Holding On (Road House Series) Read online

  It was erotic and totally empowering, a combination new to her. Normally, she waited for the guy to make all the moves, if it even got to that point. Sudden realization at what was happening shocked her into pulling away. Her mind blanked when he ran his mouth along the column of her neck. She arched to allow more access, pushing her body firmly into his.

  He pulled back and twirled her around, so she was seated in his lap, his cock firmly nestled against her heat. Her eyes rolled back as she rocked against him. Iris couldn’t tell if his grip on her was him trying to still her actions or create more friction. Again, she rocked against him. The dampness from her core seeped through her pants, creating a wet spot on his jeans. If she hadn’t been so far gone, she might have been embarrassed.

  Luc’s calloused palms lightly skimmed up her hips and under the hem of her tank. They finally stilled just on the underside of her breasts. Frustrated by his teasing, she moved again to try and position them where she wanted them most. As if anticipating this move, he slid them away. In a huff of annoyance, her eyes snapped open.

  Iris openly glared at him and huffed again in frustration.

  “Tell me it’s okay,” he croaked out when she rocked again.

  Satisfaction lit through her at his barely held restraint.

  Keeping eye contact, she rocked against him again and brought her face close to his.

  “Touch me,” she whispered.

  He captured her mouth in a searing kiss and cupped her aching breasts. He pinched and rolled the sensitive nipples as his tongue thrust in her mouth in time with the rocking of their hips.

  Iris reached up to cup his cheek when her fingers came in contact with the jagged scar. The feel of it thrilled her, and she traced the line to his temple. When he broke the kiss, she planted open-mouthed kisses along his jaw, nearing the scar.

  It was then she noticed he was frozen still.

  Iris pulled back and looked at him. A wild look haunted those lovely eyes. Luc pushed her abruptly away and slipped further away on the couch.

  She watched silently as he stood and backed away. Pain flashed through her at the rejection. Followed closely by anger.

  “Get the fuck out!” She coldly turned away from him and hugged herself.

  Iris jumped when she heard the door chimes and the unbelievably loud click. Tears clouded her vision and only made her even angrier, but they wouldn’t stop. She leaned her head on the armrest and let out her frustration.

  ***

  Luc climbed onto his bike and took a deep shuddered breath. Why did she have to touch it?

  He sighed. Why did he have to be such a fucking freak in so many ways? It was best it ended when it did. Wasn’t like he was ready for much beside a night of fun, and she definitely was not the girl for that. She was the kind you took to meet your mom and sister. He shook his head. They would be thrilled. She was exactly the type they wanted to see him end up with. Someone like Victoria. Too bad he wasn’t going to open himself up like that again.

  ***

  “What’s up, hun?” Iris sat up at the sound of her sister. Pan was rounding the corner and had clearly seen her crying. She brushed the stray tears away when her sister came to sit beside her.

  “Sticky buns?” The wheels were turning as she saw Pan trying to put things together.

  “Luc brought them.” She tried to smile, but it came out wobbly.

  “Oh really.” Pan narrowed her eyes. “And did you all fight again?”

  “Sort of.” Iris sighed. With the lack of sleep earlier and crying spell, her energy was sapped. “Listen, can we talk about this later? I’d like to get some sleep before the shipment comes in.”

  Pan looked like she wanted to say more but nodded.

  When Iris was settled back into bed, she again ran over the scene. She wasn’t sure what had caused the change of heart, but she knew one thing, she was not going to give Luc an open invitation again.

  Frustrated in more than one way, she yanked the covers over her and drifted off to a restless sleep.

  Chapter Three

  Luc cursed when the nut he was trying to loosen wouldn’t budge and tossed the wrench into the toolbox. He had been in a piss-poor mood all day and tried not to thinking about the reason. His crew had given him a wide breadth of space and avoided asking for help. It was so unlike him to be this way, but he was grateful for the space. No telling what would have come out if he had to make conversation.

  “Hey, princess, you done throwing a tantrum down there?” An amused voice sounded from behind him.

  Luc turned and knew who it was before seeing him. Jake was not just a friend and the owner of the Road House but also an ex-SEAL like himself. The two had spent more than their fair share together, and Jake sometimes knew him better than his own mom. He had been the one who helped get Luc to the hospital when a bomb nearly took off his face. Couldn’t ask for a better friend than that.

  “This coming from the queen of tantrums.” Luc rolled his eyes and stood to dust off a bit.

  “I don’t throw fits. I get quiet. Big difference my friend.” Jake winked at him. Luc wasn’t totally sure how to deal with the new Jake. Old Jake bottled things up and tended to be stern and overbearing. New Jake was more carefree and open with his smiles and humor. Something Luc hadn’t seen in years. It was without a doubt the work of Sarah. The two started seeing each other several months back, and since then there had been nothing but new Jake.

  “Surprised the crew let you come back,” Luc said gruffly.

  Jake laughed loudly. “Emilio gave me a warning. I just explained that if you pissed me off too much, I’d have to lay you out. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

  The two fell silent thinking about times when they had been far more carefree.

  Jake cleared his throat. “So, what crawled up your ass?” Jake leaned against the bike next to him and crossed his arms.

  “It’s Pan’s sister, Iris. Every time I see her I just want to tear off our clothes, but she’s so much like Victoria.” Luc sighed. Damn, he really didn’t want to be talking about this.

  Jake shrugged. “So stay away from her.”

  “I can’t.” Luc swiped his hand along his face, scraping the stubble. “I try, but there’s just something about her. It’s like she sees right through to the core.”

  “Hummm. Well, it doesn’t sound like she’s much like Victoria at all. Are you sure you aren’t seeing what you want to see?”

  Luc stiffened. “What the hell does that mean?”

  Jake pushed off the bike and put a hand on Luc. “Relax. You were burned. Just don’t shut yourself off from feeling anything. ‘Cuz when it’s right, it’s great.”

  Luc rolled her eyes. “Okay, lover boy, calm down. We can’t all be like you.” Luc leaned on the bike he had been working on.

  “Oh really? And what do you know about Pan’s sister?” Jake paused and looked pointedly at Luc. He shrugged his shoulders in response. “Pan came to the bar one night when she was in town last. Talked about how the girl’s parents had died in a car accident when Iris just entered high school. Pan was just going into middle school. They had an uncle who lived here and had to move several states away in order to live with their guardian.” Luc’s stomach twisted thinking about how hard that would be to move right after their parents had died, only to live with some uncle they barely knew. “So the uncle owned a book store and lived in the small apartment above the store. The year Iris went off to college, the uncle passed away, leaving behind a high schooler for Iris to raise. So, she quit school and ran the book store while getting Pan through school. If she’s wild now, she must have been ten times worse back then.”

  Jake chuckled at the thought.

  “Poor Emilio wouldn’t stand a chance,” Luc said. “Although, I’m not so certain he stands a chance now.”

  “That girl has known from day one what she wants and will be damned if anything is going to stop her.” Jake shook his head.

  Luc turned to watch Emilio. Pan had ce
rtainly made it known what she wanted. None of them could really figure out what was stopping Emilio from starting a relationship, but he had made it very clear he was not interested. Not that Emilio was allowing anyone else the chance to get in there though. Nope, Pan was off limits.

  At that moment, Emilio looked up at Luc. He tossed him a saucy wink and then flipped him the bird.

  Luc chuckled and turned back to Jake.

  “Come up to the bar tonight. Sarah’s gotten me to let some band come play and the place should be packed.” Jake ran his hands though his hair. “Besides, I could use some muscle around in case things get out of hand.”

  Luc wondered what the hell kind of band Sarah had book that would make Jake nervous. The man was built like a tank and Sarah was about as far from biker chick as you got.

  “Yeah sure. I’ll tell the guys, and we’ll meet up there later.”

  Jake clapped him on the shoulder in thanks and started to walk back to his bike but turned half way there. “One of these days, you’re going to find someone worth opening up to and when you do, you remember to hold on because your world is going to be flipped inside out.” Jake slid his mirrored shades down to his nose, hopped on his hog and drove out of sight.

  ***

  “So, sis, you gonna tell me what happened this morning?” Pan asked.

  Iris sighed. She sat on the stool behind the counter and placed her cup and soup next to the cash register. Normally, she would be eating on the loveseat, but the idea of going back there made her ache once again.

  “Seriously,” Iris stared at her sister, “You aren’t going to let this go are you?”

  “Uh, duh.” Pan had already helped herself to a big drink off her soda and a few sips of the chicken noodle soup. Iris took the spoon from her hand and shot her a glare.

  “He came by to apologize.” Iris blew on the soup on order to avoid the next few seconds of conversation.

  “Well it seems like he did a shitty job.” Pan slumped to the counter, resting her chin on her palms.

  “Yes. Well, no.” Her insides twisted remembering how wonderful it had been.

  The chime on the door broke their conversation. Both women looked up to see Sarah walk through the door.

  As she stood next to Pan, Iris realized just how short Sarah was.

  “So what are you all up to?” Sarah asked.

  “Well, Iris was about to tell us that what happened with her and Luc this morning,” Pan said and gave Iris a smug smile.

  “Oh.” Sarah leaned further into the counter. “Did you all have a run in? Were the sparks flying like they were at the bar because I think I might have to turn the hose on you all.”

  “What?” Iris nearly dropped her spoon. “We had no sparks! He was a pain in the ass, and I nearly had to slug him.”

  “Hmmm.” Sarah flipped her shiny blonde hair over her shoulder. “That’s not the way I saw it.”

  “You didn’t see anything,” Iris snapped.

  “Now I don’t know about that,” Pan chimed in. “Sarah sees a lot of things. I’m guessing she knows when there are sparks.”

  Iris gripped the spoon and seriously thought about thumping her sister on the forehead with it.

  “Forget last night,” Sarah said, clearly trying to smooth things over. “I want to know what happened this morning. Did he…stay the night?”

  “What? No way!” Iris nearly fell off her stool with her vehement reaction.

  Iris tapped her finger on the counter as her sister struggled, unsuccessfully, to stop laughing.

  “Fine!” Iris slapped her hand on the counter. “He came by to bring sticky buns as an apology. I invited him in for coffee. Things got…heated. And then he bolted so fast you would have thought I was some ragged troll.” The pain of the rejection still ran deep.

  “Oh hell, Iris. I’m sorry.” Pan reached across and patted her hand.

  “Luc,” Sarah twisted a lock of hair, “Well, he’s had a tough time. I think maybe he’s not so great with women.”

  “Ya think?” Iris couldn’t keep the irritation out of her voice.

  “You have to understand, when he and Jake were SEALs, they saw most of their team get blown up, including a really close friend.” The women were stunned into silence. “The shrapnel sliced up his face pretty good. He’s had several surgeries to help with the scaring, but there’s not much they can do at this point.” Sarah sighed.

  “I don’t see why he’d care,” Iris said. “It’s not like it diminished his looks and it makes him…” Iris thought for the right word. “Interesting.”

  “Oh, honey, I’m glad to hear you say that, but not everyone felt that way.” Sarah’s pretty face contorted with rage. “Including Victoria.”

  “Who the hell was Victoria?” Pan leaned in. Anger radiated off her.

  “His fianceé.”

  “His what what?” Iris felt the walls close in on her. She could see where this was going.

  “Victoria had been with him for several years. Carefree and loving, Luc was the perfect man. Jake tells it like Luc was just happy being with her.” She traced a line in the counter to avoid looking at them. “When he came back, he was reserved. Sullen. Jake said none of that seemed to bother her, but the wound ate at her.” Sarah pinned Iris with a look as she finished the story. “She was obsessed with reducing the scar. Surgery after surgery, it was never good enough. Finally, Luc put a stop to it. Two years of nothing but surgeries, and he was finished.”

  “Oh God.” Tears stung her eyes as Iris thought about how he must have felt.

  “Oh it gets better. So, she tells him that she didn’t see how she could take their wedding photos with that scar. Said it was the worst thing that could have happened. Worst thing! So many of his friends died and that was the worst thing? There are days I like to just…” Sarah took in a deep breath and seemed to recover. “Give him a little time. He’s going to need it to get back to what’s normal,” Sarah said, her eyes bright with tears.

  Iris stood very still thinking on Luc. Someone who deserved a chance. Someone who just needed to find normal again.

  Before she overthought, Iris gave a small nod. “I’ll try.”

  “Good!” And as quick as that, Sarah was back to her bubbly self. “Now to the good stuff. I came to ask you two to come to the bar tonight. I’ve invited a biker band to play, and it’s going to insane!”

  “Oh, I don’t—”

  “Sounds great,” Pan said.

  Iris shot her sister a glare. “I just don’t think—”

  “Oh no you don’t. You ran out on me yesterday, and tomorrow the shop is closed. You are so going out with me.” Iris sighed. Pan was rarely this pushy, but when she was, she usually won.

  “All right.”

  “Really?” Sarah squealed. “So there’s just one more thing. Since it’s a biker band, I really think we need to play our part.”

  Pan smirked.

  “Not going to happen,” Iris said.

  Chapter Four

  “No,” Iris said to the dressing room door.

  “Come on, we’re all doing this together.” Sarah’s sweet voice drifted over the door.

  “Damn it, Iris. Out now!” Pan jiggled the door. “You come out, or I’m coming in.”

  Iris slammed the lock back and barely missed clocking Pan in the face with the door.

  “Fine.”

  “Oh that is amazing on you!” Sarah said, her dark grey wool pleated skirt swishing slightly. Iris thought out of all of them, Sarah looked best. Fishnet stockings, black and white lace tank, with a three-quarter sleeve leather jacket. The thigh high leather boots set the whole piece off.

  Iris looked at her own reflection. The short leather mini-skirt did look pretty great with the feminine grey shimmery sleeveless silk blouse. It hung loose but only seemed to accentuate the outline of her breasts and long neck.

  Pan peered over her shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. A vision of biker bitch, Pan had gone for a black leather halter top and l
ow slung black leather pants.

  Sarah tapped a finger on her mouth. “Now what kind of shoes to wear.”

  “I don’t suppose I could just wear my flats,” Iris muttered.

  “No!” Pan and Sarah shouted in unison.

  Pan turned to Sarah. “She needs a pair of ‘fuck-me’ black high heels.”

  "Uh, not really looking for anything like that." Iris wrinkled her nose in irritation. "Besides, I've got plenty of black shoes at home."

  "Nice try, but I've seen your shoes, not going to work. And honey, I don't think you know what you're looking for. Maybe you should just take our word for it and enjoy the ride." Pan shoved Iris back in the stall, so they could check out.

  ***

  When they were settled on a bench outside the store, conversation drifted once again to Luc.

  Pan nudged Iris’s foot. "So you think lover boy is going to be there tonight?"

  "Why would I know? It's not really like we spent a lot of time talking this morning. I mean…" Iris blushed a deep shade of crimson.

  "Oh is that right? Didn't really go into detail on that, now did ya?"

  Iris decided it was a good moment to study her plain brown shoes. Maybe it would be good to get a sexy pair. She shook her head. All this talk was getting to her.

  “If Jake has any say, he’ll be there,” Sarah said.

  “What’s Jake got to do with it?” Pan eyed Sarah suspiciously.

  "So what’s next?" Sarah bounced in her seat, ignoring the question. One thing was certain, she loved to shop, but she had something up her sleeve.

  "I say shoes and then a little something for underneath." Pan winked at them.

  Iris suppressed a groan.

  One pair of shoes, a dozen frilly undergarments, a few night gowns later and they were finally leaving the mall. Never had Iris been so happy to be finished shopping.