Wayward Soul

by K. Renee

  My blood runs cold. I know exactly who has Anslie, and I remember what that bastard did to Sophie and how bad it tore Brant up. I pat him on the back and tell him I will. He nods and heads out the door towards his bike.

  Turning my attention back to our new friend, the guys and I spend the next few hours getting to know him better. By the end of it, there is a lot to clean up and parts to get rid of. We walk back to the house, the prospects taking care of the mess.

  Chapter Seven

  When I wake up, I am sore in all the right places. Holy fuck. Gunner surely knows how to rock a girl’s world. His body is cut and I can't get the sight of his muscles rippling as he pounded into me out of my mind. With a grin on my face, I make my way out of my room to see how Anslie is doing. Searching the whole apartment, I come up with nothing. Some of her stuff is missing, so I pull my phone out and text her. Maybe she's already out with Brant this morning.

  When she finally texts me back, I feel like I got the wind knocked out of me. Why would someone shoot Robbie? I feel like someone just shot my own brother.

  The last few years, I got really close to Anslie and her brothers, since they were always around. I want nothing more than to be with her, but I know her brothers will keep her safe. Waiting to hear how Robbie is, is terrible. I just wished someone would tell me. I try to text Anslie to find out, but she never responds.

  I spend most of the afternoon in my room reading about my new book boyfriend, Carter Reed. I swear, Tijan is amazing and I am absolutely in love with Carter.

  Halfway through the book, my phone beeps. Checking it, my face breaks out in a huge grin. Gunner. I laugh at the name he must have programmed for his contact while I was asleep.

  Sexy Biker: Beauty, I want to be buried in your pussy right now.

  Me: That can be arranged ;).

  Sexy Biker: I’m on my way.

  Once I read his message, I jump up to get ready. When I get out of the shower, I hear a knock on the door. I run to the door in just a towel, my wet hair dripping down my body. I open the door and come face-to-face with Mike. I've known him since we first moved out to Seattle and, honestly, he creeps me out. He always hits on me and I always turn him down. I wonder why he's even here?

  His eyes roam my body. "Wow, baby. You look fucking fantastic,” he says, moving towards me.

  I try to close the door on him, but his boot gets in the way before I can. He pushes it open with little effort and I fall back a little. My towel almost comes undone and he starts licking his lips. ”What’s wrong, baby? You too good to give it up to me?”

  “Stay away from me!" I yell. I’m hoping I can get the attention of one of my neighbors.

  "Who the fuck are you?" I hear Gunner say through gritted teeth. Thank God!

  Without looking at Gunner, Mike replies, "Don’t fucking worry about it. Mind your own business and get the fuck out of here."

  I watch Gunner make two quick strides to Mike and grab him by the back of his neck. Struggling, Mike turns, seeing a very pissed Gunner. Mike is a good six inches shorter than he is and nowhere near as built. I see Mike's eye widen for a fraction of a minute. "Get the fuck away from her. If I ever hear that you came near her again, I will fucking gut you." Gunner's expression is lethal, and I’m scared myself. I've never seen anyone so angry before. Mike eyes his cut before making his way to the door.

  Running up to Gunner, I wrap my arms around him, tears welling up in my eyes. I never thought someone would come to the apartment and try something like that.

  Gunner wraps his arms around me and shuts the door. Once the lock is in place, he picks me up and carries me to my room.

  Setting me on the bed, he drops to his knees and takes my face in his hands. "You all right, beauty?” he asks gently. I shake my head and pull him closer to me. I breathe in his masculine scent and my body relaxes. He lays me down on the bed and gently kisses me. Leaning over my body, his eyes roam the length of me. "Beauty, no answering the door looking like this unless it's me,” he says with a serious tone.

  "I thought it was you. I should have checked. I'm so glad you showed up when you did."

  Pulling his face to mine, I kiss him softly, running my fingers through his dirty blonde hair and pulling it just hard enough to make him moan. He holds his body up with one arm and slowly starts to roam my body with his other hand. When his hand comes to the knot in the towel, I shiver. With one swift tug, the towel falls open and he licks his lips, his eyes greedily devouring my body.

  His mouth descends onto my nipple, flicking it with his tongue. I moan and squirm, and he puts more of his weight on me to keep me still. I run my nails up his back and groan when he kisses his way up my chest to my collarbone. Sucking hard enough to leave a mark, he smirks against my skin. "There. Now any bastard who comes near you will know you’re mine."

  I run my hand down his tight ass and slowly inch my way to the front of his jeans. I undo his belt, then the button. Sliding my hand down the front, I am surprised to find that he is going commando. I wrap my fingers around his length and stroke him a few times. He gasps and gets a hungry look in his eyes, then his mouth attacks mine with fervor. I stroke his length a few more times before he abruptly pulls away. I huff and he smiles down at me.

  Standing back up, he takes off his boots, jeans, cut, and t-shirt before crawling back up the bed to me. His mouth starts at my foot and travels up my leg. I gasp when I feel his stubble tickling the insides of my thighs. I can feel his breath on my clit and I ache for his mouth to touch my pussy.

  My back arches off the bed when his mouth finally connects. Oh, my god! My body is humming and I can't control the spasms getting ready to ignite. His tongue is magical and I can’t get enough of it. He gets me so worked up, then pulls away just as I am about to go over the edge.

  I cry out and he just smiles with a smug smile. "Asshole,” I mutter.

  "Oh, beauty. You will definitely be coming, but I want you riding my cock for the first one.” He grips my ankles, pulling me to the edge of the bed. He flips me over, then leans his body over mine. His rock hard cock is prodding my entrance and I can feel my juices leaking down my legs. I don't know how he does it. I've never been this wet before.

  "Holy fuck!” I scream as he slams into me from behind.

  "Fuck, babe. Your pussy clenches me so fucking hard. It's like heaven."

  I moan and grind back against him as he continues to thrust into me. My orgasm is building and I am almost there. I reach for my pussy, but he knocks my hand out of the way and rubs it himself. Instantly, I explode around him. "Fuck, Gunner!" I shout out. He trusts into me a few more times before moaning my name, coming inside of me.

  Our breathing is ragged and I can barely hold myself up anymore. "Holy fuck!" I breathe.

  He smiles and pulls me to stand up with him. "Holy fuck is right, beauty. Your pussy will be the death of me.” He sits me on the bed and walks to the bathroom.

  When he returns, he brings over a wet washcloth. "Lie back.” I do as I'm told and let him clean me. It is swollen and the cloth almost hurts. I wince and he leans down to kiss it, making me moan. He smirks and climbs up my body to the middle of my bed. He kisses my lips, then lies on his back next to me. I curl my body around his and he pulls me closer. Snuggling into his warmth, I close my eyes and slowly drift off.

  Chapter Eight

  We spend the whole weekend burning up the sheets. I'm addicted and I can't seem to get my shit straight. She still doesn't know about what happened to Anslie and I’m not looking forward to telling her. I want to be sure of exactly what happened before I break Casey's heart. I can tell she loves Anslie like a sister. Hell, those girls are always together or talking about the other one. She only knows about Robbie getting shot. I don't even know how to begin to tell her that her best friend was kidnapped when she got to Vegas. Shit. I knew I shouldn't have come here, but I needed to see her.

  Casey has my head fucking spinning and I'm not sure what to do. On one hand, I want this girl more th
an my next breath; on the other, I'm not sure if I can be in Brant's shoes right now. I know my cousin is in love with that girl and it’s probably killing him to know that bastard has her. I don't think I could handle it. When I was a kid, everything was taken from me. I can't let that happen again.

  I should just end things before she gets too deep into it. I know I will just crush her and I don't want to do that. I feel her hot breath on my chest and her hands are awfully close to my dick. I breathe in her scent and memorize it, just in case this all blows up in my face.

  When my phone beeps from the nightstand, I reach my hand out to it and see that it's Brant.

  Brantley: Brother...I don’t know what to do.

  Me: What? You find her? She all right?

  Brantley: Yeah, but it’s fucking bad. I can’t stay here.

  Instead of texting him back, I sit up in bed and call him. I need to know what the fuck is going on because he’s not making sense. Hell, I know how he feels about that girl, and I know that there is no way he would just walk away from her without being forced.

  When he answers, I can hear the pain in his voice. "You all right, brother?" I ask.

  I can hear his breathing change. "Fuck, no, I'm not. How the fuck can anything be all right? You should have seen her, Gun! I fucking had to leave. I couldn't be in that room any longer! He fucking destroyed her and I couldn't do a damn thing about it.”

  "B, is she okay?" I ask hesitantly.

  "She'll heal, but I don't know if she will ever be the girl she was. He rapped her repeatedly and beat the fuck out of her. I want to bring him back to life just so I can fucking put another goddamn bullet through his fucking head." I can tell he's calming down a little now. "But, Gun, I left her. Dom knows how I feel about her and I still fucking left her."

  What the fuck? This shit doesn’t make any sense. ”What do you mean you left her?"

  He takes a deep breath. “Gun, I left her. I won’t be able to stand it if she hates me for what he did to her. It's my fault he came after her in the first place. He wanted to hurt me and he knew he could do it through her."

  I look over at Casey and see her looking right at me, a sad look on her face. Fuck.

  "You love her, B?" I ask, hoping he doesn't fly off the handle.

  "Yeah, I do,” he says quietly.

  "Then why the fuck did you leave her?”

  I hear his deep intake of breath. It’s like he’s admitting defeat, which is something I never thought I would hear from him. He was always the strongest out of us growing up. ”Because I swore to her I would never let anyone hurt her, and I did. What kind of fucking man am I if I can’t protect her?”

  "You weren't there. There is no way you knew he was going to take her. He knew she would go running home if something happened to one of her brothers. Hell, we all fucking know that. She's fucking one of a kind and if you’re too stupid to figure it out, you need to stay the fuck away from her."

  I feel Casey's hand land on my forearm. I look into her eyes and see the tears forming. When one escapes, I use my thumb to wipe it away from her beautiful eyes. I hear her sharp intake of breath and see more tears running down her face.

  Wrapping my arm around her small body, I feel her shuddering. “Are you with Casey?” Brant asks, breaking me out of my trance.

  “Yeah, I am. Are you going back to Oregon?”

  I can hear the frustration in his voice when he speaks, “Yeah. I can’t be here when she decides on hating me for what he did to her.”

  “Okay, brother. I’ll call you soon,” I say before hanging up. I have a feeling he is going to regret this for the rest of his life.

  I lay my head against the headboard of Casey’s bed and pull her into my body. Her wet face rests on my stomach and I can feel tears pooling under her cheeks. I lean down and kiss her head and her sad eyes look up at me. “Is she okay?” she whispers.

  How do you tell the girl you’re falling for that her best friend was raped and beaten by a bastard with a grudge?

  “She will be, beauty. She’s a strong girl. Just be there for her when she needs you, yeah?” She nods as more tears fall from her eyes. I slink down in bed until my head hits the pillow. Pulling her to my body, I wrap her up in my arms and whisper reassuring things in her ear until she falls asleep.

  The next morning, I get up before dawn and write her a note. I have business to take care of before I go to the club tonight. I hate leaving her in a vulnerable time, but the club always comes first.

  Taking one last look at the angel still asleep in her bed breaks my heart. I don't want to hurt this girl.

  I grab my jacket and walk out the apartment door.

  Chapter Nine

  Rolling over, I notice that Gunner’s not in bed anymore. The sheets are cold and I feel like I got hit by a bus. I make my way to the bathroom and do my business, then walk back to my bed and search for my phone. I pull up Gunner’s name and hit CALL. After three rings, he answers breathlessly. “Yeah?”

  “Hey,” I say meekly.

  “You okay, beauty?” he asks with concern.

  “Yeah. I just needed to hear your voice,” I say, falling back into my warm bed.

  “Oh, yeah?” he says. I can hear the smile in his voice. “Sorry I had to leave. Club business.” That’s always the reason. I’m starting to think I can’t deal with the club always taking priority over me. What if we had kids? Would they come first, or would the club?

  Shit! Why am I thinking about kids with Gunner? He’s supposed to be just something fun for me to keep myself entertained. “Babe?” he says, breaking me out of my haze.

  “Sorry. Do you know when Anslie is going to come back?” I want to see her with my own eyes to make sure she’s okay.

  “Nah, I don’t. But I imagine it won’t be until she feels better and she’s healed enough to travel. I haven’t talked to her brothers…” He trails off. We both know Brant left. I just hope she is strong enough to get through both of the life-changing events she is going through right now. My best friend is strong! I know she can do it, and I will be there for her every step of the way.

  “Yeah. Okay,” I mumble.

  “Beauty, I got to go. I’m on a run. I’ll call you when I get back.” Part of me wonders if that's the truth, or if they all just love and leave. We say goodbye, then I hang up and throw my phone on the bed.

  I’m starting to question if being with a biker is really such a good idea. Could being with Gunner get me hurt? I don’t think I could make it through something like Anslie just had to go through. Is he really worth it? I have strong feelings for him and we have this connection that I’ve never had with anyone before.

  Fuck me. I know what I need to do if I don’t want to get hurt. I am going to break my own heart in the process, but I think it's the best outcome for me. Protecting my own heart will help me be able to escape the heartbreak I know I am headed for if we keep seeing each other. I know the MC life is dangerous, but even though it turns me on, I’m not sure I am strong enough to ensure something like Anslie just went through or worse. What if he died? Or I died? Would the possibility of losing my life be worth this relationship? I’m not one hundred percent sure, so I’ll make the best decision for me.

  It’s been a month since I’ve talked to Gunner. I can’t really eat or sleep, but I’ve been putting on a strong mask for Anslie. She’s depressed Brantley ditched her, and I can’t blame her. I would be just as broken if it were me in that situation. Gunner has tried to call a few times and has even stopped by, but I didn't answer my phone or the door. His texts stopped about a week ago. It crushes me that he doesn’t fight harder for me, but I know it’s for the best. His life is dangerous and the club will always come first. I don’t regret the time we spent together because it will probably be the one and only time I was completely happy.

  I watch Anslie walk out into the living room. She looks terrible. I watch her sit on the couch, then she suddenly jumps up and runs towards the bathroom.

  Getting
up from the kitchen table, I walk to the bathroom to hold her hair back while she throws up. “Thanks,” she croaks out.

  “It’s what best friends are for.” I smile. She looks up at me with a sad expression. “Anslie, are you okay?”

  “I feel okay. Something just didn’t sit well with me,” she says, then takes a mouthful of mouthwash. I feel like she isn’t telling me something. She hasn't been eating very much so I know that’s not what’s wrong.

  “Ans,” I say softly. She turns towards me, tears in her eyes. “Are you pregnant?” She shakes her head, then goes to sit down again. “I’ll be back. I’m going to get you a test.” She doesn’t say anything, so I just grab my stuff and make my way out the door.

  Making my way to the pharmacy down the street from our apartment, forgetting I have to walk by Gunner’s club. When I get close enough, the door slams open and I see him walking out with a slutty-looking blonde girl all over him. I can’t turn away. Sometimes, I don’t know why I like torturing myself. Almost like he knows I’m near, he looks up from the blonde and scans the street until we lock eyes. I feel like I can’t breathe and I shouldn't feel this way anymore, especially since I’m the one who’s been ignoring him, but I can’t help it.

  The blonde is whispering in his ear, but he’s still staring at me. I look down and keep walking. I hear the blonde huff and yell his name, then footsteps come up behind me. When his hand grips my arm, I jerk away like I’ve been burned.

  “Beauty,” he drawls.

  Just hearing him call me that makes my panties wet, but I won’t let my resolve crack. “Gunner,” I say coldly.

  “So is this how it’s gonna be now?” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “You’re just gonna continue to ignore me and what we had? I didn’t think you were that fucking cold. I guess I was wrong.” He shakes his head and walks back across the street to the blonde. He pulls her into his arms and kisses her like his life depends on it.