by Brook Wilder
“I know, sweetheart,” Tex’s voice was rough now and gravelly as he swept his fingers feather-light across her skin. “I know. I’m afraid too.”
“Really?”
“Are you kidding me? I’m petrified.” He squeezed her even tighter. “The thought of someone hurting you or our baby… it ties me up in knots. It cuts into me. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you, Lori. It would kill me.”
Lori could feel the honesty in every single word that fell from his mouth, and each one made her breath hitch in her chest as it tightened with emotion. She couldn’t speak. She didn’t know how to say what she was feeling inside her. All she could do was show him. Tell him, somehow, without words.
She reached up and speared her fingers through his hair, pulling his head down to meet hers in a searing kiss. She leaned against him, drawing strength from him as his hands swept up her body, holding her tighter as the kiss deepened ever more. It felt like pure heaven. Paradise made flesh and standing right in front of her.
Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by the need to feel him. She wanted to have him wrapped around her, deep inside her. She wanted him to obliterate every other emotion, every other thought in her head, until there was nothing left but him.
She kissed him with everything she had left inside her, giving it all to him. But he gave her so much in return. Neither of them held anything back, as desire, sharp and potent, broke over them.
Tex moved them, twisting until he could lean her back against the shower wall. Lori was breathless and panting from the kiss. They were both naked and wet and need ached between her thighs. Need for him. Only for him. He chased away all the bad things, and gave her only good things to put in their place. And she needed that right now. More than she could ever put into words.
“Please, Tex. No waiting. No teasing,” Lori whispered the words brokenly. “I just need to feel you. I need you.”
“I need you too, sweetheart.”
Tex’s words were just as rough and they were both shaking as he kissed her again, passionate and hard. It made her heart race like mad and every nerve ending fired at his touch.
Lori trembled as his fingers teased between her thighs, feeling how wet and ready she was for him. She had meant what she said. She needed him. She couldn’t wait.
“Tex, now!”
Her words spurred him on, making him lose his last bit of control as he slammed home, deep inside her. It was exactly where she needed him to be. They were both lost in each other as each thrust bought him deeper inside her.
She clung to him, her arms wrapped tight around his shoulders, her nails raking furrows across the skin of his shoulder blades. Every movement sent a shockwave of ecstasy through her body. Wave after wave of sensation that exploded from the deepest part of her all the way out to her fingertips, and then back again, growing as it crashed against itself.
Finally, the pleasure grew to be too much. It overwhelmed everything in a flash of white light behind her eyelids as she cried out his name, over and over again.
But he didn’t stop. He kept pounding into her, furiously, taking everything she had to give and then asking for more, until she finally didn’t have anything else to give.
Her body tightened as one more climax shook her. And then she felt Tex shudder in her arms. Heard him whisper her name over and over again as his own orgasm hit. She clung to him as she flew apart in his arms.
Slowly, bit by bit, the world started to come back into focus as she leaned against the shower wall. The cool tile felt delicious against her heated skin and she let her thoughts wander, still flying on the incredible pleasure that Tex had wrung from her exhausted body.
She was still floating, boneless, trying to keep herself standing on legs that had turned to jelly, when Tex reached past her and shut off the water that was starting to cool. Lori’s eyes fluttered shut as he disappeared from the shower for a moment, only to reappear with a big, fluffy white towel that he wrapped lovingly around her.
She could hardly stand, let alone walk, but Tex took care of that, gently scooping her into his arms and carrying her from the bathroom to the bedroom before laying her easily onto the bed. He took a minute to towel off before crawling into the bed alongside her.
Lori blinked her heavy eyelids open as he leaned over her, placing the gentlest kiss on each cheek before finally finding her lips.
“I love you.”
The words tumbled out of her mouth, as easy as breathing and without a thought for the fact that she couldn’t take them back. And she wouldn’t have, not even if she had the chance. It was true. She loved this man more than anyone in the world, besides their child.
Tex just stared at her for a long time before swallowing hard.
“I love you too, Lori. I love you so much, I can’t…”
“Shh. It’s okay.” Lori said, placing a finger over his lips to cut off his words. “I know. Me too.”
He pulled her into his arms, holding her so tight it was hard to breathe but she didn’t care. It was like he would never let her go. And that was just fine with her.
But, as he held her, as the pleasure started to fade, all the thoughts and worries were still waiting there for her. Most of all, she was afraid. Afraid for Carrie, yes. But also afraid for the life of her baby, and for Tex.
Sudden resolve swept through her. She would stop at nothing to make sure her family survived. Because that’s what they were, Tex and the baby. They were her family now. And she would protect them. Somehow.
Tex laid a gentle kiss on her bare shoulder, as if he could somehow tell that her troubled thoughts had returned.
And she knew. Despite everything, she knew that they could make it through anything, as long as they had each other.
Chapter 20
The sun glinted off the rippling water, turning it into a bright azure blue that reflected a dazzling kaleidoscope of colors and hues. But Tex’s eyes were focused solely on the woman who back-floated lazily in the middle of the large sunken pool.
He’d lost track of how long he’d been watching Lori swim around the massive pool in the back of Solomon’s mansion. It was complete with a diving board and a ten-person Jacuzzi at one end, but Lori was just moving lazily through the water. Her eyes were closed in pleasure and Tex could see the swell of her belly where their baby was growing beneath the one-piece swimsuit that Solomon had provided for her. It had been in their room the morning after she’d made some offhand comment about never having swum in such a big pool before.
The sun was shining bright and warm overhead and Tex took a sip of the beer he’d been nursing for the last hour-and-a-half. It should have been a perfect moment. He should have been relaxed and calm, but he was neither of those things. In fact, he was the exact opposite. Every muscle in his body was tense, even though he didn’t look it, lounging by the pool. Nothing he did could make him relax even an inch.
Maybe he couldn’t relax because he knew about the conversation that was going on right now in the other room. Solomon had started taking steps towards contacting the heads of both the Devil’s Martyrs and the Grim Riders for some type of resolution.
The king-pin had sent Marco, his right-hand man himself, to make the contact and they had been waiting on pins and needles all morning and afternoon for the man to finally come back with the answers. But as soon as Marco had returned, he’d been called into Solomon’s office, where they’d closeted themselves all alone, and neither had come out since. And it was driving Tex fucking insane.
It wasn’t just his life that was on the line, but also Lori’s and their baby’s. And they wanted him to just sit and twiddle his thumbs like it was just a lazy fucking Sunday with nothing to worry about.
He’d already tried to barge in there twice, and been turned away twice, the second time with a dangerous looking revolver pointing squarely at his chest until he’d finally thrown his hands up and stalked away.
Tex had been told in no uncertain terms to wait outside and not to m
ove until Solomon said to. So, there he sat, nervous as a cat, and so tense he felt like his bones would shatter. But he knew there was nothing to do. He would know what Solomon knew, just as soon as the man decided he was ready to tell him.
But the big question, the one that kept rattling around his head no matter how hard he tried to stop it, was whether either gang would agree to go along with Solomon’s plan? Tex knew that the man held a lot of clout with both gangs and neither would want to go against the king-pin. But would that be enough to get them to meet peacefully? Would that be enough to force both gangs to get over their war with each other long enough to sit down and talk with each other?
It seemed far more likely to Tex that the whole thing would blow up in their faces, especially if the two gangs actually did agree to meet. But he also knew that was his and Lori’s only chance to get away from the gang life alive instead of in a body bag.
Just the thought of Lori getting hurt had his eyes frantically searching for her, and he let out a small breath of relief when he found her still lazily swimming around in the pool, soaking in the warm summer sun.
His thoughts wandered back to the night before as he had watched the joy on her face from simple pleasure, and little bit of his tension eased. At least she was safe and happy for the moment.
Tex shook his head. He didn’t know how, but she had managed to charm Solomon, just as she had charmed Robbie and nearly everyone else they came across.
Like Gears. Tex’s thoughts took a dark turn as he thought about the man who was behind all of this. The man who’d become obsessed with Lori to the point where, if he couldn’t have her, then no one would.
Tex’s hands clenched into fists just at the thought of Gears, and he had to work to make them relax once more. He focused on his breath. He focused on watching Lori. But nothing could stop the train of his worried thoughts.
He hadn’t been able to get in contact with anyone in the gang except for Porky, but Tex had still heard things. Still picked up on what was happening. For instance, the fact that both gangs had grown more reckless as the war between them continued.
The violence had come to a crescendo between them. But Gears had been saying the wrong things to the wrong people, and some in both gangs were starting to wonder aloud what they were even fucking fighting about.
It left Tex wondering if the gangs would implode on each other before they realized Gears was playing them both. Or if the man would implode on himself first. Tex prayed it would be the latter, but he wasn’t that lucky. And, besides, he wanted to be the one to end Gears. After all the man had done to hurt Lori, it was the least he could do.
Tex was so lost in his own bitter thoughts that he didn’t hear the door to the back patio open. It was the sound of footsteps drawing closer that caught his attention. Tex swung around in the chair to look behind him. It was Solomon. Behind him was Marco, following after like an obedient lap dog. A silent, dangerous lap dog.
Tex was about to jump to his feet, but Solomon motioned for him to remain seated with a casual wave of his hand. Then he took the chair next to him. He had a glass already held in one hand and took a sip of his drink, not saying a word. Tex had to grit his teeth to keep from demanding to know what the gang leaders each said.
It took more will power than Tex had ever thought he possessed to remain silent as Solomon leaned back and puffed on the lit cigar he had in his other hand. The king-pin was staring in the direction of the pool. No, he was staring in the direction of Lori as she swam unaware of the tension on the patio.
After an eternity, Solomon finally spoke.
“You are a lucky man. I hope you know that.”
“I do,” Tex answered, trying not to growl the words. He had a white knuckled grip on the arms of the chair and his entire body was filled with tension. Why the hell was the other man dragging this out? It was fucking torture. “Well? What did they say?”
The question blurted out of him, unable to stay locked inside anymore. Tex felt like he was about to explode from not knowing.
Solomon looked over at Tex, but it was impossible to see the man’s expression behind his dark tinted sunglasses. Another lifetime seemed to pass before Solomon finally answered his question.
“They’ll talk. But there are conditions.”
“What sort of conditions?”
Solomon shook his head slightly.
“You’re not going to like it.”
“What did they fucking say,” Tex demanded, tired of the games, tired of the waiting.
He had to know.
He saw Marco, who was standing behind Solomon, tense at the tone of Tex’s voice. But Solomon just waved the other man down again. He turned back to Tex with a sigh.
“They’ll meet, but it has to be with both of you. You have to bring Lori.”
Chapter 21
“…Fuck that!”
It was the sound of Tex’s angry curse that finally drew her attention as Lori’s head cleared the surface of the water. She shook off the droplets running down her face and glanced over to see Tex pacing back and forth along the length of the patio. Solomon was sitting, watching passively and Marco was standing behind his boss with his arms crossed behind his back.
Lori swam over to the edge of the pool, no longer luxuriating in the feel of the water against her skin. Her focus was all on Tex and the worried look on his handsome face.
She reached the edge and pulled herself up until she was resting on her elbows near where Tex was pacing. He didn’t look down at her, but she knew that he saw her.
“What’s wrong, cowboy,” Lori asked softly, so that only Tex would hear her.
Solomon was leaning back in his chair, puffing at his cigar in unconcern, and Marco might as well have been a statue. But she had a feeling they knew every single thing that was happening around them.
Tex shook his head, not saying a word, and Lori let out a small frustrated sound.
“Just tell me, Tex. Tell me what’s happening.” Lori leaned closer, lowering her voice even more. “Did Solomon talk to the presidents of the gangs? Did they agree to meet with him?”
“Yeah, they agreed to meet,” Tex sighed the words as if they were a death sentence instead of the news they had been hoping for.
He swiped a hand over his face and suddenly he looked so tired, so haggard. She suddenly realized that, as hard as this had been on her, it had been just as hard on him.
Moving on impulse, Lori reached up and took his hand in hers. They both ignored the water dripping from their grasp onto his shoes.
“It will be okay, Tex. Whatever happens, we can figure it out together. We can handle anything together.”
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” Tex said, sighing again.
This time, Lori just shook her head in confusion.
“What do you mean? Isn’t that what we wanted? Isn’t this what we hoped for?”
“No, Lori,” Tex whispered and it was his turn to shake his head. “Solomon was able to strike a deal between both gangs.”
“Well, that’s great! They’ll listen to him! He’ll be able to fix this,” Lori interjected excited.
But Tex was still shaking his head.
“They agree to meet on one condition. They’ll only talk if we go, Lori. Both of us have to be there. And I’m not sure how peaceful it will be. Whatever happens after the talks… well, they didn’t make any promises about that.”
Lori sucked in a frightened breath and swam away, heading for the stairs. She climbed out of the water, shivering despite the bright Texas sun overhead, and wrapped herself in a big fluffy towel. She padding over to where Tex was still standing, looking more worried than she’d ever seen him before.
With a deep breath, she held out her hand and he took it without hesitation. Together they walked over to where Solomon was sitting, staring out over the pool. He turned his head to face them as they stopped in front of him.
“There’s no other way?” Lori finally asked, forcing the words ou
t. Even still, her voice trembled as she spoke.
Solomon shook his head.
“That is their terms. They’ll meet, but only if you’re both there.”
Tex turned to Lori with a fierce look on his face.
“No, you can’t do this with me, sweetheart. It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s too dangerous not to. They have Carrie, Tex.”
Solomon puffed on his cigar, letting out a stream of smoke.
“I hate to admit it, but Lori is right. You could be walking into a situation that could lead to your deaths. But if you want your friend to survive, you don’t have a choice. At least, this way, you can choose your battlefield.”