Vicious Heart (Desert Kings MC #2)

27. Riley

twenty-seven

Riley

Even in his stillness there was a jumpy edge to Cam, like he teetered on the brink of something deadly and dangerous. I’d sat across from Val Soletsky, read the danger there. But it had been cool, calculated. This was the opposite. Cam Savage was a land mine just waiting for someone to step on him. I’d witnessed what he could do when in this state.

I was pretty sure he was praying the person who set him off was Preacher.

“Hey.” I placed a hand on his shoulder. The tension there radiated all the way up my arm.

It was full dark now, and only the light from the driveway filtered through the blinds into the living room of his apartment. We weren’t staying in the house, too many entry points. I’d never imagined living a life where I’d be concerned about things like that. It should have scared me more than it did.

But even after what happened to Ro, I wasn’t afraid. Because Cam was with me and with him close, no one could hurt me.

He turned, pulled me in, and cradled me in his arms, nuzzling his face against the side of my hair. He trembled once as I clung to him. It was like he needed me to stand there to ground himself, to remind him of who we were.

“What can I do?” I asked softly.

“Nothing.” He sighed, rubbing his hands over my back.

I slipped my arms beneath his leather vest and wrapped them tight around his middle.

“I know you want to stay,” he breathed the words against my hair, almost in a whisper.

“But you’re afraid I’ll get hurt if I do.” I leaned back to look at him in the semi-darkness. “Cam, I won’t go without you.”

His response was a kiss. A slow, methodical one, like he was memorizing the shape of my lips, the caress of my tongue. This kiss was a sensual slide into warm arousal. His hands slipped beneath my shirt, rough against my skin, as he guided me backward to the table in the corner of the room.

“Take everything off,” he said, then his tongue rasped down my neck.

I did as I was told, ditching everything as he did the same. We moved in silence. The only sounds were the swish of cloth sliding to the floor, then the clang and thud of metal and leather when Cam tossed his vest to the chair.

He laid me back on that table. The top was cool against my back, and he lifted my knees, spreading my legs. He started at my ankle, lifting and cradling it and placing kisses there, then up the inside of my legs, and further still, until he kissed my pussy.

I closed my eyes, clung to his hair, and let the pleasure wash over me. He traced the line of my sex with his tongue, needing no light to navigate. His tongue dipped in and back out before being replaced by two warm fingers as he flicked upward to my clit. He moaned, the vibration erotic and sexy, and made me squirm.

My breath caught as the friction built when he stretched and turned his fingers, stroking that magical place inside me. That secret place that only he’d ever found. Crying out in the darkness, I trembled with aftershocks as he pulled me up, kissing me.

He picked me up, carried me across the room, and fell back on the couch, pulling me across him so that I straddled his lap. “I want you like this.”

I made a face, and he laughed. “We’re re-christening it, darlin’.”

The momentary spark of nervous energy was washed away when his arousal brushed against my slit. “And I want to see you.”

He reached over and flicked open the blinds so that the moonlight filtered in.

Beneath me, his hair messy, his lips shining, and his eyes heavy, Cam Savage was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. He stole my breath, made my heart beat fast, and warmed me all over.

Caught in his sleepy blue gaze, I guided him to my entrance with trembling fingers, then slid slowly down the length of him.

He rubbed his lips together and sucked in a breath. Moving slowly at first, I rocked my hips, then rose up and sank back down, my hands braced on Cam’s chest.

His muscles were rigid, his body tight as he gripped my hips. The faster I moved, the harder he clung to me. Then he dragged his fingers up my sides, around to my breasts, cupping them and squeezing them.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured.

When I found a rhythm that felt good, that sent goose flesh over my skin, Cam groaned louder. I kept that steady up, then down, grinding my hips as I went, until another orgasm rocked through me.

I brought my hands to Cam’s, covering his over my breasts, and glanced down to watch his head roll back and his eyes squeeze shut, his hips bucking beneath me.

He was much more than just beautiful right then. He was everything. He was mine.

It was in that moment I knew that no matter what happened, no one was going to take him from me.

***

The sound of bikes woke us both. My head on his chest, Cam’s heart instantly thundered as if he’d been shot. He moved me gently, sat up, and pulled on his jeans before snatching up the pistol and flicking off the safety.

“Stay back here.”

I ignored his gruff command.

It wasn’t just the sound of one bike, but of many. Fear screamed that it was the entire club, that they were coming for him. Preacher had told them God knows what. Now Cam was done.

Fresh, hot tears threatened as I jerked on his t-shirt and followed him through the small living room. He pulled the blinds down before shooting me a sideways glance.

“Do you ever listen?”

“Not really, no.” I was shaking, but not from cold.

He kissed me once, firmly. “I mean it, don’t follow me out. Whatever happens, today or tomorrow or whenever, if I can’t get to you…go with Merc, okay? He’ll take care of you.”

“Wait, what?” I grabbed his free hand and tugged on it.

He stilled at the door as the sound of bike engines shut off below us.

“Trust me, okay? I’ll keep you safe.”

He shook me off and slipped out the door. I didn’t listen, of course, and peeked through the crack where he didn’t shut it all the way. He stood at the railing, gun behind his back. Below him, Merc slipped off his bike.

I knew every face. Merc. Puck. Jester. Dekes. AP.

The gang’s all here. Well, most of them.

Merc lifted both hands, palms up, but said nothing. Jester and Puck ambled toward the table under the carport. “You said I’d know when it’s time. Brother, it’s time.”

Cam visibly relaxed, his shoulders dropping and bringing his hand around. He turned to me, swore under his breath, and kissed me once. “Go back to bed. I’ll be up later.”

What he meant was that he was safe, but I couldn’t be a part of whatever this was. I should be mad about that, but I had my own secrets.

“I’m going to go through some of Archer’s stuff. I can’t just sit up here, worried.”

He waited for me to pull on some soft pants before walking down the stairs. They all convened around the table at the carport. I didn’t bother with a greeting, just scooted by them all, unlocked Archer’s backdoor, and went inside.

Unlike Preacher when he’d tossed the house, I knew what I was looking for. But I couldn’t remember in which box of mementoes I’d stashed it. Every so often, I glanced out a window to check on Cam. I could hear voices but couldn’t make out the words. The only thing I could really see in the darkness was the occasional flicker of light from burning embers as various men smoked. No shouting, no fast movements…Cam was safe.

Rifling through a large, masculine jewelry box, I hit pay-dirt. Nestled amidst the large rings and leather bands was a piece of lavender paper. A woman’s lipstick pressed against it, a phone number, and a woman’s name.

Sasha.