Page 24 of T-Bone (Steel Demons MC #11)

Faith

I had too much energy, and it wasn’t the good kind of energy, the kind that let you be productive for hours on end without a break. It was the kind of angry, nervous energy that required a five mile run or an hour inside one of those rage rooms I never understood until just this moment.

T-Bone was a lot of things and infuriating was right at the top of the list. He was kind and sweet when he wanted to be, angry and annoying a lot of the time, and stubborn when he thought he had to be.

It was something I might have admired in him under normal circumstances but right now it was hindering my progress.

And dammit I needed to know why. I felt like there was a reason he kept letting me get close to where Gemma was—supposedly—and then pulling back.

At time it felt cruel, but he hadn’t shown himself to be a cruel man, which only heightened my suspicions.

I needed to find answers, but it was too late to do anything but online research, so I took a shower and prepared for bed.

Not that I thought I’d be able to sleep with how wound up I was.

The door opened and there was the source of my frustration. “Why are you here?”

His expression was blank. “This is my room. Where else would I be?”

I rolled my eyes. “Literally anywhere else.”

“Yet I’m here.” I didn’t miss the snark in his tone, but I chose to ignore it for the sake of avoiding another fight.

“Whatever.”

Instead of replying, T-Bone grinned and began to undress right there in front of me without any shame. Not that he had anything to be ashamed of, his body was perfection. Muscles and ink everywhere, like a feast for the eyes and I didn’t know where to start. “There’s a bathroom for that.”

“And let you miss the show?” His words held a hint of humor but there was unmistakable heat in his eyes. “Why would I deprive you of this?”

“Why do you do anything other than to annoy me or piss me off?”

He laughed. He threw his head back and laughed, which gave me an uninterrupted view of his throat and prominent Adam’s apple, his broad chest and steely abs, and good lord that beautiful cock, long and thick and hard.

His body was the perfect way to get out some of this energy .

“Fuck it,” I mumbled, removed my nightgown and jumped into his arms. His hands went around my waist at the same time my legs wrapped around his.

I moaned at the feel of him, long and thick between my thighs.

I wasn’t sure who was hotter, and I didn’t care, I just wanted more.

Needed more.

T-Bone kissed me until my body vibrated with electricity and the need to have him, to feel him. To touch him. To taste him. It consumed me.

I kissed my way down his body until I was on my knees in front of him, cock in hand while I gave him the best blow job of my life.

His grunts and growls were just what I needed, pushing me to take him deeper, to push him to the edge.

His cock swelled in my mouth, and I smiled to myself because I knew what was coming next.

“Enough,” he growled in that low, wild animal way he had when he was on the edge. He gripped my hair tight enough to make my eyes sting with tears and the responding tug between my legs. “On the bed. Now.”

Yes. This was just what I needed, a hard, rough fuck. I took off my panties and tossed them at him before getting on the bed on all fours, giving him a good look at where I was soaked for him. “This good?”

“Fucking perfect,” he growled seconds before his big hands gripped my ass and spread my cheeks.

“Oh!” His mouth was there on my pussy, licking and sucking while I squirmed beneath him. His tongue worked me until I was drenched and squealing my need to come. “T-Bone, please.”

He laughed, the sound vibrated through my entire body. But then his tongue, warm and flat licked me from my clit all the way back to my ass and up my spine. “Faith,” he growled.

“Yes.” The word came out a desperate plea. “Oh fuck, more,” I begged when he slowly pushed inside. “More,” I demanded.

“Like this,” he teased with a smile in his voice as he pushed so fucking slow, I thought I might burst from the frustration. “Or this,” he asked and pushed in a little deeper.

“Better but not quite. I need you to fuck me, T-Bone. Hard. Fast. Now.”

There was an extended beat of silence and then he pulled out so achingly slowly I whimpered as his thick cock dragged across all of my sensitive nerve endings.

Then he gripped my ass and slammed into me hard and fast, over and over again like a man on a mission.

He kept up a punishing pace, pounding harder with every grunt that sent shivers down my spine.

“Yes,” I moaned. “So damn good.” I arched my back and pushed against him, taking him even deeper.

He let out a low growl as his fingers dug harder into my skin. The sounds he made as he pounded, the sound of our wet skin smacking together was the best damn sound I ever heard. “Faith,” he moaned as his cock swelled inside of me. “Come for me babe. Coat my cock in your come.”

“Dirty.” I smiled to myself and pushed back harder, matching him stroke for stroke.

“Ah, fuck. So wet and gripping my cock like she never wants to let me go.”

I shivered when his hand went between my legs, rubbing my clit between his thumb and forefinger.

And seconds later I was flying apart into millions of pieces with no hope of ever being put back together again.

I came hard and the orgasm lasted forever, never ending because T-Bone wouldn’t let it.

His hips pumped in hard, deep strokes that kept me coming until my throat was hoarse, my legs trembled, and my body couldn’t take anymore pleasure. “Okay,” I panted. “Okay.”

He laughed, still sliding in long, deep strokes that were achingly slow and torturous. “I would but I can’t. Your pussy is too good.”

My legs gave out and I collapsed face down on the bed, T-Bone fell with me.

His heavy weight pressed against me, his cock was still hard and nudging that spot deep inside of me that kept me high on orgasm and man.

I shivered with every shallow stroke, groaned with every deep stroke.

“Oh!” Another aftershock rocked my body, triggering T-Bone’s orgasm.

His cock swelled until it hit all sides of me and then filled my body with his essence.

“Fuck, babe. Oh. Faith.” His body shook on top of me before he released a long, satisfied grunt. “Goddamn that was hot.” He sighed and rolled off of me, but pulled me into his arms so that my back was flush against his chest.

“That was just what I needed.” My body was relaxed and satisfied. I knew if I stood in that moment my legs wouldn’t hold me up, so I didn’t bother trying. I rested against T-Bone’s chest and listened as his breaths evened out into the long, deep sounds of sleep.

Meanwhile, my mind raced nonstop, unable to settle down long enough to let my eyes slide shut. Hours passed until the sky outside lightened, and streaks of sun interrupted the darkness.

Too many questions tap danced in my mind.

I gave myself another hour before I called it quits and hit the shower, dressing casually in jeans and a t-shirt—no blazer today—and after leaving T-Bone a note saying I had some business to take care of, I slipped out of the bedroom and then the clubhouse before I got behind the steering wheel and headed to Red Rock.

***

My first stop was the police department because I knew if I came in early enough, Maynard wouldn’t be in the office yet, which gave me time to talk to the others without his interference. Detective Gaines had been assigned to Chloe’s case, and he’d been nothing but kind and patient with me.

“Can I buy you a coffee?” I asked.

He looked at me warily, standing slowly as he grabbed his jacket. “I don’t know what else I can tell you. The case is closed.”

“I know and this isn’t about the courts or the law. As you know, my niece’s DNA was found at the apartment of Ashley Monroe. I believe she is still alive and I need as much information as possible if I’m going to find her.”

He nodded slowly as we left the precinct and headed to the food truck parked at the end of the block. “You really think she’s still alive?”

I nodded. “What other explanation is there? I’ve learned some things that make me believe Ms. Monroe helped my niece over the past three years. For some reason, she was scared to confide in the police.”

He let out a short, unamused laugh. “We both know why she was scared,” he sighed.

“She was smart to keep that information to herself.” He accepted a large black coffee and added too much sugar before he looked at me and nodded.

“Ms. Monroe’s boyfriend was found dead in her backyard.

Autopsy puts his time of death at least twenty-four hours before hers. ”

“I didn’t realize he’d been found. Explains why Maynard was in such a hurry to close the case.” I was still angry about it, but not surprised. “Can I ask you a question, Detective Gaines?”

“Shoot.”

“I know the Ghost Riders MC are bad guys, I know that. But will they really kill my niece if they find her first?”

He nodded slowly, his eyes filled with sympathy. “Without a second thought. If she’s out there, my advice? Get to her first and don’t hesitate if you have a shot on any of those bastards.”

“Thank you for that, and thanks for taking time to talk with me.”

“Of course. Good luck.” He raised his coffee cup and walked away. “Detective Welsh?”

I turned without correcting him about my job title. “Yes?”

“Officer Ahern responded to the call initially. He’s the one who found the original crime scene and he can’t resist the coffee cake at Ava’s Bakery.”

“Thank you.” The drive to Ava’s Bakery took just a few minutes and I found the young, uniformed officer enjoying a cronut, possibly his second.

Officer Ahern was fresh-faced and eager to do a good job, which meant he kept track of important details others might have missed. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Detective Welsh.”

Again, I didn’t bother correcting him. “Thank you. I hear you were first at the Monroe crime scene?”

His eyes brightened and he nodded. “Yeah. Got called to do a welfare check.”

“Any idea who called?”

He shook his head. “Nope, it went through dispatch. I thought it was odd, but duty calls, ya know?”

I nodded and took notes. “Always. Did you know it was a death scene right away?”

“Not at first. I knocked at all three doors and no one answered. I spotted the body of a male, white in the backyard so I took advantage of the unlocked back door and went inside. It was a particularly, uh, bloody crime scene ma’am. Right from that moment I knew it would be bad.”

“Did you call for a detective right away?”

He shook his head, cheeks turning a bright shade of pink. “No, I know I should have but the neighbor mentioned she hadn’t seen the girl who lives there in a few days and after spotting the male body, I had to see if she was okay.”

She wasn’t. “Where did you find her?”

“In the living room. It looked like there had been one hell of a fight. Her body was in terrible condition, and it looked like she didn’t go down easily.”

“What makes you say that, I mean other than the blood everywhere?”

“Right.” He nodded and leaned across the table.

“She used what I assumed were her dying breaths to draw something on the wall. It was a skull with three thick lines underneath it.” He looked around before leaning in closer.

“In her blood, at least, I assume it was her blood since the guy in the backyard looked like he’d been dead for a while. ”

I perked up at the mention of the skull and showed him a crude drawing. “Did the skull look something like this?”

He nodded. “Oh yeah. Listen, I have a photo of it, but you can’t tell anyone.”

“My lips are sealed,” I assured him. “I’m just trying to find my niece, that’s it.”

He nodded and pulled out his phone to show me.

It was the same skull in her case file. The same skull that was tattooed on Nate. “I didn’t see it in the crime scene photos.”

“Right?” His eyes were wide and suspicious. “Chief said one of the forensics guys messed with it and it was gone, a big hole in the wall. Seemed strange, because those guys are all about the details, you know?”

“Of course. They are an essential part of the justice system,” I answered kindly.

“Anyway the chief said it didn’t matter since the killer was already dead. Case closed. I thought it was fishy but I’m only four years on the job so what do I know?”

“A lot, I think.” I smiled softly. “You gave an excellent briefing and the details you remembered are really great, Ahern. When the time comes, you’ll make a solid detective.”

His expression brightened. “Thank you.” A call came on the radio, which ended our talk.

“My lips are sealed,” I promised once more. “Thanks again for your help.”

Ahern took off and I grabbed an espresso while I mulled over everything that he’d shared with me.

I left the bakery distracted, driving aimlessly as I replayed his words.

Maynard knew that Ashley’s ex hadn’t killed her but the killer—almost certainly the Ghost Riders—had taken care of him too, putting a neat little bow on a quickly closed case.

“Son of a bitch!” Something was missing in all of this, and I didn’t have it, not yet.

Maybe T-Bone was right, and I was too emotional to think clearly.

But why kill Ashley if she didn’t give them Gemma’s whereabouts?

And where’s the woman who was taking care of Gemma with Ashley—presumably Rachel Grey—gone?

” I had more question than answers and I knew with absolute fucking certainty that the answers were up in Shiloh Valley.

That’s where I needed to go, no matter what T-Bone thought.

I had to get to that cabin, to get the answers I craved and to rescue my niece.

Whoever had her would have my undying gratitude forever, but I could take care of her better.

I was family.

***

I drove around for hours, lost in thought, working through problems while I burned through a tank of gas.

Hours later and I still had no answers to go along with an empty belly.

I spotted a painfully hip diner that sold real bacon and vegan bacon, whatever that was, and found a booth in the corner to take care of one problem while I worked on the other.

If I had to go back to up Shiloh Valley without T-Bone, I would, but he’d brought up some good points last night and I needed to come up with a plan along with several backup plans just in case. I had to be careful to make sure nothing bad happened to Gemma during the rescue.

A shadow crossed the table, and I reached for the steak knife instinctively before the deep, angry voice sounded. “All that talk about trust, and you fucking run off and decide to do the work yourself? Now I’m wondering if I can trust you.” T-Bone sat, angry and scowling.

Expecting answers.