Wild Heart- Extended Edition (The Wild Heart Series) (16 page)

“Ani, Starla! Come on!” Kate yelled over to them.

“You mind?” Ani looked over at Knox.

“Do I ever tell you no?” He leaned in and kissed her, “Take Charon with you. If anyone gives you shit, he’ll take care of it,” he turned to Charon, “With the girls. Keep an eye on them.”

“Aye, Prez.” Charon took a long drag of his cigarette and followed the girls out to the dance floor.

The girls made their way toward the middle of the floor, where people had already began thinning out; most likely, because of the stern look on Charon’s face. He propped himself up against the wall next to them, but even in the shadows his presence was known. And just when his shadow started to blend in with the darkness, a long draw from his cigarette, lit the cherry as bright as a glowing red eye. Kate grabbed Ani’s hand and the two started dancing along to the music.

The shot of whiskey began floating to her head as the three girls swayed their bodies to the music. Kate’s hands were on Ani’s hips and begged for her body to come closer. She could see Knox eyeing her from the couch of the VIP section and it brought back the feeling of sexiness that coursed through her veins. Of all the women in the club, he didn’t have his eyes on anyone but her. His queen.

She tempted him with her body as she danced across the room from him, not aware of anyone around her. The floor began filling again with bodies as ‘Short Change Hero’ by The Heavy began blaring across the dance floor. She felt Kate’s hands grab her waist and she moved her ass closer to her, moving along to the music and dancing until her legs felt as though they would give out at any moment. As they made their way back over to the VIP section where Knox, Jameson, and Rage sat, smoking cigars and talking; Ani got the feeling she was being watched. Not the same seductive feeling as when Knox would watch her across the room. This was a bad sinking feeling; as though something wasn’t quite in place.

Charon stopped next to her as she scanned around the room, trying to find where it was coming from. But when she didn’t find anything more than a group of rowdy drunks partying it up, she dismissed the feeling. She passed through the gated area next to Kate and made her way over to Knox. As they began taking shots the sinking feeling lifted from her thoughts and the partying started all over again. The laughing and joking amongst the group became alive as the girls tried to coax Jameson into dancing.

She could feel the buzz of the liquor as it flowed through her; the room spun slightly as she stood to excuse herself to the bathroom. Knox’s hands found her waist and steadied her as she stumbled slightly on her tall heels.

“I gotta pee,” she smiled over at him.

“Have I told you how sexy you are lately?” his words were sarcastic, “Come on, I’ll help you, love.”

She took his hand as he led her to the back of the VIP section where the private restrooms were. He held the door open as she stumbled in, her heels clicking against the marble tile floor. She could hear the thumping of the bass from the other side of the door and it made her head spin even harder. As she finished, she attempted to make her way over to the sink to wash her hands, but as her heel caught on the floor, she found herself tumbling forward. She reached her hands out in front of her hoping to break her fall when she crashed into the door.
You clumsy fucking bitch.
She sat on the floor as the door quickly swung open and Knox looked down at her in concern. He knelt in front of her checking to make sure she was ok, she laughed too loudly in an effort to disguise her embarrassment as he helped her to her feet.

“I’m going to cut you off, bloody woman,” his voice mimicked the concerned look on his face.

“I’m fine,” she slurred as she straightened her dress and walked to the sink in order to fix her make-up and wash her hands.

“Aye, that you are, darlin’.” His hands found her hips as she bent over at the sink.

She looked up into the mirror to find his eyes on fire, trailing the length of her legs as she bent over in front of him and it made her feel like a goddess. His fingers traced lightly up the back of her thighs, pulling the hem of her dress up and ripping the thin silk panties from her body. Her body begged for him as his fingers found her entrance and slipped deep inside of her. Her eyes flickered closed as she absorbed the pleasure pulsating from her core. Gently he slid his fingers into her before dragging them back out, hitting every nerve that ran within her body.

She heard his zipper and the familiar sound of his pants hitting the floor. She looked into the mirror, staring into his eyes as he found her entrance, teasing her before sliding his length into her. The pleasure cascaded over her body as he filled her pussy with his hard erection. Her hands traveled the length of her body and up to her breast, pulling and caressing them as he quickened his pace. Her head rolled back as his hips crashed against her ass, sending waves of bliss throughout her. His passion was a delicacy and she wanted to savor every moment of it.

His hands ran up to her neck and gently pulled her up toward him, pressing his lips against her own as he slammed into her. She wanted to touch him, to feel him as he fucked her. She slid off his length and turned, propping herself onto the counter with a coy smile. She spread her legs and grabbed his large erection, guiding him back into her. He grabbed her hips and pulled her forcefully to the edge of the counter, thrusting into her once more. Their bodies were intertwined in way she couldn’t describe. The tether of their souls tying tighter and tighter together. She could feel herself giving in as the pulsating from her core spread out through her body. Her legs shook as they clung around his waist and her eyes drifted shut.

“Open your eyes, baby,” his voice was deep and lustful, “I want you to see only me when you come.”

“Fuck, Knox,” she uttered from her clenched teeth as the waves of her climax encompassed her body.

She looked into his eyes as she came, pulling at his leather cut as he too found his climax. His hand lightly traced down the side of her face as he slowly thrust into her once more. His steel gray eyes were almost black, filled with ecstasy, as he pulled away from her, leaning down and kissing her with fervor as his tongue entangled with her own.

It was moments like this, when both of their souls were exposed to the other in such a primal, naked, and unbiased way, that Ani wished she could stop time and just stay here with him in this moment forever. There was no doubting that he accepted her exactly the way she was and even in her indifferences he cherished her.

As they made their way back toward the group, she could see Kate stumbling back toward the dance floor. “I’m going to make sure she doesn’t fall down,” she smiled up at Knox.

“Good, I enjoy watching you dance,” he gently rubbed the small of her back, smiling as she made her way toward Kate and Charon.

“Kate! Wait up!” she shouted over the loud music.

“Ani! Where the fuck did you go?” Kate slurred as she looped her arm into Ani’s.

They made their way to the packed dance floor, twisting and swaying their bodies to the music. They squeezed between the tightly packed bodies, making sure to stay within reach of Charon. After two failed attempts to drag him onto the dance floor, he made his way back over to the shadows. Ani closed her eyes as her body began to sway once more to the music, fluttering open when she felt Kate’s hands against her hips.

She giggled as she turned, taking in a tall dark man in a leather cut standing directly behind her. His hands grazed against her as she turned to face him full on. Shock and disgust spread across her face as the man came closer to her. She pushed against his stomach as hard as she could, catching him in the gut just as Charon came toward her, grabbing the back of the man’s leather cut and tossing him effortlessly across the dance floor. The patrons scattered in every direction as the man stood back up, challenging Charon with a scowl.

“The fuck you think you’re doing, brother?” Charon’s voice was loud over the top of the music.

“Fuck you! I’m not your brother, asshole. The King’s should know to stay the fuck out of our territory.” The man stood just inches from Charon’s face. Ani looked at the patch on the back of his cut that read “Renegades” and her stomach dropped. Before she knew what was happening Knox was pulling her toward the side of the dance floor and back toward the VIP section.

“Knox, what’s going on?” Ani shouted over the loud music.

“He’ll be fine. We need to leave.”

“I gotta go get Kate!” She snatched her arm away from him and stomped back toward where Kate stood on the dance floor.

“Damnit, woman!” She could hear the anger in Knox’s voice, but she didn’t really care. She wasn’t leaving her best friend to get caught in the middle of a bar fight between a man that was ten times her size and some other crazy fucker.

By the time she made it to where Kate stood, frozen a few feet from Charon, Ani noticed that there were now three men in the same Renegade cuts. She’d only made it a few steps toward Kate, when a hand grabbed her arm and snatched her toward an unfamiliar body.

“Get the fuck off of me!” she spat out.

She turned to see the man who’d been in her office a few weeks before. “What did I tell you, Ms. Forrest? Better make sure you keep protection on you. I don’t think you could fit a gun in this dress.” His finger trailed along the hem at her thigh as he spoke into the crook of her neck. His touch was foreign to her and she turned her nose at the smell of liquor and stale cigarettes on his breath.

“You don’t want to know what kind of protection I have with me tonight,” she threatened as her eyes caught with Knox’s. No matter how hard she attempted to shake free, the man’s grip was too tight.

“Don’t fight it, baby. I see the way you look at me,” he whispered into her ear.

“Let me the fuck go, asshole!” Ani attempted one last time to plant her elbow into his stomach, but failed.

“You stay right there, King,” the man warned Knox.

“Chief, if you don’t let her go right now I’m going to burn you alive, along with every last one of your boys. I’ll enjoy every minute you beg for your life too.” The words coming from Knox’s mouth sent shivers up Ani’s spine; she’d never seen this side of him before.

Ani struggled to get free of his grasp once more, but had no success; her heart drummed hard against her chest as Jameson and Rage joined Knox’s side. She really didn’t want to be caught in the middle if they all began fighting, but she wanted to be away from this man more than she minded the thought of them fighting. She glanced over to see Starla by Kate’s side, pulling her back toward the VIP section and away from the chaos. The dance floor had all but cleared out and the two puny bouncers stood at the edge of the crowd contemplating what to do next.

“You should have known better than to step foot on our turf. We own Gatlinburg. You have no business here and now I’m gonna give you a friendly reminder of what happens when you cross boundaries,” Chief shouted toward Knox.

She wasn’t sure what it was at first when the click echoed through her head, until she cut her eyes to the barrel of the gun coming up to the side of her head. A sob escaped from her throat as she reached for Knox. She looked into his eyes, no longer seeing anger, but fear. And there wasn’t anything scarier than a man filled with fear. She shook under the grasp of Chief’s hand and then she saw Knox lunge toward them.

She didn’t want to die, this was never how she had expected it to happen and the thought clenched her stomach into knots. In those brief seconds, her life flashed in front of her eyes. Her father, her mother, Kate, and…
Cash
. She could see his grief, feel it resounding through her body. Their last conversation she’d been a bitch to him all because he cared about her. She readied herself for the pain, flinching when the loud explosion thundered next to her head. She couldn’t hear anything, but she could still feel his tight grasp around her. Was this what is felt like to die? She was too afraid to open her eyes, when suddenly she was free and falling to the ground.

“Ani! Open your eyes, baby!” She could just make out the distant voice in her head. “Please! Ani, look at me!”

Her eyes fluttered open, finding Knox kneeling in front of her on the ground. She tried to control her body, but she felt like a robot that was malfunctioning. She choked on the air erratically going in and out of her mouth, finding enough to let out a blood curdling scream. Knox reached for her and she pushed him away as hard as her arms would let her. She stumbled to stand and fell back down to the floor; with the room spinning in every direction, she couldn’t make out who was who. She needed to get out of here, get away from all of these people.

She clutched at her ringing ears as Knox’s face came into focus and she rushed into his arms and clung to him as tightly as she could. “Knox, I want to go home,” she begged.

“Aye, baby,” he kissed her temple as he stood her up from the floor.

It wasn’t until she stood all the way up, that she saw the blood dripping from his arm. He’d been hurt.

“Knox!” She grabbed at his arm, releasing him as he grimaced.
Holy shit!

“Nothing a few stiches won’t fix.” She stared at him in astonishment. He’d just been shot and he was acting as if nothing had happened.

“Knox, this is serious. You need to go to a hospital,” she urged.

“We don’t do hospitals, baby.” His eyes were heavy with remorse as he pulled her into his arms. “I’m so sorry this happened.”

She stood absorbing his embrace as the words sunk down to her core. Was this a life she was ready for? The questions clouded her head as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.

“Repo’s here, Prez. We gotta go,” Jameson came up next to them.

She clung to Knox as they left the club, making their way over to the large pick-up that was pulling up next to their motorcycles.

“You ride with Repo and we’ll meet you back at the clubhouse,” Knox brushed the stray hairs from her face.

“No! I’m not going anywhere without you,” she protested.

“Ani, get in the truck,” he commanded as he opened the door, “I’ll be right in front of you. I promise.”