“Jesus,” he breathed. “Was it still hot?” He couldn’t even begin to imagine that pain. He’d been shot before, but even that would probably pale in comparison.
“It was warm, and the way the women reacted, he did it often enough.” She shivered involuntarily.
There were a million questions running through Travis’ mind. “Who were these other women, and where did they come from?”
She shrugged. “That something I could never figure out, because one by one they vanished until it was just me. After me, he didn’t bring any more women into the family. I don’t know why, I never asked, because I didn’t want him to think that he needed to bring someone else in. I couldn’t imagine this happening to another woman. But I watched him.” She stopped and took a breath, putting her hair behind her ears. “He looked at me differently than the others, before they were gone. In moments, he would treat me with tenderness, but it was even scarier to me when he did that.”
“He was in love with you?” That thought pissed him off. He didn’t want any other man having some sort of claim on her.
“I think so,” she whispered. “In his own way, I believe he was in love with me. That’s why he fought so hard to keep me, that’s why it killed him when I went away, why I think he’s still trying to find me.”
He hated to be the one to break the news to her, that this man was still trying to find her and he now had the club up against a wall. “I’m going to be completely honest with you, and because of that, I need you to be completely honest with me.”
She still wasn’t sure that she could do that, but she nodded anyway.
“He is trying to find you, and he’s threatened the club. I’m going to have to tell Jagger about you. I’ve been given twenty-four hours to get you on board. If not, it’s not going to matter. I need you to be honest with me and let us protect you.”
She gasped, the color draining from her face. “What?”
“I can’t explain everything to you right now, but I need you to trust me when I tell you that he’s threatened some very powerful people within the club, and those people are not gonna sit back and let him play them for a fool. They will retaliate. This will be very ugly, and I want to make sure that you’re protected. In order to do that, I need you to be honest with me. What was his business? Why did he want you? What did he do to you?”
“I can’t.” She shook her head, closing her eyes. “I can’t tell you all that.” It was embarrassing, and she would be relieving moments and memories that she’d sworn she would not go back to ever again. That had been the only thing that had gotten her up in the morning at the CRISIS center, the fact that she had told herself she did not have to relive her captivity. It was beginning to look like he’d even ruined that for her.
“You have to, Christy.” His voice took on a hard edge to it. “I’m fixing to tell one of my brothers that I’ve known this secret for months and haven’t told him. Jagger will rip me apart, and damnit, I need to know it’s for something.” He was desperate. “I’ve followed you around for months, like a goddamn puppy dog. I’ve helped you try to get your life back together. I need you to throw me something here.”
Before he knew what she was doing, she’d thrown herself at him, circled her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her, capturing his lips with hers. It was as if a bomb had gone off in his body. He had been on edge with her for weeks, but he hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself, he was trying to be the good guy for once. His fingers tangled in her hair and pulled, situating it to his liking as he took over the kiss, trailing his other hand down her side, cupping her hip as he gently pushed her down onto the couch. His body covered hers, but he was careful to keep most of his weight off, until she hooked her legs around his waist.
“Travis,” she breathed. How had they gotten here? She wasn’t sure; she just knew she hadn’t wanted to talk to him anymore. She didn’t want to think of the things she’d experienced in that house; she wanted to make new memories and erase the bad ones. If her life was going to implode, she wanted one memory of something good happening to her. She pushed against his T-shirt, running her fingers up the skin she had just exposed.
It took a super-human force of will, but he pulled himself back from the out-of-control kiss. “Stop,” he breathed heavily against her lips. “Stop.”
It was like throwing cold water over her and she felt stupid. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t do that,” he told her. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, but I can’t let you distract me from why I’m here. I still need answers.”
“Can I answer them in the morning? I’m really tired, and I need you to trust me. I need to get my head in the right place,” she told him. “I just need some time to myself.”
Could he do that? “Promise me that you’ll keep the system on, that you won’t leave this house. I don’t think it’s safe.”
“I promise,” she told him, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Fine, I’ll be here first thing in the morning, and then, I want all the answers to every question I have.”
She nodded and knew he was telling her the truth. They had come to an impasse in their relationship, and now it was either time for her to run or stay and fight. Honestly, she still wasn’t sure what she was going to do.
Steele hadn’t been sure he’d made the right decision, leaving Christine at her house by herself. He had the distinct impression that she was going to run. If she did, he would find her, he had her tech’d up. She couldn’t even begin to know how many tracking devices she carried on her. He had hoped that she would come back to the clubhouse with him, that she would accept the things he was telling her, but she had to come to grips with it in her own mind, he reasoned. He understood that, but it didn’t mean that he had to like it.
Steele groaned and leaned against the soft cushion of the chair that was his throne when he was in the cave. Every time other members of the club came in, they would give him shit about how he sat in a recliner and not a computer chair, but he just brushed it off. Let them sit at a computer for most of their damn day and not be comfortable.
He was on edge after his afternoon and evening with Christine. She was driving him insane. Every day she seemed to accept him more and become more comfortable with his presence, but on the same token, it was killing him. Their kiss this evening played in the forefront of his mind, like a looping movie. He’d never wanted a woman this bad in his life. As a member of the Heaven Hill MC, he usually had his pick of women, although he rarely ever indulged. It just seemed easier that way. When you did indulge, you had women that thought they were going to be wearing your patch the next day, and that wasn’t what he wanted. It hadn’t ever been what he wanted.
Rolling his head around on his shoulders, he let out a deep breath and glanced at his watch. It was almost time to turn in. First, he had to do his nightly ritual. When he’d wired up security at Christine’s house, at her request he had put cameras in different rooms. She was aware that one was in her bedroom. He looked in on her every night before she went to bed. Christine Stone was a creature of habit; every night, no matter if it was weekday or weekend, if she was home, she was in bed at 11 PM. Tonight, when he flipped the switch to see her house and to hone in on that room, he was surprised to see the small bedside lamp on—it was 11:20.
“Shit, I hope she’s not fucking running,” he muttered as he zoomed in.
What he saw there made him gasp and his eyes widen. Christine’s lower body was covered by a thin sheet, which was unusual in and of itself. Normally, even in the heat of summer, she used a thick blanket. Very plainly, he could see her right hand in between her legs while her left hand was at her breast. It made him a bastard, but he got up from his chair and quickly shut the door to his cave. When the door was shut, no one came in, and he knew that he wanted this to be an absolutely private performance.
Getting back over to his chair, he groaned loudly. The sheet was now gone from her lower body, kicked off by the scissoring of he
r thighs. It wasn’t indecent, she was still fully clothed, but he could see her hand working her core under her lacy underwear, and the hand at her breast now worked her nipple that was hard against the fabric of her T-shirt. Steele knew he should look away, but she was so goddamn gorgeous, so uninhibited, he couldn’t.
Her head had fallen back against the pillow, exposing the length of her neck, making him wish he were there to drop kisses along that column. Maybe nip his teeth along the smooth skin that he knew was there. He’d been close to her enough times to know just how smooth that skin was.
“C’mon, baby,” he mumbled as he turned the sound on for that camera. Immediately, he could hear the soft panting of her breath.
Her mouth now hung open and her chest heaved. The fingers at her core had picked up speed, and now she lifted herself off the bed in a rhythm almost as if she was imagining them together in bed.
Steele’s clothes felt tight against his body as he watched her dig her heels into the mattress. As he watched the hand that had been at her breast move down to the hem of her shirt, he sat entranced as she lifted it up, revealing her naked breast.
“Ohhh,” she moaned with what sounded like frustration. It was obvious that she needed a little more. He wanted to be there to give her more.
“Don’t stop,” he encouraged her; even though he knew she couldn’t hear him. He felt like an asshole of the worst kind, but there was absolutely no way he could look away. She knew that he had the ability to see her at any time, and after the frustration of the afternoon, he had to wonder if this was her way of inviting him in. If this was her telling him that she was going to be there when he came back in the morning. He hoped to hell it was. For the first time in a very long time, he threw up a silent prayer.
She tugged firmly at her nipple, gripping it hard, before bringing her finger up to her mouth. He could see her pink tongue snake out, wetting the tip, before bringing it back down to soothe the abused piece of flesh.
His tongue snaked out of its own accord, moistening his bottom lip. How he wanted that to be his tongue on her flesh, his fingers inside her, his body covering her. He was entranced as he watched—a light sheen of sweat could be seen coating her chest as she arched her back, shoving her head harder back against the pillow. Her dark hair was stark against the white pillowcase, and it made him want to bury his hands in her hair, to take control of her pleasure, the way he’d tried to that afternoon.
At his desk, Travis put his hands out, gripping the hard wood, his body tight with tension. He wanted her to get there almost as badly as if he was the one driving her body to orgasm. “Let it go,” he whispered, as he watched a bead of sweat roll down her neck.
It was almost like she heard him. The panting reached a fevered pitch and her mouth opened wide. Harsh breaths, choppy in their cadence, escaped before she took the hand off her breast and covered her mouth with it. Her scream was muffled, but her eyes looked directly into the camera. When she was done, she licked her lips and blew out a deep breath. It was then that he not only heard, but saw, the name Travis on her lips. Within seconds, she’d reached over and turned the light off.
“Damn,” he breathed, sagging against the chair he sat in. This woman was going to be the absolute death of him.
Chapter Eleven
The thought of running had crossed Christine’s mind many times the night before, especially after she had put on her show for Travis, but something happened in the early hours of the morning. She wondered when it would stop. When would she be able to stop running? When would she ever be able to have a normal life again? It was at her fingertips right now, and she knew that. What would it help anyone if she just gave up? Why did she fight so hard to leave if she was going to live the rest of her life in fear?
It was 5 AM when she texted Travis and let him know that he could come get her. The best place for her to be was obviously at the Heaven Hill clubhouse, even if that meant seeing Jagger again. She hated that she was going to spring this on him, that she wasn’t going to be able to ease him into it, but perhaps that was for the best. Especially, if like everyone said, he thought her dead. Hell, he might not even recognize her now; after everything that had happened, sometimes she almost didn’t recognize herself.
An hour after she sent Travis the text, she was still sitting on her couch, worrying that she had made the wrong decision, when she heard the rumble of a vehicle pull into her driveway. She could hear the code being punched in, and she knew that it was Travis. The thought caused her heart to skip a beat. Was this going to be awkward after what she had done in front of him the night before?
“You sure you want to do this?” he asked, coming into the house and shutting the door. He avoided looking her in the face, but his gaze swept over her body.
“I am.” She nodded; she couldn’t help the blush that reddened her face.
His dark eyes regarded her. He looked for the doubt and fear he had seen there so many times before. Now, though, it was gone, and he was happy for that, happy that she seemed to have, somehow, made up her mind on her own. He had felt awful, backing her into a wall, but in essence Rooster had backed Heaven Hill into a wall, and there was nothing that the group of them could do without each other.
“Then I brought a truck, so that we could bring your stuff to the clubhouse.”
“Okay.” She walked over to where she’d packed her suitcases. Everything else had come with the house. The only thing she needed was her car, and they had both known that her clothes and knickknacks wouldn’t fit in there.
“Jagger’s not there,” he answered the question that was in her eyes. “He and B have an apartment. More often than not, he sleeps there. He slept there last night, and he has first shift at Walker’s Wheels this morning, so unless someone blows the whistle on us, you won’t have to see him until at least tonight.
That made her feel a little better. “I know this is something I’m going to have to deal with.”
“You’re also going to need to officially tell us the truth about Clinton Herrington.”
She started at the name.
“It’s what I do, babe. I don’t need a lot to go on. I can figure out pretty much anything about anyone if I just have a little bit of information.”
“Did you find out anything about me?” she asked softly.
“I want you to tell me everything about you.” He tentatively reached up and moved her hair behind her ear. “I want you to offer it, I don’t want to go behind your back and find out shit. That’s no way for either of us to build trust.”
She knew that he was right, and while his hands on her face made her heart kick up a beat, it also felt good. It felt right. Unlike how she had felt when Clinton would touch her. “Thank you.”
He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “My pleasure. Now let’s get your stuff and get the fuck outta here. We need to find out exactly who wants you back.”
“I’m sure it’s him,” she told Travis, her eyes watering.
“It might be and it might not be. Either way, nobody is going to get you while I’m on watch.” The promise was in his voice, and they both hoped that he would be able to keep it. “By the way, thanks for the show last night. I didn’t get much sleep, if you were wondering.”
It felt weird to be following Travis as he drove a truck. They were going further out into Warren County than she had ever been. The turn-off they took at Porter Pike was one that she had always avoided—actively avoided at that. It made her sick to her stomach as they got further out the country road. Her hands were sweaty against the steering wheel, but she refused to let go. She could see him check back to make sure she was still with him every few miles. It made her feel better, even as it made her nervous.
They got to a gravel driveway, and Travis signaled that they would be turning into it. She did the same. It was with great care he took her down the drive, going slow so as not to throw up dust on the hood of her car. As they rounded a bend, what she assumed was the clubhouse came into view. H
e stopped the truck in front of where two women stood and got out, waiting for her to put her car in park, turn the engine off, and follow suit.
“Is this where you’ve been at all hours of the night?” one of them teased Travis.
“Jess, not right now,” he laughed uneasily, thinking about the night before.
The other woman who stood next to the one he’d called Jess stepped forward and held her hand out. “Hi, I’m Meredith. Welcome to the Heaven Hill clubhouse.”
Christine was grateful for a friendly face. She grasped the woman’s hand and shook slowly. “Nice to meet you.”
It was then that their eyes caught and Christine could see something there. A kinship, maybe, but she wasn’t sure. “Thank you for having me.”
“I don’t think Steele here would have it any other way.” She threw a wink at the guy who stood with his hand protectively on Christine’s back.
“Okay, enough of this. If you ladies want to stand around and gawk, at least grab a damn box. Otherwise, I’ll put out a mass text that says the women around here are feeling neglected by their men and need to be taken care of.”
“Dammit, Travis,” Jessica pouted. “I’m just havin’ a good time.”
It didn’t escape him that in the time Jess had been around them, she had adopted some of their dialect.
“Give us just a few hours to get her set up and get some business taken care of. Then I promise you can totally do your best to corrupt her.”
That seemed to pacify the redhead, and she grinned over at the two of them. “I’m Jessica Shea…I date Layne. If there’s anything you need, please let me know.”
Travis had shooed them off before she could answer. “Sorry, they mean well, but they can be a little overwhelming—and I don’t want them to send a message to B just yet. I had to block texts on their phones for the morning. Do you know how difficult it’s been for me to play dumb when they come bitchin’ that their phones aren’t working? Those two can spot a bullshitter at fifteen paces. And honestly, who texts that much first thing in the morning?”
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