by Jade Kuzma
He reached down with his broken arm and put a hand on my stomach. I couldn’t help the tears streaking down my cheeks.
“I don’t know if we can be,” I said. “Not with him…”
I turned toward my brother. Despite getting shot, he was surprisingly coherent at the moment.
“Come on…”
I took Blake’s hand and walked over to my brother. Everybody else in the club began the celebration, leaving me alone with the two men in the world I cared most about.
Jordan stared at me, a half-smile on his face.
“Thank you,” I said to him.
“You don’t have to thank me. Your man Blake here did most of the work. I… I was just there.”
“You saved Garnet,” Blake said to him. “We owe you the same as you owe us.”
“I guess that means the truce is back on.”
“It was never off, Cobra. I gave you my word and I kept it.”
“And we’ll keep ours.”
The two of them clasped hands together. The sight was enough to warm my cheeks and put a smile on my face.
Jordan turned to me and looked me up and down, examining my stomach closely.
“I love you, Kat,” my brother said. “You’re the most important person in the world to me. I want everything for you and…”
He glanced at Blake for a second before looking back at me.
“…your child. I know that you’ll do what’s right. And if you want to be with a Reaper, then who am I to say no to what makes you happy?”
“Then you don’t object?” I said.
Blake and Jordan looked at one another. Blake nodded and Jordan did the same before telling me what I wanted to hear.
“I want you to be happy,” Jordan said. “Whatever it takes.”
I leaned forward and hugged him softly.
“Not too hard,” he said with a laugh.
“Thank you.”
I kissed him on the cheek and pulled away from him. Jordan motioned with his index finger for Blake to come closer to him. Blake leaned forward as Jordan stared right into his eyes. The smile on his face was gone. His intensity was frightening, seemingly coming out of nowhere.
The two of them locked eyes on one another as Jordan whispered to him.
“If you even think about hurting her, I’ll come after you, and I’ll fucking kill you.”
A smile formed on Jordan’s lips but Blake knew he was serious. Blake didn’t smile back at him as he nodded.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Blake replied.
Jordan sighed.
“Gimme a moment,” he said. “This shit fucking hurts.”
He grabbed his bottle of whiskey and chugged it before leaning back on the table to rest. I couldn’t help but smile, relieved that it was all finally over.
Blake took my hand and led me out of the room. We headed back into the clubhouse and watched as the two clubs celebrated with one another. I shook my head at the sight of it.
“Could you ever imagine?” I said. “Black Reapers and Winter Cobras. Under the same roof. Laughing and drinking with each other.”
“I imagined it before,” Blake said.
“Really?”
“I also imagined it ending with me putting a gun in my mouth and squeezing the trigger.”
“Oh, knock it off.”
I giggled as I playfully slapped him across the chest. He looked back at me with a confident smile. The same cocky smirk I’d fallen for when I first laid eyes on him.
I saw so much in those blue eyes of his. Stitches on his face. A broken arm. He’d risked everything for me and somehow, he made it through.
I’d never felt the kind of relief I felt now as I stared at him. I was so overwhelmed that I stopped fighting it. Tears streaked down from the corners of my eyes as I buried my face into his chest.
“What’s wrong?” he said as he patted me on my head.
“I’m just so glad it’s over. After everything… I thought I was going to lose you—”
“Shh… It’s all right. You’re not going to lose me. You never will. I’m going to be here for you and our child. I always will be.”
My tears soaked the fabric of his shirt. I squeezed him as tight as I could. I wasn’t going to let him go.
Chapter 25
BLAKE
The next day…
“What do you got?”
“Hold on… Gimme a second now…”
“You’ve had plenty of seconds. It’s time to put up or shut up.”
“I don’t remember there being a time limit.”
“That’s because nobody ever takes as much time as you.”
“All right, all right… I see your bet…”
Sullivan splashed the chips in front of me and put his cards down.
“Full house.”
He gave me the biggest shit-eating grin I’d ever seen in my life. I stared back at him and gritted my teeth to the amusement of the rest of the table.
“Sullivan with the full house strikes again!”
“How many hands is that in a row? You’re losing your touch, Needle.”
I sighed as Sullivan scooped all of the chips to his side of the table.
“New patches,” I sighed. “They always have the best luck.”
“Am I still a new patch?” Sullivan said. “I was out there with you the other night.”
“You’re still a new patch because I say you’re a new patch.”
“All right, all right,” he said, his hands up as he chuckled at me.
“Don’t listen to him,” Ghost said as he put a hand on Sullivan’s shoulder. “You’re patched in, you’re patched in. We wouldn’t let you be a Reaper if we didn’t think you were capable.”
“Thanks… You know, I’ve been thinking…”
Everybody turned their attention toward Sullivan as he stacked all of his chips together.
“Needle… You’re into sewing, right?” he said.
The entire table fell silent.
“That’s why they call you Needle,” he said to me. “I bet you stitched those patches onto your kutte yourself. Am I right?”
Everybody at the table looked at one another before we all burst into laughter. Sullivan rolled his eyes at all of us.
“Whatever,” he sighed. “I’m gonna come up with my own name. And I won’t tell any of you shit about it.”
“You can’t give yourself a name,” Ghost said.
“Right,” Brawn added. “You are who are you are.”
“Those are the breaks, Sully,” I said.
We all laughed at Sullivan’s expense. He was still smiling even though he wasn’t as amused as the rest of us.
“Keep laughing,” he said. “I still have all of your chips…”
“All right,” I said. “No need to hit below the belt…”
I got up from the table and let the game resume.
It was a quiet day at The Grindhouse. After what happened the other night, the club could use the peace and quiet. It was the first time in a long time that it felt like there wasn’t a burden on any of us. Even with the feds still in town, we knew we wouldn’t have to watch our backs. Not for awhile, anyway.
I took a seat at the bar and helped myself to a beer. Just as I took a sip, I heard the front door open. I turned and saw the woman I’d been waiting for walk in.
In just a plain white top and a pair of jeans, Katrina looked as angelic as she always did. Even inside of the clubhouse, it seemed like her hair was always flowing behind her.
She bit her bottom lip as she walked up to me, her hands sheepishly rubbing together.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” she whispered.
“I’d wait forever for you.”
She pecked me on the lips then squeezed me with a hug.
“How is your arm?”
I held my cast up and examined it.
“I’ve had worse,” I sighed.
“Always with the macho bullshit. You nearly died and you shrug it
off like it’s nothing.”
“I thought you’d know that by now. Life in a club, in Ivory… You’re always at risk.”
“Not you,” she said, shaking her head. “Not anymore.”
“Yeah… Not anymore.”
I leaned forward and kissed her again. Her lips were so soft. Her tongue was so wet. She pulled away from me suddenly.
“I probably shouldn’t be kissing you when you’ve been drinking,” she said.
“Oh… Right… I should probably cut it out for now.”
I pushed the bottle of beer away from me and stood up straight. Katrina examined her surroundings, looking up at the walls and the Black Reapers regalia on display.
“So… This is the clubhouse of the Black Reapers,” she said. “I never thought I would be in a place like this.”
“I never thought I would welcome someone associated with the Winter Cobras in here.”
“I’m not associated with them. He’s just my brother. My allegiance isn’t to any patch. It’s to the man who wears it.”
She leaned forward against me and pressed her body to mine. Having her so close, it felt like everything was right in the world. Being in the clubhouse with her meant that there was nothing else for either of us to hide.
“Come on,” I said. “Let me introduce you.”
I took her hand and brought her over to the poker table. Everybody turned their attention to Katrina.
“You all know Katrina,” I said. “I figured I would give you all a more formal introduction. That man over there is Brawn… You’ve met him before.”
“I sure have,” she said.
“Sorry about that whole kidnapping thing,” Brawn said.
“No harm done,” she said with a smile.
“That’s Petey,” I said. “He was the one pointing the gun at you.”
Petey put a hand up and waved to Katrina, his eyes focused on the cards in his hand.
“That guy right there is Sullivan,” I said. “He’s the new patch.”
“Say, Katrina,” Sullivan said. “Let me ask you something?”
“Sure,” Katrina said, slightly confused.
“Why do they call him Needle? Did he tell you he loves sewing?”
“I… Um…”
She glanced up at me like she was looking for the right response. All I could do was laugh at her.
“It’s just a name,” I said, not giving her a chance to answer. “Get over it already.”
“Whatever,” Sullivan sighed.
“And this man right here,” I said as I put a hand on Ghost’s shoulder. “This is Ghost.”
“Jon,” Ghost said as he shook Katrina’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to formally meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine,” Katrina said, bowing her head.
“Come on,” I said to her. “Let’s let these assholes play their stupid game.”
“Still bitter,” Sullivan shouted to me as I walked away. “Get over it, Needle!”
Katrina and I walked back to the bar to get some time to ourselves. But before I could say anything, the only man in the club she hadn’t formally met walked up to us.
“So… You’re Katrina.”
Garnet examined Katrina, looking her up and down as she stood before him.
“I’m Katrina,” she said with that tender smile of hers.
“Harris’s sister.”
“Katrina Harris,” she said. “That’s me. Jordan’s sister.”
Garnet had a straight look on his face. His eyes locked on Katrina, he sighed a deep breath through his nose.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry for what happened. I’m sorry for the order I put on you.”
“It’s all right—”
“It’s not all right,” he said, cutting her off. “I let my emotions get the best of me. When I saw my old lady in the hospital like that… I wanted answers. I wanted to make them pay. I wanted it to be a Cobra.
“You were stuck in the middle of some old beef. Just an innocent woman caught between two clubs. It should never have come to that.”
Garnet leaned forward and put his arms around Katrina. Watching the two of them hug filled me with a relief I couldn’t describe.
“I don’t care who your brother is,” he said. “I’m sorry for what happened. And I want you to know that you’re always welcome in the clubhouse.”
“Thank you,” Katrina replied. “I… I’m grateful. And… I appreciate your apology. But who knows what would have happened if I didn’t spend all of that time with Blake? I… I would have never gotten the chance to get to know him better. Things worked out for the best.”
“They sure did.”
Garnet put a hand on my shoulder.
“The sister of a Winter Cobra,” he said with a smile, shaking his head at me. “Like the fucking Capulets and the Montagues. You sure know how to fucking pick ‘em, Needle.”
“I didn’t know,” I said as I laughed with him.
“You’ve always been a pain in my side. Hey, Katrina, did he ever tell you why they call him Needle?”
“Actually—”
“It’s because he’s a fucking prick!”
Garnet burst into laughter as he shook me. I chuckled right along with him.
“Don’t do anything stupid now, kids,” he said. “We’ve all been through too much shit to just throw it all away now.”
Katrina glanced up at me, her eyes narrowed as Garnet walked away.
“Thank you for coming,” I whispered to her.
“I wanted to come here. I want to know everything about you Blake. I want to spend the rest of my life figuring you out.”
“I think you’ve got me figured out pretty good by now.”
“I think so. I knew it when I first met you. Cocky, arrogant, conceited…”
“Don’t flatter me too much now,” I said, chuckling.
“Just tell me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“When you saw me pulled over that night on the side of the road… Why did you really want to help me? Was it because you were doing it out of the kindness of your heart?”
“That was part of it, sure. But I thought you were beautiful.”
“Thanks—”
“And I really wanted to fuck you.”
I leaned down and kissed her. Her lips quivered as she giggled. I pulled away, still smiling down at her.
“I see now the same thing I saw when I first laid eyes on you.”
“What do you see?” she asked.
“An angel. My angel. I can’t imagine not being with you.”
“I feel the same way.”
“Then let’s be together.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not doing anything, are you?”
“I…”
My arms wrapped around her, I stared down into her eyes. Katrina bit her bottom lip, trying and failing to stop a grin from coming to her lip. There was no point in fighting it for either one of us.
“What do you say?” I asked.
“I say… Take me for a ride, Needle.”
Chapter 26
KATRINA
It’s amazing the things you took for granted.
I’d been with Blake more times than I could count. He always left me satisfied in every way a woman wanted. Hell, I would have been satisfied just looking at him.
The tattoos along his arms, chest and neck. The scruff on his chin. The blond hair slicked back over his head. That arrogant smirk on his face that told me I was the one he wanted. Yeah, that fucking look he gave me was enough to make my knees buckle.
Oh, and then there were the muscles. Broad shoulders. A slim waist with a six-pack that looked like it had been painted on. Bulging veins all over his body from head to toe.
Yeah, he was built like some kind of machine.
But with the cast over his arm, he was surprisingly limited.
I’d taken for granted the things he could do with it. Slapping my ass. Grabbing my neck a
nd squeezing me roughly. Rubbing my clit so deftly. Pinning my hands above my head as he ravaged me. Damn, I couldn’t wait until he was able to use both of his arms again and take control of me.
For now, I had to settle for being the one in control. After everything he’d been through, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
He was the man I wanted. Just sitting there on my couch, his nude body on display, his cock proud and waiting for me.
“What are you waiting for?”
I didn’t respond to him. I trailed my fingers along his muscles. I felt the ink underneath his skin. I moved my hand down toward his cock and pumped his shaft. Neither one of us could wait much longer.
Blake let out a deep sigh of pleasure.
“Do you like that?” I whispered.
He didn’t say anything. He just let his body do the talking. His cock throbbed in my palm as I kept pumping him. My other hand moved toward his abdomen. The muscles contracted as he took in another deep breath.
I looked down and saw his tip glisten with a bit of precum. My mouth started to water at the invitation.
I lowered my head down and took his tip between my lips. My tongue swirled around his head, licking up anything that might have leaked out of him. The feeling of his warm shaft throbbing against my mouth only made me want more of him.
I pushed my face down until his hilt pressed against my lips. I gagged slightly as I adjusted to the size of his length. His tip in my throat, Blake sank into his seat.
I licked his shaft while I sucked on him. Spit dripping, lips smacking, throat gagging. I pleased every inch of that fucking cock of his like I was trying to clean it off.
Polishing his shaft worked up my own desires. As soon as we got to my apartment, Blake ripped my clothes off of me. I’d never been so comfortable being naked around someone else. But Blake made me feel proud of my body with the way he was constantly staring at me.
A hand found its way into my hair. He tangled his fingers in the strands until he could get a good grip. I opened my throat wide and let him take control.
His hips bucked as his shaft found its way up into my throat. It was as if he wanted to make me gag as much as possible.
But just when I thought we would both lose control, he pulled me off of him. I blinked my eyes to wipe away the tears. I rubbed the spit from my lips with the back of my index finger. I locked my eyes on his and saw the fire burning inside of him.