Colt (Desert Sinners MC Book 2)

by Rachel Lyn Adams

She covered her face with her hands and I hoped I hadn’t hurt her more with my explanation. “I’m such an idiot,” she said and it almost sounded like she was laughing. It was confusing as hell. “I was only talking to that other guy to make you jealous. I was hoping you would make some sort of grand gesture and tell everyone I was yours.”

  That made me smile. “I’m not one for big, public displays like that, but I am sorry for how things turned out.” I paused. “I’ve often wondered what would have happened if your dad hadn’t caught me.”

  It was the truth. Who knows how things may have played out if I hadn’t let her father run me off. Knowing her now, I would have been a lucky man to have a woman like her by my side. But I wasn’t ready for someone like her back then.

  “I’m sorry, too,” she whispered.

  This moment between us was the most real interaction I had with someone in a long time. I felt like I was seeing Ember in a totally different light. I no longer felt anger when I looked at her. Instead, I saw her as a woman who deserved to have someone care about her the same way she cared for all those around her.

  The desire to pull her into my arms and kiss her was overwhelming and I had no choice but to give in. Unlike the night of Fitz’s funeral, I wasn’t trying to chase away my demons. This time, I was chasing her.

  She moved willingly when I pulled her over to straddle my lap. When our lips met, her tongue began playing with mine showing she was just as into this as I was. Needing more of her, I ripped her shirt over her head, revealing the soft, pink bra she was wearing underneath.

  I licked and nipped my way down to her ample tits. She threw her head back when I pulled down the cup of her bra and sucked the tip of her breast into my mouth. She ran her fingers through my hair and grinded herself on my dick as I moved to shower her other tit with the same attention.

  Her hips were moving faster, and when she reached for my cock, I knew she wanted more. Flicking open the button on her jeans, I slid my hand into her panties and wasn’t surprised to find her soaking wet already. With slow movements, I rubbed my fingertip around her clit, never quite putting pressure where she wanted it most.

  “You’re killing me,” she huffed as she continued to grind her pussy on my hand.

  Watching her chase her own pleasure was a major turn on. And seeing her uninhibited drove home the thought that she was really starting to trust me.

  After a couple more minutes of torture, I relented and pushed two fingers inside of her heat. I moved my lips back to her neck, sucking the soft flesh into my mouth.

  “Colt, I need more.” Her pleading was enough to make me lose control.

  “Your wish is my command,” I said, flipping her onto her back on the couch next to me.

  I finished pulling her jeans off, tossing them on the floor next to us. She raised up on her elbows to watch me undress. I remembered to grab a condom out of my wallet before kicking off my jeans to join hers in the pile.

  I must have taken too long for Ember’s liking because she reached up, grabbed the condom out of my hand, and was rolling it on me before I even realized what she was doing.

  When I looked down and smiled at her, she had her bottom lip clenched between her teeth looking slightly embarrassed by her own impatience. “Too late for that innocent look, don’t you think, babe?”

  She shrugged her shoulders and then wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me closer to her body. I lined my cock up with her entrance and pushed myself forward. The minute I was fully seated inside her, my head dropped back and I stopped moving for a minute just to enjoy the feel of her warmth.

  Once I felt in control again, I started thrusting into her fast and hard. I could feel my balls tightening up with my impending release, so I reached between us and started to rub her clit with my thumb. I wasn’t going to finish without her coming first.

  “Oh my god, Colt!”

  I could feel her body start to convulse around me. I slammed my lips over hers as I quickened my pace until my release took over.

  23

  Ember

  I could barely move, my body ached in the most wonderful way. But, one look at the clock told me we better hurry up and get dressed if we didn’t want someone walking in on us.

  “Do you think it would be okay if I made that dinner I planned for everyone tonight?”

  “You want to fuck me then feed me? Babe, I don’t see a problem with that at all.”

  I wanted to smack the smirk right off his face, but I couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing his playful side had me craving more from him.

  I didn’t know if this afternoon would change things between us and I wasn’t ready to push for a conversation about it. But, I also wasn’t going to let my own doubts ruin this moment. I could freak out later when I was alone.

  I still had no idea if he was sleeping with other women and I wasn’t going to ask that either. At least this post-sex moment was ending a lot better than our last one. I couldn’t help but be pleased by the happy expression on Colt’s face.

  We moved around the room, redressing and fixing the cushions we knocked off the couch. With one last kiss that went a little longer than I intended, I managed to pull myself away from Colt and head to the kitchen.

  The women here kept the pantry and refrigerator well stocked and I was relieved to find all of the ingredients I needed for my mom’s famous baked spaghetti recipe. It was always a hit and an easy way to satisfy a large group of hungry bikers.

  “Something smells good in here. Do you need any help?” Kate asked, walking into the kitchen as I put the casserole in the oven.

  “Thanks. You can help me put together a salad.”

  I grabbed everything we needed from the fridge and laid it all out on the counter. We started chopping everything up, but I could feel Kate staring at me. I looked up and saw she was trying to hold back a laugh.

  “What? Do I have sauce on my face?”

  “No, but you do have a huge ass hickey on your neck. Looks like someone had some fun after she left the diner.”

  I ran to the bathroom down the hall to check my reflection in the mirror. Sure enough, Colt left evidence of our afternoon hookup right where anyone could see it.

  I walked back into the kitchen only to find the wannabe vampire chatting up my friend. I glared at him while Kate busted out laughing.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Look what you did,” I said, pointing to my neck. “I look like a sixteen-year-old who was up to something while her parents were at work.”

  Colt just stood there smiling at me.

  “Ugh! You’re infuriating.”

  “Yeah, but you like me this way.”

  It was true, I really did like him… in every way as much as I wanted to deny it.

  “I’ll let you two get back to it,” he said, popping a cherry tomato in his mouth before walking out.

  “You guys are so cute. I have to admit, I was surprised when I heard you two were together. Colt’s always been nice to me, but to be honest, he’s a bit of a broody asshole. He’s like a different person around you. Now it makes sense.”

  Kate’s words were sweet, but they made me feel guilty for not being honest with her. She was one of the only real friends I’d made while living here, and it didn’t feel right to keep her in the dark any longer.

  “We’re not really together,” I told her, keeping my voice low.

  Her eyebrows shot up. “What? What do you mean?”

  “You can’t tell anyone, only the officers know.” I trusted her implicitly seeing as she was Viking’s daughter. Still, I hoped explaining this to her wouldn’t cause problems between her and Mac since he knew the truth. “We’re pretending to be in a relationship because we think Torch might be up to something.” I continued to tell her the whole story while watching the doorway to make sure no one overheard us.

  “Oh my god. I can’t believe what that asshole did to you,” she said, angry on my behalf. “And while I could kill Mac and m
y father for not telling me, I understand why they didn’t. But if you ever need someone to talk to, you have me. Don’t forget that.”

  “Thank you.”

  Kate gave me a hug that I didn’t know I needed. She had no idea how much I appreciated her friendship. With my mom and Phoebe, I couldn’t always be honest with them about what was happening in my life. Keeping this secret was hard and every time I talked to them, or James, I felt awful. Finally telling someone in friendly conversation and not out of necessity felt freeing.

  Kate released me, looking me in the eye. “And I know you didn’t ask for my opinion, but I don’t think Colt’s faking anymore. I wasn’t lying when I said he’s different around you. He smiles more, laughs more, just seems happier.”

  I felt my face get warm. “He just wants to find out what’s going on with Torch, that’s it, really.”

  Kate shrugged, smiling big. “If you say so, but I think you’re wrong.”

  She had no idea how much I wanted that to be true, but I’d learned my lesson the hard way about happily ever afters. Some people got them, and some people would always be chasing a dream.

  24

  Colt

  Things between Ember and I were changing, but we hadn’t talked about what any of it meant. I knew I wanted to pursue something with her, but with everything else going on, I wasn’t sure now was the right time. Ember deserved someone who could put her first and give her all the time in the world. Right now, my focus was divided in a million directions. I needed time to clear my head, so today, I was working on the house I bought a couple of months ago.

  Only a few of the guys knew about this place. I was trying to renovate it so I would have a house where Jett and Jasmine could spend entire weekends with me. It was halfway between the clubhouse and Jenna’s home, which was perfect. Knowing that a judge might be determining my future with my kids soon, I was putting in long hours to get the place ready.

  Just as I was finishing up for the day, I received a text from Viking calling for a meeting. My entire body ached, and I wanted nothing more than to take a shower and crawl into bed. But, if Viking was calling an impromptu meeting, then there was something important to discuss.

  For the past few weeks, things had been calm, so calm that it was only inevitable that something bad was on the horizon. The Phantoms came to mind, but surprisingly, they hadn’t done anything to draw our attention. We still had no idea who was helping them and not knowing other players was dangerous to us. Despite that issue, all our operations, illegal and legal, were running smoothly. In terms of our other major issue, the small bits of information we had Ember feeding Torch still seemed to be enough, but it was hard to tell with Torch in Reno and no eyes on him what he was up to.

  I’d thought about using my dad’s firm for phone taps, but Viking had nixed that idea. This was personal and it’d be taken care of by Desert Sinners members only. We’d always relied on our own resources and it’d never failed us. If things got real bad, then we’d reconsider but not until our hand was forced.

  I climbed onto my bike and made the drive back to the clubhouse. Judging by the bikes parked out front, I was one of the last to arrive.

  When I walked in, my eyes found the woman I couldn’t get out of my head, even if I wanted to. She was talking to Kate in the main room. The two of them had established a close friendship, and I was glad she had someone she could confide in.

  Ember managed to integrate herself with the members here, as well as with Kate and Meredith, and after I claimed her, any lingering issues from club members and old ladies had disappeared. It was another difference between her and my ex. Once Jenna and I were together, she acted like being married to me made her better than everyone else, something that got worse when I became VP. That was just one source of tension between us. I’d slowly come to realize that she’d never loved me and had been using me. It’d been a tough pill to swallow, but a lesson well learned.

  Ember gave a small but genuine smile when she saw me, and I found myself smiling back. The flash of surprise across her face was brief, but I saw it. Was I that much of an asshole that it shocked her when I was nice? I chuckled to myself. Of course, I was.

  I glanced in her direction one more time and then headed toward the back room for church. The guys were standing around shooting the shit, but when Viking saw me enter, he called the meeting to order.

  “Okay, boys, the chance we’ve been waiting for is finally here. We got a tip that the Phantoms are planning a large drug deal just outside of town in two weeks. The club they are dealing with, the Iron Riders, reached out to me. It seems they aren’t too happy with the way the Phantoms are conducting business. All of the Phantoms’ heavy hitters will be there.”

  I knew all about the Iron Riders. They were a club from New Mexico, and I found it odd that they were doing business in Las Vegas. I wondered about their motivation, but this was our first solid lead in weeks. It was time to deal with the Phantoms and rid ourselves of them for good.

  Viking continued. “In exchange for their help, I’ve promised to not retaliate against the Riders for doing business on our turf.”

  “Is going after the Phantoms right now the best course of action? We still don’t know if they were involved with Fitz’s murder,” Hawk reminded everyone.

  Viking nodded. “You’re right. We don’t know if they’re connected, but we’ve been waiting for our opportunity to take out these bastards for far too long and this might be our opportunity to find out if they were involved.” He looked around the whole room. “I want to pull in Reno, they’re the closest club to us and we may need them, plus, they’ve been dealing with the Phantoms in their back yard, too. But we can put it up for a vote.”

  We all knew before Ice was locked up, he wanted to take down the Phantoms as much as we did. Since only the officers of our club knew about our issues with Torch, we had to bring in the Reno chapter to avoid raising suspicion. I glanced over the faces of all the men of this club, knowing they only understood part of the truth, and realized how angry they’d be when they were told. Once this was over, we’d have to inform the other chapters as well, and it was going to be a clusterfuck, especially for Viking since it happened under his watch.

  Conversations rang out around the room. Most were questions about the logistics and making sure we didn’t bring any heat from law enforcement onto the club. After a great deal of discussion, Viking moved to ambush the drug deal. The second motion was to bring Reno in with us. Both motions passed unanimously.

  “I’ll call Torch and fill him in,” Viking said, concluding the meeting. “You guys get out of here, spend the next two weeks enjoying the holidays with your families. We’re going to ring in the New Year by finally getting rid of these fuckers.” Shouts of agreement rang out in the room before emptying. “Colt, can I have a word?”

  I stayed while the other guys filed out. “What’s on your mind?” I asked once we were the only two left in the room.

  “You know, bringing Torch in on this could cause a lot of problems. We need to be prepared for him to do something that fucks this entire plan to hell.”

  Viking wasn’t wrong. We still didn’t know what Torch’s end game was, and we could be setting ourselves up by involving him.

  “I need you and Hawk to work on a plan to minimize the shit we could find ourselves in,” he added.

  We’d voted Hawk in as our new sergeant-at-arms a few days after Fitz’s funeral. With his military background, I knew he was perfect for the job. We’d also filled him in about Torch and if his reaction was a small hint at the reactions of the rest of the club, it was going to be ugly.

  “Will do, boss. Anything else?” I asked.

  “I’d ask about you and Ember, but you probably don’t want to talk about that,” he said with a glint in his eye.

  He was a perceptive man and I wasn’t surprised he picked up on my changing attitude toward her.

  “You’re right. I don’t.”

  He nodded his h
ead. “On a serious note, I love that girl like a daughter. Don’t fuck it up and make me regret asking you to help her out.”

  “Got it.” There was nothing else for me to say. I still didn’t understand my own thoughts when it came to Ember, how could I talk about it with anyone else?

  No longer tired due to the thoughts about the upcoming mission, I decided to have a couple of drinks with the guys. When we entered the main room, I was surprised to see Ember still downstairs.

  She’d moved to the bar, but Kate was still with her. However, I didn’t think she would be for long. Mac looked like he wanted nothing more than to drag his woman back home and work out his stress in a much more satisfying manner than drinking.

  Ember spun around on her stool and smiled at me. “Want to sit down?” she asked, indicating the empty barstool next to her.

  Silently, I took a seat and ordered a round of drinks. Mac and Kate stayed for one before running off like a couple of horny teenagers. Ember stood up to leave since her friend was going, but I wasn’t ready for her to go yet.

  “Stay,” I said as I reached out for her.

  That was the same thing I said to her the night of Fitz’s funeral, but things were different now. I decided to not worry about that. Instead, I pushed those thoughts aside and got us another drink.

  After a few more rounds, we settled into an easy, natural conversation. She asked me about my life before the club, and for the first time, I felt comfortable sharing that part of my life with a woman.

  Huddled together in the corner of the room, I told her about my mom leaving us, my difficulties with my dad, and why I joined the club, she listened intently. I thought back to my time with Jenna, who’d never asked and hadn’t cared about any of those things. I didn’t regret Jenna because she’s the reason I have Jett and Jasmine, and I’d go through all of that again if it led me to Ember.

  When the clubhouse started to empty, Ember got quiet, her eyes darting around the darkened space. Neither of us realized that hours had passed. Faking a yawn, she stood up and walked toward the stairs. “It’s getting late. I’m going to head to bed.”