by Naomi West
Tanner had the worst headache he'd ever experienced. Pulsing pain raged through his head. He struggled away from Cam, smacking away the pledge's hand. “I'm fine, I'm fine. You guys catch that big fucker?”
Cam shook his head. “Sorry, man.”
“He went out the back,” Blade said, “and over the patio wall as we were coming in.”
“Who was he?” Cam asked.
The man's face flashed into his vision, and Tanner shook his head. He knew he should recognize him, but couldn't remember from where. “Dunno. But, we need to get Brendon outta here. Someone might've called the cops with all that fighting.”
“Agreed,” Blade said as he stooped down beside Tanner's younger brother and gathered him up, putting Brendon's arm around his shoulders. “Let's go.”
As they stumbled out to Blade's pickup, questions raced through Tanner's mind. There was no love lost between the Roaming Wolves and the Blood Warriors, that was certain. But, the way that man had looked at him, the anger and hate was unreal.
There was murder in those eyes, a deep and abiding hatred that seemed to consume the world around him. Tanner had never seen so much anger in his life, like the emotion had somehow become almost palpable. Tanner knew, right then, that if Blade and Cam hadn't come into the apartment when they had, that Roaming Wolf would have finished the job right there.
Tanner helped Blade get Brendon's near deadweight into the rear seat of the pickup. No matter who had walloped him with that baseball bat, he still had Star to get home to.
She, and a bottle of painkillers, would help him forget.
Chapter Nineteen
Star
The sun had already set behind the horizon long before. Darkness had settled in and, with the cloudy night, a blanket of shadows seemed to settle over the world outside.
Inside Tanner's childhood home, Star and Tanner's mother sat in front of the TV, watching some reality show that wasn't doing much to catch the younger woman's attention. It wasn't that she thought less of reality television, but the fear of what might be happening to Tanner was driving her up the wall.
And, top it all off, she was stuck in this box with his mother.
There wasn't anything wrong with Tova Rainier. Star just knew Tanner's mother didn't like her. The disdain was on her face, in her movements, in the way she looked at her when she thought Star wasn't paying any attention. There was always that attitude of “You're not good enough for my boy.”
And, now, with just the ticks of the clock on the wall to remind her of the passage of time, she waited. She waited for some sign of him. Waited for a message on her phone, or a call. Not that he'd ever been big on either of those in their short time . . . doing whatever they were doing.
But, all the while, she was stuck with a woman who didn't care much for her. Hell, she'd hardly said two sentences to Star since she'd gotten there. She'd just plopped down on the couch and turned the TV on like it was no big deal.
“It doesn't ever get easier,” Tova said after a while, startling Star from her thoughts.
“What?” Star asked, looking over at the older woman. Tova didn't even bother to return her attention, though. “What do you mean?”
“Waiting for them to come back from doing something big and manly for their club. Wasn't easy with Logan, their father, and definitely isn't any easier with Tanner.”
At least Tova was talking to her, even if it was with a dismissive edge to her voice that implied Star wasn't going to be around long enough to get accustomed to the wait. “Do you get used to it at least?” Star asked finally.
Tova just shook her head. “Nope. But, there's a reason why we love them.”
“What's that?” Star asked, genuinely curious to hear this old woman's insight on her son, and the men like him.
“Cause they're men, real ones. They're not some stock trader, or some guy selling insurance. Sure, they probably won't ever be rich, either. But, they'll respect you, and they'll take care of you when you need to be taken care of. They'll fight for what they want, inside the bar or out, when it comes to defending their honor, and they don't take ‘no’ for an answer. Plus, they're simple. You cook 'em food, they'll be happy. You screw their brains out, and they'll be more than just happy.” At the last part, she did turn and grace Star with her attention, but only for a knowing moment.
“Plus, they've got those sexy bikes of theirs,” Star added.
Tova turned and rewarded her with a slight, knowing smile for that one.
Finally, after what had seemed like years, a pickup truck pulled up to the house. As Star heard his voice from outside, she realized she hadn't been breathing freely since he'd left. It was like a weight was coming off her, relieving her and allowing all the anxieties to drift away on the wind.
She and Tova got up from the couch, as if by some unspoken agreement, and headed into the kitchen to wait for them.
The brothers came bustling in through the back door, Brendon malnourished and weak as a kitten, and Tanner looking exhausted. Star inhaled and exhaled, her chest loosening as she suddenly felt most of the tension leave the room. Attention was on Brendon, and away from her, thank God.
“Oh my,” Tova breathed, as she got up from the kitchen table and went to her baby boy.
“Hey mom,” Brendon slurred out, his voice sounding as dejected as his face looked.
Star took one look at the poor guy and knew, just knew, that Tova had her work cut out for her. This boy needed some serious detox time. A hot shower was going to be just the start.
Tova Rainier didn't say a word. She just went to wrap him up in her frail arms, despite his protests. “It's okay, honey,” she soothed. “We'll get you better.”
Tanner stood aside, letting them embrace.
Star tried to catch his eye, just so he could see that she cared that he was safe, but his attention was focused on Brendon and his mother. That was okay, though. Tonight was about the lost son returning home. He was family, and at least they had a hot shower to offer.
A tear ran down Brendon's cheek. “I'm sorry,” he groaned. “I'm so sorry.”
“It's okay,” Tova said again, smoothing down his mat of tangled hair. “We'll get you a shower, alright? Then get you to bed? Have you eaten?”
“Aw, Mom. I'm not hungry.”
She pulled back, her hands on his shoulders, and looked him in the eye. “Well, let's go get you cleaned up, then?”
Tanner stepped in and offered to help, but Tova just waved him off. “I've got it. Why don't you get Star home, and stop by in the morning?”
“Yeah,” Tanner said with a nod, “I can do that. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“I will,” Tova assured him as she and Brendon went into the living room. “I think we'll be fine, though. And, Tanner?”
“Yeah, mom?”
“Thank you for bringing my boy home. Say thank you to Blade, too.”
He nodded. “I will.” Tanner, his face neutral, turned to Star. “You ready to go?”
Star nodded, noticing the way he kept his emotions in check. “Yeah, let me just grab my stuff.”
A few minutes later, they were out in the pickup truck the two men had arrived in, and headed back to Star's place. Star realized how strange this one small thing was, to be able to look to the side, and actually see his face while he was driving. She'd gotten used to being curled up around him, feeling the familiar vibration of the bike between her thighs, as he tore down the highway with her on the back.
“Think your mom knows what do with him?” she asked as they headed back to her place.
“What do you mean?”
“Kicking smack isn't exactly something you can do on instinct. He's gonna have to detox, and it can be pretty bad.”
“Yeah,” Tanner said, “I thought about it. But, I figured he'd be good for tonight, at least.”
She nodded, her thoughts going back to the times when her mother couldn't get her fix. “It probably won't get bad till tomorrow.”
She turned and looked out the window, watched the lights as they rushed by on the other side of the glass. All those people, all those little lives existing at the same time. Why did hers have to be like this? Why did her life have to be so fucked up and confusing?
A little while later, they pulled up at her place. Tanner reached down and grabbed her bag before she had a chance to, and hopped out of the truck with her overnight luggage in hand.
“I can get it,” Star said as she closed the passenger side door behind her.
“I know. I can too, though.”
Star smiled to herself as she walked ahead of them and unlocked the door. They both went inside and she flipped the lights on. Nothing had changed since he'd come to get her earlier in the day. Everything was all just as she'd left them.
Thank God.
“So,” she said as he dropped her bag on the couch, “is this what life with you would be like? Danger? Not knowing if you'll come home? If you'll come back?”
“Pretty much,” he said with a shrug and a wince. “Goes with the territory. Think you can handle it?”
“A life with you, huh? Does that mean you're offering one?” she asked, her eyes wandering over his body, and his skin tight shirt. She saw, then, where the bruise forming on his upper arm peaked out from beneath his shirt sleeve. She couldn't suppress her surprise in time. “You're hurt!”
“What?” he asked as she crossed the floor and began to peel his shirt off. “This? I've had worse.” He pushed away her hands from the sleeve of his shirt.
She clucked her tongue and looked up at him, sideways. “What happened?”
“Guy with a baseball bat,” he said nonchalantly.
“Shit, Tanner,” she whispered as she slapped his hands away and pulled his shirt up over his head. “Come on, let's see how bad you are.”
He winced as she took off his shirt. Giant purple-red blotches had spread on his left shoulder and arm, and a big one was starting to form on his ribs. They looked nasty, but nothing seemed to be broken.
She didn't even think. She just leaned in and kissed his shoulder.
Chapter Twenty
Tanner
“Do they hurt?” she asked him after she kissed his ribs. “Did you get any others?”
“Nothing hurts when I'm with you,” he said and wrapped his arms around her. His words were a lie, of course, but they actually made him feel better as they passed his lips. Before she could react, he'd scooped her up in his arms.
She squealed as she put an arm around his shoulders and pulled herself closer to his naked chest. “What are you doing, Tanner Rainier?”
“Showing you how unhurt I really am,” he said as he carried her back into her bedroom. He pushed the door open with his foot and carried her to the bed. He leaned down and kissed her as he lay her down on the comforter, kissed her long and hard like he'd been wanting to since he'd left her at his mom's.
“You're right,” she whispered as she touched his face and smiled up at him, “you don't seem very hurt.”
He leaned down and kissed her again, this time running his tongue over her lips, encouraging them to open. He pushed his tongue past her parted lips, and their tongues danced as they held each other close on the bed.
She ran her hands over his body, touched his face, as they continued to make out on the bed. Their kisses weren't as rushed as their first time, or their second. This was caring, considerate, like their kiss this morning.
He reached for the hem of her shirt, slid his hand beneath the cloth and over her creamy, perfect skin.
She shivered under his touch, moaned a little as he pulled her shirt up and over her head.
Tanner looked down at her. He'd never felt this way about a woman. They'd all been flings in the past. Now, though, he could see a whole new world stretching out in front of him, like an endless highway rolling out under the vault of a perfect blue sky. And, for once, this road was one that he didn't have to ride down with just the members of the Blood Warriors.
“What?” she asked quizzically as she looked up at him. She must have seen something in his eyes.
“Nothing,” he replied in a husky voice, and leaned down to kiss her again.
Her arms came up around his back, brushing over his bruised ribs and arms.
He didn't flinch, though. He just pulled her tighter to him, her closeness and the perfection of her body clouding any pain he felt.
She pulled him onto the bed with her, rolled him over onto his back. She was over him, kissing his bruised shoulder and arms, her hands on his stomach and chest. Her lips moved to his nipple, circled it with her tongue, as her hand moved down to the top of his jeans.
He reached behind her and deftly unsnapped her bra, freeing her breasts.
She undid his belt and unsnapped his jeans as she pulled back from his embrace.
He pulled her bra off and tossed it aside, replacing the flimsy lingerie with a rough, callused hand.
She arched into his grasp, moaning deep in her chest as he rubbed a rough palm across her nipple. Her hand worked the zipper down on his jeans and snaked inside, wrapping herself around his thickness.
“I just love the feel of you,” she whispered as she began to stroke him.
He groaned as her long, cool fingers encircled him. He reached up and pulled her mouth back down to his, crushing her lips as she slowly worked on his manhood.
She pulled back, giving them both a chance to gasp for breath. She began to unsnap her jeans, saying, “I want you to take me like the first time we were together.” She pulled her hand from his pants, unzipped her jeans, began to shimmy out of them.
Tanner let her go long enough to get out of his own boots and clothes, leaving everything in a pile. Naked, they reached for each other again, their bodies melting together, their hands roaming over each other.
“Like this?” Tanner asked as he gathered up her hands and put them behind her head.
She nodded and moaned as he positioned himself between her thighs, his hard cock at her belly button. “Just like that,” she said as she struggled against his hands.
He crushed her lips again with his, kissing her hard, before breaking away to allow his mouth to travel the rest of her. With his hands still pinning her wrists to the mattress, he traveled to one heaving breast, then the other, his tongue circling her hard nipples, his teeth grazing over them.
She arched into his mouth, moaning as she pressed more of her into his hungry mouth, begging him not to stop. He slipped his free hand between her legs, rubbing two fingers up and down her wet slit.
She was dripping with want, with need, and she spread her slim thighs wider for him. He wet his fingers and traveled up, circled her clit, teased her. She groaned and moved her hips to the tune he was playing, begging for more of his touch. He leaned forward, kissed her again as he traced a circle around her clit with the tip of a finger.
She moaned as she sucked his tongue into her mouth. Soon, she nearly screamed as her whole body contorted under his tender touches, her slight form shaking as she came on his attentive hand.
Tanner reached down and grabbed his cock, directing the head to her. She was spread wide for him like a flower, and he wanted to be inside her more than anything. More than he wanted a child with her, more than he wanted his inheritance. He just wanted to feel that sweet release as he pumped into her and filled her with his seed.
“Please, Tanner,” she whispered as his lips left hers, “please make love to me.”
He nodded. She bit her lip and sucked in a relieved breath, arched her back as he traced the head of his cock up and down her lips. He gazed into her eyes, falling into them, as he pushed forward and slid into her.
Her sex swallowed him whole, like the
y were made to be together. She lifted first one leg, then the other, and hooked them together over his lower back. She struggled against his hand holding her wrists together, just enough to test his bonds.
He groaned as he slid in and out of her, as she met each of his thrusts with one of her own. There was nothing raw and primal about this. Instead, their bodies moving against one another were just the actions of two humans, showing each other how beautiful love making could be.
They kissed again, their tongues entwining as Tanner picked up his pace.
She groaned as her pussy contracted around his rod, squeezing him like a velvet glove. She bit his lower lip as he pulled away, moaning as her body was wracked with another orgasm.