MC Romance: Ride of Their Lives (BBW, Military Romance, Alpha Male) (Bad Boy Motorcycle Club Romance Book 1)

by Raina Wilde

  Chris was the leader of the unit and he had trusted his men without question. Natalie learned that Chris was the godparent to Tony’s oldest son. She had tried to ask him if he had visited the Pomeretti family since the death of their father, but he quickly changed the subject.

  She wondered how a man so obviously devoted to his friends could isolate himself so completely after their deaths. There was more to the story. Something that Chris did not want to talk about. She was sure of it, but she did not push any further.

  Instead, she allowed the conversation to turn toward herself. She allowed him to ask her questions and therefore divert the attention away from the sensitive topic. She hoped that one day he would open up completely to her. Natalie realized that she wanted him to open up to her on a personal level. She wanted to know him completely.

  She also realized that a part of her wondered if there was a future for them as a pair. She had learned long ago that there could never be a future if secrets existed. She would never be able to fully trust Chris until she knew for certain what had happened to his teammates.

  A few hours later, Chris pulled the bike back up the hill of his driveway. Natalie swung her leg over the seat. The gentle hum of the motor had made her legs feel numb and shaky. It was similar to the feeling that she would experience when getting off of a boat after a lengthy excursion. She waited for her strength to return.

  “I should get going.” Natalie gestured toward her own motorcycle parked on the pavement. The truth was that the evening had been perfect and she did not want it to end.

  Chris gestured toward the front door.

  “If you have somewhere to by, that’s fine." His smile made her already weak legs shake. “But, you are welcome to come inside. If you’d like.”

  Natalie very much wanted to join him inside of the house. The look in his eyes told her that this was no casual invitation. The electric current that had passed between them all night was at its peak. They had both been thinking about it, both been feeling it, but neither had made any attempt to address their attraction in any obvious way.

  Natalie took a shaky breath. She knew that this was a pivotal moment for them, both on a personal level as well as professional. If she overstepped the boundary of propriety she might ruin any chance she might have to help him. On the other hand, they had already crossed that line long before they knew that he was her patient. A small voice in her head told her that if she did not give in to this need it would only make their passion grow to the point of insanity.

  Like an itch the needed to be scratched, she could not resist.

  She gave a slow nod, with a shy smile that crossed her lips. The look of utter surprise that took over Chris’s features had already made the decision worth it. He had honestly expected her to decline.

  “Are you sure?” She could tell that he was battling the same choices that she was. Unfortunately, they had both already had a sample of what it meant to be together and neither could ignore the desire to experience it properly this time.

  “Yes, I’m sure.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

  Chris cleared his throat and moved to unlock the door. He made some comment about how he had beer and wine in the refrigerator, but Natalie was not listening.

  The moment she heard the door click shut behind her, she spun on her heel and pressed her lips against his. She had expected resistance, or at least confusion, but Chris met her with a hunger that matched her own.

  She curled her fingers into the collar of his shirt and pulled herself against him. The pressure of their bodies was a study of opposites. They were heat and ice, hard and soft, smooth and rugged all at the same time. Natalie’s mind was overwrought with sensation.

  There was no point in waiting, she told herself. This was the call between their souls that needed to be answered. This was the reason she was here. She knew it. He knew it. There was no point in prolonging the inevitable.

  She picked at the buttons of his shirt until she had opened the front completely. Her hands slipped inside and she nearly groaned when they met the hardened muscles and heated skin. Had she known that he was not wearing an undershirt, she probably would have ripped it open much earlier in the night.

  She could hear, and feel, Chris’s chuckle against her mouth. She did not care if he found her impatience amusing. At this very moment, her mind was focused only on one thing. Their mutual satisfaction.

  Her hands slipped to the clasp of his jeans and Chris’s laughter died on his lips. With a sudden ferocity that he had yet to exhibit previously, he slipped an arm beneath her knees and lifted her with an ease that surprised her.

  The next thing that she knew, she was being gently eased down onto a plain blue coverlet. She could not have told you the path the led from the main door to the bedroom. She had been much too focused on exploring the rigid muscles and tendons of Chris’s neck and shoulders.

  Natalie shimmied out of her own jeans, discarding her underwear at the same time. She peeled her shirt over her head and unclasped her bra, reveling in the pleasure of the freedom of her heavy breasts.

  Chris’s pupils contracted and his grin showed blatant appreciation for her body.

  She lay back among the pillows and waited for her lover to join her. This time, they would have much more freedom to explore one another. This time, she fully intended on memorizing every detail of his body and the sensations that passed between them.

  Much like everything else in his life, Chris threw himself into their lovemaking with gusto. His hands massaged and kneaded every inch of her skin, from her tired legs to the corded tension of her neck. By the time he was finished, her entire body felt like a melted stick of butter.

  When she thought he was finished, his mouth took over the path that his hands had just traced. His tongue flicked over her sensitive skin. His breath rippled over the areas that had been dampened by his mouth, causing a chill to race across her skin.

  She had closed her eyes, enjoying the pure sensation of his touch along her body. It was for that reason that she had not been prepared for his mouth to settle over the aching heat where her legs joined together.

  Her body jerked and a hand rushed downward to block his actions.

  Chris raised his head with an amused grin.

  “Haven’t you ever…” he began, but she quickly answered him with a shake of her head.

  His expression settled into one of extreme patience. He understood her fear and hesitation. Slowly, his fingers began to knead the muscles on her inner thigh, inching their way up toward where her hand covered the mound of her pelvis.

  “Would you like to try?” His breath tickled her hand. She had been about to say no, but the aching inside of her increased so much that she found herself, for the first time, wanted to feel the heat of his mouth against her.

  His fingers continued to work their concentric circles along her thighs. Natalie found herself relaxing, allowing her legs to ease apart with his guidance. She removed the guard of her hand and made eye contact with Chris. She was nervous, though for what reason she would later wonder. The moment that his mouth settled over her, Natalie found her eyes fluttering closed and her head tilting back as she enjoyed a sensation unlike any that she had ever felt before.

  His tongue moved slowly across her flesh, making her want to press herself against him. She wanted more, but she could not find the words to tell him.

  Instead, she let her body communicate her pleasure. She moved her hips against him, gasped and cried out as the streaks of pleasure raced through her.

  When she thought that she could stand it no longer, he withdrew from between her legs and came to lay above her. She felt the pressure of his erection against her center and Natalie found herself begging for him to join her.

  She was so close, and yet he prolonged her torture. Natalie shifted her hips against him and she felt his smile against her neck. She turned her head and joined his mouth to hers, pressing her tongue against his in a rhythm that matched her hips
.

  Finally, he entered her. It was all that Natalie could do not to cry out in ecstasy. Something about this moment was so perfect, and pure, that she could barely hold back the pleasure that was threatening to take over.

  Together they moved, as if they were of one mind and spirit. She felt him drive against her and she knew that he was fighting the inevitable as well. With a moan of satisfaction, she gave in to the sensation and allowed the waves to crash around them.

  Chapter 10:

  In the early morning hours, Natalie found herself padding to the kitchen for a glass of water.

  If she had thought that their lovemaking was an itch that could have been scratched, she had been sorely mistaken. Though they had made love numerous times during the course of the evening, interspersed with leisurely naps and even an excursion into the shower, Natalie found that her desire for Chris was far from being sated. If anything, it only grew as they found new ways to share in their mutual pleasure.

  She gulped the water hungrily while leaning against the counter. The pale light of the rising sun cast leisurely shadows across the room. It was not for several minutes, therefore, that she noticed the box that lay haphazardly at the top of the garbage bin.

  Normally, it would not have interested her in the slightest. However, a thin ray of light flickered through the window to reveal that the box was, in fact, filled with photographs and all sorts of memorabilia.

  From the other side of the kitchen, Natalie could already see that the photos showcased two men who were smiling into the lens of the camera.

  She crept toward the bin and peered inside of the box. Her worst suspicions were confirmed when she realized that the photos were a collection of memories that had passed between Chris and Tony Pomeretti.

  She tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut. She pulled a handful of the photos from the box and began to shift through them. One after another the faces of the smiling best friends stared up at her. What had changed? Why was Chris so determined to forget his men, and his friend?

  The creak of the floorboard in the hallway left her frozen in the moment.

  Chris stood in the pale light of the doorway, watching her with guarded eyes.

  “What are you doing?” His voice was calm. Too calm.

  “I was just…” she could not bring herself to fabricate an excuse. “Chris, we need to talk about this.” Natalie held up the fan of photographs that were clasped in her hand.

  In one swift motion, Chris entered the room. Before she knew what was happening she had been relieved of the images and the trash bin was being resolutely relocated to the other side of a door, which she assumed was a pantry.

  “There.” He stated with a simple finality. “Taken care of.”

  She understood what he meant. Out of sight. Out of mind.

  “Chris, that’s not how that works.” She was at a loss for words. How could she ask him to explain without driving him away?

  “I think you should go.” His voice was calm and cool. She did not like the sound of it. It was as if he was emotionally detached. He had erected his walls around the issue, and around her. She was shut out.

  “Really?” she asked. There were tears in her eyes and her voice was louder than she had intended. “Is that how this works?” Her voice was demanding in a way that she never allowed around patients. This was different. Chris was not a patient. He was so much more and she found herself needing a solid answer for the reason that he was pushing her away.

  When he remained silent in the darkened kitchen she continued.

  “You just sleep with me and then kick me out when something personal comes up?” Her voice quivered with emotion.

  “That’s not what…”

  “No?” she cut him off. “Because I’m pretty sure that there is more to this,” She gestured toward the door which hid box of memorabilia, “than you are telling me.”

  “It’s none of your business.” he countered.

  “None of my business?” her voice sounded cold. Frozen in a way that even she did not recognize. “None of my business to know what kind of person I am letting into my life?” She knew that her words were cruel but for the first time she had been afraid that Chris might have harmed his teammates.

  “You don’t trust me?” his voice was barely a whisper, as if the entire future of their relationship, of his life, rested on her answer.

  “Of course I trust you.” Natalie sighed and ran her hands through her tangled hair. “I just don’t understand. Are you the person that I know, that I trust, or are you something else? Something dangerous?”

  She watched as the walls around Chris deflated. He released a deep sigh and held a hand out for her to accept. With a tentative glance, she did. He led her back to the bedroom where they lay cradled in the safety and warmth of the bedcovers. Chris toyed with a lock of hair at her shoulder while she waited for him to begin.

  Something about this moment seemed pivotal, and Natalie was afraid to speak. She needed to hear his story, but at the same time, she was frightened of what he might reveal.

  “You have to understand…” His fingers played across her skin and it seemed as if he were lost in a far off memory, “this cannot be reported. It just… you can’t include it in your… this is off the record.”

  She understood. He was telling her, Natalie. Not his therapist, not an official member of the military. This was personal and she did not have permission to share it with his superiors.

  “I understand.” She promised.

  Chris took a deep breath and rolled onto his back so that he was staring at the ceiling.

  “I don’t know what happened,” he began. “I still don’t understand. One minute he was fine, and the next I hear a transmission over the radio that Tony has gone rogue. The next thing I know my men are being picked off one by one. I was too far away too help them. Snipers don’t work at close range. There wasn’t anything that I could do.”

  Natalie felt as if her heart had stopped. What was he saying? The implications were astronomical. Tony Pomeretti had killed the men on the elite team? Why had Chris not revealed the truth from the beginning?

  “By the time that I had made it on site he was standing over Murphy, his gun pointed right between Murph’s eyes. I’d never seen him like that. I barely even recognized him. I only had a moment to make a decision. I didn’t have a chance to think of another option. I just reacted.”

  She could hear the agony in Chris’s voice. The guilt caused by the destruction that was the fault of his friend.

  “I shot him.” Chris’s eyes closed and Natalie knew that the image would forever play across his mind. “I killed my best friend just as he turned and aimed his weapon at me. It was like he didn’t even recognize me. He was… He would have shot me too. I could see it in his eyes. It was like he wasn’t even there. And then… he was gone, and I had no idea how I would ever explain to his family what I had done, what he had done.”

  It was then that the truth crashed around her. Chris was not protecting himself. He was protecting the honor of his best friend, the honor of the family that was left behind. Chris would not reveal Tony’s misdeeds for fear of the shame that would befall his widow and their children. He was willing to take the fall, and suspicion surrounding the incident in order to prevent the Pomerettis from knowing the details of Tony’s last moments. Her heart went out to him.

  There was nothing to say. Nothing that she could say to ease his pain and confusion. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. At the moment, Natalie could think of no plausible solution that would clear both Chris and Tony. As they fell asleep in each other’s arms she knew that she needed to look into the issue further. She had promised to keep the information to herself, and she would, but that did not mean that she could ignore that knowledge that he had given her. Chris was on the brink of losing his entire career. At the same time, Tony’s family needed the relief of knowing that their loved one had died a hero, rather than a homicidal vill
ain. Chris had been right, there was no easy solution.

  She fell asleep knowing that she was about to make one of the most difficult decisions of her entire life.

  Chapter 11:

  The following morning, Chris awoke to the icy chill of an empty bed. Natalie was gone. He buried his face in his pillows and groaned.

  After what had begun as an excellent night, he had ruined it by opening up to her. Of course, Natalie would think that he was off of his rocker for the wild claims that he had admitted to the night before. Tony had been an award winning soldier with no history of mental breakdowns. There was no proof of his claim. No reason that explained Tony’s rampage. That was part of the reason why Chris had been so confused. He, nor the other men, had never seen the attack coming. They had never sensed the turmoil that had boiled beneath the surface of his friendly exterior.

  All the same, Chris had been telling the truth.

  He wandered through his house playing the previous night over in his head. He had never intended to tell Natalie what had happened, but when he had seen her standing in his kitchen holding photos of the man whom he had once called his best friend, it was as if he had killed him all over again. The guilt and confusion had crashed over him and the truth had spilled out.

  She had left a note next to a pot of fresh coffee informing him that she had enjoyed the evening and would be in contact. He supposed that meant that he had not completely botched any chance between them with his moment of weakness.

  He hoped that she had meant what she had said about not intending to share the information. Even though he had shared the basic details, he had no intention of participating in the therapy sessions to evaluate every tiny detail and feeling involved. No, sir.

  He did not hear from Natalie until the next week. The days had been spent agonizing over that fateful night. Had he driven her away with his confession? Was she sharing his secret with his commanders? Had she only stayed with him that night in order to collect the information?