I take Katie by the hand and lead her to my room. When we step inside, I shut the door behind us and push her up against it, taking her mouth in a hard kiss while my hands run up her bare torso. Squeezing her breasts, I realize she’s braless. I delve my tongue into her mouth, and she sucks on it. I moan at the strong suction, imagining her doing the same thing to my dick, and quickly undo her shirt and open it up, palming her bare breasts with my hands. Kissing her one last time, I make my way down to her neck to her collarbone, then lick a path down to her breasts. I take a pert, pink nipple into my mouth and suck hard; she gasps, and I bite down on it before I move on to her other perky breast.
“Fuck me, Blaze, fuck me,” she begs, her hot breath panting into my ear and making my blood simmer.
I grab her hand and lead her to the bed, only to discover that the mattress is still on the floor. “What happened?” she asks, looking around the room. My boys had put a couple of things back, but there are still things scattered all over the place.
I let go of her hand and unzip my jeans, facing her. “Nothing. Only think you have to worry about, baby, is what’s inside these jeans,” I tease.
“Here, let me, I want to,” she says, eyes wide as she takes a good look at what I’m packin’. She removes her shirt and drops it to the floor, then goes down on her knees in front of me. She looks up at me as she finishes unbuttoning my jeans and rolls them over my hips. My tongue sneaks out to play with my lip ring, and I hear her sigh when she realizes I have no boxers on. My cock jerks as she holds the girth in her hand while her other palms my balls.
“Suck me,” I say, and let my head drop back as she slides her warm, wet mouth around my cock.
My hands reach out and hold a ponytail in each of them. I set the pace as I push her forward and back, trying to get myself off. “That’s it, darlin’, take it all.” I feel the tip of my cock hit the back of her throat, and she gags. I let go of her hair and grind my hips, and she moans with every thrust.
Minutes go by, and she’s good, I’ll give her that, and I’m trying so hard to come—but I can’t, because all I can picture is Tess, the way I feel when I’m in her mouth, the way she knows just how I like it.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to get rid of any image of Tess, but it doesn’t work. I open my eyes in defeat and look down at Katie, who should really get an A for effort. She continues to suck vigorously, her mouth making a popping sound each time she withdraws, leaving a sheen of saliva over my cock. The enthusiastic moans and whimpering alone should have me coming like a freight train, but I just can’t.
I turn my head to the side and see a photo frame holding a picture of Tess and I at a club party, kissing. I remember that day—it was the day she said she’d move in with me. I was the happiest man alive. I’d kissed her, and Jasmine had taken that photo. A week later, Jasmine had it printed and gave it to us as a gift, in a fancy frame and wrapped nicely—said she wanted to capture our happiness and give us a constant reminder.
I stare at that photo for what seems a lifetime as Katie continues servicing my half-hard cock. “Enough!” I yell suddenly, my eyes still glued to the photo of Tess and me. She looked so beautiful that night.
“What’s wrong?” Katie asks, pulling off my dick and looking up at me with swollen lips and wide eyes. “Do you just want to fuck?”
I close my eyes and shake my head, running a hand through my hair. What the fuck was I thinking? Why would I ever think that Katie could make all my problems go away? No one can. I can fuck every girl in the clubhouse and I still wouldn’t forget Tess, because she’s been a part of my life for two fuckin’ years. I fuckin’ asked her to marry me! Twice! I move my hand to the back of my neck, rubbing at the tension there, and look down at Katie. “Just leave,” I say defeatedly.
She frowns, her perfectly manicured eyebrows meeting in the middle. “Wait. You want me to leave? But….”
I move back, out of her space. “Get your things and get the fuck out,” I growl, pointing to the door. Her jaw clacks together, and I reach down and pick my jeans up from around my feet, then zip them back up. Ignoring Katie’s presence, I turn and walk to the photo and bend down to pick it up off the floor, wiping away the shards of glass still stuck in the frame. I can hear Katie in the background shuffling into her shirt, but my eyes stay on the picture.
“Why…. Why?” I yell at the photo, and with my anger and hurt rising again, I turn and throw the picture against the wall.
Katie screams at my outburst, and rushes over the door and opens it, slamming it behind her. I fall to the mattress and punch my fist into it, letting the anger bleed out until I’m shaking with exhaustion. Then I do something I haven’t done since I was ten years old. I lie down on my mattress and let the pain fill me, tears flowing onto the fabric in a steady stream.
Tess
I rush out of the clubhouse with tears streaming down my face. All eyes are on me as I reach the main room and run between members of the Blood Brothers.
“Hey, are you all right?”
A hand comes down on my shoulder just as I exit the clubhouse, and I trip and fall to my knees. My keys, which I had out ready in my hand, fly to the ground, and I cover my face with my hands and cry uncontrollably, not caring that my knees are probably scraped up from the concrete.
I can’t seem to control the tears that are falling. Blaze was angry, hurt, I get that, but I hadn’t expected to find him in that state. I was gathering my courage to confront him, lie that I was leaving him, tell him that I didn’t love him anymore—but I was too late, he’d already found out everything. The real truth. A whole file filled with my past, and just like that, he knows it all.
“Hey, Tess, what’s going on?”
I get up off the hard ground with the help of Luísa’s arm.
“Thanks,” I say, bending down to pick up my keys.
“Tess, what’s going on?” she repeats, unaware I was trying to ignore her question.
I wipe my tears with the back of my hand and start to head straight to my car. “Tess… talk to me,” Luisa yells out, but I can’t answer. I feel bad I’m ignoring her like this, but I don’t know what to say, or how to tell her who I really am. I’ve already seen disappointment in enough people today, I don’t need one more on my conscience.
Unlocking my door, I hurry behind the wheel and start up the engine. I look at Luisa through the window, and only then realize she’s following me to my car. I quickly take off before she has a chance to reach me and drive out of the clubhouse.
Turning the corner out of the driveway, I notice a biker parked on the other side of the road. As I pass him, I slow down, and spot the Forseekers patch on his back—a skull with two snakes intertwined around it. I should be surprised, but I’m not. Of course Viper would have a member follow me—he’s found me now, and he wants to make sure I follow through and come meet him tonight.
I push down hard on the accelerator and my tires screech as I take off. I hear the sound of a motorcycle behind me and know there’s no use trying to lose whoever it is Viper has tailing me. My little Corolla has no hope of outrunning a motorcycle. I look at the time on my dashboard; it’s just after 4:00 p.m. There’s so much I wanted to do before I leave New York, but now I don’t have time for all that. I’m ready to face the music and pay for my sins.
I wanted to avoid saying goodbye to Jeff, but he’s been a good friend and I can’t just leave without a word. He deserves better than that. And I’m hoping he’ll stay at Ink Me and run the place without me there. I’ll miss the shop, but my time of being free has come to an end. I need to accept that being married to Viper is my life, and that there’s no use in trying to run away, because he will find me again.
Was it only two days ago that I thought my life was perfect, and that I couldn’t be happier? Boy, have things changed. I’m just glad that in this fucked-up life, I got to feel some kind of happiness, and the love of a real man, even if just for a brief amount of time—a man who still owns half of my soul, a
man I will never, ever forget. I hope that Blaze will find true happiness with another woman one day, one he deserves, not someone like me, who lied to him the whole time I was with him.
Parking my car in front of Ink Me, I look in my rearview mirror. The Forseeker who followed me is parked directly behind me, not even trying to be subtle. I switch off my car and get out, locking the door before I walk over to the biker. As I approach him, he lifts his helmet off his head, and recognition hits me when I see that it’s Snake. Snake is probably midforties, with jet-black hair and dark brown eyes. He still has stubble covering his face; however, I notice a few gray hairs scattered through now. He was one of the good ones—possibly the only biker I could talk to in the club—but even Snake couldn’t stop Viper from taking his rage out on me.
“Teresa… so nice to see you again,” Snake says, smiling at me and holding his helmet in front of him.
“What’s wrong, Snake? Does Viper need a bodyguard to follow me, to make sure I come tonight?”
He sighs and shakes his head, rubbing at his jaw. “You know Viper, he doesn’t trust anyone.”
“Figures. Well, you can wait out here if you want, I have things to do before I meet him.”
Snake nods then takes a cigarette out of a pocket in his jacket and lights it up. “I’ll be right here.”
I turn around and head inside the shop. The sound of Jeff’s tattooing needle and him conversing with his customer travels around the room. The chime above the door that goes off as I enter must catch his attention, because he turns toward me and frowns. I only give him a quick wave, then head out to the back room to grab some stuff. I’d planned to pick up some of my belongings from the clubhouse, but when I saw what Blaze had done, I needed to get out of there. The hatred showing on his face was too much to bear, and to be honest, nothing in that room felt relevant anymore, if Blaze wasn’t going to part of my life.
I usually keep some spare clothes here at the shop, but I never thought I’d be needing it this way. Looking under my desk, I spot the set of keys I hid that belong to my safe, which is hidden behind a painting on the wall. I grab the key then turn around to move the painting aside, unlocking the safe and sighing in relief when it appeared nothing had been disturbed since the last time I had it open.
I grab my birth certificate and passport, and some cash I’d saved up for a rainy day. I never knew that the rainy day would involve me running back to Viper, though. I shut the safe, then head toward the locker on the other side of the wall to grab the duffel bag I keep in there. It contains only a change of clothes and some basic toiletries.
“Hey,” I hear from behind me as I’m tucking my cash and documents into the duffel. I turn around to find Jeff standing in the doorway, and I swing my bag over my shoulder, a feeling of guilt filling me.
He cocks an eyebrow. “Going somewhere?” he asks, looking at my bag.
I walk back to my desk, looking for the landlord’s card in a drawer. I need to leave it for Jeff in case anything happens and he has to contact him.
“Tess, what’s going on?”
I pause my search and glance up at Jeff; his arms are crossed and he’s leaning against the doorjamb.
“Don’t you have a client out there?” I ask him, nodding my head beyond the doorway.
He shakes his head. “Nope, all done. I have an hour before the next client comes through.” He steps closer. “What are you doing?”
“I’m….” I look back down at the desk, grab the card when I spot it tucked into a corner of the drawer, and then take the final steps to reach him. “Here, take this.”
Jeff accepts the card and takes a minute to read it. He flashes me a confused look a few seconds later. “What the hell do I need this for?”
I drop my bag and lean in and hug him. “I want you to know that you’ve been a great friend to me, and I will miss you.”
“What the fuck!” he growls, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look at him. “Tell me right now, Tess, what’s going on?”
“I’m leaving,” I confess in a whisper. “I’m going back to Viper.”
“You’re what?” he shouts, shock and confusion warring on his face. “You can’t go back. Are you fuckin’ crazy, he’s a maniac!”
I swallow around the lump lodged in my throat. “I have no choice, Jeff. He wants me there, and if I don’t…. If I don’t go, he’ll hurt Blaze and the Blood Brothers. I can’t do that to them. They’re my family.”
Jeff’s jaw goes impossibly tight. “Are you hearing yourself right now? He beat you, raped you, and treated you like a whore. You can’t go back to him, Tess.” He pulls away and begins to pace, running his hand down the back of his neck. “You can’t go, Tess, I won’t let you.”
I stare over at him, trying hard to hold my emotions in check. “You have to let me go, he will hurt the ones I care about—including you.”
He stills, his hands now on his hips. “You need to run. I’ll help you, Tess. Blaze will too. Surely he can’t agree with you going back. Does he know?”
“Blaze doesn’t love me anymore,” I say, the utter defeat I feel at the whole situation coming through in my voice. “He knows.”
Jeff looks at me, his eyes wide. “He knows? He knows everything?”
I nod. “Yep, everything. I went back to the clubhouse, only to find that Blaze had a file on me. It had everything in there—everything, Jeff—and he hates me.”
Jeff shakes his head. “He doesn’t hate you, he’s just angry right now. Fuck! What do you expect after he finds out that the woman he loves is already married, and to another biker.”
“I get it, Jeff, I do. I don’t blame him for hating me—for God’s sake, I hate myself. I have nothing if I don’t have Blaze,” I say softly as I lean against the desk. “I’m ready, Jeff. I’m ready to face the music and go back to Viper. It’s what I have to do to protect everyone.”
Jeff shakes his head angrily. “I won’t let you go, Tess. I won’t let you go back to that asshole.”
Tears spring to my eyes. “Jeff, you’ve been a good friend. A loyal one. And I want you to have Ink Me.” It’s something I’ve thought about all day. I can’t see myself ever coming back to New York after I leave—I most likely won’t be allowed to go anywhere—so it makes no sense to hold on to the business. I came to New York with nothing, I’ll be leaving the same way, it seems. With just my duffel and some memories, but at least this time they’ll be good ones.
His eyes widen and he takes a step forward. “No fuckin’ way….”
“Please, Jeff, it’s all I have to give you, and you deserve it. Please, it will mean so much to me if you keep it going.” There’ll be times I’ll need to escape my mind, and knowing I’ll have Ink Me to focus on, be able to imagine Jeff wielding his needle and chatting away to our diverse range of clients, will keep me going through the dark times ahead.
He looks at me, his eyes filled with dread. “Tess, you don’t have to do this, there must be a way.”
My laugh drips with sarcasm. “A way? Did you know that right now as we speak, Snake, a Forseekers member, is out the front watching my every move, to ensure I do go back to Viper? Do you realize that, Jeff?”
Tears are now running freely down my face, and Jeff pulls me in for a hug and I sob into his chest. “Oh, Tess, won’t you please let me help you?”
I sniffle and look up at him. “I wish you could, but there’s nothing anyone can do to save me from Viper.” I wipe away my tears then step out of his embrace. “I have to go,” I say, leaning down and picking up my bag.
“Fuck!” he grunts, but I continue to walk to the door, not able to turn around and face him.
“Tess!”
I hold still in the doorway. “Yes,” I whisper, still not able to turn around.
“Take care of yourself. I’m here if you need me, remember that.”
I lean my forehead on the edge of the door and nod. “Thanks, Jeff, you’re a good friend.”
And then I’m running headlong ou
t of the shop, ready to face whatever life has in store for me next.
Blaze
I exit the shower and grab a towel, wrapping it around my waist. After what happened with Katie, I needed to get her scent off me. I fucked up. I never should have brought her back to my room. I was upset and angry and needed to make the pain go away, even if it was just for a minute, but that didn’t happen. It just made me miss Tess more, and it reminded me of what I had with her: perfection.
As I’m pulling up my jeans, I hear my phone ring and quickly answer it. I recognize the number; it’s Jeff’s. I hesitate to pick it up for s split second because Tess is probably with him, and she’s the last person I want to talk to. But I go ahead and answer it.
“Jeff.”
“Oh good, you picked up.”
I grab a shirt from my drawer, pulling the phone away from my ear for a moment as I tug it over my head. “Now’s not the time, Jeff. I’m about to head—”
“Tess has gone.”
I stop and think on his words for a few seconds. “Yeah, and how is this my problem?” I reply, grabbing my boots and taking a seat on my chair, kicking Tess’s boots out the way at the same time.
“She’s gone back to Viper!” he growls. I still, putting my boot down and sitting back in the chair. “Are you there? Did you hear me? She’s gone back to that maniac.”
I blow out a breath, a sinking feeling in my gut. She really has gone back to him. I was right, it was all just an act.
I wedge the phone between my ear and shoulder and resume putting my boots on. “Again, Jeff, how is this my problem?”
“You’re a fuckin’ asshole, you know that?”
I grind my jaw and move my phone to my hand, gripping it tightly. “Listen here, Jeff. I don’t know what your problem is, she’s not mine… never was,” I say in a low, even tone, not missing the way my heart contracts at the words.
Tess Property of Blaze: Book #5 in the Blood Brothers MC Series Page 11
