Burned (Devil's Blaze MC, #2)(88)

“Colin,” Skull says and that one name from his lips contains so much hate that it chills the air around us.

“Right. I’m ready. Let me say goodbye to my woman and I’ll get my bike out of the garage.” I had moved my bike and other things to Annie’s in the past week. She’s never said a word in protest, and I’ve known from that first sweet taste of her that I wasn’t going anywhere. She’s the one. Now, if I could just finally claim her completely, I’d be a happy f*cking man.

“It was nice meeting you, querida. I am sure we will be seeing you around the club soon. Si?” Skull says and gives her a smile. Hell, even his smile is still cold. I look to Annie to see how she reacts. Damn, she’s beautiful. Her hair is all messed up, her lips swollen, her nipples are poking through that silky little top she has on, and her pale skin sparkles in the sun. I’m a lucky bastard. She’s got her hands wrapped around herself in a defensive gesture, but all it really does is point out the fact that’s she’s horny. A beautiful thing to behold for sure, but as I look around and see that all the brothers are watching, especially that motherf*cker, Torch, I take the one step to her and block her with my body.

“You are looking f*cking hot, Annie. But if your nipples get any harder, every man around here is going to fall on you. Maybe you should go inside.”

She inhales and her cheeks blush even darker. She starts to pull away and I stop her. “I’ll be gone for a couple days. I’m going to send one of my brother’s out here to check in on you and make sure you’re safe. Try not to get him twisted up in knots over you, yeah?”

“Sabre! I would never do that, I can’t believe…”

I stop her tirade with a hot kiss, not giving her time to respond, just devouring her and letting my tongue pillage every part of her mouth. I can still taste my flavor on her and my damn balls seem to pulse with the need to come. My lips break from her mouth and kiss up her cheekbone and down into the valley of her neck before finally ending at her ear.

“You don’t have to do a goddamn thing sweetheart, just the look of you is enough to make a man come. I’m a lucky bastard, and I know it. I just want those other men to know you’re mine, too. Got it?”

I pull back away and she gives me this sexy smile and even I can tell she’s happy. Mission accomplished.

“Be safe, please?”

I nod, satisfied with her reaction. She could have asked a million questions, she could have demanded to know what was going on. Her not doing so is just another sign that she will fit into club life perfectly. I’ve made a great decision, which is good because I’m starting to really care about this woman. I’ve always known from my first look that no other woman would ever compare. Now, I’m starting to think it’s even more.

“You got it, Peaches, and when I get back, you and I have some unfinished business.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” she smiles and it’s that smile I take with me as I get on my bike.



*



It’s about two in the morning when we reach the Tennessee, Georgia border. The crew is dog tired and none of us are looking forward to the meeting with Colin tomorrow. Colin is a bastard, though a few steps above his uncle who used to be in charge. We have a bad history with the Donahue family and I wasn’t expecting this meeting to be good. We’re bedding down for the rest of the night at the Green Goose, an old outdated no-tell motel that looks like hell and smells stale and that’s about the nicest thing I can say about it. The mattress lays like it’s been stuffed with straw and the occasional rock. I’m bunking down for the night with Skull. He’s in the opposite bed holding the locket in his hands that he always wears around his neck. It was Beth’s locket. A present he gave her on their wedding day. He’s never once taken it off since Beth’s funeral.

“What are you thinking Pres?” I ask him, trying to drag him out of the thoughts in his own head.

“How old ghosts never stop haunting you, amigo. They never do.”

“Beth wouldn’t want you to live your life like this,” I tell him, knowing it’s true. Beth loved Skull, she’d want him to move on and be happy.

“Love is a funny thing. It starts with a touch and burrows down under the skin, infecting your blood and ultimately your heart. It never lets you go hermano, never. It can feed you and make you strong, nourish you and make you whole, or it can slowly destroy everything inside of you until the person you are withers and you are left but a shell. A sad, empty, old shell with nothing but memories of days you should have cherished more.” Skull sets the locket down on the fake wood nightstand by the bed, lays down, and turns out his light. It jars me, I know today’s meeting has destroyed him.

“Do you wish you hadn’t met her?”

“At times, si. Then I remember.”

“Remember?”

“That before Beth, I had no life anyway. Hold on to your woman, hermano. Hold on tight and enjoy while you can. El tiempo es corto.”

Skull’s mother was Spanish, not his dad. But, she raised him, he knows the language well. He sounds American as hell, but most of the time he slips into the other language. The club has become fluent, or at the very least has a grasp on what he is saying. Time is short. I lie in the dark and listen as, eventually, Skull’s breathing evens out. I pull out my phone and text Annie.