Big White Lie (Storm's Soldiers MC)

by Paige Notaro

  He brushed a dark hair out of my face and leaned in.

  His kiss tasted like salt and sweat. It hadn’t come easy, but it tasted all the sweeter for it. We took our time on the curb, tasting each other’s lips as if they were a measure of our words to each other. He hugged me to him, his fingers tracing my face like he was blind until now.

  The taxi driver honked. Calix smacked the window. I laughed and opened the rear door before the guy could drive away.

  I gave him the address and helped Calix in. We held each other and nuzzled quietly in the backseat all the way home.

  The house was empty, but I knew it wouldn’t stay that way. Not for as long as I needed him to prove himself to me. I led him up to my room. The bed was a frilly mess and I had clothes and shoes scattered everywhere, but he carried me in.

  He kissed his way down my body, peeling it off layer by layer. I did the same to him. We took all the time in the world, savoring every inch of each other’s skin, breaking to return for a brush of the lips. It was the sweetest start I’d ever had to an evening.

  But it was just the opening. I spread my legs for him, and he rumbled to life like a train and sped down into me. All his pain seemed to vanish as he bent my legs up and rammed into me over and over. His wide arms ran under me and cuddled me into him, even as he split me in half. His full strength bore into me, pushing me tighter into his grip.

  His lips fell on my face. There was nowhere to escape to. Nowhere that he had not already secured.

  I sang out, feeling like a bird cozy in its nest high above.

  Finally we came crashing down together. We lay on our sides and I kissed him through the sweat and tears, and he kissed back. Soon his mouth landed on my breasts and, then, I was sighing and he was hard and in me again. He wrapped around my chest like a safety belt and bent into me from the side. I chewed his fingers and his hand and came until I was hoarse.

  We weren’t done. Far from it.

  He set upon his apology it with a soldier’s dedication.

  I believed every inch.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Calix

  I came awake aware of exactly where I was. For the first time in days, I felt no confusion, just calm comfort.

  Rosa’s room glowed white through the open blinds. Across from me, the mirror atop the dresser reflected my image.

  We hadn’t slept more than five hours, but I looked bright and rested.

  Past my own reflection was a larger swell under the blanket. It didn’t move in the mirror, but I could hear the swish of her breath.

  I turned and looked at Rosa. I had never let myself admire her before, not with just my eyes. She was facing the other way. Her round shoulders lay completely bare. In the morning, her skin was the color of bark from a young tree. The brown lay soft and shimmering.

  I traced a finger along her curves. She rustled, but didn’t wake up, just as I had hoped. If she rose, I wouldn’t be able to hold myself away.

  I lifted the blankets and peered in at her plump little butt. Just the sight of that thick heart shape had me hard. My attention had fallen there all of last night. First my bite, then my fingers and finally all of my hardness as I entered her. It had been a miraculous sight, seeing my light flesh penetrate her to the brim.

  I might just be a butt-man. I had never considered the possibility. Maybe I just had never been confronted with a piece of art that demanded it.

  I smiled in the morning calm. That was something new to hold onto. I had no idea what defined me anymore other than this girl.

  I eased out of bed and stood at her window. If their neighbors saw me it was fine. Let the world see me for what I was, imperfections and all.

  The sky was actually covered in rolling clouds. They might darken to a storm or they might just pass and let the sun through. I had dreamed of days like this during scorching afternoons on patrol. Days where you didn’t have to cover up to survive.

  I had done a lot of things over there that I never expected. I had taken orders from men of all colors, and commanded men of all stripes, too. I had seen good soldiers fragmented by IEDs and shed tears over their broken bodies. Blood red was the only color I did not allow myself to abide.

  The whole time, I had promised to stay true to my larger mission: Do well, rise up and come home to serve the cause.

  I had promised myself even as I found myself changing into something else. I found pleasure in keeping women the color of clay safe from violence. I had held little Afghan boys and girls and smiled as they ate for the first time in days. I had watched with stern pride as young Afghan men learned to take up arms to defend their families.

  All this I had justified. I had been in their land, helping them create a place for their people. It might just teach me the skills to help me create one for my own racex.

  But it was all a lie I told myself to hide the changes that were already dawning on me. It took a gunshot and gorgeous woman to make me confront them.

  I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I was falling for Rosa. It wasn’t just her beauty, but the way she carried herself. She had a fire in her, too. With my own flame so low, I was like a moth dancing by her light.

  I had no idea what I was going to do. I simply knew that I wanted her, and I wanted to be the soldier I already was. That’s who she fell for anyway.

  Then again, she still didn’t know the last secret of who I was, of who I had been. The one that defined me. The one that sustained my father and me all these years.

  I thought briefly on my brother, but shook my head. No, Vaughn had not found a middle path. I would have to. I was not going to abandon my father.

  Or my mother’s memory.

  The cause would live on without me. If they could stay non-violent and bide their time, they could get their nation. I could continue to help slowly. They were in no rush.

  I didn’t have to live in the world I built. It might not even come in my time.

  My phone started to buzz.

  I ruffled through my jeans searching for it. Rosa murmured behind me.

  I found it and saw the number. It was Homer.

  “What?” I whispered, easing out into the hallway. I went into the bathroom nearby and shut the door.

  “Hey, brother,” he said in a breathless voice. “We need you.”

  “For what?”

  “We got something going real south here. We sent two of our guys to pinch a load from the wetbacks. Payback, you know. They got it, but now I can’t reach them. I need every man to help me look.”

  “Who did you send?”

  “Flint and Harper.”

  “I don’t recognize them.”

  “They’re shiny new prospects. I thought this would be a nice fire to test them in.”

  “New? You got them for the distribution extension.”

  He paused. “Listen, I know you’re not on board with that, but I’m the president for a reason. Now, I’m asking for you to do your part.”

  “I am doing my part, Homer. I just have no desire to get involved with this new business you’ve entered.”

  “This is the direction the Soldiers are going ,” he growled. “You riding with us or not?”

  “I’m not,” I said simply. “I don’t think we’ve been riding together for some time now. I helped you as a favor to my father only.”

  “You signed up for life, brother,” he growled. “Does that mean nothing to you?”

  “I signed up for the cause. If you’re going down a different road, then I can’t follow.”

  There were so many reasons now.

  “So you’re refusing me.”

  “Yes. If you want to talk again, go through my father.”

  “Piece of shit. You-“

  I hung up without hesitation.

  The bathroom had a skylight. I smiled up at the heavens. That had been coming for weeks. It was an easy decision. Maybe the Soldiers would return to their roots one day. I doubted it.

  My father would be a more difficult situation. B
ut it wasn’t one I needed to face at this moment.

  I tiptoed back into the room. Her dark eyes were open and waiting for me.

  “Hey,” I said, moving into her with a kiss.

  She wrapped her arms around me and held our mouths together until we broke through the morning breath and tasted each other.

  I came to rise fast below. I peeled off my boxers and eased back under. Her hot core beckoned my erection, but as I grabbed her hips to enter she peeled away.

  “Who was that?” she asked.

  “Someone I didn’t want to talk to. I told him not to call anymore.”

  She beamed, but still held me away from her. “You went out to talk?”

  “I did.”

  “Oh god.” She clapped her hands and turned to me. “Did my mother or sister see you?”

  I frowned. “I didn’t hear anyone.”

  She shut my mouth and pointed down at the comforter. I listened. The faint rumble of voices came from below.

  Oh, shit.

  This was different. I had just begun to understand Rosa and myself. Adding her family to the mix would be almost as bad as adding my father to the mix.

  It didn’t seem like it could be avoided, though. Not forever.

  “They can hear us?” I said.

  Rosa shook her head. “Not if we’re quiet.”

  I ran a hand across her hip, feeling the warm, rich handles. I gave her a long kiss and tugged in deep over her.

  “What if we’re not?” I whispered in her ear.

  She sighed like a goddess. “Oh, I guess that’s not such a big deal.”

  “We’ll find out soon enough.”

  I turned her around, held her to me, and set to work on us.

  Thanks for Reading!

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  Paige

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  ******

  Black and White (Storm’s Soldiers MC Book 1)

  MEAGAN:

  I knew that boy was trouble the moment I laid eyes on him: shaved head, leather jacket, tattoos leaking out onto his neck like warpaint.

  I've just now left behind the storms of my past, and he is no fluffy white cloud to land on.

  But one wicked smile from him, and I'm shivering, longing for something I should never want

  Maybe just one night. Yeah, one rough night to shake me free.

  That's all this was supposed to be...

  VAUGHN:

  The girl had my attention from the moment her dark eyes found mine. She shouldn't have been my type, not by a long shot. But opportunity presented itself, and I gave in to weakness.

  Only one woman ever had my heart and she was ripped from this world not long after giving birth to me. This girl though, she won't leave my goddamn mind. I can't keep myself away from her lush embrace.

  This goes on, the truth will find us - burn me to the ground. Cause my family and I run with the Storm's Soldiers - the roughest bunch of white separatists south of the Mason-Dixon.

  And this girl's a lot of things, but she sure ain't white...

  ******

  Black and Blue

  GABRIELLE:

  I've been avoiding risk my whole life. That's what you learn to do growing up well-off in a place like Detroit. This is a city that knows how fast things can turn.

  That white boy made me forget myself. A few moments in his presence and I was consumed by a madness. I did things I never dared dream of.

  But it doesn't feel wrong. It feels like freedom.

  I shouldn't go back to him. He's from the wrong part of town. He makes a living out of violence. He's a risk in my unblemished life. One time was enough of a flirt with danger.

  Thing is, he might just have me addicted.

  SEAN:

  I've fought for everything I've got in this world. My fists won me a new life, away from the squalor of my South Detroit past.

  Now I'm starting to get my reward: money, fame, girls.

  The waitress was just supposed to be one of many. Black girls weren't even my type, but something in her set me off. Everything about her screamed class - a word that had never been in this poor boy's vocabulary.

  I thought I just wanted a taste of it. Turns out it's not the thrill I'm after.

  It's her.

  I've gotta show her that I can be more than my body. She wants me to fight for her heart?

  Girl, get ready to be knocked out.

  ******

  Uncaged

  GEORGIA:

  I just wanted to escape my past. Instead, I was kidnapped and sold to a monster in Mexico. The creep wants me to give myself to him willingly, and his methods are working. But then, he takes me to an underground arena and I see a man who knows what it means to fight back.

  They call him deadly, but to me, he looks like life.

  Those muscles could set me free in more ways than I dare dream.

  If only I could reach him.

  ANDRE:

  In this town, I reign supreme. Even Cartel kingpins fear my strength. They drown me in riches to see it on display.

  I know the truth. I'm nothing more than a mutt rolling around for treats, chained here by the weight of my past.

  Then I met her - the broken pixie who saw me as a man to trust.

  I thought freeing her would mean my redemption.

  She might just turn out to be my salvation.

  ******

  Break Me Open (Desert Wraiths MC)

  When Katie Phillips is caught witnessing a motorcycle club shooting, she doesn't expect to be protected by the gunman himself. He's got a powerful body and otherworldly blue eyes, but he's not just a bad boy. He's plain bad.

  So why does she feel so safe in his arms?

  Ghost will do anything for his biker club. They're the only family he's got after being kicked out of army special ops. But seeing Katie stirs something deep inside. Being with her gives him the purpose he's been lacking in his life of sin.

  To keep her safe, though, he'll have to protect her from his own club.

  With a rival MC declaring all out war and the damn FBI rolling into town to sort out the mess, it's not exactly the best time for romance. But trouble only seems to bring them closer. Which means making a choice: ride away from the town they know and love or bring Katie deeper into Ghost's outlaw world to protect each other.