Steal His Heart: a bad boy romance novel Read online

  “Speaking of smelling,” Don said. “How’s Jessica? Don’t think she’ll be smelling much, huh? That nose of hers looked really rough.”

  I jumped forward again.

  Nobody tried to stop me.

  I had no reason to defend Jessica but I couldn’t help but picture it as Jade. Or the fact that Jade had been hit before by Johnny or his guys.

  I got within striking distance of Don when Ruley was there. His fat paw shoved at my shoulder, sending me flying to my left. Stumbling, almost damn falling, I braced my feet and turned. Ruley was right there like an ugly, rabid teddy bear. His arms open, ready to wrap around me and squeeze me.

  The thing though, big, small, that didn’t matter. What mattered is how a man protected himself.

  Ruley was wide open, thinking his sheer size was going to play into his strength.

  I dropped my right knee enough to bring my fist to my side. When I came up, it was with a vicious uppercut. I got Ruley so hard in the jaw that he spit blood, ham, bread, tomato, and cheese right at Don.

  As Ruley fell back, Jasper and Austin were there to grab him and take him to the ground. I set my sights on Don and went for him. Of course he took out a gun and pointed it right at me. I pulled my gun. We were facing off, guns at each other’s chests.

  “This is fucked up,” Prez growled.

  “Tell your boy to stand down,” Don said.

  Prez entered the frame. “What does your boss want from us?”

  Don grinned.

  “Don’t be a fucking asshole, man,” I said. “You showed up here because you have a request. Same as us.”

  “You want your motorcycle back,” Don said. “Keys are in the ignition.”

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  “I think that’s pretty obvious, Max,” Don said.

  “Say it then.”

  “Jade.”

  “Not a chance,” I said.

  “Before we start thinking with the wrong head here, let’s clear up some stuff. Someone is after your club. You hear that, Trev?”

  “I’m standing right fucking here,” Prez said. “Why don’t you two put your guns down.”

  I nodded to Don. He nodded back.

  We slowly moved our weapons away from each other.

  Don backed up and adjusted his suit jacket. “Someone is after your club. We can help you out. We have the information you are looking for.”

  “In exchange, you want Jade,” Prez said.

  “No,” Don said. “Jade is a personal request from Johnny. That’s a sign of trust. Between each other.”

  “Trust?” I asked. “You wanted to kill one of our own.”

  “Prospect,” Don said. “What’s that worth? Right?”

  He smiled and winked at Prez.

  “Fuck that,” I said.

  “Just feel it out,” Don said. “Jade owes Johnny quite a bit. More than anything she could explain to you.”

  “I know everything,” I said. “What happened with her father. This alleged debt that never gets paid off. Your boss killed her father to rope her in. Right or wrong?”

  Don slowly nodded. “She just loves to talk. And I can’t argue, that’s a hell of a story. But it’s not the real story why she ended up with Johnny.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked.

  “See, this is why I hate this high school bullshit. He-said-she-said and all that.”

  “There is no she here,” Prez said. “You get your chance to talk. So talk.”

  “Okay,” Don said. “Jade belongs to Johnny. No way around that. Okay?”

  “Belongs?”

  “Your girl was digging into shit long before her father got sick,” Don said. “She was trying to help him, I give her that. She tried to hack into her company’s own accounts. Tried to skim the top of the money, pennies on the dollar, but when you’re talking billions? Well, those pennies turn into a lot of money.”

  I swallowed hard. “And your point?”

  “She was about to get arrested,” Don said. “There was a full investigation happening without her really knowing. Johnny’s family got involved and to make a long story short here, Johnny vouched for her. Said they were lovers, they were actually engaged. He pulled her out of it and saved her. From getting killed. From ending up in jail. And the thing with her father? She wouldn’t let it go. She demanded he be saved. Quite the princess there, huh? Johnny tried. But having that kind of surgery in a different country. The risk was too great.”

  “He died on the table,” Prez said.

  Don grinned. “You could say that. Or you could say that a grieving woman is easier to tame.”

  “You fucking let him die on purpose,” I said.

  Don looked at his fingernails and picked at one. “I’m not saying a word. You want the truth, Max? Ask Jade. Johnny is going to get what’s his. That’s Jade.”

  “And what about our problem?” Prez asked.

  “We get Jade back and that serves as a sign of trust,” Don said. “I can promise you after that, Johnny would be willing to sit down and discuss everything else that’s going on.”

  “And we’re supposed to just trust you,” I said. “After you tried to kill one of our prospects. After you send Jade after me. Just think about our position.”

  “Keys are in the ignition,” Don said. “That’s our sign of trust. I believe you need to go in order here. First things first, square up with this Jade situation. What happened with Jessica was a damn tragedy, but that was her doing. Not ours. She had been on the fence with Johnny for months now. That was the final straw. We have our own brand of justice, just the same as you do. Ruley, let’s get out of here and let these guys make up their minds.”

  Ruley shouldered by me and kept going. Don walked backwards to the door that Ruley held open.

  “You tell your boss I want to meet him,” Prez said.

  “You have the conditions on how to make that happen,” Don said. “She’s not who you think she is, Max. Don’t fall for those pretty eyes and sweet lips between her legs.”

  I took a step and Prez threw his hand out, grabbing my leather cut.

  “You get her back to us and we stall the attack on your club,” Don said. “That was the final thing I could bring to the table. Only if you were playing hardball. So I’m going to tell Johnny you were tough. So I had to offer it. Imagine what time can do for you. To prepare. To research. To discover the truth.”

  Don left the building. The door shut with an echo.

  We all stood in silence.

  “Make the call, Prez,” Cash said.

  He looked at me. “You think your ride is safe?”

  “No,” I said.

  I dropped down to my knees and started to inspect it. It took me all over twenty fucking seconds to find some extra wires and an explosive on the thing.

  Don wanted me to turn the motorcycle on right there in the storage warehouse. So the motorcycle would light up and take us all out.

  There was no sense of trust anywhere. It was like the MC was getting hit from all sides. Truthfully, we were used to that. Shit happened all the time like. But for me, it was personal now. I let a woman slip into my heart. That was my mistake. But since Jade was there, I had to get the truth from her.

  No matter what.

  I could fight wars outside in the world. I could take some bullets, face the reaper, end up in a shallow grave, that was all fine with me. The only thing I had wanted was to get buried in my leather cut.

  Now there was a new war raging, one that mattered nothing to my cut, the reaper, my ride, or even my club.

  The war inside my heart.

  And Jade was easily winning.

  *

  I walked into the clubhouse with fire in my eyes. To my shock, Jade was sitting at a pool table with a laptop. Cade and Kye stood next to her. They were all looking at the screen like they’d never seen a computer screen before.

  “What the fuck is this?” I asked.

  Jade spun around,
a big smile on her face.

  I wasn’t in the mood to fucking smile.

  Prez put a hand to my shoulder. “Easy, brother. Very easy.”

  “I have an idea,” Jade said.

  “Bro,” Cade said. “Your girl here is smart.”

  “I got into Johnny’s personal accounts. I can bleed them. I can freeze them. I can transfer.”

  “We can see what he’s doing and when,” Kye said. “We can see where things are coming and going. This is pretty amazing.”

  “Like I said,” Prez whispered. “Easy. Pick your battles at the right time.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and approached Jade. “Show me what you’ve got.”

  “I figured since he was punishing me for so long, why can’t I do it to him?” she asked. “It didn’t take all that much to get inside.”

  “What I can see,” Cade said. “He’s operating on his own. The family funnels some cash here and there. So we can get him if we want now. Cut off his cash supply. Really fuck with him.”

  “What do you think?” Jade asked me.

  She was eager. Her eyes were wide. She was smiling. She did good and she believed she did good. But my heart was a little twisted. Prez stood right next to me, his presence making it clear that I was to keep my mouth shut and keep Jade supplying us with information.

  “This is good,” Prez said. “Cade, you stick with this for now. We don’t make any moves yet. We have to think out our next few steps here.”

  “How did the motorcycle finding go?” Kye asked.

  “It was rigged with a bomb,” I said.

  Jade stood up. “What?”

  “Don and Ruley were there. They tried to set us up. Hoped I’d start the motorcycle so everything would blow up.”

  “I take it you didn’t start the ride?” Cade asked.

  “No, we fucking did,” I said. “And we fucking blew up and fucking died. We’re just fucking ghosts right now.”

  “Christ, bro, I’m just messing around,” Cade said.

  “Keep an eye on this shit,” I said and pointed to the screen. “I need to clear my head.”

  I walked away and felt Jade chasing me down. Her hands slipped around my leather cut as I paused for a moment. She slid around me to face me. God, I loved the way she smelled. Staring down at her made me want to devour her.

  I held back everything I could.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “Is it the motorcycle? Don and Ruley?”

  I shoved the truth aside. “Just a fucked up day. I’m tired of this lingering. I want the truth and I want action. Seeing those two goons just reminded me of how close you were to being in that hospital bed.”

  “Max,” she said. “That’s sweet.”

  She touched my face. Her fingers moved along the scruff on my face. I felt a fire in my body that was hard to fight off.

  I grabbed her hand and peeled it away.

  “When you’re done on the computer, go back to the room. Hang out there. I’ll be there shortly. I just need some time right now.”

  I broke away from Jade and stayed away for hours.

  Night fell and I was still outside.

  The entire clubhouse seemed like it was on edge. Prez and Jasper were talking, making and taking calls. We had a few little meetings outside, everyone throwing their opinions around on what to do next.

  When I realized there would be no final decision, I stood up and finished my drink. I was too many beers deep and my thoughts were just as deep.

  I stumbled my way through the clubhouse, blocking out the noise of rock music, glasses clanking together, the giggle of a reliever looking for a dick. My eyes were on track even if that track was a little fuzzy and jumpy.

  I opened the door to the bedroom and saw Jade on the bed. She was sitting up and looked right at me.

  “Max…”

  I went to the edge of the bed and stood there. I wasn’t in the mood to talk. Or confront the truth. Or figure out what the fuck was next in this thing. This … relationship.

  I reached for Jade and slipped my hand around her waist. I pulled her to the edge of the bed with ease. I turned her around, my hands at her hips, putting her right where I fucking wanted and needed her.

  “Yes,” she said. “Yes, Max, have me.”

  “Strip your fucking panties off right now,” I ordered. “Show me that sweet pussy again. Touch it. Show me you’re soaked for me.”

  I took one step back and opened my jeans. I dropped them to my knees and my cock sprung forward, growing harder by the second as I stroked myself.

  With one hand, Jade took her panties down to her knees. She spread her legs wide, righting the elastic of her panties. Her slit was delicate and pink, like a fresh rose waiting to fully boom. She slipped a finger between her folds, opening herself for me.

  I brought my hand forward and cracked her bare ass.

  The slap was as loud as her yelp.

  There was a faint red handprint on her ass.

  Whoops.

  She looked back at me.

  “Max…”

  You hurt me, sweetheart. You kept the truth from me. One of us is going to get hurt. And it’s not going to be me …

  I put my hands to her hips again and pulled her back. I thrust forward, feeling her heat, feeling her slit, and then I was inside her. With one hard fuck I was buried to the hilt. Jade threw her hair back and groaned. Her entire body shivered from the invasion of my cock. She was quivering in my hands. I bent forward and planted a kiss to her lower back.

  And then I started to fuck her.

  Hard. Fast. Loud.

  I gritted my teeth, grunted when it was almost too good to handle. She yelled my name until she was breathless, and then it was just soft whimpers. When she regained her breath, it was back to serenading the walls with my name.

  I fucked her good. Really good.

  I thought I was fucking her with anger… but I wasn’t.

  I was fucking her hard, trying to convince myself that I couldn’t have been in love with her.

  27

  (jade)

  I was finally allowed to go back to my apartment. I wasn’t sure if that was an upgrade or a downgrade. I was suddenly left in the dark when it came to the club’s doings. Then again, I wasn’t one of those wearing a leather cut or have a tattoo. Trev did decide to leave two prospects outside my apartment any time that Max wasn’t there.

  Which seemed to be often.

  Something happened and he wasn’t talking.

  I had suddenly became only a piece of ass to him. His words were sparse and his cock was giving. He fucked me with this sense of anger but touched me with a sense of romance. The orgasms were perfect and intense but my heart was wickedly confused by it all.

  In the shower, I rinsed the conditioner out of my hair. I had been woken up by the feeling of Max’s tongue swirling around my swollen clit. I thought I was dreaming until I realized I was about to come. My eyes popped open, wondering what was happening. I grabbed his hair and thrust at his tongue, letting go all over his mouth and face. His eyes locked to mine and he didn’t stop until I begged him to.

  He pulled away and left the bedroom, saying he was going to make coffee. He did and went out on the balcony for a smoke.

  That’s when I decided to shower.

  In a way, maybe to wash him away.

  I reached for the shower to turn the water off and the curtain was ripped open.

  Max stood there, naked.

  He reached into the shower and grabbed my wrist. Slowly, he moved my hand to between my legs. His thick fingers against mine, forcing me to touch myself.

  I gasped and shuddered as I stared at his naked body.

  The muscles that spilled onto other muscles. The size of his chest. The cut of his ribs, all leading down to the damn v of his hips which pointed to his cock.

  As we both massaged my slit, I felt my knees starting to become weak. I was going to collapse if he did
n’t get into the shower and into me.

  My addiction to Max was like nothing I had ever known before. It was almost like he wasn’t human. Maybe in some crazy way, he wasn’t. He was an outlaw. He lived to die. He pushed against the law and nine out of ten times, he won. His regard was for the name on the back of his leather cut (wherever that was now).

  But when he looked at me, it was like I was the only thing in his life and his world.

  He stepped forward, into the shower, his eyes not breaking their hold on me. He didn’t even bother to close the shower curtain. He put me right up against the wall, his fingers using my fingers to bring pleasure forward. With my free hand, I grabbed at his forearm. I swore … his forearm was the size of some strong guy’s bicep and tricep.

  He oozed with protection. He oozed with sexual desire.

  I put my head back a little, offering everything to him.

  Max brought his mouth to me but barely. I felt the faintest touch of his lips to my neck before he moved down. A hiss here and there, pausing at my right breast, his breath mixing with the shower water, making me shiver and making my nipple painfully hard.

  He twisted his fingers against mine, adding more pressure to my already sensitive clit. It was like unlocking a secret code because my hips bucked forward and my insides felt like they had exploded.

  I started to come, breathing heavy, groaning louder than the running water.

  “Yes, sweetheart,” Max said, finally speaking to me. “Come everywhere. Feel me touching you—feel yourself …”

  “Fuck,” I moaned as he kept going. “Max—fuck—”

  His mouth closed over my right breast. I yelped, not expecting the move. He quickly ripped his hand away from mine, grabbed my wrist to peel me away from my slit. His hand grabbed the back of my leg and tugged. I knew what he wanted. He wanted my body angled so he could fuck me.

  The moment his cock touched my already throbbing center, I melted even more.

  His first thrust sank himself deep inside me. I began to come again, as though I was picking up where my body left off.

  Max slowly worked his hands up my body, but he touched everywhere as he did so. My legs, my soft mound, my belly, my sides. My ribs, around to my breasts. Up to my shoulders and before down to my hands. For a minute or so he interlocked his fingers to mine, pumping that beautiful thick cock of his in and out of me. My ass and lower back pounded against the shower tiles, thumping with a wet sound. Water collected between us and splashed hard with his powerful thrusts.