Twisted Asphalt (Asphalt Outlaw Series Book 1) (19 page)

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Amy set her food aside and jumped up,
darting over to her tiny case. Opening it, she snatched her bunny and took it
over to Thorne. “Thorne, meet Cherry. Cherry is a magical bunny that will make
you feel oodles better. My mom got her for me when I was really sick and I
thought maybe she’d make you feel better.” Yep, she was acting like a
twelve-year old, but that was what made Amy the way she was. She would always
try to make someone feel better, even if it meant making herself look like a
twelve-year old on crack.

Thorne took the stuffed animal, cradling it to her chest.
“Thanks, Ames.”

“Anything for family.”

CHAPTER 25

Doomsday was tomorrow.

The end of Mason Younger.

At twelve-thirty, Mason Younger would be declared dead and
would never breathe life again.

He felt like a caged animal. He couldn’t breathe. He
couldn’t get comfortable. He second guessed everything he did. He couldn’t even
hold a conversation. His head was nothing more than noise that refused to quiet
down and give him a moment’s peace.

He met with Jones and gave him all the information. They
spent hours going over the plan, then they went over it again. Once Jones had
everything, they parted ways so Jones could give the other agents the drill on
how the bust would go down.

Now, all he could focus on was the part of his life, Sam’s
life, which would end.

Amy.

He didn’t want to hurt her. He hadn’t wanted to fall in love
with her, but it happened. He expected a fling, something to pass the time, to
get closer to Stone. It was supposed to be a job. But it had become so much
more. She had wormed her way into his heart and buried herself there and there
was going to be no way of getting her out. He was ruined for any other woman
out there.

Fuck that.

Unable to take the internal battle any longer, he stormed
past the kitchen and headed for the front door. He had to get the fuck out of
Dodge, to get on his Hog and ride. He needed to hear the sound of the engine
and the tires hugging the asphalt to clear his head. Scooping up his cut, he
yanked the front door open and stalked out, slamming it behind him.

Except it didn’t slam.

He heard the crunching of hurried footsteps behind him,
which he ignored. Maybe if he was mean, it would make it easier in the end.
Throwing his leg over the seat, he righted the bike to start it. Before he hit
the ignition button, he felt the weight of the bike shift, then it lowered as a
body took up residence on the seat behind him.

He wanted to say something but nothing seemed good enough as
he rolled out.

Mace felt arms slide around him, as she pressed her body to
his back, hugging her frame to his own. She knew something was wrong, he could
tell by the way she lay against him, her chin resting on his shoulder.

He opened the throttle and let the bike roll. The wind in
his face washed away the stress, the hum of the road became a song for his
insanity, drawing reality to the surface, allowing him to breathe and escape
into the soothing vibration of the engine.

Every thought he had of how to get out of the deception he
had created, was a bust. Any way he looked at it, he was breaking the law, and
he couldn’t do that. It wasn’t in him. He might bend it, but he was never going
to break it. If he told Amy, he was breaking it. If he warned Romeo, the law
was broken. If he interfered in any way, the law would take him down. He saw no
light at the end of the tunnel. There was no way of saving what he had built.

He felt like he was a volcano on the verge of erupting. He
wanted to snap and beat the ever living shit out of something. Mace needed to
find an outlet. The bike wasn’t cutting it. His misery was like a steel weight
and it wasn’t only dragging him down, it was taking Amy with him.

Seeing the Avila exit up ahead, he signaled and took it.
Night loomed on the horizon, sun setting against the ocean’s horizon. Sycamore
Mineral Springs came into view. Whipping through the curves, he throttled down
as he sped to the entryway.

Parking, he shut the bike off. Pulling his helmet off, he
set it to the throttle handle, waited for Amy to climb off and step to the
side. Sliding off the seat, he pulled on each finger of his gloves, folded them
and stuffed them into the back pocket of his jeans.

He glanced at Amy. 

She stared at him with unspoken questions in her hazel eyes,
wise enough not to ask.

“Come on.” Taking her hand, he pulled her to the
registration office.

The tiny bell jingled when he pushed the door. Heading for
the back desk, the sound of their boots echoed through the enclosed room. The
desk clerk’s head jerked up in surprise, her eyes growing wide.

That truly never got old. Mace found the whole scary biker
mentality people had hysterical. Yes, there were bikers like that in the world,
but not every single one of them. But still, when she looked all scared, it
reminded him he could be larger than life as Mace, and it brought every damn
ounce of doubt back to the surface.

“I want to rent Orion for two hours. Is it available?” Mace
rested his hands on the counter as the cashier blinked, then got her ass in
motion.

“It is, sir.”

Mace looked at Amy, then back to the cashier, his voice
growing sarcastic. “Okay, so how much?”

“Huh?” She blinked and paled a bit when she looked between
the two of them.

“You’ve got to be—”

Amy stepped in front of Mace, smiling to the girl. “We’d
like to rent it, since it’s available. How much do we owe you?”

“Oh, okay. Yeah, uhm,” she clicked on her mouse, then
grabbed a card and a pen, handing it to Amy. “I’ll need you to fill this out.
Do you need towels?”

“Yes, we do, thank you.” Amy looked back at Mace.

Was she silently scolding him? Really? That was funny shit
right there. The cashier was an idiot, and he was getting scolded, great. Mace shook
his head and pulled out his wallet.

“All right, and would you like any scented oils for the
water?”

Mace didn’t mind the sulfur smell, but some people did.
“Pick a couple out if you want to.”

Amy’s smile brightened his heavy heart when she mouthed a thank
you to him, then dug into the oil basket to find a couple of scents she liked.

“The total comes out to sixty-five. Will that be cash, debit
or credit?”

“Debit.” Mace hated carrying around cash. He kept enough on
him for just in case moments, but other than that? Nope. He pulled out his
credit card and slid it over to the girl as Amy set two oils on the towels.
Once he was prompted, he selected debit, put in his four-digit code, grabbed
the receipt and headed for the door as Amy scooped up the towels.

Holding the door open for her, they made their way up the
long ass set of stairs that would take them to the top-most hot tub, aptly
named Orion. It was a completely hidden hot spring, guarded by a wooden barrier
and nature, set against a mountainside.

“Thank you.”

Mace glanced at Amy, quirking a brow. “What for?”

“For not telling me to get off, and for this.”

His throat ached with defeat as a stab of guilt lay buried
in his chest. Mace shoved his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunched
forward as he nodded and continued the long trek up. He faced a lightless
future and that thought left him tortured and empty. He couldn’t hide the
thickness in his voice, making it gruffer than usual. “We needed this.”

More like he needed it. He needed one last moment with her.
One last reprieve. A moment of rapture he was going to hold close to his heart
for the rest of his life, because he wouldn’t be able to hold her ever again.
His life would be meaningless without her laughter or her smile. He would be
nothing more than an empty shell, existing day by day, going through the
motions of living.

His lips twitched into a sad smile when he felt her hook her
finger into his belt loop as they turned direction, climbing the next set of
stairs toward the top. Her tiny show of possession kick-started his heart.

Reaching the gate, he opened it up, stepping to the side for
her to enter first. There were candles set on the wooden deck, ready to be lit.
The spring was covered, though the bubbling sounds were easily heard over the chirping
birds. Twinkle lights lined the top of the fence, adding to the ambiance.

“I don’t have a bathing suit on.”

He heard the underline teasing in her voice while he knelt
down to light the votives. “And I do?” He teased back, fighting the urge to
crush her to his chest and spill his fucking guts and tell her everything about
him was a lie.

“Kinky.” Amy bounced her brows suggestively as she peeled
off her top, leaving her in an all lace bra.

“Uh … no, that is kinkier.” She definitely had a way of
keeping him on his toes. He could almost make out her dusky colored nipples
through the lace; it made him hard at the thought of taking one into his mouth.

“Really? Cause I thought this would be.” She happened to be
wearing button fly jeans, and in one swift motion, every damn button came
undone.

Good God, she was commando. That wasn’t fair. The way she
wriggled out of the jeans, never taking her eyes off of him, was something that
would drive him to an early grave. She was absolutely beautiful and so damn
adorable in so many small ways, and she never saw it. It was the tiny shy
smiles, the way her eyes grew big at something she realized she said, the way
her nose crinkled at something she thought was funny. The little things she did
stole his heart.

He stood, then moved over to the tub, lifting off the first
half of the cover, laying it on top of its other side. Pushing it onto the
deck, he turned to face a fully nude Amy, and she captured his breath. The moon
cast a shadow against her pale skin.

“Well hello, Mrs. Robinson.” Mace chuckled, needing to shift
his weight, pain hitting his nether regions as he was insta-hard. Who the fuck
needed a little blue pill when you had an Ol’Lady who looked like that? Damn
it, son.

Amy blushed and stood there. She cleared her throat and
moved to get an oil packet, giving him ample view of her ass.

Not like he was going to complain. He watched her rip it
open with her teeth and pour the scented oil into the bubbling water. Lavender,
how did he not know? It was one of her favorite scents. He shrugged out of his
cut as she climbed into the hot spring, laying it away from the water. Peeling
off his shirt, he glanced to her, the wind knocked out of him at the feral look
in her eyes. He wasn’t going to last very long if she kept this up. Mixed with
the heat of the water, he was going to pop like a damn virgin.

He couldn’t get out of his jeans quick enough. Hard and
erect, he was in near pain at how rigid he was, throbbing and in need to
capture her heart one last time. He saw her breath hitch as she watched him
lower into the oversized Jacuzzi, his movement slow and deliberate while he
stalked toward her.

He needed her.

He needed to be consumed by her, to be lost in her. He
wanted to show her just how much he loved her.

Mace wasted no time, his urgency unexpected, his lips hard
and searching, covering her hungrily, while his tongue delved into the
welcoming confines of her mouth. His senses reeled as if short-circuited.

There was no foreplay, no sweet nothings. He wanted her just
as badly as she wanted him. Mace felt her legs wrap about his waist as her
nails dug into his shoulder blades. Groaning into her mouth, he couldn’t hold
back. Her soft breasts pushed against the hard planes of his chest, her nipples
hard from the cold air. Her skin was enough to drive a man to drink.

His hands dropped to her waist and lifted her out of the
water, breaking the kiss to allow his mouth to capture one perfect bud. Teeth
ground lightly against the taut flesh, pulling before releasing and allowing
his mouth to reclaim its prize to sooth the torturous pain he gave her. Her
impish cries of delight fueled his fire, his need to possess.

Shifting against her, he lowered her body, giving her no
time to adjust to him sinking deep into her tight folds. Mace grunted loudly,
the sound smothered by her mouth crashing to his. Teeth nipped and tugged at
his bottom lip, her cries grew louder when he pulled out of her tight sheath,
only to thrust harder into her.

Nails scratched at his back as he pushed her against the
edge of the tub, his fingers digging into her ass, moving her hips the way he
liked, pulling her harder against him with each thrust. He rocked against her,
almost hyperventilating, his chest tight, and his throat swelling, unable to
breathe.

His eyes stung as he claimed her lips once more, his kisses
frantic, urgent and demanding. He was choking on the fear of losing her, unshed
tears threatening to expose him as her legs locked around him, her hips
shifting to allow him to sink to full hilt inside her tight walls.

Mace half gasped, half cried out when tears slid past his
lashes, mixing with the beads of sweat and splash of water on his skin. Her
name was like a prayer on his lips, his back went rigid when his body spasmed
against her, then bucked and rocked from the unusually powerful release until
he couldn’t move. He sagged against her, his body shaking from tears that
continued to fall.

He had to get his shit together and quick. Sniffling into
her chest, he looked at her, seeing her own hazel depths glittering with tears.
“What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure.” Amy half laughed, wiping at her eyes, then
pushed wet hair from her eyes. “I mean, I know we’ve had sex before, but this …
this was different.”

He kissed her tears, his thumb wiping wet droplets from her
cheek as he whispered against her skin. “This was much needed frantic love,
Amy.”

She stilled under him, her hands cupping his cheeks, eyes
searching his. “Yes, it was, wasn’t it?”

He nodded, drawing in a shaking breath, then he freed
himself from her. Moving to place her on his lap, he gently swept water over
her chest to keep her warm against the cool night air. “I need to tell you
something, Amy.”

Amy cocked her head slightly, a frown marring her brow.
“Okay?”

“No matter what happens tomorrow, please, always know that I
love you.” He laid his fingers against her lips, shaking his head. “I don’t
know what will happen. No one does. But I want you—no, I need you to know,
above anything else, I’m in love with you.”

* * * *