by Jayne Blue
Then Amy’s car pulled into a spot right by the front walk-up.
Sydney was laughing as she got out. Her cheeks flushed. She leaned down and said something to Amy. I couldn’t hear what it was. But they were easy with each other. Sydney thanked her and waved.
Amy waited, making sure Sydney got in before she put her car in reverse and pulled away.
I waited too. I wanted to see the lights go on in her second-floor window. I scanned the parking lot. It was just me. I knew that in my bones. And yet, I couldn't stop watching.
Amy pulled out, heading north. She and Colt had a house on the edge of town along the river. A beautiful place he’d built for her a couple of years after we voted him in. Her dream house.
I wanted that someday too. But maybe men like me did better in the shadows.
The light never came on in Sydney’s window. It had taken too long. I was just about to dismount when the front door opened again.
She walked out. I thought I’d hidden myself well enough, but she came straight for me, a wistful look in her eyes.
“Have you been out here all night?” she said, folding her arms in front of herself.
She still wore her Great Wolves tank top. She’d been on her feet, working her ass off all night, then hung out with the other girls hours after that. Somehow, she still looked fresh, clean, perfect.
“You weren’t supposed to see me,” I said.
A slight smile lit her face. “Are you stalking me, Torch?”
There was a little hesitation after she said my name. She was looking for the rest of it. She was looking for the truth.
“I just ... I needed to ride tonight. And I needed to know you got home safe.”
I don’t know if there was something in the air for her that night too. She turned, looking back at her apartment. I think she was fixing to say goodnight. I was too. I shouldn’t be here. I had no right.
She didn’t say goodbye though. Instead, she turned back to me and tilted her head.
“Come on,” she said. “Why don’t you come on up? It’s so late it’s early. I’ll put some coffee on. You look like you could use it.”
The simple thing to do would be to just start my engine and ride on out. Or maybe take her with me. Show her the spectacular sunrise from the back of my Harley.
I did none of those things. Instead, when Sydney Bailey offered me her hand, I took it and followed her up the walk to her place.
“It’s not much,” she said. “I have a wonderful view of the dumpster in the back alley. But it’s clean. And it’s the first thing that I’ve felt is truly mine.”
“Even though Uncle George is paying the rent?” I asked.
I didn’t mean it to be cruel. I just wanted to figure this girl out.
She closed the door. I turned and deadbolted it.
“He’s not anymore,” she said. “That’s the first thing I changed when I started working at the Den.”
“Good for you,” I said. “It’s better not to owe anyone anything.”
Sydney went to the small kitchen and pulled out her coffee maker. She filled it with water and pressed the start button.
“It’ll take ten minutes,” she said. “Make yourself comfortable. I need a hot shower. Then we can talk.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said.
She was so matter of fact. It seemed like me being here was the most natural thing in the world to her. But we both knew it wasn’t.
I sat in the quiet. Her apartment was small, like she said. The living room was separated from the kitchen by a small counter. There wasn’t even a kitchen table. Her bedroom was down a short hallway with two doors. On either side. She disappeared into the bathroom. I got comfortable on a bland, beige, but comfortable couch that probably came with the place.
Sydney hummed when the water ran. She had a sweet voice. She was quick, just like she said she’d be. Then she came out wearing a white robe, scrubbing her wet hair with a towel.
“So,” she said. “Are you going to tell me what that was?”
I looked at her. Damn if she wasn’t even prettier like this. I’d never seen her without her makeup meticulously applied. She had more freckles than I realized. Hundreds of them. Thousands, maybe. I liked it. Like she’d been dipped in cinnamon sugar, just waiting to be licked.
“You’re not meant for this place,” I said.
She sat on the arm of the chair closest to the couch. Her robe fell open just a little, revealing her leg all the way up to her thigh. She had freckles there too.
“And I’m getting tired of people telling me that. I’ve proven myself. I can hang with every one of those girls at the club. And I can take care of myself.”
The monster lurked inside of me, just below the surface.
“I didn’t like that asshole putting his hands on you,” I said.
“I know. I didn’t like it either. But Torch, your eyes. You ... you wanted to kill him. I mean, really kill him.”
“The thought crossed my mind.”
The air grew thick with silence and something else. I felt like a snake, coiled to strike. She was too.
“Have you?” she finally asked.
I could have played it off. Pretended like I didn’t know exactly what the fuck she meant.
“I’m not stupid or naive,” she said. “I know about the club. I mean, I’ve heard things. Lincolnshire was different not so long ago. More dangerous. It’s the GWMC that turned it into something special.”
“Your uncle tell you that?” I asked.
“Partly,” she answered. “But the girls talk. So do my customers. And then ... there are things I’ve seen working for Uncle George. I know he’s defended some of the members.”
“The club is legit,” I said.
“I know that too,” she said. “But that’s not what I asked you. Torch ... have you killed for the club?”
I felt my jaw tighten. If it had been anyone but her asking, if it had been a man, I might have popped him in the mouth for thinking it.
With Sydney, I gave her a simple answer to a very complicated fucking question. “No,” I said. Then. “I’ve never killed for the club.”
“They love you,” she said. “Amy. Nicole. The other wives. That’s what part of tonight was about. Did you know that? Did you put them up to it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
Sydney moved. She came closer, sitting on the wooden coffee table directly in front of me.
“Amy, especially. They worry about you. They protect the club. And they seem very concerned about me when it comes to you.”
“They’re good women,” I said. “Some of the best I’ve ever known.”
“I get that. I’ll admit it was a little intimidating. Okay, a lot intimidating.”
She kept talking. Her words washed over me, becoming almost meaningless. She was here. She was safe. And yet, I couldn’t get that asshole’s eyes out of my head as he moved in to grab her.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt,” I said, cutting her off mid-sentence.
She clamped her jaw shut. She took a breath as if she were about to say something else, but stopped.
“No more questions,” I said.
I reached for her. The sash of her robe hung between her legs. I tugged on it. Sydney gave a little gasp, but she didn’t stop me.
Her robe fell open.
God. Little freckles everywhere. She was completely naked underneath. Not even a pair of panties.
The monster came out just a little bit more. Sidney’s tongue darted out, and she licked her bottom lip.
I rose slowly, towering over her. Sydney’s eyes went up and up. I slid my fingers through her damp hair, fanning it out.
Then, I slid the robe off her shoulders. It pooled around her.
She parted her lips slightly; her body relaxed into a lust-filled sigh. Oh yeah. I liked her like this. Dreamed of it. Sydney, naked before me.
I guided her down until she lay flat on her back. I p
ushed her knees apart. I wanted to drink her in. She arched her back, unafraid. All shyness washed away.
She was sexy as hell. Perfect, full tits with wine-colored nipples. Fine, blonde hair covered her whole body except between her legs. There, a thin strip told me what I’d guessed when I first saw her. She was a natural redhead.
I was rock hard, practically bulging through my jeans. I wanted to wait a minute though. I wanted her lying naked before me.
Mine. Dammit. She was mine.
“Torch,” she whispered.
I leaned down and pressed her knees flat. I took the sash from her robe and wound it between my hands.
“Oh!” she gasped. She arched her back and thrust her hips as I took the sash and tied her wrists together. I pulled her arms over her head then wound the other end of the sash, lashing it to the leg of the coffee table.
She let out little gasps then closed her eyes.
“No,” he said. “I want you to look at me. I want your eyes.”
She nodded dutifully. I ran a finger over her bottom lip. She craned her neck back, parting her lips. Then her own instincts took over, and she sucked on my finger. I slid my other hand down and cupped one of her breasts.
Sydney could barely control herself. She bucked upward, searching for the thing she needed to fill her.
“Shh,” I said. “Be still.”
“I can’t,” she cried out. “Torch. I can’t. I need …”
“You’ll get what you need,” I said. “If you behave.”
Her eyes flashed with the darkest lust. I’d awakened something wicked and primal within her. I knew it. God. From the second I saw her. I’d always known it was there, just waiting for me. She was so pure. So good. So perfect. My touch would spoil her. God help me, I wanted to.
I slid my finger down between her lips, over the flat plane of her stomach. Her legs fell open as wide as they could go. I wanted to tie her ankles to the table as well, but not yet. I needed to be sure she was ready for it. I’d take it slow, but not gentle.
I slipped my finger down and down until I found her sweet, slick folds.
“Oh!” she cried out.
She was wet. No, she was soaked. I slipped a finger inside of her. Then a second. Then a third.
“Mmmm.” Sydney closed her eyes again and started to fuck me. I smoothed her hair back with my free hand and whispered near her ear.
“Your eyes,” I said. She opened them.
“Kiss me,” she asked. It was in me to spank her for that. Just a light tap to remind her that I was in control. But she caught on in an instant.
“Please,” she said. Better. I wanted her begging.
I kissed her. She tasted so sweet. Spun sugar. Honey. She tried to devour me. I pressed my thumb against her clit. The bud grew hard under my touch. She was so close. Drenched. Wanting.
I worked her harder with my hand, slipping a fourth finger in. She was tight but so wet. So ready. Dammit. She was a virgin. I knew it in my bones. Untouched. Chaste. I should leave her like that. Her first time shouldn’t be with someone like me. She deserved it nice. Sweet.
Desire swirled in me. My darkest urges took over. Fuck nice. Fuck sweet. She’d get it how I needed to give it to her. She grew even more wet under my hand, and I knew it was how she needed it too. My God.
I moved away from her. Sydney kept her eyes on me just like she was told. I loosened my belt buckle and let my jeans fall open.
Her eyes grew wide.
“Oh my,” she said. “Torch ... God. You’re so ... You’re huge.”
I was. All for her.
Sydney’s hips bucked upward. She begged me with her eyes and her body. As much as I wanted to tease her out and train her in the way I knew her body craved, I was just as eager. More so.
There would be time for all that later, maybe. Tonight, I needed one thing. If I was ever going to keep the monster at bay, I needed to make her mine for real.
I came to her. Sydney’s thighs trembled, but she held them open. I stroked myself and got into position.
Sydney kept her eyes wide open as I slipped inside of her and found heaven.
Chapter Fifteen
Sydney
I didn’t lose myself in Torch. People say that. But it’s not what happened to me that night at all. No. I found myself in him.
I didn’t know who I was before, but as Torch touched me and coaxed wild, wanton things out of me, I felt centered, empowered. Alive.
My legs were weak when he untied me. I couldn’t even believe how badly I’d wanted him to do just that. When he took off his belt, I had the deliciously wicked urge to do something bad. He saw it in my eyes.
“Later,” he said. “You’re not ready for that, baby.”
But I was. He had me so wet. Every inch of me ached for him.
Torch brought my hands down and helped me off the coffee table.
“Take me to bed,” I said. “I want …” What did I want? How could I even find words to describe it? Then it came to me. One word that meant everything.
“More,” I whispered.
Torch’s deep, sultry laugh undid me. A fresh wave of heat speared through me.
He followed me into my bedroom, but we didn’t quite make it to the bed. I turned and sat on the small cedar chest I kept at the foot of the bed. It was a graduation present from my father. Everything I took with me when I left home fit inside of it.
Torch stood before me. His jeans were still open, and I felt self-conscious all of a sudden. I was completely naked. I’d laid myself bare and spread my legs for him, and he was fully clothed.
Well, it was time to change that.
I kept my eyes locked with his as I reached up and slid his jeans down over his lean hips. He’d already kicked his boots off. He stepped out of his jeans.
I stood. I moved around him as Torch stood still. I pulled his leather cut off his shoulders. I folded it and set it on the chair next to my bed. As I turned, Torch had already taken off his shirt.
“My God,” I whispered. He was like an actual work of art. Every inch of him was like sculpted marble. Rippled abs. Powerful quads and biceps. His chest, back, and arms were covered in the most beautifully intricate tattoos. A skull over his left pec. An angel over his heart. Dates and other symbols on his arms. I trailed my fingers over each marking. My fingers played along his waist as I moved around him.
Torch held his breath.
I reached for the light switch.
“No,” he said, gripping my wrist firmly.
“I want to see you,” I said. “I want to see all of you. Fair’s fair.”
There was something else I wanted. I was too shy to say it, but not too shy to do it.
Torch let go of my wrist. Instead of the brighter ceiling light, I turned on a lamp by my nightstand. It bathed our bodies in an amber glow but wasn’t harsh.
Torch moved. He sat on the side of my bed now. Slowly, I went down to my knees. He parted his thighs.
There he was. So huge. His erection bobbed against his stomach.
I ran my hands up his thighs. This. Yes. I wanted this.
I’d never actually done it before but felt so ready. God. I’d never done any of this before. I wanted to worship this man. I knew he would return it back to me ten-thousand fold. He already had.
So, I took him in my mouth. I felt unsure of myself at first. But as Torch grew even harder, I knew I was doing something right.
He guided me when I needed it, telling me harder, softer, faster, deeper. I did everything he asked. Everything.
I thought I was horny for him before, but as I sucked him, I got even more turned on. He was patient with me, but not gentle. It was exactly what I needed. I loved letting him take command of me. He dominated. I submitted.
“Touch yourself,” he whispered. So I did.
Then he let go. It was a struggle to keep up. But it was a challenge I more than met. As Torch shuddered into my mouth, I let out a sigh. He was far from finished though.
�
�Get on the bed,” he said.
I climbed next to him and tried to lay on my bed.
“No,” he said. “On your hands and knees.”
“Oh!” I gasped.
Torch put me into position. From this angle, there was nothing of me he couldn’t see. He worked me again with his fingers until I almost came again. This time, he denied me. He left me quivering and begging for release.
“That’s it, baby,” he said, sending a shiver of pleasure down my spine. “Tell me what you are.”
I didn’t know what he meant for a beat. Then, as he nipped my ear and slid a finger inside of me, I knew. The answer had been inside of me this whole time.
“Yours,” I said. “All yours.”
“That’s right,” he said. “No matter what you do, no matter where you go, no matter how much time goes by … this is mine. I want you to feel me forever.”
“Yes,” I said. “Oh God. Yes.”
“Say it again. Scream it, baby. I want your neighbors to hear.” He gently grasped my sensitive bud between his fingers and nearly sent me to the moon.
“Yours! God. Oh God! I’m ... y-yours! Always.”
“When?” he asked.
“Whenever you say so,” I said. And I knew it was true. I knew in my soul no man would ever be able to make me feel the way he did. He was right. He was soooo right. I felt turned inside out by him. Exposed. Vulnerable. But also safe. Loved. Protected. And I knew that I would give my body to him in any way that he wanted.
As dawn gave way to full morning ... that’s exactly what I did.
Chapter Sixteen
I woke to the heavenly smell of strong coffee.
Boneless, weightless, and impossibly sore, I opened one eye.
Torch stood in the doorway to my bedroom, carrying two steaming mugs. I flapped a hand in surrender.
Somehow, I managed to sit up. I’d used muscles in my body I didn’t even know I had. I ached. I repositioned myself and felt the warm sting on my bottom from where Torch ended up gently using his belt on me. He got me to beg for it. Even now, a fresh wave of desire flooded through me at the memory.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.
