Phantom: An Alpha Male MC Biker Romance (Steel Knights Motorcycle Club Romance Book 1)

by Ivy Black

  Goosebumps covered my skin as Nick said the words. It was a terrible idea.

  Luther had everyone in Rumble from the postal workers to the mayor under his thumb. There was a reason that the Unchained Dogs were nearly impossible to penetrate—it was because Luther’s umbrella extended far past the Unchained Dogs’ members. If Nick sent Steel Knights into Rumble, not only would they be killed, but all that rage would come back to Hoppa, and the Knights would be short on men when it did.

  “My hope is that you all could be something of a rumor mill for us. I’d like to try and plan an ambush right here, once MiD is over. Make it seem like we have a big meeting planned here, and when they show up to try to take advantage, we’ll get the jump on them,” Nick continued.

  The inside of my lip hurt from how hard I was biting it. Luther didn’t leave Rumble without his army, and they were twice the Steel Knights’ size. If Nick went for that plan, he’d probably get himself killed and take out all the Knights with him. I imagined him bringing Tess, and I imagined Luther mowing her down. It made me sick to my stomach.

  I’d have to find a way to tell Nick that his ideas were not good ones without tipping my hand, but that was going to be difficult, and it definitely wasn’t good to do it in front of the Raging Vipers and Blazing Rebels.

  “You know we’ve got your back,” Eric, the Raging Vipers’ president, replied. “When’s the ambush?”

  “I’m hoping for two weeks from now,” Nick said. “The twenty-second.”

  Oliver, the Blazing Rebel’s president, said, “Mascid’s on the interstate. Lots of gossip travels in and out. We’ll be able to get it out fast.”

  Nick nodded. “Good, thank you. What about backup? Could some of your men help out?”

  Eric and Oliver agreed almost in unison. “You know we’ve got you covered, but in exchange, we’re gonna need you to be ready to help us,” Eric continued. “We’ve gotten word that The Devil’s Riders may be back on the hunt.”

  “Shit,” Nick said. “Seriously?”

  “It’s not confirmed,” Alex, the Raging Vipers’ vice president, said, “but my sources are reliable.”

  Next to me, Tess shifted. The Devil’s Riders, whatever their history was with these three groups, seemed to make her very nervous. “They got our blood, too,” she added. “We won’t hesitate if we hear they’re back in town.”

  “Damn straight, we won’t,” Nick added. “You didn’t even have to ask.”

  “Good. Let’s all agree to stay in regular contact, then,” Oliver said. “We can set up some meetings in the near future, just in case. I’m beefing up my member-count, too. I’d suggest you all do the same.”

  “We just pulled three,” Nick said.

  “Two,” Tess replied.

  Nick looked at her. “Two?”

  “Yeah. One wasn’t up to the task.”

  Alex let out a low whistle. “Your VP doesn’t play, does she, Squared?”

  Nick laughed. “No, she doesn’t.”

  “We’re planning to beef up, too,” Eric said. “The meetings are a good idea.”

  “I can have Bucky reach out to both your teams and get some things on the schedule. It’s good to stay in contact, regardless,” Nick said. He let out a breath. “All right. That’s good. I feel better. When the Dogs start gettin’ quiet, it gets me jumpy.”

  “We’ve got you covered,” Eric said, and Oliver nodded in agreement.

  “Good. Well, I won’t take up anymore of your time. Go! Enjoy the party! Celebrate our fallen comrades!”

  There were some resounding affirmations, and then everyone started to get up from the table. The thoughts of Nick bungling an interaction with Luther and the Dogs terrified me to my core, but I refused to only dedicate a passing thought to that concept. It would take some dedicated thought and the careful laying out of all of my options, which would definitely need to happen on a day other than MiD. Everyone was off to enjoy the night, and I already had some things of my own planned.

  No one even stopped at the clubhouse. They all walked straight through the main room, and out the front door, bound for the thundering party outside. Nick started to walk out but then looked back at me standing next to Tess and smiled before leaving. Taylor lingered in the main room, his eyes locked on mine. Never in my life had I been a pushover, and I wasn’t about to start. I nodded at him to let him know that I saw him there, then I took Tess by the hand and led her out through the front door.

  “God, you must have a death wish,” she whispered to me as I pulled her around the back of the barn that the clubhouse was built into.

  I laughed. “I told you already.” With a step toward her, I pinned her between me and the wall, placing my arms on either side of her. “I’m not worried.” Then I set my lips on hers. Only when Lockjaw started to paw at my feet did I remember he was there. “Oh.” I looked at Tess. “I’ll be right back.”

  I walked Lockjaw back to the main part of the clubhouse and opened the door so that he could walk in. Taylor was already gone, and there was no one left, so I tapped one of the couches for Lockjaw to hop up onto, and then I scratched his ears. “Sorry, buddy. I don’t need a third wheel. We’ll be back.” I stood up and gave Lockjaw a firm, “Stay.” I was happy that when I started to walk away from the couch, he didn’t move but dropped his head to his paws and drifted off.

  With quickness, I made my way back around to the back and saw that the door was already open and the ladder was exposed. My heart started to race as I climbed, knowing what awaited me on the other side, and when I crested over the top, Tess was already lying on the makeshift bed, looking back at me. The hay crunched beneath my feet as I crawled over and laid down next to her, and I was glad when she didn’t rush anything. She only moved to rest her head on my chest.

  “I missed you,” she admitted.

  “I missed you,” I said. “It was only four days, but it felt like—”

  “Fourteen years?” Tess finished.

  My hands laced into Tess’ hair to caress her head gently. “Yeah.”

  Tess pointed up to where I’d pulled away some of the roof slats, offering a view of the night sky dotted with stars. The existing window offered a good view of the concert outside, and the new skylight allowed us to enjoy nature’s beauty as well—a perfect backdrop for what would hopefully be the first of many nights together.

  “I’m sorry,” I said finally.

  Tess tilted her head up to look at me. “For what?”

  “It took me so long to just let go.” My left arm was wrapped around her waist, and I twisted it, letting the discolored scarring shine in the moonlight. “I was so afraid of getting attached to someone, but the more time I spent with you, the more I realized that I didn’t have a choice. You were already such a big part of my life, and when we reunited, it became clear that I don’t want to let that go again.”

  “Me, too.” Tess sat up on her forearms and looked down at me. “So, stay. Stay here. My dad can keep you safe. We’ll figure out things with Caid. When he finally makes contact, we can figure out how to get him back here to Hoppa. We could get a bigger house so that he can live with us, too. Lockjaw would probably like him because he looks just like you.”

  That life sounded so perfect to me. It was everything I ever wanted, all wrapped up and topped with a bow. The truth was, I’d never been a lucky person, and I probably wasn’t about to start.

  But why couldn’t I dream?

  “Okay.”

  Tess’ eyes widened. “Okay?”

  “Yeah, okay.” My thumb rubbed over her cheek as I admired her beautiful face, framed by the sea of stars behind her. “I don’t want to leave you again, Tess. I…” I took a deep breath. “I’m in love with you.”

  A smile exploded across her face. “Well, look at you, sharing your feelings.” She leaned down and kissed me. “I love you, too.” At that point, her hands did snake under the hem of my t-shirt. “Does that mean we’re done waiting?”

  Bracing my foot on th
e hay, I held tight to Tess’ back and flipped her until she was underneath me. I grabbed the base of my shirt, pulled it over my head, and tossed it aside. “Yeah, Tess.” My breath was shortened and deep from the anticipation. “We’re done fucking waiting.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tess

  Keeping my breath even while Colin slid his hands under my shirt and over my stomach was difficult. The many times we’d gotten close in the last few weeks skidded across my brain, but with his lips on mine and the weight of him pressed against me, there was no denying that we’d be interrupted no more.

  His lips worked from mine down over my cheek and across my jaw. He got to my neck and took a hungry bite, following it up with a series of soft kisses, and I couldn’t bring myself to be worried about the mark that would probably be left behind. Colin had very boldly taken me by the hand right in front of Taylor. That was as clear a sign as any that he wasn’t threatened by Taylor, which was astounding but not unwelcome. If there was anything to be gained from Taylor’s manic, possessive behavior, it was that it kept me single until Colin made his way back to me, not that I could ever thank him for that to his face.

  Colin left my neck behind in favor of working his way down my cleavage, and he slid his hand up to meet his mouth at my breasts. I helped him along the way by pulling my shirt up and off, and I was glad that I’d made a last-minute decision to throw on a set of deep purple lingerie. A bustier top held my breasts like trophies on display, and the lace was a perfect overlay for my tan skin.

  With his hands smoothing down my sides, Colin buried his face between my breasts and sent a trail of kisses down until he could lick over an awaiting nipple. I let out a moan, and my hands instinctively clawed into his hair to pull.

  He lifted his head with a grunt. “I’m sorry, this is so sexy, but I don’t want anything covering you up.”

  I grinned, my face hot, my heart thundering. “Do whatever you want.”

  It was all the permission he needed. I sat up enough so that he could unzip the bustier and unwrap it from my torso, and he appreciated my exposed chest like it was the best present on Christmas day. He peppered kisses along my collar bone, over my nipples, across my sternum, and down my stomach. When he got to my jean shorts, he popped the button and pulled him down, continuing his descent between my legs.

  Coiling his arms around my thighs, Colin pulled me to meet his face, and I let out a drawn-out breath of relief as his tongue danced over me. Any ability I had to think logically fled from my body as I arched myself into the feeling of Colin below. With an expert mix of his mouth and his fingers, in no time at all, he made me a mess of incoherent sounds and shudders. One of my hands rested on the back of his head while the other grasped the sheets around me as if I needed to hold on to keep from floating up and out of the loft into the collection of stars above us.

  “Colin,” I moaned. “Don’t stop.”

  And he didn’t.

  The desperation in my voice must have kicked him into overdrive. He buried his face even deeper, and his alternating licks and sucks got more fervent and hungrier. My legs shook as a strong orgasm reached out from the edges of my body, all corralling for my middle. The scream that left my mouth was louder than it was meant to be, but when I put the hand that wasn’t fastened to Colin’s head over my mouth to stifle my sounds, he brought a hand up to pull mine away.

  He snaked his way up my body until he was hovering above my face. “Don’t be quiet.”

  “We could get caught,” I managed to respond.

  “I don’t care.”

  He ducked his head in and pressed his lips against mine, and though I could taste myself in the connection, I couldn’t be bothered to care. I pushed against Colin’s body and rolled him onto his back.

  “My turn,” I hummed.

  Since we were clearly marking each other, I placed my lips on the spot right beneath the back left side of Colin’s jaw and fastened myself there, licking and sucking as my hands snaked down to undo the buttons on Colin’s jeans. I reached in and rubbed over the sheathed member and was delighted to feel that there was a lot of him just barely managing to stay contained within the fabric of his boxer shorts.

  Lifting from the spot on Colin’s neck, I grinned down at him. “You grew up.”

  Colin reached up and squeezed one of my breasts. “I’m not the only one.”

  So, time had been kind to us both.

  With excited anticipation causing me to shake as I moved, I made my way down Colin’s body. I made sure to take a little bit of extra time to kiss all of the discolored burn marks on Colin’s left arm, chest, and stomach. He still had a few bandages wrapped around his bicep that were there earlier in the week, as well, but given that the discoloration was darkest there, I imagined that it was where the worst of the burns were. I kissed the top of the bandages and made a silent vow to myself to increase his confidence to the point that he could show me even that. The truth of the matter was, I found the scars kind of sexy. They gave him a uniqueness, and he wore them like a medal of honor—a sign that he was willing to do anything for the people he loved. Not wanting to disrupt the moment, though, after giving him that touch of attention, I made my way south.

  The scarring near his hip continued past the hem of his pants, and for a brief second, I imagined him half-engulfed in flames. The part of my mind that told me that the police were just doing their jobs when they chased after Colin was forced beneath the part that wanted to hunt and kill the people who’d hurt him so badly. I kissed his hip and forced the thoughts out of my mind before turning my attention to his hard, waiting self.

  I popped it out of his boxer shorts and grinned at the size. Whatever God had punished me with Taylor’s unrelenting possessiveness was apologizing now with Colin. As if it weren’t enough that he was good looking, smart, cool, and well-liked by my father, he was also well endowed. It was almost unfair. With my tongue outstretched, I leaned in and licked the tip. I marveled in Colin’s immediate response, him opening his mouth and letting out a huff. I took my time, giving the outside of his length some attention, working my way up one side and down the other until Colin’s hands combed into my hair. The way his dark, blown-out eyes were looking back at me when I looked up at him sent chills down my spine. Maintaining eye contact, I lowered myself, and his eyes drifted closed.

  It’d been a while for me, but any concerns that I had that I wasn’t doing a good job were quickly abated by Colin’s sounds and gentle thrusts. I kept a hand fastened to his base and worked it up to meet my mouth as I worked down, and I enjoyed the taste of Colin’s enjoyment filling my mouth.

  When I started to pick up the pace a little, Colin pulled at my head to take me off him. He laughed. “Not yet.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I tried to pull down again, but he dipped a hand under my chin and pulled me up. I straddled his waist, teasingly keeping my core floating just above him. Though I fully planned on teasing him a bit more, I looked down at Colin’s face and got goosebumps. His eyes instantly locked on mine. My nakedness be damned, Colin was staring directly into my eyes, with his hands sliding slowly up my back. He wasn’t smiling or smirking, and there wasn’t even lust behind his eyes for a moment. He just watched me, and the longer we sat there, the more overexposed and out of control I felt.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” I finally asked when the silence became too much.

  He shook his head. “I don’t get it.”

  “Don’t get what?”

  “You.” There was a breathless quality to his voice. “How? You’re so… perfect.”

  My throat clenched, and my nose started to burn. Never in my life had someone looked at me that way before, spoken to me that way before—years of always just getting by.

  It wasn’t me who was perfect.

  I reached behind myself, grabbed Colin’s shaft, and guided it carefully to my entrance. With a slow pace, I lowered my hips and let Colin slide inside until I was seated against h
im with him fully inside. We let out a pair of matching moans. My eyes fluttered shut, and my head tossed back as I started to rise and fall. Colin’s hands curved against my sides, and his fingers dug in. There was nothing in my brain that I could compare the feeling to. It was falling, and it was flying. It was fireworks against a night sky and white, fluffy clouds against a bright blue one. It was loud and, at the same time, silent. Heavy and, at the same time, light. I lifted myself and dropped myself, and it settled into a rhythm that my body quickly memorized and looped subconsciously, allowing my brain to take all of it in.

  Years of Colin, both of knowing him and being without him, collided. He was beneath me. It was really and truly him. I wasn’t aware of how much I missed him until he was back in my life, and just like that, I hinged myself inexplicably to him. Nothing, no one, would be allowed to come between us. He was my future. The deep connection as he thrust up into me was a premonition of things to come.

  As the party roared on outside, Colin and I kept at it until both of our bodies were exhausted. How many minutes had passed? How many songs had played outside the window? When exactly did we stop and start again? When exactly did I drift off? When did I come to with his hands all over me, willing me into another round?

  When I finally collapsed against Colin’s chest, the number of orgasms I’d experienced past what I could keep track of, it was both too soon and just soon enough to keep me from passing out entirely.

  Colin snickered in my ear. “Wow.”

  My head fell onto his chest as I attempted to catch my breath. “Yeah.”

  “It’s not usually like that, right?” Colin asked. “I’ve had sex, but I’ve never had that before.”

  “No,” I replied with a smile on my face. “It is not always like that.” I craned my head to look up at him. “I blame you.”