BENT AT THE ALTAR

by Claire St. Rose

  “Noah, what happened? That’s not normal riding stuff.” The bruises were in circles concentrated on his chest and stomach. Some looked deeper than the others, but the worst were right on his ribcage. He would've had to crash his bike several times to get marks like those.

  He looks back down at me, totally devoid of humor as he commands me, “Don’t ask questions.”

  I cross my arms, completely and totally pissed off. I've had my fill of this secret cult gang. “Why the hell not? You lock me up in your daughter’s room for hours only to get a warning that I was gonna die if I stayed with you, and then you come back here covered in bruises and I’m not supposed to ask what happened? How in the world does that make sense? If I'm forced to stay here, I at least want to know what the fuck is going on!”

  Noah bursts into a smile as he heads down next to my spot on the bed. He places his two arms on either side of me as he looks into my eyes, “I’ve never heard you cuss before, Miss Harvey. I've got to admit that it’s kind of hot.”

  I push him off me as he leans in to nuzzle my neck. “Don’t play games with me, Noah! I want to go home or at least get some answers. Are you gonna tell the truth or not?”

  He stands up, irritated that I rebuked him. “No. I’m not. The less you know, the safer you are.”

  “More like the less I know the more you control me, right? After all, that’s what happened to Opal’s mom.” He takes a step towards me, his hands turning into fists. “That’s what her mom told me. She said if I stayed here with you, you would turn me into her, or at least what became of her.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” His breathing is hitched, as if it is trapped in his throat.

  “No! I don’t!” I shout back to him, “Because you won’t be honest with me, and tell me why the fuck I'm here and what happened tonight!”

  “You wanna know what happened, Faye? You really want to know?” I nod my head at him slowly. I could tell I was about to get some reality check that I maybe didn’t want to hear. “We dug up a dead body – one of our brother’s who was shot and killed by the Bonebreakers. Then we raided their clubhouse and did the same thing they did to us. But this time we made sure the job was done.”

  My mind stopped thinking about the bullets spraying through the drywall and windows. Glass everywhere, my mind screaming. “No…”

  “Yeah, Faye. Because that’s how these things work. An eye for an eye. Blood for blood. We do what we gotta do.” He sounds just as upset as I am. Unlike the guys downstairs clinking bottles and hollering wildly, Noah seems just as affected by this as me. He’s different, at least, he's acting different. Still, he ads, “Those fuckers deserve whatever they get. They killed my girl, Faye. They killed her, and I’ve wanted to get them back ever since. Now I have my revenge.”

  Chapter 13 FAYE

  He killed someone. Someones? What am I supposed to do with this information? I want to run, but I’m trapped. I want to help him, but he's helpless.

  Noah begins to breathe heavily as his hands run lines through his hair. His feet begin to pace the lines of the floor, stomping as they pick up speed. He walks to a small wooden dresser and places his hands around the sides. With a loud, primal yell, he pushes it over towards the ground before the door. He kicks at it with his boot, causing the side to cave in.

  I whisper towards him, “Noah...“ I try to think of the right words, but nothing is coming to me. Do I comfort him? Do I tell him I understand? I don’t really. Instead, I stand next to him until he's done beating down the furniture, and I place my hand gently on his shoulder, away from a bruise. When he doesn’t move, I wrap my other arm around his hip. I press my skin against his back, trying not to hurt him deeper.

  He doesn’t hold me back. He doesn’t touch me or try to push me away. He stands there, taking in my hug, breathing in the scent of my hair. After a long, horrible minute of us just standing in the morning light of his room, he spins around to face me. Our eyes catch the other’s until we become lost in the other’s grief and anger.

  Noah dips his head towards mine, touching my lips with his own. The same foggy haze taking over me as I let out a soft murmur. I push back, finding his lips, linking them with my own. I wrap my arm around his neck, pulling myself to him. I want him – just as much as I wanted him earlier last night. I want him so badly that I'm willing to forget what Opal’s grandmother had warned me for these moments.

  Noah dips me back slightly, taking my cheek in his hand and forcing me to stand still. I watch obediently as he raises the dress over my head and then undoes my ponytail. My hair cascades over my bare skin as I shake it out. He takes a long look at me as his chest caves in and out from his deep, rushed breath. Then, he's on me again, his hands wildly grabbing at my body.

  I unsnap my bra and slip out of my panties while he removes his belt, letting his pants fall to the floor. Neither of us can get naked faster. When he’s free, I push him down to the bed. His body springs upwards as he laughs and steadies himself. I look down at him as I lick my lips. I want him and his hard cock.

  And I can have him. The way he’s laying there, spread out for me with his hard cock standing at attention for me...all it would take is for me to straddle him and let him enter me hard and raw. But where is the fun in that? He’s given me so much more pleasure than I've shown him. It’s only fair that I return the favor for the deeds in my classroom.

  I walk to him slowly, giving him a show. My hands fall on my breasts and begin to gently massage. Almost immediately, he sits up on his elbows for a better view of my fingers moving to my nipples where I stimulate myself with a few soft twists and pulls. I get brave, and lick my hand and then sending it down towards my clit. I haven’t touched my own body in so long, but seeing him watching me, approving of me, only makes me more turned on.

  When I’m nice and warmed up, I return my attention back to him. Sinking to my knees, I part his legs gently and then pull him forward to meet my head. His cock dangles before me over the side of the bed. It’s the perfect position for me to kiss the length of his shaft from tip to balls. My tongue rolls over the curves of him and then returns to the rod. When I head back up top, I make the choice. I’m going all in. My mouth opens wide, swallowing him whole. I push my head deeper and deeper until I can’t take any more. I slowly move back up, my tongue lagging behind and making their own trails on his dick.

  This was one thing I never wanted to do with my ex. It was always so dirty and beyond me. I never knew if what I was doing was right or even enjoyable. But as I hear his hand slam into the bed and watch the covers move as he holds on, I know he’s enjoying it. I go for more, each slow movement, I take another centimeter, another bit of him. His cock tastes earthy and rich, and as his fluids build up, I get a small hint of what it would be like to let him finish in my mouth.

  But not today. Today I want him, all of him. If this is my choice to bed him, I want that cock inside of me. So as I feel his cock pulsating deeply and his breath begin to pick up, I let go with a pop. Noah picks me up off the ground without a second to spare and places my back against his stomach. Roughly, he grabs the top leg and pulls it under his arm, hitching it up near my face. As he kisses me, I feel it – the amazing sensation of being full again. It hurts at first, but the pleasure following the pain is unreal. I could spend all night feeling him enter and leave me and never want it to stop.

  I tip my head back to him as he takes more of me. The position is deep, so deep. I’m feeling him at angles I doubt have ever been touched before. His steady pounding of his cock rattles me in rhythm to his own body. It’s hard to keep our mouths locked like this, but neither of us break our lips’ embrace. My own arm locks around his neck to keep it in place.

  As he goes in and out of me, picking up a maddening speed, I guide his hand to my stomach, and he takes the lead, slowly dipping down to my exposed clit. He starts by just resting it on top of it, and adding a small amount of pressure against the strokes of his cock. And then there’s a
sharp sting as he slaps the sensitive tip of my skin. I let out a yell as I roll back into his body wanting more. He slaps it again with his fingers, the feeling vibrating not just in my pussy, but throughout my entire body.

  Noah enters me with his finger, placing it on top of where his cock is working. It’s just slightly in there, but the feeling of the extra stretch sends me to new heights. He finds my button almost instantly. And I’m reeling, falling faster and faster. I want to cry out, to scream. But I’m breathless as he continues to push into me. Deeper. Every stroke is deeper. It’s like he’s punishing me and rewarding me with every single beat of his cock into my pussy.

  I hold onto the sheets as my body begins to curl and tense. He whispers into my ear, “That’s it. Cum for me, Faye. Cum for me!” And I let go – every bit of anger, every bit of fear and anxiety. It all explodes out of my body into one, mind numbing sensation that leaves all my blood rushing to my folds.

  I come up, gasping for air. In the midst of it all, I managed to turn myself onto my stomach and away from him. But I feel his breath on my cheek as he whispers, “You’re not done yet.” I have no time to think before he's in me again, this time taking me from behind on his knees while I rest my stomach into the pile of sheets and blankets. I manage to pull myself up on my palms and stretch out before he grabs me around the hips for balance.

  He’s riding me now, riding me harder than before. Something intense and untamed is taking over his body as he sends his rock solid shaft into my pussy. He calls out something, but I can’t make it out over the sound of his balls slapping against my flesh. When I don’t answer him, he grabs my hair and pulls my head up. I scream out from the shock as he yells down to me, “Say you’re mine, Faye. Say I own you!”

  “I – I – I—” I can’t bring myself to do it. I’m lost in the pull of his body, the way he isn’t Noah anymore.

  “Say it!” His scream is raw and needing, just like my body. Again, I'm trembling from the spasms shooting up my body. I want him to finish me. I want me to finish with him. His cock driving deep into my flesh sends me reeling as I hold on for the end of the ride, praying that this moment, this buildup, never ends.

  “I’m yours! I’m yours!” I yell back, hoping he can hear me. My words push us both over the edge as he falls on top of me in a heap, and I collapse into the bed. He slowly removes himself from me before rolling to the side of where I'm lying.

  After few silent moments, both of us panting and sucking in air, he turns to me and brushes the hair out of my eyes, “Twice?”

  I nod and confirm, “Twice.”

  His face beams in pride. “Next time, let’s go for four.”

  Next time? My heaven goes crashing back to Earth as I think about that implication. There is no next time, not for us. Whatever this is, whatever I want it to be, it has to end.

  I lift myself up and off the bed, finding my dress in the dark. He sits up, amused, unsure of what is going on. It’s all just part of the game for him. I suppose he’s done this so many times that that makes sense. How could I be so naïve to think I was more than just another pussy to own, another soul to convert?

  I slip on my panties as I look at him as seriously as I can, “Noah…I can’t do this. I’m sorry.”

  He sits up straight, his hands resting on his knees, “What? What are you talking about?”

  “This. I can’t be this kind of girl. This isn’t what I want, and it’s not fair for Opal or for me. I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go.” I bend down, searching for my purse. I have no idea where I left it in the mess of the last twelve hours. I find it under his shirt near my shoes, which I sling on quickly.

  Without waiting to hear his reply, I open the door and walk out. Downstairs, a few of the men are still celebrating. The smell of booze and sweat knocks me off of my feet. And the sight of coke lines on a huge round mirror just makes me more enraged at the situation.

  Why would I ever think this was something I could handle? Noah was one of them. But at least I’m escaping. It may be breaking my heart, and it may be taking every part of me to take another step, but I’m escaping this before I get too far in.

  My car is still parked outside the home. No bullet holes, thank goodness. But as I sit in the driver’s side, my hand begins to shake. I can’t seem to put the key in the ignition and drive off, even though my head is screaming at me to run.

  A hand reaches in and takes the keys from me. The smell of his breath, the tattoo on his arm keeps me in place as I listen to Noah softly speak. “Don’t go, Faye.” He pauses, turning the words over in his mind before settling on, “It’s not safe, and you know that.”

  “Where am I supposed to go? Am I supposed to live there in that house with you? Am I supposed to come this motorcycle bitch who gets passed around like a doll?” My worst fears come flooding back to me as I glance back at the house in my rearview mirrors. The farther away from here I am, the safer I am. At least, I hope it works that way.

  “You can go home. We’ll protect you. I’ll send a couple guys out to your place till we get the all clear. They’ll watch the school, too. They already have a protection out for Opal, but I’ll increase it for you. But you can’t go it alone.”

  I nod my head that I understand. It’s actually a pretty generous offer considering I know he would rather me just stay put. Life would be easier that way with me as his little sex fantasy.

  I finally get the key into the ignition and start the car. As I’m about to put it into drive, he adds quickly, “But I need you to come back here on Friday. Opal needs you.”

  “Opal needs me?” I repeat his words back, remembering that this all started because a little girl needed someone to guide her. Was I turning my back on her because of her father? What good would that do?

  “Yeah, she needs you. And I understand that this thing is heavy. It’s real heavy. And it’s unfair that you're now in danger. But I need you to just see this thing through. She needs someone like you to watch out for her. Can you do it? Maybe come tutor her Friday nights in return for us protecting you?”

  It’s a fair offer, but I’m not big on having to come back here for any reason. This place is death. He is death. And sticking around is just putting me on the line for more of this.

  But as I put the car in drive, I think of that little girl lying in bed with me. I think of her mother gone too early and because of men like the one standing before me. I think of Noah and the way he kisses me like there is no guarantee for tomorrow, or even the next second. And I suddenly have my decision.

  I’ll be back.

  Chapter 14 NOAH

  The engine roars underneath me, and my body lurches forward with a force that feels like it’s going to tear the skin from my skull. I hear the rest of my crew start their machines up as the noise blazes into the orange and pink night. The leader from the front of the pack looks past his shoulder towards me as I touch my hand to my head, signaling it’s time to ride.

  Our black motorcycles spread over two lanes of traffic as we drift past sitting cars heading home from their workweeks. I’m in my position in the back as the tail gunner, so it’s my job to make sure everyone is staying in line and manning the right position. Even during the daylight hours and in front of all these civilian nobodies, our club is at risk from attack from the Bonebreakers.

  Since that night when the Bonebreakers attacked, everyone’s been on high alert. We’re riding tighter than ever before, traveling in packs of five or six and wearing our colors as proudly as ever. Normally, I do this Friday run myself, maybe bringing along one or two of the young guns and a couple of potential pledges to show them the ropes. But Griz doesn’t want me out there by myself. I’m too much of a precious commodity.

  That, or they don’t trust me anymore. It’s hard to tell. Though the Bonebreakers managed to only murder one of our own and maim one of our bitches in the house attack, they have infiltrated us by dividing up the group. In one corner are the old guys like me who are loyal to Griz and his more laid
back reign over our territory. Then, there were the younger ones, the ones itching for an all-out war between us and the Bonebreakers.

  Being on the wrong side could be deadly in a shit ton of ways. It could mean getting my sweet position taken away or, worse, being taken down by some snot-nosed little shithead with a chip on his shoulder -- one of who is riding right beside me as I scan the highway. Leo is eying me with more disdain than the night of the Bonebreaker attack where he caught me finishing off on Faye.

  But I know better. I’ve been with this club since I was born. I don’t just wear the colors – I bleed them. My daddy bred me to be the man I am today, to be the Disciple I am today. And if he taught me one thing, it’s to keep my head low and do my job well. Today, I’ve got plans that should keep anyone from underestimating me or my ties ever again.

  Today, we’re headed back to Brandon’s repair shop, where I was just a few weeks ago. He had let me in on a tip off of where our missing rider’s body had gone. But something tells me this isn’t the whole story.