Текст книги "Sinner's Steel"

Автор книги: Sarah Castille

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

T-Rex had sacrificed himself for Evie. Zane owed him a debt. And if he had to repay it with his life, he would die a happy man. He had held Evie in his arms one last time. He had a son to carry on his name.

What more could a man want?

FIFTEEN

Don’t get distracted while doing your repair. You have one goal, and one goal only. Make it run and make it run good.

—SINNER’S TRIBE MOTORCYCLE REPAIR MANUAL

Perfect woman for Jagger, Evie thought as she shook Arianne’s hand. In the fifteen minutes she and Ty had been in Sparky’s shop, Arianne had barked orders at a couple of bikers, thrown a wrench at Sparky, and tuned up a V-Rod Muscle to the thudding beat of Saxon’s “Motorcycle Man.” A little heavy for midday, but no one complained when Arianne hooked her phone up to the speaker system and blasted the tunes.

Evie tried not to stare, but it was hard to look away from the contrast of Arianne’s beauty—long, thick brown hair, startling green eyes, sharply-defined features—and the baggy gray coveralls she wore for her work as a journeyman mechanic in Sparky’s shop. Evie had always wondered what kind of woman could put up with Jagger’s forceful personality, but now she knew. Formidable in her own right, Arianne was his perfect match.

“So you’re Zane’s new girlfriend.” Arianne gave her a frank, appraising look and gestured her over to the worn brown couch in the corner. Tucked away in the corner of an industrial estate, the corrugated metal warehouse had been converted into a spacious, brightly lit garage, complete with neatly filled tool racks, comfortable furniture, and work bays for five bikes.

“I have to say I never thought I’d see him with a woman,” Arianne continued. “He’s a dark horse, our Zane. When I first came to the club, he thought I was a Black Jack spy sent to seduce Jagger and take down the Sinners, and he did everything he could to get rid of me.”

“I’m surprised he’s still alive.”

Arianne’s eyes widened and she grinned. “Jagger likes him so I let it slide.”

“We’re not really together,” Evie said quickly. “We were friends growing up, and then we lost touch.” So they’d had sex. It hardly counted for a relationship, although she knew a lot more about Zane than she did about most of the men she had dated. But that was Zane before. Not Zane now.

“Friends who have a son together.” Arianne nodded at Ty who was watching attentively as Sparky changed a tire.

“Yeah. I don’t know how that’s going to work out. I mean, with the whole biker thing…”

“Lots of the club members have kids,” Arianne said. “They just keep their home life separate from their biker life, except for Sunday rides and club parties when the old ladies show up and cause trouble. You’ll get a taste of that at the party tonight.”

“Don’t scare her off.” Sparky, the Sinner road chief, and serious a contender for Tall, Dark, and Handsome Man of the Year, with his thick, brown hair and piercing blue eyes, wiped his hands on an old rag. “At least not until she’s given us the down and dirty about Jagger and Zane.”

“That kind of information is only shared among old ladies.” Arianne smirked. “So unless you want to hang with Sandy, Dawn, Evie, me and a bunch of old ladies tonight, you’re out of luck.” She put her feet up on the coffee table, and her brow creased. “Evie’s also going to tell us what she was doing with Viper when Zane was riding around available for the taking, ’cause I’m guessing she’s a few years younger than me and given that Viper’s my dad, that’s kinda … not something I really want to think about.”

Evie’s cheeks heated and she drew in a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scents of grease and paint. “I didn’t—”

“And I’m outta here.” Sparky tossed the rag on a tool bench affixed to the wall. “Gotta get back to man stuff: fixing engines, tuning bikes, using tools—”

“What I was just doing,” Arianne interjected.

Sparky flipped her the bird. “Ty. Bud. C’mon over here and I’ll show you my manly socket wrenches.”

“You don’t have to tell me anything,” Arianne said after Sparky had taken Ty to the furthest corner of the garage. “I just found it hard to believe when Jagger told me. I never saw any kindness in Viper. He was a cold, hard, cruel father, and a vicious, ruthless bastard who twisted my brother, and killed my mother because he thought she was having an affair.”

Evie’s mouth opened and closed again. She was at a complete loss for words. Had everything between Her and Viper been an act? Every word? Every conversation? His gentle kisses and soft words? As with Derek and Mark, had she failed to see the monster behind the man? Was she making the same mistake with Zane? How could she ever trust herself?

“I’m sorry.” Arianne grimaced. “I shouldn’t have said that. You obviously saw a side of him no one else has seen. Maybe he was different with you. There were times when he was caring with my mother. Obviously. Or she would never have stuck it out.”

Was that it? Or had she been wearing blinders all her life, shutting out what she didn’t want to see in her dogged pursuit of a dream that never was going to come true? “Maybe she stayed because of you,” Evie said. “I stayed in a bad marriage for Ty. That’s why I’m done with relationships.”

Arianne lifted an admonishing eyebrow. “Better tell that to Zane. He came down here and laid down the law. It was the usual possessive, protective, territorial biker thing: you’re his, blah, blah, blah; he’ll kill anyone who touches you, blah, blah, blah; no one who wants to keep his balls can look at you, blah, blah, blah; don’t even breathe the same air … you get the drill.”

“He said that?”

“He said it with a difference.” Arianne’s smile faded. “Because he’s Zane. He doesn’t talk much, but when he says something, he means it.”

*   *   *

Sparky’s shop shook with the hard beat of metal music, the thud of the bass carrying up the stairs where Evie had just put Ty to bed before changing for the party. She had only packed one fancy outfit in her suitcase, a Scandinavian-style black dress in a crepe fabric with unique cut outs on the sides and front, and a wide bandeau strip across her breasts. Not really her style, but Connie had convinced her to buy it one Saturday afternoon by feigning a collapse in the store dressing room when she tried it on.

Zane met her in the hallway at the foot of the stairs. He’d been out all day at the clubhouse dealing with the situation with T-Rex. Evie’s gaze skittered from the tips of his heavy, dust-covered biker boots, to his low-riding jeans, snug in all the right places, and then over his muscle-hugging T-shirt to his tanned, frowning face. Memories of what they’d done last night sent a wave of heat through her body and her cheeks flushed.

“You’re showing a lot of skin.” His frown became a scowl as his gaze swept over her body. “Do you know what it does to a man when he gets a glimpse of something he’s not supposed to see?”

“Does that mean you like it?”

Zane splayed his hand under the back panel of the dress, his fingers skimming the edge of her panties as he pulled her against him. “It means I only got two hands, and there’s a lot of brothers who won’t be able to take their eyes off you since you’re showing more skin than dress.” He pulled his hand from beneath her dress, and slapped her ass. “Go change.”

Evie cried out in surprise. The slap was more of a sting than true pain, but the responding throb in her sex shocked her, made her wonder what would happen if he slapped her again. But the sudden thrill quickly turned to indignation.

“Seriously?” Evie glared at him, her mouth agape. “You’re ordering me to go and change my clothes? I’ve seen some of the clothes the old ladies are wearing. I look like a nun compared to them.”

“You got a habit upstairs, I’ll be a happy man.”

“I’m not changing, Zane.” She leaned against the wall, folded her arms over her chest. “Even if we were together, which we’re not, I wouldn’t let you tell me what to wear. I went through that with Mark. He was insecure right from the start because he never felt he could measure up to you and Jagger. When he lost his job, he started drinking again and that just made it worse. And when we had to rely on my income, he couldn’t deal with it. He started following me around, trying to cut me off from my friends, checking my phone, and showing up at work. He threw out some of my clothes, called me a slut…”

“Jesus Christ. Once we get T-Rex, I’m fucking going after him.” Zane leaned one elbow beside her and traced the cutout on the left side of her dress with his free hand, his finger warm against her skin. “What if I ask real nice?”

Evie bit back a smile at his sudden change in demeanor. “Jagger saw my dress. He didn’t have a problem.”

“Because you aren’t his.” He slid his hand beneath the front panel of her dress, his finger dipping down to her mound, sending a sizzle of erotic sensation straight to her clit. “You’re mine.”

Flustered by his possessiveness given that she’d pretty much booted him out of her room last night, she had no idea what to say. And when he pulled her in close and lowered his face until their noses were almost touching, she wanted nothing more than to run her tongue over his lips and forget about speech all together.

“You showing something that belongs to me makes it my problem,” he murmured.

“I don’t belong to you, Zane.”

“Last night.” He feathered kisses along her jaw, following her jugular to the hollow at the base of her throat. “Says you do.” His hands slid down to her ass and his fingers dug into her cheeks. “Way I feel now, thinking of the brothers lookin’ at you, touching you, and you showing off what you shared with me last night, says you do.”

Desire pulsed through her, a deep throb that intensified with every second. “It was just sex.”

“You and me, sweetheart … it’s never just anything.”

“C’mon you two. Jagger’s about to give a speech.” Sparky’s voice pulled Evie out of the moment and she clasped Zane’s hand.

“Looks like I win by default,” Evie said. “I wouldn’t want to disrespect Jagger by missing his speech.”

He stared at her for a long moment, and then he dropped her hand and slid his arm around her waist. “It’s gonna be a long fucking night.”

They made their way into the shop, now emptied of bikes and filled with bikers. Zane introduced her to Cade, the club treasurer, a blond, blue-eyed, drop-dead gorgeous biker with a cheeky smile, and his old lady, Dawn, who could have passed for his sister. After chatting with them and meeting a few more bikers, she spotted Tank sipping a beer at the far edge of the garage and excused herself to join him.

“You’re looking kinda down.” Relieved to be away from the crowd, she eased herself up on the bench beside him, her feet dangling off the floor.

“Missing T-Rex.”

Evie wasn’t surprised. In the short time she’d been around the Sinners, Tank and T-Rex were always together. “Yeah, I was surprised the Sinners were having a party when T-Rex was still … with Viper.”

He shrugged. “It’s Jagger’s way of boosting morale before the big raid. We’re goin’ in to get him, and he says not all of us are gonna come out in one piece.”

Evie caught her breath. “Jagger’s sending you on a suicide mission?”

“We gotta get T-Rex. We don’t leave brothers behind. And while we’re there, we’re gonna take down the Jacks. They’re outta control. One-percenters like us don’t got many rules, but we got some and the Jacks are breaking them all. No one is safe—old ladies, kids, even civilians.”

“Is everyone going on the raid?”

Tank gave her a sympathetic look. “Every brother who can ride. Even the family men. We’re all in or we’re all dead, the way things are going now. Zane’s on point. That means he’s going in first, taking the biggest risk. He says it’s ’cause he owes T-Rex a debt and if someone’s gotta die—”

“No one is dying on my watch.” Jagger came up behind Evie and rested his hand on her shoulder. “And this isn’t going be some haphazard raid. Everything will be planned with military precision. Nothing will be left to chance.”

“Except we don’t know if T-Rex is alive or dead.” Tank’s voice wavered. “Or even if he’s in the Black Jack clubhouse.”

“We got some good intel on that this afternoon, brother.” Jagger made a fist and bumped knuckles with Tank. “We all care about T-Rex and we’re gonna bring him back. But maybe I’ll save all that for my speech. I’m going to get an update from Shaggy, and then we’ll toast T-Rex.”

Sparky and Shooter waved them over to the makeshift bar after Jagger left, and soon had Evie laughing about how the club picked biker road names from events that happened when each biker was a prospect. Road Kill, Rubber, Sweet Cheeks, and Hard On had suffered the most from the Sinners’ collective sense of humor. Executive board members were allowed to use first names when they were elected and Jagger, Zane, Dax, and Cade had taken that option.

“What’s Zane’s road name?” She hadn’t even thought to ask, just as she hadn’t thought to ask Viper’s real name. Evie made a mental note to ask Arianne, not that she planned to see Viper again, but she still couldn’t understand why she had seen a different side of the man, one that no one else had seen, and why that man had disappeared the night she met him at Riverside Bar.

“Tracker. ’Cause he can hunt down anything or anyone that’s gone missing.” Gunner, a giant of a man and well-suited to his role as club enforcer, shoved four Tequila Slammers across the bar, and Evie grimaced. Nothing went to her head faster than the fizzy combination of tequila and soda. Exactly what she needed tonight.

They did two slammers each and then Tank raised his third glass.

“Here’s to T-Rex.” Tank covered the drink with his hand, slammed it on the counter, then shot it back with one gulp. Beside him, Sparky did the same, and then Shooter followed suit.

Evie covered her glass, but before she could slam the drink on the counter, a warm, broad hand covered hers, and Zane came up behind her. “I think you’ve had enough.”

Oh did he now? Evie pressed her lips together and glanced over at Tank with his wide eyes and vigorously shaking head. How utterly humiliating. As if she didn’t know how much she could drink.

“Okay.” She looked back over her shoulder and forced a smile for the dark, glowering man behind her, arm tensed for the moment he removed his hand.

Zane grunted his approval and slid his hand up her arm to her shoulder, his touch sending a sensual prickle over her skin. “Maybe we should—”

Slam. She banged the glass on the counter, waited two seconds until it fizzed, and then shot it back. If she’d learned anything during her marriage to Mark, it was how to set boundaries. Although Mark was controlling, he was at heart an insecure man. Zane, on the other hand, was utterly dominant and if she didn’t draw her line in the sand now, he would walk all over her when it came to decisions about Ty. “Thanks, Gunner. I’ll have another.”

She turned and met Zane’s gaze, lifting her chin the tiniest bit just to let him know his dark scowl didn’t affect her, but deep inside, fear curled in her belly. Not because she was afraid of him—for all the darkness in him, and the fear and respect he engendered in his brothers, he was still her Zane—but because she didn’t know if she’d pushed him too far. Was this the moment he would walk away?

Silence. No one moved. No one spoke. Clearly she had crossed some hidden line.

Braced for his reaction, Evie expected a growl or even a shout, perhaps even the sight of his back as he walked away. So when he grabbed her hair, yanked her head back, and sealed his lips over hers in a fierce, possessive kiss, she gave in without a fight, her arms twining around his neck as he ravaged her mouth.

“Well … that was … unexpected,” she said when he gave her a moment to catch her breath. “Maybe I should have another drink.”

He drew her to the side of the bar, away from the curious stares of his brothers. His hands slid over her bare skin, exposed by the cutouts in the dress, and then he yanked her against him and pressed his lips to her ear. “Don’t push me, sweetheart.”

“I already pushed you.”

“And I’m still here,” he said quietly, giving her the reassurance she needed, although she had no idea how he understood her so well.

“Maybe we can be friends again.” She pressed herself against him, breathing in his scent of leather and liquor, and the faintest hint of smoke. He snorted a laugh. “Friends don’t fuck like we did last night.”

Crude. But true. In fact, she’d never had a boyfriend who’d made her come the way Zane had last night. And he was right; it wasn’t just sex. They had a connection. Whether it was from their shared past, their child, or something deeper, she didn’t know.

He kissed the rise of her breasts above the thin strip of fabric, his hands encircling her waist, fingers trailing up and down the small of her back. “And they don’t fuck the way I’m gonna fuck you now.”

“Maybe I don’t want to fuck in the middle of Sparky’s garage while the Sinners party around us.”

Just saying the word fuck sent a naughty thrill through her body. And the thought of fucking Zane right here, right now made her mouth water. How long had it been since she’d taken a risk? How many years since she’d felt that rush of adrenaline she’d shared only with Zane?

“I can smell sex on you, Evie,” he murmured as he licked along the shell of her ear. “If I slid my hand into your panties, I’d find you wet and ready for me.”

His dirty talk made her pussy wet, her nipples hard, and sent desire through her like a crashing wave. Her hips swayed, grinding ever so lightly against his rigid shaft, and she gripped his forearm when he slid one hand beneath the front panel of her dress, and into her panties, his fingers resting just above her clit. The world faded away, the bikers laughing and talking around them, the music pulsating through her body, the clink of glasses as Gunner poured drinks. There was just her and Zane and an ache only he could take away.

“That makes you hot.” With his free hand he caressed her thigh, just at the hem of her dress, lifting it slowly, exposing her creamy skin to his ardent caress.

“Yes,” she whispered. There was no point denying the potent chemistry between them. Plain and simple, Zane made her burn.

“I make you hot.” Passion and raw hunger blazed in his eyes, and something darker, deeper, something that curled warm in her belly, spreading out to her fingers and toes.

“Scorching.” She rocked against him.

“Tell me you want me.” His hand snaked up her back, fisted her hair. She gasped at the sharp pain, felt a rush of heat between her legs.

“I want you, Zane.” And she did. She wanted this, the thrill, the risk, the rush.

She wanted him.

*   *   *

Fuck she was sexy, with her lush lips, pink and glistening, wanting him to fill her sweet mouth. She labored her breaths, teasing him with the view of her breasts rising and falling, taut nipples just waiting to be pinched. The act of claiming her, knowing his brothers were watching, curious about the first woman Zane had ever brought to a club function was unexpectedly, inexplicably erotic and he’d never gotten so hard so fast in his life.

Consumed with desire, he released her and led her out of the shop and into the hallway leading outside. With a low growl, he shoved her up against the wall between the stairwell and the washroom, then yanked her dress up over her hips.

“Zane!”

Heedless of her cry, he pushed her silky panties aside and pressed a finger into her wet heat, angling his body to keep that particular intimacy hidden from anyone who might be watching.

“You’re so fucking wet.”

“And you’re so fucking sexy.” She rocked her hips against his finger.

Christ, was there anything hotter than his woman needing him? Zane’s blood pooled in his groin. He would give her what she wanted and more. When he’d first arrived at the shop this evening, he’d been off-kilter, still thrown by her withdrawal the night before and the mess he’d made of the morning with Ty. But now, with Evie willing and responsive to his touch, he felt grounded. In control.

“He removed his finger and replaced it with two, parting her thighs with a gentle nudge of his knee.

“Oh, God.” Her nails dug into his forearm as he thrust his fingers deep into her wetness. “Is this what happens at all the Sinner parties?”

“I wouldn’t know. Usually I take watch.” He rubbed his fingers along her sensitive inner walls, and her pussy tightened around him.

“They must have been … surprised … to see you … tonight.” She stammered, breathless, close to climax, her body trembling.

“More like shock.” He slowed his thrusts, teasing her with light, shallow strokes, taking her down so he could send her higher, make her scream. “Never brought a woman to the club either, so they got a double dose.”

Her head fell back against the wall and she moaned. “I feel flattered.”

“What else do you feel, sweetheart?” He added a third finger and thrust in so deep her breath caught in her throat.

“I feel like I need to come.”

“Soon. But not here.” He withdrew his fingers, wiping her wetness along her inner thigh so she would have something to remember as they made their way upstairs. “I don’t want to share any more of you than you’ve already shared with my brothers.”

“Yo! Zane.” A highly inebriated Tank stumbled toward them as Zane steered Evie toward the stairwell, his mind focused on getting her naked and upstairs as quickly as possible.

“Not now, brother.”

“Where’s Connie tonight?” Oblivious to Zane’s scowl, Tank leaned against the wall and took a swig from the beer bottle in his hand.

Blushing, Evie reached out to steady him. “She’s with her grandmother in in Joilet.”

Tank leaned closer, slurring his words. “She’s one hot chick.”

“Back off.” Zane shoved Tank in the chest. “Maintain a perimeter.”

“Hey, brother. We were just having a conversation.” Tank jerked away from Zane’s touch and the beer in his hand splashed over Evie’s dress.

“Jesus. Fuck.” Without thinking, Zane hauled back and punched Tank in the face. Control around Evie, it seemed, was fleeting.

Evie gasped as Tank staggered back and into the shop, Zane following him. People scattered. Someone chanted “Fight! Fight!” and a space cleared around them. Unlike civilian parties, fights were expected and, in fact, encouraged at biker events.

Tank recovered quickly and launched himself at Zane, who stepped neatly to the side, sending Tank sailing in the crowd. Sparky and Gunner lifted Tank and pushed him back into the ring. He spun around and scowled. “I didn’t mean any offense, fuck-wit.”

“Offense taken.” Zane hit him again, landing a punch in Tank’s stomach. Tank retaliated with a quick thrust kick, followed by a sequence of punches that had Zane reeling.

“Zane. Please. Stop. He didn’t mean it,” Evie shouted. But now that his tension had found an outlet, Zane wasn’t interested in stopping until Tank was on the ground.

Of course, Tank was so named for a reason and he absorbed blow after blow, until Zane’s wrists ached from the effort of trying to knock him down.

In a last-ditch attempt to end the fight, Tank ran at Zane, picking up speed as he crossed the floor to the cheers of the drunken crowd. He plowed into Zane, carrying him back with his shoulder and straight into the wall.

Jesus. Fuck. He was so not going to lose this fight with Evie and the brothers watching.

“Stand down.” Jagger pushed his way through the crowd, but Zane was already in motion.

Fuck Jagger and the rules. Fuck Tank for making him lose control. Just. Fuck. He pounded his fist into Tank’s sternum, grunting his satisfaction when Tank dropped to his knees.

“I said stand down, brother.” Jagger got in his face, shielding Tank with his body. But Zane was too wound up to stand down. Vulnerable, raw and exposed, his control already stretched thin by his decision to bare his personal life to his brothers, he hauled back, ready to punch Jagger, although the repercussions would be severe. But before he could let loose, Evie grabbed his hand.

“It’s okay, baby. I’m okay. But you won’t be if you throw that punch. Even I know there’s no going back if you hit Jagger.” She kept her voice low as he allowed her to back him away from Jagger, away from Tank and the fight he didn’t want, away from the shop and into the hallway.

“And if you get hurt,” she continued, “or Jagger kicks you out, then we won’t get to finish our evening the way I want.” She slid one hand down his chest to his belt and then tugged his hips toward her. “You know what I want?”

Already peaked, Zane’s primal instinct took over and he grabbed her hands and slammed them up over her head, thrusting his thigh between her parted legs. “You want to be fucked.”

Her eyes dilated and she licked her lush lips. “No.”

No? Had he read her wrong?

Evie took a breath, arching toward him, her breasts straining against the wet fabric of her dress. “I want to be fucked by you.”