“How did you find this place?” I asked.
She chuckled. “I was running away, trying to get lost one day, and stumbled into it.”
I nodded my head, understanding that feeling of running to nowhere and ending up somewhere.
We got out of the car, walked to the front, and leaned against the hood.
“Why are you back here, Elijah?”
“I think you know why.”
“Elijah don’t do it. It’s too dangerous. I can’t handle you getting hurt again.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not the same man I used to be. It isn’t going to be so easy to hurt me.”
“It isn’t worth it. All that happened a long time ago. You look good. Life away from here did you good. Don’t come back and ruin that,” she pleaded.
“Michelle, there is no way I can walk away and let that man get away with what he did to me and what he’s doing to you,” I told her, sliding off the car and standing in front of her.
“He’s so much worse now.” Her voice was strained. “He managed to become president of the club and they’ve grown. They’re into all kinds of stuff. Elijah, he’s dangerous, far more dangerous than he was back then.”
I nodded my head. “I would rather die defending myself then let him get away with it.”
“It’s a death wish!”
“I’m not the same guy I was. I’ve changed. I’m not worried about Liam.”
“You should be.”
“Tell me something: Are you happy?” I asked her, stepping closer to her, holding her eyes with mine.
“Elijah, that’s not fair.”
I shook my head. “Answer the question.”
“I get by.”
“Getting by isn’t living. You need to be free of him. You deserve to be happy, Michelle.”
She covered her face with her hands. I stepped forward, my shins hitting the bumper of the car as I reached and took her wrists in my hands, pulling her hands away.
“I can’t live with the guilt,” I said.
“What guilt? You did nothing wrong,” she said, reaching out to touch my cheek.
“I left you here with him. Every day since that night, I’ve regretted not being able to fight back. I saw him hit you and I hated myself for not protecting you.”
“You couldn’t have done anything. There were three of them,” she said, as if I didn’t remember.
“I’m not letting it go. It’s about respect.”
She rolled her eyes and groaned. “What is it with you men and respect? Being alive is more important. You should stay away. Then no one will get hurt. We’ll all go on living our lives and keep what happened a distant memory.”
I shook my head. “Never gonna happen.”
“Elijah, I can’t see you get hurt. It would kill me,” she rasped.
I hated seeing the fear on her face and hearing it in her voice. I wanted to make it all disappear. I reached out and cupped her face in my hand. She leaned her head to the side, letting me cradle her like I had that first night.
We looked at each other for what felt like forever. I had been trying to fight the desire burning between us. It had never stopped burning. Years apart and it was like picking up right where we’d left off. I didn’t let myself think about the years between, who she’d been with or who she was with now. None of it mattered. She was always going to be mine.
9
Michelle
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I was playing with fire. I muted the voice, letting myself enjoy the moment with Elijah. His hand was cupping my face, his eyes on my mouth. I knew he was going to kiss me and my pulse raced with anticipation. When he leaned down and brushed his lips over mine, I sighed into him.
His lips pressed against mine, the pressure increasing. I opened my mouth, giving in to his demands, and moaned when his tongue pushed inside. My body inched forward on the hood of the car, craving his touch.
“I’ve missed you,” he said, his mouth moving over my jaw and down my neck.
I tilted my head back, exposing my neck. “I’ve missed you.”
He moved his hands down my arms, coming to rest on my waist, his forehead pressed against mine. We were both breathing hard.
“I want you,” he murmured.
This was my chance to tell him no. This was the part where I told him we couldn’t and got back in the car to take him back.
I didn’t want to do that. I wanted him. My body was tingling and felt as if it had been awakened from a long, deep slumber.
“Take me,” I heard myself say, surprising myself with my boldness.
The two words trigged a flurry of wet, deep kisses accompanied by hands roving everywhere. I pulled on his shirt, desperate to get my hands on his hot skin. He stepped back, pulling his shirt off and tossing it behind me before reaching down to pull off my shirt. My bra was undone in seconds, joining the pile of clothes resting on the windshield of the car.
“Fuck, you’re hot,” he growled, bending down to kiss one nipple and then the next, his hands cupping and kneading as his mouth worked over me.
He stood up, giving me a glorious view of his defined pectoral muscles covered in tattoos. I reached my hand up, pressing my palm against a hilltop scene with a cross. I knew what that was. I recognized the scene. It was where my brother had nearly killed him.
I met his eyes. He was watching me explore his body. He had changed in so many ways. His arms were like steel rods, his chest rock hard and his abs—good heavens, the abs were something out of a calendar. He slowly reached down, unbuttoning his jeans before pushing them down, his hard cock popping out. I bit my bottom lip. Had he been that big before?
“You good?” he rasped.
I looked up, nodding my head, needing to feel him inside me again. He reached out, undoing the button on my shorts. I placed my palms on the hood of my car, lifting myself to allow him to pull my shorts and panties down.
“I’ve dreamed of you every night since I’ve been gone,” he whispered before closing his mouth over mine.
He stepped between my legs, his thighs brushing against the insides of my own. My hands moved to his thick black hair before sliding down his back. His demeanor changed. I could feel the power inside him. His desire was practically burning me. I couldn’t get close enough. I arched my back, rubbing my breasts against his chest while digging my nails into his back, trying to pull him closer to me.
His hand dropped from my waist, moving straight to my core. I gasped, sucking his tongue deeper into my throat when his finger slid over my slit. I opened my legs wider. His finger circled my entrance, exploring every fold before sliding inside.
My body stiffened at the invasion. I held my breath, nervous and excited at the same time.
“Relax,” he whispered into my mouth.
His finger worked in and out. I could feel how slick I was and grew hotter by the second. His mouth was over mine, his tongue pushing deep inside as his finger worked me. My body felt strange, as if I were being pulled apart in the best way possible.
“Elijah,” I whimpered, needing him to help me feel whole again.
“I’ve got you. Let go, Michelle. Let go,” he commanded.
My back arched, pulling my mouth away from his as an explosion erupted somewhere deep inside me. He worked a second finger inside, and I shouted as the orgasm slammed into my body, every muscle clenched. I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed by complete ecstasy.
I opened my eyes to find him watching me, those dark blue eyes filled with passion.
“Damn,” he muttered, pulling his fingers out.
His mouth dropped to my breasts, lapping and sucking before he pulled away. “Lie back,” he ordered.
With my back pressed against the warm hood of my car, I looked up at him. As he stared at my body, He reached out one hand and ran it between my breasts before splaying it over my stomach.
“You’re gorgeous. I’ve missed this body.”
With both hands, he grabbed my legs, pul
led me closer to the edge of the car, and stepped between my legs, his hips spreading them wider. With his hand wrapped around his cock, he guided himself to my entrance. I watched, unable to pull my eyes away from where he was slowly pushing inside me. Feeling him move inside and watching was too much. I flopped back on the car and lifted my hips to take him deeper inside.
“Damn, Michelle. Your body is like fire,” he groaned, his palm roaming over my stomach as he pushed himself deep inside.
I moaned, my head rolling back and forth, my body struggling to accept the new sensations happening between my legs. It had been so long; my body had forgotten what it was like to have a hard dick inside me.
I panted through the spiraling sensations moving through my body. I didn’t know how to stop it from happening and didn’t want to.
“Oh shit,” he groaned, and hoped I wasn’t doing something wrong. “Oh fuck, Michelle, again?”
My body began to convulse on the hood of the car. I was helpless to stop it. My hips drove upward, instinctively pulling him deeper inside. I cried out in exquisite pleasure, my hands balling into fists as he moved inside, pushing higher before pulling out, his hands gripping my hips, holding me firmly against him.
As quickly as it had happened, it stopped. My body went limp as I struggled to catch my breath. I felt Elijah’s hands on mine, pulling me up to a sitting position with his dick still planted inside me. I wrapped my arms around him, resting my face against his chest, wanting to stay connected to him just as we were for the rest of my days.
He moved his hips, stirring up new sensations deep inside my sheath. I looked up to meet his eyes, offering my mouth. His kiss was intense and deep. I leaned back on my elbows, watching him fuck me with so much passion written on his face that it threatened to send me headlong into another orgasm.
“Come here,” he growled, stepping away and pulling out of me. His hands moved to my ass, squeezing hard before spinning me around. “I’ve thought about taking you like this so many times,” he rasped out.
My hands went to the hood of the car as I bent over. His wide palm stroked over my ass before running between my legs, his fingers spreading my pussy wide, opening me for his cock.
“Oh god,” I moaned as he slid inside me.
I rocked forward, moving away from his dick.
“Don’t move,” he growled, placing his hand on my hip, holding me firmly in place.
I groaned, fighting to deal with the new sensations. He felt so much bigger this way. I squirmed, wanting more and wanting to pull away at the same time.
“Relax,” he grunted.
I nodded my head, my long hair falling forward and hanging down in front of me.
“Elijah,” I whimpered.
“I’ve got you. Let me take you on a wild ride.”
I dropped my head between my arms, pushing my ass higher into the air. I heard him groan and pushed against him, managing to take him a little deeper inside. I immediately pulled forward, shocked by the sensation of his balls resting against my thighs.
“Don’t fucking move!”
He thrust his hips forward, nearly knocking me to my stomach across the hood of the car. He repeated the action, and this time my arms collapsed. My chest hit the hood, my arms splayed wide, one hand on the smooth windshield as he took me on that wild ride he had promised.
I heard myself moaning and whimpering, speaking incoherently as he fucked me hard and deep. I was climbing higher and higher, getting close to reaching that beautiful sensation of bursting into a million pieces.
“Elijah,” I moaned. “Oh god.”
His body was slapping against mine in a perfect rhythm, pushing me higher than I had ever been. I felt myself tumbling into a black hole, my arms reaching out as I screamed my pleasure. He roared behind me, my scream matching his as we tumbled together into sweet nothingness.
His body collapsed on top of mine. His chest heaved up and down against my back. Neither of us talked or moved for several minutes.
I squirmed underneath him. He immediately got off me, grabbing his clothes from the hood as he did. I quickly pulled on my own clothes, both of us silent as we dressed.
“We should get back,” I mumbled, feeling silly. I didn’t know what else to say.
I moved to walk around the car, but his arm snaked out and grabbed me, yanking me against his chest. One sweet kiss and then he pulled away, opening the door and getting in the passenger seat. I moved to the driver’s side on legs that felt rubbery. I couldn’t believe what we had done. If Liam ever found out, he would kill us both.
I drove back to the diner, parking on the side of the street instead of pulling into the parking lot.
“Do you have a pen?” he asked.
I reached for my purse, pulling one out. He grabbed an old receipt from the floor. “This is my number. Call me if you ever need anything.”
I took the paper, tore it in half, and wrote down my number. “I can only text. Don’t call unless it’s an emergency. Always text first and never use your name.”
He nodded his head. “I understand.”
“Elijah, will you please leave, get out of town? Forget about this idea of revenge. It isn’t worth it,” I told him.
“I can’t do that.”
“It isn’t safe. Liam will kill you. I couldn’t live with myself knowing he killed you for what you and I shared.”
He let out a long breath. “Michelle, I’m sorry, I really am, but this is something I have to do. I won’t let you get hurt.”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “You have no idea what you’re saying. You can’t do anything. We live in two different worlds. Please, go home. Forget about all of us here. Live your life.”
He gave me one last look before climbing out of the car, his sunglasses on and his hat pulled low as he walked with all the confidence in the world to his bike. I watched him get on, fire it up, and pull out of the parking lot as if he didn’t have a care in the world. I envied him in that respect. I wished I could say fuck it and do what I pleased without worrying about the consequences of my choices.
I checked my reflection in the mirror, quickly wiping away the smeared eye makeup. I couldn’t believe what I had done. It had been stupid and reckless, but oh so damn good.
10
Elijah
The second I opened my eyes, I thought about Michelle. Being with her again had been far more than I could have ever dreamed. It wasn’t just sex. It was everything about her. I knew I should have grown out of this infatuation with her, but I hadn’t. In fact, I felt like it had only increased. Just thinking about her had me growing hard all over again.
Everything I remembered about her had come flooding back, like all those long nights we had spent talking, sitting in her backyard and stargazing. We had talked about what our lives would be like when we grew up. We had both longed to get away from the crime-filled world we had grown up in. We’d wanted to get out of the poor, working-class neighborhoods and away from the bike gangs. When I had first started riding, it had given me a freedom I had never known existed. Liam and I had enjoyed riding together. When he introduced me to his buddies, I didn’t mind riding along. I did mind the drops and pick-ups though. I wasn’t into that. I rode to feel free.
My hand went down my stomach, adjusting my erection in my boxers. I knew what I felt for Michelle wasn’t one-sided. Michelle was clearly as into me as I was her. Yesterday, she had been so responsive. It was Liam that was keeping us apart. I could have her if Liam was out of the picture. The fear I saw in her eyes every time his name came up pissed me off.
It was that look in her eyes and the way she stiffened up that fueled my rage. It was no longer solely a revenge thing. I had to take Liam down. It wasn’t just for me; it was for her. I had to free her, even if it meant she left me in the dust as well. If that meant she would be free and happy, I would be able to move forward with my life.
The only way to move forward was to take the first step. It was time. Liam was going to find out I
was back, and I wasn’t going to run away from him.
I jumped in the shower, dressed in my jeans and a black T-shirt, pulled on my leather jacket, and slid on my sunglasses. Before I left the room, I pulled out the letter I had written Michelle, leaving it on the pillow. If I didn’t come back, I wanted her to have the money I had been saving. No matter what, I wanted her to have the means to escape. With the money I had put away, she could move to another country and start over fresh with a new name and a new life.
The ride through town toward my old neighborhood had me thinking about the good times and the bad. I parked my bike against the curb. I didn’t see any other bikes in the front yard of the house the Bennett family had lived in for years.
Without hesitating, I headed straight for the front door and knocked. It seemed silly to be knocking, but I wasn’t sure what else to do.
Michelle pulled open the door. “What are you doing here?” she hissed, shock on her face. She looked behind her, not opening the door more than a few inches.
“Is Liam home?” I asked, my voice gruff.
“No, he isn’t. Did you seriously come here looking for him?” she asked, her eyes wide.
I shrugged a shoulder. “Yes, actually, I did. I figured this would be the best place to find him. Where is he?”
“I’m not telling you that!” she shouted.
“I’m going to find him, Michelle. You don’t have to tell me where he is. I know where he hangs out and I know his regular routes,” I told her, watching her reaction to my words.
“Have you been watching us?”
I shrugged, not saying a word.
“Don’t do that! He runs with several guys all the time. You’re never going to find him alone.”
I smiled. “I hope not. I’m counting on running into him with his crew, hopefully the two from that night.”
She looked sad. I once again fought the urge to hug her. It wasn’t my goal to make things difficult for her, but I wasn’t going to let it go. I couldn’t do that.
Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Page 27