by Sadie Savage
“Yeah why?”
“I wasn’t on birth control. I’m still not and when you found that out you started using condos”
He frowned. “So?”
“So we didn’t use condoms that first night or that next day either.”
Ace’s eyed held a puzzled expression. Then that expression cleared and shock took its place. Julia’s heart sank. He asked, “Are you saying…are you saying that you are pregnant?”
Tears stung her eyes. Her teeth chewed at her lip. “Yes.” She held her breath, hoping he would say something but silence spun out between them. Her legs squeezed together and her heart beat sped up, moving faster and making her slightly dizzy.
Ace stood up. His chair banaged a little as it settled. He walked to the windows and stared out, not speaking. Julia felt wetness roll down her cheeks. He was angry then. This was not what he wanted and she had known it would not be. He had been clear that being a father was not for him that he would screw it up and that the last thing he wanted to do was ruin some poor kid’s life by being a bad father.
She could not think of a single thing to say to him just then. She wanted to reassure him that he was a good man and that he was be a good father but she was afraid to speak.
Finally he did. He said, in a heavy voice. “I’m in my forties Julia.”
“I know that.” She swallowed hard. “I’m not even twenty and yet we have made that work. I mean I know it’s not easy…I…” She fell silent.
Ace’s shoulders went tight with tension. “My dad never did a goddamn thing for me. I never had a father. I don’t even know how to be a father. I mean, what do you to be a dad? I don’t know.”
“I don’t really know what to say.” It was true. She didn’t. he didn’t want this child growing inside her. She could feel that and it hurt. She did. She wanted that baby. She had never considered being a mother but now that she knew that she was going to be, she wanted it. There was a lot to think about. She had to figure out how to stay in her classes and make her dreams of being a clothing designer come true. She had to figure out how to be a mother and to not let the bad things in their lives touch her child. She had to figure out a way to make Ace accept that having a baby was not such a horrible thing and it was the last part that had her the most stumped.
Ace turned to face her. His face was pale. He said, “What if I fuck this kid up?”
“You won’t.” It was all she had to offer.
Ave looked away form her face then back. One hand ran through his thick hair. He said, “I’ll be sixty when it gets out fo high school. Oh my God, what if it is a girl! I don’t know anything about girls!”
“I don’t know anything about boys.” Relief had begun to trickle through her. She was scared and so was he but he was nto saying she had to get an abortion or arguing that maybe the baby was not his, all the things men sometimes did when the subject came up.
Ace let out a shaky laugh. “I guess…I guess we will have to figure out how to get a crib up those damn stairs, huh?”
She blinked. Had he just said what she thought he had? She whispered, “Are you sure?”
He asked, “Are you?”
She took a long and steadying breath. “I am. I’m scared as hell too though. I mean, I’m so young and…and I don’t know much about raising a child with its father. All I ever really remember was being the daughter of a single mom. So I don’t know what to do wither. I don’t know…like what happens when I get fat? Will you still want to be with me?’
He blinked. Then he burst into laughter. “Did you ask me if I would still want you if you get fat?”
“Yeah,” her arms crossed over her chest in a defensive gesture. “I mean women gain weight when they get pregnant you know.”
Ace kept right on laughing. Julia dropped her arms and stared at him. “What’s so funny?”
“That you would think that I would nto want you. I have news for you, I want you all the time. I wouldn’t care how you looked either. In fact, I want you right now.”
She went into his arms. His hands led her to the bedroom and she went gladly, her body already fired up with lust and joy.
Ace’s hands went to her clothes. He stripped her neatly, leaving her shivering with every garment that dropped away. Her nipples pressed upward, the taut peaks so stiff that they almost stung.
His tongue found them, his mouth surrounded them and the pressure combined with his clever tongue stroking across those pink points made her squirm with pleasure. He didn’t stop there. His tongue moved lower and she went down on the bed, the backs of her knees hitting the edge before she managed to get onto the narrow length of it.
His mouth found her labia and then his tongue was moving inside of her, parting her soaked lips to find her clitoris. His tongue circled it while his fingers moved inside of her, adding friction to the sensations already coursing through her.
Julia surrendered to the moment. His hands and mouth continued to move against her flesh, eliciting little gasps from her as he massaged the throbbing bud harder and faster while his fingers thrust deeper within her coral hued inner walls.
Her legs spread wider, her breath came faster, and she could smell the raw and powerful aroma of her body, the rich scent of arousal coming from the fluids leaking down the cleft between her buttocks.
His hair was under her fingers. She stroked it and let her fingers wander lower so that she could feel the muscles in his jaws working as he took her to an even greater height. Her heels dug into the thin mattress, her body arching as she neared a climax.
“I love you,” the words spilled from her lips. “No matter what Ace, I will always love you.”
The words surprised her but they also made a coil of emotion she had never known loosen in her belly, adding even more sweetness to the moment. His breath blew against her wet flesh, warm and exciting. He said, “I will love you way beyond this life Julia,” and then his mouth went back to her vulva.
Julia’s eyes closed as she strained to reach that height. Her limbs went rigid and her mouth hung open. She sucked in breath as his added a third finger to the two already inside of her filling her completely and taking her pleasure to an even greater level.
Heat and liquid filled her center, and her hips raised and lowered. His tongue went back to her clit and circled it then rubbed across it. Julia’s teeth clenched together to keep a moan from bursting forth but little whimpers escaped her anyway.
Ace moved up so that his body was between her spread legs. He balanced himself on his strong forearms while his mouth came down on hers, sealing in the little cry she had been uttering.
The weight of his body on hers felt so good that she wrapped her arms and legs around him, wanting to hold him forever.
His member found the slippery entrance between her thighs and he slid into her in one long smooth movement. Her body opened further to ease his passage into her depths. He filled her, hot and strong, and she buried her face in his shoulder, smelling the slight tang of sweat there.
They moved together, the shadows shifting and cloaking their gleaming bodies. Her hands pressed into his shoulders. She allowed her mouth to touch his satiny neck, to linger at his ears, and then they were kissing again, furiously, as their bodies moved together faster.
The climax came, sweeping them both under its powerful waves. Julia’s body hung suspended between his and the mattress below her back. Her inner walls pulsed and sent more fluids across his beating flesh. The aftershocks came, and went and still they did not disentangle themselves.
Ace put a hand on her belly and rested his fingers there. He looked down at the flat and taut skin of her stomach and said, “It is hard to imagine that there is a baby in there.”
She caught his hand. “I know. It sort of freaks me out just thinking about it. I mean, that is a whole human being and we are going to be responsible for it and our parents all made so many mistakes and kept so many secrets from us.”
Ace’s fingers paused on her belly. “I have
to tell you something.”
She swallowed hard. “What is it?”
“My dad.” He looked away. “You see he was in the same pen, on the same block that they put Walker ion.”
Julia didn’t understand what he was getting at. “So?”
Ace sighed again. “I guess my father, who is doing four life sentences anyway, decied to make sure that Walker didn’t get out.”
Her heart plummeted into her chest. “What do you mean?”
“I mean he killed Walker.”
The words hit hard. Julia had not considered how she would feel if Walker died and now that she knew he was dead she wanted to mourn him but she didn’t know how.
She said, “Oh. Are you okay with that?”
Ace shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I mean I keep telling myself that of all the bad shit I ever did at least I can say I am not killer. I chose to put Walker in prison instead of killing him because, well because I just don’t want that kind of blood on my hands. I never wanted that.”
“His blood is not on your hands. It is on your father’s hands and there is nothing you could have done to change what happened. Walker had to go down. He had to. Not just for my sake either. He brought nothing but destruction and crime to his hood. He destroyed his own family to get what he wanted. You know the crew you run, you guys do a lot of good things for the hood too. You make sure the homeless shelter has what it needs. You take care of the animal shelter. You do that toy drive. You do give back, and yes you take a lot too. But that’s balance, right? Walker was only about what he wanted in his life, not about anyone else.”
Ace sighed. “You’re right. I know you are.”
She snuggled down into his embrace. She was right. Walker had destroyed two of his sisters and he had tried to destroy her too. He had believed that the people around him existed for no other reason than to serve his needs and wants and he had demanded loyalty and respect while giving none of those things to anyone else. That was unsustainable and it was no shock that most of his crew had rolled on him, or that Ace’s father had killed Walker either.
Prison was a hard place and Walker would have undoubtedly tried to run that block just like he had run the blocks of his borough. Only he had walked into a territory where he had no friends and no allies and he had suffered the consequences for his power mad arrogance
That brought her to another consideration. At some point the child she carried would want to know about its absent grandparents and why it had no uncles or aunts. She felt a squeeze of grief at that thought. Naomi was in prison and Carla, who had cut a deal, was sitting in a filthy drug hole shooting her life away in the form of heroin laden needles.. Walker was dead. Her and Ace’s parents were dead or nobody worth talking about.
She had no idea what she would say when that happened but she knew eventually that they would have to say something.
She relaxed into his arms and he held her tightly. His eyes met hers and he gave her a smile. “This is going to be our brand new start.”
She smiled back, her heart lightening yet again. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me too.” Ace bent his head to hers and kissed her deeply and she kissed him back. This was where she belonged and she knew it. This was where she should have been all along and against all odds she had found her way home and into the arms of the strong man that she would love for the rest of their lives.
Bonus Shifter Bikers Collection
Biker Wolf’s Baby
Pushing send was the easiest thing I’d done in a long time. I sincerely hoped that getting under somebody would help me get over that scumbag ex-boyfriend of mine. The last straw came when he told me he was staying in sick one night. I had met up with some friends instead for a few drinks only to see Captain Asshole macking on some chick in Daisy Dukes.
Now, I wouldn’t have said I was proud of my actions. I dumped a top shelf whiskey drink over his head and congratulated the girl on what a great catch she found, but that was nothing compared to the hell I wanted to raise. I’m pretty sure public castration would have landed me in jail so it was better that I controlled myself.
I just didn’t understand it. I gave and gave to Stephen and for what? I got stuck with the weight of the relationship and more often than not, the tab. All he gave me were lies and twisted mind games for my trouble.
As I scrolled through the profiles on Come Play, the one-night stand app, a devilish face caught my eye. He was handsome in a rugged, outdoorsy way. His beard was dark and looked soft to touch; I could only imagine how good that would feel tickling my thighs. Amber eyes burned from under a pair of thick dark eyebrows, luring me in. And I was one willing fishy.
Scanning through his profile, I found that his name was Walker Lewis and he was in a local motorcycle club. We had a winner! Between the brooding smolder and his enthusiasm for motorcycles, I knew I had to have him. The element of mystery and the air of danger radiating from his profile picture intrigued me. I wanted to know more.
I pushed the interested button and set my phone down. Having spent so much time waiting by the phone for Stephen I’d be damned if I’d it for anyone else.
I ventured into my tiny cottage kitchen to pour myself a glass of pinot noir to help get myself in the mood. What would it be like to have sex with another man? Stephen and I had been together since high school and he was my first and only. Eight years was a long time to be with one person at that age, and I kind of regretted not venturing out to enjoy being single while I was in college. Now, at twenty-six, all my friends were getting engaged or married; two even had babies while I had been trapped in a loveless cycle of lies and emotional abuse.
Would this Walker guy be gentle? Awkward? Mind blowing? I hadn’t had an orgasm without a vibrator – or with another person – in so long I had no idea what that would even be like. The erotic possibilities were endless and really exciting.
I looked around my little two-bedroom cottage. I was so excited to get the place, especially for the price. The sunset shone through the sliding glass door and sparkled off a crystal cut vase I bought as a housewarming gift to myself. The pink light warmed the shabby state of the living space and made my new digs feel like home. Sure, it needed some TLC, but it was only a mile from the beach, charming, and Stephen had no idea where I was.
As I thumbed through paint swatches, my phone buzzed. My nerves went on high alert as I swiped in the unlock code. There he is. And he’s interested. I was nearly vibrating I was so excited.
I opened the app to find a message from Walker,
Meet me at Joker’s. 9pm. Wear a skirt.
Joker’s? The biker bar? Oh, lord was he a Wraith? Joker’s was the headquarters of the Santa Monica chapter of The Wraiths, a motorcycle club suspected of gun running and more than a few missing people. As far as I knew they didn’t have any charges or suspicions of violence against women. Put a check in the plus column, I guess.
I glanced at the clock, 7:30. A small thrill of fear ran up my spine. But coupled with that came a sense of simply not giving a shit anymore. Maybe I had been smacked upside the head with stupidity, or maybe I was tired of playing it safe. This guy was hot as hell, properly dangerous, and was only going to be a one shot deal.
I weighed out my chances and the potential scenarios for a minute. While the obvious choice would be to decline and not walk right into the wolf’s den, there was still a chance things could go well and I might have a good time. After spending my entire adult life being cautious, I was going to take a chance and be bold. I needed this.
I scrolled through my phone and dialed Crystal, my best friend. While I was willing to indulge my wild side, with The Wraiths not being Boy Scouts I would feel more comfortable if someone knew where I was going to be.
“Hey, Lyla! What’s up?” Crystal’s cheery voice floated into my ear.
“Hey, girl. So I got on Come Play like you suggested –“
“Ooo!” Crystal interrupted, “Bag yourself a hottie yet?”
“Actuall
y, yeah I did. I’m meeting him tonight around nine, which brings me to why I’m calling. He wants me to meet him at Joker’s and I want someone to know my last known whereabouts.” I was only half joking in my delivery.
“Joker’s? Are you crazy?” Crystal’s voice went a little high pitched.
“I might be, but getting with a biker has kind of been a fantasy of mine for a while. It’s just one night. Isn’t that what that app is supposed to be for?”
“Well, yeah,” I heard Crystal sigh. Silence followed as she worked out her thoughts. “I don’t love the idea, but I guess you have to get some things out of your system. Can you just make sure your friend tracker is turned on for me?”
I smiled, grateful for her concern. “I will. Crys, I’m nervous. What if I suck in bed? What if he takes one look at me and decides he doesn’t like me?”
“Whoa! Settle down there, horsey. You’re over thinking this. It’s a fuck him and go situation, so don’t worry about it. Be safe and have fun.”
I nodded as she spoke. Crystal was right; this was all about having a good time.
“And maybe pick up that roofie detection paper on the way?” Crystal suggested.
I barked a nervous laugh. “I’ll be fine. Good looking out, though. I’ve got to go and get ready. I’ll call you in the morning.”
Crystal and I said our goodbyes and I went to my room to get ready. While I was nervous as hell, I couldn’t ignore the undercurrent of excitement pulsing through me.
Chapter 2
I turned the key and shut off my car. I fiddled with my key ring as I stared at the spotlight lit wooden sign and the building in front of me. On the outside, Joker’s looked like any old school tavern with its rural charm and cedar siding, but the crowd of bikes parked out front told a very different story. There had been speculation that the Wraith’s used Joker’s a cover business to launder their gun money and keep the cops off their backs. Then again, there was also the rumor that they had the police chief and a few high-ranking officers in their back pocket. I wasn’t sure which was true if either were, but it wasn’t my responsibility to care.