by Sky Winters
Amanda fought to keep her mouth from overriding what she felt. Her instinct was to say something sarcastic, something to deflect from the intensity of the moment. Instead, she said nothing. She didn’t want to ruin this beautiful moment taking place now that they would be living in the same place. It wasn’t quite as romantic being asked to move in as it could have been if it didn’t feel as if it was out of necessity, but she couldn’t help feel that he would have found another way if he didn’t truly want her here.
“I don’t know,” was all she managed.
“I do,” he replied, leaning in to kiss her.
Flames shot to life within her. An almost involuntary moan escaped her lips, vibrating against his lips as they quickly lost themselves in one another. Her hand drifted to his chest, feeling his racing heartbeat thump heavily against her palm. She knew that hers would only match it in speed as her excitement grew and their kiss grew more heated. Amanda decided she wasn’t going to fight it. Regardless of what it did or didn’t mean, it felt amazing.
Peeling away the decidedly unsexy long johns he had given her to sleep in, a chill caught her skin for a moment. Aspen kissed away the goosebumps that cropped up, pulling the blanket tightly around her as he undressed and slipped beneath it with her. Their naked bodies pressed against one another, creating their own heat. She could feel his arousal pressed against her thigh as he leaned in to kiss her once more.
“I’m like a road map,” he whispered as her hands caressed his bare skin. Though she couldn’t see them in the dimly lit tent, she could feel the numerous scars along his arms and across his back. She had noticed them before, but they had never really talked about them.
She knew they were an unspoken testament to the fact that wherever he had come from, whatever he had been or was, his life had been difficult in a way she might never understand.
“Good thing I enjoy traveling,” she replied, her words echoing into his mouth as their lips hovered closely to one another.
“Feel free to take the scenic route, in that case,” he almost moaned as her hand drifted down his skin.
Amanda leaned in, eager to kiss him again as his own hands found their way down her back and rested on her bare backside, pulling her body into his and holding onto her as if she might disappear if he didn’t hold on tightly. The crackle of the fire mingled with their passion as they threw caution to the wind and explored one another with lips, hands and souls.
Her nipples grew harder against the coarse hair scattered heavily across his broad chest. The ache inside her begged to be quenched. It had been too long since she had felt like this and it was as frightening as it was exciting. Still, she had no intentions of fighting it. She held nothing back as her lips found their way to the smooth skin of his shoulder blade, unscarred by whatever had violated other portions of his incredible body.
“You taste incredible,” he told her, pulling away before lowering his head to tease a single nipple with his tongue. She cooed against him, rendered helpless by the sensations he was imparting with his touch. A moan escaped her lips as his fingers found their way to her clit, softly massaging the wetness that had already formed there in answer to his explorations.
Her body heaved forward against him, his arm sandwiched between them as he continued to suckle at her breasts and delicately slip his rough fingers across her aching clit and through her delicate folds. There was no denying the command he held over her. She was putty in his hands, unwilling to deny him anything if he kept doing what he was doing to her. It felt like heaven as he teased her, bringing her closer to an eruption that she knew would leave her weak and only wanting more.
The tip of his tongue dragged slowly in circles around her nipples before drifting upward, coupled with gentle bites that he placed on the side of her neck, sending her into a frenzy of passion. She was nearly mad with desire from the teasing as he brought his lips to hers once again and began to kiss her, pulling his fingers free of her center as he repositioned himself against her much smaller frame.
“Please,” she muttered, just one word that spoke volumes. She wanted him, needed him inside of her. Her body demanded it. If this wasn’t forever, it was enough. Right now, she wanted him like she’d never wanted anyone in her life. Her nostrils were overwhelmed with his smell, a distinctly masculine scent of nature and something she couldn’t quite put her fingers on. It beaconed to her like nothing she could describe.
She gasped as he slipped inside of her, filling her with his lust in one fluid roll of his hips. Her gaze drifted upward, away from his chest to find he was watching her, taking in the way she bit her lip and closed her eyes each time he buried himself into her core. Their bodies fit together perfectly, slipping back and forth along each other’s skin as he took her in such a slow, sensual way that it made her almost weep.
This wasn’t her, wasn’t like her usual pace. She was always intense in bed, but not in this way. She liked things rough, heated. This would have been considered very vanilla sex in her book yesterday, but today, now, it was like nothing she had ever experienced. He was making love to her on a level she had never experienced. It touched her on a spiritual level, an emotional one, not just the physical. It was intoxicating. All thoughts fell away as she lost herself in what was happening between them.
“I can’t hold back,” she gasped as he bore more deeply into her, his hardness coupled with the soft way in which he pushed apart her folds time and time again until she felt on the verge of orgasm. Then, there was no turning back as her body took completely over, shaking with the force of her first climax and continuing to quiver with the aftershocks that continued behind it until she felt she had nothing left to give.
“I love making you quake like that,” he whispered, continuing his slow but deep strokes inside her, his hips rolling into hers to penetrate her fully as he brought his lips to her once more, kissing her tenderly. She was close to tears, something she couldn’t explain. He was doing something to her, touching her on an emotional level that she had pushed down into the darkness long ago.
Their bodies danced a slow tango, their combined shadows cast against the back wall of the room by the nearby flames of the small fire. The smell of the wood wafted toward them, combined with their passion to create something new, something earthy and amazing. Aspen pressed into her again and again, his hips grinding deeper, faster as he approached his own climax. His fingers sank into her back, pulling her tightly to him as he let go and filled her with the fruits of their passion.
A loud groan filled the air around them as he came and then lay there against her, resting his head against her breast as they began to relax after the intensity of their coupling. Neither spoke. There was nothing to say, no promises to make. This was simply what it was, two adults caught up in their desires. She might not be here always. Maybe this wouldn’t stick, and they would go their separate ways and become just a fond memory to one another. Amanda felt a sadness that it might be the only time she had felt so much with someone, but that was just the way it was. She was a big girl and knew this might just be a fling and that might be all there was to them.
After a while, Aspen got up and went to stoke the fire, adding more wood to keep them warm through the remaining hours until daylight. Amanda took the opportunity to get dressed and tucked in under the blanket, not entirely comfortable being naked in a club full of bikers. Though there were some women here, they seemed sparse and she had to wonder why.
When he returned, he pulled her against him, wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her back tightly against his chest so that they were curled up like spoons. Warm and content, she fell into the most peaceful sleep she had had in a very long time. Perhaps tomorrow there would be more answers. Tonight, was just going to be a wonderful night she wouldn’t soon forget.
Chapter 11
More than a week had passed since Amanda had discovered the true nature of the Silver Wolves and the Dire Wolves. She no longer went anywhere alone. On the one hand, it felt a bi
t like being under some sort of limited arrest area, but she also felt incredibly safe. Since many of her outings were with Aspen, she couldn’t really complain, as she loved being near him as much as possible.
At night, they made love, her body succumbing to his in a way she’d never felt before. It was like being lifted into another dimension when he was inside of her. She felt like all her senses were heightened - taste, smell, touch. He knew exactly where and how to touch her. Being with him was like nothing she had ever known before.
Still, there was the fear of the unknown. He lived in a world that was far more frightening than she could have ever imagined. As much as she wanted to be with him, she wasn’t sure how long she could live her life not being free to do as she wished.
It was on a rare venture into town that things had taken another change between them, sending their temporary arrangement toward something more permanent. It was after a disappointing night at work that she had news to tell him.
Once Roy had caught on to the fact that she was with Aspen, he had let her go, telling her that he just didn’t need the extra help anymore. She had been sad, but understood his reluctance to get the bar involved in any kind of biker business in which she might find herself. Obviously, he didn’t know the half of it and she didn’t want to put him in the position of finding out, so she had accepted it without an argument.
“I have to have a job,” she had told Aspen. “I have rent to pay and, even though I don’t have any real bills beyond household ones, I still need cash for food and personal things.”
“I have enough cash to take care of you,” he had told her.
“I don’t have any desire to be some biker babe kept up by her “old man” as these other girls like you call your guys.”
“Still under the delusion you’re not my old lady, are you?” He laughed.
Amanda scowled at him. He knew how much she hated that term and only used it when teasing her. Still, this was no laughing matter. She needed a job and she couldn’t very well go get one with two burly bikers standing guard over her all the time.
“You aren’t funny.”
“Yes, I am. You are just stubborn. I tell you what. I saw what you had done with your house. I remember that place before you rented it. It was a hellhole that had been empty for almost a year because no one wanted to live in the dump. I suspect that you took it for the cheap rent and fixed it up yourself, so you’ve got some skills. What if the club hired you to do some of the stuff here?”
“I thought the club didn’t have the money for stuff like that right now?”
“We don’t have the money to pay someone cash, but we can afford the materials and pay you in room and board for now. You can stay here and eat here for free. I’ll get you out of your lease with the owner of your house. We go way back.”
“I already stay and eat here for free. Sounds like slave labor.”
“Now, now. I wasn’t done yet. The club will pay you a hundred a week for doing a bit of work around the place. It’s not much, but without housing expenses, it should tide you over for a while.”
“Throw in unlimited sexual encounters with the VP and you’ve got a deal,” she joked.
“Done,” he said.
“Whore,” she laughed.
“Yeah, but I’m your whore.”
He pulled her to him and kissed her again, running his hands across her ass as they embraced.
“Um, excuse me, Aspen, but I need to talk to you.”
“Sure. I’ll be right there.”
“You’ll be okay here for a moment?” he asked.
Amanda nodded and looked down at her plate. She had hardly even started to eat. Several of the bikers were still within her view, having come into town with them while they ate. It was rare that any of the pack went anywhere alone anymore. They always went in pairs and groups, the threat of Dire Wolves still looming large overhead. Though no one was yet certain what was going on with them or what they were up to, they were making themselves visible around town.
She took a bite of her salad and looked out over the restaurant. Several people glanced her way and then diverted her eyes when she caught them staring in her direction. It was no secret around here that they weren’t happy about how prominent the club was becoming around town and she was now viewed as a part of that. It didn’t bother her, at least not too much, not at first. She had never intended to stay here forever and with all that was going on, perhaps it was time to consider leaving.
“Sorry about that,” Aspen told her when he returned. “Found our rat. He’s been taken care of.”
“Do I want to know?”
“No, not really.”
“Aspen, why do you stay here? Why don’t we just pack up and go?”
“This my home, Amanda. I’ve lived here my entire life. These guys are my family.”
“Lots of people leave their families and go elsewhere.”
“Yes, but those people are different. A wolf can’t survive alone. They are pack animals and being only part, one doesn’t change that.”
“I just think we could be freer elsewhere, not have to worry about Dire Wolves or what they might be up to.”
“Do you think that leaving would get them off my case? It won’t. They would track me down and pick me off while they had me alone. It is their mentally, to separate wolves from their pack and take them out. That is why the one from the bar waiting until you and I were alone out at the falls. He thought he could take me, but knew he couldn’t do it with my brothers around me.”
“Okay. I guess that’s just the way it is.”
Aspen looked at her from across the table, then reached for her hands, taking them in his. He looked like he was pained greatly by his next words, as she spoke low and quietly.
“I know you didn’t ask for any of this. Maybe it was unfair for me to bring you into it without knowing what it would mean for you. I’m sorry for that. If you want to go, I will understand. I can’t go with you. I wish I could, but it would mean the end for me and, for you, if you were there when they found me. You, though, you could go and not look back. You aren’t a shifter. They wouldn’t come after you.”
“What? No. I’m not leaving you behind. If we have to stay here and just deal with the nonsense we must endure, then that is just the way it is. I’ll handle it.”
“Are you sure? You don’t have to if you want to go.”
“Aspen, I love you. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
“I love you too,” he replied, letting go of her hands and picking up his fork. “Let’s eat before our food gets any colder and get home. I’ll show you just how much I love you for the rest of the night.”
“Incorrigible.”
“Yep. So?”
“So, eat faster.”
Aspen laughed and finished his food, dropping some cash on the table to cover the food and a tip before they headed back home, the pack following along behind them. They stopped off at her house to gather a few things and put them in a van that had been brought into town to pick up supplies for the club. Aspen had motioned for a few of the club members to follow them inside, while the others stood watch outside.
“She’s going to need all of her personal things besides what we are grabbing now brought to the club. Get a group together to come over and pack it all up for her. She’ll show you what needs to come to the club and the rest can go to my cabin in the back-storage unit for now.”
Amanda admired how he was so authoritative with the guys and they listened to him. She knew none of them that didn’t at least appear to have the greatest respect for him and the best interests of the club at heart. There was the rat, but he had apparently been missing since after the incident at the falls, so she had never met him that she was aware of other than maybe a passing glance the first time she had been brought to the clubhouse.
She quickly showed the one called Cujo, for reasons she wasn’t sure she wanted to understand, the things she needed to have at the club and what could go
to the cabin storage. The larger pieces of furniture had come with the house and could stay here. Gathering some extra clothes and shoes, she stuck them in a couple of large boxes they had brought in for her and watched as they took them back out to the waiting van.
“That it for now?” Aspen asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Let’s get out of there then.”
They were on their way back out to the bike when the police arrived. It was the same two officers that had spoken to her weeks ago when the neighbor’s dog had been killed.
“We’ve been looking for you, Miss Miller.”
“Why is that?” she asked.
Aspen motioned for the other bikers to roll out as he locked the door for her and walked over to stand beside her where the officers had stopped her on the front lawn.
“What’s this about?” he asked them.
“Our business is with Miss Miller, not you, Aspen,” one of them responded.
Amanda realized that he already knew Aspen and was obviously not impressed with his being there. Aspen was just as unimpressed with their presence, it seemed. He took a small step forward and slightly in front of her, as if to shield her from them.
“Miss Miller is my business,” he growled.
“Is that so? Don’t get your fur ruffled. We just wanted to check on her. Her neighbor said she looked as if she had been attacked the last time she saw her and then she had disappeared.”
Aspen glanced toward the neighbor’s house, as did Amanda. She could see the blinds move as if someone was peeping out—they had just moved away so as not to be discovered. Nosey bitch, Amanda thought. How dare she call the cops when she saw her arrive, which is obviously what she had done.
“Well, as you can see I’m just fine,” she told them. “Now, if you will excuse us. We have somewhere to be.”
“Is that right? You might want to be a bit more careful who you hang around with, Miss Miller. There are some real mongrels in this town,” the cop said, never taking his eyes off Aspen.