by Flite, Nora
Outside the diner, he'd tasted like fresh air, freedom and ice. It had been a refreshing thing, waking me up from my toes and onward. This kiss, though... I swear the flames slid out of him, crawling over my tongue until I was sweating.
I wanted to say something, anything. To ask him why we were doing this, what he was after, why he was helping me or following me or doing any of the things he had. Ronin hadn't lied, men were after his blood. I'd witnessed that tonight.
Being out in the open with me was a risk to him.
So why was he bothering?
What were we now?
And what would we become?
Our noses brushed; I pulled back, seeking enough oxygen to settle my floating brain. He made me light, airy. Only the weight of my heart kept me from flying into the night sky.
“Wait,” I whispered against his teeth.
Wrapping his fingers in my loose hair, he forced me closer. “No. No more waiting, darlin'. I've been waiting too long already.”
Trembling, I slid my chest against his, heartbeat pounding madly. “It's only been a few hours since we first kissed. That's not very long.”
Capturing the nape of my neck, Ronin grazed his teeth down my throat. My goosebumps became mountains. Tilting my chin back, he kissed my jugular—felt the way it drummed. “Flora, since this started, I've measured my existence in borrowed time. A few hours might as well be a lifetime, and in this lifetime... you're all I can think about.”
Everything around me shrank until I could see only his smile. That wonderful, ever present smile.
Bending into me, he said, “I can't wait any longer.”
He was speaking in a way I couldn't fully grasp. The film cloaking my skull was too thick, or maybe it was our constant running from danger, but...
I thought what he'd said was the most romantic thing I'd ever heard.
Reaching for his shirt, I pulled it up. My gasp had him smirking along the side of my jaw. “Don't faint on me yet,” he said. “That comes later.”
My tongue was too thick to make words. Ronin was cut like a gem, rows of muscles leading across his torso, everything heightened by the swirls of black ink and occasional ridge of a scar.
He was impossibly sexy.
And he was all mine.
He helped remove the rest of his clothes until he was sitting in just his jeans. Firelight made his flesh glossy. Touching a palm to his chest, I ran my nails down, enjoying how he inhaled briskly.
Clasping my wrist, he said, “My turn.”
I got the hint and started to slide my jacket off. Ronin squeezed my arm to stop me. Meeting his heated stare, I gleaned his intention; he didn't want my help.
Shutting my eyes, I arched into his touch while he stripped me. His deft fingers scooped under my shirt, peeling me like a grape, revealing my skin. I didn't have tattoos or scars like him, but perhaps I was unique in my own, unmarred way.
His subtle growl said he thought so.
I was blinded when the clothing came over my head. Blinking, I looked up into the vortex of his eyes. The air around this man was resonating, demanding I never stop paying attention. Never had anyone—anything—in my life felt so paramount.
“You're beautiful,” he breathed. I flushed pink, and he saw it spread over my chest. The edges of his eyes crinkled. “Don't go getting shy on me.”
“I'm not.” Reaching back, I tugged my bra free, wanting him to understand I was in control of my actions. His sly grin and open appreciation made me shift on the ground.
I expected him to reach for my breasts. They were firm because of the cold, but even more so from my desire.
Ronin avoided them, cupping my skull, leading me to his hungry mouth. This time, when we kissed, I saw my own veins glowing behind my eyelids.
Our naked bodies caressed together, hard muscle on my yielding skin. I couldn't bite back a groan, enduring a new rush of arousal. The tension building in my lower belly was bordering on painful; I wanted this man so badly, and I had no reason to deny it any longer.
He collapsed around me in the grass, shielding me from the light. When I looked up, past his temple, I saw the spray of stars above. His gaze burned fiercer than they dared.
Between us, the rough material of our jeans scraped. I couldn't see, I just felt the rigid, massive shape of his erection. The playfulness in his smile taunted me.
It reminded me of my awful seduction ploy at the bed and breakfast.
Thinking of that night, how I'd come so close to freeing his hungry cock from his pants, I bit my cheek. I wasn't proud of my deception.
This would be different.
Gliding my palm down, I fumbled with his belt. He copied me, unhooking my brass button, our zippers slicing the night air as one. The hard thump of my gun was out of place among our activities. Ronin tossed it aside.
Shimmying my pants down my ankles, Ronin sat up on his knees. As he did, I saw the elastic top of his boxers. The outline of his thick cock was as good as a lighthouse. I gawked at it, at him, and he just watched me in his amused way.
Eagerly, I pushed a finger to his hip, running it along the seam of his boxers. Then I went further, trailing my touch down the entire length of his shaft. Beneath the cotton, his cock twitched. “Holy hell,” I mumbled, shaking.
“Let's leave the higher powers out of it.” Flexing back on his heels, he rolled his arms behind his head. I saw every tendon along his ribs flaring, the man was formed from genuine marble. “You're all mine tonight.”
Those words were a dark purr. His deep pupils turned his joke into a promise he meant to keep.
The thrum in my chest warned me not to doubt him.
Sitting up, I kissed his shoulder, the corner of his lips. One of his fingertips brushed down my belly, resting on the rim of my panties. I ached for him to explore further, I knew he wanted to; his flesh was pulsing under mine. We had enough kinetic energy to power a fucking rocket.
Finally I blurted, “You're killing me here.”
Laughing, his tone was as luxurious as caramel and silver mixing together. “There are worse ways to die.”
I was ready to argue, wriggling in my compounding lust. He didn't make me try to convince him; Ronin pushed me back, hiking my hips up so that my ankles were by his ears. The abrupt nearness of my pussy to his sharp smirk stole my air.
Lifting an eyebrow, he inhaled, nostrils flaring. His enjoyment was clear, his cock arching through his boxers against my thigh. Rolling my panties down, he exposed me to the breeze. I was soaked, there was no way to hide it.
Like a man who'd suffered for weeks fasting, he dove in, nuzzling the inner part of my thigh. His stubble itched my silky skin, making me hyper aware of each breath he took. Spreading me with his thumbs, Ronin kissed right above my swollen clit. “When I fuck you, you're going to scream,” he said flatly.
Blinking, I writhed helplessly. “No, I can be quiet, no one will hear us—ah!” I squealed, his tongue curling along my wet lips.
Pure seriousness, Ronin watched me from between my legs. “I never said I wanted you to be quiet.”
Shocked into shutting up, my next sound was another squeak—he'd gone back to nibbling my pussy. I was terrified he'd hurt me, his teeth came so close. Instead, the cliff of fear intensified everything, turned my insides to butter, my brain numb and useless.
He brought out a part of me I didn't know existed. Or that it could even exist. Ronin turned me on like nothing ever had. With my toes cramping, I yanked his face against me, begging for him to get me off.
All I lived for under that wide Florida sky was the pleasure of release.
As he gripped my knees, breaking free of my shuddering hold, I sobbed. “Wait! Don't stop now!”
“Stop?” Hooking his fingers in his boxers, he freed his magnificent cock into the air. The fat head bounced, shiny with his precome. I could have watched the veins dance along his length for hours. “I'm just getting started.”
The condom glinted as he pulled it from his fallen jeans. It was eroti
c, seeing him wrap it down his whole length. Diving across me, he claimed my mouth. His tongue tasted like my juices, sweeping around and eating away at my ability to speak. He kissed me with a fervor meant for long lost lovers.
The warm tip of his cock rubbed over me. It left a trail of fire where it went, a blatant display that said he knew how badly I wanted him. Gripping himself, he teased my slippery opening, nudging my clit again and again until my orgasm became more important than breathing. “Fuck me!” I was thrashing, my heels attempting to guide him inside.
He was much stronger than I was. With one hand, he gripped my hip and kept me still. I hyperventilated, a mess where I rocked beneath him. How could his strength be so exciting? His power, his skill, it all combined to stoke the embers between my shaking thighs.
“Scream for me,” he whispered, pushing just enough to spread me with his tip.
And when he pushed deep into my eager cunt, I did.
I fucking screamed.
Delirium, delight, pleasure or pain or anything logical... it fled. I could focus only on the way he stirred me up with his engorged cock.
Amazingly, he kept going; entering me until I was worried I couldn't fit him. The sensation of being stretched was overwhelming. My lungs flared, desperate to breathe in and out and unable to decide which to settle on. I didn't know how to handle this man; he was sex incarnate, a creature made for killing and fucking.
He was terribly good at both.
Curling an arm around me, he gripped my ass. Ronin yanked me hard against his hips, finishing the last inch and burying his prick in me to the root. Together we shuddered, my head arching back while his chin swung low.
His hair was in his face, I couldn't tell if he was snarling or smiling. It didn't matter, his body said enough; seeking me out, crushing me into him as he moved within my tight walls.
I squeezed him, my insides thrilling from delight. The noises I made were visceral, embarrassing me in a distant way. I was too far gone to really care. Ronin brought pure pleasure, my neurons firing wildly to try and keep up.
Melting around his thrusting cock, I dug my nails into the earth. He grabbed my wrists, guiding my hands onto his back. “Dig in here,” he whispered. “You'll need to hold on to something.”
Cutting into his hard shoulder blades, I gripped the biker for dear life.
He rolled his pelvis, rubbing his length along the roof of my pussy. Purples and blacks swam in my eyes, tickling my tongue. A bead of sweat dripped from his nose, hitting my cheek.
Through his insistent demands, I sensed something building inside of Ronin. He could have used me, just taken me in the dirt and left me in ruin. But the longer we went on, my own pleasure cresting, the more I realized what he was after.
He knew what my body was doing—he was clever, he paid attention.
This fierce man wanted me to come first.
Knowing what he was chasing, it sent lightning into my core. I hugged him tighter, my legs locking into place so I could join his rocking movement. Pumping back, I drove myself onto his rigid cock, no longer just breathing heavily. My panting had morphed into a throaty wail.
“Ronin,” I whimpered, my cheek pushing into the cool ground. We were wrapped so firmly, so perfectly. The tingling roar of my orgasm was teasing me with its nearness.
Through the latex, I felt the swelling of his shaft. His cock reared, demanding I hurry, coercing me to finish. The final touch was when he leaned down, biting onto my sensitive neck with all the possessiveness of a lion claiming its mate.
Flaring with heat, I shouted hoarsely. Pressure exploded, muscles flexing to keep hold of his thickness as I came helplessly. My world was fluff and liquid, I could smell the particles in the fresh air.
I'd never climaxed so hard, the aftershocks rippling in my belly. He didn't give me a moment to calm down. No, not when he saw his own release on the horizon.
Slamming into me, Ronin grunted with the exertion of his need. He chased my orgasm, drunk on the pleasure he'd brought me. Quivering, he flexed his back, head thrown high as he filled me up. The force was enough that I wondered, briefly, if the condom would hold him back.
“Fuck,” he groaned. Shivering, he braced his fists in the grass. Though he'd finished, he stayed within me for a long while. I was scared to move, worried I'd wake him from his trance and we'd simply break apart. I wanted this moment to keep lasting.
Inevitably, Ronin gingerly withdrew, causing me to whimper again. Being so empty, after being so full, was awful.
We were separated, but the connection between us was as good as steel-threading. Looking down on me, the shadows shifting away, Ronin spoke my name. It was plaintive, as if he were trying to communicate more than who I was. “Flora...”
I bubbled with the need to respond in kind.
“Connor, that was—”
I froze, realizing what I'd called him. Nervously I sought out his eyes, trying to predict how he would react. He'd told me his real name, but for me to use it here, in the thick of everything? Would it remind him of his past, of his pain?
In the fading orange glow, the biker smiled. “It's been a long time since anyone has called me that.” Reaching out, he led me into the warm curve of his torso. His chin rested on my scalp, my heart thumping through my vertebrae and into his chest.
We said no more, but we didn't need words. We were lavishing in the tangible evidence of our emotions. I could have put a label on it, but trying to was pointless.
Here, right now, everything was stunningly perfect.
As I drifted off to sleep, lulled by his scent and security, I had the awful fear that this was the only time it ever would be.
****
A gentle birdsong woke me before the sun was even up. The world was hazy blue, still clinging to shadows. Next to me, a furnace roared, though our fire had long gone out.
Ronin.
He was on his side, his spine pointed at me. His jacket was spread over us like a small blanket, but it was his presence that kept me warm. Dawn advertised the ruggedness of his face. I'd never seen him look so peaceful. I wanted to remember it.
Adjusting the jacket, I heard the crumple of paper. The map we'd been following winked at me from his pocket. It had carried us this far, leading us towards the crossroads the dying man had told me about back at Roach's.
Lulled by the sound of Ronin's breathing, I let my mind work. Silence was good for this, but truthfully, I'd felt my decision weighing heavily on me from the moment my eyes had opened.
So much had happened between us last night. It took all my effort not to wrap my fingers in his so I could watch him wake up. Would he smile? Would he pull me in for a kiss?
Touching my throat, I grazed the subtle bruise he'd gifted me with.
Ronin had shown me a side of him I'd hoped was real, but feared to wish for. He was haunted by death, a chain that choked him every day and pulled him lower in the dirt. I'd managed to give him a moment of freedom from his demons.
I was glad for that.
Even knowing what I was about to do... I was glad.
He'd spoken much about choices and responsibility. I wasn't in denial about Claudine's habits. She could indulge, and still be the woman I looked up to.
A sinner... and a saint.
I can be a saint, too.
Leaving Ronin behind was the right thing to do. He'd tried to do the same for me, once, and I hadn't understood why. Now I did.
It was my turn to shed my sins.
Gripping the map, I took another second to feel for the bulge of his keys. Once I had them, I started to move. The heavy outline of his gun made me stop.
Mine is out of ammo.
Leaving Ronin defenseless was a rusty nail in my heart. But showing up to save Claudine, unarmed, would be my death sentence. Eyeing his sleeping body, I grimaced. No choice. I need it.
Tugging his gun free, I crawled away. My clothes were strewn about, a reminder of what we'd done. I hurried to change in the cool morning air, s
ticking his pistol into the back of my pants.
With nothing left to do, I approached the motorcycle. It was waiting for me, starting to shimmer as the sun peeked from behind the bloated clouds. Astride the chrome vehicle, I took a long inhale, steeling myself.
The engine revved to life without any subtlety.
Behind me, I felt Ronin stirring. And I was sure, as I rolled onto the road, that the man who'd laid with me until the early hours was calling my name. Screaming it, shouting and tearing at the damn heavens in the hope I would just look back at him.
But I never looked back. Not once.
It was for the best.
Chapter Eleven
Ronin
“Well done, Flora.”
I stood naked in the middle of the road and watched my bike ride off out of view. I had chased her, but didn't come close to catching up. “How many times do I have to learn this lesson before it gets drilled into my fucking head?” My whole body tensed at being played so damn hard.
That's what I get for giving a shit.
I hadn't been cut that deep in as long as I could remember. When had she begun planning that? Waiting for me to lower my guard enough to run off with my bike! Angry wasn't the correct word. I was livid at Flora, but I was even more upset with myself. Fuck, could I have made it any easier for her?
I should have known! She'd done the same exact thing at Roach's, except this time I fell for it hook, line and sinker. I basically tossed her the goddamn keys.
I paced in the road, thinking about all the shit I’d told her about my past. I told her my real name! Most of my brothers didn't even know that! I slid my hand over my face trying to stem the bubbling rage.
'Maybe you still have some saintly things to do...' Flora's voice taunted me. Yeah, to give you my fucking bike and gun! I grabbed a handful of hair and screamed at the sky as loud as I could. Fucking women. Shit! At least Tash let me keep my bike.
I didn't notice the station wagon until it pulled up behind me, idling a safe distance away. It was a man, a woman, and a young teenage boy wearing their Sunday best. I was tempted to ask them for a lift, but from the terrified looks on their faces, I didn't think it was likely. I walked to the side of the road and let them pass.