CLUB TIES (The Trinity Falls Series)

by Mara McBain

  Easing his hold on her wrists for fear of hurting her, he hugged her against his chest. He mumbled assurances against her ear as he rocked her slender body. He wasn’t sure how long it took, but she relaxed. Long arms encircled his neck. The scald of fresh tears took him off guard.

  “Hey, don’t cry. It’s going to be okay now,” he said awkwardly.

  He jumped at a soft kiss against the side of his neck. He held his breath. Her lips caressed behind his ear. Closing his eyes, he rubbed slow circles on her lower back. The kisses continued. Her arms slipped from around his neck, and he steeled himself to be pushed away. Her hands slid under his t-shirt instead.

  Her fingers were feather-light as they skimmed his ribs and chest in exploration. He shuddered at a nibble on his ear. His extended leg briefs were suddenly way too restrictive. She shifted, brushing against him. He groaned. The sound seemed to entice her. Moving again, she straddled his hips.

  One hand slid unbidden to grip her ass, pressing her down to him. Her soft whimper no longer held fear. She ground her pelvis against his until they both panted for breath. His other hand speared through her hair, tilting her lips up to his. His kiss was hungry and insistent. She responded without hesitation, moaning into his mouth as their tongues dueled.

  Standing up with her in his arms, Mox moved them both to the hide-a-bed. She didn’t protest when he pressed her down into the mattress. Her legs encircled his waist. The flimsy layers of night clothes did nothing to hide the bulge of his erection. Settled between her thighs, he gave a tantalizing bump and grind. Her nails bit into his broad back as her hips humped up into his short thrusts. Rising up on his elbows, he struggled with their clothes, unwilling to release his lock on her lips.

  The first touch of skin-on-skin was very nearly his undoing. Clamping down on his raging libido, he focused on her. He had never seen such perfect tits. His lips trailed over them. Drawing a nipple into his mouth, he suckled until she writhed underneath him. The bite of her nails finally forced him to move his attention downward.

  She screamed when he dragged his tongue over her lower lips. She smelled so damn good. Parting her with gentle fingers, he rolled his tongue to thrust into her. Her hands left his back to clamp pleadingly at the back of his skull, pressing his face down into her folds. He cupped her hips, sucking the tiny pearl and lapping up her delectable juices.

  Another scream ripped from her as release crashed over her. She humped against his face as he helped her eek out every last tremor. When her grip lessoned, he kissed slowly up her ribcage. When he reached her lips the taste of herself on his tongue seemed to add fuel to the fire.

  Shapely legs went back around his hips, and she rubbed against his swollen cock in invitation. It didn’t take much. When he rose up, her small hand wrapped around him and guided him to her entrance. He pushed forward until the head split her open. She was so damn tight. He fought for control. She gasped as he pushed forward, panting as he stretched her, but didn’t protest.

  He nearly wept as he slid the last few inches into her. Sheathed to the hilt, her tunnel clasped around his cock like it was made for it. Watching her face, he pulled halfway out and slid it back home. She groaned. Lifting her ass in his palms, he started to thrust. It felt so damn good. Her satiny muscles rippled around him with every plunge.

  It nearly killed him to keep the pace slow and even. Primal instinct growled in the back of his mind, ordering him to claim her. He ached to pound into her. Her heels dug into the taut muscles of his buttocks. He drew nearly out and slammed back home in silent warning not to fuck with his control. Her lips parted in a perfect O, and she arched more. Responding to the press of her heels, he loosened the reins. Her moans gave voice to her pleasure.

  His thrusts came harder, losing rhythm as lust drove him. The little voice in his head screamed to be careful, not to hurt her, but her nails and heels goaded him. The hide-a-bed springs squawked in violent protest. Fingers biting into her ass, he pounded deeper into her drawing a keening scream. Her cry wavered as her body bowed in violent release, muscles clamping around his shaft in sweet agony. With a couple more plunges, his roar drowned her cry out.

  She clung to him. Her snug tunnel milked his cock through the last tremors. His mighty arms trembled, feeling like Jell-O. With a last bit of effort, he rolled to his back. Her heavy lids widened in surprise as she ended up on top, still impaled.

  His chest heaved and he struggled to gather his thoughts. Damn she was fine. He stroked her round bottom, knowing morning would find fingertip bruises there. He wondered how she would react in the light of day. He searched her face. For now she looked content. He nearly groaned as she rolled her hips. Pressing her down, he rocked under her. Big blue eyes widened and she continued her slow circles. His cock stirred. Jesus, she was beautiful.

  He cupped a breast and leaned his head up to capture a nipple in his mouth. His eyes drifted closed in bliss as he suckled it ardently. She moved more insistently on him. They enjoyed the slow dance until they were both panting again. He encouraged her to sit up straight. The new position seated his cock deeper. Her eyes grew comically round.

  She pushed herself up on her knees in experimentation, slowly posting up and down. He groaned. Her eyes sparkled in triumph as she reveled in her new found power. Mox bit back a chuckle. Gripping her hips, he snapped his upward, slamming her down to meet his thrust. She cried out, her face twisting in agony as he speared her cervix. His heart sank. All playfulness vanished. He’d hurt her. Disgust washed over him. He knew better.

  “I’m sorry,” he muttered, lifting her free of her perch. Stretching her out on the mattress, he hid his humiliation and self-loathing by burrowing his face between her thighs. She pushed at his shoulders. He wanted to slink away and lick his wounds. Silently begging for the chance to make things up to her, he licked her instead. He nearly cried when her legs wrapped around his neck.

  Only when she begged for a break for her over-sensitized body did he let up. Glad for the cover of darkness, he laid beside her unsure of what to say. Rolling to his feet with a muttered curse, he retrieved a warm washcloth from the bathroom. Tenderly, he stroked her damp skin, hoping to wash away any trace of himself and the hurt he’d caused.

  He froze when her fingers wrapped around his wrist. Refusing to meet her gaze, he waited for the cutting words. Brute, beast, oaf, it didn’t matter which she chose. He’d heard them all.

  “Why’d you do that?”

  He swallowed against the pain her simple question invoked. Anger would’ve been easier to deal with. When he spoke, his words were flat. “I’m sorry. I got carried away. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “You didn’t hurt me,” she whispered, but when he looked up with a snort of disbelief, she backpedaled. “I mean not in a bad way. It was more a hurt so good. I’ve just never been with a man that was so… I mean I’ve never felt anything so…amazing.”

  Her words stunned him. He didn’t know what to say to that. Amazing? He searched her face. She looked so sincere.

  “I didn’t want you to stop.”

  He blinked at her. Was she serious? She lowered her head, picking uncertainly at the stitching on the blanket. His silence hung heavy between them. She had to think him a moron. What the hell did he say to that?

  “I didn’t want to stop.”

  Her eyes flew up and she laughed. He grinned back at her like a fool. Maybe not the smartest thing to say, but he would look the fool if it meant seeing those dimples.

  “Well, next time, don’t,” she said, still giggling as she started adjusting the blankets.

  It took his brain a moment to process her words. There was going to be a next time. He didn’t care how stupid he looked. He couldn’t quit smiling. Watching her search in the dark for her discarded pajamas, he knew helping would be the gallant thing, but she looked so damn cute kneeling on the floor with her ass in the air to look under the bed.

  His brow furrowed as she finished dressing and retrieving her sleeping bag, unzi
pped it and spread it over the hide-a-bed. Folding back the coverings she slipped between them and looked at him expectantly. She had to pat the bed before the invitation sank in. He didn’t have to be asked twice.

  She curled against him the moment he was settled, her cold feet brushing his leg. Mox smiled in the dark. This one he knew. Rolling her over so he could spoon with her, he trapped her chilled tootsies between his calves. She murmured in surprise, but didn’t pull away. A soft sigh escaped her and she wiggled her pert ass into his crotch.

  He grinned again, thinking of the times he’d heard Zeke tease Ginny about her cold feet and ass. Pulling the blankets around Eva’s shoulder, he burrowed his nose in her hair. Warming a beautiful woman was no real sacrifice. The promised rewards were priceless.

  Chapter ~ 6

  Muscles burning, Eva adjusted her grip and inched up another step. Her arms trembled with fatigue. The pillar hadn’t seemed so heavy in the back of the truck. Using her knee, she hefted it a little higher and climbed another step. Tongue slipping out between her lips, she craned her neck to peek around her armload and gauge her progress. She groaned. At the moment, five seemed an insurmountable number.

  “Honey, that’s way too heavy for you. Zeke!”

  Eva didn’t have the breath to protest when Mox’s father stepped down the stairs to take the table base from her arms.

  “I’ll take that, little girl,” he said, giving her a wink.

  She blushed despite herself. The whole family had been so nice to her the past four days.

  “Let the men get the heavy stuff, honey,” Ginny admonished. “Actually, why don’t you grab your purse and we’ll run to Walmart?”

  “I should stay and help…”

  “There are quite a few things we need to pick up to get you kids settled. I’d like your opinion.”

  “Really, I don’t know their taste and I’m just…”

  “She’s not going to take no for an answer, so you might as well save your breath,” Zeke muttered, brushing past and back down the stairs.

  Eva glanced back at Ginny and the woman smirked at her, not a hint of shame in her sparkling hazel eyes.

  “I’ll get my purse.”

  Fingers playing over the buttery-soft leather upholstery, Eva stared out the window as Trinity Falls fell away to woodland and farmers’ fields. The wad of cash Mox had forced into her jeans pocket burned against her thigh. Guilt gnawed at her.

  Since their night together, Mox had let it be known she was his. Eva had been afraid it would cause tension with his brother, but Rhys had accepted it with only a few verbal spars. There she went, overestimating her worth again. She grimaced, glad Mox couldn’t read her thoughts. He was adamant she not put herself down. There had been genuine understanding in his eyes when he’d told her there was no point in getting down on yourself when there was always someone willing to do it for you.

  How could someone like Mox understand that feeling? Tall, athletic, handsome, he had it all going for him. How could he know what it felt like to be on the outside looking in? Eva had thought she’d escaped that feeling along with the cruelties of adolescence when she’d met Rocco. Little had she known that his world came with a whole new set of problems.

  She closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against the cool window. What was she doing? Mox deserved so much better than her.

  “Sometimes, circumstance brings people together for the right reasons.”

  Eva’s head spun around. Maybe Mox couldn’t read minds, but she wasn’t betting against Ginny at the moment. The older woman shrugged at Eva’s stare.

  “A wise man told me that once when I was doubting things.”

  “How do you do that?”

  “I’m a mother. It’s part of the super-power package,” she said with a smile.

  “He doesn’t know anything about me. He deserves better.”

  “He’ll get to know you the same as you’ll get to know him.”

  “You didn’t argue he deserves better.”

  “I’m his mother. I’m not supposed to think any girl’s good enough for him.”

  “Then why are you letting me hang around?”

  “Because I don’t get to decide who he gives his heart to.”

  Eva gaped at her.

  “Don’t worry, honey. If you don’t make him happy, I’ll still make your life a living hell.”

  The statement was soft, but matter-of-fact. Eva had no doubt Ginny meant it. Biting her lip, she struggled with swirling thoughts and emotions. She liked Mox. Besides his obvious physical perfection, he treated her like a princess and made her laugh. Beyond that, her survival instincts whispered that he was the biggest, baddest, mother-fucker in the valley. Was that a start to a relationship, or was she using him? She didn’t have an answer for that.

  Eva eyeballed the heaping cart. Ginny seemed intent on outfitting the apartment from top to bottom in one trip, and the woman didn’t have bargain basement taste. She shook her head in amazement as a hundred and twenty dollar set of cookware joined the various small appliances, utensils, dishes, and linens. Ginny caught the look.

  “I know. I spoil them. I remember when Zeke and I started out, he had one skillet and a couple of dented sauce pans. We’d only been together a couple of days, and he gave me some cash and told me to pick up groceries while he was at work. They had a set of pots and pans in the grocery store for twenty-nine ninety-nine. I wanted them bad. After I got the things on the list, I only had about ten dollars left, but I’d cashed my check that morning. My father always made me give him my check, and he decided what I got to keep out of it. He counted it to the penny. He would’ve beat my ass if it was short. I decided to risk it with Zeke, figuring that I had a little something to bargain with,” she said, a smile curving her lips at the memories. She shrugged. “I guess we always want better for our kids.”

  “How did it work out? Was he mad?”

  Ginny looked surprised at the question but then shook her head, her smile widening. “I think twenty years says it turned out good. Zeke’s not my father. When I was working, I bought groceries and anything left over was mine. When I wasn’t working, I’ve always had access to our accounts. He works hard and takes pride in providing for our family. Zeke grew up with nothing. He knows what that feels like. Neither of us wanted our boys to have the childhoods we did.”

  “I haven’t known them very long, but it seems like you did a great job with them,” Eva said shyly.

  “Thank you, honey. That means a lot. Now, grab the extra cart and let’s stock up on groceries, and then we’ll head next door to find you some clothes. Between Penney’s, Kohl’s, and Old Navy, you should be able to pick up enough to get by.”

  Eva obediently pushed the empty cart in Ginny’s wake. The forgotten cash in her pocket weighed down her steps. She’d tried to refuse the money. Mox had finally shoved it in her front pocket and pulled her against him for a hug and whispered promises of more when he got paid. He was already putting a roof over her head and food in her belly. At this rate she was never going to be able to pay him back. As she’d been reminded in the past, pussy and blowjobs only went so far. She sighed and instantly regretted it. The other woman glanced back over her shoulder. Eva hung her head and prayed Ginny wouldn’t ask. God was on her side for once.

  Swallowing hard, Eva followed Ginny up the steps. Vehicles crowded the small parking lot, and a clamor could be heard from above. They walked into chaos. Crammed suitcases, boxes, and laundry baskets, were littered among haphazardly placed furniture. There were people everywhere. Voices shouted over the whine of power tools.

  She skittered out of the way as a towering redhead brushed past with a screw gun. Watching him converse with Zeke and Mox about a flat screen TV, he even dwarfed Mox’s six-foot-four. The man had to be close to seven foot. Caught gawking, Eva bumped into Ginny’s back.

  “Sorry,” she whispered, blushing furiously.

  “It’s okay. They can be a little intimidating en masse. You’ll get u
sed to it.”

  “They?”

  “The Lords of Mayhem Motorcycle Club. Zeke’s the club president. We call big red there, Bowie. He’s Zeke’s VP. Murphy is wearing the Boston hat. Sambo and Tech are the two hooking up the surround sound. That’s Taz, Reaper, and Crux helping Rhys with the pool table.”

  Eva’s eyes flittered over the menacing group as Ginny pointed each one out in turn.

  “I thought Zeke was a cop.”

  “Zeke’s a detective, but that doesn’t prevent him from being a member of a MC. There are even clubs that are exclusively law enforcement. Zeke, Bowie, and Sambo served together in the Marines. When they came home from Kuwait, they formed the Lords. The others filtered in, making Trinity Falls home and the Lords their family. Murphy served with them too, but just moved here from, where else, Boston. Anyway, when Rhys and Mox turned eighteen they prospected and then patched in. You haven’t seen Mox’s back piece?”

  Feeling stupid, Eva shook her head, not sure what she was talking about.

  “Mox has the full Lords of Mayhem dragon insignia tattooed on his back.”

  Eva’s stomach clenched and she looked back to where Mox and his dad were now hanging the flat screen. Images of the past couple of days flashed through her mind. She had traced her fingers over the wide barbwire tribal bands encircling his bulging biceps in the moonlight, but the only time she had seen him undressed in the light, she had been in front of him. Her heart wanted to deny what Ginny was telling her. What the hell had she got herself into? Had she stepped from one nightmare to another?

  “The Durango’s hatch is standing wide open down there, and here you are flapping your gums. Are you waiting for me to do all the work?”