by Jayne Blue
Colt crossed the room and gathered me into his arms. I craned my neck up to meet his lips. He cradled me in his arms like I was some bird’s egg that might break. I wasn’t though. I was a survivor. I reached up and ran my hand down his solid jaw, tilting his head toward mine.
His kisses were slow and tender at first. As he looked into my eyes, I knew he saw a different face. He saw me as hurt, broken like I was that night two years ago. I would have none of it. Nothing had changed. I would not let Colt treat me like a victim.
“Look at me,” I said, cupping Colt’s face in my hands. I jerked him down. His eyes flashed wide.
“Look at me,” I said again. “I’m not broken. I’m not hurt.”
“You never will be again. I swear to you, Amy. I swear to God. I’m going to make it so that fucking asshole can’t come near you . . . can’t do what he did to you or any woman ever again.”
My heart turned to stone. I knew that look in Colt’s eyes. Something went dead in him. Like he no longer cared what happened to him. I didn’t think I was afraid of Roy anymore, but I was afraid of this. Colt couldn’t go up against him without deadly consequences.
“What are you planning?” My fingers froze around his face. I wouldn’t let him turn his head. I wanted to see his eyes. “Colt?”
He brought his hands up and closed them around my wrists. He pulled my hands down and held them in his lap. “You don’t need to worry.”
I barked out a laugh. “Worry? Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m not some chick you just met on the street. I know how the club works. You don’t go up against the president like that. You don’t go against the club like that. You think you’re one of them, but you’re not. Green Bluff maybe, but here, you’re nothing as far as they’re concerned.”
I pulled away from him and stood. He made a noise like he was going to speak, but I whirled on him. “You’ll have no support. You get that, right? Those guys won’t turn on Roy no matter how bad he is. How wrong. He’d have to kill another member right in front of them or get caught stealing from the club. Not this, though. Not over me.” I pointed to my face. Colt winced, and again I knew he was seeing me as he did in those awful police photos.
“He got them all believing I fucked around on him with a guy at work. That I came after him with a baseball bat. None of the rest of them ever saw what he did to me. They won’t believe you.”
“I don’t give a shit.” Colt rose to his feet. He towered over me and took a step toward me. God help me, I flinched. I knew he’d never hurt me, but I couldn’t help that part of me Roy had broken for good. Colt’s eyes widened and filled with hurt. He sat down and folded his hands in his lap.
“I don’t give a shit what the rest of them believe. And they will believe. I’ve told you before this is bigger than just what happened to you. You’re not nobody to them. They owe Duke as much as they owe Catman. And it doesn’t matter because he’s gone. One way or the other, he’s gone.”
I went to him then. I stood in the space between his legs. Colt brought his hands up and held them on the back of my legs. He looked up at me and again, he had that look of pain. He saw the face in the photos rather than the face in front of him. I would have none of it.
“Enough,” I whispered. He would have my strength, not my breaking point. I leaned down and kissed him. I wasn’t tender. I tore my hands through his hair, tilting his head back hard enough that he let out a startled breath. I crushed my lips to his and reached around, bringing one of his hands up, resting it on my breast.
Colt responded. He gripped my ass hard with his other hand. I lifted the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, tossing it into the corner. Then I reached down and did the same with his shirt.
“Fuck me,” I said. “Hard.”
He clenched his teeth as he looked up at me. Gone were the pain and concern. In its place, animal lust.
“Fuck me,” I said again, almost snarling. I pressed my lips to his again and brought my hands down, raking them across his naked back. Colt hissed through his teeth. He fumbled with the zipper on my jeans then jerked them down with a powerful movement.
I pushed off him and kicked out of my jeans. I bent over the edge of Jase’s couch, offering my ass to Colt. This. I wanted him to take me rough and hard. Nothing gentle. Nothing guarded.
Colt responded. He came behind me and pressed his knee between my legs, spreading them even wider, so I had to grip the sides of the couch to keep my balance. He had me splayed apart; my ass angled impossibly high to give him better access. Heated blood coursed through my veins. I throbbed for him. Dripped for him. My breath came in quick pants; my clit was so primed, so sensitive that just the shifting of the air behind me sent shivers down my legs.
“Fuck me,” I whispered. Colt let out a noise like an answering growl. He reached for me, grasping my swollen sex between rough fingers; he stroked me. I cried out from the merciless pleasure. He worked me well, rolling the pad of his thumb over my taut little bud, coaxing more heat and moisture from deep within me. He made my body respond as if he’d trained me all along. I struggled to spread my legs even wider, arch my back even more. Anything to feel more of the skillful attention of those fingers of his.
But he pulled back. “Don’t move,” he said, his voice ragged with lust. I heard the rustle of his jeans as he kicked them aside. New heat flared between my legs at the promise of that thick, hard cock sliding deep into me.
He came to me again. I felt his dick against my leg, pulsing and hard as an iron rod. “You want this?” he asked. He stroked himself against me, making me quiver and thrust against him. Any control I had was gone. I felt built for sex. I’d do anything to get him inside me. Anything.
“Yes,” I gasped. “Please. Don’t make me beg.”
His wicked laughter sent a shudder through me. “But I want to make you beg.” His hot breath came against my ear, and he kissed me and nipped me.
“Please,” my voice quivered. “Colt. Please.”
“Please what?”
“Give it to me. Fuck me. I’ll do anything.”
“Fuck,” he whispered. “Do you have any idea how fucking sexy you look right now? You’re all pink and swollen for me.” To illustrate his point, he ran a slow finger between my folds, tapping gently on my little clit. I gasped again and begged some more.
But Colt was primed too. As much as he talked tough, he was every bit as lost as I was. He couldn’t control himself another second. He lined up and plunged deep inside me, sheathing himself to the root with a thrust so powerful he rocked me off my toes. Oh, it was so good. I felt so full. I tore into the sides of the leather couch to brace myself as Colt began his delicious, punishing rhythm.
“Yes!” I cried out, and then I was beyond the point of speech. Colt gripped my hips to angle me backward, finding a way to drive himself even deeper. His movements were slow, forceful, perfect at first. And then, as his powerful need rose, his rhythm became erratic. He brought me off my feet as he drilled me from behind, making my teeth rattle. But I wanted it. Needed it. It mattered that he knew . . . that I knew I wasn’t some delicate flower needing tender care for fear I might wilt. I had been through hell and back and survived. This was my body. My choice. My power.
Then Colt pulled out of me, leaving me empty and gasping for breath.
“Turn over,” he said. “I want to come together.” With wobbly legs, I pulled myself up and turned to face him. Colt held the base of his cock and stroked himself. I looked back at the couch; it wasn’t wide enough for the both of us. A slow smile spread across my face as I had a better idea. I lowered myself to the ground, spreading my shaking knees wide for him. Colt’s eyes were hooded with desire as he went down, kneeling between my thighs.
I lay back as Colt guided himself into me again. My pussy throbbed and ached, grateful to feel him inside me. Then Colt fucked me. It was wild and raw. I let him take me right there, on the floor. He brought my ankles up, spreading my legs impossibly wide as he pounded into m
e. I met him thrust for thrust, using him for leverage.
Then neither of us could control it for a second longer. He came first. I felt liquid heat explode deep inside me. He gripped my ankles and arched his back. My nails raked down his back again as my own shattering orgasm began. I clenched and pulsed around him, milking every last drop out of him. God, it felt so good. Right and deliciously wrong.
When he felt me crest down, Colt gathered me in his arms, still buried deep within me. Now he could be gentle. Now I would accept his light kisses along the column of my throat as he whispered my name.
I wanted all of him and he’d given it. I’d given all of me too. I shed something that morning I hadn’t realized I had still held within me. The pain and fear of the last two years seemed to fade away as Colt held me in his arms. Though we’d spent such a short time together, I knew he loved me. Knew he would never hurt me the way I’d been hurt before. And I knew one last thing that made me shudder.
I knew when all was said and done, to be free of Roy forever, I might lose Colt too unless I could find a way to stop it.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Colt
Amy slept in my arms until almost noon. I learned something else about her that morning. When she fell into a deep sleep, nothing could wake her. My Sleeping Beauty. She was also a bed hog. We’d pulled out the sleeper sofa. I woke up just before I tumbled off the edge. Amy was sprawled out spreadeagle, her arms above her head.
“For someone as little as you are, you sure take up a lot of damn room,” I whispered to her while I pulled up my jeans. I leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. She groaned and shifted, but didn’t wake. I let her sleep though the temptation to start kissing her lower down was great.
I found my t-shirt thrown against the wall. My socks and boots too. I slid my arms through the sleeves of my cut and tucked my gun back into the waistband at my back. Then I went up the stairs and left her to her dreams. Her sleeping face curled into a smile and I hoped she dreamt of me. I couldn’t wait for the chance to make them come true for her.
Jase waited for me in the kitchen when I came up the stairs. He shoved a mug of coffee into my waiting hand. “Thanks. You’re better than some housewife from the fifties,” I joked. He answered with his middle finger.
“What happens next?” he asked, sipping from his cup. Though it was afternoon, it was morning for Jase with the work hours he kept.
“Don’t ask me that too many more times, Jase,” I said. “Can you stick close to home today? Keep an eye on Amy? She’s not going to like it, but I want her to stay put until you hear from me again.”
He nodded but was staring out the window. When Jase brooded, he looked just like our father. His jaw clenched and his dark brows furrowed so deep it looked like they merged into one. I had to laugh; it had to be the same look that came over my own face when I did it too.
“I’m just heading over to the clubhouse with Kellan, that’s all,” I reassured him. It was the truth but meant nothing. What we planned to do after that is what Jase cared about. And it’s what I could never tell him. Either Catman would die today, or I would. There could be no other end to this. Kellan wanted to talk to Brax and some of the others. He thought they might be convinced to challenge Catman. Maybe. But Catman had his support too. And Amy was right. In the end, I was on my own. Lincolnshire wasn’t Green Bluff.
Green Bluff. I thought about calling Sly and Dex. They’d offered to come here. The idea had appeal but though I’d been gone for years, Lincolnshire was still my backyard. It was still mine to clean up or claim. If I took it back, it had to be on my terms or not at all. Those that were left standing if I took Catman down would never respect me if I couldn’t do this alone. I had to earn their trust, not force it out of them.
“Just promise me you’ll be careful,” Jase said. “I think Kellan Carter is a stand-up guy. I don’t know him well, but there’s always been something about him. I think maybe you can trust him.”
I nodded. “I can.”
I had finished my coffee and set my cup down. I reached out to shake my brother’s hand and thank him for looking out for Amy and me. But Jase pulled me into an embrace and squeezed me tight. I tensed at first but hugged him back.
“I love you,” he said as he pulled away, slapping me on the back. “You’re still my brother, and this is still home. I’ll do what I can if you need me too.”
A lump choked in my throat. We hadn’t said those words to each other in so many years. He was right, though. They’d never stopped being true.
“It’s going to be okay. I can’t promise you how or when, but Lincolnshire is going to change. It has to.”
Jase nodded. I intended to say more but realized there was nothing left to say. I gave him a grim nod and headed out the door.
***
The clubhouse was quiet when I arrived. I checked my gun at my back and took a deep breath as I killed my engine and walked up to the back door. When I swung it open, I expected to see Kellan waiting for me. He was the one person I didn’t see. I didn’t like it.
“Hey.” I gave a chin nod to Brax behind the bar. Lonnie and Joker sat in front of it sipping beers. Mac, E.J., Tate, and Sully were playing pool. I didn’t see Tommy or Catman, and that was the second thing that had me worried. On instinct, I checked my weapon again. Sully straightened and leaned on his pool stick. He gave a look to Lonnie and Lonnie nodded back. He got up and headed for the back office where I assumed at least Catman was.
Something was up. I got just the slightest look of acknowledgment from Brax. He looked like he was going to be sick. Where the fuck was Kellan? Tate was missing too.
The office door swung open, and Tommy came out. I could see Catman sitting at the conference table alone. Everyone stood. Lonnie, Mac, and Joker closed in behind me. Sully and E.J. headed for the back office.
“Prez wants a meeting,” Tommy said. “Go inside.”
“Sure,” I said. “Where’s Kel and Tate?”
“Out doing collections,” Sully answered.
I had two choices. I could turn around and walk out. Or I could go in that office and face whatever the hell Catman had planned. There were eight of them. Eight against one. We were all packing. If bad shit was about to go down, I wouldn’t make it two steps.
I walked into the office and took a seat at the end of the table. The rest of them took their seats. Brax brought up the rear and closed the door. I stared straight at Catman. His eyes flashed cold steel. A tiny smirk lifted the corner of his mouth, and I knew then it wouldn’t matter what I said or he said. He was about to fuck me hard. The question was whether I’d get to walk out of here alive.
“What the fuck is this about?” I said. I kept my eyes on Catman. I needed to stay calm, but all I could think about was Jase’s police photos. Amy had hated that. I knew what this morning was about. She wanted to drive those images out of my head. She never wanted me to think of them when I looked at her, ever again. And I wouldn’t. She wasn’t what Catman did to her.
But it didn’t mean I wouldn’t see those damn pictures every time I looked at Catman. If I did survive the next hour, I knew with stone-cold clarity that I would make him pay for it with his life.
“A lot’s been going on since yesterday,” Tommy said. I didn’t move my gaze from Catman. His smirk grew into a full-fledged flash of teeth. He was going to let Tommy lay this all out while he sat there looking smug.
“Rents have been coming up short for weeks.” My heart skipped. Rents? My thoughts raced. How many times had Kellan said Ricky or one of the other business owners had come up light? Maybe this wasn’t about me at all. But Kellan . . . fuck . . . Ricky’s battered face loomed in my mind. Where the fuck was Kellan?
“Colt!” Tommy slammed his fist on the table, bringing me back out of my own damn head.
“Yeah,” I said. “Short rents. I’m listening.” Then I shut my mouth. It was in me to ask about Kellan again, but my gut said the less I talked, the better my chances o
f walking out that door.
“We know Kellan’s got a soft heart. He lets things slide. At first we kind of just figured that was happening again. So, Catman and I went around behind you and Kellan last week. Tried to put a little extra pressure on. But we found out some more interesting shit. You got anything you want to say?”
Me? Say? I kept my mouth shut tight. Whatever this was, my words wouldn’t matter one fucking bit. That was clear from Catman’s eyes. For the first time, I took my eyes off him. I looked across the table at Brax. He had his head down. Every one of the rest of them stared red murder at me. But not Brax. When he did look up, shame filled his eyes. And then I understood where this was going.
“You think I’m skimming?” I said. Jesus Christ. This was a fucking setup. I clenched my fists on the table. I had to be cool. I had to figure out what the root of this was. Was this just Catman’s chance to finally run me out because he knew I’d talked to the others about the gym plan? Or was it something worse? Did he know about Amy? I said a silent prayer that I’d left her safe and warm in bed. Jase was there to protect her.
“We tossed Kellan’s place,” Sully answered. “Early this morning, Colt.”
“Yeah?”
Tommy reached down and threw a black duffle onto the table. It was mine. It had the Great Wolves Gym logo embroidered in red on the side. Tommy opened it, and stacks of hundreds spilled out.
Fuck. I could protest. I could say the truth until I was blue in the face. They set me up. This was Tommy and Catman at least. But I looked around the table. All I saw was accusation and hate in everyone’s eyes but Brax’s.
I leaned back in my chair and flapped my hand against the table. “Looks like you’ve already convicted me. That shit ain’t mine. I suppose it doesn’t matter, though. You got what you wanted, didn’t you, Catman? You got all of them believing I’m a fucking thief. Congratulations.”
Catman pushed himself away from the table and stood. “Yeah. That’s right. I want them all to know you’re a fucking traitor and a thief. That’s why Sly ran you out of Green Bluff, didnt’ he? You’ve been saying that place is a cash cow ever since you got here. Slinging your line of bullshit while you’ve been robbing my club blind. I told them from the beginning you were running a scam. It took this to get them to believe it.”
