A Secret Ride: A Biker Erotic Romance (Karthadossian Riders MC) (2 page)

“I’ve got a traitor. Lucky I know who the traitor is and thought to rig a tiny listening device into his cell phone. It doesn’t have very good range though so I have to be close to listen in. That’s how I ended up seeing Ellie sneaking into her Dad’s club.” He noticed his son’s open mouthed shock. “I learned a few new things in prison.”

“That’s an understatement. So, the plans to break in were all a set up?”

“Yea, but I needed you thinking they were real too, so if Ellie got to you there would be no denying that you believed every word I was saying. It worked too, except for one little detail.” Manny got up and paced the floor.

“What detail?” Rex watched his Dad pace, getting nervous.

“Well, I didn’t think about what Xander might do when I don’t show up for tonight’s explosion.”

***

Rex closed the door behind his Dad and locked it. He wasn’t leaving Ellie alone tonight, even if it pissed her off. She’d been in the bathroom for so long that he was getting worried.

He straightened up the kitchen, just to have something to do. It took a whole two minutes and he found himself once again pacing her living room, wondering what to do. Go break down the bathroom door or wait for her to come out on her own? He’d better wait. Give her some time.

The shelves in her living room were lined with all kinds of things. Books and knick knacks, photos of her when she was younger and her Mom was still alive. He smiled at the photos of her awkward teen years; she was brave to have them on display, most women would have hid them away. She had an entire shelf dedicated to one writer, a popular one whose books he saw displayed at several bookstores. Must be her favorite.

On one shelf was a plain black frame filled with those little purple flowers that grow like weeds everywhere.

Ellie watched him for several minutes before she spoke. “You picked those for me. Do you remember?”

He should have been startled, but he wasn’t. “You were upset because you were moving to a different house.”

“And you said I was silly because we’d still be going to the same school. That we’d see each other every day.” Ellie leaned against the door frame, eyes soft in the light coming from the only lamp in the room.

“I meant it. Then that summer everything changed. I changed.” Carefully, he put the frame back where he found it, but he didn’t turn around. He just stood there, staring at it.

“You were the only real friend that I had. When you acted like I didn’t exist, I thought I’d done something wrong. You were so angry.” She wanted to go to him but she held back, waiting to see what he would say.

“I hated the world and everyone in it. Even you. Because you were so good, and I wasn’t. I was afraid that I’d make you like me.” It was the most honest thing he said to anyone in a long time.

Quietly, she moved closer. “All I wanted was to be more like you. Not the angry part, but the brave and adventurous part. I thought if I were braver my Dad would want to spend more time with me.”

“I wasn’t brave, I was reckless.” He finally turned around, taking in her clean soap scent and the short satin robe clinging to her still damp skin. “There’s no telling what would have happened to you had you followed me all those times I offered.”

“Had some fun?” She closed the distance between them, looking up into his eyes. “You were just a kid, Rex. A kid who had too many troubles for his age.”

“You’re making excuses for me and I appreciate it, but I hurt you and there’s no excuse for that. I was no kind of friend.” She was too close and the temptation to reach out and touch her was irresistible. He rubbed the ends of her soft hair between his fingers.

“Why’d you push me on the swing?”

It was an odd question and he looked at her, slightly confused. “Because you wanted me to?”

“I did, but you didn’t have to. Sometimes I didn’t even have to ask, you just knew that I needed to swing. Ever think about how you knew?” She watched him playing with her hair, wondering if he realized that he was trying to comfort himself.

He thought about what she was asking. He’d always been around her so he just knew when she was sad or upset. “You were easy to read, I guess.” It was a lame answer but all he could come up with.

She nodded her head, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Am I still easy to read?”

He almost didn’t answer, sensing that she was putting him to a secret test. “Yes and no.”

“That’s a rather convenient answer. Think you can read what I’m feeling right now?” Ellie ran her hands up the front of his shirt, slowly.

The smile that split his face was easy and swift. “Oh, I don’t know. I might need another hint.”

Standing up on her tip toes, Ellie pressed her lips against his sweetly and whispered, “Take a girl for a ride, Rex.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

***

While his daughter was sleeping with his enemy’s son, Xander was taking his frustration out on the Siouxan traitor. Manny hadn’t showed and the entire night had been a waste.

“I thought you said that Manny’s plan was set?” Xander ground the words out, his teeth clenched so tight that the muscles in his jaw were starting to ache.

“They were. It was all he could talk about.” The traitor was sweating, his heart racing. Xander wasn’t someone to fuck over. “Something bad must have happened.”

“Something you knew nothing about, right?” Xander stopped in front of the man, offended by the smell of fear sweat coming from his pores. “Or maybe you’re just playing the old double cross?

“No, I swear, I haven’t said a word.” The traitor raised his hands, moving away a couple of steps. There was a look in Xander’s eyes that he’d seen before and it didn’t bode well for his health.

Xander got very still, staring at the man as if he were considering his fate. “There’s just one problem with a traitor. You can’t ever trust them.” The gun was in his hand and a bullet was in the man’s head before the thought of running even surfaced. There was a sickening thud when his body hit the ground that Xander enjoyed immensely.

A bruiser of a man appeared seemingly out of nowhere. “What do you want to do with the body?”

Xander put the gun back in the specially made holster at his lower back, a gift from one of his contacts. “Put it in one of the barrels and seal it up. Leave it inside with the others.”

The man nodded and headed off to get a barrel from the back of the unit. Xander didn’t stick around to watch.

***

He was still trying to catch his breath when Ellie turned over and draped her leg over his, wrapping one arm over his stomach. She was breathing just as hard and he could feel the rapid beat of her heart against his side. “Your eyes get darker when you’re sad or upset and get more of a gold hue when you’re happy.”

Shock had her lifting her head to look at him. “They do?”

He nodded, smiling at the surprise on her face. “Right now, they’re like the wrappers on fancy chocolates.”

There was a moment when she just looked at him, mouth hanging open—then she started to laugh and couldn’t stop. She could feel his stomach moving as he laughed along with her.

When she was finally able to calm down, she had to wipe tears off her face. “Fancy chocolate wrappers, huh?” Just saying it sent her into another small fit of giggles. She pulled herself together, feeling lighter than she had in hours. “Come on, let’s go for a swim.”

“You’ve got a pool?” Rex sat up, the sheet falling well past his waist, distracting her from putting her robe on.

“Yep. It’s not huge but it’s private. You up for some skinny dipping?”

“Absolutely.” His eyes lit up like they used to do when he was a kid. He loved to swim and rarely got the opportunity. He jumped out of bed, fully nude and not a bit self-conscious. She envied him being able to do that.

She opened up the French doors in her bedroom and stepped out onto the patio. She was proud of all the work she’d put into the outside. It was her oasis of peace and quiet, filled with plants, flowers and comfy furniture to lounge on. The pool was lit from the inside and the water was clear blue.

He shot her a silly look before taking off and jumping into the water. She remembered his love of swimming and knew it would be a treat for him. Her chest felt a little tight as she watched him splashing around, for one moment all his cares put away.

Slipping off the robe, Ellie slid into the water, letting the ripples from his play wash over her. He dived deep and came up in front of her, shaking his head like a wet dog and making her squeal. “What are you, twelve?”

Putting his hands on the side, he slid closer, the hard ridge of his cock rubbing against her thighs. “Nope, not twelve. A horny sixteen, maybe, but not twelve.”

Her chuckle was husky and a little breathless. “You’re insatiable.”

“It’s your fault.” Teasingly he let his wet body slide up and down hers.

Every time they were together she got bolder. Less inhibited. He made her feel amazingly desired. Weaving her arms around his neck, she lazily licked at his lips, the taste of the pool water no deterrent. She pressed forward and slid her tongue into his mouth, taking her time exploring him.

Maybe it was the soothing lap of the water. Maybe it was the fact they’d already had one frantic coming together barely an hour before. Whatever the cause, this time was different. Slower and more gentle than any of the times before.

The slickness of her skin was a whole new experience. A smooth glide that made for long caresses and drawn out breathy moans. With her head back against the edge, the length of her neck opened up to his lips and he was thrilled to find new places that made her shiver and sigh.

With his hands under her hips, Rex lifted her body until her legs were around his waist and lavished attention on her ample breasts. Suckling and warming her nipples in his mouth, he waited until she was squirming then released the tight bud, immediately splashing the cooler water over the tip. She inhaled sharply and tightened her grip around his waist.

Working his way down her body, he took in the way her tummy twitched when he circled his tongue around her belly button. The way she clenched her teeth and moaned when he dug his thumbs into the crease of her hips and worked her legs from around his waist. How her breath rushed in, then out when he licked at the same crease with his tongue. The slight shadow of his beard made her entire body jerk when he ran the stubble over the insides of her thighs.

He pressed lazy kisses everywhere but not where she was desperate for his mouth. When she tried to lift her hips higher, her upper body sank too low in the water, frustrating her. He wasn’t giving in to her silent demands this time. With her hands gripping the sides of the pool she couldn’t get those wicked fingers on him and make him lose control.

“Tell me what you want, Ellie.” He watched her cheeks blush a pretty pink at his words and the teasing tone of his voice. She gave her body to him freely but she held back when it came to expressing her wants. He wanted everything she had to give and more. A little bit of pushing to break that final barrier would be rewarding for both of them.

She couldn’t do it. She’d tried, in the past, to lose every inhibition with a man but it was the one line she’d never been able to cross. It was so easy to write that kind of dialog for her characters, so easy for the words to flow from their lips but not hers. Typing the words were much easier than saying them.

“
Tell me what you want, Ellie.”

His words were muffled by the press of his lips against her stomach. Surely he could feel the butterflies going insane in there. Why was this so hard? She closed her eyes and tried to see herself the way she wanted to be. Uninhibited and strong, a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to ask for it. She opened her mouth and the words just flowed out. “Put your mouth on me, Rex. Taste me.”