by Debra Kayn
In one jump, Ink was up on the table, kneeled between her spread legs. He inched forward, one hand behind her neck, cradling her head, and the other hooked around her thigh, pulling her leg higher.
"Hold on to me."
She grabbed his vest and fisted the material. At the same time, he leaned down and kissed her neck. His tongue teased her ear, and he plunged his cock inside of her.
He slowly slid in and out. She arched against him and wrapped her legs behind his back. The shift in position had him rubbing against her with every thrust.
His breath heated her ear. "Soon, Ace, soon. Don't fucking give up on me."
His words wrapped around her. Her core heated and her heart ached with pleasure. Impatient with life, with Ink, with the slow exquisite torture he put her through. She wanted today, tomorrow, and forever with him. The reality was she only had right now.
While she'd take having sex in a warehouse, she yearned for normalcy. This was her club, her family, her life too. Ink had set her up for only accepting the best and holding out for her dreams. She couldn't help thinking she was missing something important that held Ink back from going after what he wanted.
He ground against her. Her insides swirled tighter, hotter. She panted and slid her hands off his vest, around his ribs, pulling him closer. She wanted to take every inch, needed the stimulation of knowing he was completely inside of her.
He hooked her calf onto his shoulder. Her other leg followed, opening her up more. Braced above her, he stared down with hooded eyes and a force on his face that took all doubts about his feelings for her away. Every breath, every move, every wave of pleasure he shared with her.
"You're the only one for me, Ace," he said.
Her body gripped his cock at his declaration. She lost all thought and her body responded, greedily and selfishly, taking and taking what he offered her.
He lowered himself to his elbows, still bracing her legs over his shoulders, and framed her head with his hands. "I want no one else in your head, but me."
"You are." She hissed. "Oh, God, Ink. You are."
His eyes softened and blurred in front of her. She blinked to clear the tears ruining her vision. Her insides tightened, twirled, pulsed. She dug her fingers into his back.
He grunted, pounding into her. "Mine."
His announcement sent her over the edge. Her pussy spasmed and jolts of desire radiated throughout her body. Her legs jumped, tightened, fought their position as her climax raged within her body. Unable to stop her mind from floating away, she succumbed to the security Ink handed her.
Ink's rhythm grew erratic, faster, and feral. She urged him on, and his cock thickened, hardened, and became more powerful. Her body still pulsed, lengthening her orgasm when his body stiffened. He sank himself fully inside of her, shuddering his release.
He lowered his forehead to hers. His breath came fast, and he muttered, "Mine."
She brought her hands up and cupped his face, pulling him back so she could look into his eyes. "I've always been yours. That's never going to change."
"Cam?" he asked, almost spitting the name out.
She blinked. "Cam who?"
He stared into her eyes and finally gave her a short nod. Her chest squeezed, full of love. She recognized his vulnerability over thinking she'd stop waiting for him and find someone else. That would never happen. She softly kissed him, and kept that information to herself.
Her worst fear would be that Ink would never go to her dad to ask his permission. Until she was one hundred percent confident that Ink's 'soon' would come true, she needed to protect herself from a broken heart.
Chapter Sixteen
Lilly stood in the doorway of the warehouse. Ink hooked his finger in the waist of her skirt, still reeling from the idea she'd go visit Cam. He was too close to making both of them happy for her to make a big mistake in not trusting him.
He hadn't planned to have sex with her in the warehouse. The desperation to validate their relationship hit him square in the chest when she brought up Cam's name, and there was no stopping him. He wanted to prove to her that he was working on making a life together possible. Hell, he was trying to keep his ass out of trouble, so he didn't screw everything up.
He'd worked double time lately to keep himself from Lilly, while settling everything that needed to be done. All he had to do was talk to Rain. Everything he'd done up to now would be for nothing if Rain couldn't see that he had Lilly's best interest at heart.
"You need to go," Ink said.
She laughed. "You're the one holding me here."
"You'd stay if I asked?" He knew that for a fact, but he still found himself asking her.
She'd never given up on him. Not once, even when he deserved to lose her.
"Absolutely." She leaned in and kissed him. "Forever."
He wound his free hand through her hair and kept her close. "Keep believing, Ace. I'm not going to make you wait—"
"Ink," Kurt shouted.
His gaze snapped up and spotted Kurt escorting Risa up the path toward the house. His spine straightened. Fuck.
"Ink," Lilly whispered. "Let go of me before they see you."
"Too late," he muttered, holding on to her tighter. "Too fucking late."
She stepped back, frowning and withdrawing from him. He moved toward her again, but she shook her head.
He'd screwed up.
God damnit.
He was so fucking close to proving he was good enough, and he'd fucked up. There was no way Kurt would overlook him being with Lilly, alone, at night, with him holding her close. For this to work, Rain had to believe he was asking permission first before touching Lilly.
"I'll go and make up some excuse." Lilly glanced over her shoulder. "Risa will help me make Kurt believe nothing happened."
"It's too late, Ace." He inhaled deeply. "Get up to the house. Let me talk to Kurt myself."
"But—"
"Go. I'll deal with Kurt and the consequences," he said.
Her lips puckered in indecisiveness. He lifted his chin and motioned for her to leave him. He wasn't going to let her take the fall. He'd known what he was doing.
"Text me," she whispered.
He nodded. The club could make his life hell for what he'd done, and he probably deserved every minute of it.
Kurt approached, holding Risa's hand. Lilly turned from him and held out her hand for Risa, who joined her on the walk to the house. Kurt stayed behind.
Ink stepped to his left and leaned against the warehouse wall. His legs shook, and he wished he could take back the last hour. He'd hopped on with the devil and it was a hell of a ride, but it was over.
Kurt crossed his arms and widened his stance. "You're back on warning. You fuck up. I rip your colors off and you're out of Bantorus MC."
A warning? He swallowed hard. Shit. He thought he'd have his patches taken and be forced out of Bantorus.
"Fair enough." Ink watched the girls reach the front door of Kurt's house. "You know my plans. Going to Rain was my next step."
"That's the only reason I'm giving you a warning, because I do know what you want to do. Stay away from her until you get approval," Kurt said, reminding him of something he couldn't forget.
His chance of obtaining Rain's permission was slim. Ink laughed harshly. Tonight's situation impossible to ignore, he should've seen it coming. "It's all bullshit, you know that, right?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Me...Lilly." He pushed off the wall, took two hurried steps, and kicked a rock, watching it fly through the night until he couldn't see it anymore in the dark. "Anyone with half a brain saw her go after me for years. Hell, I saw it coming years away. This little girl, hair flying out behind her, a mouth that never stopped, forced me to listen, and now I'm standing here on the verge of losing my club."
"You blaming her?"
"Fuck yeah, I'm blaming her." He ran his hands though his hair, feeling lighter than he had in years. He'd never talked willingly about h
is relationship with Lilly, and Kurt was here. He felt like blabbing to the whole fucking world about how he was feeling. "It sort of gets your attention when a twelve year old dedicates her life to growing up so she can become my old lady when she's older. That kind of shit gets your fucking attention."
"Jesus," Kurt mumbled. "She did that?"
"That and a lot more. You have no idea what goes through that girl's head." He chuckled and shrugged. "It's no lie that she entertained me when she was a kid, but when she turned sixteen, she became more serious to claim me. Something happened with her thinking, because her thoughts weren't those of a child. She had a woman's ideas and feelings. I could no longer buy her off with a five-dollar bill for her to get lost. She started looking at me, and what she saw made her sad. Fuck—He inhaled deeply—I started to show her I wasn't another asshole, because I couldn't stand to see her sad."
"I know how young Lilly was when she set you up as her goal in life, but when did you start looking at her like you wanted between her legs?" Kurt asked, his words clipped and dead serious. "Let me remind you, you're talking to the president of the Federal Charter. I'm about two seconds from beating the shit out of you."
Ink looked him in the eyes. "Three months after her eighteenth birthday."
Kurt turned away and fisted his hands. "Four fucking years ago? Are you crazy?"
He remained silent. Kurt would draw his own conclusions and take him in front of the club if that was his plan. He'd prepared himself as much as he could to know that he had two choices.
Lilly or the club.
He'd run out of time, and yet there was never any doubt which one he'd choose.
He had no chance at getting everything he wanted out of life. Important things like love, family, and forever never worked out in his favor and he never thought of himself as lucky. He was a man covered in ink to cover the scars of his past.
Kurt. His MC brothers. They all saw what they wanted to see.
The only thing that mattered was what Lilly thought of him. She'd looked inside of him and decided to love him. He was done disappointing her.
"I'm going to talk to you like a brother, man." Kurt stepped closer. "I don't want to know any more information. Keep me out of it, because I will turn your ass over to Rain if I know anything more. But, talk to Prez before he kills you."
Ink nodded. He'd have to face the man who already rejected him.
"I'm serious, bro." Kurt lowered his voice. "You've already got the age difference to work around on top of Lilly being the president's only child. But, I know Lilly. I've watched her wrap every brother in the club around her pinky. She's not going to stay away from you, and I won't have any choice than to strip your patches and you'll be dead to us. I don't want to lose you."
Ink flinched. "The club's the only family I have."
"Right." Kurt laid his hand on Ink's shoulder. "Then lean on your brothers and do the right thing."
Ink nodded. "I need a few days off. After the militia pick up their order tomorrow, I'll head to Pitnam. Give me a day to get there, a day to get back, and a day to see if Rain's going to kill me."
"You got it. The other guys will cover for you." Kurt let go of him. "You want a couple riders to go with you?"
He shook his head. "No. I need to do this on my own."
"Good luck. You're going to need it." Kurt slapped him on the arm. "Better get back to the club. I need to go to the house and make sure Risa's getting off her feet and hogtie Lilly to the God damn bed if I have to."
"Thanks." Ink walked away, taking the gravel path downhill to the clubhouse.
The thought of losing Lilly ate away at him. The adrenaline that came with fear flowed through him. It was going to be a long night.
Despite the long workday, he was wide-awake and jumpier than hell. He rubbed his arm, feeling the raised scars. He could work off some of the excess energy coloring in more of his lines. Maybe then, Rain wouldn't notice what he was trying to hide.
He stepped into the clubhouse and his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and read the screen.
Hey. You okay?
He continued walking and typed. Yeah
She replied right away. Good! I'll talk to Kurt and have him lay off you.
Drop it, Ace.
No...
He walked up the steps, knowing she would put up an argument. Her next message stopped him in front of his room.
What do you mean drop it?
He opened his door and leaned against the door. Go to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow sometime. Got a warning. Let me deal.
Ink! Don't shut off your phone. The little dots under her name blinked letting him know she was typing. "Are you mad?
No. Sweet dreams, Ace.
DO NOT SHUT—
He held the button down and the screen went black. She'd find out soon enough that he was leaving for Pitnam to visit her dad tomorrow. If he'd stayed on the phone, she would've talked him into confessing about his plans. This was too important to screw up, and he wouldn't let anyone stop him from making Lilly his woman. Even Lilly
He dragged out his suitcase of tattoo supplies and removed the machine. It wasn't going to be long now. By the end of the week, Lilly would be his...club or not.
Chapter Seventeen
The white panel cargo van belonging to the militia pulled away from the Bantorus MC clubhouse loaded with AK-47s. Ink closed the sliding warehouse doors and joined Kurt, Remmy, and Cutter outside. The next crate of weapons they'd hand to the militia would be a double order, which meant they were all in for longer work hours for the next six weeks.
"Our country is in good hands." Kurt crossed his arms. "Mike's mentioned that the militia has grown three times in member enrollment in the last two years."
"At least Idaho is covered." Cutter cracked a sunflower between his teeth and spit the shell on the ground. "Long live the 2nd amendment."
Ink glanced down at his phone. He only had a couple of hours before he planned to hit the road to Pitnam and he hadn't had a chance to let Lilly know he'd be gone for a few days.
"I had Big Dawg gas up your motorcycle," Kurt said. "Weather is good."
"Thanks." He pocketed his phone. "Do you have anything you need delivered to Prez?"
"No. Not this—"
A woman's shriek stopped all conversation. Ink's chest tightened at the familiar voice and he turned toward the side of the mountain and Kurt's house. He couldn't see Lilly anywhere.
"What the hell was that?" Cutter raised his hand and blocked the sun from his eyes.
"It's not Risa. I talked to her not thirty seconds ago when I checked in on her. She was lying down and reading," Kurt said.
A glimpse of blonde hair showed up at the bottom of the porch steps. Ink stepped away from Kurt and squinted to see up the hill better. "It's Lilly."
Kurt cussed. "Looks like she's throwing a tantrum."
Lilly stomped the ground and kicked out with her boot, sending gravel flying. Ink stared past the tangled mess of hair to a flushed face and her mouth moving. She was definitely riled about something.
Ink had a sinking suspicion that Lilly heard second hand about his trip to Pitnam before he could tell her himself. "Did you tell her I was leaving for Pitnam?"
"No, when I walked out of the house to meet Mike for the delivery, Lilly was on the phone with her dad." Kurt pointed to the front of the house. "There's Beckett coming around the side of the house to talk with her."
"What's Beckett doing up there?" Ink faced Kurt now that he knew Lilly wasn't hurt, but pissed.
Kurt raised his brows. "I put him on guard. You're one of the best riders I have. I'm not going to let you near her, and Beckett will stop you from trying to sneak in to see her or her walking out of the house to meet you."
A lot of fucking good Beckett did last night or last week or last month when Ink was between Lilly's legs. He stepped toe to toe with Kurt. "Back him away. I said I'm going to Pitnam. There's no need to have him still tailing her."
"Take it to the table if you want, but I'm not going to let you commit club suicide." Kurt widened his stance. "If you can't man up and go through the steps to make that girl happy, then I'll protect your back and keep your patches on myself."
"That won't happen," Ink said. "I'm leaving today."
Kurt shrugged. "Then enjoy the babysitter until your ass in on leather and the wind is in your face."
"Let me go...," Lilly screamed.
Beckett covered his face to block the blows Lilly threw at him. Ink stepped in her direction, and Kurt grabbed his vest. Ink swung his arm, breaking Kurt's hold and faced him. "Back off."
"Check yourself, bro." Remmy pushed Ink away from Kurt. "I know what you're going through—"
"You don't know what the fuck is going through my head. Lilly's up there fighting Beckett for some damn reason, and he's put his hands on her. I have all you assholes standing around thinking she's entertainment." Ink shoved Remmy. "Keep your fucking hands off me."
Remmy raised the palms of his hand. "Check yourself, brother."
"Get her down here." Ink looked over Remmy's shoulder and saw Becket holding Lilly to his chest. He curled his fingers and made a fist. "Now."
"She's fine. Beckett's taking care of her. Let's wait until she's—" Remmy stepped forward and put a hand to Ink's chest stopping him.
Ink swung out with his fist, clipping Remmy on the chin. Rage burned his throat. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt her. He whirled around to go to Lilly, and Remmy tackled him to the ground. The air whooshed out of his lungs, and he grabbed Remmy's head, locking his arm around his neck.
"Jesus Christ." Kurt pulled on the back of Ink's vest, dragging him off Remmy.
Remmy pushed off the ground. "Let the fucker go."
"Come at me." Ink motioned with his hand. "You want your ass busted?"
Cutter and Germ stepped into the fray, separating the two men. Ink strained against Kurt's hold, still seeing Lilly in Beckett's arms. Nobody had the right to touch her, but him.
"Lilly," he bellowed.
"Fuck." Kurt tightened his hold, pinning Ink's arms to his sides. "Don't do it."