Resurrection (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 3)

by Betham, Michelle

  ‘I’m Kip. Kip Hart.’

  Her expression showed no sign of softening. ‘You one of Charlie Hart’s kids?’

  ‘Yeah… look, you are Carrie, right?’

  She said nothing for a beat or two, just continued to stare at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Is there somewhere we could talk?’

  ‘I’m not going anywhere with no biker. Had enough of you bastards to last me a fucking lifetime. Anything you got to say, say it here.’

  Kip sighed quietly. She was one tough bitch, but that was probably understandable. Her wariness towards him shouldn’t be a surprise. ‘A few years back, were you involved with a guy called Benjamin Almeda?’

  He watched as she tried not to react to that name, but he hadn’t missed the way she’d flinched, just slightly. Enough for him to know the answer to his question without her needing to say a word.

  ‘Why are you asking me this?’ Her voice had suddenly lost that hardness it had carried before, to be replaced by a tone tinged with a nervous edginess.

  ‘Are you the Carrie who was engaged to Benjamin Almeda?’

  She folded her arms against herself, a defensive action that, again, didn’t surprise Kip. ‘I know he’s back, in Paradise,’ she said, her voice barely rising above a whisper now. ‘I’ve known for a long time. Which is why I moved out here, and maybe I should have moved further but I need my family, y’know? I wasn’t gonna let him push me so far away I lost everything.’

  Kip watched her as she spoke; the way her expression changed from fear to nerves to relief, and back to fear. It was almost painful to witness.

  ‘He’s involved with my sister.’ Kip kept his eyes on Carrie as hers darted this way and that, the nervous edginess she’d displayed before ramping up by the second.

  ‘Then she should run.’ Carrie finally managed to lock eyes with Kip, a slight hardness returning to her voice. ‘People tell me he’s changed, that he’s a lawyer or something now…’

  ‘He was our lawyer.’

  All of a sudden she let out the sharpest of laughs, brief and loud and riddled with cynicism. ‘He’s a lawman for an MC? Jesus! Guess he couldn’t ever really leave it behind, could he?’ Her expression turned stoic again. ‘You said he was a lawyer. Past tense. So, what’s he doing now, huh?’

  Kip waited a couple of beats before he answered that question, knowing he needed to steer this back to the reason he was here before she walked away, which he feared she could do any second. And he needed her on side. He needed her. ‘He was patched in to The Lone Riders MC, a couple of months back.’

  Her face didn’t even flicker. ‘Well. There you go. He really couldn’t leave it behind. Let’s just hope he doesn’t allow every piece of history to repeat itself, huh?’

  ‘That’s why I need your help on this one, Carrie.’

  She stared up at him, her eyes icing over with a coldness Kip wasn’t sure he’d be able to penetrate, if he left this much longer.

  ‘I know what he did to you,’ Kip went on.

  Carrie shook her head, slowly backing away. ‘You have no idea what he did to me.’

  ‘Carrie, please… He’s with my sister. And she doesn’t deserve any more shit, believe me. Her husband, he did to her what Ben did to you, and she doesn’t need to revisit that. She needs to be free of men like that.’

  ‘What do you want me to do, huh? Sit there and tell her how he beat me, hit me, told me I was worthless? Is that what you want?’

  ‘Yes. That’s what I want, because she needs to know just what kind of man she’s involved with here.’

  Carrie stood completely still, her eyes dipping to the sidewalk. ‘I thought I’d got past this. Re-living it all, I didn’t ever want to go back there.’

  ‘If it helps save someone else from going through what you’ve been through – Carrie… my sister, she’s already been through it. And you know how that feels, so I’m asking you to, please, save her from going through it again.’

  ‘What happened to her husband?’ Carrie raised her gaze to meet Kip’s.

  ‘She killed him.’ He didn’t miss a beat.

  ‘Then let her kill Ben, too. She’d be doing me a favor.’

  She turned to leave, but Kip wasn’t giving up. ‘Carrie, please, I’m begging you here.’

  She stopped walking, but didn’t turn around. ‘A big, bad biker boy begging me for help, huh?’ She slowly turned to face Kip. ‘What’s her name, your sister?’

  ‘Mia.’

  ‘Pretty name… How long have her and Ben been together?’

  ‘Not long. A few months. But she’s in love with him, Carrie. And that means she’s blinded by a man she shouldn’t be anywhere near. I had my suspicions about him, about his past, but nothing really became clear until recently. And yes, the guy seems to have changed in some respects – he’s always been good to Mia, so far. He’s given us no indication that there’s a darker side to him, but he was a Dark Angel. He grew up a Dark Angel. And nobody who’s lived that life could’ve survived without a dark side, you know that. I just needed to know exactly what kind of a man he was. I mean, yeah, he’s killed people, broke laws, got up in the faces of those who wanted to do his club harm but that – that I could have lived with. Mia, she grew up in this world, just like me, just like Ben. But what he did to you… that’s different. No one deserves that shit, least of all my sister.’

  Carrie stared straight at Kip. The iciness in her eyes seemed to be thawing slightly, and Kip hoped that was because she understood why he needed her to talk to Mia. If he was to try and explain what he’d found out, she wouldn’t listen, she’d dismiss it as nothing more than him trying to sabotage her and Ben’s relationship. She needed to hear it from Carrie.

  ‘When do you want me to talk to her?’

  The sigh of relief that racked his body was all-consuming.

  Benjamin Almeda would soon cease to exist. Ben Salter was about to become history.

  ***

  Mia leaned back against the bike, her eyes nervously scanning the disused rail yard. It was quiet, the silence almost more terrifying than what she was doing right now, but she hadn’t been able to say no. Hadn’t been able to resist the pull – the danger.

  The roar of a familiar Harley engine caused her head to shoot around, a slow smile spreading across her face as he pulled up in front of her. ‘You said we couldn’t do this now. You said we had to stay away from each other.’

  He pulled off his helmet and climbed off his bike, saying nothing in reply. He just pulled her against him in a forceful, hot-as-hell hold, her body thudding against his as he kissed her long and deep. And she held on to him, sighing inwardly as his tongue entwined with hers, his hard-on already making its presence known, pushing against her thigh. She felt her nipples harden instantly, straining against the thin material of her shirt, a low, drawn-out groan escaping as his palm pressed against her breasts, the feel of his fingers touching her skin causing her to burn up.

  ‘I can’t do it, Mia,’ he murmured, unfastening her shirt, pulling it open to reveal her naked breasts, rock-hard nipples and all. ‘I can’t stay away, I can’t do that.’ Because he might never be able to come back. He just didn’t want to think that far ahead yet.

  She looked at him, all deep green eyes and rough skin. She couldn’t stay away either. She’d tried, and failed miserably. ‘You said it would be dangerous, if they saw you with me.’

  And it was. It was still dangerous, to be seen with her, to be seen with any Lone Rider, but Ben was willing to risk anything to be here. Because he loved her, so much it fucking hurt. Every day and every night he wasn’t with her it hurt. But Sol had laid down the law. The rules had changed, and now Ben’s world had started to spin on a dangerous, confusing axis. With Sol and his Dark Angel brothers behind him, believing him, things were different, there was no doubt about that. They were all fighting the same battles now – bring Hector Almeda down and put the club under Sol’s control; bring the Lon
e Riders down, and make the Dark Angels the most powerful MC for miles around. One of those battles he was happy to fight. The other, he didn’t want to fight at all. Family loyalty or his love for a woman who would always be a Lone Rider – that was the choice he had now. A choice he’d never once thought he’d ever have to make.

  ‘I needed to see you, Mia,’ Ben whispered, taking her face in his hands and kissing her again, loving the taste of her, the feel of her soft lips brushing over his mouth. ‘I can’t do this, if I don’t see you. But you can’t tell anyone, baby, do you understand? You can’t tell anyone that you’re seeing me. Not even Lexi. You can’t tell anyone.’

  She looked up at him, reaching out to touch his cheek. ‘What’s going on, Ben?’

  ‘Just – just know that things aren’t how I thought they’d be. OK?’

  She frowned, cocking her head to one side, her eyes fixed on his. ‘In what way?’

  ‘Mia…’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Please, Mia. I didn’t come here to be interrogated. I came here to see you, to be with you…’ He kissed her again, longer and slower, his tongue exploring every inch of her mouth as though it were the first time he’d ever tasted her. ‘I came here to fuck you.’

  She laughed a low, dirty laugh, pushing her breasts out at him, reaching up under her skirt to tug at her panties and he sank to his haunches, helping her slide them down, watching as she kicked them away, widened her stance. Running his hands slowly back up her long legs he pushed her skirt up over her thighs, taking in her tanned skin, her newly-shaved pussy. Jesus! His hard-on was throbbing like hell now. Leaning forward he kissed her, his tongue running lightly along her slit before it sank into the warm, wet heaven waiting for him. He dreamed about this, every fucking night, to the point where self-relief was the only option. And, oh, God, she felt so fucking good! Her tiny moans and gentle thrusts towards him as he sucked her dry only aided his own arousal, until he had no choice but to pull away, set his aching dick free and ram it into her, pushing her back against the bike as he sank deeper inside her. This was worth the risk, to feel her muscles gripping him tight, her wetness soaking him, the taste of her on his lips something he didn’t want to lose. She was his world, and he loved her beyond anything he could comprehend. He’d never felt this way before, never wanted to protect someone so badly, never wanted to be with someone the way he wanted to be with Mia. When he was with her his past was a blur, a forgotten time he was in no hurry to remember. But he knew, the second he walked away from her, that his past would, once more, come hurtling forward. And he was just going to have to find a way to deal with that.

  Bending his head to suck on her nipple he felt that glorious pressure start to build, his dick throbbing as it pumped away, finally exploding inside her in what felt like never-ending waves that sent his body into violent spasms. And he held her tight, keeping her close until he’d given her everything, until his body slowed down, although his breathing, like hers, remained heavy. Shallow. Because neither of them were finished. He hadn’t come here for a fast five minute fuck only to get on his bike and ride out of there, satisfied and done. He was here to take as much as he could, to give her as much as he could.

  She looked at him, her beautiful face flushed with pleasure, her dark hair hanging in loose, messed-up waves over her naked shoulders, her shirt pushed back to expose her breasts. ‘You call that a fuck, biker boy?’

  He smirked, sliding her skirt down until it fell to the floor, leaving her in nothing but her shirt and boots. He was one lucky son-of-a-bitch, to get to play with this woman. ‘You want more?’

  She slid a hand around the back of his neck, fanning her fingers out, sliding them up into his short hair, her mouth almost touching his as she spoke. ‘Until I can’t fucking walk.’

  ‘Lie down,’ he whispered, his hands on her hips pushing her gently backwards.

  She did as he instructed, lying back on the bike, her head up by the handlebars, her fingers gripping them as he straddled her, his dick once more ready and waiting to find its way home.

  She threw her head back and gave in to the ride, biting down on her lip as his hands pushed her thighs further apart, his fingers touching her, sliding up and down, each and every touch making her wetter, she could feel it almost spilling out of her onto the bike seat. Arching her back she moaned quietly as he plunged his fingers inside, most of his hand slipping easily into her and she couldn’t help but react to that, knowing he was touching her so deep, so fully, so intimately. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before, and he was so gentle, so careful. He was touching parts of her even she’d never reach, and that was fine, that was good, that was what she wanted because this man was everything to her. She lost him, she might as well give up because without him she didn’t exist. So if all they could snatch were moments like this; crazy, dangerous hours in their own secret place then she’d take that. For now. Because it wasn’t going to be forever. He’d come back to her, properly, one day soon and then they had the rest of their lives to give over to days like this; to start a family, be together. They had the rest of their lives.

  She gasped as he unexpectedly pulled his hand out of her, but she kept her eyes closed, the anticipation of what he’d do next turning her on so much she felt close to exploding. Her thighs were throbbing, her breasts aching for him to touch them, her stomach turning somersaults usually reserved for teenagers on first dates.

  He gently stroked her inner thighs, giving them another tiny push apart before he pulled her wide open, just looking at her, taking in every inch of her, both inside and out, he was that in love with her. An all-consuming, overwhelming love that he hadn’t even known could exist, until he’d suddenly been faced with the prospect of never seeing her again.

  Taking hold of her hips he lifted them up slightly, plunging his dick back inside her, pounding into her like his life depended on it, but then he slowed down, aware that fast, hard thrusts were only going to lessen the time he spent with her; spent here, inside her incredible, tight body. He was home, he was safe, he was the man he wanted to be, making love to the woman he wanted to be with, for the rest of his flawed and fucked-up life. And as he once more came hard and heavy, flooding her body with everything he had, he knew, one way or another, that one last battle line had just been drawn – he wasn’t going to lose Mia Rose. He wasn’t going to walk away from her, no matter what Sol told him he had to do. Whatever it took, he wasn’t letting her go. Whatever it took…

  Sixteen

  ‘Mia around?’ Kip asked, leaning back against the pool table.

  ‘Last time I saw her she was over by the garage, talking to Jesse.’ Luca potted his shot and stood up straight, eyeing Kip warily.

  ‘Why do you always look at me like that whenever I mention Mia?’

  ‘Because I think you’re up to something. Where’d you get to this afternoon anyway?’

  ‘Sorry, when did it become law for me to tell you every move I make?’

  ‘Things are on a knife-edge right now, Kip. And if you’re going off-script with anything…’

  ‘I need to talk to Mia.’ Kip spoke slowly, a determined edge to his tone. Luca had no right questioning him like this. What fucking business was it of his where he’d been all afternoon? It wasn’t like Coby had called church or anything.

  ‘I told you. She’s outside.’

  Kip turned to go, killing any more of that conversation dead.

  ‘We heard anything from Ben yet?’

  Kip swung back around, narrowing his eyes as he stared at Luca. ‘Not yet. Not as far as I know, anyway. But I’m probably the last person he’d contact. Ask Coby. He’ll know more than me.’

  ‘We should’ve heard something by now,’ Luca went on, leaning back over the pool table, lining up his cue for the next shot. ‘Coby’s getting edgy, what with the wedding just a few days away.’

  ‘Yeah, well, maybe relying on Ben Salter to do anything was a mistake.’

  ‘You’re never gonna trust the
guy.’ Luca potted the ball and laid his cue down, folding his arms as he looked at Kip. ‘But he’s one of us now. Might be time you started getting used to that.’

  ‘Yeah. Maybe.’ Kip walked away, his heart pounding so hard he could feel it banging against his ribs. Carrie was outside, waiting in the coffee shop across the street, and he feared that if he left her there too long she’d lose her nerve. She hadn’t wanted to come inside the compound, and he hadn’t wanted to force her. Getting her this close; getting her to talk to Mia at all had been a big enough ask. Now he just had to get Mia to listen.

  Heading outside he saw her, leaning against her bike, laughing at something Jesse was saying, and for a few seconds he just stood back and watched her, wishing it would get easier, but it still hurt. He still wanted her in ways that couldn’t ever happen, so this – protecting her from something, someone, that could hurt her, that was all he could do now. Protect her.

  He walked over to her and Jesse, his heart unable to stop itself from beating even harder as she looked at him over her shoulder, throwing him the biggest smile. ‘Hey, big bro.’

  Kip smiled back, ignoring the ache in his chest her greeting had caused. ‘Hey, beautiful. Listen, you busy right now?’

  She shrugged. ‘Not really, no. Just been bothering Jesse here. Asking him too many questions about maintenance for this new bike of mine. Want to try and do it myself, instead of asking you guys for help all the time.’

  ‘Bothering me is something you haven’t been doing.’ Jesse grinned, wiping his hands on an oil-stained cloth. ‘In fact, you can come bother me any time you like.’

  ‘You flirting with me, Jesse?’ Mia fluttered her eyelashes at him in an act of fake coyness.

  ‘In my dreams, baby. But I’m not messing with another brother’s girl.’ He threw a bigger grin in her direction, accompanying it with a wink. ‘Don’t mean to say I can’t enjoy those dreams, though, huh?’