Come Out Swinging (Reach for the Moon Book 2)

by Sam Hall

  “And what do you deserve?” I asked.

  He paused, his smile small and fragile. “Whatever you’ll give me.”

  I pressed my mouth to his, tasting the coffee he’d been drinking and him, his arms going around me, holding me tight. But another knock had me pulling away, jerking open the door to the sight of the guys all lined up, Declan and Micah grinning.

  “All good in here?” Dec asked.

  “Fine. Where’s Bridget?” I replied.

  “Inside getting a coffee,” Zack replied. “She’s been asleep most of the drive. Her meds are knocking her around a bit.”

  “I’ll check in with her then,” I said, handing the keys over.

  Chapter 27

  The trip from Lupindorf to the city was always a hard one. As a passenger, it was worse because you were just sitting still all day. We rolled into town feeling tired, restless, and edgy, but as soon as we started driving down the hills to the city below, I settled. My skirt was flipped back to where it should be, my clit throbbing wildly from all the attention it had gotten, and I craned my neck, seeing the cityscape emerge. My breath seemed to come easier as the rural properties started to emerge, the houses getting closer and closer together the farther we got in, the guys trying to take everything in. Few of us left Lupindorf, and right now, I wondered why.

  “So this is it?” Mason asked as we parked in front of the gym.

  I’d undone my seatbelt as we rolled to a stop, leaning forward to take it in. I looked at the glass door and saw the hastily drawn up sign Zack had left on it for our customers. I nodded, then turned to Declan, needing to get out. He smiled and opened the door, climbing out and then holding out a hand to me. It was getting late in the afternoon, the sun starting to drop, the wind cool on my skin, but I walked up and put my hand on the door handle, knowing I couldn’t pull it open but wanting to feel it against my palm anyway. Zack strolled up, a crooked grin on his face, then put the key in the lock and opened it.

  It felt weird walking in with a skirt on, the air playing around my legs foreign, but as we went deeper into the gym, I breathed in the smells of bleach and sweat, of rubber matting and clean towels and socks. Micah kept abreast of me, shooting me a sidelong smile. He knew what I was feeling, I could tell. I wondered if he wanted to slip under the ropes, get in the ring, go a few sparring rounds to get the blood up and shuck off the inertia of travel. I remembered our fights, in the ring, in the enforcers’ quarters, and for a split second, I saw a much different fight play out. His fangs flashed as his smile broadened, making it clear he saw the same.

  “So this is where you work?”

  Bridget, by comparison, was almost shy. Her eyes were wide, trying to take everything I knew so well in, and it took me back to when I’d stumbled in here, in ill-fitting clothes that just added to my awkwardness.

  “Yeah. I started over here on the front counter.” I pointed to the desk, complete with brochures and forms. “Just working the till and signing in members. That was until Zack took me under his wing.”

  “You were a double-edged sword,” Zack said. “On the one hand, you brought more guys in here than ever before, and some women. But on the other, I knew your call was gonna create some problems.”

  When he stared down at me, I felt a rush of it, that same intensely loving warmth that had used to scare the hell out of me, but not now. I moved closer, like he was a fire and I needed to warm myself on it. He took my hands, rubbing his thumbs across my knuckles, and then drew us forward.

  “I asked her if she wanted to learn how to defend herself, and she was super keen while trying to hide that behind a professional mask.”

  “I was just thinking of getting my hands on all of this,” I said, dragging a hand up one muscular arm. He flexed as I did so, which made me smile.

  “So we got her in the ring and the rest is history.”

  “Here?” Bridget asked, stepping forward.

  She surveyed the whole massive space. The weight racks, the exercise machines, the mirrors, the open area for yoga or cardio classes, the boxing rings. There was a lot to that one word, I guessed. Here, I made my transformation, and here, she would make hers.

  “Yep. Once we ring everyone and let them know we’re back, we’ll get you training with me and some of the other ladies. We’ll start slow, work on developing your cardio, your balance, some basics like stance and defence,” I said, the excitement creeping into my voice. This was me, what I did, and I was inviting my family and my pack into it. It felt like the two parts of my life had melded, becoming better, stronger as a result.

  And so was I. Despite the drive, despite our hijinks in the back seat, I felt strong, energised, fighting the urge to start bouncing on the balls of my feet. I might have to go for a run or get on a treadmill to burn off a bit of energy before bed tonight. But I could. I scanned my workplace, seeing all the familiar gear, and that same feeling of being home rushed in.

  “Come upstairs. I’ve got some rooms up there we can use,” Zack said, fishing out a different set of keys.

  “The doss room?” I asked with a frown. Zack kept a room with a queen-sized bed in it for the nights when he worked too late to head home. He crashed in there, and sometimes I slept with him.

  “Ah, no. You haven’t seen this part of the building.” I frowned slightly as Zack looked almost shy. “C’mon.”

  He opened a door I thought led to a storeroom, the lot of us trailing up the stairs, large windows letting in pools of light into the space. And then we emerged into a massive open plan living area.

  “You planned for this.” I breathed the words out, seeing multiple huge couches in the living room with a gigantic flat screen on the wall. The generous galley kitchen would fit several big men around the food prep and cooking stations. Rooms led off from this, and as I walked, faster and faster, my hand going to a door knob, I knew what I was going to see before I opened it.

  When I turned to Zack I finally, finally saw that self-assured façade crack. He’d sat on this, made all these decisions, set all of this out like the high-handed bastard he was, but… I hated the bullshit about love languages, but Zack’s was absolutely providing for others. He spent his time scanning us, reading us, anticipating what we needed and pre-empting it all, and this was his crowning achievement. The door creaked open, revealing a beautiful room with white walls, plenty of natural light, and furniture and bedding all in various warm neutrals. It was a blank canvas of sorts, ready to be customised, but I saw immediately what would be painted upon it.

  Us.

  The bed spanned the whole of the massive room, giving each of us space to lie in comfort. Not two beds pushed together haphazardly, but something custom-made for us.

  “Damn, that thing’s orgy sized,” Bridge said, a ghost of her old humour back.

  “There’s other rooms over here,” Zack said hurriedly, directing her across the hallway to other guest rooms or just ones for people to have their own space. Each one had its own en suite. “Just pick any one you want…”

  “Are they soundproofed?” she asked.

  “Ah…oh! Yeah, the walls are all brick and pretty thick. You shouldn’t…” I watched Zack stumble over his words gleefully.

  “Maybe I’ll take the one farthest down the hall,” she said, and for a moment, a small smile graced her lips.

  “Whatever you feel comfortable with,” I said, the words coming out in a tumble. “We need to do some shopping, get you some more stuff.”

  “There’s some clothes in the wardrobes,” Zack said sheepishly. “I wanted to get everything. But they might not be your preference,” he said to Bridget. “Just see what suits, and I’ll move the rest.”

  “I want one,” she replied definitely, but the rest of us just stared quizzically. Her eyes flicked to me, mischief a tiny spark within them. “Wherever you got this one from, I want one too. A great big lunk of sweetness and protectiveness?” She nodded. “I want one.”

  “Um…” I said, not sure what to say, bu
t Zack just grinned.

  “I’ll put the word around to the fellas when we open the gym back up. We can start taking nominations, pre-screen them for you.”

  Her expression faltered slightly, but then she nodded.

  “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  I watched my cousin disappear into the room, the sounds making it clear she was looking through the wardrobes. The other guys were all filing into the big bedroom, a whoop from Declan making it evident he’d flopped onto the bed. But my eyes, they went to Zack.

  “I love you.” The words just spilled out in response to the rising torrent inside me, but I could see they were the right ones. It was easy to forget to say them to Zack. He anticipated others’ needs so much, you could overlook his without meaning to. “Not because of this. Well, yeah, because of this, but not just that. You…you’ve been planning for us, for the pack, for me.”

  “I fucking hoped against hope.” My eyes widened as his voice went to a ragged growl. “I hoped so much. Building this… It was a love letter to the future, to the future I hoped we’d have.” He grabbed my hand and gripped it hard. “I didn’t know if you’d choose me, but I wanted you to. Fuck, I wanted you to. But even if you didn’t, I would have rented this out to you and your pack.” His eyes flicked to the walls. “I had this built the way I think my mum would have wanted, if she’d been allowed to be who she was.”

  I threw myself at him, because how could I not? My eyes ached, tears fighting their way free, and I buried my face in his shirt, in the feel and smell of him, which made it all better. A strong hand rubbed across my back, then cradled the back of my head, holding me close. My fingers clawed at him. I just couldn’t seem to get enough.

  “Hey…” That gentle soothing voice. “It’s OK.”

  And it was, that was it. It hadn’t been since I’d left, and now it was again. I sagged in his grip, giving over the responsibility of standing on my own two feet just this once, and he held me up, held me close like he always would. My chin was tipped back, my mouth blindly seeking his as my eyes were a blurry mess. The kiss was a desperate thing, communicating everything I thought and everything I felt.

  “Fuck…” he groaned, pulling back. “It’s been hard to learn to share, but it’s been harder with what’s happening with your fucking family. I know we have to go back, but damn me if I’m not glad you’re in here. Let us have this for at least a little while—a place where you are safe and strong and the only thing you have to deal with is stinky gym towels.”

  “From your mouth to the Mother’s ear,” I replied.

  “Well, c’mon. If I know your pack, they’ll be dying to try out that bed. I got one where you can mess with the softness or firmness, so people can customise it.”

  “Yeah?” I chuckled, not giving a rat’s arse about the bed, but we walked into the bedroom, catching the guys both on and off the bed. It was what went on it that mattered to me—all of them.

  Chapter 28

  We ended up spending a lazy evening in the new digs, sitting down to eat a big feed of the awesome Thai food from up the road. Bridget was still quiet, but she seemed calmer, more able to chat. Her bruises were starting to fade, but I wondered how long it would take for the wounds inside her to heal. After dinner, everyone decamped to the lounge room and settled down to watch something silly on the TV. Lorcan looked surprised, then very pleased when I plopped down beside him. He wrapped an arm around me when I snuggled into him, and both of us let out a long sigh. “I like this,” was all he would say, dropping a kiss on the top of my head.

  Going to sleep was a little more fraught. There was a massive multi person shower, so I got to see how ready everyone was to keep on with today’s escapades. Especially as Micah and Declan hadn’t had any relief. Dec just shook his head, handing me the shower gel and watching as I smoothed it over my body.

  “You won’t be able to do this with obligation.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “You can’t see a bunch of hard dicks as a to-do list. We’re always going to respond to you.” Growls of affirmation came from the others. “But that doesn’t mean you need to do anything about it.”

  “You ‘did something about it’ all day for me.”

  “So we did,” Micah said, sidling up, water trickling down his muscular body. “Those cries that just got so ragged, so desperate towards the end. How puffy your cunt got after the last time you came, like all the blood in your body was swelling there.” He moved until he was almost touching me. “The taste of your cunt in my mouth. They were the rewards for doing that. You were fucking beautiful in your pleasure. Now” —his hand went to his cock— “am I gonna rub one out in the shower because I’m fit to burst? Fuck yeah, I am. That’s what this will be like, I think. We’re gonna always be drawn to you, but you won’t always be able to see to five guys every time they get hard.”

  Six guys, my mind thought traitorously.

  “But you can watch.” His eyes slid sideways as Declan sidled closer, his hand working his dick as well. “You can see how much you turn us on, how much we want you.” His lips brushed my ear. “You can watch us come.”

  The words were barely whispered, but they appeared to be a call to arms, Zack, Mason, and Lorcan coming closer, stroking their aching lengths, staring at me, eyes roaming, scoring my flesh, until finally, each one of them erupted.

  “Now time for bed,” Zack said, once everyone was rinsed clean.

  I tried. The bed was so comfortable and there was something to sleeping together here. We were claiming it, this space, for us and our future. But despite that, I tossed and turned well after when the others fell asleep, finally giving up when the clock on the bedside table blinked midnight. I wriggled free, hearing their little groans, feeling their instinctively groping hands, but emerged, pulling on some pants and a top before padding downstairs.

  There was always something eerie about entering a communal space when it was locked up. I was so used to the gym being full of noise and people, the quiet was somewhat deafening. I went over to the treadmill and turned it on, setting the incline and speed, and then stepped on the belt, waiting for the beeps then starting to run.

  I used my customary program, a slow jog at first to warm up muscles I hadn’t worked for some time, just getting a feel for the artificial terrain of the device rather than the feel of earth under my feet.

  When my breath started to come in faster, the speed picked up, my muscles tightening in response. I felt my stride lengthen and that almost weightless feeling, of skimming lightly over the treadmill belt, of touching down only to spring off again. Faster and faster I went, my breath coming in harder, sweat starting to trickle down the side of my face, my focus narrowing down to just this, just the machinery of my body working until I heard it. My hand slapped down on the stop button, my feet going to treadmill guards as I turned around to see my cousin standing there.

  “Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I tried to stay quiet.”

  “Hey, are you OK?”

  “Can’t sleep. Slept most of the car ride but… You…you’re fast and strong now.”

  I smiled through my pants, unable to stop the flush of pride. Shifters were naturally strong, but I’d been able to refine and augment it.

  “Did you want to have a go?” I asked, stepping off the machine. “It’s pretty simple. You start slow, just walking at first.”

  “Yeah?” she said. “I…”

  I knew what she was about to do, as I saw it all the time. People tried to talk themselves out of trying new things, fearing the risk, and it was my job to encourage them to try.

  “Look, just come and stand on one, see how that feels. It’ll be weird at first. Wolves, we’re used to running on dirt, but it’s not a bad substitute. No cars, no stupid dudes catcalling like they do when you run in the city.” Her eyes flicked between me and the machine, and then she took the first step. “Awesome! Now grab the handlebars. There are controls there, but we probably won’t worry about them yet. I run wit
hout holding on, but it’s not a bad idea to do that first up. The balance, the pull of the belt, it’s all a bit different to what you’re used to, so they give you a bit of security. All right, I’ll just set it at a slow walking pace—”

  “Are you sure?”

  That hurt, to see the reticence on Bridget’s face. Old Bridge would have jumped on, turned it up to eleven, and then laughed like a drain when she face-planted. Then she would’ve gotten straight back on again. I grabbed a magnetic kill switch. It was a small magnet that was attached to a clip, and if you pulled it away from the machine, it stopped dead. I explained this to her and checked to see if she was OK, then started the treadmill.

  “Oh!” she said, her hands clamping down on the arms as the belt began to move, but she went with it, finding her balance quickly.

  I saw it when her stride got more confident and sure, when the natural rhythms of her body and the machine synced. She smiled as her pace began to pick up, so I showed her how to increase the speed of the machine, both on the main display and on the arms. She tentatively ramped it up, walking a little faster, then upped the speed once, twice, three times until she was starting to jog. I nodded and then got back on my own treadmill. I felt a weird sense of camaraderie settle over us as we ran, each at our own pace, but for the moment, we were just here, present.

  “Jesus…” Bridge hissed when we were both finished. I tossed her a towel from the pile, and we wiped the sweat away. “I thought I was a pretty good runner!”

  “If you shifted, you could probably outpace me, but you have to strengthen this body as well if you’re serious about self-defence.”

  She stilled, her smile fading, but she nodded. “I’m serious. I’m not copping a beatdown like that ever again. Mum always used to whinge about how your dad trained you to use guns and stuff, but now I see it. He was preparing you for this.” Her eyes were hazy for a second. “He knew, didn’t he?”