Devil's Angels Boxed Set: Bikers and Alpha Bad Boy Erotic Romance (19 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Why did it have to be Rex? She was no angel. There were other men. Enough to know that the mild responses she had with them didn’t compare to what she felt when he touched her. She was on fire in seconds, breathing hard and skin flushed with the blood pounding in her veins.

Rex had always been good at getting whatever he wanted from women. A slow smile, a well-choreographed touch—that was pretty much all it took to get them willing. They were always willing and sex was a pretty easy game to play.

This was different. Ellie was different and this didn’t feel like a game.

Pulling away, he looked down at her bruised lips and glazed eyes. He did that to her. He put that look in her eyes. It was an electric shock to his system. Snatching her up, he pushed the things on top of her desk away and set her on the top, stepping between her thighs.

With his mouth trailing little nips all down her neck and his hands working their way under her shirt, she struggled to find the breath to speak. When she did, the sound she made was somewhere between speech and moan. “The windows are open.”

His response was nothing more than a buzz of his lips against her collar bone. He didn’t think anyone would actually be able to see them unless they came up the walkway but the thought of getting caught added an edge to the moment that he liked. Sliding his hands up higher, he pulled her shirt quickly up and over her head. When her hands rushed to cover her exposed breasts, he pressed his chest against hers until she was reclined back on her elbows.

Ellie couldn’t stop a quick glance towards the windows. She was so far out of her comfort zone. But then Rex's lips were on her nipples, pulling just right and her mind shut down to everything but him. The neighbors could have stood outside clapping and she wouldn’t have cared.

Keeping her distracted with his mouth on her nipples, Rex lifted her just enough to slide her panties down and off. Hooking his foot in the rung of her desk chair, he pulled it behind him. All he could think about was getting his mouth on her.

Oh, dear God, was all she could think. He smoothly moved from her breasts to the junction of her thighs that she hadn’t had time to even pretend to protest. Her thighs rested on his wide shoulders and he sat down in her chair like a guest at the dinner table. The feel of his breath against her hot, moist skin was enough to have her squirming but it was the long, slow lick of his tongue that left her moaning.

He nuzzled at her clit with just the tip of his tongue, loving the way her legs tightened over his shoulders. There was something about her reaction to him that drove him crazy. His cock was so hard that every shift of his body put him dangerously close to the edge. He speared his tongue inside her in a mockery of what he was dying to do to her.

She tilted her head back and kept her eyes closed until he put his tongue inside her. It was an utter shock of pleasure that had her losing any remaining shyness so she could watch him taking her with his mouth.

Maybe it was the wickedness of being completely naked and having a fully dressed man making a meal out of her that sent her over the edge. Or maybe it was him watching her as she watched him. Her entire body spasmed when she came and her thighs locked around his head.

She tried to catch her breath. It was impossible. Every nerve ending was singing and her blood was pounding. She barely registered that he was standing. All her muscles were still contracting when he sheathed himself and slid his cock inside her slowly, carefully. His moan was the only thing that broke through the haze.

There had been moments, early on in his teen years, when he was overwhelmed by the feeling of being snugged inside of a hot and willing woman. He felt like that now. Her inner muscles were still clenching and releasing, so tight around him that he was grasping for control.

His eyes were so tightly shut and his mind so focused on keeping still inside her that he didn’t notice how she watched him. The way the muscle in his jaw twitched uncontrollably. The white tips of his fingers where they were digging into the meat of her thighs. The vein at his temple that throbbed with every beat of his heart. In that moment she finally understood what all the characters in her books knew: the power that a woman had over a man.

He was still visibly struggling for control. Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck, brought her mouth to his ear and whispered words that she never thought would come out of her mouth. “Fuck me, Rex. Now.”

“Jesus, Ellie.” The words were barely intelligible, growled through clenched teeth. She licked her way up his neck and he lost that last thread of control he was clinging to. He pounded into her, lost. In seconds she was tightening around him and biting his shoulder to smother her very vocal appreciation.

He came so hard that he felt lightheaded. Even after he was spent he couldn’t stop stroking in and out of her heat. Sweat dripped off his forehead onto her breasts and she chuckled breathlessly. It was contagious and he found himself smiling like a kid.

“There’s gotta be a bed in this place.”

Her eyes went wide and shot up to his. “Again?”

“Again.”

***

Hours later they were sitting on her bed, eating Chinese takeout straight out of the box and laughing about their obvious lack of chopstick skills. He pulled on his jeans to answer her door when the food had been delivered but hadn’t bothered to button them. She pulled the sheet around herself and let him take care of everything.

They went at each other like animals over and over again. She ached pleasantly, her hair was a tangled mess and because of the way he kept looking at her, she didn’t even care.

“This is completely crazy, you know that don’t you?”

She paused, food halfway to her mouth. “What?”

He leaned back against her padded headboard and stretched out, crossing his ankles. “Your father put mine in prison and the old man hasn't forgotten about it. Yet, here we are.”

It was true. Manny Pershing was the president of the Siouxan Brothers motorcycle club and as luck would have it, Xander Throne--Ellie's father--was the head of the Karthadossian Riders. The two clubs had been fighting each other for as long as any of their members could remember.

Ellie put the chopsticks down in the box and set it in her lap. Rex gave her the opening and she was taking it. “Do you really think my dad set yours up?” There was no censure in her tone, just curiosity. She had her suspicions about her dad and she wondered what his thoughts were on the matter.

“The old man is convinced of it.” Rex shrugged, taking a bite out of a crispy eggroll. He chewed slowly, mulling over what to say. “You sure you want to know what I think?”

Leaning back on her hands, she watched his face closely. She always thought she was a good judge of people, their moods, their little tells. Whatever Rex had to say, he was worried it would piss her off. “I’m sure.”

“Dad is plenty good at getting himself into trouble, but that mess—that wasn’t Manny being Manny. We both know what goes on in the background at the clubs. Even if you were sheltered from it more than I was, we both know that illegal shit goes on there. It’s petty shit though, small drug deals and gun sells. Nothing that would bring the Feds into play.” He stabbed at his box of food with the wooden sticks, weighing his next words carefully. “Yeah, I think your dad set him up. Xander has a rep for not being involved in the big drug trade, yet the club is making money hand over fist. I’m pretty sure that those drugs ran through the Karthadossian’s west side club long before my dad got caught up in that deal.”

Ellie nodded, staring down at her lap. She swallowed hard at the thought of what she was about to say. “I’m pretty sure that you’re right. Dad may have kept me sheltered from the worst of what goes on in his club but people talk and I was the kind of kid who listened carefully without letting on that I was listening.”

Rex sat forward and tipped her chin up so that she was looking at him. “What do you know, Ellie?”

“You know how I feel about my dad. We’ve never gotten along. He has no problem using the people around him to get whatever it is that he wants. Including me.” Tears welled up in her eyes as the words tumbled from her lips.

Rex took her in his arms and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.“The secondary clubs that Xander picked up.” It made sense. A man like Xander would have no second thoughts about using his kid to get an upper hand against an enemy.

Ellie nodded again. “Those men, they all hold positions in dad’s various businesses now. They did what he said, threatened me verbally but I never actually
felt
threatened because dad’s people were conveniently there to witness the threats personally.”

“Ellie, are you telling me that you think he paid those men off to say those things?”

Looking into his eyes, she could tell that he was upset, maybe even angry, but not with her. “Yeah, I do. I tried to talk to mom about it but she refused to have anything to do with dad or the clubs. She told me to never speak of it again.”

He wanted to beat Xander for what he did. Not just to his dad, but to Ellie. “Fucking idiot. Doesn’t he know what could have happened? One of our guys could have actually hurt you in retaliation. It wouldn’t be the first time that someone got stupid.”

That thought had never occurred to her. Dad had always assured her that nothing would ever happen to her, that he and Manny had a deal. “I don’t know what to say, Rex. I can’t apologize for my dad.” The tears were back again and it was bothering her.

“Hey, Ellie, don’t.” He wiped at the tear that had started to track down her cheek. “You aren’t responsible for what your dad did any more than I am for what my old man did.”

She pulled away, not able to face him at that point. For the past couple of hours she lived in a fantasy world where this was going somewhere further than a weekend fling and then this. Rex would go back to the club and tell Manny what she said and that would be the end of this. It would be war and they'd be caught right in the middle of it.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Rex had left shortly after their conversation. Ellie had shut him out. She had been polite but distant and it pissed him off. He tried again to convince her that he didn’t care what her dad had done but it had fallen on deaf ears.

On the ride back to the club Rex wondered if her sudden freeze-up was less about what her dad had done and more about the fact that Rex was living that same kind of life. Maybe she thought he was like Manny and Xander. He was the Vice President of the Siouxan Brothers, after all.

The sad thing was; he might not be able to fight that logic. He wasn’t an angel. Since turning eighteen he did some things for the good of the club that someone like Ellie wouldn’t approve of. Nothing as illegal like the kind of crap that Xander and Manny got into, but the line was very fine. Fine enough that she might not see it at all.

Originally he planned on going to Manny with the information that Ellie had given him. There was no way to tell him what he knew without revealing who gave it to him and he couldn’t do that to her. He wasn’t as loyal to Manny as a VP should be and it might cost him his position if Manny ever found out.

He wasn’t sure if he even really cared. When Manny was locked up, Rex had been able to keep a handle on some of the guys that refused to give up their old ways. He managed to cut down the amount of dealing that went on inside the clubs, gave them the option of cutting out or getting a job in one of their more legitimate businesses. Most of them took the offer of a real job. He was proud of that. Manny wasn’t as impressed.

Dealing in drugs and guns brought in more cash than any of their other businesses. Even though Manny hadn’t made any overt moves towards getting back to the way things had been before, Rex knew it wouldn’t be long.

Then there was his obsession with finding out what Xander was keeping stored in those containers on former Siouxan properties. Rex had no doubt that Xander was into something big but he didn’t think they should get involved. Period. Even if that meant not getting revenge on Xander for putting Manny in jail.

He pulled up in front of the club and parked his bike. The stairs on the side of the building led up to his apartment. When he came around the corner, Manny was standing on the bottom step.

“I was just looking for you.”

“You found me.” Rex waited for his dad to move out of the way. If he wanted to talk they could do it inside where no one could happen to overhear their conversation. “Come on up.”

Rex got the door unlocked and went straight to the fridge for a beer. He offered one to his dad, watching him as he looked around his place. It wasn’t much and since he was rarely home he hadn’t put any time or effort into it.

“You’ve been gone since early this morning. She must be a hot piece for you to go back.” Manny took a long drink, watching his son’s reactions closely.

“What makes you think it was a woman that had me out this morning?” Rex leaned back against the wall, keeping his poker face tight. His dad was on a fishing mission and he wasn’t going to take the bait.

Manny laughed. “I know that look you’ve got. Someone’s got you all tied up in knots. Plus, there’s a nice little bite mark on your neck that wasn’t there last night.”

Rex barely managed to keep from reaching up to touch the spot. “I'm guessing you didn’t come looking for me to talk about the birds and bees.”

Manny pulled out a chair out from under the kitchen table and sat, crossing his legs out in front of him, studying the man his son had become. Rex wasn’t the angry kid Manny left behind ten years ago. He wished Rex had told him about Ellie. He failed the test and he couldn’t trust him. Until he knew more about what was going on with Rex and Ellie, he couldn’t trust that Ellie wasn’t using Rex to get information. She was Xander’s kid and blood runs thicker than anything else in the world.

He was hitting Xander’s storage units at midnight. If he couldn’t trust his son to have his back then he was going to have to find a way to keep him out of the way until the deed was done. “I need someone I trust to go pick up some cash in San Francisco.”

Rex tried not to let his suspicions show. He was no dummy. Manny hadn’t made it a point to come up to his apartment since he'd been back, now he was seeking him out to run an errand? “Depends. Is it legit?”

“Yeah, just an old debt that I need to collect. He’ll be expecting you.” Manny stood and drained his beer, tossing the bottle in the trash. “He’s got the cash ready. All you gotta do is get it back here.” He put a hand on the doorknob. “I got things to take care of. Come down when you get ready to go and I’ll get you the address.”

Dismissed. That’s how it felt. The Boss gave his order and that was all that needed saying. The old man was up to something and that something had to do with taking down Xander and the Karthadossians. Rex was sure of it. He was also sure that whatever he was planning, he didn’t trust Rex with the information.

***

After Rex left, Ellie showered and got dressed. She tried to get back to her book but the drive to finish the chapter she started was gone. Their last conversation kept replaying in her mind over and over. She needed a break from constantly analyzing every word they both said.

The sun was still shining outside her windows, the breeze ruffling the leaves on the trees. It was perfect weather for an early evening ride. She locked everything up tight and gathered her stuff, tucking a new notebook and pen into her bag.

It had been a couple of months since she took the time to ride solo. She wasn’t going to count—or think about—the ride she took with Rex the other night.

She peeled out of her garage, smiling at the neighbor’s shocked expression as she blew past his house. Staying off the highways, she hit the back roads and county highways. Without thinking, she headed towards their old neighborhood.

Her old house was one of the couple left standing. It had been empty for close to six years and was overgrown with weeds and vines. The city would tear it down—like they had the others—soon. Her old swing was still there, waiting on her.

She parked the bike and tossed her bag on the ground under the tree. The ropes were probably too rotted to hold her weight but she was going to give it a shot. The wooden seat creaked and moaned, but held. She pushed off, gently at first, then harder when the ropes seemed determined to hold.

As a kid, swinging had been a way to let go of the stresses of school and the kids who constantly teased her over her weight. She couldn’t count the number of times she cried herself into near exhaustion while swinging, imagining worlds where she fit in and had friends to lean on. It had been a lonely childhood.

Rex had pushed her on this swing often when they were young. He was always careful to not push too hard so she didn’t go too high. Once he got her going, he'd sit down and lean against the trunk, watching her. He never asked to swing himself, or take her offer to try it. He just sat and watched.

She came in order to find a way to stop thinking about him and here she was, swinging on her old swing with Rex on her mind. It seemed there would be no way to get around dealing with what had happened earlier.

Kicking off a little harder, she rested her head against the rope and let her mind wander. All these years she had a thing for Rex and now that she got a taste of him, she wanted more. She wanted it all. She wanted nights sleeping in his arms. Days where they did nothing but laugh. She wanted to be a part of his world and have him be a part of hers.

It seemed impossible. They might be attracted to each other, might like losing themselves in each other’s bodies but how long would that last? How long before the troubles her dad had caused came between them? 

As much as she loved to explore what was happening between them, she was too afraid of being hurt in the end. It was that simple. She could imagine the disaster a relationship with Rex could bring. Were a few weeks or months of bliss worth the eventual heartbreak?

***

Rex put off going down to the club until the very last minute. He considered, more than once, getting on his bike and riding back to Ellie’s and hashing things out with her. It was on his mind
so much that he picked up his cell and pulled her number up on the screen three times already, only to turn it off before committing to the call.

What the hell was wrong with him? She shut him out so why couldn’t he let it go?

Well, he was going to have to try, at least, for tonight. Maybe a nice long ride would clear his head and help him figure out what it was, exactly, that he wanted from Ellie.

He grabbed his travel bag and headed downstairs to get the directions from his dad.