Steel 2: Blackthorne MC #2 (6 page)

“I’m just teasing you, Ella.” He took my hand in his and then pressed my fingers to his lips as his eyes remained fixed on my face. “We wouldn’t want Nick to get jealous now, would we?” He turned, and I followed the direction of his gaze.

Nick stood by the bar, glaring at us. I’d never seen him look so mad.

“I’d say you have made quite an impression there, Ella.”

More than anything, I wanted to pull my hand away from Victor and run over to Nick, but that was stupid. Nick wasn’t my savior. He wasn’t the white knight I wanted him to be. Victor was the only one who could save me. He and he alone could grant permission for me to go home. Without his say-so, I could be trapped here indefinitely.

“I really would like to go home,” I said dully. Deep down, I had started to believe they would never let me go. Why would they take the risk? It would be easy to get rid of me out here in the desert.

“Of course you can go home.”

I looked up sharply. “What?”

“I don’t want to keep you here against your will, Ella. Chad and Tom are returning to Vegas on Monday. They can take you with them.”

Monday. That wasn’t long to wait. Could he be telling the truth? Would Victor keep his word?

I blinked unable to quite believe it. Was he really going to let me go, just like that? I waited for the inevitable but, or for him to burst out laughing and tell me he was only joking. But he didn’t. He just continued smiling pleasantly at me.

“Are you really going to let me leave?” I asked. “On Monday, with Chad and Tom?” I added for clarification.

What had I missed? Surely it couldn’t be this easy. All my senses were on high alert.
 

He leaned so close to me I could smell the liquor on his breath. Every instinct I had seemed to be screaming at me not to trust him.

Victor Blackthorne nodded. “Yes, and I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Of course, since it was my fault you missed your flight back home, I’ll arrange to pay for your flight back to… Where was it again?”

“JFK.” My voice sounded shocked. I still couldn’t believe it. “So after all this, just like that, you’re letting me go?”

Victor smiled. “I’m truly sorry for putting you through this, Ella. I’m happy to let you go as long as you promise not to mention your time with us here at Blackthorne.”

He didn’t talk like a biker at all. He was too well spoken, and what sort of badass biker said he was
truly sorry
?

Somehow, his eloquent speech made me feel even more uneasy. His expression grew serious.

“You must tell no one my name. You must never mention you even met me.”

I nodded. “Sure.” I was prepared to agree to pretty much anything now that he was allowing me to leave. “It’s all very secretive,” I said, and then added hurriedly, “but I’m very good at keeping secrets.”

He served up that charming smile again. “That’s good, Ella. I’m glad I can trust you with my secrets.”

I licked my lips again and broke eye contact, looking down at the table. His gaze was so intense it made me feel jittery. I caught sight of his cell phone on the table, beside his bottle of beer and whiskey chaser.

“Would I be able to use your cell? Only, I think my friend will be worried sick about me.”

Claire. God, I hoped she was okay. I was scared to mention her name to Victor in case he decided to track her down.

Victor raised an eyebrow then burst out laughing. “You are a breath of fresh air, Ella.” He leaned forward to whisper in my ear. “Most people are scared to ask me for things, but you… You don’t ask to borrow
a
cell phone, you ask to use
mine
.”

He was really laughing now, but I didn’t see what was so funny. I’d already asked the others if I could use their cell phones, and they’d said no. I was desperate to hear Claire’s voice again and reassure myself she was okay.

“Don’t look so hurt, Ella. I admire your directness. Here,” he said and slid the cell phone across the table. My fingers itched to pick it up, but I was worried it was a trap.

My eyes flickered up to his.
 

“Go ahead, take it. You can return it later when you’re done.” He raised his beer and took a sip before shaking his head and chuckling again. “Have fun tonight, Ella. Try to relax. Let Jackson buy you a drink.” He nodded behind me, and I turned and saw that Jackson had been standing behind us.

I wasn’t sure how long he’d been there, but I had been completely unaware of his presence the whole time. He was so silent and still he almost looked like a statue, and for a moment, he appeared frozen before he nodded once at Victor and then smiled seductively at me.

“That would be my pleasure.” He held out his hand for mine, a very old-fashioned gesture.

I hesitated for a moment, and then scooped up the cell phone and took Jackson’s hand. His fingers were warm, and my small hand was lost in his huge grasp. He tightened his grip as if he were warning me of something, but I had no idea what. I shot him a confused glance, but he was staring straight ahead.

“One more thing, Ella,” Victor said, and I looked back. “Once you leave here, you are to have no further contact with members of the Blackthorne crew. No contact with
any
members.” His gaze shifted to focus on Nick at the bar.

Nick’s stance was still rigid, like he was prepared to pounce at a moments’ notice.
 

“That includes Nick Steel,” Victor added softly, in case I hadn’t gotten his point.

I couldn’t explain why, but I felt a hollow ache low down in my stomach. I hated the thought of not seeing Nick again, and my body reacted physically at the thought of never being with him, never feeling his touch, never seeing those eyes blaze in lust again…

I tried to tell myself it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I would soon be home, back in my little apartment, ready to take the next semester of medical school… But my chest ached at the thought of leaving him.

“Do you understand, Ella?” Victor asked softly.

I swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

Nick

It nearly killed me standing there, watching Victor talk to Ella. I wanted to take her away from all of this. I hated seeing Victor laughing and joking, and watching him bring her hand to his lips sent a rush of fiery fury flooding through my veins.

I don’t know how it happened.

How was it possible that in such a short time, Ella had completely and utterly claimed to me? I knew then that I would risk everything to keep her safe.

I had been worrying that Victor would decide to get rid of her permanently if he still considered her a risk. I knew without a doubt, if he gave that order, I would take them all on, the whole crew, to protect her. I would save her, or die trying.

The waiting was agony. Victor was charm itself, with his smarmy smile and his attentiveness. I could see through it all. Victor wasn’t a reasonable man. He was a dangerous man, and I knew that from personal experience. Until Ella, there was no way I would have contemplated going against his wishes, but now… No one, not even Victor Blackthorne, would hurt her without going through me first.

Chad and Tom were at the bar too. They were chatting and drinking, but all the while keeping an eye on Victor and Ella. I wasn’t so inconspicuous. I couldn’t tear my eyes away, and I couldn’t hide it even if I’d wanted to.

When Jackson took her hand and led her away from Victor, I wanted to tear his arms from his body just for touching her. It was now a different kind of heat flowing through my veins, and to my shock, I realized that I was jealous.

When he’d arrived on the scene, after he’d done his first job with Victor, he’d been an instant hit with the ladies. His cool, good looks made him stand out from the rest of the crew. I couldn’t see the appeal myself. He was a slippery and as dangerous as ice. I’d nicknamed him the iceberg, and I thought that described him perfectly. I was sure Jackson had a lot going on below the surface as he cruised through life destroying anything that got in his way.

As he approached me — walking much too close to Ella for my liking – I tried to hide my fury. I’m not sure I was very convincing.

He smiled at me as if he had a secret that could destroy me.

Jackson’s eyes flickered to Ella, as he delivered her to my side. “I think Steel would like to have you to himself right now, Ella. I’ll give you a raincheck for that drink.”

He hesitated, and for a moment, I had the enraging thought that he was about to kiss her. My fists clenched at my sides. I’d knock him out if he tried it.

But Jackson just smiled again and slipped away from us, and my attention moved to Ella who was trembling. What had that bastard said to her?

“Ella,” I murmured, pulling her in towards me and wrapping my arms around her. I breathed in the soft, strawberry scent of her silky hair. The way her warm body pressed against mine felt so right. She belonged in my arms, and I felt my heartbeat slow back down to a steady pace as I held her. “What happened?”

She pulled back and looked up at me. Her eyes were shining, but she wasn’t crying. “He said I can go home.”

The words shocked me to the core. I hadn’t expected that.

I looked back towards Victor and saw that he was watching me with a cold smile on his face.

“You’re going home?”

She nodded and grinned at me. “Yes, on Monday.”

I tried to swallow the bitter taste in my mouth. Monday? That wasn’t enough time. I tried to smile.
 

This was what she wanted. This was the best possible outcome, so why did it feel as if someone had driven a knife into my gut?

“That’s great,” I said, pulling her back into my arms so she wouldn’t look up and realize from the expression on my face that I was a selfish bastard. I wanted her to stay. I detested myself for my weakness and selfishness.

After a moment, I looked down at her and tilted her chin so I could kiss her soft, pink lips. “Monday, huh? Why don’t we get out of here so I can take you to bed, and we can make the most of the time we have left?”

It was the easy way out, choosing to take her to bed so I wouldn’t have to confess how much this was killing me, but I needed to feel those sweet, lush curves and lose myself in her body before she left me.

I felt a tingle of excitement as Nick took my hand. I would miss this. I would miss the way my body responded to him in an instant. I’d never had that with anyone before. As I followed him down the corridor, I took the chance to study his broad shoulders, powerful arms, and tight ass. I wanted to drink him in. After Monday, I’d never get the chance again.

Let’s make the most of the time we had left…

The line played on a loop in my head, and I tried to push it away. I didn’t want to think about Monday, not yet. I wanted to lose myself in Nick’s embrace. I didn’t want to think about anything other than the way he made me feel.

He looked back at me over his shoulder and gave me a slow, sexy smile that sent a bolt of heat sizzling through me. The look he gave me held so much promise of the pleasure to come. I was oblivious to all the people we passed as we made our way back to the room I’d been allocated. I could only focus on Nick. My mind was full of all the things I hoped he was going to do to me. If I was going to leave on Monday, I wanted to take some fantastic memories with me.

He pulled me into the bedroom and shut the door behind us. His eyes burned into mine as he pressed me back against the closed door and stroked my hair. “Are you okay, Ella?”

Instead of answering him, I went up onto my tiptoes, interlaced my fingers behind his head, and pulled him down towards me, so I could kiss him. His lips parted beneath mine, and I traced my tongue along his soft lower lip, feeling his stubble scratch my skin. I kissed him harder, clinging onto him.

He put his hands beneath my ass and scooped me up in his arms. I gasped and wrapped my legs around his waist. I could feel his hardness pressing into me, and it was such a turn on. I was so ready for him, so wet already.

He pulled back slightly so he could look down into my face. His eyes were burning with such an intensity my breath caught in my throat. His arms tightened around me, and I ground myself wantonly against him. The bulge behind his zipper was huge, and I knew he wanted me as much as I wanted him.
 

He looked as if he might have wanted to say something, but then he thought better of it and crushed his lips to mine, interlocking his tongue with mine.
 

I couldn’t get enough of him. The way he tasted… The way he smelled… And the way his hard body felt beneath my fingers.

When he pulled away again, his breath was coming hot and fast. He groaned as I shifted myself against him and reached a hand down towards his zipper. I stared into his eyes as I traced my fingers along the bulge in his jeans.

“Oh, God, Ella,” he murmured as I continued to stroke him beneath the denim.

“I need to feel you inside me,” I whispered. I wanted to remember this moment for the rest of my life.

He gave me a crooked grin. “My pleasure.”

He slid his hand beneath my clothes and moved his fingers upwards until he reached the lace of my panties. I flushed because he’d be able to tell how aroused I was already. The lace was already wet. His eyes darkened as his fingers found my most intimate spot. “Christ, Ella.”