by Harley Wylde
The phone went off again and this time I knew I needed to answer. I swiped the screen and held it to my ear.
“Yeah.”
“I call, you better damn well answer,” Havoc said.
“Sorry. Tired as fuck.” Pissing off the club’s Sergeant-at-Arms wasn’t the best way to start the morning. I had no doubt Havoc could pound my ass into the ground without breaking a sweat. And if he didn’t, his psycho wife might very well try it.
“We have Church in an hour. Drink a pot of coffee, down an energy drink. Do whatever you need to be clear-headed and present on time.”
Fucking hell. I couldn’t think of anything going on that would warrant that kind of threat. It sounded like Cinder was likely on the warpath, even though I didn’t know why. Maybe someone looked at Meg wrong and he was out for blood. Things had been fairly quiet lately. Sure, the women who ended up getting claimed always brought some trouble with them, but since that shit went down six months ago and we lost Bane, it had been a smooth ride. Maybe too tranquil, now that I thought about it. “I’ll be there.”
Havoc hung up on me and I sighed, closing my eyes again. It was going to be a long fucking day. I didn’t regret bringing Nikki here. Having her in my house, knowing she was safe and wouldn’t end up on the streets, made any discomfort worth it. I only hoped I didn’t walk around with a hard-on all the fucking time, much like the one tenting the sheets even now.
If I was going to be in Church on time, better get my ass into the shower. It was going to take that and a fuck ton of coffee to get me going. Although, I should probably take care of my little problem first. Or rather, my big eleven-inch one. Yeah, I’d measured, and any guy who said he hadn’t was a fucking liar or knew he had a tiny dick. I threw off the covers and padded naked into the bathroom. After starting the shower, I took a second to brush my teeth and stared into the mirror. My beard had grown in, longer than I liked. Some of my brothers had some bushy beards that the ladies seemed to love, but I could take it or leave it. I’d need a new razor before I shaved it all the way off, though. I ran my hand over it, then pulled the trimmers from the drawer and took the length down until it was tight along my jaw.
I gathered the hair from the sink and tossed it into the trash, then pulled out a towel before getting in the shower. My dick wasn’t as hard as before, but it hadn’t completely deflated either. I washed my hair and what was left of my beard, then rinsed. Bracing a hand against the wall, I bent over and let the hot water pound my neck and shoulders. I turned my head one way then another, hearing a loud crack both times.
I’d been tense since Renegade had burst into my home, pissed off that his sister was here. Even though I’d told Nikki I wasn’t worried, I’d lied. Having Cinder or Scratch demand that I claim her wouldn’t be a problem for me, but I didn’t want to force that on her. Nikki was still healing, trying to figure things out, and she didn’t need more shit thrown at her. I knew Havoc had decided Jordan was his and that was that, but I didn’t work that way. I could admit the thought of tying Nikki to my bed and convincing her to stay was tempting, but I wasn’t that much of an asshole. Not with her anyway.
Maybe I could have figured out another solution, but part of me had just really wanted her in my house. I’d felt that way for years even though I’d tried to bury it. Not deep enough apparently. In my gut, I knew that Nikki was mine. If things were different, if she weren’t Renegade’s little sister, then perhaps at some point she’d have come to realize she was meant to be here with me. But wishing for things to be different wouldn’t change anything.
The way she’d looked in my bed, her hair fanned across the pillows, was something I wouldn’t easily forget. It had been so fucking tempting to crawl in beside her, draw her close to my chest, and just hold her while we slept. The swell of her belly shouldn’t have looked so fucking cute, but it did. Knowing her son was in there, growing inside her, made me feel things I wasn’t ready to analyze. I’d never thought of myself as a family sort of guy, until I’d found out Nik was pregnant. Even if the baby wasn’t mine, it didn’t keep me from wondering what it would be like.
“Ashes.”
I closed my eyes tighter. Now I was even hearing her damn voice. Would she always plague my thoughts?
“Ashes.”
My eyes opened and I glanced through the glass door. Shit. I wasn’t imagining her voice. She was here, and the way she looked at me… My cock began to stir again, getting hard, and I quickly shifted to hide myself from her. She didn’t need me lusting after her. I would anyway, but it didn’t mean she had to know about it.
“Did you need something, Nikki?” I asked, wincing inwardly when my voice came out deeper and rougher than usual. She had me tied in fucking knots and she wasn’t even trying.
I heard a faint rustle and figured she was leaving, having seen way more of me than she likely had wanted. Turning back to look at what I figured would be an empty bathroom, shock held me immobile as a very naked Nikki entered the shower, her gaze unsure and hesitant. Christ! Was she trying to kill me?
“Nik…”
“If… If you don’t want me here, I’ll go.” She folded her arms over her breasts, her cheeks flushing as she glanced away.
Not want her here? What the hell was going on? Did she think it was a requirement that she give me her body in order to stay with me?
“Talk to me,” I said. “What are you thinking, Nik?”
Her gaze was fastened on the shower floor. At first, I didn’t think she’d answer. When she finally did, it about took me to my fucking knees.
“I know that I’ll probably end up alone, at least until Oliver is grown and out on his own. No one will want to take on both me and a kid, especially as big an asshole as my brother seems to be, determined to save me even if I don’t want or need him to. If you don’t want me, I’ll understand.”
I reached for her, my hands gripping her gently and giving her just enough of a shake that she looked up at me. The vulnerability in her eyes was heartbreaking. Did she really believe no one would want her? The fact she didn’t see what a treasure she was, a gift that any guy would be lucky to claim… it fucking floored me.
“Not want you?” I snorted. “Nik, have you never noticed I’m in a constant state of arousal around you? All I have to do is think of you and I get hard.”
“You’re not just saying that because you think the club might force you to claim me?” She stared at me. Hard. “I’m pregnant, Ashes. Like, really pregnant. Pretty soon I’ll be the size of a whale. Then I’ll have a kid to take care for the next eighteen years, one that isn’t yours.”
I hesitated only a moment before I took her hand and lowered it to my cock. Interest flared in her eyes as she slid her soft fingers along my shaft. She dropped her gaze as she stroked me a few times. The look of wonder on her face was nearly my undoing.
“That’s what happens whenever I’m around you,” I said. “Can’t control it no matter how much I try. I’ve wanted you for a long time, Nikki.”
“Me?” she asked.
“I noticed you shortly after you turned eighteen. Knew I didn’t have a shot at being with someone like you, even if Renegade wasn’t standing in the way. I don’t blame him for wanting a different life for you. You know things can get rough around here. Putting a target on you or Oliver is the last thing I’d ever want to do. Being here, at the compound, is one thing… being claimed by me? That’s different and you know it.”
Her grip didn’t loosen, but her hand stilled. She stared up at me, a flicker of emotion in her eyes that I couldn’t quite discern. Before I could process what was happening, she pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips to mine. It only took a moment before I reacted. Tugging her closer, I took control of the kiss. I’d dreamed of this so many damn times, what she’d taste like, feel like. Nothing compared to the reality of having Nikki in my arms.
I backed her to the tiled wall, crowding her with my body. There was a slight hitch in her breath, and then she seemed to
melt against me. Nik lifted her leg and wrapped it around my thigh, opening herself to me. She deserved romance, a slow seduction. She wasn’t some club whore and I shouldn’t take her against the damn shower wall like one. Then she rubbed herself against me and I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold back.
“Nik, we should wait.” I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince her or me. As she rubbed against me again, all I could do was groan and fight the urge to bury myself deep.
“I don’t need flowery words or a date first, Ashes. I want you.”
“Archer. Call me Archer,” I said, something inside me tightening at the thought of hearing my name after so long, especially on her lips.
“Archer?” she asked.
“Archer McCray.” I smiled a little. “It’s the name on my birth certificate. No one’s used it in a long-ass time.”
Nik reached up and cupped my cheek. “I know what it means that you shared that with me. Archer, I…”
I kissed her again, silencing whatever she was going to say. Gripping her just below her ass cheeks, I lifted, then lowered her right onto my cock. A groan was pulled from me as her tight, hot pussy sucked me in, taking every damn inch as if she were fucking made just for me. Not many women had been able to handle me over the years, but my sweet little Nikki only whimpered and wiggled, needing more.
“That’s it, baby,” I murmured. My cock flexed inside her before I raised and lowered her again. “Fuck, Nikki! You feel so damn good.”
“You feel amazing, Archer.” Her nails bit into my shoulders. “It’s never…”
I kissed her, not wanting to hear about the men in her past. All that mattered was right now, for this moment, she was mine. Holding her tight, I thrust into her. Part of me wanted to hold back, but the soft sounds she made, the way she clung to me, made it difficult. When her pussy clenched down on me, what little control I had, snapped. I drove into her, hard, fast strokes. I’d always wanted to make love to Nikki, but this was different… this was… claiming. I wanted her to know she was mine and only mine.
I shifted the angle as I slammed into her again and again. Nikki gasped then cried out my name, her cream coating me. I pressed my forehead to hers, our gazes locked, as I came, filling her up. My heart raced and as the haze of passion began to dissipate, everything in me went still. Shit. Fuck. Dammit!
“Nik, I… I didn’t use anything.”
She giggled a little. “I don’t think I can get any more knocked up than I already am.”
I looked down at the swell of her stomach, my heart pounding. “But…” I swallowed hard. I’d never been bare inside a woman before. She’d felt incredible, but I didn’t think it was just because I hadn’t used a condom. “I’m clean. I haven’t even been with anyone in a while. Got tested after the last time.”
She sobered, and reached up to run her fingers along my jaw. “I’m clean too. I wasn’t even thinking about that. I trust you, Archer. I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.”
I felt like I couldn’t breathe for a moment. She might trust me to keep her safe, but I hadn’t even been thinking. I’d just wanted her, needed her, so I’d taken her. What if I hadn’t been tested yet? What if I’d given her something? I could have hurt not only her but Oliver. A woman had never made me lose control like that before. It scared the shit out of me.
She kissed me, her lips soft as they brushed mine.
“Why, Nikki?” I asked as I pulled away, but she locked her leg around my thigh and wouldn’t let me slide free from her body. “Why did you get in the shower with me?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yeah. It kind of does. If you think it’s a requirement for giving you a place to stay… it’s not.”
Hurt flashed in her eyes before she looked away. “I just wanted you, okay? Isn’t that enough?”
I reached for her chin, turning her face back toward mine. The emotion in her eyes nearly gutted me. Whatever was going through her mind, it was obvious my question had wounded her deeply, and that was the last thing I’d wanted. I’d do anything for Nikki. Walk through fire, take a bullet… I’d give my life for her.
“Just seems a little too good to be true, Nikki. You’ve never glanced my way with any sort of interest. I’ve wanted you for so damn long, but I don’t think you came in here for the right reasons. I just want to understand. If this is a one-time thing, then tell me now because I don’t think I can let you go. Now that I’ve had you, tasted you, it will kill me to watch you walk away.”
Nikki pressed her face into the crook of my neck and wrapped her arms around me tight. “I don’t want to leave.”
“Then you won’t.”
“Damn right she won’t!” a voice boomed. Nikki gasped and I made sure her body was hidden from view before I turned my head to glare through the glass.
“What the fuck, Scratch? You just barge into bathrooms now?”
“Congratulations, Ashes. You now have an ol’ lady, and no, I’m not fucking asking. No vote needed. You just screwed Renegade’s baby sister. You either claim her, or I’ll let him gut you. Everyone in this fucking club knows she’s off-limits.”
Except Bane. He didn’t give a shit. Probably better to keep that thought to myself.
“I won’t force her to be with me,” I said. “She’s been through enough, Scratch. Don’t do this to her.”
“I didn’t,” he said. “You did. Get the fuck dressed and get to Church.”
With that, he turned and walked out. I was almost scared to look at Nikki, worried what I’d see in her eyes. The last thing I expected was the soft smile curving her lips.
“Archer… you’re a dumbass.”
I blinked and stared. “What?”
“Dumb. Ass. I came in here to seduce you because I’ve wanted you for a while too. Now shut up, kiss me, then go take care of business. The sooner you go, the faster you can come home.”
“You’re not mad?”
She shook her head.
I kissed her like she’d demanded, washed quickly, then dressed and went to Church. All the while, I couldn’t get the thought of her sweet smile off my mind, or the way she’d responded to my touch. I only hoped shit didn’t hit the fan when Renegade found out Nikki was mine now. No fucking way he’d meant it when he said I’d have to claim her if she stayed here.
* * *
“Ashes has something he’d like to tell everyone, don’t you?” Scratch asked after everyone had taken a seat.
Well, fuck. Just throw me in the fire. Thanks, VP. I wondered about my chances of leaving this room without a busted lip or some bruises.
“So, it seems I have an ol’ lady.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Nikki is mine.”
Renegade growled from across the table. “You fucking asshole! You touched her, didn’t you? You damn well know I didn’t mean for you to actually claim her.”
Oh, I’d done more than just touch her, but I didn’t think he wanted the details. Even now I could taste her on my lips. All I wanted was to get Church over with and head back home, and maybe pick up where we left off. Now that I’d had her, my craving for her seemed to have doubled. Possibly tripled.
“I didn’t take advantage of her, if that’s what you’re thinking.” And I was a little pissed that anyone at this table could ever assume I’d do that to Nikki, or any woman. Then again, I’d let them think I was a man-whore like most of them the last few years, not wanting my secret to get out. “She wanted me as much as I wanted her. Hell, she started it!”
That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say.
Renegade’s chair crashed to the floor as he came over the table toward me. I shoved my chair back and stood right as his body flew into mine, knocking me into the wall. My head cracked and pain exploded through my skull, but before I could react, Renegade was coming at me with his fists. I did my best to protect myself, but I tried not to beat on the guy. He was only trying to defend his sister, and I could respect that.
He did a number on my ribs and as I fell
to the floor, he slammed his fists into my back a few times. I coughed and blood dripped onto the floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him draw back his foot, but before he could connect, someone dragged him away. I staggered to my feet and swayed a moment, the room spinning from the blows to the head. Maybe it had been stupid to not fight back, but he’d told me to keep my hands off his sister, had already expressed his displeasure over her being in my house, and I’d crossed even that line and taken things further.
It was the only freebie he was getting. If he came after me again, I’d fight back.
“Renegade needs some time to cool off,” Havoc said. “We got word about a possible deal on the other end of town. Our contact is supposed to meet us at a warehouse over on Clearwater Road. I think you should go and see what’s up.”
“Alone? Do we know anything about this guy?” I asked, my jaw cracking with the effort. Normally, I wouldn’t question the Sergeant-at-Arms, but right now, I wasn’t sure anyone at the table had my back. As far as they were concerned, I’d taken things too far with Nikki, but I’d loved her for years. Maybe if they knew I hadn’t touched a woman in all that time, but I’d have to give up my man card if I made that confession. They didn’t know I hadn’t fucked the club whores I’d led outside.
“Yes, alone. Why? Do you need someone to hold your hand?”
I flipped him off and walked out of Church. Better to get this shit over with so I could go home, although fucking Nikki would hurt a bit after the beating Renegade gave me. Granted, I’d let him, but that didn’t change the fact my head and ribs hurt like fucking hell. If this shit went sideways, I was going to be pissed. If they wanted to make me pay for making Nikki mine, then so be it.