by Hart, Romi
“Why do you say that?” Kira asked, grateful Rafe stood behind her. While she wasn’t frightened by Corey, he was an imposing figure, similar in size to Rafe but with less vulnerability.
“Well, there are two possibilities here. One is that you’ve infiltrated an MC to the point of weaseling your way into a council meeting, touting some crazy scheme to try and entrap us for your brother. The other is that you’ve come up with said crazy scheme because you actually plan on helping us kill said brother. I don’t know which is crazier or harder to swallow, but both are pretty ballsy.”
“You can trust her, brother,” Rafe insisted, threading his fingers through hers. “Come on, Kira. Let’s leave Corey to think it over.” He tugged on her hand, and Kira followed him out of the conference room back down the hall, where he all but threw her into the bunk room and kicked the door closed behind them.
His intense green gaze held her captive, more than any ropes or chains would have. “What is it, Rafe?” she asked, watching as his pupils dilated.
“That was hot. You know that, right?” He brushed a hand down her arm and then curled it around her back, sliding it down and grabbing her ass before yanking her against him. “Watching a woman hold her own in front of the council that makes the decisions for the entire MC; and even better, it was a sexy, smart woman!”
His other hand came up around the back of her neck, and Kira let him manhandle her, enjoying where this seemed to be going after the stress of the previous few minutes. “You really think I’m smart and sexy?”
“Damn right,” he nodded. “But the best part of it? It was watching you stand up there with all that confidence and knowing that you’re mine.”
Kira gasped, and her open mouth seemed to be an invitation as Rafe bent and took it, plundering it with lips and tongue. She responded, her hands trembling as she yanked at his jeans. They only had half an hour for Rafe to get back to the conference room, and with the heightened emotions from her presentation, she wanted him fiercely.
He broke the kiss and started ripping off his own clothes. Kira was grateful and took the moment to strip down herself, launching herself at him once they were both naked that she knocked him to his back on the bed. He laughed and then groaned as the motion rubbed his erection against her inner thigh where she was already straddling him. “My god, you’re beautiful,” he groaned, palming her breasts as she gazed down at him.
“So are you,” she replied, stroking his chest as she sought to line up her moist core with his length. “I need you, hard and fast, Rafe. We don’t have a lot of time, and I need you inside me.”
Without speaking, his hands moved to her waist, and he lifted her, letting her adjust her hips until they were aligned, and then he shoved her down onto his body, spearing her so deep she could almost taste him. She threw her head back and cried out, her body already convulsing with the promise of release. And like a jackhammer, Rafe thrust into her, over and over, just as she had asked, plowing into her until she came violently.
And still, he kept going, even when she collapsed, the force of her release turning her muscles to rubber. He simply rolled over with her, curled an arm under one of her knees, tossed her leg over his shoulder, and pistoned into her until he shuddered and roared like a beast. Kira couldn’t stop her own body from joining him in that peak, the mutual pleasure sending her into a spiraling heavenly bliss.
Gasping for air, Rafe gazed down at her, his eyes clouded and glazed as she knew her own must be, and he chuckled. “Was that hard and fast enough for you?”
Kira laughed, too, her body languid and her mind sluggish with absolute satisfaction. “I’d say so. It was phenomenal.”
“Agreed.” His smile faded, and he leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead before rolling to the side and propping up on his elbow to look down at her. It was strange – since she’d met him, Rafe had been intense and filled with frustration, but now, when there was so much on the line that could decide not only the future for each of them but their future together, he seemed more lighthearted, as if a weight had been lifted from his chest and shoulders.
She liked this Rafe. She had fallen in love with the man, regardless of whether he was irritable or wanted to joke around. But she definitely favored this side of him. “I love it when you smile,” she told him, wanting him to know what she felt.
And he beamed, a grin that lit up his whole face and made his eyes look like jewels in sunlight. “Thank you for giving me a reason to smile.” She gazed at him, confused, and he shrugged. “I’ve had women in my bed, but for six years, my mind’s been on nothing but the club and revenge. None of the women ever made me want to take them to my place for the night, or to protect them. None of them cared about me. They cared about the patch.”
He sighed. “Now, I find myself looking forward to waking up next to you or sharing a meal with you. And whatever gets decided today, in that conference room, this whole mission I’ve been on is over.”
“What?” Kira stared at him in disbelief. “What do you mean, over?”
He nodded and brushed a tendril of hair from her face. “Your plan is practically foolproof. If the Flames vote to do it, we’ll have Jake out of the picture in less than a week.”
“And if they don’t?” Kira didn’t want to play devil’s advocate, as it were, but there were too many possibilities as to how that negative vote could go. They could decide she was a liability and put a bullet through her brain. They could send her back to her brother. Worst of all, they could demand that Rafe never see her again, and that even had two separate outcomes. Either she never saw him again, or he turned his back on his MC for her. Both options made her stomach churn.
“We’ll cross that bridge when and if we come to it,” Rafe told her. “But I will never let them hurt you. They’ll have to go through me to get to you. And I don’t intend to let them take you from me any other way, either. I’ve lost too many people I care about, and I’m not letting you go.”
What was this man doing to her? Kira never cried, but in the last few days, she’d teared up so many times she didn’t even recognize herself. Placing a hand on each cheek, she drew his face down into a kiss. It was passionate but sweet, and she let her lips linger just a moment before she finally released him. When she did let go, she smiled. “You should probably get dressed and comb your hair. It might not be a good idea to champion my cause with it obvious that you just fucked me.”
He smirked as he stood and started to gather his clothes. “With the amount of noise we made, I’m pretty sure that’s already obvious.”
13
When Rafe walked into the conference room, it was still mostly empty, only three others already inside, but the rest filed in quickly, with Harrison still seeming to hold a grudge. His expression was pure hatred, while the others looked defeated or at least less disgusted than they had earlier. And Corey still wore his stoic mask, the mask of the leader who wouldn’t use his power to sway opinions in these delicate matters.
He called things to order instantly, reminding the group, “I don’t want any shouting or blaming or acting like fools. We’re all grown men, and we all know what’s at stake. So, let’s have a mature discussion about what we’re going to do.”
“I know what we’re going to do,” Harrison snorted, a laugh that had no levity to it. “If we let this woman go, we’re going to line up in one room after another down the hall next to Zeke.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Eli groused at him. “You know, Rafe’s never made decisions with his cock before. Maybe we should ask him what he thinks.”
All eyes turned to Rafe, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I fought her on it,” he admitted, “until she told me about what Jake did to her fiancé. She was eighteen, a year older than Rachel. The kid he killed was nineteen. She deserves to get the revenge she wants as much as I do. And I trust her.”
“Why, because she’s good in bed and you aren’t ready to move on?” Bill scoffed from the far end of the room
.
Rafe snarled, but Corey nudged him under the table with a knee. “Bill, hold your tongue. We discussed this.” Turning to Rafe, Corey asked, “Why do you trust her, Rafe?”
“I took her to my house twice. She didn’t try to escape. I left her alone in the kitchen. She could have come at me with a knife, and she didn’t. Instead, she made me breakfast. She’s not a threat to us. I’d bet my life on it.”
“Well, if we go through with this, you’re betting all our lives on it,” Harrison threw at him.
Rafe shook his head. “Look, my biggest problem is that I don’t like the idea of her being in the center of the action. When we go in to get Jake – when I go in to kill him – he has every opportunity to use her against me. And any one of you would be willing to sacrifice her. I don’t agree with that, and that makes me nervous about the whole idea.”
“And what about the opportunity to double cross us?” Stephen asked. “We’re asking to be set up.”
Corey held up a hand to stop the discussion. “Look, I know this sounds crazy, but I checked into her story and verified it. So, at least that part is true. And if she’s out of here and inside the Kings, we can have a backup plan that doesn’t involve her, one she doesn’t know about, that gives us the upper hand in case things go south and she does turn on us.”
Rafe blinked at him in alarm. “You can’t just put together a Plan B and not let people involved in the original idea not know about it.”
“You can when Plan B involves killing one of those people as a traitor,” Harrison muttered to himself. Rafe held back, the urge to throw himself across the table and land a fist in Harrison’s mouth far too strong.
“He’s right, Rafe,” Eli stated quietly. “I don’t care how close you are to this girl. I don’t care if she’s your soul mate, literally a piece of your heart that was cut out and molded to be your perfect match or whatever magical, fairy tale shit you want to talk about. If she double crosses us, she’s the enemy, and if you can’t agree to taking her out, you might end up on the wrong end of a pistol, too.”
Rafe wanted to scream. They had a point, and he shouldn’t have to worry about it. After all, he had every faith in Kira, knowing she wouldn’t give them away. At the same time, there were no guarantees in life, or Rachel would still be alive. And honestly, at this moment, he could look at Harrison and not trust him. What if one of his own men decided to kill Kira on principle and claim that they knew for a fact she was a traitor?
No, that wasn’t acceptable. But what could he do about it? Feeling resigned, he ran a hand through his hair and told them, “I think we should focus more on the original plan and whether or not we’re willing to put it into action. Once we’ve voted on that, we can figure out what a second option might be and if we even need to think about silencing Kira permanently.” His heart stuttered and tried to bang out of his chest in protest as he said it, but Rafe knew he couldn’t adamantly refuse to agree and have the eventuality taken off the table before the vote. Otherwise, there was no chance it would pass.
“Do you love her?” The question came from Bradley, who hadn’t spoken through all of this and rarely spoke at all in their meetings. For that matter, Rafe was shocked Eli had so much to say, considering he was the strong, silent type and rarely weighed in with more than a few words.
“I think so,” he answered honestly, laying his heart bare for all of them to see.
“And does she love you?” Bradley prodded. He wasn’t a sentimental guy, so the line of questioning was completely unexpected.
But Rafe nodded. “I think she does.” He didn’t know why he answered at all, much less in the positive. While the status of his relationship with Kira might be on the table in this matter, their emotions should have been private. But then, he’d never known Bradley to engage in discussions about intimacy and love, and it had thrown him off balance.
Everyone was silent for several minutes. Then, Harrison opened his mouth again, his eyes cast down and his fists tight. “If we’re going to be stupid enough to do this, we absolutely need a backup plan that the girl doesn’t know about. And that means we can’t clue Rafe in on it, either. He’ll run straight to her and give her the goods.”
Rafe fumed but kept his voice low. “You have that little faith in me, brother? After all these years?” Harrison said nothing, and he turned to Corey. “I don’t think it’s necessary to hide anything, but I understand the sentiment. But if you leave me out, it could get me killed, and that is a betrayal to a brother.”
“Cool your heels, Rafe,” Corey told him. Addressing the whole table, he said, “I agree we would need a backup plan, but I don’t agree to shutting Rafe out of that. We would swear it to secrecy, and if he leaked it, he’d face the consequences for it.” He gazed around the table, leveling a meaningful expression on Rafe.
“I can get my hands on some explosives,” Bill stated, leaning forward. “If this goes down, and Rafe’s girl turns traitor, we’ll blow this place to hell and back. It’s simple, quick, and effective.”
Rafe clenched his jaw to keep from saying anything. If they blew the place, they would do so with Kira inside, without a second thought, and that could happen if anyone even thought she had betrayed them. But he couldn’t weigh in with that opinion. He’d just be accused of recklessness and thinking with his little head.
Corey looked a little sick to his stomach, as though the idea didn’t settle well. Still, he nodded. “I can agree to that, on the condition that we do what we can to get all of our men out first, and that I give the order to detonate.”
Rafe appreciated at least that much. Corey wouldn’t give the order based on a hunch. He’d want to be convinced that Kira had really double crossed them. But it wasn’t enough. He knew he was going to take heat for it, but he had to ask for more, assuming the council decided to take the chance.
“I think we’re ready to vote,” Corey said, and the others nodded. One by one, starting with Eli, they went around the table. Some seemed more reluctant than others, especially Harrison, but to Rafe’s surprise, the vote was unanimous to go ahead with the plan. “It’s settled, then,” Corey announced.
“I have another order of business,” Rafe interjected, knowing he’d shut the meeting down if he didn’t throw it out right away. Corey glanced at him, looking skeptical, but he leaned his elbows on the table and pressed forward. “If any of you had family or an old lady involved, they would have the protection of the club behind them. I understand the hesitation with Kira, but she’s my girl, and I’d like to ask the same protection for her.”
Corey squeezed the bridge of his nose, looking older than his years. Rafe knew he was putting a lot on his president’s plate, but he had a right to ask, regardless of the extenuating circumstances. If Kira was his old lady, there would be no question. She would be protected at all costs.
“I can’t just make that blanket statement, Rafe. There’s too much at risk here,” Corey said quietly, more for Rafe’s benefit than for anyone else to hear. With a sigh, he said out loud, “To protect Kira Hawthorne at all costs would mean that we allowed her to betray us and live. That could cost us more than we’re able to afford, Rafe.”
Harrison scoffed. “You’re lucky we haven’t already voted to slit her throat.”
“Shut up, Harrison. I’m sick of your shit,” Corey snapped, venom seeping from his lips. “I told you more than once this was a judgment free, blame free meeting, and you have repeatedly spoken hatefully against your own brother, who you voted to make my second in command less than a year ago. I won’t stand for this anymore.” Checking his rage, Corey leaned back in his chair. “I can’t put out a vote to protect Kira at all costs, Rafe. She’s not your old lady, and she’s not your sister. We’re already taking a big chance on trusting her, hoping to end this war and finish Jake Hawthorne for good.”
Heart hammering in fear of what could happen to Kira without the protection of the Devil’s Flames behind her, Rafe continued to fight for a calm exterior. He c
ouldn’t show too much emotion, couldn’t look too desperate, or they would push him out of the room and finish their plans without him. “Then here’s what I ask. If we can’t protect her at all costs, we should at least agree to protect her until it’s no longer safe or possible. If she betrays us, she’s no longer worthy of that protection. But until then, we keep her safe.”
“I think that’s reasonable, to a point,” Eli hedged. “If it’s a choice between saving her and saving one of ours, I feel that my brothers come first. But as long as she’s loyal and sticks to the plan, I have no problem backing her and doing what I can to keep her safe. She’ll earn it, if she steps up.”
“I agree,” Bill nodded.
“So do I,” Bradley chimed in.
Harrison looked defiant, but it didn’t matter. The sincerity and promise of at least three of his brothers – because Corey obviously felt obligated as well – went a long way in reassuring him that they’d pass a vote to do what they could where Kira was concerned.
“Shall we vote, then?” Corey asked. As they went around the table, Rafe was grateful his wasn’t the deciding vote, coming to an 8-4 split. That meant, even if he’d excluded his own opinion, the council would have passed the vote. “Let it be so,” Corey nodded, the hint of a smile on his lips. “Rafe, get your girl. The three of us have some details to discuss, and then we’re going to move fast. Adjourned.”
As he left the conference room, Rafe withstood the mixed emotions thrown at him by his brothers, holding his head high. He didn’t have anything to be ashamed of, he told himself. He didn’t ask to fall for his enemy’s sister, but just like Rachel had fallen for Dale and had gotten in over her head, Rafe had ended up in the same boat. In fact, he understood now more than ever why Rachel had jumped in front of Dale and taken the bullets for him. He realized in this moment he’d do the same thing to protect Kira, without hesitating.
Instead of going straight to Kira as Corey had asked, he stopped by the bar, where Bradley had stepped in and started to pour himself a drink. “Can you pour me one of those?” Rafe asked, gesturing to the whiskey in his hand.
