by Nicole Snow
My body jolted. Was he talking about marriage?
It didn't surprise me. This old lady branding thing felt like I'd taken on something deeper than a proposal, crazier than ordinary wedding vows.
I'd told him I was ready, and I meant it. My whole body jerked, mad excitement rushing through me. We kissed again, and my hips started to move, stroking up and down on the hardness still in me.
I didn't believe in destiny. Not yet. I could back out if I wanted to, I didn't have to be an outlaw's bride.
But by the time I began moaning and clenching on his length all over again, I couldn't imagine anything else.
* * * *
I couldn't wear him down. My legs burned like fire by the time we were heading back to his cabin that evening, and not just from all the hiking.
The man brought a whole new meaning to insatiable.
He'd fucked me two more times out in the forest clearing, and he was already giving me that look like he wanted me naked as soon as we got home. I should've been drained, but my traitorous pussy tingled anyway, horny for more of what he'd left inside me.
God. At this rate, he'd knock me up whether I was on birth control or not.
Everything was moving too fast, and he was in the lead. He took my hand whenever I slowed down, pulled me forward, helping me through the woods just like he'd drawn me through life.
“Think I'll fuck you on the porch tonight,” he said, squeezing my fingers. “We're damned lucky we've got another clear night. You saw those stars last night, didn't you?”
“Yup. Better make the most of it. It's our last night here for a little while.”
The nervousness building in the back of my brain started to seep out. I worried about how I'd go out with him again, much less get moved in.
My parents would want me dragged off to therapy with a court order if I told them I'd decided to hitch up with some man I'd only met weeks ago. And if Daddy didn't keep the pressure on Detective Harlow, he might come looking for more evidence about the dead men.
If he found out about Skin, he'd have a lot to dig through, too. I couldn't let it happen.
“Babe, what's wrong?” My man stopped, pulled me close, scanning my eyes with his.
I couldn't hide anything. “I'm worried,” I said.
“Tell me what's behind it, and I'll make it right.”
It sounded so easy, and I wanted to believe him. I smiled, wiggled my fingers in his, and looked past him at the wild fall colors lighting up the trees.
“It's not that simple. I don't know what I'm going to tell my parents, Skin. They're expecting me to come home and shove off to this place in Georgia for a few weeks so I can get some help. Mentally, I mean.”
“Bullshit. I'll talk to your old man, face to face. Call him up right now.”
I laughed at how ridiculous it sounded. But the biker reached into my bag, found my phone, and jerked it out, pushing it into my hand.
“Tell him the truth. Tell him about us. You're welcome to see a shrink on the side, Meg, I ain't gonna stop you. But when I look into your eyes, I don't see a broken, beat down woman. I was afraid that's what you'd be, even after I blew the pimp's fucking brains out, but I was wrong. You're stronger than that. You've got everything you need to get your life back on track right here.”
He thumped his chest, then narrowed his eyes, giving me that killer look he'd used all through the rescue. “Call him. Tell him.”
“This is crazy!” My eyes were about to pop out of my head. “Skin, come on, can't we figure something else out?”
“No.”
One word, like thunder in his voice. Amazing how he could melt everything else inside me as easily as he melted my panties. I couldn't think of a good argument against his idea either, however insane it seemed.
I wasn't going to tell him about the detective unless I needed to. He'd saved my life and I'd given him and his club a second chance. I meant to keep on giving it too, even if I had to handle everything on that end myself.
I had a lot to learn about this lifestyle I'd taken on, but I knew my old man deserved better than having more problems dumped in his lap. Daddy had the pull to put this to rest once and for all.
Maybe Skin was right. I'd lied to my parents enough. Hell, my father knew I'd done as much.
Muddying the truth wasn't going to bring us closer.
With a heavy sigh, I tapped my dad's cell on my screen and held it up to my ear.
“Jesus, Megan! Where the hell have you been? I was about to call the police.”
“What?” My heart went into overdrive. “Why?”
“Had a little chat with Becky this morning to see how she's getting along with the car business. She told me she'd seen you leave a few hours ago, but I know a girl who's tongue tied. It took her three times to get her story straight!”
Shit. I almost died on the spot between Dad's angry disappointment growling in my ear, and Skin's stern eyes fixed on me, turning me to stone.
“I'm sorry I lied to you.” Bitterness crept into my voice. The truth always stung, but it was the only thing that could save me now.
“My God, honey. You don't know the damage you've done.” He let out a long sigh. “Where are you, then? Are you on drugs? Did the man who took you away get you hooked?”
“No, Daddy, no.” I cringed, turning away from Skin. “Nothing like that.”
“I don't understand. You'd better start talking.”
“There's someone else. I've met a man. He helped me get away from the whorehouse alive, and I think I'm falling for him.”
My ears buzzed as I waited through the long, awkward pause.
“Now, honey, you listen to me. Very carefully. I know you mean well and I'm sure you believe this man is on your side. But you're in no condition to see anyone until you get your head straight. Come home. We'll sort all this out, and maybe someday you can visit this...gentleman after you're healed.”
Gentleman was the last thing Daddy believed about my love. And he wasn't completely wrong. But the contempt in his voice hurt.
I definitely couldn't go back. He'd drag me off to the clinic kicking and screaming, anything to spare the family more embarrassment.
“I can't do that yet,” I said softly. “I'm telling you the truth, but I think we both need time to process. You don't understand, Daddy. I wish you did. I'm happy when I'm with Skin. I'm me again.”
Crap. I let his name slip before I could catch myself. If only I'd used Parker, something normal, maybe I wouldn't have had another pause twice as long, before he exploded.
“Skin? Skin!? Jesus Christ, Megan, you've got to be kidding me. Where's the punchline? What kind of disgusting low life are you spending your time with? What kind of drugs is he giving you to tear you away from your own family, your mother and father who love and support you?”
“I told you, I'm not on any fucking drugs!” I broke, hot tears falling down my face.
How could he think I was lying now? Sure, I'd done it once or twice, but now I was telling him the stark, cold truth. I'd tell him everything else, even if he disowned me and cut me out of the family fortune, if only he'd shut up and listen for a change.
“I'm only going to say it one more time, honey.” Rage sizzled in Dad's voice. “Come home. Let us get you some help. Forget all about this Skin, and everything that happened to you before. I've turned away reports and gotten the cops off your back for more than a week, and you'd better hope to high heaven they never find out about these lies. You owe us, Megan. ”
My heart stopped cold, along with my tears. Hot anger hissed through my blood, slowing the heartbreak, an indignation I hadn't felt since watching the pimp die on Skin's phone.
“I don't owe you anything, Daddy. Don't call me again. I'll call you.” I killed the connection and angrily stuffed it into my purse.
Skin's strong arms curled around me before I could take another breath. “You okay, babe? Heard it didn't go so well.”
“It's going to take time.” I rubbe
d his arm, clutched it desperately. I couldn't fit in with my own family anymore, but I could as his woman, his old lady. “I don't care what he says anymore, Skin. Everything I need today is right here.”
“You're damned right. Now, dry those eyes and kiss me again.”
His lips took away the pain, just like they always did.
I had to be patient. I had to keep my wits.
We'd survived so much in such a short time, and this was just one more fiery hoop to climb through. But we'd do it, together, no matter how hot it burned.
I hadn't met anything that would keep me away from this man, and God willing, I never would.
* * * *
The night passed like a dream. Skin kept me on his lap around the fire pit outside his cabin. We slow roasted steaks we'd picked up in town, shared a couple beers, and just enjoyed each other's warmth underneath the sprawling starlight.
It was a simple, but filling dinner with a complicated man I knew I'd remember for the rest of my life.
His hands were all over me before the moon peaked in the sky. I knew he was serious about the porch thing when he dragged a thick blanket outside. He wrapped it around us near the fire when my clothes came off.
Skin's mouth moved across my body, slowly at first, taking my heat from a glowing spark to a scalding roar. His muscles covered me, bare, inked, and beautiful.
Please fuck me, Skin. Please. Please!
Begging wasn't even a question when his mouth sucked my hard nipples, and he lodged his cock between my folds, holding it against my wetness, teasing me until I thrashed against him.
I needed him inside me. No matter how many times he gave it to me, it would never be enough.
Every tease, every kiss, every lick reminded me who owned me now. As the fire inside me crackled hotter than the blaze in the pit next to us, hotter than the bright white stars above us, I never wanted him to stop.
Never.
I just wanted to fuck him. So badly. Tonight, tomorrow, and forever.
We rolled together, wrestling in the blanket. His cock brushed my clit, forcing my arms and legs around him. My nails raked down the stripes tattooed on his back, digging into his power, pleading for what I needed most.
Just before he pushed inside me with a savage grunt, he looked me in the eyes like a wolf on the hunt. “I fucking love you, babe. Whatever ends up happening, however rough it gets, just remember that. I'll love you, keep you, and fuck you like you're mine 'til the day I die.”
“Skin...”
He covered my mouth with his, suffocating me in another steamy kiss as his cock plunged into me.
We fucked long and hard. I lost track of how many times I came while he moved like a piston, growling into my mouth, thrashing his tongue against mine to match the energy in his hips.
“Wrap your legs tight, woman. I'm gonna flood you again, and I don't want you to lose a damned drop.”
Yes, sir. I did exactly what he asked. He fucked me so hard the wooden porch creaked underneath us. He fucked me like the animal he was, the beast I'd fallen in love with.
I'd fallen so hard, too.
So hard it hurt. So hard it pleased. So hard it let me know that he meant every single word he'd said today, everything he'd had stamped on my skin, everything about being his forever.
I came like a madwoman. His hands clasped my ass with a snarl, pulling me deeper onto his cock, roaring as he came inside me.
I'd say it was too much, but then, it always was.
This outlaw's pleasure was a crime itself, so forbidden it only made me come harder on his length while he pumped his seed inside me. I cried out again and again as he fucked me straight through it, the fire in my belly becoming lava again.
When he finally pulled out, the sweet relief lasted all of about five minutes before he started stroking my pussy again, holding his come inside me.
I shifted, climbed over him, drew him into my mouth. His taste, his scent, his strength enveloped me on the longest night of my life, but also the best.
We kissed, sucked, and fucked ourselves hoarse for what seemed like hours. I wasn't sure when my body finally collapsed into sleep. But when I woke up the next morning tangled with him, eyeing the fog drifting over the lake and blanketing the colorful mountains, I knew I'd found paradise.
There wasn't any question. If I'd been crazy to do this old lady thing without really knowing what I was getting myself into, then it was the very best way a woman could lose her mind.
* * * *
I started coffee back inside the cabin. Skin lingered for a little while, cleaning up, told me he'd be inside in a little bit to help with the food.
Humming to myself, I watched the sweet black stuff brew in the pot. I hurt like hell, and I smiled, knowing I'd be feeling last night all day. The bathroom mirror showed several new deep purple marks around my throat.
I'd thought the branding ended back at the clubhouse, and of course, I was wrong. Part of me wanted to punch him. The rest of me adored it, secretly loved having a man who wanted to mark me up.
Thank God for winter, right around the bend. I'd be stocking up on turtlenecks for all the long, cold nights we'd undoubtedly have together.
I was fishing eggs and bacon out of the fridge when the screen door slammed open. Skin stepped into the kitchen with his eyes dark and serious.
“Get your shit together and throw the food back, babe. We have to go. Now.”
Fear shot through my heart. “What's wrong? What happened?”
“Club's in trouble. Firefly took a bullet in the shoulder less than a block away from the clubhouse. The guys have been patrolling all morning and it looks like the area's secure. This shit's a message from the Deads. I've got to get you the fuck outta here.”
For a second, I froze, cold blood running through me. “What do they want? Are they finally back to fight over the dead men?”
“Don't know, that's for us to figure out. My only worry's keeping you safe 'til I get you somewhere secure. I'd prefer that be the clubhouse, but if you wanna swallow the poison yesterday and go back to your family for this, I'll understand.”
“No way.” I shook my head. “There's nowhere I'd rather be than with you. I know you'll keep me safe, Skin. You always have.”
“Good.” He looked at the stuff behind me on the counter. “Let's hurry the hell up. We've got a long run back, and then you're going in the vault. Safest room in the clubhouse. Nobody breaches that shit without a nuclear warhead.”
“Whatever it takes, Skin. I'm yours.” I said the last word in a hurry, right before I desperately began throwing food into the refrigerator and dumping the coffee.
A spatter caught my skin as I watched the hot, black liquid hiss down the sink. It should've burned, but it was the only thing keeping me from turning into solid ice.
X: All Hell (Skin)
She clung tighter to me than usual on my bike. I wished like hell I could grab her little arms and hold 'em even closer, whatever it took to wipe away the fear and remind her that I'd never let her hurt again.
Easier said than done now that we had a dragon breathing down our necks, but damn if I wasn't gonna try. We'd just gotten outside Knoxville on the isolated highway, about ten minutes from the clubhouse, when I heard the convoy.
They came up fast, taking the mountain curves like raging chariots.
“Skin!” Meg screamed my name as they surrounded us.
Four bikes. Two trucks. More than half a dozen bastards, all wearing Deadhands' patches on their cuts, and those mean motherfuckers meant business.
“Hold on as tight as you can, baby.” I wouldn't let the worry creep into my voice and spook her more.
Just throttled my bike as hard as it would go, taking the next curve around the mountain so fast it felt like we were on a fucking rocket. She leaned into me. I could feel the poor girl's breath catching in her throat, the terror running through her blood.
Bastards. I'd find a way to make them all pay for scaring her like this. The
y'd give me their miserable, fucked up lives, and then some.
I took the first side road where it was too narrow for them to surround us, blazing toward the trees. I had to get ahead. We had to run.
It was our only hope. There were too many of them to outrun on the long stretches of open road, and we were too far away from HQ to risk it.
My eyes focused on a little stretch of road near a cliff overlooking the forest, an old scenic overlook next to a crumbling stone wall and battered stairway. It had just enough space to roar into it and jump the hell off.
“Babe, as soon as this bike stops, you run,” I growled back at her, preparing to slam on the brakes. “Forget about your helmet, forget about the shit on the bike, just go!”
Ten seconds later, the bike screeched to a stop on the cracked pavement, nearly running off the damned cliff. I threw myself off it and grabbed her hand. She raced with me into the brush, struggling to navigate the steep cliff.
This part of the mountains was rugged as all hell. I'd been here a few times before. The boulders were our saving grace, and we headed for the first large crop we saw. I shoved her against the rocks and then pressed her to the ground, hiding her under me for extra safety and support. I also needed to muffle everything coming out of her mouth.
If she broke and whimpered while they were combing the area, we'd be dead for sure.
The Deads weren't giving up just because we'd quit the road chase. Shit, I could hear them now, swearing and trundling down the same overgrown path we'd taken, crashing through the trees, fanning out to search.
It wouldn't take them long. I had to delay. I had to put in a call to the boys, get them the fuck out here, or at least let them know that we were about to be whipped.
I ripped out my phone in one hand, and my nine millimeter in the other. I let my shit dial while I peered up over the rocks, looking for our pursuers. Hellfire tingled in my fingers, the need to put bullets through their skulls, even though we were past outnumbered.
“Skin? Where the fuck are you, boy?” Joker answered in his usual sharp, dead voice.
“We're in trouble, Veep,” I growled in a hoarse whisper, feeling Meg tremble. “Deads here, a whole lot of 'em, just off the old stonewall overlook. I gotta go.”