by Romi Hart
Quelling the urge to beg, Rory sighed, "If you change your mind, Zeke could tag along, though I don’t know if it’s his scene."
Leigh laughed. " I don’t think it is. But thank you for calling. Let’s get together for lunch or something this week. I’d love to see you."
"Mmhmm, sounds good," Rory agreed, her mind already on her drink of choice tonight. She couldn’t dwell on her disappointment, with Leigh or Eli. She already felt like she could down a whole bottle of something strong.
She hung up and finished dressing, knowing she looked hot. This was the night things would turn around for her, she was determined.
She smiled at her reflection and went out to meet her Uber at the parking lot entrance. She gave her apartment number. Better safe than sorry.
She climbed into the white Toyota, who already had the destination programmed. The ride didn’t take long, and as she pulled up, she saw her friends waiting outside. She greeted them with a hug and followed them into the club. The lights and music hit her hard. This was exactly the place she needed. It would be too loud for her to think, and soon she would be too drunk to care.
She went to the bar to grab drinks while her friends found an open couch in the corner. They had arrived a little early because the blogs all warned of the popularity of the place and how difficult it was to get in, much less get a seat. She could see why. There were neon accents everywhere. The corners had luxurious lounge areas with TVs and billiards with additional bench seating along the walls, while the dance floor had two levels, perfectly lit by an old school disco ball. The eclectic mix of classic and contemporary drew a crowd of all ages.
Rory downed two tequila shots while she waited for the mixed drinks to arrive. She knew it was irresponsible to drink like this, chugging liquor, but she only let loose on a rare occasion under normal circumstances. And if she was a little worse about it when nursing some heavy man troubles, so be it.
She carried the tray of beverages with a smile on her face, already feeling warmer as she sipped the pretty pink fluid. It was strong, the bartender obviously pouring heavy, and she appreciated it. She made a note to leave a good review for the place and certainly to come back, especially when Leigh was finally going to pry herself away from Zeke for a night. Surely, her friend hadn’t gone full old lady mode, as in granny gear with no desire to live it up.
For a while, the girls just chatted while more bodies filtered in, scouting out the best looking guys and musing as to which ones could dance. This was what Rory should be doing, not worrying about some guy who only wanted a safe place to sheath his sword and couldn’t commit because of some misguided code of honor. These were red blooded men, young and looking for a hook up or maybe even to fall in love.
It may have been a naive romantic notion, but she still held out hope for others like herself, searching for the missing part of their soul. She smirked to herself as she thought of her very shallow standards. The guy at least had to be tatted. She could hope he rode, but it was more about the connection they could share.
Eventually, she found her way to the dance floor, the music hypnotizing her, her body moving without thought or purpose. She didn’t want the night to end or the music to stop. It felt so much like her life before Leigh stumbled upon the Devil’s Flames, before Eli had tumbled into her life. It had all messed with her balance, and she missed this.
She didn’t realize the guy headed for her until he was already there, parting the crowd to nuzzle up and start dancing with her, chest to chest. He had long hair pulled back with a tie and a leather vest with a chain, maybe to a pocket watch. A tattoo stretched across one shoulder, and he was handsome enough, a good dancer.
Rory let herself flow with him, her body bumping and grinding with his. Every time he pressed close, she felt his arousal, and it built confidence she’d lost since she got her panties in a twist over Eli.
She didn’t expect this guy to come in for a kiss. He landed one right on her, and at first it felt good, even though it caught her off guard. Just an anonymous touch in the middle of the dance floor by a hot stranger. But his tongue snaked into her mouth, and images of a man she had sworn to forget danced into her head.
She tried to push it down but couldn’t. Her stomach churned, and it wasn’t from the alcohol. She pushed against this guy and ran from the dance floor, barreling over several people before making it out the back door, gulping fresh are as guilt ate at her.
No matter what, all she could think about was that this was wrong. A betrayal.
It wasn’t like she was cheating on Eli. They weren’t in an exclusive relationship. Hell, she had decided they didn’t have anything anymore, but it still felt wrong. And that only meant one thing: her feelings were even stronger than she’d realized.
She pulled out her cell and hailed an Uber. The night’s fun was clearly over.
* * *
Rory sat down in front of her television with a bag of Cheetos to her right and a cup of coffee in her hands. She was painfully sober and had not been able to sleep, even after attempting warm milk, chamomile tea, and intense meditation. So, she settled for pajamas, Netflix and chill.
She was too young to be sitting alone, getting fat in front of a movie that was sure to make her cry. She knew what she wanted to do, but it was a terrible idea.
She was done letting Eli and their non-relationship control her, but she was consumed with thoughts of him, even now. And the thought occurred to her that she could prove to herself that she didn’t need him, that he wasn’t so irresistible.
She picked up her phone and texted,
Night out was a bust, want to come over for a drink?
She was surprised when Eli responded almost immediately,
Sure, be there in a few.
She considered making a snarky remark about being obligated to the strippers thought better of it. She didn’t need to be bitchy.
Almost involuntarily, she headed to the bathroom mirror to primp, vowing to stay in her pajamas. She washed the cheese off her fingers and put the bag of chips in the kitchen, replacing them with a bottle of rum. It was the cheap stuff, but it would do the job either way.
He was at her door then, and she let him in, put on a neutral movie, and they settled in, passing the bottle back and forth, making small talk.
And it worked. Sure, Eli looked damn hot, he always did, but she didn’t feel like she needed to jump him to make it through the night.
But as they drank, they migrated toward each other, and she heard herself suggest a game of strip poker. And then she was losing, having a hard time not feeling warm and tingly as they both lost one item of clothing after another.
He slid his pants off, the last of his attire, after a particularly difficult round in which she could barely see her cards through the blurry haze of inebriation, and when he leaned over to kiss her, smelling like cheap rum, she forgot all of her reasons for inviting him over in the first place.
She nipped his tongue as it tangled with hers, and he moaned into her mouth, pulling her into his lap. There was just a G-string between them, and his warmth quickened her pulse. No one had ever affected her this way, and she couldn’t explain it. But with the alcohol talking, she didn’t care.
She slid her G-string off, making a show of it as she watched him harden further. She straddled him, so wet for him, and nothing was going to stop this from happening, her resolve gone.
Eli kissed and bit at her neck, lifting her with capable hands under her thighs and carrying her into her bedroom. A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips, already anticipating the feel of him inside her, the way his hands would explore her.
And he didn’t disappoint. Lying her back, his mouth and hands were everywhere. It was like he had memorized every spot and every kind of touch that pleased her. It was pure torture, and it was incredibly satisfying. But it wasn’t enough.
"Just take me, Eli, " she begged, and he chuckle darkly, kissing his way down her body. His lips landed on her navel, and she squirmed
as he continued lower. As he kissed and licked his way down, she spread her legs and invited him to keep going.
He nuzzled her mound at first, teasing her before he tasted of her clit, his tongue making small circles and driving her to the edge of madness. Ecstasy was in her grasp.
She rocked her hips into his face, her hands fisting in his hair as his tongue trailed down her slit to her wet, hot core and slipping inside. His tongue darted in and out with skill as she arched her back and held him to her. She was going to explode any second, but then he stopped, leaving her shaking and whimpering, wanting more.
He slid onto the bed next to her and captured her gaze for just a moment, and her heart skipped a few beats before pounding double time. This was what she wanted so badly, to look into those eyes every night intimately. But she didn’t dare speak. She didn’t want to break the spell.
He pulled her onto his hips, settling her dripping pussy over his waiting cock. It filled her, stretched her, and she gasped before she starting her own up and down rhythm, letting her core adjust and her body take control rather than her mind.
His hands dug into her hips as he groaned, and it encouraged her, making her move faster on him until she was giving him a show, her breasts bouncing as she picked up the pace. She didn’t think he would last much longer, and she wanted to feel his release. But she wanted her reward, too. She’d been so close, and now it was just out of reach. But the pressure built, and she felt that electrical current pulse through her, finally taking her over the edge. And as she came, her inner walls pulsed and throbbed, squeezing him to his finish.
She fell over next to him, beginning to sober but reveling in the afterglow, knowing she would regret this in the morning. For now, she would enjoy the conquest.
She could worry about what it meant for her tomorrow.
12
Locked and loaded, the only thing on Eli's mind was the task at hand. He listened as Zeke gave the order to take their positions, an order coming straight from Corey. The Devil’s Flames would be sending out two groups alongside their allies to meet outside the Ravens compound. It had been discussed so many times that the subject was just burnt into the ground, the instructions ingrained.
Gomez had offended them all in a way they couldn’t ignore. Zeke had been able to take Leigh home, and all ended well in that case, but the many heinous crimes and betrayals suffered at the hands of that sleaze and the corrupt business he ran were unforgivable. It was sad, because The Ravens used to be good business partners. But Gomez couldn’t be trusted and it was time for his reign of terror to end.
Hopefully, the MC itself could be saved, under new leadership and with sanctions put in place by the rest of the clubs.
They were going to take down men and send a message, a warning before the coming storm. If they were lucky they might snatch Gomez or his VP. They certainly had the manpower and the element of surprise. But if not, the message would be loud and clear – surrender, or Gomez would be pushing up daisies.
Eli hadn’t seen Rory in three days, and while he enjoyed it, he had mixed thoughts about having spent the night. She hadn’t said anything to put him on edge, but the things that had transpired between them still unnerved him. It wasn’t the sex. It was the intimacy. He couldn’t decide if it was getting too serious and was thankful for the distraction the raid offered.
As Zeke gave the final orders, he tucked his Glock safe in his jacket and revved his engine, ready to ride out.
"Be careful out there," Zeke said, patting him on the shoulder. He and Zeke had been close for years. He was probably the closest friend Eli had, but it felt like it had been ages since they sat down to a beer together.
"You, too. You have a woman waiting at home for you," Eli reminded him. "Plus, you owe me a beer."
Zeke chuckled. "Don’t you have a woman waiting now, too?"
Eli gave his friend a withering look, shaking his head but wondering why it tugged at his chest. "You know it isn’t like that. My rules still apply. Not that I plan to lose my head out there."
Zeke nodded. "Alright, a beer it is. Leigh’s been itching to get out with Rory anyway. I think I’ve been hogging her." Zeke his own bike into gear. He was only overseeing the mission this time, still on reduced duty with the damage done to his knee and ankle still healing. It was Eli who would be in the line of fire when things went down, but he felt confident coming in with the element of surprise. It would be a breeze.
The ride was a smooth one, and Eli cruised with his MC, not a care in the world as he focused fully on the task ahead. This was the part of the MC life that was worth the hardship – just riding with his brothers. Of course, he didn’t mind taking out an asshole every once in a while. It made him feel powerful in a world that often took away control.
As they rolled up close to the compound, it was dark, and they all killed their lights and cut their engines a quarter of a mile out. Everything was quiet, but Eli saw the signal down the road – a silent flare – that let them know their allies were in position.
It was quite a feat for that many men to sneak onto such a large compound without being noticed, but they had tech guys to handle the cameras who had already created a loop so they wouldn’t be seen.
Feeling lucky and full of energy, Eli moved with the group in silence to the Ravens parking lot and listened, waiting to determine how packed the place was based on the noise level. But it was all strangely quiet.
Until the first bullet rang out. Then, all hell broke loose.
Eli got down, ducking behind a cluster of bikes and drawing his gun to fire in the direction bullets were coming from. He was so confused.
"What the fuck?" he called out to Zeke, a few feet away behind the wheel well of the only truck in the lot.
Zeke was shaking his head and pulling his own gun as the plan evaporated with this apparent ambush. With bullets flying, it was hard make heads or tails of everything. They had to take care not to hit one of their allies as they tried to pinpoint the Ravens.
"This isn’t going to work. We need to get in there!" Eli hollered. "Or we’re just going to get ourselves killed."
As a pack, almost like Greek soldiers, they crawled and inched forward together, guns drawn as they gained a line of sight to some of the shooters stationed around the building. Now, they could fire at their enemy and not waste bullets.
A few of the men, mostly Diamond Kings, jumped the fence, pulling knives, and the night air filled with screams that rang out over the gunfire. If there was a graveyard nearby, they were going to wake the dead. Luckily, they were outside the city with no chance of alerting authorities.
"Shit!" Eli watched one of the men nearby go down, shot in the chest, and Eli had a feeling it was fatal. It dawned on him, too, that they were in the Ravens' territory, and carrying the wounded out of there might be an exercise in futility. They might be surrounded and would be lucky to get out with their lives, and now there would be a target on their backs. Gomez would come after them, all of them, and this time, Eli didn’t know who they might lose. How did this bastard keep winning?
He’d personally shot a mole weeks ago, someone tipping Gomez off to their plans. Was there still someone feeing him information? Whether it was someone inside the Flames or Diamond Kings or another MC, he couldn’t be sure because they had created a large group of allies. Every MC in the south wanted to see Gomez dead, and most of them had thrown in on this idea. It could be anyone, in any of the eight MCs here tonight.
Eli's adrenaline kicked into high gear as he dived and dodged bullets and readied himself for hand to hand combat, tucking his gun away and pulling the knives in his boots. As he ran into the fray, he was invigorated to see the ground littered with Ravens, despite clearly being prepared, and far fewer members of other MCs down. There were casualties, but they’d brought enough manpower that, even in this situation, they were going to come out on top.
* * *
Eli let the hot water rain over him like a waterfall. Blood darkened the p
ooling fluid as it swirled down the drain, but it wasn’t his. Or Zeke’s, for that matter. In fact, it didn’t belong to any of the Devil’s Flames, or any of the other MC members he knew.
The moment they’d evacuated the Ravens’ compound they had sped back to safety and a rendezvous point to take a head count and report back to Corey. After that, they’d broken up and ridden home in pairs to their old ladies or whoever waited at home for them to celebrate living to die another day. It had been a close call, and for the first time in years, Eli felt his own mortality.
His fist banged into the tiled wall of the shower as he hung his head and cursed himself for the way he had acted. Not just toward Rory but all of the years, remaining unattached. Being alone had its benefits. You weren’t tied down, a woman dictating your life. You didn’t have to worry about sharing money or time. You didn’t have to please anyone. And you sure as hell couldn’t get hurt because you lost them.
But it had occurred to him, as he escaped the compound with his life, that he easily could have beans shot or killed. Dozens of deaths coated the world in red tonight, and it was luck as much as skill that he hadn’t been one of the casualties.
What if he had been? What would he have to show for the lonely life he led? What legacy would he leave behind, and what would he take with him to any potential afterlife? It was the easiest and most depressing answer he could think of.
Nothing. He had nothing.
He would have died without marriage, a child, leaving a legacy or a mark on the world. He would have just been leaving behind a couple of good friends that would die same as him, a sizeable bank account that would be split between charity and the club, and one mistreated woman obsessed with being an old lady.
A woman he couldn’t stop thinking about, even now, after all of this.
