An Outlaw Valentine

by Kathryn Kelly

  His brain warned him this was a bad idea. His mouth spoke the words of betrayal that would get him killed if Christopher found out.

  “Johnnie?” Kendall nudged him. “Randolph asked you a question.”

  Johnnie squinted between Kendall and Randolph. Feeling dizzy while stationary was the most fucked up feeling in the world. It threw him completely off-balance. He hadn’t even been able to drive himself to this meeting. Hence, Kendall’s presence.

  “Your woman told me she’s an attorney,” Randolph started, holding his glass of beer a few inches from his mouth. He drank deeply then continued. “I have a case I need representation on. My last attorney ran into the blade of a knife.” He snickered.

  “I’m not here to discuss Kendall’s career.” Johnnie tasted more whiskey. He frowned at his trembling. He could barely hold the glass to his lips because of his shaking hand.

  Kendall narrowed her eyes, while amusement slid into Randolph’s face.

  “Getting the shakes, huh, dude?” the Imperial asked.

  Swallowing, Kendall laughed nervously.

  Johnnie set the glass down. “It’s nothing I can’t handle,” he snapped. “As for Kendall taking on your case? No. Not at the moment.”

  “Not at the moment?” Kendall echoed, then grinned at him. “That’s a big change from a week ago when you said absolutely not.”

  Something inside of him had changed since then. Wondering what that might be, he squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again.

  “I want to talk about the Dwellers absorbing the Imperials into the club before your club fucks up again and steal more of our shit.” Johnnie’s mouth was so fucking dry, so he licked his lips. “Yesterday’s meeting didn’t go as planned. I did my part and got Christopher to attend. You didn’t do yours and tell Mystic to comply.”

  Randolph took his time lighting a cigarette. “We want in the Dwellers, Johnnie. We did what we needed to get his attention,” he said flatly. “You make that happen or Outlaw might find out about our little alliance.”

  Icy anger settled into his stomach. “Are you threatening me?” he snarled, his temper spiking in an instant.

  “Of course not, darling,” Kendall inserted. “He’s only trying to help you. Imagine if you brokered this deal peacefully. No lives lost. It would impress the brothers and show them what a capable leader you are.”

  Lives had already been lost, although Kendall didn’t know it.

  Randolph puffed his cigarette and released the smoke. “Do I smell dissension in the camp?” he questioned. “Are you looking to move in on Outlaw?”

  “Fuck no!” Johnnie told him. “My loyalty and allegiance are to him and the Dwellers, so get that idea out of your head.”

  “Just by meeting with me without club approval says otherwise,” Randolph pointed out.

  Johnnie growled.

  Kendall laid on hand on his arm. “Calm down, love,” she cooed. “Randolph doesn’t mean anything. Why don’t you pour yourself another whiskey?”

  She pulled a flask from her oversized purse and slid it to him.

  Before he poured himself another drink, the room started to spin. Closing his eyes, he rested his head against the cushion at the back of the booth. “I don’t think I can drink any more, gorgeous,” he mumbled. “I’m not feeling too good.”

  “You’re fine,” she soothed.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Randolph’s voice came from far away. “Is he fucking high?”

  Another nervous laugh from Kendall, one that Johnnie knew meant something. He couldn’t think of what, though.

  “My husband is perfectly fine, thank you very much. And I warn you, don’t fuck over him by going to that Neanderthal he has for a brother.”

  “What are you offering to stop me?”

  “Not pussy, you fucking asshole.”

  “Kendall, shut up,” Johnnie slurred, unable to raise his head. “We don’t want your temper to be seen as disrespect. If that happens, just what I’m trying to avoid—war between the clubs—will begin anyway.”

  “Listen to your old man, bitch. If you know what’s good for you.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Kendall demanded. “If you are, then you’re stupider than you look. In the world of the Dwellers, I’m low on the totem pole. You want to hit the club bad, get Meggie, Outlaw’s old lady.”

  “Is that so?” Randolph responded.

  “Everyone knows that,” Kendall said sharply. “I’m an innocent party in this. Just the lowly wife of the lowly vice-president. My husband and I are the good ones. You’ll do well to have an alliance with us. We know how to live together or apart. Outlaw is crippled if something happens to his precious Meggie.”

  “Thanks for the information,” Randolph said smoothly. “I like your style. You’re going to do well for me in court.”

  “I’d do well for anyone,” she retorted. “I’m a pro at what I do.”

  “You’re so modest,” Randolph said dryly.

  “I am,” Kendall agreed, then tapped Johnnie’s shoulder. “You’re going to let me take the case, aren’t you, my love?”

  Johnnie stared at the ceiling, sure he was on the verge of death. His hands and feet were tingling. His thoughts were in disarray. And his mind was a vacant tunnel.

  “Here’s my card, Randolph,” he heard Kendall say. “Call me in three days. I’m sure by then Johnnie will have changed his mind.”

  “We can meet at my place. Get to know each other on a more…personal level.”

  “No, asshole, we cannot. I love my husband.”

  “I had to try.”

  “Your efforts are lost on me.”

  “I’ll bet they aren’t. Any woman who’d push her husband to meet with an enemy of his organization would do anything.”

  “We need to leave,” Johnnie mumbled.

  Randolph hooted with laughter. “Should I call you the Black Widow, Kendall?”

  The words echoed through Johnnie’s head, and he shivered.

  “No, you may not,” Kendall screeched, then bumped her leg against Johnnie’s. “Excuse me, love. I need to get our vehicle. I’ll be right back to help you outside.”

  Lifting his head by sheer determination, Johnnie swung his legs to the side, so Kendall could scoot past. Her scent drifted back to him. Usually, her nearness, her smell, turned him on. Now, his cock didn’t even jump.

  For the past two days, he hadn’t gotten an erection.

  “I’d watch your ass, Donovan,” Randolph said, standing next to him.

  Johnnie wasn’t sure how much time had passed.

  “I think you’re being poisoned, if you ask me. Call me when you’re feeling better to do what needs to be done so we can both see our goals reached.”

  His ears buzzing, Johnnie watched Randolph walk away, stopping long enough to whisper to Kendall before continuing on.

  “Come on, Johnnie,” she said, reaching his side. She held out her hand.

  “I don’t feel good, Kendall,” Johnnie admitted around a moan.

  “I know, love. It’ll pass. I promise. Just take my hand and I’ll get you to the car. Trust me.”

  “I do, gorgeous,” Johnnie told her, gripping her delicate hand and coming to his feet.

  She slid her hand through his arm and held onto him, leading him out the door and keeping him on his feet all the way to her Navigator. At the passenger side, she released him long enough to open the door then help him onto the seat and strap his seatbelt.

  “I never want to hurt you,” Kendall said quietly, as they started off.

  “I know.”.

  “Just let me take the case, and, I swear everything can return to normal.”

  He wanted to say yes. She sounded so fucking pitiful and distressed. But something deep inside of him made him shake his head.

  “Why are you making me do this?” she cried.

  “I don’t know,” he blurted. More to the point, he didn’t remember what he was making her do.

  “Just say y
es and things will be fine. I only want to work this one case. I don’t want to hurt you.” She sniffled. “Please, be okay, Johnnie. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Kendall,” he managed before the darkness that had been calling him all evening swooped in and claimed him.

  Meggie headed to the home gym via the back staircase. She’d finished her paperwork earlier than expected and Kendall hadn’t come in today, still in a pique from two days ago.

  Christmas was three days away, so she hoped Kendall got past her annoyance so they’d have a good holiday.

  She’d worry about that later. Right now, she had more important matters to see to. Meggie had called Christopher and told him she had the house all to herself.

  Now, forty-five minutes later, he’d texted her to meet him in their gym. She pushed the ajarred door open and stepped in, not surprised to hear heavy metal playing on the room’s dedicated sound system.

  Because of the volume, he didn’t hear her approach, so she paused to take in the beauty of her shirtless husband as he lay on the bench, lifting massive weights. He was so stubborn. She always preferred him to have a spotter when he was dealing with three hundred pounds of iron.

  His massive hands gripped the barbell, lifted, held, and pressed, repeating the process over and over again. With each move, the muscles in his upper arms flexed. His six-pack rippled with the motion of his body.

  At the sight of his cock pressing against his sweatpants, she flushed, heat sweeping through her entire being and pooling in her center. He set the barbell back into place, drew in a breath, then lifted his head.

  He grinned at her and she almost swooned. There was nothing like a smile from her husband. It transfixed her.

  He grabbed the sound system’s remote control, turned the volume down, and sat up.

  Sweat plastered his dark hair to his head, beading against his tan skin. She licked her lips and his green eyes smoldered.

  “I’ll just go over here,” she said, her breathlessness giving her away, as she pointed to her exercise ball.

  Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she beamed a smile at him, and sashayed to the other side of the room. His laughter trailed behind her. He knew her game. She grinned to herself, not in the least bothered when the music started again. She was so aware of him, she thought she might go insane with anticipation. Without facing him, she knew she had his full attention.

  It was only after the birth of Ransom that she’d started utilizing their gym. Since Christopher’s vasectomy left her little chance of becoming pregnant again, she focused on the weight left over from her pregnancies. Now, she was just about back to pre-baby size. While she still wished she might one day have another child, working out increased her energy, allowing her to do all she had to do in the course of a day. She had a full, rewarding life, and she couldn’t have been happier.

  After five minutes of stretching, Meggie went to the stability balls, opting for the bigger red one, rather than the smaller yellow. First, she knelt in front of it before stretching out, allowing the ball to rest in her upper abdominal region. She crossed her hands over her chest and lifted up, only about three inches instead of the five or six Christopher did.

  She grunted through ten repetitions, before collapsing…er, resting against the ball. The music stopped again, and her senses went on alert. He was coming to her. Hyperawareness prickled her skin, and made her breath catch.

  The closer his footsteps drew, the more her heart pounded. Finally, he kneeled behind her and placed his hand at the small of her back. She shivered at his touch, sensitive to that initial contact from him. In those moments, expectation became reality, and shot fire along every nerve ending in her body.

  Grabbing her waist, he urged her to her feet and turned her to face him. In times like these, she didn’t have to stand on her tiptoes to kiss him. He wrapped her in his arms and she pressed her mouth against his opening to his thrusting tongue. He threaded his fingers through her hair and twisted, drawing a sharp breath from her.

  Taking advantage, he massaged her tongue with his, prodding his erection against her belly. He buried his face between her breasts and she was sorry she hadn’t worn only a sports bra to work out in. She loved the feel of his stubble on her skin, but the scooped-necked T-shirt she wore worked as a barrier.

  He nuzzled her neck, pulling her capri leggings down to her ankles. Stopping to massage her clit, he took first one ankle and then the other to pull her leggings over her tennis shoes. When he removed her T-shirt, he left her only in her sports bra and shoes.

  Still on his knees, he lifted her into his arms and crawled the short distance to the ball, depositing her on top so suddenly she nearly lost her balance.

  She squeaked but he caught her quickly and steadied her, guiding her to a supine position. She lifted herself onto her elbows as he parted her thighs, keeping one hand around her ankle to hold her steady.

  He held her gaze and lowered his head between her legs, teasing her with a small lick before opening her lips and sniffing her. He rubbed his nose against her clit and Meggie cried out, abandoning her position to lay against the ball.

  Christopher loved to torture her with new ways of pleasuring. His skill never ceased to amaze her.

  “I love your pussy and your golden bush,” he breathed, adjusting her so that her head and back rested against the ball and her butt cheeks rested on one of his arms. “I love the smell of your cunt, Megan.”

  Her legs trembled. He nosed her again, chinning the inside of her thighs.

  “Christopher,” she groaned. “Please.”

  He inserted a finger into her, thumbed her clit, before adding a second finger and working in and out of her body. “Please what, baby?” he demanded.

  “Lick me,” she begged.

  His warm laughter blew across her skin. “Where?”

  “My pussy,” she relented.

  He rewarded her with a long, slow lick, dragging the pad of his tongue over her clit and driving her out of her head. Pulling his fingers out of her, he speared his tongue into her hole, twirling and tasting. The ball shifted beneath her, but it barely mattered to her. He’d never let her fall. Besides, she was past the point of caring.

  A hunger to have him inside of her built up. He tongued her seam, circled her bud, tasting and teasing her. Goosebumps broke out over her skin, and she moaned.

  “Your pussy juice is drippin’ all over this fuckin’ ball.”

  He sounded so masculine and satisfied, Meggie almost came.

  “From now fuckin’ on, this the ball my ass usin’, and no fuckin’ body else.”

  His voice vibrated through her. Abruptly, he stopped conversation and laved her inner thigh, teasing between her butt cheeks and lapping her clit before covering her with his mouth and sucking her.

  The mixture of pain and pleasure, his dominance, sent her over the edge and she screamed, falling apart beneath his ruthless assault. He blew against her swollen flesh, soothing her throbbing, and then rested his cheek against her mound.

  “You okay, baby?” he asked after a moment.

  “Yeah,” she said dreamily. “But I still want you inside of me.”

  “I ain’t gonna deny whatever the fuck you want,” he told her, leaning back on his haunches even as he kept his hands on her so she wouldn’t fall.

  He helped her to her feet and then stood, grasping her hand and pulling her to the weight bench, where he laid back on it.

  Without hesitation, she drew his sweats down his thighs and allowed his cock to spring free. As she stroked his penis, she straddled him. He grabbed her waist and assisted her in lifting over him. Slowly, she impaled herself on him. Buried to the hilt, he throbbed inside of her and she tightened around him, drawing a gasp from him.

  Up and down she moved, faster and faster, bouncing against his length, and working herself into a frenzy. Each time she bore down, he pushed into her, hard and deep, until she lost all sense of self, time and place. The man inside of her owned her, body a
nd soul, and she gave into her orgasm, groaning when he stiffened and trembled, reaching his own climax.

  A moment later, he withdrew from her. She liked to cuddle with him, but she never trusted this weight bench too much.

  Before she stood, he kissed the top of her head. “CJ comin’ home soon,” he said, sitting up while she got her leggings. “He gonna be lookin’ for you.”

  As she removed her shoes to step into her leggings, she smiled. “I know.” She sounded hoarse and sated, but now it was time to return to Mommy-mode. “I was thinking we could have taco cheeseburgers tonight. CJ likes to help me to cook those.”

  Christopher went to where his white T-shirt hung from one of the bars of the combo machine and slid into it. He looked like a warrior god, all sleek lines and toned muscle.

  “You’re so beautiful,” she whispered.

  He smirked at her and sauntered toward her, lifting her onto the weight bench and nuzzling her neck.

  “Ain’t more beautiful than you,” he responded. “Nothin’ is.”

  “According to you.”

  “That’s all the fuck that matter, ain’t it, baby?”

  “Of course,” she said, meaning it. Only her kids were above her husband. For them, she’d give up her life. For him, she’d give up her soul.

  He kissed her again. They could never get enough of kissing and hugging each other. “I gotta go the fuck back to the club.”

  “Okay. Are you coming home to eat, or will you eat at the club?”

  “Ima be home in time to sit at the table, like most of the time.” He grabbed his cut. “You ain’t gotta work no more today?”

  “Uh-uh. Kendall probably won’t be in for a couple of days, so why don’t you and me meet in here the same time tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow, Ima make you my fuckin’ weight set, even if you ain’t three hundred fuckin’ pounds. Maybe, Ima work out one arm with you, then the next.”

  She rolled her eyes. “It’s comments like that that puts me at odds with Kendall.”

  Christopher scowled at her. “I ain’t givin’ a good motherfucker about that bitch. If she ain’t realizin’ by now she a gorgeous bitch, you ain’t got a fuckin’ thing to be fuckin’ upset ‘bout.”