The man’s mouth moves in sync to lyrics bursting over the speakers. “You’ve been a bad, bad girl.” A sudden techno beat blares from the speakers, and the man thrusts his hips to its rhythm.
The women beside me shriek and holler with wild approval as he begins a highly erotic dance that involves getting down on the floor and lots more thrusting. He unbuttons his shirt and throws it our way, revealing a perfectly sculpted body covered in more tattoos. By the time he yanks his long pants from his solid legs in one swift move, Cheyenne and Lacey are standing and screaming like they’re being murdered.
The man hops off the stage in nothing more than the hat and underwear before gyrating his way toward me. Just when I fear he’s about to stick the impossibly large bulge barely contained by skimpy material into my face, he pivots around. The nicest pair of ass cheeks I’ve ever seen jiggle around a g-string as he begins to twerk mere inches from my face.
Sinking farther down into the chair, I hide my burning face behind a hand even though I’m grinning in appreciation. Kandi’s so going to pay for this.
The other two women dance around him, slipping money into the sides of his underwear, and taking turns slapping his firm ass. When he moves back around to face me, he removes the hat and places it on my head, showing off dark brown eyes beneath thick eyebrows and shortly cropped brown hair. The enchanting, dark eyes don’t leave mine as he slowly sinks down to give me a sensual lap dance that I doubt I’ll ever forget.
I’ve never had a man grind up against me in this way, and I’m guessing the kind of hands-on he’s giving is special since I’m a friend of his sister’s. Rigid muscles flash before my eyes, flexing and twisting with every movement. The enticing smell of sweat and sandalwood cologne fill my lungs like catnip, making it really hard not to grab onto his busy hips and ravage him.
Even though there are women squealing in delight at my side beside this fine specimen’s sister, there’s a growing burn between my legs as his impressive hard-on brushes against my belly.
I fail at swallowing several times when his full lips come tauntingly close to mine, hinting at a forbidden kiss. Then, as the song is coming to an end, and the tip of his nose is dragging up my neck, lips flutter against the skin behind my ear with a moist kiss. Warm breaths tickling my flesh release a small puddle into my underwear.
“Pleasure to meet you, Harley,” he whispers in a deep, rolling voice. “I’m Logan.”
Backing away, he reclaims the hat, lips curling with a delightful grin. He throws a wink my way before retreating back to the stage, and disappearing behind a wall to the sound of the other girls applauding and whistling.
Still frozen in place, I desperately try to decide if I literally experienced an orgasm, or if it was only simulated in my head. I can only imagine Colt’s reaction if he had witnessed what just took place.
Cheyenne leans in close to me, giggling. “Now you know why the girls all love having Kandi in the MC. Welcome back to the club, Harley.”
That was the best welcoming of my life.
7
The waitress is checking in to see who wants a second round of drinks when a damp haired Logan joins us. Looking ready for the gym, he wears loose fitting knit shorts and a muscle shirt that somehow make him even more handsome. The others stand to greet him, so I do too. A broad smile filled with glowing white teeth lights his tanned face as he swoops in to take his much smaller sister in his arms.
“Thanks for meeting us on such short notice,” Kandi tells him, giggling. “I figured Harley deserved a proper welcome.”
Two sets of nearly identical brown eyes flash onto me, and I swear they’re equally fueled with lust. “Glad I could give it to her,” Logan agrees with a dark chuckle. The suggestive tone makes my insides quiver. He releases his sister and moves into my side, hand extended. “Thanks for being a good sport. Knowing my sister, she didn’t prepare you for this.”
“Not at all, whatsoever,” I agree, reaching for his hand.
I’m surprised when he pulls me in for a half-hug. Nearly disappearing in his massive arms, I get a whiff of shampoo and spicy body wash. Still not much on hugging, I only hold onto him to keep my balance before he steps back, grinning with a devilish glint to his dark eyes.
“Someone got new ink,” Cheyenne purrs, running her fingertips along the curve of his bicep nearest to her as she studies a random set of numbers tattooed into his skin. “Every time I decide you’re the sexiest man on earth, you manage to get even better looking. Find yourself a good woman yet?”
“Still lookin,’” he answers. As the waitress reappears between Cheyenne and Kandi with our drinks, dark eyes beneath sexy, thick brows flash my way once again. When our eyes connect, Logan grins.
Ugh. Gorgeous as hell and a complete flirt. I’m not equipped for this shit.
“Where’s the bathroom?” I ask as the waitress hands me a second glass of whiskey.
“I’ll take you to the one in back,” Logan volunteers. He leans in to whisper, “You don’t want to know what goes on in the other bathrooms.”
My skin tingles beneath his sweet breath. “I have a pretty vivid imagination,” I reply, handing Cheyenne my drink. “Be right back.”
“Sure you will,” she teases. Lacey giggles along with her.
Logan takes my hand before helping me step onto the stage. He doesn’t let go even as we’re headed into the back of the club. I suppose it’s awkward considering we just met, but the guy did have his junk in my face a few minutes ago, so I roll with it.
There’s an indistinguishable odor to the back hallway lined in cheap paneling. We pass a room that looks as if a tornado passed through, leaving shiny costumes and odd props in its wake.
“The guys I work with are complete slobs,” Logan comments, quickly pulling the cheap wooden door shut. “Sometimes it’s like living in a frat house.”
“How long have you worked here?” I ask, biting down on a smile. It’s cute how he’s acting embarrassed, as if we’re in high school and I just got a glimpse of his bedroom.
“Couple years. Not the most honorable job, but it pays the bills and then some. The G.I. Bill covered my tuition at state, but a guy still has to eat.”
Eyes wide, I say, “You were in the military.”
With a modest smirk, he nods. “Marine Corps, five years. Probably should’ve stayed in. Still trying to find my way in civilian life, and failing miserably.”
All at once I feel an odd connection to him. We’re both struggling to survive in a place where we don’t feel like we belong. As we reach a door leading to a small bathroom, I stop to lean against the wall beside it, arms crossed over my chest. “Ever thought of joining the Inferno Glory MC?”
Running a hand over his short hair, he chuckles. “I ride, but there’s no way in hell those guys would accept me. Kandi told me they’re all convinced I’m gay for working here.”
I roll my eyes. “Doesn’t surprise me.” When I remember how Ranger and Colt first assumed I was into women because I spent time in prison, I laugh louder than intended. “Most of them are a bunch of sexist assholes.”
The intensity to Logan’s dark eyes grows as he sets a hand beside me on the wall. “But you’re one of their old ladies.”
“No, I’m not,” I answer too quickly, all at once unable to breathe normally. I doubt Colt would appreciate the denial, although I still don’t know how I feel about being with him that way. I don’t know that I could ever wear such a title with pride considering I’d rather be accepted as one of the guys. “My father was a member. I grew up in the club. Learned to drive a Harley by the time I was fourteen.”
As he tilts his head, his eyes sparkle with mischief. “Explains the name.”
Clucking my tongue, I nod. “Believe me, I considered changing it several times.”
Eyes falling to my hair, he takes a strand in his fingers. “I think it’s kind of fitting myself. You seem like the kind of woman who knows how to appreciate a good ride.”
Hell
yes I do. My lips part on their own doing. I suppose I should tell him that Colt and I are working on becoming a thing, but Logan’s scent and luscious lips call to me, sending my frivolous heart into overdrive.
All at once I question the logic of staying with Colt. What’s Remmy going to say when he finds out we’re together? How am I going to feel about Colt being an active member in the club while they continue to turn me away? What if Axel is never kicked out of the club, and he finds a way to have me shut out?
My thighs quiver as I stare into the depths of Logan’s chocolaty eyes. After seeing the way he can dance, I can only imagine how such a sexy beast moves when fucking. And it’s not like I belong to anyone, despite what Colt thinks.
“It was a real treat to dance for you, Harley. Women as beautiful as you don’t normally come in here. They’re usually bored housewives or ugly chicks who can’t get laid.”
Head moving in closer to mine, the corners of his mouth turn up with a flirty smirk. Warm breaths against my face send shivers rippling through my limbs, warming other places, too. “I could feel you trembling beneath me when I touched you. I could smell how much it turned you on.” He gently brushes the skin between my breasts with the tip of his finger. “Seems to me someone as sexy as you deserves to be touched in a way that will make you forget your own name.”
Pushing his hips against me, the outline of his cock digs into my stomach. “You deserve to be fucked in a way that will leave you breathless—make you beg for more.” He wets his lips before giving me a devilish smirk. “You like to beg, Harley?”
A whimper vibrates against my throat. Logan sees my mute response as an opportunity to cup his hand behind my head and kiss me, plunging his tongue inside my open lips. He grinds up against me like he can’t hold back. Uncertain how I feel about the situation, I’m motionless beneath him except for my answering lips and tongue.
I’m immediately comparing him to Colt. While Logan’s kiss gets my motor running in every way imaginable, it’s lacking the undeniable connection and the desperate need for more that I feel when Colt’s lips are ravaging me. The smell and taste are off, his lips too wide. Logan is aggressive, and his movements are raw. Colt’s every touch is filled with passion and meaning, as if trying to convince me I’m worthy of his affection.
Logan brings me closer with one strong arm while his other hand is busy slipping down inside my jeans to tease the skin right above my ass. Powerful and demanding lips make me weak and vulnerable. Sinking against him, I press one hand to his hard chest and fist his short hair with the other, ready to sate the primal hunger ravaging through my body.
A loud, brash cough separates us with the force of a bomb. “Having trouble finding the bathroom?” Kandi asks, hands on her hips and eyebrows raised.
Oh, shit. Hell have no fury like a sister scorned.
“Mind your own fuckin’ business,” Logan grunts, wiping his lips.
“What you do with my club family is my business,” she answers, slugging him on the shoulder. Hooking her arm through mine, she pulls me into the bathroom, slamming the door behind us. Her eyes narrow into small slits. “Did you really have to pee, or was that your devious way of getting my brother alone?”
Several fights over the years have prepared me for such a moment. I widen my stance and square my shoulders. “You don’t know a fucking thing about me.”
“I know you’re playing with some serious fire, kid. Colt and Logan? Not a good combination. Pretty sure they’d love the excuse to tear each other’s throats out.”
I step in closer to her. “If you can keep your mouth shut, neither of them has to know about the other.”
A stark laugh falls from her lips as she pushes on my shoulder. “Stop looking like you’re ready to kick my ass. I’m on your side. Just looking out to make sure you don’t start a brutal war that could otherwise be avoided.”
“You’re not going to tell your brother about Colt?”
“Should I?” Thin arms fold over her slim waist. “What is the story with you and Colt, anyway? I’ve never heard him so excited about anyone in all the time I’ve known him, and here you are, shoving your tongue down another guy’s throat. Either you’re nothing more than a club whore, which I truly don’t believe, or you’re all messed up in the head over something or someone.”
When I don’t answer her, she shrugs one shoulder. “Listen. I get why you’re reluctant to open up in front of the girls, and I get that you don’t seem to have any friends after getting out. But unless you’re planning to give in and ask for my help, I’m not going to stand by while you play both my brother and Colt. They’re both good men. Neither of them deserves that kind of shit.”
“I have no intention of ‘playing’ either one of them,” I grumble, leaning against the bathroom wall.
The angry glint in her brown eyes softens. “Then what are your intentions?”
“I wish I knew.” I pull in a deep breath and exhale with my eyes closed. “Hooking up with Colt was supposed to be a way to release three years of sexual frustration. I mean, I knew there was something going on between us from the start, but I figured it was just an intense attraction. I figured I could blow it off later when I was ready to move on.”
I open my eyes to meet her understanding gaze. “Every time I’ve tried to leave, he’s begged me to stay. And every time we have sex, whatever it is between us becomes tighter until I feel like I can’t breathe. I have no fucking idea what I’m doing, or where I should go from here. I’m a completely different person from the scared girl who was framed and locked away. I know what kind of future I’ll have if I stay with Colt, and I’m not sure that’s what I want. It feels like I should be rediscovering who I am before I make any promises to commit myself to one person. And even though Remmy doesn’t know about me and Colt, he made it clear he won’t let me choose club life.”
Kandi sets her hand on her chin, studying me. “Have you told Colt all of this?”
“I’ve tried. He keeps saying he wants me in his life anyway.” Lacing my fingers through the hair on the crown of my head, I shake my head. “I don’t understand why he’s so persistent. I don’t have anything to offer him.”
“Give yourself a little more credit than that, sweetheart. I haven’t known you for very long, but you’re a very likable person, and I get the feeling there’s a big heart beneath that hard shell you grew in prison.” She leans on the wall at my side, nudging me in the side with her elbow. “You ever been in love before?”
“No,” I answer truthfully, knowing she’d see right through any bullshit anyway.
“That feeling you were talking about… the one where you said you can’t breathe? That’s how it starts. The dull, aching pull in your chest whenever he’s near, the way the sound of his voice can make you weak at the knees, the constant need to touch him when you’re in the same room, they’re all symptoms of love.”
A smile lights her entire face. “I can see it in your eyes whenever someone mentions him… you have it bad, sugar. Time to stop beating yourself up. Do us all a favor and humor these feelings you have for Colt. It may take a little time for you to warm up to the idea of trusting your feelings with someone, especially when you’ve only recently met, but I promise one day your patience will pay off. You don’t have to declare a commitment to him, but you owe it to Colt and yourself to give this thing a try without messing around with other guys.”
Gut twisting with the idea of being in love, I sigh. “What happens if I did decide to stay with him? Remmy would never allow it.”
Her eyes crinkle with a bright smile. “You worry about your relationship and I’ll take care of the old man. Deal?” When she wraps her arms around me, I shy away.
“Not much of a hugger,” I say, patting her arm.
“Another thing you’re gonna have to adjust to,” she says, tightening her arms around me. “Whether or not you end up with Colt, you’ll always be connected to the club, and that means you’re family. And I don’t mean the kind
of family that can go around kissing each other’s brothers. I’ll give you a pass this time because I can only imagine what that lap dance did to you, but I don’t want to see it happen again. Next time I will kick your ass for even touching him.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I answer, awkwardly patting her back.
Good to know I’ve gotten so weak that others can see it, too. Guess it’s time to ride this thing out and see where it takes us. But what if I don’t like the road it takes me down?
8
Colt slips through the front door of the apartment an hour after Kandi and the girls drop me off. There’s a hard, distressed look etched into his handsome features that makes him seem a decade older until his eyes find mine watching him from one of the couches. Smile pressed to his lips, he flips a strand of fallen hair behind his ear after setting his helmet on the kitchen table. “Hey, darlin.’ I trust Kandi showed you a good time?”
Rising from the couch, I nearly choke on my tongue with his question. “We went out with Cheyenne and Lacey for a few drinks. Nothing too exciting.”
The half-truth burns against my lips that still sting with Logan’s heated kisses. He made himself scarce after Kandi interrupted us, but he had the waitress discretely slip me his number before we left. As wrong as it may be, I programmed his number into my phone on the way back. Just in case.
Closing the distance between us, Colt wraps me in one arm and presses the other hand to the nape of my neck. Intense blue eyes locked with mine, filled with an array of deep emotions, are nearly the cause of my final undoing. My willpower can only take so much more of tiptoeing around him before I either drag him into the bedroom, or profess the suppressed feelings I’m trying like hell to avoid.
“We’re set to ride out in an hour,” he tells me.
Pleasure & Pain: Inferno Glory MC Page 5
