by Sam Crescent
The waiter had already served her with some sparkling water, and Hardy had taken the same. He wasn’t drinking and leaving her to drive.
“Do you know what you want?” he asked.
You.
She kept that thought to herself. “No, not yet.”
“I’m going to have the steak.”
“Does it have steak?” she asked, staring down at the menu again. Rose couldn’t take it all in. There was so much going on making the whole meal surreal.
“They have something with beef. I’ll just ask for that.”
Rose giggled and closed the menu. “I’ll ask for the chef’s special.” She gave Hardy a wink.
Over ten years of not going out to dinner in a fancy place had her out of practice. She was used to being satisfied with only a burger or at the best a parmesan chicken.
Most of the time the women cooked for themselves, and she’d eaten more luxurious meals with Angel and the girls.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
He ran his hand down his chest, and she chuckled. “What?”
“Is it uncomfortable?” She had to admire and love his effort. This was all for her. There was no doubt that he was trying.
“A little. It’s something I’m going to get used to.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll get used to it.”
“I really appreciate you doing this.” She glanced around the restaurant, and her heart soared. “I’ve never been to this place before.”
“I’m glad I’m able to give you a happy memory.” He took her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
The waiter came toward their table, and she listened as Hardy stumbled over his order. She didn’t giggle or mock him. When the waiter turned his attention to her, Rose gave her order, smiling her thanks.
“It’s certainly different from ordering a burger,” he said.
“It is.”
“So, when is your next doctor’s appointment?”
Rose tilted her head to the side. “You want to come?”
“Yes. I want to be part of this. We did this together, and I’m not going to leave you alone.”
She pressed a hand to her stomach. “My first scan is in a couple of weeks. I don’t think we’ll get to see the sex of our baby, but we’ll see that he or she exists.”
“What do you want?” he asked.
Rose frowned. “Want?”
“Do you want a girl or boy?”
“I don’t care. I’ll love her or him no matter what. What about you?”
“I’m the same. Don’t get me wrong, if it’s a boy I’ll teach him about bikes, and take him for his first leather jacket. Hardy Junior. If it’s a girl, I’ll buy a rifle, and start boy proofing our house.”
Rose burst out laughing. “Boy proofing?”
“I’m a guy. I know it won’t take much imagination trying to get to our girl. She’ll be a looker, too, if she takes after her mother.”
“You’re being a charmer.”
“I’m being honest, baby. You’re a beauty, and always have been.”
“So you want to be part of our bump’s adventure?”
“Yes. I’ll be at the appointments, the classes. You name it, and I’ll be there.”
Rose took a sip of her sparkling water, and smiled at him. “You’re shocking me with this change.”
Hardy frowned, glaring down at their hands. “I can sit here and tell you over and over again how much of an asshole I was. The truth is we both know how much of an asshole I am.” He shrugged. “I can’t change what I was, but I can change what I am. I want to be the man for you. I want to earn your love and trust.”
“I love you, Hardy. I never stopped loving you.”
“And you’d have been a hell of a lot better off if you did.”
“Wow, this is not exactly a thrilling conversation,” she said, tucking some hair behind her ear.
“I’m sorry. I’ve never stopped loving you, and being here with you right now, this is exactly where I want to be.”
“Even with the suit?”
“The smile on your face is worth it.”
Rose looked away. She wasn’t used to so many compliments.
“I was, erm, I was thinking of doing some studying online. College classes,” she said, drawing the conversation away from the uncomfortable elements.
“What classes?”
“I don’t know. I’ve not picked what I’d like to study. It has been so long.”
“And you dropped out of college after you married me.”
“For some reason marriage and studying didn’t exactly go hand in hand. It was hard, and we dealt with it.”
“I’d like you to go back to college. I can pay for it. Money isn’t an issue.”
Rose licked her lips. “How is money? I mean, we’ve not had to worry about money for some time or anything like that. I guess I was wondering how we’re going to deal with a baby, and a pregnancy, hospital bills, college. The bills will mount up.”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“Will The Skulls be doing some of their runs?” She wasn’t an idiot. Rose knew exactly what those runs were all about. They ran drugs or guns. She’d once gone into the garage the night before a run, and she’d seen what Hardy did. The risk he put himself in scared her.
“The Skulls are getting out of that shit. It doesn’t mean we’re not still worried about a possible backlash from other clubs. We are. There are more than enough MCs out there to do the runs.”
“Why?” Rose asked.
“Why what?”
“Why are you getting out of it? After all this time?”
“It’s time. If we don’t get out and push our energies elsewhere we’re all going to end up dead. We’re not just a biker club trying to make a big payday. We’re all a family looking out for each other. The last couple of years, we’ve had so much loss, and everything has been crazy. We’re looking to change shit, be better, be safer for everyone.”
“I like that. We need to be safer, and happier than ever before.” Rose pressed a hand to her stomach. “We’ve got a baby to think about.”
“That we have. Lash is looking at setting up some businesses within Fort Wills. We’ve already purchased the land for the gym. The next stage is building it up, and putting the work together. We’ve got enough capital. I promise, baby. The last couple of years I’ve taken care of us. We’re good with expenses and shit. I promise,” Hardy said, smiling.
The rest of the meal went by with them talking about everything and nothing. She loved every second of it, the meal, Hardy, and the fact he was in a suit.
By the end of the night, she didn’t want it to end. They were climbing out of the car, and walking toward the house, and she stopped, turning toward him. “I loved tonight.”
He cupped her cheek, sinking his fingers slowly into her hair. “Me, too.”
She ran her hands up and down his chest, pressing his jacket together. “I like this. Thank you for doing this for me.”
Hardy pulled her in, pressing his lips to hers. She melted against him, opening her lips, and plunging her tongue into his mouth at the same time that he did with her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she held onto him tightly, not wanting to let him go.
He broke the kiss, moving his lips down her neck, sucking on her pulse. “We’ve got to stop, baby. I’ve only got so much strength when it comes to you.”
“I don’t want to wait. I need you, Hardy.”
She couldn’t wait for him anymore.
“Fuck, baby. I want to be the good man here,” Hardy said.
Rose chuckled against his neck. “Then give me what I want.”
She pressed kisses to his neck trying to coax him into her bed.
Hardy growled, picking her up in his arms.
Giggling and squealing, Rose held onto Hardy as he kicked into their house. He slammed the door closed, and called for Baker to lock the door behind them.
This was what she’d been missing, and moving o
n had never felt better.
****
“Give me the information I want,” Gash said. The prom was days away, and he didn’t want to be stuck around waiting for the information he wanted with people having fun.
Whizz looked toward Lash and Tiny, and Gash had enough. He’d done everything they asked, and now they were holding out on him.
“You promised me, Tiny. You promised me I could get my revenge. All I needed to do was give you what you need, and keep my nose clean. I’ve done all that shit, and now it’s my time,” Gash said.
Tiny stared back at him. “I know what I promised, and I’ve talked with Lash. We both know how much this means to you.”
“Then what is the fucking holdup?” Gash asked. “I’ve been sitting waiting around for this shit, and now you’re holding out on me.”
“I’m not holding out on you,” Tiny said. “Are you sure about this? Whizz couldn’t find the woman you actually wanted.”
“But you found Charlotte?” Gash asked.
His pulse raced as he looked at each man in turn. Lash kept staring at him, glaring. Gash didn’t give a shit.
“I found Charlotte,” Whizz said.
“She’ll lead me to who I want.”
Lash, Tiny, and Whizz stared at each other. He waited for them to come to whatever agreement they’d made.
“Whatever happens, this doesn’t fall back on the club. We’ll always have your back just like you always have our backs, but with regards to Charlotte, you don’t have the club’s backing,” Lash said.
“Fine. I don’t need the club to complete what I want to complete.”
Silence fell on the room before Lash grabbed a file that had been laid on the desk behind him. He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Gash. “There’s the information you need.”
Gash took the single sheet of paper, and thanked them.
“I need to do this,” Gash said.
“Then go and do it. We’re not going to stop you, and I hope you find peace, brother,” Lash said.
He shook Lash’s hand, pulling him in, and slapping him on the back. In that moment he was so damn happy. No one was going to stop him from getting what he wanted, not the club, not Charlotte, no one.
****
“What the fuck, Lash?” Whizz asked, turning on Lash the moment Gash left the room.
Lash held his hand up and gave Whizz back the file. “I’m not going to stop the brother from doing what needs to be done,” he said. “Gash is useless to me right now, and I can’t be done with his anger. He’s a ticking time bomb, and we’ve got a club full of women who are pregnant. I’m not willing to risk their safety with Gash. It’s our job to keep the club safe. He’s not safe.”
“What about Charlotte?”
“She’s not club property, and even though you hate it, she’s not my concern. However, I’ve not given Gash all of the paperwork. All Gash knows is where Charlotte lives. I didn’t give him anything else. He’s going to need to find out the hard way.”
Whizz didn’t agree, but thinking about Sally, he understood how important it was to have him out of the club.
Chapter Nine
Hardy didn’t stop and made his way toward their shared bedroom. In the distance he heard Baker cursing as he locked their main door. Pushing the bedroom door close, he placed Rose on the bed, and stood back.
She climbed off the bed and began to remove her clothes as he tugged his off. He didn’t break eye contact with her.
“I need you, Hardy.”
He almost came just at the sight of her wriggling her body. She’d filled out, and her hard edges had become soft.
“I’ve changed,” she said.
“I don’t have a problem, babe. I love the way you look now.” He closed the distance between them, wrapping his arm around her waist, and pulling her toward him. Pressing his face against her neck, he breathed her in. She was so soft, and he ran his hands up and down her body.
Sinking his fingers into her hair, he tilted her head back, and slammed his lips against hers. Plunging his tongue into her mouth, he melded with her.
Rose lifted her leg, and he gripped her thigh bringing her against him. It had been too long since he’d held her so close.
“I’m going to make love you tonight, Rose.”
“Yes, I want that. Please, I want you to make love to me.” She whimpered as he made kisses against her neck, moving down to the tips of her breasts. He took one of her nipples into his mouth, feasting on the beauty before him.
Biting onto her nipple, he sucked her in tightly, sawing the bud between his teeth.
She cried out, gripping his shoulders even tighter.
“You’re so responsive to me.” He ran his hand up her thigh, cupping her full ass. Tonight wasn’t going to be about him. It was going to be entirely about her.
Dropping her to the bed, he held his weight over her. Kissing from her lips, he moved down to take each of her nipples into his mouth. He didn’t touch her with his hands, only his lips and tongue. After sliding his tongue across her distended nipple, he sucked the tip before gliding his tongue across her body to take her other nipple into his mouth. Down he went, sliding his tongue down her body, slipping it into her belly button before going down to her pussy. He opened her thighs, giving him much better access to her cunt.
Opening the lips of her sex, he stared down at her beautiful cunt, and his mouth watered.
Sucking her clit into his mouth, he moaned at the taste of her.
“You taste so damn good,” he said, slipping his tongue down to plunder her cunt.
Rose cried out, and when he looked up, he saw she was clawing at the bedding beneath her.
“You’re so beautiful, baby. I can’t wait to see how you look swollen with my kid.”
“Yes,” she said, agreeing with him.
He slid two fingers inside her pussy watching as he fingered her clit. Her pussy tightened around his fingers, and he groaned at the tightness of her.
“It has been too long since I’ve been inside you.”
Only a month had passed since he’d been within her, but that was too long for Hardy.
“I can’t take much more.”
Closing the distance between them, he sucked her clit back into his mouth, flicking his tongue backwards and forward, going around and around, sucking her clit deep into his mouth.
“I can’t take much more. I’m going to come,” she said.
Her fingers sank into his hair, and Hardy slowly pumped in and out of her pussy, relishing her squeals as he took her over the edge. He didn’t stop even as she came down from her orgasm. Hardy kept her at the peak, and kept licking and sucking. He wasn’t going to give her the chance to pull away from him.
“Please, please, please,” she said, begging him over and over again.
Bringing her to a second orgasm, Hardy licked her excess cream before climbing on the bed. He took her hand within his, locking their fingers together. Staring into her eyes, he found her heat and slid inside. She groaned, arching up.
Her warm wet pussy surrounded his cock, and Hardy closed his eyes for a second to bask in the feel of her around him.
“I love you, Rose.”
She nodded, and when she went to say the words, he silenced her with a kiss. Hardy didn’t need her to say the words to him. He loved her without needing her saying the same.
Slowly, he pumped inside her, taking things to new heights of intensity.
“You feel so good,” Rose said.
He lifted away from her body, and stared down at his wet cock that was covered with her cum.
“This is the best feeling in the world, baby. Being inside you, having you beneath me, this is what I want more than anything. I’ve got to have you, and I don’t want it to ever stop.” He cried out as he slammed inside her, pressing his face against her neck.
Letting go of her hands, he wrapped his arms around her neck, holding her close. Rose scored his back with her nails, and he growled at th
e slight pain.
Going deeper, he knew it wasn’t going to be long before he found his release. Pulling away once again, he stared into her eyes, and watched her as he found his own completion. Rose moaned but didn’t come again. Guilt hit him as this was supposed to be about her, and not him.
When it was finished, he remained inside her but made sure most of his weight was off her. Rose turned her head, smiling at him.
“You held back from me,” she said, cupping his cheek.
“I made love to you. I wanted you to come along with me.” He held onto her hand, staring into her eyes.
“You don’t need to treat me like a china doll. I’m not going to break.”
Hardy stared into her eyes. “We’ve never done this, sat and talked.”
“We’re not exactly sitting.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I know. It’s just hard at times. I don’t know what to say to you, and you confuse me all the time,” she said.
“I’m about to tell you something, and I don’t want you to get angry.”
“I won’t.”
“You kept diaries, and I found them in the loft.”
Rose smiled. “You’ve been reading them,” she said.
“You knew?”
“I went to the loft the other day looking for them, and saw the box had been moved. When I asked Baker or Fighter, they hadn’t touched them. I knew it was you. This is what I’ve gotten for you reading my diaries?”
“You’re not pissed?” he asked.
“At first I was. I was so damn angry that you’d invaded my privacy, and then I couldn’t care about it. What I wrote in those books was because I couldn’t tell you about it.”
“It made me understand you in ways I didn’t think were possible. It gave me an insight into who you are.”
“Then I’m glad, even if it is scary to know that you’ve been part of my worst thoughts.”
“I never thought you were bad,” he said.
“Even when I wanted that woman dead?”
“Even then. I got you. I understand what you meant, and the pain you were feeling. It made me realize how much shit you were trying to handle all at the same time. I just want to tell you, baby, it didn’t. I wanted you. Only you. I love you, not anyone else.”