Arsen

by Kathryn Thomas

  “That’s just fucking great!” Mayla interrupted. “Your little clan gets to call all the shots! And Sierra! In the club two fucking days and she is already top bitch! This sucks, Colt!”

  “Sucks to be you,” Colt said. “We’re not interested in fighting with anyone. That’s why anyone who wants to is free to leave. But if you stay, there are going to be some changes.”

  “Like what?” Todi asked.

  “Harrison is burning all the drugs as we speak.” A roar rippled through the crowd. “Shut the fuck up!” Colt roared. “This is the way isn’t going to be! No drugs! It fucks people up and we can’t be a legitimate business if we’re using drugs!”

  “You have no right—” Mayla shouted.

  “I have every right!” Colt bellowed over her. “Until the vote, the council runs the club and we agreed, no drugs!”

  “I say give him a chance!” Vicki called loudly. “He’s right. This club is fucked up, and getting more fucked up by the day. We needed a change, but Colt was the only one with balls enough to step up and make the change.” She paused and met his eyes. “But if we don’t like your plan, then what?”

  “Then we’ll come up with another plan, together, something we can all agree on.”

  “And if we don’t elect you, or one of your supporters, as President, you’d be okay with that? You won’t cause trouble?” Chains asked.

  Colt snorted. “Not only am I okay with that, I’m not even running. I think Fletch should be our next President.”

  “Colt or Fletch,” Monica sniffed. “A choice between twiddle dumb and twiddle dumber. Will you let Dom run for President?”

  “Anyone can run,” Colt said. “If he can get elected, more power to him.”

  There was a long silence. “I think we’re in,” Chains finally said in the growing silence. Show us what you got.”

  Colt sighed in relief. “I’ll put something together for tomorrow. Dom, Chains, I want you to sit in with us. I want to draft a new charter for the club, and I want your input.”

  “Mine?” Dom asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

  “Yeah. I won’t promise I’ll take your advice, but you seem to be the leader of the opposition, Chains of the undecided. You should have a voice in how the new club is built.”

  Dom looked at Monica, who was nodding. “When?”

  “As soon as everyone gets back. If we’re going to function as a club, we need to know what we stand for.”

  “You did good,” Colt whispered to Sierra several hours later as he handed her another beer. He’d destroyed the drugs, but the bar was still open. They had hammered out a set of bylaws for the club to vote on the next day to give the council some guidelines to work from until a new set officers could be elected. The most significant changes were that formal challenges had been eliminated entirely with club disputes to be brought before the officers for a vote, and individual conflicts could be settled by the members as they felt appropriate.

  It was also decided that the club still supported the free sex lifestyle, but it was no longer required that members make themselves available for sex, though it was understood that members wouldn’t remain members long if they withheld their sexual favors regularly. Sierra thought it a good compromise between the life, as the long-time members called it, and allowing people to choose their partners without fear of retribution.

  “I still think you could have told me what you were planning.”

  “I told you,” Colt said in exasperation. “I was making it up as I went. I didn’t have a plan until Rocks forced my hand. Even my crew wasn’t sure if I had shot you or not.”

  “I thought you were really going to do it.”

  Colt smiled. “Good. That’s what I needed you think so everyone would believe it. You bursting back in like that gave us the time we needed. Nice line by the way. ‘You assholes can’t kill me that easily?’ When did you come up with that?” his voice lilting up as he teased her. “But I wouldn’t, couldn’t, do it, Sierra. Not for real.”

  Sierra giggled. “I practiced that line entire time I was out there.” She paused, growing more serious. “Not even for your club?”

  “Not even for the club. DVMC is important to me, but not that important. I would’ve walked first.”

  Sierra stared at him a moment. “I’m not sure I believe you.”

  Colt snorted a laugh. “I can understand that.”

  Sierra sipped her beer. “Monica, Skye and Mayla paid me a visit.”

  “What did they want?”

  “They’re not happy about how things have turned out. They just wanted me to know they hadn’t forgotten about me.”

  “I should just kick those bitches out. They do nothing but stir up trouble.”

  “If you do that, people are going to see it as a purge. I can handle them.”

  Colt woofed out a chuckle. “Yes you can.”

  “I’m exhausted. You coming to bed?”

  “Right behind you,” he said, setting is almost empty mug aside.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sierra began to strip the moment she stepped into Colt’s trailer. She felt dirty and scratchy from the mud and sweat. She stepped into the tiny bath and turned on the water in the shower as Colt entered behind her. She was too damn sore for much, but some snogging in the shower seemed like just what she needed.

  “Join me?” she asked as she opened the door and stepped in.

  She was still under the water when she heard the door open and then felt Colt pull her gently into him, his lips slowly caressing her neck. He was rock hard and the feel of his him against her ass was delicious. They hadn’t made love last night, and wouldn’t again tonight, but she still wanted him desperately. She turned in his arms and brought her lips to his, kissing him furiously.

  Colt pulled back from the kiss, his lips dancing lightly across her face. Even scratched up and bruised, she was still easily the most beautiful, the most desirable, woman he’d ever met. Perri, Bobbi, even Monica, were incredibly sexy women, but none of them affected him like she did. She’d endured more in less time than anyone should ever have to and, yet, she hadn’t given up. She was still the same woman who had made the leap for a better life…strong and self-confident, and yet still humble. Her sigh as he kissed down her neck excited him, her hands guiding his head to her breast.

  She almost shivered in delight as Colt’s tongue flicked her nipple, curling around the hard point and caressing the puckered flesh that surrounded it. He sucked her breast softly, his tongue scraping the tip gently against his teeth, the sensation electrifying in its intensity, and she pulled his mouth more firmly into her breast, wanting more, a lot more of that.

  He softly tickled her left breast, being careful to avoid the angry welts, as she held his mouth to its mate. He had to work hard to control his desire, afraid she was still in no shape for sex, but her gasps and sighs told him she was enjoying his attentions. If this is all she wanted, he was content to give it to her, knowing she would return the favor when she felt well enough.

  His mouth slid from her breast, kissing down the valley between them, slowly moving lower, the feel of his lips, the knowledge of his destination, making her twist and move in pleasure and anticipation.

  He settled to his ass, his back against the wall with his knees drawn up, pulling Sierra to him. She straddled his face and leaned her breasts and face against the wall as he began to probe with his tongue. Her groan, amplified by the plastic wall, was the single sexiest sound he’d ever heard, the soft pumping of her hips speaking of her need. Holding her ass, he pulled her tighter to his face as he began probe in earnest, forcing his tongue into the places he needed.

  She gasped as his wicked, wicked, tongue began to batter her swollen button again, the pleasures of his attention making her ache for her release. She began to thrust harder into his face, his hands kneading her ass, pulling her in tighter still. She was working her way up to an incredible orgasm, all her scratches and bruises forgotten, replaced with
a singular ache only he could relieve.

  She ground into his face, but he didn’t care, his tongue busy, flicking her clit or worming its way as deep into her pussy as he could force it. She suddenly gasped as her legs quivered and shook, her knees buckling slightly as she struggled to keep her feet. He didn’t stop, pressing in hard with his tongue, slathering it around as he continued to pleasure her.

  “Fuck! Shit! Stop! I’m going to fall,” she gasped as she tried to pull away. He held her a moment longer before letting her take a half step back and lean into her hands. “Fuck…” she panted, her eyes closed, waiting for her strength to return, enjoying the feel of Colt’s lips as he softly kissed and sucked on her thigh. “Goddamn, you make me come so hard sometimes,” she sighed as her climax finally released her from its grip and the strength began to flow back into her legs.

  “Is that a bad thing?” he murmured, still sitting in the floor as he continued to kiss the inside of her thigh.

  “No, but I want you so bad right now. But not here,” she added as he began to scramble to his feet. She hadn’t used soap, but the water had washed away the itchy dry feeling she had, and she would need to shower again in the morning anyway, so she turned off the water. “Take me to bed, Colt.”

  Still dripping from the shower, they tumbled into his bed. She wanted to kiss him, to see his face as they fucked, so she lay back and offered herself to him. He kissed her gently as he slowly entered her, sighing in pleasure as she enveloped him. He began to move, a slow, easy, gentle rhythm that caused pleasure to course through him. He lowered himself to his elbows, resting lightly on her, wanting to feel as much of her against his body as possible.

  He touched his forehead to hers, his soft pants of pleasure as he moved revving her up. She realized they weren’t fucking, they were making love, a giving and taking of pleasure, not only of the flesh, but of the soul, as well. They had known each other for a bit over a week, but already she could feel an attachment forming, a closeness that went beyond friendship. She didn’t love him, but she wanted to. She’d never loved anyone, other than her parents, and she wanted to feel that connection to someone again, so she opened her heart and gave herself over to him.

  He could sense something had changed in Sierra. A softness came over her, her kisses becoming deeper and more meaningful in a way he could feel but not describe. The feeling poured over and through him, surrounding him, a weight forming in his stomach as his heart tried to fly away. He’d never experienced such a feeling, and it frightened and exhilarated him at the same time. It was as if he was in the first car of world’s fastest rollercoaster, and he was about to go over the initial drop.

  She gasped at the sudden power of his kiss. He’d kissed her well before, but never had she been kissed like that, a kiss that left her breathless. She looked into his eyes, and she could see a light and power there as he stared into her own, a depth she didn’t expect from someone like Colt. He took her lips again, this kiss even more powerful than the one a moment before, and she reveled in it, rising to meet his passion with her own.

  He began to thrust harder, his passion, his need, stripping him of his reserve. His climax began to build, burning through him, searing away doubt and fear. So long as he had Sierra with him, he knew he could do anything, overcome any adversity.

  “Fuck,” he breathed, touching his head to hers again. “I’m going to come.”

  She took his head in her hands and pushed his face up. “I want to see you come.”

  He lowered himself slightly, gripping the front of the mattress, the feel of her moving under him intoxicating. “I’m going to come,” he muttered again as he began to lose his battle to pleasure.

  “Me, too,” Sierra whispered. “I want you to come with me. Please, come with me.”

  He shuddered in pleasure, the thought of them peaking at the same moment exciting him. “Come with me,” he breathed, kissing her softly.

  “Yes, I will,” she sighed, her head tipping back and her eyes closing. She froze in that position, her face twisting in pleasure, until she trembled with a deep groan, her fingers biting hard into his arms.

  Her gasping groan of pleasure was his undoing, the final push that sent him tumbling into the abyss. With a deep groan of his own, he buried his face in her neck as his wetness splashed into her, his hips pressing in then relaxing, pressing in and then relaxing again.

  They lay perfectly still as they panted softly, her hands softly caressing his arms. With a sigh, they relaxed together, enjoying the moment. She’d never felt closer to a man than she felt to Colt at this moment, and she wanted to savor it. It may only be the afterglow of passion spent, but it was still special and she smiled as she sighed in contentment again.

  He softly kissed her neck, reveling in the…what? Contentment? After fucking a woman he often felt hollow, the need of the body met but the emptiness inside still there. But that feeling of emptiness was missing, and he realized it had been missing since the first night in Vegas. It was Sierra, something about her was healing a wound he didn’t even know he had. He rose up, the soft smile on her lips lighting him up, knowing that whatever he was feeling she was feeling it to. Was it love? He smiled. Hardly. Fletcher and Perri, Harrison and Bobbi, Nic and McKenzie, they were in love. But there was something happening between him and Sierra. He smiled as she opened her eyes to look at him, her smile growing broader.

  Was he in love with her? No, not after only a week, but he realized that love had to start somewhere, and maybe that was what he was feeling. The realization should have scared him, but it didn’t, and he returned her smile as he lowered his lips to hers.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “I’ve got to get out of here!” Colt raged, picking up an empty beer can from the bar and heaving it into the wall as hard as he could.

  “What’s wrong?” Sierra asked, pausing in her wiping of the tables.

  “Come on. I’ll tell you on the way.”

  “Give me a moment,” she said, finishing her task and returning the towel to the kitchen.

  There had been many changes made in the week since the coup, and not all of them had been popular. Everyone had to pull their own weight now, and that hadn’t gone over well with some members. Monica, Skye, Mayla, Eva, and other women in agreement with them, had agreed to help with meal preparation only after a collective ass-kicking was promised if they didn’t, but even then they bitched, complained, and worked as slowly and poorly as they could get away with.

  The men opposing the new leadership were just as bad, refusing to help with club duties until after a few come to Jesus meetings were held behind the clubhouse.

  “It’s that fucking Dom and Monica!” he groused as he led her away from the compound. “Running against me is one thing, but they are actively sabotaging any chance of a fair election.”

  Sierra shook her head in frustration. Fletch had refused to be nominated, and had nominated Colt as their candidate for President instead. All the members who wanted to take the club straight had immediately rallied around the idea and drafted him over his protests. The opposing group had put Dom up and the election was day-after-tomorrow.

  “You knew it was going to be an ugly, bruising fight. They’re not going to go down easy.”

  “I know! But damnit, we were all brothers and sisters once.”

  “What happened, exactly?”

  “I don’t know, exactly, but Vicki came to me and said Dom was making some veiled threats against the women.”

  “What kinds of threats?” she asked, wiping sweat from her face as they slogged across the baked landscape. “And where are we going?”

  “My thinking place. Vicki said that he said if he won, old ladies or not, anyone who didn’t come out in support of him is going to have to service the men on demand. That included their men, as well.”

  “That should win him the women’s vote,” she said sarcastically. Dom had no chance winning, and he knew it, and was becoming desperate. “It’s a secret ballot. Ho
w will he know who voted for who? Where is your thinking place, and how much farther?”

  “Not far. No, I mean any woman, and her man if she had one, who didn’t come out in public support for him now, will be forced to be little more than prostitutes if he wins.”

  “Oh, I see. What a shit. I can’t believe anyone would vote for him. Things are already so much better than they were.”

  “For most, but not all. Harrison and I had to beat the shit out of Marcus today. Harrison caught him just before he drained all the oil out of the generator.”

  “Why would he do that?” Sierra asked in outrage. Without the generator there would be no lights, no water, no nothing.

  “Because they are stupid fucks without a brain among them. They can’t think beyond the next step. He said Dom put him up to it, saying if enough shit went wrong, people would start to turn against us. They have gotten by on their fists for so long, they don’t realize that people are wise to them.”