“You won’t call anyone.” He tucked the phone away. “And you won’t leave the safe house until I’ve got the situation under control. Then I’ll send you outta town.”
“It’s my situation to control.” Her voice rose in pitch. “This is all about me.”
“It may have just been about you, but you and Ty are Sinners now so the Sinners will protect you.” Well, not totally true. Sinner protection usually only extended to family, old ladies, sweet butts and house mamas. They’d be stretched thin if they had to look out for girlfriends and hook-ups, too. But Evie was … Evie. And he’d been incredibly relieved when Jagger gave the order to protect her. If he hadn’t, Zane would have done the unthinkable, and turned in his cut.
“I can’t just hide and wait for things to happen.” Evie twisted her hair around her finger. “The shop was half mine, and I’ll have to deal with the fire, the insurance, and the employees who need work to pay their bills. You can’t just send us away. Ty needs to see you.”
“Fuck, Evie.” Zane slammed a fist on the dashboard as soap slid down the windshield. “We’re not playing games here. You’re in danger. Your life at the shop is gone. I can’t protect you if you’re running around.”
“Don’t shout at Mom.” Ty leaned over the seat, his face now pale and drawn. “And don’t hurt her.” Without warning, he climbed over the seat and curled into Evie’s lap, his arms around her as if he was protecting her, while seeking her comfort at the same time. “No one is allowed to hurt her again.”
Again? Zane stilled, his momentary anger forgotten. “Who hurt your mother?”
“Mark.” Ty’s voice was muffled by Evie’s shirt. “Mark shouted and broke things and once he pushed her down the stairs and she almost died. I saw it.”
“He pushed you?” Zane’s world narrowed to one single purpose, and it had nothing to do with Viper or the Jacks. Nothing mattered save for the fact that someone had hurt his Evie and was still walking the streets.
“Just forget about it.” Evie hugged Ty, stroking the back of his head with her hand. “He was drunk and it only happened once. We left the next day. That part of my life is done. It was years ago.”
“Fucking cowardly piece of shit. He still in Stanton?” Zane sucked in a breath of soap-scented air and almost choked on the humidity.
“You’re going to run through that fifty dollars pretty damn quick,” Evie snapped, cringing at her hypocrisy. “And yes, he’s in Stanton, which is why we left. He and I are done. I divorced him and started a new life. It’s over.”
Zane gripped the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles turned white. “Once we got this situation fixed, I’ll be heading up to Stanton. Pay him a visit.”
“No, you won’t.”
“The fuck I will.”
Ty tightened his grip around Evie and his body trembled. Zane bit back the next words he’d intended to say. Damn. He’d scared the boy, and from what he’d just seen, Ty had been scared enough. He and Jagger had definitely pegged Mark right. And the situation screamed for justice. Sinner style.
“Maybe we should go to Hawaii instead of the moon,” Evie said, stroking Ty’s head. “At the rate Zane’s going, it should only take a few days.”
“How ’bout I just pay for the vacation and then swear all I like?”
Evie’s lips quivered with repressed laughter. Ty turned his head and met Zane’s gaze. Then his face broke into a smile.
That was the moment Zane knew.
He was home. And nothing would take him away.
* * *
The noise woke him. A soft murmur that he couldn’t identify as a threat, but which made him uneasy just the same.
Zane pulled his weapon from under the cushion and sat up on the couch, trying to pinpoint the sound. The safe house, an open plan apartment above Sparky’s garage, afforded little space to hide, which left the bedroom, the small office they’d fixed up for Ty, or the bathroom, as the source of the noise.
Not bothering with his shirt, he made his way through the sparsely furnished apartment. Bathroom clear. Ty sleeping soundly on the camp bed they’d set up beside the desk. Kitchen empty. He paused outside Evie’s room and heard the sound again. Then he pushed open the door.
He’d never seen Evie cry. Through high school break-ups, verbal and emotional abuse from her alcoholic mother, and the longing for her absent father, she’d always held fast. But now, she sat on the cold, wood floor, her back against the wall, the phone pressed to her ear, and tears streaking her cheeks. Her eyes widened when she saw him and she murmured into the phone. “I’ve got company. Have to go.”
He wanted to know who was on the phone, and whether that person had said something that made her cry, and if so, who he was and where he lived. And why was she on the phone with someone else when Zane was sleeping just outside her door?
She needed comfort. He could provide. Weapon holstered, he crossed the room and pulled her to standing, his gaze taking in the T-shirt that barely skimmed her lips. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to him, enfolding her in his warmth. No words. Just silence. He had always loved silence.
After a few moments, she relaxed against him, her arms circling his waist, her cheek pressed against his chest. She had taken out her ponytail and her hair fanned over her shoulders, the gold highlights shimmering under the soft glow of the bedside lamp. So beautiful. So fragile. His Evie.
“It’s been a rough day,” she whispered. “Viper … She choked on the name. “I lost Bill, and the shop, and T-Rex. We’re on the run, and you … you want to send us away. What about Ty?”
“I’m not about to walk away from my responsibilities.”
Her breath left her in a rush. “I don’t want him to be just a responsibility. You’re his dad. I want him to have a relationship with you.”
“Like I had with my old man?” He couldn’t hide the bitterness in his voice. “Some kids are better off without their parents.”
“I just thought…” She tried to pull away and he held her closer, the slight movement of her body sending shock waves to his groin.
“I’m not leaving you or Ty.” At least not while Viper was out there. But after he dealt with Viper, what then? How did he integrate a son into his life? And Evie. How could he win her back? How could he ask her to forgive him when he couldn’t forgive himself?
“I guess I don’t know you that well after all.” But the desire that burned in her green eyes said otherwise, and when she met his gaze, her little pink tongue flicking out to wet her lips, he couldn’t deny his hunger.
“Then get to know me again.” His hand cupped her jaw with infinite care. Drawing her close, he dropped his head and claimed her mouth in a long, sensuous kiss.
“Yes.” Evie moaned into his mouth, the sound reverberating through his body, firing his blood, decimating the last of his restraint. He groaned, shoved her against the wall, and her lips apart for the soft slide his tongue. She tasted of coffee and cream, and something sweet.
* * *
Hard kiss. Demanding kiss. Desperate kiss. A kiss that turned her inside out, and told her the man he had become was not the boy she once loved.
He was more.
His hand snaked around her, pulling her against his hard body until her breasts pressed tight against his chest and she could feel every thud of his heart. There were no more gentle caresses, no fumbling with clothing, no whispered endearments. His free hand dove beneath her nightshirt, determined, demanding. He wanted her as she wanted him. Hard. Fast. Now.
“Panties off.” He yanked and her panties came away with a soft sigh.
She was wet, so wet she wondered if she could come just by pressing her thighs together, but before she could put the theory to the test, Zane thrust a thick thigh between her legs.
“Open for me, beautiful girl.”
Her legs parted, and the rough fabric of his jeans grated over her sensitive skin sending ripples of pleasure straight to her core.
Evie slid her arms aroun
d his neck and opened to him, needing his touch, the total release of surrender to wash away her fear and tension. She drew him in and kissed him with all the hunger she had buried away the day he left, as if she could assuage a never-ending thirst with the cool touch of his lips.
She felt his low, deep growl of approval in every cell of her body as he slid his cool hands under her shirt to cup her naked breasts, kneading them gently, his thumbs flicking over her nipples until they peaked. Evie had never been with a man as forceful and dominant as Zane, never been handled so roughly. He was how she had imagined Viper would be, but ten times hotter, controlled, but not violent, and terrifying only because he made her want more.
“Look at me.” He dragged in a harsh breath, then swept his tongue inside her mouth, touching, tasting, claiming every inch, showing her what he meant to do to her body. She sank beneath the ferocity of his need, her eyes lifting to his, drowning in the depths of a chocolate sea.
“I need you,” he gritted out. “Now. Here. I need to know you’re real. I need to know you’re safe and you’re mine. I can’t promise to be gentle. Not this first time.”
“I don’t want gentle.” She threaded her hands through his silky hair, then fisted it and pulled him down to her mouth, nipping his bottom lip to let him know she could take whatever he wanted to give.
“Christ, sweetheart,” he groaned. “You’re not ready for all that I’ve become. Don’t push me too far, or I won’t be able to hold back.” He drew her hand down to the bulge in his jeans and pressed her palm against his erection. “Touch me.”
She hesitated, still uncertain around this new Zane, so confident and commanding. Although she was tempted to go where he led, uncover the dark secret he struggled to hide, she wasn’t ready to open herself up, to trust. Not when she still had questions about the night he left Stanton. Not when he might leave again. But for now, she wanted to lose herself in him, forget about the day and give in to the yearning she had lived with for the last nine years.
Hand trembling, she undid his belt and opened his jeans, releasing his cock from its restraint. Zane groaned, and jerked his hips, thrusting into her palm. Nine years ago he had been a teenager. Now he was all man. His chest was broad and thick with muscle, tattooed with the Sinner’s Tribe logo and scarred by what looked to be a blade; his cock huge and hot, lay heavy in her hand. The boy had touched her with a sweet hunger, gentle and hesitant, awed and forgiving. The man in front of her knew exactly what he wanted, and how he wanted it. He was utterly confident and in control, raw and primal, a tsunami of heat and desire. And the thought of unleashing that power, having all that hunger and intensity focused on her …
Zane drew Evie’s shirt over her head, tossed it on the floor, then drew her nipple between his lips, rolling it with his tongue. The cool air on her skin coupled with his hot, wet mouth sent a shiver of need straight to her core and she moaned and arched her back, offering him more.
“That’s right, sweetheart. Give it to me.” He released her nipple and turned his attention to her other breast, his hand on her hip grinding the curve of her sex against his thigh.
Her body heated, flamed, and she rocked against him, needing more than the tease of denim against her clit. She tightened her grip on his shaft, and worked him as hard as she dared, sliding her hand from balls to tip in a steady rhythm until he gave out a tortured groan.
“Harder.”
Harder? She’d never held a man harder than she held him now. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I like the edge. The line between pleasure and pain.” He nipped her nipple sending a sizzle of electricity straight to her clit.
“Do you feel it?”
A shiver ran down her spine. Feel it? One more bite like that and she’d come just from the pressure of his thigh on her clit. “Yes.” The word escaped her lips in a moan, a plea for more, although she didn’t know what more there could be than an arousal so fierce she would give anything to come right now.
Zane pulled a condom from his back pocket, and tore it open with his teeth. Evie moved back as he sheathed himself, wondering how different life would be if they’d taken that precaution before. But then she wouldn’t have Ty or the memories of that beautiful night.
And then his hands were on her hips and he was lifting her, bracing her between his broad chest and the wall, until his cock pressed against her entrance, a delicious, tantalizing pleasure.
“Don’t stop.” She wrapped her legs around his narrow hips, trembling as he lowered her inch by inch over his shaft, giving her time to accommodate to his size. Her sex throbbed as he slid deeper and deeper until he was fully seated in her core, as close as two people could be, as close as they had been the last time they were together, except then she had given herself completely to him, body and soul.
“Fuck.” He grabbed her hips and they moved together, Evie bracing her forearms on his shoulders, trying to match his steady rhythm with her own. Unlike their first time together, their joining wasn’t slow or tender. There was no exploration, no kisses, no hesitation. It was hard, desperate, animal fucking, and she was totally on board.
Her orgasm built, climbing higher and higher, flaming her blood until sweat trickled between her breasts. Close. But not close enough.
“Zane,” she panted her breaths. “I need—”
“I got you, sweetheart.” He reached between them to stroke her clit. One touch was all she needed. One touch and she had to bite her lip to hold back the scream as she climaxed, riding his long, deep thrusts as wave after wave of pleasure spiraled out to her fingers and toes.
Zane drew out her orgasm, driving his cock deeper as her sex rippled around him. Finally, he stiffened and groaned, his shaft becoming impossibly hard before he climaxed, the throb of his orgasm sending tiny aftershocks through her pussy.
Evie collapsed against him, resting her forehead on his shoulder as she caught her breath. It felt too good to be with him like this, too right. Dangerous.
“You’re real after all,” he murmured, stroking a warm hand down her back.
“Apparently so.” She wiggled to let him know she wanted down and he eased out of her and lowered her to the floor. Now that her physical hunger had been sated, Evie didn’t know what came next or what she should do now. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling inexplicably shy as he tugged on his jeans.
Seemingly unaware of her sudden withdrawal, he brushed a kiss over her cheek and left to dispose of the condom.
Evie grabbed her nightshirt and tugged it on, then settled on the bed with her tablet, the blanket over her legs, her back up against the headboard, giving her the distance she needed to process all that had happened.
Zane paused in the doorway, and frowned, his beautiful body making her want him all over again. Damn he was fine. Those cut indents on either side of his abs made her want to rip off his jeans and follow that V down to its peak. But that’s all she wanted. Hearts weren’t made to break more than once.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to sort out funeral arrangements and insurance. Getting in touch with Bill’s staff. Catching up with some friends.” She feigned a laugh. “Getting out a few posts to let people know I won’t be around because I’m being hunted down by a psychotic outlaw biker.” She cringed inwardly at her very obvious and cold attempt to brush him off so soon after they’d been intimate, but he needed to get the message: they had dealt with the sexual tension between them and now it was time to move on.
“It’s not a joke, Evie. Viper is a real threat.”
“If I thought it was a joke, I wouldn’t have uprooted my life and come here.”
When he didn’t move, she tried again, clutching the tablet like a life preserver. “I’ll be up for a while. You’d best hit the couch and get some sleep.” She dropped her gaze and stared at the blank screen on her lap. There. She couldn’t be more blunt than that, but if she’d hurt him, she couldn’t tell from the low, even timbre of his voice.
“Com
e here, sweetheart.”
She looked up, saw nothing but concern and understanding on his handsome face Still she, pressed her lips together and stared at the screen.
“Zane. Really I—”
“Come to me, Evie.” His voice carried a hint of command, although his expression was gentle.
She put down the tablet and went to him, not because of his command, but because she was already lonely behind the walls she had so quickly put up after their intimate encounter. And because, even after all these years, Zane knew when she was afraid and hurting, knew when she needed him most.
Zane circled her with his arms and drew her into his warmth. With a sigh, Evie slid her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered.
His words melted her just enough that the tension drained from her body, the walls falling down as quickly as she’d put them up. Myriad emotions assailed her, and she clung to him, drawing from his strength.
“I tried to save him.” Her words stuck in her throat. “There was so much blood. And then I stabbed Viper. He was so angry. He tried to…” She choked on her words.
Zane’s arms tightened around her, holding her firm, protecting her from the memories, whispering soft words as she shuddered against him.
“Breathe, sweetheart. Let it go.”
A tear slid down the side of her face and she took comfort in his arms. Not just because she felt so safe with him, but because she could feel him, remind herself he was real, and not just memory.
“If it wasn’t for T-Rex, Ty would be alone.”
“He’ll never be alone.” He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “Neither will you. I’ll keep you and Ty safe, Evie. And the Sinners will always have your back.”
His hand was cool on her skin, his body warm against her. She didn’t know how long he held her, but she knew he would never let go until she asked.
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