CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Blaze
“He’s dead,” Ax said without preamble.
I froze where I’d been sweeping the front porch.
“Sniper?”
“Naw, man, Turk.”
I let out a breath. “Shit, you fucker, you scared the hell out of me.”
“Sorry. I should have been more specific.” Ax didn’t look sorry, so I shoved him. He barely swayed.
“What happened?”
“Snow plow found him frozen on the side of a back road this morning, throat slit from ear to ear. Roly sent me a photo. Wanna see?”
“I’ll pass.” Roly was a friend of Ax’s on the police force. “I’m assuming Sniper got to him somehow.”
“No doubt.”
“And Spoons? Any word on him?”
“Not as of yet. I’d say he’ll be scrambling to get rid of the evidence of Turk’s business. He won’t be able to run it himself. Crazy asshole might just try to make off with the coke.”
“He’ll have some angry drug dealers from across the border after him if he does. Those guys don’t fool around.”
“No joke. I imagine we can sit back and watch him implode from his own stupidity, don’t you?”
“Let’s hope so. I’ll tell Zeke all’s clear to come home, but maybe they should keep their backup for a while until we’re sure.”
My phone vibrated in my hand, and I looked at the screen. Maddy. Fuck, what did she want?
“Hello?”
“Blaze, it’s good to hear your voice.”
I frowned. “Weren’t you the one who threw a shoe at my head?”
She chuckled. “Sorry, I was a little angry.”
“You could have put my eye out with that thing.”
“Yeah, well. Are you free for dinner?”
“What’s this about? We broke up, remember?”
“When I had time to cool off, I figured I forced your hand with my insistence we make a commitment. I shouldn’t have done that. It was unfair of me.”
“All water under the bridge now.”
“So, dinner?”
“Actually, I’m seeing someone else.”
Silence.
“Hello?” I looked at the screen. Still connected.
“That didn’t take you long. Who is she?”
“Does it matter? Listen, it was nice talking to you, but I have to go.”
“You’ll just dump her when she gets tired of being strung along,” Maddy said. “That’s your M.O.”
I disconnected and blew out a breath.
Ax raised a dark brow. “Madeline?”
I nodded.
He threw an arm around my shoulder. “I take it she wasn’t happy you’ve moved on.”
“She says I’ll just dump this one when thing’s get too serious.” I rubbed my hand over my face. “I let her think I’m seeing a woman.” I felt like a jerk.
Ax squeezed my neck and let go. “Baby steps, Boss. I think you’re doing real good getting to where you are right now.”
His words made me feel marginally better.
“Hey,” I said when Ax started to move away. “What did you mean that time when you said I have major issues?”
Ax frowned. “I was just teasing.”
“Yeah, but you meant it, too. Come on. Tell me. I don’t want to make the same mistakes with Lake I made with all the others.”
Ax indicated we sit down for this conversation.
Warily, I sank into one of the wicker chairs while Ax lowered his big frame into the other.
“All I meant was you don’t like people to get too close to you. You seem to like to have someone, but if they act like they really want to get to know you, you cut things off. I figure it has to do with something in your past, but it’s none of my business.”
I thought about it while gazing out at the quiet neighborhood. This time of day, everyone was at school or at work.
I balanced my booted foot on my left knee and tried to open my mind to my feelings. Before I could make heads or tails of them, Ax spoke again, stabbing me with a truth that should have been obvious.
“My guess is you’re afraid of being left first.”
I didn’t look at him. Couldn’t. He’d cut to the chase, words sharp and stinging in their accuracy.
“You never had a mom; your dad and brother died, and then your best friend. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out you have abandonment issues, man.”
I pursed my lips, thinking while Ax remained quiet, letting his words sink in.
“What do I do about it?” I asked after a few moments. Ax had picked up his whittling and cocked his head while he made a careful cut into the wood.
“I’m no expert, but I’d say this time you don’t run. Work on the relationship.” He glanced at me. “That’s if you want this one to continue.”
“I do,” I said seriously, never meaning anything more in my life.
“So, it’s simple. Don’t drive him away like you did the others. When you win the trust of someone like Lake, you gotta keep it.”
***
“Why the snake?” Lake asked, tracing my tattoo with the tip of his index finger. We were wrapped up in each other, naked in bed—this time in the guest room at Khan and Stephen’s. The couple were at work, and Lake had a couple hours before he had to be at the coffee shop, so of course we’d stripped each other of clothes and gotten busy.
I lifted my arm and twisted it from side to side so the yellow anaconda appeared to undulate.
“You like snakes?” Lake asked.
“The opposite, actually.”
Lake frowned at me before flicking my nipple in impatience. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve always been afraid of them,” I said, catching his hand in mine and kissing each finger in turn until his green eyes softened in the way that made my heart flutter. “My brother used to put garter snakes in my bed to scare me.”
“That’s mean.” Lake looked affronted, like if Tim were still around, he’d let my brother have it. A flash of loss passed through me. I missed my brother, and I wished he could know Lake.
“He stopped doing it when he realized how terrified I was of them. Anyway, I got the snake tattoo to help me get over my fear. It’s not like I can get away from my arm, right?”
Lake trailed his fingers down my sternum and tugged at my chest hair, which got my cock’s attention. I was surprised it could perk up so soon after the sixty-nine session we’d just had.
“Pretty clever,” he said. “I think it’s hot.”
“Do you?”
“Why do you sound so surprised?”
“I got the feeling I’m not like the usual guys you’re attracted to. I wouldn’t picture you choosing a tattooed biker.”
“What gave you that idea?”
I shrugged, trying to play it off as casual, but if I were honest with myself, I was a little intimidated by Lake’s upbringing. I remembered Zeke had felt the same way when he’d first started dating Morgan. I hadn’t ever really experienced that around J because he’d been so separated from his family, even when he’d still lived at home.
“Just assumed you liked rich, preppy guys, that’s all.”
“If I did, why would I be all over you?”
I liked the sound of that and pulled him on top of me, squeezing the cheeks of his ass in my hands while staring up into his eyes, his blond hair a curtain of waves around us. Every day I felt closer and closer to him, as though every moment we spent together wove our souls into tight, intricate knots that could never be broken.
I smacked his ass. “You weren’t exactly all over me at first. I had to chase you down.”
Lake gave me coy look that made me want to fuck him, hard.
“Was I worth the wait?”
I gave him another smack. “We’re talking about me, not you.”
Lake kissed me, tongue delving deep into my mouth, and I groaned low in my throat, playing with his hole while we kissed. When Lake began to gasp and wiggle, I slipped my finger inside him.
Lake pulled away from my mouth and stared down at me with fiery eyes, his long cock hardening against mine. “Fuck.”
I scooted out from beneath him and settled between his legs, holding them down with my arms. The first taste of him hit my senses like a torch to dry grass, and I began laving the wrinkled skin of his anus with an eager tongue. Lake moaned and writhed beneath me, making me even crazier for him. I pushed his legs wide apart and held his round cheeks open so I could blow over the little hole while admiring the swell of his rosy balls beneath.
“Why do you shave here?” I asked, running my fingers over his crack.
Lake looked at me over his bare shoulder, expression wrecked.
“You’re asking me questions? Now?”
I blew on him again, and he shivered.
“I just like the feeling of being bare there,” he said. “Especially when a hot-as-fuck biker licks my ass.”
I smacked his buns. “I better be the only biker licking your ass.”
I rubbed my beard stubble against the sensitive skin of his taint and slipped my hand underneath him to palm his dick and wiggle my fingers in his pubes. “I like the way you leave this blond bush here.”
Lake pushed his ass toward my face in an unspoken demand. A surge of lust rose within me, and I dove in, feasting on him like he was my last meal, sucking and biting until Lake was crying out, begging me to make him come.
I wouldn’t give it to him. Not yet. I held the base of his engorged cock with one hand, staving off his pleasure as I fucked him with my tongue, listening to his grunts and cries until my mouth was too sore to continue.
When I got to my knees and entered him, Lake sobbed into the pillow .
“Holy fuck,” I groaned, stilling. “Damn. Forgot the condom.” Spreading my body over him, I reached to my jeans on the floor and wrestled my wallet out of my pocket only to find I didn’t have one with me.
“Don’t you dare pull out,” Lake said, reaching back to grab my hip.
“I have to. No condom.” Fuck.
Lake dug his fingers into my skin.
“Aren’t you careful? I am. I swear it. We can get tested later. Just, please, for the love of God, fuck me!”
I growled. No way I could deny him. I began thrusting my hips, intense sensations flooding me.
I’d never fucked a girl without a condom. Ever. I told him that, accentuating every phrase with a purposeful thrust of my cock in his ass.
Lake moaned and pushed back into me, fucking himself on me while I held still and watched my dick sinking into him over and over again.
“Damn,” I breathed. Falling to my elbows, I began moving in sync with him, and it wasn’t long before my climax rose on a relentless wave that hit hard then poured over me like molasses, slow and thick. I gently stabbed at Lake’s prostate, and he came with a full-body shiver, whimpering into the pillow.
I bit his shoulder possessively.
“God, you’re good at eating ass,” Lake mumbled after a moment.
I sat up. “Thank you very much.”
He looked at me over his arm. “Did you do that to the women you dated?”
“Rarely. Girls are funny about stuff like that.”
Lake leaned up on his elbow. “I wouldn’t know. What’s it like to fuck a girl?”
“Different kind of tightness.” I thought about it. “Different feel altogether.”
“Better?” Lake’s green eyes met mine.
I shook my head slowly from side to side and leaned in to speak into his ear. “Nothing’s better than being inside you.” I licked his cheek and got to my feet.
Lake groaned. “Where’re you going?”
“You have to get ready for work, and I have stuff to do.” I’d left a handprint on his ass and bent to kiss it. God, I wanted to go at him all over again, but I needed to be at Hard Time for a scheduled filming in an hour.
“I gotta go. See you later?”
Lake smiled. “Okay. Well, wait. I don’t know about that. I get off at five but have to be at the Banana by seven.”
“I’ll give you a lift.” I smoothed back his hair from his face and reluctantly began to dress. “Don’t fall asleep. Hey, you need a ride there?” I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten to ask.
Lake looked at the clock. “I was going to call a cab.”
“No need. Come on, sleepyhead.”
Lake was ready in a flash—another positive difference from the women I’d dated—and as I dropped him off at The Cup and Saucer, I watched his ass sway while he walked in before revving up my bike and riding away, my Harley rumbling between my thighs.