As he slipped his thumb up to my clit again, I jumped at him, letting out a growl.
“Oh, darlin’,” he said. “You’re so ready.”
I scratched at his neck. “Taste me, Knox. Be my outlaw.”
“I am your outlaw, Ana,” he said. “Forever.”
His hands grabbed my hips and pulled me to the edge of the table. Knox dropped to one knee before me as though he was going to ask me to marry him.
He came forward and gently kissed my damp labia.
It made me shiver feeling the prickling of his facial hair against such a tender part of my body.
Then his tongue came forward and tasted me. His hands eased around to the middle of my back. Then in one quick motion he pulled me forward and thrust his tongue forward.
I let out a scream and grabbed his hair.
“Knox!” I yelled. “Fuck!”
His lips closed over my lips and he began to eat me.
Within seconds… the entire room started to spin…
His left hand held my left breast tight. I felt his chest against my back. His breath on my neck, making me quiver. He thrust forward for the millionth time, fucking my brains out from behind as we were in my bed.
Slowly, his right hand went from holding my hip to touching my belly.
His body slapped against mine, the bed moaning in protest as I moaned in pleasure. My legs were tingling and numb.
Knox sank his teeth into my shoulder and let out a deep growl.
His thick cock started to get thicker. I whimpered and clutched to sheets.
How could one man be so full of cum?
It was one of the wonders of the world with no answer nor explanation.
Knox turned a little toward me, throwing his right leg over mine, almost forcing me to my belly. I was pinned to the bed, face down, Knox smothering me. His thrusts became faster, his lips, tongue, teeth all touching the back of my neck. My hair was everywhere, in my face, making it hard to take a full breath of fresh air.
I felt a small rise of panic but then Knox started to come. He poured into me with such force that any sense of panic was killed off. And to my ultimate surprise, I started to orgasm. It came out of nowhere. I let out a scream as my insides pulsed yet again. Knox then lifted just enough to let me rock my hips and thrust at his spilling cock, eating up every droplet of his seed as I could get. My mind could only focus on the raging pleasure soaring through my body.
It was the most intense orgasm that had ever come out of nowhere.
Knox stayed right there too, fucking himself forward with force and gently pulling back, over and over for what felt like days.
Then he lowered himself down and rolled back to his side, his chest to my back.
His left hand holding my breast. His right hand against my belly.
I was trying to catch my breath when he kissed my shoulder and asked, “Has it been enough time?”
“You literally just came inside me ten seconds ago,” I said.
“Not that. The test.”
I laughed. “Yes, Knox. It’s been enough time.”
Knox pulled away and lunged from the bedroom toward the bathroom.
After he went down on me until I couldn’t breathe, Knox left the apartment to get more pregnancy tests.
I had just peed on the third and final test in the pack.
He came walking back to bed, butt naked, his insanely big dick just dangling between his legs like an extra limb, holding a little white pregnancy test in his hand. A big smile climbed across his face as he leaned against the doorway.
“Well?” I asked.
“Another positive.”
“Are we done questioning it?” I asked.
“I don’t know, darlin’. This is…”
I never saw Knox like that before in my life. He was giddy. He looked ready to cry even. It was like… it was like seeing him happy and free for the first time ever.
So much so that it made me choke up. Then I burst into tears like a hormonal mess.
Knox tossed the pregnancy test to the dresser and ran to the bed. He wrapped me up in his arms. “Darlin’, what is it?”
“You never wanted kids, Knox.”
“That was then.”
“But nothing’s changed.”
“What do you mean?”
I looked at him and felt the pit of my stomach give out. “What if someone… I mean… I’m pregnant. I’m going to get big. I’m going to eat gross foods. I’m not going to be pretty anymore for you. And then what if people find out and try to hurt me and the baby because of you?”
I had just unloaded a lot to Knox. So it was no shock when he got out of the bed again, this time his beautifully chiseled ass facing me.
But there was nothing beautiful about what I had just done.
Knox took another step away from the bed.
I had just chased him away… probably for good.
twenty-eight
(knox)
*THEN*
Mrs. McGover lived down the block on the corner. She had a chained link fence and a golden retriever that would chase me the length of the yard. The first few times I would go by there I would tease the fuck out of the dog. Then Mrs. McGover caught me and told me her dog, Honey, just wanted to be petted. I petted the damn dog and then Mrs. McGover asked me to cut her grass. I was looking for a few bucks to earn so I did it.
The old hag never paid me.
Not fucking once.
I cut her grass for ten years.
Why did I keep going back?
The dog.
She became a sense of comfort to me up until I met Ana.
I found out that Mrs. McGover lost her husband to cancer. And that she was never able to give him kids and that she blamed herself for his cancer because of that. She made cookies and they were always like little fucking bricks. I always ate one in front of her and then kept the rest to throw off the bridge at cars that passed under.
I was a prick, okay?
I took Ana to meet Mrs. McGover and Honey. Ana loved Honey. Mrs. McGover fell for Ana, but who wouldn’t? We were all inside the house and for some damn reason, Ana spotted something on a stand in the kitchen. It turned out to be some kind of ring. A little diamond in the middle but two yellowish diamonds on the side. Mrs. McGover said it had a special story and she’d never tell it.
About a year after Ana moved into town, Honey died. Old age. Nothing could be done to stop it. To face the truth of time. The first time I went down the sidewalk and the dog wasn’t there to chase me, I cried. I stood on the corner and cried like a fucking baby. Then I saw Mrs. McGover in the window staring at me.
We never spoke about it, but I kept cutting her grass and helping her for another few years. Shit, I would pull up on my motorcycle and leather cut. I’d get off, take off my cut, lit up a smoke, and then cut the grass for her.
She never judged me for my life and what I did to survive.
Then she told me she was sick, just like her husband had been.
I cried that day again, right in front of her.
It was the first and only time she ever hugged me.
And you know what she did then?
She gave me that damn ring Ana saw that day. She had never seen Ana again after that first time. But yet it stuck with her.
Mrs. McGover put the ring in my hand and told me that one day I would give it to Ana.
I thought she was full of shit.
I found out later the ring was worth over ten grand. But I promised I would never sell it, no matter what.
I attended Mrs. McGover’s funeral, along with Slam, King, and Matteo. Shit, we were four of the ten people there. We stuck out like sore thumbs in the small group of elderly folk all dressed up.
After everyone left, I had a smoke and held the ring up, staring at it.
I knew then that death was inevitable. Whether the fucking reaper got me on the road or some jack off put a bullet in my head or I got cancer, I was going to die.
That
was the exact moment I knew… I was going to propose to Ana.
twenty-nine
(knox)
*NOW*
I knew she was thinking it and I fucking hated that she said something about it. Of course Ana being pregnant was a big risk for her, the baby, me, and the MC. She would be an easy target from now on, along with my family.
My family.
The one thing I secretly wanted in life but never really had.
I walked to the kitchen and grabbed my bag. I tossed it to the table, knowing that Ana had to be in a panic in the bedroom. I didn’t mean to just storm away from her, but I had to get something.
I kept that damn ring with me everyday of my life. It was zipped in a small inside pouch and when I touched the ring, it finally all made sense to me. All the guilt and bullshit seemed to just wash away. Whatever had happened through all these years with me and my darlin’ didn’t really matter.
We were together right now and she was carrying my child.
A life growing inside her. A life that knew nothing about the Reap. A life that knew nothing about wild violence and wilder outlaws.
I squeezed the ring tight in my hand.
I was butt ass naked in the kitchen, feeling all these emotions run through my body. Hell, I could have cried. I could have screamed with happiness. I could have jumped and fist bumped the air. But I didn’t want my dick to come slamming down on the table and break the table in half…
I just stood there.
It was a stoic feeling. A feeling that went beyond being a man.
I was now a father.
Everything changed. Everything would continue to change.
I opened my hand and looked at the damn ring.
The one thing that wouldn’t change…
The love for Ana, my darlin’.
I went back to the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Ana’s beautiful eyes were big and worried.
“I’m not leaving,” I said. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“I’m sorry for what I said.”
“No. You’re right, Ana. Why the fuck would I want kids? I grew up in a world that was a storm of shit. You saw where I lived, how I lived. Hell, you lived it yourself. Who would want to relive that? The difference, darlin’, is that you and I are meant to be. We have a connection that nobody can fuck with. People have tried to fuck with us for a long time. We tried to fuck with each other. I pushed you away so you could have that house with fence and basketball hoop. You never left. You tried to hide from me so I would forget you.” I reached out and touched her face. “But I could never forget you, Ana. Even if my head got all messed up, I couldn’t forget. Because you’re in my heart.” I then put my hand to her belly. “Now we’re a family. So, yeah, I don’t want kids. But I want this baby, with you. I want to watch you grow and change. I want to feel that life inside you kick, punch, twist, and turn. You think for a second you’re not beautiful and I’ll make sure you feel beautiful.”
“Knox…” Tears filled Ana’s eyes.
“Listen to me, darlin’. You’re going to get big. Who cares? I’m going to love you in a way that you never thought possible. You’re giving me the greatest gift a man could get. I’m a father now. I’m going to take care of you and our baby. I never want you to worry about that. Promise me.”
Ana shook her head. “I can’t.”
I touched her face again. I leaned in and put my forehead to hers. “I know you can’t, Ana. I know it’d be a lie if you did. I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you feel beautiful.”
“Even after the baby comes, Knox, things are different.”
I sucked in a breath. “Not for me. Not for me.”
“I’m going to get stretch marks.”
“I’m not worried. I’m going to kiss every mark on your body. And after the baby is here, I’m going to keep doing it. I’m going to cherish your body for what it’s done.”
“Oh, fuck,” Ana whispered.
“What?”
“That makes me wet.”
I grinned. I kissed her. She tasted as delicious as ever.
“You’re going to be protected, Ana. The Reap isn’t going to let you down. We’re taking care of things in town. Okay? I’m not going to say it’s simple but I just want you to focus on the baby. On your body. And how you want the wedding to be.”
“The what?” Ana asked.
I never really thought I’d end up proposing to someone. If I was, it would be to Ana. Even then, I knew it was going to be an interesting situation.
This was it.
I was naked and I got on one knee next to the bed. Ana covered her mouth and the sheet fell down her body, exposing her tits. My cock started to swell again.
I held the ring in my right hand and when she saw it, she burst into tears.
“You saw this ring a long time ago, darlin’. I knew I had to get it for you. No, I didn’t steal it. I earned it. I kept this ring for years. Everyday it’s been with me. I’ve been waiting for the right time to hand it off. This ring has seen really good days and really bad days. Now it’s your turn, Ana. As long as you wear it and as long as you’ll be mine for the rest of our lives. Darlin’, will you marry me?”
Ana nodded and then screamed YES at me.
I slid the damn ring on her finger and another piece of the world felt right.
I grabbed her and hugged her as she wept.
I swore on it, to her and to myself, I never wanted her to worry.
Face it, I was a bad guy. I was a cocky asshole with an attitude to match. I had committed crimes. I had spent time in jail. Police hated me and lawyers loved me. I took to the streets as my home, always looking for a sense of freedom. Two wheels were better than four. My leather cut was just an extension of the ink on my body.
It was all I knew.
But when it came to Ana, she was my everything. There were women all around me and my life. The only one that mattered was Ana. From the day I met her until the day I would take my last breath.
I kissed her, hard, and couldn’t control myself. I kissed down her neck but then made a different path as I kissed her shoulder, down her arm, and finally, I kissed the diamond ring. I pulled away and she held her hand out, beaming with happiness.
That’s when I slipped my fingers between her legs just to see how happy she was.
I fucked Ana while she wore nothing but that diamond ring.
The entire time I thrust in and out her sweet body, my hands touching, my lips tasting, my ears savoring the groans and whimpers, my phone was across the room, buzzing over and over and over.
The pattern had stuck.
For everything good came something bad.
When I came up for air, I wished I hadn’t.
When Uncle Jakey calls personally it only means one thing.
Someone was dead.
twenty-nine
(knox)
*NOW*
I stepped into the chapel and the guys were all lined up, waiting for me. Liam was first and he grabbed me, hugging me. I swallowed down the emotion and went with the motion of the sign of respect from my brothers. This wasn’t just about losing our President, this was also about me losing my father.
The old man… Hammer… was dead.
Murdered in prison.
When I got to Slam, he squeezed me so tight, I felt my back pop. “I’m so fucking sorry, brother. We’ll fucking fix this.”
“Thanks, bro,” I said.
Behind Slam was an empty chair with King’s cut on it. That one hurt bad. Really fucking bad. I wondered if King would even find out about my old man’s murder.
Then there was Uncle Jakey. A whiskey bottle in his hand. A big frown on his face. He was too far back from the group.
“Now what?” he asked me. “Huh? This is what happened. This is what we get.”
I took the words, knowing this was how Uncle Jakey showed grief and cried.
He took a big drink of the whiskey and then threw the bottle again
st the wall. It shattered and we all stood there in silence.
I blinked hard and fast. I let it all sink in and process. The worst part was that I had to leave Ana alone. I told her what had happened and she started to cry. She begged me to stay, clawing at me, but I needed to be with my brothers. I needed to get all the information and then act upon it.
Normally I’d just be straight with hellfire but I had a family.
“Everyone take a goddamn seat,” Uncle Jakey said.
He stumbled to the head of the table.
We all sat and each one of us lit up a smoke.
“I got the call from Chuck,” Uncle Jakey said. “He said it couldn’t be stopped.”
Chuck was one of many of the employees at the prison that worked for the Reap.
“How?” I asked.
Uncle Jakey touched his neck. “Quick. Bloody.”
“Retaliation,” I said. “For what he gave me. For the MC.”
“The Family?” Slam asked.
“Don’t jump so far ahead,” Uncle Jakey said. He reached with his left hand and grabbed my forearm. “We got the guard who set it up.”
“What?” I asked.
“It was fast,” Uncle Jakey said. “Chuck, Brian, and Winston were able to arrange something. I was calling for a while, Knoxville. I wanted you in on this. I wanted you to hear it all.”
I had been too busy proposing to Ana and then fucking her.
“It was your buddy,” Slam said. “Porter.”
“What?” I asked. “Who the fuck was here?”
Turned out that Slam, Matteo, and Ari were all there while Uncle Jakey was on the phone with Winston as they gave up the information needed about my father’s death.
My father had been murdered late last night. A guard took him to another holding room because there was drug trafficking in his cell. That was a cover to get him out of the cell. Then Porter himself showed up and killed my father. Of course, Porter couldn’t have been acting alone in all of the situation, but he was the one who did it.
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