Hard As Steel: A Hard Ink/Raven Riders Crossover (1001 Dark Nights)

by Laura Kaye

  Bunny put her arm around Jess’s shoulder and hugged her in. “Us old ladies got to stick together.”

  Old ladies? Oh, for fuck sake. Ike wasn’t sure he could ever see himself making that leap, and certainly not with Jessica “I can indeed find trouble in less than an hour” Jakes.

  A headache bloomed behind Ike’s eyes as he looked between the two women, and then to Doc and Rodeo, Bunny’s second husband whose son Slider was Ben and Sam’s dad. The two other men stared back at him with a mixture of amusement and sympathy.

  Ike threw out his hands. “Could someone please explain what the hel—heck happened here?”

  “Miss Jess rescued Ben and me after we flipped the rowboat,” Sam said, his shaggy dark-brown hair and green eyes so much like his father’s. “Or, at least, she would’ve rescued me, too, if Doc and Pop hadn’t shown up first. But she got Ben back before he completely freaked out and drowned me while he was at it.”

  “Did not freak out,” Ben said.

  “Did, too,” Sam said.

  Ike ground the heel of his hand into his eye, a vain attempt to relieve the throbbing there. The story still didn’t make much sense to him, but if what Slider’s boy said was true, what Jess had done was big. The only thing the club valued as much as taking care of its own was taking care of those who couldn’t take care of themselves.

  “I heard them screaming for help from the house,” Jess said. “I should’ve thought twice about running down here, but I…” She shrugged, then shivered. “I just acted.”

  Ike gave a tight nod. Her words took the edge off of his anger, although his insides were still keyed up from the fear-based adrenaline flooding through him. Not to mention, the more people who knew Jess was here, the more Ike worried that a single unintentional slip could put her in danger. Again. Of course, everyone here knew that the club had allied itself with Nick and his friends—an alliance that Ike had helped broker given his close relationship with both. And certainly everyone understood what was at stake, especially after an enemy attack on the Hard Ink building had collapsed part of the roof on the large L-shaped building and killed Harvey and Creed, two of their members, two of their brothers. So it wasn’t a question of any of these people putting Jess in danger knowingly. But Ike couldn’t be too careful, not where Jess was concerned. Not given how lethal the mercenaries were that the Ravens and Hard Ink team had been fighting.

  Ike heaved a deep breath. “You boys okay now?” he asked, looking between Sam and Ben. They both nodded, and then turned to thank and hug Jess. Ike watched as she interacted with the kids, her behavior so natural and comfortable with them. And it did something…funny to him. Made him think. Made him wonder. Made him want.

  And it certainly made him look at Jess in a whole new way—and not just because his mind was playing with the image of her belly rounding with a child. Okay, his child. But because she’d risked herself for someone else’s kids. Given everything Slider had already lost, Ike knew how much those boys meant to the guy, which meant what Jess had done was going to mean a lot to him, too.

  Bunny was right. Jess was a hero.

  “Well, we’ll get ’em back home now,” Rodeo said, waving the boys into the motorboat.

  Ike nodded. “Roger that.”

  Bunny stepped in front of Jess and wrapped the younger woman up in a big hug. “You ever need a thing, don’t hesitate to ask. I owe you, Jess.”

  “It was nothing. Really. I’m glad I could help,” Jess said, her voice subdued, not to mention a little shaky.

  Bunny shook her head. “It wasn’t nothing to me.” As Jess nodded, the older woman gave her husband a kiss. “My car is up at the Alderson’s old place. I’ll meet you back at home.”

  With longish gray hair and a beard, Rodeo always half looked like he was smiling, but never more than when he was with Bunny. “All right, darlin’.” She reached for a lawn chair sitting on the dock and he put his hand on it. “I got this.” Bunny gave him another kiss and took off.

  Doc limped toward Ike and clapped him on the shoulder. “Good to have you back in our neck of the woods, Ike. Can’t wait ’til everyone’s back.”

  “Me, too,” Ike said. Because it would mean that the war someone was waging against his friends—and now his club—would be over. Once and for all. “Thanks, Doc.”

  “Don’t thank me. Thank your little lady.” Doc winked at Jess, earning him a smile from her.

  And then they were all in the boat and easing away from the dock, the boys’ rowboat tied behind them. Ike returned a few waves and then turned to Jess.

  “You’re pissed,” she said. “Ike, I’m—”

  Without a word and without warning, Ike grabbed Jess around the thighs and heaved her body over his shoulder, lifting her into a fireman’s carry. He retreated down the dock, scooping up her boots as he went, and ignoring the fuck out of the hooting and hollering he was pretty sure he heard from his friends in the boat.

  “Oh, my God, you cretin! Put me down!” She beat her fists against his back and kicked her feet.

  Ike used his other arm to still her legs. “No.”

  “Ike, what the fuck? I don’t freaking need you to carry me,” Jess yelled, using her arms to try to push her body up.

  “Too bad. I need to carry you,” he said. He regretted the admission but couldn’t deny the truth of the words. He needed her in his arms. He needed the proof of life.

  “But your big-ass shoulder is in my gut and I’m probably going to puke all over you,” she said, apparently not impressed by his words.

  “No you won’t.”

  “Oh. Well, if you say so. For fuck’s sake.” She kept up a steady stream of grumbling the whole way home, but it didn’t bother Ike one bit. Because she was warm and whole and safe in his arms.

  Finally, he climbed the steps to the back porch and carried Jess into the kitchen. He secured the door, then slowly lowered her to her feet to stand against the wall behind the door. He braced his hands on either side of her, boxing her in, forcing them close, making her see him, hear him. He ought to walk away, clear his head, get himself under control. But he couldn’t force the distance between them, no matter how much he should.

  He bent down, way down, so that his eyes were aligned with hers. “That’s the second time in twenty-four hours that you’ve scared the fuck out of me,” he said, nailing her with a stare.

  For a long moment, her expression was filled with uncertainty and confusion, and then her gaze dragged down his face and settled on his lips. She licked her own, and Ike couldn’t help but track the movement and want to warm her body up with his—starting with that sweet, smart little mouth. “I didn’t mean to. Either time,” she said.

  He just stared at her, his head too tangled up to articulate all the things he wanted to say—and to figure out which of those he absolutely shouldn’t say. Ever. Because he understood enough about himself to realize that he was this wound up for a reason. He cared about Jess. A lot. And if things were different… But they’re fucking not.

  Right.

  Suddenly, Jess’s cold hands were on his cheeks. Where her touch was tentative, her eyes were filled with heat…and challenge. “Kiss me,” she whispered as she slowly leaned in.

  “Don’t,” he said.

  “Why not?” she asked, so close now that her breath caressed his skin.

  Yeah, why not? Traitorous brain.

  She ghosted her lips over his, mimicking the act of kissing while purposely keeping a hair’s breadth between them. Ike’s blood flashed hot and his cock was instantly rigid in his jeans. “Taste me,” she whispered.

  Fuck, he wanted to. He wanted to kiss her and penetrate her and claim her. In any and every way.

  Ike forced himself back. The space unleashed an ache inside his chest—but better a little pain now than a lot later. That was a lesson he’d learned over and over. “I need to keep my eyes on the prize, Jessica. And that’s you, safe.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I’ll, uh, I’ll get you a towe
l.”

  Chapter 5

  What the hell just happened?

  Still pinned to the kitchen wall, Jess watched Ike walk away. Twin reactions roared through her—hurt at his rejection, and appreciation for the fact that he wanted to take care of her. At least he hadn’t been as mad at her as she thought he’d be—well, once he understood why she’d left, that was. She probably should’ve thought about what she was doing when she went flying out of the house—not to mention what Ike would think about it. But, damnit, she was her father’s daughter, and there was absolutely no way she could hear someone in need and stand by without helping.

  Ike, of all people, had to understand that.

  “Here,” he said, returning with a big beige towel.

  “Thanks.” She grasped the terry cloth. He didn’t let go of it right away, and it made her look up to his face—where she found his dark eyes absolutely blazing down at her. Jess didn’t think she was imagining the raw need she saw there, especially when she finally dropped her gaze only to find herself staring at a prominent bulge in the front of his jeans.

  Holy shit!

  Abruptly, Ike turned away and busied himself at the counter.

  Dazed with lust and confusion, Jess scrubbed the towel over her face and hair and then wrapped it around her shoulders. The dry warmth of the cloth made her realize how chilly she was in the wet clothes. “I think I’ll take a shower,” she said. “Warm up.”

  Ike nodded. “Good. I’ve gotta get the rest of the groceries from the truck.”

  As he made for the front door, Jess retreated into the bathroom and quietly closed herself in. For a long moment, she just stood there, back to the cool wood. And then something occurred to her. Ike hadn’t said he didn’t want to kiss her, or even that they shouldn’t. He hadn’t really rejected her, had he?

  Or maybe she was reading into her memory of the moment what she wanted to see.

  Probably.

  Then again, he’d been hard. And he’d looked at her like he wanted to eat her. And she was totally game to be his buffet.

  She knocked her head against the door. Twice, for good measure. Because it didn’t matter how much his body reacted if his brain was telling him to stay away.

  Crap. How long were they going to be trapped here together? Because being so close to what she wanted twenty-four/seven but not being allowed to have it was going to suck ass. Big time.

  Jess lingered in the shower longer than strictly necessary, but the warm water felt so good on her sore, tired muscles that she couldn’t force herself out. By the time she toweled off, she was yawning and her limbs felt like they’d gained twenty pounds each. She hung her wet clothes over the shower curtain bar and secured the towel around her torso. Being upright was nearly painful after so many hours awake, so Jess could do little more than stumble out of the bathroom.

  She walked right into a wall of strong, hard muscle that woke her right up.

  “Oh. Ike. Sorry. What are you doing?” she asked, stepping back. Arms crossed in a way that highlighted the thick mounds of his biceps, Ike was leaning against the jamb, his broad shoulders covering most of the doorway. Like he’d been waiting for her to come out.

  “I handled that all wrong,” he said.

  Jess blinked, her brain scrambling to figure out which “that” he was talking about. The scent of him, all masculine spice and summer air, didn’t help, either. God, she wanted him. “Uh, handled what all wrong?” she managed.

  “What you did…Doc was right. I should’ve thanked you, not yelled at you. Fuck, Jess.” He nailed her with a stare nearly as intense as the one he’d given her in the kitchen. Though, where that one had been full of heat, this one seemed softer…affectionate? Or was that more projecting? “Those boys mean the world to Slider. I owe you.”

  She sighed. “Ike, you’re putting your whole life on hold for me. You totally do not owe me anything. And I understand why you were worried. I should’ve let you know where I’d gone. Oh, well, I guess I don’t know how I would’ve done that without my cell, but, anyway, I get it.”

  He pulled something from his pocket. Her phone. “That’s why I’m giving you this back. I should’ve trusted you to not use it unless it’s an emergency. And that way, I can reach you, too.”

  Jess accepted the phone into her hand and nodded. “Thanks.”

  And then they just stared at each for a long moment. Jess went from feeling amused to awkward to observed…and that made her hot. Especially as she was standing there in nothing but a towel.

  As if he could hear her thoughts, Ike’s gaze slowly ran down her neck to her chest. She wiped at something there and the wetness on the fingers told her it had been a droplet of water from her hair. Ike watched the movement of her hand openly, hungrily, and his desire made her bold, daring, hungry in return.

  Without giving herself time to second-guess the idea, she reached out and lightly dragged her wet fingers against his bottom lip.

  And it was like she’d unleashed a beast.

  Ike grabbed her wrist and hauled her to him. He was on her everywhere. His hands in her hair, on her back, grabbing her ass and lifting her up so that her legs circled his hips. His tongue licked the exact route that water droplet had taken, from chest to neck to ear. And then he was kissing her, fucking her mouth with his tongue, absolutely devouring her.

  Jess held on like her life depended on it, and at some point she became aware of the breeze on her bare skin. She’d dropped the towel, which meant she was totally buck-ass naked in Ike’s big arms, and she couldn’t have cared less.

  Ike licked her mouth, sucked her tongue, nipped at her lips. He turned with her still in his arms and made for the stairs, and Jess thought she might die from sheer joy and anticipation. He tasted like strength and sin and sex, and she tightened her legs around his hips as he carried her to the loft, eager to see if all of him tasted so good—or even better.

  When they reached the second floor, Ike growled low in his throat and his grip tightened on her ass, his fingers digging in. She moaned and—

  Cool air from the ceiling fan washed over Jess as Ike dropped her onto the bed—and promptly turned around to leave. Jess was so stunned she couldn’t speak. Just as he hit the top of the steps, he said, “Don’t fucking tease me, Jessica. I’m trying to do right by you, but I’m still just a goddamned man.”

  * * * *

  Ike felt like a bomb waiting to go off.

  For one goddamned second, he’d let himself off the leash, and he’d been all over Jess.

  For two glorious minutes, he’d held her and tasted her and had his hands and mouth all over her.

  For the past three hours, he’d worn a path in the wooden floor of his cabin, wanting more but holding himself back from taking it. And feeling hungry and empty and desperate, like a man who’d just had his last meal and would now be forced to go without for the rest of his life.

  After the stunt he’d pulled, he was also worried about Jess. Because after he’d dropped her curvy little ass on the bed—trying like hell not to put a visual to the fucking incredible physical sensations he had from carrying her naked body up the stairs, she’d never come back down.

  She hadn’t said a word or made a sound, either. And combined with the chaos roaring through Ike’s body, her silence was driving him stark-raving mad.

  Man-up, Ike. You created this problem. Fucking fix it.

  He walked to the bottom of the steps. “Jess?” No answer. “Jess, I’m coming up.” Nothing. He frowned, but then he was in motion, his boots thudding against the treads as he made his way to the loft.

  The sight that greeted him sucker-punched him right in the heart.

  Jess was curled into a little ball on her side, her hands tucked under her face. She’d folded the blanket over her, but it had slid down, leaving her shoulder and breasts exposed.

  God, she was fucking beautiful.

  Maybe it made him a pervert, but Ike was drawn to the bed. He crouched down beside it, his gaze drinki
ng Jess in. Her skin was a work of art. Her right arm had a swirling watercolor rainbow and waterfall running the whole length of it, flowers and fish woven in. Her shoulder and biceps had an ornate Mexican calavera skull, the detail done in reds and golds and dark blues. Ike remembered every one of the after-hours sessions they’d spent together doing these pieces, Jess telling him one colorful story after another. The time with her had made it simultaneously easier and harder to go home to his empty apartment—easier because her liveliness and passion filled up some of the dark, lonely places inside him; harder because he never felt more empty and alone in his apartment than after spending a night with Jess talking his ear off. Smiling at him. Teasing him. Making him want.

  On her other arm, Ike could just make out the black and dark-green leaves surrounding the wide-open faces of a half-dozen bright-pink roses. She’d already had part of that sleeve done when Ike first met her, but he’d expanded it for her over the years.

  His gaze skimmed over her chest, where a constellation of different sized dark-blue and black nautical stars spilled over her right collarbone, down her chest, between the curves of her breasts, to finally end in a sweeping flourish on the right side of her ribs. She was fascinating and alluring to look at, and that was saying absolutely nothing about the little silver hoops piercing through her nipples. Jesus.

  Ike reached across Jess and pulled up the blanket, covering her.

  What was even more fascinating, though, was her face. Usually so animated, colorful, and just fucking alive with emotion, she looked peaceful and oddly young sleeping, her face bare of makeup. And it made him feel even more protective of her.

  With gentle fingers, he pushed a wave of black and red hair off her face—and was surprised to feel how warm her cheek felt. He pressed his fingers to her forehead and found her warm there, too. Someday he’d get around to installing air conditioning in this old place, but he spent so much more of his time in Baltimore that he hadn’t made it a priority.

  Sighing, Ike made his way back downstairs. At least she hadn’t come back down because she was avoiding him. And now that he thought about it, he was fucking tired, too. Jess had called him around four in the morning and he’d made it to her apartment on the second floor of an old row house within twenty minutes. After he’d gotten her out of that little shit hole of a crawl space and held her in his arms to prove to himself he hadn’t lost her, they’d packed a bag, gone back to his apartment so he could pack and grab some extra firepower, and made their way to the remaining part of the Hard Ink building in time for the team’s morning brief about their investigation.