Brand_A Steel Paragons MC Novel

by Eve R. Hart

  When I was in school, I would go over everything I said before it left my mouth to make sure I said it properly. I was afraid to speak out for fear of making my family look bad. When I got older, it became about my looks and who I hung out with. I kept my art friends in the shadows which I realized was pretty crappy. I went to prom with someone my mother set me up with. I wore a dress that didn’t show off anything. It wasn’t even the color I wanted.

  So, I had conditioned myself to replay every little thing I did to make sure I didn’t sound or look as weird as I felt on the inside. I over thought things because I had to work hard to hide my true self.

  And to be honest, I was tired. It made me a bit of a basket case. Moments like this it really showed through.

  I had been so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t hear the shower cut off. I didn’t hear Brand moving around in the bathroom. And I barely registered the door opening. My head snapped over in that direction as I jumped like a caught mouse.

  My mouth was suddenly dry.

  Like a desert.

  Like I couldn’t even swallow.

  Like…Oh, fuck me!

  Because Brand came sauntering out, ink black towel slung low around his waist, bare chest still sprinkled with droplets of water, hair slicked back away from his face and dripping.

  My eyes couldn’t decide what to look at. They roamed the hard lines of his chest, down to his perfectly circled innie belly button. Then over the dark trail of hair that disappeared beneath the cinched towel.

  Then I was moving, my bare legs sliding out from under the sheets as I crawled to the edge of the bed. I had no idea what I was doing, but like a moth drawn to a flame, I couldn’t stop myself.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Brand

  In my hasty retreat, I forgot to grab clothes. And I only realized that after I turned off the water and reached for my towel. I could only hope that Cami was asleep and I would be able to sneak out and get dressed without her even knowing.

  Yes, she made me nervous. That much was obvious.

  It took everything in me to steel myself and walk away from her. I wanted nothing more than to spread her out on my bed and kiss every inch of her. I wanted to know what she sounded like as I dove my head in between her legs. And how she tasted. And how she would breathe my name as she came for me.

  So, I needed to stop those thoughts from invading my brain because it took an ice cold shower just to get my dick to go down. Now, it was threatening to wake again. I couldn’t go out there in nothing but a towel sporting a hard-on.

  Sure, I meant what I’d said earlier, but I was only a man after all. And there was something about Cami that had me weak and falling to my knees. Could I explain any of it? No. Did I really give a fuck? No, to that as well. She made me feel and I’d learned enough in life to know that sometimes you couldn’t explain feelings. I wasn’t going to resist it any longer. I wouldn’t even lie, I liked the way she made me feel. It’d been a long time since something lit me up inside like she did.

  Until Cami, I hadn’t realized that I’d been walking around for years half-asleep.

  I made it a few steps out of the bathroom and her wide eyes were on mine. Well, not my eyes really. Her gaze roamed over my body as if I were made of chocolate and she wanted to taste every part of me.

  An explanation and apology were right on the tip of my tongue, but it wouldn’t go any further. I hadn’t done any of this on purpose and for some reason, it meant a lot to me that she knew that.

  She crawled her way to me. Her knees hit the edge of the mattress and if she just reached out she’d be able to touch me. My fingers dug into the hold I had on the towel like I’d somehow be able to keep the thing up. I needed that barrier. I needed a damn wall between us at this point. A state. Something big and widespread. I knew what was coming and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop it no matter how hard I tried to hold onto the promise of my words.

  A sharp breath filled my lungs as her fingers traced the lines of my abs. I didn't dare look away from her eyes. Beautiful gray eyes that were filled with dark want and desire. All for me.

  I was only a man.

  She leaned in and kissed my chest, her lips soft and warm against my cool skin. The combination of everything sent a shiver down my spine. I couldn’t resist, there was no point in trying. Her fingers slipped into the edge of the towel and at her light tug, I gave into her silent request. My hand dropped away from the hold I had on the last thread keeping me strong. The towel fell to the floor as I reached for her. Our bodies crashed together as our lips met.

  Again, I was only a man. And I gave into the biggest temptation I’d ever been faced with.

  I tore at her shirt, ripping it over her head and tossing it to the floor without a care. Her body hit the mattress under me and I braced myself on my forearms so I wouldn’t crush her. I kissed down her neck and chest. My tongue circled her hard nipple before pulling it into my mouth and sucking on it.

  She was perfection and I only wished I could have slowed down enough to take in every inch of her. But I knew myself and so I wasn’t worried. This wouldn’t end tonight. This was merely the beginning.

  Her fingers were in my hair and clawing at my back with need. Her chest arched into me and my arm wrapped around her holding her up. I released her nipple with a pop and a low moan escaped her.

  I leaned back on my heels and hooked my fingers into the sides of her panties. She didn’t hesitate as I slowly dragged them down and off. My eyes slid over her body as my cock throbbed and pulsed with need. Her legs were spread for me, her pussy bared to me, swollen and wet.

  “I need you inside of me, like, now,” she said as my eyes dragged themselves to meet hers.

  I covered her body again, this time reaching past her to the side table. I sent Ky a silent thanks as I opened the overflowing drawer full of condoms. With lightning speed, I snatched one up and hoped she was distracted enough not to notice the unhealthy amount of foil wrapped packages that filled the drawer.

  “Oh, my God!”

  I cringed. Yep, she had seen it. I absolutely did not want to stop and try to explain this but it was clear I needed to. She deserved to know that I wasn’t that guy. She most certainly wasn’t that girl.

  “Okay,” I said as I breathed out and clenched the condom in my hand so tightly the crinkle sound seemed to bounce off the walls. “I’m only going to say this once, I did not put those in there. Ky did as a joke, because I have not been with anyone in years. Yes, it’s embarrassing at best. I’m not a one-night kind of guy. So, if we do this, you need to know that it means a lot to me. You fucking mean a lot to me. The moment I slip inside you I’m making some type of commitment.”

  “Oh…” Her mouth remained open in the cutest O of shock. “Wait. Years?”

  “That’s what you choose to focus on?” I deadpanned in a semi-joking way.

  “No, I mean—uh, crappola. I’m really messing this up, aren’t I?”

  I chuckled because she was just so adorable.

  “No,” I said then kissed her. “Are you with me?”

  “Oh, yes. Very much so.” She smiled and nodded her head frantically.

  Done with words, I tore open the wrapper and sheathed my hard cock with lightning speed. I reached between us and lined myself up with her. This moment felt so right and I only hoped I’d be able to last long enough for her to enjoy it. My hips gave a few shallow pumps. I wanted nothing more than to bury myself in with one fast thrust, but I didn’t want to hurt her.

  “Shit, you’re so tight,” I panted as I pushed in a little more.

  Her legs moved up and hooked around my back as her hand slapped down on my ass.

  “More,” she moaned out as she clenched around me.

  She was so snug I doubted I’d be able to hold back once I fully filled her. Her hips bucked up, taking me in with desperate need.

  Then I let go, I gave into what we both wanted. I slammed into her, over and over again. Her moans and pants echoed off of
the walls and spurred me on.

  She felt amazing. Perfect. Like she was fucking made for me. And maybe in a way, I believed that she was. Which was crazy, right? Maybe not. I couldn’t let myself think about that right now.

  “Cami,” I breathed out then kissed her.

  Her fingers dug into me and I could feel her body coming alive around me. She bucked and jerked with a staggered rhythm like she no longer had control over her body.

  “Don’t stop,” she pleaded as our mouths tore apart. “Brand, please.”

  I was close and hearing my name on her lips only pushed me right to the edge, teetering on going over. I needed to feel her come. I wanted nothing more than to watch her face as she crashed over for me.

  “Oh! Fuck!” she screamed out and I would have put money on the fact that everyone in the compound could hear her.

  Yeah, I was that asshole right then that was proud as fuck that my brothers knew what was going on. Cami was mine. Or maybe I was hers. Either way, everyone needed to know that shit.

  Her pussy quivered and clamped down on me. I gritted my teeth and fucked her through her orgasm, only losing the battle to hold back at the end of it. Stream after stream of cum spilled from me filling the condom as her name slipped past my lips in a hoarse whisper next to her ear.

  I could move no more than I could control my breathing or slow my racing heart.

  There were no words for what just happened.

  And I questioned if I even wanted to try to give it an explanation.

  “I can’t move,” Cami said with a huffed laugh.

  Chuckling, I turned my head and placed a light kiss on her neck, then her temple.

  “Got to let me up,” I said with much regret.

  Her hands flopped away from my back, landing on the bed with a soft plop. I held the base of the condom as I slid out of her tight heat. My cock, still half-hard, wasn’t ready to leave as much as her sad sigh let me know she wasn’t ready to let him go.

  I went to the bathroom and cleaned up. When I returned to the bed with a warm washcloth, her eyes were nearly closed. It looked as if she was doing her best to keep them open and quickly losing the fight. I moved her lax legs as I gently cleaned her. I tossed the cloth into the dirty clothes bin in the corner, then I did what I’d waited all night to do. I climbed into the bed and pulled her into me. Her head rested on my chest with absolutely no hesitation. I wrapped my arms around her, tangled my legs with hers, and basically cuddled the fuck out of her.

  The banging on my door came sooner than I’d ever wanted. Cami stirred in my arms, her fingers gripping my waist tighter like she wasn’t ready to let me go. I sighed thinking exactly that. I wanted to yell out for them to go and leave me in my peaceful bubble. But I was smart enough to know that wouldn’t happen. I had shit to take care of. Even though I’d talked to Iron when I returned, there were still a million things to go over, and not to mention, a shop to clean up.

  “I’ll be down in ten,” I called out not bothering to leave the bed to tell them to their face. Whoever the hell it was. I didn’t care and I didn’t need to know why they were knocking.

  “Hear that my overflowing gift was useful after all,” Ky’s stupid voice rang out with too much amusement for the early hour.

  “Go away, asshole,” I barked, though I wasn’t mad in the least. I could feel the smile stretch wide across my face.

  “I’ll let Iron know you’re on your way.” I didn’t have to listen for his retreating footsteps to know that he was headed on his way.

  “I love your dimples,” Cami said as I turned to look at her. Her bright eyes were looking up at me and I realized the smile hadn’t slipped from my face, not even a little. She leaned up on her arms and kissed one dimple, then the other. So sweetly, her lips lingered for a second with each kiss.

  I was falling for this girl. So hard and fast I was beginning to wonder what end was up. This was how I wanted to wake up every morning. These were the eyes I wanted to see at the start of every day. And she was the one I wanted wrapped around me when I went to sleep, making it almost impossible to crawl out of bed in the morning.

  My hand cupped her face and brought her lips to meet mine. I kissed her like I had all the time in the world and I loved the fact that her body sagged into me the instant our lips met.

  “I have to go,” I whispered against her mouth.

  “I figured.” She pecked my lips and pulled back enough so she could look at me. “I should head home and get cleaned up, and maybe put on some clean clothes too.”

  “For the record, I don’t want to go.”

  “I believe you,” she said then rolled out of bed. My eyes glued to her perfect ass as she bent over and picked up the discarded shirt from the night before. As she slipped it on, she made her way over to where she’d put her stuff on the chair in the corner. I watched with an amused smile as she hopped up and down to get into her jeans. “What about the shop?”

  “Fuck!” I ran my fingers through my hair. I’d forgotten about everything briefly. Hey, she was a really good distraction, that was for sure. “I’ll head over there in a bit and see what kind of damage there is. I’m going to have to get all of the front glass replaced.” My list of things I had to do for the day was growing by the second.

  “I’ll head over there after I’m done.”

  “No.” I paused. “I don’t know if it’s safe and so, I want you far away from there.”

  “Look at me,” she said in a firm tone that was strange for her. “I get that it’s messy. I’m all in for the messy and everything else there is. That shop means a lot to you and I’ve grown quite fond of it too. I’ll be there, cleaning it up, putting it back together, right beside you. Safe or not.”

  “Who are you?” I asked with glazed-over eyes and almost a sense of wonder in my voice.

  “Me.” She shrugged looking away briefly. “The me I’ve been hiding for so long.”

  I sprang out of the bed and grabbed her. I kissed her like I’d never dreamed of kissing anyone else.

  “You’re insane,” I said with a laugh as I peppered her face with kisses.

  “Yeah, maybe. And you’re going to make people mad if you don’t move it.” She pinched my bare ass and I shot her a look of utter shock.

  “Fine. But wait until you hear from me, okay? Let me figure out what is going on and if it’s safe.”

  “Okay, for you, I will wait.”

  She kissed me one last time and darted out the door, looking sexy as hell still wearing my shirt.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Brand

  All playfulness aside, there was stuff that needed to be dealt with. Serious threats against the club. And I didn’t even know which end we were getting hit from. Shit had gone sideways in the blink of an eye. A local gang had targeted us out of nowhere and we had no idea if we were the only ones. Then there was Detective Asshole who clearly had it out for us.

  The air in church vibrated with an antsy aggravation. I hated sitting still but I knew this was important.

  I’d found out what happened to Connor when I got back last night. I was lucky that Iron didn’t keep me long and in fact, he forced the information down my throat at a hurried pace. I wouldn’t say that without Connor on the force that we were screwed, it just meant that we’d have to be a little more cautious and constantly watching our backs. It wasn’t anything new.

  Cable had been tasked with digging up whatever he could find on the detective. Anything that might help us get out of the situation we were currently in with him. Hey, we weren’t above blackmail as long as what we found was something dirty. We wouldn’t threaten or harm the innocent. Ever. So, all we needed was one little thing.

  The cameras came up with enough to get me off the hook, but not enough to point the finger at Detective Mullins. I couldn’t tell if he was smart or just lucky.

  Either way, I didn’t care right then, because I was out and the charges had been dropped. Not surprising to me the cocaine they “recovere
d at the scene” happened to disappear after Iron showed up with the footage of the shop.

  “I’m shutting down the Irish and the Russians for the time being. I’ll be letting them know that as soon as we’re done here. I’m taking B-ry, Knight, Sketch, and Mouse. Brand, you need to head to the shop and take care of all that shit.”

  I gave Iron a nod. I was tired but knew I wouldn’t be seeing my bed anytime soon. I figured I had gotten two hours at most last night. A smile tickled my lips as I thought about how I wouldn’t trade the lack of sleep for the world.

  Damn Cami. That woman was amazing. There were times that she took me by surprise and I loved it. I liked the way she was around me, whether it be in the shop around people, or when it was just us. It was obvious that she was trying to break out from her parents’ grooming and rules. But she wasn’t doing it in a spoiled, rich girl, ‘I need love, notice me’ kind of way. She was truly trying to find a way to be herself.

  Fuck, she was beautiful. And I loved having her in my arms, I knew that even with the short time that I had been allowed to have her there. It made me want more, like every single night, more. Even if she did elbow me in the ribs a couple of times. That girl slept like she was fighting something.

  “Find anything Cable?” Iron’s voice snapped me back to attention.

  “Ten years ago, his wife and child were killed in a shootout between two motorcycle clubs. His kid wasn’t even a year old.” Cable paused, his lips turning down into a sad frown. “This happened down in Texas. He’d been on the force for two years, married for three. From what I can tell, he took a leave of absence then came back swinging. But since he was young and didn’t have a leg to stand on in the department, he didn’t get anywhere.”

  “Well, that’s something. I can understand it a little more now. Don’t make it right, but it’s better than dealing with some asshole just on a power trip,” Iron said, his face mimicking the twinge of sadness we all felt right then.