by Jayne Blue
“It depends on how long it takes me to finish up some business I have here. But probably I’ll be gone by tomorrow.”
I pulled gently on her hair and brought her back down so I could kiss her. I slid my hands around her hips and pulled her to me. “What if I don’t like that answer?”
She smiled and tried to squirm away. I held her fast. She gave me a light punch in the arm but she played the game. I wanted to play it harder.
“You planning on tying me to this bed?”
Fuck. I was pretty much hard as a rock now. “If that’s what it takes.”
“What would you do then?”
I moved quickly. I grabbed Scarlett’s wrists and swung my legs over her hips, pinning her beneath me. My cock pressed against her stomach and I straddled her legs. She struggled a little and it only made me harder. I could feel the growing heat between her legs.
“I’d do anything I wanted.”
“Hmm.” She squirmed beneath me and spread her legs wider. I’d give her what she wanted but not until I got some of my own answers first.
“I’m serious. Where do you have to go that can’t wait a few more days?”
Her face darkened and then she looked up and smiled just as quickly. So, there were those secrets she was trying to hide from me again. It was going to be fun finding out what they were.
“So where does Scarlett Shaw call home?” I shifted backwards, resting my weight on the backs of my thighs, but still straddling her. I saw her eyes travel to my erection, but I wasn’t going to let her off that easily. Shit, though. Who was I kidding? This girl knew how to top from the bottom.
“Just outside of LA at the moment. But it’s not permanent.”
It seemed she wasn’t going to give away anything easily. “Well, you know more about me than I do about you. What do you do, Scarlett?”
She smiled. “Lately, I do sexy bikers.” She wagged her eyebrows up and down. She meant it as a joke but a flash of anger ran through me. Even a fleeting thought of anyone else laying hands on her set my blood boiling. My thoughts must have shown on my face because she knit her brows together and leaned up, took my chin in her hand and quieted me with a kiss.
“I’m in between jobs at the moment,” she said as she leaned back down. Another non-answer. Oh, I was going to have so much fun finding out her secrets.
“Good. So there’s no reason you can’t stay a little longer in Green Bluff.”
Her eyes darkened again and I had a powerful urge to kiss her to put the light back in them.
“Maybe. I don’t know. We’ll see.” She reached up and traced the lines of the wolf tattoo I bore on my chest. “So what’s your story, Sly Cullinan? How did a guy like you end up heading one of the most notorious biker gangs in the area?”
I took a breath. “I think you’ve heard some wild stories.”
She arched that dark brow at me again. “Are you about to tell me one?”
I leaned forward and caught her wrists again. I pinned them on either side of her head. “You scared of me?”
She smiled. “Not yet. Should I be?”
She was playing, but I still didn’t like where this was going so I said it. “I’ve done things ... the club has done things that I’m not proud of. I’d never lie about that. But most of that bad reputation comes from the past, before I took over.”
She squirmed beneath me and it was getting damn hard to keep my focus. “Are you telling me you cleaned everything up? Hung up your outlaw card? I don’t think I buy that.”
I couldn’t take another second. Heat rose from between Scarlett’s legs and I could feel her slick juices near the base of my cock. She gasped and spread her thighs. I slid into her. God, she was soaked. Her pussy clenched around me. It was delicious heat and took everything in me not to start fucking her hard. But she needed to know where the lines were.
“And I don’t like gossip.”
Anger flashed behind her eyes but she leaned up and kissed me hard; grabbing my bottom lip between her teeth she nipped me. Then she grabbed my ass and pulled me further into her, begging me to fuck her with her body and movements. Something made me hesitate. I pushed back with my palms, hovering over her as she writhed under me.
“Look at me,” I said. Her nostrils flared. Her eyes sparked, but she finally did. “I’m not a fucking saint. But I’m not a fucking thug either. So if you’re here because you’re some kind of biker banger or groupie ... I’m not interested.”
“Don’t talk,” she said, wrapping her legs around my hips, trying to spur me on. I pressed her wrists against the bed.
“Look at me!”
She turned her head to the side and set her mouth into a hard line. “Scarlett.”
Finally, she turned and fixed her eyes on me. It was like she was trying to see into my soul. Her pupils shrank to pinpoints. Two spots of color grew on each of her cheeks. “Scarlett, what?”
Tears welled in her eyes and she bit her lips. I reared back and pulled myself out of her. If she wanted some hate fuck, I was out of here. I sat on the bed and started to pull on my jeans. She drew her knees up and turned to her side.
“What the fuck is wrong?” I said.
She shook her head but kept turned away. “I know you.”
“No, you don’t.”
She finally did turn back. She sat up, hugging her knees. “You’re good at saying pretty things.”
“What’s your problem?”
“I’ve known you my whole life.” A tear spilled out of the corner of her eye.
“What are you talking about?”
“Why should I believe you’re a good guy? Are you?”
I let a breath out and ran a hand through my hair. I threw my jeans back on the floor. “Depends on who you ask. My father didn’t think so. He ran out on my mom when I was like ten. Then she claimed she couldn’t handle me. I went to live with her brother, my Uncle Blackie. He’s the one who founded the Great Wolves. He sure as hell didn’t think there was anything good about me.”
I don’t know what made me do it, but I held my arm out to her, took her by the wrist and put her fingers over my forearm. Underneath the swirling lines of my ink she could feel them. Her eyes widened as understanding registered and she felt the pocked scars from the cigarette butts my uncle used to put out there.
“I’ve done a hell of a lot of things I’m not proud of, but I’d do every one of them again and again. I got my club out of the shit my uncle started and now we have a real future. A real legitimate future. I won’t apologize to you or anyone. So like I said, I’m interested in getting to know you. But if you’re looking for some bad boy who’s gonna treat you like shit ... if that’s your thing, I’ve got nothing for you.”
Silence hung between us. I could see a furious pulse beat in Scarlett’s temple. Her naked breasts rose and fell with her hard breaths. Whatever she was working out behind her eyes, she settled it by leaning forward and cupping my chin in her hand. She kissed me. It was soft and light but held the promise of something else.
I don’t know what she was looking for and in that moment I didn’t care. It only mattered that it seemed like my answers had satisfied her for now. And I couldn’t hold back another second.
This time, I let her draw me down until she straddled me. I placed my hands on her hips to steady her as she reared up and brought herself down on me. I was stiff and hard, my balls felt full to bursting. I let out a groan as my cock slid into her hot, slick pussy and it felt like home.
“Fuck,” I managed to whisper. And then Scarlett had no self-control left either. She ground and pulsed up and down on me. She threw her head back and let it fall forward, her curtain of hair brushing against my chest. I held her hands in mine, letting her set the pace. Her breasts swung heavy and wild and I leaned up to suck her nipples. She arched her back to bring them closer. She tasted so sweet. I loved the way I could raise gooseflesh all over her from just the flick of my tongue. And I hadn’t even used it on the sweetest parts of her yet. I kne
w then I would get her to stay longer.
When Scarlett came, she screamed my name and it sent me over the edge right after her. I’d been careful before, but this time with Scarlett on top there wasn’t time. “Scarlett.” My voice came out choked and ragged.
She looked down and smiled. “It’s okay. I’m covered.”
“Fuck it,” I whispered. I knew I was a damn fool, but I couldn’t have stopped myself for anything. My balls twitched and I spilled my seed straight up into her. She cried out, her walls clenched around me, milking me as she rode out the last of her orgasm.
We climaxed together and she fell against me. I got my arms up just in time to catch her. Then I pulled her against me and kissed her.
I’d only known this girl for a day and a half and already she’d worked some spell on me. I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring or the day after that. I only knew I wanted to do anything I could to keep her in my life. I wanted her body, her soul, her secrets. I shook my head and drew her close.
“Fuck me, woman. You’re gonna be the death of me.”
Chapter Eight
Scarlett
Sly smiled when he slept. He dozed off for just a few moments as I held him against me. I traced the curve of his cheek, touching that sweet dimple. The movement brought him awake and for just that second, he forgot where he was. For an instant, the darkness I knew Sly Cullinan kept inside of him rose to the surface. He set his mouth into a grim line, his eyes went cold, and he balled his fists at his sides. Then he woke fully and the light came back into his eyes and he flashed me that devastating smile that set my blood to simmer. Sly reached up and pulled me down to him. The air seemed to go out of my lungs, lust in his eyes clear and present. He ran his thumb over his bottom lip where I knew he still tasted me.
I didn’t know if I believed the things he said. I wanted to. But when he talked about what he’d had to do to save the club, I swear I saw into his soul, or what was left of it. I’d seen that same look back at the bar last night. He was cold menace and fury, wanting to use his fists to pound the shit out of the guy who had drugged me. Sly Cullinan, the outlaw. My protector. Except he was in far graver danger from me and it made me shudder.
You’re gonna be the death of me.
“I have to get back to the Den,” he said. He sat up then slid out of the bed. My eyes followed his perfect, taut ass as he crossed the room. He was full-on smolder as he looked at me and leaned down to pick up his jeans and threw them on the chair.
It was late afternoon now. We’d spent the day in bed together. It was so careless of me. Everything I’d done since meeting this man had been careless. I had to remember who he was. Who I was. I had a job to do. Kagan hadn’t given me a timetable and I wouldn’t have allowed it if he did. Still, I’d had about forty chances to finish this job ... finish Sly. And yet I hadn’t.
“But I want to see you again. Tonight,” he said. Before I could say anything else, he crawled across the bed, and leaning forward he placed a tender kiss on my lips. I sank into it, my body betraying me. My heart fluttered and heat zinged through me, settling between my legs. I should stop this. But what would happen if I let it go on? God. My knees went weak from the thought of letting him take me again. It would be the fourth time, or maybe the fifth. I’d actually lost count. I ached in every muscle, but the thought of starting up again made me quake with desire.
“You mind if I grab a quick shower before I head out?” He was already standing in the bathroom doorway. “Feel free to join in.”
I drew my knees up and rested my chin on them. “I don’t even think I can stand upright yet. I don’t know how you can.”
Sly laughed and I loved the sound of it: husky and filled with sin. “We can save that for next time then. How about I swing by around seven? The guys weren’t kidding about you having dinner with us.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Let’s just see how the rest of the day goes. I’ve got a few calls to make.”
Sly nodded but shot me a look. He didn’t mean to take no for an answer. Then he went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He closed the door behind him, leaving me in relative solitude for the first time in almost twenty-four hours.
It left me with the perfect chance. Do it quick. Do it clean. My heart quickened and my fingers trembled, itching to hold my gun. There would be no better time or place. Better here than on his turf. How long before anyone from the club would start to miss him? Dinner time was still a few hours away. Plenty of time for me to disappear into the wind.
“Water’s warm, Scarlett,” he called out.
I reached over to the nightstand and grabbed my purse. Keeping my eyes on the bathroom door, I pulled out my Glock and gripped it like a talisman, warding off the rising tide of lust I felt at the thought of Sly naked on the other side of that door. But that was just my body talking. He’d awakened some primal need in me, but now as I felt the weight of my weapon in my hands, I felt a different kind of need. This is who I was. This is what I was born to do. Thinking for even half a second that I could have anything normal with Sly or anyone else was a distraction. Some deep part of me resented Sly for even making me feel that normal for even half a second. It was a distraction I didn’t need and now was the time to rectify it.
I checked the magazine and snapped it back into the barrel, the familiar click sending a shiver of pleasure up my spine not unlike I felt when Sly touched me for the first time. This was a different kind of craving but I enjoyed the rush just the same.
I had one in the chamber. Black Talon ammo. Strong enough to drive through tissue like a knife through butter. It would be quick, clean, straight between the eyes. Sly would never feel a thing. If he saw me at all, if he even registered what was about to happen, it would be over for him before he could blink.
I slid out of the bed and walked to the bathroom door, pressing myself against the wall. He’d made this easier than he ever could have realized. Even if it did go wrong, and it never did, naked as I was, it would be easier to clean up.
It was a job. He was just a job. I closed my eyes, tried to shut my mind to everything we’d done, everything he’d said, everything that made my heart pound like it did.
I pushed the door open. Steam rose above the silver shower curtain. I could see the outline of Sly’s perfect form behind it. I raised my arms.
Sight. Alignment. Target identified. Shoot small. Exhale. Squeeze. Two seconds. Don’t blink. Boom. My heart thundered behind my breast. The small hairs along my back stood on end, my spine tingled with the promise of a different kind of release. My arms shuddered, beads of sweat dripped down my brow.
I blinked.
Two things happened at once. I dropped my arms and stepped back, holding the gun behind me at the small of my back. Sly snapped the shower curtain back and called out to me.
“Hey,” he said, his mouth curving into that wicked smile as I stood naked before him. The cold metal of my gun stabbed against my back. “Get in here.”
I smiled back at him. “It looks like you’re already done.”
He turned and twisted the knob. “Plenty of hot water left. Come here.”
I took a step back and leaned against the door frame, letting my arm drop behind the wall. “I’ll be right there.” My hands trembled and I blew out a hard breath trying to make them still.
As Sly turned back toward the spray of water, I slipped my gun behind the dresser closest to the wall then walked into the bathroom to join him for the fifth time ... or maybe it was the sixth.
Chapter Nine
Sly
It was well past dinner when I finally left Scarlett at the Hansen. I’d catch hell from Mo but it would be worth it. Though she wouldn’t come back to the club with me, she promised not to leave town before seeing me again. I had business I couldn’t put off another day but we had plans to meet up the next night. I had half a mind to put somebody on the hotel to watch her. I didn’t want to take the chance she’d change her mind and bolt without saying goodb
ye.
I went through the motions of the next day, taking all the appointments I’d blown off during my fuck fest with Scarlett. I couldn’t shake the feel of her body as she’d pressed herself against me. I could barely function at all, just counting the minutes until I could see her again.
“Mr. Cullinan!”
“Wait. What?” The kid at the loading dock snapped me back to reality by waving a clipboard and a pen in front of my eyes.
“You just need to sign here and we can start unloading the truck.”
“Right.” I signed the paper and the kid gave a nod to his companions so they could haul the kegs down into the bar cellar. “Thanks. Big John and Sawyer will help you if you have any other questions. Otherwise I’ll see you next month.” The kid gave me a salute, I tossed a few bills into his palm and I went back inside. I seriously had to get my head back in the game. Everyone was bound to figure out something was up.
Colt had just got back from his meeting with the fight club promoters at the gym. We were trying to lock down a new venue on the east coast. It was an important link in the chain to the long-term security of our franchise. Never again would the Great Wolves be dependent on connections to anyone like the Pagano crime family. Never again would we have to worry about the feds breathing down our necks.
“You ready to talk, Prez?” Colt yelled to me from across the bar.
I nodded. “Tell me the good news.”
Colt and Sawyer met me in my office. I sat behind my desk and they perched themselves on different sides of our conference table. Colt gave me the rundown on how their meetings went. All good. The promoters had a couple of questions and demands, but nothing that would kill the deal or that we couldn’t handle.
I nodded, asked a few questions, but still my mind was elsewhere. The way Scarlett looked in those tight denim shorts when I first saw her as she bent over the bike in Benny’s shop. The curve of her hip in her killer red dress the other night. How she cocked her head and licked her lips right before she asked me to kiss her. How she came to me in the shower, lust flashing in her eyes, her skin on fire before I even touched her. Fuck. And everything we’d done after that. I had it bad for this one. I adjusted my dick in my jeans, hoping the guys wouldn’t notice. In fact, the hell with it if they did. Scarlett was hot and Colt and Sawyer would have been fighting over her if they didn’t already know she was mine.
