“I’m not. Thank God you came to see me! Otherwise I’d be stuck here by myself and scared to death. Don’t you know there’s no place I’d rather be than with you? And if we can spend this time alone, focusing on nothing but each other, and our pleasure, then that’s the best Christmas ever?”
“You don’t even need this then?” he asked as he got up from his spot at the table and pulled a large bag out from behind her desk.
If there was one thing Layne O’Connor didn’t do, it was wrap gifts. He was a bag man all the way.
“This is huge,” she giggled as she took a bite of her omelet and then set the bag down on the ground, to start taking the tissue paper out.
“I hope you like it.”
It wasn’t often Layne second-guessed himself anymore, but with her, gifts were still one of his major stresses.
“Oh my God,” she gasped as she pulled a leather bag out of the gift bag. “It’s that Kate Spade writer’s bag I’ve been wanting!”
He blushed. “Yeah, so now you can carry all your shit at once in it, and be basic while you do.”
She giggled as he called her basic. It was a running joke between the two of them. She did love her coffee and her leggings.
Reaching over, she hugged him tightly. “I’ll let the basic comment slide just because I love this so much,” she let go, and ran her hands along the leather binding. Her eyes glowed, she’d wanted this bag for a very long time, but in her new life, it felt extravagant to spend as much money as this bag cost.
Clearing her throat, she got up, and walked over to her desk, pulling out an envelope.
“If we’re going by sheer size alone, mine wins,” Layne teased as she grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down onto his lap.
“Big things can totally come in small packages,” she protested as she put the envelope in his hand, and watched as he tore it open.
His chin dug into her shoulder, and she could almost feel it drop when he pulled the piece of paper out and took a good look at it. “A gift certificate for those pipes I want? But you said they weren’t sexy,” he hugged her tightly, kissing her on the cheek.
“And you said I didn’t know because I hadn’t seen you on a bike with them.”
Grabbing her hand in his, he entwined their fingers together. “Maybe I can be on your next book cover then, baby. Me and my sexy pipes.”
She laughed, thinking of the absurdity of the conversation. This never would have happened if their paths hadn’t crossed in a dark time when she feared for her life. “I’m glad I came here, and I’m glad you protected me.”
He got serious, pushing her hair back from her cheek. “You know I’ll always protect you. No matter what the situation. I can’t imagine a day without you, much less a Christmas without you. Hell, I never celebrated Christmas before you came along. You gave me life, Jess.”
“You gave me life too, because the one I was living before, wasn’t one. We both got damn lucky.”
And neither one of them could argue with that.
Part Two
Steele & Christine
Chapter Six
Travis Steele, resident tech geek of the Heaven Hill MC rolled his head on his shoulders, hoping to loosen the tension he felt in his neck. People were driving him insane. Two days before Christmas and all of the guys were trying to surprise their wives, which meant he was keeping tabs on people more than usual. When really the only person he wanted to be keeping tabs on was his own wife. He looked down at his cell phone, sitting beside his mouse and saw he had a message from her.
Client is taking longer than I thought. I probably won’t be getting out of here until almost eight. Should I go to the house or meet you at the clubhouse?
He wanted to tell her to head to the house they’d bought in the past year, but he still had some things he had to do for the club. He sighed, running his hand over his chin, sucking harder than he needed to on the sucker in his mouth.
C’mon here. I still have some things I have to take care of. Let me know when you’re leaving so I can watch.
Steele pulled up a camera feed, documenting the time and what he saw on his spreadsheet. Sighing again, he picked his phone up and pressed a button so he could see his lock screen. A picture of him and Christine greeted him, one that had been taken a few weeks ago, before the craziness of the Christmas season had descended upon them. Just like he was busy with the guys, she was busy in her own salon, helping women look beautiful for nights out and special dates.
She loved what she did and he hated to begrudge her anything that made her happy, but on nights like this, he wanted her home at a decent hour. It made him nervous, especially with how cold and close to Christmas it was. She left the salon late, sometimes with a deposit, no matter how many times he told her it wasn’t smart to do that, and he fucking worried until she was in his arms again. The road to the clubhouse was dark and desolate, and even though he knew every move she made, had GPS on her car, phone, and watched her like a hawk when he could, he still fucking worried. Worried that someone could come take her away from him, worried that someone would try to rob her, worried that she’d come to her senses and realize she’d probably made a mistake in marrying a man who could never really say no to his club. They all counted on him, everybody told him that besides Tyler Blackfoot, he was the most important member, and some days he felt that pressure.
Today was one of those days and goddamn if he didn’t need to relieve some of it. Only problem was he wasn’t sure how.
Leaving the salon now, should be at the club in about forty-five minutes. Love you! <3
Christine waited patiently for Steele to text her back. She’d learned the hard way that leaving without waiting for the text telling her all was clear kind of put him in a bad mood. She had to grin. It wasn’t as if he were telling her what to do or he was controlling. Thank God. She’d had enough of that in her life. He did it from a place of love, a place of wanting to keep her safe and wanting to make her feel secure.
And secure she felt, because she knew no matter what he’d be watching her back, and if he couldn’t come for her, Jagger would. She had to grin thinking of her brother. She wondered what her sister-in-law was doing to get ready for the Christmas holiday. Deciding she would call her as soon as Steele gave her the okay, she glanced in the mirror.
Today had been a rough day and it showed. Frowning, she pushed her hands into her hair, fluffing it up a little. When that didn’t work, she grabbed her dry shampoo and held it to her roots, spraying liberally before flipping her head over and letting gravity do the work. When she popped back up, she grinned at her reflection, because she looked like she’d just gone two rounds with her husband.
Steele. He’d been tense for the last week. She wasn’t sure what was going on with him, but figured it probably had to be the fact he was on high alert, watching all the wives while all the men of the club planned Christmas surprises. A thought hit her, maybe she should plan a Christmas surprise for him.
Glancing at her phone, she saw he hadn’t texted her back yet, so she had time. Quickly walking to the storefront, she rifled through the lingerie they sold for a local woman. She was new to the business and Christine had agreed to sell some things for her on consignment. They were very well made, sexy without being crude, and from what everyone had said after buying them, they definitely revved a significant other’s engine. She dug through the shelf to see if her size was there, hoping like hell it was. When she landed on one set that was just perfect, she grabbed it and made a mad dash to the bathroom where she took off her clothes and put on the set. She kept an emergency makeup kit in the cabinet for times when she needed to freshen up before going to meet Travis for dinner or going out with friends after work. Grabbing what she needed, she went to work perfecting a smoky eye.
“You’re a genius, Chris,” she told herself as she applied mascara just as her cell phone beeped with an incoming message.
You’re good to leave. Love you too.
Grabbing her coat, she put it on and left the salon. With any luck, Steele wouldn’t know what hit him.
“How’s it going?” B’s voice reverberated in the car over the Bluetooth speaker system.
Christine had called her sister-in-law for moral support. She’d never been in your face sexy, not like Bianca had been, and now more than ever she needed to hear this was a good idea. While she’d been gung-ho as she’d left the salon, when her tires started eating up the miles to the clubhouse, she was starting to re-think her plan.
“It’s going,” Christine answered, gripping the wheel as she went forward with her plan. “Right now I’m on my way to hopefully christen Steele’s cave.”
“What!” B shrieked through the speakers loud enough it made Christine adjust the volume on the steering wheel.
“Oh, you heard me,” she felt stupid saying it again.
“I did hear you,” B yelled. “But I can’t believe you said those words. Ohmigod, does he know?”
“No! And don’t be texting him, giving him any ideas, either. He’s been really on edge the past week or so, and we keep joking that we’re going to christen the cave, but it never happens. I feel like that would be the Christmas gift to end all Christmas gifts,” she bit her lip as she waited for her Bianca’s reply.
“Girl, you are going to blow his mind. You’ll have to text me and let me know how it goes.”
Christine shook her head. She got texts about Bianca and Jagger’s sex life all the time, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to share as much information as Bianca did. “I don’t know if I can do that or not. What if it’s bad?” she asked in a small voice. “What if I’m really bad at seducing him?”
“Walk in there like you own the fuckin’ place.”
“But I don’t own it,” she argued. “That’s Travis’ spot. We all know it. I feel like I’m walking onto some sacred, hallowed ground.”
Bianca’s voice went lower, fiercer, and Christine could imagine the look of determination on the other woman’s face. “I’m telling you. Walk in there and do what you have to do. Take it and him by the balls. He’ll never be able to look at that chair the same way again.”
Those words were exactly what Christine needed to hear, the boost of confidence she needed in order to make her plan work and they calmed her nerves enough that she felt excited again.
“I’m pulling into the clubhouse, so I gotta go, but thank you for the pep talk.”
“Hey, anytime, what are sisters for? And don’t forget to let me know how it goes.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” she was careful to ignore the request. Quickly she hung up the phone after telling her goodbye. She got out of her car, squared her shoulders, and walked towards the front door of the clubhouse like she owned it.
Ready to go take her husband and his room by the balls. Or something like that.
Chapter Seven
Steele glanced at the outside camera. He knew Christine should be getting there soon, and breathed a sigh of relief as he watched her get out of her car and make her way to the front door of the clubhouse. He finally felt like he could breathe again. She was in the same building with him and he didn’t have to worry about her being on the road or downtown by herself. Clicking on the other cameras he made sure everyone was in for the night, ready to spend a few hours with his lady.
As he was about to shut the computer down, he heard a small knock on the door. He left it half ajar most days because he didn’t want to be disturbed, but wanted people to feel like they could come in if they needed to. He’d know that knock anywhere though.
“C’mon in, babe. I’m just shutting everything down in here.”
She was quiet as she came through the doorway and he wondered if she’d had a bad day. Normally she was bursting with stories to tell, ready to clue him in on the hair she’d done, and the gossip she’d heard. He was constantly amazed at the amount of things people told her, just blurted out in her chair. Some of them were small, but others he knew could get major players in Bowling Green in big trouble. Luckily, she was trustworthy and he’d never break her confidence unless he had to in order to keep her safe. He hoped someone hadn’t hurt her feelings.
“You okay?” he asked as he continued to shut down links, leaving open the ones he knew would alert him if something happened. He could see her in his periphery, stepping inside and shutting the door.
“Yeah, just a long day,” she sighed.
He hated that tired note in her voice, wished she would let him take care of her, but she loved to work. Being independent was important to her and after the way she’d been raised, he’d never take that away from her.
“Good thing it’s over now. What do you say we go take a nice, relaxing bath?” He’d figured out quickly in their relationship that was the one thing guaranteed to take her mind off of anything bothering her.
“I think we’ll definitely need to take one later,” she answered his question.
Clicking off the last of his links, he finished turning off most of his set up. “What do you mean later?” he asked as he turned around, his mouth dropping as he took in what stood before him.
“I think we’ll probably be getting a little dirty.”
She’d opened her long coat and underneath it she wore the sexiest bra and panty set he’d ever seen in his life. Where had this woman come from? He opened his mouth to ask, but then closed it, afraid it would hurt her feelings. “I’d love to get dirty with you.”
She dropped her coat. “C’mon then.”
It was the only invitation he needed, those words and that look in her eyes. Christine had this look she gave him when she wanted him to fuck her hard but she didn’t want to come right out and say it. A lot of times she couldn’t bring herself to ask for it, even though she wanted it. She had that look tonight. And he knew he’d be more than happy to oblige.
Getting up out of his computer chair, he stalked towards her, letting her see the desire in his eyes. He wore it like a shield of armor, the same way he wore his cut. It was a source of pride for him, a source of deep passion that he’d never allowed himself to have with anyone else. Sure he’d had his share of women, all the men in the club had. They were a hot commodity, every woman wanted to be the one to tame them, and he thanked God every day he’d found the one for him.
“Did you have this planned?” he asked softly.
The room wasn’t big and he’d already made his way over to her. Placing a hand beside her head, he leaned in close enough he could feel her breath on his lips.
“No,” she bit her lip, shaking her head. “This was so spur of the moment I had to call B and have her not let me back out.”
He chuckled, running a hand down her arm, clasping their fingers together. “So should I be prepared for B to be nosy?”
“When is she not nosy?” she retorted, laughing along with him.
Taking his hand off the wall, he cupped her cheek in his hand, caressing her jaw. “What brought this on?”
“Merry Christmas?” she said it as a question and with a wide smile on her face.
“Really?” he had a hard time believing that. She didn’t like to use sex as a reward or a gift. Not after the way she’d lived. “Somehow I don’t believe that.”
“Really,” she wrinkled her nose. “Well, kind of half and half. You’ve been so stressed lately and so tightly wound, you need to relax,” she ran a hand down his t-shirt covered chest, stopping as she encountered the buckle at his waist. It didn’t stop her though as she continued her trek down, cupping the erection so heavy in his jeans. “Maybe release a little bit of that tension you’ve been carrying around. And it is almost Christmas, so why not?”
The tension he’d been carrying vibrated in the room between them. She’d never been so right about the tension he carried. It was enough to make his shoulders tight and his head heavy.
“So,” she was saying. “Let me make you feel good Travis, let me take away all that stress.”
It was tempting, but
he’d never been a selfish lover before and he’d be damned if he was going to start now.
Grasping her around the waist, he lifted her up so that her legs circled his own as he walked them backwards to the chair he loved to sit in.
“Fuck only making me feel good. How about I make us both feel good, baby. Merry Christmas to both of us. How’s that sound?” He asked as he had a seat and helped her situate herself so that her knees straddled his waist.
He felt her hands go back to the belt buckle at his waist. “Sounds great to me. Let’s get you out of these,” she gave him a smile.
The smile was pure evil and he couldn’t help it. He moved one hand behind her neck, pulling her so that their lips met in the hottest kiss they’d ever had. Something about the way the kiss made her grind on his cock, letting him feel the wetness at her core had him ready to blow. Ready to get this over with and use no finesse. That would be okay right? A no-holds-barred rush to the finish line for both of them. His tongue dueled with hers, and she breathed deeply through her nose, making little noises.
With everything he had, he hoped everyone in the clubhouse was asleep or in for the night and they wouldn’t be able to hear what was going on in his cave, because he had a feeling the chair would be creaking in just a few minutes. Maybe even seconds.
Their fingers tangled together as they both worked to rid him of his pants, tongues fighting for purchase inside each other’s mouths, breaths being shared as the two of them fought to breathe. Standing up, he grasped her ass and wrapped her legs above the waistband of his jeans.
“Hold on around my neck,” he told her as he reached under her bottom and undid his belt buckle, sliding out of the clothes that covered his lower body.
A part of him said he should take the cut off, but there was something about them getting freaky with it on. Reaching up, he ripped the panties off her body and sat them back down in the chair, situating her again so that her legs straddled his lap.
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