Vendetta Road

by Christine Feehan

  “Maestro has talent.” Ice turned his head and looked at his woman. “So do you, princess. I had no idea he was doing this. You managed to distract me, and that just doesn’t happen.”

  There was even one photograph that captured a passerby in the background, peering through the window at them.

  “I’m not certain we can show anyone this album.”

  He laughed. “I want to show the world.”

  “You would.”

  He turned the pages, seeing her dressing, having her hair styled, putting on jewelry. There were close-ups of his ring, the one he’d meticulously drawn out, cut out and then had laminated. He had since made her wedding ring and his, and both wore them. She’d kept the laminated one. He’d seen it in her drawer, wrapped carefully in a silk scarf. He planned to find her something fancy to keep it in.

  There were more pictures of her getting onto his bike in her wedding gown. The chapel with the little grimy man who was all about the money. Ice didn’t care, he’d pronounced them man and wife. Kissing his bride. The bar. Walking in, his hand on her tit.

  His cock stirred just looking at the faces of the men in the bar as they came in. She looked regal. His princess. Gorgeous. His mouth feeding on her breast, leaving those beautiful marks that told the world she was his.

  Their party. The cake. The toasts. So many of his brothers raising their glasses to wish him well. He turned more pages and then he stopped abruptly when her hand came down to prevent him from turning to the next page. He was deliberately slow when he turned his head to look at her. Inside he was laughing, but he did his best to look innocent.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I believe Maestro is now back taking the pictures.”

  He pretended to study the series of photographs. “I think you’re right.”

  “You know I’m right.” There was pure accusation in her tone.

  “You really didn’t mind at all.”

  She hadn’t protested, not when he’d undone the lacy halter of her wedding dress to leave nothing between his mouth and her tits.

  “You have amazing tits.” He touched one reverently. “They photograph so well I’m wondering if you could make a good living just having shots taken of them.”

  She laughed, just like he knew she would. He turned the page and she was lying on the pool table, spread out for him like a feast and he was eating cake off her. Smearing her tits and bare pussy lips with frosting to lick it off.

  Then there was a series of Ice devouring her. He loved the ones Maestro got of her face as an orgasm rushed over her. He’d fucked her with his fingers, right there on the pool table, with his brothers cheering him on. She was beautiful. Glowing. Her skin was flushed and marked by his mouth and hands. Maestro had captured every image. She had reciprocated, using her mouth to get him off, swallowing him down. He remembered every single moment and was very happy they had a pool table so he could re-create that scene, but not tonight.

  “I think you’re the most amazing man that has ever been born,” she said, and touched the photograph of him devouring her, his face between her legs.

  “It’s my favorite place to be, especially when I wake up,” he said. “You’re so beautiful, babe, and so—” He broke off and turned back one page. “Look at you, Soleil. The way you look when you stroked my cock. When you crawled in a circle around that pool table top, following me around, your gaze on me. You look so—” He broke off again.

  “In love with your cock?” She laughed softly. Her fingers stroked him through his jeans.

  “Yeah, but more than that. As if I counted. As if I mattered and what I needed or wanted, you would give me.”

  The smile faded from her face, to be replaced by so much tenderness he almost had to look away. “I love you so much, Ice. I want to find every way I can to make you happy.”

  He closed the album reluctantly. There were more pages, but he’d look at them later. Right now, he needed to get his woman upstairs into bed.

  “So, babe, gotta ask you.” He took his time, using the remote to turn off the fire as they stood to head upstairs. “This morning . . .”

  Soleil looked up at him quickly, her long lashes veiling her eyes so she looked innocent. He knew that look. That meant just the opposite.

  “Boys were over. We’re talking and laughing and having a good time at breakfast, which was fabulous, by the way. You’re an amazing cook.”

  He put his hand on the small of her back as they went up the stairs. He loved the shape of her. The way she felt under his hand. So feminine. That little sway in her hips.

  “Thank you, honey. I love my lessons. I’ve learned so much from Alena.”

  She had thrown herself into making their house a home. One by one, she was working on each room in the house, slowly redesigning the interior. All the while, she worked at learning to cook. She seemed to really enjoy it. When they went out, which wasn’t that often, they went to Alena’s restaurant. Usually, she would go into the kitchen to talk to Alena about a specific recipe or Alena would come out to sit and talk with them if she wasn’t too busy—which was almost never.

  Their bedroom door was always kept closed. Every other door was open in the house, welcoming, but she kept the door to the master bedroom closed. For some reason that gave him the feeling of intimacy. It was theirs alone. Their secret haven where no one else was welcome.

  “This morning, you brought up money again. You never do that.”

  She pressed her lips together and then pulled off her T-shirt and bra, probably in the hopes of distracting him. Ordinarily, that was all it would take, but this time, he wasn’t going to get sidetracked. She was always honest with him, and if he asked the right questions, he’d get his answer because she’d done that deliberately, knowing what his response would be.

  “Yes, I’m sorry.” Her hands dropped to her jeans and she unzipped them and shimmied out of them.

  “What did I tell you to do?”

  A small little smile of satisfaction curved her mouth. “What you always tell me. Crawl under the table and suck you off.”

  His cock jumped at the memory. Sitting at breakfast, his plate full, his coffee perfect, and his brothers filling him in on the progress Code had made in looking up each man in the club wanting to patch over to Torpedo Ink. They’d done it for one small club, only because Gavriil had vouched for them, and after meeting them and getting to know them, they’d voted to bring them in. It didn’t necessarily follow that a second club made up of Russian assassins, men like them that had gone to one of the other three schools, was a right fit. They had to take their time, get to really know those other men in order to call them brothers.

  The sun shone through the windows and he was feeling great when she’d suddenly brought up that she wanted to purchase a new rug for one of the smaller guestrooms, but no worries, she was using her own money. He’d caught her hair in his fist and assisted her to the floor, barking the order to suck him off. Soleil hadn’t hesitated. She hadn’t fumbled at his belt or when slipping his jeans down when he’d lifted himself off the seat. She’d gone straight to work, making it difficult to hear or think. She’d swallowed every single drop and then meticulously cleaned him, taking her time and doing it right. He’d had a hell of an ache the rest of the day, but he’d felt like a million dollars.

  “Why did you bring up money?”

  “Well . . .” She hesitated.

  Red flags went up fast. She wouldn’t lie to him, he knew that, but something was a little off-kilter.

  “I wanted your cock in my mouth and I thought you might be upset enough with me that you’d want to teach me a lesson the way you did the last time. It was amazing.” She made the confession in a rush, her face flushing.

  He lifted her chin with two fingers, forcing her to look at him. “I don’t want you ever embarrassed to talk about sex with me. You should be comfortable enoug
h to ask for anything in bed that you want. Anything, Soleil. You don’t like something, you tell me. I want to know fast, up front. That’s important. You understand me?” They’d had the discussion before, but he wanted to reiterate to her how it important it was.

  She nodded and walked across the room to the glass wall, staring out at the crashing waves. Ice shook his head as he removed his boots and socks and then his shirt. He padded across the room barefoot to stand behind her.

  “That wasn’t the real reason, princess. It crossed your mind, but that’s not why. I want you to tell me why.” He wrapped his arms around her and covered her breasts with his hands. Her tits felt soft and sexy in his palms. He dropped his chin on top of her head as he stared out into the night.

  They hadn’t turned on a light in their room. They really didn’t need to. The ocean always seemed to give off light, even on stormier nights. The dimmer lighting always made the ambience in their bedroom sexier.

  “You’ve been a little edgy lately. I noticed since the last big party, you’ve been careful. I realized you were afraid of having a flashback and somehow hurting or upsetting me. It doesn’t. You aren’t violent.”

  “But I lose myself and us.” That really bothered him.

  “For a moment, Ice. You came back to me right away. You know my touch. My mouth. My body. You know my voice. There’s power in that for me. I get to be the one who comes to your aid for a change. You always take care of me. I know I can do this for you and I’m not afraid.”

  “How about disgusted? The things I did . . .”

  “Honey, you were a child. You keep thinking you had power to change it, but you didn’t. When we have children and you see how young they are, you’ll realize it, but for now, you have me when things get rough, and I swear to you, I’ll always be there for you.” She turned her head to look up at him so lovingly, his heart melted.

  He could see she meant it. His woman would take his back no matter how bad things got, but he wanted to warn her. “It’s going to happen again and again. And I have nightmares. They never go away, Soleil.”

  She nodded. “I’m aware. I spent a lot of time with psychologists. Kevin thought I needed counseling. I think they all needed it after being my counselor.” She rubbed his arms and leaned back into him. “I love taking care of you.”

  “That means crawling under a table to suck my cock?”

  “The point was, your brothers were there, and you didn’t flinch, Ice. You feel safe around them. At the party, there were others.”

  “From other schools, men who suffered other kinds of torture.”

  She shook her head. “Not pedophiles. Not criminals. They have no idea what you’ve been through. I don’t know and you told me part of it. A small part, but enough that I know only your seventeen brothers and sisters know the entire truth, and maybe not even them. But you feel safe with them. You know they’ll protect you.”

  “No,” he clarified, “I know they’ll protect you. That’s what is important to me. I like exhibition, but not all the time and not when it isn’t safe. That’s what I’ve been learning lately. I put you in a dangerous position on that run. It isn’t ever happening again. If my brothers are close and we can control a situation, that’s one thing, but not when things could go to hell fast. When I can learn to trust the others in other chapters to keep you safe, maybe I’ll be able to be okay with showing you off, but I don’t want to take chances with you. If I offered you to another man, or group of men, Soleil, I’d probably kill myself.”

  “I wouldn’t let that happen.”

  He was silent for a moment, rubbing his chin back and forth on the top of her head. “You’re a little wild, and you like it when we have sex like that, out in the open, but I don’t want to take chances, not unless my brothers and sisters are close.”

  “I’m okay with that, honey.”

  Her voice reassured him. She meant it. The relief was tremendous. “Before I’m so preoccupied with the more important things in life, I need to tell you, I’d like you to do some drawings for me.” He nuzzled the top of her head again, liking the way her hair caught in his bristles. “For my jewelry. You were talking about ideas you had, and I got to thinking about them. What I’ve been doing is a piece here and there that calls to me. I see it clearly, and I take a long time to make it because it has to feel a certain way to me.”

  “Your work is beautiful.”

  “You haven’t painted since we’ve been together. I made you that little art studio and you haven’t gone in once. Sketch in there and then start painting again. You’re good, and there’s a local gallery in Sea Haven.”

  Her eyes were so bright they were nearly glowing. “I can do that. I would love it, but Ice, you’re very good, and I was only talking silliness. Nothing I come up with is going to equal—” She broke off when his hand came up to cover her mouth briefly.

  “I want you to sketch out those ideas. They were inspiring. A few of the jewelry stores I work with have asked for a line they can have in their stores, and it occurred to me that I could do an exclusive line for a couple of stores, the jewelry won’t be anywhere but in their store. That way, my work is still very limited, and I can do my one-of-a-kind pieces, but we can pull in a little more money.”

  She opened her mouth, and he knew immediately she was going to remind him she had money. He found himself smirking.

  “Ice. You don’t actually have to work if you don’t want to. I’ve got money. You never even looked into my finances.”

  “What did I tell you to do with your money? Save it for our kids. Give it to any charity you want to give it to. Sponsor a million children in another country. Set up a battered women’s shelter or, better yet, apartments with low rent, so once they’re on their feet the women will be able to make it on their own. Any damn thing you want, baby, as long as I’m the one taking care of you.”

  She threw her hands into the air. “You’re so insane. I don’t have a clue what I’m going to do with you.”

  “I know exactly what I’m going to do with you. First, instead of fucking your brains out, my beautiful little princess, I’m going to make love to my wife. I’m going to take my time and kiss every single inch of her. I want her to know that she’s the most important person in my life.”

  She turned her head and looked up at him in that way she had, as if he were her sun, the moon and the stars all rolled into one.

  “When I’m absolutely certain that she understands that and feels loved, then, because you just keep bringing up your money, and you know the consequences, I’m getting my cock sucked and I’m not going to let you touch it. I’m in control the entire time. Then, you’re going to lie across my lap with a very hot little plug in you and I’m going to give you another lesson in remembering that one little rule, the only one I’ve laid down. Then I’m going to fuck your brains out.”

  She turned so her naked body was pressed tightly against his chest and slid her slender arms around his neck. “That sounds absolutely perfect to me.”

  That was Soleil. His woman. Perfect.

  TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH BIKER CLUBS

  1-percenters: This is a term often used in association with outlaw bikers, as in “99 percent of clubs are law-abiding, but the other 1 percent are not.” Sometimes the symbol is worn inside a diamond-shaped patch.

  3-piece patch or 3-piece: This term is used for the configuration of a club’s patch: the top piece, or rocker, with club name; a center patch that is the club’s logo; and a bottom patch or rocker with the club’s location, such as Sea Haven.

  Biker: someone who rides a motorcycle

  Biker friendly: a business that welcomes bikers

  Boneyard: refers to a salvage yard

  Cage: often refers to a car, van or truck (basically any vehicle not a motorcycle)

  Chapter: the local unit of a larger club

  Chase vehicle: a
vehicle following riders on a run just in case of a breakdown

  Chopper: customized bike

  Church: club meeting

  Citizen: someone not a biker

  Club: could be any group of riders banding together (most friendly)

  Colors: patches, logo, something worth fighting for because it represents who you are

  Cut: vest or denim jacket with sleeves cut off with club colors on them; almost always worn, even over leather jackets

  Dome: helmet

  Getting patched: Moving up from prospect to full club member (you would receive the logo patch to wear with rockers). This must be earned, and is the only way to get respect from brothers.

  Hang-around: anyone hanging around the club who might want to join

  Hog: nickname for motorcycle, mostly associated with Harley-Davidson

  Independent: a biker with no club affiliation

  Ink: tattoo

  Ink slinger: a tattoo artist

  Nomad: club member who travels between chapters; goes where he’s needed in his club

  Old lady: A wife or woman who has been with a man for a long time. It is not considered disrespectful nor does it have anything to do with how old one is.

  Patch holder: member of a motorcycle club

  Patches: Sewn on vests or jackets, these can be many things with meanings or just for fun, even gotten from runs made.

  Poser: pretend biker

  Property of: a patch displayed on a jacket, vest or sometimes a tattoo, meaning the woman (usually old lady or longtime girlfriend) is with the man and his club

  Prospect: someone working toward becoming a fully patched club member

  KEEP READING FOR AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT GHOSTWALKER NOVEL BY CHRISTINE FEEHAN