The Darkest Flame

by Christina Lee

  I was rapt by his story, imagining a younger version of him. He nodded to the piece on the wall behind him. “That there is a lot like the one I made for my family’s bar.”

  He was interrupted by Cherry reaching over to hand Pop and Jim their basket of wings.

  “I better head back,” Smoke said, looking up at the bar. “It was good to meet you.”

  “You, too,” my dad said. “What the hell kind of name is Smoke, anyway? You got a real one, son?”

  I bit my cheek to stop laughing while Smoke nearly cringed. I knew my dad wouldn’t be able to hold back asking that question. His friend just smiled and shook his head.

  Smoke cleared his throat and looked directly at my pop. “The name is Reed, sir.”

  Whoa, that totally threw me for a loop. First, I didn’t expect Smoke to actually fess up to my dad, and second, I didn’t expect his name to be something so…hot.

  Reed. Fuck.

  He refused eye contact with me as he made his way back to the bar.

  I was completely distracted for the next two minutes, imagining how it would sound calling out his name in the heat of passion. I could barely even remember anything my dad’s friend had said to me after that.

  I quickly bussed a table before filling drink orders for a couple of waiting customers, his real name still on the tip of my tongue.

  As Smoke passed by me at the tap, his hip connected with mine. “Don’t even fucking think about calling me that,” he muttered real low in my ear.

  I couldn’t help the smirk that tugged at my lips.

  Then I heard Cherry’s voice ring out from the corner booth. “Better watch yourself.”

  It was the same two guys who had shown up the hour before and ordered a couple of pitchers of draft. Given the stitched names on their blue uniform shirts and grease-stained fingernails, they looked to be a couple of mechanics blowing off steam after work.

  “I meant no harm, darling,” the larger guy drawled and reached for Cherry again. She smacked his hand away before it landed point-blank on her ass.

  “Do that again and I’ll cut off your damn fingers and feed them to you with that hot sauce,” Cherry said as I made my way closer. I took stock of their table, which was littered with four empty pitchers and a basket of chicken wings.

  Normally Cherry could handle herself, and our regulars knew never to put hands on our servers, but this guy looked about a beer away from falling out of his booth.

  Instead of addressing the guy, I decided to deal with his friend instead. “Maybe it’s time to take your party elsewhere?”

  “Whaddaya mean?” drunk guy said. “We’re just relaxing and having a good time.”

  “I don’t call harassing my server—or any woman for that matter—a good time,” I said, crossing my arms. “She wanted your hands all over her, she’d ask. But I’m going to guess her old man wouldn’t like it one bit. And neither would I.”

  I only hoped this situation was resolved under the radar before my pop got all out of sorts about the kind of riffraff that frequented my bar. That’s all I needed to hear about the entire next week. I swear sometimes he liked to ignore the fact that my bar was Disciples turf.

  Just then, Jonas walked out of the back room with a couple of Scorpions and zeroed in on our conversation. “You need a hand over there, Vaughn?”

  I looked back at Smoke, who stood with his arms splayed on the bar top. Eyes on me, he rolled his shoulder, letting me know he had my back.

  “Nope,” I said to Jonas. “We’re good. Go enjoy yourselves.”

  The mechanic friend got smart as he eyed the Disciples and Scorpions cuts and stood up, yanking his coworker from the booth. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Jonas still watched them from the back table. “I better not see your faces in this bar again.”

  Chapter Six

  Smoke

  The first week with Vaughn went off without a hitch. I did my time at the auto parts store, talked club business with the Scorpions, and then assisted Vaughn at the Hog’s Den on a couple of busy nights.

  I could tell Vaughn was grateful to have the help—he seemed even more animated than usual, busting chops and telling stories about his childhood.

  “And then my friend Z was like, hell no, I didn’t spray paint the side of that bridge,” Vaughn was telling some regulars at the bar. I just shook my head and reached around him to get the vodka. But he knew I was there. I heard the hitch in his voice. “J…just ask my pop next time he’s in here. He’ll tell you how long it took us to clean that sucker off.”

  And boy, did the ladies love him. Just like I ruthlessly teased him with the brunette the other night, he did the same to me now, leaning over the bar with his meaty forearms, his ass looking perfect in those worn-in jeans, the woman in front of him biting her lip and making eyes. Fuck, this man was going to send me to blue ball hell.

  In months past, I could simply walk out the door and head out on patrol, but now I was practically chained to this bar and forced to watch him work the room. Maybe we needed to establish some rules. Maybe that was the only way to get through this without fucking each other’s brains out.

  Though if I’d had my way the other night, I would’ve had him flat against the wall, my dick up his ass. But since then, the only thing we did was look, neither one of us broaching the topic again. Maybe both realizing how darn uncomfortable it might be right now if something had happened between us.

  If he agreed not to flaunt anything in my face, I’d do the same. As soon as this damn place shut down for the night, I was going to actually bring it up instead of taking off right away like I always did. We were going to have a talk. And then I was getting the hell out of Dodge.

  As the night wound down and he kept up his flirting ways, I actually second-guessed myself and wondered if he was actually going to leave with the striking redhead who’d hung out near the bar all night. Hell, maybe he only wanted to get laid. Maybe all of that hadn’t been for my benefit.

  There was only one way to find out. So when the customers began dropping off one by one, and Vaughn signaled that it was closing time, I took the opportunity.

  “I’m all set here, if you want to take off,” he said while wiping down the bar.

  “I was actually going to offer to close up shop if you want to hook up with somebody.”

  I nodded toward the female eyeing him as she now slowly made her way toward the exit. All he needed to do was say the word and she’d go home with him in an instant.

  His eyebrows shot up. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  I couldn’t help my frustration from seeping through. “The way you were practically humping the bar earlier, I figured you needed to get your rocks off.”

  Vaughn waved as she went out the door, the disappointment clear on her face.

  “Jealous or something?” he asked, tightening his gaze on me.

  I swallowed the boulder in my throat. “Figured maybe it’d been a while since you got laid.”

  “Fuck,” he said, practically growling. “For the record, I don’t go home with customers. Ever. Especially regulars.”

  “Why not?” I asked, watching Cherry walk out the door with her large bag and an armful of takeout.

  “Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson,” he said. “It can get pretty awkward in here. I take my personal business elsewhere.”

  I looked around the space, making sure it was empty. Lewis had left an hour ago, since the kitchen had stopped serving food at ten. “Yeah, like where?”

  He didn’t look me in the eye. “Other bars.”

  “What other bars?” I knew I was pushing him but hell, I was on edge, ready to combust.

  He took a menacing step toward me, invading my space. “What kind of answer you looking for?”

  “No answer,” I said, realizing I had taken it too far. Vaughn’s business was his own. He was making that clear. “Fuck, just forget it. I’m out of here.”

  I grabbed hold of my keys an
d tried not to slam my way out the door. I didn’t know why the hell I was so rattled by him tonight. I mean, I had been every night, but something about the idea of him being with somebody else right in front of my eyes made me crazy with need. Need that it felt like only he could fulfill.

  As soon as I got to my bike, I realized I’d left my cut in the break room. I stood outside, attempting to rein in my uneven pulse. I didn’t know what the fuck had come over me.

  Breathing more steadily, I stepped back through the door, only to find the bar empty. I’d just grab my leather vest and leave him in peace.

  “I forgot my…” I stopped in my tracks because Vaughn stood motionless in the middle of the floor, veins bulging in his neck, as if he’d implode at the slightest touch.

  He was always moving and talking with a restless energy in this bar, so his stillness was a bit startling.

  “Hey.” I gingerly placed my hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry if I—”

  There was instant recoil, as if he were attempting to contain the vortex of tension between us by vacuuming it in through his skin.

  He twisted toward me, his eyes latching onto mine, right before I was slammed against the door.

  The wind was practically knocked out of me as Vaughn sank his weight against my smaller frame. We were groin to groin, heartbeat to heartbeat.

  “Fuck, Vaughn, you’re—” Heaving breaths surged through my nostrils. “I was going to suggest a truce.”

  “Yeah?” he mumbled, his gaze fastening on my mouth. “What sort of truce?”

  “You don’t flirt with any customers for my benefit…” I gasped as his hip adjusted over mine. “And I’ll provide the same courtesy.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What the hell do you think that’s going to accomplish?”

  “Maybe we wouldn’t get so damn keyed up every time we’re in the same room.”

  “You really think that’s going to help?” he spit out.

  A strangled grunt ripped from my throat as his cock twitched against mine. I could feel the entire length of him, and damn, did he feel good. I could almost picture that pink head, the long vein running up the front. The way it angled to the side and sat against his firm abdomen.

  He spoke against my ear, and a line of electricity buzzed over the hairs on my arms. “You don’t think the reason I’m so damn wound up every night is that you’re sexy as fuck and I’m desperate to have you?”

  “Ah, hell,” I rasped out as his fingers braced the back of my neck.

  His lips slid hazardously closer to mine. “I think the only thing that’s going to solve this problem is getting it over with.”

  “Getting what—”

  And then his mouth came down on mine, tapping all the goddamn air out of my lungs. His lips were surprising soft and hungrily persistent as his tongue forced my lips apart. It’d been so damn long since I’d kissed a man that I was completely taken by his musky scent, the rough stubble on his chin, the raspy grunts releasing from his throat.

  Fuck, how I’d missed this. It was just different—even better, depending on the circumstances—being with another dude. And damn, this was Vaughn, the guy I’d fantasized about on more than one occasion.

  The kiss was deep and intense, both of us moaning into each other’s mouths, his body practically molded to mine, our dicks bumping up against each other.

  “Fuck,” I said, dragging my mouth away. “Couldn’t you have been a shitty kisser or something?”

  Vaughn took a step back, but I didn’t want him to move away. Not after I’d finally gotten a taste of him. My senses were on overload, and all of my nerve endings were raw and alive and pulsing.

  My fingers gripped his nape, and I yanked him toward me to renew our connection.

  “What the hell are we doing?” Vaughn asked. Our foreheads rested together.

  “I don’t know,” I said and then swiped my tongue across his plump bottom lip, delving even lower to brush across that scar. “But you started it.”

  He groaned as his rough fingers grasped at my face. His lips slammed over mine, pressing hard. My tongue darted out to skim against his and then slipped deeply inside his mouth.

  This kiss was slower, hotter even, and my head was dizzy with lust. My limbs felt heavy, achy with need. I wanted to strip him down and take him in my mouth right then and there.

  Vaughn ground his hips into mine, and his fingers slipped down my back to grip my ass. Our tongued battled for dominance as his lips bruised mine. In another minute, I’d be on my knees, worshipping his fucking cock.

  As I pulled him more firmly against me, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I was supposed to call Jonas before my shift to discuss my meeting with the Scorpions, but all thoughts had flitted out of my head as soon as I was in Vaughn’s orbit.

  Shit. The call was like a slap of reality.

  “Damn,” I said as my phone buzzed again and Vaughn backed away, breathing heavily. “I gotta take this.”

  He nodded, raking his fingers through his hair, not meeting my eyes. I made the motion to reach for him but then decided against it. I needed time to think, and so did he.

  “Jonas. Sorry man,” I said and then slipped out the door.

  Chapter Seven

  Vaughn

  Hot damn. A kiss between us had actually happened and was even better than the fantasy. Smoke’s hard body, his smooth and pliant lips. He had gotten me so cranked up tonight slipping behind me at the bar while I flirted shamelessly with the customers. Then he had called me on it, and my need had escalated to a fever pitch.

  If his cell hadn’t rung, how far would we have taken it?

  And now what in the hell did we do?

  Maybe if we had one night, swore each other to secrecy, we’d be done with it, and all of this tension could finally end. He’d have to come to my place because he lived above Felix in a double house that they shared.

  But Felix and the other recruits also patrolled in my neighborhood. Shit. This was a doomed situation. If only I could get him out of my brain. No chance of that tonight.

  I probably needed to go up to Racer’s and get my rocks off with some hot guy. Instead, I went home and jacked off to thoughts of Smoke fucking me. Hell, I didn’t even know if he was a top or a bottom, but I’d take him any way I could get him.

  But rubbing one out only took the edge off, so when I awoke in the morning and realized he’d be on schedule with me again that night, I was strung so damn tight I had to take care of myself again in the shower.

  When I got to the Hog’s Den that afternoon, I began counting stock immediately, glad for the first time that I didn’t have a bar back. Busy work was a bonus right in that moment.

  Lewis was already in the kitchen making his wing sauce, but with his headphones on, he was oblivious to the outside world.

  We were low on glasses, so I ran them through the washer myself and then began dusting a couple of the shelves behind the bar that held vintage glass steins, even though Mal had set us up with a weekly cleaning service.

  I was so lost in thought that my head jerked up when I heard the prez call my name. I was bent over the back display case and almost knocked my skull on the wooden edge.

  “What’s up, Mal?”

  My voice sounded strange. I hoped he couldn’t tell I’d been thinking about Smoke and me making out like fucking horny teenagers.

  “Hey, listen,” he said, clearing his throat. “It’s about Smoke.”

  Panic crowded the back of my throat, cutting off my air supply, as I dreaded what would come out of his mouth next. It was ridiculous to think he suspected anything. Smoke and I had hidden our attraction so well, even he and I hadn’t been sure about it until more recently.

  “What about him? You need to take him off this job?” I asked, rambling on, attempting to fill up the awkward silence. “I’m sure Joe will be out of the slammer soon and back to work. Guess he had a prior that added time to his sentence. I can manage without him for now.”

  At least that mig
ht relieve the tension as well as our proximity to each other. Though the thought also made me feel strangely bummed because if I admitted it, I liked having Smoke around. He was easy to get along with and was definitely not high maintenance. He came ready to work and never made a fuss about anything. I think he liked being back in this atmosphere, as well.

  “No, nothing like that,” Mal said, and that prickly feeling eased in my chest. “I only…want you to look out for him, that’s all.”

  I laid down the rag and turned to give him my full attention. “I’m not sure what you mean…”

  “It’s just…Smoke has had a rough couple of years and now…now he’s kind of being pulled back into something I’m not sure he’s ready for,” Mal said, shadows lining his eyes. “Maybe I shouldn’t have assumed…”

  “The thing with the other club?”

  “Yeah. I’m not sure if it’ll stir up too many…. God, I don’t know.” He rushed his fingers through his hair, almost like a nervous family member. I rarely saw him like this. “Smoke’s history is his to tell, so I won’t say too much. But he’s a good guy, and I’m sorta concerned about him.”

  “You have a soft spot for him, yeah?” I do too, I wanted to say.

  “He reminds me too much of something from my own past, and I just want him to come out the other end okay. You feel me?”

  “Got it. No problem, Mal.”

  Fuck, now I felt even more responsible for my actions somehow, even though Smoke and I were two consenting adults.

  What the hell was Smoke’s story?

  “Hey, Mal?” I said before I lost the opportunity or my nerve. “I remember that fire. Mitsy’s bar? Did the police ever find anything?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve inquired over the years. Even put out feelers to find out where his uncle had disappeared to. Figured Smoke could use some links from his childhood.”

  “Nothing?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “At least, not yet. Selfish bastard.”