RIDING DARKNESS (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novella) Read online

  Ares smile.

  Ares lowered himself down to Brooke and let his tongue flirt with her sweet mouth. She kissed back at him hard, her breathing going wild.

  As Ares sped up, he felt Brooke’s body moving with him. Just as hard. Just as fast. Her mouth opened and she let out a long groan. Her head went back and her back arched again.

  “Tell me,” Ares growled. “Tell me, darling.”

  “I’m fucking coming again,” Brooke said.

  “Good girl,” Ares hissed. “Come all over me.”

  Ares fucked Brooke, his hands opening and inching down her body enough so he could watch her breasts dance with his rhythm. Brooke continued to moan and cry out, leaving the normally empty and quiet room filled with heat and the sounds of passion.

  It had been such a long time that Ares had been with a woman who he thought was beautiful and who he would remember come morning.

  When Brooke started to come down from her wild high, she put her hands to the back of her legs and pulled, opening herself even wider. That was all Ares could manage to handle. He thrust in and out of Brooke a few more times and first felt the rage of passion throughout his body, then straight to his cock.

  Ares wanted to come inside Brooke, but he knew better than that. He pulled and plopped himself down on Brooke’s sweet mound. When he first came, he hissed and continued to thrust. Brooke hurried to take him in her hand. She squeezed and pulled at Ares, letting him spill all over her body.

  Long after he was done, Ares held his position, looking down at Brooke’s perfect body. Her sex glistened and her belly was covered in his own release. It was a perfect way to end a wild and fucked up night.

  Ares stepped back and lifted his jeans. He then said, “You can shower. Then we crash. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be another wild day for you, darling.”

  “Why?” Brooke asked. She slowly started to sit up. “What’s going to happen?”

  Ares swallowed hard and looked into Brooke’s eyes. For a second he caught himself closing up a little. Like he actually cared about Brooke and didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

  That can’t happen.

  Ares turned to look away. “Take a fucking shower first. Then we can talk.”

  Ares didn’t make another move until he heard Brooke get off the bed and go into the bathroom. The door clicked shut and the water turned on.

  When he turned, Ares looked at the bed. He reached and touched it. It was warm. He gritted his teeth and felt his mind spinning. Coming to Back Down Devil was his personal escape from life. He couldn’t cut it in the world run by law and justice. His world was run by living on the edge of life and finding his own brand of justice. The best part of it was that he had a sense of brotherhood all around him, but he was alone. Ares knew he was best off alone.

  That included women too.

  A short while later, the bathroom door opened and Ares quickly had to make fists. Brooke stood there in much more comfortable clothing. Her hoodie completely covered up the most beautiful set of breasts Ares had ever held and tasted. Something about Brooke now being hidden by her clothes made Ares want her even more. Her damp hair had a little frizz to it as it hung down past her shoulders. A few wet strands clung to the side of her face. Her eyes were deep and wild, just like her damn body.

  “Fuck,” Ares whispered.

  “What’s wrong?” Brooke asked.

  “Nothing. You can crash here.” He pointed to the bed.

  “What about you?”

  “Nobody needs to worry about me. I manage.”

  “The bed is big enough.”

  I don’t know if my heart is…

  Ares was getting pissed at himself. He walked to a lone chair in the one corner and carried it toward the door. He plopped down on it and said, “I’ll sleep right here.”

  “That’s dumb.”

  “I don’t care what you think.”

  “Wait a second,” Brooke said.

  She moved at Ares. If it were a man moving like this, Ares would have knocked him out. Hell, if it were a woman he wasn’t interested in, he’d put his hands out and guide her somewhere else. But Brooke left him frozen for a few seconds.

  Brooke grabbed the bottom of Ares leather cut. He quickly grabbed her hand and squeezed. “You don’t touch someone’s cut, darling.”

  “I was fucking grabbing it a little while ago,” Brooke said.

  “Different circumstances,” Ares said with a grin.

  “There’s a hole in the bottom of it. My finger was locked in there when we were… you know…”

  Ares let go of Brooke’s wrist and stripped himself of his leather cut. He walked it to the bed and tossed it down. He saw the hole at the bottom Brooke had been talking about.

  “Yeah. That’s a bullet hole.”

  “From tonight?” Brooke asked.

  “Yeah. It happens.”

  Brooke grabbed his arm. “That could have killed you.”

  “I know how bullets work, darling.”

  “Doesn’t that scare you?”

  “No. Why?”

  “What if you got shot?”

  “Like Gunner? He’s dead and I’m not. I got lucky. The bullet hit my cut. I also had my fucking eyes open the entire time, assessing. It’s not just about shooting, it’s about surviving.”

  Brooke looked visibly shaken again. That told Ares even more that Brooke was not really involved with the illegal gambling and what transpired tonight.

  “How many times have you been shot at?” Brooke asked.

  “More times than I’ve been hit.”

  “Why doesn’t your leather cut have the name on it like the other guys?”

  “I’m not patched in,” Ares said.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means I don’t get to wear the patch. They’ve tried giving it to me, but I always refuse.”

  “Why?”

  Ares looked at Brooke. “Do you ever stop asking questions?”

  “Sorry. You kind of forced me to come with you. The least I could know is why. Where I am. For how long.”

  “Coming from the woman who had a gun pointed at my gut,” Ares said. “You’re lucky you’re beautiful and were wearing that damn dress.”

  “I hated that dress. That’s not who I am.”

  “I know,” Ares said. He turned and put a hand to Brooke’s face. “You’re just as beautiful right now, darling. It’s driving me fucking mad. We better get some sleep.”

  Ares walked to the light and turned it off. A second later a small light came on next to the bed. He watched as Brooke climbed into the bed and quickly wrapped herself up in the covers. He stood for a few minutes, just watching. His mind replayed old memories that were far from dead. There was only one other time he felt a little uneasy around a woman and that cost him his patch and damn near his life.

  “Ares?” Brooke’s soft voice called out.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m scared right now. I don’t want to talk about it though. I just want you to come and hold me. Nothing else. Just hold me.”

  Ares should have said no. Ares should have told Brooke to fucking deal with it. Ares should have just left the damn bedroom and went for a couple shots of whiskey and the eager mouth of a reliever.

  Instead of all that - doing the right fucking thing - Ares walked to the bed. He sat down and kicked off his boots. He then got right next to Brooke and put his arm around her. She moved and pressed her body closer to his. She reached up and touched his hand.

  “Thank you for saving me,” she whispered.

  Ares gritted his teeth. He might have saved her today, but that didn’t mean shit for tomorrow.

  eleven.

  At the bar, Gaige and Erik were holding mugs of coffee to their lips. There was something to be said for the silence of the morning. It always reminded Ares of the calm before the storm. Before the day got going and got out of control, the silence of the clubhouse wanted to echo with the wildness from the night before.

>   Blaine was on his back on a pool table, black sunglasses on his face, a lit cigarette in his mouth. Ares watched and wondered if he’d fallen asleep, but every few seconds, Blaine took a drag of his smoke and blew it out.

  Behind the bar, Ares moved, hating this part of it all. The bitch work that needed to be done. To cook and clean for the patched in members. A couple of the guys were in the kitchen making a big breakfast. Ares had snuck out of the bed without waking Brooke. That was good. If she woke up when he did, he’d still be in the bedroom with her.

  “Ares, come here, bro,” Gaige said.

  Ares threw a towel over his shoulder and walked to Gaige. “What do you need?”

  Gaige leaned forward. “First off, take that fucking towel off your shoulder.” He grabbed the towel and threw it to the floor. “Second, come around here and sit. We have to talk.”

  “I’m behind the bar, Gaige.”

  “And I’m fucking VP.”

  Ares looked to the other prospects as they worked. He knew he didn’t belong behind a bar like the rest did. These were guys - some of them barely over legal age – who were here because it was cool. Because having a leather cut was fun and exciting. A way to pick up chicks. To ride a motorcycle and tell people they were part of Back Down Devil. Almost like some kind of fucking game. Some of these guys would end up dead. They were the lost ones with no real purpose in life. Some of these guys would end up disappearing and handing their cuts back in. They’d get a handshake from Miller if it was honorable. If they were pieces of shit and kicked out, they’d get beat up.

  Ares was a rider. He was meant to be part of a club. To wear a cut. To live the life. He understood the true meaning of life and death. He’d seen death and he’d caused death.

  “Grab a coffee and get over here,” Gaige said.

  Ares did just that. He sat next to Gaige and blew into the coffee.

  “Black?” Gaige asked.

  “The only way to drink it.”

  “How was your night?”

  Ares glanced at Gaige. “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

  “No,” Gaige smiled. “Just wondering how it was. I love fresh pussy around here. You know that.”

  “Maybe you should get your own,” Ares said. “And then settle.”

  “It’s going to take a hell of a woman to make me settle,” Gaige said.

  “Fair enough.”

  Brooke is a hell of a woman…

  “Miller is taking care of Gunner,” Gaige said. “Shitty situation there.”

  “Just a prospect.”

  “Spoken like a true member.”

  “No patches here, Gaige.”

  “Which is fucked. You going to punish yourself forever?”

  “There is no forever,” Ares said. “Death ends the possibility of forever.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” Gaige said. “That was a big mess last night with that poker game. We’re getting heat on it already. Chief of police calling Miller. Other crews wanting meetings with us to discuss why our prospects raised hell. We look like the bad guys in this.”

  “We didn’t shoot first,” Ares said.

  “And you’re sure that Armen guy did?”

  “Bet my life on it. He tried to get me. Ended up with a hole in my cut.”

  “And then you took his sister?”

  “Look, I made a call. Okay? I grabbed her and carried her to my ride. I figured it would keep Armen on his toes. He’d look for his sister. We could keep him close.”

  “And then what?” Gaige asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m not at the table. I don’t vote.”

  Gaige nodded. “Well, you did good by grabbing her. What’s her name?”

  “Brooke.”

  “Brooke. Yeah, she’s something. Her brother is a piece of shit. I don’t know where this is going to end up for you and her, Ares, but we took a vote this morning. We have a guy who digs around on the inside for us. Turns out Armen is a real target. On a lot of different levels. He’s been running and stealing for years now. I honestly don’t know how or why Brooke is involved in it all. I don’t trust anyone, including her. But we have her and we will use her. She’ll give us everything we want, Ares.”

  “Good,” Blaine called out. “I’m hard as a rock over here. Give me them tits for a few minutes.”

  “Not like that,” Gaige said, shaking his head. “We need her for information.”

  “So she needs to use her mouth?” Blaine asked.

  Ares gripped his coffee mug. He felt like exploding. “What about Armen?”

  “He’s wanted on local levels, state levels, even federal. He just runs and runs and runs. He picked the wrong town to fuck with this time. We’re not taking this without revenge. I know he was going to rip off Eight Under, Coast Road, and some suits and ties, but he was in our town. Running what turned into a shootout. Killing one of our prospects. Fueling the fire for some wars with other crews.”

  “So what’s the plan?” Ares asked.

  “Kill him,” Gaige said. “He needs to die. He needs to be stopped.”

  “Seems fair enough,” Ares said.

  “Not just that…” Gaige turned and faced Ares. “We voted and you need to do it. It’s your kill.”

  Ares stiffened. “My kill?”

  “Yeah,” Gaige said. “No more fucking around, Ares. Make this kill, take your patch, and be part of this club.”

  “If not?”

  “Then you’re out. Take your empty leather cut and find another crew.”

  “What about Brooke?”

  “Like I said, I don’t trust her. I don’t know what we’re doing yet.”

  “I know what I’d like to do to her,” Blaine said. He finally sat up. “Just give me her for a few days. Let me wear that out before we kill her.”

  “Kill her?” Ares asked. He stood up from the bar. “You can’t just fucking kill her.”

  “Easy,” Gaige said. “We have to understand her role in all this. Like I said, we use her and then we move on. It’s what we do. If she’s free and clear in all this, then we can set her up with some cash and send her on her way. Have another charter help her settle somewhere new.”

  Ares wanted to argue. He wanted to fucking fight. His eyes saw the patches on Gaige’s leather. He was a member. He was VP. Ares had nothing. So he just nodded.

  “Got it,” Ares said.

  “Where is she now?” Blaine asked.

  “Sleeping.”

  “Go wake that pretty ass up and get some information,” Blaine said. “Before we’re under attack.”

  Ares nodded and left his coffee on the bar. He took a few steps and looked over his shoulder. Blaine had an arm around Gaige as they talked. Erik was leaned in too. On each of their backs was the Back Down Devil name and logo. It would be a foolish lie if Ares didn’t admit to himself that he somewhat wanted that damn name on the back of his cut. But he couldn’t forget the past. And right now, in the present, there was a mess to figure out.

  When Ares got to the room and opened the door, he found Brooke sitting up in bed. She looked nervous until she looked at him. That’s when she smiled.

  This is trouble… complete fucking trouble.

  twelve.

  Brooke woke and found herself alone. She was in a strange room in a strange place with strange people. Her first thought was of Ares. Where he was. What he was doing. She couldn’t stop thinking about the hole in his leather cut. A bullet had almost taken his life. It was something amazing that the bullet didn’t hit his body and kill him like the other prospect.

  Those thoughts were then traded for the memory of what happened with Ares last night. Brooke had never been touched that way. Never commanded that way. He was so aggressive, yet had a slightly gentle touch to him, wanting to pleasure her to the point of pain, but never actually hurting her. It made Brooke warm all over, wanting him again.

  The minutes collected and soon her mind shifted to Armen. For a while now he had been running these games and collect
ing money. He told Brooke he was saving the money for their chance at a fight and a way to avenge the death of their parents. Never before, though, had the night gotten that violent.

  Brooke wondered where Armen was and if he was worried about her. She climbed to the foot of the bed and grabbed her bag. She kept her cell tucked away and rarely used it. In fact, the only stored number in the phone was Armen’s. When she saw that her phone had no calls or texts, she felt hurt. Then again, maybe Armen was dead. Brooke had no idea what actually happened when she left the building and left with Ares.

  With her fingers tense, Brooke hurried to write a message to her brother.

  Armen, where are you? What happened? I need to talk to you.

  The message was sent and came with no reply.

  Brooke dropped her phone back into her bag and went back to the bed. She sat up and waited. The seconds were heavy like hours, but the door finally opened in came Ares, standing with the same clothes as the day before. He was so big, strong, and killer hot. She smiled the second she saw him. Her mind tried to tell her that all of this wasn’t going to end well. But the present was just too tempting to give a damn about the future.

  “Morning,” Brooke said.

  “You sleep good?”

  “Yes. Very. Thank you for holding me.”

  Ares nodded. He shut the door. “You hungry?”

  “I could eat.”

  “I’ll get us something. Then we need to talk. We need to get some things sorted out.”

  Ares approached the bed and Brooke slowly let the covers fall down her body. She was dressed in the same hoodie as the night before. Under that was a spaghetti strap shirt and no bra. Brooke couldn’t sleep in a bra, ever. Not with her chest so big.

  “What needs to be sorted out?” Brooke asked.

  “We know some shit,” Ares said. “And it involves you. I need some damn truth before you’re life is put on the line.”

  Brooke shook her head. “I’m not a bad person. I’m not…” Like Armen…

  Ares reached down and touched her face. “We’ll get to that in a second. Before shit hits the fan, I have to take the opportunity in front of me.”

  “Which is?”

  “You,” Ares said. “I want you to strip naked. Right now.”

  It seemed before the words could escape Ares’s mouth, Brooke sprung into action. She damn near jumped right out of the bed. She stood there and watched as Ares got on the bed. On his back, he reached down and unbuckled his jeans. He slowly pushed them down, revealing himself to her. The sheer sight and size of his cock, even flaccid, was almost impossible to believe.