by Franca Storm
His mouth on my neck had me writhing. Lips and tongue traced a path down my clavicle, then teased each of my breasts in turn. His finger slid inside me, making me buck.
A growl tore from him and then he pushed my panties to the side and he was in me with one swift thrust. I cried out in bliss, grabbing at his biceps as he drove deep, filling me with his breathtaking girth.
He let my left breast fall from his mouth and lifted his head.
His eyes delved deep into mine. “I love you.”
Oh my God. “I love you,” I choked out, emotion overtaking me at his confession, one that we’d both always stayed away from because of the hopelessness of our circumstances.
I grasped his shoulders and he came with me, covering me, as he started to thrust deep and erotically slow. He moaned out as I rocked with him, wrapping my arms around his neck, my legs around his back, breathing him in, feeling every part of him.
We were doing something we’d never done.
Making love.
I lost myself in the moment, in the glorious sensations, in him.
My orgasm slammed into me so suddenly, so intensely, that I could barely cry out, my body convulsing and ecstasy tearing through me.
Cole buried his face in my neck. A roar tore from him as he followed me over the edge.
“Mine,” he rasped. “Fucking mine.”
5
~Cole~
“SO, YOU GOT NOTHING? That what you’re telling me?” Slade Mitchell barked down the line.
I kept a close eye on Tasha through the diner windows as I stood talking on my cell in the parking lot. I leaned against my bike as I took a harsh drag from my smoke.
Talk about being stuck between a rock and a goddamn hard place.
Once again, I was caught between two worlds. Needing to be with Tasha and needing to come through for the club.
“I’m working on it, Prez.”
“You been down there for a fucking week now.”
“I’m well aware,” I bit back. “But—”
“But, what? You fell into her pussy as soon as you got down there and couldn’t find your way out ‘til now?”
“I ran into some complications I need to deal with first.”
“She in trouble? Trouble that’s gonna bring us trouble if we do this thing? That what you’re telling me?”
“I’ve got it handled.”
“That ain’t no answer.”
I couldn’t tell him she was pregnant with my kid. Not yet. The club would just see it as goddamn headache. Because of what she’d done they wouldn’t respect her or accept her as my Old Lady. The only way that could happen now was if she cooperated big time with Slade.
The problem was, a part of me didn’t want her to. The only reason I’d agreed to it in the first place was because of the chance it gave us, the door it opened for us to really be together finally. She would be a hero to the club if everything went to plan. But it wasn’t without danger. And now, with her carrying my kid, it changed things.
For now, I’d see how things panned out. But if the risk became too much, I had to be prepared to make a choice, the choice I’d never wanted to make. As much as I loved the club, I couldn’t turn my back on my chance to have what I’d wanted for so long.
Her and the baby had to come first.
Fuck. I’d have to walk away from the Steel Titans.
“Cole!” he pressed.
“You sent me down here because you trusted me to handle her my way. I’m telling you that I’m handling it. So, do you still trust me with this, or not?”
There was a brief pause on his end, before he finally muttered, “Fine. Just keep me posted. Check in every fucking day this time. Got it?”
“Yeah, Prez.”
We hung up and I slumped against my bike as I finished up my smoke.
I needed a fucking minute.
It’d been a few days since Tasha had laid the major news on me. To say it was a lot to wrap my head around was an understatement. I was still trying to move from shock to acceptance. I knew she was in the same boat. More than even that, she was scared.
But she wasn’t alone and she wouldn’t ever be again.
I’d made that clear with what we’d spent the last few days doing.
Shutting down all of her business endeavors.
To call them illegitimate operations was a real nice way of putting it. She called herself a facilitator. The woman had contacts far and wide, a massive far-reaching network she’d spent years building. Basically, she moved dangerous, high-risk goods on the black market. She was the person who was called in when something tricky needed moving. She was known via her alias, Nightshade, as the go-to person who could move anything to anywhere on the down-low. It was how she and Nik had first met. She’d moved some hardcore drug shipments for him. He’d been so impressed with what she could do that fascination had quickly evolved into some sick desire for her. Meeting me was the only thing that’d pulled her out of it and away from him. Just in time, too, judging from the state of her under the thumb of his obsession.
I stubbed out my smoke, about to head back in to wrap up everything with Tasha and get something to eat while we were at a diner. But, I pulled up short when a familiar thunder reverberated all around me.
Motorcycles.
They came in hard and fast, surrounding me and my bike before I could do much of anything. Four of them. All wearing cuts with Strikers MC patches. Nik’s boys. Fuck.
They must’ve been lying in wait to show so fast without me hearing it. The engines weren’t exactly quiet. Shit. Nik had eyes on her in a major way. He was fucking good to get past me.
I shot a glance back at the diner. Tasha was on her feet, her eyes wide with worry. She took a step forward and I held up my hand, signaling her to stay back.
The crunch of motorcycle boots on the concrete had me snapping back to the welcoming party, my attention going to the first one who’d swung his leg over his Harley.
My blood ran cold. This was bad, real bad.
They weren’t just what I called poser muscle, prospects sent out to deliver a warning, or some shit. The guy I had my eye on had a V. President signifier on his three-piece patch. A big gun. A fucking club officer. The shocks kept on coming as something caught my eye when he reached up to take off his helmet, the right sleeve of his long-sleeve tee riding up and revealing a very familiar tattoo. A serpent in bright red and orange hues with a forked tongue lashing out. I knew firsthand that it stretched from his wrist all the way down to the center of his hand. And it wasn’t the tattoo itself that was specifically striking. There were a load of those kinds of designs around. Nah, it was the prominent scar right through the forked tongue.
A scar I’d inflicted.
He pulled off his helmet, putting it down on his saddle and smirked at me.
“Cole,” he ground out.
“Rick Vale in the scarred flesh.”
His eyes narrowed, those thick, weirdly pointed eyebrows of his, combined with his skinhead and all the piercings in his face, ears, and nose, projecting a fierce demeanor.
Of course, I knew the pussy behind the façade.
His three boys, one new enforcer and two prospects I didn’t recognize, came to join the party, flanking him. He flashed me a shit-eating grin, then thumbed the diner behind him. “Thought you two were on the outs, ‘til our scouts spotted you thick as thieves this last week. Nik ain’t happy.”
“Yeah?” I took a step forward. He flinched, un-fucking-mistakeably. “Still his little bitch, are you?” I gestured to his right hand. “Can you even ride like a real biker anymore with that thing?”
“It’s called physio, asshole. Months’ worth, thanks to you crucifying it with a fucking throwing knife, you goddamn maniac.”
I watched him clench it involuntarily, his rage getting the best of him, and it was clear he was bullshitting me. I was sure I’d fucked it beyond repair, the angle and everything I’d aimed for intended specifically to fuck him up perman
ently. It must’ve had something to do with the shakeup in the Strikers’ ranks. Rick had been an enforcer for years, getting promoted to a club officer and the role of VP, especially, was a big fucking deal. The way the Strikers handled their shit, I knew it meant he was seeing way less field time now. It had to be about the hand. Though, given he was here right now in the field and facing off with somebody as infamously dangerous as me, Nik had something fucked up in mind, something that was worth the risk of even his most prized bootlicker, Rick.
“You were on a mission to rough up my woman. I got there in time and blocked your path. You’re lucky you’re still breathing.”
“I owe Natasha for that. If she hadn’t shown up and put you on that leash of hers, it would’ve been me dead in that alley along with Mikhail.”
“Leash?” I seethed.
“That’s right.”
Motherfucker!
I took another step forward. “That prospect was a fucking animal. A goddamn rapist, a fucking ripper. I did everybody a favor. Even your psycho Prez couldn’t keep him in line. Would’ve been Nik putting him to ground if I hadn’t got there first.”
His eyes flashed, a look I couldn’t place forming on his features. It was gone so quickly, though, that I didn’t get a chance to figure it out. He shifted his weight, cleared his throat and went on, “Me owing Natasha one is the reason I’m here right now and not Nik.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“He needs something from her and I’ve been sent to ask her nicely.”
“You either turn back around now, or I’ll damn well make you.”
“You don’t get it, Cole. This is just Round One. The second won’t be so nice. Nik won’t stop. You know how he works.” He grinned slyly. “Especially when it comes to her.”
I’d had just about enough of the bullshit that’d come spewing from his mouth. The posturing. The threats. The insinuations that Nik could get to my woman anytime and anywhere. And, most of all, that there was still a powerful connection between them, that she was somehow his property. His!
The asshole went on, “You do something stupid here right now and don’t let us pass, then the Strikers will come down on you and your brothers hard. You’ll be starting something the Steel Titans won’t survive.”
I watched his three associates fan out, surrounding me quick, preparing themselves if I took things south.
Who the fuck did they think they were dealing with?
The insult fueled the rage that’d sparked in me long before Rick’s last threat.
I strode forward, right into the center of the circle that the four of them had formed around me. “You think this is enough to take me down?” I demanded, gesturing at each one of them in turn. “You’re dead men walking the second you make a move at me. You’re calling me out, the real savage part of me that knows no mercy.” I glared hard at Rick. “I’ll tear you to shreds.”
He flinched, then shook it off in the next second and ordered his muscle, “Put him down.”
They came at me then, Rick hanging back and looking on with a sick grin of satisfaction plastered on his face. It didn’t escape my notice that none of them drew their pieces holstered at their hips. So, Nik had given orders to keep me alive then. With the twisted way that psycho operated, that definitely wasn’t a good thing, because it meant he had plans for me. Real nasty plans.
He’d wanted me for a long time. Because of my connection to his obsession, Natasha. He’d goaded me to come after him several times and when I’d been ready to give in to it, Slade had stopped me with roadblock after roadblock.
Soon we’d both get our wish, though.
I’d bring hell to his door and he’d experience true brutality up close.
I’d fucking well end him.
For Natasha. For me. For Slade. For the club.
But first thing was first.
My motorcycle boots planted firmly on the concrete of the parking lot, I waited until the first one was right upon me, then I turned into his attack, using his weight against him and hauled him over my shoulder. As he hit the ground with a satisfying thud, groaning in pain, I delivered a brutal back kick to the guy coming at my six. The next second, I spun into the third, catching his fist in my palm before it made contact with my jaw. I used my hold as leverage to jerk him into me and then I hammered home rapid-fire punches into his gut. It had him choking and doubling over, his fist crushed in my palm going slack. A roundhouse kick propelled him back and he collapsed to his knees.
The prospect I’d kicked from the circle at the start came at me again. I deflected his fist, then thrust mine into his throat. He sputtered and stumbled back, fighting to draw a breath. I shot a quick glance at the other two. They were still down, the enforcer groaning as he strained to get to his feet. It bought me enough time to deal with the architect of this shitshow.
I ran at Rick, covering the distance quickly, before he had much time to react. My hand wrapped around his throat as I slammed him back against his bike, knocking it over in the process.
Adrenaline was spiking through my body.
My heart thumped violently in my chest.
My mind was in a state of hyper vigilance.
But through all of that, the predominant driving force was pure fucking rage.
I was out for blood and I was damned well gonna get it.
There was no way in hell I was gonna back down or—
“Cole!” Natasha screamed.
I jolted at the goddamn shock of her interruption.
I’d told her to stay put and instead she’d come out here right into the line of fire?
Her heels scraped on the ground. She was only a few feet behind me.
With her so close, the threat against her intensified, which only made me want to rage harder.
Snarling, I tightened my grip around Rick’s throat. He gagged, his face turning a deep shade of red as he struggled to draw in a desperate breath.
“Stop. Now,” Natasha spoke again, calmer this time.
I grunted.
She pressed her hand to my back. “You’re killing him, Cole. You need to release him now.” She trailed her hand down my back, a slow, soothing stroke.
“Tasha,” I warned, trying to keep my focus, trying to keep my rage alive. My power.
She didn’t let up, stepping up her game instead by leaning into me and brushing her lips over my cheek. “He’s not here to hurt me, but not hearing him out and actually killing him will hurt both of us and your club, Cole.”
She kissed me again and whispered in my ear, “I need you. We need you.”
Goddamn her!
With a growl, I released Rick roughly and took a step back, easing Natasha back with me.
Rick’s eyes were wide with disbelief as he rubbed his throat and stared our way. Yeah, he couldn’t believe I’d let up when I’d been that far gone, that Tasha had managed to talk me right down.
It was because he didn’t know that things had changed. And he never would. He didn’t know she was carrying my kid. Things were different now.
That new reality was shifting something in me, something on a fundamental level.
“Talk,” she ordered Rick. “What the hell does Nik want from me now?”
“Wants you to run that Trojan Horse job.”
“I made it very clear that, not only was I never taking that job, but that I’d sabotage anyone else who tried to carry it out in my place.”
That same weird look I’d seen flash on Rick’s face earlier returned as he told Tasha cryptically, “He wants you to reconsider.” He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and held it out to her. With a fucked-up grin, he added, “He’s certain this will change your mind.”
I stepped forward and snatched up the device. It took me a split second to discover it was locked with a four-digit code.
I glared at Rick expectantly.
“It’s for her.”
“Cole,” Tasha said, rubbing my arm and holding her free hand out for the p
hone. “It’s all right.”
Reluctantly, I handed it over.
“What’s the code?” she asked Rick.
The asshole smirked. “The usual.”
Tasha rolled her eyes. “Unbelievable.”
“What?” I asked her.
“Nothing,” she said, averting her eyes, and trying to blow it off.
Of course, that reaction just made me pursue it harder. “Tasha,” I pressed, feeling my anger returning in a sudden rush as I looked between Rick’s highly amused reaction and Tasha’s highly uncomfortable one.
She shifted her weight and blew out a breath. Still not looking me in the eye, she murmured quietly, “It’s the date that Nik and I first met.”
And my anger breached the surface.
“Cole,” she hissed, noticing. Fuck, she knew me way too well. “We have bigger fish.”
Movement from one of the three guys I’d put down refocused me. I made a show to Rick of fingering my gun. “Your choice,” I warned.
“Well, I’m sure you’re gonna have a shitload to talk about now,” he tossed at me. “I’ll let you get on that then.” With one last infuriating smirk, he pushed off his bike and started gathering his boys up to finally make his goddamn retreat.
I eased Tasha way out of their paths and stood rigidly still, my attention fully focused on the enemy until they roared away and disappeared completely from my line of sight.
Only then did I move on to deal with the next shitty situation.
“So, what the hell is going on? What does that sick fuck want from you?”
Her fingers were clamped around the cell phone Rick had given her in a white-knuckle grip, her face paled as she stared at the screen.
“Tasha?” I pressed.
She raised her troubled gaze to mine and croaked out, “We have a serious problem.”
6
~Natasha~
“HERE,” COLE SAID, shrugging off his leather jacket and draping it over my shoulders. “You’re shaking. Let’s just go back inside the diner. It’s too cold out here for you.” His gaze dropped to my belly and he smiled sweetly. “And for the baby.”
“It’s best if no one is around for this. You know what that temper of yours is like.”
