I released his cock and he helped me to my feet. He pulled my naked body into him and hugged me tight, kissing my neck. “That was incredible.”
“Yes, it was.” I sighed. He slowly released me and kissed me on the head. He tucked himself back into his pants then picked up my clothes and helped me get dressed again, placing kisses on my body as he went, groping and running his hands over me.
“That was the best lunch break ever,” he joked. I laughed and nodded my agreement. “You ready to head back?”
“Yes, but I’m holding you to your promise that you are going to help with the finishing touches.”
He pulled me to him, his hands bracketing my hips. “The only thing I like doing more than helping you is fucking you, so it’s no hardship on either point.” I looped my arms around his neck and kissed him. His hands slid to cup my butt then he lifted me, my legs wrapped around his waist as our kiss continued. “Baby, if we keep this up, we aren’t going to make it back.” His kiss was addicting and intoxicating.
“I know,” I sighed. Now that I had him, I wanted him again.
We went back to the bar and I guess we looked like we just had hot sex, because the guys grinned at us when we walked in. I swear I heard Titan say, “It’s about damn time,” under his breath. I glanced at Brice and noticed his lips puffy from our kisses, so I’m sure mine looked just as bad, if not worse. His hair had tracks from my fingers in it so it was sticking up in places. I laughed, yeah we both looked thoroughly fucked.
I put the guys to work as I took inventory of everything for the last time. The staff we had hired was supposed to be in tomorrow to go over everything one last time before Friday’s opening. I looked up to see Mac walking toward me. She took one look at me and grinned, “You look mussed up.”
“That must be because I was thoroughly mussed.” I returned her grin with a sly one of my own. “How’s everything going on your side?”
“It’s good, I think we are pretty much ready. I will be in the kitchen until I can hire another chef to take over and then I will transition to managing everything.”
“That’s the route you decided to go?”
“Yeah, I think I lost my love of being in the kitchen when I worked for the asshole up in–“she cut herself off realizing she was about to say New York. One thing about coming from the schools we did, was they helped you to neutralize any accents so that really helped us now. Nobody could tell where we were from based on the way we talked. In fact, over my years in Texas, I picked up the Texas dialect, though without the twang. “Anyway, I just want to cook for fun, not for money. I’ll start looking for someone to take over soon. In the meantime, I’ve got a full staff, including a manager, so we are covered.”
We talked a few more minutes, but we had stuff to do so we went back to work. I was about to go upstairs when I heard the front door open. I looked over my shoulder to see a familiar set of dimples walk in. “Philip.” I smiled and rushed over to hug him. He picked me up and gave me a big bear hug.
“A- uh, Phoenix,” he corrected fast. “How’s it going, honey.”
“You better have a good reason for calling my girl honey and hugging her like that and I suggest you put her down now.” Brice’s growl came from over my shoulder. Philip set me on my feet and when I stepped back, Brice pulled me into his side.
“Jeez, Brice, why don’t you piss on my leg to mark your territory,” I grumbled at him. Don’t get me wrong, I love the alpha thing, but I don’t want him to know I like it, because if you give an inch, he’ll take a mile.
“Don’t tempt me, sweetheart,” he growled into my ear. “Remember what I said earlier. No other man touches you and that includes him. Now, why don’t you introduce us since introductions were not made in Amarillo?”
I took a breath, hoping that Brice would not recognize Philip’s last name. “Brice, this is Philip Worthington, Philip this is Brice Stevens, Jed is Brice’s father.”
They shook hands and when Philip said hello, Brice stiffened beside me. I looked at him curiously, but his face was a mask of anger. “Brice?” I asked.
“I want a word upstairs with you, now.” He turned around and stormed toward the stairs and waited for me at the bottom. I asked Philip to excuse me and made my way upstairs. When I got to the apartment, I turned as he walked in behind me, only he didn’t stop until I had been backed up to the wall and his body was pinning me to it. “I’m not going to flaunt the women that have been in my bed in your face and I demand the same from you. I don’t want to see you hugging a man that you have been with that isn’t me.” His eyes were spitting fire, rage was evident in his eyes.
It was lost on me, why he thought that I had been with Philip. “I’ve never slept with Philip,” I said, shaking my head.
“That’s horseshit. Don’t fucking lie to me.” His words clipped and biting. This was not the alpha male personality that I liked, this was pure jealousy and irrational rage.
I stiffened against the wall and squared my shoulders. “I did not sleep with him, Brice. Now you need to back the fuck off, now.”
“You’re really going to fucking stick to that when I called your hotel room to apologize and his is the voice that answered the phone, half asleep, at three in the morning.” He looked at me with disgust. “Fucking just like Monica.”
He couldn’t hurt me more if he had punched me in the stomach. I watched him turn and walk out the door. Part of me wanted to run after him and explain that Philip had slept in my bed, but only slept because we fell asleep watching a movie. The other part of me was in pain and too wounded from his parting words. Son of a bitch, he did it again. I curled in on myself, crying, pain slicing through me, taking my breath away. That’s how Philip found me, curled in a ball on the floor, choking back sobs as my heart broke again.
He sat down on the floor beside me, picked me up and put me in his lap. “He’s not worth it, baby girl. This is the second time I’ve had to witness that prick hurt you within a matter of weeks.”
“Why can’t I be sexually attracted to you?” I asked around the choking emotion and tears.
“Ah, so I’m in the friend zone then?” He shook his head regretfully. “Any chance I can be pushed out of that zone, because it seriously is a sucky place to be.”
“No, but I could use a trip to the batting cages again. You were right. It is cathartic.”
“Come on.”
We walked downstairs and I got in his truck and we headed out of town. I fell asleep halfway to Amarillo. When we got to the same batting cages we had been to before, he shook me awake. “Come on, Abs, your cage awaits.”
Just like before, I swung at ball after ball until my arms felt like they were going to fall off. “I really need to get a pitching machine and a bat for use at home. It’s too far to drive just to come to hit some balls and I think it’s my new therapy”
“Yeah. You want to tell me what happened this time.”
I let my head drop forward. “He accused me of having sex with you and then flaunting a lover in his face. When I denied it, he said I was a liar because he called the hotel room and you answered the phone, which I don’t even remember the phone ringing.”
“It did and I did answer it out of habit.” He sighed, “Did you explain to him that we fell asleep watching a movie and that we have never had sex.”
“He didn’t give me the chance. He said I was just like his ex-wife that cheated on him and walked away.”
I wasn’t looking at Philip since I was too busy swinging the bat trying to hit the balls as they flew my way. When the balls stopped coming, he took me in his arms and rested his chin on my head. “You deserve better, honey. You aren’t his ex and if he doesn’t realize it and man up, then he needs to take himself out of the running so maybe a guy in your friend zone can have a shot.”
“Yeah, she does deserve better.” I jerked up to see Brice standing in the shadows on the other side of the cages. He walked toward me, out of the darkness and into the light. “But I’m
a selfish son of a bitch and I’m what she’s getting. I’ll allow you to hug her, but not hold her, so I suggest you remove your arms now.” Brice looked at me. “I should have let you explain.”
“Yes, you should have,” I said stiffly, “I am not your ex-wife, Brice, and the next time you compare me to her, I will leave and not look back.” It wasn’t true, I would look back, but I wouldn’t put up with being compared to the woman that betrayed him.
“So, this is why you were sore the day you came back from Amarillo?” I pulled all the way back from Philip. I glared at Brice, “I was in the kitchen when you came in, Titan sucker punched my ass for what happened and held me back from confronting you about the man answering your phone.”
“You are allowed to dick around on her, but she is not allowed the same?” Philip asked from behind me, anger and repulsion laced his voice. “I saw you leave with the waitress and I saw Abby’s face after you did. I brought her here to work off her anger and frustration as well as to get her mind off of your sorry ass.”
I felt the tension radiating through the two men, it was rolling off of them in waves. The last thing I wanted was two men coming to blows over me. That is so overrated. Would I want them to fight to protect me, hell yeah, but to fight over me like a coveted piece of property, no. “Philip,” I cautioned. He was the more level headed of the two men. “Guys,” I addressed both of them, “this is not high school, cut this bull shit out.” They might as well have whipped their dicks out to measure who was packing the most equipment.
Brice gradually relaxed, but I gave him a scathing look. I was still pissed at the comparison he made me earlier. I waited for a few more tense moments for them to settle their pissing match. Finally, Philip grudgingly held his hand out to Brice. “Philip Worthington”
“Brice Stevens,” he replied, shaking his hand. “Can I have a few minutes alone with Abs?”
Philip nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to head back to Belle. You two feel free to continue batting. The owner left the padlock on the gate, just make sure you close it up.” He bent over me and kissed me on the cheek. “Bye, Abs. I’ll see you back at your place.”
He walked off toward the car. Brice and I stood there staring at each other until we heard him drive off. “What did he mean he’ll see you at your place?”
I looked at him. It amazed me that a man that is so confident and cocky in most areas of his life, was so insecure and vulnerable as far as a relationship goes. Given his past experience with women, I guess trust issues were not so unexpected. “The only hotel in Belle sucks, Brice, so he’s staying at the house with me and Ember. He’s here for the opening of the bar and restaurant.” The look on his face clearly said he did not like that at all. “Look, Brice–“
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair roughly, then cut me off. “As long as he’s in his own bed and he doesn’t touch you, I’ll live with him being your friend. Just please, no more falling asleep in bed, watching movies with him, because I can’t handle that.” I was shocked he was consenting, not that I was asking for his consent, but he was giving in so easy. I was immediately suspicious.
“What’s the catch?”
“No catch.” He stepped forward and drew me up against his hard body. “No catch at all.” He nipped at my lips then settled his mouth firmly on mine. “I’ve just got to make sure that you are too worn out by sex with me to even contemplate sex with someone else.” He spoke against my lips and then he grinned when I fake punched him. “Except for Ember, if you wanted to go at it with her in a vat of Jell-O, I would definitely want to watch and then help with cleaning you up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.” I pulled him back for another kiss. Our tongues dueled for possession of the other. It wasn’t a simple kiss. It was a mating of mouths, our tongues sliding against each other our lips battling for control. His lips moved to my jaw and then down my neck. He sucked and bit the skin, marking my flesh with his desire. I felt my body responding to his seductive touches and kisses. Warmth spread through my core, igniting my desire for him all over again to a fevered pitch. “I’m still mad at you, you know?” I said when he released my lips so we could take a breath.
“Take your jeans off,” he said, already pulling at the button and zipper, “I need to be inside you again and I know. I’ll make it up to you by giving you a screaming orgasm.” His groan of appreciation as he stroked my already soaked sex with his fingers made my body convulse around him. I eagerly kicked my jeans away after toeing off my shoes. My panties were already missing from earlier, so my jeans were wet in the crotch and would be annoying to put back on after having sex and adding more wetness to the fabric.
His large arousal was tenting his jeans, stretching the fabric making him look even bigger when he was already very well endowed. I went to work freeing his cock from his jeans. I stroked his shaft with my hand, rubbing the pearl of moisture at the tip over the head.
“You really think you can make me scream?” I asked, stroking his cock and licking his lips seductively. His hands gripped my ass and lifted me, my legs locking around his waist as he backed me up against the fence. His fingers grasped the links on either side of my head as he thrust his thick shaft in my wet pussy. This wasn’t a slow, sexy screw, this was a quick, hard fuck and I loved every second of it. The chain links bit into the flesh of my exposed ass, but I didn’t care. The only thing I cared about was the hard cock pounding into me.
“This is my pussy,” he rasped out between hard thrusts, “say it,” he demanded.
I didn’t say anything, I wanted to see what he would do if I remained silent. He didn’t keep me guessing and he knew exactly what I was doing, because he stopped pulling out leaving just the tip inside me, waiting for me to answer. “Yours.” I wiggled against him, trying to get him to move inside me again. “It’s your pussy.” He growled at my words and surged forward, his pace faster and harder than it had been before.
“Fuck yeah, it’s my pussy.” My body shook at his claiming of ownership. I had a feeling that my body was quite literally his, because I had never before responded to a man like this before and I wasn’t certain I ever would. For the first time, I had a screaming orgasm that didn’t come in a shot glass.
Chapter 12
Brice
God, I was a dick to her. Not once, but twice. First with the girl in Amarillo and then with Philip, though in my defense the guy did undress her with his eyes every time he looked at her. It made my blood boil each time. She was mine, I knew it, she knew it, her pussy damn sure knew it and Philip was going to know it if he didn’t already.
When I was in her pussy, it was like nothing I have ever felt before. Hell, I didn’t even have to be in her I just had to be with her, in her is just where I preferred to be. That’s why she scared the hell out of me.
I had followed them to Amarillo in my truck, so now she was sitting next to me, curled up with her head resting on my shoulder, her soft snores filling the silence. This is twice that I almost lost her and I know I have to get my shit together to make sure I don’t pull another dumbass move or I might not get her back next time around.
Gavel called me earlier and told me more movement is going on. There are people pissed enough to kill and all their anger was directed directly at the woman sleeping beside me.
He had a security group that some of his old military buddies started after they retired keeping track of the situation. They were located in Philly, so my guess is that Abby and Ember were from somewhere in the northeast. My dad had buried her information very well and without her full name, I couldn’t find out any information. The frustration was wearing on me.
“You need to trust me Little Phoenix, I can’t protect you if I don’t know what’s going on,” I whispered to her and kissed her head. She sighed and snuggled closer. I drove toward her house, the lights were mostly off, but what appeared to be the living room light was still bright. The car I had followed earlier was in the driveway as well as Abby’s grandmother’s car
. I pulled up on the grass since there was no room left in the drive.
I slid out of the truck, carefully trying my best not to jostle her awake. Her eyes cracked open for a second but when I lifted her into my arms and her head rested on my shoulder, she went back to sleep. This was my first trip to her house, well where I was actually going in and she would know I was there. I kept my distance and checked in on her from afar over the last couple months. After today, I would no longer have to maintain that distance.
The had door opened when I shut off the truck. Philip stood there in a pair of pajama bottoms, no shirt. I grunted. He’s in a house with two women that aren’t his, he could at least put a damn shirt on. I smirk to myself wondering if Titan knows that our girls have a houseguest. If he didn’t already know, he would when I left tonight. We haven’t talked much about how he is progressing in his pursuit of Ember, but I have a feeling she is doing much like I have been doing, running scared. I only suspect that she is running harder and faster than I did.
Goddamnit, he’s going to get the shit beat out of him if he keeps this shit up. If he’s going to be around my girl, he had better put some damn clothes on. Oh yeah, Titan was definitely going to hear about this shit. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough. He’s here for the opening, after it’s open, he has no reason to stay. If he didn’t have his own rental, I’d drive his ass to the airport myself.
“You’re pushing me,” I snarled at him as I walked by. Ember was in the living room on the couch. “Ember, which one is her room?” She instructed me on which room was Abby’s and I headed that direction. The room was small, clearly not the master bedroom. The room was pretty simply decorated, there was nothing pink and purple, thank god. It was brown and a turquoise blue color like the shirt she had warn when we went out in Amarillo. It wasn’t too feminine, yet it wasn’t too masculine either. The only detail that suggested a woman lived in this room was the brown and turquoise butterfly shaped pillow on the bed.
Phoenix Bar: A Steel Demons MC Novel Page 9
