I’d never been more grateful for a bunch of burly dudes in my life.
“It’s going to be dark soon,” I said.
“That’s true,” Storm said. We were all sitting on the deck near the wheelhouse, trying to make conversation to pass the time. “But I showed Wreck how to operate the boat and we won’t need to stop for the night. He can drive while I catch a little sleep. We should be gaining on them.”
“That’s awesome,” I said, looking over at Wreck. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure, December,” he said. They’d all been so polite and kind, all of them giving me the space I needed as I lived through this bullshit nightmare. Except for Wolfe, and to be perfectly honest, I wanted even less space between us.
That glimmer of hope was back, shining through my heart like a bright light that I couldn’t turn out, even if I wanted to.
My thoughts turned to the future, once I had Leo back in my arms and was done with Shane for good. I vowed to keep Leo away from Shane, if it was the last thing I did.
But what about once all this was over?
What did that mean for me and Wolfe? His kisses had left me breathless, and I was anxious to kiss him again. Once Riot’s call interrupted us, though, we’d run upstairs to tell the others the news, and we’d been up here ever since, but I wasn’t oblivious to the glances he kept throwing my way, his eyes full of a secret pleasure that must have matched my own.
After a while, Slade and Storm went down to sleep and Wreck took the wheel, leaving Wolfe and I alone on deck. He reached over and grabbed my hand, turning it over to place a searing kiss on my palm that took my breath away.
My eyes crashed into his, and the dark hunger I saw there made me gasp.
The future was uncertain, to say the least. I didn’t know if Wolfe would stick around after we got Leo back. Who could blame him if he didn’t? We were a constant reminder of everything he’d lost. And he had an important job.
Where did all that leave me? Where did it leave us?
The harsh reality of our situation is that all we had was right here, right now and I had lived my life as one big, missed opportunity and I wasn’t about to give up this one, too.
I turned my palm back over, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet. Without a word, I guided him back downstairs to my bedroom and closed the door behind us.
I turned back to him, staring up at him, my eyes searching his.
“Wolfe, make love to me.”
His mouth opened in surprise, but in a flash, his mouth crashed into mine in the most delicious collision of the past and the present, the missed love of forgotten years mingling with the possibilities of our present, our bodies relishing in the opportunity to finally right our destinies that had gone so horribly wrong.
His heat poured into me, love and desire and pain and pleasure melting together into a profound mixture of pure, raw emotion.
He tore away from me, his eyes dark and stormy, the boat slightly swaying under our feet.
“December, I’ve waited all my life to show you how I feel about you,” he growled, his voice low and thick.
“Me, too,” I whispered, tears filling my eyes.
“I love you,” he said, his arms wrapping around me. “I’ve always loved you.”
“I love you, too, Wolfe, so much,” I said. “I’ve loved you forever.”
“Forever,” he said, a smile stretching across his face. “Are you sure you want to do this now?”
“I’ve never been more sure in my life,” I said, lifting my chin, his mouth crashing into mine again as we fell back onto the bed together.
Chapter 31
WOLFE
It was as if my entire life had led up to this moment.
December lay before me, as beautiful as if a star had fallen from the sky and fallen naked into the bed, shimmering and sparkling like a diamond that was custom made just for me.
I’d spent so many nights imagining this. The fantasy version of her body warming me through the coldest, loneliest nights of my life. The beauty I’d imagined I’d find once her clothes were peeled off was nothing compared to the stunning reality lying in front of me.
“You’re…you’re…just stunning,” I whispered, as I drank in the vision of her. I almost felt like I must be dreaming again. Could this be real? After all this time?
I reached down after pulling off my clothes, my palm sliding along the outside of her thigh, just to prove to myself that this was really happening. Her skin was soft as silk, smooth and tan, quivering under my touch.
She stared up at me with awe in her eyes that left me humbled. Could she really have loved me as much as I loved her all this time?
I’d always wondered what things would be like if we reconnected. I’d wondered if things would be the same, if we’d still be as close, after all the years had put so much distance between us. We weren’t the same people, not even close.
We’d grown up. Changed.
So very much.
But after spending this time with her, after kissing her, and looking down at her, open and welcoming me with her spread limbs, I knew that our love for each other had only grown stronger over the years, despite the distance.
I moved towards her, my body on fire for the one person I’d spent my life yearning for.
My mouth found hers as she wrapped herself around me, her thighs sliding around my hips, her arms pulling me in close as her mouth opened, accepting mine as her hips pushed up towards me, our bodies begging for the connection we’d always needed.
Chapter 32
DECEMBER
The faint glow of the moon was the only light in the room, but it provided just enough for me to drink in Wolfe’s hulking frame, his body etched with scrawling tattoos, his dark eyes thirsty with lust.
He kissed me passionately, the pent-up emotion flowing between us like a dam had been broken, finally allowing the love to pour out between us.
His hardness nudged against my center, a promise of all the primal pleasure I’d been missing out on all my life. I raised my hips, wanting him, needing him, my body begging for him.
He tore his mouth from mine, staring deeply into my eyes as he slowly slid inside of me. I whimpered, my heart filling with so much emotion I thought it might burst. Slowly, inch by delicious inch, he thrust inside me smoothly, my thighs tightening around him as I pulled him deeper.
He paused, looking down at me with wonder.
“December,” he growled, my name falling thickly from his lips.
“I know,” I whispered, my eyes shining with love-filled tears. He pulled out slightly, sliding back in, the feeling exquisitely gratifying. “Again, please, again…”
“Oh, babe,” he moaned, his hips rocking back and forth as he filled me with his hardness over and over.
“Wolfe,” I whispered his name, like a promise on the tip of my tongue that I’d yearned to fulfill. “Wolfe, Wolfe, yes, please…”
He rocked against me, filling me up, my hands sliding over his skin, the heat between us building as he picked up the pace, our bodies starving for each other.
He groaned and growled, his mouth crashing into mine again as he worked his cock in and out of me, my body quivering with pleasure under his decadent assault.
I’d dreamed of him above me like this for years, late at night when I was all alone, when I dared to allow myself the secret pleasure of thinking about him, my fingers finding the release I needed so badly, as my lips caressed his name in the darkness.
But it was never as good as this.
The real thing.
The real man, kind and loving and beautiful and sensual, his body merging with mine like two parts of a puzzle fitting together with perfect precision.
He pushed into me harder with each thrust, pressing deeper and deeper until I was crying out in pleasure, his cock slamming into me, pulling every ounce of pleasure in my body to the surface until I crashed over the edge of bliss, shaking and crying and shuddering as I clung to him like his
body was the essence of life.
When he exploded inside of me, a white-hot heat that ripped through his body violently, his mouth firmly planted against mine, his tongue delving deep as possible as he roared into it, I welcomed his fiery offering, widening my thighs, and welcoming him home at last.
Chapter 33
WOLFE
Waking up with December in my arms, our bare skin sliding together, left my heart swollen with love. She stirred, the morning sunlight in her hair, as she snuggled up against my chest. I pulled her close, wishing with every part of my soul that we’d get to wake up like this for the rest of our lives.
We’d wasted too much time, too much life, too much love.
The dueling emotions inside of me — love and rage — were separate beings that fought for consciousness. I fantasized about the revenge I was going to unleash on Shane in the same moments that I fantasized about my future with December.
It was a mind fuck, but I was all in.
No matter what happened today, nothing could take away the night I’d spent with her.
I didn’t want to wake her. I knew she was tormented with worry for Leo and she seemed so peaceful sleeping, her head resting against my chest, her breath rising and falling so effortlessly.
It killed me to see her cry. To see the fear in her eyes.
If we could get through this, with Leo safely on the other side, I knew nothing would ever come between us again.
Whatever ended up happening with Shane, I would never let him back in our lives.
If he lived.
I still wasn’t sure I was going to let that happen, and the anger boiling inside of me had other ideas.
Outside of a few fights in the pen, I’d never really been a violent guy. Even when I was, it was for work or self-defense.
But the murderous, vengeful fantasies forming in my head told a different story about who I was, leaving me questioning myself.
I finally chalked it up to the fact that I was doing what I’d always done — protecting December to the best of my ability. Now, Leo was a part of that, too. As he should be.
I wondered what he was like now. I’d only met him once, when he was very young. Now, he was a young man, no doubt with his own thoughts and ideals of what his own family and future should look like. I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d accept me into it.
I hoped like hell he would, though.
We could work out all the logistics later, but I knew there was no way in hell I’d walk away again.
I pulled December closer, inhaling the sweet perfume of her soft hair against my chin. I looked out the window and saw that it was snowing again, soft billowing flakes falling gently through the air.
And yet, I was warmer than I’d ever been with December in my arms.
December, the snow, the feel of her body next to mine, the love flowing between us — I wanted it all to last forever.
Chapter 34
DECEMBER
Astoria was beautiful, but I didn’t really register any of that beauty. With Wolfe holding my hand firmly, we walked into the convenience store on the marina.
A bell rang out over our heads as the door closed behind us, warmth enveloping us as we walked in.
The man behind the counter had kind eyes and I walked straight over to him with a smile.
“Hello,” he said, his voice as warm and kind as his eyes.
“Hi,” I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket. “The other day, someone from this store called the cops about a man and a young boy that they were concerned about.”
“Oh, yes, that was me,” he nodded.
“My son is missing,” I said, my voice shaking every time I said those painful words. “I was wondering if you could take a look at this photo and tell me if he’s the boy you saw.”
I pulled up a picture of Leo, smiling with joy next to Lucy and fought back the tears that threatened to spill out. I gave the man my phone and he stared down at the photo.
“Oh, look at that smile,” he said. “I am pretty sure that’s him. Although, unfortunately, he wasn’t smiling and he looked quite upset. I was pretty sure that he was trying to signal to me that something was wrong but the man he was with came in before I could get any information out of him.”
I nodded, breathless. I pulled up an old picture of Shane and showed him that.
“Is that the man?”
“Yes!” The man said, his eyes lighting up. “That’s definitely them.”
“Thank you!” I said. “And you said they went north after leaving here?”
“That’s right,” he said. “Oh! I pulled up a video from my surveillance. I kept thinking the cops might want it, but nobody has come by to get it yet.”
“Can we see it?” Wolfe asked. He’d been silent behind me this whole time, quietly letting me talk to the man.
“Sure!” he said, coming out from around the corner. “Come back into my office.”
We followed him into a tiny, dingy office behind the coolers and he pulled the video up on his computer. In seconds, Leo appeared on the screen.
I gasped in joy. My boy! He was alive. He was okay!
“That’s him, right?” the man asked.
“It is,” I said. I’d have known his face and his walk anywhere, despite the blurry footage. We watched as he stood in front of the counter for a minute as he unloaded a bunch of snacks on the counter and stood in front of the man. I could see his eye was slightly swollen and dark and it broke my heart to think he was hurting. But at least he was alive.
Seconds later, Shane walked in, his face angry and pinched.
After paying, they walked out and disappeared from view.
“Thank you so much,” I said to the man.
“We should get going,” Wolfe said. “They can’t be too far away.”
“Good luck, miss. I hope you find your boy.”
“We’ll find him,” Wolfe said, with a determined nod. “You did the right thing by calling the cops.”
“Well, I thought so, too. They said they’d call the Coast Guard, but I don’t know what happened with that.”
“We appreciate your help,” I said.
Wolfe and I walked back to the boat and joined the others.
“Well?” Slade asked.
“It was definitely them. Let’s get moving.”
“Excellent,” Slade said, snow falling around him as he stood on the deck. “We’re getting so close! Gonna be a great day!”
“A great day?” I asked.
“Well, yeah, like I said before —.”
“—any day is a great day to kick some ass,” Wolfe finished.
“There ya go, brother!” Slade laughed in agreement.
Storm started up the boat and we pulled away from the dock, lurching Slade unexpectedly to the floor of the deck.
We all laughed as Wreck helped him back up to his feet.
“Man, these fucking boots were not made for this slick shit,” he said, without the slightest twinge of embarrassment. “I don’t think I’m made for it, either.”
“Looks like we found your Achilles heel,” Wolfe said.
“No fucking way, dude,” Slade said, shaking his head. “I’m invincible!”
He made a move to go towards the stairs leading to the cabin, but slipped again, falling flat on his ass all over again.
We all roared with laughter and I felt the pain in my heart subside just a little.
Chapter 35
WOLFE
“Hey, brother, I was listening to the scanners again, for the Coast Guard,” Riot said. He’d called again a few hours after we left Astoria and I’d walked away from the others to talk to him.
“And?” I asked, bracing myself for bad news.
“Sounds like they lost contact with one of their boats, just a little bit north of where y’all are right now. No mention of Shane or the boy, but it seems a little fishy. It may not be related at all. I just wanted to mention it. They’re sending a search crew out now.”
&nbs
p; “Okay,” I replied, absorbing the information. Riot was right, it could mean anything. “And Shane’s GPS is still turned off?”
“I haven’t had any more hits on it.”
“Right.”
“How’s December holding up?”
“She’s strong as an ox. She’s amazing, actually.”
“Sounds like you have a lot of respect for her.”
“It’s a lot more than that, brother.”
“Love?”
I laughed. “What’s stronger than love? Whatever it is, that’s it.”
“Damn, okay,” he laughed, before turning serious. “Listen, Wolfe, I wanted to talk to you about something else.”
“What’s up?”
“Well, you know me. I like to dig, right?”
“Sure,” I agreed.
“Well, I hope you don’t mind, but while I was researching Shane to try to find any clues about where he might be going, I pulled up a lot of extra stuff, too.”
“What did you find out?”
“Well, I looked through all of his emails, going back several years. And I found something that seemed a little weird.”
“What?”
“He was researching your case a few years ago. It was while you were still locked up. First, I just saw some information requests — like, he was requesting all the police reports from the shooting at the convenience store. But then, he started requesting forensic reports, too. Ballistic shit.”
“Ballistics?”
“It was weird, man. And I don’t want to overstep or bring up bad memories for you.”
“It was a long time ago, man. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“Okay, well I started looking at the reports myself. And I found some discrepancies that were really odd.”
FOREVER DECEMBER: GODS OF CHAOS MC (BOOK 15) Page 10