by Unknown
Opening up the throttle, I sped through the wide streets. For nearly ten years, I’d lived my life by that one rule. The shadowy outlines of a stand of pines cut across the road in a pattern of black on black. I picked up speed as I passed the sign on the outskirts of Reverence and hit open road. That one rule meant nothing to me right now, and I couldn’t fathom how she had gotten under my skin. I’d gotten what I wanted. She’d given in to me. I could walk away, like I had planned to, like I always did, but I didn’t want to. My yell of frustration sank beneath the howl of the motor. She was mine.
Mine? Fuck. I could try all I wanted but I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk away from this one. I still wanted her too damn much. I braked hard, skidding to a stop that caused the bike to shudder and the back wheel to lift off the bitchumen. Turning tightly, I headed back into town. I’d give her time to calm down and then… I wasn’t sure.
This was new territory for me.
Birdie
I smashed my fist into the bag and expelled the air from my lungs. Heat bubbled up, swelling in my chest and flowing through my arms as I swung again and again. Whirling, I landed a sidekick to the bag.
"Easy girl." Tom grabbed the bag and steadied it as I brought my knee up to meet it. "What’s eating you?"
"Bad day at work." I gritted my teeth and landed more jabs on the bag.
"Seems like more than that."
"Well thank you, Captain Obvious." I punched the bag, but he held it tight and it didn’t hit him like I hoped it would.
"So, tell me about it?"
"Everything went wrong today. The caterers pulled out for the wedding on the weekend, and the function room I booked for the policeman’s ball is closed for renovations. We had that booked for a year, for Christ’s sake." I sent a swift kick to the bag.
"Shit day." He cocked his head in acknowledgment. "Now, why don’t you tell me what’s really eating you?"
"Go away, Tom. I’m fine."
Lips pressed together, he shook his head. "Get in the ring."
I stared at him, my hands on my hips. "I’m not getting in there."
He let go of the bag and put his palm to my back, shoving me toward the ring. "Get in there."
"Fine." I stumbled, then lifted my chin and stalked to the ring, slipping between the ropes. The mat was spongier than I was used to. Holding onto the ropes, I bounced on the mat to test my balance. "Hurry up, Tom. I haven’t got all day."
The mat moved as he slid into the ring, and I turned to face him. My gut clenched. "I want Tom."
"Tom’s busy. You got me." Drake strapped on the pads and held them out at chest height. "Come on, hit me."
"No." I nibbled my lip, tearing the skin, and rubbed my tongue over the spot. "I want Tom."
"You want me."
I shook my head. "I don’t."
He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "You’re not a good liar."
I touched the glove to my chin as I glanced at my feet. Even after what had happened, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. He’d been right when he said he’d own me, but it didn’t matter. What we’d begun was over.
"Hit me. Let out your anger."
I lashed out so fast, I didn’t realize I’d thrown a punch until my fist connected with the pad, and he staggered back a step. Bracing himself, he brought the pads back up. "Again."
"I can’t." My arms hung limp at my sides.
"Fine." He threw the pads down on the mat and came closer. "Then talk to me."
"There’s nothing to talk about." I pressed my lips together.
He grabbed me and dragged me into his arms, and I struggled against him. "Let me go."
"No. Not until you talk to me."
I stiffened in his arms, hoping he would relax his hold enough so I could get free, but he drew them tighter around me. "Fine. You want me to talk. How about the fact that I haven’t heard from you since that night? Not a phone call, or a text, or anything to see if I was okay."
He let me go, and I spun on him, jabbing his chest.
"It’s not like that. I’ve come off a thirty-hour shift. I’ve wanted to call you since I left you."
"You couldn’t have picked up the damn phone and sent me a text? It would have taken ten seconds out of your damn day." I jabbed him again, and he stepped back, his hands up. Aiming for the pads instead of his chest, I threw another punch. Despite my anger, I didn’t want to hurt him, not physically.
"Yeah, that would have been great. A generic text. Hey, darlin’, last night was fanfuckingtastic. Sorry I fucked up, but I’m sure you’ve got it all under control because that’s who you are."
I smashed my glove into his hand. "You’re a cock."
The gym went silent, and I glanced around to see we had an audience. "I don’t want to talk anymore. Leave me alone."
I bent to slip under the rope, and he grabbed me, locking me against his chest. "Not so fast. I didn’t call you, because I didn’t think it was the kind of conversation that you have over the phone."
"It’s a pretty easy conversation to have," I snapped.
"Really? Because it’s going so well, don’t you think?"
I stomped my heel down into his foot, and he let me go with a hiss, but managed to catch my hand before I could get out of the ring. "Listen up, darlin’, before you run out of here with your knickers in a twist. I wanted to talk to you face to face, so I knew you wouldn’t lie to me, and tell me you’re fine when obviously you’re not. I thought –" again his hand went to his hair, "—that it was best to talk about us in person, where you couldn’t shut me out so easily."
"There is no us." I swept my hands out in front of me. "There will never be an us."
I wanted an us so badly, but regret over my history of making bad decisions sat like lead in my gut. To admit I wanted more would be to admit that he made me vulnerable, that he could hurt me. And he would, eventually. He already had. Tugging free of him, I pushed through the ropes. Every set of eyes in the place stared at me as I bolted from the gym. I brushed at my eyes with my fist and pulled my gloves off as I got to the car. I’d left my damn keys inside.
"Here."
I felt the bag strap as he pressed it into my hand, and I searched through it for keys.
Unlocking the car, I threw my bag onto the passenger seat. "Goodbye, Drake."
Why were those words so hard to say? Why did my heart constrict, making it hard to swallow at the idea of never seeing him again. We didn’t know each other, and he’d turned my world upside down. I hesitated.
In an instant, he had me against him, trapped between his body and my car, and my heart tumbled as it beat harder. He pressed his lips to my hair, my ear. "Turn around, Birdie."
I shouldn’t. If I did, he would have me. Those eyes of his would pull me in, and I’d be powerless. And yet, I found myself turning to him. He brushed a finger under my eyes, gathering the tears that had managed to escape my control and leaned into me. His mouth crashed to mine, pulling me apart with his desire that coursed through his kiss into my body. I clutched at his shoulders, reaching up to pull him closer and run my hands through his hair, when he groaned into me. "I’m never going away. You need to get your head around that, because there is and always will be... an us. You are fucking mine, woman."
"Yes," I murmured against his neck. Not knowing how long he would mean it, but right now, I didn’t care. When he kissed me like that and told me he owned me, I couldn’t argue with him. He was right.
"Now, get in your car and get that sexy ass of yours home." I turned around, and he swatted my ass making me jump. "When I get there you better be naked."
"You better have a condom," I sniped.
He chuckled and pulled one from his pocket. "We're not having a repeat of the other night."
Leaving him standing there, I drove out of the lot. The heat he had built inside of me, dormant over the last few days, curled through my belly and along my spine, making my panties wet at the thought of what was to come. I’d never thought
I would turn into the type of girl who got heated by the thought of what a man could do to her body, but he did that to me. He made me want to give him everything. Thank God, I'd gone to the doctor and gotten a prescription for birth control. I’d never needed it before, and he had condoms, but I wouldn’t make the same mistake again. Neither of us could be trusted to have our heads on straight in the heat of the moment.
Chapter Ten
Drake
Chasing her was part of the fun, though not when she was glaring at me like I was the devil incarnate. I had known she would be confused and upset when I hadn’t called her, but what was I supposed to do? Let her lie to me, and give her the chance to run away from me? There was no way I was going to let her get away that easily.
Watching her drive away from me, my orders still thick on my tongue, had my cock surging to life. I twisted the square foil packet between my fingers and stuffed it back into my pocket. Tom was standing at the door with his arms crossed, and I strode toward him with a grin on my face. He narrowed his gaze, his brow furrowed, and my smile widened, knowing he was going to give me the don't cause trouble speech again.
The truth was I was glad she had people like him around to keep an eye on her, though I planned on making that my job.
"Are we going to have an issue?" he asked as I stopped in front of him.
I raised my hands. "No issues."
"There better not be." He kept his stance in front of the door, an obvious warning of what would happen if I hurt her.
I leaned against the wall. "I tell you what. I hurt her, you get to beat the shit out of me, and I won’t even bother to block."
His smirk was sharp, like the vicious end of cut glass. "I’ll hold you to that."
"I expect you to."
His face relaxed as he continued to stare at me and his smirk softened into a grin. He let out a low whistle. "I see."
"You see...what?" I straightened.
With a low chuckle, he clapped me on the back and opened the door. "I don’t believe we’re going to have any issues."
I wasn’t sure what made him realize I’d meant what I’d said, but I was glad to have the man back on my side.
"Great." I left him at the desk, talking to one of the regulars, and went to grab my things. There was a sweet piece of ass waiting for me, and she should have managed to get naked by now. My cock pulsed to its own beat at the thought of being wrapped up inside her, and I adjusted my balls to ease the tension the image of her obeying my orders brought forth. Her sexy body laid out on display, ready and waiting for me. Her sweet mouth yearning for my kiss, and her pussy soaked as she thought about what I was going to do to her. Despite the bone deep ache that filled me at the thought of sliding into her, it would have to wait. A girl like her deserved to be worshipped.
Grabbing my helmet, I slid it on and started up the bike. I wasn’t going to leave her wanting. I peeled out of the car park and pointed my bike in the direction of her house. The only thing between me, and what I wanted, was the bitchumen that the bike greedily ate up as I sped over it.
Birdie
"Orion, what are you doing here?" I slammed the door closed behind me and hurried up the front steps. This wasn’t good. Drake would be here any minute and I still hadn't told Orion about him.
"I thought I’d come see you and Mellie, but she’s not around."
"Some of us have lives, Orion." I stuck my tongue out at him as I unlocked the door. "She’s with clients all day."
He groaned. "The days are all running together at the moment."
"Is Hannah okay?"
"Yeah." He followed me in. "Actually, she’s doing well. In a normal crib now. She’ll be home soon, and we’ll have a bit of a party to celebrate. Mike’s back too."
"Really?" Mike had been gone for a couple of months now, and I missed my self-appointed second brother. Still, one brother was enough to deal with right now.
"Yeah." He crossed his arms and leaned on the bench, his brow creased. "But I’m not here to talk about Mike."
"Then what are you here to talk about?" In an effort to delay the inevitable, I filled the kettle and put it on to boil. I was sure Clo had told him something. Glancing at my room, I hoped I’d put the washing away and made the bed.
"Clo said you’d tell me." He tapped his fingers on the counter. "She’s been sprouting some cryptic shit. She told me to come and ask you what’s going on."
I snapped my gaze back to him. "What did she say?"
"Nothing, really." He took a seat at the counter, and internally I yelled at him not to get comfortable. "You’re seeing someone."
"Um, yep." Straight to the point was best, if I had any hope of getting him to leave before Drake got here. I tapped my nails on the countertop. "Actually, I was going to change and go meet him."
Orion grabbed my hand. "You seem to be all kinds of worked up. Are you dealing okay? He’s not pushing you to do something you don’t want to?"
"Orion!" I snatched my hand away and paced the kitchen. If he found out who I was dating… Clo was right when she said not to spring this on my brother. Damn her for not keeping this from him. "I’m a big girl. I can look after myself. I love you, but don’t ask things like that. Now, I really have to get going, or I’m going to be late."
"Okay, okay." He put his palms up and stood. "Sorry. I worry about you."
I pushed him toward the front door. "And, I really do appreciate it, but I promise I’ve got this under control."
I didn’t, not at all, not even a bit. As I got Orion on to the deck, I heard the rumble of Drake's bike and my heart sank. Sure, Orion approved of Doctor Barclay; the man who delivered his daughter, kept his wife alive, and made sure his daughter survived, but he wouldn’t approve of his sister dating the man, an older man than she, one covered in tattoos and who rode a motorcycle. It was too much of a stretch to believe that he would.
Drake pulled the motorcycle into my drive and parked it on the grass before climbing off. Orion raised an eyebrow. There was no humor in the way he looked at me and crossed his arms. "What the hell, Birdie?"
I exhaled and straightened my spine as Drake removed his helmet, and Orion stared at him, muttering under his breath. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."
I slapped his shoulder. "Stop it."
Drake dumped his jacket over the bike too, and the reveal of tattoos that made me catch my breath had Orion glaring at me. "No."
"Hello, Orion, how are you?" Drake offered his hand to shake.
Orion gripped it. At the base of his jaw, I could see a nerve jumping beneath the surface. "Doctor Barclay."
"You can call me Drake." The handshake continued. Each man puffed out his chest and stood taller as they sized each other up.
"What do you think you’re doing with my little sister?"
I slapped his chest. "Orion, don’t be an ass."
He glanced at me, and then back to Drake. "I don’t want the good doctor thinking he can take advantage of you. If he does, it won’t matter that he saved my wife and daughter. I will beat his ass."
Drake didn’t back down, didn’t drop his gaze as Orion threatened him. "Understood."
The handshake ended on his acceptance, and the two men dropped their arms to their sides. Orion turned to glare at me. "You, and I, we’ll talk soon."
With one last glare at Drake, he strode to his truck and drove away. I hadn’t realized how stiffly I’d been holding myself until he was out of the driveway and my muscles relaxed. "Sorry about him."
"Don’t be." He ran his fingers up the back of my neck and tugged me closer. "Don’t think for one second I wouldn’t hunt down any man who tried to hurt you. Now get your ass naked like I told you to, before we were interrupted."
Damn, when he put it that way… I pulled free of him and bolted inside, ripping my shirt off as I headed for the bedroom. I smacked into the wall as I rounded the corner and cursed before freeing myself from my shirt. Kicking my shoes aside, I scanned the room. Thank god, I’d cleaned
up this morning. The last button gave way to my trembling fingers, when he grabbed me from behind. "You’re taking too long." He yanked them down, and I stepped out of them, only the thin barrier of my bra and panties between us. "You don’t know what you do to me, do you?"
"I have some idea."
He pulled me hard against him, grinding himself into my ass, his hand dipping into my panties to caress my clit. I was slick with anticipation as his digits curled into my slit. No longer terrified of what he could do to my body, I reveled in the sensation of his finger dipping inside of me. He kissed the nape of my neck. "Your pussy is my addiction. Being inside of you is all I can think about. Do you know how much I love the fact that I’m the only man who has made you cum?"
My knees dipped, sinking him deeper as my head lolled on his chest. His arm snaked around my breasts, and he slipped his hand into my bra to tease my nipple, sending desire running through me. He circled my clit, tweaking the bundle of nerves gently, and I whimpered with a surge of longing. If he was addicted to my pussy, then I was addicted to him, and the way he destroyed my past at every turn.
Lifting me so my feet were off the floor, he stalked to the bed and bent me over. I leaned on the bed, my ass up in the air as he stepped back and yanked my underwear down. Panties around my knees I waited for him."What are you doing?"
He palmed my ass, squeezed it, then he spread my legs apart. Tracing a finger over my slit, he found my center and plunged inside. I pushed against them, and he pulled out, leaving me aching. "Your pussy is a fucking thing of beauty. So swollen and ready for me."
My arousal coated the insides of my thighs, and I wanted him to take what he wanted from me. His hands slipped down my legs as he knelt behind me and lapped at the wetness between my thighs, before moving higher to suckle my clit, pulling at the nub with his lips as he ran his palms up my legs to squeeze my ass. I moaned as he found my center, his tongue darting inside of me, licking and sucking greedily at what he wanted. My hips undulated to the rhythm of his tongue, and I spread my legs wider, needing more, wanting him to push his cock into me and obliterate the aching desire his mouth filled me with. My body spasmed, fire coursing through my nerves as he stroked his thumb across my clit, continuing until my pussy clenched, and my thighs were soaked with how wet he made me. I collapsed onto the bed, but he stood and pulled me back to him, grinding himself against my sensitive core. Leaning over me, he nipped at my shoulder, pressing his mouth against my skin as he worked his way up my neck. "You want more, don’t you, darlin’?"