by Snow, Nicole
Maybe riding so close with him all damned day had done something to my brain chemistry. I didn't want to admit how badly I craved him, his body at least, but mine wasn't giving me much choice.
He pushed my hands away just as the light turned green. The bike jerked forward, and I heard him clear his throat.
“You know what I mean,” he growled. “I'm trying to do you a favor, bringing you back to your home turf where you can feel like you're solid in your own skin. Let's get this over with.”
I studied his face in the mirror. He'd turned so stone cold, and it caused my heart to sink like an anchor.
I'd played too many games. He didn't want me. He was on a run for his club, and it'd finally sunken into his head that I was just his cargo, nothing more.
The new distance between us was what I'd wanted badly before. But now, it rattled me to my very core.
* * * *
We pulled up to my old house with a steady Seattle rain falling. Asphalt shook off the drops like they were nothing. I folded my arms tight like a cocoon, trying to stop my teeth from chattering.
He stood quietly while I ripped off my helmet and pushed it into his hands, then watched as he shoved it in storage. He'd been staring at the house, the place where he'd first put those scoundrel lips on mine.
The same place where he'd nearly lost his life. More than four years ago, but for some damnable reason, it seemed like yesterday.
He held a fresh cigarette, filling his lungs with a long pull of smoke. He let it drop when he saw me looking, stomping it out on the cracked sidewalk with his boot.
“What's the deal?” I asked, trying to figure him out.
“Nothing. We've got bigger business ahead. Hope you've still got a key to this place, babe, 'cause I'm not kicking down the door and letting some jumpy prospect blast a hole in my head.”
Smiling, I fished out my keys and followed him up. I undid the lock and pushed my way inside, wondering if daddy had lightened up on the constant guard around his house since I'd moved out.
I stopped for a moment, breathing in the familiar scent of smoke, beer, and long lost memories. The door clicked gently shut behind me, and Asphalt rubbed my shoulder. Time to move.
We headed down the hall, aiming for the staircase leading to my room. Asphalt stayed close behind me.
When I heard a snarl like a cougar getting caught in a trap, I thought I'd gone deaf.
“Holy shit!” The words exploded from my mouth just as three of my father's guys appeared from nowhere, grabbed him, and smashed him against the wall so hard I thought he'd leave a human imprint.
“What the fuck you doing here, asshole? One of Blackjack's boys, coming in our Prez's house without warning? Smells like shit!” The prospect with the beefy arms and a huge gut shook Asphalt again.
“Don't hurt him!” I screamed, but they all ignored me, too focused on roughing up their target.
Three big, savage looking bastards. The kind of men I'd seen before, except they normally weren't posted here on guard duty.
Were they expecting us? Didn't make sense.
Regardless, there wasn't time to figure it out. Asphalt's eyes beamed hot, red murder straight through the fat prospect's face as they sized each other up. Then my man's smooth forehead darted out like a wrecking ball, cracking straight into the other man's face.
“Fuck!” The prospect's nose made a sickening pop, and he lost his grip on Asphalt. He stumbled backward, both hands covering his face, blood pouring out between his fingers in the darkness.
The other two Tacoma boys went to town. Asphalt grunted as the punches started, going straight into his stomach, knocking the air out of him so he couldn't do anything else.
I stood there with my mouth hanging open, not sure if I should try to jump them, or else grab a knife from the kitchen. Normally, my presence alone should've done it.
Didn't they know who the fuck I was? I'd have to show them if this kept up. Nobody had the balls to lay a finger on the President's daughter!
“Sear, Jack-O, Peak, lay the fuck off. Let him speak.” I heard a familiar voice behind me.
I turned to see Line, my adopted Uncle and Tacoma's VP, his face as unreadable as ever behind one eye patch and shaggy salt and pepper hair.
“Shit, Veep, you gotta be kidding me,” the one called Jack-O snorted, barely holding back on his superior's orders, his fists trembling at his sides. “Fucker walked in here without a peep to the club. He should've called the clubhouse, and we would've been expecting him. Last I knew, that was against whatever fucked up terms California set with us.”
“Our Prez'll be the judge of that. Elle?” Uncle Line cocked his head, finally acknowledging me. “What're you doing back here with your old man?”
He practically spat the last words like he'd bitten into something rotten. I stepped up, pushed my way between the two men, tugging on Asphalt's shoulders.
He tried to throw me off, but he was still too busy sucking air back into his lungs. I looked at Line.
“I'm here to see daddy, but I'm guessing he isn't here.” Line said nothing, telling me everything I needed to know. “We're going upstairs to pack so we can find some different lodging. Tell daddy we're home. And for God's sake, make sure he knows his guys should point their guns away from a man who shares your patch. I thought we had a peace deal?”
I gestured to Asphalt. He finally stood up straight, shot me a look that said, I don't need your damned help.
Line snorted. “Trust me, baby doll, your dad's got bigger dragons breathing down his neck. He's gonna want to see you tomorrow. I'll tell the boys to lay off – for now.”
Dragons was right. I wondered how long we had before the ticking time bomb that was his deal with the Shanghai mob exploded in all our faces.
Smiling, the VP looked Asphalt up and down, just as he began to move. He didn't look back as he raced upstairs, and I could only follow.
“Make sure you keep him on a short leash, Elle Jo. I remember the shit he used to get into years ago, back when we gave him his prospect patch. Doubt this boy's changed one bit from all the drinkin' and whorin'. I know a rat when I see one. He's bad for you, girl.”
“Funny, I only see feral fucking animal with his lips moving, one-eye,” Asphalt snarled from the top floor.
That was my cue to run up. I stopped on the top step, slid my hands against his chest, and pushed as hard as I could. “Come on. Just ignore him. It isn't worth it when we're this outnumbered.”
At last, he relented. I pointed to my room behind him. Asphalt turned, walked, and shoved my door open so hard it banged against the wall.
He was in like a tornado. I stood with my legs totally stuck for the third time that night, watching him fling my closet open and rip the drawers out of my dresser.
“Start fucking packing. We gotta get the hell outta here, babe. Clock's ticking.”
I couldn't deal with the way he was manhandling my things, tearing through them like a bad cop without a warrant. I just walked into the closet and pulled out my old suitcase from college, unzipped it, and began gingerly folding the clothes he'd thrown out on a heap inside it.
I tried to focus on my work, ignoring everything else that was happening until I saw him rip my bottom drawer open. Oh, Jesus.
Shit!
“Hey, hold up a second, there's fragile stuff in there!” My warning didn't stop him. He paused for a single second, eyeballing me, and then dug in harder. He shoved aside my diplomas, old homework, a couple precious birthday cards from mom.
Then he hit gold.
I should've known the bastard's hands would find it, no different than a dog digging up a bone. I still died a little when his hand came up triumphantly, his fingers around the silver bullet, the purple cord dangling from his fingers.
“Fucking shit, is this what you do for fun?” His hand swept through the bottom drawer again. “There's gotta be more than this little dick on a wire.”
When he didn't find anything else, he chuckled. L
oud, thick, and seriously amused. That pit in my stomach became a fucking chasm.
“Asphalt!”
“Christ, no dong in here to go with this clit grinder? I'm surprised, babe. How do you fuck yourself when there's no man around?” His green eyes pierced mine, curious mischief shining. “Fuck, I'm starting to think you really live that good girl shit night and day. Just how far does the act go? Don't tell me you've never had nothing bigger than this! I know you can take it deep, woman.”
“Damn it, get out!” I swung, snatching to take my vibrator back. He was way too fast, moving it high over my head to the other hand, where I couldn't reach. “Of course, it's all I've ever had! And it's none of your damned business!”
The shitty grin on his face evaporated. I turned around, all my blood suddenly lava, shame so intense at spilling my stupid secret that two fiery tears instantly ran down my cheeks.
“Holy fucking Moses,” he said softly. “You're just giving me shit, yeah? Jerking my balls around? There's no way – no fucking way – you're still a virgin, Elle. You've been to college, for fuck's sake!”
No more. I spun, dragging my half-zipped duffel bag behind me, and jumped at his hand. He didn't resist this time as I jerked my toy away from him, throwing it into the empty pocket. I pulled my suitcase hard, listening as it rolled over the toe of his boot.
“Babe, hold up, I didn't know you were so goddamned sensitive about –“
I slammed the door behind me before he could finish. I had to get out of there. Preferably before I suffocated from embarrassment, choking on my own lost secret.
The suitcase banged hard on the stairs behind me.
Line and the other Tacoma men were sprawled out in the living room, watching an old Western on the big, dusty TV daddy hadn't used since mom's last days. Thank God for small distractions.
They didn't have to see the hot mess I'd become. Nobody came to check on me when I flung the door open and wandered out into the night. Unfortunately, I hadn't closed the suitcase on my way out. It banged down the steps leading down the sidewalk.
I lost my grip and watched it tumble. A couple shirts and a black bra spilled out. I kicked the pavement so hard I stubbed my toe, resisting the urge to scream into the night and wake up the whole neighborhood.
Nobody here was a stranger to noise after living next to bikers and hardened vets-turned-mechanics over the years, but the last thing in the world I wanted was more attention.
Not when I just wanted to disappear, the only thing I wanted.
I pulled my coat tight, shoved my hands into my pockets, and headed for the old park.
The rain had softened into a cool, soft mist. It helped draw out my tears, taking them like orphans into the great fog settling over the city, away from the crude joke I'd been forced to live.
When the tears became too hot and too many for the mist to claim, I put my palms over my eyes, and let my sadness stab deep into the night.
* * * *
He found me sometime later, soaked and sitting on a swing. His feet crunched the sand as he approached. I was too tired to move, so I could only flinch when his hands landed on my shoulders.
“Babe, come on. Let's find somewhere to crash inside before you get fucking pneumonia.”
I jerked up, desperate to get away from him, speed walking through the wet, sticky sand.
“What the fuck!?”
I heard him call after me. It didn't stop me. No words would. I just kept going, though I knew walking through the muck wouldn't save me. He'd catch me sooner or later, and then I'd have to scream.
I was on the wet, thick grass before he caught up, heading toward the paved trail into the hills. Didn't have a clue where I was going or how I'd survive the night, but every second away from him was precious. It prolonged my escape from this hell just a little bit longer.
“Ell-Bell, baby, stop running.” I didn't listen, ignoring the rough edge in his voice. He caught up to me and tried to grab me.
I swung around so hard I crashed into his chest, hit the ground, and he went down with me. We fought hard.
Screaming, thrashing, I swiped my nails across his face, tearing over the stubble I'd dreamed about gently caressing a thousand times before. The same rough patch that caused a firestorm in my blood a dozen times before, always so close to my skin, but never as close as I needed. And now, it repulsed me, so much I wanted to destroy it.
“Ah, fuck! Stop moving, woman. You hear me?” Growling, he got on top of me, rolled me over. Grabbing both shoulders, he slammed down hard, pinning me underneath him. “I said fucking stop!”
“No, Austin! You don't control me. You don't –“
His hand swept behind my head. Seizing my hair, he folded my wet locks into a ponytail, and gave it a rough jerk so hard I went speechless.
“Told you I'm not having you calling me that shit! What don't you understand, baby girl? Why the fuck can't you get it through your damned pretty head? Are you fucking blind? Deaf? Dumb?”
Every word barked out a little louder, sharper, hitting me in the face like fists.
“Jesus Christ, Elle Jo! You're the whole reason we're back here. You're why I didn't break all those fuckers' noses back at the house, why I tried to play fucking nice. You're everything that's keeping me sane while we both deal with this clusterfuck of a marriage thrown on us by a buncha bastards who really don't give a shit. Can't you see it yet? No? Work with me, goddammit!”
My legs kicked against his. He had too much leverage for me to do any damage.
It just enraged him more. His grip on me tightened, pushing me into the soft soil. His hand tore at my hair, tilted my face, forcing me to look into those bright green eyes I loved and hated all at once.
“Go to hell! I don't owe you anything, and you don't need to know all my secrets. You're not really my husband. You're nothing, Asphalt.” I paused, taking a deep breath, too afraid to tempt him again by using the wrong name. “This, everything between us, it's nothing too. It's pretend, just like you called it. You don't get to treat me like shit, humiliate me in my family's house. You keep treating me like the bratty little sister you never had, and that's not fucking me! I'm not the girl who watched you get shot years ago, or the one you could catcall across the street. I'm a grown woman now, and all I'm going to do the first chance I get is leave this evil biker bullshit behind – including you. You can't stop me. You can't!”
“Babe,” he said quietly, as if he'd been carefully listening to everything.
“What?” I spat, waiting for the next load of crap to drop on my head from his dirty mouth.
“Shut up.”
The asshole kissed me. He kissed me harder than he'd ever smashed his lips on mine any time in my life. We were numb from the cold rain, messy and dirty, rolling on the ground, but he just kept coming like I'd told him I loved him, rather than screaming a stream of abuse.
The emotional dam building up inside me completely shattered.
I cried. I punched him, I thought about biting off his tongue when he pushed it into my mouth. But I never once took my lips off his.
Asphalt kissed me deeper. Before I knew what was happening, he eased his weight off my arms, and I threw them around his neck, pulling him as close as two people could possibly get.
Damn it, damn it, god damn it, the bastard could kiss. Deep down, I adored him, even when he overpowered me.
Hell, especially when he overpowered me.
He put out the fire in my mouth and ignited a new one in my body. My nipples tingled, my pussy ached, the insane desire to give it up to him here in the park, the dirt, took over my brain.
His head twisted, pulling his mouth off me, leaving me stunned and breathless. My senses only went crazier when his teeth grazed my throat. He planted new, rough kisses there, so possessive they were bound to leave a few marks.
And I loved it. I loved him, or if that was a little too premature, then I was falling so fast I'd be flattened in another week. But that didn't mean I'd stopped hatin
g him, too, as fucked up as it sounds.
“Fuck, Asphalt!” I moaned, feeling the hard bulge in his jeans against my pussy.
Our hips began grinding together. Ruthless, wanton, crazed with desire.
One more sucking, biting kiss and he reared up, burying me in his jade green gaze like he'd never done it a hundred other times. It felt new, and it lit every inch of me ablaze.
I tried to twist away, but his thick hand caught my chin, tipped it toward him. “You keep looking at me like that, babe. I'm gonna settle you the fuck down by making that little pussy come wild for me.”
Holy shit.
“Here?!” I gasped. He couldn't be serious.
He nodded, dry humping me harder, grabbing my hips and pulling me into him. He rubbed his swollen cock through the fabric, his strokes lengthening, scraping my clit.
Already on the edge, it didn't take much. All the worries about sorting out my feelings came apart as he humped me, thrusting like a madman, growling each time I jerked against him and moaned.
My hands went out, flattened against his chest. I tore at his shirt, struggled to lift it off, and succeeded in getting a glimpse of the wild lightning and grizzly bear in full roar stamped across his torso.
My fingers ran down his rock hard abs, just as my resistance completely ran out.
“Fuck!”
My whole body tensed. His hips slammed into mine, pushing me into the dirty, wet soil, fucking me through my clothes so bad I wanted him in me like nothing else.
No joke. No lie.
I wanted the bastard. I wanted the brute. I wanted Asphalt, Austin, the biker badass and the tender next door neighbor all in one. I wanted everything we'd given up for years, wanted him just as much as I wanted to make up for lost time with flesh, sweat, screams.
Just before I came, he twisted me around, hoisting me up on his lap. He grabbed my ass and crushed my mouth against his, stifling the shrill pleasure that came pouring out of me a second later when my pussy overheated and exploded.
I came so hard through my panties and my jeans that the toy he'd teased me about was nothing but a distant memory. Everything below the waist became as soaked as the rest of me, a throbbing, clutching mess.