Lion

by Jessie Cooke

  Madison’s heart sped up and she sat forward in her chair. She saw a nephrologist regularly since she got her transplant all those years ago. They did kidney function tests on her and blood tests, to make sure her one kidney was still working. Having only one kidney makes its failing a lot more dangerous than having two…and Hawk only had one kidney, thanks to her. “Did you talk to him about that?”

  “Yeah, when he finally came out, four hours later. He was an ass about it, told me he knew I was following him the whole time and that I should mind my own business. But, his reason for being there was that he was doing ‘club business,’ he said, anyways.”

  “For four hours, and at a clinic? Does that make sense to you?”

  “Nope. None at all.”

  “Shit. I knew it. I knew he was sick…shit, this is my fault.” The tears that had been stinging her eyes began rolling down her cheeks and she couldn’t stop them. Lion looked uncomfortable, but after a few minutes he moved over to the couch and sat next to her. He didn’t touch her, but in a soft voice with no traces of sarcasm he said:

  “It’s not your fault, and I honestly don’t believe that old fucker will ever die.” Madison laughed at that, snorting snot out of her nose and making Lion scoot away from her. She laughed harder and then when a handkerchief appeared in his hand in front of her, she took it and cried some more.

  Madison was sobbing, and Lion had no idea what to do. He hated when girls cried. He barely remembered his mother, and his Me Maw never cried. He’d seen girls cry but usually it was at school or as he was leaving them the night or morning after. He’d always just walked away. He’d never had one in his house sobbing her eyes out. He just sat there and watched her sob into his handkerchief until at last she looked up at him. Her eyes were red and swollen and her nose was running. She had a little mascara running down her cheeks…she was a mess and she looked so beautiful and vulnerable that it hurt his heart.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, just as she began to hiccup.

  Still at a loss for what to do or say Lion said, “It’s okay. You want something? Water, or something? I have whiskey.”

  She smiled through her tears and again, he couldn’t help but think about how fucking beautiful she was. “Water would be nice, thank you. Do you have a bathroom I can use?”

  Shit. Shit. Shit. Lion never had company, ever. He had a bathroom, sort of… “Um…yeah, but it’s out back.”

  Madison’s eyes widened. “Out back?”

  He nodded. “It’s kind of an outhouse. There’s a shower in my bedroom, and a sink.”

  She smiled, but she didn’t laugh at him, thank goodness. “A sink will be fine. I just want to wash up.”

  He nodded and stood up. Without saying anything he started down the hall, but when he realized she wasn’t following him he turned around. “You coming?”

  “Oh yeah. I was just thinking if you didn’t want me in your bedroom I could use the sink in the kitchen.”

  “It’s fine,” he said. “You’re not going to try to sexually assault me once we get in there or anything, are you?”

  Madison laughed out loud and stood up and said, “Thanks, I needed that.”

  11

  Lion left Madison alone at the sink with a clean washcloth and went back out to the living room. Once he was gone, she took a look around the small space. There was a bed that looked like it had been made by hand the same as the living room furniture. There were books stacked all over the floor and it looked like he was using some of the stacks like little tables. A pile of dirty clothes sat in one corner and the sink, and a shower that was enclosed on all four sides by a curtain, in the opposite corner. There was also a closet…maybe? Some kind of opening was against the wall opposite the bed and covered with a thick, dark curtain. She was really curious about him, and would love to be nosy…nosier…but she’d die if he caught her. So she turned back to the sink and the tiny mirror on the wall and used the washcloth he’d given her to clean up her face. She was mortified when she saw what a mess she was. She could only imagine what he was thinking of her.

  Once she was cleaned up and her hiccups had calmed down, she took a deep breath and went back out to the living room. Lion was sitting on the couch and a glass of water was sitting on the little table in front of the couch. Madison sat back down and said, “Thank you. I’m sorry.” Lion nodded and then gestured at the water. She tried not to smile as she picked it up and took a drink. It was almost like spending the evening with Tarzan. It was both amusing, and nerve-racking. “Thanks,” she said again as she set the glass down. “I feel better.”

  “Okay. Do you want me to take you back to the ranch or is someone lurking out there waiting for you?”

  She laughed—a sarcastic Tarzan. “You have such a way with words.”

  “Boston public schools rock, it’s why your dad is such an eloquent son of a bitch too.”

  Laughing again she said, “You love him too.” Madison knew Lion talked a lot of shit about Hawk, and Hawk hardly spoke about Lion at all…but she could see it in both of their eyes, they were definitely connected.

  Lion rolled his eyes and let out a little grunt. “I thought you might be unstable, but that proves it.”

  She shrugged. She knew the truth whether he’d admit it or not. “Okay, fine. You don’t love him.”

  “Not at all.”

  “Fine, we’ll go with that. But what I don’t understand is why you won’t just tell me how the two of you are connected.”

  He grunted again and she poised herself for him to throw her out, so she was surprised when he said, “My mom and him were friends, since they were kids. Don’t judge her for that, she was shy.” Madison laughed and Lion went on, “Your dad was here the day I was born.”

  “Here? Like in this house?” The look in his eyes was pure pain as he said:

  “No. Not this house. The house that used to be here, my grandmother’s house. It burned down when I was sixteen.”

  “Oh.” Oh. She mentally rolled her eyes at herself. What a stupid response. But, Harley said his grandmother died when he was sixteen, and Madison was afraid she may have died in that fire. From what she did know about Lion so far, she was sure he wouldn’t want to talk about that. Instead she said, “So you’ve known my dad longer than I have.”

  “Lucky me.”

  She shook her head again and smiled. He was trying too hard to convince her he didn’t care about Hawk, but she still wasn’t buying it. “So they were friends and you and he were close at one point…?”

  “Yeah, when I was a kid, before I was old enough to really have any sense. That’s it, Madison, that’s all there is to know. You ready to go back now?” She knew there was a lot more to it than that. She’d heard enough rumors, and assholes like Luger had made nasty comments about Hawk’s “betrayal.” She was sure that had to have something to do with how Lion felt about him too…but she was beginning to believe no one would ever tell her the truth about that.

  She picked up the water glass and drank what was left in it and then stood up. “Yeah, if you don’t mind taking me. I’ll put this in the kitchen before we go.” She took a step and Lion stood up in her way. He took the glass out of her hand and said:

  “I got it. I have to grab my keys.” She watched him disappear behind the swinging door and reappear almost as quickly, keys in hand. Lion opened the front door and held the screen door open for Madison. She was about to step through it when their faces came within inches of each other and pure, unadulterated lust drove her to do what she did next. She leaned in and quickly swiped her lips across his. For half a second, Madison wondered if he’d be mad, but then she felt both of his arms go around her waist and he kissed her back as he lifted her up and kicked the door closed behind him. He carried her, with her legs wrapped around his waist, to the bedroom. When they got there, he tossed her down on the bed and reached down and ripped off her shirt with one hand. She must have looked shocked because his eyes widened and he said, “Shit. Sorry.”
>
  Madison laughed then and reached up and put her hands on his neck and pulled him down. He kissed her again on the lips. It was a long, deep, sexy kiss. When they both needed air, he moved to her neck and started kissing there. As he got more excited, she could feel him sucking and biting hard and she knew it was going to leave a mark, but she didn’t care, it felt wonderful. He continued to kiss and nibble his way down to the tops of her breasts. He kissed all the exposed skin there before pushing her bra up out of his way and cupping her breasts in his big, rough hands. She loved the way he held them while he sucked her nipples, it was like being attacked and caressed at the same time. She was arching her back and moaning and she could feel her panties getting wetter by the second. Lion took his time with her breasts…too much time. It was amazing, but she was wild with lust and she needed to feel him inside of her.

  “Lion.” She moaned out his name. He looked up at her and the look in his green eyes was raw. She could see his desire, and it was as strong as hers. He slid a hand underneath her and unclasped her bra and tossed it aside, and then when he straightened up and began to strip off his clothes, she nearly ripped the button off her pants trying to get them off. By the time he was gloriously naked, she was too. She looked at the tattoos that covered the top of his right arm. She had wanted to ask him before what they meant, but the timing had never been right. Just then, it wasn’t right either; she needed him too badly. She reached for his thick cock and he let out a primal sound as she began to stroke it in her hand. Sitting up straight, she brought it to her lips and tasted the silky white bead on the tip. He had his head dropped back and his eyes closed, his wild hair dangling down almost to his waist. When she opened her lips and let him slide into her mouth, he wrapped his hands up in her hair and whispered her name. It was a deep, throaty whisper, and the sexiest thing she’d ever heard. She shuddered as she let his cock work its way in and out of her mouth. She let her tongue slide along the shaft, and lick around the head just before she moved forward and took it all in again. Lion’s breathing was ragged and his grip on her hair tight. He let her make love to him with her lips for a long time, but at last he pulled back and with one hand he reached between her legs and began to stroke her sensitive clit, and with the other, he reached over to one of his stacks of books, and pulled a condom out of a small pile of them on top.

  Madison moaned and dropped back onto the bed. Lion kept stroking her, rubbing that hard clit until all of the nerves in her body felt like they were on fire. She grabbed the quilt on the top of his bed with both hands, arched up high and let the orgasm take over. Lion didn’t stop until she was finished and even then, when he took his fingers away, she missed them. She lay there trying to get hold of herself, listening to the sounds of him opening the condom wrapper and sliding it over his throbbing erection. As soon as he finished, he sat down on the bed next to her and scooped her up into his lap. Madison reached down and took hold of his cock and guided it into her and Lion once again attached his mouth to the curve of her neck, and held onto her tightly as he used the bed to bounce up into her, plunging in hard and deep each time. Madison grabbed onto his hair and held on. She felt like she might go flying across the room, but she knew that even slamming into the wall, at this point, couldn’t take away from how insanely good having him inside of her felt.

  It didn’t take long before Lion let out a loud grunt that was almost a growl and she felt his fingers dig into her back as he reached his peak. It took him a long time to finish and once he did, he still held her so tightly against him that she could barely breathe. It was nice, though. Breathing was overrated. She didn’t want him to let her go.

  When he finally got his breathing under control, and she could feel the pounding of his heart slowing down against his chest, he relaxed his grip on her. She looked into his eyes before sliding off his lap, hoping to still catch a glimpse of raw emotion before he hid it away again. It was there. He felt something for her, she was sure…the question was, would he ever admit it?

  “It’s kind of late,” he said, as she climbed off his lap and he peeled off the condom. “You want to stay here tonight?” Madison didn’t know if that was the answer to her question or not…but she wanted nothing more than to stay with him. Trying to stay as casual as he was about it, she smiled and said:

  “Sure, thanks.” Lion showed her out to the “bathroom” then, which was surprisingly nice for an outhouse. He got her another glass of water, still guarding the door to the kitchen like maybe that was where he kept all of his treasure, or dead bodies, or whatever. Then he gave her a huge white t-shirt which she pulled on…and then they lay down in the bed and he wrapped her up tight from behind. He didn’t say another word before she heard his breathing begin to slow down and change. He’d hardly said any before that…but Madison was getting used to reading his silences, and this one was her favorite so far.

  12

  The sound of an approaching motorcycle brought Lion instantly awake. Madison was startled awake as he jumped out of bed and grabbed for his pants. She was looking at him with a sexy, sleepy look in her big, brown eyes and he wanted to rip his own t-shirt off of her and take her again. But first…who the fuck was showing up at his house at the crack of dawn?

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  “Someone’s here. I’m going to close this door. I’ll be back.” Lion pulled open the top drawer of the little nightstand he’d built and took his gun out. As he was loading it, Madison seemed to come fully alert.

  “Why the gun? Are you expecting a problem?”

  “Nope. Just like to be prepared.” He loaded the gun and stuck in into the back of his jeans just as he heard the bike outside cut off. He looked at Madison again and said, “Stay here,” before closing the bedroom door behind him. He was almost to the door when the pounding started.

  “Lion! Open the fuck up! Is Madison in there?”

  Lion rolled his eyes and took a deep breath before pulling the door open to face Hawk. “It’s like 5:30 in the fucking morning.”

  “Thanks, I had no idea,” Hawk said, sarcastically. “Where is Maddie?”

  “I’m right here.” She hadn’t given Lion a chance to answer, and obviously, she hadn’t stayed put like he told her too. Lion let Hawk inside. The old fool looked like he was ready to fight if he didn’t and Lion didn’t want to kick his ass in front of his daughter.

  “What in the actual fuck, Maddie? You just didn’t come back to the ranch last night and you didn’t tell anyone where you were going and you’re not answering your phone…”

  “I guess the ringer is off—I haven’t even looked at it.”

  Hawk’s dark eyes ran over his daughter then. She was still only wearing Lion’s t-shirt. It covered everything, but it also made it obvious what they had done. When the old man’s eyes got back to his daughter’s face he said, “Yeah, it looks like you were a little too busy.”

  “Are you kidding?” she asked him. “I’m thirty-five years old. When I get busy and with whom I get busy is none of your business.”

  Lion could see Hawk’s chest moving rapidly up and down. He’d known the old man long enough to know he was about to lose it, and he also knew that Madison wasn’t going to be his target. Lion was ready for him when Hawk spun around and tried to grab him. He was shirtless, so Hawk was going for his neck. Lion caught Hawk’s hand and although he didn’t make a sound, he saw the pain in Hawk’s black eyes when he squeezed it inside his. “You don’t want to do this, Hawk.”

  “No! You’re not going to have a brawl over me like I was a fucking virgin,” Madison said. “Dad, I love you, and I will apologize for leaving you to worry last night. But that’s it. I’m not apologizing for fulfilling my needs, or who I fulfill them with.”

  Hawk jerked his hand out of Lion’s fist and then stumbled back and almost fell. Lion reached out to catch him and Hawk batted Lion’s hand away. Lion put both hands up, palms out, and then looked at Madison and said, “I’m going to be out back if you need me. I do
n’t think you two need me for this.”

  Lion could almost feel Hawk’s hot glare on his back as he walked into the bedroom to grab a t-shirt. He pulled it on and had to walk past them again to get to the back door. Hawk was still staring a hole through him. Lion had managed to make it to thirty-eight years old without having to come face to face with a pissed-off father…and when it finally happened, it had to be fucking Hawk. He almost laughed out loud at that thought as he went outside.

  “I was worried about you, Maddie. No one knew where you were.”

  Madison walked over and sat down on Lion’s couch. She patted the spot next to her and Hawk hesitated, but finally walked over and sat down. His posture was rigid and he was still looking at her like he’d just found out she was a porn star. “Harley knew where I was. I asked her not to share it with anyone unless it was an emergency…but if you would have checked with her, she could have reassured you that I was fine.”

  “What are you doing here?” Hawk asked, looking around like he’d never seen the place before.

  Madison cocked an eyebrow and said, “I sincerely doubt you want an honest answer to that question.”

  Narrowing his black eyes again Hawk said, “That’s not what I mean, and you know it. What are you doing with him?”

  “I like him, and obviously I’m attracted to him…maybe you should tell me why you have a problem with that. I’ve been asking since I got here, what’s the bad blood between you two about?”

  “There is no bad blood. He’s just not…” Hawk sighed. “Maddie, Lion has a lot of issues. Getting together with a guy like him would destroy all your plans for your life.”

  “I’m not moving in with him, or marrying him…” When Hawk started to look relieved she added, “Yet.” He was shaking his head and she said, “If you’re so hell-bent on convincing me he’s not the one for me, then maybe you should stop being so damned vague and tell me why. You’re both so fucking secretive. It makes me crazy! My whole life I thought you were the most honest man in the world…but I was wrong about that, wasn’t I, Dad? You’ve got lots of secrets.”