I WOKE TO a soft knock on the door.
Rolling over in bed, I realized I had fallen asleep after Stone’s insatiable need to leave me sore and wanton with need. We didn’t have sex, but if he fucked with his cock like he did with his tongue, I knew I was in for it.
But it was a need I would have to ignore until I went to his place later that evening. He was delicious. I couldn’t resist him. I enjoyed flirting and pushing him. And I absolutely loved when he pushed back. My body heated. Maybe if I ignored the knock, whoever it was would go away and I could play with my—
The knock sounded again.
Shit.
“Creena?” Meeka called out, her voice muffled by the closed door.
Quickly pulling on shorts and a tank top, I opened the door. “What’s up?”
She raised an eyebrow, her gaze raking over me. “Have a good nap?”
I laughed, heat crawling up my neck. “Oh, yeah. More like I passed out from pure exhaustion.”
“You two were quiet for being exhausted after,” she teased.
“Oh, we didn’t have sex.” But God help me, I wished we did.
“Good because I love you but I really don’t want to hear any more of your screams.” She winked.
“Oh, God.” I slapped a palm to my face. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She laughed. “But listen, we’re going to the club and then heading to Jay’s. Want to come see her and the baby with me?”
“Aren’t they on their honeymoon?” I asked, moving to my closet and pulling out a white summer dress.
“Supposed to be, but you know how they are. Angel apparently called a meeting with the guys. They found out some new shit about the Organization.”
“Ah,” I said, absentmindedly, smiling to myself while I held up the dress. It would fall to my feet and had spaghetti straps. It would hide my scars but I also wouldn’t be able to wear a bra with it. Fuck it. This was perfect.
“Um … Creena?”
I wondered how long it would take for Stone to rip this off of me. “Hmm?”
“I was talking to you.”
“Yeah?”
Meeka laughed. “You’re planning on teasing him, aren’t you?”
“Girl,” I inhaled a sharp breath. “He’s like tequila. I know it’s bad for me but damn, I want more. I want to get fucking drunk off of him.”
“I know how that is.” Meeka sat on the bed. “I think he feels the same way.”
“Right now, I don’t care how he feels,” I told her, pulling down my shorts and lifting my tank top over my head.
“Well, good thing you’re not shy.” She giggled.
I winked, stepping into the dress and smoothed it down my body. It was one thing I gave Meeka. She never asked about my scars. “I can’t be shy if I want to get Stone back in my bed.”
“Wasn’t he already in your bed?”
“Yes, but we didn’t have sex.” I grinned. “Well, not completely, anyway.”
“You have it bad,” she pointed out.
“No.” I shrugged. “It’s been awhile.” Stone was something else. Something fresh. He was like a new toy, and I planned on playing with him until he broke.
***
(Stone)
“Well, don’t you look fucking happy for once,” Dale Michaels, another member of Vice-One, teased. He punched me in the arm, trying to be funny but, really, he wasn’t.
I smirked. If he only knew.
“Did you finally get laid?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.
“Just because your shit is sorted doesn’t mean I’m going to spill all my dark and dirty secrets with you.” I raised my hand when he went to speak. “Just stop. No one wants to hear your voice anymore.”
He scowled. “Fucker.”
“You love me.” I blew him a kiss.
He shook his head. “You’ve been hanging out with me too much,” he muttered, his gaze moving past me. “Saved by my beautiful girlfriend.” He clapped his hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze before walking past me.
A giggle sounded from behind me.
I didn’t have to look to know that Dale had kissed Max, his girlfriend, and took her breath. It was something I didn’t want to see knowing that familiar ache would settle in my chest.
My blood vibrated through my veins. Fuck. I needed to sort that shit out before it took control.
Clearing my throat, I walked back and forth a couple times when my heart settled. It had been the same shit, different pile for the past few months.
Panic. Breathe. Fuck. Repeat.
It was the only thing that had saved my life for the past two years. And her. Always her.
I stepped outside into the warm sun when I stopped in my tracks.
Creena walked up the parking lot with Meeka and Asher.
My mouth watered at the sight before me.
She wore a floor-length white dress that accentuated her olive skin tone. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail that I would give anything to grab onto. It was the perfect length for me to wrap around my hand while I fucked her from behind.
My dick jumped in my pants. Shielding myself from anyone but her, I waited for her to notice me.
Her gaze met mine, her mouth twitching at the corners. Her eyes roamed to my waist, a slow grin spreading on her beautiful face.
Much to my surprise, she walked right up to me.
“Miss me?” she purred, licking her tongue over her bottom lip.
My voice was lost on my tongue as I stared at the perfection before me.
Her deep green eyes darkened. “Stone, what’s wrong?”
My stomach twisted at the concern in her voice. My gaze raked over her, my blood pumping straight to my dick.
“You know … I do have a room here.” She patted my chest, running her hand down my torso, and stopped at my belt. “You could have me bent over in a matter of minutes, baby boy.”
My heart hammered against my rib cage. Heat enveloped me. If we weren’t surrounded by our friends, I would fuck her right against the wall.
“Stone,” she murmured.
“What are you doing to me?” I asked, grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles.
“Nothing yet.” She winked and stepped away from me. “Later, baby.”
***
(Creena)
As soon I turned around, he would see how the dress hugged my ass. I got the exact reaction I was looking for.
Stone groaned, adjusting himself, and rolled his eyes.
Throwing my head back, I let out a hard laugh.
His grin widened. He enjoyed the back and forth just as much as I did.
“You’re killing me, woman.” He threw an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. “I know you don’t want to talk about them, but your scars are beautiful.”
My heart stuttered. No one had ever said that to me before.
“And you do realize there are bite marks on your arms and shoulders, right?”
My mouth dropped. “What?”
“My mark is all over you,” he whispered in my ear. “I know you’re trying to tease me, but I don’t appreciate other men seeing those marks,” his voice dipped low enough for only me to hear. “It makes me want to throw you on the ground right here and fuck the shit out of you.”
I swallowed hard. “Give me your hoodie then.”
He didn’t even hesitate and pulled the fabric over his head, revealing a tight, black, long-sleeve shirt. Although it covered his ink, it did nothing to hide the hard muscles rippling beneath his skin.
Stone handed me the sweatshirt. “What if I’m lying?”
I glared, snatching the hoodie from him and pulling it over my head. “If you are” —I shivered as the scent of him wafted into my nose— “I’ll just deny you access to my body.”
His smile faltered. “Try it.”
I smirked. “Threatening me, baby boy?”
His smile pulled up into an evil grin. But instead of saying anything or giving me the dirty words I had come to crave, he walked away.
As soon as he brushed past me, the breath I had been holding was sucked right from my lungs.
“What’s with the hoodie?” Meeka asked, coming up beside me.
My cheeks heated. “Um … I was chilly.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
I huffed, gently smacking her arm. “Why didn’t you tell me you could see bite marks on my arms and shoulders?”
“I thought you knew. You didn’t know?”
“How could I?” I scowled, crossing my arms under my chest. The hairs on my nape tingled. Knowing Stone was looking my way, I lifted my middle finger and flipped him off.
A booming laugh came from him, the sound reverberating into my ears. I smiled.
“You’re going to kill each other with tension.” Meeka pursed her lips. “I need to find Asher.” And with that, she headed inside the clubhouse.
I smiled to myself, shaking my head.
Brogan came up beside me. “Hey, Creena.”
“Hey, girl. Ready for your first meeting?” I asked, hopping up on the picnic table.
She grunted. “Not really. Jay’s lucky I love her.”
“You’ll do fine,” I reassured her. Not that she needed it. She was the smallest of our group but definitely the strongest. Physically, anyway.
“So, you and Stone, huh?” Brogan waggled her eyebrows, stretching her arms up and above her head.
“What about me and Stone?” I winked, glancing at the guy who left my bed not long before.
He was bent over a table covered by blueprints while Asher gave directions. They were done fixing the hole in the wall due to the club getting hit a couple months back but now they were expanding the place.
“Coby likes him,” Brogan said, interrupting my thoughts. “And that’s saying something. It takes a while for him to like anyone.”
“Except for you,” I pointed out.
Her smile grew. “Yeah, well, even we have our issues.”
I nodded, my stomach twisting over what they had been through several weeks back. They wouldn’t talk about it. We only knew that Brogan had taken out Tina Birtch, one of the people running the Organization.
“Something is off, though.” Brogan rubbed the back of her neck.
I met her gaze. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, but I can feel it.” She shivered. “I don’t like this feeling. Tyler is in jail and both Charles and Zane are dead and … and … Tina …. I feel like a weight should be lifted, but it’s like it only got heavier.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Brogan was the one who got information from people. She may have been the smallest but she was powerful and strong as fuck. The deadliest weapon all wrapped up in a pretty little package. And her being nervous bothered the shit out of me.
“Did you tell Coby how you feel?” I hopped off the table, needing to walk out some of the tension suddenly taking over.
“I didn’t need to.” Her mouth set in a grim line. “He already knows because he feels it too. I know we’ll never end human trafficking completely. I’m not stupid and would never expect that of us. But if we can end one entity, that would make me happy. We got rid of the front runners. The head of the Organization, if you will. It’s not enough, though, and I don’t know why.”
“You’re making me nervous,” I mumbled, saying out loud finally how I felt.
“Yeah, you’re not the only one.” She took a deep breath, giving her body a shake. “I want to keep Jay and Angel out of this as much as possible. We can keep them informed, but that’s it. They need to worry about their family. Angel likes to think he can take care of everything himself. I have some of Greyson’s crew watching them, but that stays between us.”
I nodded, a flutter of relief washing over me that she had her stepbrother’s motorcycle club keeping our friends well protected. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Thank you.” She took a step toward the guys before turning back to me. “Dante’s Kings are stopping by.”
Great.
Suddenly, my phone rang, making me jump. “Shit, Creena,” I scolded myself. “Hello?”
“You are a hard person to get ahold of, my darling sister.”
“Hi, Kenny,” I said, greeting my brother and heading to the garage.
“Not happy to hear from me?”
I rolled my eyes, careful not to let it show in my voice. “I’m always happy to hear from you.”
A deep chuckle sounded from the other end of the phone. “You’re a horrible liar.”
“What do you want?” I asked, the bite in my tone not something I had intended to let out.
“Watch the attitude, Creena.” He cleared his throat. “Where are you?”
I stopped in my tracks, looking around me. “Every time you ask me that, one of your goons shows up to take me back to see you.”
“My goons, as you say, are only there to protect you.”
“Yeah, okay. It was father’s job to protect me, not you, and look what happened,” I reminded him. “And your goons stop me from having a life.” I continued walking to the garage.
“Father wasn’t doing shit to protect you. You’re safe and still alive because of me. Don’t you fucking forget that,” Kenny growled. “And besides, you seemed to have a life last night. What was it? A wedding? How about that man you went home with?”
“Fuck you, Kenny. Just tell me what the hell you want,” I demanded, gripping the phone tight in my hand.
“I will but I need to see you.”
“No, you can tell me over the phone. You’re lucky you even get that option.”
He laughed. The bastard actually laughed.
“God, I love you.” Kenny chuckled harder. “We are one in the same, you and I.”
The hairs on the back of my neck tingled. Someone was watching me, and I would bet my life it was Stone. I couldn’t look at him for fear he would see that vulnerable side of me that had been hidden for so long.
“We are nothing alike,” I told my brother, dropping my voice so only he could hear.
“Ah, someone isn’t alone.” Kenny cleared his throat. “My driver will pick you up at six. Be ready, Creena. I don’t like waiting.” And with that, my brother hung up.
Fuck my life.