by Nina Park
“What do you call this?” I asked, lifting my glass.
Gina practically crawled across the table. Her lips were only a few inches from mine. She smelled like strawberries.
“I call it a poor substitute,” she whispered.
“I’m not in the mood,” I said, standing up and walking back towards the bar. I didn’t feel like fucking Gina, and I didn’t feel like explaining why. Since she’d been booted out of the modeling world, she took rejection pretty hard. It was best to be firm with her.
“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” she asked, annoyance clear in her voice.
A few people at the bar looked at us. I waved away their attention with a flick of my wrist. Everyone turned back to what they were doing, though I could feel that Gina and I still had their attention.
“It means what I said. I’m not in the mood.”
“Well, I can solve that problem.”
Before I could do anything, Gina reached out and caressed my dick through my jeans. Despite what I’d just said, my member was at full attention. In my defense, she had an amazing rack, and it had been basically on full display only a few minutes before. As the name Stone Devils implies, I’m not a saint.
She smiled and stroked me again, encouraged by my readiness. “I thought you said you weren’t in the mood?”
Gina pressed her body flush against my side and massaged her hand up and down my length, pressing her palm into me. I groaned and tried to ignore how good it felt.
“You’re stressed, Cade,” Gina said, pressing her breasts against my arm. Her breath was warm on my shoulder. “Let me make it all better.”
Her fingers trailed up to my waistband, and she undid my pants in record speed. Before I knew it, her warm hand was wrapping around my cock. My legs suddenly felt incapable of holding up my weight, and I collapsed down onto the barstool. Gina never once let go of me. She smiled and licked her lips, looking around to see whether anyone was paying attention.
Not that it would matter if they were. There weren’t many rules inside the clubhouse. In the hours after midnight, it wasn’t unusual to find couples pounding away against the pool table or on the floor behind the jukebox. The only thing Guts asked is that no one’s genitals touched a surface he would eat from.
Her hand stroked me up and down, gripping tightly at the tip before loosening and pushing back down to the base. Though her hand was within the tight confines of my jeans, Gina accepted the challenge. She hunched over me, my eyes perfectly aligned with her breasts, as she beat me off. Her chest heaved with the effort and the sight of it combined with the warmth spreading through my midsection was almost enough to send me over the edge.
Gina moved faster, harder. She was giving it all she had. Occasionally, she would look up at me, eyes hungry, lips puckered.
“Come for me, baby,” she whispered, her lips circling around the words.
I moaned and leaned back, preparing for the pleasure to overtake me, and then…
I remembered Falyn.
Instantly, the pleasure was gone. My body went cold and rigid. I grabbed Gina’s hand and pulled her out of my pants. Her expression changed from one of confusion to anger.
“What the hell, Cade?”
“I told you I wasn’t in the mood,” I snapped, angrier at myself than her.
I didn’t even know why I was upset. Falyn and I hadn’t promised each other anything. We weren’t exclusive. We weren’t even in a relationship. I was her rescuer. Beyond that, I didn’t even know if she really liked me. Once she was free, would she still care for me? I had no clue. What I did know, though, is that Gina’s hand in my pants felt like a betrayal.
“Excuse me for trying to make you feel good,” she said, rolling her eyes and pushing against my chest. “Asshole.”
She walked away, and I let her. I didn’t want to apologize to her, and I didn’t want to fight. In fact, I didn’t want to be in the clubhouse at all. I slipped on my jacket and headed for the door, letting the ache in my unsatisfied cock serve as my punishment.
“Cade!” I turned to see Guts waving at me from the pool table. “Where are you going?”
If it had been anyone else, I would have kept walking. Like I’d told Gina, I wasn’t in the mood. Not for a fuck, not for a chat. However, I couldn’t ignore the boss.
“Headed home,” I replied, taking another step back towards the door, hoping he’d let me go.
“Come here,” he said, waving me towards him. “Come chat.”
Shit. I navigated the crowded tables, passing Gina on the way back. She’d found a new Stone Devil to pleasure. I saw her arm moving rhythmically below the table in front of one of the younger members. His eyes were practically rolled back in his head, and for a brief moment, I envied his ability to enjoy the purely carnal pleasure of a hand job from Gina. Must be nice.
Guts took his shot, knocking a ball off the back wall and narrowly missing the corner pocket. He was a crap pool player, but he’d told me once he liked the way he looked holding a pool stick.
“Were you going to leave without saying hello?” he asked as I approached.
I shrugged. “That was the plan.”
He laughed, and the men around him joined in. They were his “yes men”. The people who told Guts what he wanted to hear, when he wanted to hear it. He let them hang around occasionally, but he always shooed them away when he wanted to talk business. Guts was a good boss because, unlike men like Marco, he wanted the truth.
If things weren’t going well, he wanted to know. If he was making a mistake, he wanted someone to tell him. “Yes men” could be the death of a good boss and a club. With a quick wave of his arm, Guts signaled for the small crowd around him to clear out, leaving the two of us alone at the table.
“What’s the latest with Marco?” Guts asked once everyone was gone.
The deal was still pretty well under wraps. Guts figured it was best to have as few people in on the specifics as possible. The Stone Devils were a close bunch, a family, but it was always possible for information to leak. Once the deal was complete, we’d let everyone know what happened.
If the cops happened to hear about it after the fact, no skin off our nose. If they heard about it before, however, we could be caught red-handed, which would be incredibly disappointing considering the deal with Marco was meant to be the Stone Devils’ last illegal arms deal.
“I’m working to get the price up,” I replied, hoping to keep it brief.
“Up from what?”
I hesitated briefly, not wanting to anger Guts enough that he’d call off the deal. “Twelve thousand,” I mumbled.
Guts let out a bark of laughter. “You’re kidding, right?”
I shook my head. “Unfortunately, no.”
“That son of a bitch,” he said between gritted teeth as he shot another ball for the side pocket. It ricocheted off the pocket just before the cue ball fell in. “Shit. Scratch.”
I fished the cue ball out and rolled it to Guts. “I’m going to make this deal. Don’t worry.”
“I don’t want you wasting too much time on this. If Marco is going to lowball us this badly, then we can find someone else. It’s not worth it.”
Wasting time? Not worth it? Something inside of me rose up at the words, indignant and defensive. Quickly, I pushed down my anger and took a deep breath.
“I’ll talk to him. He’ll come around.”
“I’m not so sure,” Guts said. “Marco isn’t known to be a strong negotiator. Maybe we should just move on.”
“No!” I snapped before I could reign it in.
Guts looked at me sharply, then tilted his head to the side. His eyes narrowed. “Is this still about that girl?”
I hadn’t wanted anyone, especially Guts, to know how important Falyn was becoming to me. As understanding as Guts could be, I knew he wouldn’t get it. He had never been in a serious relationship. I’d overheard him say on more than one occasion that monogamy was for men who couldn’t get any pussy, a
nd I’d believed him for a long time.
Now, though, my opinion was beginning to change. I could see myself being with a woman like Falyn. Or with Falyn. She wasn’t just a girl to me anymore. She had been at first. I’d liked the idea of saving her, of her owing me something. I’d figured I could do right by my conscious and pull her out of a bad spot and then maybe she’d offer up a few gratitude fucks in exchange.
As time had gone on, however, I just wanted to help her. I wasn’t even sure anymore whether she liked me, whether she would give me anything in return for saving her, but that didn’t matter. She was in a shitty situation, and I wanted to help.
“Marco is a sick fuck, Guts,” I said finally. “He’s a monster, and I can’t just leave her there with him. I know you may not think she’s worth anything, but she’s a good girl. I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t try to help her out.”
Guts sat the pool stick down and rounded the table, stopping in front of me and placing a heavy hand on my shoulder. “You’re a good kid, Cade. I agree the world would be a better place without the likes of Marco. He’s reckless and selfish, the worst of humanity. However, our focus is unloading the last of these guns. If we want to go legit, we have to get rid of these. That is our goal.”
“That is your goal,” I said before I had time to think about it.
Guts slid his hand from my shoulder and raised his eyebrows.
I sighed and shook my head. “It’s my goal, too. It’s just not my only goal,” I clarified. “I have to get her out of there.”
“Do what you need to do, but don’t lose sight of your obligation to this club,” he said.
From most bosses, the words would have sounded ominous, but from Guts, I knew it was just a piece of advice. He patted me on the back and turned back to the pool table. I took it as my cue to leave.
As I rode home, the warm evening air whipping against my skin, I thought about Falyn in the stuffy back room of Marco’s Clubhouse. I wanted to just call the police, have a SWAT team raid the place, and see Falyn released, but that would be me losing sight of my obligation to the club.
Even with mafiosos as bad and poorly organized as Marco, calling the cops was not an option.
There was no such thing as an anonymous tip. Word always got around, and before SWAT had even kicked in the back door, the entire criminal underground would know that someone from the Stone Devils was a rat. It would make Guts look bad, and it would bring the entire city down on the club. As much as I wanted to save Falyn, I couldn’t do that to Guts. I couldn’t do that to the club.
I cranked the throttle and flew down the empty streets. No matter what Guts thought or what deal Marco agreed to, one thing was certain: I would save Falyn.
Chapter Sixteen
Falyn
Cade was already in the room when one of Marco’s goons, who had all taken minor background roles in my mind – I didn’t even bother learning their names – opened the door for me. He was leaning against the back wall, arms crossed over his chest. He stood to full attention as I walked in though, his eyes lighting up in a way I’d rarely seen. In fact, everything about him seemed lighter.
The worry lines he carried on his forehead had smoothed away, his hair seemed to glow an almost celestial blonde, and his shoulders were broad and strong, no longer slumped as though he were carrying a heavy load. It all allowed me to appreciate how inhumanely gorgeous he was.
“Good choice, man,” the goon said to Cade, winking. “Have fun.”
Cade leveled a glare at the man, but he didn’t seem to notice and shut the door, leaving us alone. Immediately, I crossed the room and threw myself into Cade’s arms.
What’s worse: the devil you know or the devil you don’t?
Bianca’s words returned to the forefront of my mind. It had been a few days since we’d had the conversation, immediately after which Bianca had returned to her stony silence, and I’d allowed myself not to dwell on the dark thoughts. When I was trapped in the small dorm room for hours on end, I tried my best to think positively.
But now that I was looking at Cade, all of my worries rose back up. Against my will, I felt myself stiffen in his arms. What if this beautiful man had ulterior motives? What if I’d find myself free of Marco only to be imprisoned by Cade? The thought left a sour feeling in my stomach.
“Are you okay?” he whispered into my hair. “How have you been?”
“Okay,” I replied, still clinging to him. I couldn’t bring myself to pull away and look at his face.
It didn’t matter. Cade grabbed my hands, unwound them from around his body, and held me at arm’s length, inspecting me. I lowered my face, but instantly his strong hand was on my jaw, tilting me up so he could look in my eyes. He studied me and then I watched as the lines in his forehead reappeared. His eyes darkened.
“What happened?” he asked sharply.
I flinched. “What do you mean?”
Could he see into my thoughts so clearly? Did he realize something had changed between us?
His thumb rubbed across my cheek, and I realized the skin was tender.
“You have a bruise.”
My hand followed the path of his. “I do?” I made it a point not to look in the mirror very often. No matter how much water I splashed on my face or finger combing I did to my hair, I couldn’t do much to improve my appearance. “Is it bad?”
Cade swallowed and clenched his jaw. “Yes, it’s bad.”
I nodded and turned away. This time, he let me.
“I wasn’t ready to come inside yesterday,” I said.
“So they hit you?”
I nodded and shrugged. “It’s fine. It wasn’t a big deal.”
I’d been repeating that to myself since it happened. Fox had backhanded me, his bony knuckles cracking across my face. But it was fine. I was fine. It didn’t even hurt that bad. If I lied to myself enough, perhaps I’d start to believe it. Cade, however, didn’t seem to buy my lies for a second. His fists clenched at his side and his face went red.
“They shouldn’t be touching you. No one should be touching you.”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. “Touching me is the main point of my existence here.”
The hard lines of his face softened. The redness faded away, and suddenly Cade was looking down at me with genuine sadness in his eyes. He leaned forward until his forehead was pressed against mine.
“I’m going to get you out of here, Falyn. I’m going to get you out of here and then no one will ever touch you against your permission again.”
Despite everything Bianca had said and the dark clouds of doubt that had begun to gather in my mind, I believed Cade at that moment. I trusted him. And cradled in his arms, looking up into his perfect blue eyes, I let myself cry.
I didn’t want to show weakness in front of Marco or his goons. I didn’t want Angie to see me lose it and I especially didn’t want to cry in front of Bianca. I felt like I had to be strong for my own safety and to keep the girls’ spirits up, but with Cade, I felt like I could let myself feel everything I wanted to feel. I could let myself be vulnerable.
Cade pulled me against his chest and pressed my face into his shoulder. He whispered sweet words to me that I could barely hear over my own sobs. He promised me everything would be okay, and I began to believe him. For the first time since being in Marco’s possession, I actually began to let myself hope.
Slowly, my sobs turned to sniffles and then to nothing. I just laid there against Cade’s chest, feeling the rhythmic movement of his chest beneath my cheek, counting the minutes as they passed.
Cade took a deep breath and stroked his hand down my spine. “You deserve so much better than this,” he whispered. “You deserve a better rescuer than me. You deserve a better life than you’ve been given.”
I pulled back to looked up at him. At his sharp angles and tan skin. I wondered what I must look like to him – swollen eyes and splotchy cheeks. “You are the only rescuer I want.”
He s
hook his head. “You deserve a good guy. One with no ties to this world. One who can give you a normal life. You don’t deserve someone like me.”
I had never seen Cade be so vulnerable, and the sight of it broke my heart and filled it at the same time. I realized then how much I wanted to be close to him. How much I wanted him to hold me and never let me go.
Forgetting where we were, why we were there, who may be watching, I let my fingers travel beneath the hem of his T-shirt and over the chiseled planes of his body. He gasped as my fingers traveled up his stomach and across his chest.
“I don’t care,” I whispered. “I want you.”
Before I could second-guess myself, I dropped my hand to his pants, unbuttoned them, and reached inside. His hard cock twitched as I wrapped my hand around it. Cade’s blue eyes went dark, his pupils blown wide with hunger and desire. I slid my hand down the length of him and back again, savoring the way he tilted his head back and moaned, enjoying the way I could make his body react to me.