Slow Burn (Lost Kings MC 1)

One of New York’s many charming quirks is that since we’re a totally nude strip club, we can’t serve alcohol. What little might be kicking around here isn’t going to last a minute.

Trinity must have covered the phone, but I still hear her yell to the others to "freshen their shit up and haul their asses down to CB," which makes me chuckle. When she comes back on the line, she’s giggling. "Swan’s excited. She wants to dance."

"I don’t think the guys are going to be into her Nutcracker ballet bullshit, Trinny."

"Please, bitch is limber as fuck, you should see what she can do on a pole," she informs me.

That’s a mental picture I didn’t need.

"Can you also run downstairs and get a couple zips from Sparky? Make sure it’s dank, and don’t let him give you any shit. Split it up between the girls so none of you are holding more than two."

"Got it."

I disconnect and tap at my phone. I find two texts from Hope. I’m a little pissed she didn’t listen to me, but as long as I know she’s safe, I’ll deal with her later.

"What the fuck are you bringing Trinity here for?" Wrath snarls in my ear, scaring the fuck out of me. For such a big fucker, he moves silently when he wants to.

He crosses his arms over his chest and waits for me to answer.

"What the fuck you think? She’s bringing some of the girls down, and she’s going to run the bar."

"That all she’s helping with?"

"That’s up to her, dickhead. Unless there’s something you want to fill me in on?"

He storms off without answering.

Moody bastard.

Bless Trinity’s heart, she’s here in thirty-five minutes. Enough time for me to make the rounds, set up some deals, and gather some info before the guys get restless.

Birch follows her in with beer. I show her into my office, where she unloads the baggies of bud.

"Fuck, Trin, that’s way over what I told you to bring. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if you got pulled over."

Her mouth turns down, and I want to kick myself for being so sharp with her. "Sorry. You said there were like forty guys here."

Shaking my head, I give her a quick hug. "You know how upset I’d be if something happened to you, right?"

That brings a smile back to her face. "Yeah, but you’d take care of me like you always have."

I give her a stern stare, but there’s a smile playing at the corner of my mouth that makes her eyes roll. "Go get behind the bar. Oh, heads up. I have a feeling you’re going to have a bodyguard tonight."

The corners of her mouth twitch up, but then she stops it and rolls her eyes.

"Here, I brought this for you." She pulls a small bottle of my favorite scotch out of her purse.

Even though I wasn’t planning to drink tonight, I’m touched she thought of it. "Thanks, sweetie."

Swan is indeed very limber, and I am rethinking my rule against club girls dancing at CB as I watch her climb the pole using only her thighs. The sounds streaming out of the back rooms tell me I don’t really want to contemplate what’s going on back there. Just figure I’ll call in a cleaning service tomorrow.

Z plops down next to me.

"You turned this around, prez. Coulda been a fucking disaster."

I half smile in return. I’m fucking tired and annoyed at the whole mess.

"She’s good, yeah?" he says, pointing at Swan.

"Yeah, thinking I’ll tell her she can start dancing here on the regular if she wants."

"Gonna hit it?"

"Fuck, no."

"Damn, you’re serious about the Red Widow."

"Stop calling her that," I snap.

From my vantage point, I’m able to observe Wrath watching over Trinity like a hawk. Goddammit. Except for a coy glance every now and then, she seems to be ignoring him. When I spot the Wolf Knight’s VP muscle in and start flirting with her, my danger radar goes off.

Grabbing the first girl who walks by, I pull her down. Cookie. Good. She’ll spread for anyone, no problem.

"Cookie, can you do me a favor?"

She takes my question the wrong way and starts grinding on my lap. Z’s shaking with laughter and flashes me a thumbs up.

I turn her head in the direction of the bar. "Can you please go distract Merlin before Wrath blows a fucking gasket?"

"Yeah, of course. They a thing? Cause she and Teller—"

I place a finger over her lips. "I don’t want to know." I tilt my head at Merlin. "Please." She plants a sloppy kiss on my cheek, launches herself out of my lap and sashays over to Merlin.

"You’re such a heartbreaker, prez."

"Please. Haven’t been up in that in years."

Z arches his brow at me, like he’s amazed anyone can keep it in their pants for more than five seconds.

Degenerate fuck.

"Hey, since shit seems settled, do you mind if I take off?"

"Nah, go on. Heading to Lake George?" I ask with a smirk.

"Maybe."

"Shiny side up, brother." We bump fists, and he’s gone.

Looking around at the debauchery going on around me, I really miss my girl.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The ringing phone wakes me the next morning, and I fumble around trying to answer it. And promptly land face first on the floor.

The hell?

Opening my eyes, I remember I’m not at home. I’m at Sophie’s, and apparently I’ve slept on her couch.

"What are you doing on the floor, Hope?"

I look up to find Sophie planted in front of me. Scrambling back onto the couch takes a minute. I swear, I’m the most graceless person on the planet.

"Forgot where I was."

She sinks down onto the couch next to me. "Ugh, that was work. I gotta fly down to Wilmington tonight for an eight a.m. meeting tomorrow. Fucking bullshit, but at least I can work from home today."

"Why are they always telling you this stuff last minute?"

"Got me. I sat in on the Friday afternoon conference call. They said something about going to Wilmington early next week. Just not how early." She shrugs. "It’s better than West Virginia, at least."

I don’t know how Sophie manages to stay so positive. Her firm drops these last-minute travel plans on her all the time. Yes, they pay her decently, but they also treat her like shit. She’s only considered a "staff attorney," and they’ve made it clear they will never promote her to an associate. That means no big end-of-year bonus, and no respect. But since she looks good and doesn’t drool when she speaks, she’s presentable enough to send to clients’ offices, to do the work the associates and partners don’t want to be bothered doing. Why she puts up with it, I have no idea. She says she likes the traveling and never doing the same thing two weeks in a row, which I understand. But, I can see after almost two years of having her life constantly interrupted, it’s starting to wear on my friend.

"You want to give me a lift home?"

"You don’t have to go. Why don’t you stay here until whatever is going on with Rock’s club blows over? You can drive me to the airport tonight and have my car for the rest of the week."

"Won’t your brother be annoyed if I’m here?"

Sophie shrugs. "Why? He’s next door. He works all night and sleeps all day anyway, so you probably won’t run into each other all that much. Besides, he likes you."

That’s nice to know. Ben’s a good guy. The kind of big brother I always wished I’d had growing up.

"Think about it."

I give her offer serious consideration. If I stay here where Rock can’t find me, I can avoid him and have a little breathing room to sort out my feelings. It’s the chickenshit way out, but I don’t care. All this danger is too much for me. I already lost one husband, who never so much as drove over the speed limit. Now I have a boyfriend who runs around at night with guns and a bulletproof vest strapped to his body. I don’t think my mind or heart can take losing someone I love again. Especi

ally someone like Rock, who is a powerful force of nature, but puts himself at risk constantly.

Sophie pats my hand. "I’m going to run down to Stewart's for some eggs, coffee, and the paper. You want anything else?"

"Nope."

I yawn and dig around in my backpack for a toothbrush. As I’m rinsing my mouth out, I hear the distinctive rumble of a motorcycle. My heart speeds up at the familiar sound. How the hell did Rock manage to find me?

Why do I automatically assume it’s Rock? It’s not like he’s the only guy in the world who owns a motorcycle. I rush to the living room window and peek outside. Sure enough, it’s him.

So much for hiding out.

I’m still pissed, but the anger fades as I watch him take off his helmet. Before I realize it, I’m flinging open the door and running outside without even caring that I’m barefoot, in a sleep shirt, and braless.

"What are you doing here?" I ask as I slow my steps.

He slips off his shades and drinks me in. "I don’t know if I should spank you or hug you."

Well, that’s unexpected.

"Excuse me?" I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

He swings his leg over the bike and approaches me slowly. "I told you to stay put and let Hoot keep an eye on you. First thing you do is take off?"

"Yeah, how did you find me anyway?"

A smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. "I have my ways." Then his eyes turn serious. "You had me fucking worried."

I drop my arms. "About what? What am I supposed to be so afraid of?"

"Sass mouth," is the only warning I get before he drops his shoulder and flings me over it. My feet kick, and he hooks an arm across my thighs to keep me still. I’m terrified he’s going to drop me on my head, so I smack at his ass and legs to put me down. I realize in the commotion, my sleep shirt is bunched around my waist, my underwear-clad butt pointing up in the air.

"Rock, put me down. I don’t need Sophie’s brother seeing my bare ass," I hiss.

We’re moving swiftly across the lawn, but he pauses and sinks his teeth into my hip. It’s a little love-bite, but I squirm, and a crack fills the air as his palm lands on my left ass cheek.

"Ow! Did you just spank me?"

"Yup. Felt good too. Gonna do it again as soon as I get you inside."

"Like hell. Put me down, you jackass."

He pushes inside and sets me down. "Where’s Sophie?"

"She ran down to the store to get some stuff for breakfast."

"Good. I have time to fuck you."

His words ripple over me, and a rush of wetness dampens my panties. "No," I whisper.

I watch as his gaze bounces around the room, taking everything in. Unsure about his intentions, I back away and grab my overnight bag.

He follows my tentative steps. "Where are you going?"

"To get dressed. You’re making me nervous."

He closes the distance, grabbing the bag from my hands and pulling me against his chest. His mouth closes over mine, and I melt right into him. His arms tighten around me and lift me slightly off the ground. I can’t concentrate on anything but his mouth moving against mine, his tongue stroking inside. We’re moving, but I don’t know where. Finally he stops and sets me on the bathroom counter. Closing the door behind him with a quiet snick, he pauses before turning back to me. My bag hits the floor with a soft thud.

"Take your shirt off."

"No."

He raises his eyebrows, clearly not accustomed to hearing "no."

I hold out my hand. "Uh-uh. Don’t come any closer. You’re like sexual crack. I can’t think straight once you get your hands on me."

A big sexy smirk takes over his face, and the skin around his eyes crinkles a little with the gesture. Damn, he’s hot.

"I’m mad at you," I croak out. I don’t sound mad, though—I sound horny and desperate.

He cocks his head and crosses his massive arms over his broad chest. "You’re mad at me?" Disbelief drips with every word.

"Yes. You made me worry."

The smirk slides off his face. "Why were you worried about me, doll?"

"You didn’t answer my text. I don’t want to be all clingy, demanding to know where you are all the time, but you could have just let me know you were okay with a few short words."

Fuck. Why am I such an unbelievable asshole? I had Hoot watching the house, so I knew Hope was okay, but she had no way of knowing what was going on with me. I’m so used to only checking in with my brothers, it never occurred to me I should check in with Hope. It’s not like shooting her a two-word text would have killed me. Honestly, no other woman had ever worried about me enough to ask me to before. The guys would probably laugh their asses off and call me whipped, but I like knowing Hope cares.

"I’m sorry. I got caught up last night. We had guys from one of our out-of-town charters come up for support as well as another local ally, and it got hectic."

"Is everything okay?"

"For now."

"Does this sort of drama happen a lot?"

I’m tempted to lie to her and say no, because I know she’s not going to like the truth. But I really want to build something with Hope, so I know I need to be honest and take whatever the consequences are. "Not a lot. But it’s not unusual either."

She shakes her head and looks down, muttering, "Dammit." Her hand reaches out and curls into the waistband of my jeans and tugs me closer. I’m so fucking happy. She spreads her knees apart and pulls me right up against her, then wraps her arms around my waist. She nuzzles her cheek against my abs, and my cock jumps. She’s being all sweet, and I don’t want to ruin the moment.

"Sorry."

"Shower with me," she says in that husky voice that gets blood pumping straight below my belt every time I hear it.

She slips my cut off my shoulders, and again I’m amazed at how she treats it with reverence. I’ve known club girls to take a guy’s cut and toss it on the floor. Not my girl. She seems to know its value to me. Or she’s just a neat, orderly person. But, no—that’s not it. I’ve seen the inside of her closet—she definitely has no problems tossing clothes on the floor. I chuckle at the memory.

She lifts her head, a hurt look spreading across her face. No fucking way. I cup her cheeks and kiss her soft lips. "Nothing bad, baby." I strip my shirt over my head, and warmth spreads through me as she takes me in with obvious delight.

"Like what you see?"

"Oh, yes." Good God, she’s cute. I love the way her eyes eat me up, like she thinks I’m the sexiest man alive. Her female appreciation makes me want to roar with pride. And I believe she called me "sexual crack" a couple minutes ago. I need to reward her for that little ego boost.

To give myself a chance to calm down, I walk over and flip on the shower. Sophie must have a kick-ass water heater because the room fills with steam fast. I strip Hope out of her shirt and panties and shuck my boots and jeans. With my hands on her hips, I guide her into the shower. Here there are no ghosts to get in our way, so when I’m done soaping her up, I press my body tight against hers. My cock slides along the crack of her ass and I groan at the dirty images the sensation calls up. We’re thinking along similar lines apparently, because she thrusts her ass out at me.

I snap, pushing her shoulders down and slamming my cock into her. She sucks in a deep breath and begins rocking against me.

"Fuck, that’s good, baby."

She whines in agreement.

And then I realize I forgot to roll on a condom. Godfuckingdammit.

"Why’d you stop?"

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"No condom."

She goes very still. "I’m not on the pill or anything, Rock."

Fuck! I remember she’s not very enthusiastic about having children, and quite honestly, neither am I. Although in the back of my mind, I’m thinking if there’s ever a woman I wanted to have kids with, it’s Hope.

"Finish on my back," she says just loud enough for me to hear it over the rushing water.

Her words almost make me lose it. Could she be any hotter?

I ease my cock back into her slowly and grit my teeth. I can’t remember the last time I fucked a woman raw, but that thin layer of latex makes a big difference. Feeling every bit of her against my most sensitive parts is amazing. I’m pretty sure I’ll cry like a baby the next time I have to wear a rubber. Slowly, I slide my hand down to play with her clit until she’s trembling and on the verge of coming. Bringing my lips to her ear, I nip and kiss her skin. "Come for me, doll."

She explodes, and I’ve got to pull out. I keep rubbing her clit, letting her ride it out while I start sliding my fist up and down my cock. Staring down at her beautiful heart-shaped ass gets me moving faster. Her smooth, creamy skin is an unblemished, unmarked canvas. No tramp stamp on my girl to use as a target. But I don’t need one. She’s got these two perfect little dimples above her ass that will do the trick.

I pick up speed with every stroke, focusing on those two teasing indentations. My balls tighten, signaling I’m ready to blow. Desire consumes me and I ignite, watching in fascination as I come all over her sweet little ass and back. I groan low and long as I finish.

Mercy, she’s going to kill me.

She twitches her ass at me, and I already want to fuck her again. Instead, I pull down the showerhead and clean her up. When I’m done, I turn her in my arms and take her lips in a gentle kiss.

"That was hot, but I’m sorry I got carried away."

She drops her head, hair covering her face. How can someone her age be so shy about this kind of stuff? Deciding I don’t care because it’s so frickin’ cute, I place my fingers under her chin and tip her face up.

"Can you get on the pill for me, doll?"

She hesitates, and her cheeks flush pink. "I’ve had trouble taking it in the past, but I’ll make an appointment and see if there’s something different I can try."

Fuck. I’ve never really given women’s health issues a whole lot of thought. Now she’s got me curious, but I don’t want to embarrass her any more than I already have. In time, I plan to learn every single thing about my girl.

"I’ll go get snipped if it means I can fuck you raw every damn time."