Mine: Black Sparks MC (12 page)

Her knuckle brushed over his torso, then farther down, and it didn't take much to feel his arousal, just in that short amount of time they'd been touching. He seemed to fill her hand, expanding in her palm, straining, crying for her. A thrilling shiver coursed through her, to know that after all this time, after all she'd done, she hadn't killed his need for her. Even if the moment in Kirrily's living room had never happened, she would still know the way she caught him looking at her sometimes, as if he thought she wouldn't notice, how he dipped his head when she looked his way. There was no mistaking that. She'd learned not to like the feel of a man's eyes on her--she felt judged, stripped bare, vulnerable. But for some reason, with Nick it was different, and it always had been.

Quickly, she reached for the top button of his jeans, fumbling with two fingers. "It's the least I can do," she murmured," breathing in the heat, reaching her face ever closer to his body, “after everything I've put you through."

"Stop," he said, and his hand darted toward her wrist, pulling it away as if she had hurt him physically. He closed his eyes, revealing how painful this denial was to him. "Listen, Liana," he said. "Don't do this."

"You don't want me to--?"

"No," he cut her off. "Not for that reason."

She knew he was remembering the moment at Kirrily's, when he'd taken her almost as if she had no will of her own, how she'd just stood there, stiff, as if it were her duty to submit and offer no resistance. As if she owed it to him. Could it be true, that she didn't really want to do this, that she was only doing it as some twisted way of repaying him for all she'd taken? She hadn't felt that way a moment ago. The long, flat, smooth body of the man beneath her, shirt now mostly unbuttoned, chest rippling up and down in hypnotizing rhythm, the full, parted lips, the gray-green eyes that shone wide and almost hurt as they gazed up at her beneath his bangs. All of him begged to be touched, as much as if she were sixteen and curious again--only now it was better, because she knew what to do.

"But--"

"No," he said sternly.

"But Nick, don't you see? It's okay now. We don't have to hide. I can do whatever I want, and I want to," she said, getting up on her knees so she can look him properly in the face. In the silence of the little hut, she could hear them both breathe. "I want to,” she repeated. “I. Want. To," she said, enunciating the words, as if she had to put that much emphasis to get it through his head that his touch was no longer forbidden, no longer considered beneath her.

Suddenly, he had a very serious look on his face, as if he had made up his mind once and for all. "Okay."

And then she was kissing him again, and he was reckless now, hungry as a man who had been starved for years for the one thing that could satisfy him. His hand was on hers, undoing the button and zipper now, and her fingers stroked along the hard, shaft, dry and smooth, stroking rhythmically. A smile reached her lips as Nick closed his eyes.

Until he was interrupted by a banging on the shed door. Nick's eyes snapped open, and he withdrew from her suddenly, like a startled animal, as if he couldn't believe what he'd been about to do.

"Nick?" A voice called. "Stone, you in there? "

"Shit," they both said simultaneously.

Liana's hand darted back, and Nick dropped his head, his hair falling in eyes, trying to rapidly collect himself, body and mind, through will alone. Liana frantically fumbled for her clothes, heart speeding up for an entirely different reason, the adrenaline overcrowding her brain. She couldn't even see straight; the entire shed was a blur as she fumbled with the sleeves of her top, trying to figure out how she had ever gotten it on to begin with. Rapidly, she scanned the shed for an escape route.

"Why did it have to be him?" Nick gasped. He turned to her, instantly noticing the deer-like terror in her eyes. He reached out for her, but she shrank away, unable to believe what was going on here. "It's one of our guys." Nick was still breathing hard as he turned his head toward the door, his chest heaving. She could see his mind turning over.

"What do we do?"

Nick's eyes had changed, and Liana was suddenly afraid that this sudden interruption had changed his mind altogether – that there would never be another opportunity, that he’d recognized the price he might have to pay, and decided it was too high. "Put this on," he said, tossing her the top she had shed mere moments before. She had just enough time to grab it and throw it on before the door was kicked open triumphantly by whoever was on the other side.

Martin Malone hooked his tattooed fingers into the belt loops of his jeans, a shit-eating grin on his face. Rather than surprised to see them in such a flustered and red-faced state, he looked satisfied, and the glint in his eyes made Liana's stomach flip. "I knew it was a good idea to ride ahead."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

When they finally made it into the living room at Helena's, Tryg and Tomahawk were standing in the middle, a line of dirt from their boots onto Helena’s pristine carpet, looking grave and totally out of place. Tomahawk kept stealing glances at Nick, but Liana's uncle's dark, intense eyes narrowed when he saw her, and she shrank back, as if he were looking right through her--through them. She wasn't sure whether he was onto Liana's relationship with Jack or, even worse, knew what she and Nick had been up to in the woodshed, but he kept his hand on the pocket of his jacket, where she knew he kept his gun.

Meanwhile, Liana looked up to Nick, whose eyes, as he stood beside her resolutely, his shoulders defiant, were narrowed cautiously, like a hunter whose mind was still in the woods. He sensed something amiss, she knew. Although he walked close to her, it was almost as if he'd forgotten she was even there. Liana couldn't help but wonder whether there was something else he was worried about, something he hadn't mentioned when he'd suddenly appeared beside her in the woods. For the first time, she wondered how he had found her so quickly. Nick seemed to sense, suddenly, that she was looking up at him, waiting for reassurance. The corner of his mouth turned up in the tiniest of smiles, as if by reassuring her, he could reassure himself. He reached down and twined his fingers through hers and, just for a second, she melted, even though he dropped them a second later. It was going to be okay. It signaled to her that nothing could be wrong, not for the moment. It wouldn't last forever; it would only last seconds. But it was enough.

Liana saw Helena's eyes widen when she caught sight of Liana, and she immediately brushed off her hair, where she was certain sawdust was still clinging. There was nothing she could do about the dirt on her expensive borrowed top, though. She was an idiot to have even borrowed it in the first place; she should have stuck with her old clothes. Helena flew to Liana and looked her critically. "Where is Jack? He didn't touch you, did he? God, I never should have let you go out there alone."

"It's okay, Helena," said Liana robotically, not entirely sure it wasn't all an act. "It wasn't your fault."

"Anyway, he's gone," Tryg said flatly, interrupting her. "We combed the perimeter. There's no trace of him or his car." He was looking at Nick now, but he didn't look pleased.

"Sure, for now," Liana said. "But he knows where I am."

"Looks like it," piped up Tomahawk.

Nick turned to Liana and spoke in a reassuring voice. "You're going to have stay in the house from now on – until we can make sure he's longer a threat."

"But--"

"No buts," said Tryg. "You stay in the house where we can keep an eye on you."

Liana couldn't help but notice how he spoke in plural. It was clear that if it had been Nick who was driving this operation to begin with, it was no longer. Tryg had decided to step in. And that mean she'd be under the kind of scrutiny she wasn't sure she could handle.

"I know about Jack – about how he went undercover with the Vipers," Tryg said.

"What do you mean?" she demanded. "That's over."

"I told him, Nick," Helena spoke up in a small voice, looking chagrined. "I was worried about Liana, and I had to tell him what I knew."

"Yeah, well you could have checked me with me first," said Nick, running his hand through his hair in frustration. “I should have been more clear with you the night before, when you were floating all those theories about Liana and the Vipers.”

“Clear about what?” Helena asked.

“That you’re wrong.”

Meanwhile, Liana was hoping a trapdoor would open and swallow her up. The way the men in the room were leering at her, as if she were some kind of poison pill, made her sick. They reminded her of how Noel used to look at her, as if she were some jewel, some treasure, some object without a mind of its own, one so powerful it had to be locked in a vault behind bulletproof glass, lest it be stolen and wreak havoc on the world.

"Yeah, you took care of everything,” said Tryg. “Except you neglected to mention how you found out my niece's ex-boy toy is the kingpin of the biggest M.C. on the Eastern seaboard."

"So what if he's with the Vipers?" demanded Nick. "We already knew he was dangerous. He's threatened Liana. She's terrified, Tryg. And she didn't know anything about his involvement with the Vipers. All she knew was that he was a crooked cop and we, of all people, should know those are a dime a dozen."

"Nick, did you leave your common sense in the woods out there, too? You can't possibly believe he drove all the way out here just to chase after his girlfriend. Not a man like that. There's something going on here, and it’s up to us to get to the bottom of it. Now, you're going to tell me the truth once and for all, Liana," her uncle’s voice rumbled, and she felt herself shrink back, clawing for the wall behind her.  "Now. Or I will find out some other way. And you probably won’t like it."

"Hey, lay off her," said Nick, stepping between them immediately. "I told her you were here to help, but you're sure not acting like it."

"I've got to know the truth," said Tryg. "And right now, I’m having a hard time telling exactly whose side you’re on here.”

"What?" sputtered Nick. "I can't believe you would even ask that of me. I'm the one who showed up to protect her. God only knows what would have happened if I hadn't been here."

Helena stepped forward, setting the glass she’d been holding down on the drinks cart. She went and put her arm around Liana, "Nobody's blaming you, Liana," said Helena, stealing a glance at Tryg, who crossed his arms, as if he realized he was over the line.

"This is your family. Family tell the truth."

"Family also protect each other," said Liana softly. "Or they should."

"You want to know what I think?" Martin cut in.

"No," snapped Nick, but Martin continued as if he hadn't heard.

"I think Stone's the one who hasn't been honest with us this whole time. Think about it, Tryg," he said, sauntering forward, gesturing toward the younger man. "He cost us that shipment, and now he's going behind your back. How do we know it wasn't a setup from the get go? He's planning on pretending to sell it back to us and pocketing the profits himself."

Nick was fuming. "Setup? I got shot!" he countered. "You, yourself, saw me lying there bleeding on the pavement. Did that look like a fucking setup to you? Tryg, he's insane. And what do you mean, going behind your backs? I haven't done anything about that shipment I haven't told Tryg about it."

"Malone, stay out of this," barked Tryg, barely giving the wiry man a second glance. He rubbed his temples. "Fine, Liana, if you won't tell me the truth, then I'll get if from Stone. Sit down," he said to Nick, pointing to the leather armchair across from his.

Nick did, feeling like he was in school again, half of which he’d seemed to spend sitting sullenly across the desks from irate teachers and principals.

"There's one thing I know for a fact you haven't been honest about." Martin piped up again, despite having been dismissed by Tryg. "You may play the part of this chick's protector, but it's all an act, isn't it? To get in good with the Vipers? To undercut us so you can make the big score and run?"

"Malone, can it or get the hell out," barked Tryg. "This doesn't concern you. Nick, it's time to come clean. I know you weren't happy when I told you Martin was taking over the Chillicothe job."

"No shit I wasn't happy. That was my deal. You promised me I could take the lead on it."

“So you struck a deal with Jack Camus to help you get that shipment back."

Liana ground her teeth together, her legs suddenly feeling like noodles underneath the weight of her body. Helena drew an arm around her shoulder and led her toward the stairs, and Liana let herself be led. She didn’t have the strength to fight.

"Who the hell told you about that?" Liana felt her heart stop. She watched Nick's face, looking as stricken as hers. She didn't even have to ask whether what Tryg was accusing him of was true. It was written all over his face; the face of a man who had been caught in the last place he wanted anybody to know he'd been.

"Malone did, this afternoon. Right after he saw you sitting in his car."