by Nicole Fox
“I know it’s not helping me to worry, but I’ve just never felt so tense. From everything Skid told me about Stomper, he’s not right in the head. There’s no telling what he might do.” She put her fingers in her mouth and ripped at a nail.
“That may be so, but Park and Skid are tough. They know what they’re doing. You need to have a little confidence in them.”
Mina wanted to agree, but horrible scenarios kept running through her head. What if Stomper actually won the fight? Would he come to the clubhouse? Park had left a few men on guard, but they wouldn’t be enough to overwhelm the entire Sons of Chaos. She cradled her stomach in her hands and swallowed the nausea that wouldn’t leave her.
The thundering roll of motorcycles made them both jump to their feet. In the darkness, Mina couldn’t tell who was riding for the clubhouse. She could only see the headlights as they came barreling down the road and into the parking lot.
One of the men on duty must have recognized them, because he opened the garage door. Rose, Mina, and the other club girls flooded into the room to see Park and Skid roll up side by side. It made Mina’s heart rise, but it fell again when she saw how grim their faces were.
Park jumped off his bike and threw his gloves to the concrete. “Don’t think for a second that just because you helped get rid of the Sons that I forgive you!” Veins stood out on his forehead, and he gritted his teeth as he got in Skid’s face.
“That figures. I do something huge for you, something nobody else could have done, but I’m still not good enough for your precious daughter. I should have ridden off with the Sons while I had the chance. At least Stomper had a little respect for me.” Skid puffed out his chest, a dangerous sheen over his dark eyes.
Mina couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “Hey, this doesn’t have to be like this. I’m sure we can sit down and talk it over—”
“Stay out of this!” both men yelled, sending her skittering a few feet back in surprise.
“Listen, Mina, your dad is so high and mighty that he’s never going to let me be a part of your life. You’re going to have to leave the club for good. Let’s go.” Skid spoke with a commanding force and pointed at his bike, fully expecting her to get on it.
“But—”
“You’ll never get a foot out of this garage,” Park warned the younger man. “I’ll kill you before you ever take her anywhere.” He pulled a long folding knife out of his pocket and flung it open. The blade shone in the overhead lights.
“Stop it!” Mina screamed. She marched forward to stand between the two of them, pushing their chests apart. “Skid, if you love me like you say you do, then you’re just going to have to accept that my father loves me, too. He’s been trying to protect me, and that hasn’t been an easy job for him. I’ve certainly not made it any better.”
Park looked on with a pompous smile, but Mina turned to him next. “And you! After everything we’ve been through with this whole pregnancy, you’re still so caught up on Skid being with your precious baby girl that you can’t see what an asset he is to this club. You let him walk out of here the other day, and he damn near didn’t come back. I wouldn’t have forgiven you for that, you know. I love him, I’ve always loved him, and it’s time you understood that I can make my own decisions!” She was dizzy from her monologue, but she had never felt so powerful.
Park and Skid looked at each other, the tendons in their necks standing taut. She thought all was completely lost. It didn’t matter how hard she fought or how many trials these two men went through. She would never get them to get along.
But suddenly, Park and Skid started laughing. They clapped each other on the shoulder and turned to her with grins. “Okay, I guess that’s fine with me,” Park said. “Sound like the two of you have a lot to talk about. I’ll be in my office.” He headed off down the stairs, several of his men following.
“What? What the hell?” Mina could feel the heat rising off her face as she turned back to Skid. “Would you mind telling me what’s really going on here?”
“Like your dad said, you and I have a lot to talk about. Let’s go upstairs.” He took her by the hand and brought her upstairs to his room.
It felt so awkward to be there. It still smelled of him, even though he had been gone for a few days, but she had thought he would never be in it again. “I don’t really know what to say. I’m so pissed at you, for one thing.”
“Why?” he asked gently.
“You know.” She kept her back to him and her eyes to the floor.
“I admit that pretending we were going to fight wasn’t the nicest thing to do. Honestly, though, I think it was good for your dad and me. We’ve both realized that we’re going to have to get along for your sake and that of the baby. We got the last of our anger at each other out, and we’ll be fine from now on.” He came up behind her and wrapped his fingers around her hips bones. His hands slid forward until Skid had her completely enfolded in his arms. “I know I wasn’t gone all that long, but I missed you.” He kissed the back of her neck.
The tingle that ran down her spine reminded Mina of just how much she had missed him as well. She turned in his embrace to face him. “I missed you, too, Skid. So much. For a little while there, I thought that was it. I thought everything I’d ever wanted was gone for good. I can’t quite believe you’re back.”
“Then maybe I should prove it to you.” He bent his head, slowly coming in to kiss her fully. His lips were warm and welcoming, an invitation to a black hole of love and passion that she was ready to fall back into.
Mina parted her lips. Though she couldn’t use her words to explain to him, she could still use her tongue. His arms wrapped more tightly around her waist as she deepened their kiss, all her longing for him over the last two days coming to a crescendo in that moment. She brought her arms up to his shoulders and folded her hands behind his neck. “I’m still not sure I’m convinced,” she whispered.
“That’s all right. I’ve got all the time in the world.” Skid stripped her clothing from her, sending it in all directions around the room.
She did the same to him, ready to feel his body against hers again and to know that he really was still whole. “You could have gotten yourself killed out there, you know.”
“But I didn’t. I couldn’t tell you, Mina, but when I left, I made a promise to myself that I would come back to you.” His hands brushed her breasts as his eyes roved down her naked body. “I wasn’t sure how I would do it, but I knew that I had to. I can’t live without you, Mina. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” She studied the broad set of his shoulders and the deep black tattoos that began there and twisted down his arms. They were abstract, not of specific pictures or themes but something that expressed exactly who he was. Deep, dark, complicated, worth loving. She traced them with her fingertips down his rippling abs, dropping to her knees in front of him and taking his hardness in her mouth.
Skid sucked air in through his teeth, surprised. “That’s one hell of a welcome home.”
Mina continued her work, pulling his member as deep as she could into her mouth until his head touched the back of her throat. He was hot and full, and she ached for him, but she needed to give him something first. Her relationship with Skid had been complicated, but she knew they could simplify it when it was just the two of them.
He brought his hands up to tangle them in her hair, throwing his head back and thrusting his hips forward. She slid his cock slowly in and out of her mouth as she ran her hands up his strong thighs. Skid was nothing but muscle, and she relished the way his body felt under the touch of her hands. As she grew wet between her legs, she sucked harder, building up a faster rhythm as his grip on her hair tightened and the movement of his hips picked up speed.
“Mina …” he moaned.
She answered him, her voice little more than a vibration across him.
He gasped his pleasure. “You’d better not keep doing that, or you’ll never get your turn.”
Pul
ling back and smiling up at him, she raised an eyebrow. “You promise?”
“No, come here.” Skid drew her to her feet but didn’t stop there. His hands cupped her under her buttocks and easily lifted her off the floor, setting her on his hardness as she clung to his neck. In the moonlight that streamed through the window, he guided her up and down on his shaft. “I’m never going to stop needing you, Mina. I’ll always have my duties to the club, and that’s not going to change, but you’re the only thing I really need. You, and our child.” He bent his head to draw her breast into his mouth.
Now it was Mina’s turn to throw her head back. Suspended in midair as she was, she had little control over their movements. But Skid was manipulating her in all the right ways. While Skid had been gone, she had felt numb and distant, like she was no longer part of the world. Her body was coming back to life in his hands, and she never wanted to leave their bedroom. “I know,” she murmured. “I understand.”
Skid took several steps back until his legs brushed the mattress and he laid back, putting Mina on top of him. She spread her hips wider to let his cock sink deeper into her, bracing her hands and knees against the bed as she pulsed on top of him. Her breasts were in his face now, and he took them in his hands, kissing each nipple in turn and letting them caress his cheeks.
“You’re so beautiful.” As his hands traveled down her ribs and caressed the curve of her ass, she believed him. Mina had never felt so beautiful in her life as she did when she was with him. Electric surges shot through her, and she slammed her hips into him, burying his cock inside her where it belonged.
Skid bit his lower lip, seeing what she was doing. “Get what you need, baby. That’s what I’m here for.”
“Oh, I will,” she promised. Mina plowed against him, ensuring that his cock hit that special spot inside her where she needed him the most. “And don’t you ever leave me again.”
He grinned. “I won’t. I swear.”
Her back arched as her body took what it needed, waves of pleasure taking over every muscle until she was no longer in control. Sparks burst behind her eyelids, and it was all she could do to keep from crying out.
Skid’s fingers dug into her flesh as her body demanded that he respond, and he moaned as he moved his hips against her. “Mina …”
“Skid …”
As one, they exploded.
Chapter Twenty
Skid
It had been about two months since Stomper had run off with his tail between his legs. Skid had easily taken back his position as vice president of Satan’s Legion, and he knew now that he would never leave it again. He watched the other members carefully, keeping them in line if there was even the slightest hint of them getting out of control. They would never again have a man like Animal in their midst, who would gladly betray his brethren if he thought it was to his advantage. Jewel had been dismissed as well. They couldn’t risk having someone like her around if she was only going to stress Mina out.
Skid had been up since the early hours going over financial reports and checking in with his men. He had sent patrols out to monitor the neighborhood and make sure Stomper and his ilk hadn’t returned. There had been no sign of them, but he felt it was best to make sure their turf was protected. They had become comfortable with their command of the area, and it had left them vulnerable before. He went downstairs and knocked on Park’s door.
“Come in.”
Park had his laptop out, and he had perched a small pair of reading glasses on the end of his nose. They made him look older, but the sparkle that had returned to his eyes recently counteracted it. White light from the computer reflected in the lenses. He glanced at Skid. “Anything interesting to report?”
“Thankfully, no.” Skid sat down in the chair across from him and leaned back, feeling satisfied in a job well done. “Everything seems very quiet, just the way I like it.”
“Your patrols aren’t finding anything?”
Skid shook his head. “I think some of them hope to, just so they’ll have something to do. As much as I like peace, I think they’re getting a little bored. We’ll have to come up with some sort of entertainment for them.”
The president nodded. “There’s a drag race next month. Maybe you should enter. They could cheer you on.”
“Me? No way. I don’t think Mina would let me do anything even remotely dangerous right now.”
Park gave a snort of a laugh. “Yeah, ’cause she’s so easy to keep out of trouble herself.”
“True, but I’m sure some of the other guys would be more than happy to enter instead. Grill’s pretty good with engines; he’s probably got something in the works. Besides, I’ve got this.” He handed a printout to his boss.
He examined it with raised eyebrows. “Explain this to me.”
“I’ve been talking to the manager of this concert venue. They need security, but the guys they get from the security contractor aren’t very good. They’re old guys who are too afraid to control the crowd, or young guys who don’t know what they’re doing. Satan’s Legion could have a long-term contract with them as security. It means free shows for any of the guys who work, the joy of exercising a little power over rowdy concertgoers, and a steady influx of money from a legitimate source.”
Park looked up at him and slowly smiled. “You’re a genius, you know that? You have my full approval for this. Get it started as soon as you can. Oh, and tell me what you think of this.” He turned the computer around, showing him a picture of a crib in dark wood with a matching changing table. “Think Mina would like that?”
Skid grinned. “I’m sure she would.”
“Good. Don’t tell her.”
“No problem, boss.” Skid went back upstairs in search of Mina. It had been a long and busy day and he was ready to spend a little time with her. He found her in the garage, bent over that damn bike again. She was just as tempting as she had been when he had found her in that position before, with her sexy round ass in the air.
“I thought your father told you to stay away from the heavy machinery,” he reminded her.
Mina stood up and glared at him playfully. “As if either one of you could stop me.” She tossed aside a wrench and picked up a pair of pliers.
“Do you need help with any of it?” he asked, scratching the back of his head and hoping she said she did. It would give him a good excuse to do the work for her and keep her from doing anything she shouldn’t be.
“Not at all. As a matter of fact …” She made a few quick movements with her hand before standing up and straddling the bike. She kicked it to life, and it purred underneath her. With her rounded belly and that revving engine, she was the sexiest thing Skid had ever seen.
He leaned over and shut off the bike, keeping his body close to hers. “You had better get off that goddamn bike right now,” he growled.
Mina’s brows furrowed and she tipped her head back slightly. “Seriously?”
“Yes. Otherwise I’m going to have to bend you over and do you right here.”
She maneuvered her legs with a quick motion that turned her so that she was backwards on the bike. Her legs wrapped around him seductively. “And what’s wrong with that?”
“Damn it, Mina…” But he couldn’t resist her. She knew that, and she was manipulating him, but he had no choice but to let her. Before he could think about it, he had ripped down the front of her shorts and was inside her, bracing the two of them on the bike with his feet on the floor, pounding into her.
Mina looked up at him, the danger of what they were doing a flare of fire in her eyes. She bit her lip as she looked down and watched him push inside of her, clearly enjoying herself even though he would have to make it quick.
Skid increased his thrusts and closed his eyes, concentrating on the way she felt around him. He needed her, just as he always did, and even if that meant doing her in the garage amidst all the motor oil and bike parts, then so be it. The tension built inside him and exploded like a mushroom cloud, racking his
body with pleasurable spasms that only Mina could induce. “You are a very bad girl,” he admonished.
“Yeah, but you knew that,” she said with a wink.
“I think it’s time we went home,” he said. “I’m not sure I’m done with you yet, and I require a little more privacy to do what I really want.”
She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, pretending to think about it. “I guess that’s all right, but first, I’m hungry. I think you’ve worn me out for the day.”
Skid laughed. It was something he did a lot more of these days, and usually because of Mina. She was quirky and funny and sexy, and now that he could love her openly, he kept discovering just how wonderful she was. “Are you sure about that? There aren’t any other rules you feel like breaking?”
She shook her head. “No. I guess you know how to tame my wild side. I’ll be a good girl, at least until you get me some food and I get my energy back.”