by Lilly Atlas
She turned away from them, focusing on the task of pancake making. This guy was too much, although she got the impression his outrageous bravado was an overinflated way to hide a deep-seated pain. She barely knew the man and it wasn’t her place to ask, but maybe she’d mention it to Acer. She owed Lucky some time in the therapist’s chair after he’d helped her out the other day.
“So,” she said as she leveled the cup of flour and dumped it into a bowl. “What the hell happened tonight? And don’t bother giving me some bullshit excuse about how, for my own good, you won’t tell me.” Next went the sugar.
Crickets.
She looked over her shoulder and pinned Acer with a hard stare.
Lucky cracked up and took another drink of whiskey. “She’s kinda feisty, Ace.”
Acer snorted. “You have no fucking idea, brother.” He winked at her.
She turned back to the bowl and whisked the ingredients, tears forming in her eyes. She was feisty, at least Old Fia was. That she was reclaiming that part of herself was the most amazing compliment either man could have ever given her.
Behind her, Acer sighed. “My father is fucking with the club.”
She dropped the whisk in the bowl and whirled. “Does this have to do with what I overheard? What does he want with your club?”
Acer shook his head. “Nothing, he wants nothing beyond the chance to be a chafe on my ass.” He ran the water in the sink and stuck his hand under the stream, hissing when the water cascaded over his split skin. “He’s running people across the border to work for next to nothing on his new hotel. His original plan was to have our club do the dirty work, but as you can guess, I passed on the offer.”
Lucky nodded “We had a run in with some of their lackeys tonight. Took ’em out, easy-peasy. You’d think Wellington and—”
Acer shot him a look and Lucky stopped talking.
Fia waited for him to finish his sentence, but he brought the bottle to his lips instead. Wellington and whom? What was Lucky about to say, and why didn’t Acer want it said? Fia whistled. “That would be a serious federal investigation into your club if his guys were caught.”
Lucky grinned. “Sassy and smart. You looking for a husband, darlin’?”
Both she and Acer ignored him, though she didn’t miss the flare of annoyance in Acer’s eyes. And speaking of flares, his possessiveness had a direct link to her own flare of desire.
“You’re absolutely right, Fia, which is why I told him to fuck off.” He ran a hand through his already rumpled hair. He looked good like this, minus the bruises, but he looked good a little mussed and disheveled. “Since he’s always behaved like a toddler, he’s throwing a tantrum and has guys being his coyotes, wearing cuts that look exactly like ours. We went to do some reconnaissance and ended up rumbling with a few of them.”
She barely took in anything after the part about the identical cuts. “Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. You’re telling me that your own father is almost certainly setting you up to be investigated by the Feds?”
“That’s the gist of it.” No reaction registered on his face. No anger, no sadness, frustration, nothing. He might as well have been reporting on the weather. The man knew how to hide his emotions, that was for damned sure. No way was it possible to feel nothing when you found out your father was actively trying to harm you, was there?
“God,” she said. “And I thought my parents were assholes.” She hoped to wrangle a chuckle out of Acer, but all she got was a ticking in his jaw. Maybe he was still pissed over her parents’ lack of care when she went to stay with them.
Lucky cleared his throat and held up his filthy hands. “I’m gonna go take care of these. Don’t eat my portion.” He ducked out of the kitchen leaving her alone with Acer.
She pulled a handful of paper towels off the roll and stood next to Acer at the sink. Without saying a word, she shut off the water and softly dabbed his wet skin with the absorbent towels. “I’m sorry about all this, Acer. I know it’s stupid to say because it doesn’t actually help anything.” She shrugged. “I want you to know that I can handle things if you need to vent or run ideas by me. Despite what you’ve seen since I got here, I’m not usually weak. I can actually be pretty tough.” She gave him a small smile.
He didn’t speak, but cupped her cheek with his clean hand. He bent down until his lips were less than a breath away from hers. “There hasn’t been a single second since I’ve met you that I thought you were weak.”
He closed the miniscule distance, capturing her mouth in a hot kiss. Snagging her bottom lip between his teeth, he gave a small tug. She opened to him immediately and welcomed the invasion of his tongue.
She’d almost forgotten how intoxicating his kisses could be. How they could fire her blood and need in an instant. He’d kissed her earlier in this very kitchen, but this time it had a desperation to it. An almost savage quality. Her nipples puckered, reminding her she’d been hanging out with them in nothing but panties and Acer’s T-shirt, no bra. Thank God, his shirt hung to her knees.
He tilted his head, deepening the kiss and she moaned into his mouth. Between her legs, moisture pooled. She felt hot, she felt sexy, she felt…normal. Acer kept a few inches between them, not wrapping her in his arms or pulling her flush against him. It was the only indication that she wasn’t quite back to normal and while she appreciated the way he always made her feel safe, it was a reminder that she wasn’t whole yet.
He abruptly pulled back and stepped away from her. Fia blinked and pressed a hand to her swollen lips. Between the three of them they now had each part of the face covered in terms of swelling.
Lucky stepped in the room. “My pancakes ready yet, woman?”
Ahh. Acer must have heard him approaching. At least someone had enough presence of mind to listen for interruptions. Or was it bad that he wasn’t as absorbed in the kiss?
She turned back to the bowl and rolled her eyes at herself. With a smile, she resumed whisking. A mild tingling between her legs kept her mind on the kiss while her arm stirred the batter. Damn, it felt good to be normal for a few minutes.
Her smiled faded as she ladled batter onto the griddle. What information had Acer stopped Lucky from sharing?
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Brother, you got something better to be doing tonight?” Lucky did a shitty job of hiding his amusement.
Acer rolled his eyes. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Lucky shrugged and tossed back the last of his drink before rapping it against the bar. “You need to keep up with me here, Prospect.”
The tired looking prospect rushed over and refilled Lucky’s drink.
“You keep peeking at your watch like your gonna miss something if you blink too long. What gives?”
Acer resisted the urge to check his watch yet again. “Nothing, man. Fia will be here soon and I don’t want her to have to walk in by herself.”
Lucky grinned. “I like her, brother.” He bobbed his eyebrows up and down.
“Yeah, you like her a little too much. Eyes on your own paper unless you’re looking for another shiner.” Lucky’s offer to sleep with Fia still grated on him, even though he was well aware Fia had no interest in the man.
After Fia patched them up last night, well this morning, they’d eaten and passed out for a few hours. Lucky crashed on the couch, and his buddy’s presence combined with the throb in Acer’s hands and ribs, meant he didn’t put any moves on Fia.
Plus, he wasn’t quite sure where she stood after the other night. She came, but that didn’t mean she was over the trauma. Christ, he was pretty much ready to jump on her anywhere anytime, but he wanted to give her the time and space she needed to process what was happening between them and what was happening within her.
She was healing; more of the old Fia emerged every day. It wouldn’t be long before she was ready to fly on her own. And he’d let her. The horrors she endured would never completely fade away, but soon she’d be able to look toward the future inste
ad of drowning in the past.
While he hadn’t made any overt sexual advances, he had ramped up his campaign to make her more comfortable with being touched. He found countless ways to touch her whenever they spent time together, always making sure to avoid boxing her in or crowding her. He made sure she felt safe and able to remove herself if she became uncomfortable, but he brushed against her in the kitchen, put his hands on her shoulders when he moved past her, tucked her hair behind her ear, and even gave her quick pecks when he left the house.
It was torture on his dick, her skin was soft, warm, and so damned enticing, it took all his strength not to throw her down and pounce on her.
Then there was the whole issue of how he’d left out a huge chunk of his story last night. The part that included her father’s involvement with his club’s troubles. Guilt ate at his stomach like acid, yet two decades of distrusting everyone he met, kept him from coughing up the entire story.
Male laughter brought him back to reality.
“Dude, you’ve got it bad. I’ve been talking to you for at least two minutes and you’re off in la la land dreaming about your girl. You get her name tattooed on your ass yet?”
“Lucky, you patched over five minutes ago. You sure you want your new brothers to see my boot up your ass so soon?”
Lucky laughed and tossed back another drink. He held up his hands, palms out. “Okay, okay. I’m wasting my time here anyway. She’s gonna kick your ass to the curb the second she realizes you straight up lied to her.” Lucky narrowed his eyes, all teasing gone.
Acer scowled. “Mind your own fuckin’ business, Lucky.”
“Just sayin’, brother. You’re making a big ass mistake. Hell hath no fury and all that.” He shrugged.
He was right, but something inside Acer had broken twenty years ago. And that something wouldn’t allow him to fully trust her, even if he didn’t really think she was guilty. He learned long ago his gut instinct wasn’t always accurate.
“Anyway, I’m off to find someone a little more warm and willing to spend my evening with.”
Acer snorted. “Knock yourself out brother.” He slapped a hand on Lucky’s shoulder. “All bullshit aside, it’s damned good to have you here.”
Lucky’s grin grew. “I’m hoping that some pretty little thing will be saying those exact words to me in the next thirty minutes.” He returned Acer’s manly slap and danced his way to a group of women grinding against each other across the room.
Acer didn’t bother to check the time again. Fia should be here any second. This would be her first No Prisoners party. He smiled, thinking of the contrast to the party where they met. Night and day.
Just as he stepped out into the cool night air, Fia’s BMW pulled into the lot, followed by the prospect he’d ordered to tail her from the apartment. He rested his back on the warm wall next to the door while he waited for her to exit the car.
She studied her surroundings before making her way toward the clubhouse, her gait stiff and her gaze darting in multiple directions. The moment her focus landed on him, her entire posture changed. She visibly relaxed, a genuine smile crossed her face, and her eyes sparkled.
Damned if that didn’t make a man feel like a fuckin’ king.
There was no way she was in on her father’s dealings. Was there?
As her heels click-clacked across the lot, she stepped into the direct path of a flood light and Acer almost swallowed his tongue. “Holy shit, Fia.”
She stopped dead in her tracks about fifteen feet from him. “What?” She glanced around. “Is something wrong?”
Acer shifted his stance, the fit of his jeans suddenly much tighter than it had been just seconds ago. “Baby, you look…”
Her smile fell and she peered down at her outfit. “Is my outfit no good?”
Acer snorted. “Fia, it’s so good I’m gonna need a few minutes before I can walk back inside.”
Her smile returned, even more radiant this time. Her outfit was simple, tiny, ass-hugging black shorts with a hot pink skimpy tank top that bared about an inch of her smooth, creamy stomach. Man, he’d love to start at that expanse of skin and lick his way down until she moaned and fisted his hair. Her dainty feet were in sky-high heels and she’d done something with her hair to make it look like she just rolled out of bed after hours of hot sex.
“Turn.”
“Acer.” Her face flushed red, but she did as he commanded. “Won’t that just make your little problem worse?”
He groaned. Those damned shorts were so fuckin’ lucky to be molded to her ass like that. His palms itched to slide over the round globes. God, she had a fine ass. “First off, as you well know, there is nothing small about my problem.”
She chuckled and her gaze darted to his crotch for just a second before returning to his face.
He winked and her face grew even more crimson.
“And second, it’s well worth it for a view of that ass. By the way, you catch anyone else staring at it, let me know. I’ll gouge their eyes out.”
She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, spinning him around and tugging him toward the door. “Come on.”
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. The rare times she initiated any kind of touch was priceless. “You look amazing, Fia. Much better than the bags you’ve been wearing. Had a feeling they weren’t the real you.”
She smoothed a hand over her flat stomach. “It’s just clothes, but for some reason it feels so much bigger.”
He wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her tonight. It just wasn’t going to be physically possible. “It is a big deal, baby. It’s you getting your life back.”
She smiled and blew him a kiss. Hand in hand, they entered the dim and smoky clubhouse.
“Yikes.”
Acer laughed. “A bit different from where we met, huh?” Straight ahead of them, a woman stood with a shot glass wedged between her very generous cleavage. Gumby winked at the woman before licking salt off her neck. He then wrapped his lips around the shot glass, tossed it back, and sucked a lime from her mouth into his. Not quite champagne and ball gowns.
“Uh, yeah. That’s one way of putting it.” Her wide eyes gave away party-virgin status.
It was always a trip to observe someone’s reactions the first time they came to a No Prisoners party, especially if they weren’t used to loud music, large bikers, and in your face sexuality.
Fia’s posture was stiff, but she stayed tense most of the time, and she didn’t look afraid. Instead, she looked…intrigued. She shifted her gaze from the body shot duo to another couple making out on a barstool. “You guys sure know how to have fun, don’t you?”
“That we do, babe. Follow me.”
He reversed their positions and preceded her to the bar. “Hop up.” He patted an empty stool and Fia shimmied her sexy ass onto it. “You want a drink?”
“Just a beer.”
With a wave of his hand, he signaled the prospect and asked for two beers. Fia probably wouldn’t indulge in much more than that, but he hoped she’d allow herself to lower her guard and let loose a bit. There were no threats to her safety here; he’d make sure of it.
As she sipped her beer and gazed around at the crowd of drunken dancers, Acer stepped around her and molded his front to her back. The urge to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight against him was intense, but he resisted. This way, if she felt nervous at all, she could jump right off the barstool.
He followed her gaze to the center of the room, where Hook and Marcie were dancing it up. Dancing may have been a bit sedate a term. Hook’s hands were under his wife’s miniskirt, full of her ass and he held her close, unashamedly grinding his cock against her. Their mouths tangled as their bodies moved, somewhat in time with the pounding beat of the music.
Acer glanced down at Fia and bit back a groan. Her nipples were visible, hard points jutting against her figure-hugging top. Inability to experience desire was not this woman’s problem. He leaned down and grazed his teeth over her neck,
right where the muscles curved to meet her shoulder. She shivered and tilted her head ever so slightly, giving better access.
Acer smiled. Small victories were the name of this game.
He kissed his way up the column of her throat, her breathy sigh all the encouragement he needed. With slow movements, so as not to startle her, he rested a hand on each of her hips. She was still free to escape anytime she felt smothered.
Acer captured her earlobe between his teeth and gave a gentle tug. “You enjoying the show?”
She didn’t meet his gaze, but kept her attention on Hook and Marcie’s erotic display as their encounter grew even more heated. “Such public displays aren’t really my style, but…well it’s kinda hot to watch them. Does that make me a perv?”
Acer groaned. “No, babe, it doesn’t. If it wasn’t common to get off on watching others, the porn industry wouldn’t be worth billions.”
She chuckled softly. “Good point.”
“Speaking of points.” Acer ran one hand up her side and brushed it against the underside of her breast before returning it to her hip.
She looked down at her tight nipples and gasped, but didn’t move to cover herself. Instead, she turned her head until their gazes met, their mouths a breath apart.
There wasn’t anything Acer wanted more in that moment than the feel of her mouth on his, so he took it. She tasted of mint toothpaste, beer and her own unique flavor. It was her essence that was intoxicating.
He kept the kiss light, teasing, until the gentle probing of her tongue against his lips became insistent. He smiled. His girl was getting her spunk back.
Fia took advantage of his parted lips and slipped her tongue into his mouth. He answered by pulling her hips closer and sinking everything into the kiss. With a slow slide, she spun her body on the stool and eased her hands around his back and down into the rear pockets of his jeans. Damn, this was the first time in seven months that he’d felt her embrace. Sure, they’d fucked, but she hadn’t had her arms around him, hadn’t draped that curvy body all over him. And her hands on his ass? Fuckin’ heaven.
