by Unknown
“Go with your mama, little dude, we can play in a minute,” Animal told him, patting his shoulder when he pulled away from Sammy after the hug. Josh turned, looking at Animal for a long moment before looking back at his mother in the doorway.
“Promise?” he asked glancing back at Animal.
“Yeah, I promise, kid,” Animal told Josh, ruffling his hair before setting him on his feet on the floor. Nodding, the little boy tore out the door to the living room followed closely by Sarah, who only glanced over her shoulder once, a confused look on her face.
Sammy stood next to the window in her living room twenty minutes later watching Animal chase Josh around her tiny postage stamp-sized front yard with her arms wrapped around herself. She was waiting for Sarah to bring it up because she already knew that her best friend wouldn’t approve of her sleeping with Animal. She didn’t have to wait long before Sarah, who sat on the other end of the couch with a cup of coffee Animal had made for them, asked.
“Sam, are you sure getting involved with Animal this way is a good idea?” Sarah was watching her back, Sammy knew, because she could almost feel her eyes burning holes into her. Sarah didn’t mean to pry but she was doing so and unfortunately for her, Sammy wasn’t in the mood for this type of lecture. It was none of her friend’s business who she chose to sleep with.
“I’m sure,” Sammy told her staring out the window. “He seems so care-free.”
Sammy knew her voice was filled with awe at the sight of Animal laughing with the little boy as they played catch. She’d never seen this side of him and she was a little shocked that he was so good with Josh. Not that Josh wasn’t an awesome kid, he was, but Animal just didn’t seem like the type of man to run around after a toddler no matter how cute he was.
“Yeah, living with Reaper is good for him,” Sarah said, misunderstanding her meaning. She thought Sammy was talking about Josh.
Turning to face her friend, she shook her head. “I meant Animal. He’s normally so solemn that I wouldn’t expect him to want, let alone enjoy, playing with a toddler.”
“Oh, right. That was a surprise for me too actually. I’ve brought Josh in a few times and let him hang out in the back room with Reaper and me. Animal and surprisingly Pansy are both really good with him.” Sarah looked intrigued by this odd occurrence.
“Really? Pansy? He seems even more antisocial than Animal,” Sammy told her, sitting down on the end of the couch in such a way that allowed her to watch the two playing in the yard out the window while she talked to Sarah.
“Ha, I’ll never forget the first time I saw Animal and Pansy with Josh. I had run down to the grocery to get some sodas for the shop and came back to the office to find Reaper alone reading a report. I of course freaked, demanding to know where Josh was. Reaper looked up all wide eyed and confused. He finally says ‘oh, he’s with Pansy and Animal’ then went right back to reading his report like it was all better. I was, however, in a panic thinking he had lost his mind leaving my child with those two grave bikers. I even thought about moving out.” Sarah paused here, a faraway look on her face as she laughed with the memory.
“I tear out of the office intending to collect my child and move in with you the next day because no way was I staying with someone who would leave my child with just anyone. I should have known better. Sometimes Reaper’s so over-protective he smothers us.” She shook her head at that as she sat down beside Sammy on the blue couch Sammy had found in a second-hand store five years ago and reupholstered.
“I go storming into the break room expecting to find––well, I don’t really know what I expected but it wasn’t what I found. I fly in there and Animal is giving him a piggy back ride around the room on his hands and knees while Pansy hovers nearby to keep him from falling. I was floored. They were both grinning like fools and Josh seemed to be having the time of his life,” Sarah snorted. “Reaper walks in behind me. He leans forward and whispered into my ear ‘see, you need to trust me more, baby’. He knew I was pissed and worried and he let me think the worst so I would feel bad. The diabolical man.”
Sammy laughed, trying to picture that scene because even seeing Animal with him outside didn’t seem to create the picture Sarah painted of the two pensive bikers.
“I bet it was a shocker. I’m still amazed that he seems like a different person with Josh. Almost boyish,” Sammy said watching them again. Animal now had Josh on his shoulders. His little arms were out like he was pretending to have wings and Animal held his legs as he curved and moved around the yard, likely pretending they were a plane.
“I know, right?” Sarah said laughing.
The sight was unexpected but the more she got to know him, the more she realized that it shouldn’t shock her so much. He was a good man. That was likely why she trusted him so much. She had always prided herself as being a good judge of character. Until she had made the colossal mistake of trusting Tom that is. Now she questioned every decision she made because Tom had ruined her so thoroughly.
Sammy looked up to find Sarah watching her with a concerned look on her face. Sammy knew what was coming next and she wanted to tell her friend to mind her own business, but she knew that she couldn’t because Sarah was only asking because she cared.
“Are you sure this––thing with you and Animal is a good idea, Sammy?” Sarah finally asked, making Sammy sigh.
“I know it seems like a bad idea, but I trust him to help me. You know that I have issues connecting with people. He’s perfect because somehow I trust him and connect without effort,” Sammy finally told her, looking at her friend with a serious expression, trying to explain something that was hard for even her to understand.
“That’s what worries me. I know you. You think you can walk away from him whole but I don’t know that you can, Sam,” Sarah said, looking down at her hands and trying to explain her feelings without making Sammy mad. Sammy wasn’t upset; she understood why they had to have this conversation but that didn’t mean she had to like it. Sammy sighed again, taking Sarah’s hand in hers to squeeze it between her own.
“I’ve got this. I can handle it and I understand what’s happening,” Sammy told her, meeting her eyes when she lifted them to look at her.
“I hope so, but you have to know he isn’t the kind of man who stays. He’s just––not. He’s still damaged by something that happened in the past and I don’t know if he will ever change so promise me you won’t get too attached, okay,” Sarah said, desperately squeezing back.
“I promise,” Sammy said, even as she wondered if she’d be able to keep that promise. Turning to watch Josh and Animal out the window, her only thought was a question that she didn’t know the answer to. Was she already in too deep?
Chapter 13
Animal crawled from the bed, turning to look at Sammy who was still asleep. She really was a beauty. His cock jumped, voicing its own appreciation of the sight that greeted him. Sammy kicked at the covers, revealing one bare leg with its smooth skin that beckoned him to touch, to taste. He groaned softly as he watched her wiggle trying to find a comfortable spot on the bed.
After four days of sleeping in her bed, he was a walking hard-on and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out against the desires he was trying to beat into submission. Animal wanted to give her time to get used to his touch, to almost not feel it, because he knew after the trauma she’d suffered it wasn’t going to be easy for her the first time.
Animal shook his head as his hand moved to her tender flesh, rubbing along the smoothness of her thigh. He felt it against the calluses on his hands, biting his lip to stop himself from tying her to the bed and screwing her brains out for hours. He forced himself to cover her after another minute of caresses that had her shifting in her sleep.
He grinned when he realized that she wasn’t trying to move away but closer to his touch. He liked that, he liked that a lot, he thought, adjusting his cock inside his boxers before heading into the bathroom for a quick shower and a hand job. He was a man,
not a fucking saint, and feeling her pressed against him all night meant that he was taking a hell of a lot of showers to relieve the pressure.
Animal walked into Ink Bandits at around noon to start his shift. He’d taken his shower before waking Sammy to a late morning breakfast of eggs and bacon that he’d stocked her fridge with the day before. She’d protested the heavy meal but his glare and command that she eat had made her sigh and do what she was told. He knew that all his battles with her wouldn’t be won so easily but at least on the food front he wasn’t getting any lip. He headed to his station to get it ready. He had a guy coming back who wanted a full sleeve and he needed to set everything up for his client’s arrival.
“Hey, Reaper said to fill you in when you came in,” Pansy said from his doorway, making him look up.
“Fill me in on what?”
“The Headhunters are at it again. Reaper, Iron, and Lock all went out to the warehouse we shut down a month ago where they were holding those twenty women––”
“Why would they head back there?” Animal asked, confused because the club had been through it with a fine-tooth comb and found nothing other than the women. It didn’t make sense for them to go back there.
“We got some information from a contact Burner made during his time with the Headhunters who told him they were storing Juice there.”
“Shit, that designer drug shouldn’t be in our territory.” Animal glared at Pansy.
“I know. Reaper was pissed. It’s bad enough they have that flesh ring going on. Storing Juice anywhere near us is bold. They know what we did to the last group that started selling that shit around here but they’re getting bold as fuck.”
“Stupid bastards. What’s Reaper’s plan?” Animal asked.
“He wants to confirm the information which is why they went to check it out and then I bet we will be playing the wait and see game for a while. He’ll want to know who comes to get it and we both know that when they do Reaper will make sure to make an example of the fuckers,” Pansy told him chuckling.
“Yeah, that is why I find myself liking the man. He takes care of problems and makes a loud point about people not doing it again. Like letting his old lady shoot up that last traitor we had. That shit was cold and we both know if I’m saying that then it was fucked up beyond all reason.” Animal shook his head, a wicked smile on his face as he sat down in his chair to ready the inks for his customer.
Pansy was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed and a similar grin on his own face because he was just as bloodthirsty as Animal was, even though he normally hid it better. Pansy was a stark man. He was unreadable by most although over the years as their friendship had grown, Animal had come to read Pansy’s moods and attitudes quite well.
“So how’s the scars?” Pansy asked, making Animal growl because he knew exactly what the man was asking about and he didn’t like it. His relationship with Sammy and her recovery weren’t for public consumption. Animal glowered hard at Pansy who chuckled and shrugged.
“That good, huh,” Pansy said, laughing as he turned to leave the room, his parting shot making Animal’s blood boil. “Well, you should get around to the sex soon because your sorry ass is strung way too tight.”
It wasn’t any of the other man’s business that they weren’t having sex yet and despite his own thoughts that morning about how he wasn’t going to be able to hold out much longer despite his determination to do so, hearing Pansy talk about it was annoying. Sammy and his relationship with her were off limits.
Animal finished his set up and when his client arrived, he had calmed enough to work on the man’s sleeve without fucking it up.
Animal stood just inside the door watching Sammy who was bent over looking for something in her dresser. Her ass swayed as she moved and he felt his inner beast growl with the need to just grab her around the waist and take her. He wouldn’t be able to control this need for much longer he realized for the second time that day. She wore a light blue shirt that was just long enough to cover the backs of her silky smooth thighs. He wondered while watching her if she was wearing underwear because she wasn’t wearing pants.
As he moved into the room, Sammy jumped, whirling around to face him with a gun pointed at him. Animal grinned; good girl was his satisfied thought.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said, turning back to the dresser, laying the gun back on the top, her hands diving back into the drawer.
“Yeah, it’s me. What are you looking for?” Animal asked, curious.
“I put a pair of jersey shorts in this drawer but I can’t find them and I want to be comfortable when we start working out,” Sammy told him. Animal smiled because he wasn’t taking her to work out tonight. The blistering need to take her was too strong and he was going to give in before he completely lost control of his beast.
“You won’t need them,” Animal gruffly told her, his mind already playing out the scene of her spread on the bed with her arms tied. His head filled with a roaring hunger that wouldn’t let him go now that he had allowed himself to think about it.
“What? Why not?” Sammy asked, turning still bent to look at him over her shoulder, her face covered with an unsure look. Smiling wickedly, he moved into the room, his hands rubbing together, watching her. Sammy seemed to sense his change in mood and she stood up, watching him in the mirror as he prowled forward. Sammy turned, pressing against the dresser as if she wanted to sink into the wood. Animal prowled closer, his hands landing on either side of her waist, gripping the wood. Sammy’s lips trembled and he moved in, his lips finding hers.
“Wait,” she whimpered, and he paused mere millimeters from her waiting for whatever she would say. “I–I um––don’t know if I’m ready for this,” she finally stuttered out.
“You aren’t but we will get you there,” Animal told her, taking her lips, his tongue thrusting into her mouth and moving over hers in a blatant display of ownership. His hands moved to cup her ass while his tongue took control, thrusting into the hot wet depths of her mouth. She tried to pull away but he growled, not allowing it. Pulling back after a moment he ordered, “On the bed, now.”
Sammy hesitated and he thought that she would refuse but she moved towards the bed slowly. Animal stepped into the closet, grabbing the bag that he had brought over the first night he’d stayed after they went to Spangles together. He carried it into the bedroom where Sammy waited lying on her side on the bed watching him. She looked nervous, frightened even, and he wanted to reassure her that it would be okay. No matter what happened he would be sure she was taken care of.
“You need a safe word,” Animal told her as he unzipped the bag, pulling the silk ties out of the side pouch he kept them in.
“Um––I-I,” Sammy stuttered, looking even more pale and worried than she had been a moment ago. Animal laid the ties on the bed and moved up to cup her face, lightly brushing his lips against hers.
“You’re safe here, babe. Don’t worry so much, we will work through any issues you have. Now, pick a safe word.” Animal felt the slight shudder that went through her.
“Animal, I don’t know if tonigh––,” Sammy began but he interrupted her, knowing that she was reacting this way because she was afraid of him tying her up but he had a plan.
“Safe word,” he growled, his hand brushing through her hair as he met her gaze with his own. He tied the scarves to the bed, looking at her for a long moment before he repeated the request.
“Red,” she shot back and Animal nodded before leaning down and taking her lips with his, thrusting his tongue inside her parted lips again without her consent. He wasn’t going to give her a chance to panic over what was happening. This first time was going to be tricky and he would have to attempt not to frighten her. If she used the safe word then he wasn’t sure if they’d be able to attempt this again because he was sure she would shut down on him.
He began to parry and thrust in time to her light moans and her attempts to follow his rhythm. Sammy didn’t notice as they pl
ayed that he was tying the scarves he’d retrieved around her wrists. She was holding his head with her hands as they played mouth to mouth with a gentle cat and mouse game.
Animal pulled one of her hands up, holding it near her head and pressing it down on the bed beside her to be sure she didn’t notice that he was tying her first wrist to the bedpost. He moaned when her lips began to wander down his neck, her mouth kissing and sucking on his skin. The beast inside his chest wanted to force her off him so that he could kiss her like that but he pushed it back because he needed her distracted for the moment.
He allowed the caress as his hand tugged at her other hand, pulling it into place and tying it too. Sammy tugged at the first bond, likely surprised to find that she was now trapped. Her next words proved that guess to be true.
“What? How did you manage–no, wait.” Animal could see the unsure expression on her face and he noticed the way her breathing quickened. She was almost panting but she hadn’t said the safe word yet. That was good.
“Wait for what, Sam?” Animal asked, hovering over her and kicking the bag of stuff off the bed. He might end up going after some of the toys later but for now that needed to be out of her sight or she might freak out on him.
“I–I––this needs to stop,” she told him while tugging at the bonds and he smiled wickedly at her, earning a glare from her.
“You think this should stop?” he asked, his lips caressing her neck as he leaned over her with his hands on either side of her head and his cock was pressed against her hot wet core. It was taking everything inside him to hold back now that he could feel the hot wetness that was gathering between her legs.
“Yes,” she told him, pulling again at the bonds but even as she whimpered that word, her body pushed up into his and her head tilted to allow him better access to her sensitive neck.