Steel 5: Blackthorne MC#5 (5 page)

I looked at him skeptically. Surely he noticed the effect he’d just had on that poor woman.
 

I shook my head. “Never mind.”

I set my copy of
Wuthering Heights
on the table next to me, running my fingers over the smooth, glossy cover.

When I look back, and realized Jackson was studying me, I felt a little unnerved. He had such a direct way of watching people. I don’t think I’d ever seen him blink.

I shifted, nervous under his scrutiny.
 

“So,” he said. “Tell me what’s going on between you and Nick.”

My body tensed, and I looked up at him irritably. “That’s none of your business, Jackson.”

“I thought we were getting along well.”

“We were, but that doesn’t mean you can pry into my personal life. Just because you bought me a book doesn’t mean you get to know everything about me.”

He rested his forearms on the table, leaning forward and watching me even more closely. “I just think you need to be careful who you trust.”

No kidding.
I think I’d worked that out for myself recently.

The waitress came back over and set our cups of coffee and sugar sprinkled doughnuts in front of us. She gazed adoringly at Jackson.

“Thank you,” I said, but she didn’t respond to me.
 

When Jackson thanked her, she fluttered her eyelashes and giggled.

I rolled my eyes and took a large bite of my doughnut.

“Do you think you can trust Nick?”

I chewed slowly on my mouthful of doughnut and glared at him.
Why wouldn’t he let this go?

Truthfully, I didn’t fully know the answer to his question.
 

I knew I had feelings for Nick, strong feelings, and I was pretty sure he cared about me in his own way.
 

But trust…
 

In my position, trust wasn’t easy.

I shrugged, determined not to engage in this conversation.

Jackson sipped his coffee thoughtfully. “I’m just not sure you should trust Nick Steel, Ella.”

I gritted my teeth. “That’s funny. Because Nick told me not to trust
you
.”

Jackson’s eyes narrowed. “Why? What did he say?”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter.”

I looked away from him, out of the window. Jackson was so intense it scared me.
 

He reached out and covered my hand with his.

I jumped in surprise and stared down at his hand before pulling my hand away. “Nick told me this morning, ‘don’t trust Jackson.’”

“And that was all he said? Just don’t trust Jackson?”

“Yes.”

Jackson leaned back in his seat and sipped his coffee, like he was considering what I’d just said.
 

I didn’t understand why he was so bothered. He knew that there was animosity between him and Nick. I mean, they weren’t exactly best buddies.

Jackson eased up on the interrogation, and we managed to finish our coffee and doughnuts without arguing. But I couldn’t help feeling he was watching me even more closely after we left the coffee shop and trailed around the other shops in the town.

We left the small town shortly before midday. The ride back was exhilarating, and I was sorry to get back to the bar so quickly.

As we cruised back into the parking lot, I was surprised to see Nick, Chad and Tom pulling in at the same time. I hadn’t expected them to be back so early.

In my rush to get off the bike, I stumbled a little and Jackson had to reach out to steady me.

“I hope I find somebody this eager to see me one day,” Jackson grumbled. “Honestly, Ella, slow down. He’s not going anywhere.”

I pulled off the motorcycle helmet, and rushed over to see Nick.

Immediately, I sensed something was wrong. Nick didn’t smile when he saw me approaching. His expression was stony, and his mouth was set in a firm line.

“What’s wrong?”

He didn’t reply, but shook his head, and when I glimpsed Chad climbing off his bike out of the corner of my eye, I realized in horror that he was soaked in blood.
 

It was splattered across his white T-shirt, his leathers and even the side of his face.

I stared at Chad openmouthed before saying, “Oh, my God. What happened? Are you hurt?”

“No,” Chad said, shaking his head as he stomped past me towards the bar.

I whirled back around to face Nick, looking at him questioningly, but he still didn’t tell me what was going on.

Jackson joined us, and his eyes shifted from Tom to Nick. “What happened?” His voice was cold and definitely carried an authoritative tone.

Nick bristled. I could tell he didn’t like being questioned by Jackson.

“It was a difficult job,” Nick said. “But we got it done. That’s all that matters.”

He stalked past Jackson, heading towards the bar, and Tom followed him looking very subdued.

Jackson didn’t seem to notice that I was still standing next to him. “What the hell have they screwed up this time,” he muttered.

“What do you think happened?” I asked.

Jackson appeared to slowly realize that I was still standing beside him. He shook his head. “It’s probably better you don’t know. Let’s get inside. I’m bound to be getting a phone call from Victor soon.”

***

Inside, I saw Tom leaning on the scuffed wooden bar and downing a tequila shot. There was no sign of Chad, so I suspected he was getting cleaned up. I couldn’t see Nick either. I guessed he must be back in our room, so I headed there straightaway.

I opened the door and saw Nick dumping his leather jacket on the floor.

I saw again just how stressed he was. His whole body was tense, and his face was dark and tormented.

“Talk to me,” I pleaded. “Tell me what went wrong.”

Nick took a breath, and for a moment, I thought he was going to tell me. I thought he was going to trust me enough to confide in me.
 

But I was wrong.
 

He ripped of his T-shirt, revealing his toned chest and his rippling abs.

I stepped towards him and put a hand on his chest.

“Is it really that bad?” I could feel the steady beat of his heart beneath my fingertips.
 

He closed his eyes and sighed. “Things went too far. Someone attacked Chad, and he acted in self defense, but it wasn’t pretty.”
 

I shivered.

“Why do you have to do this kind of thing, Nick? Can’t you just…”

My voice trailed off as Nick dipped his head and traced his lips along the line of my neck.
 

My body tingled with pleasure.

“I don’t want to talk about this now, Ella. I want to forget it. I just want to think about how it feels to kiss you… and touch you.”

I felt like my whole body was on fire as he gently nipped my neck between each word.

His hands stroked my breasts through the fabric of my tank top.
 

My nipples puckered immediately, and a moan escaped my lips. He held my head in his hands and pressed his lips to mine, gently teasing them before increasing the pressure of the kiss and delving his tongue into my mouth. He moved it in and out, sliding it against mine, as if he was making love to me with his tongue.

My hands went to his belt and unfastened it, so I could reach down beneath his waistband and feel just how hard he was for me.
 

A gasp escaped my lips as my fingers closed around his hard length.

Nick groaned. “Wait. I need a shower.”

I released my grip and pulled away slightly, but he didn’t let me go. Instead, he gathered me up in his arms and carried me to the bathroom just off our bedroom.

There was no bath, only a shower in one corner of the room. Nick kept one arm wrapped around me as he reached to turn on the shower.

He began to lift my tank top as the steam filled the small room.

His eyes were dark with lust as he tugged off my top and then slid the straps of my bra down my shoulders.
 

He dipped his head down lower to run his tongue over my nipples, which were still encased in my lace bra. I held my breath as one of my hands reached out and fisted in his hair.

He unbuttoned my jeans, pulling them down my legs and steadying me as I stepped out of them. He kneeled down in front of me, and I gasped as I felt his lips trail my belly as he scattered light kisses all along my hip bone.

Continuing to kiss my skin, he traced a finger between my legs. The lace of my panties was already drenched.

“I want to taste you, Ella.”

I stared down at the incredibly erotic image of Nick in front of me, pulling down my panties. I could feel his breath between my legs and felt a sizzle of heat in response.

Holy shit this was hot
.

For an agonizing moment, he did nothing, but then he leaned forward, and his tongue flickered out caressing the sweet spot between my legs. I cried out and put both my hands on his broad shoulders to stop myself from falling.

With each teasing lick of his tongue, I felt my body buck towards him. All my worries seemed to melt away as he caressed me with his tongue, flicking it back and forth over my me until I was beside myself with pleasure and couldn’t think of anything else other than how good it felt.
 

I dared to lift one hand from his shoulder and grip his hair, pulling him closer to me, desperate for more, desperate for the release only he could give me.

He inserted a finger inside me, slowly stretching me as he continued circling my most sensitive spot with his tongue.
 

My legs were shaking. I didn’t think I could take this much longer. I knew I was close, and a feeling of panic started building in my chest. How was I going to come standing up?

But as if he sensed my worry, he shifted beside me, wrapping one arm tightly around me, so even if my legs gave way, I wouldn’t fall. He flicked his tongue faster and faster, and I felt the first ripples of pleasure as his finger pushed in and out of me.

“Come for me, Ella,” he said and then flickered his tongue over my wet heat with such an intensity, I felt pleasure explode within me, starting from my core and radiating all the way along my belly, sending tingles racing through me.
 

My legs shook as my orgasm engulfed me, but Nick held me firmly, keeping me upright.

Carefully, holding me against him, he stood up. I could feel his stiffness pressing into my belly.

My legs still felt weak, but I followed him into the shower and enjoyed the warmth as the water cascaded over us.

Nick reached for the shower gel and squeezed some into the palm of his hand before rubbing his hands together to make a soapy lather.
 

He then turned me around and pulled me back against him, so I was leaning on his broad chest. He then ran his soapy hands all over the top half of my body, paying particular attention to my breasts and my tight, hard nipples.
 

I enjoyed the sensation of his hands sliding all over me, and when his fingers descended lower, dipping between my legs, I cried out in pleasure. I was still so sensitive down there, so his touch made my hips jerk.

“I love how responsive your body is to me,” Nick whispered as he continued to caress that spot between my legs.

I turned around, desperate to feel his hard body respond to my touch.
 

I squirted the shower gel in my hand and smeared it all over his muscular chest, feeling his muscles tense as my fingertips caressed him and followed the outline of his tattoos.

His gunshot wound was now healed, although he would always have a scar. I didn’t want to look at it. I didn’t want to be reminded of how dangerous this situation was.
 

I kept my eyes fixed on his as I worked my soapy hands lower and lower until they finally made their way to encircle him. I used one hand to stroke his length and the other to cup his balls.

He licked his lips and groaned as I continued to stroke him.

He let me continue for a moment or two before he held me by the shoulders and turned me around.
 

“Enough,” he said, his voice thick with lust. “I need to be inside you. You make me ache with need. I can’t wait.”

He grabbed my wrists and placed my hands firmly against the shower tiles, bending me over at the waist.
 

He gripped himself with one hand and positioned himself behind me, nudging my entrance with the broad head.

With his other hand, he reached down to caress me between my legs as he slowly pushed into me.

I gasped in pleasure, bracing myself against the wall and arching my back, encouraging him to enter me.

But he didn’t need encouragement. He thrust hard, burying himself deep inside me, and I heard him groan in pleasure.