by Debra Kayn
Her foot caught on the step, and she stumbled, holding on to him. "I-I hope not."
"You hope not?" He chuckled. "That's my bug."
"Well, we don't have to stop." Her lower stomach quivered at the thought of him doing more than fingering and kissing her. "Nothing is stopping you, right?"
He paused outside the door to the bedroom. "What the hell, Johanna? Why do you think you're here?"
"Cause you're claiming me as one of your women and allowing me to finally be with you," she said.
Chief tilted his head and frowned. She straightened her shoulders. He obviously had a different idea of what was happening, and she'd assumed wrong.
His gaze lowered to her chest and then picked up her hand, studying her fingers. He let go of her, swung the door open, and said, "Get in the room."
She shuffled sideways, skirting him. "Why are you upset with me?"
"You're questioning me." He flipped on the light and shut the door.
She pressed her hand to the front of her neck. "Because...well, I wanted to talk to you about everything that is happening between us first."
He stripped off his vest, removed his pistol, and pulled off his sleeveless T-shirt. She moistened her lips. There were only a handful of times she'd seen him bare-chested. Once when he'd given her his shirt when he removed her from the apartment as a child—she still had the shirt hidden in her dresser back at the apartment she shared with Lindsay and Ashley. Then, there were the times he walked out of the bedroom, half dressed, after having sex with Nene.
Those times couldn't compare to right now. He seemed broader, stronger, more powerful. She gulped. More intimidating somehow, and he'd never made her afraid before. Not of him. Not of how she felt toward him.
The familiar tattoos covering his upper body comforted her like a long-lost friend. His chest hair, once dark, now was peppered with gray. Her gaze lowered to his thick, hard abdomen.
Flustered, she turned away and walked over to the dresser. Needing to distract herself, she trailed her hand over the patches on his vest. "Karla and Nene are just as important to you as I am. Even more so, because Karla had your children and Nene's been with you forever."
"Bug, look at me."
She gazed over her shoulder. He'd stretched out on the bed and latched his hands behind his head. She looked down his body and turned around fully. He hadn't taken off his jeans or boots.
"I didn't think I'd be this nervous," she whispered, pointing and waving her finger. "It's different without you wearing clothes. I know you, more than I know anyone, and yet I feel like I don't know this side of you."
His gaze softened. She bit her lip. He liked what she'd confessed and her neck warmed in embarrassment.
She wasn't ignorant about sexual relationships. One guy that she'd gone out with got turned on because she wore her hair up in a ponytail. He had some weird neck fetish that did nothing for her because she got goosebumps every time he tried to touch her—and not the good kind. By the end of the night, her hands stung and tingled for how many times she'd slapped him away when he touched her there.
"Johanna?" He rolled to his side and scooted over. "Come over here."
She approached the bed and stretched out beside him, propping her head in her hand. Being close to him helped settle the conflicting feelings coursing through her body.
"You're beautiful," he said, low and husky. "And, so fucking silly."
He smoothed the frown off her face. She closed her eyes at his touch and said, "Don't make fun of me."
"I'm not, bug." He let go of her and then he scooped her, pulling her close.
Stomach to stomach, she opened her eyes. He kissed her softly, and his chest expanded. She placed her hand on his side, unsure of moving forward without knowing what he was thinking.
"Karla used to hang out at the clubhouse when Rollo was in charge. I partied with her, and she ended up pregnant. I liked the idea of having a kid, and put her up in a house, set some rules, and over the next five years, she had two more of my kids. Eventually, when I had all my sons, I allowed her the freedom to be with other men." Holding her, he kissed the top of her head. "Then, she helped raise you, and you were around to see what kind of relationship I kept with Karla."
She tilted her face. "You stopped sleeping with her?"
"Stopped. Started. Stopped again." He brushed her hair out of her eyes. "She had the option to leave Brikken if she wanted, but my boys and you would belong to me."
"What about Nene?"
"She's a whore." He chuckled when she slapped his hip. "Nene's been around the club for a long time."
"She's older than you?"
He nodded. "She belonged to Rollo before he met my mother and he kept her—I don't know, out of obligation or responsibility—and then went back to her after my mom died."
She wrinkled her nose. "There are some things about Brikken that I'll never understand."
"What I'm trying to tell you is Karla and Nene had their place." He lowered his voice. "You have a different place in my life. That key I gave you is for Karla's house. It's yours now."
She gawked, unable to hope that she would be the only one in his life.
When his gaze intensified, she jumped off the bed.
Her heart pounded.
The room swayed.
Her skin flushed.
Hysteria bubbled inside of her.
"Get out," she whispered.
Chapter Thirteen
"Get out," she repeated louder.
His chest exploded, and he rolled onto his back laughing. She pounced on top of him, jostling the bed, and he flung his arm around her and dragged her underneath him until he covered her body.
"Are you serious?" The vulnerability of doubts softened her voice again.
He planted his elbows on each side of her and framed her face with his hands. "Look at me, bug. I don't have a moment in my life where I have time to fuck around and make mistakes. You're young, and you've got a lot to learn, and I can't teach you when you're working at a coffee house giving every fucking man in the city a look at what belongs to me. I live a hard life, and that means I'm more diligent about what's mine."
She stilled underneath him.
"What we've always had going between us...what we'll have together, will be behind closed doors. You have a problem with me, you talk to me in private. Once we're on the other side of the door, around the others, they'll see you as the closest thing in my life." He waited for her to finish thinking about what he was telling her and continued. "There are going to be men who believe they can take you away from me, to get to me, to get to Brikken, to take what I've built, what Rollo built. I need you in Karla's house so I can make sure Brikken survives."
"Where is Karla?" she asked.
"She's living in Tacoma and near the boys if they need her."
"Will I be able to see her again?"
"She doesn't want to see you, bug."
"Ever?"
The hurt in her voice was on him. He'd put her in a home, with his family, where he understood the risks. Over time, Johanna had grown to love Karla.
"It's nothing you did." He kissed her softly. "She's upset with me because she doesn't agree with my decision to be with you. I've known how she felt about us for years, but no woman is going to tell me what to do."
"There's so much that I don't understand." She brought her hands up to his chest. "What if everyone else doesn't like me with you? How about Jett, Olin, and Thorn?"
"Everyone in Brikken will accept you, or they'll deal with me." He used his thumbs to wipe the corners of her eyes.
"I liked where we were heading." She wiggled. "I'm not sure about living in the house that—"
"Only way I can protect you, Johanna. The moment any of my enemies realize you're not some kid in Brikken, it's going to open a fucking door that I'll have a hard time closing."
"Then, we'll be together in secret?"
She struggled to get up from the bed. He pinned her down again. "Listen to me."
She stilled.
"Been waiting to get in that sweet pussy of yours since you were sixteen years old and kissed me when you had no idea what you were doing." He gazed down at her breasts squished against his chest. "Dreamed about it. Jerked off dreaming about it."
She sighed, and her body relaxed. "Me, too."
"I'm not going to share you with a job, have you away from me in an apartment, or jump through your friends' ideas of whether I see you or not. Nothing is going to stop me from being with you."
"But, I don't want to sit around waiting for you—"
"I'm going to stay at the house with you, bug." His chest warmed. "No Karla. No Nene. No women looking to fuck when I'm free because my time will be spent with you, in our bed, in the privacy of our house."
Her mouth formed an O. He grinned. She finally understood.
"Do you think you can strip out of those clothes in the time it takes me to get my boots off or do you want me to rip your clothes off and take you now?" he asked.
Her lips curved. "Do your boots. I'll be ready."
SHE STRIPPED, BEATING him by thirty seconds when he stood from the edge of the bed and toed off his unlaced boots. Not waiting until he took off his pants, she crooked her finger. He went to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and took her to the bed. A shock of arousal swooped through her at his dominance—making her feel loved and safe.
Long ago, she'd learned to accept Chief for the man who catered to no one. She understood his position as the leader of Brikken from observing and listening. Any kind of compromise would only happen on her part of the relationship if she wanted to remain with him.
He kissed her hard and pulled back. "Need my jeans off, bug."
She pouted, rubbing the inside of her thighs against his pants, loving the abrasive material.
Chief left the bed, stripped his jeans and boxers off, and retrieved a condom from his wallet. She rubbed her hand over her stomach, smiling at the view he gave her. His tight ass only made his thighs look more muscular. Having felt the muscles under his jeans while riding on his Harley, she bit down on her lower lip wanting the power of his legs between hers.
He turned, giving her a full-frontal view of his naked body. She sucked in air, shocked at the size of him. In her head, she'd imagined what he'd look like. Daily. For years.
Because of only having a few sexual encounters with other guys, she'd based her expectations from her past.
She'd been wrong.
So, so very wrong.
She also doubted that he'd fit comfortably inside of her. Nobody and nothing could've prepared her for him.
He glanced over at her as he rolled the condom on his cock. "I'll take care of you."
She squeezed her thighs together. Chief grinned, catching her movement, and she lifted her head, refusing to back away. She wasn't afraid, only a little overwhelmed.
"I've had sex before," she blurted.
"Know that, Johanna."
She couldn't tell if he was mad or relieved. Though she felt the surprise that he knew every single detail about her life, even when he wasn't around, clear down to her toes. She'd been careful, and besides sharing the experience with Lindsay and Ashley, nobody else knew.
"I watched over you. There was never any time when I didn't have someone from the club watching you."
She swallowed. "They didn't see me have—"
"No."
He opened the top drawer of the dresser and squeezed lubrication from a tube on his fingers. "First time with me is going to hurt. No getting around it."
He kneed the bed and placed himself on top of her. Unsure of her earlier confidence, she reached down and wrapped her fingers around his width. Oh, boy.
Both turned on and freaked out, she gazed into his eyes. "Be quick. Then, be slow."
"Been fucking since I was thirteen years old, bug. I know what I'm doing." He slipped his hand between her legs.
The cool, wetness of the lubrication a startling sensation against her heated body. She widened her legs and rested her heels on the back of Chief's calves. He rubbed the lube all over her pussy, taking his time over her clit.
"Been waiting a lifetime for you." He slowed his caress, rubbing over her as if she'd break. "Softest thing I've ever touched," he whispered almost to himself.
Maybe going fast was overrated. She quite liked the way his rough fingers glided over her.
Every callus and blunt fingernail on his hand finely tuned to turn her on. Slow was good. Very good.
She arched her back until her breasts skimmed his chest. His gaze lowered, and her nipples hardened. Flattening her hands on his chest, she found his nipples. Small, hard dots on an even harder chest. Trailing her finger around each one until the skin puckered tighter.
"What do you like," she whispered.
"I like what you like doing." He lowered his head and captured her mouth.
He swallowed her moan, and she liked that. Sliding her hands down the sides of him, she absorbed his returned groan when her fingernails scratched his skin. Her lips moved under his in satisfaction. She liked that.
She lifted her legs higher, rubbing her inner thighs against his hips. Goosebumps tickled her skin. Oh, yeah, she liked that, too.
He plunged his finger inside of her pussy and lifted his head. His intense expression only broken by the softness of a smile.
Her body flashed warmly at his approval. He'd always had an unexplainable power over her. Hours, days, weeks could go by without seeing him, and her love hadn't returned when he came to her, it'd never left. She gave up a long time ago on fighting her feelings and trying to make sense of her connection with him.
He lowered his mouth to her breast and took her nipple between his lips. She shivered at the brush of his beard against her bare skin and then gasped at the burrowing pull throughout her whole body.
"Chief." She stroked his head, her pussy throbbing with the touch of his fingers. "Now."
He licked her nipple as he raised his head, and their gazes connected. The searing pain of him entering her happened instantly. She tensed, holding her breath, unaware he'd moved.
Weighted down by his large body, her legs spread wide, she couldn't move. The insides of her spasmed convulsively on him. She patted stiff fingers on his shoulders in some womanly signal, probably older than time, telling him without words not to breathe, not to move, not to do anything.
And, he remained still. "Give it a second."
"You're huge," she panted, trying to relax after going from hot to cold in a blind second.
His body shook in amusement. She tensed expecting more discomfort, but the movement warmed her, stretching her more.
"I'm sure it'll be possible, later, after a few times, once I get used to your size, for us to have more...wilder sex?" She inhaled her first lungful of air and exhaled. "This probably isn't what you wanted." Her fingers relaxed, and she rubbed his shoulders. "I always pictured us having sex against the wall. I've never had it that way, but I can see that the logistics—with you being tall and me being...not as tall would make that hard. I've only had sex this way and with me on top, and the guys...well, they weren't you."
Chief tilted his head.
"I'll stop talking." She closed her mouth, then thought of one more thing because her body was no longer stinging but pulsating in a good way. "I think..."
Chief remained still.
She combed her fingers through his beard, tugged him lower, and kissed him. "I think you can move now."
"We will fuck against the wall. Later." He slid his cock out slowly and back in. "By that look on your face, you're okay?"
Her smile only contained by the attention that was drawn to her pussy. "It feels good."
He grunted and moved in and out. She lifted her legs again and concentrated on breathing. He touched her soul. There was not one iota of room left untouched inside of her. He slid—no, he glided. She stared up at him, her body trembling under an assault of need.
"Like a fucking glo
ve." He supported his weight on one elbow and slid his other hand down her body, over her hip, and between her legs.
His middle finger skimmed her clit. Her breath caught, and her whole body tightened. They both groaned, her because of the intense desire and he because—she had no idea, except his cock pulsed inside of her and she felt, yes felt, the twinge of his hardness and knew he liked it. Because she liked it.
He pulled out and again pushed in. His finger lightly circled, and she decided right then, she'd never be jealous of the sex Chief had in the past because how he made her feel was hers alone.
She loved everything that made Chief...Chief. Past and present. Every memory and every dream.
She loved him.
She loved his body.
His cock. His mouth. His finger. His chest. His nipples. His hips working their magic.
"I need you to come on me." His forehead wrinkled in concentration.
"Now?" The muscles between her legs tightened, swirling her higher.
"You're killing me. So fucking tight."
He kept pumping, grinding into her. She no longer laid there letting him thrust inside of her. She lifted her hips pushing back, letting his cock hit the sweet spot that flooded her body with pleasure.
He stretched and spread her more, every fully-seated plunge took her higher until she moved on instinct. She dug her nails into his arms, straining and holding, trying to suck a little more pleasure out before it was over.
The pressure built and her body spiraled.
She held her breath as he fucked her to impossible heights.
Chief's finger pressed firmer against her clit. She writhed, unable to stop. Winding tighter and tighter.
"Jesus Christ." He pulled back until he almost slid out of her body and slammed back inside of her.
A scream bubbled in her throat as her breath harshly exited her body.
He stilled. His finger stopped moving.
Panic filled her, and she grabbed his chest, his shoulders, and found purchase when her fingers curled in his beard. Her body vibrated, caught in the mayhem he'd created.
"I'll never let you go," he said gruffly. "You owned me from the start."