Angel on Fire (Motorcycle Club Romance) (2 page)

“No, not at all,” I say quickly, offering Joe a quick smile over my shoulder.

“He’s not trying anything with you, is he?” Joe asks, as he looks out at the mystery biker at the table who seems lost in thought, writing something on a napkin.

“No, really Joe, don’t worry,” I say, in what I hope is a reassuring voice. “I better get back out there,” I say quickly, hurrying back out towards the biker’s table. As I get closer, I see that he’s not writing, but he’s sketching something. It’s a portrait of a girl and she looks a lot like me.

“Thanks,” he says, looking up when I place his coffee in front of him. “I hope you don’t mind,” he gestures towards the napkin and the drawing that he’s finishing up with a few quick strokes of his pen. His words leave no doubt that the sketch is of me.

“No. Mind? No,” I say, willing myself to speak in actual sentences. “It’s really good,” I tell him. It’s the truth, I can’t believe that he’s drawn this in just a few short minutes.

“It’s nowhere near as gorgeous as the subject, but it’s not bad for a napkin sketch.” He smiles ruefully at me and I feel my stomach do a little flip, as I process what he’s just said. “You live up to your name, Cali,” he says quietly, looking me up and down. But the way that he does it is so different from Joe’s look that I almost laugh. “I’m Mick,” he says, “Mick Thomas.” He holds out his hand for me to shake which I do automatically, distantly registering the heat from his hand.

“Cali Bloom. Nice to meet you, Mick,” I say in a low voice, trying to sort out my thoughts and feelings. I suddenly feel a little faint and unsteady on my feet.

“Hey,” he jumps up from his seat and grabs hold of my arms, not letting me crumple to the ground. Before I know what’s happened, he’s eased me down in the booth in front of him and he’s squatting on the floor next to me. He hasn’t let go of my arm and I can feel the thrill of electricity as he touches me. “You okay?” he looks deep into my green eyes, like he’s trying to find an answer there.

“I’m fine, thanks,” I tell him weakly. “I guess I forgot to eat,” I admit, trying to remember when I ate the last time. It was ironic really, working in a diner and surviving on next to nothing. Instead of getting free food, I’d asked for the equivalent in cash. I needed as much money as I could get my hands on, as quickly as possible, to try to get out of this godforsaken town.

“You
forgot
to eat?” Mick repeats after me, like I’ve just said the stupidest thing he’s ever heard. I try to ignore the closeness of his head to mine and how much I just want to lean over and kiss those amazing lips.

I shake my head, trying to order my thoughts. At exactly the moment that Mick and I seem to be losing ourselves in each other’s stare, Joe stomps over and puts his hand on his hips. “Cali, what’s happened? Are you alright?” he asks. He looks between Mick and me and the storm cloud that passes over his face seems to darken.

“I think she needs to go home,” Mick says in a tone that makes it clear that he won’t take no for an answer.

“And who the hell are you to decide what she needs? She has a shift to finish!” he says. As his voice goes up an octave, I wonder if he realizes that he sounds like a character from
Alvin and the Chipmunk
s.

“She’s not well,” Mick says, standing up to his full height and towering over Joe. “I’m going to pay for my coffee and then I’m going to take her home,” he says, as I start to get up from the booth.

“No, really, I’m fine,” I protest, but my knees don’t seem to be as convinced. They wobble and I find that I probably should sit back down again. I think back to when I last ate and I realize that I’ve been subsisting on coffee and the occasional chocolate bar for the past few days. I guess it wasn’t a sustainable plan.

“Well who’s going to finish her shift?” Joe asks uncertainly, as he looks between Mick and me. “And if anyone’s taking her home, it should be me,” he says, bustling around trying to untie his apron.

As an automatic reaction, I take hold of Mick’s hand and squeeze it. He looks at me, concern in his eyes. I shake my head, the last thing that I want is Joe taking me home. I don’t trust him not to try anything and, right now, I don’t feel strong enough to fend him off. Mick looks between me and Joe and seems to understand, he nods grimly and doesn’t let go of my hand. Instead, he pushes the plate towards me and simply says, “Eat the pie.” I’m about to tell him that I can’t when my hand reaches for the fork, as if it’s decided all on its own what it’s going to do. I demolish the pie in about five seconds flat and have to stop myself from licking the plate. I feel instantly better.

“Let’s get out of here,” Mick says, as he almost lifts me up and we head towards the door. “She’s coming with me. She doesn’t need you,” he says pointedly and he opens the door for me.

“Cali, Cali, if you walk through that door, then don’t bother to come back,” Joe splutters and I realize that this is what it would have all come down to anyway. Eventually, he would have threatened me with losing my job if I didn’t sleep with him. Since my answer isn’t any different now to what it would be then, I just keep walking.

Mick and I walk in silence, as I lead him back to the motel where I’m staying. I don’t know why I feel so safe with him, but the supportive, strong arm around my shoulders is virtually holding me up, as I struggle to put one foot in front of the other. “You didn’t have to do that,” I say eventually, “but thank you.”

“I did have to and you don’t need to thank me,” he replies quietly.

“This is me,” I say, as we get to my door. I fumble with my keys as I open it and cross the few steps to the bed to sit down on something.

“Sorry about your job,” Mick says, looking awkwardly around him at the depressing room, the only one I could afford.

“Not your fault,” I tell him. “It was probably time to move on anyway, just wish I got my last check from him,” I say, trying to work up a smile, but wondering how I’m going to get out of this place without the job.

“You need money? I could always loan you some,” Mick says, looking at me. As concern fills his eyes again, I’m surprised at how eager he seems to be to help me.

“And why would you do that?” I ask, tilting my head to the side and looking into his face as if I might find an answer there. “You don’t even know me,” I remind him.

“But I want to,” he says in his low voice. “I want to know you, to help you,” he says, coming to stand in front of me.

I don’t dare to look up at him. Instead, I bite my lip and look down at the floor. “Why?” I ask, barely managing to get that one word past the lump in my throat.

“I think you know why,” he tells me, squatting down and hooking his finger underneath my chin. Then, he raises it up, so our faces are inches away from each other. “I felt it as soon as I walked in and I think you did, too,” he says, reaching behind me and pulling the band out that’s holding my hair back, so that it comes cascading down my shoulders. He runs his fingers through it and I can’t help but lean into him. He leans closer to me and plants a soft kiss on my lips. It’s perfect and it feels so right, I can feel myself sighing into him. He gathers me to him and I run my fingers over his muscular chest.

“Mick,” I say quickly, pulling back and trying to regain some semblance of control, “I’m not...I don’t,” I’m trying to tell him that I don’t let strange biker men into my room on a regular basis and I definitely don’t start kissing them as if my life depended on it.

“I know,” he replies and a slow smile plays on his lips. “I know you, Cali, and I can see that your soul is as beautiful as your face,” he finishes. He stops any reply that I have by kissing me softly and slipping his tongue inside my mouth. “You taste like cherries,” he whispers against my skin, as he starts feathering kisses along the outside of my lips, and then, along my jaw and down towards the collar of my uniform.

I can barely breathe and I feel like someone has turned the heat up to high. I’m vaguely aware of Mick unbuttoning my dress, and then, standing me up so that I step out of the uniform that I’m not ever going to wear again. I’m standing in front of him in just my peach-colored underwear and I suddenly feel self-conscious, so I try to cover myself up with my hands.

“What’s the matter?” Mick asks quickly, his grey eyes worried. “Do you want me to stop?” he asks, breathing heavily.

I know, in that moment, that the last thing I want him to do is to stop, so I shake my head. “I guess I’m a little nervous,” I admit, looking down at my bare feet and shifting from one foot to the other.

“Don’t be,” Mick says, stroking a line down from my ribs to the top of my panties. I shiver, as my nipples stand to attention and a warmth develops between my thighs. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he says almost reverently and I let myself relax into him.

I want to feel him against me. I hadn’t realized how starved I had been for human contact. The loneliness that I have been trying to push down, way down into the depths of my chest, grabs onto this moment. I need this, I need him. I take hold of his t-shirt and start pulling it up and over his head, so that I can feel him against me. Mick reaches behind me and unfastens my bra and I let it fall to the floor, suddenly not nervous at all.

But there’s still something that I need to tell him. “Mick,” I manage to get out, as he starts feathering kisses down my collar-bone and towards my breasts. He stops instantly and looks up at me. “I’ve never done this before,” I tell him honestly and, although I’m half-afraid that he may walk straight out of here when I tell him that I’m a virgin, I figure he probably needs to know.

“I’ll go slow,” he assures me and he seems completely unfazed by my admission. That’s when things start to go a little blurry. My brain shuts down everything, other than the ability to feel and touch, as Mick’s mouth closes over my nipple. He moves from one breast to the other, suckling, licking, biting, and sending tremors of electricity through my body as he does. “You’re so damn gorgeous,” he says breathlessly. I can see that he’s excited as I am.

I reach out hesitantly to touch him through his jeans and I’m surprised at how hard he feels. Mick looks at me from under hooded eyes and he nods encouragement at me as I become bolder, unzipping his jeans and struggling to pull them down. It turns out that Mick goes commando and I’m a little shocked at how big he is. Admittedly, I don’t have much of a frame of reference for this kind of thing, but I’m suddenly worried about how he’s even going to fit inside of me. That said, seeing his hard cock turns me on in a way that I could never have imagined. I take hold of him and, without even thinking about what I’m doing, I kneel in front of him and take him in my mouth.

I hear Mick’s intake of breath, as I close around his tip. I look up to make sure that he doesn’t want me to stop, but he’s looking at me with an intensity that tells me that’s the last thing he wants me to do. I swirl my tongue around his tip and try to take as much of him in my mouth as I can. I’ve never done this before and I just hope that I’m doing it right. From the low groans that Mick is making, which sound more like growls, I get the feeling that he’s enjoying it and I can feel an answering wetness between my legs.

Abruptly, Mick takes hold of me, lifts me off of the floor, and moves towards the bed. Then, he lays me down, so that he’s on top of me. “Where the hell did you learn to do that?” he asks, surprised. He sounds out of breath, as if he’s been running, but I realize he’s taking deep breaths to try to control himself. The thought warms me right through.

“Nowhere,” I say, shrugging. “I just did what felt right,” I admit. “Was it okay?” I ask, wishing that I didn’t sound so needy.

“Better than okay,” he assures me, “and now it’s my turn.” He slides down my body, until his face is next to my pussy. I raise my hips automatically, as I feel his hot breath on me.

“Mick, what are you -,” I start to say, but the next words are swallowed in a groan, as he starts licking and running his tongue along the lips of my pussy. I whimper and cry out, while he goes to work on me. I tangle my fingers in his hair as I lose control. I already feel the tingle vibrating through my body which I know means that I’m about to climax. I call out his name as I come and I almost double over from the orgasm that wracks my body. I have never experienced anything like that before.

“I’ll take that as a good sign,” Mick says, smiling wolfishly at me. I hear the noise of a packet being opened and I watch him put on the condom. I had always thought that this would be awkward, but he manages to even make using protection look sexy. “I’m going to go slow, I don’t want to hurt you,” he tells me, his face serious as he settles himself over me. I nod quickly, wanting him inside me more than I’ve wanted anything before.