The Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club, Books 1-3 (128 page)
Read The Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club, Books 1-3 Online
Authors: Sarah Castille
For a moment, he couldn't speak. How could he explain the emotions he'd kept bottled up inside for the last few months, the hopes and dreams that had come true when the judge dismissed the case?
“I'm free.” He braced himself, and turned to face her. “All the charges have been dropped.”
“Oh.” She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh Zane. I'm so happy.” She threw herself into his arms, her new riding leathers creaking. He'd bought her a full set of leathers for the trip to Stanton. And after she'd tried them on in their bedroom, he stripped them right off her. He had a wild streak when it came to his old lady, and the sight of her in leather had given him all sorts of ideas.
He was having those ideas right now. His Evie was beautiful in the twilight, her hair shining to gold, almost the same color as the late summer leaves of the willow tree.
“Come sit with me.” She pulled away. “Here by the creek like we used to do. Tell me all about it.”
Zane shook his head. “I promised if this day came, I would give you a choice. I need to know, Evie. Do we live or leave the life? It's up to you.”
Her beautiful face softened. “I made my choice a long time ago. Wherever you go, whatever you do, however you live your life, I want to be with you”
Zane's heart squeezed in his chest. He was nothing and came from nothing. And yet, he had made something of his life. He had a family now, and enough money that assured they would want for nothing. He had his brothers, a home, a kick-ass bike, and an embarrassing, but safe, Volvo. And he had dared to hope. Twenty-eight years old and he still wanted the girl he'd met when he was ten.
“It's always been you,” she said. “Ever since the day we first met. I've loved you since I was eight years old and I'll love you always.”
His world shifted, darkness becoming light, despair turning to desire. Although he had dreamed of this moment, wanted her with an intensity that took his breath away, he reigned it all in and kissed her with a gentleness that belied the torrent of emotions flooding through his body.
She sighed into his mouth and he crushed her against him as he had last night when they thought it might be their last time together. Sensation overwhelmed him: the coffee and cream taste on her lips, her scent of jasmine and the open road, the warm summer breeze, the softness of her body beneath her leathers.
“I have a present for you.” She handed him a package wrapped in pink tissue paper. “It's nothing big. I'm sure what Jagger got you⦔
“Jagger got me a custom set of pipes that he was planning to take back if I wound up in jail.” He gave her a wry smile. “So unless you got the same thing, I'll love it. And even if it is, I'll love it, because it came from you.”
He tore off the paper and stared at the photograph in the handmade frame, painted with Evie's signature style. Jagger had taken the picture of him, Evie, and Ty on the couch one afternoon while they were playing a new video game. Zane had managed to survive for the first ten levels before Evie ripped off his head with her feline claws.
Emotion welled up in his throat. “It's good.”
“Good?” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you know how long it took me to make that frame?”
Yeah, he knew. Because he had made one nine years ago, never imagining that one day it would be sitting on the mantle in the home he shared with Evie and their son.
Gently, he drew her down to the forest floor. He had hoped for this moment, dreamed of this moment. His heart made whole again.
And he made love to his beautiful Evie under the setting sun on the last day of summer in Stanton.
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To Monique, Alex, and the team at St. Martin's Press for the magnitude of what you do, and to my agent, Laura Bradford, who never gives up hope that I will learn American spelling. To my fabulous Street Team, Sarah's Sassy Readers, for all your enthusiasm and support, and to Danielle Gorman for keeping me organized. To Danielle Barclay and Mandy Lawler for your boundless energy and creative ideas. And, finally, to my own little tribe for their patience, love, support and blueberry and cucumber kebabs.
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
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SINNER'S STEEL
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Copyright © 2015 by Sarah Castille.
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eISBN: 978-1-4668-6042-1
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St. Martin's Paperbacks edition / October 2015
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Don't miss the final book in this sizzling series by
Sarah Castille
Chaos Bound
Available from St. Martin's Paperbacks
Read on for an excerpt from the next book by
SARAH CASTILLE
NICO
Coming soon from St. Martin's Paperbacks
“You think I won't hurt you because you're a woman?” Nico tugged his weapon from its holster and held it under Mia's chin, tilting her head back, forcing her to meet his gaze. “I don't give a damn about tradition,
bella
. All I care about is making sure justice is done.”
“Holy shit. Oh god. Mia!” Jules sucked in a deep breath and Mia cut her off before she screamed.
“I'll be fine, Jules. He's not going to shoot me in a public place with family all around. But you go. Let Dante know we're here.” She didn't drop her gaze from Nico's, didn't want him to have the satisfaction of seeing her scared because, dammit, she hadn't done anything wrong. And she wasn't going to be intimidated by anyone ever again.
“You underestimate me,” he said softly as Jules' footsteps faded away.
“And you misjudge me.” She palmed her knife and slowly moved her hand to his groin. “I suggest you lower that gun or you won't be passing on the tradition of shoving your gun in the face of a woman to any Toscani sons.” She jerked her hand upward, just enough so he could feel the blade.
For the briefest of seconds, surprise flickered across his face, but it was so fast she wondered if she'd seen it. His jaw tightened, and he growled. “Drop the knife.”
“Drop the gun.”
He held her gaze for another heartbeat and lowered the weapon. “You are your father's daughter.”
“If I didn't hate him so much, I'd take that as a compliment.” Mia hiked up her skirt to tuck the knife away and Nico hissed in a breath.
She looked up, her body heating at the raw desire in his eyes. “You like women with knives?” She slid the knife into its sheath and looked down as she straightened her dress to hide the flush in her cheeks.
“There's nothing as sexy as a woman with a weapon.” He gave her a slow, sensual smile.
Mia snorted a laugh. “I think sex was the last thing on your mind when I had my knife between your legs.”
The deep rumble of Nico's voice vibrated through her body. “Sex was all I was thinking about.”
Electricity crackled between them, sparking the connection she'd felt the first time they met. “Are you trying to hit on me at a funeral after pulling a gun on me?”
Nico slid a hand around her waist and pulled her against him, his body hot and hard against hers. “I don't try. I do. And when there's something I want, I take it.”
For some curious reason, the intensity of his desire scared her more than his gun. Nico Toscani had clawed his way to the top, eliminating every obstacle in his way through a combination of brute force, fierce intelligence and ruthless determination. He missed nothing, and from the way the corners of his mouth lifted in a half smile, it was clear he hadn't missed the way her body heated at his touch.
“Too bad for you I'm not available,” she said.
With his free hand he fisted her hair, tugging her head back, holding her firm as he studied her face. He had beautiful eyes, dark and deep with a hint of gold. His heated scrutiny made her blood simmer and pool low in her stomach.
“You got a man?”
“A man” in mafia speak meant a made man, someone who had jumped through the hoops to be inducted into a crime family. If she were attached to a made manâeither as a wife, mistress or girlfriendâ then he couldn't touch her without causing the equivalent of a civil war between crime families. It would be considered the ultimate in disrespect.
Mia suspected Nico wasn't the kind of man who would care if he started a war to get something he wanted. And right now, with the evidence of his desire pressed tight against her belly, she was pretty damn sure he wanted her.
“I don't have a man. I'm my own boss, and unless you want me to pull out my knife again, you'll let go of my hair.”
“Hmmm.” He nuzzled her neck, his erection thickening between them. “I'd like to fuck you,
bella
, with that dress off and only your little knife strapped to your thigh.”
Goddamn it. If he'd been any other devastatingly gorgeous man coming on to her so strong, she would have invited him home for a few hours of hot sex. Hell, she would have considered dragging him into the nearest alley and getting down and dirty with him before the reception. But Nico was the enemy, a powerful and dangerous man, and she couldn't risk starting a war between their families.
Falling back on the self-defense techniques she'd learned from Bennett, she smashed her hand down on his, trapping it against his head. In one quick move she stepped back and bent over, tucking her chin down and forcing his trapped wrist backward. With a grunt, Nico released her and Mia backed away.
Far from being angry, or showing even a hint of pain, he seemed amused by her escape, and no small bit aroused. He licked his lips, his gaze locking on hers, his body tense as if he were about to pounce.
“You shouldn't have done that,
bella
.” His smooth, sensual voice was dark with warning. “Now, I will never let you go.”
Sarah Castille
is an award-winning author who writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame them. Her books have appeared on the
USA Today
and
New York Times
bestseller lists. You can sign up for author updates
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