points very clear on this!” Cort yelled.

  “You will conduct yourself properly in this court. Do I make myself clear Prince?” Maricle asked.

  “Yes,” Cort said calmly.

  “This decision is final. You will not change the ruling. If you do not secure a bride by said time then your uncle Charles will assume the throne.”

  Cort knew it was futile to argue. The decision had been made and there was not a damn thing he was going to be able to do about it. He shuddered at the thought of his dimwit uncle, his father’s younger brother, assuming the crown. The country would fall apart if this happened. His uncle had been married for some years but he hardly even spoke to his wife and routinely had women sent to his room. He spent at least half of every day in bed with food, wine, and women. It was appalling and unbefitting of someone who was about to assume the title of King. Didn’t the council see that?

  No. They wanted to uphold the laws that had been in place for so long, no matter what the better alternative would be.

  “Do you have anything else to say?” Maricle asked.

  To Cort it seemed almost like a bait or a dare of some sort. He almost believed that the Maricle was enjoying this.

  He probably was.

  “No. I have nothing farther.”

  “Very well then. Meeting adjourned,” Maricle said.

  Cort started to walk away but stopped himself.

  “Actually,” he began.

  Maricle looked annoyed. “Yes?”

  “If I were to get married before my thirtieth birthday then I will assume the throne.”

  “Of course.”

  “Ok,” Cort said.

  He was not going to play their game. It was quite possible that these old fogies had just played themselves right into his hands.

  Cort left the chambers, and headed for the gym. He needed to do some boxing and blow off some steam while he calculated his next move.

  “Wow, I think you knocked him out,” Brody said.

  Markus was lying on the canvas after taking a vicious roundhouse punch from Cort. It was a clean knockout punch and it had decked him hard to the mat. It was a good thing that he was wearing head gear.

  After a few moments he got to his feet. “Oh, that sucked in so many ways…” Markus said.

  “You’ll live,” Cort replied. It had been a while since he and the boys had done some kickboxing. It was always a fun way to relieve stress, and right now Cort wanted to do just that.

  “So, want to go grab a few beers?” Brody asked.

  “Nah,” Cort said. “I need to meet with the team.”

  The team was his own team of personal advisors. He met with them to discuss personal life choices and they advised him on legalities relating to the job of being Prince.

  “Do you think there is anything they can do?” Brody asked.

  “I’m not sure, but it’s the only play I have right now. If there is a way to find a loophole around this,
then they are the guys to do it.”

  Cort said goodbye to his boys and headed off to meet with the team.

  He just prayed there was something that could be done.

  11

  Teegan

  Teegan sat down on the bus clutching at her bag. It felt good to be sitting in a vehicle again, knowing that she was on her way back to real civilization. The past three days had been challenging, but so rewarding. She would never forget the experience and it was something that she’d always remember fondly. Having the privilege of working with Siri one on one and getting to know and commune with the others was a once in a lifetime experience. She was still a bit in shock that she’d been chosen and she felt that by the third day she was really starting to impress Siri and the others, although some of the others were obviously a bit jealous. There were some good, dedicated practitioners there, but Teegan was impressed with how well she held her own and she actually felt that she might have taught a few of them something.

  It felt a bit odd to be thinking so highly of herself, when she was usually a bit reserved and tended to suffer from self-doubt in herself from time to time, but Siri had given her a lot of praise, but it was hard earned. He’d really pushed her and then she started to push herself. And she would be able to take a lot of these teachings back to her own students and get their feedback as well. Hopefully she still had students to go back to. She needed to talk to Ellie and find out how everything was getting along without her there.

  As the bus drove away heading back towards the hotel Teegan unzipped her bag and grabbed her cell phone. She clutched it in her hand for several minutes just feeling it, glad to have this little beacon to the real world back in her possession. It was funny how much she missed having the phone, but by the second day she forgot about it. And now it was here she was almost frantic with the thought of how she’d gotten along without it.

  She opened up the cheap little flip phone and was excited to see she had a few missed phone calls. That was when she thought of Cort. He’d been in her thoughts incessantly since she’d left him three days ago. During her activities she’d been able to distract herself just enough to focus on the task at hand and push thoughts of him out of her mind, but at night when everyone was relaxing around the fire she couldn’t think of anything else.

  She opened up the missed calls and saw that she had two voicemails. The phone suddenly felt slippery in her hand as her palms started to sweat. Her breath began to come in short rapid gasps and she felt a bit dizzy. Closing her eyes she tried to get a grip on herself, a small giggle escaping her dry throat. Mira, a girl sitting across from her gave her a strange glance. Teegan smiled warmly and then went back to phone, blocking out the rest of the world.

  She saw the missed calls were both from a number she did not recognize, but they were both the same number. It had to be Cort. She wiped a few beads of sweat from her forehead and watched the screen so long it began to grow dim until she pushed the home button to bring it back.

  What was she waiting for? She wanted to listen to these messages, she had to… It would be so good to hear his voice again. Had it really only been three days? Why did it feel more like three months?

  And why was she still waiting?

  Teegan selected the first voice mail and held the phone to her ear. It was Cort! The sound of his husky voice sent ripples of goosebumps up and down the back of her neck. Soon her whole body was tingling. How did this man have so much control over her and the way she felt when they barely knew each other? What started off as just a chance encounter with a sexy, fun stranger passionate sex in an alleyway had somehow become what felt like the biggest defining moment in her life. She was falling for Cort; she knew that. She felt somehow closer to him than men she’d had serious relationships with. That’s what was so scary. It wasn’t normal was it? To feel so close, so desperately needy for the touch of someone she barely knew.

  She didn’t care though. Teegan felt the way she felt and she’d made a decision long ago to give in to her desires and her feelings. There was no sense in hiding who she was or what she truly wanted, what would make her happy in this life just to worry about what was considered normal or not. This was her life. And she was damn sure going to live it.

  As she listened to both of Cort’s messages she began to get a bit worried. His second message, did she detect a bit of desperation in his voice? He didn’t sound as confident and relaxed as he normally did. Was it because of her?

  No, it couldn’t be… unless he felt the same way she did? Was that possible? She thought he probably wouldn’t even call her and here she had two voicemails from him within three days. That meant something, didn’t it? If he wasn’t that interested he probably wouldn’t have called back when she didn’t call him back right?

  Teegan felt the tingling moving through her stomach now turning into butterflies. It was like she wanted to run out of her own skin. She wanted to jump up and shout with the excitement she was feeling right now but somehow she found the restraint to stay seated. The bus trip could not possibly be short enough. She wanted to call Cort the first chance she got and talk with him. She had to explain herself and why she hadn’t called him back. Oh, he probably thought she was just messing with him and leading him on. The thought made her sick that she might have blown it again with this amazing man.

  But the timing was just bad. Surely he would understand that. If she ever got a chance to speak with him that was. What if he didn’t want to talk with her now? Teegan took a deep breath. All she could do was try. She had his number now. If anything she could track him down that way, right? Unless that would seem psychotic. She surely didn’t want him thinking she was some kind of a stalker.

  Oh, why was this all so complicated?

  When the bus dropped her off she decided that she needed a drink to calm herself down before she called Cort. She was a nervous wreck and would have probably come off speaking a mile a minute and sounded like some crazy person. She had to maintain the air of cool the way she did the other night. Of course she had been drinking the other night.

  “Maybe that is the key,” she giggled to herself.

  Teegan found a quaint little bar not far from her hotel and ordered a cocktail and a sandwich. She was suddenly starving.

  The place was pretty busy for a pub during the midday of a weekday. It was filled mostly with business men and women grabbing a quick lunch and a few drinks before heading back to the office. That was definitely something you didn’t see as much of in the States. Drinking in the middle of the workday was often frowned upon. Teegan quickly wolfed down her sandwich and finished her drink. It was a delicious version of a Manhattan. It had some weird name she couldn’t pronounce but it was very fruity and she could hardly taste the alcohol.

  But she was starting to feel it almost right away, that relaxing warm feeling, the buzz settling in. She already felt a lot more calm and ready to talk to Cort again, reverting herself back to that sultry vixen he’d first met at the bar the other night.

  Teegan pulled up the phone and was about to press send to dial the number when her eyes landed on the television above the bar. Even though the bar was fairly busy it was also pretty quiet, everyone having private conversations in understated hushed tones. It was a very relaxing atmosphere.

  On the television Teegan could hear a news story developing on the television.

  “The Parliament has reached a final decision on the appeals of the Prince and his desire to secede his father to the throne in the upcoming month. The Prince must choose a bride before his thirtieth birthday, just three weeks away, or he will have to forfeit the throne to his uncle. So, it would appear that some lucky lady out there is about to become a bride and queen all within the next month. Unless the Prince has other plans… According to his advisors he is still reluctant to choose a bride and he is fighting this decision tooth and nail. We will bring you more on this as soon as we have more news.”

  Teegan laughed at the idea. That sounded like such an old
fashioned and silly rule. But it was going to make some girl pretty happy to marry a bona fide prince and become Queen.

  Teegan started to glance away and make her phone call, taking another deep breath to steady her shaky nerves when the image on the screen flashed over to a picture. The image was striking. It appeared in the corner of her eye and garnered her full attention immediately.

  On the screen with a big smile and the words “Prince Cort Monreau” was Cort. Her Cort!

  He was on the television… Prince Cort Monreau?

  Teegan couldn’t breathe.

  12

  Cort

  “I’m afraid we are out of plays,” Alex Skarg said with defeat in his voice.

  Cort glanced up from the book he was trying to read. His head was starting to throb with the nonstop stress and strain of dealing with the Parliament. The council was standing firm by their decision and they had the law on their side. Changing a law was tricky and it would certainly have taken more time than Cort had and a lot more hurdles to be deflected before any progress would be really made on this issue. He was sunk. And everyone knew it.

  “Keep searching,” Cort said.

  Alex sighed heavily. “My Prince, there is nothing else to be done. You will have to find a bride, and do it soon if you hope to accept the throne. There is nothing else to be done. You are trying to cram years of constitutional debate and amendment within the span of a few weeks. It can’t be done. The only ones who can make exceptions to this are the council and they’ve made it clear that they are not budging.”

  Cort threw the book across the room narrowly missing Alex’s head. It slammed into the wall and scattered across the floor. He hadn’t meant to get that close to his trusted advisor’s head, but the frustration was overwhelming. He wanted to scream and tear something up. He wanted to grab every member of the council and beat some good sense into their old heads.