Resilient

by Gillian Archer

  Tank’s fingers skimmed the elastic of my panties at my waist. “Do you need a breather or do you wanna keep going?”

  “Mmmm,” I murmured. “You can keep going as long as you don’t expect much from me right now. I kinda can’t feel my knees.”

  “Aww, that’s okay, baby girl.” Tank drew my panties down my legs, then threw them over his shoulder. There was some rustling as I heard a wrapper opening, and then he was back between my legs again. “You just lie back and think of England or some shit.”

  “I’d much rather think about the hot guy between my—Oh!”

  The broad head of his cock nudged its way inside me. This man was big everywhere. I shouldn’t be surprised—I’d held him in my hand just a few moments ago—but it wasn’t the same. I bit my lip and consciously told my body to relax. I could do this. I wanted this. Him.

  Tank’s brow wrinkled, and he stopped moving. After a beat he withdrew slightly, then glided a bit deeper. I could feel his eyes searching me, but suddenly I felt too embarrassed to meet his gaze. Instead I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sensations he was coaxing from my body. He continued to retreat and glide deeper until I felt the telltale cool impression of metal nudging my clit. On the next glide, the metal kissed my clit, then his pelvis rested against me, driving his ring deeper into me.

  He stopped moving and dropped his head down until he could give me a sweet, gentle kiss that was at odds with everything I knew about this man. After a moment he drew back, and I finally met his searching eyes.

  “You good, Nicole?”

  “Mmmm-hmmm.” I moaned as he waggled his hips slightly. “Oh, wow.”

  Tank grinned right before he kissed me again—this time a little more forcibly—as his hips picked up the tempo again. His ring pressed into me at the bottom of his every thrust until I was seeing stars. The whole time Tank’s lips never left mine. Five thrusts later I moaned.

  “Oh God. Oh…I can’t. I’m not—I’m gonna. Oh!”

  Tank drove his hips into mine and ground down when his hips kissed mine. I pulled my mouth away from his with a gasp and groaned loud—just short of a scream. My thighs locked tight and my pussy spasmed around him as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over me. I was peripherally aware that Tank had frozen above me, but really all I could concentrate on was the amazing bliss singing through my veins.

  Tank rested his head on my forehead, his breath leaving him in huge billowing puffs. “Are you okay?”

  “Mmmmm-hmmm.” A huge smile curved my lips. The effort it took to answer his question felt ginormous.

  “Fan-fucking-tastic,” Tank huffed.

  Then before I could open my mouth, he resumed his earlier tempo. Slow sink in, followed by an even slower withdrawal. I didn’t even try to muffle my gasp. I’d thought he was feeling the same rush to finish that I’d been gripped by when we got off his bike but instead he’d turned into marathon man. I ran my hands over his muscular back, tracing the bulges and dents. Even though I’d already orgasmed twice, pleasure jolted through me, especially when his piercing nudged me. Wanting to at least give him a fraction of the pleasure he’d given me, I ran my fingernails over his back while I nibbled on his earlobe. It was the most my exhausted body could contribute.

  Or maybe not. As he continued to thrust quicker and quicker, tension laced through my body again. I was seconds away from my third orgasm of the night when Tank froze. Giving a muffled shout, he thrust once, twice, then collapsed on top of me.

  I sagged back into the mattress, a bit deflated. My orgasm hovered just out of reach.

  After a beat Tank pulled back and knelt between my legs.

  Despite the tension lacing my body, I smiled up at him. “I take it back.”

  “Yeah? About what?” Tank reached forward and gently ran his thumb over my outer labia.

  “Uh, what are you doing?” I felt a little raw and exposed at the moment.

  “I came too quick, and I know you weren’t there yet. So I’m gonna take care of you.” Tank ran his finger up and down my pussy, gathering my wetness. “What do you need? Just clitoral stimulation, or do you want my fingers, too?”

  I stared at Tank, speechless for a moment. I’d had two orgasms with him. It felt greedy to expect more. But just then he circled my clit with his thumb and need pulsed through my body. Maybe I did need more. “I…just my clit. But I can do it. You don’t have to.”

  I reached down, but Tank blocked my hand.

  “Uh-uh. No girl ever finishes herself off in my bed.”

  “Um, technically it’s my bed.”

  “Can you just shut up and let me do this?” Tank growled in irritation.

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Were we really arguing who should be the one to diddle my clit so I could have my third orgasm tonight? It was ridiculous. And then Tank grazed my clit with his thumb, and I stopped laughing. Without me even telling him, he knew to use a light, continuous motion and circled my clit with a gentle touch. I sank back into the pillows with a moan. The muscles in my thighs tightened as my orgasm hovered barely out of reach, but Tank didn’t let up. His thumb circled and grazed and circled. Just when I thought I was in danger of losing my momentum, he bent forward and nipped the tip of my nipple. The juxtaposition of pain and pleasure broke me. My thighs clasped around his hand as ripples juddered through me. This orgasm wasn’t as big as the last one, but it left me drained.

  I hummed with happiness as Tank carefully untangled himself. I heard the squeak of the bedsprings as he left the mattress, and then a few distant thumps as he found the bathroom, but I couldn’t find the energy to lift my head or open my eyes. I’d found my happy place and wouldn’t be evicted. I couldn’t remember a time I’d had three orgasms to my partner’s one. Most guys talked a big game, but Tank brought it. Hell, I was still seeing stars.

  If this was what it was like to sleep with a biker, I should’ve done it ages ago. Bliss. But then the mattress pressed down next to me, and I remembered why I hadn’t been with a guy like Tank.

  “Move,” he grunted.

  I wiggled slightly to the right.

  “For fuck’s sake.” Tank pushed an arm under my shoulders and one under my knees and half carried/threw me to one side of the mattress.

  “What the hell?” All bliss forgotten, I rose up on one arm to glare at him. “You can’t just shove me around.”

  “You can’t take your half outta the middle. I’m a big fucking guy. Share, dammit.”

  “It’s my fucking bed, and I always sleep there.”

  “I just gave you three goddamn orgasms. I’m not sleeping on the fucking couch.”

  Well, shit. When he put it that way, it made me feel bad.

  “Fine,” I huffed as I rolled over onto my side, facing away from him. I went to grab the top sheet when I realized that I was still wearing most of my clothes, including my wedge sandals. The absurdity of the situation had me giggling.

  “I can’t keep up. You’re angry. You’re laughing. Did I break you? What the fuck is going on?”

  “I just realized that I still have most of my clothes and my shoes on. Still.” I sat up and tugged my wedge sandals off before tossing them toward the end of the bed. I untangled my bra from my arms and sent it sailing toward my closet. But when I reached for the hidden zipper on my skirt, the memory of something Tank had said earlier stopped me. “You know, we never got around to whatever your plans were for my skirt.”

  “Oh, yeah.” I could hear the smile in Tank’s voice. “Leave it on. If we got time later, I wanna do it.”

  I reclined back on the bed and turned slightly to face him, my earlier annoyance forgotten. Sure enough, a slight smile curved the harsh lines of his face. “Later? Are you too old to get it up again tonight?”

  Tank lay on his back with his hands tucked under his head. “Christ, woman. I gave you three orgasms tonight. You want more?”

  “Well…” Honestly I didn’t, but it was so fucking funny to tease him. Not to mention he looked crazy
hot reclined in front of me with all those flexing muscles and tattoos on display. How could I not? I rolled toward him, and the tender flesh between my legs protested. I flinched. Oh, yeah, that was why.

  “Christ. Are you okay?” Tank’s brow wrinkled with concern.

  “Yeah. It’s just…you know…been a while.” Or at least been a while since I’d had such a well-endowed and energetic partner.

  “Sorry if I was too rough. Do you need anything?”

  “No, I’m just going to go take care of things in the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” I fled to the adjoining bath like an escapee running from a pack of bloodhounds.

  Shit, I used to be more suave about these kinda things. Tonight wasn’t my first one-night stand. Hell, it wasn’t my first one this year. But something about Tank just had me all unsettled. Usually I was the one in control in these situations. But tonight, with him, it felt like I’d been on my back foot and stumbling around all night.

  Shaking my head, I turned away from the panicky-looking woman in the mirror and took care of business. After peeing and gently cleaning myself with a washcloth, I grabbed a robe hanging on the back of the door. Turning to the mirror, I stared at my reflection again. I looked less frantic now. A few deep breaths could cure a lot. Feeling more in control, I nodded at my reflection, then walked out of the room and into my bedroom.

  Where I found Tank passed out asleep.

  He looked troubled even in his sleep. I wondered what it was that would make a man still look like that after a bout of crazy sex when he should be at his most peaceful. What kind of life had he led? What kinda things had he seen that would make a motorcycle club normal to him? Unable to find answers to any of my questions, I ditched my robe and crawled into bed, careful not to jar the bed too much. Something told me Tank was a light sleeper and needed every ounce of peace he could get.

  Chapter 8

  Tank

  SEPTEMBER 19

  “Mmmm.”

  I was having the strangest dream. I was twenty-five and back at that hole-in-the- wall motel in Vegas with Abby. We were celebrating something—winning at the tables or the fact that I was home on leave—I couldn’t remember. But she was doing that thing with her mouth where she flickered her tongue until I saw stars. A part of me knew it couldn’t be real. Abby was a cheating bitch. But that didn’t matter at the moment. Right now all I cared about was the way she made my eyes roll back when she gripped me so tight and milked my dick with her fantastic mouth.

  A thunderous pounding noise tore me out of the dream when I’d been inches from coming. I flinched, rolled over, and felt another body next to me. The last time Abby had been in my bed, she’d tried to stab me with my own knife. Without thinking, I pinned down the other person before I even opened my eyes. My chest heaving from the adrenaline rush, I blinked a few times, waiting for the room to come into focus.

  “What the hell, Tank? What are you doing? Let me go.”

  After a minute I realized I recognized that voice. I had a gorgeous, naked woman pinned under me. Not Abby. Nicole Walker, the very forbidden, old-lady-adjacent and therefore protected Nicole Walker.

  Fuck me, I slept with her last night. I really needed to stop thinking with my little brain. Reb and Zag were gonna kill me.

  With a grimace, I rolled off Nicole and covered my face with my hands while I mumbled, “Sorry.”

  My ex would’ve been a more welcome sight this morning. Abby was a bitch, but that was fine since I was an asshole. It worked that way—an ass and a nice girl don’t mix.

  Nicole sat up in bed and rubbed at her wrists. “Is that the way you wake up every morning, or am I just special?”

  The sight of her rubbing at her wrists burned my gut like acid. There weren’t any marks on her, but there might as well have been. I’d touched her in anger. Christ, what was wrong with me? “Again, I’m sorry. I guess I forgot where I was for a second. It’s too fucking early.”

  “Depends on your definition of early. I thought you military boys were used to getting out of bed before eight.”

  “It’s eight?” I lowered my hands and looked for a clock.

  “Eight-thirty.”

  “Christ, I don’t think I’ve slept this late since—”

  Just then the hammering in the distance started again.

  Nicole pushed off the bed with a heavy sigh. Her tits swung with her motion as she grabbed a robe from the bottom of the bed. I groaned in disappointment when she covered her fantastic tits. I could look at them all day.

  The thunderous knocking came again.

  “What the fuck is going on? Are they doing construction on your building or something?”

  “No, there’s someone at my front door.”

  “And you’re gonna answer it in a robe and nothing else? No fucking way.” I tore out of the bed and into the front room before Nicole could stop me. I grabbed my pants and was pulling them on when Nic crossed the room toward the door. “Hey, do not open that door until I get there.”

  “I’ve lived in this apartment longer than I’ve known you. I can open my own damn door.”

  “Not dressed like that, dammit.” I left the fly unbuttoned and crossed to where Nicole was glaring at me next to the door.

  “Yup, sometimes less.” She put her hand on the doorknob and attempted to shoulder me out of the way. “Move back.”

  I took a half a step back and crossed my arms over my bare chest.

  Nicole glared at me and opened the door wide. Then an expression of horror crossed her face. “Em. Reb. What are you doing here?”

  My eyebrows rose as I looked past Nicole. Sure enough, the president of the True Brothers MC stood on Nicole’s front step and didn’t look too happy to see me inside Nicole’s apartment, judging by the glare he sent me. Christ.

  “I, uh, saw that you’d left your car at Reb’s house.” Emily’s large blue eyes darted between me and Nicole. “And I thought you’d maybe need a ride today. To the wedding. You didn’t answer any of my texts this morning.” She paused and threw a wide-eyed look at Nicole before turning to me. “Hey, Tank. How are you this morning?”

  “Good. Can’t complain,” I answered.

  “He better fucking not,” Reb rumbled from behind Emily.

  Nicole tossed a glare my way before she faced Emily again. “A ride would be great. I just need to get some clothes on and grab my bridesmaid dress. Do you guys want to come in and wait for a second in the living room while I get ready?”

  “No need.” I stepped forward and put my hand above Nicole’s on the door. “I’m taking Nic up to Tahoe today. We’ll see you guys there.”

  “No, you’re not.” Nicole attempted to elbow me in the stomach. “There’s no way I can ride on the back of your bike clutching a garment bag. I have to bring my bridesmaid dress and shoes and makeup. It’s not gonna work. I wasn’t thinking last night.”

  “Clearly,” Reb muttered.

  Emily bit her lip, but she didn’t say a thing.

  “We’ll take my truck. Problem solved.” In a semblance of a smile, I bared my teeth at the couple still standing on the front step. “See you guys in Tahoe.”

  Nicole glared at me. “What happened to one and done? Why are you trying to force us to spend more time together?”

  Shit, that was a good question. I didn’t know the answer. Despite the way we’d woken up, a large part of me felt like I wasn’t done with her yet, but I didn’t want her to leave with Reb. Yes, he had his own woman, but the caveman side of me wasn’t interested in thinking logically at the moment. She’d spent the night fucking me. She was mine, dammit.

  “Well, clearly you guys have a few things to discuss.” Emily’s eyes ping-ponged between our two hostile expressions. “We’re just gonna go. Nic? I’ll see you soon at the venue to set up?”

  “I guess.” Nicole glared at me. “But if I’m not there in an hour, send the search parties out to find my corpse.”

  “Christ,” Tank bit out. “What the fuck do you think I’m
gonna do to you?”

  “I don’t know. I just think it’s important people know where I am and who I’m with when I’m in the company of shady individuals.”

  “Whoa-kay.” Emily took a step back into the shelter of Reb, who’d turned his glare toward Nicole. “I guess we’ll give you guys some space to get ready and see you up on the mountain. Bye!”

  Emily darted around Reb and practically fled toward the parking lot while Reb stayed back a moment. His steady gaze moved between Nicole and me before he stepped forward and held out something to Nicole. “I think you’re missing this.”

  Nicole accepted the remnants of her hide-a-key from Reb.

  But he didn’t let go right away. He took a step closer and towered over Nicole. “You should know that you drive a wedge deeper between you and Em every time you say bullshit about bikers. She’s only gonna take so much, and I’m not keen to keep letting you hurt her like that. We’ve both had our fill of bullshit lately, so smarten the fuck up.”

  The fake rock fragments fell to the ground as Nicole stepped away from the visible wrath boiling in Reb’s eyes. I lifted a hand toward her but she ducked me and took measured steps away, never letting me or Reb out of her sight.

  “I’m just gonna go take a shower. The two of you can go to Tahoe or go to hell for all I care, but neither of you better be here when I get out.” Then she turned the corner and disappeared down the hall. A moment later a door slammed shut.

  I had to admit I was impressed with the way she’d stood up to an MC prez like that. Not that I was gonna say as much to Reb. I turned back to face him with a blank expression. I already knew what he was gonna say before he opened his mouth.

  Reb’s gaze was already narrowed on me. “You and Nicole? Really?”

  I didn’t reply.

  Reb raised his eyebrows. “You hurt her, and we’ll have a problem. It’ll cause drama for Emily and Jessica, which will piss off me and Zag. And we don’t need any more bullshit drama. So it’ll be a problem both me and Zag would be more than happy to set right.”

  “Really?” I sneered. “You just got done threatening Nicole, now you’re gonna be her fucking savior?”