by Franca Storm
I nearly came myself as he released my makeshift ponytail and tunneled his fingers completely in my hair, tugging in a deliciously dominating way, taking possession. He grunted as he rolled his hips, his movements becoming rough and jerky as he got closer and closer to release. Right on the edge.
“Fuck, lovely. Gonna come. Gonna come hard,” he warned.
He stilled my movements as he exerted a death grip on my hair, and he took over, fucking my face.
It was raw, desperate, wild, and amazingly intense. There was just need and utter animal passion.
He stilled abruptly and a sexy, carnal grunt tore from his throat as he exploded into my mouth, coming in violent spurts.
“Fucking amazing,” he breathed as he released my hair and gently tipped my face up to gaze into my eyes. I swallowed and released his cock, smiling up at him.
In the next moment, he reached down and hoisted me onto his lap, a groan escaping him at the effort it took on his injured body. Holding me against his chest, he whispered in my ear, “Thank you.”
I stroked his face, telling him gently, “It’s all going to be okay. We’ll figure it out. As one.”
“Yeah,” he murmured, nuzzling my neck and sinking back into the raised back of the breakfast stool.
I watched his eyes start to droop and I guided him to his feet. “Let’s get to bed.”
He just nodded as we stumbled toward his bedroom.
The moment we’d settled under the covers and his head hit the pillow, he was out hard.
I smiled and stroked his hair as he slept.
Shit.
All of this, everything that had happened tonight and all the stress of keeping our love a secret, was just so much unnecessary hurt.
And I wouldn’t allow it any longer.
I knew what I had to do to end it once and for all.
20
~Anarchy~
“JESUS.”
The first day waking up after a brutal beatdown was the worst.
Your body was still protesting being hurt. You were still trying to get used to not being able to move as easily or as fluidly, still learning to take it easy. And it made you real tired.
The urge to go back to sleep was overwhelming.
But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I had some major shit to deal with today.
Besides, who knew when that maniac, Python, would be hightailing it back down this way, looking for Round Two from me.
As much as I was sure they wanted to, Wraith and Spartan couldn’t detain the President of the Lone Outlaws against his will. It would cause a load of problems and impact the alliance between our clubs. He’d only gone with them last night, because he’d finished dealing out my punishment and Hayley showing up had deflated his rage a hell of a lot. He’d lost his punishing edge for the time being, basically.
But today was another day.
And I knew he wasn’t done with me.
I strained to turn onto my side, expecting to see Hayley sleeping beside me.
Instead, that side of the bed was empty.
A folded piece of paper with my name on it was in her place.
Frowning, I picked it up and read it over.
Damien,
Rest for as long as you need.
I’m just snooping about while I can. LOL. All jokes, I swear.
I had Grim bring my laptop over, so I’m doing some prep for my new job with Sky.
You phone’s on your bedside table, just text if you need anything.
Love you,
x-Hayles-x
I smiled to myself and put the note back down on the pillow.
Too fucking cute.
She was so excited about her upcoming role with Sky. She’d finally be able to step out from beneath the shadows of the club and break out on her own, able to prove herself to be the talented professional I already knew her to be.
She was starting out on the road of moving forward and building a good life for herself.
We just had to push past our current… issue.
“You don’t get how dangerous he really is, do you?”
I forced myself out of bed as those words from her last night echoed ominously through my head. Even after facing off with Python and his relentless brutality yesterday, I still wasn’t afraid. Not of him and his notorious rep. Not of what he’d done to me last night. And not of whatever he still had planned for me.
But there was fear.
I was scared of what his furious disapproval would do to Hayley, the impact it could have on us. The idea of him tearing her away from me was a living, breathing terror within me.
As I strained to pull my t-shirt on over my head, I realized I was no longer in my jeans.
I had a memory of going to bed in them last night. Hayley must’ve undressed me then. Not only that, but I was now wearing a pair of sweats. She’d also taken the time to go yet another extra mile. Wow. She was the sweetest, most caring woman I’d ever known.
Taking it easy, not wanting to make any of my injuries worse and lengthen the recovery time, I made my way out of the bedroom ready to search my woman out.
That proved unnecessary when, not three steps into it, I heard voices coming from down the hallway.
As I got closer, I realized they were coming from my workshop.
I was able to make out Hayley talking.
“See how much more he is, Dad?”
Dad? Python was in my home? Well, he didn’t give a guy much time to recover before coming around for a second bout, did he?
“He’s basically a genius. He made all of these and created a bunch of these devices from scratch.”
“Yeah, I know all this. Spartan brought him in on the security overhaul, because he’s got these kinda skills.”
“There’s more. He gets my work. We can talk about it, problem-solve together. He challenges me, makes me better. He brings out so much in me.”
A grunt sounded. “You’re young. ‘Course he seems like he walks on water right now.”
“No. Don’t do that. Don’t try to downplay my relationship. I’m an adult. I know what I feel. I know what I want and I know who I am. I won’t hide any of that for anyone ever again. I’m not looking for your acceptance with this anymore, Dad. You need to be looking for mine. If you can’t respect me as a grown woman, I need you out of my life. Do you understand?”
I stopped short.
Holy hell. That was some intense shit she’d just hit him with. I was beyond proud of her for laying all her cards out on the table like that without hesitation, of finally standing up to him.
There was a long pause and I took a step back, wanting the support of the wall on my weary body. I cringed as a floorboard creaked, sounding like a foghorn through the silence.
Python stalked out into the hallway.
Hayley hurried after him. A nervous smile spread across her face when she saw me. “I… I didn’t think you’d be up so soon. I invited my dad here to talk. Peacefully.”
“It’s all right, lovely.”
“You need a doctor?” Python asked, looking me up and down.
It seemed like he hadn’t realized how much damage he’d done last night. Or, maybe, in his haze of rage, he hadn’t noticed quite how brutal he’d been.
“I’m walking around just fine.”
“Good. Get dressed and meet me up at your clubhouse in an hour.”
He brushed past me and headed down the hall.
“Why?” I called.
“Dad, what’s going on?” Hayley demanded.
Eyeing us over his shoulder, he said to Hayley, “I heard you when you laid down the law, so I’m gonna spend some time getting to know your boyfriend. You down with that?”
Hayley looked as stunned as I was. “Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
With that, Python took off, leaving Hayley and me staring at each other in stunned silence for several moments.
“That was… unexpected,” she spoke, cutting through the tension filling the
hallway.
“Well, you do have some major powers of persuasion.”
She rolled her eyes. “Maybe when it comes to you, but not him. Not usually, anyway.”
“The ultimatum you threw down was no small threat. It must’ve really hit him hard.”
She said, unapologetically, “I meant it.”
I stepped into her and slid my arms around her waist, holding her against me. “Hayles, I don’t want you cutting your family off because of me, because of us.”
“Not my family. Just him. And it’s not really about you and me. Sure, it was a catalyst, but it’s been a long time coming. He’s been a nightmare presence in my life. I thought when I went away to college that it would all change, that he’d let me live my life. But he had his watchdogs monitoring my every move. Then, when I graduated and came home, I hoped once again that he’d finally get a clue, finally see me as a human being, not some possession to be safeguarded. But, as you know for yourself, that didn’t happen. And I can’t live like that anymore. I won’t. I get that he wants me protected, but there has to be some form of compromise on his part. He wasn’t getting that message so I’ve rammed it home to him.”
“All right,” I said, reaching up and stroking her hair. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, brightly. “I actually feel good, like a weight has been lifted.” The spark in her eyes dimmed, as she added, “I’m just sorry I didn’t think of pulling out the ultimatum tactic sooner before he hurt you.” Her gaze roamed over me, regret and guilt emanating from her.
“It’s not your fault. I knew there would be a price to pay and last night was it.”
I could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t accept that, that she was shouldering the blame, despite what I’d said to try to acquit her.
“You should rest today, Damien. Don’t let him bully you into spending time with him. He doesn’t control this, he doesn’t control us.”
I got that she was embarking on a new, freeing path right now. She’d finally had the courage and strength to stand up to the likes of Python. It was no small feat. She was fighting for us and for her own freedom.
At the same time, I didn’t want her drawing a line in the sand that would cause an irreparable rift between her and her father. She was angry right now and she had her reasons, reasons that I fully supported. But if she went too far with it, it could permanently damage her relationship with her family. I knew what it was like to suffer through that and I didn’t want that for her. She wasn’t like me in that respect, her blood family was a significant part of her life, especially her mom. Losing that would mean losing a part of herself.
Taking her hands and giving them a gentle squeeze, I told her, “Look, you’ve said your piece and it’s had an impact on your dad. Let me do the rest.”
“But, I—”
“In your note, you said you had some work to do to prepare for Sky’s security job.”
“And?”
“So, you get to work on that and I’ll head up to the clubhouse.”
“Damien, I don’t think—”
“Look, it’s not a big deal. I’ll go, hang with him, and see if we can sort this thing. Then we can all move forward without any regrets, yeah?”
It took her a moment, but she eventually gave a nod of consent. “Okay.”
“Okay,” I said, stepping back.
“You should take your truck, though. It’ll be hard to ride in the state you’re in right now.”
“Yeah, I will.”
As I turned to go get ready, she grasped my hand, stopping me. Stepping into me and running her hands softly down my chest, she purred in my ear, “I think you need some help showering.”
“Mmm, do I now?”
She moaned as I trailed my lips down her neck and across her collarbone. “Definitely,” she breathed.
Her hands slid lower, teasing back and forth over my cock, making it jerk and harden at her sensual touching.
“Let’s go,” she said, pulling back all too soon and taking my hand.
Hell fucking yeah.
21
~Anarchy~
AWKWARD AS FUCK.
Even that was an understatement.
When I’d shown up at the clubhouse, the boys had been more than a little surprised to see me there.
Word had gotten around of Python’s beatdown last night and everyone had figured I’d be holed up at my place on bedrest for a few days at least. Seeing the state of me in person probably hadn’t helped either. Well, it wasn’t the first time I’d taken a beating. Learning to function in the aftermath was basically a learned skill in my line of work as the club’s enforcer.
I was doing fine, I was mobile.
Besides, I had shit to do.
I’d promised Tricks that I’d pick up some parts and components for Wheels Up. He was run off his feet dealing with the heavy workload at the shop. It was summer and people were traveling more, wanting their rides up to par, and all that. And the guy I was meeting was my contact, so it made sense for me to go.
I needed to be useful right now, to do something good, something right. With all this shit coming out about me and Hayley and Python showing up and causing drama, I felt like I needed to prove myself, to remind everybody that I was an asset to the club, good for it, not just an asshole bringing trouble.
Judging by the look Spartan had given me just before I’d headed out, he wasn’t just gonna sweep this under the rug, like some stupid-ass part of me had hoped. Nah, I was sure we were gonna have words real soon, probably when I got back from today’s pickup, and there’d be some nasty punishment coming my way.
Right now, though, I was dealing with a punishment from another source.
Python had insisted on coming with me to do the pickup, following through with his whole commitment to spend time with me, for Hayley’s benefit.
Having him in the passenger seat of my truck, just the two of us, miles from the club, made for a constant threat that had me on edge every fucking second. It’d been almost two hours and he hadn’t said a word.
Yeah, it was awkward.
“So, this guy we’re headed to, he’s one of your contacts?”
I started in surprise. He’d finally spoken. “Yeah.”
“You’re resourceful. A slew of contacts. Highly skilled in many things. Idolized by your club, even Spartan, a man who ain’t easy to impress. Disciplined. Ambitious.” I felt his invasive gaze on me as I concentrated on navigating the winding country roads ahead.
“And?” I asked.
“And what?”
“Just wondering where you’re going with this?”
“Nowhere. Just stating facts. It’s all real impressive, especially for somebody so young. Only in your late twenties.”
Damn, he’d done some detailed research into me. “You looked all this up last night?”
“After I beat the shit outta you, I had some time on my hands, yeah.”
I shot a glance at him. “Why are you doing this?”
“My baby girl asked me to.”
Asked was a nice way of spinning it. “You’re the president of a MC, you raised her around bikers, you sent them to her college to watch over her too, and yet you really thought she wouldn’t wind up with one?”
“Didn’t want her winding up with nobody, not this young. Forbidding bikers made her staying single more likely, because that was all she was exposed to. But then you came along. I didn’t want nothing or nobody pulling her off her path. She’s smart and ambitious. She’s going places and she’s got things to do, things to be. I figured her getting mixed up with some guy would screw that all to hell.” He drew in a deep breath, like he was pushing himself to say the next words. “But I was wrong. You don’t do that to her. You push her.”
“That’s your mistake.”
“What?”
“You underestimate her. She doesn’t need pushing. She’s strong, independent, and full of fire. She’s her own person. She knows what she wants and she
works hard to get it. Nothing is going to derail her.”
He grinned. “You’re wise for a young guy.”
“I guess it comes from having to grow up way too fast.”
“Yeah, I know about your history. I also know since then you don’t stay in one place too long. You’re a drifter. Aimless. The longest stint has been with Iron Kings. You just recently made it to five years.”
“Is there a point to go along with that?”
He sighed and sat back against his seat. “I guess my point is, how long is it gonna be until you get bored again and move on?”
“Five years is a long time for a young guy.”
“You’re used to fucking around with trivial whores, then Hayley comes along. She’s different, something brand new.”
“She’s not some toy to me, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“Yeah? You sure about that?”
I slammed my fist down on the dash. “What else do you need to hear? I already told you how it was between me and her last night when you were beating the shit out of me.”
“Guess I need to hear it enough until I’m certain when it comes to the two of you.”
“That’s just it,” I snapped, looking between him and the road. “You’re never gonna be certain. It’s not fucking possible. Look at the facts. The club is everything to me, being a part of Iron Kings changed my life, it made me. And I risked that for Hayley. That’s how much she means to me. She’s… special. She’s basically the other half of me, the part I’ve been missing all these years. Sounds cheesy, or whatever, but you wanted honesty, so there it is. The rest… you’re just gonna have to take a leap of faith and trust me.”
I caught a smile there, him actually beaming at me. All the fierceness he’d been tossing my way subsided. He’d retracted his claws. “All right,” he said.
“Really? We’re good?”
He gave me a chin lift. “You hurt her, though, and I’ll—”
“Yeah, I get it. You’ll kill me in the most painful way imaginable.”
I smiled to myself and I caught him doing the same out of the corner of my eye.
Peace had been reached. A tentative peace, but that was to be expected for any father protecting his daughter.