Leather for Two: Wings of Steel MC (9 page)

“I did. But I hated too. You were sleeping sound. I like the way you softly snore. Hell, I even managed to rest myself.” His smile did wonders to my inner thighs. I needed space, fast. I jumped up, almost tripping over the blanket wound around my ankles. I pushed out of the thick material and rounded the coffee table. “I-I should go and change out of my pajamas and call in sick at school.” I backed toward the staircase. “If you’d like coffee, there’s a canister in the cabinet. The coffee maker is on the counter…of course, you’ll see it.” Wow, I was tongue-tied. But what woman wouldn’t be when waking up in the arms of a man with enough masculinity to make my toes curl. “I won’t be long.”

“I’ll make some.” His husky voice played my veins like a harp. Oh brother, I was in trouble. Big trouble. I should be focused on the fact that I found myself in the middle of a murder investigation and all I could think about was the half-dressed man sitting on my sofa, grinning from ear to ear. He knew what he did to me. He liked making me crazy.

Upstairs, I stared into my closet. My anxieties reared their head.

I didn’t know what to wear. I especially didn’t want Blaze thinking I cared what he liked. In the end, I decided on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. It was neither too dressy nor modest. I brushed my hair until it hung in silken waves. I didn’t own much makeup, but I found mascara and lip tint in the vanity drawer and applied both liberally.

I then called the school and told the secretary I wouldn’t be in today.

I found Blaze sitting at the kitchen table when I went downstairs. He wore a shirt—thankfully—and held a “best teacher ever” mug that I’d received from a student last Christmas. “Took you long enough,” he said as he handed me a cup that read “Teachers do it best”. A gift from Daisy.

“I was upstairs less than fifteen minutes. I can’t pull on a shirt, run my fingers through my hair and call it a day.” I accepted the coffee and sat across from him. I looked into the light colored liquid. He remembered how I liked it.

“You still like lots of crème and sugar, right?”

“Yes, I do.” I sipped the coffee. “It’s delicious.”

“Thankfully I had an old shirt in the console of my bike. Being that we want to make this as undercover as possible, I thought I’d get too many looks going shirtless. And we’ll take your beat up car. It’ll get less attention than my bike. ” His hands looked large wrapped around my cup. I could think of a few other places I wanted his hands.

I licked my lips and put the cup down. If I wasn’t careful, I’d splash it over the top. I hated being nervous around him. I wanted to be natural…aloof. “I didn’t expect to wake up this morning and be enmeshed in the middle of a crazy murder mystery.”

“I don’t think that’s anyone’s wishes, sweetheart. After Diesel’s house, we’ll go to the shop so bring what you need.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I rolled my finger around the rim of the mug.

“You won’t be staying here.” His gaze was on me, harsh but sincere too.

“This is where I live—”

“You didn’t think I’d leave you alone, did you?”

My heart thumped. “I guess I never really thought about it. Until now.”

“You can stay with me.”

“Wait!” I jumped up so fast that the coffee sloshed over the rim, spilling on the table. “That’s not possible.”

“It’s very possible.”

“Your place is the size of an ice chest.” I couldn’t allow him to come in here and take control.

“But trust me, baby, it’ll feel like a furnace.” He winked and every cell in my body rushed to the surface, begging for more.

“And that’s exactly why it won’t happen.” I grabbed a towel from the hook above the sink and wiped the table.

“We can’t stay here.”

“Why?” I tossed the towel into the sink.

“Seriously?” One thick brow lifted over curious eyes. “I have a shop to run. And I know everything that happens at the shop.”

“And I have a class to teach.”

“You wouldn’t want the kids in danger, right? We don’t have any idea what we’re dealing with.”

As much as I hated admitting it, he brought up a good point. “Okay, you’re right on that argument.”

He chuckled and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Let’s take one step at a time. Diesel’s first. Then accommodations.” He emptied his cup and stood. He stepped closer to me, so close that his breath swept across my cheek. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

“I’m not taking anything with me. If that’s what we decide is best, we’ll come back and I can grab my things. After we check out what’s in the box, everything might be fine.” I slid the tip of my tongue across my bottom lip, willing my body not to fall helplessly against him. “I’m not your responsibility, Blaze.”

His hand came up and he touched my chin, lifting it slightly. “Oh, baby, but you are.”

I looked at him through the veil of my lashes. My stomach dropped to my toes. “This is dangerous.”

His hand dropped to my neck, then he slid his fingers around to the back of my neck. His callused hand grazed the sensitive skin. I eased closer, drawn to him. I pressed my palms against his chest. The warmth from him heated my hands. I inhaled…his smell was an aphrodisiac. His free hand slipped to the small of my back and he pulled me against him as sweet poison filtered through my body. I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t fight the desire. I wanted this moment to never end.

Our lips touched softly, and then the rhythm increased…the yearning spiraled. He slipped his tongue between my lips, tasting me, sampling me. I brought my arms up and around his neck, clinging to him, my nails digging into his shoulders. He dropped his hands to my bottom, gently squeezing and massaging. The bulge behind his zipper rubbed my stomach, enticing me.

Pressure built in my head, slowly oozing through my body and settling like a force between my legs. I looked up into his perfectly bearded face and his knock-my-panties-off gaze. Here I was again, deeply entangled with this man. When did I ever manage to detangle myself?

I hadn’t learned my lesson the first time.

“Blaze—” His name drifted from my lips, thick like honey.

“You taste sweet. Intoxicating.”

Why did he have to be so sexy? Such a great kisser? His python-like arms wrapped around me in a grip that made me feel more secure than I had in my entire life.

If I could describe this as casual horniness and a need to extinguish the fire burning in my core, I’d go along with it easily. But this was nothing short of a desire that one man created, and only one man could quench.

It scared the hell out of me how much I wanted him.

I pushed at his shoulders as a disgruntled moan fell off my lips.

He didn’t make a move to back away. He brought his hand up and slipped his thumb along the curve of my lips. I fought the urge to lick his finger.

His other hand moved to the waist of my jeans, tugging until the material rested at my knees. His knuckles brushed my inner thighs, rubbing the aching seam. I jerked and automatically rolled my hips, hating the betrayal in my body. He pushed the tip of his finger into my opening, panties and all. I’d never wanted anything more than to release my built-up need. He knew what I wanted. He moved the material to the side, slipping his finger freely back into me. I rode his digit, my breaths coming in spurts. I neared release, so close I thought I’d burst. He continually thrust his finger in and out, swirling two fingers around the muscled passage. Scorching sensation ruptured through my core, flowing down my legs, curling my toes. I arched against him as a moan slipped from my parted lips.

Breathtakingly satisfied, I leaned into him.

He removed his hand and pulled my pants back into place. “I’m as hard as a rod, baby. I want to bend you over the table and slam my cock deep inside of you.” His words did incredible things to my body. “But I won’t rush you. I’ll give you the time to get accustomed to the idea that one day, very soon, you’ll no longer fight the craving. You’ll beg me to suck and lick and stroke every part of you, to release that bundle of desire hidden away in that sweet body of yours.”

“I’ll never beg you,” I whispered angrily.

One corner of his mouth lifted. His warm gaze held mine. “Baby, why do you keep denying the irrefutable?”

Who did he think he was? “I refuse to become one of your whores. I’ll never share my man.” I ground the words through tight lips.

“I once told you that if I had you in my bed, there’d never be another sharing that space.”

“I remember Diesel saying he only needed one woman. Look how quickly that changed. The sheets were still warm when he left our bed and climbed into another.” I leaned back against his arm that still held me close.

He took a short step back, annoyance evident in his dark eyes. “Don’t compare me to Diesel.” His gruff voice cut through me. “We may have worn the same cut, but I assure you that’s where the similarities end.” He let go of me. “And baby, a man doesn’t want to touch a woman who loves another. You wanted me, like I wanted you from the beginning. We thought we hid our feelings, but we were only kidding ourselves.”

I couldn’t argue. “What happened between you and Diesel? Once you two were best friends. You were loyal to him.” I needed to know.

He shrugged and I swore I heard a seam break in his T-shirt. “Power changed him—greed and power. And you. He knew you didn’t belong with him, but he couldn’t let go.”

“I look back and I see that I never loved him, not like I loved—” Finishing my sentence wasn’t an option, not if I planned on fighting the whirlwind of emotion swirling through me.

He pushed his hand through his hair, spiking waves through the silken strands. “We should go. The sun is coming up now.”

CHAPTER SIX

Once we were inside Diesel’s house I concentrated on my legs moving me down the hallway from the backdoor where we’d broken in. I was now a criminal. And worse…I entered the home where Diesel had been murdered.

A big part of me wanted to run away, but I had to be stronger. I had to find the tougher person inside of me. I couldn’t falter. Blaze’s wellbeing was in danger too.

Half way to the living room, I stopped and stared down the narrow hall. I wondered where Diesel had been found. I didn’t really want to know.

“In here,” Blaze tugged my hand, pulling me into the bedroom. Everything appeared a mess. Things were strewn out of the drawers. Pictures were pulled off the walls and glass was broken. The closet door stood wide open.

“Did the police do this?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Or the person who shot him. Someone was looking for something.”

“Let’s get this over with. I’m getting chills just being here.” I wrapped my arms around my waist.

Blaze bent to his knees beside the bed and looked underneath. “There isn’t a box here.”

“There must be. He said under the bed.” I took a step forward, hearing a crack under my shoe. I looked down. Behind the cracked glass of a frame was a recent picture of Diesel. He sat on his bike, his sunglasses hiding his eyes. He had changed. His hair, once dark as coal, had turned salt and pepper. A long beard covered his chin.

“Nope, nothing.”

A thought came to me. “Push the bed aside, Blaze.”

“Okay.” He stood and moved the bed with his foot. The legs scraped the floor and struck the nightstand on the other side.

“Be careful,” I urged.

“I don’t think we can hurt anything worse than it already is.”

I shrugged. “Do you see any loose boards?” I tapped the floor with the toe of my shoe.

“Hell, I don’t—wait, here it is.” Blaze dropped back on his knees, pulling a closed blade from his back pocket. He clicked it open and used it to wedge the boards free. “I’m getting it.” He laid them aside until the hole was wide enough to look through. “Bingo.”

“What is it?” I peered over his shoulder. I could see something silver in the hole.

“How did you know?” Blaze looked at me, his gaze narrowed.

“I remember coming here with him when his mom was still alive. He said he needed to grab something from his bedroom. I wasn’t supposed to know about the compartment in the floor, but I saw him on my way to the bathroom.”

Blaze reached in and pulled a large box out, groaning. “Damn, this thing is heavy.” He set it in between them. He jangled the lock. “I guess we know now where the key fits.”

I reached into my front pocket and grabbed the key.

I stared at the box. I had no clue what I would find in it, and a part of me didn’t want to look. I wanted to walk away. But there was too much at stake. Blaze’s innocence mostly.

Blaze had stood and he watched me closely. His nerves were on edge. His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. I wondered if he was thinking that Diesel, a man of mystery, could leave them both screwed.

With the key in my hand, I bent and slid it into the lock, turning it. The click sounded loud in the small space. “Here goes.” I lifted the lid and my breath swished from my lungs. “Oh holy mother…” Bills were stacked, piled as high as the top of the box, in three neat rows. “Blaze. I do believe Diesel was doing something illegal.”