by Sophia Gray
I unlocked the door to make sure that no one had actually made it into the shop. The lock tried to jam where the door was dented from the attempted breaking and entering. I was able to pop it open finally, and I stepped inside to look around. Nothing looked like it had been tampered with. Whoever had tried to break in obviously hadn’t made it past the door.
I pulled out my phone and took pictures of everything that had been damaged. I sent the photos to Bruce, Axel, and Ham, letting my president and my brothers know what happened.
Someone is on the way, Bruce texted me almost as soon as I sent the picture.
A few minutes later, I heard a couple of motorcycles rolling up to the shop. It was Trent and a couple of other guys who looked like prospects. They wore cuts, but they were blank, with none of the MC colors on them.
“Bruce sent us as soon as he got the pictures,” Trent said. He grabbed the door, and it looked like he was about to pull it off. He looked it over, checking out the damage. “Man, whoever did this didn’t know what the hell they were doing. Or they didn’t really want to get in,” he said in his booming voice.
“Either way, it happened,” I said. “That’s infuriating enough, whether they know what they’re doing or not.”
“Any idea of who it was?” Trent asked. “If you know, we can go handle it.” He punched one hand into the other palm.
“I appreciate it, but what I really want is someone to watch the shop for the next few nights in case they come back,” I told him. “I have an idea of who it is, and I’ll let you know if I need any help handling them.”
“Are you sure?” Trent furrowed his brow, surprised I didn’t just accept his help right off the bat. “I’ve got a couple of prospects here who are ready to prove themselves,” he added, trying to persuade me to take his offer to handle it for me. I know that if I accepted his help, I wouldn’t have any more trouble out of whoever it was giving us trouble.
“I’ll let you know if I need anything,” I said, “but right now, this is personal. Let’s just keep an eye on the place to make sure they don’t come back.”
“Yes, sir. We got it.” Trent nodded to call the prospects over to him. They stepped over by the front door.
They looked at him and nodded obediently. They spoke in hushed tones so no one else could hear what they were saying. The prospects didn’t look away from Trent’s face while he was talking to them. It was pretty amazing how disciplined they were.
A few minutes later, they walked back outside. Trent turned and came back to the back where I was standing, watching him.
“You need anything today during the day?” he asked.
“Nah, I think we’ve got it under control during the day.” I would have liked to have seen someone try to break in while all the artists were present. It wouldn’t have ended well for anyone.
“Okay. If you’re sure, I’m going to head on in to work. If anyone tries anything stupid, give me a call. I’ll be happy to handle it.” He clapped a powerful hand on my shoulder, almost pushing me down onto the floor. Then, he walked out the door and hopped onto his bike.
The engine roared outside, and he drove off. His bike was as loud as he was. I stared at the damaged door, and the windows that were scratched from where someone had tried to shatter them, except my windows weren’t normal glass.
I pulled my phone out and texted Bruce.
Do we have anyone who can fix my door?
I took another picture of the messed up door and sent it to him.
You didn’t ask Trent?
He looked at it but didn’t offer, and he’s gone now.
Text him. He might have a guy.
I pulled Trent up on my phone and messaged him.
Hey, do you know anyone who can fix my door?
It seemed odd to me that he hadn’t said anything at first.
I can replace it, he texted.
How much are we talking?
For family, I’ll do it for free.
No way, I messaged him. I wasn’t too keen on accepting his work for free.
You’ve given me how many tattoos for free? This is how it works.
But tell me, why didn’t you say something earlier?
You didn’t want my help.
I put the phone down and laughed. I reminded myself that he’d asked me several times if I needed anything. He’d really meant anything, apparently.
I’ll send one of the guys around later today. I’ll put it in with the girls this morning.
Thanks, I texted him.
I put the phone back in my pocket and stared at the dented door. I hoped I hadn’t just put the prospects in danger. But I was going to find out who’d done it. They were going to pay for messing with my life and my business.
Chapter Nine
Lilah
I had been appalled at first by Cole’s demands, but as I lay in bed thinking after he left, I realized he hadn’t asked for anything I didn’t already want. Besides, I wanted to branch out and try something new. Cole was definitely something new. Everything about him was new, from his lifestyle to how generous and caring he was.
[LC4]
I had eventually gone downstairs after staying in bed a good bit of the day. Hunger overtook me around lunchtime, and I decided to see what the Steel Devils’ clubhouse had to offer. I walked down to the common room and approached the bar. I remembered Cole had told me that the big guy with the beard was Mick. He was hanging out behind the bar, leaning on the counter playing with what looked like a bottle opener.
He straightened up when he saw me approaching. He stuck his hand out to greet me. “Name’s Mick. How can I help you out today?”
“Hey, Mick, I’m Lilah,” I said, accepting his hand.
“Let me guess,” he said, looking me up and down while he pointed at me. “You’re here with Saw.”
“Yes, I am. He must have told you.”
“Nope. You just have that look. You look like his dream girl. That’s all,” Mick said with a wink. “What can I get you?”
“Is it too early to have a drink?”
“Too early? There’s no such thing. What would you like?” He stepped aside so I could see the wall of liquor bottles behind him and the beers in the cooler.
I stared at all the drinks and thought about all the names I knew. I hadn’t been much of a drinker while I was married. We drank every once in a while, but I had whatever Troy was drinking or whatever “girly” drink he bought for me. I wanted something hard, and there was plenty of it staring back at me from behind the bar.
It would have been easy to order something that completely flew in the face of my ex-husband and his controlling bullshit. But I decided against it since I didn’t want to be wasted when Cole came home.
“I’d better stick with a Coke for now,” I told him. “Maybe later, when Col – Saw – is back.”
“Coke it is. Is there anything else?”
“What do you guys do for food around here?” I asked.
“There’s a kitchen in the back, and we keep it pretty well stocked. And sometimes we have a few of the MC’s old ladies come in to cook for whoever’s hanging out at the clubhouse. I don’t think anyone’s here today though,” he explained.
“That sounds pretty cool, but I’ll be happy just to check out the kitchen,” I told him.
“Yeah, it’s right back there. Knock yourself out, kiddo.” He pointed to an open doorway in the back of the room.
I grabbed a frozen meal and heated it up in the microwave. I ate at one of the tables near the bar and watched a few guys shooting pool. This life was very different from the one I had lived all my life. It was more laidback and relaxed. People in the MC came and went as they pleased. It seemed like some of them stayed there permanently like Cole. I got the impression that there were usually women hanging around the clubhouse as well, either attached to the members or not.
After I ate my lunch, I crashed on the couch in front of the big flat screen TV on the wall. I turned it on and was not s
urprised to find that the MC had a Netflix account set up on the TV. I browsed for a while to see if there was anything I felt like watching. I pulled up Casablanca and put it on. I had to admit I felt a little awkward putting a movie like that on in a room where several rough bikers were hanging out.
I figured Mick would have either watched it or ignored it without any judgment. The guys standing around the pool table weren’t paying any attention to what I was watching. After a while, it didn’t matter what anyone thought. I was too into the movie to care.
I started to realize why the MC lifestyle attracted so many people. I was free to do pretty much anything I wanted for most of the day. I didn’t have to ask for permission, and I didn’t have to pay for anything. It was all right there for the taking, and it was how the members of the Steel Devils and their old ladies lived basically all the time.
As the afternoon wore on into the evening, a few of the old ladies came in and ordered pizza for everyone hanging out, saying that they didn’t want to cook for just a few people. The MC paid for it, and the delivery guy came right in like he belonged there. He dropped the pizzas off at the bar, and Mick handed him a tip. Once he was gone, the old ladies served up the pizza for everyone there. I talked with a few people there, but I didn’t really get any names or hang around too much after dinner.
I wasn’t sure what time Cole was going to be back, so I made sure that I was back up in his room waiting for him to return. If he wanted to have me in his bed every night, we were going to start with my first night under his demands. The fact that he’d told me what he wanted from me and still let me make the choice to do it turned me on even more.
After having my fill of pizza and grabbing a beer from the bar, I went upstairs to his room and dropped all of my clothes to the floor. I climbed into his bed naked and pulled the sheets up over my body to wait for him. I sipped the beer I’d picked up from the bar while I waited on him. I didn’t know how late he’d be, but something told me he wasn’t going to stay at work as late as he could have. I figured he’d want to get home soon to play with his new toy.
Or at least make sure I was still there.
I didn’t turn on any lights other than the lamp on his side of the bed and laid down as if I were asleep. When he finally came in from work, he was quiet, and I laid there listening to him moving around. He sat on his side of the bed and carefully pulled off his boots. I felt him trying not to shake the bed. I lay there and waited to see how long he let the charade go on. He put his vest on the corner of the bed and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
I heard the shower water turn on, and I imagined his muscles glistening under the hot water with steam rising all around him behind his shower curtain. I imagined his body covered in soap, his hands roaming all over himself.
I pulled the sheets down from my body, uncovering myself for him. I wanted him to know without a doubt when he came out of the shower that I was awake and ready for him. I also wanted him to know that I wasn’t just complying with his wishes. I was giving myself to him because I wanted to.
The water shut off in the bathroom, and I heard the shower curtain pull back. It was quiet for a moment, and I imagined him, fully naked, toweling off. I imagined his wavy golden-brown hair looking tousled as he ran his towel over it to get it dry.
The door opened to the bathroom, and he stood in front of me, silhouetted against the light coming from the room behind him. Even his shadow was built with rippling muscles, his body ready to devour me.
“You are awake,” he said, switching the light behind him off. His body came into view in the light from the lamp as my eyes adjusted. Every bit of him was toned. He had tattoos all over, but he was far from completely covered. There was still a lot of untouched skin exposed, giving me the best of both worlds. The towel was wrapped tantalizingly low on his hips, and I had to fight the urge to rip it off so that I could see all of him.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” I said.
Now come here before I lose my nerve.
I reached a hand out toward him as he approached the bed. My fingertips touched his smooth skin, feeling the firm muscles underneath. He came closer, letting my palms meet his flesh. I ran my hands over the contours of his muscles.
I fought back the urge to compare him to Troy. There was no comparison. If Troy had been a man – he hadn’t been – Cole was a god. He was a class of man I’d never experienced before in so many ways.
“I take it you’ve made your decision,” he said, climbing onto the bed.
I rolled onto my back as he moved over me, his shoulders wider than I was. It felt so good to feel the weight on him on top of me, pinning me down. I realized that I craved it. I craved his attention, his dominance over me. It made me feel safe and secure, and I trusted him.
“I have made my decision,” I told him, letting a sly little smile play across my lips.
He leaned down and kissed me as I was smiling up at him. When his lips touched mine, my body ignited with pleasure and excitement. His tongue pressed against my lips, opening my mouth and plunging in to taste me. He pulled away after biting my bottom lip and started kissing my neck.
“I want to see all of you,” he murmured into my collarbone as he ripped the sheet off of me. I felt vulnerable and excited the way he looked at my exposed body. Starting at my ankles, he felt his way up my calves and over my thighs to my waist. My breathing started to increase, and his hands moved up to cup my breasts, and he leaned down to take my nipple into his mouth. I tangled my fingers in his hand holding him close to my body, and when I couldn’t take it anymore, I pulled him up to kiss him again.
With a swift movement, he threw off his towel, and I could see his whole body. With a carnal need, I grabbed at him so he could lower his weight onto my body, inviting him down onto me. He pressed against my mound, and I felt his desire, as hard and solid as the rest of his body. I wanted it inside me, wanted him to fill me. I rolled my hips, rubbing myself up and down his shaft, and he hardened even more under my touch.
He reached over to the nightstand and pulled a condom out of the drawer. He pulled his hips back, sliding his shaft down between my legs, and I felt his fingers brushing my tender wet lips as he rolled the condom down his length.
He kissed my neck, my shoulders. He parted the sensitive folds of flesh at my center and slid his fingers up and down my wet slit. He brushed my clitoris with his fingertips, and my body jerked. I grabbed his arms and held onto him as every little touch threatened to take me to ecstasy.
“I want you now,” I whispered into his ear before giving it a bite. He let out a low, guttural growl as he spread my lips and pressed his head against me. I could feel him sliding slowly into me. I arched my back and moaned as he entered me. I gripped his arms harder as pleasure filled my body.
“Oh God, Cole,” I cried out. “Yes, baby, take me,” I begged him as I felt his hips rest against mine, driving himself all the way in to the base of his shaft.
He began rhythmically stroking himself with my lips and my muscles gripping him. His body was a work of art, and he was the artist, sculpting my pleasure with his lips and tongue, his hands, his manhood, and the motion of his body against mine. He kissed and bit my neck while his hands massaged my breasts. I was riding waves of ecstasy before my orgasm even peaked for him.
He pumped himself into me, keeping a steady pace, driving himself deep into me and pulling back. Every time he pressed into me, it took away my breath. Everything he did felt good, and every touch added to my pleasure. My body shook with mounting pleasure as he continued to take me closer and closer.
I listened to our panting, our bodies moving together against the bed. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, gripping his arms for leverage as my whole body began to erupt in ecstasy. My legs shook. The muscles around my entrance gripped him, holding him in my core. My breath came in jerks.
Then, I felt it. As wave after wave of pleasure rolled through my body and crashed against his hips, I
felt him erupted inside me. I felt his shaft flex as it pumped out his seed. I moaned and let go of him, pressing my flat palms against his shoulders. I craved his heat. I craved feeling him. I wanted to feel him inside of me.
I rocked my hips furiously against his, working him until he’d emptied himself.
“Fuck.” He grunted above me, shoving himself hard against my hips one last time. I felt him starting to relax after that final thrust, his body coming down from the height of ecstasy.
He lowered himself back to me and kissed me again. This time, the kiss was gentle, and he rolled over beside me, our lips slowly parting from each other. I shuddered again, something like an aftershock rocking my body.
I let out a shaky breath as if I’d been holding it in the whole time. I wanted more of him. I wondered what else this beautiful lover next to me had to teach me about pleasure.