Inked Passions: (A Love Struck Bad Boys Romance) Read online

  Contents

  Inked Passions

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  The Heart of a Hero

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  More Erotic Romance from Amber Burns

  Inked Passions

  A Love Struck Bad Boys Romance

  By Amber Burns

  The following story is full of romance, sex and sensuality. See the preview below for a bit of foreplay.

  He caught himself staring at her again. Her neck was long and exposed from her blonde hair being pinned back and her collar bones were inviting him to kiss and nibble along them. Her chest was rising with each breath and he caught a small glimpse of cleavage with each heave. He soaked in her whole body, small waist, wide hips and long legs. She was beautiful and he wanted to explore her.

  She looked up at him and their eyes met. She set down his drawings and her half-consumed bottle of beer on his coffee table and unpinned her hair, letting the blonde curls cascade and rest on her shoulders. She bit her lip as she looked at him. His yearning had returned and a heat overwhelmed him as he grew hard at the sight of her. He moved closer to her and set his own beer next to hers. Turning to face her, he placed his hands under her chin.

  “May I kiss you?” He asked.

  His vision was slightly blurred with lust and she parted her lips and nodded. He leaned in and softly kissed her, first just tasting her lips. She inhaled and he felt her tremor as he took her mouth deeper, exploring her. She was intoxicating. He laid her back on his couch and planted soft butterfly kisses along her jaw, down her neck, and resting at her collar bone, he kissed and ran his tongue across her flesh. More gooseflesh rose, but not from the cool night air this time.

  He could see her chest rising and even through the satin gown, he knew her nipples had grown erect and hard with desire. Each feather light kiss caused ripples and trembles from her arching body. She pressed her hips up towards him, teasing him with what was to come.

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  Copyright © 2016 by Amber Burns

  & Scarlet Lantern Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language.

  All characters in this work are 18 years of age or older.

  1

  Cade looked at his empty glass, foam nestled in the bottom. Lou Lou’s catered to the rough and tumbler type. Located off a dirt road, but still close enough to the city to see the lights, most bikers knew where the best craft brew was. Cade stretched his arm to signal to the bartender he wanted a refill. A small burn from his newest ink rubbed against the protective gauze on his right bicep, reminding him he had just left the parlor a few hours ago. His arms were covered in full sleeves, ink in different colors and custom art covered from his knuckles to his shoulder. A large red dragon snaked up his left arm. Tribal tattoos in black and vibrant greens and reds spread from his right bicep to his chest. His latest tattoo, the one that still burned, was dedicated to his parents.

  When Cade was four his parent’s overdosed in front of him. He could still see the filthy apartment they lived in, and his parents sitting on an old lumpy brown couch, needles in their arms and vacant stares in their eyes. The image of that day forever burned into his memory. Sure, he may occasionally enjoy a puff off a bowl, but anything requiring a needle was out of the question. It’s a wonder he ever had his first tattoo, but after the first he was addicted. Something he must have taken away from his parents.

  After his parents died, Cade lived with his aunt for a few years, but she was always away on business trips. When he was seven, word got out that he was abandoned all day, and before too long he was in the system. He floated in and out of foster homes until he turned seventeen, when he ran away from his abusive foster father. Memories flowed into his mind like the smoke that filled his nostrils from the bar customers. Smoky, dark and twisted memories invaded his brain. The bartender replaced his empty glass with a new one full of the delicious pale ale from their tap. The foam head sloshed over and spilled from the cup’s rim when she sat it down.

  “Here you go sugar, anything else I can get ya’?” A husky voice brought him back to his senses.

  The little black haired beauty in front of him was new. She wore a red button up shirt, cut very low, as low as she could, and tied in a knot to show off her thin waist. Her large round breasts practically spilled out of the top. She batted hre big green eyes at Cade and leaned a little too close to emphasize her exposed flesh, and intentions. He wondered how she even got into the skin tight blue jean shorts that left nothing to the imagination. Any other day, he would have taken her up on the seductive offer, but today was the thirtieth anniversary of his parent’s death; and he was not in the mood.

  “Just the beer,” Cade replied coldly.

  She shrugged and moved down the line of paying customers, shoving her breasts in their face. Cade pulled his attention from the bartender and looked in the mirror above the bar. His dark brown hair was a little shaggy but he kept it brushed back. Cade ran his hand through his scruffy brown beard and stared into his own sad green eyes. He sat for a while, taking his time enjoying the beer. When he reached the bottom of the glass again, he paid a different bartender and collected his jacket to leave. Outside, he could see his warm breath against the cold. He took out his lighter and lit a cigarette.

  “No, get off!” A panicked voice screeched from the shadows behind the bar.

  Cade moved quickly towards the voice that was now muffled and pleading. Around the shadowed corner he saw the black-haired bartender fighting to get away from one of the other customers, he recognized her attacker, Jimmy Osbourne.

  “Get off the lady Jimmy.” He took a drag from his cigarette.

  “Mind you own damn business Cade.” He turned back to trying to grope the bartender.

  Cade sighed and flicked his smoke to the side. Not willing to give a second chance, or warning, Cade stepped right up to Jimmy and ripped him away from the woman. The sharp smell of hard liquor and smoke seeped from Jimmy’s pores. Jimmy swung out at Cade, but his aim was off due to complete drunken stupidity. Cade clenched his fist and punched Jimmy in the left eye, taking Jimmy down in one blow. His drunken stupor and the shock of the blow knocking him out almost immediately.

  “Get inside and do not come out with any of these men again.”

  The gir
l was sobbing, but she collected herself and rushed to him. Before he knew it, she planted a big kiss on his lips. Tears still streaming down her face, makeup running, she turned and ran into the bar.

  Women are so strange. She was nearly raped and she kisses a complete stranger.

  He shook his head and looked at Jimmy. Serves him right. Cade hooked an arm under the unconscious man and drug his body around to the front of the bar. Then Cade brushed off his hands and made his way to his jet-black motorcycle at the back of the lineup of bikes. Pushing off from the gravel around Lou Lou’s, the engine from his bike purring between his legs, Cade made his way back to his apartment in the city.

  His apartment sat above a night club with music flowing out into the streets. Many businesses in the square rented out the spaces above to willing occupants. Tonight, like every Friday evening, a big screen and projector were prepared to cast old black and white classic. People filled the fold out chairs provided and many brought their own blankets to scatter around and watch the film.

  Cade avoided the couples strewn out across the square and punched in the code to access his upstairs apartment. Once in his apartment, he hung his leather coat on the back of a chair and grabbed another beer from his fridge. Popping off the bottle cap, he took a sip of the cool liquid and looked at his counter. Months of mail piled up in the corner, but the fancy envelope he had been avoiding poked out from the middle. He set his beer down and pulled the silver and teal envelope from the stack.

  Inside, a picture of his best friend Tommy and his bride to be, Heather, smiled back at him. When Cade first hit the streets, he was alone but he soon made a friend for life. When Cade first saw Tommy, he was nothing but pale skin and bones. His eyes were hallowed out and his skin was dry with track marks racing up his arms. Tommy was strung out on intravenous drugs, like Cade’s parents had overdosed on, and Cade helped him find the courage to seek help for his addiction. Together they went to the local rehab center, and Tommy started treatments. The first few weeks were torturous and slow, but after a few months of weaning off the drugs, Tommy’s health began to improve.

  Heather was a nurse at the rehab center and after Tommy was finally off his treatments and even working he found the nerve to ask her out. At first she was hesitant to date a past patient, but they soon hit it off and after a few months, Tommy moved in with her. They had dated for many years now and it was inevitable that Tommy would eventually marry her. Tommy knew how much Cade hated weddings, yet Cade was staring down at the letter where Tommy asked him to be his best man. He would do it of course. Tommy was his family after all.

  Their wedding was only two weeks away, and Cade still needed to be fitted for his tux. He picked up the phone and gave Tommy a call.

  “Hey man, yea, well you know, I have been pretty busy with the shop,” Cade explained, trying to excuse his procrastination.

  He listened as Tommy filled him in on the last few weeks. Where Cade had picked Tommy up and sobered him up, Heather had motivated him to finish school and improve himself professionally. Nobody would believe that their smooth-talking news anchor with the salt and pepper hair and filled in cheeks, ever spent time on the streets.

  “Well, I am free tomorrow for a fitting,” Cade relented. “Ok, see you then.”

  With the next day squared away, Cade got off the phone and went to take a quick shower. Once the days stress had melted under the heat of the hot water, Cade stepped out from the steamy mess and looked in the mirror. His new tattoo was a pair of praying hands with a rosary wrapped around them. A date rested beneath the prayer beads, his parent’s death. Drying himself off with a towel, he checked his phone for any messages and finding none he climbed into bed naked. His Egyptian cotton sheets were the softest he could find and he quickly drifted off to sleep between them.

  When Cade pulled his bike up to the curb of the formal wear store, he was surprised to find Heather with Tommy. He sighed. He liked Heather, but he had hoped they would catch a beer after and he knew that she would not be interested in such an outing in the middle of the day.

  “Hey Cade.” She smiled at him, her red hair waving in the cool breeze.

  He always thought that Heather was beautiful and perfect for Tommy. Their relationship was the longest lasting one Cade had ever witnessed. He gave her a hug and then punched Tommy on the arm.

  “Took you long enough,” Tommy complained with a smile.

  Cade returned his smile as the trio moved into the building. After forty torturous minutes of measuring every inch of Cade’s body, a tuxedo was on order and would be ready in just a few days. Then they moved to shoes and other various accoutrements. When they left, Tommy pulled his friend to the side and handed him two small black boxes. One ring sat in each box. Tommy’s was a simple band of silver tungsten, a single black strip of onyx rand down the center. Heather’s was a delicate white gold band with three diamonds in a row, twinkling as he tilted the box to look at the gemstones.

  He patted Tommy on the shoulder as if to say good job, and tucked them away in his coat pocket for safe keeping.

  “Look, I know you hate weddings and any formal events, but thank you man.” Tommy hugged Cade.

  “No worries, you and Heather are family.” Cade smacked Tommy on the back and they stepped apart to clasp hands.

  “See you at O’Claire’s on Friday night before the wedding.” Tommy grinned his lopsided smile at Cade. As long as there was beer involved, Cade could stomach any bachelor party.

  “Sure. See ya then.”

  They each went their separate ways. Tommy caught up to Heather and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as the made their way down the sidewalk. Cade returned to his bike and thought he should go home and work on a few of the commissioned pieces of ink he had.

  Back at his apartment, he took out the design requests for his scheduled appointments and began drawing. One girl wanted a dragon wrapped around her thigh, its claws digging into her flesh. Another had a portrait of a baby she wanted on her arm. She had not specified if this baby had passed away or was still living, but Cade always enjoyed drawing portraits, no matter the story behind them. His last request for the week, involved a unicorn and a beer bottle, he was still perplexed at the request.

  Once again, he took his shower, looked into the mirror and climbed naked into bed. He looked up at his ceiling fan as it slowly rotated around and around. Tomorrow was Sunday and he had to get the shop ready for the upcoming events. They did fundraisers every year. Patrons could come get a tattoo and donate so much of their proceeds to any of the various foundations of their wishes. They almost always had around ten charities to choose from. Labeled buckets showed the patrons who and what they were donating to.

  Not able to sleep, Cade threw back the covers and quickly dressed. He grabbed his leather jacket and made his ways downstairs. It wasn’t too late to get in a good fight. For those that were aware of it, an underground fighting ring was both a source of entertainment and a chance to earn a little cash. Weapons were not allowed in the ring, but it wasn’t unheard of for someone to sneak in smaller easily concealed weapons. Cade straddled his bike and started the engine. 1800cc’s rumbling beneath him. The sensation sending a thrill through him, that feeling never got old.

  2

  Dim city lights glowed around him and the streets were pretty quiet this hour. Riding at night was one of Cade’s favorite things to do. He turned down a dark alley and parked behind a row of bikes. Many came to the ring on foot, few by car, but most by bike. Cade walked past a smelly overflowing dumpster. The sour smell of refuse invaded his nostrils and he covered his nose and mouth while heading for the unlit door.

  Inside, people were jeering and applauding. Smoke and liquor permeated the air and Cade happily breathed it in. He walked down the steps that led into the establishment and headed for the bar. Surprisingly, he only recognized one name on the board as he added his own and paid the fee. It had been a few months since his last fight, but he was shocked more regulars weren’t lis
ted. A tap released its cool contents into a clean glass behind the bar, and Cade looked at it longingly. He didn’t want to drink before a fight, but he was looking forward to a celebration beer after he knocked out his opponent.

  “Hey Cade, how are you buddy?” A deep voice rumbled behind him as a large hand slapped him on the shoulder.

  Cade turned and clasped hands with the giant. “Tank”, or Larry if so privileged to know, had a growth disorder. His large towering form was frightening to most people, but Cade never treated him any different and they soon bonded over a pack of menthol’s and whiskey.

  “Tank, you handsome devil, how has business been?”

  Tank was also the owner of this illegal establishment.

  “Booming actually, after your ugly face left!”

  He smiled, his large lips and teeth spanning the entire width of his face. Several teeth were missing and his large brown eyes had shadows around them. He looked tired to Cade but maybe that had something to do with his condition. Cade turned to the fight and saw he would be up in two rounds.