SOULLESS (Black Thorns, #2)

by Franca Storm

  And that’s just what I do.

  Grabbing her ass, I pull her against my mouth and lap at her with my tongue like a starved animal, savoring her sweet taste. She screams wildly and calls out my name as I tease her clit with rapid strokes, then nip at it. When I suck it into my mouth, I feel her tense in my hold. She’s right on the edge.

  I pull back and get to my feet.

  She cries out.

  “Not yet, babe,” I tell her as I unbuckle my belt and pull my jeans and boxers down just enough to free my hard cock. Jesus, it’s like fucking steel right now.

  “Want you to come on my cock.”

  Her eyes widen and she moans out as I rub the head through her wet pussy.

  “Hold your dress,” I tell her.

  She nods frantically, clutching it tightly up to her waist.

  “You ready for me, babe?”

  “Yes!” she gasps out.

  It’s all I need to hear. I’m way beyond the point of no return now. I grip her hips, hoist her up, slam her against the wall, and impale her on my cock, balls deep in one thrust.

  Jesus Christ! I forgot how tight she is. “Fucking…hell,” I grunt. I brush her hair outta her face. “You okay, beautiful girl?”

  She nods and whispers, “Yes.”

  I pump in and outta her real slow, tryin’ to get a handle on my dick. The feel of her tight little pussy coating my shaft with her wet heat has me on the edge already.

  “Ah, shit,” I grit out. “Fuck, you got no idea how much I’ve missed you, Rox,” I whisper in her ear, before claiming her mouth with mine.

  She opens instantly, as desperate as me for a taste. She moans out and wraps her hands ‘round my neck, just as her thighs squeeze my waist.

  “More,” she tells me. “Please. I need you, Neil.”

  Her need skyrockets mine to a level I didn’t even know existed. It snaps the sliver of self-control I still had left and I lose control. There ain’t no more time for slow and steady. I pick up speed, pounding into her hard and fast, my hips moving like a fucking jackhammer. Outta control. Wild. Intense. Just like it always was with us.

  I shift my weight and angle my dick. She screams my name as I hit that sweet spot deep inside her.

  “Yeah, Rox. Love you screaming my fucking name.”

  “Ah, Neil! Yes! I’m gonna come!”

  I fist my free hand that ain’t holding her up against the wall in her hair and tug hard, forcing her to look at me. “Good girl. Come for me. I wanna hear my name as you drench my cock.”

  I slow my pace and grind against her, hitting her clit over and over again ‘til she’s shuddering and coming hard ‘round me. All I’m aware of is her screaming out my name as I take her higher and higher ‘til she’s whimpering, cuz the intensity’s too much.

  “Ah, shit, Rox. Can’t hold it, babe. Too fucking tight,” I grunt into her shoulder.

  I move to pull out, but she tightens her legs ‘round me and tells me, “No.”

  “No condom. Gotta.”

  “I want to feel you.”

  Indecision settles over me. I can’t think right now. What the hell’s she playing at? What’s she mean asking me not to pull out?

  It’s too damn late then.

  Shit.

  She grinds down on me and clamps her pussy tightly ‘round my cock.

  I can’t hold it.

  I come inside her with pulse after violent pulse.

  I groan into her shoulder and stay there, tryin’ to catch my breath and wrap my head ‘round what just happened here.

  ***

  Neil rests his head on my shoulder for a long while as we just breathe one another in, before he finally pulls out and puts me down.

  He cups my pussy that’s starting to leak with his cum. “You got something to clean this up with?” he asks, holding his hand there protectively.

  I nod and pick up my purse that slipped from my shoulder at some point. I slide it back onto my shoulder and delve inside and pull out a pack of tissues.

  It doesn’t take long for me to sort myself out and for both of us to fix our disheveled, just-fucked appearances.

  “Why’d you mess with my head like that ‘bout pulling out, Rox?” he demands suddenly.

  “What?”

  “You know what I’m getting at. You want that then?”

  “I—”

  Heavy footsteps stop me. Neil and I both spin around to see my dad storming towards us. Oh my God. It hasn’t been two minutes since Neil and I fixed our appearances. Dad must have seen something then. Wow. This is awkward.

  It gets more awkward as his fist suddenly comes at Neil, slamming into the side of his face and making him stumble back from the force of it.

  “Dad!” I yell. “What—?”

  “Fucked my daughter in a shitty alleyway?” he roars at Neil. “Told you before! She ain’t biker trash!”

  “I know she ain’t.”

  “Just treated her like she was, fucker!”

  I roll my eyes. This is ridiculous. “Dad! Stop it!”

  “Roxana—”

  I reach out to Neil and trace my fingers over his now red raw cheek. “You okay?”

  He ignores me and glowers at my dad. “Didn’t plan it, all right? I’m sorry.”

  Sorry? Neil is apologizing? Well, that’s new. And why is he being so respectful with my dad? The last I heard about their relationship, neither one of them would give any ground with the other. Both their egos were too big for that.

  “What’s going on?” I ask, looking between the two of them.

  My dad folds his arms across his chest and says, “What’s going on was you two fucking down this dirty alleyway.” His eyes narrow at Neil. “Bareback,” he snarls.

  Oh my God. This is getting way too graphic. “Dad, stop. Just stop, please.”

  Both of them eye me in surprise, probably confused by my soft tone. It’s not the way I used to be.

  My dad blows out a breath, clearly trying to force himself to calm down in response to my obvious distress over this awkward conversation. He manages it and says, “Ax and me are here for a reason. Need to get you outta here for a bit, cuz you ain’t safe right now.”

  “We’ll explain once we’re on the road,” Neil adds. “Gonna head back to your place so you can pack up some stuff and then we’ll get gone, yeah?” he says, rubbing my arm gently.

  I nod.

  They both eye one another, once again surprised. This time, I know it’s because I’m not arguing as I normally would.

  “I gotta stop by the clubhouse to talk some shit over with Ax, princess. You okay to wait there for ‘bout an hour then you and me gonna take off to one of my safe houses?”

  “Why can’t I stay at the clubhouse? Isn’t it as safe as one of your places?”

  My dad’s brow furrows in confusion. He eyes Neil and Neil asks me, “You wanna stay at the clubhouse?”

  “Unless you don’t want me to,” I respond, not sure what the big deal is here.

  “You’d be under club protection, Roxana,” my dad cuts in. “Bound by club rules and on lockdown. You couldn’t come and go as you please.”

  I look at Neil and he nods, confirming what my dad’s saying. He’s staring at me like he doesn’t know me or something, like he’s trying to figure me out. I just shrug and tell them both, “Sure. That’s fine.”

  They both watch me for a few seconds, before my dad finally says, “Right, well, let’s get outta here and head back to your place.”

  “Okay,” I say, reaching for Neil’s hand.

  “Babe?” he asks, taking it and squeezing it gently.

  “Yeah?”

  “You…okay?”

  “Fine. Why?”

  It looks like he’s deciding on how to respond for a moment. But then he just says, “No reason,” and starts to lead the way out of the alley.

  My dad follows behind. As the three of us make our way through the busy streets, my dad suddenly comes up on my other side and tells me, “You gonna pic
k up that pill, yeah?”

  “Pill?” I ask, wondering what he’s getting at.

  “Morning after pill,” he clarifies. “If not, I’ll go get it for you.”

  Oh. Well, this is incredibly uncomfortable—my dad saying these words to me and in front of Neil, no less. I’m so caught off guard, all I can manage is a quiet, “Oh.”

  That doesn’t seem to satisfy him, so he growls across me at Neil who’s on my other side, “You hear me, Ax?”

  Neil nods. “Yeah, I hear you.”

  “Fucking better. Don’t want a repeat of last time ‘round.”

  His words rip right through me and I come to a sudden stop, inadvertently pulling on Neil’s hand and causing him to do the same.

  “Dealer,” I hear Neil say harshly. “What the fuck?”

  “Shit, princess. I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I just—”

  “Leave it,” Neil orders him, saving me from having to respond.

  I’m not even sure I can. Just hearing that reference to that tragic day where everything was ripped away in one fell swoop, has my mind reeling and me retreating into myself as part of some sort of protective instinct.

  I feel Neil wrap his arms around me, shielding me in a protective bear hug. “It’s okay, beautiful girl. It’s all okay. Yeah? You feel me?”

  “Yeah,” I eke out.

  Chapter 6

  ~Ax~

  “Shit,” Dealer mutters from beside me as we both lean against our bikes in the underground parking lot of Rox’s condo building.

  After his slip up back in the alley, Rox asked us both to wait outside for her while she took a quick shower and packed a bag. She didn’t want either of us going into her place with her. I know it’s cuz she’s tryin’ to get her shit together after all the painful memories Dealer and his big mouth dredged up for her. It’s taking me a lot to wrap my head ‘round it—her—the major change in her. She ain’t the woman I knew. She ain’t the ball-buster I first met in Brockford all those months back.

  When we were fucking, I did see the old her. The wild thing that I remembered. But running up to it, she weren’t her. Fuck, I almost stopped right there when I saw that look in her eyes. Fear or some shit, like I was the big bad wolf and she was a helpless lamb to the slaughter. It threw me through a loop, cuz she’s always been the one girl I been with who could give me a run for my money, give it back to me every damn time. The second I’d touched her, she became the old her. I felt it while we were fucking. But then not wanting me to pull out? What was that?

  Yeah, she’s different all right. And I ain’t exactly sure how to handle it. Ain’t never had to handle no one with kid gloves before, especially not her. But it’s looking like that’s what I gotta do here now. Ain’t my area of expertise either. Shit.

  “Yeah. Ain’t exactly gentle, are you?” I respond to Dealer as I drag on my smoke.

  “Never had to be with her before. Roxana’s always been a tough little thing. But all the shit that went down a few months back…she ain’t moved past it.”

  “Yeah. I’m getting that.”

  “It don’t make sense, Ax. Her life ain’t exactly been easy. Ever. But nothing’s had her like this before.”

  His words hit me hard. Shit. I get it now. I get what’s happened here. Jesus Christ. “It’s my fault.”

  “What?”

  “Things between us…changed her. She got a taste of something she weren’t used to and she wanted it…to settle down…us and our kid. And then it all got ripped away. How’d you let go of that?” I push off my bike and turn, kicking the concrete pillar behind me. “It all went to shit, cuz of me!”

  “Nah, weren’t you, Ax. All on Trig and Skinner.”

  “She was my woman! Was my job to protect her and I fucking failed.”

  He shakes his head sadly. “No one coulda stopped that truck from going off the road. Me and Ralph were shocked you kept control over it for as long as you did. Fucking incredible driving. And kicking that windshield out like that when you were half dead at the time…you saved her life. Some superhuman shit there, Ax. I know I came at you at the hospital, but, truth is, I ain’t never gonna forget what you did for her.” He grips my shoulder. “Fuck. You were gonna walk away from the entire club for my daughter. I weren’t prepared to do that for Kim. Roxana was your top priority above all else, even above taking out Skinner—something you’d wanted for decades. And you were gonna walk away from it. For her.”

  “I—” My words get lost as something in my peripherals catches my attention.

  I turn to get a proper look.

  A limo’s pulling up at the front of the building.

  Didn’t even hear the damn thing coming down the street. Then again, my hearing ain’t exactly the best. Too many years ‘round a bunch of noisy bikes and all that. Don’t help that me and Dealer were distracted talkin’ ‘bout what we were either.

  “Fuck,” Dealer mutters as he follows my line of sight.

  We watch three guys step out. But it’s the guy in the middle that’s got my full attention.

  The suit.

  He heads up the steps and gestures for his guys to stay there, just outside the lobby. They stand there like a couple of guard dogs as he disappears inside the building.

  I’d recognize that piece of shit anywhere.

  “Kent,” I seethe.

  “Jesus. He moved faster than I figured he would,” Dealer says, the strain in his voice giving him away. Can’t hide how fucking scared he is right now—scared for his daughter. He makes a move towards the guard dogs, but I grab his arm, pulling him back.

  “Ax! He’s headed up to her! We gotta move now!”

  “Yeah, we do. But on the down low. We take on Kent’s guard dogs and he’s gonna know we’re here. He’ll just call in more of his guys and it’ll be a fucking bloodbath before you can snap your damn fingers. Too damn hard to cover up all that shit.” I point to the stairwell entrance—the emergency exit door—at the other end of the parking lot.

  “That damn thing’s locked.”

  “You know my background, old man.”

  He nods, getting it. I used to be a thief and I was real good at it. Getting that door open ain’t gonna be a problem.

  “All right. Let’s move,” he says, leading the way.

  ***

  I feel much better now I’m out of that damn dress and in much more comfortable clothes: jeans, a black tank top, along with my leather riding boots for the long bike ride that awaits me. Neil’s clubhouse is about a three-hour drive from here. Although, with the way he and my dad ride, it could actually be a lot shorter. They’re really similar in how they ride. They both think they’re above the law when it comes to speed limits and the rules of the road.

  As I reach for my leather jacket lying on my bed, I stop short.

  Footsteps!

  Someone is coming down the hallway.

  I shake my head at myself. Why am I freaking out? It must be Neil or my dad. They’ve probably come to hurry me along. Neither of them is known for their patience. I’m surprised they’ve actually lasted the twenty minutes it’s taken me to shower, change and pack up a few things, without texting me to hurry.

  They probably wanted to, but didn’t because they’re frightened of upsetting me again, after the incident earlier and how badly I reacted to what my dad accidentally said. Urgh. I feel like an idiot. I should’ve just brushed it off, but it’d caught me off guard and I’d failed. I’d actually ended up crying in front of them on the journey to my place. Both of them had been so shocked that they’d barely said a word to me. They’re both tough-as-nails alpha male types and sensitivity isn’t exactly their strong suit. They probably didn’t know how the hell to handle the situation.

  That awkwardness is why I asked them to wait downstairs. I needed time to get myself together, so I can appear completely fine when I join them again.

  I snatch up my jacket and the gym bag I packed with a few clothes and supplies to tide me over for a while. I start to
wards the bedroom door.

  And that’s when I see I was incredibly wrong. Those footsteps I heard don’t belong to Neil or my dad.

  They belong to him.

  Oh my God.

  I step back and end up dropping my bag and jacket in my utter shock.

  “Malcolm,” I gasp.

  “It’s been a while, Roxana.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “You and I have business to discuss, baby.”

  He’s leaning against the door frame, his arms folded across his chest. He’s dressed just like the man I’d known years ago—in a designer suit. This one is a black pinstripe with a crisp white shirt and a black silk tie. He’s clean shaven as usual. He brushes back his wavy, shoulder-length black hair and those piercing deep brown eyes of his sweep over me, eye-fucking me on the spot.

  I’m not really surprised. Malcolm never did hide his feelings towards me. He was very overt with it all. Public displays of affection. Grand gestures.

  “What business?” I ask, having absolutely no clue as to why he’s suddenly here, in my home, after all this time.

  He grins slyly and takes a step into my bedroom.

  I force myself not to react. That’s not the way to deal with a man like Malcolm. As soon as he smells fear, it’s all over. I need to maintain the upper hand here and act like his shocking presence in my home after all these years isn’t freaking me out beyond belief.

  But…shit…what the fuck is he doing here?

  Stop it. Just breathe. Breathe.

  I turn and snatch up my jacket. As I do, I catch his eye and I’m shocked to see him suddenly storming towards me.

  He closes the distance between us in seconds. He grabs my arm and fingers my tattoo. The sun and the thorns. My Neil tattoo. It represents us. He always used to call me his sunshine, hence the sun. And the thorns? Well, they stand for him—the president of Black Thorns.

  “Thorns?” Malcolm murmurs.

  He releases me roughly and demands, “Does this mean what I think it does?”

  “It’s not your business,” I tell him as I shrug on my jacket and then sling my gym bag over my shoulder.