Finally, it dawned on me. Bunk beds. The guys wouldn’t like it. Hell, no one would like it, but it would work. If I filled the largest shed out back with bunk beds and put two sets in most of the rooms inside the clubhouse, we would have enough beds for everyone. Feeling better about the plan, I reached for my phone to get the ball rolling.
I was interrupted by yet another knock at the door. “Come in,” I said distractedly.
Layla came through the door with a frightened look on her face. Once I took in her wide eyes and the way she was wringing her hands, I was on my feet and rounding the desk in an instant. Wrapping my arms around her, I asked, “Locks, what’s wrong?”
She pushed against me and raised her head to meet my eyes. “You tell me. Why is everyone running around like some sort of apocalypse is approaching?”
I wasn’t sure how she would handle it, but I decided to be completely honest with her. I told her about the delivery and all it entailed. Then, I explained how a lockdown at the clubhouse worked. The entire time I was talking, I was waiting for her to bolt, but she didn’t. She listened to every word I said, and then she floored me with the next words out of her mouth.
With a furrowed brow and a wrinkled nose, she said, “I don’t understand. If you think everyone listed is in danger, why would you lock them all in a place that has already been attacked? They could get everyone on that list in one go.”
I had no words. She was right. Fuck! I was playing right into their hands. I cupped her cheeks and pressed my lips to hers. “Baby, I’ll thank you later, but right now I’ve got to get busy. You, woman, may have just saved my whole damn club.”
She looked shocked, but I had to turn away from her. I didn’t want her to see the emotion I could feel welling up inside of me. I almost put all of my brothers and their families in a death trap. On the flip side, what in the hell was I going to do now?
I felt her small hand land on my back. “I’ll be out at the bar. Let me know if I can do anything to help,” she said softly before leaving the room.
Again, I turned to my older cousin for guidance. I was man enough to admit when I was in over my head and needed the help. I called and told him about the conversation I had with Layla. He was impressed by her observation and completely agreed. “I think I can help. Let me make a call, and I’ll get back to you in a few. Sit tight.”
The ten minutes it took for him to call back felt like ten hours. There was so much I needed to do, but I couldn’t move forward without a plan, and said plan was in Phoenix’s hands. I was never good at waiting or delegating. I was the kind of man who took charge and fixed the problem.
“I’ve got a secure location for you. You might not like it, but it is what it is. Boar has a rental house in Reedy Fork that’s currently vacant and sits on a shit ton of land. The house itself is huge, but there’s an even bigger house on the property that’s completely hidden. As in, you have to take an ATV to get to it. Now, you’re more than welcome to bring your club to Croftridge and stay on the farm, but I’m guessing you want to be closer to Devil Springs in order to get this sorted, right?”
“You’ve got that right. Plus, I don’t want to bring trouble your way, not when your girls are ready to pop, and you’ve finally managed to have a few months of peace.”
“I appreciate that, but trouble looming or not, you and yours are always welcome here. Now, as far as Boar’s place, he said you could start sending people to him right away. I would suggest having the families leave as discreetly as possible from their respective homes instead of coming to the clubhouse and leaving as a unit. You never know where they have eyes, and it’s obvious they do have eyes on you.”
“Good point. Thanks for your help, Phoenix. I’m in over my head with this one.”
“That’s what makes you a good leader; you can admit when you need help, and you don’t hesitate to ask for it. You also took what Layla said seriously, even though she’s new to you and the club. I’m proud of you. Now, enough of the sappy shit. Get done what needs doing and call if you need me.”
Once again, I felt myself choking back my emotions. I didn’t have time for that shit. Redirecting my focus, I spent the next few hours notifying everyone of the new plans. I was, of course, met with a variety of reactions, Leigh’s being the most colorful.
“I’ll cooperate with a smile on my face and keep all complaints to myself for the duration of our stay if you’ll grant me one request,” she said in an eerily sweet tone.
“And that would be?” I asked, dreading what I would hear next.
“I want you to put the whores at Boar’s clubhouse. They have no business being around the families and potentially causing drama or scarring children with their late-night proclivities. A child doesn’t need to learn what a threesome is when they wake up in the middle of the night wanting a drink of water. As an added bonus, you could tell Boar it’s your way of thanking him for his hospitality. I mean, they’re whores; whore them.”
“If I do this, you’ll willingly comply and hold all complaints?” I asked.
“You have my word. I’ll even help out with the cooking and the cleaning,” she offered.
“You’ve got a deal.”
“Great!” I could hear the smile in her voice. “I’ll head out soon and see if I can help Boar with the preparations.”
“Actually, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like you to be in charge of the room assignments. You know the ins and outs of who should and shouldn’t be roomed together, or near each other, or in the same damn house.”
“I’ll be happy to. See you tonight.”
The rest of the day was complete and total chaos. I had to recharge my cell phone twice before I ever left the clubhouse. As if I didn’t have enough to deal with, it started snowing around two o’clock. By the time Layla and I made it back to my place, packed our bags, and were ready to get on the road, there were several inches of snow on the ground, and it was dark.
“Are you sure this is a good idea? I’m thinking we should wait until morning to leave,” Layla said as she peeked out the window at the still falling snow.
“We can’t wait until morning. They’re saying this storm is going to dump at least eight more inches over the next few hours. We won’t be able to get there if we don’t go tonight. It could be days before the roads are cleared.”
“If that’s the case, then isn’t the same true for whoever is threatening the club? If we can’t get through, neither can they.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” I huffed. “I don’t have time to argue with you about this. We need to get moving. Are you finished packing?”
She grumbled something I couldn’t make out before saying, “Almost. I need to grab a few things from the bathroom, use the facilities, and then I’ll be ready.”
I finished packing and carried my bag out to the truck parked in my garage. I wasn’t thrilled about driving to Reedy Fork in the midst of a snowstorm, but I was less thrilled about staying in my house with Layla like proverbial sitting ducks.
Turning to go back inside and hurry her along, I froze mid-step when I heard a noise I could only describe as one solid force crashing into another. It was unbearably loud and left no doubt in my mind that whatever it was had left destruction in its path. Then, everything went black.
Chapter Sixteen
Layla
I completely disagreed with Copper. I thought it was far too dangerous for us to drive to Reedy Fork. We would be fine until the storm let up and the roads were cleared. Then, I would be more than happy to go to Reedy Fork.
I was in the bathroom, hastily tossing my toiletries into a bag when I heard a loud crash, or maybe it was a crunch. I had no idea what it was, but it was alarmingly loud and had me damn near jumping out of my skin. Then, the freaking power went out leaving me in total darkness and an eerily loud silence.
I managed to feel my way along the wall and find the doorway. “Copper?” I called out.
When he didn’t answer, my pulse ratcheted up a few notche
s. I crept further into the hall, keeping one hand on the wall to guide me. “Copper?” I called again.
I heard a door open and close followed by heavy footsteps. I froze and forced myself to breathe quietly.
“Layla?” Copper called, causing me to sag with relief.
“Copper, what happened?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I came inside to find you first,” he answered, his voice sounding closer.
“I’m in the hall outside of the bathroom.”
“Stay there. I’m going to get a flashlight from my bedroom.”
After several thuds, followed by cursing, he returned to the hallway with a flashlight. Correction, what he had in his hand could rival a stage spotlight. “Where did you get the mother of all flashlights?” I asked, genuinely curious.
He smirked, “It’s a military grade tactical flashlight, the brightest one on the market.”
“Of course, it is,” I said flatly.
“Come on,” he said, reaching to grab my hand. “Let’s go see what that noise was?”
Noise? Sonic booms weren’t as loud as whatever just happened, but I chose to keep that opinion to myself as he was already dragging me along behind him. When we reached the living room, he handed me the beam of light and suddenly had a gun in his hand. “Keep the light pointed at the door, but stay behind me,” he ordered and yanked open the front door.
“Fuck!” he cursed, lowering his gun and moving to the side so I could see. A large tree had crashed through his front porch, effectively blocking the front door. “I knew I should’ve had that damn thing cut down.”
I laughed, “Looks like you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
He gave me a flat look. “You do realize this means we’re stuck here for the next few days at least, right?”
“Why is that?”
“Driveway’s blocked,” he said and pointed to the right. I stood on my tiptoes and followed his finger. The tree had fallen across his driveway and narrowly missed taking out his garage.
“I can think of worse things than being stuck in a house with you during a snowstorm…” I trailed off and gave him a coy look.
He closed the door and locked it. “Stay here while I get a flashlight for you. Then, I need you to help me make sure all doors and windows are locked. We also need to shut all interior doors and close off the entry points to this room. Then, I’ll get a fire started to keep us warm. Oh, can you grab blankets and pillows from the bedrooms?”
I couldn’t contain the smile spreading across my face. I was stuck in a house with an incredibly sexy man, complete with little to no lighting and a fire. Oh, yes, I could work with that. “Of course, whatever you need,” I said and placed a kiss on his cheek.
He returned with another flashlight on steroids and sent me on my way to complete my assigned tasks. It didn’t take us long to secure the house and gather the necessary items. He got started on the fire while I used bed sheets to block off the open entryways to the room. Thankfully, there were only two I had to contend with.
I finished making us a cozy place to sleep before he was satisfied with the fire, so I snuck into the kitchen to grab something I saw earlier in the week. When I returned, he stood and turned to face me. I held the bag up and asked, “Please? I’ve never done it before.”
He laughed, “You want to roast marshmallows in my fireplace?”
“I don’t believe there’s a stipulation requiring them to be roasted outside.”
He grinned, “I suppose you’re right. I’ll be right back.”
He returned with two wire coat hangers and set about straightening them. “Even though you’ve never done it, do you know how?”
I shrugged, “I guess so. Spear marshmallow, stick in fire, remove from fire, eat marshmallow, and repeat?”
He grinned with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and handed me my coat hanger. “Have at it.”
Not even two minutes later, I was shrieking, “Help! It’s on fire. What do I do? What do I do?”
Copper was laughing so hard he was gasping for air and cradling his stomach. “Blow on it,” he finally managed.
I rolled my eyes and did as he said. The flame went out, leaving me with a mass of charred goop. I glanced at Copper and saw a lightly browned, somewhat misshapen, marshmallow on the end of his coat hanger. “Dibs!” I declared and snatched his marshmallow, quickly popping it into my mouth, spawning an immediate mouthgasm.
Copper groaned. “You need to stop that,” he said huskily.
“Stop what?”
“Making those sex noises while you eat.”
I cocked my head to the side. “I never thought about it before, but it makes sense that orgasms and mouthgasms would elicit the same sounds.”
“Mouthgasm?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Yeah. Like an orgasm in your mouth when you put something good in it,” I said, not at all aware of how dirty it sounded.
“Oh, I’ve got something good to put in it. Come ’ere, Locks,” he rumbled, and the air in the room suddenly charged with sexual energy.
I scooted over to where Copper was seated. When I was within arm’s reach, he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me to him. Leaning down so our noses were touching, his eyes flicked to mine before he captured my bottom lip and gently sucked it into his mouth.
I reached for his belt and started tugging at the buckle, but he grabbed my hand and stopped me. “I wasn’t being serious, Locks.”
I leaned back and looked at him with an arched brow. “Are you saying you don’t want me to?”
“Oh, no, I fucking want you to; I just don’t want you to think, I mean, I wasn’t asking you to, uh, oh, holy fuck, Layla,” he groaned as I took him into my mouth. While he’d been rambling, I’d been busy getting his pants undone.
I didn’t have a lot of sexual experience, particularly with this specific activity, but from what I’d read in a few romance novels, as long as I didn’t use my teeth, it would be enjoyable for him. However, I didn’t want it to be just enjoyable; I wanted it to be fucking mind-blowing.
My movements were slow and tentative at first, but my confidence grew with each groan of pleasure from him. Before long, I was bobbing up and down on him in a steady rhythm with one hand working in time with my mouth and the other hand massaging his balls.
His hands landed on my shoulders, and he tried to push me away. “Locks, baby, you gotta stop.”
My rhythm faltered for a moment when I glanced up to see his face. His jaw was tight and his eyes were squeezed shut. “Babe, I’m gonna come if you don’t stop.”
I wanted to say, “Well, duh, that’s the point,” but instead, I continued what I was doing and slightly increased my pace.
Copper’s hands tangled into my hair, and he held me in place as he thrust his hips forward and filled my mouth with his release. I swallowed frantically, afraid it was going to start spewing out of my nose, and finally managed to get it all down.
Before I could register what was happening, I was on my back, my lower half was bare, and Copper’s face was buried between my legs, and he was devouring me. His big arms were wrapped around my thighs to hold me in place as he did things with his tongue I didn’t know were possible.
In an embarrassingly short amount of time, as in less than a minute, he had me orgasming against his lips. I assumed he would stop once the orgasm was over, but he didn’t. No, not Copper Black. He changed to pulsating suction which had me curling into a half sit-up and reaching for his hair. He looked up at me with those intense blue eyes, and I could feel more than see the smug grin on his face.
“Oh, fuck, please,” I panted.
He kept his eyes locked on mine as he released one thigh so that he could slide two fingers inside me. He winked, pressed his fingers against my g-spot, and I exploded into all-consuming, life-changing pleasure.
When I came back to reality, Copper was hovering over me with a pleased look on his face while my chest heaved over and over as
I tried to catch my breath.
“You okay?” he asked with a grin.
“I, uh, yeah, I think so,” I stammered.
“Good,” he rumbled, “because now I’m going to fuck you.” With that, he moved his hips forward and slowly entered me.
“Fuck, you feel good,” I groaned.
“Shirt, Off,” he grunted as he picked up his pace.
I quickly complied and ripped my shirt over my head before unclasping my bra and tossing it to the side.
“Love your tits, Locks,” he murmured and buried his face between them.
I brought my legs up around his waist and clawed at his back, “More, I need more.”
“Was trying to go slow,” he said against my chest.
“No, Harder.”
He pushed up onto his knees and hooked my legs over his arms. Then, he leaned forward and planted his hands beside my head which damn near pressed my knees into my shoulders. He was so deep, and just when I thought he couldn’t go any farther, he pulled back and gave it to me harder.
He continued thrusting into me, and just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, he changed the angle of his hips so he was rubbing against my clit with every thrust and brought me to a third orgasm that bordered on painful. I screamed his name as I came, and he buried his face in my neck as he followed me over the edge.
“Fuck,” he breathed against my skin.
“Wow,” I whispered. “That was—”
“Yeah, Locks, it was.”
After we cleaned up and got dressed, we cuddled together under the covers of our makeshift bed and listened to the sounds of the crackling fire.
Copper (Blackwings MC - Devils Springs Book 1) Page 10