by Jayne Blue
“Why did you come back here?” He let go of me but towered over me as the foaming waves crashed to shore.
“What?”
“I mean it. You’ve dodged that question every time I’ve asked it. You could have taken a job in a million other places. Nobody comes to Emerald Point to stay. You’re either born here or you come for a week and go back to your real life. So why did you?”
Something rose up inside of me. It had everything to do with Nash and nothing at all. For almost six years, since I found out I carried his child inside of me, I’d been scared of what would happen if he knew. I’d also been scared of him never finding out. The look on D’Angelo’s face as he cradled his injured son seared my brain. If I closed my eyes, I could see Wyatt’s face instead of Andre’s, swollen and bruised, traumatized. I saw him standing in front of me clutching his side as blood poured from a stab wound the way it had for his father all those years ago.
“You were right to send me away,” I said. “And coming back here was a mistake.”
“You keep saying that. But you still haven’t answered my question.”
“Take me home!” I yelled, my voice rising right along with the surf. “Or take me back to town and I’ll call a cab.”
“No!”
“No?”
“No!”
“You’re insane! But I had to have been crazy to think things would be different with you.”
“What do you want from me?”
I blinked hard and shielded my eyes from the blowing sand. Nash was sure and strong and real. He stood before me immovable as a mountain. I was scared. Terrified. And yet, every cell in my body cried out for him. I wanted to turn back the clock and be bold and reckless all over again, forget everything I knew and saw. But I couldn’t do that and it wasn’t just about me anymore. I took a step back, afraid if I didn’t put physical distance between us, all reason would fly out of my head again.
“Well,” he said. “I know what I want from you.”
My heart thundered behind my rib cage. One look. One touch. I didn’t know if I was strong enough to say no. I hadn’t been when I was nineteen. Nash shattered my world and reshaped it. He’d wrecked me for any other man. No one could measure up to him. I’d been alone so long. I had a thousand reasons for pushing him away. But sometimes, it’s just too damn hard to stay strong. I felt I’d almost lost him six years ago. He sent me away when all I wanted to do was hold him close and nurse his wounds. He still looked wounded and it hit me that maybe he’d been alone all this time too in every way that mattered. I wanted him. Plain and simple. I didn’t have the strength to deny it another second.
He didn’t ask me again. He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me to him, tilting my head toward his. The rational part of me knew this was folly. How much more did I need to see or hear to believe this man could bring darkness down on me? But when Nash’s lips touched mine again, everything melted away. I felt hollowed out. He left me exposed. I was nothing more than a core of need. And I needed him.
I gripped his leather vest in my fists, wanting to push him away and pull him close all at the same time. Desire flooded through me, driving out all reason. This. Yes. Nash. He was everything. I was starved for air and his touch gave me oxygen. Heat stabbed through me, settling in my gut. My breasts ached for his touch. A new pulse thrummed between my legs.
When he finally let me up for air, I staggered backward. Nash stood stock still, except for the flare of his nostrils as he tried to catch his own breath. His eyes glinted a challenge. He’d made his desire known, the rest was up to me.
I knew I should be stronger and sensible. But as Nash stood in front of me, close enough for me to inhale the scent of leather and sin coming off him in waves, there was only one choice to make. I went to him … no … I clawed at him. Violent need overtook me. My kisses were punishing. I pressed my lips against his and tore at his clothes. Nash stayed immobile, taking it. I pulled at his jeans, practically tearing the button off as I slipped my hands under his waistband. Oh God. He was huge and hard as steel. My sex throbbed as I closed my hands around his cock.
He let out a primal groan as I freed him. I staggered backward. Nash came at me, pressing me against the flat surface of the rocks. His fingers slid beneath my skirt and tore at my panties, shredding the cotton in one, forceful motion. I threw my head back and moaned as his fingers found me slick and swollen for him already. He bit my earlobe and I got my leg up, wrapping it around his waist.
“You’re mine,” he whispered into my ear, his voice lowered to an almost predatory growl.
“Yes!” My body answered as well. As he stroked me with two skillful fingers, my juices flowed.
“Say it.”
“Yes. Yours. Oh God, Nash. Only yours.” He had no way of knowing how true that was. I’d never let another man touch me since him.
“Say it again!” His voice rose, matching the intensity of the waves behind us.
“Yes! Fuck me. I’m yours.”
He pressed his hard cock against me. I would have dropped to my knees for him and swallowed him whole. God, I wanted to. But Nash held me in place, pinning me against the rocks. This almost felt like an exorcism we both needed. He couldn’t know what the years had brought me, the battles I’d fought, the lonely nights and uncertainty I suffered through. But part of me blamed him for it anyway. And for my part? Of course, he’d fought his own wars. He was still fighting them. Maybe he thought I’d had the easy life while he stayed behind in hell. In that moment, it didn’t matter. We took what we needed from each other in body and soul.
He grabbed my other leg and lifted me, so I straddled him. My skirt rucked up around my waist. Then he drove himself inside of me. Oh God. He found resistance at first. He couldn’t know, but six years of abstinence made me tight. But the second he thrust inside of me, I opened for him like a flower, my juices coating us both.
I clawed at his back; if not for his leather cut, I would have torn through his flesh. I wanted him. I wanted to mark and claim him like he’d done to me. If I was his, then he was mine. I meant to drive out all thoughts of any other cheap women who might throw themselves at him tonight or any other night.
Nash pounded into me, pressing me against the rocks. He was huge and hard and filled me deeply. My whole body shuddered as I took him in.
“Fuck,” he whispered. “You feel so good.”
“Don’t stop!” I cried. There was no chance of that. I kissed his neck then threw my head back. Pleasure flooded me. My walls clenched and the dam inside of me broke. The world fell away and there was nothing left but Nash and me and the wanting.
“Come for me,” he commanded. My body responded as if he’d trained me. And he had. Over and over again on this very beach all those years ago. He made me his then. I was a fool to think I could ever want anything else. He’d ruined me for other men and until this very second, I hadn’t let myself admit that. There was Nash. There was only Nash since the second he first touched me.
I arched my back as Nash held me steady. He drove himself to the deepest point and let me feel him. My orgasm thundered through me, turning me inside out. All I could do was hold on and feel it. Stars exploded behind my eyes with each stroke of it. I could feel Nash seizing up, but he kept control, letting me wring every ounce of pleasure out of him. When I started to come down, he turned me, sensing I no longer had the strength to hold myself in place. He had me in the sand. I found my legs and went down on all fours for him. From the corner of my eye, I saw him take a step back then drop to the ground. From this angle, he could see everything. He found me swollen and wet and gaping for him. Then he took his own pleasure, driving into me again, deep enough to take my breath away.
And I took him. All of him. He let go and exorcised whatever demons he’d fought for the last six years too. It was as if we both needed to claim and punish each other for the years we’d been apart. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t mine. And yet we both bore the scars of it. He cried my name over
and over and made me swear again. I was his. He’d marked me, claimed me, made me his. It had always been him. And as he poured himself inside of me, I knew we might both be bound to hell for it.
Chapter Ten
Nash
* * *
She was everything I remembered and more. As I poured my need into Harper and she took it, something shifted inside of me. This wasn’t just some grunge fuck. Yeah. It was that. One we both sorely needed. But when she called out my name and admitted she was mine, I knew it cut both ways. She had me. She had my body and my soul, damned as it probably was.
We were uneasy with each other those first few seconds after I helped her out of the sand. We were both covered in it. I took off my cut and shook it out. Reaching for her, I helped her shake out her hair and smooth her skirt. Her panties were shredded and ruined somewhere. My dick stirred again knowing how much I’d like her riding my bike behind me bareback like that. Fuck. I clenched my fists to keep from going at it again with her. I settled for sliding my fingers to the back of her neck and tilting her head up to my lips.
I wanted to tell her I loved her. I did. I loved her six years ago and every day in between. Every other chick I’d been with had just been a diversion. I never realized it until just this second. Harper was mine. She groaned and slid her hands over my chest. I threaded my arms through my jacket and reached out to tuck a hair behind her ear. God, I liked her like this. She had sex hair, all wild and free. Her skin was flushed and I could see her nipples poking through the thin cotton of her t-shirt.
It killed me to have to leave her, but I had club business to deal with. I’d told her the truth. This shit with Andre wasn’t what she thought it was. A little show of force along the boardwalk and we’d have shit locked down again by the end of the week. I hated that Dee’s kid got caught in the middle of it, but that had as much to do with him as it did my crew. Dee was clean now, but he knew better than anyone, his reputation came with baggage.
“Come on,” I said, wanting to get on the road. I knew that look in her eyes. She wanted to talk and probably tell me this was just a one-time deal. Harper could say whatever she wanted, but her body gave me all the answers I needed.
Her phone rang and startled her. She grabbed her purse off the ground and answered it, turning away from me. A tremor of jealousy ran through me. I didn’t want her keeping anything from me anymore. No secrets. She covered her mouth to muffle her words. Then she hung up and turned back to me, smiling.
“I’ve got to get home.”
“Everything okay with your mom?”
She slid her hands into her back pockets and smiled at me. “Yeah. I just don’t like leaving her for too long. She went shopping in Destin today. She’ll be extra tired when she gets home.”
I nodded. “Let’s go.”
“Nash.” She pulled back when I grabbed her hand. “I think it’s better if I call a cab.”
“It’s not. Come on.”
I went to her and kissed her again. Her lips were instantly pliant and I realized a secret about her. This was the way to keep her from thinking too much. She was just as addicted to me as I was to her.
“You don’t know where I live,” she said, finally following me up the hill toward the road.
“I know more than you think.” I shot her a wink and her jaw dropped. Of course, I knew where to find her. I had Paul, Ghost’s PI cousin, figure that out first thing. I wasn’t all that worried about her safety, but on the off chance this shit with Dee’s kid was messier than I thought, I wasn’t against putting eyes on the place. For now, she didn’t need to know that.
I tossed my helmet to her and climbed on the bike. She straddled the seat behind me and I revved the engine. She slid her hands around my waist and rested her chin on my shoulder. Yeah. I loved her like this. She belonged there. I hit the throttle and headed back the way we came.
Harper lived in a modest condo not far from the pier and only four blocks from Dee’s place. I felt her stiffen behind me when I cut the engine and climbed off. She slid off my helmet and cast a nervous glance toward the courtyard. A curtain fluttered in one of the windows and she put her body between me and the front door. I narrowed my eyes at her. The blush she sported since I first kissed her was gone. She looked pale and scared, her eyes darting from me to the door and back again.
I didn’t like the vibe one damn bit. There was something she didn’t want me to see. But I had my own baggage to deal with back at the club. I couldn’t expect that her life was squeaky clean either. Still, this was a conversation we needed to have soon.
“I want to see you again. Tomorrow,” I said.
She bit her lip and went up on her tiptoes, giving me a quick, chaste kiss on the cheek. The woman was definitely trying to get rid of me quick. I had half a mind to kick down her front door to make sure everything was all right.
“No promises,” she said. “Okay? It’s just … as much fun as we just had, you’re right. I’m not nineteen anymore. I need some time. Space too.”
I let out a low laugh that brought the color back into her cheeks. “I know what you need, baby.”
She looked behind her then back at me and smiled. “Nash. Please. At least let me have the pretense of the upper hand here.”
Just that second, I didn’t give a damn who was watching from the window or how much it bothered Harper. I pulled her to me with a quick jerk and kissed her hard and deep. I felt her pulse quicken and she let out a little sigh.
“I want to see you again. Soon. I’ve got club business to deal with the rest of today probably. But then it’s you and me.”
“Club business.” She pulled away and put her fingers to her kiss-swollen lips.
“Yeah. Just business. Nothing shady, baby. I told you, today isn’t what you think it is.”
She crossed her arms in front of her and her expression grew hard. “I’m going to hold you to that, Nash. More than you know.”
I flashed her a smile and slid my helmet on. I revved my engine and leaned in one more time to kiss her. “Count on it.”
Then I pulled away leaving her breathless. I planned on keeping her that way. Now that I’d had the taste of Harper again, I couldn’t get enough.
I let the ocean air fill my lungs as I took the curves along the coastal highway back toward The Den. I felt something I hadn’t felt since I was a kid. Light. Sure, Dee’s problem was my problem, but it was a manageable one. Whatever reservations Harper had, I could overcome them. Whatever secret she was hiding, it wasn’t going to matter. She was mine. She knew it. I knew it. I’d build her trust and keep her this time.
When I pulled into The Den, I saw we had a full crew by the bikes in the side lot. My phone buzzed in my jacket as I killed my engine. King’s number showed up and I clicked off the ringer. I was already on my way inside. I saw I had a couple of missed calls from him and figured Dee had probably called to clue him in. Damn Dee. I’d told him to sit tight and let me handle this shit.
“Prez!” Hammy was waiting for me when I walked in. His face was ashen. My heartbeat quickened as my phone buzzed in my jacket again.
“Is everyone here?” I asked.
Hammy nodded. “They’re all in the back waiting for you.”
I cocked my head to the side. What the fuck had Dee told them? He and I were going to have to have a serious conversation about what letting me handle it meant.
“Where’ve you been?” Hammy said; his voice sounded flat, almost choked. “We’ve been blowing up your damn phone.”
I pulled the thing out of my breast pocket. Dammit. I saw the ones from King, but there were others too. The reception was for shit out at the dunes so they were all pinging now.
“Dre’s under control for now,” I said. “We gotta figure out the best way to show force out at the boardwalk. The kid took a hell of a beating, but he’s gonna pull through. I’m hoping one of us can talk to him again without Dee breathing over his shoulder. I’m not saying he’s lying, but it’s a bad idea to assum
e his story was straight while his old man was listening.”
Hammy froze just before I pushed open the door to the back room. He shook his head and I got a better look at him. His eyes were red and swollen. What the fuck?
“Ham?”
The door opened and King stood there, looking just as awful as Hammy. Puck, Shakes, Gordo, Floyd, and even Paps were there seated around the table. Shakes had his head buried in his hands. When he looked up, tears streamed down his face.
Paps rose when I entered. He stepped around the table and put a hand on my arm. I turned to stone. “What the fuck’s going on?”
King spoke. “We’ve been trying to call you for an hour.”
“Yeah. I was out at the dunes. There’s been a little situation with Dee’s boy. I assume he called you?”
King shook his head. “Fuck. No.”
I looked back at the table. My heart dropped into my boots. In that instant, I just knew. It hit me like an anvil to the chest, driving the air from my lungs. This wasn’t about Andre. This was much, much worse. Shakes let out a guttural sob that ripped my soul in half. I took it all in as King started to talk again. I heard his words but didn’t process them. Instead, my eyes went to the empty chair at the other side the table. All the crew was here except for one man.
Bile rose in my throat. King’s lips were still moving but it was as if no sound could reach me.
Ghost.
I looked behind me, knowing it was futile. Where the fuck was Ghost?
My muscles went rigid as King gripped my shoulder hard, steadying himself as much as me.
“He’s gone, man,” King said. “The cops found him face down on the side of Marlin Road. One bullet through the back of his head. Execution style.”
I curled my fingers into a fist, digging my nails into my palms. Shakes leaned over and Puck put an arm around his shoulders, keeping the other man from crumpling to the ground.
