Tattered on My Sleeve (Lost Kings MC 4)

Her sexy laugh floated back to me. Husky enough to remind me of what it had felt like being wrapped up in the dark with her that night we spent up at Fletcher Park.

Instant hard-on.

“Good-looking guy. Cocky fucker though,” she answered.

I deliberately ignored the “good-looking” part. “Thought you liked cocky guys?”

She slanted a look at me from under her lashes. “I don’t have room in my life for any more.”

I didn’t know what to make of that. Was it her way of telling me she had no interest in anyone outside the club? Or that she was tired of us and wanted to leave?

I cocked my eyebrow at her. “You think he’s good-looking though?”

She gave me a curious stare. “Jealous?” When I didn’t answer, she sighed. “Geez, Wyatt, you know you’re better than good-looking.”

A jolt of arousal quickened my blood. The idea that she still found me attractive made me hard as steel.

My hands tingled with the need to touch her. So I did. I trailed my finger over her cheek and down to her shoulder. Her skin was as fine and silky as I remembered. I wanted to put my mouth all over her and see if she tasted as sweet as I remembered too.

“What are you doing?” she asked in a soft voice.

I yanked my hand away. What was I doing?

“I miss you, Trinity.”

Her whiskey eyes widened in surprise. “You hate me.”

Shit, that hurt. I’d spent so much energy being mad at her and, okay, pissed at myself too. But, “I could never hate you.”

“You hate what I’ve become. You can’t even stand to look at me half the time.”

“That’s not true.”

She cocked her head. “How are you going to manage this place with all those long runs you take?”

Okay, weird shift in conversation. Those runs had been necessary for our club’s survival. Especially in the early days. But it was intricate club business I couldn’t explain. I hated her assumption that they were an attempt to get away from her.

“I’ll probably scale them back a little. Teller and Murphy can take over.”

A pained look flashed across her face when I said their names, and it pissed me the fuck off.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll find other fuck buddies.”

She sucked in a deep, ragged breath before knocking me sideways with her next question. “Do you want me to leave the club?”

“What? No.” Fuck, as much as I hated seeing her with my brothers, the idea of not seeing her at all scared the piss out of me.

“Because Whisper said—”

“No. Fuck no. You wouldn’t leave four years ago when I begged you to. Why the fuck would you leave now? And to go whore for the Wolf Knights? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“That’s not what I was going to say, but thanks a lot, asshole.” She grabbed her bag and tried to shove past me. My arm shot out and wrapped around her waist, pinning her in place. Girl had quite the temper. It was sexy as fuck.

“Let me go.”

“No.” I yanked her bag out of her hands and dropped it on the floor, then walked her backward until her ass bumped the wall. Her breath hitched and her eyes lifted to meet mine. Fucking hell, those goddamn honey eyes sparked with a fire that had me ready to violate her in the filthiest way.

Filling my hands with her perfect little ass, I lifted her, keeping her pinned to the wall. Her mouth opened to moan or protest, I wasn’t sure, so I bent down to kiss her.

She responded immediately, curling her hand around the back of my neck, pulling me closer. Fingers wide, she raked her nails through my hair, sending tingles down my spine straight to my balls. My cock was so fucking hard, throbbing to be inside her.

Her legs rose and tightened around my hips. The movement pushed her dress up around her thighs. My hands slipped under the edge of the material, gliding over satin. My fingers traced the edge of her underwear while my hips kept her in place. Losing control, I snapped the thin strips of material at her hips and dropped the scrap to the floor.

Her head thunked against the wall. “Wyatt,” she moaned.

Oh fuck. It’d been way too long since I’d heard my name from her sweet mouth.

I set her down.

“Get your dress off.”

She stared up at me with dazed eyes. Slowly, her hand moved to the hidden zipper at her back. With painful slowness, she eased it down, then pulled the dress up over her head and tossed it on my desk.

“Bra too.”

Again, she just stared at me while doing what I asked.

When I finally had her naked before me, I took a moment to absorb every stunning inch of her. She cocked her body to the side, trying to hide her scars from my gaze, but I turned her to face me and tipped her head up.

My mouth slammed down over hers. Her hands immediately went to my shoulders as she struggled to get my shirt up. We broke long enough for me to get it off. Then I was on her again. Tongue deep in her mouth, hands full of her tits. She moaned into me, and once again, my hands slid to her ass. I lifted and pinned her against the wall, my cock grinding into her hot center. She clung to my shoulders and wrapped her legs around me.

I released her long enough to roll a condom down my dick, then bent to suck at her nipples. She squirmed against me, but I stilled her with one deep thrust. I set a sharp, frantic pace. Cupped her ass harder. Fucked her harder. All my energy focused on driving into her slick, tight cunt. Her head rolled back against the wall, and I ducked my head to nip at her breasts.

It didn’t take long for her to go over the edge. She gripped my shoulders harder, ground her hips into me, buried her lips against the curve of my neck, and screamed.

“Eyes on me, Angel Face.”

Dazed, it took her a second, but then she met my gaze. I slowed my frantic thrusting. “I want you to come again.”

She shook her head. “Can’t.”

I slammed into her. “Yes, you can. Keep those eyes on me while you do it.”

Relentless, I drove into her as she stared into my eyes. It didn’t take long for her mouth to open and let out a sharp scream.

Staring into her eyes, I was so fucking close. Close to coming. Close to breaking.

I pulled out and released her. She sagged against the wall. “Wyatt?”

Grabbing her hips, I pulled her with me and bent her over the edge of my desk. Wrapping my big hands around her waist, I tilted her the way I wanted and slammed up inside her again.

This was better. Grunting like an animal, a few strokes later, I shuddered and fell against her back. My mouth found its way to her neck and sucked on her sensitive skin, making her wriggle against my spent cock.

“Fuck, Trinity.” I eased out of her and tried to gather my scattered thoughts. “Thanks for helping me christen my desk.”

Her body stiffened. Fuck, that came out colder than I intended.

She straightened up, tugged her dress on and smoothed it over her hips. “Yeah, no problem,” she said without turning around.

“Trin—”

“Can I go now?”

What the fuck? Like I’d held her here against her will? “Sure, babe. Whatever.”

She dipped down to pick up her bag and keys. A soft sniffle drifted back to me.

Then she was gone.

Present day…

It’s been four years since I set foot in Wrath’s gym. The place looks pretty much the same as it did then. Someone has done a good job keeping the place tidy, which doesn’t surprise me. Wrath has always been a rather precise guy.

He leads me into his office, where I set my purse in the bottom drawer of his desk. Heat streaks through me when I remember him bending me over and fucking me on the desk. I flick my eyes up and find him watching with an intensity so deep I know he’s remembering that night too.

“How many other chicks have you bent over this desk?” Fuck. Why the hell did I ask him that? I don’t want him to think I’m jealous or that I even remember that night.

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Beyond those thoughts, I don’t think I can handle hearing the answer.

“No one since you, babe.”

Oh, wow. Totally not what I expected him to say. He’s probably lying, but I appreciate the effort not to hurt my feelings.

Unsure of what’s next, my hands fidget. Wrath watches me for a few long seconds before meeting my eyes.

“It’s okay if you don’t believe me right now. You will.”

Yeah right. Maybe I’ll sprout some wings and fly home later too.

Except Wrath doesn’t lie. You would think that’s an admirable quality in a man, but it can be pretty fucking annoying. People lie to avoid hurting other people’s feelings—Wrath doesn’t give a fuck about feelings. People also lie to avoid getting in trouble—Wrath fears nothing.

“Do you want to look around?” he asks, startling me out of my thoughts.

“Sure.”

I’m shocked to run into Jake, the trainer I met when Wrath opened the gym. His flirting was charming and nonthreatening.

“Trinity, right? Wow, took you a long time to come in for those self-defense classes.”

Wrath is quick to shut Jake down. “She’s here to work with me to get ready for the fight.”

One corner of Jake’s mouth slowly curls up. “Sure. Good to see you.”

When Jake pushes through the locker room door, Wrath shakes his head. “That fucker never quits.”

“Well, at least I’ve still got it.”

He tilts his head to the side, watching me with a curious expression. “Babe, you don’t got it. You are it.”

Maybe one day I’ll believe it. Today isn’t that day.

I spend my afternoon in his office, doing research and working out meal plans. I’ll need to do some grocery shopping later.

In the middle of the day, when it’s quiet, Wrath pops in the office. “Do you want to try those self-defense moves?”

“Now?”

He shrugs. “Yeah, we got another two hours or so until it gets busy in here again.”

“Okay, give me a minute.”

I meet him in front of one of the heavyweight bags. He’s got a man-shaped dummy waiting for me too.

With calm patience I wouldn’t think Wrath capable of, he talks me through a bunch of moves. Each one involves him touching me or, worse, pressing himself tight against my body.

Desire swirls through me like a tornado. Wrath, warm, solid, sexy, and lethal, is too much to take. I want him so much. Want him to want me just as much. Despite the soul-shattering sex we had a few days ago, he hasn’t made a move on me. Can’t blame him after I made a big fuss about how we were “friends” again.

What else could we be? I’d fucked up any chance of ever being his ol’ lady. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to find one anyway—and dammit, when I thought of him with someone else, it left me tattered inside. Our only option was to be friends.

If we could be friends who fucked from time to time, that would be even better.

“Trin? Are you paying attention?”

Dammit. His mouth is so close it’s taking every bit of willpower I have not to taste him. I want him so much it hurts.

His brows furrow, and he brushes the hair off my sweaty forehead. “You okay, Angel Face?”

Why? Why do tears threaten to embarrass the crap out of me when he uses that old term of endearment? I never understood what he found so angelic about me, but I always loved hearing him say it anyway.

My heart thuds as I struggle to come up with an answer. “I’m okay. I just… I don’t have your endurance I guess.” Wow, is that the truth.

Concern darkens his eyes from ocean to marine blue. He pulls away from me, and instantly I miss his body heat.

“I’m sorry. I got carried away. We’re supposed to be working me to exhaustion. Not you.”

Almost dizzy with the rush of emotions he stirs up, I drop my gaze to the mat.

“Let me get you some water.”

When he steps away, I’m finally able to look up. Sweet mother mercy, he’s ridiculously sexy. What the hell was I thinking agreeing to accompany him every day? I’ve done lots of stupid things in my life. This has to be one of the worst.

He returns with a guilty smile and passes me a bottle of water. My heart’s still pounding, and of course, he notices. He reaches out and traces his finger down my neck and over my collarbone. “You sure you’re okay?”

This time it’s more than concern I see lurking in his gaze. For much longer than I’m comfortable with, he studies me, and it makes me wonder.

For the second day in a row I’ve got a happy buzz stirring inside me. I enjoy having Trinity in my gym with me.

Of course, a lot of lustful urges are also stirred up watching her bend over and store her purse in my bottom desk drawer.

I made a stupid decision once she agreed to help me. After thinking about my conversation with Rock, I decided Trinity and I wouldn’t be having sex. Unless she initiates it. Yes, I gave myself that out. I’m not completely insane.

It seems like the best way to show her how I really feel. That she means more to me than a way to get off. That I like her and want to be with her no matter what.

Against my will, my eyes track her every movement in my office. Going through those self-defense moves with her yesterday had been a mistake. It put my “no sex” rule to the test. I spent half the night jerking off under the cold spray of my shower.

She bends at the waist and picks up the bag she brought with her. “Can I use the locker room?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, you brought me to a gym. Am I allowed to use it?”

Inwardly, I groan. Just what I need. “Sure. You want to wait until later?” When the gym will be clear of my nosy pervert colleagues.

“Uh, yeah. I can wait. Can I use your computer today to do a few things?”

“You don’t have to ask. You can use anything you need, Trin.”

Her lips curve into a smile. “Thanks.”

She drops into my chair.

I like the way she looks behind my desk. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?

We don’t see each other much after I leave her to do her thing in my office. I spend my time in the gym going over moves with Jake. As much of a pain in the ass as he can be, he’s a great trainer. He’s smaller and quick on his feet, so he’s a good sparring partner for me to work on a couple issues. He also knows exactly how to needle me to keep me motivated but not kill him.

“Trinity’s a pretty girl. She still single?” he asks while I’m busy hanging from a pull-up bar with a stability ball tucked between my ass and ankles.

“No,” I huff out. The reason I’m not dropping the ball and kicking his ass is I know he’s just fucking with me. If he were serious, he wouldn’t have described Trin as a “pretty girl.” Something along the lines of “hot piece of ass” would be more his style.

Trinity wanders over while Jake’s unleashing his inner sadist by pushing me through “one more set” of bear crawls. My skin prickles the second she’s within reach, and I power up off the mat.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

Jake raises an eyebrow at me. “Did I say you were finished, son?”

Now he’s asking for an ass kicking.

Trinity snickers but runs her hand over her mouth to hide it. It’s an endearing gesture and makes me want to grab her and kiss her.

“He’s training you?” She glances between the two of us, and I shrug.

“Don’t worry. I’ll spar with him later and knock his ass out.”

Her eyes widen in surprise, and she glances at Jake again. “How can you go up against each other? You’re not evenly matched.”

The corner of Jake’s mouth curls into a smirk.

“Go ahead, Snake Charmer, lift your shirt.”

Jake loves showing off his abs and how cut he is.

“It’s not always about size, Trinity,” Jake explains, dropping his shirt.

“Yeah, I know.?

?? She glances at me. “You ever have him spar with Teller?”

I can only guess why she’s asking, and it burns my ass. “Yes.”

Jake nods in agreement. “He’s a scary little prick. So’s his Irish buddy.”

Trinity laughs, and I understand why. She’s only ever really seen one side of them.

My attention is finally drawn to the papers Trinity has in her hands. “What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I didn’t realize Jake was already… You asked me to put some stuff together… So never mind.”

She folds the papers in half before I snatch them out of her hands.

“Ow! Thanks for the paper cuts, asshat.”

Jake chuckles and grabs her hands to look them over. I can’t wait to get in the ring with him later and kick his ass while Trinity watches.

I’m impressed with what she printed out. I knew she’d be good at this. She’s got a week’s worth of circuit training exercises broken into different ones on each day. Each circuit includes a balance of strength and endurance exercises. I glare at Jake, and he takes the hint to get lost.

“You’ve done your homework,” I say, handing the papers back to Trin.

The corner of her mouth twitches down in disappointment. “You don’t think it’s any—”

“Is that what I said?” I hate snapping at her, but sometimes it’s the only way to get through her self-doubt.

“No.”

“Where’d you find some of these?”

“Are they too advanced for you?”

I tilt my head and stare at her. “Seriously?”

She chuckles. “Good, then call me when you’re going to try the Front Lever. It looks sexy.” She spins away and heads back to the office.

I’m stopped from following her by a rush of kids filling up the place.

Three o’clock is our busiest time. Lots of guys and a few girls from the local high school stop in. Some are punks. Some actually have potential. All their parents have deep pockets. There’s a reason I stuck my gym in this suburban armpit.

Jake works with most of them.

At five today, I have a class of kids that come from downtown Empire. Each one of them has potential. None of them have a spare dime. Am I training them for free out of the goodness of my heart? No. It’s an effective way to find potential prospects. Whisper’s here by this point and usually helps out, when he’s not seeking out lonely housewives to stick his dick in.