Kings of Asphalt (Club Chrome 1)

“Sit down,” Jax ordered and she immediately straightened, not appreciating his tone.

“Excuse me? You’re in my house.”

“Sit. The. Fuck. Down,” Jax said in a steely tone that brooked no argument and sent shivers skating down her spine. She walked to the floral sofa her grandmother had given her and primly sat on the edge, clasping her hands together as if they were simply traveling salesmen and she was humoring their attempt at selling her a high-priced vacuum cleaner. Satisfied, Jax pulled his leather jacket and tossed it to the chair to her right. Hunter did the same, only afterward, he began to inspect her apartment, as if fascinated and slightly baffled by her choice in décor. But she didn’t have the opportunity to question Hunter because Jax was already talking — no, berating her. “I told you to drop the story idea and you did the exact opposite. What the hell were you thinking?”

She opened her mouth to defend herself but then thought better of it. Why should she explain herself? It was a damn free country and she could write about what she pleased. “I’m a reporter. I look for news,” she retorted, refusing to be intimidated by either Jax’s handsome cut of a jaw or the way the muscle in that same jaw jerked when he clenched his teeth. “How did you find out where I live?”

“We have eyes all over this city, pretty girl. Remember that,” Hunter answered, returning to stand beside Jax, two towering, muscle-bound cavemen with enough tattoos between them to ink an entire cellblock of inmates, and she’d been intimate with them both. That distinct feminine awareness perked to life and she averted her gaze so as to avoid allowing her stare to drift and settle downward. It was difficult to maintain a professional distance when you’re imagination was providing a porno in your mental theater. Had they been with other women since being with her? It’d only been two days ago but who knows what that meant in Jax and Hunter’s world. Ohhh, she hated that idea. In fact, the idea that either one of them had put their cocks in anyone aside from her, well, it infuriated her for reasons beyond her understanding. She wasn’t one to fixate or dwell, okay, that wasn’t entirely accurate. Truth was, she’d obsessed on a certain hunky actor for quite awhile until she realized her obsession was a waste of time. It wasn’t as if Hugh Jackman were going to show up on her doorstep and sweep her off her feet any time soon. Up until her interaction with Jax and Hunter, she didn’t consider herself the sweepable type. But the men standing in her living room, looking downright scary — and yet, still so sexy — had shown her just how sweepable she actually was. They’d shown her the delights of being manhandled and she’d really love another round if she were being frightfully honest. “Are you okay? You’re blushing,” Jax noted with a faint growl.

Zoe pressed a hand to her heated cheek and hopped from the sofa, chattering out of nervousness and misplaced desire, saying, “How about some lemonade? Oh, wait, I’m sorry, I just offered you something I don’t have. I do have juice though. With your lifestyle, it’s hardly likely that you get all your vitamins…juice it is.” She wove around Jax going straight to the kitchen, her mind blathering on about nothing when in fact, her heartrate had just tripled enough to give her a heart attack. Jax and Hunter were in her living room. How was this possible? And what was she going to do with them? Or even more importantly…what were they going to do with her?

#

Hunter found himself oddly mesmerized by all the weird shit Zoe had spread all over in the form of knick-knacks and doo-dads, from glass figurines to ceramic kittens, she had kitsch down to an artform. If Hunter had known a normal life, he imagined this is what his granny’s house might’ve looked like, right down to the pastel floral sofa dominating the tiny apartment. Everything smelled fresh and clean — shiny and happy — two things Hunter had never known in his life and he couldn’t help but want to know more about the woman who oozed sexual charm — even if she didn’t realize it — and the old folk décor she surrounded herself with. There had to be a story there, he could feel it. Thing was, they weren’t there to get to know Zoe…they were there to scare her away from the story she was trying to chase down and chatting about why she collected ceramic figurines of cats wasn’t part of that agenda.

“Unless you’ve got hard cider in that fridge, forget the juice,” Jax growled, stalking over to Zoe and propelling her from the kitchen and back to the sofa. He tossed her down and she landed with a soft oomph, eyes wide and hands trembling. He leaned in close, purposefully crowding her personal space and said in a low tone, “I’m not going to say this again…drop the story.”

“Why?”

The question, nothing more than a breath of a whisper, clung stubbornly to the hunger for validation and Hunter had to stomp on the wild surge of attraction that followed. Damn her for getting under his skin in the worst way. What the hell was wrong with him? She was nothing but a nosey reporter that they’d fucked raw. The number of women they’d screwed and forgotten were too many to count so why did she stand out among the rest? “You got a death wish, girl?” Hunter countered sharply. “Because that’s exactly what you’re gonna get if you keep doing this shit.”

“You can’t scare me away from doing this story,” she said, her voice held the slightest tremble but her gaze remained clear. “The fact that you’re here tells me I’m onto something.”

“Wrong. You’re just jumping into a murky pool without knowing how to swim. That’s it. Maybe we just don’t want your blood on our hands…maybe we’re trying to get into heaven by doing a good deed or maybe we don’t need you getting in the way of plans we’ve already set in motion…the point is…back off.”

“I can’t,” she protested, determined to plead her case. “Just give me a minute to tell you my theory. I think it’s important for you to know.”

“There’s nothing you could tell me that would make a difference,” Jax said, shaking his head.

“Not even if you had a traitor in your club?”

Hunter and Jax exchanged looks. That certainly would change things a bit. And it’s not as if they hadn’t suspected themselves but the idea that someone on the inside was stabbing them in the back one poke at a time was more than upsetting. “Talk.”

She swallowed. “Can you please sit down. You’re giving me a crick in my neck.”

For a long moment they ignored her request but finally, they each took a seat, Hunter right beside Zoe and Jax in the chair near the sofa with their jackets. “All right, now talk. What are you saying? And how did you come across this theory of yours?” Hunter asked, catching a subtle whiff of her sweet skin. Suddenly, he was bowled over by hot, dirty memories of what they’d done to that succulent body with all those generous curves and he had to bite back a groan. He refocused with effort but his jeans had just gotten tighter in the crotch. Great, a boner. Excellent timing, he thought wryly. We’re not here to fuck, he had to remind his over-eager cock. So settle, the hell down.

Zoe, risking a tremulous smile, pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and then grabbed a pile of papers, her excitement building at having someone to share her findings with. “Okay, the day after I left your bar, it’s true I went to your old neighborhood to try and find something out about you two…I mean, maybe that wasn’t entirely grounded in journalistic integrity but I managed to talk to someone who knew you when you were kids—“

“Paula D’Ann. Yeah, we heard,” Jax interrupted with a glower. “She’s a crackwhore bitch who’d sell her own mother, if she knew the woman, to the first pimp who offered to buy…she’s hardly a credible source.”

“Well, she didn’t actually give me anything of value anyway, but she did get my mind to thinking…why was everyone warning me off this story — including Paula, who doesn’t know me from anyone. I mean, what’s going on between The Kings and The Dogs that’s different from what had always been happening? That’s just it…nothing. Until recently.”

“You’re talking in circles. Get to the point,” Jax grumbled and Hunter had to agree. The girl had a dizzying logic, even if she was pretty cute spinnin

g ridiculous stories that made no sense. “Why do you think someone is jacking us on the inside?”

“Juanita Sanchez was a known associate of the Road Dogs but did you know that Juanita is also connected to your boy William Simms?”

Jax mirrored Hunter’s frown. “What do you mean?”

“I did a little digging into their background checks and found that they had a history together. Now, granted their history wasn’t entirely recent, but did you know that Simms knew Sanchez at all? And doesn’t that look a little suspicious that he ended up dead a few weeks after she did? Unless you believe in coincidences, that seems a little odd.”

Hunter agreed, his mind already turning. “So what was their connection in the past?”

“Well, I did some cross checking and found a newspaper blurb from about a year ago on a B&E they did together. Simms served time for priors but Sanchez walked with probation.”

Jax grunted, remembering. “Simms never said who he did that job with. Why would he work a job with a Dog? Doesn’t make sense.”

“Exactly! There are only two reasons why someone from an opposite gang would work with someone from a rival gang. One, they were related somehow; two, they were sleeping together. Am I right?”

Hunter nodded slowly, agreeing with her reasoning. He looked to Jax. “We know he wasn’t related. Simms didn’t have any family.”

“So that leaves…” Zoe prompted.

“He was banging her,” Jax finished.

“But it had to be more than just sex,” Zoe corrected, adding, “they had to have had a thing to cross those lines. I mean, as far as I know, the Dogs and Kings don’t get along for any reason, right?”

“Right.” Hunter agreed, respect for Zoe’s intelligence sparking a new hunger inside him. One look at Jax and he knew his foster brother felt the same. They were often on the same wavelength…it’s probably why they were still alive. “You did this all on your own?” he asked.

Zoe played with her lip and nodded shyly. A roar of lust ripped through him and he was tired of resisting the urge to bend her over the nearest surface. “You’re pretty smart,” he said, glancing at Jax. “But we’ll take it from here.”

“No!” Her sharp refusal didn’t surprise him but the fire in her eyes did. She came alive, replacing the shyness from only moments before with a ferocity that was as arousing as it was foolish. “You’re not going to pat me on the head like a dog and tell me to go sit in the corner. This is my story. I’ve done all the fieldwork and I’m going to write the damn story!”

“Damn it, Zoe!” Jax roared, startling her when he jerked her off the sofa and into his arms. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. You say you don’t want a pat on the back for your work but you’re wrong, that’s all you crave! You want someone to recognize that you’re talented and worth more than you’ve been credited for but that need for validation is going to land your pretty ass in hot water!”

“What do you care! Until two days ago, you didn’t even know I existed. Just because we’ve had sex doesn’t mean you get to run my life!”

She was right. Why did they care so much? They didn’t know her, not really. How was she any different from the scores of women they’d bagged and forgotten? Just another pussy in the dark, right? He and Jax had gotten to where they were because they kept their circle of trust tight — as in airtight — no one got in. But Zoe…for fuck’s sake, why her? They ought to leave her to her fate. They’d tried to warn her, they’d satisfied whatever latent chivalry still existed inside them. If she got herself killed, that was on her. But as he watched her struggle against Jax, watched as Jax’s callused hands touched that soft, sweet flesh, he knew they weren’t fucking leaving…not yet.

They were all going to hell anyway. Might as well bring along a scorching memory to add to the heat.

memory to add to the heat.

“Take her to the bedroom,” Hunter instructed and Jax hoisted Zoe over his

shoulder with a grunt. Zoe squealed and pummeled Jax’s back, kicking her feet until Jax’s firm hand landed sharply on her behind and she shrieked in surprise. Seconds later she was tossed on the bed and she nearly bit her tongue in half from the jarring motion.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, her voice shaking. She’d like to say she was afraid but she wasn’t trembling out of fear — but anticipation. Good gracious, what’d happened to her? One night with Jax and Hunter and she’d been irrevocably

changed. She craved more even if it meant she’d never be normal again. The idea of them both, touching and tasting, forcing her to the utmost pinnacle of pleasure over and over, was enough to make her forget her religion and beg for it. Was she a slut? Was this how it all began? A downward spiral into the darkness of pure pleasure without the safety net of dignity and self-respect to stop her fall? She stared, meeting their hungry gaze with her own, daring them to do their worst and secretly hoping that she came away from the

experience with marks on her flesh, a physical reminder of what they’d done together. But she couldn’t actually ask for that, right? Because she wasn’t that kind of girl. Or was she? She didn’t even know anymore. “Take off your clothes or get out. I have leads to follow and a story to write,” she said, the breathlessness of her demand causing Jax’s nostrils to flare and his mouth to twitch.

“You’re all piss and vinegar today aren’t you?” Jax said, pulling his shirt free and

tossing it. “We’ll see how smart mouthed you are when my cock is banging the back of your throat.”

She shivered. Oh God, yes! Heat radiated from her body, threatening to incinerate her senses and blot out anything resembling good judgment. If she were smart, she’d scramble away from both of them and run. Neither were good news. They were sexy as hell but she wasn’t fooling herself into thinking that they were good for her. Ohhh no, that was part of the appeal. They were like candy…sweet and guaranteed to rot her teeth if she indulged too much. And addictive. Hunter stripped, ripping his shirt from his body and advanced. Her mouth watered as her gaze drank in every ripple of muscle, every tattoo curving his thick biceps and inviting a wet tongue to trace. If this was hell, she’d surely enjoy changing her zip code.

“You think you know what you’re doing,” Hunter said in a low tone, circling her. “But you don’t. You’re a kid playing with adults who like to eat soft little girls like you for lunch.”

“So you say,” she said, holding his gaze before turning to look at Jax who had already stripped, a mirror of primal urgency and sexed up Alpha male. She allowed her gaze to drop to his jutting member — his cock — that’s right, she said it — COCK. A shiver of total awareness rocked her body as she allowed herself every dirty thought that she’d ever shelved for fear of judgment or rejection and her breath shortened as her heartrate quickened. Everything inside her slicked with need and want and she knew she was going to be fucked raw before either men left her apartment. “Maybe I want it that way,” she dared, risking everything, fearing everything and nothing.

“That’s what you think,” Hunter warned but there was no stopping it now. Within seconds Hunter shoved her down and straddled her, the hard, thick length of him pulsing against the softness of her belly, and she gasped at the darkness in his gaze. “You think you can handle whatever is dished out but you’re wrong. You don’t know what you’re playing with. We aren’t good men, Zoe. Make no mistake, we take what we want and it doesn’t matter if it belongs to someone else. Do you hear me?”

“Then why does it matter what I do?” she whispered, taking a chance at total emotional annihilation.

Hunter hesitated and it was that brief heartbeat of a pause that undid her. There was something between them — maybe something none of them understood or wanted but it was there, pulsating between them like a live wire, arcing and snapping with energy that had the power to kill or give life — and there was no denying it. But Hunter wasn’t about to admit it and simply ground his mouth against hers, thrusting his tong

ue deep into her mouth, swallowing her protests and her moans, demanding her utter and total submission, which she gave without a fight. But there was nothing sweet in Hunter’s touch, not this time and it scared her even as it thrilled. “Jax, get me something to tie her hands,” he instructed and Zoe gasped, her mouth throbbing from the abusive kiss.

“What do you mean?” she asked, trembling. Jax returned from her closet with a belt. Her eyes widened at the implication. “What are you doing?”

“Quiet,” he barked, motioning to Jax who immediately jerked her hands behind her back and cinched them tight with the belt. Then, he roughly pulled off her pants and panties, scraping her tender skin in the process. Tears welled in her eyes but she held them back. Her milky thighs gleamed in the pale light of the bedroom and Jax and Hunter seemed bigger than life, soaking up all the air in the room. Within seconds Jax had cut her shirt from her body with a nasty looking pocketknife and her bra followed. Sitting completely bare on the edge of her bed, she didn’t know what to think or say so she remained silent. Once again, Hunter invaded her personal space, crowding out her breath and forcing her to look into his eyes. “The world we live in is nothing like you’ve ever known. There is no mercy, no kindness. We are always one blink away from death. We live hard, fuck harder, and there’s no room for a sweet, soft, nosey reporter who collects ceramic cats. You feeling me?”