“Jensen? That name sounds familiar.”
“It should. He’s notorious around these parts.”
“So if he’s a known sex trafficker, why is he running around free?”
“Because he’s vicious and twisted, but he’s also as smart as hell. Always covers his tracks, always has alibis lined up, always has someone on his payroll to take the fall.”
“Did he shoot you?”
“Nope. One of his henchmen. Guy named Donovan Kane.”
Naomi gasped and sat straight up. “Donovan Kane?”
“Yeah.” He stared at her, surprised at her reaction. “You’ve heard of him?”
“Um. Yes.”
“How?” His voice was sharp. “How do you know him? He’s bad news, baby, and I don’t want you anywhere near that guy.”
“I don’t know him. I know his sister.”
“Oh.” King relaxed, then he paused. How did Naomi even know Kane’s sister? That whole family was a nightmare and King had had dealings with both Kane parents and more than once. Funny how a sister had never come up on his radar.
That was when a few puzzle pieces slotted in to place. He’d met Mirrie at Naomi’s eleven-month coin presentation and something about her had nagged at him ever since then. Something about her face, but he couldn’t place what it was at the time. He was sure he’d never met her before, but he knew she looked familiar.
Ah, right. That must be Kane’s sister. Same nose, same mouth, but Mirrie has those incredible purple eyes and Donovan’s are like cold, black pools.
King saw no need to enlighten Naomi about the fact that the last time he’d seen Mirrie’s brother, he’d been holding a knife to Sarah’s neck. Jax had gotten her the hell out of the way after Aidan had hit Kane from behind, and then King and Aidan had taken great pleasure in beating the living crap out of him for several minutes. When they were done with him, he was a bloody, battered message to send back to his clubhouse and Jensen. After King had had a quick word with Jensen personally, none of the boys from Kane’s MC had been back to Curves since, and everyone involved liked that just fine.
But if Mirrie was sober, it was no wonder she was away from the Kane family. Their ties to the Fallen Angels MC were firm and long-standing, with Donovan a second-generation member. King wondered just what the hell Mirrie had had to do to get away from that life. He knew her decision to walk away wouldn’t have been supported. It would have been actively thwarted, actually. Even punished.
“So – Donovan shot you?” Naomi said. “If that’s so, why is he not in jail?”
“Oh, he did go to jail for it,” King said. “For about six months.”
“For attempted murder?”
“Yep. Those Fallen Angels boys have good lawyers.”
“That is infuriating.”
King laughed at the look on her face. “Yeah, I know.”
She was quiet again and he saw she was twisting her fingers around and around. He took her hand.
“What is it?” he said.
“Will you – will you tell me if you’re going in to a dangerous job?”
“You want me to?”
“Yes. I want to know.”
“I don’t want you to worry.” He stroked her neck gently, still angry to see the bruising there. “I don’t want you freaking out all alone, getting stressed.”
She knew what he was really saying. “You’re worried the stress may push me to drink again, aren’t you?”
He sighed. “Maybe a little.”
“But that’s why you need to tell me, OK? I need to be sure you’re being completely honest with me, all the time, about everything. If you tell me you’re off to the garage and you go after a team member and get shot, I’ll never trust you again. That will spark the urge to drink more than anything, I promise you.”
“Breaking your trust?”
“Yes.” Her eyes were huge in her face. “I trust you, Matt, and I don’t trust many people. Besides you, I trust Mirrie and that’s it. If I thought you were keeping stuff from me, it would eat away at me.” She touched his chest. “Please. Tell me the truth and then trust me to handle it.”
“OK.”
She had been expecting more of a fight. “OK?”
“Yep. OK. You’re right. I won’t go in to details, but if I’m doing something that may get me hurt, I’ll tell you that. Then you’ll get yourself to Mirrie or a meeting. Deal?”
“Yes.”
“Any other questions about King’s Men?”
“Just one.”
“Shoot.” At the look on her face, he laughed. “Sorry. Poor choice of words.”
“Yeah, you’d better be sorry.” She glared at him. “Anyway. My question was, why are they called King’s Men when you have women in the group?”
“Oh, man. The women get all irritated about that quite often.”
“And?”
“Well, the short answer is that when I first started the team, it was all guys, so that’s what they were called. Then we got this one job at a strip club and I needed an operative inside. That’s when I hired Honey.”
“To go undercover as a stripper?” Naomi said, appalled.
“Not much cover,” King muttered. “But yeah.”
“Urgh. Delightful for her.”
“Oh, Honey can take care of herself, believe me. She’s tiny and sweet-looking but she puts the fear of God in to each and every one of us. I do believe she could take me.”
“Yeah?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Good. I’m glad one woman out there can.”
He grinned at her now. “You want to try?”
“To what? Take you?”
“Yeah.” Quick as a breath, he flipped her under him, pinning her body down. He held her wrists on either side of her head, secured her legs with his own. “Take me.”
Naomi’s body was heating up again. She lifted her head from the pillow and kissed him, a sweet, lingering kiss. When she slipped her tongue inside his mouth, he groaned.
“Oh, baby, you’re killing me.” He kissed her again, harder, hungrier. “I’ll do anything in the world so long as you never stop kissing me like that, I swear.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Anything you ask.”
“So I’ve got you?” She raised her hips and rubbed herself against his hardening cock. “Did I take you?”
“You’ve got me right where you want me,” he ground out. “I’m taken.”
“Huh. That was easy,” she murmured.
“Yeah, well.” King extended her arms above her head and took both wrists in one hand now. His other hand ran down the middle of her body, heading straight for her slick folds. “You do catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” She gasped as his fingers found her. “And you are nothing but honey… fuck, you’re soaking my fingers with it.”
“Touch me, Matt.” Her eyes were glowing with her arousal. “Please.”
“I’d love to.” He circled her clit and smiled at her reaction. “Something else I’d love.”
“What?” Her voice was tight with lust.
“To taste your honey.”
She bit her lip. “Yes.”
“…Yes?”
“Yes.”
“It’s not too much? Not too fast?”
“No.”
He slowly lifted his fingers to his lips and she watched as he sucked her sweet nectar off them. He slid his fingers in and out of his mouth slowly, taking his time, luxuriating in the taste of her. No man had ever done this before, and her stomach clenched in surprise and lust. He saw her face and he grinned.
“You like that?”
“Yes,” she managed.
“Me too.” His voice was deep and almost harsh. “I want more and I want it right from the source.”
She ac
tually whimpered. “Please…please.”
“Please?” He slid down her body. “You begging me?”
“Yes.”
“I like it.” He nudged her thighs farther apart and settled between them, his breath hot on her pussy. “You need to beg me some more.”
“Oh, God.” She arched towards him, but he held back. “Matt… please. Please kiss me.”
He leaned forward and mouthed the softest kiss humanly possible on her mound. She jerked and he lifted his head again.
“What else?” His eyes were intense. “What else do you want me to do?”
“I –” Her throat closed up. “Oh…”
“You have to ask for it, baby.” He ran his hands up her thighs. “I’m not giving you anything you don’t ask for.”
She shook with need, and that need was stronger than her embarrassment. “Kiss me. Lick me. Put your fingers in me. Put your tongue in to me deep, as deep as you can.”
“Fuck, yes,” King growled. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”
She gave a cry when his mouth took her – and no mistake, that’s exactly what his mouth did. His mouth claimed her pussy, took ownership of it, possessed it. His mouth wasn’t gentle or soft or slow, and he didn’t waste any time. He’d waited long enough.
King paused to rest Naomi’s feet on his shoulders, then he returned to where he really wanted to be. He teased her, his tongue flicking her clit in fast little strokes, before making long, leisurely licks her whole length. She didn’t know what he’d do next, so she just dug her fingers in to the mattress beneath her and held on for the ride.
When he plunged his tongue inside her, she gave a shocked scream and sat straight up. Her eyes were wide and her chest rose and fell in panicked breaths. He stopped dead.
“Naomi? You OK?”
“I – I… oh, God.” She fell back on the bed, tried to twist away from him. “Oh, no. No.”
“Naomi?” He was alarmed now and he moved back up her body. “Talk to me.”
“You’re too much. Matt, you’re so… so close.”
“Close to what?” He stroked her cheek. “What’s going on in your head?”
“You’re close to me. You’re – you’re part of me. In my body. You see me.” Her eyes were overflowing with tears and she looked away. “I – I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Hey, now.” King wrapped his arms around her. “Is it too much? You need me to stop?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m sorry… I need you to stop.” She started to cry now. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Baby, don’t apologize,” he said. “Don’t ever say you’re sorry for asking for what you need.”
“But you wanted to do this and I said it was OK.”
“And you have the right to change your mind. You always have that right. You hear me?”
She ducked her head and tried to roll away from him, but Matt stopped her. He pressed her down with his body, his hands on either side of her head, holding her in place. His touch was gentle but firm – she knew Matt wasn’t going to let her hide or run from him.
“No,” he said. “Don’t you do that. Don’t you turn your back on me. You stay right here where I can see your eyes and you talk to me.” His tender kiss counteracted the gruffness of his words. “What’s really going on?”
“I don’t know.” That was the honest-to-God truth and he saw it. “I’m just – I feel too… open.”
“You mean physically because I went down on you? Or you mean emotionally because you’re letting me see your need and desire?”
“The second one,” she said. “You’re – you’re starting to see all of me. The real me.”
“And you think that’s bad?”
“Maybe.” She spoke softly. “The real me is ugly in lots of ways.”
He laid down now, pulled her on to his chest, held on tight. “Everyone has things they’re not proud of, Naomi. We all have things we’d love to change about ourselves or mistakes we’d do anything to go back and fix. People we’ve hurt and lies we’ve told and chances we fucked up. Everyone has some ugly, and anyone who says any different is a liar.”
“I know.”
“I hope you do.”
“I guess sometimes I just forget that I’m not so extraordinary.” She sighed. “Mirrie’s always reminding me that my ugly isn’t so exceptional, really.”
“The alcoholic mentality?”
“Yep. Also known as the special snowflake syndrome.” He was relieved to see her smiling again. “Every alcoholic thinks that their issues are so much more issue-y than anyone else’s issues.”
He laughed. “You’re a bunch of egomaniacs, huh?”
“Oh, Lord. For sure.”
He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering for a few seconds. “Better?”
“Yeah. Better.”
“OK, then.” He pulled the blankets up over their naked bodies. “Let’s get some sleep, honey.”
“You don’t mind not… ummm… finishing?”
“Oh, I mind.” He grinned down at her to show her that he wasn’t serious. “I mind that I didn’t get to give you a mind-blowing orgasm with my mouth.”
“You wanted to?”
“You have no idea how much. But I’ll wait.”
“You wait for me a lot, huh?”
“I do. And you know why?”
“No.”
“Because.” He kissed her, whispered the next words against her lips. “You’re worth waiting for.”
Chapter Thirteen
King killed the engine, glanced over at Naomi. She was staring up at Jax’s house with an apprehensive expression.
He reached over and took her hand. “Hey, you sure you want to do this? We can leave. Just say the word.”
“No.” She cleared her throat. “No, I want to meet your friends and see Sarah and Jax.”
“OK. But if it gets to be too much, you tell me. You promise?”
“I promise.”
They walked up to the house and before they’d even knocked, the door swung open. Sarah stood there, beaming and gorgeous. “Hi, guys!”
“Hi,” Naomi said, trying to sound normal. “How’s it going?”
“Oh, good, you know,” Sarah said as she gave Naomi a hug. “Come on in and have a drink…Aidan’s mixing some fruity stuff in the blender, much to Mac’s chagrin. He says that fruit and alcohol have no business being anywhere near each other. It’s one of our never-ending battles.”
Oh, God. And it begins before she’s even got her damn coat off. Shit. This may have been a huge mistake.
Naomi was calm, though. “And how does Jax feel about fruit and booze combined?”
“He refuses to discuss it much, unless he’s trying to butter me up for something. Then it’s Cosmos all the way, baby.”
Naomi laughed and King relaxed a fraction, only to tense up again when Mac appeared.
“Well, hey, sweet thing.” Those blue eyes were teasing as he took her coat and hung it up. “You have to be Naomi.”
“And you have to be Mac.”
“You’ve heard tell of the legend?”
“Of course. Since childhood, and from far and wide.”
Mac threw back his blond head and roared. He stepped forward and put his arm around her now. “Come on. Your drinks are on me.”
“Mac…” King had no idea what to say, but he had to step in.
“Yeah?” Mac glanced over. “Feeling a bit worried there, King?”
Yeah. But you have no idea why.
“Yeah, right. As if.” King’s eyes met Naomi’s, anxious and concerned, but he kept his tone light. “Watch out for him, honey. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
“Aren’t you all?” she responded, grinning. She looked fine, so he let them head over to where Aidan was standing in
the kitchen. King watched them go, wondering how the hell he was supposed to get through the next few hours without losing his mind with worry. It came to him that Naomi was actually handling her being around alcohol better than he was.
“Hey,” Jax said. He handed King a beer that he didn’t want; he had no desire to hug or kiss Naomi with beer breath. “Welcome to our humble abode.”
King took a good look around now. He’d never been to Jax’s place before, and he suddenly realized that it was damn nice. Seems the man had spent some of those lottery winnings pretty well.
“Thanks for the invite.”
“Grand tour?”
“Hell, yeah. Let me see this palace, man.”
He gave Naomi a small wave and she nodded at him from the kitchen where she was watching Aidan mix her a virgin Mojito. When she’d asked for it, he hadn’t even blinked, though Mac had pouted a bit until she’d told him that she was on antibiotics for a bout of bronchitis. Good doctor that he was, Mac had backed off right away.
“Yeah, no mixing booze and pills,” he said sternly. “Bad idea in general.”
She snapped him a salute and accepted the drink from Aidan.
“So.” Mac leaned against the wall and surveyed her from his great height. “You work in non-profit.”
“I do.” She took a sip of the drink, enjoying the fresh bite of mint. “You know Art With Heart?”
“Just through King and Sarah,” Mac said. “If I came by next week for a tour and to talk about a donation, would you show me around?”
“Yeah, sure. Just call and tell me when you have some time.”
Aidan groaned and they both looked at him.
“What?” Mac said.
“Now you’ve done it, darlin’.” His tone was teasing.
“I’ve done what?”
“You’ll have him there and bugging you non-stop. Cracking jokes and being all flirty and shit.”
She grinned. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. He quite literally cannot help himself when he sees a pretty face. He’s totally incorrigible.”
“I am not,” Mac said with great dignity. “I’m just totally depraved.”
Naomi burst in to laughter, and the men grinned back at her. King came back in to the open living room/ kitchen area now, just in time to hear Naomi’s wonderful laugh. That was when he relaxed fully.
Hard Curves (Dangerous Curves Book 2) Page 15
