“Yeah. Okay.” He got up, and after he left, Onyx and I were left alone in a now empty bar.
He placed his hand on my leg. “Come on. I think we need to shower.”
“We?”
The grin on his face widened, a wicked spark glinting in his eyes. My insides started to turn and turn, tighter and tighter, like a vise. There were a thousand warnings going off inside my head, telling me I shouldn’t be here. But I didn’t want to go home either. If I had to weigh my two options, I’d tip the scales toward staying here. With him.
Without taking his eyes off me, he reached out, gently tracing a finger down the side of my face. “Where did you come from, Dahlia Knight?”
The way he said those words, how his eyes seemed to see right through me, I couldn’t stop myself from looking away. It was disarming, like the blue shades in his eyes were reaching deep into my soul, trying to snatch up all my secrets.
He took my chin in his hand and lifted my face to his before tenderly placing his lips against mine, kissing me so softly, like he was expecting me to break any minute. Every hair on my body stood up, waves of electricity igniting every part of me. His kiss was gentle and light, and it was nearly impossible to think a beast of a man like him could kiss a girl with so much affection. It almost felt like he…cared.
He pulled away, his tongue lapping against his lips. “I need you naked and in my shower within the next ten seconds. You good with that?”
There was delay in my response, a quick nod of my head right before he grabbed my hand and rushed up a flight of stairs, dragging me behind him. With every step I took, I felt the anticipation build, but it was stronger this time. Maybe because I now knew what kind of escape waited for me in his arms, what kind of pleasure he was capable of giving me.
I glanced around as we walked down a dimly lit hall. For so long, I’d imagined what it looked like inside the American Street Kings compound. But somehow, I imaged it darker, more ominous and gloomier. They were, after all, one of the most ruthless crews in NYC.
Following Onyx, I tried to take in as much as I could. Tonight, I met everyone who lived here—five men, two women. A few weeks ago, the streets were abuzz with the shooting of a woman who used to hang out with the Kings. Apparently, she kidnapped Granite’s old lady, and he planted some lead in her chest, saving his woman. Her sister left the crew shortly after. New York was a big city, but when it came to motorcycle crews around this part of town, gossip and stories spread like wildfire.
We didn’t walk too far down the hall when he stopped in front of a door, unlocking it.
As he turned the doorknob, I swallowed, my heart beating a staccato rhythm against my chest. The grating feeling inside my stomach warned me not to go in, not to let him lock me in that bedroom with him. But what else could possibly happen between us? I’ve already crossed so many lines, feelings things I had no right feeling. Onyx seduced me, played my body like a devil’s chord…and I loved every second of it. Problem was, I didn’t belong here. I knew that. But he didn’t.
Onyx dropped his keys on a table next to the door. I hesitated for a few moments, only staring into the room while my stomach kept twisting and turning, tied in a hundred knots. The room was minimally decorated, the dark blue sheets on the bed unmade.
“No use hesitating now. You already know I bite.” He gestured toward my shoulder, and I touched the tender spot. “Close the door behind you.” It wasn’t a request.
With as much confidence as I could muster, I walked in and slowly closed the door. The slam of the lock resonated through my chest, and my heart started to race, knowing I was trapped between these four walls with a man who knew my body like it was always meant to be his.
I took a breath, his earthy, woody scent lingering in the room.
The chair in the corner had shirts draped over it, a pair of boots placed on the floor.
I felt the warm summer breeze coming from the open window, and I could hear the faraway sound of cars and alarms as the early morning NYC traffic started.
Small, hesitant steps were all I could take as I walked farther into the room, closer to the wall. For some reason, I felt safer there, putting more distance between me and him.
Onyx crouched and pulled a knife from his boot, placing it on the table next to his keys. “You can put yours on the bedside table if you want.”
“What are you talking about?”
He glanced over his shoulder, a knowing look in his eyes. “The knife you’re hiding in your boot.”
“Who says I have a knife?”
He turned to face me, leaning back against the table. “Somehow, I doubt you’d be hanging out at biker bars without a means to protect yourself.”
I crossed my arms. “Who says it’s a knife and not a gun?”
“Oh, I know you’re not packing guns. If you did, it would be tucked in behind your back.” He pressed his lips in a thin line. “And I had a pretty good look at your naked back two hours ago.”
Heat spread from my cheeks down my neck. The memory of what we did earlier ignited a familiar ache between my thighs, my core already winding tight with anticipation.
“Take out the knife, Wraith.”
We kept our gazes locked, the air between us laden with sexual tension threatening to break down every wall I’d ever built around myself. I’d be a fool if I didn’t acknowledge the crackle of electricity between us, the undeniable pull I felt toward him. I’d never experienced it before, and it excited me, yet scared me too.