by Franca Storm
I opened them and read through them quick.
How’s your day going?
Can’t wait to see you.
Keep thinking about the other day in the garage.
I couldn’t help it, a small smile formed on my lips.
Grim cocked an eyebrow. “Girlfriend?”
That had all the boys looking my way again. I just shrugged as I slid my phone into my back pocket.
“Which club whore did you get it on with?” Wrecker asked me. “Thought you didn’t give them your number?”
“The look on your face seemed like it was more than just pussy, Anarchy,” Grim pressed.
“I—”
Wraith cocked an eyebrow at me and I looked away before I gave anything definitive away.
“Why didn’t you say nothing?” Spartan piped up.
“I don’t know. It’s new.”
“Best time. All sex,” Python said.
Jesus. If only he knew he was talking about his daughter. Talk about awkward.
“Before all the bullshit starts,” Bow agreed.
Wraith went to say something, but Spartan cut him off. “Don’t wanna hear no shit like that about your woman, thanks, fucker. That’s my daughter, remember?”
Wraith laughed. “All right. I won’t say a word.” He eyed me and said, “Get out of here. Go to your girl. We’re done for the night anyway and we’re not moving out until tomorrow. Take a breather, kid. You’ve earned it, especially these last few days.”
“Thanks,” I said, crossing to the door.
I needed to jump on it, because it wasn’t often I was cut any slack, or given time off.
Besides, I really wanted to get to Hayley. It was making me antsy just thinking about being around her finally. We’d been apart for two days since the barbecue and it had been way too long.
I left Python’s office and the first thing I did was text Hayley back, telling her where I was going to pick her up.
I’d already planned it out and managed to find a place way off the beaten track where we’d be safe from any witnesses. But now I had to think of an alibi for her, too, so she could shake protection, seeing as though I’d now been given the night off.
It was a whole goddamn operation just for us to spend time together without anybody finding out.
I had to pick her up in the fucking shadows, take a special roundabout route, solidify both our alibis, circumvent the entire club, just to keep our secret.
But, despite all of that, it would be worth it.
To be alone, just the two of us.
12
~Hayley~
“GOD, DAMIEN!”
The door opened behind me and I stumbled across the threshold.
“Got you, lovely.” His left arm came up around my back, stopping me from falling backward into the little cottage.
He’d brought me to his home that was located just on the outskirts of Ridgefield. We’d been in his home town for a while now, since my dad had decided I’d be safer out of the way, while they dealt with yet another threat. It was insulting, because I was part of their security now. I should’ve been made aware of it, and involved with the response as well.
Whatever. It was a losing battle I’d fought too many times.
Now, my job had been put on hold.
But not my whole life.
Because, now I was here with Damien.
And he’d finally brought me to his home.
It was a big deal for the both of us.
His mouth crashed down on mine again a second later and he kissed me fiercely once again. He hadn’t stopped since we’d gotten off his bike a few moments ago.
He kicked the door shut and locked it with his free hand without even looking.
And then he was pushing me up against the wall beside it. His hands were all over me. Wild. Frantic. Completely out of control. He was breathing in short, erratic bursts.
He was touching me all over, setting my entire body alight.
I couldn’t match him. I couldn’t keep up.
He was like a volcano that’d lain dormant for so long and now we were finally alone together, he’d erupted in an explosion of sexual aggression.
I gripped his cut and used it as leverage to pull my mouth from his, just enough so I could gasp out, “Wait. I can’t breathe.”
His hands came up, covering mine possessively. “Having you on the back of my bike was too fucking much, Hayles. It was driving me insane, making me so hard for you.”
The next thing I knew, he was sliding down the zipper of my leather jacket. He licked the side of my neck and trailed his tongue down to my collar bone, making me moan out in pleasure as a delicious tingle traveled through my body.
“Mmm.”
“Yeah. Just getting started. Gonna taste every inch of your sexy little body.”
He didn’t give me a chance to catch my breath as his tongue plunged into my mouth, gliding along the length of mine softly at first. But, in seconds, it was insistent, dominating and wild again.
I felt his hands easing my jacket off my shoulders.
It fell in a heap at my feet.
And then his fingers were sliding under my white tank top, touching my bare skin. He ground his jean-clad erection into me. I could feel how incredibly hard he was already.
It was just like that night at the bar.
That thought had me pressing my hand to his chest and easing him back. Well, trying to ease him back. He was way over a foot taller than my five-foot-two height, and he had about a hundred pounds on me too.
Amazingly, as soon as he registered the pressure against him, he pulled back.
His eyes were full of concern as he pulled his lips from mine and eyed me. “Want me to stop?”
“I… sorry.”
He let go of me and moved back a good couple of feet. He turned away for a few seconds and I saw him bring his hand to his face and then blow out a breath, seeming really frustrated.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
He spun back to me, frowning. “Sorry? Don’t ever apologize if you aren’t ready for something. Just… that was pretty hot and heavy. I just needed a second to reel it in, yeah?” He flashed me a reassuring smile. “That’s all. I’m not mad. I never would be for that. You got me?”
Okay. Phew. I totally misread that then. “Yeah.”
I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t that I wasn’t ready. I trusted in him in that way already. I felt safe with him. Comfortable. But it was just that the last couple of times we’d seen each other, it had been purely sexual. Basically, whenever we’d been together so far, it’d been either all sex-related, or aggressive, intense arguing.
And I just wanted it to be… more.
But I couldn’t just say that to him. It was too early. Wasn’t it? Argh. I had no real clue. I didn’t know anything about men.
I folded my arms across my chest, feeling really awkward. “Uh… so… this is your home then?”
He chuckled, clearly seeing how out of sorts I was. “This is it.”
“I didn’t know you had another place. I thought you just had your room at the clubhouse.”
“Yeah, I like the quiet whenever I can get it and this place is real good for that.”
“The quiet, huh? You have lots of important thinking to do then?”
“Yeah, projects that the club wouldn’t be interested in.”
“Oh, like what?” I pressed, excited for him to share.
He shifted his weight and murmured, “Just stuff.”
My heart sank at his dismissal.
Maybe he was just protective of his ongoing projects.
I’d noticed all the moving boxes across his living room, a couple I could see through the open door in the kitchen. The stuff that was unpacked was all very… impersonal. Bland, too. In fact, the interior was a major contradiction to the exterior. From the outside, it was a quaint little cottage. Homely. But, inside, at least from what I’d seen so far, it was worse than a typical bachel
or pad, more like a hotel, really.
A black leather couch with two matching chairs faced a massive entertainment unit with surround-sound speakers. The coffee table and end tables were glass with chrome edging. There were no rugs. The dark gray hardwood floors were bare. No cushions were on the couches either. There was a little bar area with a glass decanter and a half-full bottle of scotch sitting on top of it, over in the corner. And there was one bookshelf. I scanned some of the volumes. Mechanical engineering textbooks, bike maintenance manuals, a few volumes about classic and collectible motorcycle stuff.
There were no photos, or knickknacks to speak of, nothing that had any apparent emotional value or a sentimental connection to anyone or anything.
It was all very sterile.
Unsettled.
With the boxes stationed around the room, it looked like he could just pick up anytime and take off if the need struck him. What the hell was that all about? I was aware that he’d been with the Iron Kings MC for several years. He’d even mentioned that his club brothers were planning a big anniversary party for him.
Yet, the way he lived seemed to demonstrate the opposite, like he was just passing through, or something, not rooted to the club.
“Huh,” I uttered aloud.
“What?” he asked. “You don’t like it here?”
“No, I do. It’s just surprising, very different from the outside.”
He cocked an eyebrow, not getting it.
I explained, “Outside gives the impression of a homely, cozy, warm little cottage. And inside has a sterile and barely lived-in feel, like you could pick up, leave, and be done with everyone and everything in a matter of minutes. I mean, you don’t even have any photos.”
He frowned, looking around the room. “Photos?”
“Of your friends and family, people who matter to you.”
He grinned at me and grabbed my hand. “Come with me.”
He pulled me along behind him, leading me out of the living room and down a narrow hallway. He stopped outside the door at the end, on the right. He opened it and walked us into a room that seemed to be a workshop of some sort. It was basically all workbenches and shelves cluttered with equipment, tools and components.
He pointed to a wall I hadn’t noticed behind me and I started in surprise at what I saw there.
It was a patchwork of photos, all different sizes, some in frames, some without, and blown up like posters. They were all of the same thing. I recognized a lot of the people in them too.
“Iron Kings,” I spoke.
“Yeah.”
“Wow.” There were so many. It was almost like a shrine, really. And the way he’d arranged them and everything, the care he’d so obviously taken to configure them all onto one wall, was a true labor of love.
He came up beside me and pointed to a poster-sized one of him and Spartan leaning back against their parked bikes, fields in the background. “We were on a run that day. It was my first as a fully-patched member. A real big deal.”
I smiled, getting it.
“So, what about your blood family?”
“What about them?” he responded, in a jarring terse tone.
“Well, you don’t have any photos of them. Do you have any siblings? Where did you grow up?”
He flinched noticeably and drew back, his body tensing up. But it was the look in his eyes that surprised me the most. Emptiness. His expression was blank. He’d shut down.
He turned his back to me, heading for the door. “Are you hungry?” He grasped the doorframe and I saw him grip it tightly with his right hand. Really tightly.
He was angry.
“I’m sorry,” I offered. “I didn’t mean to make you mad.”
“Didn’t,” he grunted over his shoulder. “Are we finished talking about crap that doesn’t matter now?”
It wasn’t like I had much of a choice, given his intense reaction. “Yep,” I said, brightly, not wanting to continue down this weird road and ruin the night. I bounded over to him and slid my hands around his waist.
Gradually, I felt his body relax and he groaned as I rested my head against his back.
“Mmm. I like your arms around me, lovely.”
I slid my hands under his shirt and felt up his impressive abs. “I like these.”
He chuckled. “Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah.” I slid up to his nipples and the rings hanging from them. “And these are really sexy.”
He turned into me, breaking my grip on him.
His eyes flashed, sending a sudden thrill through me, because they looked dangerous and exciting at the same time.
He swept me off my feet and threw me over his shoulder in one of those fireman lifts.
“Damien!” I squealed.
“Hayles,” he answered as he started carrying me down the hall.
“Where are we going? What about dinner?”
“We’re gonna work up an appetite first.”
He kicked open a door and the next thing I knew, my back was hitting a bed. I scrambled around, taking everything in. The dark blue sheets. His black bedside tables. A massive king-size bed taking up most of the space. Again, though, no photos or any personal affects. Just functionality.
I was so distracted by taking everything in that I shrieked and jumped out of my skin when he pounced on me.
“I love it when you squeal like a little piglet,” he said, laughing.
I slapped his shoulder. “Hey! Piglet?”
“Yeah. They’re cute.” He planted a soft kiss on my nose. “Like you.”
“You like animals then?”
He nodded. “Way better than most people.”
“Huh. I didn’t know that about you.”
He grinned and then leaned in to kiss me.
I pushed against his chest, holding him back. “There’s a lot I don’t know about you yet.”
“I’m not that complicated, lovely. What you see is what you get, yeah?”
He leaned in again and in moments, we were caught in a wild passion again. His mouth devoured mine, his hands were all over my body.
“Damien,” I gasped, turning my head away.
He blew out a frustrated breath. “Jesus, Hayles. You want to know my favorite color next? Is that it?”
My eyes narrowed at his tone. “Is that the only reason you invited me here tonight, so you could fuck me?”
His brow furrowed. “I invited you here to be with you.”
“You mean to be inside me. Not with me.”
He shifted his weight, getting agitated. “A few days ago you were begging me to fuck you in that garage. In fact, you were also begging me in my room at the motel. And now we’ve finally got the time and space to do that, you suddenly don’t want it? I don’t get it, woman.”
“You won’t talk to me!” I ended up screaming at him.
“What the fuck do you want me to talk about?”
“Anything!”
He just stared at me.
“I’m not your booty call whore!”
His eyes flashed and he stalked back toward the bed. “What?” he snarled.
Shit. He looked really mad.
But so was I. I wasn’t going to back down here, no matter how scary the look on his face was right now. “You… heard me,” I managed to get out.
“You think I’d bring some whore back to my home?”
“I don’t know! I don’t know anything! Why? Because you don’t talk! I thought we’d agreed in the garage that we were together.”
“We are together.” He gestured between us. “You see? You’re here. I’m here. Together.”
Oh my God. He was infuriating. “You don’t get it.” I moved to get off the bed, muttering, “Forget it. This is pointless. I’m leaving.”
He straddled me quickly and pushed me gently back down into the bed. “Stop. Do you have any idea what it took for me just to get you here without anybody in the club tailing us, or seeing you on the back of my bike?”
I shook my head wi
th disbelief. “You’re so confusing. One minute you say something so possessive like that. And the next, you’re completely closed off and all sex-minded.”
He nodded then, realizing something. “Got it.”
“You do?”
“Yeah and you have it all wrong. My fault. I get how it looks.”
“Really?” I asked, skeptical.
“Yeah. Like it’s all about fucking, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hayley, I wanted to make it up to you.”
“What?”
“That night a few months back. It makes me sick to my stomach knowing that was your first time. In that shithole bar, in a fucking bathroom. Rough and fast.”
“Oh.” I rolled my eyes and slapped his chest. “You idiot. You don’t need to make it up to me. I wanted it like that. It was the most passionate night of my life.”
“But—”
“It was. So, stop thinking like that.”
He rubbed his stubbly chin. “And, you asking me all those questions? I don’t talk about my family, or my past. Ever.”
And, right there, with those words, a black cloud fell over us again and any sort of relationship we might have been able to build. “How can we be together if you won’t let me get to know you?”
“You can know me just fine without the past bullshit coming into play.”
“The past makes us what we are.”
“No,” he snapped, vehemently. “That’s not true. I don’t believe that.”
“Why?”
He blew out a breath. “Jesus Christ. You can’t just drop it, can you?”
“You said you wouldn’t push me away again. That’s what you’re doing here.”
He took my words in.
Then he muttered a curse under his breath and heaved a heavy sigh.
“I was a restless kid. I got bored easily. So, I sought out thrills, adrenaline rushes, and all that. It landed me in trouble quite a bit. My parents couldn’t handle it. One day, I came home and they’d gone, just taken off on me, the house cleared out.”
“Oh my God. How old were you?”
“Almost fifteen.”
“That young? And they just abandoned you like that?”
He nodded, then finally met my eyeline. “You see now why I don’t put any stock into my blood family? Talking about it makes no sense, because they mean nothing to me. Okay?”
