B-ry: A Steel Paragons MC Novel (The Coast: Book 4) Read online

  Something about it caught my attention right away and I moved to pick it up.

  “Oh, yeah,” Gwen said but I didn’t look up. I couldn’t. “So sad for Cami’s sister.”

  I read the headline. Then read it again. For the first time, I saw the asshole that she’d been engaged to. At least I hoped that she still wasn’t after all of this. The prick was a cheating bastard, and there it was splashed all across the local paper.

  “Don’t go running out of here with that one. Sketch already took off with the first customer copy.”

  “He saw this?”

  “Yeah, my guess is that he was taking it back to the shop to show Cami,” Gwen said and the corners of her lips turned down. “Apparently Laurel called off the engagement a while ago and I bet that this is the family’s way to save face or whatever. I think her parents kicked her out of her place too because Mouse said something about going over there to help her move tomorrow.”

  “Shit,” I said as everything came together in my head.

  Suddenly, all I could think about was getting to her. I had to make sure she was okay. I felt partly responsible for all of it.

  “Forget the coffee,” I said and made my way to my bike like my ass was on fire.

  I jogged up the steps to her building and was halted by the guy watching the door. I thanked my lucky stars because the guy that was working the desk remembered me and told the door guy to let me in. He waved me on with a sad smile.

  Shit. I bet everyone knew. I felt really bad for her right now.

  I knocked, unsure of what I should do next.

  She answered the door looking a little worse for the wear. Her eyes were puffy and a little glassy. She swayed a bit but caught herself. She was drunk. Which maybe I couldn’t blame her. She righted herself, stood tall and put her hand on her hip.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked with a whole lot of bite in her tone.

  Since she had barely opened the door I guessed it was a bad idea to ask to come in. I didn’t even think about it. Her sister was probably there already trying to comfort her. And I would have bet that Laurel didn’t want anyone to know that I was here or that I had been before.

  I didn’t get a chance to say anything.

  “No, I don’t want you here,” she said and she actually poked me in the chest so hard that I flinched. “This is all your fault! My life is ruined because of you. If you hadn’t kissed me then I never would have called off my engagement. I never would have been a cheater. Not that it matters because clearly, I wasn’t the only one in my relationship.”

  The last few sentences were said low and it was almost as if she didn’t want anyone to hear.

  “Laurel,” I said keeping my voice low and even. “Don’t do this. I came here to check on you. Because I…” Only I wasn’t sure what I was really going to say.

  I cared?

  Did I?

  Yeah, okay, I did. I cared about the prissy, too good for me, princess.

  “I was worried, alright,” I finished. Maybe it was a cop out but it was still the truth.

  “I don’t care. You are less than nothing to me,” she said and I couldn’t lie, it cut like a knife. “Just… just stay away, please.”

  The look in her eyes broke me. She couldn’t stand to be around me but this was for a different reason. I’d hurt her. I had broken her world and there was nothing I could say or do to fix that. Because of me, she blamed herself. She marked herself as something way worse than she was. I had wanted to kiss her, both times, and I made the first move every time. I put her in the position to be confused. Yeah, right now I felt like the piece of shit that she saw me as.

  Again, the door closed in my face. I had no choice but to leave. Only, I didn’t go far.

  I had barely made it back to my bike and settled down for a long wait when I saw Cami walking out of the building. I stayed there and made sure she got in her car okay and drove off. Then I made the move to go back in. This time nobody tried to stop me.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Laurel

  The knock on my door was soft but relentless. I barely heard it while I sat there in my bed trying my best not to cry.

  Life sure had a funny way of turning around on me.

  There was a part of me that had felt so guilty over what had happened. The biker that I hadn’t even seen coming. The kiss that I had been blinded by. I still replayed it in my head hoping to feel some of the tingles that I had shoot through my body when it had happened. The way my mind went blank. The way the ground seemed to slip out from under me. With just that first kiss he had owned me.

  But it was all wrong, because I had been engaged then.

  That was the punch line to the joke perhaps. The man I was supposed to be loyal to, supposed to marry, hadn’t been that to me. Unbeknownst to me, he had been cheating on me all along, with multiple people. His indiscretions had come to light and spilled to the whole world to see.

  Okay, that was a bit dramatic.

  More like revealed to anyone in this city that might still read a paper. Though, I wouldn’t have doubted that there was proof online as well.

  I couldn’t believe how crazy things had gotten. I was about to have absolutely nothing. This was my last night in my lush, expansive condo. It was really starting to sink in that my parents had cut me off. I had known for a week that this place would no longer be available to me. And yes, those were the words that they had chosen to use. I defied them. I didn’t show up to that dumb charity dinner on Brice’s arm smiling like everything was perfect. Now, it was time to pay the price. That price was everything.

  All I had to my name was what I would manage to get out of this place before they changed the locks on me. And the money that I had been smart enough to pull out of my savings account. I didn’t have much in there because I never thought I would need to. My family was loaded and we were old money, it wouldn’t be going away any time soon. It was something at least. I could get by until I… figured out the next step.

  My dad had said all I had to do was apologize to my mother. I should have. Just given up everything. It wasn’t like I still had any dignity left as it was now. I should have gone crawling back. But I couldn’t. The thought of it turned my stomach sour. So despite how hard it was, I stood my ground.

  Cami, bless her sweet heart, she tried to make sure I wasn’t toppling over the edge. Only, there was nothing she could do for me. I blubbered about how I was embarrassed and humiliated, because I was. I was the laughing stock now. I couldn’t believe that I’d broken down like that to her. I was so proud of her for standing up for herself and when I tried to do the same thing, I crumbled like stale bread.

  I had just started to accept that this was my life now when he came to the door. I was ashamed of the things I had said to him the moment I closed the door. However, I was a little intoxicated and a lot broken. I let him have it and he took it from me. He even said he was worried about me. Which seemed preposterous because I knew I was nothing to him. A toy. Something that he might laugh at later. That sad princess that couldn’t say no to him.

  The pictures of Brice that were plastered everywhere kept flashing through my head. It made me sick, though I had no right to feel that way. But then again, it wasn’t like I was down on my knees for someone else. Multiple times. Some of those pictures were taken when I had been there with him at an event.

  How could he?

  But really, was I any better?

  It was clearly not meant to be anyway.

  The knocking continued and I knew it wasn’t some strange pounding in my head. A headache brought on by stress and dealing with all the shit that had been dumped on me.

  “I figured you didn’t want your sister to know anything,” the biker said the moment I opened the door. Strangely, his eyes looked full of worry and hurt, and that might have been the reason I didn’t slam the door in his face. “But I didn’t want to leave not knowing that you were alright.”

  Was I alright?

 
; No, not even close, but I was too strong and proud to admit it out loud to this man.

  A wave of guilt hit me for what I had said to him earlier. And it seemed that despite my horrible outburst, he had stayed and waited for the right moment to try again.

  I stood there and took him in. The alcoholic haze long faded away and I felt a dizzying desire spread through my veins. This man that had taken me by surprise and snapped me out of my mundane reality.

  His arms were strong.

  His shoulders and chest were broad.

  Protective. That was the perfect word that I would have used to describe him. Strong. Manly. Maybe even deadly.

  “What’s your name?” I asked. I knew what his buddies called him. The same name that was on the patch that was sewn on his vest just over his heart.

  “You know my name, princess,” he replied and the half-smirk he shot me was incredibly heart-stopping.

  “No,” I said with a shake of my head. “Your name.”

  “Bryan.” His answer had a tone of amusement like I should have been smart enough to figure that out.

  My eyes looked at the different patches that decorated his leather vest. The club name. What I assumed was his place in that club. A few others that I honestly didn’t even care to try and figure out right now.

  “Make me scream it,” I said brazenly as I looked back into his eyes.

  He straightened like he couldn’t believe I had just said that. I was a little shocked myself. But I suddenly didn’t care about anything. Not being that perfect girl that did what she was told. The one that had three-minute sex with her fiancé or the one that hopped on a plane whenever she needed a new outfit.

  “Yes, my Queen,” he said as his boot stepped with a heavy purpose over the threshold.

  I should have hated his pet names. I should have scoffed at them. That wasn’t me, not anymore. Not ever again. However, from his lips they were perfect. Maybe it was just that anything that came from those sinful lips was nothing short of amazing and beautiful.

  I was rooted in place for a half of a second, then I was airborne as my back hit the wall with a thud. His hand cupped my ass and my legs wrapped around his thick, built frame without any hesitation.

  The door shut with a slam and I didn’t care that there might have been a scuff mark on the clean white paint from his boot. Or that it might have woken my neighbors. Or that I was about to let a biker—a criminal, no doubt—have his way with me. I even welcomed it. I wanted it, craved it beyond reason at this point.

  He ground his hardness into my core as his lips took mine. A possessive growl ripped from his throat and I actually whimpered as it vibrated my body. This kiss was just as good as the first, if not better. The illusion that maybe I had been so desperate and needy for something the first time was quickly demolished to nothing but ash that blew away in the wind. Because, whether I wanted to admit it or not, he had made me come alive.

  “You sure you want my filthy hands on you?” he asked though it wasn’t a question and by his tone, he wasn’t being nice.

  I did. I wanted his filthy, dirty, rough hands all over me.

  I wanted him to do all kinds of filthy, dirty, rough things to me.

  “Shut up and show me what you’ve got,” I said quite hotly.

  This wasn’t me. I wasn’t some saucy tart. I wasn’t one that let myself be free and talked like that. I blamed it on him. He brought out the uncouth woman desperate to break free.

  One that I hadn’t even realized was there until now.

  I brought my lips to his again and this time, I sucked and bit the full bottom one. There was a hiss that came from him but I didn’t think it was because I had hurt him.

  “You asked for it,” he growled.

  There was a fight with our mouths, our tongues at war to come out on top.

  Then he was walking. In between kisses, I directed him to my bedroom. He didn’t let me down, his strong arms carrying me with ease as his feet pounded steadily across the condo floor.

  He placed me on the bed with such a gentleness that it threw me for a second. I didn’t want tender. I didn’t want him to care. I wanted to forget.

  I tore at his clothes, refusing to meet his eyes.

  “Ease up, baby,” he said almost softly. “I’ve been dreaming of this since the moment I saw you. Want to make this last.”

  My hands froze. Actually, my whole body froze. Everything except my heart which was beating too hard and too loudly for me to handle.

  “I’ll make you forget, but I also want you to remember,” he said like he could read me so well.

  I didn’t want to be an open book right now. I was on the verge of tears and hated it.

  “Watch me. Only me,” he said as he pressed me down into the mattress, covering me completely with his body.

  His lips kissed down my neck as his calloused fingers slipped under my shirt and slid up my stomach. The cool air hit my skin as he pushed the fabric up. I felt the goosebumps rise and his hands were so hot against my flesh. The contradiction was driving me insane with need and lust.

  My shirt was freed. I was exposed and trying to hide the fact that I felt so vulnerable.

  I was sure he had seen tons of women naked. I mean, look at him, he was hot and cocky and had that I’ll give it to you good thing going on. I didn’t want to know how I compared to all those other women but at the same time, I did. I had to know if I was up to his standards. I wasn’t loose. I wasn’t provocative. I didn’t have huge boobs. I was skinny and at times I would have said bony and ugly. There wasn’t any kind of curve to my body. That was what I had grown up thinking was beautiful. That women needed to be thin. That men didn’t like seeing even an ounce of fat. And Bryan, he was very built so I imagined that maybe he liked his woman fit as well. I wasn’t fit. I had a flat stomach but it wasn’t because I spent hours at the gym. I always thought of myself as a stick and I couldn’t see how that was attractive.

  My eyes met his and there was something appreciative in them. So I let all my insecurities and apprehensions go and gave into everything he was about to give me.

  He stood, pulling my pants off as he got to his feet. His fingers ghosted over my panties which were already soaked. His smile was more of a cocky smirk like he knew that he was the one that had made them that way.

  Before I could say anything, his finger slipped in between my panties and my heated sex. His thick knuckle brushed against my clit and I sucked in a sharp breath. Oh, how I wanted him to touch me more there.

  Only he didn’t.

  He pulled my panties down my legs so slowly that I wanted to scream. His eyes never left mine and I couldn’t seem to look away no matter how shaky I felt.

  He dropped his leather vest then reached behind his head, his biceps bulging as he pulled his shirt off. That smirk was back as he reached for his belt. I ignored it as I focused on his fingers as they nimbly unbuckled his belt and then undid his pants. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation as he pushed his pants down. His huge erection was apparent as it pressed against his black boxer-briefs.

  “Like what you see, princess?” he asked in a cocky tone and my eyes shot up to his.

  I was honest to God, speechless.

  “You’ll never forget me,” he said as he kicked off his boots and pants, and then rid his boxer-briefs in like the blink of an eye.

  Oh, I didn’t doubt it.

  He was huge. Like massive. And I started to fear for my woman parts right now. But I also craved to feel how he would take me. How he would ruin me. Because there was no doubt in my mind that things would never look the same after this.

  He tore open a condom. I hadn’t even seen him grab it from… wherever. Then he rolled it down his length like he had all the time in the world. I watched with a shocked fascination. He was glorious all over, that was for sure.

  “Now,” I said as I parted my legs and practically begged him to take me.

  “Yes, my Queen,” he said and covered my body once again.
r />   His hands were in my hair. His mouth was on mine. His hardness was pressing against the place that ached for him.

  He held himself still, hovering there while my juices began to pool and run downward. I was sure that I was going to soak the comforter. For once I didn’t think about how much it would cost to clean it. Or how much it had been, to begin with. I didn’t even think about the mess I was about to make all over it.

  I whined and mewled and clawed at his firm back as I waited for him to give me what I needed. What I desperately wanted.

  His hands slapped down on the outside of my thighs. He pulled my legs up somehow still managing to hold his body off of me enough not to crush my small frame.

  With restraint, he pushed into me. I broke away from his mouth to set the caged moan free. It echoed off the walls and rang in my ears long after it had slipped from my throat.

  It felt like he was splitting me open, but in the most delectable way. I needed to feel more of him. I wanted him to fill me up like I had never been before.

  And he did, pushing into me fully and causing me to moan shamelessly again.

  “Damn,” he whispered against my neck.

  One word and I could tell that he had lost all of his control.

  His hips pulled away from me and I whimpered. But he didn’t let me go empty for long. The slam of his pelvis hitting me filled the silence. Again and again. He pounded into me like a man on a mission. Like a man chasing something desperately. I was just as in need of the same thing.

  It crawled up my core slowly. The burning turned into a tingling. The tingling turned into a thumping vibration. Heat shot through my whole body. I clung to him, digging my nails into his back and wrapping my legs around his waist tighter.

  “Bryan,” I panted out. Maybe even more than once.

  “Come for me. I need to feel you soak my cock.”

  His words, filthy and crude, were what sent me over the edge. My nails raked down his back and I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had drawn blood. I tried to fight it off. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction that he had gotten me off so quickly, but there was no way I could. I shuddered and shook and trembled as I clamped down around him to the point he had to push harder to continue thrusting into me.