Phoenix Bar: A Steel Demons MC Novel (11 page)

Chapter 13

Abby

              I woke up early like most mornings and I remembered what happened yesterday. I had sex with Brice twice. The second time was even better than the first when the links of the fence bit into my ass. It sent shockwaves through me as he pounded into me. My body was responding to the delicious memory of him. I felt my nipples growing tight and my pussy growing damp. He was becoming an addiction, because I doubt that I could ever get enough of him.

              Vaguely, I remembered asking him to stay with me, but I don’t remember his answer. Obviously it was negative because I was in bed, waking up alone. I stretched in bed and groaned at the delicious ache between my legs. “Good morning.” My eyes sprang open and I grasped the sheet and hugging it to my chest.

              “Dammit, Brice, you scared the shit out of me.” I relaxed my arm and let the sheet fall, exposing my breasts. “Good morning. What time is it?”

              He had been leaning against the wall. His jeans low on his hips and his black shirt stretched across the muscled wall of his chest. I raked my eyes over him, starting at the top of his head and moving down to his scuffed and bulky biker boots. I licked my suddenly dry lips, my nipples puckered as my desire for him increased. It should really be a crime for a man to look so damn good. “Damn darlin’,” he said gruffly and started walking toward me, “your eyes glow when you get turned on.”

              I smiled at him as he sat on the bed beside me, hip to hip. He leaned over where his body bridged my legs. His hand came up to cup my cheek. “Brice,” I sighed.

              “I’m not going to make love to you right now.” He said softly, and I groaned because that is exactly what I wanted him to do. He softly kissed my lips, it was so gentle it took me by surprise. I was used to him being more aggressive and rougher. This softer side was just as dangerous as the other side of him. He was just intoxicating all around. “You ready to get going?”

              “Where are we going?”

              “Well, first you need to get in the shower and then you need to get ready for the opening of the restaurant. It opens at eleven and it’s already after 7. I figured you would want to get up and get there to help Ember.”

              “You’re right.” I grinned at him. I leaned forward, “but, there is time for a kiss before I go to take a shower.” I touched my lips to his, sliding my tongue over his bottom lip.

              “Abby, if you do that, I’m not going to be able to control myself.”

              I leaned against him. Breathing in his masculine scent. He smelled like leather and soap and fresh air. I loved it. “I know.” I kissed his cheek and hugged him. “Let me up, I’ve got to get going.” He kissed me one last time then stood up.

              “I’ve got breakfast downstairs when you’re ready.” He turned and walked out the door. Such a tease. Get me ready to fuck and walk away. He probably did it on purpose, but he didn’t yet know what I was wearing tonight or what I had in store for karaoke. This was so going to be fun tonight.

              After taking a shower and shaving my legs, I got dressed in a pair of tight black jeans and a pair of black boots with silver studs on them. We had bought the rights to Ink’s artwork and we put it on T-shirts for the staff with Phoenix Bar or Phoenix Grill written in white block letters across the chest. I also came up with the idea of a black tank top where the phoenix was on the back near the top and the fiery wings were the straps going over the shoulders. The restaurant staff had to wear the T-shirts, but the bar staff could wear either. Everybody was to wear black pants or a skirt, just as long as everything was covered. I packed my skirt for the night in my backpack along with an extra shirt. I did my makeup lightly and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. My silver hoop earrings were the last thing I added.

              Brice’s face when I walked down stairs in my tight ass jeans was priceless. I couldn’t wait to see what he thought of my skirt tonight if this left him with a look of complete lust.

              He had made breakfast: eggs, bacon, and bagels. The bacon was burned, but he tried, so I ate the charred strips and washed it down with the orange juice on the table. “Thanks for breakfast.” I told him. It was sweet. I’ve never really had a man make me breakfast so I was not going to complain about any part of it.

              “You’re welcome. You look good. Those jeans are incredible on you. I can’t wait to see them from the backside.” He smiled at me. I stood up and turned around, giving him a view of my ass in my jeans. I knew it looked good. These jeans cupped my ass perfectly, which is why I bought them to begin with. His hand slapped my ass and I squealed and turned around to look at him in mock affront. “Sorry, honey, it was too damn tempting.”

              “Just you wait.” I said it like a threat, but it was more a promise for later.

              “For what?” He asked with a raised brow.

              “I guess you will have to wait and see.” I sat back down and started eating my eggs and bagel.

              “What’s in the backpack?”

              “Extra clothes. I’m going to be up there until at least 2 in the morning, so I might need to change at some point.” It was the truth. I didn’t tell him that I had every intention of changing when I switched from working in the restaurant to the bar. “Hey, I had an idea. I’m thinking that every night the last shot of the night is on the house. Anybody who is in the bar at 1:45 in the morning gets a free shot. What do you think?”

              “Is there a reason why you want to do this? I mean by that time, most people in the bar would be drunk and more than willing to pay for their drinks.”

              “Yeah, I have my reasons.”

              He looked at me expectantly, but pretended not to notice. “Why?”

              I winked at him. “I guess you will have to wait and see.”

              “You are up to something, darlin’, and whatever it is, you don’t want to tell me. I’m telling you right now. If need be, I will spank your pretty little ass if whatever you are planning calls for it.”
Oh, I am counting on it.
I thought to myself. He acts like that would really discourage me at this point. I’m going to have fun at the opening of my business and drive him insane in the process. I’m definitely ok with an ass spanking as long as hot sex follows it.

Fuck, wet panties again. Maybe I should go pack a few more pair in my bag because that will get itchy after a while. I started laughing at my thoughts and how ridiculous my attraction to him was. I can’t stay in panties long. “Fuck, darlin’, should I just spank your ass now?”

“Probably, but there’s no time for that. I need to go grab some more panties and change the ones I have on because these are already a lost cause.”

“I did not need to hear that.” I jumped at the sound of Philip’s voice. He was standing behind me in jeans and a green T-shirt. It brought out the green in his eyes. He really was a good looking guy.

              “Sorry.” My face was flaming red. Brice just had a grin on his face. I rolled my eyes. “Give me a minute and we will head over there. Ember’s already gone?”

              “Yeah, Titan went with her. They were going to stop at his place to get him some clothes before heading up there.”

              “Titan was here last night?” I looked at Brice, not believing what he was implying.

              “Yeah.” He looked uncomfortable, but I couldn’t understand why.

              “Why was he here Brice?”

              He sighed and looked over at Philip, “Give us a minute would you?”

              “Yeah,” he said, leaving us alone in the kitchen.

              “Come here, sweetheart.” He pushed back from the table. When I approached him, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his lap. “Titan wants Ember, I may have mentioned that there was a half dressed man at your house to get his ass in gear.”

              I smiled. “You are devious.”

              “Yes and it served another purpose, too.” He hesitated.

              “What?” I didn’t like the hesitation on his face.

              “I trust you, Abs, I don’t, however, trust him.” He nodded toward the living room. “Because I don’t know him. Your safety means everything to me.”

              I looked at him. Irritated, but I couldn’t fault him either. I had done research on Philip before ever calling him for our meeting. I had also been talking to him since our first meeting on the phone. He was a friend, but Brice had no way of knowing that. “I understand,” I said. He looked surprised at my words. I leaned forward and nipped his bottom lip with my teeth and then ran my tongue over where I bit him. “I like that you are looking to protect me. Just make sure you do it without the raging jealousy.”

              “Got it, no raging jealousy.” I moved to get up, but he pulled me back for a deeper kiss. “Shit, Abby, I just want to take you back upstairs and fuck you.” He raised his hips letting me feel the evidence of his desire.

              “Later, we have to get going.” I hopped off his lap, grabbed my backpack, and headed back upstairs for more panties.

<<<<<>>>>>

              We arrived at the restaurant at ten. There was an hour before it would open and Mac was already in the kitchen getting things ready. It looked fabulous. The walls were all white except for the black one that had a replicated phoenix like the bar. I had asked Ink to come in to do it just to tie the two sides of the business together. The black and white matted photos of motorcycles and cars hung throughout the restaurant, giving it an old time classic feel to the room. With everything all put together, I wondered not for the first time, if we designed the bar and grill with our new friends, the Steel Demons in mind. 

              I walked through the dining room and headed to the kitchen. I heard talking in the kitchen, so I headed that way figuring Mac was in there with a member of the staff she had hired. It was Titan, though, and he looked angry at her.  “Hey guys,” I said. The tension in the kitchen was palpable. “Titan,” I walked over and gave him a hug, “How are you?”

              “I’m good, sweetheart.” He kissed me on the head. I was looking at Mac and I saw a flash of jealousy in her eyes. Brice was right. Titan wanted Mac and it appeared that my best friend wanted him as well. “Where’s Grit?”

              “Right here, get your own woman,” he said, pulling me gently from Titan’s arms and into his own. “Ember, how ya doing, baby girl”

              I watched the tension drain from her eyes when Brice spoke to her. “I’m good, Grit. Just trying to get a head start on cooking. The rest of the cook staff should be here any minute and I just wanted to enjoy the calm before the storm.”

              “Hey,” I said, drawing everyone’s attention toward me, “come with me.” I walked into the bar through the kitchen and checked out the finished product. It was awesome. We had decided to keep the chrome and black theme going in here. Everything from the stools, to the table and chairs, and even the pool tables were black and chrome. There was the dance floor complete with a pole as I had asked for. The art work was of the same theme in here that it was in the restaurant.

              I went to the sound system and connected my phone to the system and searched for the song I wanted. When I found
‘Here’s to Us’
by Halestorm, I hit play then headed to the bar to pour us all shots of whiskey. Ember grinned widely at me when she heard the song come on. It was one that we dubbed our theme song long ago and we decided we were going to sing it tonight at karaoke before closing. I was going to buy a round of shots for the house and we were going to sing and toast to this song.

              I stood beside Mac and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She wrapped hers around my waist. We raised our glasses and sang along to the chorus, our favorite part because it involved telling the world to go fuck themselves.

We clinked shot glasses together, “here’s to us,” we said and downed the amber colored liquor. It burned going down. The warmth spread through my belly. “Is it bad that it’s only ten something in the morning and we are doing a shot?” I asked.

Brice put his arm around me. “No, it’s a special occasion. Where did your other friend go to by the way?”

“He told me he had to go see your dad.”

“Ok,” he said suspiciously, “I love the song by the way.”

“Yeah, it’s been our theme song for a while.” I grinned at Ember. She was busy studying the bar, avoiding talking to Titan and he was busy looking at her.

“I’ve got to get back in the kitchen.” She hugged me tight and headed back through the doors.

              “Well, I guess we now wait for the staff and for the customers.”

Chapter 14

Brice

              It was crowded. They had run ads in the paper and advertised in the nearby towns. Not to mention, small town gossip was helping things along. Titan and I had eaten lunch as soon as the doors officially opened. We wanted to be one of their first customers. “How are things going with Ember, brother?”

              “That woman is driving me nuts. I’ve never had to work so hard to get a woman in my life and I’ve never wanted a woman as badly as I want her stubborn ass. It feels like I’m not making any progress.”

              “She’s scared. Give her time, she’ll come around.”

              He reacted to my comment. “Do you know something?”

              “Yes and no. I know something about Phoenix, but Ember is still a mystery.” I looked toward the front door. Philip walked in. “Let’s see if we can find something out though.” I waved him over to join our table.

              “Philip, you met Titan?”

              “We’ve met,” he grumbled. They didn’t have a good first meeting either, apparently.

              Titan is more subtle in getting information from people. I, however, prefer to cut to the chase. “So, Philip, where are you from?” I asked, hoping to get a clue as to the girls past. I was still waiting on Hack to call me with information.

              “All over. Mostly New York though.”

              “How long have you known Phoenix?” He raised a brow at my questions. I’m sure he knew where this conversation was headed.

              “I met her for the first time in Amarillo, but I had spoken to her on the phone quite a few times. I also know her family.”

              Now we were getting somewhere. “Really, how are you connected with her family?”

              “We run in the same social circles. To say I know her family means I know who they are, but I have never been in business with them. I’ve met her parents and I didn’t trust them. I now have confirmation that I was right in my mistrust of the bastards.”

              “You know what happened to her, don’t you?” I asked. I wanted to know, but at the same time I knew that what I was going to hear was going to rip my fucking heart out.

              “Yes and before you ask, I cannot tell you. I signed a confidentiality contract when we met in Amarillo. I cannot tell you anything that would lead you to figure out who she is. Ember either.”

              “You know who Ember is?” Titan spoke up for the first time.

              “Yes.”

              “How much danger do you think she is in?” I asked dreading the answer because I really already knew what he would say.

              His jaw clenched and I knew my answer, but his words confirmed it. “Enough to kill for.”

              “FUCK.” Titan slammed his fist on the table causing the silverware to rattle and the drinks to shake.

              I couldn’t say anything. His outward reaction to this paled in comparison to my inward reaction. Inside I was shaking with fury. Philip had given more information than he thought. Whatever she was hiding from, her parents were involved, and the thought that her parents might want her dead made me sick. Gavel had said that as long as her grandmother was alive, she was safe, but the minute she drew her last breath, Abby was in trouble.

              “We need to know what we are up against” I said, “I called Legend last night to have him get Hack to look into an avenue of information.” I looked pointedly at Philip. “Specifically, I had him look into you.”

              His reaction was not what I had expected. Instead of getting mad, he smiled and nodded, “Good, because the sooner you find out the truth about her, the better protected she and Ember will be.”

              It was at that moment that I realized the depth of Philips’s feelings for Abby.  Although that pissed me the fuck off, like me, he simply wanted her safe and protected. He would eventually accept it and move on.  “At least we can agree on something,” I said with no humor behind my words, “the girls need to be protected.” The question I had yet to figure out was from what.

<<<<<>>>>>

              Abby had disappeared upstairs to change, the bar was crowded. The whole club was here for the opening. I was sitting at the bar, looking toward the stairs, and waiting for her to reappear. The sip of beer I had just taken spewed out when I saw her come back downstairs. Fuck, this is what she had been up to this morning.

              She was in a black leather mini skirt. The shirt she was wearing had Phoenix written across her breasts like the shirt she had on earlier, but this one was a tank top and the straps were orange and yellow drawing attention to her breasts. I was not the only one noticing her attire.

              I watched as she walked toward the area where the karaoke was set up. “DAMN!” I heard Roper say beside me as he saw the back of her shirt which was see through black fabric except for the phoenix at the top of the neck that explained the orange on the straps. It would look like the phoenix was hanging on to her back. “Brother, if you pull that shit again, I know several brothers who want to pick up where you leave off, me included.” Roper said. His eyes were glued to her ass.

              “Watch yourself, brother. She’s mine.” I gripped my beer to keep from punching his ass. What the fuck was she thinking to wear that outside of her bedroom? Never mind that the women at the club wore a lot less… They aren’t mine. I have no claim on them, Abby is mine.

              “Hi, everyone.” Abby spoke into the microphone, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “Thank you for joining us for the grand opening of Phoenix Bar. I thought that I would kick off the karaoke tonight. Is that okay with y’all?” Everyone in the bar cheered, showing their support. I shook my head at the way she had all my brothers hooked and I caught a few of the club girls giving her evil eyes. I made a mental note to have Titan spread the word if any of the bitches said a disrespectful word to her, they would be out. He’d back me, because he cared for Abby as much as I did, only in a different way.

              After the den settled down, she nodded to the DJ she had hired for the opening. I listened as the music came on. I didn’t recognize the song at first, but when I did, I closed my eyes. She was playing with fire and she would definitely be getting that spanking we discussed over breakfast.