Ember's Burn: A Steel Demons MC Novel

by Annelise Reynolds

  “Good, then you have nothing going on. You know where the house is. Tomorrow night, six o’clock.” I walked away before she could refuse again. She could just not show, but I hoped that she would.

  By the time the lunch crowd left, I was exhausted, but I doubted anything would get me to sleep, not without getting drunk again, and the thought of that made me cringe.

  Phoenix came in at one with a sappy smile on her face. Grit wasn’t far behind her, and he looked well pleased too.

  “You look like the cat that ate the canary,” I said when she came into the back.

  “Nope, I was eating dick all morning, tastes so much better.” She winked at me and I rolled my eyes.

  “I don’t want to hear about Grit’s man meat, thank you very much. By the way, you’re coming to dinner tomorrow night. Chink is making his famous chili.”

  “Chink has a famous chili?”

  “That’s what he says.” I shrugged.

  “Alright. Girt and I will be there. What time?”

  “Six-ish, but you can come earlier, if you want to hang out.”

  “Sounds good. So, how are you holding up?”

  “I’m ok.” I didn’t need her worrying about me, though I knew she probably already was.

  “Liar.”

  I laughed. “Ok, it sucks. I didn’t realize how much I needed him nearby until he wasn’t here anymore. How the hell did I live without him for so long?”

  “I ask myself that about Brice. He’s it for me.” Her eyes glazed over a little, and I smiled. Love showing in her eyes and all over her face. My best friend was blissfully happy, and I couldn’t be happier for her.

  “Have you guys set a date?”

  “No, but when we do, you’ll be the first to know because my maid of honor will have to help me find the perfect dress.”

  “And shoes.” I grinned. I missed my heels but, because of my injuries, I’d been forced to wear flats. I couldn’t wait to have a reason to wear my red glitter heels again. My Dorothy costume for Halloween was perfect for them, and I was planning a little something for a private after-party, just me and Titan.

  Since my appointment where I was cleared to start exercising, Piper and I spent the evenings in my room, with her teaching me how to give a lap dance. I wasn’t ready yet for a pole, and since Chink was following me around, I had to make sure he wouldn’t be getting any more embarrassing pictures of me or tip off Titan that I was learning to give a lap dance.

  “Yes, and shoes, though I may as well just borrow something out of your closet, you have enough shoes.”

  “No, you’re not going to be sensible when it comes to your wedding. You will have a killer dress and shoes.”

  “Fine.” She gave me an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes. “You twisted my arm into it.”

  “You know, we may have to drive to Dallas to get something really good.”

  “Bachelorette Party, Road Trip?”

  “Oh, yeah. We just need a date.”

  “I’ll talk to Brice about it tonight. See if we can’t put something in stone.”

  “Great. We going alone or taking the girls with us?”

  “The girls, and Anita, if she’ll go. I think she’d like to be there when I pick out the dress.” She grinned at me. “Plus, with the way she and Gavel are making up for lost time, she might be wanting to look for her a dress too.”

  “Sounds good. You know the guys are going to follow us?”

  “Yeah, they won’t let us go alone, but they won’t go all caveman on us either, not unless we go to a strip club.”

  “There’s an idea.” I winked at her and grinned. “What if we did go to a strip club?” After so many years of hiding, I didn’t want to hide anymore. I wanted to live. I wanted to experience what I’d never experienced before. Having Titan around, I felt safe enough to do it. “We’ll talk about it later,” I said when I noticed Grit heading our way.

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her neck. “Have you spoken to Titan today?” he looked at me and asked.

  “No. He normally calls me at night. Why? What’s going on?”

  “Nothing, just curious if he called you this morning.”

  “No, Do you know when he’s coming back?”

  “No, he’s got a lot going on over there.”

  “Ok. I’ll talk to him tonight. Do you want me to tell him to call you?”

  “Nah, it’s alright. He’ll call me if there’s something I need to know.” Phoenix and Grit went to the bar, Becky was a few minutes late, and looked like she just crawled out of someone’s bed.

  Chink left when Grit arrived. I watched as he drove away toward Beauford instead of toward the clubhouse.

  The dinner rush came through. I was taking orders for a group of college kids, they barely looked like they were out of puberty, but it could be that I was used to the rougher edges of the Demons. They were all man and had the alpha attitude to match, these guys reminded me more of Nathan, and I shivered with revulsion as the thought crossed my mind.

  Piper left early to get to Declan, and I handled closing the restaurant with Hannah. Ink was waiting in a booth to take me back home. “Where’s Chink?”

  “He’s still out, he asked me to come get you.”

  “Ok. Thank you. I could have just gotten myself home. You didn’t really have to come.”

  “Yeah, I did. Grit won’t leave Phoenix up here by herself, and you have no car here.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter at all times, you know. I’m perfectly safe here when the restaurant is open.”

  “Not taking chances, Ember. We don’t know what Richards’s son is up to.”

  “Makes sense,” I grudgingly agreed.

  Ink drove me home. “I’ll stay until Chink gets here. He texted me that he was on his way just before we left the restaurant.”

  “He’s got to be sick of sleeping on the couch?”

  “Yes, but if he joined you in your bed, Titan would kill him. If he joined Piper, Legend would kill him. He’s safer staying on the couch.”

  “He could always bunk with Declan.”

  Ink started laughing a full laugh. The rich deep rumbling sound was not something I’d heard often, if ever, from the man. “Chink is scared shitless of kids, baby girl. The rest of us don’t mind them, but Chink has a no kid policy.”

  “Has he ever been around kids before?”

  “A couple of the brothers in Arlington have kids, and he runs the other direction when any of them bring one around.”

  “That’s too bad, I think he’d make a pretty cool dad. Anyway, I better get upstairs, Piper’s waiting on me.”

  Ink raised his eyebrow. “Do Titan and Legend know about this?”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Get your mind out of the gutter.” ‘Men,’ I mumbled under my breath. I turned back halfway up the stairs and called out to him, “Did you see that picture?”

  “Of you and Piper spooning, yeah. It was hot.” He grinned and winked at me.

  I stomped up the remaining steps, contemplating my revenge. Chink was going to get it.

  Piper was already stretching when I went into my room. “You want to help me get Chink back for taking that damn picture – which by the way, Ink has seen so I’m sure the whole club has seen it?”

  She groaned. “Yes. What do you have in mind?”

  I changed into the leggings I had yet to give Becky back and a tank top. Piper was in her regular exercise outfit of shorts and a sports bra. While I slowly stretched, loosening my body, easing into the moves so I didn’t hurt myself, I explained what I wanted to do.

  Piper started laughing, when I told her the plan. “Will his bike be here tomorrow?”

  “He was on it when he left the restaurant today. Ink must have picked his bike up from here, and rode it up there knowing he was going to have to take me home in the truck.”

  “Ok. You ready?” she said, standing in front of one of the t
wo chairs set up in the room.

  “Yeah.” She started directing me in several different moves against the empty chair. Her body swept smoothly through each move, her hips and legs gyrating lithely to whatever music she had going on in her head. She stopped and watched as I attempted to roll my hips and abs as she did.

  “Great. Let’s put some music to it. Just pretend like Titan is sitting in that chair. You know what makes him hot, do what feels right to you. What you think he will like from you, and if all else fails, straddle his lap and grind yourself down on his dick – he’ll forget his own name.” She winked at me, and I laughed.

  The sound of Ariana Grande’s voice singing Dangerous Woman came through the speakers. The beat was slow, allowing me to learn and get comfortable with the overtly sexual movements. I’d never really danced before, so this was way out of my comfort zone. I was stiff trying to dance to the empty chair.

  “Here.” Piper came up behind me and put her hands on my hips. “Roll your hips, use your core. Feel the beat of the music. On the down beat, you should be going down on Titan.” She guided my hips, and kept giving me direction, when my hips were finally relaxed and I got the hang of rolling them, she started the song over. “Now that you have the rolling hips, time to work your chest. You’re one of those lucky bitches that was actually blessed with a chest, so you need to use it. Your hips are figuring out the music, but what about your arms and hands? Dancing is a body sport just as much as football or wrestling. Here, sit down.”

  Unsure what she was planning, I sat down in front of her. “Without being able to move from the chair, try and seduce me. Your body cannot fully come off the chair. How are you going to do it?”

  I didn’t have a clue what she wanted me to do. I sat there dumbly, trying to figure out how to seduce with my arms.

  “Your mistake is thinking too much, Ember.” She sat in the chair next to me and started moving to the music all the while her body was in a mostly sitting position. She bent forward running her hands up the expanse of her leg, flipping her hair, moving her arms over her chest and across her body. Every movement was pure sex, and seductive. Her hips still moved against the chair. At one point, she put her hands on either side of the seat, bowed her body off the chair, and rolled her core and hips in the air before coming back to a rest in her seat. “Your turn.”

  Unlike Piper’s movements, mine were still somewhat stiff and uncoordinated. I felt ridiculous. She was patient as she was showing and telling me how to do things, but it didn’t help me feel any better or move with the same sensual grace she seemed to possess.

  “That day we were all dancing in the bar, you danced, why? What was it then that had you relaxed enough to dance?”

  “We were in a group, and I wasn’t trying to be someone’s focus. Plus, we’d had a few drinks so it was easier.”

  Piper headed out the door and came back with two shot glasses and some whiskey. “I looked for wine or tequila, but we are out. Whiskey will have to do.”

  “You’re going to turn me into a drunk,” I laughed.

  “Nah, two shots and you’ll relax enough to really move. You can dance, I’ve seen it. It’s just when you actually try to dance, you become stiff. I think you need to get out of your own head.”

  “Titan says the same thing about me.”

  “Smart man.” She poured the two shots and handed one to me. “Bottoms up.” We did both shots in quick succession, before she started the music over again. “Ok, this time, I’m Titan.” She moved the other chair away and sat down in front of me.

  “This is weird.”

  “No, it’s not. We’re friends, and you’re practicing a dance for your man. I’m just giving you a warm body to practice on. You aren’t the first woman to give me a lap dance.” She rolled her eyes and nodded for me to start. I took a deep breath and picked up the beat.

  At first, I stood there rolling my hips and ass like she had taught me. Slowly, I started to relax as I got more comfortable. I started doing more with my arms, hands and chest. The song was now playing on a loop, so even as I was getting comfortable the song just started over.

  “Ok, you want to actually get in my lap you know?” She smirked at my nervousness. I envied her confidence and comfort with physical contact. It’s not something I had a lot of, even if it had gotten a lot better since moving to Belle.

  I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and pictured Titan. I wasn’t dancing for Piper, I was dancing for him. I could see the blue fire in his eyes, the lust. The desire. I turned my back to the chair and bent, putting my ass in his face, wiggling my hips to the beat. I got on the floor and crawled to the chair, my eyes now open, aware it was Piper and not Titan I was crawling to, but all the same, I crawled to the beat of the music.

  When I was close, I crawled into Piper’s lap, straddling her thighs, grinding my hips down onto her, my breasts in her face, my hands gripped the back of the chair to help keep me balanced as I moved against her. It was hot. I never expected I would be turned on dancing for a woman, but I was. My body was heated, my breath was coming out in choppy waves as I moved with the music. My nipples were hard and pebbled against my bra, the lace deliciously scratching the delicate buds as I moved, and my pussy was wet, I could feel it as the desire to be filled. Piper wouldn’t and couldn’t give me what I needed, but the desire was still there as I moved against her lap to lap, chest to chest.

  “Good,” she coaxed me. Her voice a little gruff. It hit me she was turned on too. I closed my eyes and pushed forward, my breasts basically in her face. When I opened my eyes, I saw Titan standing in the door, Legend behind him, both with their mouths open and feral lust written on their faces.

  It was that lust that kept me dancing instead of stopping. My secret surprise for Titan was now out anyway, so I just kept going. Piper was still oblivious to their presence in the doorway. I knew the song was about to come to an end, so I kept my hips moving, grinding down on her lap, knowing as soon as Piper and Legend were gone, Titan was going to fuck me hard.

  As the song was dying down, I moved my hand to the side of Piper’s neck and brought my lips down on hers.

  The dinner with John and his family was simple and laid back. There was an underlying current of tension between us all, but we tried to keep it away from Olivia. Her once long brown hair was now short, thin and dull. She used to be a healthy weight, but you could tell the treatments had been hard on her once ripe body.

  “What brings you boys to town? It’s been ages since we’ve seen you. Normally only Hack and Stone head up this way, though it’s been a while for Stone too.”

  “Club business, but we wanted to see y’all when we were up here.”

  “That’s great. I’m glad you boys came. We haven’t seen Hack in a while, actually it’s been an unusually long time. I wonder if something happened.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She shrugged. “I suspect Dylan was dating someone up here, but I can’t be sure. We never talked about it. I just know we were seeing a lot of Dylan, and then nothing, nada.”

  “Huh. Hack never said anything to us.” Legend seemed curious because they were so close.

  She shrugged. “How’s everybody else?”

  “Everybody is fine.”

  “Oh come on, let me have some kind of club gossip.”

  “Gavel has hooked up with Mom.”

  Olivia smiled brightly. “That’s wonderful. I’m glad. He deserves some happiness after all these years.” She looked at me for a moment, considering. “You know, in all the time that I have known you guys, I have never met your mother.”

  “She didn’t go around the club much while I was growing up.”

  “Maybe when we’re next down there, I will meet her.”

  “That will probably be pretty soon,” Legend piped in.

  “Really?” She looked to Sterling for confirmation, he nodded silently.

  “When?” A big smile crossed her face, exciteme
nt shone in her eyes.

  “Soon.”

  We finished dinner, catching her up on a whole lot of nothing. We were careful to talk around Phoenix and Ember, never using their real names because, while they would figure it out, we didn’t want to let them in on the target ahead of time. Divulging who Ember and Phoenix were would put more questions out there than we were wanting to answer.

  After dinner, Legend and I went to a bar with Linc and Carter. It was a hole in the wall pub that had a steady crowd of regulars.

  “Hey Linc. Carter.” The waitress was cute. Before McKenzie, I’d have had her in my bed. Judging by the way she was devouring me with her eyes, I could have had her in the bathroom against the wall.

  “Cameron,” the guys said. Linc looked at her warmly, but Carter refused to look at her at all.

  “Who are your friends?” Her eyes went from me to Legend, and the interest was there for him as well. I rolled my eyes. Linc laughed, Carter didn’t.

  “They’re on the way out of town,” Carter jumped in before either of us could answer.

  “Oh, that’s too bad.” She gave us a little pout before flouncing away to get our drinks. All eyes were on Carter, he held our gaze but remained totally silent.

  “Of all people, her?” Linc said, anger lacing his voice.

  “Hey,” Carter snapped back. “I’m not going to give you shit about your love life, stay the fuck out of mine brother.”

  Linc shut up really quick. A noticeable tension settled between the two brothers. Legend and I just shrugged it off. Not our issues. We played pool, figuring our best bet was to split Linc and Carter for a while. As the drinks came and we played the tables, both of them seemed to loosen up.

  Cameron went to Legend when I refused to flirt back with her. Legend had the southern boy thing down to an art, but tonight, he wasn’t responding like he normally did to a woman so blatantly throwing herself at him.

  This trip wasn’t a pleasure trip, and it wasn’t the time to pick up a piece of ass. Especially when Carter was all but ready to castrate anyone who dared flirt with her, which was every man in the joint.

  “Why do you come here?” I asked him, after I stood up from shooting, noticing he wasn’t paying attention to the game, but the pussy walking around.