by J. L. Drake
I nodded. I had spotted Mateo, Tiago, and a few others earlier. They looked real comfortable as they took up the seats by the fire. They each had a beer and were ordering their chicks around.
“Heard you had your reasons for bringing them here.”
“Yeah.” Tristen waited for me to say more. “Think we got a mole. Need to flush him out.”
“Shit, seriously?” I knew how he felt. I felt it too. We were a family, a brotherhood. To abuse that was a painful thought. “Any ideas?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “But I intend to find out soon.”
We both sat and let that sink in. More and more people trickled in, and soon the place was partying hard.
Tristen and my crew sat around the fire swapping stories about the kills we’d had on the Stripe Backs. The Serpents slowly started to migrate toward us, and I felt the vibe change. They acted as their name implied and slithered their way around until they were within hearing range. They kept in the shadows, but their presence could be felt.
“Huh,” Tristen caught my attention, “I see we have a newbie.”
“Where?” Rail practically fell out of his chair to catch a glimpse.
“By the trailer, leather pants, hot as hell blonde.” He grabbed his crotch and gave it a rub.
“No.” Brick shook his head, annoyed. “Completely off limits.”
I noticed Tiago had already caught sight of her too, which caused my grip on my bottle to tighten. He wouldn’t get three steps before one of us slammed his head in, so I knew she was good.
Tristen tossed his beer back before reaching for another. I could have stepped in, but Brick was entirely too entertaining when it came to Tess.
Rail rolled his eyes, but when he saw how much it affected Brick, he couldn’t resist.
“I heard she’s insane in the sack.”
I cleared my throat and tried not to throat punch Rail. It never bothered me when they joked about Tammy or fucking Peggy, but Tess brought out the need to protect.
Tristen licked his lips, clearly turned on by Tess. “The crazies are always the best in bed.”
“Just ask Brick.” Rail leaned over and gave a wink.
“I will tie your dick around your balls if you say that again.”
Rail unzipped his pants, and Brick glared.
“I could use a little tug.”
“Enough.” I laughed as I kicked the legs of Rail’s chair and he toppled backward.
Tess glanced over at the commotion and gave me a sexy smile.
Loose appeared out of nowhere with some of his friends. They surrounded her, and Minnie laughed at something.
To my surprise, she excused herself and headed my way.
That’s my girl.
“Oh,” Tristen sat straighter, “watch me wrangle this one in.”
“Go get her,” Gus huffed through his cigarette. He winked at me.
Tess leaned down and hugged Brick from behind and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. I admired the love they had for one another. They were all they had, they were family, and I understood. My club was my family.
Tristen stood as she pulled away from Brick. He handed her a beer, and she looked at him before she took it.
“Ah, thank you.”
“Tristen.” He pointed to himself and waited as she stared at him. “You have a name. You wanna tell me what it is?”
She glanced at me then smiled. “Okay, why not. Tess.”
“Pleasure.”
“Sure.” She laughed as she noticed we all were watching to see what was going to happen next.
Shit, the way her ass moved in her pants had my hands flexing.
Tristen moved closer, and I leaned forward to rest my arms on my thighs.
“You come here with anyone?”
Tess bit down on her lip when it hit her what we were doing.
“Yeah, I did.”
Tristen grabbed his chest dramatically in pain. “Well, that ass shouldn’t have let you out alone. Someone might want to steal you.”
“Ass?” She laughed at Minnie, who had now set up shop on Brick’s lap. “Yeah, that pretty much sums him up most of the time.”
The guys all tried to hide their laughter, and I couldn’t help but smirk. I was an asshole, but with good reason.
“So, you wanna come back to my trailer? I’m the VP of the North Carolina crew.”
She pushed his chest to stop him when he stepped too close. “That depends,” she purred in her sexy voice.
“Fucking shoot me now…please, anyone?” Brick buried his head in Minnie’s chest.
Tristen ignored him. “On?”
“On if Trigger will share me.”
Tristen’s face dropped and he slowly turned to face me. “Oh, come the fuck on. Really?”
“Not happening.” I grabbed Tess when she came into my reach. I lowered her to my lap and wrapped my arms around her waist. She grabbed my face and kissed me to prove possession.
It was a fuckin’ turn-on.
“You enjoyed the show,” she whispered against my lips.
“I did.”
“Mmm.” She kissed me once more before she turned to Brick, who looked ill. “I had to walk in on Varsity Blues, dude, so consider us even.”
“Hey,” Minnie whined, “I thought you dug it?”
“Oh, I did.”
“Yeah?” She stood and hooked her finger for Tess to come her way.
Tess bit her lip as she grabbed Minnie’s jacket. “It was pretty hot.”
“How hot?” She held Tess’s head and slammed her lips to hers.
“Fuck.” Rail rubbed his beard.
Brick twisted in his seat. “So many things wrong with this.”
“No, dude.” Rail leaned back and kicked his feet up on the rocks. “So many things good with this.”
Fuck, no.
I pulled Tess out of Minnie’s grasp and held her close. “Don’t share with anyone. Chicks or not.”
Minnie wiped her lips and winked at Tess. “Sweet dreams, doll.”
“Night, Min.” Tess pulled me toward the trailer. “Remind me what you can offer, Trigger.” She laughed as she opened the door and disappeared inside.
I didn’t bother to look back.
Tess had her hands on me the moment the door slammed.
“Get her taste out of my mouth.” She jumped in my arms. I wasted no time stripping her down. I tossed her on the bed and stared at her perfectly naked body.
“Fuck,” I cursed as I ditched my pants and shirt. “How can someone be so…” I stopped my words as I realized I had said it out loud.
“What?” She caught my lips as I laid my body over hers. “Tell me.”
I brushed her hair off her face and held her chin gently in my hands. “How can anyone so beautiful be with someone like me?”
A flinch raced across her face before her hand cupped my cheek. “How do you see yourself, Trigger?”
Dark, twisted, fucked up.
“Don’t do personal, Tess.”
“Try.”
“Tess.”
“Trigger.”
Fuck me.
“That’s a loaded question,” I finally bit out.
She rolled me back and straddled my waist. Her hands fell to my chest, and I had to remind myself it was Tess, not anyone else touching me.
“Well, why don’t I tell you what I see?”
I smirked as propped myself up higher on the headboard and rested my hands under my head.
This should be interesting.
“I see a young boy who had a horrible upbringing. One that I might never understand. You were shaped into a machine and built up walls to keep people away. I think you only know how to be hard on yourself and others around you, because that’s how you were raised. Because it’s easier to keep people out than to allow them in. But,” she leaned down and kissed me across my chest, “I’ve seen you smile, and you know what?”
“Mm?” I huffed as she wiggled down further, leaving a trail of
kisses.
Her head tilted as she looked up at me from my stomach. Fuck, her eyes held me hostage.
“I see past the walls, scary stuff, and guns. I see a man who has a big heart for his club, and maybe, just maybe, a little room for me.” At the last part, her voice lowered, and I could tell she was nervous to even say it. “I shouldn’t have said that.” She started to move, but I grabbed her arms and pinned her to me.
“Thought you didn’t date?”
Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Instead, she cleared her throat and tried to move away.
“Shit.” I was an asshole. “I’m not good at this. This is why I don’t do personal. I don’t have the right words to use.”
“Okay.” She tried not to frown.
“But, ah, thanks for seeing me that way. I don’t think anyone has before…or would want to.”
“I want to.”
I twisted a piece of her hair around my finger as her hand drew a pattern over my tattoos.
“What is…” I stopped myself. “Can I ask you something?” I knew she liked it when I asked, so I felt I was really making an effort.
“Yeah,” she replied, but her voice told me she knew what I wanted from her.
I stopped her hand and fingered her stack of bracelets she never took off, or at least she never did around me.
She slowly rose and rubbed her arm uncomfortably. I knew from Brick there was a huge story behind it, and I needed to know.
“I was fourteen,” she whispered, to my surprise. “Life wasn’t great, never met my dad. My mom is…well, that’s not important. Let’s just say I got pushed to a point where I thought it was the best way out.”
With her body on me, I felt her muscles tense as I pulled the bracelets off her wrist. A thin white line ran straight down about four inches. “They found me before I could do the other.”
“Then what?”
“They take you in and set you up for a seventy-two-hour watch. Mom took me out early with a promise to watch over me. They agreed to it because it was my first attempt.” Her eyes brimmed with tears, but she let her hair fall forward as if to hide from me. “Two days later, I met Matt.” She shook her head. “Brick.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. He was the best thing that could have happened to me. I mean, I went back and forth to the streets, to him, but still, he was my rock.”
“I get that.”
She smiled cynically, and I could see there was so much more than that. “I want to get a tattoo to cover it, just haven’t gotten the nerve to do it yet.”
“You know what you want?”
“I do, a vine.”
“Why a vine?”
She jumped when a ton of fireworks blasted into the air, then her head fell forward with a laugh. “That just stole ten years off me.”
“Kickoff.”
She leaned over to pull the curtains apart. “Who pays for all this?”
“Me.”
“Wow.” She turned back to me. “Good to be in the drug business.”
My chest tightened; she had no idea how wrong she was.
“We don’t make dick with the cocaine. I was smart with my money early and invested at the right time.”
She lay down on her stomach next to me. “This is all your personal money? I can’t even imagine what the bill would be for something like this.”
I shrugged. My club was my life, and didn’t matter what it cost. “They deserve it.”
“Well, that’s pretty generous.”
“Sure.” I hardly heard her as my hand inched toward her hip and traced her tan lines down to her belly. “What’s the lily for?” I rubbed the pad of my thumb over its petals.
“Just something I don’t want to forget.” Her voice lowered. “I guess like yours.”
Pushing off the pillow, I rolled to the side and faced her, thinking how my body was so much larger than hers.
Tess closed her eyes as my fingers roamed. When they opened again, my dick twitched. I never understood how a man could be lost in a woman until now.
She threaded her hand through mine and pulled it up to examine my artwork. “What does this one mean?” The tip of her finger moved along the barbed wire that encircled a skeleton.
“To remind me that even after death, I will still be trapped.”
“Trapped?” Her brows pinched together. “How so?”
“Don’t know what free feels like. After I killed someone close to me, I thought it would get better, but it didn’t.”
Something ran across her face, but she remained silent.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me.” I pushed down on her side, and she jerked forward with a yelp when I tickled her hip.
She laughed and shoved my shoulder. “Don’t play dirty, Trigger.”
“I’d never agree to that.”
“You never speak about your mother.”
As usual, at the mention of her, my emotions shut down. “She was a stripper, got knocked up, most likely in some alley. She raised me until I was two and a half then dropped me off at my father’s. Really don’t know much more than that.”
“Have you ever seen her since?”
I hated this, and I needed to change the topic. Her nipples were hard from the AC, and I zeroed in on her. My fingers slid between her legs.
She caught wind of my mood. “Sorry.”
“I don’t like this topic, Tess, any more than you do.” I fought my temper. I knew it was probably normal for people to talk about this kind of thing, but I was far from normal.
“Hey.” She shifted to press her lips to mine. “Sorry.” With a hand under her side, I scooped her up to straddle me again.
It took me a moment to change my head space from that to this, but the moment I felt her wetness over my erection, all demons were slammed behind closed doors.
Easing onto my growing erection, she lowered on me to the base. Her body bowed as she adjusted to my size. With both hands clamped at her sides, I started to pump into her from below. She met each thrust and palmed her breasts, granting me a show.
Just as I was about to haul her down to me, I had a new idea. I fumbled in the drawer and found what I was looking for.
“Here.” I handed her the rubber ring. Her eyes moved to mine, and I saw she was intrigued. I slipped out of her and nearly moaned when she dragged the heavy ring down the length of my erection.
She wiggled back into place and started to rock. I waited until her eyes closed to push the button on the side and her body bucked forward. The ring held a vibrator on the side that stimulated her and sent vibrations through me.
“Holy shit,” she moaned into my neck. “Yes!” Her breath was hot on my skin, and I dragged my nails down her back to her thighs. I thrust harder, and her gasps shot past my ear. I pulled out and waited for her to squirm then lightly pressed the vibrating bullet to her and felt her thighs tighten around me. Her breathing was erratic, her eyes were wild, and her face flushed with need. It was a sexy sight. Her breasts were soft as silk when they met my skin, and I didn’t want this to end. But when she squeezed me like a glove, I knew she was close.
One moment she was climbing, the next she leapt then fell, clawing at my chest.
The pain was delicious. I rolled to be on top, changing angle and position. She grabbed my head and crashed her lips to mine as another orgasm built inside her. I could see it in her eyes; she wanted me to lose it. I loved that she liked it just as rough as I did. With a hard slap to her ass, I lifted her so she straddled my lap as she rode me, and I nipped at her breasts.
She yelped at my teeth but pushed her chest into my face. We were animals and couldn’t get enough. I wanted deeper, and she wanted harder. We both fought to get our way, and it was fucking hot as hell.
Finally, I used my weight to win and pinned her face down on the bed. I gripped her hips and hauled her up and thrust back in. She pushed to lean up on her arms, but I wouldn’t let her. I wanted this ang
le. It was submissive, and I needed it.
With my hand on her shoulder and hip, I flipped my switch and lost myself inside her. She shook and screamed, begging me for more. My legs burned and my chest heaved as I burst into her. She panted to catch her breath when I finally slowed and came back from wherever the hell I was. Easing out of her, I rolled to my side and tried to catch my own breath.
I needed a shower and so did Tess, but this was more desirable than moving.
“I love when you lose it,” she whispered through a laugh.
“You have a death wish.”
“Maybe, but what a way to go.”
I smirked as she laughed. Her presence chased the demons back into the shadows, if only for a while.
Just when I was about drift off to sleep, I felt her take a breath.
“You weren’t born a sinner, Trigger,” she said softly, as if she forgot to include me in her conversation.
“Neither was the devil, but look how things turned out for him.”
Chapter Twelve
Tess
“Where the shit have you been?” Brick snapped at me when I returned from the other side of the camp.
“Hello, there,” Rail purred as Brick slapped him upside the head. “What, dude? She ain’t my family.”
“Something tells me even if she was, you’d have your hands down her pants.”
I rolled my eyes, but truth be told, Rail was growing on me. I personally thought it was great how much crap he gave Brick.
Brick circled me. “Why are you wet?”
“You sure you want to know?” I winked.
“Don’t throw me off with your sex thing.” His face scrunched up. “Why are you wet?”
“Done yet?”
“No, I could keep going.”
“Spare me the big brother act. I was with Gus, and he introduced me to some other women.” I pulled off my shirt, and Brick nearly punched Rail. “Jesus, relax your balls. I have a suit on.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’re wet.”
I tilted my head at my best friend and chuckled before I leaned up and kissed his cheek.
“When are you going to see that I am not that little girl you met in the alley?”
His expression softened, but I knew how he felt. I felt the same way about him. It was good to care, but care and worry were two different things, and I didn’t want to be why he had a stroke at thirty-five.
