Without uttering a word, she reached into the other bag and pulled out a leather jacket. “I’m assuming you want me to put these on.”
“Yes, and your boots.”
“What if I didn’t bring my boots?”
I grinned. “I know you did because I checked your closet before we left.”
She shook her head and laughed. “I’ll be right back.”
When she came down the stairs in head to toe leather, I damn near dropped to my knees. The leather hugged every curve of her body in the most delectable way.
“I guess I don’t need to ask if I look okay,” she giggled.
“You look fucking hot. Come ‘ere,” I growled and yanked her to me so I could devour her mouth.
When she broke the kiss, we were both panting. “As much as I would love to continue this, I’m starting to sweat in places that shouldn’t sweat.”
With that, I locked up the cabin and we headed to my bike. We donned our helmets and climbed on. “I turned the Bluetooth on so we can talk,” I said and felt her jump behind me.
“Fucking hell, Jonah! You scared the shit out of me!” she yelled and slapped her hand against my back.
I laughed. “Well, it’s about a two-hour ride, so I thought you might want to talk.”
“Works for me.”
We chatted for most of the ride, which surprisingly didn’t bother me. I usually liked to ride listening to nothing other than the wind and the sound of my bike, but I enjoyed having River’s voice fill my helmet.
I pulled into the parking lot of the Harley-Davidson store and announced, “We’re here.”
“You drove two hours to bring me to a dragon Harley store?” she asked.
“Well, that’s up to you. If we keep going, this road turns into what’s known as the Tail of the Dragon, and I want you to ride it with me. But if you don’t want to, we’ll check out the store, grab some lunch somewhere, and go home,” I said nervously.
“What am I missing, Jonah?”
I sighed. I had to be honest with her even if it meant she wouldn’t go. “The Tail of the Dragon features three hundred and eighteen curves in eleven miles. It can be very dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
“I wouldn’t have even contemplated bringing you here if I didn’t,” I answered honestly.
“Have you ever ridden it before?”
“I rode on the back of my dad’s bike when I was five or six. That’s the only time I’ve been.”
I waited quietly while she mulled it over. I don’t know if she spent all that time thinking or if she was trying to make me sweat it, but finally, she said, “I guess I’ll give it a try, but if you get me killed, I will come back and haunt you any time you’re about to have sex with someone.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “I have no doubt about that.” Once I stopped laughing, I asked, “You ready?”
She clapped her hands together and said, “Yep. Let’s do this.”
And we did. I’d been riding for many years and had a lot of experience under my belt, but I still took it slow. I wasn’t there to test the limits of my bike or my skills; I was there to enjoy the ride with my woman.
I didn’t turn on our Bluetooth because I didn’t want any kind of distractions. The road was a bit busier than I expected, but we made it to the other end without incident.
I pulled into the parking lot of the iconic Tail of the Dragon store and braced myself for River’s response. She quickly climbed off the bike, removed her helmet, and started for the store.
“Where are you going?”
She looked back over her shoulder but never stopped moving toward the store. “To get a T-shirt. You coming?”
Twenty minutes later, River and I had matching “I survived the Tail of the Dragon” T-shirts. We rode the dragon three more times before we called it a day and leisurely made our way back to the cabin after we stopped for something to eat.
River walked inside and made a show of stretching. “I didn’t realize riding would make your muscles so stiff and sore.”
“Lucky for you, I have just the thing for that.”
She laughed. “I’m sure you do, big guy.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I said and grabbed her hand to pull her along behind me. I pointed to the six-person hot tub in the corner of the screened-in porch. “That’s what I meant.”
“Crap. I didn’t bring a bathing suit, but I guess I could just wear a camisole and some shorty shorts.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you see anyone else here? You don’t have to wear anything to get in. I’m not going to,” I said and started stripping off my clothes. Once I was completely naked, I stepped into the hot tub without hesitation and situated myself so I could watch River.
When I looked up, she was staring at me with her lips slightly parted. “See something you like?”
She blinked, and her cheeks flushed ever so slightly. “Yeah, you have a really nice ass. And I’ve seen a lot of bare asses. Yours is definitely one of the best.”
I gasped and acted like she’d offended me. “One of? Have another look.” I proceeded to stand and display my naked ass for her.
“I stand corrected; you have the best ass I’ve ever seen. But really, Jonah, fishing for compliments? I thought you were more confident than that,” she said as she stepped into the water.
I whirled around and pulled her against me. “I’ll show you confident,” I said and covered her mouth with mine as I sank into the steamy water with her legs around my waist.
I leaned back in my seat and lifted her slightly to reposition her legs, but I inadvertently lined us up perfectly and my hard, bare cock slid right into her wet pussy.
“Oh, fuck,” I hissed. I had never had sex without a condom, and she felt amazing. So amazing that I took a few moments to relish in the feeling before I gathered my strength to do the right thing.
I placed my hands on her hips and started to move her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
“Have you been tested?” she interrupted.
“Yeah, at my last physical. And I haven’t been with anyone since,” I told her.
“I haven’t been with anyone since my last checkup and I’m on birth control, so it’s okay, if you want to, uh, not use a condom,” she said and looked down at my chest.
I gently tilted her chin up with my finger. “Are you sure? Because I’m not about to say no.”
She smiled shyly. “I’m sure. I mean if you knock me up and leave me stranded, my brother will kill you and give me all your money.”
I snorted and shook my head. “He wouldn’t have to. You know I would never do that,” I told her honestly.
“Yeah, I know,” she breathed and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.
What started out as a mishap turned out to be one of the most profound sexual experiences of my life. Our bodies moved together slowly, deliberately. We took our time savoring every blissful sensation brought to life by each gentle caress.
With my hands in her hair, I brought her forehead down to mine. I needed her closer, needed to have her eyes locked with mine while our bodies said the words our mouths were too afraid to say.
“Jonah,” she whispered and her chin quivered ever so slightly.
“River,” I breathed and saw her eyes light up before we were both consumed with a pleasure so intense I felt lightheaded.
“Jonah,” she said softly with a hint of concern in her voice. “We need to get out. We’ve been in here too long.”
“You’re right,” I said and helped her step out of the hot tub. “But that’s not what made you feel weak and breathless.”
“Of course, it is,” she said.
I grabbed several bottles of water from the refrigerator and followed her upstairs to the bedroom. “Why are you grinning like that?” she asked.
I tossed her a bottle of water. “Drink up, sweet cheeks. I’m about to prove you wrong.”
Chapter
Thirty-One
River
When we returned from our weekend at the cabin, I had to work Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday that week. I’d never cared about having to work the weekends before I met Jonah, but there I was not wanting to go to work because I wanted to stay with him.
What in the hell was I going to do when my time in Devil Springs was over? The agency I worked for had already called and asked me if I wanted to renew my contract for another year with them. Every other time they’d asked, I’d immediately said yes. This time? I told them I would have to think about it and get back to them.
Once I got to work, I forgot about not wanting to be there because we were extremely busy. To be a relatively small town, Devil Springs had a very active ER.
“We’ve got two en route from an MVA. You and Dr. Daniels will take the compound femur fracture while Dr. Alvarez and I take the head injury,” Kennedy said.
“ETA?”
“Two minutes tops,” Kennedy shouted as she hustled to the room designated for her patient.
I quickly moved to my room and started pulling out supplies I thought we might need. Broken bones used to really gross me out, but I had to get over it when I started working primarily in emergency rooms.
When the paramedics wheeled the patient into the room, I silently cursed to myself as they moved Roy Mayfield from their stretcher to our bed. Since Kennedy was busy with her own patient, there wasn’t anything I could do except do my job for the next few minutes.
He already had an IV started and had pain meds on board, so I hoped he wouldn’t pay any attention to me, but I had no such luck. “You little fucking cunt,” he sneered. “You better give me the good stuff and not try to stiff me like you did last time.”
Dr. Daniels’s head whipped around to me. “Do you know him?”
“Not exactly. He’s my mother’s boyfriend,” I said.
“Was! I was her boyfriend! Until you killed her!” he screamed and tried to sit up but Dr. Daniels placed her hand on Roy’s chest and gently pushed him down.
“Let’s get him stabilized and then you and Kennedy can switch patients.”
“Thank you,” I said and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Mr. Mayfield, we’re going to give you some medicine to help with the pain, but we’re going to have to operate on your leg to fix it. Is there someone you would like us to call for you?” Dr. Daniels asked.
“Yeah, call my son. I need him to come get my shit. Are you getting my medicine? I want the good shit! You hear me?” he bellowed.
“We’ll make sure you’re taken care of, Mr. Mayfield. What’s your son’s name and phone number?” Dr. Daniels asked.
“You better or I’ll sue every single one of you starting with that murderous bitch right there!” he screamed and jabbed his finger in my direction.
“River, maybe you better go ahead and trade with Kennedy,” Dr. Daniels said and turned back to Roy. “How can we get in touch with your son?”
“His name’s Oliver and his phone number is—” I heard as I left the room.
“Kennedy, Dr. Daniels said we needed to trade patients,” I said without preamble.
“Why?” she asked.
I shrugged. “She didn’t say and I didn’t ask.”
She removed her gloves and washed her hands. “She’s pretty much stabilized. She thinks she hit her head on the driver’s side window and may have lost consciousness for a few seconds. I’ve given her something for her headache. No other complaints. Vitals are good and she should be going for a head CT any minute now.”
“You’re getting a compound femur fracture. He was medicated in the ambulance, but I haven’t given him anything since he arrived, though I think Dr. Daniels was entering orders for more pain medication when I left. Heart rate and BP are elevated. As soon as ortho gets here, he’ll be going to surgery.”
After I introduced myself and made sure she didn’t need anything, my patient was taken for her scan. “Code Blue, Room Two. Code Blue, Room Two.”
Son of a bitch. That was Roy’s room. I grabbed the crash cart and ran to the room to help. Dr. Alvarez was calling out orders while Dr. Daniels slapped the pads on Roy’s chest. We all watched the monitor for a heartbeat. Nothing. We followed the steps we all knew by heart but Roy never had a shockable rhythm and time of death was called.
“Cancel the ortho consult and see if the secretary got ahold of his son,” Dr. Daniels told Kennedy.
“I can do that if you want to swap patients again,” I offered.
“Don’t worry about it. You shouldn’t have to take care of him, dead or alive,” Kennedy said.
When she couldn’t get in touch with his son or find another family member to contact, I did help her take him to the morgue. “Let’s make this quick. This place creeps me out,” I said.
“Why? It’s just bodies.”
“Exactly my point.”
We helped the attendant slide Roy’s body from the bed to the metal stretcher. Even though I knew it was going to happen, it still scared the shit out of me. As soon as we moved Roy’s body, gasses shifted causing it to sound somewhat like he gasped.
“And I’m out,” I announced and quickly fled the room because fuck that. Noises and movements from dead bodies were not on the list of things I could handle.
Kennedy emerged minutes later laughing her ass off. “I wish I had a picture of your face!”
“Shut it, bitch!”
She responded with her own version of the death gasp.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Judge
I was in my office trying to get ahead of the jobs I had scheduled so I could take some time off during the week to spend with River on the days she wasn’t scheduled to work when I got a phone call from Copper.
“Where you at, brother?” he asked,
“In my office. Why?”
“Need to talk to you. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he said and disconnected the call leaving me with an uneasy feeling.
When he arrived, he got straight to the point. “Roy Mayfield was in a car accident last night and died at the hospital as a result of his injuries.”
“What?” I shouted.
“Guess that means River didn’t tell you,” Copper surmised.
“No, she didn’t. How’d you find out?”
He smirked. “I have my ways, but that’s not the point. I also found out that Oliver Burgess is Roy Mayfield’s son. So, we should be able to get our hands on the little shit in the next few days.”
“Why does he have a different last name?”
“Fuck if I know. Does it matter?” Copper asked.
“No, I guess not.” I sat back in my chair and rubbed the back of my neck. “Prez, doesn’t it seem strange to you that basically every person we’ve been looking for over the past few weeks has turned up dead?”
Copper shrugged. “Oliver hasn’t. Besides, it’s not uncommon for people to overdose on heroin.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. So, what’s the plan?” I asked.
“According to the information I was given, Roy was married. He has one son from a previous relationship, Oliver, and another son from his current wife. He also has a stepdaughter, which we met the day we were looking for Oliver and found Spring. Since he has a family, I’m thinking there will be a funeral.”
“You want to grab him after his father’s funeral?” I asked and acted like I was shocked when I was really just trying to poke the bear.
“Yes, I fucking do. He caused problems at my bar, he might be selling drugs in my establishment, and he helped his friend break into one of my rental properties who then had the audacity to die inside,” Copper fumed.
“Easy, Prez. I was just fucking with you.”
“Fucker. You’ll pay for that,” he laughed. “What’re you doing here anyway?”
“River’s working tonight. I thought I’d get some work done so I can spend some time with her on her days off during the week,” I told him.
�
�When are you asking her to be your Old Lady?”
“Who said anything about that? She’s only here for a few more weeks,” I quickly replied.
Copper nodded and got to his feet. “No one needed to say anything. You took her to ride the Tail of the Dragon. I’ll catch ya later, brother,” he smirked.
I can’t say I hadn’t thought about her being my Old Lady because I had, more than I cared to admit. But she didn’t have a life in Devil Springs. She only had a few weeks left on her contract with the hospital and hadn’t said anything about wanting to stay in Devil Springs once it was finished.
I stayed in the office for several hours after Copper’s visit, but I didn’t get much work done. My mind kept wandering back to River and how much I wanted her to stay.
***
Someone banging on my door woke me. I sat up and glanced around my room, surprised that River wasn’t asleep beside me. Actually, I was more surprised that I hadn’t woken up when she got home from work.
I got out of bed and pulled my jeans on while the banging on the front door continued. “I’m coming,” I yelled and then cursed hoping I hadn’t woken River. She sometimes had trouble going back to sleep after a shift if she was woken up.
I yanked the door open to find Savior standing on my porch. “Copper wants you at the clubhouse.”
“Why?” I asked over my shoulder as I walked back to my room to finish getting dressed.
“Prez just said to get you to the clubhouse.”
“He could’ve called me.”
“He did.”
I looked at the nightstand and realized my phone wasn’t there. “Fuck! I must’ve left my phone at the office.”
I quickly brushed my teeth, slapped on some deodorant, and ran a damp cloth over my face. I quietly opened the door to River’s room to check on her before I headed out with Savior. When my eyes landed on her empty, perfectly made up bed, I whirled around to find Savior already heading to the front door. “What the fuck is going on?” I bellowed.
Judge (Blackwings MC - Devil Springs Book 2) Page 15