Riding Hard (Hell Ryders MC Book 4)

by J. L. Sheppard

  Thursday, she woke and found a text. Working late today. Be home around seven. You good to eat with us then?

  She replied, I’ll make dinner.

  She did. After dinner and after Cullen fell asleep, they got carried away. Their make-out session lasted a good half hour. Again, she stopped him. Before he left, he asked her to dinner the following night, just the two of them. Naturally, she barely slept.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lex realized, belatedly, she’d been a nervous mess all day for no reason.

  She’d debated what to wear since last night, but once he told her they’d ride his bike, she knew dressing up was out of the question. That didn’t mean she didn’t try to look her best. Wearing a pair of dark-wash, skinny jeans, a fitted, white blouse, and over it, a black, leather jacket, she finished the look with a white and black scarf and a pair of flats, and though she knew her hair would be a mess after their ride anyway, it didn’t stop her from styling it.

  At seven on the dot, Dodge knocked on her door. She parted it and knew she hadn’t gone through the trouble for nothing.

  Dodge’s gaze slid from the top of her head to her feet. Then he met her stare and his heated. The next instant, he circled an arm around her back and buried the other hand in her hair. Holding the back of her neck, he moved toward her. Lips an inch from hers, his body close but not touching. “Debating whether I should kiss you.”

  She swallowed. “You should kiss me.”

  “I kiss you, we’re staying in, Lex. You ready for that?”

  A shudder ran through her.

  His eyes widened. Then he grinned a gorgeous, wide grin. “So what’s it gonna be?”

  “I want to go for a ride.” She wouldn’t know it until later, but she’d used the rest of her willpower with those words.

  He nodded but stayed close, holding her close. He released her lower back to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear then rested his hand on her hip. “You look beautiful, Lex.”

  “I would’ve dressed up, but we’re going for a ride, so it didn’t make sense.”

  “Like you just like this. Simple, no pretense. Not too much makeup so I can see some of your freckles.”

  Oh God! No woman wanted to look simple! Wait, he could see her freckles?

  She covered her nose. “I thought I’d concealed them.”

  He chuckled, gliding his hand from the back of her neck to cup her face. “Babe, you hear what I said? Said I like them. First time I saw you, you didn’t have a shred of makeup on and you still looked like a million bucks.”

  She relaxed a little. “Simple?”

  “Yeah, I like simple.”

  He must’ve read the look on her face since not a moment later, with his hand at her hip, he pushed her fully against him and pressed his forehead to hers. “And by simple, I don’t mean plain, babe. I like the idea that when you take off your makeup, you’ll look the same. Don’t like fake nails, lashes, hair, tits, ass. I like real. You’re real. I’ve seen you without makeup, and you’re beautiful. You like dressing up, dress up. Just don’t wear too much shit on your face, yeah?”

  “Okay.”

  He smiled and placed a light kiss on her lips before he led her out of her house, grabbed her keys, and locked her door.

  “Where’s Cul?”

  “Sleeping over his friend Levi’s house.”

  “Oh.”

  She wanted to see him, say hi, but she wouldn’t interrupt his sleepover for that.

  Dodge drove her to an Italian restaurant, Anthony’s, a casual place with great food. She loved it. The best part though, their conversation. She told him how she grew up everywhere and nowhere, a military brat, how she went to college in San Francisco to be close to Meg and stayed there until recently when she finally summoned the courage to move on from her last relationship. He listened to everything she said and asked questions in between. Later, he told her about himself. He grew up in New Mexico. He never went to college; instead, he moved out of his home, worked for a year, saved enough to buy a bike then rode around the US taking jobs where he could, leaving when he wanted. He’d spent years on the road when he stopped in Wadden, found the club, and decided to prospect.

  They ended their dinner with a slice of chocolate cake they shared. Then they rode home.

  At the steps leading to her door, she faced him and realized that’s the moment she should’ve been nervous about. Scanning his handsome face, before she thought it through, she asked, “Do you want to come in?”

  He grinned. “Yeah, Lex, I do.”

  Unlocking her door, parting it, and striding through, she took off her jacket and scarf. “Do you want a beer?”

  “If you got.”

  He headed to the couch. She walked to the kitchen, grabbed a beer for him and a glass of wine for herself then closed the distance between them, handed him his drink, and sat close beside him. He tilted his head back, taking a deep pull, allowing her to take a sip of hers before he grabbed her glass and placed it along with his bottle on her coffee table.

  The next instant, he cupped the back of her head, threading his fingers in her hair, and claimed her lips, giving her one of those kisses she loved, deep and intense. There was something new to it, something desperate.

  She kissed him back deeper as his hands skated down her back, crushing her to him, and trailed down her sides. He grasped her hips, lifting her up and over him so she straddled his lap. There, she felt the length of him. Instantly, she was drenched, so wet she swore he felt her soak through her jeans and his.

  Then she lost conscious thought, all thought. All she did was feel. Feel his hand at her back wrap around her hair and tug, baring her neck. Feel his mouth hit her there a moment later. Feel him lick his way down her chest over her shirt. Feel him tug her shirt down, bra and all, and close his mouth over her nipple, tongue circling, sucking, and biting lightly.

  She shivered and heard herself say, “Bedroom.”

  He snapped his head up, that beautiful sensation he created, gone. Eyes meeting hers, his jaw went hard. He swallowed. “You sure?”

  She nodded.

  Not a moment later, he cupped her butt and stood. She tightened her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. Then he moved, out of the living room, down the hall, and into her room quickly. The entire time, his lips glued to hers.

  He didn’t hesitate. The minute he reached her bed, he tossed her on it. Standing in front of her, he unbuttoned her jeans and ripped them off, leaving her in her black, lace thong.

  Then he dove, tongue first, kissing and licking from her thighs up to her stomach. When she arched her back, he snaked an arm under, helped her to a sitting position, and removed her blouse and bra. After, he tightened his arm around her waist, lifting her bottom slightly to remove her thong.

  He paused, and as his gaze raked every inch of her he gripped her thighs and trailed his hands up her legs and hips to her waist and breasts slowly.

  Finally, he met her stare. His eyes dark, hungry, heated.

  Wanting to touch him, kiss him, anything, she reached for him. He released her, grabbed her behind the knees, and yanked forward. She fell onto her back. A second later, she felt him moving between her legs. His tongue hit her clit, rubbing, licking, sucking as he drove his fingers inside her. Devouring her so intensely, as her scream pierced the air, she gripped her comforter, arched off the bed, and trembled uncontrollably. She came in a minute flat, but he didn’t stop. He fed, and it went on and on.

  Mind-blowing.

  Earth-shattering.

  Life-changing.

  As the haze lifted and her heart continued hammering hard and fast, she fought to catch her breath and focus.

  He planted his face against her stomach and pressed his lips to her skin. “Fuck, Lex. You didn’t even make me work for it coming so fast. I’d only just gotten started.”

  It had been too fast though it’d lasted and had been amazing. Lifting her head, she caught his stare and cupped the back of
his head. In that instant, something came over her. She couldn’t explain it, but it drove her to do something she’d never done.

  Sliding her hands to his face, she sat up. He straightened with her. She released his cheeks and reached for his jeans, unbuttoning them as she pressed her lips to his and kissed him. Bold and forward, possibly too forward, but she wanted him so bad she didn’t care.

  “Lex…”

  She kept kissing him even as she lowered his jeans and boxers and freed him.

  “Babe, we don’t…”

  She wrapped her hand around him and stroked him. Warm, big, and thick, she barely managed to wrap her fingers around him.

  His whole body vibrated, eyes flared. “Fuckin’ shit, babe.”

  She stood. He moved back allowing her to do so. Then she dropped to her knees in front of him and holding onto the base, she placed her lips on the rim. Eyeing him through her lashes, the muscles in his shoulders tense, breaths coming out his gasps, he’d never looked so handsome. She took him deep, once, twice then listening to the sounds of his moans, she lost count; she got lost in enjoying him.

  Suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders, yanked her away, and simultaneously took a step back. His jaw hardened. Through clenched teeth, he groaned. “Gotta stop, Lex.”

  Then he closed the distance he forced, gripped her under the arms, lifted her in one swift movement, and dropped her on the bed. Her back hit the mattress. He stood between her legs, cock pulsing, so close. Her whole body shook in anticipation, but he didn’t move. She slid toward him, getting closer, then wrapped her legs around him. Still, nothing.

  What was he waiting for? She needed him. Now.

  He reached behind him, pulled out a condom, unwrapped it, and rolled it on.

  Yikes. She forgot about protection?

  She didn’t have time to worry about what it meant. A moment later, she felt him pushing inside. His gaze searing her, the deeper he dove, the harder the corded muscles on his neck clamped tight.

  Once buried deep, he released a ragged breath.

  Feeling full, completely, of him, and he felt magnificent, better than anything she’d felt in her life. Only natural, at that moment, she wanted to stay that way.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Fuck.

  Dodge would blow before he even got started. He held back, but it was hard. It’d been too long, but it wasn’t that. Lex did this shit to him, turned him into a horny teenager.

  He didn’t want to hurt her. She was tight, almost too much. He’d only just sunk inside, but he couldn’t help it. He needed to go faster, deeper, and he didn’t know if she could handle it.

  Ice blue eyes on him, cheeks rosy, that strawberry-colored hair of hers a mess around her.

  Beautiful.

  No, he couldn’t stare at her. He looked at her, he’d lose control. He couldn’t lose it and give it to her hard. He’d scare her, possibly even hurt her.

  He pulled out and must’ve hesitated too long because she lifted her hips, sinking him deeper. He groaned.

  “Faster,” she breathed.

  He drew out then thrust faster.

  “Harder.”

  He slid out then plunged harder.

  “You won’t break me. Take me.”

  He grabbed her hips so the back of her knees rested in the crook of his elbows then pulled out and drove faster, harder, deeper.

  He didn’t stop.

  He fucked her because she asked him to, and he didn’t stop because honest to God, just looking at her, hearing her making those sounds was enough to make him come.

  Throwing her legs over his shoulders, he gripped her hips tighter and sunk deeper. She screamed. Her face flushed so pretty. He didn’t know how he did it, but he held back, made it last.

  When he couldn’t hold it anymore, he pressed his thumb against her clit. She came undone. Body vibrating, her moans so loud he felt them pierce his chest.

  It was stunning.

  She was exquisite.

  Not a moment later, she sat up. He lost the connection right before he’d been about to blow. The next instant, she grabbed his cut roughly, tugged him onto the bed, and climbed on top.

  Her tits in his face, he met her gaze. She smiled, grabbed his shaft, positioning it at her entrance, and sunk herself into him, burying deep.

  She rode him, hard and fast. So good, dizzying. In no time, she had him right where he’d been before, so close, fighting to make it last.

  She screamed and moaned, hair falling against him, tits rubbing against his chest, looking wild, striking. As he watched her, he put his hands at her hips and met her thrusts. Before he came, she did again, milking the shit out of him. This time, her arms went around his neck, holding him to her even as she continued riding him.

  “Dave…”

  The scent of her, the feel of her arms around him, maybe, too, the way she said his name threw him over. Finally, he came hard and for a long ass time. He couldn’t do anything but give in to it completely, feel the power of it.

  Aftershocks of that potent release flowing through him, he wrapped his arms around her waist, rested his head on her shoulder, and caught his breath, thinking about what just happened, what she’d just handed him.

  He hadn’t still held her, he would’ve thought he’d dreamt it. He fantasized about her a lot and when he did, she asked for it hard and fast and she screamed. He had his share of women: most were taps, some one-nighters, none were women like Lex, but that was beside the point. He knew what he liked and what he didn’t. One of the things he liked—the woman to shout and moan and show him how much she loved what he gave her. Their first time and Lex gave him all that and some.

  He’d never thought Lex would be like that. For one, she was a beautiful, smart, educated woman who taught kids for a living, came from a good home, baked and cooked, and loved his kid. Being phenomenal in bed, giving him exactly what he wanted and more was just too good to be true, proving he’d been right about her—she was perfect, absolutely perfect for him.

  “Dodge?”

  He lifted his head, met her stare, and grinned. “Lex.”

  She returned his smile.

  “I know I gotta clean up, but don’t think I can move.”

  She giggled and hesitated a moment before she unwrapped her arms from his neck and moved off him. Then she grabbed a blanket on the foot of her bed and draped it over herself. “You can shower if you like.”

  “Rather keep the smell of you on me.”

  No truer words.

  He stood, realizing he was practically still dressed. His boots on his feet, pants and boxers at his ankles. He took off his boots, walked out of his pants and boxers then strode bare-assed to her bathroom where he got rid of the spent condom. In her room, he took off his cut and shirt, draping them over her armoire. He nabbed his boxers, donned them, and headed for the bed where Lex sat, looking like she hadn’t moved. Her eyes on him.

  “You’re staying?”

  He cocked his head. “You mind?”

  She smiled big and bright and shook her head. Then she moved to allow him to pull the comforter off the bed. She slid in. He followed, snaked his arms around her, and dragged her toward him as he lay back.

  When she settled against him, he asked, “You sleep naked?”

  “No.”

  He grabbed the blanket she held over herself, ripped it away, and covered her with the quilt. “You do tonight.”

  Her hand over his heart, she pressed her cheek to his chest. “Just for you. Just tonight.”

  Burying his face in her hair, he kissed the top of her head. “Night, Lex.”

  “Night, Dodge.”

  ****

  Lex woke with a start. It happened sometimes. She had no idea why.

  The moment she woke, she realized she was alone. Awaking up alone was the norm for her, but she shouldn’t be then. She fell asleep with Dodge after having the best sex of her life.

  She hadn’t been with many men, but she had experience. She knew the averag
e time a man could go and what the first time was like with someone new, and Dodge blew both of those out of the water. She had her first orgasm while having sex. In actuality, two.

  Then Dodge cleaned up and went to bed beside her. But now, she’d woken alone. Chances were he wasn’t in her bathroom since the light was off. Sitting up in bed, her gaze snapped to where he’d left his jeans and boots on her floor then to where he’d draped his cut and shirt. No longer there.

  A man left in the middle of the night, the night a woman first had sex with him, it meant one thing. He got what he wanted and didn’t want it again.

  She wanted to believe the week they’d spent together meant something to him. Him meeting her parents, her meeting his brothers, spending so much time with his son, their first date, their insanely phenomenal first time, even their first fight meant something to her. Not the fight, per se, but the way it ended, definitely.

  Her stomach rolled and soured.

  Her sister had been right. She was desperate. She gave him a chance and let herself think one week, although they’d done a lot that one week, meant more than it should.

  Her throat clogged. Tears rushed her. She took a deep breath and promised herself she wouldn’t cry. Standing, she grabbed her nighty from under her pillow, donned it, and headed out of her room and down the hall. In her living room, she walked toward her door and locked it. He hadn’t considered her safety leaving her door unlocked.

  She swallowed, forced herself not to look outside, strode into her kitchen, poured herself a glass of water, and took a long gulp.

  A loud bang sounded on her door. It came so suddenly, startled, she dropped the glass. It hit the floor and shattered. Something she’d have to pick up later.

  She walked carefully around the glass. Then another bang echoed. She rushed and felt a prick on the bottom of her foot. Ignoring it, she continued toward the door and opened it.

  Brow furrowed, jaw clamped tight, dark gaze pinning her. Dodge ran a hand through his messy hair. “Lex, tell me there’s a good reason why you locked me out.”

  She couldn’t do a thing but stare.