Phoenix Bar: A Steel Demons MC Novel (10 page)

              I stiffened against the wall and squared my shoulders. “I did not sleep with him, Brice. Now you need to back the fuck off, now.”

              “You’re really going to fucking stick to that when I called your hotel room to apologize and his is the voice that answered the phone, half asleep, at three in the morning.” He looked at me with disgust. “Fucking just like Monica.”

              He couldn’t hurt me more if he had punched me in the stomach. I watched him turn and walk out the door. Part of me wanted to run after him and explain that Philip had slept in my bed, but only slept because we fell asleep watching a movie. The other part of me was in pain and too wounded from his parting words. Son of a bitch, he did it again. I curled in on myself, crying, pain slicing through me, taking my breath away. That’s how Philip found me, curled in a ball on the floor, choking back sobs as my heart broke again.

              He sat down on the floor beside me, picked me up and put me in his lap. “He’s not worth it, baby girl. This is the second time I’ve had to witness that prick hurt you within a matter of weeks.”

              “Why can’t I be sexually attracted to you?” I asked around the choking emotion and tears.

              “Ah, so I’m in the friend zone then?” He shook his head regretfully. “Any chance I can be pushed out of that zone, because it seriously is a sucky place to be.”

              “No, but I could use a trip to the batting cages again. You were right. It is cathartic.”

              “Come on.”

              We walked downstairs and I got in his truck and we headed out of town. I fell asleep halfway to Amarillo. When we got to the same batting cages we had been to before, he shook me awake. “Come on, Abs, your cage awaits.”

              Just like before, I swung at ball after ball until my arms felt like they were going to fall off. “I really need to get a pitching machine and a bat for use at home. It’s too far to drive just to come to hit some balls and I think it’s my new therapy”

              “Yeah. You want to tell me what happened this time.”

              I let my head drop forward. “He accused me of having sex with you and then flaunting a lover in his face. When I denied it, he said I was a liar because he called the hotel room and you answered the phone, which I don’t even remember the phone ringing.”

              “It did and I did answer it out of habit.” He sighed, “Did you explain to him that we fell asleep watching a movie and that we have never had sex.”

              “He didn’t give me the chance. He said I was just like his ex-wife that cheated on him and walked away.”

              I wasn’t looking at Philip since I was too busy swinging the bat trying to hit the balls as they flew my way. When the balls stopped coming, he took me in his arms and rested his chin on my head. “You deserve better, honey. You aren’t his ex and if he doesn’t realize it and man up, then he needs to take himself out of the running so maybe a guy in your friend zone can have a shot.”

              “Yeah, she does deserve better.” I jerked up to see Brice standing in the shadows on the other side of the cages. He walked toward me, out of the darkness and into the light. “But I’m a selfish son of a bitch and I’m what she’s getting. I’ll allow you to hug her, but not hold her, so I suggest you remove your arms now.” Brice looked at me. “I should have let you explain.”

              “Yes, you should have,” I said stiffly, “I am not your ex-wife, Brice, and the next time you compare me to her, I will leave and not look back.” It wasn’t true, I would look back, but I wouldn’t put up with being compared to the woman that betrayed him.

              “So, this is why you were sore the day you came back from Amarillo?” I pulled all the way back from Philip. I glared at Brice, “I was in the kitchen when you came in, Titan sucker punched my ass for what happened and held me back from confronting you about the man answering your phone.”

              “You are allowed to dick around on her, but she is not allowed the same?” Philip asked from behind me, anger and repulsion laced his voice. “I saw you leave with the waitress and I saw Abby’s face after you did. I brought her here to work off her anger and frustration as well as to get her mind off of your sorry ass.”

              I felt the tension radiating through the two men, it was rolling off of them in waves. The last thing I wanted was two men coming to blows over me. That is so overrated. Would I want them to fight to protect me, hell yeah, but to fight over me like a coveted piece of property, no. “Philip,” I cautioned. He was the more level headed of the two men. “Guys,” I addressed both of them, “this is not high school, cut this bull shit out.” They might as well have whipped their dicks out to measure who was packing the most equipment.

              Brice gradually relaxed, but I gave him a scathing look. I was still pissed at the comparison he made me earlier. I waited for a few more tense moments for them to settle their pissing match. Finally, Philip grudgingly held his hand out to Brice. “Philip Worthington”

              “Brice Stevens,” he replied, shaking his hand. “Can I have a few minutes alone with Abs?”

              Philip nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to head back to Belle. You two feel free to continue batting. The owner left the padlock on the gate, just make sure you close it up.” He bent over me and kissed me on the cheek. “Bye, Abs. I’ll see you back at your place.”

              He walked off toward the car. Brice and I stood there staring at each other until we heard him drive off. “What did he mean he’ll see you at your place?”

              I looked at him. It amazed me that a man that is so confident and cocky in most areas of his life, was so insecure and vulnerable as far as a relationship goes. Given his past experience with women, I guess trust issues were not so unexpected. “The only hotel in Belle sucks, Brice, so he’s staying at the house with me and Ember. He’s here for the opening of the bar and restaurant.” The look on his face clearly said he did not like that at all. “Look, Brice–“

              He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair roughly, then cut me off. “As long as he’s in his own bed and he doesn’t touch you, I’ll live with him being your friend. Just please, no more falling asleep in bed, watching movies with him, because I can’t handle that.” I was shocked he was consenting, not that I was asking for his consent, but he was giving in so easy. I was immediately suspicious.

              “What’s the catch?”

              “No catch.” He stepped forward and drew me up against his hard body. “No catch at all.” He nipped at my lips then settled his mouth firmly on mine. “I’ve just got to make sure that you are too worn out by sex with me to even contemplate sex with someone else.” He spoke against my lips and then he grinned when I fake punched him. “Except for Ember, if you wanted to go at it with her in a vat of Jell-O, I would definitely want to watch and then help with cleaning you up.”

              I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.” I pulled him back for another kiss. Our tongues dueled for possession of the other. It wasn’t a simple kiss. It was a mating of mouths, our tongues sliding against each other our lips battling for control. His lips moved to my jaw and then down my neck. He sucked and bit the skin, marking my flesh with his desire. I felt my body responding to his seductive touches and kisses. Warmth spread through my core, igniting my desire for him all over again to a fevered pitch. “I’m still mad at you, you know?” I said when he released my lips so we could take a breath.

              “Take your jeans off,” he said, already pulling at the button and zipper, “I need to be inside you again and I know. I’ll make it up to you by giving you a screaming orgasm.” His groan of appreciation as he stroked my already soaked sex with his fingers made my body convulse around him. I eagerly kicked my jeans away after toeing off my shoes. My panties were already missing from earlier, so my jeans were wet in the crotch and would be annoying to put back on after having sex and adding more wetness to the fabric.

His large arousal was tenting his jeans, stretching the fabric making him look even bigger when he was already very well endowed. I went to work freeing his cock from his jeans. I stroked his shaft with my hand, rubbing the pearl of moisture at the tip over the head.

              “You really think you can make me scream?” I asked, stroking his cock and licking his lips seductively. His hands gripped my ass and lifted me, my legs locking around his waist as he backed me up against the fence. His fingers grasped the links on either side of my head as he thrust his thick shaft in my wet pussy. This wasn’t a slow, sexy screw, this was a quick, hard fuck and I loved every second of it. The chain links bit into the flesh of my exposed ass, but I didn’t care. The only thing I cared about was the hard cock pounding into me.

“This is my pussy,” he rasped out between hard thrusts, “say it,” he demanded.

              I didn’t say anything, I wanted to see what he would do if I remained silent. He didn’t keep me guessing and he knew exactly what I was doing, because he stopped pulling out leaving just the tip inside me, waiting for me to answer. “Yours.” I wiggled against him, trying to get him to move inside me again. “It’s your pussy.” He growled at my words and surged forward, his pace faster and harder than it had been before.

              “Fuck yeah, it’s my pussy.” My body shook at his claiming of ownership. I had a feeling that my body was quite literally his, because I had never before responded to a man like this before and I wasn’t certain I ever would. For the first time, I had a screaming orgasm that didn’t come in a shot glass.

Chapter 12

Brice

              God, I was a dick to her. Not once, but twice. First with the girl in Amarillo and then with Philip, though in my defense the guy did undress her with his eyes every time he looked at her. It made my blood boil each time. She was mine, I knew it, she knew it, her pussy damn sure knew it and Philip was going to know it if he didn’t already.

              When I was in her pussy, it was like nothing I have ever felt before. Hell, I didn’t even have to be in her I just had to be with her, in her is just where I preferred to be.  That’s why she scared the hell out of me.

I had followed them to Amarillo in my truck, so now she was sitting next to me, curled up with her head resting on my shoulder, her soft snores filling the silence. This is twice that I almost lost her and I know I have to get my shit together to make sure I don’t pull another dumbass move or I might not get her back next time around.

              Gavel called me earlier and told me more movement is going on. There are people pissed enough to kill and all their anger was directed directly at the woman sleeping beside me.

He had a security group that some of his old military buddies started after they retired keeping track of the situation. They were located in Philly, so my guess is that Abby and Ember were from somewhere in the northeast. My dad had buried her information very well and without her full name, I couldn’t find out any information. The frustration was wearing on me.

              “You need to trust me Little Phoenix, I can’t protect you if I don’t know what’s going on,” I whispered to her and kissed her head. She sighed and snuggled closer. I drove toward her house, the lights were mostly off, but what appeared to be the living room light was still bright. The car I had followed earlier was in the driveway as well as Abby’s grandmother’s car. I pulled up on the grass since there was no room left in the drive.

              I slid out of the truck, carefully trying my best not to jostle her awake. Her eyes cracked open for a second but when I lifted her into my arms and her head rested on my shoulder, she went back to sleep. This was my first trip to her house, well where I was actually going in and she would know I was there. I kept my distance and checked in on her from afar over the last couple months. After today, I would no longer have to maintain that distance.

The had door opened when I shut off the truck. Philip stood there in a pair of pajama bottoms, no shirt. I grunted. He’s in a house with two women that aren’t his, he could at least put a damn shirt on. I smirk to myself wondering if Titan knows that our girls have a houseguest. If he didn’t already know, he would when I left tonight. We haven’t talked much about how he is progressing in his pursuit of Ember, but I have a feeling she is doing much like I have been doing, running scared. I only suspect that she is running harder and faster than I did.

              Goddamnit, he’s going to get the shit beat out of him if he keeps this shit up. If he’s going to be around my girl, he had better put some damn clothes on. Oh yeah, Titan was definitely going to hear about this shit. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough. He’s here for the opening, after it’s open, he has no reason to stay. If he didn’t have his own rental, I’d drive his ass to the airport myself.

              “You’re pushing me,” I snarled at him as I walked by. Ember was in the living room on the couch. “Ember, which one is her room?” She instructed me on which room was Abby’s and I headed that direction. The room was small, clearly not the master bedroom. The room was pretty simply decorated, there was nothing pink and purple, thank god. It was brown and a turquoise blue color like the shirt she had warn when we went out in Amarillo. It wasn’t too feminine, yet it wasn’t too masculine either. The only detail that suggested a woman lived in this room was the brown and turquoise butterfly shaped pillow on the bed.

              I laid her on the bed and started to strip off her clothes. As I pulled off her jeans, I noticed that her thighs were sticky with our lust. I grinned at the sight. It gave me a sense of contentment and pride to see our cum on her skin. My dick grew behind my jeans. I couldn’t get enough of this woman. I quietly went to the bathroom and grabbed a wash cloth, as much as I loved seeing her thighs sticky with our juices, I knew it would itch as it dried. I made my way back to the room and washed her gently as she slept.

              “Brice,” she whispered. I looked up to see her eyes on me.

              “Shhhh. baby, go back to sleep. I’m just cleaning you up before I go.” I was going to leave with him at the house so she could know I trusted her, even if it killed me to do it.

              “Stay with me.” I wanted to so bad, but I wanted her to know I trusted her to be around Philip. I didn’t trust him, but her I trusted.

              “Not tonight, sweetheart. I’ll be back first thing in the morning, though, and tomorrow night I won’t let either of us leave this bed for long.” With that promise, I kissed her and left, knowing if I stayed any longer, I wouldn’t leave at all.

              On the way out the door, I looked at Philip, “Put some clothes on, you are in a house with two women that aren’t yours. Have some fucking respect.”

              “Fuck you, asshole,” was his only reply. I clenched my fist to keep from pounding his face like I wanted to. That would upset Abby and she had been upset enough today already.

              I went out to my truck, debating as to whether I should call Titan or not. He would go ballistic. Hell, I was barely keeping my shit together and out of the two of us, his temper is definitely worse. I decided against it. Holding myself back was enough, I couldn’t hold him back too. Hopefully he never found out, because if he did, my ass would be dead. Instead, I made a different call.

              “Yeah,” the voice on the other end of the phone was gruff and it sounded like a party was going on in the background. I heard a hiss followed by a giggle.

              “Legend, man I need a favor.”

              “Suck harder, baby,” he said to whichever girl was with him tonight. “What’s up, Grit”

              “I need you to get Hack to look into someone for me.”

              “Got a name?”

              “Yeah, Philip Worthington. I want to know everything from personal to business. Especially business.”

              “Got it, that’s not an uncommon name. So, where am I looking and what am I looking for?”

              With the few clues I had, I didn’t have much, but I figured finding out who he is might lead me to who she is and I could find out what the fuck is going on. “I’m not sure where he is from, but I’d say start with the east coast. Philly and New York. Go from there. As to what you are looking for, I have no clue. If you find anything connected to the name Abby or Abigail.”

              “Alright. I’ll have Hack look into it and give you a call.”

              “Thanks, brother, when you headed out here next?”

              “A couple months, I have a few jobs I’ve got to do first.”

              “Alright, later.”

              “Later.”

              Hack is our computer guru in the club. You need information on someone, Hack can get it for you. I drove the rest of the way to the clubhouse to see if Titan and Gavel were there. Titan was there sitting at a table with Kitty in his lap. Shit and he sucker punched my ass for my stunt in Amarillo only for me to find a club girl in his lap. My anger which was already on a short leash was trying to break free. Fuck him, I’ll look after Ember, too.

              “Gavel here?” I asked ignoring the other women who were staring at me trying to catch my eye. Kitty was running her hands up and down Titan’s chest and her bare tits were in his face.

              “No, he left a while ago. Want a beer?”

              “Nope, I’m gone.” I turned to leave and then looked back over my shoulder. “Stay the fuck away from Ember. I will repay the sucker punch your ass threw at me.”

              “She isn’t mine brother, she doesn’t want me. Phoenix wanted you, and she was getting you. That’s where the difference is.”

              “Is that right?” I asked, looking straight at him.

              “Yeah man.”

              “Ok, then I’ll give the shirtless guy in the pajama bottoms at their house the go ahead with Ember. It will definitely be a load off my mind if he’s with her. I’ll know he’s not pursuing Phoenix. Glad you cleared that up.” I didn’t even get through all of what I was saying before Titan’s chair was shoved back and Kitty was clamoring to her feet from the floor.

              “Speak now.” Titan growled.

              “Brother, she means nothing to you, so I don’t know what your all-“

              “Don’t fuck with me, Grit.”

              “A friend of Phoenix’s is staying there. He was downstairs with Ember in nothing but pajama bottoms. I couldn’t tell you what she was wearing. She was on the couch and all I could see was her head.” I didn’t think anything was going on, but Titan deserved to be messed with after making his intentions to Ember known and coming to the club for easy pussy.

              “Son of a bitch, if he touches her, he’s dead.” Titan said as he walked for the front door.

              I hadn’t planned on telling him, but shit, he needed a kick in the ass since Kitty was on his lap. Nothing lights a fire under a guys’ ass in the pursuit of a woman like a little competition. He wants her and the glances I’ve seen her sneak at him says she wants him too.