When she was finished, she went back to look out toward the highway. From her vantage point, she could just make out the silver sheen of the trucks and cars passing by, miles away, back on the main roads. Suddenly, in the distance, she saw a line of bikes heading her way, spraying out the dust behind them and it made her heart race.
She hadn’t seen or heard anything of Stick since they had been outside together and then returned to see Bull, Stag, and Hawk in the kitchen. Maybe he had left and was now on his way home.
She felt her hands tingle with anticipation and she turned and made her way to the door. She pushed it open, and slowly and quietly walked across the floorboard, as to not make a sound. She descended the stairs, one floor at a time, and she didn’t even turn her eyes in the direction of Lynx’s room. She didn’t want to see him at that moment in time after their harsh words.
When she got to the bottom floor, she looked cautiously from room to room, and she could see that there were some of the men relaxing in the living areas. She was half tempted to go in there and strike up a conversation, but at the same time, she didn’t want to give off the wrong impression, and if Stick was on his way home, then she didn’t want him to think that she was just talking to anyone.
She made her way into the kitchen and she was relieved to find it empty. She crossed over to the refrigerator and opened up the door so it swung back and slammed off the wall behind it. Inside, there wasn’t much to see except for an impressive selection of beers lining the top three shelves. She shrugged to herself and reached inside and pulled one of the ice cold bottles out before closing the door behind her. She looked around for an opener, but there didn’t seem to be any lying around and she thought again about going into the front room and asking one of the bikers, but she didn’t have the nerve. She went over to the table in the center of the room and placed the tip of the cap on the corner, holding it in just the right position so that if she applied some pressure to the cap with her other hand then maybe it with ping off. But when she tried, she just lost her grip and the bottle slipped, the cap still firmly in place.
“Damn,” she said aloud and then somewhere behind her, she heard the main door slamming and a thunder of heavy boots and footsteps entering the house. She stopped still, startled and unsure whether to quickly move out of the way or whether to wait and see who was arriving. In the end, she stayed rooted to the spot and as the door to the kitchen opened, her heart skipped a beat in her chest as she saw those hypnotic green eyes flicker around the corner to meet her.
Stick smiled a wide smile when he saw her standing there and instantly clocked the unopened bottle of beer in her hands.
“Starting early?” he teased as he looked into the hallway over his shoulder and then closed the door behind him.
“Well, I would have, but there doesn’t appear to be anything to open it with,” she smiled.
Stick kept his eyes fixed on hers as he crossed the room and took the bottle from her hand and raised it up to his lips, never once breaking contact with his gaze. The second she could smell him, her heart started to race. He was a mixture of booze, cigarette smoke, and gasoline, and it was driving her wild. He opened his mouth and in one swift movement, he bit the cap and pulled it clean off from the bottle. He spat the cap onto the floor, took a swig from the beer bottle and then handed it back to Serena so calm and coolly she was already getting wet and hot for him.
“There you go,” he said with a wicked grin. “I think I’ll join you.”
He crossed over to the refrigerator and pulled a bottle from the top shelf and opened it with his teeth. He walked back over to her and held the tip of his bottle against hers and they chinked them together.
“To new friends,” he said, his eyes penetrating hers.
“To new friends,” Serena repeated.
He reached down and touched the loose fabric of her dress and breathed in deep.
“I like this… A lot,” he whispered gruffly. He bit his bottom lip and groaned and Serena felt her pulse quicken. What was he doing to her? One word, one graze of his hand and she was a quivering mess.
“You look beautiful,” he said as his hand travelled up toward her shoulders. He touched her long hair and swept it back over her shoulder and then tilted her chin up so that she was looking him dead in the eyes.
“I’m never going to be able to keep my hands off you,” he whispered. “I don’t know what it is about you, but you’re doing something to me that I can’t explain.”
Her heart was racing so hard that she could hear the beat of it.
“I feel the same,” she panted. “I’ve never felt a draw to someone like this before.”
He bit his bottom lip again as if he was physically trying to restrain himself from kissing her, and then, out in the hallway, there came the sound of footsteps.
Serena instantly stepped back and leaned against the counter and Stick turned and looked back in the refrigerator.
Bull came charging through the door and she could tell immediately that he was in a terrible mood.
“Hi, Serena,” he said as he looked at her and tried to smile.
She nodded and smiled back.
Behind him, another selection of heavy footsteps was following and she sipped her beer and tried to fade into the background. She didn’t want to be in the way.
“So, when are we going to put an end to all of this shit?” a face that she hadn’t seen before said as he barged his way into the room.
“I don’t know, Axe,” Bull said as he ran a hand through his hair and then pulled his leather jacket off over his broad shoulders, exposing his bulging muscles. Serena instinctively averted her eyes.
“We can’t have this continuing,” Axe said. “I was counting on that money, Bull.”
“I know,” Bull sighed. “And don’t worry, they’re not going to get away with it.”
“When are we attacking?” Stick said as he closed the door to the refrigerator and spun around. “I say we go tonight.”
Serena instantly felt alarmed. The thought of them leaving and heading out into danger was the last thing she wanted to have to comprehend.
“No, not tonight,” Bull said. “That’s exactly what they’ll be expecting, and when we do what they expect, we’re only putting ourselves at an instant disadvantage.”
“So what, we’re just going to wait?” Stick asked with a scowl. “It’s already been a week since they stole the truck from right under our noses. They’ve probably managed to shift all of our stuff by now. They’re laughing at us, Bull!” He slammed his bottle down on the counter and curled his lip in rage.
The atmosphere in the room had rapidly nosedived and Serena was starting to wish that she had made her way back up to the top floor when she had the chance.
“I know how we need to play this,” he said sternly. “And from now on, that’s all that matters.” He glared at Stick before he pushed past him, knocking him in the shoulder and marched out of the room.
Axe and Stick looked at each other and Stick shook his head.
“He’s losing it,” he said. “He’s fucking losing it for all of us.”
“No,” a voice came from behind them, which startled Serena, it was Lynx. “He’s right. We have to bide our time. You two are relatively new here and I’m not undermining you, but you don’t understand how The Iron Riders operate. We’ve been fighting them for over a decade and they play dirty. We need to outdo them on such a big level that there will be no coming back for them. They’re pussying around us, making little threats and digs here and there. We’re going to rip the rug right out from underneath all of them and make sure they never get back up.”
Serena’s heart began to race again. She had never heard Lynx speak like that, she almost didn’t know that he had it in him.
Stick nodded slowly.
“You’re right,” he said admirably. “You know The Iron Riders and how they work better than I do. I just hate the thought of them screwing us over any more than they already h
ave.”
“They won’t,” Lynx said. “But they will get what’s coming to them and more. We just have to let them think they’re winning first.”
Stick flashed a wicked smile and nodded his head. After all he had seen and done during his time in The Forsaken Riders, he had never considered that this may be the reason that they were moving so slowly. His brothers did have a plan and by the sound of it, it was going to be crazy. A plan to end all plans and every last member of The Iron Riders once and for all.
“Serena,” Lynx said as he turned and stared at her angrily. “I’ve already told you, I don’t want you partaking in any of these discussions.” His eyes were full of rage, and even though she was feeling just as angry right back at him, she bit her tongue and nodded before she turned to Stick and gave him a sad smile.
As she left the room and walked back up to her bedroom, she just hoped that he would feel the need to overrule Lynx’s wishes as much as she did.
CHAPTER 10
Night fell and she lay in bed tossing and turning as she looked out the window and up at the bright glow of the moon. She had waited for over two hours, hoping that Stick would come for her, but when it had gotten closer and closer to midnight, she had eventually given up hope and had climbed into her bed alone.
Her time in Slate Springs had been eventful to say the least, but it hadn’t been what she had expected. When she had come to town, she had thought that she would have found Lynx and put her mind to rest, but now she felt as if she had been thrown into turmoil and all she could think about was how she could make it so that this became her life too. She liked what she had seen, and she liked the men of The Forsaken Riders. They all seemed loyal and kind, and powerful and determined. She had never been around people like it before, and it was addictive.
Just as her eyes were weighing heavy and she was about to drift off to sleep, she heard the quiet wrap of knuckles on the other side of her door. She sat up in bed and squinted through the darkness, not even sure if she had actually heard it, but then it came again. She got to her feet and pulled the bed sheet around her. She was naked underneath and half in a daze, but the sheet was long and covered her fully.
When she got to the door, she listened and the knock came again. When she opened it and Stick was there on the other side, she couldn’t control the smile from spreading out across her lips. He pushed her backwards and dove into the room with her, closing the door quietly behind him and sweeping her into his arms. He pulled her close and kissed her hard on the mouth, his tongue searched hers deeply as she moaned and he ran his hands through her hair.
When their lips parted and she looked up at him, she saw what she knew she had been missing. She had no idea how this would continue, or whether she would end up getting hurt, but in that moment, she felt as if she knew it was the right thing for her to do. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted anyone, and she could tell that the feeling was mutual.
“Serena,” he whispered as he pulled her close to him again and grabbed her ass so tight it sent a shiver right through her. “I know this is going to cause so much trouble, but I can’t stay away.”
She nodded and pulled him back toward the bed. She could already feel the sharp poke of his desire and she was soaking wet for him. He stood back and looked at her as she let the sheet fall gracefully to the floor and the moonlight kissed her soft, toned body. His breath caught in his throat and he took a step toward her.
“You are the most amazing woman I have ever seen,” he said as he cupped her breasts and pulled her nipples sharply. She bit her lip and moaned. He held onto the back of her neck and with his other hand, he traced a line with his index finger down the outside of her arm, down toward her stomach and then slowly parted her legs to find her moist pussy waiting for him.
He slipped a finger inside of her and pulled her close to him. Serena gasped and writhed in pleasure as he worked her over and over, and then he pushed her down onto the bed. She opened her legs wide and stared up at him as he pulled his vest off his shoulders and she could see that the whole of his torso and upper body was covered in tattoos. She could see roses and skulls, thorns and cars, bike wheels and statue heads, and she bit her lip as she tried not to gasp again as he slipped his hand down between her legs and used his other to undo the buttons on his jeans and slip them down to reveal the most massive and perfect cock she had ever seen.
He was so thick, so hard and so ready for her. He pulled her to the edge of the bed and covered her mouth with his palm.
“Lynx can’t hear us,” he whispered with a wicked grin as he teased her with the tip of his cock, entering her ever so slightly before pulling away, flicking her clit with his finger.
“Please,” she gasped. “I need you to fuck me.”
And with that, Stick shoved his whole length inside of her, grabbed hold of both of her thighs and fucked her as hard and fast as he could.
Serena bit down on his shoulder so that she didn’t make a sound, but her pleasure wanted to explode out of her and with each passing second, it was becoming more and more impossible to stop herself from moaning. Stick was experiencing exactly the same, the more he tensed and the more his balls slapped up against her thighs, the more he wanted to unleash what he knew he had inside of him.
“Don’t hold back,” she panted.
And Stick knew that he wasn’t going to be able to. He groaned and thrust himself inside of her so deeply that she felt as if he had reached a place inside of her that no one ever had. He hit her in just the right way that sent her crashing over the edge into the most intense orgasm of her entire life, and as she unraveled beneath him, he was unable to hold on any longer. His thighs tensed and his whole body shook as he emptied his hot, thick, and heavy load inside her and collapsed onto her chest.
“Fuck,” he gasped as he held onto her neck and wound his fist up in her hair. He kissed her hard and pushed himself into her again as the last bits of his seed flooded out of him and into Serena and then they lay still and weak in each other’s arms.
***
She kissed his chest and fluttered her eyelashes along his muscular abs. Stick held her tightly and kissed her on the top of her head. It was almost five in the morning and they had laid there since they had made love and neither of them wanted to move.
“Why do they call you Stick?” she asked finally, breaking the silence.
He laughed and wrapped the sheet around them tightly.
“Because, back in the day, long before I came here and started all of this, I only ever used to drive a stick shift,” he said.
Serena looked up at him and laughed loudly before covering her mouth and whispering sorry.
So far, no one seemed to know that Stick had snuck up to see her and for now, they wanted to keep it that way.
“I still don’t understand why he would be so mad with us,” Serena whispered as she kissed Stick’s chest again and wrapped her hand up in his.
“He’s worried about everything that’s going on here,” Stick said. “He even broke up with Tammy because of it.”
Serena sat up and thought back to the last conversation that she’d had with her brother before the previous week, and she remembered that he had talked about settling down with a woman. It had shocked her at the time, and now she was finally going to hear the truth.
“What happened?” she asked.
Stick lowered his voice again and turned her so that they were lying side by side, facing one another.
“Tammy and Lynx were the perfect couple,” he said. “But after last week, he made her leave and told her that he didn’t want to see her again.”
Serena’s heart hit the pit of her stomach.
“He still loves her and I know he didn’t want to end it, but I guess that just shows you what we’re dealing with here. No one thinks their women are going to be safe. They’re easy targets to get to us.”
He cupped her face and kissed her.
“But none of them even know you’re here,” he r
eassured her. “And even if they did, no one is ever going to let any harm come to you. Do you understand?”
Serena nodded. Although, she couldn’t pretend that she didn’t feel heartbroken for her brother and for the girl that he had loved. If they had felt anything like what she was feeling, it was the saddest thing in the world that they would have to give it up because of some stupid war.
“He’s being hard on us because he’s worried we’ll get hurt,” he said.
Serena laid back and looked up at the ceiling. Maybe Lynx wasn’t such a bad guy after all. Maybe she had gotten him all wrong.
She closed her eyes and thought of her future with Stick. She knew that they had something special and that she would do whatever she could to fight to keep it alive. But maybe they were all right, maybe her being there in Slate Springs when everything was so up in the air was going to cause more trouble than it would good.
She fell to sleep with her heart weighing heavy, but her perfect man in her bed. And in the end, that was all she had ever truly wanted.
***
Main Street was quiet for the early morning and as they stood waiting for the bus to arrive, Serena had to focus on something, anything, to stop herself from breaking down.
She had spent two weeks in Slate Springs, but now she knew that the time had come for her to leave. Even if it would only be for two weeks while she got all of her affairs in order back home. But that was how hard and fast she had fallen. The thought of leaving Stick even for a day was making her heart break in two.
“How long will it take you?” he asked as he held onto her tightly and she kissed him again.
“Three days,” she said sadly.
“But then once you’re there, it’ll only be another week before I arrive to collect you and bring you back here for good,” he said with a grin and she knew that she had to hold onto that to stop herself from bursting into tears.
STICK: MC ROMANCE NOVELLA (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 8) Page 6
