by Jayne Blue
He got up, crossed the room and stooped to pick up the shirt I’d cast aside. His face full of concern, he held it out to me. I wiped my face, took the shirt and slid it back over my head, straightening my bra.
“I’m sorry.” It was all I could think of to say. I’d bungled things with him so perfectly, he had to think I was out of my mind.
“Don’t be.” King’s kind smile melted me and he sat back on the couch next to me. I felt so awkward as I tried to put myself back together. King did it effortlessly, zipping his fly and running a hand through his hair.
“No, I am sorry. I’m not some tease, King. I didn’t invite you in here to…”
He put up a hand. “Thea, there’s something about you. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I haven’t been thinking about bending you over something from the second I laid eyes on you. I mean, fuck...yeah. But, there’s something going on with you. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but more than I want to fuck you, I want to get to know you. I want to know what that thing is in your eyes that makes you look so sad.”
I wasn’t expecting that. A hiccupping sob escaped my lips, and I covered my mouth to try and hold it in.
“Don’t,” I said. “Please, no matter what else you do, don’t start caring about me.”
King reared back as if I’d slapped him. He shifted his weight and turned toward me full on. “You don’t think you’re worth caring about?”
I buried my face in my hands and took a deep breath. When I pulled my hands away, King had tilted his head toward mine. God, those penetrating eyes of his seemed to see straight into my soul. I couldn’t hide from him. At that moment, I realized he’d known from the start that’s what I’d been trying to do. He wouldn’t let me. God help him. God help us both. I couldn’t let things go any further.
“I think I’m worth caring about,” I finally answered. “But, you don’t need the drama that comes along with it.”
His shoulders shook with low laughter that sent heat zinging through me again. “How about you let me worry about what I need?”
“Who are you?” The question poured out of me without premeditation. The moment I asked it, I realized it was the only thing that mattered to me. Who was this larger than life guy who just waltzed into my life and stirred everything up? How could I let myself feel so much around him? I’d spent the last two years building a wall around my heart and rebuilding a life for myself. But, in one spring afternoon when he walked into my workshop, I’d been willing to jeopardize all of it, for what?
King’s answer knocked the wind out of me.
“Me? I’m a guy who’s been through enough hell to recognize when someone else is still in it. So, I’m going to say some things to you that’ll probably make you want to throw me out on my ass. It’s a chance I’m willing to take. Thea, somebody hurt you. Badly. I can see it in your eyes and the way you look at people, the way you look at me. You look like…”
Tears welled in my eyes again and I ran my thumbs under my eyes to stave them off. “What? I look like what?” I didn’t want to be angry, but the walls were going back up. This was too dangerous.
King took a breath and leveled a blistering stare at me. “You look like a survivor.”
I bolted from the couch. Crossing my arms in front of me, I put some physical distance between us then whirled around to face him. “You don’t know anything, King.”
He rose and took a step toward me. My heart tripped in my chest. He didn’t advance though. He stood before me like the mountain of muscle he was and kept his hands at his sides. It was a deliberate gesture and my mouth dropped open.
“I know enough.” A corded muscle jumped in his jaw, but he didn’t take another step toward me. “And I’ve said enough. I won’t take advantage of you, Thea. I won’t lie that I want you. Fuck. I think I just might want you more than any woman I’ve ever met.”
I moved toward him. Lust unspooled in me again. Yes. This. It wasn’t too late. I wanted to forget everything we’d said in the last few minutes and just feel. I was still so desperate for it.
“Then, let’s stop talking,” I said, letting my voice become breathless and sultry. I went up on my tiptoes, slid my hands to the back of his neck, and kissed him again. That same spark lit in him and I felt a pulse near his ear beat triple time. He kissed me back with the same fire and urgency. But then he stopped. He circled my wrists with firm hands and brought me back down until I stood flat-footed.
“Thea, I can’t fucking believe I’m saying this, but no.”
“No?”
I took a step back and brought my fingers to my lips. They were swollen from his kisses. I craved so much more.
He hooked his hands behind his neck and his face split into a wide grin that melted me. God, he was so perfect.
“No. Baby, I want you. I want you so bad it’s making me see stars. But you’re hurting right now. I can see it. Hell, I can feel it.”
“So make me stop hurting. Make me feel good.”
He came to me. As I stared up at him, he leaned down and put a chaste kiss on my forehead. At least, it was as chaste as anything King Jackson could muster. His lips still left a scorching trail of desire shooting through me.
“I want to find out what’s hurt you so bad in the first place. And maybe I want to be the guy who makes sure it never happens again.”
I couldn’t breathe. My pulse beat like a jackhammer in my ears. It was too much. He was too close. The same urge that had driven me for the past two years reared up inside me. Run! Leave!
“You can’t.” My words tumbled out. “No one can.”
King’s face hardened. He walked toward my front door, picked up his leather cut off the floor, and slid his arms through it. When he turned back to face me, he’d transformed. Just a trace of the tenderness remained in his eyes as he looked at me. But, the rest of him was lethal. With his back straight and his powerful biceps flexed he took a step toward me. I saw him for what he was and what he wanted me to see. He was King Jackson, V.P. of the motherfucking Great Wolves M.C. He said he knew what hell was like. But the flicker in his eyes told me he knew how to make it rain down. A shudder of recognition went through me and for one moment, I recognized the offer in his eyes.
He thought he could protect me. Only I knew there was no such thing.
“Thea, there’s someplace I gotta be,” he said, all trace of gentleness gone from his voice. Now, he was all business.
“Don’t let me stop you.”
His shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch. “I’m trying to tell you I’m coming back.”
“Why? You don’t belong here.”
He shot me a smile. “Who are you trying to fool, Thea? Neither do you.”
The truth of his words seared me. My God, he really could see straight through me. “You should go,” I said. “I am sorry for this. This isn’t how I wanted tonight to go.”
He came to me and put hands on my shoulders. I stared straight at his chest, or tried to. But, King wouldn’t have it. He put a finger under my chin and lifted my head until I met his eyes. That tenderness crept back into his expression.
“I said, I’m coming back. The day after tomorrow. I want to see you again. I think maybe I’d like you to show me some of the other great things about Crystal Falls.”
I shrugged. “It’s okay, King. You don’t owe me anything. This was just supposed to be...fun.”
“Baby, we’re just getting started.” He leaned down and kissed me so deep my knees went weak. He’d exposed me. In just the span of an afternoon, this man had managed to strip away all my defenses and leave me exposed and raw. And all he’d really done was kiss me.
King shot me a wink then turned and walked out. I stood breathless and trembling as I watched him go.
“I’ll see you the day after tomorrow,” he said, not even looking back.
I pressed my fingers to my lips again and this time I couldn’t stop the tears. “No,” I wanted to whisper, “because I’ll be long gone.
”
Chapter Seven
King
One taste of Thea wasn’t nearly enough. I’d told myself I’d gone into this looking for a little bit of fun while I was stuck here in Crystal Falls. It was more than that now. Now, I was ready to go all in. The girl was tough and vulnerable all at once, and whatever secret she still kept from me seared me. I knew that look. Dammit, I’d invented it. She was hurting and scared and trying to be brave.
I didn’t just want to fuck her. Well, hell, yeah. I wanted that. Badly. Just thinking about the way her body instantly yielded to mine made me hard all over again. She was fire and ice all rolled into one, and when she finally did submit to me, I knew it could be better than I’d ever had. But, whatever was going on with her, when I took her...and I would...I wanted the real Thea, whoever that was.
It killed me to leave town the next morning. I checked in with Mickey on the way out. Pete came through with the part he needed and he hoped to have the Knuck up and running within the next two days. I’d believe it when it happened.
“You wanna do me a favor?” I said to Mickey. I don’t know what made me do it, but something about the look Thea gave me when I walked out last night had me stewing. “Can you keep an eye on Thea while I’m gone?”
God, even asking the question revealed more of my and Thea’s business to Mickey than I knew either of us wanted. But, I had a nagging feeling she needed looking after today.
Mickey smiled. “She’s a puzzle, that girl, I’ll give you that. You didn’t do anything to upset her, did you? Lottie said she looked happy last night when you came in for a bite. It’s the first time any of us have seen her out on a date since she got here. And it wasn’t for lack of trying.”
The comment got my back up. I immediately wanted to know who had been trying, but I was pretty sure I knew the answer. Sheriff Finch looked more than a little possessive when we ran into him the other night.
“I’m glad to have provided the town’s entertainment.” My voice took a harder edge than I wanted, but Mickey didn’t react.
“No problem,” he said, sensing I didn’t want to elaborate on the request. “We always keep an eye out for each other around here. Anything special you want me to pay attention to?”
“Nah. Thanks, though. I appreciate it. I’ll be back late afternoon.”
Mickey shook my hand and went back into his garage. I got in my rented pickup and headed south toward the coast.
It had been my plan to meet with a friend of mine with the Dark Saints M.C. on my own. But, given a couple of days to sleep on it, Nash vetoed that idea. He had a point. Though the Saints never gave us trouble before, there was no point heading into their territory without someone to watch my six.
As I sped down the freeway, the truck cab felt like a prison. I wanted to rip and feel the wind on my face. For the first time since I’d lit out of Emerald Point, I regretted the decision to take the Knuck. I would have been better off taking my regular ride on a trip this long. It was another stupid decision I could lay at my dead old man’s feet. Being a little reckless with his precious motherfucking heirloom felt like a giant middle finger pointed straight down to hell. If he could see me now, I’m sure he was laughing his ass off that his Harley stayed loyal to him from beyond the grave. Sure, he told me so, the fucker.
That was the truth of it. I’d felt the specter of my old man for every mile I’d taken away from Emerald Point. Though I hadn’t wanted to admit it, his fucking ghost haunted me at every turn. God, I’d carried it with me in that fucking coffee can. It contained his ashes. It was a promise to my mother that led me on this journey to El Paso. She was buried there and wanted him with her, even after everything he’d done to her. She made me promise on her literal deathbed the day before she died.
I should have just chucked his ashes in the Gulf of Mexico the day I got them and been done with it. No matter what my mother believed, he didn’t deserve to be buried alongside her. She was better off without him when she was alive too. Dammit, as I hit an open stretch of road, Mom’s sad eyes seemed to hover over the horizon.
Her eyes. Thea’s eyes.
Fire ripped through me as the thing I’d feared took shape. Thea was just like my mother. My mom had that same steel core inside of her that had hardened to protect her over the years. Living under the day to day terror of my dad had made her strong, but guarded. My mother had never trusted anyone. She never let anyone close to her. When she finally did, she tended to make bad choices rooted in passion instead of good judgment. Fuck. That’s exactly what I was to Thea.
I white-knuckled the steering wheel as made it through Corpus Christi. It all made sense. Thea was closed off the same way my mother had been, tempered by my father’s abuse. I’d made her feel something the same way she had for me. It was wild and raw and probably totally bad for her. So, like my mother, she gripped it with both hands and jumped.
Fuck. My need to find out who and what hurt her burned through me. She hadn’t asked for my help, but now that I cared about her, I couldn’t walk away. Why hadn’t I seen it in her eyes before? I just hoped it wasn’t too late to get her to trust me.
Port Azrael was just fifteen miles outside of Corpus Christi. It was a sleepy little town not much bigger than Crystal Falls. The Saints ran it with a tight fist, keeping the mayor’s office and the town sheriff in line. The worst of what the Saints did usually happened outside the city limits. That was the deal the town made with the devil.
I pulled into a truck stop at the last exit before Port Azrael and my heart soared. Shakes and Luce were already there waiting for me. They’d driven the big truck, which surprised me. I pulled alongside them and got out of my rented pickup. When Shakes and Luce got out of their truck we drew some stares from the locals pumping gas and a few eating greasy burgers inside the attached diner. This close to Port Azrael, I figured the word had already gotten out to the Saints that we were in their territory. Yeah, coming in here alone would have been a stupid idea.
Shakes got to me first and slapped my back. I clasped Luce’s hand over Shakes’s shoulder. Luce had been the newest member patched in just last year after we lost Ghost. He was young and brash with a head of dark hair that hung straight down to the middle of his back. Shakes was the sophisticated one in the group. He came over from our charter in Liverpool and his accent earned him his road name. Shakespeare. After Nash, I was tightest with Shakes. He threw a fake punch at my head and I countered.
“You look like hell, brutha,” Shakes said.
“Thanks for coming out, man,” I answered. “Nash didn’t say much on the phone. Anything going on I should know about?”
The three of us walked into the diner together and drew even more hard looks. I couldn’t blame anyone in here for pre-judging us. The people of Port Azrael had seen their share of the carnage when the Saints went to war over the years. They saw our cuts and assumed it meant trouble. I hoped to God today went smoothly. There was no reason it shouldn’t, but it wouldn’t be the first time shit went sideways when we weren’t expecting it. Still, in my experience, the Saints were dangerous, but they were straight. They also had no love lost among our main rivals over the years, the Devil’s Hawks and the Red Brigands.
When the waitress came, we all just ordered black coffee. As soon as my contact with the Saints showed up, Shakes and Luce would need to make themselves scarce. They were here so everyone would know I wasn’t on my own, but that was it. This needed to be a two-man meeting.
“Please fucking tell me that Knuck is all right,” Shakes said. I had to stifle a laugh. That question had probably been tearing him up inside the whole way over.
“She’s fine,” I answered. “Little trouble with the engine, but I found a solid guy who’s gonna get her up and running.”
Shakes clenched his fists. “Why don’t you let me ride back there with you after this and take a look myself?”
It wasn’t a bad idea, but as soon as he said it, an alarm bell went off I hadn’t expected. “No, ma
n. I appreciate that. But it’s better if I don’t draw too much attention to myself back in Crystal Falls. We’re close enough to Hawks and Saints territory up there to start making people twitchy if it looks like we’re making some show of force. Less chance for a misunderstanding if I just keep to myself.”
Luce and Shakes agreed that was the sensible course of action. All of that was true, but there was something else eating at me. I wasn’t quite ready to share Thea with anyone else. She was skittish enough. I was one thing. If the three of us rode into town together, it could spook her too.
“Things are quiet,” Luce said, answering my original question. “Nash said the quarterlies look real healthy since we finished the bar expansion. The new mayor’s leaving us alone and we haven’t heard any more trouble from our people down on the boardwalk.”
In addition to our bar business, the Great Wolves earned by providing security to a lot of the local businesses down by the pier. From time to time, one gang or another tried to move in and we were there to keep that shit managed.
“That’s good to hear.”
“But you’re missed, man.” Shakes’s voice dropped low. I knew the implication. Ever since my father died, I’d been restless, and every man in my club knew why. I’d been fighting that particular demon most of my life.
“Don’t worry, Shakes. I ain’t going nomad on you. I just wanna see this thing through with the bike and my dad’s ashes. Plus, Crystal Falls isn’t so bad. There’s still some sightseeing I’ve got left to do before I roll out.”
Shakes smiled, reading my expression right. I couldn’t pretend there wasn’t something else keeping me in town. But, he was also shrewd enough not to push me on it.
“Fair enough,” he said. “You do you. You just make sure you don’t fall too far off the grid.”
Chit chat in the diner dropped to a lull. The bell rang over the entrance and two members of the Dark Saints walked in. I jerked my chin at Shakes and Luce. They exchanged a look and stood up.
