Chapter 20
20
I had no intentions of ass fuckin’ her, but I sure did enjoy the petrified look on her face. What she goddamn deserved for playing me. By now my painfully hard cock was past arousal. It was about getting ready to bust from all my dirty talk, and her hot body.
I twisted her hair around my fist and tilted her head until our mouths met. Our tongues swirled together each fighting for control. She bit my lip hard and fuck if my dick didn’t twitch. I was definitely a fucked up bastard.
She broke away from my lips and sneered. “Well, what are you waiting for?”
I leaned back and slapped her ass hard enough to leave a mark and she yelped. “I’m gonna let you off easy cause I don’t think you could handle my dick up your ass.”
Her wary eyes softened a bit so I slapped her other ass cheek just to let her know I still meant business. Leaning away from her I snagged a condom and sheathed myself, then I grabbed her hips with both hands, raised her ass high, and nudged my cock between her cheeks loving the relief. I reached around her hips and tugged on her clit and when she moaned out I twisted hard. Her hips jerked in time with my hand and when I couldn’t stand it any longer I thrust forward until I was balls deep in her pussy.
As much as I wanted to hate her was as much as I wanted to fuck her. My shitty luck, the one woman I could fall for turned out to be a goddamn traitor.
I tried to control my emotions. I even spat out words like hate and despise but it was no use, Smoke brought me to a place I never experienced and I liked it. Even his demeaning dirty talk turned me on when I knew it shouldn’t, even when I knew I should rebel and fight him off.
My body responded to his touch, his voice, and his overall bad boy swagger. All the things I railed against, all the things I was supposed to loathe. Even when Smoke held me captive under his brute strength my insides coiled tighter and tighter in an unbearable dance searching for relief.
He pounded me relentlessly from behind and I never wanted him to stop. I matched every one of his thrusts, my body begging him to release me and give me the freedom to be someone else—anyone else. The pressure built and I was too weak to fight it, too fragile to examine the bad when it felt so good.
His treacherous fingers circled my clit and I exploded around him. The electricity surged through me and the tumultuous aftershocks convulsed my entire body. I buried my face in the pillow to muffle my moans not wanting him to know the pleasure he gave me. Not wanting him to know the power he had over me or how I succumbed to his touch. All my plans and schemes exploded in a poof of sexual need and want.
Smoke held my limp body to him, his head cradled against my neck, his ragged panting the only sound in the room as we collapsed against the mattress .
The silence in the room gnawed at me. Once again, I let myself get caught up in the tornado of sensations Smoke ignited in me. Our combustible attraction didn’t fool me. What just happened was nothing more than two desperate people searching for what could never be.
Five minutes ago Smoke’s anger dissolved into a sexual frenzy, but a man like him didn’t get over transgressions. I wasn’t going to wait around to see what would happen next, so I used his momentary weakness to my advantage.
Levering my hands on the edge of the mattress, I shimmied away from him, rolling myself to the edge of the bed. I twisted my torso, swung my feet to the floor and paused for a second to regain my bearings because once I made a break for it, I had to be fast. I pushed my palms against the sheets and?—
Smoke’s arm circled my waist and effortlessly dragged me into his side. “Where the fuck you think you’re goin’?” His harsh whisper made me shiver.
Dammit, two seconds too late. I stayed perfectly still contemplating my next move. Maybe if I waited he’d doze off so I could make my escape.
“I really wanna hate you,” he rasped into my ear.
His needy rasp conflicted with his words.
His grip tightened around my waist and my faithless body snuggled into him.
A few more minutes of agonizing silence as the hammering beat of his heart pulsed against my back. I told myself this was nothing more than hate sex, yet when he filled me up all reason and rationale disappeared. He showed his vulnerability, making me want to explain my deception even if it meant opening a box I couldn’t close again.
“The reason I ran out of here the other night was because you mentioned my mother.”
He shifted behind me until we were face to face .
“You complimented my cooking and asked if my mother taught me how to cook.” I drew in a deep breath. “Any mention of her brings on . . . anxiety.”
He cradled my head into his shoulder, his soft caress in total contrast to his earlier brutality. How could one person throw off so many different vibes?
“Is that what this is all about?” he whispered into her hair. “The reason Rico sent you here.”
“I wanted no part of my father’s dealings until my mother was murdered.”
“I know he thinks it was my club, but it wasn’t.”
“Maybe it wasn’t your exact club, but it was definitely some part of the Royal Bastards.”
“Nah, you’re wrong, maybe another MC, but not the Bastards.”
“Four of them stormed our villa and shot my mother in cold blood.” My voice quivered but I fought for control. “I was there—I saw it.”
“I believe what you saw was guys wearing Royal Bastard’s cuts, but it wasn’t my club or any of the other chapters.”
“But even the surveillance cameras show four men wearing the same cuts as you.” I pushed to a sitting position. “Yet, you’re telling me I’m wrong.”
“I’m telling you it wasn’t us. Did you ever consider it could’ve been enemies of your father’s dressed like bikers?”
All the different scenarios I played over and over in my head the last year, I never considered that possibility.
“But why would whoever put the blame on your club? Most of the people my father deals with have no problem owning their crimes, sometimes even bragging about them.”
“Over the last year, the Bastards and your father’s crew have mixed it up a few times. Mostly petty shit, shortage on shipments, pricing problems, so maybe someone within his organization was behind this, and wanted to tag the Bastards to start an all-out war. Take the Bastards out of the picture once and for all.”
“It was no random act, the shooters knew we were by the pool. They were in and out before anyone knew what happened. It was very organized and well-planned.”
“And you’re sure your mother was the target?”
“It’s hard to say, it all happened so fast. She was the first to react in an effort to shield Manny and I, and then . . .” My throat tightened making it impossible to continue. I blinked a few times then squeezed my eyes shut as the horrific scene played out in my mind. I could still hear her gut-wrenching screams, and then the blood, followed by dead silence.
A stabbing pain seized my middle and I wrapped my arms around my waist folding into myself.
Smoke sat up, then eased me against his side. “I get your need for revenge, babe but I swear on my club colors, it wasn’t the Bastards who did this.”
I savored the warmth of Smoke’s body, but my mind was too muddled and confused. I couldn’t think straight when I was with this man. One part of me wanted to scream and yell and pummel his chest while calling him a liar, while the other side wanted to burrow into this safe space and never leave.
“I have to go.” I pushed away from him, and he released me. I inched to the side of the bed and stood. “I don’t know what just happened between us, but I have to have some time to think all this out. I tried to tell my father I wanted to stop this charade the other day when I felt myself getting too close to you but he . . .”
“Did he threaten you?” Smoke reached out to me. “Did he hurt you?”
“No, not me, but someone close to me and I can’t put that person or her family in danger.”
“Let me help you.”
I huffed out a laugh, then stared at the ceiling. “Fifteen minutes ago you wanted to hurt me, maybe even kill me, and now you want to help me.”
Smoke moved to the edge of the bed and positioned me between his legs. “Sure, the dark side of me wanted you to pay cause I don’t like being played even by a beautiful woman, but . . . I could never hurt you, or any woman. Another reason I know what happened to your mother wasn’t the Bastards. We annihilate our enemies, but we never hurt women or children.”
“I want to believe you, but . . . you were wrong before. Not everything I said was a lie—the way you made me feel, the way I feel about you, that was all true.” I turned my face away not wanting to see his reaction. “I have to go.”
Smoke flipped his phone over and read the time. “It’s three a.m. let me take you.”
“I can’t let you take me to my real house.”
“Who owns the house where I took you the first night?”
“The woman who lives there works for us. She’s very special and was there for me after my mother died. She’s the one who taught me how to cook.”
“For that alone, I should thank her.” Smoke smiled, then sobered. “I don’t like you going back to Rico at all. Especially if you’re going to confront him.”
“He’s never shown that side to the family. I’ve never seen him violent in any way. I don’t know if he’ll be truthful, but I’m not worried about my safety.”
Smoke’s eyes narrowed like he heard what I said, but didn’t believe it.
We silently dressed, and the mood quickly shifted from sensual to somber. Each of us lost in our own thoughts. When we were dressed he led me to the back lot where he parked his motorcycle. I hopped on behind him, wrapped my arms around his waist, and for the first time it felt real.
No fake stories .
No mistaken identity.
No lies.
Just two desperate people on a collision course sure to wreck us both.
M arisol wrapped her arms around my waist, and I tilted my head pressing my lips to hers in a soft, passion-filled kiss. Completely different from how the night started out. My whole life centered around staying five steps ahead of my enemies and not letting anyone or anything get to me.
I’d lied and played plenty of games but Marisol conning me was way more than business, and yeah, the primal bastard in me had wanted to hurt her, but not physically. My original anger centered around being played and finding out her feelings were fake, that every moan and gasp during sex was an act. I usually set the rules and broke the hearts, so being on the receiving end sucked.
We pulled up to the little house much too quickly. She unwound her arms from around my waist and climbed off my bike, but I wasn’t ready to let her go. I grabbed onto her hand.
“I don’t know how but we’re gonna figure this out.” She entwined her fingers with mine and I pulled her closer. “You believe me, right?”
She pressed her lips together and stayed silent.
“Don’t let your father know I figured out who you are. You wanna confront him, do it after I set up a meeting with him. I’ll make a deal that satisfies both him and the Bastards, but until then I don’t want you involved.” I cupped her cheek with my palm. “Understand?”
She nodded, and fuck me, but I wanted to believe her. “Text me when you get to the villa. ”
She leaned in and hugged me, then stepped back. “As much as I want this to work, I really don’t think we have a chance. With all the?—”
“Yeah, sure, I get it.” I dragged up my tough guy act because I didn’t have anything else. I wanted to haul her into my arms and onto my bike, then whisk her away somewhere we’d be safe from her vicious father and all the shit in my past—but that fairy tale would never come true.
She squeezed my hand. “Be safe.”
“Always.”
She turned and fled to the door. I watched until she was inside, then I throttled the engine and pulled away from the curb. I rode for a long time, but no matter how I played it out in my mind, someone would come up the loser.
I wasn’t stupid enough to ignore the fact she could still be playing me and would report it all to Rico the minute she got to the villa. Rico hadn’t gotten where he was by backing down, not even for his daughter. I’d promised Marisol I’d work it out, but pleasing Jameson, my pissed off national prez, making a deal with a drug kingpin, and keeping the woman who brought me to my knees wasn’t gonna be easy.
I was used to getting a job done, and not letting anyone or anything stand in my way, but with odds this high it would be more than money at stake. I was prepared to fight for what I wanted, even if it meant going against Jamison and putting Rico in the ground.
It tore me up to admit it, but in the end, all that mattered was having Marisol safe and by my side.