by Lilly Atlas
Damn, the woman’s mouth could start wars.
The moment he felt her soft hand cup his balls, he knew he was out of time. He shoved his hands under her arms and heaved her up. “Need to fuck you.”
Shit. It was like she’d sucked his brains out through his dick and all that was left was a caveman grunting demands.
Toni didn’t seem to mind. Her lips curved into a sexy grin and she winked. “Something else you have to do first.” Then, she blew what was left of his mind by turning and stepping to the side of the fridge.
All she had on was one of his T-shirts and she drew the hem up and over her ass revealing two flawless globes separated by the vanishing string of her thong. Zach swallowed hard.
I’ll take you over my knee and tan your ass until it’s redder than your pussy.
She wanted it. She wanted his hand on her ass.
Fuck me.
Toni was going to be the death of him.
“Bend over. Arms on the counter,” he ground out, worried his voice would crack and reveal just how affected he was by her trust.
Toni did as he asked, bending at the waist and resting her forearms on the counter. Her gorgeous ass was on full display before him. Starting at her neck, he ran his hand down the length of her spine and over the right cheek of her ass, lingering when she sucked in a breath. She knew what was coming. Fuck, she’d asked for it, but the anticipation was making her edgy.
He withdrew his hand and heard another intake of breath. This time she held it in. Zach breathed as well, then counted to ten in his head. Toni whimpered. He hadn’t even touched her, but anticipation was doing its job. Making her antsy, needy.
Without making a sound, he lifted his hand and brought his palm down with a crack across her ass. She jumped and gasped then let out a low moan. Pink glowed across the cheek. Zach pulled her thong to the side and slid his fingers through her folds.
Just as he suspected.
Drenched.
He slapped her ass again, in the same spot, then once on the other side. Each time his hand connected with her, Toni gasped and grew a little wetter.
“Zach,” she said on a moan the next time his open palm landed on her.
“Never again, right, baby?” he asked.
Slap.
“No.” She moaned. “Never.”
Slap.
“You like this, don’t you?”
Slap.
“Yes.”
“Gonna make you come?”
Slap.
“Yes.”
“Not until I’m inside you.” He shoved her panties down and thrust until his hips met her ass. Some unintelligible sound flew from her and she pushed back against him.
It took a moment to figure out why her pussy felt hotter and wetter than he’d ever experienced. “Shit, condom.” How the hell was he supposed to pull out of her when there was a good chance he’d unload the second he moved.
“Pill. Clean,” she said.
“Hell, me too.”
“Then fuck me, Zach. Now!”
Zach didn’t need to be told twice. He drew back, then snapped his hips forward until she screamed his name. Three thrusts were all it took to have her clamping down on his cock and coming with another shout of his name. That spanking really worked her up. The orgasm seemed to go on and on.
He kept pounding into her for probably nothing more than an embarrassing forty-five seconds, but since she’d already come like the world was ending, he didn’t feel too bad about it. Gripping her hips so hard she might end up with a bruise or two to go along with her scratches, he rammed home and exploded.
Coming bare inside her was the most intense experience of his life. Pleasure spread from his dick through his whole body until he growled out her name and spots danced in front of his vision.
Shit, Zach couldn’t imagine never feeling the sensation of her pussy on his naked cock again. In fact, it was going to have to happen again within in the next half hour.
“You okay?” he asked as he helped Toni stand, once he had control of his limbs back.
She gifted him with a slightly fuck-drunk smile and nodded. “That was, um…unexpected.”
Zach laughed. “I’ll say.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss. He explored her mouth, taking everything she had to give.
She owned him. But did she want that? All evidence in the past pointed to no. But after the day they’d had, their connection had grown. She trusted him. She’d proven that to him.
The trick would be getting her to realize that.
Toni was the first to end the kiss. “Um, Zach?”
“Yeah, baby?” He rested his chin on her head.
“We’re in the kitchen. Of your clubhouse. Anyone could walk in at any time, and our assess are kinda bare.”
He’d never tell her, but there was a good chance someone had heard them and they may have even had a prying eye peek in.
After a quick kiss to her lips, he righted his pants. “Come on, babe. Let’s get some shut eye.” He bent down and tucked his shoulder into her stomach before lifting her in a fireman’s carry.
“Zach!” Toni shrieked and scrambled to grab hold of the waistband of his jeans. Her panties were still around her ankles so Zach peeled them off and stuffed them in his pocket. He was starting a collection.
“Wait! You can’t carry me through the place like this!” Her voice was a high-pitched panicked sound, but laughter killed her attempted at anger.
He jogged up the steps. “Everyone’s asleep and if you’d stop screaming like a banshee, they’d stay that way.”
Toni growled and pinched his ass, hard. He couldn’t help but burst out into laughter as he reached his room.
Good fucking end to a day that could have ended quite differently.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Two days after she’d killed a man she used sleep with, Toni was in full-on freak out mode. She felt like an unstable tower built haphazardly by a toddler. Each mismatched block represented one stressor. And the tower was wobbling back and forth precariously close to collapse.
She’d watched a man tasked with protecting her die.
She’d killed a man.
She’d almost been that man’s hostage.
There was a very scandalous sex video hanging over her head.
She had a douchebag ex to deal with.
Maverick was in the hospital.
She hadn’t seen Zach in two days.
She had a whole host of complicated feelings for a man to sort through.
She had a job waiting for her in Chicago and a business in Tennessee.
And to top it all off, she walked into the diner at six a.m. on a rainy morning to find a hole in the roof and a trickle of water that seemed to grow to a stream in no time. Well, great. What the hell was she supposed to do now? The diner was slated to open in an hour, and staff should be arriving within the next thirty minutes.
She grabbed a mop bucket and placed it under the falling water. At the rate it was pouring in, she’d need to replace it in twenty minutes.
Toni’s lower lip quivered and she stared up at the ceiling while blinking to ward off the impending tears. Last thing she needed was to bring any more water to this party.
The bell over the door jangled and Shell walked in. “Hey, To—oh, shit.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself. Watch your feet, it’s a little slippery.”
Ever the amazing friend and employee, Shell dropped her purse and jacket in a booth and booked it behind the counter. “I’ll grab some rags and get the lake cleaned up while you make some calls.”
The muscles at the base of Toni’s skull seemed to tense on the spot, causing a throbbing headache. “Any idea who to call in this situation?”
“Rocket has a construction company. I’d start there. If he’s not the right person, I’m sure he’ll steer you in the right direction,” Shell said as she spread some large rags on the floor to soak up the water. “Actually, call Zach. W
ith that bunch, they tend to get testy if their woman calls another man for help. Even one of their brothers.”
“You can’t be serious?”
Shell laughed. “Don’t look at me like that. Just trust me. Call Zach.”
“I can’t bother Zach with this, Shell, he’s got too much going on. I haven’t even seen him in two days.” Toni ran a hand through her disheveled hair and tried not to scream in frustration.
“He hasn’t checked in?” Michelle looked up from where she was bent over wiping up the mess.
“I didn’t say that. He’s texted about a million times to see how I was doing. He just hasn’t been able to escape. Poor guy must be exhausted.” Zach had spent those two days bouncing between the hospital and the clubhouse, dealing with the fallout of Maverick’s rescue. It turned out Shark had been holding a woman captive, a woman who was in almost as bad shape as Maverick. The club had gotten Stephanie to the hospital and per Mav’s request, was taking responsibility for her, so now there was another thing on their overflowing plate.
“They all are.” Shell sighed. “Hate seeing them stretched so thin, but these guys are the definition of tough. They’ll get it all sorted.”
“And Zach is not my man, Shell. You know that.”
With a snort, Shell rung the rag out over an empty bucket. “Sure, girl, you just keep telling yourself that one.”
As she opened her mouth to fire back a sassy retort, the door bells jangled once again and this time not-her-man strode in, in all his masculine glory.
“Fuck, baby. Why the hell didn’t you call me?” Zach didn’t wait for an answer. As he walked toward her, he pulled his phone out. Holding it to his ear, he gave her a quick kiss then turned away. “Hey, man, Toni’s diner’s got a fuck of a leak in the roof.”
His voice faded as he stepped farther away.
Shell shot her an I-told-you-so grin.
“Shut up,” Toni muttered to Shell’s laughter.
“Rocket will be by in twenty to put a temporary fix on the leak, and once the rain stops his team will take a look and see how bad the damage really is,” Zach said as he returned. “Shell, stop cleaning. Got some prospects coming by who will get this taken care of.”
“Zach—”
“Oh good,” Shell said. “This would have taken the two of us forever.”
“Zach—”
“Yeah, babe, they’ll get it done fast so you can open up. You might be thirty minutes late or so, but you shouldn’t have to shut down for the entire day.”
“Zach!” Toni yelled, clenching her fists at her sides.
He tilted his head and gave her an adorable grin that she was tempted to smack off his face. “What’s wrong?” He sounded completely baffled.
“I don’t need you to manage this for me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of this myself.” While that was true, he’d cut down on the stress and time suck by at least a factor of ten. She should be grateful. She was grateful; it made perfect sense for him to be the one to coordinate this. He had the connections; he had the contacts. It would be stupid for her to turn down his help.
It was just easier to blame it on his taking control rather than say, I’m terrified because I’m falling for you and I don’t trust my judgment when it comes to men. Please don’t do nice things so I’ll become more dependent on you than I already am.
No. She would not be saying that out loud to Zach or anybody.
“It’s really no big deal,” he said. “I’ve got Rocket on speed dial and he doesn’t mind.” Zach shrugged. “Easy fix.”
“Okay, but make sure he tells me how much he charges for an emergency call.”
Zach snorted. “Sure, baby. I’ll do that.” His phone rang so he kissed her on the forehead and walked off, completely unaware she was about two breaths away from a nervous breakdown.
One hour and fifteen minutes later the floor was dry as a bone, the roof was patched, and Rocket had refused a single penny from her for this or his upcoming appointment to install a more permanent fix. When she’d asked his rate, he’d given her the stink eye and muttered something like, “Family don’t fuckin’ pay, babe.”
Bikers!
All a bunch of macho alphas who drove her crazy. It might have also been true that the gesture warmed her heart and gave her all sorts of fuzzy family-love feelings. By now, it was no secret to the club that she’d had a less than stellar family life growing up. Being so accepted by Zach’s MC family was a really wonderful feeling. She found herself wanting that connection as much as she wanted Zach.
They were getting ready to open, just thirty minutes late as predicted, when Zach found her in her office. “Good to go, beautiful,” he said as he plopped down in the empty chair on the opposite side of her desk, sending a thrill through her traitorous body. What woman wouldn’t love being called beautiful by a hot biker?
He looked delicious, as usual, in his leather cut and faded denim. His T-shirt was dotted with rain from helping Rocket, but thankfully the storm had waned to a drizzle.
“How’s Maverick today?” Toni had visited him twice and he seemed stronger each time.
“Better. Giving the nurses hell, but being that he’s Mav, he manages to make them all fall in love with him while he’s being a giant ass pain.” Zach kicked his booted feet up on her desk and crossed his ankles. “How are you doing?”
“Good. Good. I’m good.” Toni shuffled some already organized papers around on her desk and looked anywhere but at Zach’s hypnotic blue eyes.
“Baby,” he said, in a tone that let her know he didn’t believe her for a second.
He could read her so easily and it both excited her and scared the pants off of her. Which at least explained why she couldn’t seem to keep them on around him. “Really. I’m doing fine.”
“Ah, fine. Women’s favorite word and man’s worst nightmare.” He winked as he spoke.
Toni couldn’t help but laugh. He had a point.
“I’ve got an idea. I shouldn’t be any later than six tonight. How about I bring my woman some dinner from Vincenzo’s and we eat it in bed? Naked.” He bobbed his eyebrows up and down.
His woman.
There it was again. That phrase seemed to haunt her at every turn. They hadn’t discussed anything about their relationship, yet everyone assumed they were a couple. Assumed she was his.
She couldn’t be his. Nine-to-five, safe automobile, picket fence, sophisticated wine tasting parties. That’s what she was searching for. An alpha biker who worked with his fists, rode a Harley, and went to parties where people fucked against the side of a building was not what she was looking for. It was too dangerous. Too close to the past.
It was not happening, no matter how much her body craved what she’d only ever experienced with Zach.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t find it with someone else, right? Just because she was looking for a sedate and serious man didn’t mean the sex had to be boring, did it?
“Oh, I’m not sure, Zach.” It sounded like the perfect way to close out the past few shitty days. Good food, plenty of wine, and Zach. Not much more a girl could need.
“No? Not in the mood for Italian? How about Mexican?”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just, um…” Excuse time. “I’ve got so much to do here. So much to get in place before I leave.”
“Before you leave?”
“Yeah, you know that. School starts up again in Chicago in a few weeks.”
“Leave Tennessee? To go back to Chicago? Where your asshole ex is? Fuck, Toni, we haven’t even had a chance to discuss how to deal with him yet. And you’re still planning on leaving?”
Per Zach’s instructions, she’d written to Chris and told him she’d be back by the three-week deadline he’d given her. At the time, Zach told her it would give them enough time to come up with a plan to keep that video off the web without her having to go back to Chris.
“I can handle all that by myself, Zach.” Liar, liar. She didn’t have the first clue h
ow to get herself out of that mess. “Now, more than ever, I want to help kids like me. Kids with screwed up families that are on the verge of making horrible life altering choices.”
“You’ve never once even considered the idea of staying, have you? So, I was just, what? A little something to amuse yourself with while you were on an extended vacation?”
“No, Zach, that’s not—”
He shot to his feet and rounded the desk. After yanking her to her feet he sealed his lips over hers in a kiss that almost made her forget everything she’d just said. Her nipples puckered and her panties were soaked five seconds in. She needed him like she’d never needed anyone else, and that alone was enough to make her break the kiss and step back.
“Tell me,” he said, his face a mix of lust and fury. “Tell me that you feel anything close to this with one of those pencil-pushing suits you date and I’ll let you go.”
She couldn’t, of course. She’d never felt anything close to it with any man.
“Zach, that isn’t the point. The plan has always been for me to return to my life in Chicago.” She scrunched her nose as it began to tingle, warning of the incoming flood of tears.
“Why? Because you’re too chicken shit to admit you want me. Too scared to take a risk. You’re so afraid I’m going to turn into a monster like Shark that you can’t even think about giving us a shot?”
She staggered back a few steps as his verbal slap stunned her. God, the truth hurt. And even worse, it sounded ridiculous. But he was right. She was scared. So scared.
“That’s not it, Zach,” she lied. “My life is in—”
He cut her off with an outstretched hand. “Just stop, Toni. If I have to hear you say your life is in Chicago one more time I’ll lose my shit.” He stalked toward the door. “Go. Go back to Chicago. Go back to a job that’s not what you thought it would be and your boring fucks. See if I give a shit.”
The door slammed behind him and Toni sank into her desk chair. He seemed to take all the life out of the room with him.
Why was she fighting this so hard? Toni wasn’t weak. Ever since Mark dragged her away from Shark’s gang, she’d worked her ass off to become a strong woman. Being able to handle any situation thrown at her was something she prided herself on. Yet, here she was, running away from something that could be amazing. It was like she was still that seventeen-year-old girl, fleeing from her mistakes.