by April Lust
“Fuck,” he groaned, sliding back away from me, pulling his massive erection out of me.
He cupped a hand behind my head and pulled me to him. I knew what I was about to get, so I grabbed his hips and pulled him to my mouth, taking him all the way down to the base his shaft at once, pulling on him with my tongue until his warm, salty flavor erupted in my mouth.
I drank from him like it was the fountain of youth. I wrapped my fingers around him and worked his base while my lips and tongue worked up to the tip of his head. His shaft jerked in my hand and in my mouth as he emptied himself down my throat.
I’d never wanted it more in my life than I did right then. I wasn’t working anymore. I was enjoying the first man who truly made me feel safe in his presence. I felt safe enough to submit to him and let him take my mouth the way he’d taken my sex.
He pumped himself deep into my mouth, until I felt his head pushing into the entrance of my throat. I sucked and stroked every last drop of him onto my tongue and pulled him out of my mouth to stroke him against my chest while I kissed up his stomach to his chest, circling a nipple with my tongue before sucking on the tight, hard skin. I let go of his shaft while I kissed up to his firm shoulders.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me down onto the bed where we lay, embracing each other, as the evening light faded from outside his thin white curtains and turned over to the darkness of night behind the glowing lights of the city surrounding us.
He surrounded me, and I buried my head in his chest. I listened to his breathing and his pulse. For the first time, I wasn’t up and out the door. I wasn’t trying to get anything out of anyone. I just wanted Mason to stay like he was, holding me and keeping the rest of our awful lives at bay for just a little longer.
Chapter 11
Mason
Clara was everything I had expected and more. Her toned, tanned body fit perfectly against me. There were no tan lines anywhere on her, which was a huge turn on for me. After we had sex, I held her against me. She curled up against my chest as if she’d been looking for a safe place to rest for ages. I was more than happy to provide her that safe haven from her boss and the men who were after her.
I wasn’t a fool, though. I knew why she’d gone to the park. She’d gone to meet her boss, and I was pretty sure I knew who he was. I was pretty sure she had been working for Skull, though she still hadn’t told me, so I was still pretending I didn’t know with her. But Mick and I were certain of it. She’d gone to meet him, and he had obviously sent his goons to kidnap her.
I stroked her beautiful blonde hair, and she moaned into my chest. She was in danger, and I wasn’t sure she understood just how much. She trusted her boss too much. I hoped I’d earned some of that trust by bringing her into my home the way I had been and by giving myself to her like I had. I couldn’t be too sure, though.
I stroked her smooth back and pulled her against me. I could feel myself wanting her again already. Her body had felt amazing against me, and the passion I felt her throwing back my way had been intense. I wanted inside her again. I wanted to explore her body. I wanted to enjoy every piece of it.
I knew there would be time enough for that later. First, I had to see if she trusted me enough to give me the name of her boss.
I kissed the top of her head. I felt her pull me closer and smile against me.
“Mason,” she whispered into my chest.
“Yes, baby?” I pulled back to look into her face.
She looked up at me and smiled. Even her deep blue eyes smiled at me, but I could see something in them had changed. “I’m leaving my boss,” she said. “I’m coming to work for you, if that’s what you want to know,” she told me.
“That’s awesome,” I said with a big smile. I gave her a long, tender kiss.
“I don’t work for Skull anymore,” she said after the kiss, before nestling her head back into my chest.
“I’m glad,” I told her. I couldn’t believe after all the work she’d done to keep me from finding out who her boss was, she just let it slip out like that. But maybe that was what real trust was. Maybe that was her way of letting me know she felt safe and secure here in my arms.
I didn’t react. I didn’t want to frighten her in case she hadn’t realized she’d let it slip like that. I held her in my arms until she fell asleep.
I listened as her breathing grew deeper, more measured. It slowed down with her pulse, which had still been racing from the ecstasy we’d shared. The last little bit of tension left her body, and that was the moment it felt like she’d really given herself to me.
I had a feeling she was pretty experienced in bed, or her past partners had been. And while the sex had felt passionate, I felt like I’d finally won her trust when I felt her body give beneath me. That was when I knew she felt safe and secure with me. It wasn’t just sex.
Our relationship wasn’t just business anymore. We’d gone beyond just trying to get information out of each other. We’d gone beyond being rivals. We were even beyond the flirtatious stage we went through. She was asleep now, so there was no real chance to discuss with her what was happening with us.
I ran a hand through my hair and started the work of sliding out of bed. I needed to let Mick know I had confirmation that Skull was her boss. I carefully slid my body away from hers, gently sliding a pillow under her head as I pulled my other arm away. I moved myself slowly off the bed, letting the change in the weight next to her occur gradually.
When I finally stood up next the bed, naked in front of her naked sleeping body, I felt guilty for using her. My emotions were changing every day as I spent more time with her. My feelings for her were growing beyond what I had initially thought about her. She was no longer just a thief or a prisoner. She was no longer just someone who worked for one of my rivals.
Skull wasn’t just one of my rivals. He was our number one rival these days. Our drug business was the only one that he hadn’t threatened so far, and Clara’s job had been to take us down so our clients became his clients. She’d been doing a damn good job of it, too, stealing our heroin so he could sell it cheaper because he wasn’t having to buy it himself.
Staring at Clara lying peacefully in my bed, it was hard to imagine she was the thief who had done so much to undermine my business. It was hard to imagine her goal had been to take me down when she first showed up.
The passionate woman lying in my bed was no longer a thief or a spy working against me. If anything, she was becoming my old lady. I was working my way deeper past her walls, deeper not only into her body, but into her as a person. Yet, here I was, sneaking away from her so I could go tell Mick I knew who’d been stealing from us beyond a shadow of a doubt. It was important news, and it needed to be shared.
The best time to do it was right then, I knew, while she was sleeping, so I didn’t have to hide and I didn’t have to do it right in front of her. Doing it this way, I told myself, allowed me to preserve the integrity of our growing relationship while still furthering my business purpose for getting into this relationship in the first place.
Despite my feelings for her, I’d been using her this whole time. I’d been working her the whole time, trying to wear her down so I could learn what I needed to learn from her. I couldn’t turn back now. I had to tell Mick it was Skull.
I walked around to the front of the bed and picked up my jeans. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened up a new text for Mick.
Clara shifted in her sleep and seemed to be talking to someone in a dream. My heart skipped a beat, believing I’d been caught red handed giving away the information she’d trusted me enough to share.
I walked out of the bedroom into the living room where I didn’t have to face her sleeping, trusting body while I betrayed her.
“Just this once, Mason,” I murmured. “It’s for the MC. After this, everything’s going to be straight.”
I took a deep breath and started to text Mick.
She was working for Skull, I typed, but I did
n’t hit send.
I stared at my words. Sending that text message meant everything I’d allowed to happen between us was a lie. It meant I would be admitting to myself that I couldn’t even trust my own emotions because I had used her.
“You’re so full of shit,” I told myself. “You’re an Angel. Remember, Storm’s Angels will always be first.”
I took a deep breath and sent the text. I quickly closed and locked my phone. I went back to the bedroom and stuck it back into my jeans pocket.
I looked at her again, lying on my bed in the middle of my darkened room. I couldn’t force myself to climb back in that bed with her. I grabbed my phone and went back into the living room.
I grabbed my whiskey and sat back down on the couch.
What are we going to do about it? Mick asked.
We have to take him down, I texted back.
The whiskey took the edge off.
Sounds like a plan. You coming back in? he responded.
I looked into the bedroom from where I was. I could see the shape of her body in the shadows. I took a sip of my drink, letting the warmth fill me.
No, I’m busy here, I texted him back.
I understand. That answers my next question.
I smiled at the phone.
What was that going to be? I asked.
What to do about Clara, Mick texted back.
Don’t worry about her. I’ve got her under control, I said.
Yeah, under you.
Of course. Where else?
All right, man. See you at HQ, he said.
Give me a few days, I texted back. I don’t want her to think I just fucked her for information.
But isn’t that what you just did?
I sighed as I read his last message. I put the phone down and went into the kitchen to finish the bottle. I poured the last of it into my glass and went back into the living room, sipping the whole way.
“Is that what you just did?” I asked myself. I shook my head in response. Clara wasn’t just another piece of ass. She was important beyond the sex and beyond the information she provided to me. She wasn’t there just to serve a purpose, I tried to convince myself.
I don’t know, I texted Mick.
Be careful, boss, he texted back.
I will,” I said aloud to the phone, setting it back down.
As I finished my glass, I grabbed hers and drank what was left in it. I was beginning to feel more than just the warmth of the whiskey I was drinking. I felt good. The edge was gone. The care was gone. All that was left was how I really felt about Clara.
And it was good. I felt good about Clara. I felt a connection to her. There was more to her than her prefect legs, her sweet little ass, her tight and welcoming sex, her perfect breasts and delicious nipples, and her deep summer sky blue eyes.
Clara wasn’t just another woman. She wasn’t just another toy to use and toss away. And, dammit, I was starting to get angry with myself for fucking it up by using her just to get at her boss. I vowed in silence to make it up to her, even though she would never know I had taken that information from her immediately and told the MC about it.
As I slid back into bed, I knew Mick was already making preparations to track Skull down. We were going to end his operation. He was going to learn why no one else had the nerve to challenge Storm’s Angels.
In the meantime, I was going to hold this beautiful woman lying next to me, and even though I hadn’t lost her trust, I was going to begin working to earn it back. I had violated it, whether she was aware of it or not.
I felt horrible, until I felt her against me. I knew, deep down, that what I was doing had to be done, for us. The only way we even stood a chance was to eliminate Skull. He was already after her, whether she wanted to admit it or not. He would continue to pursue no matter what. At least by taking him out, we were going to pave the way for us to continue letting this relationship grow.
I laughed at myself as I realized that Clara’s walls weren’t the only ones coming down. Mine had apparently crumbled.
Then, it hit me. I wasn’t the only one trying to tear down the other’s walls. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so bad about betraying her trust. I looked down at the cunning woman lying next to me and I wondered what secrets she’d been planning on telling Skull when his men ambushed her in the park. Trust was a two-way street, and it seemed we had both been going the wrong way.
Chapter 12
Clara
It was amazing how much this one job had changed my life. Instead of waking up alone in my own apartment, I was waking up every day next to a strong, caring man who had promised to protect me. Instead of waking up to more work every day, I woke up to Mason’s green eyes watching over me and to his arms, embracing me. I woke up feeling safe, comfortable, and happy. For the first time in my life, I knew what had really been missing the whole time.
There had never been anyone like Mason in my life. There had never been anyone who allowed me to feel safe and comfortable intimately.
Something had changed the first time we had sex. It was like the whole dynamic of our relationship shifted in those few minutes we shared of ecstasy and bliss. We were no longer at each other’s throats, except maybe to kiss each other there. We stopped trying to exert power over one another. We were together. We were equals. We had accepted each other.
We slept together a few more times in those first few days. We explored each other’s bodies as completely as time would allow, and we had all the time in the world. Mason had stayed home with me, avoiding the motorcycle club except for the occasional conversation with Mick. I hadn’t checked my phone in days, even though I was sure I would find countless messages from Skull when I did. We avoided everything beyond his balcony or his front door. We hid away from our professional lives to enjoy some personal bliss.
We spent those first few days in a paradise filled with flirtation and ecstasy. We stayed in bed. We cooked naked. We stayed up and drank late on his balcony. We drank early on his balcony. We cuddled on the couch and watched movies. We showered together. It was like a dream come true, a dream in which I could walk away from my life of crime with this man whose body and heart were strong enough to carry me to safety.
Alas, dreams were sometimes just dreams. They didn’t come true, and we eventually had to wake up to face reality.
I woke up alone. My hand rested on the empty spot where Mason’s body should have been. My head rested on his pillow. I heard murmuring from the other room, so I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I could see the couches from the bed, and as the world came into focus, I saw Mason sliding on his boots with his phone up to his ear. It looked a lot like MC business.
I pushed the covers back and slid my naked body out of bed to see what was going on. We seriously hadn’t worn clothes in almost a week, but Mason was sitting on the center couch with his colors on over a white t-shirt and blue jeans. His hair had been brushed back, instead of hanging down in front of his face as it had been for a few days. He glanced up at me as I approached and ended his call, telling the person on the other line that he was on his way.
“Let me guess, you’re still going after Skull,” I stated as I walked around behind him. I leaned forward and ran my hands down his strong, firm chest.
“Of course I am,” he said plainly.
“And you’ve been looking for him behind my back this whole time,” I teased him. “That’s why you’ve kept your conversations to text messages or why you’ve taken your calls outside, huh?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to bother you with it all,” he sort of apologized. Well, I took it as an apology. I wasn’t quite sure if he meant it that way, or if he was just trying to soften the blow.
“I thought you had dropped it, honestly,” I said, making my voice a little firmer. I let the humor and amusement go from it.
“Why would I?” he asked.
“Because we have the perfect opportunity right now to walk away from all of it,” I tried to convince him. “We can get
out of the business, leave everything behind, run off together, and start a new life.” I smiled as I rattled off my fantasy to him.
“Not hardly.” He laughed. “Look, I know Skull was behind the thefts. I know now that he had you stealing product from me so he could sell it and undermine my business.”
He grabbed one of my hands and turned around, looking up to me with his kind green eyes. There wasn’t an ounce of anger or hatred in them anymore. He’d gone soft for me. When he looked at me, all I saw was tenderness. I melted when I looked into those eyes.
“Besides,” he continued, “he threatened you. He sent those thugs after you.”
