Torched: Afterburn (Iron Serpents Motorcycle Club Book 2) (17 page)

“That a girl,” he rasped in her ear. “You like being trapped under me, huh? Impaled on my fucking cock?”

“Mmhmm,” she moaned.

He pulled back and slammed into her over and over, fisting her hair even harder and sinking his teeth into her shoulder. Her moans turned to soft cries, which turned into muffled screams, and he loosened his grip just enough to let her bury her face in a pillow.

“Fuck,” he groaned, feeling both of them getting close to exploding.

After a few more deep and brutal thrusts, her walls rippled and clenched, sending him over the edge with their vise-like grip. His breath hitched and his head fell next to hers as waves of release overtook him.

Once he’d caught his breath, she turned her face and asked, “Can I talk now?”

“Not if it’s to tell me to get off you,” he muttered. “I’m pretty sure my legs don’t work right now.”

She laughed. “Okay, just scoot over then. I can’t breathe.”

He rolled to his side so she could get some air in her lungs and her dangling leg up on the couch. When she got comfortable in his arms, he tucked her head under his chin and pulled her to his chest as tight as he could.

“You wanna go to bed?” she asked.

“No.” He reached around the top of the backrest for a blanket and spread it over them one-handed. “I don’t wanna let you go long enough to get there. You mind?”

She pulled away from him with a smile and slipped off the tank top she was still wearing. After lying back down and wiggling around a little, she settled in with a happy sigh. “Nope, I’m good right here. Get some rest, babe, you need it. Good night.”

No questions? No complaints? Finally, a good end to a shitty fucking day. No skirting around the truth or making excuses, just her naked in his arms.

“Night,” he whispered. “I love you.”

“Love you more,” she murmured.

“Not possible.” He kissed her cheek and listened to her breathing, waiting for it to slow down. When it did and he knew she was asleep, he let himself drift into oblivion too.

: 14 :

| LIVIA |

Three days after making a deal with the fucking devil—also known as Buddha in this particular scenario—I sat at a table inside Crow’s Nest with a cup of coffee, contemplatively watching people stopping by to have their cheeks swabbed. Across the country that morning, twenty other chapters were hosting their own donor drives.

With all of the friends Buddha and the club had in Linwood, I’d arranged for ours to be held at the bar. The hospital didn’t need a massive influx in foot traffic and we didn’t want civilians roaming the clubhouse either, so I’d found a lab tech to set up at the Nest where people could filter through. I figured since we were dealing with swabs instead of needles, the health department wouldn’t make an issue of it.

It had taken a ton of coordination, but based on my calculations, we’d have a pool of five hundred to two thousand possible matches by the end of the day. Five hundred to two thousand slim chances that could add up to a real one for Buddha.

Torch hadn’t slowed down at all since the night he fucked the shit out of me on the couch. He was still spending the majority of his time working and my suspicions over the seriousness of whatever was going on were growing deeper. And while I was grateful for the opportunity to help the club in
some
way, being kept in the dark about everything else was starting to grate on my psyche.

I may have spent most of my adult life being hunted from one state to the next, but every move still had to be calculated to stay ahead. I dealt in analysis, not ambiguity; keeping my senses strong, my information constant, and my guard up on every level was a necessity. But then Torch’s sexy ass had ridden into the picture, swept me off my feet, and plopped me down in the middle of
his
kingdom. I had no idea what the fuck to do with myself because I didn’t know what the fuck was happening around me.

I was doing my best not to dwell on the cloud of mystery hanging overhead, but it was hard not to feel a little out of place and confused. I didn’t do well with confused, every problem was supposed to have a solution if you just thought hard enough.

“Hey you,” Zed greeted, snapping me out of my daze as he sat down across from me. “What’s churning in that brain?”

“I was just thinking how awesome it is that so many people showed up today,” I replied.

He nodded and took a sip of my coffee. “Yeah, it’s pretty fucking awesome. How’d you do it?”

“How did I set it up?”

“No, how did you talk Buddha into not giving up?”

“I think you’re giving me too much credit.” What was I supposed to say? That I’d agreed to maybe kill his boss? “Torch talked to him too.”

“Oh, come on,” he groaned. “Your old man refused to entertain Buddha and the only other person he told that night was you. I was there and didn’t find out about it ‘til I talked to both of them the next day.”

I stared at him with a straight face, wondering what the hell was going on here. Did he know? “He probably just realized what a big decision it was,” I said with a shrug.

“Buddha wouldn’t have told either of you if he hadn’t already made one,” Zed pressed. “And once his mind’s set, it’s set.”

I smiled and took back my mug before he drank it all, I needed all the caffeine I could get. “How about you tell me what’s
really
going on with the club instead? Why’s everybody working around the clock?”

“You’ll have to ask your husband, you know the rules.”

“Yeah,” I smirked. “I also know the rule about a private conversation with the president staying that way, so I guess we’re both shit out of luck. Unless, of course, you already know what was said and this whole conversation is a pointless exercise in testing me.”

Chuckling, he reached into his cut, pulled out a flask, and held it out to me. “Have a drink, darlin’. You look like you need it.”

“It’s like eight o’clock in the morning,” I pointed out.

“So?”

So nothing. I snatched the flask and took a nice, long gulp of the whiskey inside. It burned, but it was a good burn, the kind that took the edge off. “Thanks.”

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Anytime. So why the long face? What’s bothering you?”

“I’m good, Z, don’t worry about me.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re a shit liar, babe. I know you.”

I trusted Zed and knew I could confide in him, but today wasn’t about me. Buddha was the one with real problems, I couldn’t even figure out what mine were aside from being worried about my man. So, I tried to change the subject. “I didn’t tell Torch you gave Nadia a car either. What’s up with
that?
Are you two a thing?”

He groaned and shook his head.

“What?”

“You know damn well what. You deflect questions better than a fucking politician.”

“I can’t help it, just part of my charm I guess.”

“Or you’ve had to watch what you say your whole life,” he added.

“That too.”

He cocked his head like he was trying to read my face, or at least trying to unnerve me. “It couldn’t have been easy. I don’t know if I could go that long always watching my back and not having anybody to trust.”

“You get used to it.”

“Yeah, I imagine you’d have to. Eventually, it just becomes who you are, right?”

Why did it feel like I was being lured into a trap? “What are we talking about?” I asked.

“You. Your life before and your life now. It’s a change and change is hard, that’s all I’m saying.”

Goddamn it, he’d deflected right back and hit the nail on the head. “But it’s a good change,” I insisted.

He eyed me skeptically, like he knew I was talking out of my ass and was just daring me to lie to him.

Fuck.

“Fine,” I sighed. “You wanna know what’s bothering me, Z? I’m trying my best stay cool and give Torch his space, but I know something’s going on and it’s driving me fucking
nuts
that I can’t do shit to make his life easier. I’ve had to be a fixer my whole life, I don’t know how to just sit back and wait for things to work themselves out.”

He scratched his beard and nodded. “I get that. I’d say you’re doing a lot just by being there, but I know it’s not what you wanna hear.”

“Nope, not really. I’m sorry, this is why I didn’t wanna say anything. You don’t need to be in the middle of something I’m not even sure is a problem.” Shaking my head at myself, I stood up and grabbed my helmet from the table. “I think I’m just gonna go for a quick ride and air out my brain. See you later, okay?”

As I turned to leave, he grabbed my hand and stopped me. “Give it some time, Liv. Nothing good ever comes easy.”

I pursed my lips and smiled. “I know, we’ll figure it out.”

“You will.” He stood up and touched my back. “Come on, I’ll walk you out. I could use a smoke.”

I strolled outside and immediately saw Torch standing on the sidewalk talking to Gauge. Spotting me, he patted Gauge on the back and starting walking over.

“Hey, babe,” he said, leaning down to kiss me. “How’s everything going in there?”

“Better than expected. We’ve had a hundred and twenty people get tested, I thought we’d get maybe half of that.”

He smiled. “That’s how we do things around here.”

“Church tonight, brother?” Zed asked.

“Yeah, at seven,” Torch told him.

I noticed their eyes doing a weird little dance and wondered what the inside scoop was. Jesus, it really
was
driving me fucking insane not knowing.

“Liv!”

I looked to my left and saw Roxy heading down the sidewalk toward me. Moira, Tamra, and Dana were huddled together and stayed behind, the latter giving me her notorious stink eye. She
still
wasn’t over her shit with me? Talk about holding onto a dumb fucking grudge.

Rox gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek. “Hey, doll, been a while.”

“What are you crazy bitches plotting over there?” Torch asked her.

She planted her hands on her hips and huffed. “Why do you always assume we’re up to no good?”

“Because you usually are,” he shot back. “Don’t be teaching my old lady your tricks.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, your old lady’s got plenty of her own tricks.”

“I’m standing right here,” I reminded them.

Rox turned her attention back on me. “We’re going to Scooter’s for breakfast, you’re coming with us.”

I glanced over her shoulder. Yup, still getting filthy looks. “I don’t think Dana—”

“Dana’s being Dana, you two need to squash it,” Rox cut in.

“Squash what?” Torch asked.

“Nothing.” I narrowed my eyes at Rox.

She grinned and opened her big mouth like I knew she would. “Beanie didn’t tell you? Dana made the mistake of talking shit about Nadia and pointing a finger in Liv’s face. Your woman about broke her hand and threatened to kick her ass.”

“I did
not
almost break her hand,” I argued. “Her fingers, maybe.”

Zed chuckled. “Forget squashing it over lunch. Torch, we need to bust out the baby oil and get them in the ring.”

My husband snickered and shook his head. “Wouldn’t be worth the mess, Liv would wipe the floor with her ass in ten seconds.”

Rox rolled her eyes again. “Nobody’s wiping the floor with anybody else. Come on, Liv, I know you’re over it.”

“Of course I’m over it, it wasn’t even that big of a deal.” I looked back at Torch. “Do you want me to bring you back some food?”

“Nah, I’m good.” He playfully swatted my ass. “Have fun.”

Huh
. His mood seemed to be improving, maybe it had something to do with whatever was going down at church that night. Goddamn it, I had to quit over-analyzing.

“Zed, you want anything?” I asked.

“Just a text if you and Dana decide to go at it again,” he requested with a grin.

I shook my head and walked off, following Rox to the crosswalk where the other girls stood waiting. I exchanged kisses on the cheek with all three of them—including a frigid Dana—before realizing I still had my helmet in my hand.

“I’ll be right back,” I told Rox. I ran back over to Torch and handed it to him. “Can you put this under the bar for me?”

“Sure thing, babe.”

I winked at him and went jogging back to rejoin the girls.

I’d only caught up to them halfway when the crosswalk light turned white, so I sped up to a sprint. But just as I stepped off the curb, the sound of squealing tires grabbed my attention. I looked down the road to my left and saw a red sedan racing toward us.

Shit, he was going way too fast.

Everything else in my vision slowed.

I whipped my head back over at the girls. They were still in the middle of the street, but noticed the car right then too and went scattering. All except for Dana, who’d apparently just dropped something because she was obliviously looking at the ground and took a step back.