Heart of Steel

by Cathleen Cole

  I was looking forward to taking over completely so that I could have my fun-loving uncle back. He hadn’t wanted to be in charge, but he was the only one who could once the cancer took over. It had happened so quickly dad hadn’t been able to teach me anything or hire anyone else. I let out a shaky breath and tapped the edge of the phone against my forehead.

  I couldn’t believe I just had that argument in front of a stranger. It was embarrassing and slightly pathetic. A strangled sound left my throat when Steel ripped my phone out of my hand. I blinked at him as he shut the ringer off then shoved it in his back pocket. That made me nervous. “Am I a prisoner here or something?” I tried to say it jokingly, but it must have sounded a bit desperate because his face softened ever so slightly.

  Chapter 13

  Steel

  I listened as she spoke with her uncle. One nice thing about all these new smartphones, the speakers were amazing. I could hear everything coming through from the man on the other end. One side of my mouth twisted with humor when she blew up and chewed him out. She had a temper on her.

  I raked my gaze over her body while her uncle responded. I saw her jerk slightly at what he said. I’d been thinking about what I wanted to do with that body while listening to her family drama. I watched as she thunked the phone against her forehead. She looked exhausted and by the sound of it; she was. I leaned forward and grabbed her phone. Turning the ringer off, I looked back up at her while I put it in my back pocket. She needed a night off and her uncle struck me as the kind of guy who’d keep hounding her all night.

  A flicker of fear crossed her face. “Am I a prisoner here or something?” She might have pulled off the nonchalant tone if her voice hadn’t cracked on the last word. She’d set her drink down while we were playing tug o’ war when she’d tried to answer her phone, so I picked it up and thrust it back at her. She stared at it then took it from me.

  “No, I just thought you wanted to blow off some steam?” Her head shot up when I repeated what she’d told her uncle. There was a hint of challenge in my voice. Her eyes narrowed.

  Gotcha, I thought. This girl was competitive. Now I knew how to work around her fear and uncertainty. Remi knocked back the rest of the whiskey and I grinned at her.

  “I didn’t know you could do that.”

  I raised a brow, a silent question. “Smile.” She clarified. I just shook my head as she started to joke around again. I didn’t smile often but seeing that flash of fire in her eyes as she silently accepted my challenge and slammed the rest of the liquor amused me.

  “What are you in school for?” I asked her.

  “A business degree. My dad was planning on leaving me his company in the future, so I thought it would be helpful.” A sad look flitted over her face. The need to erase it rose sharply, surprising me.

  “I guess that happened faster than any of us thought it would.” She looked down at her glass.

  “What happened?” I was a dick for asking. But I was curious.

  “Cancer.”

  I nodded and changed the subject.

  “What’s the deal with you and Bridget?”

  A big grin split her face and relief ran through me. “We’ve been friends forever. Somehow, whenever we’re together, we always manage to find trouble.”

  I smirked at her, “That doesn’t shock me.”

  She gave me a look that said she was far from impressed and tapped a finger against her bottom lip. I thought about sucking that lip into my mouth. I’d offered to answer her questions for two reasons. One, so that she could get to know me more. I already knew a foolproof way of gathering information about her. Two, it passed the time without her going over every worst-case scenario in that overly active brain.

  “How old are you?”

  Eyes still on her mouth, I let my filthy thoughts run through my head. “Twenty-eight. You?”

  “Twenty-one.”

  I got up to pour us another drink. Her voice called out from the living room. “What do you do?”

  I waited until I was sitting again, and she’d taken her glass before I answered. “Mechanic.” I didn’t mention that my brother Riggs and I owned the garage we worked at or my club job as sergeant at arms.

  “What kind of hobbies are you into?” She’d asked this before I could ask what kind of business she now owned.

  I paused at her question. I wasn’t sure how to answer. There wasn’t much I did other than work and handle club business. “Bikes and engines.” She tipped her head, trying to figure out what else to ask.

  “What are your hobbies?” Since I’d first seen her yesterday morning, I’d been wanting to know more about her. Once I’d claimed her to the club it’d become a fucking compulsion for me. I had already texted Rat with her name during one of my trips to the kitchen. If anyone could dig up information on her for me, he could. When I saw Ty with his hands on Remi earlier tonight, fury had flooded me. Ty would be dealt with later. No one touched what’s mine. She didn’t know she belonged to me yet of course, but she’d figure it out soon enough.

  “I don’t really have time for hobbies anymore between school and work.” She’d just about finished her second drink when Gunnar flung the front door open. Remi jumped about a foot in the air and I couldn’t help but chuckle. She shot me a dirty look.

  “Coast is clear, bro.” He pulled Bridget into the room and shut the door. His lip was split, and he had a nasty bruise forming on one side of his face. I just settled back, putting my hands behind me on the table, and leaned back on them.

  Bridget ran over to Remi and hugged her. Remi handed her friend the whiskey, and she downed the remainder in a couple of swallows. Gunnar chuckled as he carried the bottle out of the kitchen and two more glasses. “Does Cade know you opened this?” I shrugged.

  “He’s going to kick your ass.”

  I smiled grimly. I looked forward to that. Cade, Riggs, Gunnar, and I sparred together regularly. There were never any gloves or rules. It kept us sharp.

  Gunnar filled a glass and handed it to Remi and then filled the rest of ours. “Sorry for all the trouble, ladies.” Gunnar considered himself a ladies’ man most days.

  “It was kind of exciting,” Bridget chirped. Remi looked over at her, astonished. I covered my laugh by drinking. Those were the types of women who dated men like us — the ones who were excited by the danger. I glanced over at Remi and wondered how long it would take for her to get used to my world.

  “We should get home.” Remi set the glass of whiskey down, gave Bridget an insistent look, and stood up. Bridget hesitated, but then sighed in acceptance.

  “Yeah, fine.” She smiled at Gunnar when he took the spot Remi vacated.

  “We’ll see you out at the car.” I took Remi’s hand, interlaced our fingers, and all but dragged her out the door. She looked like she was going to insist Bridget come now. I turned to shut the door and saw that Gunnar already had his tongue down Bridget’s throat.

  We walked over to the parking lot and my eyebrows shot up when she walked up to an older Camaro. I may not like to drive anything but a bike but that didn’t mean I didn’t appreciate a fine machine. Riggs would get a hard-on for this car. Remi stepped up and unlocked it. I rubbed the back of my neck. Remi peered back toward the shadow of the house.

  “Let them say goodnight. You need to relax.”

  She shot me a glare. “I am relaxed.”

  She was standing there stiffly, arms crossed over her chest, one sneaker tapping the ground. If that was relaxed, then I was a God-fearing man.

  “I’m going to let you go home.” Her eyebrows shot up, and she got this half offended, half defiant look on her face. I continued before she could respond. “But you’re going to give me a kiss before you go.”

  Remi’s face went red with embarrassment and indignation, and she sputtered. “Oh, really?” The defiant look deepened. “And what if I say no? Are you going to stop me from leaving?”

  “No, I wouldn’t stop you if you said no.” She blinked
at me in confusion. I stepped a little closer to her, lowering my voice. It sounded husky, gravely even to me. “But you’re not going to say no.” Her mouth dropped open in shock. “Because you want to kiss me.” My grin was slow, challenging. “Go ahead, Remi. Tell me no.”

  I stepped forward and used my body to bump her off balance. Her butt and lower back hit the car, and I put my hands on either side of her, caging her in. She looked up at me in surprise. Indecision played across her face and one of her hands shot out to my chest as I swayed toward her. She didn’t shove me back or say no, so I kissed her. She didn’t move, not pushing me away, but not joining in. She seemed to be frozen. I looked into her eyes when I kissed her, and I saw desire there, but maybe a little fear too.

  I couldn’t see her getting past that indecision in the next few minutes, and I wanted to feel her mouth moving against mine. So, I took the initial choice out of her hands. But she could’ve stopped me at any time, and I would’ve let her go.

  Biting her bottom lip hard, I groaned when she gasped at the combined feeling of pleasure and pain. As soon as her mouth opened, I plunged my tongue in and played with hers. I pressed my body against hers, pinning her against the car, and tangled my hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head and deepening the kiss.

  I could taste the whiskey on her, and I swear it tasted better than the stuff had in my glass. My opposite hand slid down her body and cupped her ass. Jerking her hips forward, I shoved one of my thighs between hers. I groaned again when I felt her heat on my leg. She made a little noise in the back of her throat and hesitantly her tongue brushed mine.

  Fucking finally, I thought. I slowed the kiss so she could take it at her pace, as long as she didn’t stop. Now that her sweet lips were moving over mine, I never wanted her to stop. Her movements were getting more confident now, a little more frantic.

  Chapter 14

  Remi

  I couldn’t believe his arrogance when he said I wanted to kiss him. What pissed me off and confused me, even more, was that he was right. I shouldn’t be this attracted to him. But then Anna and Bridget had always claimed that bad boys were the most attractive. Maybe they were right, and we just had a natural affinity toward a dangerous man. It seemed like I might.

  I could feel my face heating and my words seemed to trip on my tongue. He’d caught me off guard and now he was just standing there smiling smugly. “Oh, really?” My voice rose in pitch a bit and I fought for control over my temper. Fear was a tiny flame in the back of my mind. “And what if I say no? Are you going to stop me from leaving?”

  “No, I wouldn’t stop you if you said no.” I blinked at that. Something tightened in my stomach with his admission. Then he stepped closer and his voice was deep, smokey, and so sexy my whole body was tingling.

  “But you’re not going to say no.” I couldn’t help it. My mouth dropped open and now my face wasn’t flushed due to embarrassment but because he’d turned me on. “Because you want to kiss me.” Then he gave me a smile that shot straight between my legs. “Go ahead, Remi. Tell me no.”

  When Steel pinned my body between his and the car I was surprised. He started to move in and reflexively I put a hand on his chest. I could feel his muscles rippling under my palms and the heavy, fast beating of his heart belied the calm demeanor that he outwardly showed.

  Even I didn’t know if I was pushing him away or trying to get closer. That voice in my head told me that if I wanted to say no, now was the time to do it. I trusted that if I said it, he would honor it. But he was right. I wanted him to kiss me. I needed to know how his lips felt against mine. How would his neatly trimmed beard feel rubbing against my skin as his lips fused with mine?

  After what he’d said earlier about never hurting me, a lot of the fear I had of him had disappeared. I was still uneasy about the club and its rules. The reason I let him explore my lips was knowing and believing that this man wouldn’t hurt me. The fact that all I had to do was say stop, and he would? That was the reason I joined in on the kiss. This man read my body perfectly.

  He molded our mouths together and pressed his thigh between my legs. The hair on his face rasped against my skin and sent a shiver skating down my spine. My pussy was pressed against those hard muscles and I dizzily wondered if I was going to cum with just that touch and the buzz of anticipation heating my blood. If these delicious feelings weren’t enough to make me lose my mind what he did next ensured that I would.

  Steel used both hands this time and palmed my ass, his fingers digging in. The pleasure-pain combination had me moaning. Then he dragged my body up close to his, rubbing my pussy up along his thigh. My clit gave a hard throb, my pussy clamped down, feeling too empty, and the breath shuddered out of me.

  Steel allowed my body to slide back down his leg before quickly repeating the motion all over again. I was going to cum. There was no way I was going to be able to hold back when he was putting all this amazing pressure directly onto my clit. I was panting into his mouth, beyond caring about anything around us. Bridget’s giggle made my eyes snap open. I jerked my head back and stared at Steel in shock. We were both breathing raggedly, and he looked like he was seconds away from continuing, despite our audience. His intensity was sexier than anything I’d ever seen.

  My body was throbbing, and I couldn’t believe we’d just been doing that right out in the open. People were milling around outside, and worse, Gunnar and Bridget had just walked up and had seen everything. I knew my face was turning red. I don’t know how, but this man played my body like a fiddle. I knew I was going to have to tread carefully.

  Bridget climbed into the passenger seat of the car, giving me space to disentangle myself from Steel. This time I pushed against his chest and he instantly let me go. Stepping back, he pulled both of our phones out of his pocket and I watched quietly as he put my number into his.

  Steel opened my car door, and I slid inside. He crouched down next to me and gave me a long, quiet look. He was a pro at those looks, and if he hadn’t already turned my insides liquid, that would have done it.

  “Steel…”

  He quickly wove his fingers through my hair and yanked my head to his, crashing our lips together. I moaned; I couldn’t help it. This guy knew how to break down every barrier I built, however big or small. If any other guy had tried that he’d get a swift knee to the balls. He broke the kiss off with a nip to my bottom lip.

  “Night Remi.” He handed me my phone then stood and shut the door as I sat there trying to get the remaining brain cells, I had left to work well enough to get us home.

  Pulling out of the parking lot so we could head back into the city, I watched as Gunnar strode up and rested his hand on Steel’s shoulder. They both stood watching us leave. Finally, I couldn’t see them anymore and I focused on the road ahead of me.

  “Okay, that looked so hot.” Bridget was smiling at me, eyes gleaming. I just shook my head. I was slightly numb. I couldn’t believe I’d let Steel kiss me or that I’d kissed him back. Even worse. Better? Either way, I couldn’t believe I’d basically been humping his leg and in public. I groaned in embarrassment, but a sharp spike of heat made my clit throb too.

  “Not hot, Bridget. This isn’t good. What the hell happened tonight?” My thoughts were completely jumbled together. I knew that tonight topped our extensive list of ‘nights that weird shit happened’. This had been so much worse than the funhouse clown.

  The guys had technically saved us. But it was their party that got us into trouble, to begin with. Then there was that kiss. Before that, I had a mild attraction to him. He was gorgeous after all. But too much had happened for my brain to take it there. Until he’d kissed me. Now I wondered if I’d get to do it again.

  I argued with myself during the thirty-minute drive back into the city. Bridget had fallen asleep in the passenger seat and I shot her a bitter look. She was sleeping like a baby. So obviously, her mind wasn’t conflicted about this. By the time we pulled up in front of our house, I’d decided that it
had been a crazy night. I’d gotten a deliciously filthy make-out session out of it with a hot guy. But I’d never have to see that hot guy again, so there was no need to worry. Right?

  Chapter 15

  Steel

  It was Monday morning, and I thought of Remi all weekend. It had been such a long time since I’d been this into a woman. I shook off my thoughts and smiled when Rat handed me the background check I’d asked for. We tapped knuckles, and he didn’t say anything else as he quickly left the room. The kid was a genius with a computer, but extremely shy. He wasn’t our normal type of recruit but was another example of Cade’s genius.

  Cade and Riggs had found Rat years ago. They’d been working a job for our current president at the time. Gunnar and I had only been prospects and had been pissed that we hadn’t been allowed to go on that assignment. Riot had sent Cade and Riggs to go gather some intel on a few cops who were working with the Italian Mafia. He’d been trying to get these cops in his pocket for years, but it was suspected they were already loyal to Don Angelo Accardo.

  The guys had only told a few of us about Rat’s story out of respect for him but Gunnar and I knew what there was to know. Sadly, it wasn’t much. This homeless kid had approached Cade and Riggs and told them that he’d been watching them, as they’d been casing out two cops trying to catch them in the act of taking bribes. He’d offered to help them find out the information on the cops if they would accept him into the MC. When Riggs had laughed him off Rat had quickly pulled out his laptop and shut him up.