Extreme Curves (Dangerous Curves Book 7) (11 page)

“OK,” Joker said. “So I guess you found what it was that you were looking for? Whatever it was checked out?”

“Yeah.”

Joker waited; he knew better than to ask.

Nails threw back his drink, slid open his desk drawer to produce another bottle of Wild Turkey and a second tumbler. Joker watched as Nails poured out two drinks, handed one over to him. He raised his own drink in response to his Prez’s silent toast, tossed down the bourbon. Finally, Nails took his chair, so Joker backed up a few paces and sat himself.

It’s time. Thank fucking Christ, ‘cause I was about to rip King’s Garage apart with my bare goddamn hands just to have something to
do.

“His girl works for King,” Nails said in his usual gritty growl. “She’s the newest team member, and she’s the youngest, and she’s the dumbest. She’s got herself involved with an untrained civilian, for fuck’s sake, and she hasn’t said a word to King.”

“Uh,” Joker said. “Is she supposed to?”

“Hell,
yeah
, she’s supposed to. She’s supposed to tell him so he can set up surveillance once in a while.”

“King’s Men keep an eye on the crew’s boyfriends and girlfriends?”

“Sure do. Families, too. Not every day, naturally, but they do drive-by’s and they hang around looking casual and unsuspicious and just make sure they’re OK. Things are stepped up when one of the Men is on an assignment that’s especially touchy. When King was working on busting all those cartels down in Mexico, for example, the family of every team member with him was watched closely, in case the cartel got any smart ideas.”

“Holy shit.” Joker was stunned. “I had no idea.”

“They’re quiet about it.” Nails leaned back in his chair. “About three years ago, part of what I was doing for Trigger was watching King’s Garage, watching who was coming and going. They were careful, but I was patient, and it took me about eight months to suss out his people from regular garage customers. I then followed them around a bit, figured out where some of them lived, found some of their parents and siblings. Trigger wanted harming the families as a nuclear option, just in case.”

“But he never gave the order to hurt anybody?”

“No. And when Cuddy took over, he told me to back off King’s Men.” Nails cocked his head. “Couldn’t figure out why at the time, but I did as my Prez said. Of course,
now
I know why he didn’t want us sniffing around any of King’s people. It’s because Cuddy was meeting with them and selling us out.”

Automatically, Joker hissed out a breath.
Fuck
, he couldn’t stand to so much as
hear
his ex-Prez’s name, and his hands snapped closed into fists. What he wouldn’t
give
for Cuddy’s neck to be trapped between his hands as he squeezed… squeezed tighter…

“It pisses me off, actually,” Nails said. “I have a pretty good idea who’s watching the safe house with Cuddy and probably the faggot boyfriend, because some of King’s people are MIA. I
wish
that we’d figured out about Cuddy sooner, but by the time we’d caught on and I got to watching King’s people, they were already in position and Cuddy had vanished off the face of the planet. Missed my window to follow anyone to the place they’ve stashed him.”

“So this is all about finding out where he is?”

“It sure as hell is.”

“Good.”

“So we grab the teacher,” Nails continued. “And we let the bitch know that we have him.”

“She’ll go to King.”

“No. She won’t.”

“Why not?”

“Look, her first instinct will be to do just that, because King is nothing
but
good and experienced at hostage negotiations and saving kidnap victims. She’ll think that she’ll be able to talk to him secretly, and he’ll help without tipping us off.” Nails smiled. “But we’ll make it clear that we mean business, and that we’re watching her every move.”

“How?” Joker said, and a thrill of anticipation went through him. “What are we gonna do?”

“All in good time,” Nails said, getting to his feet again. “First things first.”

“The teacher.” Joker stood up too. “Who do you want to grab him?”

“You and Bear. Do it the day after tomorrow, because he gets home from school at five on Tuesdays. It’s his one early day.”

“Just us two?”

“You do it right, and you two are enough.”

Joker nodded, turned away. He’d just reached the door, when Nails’ voice caught his attention again:

“Oh, and Joker?”

He spun to face his Prez. “Yeah?”

“When you do grab him? Leave his right hand behind.”

“You – you want us to cut off his hand?”

“Yeah. Leave it on the kitchen counter for the bitch to find when she gets home from work at seven. OK?”

“Oh, yeah,” Joker said, a warm wave of pure rightness and sheer happiness passing over him. “Oh,
yeah
, that’s OK. That’s perfect. That’s
exactly
the kind of thing that I’ve been waiting for.”

“I know,” Nails said. “And that’s just the start, Kane. There’s gonna be
plenty
more blood shed and skin shredded and bones broken before this is over.”

“Man.” Joker opened the office door, feeling twenty pounds lighter, and ten years younger “I sure as fuck hope so.”

Chapter Nine

The next morning, Ace stepped out of the shower, wiped the steam from the mirror. He looked at himself, and tried to decide if he needed to shave. He'd always preferred the scruffy look, since it covered up the evidence of his father's abuse left on his face in small, white scars, and anyway, it had suited an MC one-percenter to a T. And it's not like he had to go to an office that day or anything; it's not like he had to go
anywhere
.

Musing over just what the hell 'to a T' meant, Ace dried off his large, muscled body, hung up the towel next to his boxer shorts, and absent-mindedly starting to brush his teeth stark-naked. He was just thinking about breakfast, wondering if bacon every day was a bad thing, when the door opened, and Liam walked in.

Ace froze mid-brushstroke. Liam froze mid-step.

"Holy fuck," Liam blurted out. "Oh, God, Ace... I'm so sorry..."

Ace's first reaction had been to cover up, but that was
before
he'd seen Liam sneaking a peek at his cock. Then another one. Then he'd started to blush, and shuffle his feet.

The one thing that Liam
didn't
do was leave.

So Ace continued to stand there. Naked and huge and hard... and getting huger and harder.

"Holy fuck," Liam said again, but this time, the words had an almost reverential tone to them. His brown eyes were fixed on Ace's body, and Ace assumed that he was ogling his impressive cock. "What the hell is
that
?"

Ace smiled. "What do you
think
it is, sweetheart? I'm surprised you don't remember it, seeing as how well acquainted you two were once upon a time."

Liam blushed a fire-engine red, but stuck to his guns. "Not
that
." He gestured at Ace's right arm. "
That
."

"Oh, shit." Now Ace
did
cover up. "I didn't think –"

"Nuh-uh." Liam crossed the bathroom floor, ignoring Ace's hard-on, and tugged his hand off his arm. He stared at the tattoo there, stunned. "Is that – is that for
me
?"

Ace's face was stone. "No."

"Don't you lie to me, Ace Cuddy. I knew every inch of your body once, and I knew your every thought, too. You're a world-class liar... but you've
never
been able to lie to me. Now." Liam touched the black ink that ran the length of Ace's whole arm, almost to his wrist. "Is that for me?"

Ace looked down at his body, mostly to avoid the certainty in Liam's eyes. He was heavily-tattooed, as befit an MC member, and although tattoos generally meant something to bikers,
this
one was special. It wasn't his biggest or most intricate tat – that was the Fallen Angels MC logo tattooed across the whole of his chest – but it was the one that he loved the most.

"Yeah," Ace mumbled, since denial was pretty fucking pointless. "Of course it's for you. You
know
it's for you. I don't even know why you're asking me that."

Liam's fingers traced the lines of the spider web tattoo, traced the three dates written within its lines: the first, the first night that they'd met. The second, the first night that they'd made love up at the lake. And the third, the day that Ace had left Liam sitting in that hotel room, alone and heartbroken and devastated.

"Why"? Liam whispered, shaken. "Why did you get it done?"

"Are you
kidding
me?" Ace was offended at the question, offended to the point of anger. "Don't you
know
what you meant to me, Liam? What you
still
mean to me? Don't you think that I wanted to honor what we had, even just a little bit, but in some permanent and personal way?"

"No." Liam's voice was soft. "I didn't, Ace. How the hell could I know that, after how you ended it? I thought that you'd walked out of that hotel that day, and never looked back. Not even once. I thought that you'd forgotten me. I thought that I was alone in missing us.""

"Well." Ace gestured at his arm. "Now you know. You weren't."

Liam stared at the tattoo for a few seconds longer, then he abruptly stepped back. Ace ached at the sudden distance between them, and longed for it to return.

"Liam –"

Anything else that Ace might have said after that died in his throat, because Liam yanked his shirt up and over his head, and then he just stood there in front of Ace like that. And God help him, but Ace remembered the smell of that skin, the feel of that chest against his, the smoothness of that slim, sleek body. He'd run his tongue over every curve of every sinewy muscle; he'd run his fingers over every inch of this man's body. Liam had been his addiction, and now that he was standing in front of him again, it was like setting a bottle of an alcoholic's favorite poison in front of them. He wanted Liam, wanted him desperately. And he just wanted him all the
more
when he saw what was on Liam's chest.

"My name," Ace said hoarsely, pointing at the tattoo of the ace of spades card. "That's me."

"Yes."

"So." Ace closed the distance between them again. "It seems that I wasn't the only one holding on to the past. Holding on to memories."

"You weren't."

"You still mad at me? You still hate me?" Ace lifted his hand to roughly grasp Liam's hair on the back of his head, and tug him closer. Liam didn't even resist: he let himself get pulled up against Ace's larger body. "Tell me, baby."

"Yes," Liam whispered, his breath hot and mingling with Ace's. "...and no."

And that was it. Ace was
done
waiting.

Fuck control
.

He lowered his lips to Liam's, taking his mouth in a savage, almost brutal kiss. There was nothing soft or sweet about this kiss, not at all. It was all hard, blazing, impatient need; all black, passionate, furious yearning. Ace was going to
have
Liam again, and if this was the last time that ever he did, if this was the last thing that he ever did, he'd die a happy man.

If he could take Liam again, then Ace wouldn't care if the Fallen Angels took him away tonight and killed their former President in the most inhuman, inhumane ways possible. He wouldn't give a
fuck
if there was no tomorrow ever again – because if he couldn't ever touch Liam again after this, then he wouldn't want to live beyond this moment, anyway.

Still kissing Liam, Ace pushed him, stumbling and off-balance, until Liam was backed up against the wall. Ace didn't stop moving, though: he raised his hands above Liam on the wall and crowded him, used his superior weight and height to trap Liam in place, to prevent escape, not giving him a chance to even breathe between burning kisses.

Not that Liam seemed all that intent on escape
or
breathing. His arms snaked around Ace's waist, and he pulled Ace closer, pulled hard, returning Ace's fervor, matching his fire. Ace's erection pushed into Liam's flat belly, and his cock reared up in enthusiastic response in his jeans. Ace felt it, and he groaned into Liam's mouth.

"
Fuck
. Baby..."

Liam grinned. "Hey, babe."

"You want this?"

"Yes," Liam said simply. "It's all I've wanted for seven years."

"Then you'll get it," Ace grunted. "You'll get everything. Get undressed. Fucking right now."

Fingers trembling, Liam unzipped his jeans, kicked them off and down his legs, and his boxers followed quickly. His feet were bare, and something about that touched Ace deep, in places that he'd thought were long dead and buried... because they'd died and blown away the day that he'd left Liam. It suddenly came to Ace just how lonely he'd been for seven years, and that pierced him, somehow. Made him sad and angry and determined to not lose this man again, not ever.

"Turn around," Ace said softly. "Turn around and bend over."

"But..." Liam protested. "But we don't have anything..."

"Yeah, we do."

Liam looked up at him, confused. "How?"

"Beacuse." Ace went over to the shelf that had been assigned as his, swung open the cabinet door. He turned around, and Liam saw the lubricant and condoms in his hands. "Jack gave me some stuff the other day. Said he thought we might need it soon."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope." Ace opened the condom box, and stroked his cock slowly, getting himself ready. "Now.
Turn. The fuck. Around.
"

This time, Liam did as he was told. Behind him, he heard the sound of latex being rolled, a bottle being popped open, then the slick, wet sound of lube being rubbed. His own cock was almost painful now, and he longed to rub it against the wall for a bit of relief. But he just held position, eyes focused on the rose pattern on the tile in front of him.

Ace walked back to Liam, his eyes running over that amazing back, that perfect ass, that tight little rosebud winking at him from between Liam's cheeks. He stood right behind Liam, not touching him yet.

"Bend over," Ace growled. "Hands on the wall."

Mindless, close to orgasm already just at Ace's words, Liam obeyed. And when Ace slid his large hand around his body and cupped his balls, Liam's knees shook beneath him.

"Good?" Ace muttered in his ear, his strong chest pressed against Liam's back as he teased his sac, stroking gently, tugging a bit, then cupping the balls in his warm palm. "Is that good?"

"Yes," Liam gasped out. "I –"

"Shush, baby," Ace muttered, and now his sheathed cock was gliding between Liam's ass cheeks, sleek and slippery with lube. "Close your eyes now. Feel me touching you."

Liam's eyes slammed closed, and he gave a shuddering sigh. Yeah, he'd had boyfriends since Ace Cuddy – Liam, after all,
was
living his life openly and with pride – but nobody had
ever
had the effect on him that this man did. He was putty in Ace's hands, and he always had been: Ace was an intoxicating mixture of rough and gentle, of hard and tender, and Liam had never been able to get enough.
How
he'd lived without it, he didn't know, and that's when it hit him – he
hadn't
been living without Ace. Not really. He needed this man to feel alive.

Ace squirted some lube into his hands, then rubbed them together to warm it up a bit. Carefully, he slid his fingers into the crease of Liam's delectable ass, and when he found the spot, he slipped a finger inside Liam's body. Liam tensed, then relaxed, and Ace started to push his finger in and out, getting Liam ready to take him. He spread the lube, made sure he pushed some in deep, and then he added a second finger, easing into and probing the tight passage.

So, so carefully, Ace started to open and shut his fingers in a scissoring movement, opening Liam up more. He lowered his mouth to Liam's body, trailed slow, hot kisses across his shoulders, then he took his erection in his hand and whispered, "Now, baby."

"Oh, God." Liam arched as Ace's cock replaced his fingers. "Oh, my...
God
."

"Mmmmmm," Ace said, still kissing Liam's back. "You're so tight... Fuck, you're perfect."

"Oh, God," Liam repeated, suddenly feeling like this was all that he was going to be able to say for the next little while. "Ace..."

Without a word, knowing what he needed, Ace slid his hand back around to Liam's front. He stroked Liam's cock, his large hand sliding easily because of the lubricant, and Liam's hips began to move back and forth on their own. Every forward thrust pushed his rock-hard cock into Ace's hand; every backwards thrust took Ace's cock deeper into his eager body. He was crushed between a muscled body and an unmovable object, his hands in fists on the wall in front of him, his cheek pressed to the cool tile. All Liam could do was push up into Ace's hand, then push back to take Ace's cock; he was filled and utterly fulfilled, at the same time. He felt used and adored; he felt wanted and like he wanted more, like he'd always want more.

It was heaven; it was hell.

It was perfect.

Liam's cock swelled to bursting, and he started to fuck Ace's hand helplessly. He was going to cum, he was going to cum hard, and his movements became more frantic as he chased that climax. Behind him, Ace groaned deep in his throat as Liam began to take him faster, then faster again. Liam was the one in control now, and Ace just held on and rode every push back onto his aching, throbbing cock.

When Liam exploded into Ace's right hand, that was when Ace lost it. His left hand gripped Liam's hip almost painfully, and he held him in place so he could drive into his ass, harder and harder. Liam groaned, a sound of pleasure, not pain, so Ace moved faster, plunger deeper. It built inside of Ace, it built like a wave, or like a volcano about to erupt, and when his climax rushed up to meet him, Ace cried out Liam's name over and over.

In the seconds after, both men slumped forward on the wall, panting, tangled together, sweaty and shaking. The floor beneath their feet didn't feel nearly solid enough, the wall in front of them didn't seem likely to support their combined weight. The room was suddenly too small, too close – but that made it feel like there was no world outside of it, and that was just fine by them.

Ace ran a shaking hand over Liam's chest, feeling his racing heartbeat. "OK, baby?"

"OK," Liam said. He turned his face to Ace's. "
So
OK."

Ace kissed him, the hottest, most gorgeous kiss that Liam had ever known, then he slowly pulled out of Liam's body. Keeping his arms around Liam, knowing that he was still shaky, Ace led him over to the shower. Ace turned it on, stepped in, pulled Liam in with him. He took Liam in his arms, and the other man just rested there on Ace's chest, close and warm. Safe.

Home
.

Ace soaped up his hands, gently cleaned Liam's body, then turned his attention to his own. The hiss of the hot water was soothing, lulling, and Ace wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with this man, to hold him and talk to him until they both fell asleep.

Liam was almost dozing on his feet, and when Ace turned the water off, he started. "Shower time is over?"

"Yeah." Ace handed him a towel, and he somehow mustered the strength to dry off. "Now it's bedtime."