Ice tapped out code with his fingers on his thigh, letting the others know this woman was his. The one. And he was taking her home. First, seduction. He’d started without her being aware of it. They’d been trained in seduction. They were very, very good at anything sexual. The first step was to get to know what she wanted most. He only had a few hours to pull it off, but he was certain he was up to the task, if his body would leave him the hell alone.
He’d never seduced a mark when it mattered to him. Seduction, as a rule, usually led to assassination. He was always in full command of his body, so it was easy to concentrate on the mark. One didn’t make a mistake if one wasn’t emotionally or physically involved. They could use any means necessary if their bodies were in control. This was the first time in his life when he didn’t have the control over his body—or mind—he needed.
It pissed him off and yet at the same time, he was intrigued and exhilarated. He had to have her consent. Once she gave it, the club would expect her to keep her word, and he would enforce it. One didn’t ever go back on one’s word. It was their code. She would have to abide by the code no matter what happened.
Maestro handed both of them another glass of whiskey, gave Ice a faint grin and slipped away, although, like the others, he didn’t go far, shielding Ice and his woman from other bikers in the main part of the bar.
Soleil stared down into the glass, swirled the liquid and shook her head. “I’m beginning to feel this. Maybe I shouldn’t drink any more.”
Ice gave her his reassuring smile. He was a good-looking man and he knew it. Women threw themselves at him. He’d never gone without female attention. “No worries, princess. I told you I’d look after you. In any case, we’re going to dance, and you’ll work it off.”
“We are?”
“You said you liked to dance. Or at least you were swaying to the music, and it seems like a good idea.”
He led her toward the door but paused just inside the game room. “What is the one thing you want most in the world?” He leaned against the wall, pulling her close, so the two of them were cocooned in their own little world.
Just before she answered, Transporter jostled her back, nearly pushing her into Ice. He immediately swung her to the wall and positioned himself in front of her protectively. He placed one hand close to her head and leaned close.
Soleil’s eyes went wide and shone at him. “Thank you, Ice.” Her voice was breathless. She was looking at him like he was a knight in shining armor. She didn’t see the killer everyone else saw. She didn’t see his black soul or his need for the kind of dirty, kinky sex nice girls would run screaming from.
He had to be careful not to fall under her spell. She was sweet. He’d never had sweet in his life. “Tell me the one thing you really want out of life.”
“A family.” She regarded him over the rim of her glass. “I’ve never had a family.”
“You had parents.”
“They died when I was very young, and I spent most of my life in boarding schools or hotels for holidays.” She smiled, but there was sadness in her eyes. Reality. Truth. “I think I’m really that proverbial poor little rich girl.”
So, she had money. He suspected as much, or she wouldn’t have been insisting on a prenup with that suit bastard who was going to die. He deliberately took a sip of his whiskey and she followed the action, but she didn’t really take that much of a drink.
“My club is my family,” Ice said softly and leaned in closer when Maestro stepped back and bumped him. His face was almost in her shoulder, his lips sliding along her skin as he spoke. She had the softest skin and she smelled liked heaven.
He kept his voice deliberately pitched low, intimate. “My brother and sister are my family. Never had parents that I really remember. Czar, our president, was my parent when he was ten. Looking for a woman who wants to make a life with me. Have my children. Make us a home. I’d die for my club, but I want my own woman, one worthy of living for.”
There was so much there to intrigue a woman, especially a woman who craved and needed a family and protection. He felt the shiver run through her body at the touch of his lips on her bare skin. “Been lookin’ a long time for the right woman. Not too many women want a home and family anymore.” She was compassionate. She hadn’t wanted to leave, but she wanted Alena safe.
Her eyes widened. “Ice, that’s not true.”
He shrugged his shoulders and inched forward, just enough to press his chest against her tits. They were soft. Full. He ached to pull the front of her dress down and expose those beauties, so he could feast on them. She moved her body, and her breasts moved seductively against his chest. His entire body shuddered in reaction. Hell. He was never going to pull this off if he couldn’t control himself.
“It’s true for me, princess. I talk rough. I am rough. I don’t know how to talk right to a woman.” He ran one finger down her cheek to her chin and then pretended to take another sip of his whiskey. “Torpedo Ink has a code. Once in, once you give your word, you’re held to that. Scares the crap out of women. They think all sorts of things.”
She pushed at the bottom of his glass and he had no choice but to drink it.
She smiled and put her glass to her lips and took a healthy drink. Her face was flushed, and her tits were rising and falling with every breath she drew, nipples hard little peaks, pushing at the thin material of her dress, scraping across his chest. To Ice, they felt like flames, burning through his tight tee to brand his skin. It was all he could do not to strip her bare and take her right there against the wall. He kept reminding himself he was in this for the long haul. This was no game. This was for life.
“Well,” she said softly. An invitation whether she knew it or not. “What does it mean?”
“It means you’re family. A woman takes me on, she’s family to the club. All the way in. She’s mine. All the way in. Whatever it takes to work it out.”
“No one’s like that anymore.” Suspicion edged her voice. It was there in her eyes. The hope. The disbelief.
He took her glass and handed it behind him. One of his brothers took both glasses. He was a little surprised that his glass had been empty as well. He put both hands on the wall beside her head and leaned in, creating an even more intimate cocoon.
“Unfortunately, I’m not the greatest catch. None of us are. We’re outcasts for a reason.”
She was nearly holding her breath. Not quite, but enough so her breathing sounded ragged. He liked that sound. Knew he would hear it when he fucked her brains out. It was all he could do not to take a bite out of her. Her lashes fluttered, drawing his attention to her eyes.
Soleil was staring up at him and his heart accelerated. His cock hurt. Actually hurt. Fuck. He was losing it because he couldn’t control his body. He had to get a lock on that immediately. He loved it and he fucking hated it.