Finally, he slid home, her body accepting his full length as his balls brushed against her skin. His head fell forward, and he groaned low, pausing for just a moment to allow her to adjust. “You feel fucking amazing, squeezing my cock.” He grasped her hips, pulling her hard against him then pulled out, sliding back in. His cock went deeper, helped by the angle of her hips, and Ava couldn’t hold back her moan. Being filled completely, every nerve ending set alight, it felt too damn good. “Told you I was gonna make you scream,” he said.
Connor sat up on his knees, bringing her with him and pulled out again, thrusting back in one deep push. He held himself there, circling his hips to rub against her clit, driving her mad with sensation and need, before repeating the motion all over again. It was too slow to push her over the edge but too intense all at once. Ava had a feeling he could keep going like this for hours. Connor had had his fun. Now it was her turn. She reached a hand between them and found her clit, rubbing hard. Her pussy clenched, and Connor’s grip on her hips tightened as his speed increased. His face twisted in blissful agony as he pounded into her, and her arousal soared at the sight of such a strong, powerful man losing it. His cock stretched her as his angle grew steeper. Connor was relentless, holding her firm against him and not allowing her a single moment to catch her breath. The spiral of need built swiftly inside her again before snapping without warning.
Ava grabbed at his forearms, needing to touch any part of him, as she came apart beneath him. She cried out as pleasure overwhelmed her. Connor never stopped thrusting, every time milking more bliss from her and prolonging her ecstasy for what seemed like forever. Just when she thought she was going to pass out from the pleasure, he pushed deeper still and held there, his cock swelling before pulsing inside her and setting off a whole new orgasm. She shook beneath him as he grunted his pleasure, his cock pushed deep inside her.
Finally, he withdrew. She felt the loss immediately. Her pussy was going to be sore tomorrow, but damn, it was worth it. Connor grabbed a bed sheet and cleaned her up, then lay down beside her. “Told you I’d get three,” he said, that damn grin still on his face. “One more to go.”
She was so exhausted she could barely move, but she turned her head to kiss him. It was a gentle kiss, full of want and love, but nothing more. She’d definitely had her fill that night, but she was almost disappointed to see dominating Connor recede. As his lips moved over hers and his hand caressed her hair, it suddenly didn’t matter anymore. She was sure he’d be back, but she loved this side of him, too. The caring, sensitive side that wanted nothing more than to keep her safe and happy.
Somewhere on the floor beside the bed, a cellphone rang out. Connor pulled away with a groan, muttering a curse under his breath. He leaned over, naked and giving her a spectacular view of the most amazing ass she’d ever seen, scooping it up. Rather than place it up to his ear, he hit the speaker button, placing it on the bed next to him as he lay back down and continued to administer his special brand of touch.
“Doc?” A voice rang out from the phone. The nickname made her heart swell with emotion. When she’d first seem him, Ava had assumed that part of him had been lost forever, but she should have known better. Connor wouldn’t be the man he was if he wasn’t helping people. It seemed he’d found a way to do that still, no matter how much his life may have changed. “We got a situation.” The voice said.
Connor picked up the phone, turning off speaker and frowning as he listened. Whatever else the caller said only took a minute or two. When he hung up, he leaned down and kissed her, long and deep, then stood up, a look of regret on his face. “I have to go.”
She smiled. Nothing was new there, either. But this time, she knew with all her heart that it was killing him to leave as much as it was her. “Come back later. I’ll be waiting.”
There was that grin again. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Then he was gone.
17
Doc
Doc reached his bike in record time, pausing only long enough to zip up his boots. He’d been slow leaving Ava’s side, slower than he should have been, but even the few minutes he’d paused to take one last kiss of her luscious mouth had eaten away at the lead Shakespeare had found. At first, he had been surprised to hear his voice on the end of the phone. Only Sticks and Vlad called him lately, occasionally Merc. The rest of the club members had been less chatty the last few weeks, some even steering clear entirely.
He frowned as he swung his leg over his bike and kicked it into life. He’d always prided himself on being approachable. It was essential in his line of work, and the club members trusted him. Maybe he was reading too much into this, it’d been a hell of a week for everyone. Once this was all over, he’d take some downtime and make sure everyone was still okay, that he was still okay in everyone else’s eyes. Right now, though, he had a job to do. He’d promised he would keep Ava safe, both her and Emily, and their biggest lead to date had just landed right in his lap.
Shakespeare had gotten an anonymous tip. That’s what he called it, anyway. When Shakespeare got a tip, it could have come from anyone from the drunk on the corner to an undercover government agent on the deep web. Anything was possible with that man. It still blew Doc’s mind just how many people Shakespeare knew.
This time, Shakespeare claimed he didn’t know the source. Normally, he’d dig around a bit, test the veracity of the evidence before the club would spring into action. Not this time.
The tipster had claimed to have seen a young girl wandering around downtown, not near the cinema or even the diner, but blocks away from all the usual teen hangouts where a different type of clientele altogether spent their time. It was where you went when you are looking for a good time, some company for the night or maybe longer. Doc had absolutely no prejudices about the women, and the occasional man, who worked those corners. Everyone needed to earn a living, and that was just as a respectable way of doing it as waiting tables or any office job, or hell, even what he used to do. Sex workers worked damn hard, and had as much right to safety and security as anyone. That didn’t mean the streets were any place for a ten-year-old girl, and when Shakespeare’s intel had matched Jade Williams’ description, the club had moved. Fast.
Doc slowed, spotting Shakespeare up ahead. His gaze zeroed in on the man’s arm, the bulk of the bandage from his gunshot wound evident to his trained eyes, even under Shakespeare’s jacket and cut. He had to hand it to him, Shakespeare didn’t flinch, even when twisting to climb off his bike. He’d arrived only seconds before Doc, but Levi and Grady were already there, along with a couple of other club members. Doc was a little surprised at the size of their president. Usually, Vlad left recon matters for Seth and Grady, his Vice President and Sergeants at Arms. His presence meant one thing—Levi was taking this one personally.
Doc parked his ride and walked up to the other men, his gaze zeroing in on Levi. “What’s the plan, Boss?”
Levi’s eyes were hard, giving away nothing. “We look, we ask, nothing more.” He paused, glancing around the alley they’d met in. “It won’t take long for word of our presence to reach enemy ears, and if Jade is here, then the clock is already ticking. We need to find her and get clear before the Jokers even scratch their asses.” His gaze wandered over the group, landing on Doc. “No random heroics, gentlemen.” His eyes softened. “I know you, Doc. You’ll play the hero to anyone who needs it, but not tonight. This is about those under our protection, and nothing more.”
Doc nodded, crossing his arms across his chest. It hadn’t escaped his notice that Levi hadn’t used Jade’s name. He wasn’t talking only about Jade. He knew it and Doc knew it. It helped a little, knowing he had Levi’s blessing. He was going to do right by Ava anyway, but it was easier with the club’s acceptance. Now, it was time to do right by Jade, too.
Shakespeare handed out leaflets with Jade’s photo, missing posters that looked like they’d been done up on a home computer by someone who had no idea what they were doing. Doc’s heart broke
a little more, staring at the grainy black and white image. They had to find her. Whatever was going on between the Jokers and the Kings, even what had happened with Ava, no child deserved this. If he could do anything, anything in the world, to rescue Jade and stop it from happening to anyone else, he would. The cost didn’t matter.
He folded the poster and strode out quickly, the alley emptying as quickly as it had filled. No one bothered leaving a sentry to watch the bikes. In this part of town, the Steel Kings were known well enough that no one was going to mess with their rides. No one except the Jokers, of course, and nothing would stop them from trying regardless. The extra manpower was better spent tracking down Jade with the rest of them.
Splitting off from the group, Doc headed for a hotel he knew well. It was where Destiny spent her nights. The doorman took pity on girls walking the streets—the ones who weren’t addicted to drugs or out to cause trouble, anyway. He’d let them sit in the lounge on nights the weather turned cold enough to see your breath, maybe even pick up a John or two, with a kickback, of course. Doc turned a blind eye to that part. The world wasn’t perfect, and if the lobby of the rundown hotel gave women like Destiny a warm place to be comfortable between tricks, or a place to regroup if a John had been particularly rough, the doorman was the lesser of far too many evils in his eyes.
Doc had treated Destiny more than once, when either a customer or her pimp had been dissatisfied. The women trusted him, his reputation known. A couple that had been around longer than most would call if someone got themselves into more trouble than they could handle on their own. Those women were fierce as fuck, and looked after their own, but then, the world was indeed a horrible place sometimes. If his presence meant one more woman would seek help for abuse or treatment for an injury that would otherwise be ignored, left to heal—or not—on its own, then he’d be there every night he could.
That night, he got lucky. Destiny was sitting at the bar, nursing a glass that had been there long enough for the condensation on the glass to pool at the bottom, wetting the coaster it sat on right through. She was alone, the time likely too early for the newbies to be out, but long timers like Destiny rarely took much time off. He dropped into the seat next to her, returning the small smile that graced Destiny’s lips. Doc wasn’t sure what he real name was; she didn’t offer, and he never asked. He didn’t need to know to do what he did. He leaned forward, holding out a note and nodding to the barman. “Whatever she wants, okay, for the rest of the night.” It was going to be getting cold out later. The money he left was enough for multiple warm drinks, alcoholic or otherwise, plus a meal when Destiny was ready to knock off for the night, likely when the sun was coming up.
At the tip of her head in reply to his interaction with the barman, he reached into his jacket pocket, smoothing out the poster Shakespeare had handed over moments before. He pushed it forward, until it was sitting on the bar next to Destiny’s wilting drink. “Help me out, Cariño. Do you know this girl, seen her around?”
Destiny’s eyes widened as she looked down, but she quickly hid any hint of a reaction. Instead of answering, she picked up her drink and took a long drag. After several seconds, she put the drink down but refused to meet Doc’s eyes, instead fiddling with the straw, her gaze glued to a spot on the other side of the bar.
He nudged the paper again. “Please. She’s only ten years old. Far too young to be out here.”
“Like she’s the only one.”
Damn, as if this whole situation wasn’t already fucking him over. “I know, Bonita, far too many. But this one, she has a home, a mama waiting for her to come back safe. I want to help her do that.”
“They’ll kill me, you know, if they see me talking to you.” She said it so casually that at first, Doc wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. As her words sunk in, a jolt ran through his bones. He had no doubts who Destiny was talking about. Although they were almost certainly associated with those that did, he wasn’t sure the Jokers had a hand in the business Destiny engaged in directly. No, they preferred to simply take the women they wanted, willing or not. The thought turned his stomach, but Doc forced it back down. He needed to listen as long as Destiny was willing to talk, and then get her some sort of protection in return.
“They’ve been in and out of next door over the last few days, once with the girl.” She looked up at him. “Never here. Mark’s not stupid.”
The doorman. Likely, he’d known exactly what was going on right under everyone’s noses. He hadn’t let the Jokers run anything through the hotel they sat in, but it looked like he’d turned a blind eye to what was happening right across the street. After this was all over, he and Doc were going to have a little chat. But for now, there were more pressing matters. He nudged the printout again. “When was the last time you saw her? Was she here today? Who was with her?”
Destiny shook her head. “They moved out last night. The girl and her ‘bodyguards.’” She made quote marks in the air with her fingers at the word. She hadn’t been fooled for a second. “Rumor was they were heading for The Grand, getting ready to move back home permanently.”
Doc had no doubt wherever Jade was taken, it would be permanent, but there was no way it was anywhere she could call home. But he had a location. Now he just had to summon the boys and get there before it was too late. He leaned down and planted a kiss on Destiny’s cheek, dropping a couple of Benjamins on the poster. “For your time, Darling. Thank you.” Then he dashed out of the bar. As soon as he found Shakespeare, he’d get someone watching the place, keeping Destiny and any others safe from retribution. He had a job to do.
Thanks to the wonders of the technology he so often cursed, it took him under ten minutes to round up the team. Despite the multiple locations investigated, nothing else of substance had been discovered, and so after leaving a prospect planted next to Destiny at the bar, Doc and the rest of the boys had headed over to the hotel. Like everything else in that part of the city, it was old and rundown, what was left of the paint speckled across worn signs announcing the entrance. The walls were stained, the door to the back entrance in the alley where they were currently camped out slightly open, one hinge hanging loose. Stacks of crates filled the alley, providing cover but also making it difficult to scope without attracting attention. Off in the distance, he could hear the sounds of the city: people yelling out, a trash bin lid slamming down, a car engine backfiring. But there, where he stood, it was entirely quiet. Too quiet.
“We have to go in,” Sticks said. “They could be doing God knows what inside, and we’d never see a damn thing due to all this junk.” He kicked restlessly at one of the wooden pallets lining the alley. Doc agreed. He’d already been itching to rush in even before they’d arrived, but as usual, Merc had put the brakes on. The guy was a former sniper. He could sit somewhere for hours, even days, never moving, hardly breathing. Doc didn’t have that kind of patience. When something was wrong, he wanted to fix it—now. In his line of work, waiting got you dead.
He stepped out from their hiding place, drawing his weapon, and advanced on the door. From the quietest of shuffles behind him, the others were following. That would be Vlad or Sticks, because Merc didn’t make a damn sound when he moved, something that Doc both envied him for and also found a little freaky. Reaching the door, he hugged the wall, allowing Merc to enter first. It took him only seconds to clear the room and then gesture them inside. They fanned out from there, beginning a methodical search, Doc’s heart pounding with anticipation.
Thirty minutes later, adrenaline still coursing through him, Doc punched the wall in frustration. He cursed as his hand went through the flimsy plasterboard, ripping the skin on his knuckles. God, he was an idiot. If he hurt his hand, then he’d be less effective at helping anyone else. And right now, he needed to be at the top of his game. “Damn it!” The hotel had been empty—every room. He’d known it as soon as he’d stepped into the first room, but they’d searched anyway. How could they not? There was evidence that Jade had b
een held there, that much was obvious, but whatever had caused enough ruckus to attract Destiny’s attention was long gone. Doc braced his hand on the wall, ignoring the blood running down his wrist, as his head slumped forward. Fuck. They were constantly one step behind these assholes. He needed to catch up, and fast, before the woman he loved and her child were caught in the firing line. He wouldn’t survive it if that happened.
A hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing firm. Vlad. “We’ll get them, Doc. I promise.”
He turned, refusing to look his president in the eyes. He didn’t deserve to, not when tonight had been such a spectacular fuck up.
“Hey,” Levi said, pushing something into his hands. “None of that shit. We’ll get it done.” Doc looked down. In his hands was Levi’s Steel Kings bandana. “Clean yourself up,” Levi said. “Then we’ll get back on the road.”
18
Ava
Ava jumped when her phone rang for the second time that night. She was sitting back on her couch, migrating there some time after Connor had left. She’d lain in bed for quite a while, the memory of Connor’s touch racing over her skin. Her hands had brushed over her body, leaving shivers in their wake. God, she was still so sensitive. Her nipples had puckered at the sensation, and for a moment she’d thought about snaking her hand down and finding her own pleasure while memories flowed through her mind. A slight throb from between her legs had heightened the response. It was as if Connor was still there, deep inside her. She smiled. There were no physical marks—not yet, anyway—but she liked the idea that his touch had marked her. Tomorrow, Ava was pretty sure, there’d be finger marks from the way he’d gripped her hips as he’d pounded into her.
Vengeance (Steel Kings MC Book 3) Page 10
