by Vanessa Vale
“Fuck me, Reed.”
His eyes flared with heat, and he gave me one more study then tangled his fingers in my hair, tugged slightly, then let go.
He gave up the fight then, his need taking over.
Thank God.
He took me hard. Fast. Deep. He leaned down, sucked on a nipple. Nipped at it. Sweat dotted his forehead. His breathing was ragged as if he’d fought in the ring.
But it felt so fucking good. I rocked my hips into him, met him with every hard thrust. Called out his name, clawed his back.
Came all over him, and with a roar, he came with me.
He fell on top of me, kept his weight off with his forearm, caught his breath against my neck.
He was in me, around me. Everywhere. I felt like we were one. I’d never been so close to someone before. Never wanted to. I didn’t want Reed to move, to leave. To even blink.
“That was round one, princess,” he said into my skin, idly stroking my sweaty hair back. “As soon as I can see again, get ready for more.”
REED
I woke up at my usual time like clockwork. The sky was still dark, but today, for the first time ever, I had someone in my bed. I had Harper.
I didn’t want to get up and leave her. She was bare, tucked into me, and my arm was slung over her waist, cupping her lush tit. My dick prodded her ass, ready for more. But I’d taken her twice during the night, and I felt fucking proud of myself that she was now down for the count.
I wasn’t letting her go back to her apartment. Hell, she’d be lucky if I ever let her out of my bed. Now that she was here, everything was different.
I wasn’t going through the motions anymore. I had a purpose. Making Harper happy.
Fighting wasn’t a way to get my aggressions out any longer. Sure, I made cash through my fights. I’d been saving it, living in this apartment, working as a trainer while I was Gray’s fighter.
I wouldn’t be one forever, and the money would see me right for the future. Until now, I’d had no idea what that looked like. But now all I saw was Harper’s face. Her smile. The way her eyes widened with wonder when she came on my dick.
She’d set me free. But she wasn’t free. Not until her brother was handled. Until he was gone for good. I’d see it done, even if it took me back out of the ring to fight. To turn back to what I’d been raised to be.
I’d gone to jail once for killing someone. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. Harper was the only person who I’d break my rules for. Who I’d chance everything I’d made. Who’d make me be everything I’d fought so hard to leave behind.
Slowly, I climbed from the bed, careful to not wake her. She sighed and rolled onto her stomach. The smooth line of her spine had me pulling up the covers, ensuring she didn’t get cold with me gone.
I padded to the bathroom, took a piss and brushed my teeth. After I threw on some clothes, I went downstairs. Found Gray in the gym waiting for me, leaning against the counter reading what looked like a piece of mail. He glanced at my bare feet, then at my face.
“I’m out today.”
“Harper?”
“Yeah. I’m going after a guy. Just wanted you to know.”
He didn’t react, only arched a brow. “She’s in trouble.”
“Yeah.”
“The guys out in the lot?” He tipped his head in that general direction.
“Her brother. Makes those guys look like Boy Scouts.”
He dropped the paper onto the front desk, then cut around it and into his office. Flicked on the lights, then settled into his chair. The place was quiet, the early morning crowd slowly staggering in.
“Shut the door.”
I did then leaned against it.
“Tell me.”
I did, leaving nothing out. I gave him what I knew, what I planned on doing. All of it.
He didn’t say a word until I was done.
“You’re willing to throw your career away, everything you’ve done, for her?” He leaned forward in his chair, eyed me. We’d known each other for years. Hell, he’d saved me. It was a dick move for me to trash all that he’d done for me. But it wasn’t for me. It was for Harper.
“Fuck yeah.”
He nodded, pushed his chair back and stood. “Okay. But this shit is bigger than you can handle on your own.”
“Gray—” I began, but he cut me off with his hand going up.
“No one fucks with our women. I get that.”
Yeah, he definitely did.
“But you going after Harper’s brother solo is suicide. If Mommy and Daddy got him out of what he did, they’ll find a way to toss your ass in jail. Not going to happen. You worked too hard to give that shit up. You’re not going back to that shit and for a good reason. But that asshole’s going down. We just need some help.”
“We?”
He narrowed his eyes. “We. What? You thought I’d toss you out on your ass? Tell you you’re blowing your career for pussy?”
I pushed off the door at that, narrowed my eyes.
“Not going to happen. You get a girl, you hold on as fucking tight as you can. She got shit going on? You deal with it for her. Yeah?”
I sighed, nodded. “Yeah.”
I couldn’t help the smile. Gray didn’t back down from a fight, not even one like this far outside the ring. I shouldn’t have even thought that shit about him.
“I know just the guy,” he said then glanced at the clock. “Normal people aren’t up at this hour. Give me a few.”
I left him, for once skipping my training for climbing back in bed. I had a reason, and he knew it. Just for today. That’s all he’d give me. That’s all I needed for her to know I wasn’t going anywhere.
Took the steps two at a time back to my apartment, stripped and slid back in bed, pulling Harper close. She stirred then rolled over, still in the circle of my arms. Dawn cast her in a soft light, and I could see the smile on her lips, her sleepy eyes. Her hair was a mess and fuck did she look beautiful.
“Morning,” I whispered.
She kissed my chest then pushed off me and climbed from the bed.
“Where you going?” I wasn’t letting her leave if that was her intention.
“Bathroom. Got an extra toothbrush?”
I cracked a smile, relieved. “Under the sink,” I called as she shut the door behind her. I tucked my hands behind my head, stared up at the ceiling.
When she came back out, I held up my hand. “Wait.”
She stopped halfway back to the bed. “What?”
“Gotta look my fill.” I took in every inch of her. Those perfect upturned breasts, narrow waist. Long, muscular legs. She was gorgeous, and she had no fucking idea.
And she was mine. All mine. No one had ever seen her like this before. Bare. Exposed. Real.
She rolled her eyes, did a little spin and then came over to me, her cheeks a pretty pink. I pulled back the sheet and blankets, and she climbed back in but straddled my waist. My hands automatically went to her hips. Settled.
“Where’d you go?”
My fingers slid along her hips, her ass. “Talked to Gray.”
“You don’t need to train this morning?” She cocked her head, and her hair slid over her shoulder, the strands brushing her pink nipple.
I stared at it as I replied. “I’ve got a different kind of workout planned.”
“Oh?”
I rolled us, so I was above her, my leg nestled between hers. “Yeah. It’s going to be sweaty. Breathless.”
“Hard, too?” she asked, shifting her hips.
I angled mine into her, nudged my dick against her thigh. “Very hard.”
“Mmm,” she replied, her hands sliding down my back as eager as me. Fuck, now that I showed her what it was like, she was insatiable. Fine by fucking me.
I nuzzled her jaw then worked my way down her body, licking and kissing my way down to her pussy. Her fingers moved to my head.
“Where… are you going?”
Settling between her
thighs, I looked up at her. Yeah, I could live here all fucking day. “Gotta warm up first.”
She huffed out a laugh, but it turned into a moan when I licked into her. She didn’t say anything at all after that except for my name when she came all over my mouth and fingers. Only then did I know she was ready, that she was soaked and soft for me. Then I took her. Made her forget everything but me. Made her know who she belonged to. Who was fucking her. Keeping her. Giving her everything.
23
HARPER
A few hours later, we were in the Double B Diner, waiting to meet the president of a motorcycle gang. I was tucked in beside Reed, his arm slung over the back of the booth, his fingers grazing my shoulder. No one sat across from us, and with his size, I could barely see anyone else in the diner around him.
“You said this place is owned by a motorcycle gang?” I asked, looking around. There was nothing about the restaurant that made me think that. It was a typical vintage diner that had been built decades ago, probably when the highway was built. Central entry, booths lining the walls all the way around. Counter seating around the center. We were tucked in the back corner. The table’s surface was orange laminate, and there was a small jukebox on the wall next to the sugar packets and salt and pepper shakers.
It was busy, full of a mix of locals and those stopping for a break on their drive. While Brant Valley wasn’t huge, I’d never been to the place before since it was on the far side of town from the university.
The scent of grilled onions and bacon made my stomach rumble. I’d worked up an appetite with Reed. While I ran every day, muscles I didn’t even know I had were sore. I couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps that was what a slew of orgasms made me do.
“Club,” Reed replied. “They’re a club although from the limited info I have on them, they skirt the line on the law.”
“This guy, he’s friends with Gray?”
Reed had told Gray about my problems. At first, I’d been annoyed, but I quickly realized he deserved to know. Guys had camped out in his parking lot. Guys who wanted to hurt me if I didn’t give them money. I wouldn’t blame him if he hated me or kicked me out of the apartment for bringing trouble to his doorstep. Instead, he’d offered his help.
Help in the form of a guy who ran a motorcycle gang. Club.
The waitress brought over the coffee we ordered in a big carafe and two mugs. She set a bowl of creamers beside it then left.
“You heard what happened with Emory last summer?”
I nodded, reaching for the carafe and pouring the dark brew into our mugs.
“Quake Baker helped. He’s the president. She’s sort of under his protection, which covers Gray too although he doesn’t need it.”
“Why?” I asked, stirring my coffee. “I mean, how do they know each other? Quake and Emory?”
“She helped his grandson. The kid and his uncle live a few blocks from her old place, and I guess he got scraped up riding his bike. He’s… eight maybe. He takes care of those who take care of his family.”
Emory was a helper and a mother. I had no doubt she’d taken care of the boy if he’d gotten hurt. She’d even mothered me a bit, getting me into the apartment in Gray’s building.
“What does this have to do with me?” I blew on the coffee, took a tentative sip. Even though I’d also lived near this guy’s son and grandson, I hadn’t known them. Hadn’t helped them in any way.
He looked down at me. “Your brother—”
Reed was interrupted by a guy who slid into the booth across from us. I pegged him in his fifties with graying hair and a weathered face. He was tall. Fit although a bulky guy. He wasn’t lean like Reed, but I had no doubt he could hold his own in a fight. He wore a black waffle knit t-shirt and jeans.
He set his hands on the table and nodded at Reed.
Reed made introductions. “Quake, this is Harper Lane.”
Quake eyed me, as if sizing me up. “Heard you got a family issue.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that then shut it down. “Sorry. Yeah, right, a family issue.”
He leaned in, his dark eyes pinned on mine. “Reed told me all about it.”
My mouth fell open, and I glanced up at Reed. “You did?”
“When you were in the shower. Figured you didn’t want to give him the recap.”
Yeah, that wasn’t something I wanted to do, to share my messed-up life with a stranger, even one who was probably even more rough around the edges than me.
“I don’t stand for that shit,” Quake said. “Sorry about the language, but you got dealt a bad hand.”
I nodded. “Yes.” What else was I to say?
“I’ve got connections. Got a hit off that plate number. The guy who your brother owes? Name’s Kevin Randolph. A big-time bookie. Deals with all kinds of gambling. Cards, sports, you name it. The guys who came to your place are his.” He cocked a brow, leaned forward, so his shoulders were up by his ears. So we wouldn’t be overheard although there wasn’t anyone at the table behind us. “He goes by Randy. I know him.”
Setting my mug down with a thunk, the hot liquid sloshed over the top. Oh shit. I pushed against Reed to get out of the booth. “Let me up.”
He set his arms on my shoulders, gave a gentle squeeze. “Whoa, what’s the matter?”
I tipped my head toward Quake. “He knows the guy. This… Randy guy who sent men to collect me for him. Tried to rape me. Slashed my tires. Showed up at my apartment. He knows him.”
“Hold up, doll,” Quake said, raising a hand. “I know a lot of people. We’re not BFFs or anything. Far from it. I’m not here to hand you off to him. I’m here to help.”
Reed kissed my head. “Shh. He’s going to help,” he repeated. “You think I’d put you in danger, princess?”
I took a deep breath, let it out. With shaky hands, I lifted my mug, took a sip of coffee. No, Reed would never put me in harm’s way. “Sorry,” I whispered, trying to calm my racing heart.
“Your problems, princess, are mine to take care of.” He’d said that before, but this time it was different.
I swiveled in my seat to face Reed head on. “Wait, that’s not what that means. I don’t want you going after them!”
He looked at me evenly. “I can take care of myself. And you.”
“This isn’t the ring. This isn’t the same kind of fight.”
“I’m better in a fight out of the ring. No rules.”
I blinked. He was serious. Ruthlessly so. “You walked away from that.”
“I did, but this guy and Cam? They need to be taken down.”
He was willing to fight dirty for me. To risk everything he’d built for me. I glanced down, then back at him. “Yeah, but they’re… they’re… bad, and you’re not.”
Reed winked. “Yeah, princess. I am bad. Just not with you.”
“And so am I,” Quake added, ending this line of talk. “I’ll set up the meeting, make it happen. We’ll get you in front of Randy, tell him you’re out and redirect his focus where it belongs. On your brother.”
He made it sound so simple.
Reed stilled, leaned in. “Hold the fuck up.” He tipped his head toward me. “She’s not getting anywhere near the asshole. His men tried to rape her.”
Quake’s eyes flicked between the two of us, and his jaw clenched. “Yeah, that’s something I’ll take care of.”
“You’re gonna need to get in line, yeah? I’m taking care of it first. You can deal with what’s left.”
“What? No,” I said, but the guys were staring at each other, doing some kind of man-mind melding thing and hadn’t heard me.
“I’m all for a meeting with Randy,” Reed’s tone was laced with fury when he said the guy’s name. “But she’s not getting near any of them.” He thumbed in my direction.
“She’s gotta go,” Quake countered. “We have to make a deal. Giving him the brother instead of her.”
I wasn’t sure who was going to win this fight, and I tuned the two of them out as I
drank my coffee and thought about it all.
Randy wanted my money. Money that Cam owed him. I wasn’t going to give it to Randy. His intimidation tactics so far hadn’t worked. Oh, they’d worked, but not for me to hand over the cash.
“Randy uses intimidation to get what he wants,” I said out loud.
Both guys quieted.
“What?” Reed asked, looking my way. He stroked my shoulder to tell me he was paying attention.
I glanced at Quake. “I would assume that intimidation works when there’s something at stake. That’s how guys like this work. Why Cam—my brother—is freaking out.”
He gave a single nod. “Yeah.”
“People will hand over cash to Randy because they don’t want a family member or friend or loved one to get hurt.”
“That’s right,” Quake responded, but I could tell he was waiting to see where I was going with this.
“I have no reason to give this Randy guy the money to save my brother. I don’t love Cam. I don’t even like him. He got himself into this mess and should face the consequences.”
“So he sent his guys to try and intimidate you,” Reed said, catching on.
“But that’s not working either,” I said. They scared the shit out of me, but I hadn’t given in.
“Not with me around,” he vowed.
“Exactly. You’ve got me protected, and he has no leverage with me when it comes to Cam.”
“Go on,” Quake said, eyeing me with curiosity.
“He wants the money. He obviously thinks I have it since he keeps coming around. I doubt Randy’s threatening my parents. What if I really don’t have the money?”
“You mean spend it?” Reed asked.
I glanced up at him. “I’ll give it to you.”
He pushed me back a little, so he could turn me to face him. My knee came up onto the booth’s cushioned seat. “Whoa, princess. I don’t want your money.”
He sounded insulted. “Yeah, but—”
“Why haven’t you touched any of it?” he asked, cutting me off.
“I told you. My parents gave it to me as payment for what Cam did. Hush money or whatever you want to call it. It’s tainted.”