Riot: A Hell's Heathens MC Christmas Story (Older Man, Younger Woman MC Romance)

by Raven Dark

  “You sounded like you would have.”

  “What? How? When?”

  I scoff. “Riot, do you know why I’m going to Cali? I’m going to school. I’m going to open and run my own business. At the motel, what did you say to me?”

  He makes a puzzled face. “I said I wanted to wake up every morning with you. I said wouldn’t let you go to…” His head falls back, and he runs his palm down his face. “Aw, shit.”

  The realization that sweeps over his face is almost heartbreaking. When he speaks, I barely hear him.

  “I said I wasn’t going to let you go. You thought I was trying to run your life like your dad ran hers.” His sighs and closes the space between us, setting his hands with an infinite gentleness on my shoulders. “Fuck, baby. If I’d known… I can just imagine how that must have sounded to you.”

  “Well, if you didn’t mean it that way, then what did you mean?”

  His gaze lifts to the ceiling. “I meant I wanted you with me. If you want to go to school, then you’ll go. You want to run a business, then do it. Whatever the fuck you want, I’m there, with you.”

  A slow, hesitant smile creeps over my lips. Disbelief and happiness blooms in my chest. There’s so much support and love in his eyes, it floors me.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes.” He gives me a gentle shake. “Fuck, yes. Hell, if you want to go to California, then let’s go.”

  I blink. “You’d do that?” My eyes sting. “For me?”

  “Sure. There’s a Chapter there. I don’t care where we go, as long as we’re together.”

  A tear spills down my cheek. He brushes it away with his thumb.

  A smirk plays with his lips. “Of course, you did say you wanted to leave the MC. We’ll have to have a talk about that one, but—”

  A happy sob bubbles up and I throw my arms around him, silencing him with a kiss. He growls into my mouth and crushes me to him.

  Riot’s kiss is more than hot. It’s fierce and filled with so much love and devotion that my heart soars.

  I lose myself in him, in the happiness and thrill of knowing that I no longer have to choose between him and my dreams. I no longer have to choose between the woman I am, and the woman I’ll become if I’m with him.

  I won’t have to, because they’re one and the same.

  When he lifts his head, I smile up at him, and he rests his forehead against mine. His palms rub my arms. “I’ll never change you, Red. Never. I love you just the way you are.”

  I blink slowly, my breath catching. “You…. You love me?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He grins. “Smart-ass mouth and all.”

  My heart feels huge. “So, this is really happening then.”

  “Fuck, yeah.” He claims my mouth.

  When he breaks the kiss, I lay my head on his chest. His heart hammers in my ear, a strong, steady beat, and I love the sound of it.

  “We still have one problem, though,” I say, doubts creeping in.

  “Devil,” he says.

  “Yeah.” I gaze up at him. “Letting us press lips when I almost died was one thing, but…”

  “Yeah, I get it. He might not be so keen to know we’re going to be a thing. I’ll talk to him.”

  “No, not yet.” I lay my hand on his chest. “I still have to talk to him. We’re sort of in an awkward place right now after that argument I had with him the other day. Let me talk to him before we spring this on him.”

  “Okay. But do it now.”

  “Bossy much?”

  “Damn right.” He touches me under the chin. “I don’t want to wait to let this whole fucking club see that you’re mine.”

  “I don’t either.” I back up, take a deep breath, and then push it out. “Okay. Here goes.”

  “Red.” Riot takes my hand and squeezes my fingers. “Whatever he says—whatever happens—we’ll figure it out, okay?”

  I lift his hand and drop a kiss into his palm. “Yeah, Florida. Yeah.”

  As soon as I step out into the common room, I catch Devil’s eye. He’s leaning against the door to his office watching some of the guys roughhouse, his arms crossed. His expression is hard to read. Wishing I knew what he was thinking, I consider the blowout we had days ago.

  I wish I knew how to feel around him. Real worry as to what he’ll say when he hears that Riot and I are together rises up, but I tamp it down. One problem at a time.

  Clearing my throat, I make my way over to him.

  “Guess we should talk,” I mumble.

  He steps aside and holds his arm out for me to go in first.

  At his desk, I take a seat. He shuts the door and then takes his. For a long moment, he doesn’t say anything, only folds his big arms across the desk, studying the papers scattered there.

  The silence stretches between us until it becomes too big for me to stay silent.

  “Dev—”

  His eyes meet mine. “No, let me talk first.”

  I put my head down with a sigh, expecting him to lay down some law. I’d hoped that his letting Riot and I have our moment back at that lake house would mean things would be different, but then, this is Devil. He’s hard set in his ways.

  He clears his throat, and when he speaks, his always gruff voice is quiet. “About what you said the other day… All that shit about not caring about you.”

  My back goes up a little. “Dev, listen, maybe I was a bitch, but let’s face it, you haven’t exactly been the most—”

  He holds up his hand. “No. let me finish, all right?”

  I press my lips together, hearing him out.

  He leans back in his chair, his head dropping back. I get the feeling he’s thinking hard. Devil is not big on conversation, and I can imagine how hard this is for him.

  Again, he meets my eyes. “You were right, Red.”

  Wait, what? There’s no way I could have heard him right. “What?”

  His chest rises and falls. “You were right. I haven’t been there for you.”

  “Okay, who are you and what have you done with my brother?”

  He pushes to his feet. “Look, Red, you gotta understand. I was always sending someone else to deal with you when it should have been me. And I did send you to Cali so that that school could handle you. But it wasn’t because I didn’t give a shit.”

  I look up at him, trying to make sense of what’s happening here. Is he actually opening up to me?

  “Then why did you?” I ask softly.

  He makes a frustrated sound as he comes around to my side of the desk. Is he annoyed with me, or with himself?

  “Because. When Dad died, Mom had already run off. So here I was at twenty-two and suddenly saddled with a fucking kid. I was the guy who wanted to spend all my time boozing it up and getting into shit with my club brothers. Bones was already grooming me for Presidency, and here I am with a cranky, crying two-year-old. Dad had just died. I didn’t know shit about taking care of a baby. As far as I was concerned, my life was falling apart.”

  I stare at him. Never once in my life has Devil ever talked about what those first few years with me were like. I’d known he’d taken care of me, but I’d never truly considered the impact it must have had on him having to do it on his own.

  Devil leans against the desk, looking at the ceiling. “Then you started hanging out with Clutch and his idiot pals. I watched you go down a bad path, and I didn’t know how to fix it. I was all about parties and women—I didn’t know how the hell to handle a hormonal teenage girl with a thing for bad guys.”

  A small laugh slips out as empathy for him tugs at me. I did make life hell for him, and he could never figure out what to do with me. I remember how frustrated he was every time the cops brought me home or the teacher said I got into another fight at school.

  “Then this shit with the Grim Reapers started,” Devil goes on, crossing his arms. “Bones died, and suddenly I was President, but I also had to take care of you. You just kept getting deeper into shit. I know now it’s because I
wasn’t there, that it was some need to get my attention, but at the time, I didn’t understand it. I knew you needed help, and I was supposed to make it right. So I did what I thought I had to. I shipped you off, but it wasn’t because I didn’t care. It was because I wanted to help you, but I didn’t know how.” He lifts his shoulders as if there’s a heavy weight on them. “So, I sent you to that school. Where you would be out of this town and away from Clutch. And...because I knew they could do what I couldn’t.”

  His words wash over me, bringing with them all the frustrations and uncertainties he must have felt in dealing with me all on his own. There is a determination, a love for me in him that makes him sound almost like a different man.

  Warmth bursts to life in my heart for him, and for the first time in eighteen years, I feel like I understand him.

  I look at my knees and my voice comes out very soft. “So, you didn’t send me off because you wanted to get rid of me, and you didn’t do it to control me. You did it to save me.”

  I look up to see him shrug. His eyes are filled with regret and pain.

  Leaning back, I run my palms down my face. “Wow.” I’ve never felt this connected to him. It’s a strange feeling. It’s as if until now, he was the father I didn’t know and didn’t want, and now, for the first time, I have a brother.

  The urge to comfort him as much as me hits home, but when I stand up, I can’t take that next step. Devil is not big on affection. I’ve never seen him hug anyone. I couldn’t bear it if he pushed me away.

  I clear my throat. “I… I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry I was such a bitch all these years.”

  “Don’t be. You were lost. We both were. And I didn’t make it easy either.” He heaves a sigh. Then he reaches out and brushes my bangs from my forehead. That tiny gesture of affection makes my heart feel like it’s going to burst.

  “Look, I can’t give you all the emotional crap you missed out on for all those years thanks to me. But I can try to make it up to you.”

  I bite my lip. “How?”

  He walks around to the other side of his desk, opens a drawer, pulls out a long leather money pouch, and hands it to me. I take it slowly.

  “What is this?”

  “Open it.” His lips twitch.

  I unzip the pouch, looking inside. My heart leaps when I take out the two pieces of paper. One is a check—for ten thousand dollars, of all things—and the other is a plane ticket.

  A plane ticket to California.

  I cover my mouth. “Devil… You’re letting me go to Cali?”

  He nods. “It’s an open ended ticket, so you can go whenever you want.” His voice is quieter that usual and oddly strained.

  “But Dev… Ten grand? What on Earth for?”

  He shrugs. “Barbie told me you’ve started saving up for culinary school with that job you had in California. I figure there are other things you’d want that money for.”

  Both of my hands fly to my mouth and I let out an uncharacteristic squeal that makes me sound more like Barbie.

  In an instant, I’m on the other side of his desk and throwing my arms around him.

  He tenses at first, as if he doesn’t know what to do with such an onslaught of affection. I grin and hold him tighter. “You’re gonna have to deal with it, Dev. You can’t give a girl ten grand and expect to get out of a hug.”

  He lets out a low chuckle. Then he gives me a single hard squeeze. It’s tight enough that I can’t breathe, and I love it.

  I can’t resist. I go up on my toes and plant a kiss on his rough cheek. “I kind of love you right now.”

  “Yeah. Me too.” I draw back in surprise and he ruffles my hair. “Just don’t tell the guys. I have a reputation, you know.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” I grin. “I gotta go tell Barbie and the girls. Devil, thank you. Seriously, thank you.”

  “Yeah.”

  When I reach the doors, he calls out.

  “Red, one more thing.”

  I turn. “Yeah?”

  “I don’t know what you’re planning to do about you and the new kid, but…” He clears his throat heavily, looking as if he’s fighting some sort of inner battle. “Look, whatever you’re gonna do, just make sure it’s what you really want.”

  I freeze, and that little firecracker bursts in my chest again. First, he’s not only handing me the life I want on a silver platter, but now this?

  Unable to help myself, I hold off on telling him the deal is already done. “Wait. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  He makes a face as if he’s stepped on a needle. “Just go find him and get it over with.”

  I hold up my hands. “No. You have to tell me. Why are you okay with this all of a sudden?”

  “Well, the bastard did save my life. It kind of changes things, doesn’t it?”

  I smile. “Right there with you, bro. Oh, and Devil?”

  “Yeah?”

  I lower my voice to a stage whisper. “Riot and I are already a thing.”

  He makes an annoyed noise. “You shit. So, you’re not leaving the MC?”

  “Nope.”

  “What about school? Your friend…Gabby, is it? Are you going to California?”

  “Not sure yet. I don’t want to leave Gabby high and dry, and things are already set in motion there.”

  He nods. “Well, as far as Riot and you, just make sure he does this right. If he’s gonna put a ring on it, make sure he mans up and asks me.”

  Oh, God, Marriage. My stomach flutters.

  Would I want to be Riot’s old lady?

  But I don’t even have to think. There’s no question.

  True, Riot already brought it up, but a lot’s happened in the short time since then, and when he’d asked, he was in the heat of the moment, right after we’d had a hell of a night together. I have no idea if that’s even what he still wants.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Dev,” I tell him, opening the door to the office. “We’re not there yet.”

  Out in the common room, I see Riot leaning against the wall by the bar, talking with Badger and Cal.

  I jerk my head for him to join me. Hands clasped behind his back with that lazy smile I love so much, he ambles over. Any other guy would be thrown off balance knowing my brother might put a kibosh on us, but he doesn’t look at all nervous. I love that about him, too.

  God, I can’t believe he’s mine.

  “So?” he says quietly.

  Oh, I can’t resist fucking with him.

  I heave a big sigh, as if I’m about to drop a large bombshell. “Well, we had a talk. Laid it all out on the table. And then he brought up you and me.”

  “…And? Spit it out, woman, what did he say?”

  I lean in. “He’s cool, Florida.”

  Riot’s grin is broad. Then the smile quickly turns wicked when he sees that I was messing with him. “You rotten little minx.”

  He reaches for me, and I dance away.

  “Get over here, woman. You’re gonna pay.”

  Laughing, I race for the stairs to the second floor. “Come and get it, big boy.”

  He races after me, grabbing me around the waist and yanking me into him with a growl.

  “Hey! You can’t overexert me,” I tease. “I’m just getting over a concussion!”

  Yeah, right. My head doesn’t even hurt.

  “Nice try. You’re not getting out of this.” He crushes me to him, walking me backward down the hall toward his room and nipping my neck.

  At his door, he pushes me gently up against it and tips my face up. “Seriously, are you in pain? I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “God, no. I’m fine.” I slip my arms around him. “What are you waiting for, Florida?”

  He pushes his door open and hoists me onto his hips with a grunt. Riot strides into the room easily. I cup his face in my hands, wrapping my legs tightly around him.

  A moment later, he lays me out on his bed. He draws back, his gaze drinking me in. I hum wi
th satisfaction at that hungry, possessive look he’s giving me.

  “Fuck, I need you, baby,” he growls.

  I squirm into the bed, my sex already aching, and peel his cut off his shoulders, careful of the bandage.

  Riot flicks my hands away. “No touching. You know the rules.”

  My pussy clenches. I smirk and spread my arms across the bed. “The door’s still open,” I murmur.

  “I don’t care.” He spreads my legs and works open my pants, tugging them down to my knees. “You know me. I like an audience while I take what’s mine.”

  “Fuck, Riot. You’re going to kill me.”

  “Then you’ll die a happy woman.” His thumb traces my lips and I moan. His lips rake mine, and I let my tongue tangle with his.

  Between my legs, I feel his cock jerk, pressing against my core. He lets out a sexy groan against my mouth and I devour his kiss.

  “Eager wench.” He undoes his belt and pants with a few flicks of his wrists, then pulls my pants and panties the rest of the way off. “Spread your legs nice and wide. Let me see your pussy.”

  Panting, I spread my legs wider and he rewards me with a few swipes of his tongue over my sex.

  “Oh, God.” I run my hands through his hair, bringing his mouth closer. A few hot lashes of his tongue over my clit and I almost come.

  Riot rumbles a warning and shoves my arms to the mattress. The iron grip of his hands pinning my wrists down makes me wetter.

  I moan, but relax into the mattress, compliant.

  “Good girl. Fuck, you’re so beautiful, Red.”

  His cock teases my core. I pant again, waiting, suspended in that moment between anticipation and the perfect bliss that is him.

  Riot watches me with hooded eyes as he slides into me with agonizing slowness.

  “Fuck, yes,” I groan.

  He hums in his throat as if the sound makes him crazy. Then he leans over me, sliding in and out of me slowly while he sucks on my neck and licks my ear.

  Every stroke drives me wilder. I lie there, letting my man plough in and out of me. He moans and takes his time, circling his hips and stroking nerves I never knew were there.

  I draw my knees up to his hips, rocking mine eagerly.