Steel 2: Blackthorne MC #2

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Carrie's Books

STEEL #2

Carrie Cox

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Copyright © 2015 Carrie Cox

All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.

STEEL
by Carrie Cox is an addictive new motorcycle club romance novella serial perfect for fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and readers of Nicole Snow.
 

Once you’ve had your first bad boy biker, there’s no going back…

Ella Anderson had no idea what she was getting herself into when she gave into temptation and agreed to a one night stand with hot, tattooed biker, Nick Steel.

Drawn into the Blackthorne Motorcycle Club, Ella finds it hard to work out who she can trust. Does Nick really have her best interests at heart? And what secrets is the mysterious Jackson hiding?

(This romance contains steamy love scenes and lots of twists and turns.)
 

ebook categories
 

—> Romance Anthologies
 

—> Outlaw romance

—> Motorcycle Club romance
 

—> Alpha Male

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

Nick’s fever finally broke at 3 A.M., but it wasn’t until the dawn light flooded in through the window that he finally woke up. I hadn’t slept at all. I’d spent all night sitting beside him, anxious to see some sign that he was getting better.

After everything he’d been through, he should have looked a wreck. He’d been at death’s door last night and almost died, yet he woke up looking refreshed as if he’d just taken a quick nap. The pale tinge had disappeared from his skin, and he was back to his gorgeous tanned self.

It just wasn’t fair.

I on the other hand, looked a complete mess. As I hadn’t changed my clothes and hadn’t showered, I felt grubby, and my hand tangled in my hair when I tried to run my fingers through my unruly curls. I’d been so worried last night and caught up in what had been happening that I hadn’t given a thought to my appearance.

But as Nick looked up at me and gave me a sleepy smile, I couldn’t help wishing I looked a little better.

I rubbed my fingers under my eyes self-consciously, thinking that I probably had smudged my mascara. I hadn’t so much as glanced in a mirror.

“Hey,” Nick said. “Did you wake up early?”

I just shrugged. I didn’t want him to know that I had been sitting up all night watching over him.

When it seemed like he was waiting for an answer, finally I said, “I couldn’t sleep.”

“You should try and get a few hours now,” he said. “The rest of the crew will be hungover, so we won’t be leaving here until late afternoon. It will be cooler then.”

“Thanks, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to sleep. What I could really use is a shower. I’ve been wearing the same clothes for far too long. Do you think there’s any way I could wash them?”

Nick’s eyes flickered down to take in my red dress. My heart skipped a beat as his eyes lingered on the low-cut area at the front of my dress.

It wasn’t my usual type of outfit, and it definitely wasn’t suitable for the daytime. Claire had persuaded me to wear it, telling me that my curves were hot, and that I should show them off. I’d always been self-conscious of my curvy figure and with Nick’s eyes on me now, I blushed.

He reached across and gently trailed a finger over the red strap of my dress. My skin tingled at his touch. But I pulled away. My body was reacting too easily to him, and I was getting carried away with these feelings I had for him. I needed to focus on getting out of there, not crushing on Nick Steel.

He looked confused as I pulled away, but only for a moment before he threw back the blanket he’d had over him and swung his legs out of the bed.

I held my breath. It didn’t matter how many times I’d seen his body, every time, the stab of lust that hit me took me by surprise.

“I’ll talk to Johnny’s wife and see if she’s got anything you can borrow,” he said.

As he stood up, I forced myself to look away from his toned torso.

I stared down at the floor and said, “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good, considering.” He ran a hand through his hair and grinned at me. “My shoulder is a little sore, but nothing I can’t handle. It won’t stop me riding.”

I didn’t know exactly how to approach what I wanted to ask him, but I needed to know what he’d been talking about last night in his fevered state.

I chewed on my thumbnail. “Last night, you said something to me.”

Nick turned to face me. He had just been pulling on his jeans, but he paused and stared at me with an intense expression. It was only for a moment and then his expression cleared and he smiled at me again. “Oh, really? What did I say? I think those drugs the doctor gave me last night were pretty strong. I’m not sure it’s fair to hold me to any promises I gave you last night.”

He winked at me, and I rolled my eyes at him. He was a bit full of himself. I supposed with a body and a face like that he could afford to be.

“It was nothing like that,” I said, irritably. “You said something about me not trusting them…” My voice trailed away as I saw the expression change on Nick’s face.

He suddenly became more guarded. He shook his head and then shrugged on his T-shirt. “Really? That was a funny thing to say.”

“What did you mean?”

“I haven’t got a clue,” he said. “It was probably the drugs talking. Nothing to worry about. Don’t take it seriously, Ella.”

I didn’t believe him. My gut reaction told me that when his defenses were down last night, he’d wanted to protect me and tell me the truth, but now in the cold light of day, he was closing ranks with the rest of the crew and wouldn’t tell me what was going on.

He reached out for the door handle, but I said, “Wait. What about Claire? Look, you can keep your secrets about the motorcycle club. I’m really not interested. I just want to know if my friend Claire is okay.”

He stood motionless in the doorway with his back to me, and for a long time, he didn’t turn around. When he finally did, he shook his head. “Sorry, Ella. I don’t remember Claire.”

I clenched my fists in frustration. “Of course you do. She was at the bar when we hooked up. Remember? I went to tell her where I would be in case she was worried.”

He nodded slowly. “Oh, yes, I remember that. I don’t know what happened to her, though. I guess she went back to her hotel.”

I sighed. “I hope she did. If you would just let me use the phone, I could call her to see if she’s okay.”

“You can call her in a couple of days, Ella.”

“But I want to phone her now,” I said, growing irritated. “Why is it such a big deal? Last night, you said I saw something. What did you mean?”

His tone changed, and his jaw tightened as he replied. “Ella, you’ve got to stop asking questions. I told you. It was the drugs talking. Anything I told you last night… You just need to forget about it!”

I flinched at his angry words. I’d waited by his bedside all night to see if he would be okay, and now he treated me like this. He was just as bad as Damien Blackthorne.

Before he left the room, he turned and said, “Don’t mention what I said last night to anyone. Do you hear me, Ella?” He insisted when I didn’t reply and glared down at me furiously.

I couldn’t understand why he was angry with me. It should be the other way around. “Fine,” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring back at him.

When Nick returned, he held a pile of clothes in his arms and passed me some shampoo and other toiletries in a blue and white striped bag. He handed me the clothes. “I’m sorry for shouting at you, Ella,” he said. “It’s just… You’ve managed to get yourself caught up in a very dangerous situation, and the best thing you can do is keep quiet. You saw nothing. You heard nothing. After you’ve spoken to Victor and convinced him of that, he will let you go.”

I threw up my hands in frustration. “But I didn’t
see
anything, and I didn’t
hear
anything. They must have gotten me mixed up with someone else. I’m sick of this. I just want to go home.”

“I know,” Nick said, his tone gentle. “And you will, I promise. It’s just a few more days.”

I wasn’t in the mood for his platitudes. I grabbed the bag of toiletries. “Where is the bathroom?”

“Down the hallway. Second on the right.”

Once I was in the bathroom, I stripped off. The red dress I’d been wearing was made of a thin, skimpy material, and I thought it would probably dry quickly. I did my best to wash it with some shower gel in the sink, and I did the same with my underwear. I figured it would have time to dry if I hung it outside in the sun.

The shower felt amazing. I washed my hair twice with the strawberry scented shampoo, enjoying the soft, clean feel of the water running down my body. Under the shower spray, I tried to calm myself down. Sure, this was an unusual situation, but they hadn’t hurt me, so I had to take that as a good sign. If what Nick said was true, then all I had to do was wait until I could speak to Victor and convince him this was all down to some sort of mistaken identity, and then I could get back to New York and my normal life.
 

I thought again about Claire. If she had gone back to the hotel and realized I was missing, she would be beside herself with worry right now. I only hoped she hadn’t contacted my mother.

After I had toweled myself off, I slipped into some of the clothes that Nick had given me. In the pile, there was a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt. My bra was still wet, so I decided I would hang it out to dry after I’d taken my stuff back to the room. I buttoned up the shirt and pulled on the jeans.

I was willing to bet that Johnny’s wife was a lot skinnier than I was. The jeans were a tight fit. I gave up trying to fasten the top button, hoping that the zip would hold out, especially as I was going commando.

I bundled up the wet dress and underwear and left the bathroom. While towel-drying my hair, I walked back to the room where I had spent the night with Nick.

I’d only taken a couple of steps when I saw Damien Blackthorne approaching me. As he drew closer, his eyes zeroed in on my braless breasts. The material of the white shirt was thinner than I had realized, and with the wetness from my hair seeping into the shirt, there were patches that were almost see-through. I moved the towel in front of me to block his view, and his gaze slowly lifted up to my face.

“I hope you’re keeping out of trouble,” he said in his gruff, gritty voice.

I rolled my eyes, trying to pretend I wasn’t intimidated.

He licked his lips slowly and moved closer to me. “If you’re bored, you could spend a little time with me.” He stroked my cheek, and I took a quick step back from him.

“No, thanks.”

He chuckled. “Nick’s keeping you busy enough, is he?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, and as he walked away, I quickly rushed back to the room, bursting in and was glad to see that Nick was still there.

He held a plate of bacon and eggs in one hand and two mugs of coffee in the other. He put them down on a windowsill and then turned to face me. His eyes sharply focused on me and took on a dark look as they drank me in. He raised an eyebrow.

“Ella, I’m going to offer you a little bit of advice. It’s probably best not to walk around like that. You can see through your shirt.”

His eyes were on my breasts, and I felt my breath hitch in my chest as I began breathing more rapidly.

“My shirt got wet,” I said, shrugging. “And I had to wash my bra so…”