by Tara Lynn
When I reached her, my chest felt tight with emotion, but I had no words to voice them.
“Good trip, sweetheart?” I started.
“It was ok,” she said. “But I’m glad to be back.”
I tried not to read too much into it. “Too much sunshine or something?”
She shook her head. “It’s just not my time to leave yet.”
“You were considering it, though,” I said. “Just cause of what happened with us?”
“Not just cause of you. I used to think about leaving every day.” She took in the block past me as if it were the town itself. “I’d get worried I couldn’t leave sometimes - that I’d waited too long. But I’m not so desperate to run anymore.”
“Why’s that?”
“I want to get out the right way. I want to make sure I do it for the right reasons.” She shuffled her feet. “I want to make sure I’m headed in the right direction, even if it’s a different one than I expected.”
I fought every urge to press up close to her and leaned back on a post instead. “Was I that good?”
Her nervous smile could have brought me back from the dead. “Yeah, actually, you kind of were.”
My swagger left me. I had no idea what to do with this honest emotion, especially out of a sharp-witted girl like her. My mouth flapped in the wind, and then all I could say was. “How?”
“Ever since that night I can’t stop thinking about you. I was afraid it was just cause you’re hot.“ She chuckled warmly. “But that’s not all it is. You left and came back. That means things aren’t perfect out there. And it means that not everything’s bad here. Especially not with you around now rattling the cages.”
I waited, let the feeling in me uncoil in the gentlest way possible. “You were that good too.”
“I was?”
“You’re the fire beneath my feet. Whenever I think I can’t make this place better, I think of you and realize I’ve got no choice.”
She looked confused. “I’m burning you into action?”
“In a good way. I need you here to do what I have to do.”
That earned me a grin. “That’s still not going to keep me here forever.”
“Oh I’d never try to hold you. I’ll be grateful if you just keep coming back.”
She bit her lip, and I saw what I was waiting for coming in the tremble. “I’m here now.”
“Yes you are.” I chuckled and sank my head. “I just got this big empty house. Do you want to keep me company?”
She moved up to me and said with a whisper. “If you’re willing to risk it.”
I peered down at those wide eyes. “I’m not risking anything, sweetheart. Fuck Freemont. The real prize is you.”
She trembled in toward my chest. Just a hair’s breath away, she flipped apart and pulled open the screen door. “We should probably go inside,” she said.
I handed her the keys and watched her undo the lock. We moved in, still separate. She took a quick glance around at the rat bare place. I should have really made it look less like a hostel.
Christina homed in on the one pair of kitchen blinds that still lay open. She flicked them down, twisted them until the room lay in a dark haze. There was just enough light to see her grin in the darkness.
“You look like the first time I saw you,” she said. “A stranger off in the darkness.”
“Well, I want to do the first thing that came to mind when I saw you.”
She started back my way, but I was so goddamn tired of waiting. I rushed up, gathered her up in an arm and pressed my mouth to hers. She gasped against me, but all it did was give my tongue room to thrust deep into her. She tasted fizzy and sour. I recognized the taste.
“You drank a Red Bull on the way here?” I breathed, in between a kiss.
“I had this idea that I would need the energy,” she said.
“Fuck yes, you’re going to.” I sat her up on a counter. “You’re not getting any sleep tonight.”
“I didn’t get any last night either. I was up thinking of you.”
I hardened at the thought of her lying bare on the bed and dreaming of me. I sank my bite into her long pale neck, and she gasped. My nose blew flames down her chest, and when she was hot and bothered, I grabbed a handful of her and squeezed. She squealed.
“Be loud, baby,” I said. “These walls keep secrets.”
“You sure?”
“It’s the only thing I checked before I got the place.”
She prayed to some unknown god as I seized her bare skin again. I flicked off her shirt, tore down her bra and tasted her. There was too much for even my mouth. I sucked her up in bigger and bigger gulps, as her cries grew sharper above me.
We had been caged away from each other for so long, I had to consume every inch of her. I kissed my way around her back, her stomach, all the way to her waist. She clenched my hair as I exhaled hot and wet down into her. She might have been begging me to slow, but I caught a whiff of her sweet flower and nothing else mattered.
I tipped her back, ripped down her jeans and lapped at her wet entrance. Her legs fluttered at my shoulders but I held them down and pressed my mouth full on her. She gushed into me, the sweetest nectar I had ever tasted.
I lapped up every bit - front to back, more and more insistent. Her struggle grew almost violent and then she broke around me. A rich flood of juice came as my reward.
I flipped her back up and into my arms. She looked red and flustered, her hair already a damp tangleweed. There was a wetness in her eyes that gave me pause. It didn’t seem to be from the exertion or her enthusiasm, but fresh from seeing me.
“What is it?” I asked.
She wiped another tear out of her eye. “Sorry.”
“No apologies,” I said, and some of the heat at my center shifted to my chest. “Did I hurt you?”
“No,” she said. “I was so afraid on the ride back here. I’d made up my mind, but I thought you might have forgotten about me.”
I cradled her in my grip, her body completely bare to me. She was completely under my spell. It was fine. She had me, too.
“Honey,” I said. “For a smart girl, you can be a downright idiot.”
She choked out a laugh and planted a hot wet kiss on me.
I locked her lips to mine and carried her off to the bedroom. I didn’t need a housewarming party.
We would get the place steaming just by ourselves.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Christina
“Oh god, deeper. Go all the way in.”
Damon raised my legs even higher past his shoulder, bending in even harder. I was a yoga mat. An object to be shaped and used at his pleasure. His thrusts ran to my very center and I cried out at the walls.
Damon ducked down, sweat dripping off his hard jawline, and crushed his mouth on mine. His stubble scratched me as our faces bounced from the force of him below. I moaned into his mouth, but the gorgeous pleasure blooming inside me was beyond measure. The walls and shaded windows hid this from the world. I was free to moan out everything I felt.
Damon cut me off as he returned my lips to his. His rippling body bore against my flesh, cradling me, even as he sped up. Our skin was stuck to each other now, and my mouth had no escape from his. We were fused together.
I could feel my atoms begin to come apart, to change. A force set off deep inside me.
“Oh Jesus.” I dug my hands into his back and crunched him to me. My world exploded white. I gasped, just dangling off him. Damon rode me as hard as ever, sending ripple after ripple in the ocean of ecstasy. But there was one thing I wanted more than anything else.
“Come in me, “ I whispered. “Make me your girl.”
His muscles twitched. His breathing unhinged. Feeling him lose control was amazing, but not quite as much as that next instant. I held him with my own kiss as hot wet heat jetted into me. Just the feeling made me want him all over.
He went still and lay over me, letting our juices stew. I nudged him to the s
ide, then lay staring in his eyes. His face was smeared into a gorgeous smile. This night was so much better than the first time. We could lie here forever and no one would come looking.
“I was gonna ask what you wanted to do today,” he said, after a while. “But I think the pharmacy might be a good first trip.”
“Yeah, I’m not taking any risks after doubling up from last night,” I smiled. “It’d be easier if you bought the pills for me, so I wouldn’t have to drive forever.”
“I never thought I’d be a drug dealer.”
I rubbed his shoulders. “I was thinking it was more like a tip for a job well done.”
His laugh shook the bed. “So long as you don’t start getting addicted. You’re the one studying biology, but I’m pretty sure you can’t pop one every day.”
“I’ll switch to birth control. I just need to drive a few hundred miles away to get the prescription.”
He beamed. “Good. Cause I love ending it in you. It makes me feel like I’m home.”
Just those words felt like the heat of him pouring inside me. It was the most natural instinct in the world. And I had to admit, the fact that he was technically my stepbrother made it all the more hot.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll always want that.”
It had been barely five minutes, but his look hardened. Damon scooped me up and carried me off to the shower. Hot moisture poured over me from above, as he plied into me again below. My face smooshed against the fogged sliding glass, and I wailed uselessly as I got what I wanted.
We finished gasping and breathless, but it was still the most invigorating shower I’d ever had. I lathered him down afterwards, water dribbling into my mouth as I kissed the parts of him that had been so kind to me earlier. He took care of me too, massaging the parts of me he’d left red marks on.
We finished and dried. I had only my clothes from yesterday, which would look suspicious. It couldn’t happen again.
I eyed the empty rack in his closet.
“I should probably leave a set of clothes here if I’m going to be spending the night often.”
He shot me a puzzled look and some of my giddiness went away. “Already moving in?” he asked.
“No, no of course not. I’m not crazy.” I was crazy about him, and completely stupid relationship wise. He didn’t need to see that, though.
“It’s not crazy. I’m just-” An ease set on his face. “I’m really happy you’re not confused anymore.”
I tiptoed up and landed a kiss on his jaw. “Not at all. I’m really hungry though.”
He walked me to the kitchen. A few slices of pizza still lay gelling in the box from last night. I checked the fridge and found the frozen junk food he’d been back from buying yesterday. None of it seemed fit for this bright beautiful beginning we were at. My heart felt like sunshine and, also, pancakes.
“Hey,” I said, shutting the fridge. “Why don’t we just go to a diner?”
“A diner. In public.”
He had his cut on already. I came over and tugged at it. “Yeah, there’s nothing weird about the two of us eating together. People will just think that Lorne’s new family is getting along so sweetly.”
Damon chuckled, but he still looked uneasy. I bent him down and kissed him. “Just think,” I said, “about how hot it’s going to be when you take me home and fuck me after.”
His arm curved around me and he returned the kiss hard. “I’m not sure even the table can keep my dick down if I keep my mind on that, but alright.”
We drove separately. He rumbled off on his ride first. When I couldn’t even hear a sputter of his engine, I locked his door and got into my old car, parked further down.
No one was at the windows in any other house, but I had a sudden fear that I was being too bold. Just coming out of my stepbrother’s place in the morning was pretty sketchy. This town wasn’t a village though, so one night would be ok. I’d have to park the car even farther next time. Luckily, Ruby lived less than a mile away.
Damon had himself buried in a menu when I finally set foot in the diner. He tossed me a curt nod, then went back down. I knew it was an act, but my heart still dimmed at the blank look on his face. It was a bit overboard.
I slid in across from him. He dropped the menu, but his face didn’t light up.
“Nice to see you,” he said.
“It’s nice seeing you too, stranger.” I couldn’t quite get my infatuation out of my voice with his gorgeous face inches away.
“We have company,” he said. “I couldn’t refuse.”
“Company?”
His eyes were on the halls to the bathroom, and just then two men in Liberated cuts walked out. Things made sense. Damon’s eyes widened, maybe as an apology.
“It’s fine,” I said. I’d been so focused on the stepbrother thing, I’d forgotten the biker bit.
The bikers piled in without hesitation. The guy next to me was Latino with golden skin and a dark fuzz of hair on his head. He stuck his hand out to me between us.
“Hey, I’m Torrance,” he said. “I’ve seen you around, but I don’t know if we ever met.”
I recognized him, but he wasn’t too familiar. That was good. It meant he wasn’t close to Reggie.
“Probably not,” I said. “I’m Christina.”
“Girl, we know who you are.” He laughed wildly. “You think we don’t know the boss’s daughter?”
“Stepdaughter,” Damon cut in.
“Same thing, man. Family is family.”
Damon seemed to consider that statement. I’d made my peace with that trivia, but it occurred to me now that he had more to lose than I did.
Me not being able to show my face around Freemont? That was fine. It was almost a head start. Damon might be out of the Liberated for good. If I really was committing to helping him, then I couldn’t let that happen.
The guy sitting next to him used the silence to reach across. “Baxter. I don’t go to Lorne’s house much, so you probably don’t know me.”
“I know you.”
I’d had a crush on him way back before he joined the Liberated. He’d been a few grades ahead of me, but I’d seen him at school. He’d worn glasses back then, and had his hair buzz cut, but only the hair had stayed the same.
He looked stern, but not in a bad way. Maybe he still was a decent guy, especially if he was hanging out with Damon.
“I can see how,” he said. “Damon and I grew up best buds.”
“Brothers, more like,” Damon said.
“No forgetting that with this on.” Baxter flicked the cut across Damon’s chest.
“That’s right,” Torrance said. “I met these fools when I was a prospect, but now we’re brothers for life.”
The guys fist bumped each other. This sort of stuff was important for them to say apparently - as if they’d forget if they didn’t.
“So what are you guys up to?” Torrance asked.
“Breakfast,” Damon said.
“Yeah, I mean, how come it’s just you two?” He aimed this at me. “I thought you liked to stay away from our type.”
“I can’t stay away from him. It’s ok, I like hearing Damon’s war stories.”
“Oh yeah? I never heard none of these stories.”
The two guys were looking at Damon, but he looked vaguely nauseous. Apparently we should have planned out diversions before we left.
“You can’t just ask someone to launch into a random story about war,” I said.
“Aw, whatever,” Torrance brushed it away. “We got our own wars to fight.”
“War?” Damon asked, edging in.
“It’s not a war,” Baxter said shooting Torrance a look. “It’s just that thing you did up in Redding.”
It was my turn to get interested. There was no staying away from shop talk anymore.
I also needed to see what Damon was willing to do.
“Do we have to do business before breakfast?” Damon asked, casting a wary look at me.
&n
bsp; “No business, man. Just a heads up.” He glanced at me too, though.
“You guys can talk,” I said. “I’ll stay awake.”
“That’s the problem,” Baxter said.
I was going to pull rank, but Torrance cut in. “Problem? She’s Lorne’s family, man. There’s nothing to hide from her.”
“Well, Cavil’s reporting that Redding is turning into a damn shit show. Alacrans is responding in full force. They’re gunning down the Scorpions like flies. It’s like they were just looking for an excuse.”
Baxter said this all with a blank tone, as if he was talking about milk going bad. My head felt light. They were talking death and brutality. How could this be happening in California?
“The cops aren’t stepping in?” Damon asked.
“The Cartel must have a deal. None of this is happening in public. Civilians hear pops in the night and see the news next morning. There’s no collateral.”
I waited for Damon to ask more, but his lips were pressed white. My dad had been collateral. If this Cartel doing this massacre somewhere was being so careful to avoid that, then just how bad were the Liberated?
The waitress came over to take our orders. Baxter kept rattling off names and numbers over the other orders though. The whole town was part of the MC.
“Things are great man,” Torrance said, when the waitress left. “Once the blood washes away, it’ll be a home run for us. You’re going to get out of probation in no time.”
Baxter nodded. “You did good.”
“What exactly did you do?” I asked Damon.
He glanced up from the table just a moment. “I rattled a few chains.”
“What does that mean?” I insisted.
Torrance laced an arm over the back of my seat. “It means that this guy used all that army special ops SEAL Team six training to get these putas to start shooting each other without anyone even noticing.”
I felt uncomfortable with the guy’s arm hovering over me, but there was no exit. Damon’s eyes simmered with flames.
“I was Army, dumbass,” he said.
“So what?”
“SEALs are Navy. And they don’t go around scaring people. They eliminate them.” His gazed fixed on me. “Which I did not.”
I nodded once. That was something, at least.