Gunner_Northern Grizzlies MC_Book 3

by M. Merin

  Groaning and moving slowly to the bathroom, I get a little more excited thinking about breakfast. Planning out my day while in the shower, I decide to get the utilities transferred over to my name during my break in between classes, and then I will hit the superstore later to get basics for the apartment. The threat of having to shop should be enough to convince Gunner to drip me at my SUV. Dressing and gathering what I’ll need for the day, I head to the kitchen.

  “I made breakfast sandwiches, you ok eating on the road?”

  Wiping some crumbs from his short whiskers, I kiss him softly. “Sure, what do you have planned for today?” Wondering what the rush is as we head to his Explorer.

  “I decided on a housewarming present for you then I have to check in at the MC after that. You ok at school to two or three? I’ll text you when I’m heading to get you.”

  “Gunner, first, you don’t have to buy me anything! You got me a birthday helmet that I love. Secondly, I need to buy stuff for the apartment. I mean like, go to the superstore-and-fill-two-carts up type of shopping. You can just take me to my SUV, ok?”

  “Sweetheart,” he says, opening the door for me and grabbing my butt as he gives me a boost into his truck. “I want to spend as much time as I can with you today and tomorrow; I’ve got a short trip that’ll start Wednesday, so I am willing to be tortured while you shop. And the gift is as much for me as it is for you, so that’s non-negotiable.”

  After getting in, he leans in for a kiss as I ask, “Where are you going?”

  Leaning back without delivering my kiss, he says, “Club business.” And starts the car as I sit waiting for any other details. None are forthcoming.

  “When will you be back?” I try next.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Is this what it’ll be like? Do you get to call me from the road?” I ask, not trying to pick a fight but genuinely curious.

  “This is it, this is what I do. I will text you if I can but no calls.” He holds himself stiffly, waiting for my reaction. I reach over and lay my hand on his thigh.

  “I changed my mind about something earlier and didn’t get a chance to tell you.” I didn’t think he could get any more tense, but he did as he tries to figure out what I mean. “I decided I hate it when you tell me, or you use the word ‘deserve’ – so I’m changing my ‘get out of jail free’ word from when you say ‘sorry’ to when you say ‘deserve’. Got it?”

  Gunner

  I almost drove off the goddamn road when she starts out saying she changed her mind. Fuck, I held it together long enough to hear her out and when she explains, my asshole finally un-puckers and I can breathe again.

  “Fuck, Riley. Don’t do that to me, Sweetheart.” I whisper, knowing I have to get used to her being a smart ass.

  “What? I’m serious. I hate it when you talk like I should be on a pedestal and try to negate how happy you make me.” I reply, ignoring any reference to how I scared him.

  Placing my hand on top of hers and finally smiling again, I can’t help but tease her. “But sometimes you really DESERVE a spanking, Riley. Can’t I say that?”

  “Ha, no. Especially not when you get that look in your eye! Like you want to strangle me. Come to think of it, if you’re already looking at me like that, does that mean our ‘honeymoon’ period is over?” She blinks innocently.

  Laughing, “Let me rephrase that then, ‘you’re going to get a spanking tonight, Riley.’ Is that better?”

  “Gunner! I was teasing you. And about the other thing, you told me about not being able to talk about club business. I get it, I just wanted to know more about what to expect and if I can get ahold of you if I need to. I wasn’t pushing you for information.” She squeezes my hand to let me know she’s sincere.

  Exhaling and nodding in reply to her explanation, I’m again floored at how accepting she is of me and my lifestyle. Approaching the campus, I stop to check in at the guard hut and shake my head at Ronnie, the guy I know who hangs out at our MC from time to time. Don’t want to get into our connection with Riley right now, and thankfully he plays along. I get directions from her about where to drop her off and where I can find her later, then head out.

  Chapter 12

  Gunner

  My first stop in town is the mattress store. It’s fucking ridiculous, all the kinds of mattresses they have, I finally chose a medium firm one and pay extra to get the California King delivered the next day. I may be leaving town for a few days but I want Riley to be able to stay at her new place and not go back to the house she was raised in.

  Next, I head towards the clubhouse. It’s surprisingly dead; Betsy, one of the Girlies, is upfront cleaning and quietly greets me.

  “Who’s in back?” I ask, stopping to get a Coke at the bar.

  “Jas came in a little while ago. It was crazy here last night so I don’t know if Vice is up yet. Where’ve you been Gunner?” She asks giving me a smile and a wink. “Deb’s been keeping an eye out…”

  “I’m taken now, Betsy, so knock that shit off and tell the others,” I growl as I walk past her, not missing the shocked expression on her overly made-up face and it occurs to me I haven’t seen Riley in makeup yet.

  Heading back to Jasper’s office, I knock even as I’m walking through the door. He’s alone and does not look happy.

  “Good. Gotta talk to you. Sit the fuck down.” He starts.

  “What’s up, Boss?” Expecting fallout from hitting Frank, it actually turns out to be worse.

  “Someone’s skimming. I know Flint was always good with the books and I either need him to check these out or get someone voted in as Treasurer.”

  “Yeah, but we can’t get anyone in as Treasurer until we know who’s cheating us.” I put in, addressing the downside first.

  “Bingo. And why the Fuck did you hit Frank? I didn’t need to hear about that shit on top of dealing with this.” He grins at me, letting me know he doesn’t give a shit that Frank got hit.

  “He touched my…my Riley. I was out of line, I’ll talk to him.” I quickly concede defeat about that topic.

  “You claim someone I don’t know about, Gunner? Then we will have a big fucking problem.” Jas sits back in his chair.

  “Not yet. I’m going to claim her in the next month or so, depending on how we are. I was going to talk to you today. Can I lay it out?” At his nod, I start to tell him the short version. Including whom her family is and that she came here the other day not knowing the score and that lead to Frank thinking she was fair game. Before I can tell him about her Gram, I notice Jasper’s head goes back and he stares at the ceiling like he’s begging for patience, so I stop talking.

  “Get the FUCK out of here.” He finally says. “After all the shit that went down with the Spiders, now we’re short nearly ten grand and you come in here wanting to claim fucking Maddock’s daughter as your goddamn Ol’ Lady?” Slamming his hand on the desk when I try to speak, “Don’t say a motherfucking word right now or I will fucking ban her ass from the clubhouse.” Jasper seethes.

  I sit back in my seat, keeping eye contact. Jasper and I have always been close, even more so since I handled Emma’s ex-husband; so his goddamned threat pisses me off.

  Flint enters the room without knocking. “Got your message, what’s happening?” He starts before taking in the angry looks on both our faces. Then he pats me on the back in greeting and sits beside me. “Bree told me she met your girl the other night; she thinks you’ll do well together.”

  Jasper pushes back from the desk, leaning over it.

  “Yeah, let’s start with that, Flint.” He bites out. “Did Bree happen to mention that the girl’s father is the Special Attorney investigating our asses? That the parts of this town the MC doesn’t own, her family does? Because I am not fucking amused right now.”

  Flint’s jaw drops open and he stares at me like he’s never seen me before.

  “Fuck. Gunner.” I’ve always looked towards Flint as a father figure, but even he looks like he wants to
skin me right now. “Tell me you didn’t knock her up. Tell me you aren’t that stupid.”

  “Can I talk?” I ask, lifting an eyebrow in Jasper’s direction. With his nod, I continue. “My Riley isn’t pregnant and her Gram knows about us. I’ve known Eileen Riley since I was a child and went to her to ask for fucking permission to be with her granddaughter nearly a year ago. I had to wait until she turned eighteen,” I pause while Flint and Jas start swearing again. Louder and getting more pissed by the minute, I carry on.

  “She’s smart, in her second year at the University already. She’s not close to her parents and moving into her own place this week, her Gram actually set up a way to help her become independent of them. And I trust her. I trust her with my life.”

  Jas leans across the desk, “Just so we’re crystal. Fucking. Clear on this one point: you didn’t lay a goddamn finger on her before she turned eighteen, did you?”

  “Fuck you for asking me that!” I snarl, lunging towards him before Flint gets between us.

  Flint glares us back to our seats. “Jasper, you and I both know Gunner wouldn’t do that.” He sighs, running his hand over his face. “This is a whole new world of trouble, Gunner. Shitty relationship with her parents or not, when they find out you’re banging their princess, they WILL come after us harder. All of us.”

  I sit silently, refusing to mention that we haven’t actually had sex yet. Suddenly worried they’d order me away from her if they knew. “I’ve been loyal to the MC since the day I walked in. I’ve never asked for anything.” I keep my tone even and sit looking back and forth between them. “I need her.”

  Jasper exhales. “Let’s table this for now.” Looking between Flint and me, he smirks and says, “The next issue doesn’t seem so bad anymore.”

  Then he fills Flint and me in on what he has found, what he’s done to try to track it and gets Flint on board to audit the numbers. Handing me a list of Brothers to look into, and ordering us not to discuss either topic outside the room, he points to the door.

  Flint claps me on the back again, asking me to stay for a drink. Knowing it wasn’t really a question, I head to the bar with him. Getting straight to the point, he leads with: “You know, she wouldn’t be the first girl who ran after the bad boy to get back at her parents, that’s what it was with my ex. You sure she’s worth it?”

  “I’m sure,” I order a draft from the probie behind the bar and drink half of it before turning back to Flint. “I’ve talked myself in and out of this relationship a hundred times since I met her. The one thing I know is that it’s real. For both of us.”

  “No one mentioned Frank getting a swing in at you, so where’d you get your shiner?” Flint asks, probably trying for a safer subject. I accept a smoke from the probie and light up, fingering the lighter Riley sent me for Christmas.

  “She’s too fucking good for the likes of me, Man. I tried quitting her last night; stopping this, and she got a little pissed at me. Then we made up.” I smile over at him, enjoying the rush of nicotine through my system.

  Flint starts laughing until he sees my face, then turning my head to inspect the bruise, he whistles. “You’re not shitting me, are you?”

  Grinning at him, I shake my head; making him laugh harder as he finishes his drink and orders another. “Huh. Princess or not, I think I may like her.”

  Vice comes out from the hall leading to the rooms, “Hey Gunner! Girlies are chattering about you; any of that shit true?”

  “Leave it alone Vice, everyone knows I got a bigger dick than you.” I shoot back at him.

  “That’ll be the day,” He comes up to the bar and motions for a beer. “What is it with all you assholes settling down?”

  I nod at him; remembering something key, I set a reminder in my phone to order a ‘Property of Gunner’ cut for her when I leave here. Fucking gonna keep her wrapped up in that whenever she leaves the house.

  “Well, better you than me, man.” I smile at his sympathetic tone, he has no idea how lucky I got. “Bring her by when you’re back, we’ll tell her how great you are.” Shit, my face goes pale at the thought.

  Chapter 13

  Gunner

  I text her as I head out a short time later, heading to pick her up at the library and off on the dreaded shopping trip. I had never thought about how much stuff you need for an apartment but she wasn’t kidding about filling two carts. It was actually four. With the back seats down, the worker I tipped to help us was barely able to stuff everything in my Explorer.

  Before pulling out of the lot, I called a probie to meet us at her apartment to help unload. Arriving there, I send her up to organize everything that we unpacked then he and I take off for my shop. I wanted to get her the coffee table that she liked so much.

  “That your woman, Gunner?” Probie works up the courage to ask on the drive across town. I nod, not saying anything. “She’s real sweet.” I nod again, trying to discourage this line of talk.

  “That one Girlie? Uh, Deb, maybe? As soon as she showed up today, Betsy told her you said you were taken now. Deb totally lost her shit and slapped her. Fucking hard, man. Vice sent Deb home, told her to stay away a few days.”

  “Want to know some of the best advice I ever got?” Not caring that he nods, I continue. “Keep it wrapped up tight and don’t go to any of the Girlies regularly. That last bit should have been, push away the Girlies that come to you too often. Thought it was convenient not having to signal for any of them; never told Deb shit and stopped touching her when she started telling the others I was going to be hers.”

  “You know, I’m staying at my aunt’s place for now. It’s not far from Riley, want me to keep an eye on her when you’re gone?” He offers, trying to win points with me.

  “Nah, I got that handled. Just keep your mouth shut about where she lives, or you’ll never get Patched.”

  “I won’t say anything, not to anyone.” He promises.

  Riley

  I cannot believe how much I bought! I actually used the credit card my parents gave me instead of my savings. After Gunner left with the newest Probie, I dug into organizing things and washing the sheets and towels I bought. When he realized I was picking out sheets, Gunner confessed to my housewarming gift, so I bought a few sets in the California King size.

  After that, I couldn’t stop smiling. He bought us a bed, just ours and with plenty of space to accommodate his size. Hearing a clammer on the steps, I open the door to see Probie and Gunner lugging the coffee table up the stairs.

  They manage to get it in without destroying any of the drywall, then I go about showing Probie all the semi-secret compartments it has. He probably thinks I’m demented, but I love it. Gunner looks on, pleased with my reaction, until he basically shoves Probie out of the apartment.

  “Are you about done here?” He frowns at the disaster of tags and other items around us, but with things in the dryer, I’m actually at a good stopping point.

  “We’ll head to the cabin then, in the morning I will get you back to your SUV. I just need to be with you now.” He sounds exhausted, so I quickly gather my things and follow him out.

  Back at the cabin, I throw together a pasta dish and salad; he pulls me away from the table so we can eat next to each other on the sofa. Then tells me about Jasper and Flint’s reactions to news about us. I absolutely lose my appetite. It had never occurred to me that his Brothers would, or could, order us apart. He explains about letting them think we’ve had sex and I smile; hoping that will push up whatever this crazy timeline is that he has in his head.

  Afterwards, he straightens up the kitchen and we lie on the couch talking about everything and nothing. Gunner starts fingering my clit so softly at first I hardly notice it. Before long, I am straddling his lap and rubbing myself along his finger.

  He sits back, almost lazily; watching me work for my own orgasm at his hands. Occasionally, he tweaks one of my nipples but mostly, his other hand is cupping my cheek to maintain our eye contact.

  “P
lease, Gunner!” I yell as I get close to coming. He pinches my clit causing me to scream; then he swiftly rubs my clit with his soaked finger until I explode. I collapse against his chest and he quickly shifts me, cradling me in his arms until I drift off.

  Waking up early the next morning, I’m warm from his body heat and having most of my clothes from yesterday on. He had stripped down to his boxers before getting us into bed, so grinning up at his snoring form I quickly decide on a little surprise and move down towards the center of the bed.

  His penis roars to life when I touch it. Taking it into my mouth and feeling it grow as I suck on it is really encouraging, but I love the gasp he lets out as he wakes up. “Dammit Riley, that’s Fucking IT.” He gets out before threading his fingers through my hair as my mouth moves up and down his rod.

  His length quickly exceeds what I can hold in my mouth; and though I try to take more of it in, I can’t stop the resulting gag. Pulling my head back, he puts one hand on the base of his cock, stopping my further attempts at deep throating him.

  “Another time, Sweetheart. Just keep going.”

  As the big guy requests, I continue, focusing on the sensitive areas I found the first time I did this and a few minutes later I’m rewarded for my efforts. He once again grunts out a warning, but the first shot of cum hitting the back of my throat still surprises me and I have a hard time swallowing it all down without dripping any.

  Finishing up by swirling my tongue around his now softening cock, I lean in to kiss its head and quickly lick up the last of his seed that keeps bubbling up from the tip.

  As I crawl up the bed, he hooks his hands under my arms to pull me up and firmly plants his mouth on mine. I am surprised he has no problem kissing me when I just had his cum in my mouth but his touch quickly erases all thoughts.

  “Wake me up anytime you want, Sweetheart.” He murmurs against my mouth, biting my lower lip. Pulling back from our kiss, he folds me into his body.

  “I’m looking forward to practicing more – on you – though!” After last time, I thought it important to clarify.