by Vi Carter
“I clearly wasn’t,” I answer without looking at him.
He pushes the ice bag harder against my ankle getting my attention.
His jaw is clenched as he stares at me. I’m trying to pretend that he does not rattle me. His presence alone has a serious impact on me. He was born to lead. He was born to silence a room. He was born perfect.
His fingers brush the skin just under my trousers as he pushes them up; I feel his touch all the way through my skin.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?” His words weren't growled for the first time since he brought me back to his apartment. I take stock of my body before shaking my head. The only injury I have from the fall is my ankle.
His thumb continues to stroke the skin above my ankle and the impact has me wanting to squeeze my legs tightly together.
“I’m sorry about your friend,” I say, and he immediately stops.
His inky gaze grows harder, but I prefer this side to Thorn; the tender and softer side will undo me, and I need to remember why I’m here and who he is.
The ice is removed from my leg, and he gets up but doesn’t move away from the couch. Instead, he drops the ice pack on the table and turns to me. Once again, he picks me up, my hands immediately wrapping around his neck.
“I shouldn’t have gotten angry at you; it wasn’t your fault.”
I have no words for a moment as he carries me to the bedroom. He lays me gently down on the bed, and I notice the dark circles under his eyes. What kind of pressure does he have on his shoulders?
“I’m still sorry,” I say after a beat of silence.
He nods and releases me, but my foolish body doesn’t want him to go away.
“Do you need a hand?” He juts his chin out towards my trousers.
I could manage; I could do a lot of things but find myself nodding at him. Thorn steps back up to the bed and bends over me. His long fingers brush against my stomach that I suck in on reflection as he unbuttons my trousers. I raise my arse as he drags them down my legs.
My heart jumps in my chest as his gaze starts at my toes and travels the full length of my legs.
“I’ve the right mind to finish what we started.” His voice is deeper, his eyes filling with a want.
I don’t answer him as he sits on the edge of the bed and grips the bottom of my top. He pulls it easily over my head. “I can give you one of my t-shirts to sleep in.” He doesn’t move to get the t-shirt; instead, his eyes drink in my breasts that grow heavy in my bra. The lacy material doesn’t do much to hide my hardening nipples.
Disappointment laces through me when he stands up. Blood pounds in my ears as he drags his top off, and I’m looking at his tanned, chiseled chest. I don’t get much time as he pulls down his trousers and boxers. His cock springs free, and I sink back into the pillows. This wasn’t me. I didn’t just sleep with people. Thorn stops at his bedside table and takes out a condom. Color burns my face, but I’ve never wanted anyone like I want him, so I hold his gaze as he opens the packet. I have an ample amount of time to stop him as he rolls the condom onto his large erection.
He pauses, giving me more time before he climbs onto the bed. He’s gentle with my injured leg as he pulls down my damp panties and spreads my legs.
There is no foreplay. We don’t need it as he drives his cock inside. My pussy immediately tightens around him, and I grasp his shoulders, dragging him closer. The pain in my ankle rises again but the pleasure of Thorn filling me eradicates it as he plows his cock into me with a need I match. I don’t understand it, but I want more. He pulls out before plunging back in, each time going deeper and harder. I cry out with each slam of his body against mine. His breaths are harsh, his groans mingled with mine. The louder I groan, the faster he moves, and I don’t want to come so quickly. I don’t want this to end.
I’m not sure if he senses my withdrawal from the moment, but he pulls out of me and cups a breast in his hand. The instant he touches it, I want him back inside me fucking me hard and fast. The pinch he gives my nipple is short-lived before he bends down and captures it in between his teeth. The pain has more liquid pooling between my legs, and I want to tighten them in case I come, but his large frame keeps them apart. He gives my nipple one final suck before he impales me with his large cock. My cries are louder, and if anyone is in the hall or even next door, I’m sure they can hear my screams. That thought should make me pull back, but I can’t as Thorn’s body smashes into mine, demanding my release. He drives himself harder and faster into me, and I can’t hold out any longer as my walls tighten around his cock, and I cry out. He moves faster until he blows his load inside me; each time he smashes into me, it’s hard and heavy but slows down as he cries out too. His body lands on top of mine, but I know he’s holding most of his weight off of me. I can’t breathe and tap his chest.
Thorn pulls out and slowly takes the condom off that’s filled with his cum. He leaves me, and I lie still in his bed, still fighting to calm my racing heart. My heart starts to slow as my body burns from what I just did, what I want to do again. Thorn moves around in the bathroom. The toilet flushes, water is turned on and off. When he emerges naked, I can’t not look at him. My nipples instantly grow hard, and I wonder how I can be ready for him again. As his gaze drags across my flesh, his cock starts to grow. My heart rate starts to rise as we stare at each other.
A ringing phone breaks the moment, but it doesn’t douse the flames that burn deep inside of me.
Thorn doesn’t leave immediately, and I don’t want him to.
“I’ll just be a moment.” The promise is delivered with a smirk that has my stomach tightening. Once he leaves, I have a moment of wondering what the hell I’m doing. I’m not someone who sleeps around, but the draw that brings me to Thorn is something I haven’t felt before. I’m so lost in my thoughts that I haven’t noticed Thorn has returned to the room. He’s still naked, still looking like a bronzed god, but it’s in his dark gaze that something is wrong, that his gaze isn’t dragging across my body as it had seconds ago. I’m sitting up, my heart paying attention to the seriousness of his gaze.
“What’s wrong?” Is this the part he tells me to get out of his bed, that he had his fun with me?
“It’s your brother.” Thorn steps into the room.
My heart sinks quicker than I expect, dragging all the oxygen with it. They found him, alive or dead? Or he’s handed over the money, and I’m free to go? Or he spent the money?
I pull the quilts over my body, feeling exposed in a completely different kind of way.
“We found him.” Thorn continues before he starts to get dressed.
Thorn won’t look at me now as he buttons up his jeans. “He’s not in good shape, Brooke.”
I’m getting out of the bed; my nakedness no longer an issue. “What did you do to him?” My voice screeches.
Thorn puts on his shirt. “We found him in a dumpster.”
Fear strangles my throat, and my legs give way. While I was here fucking Thorn, my brother’s body was in a dumpster. I land heavily on the bed and blink. Thorn appears as he kneels down in front of me.
“I don’t know what happened, but he’s in the hospital. Get dressed, and I’ll take you.”
I’m searching his face for a lie. “He’s alive?”
“Yeah.” Thorn rises, and I start to get dressed.
My mind won’t slow, but I cling to the fact that my brother is alive; for now, that will have to do.
I’m ready to leave, but Thorn is still watching me. He looks like he wants to say something, but I don’t have time for it, so I move past him quickly, and he follows me out of his apartment door.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THORN
I KICK THE bike into gear, and we tear down the road. Brooke’s arms are wrapped tightly around my waist. Her head is buried in my back, and I hate how fucking right it feels to have her on my bike. I hate how right it felt to be buried in-between her legs. She was the perfect balance of light and dark for me. The draw I ha
d towards her has me pushing down faster on the accelerator; I wanted her to see her brother. I want to make this right for her. The truth is, I didn’t think I could as far as Carter was concerned. He stole from the MC, and that wasn’t to be taken lightly.
We enter the hospital, and when Brooke reaches back and grips my hand, I find myself squeezing it. This was too many shades of fucked upped, but I wasn’t letting her go through this alone. From what Stone said, her brother was in really bad shape. Someone had gotten to him before us.
Brooke releases my hand as she approaches the receptionist to find out what room Carter is in. The moment she hears the words intensive care, her face crumbles.
She’s reaching for me again. I’m not sure if she’s aware that she is gripping my hand; either way, I let her.
“It’s going to be okay,” I reassure her with false hope. Her dark gaze swings back to me, and I see how badly she wants to believe me.
Stone is leaning against the wall in the corridor and pushes off when he sees us. His gaze zeroed in on our joined hands. I know how fucked up this looks, but I don’t release Brooke’s hand until she lets mine go.
“You better not have hurt my brother.” Her warning is fired toward Stone, who raises both eyebrows. Stone is wise enough not to say anything, and Brooke doesn’t wait for a response as she enters her brother’s room.
Carter’s in a coma. Brooke is sitting beside him, holding his hand. Her shoulders shake, and I want to comfort her, but Stone is still standing beside me. I’m waiting for him to question why I was holding her hand, but he doesn’t.
“He had no bag on him. I searched the alleyway and all the other bins in case he had stashed it, but nothing.” Stone’s jaw clenches, and my reaction is the same. We are rightly fucked. I needed that money.
“Put the word out on the street, see what you hear.”
“Already have.” Stone looks in the window at Brooke and Carter. The need to block her from his view has me stuffing my hands in my pockets.
“You want me to take care of this.” He means kill him. It’s what should be done. He stole from me. He stole from the MC.
But I can’t. “No.”
Stone’s gaze is heavy on the side of my face, and I turn to him. “I want to hear what he has to say when he wakes up.” I do, I want to know where my money went, but also I can’t bear to take him from Brooke. I have no idea what she sees in him; he’s a user and shouldn’t have been given half a chance.
“I’m heading back to the bar.”
I slap Stone on the arm as he walks away. The bar was still an issue that hadn’t been resolved, but with enough time, I’d find out who shot it up.
Brooke sniffles as I walk into the room. I pull up a chair and sit beside her. She leans into me immediately and fuck me; I love it.
“He’ll be okay,” I reassure her.
“God, I hope so.” She wipes her nose before looking at me. “What happens now?”
I drag her back into my side. “Now, you just focus on Carter getting better.”
“Is he okay with the MC, I mean? You got your money?”
Brooke’s brown eyes focus on me.
I shake my head. Not wanting to say it.
She doesn’t look as devastated as I thought she would. I have no idea what’s going through her mind as she turns back to her brother.
I prayed that when he woke up, he could tell me that he stashed the money somewhere. No matter what, the MC would demand his blood. I tighten my hold on Brooke. “For now, don’t worry about that.” Once he woke up, that was a different story.
A knock on the window draws my attention. “I’ll be just a minute.”
Snapper is outside. Each step I take, I hope it’s with news about the money, but straight away I can see it isn’t. There is nothing joyful on Snappers face.
“Just thought I’d swing by and see how he is doing.”
I close the door behind me. “He’s alive.”
Snapper is staring in at Brooke and Carter. “Stone said the money is gone.”
I fold my arms across my chest and exhale. Tiredness drags heavily at me. “Yeah, I hope he stashed it somewhere.”
Silence is thick between us. Snapper is thinking about the alternative. He has always agreed with me that going down the road that my father went down isn’t an option.
“Can I go in?”
“Yeah.”
Snapper goes in, and the moment Brooke sees him, her eyes soften. He has that kind of effect on women.
I stay watching him talk to her, comfort her, and I don’t have an overwhelming feeling to barge in and get him away from her. I just watch and wait. Having feelings for Brooke complicates this situation. I could walk away now and do what needs to be done, but I know deep down that I’m already caught up in having feelings for Brooke. I don’t want to let her go, but harming her brother is a necessary evil. One I hope I won’t have to carry out. If he wakes up and tells us where the money is, there might be hope.
EPILOGUE
BROOKE
I WRAP MY arms around Thorn’s waist as we tear down the highway. I love the smell of fresh air and leather that clings to him. Burying my head into his vest, I close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of the motorcycle beneath us. If someone had said a few months ago that I would be here with Thorn, I would have laughed.
The motorcycle slows down as Thorn pulls up to the rocky area that juts out over the small town of Woodlands.
My foot touches the ground once he had the bike balanced. I kiss his shoulder before climbing off and remove my helmet.
“Isn’t this romantic?” I walk to the edge and stare out over the town.
“It’s secluded.” Thorn moves up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. It had only been a few months, but I knew my life without him wouldn’t make sense. It hadn’t been easy with Carter in a coma, and even when he woke up, my relief was short-lived as the questions started.
He didn’t have the money. The MC wanted blood, but Thorn had stopped them from hurting Carter. I knew it was only for me, and I would be forever grateful for all he was doing. I lay my hands on top of his, and he hugs me a bit tighter.
“Did you get a hold of Carter?” Thorn asks, kissing the top of my head. Any topic with Carter is still sensitive.
“No. It’s been two days.” Thorn’s arms leave my waist, and I turn as he takes the bag out of the back of his bike. “I’m sure he’s fine.”
His words don’t comfort me like they once had. The sun is shining, but I wrap my arms around my waist as I look out over the town of Woodlands.
Carter had been clean for months and even gotten a job flipping burgers. I was proud of him. So him going missing the last two days had me worried. I had reported him missing, but I don’t think the officer at the station took one word I said seriously.
Thorn spreads out a blanket, and I sit down and shake off the feeling that something isn’t right. “Yeah, I’m sure you're right.”
Thorn towers over me, the sun outlining him. “Have I ever been wrong?”
I laugh at his confidence, and his smile still sends butterflies racing through me. I reach up and grip his hand, pulling him down onto the blanket. There is a lull as I look into the eyes of the man I love before pressing my lips against his.
“I love you,” I say. I’ve only said it recently, but nothing has ever felt so right.
“Of course you do. There is so much to love.”
His words have me smiling against his lips. “Can’t you just say you love me too?”
Thorn breaks the kiss and holds my face; his dark gaze roams across my face. “I love you, Brooke. Happy?” He raises a brow, and I can’t stop the smile that steals away all the forbidding emotions that had slowly started to grow in me over the past two days.
“Happy.” I declare, and he opens the bag, removing some sandwiches I had made earlier. We sit looking out over the cliff, and I hope things will continue to grow for us.
Being with Thorn feels so right.
I glance at him to find him watching me. “What?”
“You’re beautiful.” He leans across and places a kiss to the side of my mouth before placing a second one on my lips. My fingers tighten on his shirt as I drag him closer. My body already wants him more than the food or even the air.
His phone starts to ring, and as he draws away, I pull him back into me. “Leave it,” I beg. It’s always club business, and just for this moment, I don’t want it to be. The ringtone is ‘Highway to Hell.’
“You need to change your ringtone,” I speak in between kisses.
Thorn pulls away and sighs. “That one is reserved for my ma.”
I see it already in his eyes. “Answer it.” I release him. He presses a quick kiss to my lips before taking the phone out of his pocket.
“Yes, Ma.”
I’m about to resume eating my sandwich when Thorn rises. It’s the way his jaw is clenched and how his shoulders move higher that I know something is wrong. Rising, I’m watching him nodding.
“When?”
I can’t hear what his mother is saying.
“Who did he murder?”
My stomach twists at the word murder.
“Okay. I’m on my way.”
I’m already packing up our bag. “What happened?”
Fear clutches my throat.
“My brother, Ash, was just arrested for murder.”
Thorn kicks the motorcycle to life, and I climb on with the bag on my back.
I want to ask would he really murder someone, but I wasn’t naïve about the MC, you wronged them, and they came for blood.
My mind goes full circle back to Carter. I hoped we would find him soon. Tightening my hands around Thorn’s waist, I had to believe that everything would be okay.
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