SAVING GRACE: GODS OF CHAOS MC (BOOK SIX)

by Honey Palomino

  Luckily, that was enough for him. He accepted it without any more questions and before I knew it, I was all alone at the hotel. The attached restaurant was decent enough and they poured a mean iced-tea. Times like these tested my sobriety, but I knew what that road led to, so I steered clear of the booze, no matter how much I was tempted to take the edge off a little. The little taste I’d been forced to endure at Snake’s clubhouse had been enough to remind me how easily I could slip back into that nightmare.

  I fell asleep under the blue-grey tint of the television around midnight, the low hum of infomercials lulling me back to dreams of Sophia. Sophia’s smile, Sophia’s eyes, the sway of her hips as she walked, teetering on those high-heels that made her legs look endless. She sashayed through my mind like a tornado, all long hair and flashing eyes that left me breathlessly flailing around under the sheets in a sweaty fit.

  When the knock sounded on my door, I bolted awake, my head clouded from the sudden burst from my fantasy world. I grabbed my gun, ignored the intense, hot, throbbing between my legs and crept to the door, staring through the peephole.

  My heart stopped when I saw who it was.

  After placing the gun back on the table, I unlatched the door, slowly opening it, forgetting that I was only wearing a pair of black boxer shorts and nothing else. My eyes crashed into hers as I stood in front of her.

  Like a dream come to life, Sophia stood in front of me with wide, questioning eyes.

  “Sophia,” I whispered, wondering if she knew. If she knew I’d done nothing but think of her since she’d walked out the door, if she knew I was dreaming of her, if she knew my body was consumed with yearning for her. She stared up at me silently. My fingertips itched to reach out for her, to pull her close, to show her the unexplainable obsession I was suffering from.

  “Are you alone?” she whispered. The darkness of the night pooled together behind her, leaving only the two of us suspended alone in its inky blackness. I nodded slowly, my words caught in my throat.

  “Can I come in?”

  As if in a trance, I stepped back, pulling the door open. She walked in, her hips swaying softly in a short, black dress that flared at the hem. I stood frozen in place. Slowly, she turned and lifted her chin.

  “Close the door,” she said. The door shut with a loud click, the lock falling into place firmly, locking us in together away from the cold, dark night. My cock was raging hard now, painfully protruding between us as I turned to face her.

  Her hair fell around her shoulders in loose, black curls, an errant lock curling around her cheek. I smiled, reaching up and pushing it behind her ear as she stared up at me. I wanted to tell her how beautiful she was. I wanted to tell her I couldn’t stop thinking about her. But somehow, I was sure she already knew these things.

  She looked through me as if she knew every thought I’d ever possessed.

  I felt raw in front of her, naked, exposed — and I was. Bare-chested, barefoot, my soul pouring from my eyes as I raked my gaze over her. If my eyes didn’t tell her how much I wanted her, my obvious erection would.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “It is now,” she said, lifting her chin boldly, a slow smile spreading across her face as her eyes lit up with desire.

  It was too much.

  Way too much.

  Slowly, I shook my head, determined to keep my strength, to avoid doing anything I shouldn’t. I had too many regrets already. Disappointing Grace and Ryder was the last thing I wanted to do. Staying professional was the ultimate goal here.

  But I knew.

  I knew before the thought even formed in my head.

  I am only a man.

  How could I ignore this feeling? How could I possibly ignore the look in her eyes? I knew what she meant. I knew what she wanted. What kind of man would I be if I made her say the words out loud? What kind of man would I be to turn away from a woman like her?

  The spark was there all along and the moment she walked in this room and turned those eyes up to mine, the flame had been ignited. The heat rolled between us like a wall of flames now.

  “Sophia,” I murmured, a last-ditch, weak attempt at dissolving the tsunami of energy between us.

  “Eli. Please…”

  Her words pushed me over the edge.

  Her lips were white-hot.

  I crushed her into my chest, my arms wrapping around her like hungry pythons as we crashed into each other. The soft whimper that escaped from her only stoked my desire and I slipped between her lips, searching for the deepest parts of her. Her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer as all thoughts of resistance melted away with our clothes.

  Her dress was on the floor in a crumpled pile in seconds. My boxers joined them, her heels landing on the floor in two soft thumps as we fell onto the bed together, our limbs tangled together, our hands flying over each other’s skin, the feeling ten times better than I’d dreamed it would be.

  She was velvet.

  Her body was a study in curves that my mouth traveled every inch of with slow, determined concentration. Gasps and moans echoed through the room, the soft bluish grey of the television flashing on her bare skin. Kissing my way down her neck, over her collarbone, I paused, tasting each hard, pulsing nipple before slowly ribboning soft kisses over her belly. I inhaled deeply, memorizing the sweet, earthy scent of her skin. Her hips flailed as I teased her slowly, planting tiny wet kisses along her hip bone and down to her inner thigh.

  I slowed down even more, determined to draw this out, enjoy every second of whatever blessings I was receiving. I was certain death was waiting on the other side of that door and if she was to be my last meal, I was planning on savoring every morsel of her.

  She tasted like heaven. A sweet, tangy ambrosia of pure woman. Slick and wet, I delved my tongue deep inside, the sound of her moans almost more pleasurable than the delicious taste of her warm center. She reached down, her fingers tangling in my hair as she pulled me in closer.

  “That’s it, please, please,” she murmured. I looked up, marveling at the beauty splayed out in front of me, her head thrown back, her hair framing her beautiful face, her eyes closed.

  Suddenly, everything inside of me wanted nothing but to please her.

  Like she’d never been before, I wanted her to know the greatest joy she could feel. My mouth worked against her, moving with her, my fingers delving inside her warmth and pulling the pleasure from her writhing hips. Over and over, I watched as she tensed and relaxed, her face rolling in ecstasy, making my heart swell as her pleasure flowed over my fingers.

  When she slowed, I lifted myself up, hovering over her and staring into her shining eyes. Her face relaxed now, those hardened eyes as soft as silk now, she was more beautiful than ever. My hardness throbbed between us painfully.

  “Sophia,” I whispered, “you’re so beautiful.”

  Her hands ran over my shoulders, gripping my biceps gently as she stared up at me.

  “Take me, Eli, please,” she murmured.

  I growled with desire, all control threatening to disappear with her words.

  Slowly, my aching cock slid inside of her, her quivering warmth wrapping around me like a blanket as I drove myself deeper. Her softened eyes were glued to mine, our souls mingling in the darkness as I found the home I’d been dreaming of…

  CHAPTER 26

  SOPHIA

  We lay stunned next to each other. Eli’s arm was snaked around my shoulders, keeping me close to his chest. Panting and slightly sweaty, he stared up at the ceiling with wide eyes.

  “Did that really just happen?”

  “That was amazing,” I whispered. I’d been so bold. Too bold, maybe, but I didn’t care at this point. All day, I’d been consumed of thoughts of him. I had no idea why. Something drew me to him, whether it was his kind smile, the way he’d bristled with anger while I was telling my story about how I’d gotten mixed up with Snake, or the heat simmering just below the surface of those smoldering eyes of his, I d
idn’t know.

  After Snake went to sleep again, I waited till he was snoring loudly and like a thief in the night, I stole away, jumped in my car and found myself knocking on Eli’s hotel door, unsure what I’d find on the other side.

  Turned out, a white-hot heaven was waiting for me.

  It was just as I’d imagined. Hot, fast, and hard, he’d taken me just the way I’d wanted him to. No questions, no hesitation, no inhibitions.

  My hand slid down his belly, finding him still hard and throbbing. I knew I should take the time to explain, to communicate what was going on, but I couldn’t find the words to describe what I was going through, or what he’d done to me. Instead, I kissed him again, his lips lingering on mine deliciously.

  I wanted to throw my thighs over him, ride him again to completion, see the pleasure washing over his features, feel him explode inside of me one more time.

  But I was skating on thin ice, and I knew it.

  Snake could wake up any minute.

  “I have to go,” I said, reluctantly pulling my hand away from his massive hardness and untangling my body from his. He moaned in protest, but still, he didn’t ask questions, he didn’t implore me to stay.

  Somehow, he knew. He just knew.

  “Be careful,” he whispered. “Come back if you need to. Be safe.”

  He watched me from the bed, his eyes raking over my naked body as it disappeared from view when I pulled my dress back on. I wiggled back into my heels and grabbed my keys as I headed for the door.

  I turned back, flashing him a grateful smile. He nodded silently and within moments, I was back outside, once again assaulted by the cold, brisk, night air. I rushed home, blowing through a few deserted red-lights and taking the quicker back roads to the compound.

  With a pounding heart and a smile I couldn’t wipe from my face, I took a quick shower and slid back into bed next to a still-sleeping Snake, my body buzzing, my soul more alive than it had felt in years.

  I needed that. I’d needed him.

  And I knew, without a doubt, that we weren’t finished.

  Not by a long shot.

  CHAPTER 27

  RYDER

  Grace’s body fit mine like a glove.

  I’d never felt this way in all of my life, with any other woman. Not even my first wife. We’d been young and in love, absolutely. But making love never felt the way it did with Grace.

  We cycled through the gentle kisses to the passion to the burning, hot need that consumed us until we’d exploded together, reigniting the fiery wall of flames that I knew would never die completely.

  Grace was everything to me. I’d already lost one love and I knew without a doubt that I’d never survive another loss like that. That’s why I was holding onto her so tightly. That’s why I was resisting letting her return to Snake’s place. That’s why I was letting my fear get in the way of my professionalism.

  It’s not that I didn’t care about those women.

  Of course I did. The anger and rage made my blood boil every single time I thought about them. But I couldn’t help but wonder if we were in over our heads.

  I hated fear with a passion. I’d done a damned good job of fighting fear repeatedly since we’d started Solid Ground together. But something about this just didn’t feel right and whether it was intuition or my uncertainty getting in the way, I wasn’t sure.

  And that was killing me.

  I was a fucking man, for fuck’s sake. I’m a God. I kick fear in its teeth every day and now it was getting the best of me, much to my chagrin. No matter what I did, it was still there, gnawing at me, crawling under my skin, not letting me forget it, even for a second.

  Even as Grace wrapped her thighs around me as I dove into her warm center, it was there, sitting on my shoulder like a damned devil that I couldn’t shake off.

  More than anything, I didn’t want anyone to know. Not Grace, not any of the Gods, nobody. I was tortured by it, to be honest. Ripped up inside, like my heart was being twisted by a death grip, it would not settle down.

  When Grace’s body seized up in familiar pleasure, it was there.

  When she kissed me gently, cooing and moaning softly afterwards, it was there.

  When she laid her head on my chest, falling asleep like she didn’t have a fear in the world because I was holding her, protecting her, loving her — it was still fucking there.

  Once again, I ran over our plan again in my head. A hundred times I’d done this, trying to find the mistake that my subconscious seemed to be aware of, the problem that had to be causing this insane trepidation.

  Was I just becoming a coward in my old age?

  Was I losing my touch?

  By all accounts, I should be confident and pumped-up.

  With Sophia’s help and knowledge, this should be an easy job.

  No matter what, I couldn’t shake it. I lay there all night, sweating with fear as the sun rose, signaling another day closer to the big job. There were still a few more days left before we could go in and I dreaded the hours until it was over.

  I knew I wouldn’t sleep or rest until I had Grace safely back in my arms. Until then, I had no choice but to endure it, keep my thoughts to myself and put on a brave face for my men and my beautiful, fearless woman.

  The last thing they needed was a fearful leader, because fear makes people make mistakes.

  With this job, there’s no room for mistakes.

  Mistakes lead to death and we’d had enough death in our world to last a lifetime.

  CHAPTER 28

  SOPHIA

  Eli was a man of few words and I couldn’t be more grateful about that. Everything was so confusing and uncertain, nobody really knew how this was all going to go down or what would be left after the dust settled. When I showed up at his hotel again the next night, he opened the door with a silent, smoldering smile that left me weak in the knees.

  We made love for hours and for a little while, I forgot about Snake completely.

  Eli’s cock and mouth were magic and he was the sexiest magician.

  Opening myself up to him, I’d never felt so satisfied and complete. He moved on top of me, my thighs wrapped around his hips, my fingers splayed out on his muscular ass as I felt his hips rise and fall, his massive cock sliding in and out of me with expert precision. I spasmed around him, our bodies tangled together in a delightful dance of lust that sent shivers of pleasure ripping through my body.

  I cried out, my moans echoing through the darkness as the world outside of the hotel room fell away from our consciousness.

  Afterwards, we lay quietly in each other’s arms, my head spinning with fantasies of what might happen when this was all over. Would he still want me? Would there be anything left of me for him to want? Were these few stolen moments all we would be gifted with? Or was there more?

  The possibilities seemed endless and the fact that his desire for me seemed unending made me open my mouth and bravely blurt out what I’d been thinking.

  “What’s going to happen?” I asked.

  “When?”

  “After this is over. Once the girls are rescued and Snake’s taken down?”

  He took a deep breath, as if he was about to speak, but instead, he swallowed his words, saying nothing at all.

  “So, this is it? That’s all there is?”

  “I’m not sure what you’re asking, Sophia.” His voice was deep and warm and soft in the darkness, his arms holding me tight. I wanted to melt into him forever, feel this happy, this safe, for the rest of my life.

  “What happens to us?” I asked again, mustering all the courage I held inside of me to do so.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “What do you want to happen?”

  “I’ve never felt like this before.”

  “Neither have I,” he growled.

  “So, what do we do?” I asked again.

  “I’m not sure,” he shrugged lightly.

  I bristled at his answer, my slightly open heart slamming closed in my c
hest once again.

  “Not sure?” I asked, my voice shaking.

  “Well, yeah. There are rules, I think. I’m new to all this, Sophia. I just joined up with the Gods, this may all be temporary, it’s all up in the air right now.”

  “Rules?” I asked, my voice lifting. “But you’re an outlaw.”

  He laughed and shook his head.

  “Not really. I’m not an outlaw anymore. Not like you think. Not anymore, at least.”

  “Why not?” I asked, as I began to feel the anger trickling into my veins.

  “Because I’ve lived that life already, Sophia. I don’t want to do anything to upset the Gods. In fact, I’m pretty sure they’d be pretty upset that I’m lying here with you right now, considering.”

  “Well, don’t let me get in the way,” I said, suddenly hurt and furious, all at once. I jumped up out of bed, the cold hitting my naked skin like ice water.

  “Sophia,” he said. “Come on. You gotta understand.”

  “Do I?” I asked, pulling my dress roughly over my head.

  “Well, yeah,” he replied, sitting up in bed and staring at me with exasperation. He looked fucking delicious, his hair tousled, his tattooed chest bare, his cock still wet and hard between his legs. I looked away quickly, unable to think about the pleasure I was walking away from. “Let’s just be patient. I never expected this, so I don’t know the rules, that’s all I'm saying.”

  “Right,” I said, grabbing my purse and heading for the door. “Rules. Whatever.”

  “Sophia, don’t leave,” he said, as I turned the doorknob.

  “I gotta go. Snake’s gonna wake up soon.”

  “Sophia,” he said again, his voice pleading with me.

  It was too late. I’d stepped outside already, the cold rain slapping me in the face. Rain had been falling all day, and it matched my mood perfectly now.

  “See you later,” I whispered, before closing the door.

  His eyes wrecked me. I couldn’t take it, I couldn’t take all this unknown shit that I was drowning in. Desperately, I wished for a time machine so we could fast forward through these next few days and just get it all over with.