Iron: The Coast book 8

by Hart, Eve R.

  Feeling his burning fury rush through me, I stood tall and stared him down.

  “You’re angry,” I said.

  “Damn right, I’m fuckin’ angry.”

  “Prez,” the one I recognized as B-ry said as he placed his hand on Iron’s shoulder. Iron instantly shook it off. I knew I had gone too far, though that hadn’t been my intention.

  I turned my head and nodded to Garen. There was one last thing we had to do.

  He looked to Iron and then back to me again before he hesitantly went around the side of the building.

  “You didn’t tell me you were coming here,” I stated as I turned my attention back to Iron.

  “That’s not the same.”

  “You’re right, it’s not. Unlike you, I didn’t intentionally come to you with deception in my eyes. And I didn’t need you when I knew I was going to hurt you. Unlike you, I believed that we would make it through this.”

  I turned away from him as Garen came back carrying several large gas containers.

  I would leave him to handle the rest.

  I didn’t make it three feet before strong arms circled around my waist and I was hauled up in the air.

  My mouth snapped shut and my lips tightened.

  I couldn’t believe he was manhandling me like this.

  Holding my feet off the ground, he turned and walked back to his bike, grunting every time my heel connected with his shin.

  A moment later, he planted me hard on the back of his bike. I moved to get up but he shot me a warning look that had fire behind it.

  Despite his anger, I started to stand.

  “Stay.” His tone caused me to stop and my butt hit the seat once again. “You will sit your ass there until I’m done,” he growled.

  “I flew here and I have a car. I will get home the same way I made it here.”

  His hand fisted the base of my ponytail and my head tilted as he pulled it back. I could feel his hand shaking on the back on my head.

  “I’m too pissed right now to tell you that you might be right. I fucked up, I’ll own it.” He bent down, bringing his face closer to mine. “You will sit there while I make sure everything is taken care of. Then I will take your ass to the airport or wherever that plane is sitting. And when I get home, I’m going to show you what happens when you push me past my limits.”

  He released my hair and turned on his heels. His men followed behind him without a glance my way. I wasn’t sure if it was out of embarrassment or respect for me. I was honestly too dizzy to even care.

  Ten minutes later, they all filed out of the building. Iron and Garen exchanged a look before Garen took off around the back of the building.

  Blade lit a match with a slight smile on his face. He let it burn until the whole book of matches caught fire. Then he dropped it and walked away.

  The car I had been driving pulled out, Garan now at the wheel and Midori’s mom sitting in the seat beside him. Her eyes were locked on the rising flames but there wasn’t an ounce of horror in her expression.

  Iron rolled out first, following behind the car.

  The sound of the bikes burned in my ears the entire two hours it took to get to the small, private landing strip. My arms were wrapped around Iron’s waist and not once did his body relax against my hold.

  He rolled to a stop but didn’t move.

  I gracefully dismounted the bike not bothering to fix my dress after I was standing.

  His arms came out and his hands jerked the bottom hem down in place. Then he snagged my chin and held it firmly while he looked into my eyes.

  Staring deep into his eyes, I saw the fear behind the fury. His jaw worked angrily but he didn’t open his mouth to voice any of the thoughts running through his head.

  My hands went to his face, cupping his beard in my palms.

  His body slightly sagged as he breathed out a long, slow sigh through his nose. Then he pulled me to him, his lips crashing into mine. When he broke away, his mouth moved to my ear.

  “I love you, Pet,” he said softly, however, his tone still held a dark edge. “But if it’s ever a choice between my life and yours, I will always choose to keep you safe.”

  He released me and was rolling away before I could say anything back.

  A tear strangely slid down my cheek as I watched his back ride away from me.

  “You should have told him,” Garen said from behind me with a tinge of humor in his tone.

  I straightened and brushed the tear away before I turned to give him a hard glare.

  “Let’s go, Petra,” he said and then stepped to the side to let me go first.

  I knew I’d return before Iron and that I’d have hours to wait, wondering what was to come.

  I not only had left him out of my plan after he made it clear that he had my back, but I’d also put the fear that he could have lost me to Death front and center in his mind. I pushed him too far and I had a feeling once you did that, Iron wasn’t as laid-back as he appeared to be.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Iron

  To say I was pissed would have been a fuckin’ understatement.

  Was I in the wrong here?

  Yes.

  But that wasn’t saying she was in the right.

  Fucking far from it.

  I tore ass home and my brothers kept up with me.

  I’d had a fucking plan.

  And I’d been prepared to do what I needed to do at all costs.

  Surprisingly, it wasn’t much different from hers. Though I had a feeling she didn’t do as much talking as I had planned on.

  I was going to offer them a large chunk of money to keep their mouths shut. It was the peaceful way to go and since it seemed like they were already content on doing that, I figured they wouldn’t hesitate to take the money. Only it would have come with a condition and a strong warning to never even think of crossing the club.

  I was determined to get Midori’s mom back. I wanted to keep her safe and I knew what was going to happen if I left her there.

  I was pretty sure they would have gone for it.

  And if they didn’t, I would have seen it in their eyes right away.

  I was prepared for that too.

  That was why I had ten brothers ride down with me.

  I was strapped down with two guns and a couple of blades, ready to draw blood and bring death if need be.

  Then, once we dealt with the sheriff, we were gonna deal with that asshole William Sampson. That was where the fire was going to come into play for us. We came up with the idea to trap him in that fucking building he called a church and light it up. Let him burn to death in the Hell he created.

  Who would have known he could be found at the sheriff’s office playin’ some late night poker?

  I sure as hell didn’t. It almost seemed too convenient for Petra, but something told me that she knew he’d be there before she even stepped foot into that building.

  I still had plans to get rid of that giant ass fucking church, though. And since we had to ride back by that town to get home, we made one last stop in that hellhole.

  Losing nearly four hours had killed our timeline. Not to mention that we would have lost the cover of the night if we didn’t hurry.

  After we had checked to make sure the building was clear, Blade went to the four corners, placing anything that would fuel the fire in piles. Then he struck the match and worked his way around there room, dropping a fresh match on each pile.

  It hadn’t taken long for him to come stumblin’ out, trying to clear the burn from his throat and smelling like smoke.

  We didn’t stay to watch the flames rise, but by the time we mounted our bikes, it was clear there wouldn’t be much left standing.

  So, yeah, after that I hauled ass out of that fucking town and tried my hardest to ride the anger out of me. Only it wasn’t working. As the miles flew by, the harder it seemed to hit me.

  An hour away from home, we all pulled over and refueled.

  I was ready to get bac
k and everyone knew it.

  “You alright?” Lake asked me as he shoved an energy drink into my hand.

  “Fuckin’ fine,” I answered trying not to take my anger out on him.

  “I know you probably don’t want to hear it, but—”

  “You’re right, I don’t. I probably already know it anyway.”

  He laughed under his breath.

  “She was a little bit right,” he said.

  I nodded, staring blankly ahead.

  “She was a little bit right,” I parroted. “But seein’ her like that, scared the fuck out of me. All that blood and not knowing if she was okay, wasn’t something I could handle. What if it didn’t go the way she planned. Those fuckers were carryin’ guns. They could have shot her.”

  “I get where you’re coming from, but you can’t look at it that way. She knew she could handle it. And if you try to take that away from her, then you are asking her to change who she is.”

  I cut my eyes over to him.

  “When the fuck did you get so wise?” Though I was trying to joke, it came out a little rough.

  “I learn from the best,” he said with a wide smile as he clapped me on the shoulder.

  “I’m still pissed,” I said.

  “Yeah, I got that much.”

  “Did you tell Bridget what you were headin’ out to do?” I asked with a raised brow.

  “I’m going to stop you right there,” he said shaking his head. “Bridget isn’t Petra. Bridget loves me and the club, but she doesn’t want to know what goes on. I don’t think she’s afraid of knowing as much as it’s for our protection. If she doesn’t know anything, then if anyone started asking questions she can play dumb without having to lie.”

  Yeah, that made sense. I could see how that would be her way of thinking.

  “That said,” he went on. “Petra isn’t Bridget. Petra has both feet and her whole body in our world. She’s seen shit. Fuck, she’s done shit. She’s not the type of woman that you can keep in the dark.”

  “Club business,” I mumbled as a lame excuse.

  “We all know that is a macho way of protecting our significant others. But that’s the thing with Petra, she doesn’t need to be protected.”

  I blew out a harsh breath as I opened the energy drink he got me. I quickly sucked it down seeing that everyone was about ready to ride out.

  “Thanks, brother,” I said as I tossed the can into the trash. I clapped him on the shoulder then mounted my bike.

  Once we were in town, I broke off with a toss of my hand. I didn’t need to explain where I was going, they all saw that shit go down and they knew.

  I found Petra alone in her penthouse sitting on the couch. She had showered and put on a new outfit. I sensed that she hadn’t left since she returned and I internally shook my head as I scanned her from head to toe. She was perfectly made up, right down to those uncomfortable looking heels.

  “Get up,” I told her.

  She did so slowly as her defiant chin jutted out.

  “Walk,” I ordered as I pointed down the hall.

  Pissed and scared were strong emotions on their own, but together, they had my head spinning.

  And I knew I was about to do something I’d never done before.

  Inside the room, I urged her down over the bench. I wasted no time cuffing her wrists but I left her legs free.

  With angry steps, I walked over to the cabinet in the wall. My hands snatched up the black rubber paddle with raised lines all over it. I wasn’t sure why I picked that particular one. Especially when there were less threatening looking ones beside it. I think there was something about it that reminded me of the brush that I had at home. The one I often combed her hair with.

  Her eyes watched me as I walked back over to her.

  “You know the safe word?” I asked. She’d never given me one but she knew mine even though I’d never used it.

  With a tiny nod of her head, I had my answer.

  “You have anything to say, you better say it now.”

  She remained silent.

  I pushed her dress up until her ass stared back at me.

  My hand fell heavy and the smack against her ass cheek rang out.

  Her body barely flinched and I knew she was trying to hold onto her control.

  This was all wrong for me.

  I never wanted to punish someone like this before.

  But I had broken and I knew the only way I could get through to her was to step into her world.

  “What did I tell you, Pet?” I asked, my voice was raw and the words came out with a deadly edge.

  When she didn’t answer quick enough, I popped her ass again. I let it smack harder and this time, her cheeks clenched.

  “You have my back,” she whispered out.

  My jaw clenched. I hated hearing her like that, but that didn’t mean I was done.

  “What did I tell you?” I repeated the question to make sure she got it.

  I brought the paddle back down on her ass. The skin was welted and red. I knew if I touched it, the skin would be hot. I didn’t make any attempts to sooth the burn, not yet.

  “You have my back,” she said a little louder.

  “And why does that mean so much to me?”

  Her eyes closed tight and I knew she was holding back tears.

  Not because I was making my point on her ass, but because she realized that she’d fucked up. And she was understanding why.

  “Tell me, Pet. Why does that mean so much to me?!”

  I raised my arm ready to strike again when she didn’t answer.

  My eyes closed and the paddle fell from my hands.

  “Rapunzel,” I whispered out as my head sagged.

  The room was silent and the sounds of my heavy breaths rang out in my ears.

  I released her wrists then fell to my knees on the floor.

  I couldn’t look at her.

  Petra stood over me for a long moment, the tips of her shoes filled the outer rim of my vision.

  Her hand was in my hair a second before she pushed me back on my ass and then climbed into my lap.

  “Because you love me,” she said and I could hear the strain in her voice.

  Her arms went around my neck and I breathed in her scent as I held her close to my body.

  “You weren’t the one that was supposed to use the safe word,” she said and I heard a hint of teasing in her tone. “I could have taken more.”

  My eyes met hers.

  “I was wrong, too. I’m sorry,” I told her.

  “You were willing to lose me in order to keep me safe. I will not tell you that I like it, but I can say that I understand.”

  “Kiss me, Pet.”

  “Anything for you, Mr. President.” Her lips twitched as if they wanted to smile.

  Then she pressed them against mine and wrapped herself even tighter around me.

  “I need you,” she said as she broke away.

  “Tell me what you need, babe.”

  “You. All of you. Now.”

  She frantically worked my pants open. Once my half hard cock was released, she stroked it until I was throbbing in her hand.

  I ripped the front of her dress and pulled the cup of her bra down. Once her nipple was visible, I lowered my mouth to it.

  She let out a low moan as she reached down, slid her panties to the side, and dropped her wet pussy down onto my now hard cock.

  “Fuck,” I breathed out as I tore my mouth from her nipple.

  “Yes, that’s what we’re doing,” she said as she rode me hard.

  “And what did I tell you before about that, Pet?”

  “It’s never just fucking,” she answered as she grabbed my beard and pulled my face closer to hers.

  She gave me her mouth.

  She gave it so freely now that I never wanted to give it up.

  I had been stupid to keep things from her even if I felt it was for her own good.

  Petra could not only handle herself, but she could al
so handle my world.

  I vowed to never treat her as anything less than the strong, badass, deadly woman that she was.

  “I forgive you,” she said as her nails raked over my scalp before she grabbed a fistful of my hair. My eyes were locked onto hers as she bounced up and down on my lap. “And I love you.”

  Hot, sweaty, and panting, we came together a few minutes later.

  She draped her body around me and my hands continued to hold her ass, my thumbs lightly brushing back and forth over the still hot skin.

  “You’re very good at that. I think you should do that to me again sometime,” she mumbled against my neck. I wasn’t so sure about that. “Without all the broken anger. And I want to watch you do it in the mirror.”

  My cock grew at the thought and maybe I wanted to see that too.

  “What do you say?” she asked as she ran her fingers over my beard.

  “Thank you, Pet.”

  Though I wasn’t sure why I was the one saying thank you right now.

  Then again, I was fucking thankful.

  For everything she’d given me and more.

  And everything she would give me in the future.

  Yeah, I was fuckin’ thankful.

  Epilogue

  Iron

  “Where you rushin’ off to?” Mason asked me with a smirk as I tried to escape out the back of the clubhouse without being noticed.

  “Petra and I have a thing,” I answered.

  He looked me up and down, taking in the new shirt and jeans. I mean, it was the same shit I normally wore, it was just brand fuckin’ new. I even cleaned my boots.

  Not that Petra would care. Notice? Yeah. Try to figure out why I’d gone the extra step? Yeah. But she wouldn’t get why I did it. I kept hoping that one day it would hit her. I guess I should have been happy that a woman as classy and put together as her didn’t give a fuck about changing me.

  “Thing?” he said with a raised brow. Then he held up his hand and shook his head as if telling me he didn’t want to know. “At least you didn’t cut the beard this time.”

  I laughed along with him.

  “Yeah, learned my lesson the first time. Petra loves draggin’ me around by it too much,” I told him with no shame. “This isn’t a sex thing, at least I don’t think it is.” I paused for a moment and my brows pinched together as I thought about it. “It’s a drinks and dinner thing.”