by Joanna Wylde
“About you? Never.”
Except I was worried. Because I could feel him back there. Lurking. Waiting to pounce. Just focus on the target. He’s playing mind games with you.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to concentrate. The bass from the party was a dim thump in the distance. Occasionally, a laugh or a shout could be heard.
The only thing I couldn’t hear was Eli. Those big feet of his were like skis. No way could he move without making some noise, right? Except Eli was very sneaky…
Spinning around, I found him leaning against one of the shelves, a good six feet away. This time, he wagged his finger at me.
“Paranoia is a sign of a guilty conscience,” he said, offering a shit-eating grin. I took a minute to consider throwing the dart at him. It’d be satisfying, no question. But he was trying to get a rise out of me. I didn’t want to reward that kind of behavior.
I turned toward the board again, raised my hand, and then screamed as Eli’s arms came around me from behind. One landed near my waist while the other crossed my chest, immobilizing my arms in the process.
“Bastard!” I shrieked, trying to sound outraged. But he’d lifted me, and now we were spinning around. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had spun me around like that. I’d forgotten how much fun it was.
It felt like an hour but was probably only a minute or so before he stumbled. We lurched backward and almost crashed into the shelf. Somehow, he managed to fall back into the chair. I landed on top of him, laughing so hard that my ribs hurt.
Or maybe that was just from his arms squeezing me.
Eli’s grip loosened, his hands dropping to rest loosely on my waist. I relaxed into his bulk, strangely comfortable.
“Your hair is smothering me,” he said, catching my wrists and putting them together so he could hold them in one hand. Then he reached up and caught my hair, trying to finger-comb it to the side.
“Sorry,” I told him, attempting to lean forward. He let go for an instant. Then his hands were under my armpits as he lifted me like a rag doll, draping me across his lap. His left arm wound around my back. My legs draped over the arm of the old chair as his right hand reached up and slid into my hair.
He pulled my mouth to his, and a world of sensation exploded through me.
I’d thought about kissing Eli in the past. The man was sexy as hell—you’d have to be blind not to notice. Blind, deaf, and without a sense of smell, more accurately. Every time I’d imagined those kisses, they’d been terrifying because Eli was intense. He never did anything halfway, and I suspected his kisses would overwhelm me.
Instead, his lips somehow managed to be soft while still demanding enough to leave no question as to who was in charge in the moment. His tongue slid into my mouth before I even fully realized what was happening. I was too busy squirming, aching, almost desperate from the sudden surge of need.
Feeling his tongue plunge deep, all I could think about was that I needed more of him inside of me. For once, I didn’t feel like I had to fight or question what was happening. I just opened to him, drawing him in, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him closer.
His head slanted, kissing harder now. I felt something hard under my butt and knew it had to be him. I shimmied my hips, savoring the way it made him shudder. He pulled away for an instant, and our eyes met.
“Jesus, but that feels good,” he said in a strained voice.
“Let’s not drag Jesus into this, okay?” I whispered, then lifted my head, trying to catch his lips again. I didn’t even notice that he’d dropped his hand to my waist until he tugged my shirt free from my jeans. I expected him to go for my breasts. Instead, he found the back of my pants, sliding his hand under the waistband and plunging deep to grab the cheek of my ass with big fingers.
He stilled, studying my face.
“You have no idea how many times I’ve thought about doing this,” he said. He lowered his mouth for another kiss, brushing his lips across mine. It was lovely, but I needed more. He was kissing me like we were making love.
I wanted him to fuck my mouth.
Catching his bottom lip with my teeth, I bit down. Not hard enough to break the skin, but close. He groaned, and his hand clenched on my ass. Then he grabbed my hair with his free hand, twisting it around his fingers before jerking my head to him, holding me still.
My entire body clenched, liquid and hot and ready to take him.
If he can do this with one little kiss, what else can he do?
I clenched at the thought, spirals of desire zipping along my spine. I had to find a way to straddle him. Rub against him. Fuck him. I ached for it, squirming against the cock prodding my ass, needing more, and needing it now. He groaned, and I couldn’t tell if it was pain or pleasure. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting him inside of me.
“Don’t move,” he muttered, pulling back on my hair for emphasis.
That should’ve pissed me off, yet somehow it just turned me on even more. Swiveling my hips, I tried to grind down on him. His hips bucked up almost instantly, and he moaned.
At least I wasn’t the only one who’d gone into heat out of nowhere.
Nobody could be expected to sit still when they ached like this.
Still holding his mouth with mine, I rolled to my right, directly into his body. My legs swung down, one on either side of his strong thigh. I slid my hips back, experimenting with the new position.
Oh, that was… Really good. Holy-fucking-shit good.
We kissed like that for long seconds, me grinding against his thigh, him holding me by the hair with one hand. The other squeezed my ass, pulling my hips forward into him with every stroke.
It wasn’t enough. I wanted all of him between my legs.
Eli must’ve been feeling the same way because he let go of my hair and pulled his hand out of my jeans. Before I could figure out what he meant to do, he’d wrapped his hands around my thighs from the outside. Then he stood up, lifting me as if I weighed nothing.
I shrieked, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.
Hitching me upward, he pulled me into his body, sending my legs splaying to either side. I hissed as his cock found just the right place between my legs. Then he sat back on the chair, bringing me with him, and it all made sense.
Now, I straddled him, my legs spread wide, one hanging off each side of the chair, draped over the arms. He caught my hair again. I expected him to give me another of those devastating kisses. Instead, he pulled back, tilting my head to give him better access to my neck.
His other hand slid back down into my jeans. His fingers were still spread wide, but this time, his thumb landed deep, pressing between my cheeks.
I froze, uncertain.
“Nothing happens unless you want it to happen,” he said, kissing my neck gently. He tightened the hand on my ass, pulling my hips into his, slowly guiding me back and forth along the length of his shaft.
Hunger pulsed through me…hunger and the realization that he was serious. Nothing would happen unless I wanted it to.
What we were doing right then was damned good. Near perfect. Wonderful and exactly what I wanted. But it wasn’t enough. Grabbing the sides of the chair for leverage, I swiveled my hips into his, feeling the bulge of his cock in a whole new way.
Bet it would feel even better without all these clothes in the way.
“You say nothing happens unless I want it to happen.” I tugged against the hair he still held. He let it go instantly. I lowered my mouth, giving him another kiss. “Pretty sure I want you to fuck me right here in the Starkwood Saloon storeroom.”
His eyes darkened. I realized his lips looked unusually good. Probably from me biting them…oops.
“You’re drunk,” he said, lifting his hips to give me a better angle.
“I’m not that drunk anymore,” I replied, even if it wasn’t entirely true. I was definitely drunk. And thank God for it. Because there was no other way I’d have relaxed enough to kiss Eli King, let
alone have sex with him.
And I really, really wanted to have sex with him.
“You sure?” he asked. He wanted it as badly as I did. I could tell. There was something so surreal and sweet about the thought of Eli caring enough to double-check.
Grinding down, I shuddered, wishing like hell I’d worn a skirt. Then I could just lift up enough for him to undo his fly, and…
“Yeah, I’m sure,” I said, my voice husky.
Both hands caught my ass again, giving me just a hint of warning before he stood up. My legs wrapped tightly around his waist without bothering to ask for permission. I’d always known he was strong, but I hadn’t even begun to imagine all the fun a person could have with that kind of strength.
He could fuck me up against a wall, then carry me into the bedroom over his shoulder, toss me on the bed, then fuck me again.
I’d never been so turned on in my life.
“Where?” he asked, looking around the room. “We could go to the office.”
“People would see us,” I said, laughing. “You can fuck me right here, on the floor. I don’t care.”
“It’s dirty.”
“You are such a girl,” I said, still giggling. “You afraid your knees might get dirty? It may not be the most romantic of spots, but it’s not like we’re dating. And I know you’ve fucked quite a few women in here over the years, so don’t even try to pretend you haven’t. Either you lay me down on that floor and fuck me, or I’m going out to that party and finding someone who will. Your choice.”
Eli’s eyes flashed, and I knew it was all over.
“Let me down,” I told him. He lowered me, sliding me down every inch of his body until my feet found the floor. Instead of stopping, I lowered gracefully into a kneeling position, catching the end of his shirt and lifting it just enough to kiss his stomach.
His entire body shuddered.
My hands found the fly of his jeans. I cupped my fingers around his erection through the fabric, squeezing it tight. Then I looked up at him, offering a teasing smile.
“No fucking way,” he said, shaking his head slowly. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but don’t even consider giving me head. You wrap that mouth around me, and I’ll last all of five minutes.”
“Yeah, I thought ten minutes was a bit optimistic,” I said, blowing him a kiss. Then I reached down and caught my shirt, pulling it up and over my head.
The look on his face when he saw my bra was more than enough to justify what I’d paid for it. But when I reached for my pants, that’s when things got good. He stilled, standing over me almost mesmerized as I slowly popped the button on my fly, then lowered the zipper. The fabric sagged, clinging to my hips. I gave a little shimmy, which was enough to drop them a couple of inches lower…
“Shit,” Eli muttered, ripping open his own jeans. He grabbed his cock, fisting it as I very slowly, very deliberately slid my fingers down the midline of my body.
When I reached my panties, I dipped them under, finding my clit with my middle digit. I gave it a quick rub, my breath catching, and then pushed my hand down farther, my finger sliding through my cleft.
“Nice and wet,” I told him.
Eli shoved down his jeans, then dropped to his knees in front of me. First, he kissed me, cupping the back of my neck with one hand while the other wrapped tightly around my waist. He started lowering me to the floor, then paused.
“Hold on,” he said. Leaning back on his heels, he caught the bottom edge of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head. Shaking it out flat, he spread it on the floor next to us. “Better. Now lay down.”
I took a second to kiss him one more time, then lowered myself to the shirt. Something felt really bizarre, and I realized that this was the first time I’d ever done anything Eli had asked me to do without fighting with him first.
His hands found my jeans, and I lifted my hips so he could pull them off, along with my underwear. Then they were gone, and he was crawling up and over my body until our eyes met.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?” he asked.
“Most guys don’t ask this many questions when a girl tells them to fuck her.”
“Yeah, well those guys probably weren’t raised in a house where they had to worry about finding snakes in their beds.”
The words sounded angry, but the tone was teasing. Resting his weight on his left arm, Eli reached down between us with his right, finding my clit right away. I gasped, and my hips rocked toward him.
The tip of his cock brushed against me.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this,” Eli whispered. My hips curled toward him, and—
The storeroom door flew open, banging into the wall.
“Eli! Where the fuck are you? We got a situation.”
“Don’t you dare answer,” I told him, somehow whispering and shouting at the same time. I twisted my hips up and into him a second time, and his dick slid into me about half an inch. Goddamnit.
“Eli, there’s big fucking trouble. It’s Gus.”
That sounded like Gage. Shit. Normally, he’d just send a prospect if he had a message. There must be something seriously wrong happening with Gus. My stomach gave an anxious little flip.
“What’s wrong with Gus?” I asked, nudging at Eli to let me up. He rolled off me, and I started feeling around for my clothes. Suddenly, the lights came on, blinding me.
“Turn off the fucking light!” Eli shouted.
“Eli? Is that you?”
“Yes, it’s Eli. And Peaches,” I said, trying not to let my tone waver. I pulled on my pants, trying not to think about how many people would figure out that we’d… Eli made a growling noise, and a muscle in his jaw started twitching. “We’ll be out in a minute.”
“Move fast,” Gage said. “It’s serious, Eli. I need your ass at Gus’s house in the next ten minutes. Pipes is waiting in the parking lot. Leave your bike here. I got a feeling we’ll need you on Gus’s before this is over.”
“Fuck!” Eli said, slamming the flat of his palm against the floor.
Someone was feeling grumpy about his blue balls.
“Breaking your hand isn’t going to help Gus.”
“No, but it might protect him,” he said. “Because unless this little emergency of his involves him dying, I’ll be tempted to finish the job. Then I’ll have to deal with the body. That’ll be a real bitch if one of my hands is broken.”
“What a…heartwarming thought.”
“Yeah, I’m all heart.”
“I’m coming with you,” I said. “If he’s dying, I want to say goodbye.”
“Gus is way too mean to die,” Eli told me. “Lots of people have come after him through the years. Note that they’re gone, and he isn’t.”
“I’m serious. I’m coming with you.”
Eli stopped and turned toward me. His hands moved to my shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze as his eyes caught mine. “This situation is club business, Peaches. I can’t bring you with me just because you’re my girlfriend. That’s not how my world works.”
I ignored his use of the word girlfriend and the hope that it gave me. “Sometimes I think your world is bullshit.”
“Yeah, sometimes I think my world is bullshit, too,” he said. “But it’s the only one I got, so I’m gonna make the most of it.”
Chapter Nine
Present Day
~Peaches~
“I went to prison for a crime you committed,” Eli said, his voice ringing through the Starkwood. “I love you, Gus, and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But I already gave you five years. This time, you need to clean up your own mess.”
Holy.
Fucking.
Shit.
For an instant, I thought I’d heard Eli wrong. What he’d just said couldn’t be true. No way. Except Gus had been late to his own birthday party. I’d seen him come through the back door with Pipes, right about the time Eli was getting arrested for murder.
&nb
sp; Eli couldn’t have gotten to the house until after the killing, I reminded myself. And the murder had definitely taken place. Somebody had offed the guy. So why hadn’t I suspected Gus before now?
Probably because you didn’t want to.
Eli’s announcement was essentially a live grenade, tossed into the middle of the meeting. Now, everyone was arguing. I couldn’t hear much in the way of details, but at least a few of them sounded pissed because they’d been left out of the loop.
Good to know. Probably meant that the Reapers MC hadn’t been behind this particular shitshow.
I didn’t hear Gus say anything in his defense, and I had no way of seeing his reaction. Couldn’t see much of anything because the only place to hide was behind the long wooden bar itself. If I’d planned to spy on them ahead of time, I might’ve been able to come up with something more comfortable. Maybe built myself the roadhouse equivalent of a duck blind. But it’d never occurred to me to spy on a meeting before.
Ever.
I’d learned from a young age that when the Reapers were talking, it was time to disappear. Let the men do their thing and stay out of the way. That hadn’t been a winning strategy for me.
Hadn’t worked out so great for Eli, either.
If I’d gotten in the way a little more, maybe Eli wouldn’t have gone to prison. I couldn’t blame Gus for all of—
Wait.
Where the fuck did that crazy thought come from?
Of course, it wasn’t my fault. The real villain here was clearly Gus, with a possible assist from the Reapers. My heart hurt to think about it. I wanted to find an excuse for him, but Eli had been sentenced to twenty years in the state penitentiary.
How could Gus even look him in the eye?
Eli was innocent. I knew that for a fact, and apparently, so had Gus. And, yeah… It was great that the Reapers had hired a fancy lawyer to appeal the conviction, but Gus still owed Eli five years of his life.
Damned right, he should have to clean up his own mess.
At least now I understood why Gus was selling low to Eli. Hell, he should be giving him the Starkwood.
