by Debra Kayn
Before she could get her arms out of the straps, Thad was on her, opening a condom.
"My belt, babe." He spit the piece of foil out of his mouth.
She undid the buckle and ripped every button holding his Levi's on with a furious tug that brought out a chuckle from Thad. Slipping her hand between his stomach and the waist of his boxers, she brought out his hard cock, stroking the length and squeezing the width.
He groaned, going up on his knees. She let go and lifted her head to look at him.
Still dressed and wearing his Notus leather jacket, he appeared larger and fiercer tonight. She curled her fingers over the edge of his jacket and tugged him back down, capturing his lips. Her hips rose off the bed, and she shifted her pelvis around until his cock settled between her legs.
"Now," she said, against his mouth. "Do. Me. Hard."
He thrust into her. She moaned as her body screamed with pleasure. Thad withdrew, plunged, and pulled back before she could bounce back from the shock. The roughness, the pressure, the invasion excited her more. She slipped her hands underneath his shirt. He plunged, moving her body with his force. Her nails scratched his back trying to find purchase. He arched on a growl at the sharp pain, and she furiously rubbed his skin.
"No, do it again," he said, the husky timbre of his voice coiled her insides tighter.
She lightly scratched, lifting her hips, taking him deeper inside of her. Her pussy spasmed around him. She needed more. Harder. Faster. Raw.
The emptiness inside of her that came when Thad and her schedules were different was almost unbearable at times. Only with him did she feel complete and content.
She looked up at Thad. "I need you."
He stilled above her. His gaze softened and became possessive. She had never admitted that before because she never needed anyone.
Thad transformed in front of her. His arms, planted on each side of her and braced on the bed, hardened. He reached down, hooked his hand behind her knee, and brought her leg higher, giving him more room.
"I'm going to love you," he said.
She shook her head. "Don't say—"
"Didn't say it. I'm promising you that I am going to love you." He brought his knees up closer to her ass and without taking his gaze off her, he plunged, over and over.
Under his control, her body flailed on the bed like a ragdoll. Every thrust scooted her on the comforter. She raised her arms above her head and braced her hands on the headboard, wanting to feel every inch of him driving into her, pushing her tolerance, branding his body to hers.
Her feet slapped his back under the forceful rhythm he set. His eyelids lowered, and she bit down on her lip, barely containing the moan erupting from her mouth over how sexy he looked.
Aroused.
Hot.
Determined.
She panted, holding her orgasm at bay until what Thad gave her became bigger and stronger than anything she could handle.
Her orgasm exploded inside of her.
She arched, her head pressed into the mattress as her body spiraled, quivered, and rocked with pleasure. "Thad..."
"Yeah." He pounded into her.
Her pussy constricted. "Thad..."
He groaned and plunged deep into her pussy, then held still. Inside of her, his cock pulsed. Sensitive from him fucking her, she shivered, pushed past pleasure to wonderful
Thad lowered his body to his elbows and kissed her, leaving his forehead on hers. "Babe, I—"
She pressed her thumb to his mouth. "I heard you. I just can't...handle anymore today. But, I heard you."
He nodded and rolled off her. Exhausted, she lay naked on the bed. Her legs spread wide. Her arms out to her sides. Her body completely, utterly sated.
Thad came back to the room with his jeans buckled. She rolled to her side, bunching the pillow under her head.
"Tired?" He approached the bed and stumbled to a stop. "Shit."
She sat up with a start. "What's wrong?"
He lowered himself to his knees. "I kicked your phone under the bed. It must've fallen out of your jeans."
She looked around, and her chest warmed. In her hurry and Thad's eagerness to strip her down to naked, there were articles of clothing all over his room.
"Got it." He straightened to his feet and stuck out his arm before pulling the phone back closer to him without handing it over. Thad frowned at the screen, looked at her, and looked back down at the cell. "Jesus Christ," he mumbled.
"What?"
He turned her phone around and said, "Who is this?"
He must've woke up her phone when he kicked it under the bed because the picture on her screen was the last thing she was looking at downstairs when he'd come home. She raked her teeth over her bottom lip. She hadn't had time to clear the screen.
"Alexander Grimaldi," she said, crawling off the bed and finding her shirt on the floor.
"Babe?" Thad's voice lowered. "You have his eyes and his smile."
She hugged her clothes to her stomach and sat back on the edge of the mattress. "I know."
She just didn't know what she was going to do with that information.
Chapter 27
The doorbell rang for the third time that morning. Thad set the bottle of oil he'd brought in from the garage on the kitchen counter.
"Babe, don't get that," he shouted, grabbing a water bottle out of the fridge and walking to the living room.
Lena, hands latched behind her head, pulled herself into a sit-up. Her face red from the exertion. He tossed her the water. She'd been exercising for the last hour. First, some kind of jumping in place, except her hands remained on the floor and her ass in the air. Then, she ran up and down his stairs until he wondered if she'd wear a path in the carpet runner. Now, he'd caught her doing sit-ups.
"Thanks." She cracked the top of the bottle and drank deeply while sitting on the floor.
He stepped over to the entryway, looked out the peephole, and opened the door. "Hey."
Wayne, Chuck, and Glen strolled inside, taking off their jackets and dripping water on the floor. He looked outside. It was pouring rain.
"Bad timing?" Thad stepped into the living room, knowing they'd follow.
Lena walked over to him and rubbed his stomach. "I'm going to go upstairs."
"Stay," interrupted Wayne. "Gomez called me. He was on his way over to your co-worker's house, or her parents' house, I think he said. It looks like you guys weren't the only ones to have a drive-by."
Lena pressed her hand to her chest. "Which one? Yvonne? Is she okay?"
"I never got a name. I happened to be talking to Gomez about something else, and he'd received a call while on the phone with me. He told me enough to make sure we rode over here and stayed until we hear more." Wayne looked at Thad. "Clara, Gracie, and Ingrid are at Vavoom's. Pauly's keeping an eye on the building. He'll call if we're needed."
Pauly owned the bike rental place across the street from Vavoom's. Ingrid worked there four days a week, and her boss had proven himself a trusting man. Thad slipped his hand into Lena's and sat with her on the couch. The others took their own seat around the room.
"I need to call Yvonne," whispered Lena.
"Later. You don't want to distract the police or put Yvonne in danger from what needs to be done." Thad put his arm around her.
"This makes me mad." She pushed off the couch. "I'm going to go take a shower."
Thad let her go. Lena wasn't one who showed her emotions in front of others. Even with him, she kept her feelings wrapped tightly inside of her. At first, it was sexier than hell. Now it was worrisome.
"Is she going to be okay?" Glen flicked the toothpick he had between his teeth up and down with his tongue.
Thad rubbed his jaw and sighed. "Eventually. When this bullshit is over. I think I should make another meeting with Billy and force some answers out of Tigres. The hell with the cops not wanting us to get involved. We can put a little pressure on him and let him know I don't appreciate my house riddled with bu
llet holes."
"It's an active investigation." Chuck grimaced. "It'll be safer to go after them when the police aren't involved."
"It could be too late by then." Thad stood and paced, unable to sit still. "We didn't wait when Gracie was kidnapped by a serial killer and found out it was the man who'd killed my sister or when Ingrid's ex-boyfriend was hunting her down. Or, with the handful of men we've had to take out."
"What did you do?" asked Lena behind him.
He straightened, shocked at Lena's presence in the room. Looking at his MC brothers, validating their loyalty, he turned slowly to face Lena. She was supposed to be upstairs taking a shower.
"Thad?" Lena walked down the last half of the steps and approached him. "Did you kill those men you mentioned?"
"We're not talking about those men. We're talking about Tigres coming after you." His fingers curled into his palms, and he straightened them. "If you're asking if I'd kill anyone who wants to hurt you, then yes. I would."
She shook her head. "I heard you say you went after the men who hurt Gracie and Ingrid. Are the men still alive?"
He gritted his teeth and refused to answer her. Notus Motorcycle Club survived by keeping club business between the five members. It was only one of the reasons why they excluded every other biker who approached them wanting to wear a patch. Wayne, Chuck, Glen, Rich, and him had a past that had proven their loyalty. They trusted no one else when it came to Notus business.
"Oh, Thad," she whispered, her gaze softening as understanding dawned on her.
He refused to discuss his actions with her. Anything that happened within the club would never touch her.
"Babe, go take your shower," he said softly.
She lifted her chin. The cords in her neck convulsed as she swallowed. She'd been through a lifetime of hell and hidden her feelings. That's what she fell back on with him. She wouldn't let him see how even questioning him filled her with fear, but he knew. He could feel her trembling from three feet away.
Lena turned and walked up the stairs with precise steps, not running, not slowing. Straight forward, one step in front of the other as if she controlled the whole damn situation.
"Motherfucker," mumbled Wayne. "Is this going to be a problem?"
"With Lena?" Thad shook his head. "I'll take care of her."
"I'll trust that you do." Wayne dipped his chin.
From the beginning, Wayne had taken the leadership role. As a child, he'd introduced them all and declared them blood brothers at six years old. During Thalia's kidnapping, Wayne had kept them all from going out and killing everyone who tried to stop them from finding Thad's sister and kept them level headed while the police questioned them all. The public eye was always on them because they were bikers. They were guilty before they were innocent.
Stereotypes never went away, because there was always some truth to the rumors.
Because of overhearing a conversation meant only for Notus members, Lena would now have her own assumptions about him and would first see him as guilty. It was human instinct.
The doorbell rang. Thad exhaled and answered the door. Finley, from Port Loaders, stood under the eave out of the rain.
"What's up, Fin?" Thad moved back, letting him inside.
Finley nodded his chin at the others. "The wife bought a pool table for the garage. It's in the back of my truck in my driveway. Do you think you could come over and help me get it in out of the rain? I threw a tarp over it until I can drum up enough people to help."
No one knew what he was dealing with or that he couldn't leave because Lena needed him. "Damn, man, I can't. We're waiting for the lieutenant from St. John's P.D. to call us."
"Shit. A missing person?" Finley shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "That's not good."
"We don't know yet. We're waiting to hear." Thad let him assume what was going on.
Finley nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'll go over and see if Carson can help."
"Sorry, man," said Thad.
"Not a problem." Finley stepped over to the door. "Hope everything works out. See you Monday at work."
Thad waited until they were alone again and walked back to the couch. Before he could sit, his phone vibrated. Expecting it to be Gomez, he answered and heard Maureen say hello.
"Hey, Maureen." Thad looked at Wayne, knowing he'd be interested in why the waitress at Vavoom's Bar would be calling. The Notus women were at the bar.
"Do you still have that snake for the toilet?" asked Maureen.
The pressure in his chest eased. "Yeah, it's in my garage."
"Thank, God." Maureen laughed. "Can Paxton come over and get it real fast on his break?"
Thad covered the phone and spoke with Wayne. "They need the plumbing snake at Vavoom's. Do you want Paxton to leave the girls or one of us to take it over there?"
"I'll take it. Glen and Chuck can wait here with you." Wayne stood and walked out of the room.
Thad relayed the message to Maureen and disconnected the call. Pulled in different directions, he needed to do something besides sit on his ass at home. The fucking world never stopped because he needed it to slow down. His friends needed him. Lena needed him. His club needed him. He couldn't let any of them down.
Glen rubbed his mouth. "Bro, sit down. I know it's hard, but Lena is the only one you need to take care of. Let the club help."
He understood what Glen was saying, but only one person could help him.
"Have a beer or change the oil on my bike, if you want. It's in the garage." Thad lifted his hand toward the stairs. "I'm going to deal with Lena."
He walked out of the room. At the top of the stairs, he stopped when Lena stepped out of the bathroom at the end of the hallway, wrapped in a towel. Her gaze flashed panic and then heated. He stalked to her, ripped the towel off her, picked her up, and carried her to the bedroom, kicking the door with his boot.
It took too long to talk and convince her he'd never hurt her. She hated hearing promises anyway and never quite believed him when he said he wasn't going anywhere.
But, she understood fucking. He'd prove to her that he could be trusted and that she should forget about what she'd heard.
Chapter 28
After calling Yvonne, Gabi, and Shannon the day after Yvonne's parents' house was shot at by Tigres and making sure they were all okay, Lena walked into the living room at Wayne's house and was intercepted by Mrs. Bowers. She held the plastic Rubbermaid bin she carried tighter. Thad was only going to be gone an hour, and she'd decided to do laundry to speed up the time until he got home.
But everywhere she turned in the house, Thad's mom was trying to help her.
"I've got it." Lena smiled to soften her refusal. "It won't take me long to fold the clothes."
"We can do it together." Mrs. Bowers walked beside her to the couch. "That way when Thaddeus and his dad get back, you don't have any chores to do."
Thad had gone with his dad, taking his father's truck, to pick up more of her clothes at her house. She'd wanted to go with to pick out the belongings she needed, but Thad wanted her to stay at his house. Considering he'd been laying on top of her with his cock between her legs when he'd made that request, she hadn't put up much of an argument.
She set the tub beside the couch and stepped around it when her stomach rolled and rebelled. Covering her mouth, she ran up the stairs and into the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time to lose the contents of the breakfast she'd consumed.
Left gagging, she spit the burning acid that came up in her throat. Looking away from the toilet bowl, she flushed. Breathing through her nose, she tilted her head back and tried to calm her irritated stomach. She could no longer ignore how badly she was handling the stress. Her stomach had felt queasy the last couple of days. Though she hadn't thrown up before.
She washed her hands and face, brushed her teeth, and returned downstairs. Mrs. Bowers studied her with a frown. She took up her seat on the couch and joined in on folding the last few articles of clothing. A mi
x of her jeans and Thad's shirts, since he said he didn't worry about sorting colors.
"Did Thaddeus ever tell you he never graduated high school?" asked Mrs. Bowers.
Lena paused in folding one of Thad's shirt. Every question his mom asked caught her off guard. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to answer or if she was supposed to be judging Thad's decisions. It was as if Mrs. Bowers was trying to give her a crash course in everything Thad.
"No, he never mentioned it." She folded the arms of the shirt and then folded the body in half.
"Well, he got his certificate early. I think it was two weeks before the last day of school if I remember right. Of course, I never found that out until afterward." Mrs. Bowers shook her head and smiled. "I was so upset with him at the time. He never mentioned not going to graduation to his father or me, and since he had turned eighteen years old a month before that, the school never called me, because he was an adult. Anyway, his dad and I showed up at graduation, ready to cheer him on to his adult life, and they didn't even call out his name to walk up to the podium to receive his diploma."
She held Thad's jeans on her lap. "Why didn't he go?"
"Because of Wayne." Mrs. Bowers clicked her tongue and grabbed another article of clothing. "Wayne was short two credits. They offered to let him do a report...I can't remember what class it was for or what the whole story was, but Wayne had never liked school. He had a hard time studying once he hit high school. So, when he found out he was behind, he simply refused to do the make-up work and walked out of school without graduating. The same day, Thaddeus, Chuck, Glen, and Rich strolled into the office together and asked if they had enough credits to graduate. They did, so they made the decision not to participate in graduation. If Wayne wasn't going to be there, they weren't going to be there."
Lena folded the jeans. She'd attended her graduation alone. There was no one to send out invitations too, and her mom and brother never went. Not that she asked them. For her, graduation was only a way to get a piece of paper so she could move out and find a job.