Rise of the Phoenix (The Restless Kings Motorcycle Club Book 1) Read online

  I gulped, and reached for my wrist, trying to pry his fingers from it without saying anything.

  His grip tightened. "I asked you a question. I'm being nice to you. I won't offer again."

  "I'm fine. I can walk."

  He looked around as if he were searching for something. "You can walk twenty miles? Just tell me where you're going and I'll take you."

  "I'm fine," I mumbled. "It's that way." I lifted my hand and pointed to the empty desert behind him, without looking up to meet his eyes. Something about those forest green eyes terrified me.

  "There's nothing in that direction."

  As emotions threatened to take me over, the steel cage finally slammed down and my shoulders rolled back as I became cold and unyielding again. Finally, my inner protector was ready to come out. "That's the point," I spat as I raised my eyes to meet his powerful gaze. "I have nowhere to go."

  His nostrils flared as his eyes skimmed my body from top to bottom. "Well where did you come from?"

  "Mesa Road."

  He squinted at me in disbelief. "Mesa Road? That's at least five miles from here. You walked all the way here?"

  "Yes."

  "Let me give you a ride somewhere," he said softly.

  I grabbed my arm with my other hand and dropped my weight backwards, yanking my wrist out of his grasp. "I said I've got no place to go. Now-"

  The softness he'd just shown remained, even as frustration creeped into his voice. "I'm not going to leave you to die out here,angel. So why don't you just get your pretty little ass on the back of my bike and I'll take you somewhere you can stay for a little bit until you find somewhere else?"

  I huffed and rolled my eyes, thinking I was going to tell him no, but he was right. I was going to die in this desert if I was still out here when the sun came up. My mouth was already full of sand and my eyes felt like they were so dry they might crack. Even as the cold had settled around us after the sun dipped below the horizon, it was still so dry my skin felt like it was constantly getting tighter. "Where?" I asked finally.

  A smirk pulled up one corner of his mouth. "My place. I won't even make you share a bed with me."

  I wanted to give him a witty retort about how generous he was, but I was too exhausted. I accepted the helmet he offered me as he stood his motorcycle between his legs. I buckled the strap under my chin before swinging my leg over the backseat of the bike and putting the terrifying biker whose name I didn't even know yet between my legs. With a rumble and a kick at the gear shift, we took off in the dark without so much as a headlight to see what was ahead of us.

  His handlebars were so high that when I grabbed him to keep myself steady, I realized he was completely exposed to me except the shirt and the leather vest he was wearing. I wrapped my arms around his waist and flattened my hands against the muscles of his belly. Papa always told me it's important to know your enemy. How better to do that than to wrap your arms around them?

  As the sand gave way to asphalt, the motorcycle rocked as we climbed onto the pavement and my thighs squeezed around him. The headlight flipped on and the road illuminated ahead of us, making me relax.

  As the desert slipped away behind us, street lights gave me a chance to lean back and read the patches on his cut. Restless Kings was in the top crescent, Albuquerque was in the bottom, and in the middle a skull with a crown on top. The hallway had been too dim to see the patches on his front, but I knew there would be a diamond shaped 1% patch on the right side of his chest. He could've killed me, and probably would've if I'd put up a fight. Maybe shrinking like a child had saved me.

  Regretfully, we pulled up to the club house, the one place I'd hoped he wouldn't bring me. I was covered in dust and tears, and the outfit I'd been wearing for my birthday party didn't leave a whole lot to the imagination. They were going to eat me alive the second we walked through the door.

  He parked us in the middle of a long row of bikes, and the bike tilted to the side. I slid off the bike and removed the helmet. Under the lights outside, I could see his dirty blonde hair. When he turned around to me, I held out the helmet to him, but he stalked closer with that scary look in his eyes again. "Jesus, angel." He gripped my chin between his thumb and finger and I gulped. "How long were you out there?"

  "I got dropped off just before three in the afternoon."

  "You've been in the desert for eight hours?"

  I smirked at the look of disdain on his face. "I actually spent most of the time inside that building of yours once I found it. Thanks for the AC."

  He didn't seem to notice my sarcasm. "What the hell happened to you?"

  Tears burned against my eyes, but I wasn't going to let them fall. "Here's your helmet," I said, pushing it closer to him.

  He released my chin and took the helmet. After he hung it on one of the handlebars, he turned back to me. "It shouldn't be too big of a party in here, but stick close to me. I'll take you straight to my room." He rested an arm over my shoulder, and I watched his hand cautiously to see if it got too close to my breast, but it never did.

  There were a few steps up to a wooden deck, before he opened a door to some sort of billiard room in what should've been the foyer of the house. A pool table and clouds of smoke were the first things I saw.

  "Hey, Knuckles!" a man called out as he walked closer to us. He wasn't wearing an MC vest, but he didn't have to. He was covered in tattoos- even on his face and neck. The grey T-shirt he was wearing left his inked arms exposed. "Ooh, who's she?"

  The grip on my shoulder tightened as we continued to push forward. "Hands off, Mac. This one's mine for the night."

  I tried to appear unaffected, but I probably wasn't doing too good of a job. I felt several pairs of eyes on me, and I just wanted to be away from the small crowd of guys who were likely imagining what my skin would feel like. I suppressed the shudder until we got upstairs and behind a door.

  He took his arm off my shoulder and flipped the lights on. "You're safe in this room. Do you want me to lock the door?"

  I looked into his green eyes to see if I needed to be more afraid of being caged in with him, or unprotected from the animals outside it, then I nodded.

  He flipped the lock and sized me up, again, from my head to my feet. "How old are you?"

  "Eighteen."

  He chuckled and shook his head. "I don't think so."

  I reached into the back pocket of my too-tight skinny jeans and pulled out my state ID. "Look. Today's my birthday. I'm eighteen. Yay," I said sardonically.

  His eyes skimmed over my ID before sliding it into his pocket and looking at me again. "So what were you doing alone in the desert on your eighteenth birthday with no place to call home?"

  I crossed my arms, thanking the heavens above - or maybe the demons below- that I was completely numb to the emotions that question probably should've evoked in me. "My dad kicked me out. I'm finally old enough that if I get caught on my own the cops won't take me back there."

  His expression hardened, and I leaned away to try to get a little more distance. "He's kicked you out before?"

  "No, I've been running away since I was thirteen, but the farthest I ever got was northern Colorado before they took me back."

  "Does he hurt you?"

  Coldness wafted over me like the only savior I'd ever known, but my eyes still turned blurry from the excess wetness. "Not anymore."

  "So he dropped you off in the fucking desert?"

  "No. He was driving me to a greyhound station. He told me to get a bus since I wanted to get away so bad, but I jumped out of the car when we were on Mesa."

  "You-" Muscles appeared along his jawline under just the slightest cover of stubble. "You need a shower. Bathroom's in there." He pointed to a mahogany door behind me to my left. "I'll go get some clothes from one of the old ladies, but this conversation is far from over."

  I shook my head. "There's nothing else to tell."

  "I'm sure there's plenty. I have a key for this door, so I'm going to lock it when I lea
ve, and I will unlock it on my own when I come back."

  I nodded my understanding. When he left, and locked the door from the outside, I decided he was right and I really did need to get the dust off my skin. I locked the bathroom door and tried to relax under the scalding water from his shower. I leaned my head back and let the water scorch my face and fill my mouth so I could get the gritty sand from between my teeth. He only had a green bar of soap and a 2-in-1 bottle of shampoo and conditioner. I used the soap that made my skin smell like men's deodorant, but just rinsed my hair with water instead of washing it with the atrocity that was in that bottle.

  When I stepped out, I wrapped myself in a towel and poked my head out the door to see if he'd brought clothes back for me. My jaw dropped when my eyes landed on him. He was shirtless across the room, and heat flared to the tops of my sunburnt ears as I watched the muscles in his back flexing. "Jesus Christ," I hissed, unable to stop myself.

  He spun as he pulled his shirt down over the abs that we're carved under his tattooed skin. "Sorry. I was just about- Maya. Hey, my eyes are up here," he teased.

  I blinked, and then met his gaze, with my mouth still hanging open. Okay, so, he was fucking hot. Smoldering. The sexiest creature I'd ever seen. And I'd just had him between my legs, though not the way I was suddenly picturing. I clutched my towel tighter so I wouldn't drop it for him as I watched the dark green eyes travel the length of my body. The heat in them was not altogether different from the way he'd looked at me when he found me. My cheeks blushed as my heart raced and I felt the muscles in my thighs clench.

  When his eyes made their ascent back to mine, he said, "I brought clothes for you. They're on the bed."

  I nodded slowly, but couldn't move. I was frozen. The man in front of me made my head swim, and I was about to ask him at least a couple of the thousand questions that were bouncing around in my head, but the world started to get blurry and the floor was getting closer.

  Chapter Three

  Maya

  "Maya?"

  Who's voice is that? Why is that deep, husky voice saying my name, and how do I get him to say it again?

  "Maya, wake up. Shit! Somebody call Doc. She's been in the desert all fucking day, man. I don't know." Knuckles. Somebody had called him Knuckles. He talked with other men while I fought my way back to the surface of consciousness.

  I forced my eyes open, and met green eyes and golden hair. The God who had laughed at me for gawking at him right before everything turned black. He was sitting beside my hip on the edge of the bed.

  "Maya! You're awake!" His fingers massaged my scalp. "Did you have a nice nap, angel?"

  "What's going on?" I whispered, unable to find my voice.

  "You passed out. Can you sit up? I've got water for you."

  I tried to push myself up, but my arms felt weak and jiggled like Jell-O under my weight. Knuckles gripped my sides and lifted me so I could rest against the headboard. "When did I… Whose bed is this?"

  "Mine," the blond god answered. "This isn't exactly how I expected to get you in it.

  "I feel dizzy," I mumbled as the world around me started to spin.

  "Here." He lifted a bottle of water to my lips, and tipped it for me so I could get a few gulps.

  I pressed his hand away, and stared at him. "Is your name Knuckles?"

  His tongue flicked across his bottom lip as he chuckled. "Yes, it is. Good to hear you feel better." He turned to the man behind him. "Is Doc fucking coming or what? She could've been dead by now. Can you tell him to get the lead out?"

  "That was Mac, right?" I asked after he left.

  Green eyes searched my face with a renowned concern. "Yes. Are you okay?"

  "I'm great," I lied. When I looked down, I saw that I was still wearing the towel but he had tucked me in under a sheet. "Do you think I can get dressed?"

  "Do you think you can get dressed? Can you stand?"

  I did not think I could stand, but I also didn't think I wanted a single other biker coming into the room while I was wearing a towel and a sheet. "No," I said harshly, trying to keep my cool exterior about me while I made the suggestion that made my skin hot. "You can help me, right?"

  The air of joking he'd had when Mac was in the room completely vanished as he turned serious. "I'll help." He stood and locked the door to the bedroom, while I forced my legs over the side of the mattress.

  "Just because you might see me naked right now doesn't mean it'll ever happen again," I said as he turned back towards me.

  "If it makes you feel better to tell yourself that lie, you go right ahead."

  I rolled my eyes and motioned for him to come closer. I grabbed the shirt from the foot of the bed and pulled it over my head. I'd hoped I could pull it over my chest before the towel fell, but that didn't quite work. I tried unsuccessfully to fight off the blush that crept over my cheeks as I flashed the biker and yanked the shirt down.

  The jerky movements made me more dizzy and I started to feel nauseous, so I leaned back onto my elbows. "Can you… The pants. Could you help me?"

  "Yeah." He knelt in front of my legs, and grabbed the shorts from the bed. He slowly lifted one foot off the floor, his hand scorching the flesh of my calf, and pulled the soft fabric over my leg. He put my foot back down and gripped the other leg.

  My woozy brain started to become concerned with holding myself up, and I dropped onto my back with a moan. God, this bed is so comfortable. His rough hands scratched along my calves all the way up to my knees.

  He stood so he could look down at me. "You shouldn't try to stand up right now if you're feeling weak."

  Gritting my teeth to brace myself against the pounding of my heart, I said, "I can lift my hips. I got it. Don’t look."

  "Okay.” He spun on his heel and gave me his back.

  I angled my hips up and yanked on the shorts as fast as I could. I was too embarrassed to look him in the eyes. “All done.”

  He unlocked the door, and then leaned over my body so I had to look at him. "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah. I need water." I sat up to get a drink of water, but I moved too fast. I reached out as the world started to spin again, and my hand gripped his forearm. "Sorry. I don't- I'm not doing so hot."

  He wrapped his hand around my arm, so we were both holding each other, and brought the water to my lips with the other hand. When I had a few drinks, I pushed the bottle away. "Doc will be here soon. If he's not, I'll shoot him, okay?"

  I couldn't contain the chuckle that burst through my lips. "You don't have to do that."

  A knock on the door made me squeeze his arm, and he squeezed back. "Door's open."

  A man with curly hair piled on top of his head entered the room and stood next to me. "What's going on, honey?"

  "I'm just dizzy," I lied. I was far more than just dizzy, but considering the circumstances I figured I was doing amazing. I’d jumped out of a moving vehicle into the desert, walked for an hour and a half, and passed out in a building where an outlaw biker rescued me. I was kicking ass.

  "She fainted, Doc.”

  "Did she hit her head?"

  "No, I caught her."

  Caught me? How the hell? He was

  "But she was walking in the desert today, for at least a couple of hours."

  "Looks like you've got a sunburn going," Doc remarked. "Any bumps? Bruises? Cuts?"

  I lifted my arm to show him the scratches from rolling in the gritty sand. It wasn’t that bad, and I’d gotten all the sand out in my shower. “It’s nothing, really.”

  I shook my head, but Knuckles nodded. I questioned him with my eyes.

  He was still holding me up with his right hand, so his left hand reached across in front of me to my left side. His fingers gently pushed up the shirt he'd just put on me, and Doc leaned down closer.

  Doc winced. "That's a hell of a bruise. How did you get that?"

  Papa's elbow. The reason I jumped out of the car. He'd bruised me. "I'm not sure. Must've happened when I fell."

&nbs
p; Doc didn't believe me for a second, and glared at Knuckles before turning back to me. "Care if I check it out? I just want to see if anything's broken."

  "It's not. I've had busted ribs before. That one's just a bruise. I don't even feel it." Oh, but I will tomorrow.

  Knuckles let out a quiet growl, and I gulped as I turned up to stare into the angry green orbs that glared down at me. He was dissatisfied with my response, but I had a gut-feeling that wasn't going to be the last time he experienced disappointment in me.

  "I'll leave some medicine with you just in case you do start to have pain." Doc checked me over for a few minutes- a light in my eyes, a check of my pulse in different places on my body, a quick peek at the sunburn on my shoulders. He asked a handful of questions about how I felt, and finally decided on a simple diagnosis. "She's dehydrated and banged up. Just keep her drinking water, and let her rest. If she has any pain, give her one of these."

  Doc nodded at Knuckles and handed him a pill bottle before he left. Knuckles, my newly appointed caretaker, helped me lie back in the bed, but his eyes never softened.

  "What really happened to your ribs?"

  "I jumped out of a moving car," I said, because the truth seemed infinitely more dangerous to admit. It was safer if I kept it to myself.

  "Why would you do that?"

  "Didn't wanna be in it anymore.” I hated this conversation. I’d been having it for years when people saw the bruises. Coming up with explanations for my pain exhausted me.

  He chuckled dryly. "You sound just like half the members here. You're gonna fit right in. Do you want me to get you some food?"

  "No, thank you. I'll just have some more water." I reached but he beat me to it.

  As Knuckles’ gaze bore through me, like he thought he was going to break through the cage I had wrapped around my heart and look straight into my soul, he lifted the bottle to my lips again.

  I guzzled down the rest of the bottle while I stared back at him harshly. "Find what you're looking for?"