Tease: Mojave Boys MC (15 page)

“I’m turning away before I fall in headfirst and end up devastated and alone,” she corrected. “That’s what I have to do to protect both of us. I can’t have you putting yourself in harm’s way for me, and I can’t stay with you and worry that I’m going to lose you at any moment.” She touched his chest, leaning into him, and his arms automatically curled around her waist. They’d known each other such a short time; how was it that the comfort level was so perfect, the desire for each other so intense? It burned inside Maya, and the instinctual coming together like this made her yearn for more.

He turned his head sharply and locked gazes with her. “Stay the night,” he said, his voice demanding and pleading at the same time. “Give me one more night, and I’ll call a cab for you in the morning. I’ll have you out of here first thing, as soon as you can be ready, and I’ll even ship you anything you left at my house so you don’t have to take the time to go back and pack it, if that’s what you want.”

Maya didn’t think it was a good idea; she was emotionally overwrought, and the last thing she needed was the sentimentality of goodbye sex. At the same time, she didn’t think she could leave Vance without tasting him one more time, feeling his skin against hers. She couldn’t guarantee she would ever find anything this fulfilling again, and she at least wanted the fresh memory of what was good between them rather than the nightmare that was pushing her away.

“One night,” she agreed. “And I’m leaving in the morning.”

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Maya had nearly stripped Vance down to his skivvies before they’d managed to get the motel room door locked and closed. The desperation between them made their sexual desire thick, filling the air instantly. It was suffocating, and Maya latching onto Vance’s lips as if he was an oxygen tank.

He ripped her clothes from her, and Maya heard tears and threads popping, but she didn’t care. She could replace anything that was destroyed. What she couldn’t replace was this moment in time, the last chance to be with a man who excited her to the point of taking flight. She bit down hard on his jaw, and he grunted. She felt his groin tighten further, his erection grow harder and twitch at the attention, and it fueled her.

She pushed him back on the bed with violent force and crawled over him, letting her tongue and teeth do the work. She nibbled and bit and licked her way up his legs, stopping to minister to his shaft for several long minutes. She sucked and laved and watched him fight to maintain control, and then she continued up his body, tracing the lines of his abs and chest with her lips and tongue.

She kissed and suckled his neck and his ear, and finally she assaulted his mouth, bruising her own lips against his teeth as she delved so deep with her tongue she swore she could taste his groans. His hands were everywhere, exploring every inch of her body like some cartographer trying to memorize not only the area but altitude and texture of the land he would record for posterity.

Vance’s fervor matched her own, and though Maya had at first balked at the idea of this one last goodbye, she couldn’t imagine having turned it down now that she was in the middle of it. She drank in the feel of Vance’s touch, the smell of his skin as the sheen of sweat glistened on him, and the sensation of pure, raw sexual hunger. She had never felt so comfortable being herself, so uninhibited with anyone as she did with Vance, and she let everything go. She didn’t worry that he ridiculed her reactions as she gasped, moaned, and whimpered. In fact, he seemed to thrill to it.

She teased at his length, rubbing her moist center over him, and he hissed in a breath, his eyes rolling back in his head. Maya reveled in her ability to truly arouse him, and as she lifted her hips and impaled herself, she came instantly, pouring in response to his size and the throbbing pulse she felt building within him. She rode his cock hard and fast, screaming with her delight as she came, one wave of pleasure building on top of another until she couldn’t tell them apart. It was one long string of increasing ecstasy, and Vance lifted his hips, thrusting as she rode, grinding his pelvis against her to bury himself deeper in her core.

He shoved her down on him over and over, his fingertips digging into her waist with his tight grip, and she was wild with delight. When he spilled his seed, Maya convulsed with her own peak, and Vance jerked several times, his face a mask of pain and glory.

Drenched in sweat, Maya rolled to the side. She couldn’t stay on top of him, or she’d pass out from heat stroke. She sprawled and felt Vance’s leg against hers as he stretched out, too. She said nothing, just let the mood linger, the excitement dwindle until she was just relaxed and satisfied. The adrenaline rush had cooled, and her body began to do the same. Normally, she would have found sleep easily and almost immediately, but her mind spun with all the things that had happened today, in the last couple of weeks, and were to come starting tomorrow.

She knew Vance still stared at the ceiling, too, and she asked, “What happens in this meeting tomorrow?” When Vance didn’t answer, she said, “I heard Dusty mention a meeting tomorrow, and something about ousting Bert from the leader role. What’s that all about?”

“I told you, we’re due for a change of leadership. Bert got too involved with the enemy, and they coaxed me right into their trap. I should have seen it coming, granted, but I was removed from the situation, and Bert failed to tell me that Triple Threat was in the clubhouse every day, checking in. He kept vital information from me and ignored warnings from Dusty and some of the other guys that it could all be a setup. So, tomorrow morning, I’m challenging his claim to have the club’s best interest at heart.”

Maya had suspected as much. “I want you to be careful with that,” she told him. “I haven’t trusted Bert from the start. He feels creepy and vile to me. I know you’re old friends, and you’ve been brothers for a long time now, but don’t let that cloud your judgment. He’ll stab you in the back in a heartbeat.”

“I’ll watch my back, and I’ll have several others doing the same,” he assured her. “Does it really matter to you?”

Maya sighed. “I’m leaving because I care too much about you, Vance, not because I don’t care at all. Get that through your head, and maybe you’ll understand. It’s for the best.”

He said nothing, and Maya didn’t have the patience to try to reason with him any further. Instead, she got up and showered in cool water, rinsing off the horrid events of the day and the dust of Wheelie that had settled into her bones. When she came back, Vance was sleeping, and she lay down beside him, waiting for the same dark bliss to overtake her.

***

The cab was going to arrive any minute, and Vance was still trying to think of some way to convince Maya to stay with him. She was falling in love with him; she’d admitted it. But that was also her excuse for going. She didn’t want her love for him to cause her to worry, and she didn’t want his love for her to goad him into more dangerous situations.

In a way, he understood, but it still wasn’t okay with him. Together, they could fight and be exponentially stronger. At the same time, Maya was stubborn and strong, and he knew that he’d only end up looking pathetic if he begged. So, he prepared to say the hardest goodbye ever. It would be final, like death, and yet she would still be alive out there somewhere, making him wonder if she was with someone else, if she was happy, and if she missed him.

She touched his face and smiled. “I’m going to miss you, Vance. I hope you know that.”

He grunted. “I doubt it. You’ll be busy with your life, your photoshoots and events and other obligations. Just do me a favor and get an actual bodyguard, okay? I want to know you’re safe.”

Maya nodded. “I can do that. And you stay out of trouble. Lie low and let your club take care of you. And for the love of God, don’t get into a fight with Bert today. Say your piece and keep the peace.”

He smiled reluctantly. “I guess I can do that for you.” He kissed her, pouring all his longing into her in one last ditch effort. However, she returned the kiss with fervor but peppered with sweet sorrow, and he knew he was screwed. He heard the cab rolling in before he saw it, and it appeared over the horizon with a cloud of dust behind it. He hugged Maya tight against him one last time as it drew near, burying his face in her hair and whispering, “I love you, Maya.”

Her body stiffening slightly was the only sign she’d heard him, and Vance pulled away with a sense of rejection. She squeezed his hands and gave him one last smile while the cab drew to a stop. “I wish things could have been different.”

They still could, he wanted to scream, but he said nothing. Instead, he lifted the one bag she had with her and tossed it in the back of the cab. He held the door for her while she got in and then closed it behind her as she rolled down the window. Finally, he hedged, “Maybe fate will bring us back together one day, in some different place under different circumstances.”

“Maybe,” she said, and then she turned to the driver. “Kingman Transportation Services Company, please,” Vance heard her tell the cabbie, and he drove off. Maya’s hand came out the window and waved, and Vance waved back but refused to watch until the car disappeared. He wasn’t going to be that pathetic.

He went into the bar in search of his boys, ready for the meeting, and he found Dusty, Donnie, and Caleb kicked back at one of the tables. With the exception of the ever-present Joe behind the bar, the place was otherwise deserted. He joined them and scowled as they all smirked at him. “Great, am I the butt of every joke planned for the day because I got dumped?”

Donnie shook his head, still smiling. “No, actually, we’re all taking bets on how long it’ll be before you decide to chase after her.”

Vance rolled his eyes. “It’s not going to happen, boys. It’s not me; it’s the lifestyle. There’s nothing I can do to change that because I don’t know any other way of living.” As he said it, his phone buzzed in his pocket, and he saw it was a text from Maya. Had she changed her mind? Was she coming back? He could only hope it wasn’t just a final goodbye as he opened it.

He jumped to his feet as he saw the image that had come through in the text…a text that definitely came from Maya’s phone. She stared at him with terrified eyes, tape over her mouth, and ropes tied around her chest and arms. She was in the back of that cab. And the thing that really pissed him off was that there was blood trickling out from under the tape on her mouth, which meant someone had hurt her, probably backhanded her when she’d fought.

“What is it?” the three boys chimed in unison, getting to their feet, but Vance held up a hand for them to wait. Another message came through, and he read,
If you want to see her alive again, come alone, come unarmed, and come soon. I can keep her alive, but I don’t know that I can keep her unviolated.

And then a third text came through with an address. He had to get there soon. The idea of anyone putting their hands on Maya in any way turned him into a maniac, a remorseless killer, and every emotion he had other than rage disappeared. It was only further provoked with the next text, an image of the scorpion with devil eyes. A clear claim on the kidnapping.

He looked at all three of the guys around him, and he landed on Caleb, who had the fastest bike of the three. “I need your ride, and I need to leave. You can have mine when it gets here, if I’m not back by then.”

“What’s going on, Ice?” Dusty asked as he followed Vance to the weapons locker. It said to come unarmed, but he wasn’t stupid. He packed a couple of small pistols and blades in hidden places. “Whatever it is, let us help you.”

Vance met his eyes. “You can’t help me, Dusty. I appreciate the offer, but the best thing you can do is make sure no one comes with me. If I’m lucky, I’ll be back soon.” He tossed the phone to his friend as he took the keys Caleb offered him and headed to the bike. They followed him out, and Dusty handed his phone back.

“You’re going to need this,” Dusty told him. “Don’t be stupid, and good luck, Ice. We’re with you all the way.” That energy and determination not to screw up his attempt to save Maya were exactly what he was counting on.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Not wanting Vance to see her look back as she closed the door to the cab, Maya wielded her compact mirror discretely so she could watch him. She refused to cry; it wasn’t her style, and no matter how she thought she felt, it had only been a few days. Such a short relationship didn’t warrant vast amounts of tears.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

She wanted to bark at him to give her a minute, and she also wanted to tell him it was a stupid question. She’d told the cab company exactly where she was going when she’d called so she could prepay with her credit card. But Maya didn’t have the strength of will to do either. “Kingman. The Kingman Transportation Services Company.” From there, she would just have a driver take her the rest of the way to Los Angeles. It was less than four hours away, and there was no use flying or chartering a jet. She’d be comfortable enough in the back of a town car.

Kingman, she’d discovered, was only a twenty minute drive from Wheelie, and yet Vance told her no one was aware the small settlement was even there. It had been a happy mistake that she’d turned on the desert road to Wheelie rather than getting to Kingman, although as Vance disappeared from view, she wasn’t sure it had been so happy after all. If she’d never come here, she wouldn’t have met Vance, and her heart wouldn’t ache right now.

The driver reached Highway 40 and turned left, confusing Maya. She could have sworn Kingman was the other direction. She leaned forward to ask the driver, but he suddenly swerved to the side of the road and slammed on the breaks, throwing her against the door and then against the front seat. “What the…?”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence. The back door was yanked open, and two men in familiar vests reached inside. Still a bit shaken from being thrown around in the car, Maya tried to back away to the far side of the car, but that door opened, too, and she was dragged out, two pairs of hands bruising her arms.

“Let go of me!” she cried, flailing her legs and fighting as hard as she could against the two Scorpions who held her captive. But it didn’t do any good; she wasn’t strong enough. However, she wasn’t going down easy. She kept kicking with all her might as they carried her with fingers digging into her biceps and shoulders around to the right side of the car, where the first two men waited. One man had a dark look, his brow creased in a frown while his mouth curled into a sinister smile. The other just seemed amused and satisfied. “Stop wasting your energy,
mujer
. You might need it later. I don’t know about you, but my men have lots of stamina.”

He made a lewd gesture, thrusting his hips, and the rest of the men laughed. Disgusted, Maya spit on his shoes, and his smile faded. With an enraged expression, he hauled his arm back and backhanded her across the mouth. “
Puta!
” he screamed. “Do it again, and the punishment gets worse.”

Maya’s cheek stung, and she could taste blood in her mouth and feel it trickle from the corner of her lips.
Calm down,
she thought.
Maybe you can talk your way out of this.
Stretching her jaw, she asked, “What do you want from me?”

“I don’t want nothing from you,
mujer
, although I wouldn’t mind tapping a supermodel,” the man told her, back to his appalling mannerisms. “But Coldman is another story, and I have a feeling he’ll do whatever it takes to protect you.” He motioned to the guy beside him, who ducked into the car and came back with her cell phone, handing it to the man who seemed to be running this little heist.

Then, he reached down and grabbed some rope, which Maya hadn’t noticed until now. Her eyes grew wide. They were kidnapping her as bait for Vance. She shook her head wildly as the guy prepared to tie her up. “Vance isn’t going to come for me. He’s angry at me right now because I just dumped him. He doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”

The guy scoffed. “You think I’m an idiot? It doesn’t matter what you did to him. If he was that upset at you, it only means he’s very much in love with you. And that makes me believe even more that I’ve made the right decision.”

The ropes tightened around her chest and arms, and then the guy who was tying her up started on her wrists, then her ankles. “You can try it, but I’m telling you it won’t work. You might as well not waste your time. Let me go or kill me,” she tried, feigning confidence and a nonchalant attitude.

He took two long, quick strides forward and grabbed her chin, squeezing hard. “Don’t test me,
mujer
. I don’t play games, especially with bitches like you. Cooperate, and we’ll be good to you.
Comprende?
”

Tres Amenazas.
This wasn’t just some guy with a sense of empowerment. This was the leader of the entire gang, the man who had engineered the attack on the Mojave Boys at their own clubhouse. Seeing him now, Maya decided he was just as crazy as the man who had supposedly defected from the group, just more intelligent.

Smart enough to set a trap that Vance would walk right into, a trap that would prove to be a death sentence.

Saying no more, the leader motioned to his men again, and they stuffed her into the back of the car. How had they managed to get her? Did they have some sort of interest in the cab company? It was the only thing she could think of that would have given them the inside knowledge of her need for a taxi and the arrival time.

“One more thing,
mujer
,” the driver said, turning in his seat. He stretched out a piece of duct tape and slapped it over her bleeding mouth. Her eyes widened in fear. “I don’t want to hear your fucking mouth the whole way home.” He chuckled, and
Tres Amenazas
leaned into the passenger seat, facing her.

He was laughing, too, an ugly rasping sound. “I would tell you to smile for the camera, but you can’t, can you?” He held up her phone and took a shot, and Maya was glad she’d managed to keep tears from welling up so far. She was terrified now, for herself and for Vance. “When your little boyfriend gets this from your phone, he’s going to go
loco
,” the leader said with a maniacal grin. He was pressing buttons swiftly, and Maya realized he was texting Vance.

She tried to scream in protest, but the sound was muffled, so she kicked her bound feet against the seat in protest. The guy looked up at her. “Be still, or your chauffeur might get angry and decide he needs to knock you out for the drive.” Finishing his text, he got out, throwing back at her, “Just sit back. Relax. Enjoy the scenery. You’ve got a little bit of a drive ahead of you.”

And then he was gone. All doors on the car shut, and the driver locked them. With the same lack of grace as before, he shot back onto the road and picked up speed. Maya forced herself not to cry and not to fight, and she hoped for the best. The fear in her chest built exponentially as the man drove at frightening speeds on winding roads, and they drew closer to whatever fate awaited her.

She prayed she would make it out of this alive, but at the same time, she wanted Vance to make it out, too. And if he came for her, there was absolutely no hope of that. She was either alone in this, or the only man she’d ever really cared about was going to give his life trying to save hers.

Those were her options, and neither of them were good. It wasn’t fair, and while she realized that was typical in this life, it didn’t make her feel any better about it. The only chance of keeping Vance away was if his brothers in the club forced him to stay put, and Maya asked the universe to please make sure they were strong enough to hold him back.