by Franca Storm
“Good.”
He sat forward and eyed me intensely.
“What?” I asked, when he just continued his invasive staring.
“You knew, didn’t you? You knew there was something between us.”
“I didn’t know for sure. I suspected. When you suddenly washed your hands of her a few years back, my suspicions gained some weight.”
He shook his head, then scrubbed his hand over his face. “Fuck. We’ve always been so close. All those years on the run together, then joining the club together and settling here. Everything we’ve been through, all the shit thrown our way, it all brought us closer, only made us stronger together. But in spite of all of that, neither of us could talk to each other about what mattered most to us—the women we love. That, hiding all of it, is what’s caused so much pain and goddamn drama. Fuck, Cole, we’re supposed to be brothers-in-arms. I didn’t even know you’d been seeing Natasha all this time, how you couldn’t let her go and how you’d been suffering because of it. And, fuck, I didn’t know you’d killed Mikhail. Shit that huge and you never told me.”
“The people you love the most are the last ones you want knowing about the worst parts of you, Mason.”
“Still.”
“I think, also, we both cared about our friendship, our brotherhood so much that we didn’t want to risk jeopardizing that in any way by bearing truths that could rock the boat. The way you really felt about my little sis, me still seeing Tasha, killing Mikhail and all that.”
He nodded. “When we should’ve leaned on each other, our friendship, we were too busy trying to protect it.”
“Yeah, exactly. And… flash forward to all the bullshit drama.”
I sank back against my chair with a weary sigh.
“You’re afraid you’re gonna lose her, the baby, too,” Mason said. Before I could get a word out, his hand clamped down on my shoulder, startling me, my eyes darting to his.
Intensity burned in then as he told me, “You won’t.”
I shook my head, wincing, unable to hide my distress any longer. I knew it was all over my face. “How do you know?” I eked out.
“Because I’m gonna make damned sure of it.” He squeezed my shoulder. “I’m here now. I’m here with you, brother.”
The conviction in his voice was staggering.
It almost had me believing everything might just work out.
18
~Natasha~
“NATASHA! HOLD UP!”
I stopped short before making a left toward the clubhouse mess hall to grab a much-needed snack.
Cole was working a shift at Vibe until the early hours of the morning. It had actually worked out well, because it’d given me the time and space I’d needed to deal with my work. Since dropping all of my illegitimate clients, I’d had to reorganize things in a big way. I’d managed to get a lot done today, to reach out to many of my clients and begin streamlining things accordingly.
Turning, I was more than a little surprised to see Mason jogging toward me.
“Hi,” I greeted him tentatively when he came to a stop in front of me. “Is something wrong?”
His eyes dropped to my now very prominent bump.
“Mason?” I pressed, when the sight seemed to stop him short.
It was uncanny.
And it had been for the last few days, since Cole had made the announcement about my pregnancy to the club. The last bit of frostiness that had still lingered with a few of the club members toward me had melted as soon as word had broken. The whole caveman mentality that the members carried with them had actually helped me out in a very real way. Them looking upon a pregnant woman as a fragile thing to be protected had resulted in them being extra nice to me, caring, and helpful. Despite being slightly more evolved than some of them, it seemed Mason wasn’t an exception to that.
When he raised his eyes back to mine, there was an intensity there that unsettled me right away. “I know.”
“Know what?” I asked.
He glanced either side of the corridor, then lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. “When you dropped your phone outside Bluebell’s the other day, it was open. I saw your messages to Nik.”
Adrenaline shot down my spine and I jerked back. “It’s not what you think. I’m not—”
“I’m not accusing you of anything.”
I tossed him a skeptical look.
He held up his hands. “Yeah, first time for everything. I get it.”
“Then, what—”
“This reeks of Slade. He put you up to it, yeah?”
I hesitated.
But that just seemed to confirm his suspicions and he nodded and muttered, “Yeah, thought so.”
“Cole can’t know about this.”
“Yeah, I get that. Big time. If he knew, he’d call everything off. The way shit’s sitting, he’s already close to being at that point. He doesn’t want you in danger. He doesn’t want that kid of yours in danger.”
“If we don’t put Nik down, we’ll never be safe.”
I could barely believe what I was seeing as his expression softened and sympathy bled from him as he said, “Caught between a rock and a hard place, aren’t you, sweetheart?”
I sighed. “What’s new?”
Before I could get another word out, he grasped my hand and told me, “We’re gonna fix all that.” The next thing I knew, he was urging me along with a gentle tug.
When he finally stopped, I took in the sign on the door in front of us.
CLUB PRESIDENT.
I jerked my head up at him. “What the hell are you doing?”
He winked at me. “You’ll see.”
Instead of knocking and waiting to be called on in as was club protocol and a clear sign of respect for their almighty Prez, Slade Mitchell, Mason just barged right on in, taking me with him. He let go of me once we were inside and kicked the door shut behind him, the aggression behind it making the room reverberate. He was clearly pissed.
That wasn’t missed by anyone, least of all Slade, who bolted to his feet behind his desk. Tensing, clearly readying himself for the storm that had unceremoniously blown into his office, Slade narrowed his eyes at Mason and barked, “We got a problem here, Cross?”
“You and me? Fuck, we’ve got a shitload of problems. But we’re gonna table that, because, right now, I’ve got a more pressing beef with this backchannel dealing you’re doing on this Nik mission.”
“Looks like you got more than just a beef with it. Seems like you’ve come in here challenging me.” Darkness filled his eyes. “Is that right?”
Mason dismissed the obvious threat with a snicker. “With us about to go to war against the Strikers, it’s not in the best interests of the club for the Prez and the Sergeant-at-Arms to come to blows.” He folded his arms across his chest, glaring hard at Slade. “Don’t you agree, Prez?”
I watched on edge as the tension in the room shot through the frigging roof, two hulking, musclebound dangerous men facing off with one another, neither used to backing down once they’d made a stand.
And then, to my utter astonishment, Slade took a step back, muttering, “Sit the fuck down and listen.”
Mason reached out to me, his hand connecting with my upper arm, making my full attention snap to him. “Come on, sweetheart,” he urged. “It’s all right,” he added. It took me a moment to realize why until his gaze dipped to where I had my arm banded protectively over my bump. Damn. Talk about showing weakness in front of both of them.
I swallowed down my uneasiness and shook Mason’s hand off me. “I know. I’m good,” I snapped, needing to make a demonstration of my hard edge they were used to experiencing from me. The unemotional, levelheaded, having-everything-in-the-bag version of me. Nightshade.
I saw a glint in Mason’s eye, like he knew what I was doing.
But he said nothing as he pulled out a chair for me, then stood behind the one to the left, refusing to take a seat like Slade had pretty much ordered. He was standing o
n guard, letting Slade know that he wasn’t on board with the way things had been going down, letting him know that he wouldn’t let it continue on its current path.
He was stepping in.
And that was when I realized.
Cole and Mason had repaired their friendship.
It had taken a hell of a lot of major, life-changing things happening to see to it, but they’d gotten there, nonetheless. Mason was back to the guy I’d first met, the true brother to Cole who’d had his back through everything that came their way, who’d stop at nothing to protect him.
“Making her bait is way too fucking dangerous, majorly reckless, and it won’t fly with any of us, least of all Cole. There’s no way shit can go down like this,” Mason told Slade.
Slade slammed his fist down on the desk, his temper flaring dangerously, as he roared at Mason, “This bullshit’s why I kept you outta most of this, why I fucking well benched you! You’re way too cautious! You want no goddamn risk! That ain’t possible with a motherfucker like Nik Stone! Why’d you think I waited this fucking long to deal a deathblow to him? He murdered my woman! You think I’d just let that go? Fuck, no.” He gestured at me. “I been waiting on this, waiting on the likes of her.” His eyes flashed. “Leverage. A fucking way in. A weakness. Somehow she’s got under his skin and he ain’t been able to shake her. She’s his goddamn blind spot!”
“She’s pregnant. With Cole’s kid. The guy who’s like a son to you,” Mason shot back, not missing a beat.
“We don’t do this, use this opportunity we got here, and he’ll run right over us. We already poked the bear by bringing her onto our territory. He ain’t gonna let that lie.”
Mason jolted. “You made sure there wasn’t an alternative. That’s why you allowed her passage. To force this.”
“Damn fucking straight.”
“Jesus Christ,” Mason breathed. “You’re playing a real dangerous game.”
“Any risk in your books is too fucking dangerous. That way of thinking works well most of the time with your role with Titans, but not here, not with this.”
“So, you went to the one brother who’s all about risk and reacting without thinking much on it. The renegade of the Steel Titans. Cole.”
Slade nodded unapologetically. “Thing is, her being knocked up with his kid’s… softened him. Had him losing his edge with this. He ain’t gonna go through with it. I’ve already seen the cracks in him. Any day now he’s gonna derail the mission. To protect her.”
“But it won’t protect me, or any of us in the long run,” I said, sadly.
Slade’s gaze shot to me. I wasn’t sure if he was startled more by the fact that I’d finally spoken up, or by what I’d actually said. He nodded and gave me what seemed almost like a smile. “Right on, darlin’.”
The room fell silent. A heavy, disturbing, almost suffocating silence.
Slade slumped back against his leather chair, the weight of everything clearly finally hitting him after airing it all out in his minutes-long outburst.
Mason scrubbed his hand over his bristly jaw, looking deep in thought, likely searching for a solution that didn’t exist.
Or, so both Slade and I had thought, until Mason rose to his feet, slammed his hands down on Slade’s desk and growled fiercely, “This is how it’s gonna play.”
19
~Natasha~
THUMP. GRUNT. THUD. GROWL.
The aggressive sounds reverberated down the corridor, drawing me to them like a moth to a flame, because I knew who they belonged to. I’d recognize those rumbling growls and grunts anywhere. Usually, I heard them in different circumstances. Circumstances that I’d been dying to recreate for the last few hours.
Unfortunately, my work had kept me away. I’d been glued to my phone and laptop since the early hours of the morning. Then, when I’d finally taken a break, Cole had headed off somewhere other than his room too. He had the day off from his club duties today so I’d wondered where he’d run off to.
Now I knew.
Working out his frustrations and stresses in the best way he knew how.
I reached the gym and peered inside through the open door.
Holy hell!
Instant turn-on.
My core clenched, my skin heating at the delectable view.
Cole was shirtless, his ripped torso on full display. Jeez, those damn abs were something else. I traced them with my gaze, following that sexy ‘V’ as it dipped below the black shorts he had on, the ones he wore when he fought in the ring.
I leaned against the doorframe taking all of him in.
Watching him was beautifully intense.
His magnificent body moved so fluidly, yet so incredibly powerfully.
His sculpted muscles bunched and flexed gloriously as he pummeled the bag before him.
Sweat poured down his brow, his bare chest.
His eyes flickered with emotion, shifting from steely resolve, to anger, to pain, from one moment to the next.
He was channeling it all into his hardcore workout, into every well-executed move, each punch and kick that hit its intended target with such precision and power, his undeniable skill and experience shining through.
“You gonna stand there in silence the entire time, firecracker?”
I jumped at the sudden sound of his voice. “Uh… hi.”
Grinning, he stepped back from the bag, took a long breath, then eyed me and started unwrapping the tape from his hands. “Hi.”
I walked into the room. “So, you knew I was here the entire time?”
He shrugged. “Pretty much.”
“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
“I like you watching me.” His eyes shone with humor. “Sorry, I mean, salivating over me.”
“Please,” I said, trying weakly to deny what was already so obvious.
He chuckled, placed his wraps down on the bench, then snatched up his towel and started dabbing at his sweat-drenched skin. “So, what’s up?”
“Nothing much,” I said, sauntering closer. “I’m just taking a break from work and I wanted to see you.”
He smiled happily. “Yeah?”
I made it clear I was eye-fucking him, while I said, sexily, “After walking in on this, that want has skyrocketed, big time.”
A dirty smirk played on his lips. “Go get naked. Wait for me on the bed.”
I frowned. “Wait for you? Where are you going?”
“To take a shower,” he said, gesturing to his sweaty state.
Wow. With everything that’d been going on lately, everything being so dire, the two of us had fallen into a severely serious state of mind. So much so that it seemed we’d lost our sexual edge. That spark of spontaneity had fallen to the wayside, that untamable need to have each other no matter where we were.
I sauntered toward him, putting an extra sway into my step for good measure. Pressing my hands to his pecs, I told him in my husky, seductive voice I only reserved for him, “I don’t think you are understanding me, my tough-as-nails biker. I want you now. Right here. As you are. No waiting.”
His eyes hooded.
With an aggressively hard throw, he tossed his towel onto the bench.
And then he was in my space looming over me. “Are you sure you want this? Sure you can handle that kind of hardcore fucking from me? You know how I get when I’m in my fighting headspace.”
Oh, so that was what his shower excuse had really been about. He’d wanted time to come down from it. Well, I didn’t want that and I certainly didn’t want him thinking he had to shield me from that part of him.
“I’m not afraid of your darkness.” I slid my hand down his bare chest. “I’m all in, Cole.”
“Natasha,” he growled, all sexy.
“Let loose. Fuck me like an animal.”
He had me gasping as he fisted his hand in the back of my hair and snarled, “You have three seconds to get your goddamn panties off before I tear them off.”
I trembled with anticipa
tion. It didn’t make it easy to do what he’d asked.
Obviously I took too long, because, all of a sudden, he was grasping my hips and hauling me onto the bench.
He flipped up my skirt, jerked down my panties, then grabbed my knees and shoved my thighs open wide, baring my pussy to him.
His grip tightened on my thighs.
And then he shoved his head between my legs.
His tongue swirled around my clit like a whirlwind, sending shocks of sudden, intense pleasure shooting through me.
There was no easy buildup. Just wild intensity.
He had me panting in seconds, my legs trembling in his grasp.
“Ah!” I cried out as he sucked my clit into his mouth, exerting brutal pressure. He grazed it with his teeth and I threw my head back, screaming out in pleasure.
Two fingers slid deep inside me making me buck in his hold from the unexpected invasion. He drew them out excruciatingly slowly, teasing me, before plunging them back in deep in one sudden motion.
“Fuck, Cole! Yes!”
He kept it up as his tongue worked its detectable magic.
I was right on the edge of coming when he stopped and pulled back without any warning.
He smirked slyly. “Yeah, it’s like that, firecracker.”
Despite the loss of my orgasm, the dirty playful side he was bringing after so long away had a shiver of excitement running through me.
The look in his eyes was pure predator.
He was going to devour me.
I knew by that feral glint there that he was seconds away from tearing into me, from using my body to milk every ounce of pleasure from both of us. Just like old times.
His eyes flashed.
And then he was on me, shoving me up against the wall.
His hands delved into my hair, fisting in it as he kissed every inch of my face. His mouth settled on my lips and he swept his tongue along my top lip. I felt him smile against my mouth as I opened instantly for him. He delved inside and I lost myself as his tongue danced with mine, claiming me.
“Fuck,” he gasped, pulling back. “There’s nothing better than having you at my mercy, trembling and moaning with pleasure for me.”
