“I don’t remember you being in my world, Serafina. My patches separate us more than you’ll ever know.”
A sad look darkens her features suddenly. “If you say so.”
As she steps into the hot tub, I catch a glimpse of the paradise between those slim legs. Exhaling slowly, I fight against the bastard urges threatening to take over my mind. She’s as wild as I’d hoped. Confident. Everything I want in my bed for a few nights.
I stand and take off my vest.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“The same thing you did, girl. Getting naked.”
She rests her chin on the edge of the tub. “Why?”
“Didn’t you say we’re from the same world?”
“That doesn’t mean I want to see you naked.” She slides to the far side of the hot tub. “But don’t let me stop you, there’s plenty of room in here. Unless you want to pay to play.”
I let out a disappointed growl, knowing she’s full of shit. I caught her looking at my ass a couple times. But if she wants money . . . I reach into my back pocket and take out my wallet. I grab the bills and throw the billfold on the mattress, then gaze at her. She hasn’t moved. I strut to the Jacuzzi and fan the paper out, a mix of hundreds, twenties, and tens.
“What’s that for?” she frowns and then looks up at me.
“Pay to play?” I use her words, wanting to offend her.
“Asshole!” She snatches the wad out of my hand so fast I don’t have a chance to stop her.
“What the fuck?”
She submerges the bills under water. A few seconds later, they resurface, a thousand dollars floating on top.
We glower at each other, silent, daring the other to make the next move. But the moment is broken by a loud knock on the door.
“Who is it?” I call without taking my eyes off her.
“Diaz.”
“The door is locked. But come in.” I hear him insert a key into the lock. “This isn’t settled, Serafina, trust me.”
“I know,” she whispers, a hint of regret in her raspy voice.
Chapter Five
Serafina
The first thing I think about is why does Diaz have a key to unlock a guest room door? Then I remember where I am. The danger in this place reminds me of why I left Holly Beach so long ago. Everything looks normal from the outside, beautiful Southern architecture and trimmed lawns, but there’s no old money in this place, only drug money. And after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina devastated the coast, the cartel bought up all the available property, constructed new houses, and rented them to their mules.
The families that managed to rebuild their lives are middle class, struggling to make ends meet. So there’s a serious line of division in the proverbial sand in the Cajun Riviera. And the only good thing I really remember about my hometown is standing too close to me. Eagle can never know who I am. I need to get out of here before I slip up and let him kiss me.
Diaz and Tony thankfully invade the bedroom just before our argument escalates. I sink down into the hot water, ready to forget tonight, ready to blow Eagle off and get away from him. I don’t want to be hateful and rude. I love him as much as I always did, maybe even more now that I’ve seen him again. But our time together is long over. I’m dead to him. Angel is even dead to me. I’m Serafina now, and the sooner I convince him I think he’s a piece-of-shit biker, the quicker he’ll let me go.
“Shit, Scala.” Tony rushes over. “What happened? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Eagle shoves his hand in his front jeans pocket. “Not in the guest house, apparently.”
Tony spins around. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Should be obvious. You left her alone.” Eagle gives Diaz a nod. “Did you tell him?”
“Yes.”
“No further explanation is required,” Eagle informs Tony. “Serafina will spend the night here and I’ll arrange for her to get a ride home in the morning.”
“Wait a second,” I say. “Who appointed you my caretaker all of a sudden? I’m a big girl, remember?” I put my hand on my hip, ready to do battle again if I have to.
Eagle throws me a sideways look, like I’m some kind of freak. “Don’t care what you say, Serafina. You’ll do things my way.”
Really? “I’m not staying here,” I say emphatically. “Tony will call the limo driver and we’ll leave tonight.”
“Sorry, girl,” Tony says, looking guilty of something. “One of the twins did too many body shots and she’s not feeling well. We’ll have to get a hotel room.”
“How convenient,” I say, not believing a word of it.
Eagle always gets his way. Never mind the patches on his cut, even if he was just an ordinary guy, he’d still convince anyone to do anything he wanted with one look. I’ve been a victim of his tactics before. Things can’t get any worse. I close my eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. There’s a Holiday Inn a few miles up the highway. I’ll get dressed.”
“Mr. Lazaro won’t like that,” Diaz says.
Tony laughs. “Tell Mr. Lazaro I appreciate his concern. But this is a private matter.”
“Not anymore.” Eagle steps between the hot tub and Tony, blocking Tony’s view of me. “I don’t give a shit about the twins, but Serafina is my responsibility now.”
I can smell the testosterone in the air. I grew up surrounded by men who felt entitled to power. Never asking women how they felt or what they wanted. Since my escape from Holly Beach five years ago, I’ve lived by my own rules. And no matter how much I love Eagle, he’s not going to break them.
I stand, water cascading down my body. “Mr. Lazaro hasn’t exactly demonstrated good sense either,” I remind Eagle. “Tony might have made a bad choice or two, but I know and trust him. So there’s no question about where I’m going.”
Eagle swings around, his gaze lingering on the most intimate parts of my naked body. “Fuck,” he moans, then focuses on my eyes. “Don’t insult Lazaro again. As for Tony . . .” The two face off. “Get your boss on the phone. I’m sure he’d like a progress report on tonight’s performances.”
My bouncer runs his fingers through his hair. “There’s no reason to bother Mr. Matthews in the middle of the night.”
“I disagree.” Eagle produces his cell phone. “What’s that number?”
Hit by a wicked chill, I step out of the hot tub and reach for one of the blanket-sized towels on the shelf nearby. I shake it out and wrap it around my center, successfully covering all the parts that Eagle couldn’t keep his eyes off of. My next step: clearing the suite so I can think straight. “Please,” I say. “Leave my boss out of this. Just go,” I tell Tony. “It’s already after midnight. Get some rest and I’ll call you in the morning.”
Tony looks between us. “You sure, sweetheart? I’m not afraid of this leather-wearing motherfucker. They’re a dime a dozen in these parts.”
I grit my teeth, waiting for Eagle to explode.
He jumps without uttering a word. The loud crack of Tony’s head hitting the wall makes me ache all over.
“What did you say?” Eagle spits.
Their faces are inches apart and Eagle gives Tony’s throat a squeeze.
“Say it again.” Eagle dares him. “Give me a reason to crack your redneck skull.”
After what seems too long, Diaz finally reacts. “Gentlemen.” He makes no effort to stop them though. “There’s obviously been a misunderstanding here. Let’s settle this calmly.”
Eagle looks over his shoulder at me. “Serafina? Tell Tony where you want to be.”
“Here,” I say, hoping it cools his temper.
“Am I forcing you?”
Yeah, actually. Relentless intimidation is the same thing. “No,” I lie. “Eagle and I have some things to talk about.”
Satisfied with my answer, Eagle lets go of Tony and steps back. “You can go.” He gestures for Tony to leave the room.
Poor Tony takes a deep breath and straightens the co
llar on his button-up shirt. If we were in any other house, that big gun hidden in his waistband would have come out and changed the direction of this confrontation. But I’m glad my bouncer exercised good judgment, because Eagle isn’t the kind of man you want as an enemy.
“Ready?” Diaz asks him. “Let’s grab the twins’ luggage and put it in the foyer. Then we can collect the girls.”
They clear out of the room a few minutes later. Unfortunately, I’m right back where I started, alone with Caleb. On nights when we weren’t too happy with each other, I’d call him by his real name. The one that reminds me of who he really is underneath his leather and patches. The son of a powerful politician. A rich boy with an attitude the size of Texas.
“You shouldn’t have treated Tony like that.”
He shrugs and walks to the bed where he left his vest. He puts it on and points to a patch sewn over his right pectoral. “What does it say?”
“No mercy.”
“If he weren’t your friend, Serafina, I would have sent him to the ER in a body bag.”
I know it all too well. His club, the Iron Norsemen, might adhere to different rules than most MCs, but when someone disrespects a member like Tony just did, it’s an automatic death sentence.
“I appreciate your restraint.”
“Do you?”
“I understand more than you know.”
He takes a seat in one of the recliners across the room, looking suddenly exhausted. “There’s something familiar about you. I just can’t place it. Have we met before?”
I freeze, all the memories I’ve fought so hard to suppress break free and flood my mind and heart. I stare at him, waiting for him to recognize me. Waiting for him to call my old name. If he does, not sure how I’ll react. To me, family isn’t defined by blood alone. There’s family, and then there’s kindred hearts. Eagle and I, all the brothers with the Iron Norsemen and the old ladies, well, we’re real family. Time and distance can’t break that bond. Nothing can. So standing here waiting for Eagle to call me out is the hardest thing I’ve ever faced. It’s even worse than the day I had to say goodbye to him from a distance.
“Eagle?”
“Yeah?” He looks at me, and his blue eyes are so beautiful.
“Why did you want me to stay here with you?”
“So I can kiss you, Serafina.”
As he stands and heads toward me, my heart skips a few beats. I’ve never stopped dreaming of him. Night after night waking up in cold sweats wondering where he was and what he was doing. Wondering if he still loved me—my memory, anyway. Wondering if he had fallen in love with another woman. Trying to remember what he tasted like.
Judging by the dark look on his face, I’m about to find out.
Chapter Six
Eagle
“You owe me,” I say as I close the distance between us. “I’ll take a kiss as payment.” Serafina looks lost, but she doesn’t resist when I reach her and cup her face between my hands, pulling her closer, lowering my mouth over hers.
I pause for a brief moment, looking her deep in the eyes, waiting for that spark to ignite into the inferno I know is already burning strong between us.
“D-don’t,” she half pleads.
But I do. Her lips part and my tongue strokes against hers. The fire is immediate and all-consuming. I tangle my fingers in the length of her hair, angling her head for better penetration, my tongue embedded so deep I can feel the back of her throat. The way she tastes only inspires me to want to kiss and lick that hot wet pussy I saw earlier. There’s nothing ordinary about her. I swallow her moans, running my hand up and down her arm.
Kissing her long and deep only reinforces the attraction—makes my cock throb and ache like I haven’t had a piece of ass in months.
“No.” She pushes me away, wide-eyed and frazzled.
“Serafina,” I chant her name like a holy vow. “You can’t deny what we’re feeling.”
“I can. And will.”
“Listen, baby . . .”
“Don’t call me that! There’s no way in hell you’ve earned that right.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t want you to touch me again.”
Why? Chemistry like this doesn’t happen too often. Almost never. And I’m not prepared to let it slip through my fingers without a fight, or at least a plausible explanation. “Are you married?”
I never thought to ask before.
“No.”
“In a committed relationship?”
“You’re way off, Eagle.” She hugs her center, laying more bricks in that defensive wall.
“Enlighten me, then. I have all night.”
“I don’t.” She fakes a yawn. “Some of us work for a living.”
I smirk at her judgmental tone. “Do you think I sit around on my ass all day?”
“That prez patch says you don’t have to work hard to get what you want.”
“For a girl who claims not to know me, you’re pretty free with your opinions.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been around enough to understand the inner workings of an MC. Not much difference between your rules and a regular company, now is there?”
I rub my chin, liking the hotness of her smartass mouth. The more she talks the more intrigued I get. “Maybe not, pretty girl, but I guarantee my ideas are a lot more innovative than something some asshole in a suit will think up in his corner office.”
She laughs. “I doubt it. We’re standing in a bedroom inside the home of one of the most notorious cartel lords in the United States. I’ll bet on the guy in the suit.”
“Come here.” I grip her shoulders and yank her close again. Our lips meet for a more desperate and demanding kiss. This time, her tongue wrestles mine for control. Bad. And for a girl who didn’t want anything to do with me ten minutes ago, she sure changed her mind.
I break the kiss and tip her chin upward. “I want to fuck you, Serafina.”
“No.” She gives me a defiant pout, but I can see through her denial. Her eyes are filled with hunger. “I need a drink.”
I need a goddamned bottle of tequila—and a cold shower. “What do you want?”
“Whiskey and coke.”
Unable to deny that beautiful face anything, I’ll get it for her. But first . . . I move quickly, gathering her clothes and shoes, and stuff them in the suitcase she opened earlier. Then I zip it up and carry it to the door.
“Hey!”
“What?” I ask.
“You can’t leave me here with nothing to wear. What if Diaz or Lazaro comes back while you’re gone?”
“Don’t worry, Serafina, you look great in a towel.” I open the door and step into the hallway.
Serafina
The moment the door clicks shut, I start shaking. His scent is all over me. That same cologne I remember. What do I do now? I met Eagle when I was fifteen and in danger from my maniacal brothers. Caleb took me in without question and protected me. Though we shared everything—our secrets and dreams—the one thing he held sacred was my age and innocence. We fooled around plenty, kissing and petting, but never sex. He told me to save myself for a man worthy of my love.
Eagle is worthy. I’m twenty-one now. He’s only five years older than me. If I sleep with him tonight, what are the chances I’ll ever see him again? I live in a different state. And as far as ever working in Holly Beach again . . . Ben is in for a big surprise on Monday.
I start pacing, weighing the pros and cons. Loving him will give me something I didn’t have before. A tangible memory. I’ll sleep better. Dream better. Breathe easier. Because all I’ve fantasized about is returning home and claiming what I never had before—Eagle as my lover. My body reacted instantly. My nipples are hard and I’m wet for him. Our kisses were like molten lava.
Someone knocks on the door.
“Yes?”
“It’s Diaz.”
“Come in.”
He takes one look at me and doesn’t say anything about my la
ck of proper clothing. “Mr. Mendoza asked me to deliver this to you.” He offers me a thick envelope.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“All right.” I take it and tear the top open. There’s a stack of money inside and a note card. I pull the paper out and read it.
Please accept this as restitution for your pain and suffering. Go on an extended vacation or take some time off from work.
LM
Hush money. That’s the first thing that comes to mind. I keep the negative thought to myself and count the bills. There’s five thousand dollars in crisp hundreds. A ridiculous amount of money. I stuff it back inside the envelope and stare at Diaz like he has two heads.
“I can’t take this.”
“I’m just a messenger,” he says. “But I’ll offer some friendly advice, Ms. Scala. You strike me as a bright girl. Consider where you are. Remember what happened tonight, and let it serve as a reminder that not all men are without honor.”
I don’t even know what to say.
Diaz turns around and leaves me standing there with the envelope of money in my hand. It’s cash I desperately need, but not like this. Not from a man I loathe. Drugs destroyed my eldest brother and his MC. Lazaro Mendoza represents everything I hate. I walk across the room and drop the envelope on the top of the dresser. Let the next person who stays in this suite benefit from his dirty money.
Wait a second . . . I start opening drawers and find some men’s clothes. Several pairs of boxers, plenty of T-shirts. I grab one of each and get dressed.
Eagle returns ten minutes later with a bottle of Jack Daniels, two sodas, and a plate piled high with cold cuts, cheese, bread, and chips.
“What’s this?” I ask, ambling over to the table where he set it down.
“A peace offering,” he says.
More like a distraction, I think while I shove a generous portion of smoked turkey in my mouth. I’m ravenous and so tired. Eagle pops one of the soda can tabs, takes a swig, then dumps the rest in a glass, adding an obscene amount of alcohol. “Here.”
There’s nothing better than liquid courage when you’re faced with the toughest decision in your life. I take a couple deep sips and shove the can back at him. “More.”
One Taste of Angel Page 4
