by Em Petrova
When she started out of the bathroom, she stopped at the sound of voices. Lily and Judd were talking about her.
“Selena’s strong. Don’t treat her as if she’s so fragile. She can handle herself, Judd. She did for an entire month with those guys,” Lily was saying.
She froze, listening, heart pounding at what Judd would say.
“Dammit.” He cleared his throat twice before going on, as though he struggled to force the words out. “Thinking of what she went through… Lily, you can’t blame me for wanting to keep her safe.”
Selena imagined his expression and the way his eyes would burn as he spoke these words.
“Judd, you’ll be there to support her if this is the course she chooses. And we both know you’re strong enough to keep her safe.”
“Yeah…but I’m not strong enough to live through her being in danger.” His voice cracked.
So did Selena’s heart.
Chapter Six
Diesel hoisted Brady into his arms and carried him into the house. The boy was covered in mud from the pond where they’d fished, and he’d licked some mud off his fingers as well, but he’d caught a tiny bluegill fish and for that he was wearing the widest grin.
Lily turned to the door as they entered, dusting cloth in her hand. “What on earth? Did he fall in?” Her stare shot to Diesel, who also smiled.
“Almost. I caught him by the collar and hauled him back before he got wet.” He set Brady on the rug in front of the door and helped him strip off his boots.
“Take off his pants too. Look at those knees! Actually, let me take him straight to the tub.” She swept her son up into her arms, and he kicked and giggled.
“He might have some dirt in his teeth too,” Diesel called to her, shucking his own steel-toe combat boots.
He washed his hands after handling fish and a heck of a lot of muddy little boy, and then he went straight to the guest room.
Selena sat on the edge of the bed as though waiting for him. Their gazes connected. His insides burned for her. Did she realize how he felt about her?
Right now, she felt out of his reach. Whatever happened between them a month ago was not yet healed. Heap on a pile of fears and enough hesitation to stop up the Mississippi River and Diesel didn’t know how to make things right.
“Brady’s happy,” Selena said as the child’s squeal of excitement echoed through the house and over the rush of water in the bathtub.
He gave a nod and closed the bedroom door, watching her face to ensure the move didn’t frighten her.
To his surprise, she relaxed slightly, leaning on her palms on the bed. He flicked his gaze over her beautiful curves. Lush breasts entrapped in the black sweatshirt she wore and her borrowed jeans that were just tight enough to pull across her lower abdomen and tug into the slit of her pussy a bit. The glimpse of that outline of her pussy lips had him hard and aching in a blink.
He looked at her, letting her see the naked hunger in his eyes.
She sucked in a breath and pushed off the bed. Each sway of her hips as she neared him enticed, enthralled.
He fisted his hands at his sides to keep from grabbing her, stripping her and taking her in all the wild and rough ways she had begged for last night but may not want again. He couldn’t gauge her mood.
Standing completely still, he waited for her to approach him. She stopped a step away and tilted her face up.
“I’m sorry for earlier, Judd.”
He gave a nod. “So am I.”
“I’ve been thinking about us a lot.”
Fuck, he wasn’t going to hold back.
He closed the gap between them, hands on her upper arms, pulling her onto tiptoe so her lips were a breath away. “I can see the outline of your pussy through those jeans,” he rasped out.
A hot pink flush coated the crests of her cheeks. “They’re a bit tight. I—”
“It’s fucking hot as hell.” He didn’t treat her with kid gloves—he walked her to the bed and nudged her down. She flopped onto her back, eyes wide with surprise but her lip trapped in her teeth.
Leaning over her, he smoothed his thumbs over that tight seam separating her pussy in a way that gave him the bluest balls he’d ever had in his life. She gasped as he traced her outline and moved his fingers up to the button and zipper. With quick, deft moves, he opened her fly.
With her trapped under his gaze, he slid his hands into the opening and touched her warm flesh. She arched upward, a shiver of a sigh escaping her lips.
In one jerking move, he whipped her jeans down her curvy hips to her knees and cupped her pussy through the panties she wore. “You need my cock right here.” He pushed his finger into her opening, panties and all.
She thrashed her head on the bed. “Yes!”
He dragged his fingertip up her seam to her clit and pressed down lightly. She issued a squeak and swallowed it down so nobody heard.
Her knees were trapped in her jeans, and she couldn’t spread her legs very far. She tried to wiggle them down, but he stopped her by dipping his fingertips into the elastic band of her panties. The instant he touched the soft, wet petals of her pussy, she bit down on her lip again, staving off any more noises.
Placing one knee on the bed, he watched her face as he tormented her clit. She went wild, bucking and trying to shuck off her jeans. He knew it would drive her crazy to be bound in this way, and he was determined to make her come before he stripped her.
He planted a hand on the bed next to her hip while teasing and coaxing shudders from her with his finger gently stroking over her clit. “Feels so good, doesn’t it? Fuck, you’re beautiful.”
“I…want you!” She rocked her hips.
He swirled his finger over her bundle of nerves, watching her eyes take on a shine of bliss. “Not until you come for me, honey. Oh yeah, right there. It feels good when I touch you like this, doesn’t it?”
One heel stomped into the bed with frustration. “Yes!”
He smeared her juices over her clit and dipped down into her pussy to gather more. He barely sank his finger to the first knuckle before she was pushing upward to take his entire digit. Her heat brought a growl to his lips, which he bit off too.
He plunged his finger into her pussy in deep, juicy strokes. Her walls clutched at him. Then he withdrew and coated her clit in her own arousal again.
She stopped breathing, hips thrust in the air, unmoving. He watched her eyes darken a shade, and she shattered.
Her insides were liquid fire, her pulsations so hard they stole her breath.
Fisting the covers, she rode his fingertip until she thought she’d grow mad with the pleasure and pressure in her core.
Diesel stopped strumming her clit, holding his finger against it but not moving. That only sent her rocketing higher on the need scale.
“Please, Judd!”
He pulled his finger free of her sticky clit and stuck it into his mouth. Her eyes rolled back in her head at the hotness of the man. She wanted to shove him down on the bed and strip off her clothes and his too, then rub herself all over his hard, muscled body until they both couldn’t stand another second and she slid over his rigid cock.
Slowly, he pushed off the bed. In one sharp tug, he removed her jeans and panties, leaving her panting and spread for him.
Next he took off her top and cupped one breast in his palm for the scantest of moments before he stood at the side of the bed and stripped for her.
She held her breath. Still throbbing from her release and yet aching for so much more, she watched inch after inch of his ridged body bared to her. She scraped her gaze over him, from his rounded pecs to his cock, stiff and jutting toward her.
“Come to me, Judd. God, I want you.”
He took her knees in his rough hands and spread her apart at the same moment he lowered his face between them. His hot mouth covered her pussy in one big kiss. Her stomach hollowed out. Her insides turned into molten lava.
He slid his hands under her ass, lifting her
to his feasting mouth and questing tongue. Need exploded through her, and she forgot every past moment of pain between them ever existed as she gave herself up to him.
He ate her with slow, deliberate strokes of his tongue, roaming from clit to core and back again. He slipped his fingers into her, pressed on her G-spot and sucked her clit until she shook apart for him a second time.
Mind impaired by the rush of ecstasy in her body, she could only input sensation as he locked her to the bed and slid his cock into her.
Filled, stretched, out of her mind with want, she began to ride him. He meshed their hands and pinned them over her head as he took her mouth and body in fast, thundering strokes of tongue and cock. She bit off her cries of need between deep passes of his tongue. His chest rumbled with an unending groan as he plunged in her pussy.
Her insides clenched. His cock burrowed toward her innermost point. He slammed his hips against hers, and she pulled her knees up to take him to the hilt. When she came, he was kissing her with passionate swaths of his tongue.
But the minute she began to contract around him, he reared back and let loose too. The expression of utter consuming love on his face blasted her with the realization that she loved him too. As much as her fears had kept her from feelings this past month, she felt them now.
And it was a love so huge that it shone bright over the world, casting her life in a warm glow. He released her hands and she brought them to his neck, clinging as they rode the last seconds of their orgasm together.
He collapsed atop her, and she closed her eyes, inhaling the musk of his skin and the feel of his hot cum seeping out from around his cock.
She shivered, and he rolled with her, pulling a blanket over her as he did. With his hand on her nape, he held her against his thumping heart. “Whatever you need from me, I’ll do it, Selena.”
She stilled. Had she misheard him over the hard pounding of his heart? “You’ll…let me try to trap Kenzo?”
His hands clamped on her waist and relaxed again. “I’m your protector, not your keeper. Yes.”
Leaning upward, she looked into his eyes and saw the effort that had cost him. “We have to do it, Judd. Not only for me and Alexus but for other women.”
“I know.” His voice sounded tight with control.
She brushed a kiss across his pec. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t promised to keep my cool, Selena.”
For some reason, that brought a soft smile to her lips. A genuine smile she felt from the bottom of her heart. Her grumpy, protective biker would never change, and for that she was grateful.
Chapter Seven
“No go.” Brady’s stubborn order as he ran to Diesel’s bike and threw his arms wide to block him from leaving touched him to the core.
Slowing his steps, he looked down at the boy. His heart gave an undeniable squeeze at the thought of leaving his nephew too.
He crouched in front of Brady and looked into his big eyes. “I’ll be back very soon, champ.”
“No go,” he repeated, not budging from his position.
“I think he’s met his match,” he heard Lily say to Selena.
“I don’t know who’s more stubborn,” Selena returned.
“What if I take you on a little ride on my motorcycle before I leave?”
Brady’s gaze ticked to his helmet tucked beneath his arm and his eyes widened. “I wear that.” He pointed one stubby finger.
“It’s gonna be big on you, but absolutely.” He glanced at Lily with a brow cocked in question.
“Go ahead, but only up and down the driveway,” Lily said.
Diesel held out the helmet in both hands. “Ready, champ?”
He nodded so hard his hair flopped up and down. Diesel settled the massive helmet over the kid’s head. It rested on his shoulders, making him resemble a spaceman.
“Oh my God. Let me get a picture first.” Lily rushed forward with her phone out. She snapped one of Brady standing alone by the bike sporting the helmet, and Diesel crouched beside him and she got one of the pair.
When the photo op was over, he sent a look at Selena, only to see her chewing her lip, a faraway expression in her soft doe eyes. What was going on in her mind?
She caught his gaze and he offered a crooked smile. To his relief, she returned it with a smile of her own—a genuine one, not the canned, fake one she believed he wanted to see from her.
He swung his leg over his bike and shifted the kickstand up. When he started the engine, Brady waved his arms. He reached down and plucked the boy up, settling him in front of him. Leaning down next to where his ear would be inside the thick helmet, he said, “Ready?”
“Yeah!” he cried out.
Chuckling, Diesel started to roll the bike forward. The driveway wasn’t very long, but it was enough to entertain a two-year-old. Lily and Selena waved at him as he passed. With a tight hold on Brady, Diesel guided the bike to the end of the gravel drive. There he turned it around and returned.
“Faster!” Brady demanded.
He issued a deep laugh. “I don’t think your mom will like that.” He had no idea if the boy could hear him but he did give it a bit more speed on the return trip.
They pulled up beside the women, who were grinning from ear to ear.
“Momma! I zoomed!”
Diesel drew the helmet off his head and Lily took him from the bike. He cut the engine and Lily embraced him, planting a fat kiss on his cheek. “I love you, Judd. Stay safe.”
With one arm, he crushed her against him. “I will. You two need anything at all…”
She nodded. “We’ll call.” She leaned in. “Take care of her but remember to give her space.”
He didn’t slide his gaze to Selena as he wanted to, but he said quietly, “I will.”
Lily stepped back and the women embraced. Selena ruffled Brady’s hair. She climbed onto his bike and once her helmet was strapped in place, he threw Lily and Brady a wave and they took off.
Home to Mersey and the clubhouse.
Selena tightened her hold on his waist, and his heart soared at having her with him. Weeks ago, he never thought he’d see her again let alone get her back in his life. Though she wasn’t totally herself yet, he believed in time they would find their course again.
When they entered the city limits, he went on hyper alert, keeping his eyes peeled for anything different. He didn’t see a thing but when he drove up to the club, he found the parking lot packed full of every single member’s bike and then some.
Without a word, he parked and grabbed Selena by the hand, rushing her inside. As soon as they entered, everybody looked up at them—Dark Falcons down through the ranks to prospects. And a few members of a club in the nearby city, who he sometimes organized rides with.
He gave a hard nod to their road captain. “Bull. How are ya?”
“You just rode in here, man?” Bull asked in return.
The prickles of danger raised the hair on his nape. “Didn’t see anything out of the norm,” Diesel said.
Fiona walked up. “C’mon, Selena. We’ll let them talk.”
She plastered herself to Diesel’s side.
“She’s not leaving my sight. She needs to hear what’s going on.” Diesel looked up as the meeting room door opened and Dixon and Tank emerged. Their gazes locked on Diesel.
“Somebody better tell us what’s happening. Did those guys find out where we are?”
Selena gripped his arm hard.
Dixon nodded. “Paid us a visit last night. Trashed two of our bikes.” He sought out the two members who sat at a table with beers in hand.
Diesel steeled his jaw. “Why didn’t anybody call me?”
“Figured the longer you and Selena stayed away, the better off you’d be. If we’d known you were headed to Mersey, we would have given you escort.”
He pictured it, his bike in the center of a pack, surrounded on all sides by steel and chrome and the men who’d have his back to his dying day.
He looked at her face, into her eyes, past the cloud of terror covering them. Putting his arm around her, he drew her into his side, where she’d stay. “Nobody is going to hurt you. Ever again,” he told her.
She issued a shaky breath.
Turning his attention to Dixon, he asked, “What’s the plan?”
Dixon glanced at Selena and then to Fiona. A silent conversation passed between the couple, and Fiona stepped forward again.
“Selena, let’s go get some coffee. Okay?”
Reluctantly, Diesel realized that discussing their strike against the man who’d hurt Selena in front of her wouldn’t work. He’d always trusted Dixon, and he wouldn’t stop now.
Diesel hovered over Selena. “Go with Fiona. Have coffee. Let us talk. I promise I’ll fill you in on everything when we’re finished.”
“Every word?” That spunk surfaced.
“Every word.”
Seeing the promise in his expression, she released her grip on his arm and followed Fiona through the bodies of men to the kitchen located at the rear of the club.
Diesel swept his glance over the room. “Start talkin’.”
“Rankin and Pat made a beer run about midnight last night. They said two men were in the beer distributor but didn’t appear to be buying anything. That’s when they got suspicious that they might have been followed there.”
“What did the guys look like?” Diesel clenched his fists.
Rankin described them both, and as he did, Diesel and the others who’d raided that mansion nodded.
“Fuck, that’s two of those thugs we knocked out.”
Dixon gave a nod. “When they walked out, their bikes were gone.”
His brows shot upward. “Gone? Where?”
Tank edged forward, arms folded over his big chest. “Found ’em up the road destroyed. Looked to have been dragged down the road and a bat or a metal pipe was taken to them.”