Devil's Deal (Devil's Martyrs MC Book 1)

by Brook Wilder

  Chapter 17

  Lori knew it hadn’t been the smartest thing she’d ever done, teasing Tex. Hell it was more like poking a tiger with a stick, and not even a caged one, but she didn’t care. She wanted him as wild and out of control as she felt.

  She could see the same red-hot desire reflected in his green eyes, and that look was burning her up, body and soul.

  His jaw tightened but he didn’t say another word. He just reached out and grabbed her wrist, dragging her through the apartment so fast she had to stumble to keep up. She didn’t notice anything about his place except for the bedroom and the big bed in the center of it.

  Tex pulled her close, kissing her hard. It was like she couldn’t get enough of him. She couldn’t kiss him hard enough or taste him deep enough or get close enough to his body. And it was driving her insane, that empty feeling pulsing inside her. But she wanted something else even more.

  With a sudden smirk, Lori pushed him back on to the bed. He went easily, staring up at her wide eyed, with a hard expression on his face, as she got to work pulling off his unbuttoned jeans and boxers. She trailed a line of kisses up his body as she crawled over him on the bed, not stopping until she reached her destination.

  Lori glanced down at Tex’s thick erection, bobbing just an inch away from her parted lips, and shot him one last, sinful grin before taking him into her mouth.

  She was watering for a taste of him, primal and one hundred percent male. Everything about him was pure masculinity, and it made her feel soft and delicate and, for the first time in a long time, safe.

  She sucked him as deep as she could, teasing him with her tongue. She loved the frantic sounds he made as he fisted his hands in the sheets and blankets beneath them. He was still trying to hold on to control, but that’s not what she wanted. She was going to make him lose it. And she was going to love doing so.

  Her whole mouth engulfed him in heat and she clamped a hand around the base of his shaft to tease him even more. Tex only lasted a few more fraught moments before he was reaching for her. He pulled her up and flipped her over onto her back all in one frantic movement. His green eyes were wild.

  “You’re killing me, Lori. I can’t…I need.”

  “Me too, cowboy.”

  He let out one strangled laugh, but the need was too sharp in both of them to wait any longer.

  He slid inside her in one long stroke and for a moment they both froze, overwhelmed at the intense pleasure that swept through them, from one to the other and back again. As Tex started to move, the sensation carried on like that, growing and growing, a reverb of ecstasy that consumed them both.

  Tex set a fast, heart pounding pace, drawing every single ounce of pleasure that she had to give from her body. And, when she thought she couldn’t give any more, he swept his hand between them, teasing the sensitive bundle of nerves at her center and she came apart all over again.

  Her whole world went gold and white. Lights were flashing behind her eyelids and it felt like her whole body was vibrating. Like she was coming apart at the seams. It was too much pleasure for her to hold on to. Finally, she threw her head back, crying out his name as her climax swept over her.

  Wave after wave of pleasure swept through her, scouring away the old Lori and leaving someone new in her place. The most incredible feeling of lightness filled her as she fell boneless back to earth, like she would have just floated away if Tex hadn’t collapsed on top of her.

  After a long moment, Tex slid to lie beside her on the bed, but he never let her go. He pulled her close, tucking her spent body next to his. She glanced over at him, already fighting the sleep that threatened to pull her under.

  “I guess I picked your bed,” she said with a soft chuckle. “It was a good choice. That was… It was incredible.”

  Tex smirked at her, his green eyes swirling with lust and desire and mischief.

  “Oh, sweetheart, it’s not over yet.”

  He kissed her, just a feather light touch of lips against lips.

  “We’re just getting started.”

  Chapter 18

  A part of her knew she was dreaming. That didn’t make it any better. That didn’t make the fear or the panic any less intense.

  She was running and Gears was right behind her. As fast as Lori pumped her arms and legs, he was still always just right behind her, and every footfall brought him closer and closer.

  Her lungs burned. Her body ached. She could taste bile rising in the back of her throat. But she knew she couldn’t stop running. If she stopped running, then Gears would have her and she couldn’t let that happen.

  No matter what, she had to keep fighting.

  Terror tried to slow her down, tried to freeze her muscles. And, for a second, she could feel his breath, hot and fetid, on the back of her neck. It made every single hair stand straight on end. Even though she didn’t want to, she felt her head being drawn backwards, looking for him. Lori didn’t want to look at him. She wanted to keep running and knew it would slow her down. But she had to look.

  He was there, just like she’d known he would be. The man who’d saved her, who’d rescued her from her life on the streets. Who’d given her a job and a home to call her own. The one person she’d been sure she could trust. She knew better now. It had been a hard lesson to learn.

  All she could see were his eyes. They looked too big to her, so wide that she could see the whites all the way around, so crazed. They were filled with a terrible desire that horrified her even more.

  She ran and ran. But no matter how hard she ran, he was still there, still gaining on her. Out of her corner of her eye she sees The Reaper club and dashes towards it. She can’t breathe, she can hardly think. The only thing filling her mind is the fear, icy cold and terrifying.

  Lori rushed into the club and slammed the door behind her, locking it. But she knew before she even turned around that he was there. He was in the club, somehow, already waiting for her.

  He continued to chase her, that crazed look still burning in his eyes, until he finally he cornered her. A table and chairs blocked her path, so heavy that she couldn’t move them, no matter how hard she tried.

  Tears filled her eyes, as Lori looked desperately around the empty club. Gears took a menacing step forward and she knew, with a bone-deep knowledge, what was going to happen next. And there was nothing she could do about it.

  She wasn’t strong enough or fast enough. She knew she couldn’t get away. Not now. Fear mixed with the taste of vomit on her tongue as desperation possessed her. She had to get away. She couldn’t give up. She couldn’t give in to him. No matter what happened, she had to fight. She had at least to try.

  Gears reached for her and grabbed her, tearing at her shirt. Her own scream filled her ears as she scratched and clawed at him. Anything to get away. She had to get away. Get away!

  “No, get away! Get away!”

  “Lori, wake up! Hey there, sweetheart. Come on now, wake up!”

  The gentle voice shook her halfway awake and the equally gentle hands, shaking her softly, helped her the rest of the way.

  “T-Tex?” Lori whispered brokenly, still trying to banish the terrible images.

  “I’m right here, sweetheart,” he drawled.

  And he really was. It wasn’t just another awful trick of her mind. His green eyes were bright with concern as he looked down at her. Slowly, he swept a tangled strand of hair away from her cheek and tucked it tenderly behind her ear.

  “It was just a dream.”

  Lori let her eyes slide closed for a moment, but they popped open a second later. The images had slowly faded away, but the fear and disgust remained. She could feel them coiling in her stomach like snakes.

  “It was Gears,” she said after a moment, her voice still shaky, but Tex’s presence was helping with that. “I had a dream that he…he attacked me and…”

  Tex brushed his thumb across her cheek.

  “We call that a nightmare around here.”

  “Yeah
. It was. Definitely a nightmare,” Lori said on a trembling laugh.

  She looked up and realized she was in Tex’s bedroom. And then all the memories from the night before came tumbling back.

  Lori hastily pulled the blanket up around her still naked body. She knew she shouldn’t feel awkward. It wasn’t like Tex hadn’t seen, explored, and touched every inch of her the previous night. Several times, actually.

  But that thought didn’t stop the tension from creeping back between them or the embarrassed blush from sweeping across her cheeks.

  “I, uh…”

  “I know what’ll make you feel better,” Tex said suddenly, and he slid out of the big bed.

  He must have picked up on her awkwardness, because now he looked everywhere but at her, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck.

  “Coffee. Hot coffee. It’s great for nightmares.”

  Lori’s mouth watered. For the promise of coffee, or the sight of Tex in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs, she wasn’t sure. Her eyes were drawn to his body as he padded to the door on bare feet. And that wasn’t the only thing that was bare.

  Her gaze traced up his lean, muscular legs and strong thighs, over the washboard abs and broad chest. Suddenly, she had no problem banishing the images from her nightmare. Her mind was filled with nothing but Tex, and all the wicked, sinful things he’d done to her body the night before.

  But as he turned, she noticed something on his right shoulder. It was a tattoo, about the size of her hand, in black and grey, in the shape of a devil riding on a motorcycle. It was a tattoo that she recognized, because it was worn by the Devil’s Martyrs crew. She hadn’t noticed it the night before. She’d been otherwise occupied.

  Her desire dimmed as she stared at that tattoo. Tex had never mentioned anything before about being a member of the Devil’s Martyrs. Neither had Porky. Lori wondered if Carrie knew.

  It didn’t mean much to her. She knew that her crew, the Grim Riders, and the Devil’s Martyrs were rivals, but she’d always stayed away from the MC politics. She did her job and that was enough for her. Even though she might not care that she had slept with a rival gang member, others would. Gears sure as hell would.

  That fear, icy and terrible, crept back into her veins and she shivered under the blanket. She could only imagine what Gears would do if he found out, if he even suspected. She shuddered again, not saying a word, as Tex walked out of the bedroom and headed for the kitchen.

  Lori listened for a moment, to the sound of cabinets being opened and closed and glass and metal clinking, as Tex made a fresh pot of coffee. Damn it, she did want a cup. But more than that, she wanted to get out of there, away from Tex and the explosive chemistry that messed with her mind. She needed to think. And she couldn’t do that there. More than likely he would trip her back into bed and then where would that leave her?

  Happy, a tiny voice whispered in the back of her thoughts. Very happy.

  Lori shook off the voice as she crept out of the bed and hurried to scavenge her clothes. The dress and jacket were still scattered on the floor by the door, mingled with Tex’s. They hadn’t even waited to get to the bedroom to strip each other.

  The reminder had heat burning her cheeks once more, and not just from embarrassment. While Tex was still busy making coffee in the kitchen, Lori took the opportunity to silently slip on her dress and boots, grabbing her leather jacket as she snuck out of the apartment.

  She closed the door as quietly as possible behind her and let out a sigh of relief. It was all too easy for Lori to imagine Tex’s scowl when he found out that she’d disappeared on him, but that was low on her list of priorities at the moment. She couldn’t face him. Not now. Not yet, anyways. Hell, maybe she’d get lucky and they could just pretend that nothing had even happened between them. But somehow she didn’t think Tex would let her off that easy. Not after last night.

  And if she was completely honest with herself, she didn’t want him too either. She just needed some time to think, time to figure out what the hell she was going to do next.

  Lori paused at the intersection, considering calling a cab. Instead, she hung a left at the stop sign. Tex had driven straight past her place last night. It gave her a chill, the memory of watching her home disappear behind her, as did the knowledge that Tex lived so close to her and she hadn’t even known. She hoped the fresh air would help her clear her mind.

  It would still be a good walk to get home and she didn’t have a spare moment to waste. She might as well take advantage of the time she had. With that thought in her mind and a tight feeling in her stomach, Lori pulled out her phone and dialed Carrie’s number while she walked.

  “Hey Carrie, it’s me.”

  “Hi Lori.”

  There was a hesitancy in her friend’s voice that made the feeling in her gut tighten even more. That still didn’t stop her from asking the question that burned inside her.

  “How did it go last night?”

  There was a long pause from the other end of the line and then Carrie started talking, the words coming out in a stream so fast that Lori could hardly keep up.

  “I’m so sorry Lori. I tried. I swear, I tried. I flirted my ass off last night trying to get Rocko to call Solomon. He told me that, uh, that if I went back to his place that maybe he would try to get a hold of him. But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t sleep with him, Lori. I-I really care about Porky, now. I just couldn’t go through with it.”

  Carrie began crying and Lori winced at the high-pitched tone.

  “I’m so sorry,” Carrie sobbed. This is all my fault!”

  “No, it’s not,” Lori hurried to assure her.

  Yep. That gut feeling had been right after all. She should have known the hair-brained plan would never have worked.

  “It’s not your fault at all, Carrie. It’s mine. I never should have asked you to do that. It was terrible of me. Honestly, I just… I don’t know what else to do. I’m out of options.”

  “I know, Lori,” Carrie sighed over the phone and it sounded just as dejected as Lori felt. “We’ll think of something. I know we will. We’ll figure this out. Besides, now you’ve Tex to watch your back. And your front. And any other part of you that you’ll let him ogle.”

  Her friend’s voiced lightened at the innuendo and Lori rolled her eyes. Nothing kept Carrie down for long.

  She just wished it was as easy for her to bounce back. All she could think of was what stunt Gears would try to pull next. Images from her nightmare rose up to haunt her and she shivered.

  She was so lost in her own thoughts that she missed part of what Carrie was saying.

  “…you and Tex, huh?”

  “What? What was that?” Lori stuttered, trying to pull her mind back to the conversation.

  “What happened with you and Tex last night? He was looking very he-man and protective when you left last night. Together, I might add.”

  Lori opened her mouth, intending to say nothing, but instead found the whole truth spilling out. Well, not the whole truth. Some of those details she couldn’t even share with her best friend, but enough for Carrie to get the picture.

  “It was a mistake,” Lori concluded. “I think. I’m pretty sure.”

  She honestly wasn’t quite sure what to feel about the whole thing, but there was no mistaking Carrie’s reaction.

  “That’s amazing, Lori! Good for you. Tex is a good guy. He’ll help you out, and you’ll get a little action on the side. I’m proud of you.”

  Lori snorted, shaking her head.

  “You are shameless.”

  “I know. It’s one of the things you love about me,” Carrie said flippantly.

  But then her voice sobered a little.

  “So, where are you going now?” she asked. “I’m assuming you didn’t stay?”

  “I kind of snuck out of his place this morning while he was making coffee. I’m not ready to face him.”

  Lori took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be ready to face him again.<
br />
  “I’m going home to change and get cleaned up,” she continued. “Then I’m heading to the club. I’m working tonight. My shift starts in a couple hours.”

  “Do you need me to come over?” Carrie asked immediately, sensing Lori’s trepidation about being at the house by herself.

  But Lori was already shaking her head.

  “No, I’ll be alright. Gears should be at the club already.”

  “It’s no problem, Lori.”

  “No, Carrie,” Lori snapped. “I can’t live my life in fear.”

  Regret filled her immediately and she tried to soften her tone, but memories of her nightmare made it hard.