Steel 5: Blackthorne MC#5

by Cox, Carrie;

  Nick bristled. I could tell he didn’t like being questioned by Jackson.

  “It was a difficult job,” Nick said. “But we got it done. That’s all that matters.”

  He stalked past Jackson, heading towards the bar, and Tom followed him looking very subdued.

  Jackson didn’t seem to notice that I was still standing next to him. “What the hell have they screwed up this time,” he muttered.

  “What do you think happened?” I asked.

  Jackson appeared to slowly realize that I was still standing beside him. He shook his head. “It’s probably better you don’t know. Let’s get inside. I’m bound to be getting a phone call from Victor soon.”

  ***

  Inside, I saw Tom leaning on the scuffed wooden bar and downing a tequila shot. There was no sign of Chad, so I suspected he was getting cleaned up. I couldn’t see Nick either. I guessed he must be back in our room, so I headed there straightaway.

  I opened the door and saw Nick dumping his leather jacket on the floor.

  I saw again just how stressed he was. His whole body was tense, and his face was dark and tormented.

  “Talk to me,” I pleaded. “Tell me what went wrong.”

  Nick took a breath, and for a moment, I thought he was going to tell me. I thought he was going to trust me enough to confide in me.

  But I was wrong.

  He ripped of his T-shirt, revealing his toned chest and his rippling abs.

  I stepped towards him and put a hand on his chest.

  “Is it really that bad?” I could feel the steady beat of his heart beneath my fingertips.

  He closed his eyes and sighed. “Things went too far. Someone attacked Chad, and he acted in self defense, but it wasn’t pretty.”

  I shivered.

  “Why do you have to do this kind of thing, Nick? Can’t you just…”

  My voice trailed off as Nick dipped his head and traced his lips along the line of my neck.

  My body tingled with pleasure.

  “I don’t want to talk about this now, Ella. I want to forget it. I just want to think about how it feels to kiss you… and touch you.”

  I felt like my whole body was on fire as he gently nipped my neck between each word.

  His hands stroked my breasts through the fabric of my tank top.

  My nipples puckered immediately, and a moan escaped my lips. He held my head in his hands and pressed his lips to mine, gently teasing them before increasing the pressure of the kiss and delving his tongue into my mouth. He moved it in and out, sliding it against mine, as if he was making love to me with his tongue.

  My hands went to his belt and unfastened it, so I could reach down beneath his waistband and feel just how hard he was for me.

  A gasp escaped my lips as my fingers closed around his hard length.

  Nick groaned. “Wait. I need a shower.”

  I released my grip and pulled away slightly, but he didn’t let me go. Instead, he gathered me up in his arms and carried me to the bathroom just off our bedroom.

  There was no bath, only a shower in one corner of the room. Nick kept one arm wrapped around me as he reached to turn on the shower.

  He began to lift my tank top as the steam filled the small room.

  His eyes were dark with lust as he tugged off my top and then slid the straps of my bra down my shoulders.

  He dipped his head down lower to run his tongue over my nipples, which were still encased in my lace bra. I held my breath as one of my hands reached out and fisted in his hair.

  He unbuttoned my jeans, pulling them down my legs and steadying me as I stepped out of them. He kneeled down in front of me, and I gasped as I felt his lips trail my belly as he scattered light kisses all along my hip bone.

  Continuing to kiss my skin, he traced a finger between my legs. The lace of my panties was already drenched.

  “I want to taste you, Ella.”

  I stared down at the incredibly erotic image of Nick in front of me, pulling down my panties. I could feel his breath between my legs and felt a sizzle of heat in response.

  Holy shit this was hot.

  For an agonizing moment, he did nothing, but then he leaned forward, and his tongue flickered out caressing the sweet spot between my legs. I cried out and put both my hands on his broad shoulders to stop myself from falling.

  With each teasing lick of his tongue, I felt my body buck towards him. All my worries seemed to melt away as he caressed me with his tongue, flicking it back and forth over my me until I was beside myself with pleasure and couldn’t think of anything else other than how good it felt.

  I dared to lift one hand from his shoulder and grip his hair, pulling him closer to me, desperate for more, desperate for the release only he could give me.

  He inserted a finger inside me, slowly stretching me as he continued circling my most sensitive spot with his tongue.

  My legs were shaking. I didn’t think I could take this much longer. I knew I was close, and a feeling of panic started building in my chest. How was I going to come standing up?

  But as if he sensed my worry, he shifted beside me, wrapping one arm tightly around me, so even if my legs gave way, I wouldn’t fall. He flicked his tongue faster and faster, and I felt the first ripples of pleasure as his finger pushed in and out of me.

  “Come for me, Ella,” he said and then flickered his tongue over my wet heat with such an intensity, I felt pleasure explode within me, starting from my core and radiating all the way along my belly, sending tingles racing through me.

  My legs shook as my orgasm engulfed me, but Nick held me firmly, keeping me upright.

  Carefully, holding me against him, he stood up. I could feel his stiffness pressing into my belly.

  My legs still felt weak, but I followed him into the shower and enjoyed the warmth as the water cascaded over us.

  Nick reached for the shower gel and squeezed some into the palm of his hand before rubbing his hands together to make a soapy lather.

  He then turned me around and pulled me back against him, so I was leaning on his broad chest. He then ran his soapy hands all over the top half of my body, paying particular attention to my breasts and my tight, hard nipples.

  I enjoyed the sensation of his hands sliding all over me, and when his fingers descended lower, dipping between my legs, I cried out in pleasure. I was still so sensitive down there, so his touch made my hips jerk.

  “I love how responsive your body is to me,” Nick whispered as he continued to caress that spot between my legs.

  I turned around, desperate to feel his hard body respond to my touch.

  I squirted the shower gel in my hand and smeared it all over his muscular chest, feeling his muscles tense as my fingertips caressed him and followed the outline of his tattoos.

  His gunshot wound was now healed, although he would always have a scar. I didn’t want to look at it. I didn’t want to be reminded of how dangerous this situation was.

  I kept my eyes fixed on his as I worked my soapy hands lower and lower until they finally made their way to encircle him. I used one hand to stroke his length and the other to cup his balls.

  He licked his lips and groaned as I continued to stroke him.

  He let me continue for a moment or two before he held me by the shoulders and turned me around.

  “Enough,” he said, his voice thick with lust. “I need to be inside you. You make me ache with need. I can’t wait.”

  He grabbed my wrists and placed my hands firmly against the shower tiles, bending me over at the waist.

  He gripped himself with one hand and positioned himself behind me, nudging my entrance with the broad head.

  With his other hand, he reached down to caress me between my legs as he slowly pushed into me.

  I gasped in pleasure, bracing myself against the wall and arching my back, encouraging him to enter me.

  But he didn’t need encouragement. He thrust hard, burying himself deep inside me, and I heard him groan in pleasur
e.

  He paused for a moment to give me a chance to adjust to his size. “Does that feel okay, Ella?”

  Holy crap, it felt amazing.

  I shifted my hips, gently pushing back and forward. “Mmmm, it feels good.”

  That was all the encouragement he needed, and he began to move, slowly at first, keeping it deep and tender. After a while, he began to pick up the tempo, pumping me harder and harder as his fingers reached around to caress my breasts and play with my nipples.

  He then lowered a hand to reach between my legs and stroked me, making me feel pleasure with such intensity that I struggled to draw breath.

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Do you like that, Ella? Do you like me touching you there?”

  I was struggling to keep myself braced against the slippery tiles with the strength of his thrusts, but I managed to gasp out, “Yes. I love it.”

  He took me hard as his fingers continued their delicious stroking, and I knew I was going to come again.

  I whimpered as my internal walls clenched around him.

  “Come for me, baby,” he growled as he buried himself deep inside me with thrust after thrust.

  As my orgasm ripped through me, sending ripples of overwhelming sensation from my belly right down to the tips of my fingers and toes, I felt his whole body tense as he gripped hold of my hips and jerked into me one last time.

  He slowly withdrew from me and then turned me around to face him, kissing me tenderly. “I don’t know how you do that,” he said.

  I blinked up at him as I ran my fingers down his muscular back. “What do you mean?”

  “You make me forget everything bad. When I’m with you like this, I can’t think of anything else but you.”

  “And that’s a good thing, right?”

  He grinned at me and then kissed me on the forehead. “Yes, Ella. It’s a very good thing.”

  7

  We stepped out of the shower, and Nick handed me a towel. As I dried myself off, I couldn’t help thinking about Nick’s future. I wanted more than anything to ask him to leave all of this behind.

  He’d already been shot once, it was only a matter of time before he got badly hurt again… or worse.

  But I hesitated. I didn’t want him to think I was trying to take over his life.

  “How often do things like this happen?” I asked.

  “Huh? What do you mean?” Nick asked as he rubbed his hair with a towel.

  “Things went wrong today. Chad had blood all over him. A couple of weeks ago you got shot… Don’t you ever think about getting away from this life?”

  Nick’s jaw clenched, and shutters seemed to come down over his eyes as he blanked me.

  He turned away, giving me a fantastic view of his shoulders, narrow waist and tight ass.

  I licked my lips, but then took a deep breath. What I wanted to say was important. I couldn’t let myself be distracted by his perfect body.

  “You could leave with me.”

  There. I’d said it. I’d admitted I wanted him to be with me properly. And why shouldn’t he? We could start over in New York. It was a big city and no one would bother us there. We could have a normal relationship.

  I couldn’t see his face, but I could see from the tension in his shoulders and the way he held himself that my words had generated some kind of reaction.

  I just didn’t know whether it was a good reaction or a bad one.

  “We could go back to New York, and we could live in my tiny little apartment for a while … just until we got sorted,” I said. “You could find a job, and then we could get a bigger place…” I was aware that I was babbling, so I clamped my lips together.

  It was hard waiting for his reaction… waiting for him to reject me.

  When Nick turned around, his face was devoid of expression. I couldn’t tell if he was happy, sad, pissed or bored.

  He shook his head.

  Crap. I was rushing things.

  We’d only known each other for a couple of weeks and here I was telling him we should move in together. No wonder I had freaked him out.

  “I mean, we don’t have to move in together, obviously. And if things don’t work out between us, that’s okay. But you could have a fresh start, Nick. You could get away from all this.”

  Nick wrapped a towel around his waist, drawing my eyes downwards towards his washboard abs.

  He sighed. “When are you going to realize, Ella, that I’m not fucking around? You have some idealized version of a man you’re daydreaming about. It’s not me. I’m not cut out for a life like that.”

  I stepped forward. “I know it’s a big decision. I’m aware you’ve done some bad things in the past, but Nick, I know deep down you’re not bad. Please, come with me. I think I’m falling in —”

  “Stop!” Nick held up his hands and shook his head.

  My heart was pounding in my chest as I realized I’d been about to tell him I loved him.

  Crap. Where had that come from?

  His expression was conflicted as he shook his head again and looked down at the ground.

  He wouldn’t look in my eyes as he said, “I don’t want to go with you.”

  I clutched my towel against my chest and took a step back. His words stung as if he’d slapped me.

  “I thought…”

  “That’s the problem, Ella,” he said. “You think you know me, but you don’t. If you did, you’d know that I could never leave.”

  Nick pushed past me, leaving the bathroom. I stood there shellshocked.

  Maybe I had been a little naive, but did he have to be so cruel?

  I felt tears well up in my eyes. I blinked them away angrily. I didn’t need this crap in my life.

  I’m not sure how long I stood motionless in the bathroom, reeling from what Nick had said, but when I finally went out to the bedroom to get my clothes, Nick was already dressed and sitting on the bed.

  He looked up at me with a mixture of emotions in his eyes, but I didn’t say anything, I couldn’t.

  “I’m sorry, Ella. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

  “Well, you have,” I said, my voice brittle. I glared at him as I reached down to pick my jeans up off the floor.

  “You’re an asshole,” I said, struggling not to cry.

  Nick bowed his head. Then he looked at me and sighed. “I think you’re finally getting to know me.”

  8

  Nick left to go and get something to eat, but I had no appetite.

  Truthfully, I thought a little time apart would do us good. I didn’t understand how I could have been so wrong about him. I’d always been a good judge of character in the past.

  But maybe he was right. This whole situation had been an emotional roller coaster, and because he’d been kind to me, I’d clung onto him, perhaps giving him character qualities he didn’t have.

  I paced the bedroom, feeling trapped and miserable. I didn’t feel like I could think straight. The room felt so claustrophobic.

  I longed to walk amongst crowds on the New York streets. I wanted to go shopping, meet friends for a drink. I wanted to be free. I hated this.

  I was still pacing the bedroom, fruitlessly trying to rack my brains as to how I’d completely misread Nick’s feelings when there was a knock at the door.

  My first thought was that it was Nick coming back to try to apologize again.

  I opened the door and saw the waitress from last night. She looked just as slender as she had the other day. She wore a pair of skinny jeans, which were baggy around her knees and ankles, completely swamping her.

  She looked over her shoulder and down the corridor as if she was afraid we were being watched.

  “Can I come in?” she asked urgently.

  I stepped back to let her inside the room, wondering what she could want.

  She pulled the cell phone from her pocket.

  “Oh, that’s kind of you.” I said, thinking that she’d come to lend me her phone again. That simple act of kindness
touched me.

  But instead of handing me the phone, she gripped my hand.

  “I tried to find you earlier,” she said. “But I couldn’t find any of you. I was scared you’d already left.”

  I shook my head, feeling confused. “We just went into town for a few hours.”

  The girl nodded and then nervously licked her lips. “There was a phone call for you.”

  “For me?” I looked at her puzzled.

  She nodded eagerly. “They must have gotten the number when you called using my phone.” She waggled her cell phone in front of me. “Anyway, they said they would call back at three o’clock, which is in five minutes.” She checked her watch and then pressed the phone into my hand. “So I’ll leave it with you and come back for it in about half an hour. Is that okay?”

  I stared down in disbelief at the cell phone “Are you sure it was a call for me?”

  She nodded. “Definitely. They asked for Ella. That’s you, right?”

  I felt the excitement building in my chest. “Yes, that’s right. Was the person who called female?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  My God. It must be Claire. It had to be.

  “Was it Claire?” I asked, scanning her face for any signs that she might not be telling me the truth.

  She gave a shrug. “They didn’t give a name.”

  I bit down on my lip, thinking hard. It had to be Claire. Who else could it be?

  “Well, I’d better get back to work now. I’ll leave the cell phone with you for now, okay?”

  I smiled at her and resisted the urge to hug her. “Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me.”

  She returned my smile. “I’m glad I could help.”

  I sat on the bed and put the phone on the nightstand after she left the room. The time on the screen of the phone said that it was now fourteen fifty-eight, so just two minutes to go.

  My gaze shifted from the phone to the door. I really hoped Nick didn’t return before I got this call.

  I wrapped my arms around myself, tapping my foot nervously, waiting for the cell phone to ring.