by Zara Teleg
I moved to the bed feeling a little anxious as he watched me. My fingers softly touched his face. I could feel the pulse of his heart against my lips as I trailed kisses from his neck, his well-defined pectorals, and down the line of abs to the sexy V where the top of his shorts slung low on his hips. He jerked on the first touch.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
When he opened his mouth to speak, I placed a finger over it. “No. Don't say anything. Let me take care of you.” I whispered. Heat flared in his eyes.
“Just lie back, relax.” I nipped at his ear, kissing my way down his neck, inhaling his soapy scent. My lips dragged down his chest oh so gently. The change in his breathing had my body weeping for his touch. When I got to the top of his shorts, I could see how ready he was. I looked up at him. He was staring at me, his arm above his head as he just watched my actions.
I began guiding his shorts down his strong legs. My eyes grew wide at the beautiful sight of his naked body. He was a fucking Adonis. A shudder ran through me, my core heated, the little tingles letting me know how ready I was for him. Wanting these feeling to last, I kissed up and down his length, loving the groan that he made at the warmth of my mouth. I kissed my way back to his lips.
I pulled my thin tank top over my head, revealing my bare breasts. The lust in his eyes nearly brought me to an orgasm. He reached out, smiling as he touched the boxing glove belly ring, the small diamond chips in the gloves glinted under the soft light in the room. My body flamed at his reaction to me.
I removed the sweat shorts I had on, revealing the pink lace boy shorts that cupped my ass. His fingers extended, touching me softly, making me moan. I was so wound up I could barely hold on. I rocked over his fingers aching to know what he would feel like inside me.
“Look at me,” he said, and my eyes met his. “You are so fucking beautiful. Come here, kiss me.”
I crawled up his body, careful not to apply pressure to any injured areas. I leaned forward and his lips captured mine in the most intense kiss, before his fingers reached down, moving my panties to the side and began working their magic. I reached around, gripping him and massaging him as our mouths continued long, devouring kisses.
Rage tugged at my drenched panties, assisting me in removing them. I rode his fingers greedily and let my mouth move at the same rhythm over his. It was only seconds later that he touched the spot that had me soaring over the edge and crying out in pure pleasure.
“Oh, my God, Rage.” I squeezed him tightly as my orgasm exploded. When I came down from my high, I was desperate to feel him inside me. “Do you have a—”
“In my bag, inside pocket.”
After rolling the condom on him, I placed my body over his, trying not to hurt his ribs. “Are you okay,” I asked as I began sliding on top of him.
“Oh, fuck yeah,” he groaned. “There’s no injury that could stop me from having you now.” Rage looked at me so intently as he guided me up and down. He grabbed my hair gently and began nipping at my throat. Sparks flew through my whole body with each thrust. His breath was in my ear, and his fingers were digging in my back as I rocked back and forth. It was almost too much. My orgasm began building again, and I gripped his shoulders and kissed him furiously. I could feel his body begin to jerk. I pulled away from his mouth and rolled my head back, crying out as we rode out our orgasms together, into oblivion, where it was just him and me and nothing else mattered.
Chapter Eighteen
Rage
In my palm sat the two painkillers that Derek gave me earlier. I had refused to take them before, but I underestimated the amount of discomfort there would be in my face and ribs as they competed for which hurt worse. I swallowed them down with water, the cold liquid coating my throat felt good as the pills disappeared with a promise to ease the suffering.
I didn’t expect, given my current condition, that Juliet and I would be able to spend so much time giving each other pleasure, but now I was feeling everything from the fight to the much-needed release she gave me. Before the pills even took effect, she had fallen into deep sleep. Minutes later I followed, smiling at the memories that we made tonight.
A warm light shone through my heavy lids. I blinked a few times and then I squinted at the sudden brightness hitting me in the face. I groaned slightly. The aches brought by the morning didn’t allow me to sleep any longer.
Lord lay in a ball at the bottom of Juliet’s side of the bed. His ears moved when I stirred, but his eyes remained shut as he breathed. Juliet’s back was to me, half covered by the sheets. Her perfect ass was aimed right at me, begging for another round. Even in this state of pain, the image of her had me ready again. I couldn’t help but stare at the goddess who lay next to me. I wanted to memorize every part of her. Juliet’s tan legs were smooth and shiny. Her skin felt like silk against my finger as it softly trailed the curve of her back, her body twitching at the light touch.
I continued moving farther up her back to her neck. I swept her long multicolored strands to the side of her shoulder to get a better look at her tattoo. The bold splashes of watercolor ink acted as a vivid background against the black and white tattoo over them. The hand had fine detailing with an intricate lace pattern woven through it. All kinds of small symbols made up the hand. From far away, it was just one of those things you could see on yoga stuff. But when you got close, all the small symbols that made up the artwork were revealed. The piece must have taken several sessions to capture all that detail. White ink filled the center of the hand. Inside the circle were numbers, maybe a date—6.2.14. I wondered what it meant. If she had it permanently tattooed on her perfect skin, it must have been pretty significant.
She seemed so guarded sometimes, with walls even taller than mine. I wanted to know everything about her. She might not know it yet, but she bonded us last night, she was mine. Fuck my rules. There was no way I was not taking a chance on her. She was too damn special. Besides, I’d been a goner long before—she’d had me since that night I spent with her in the storm.
I could feel she was awake. She turned her head, peering over her shoulder at me. Her eyes grew wide when she saw that mine were open. She saw my body’s way of saying good morning and happy to see you, and a sexy smile took over her lips.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, now lying on her back. Her voice was raspy with sleep.
“Like I was in a fight,” I smirked at her.
“Can I get you some more meds?” She examined my face and winced at my purple ribs.
“I’ll get them.” I started to get up, but two fingers pressed my shoulder back onto the mattress.
“No, Rage, you need to rest. I’ll get us some coffee and you something for the pain.” As she rose from the bed, the blanket fell down, exposing her beautiful breasts and pink panties that stood out against her tan skin. She must have read my mind because she said, “Don’t even think about it, you need to heal. There is plenty of time for that. Don’t worry, I promise, I will make sure you are well taken care of during your recovery.” She waggled her eyebrows and laughed as she put on a loose white tank and tiny shorts.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” I promised.
It wasn’t long before she returned with some coffee, her “miracle” healing juice, warm berry muffins, and something to take the edge off the pain. We sat in her bed, devouring everything.
I pushed a piece of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear before running a finger down her jawline. She smiled weakly at the gesture. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, what does your tattoo mean?”
“It’s a hamsa. It’s a symbol of an ancient amulet meaning the hand of God. It’s a protective sign. It’s supposed to bring the wearer luck, good fortune, health, and happiness. It can have an eye at its center as well, like the eye of God. The fingers represent the senses and chakras in Hindu. I love its meaning. My mom gave me one when I was young, and I used to always wear it around my neck and felt close to her, like she was watching over me even when we were
n’t together. I lost it snowboarding when I was eighteen, so I had it tattooed so I could never lose its protection. I had the artist do the watercolors behind it so I could have all the colors of the chakras in it.”
“What about the date inside?” I asked, finding it odd that she didn’t mention it. She swallowed hard. Her eyes were looking at the floor. “Oh, uh, I had Hawk add that for me. It, uh, well, you know, I had an accident and recovered.” She breathed a heavy sigh, “Well, it was pretty bad, and I almost didn’t make it. I had a long recovery. And when I was at my lowest, my grandmother gave me some advice. I took it and I decided I would move with Ivy and start a new life. That is the date my old life ended.” Her eyes never lifted from the floor.
Another long breath, “Rage, I’m not sure what this is,” she pointed between us, “but I have a hard time talking about my past. I want to, but I’m not there yet. Please don’t be mad. It’s just,” she blew out a hard breath, “not something I like to remember. I hope you understand.”
A sense of sadness took over her, which I hoped never to see again. I lifted Juliet’s chin. “Look, I wasn’t trying to pry. I was curious. I didn’t mean to upset you. I hope someday you can trust me and open up, but I get it, my past isn’t filled with rainbows and unicorns, either.” I kissed the top of her head and gently pushed through the burning in my side to pull her into my chest.
It should have bothered me that she wouldn’t open up, but with her pressed against me like this, it was very hard to care about anything else. She erased each question from my mind with every touch, kiss, and orgasm. She gave herself to me, and my body was insatiable. It was more than sex, more than passion. It was all-consuming, life-altering kind of sex that I had never experienced before.
Juliet
I did not expect that to be our “after” pillow talk. My stomach did backflips as the subject of my past was brought to light. I felt like such a lying piece of shit. Rage didn’t deserve this. I was protecting him, but why did it feel so wrong?
I spent two days caring for Rage in my bed. Today was the first morning I woke up to an empty bed. I already missed him.
I was aware that it was selfish of me to want this time with him. When he pulled me to his side, I nearly lost it. I wanted to cry and confess everything and beg him to never let me go. But that wasn’t fair to him. I knew that. Rage deserved someone who could be there for him. My head felt heavy in my hands. My eyes were covered by my fingers, elbows on my knees. I let my neck drop, so overwhelmed that I could not even pick my head up.
How could I have been so selfish? How could I have given in to my desire? I had wanted him so badly that every part of my body ached and wept for his touch. I knew now that I had deluded myself into thinking that it would be easy to walk away from him. And every moment we spend together would only make it more painful.
Could I come clean and tell him the truth? No, I couldn’t. He would hate me for sure. And in the small chance that he would forgive and accept me, his life would be put in danger. No, I couldn’t do that. I had no choice but to keep my secrets. He couldn’t know.
I just had to accept once and for all what my life had become—a fortress that cannot let anybody in. Rage had been slowly tearing down the walls I had carefully built for so long, but I couldn’t let him no matter how much I wanted to. I was going to have to leave him.
I tried to swallow the pain down. My head fell back to the pillow, the headache pounding so hard even my jaw ached. I hugged my pillow and prayed that someday he would forgive me.
Chapter Nineteen
Rage
The smell of coffee coaxed me awake. The rich aroma can drag even the most hungover of men to their feet. It was the scent that signified the promise of a new day, a new beginning. And it was a new beginning, I woke up in Juliet’s bed again, and not for any other reason but that she wanted me here. For the past two weeks, we had spent most of our time together.
Last night, we took my bike on a long cruise. I loved the feel of her body pressed against my back, her arms around me, holding on tight. It was torture having her that close for so long. She laid her head against my back, shielding herself from the wind. Every move she made drove me wild. I thought I was going to burst by the time we got back to her place. She felt the same, and we spent the rest of the evening showing each other just how turned on we were.
Even now, in my half-asleep state, my body was ready to take her. I never wanted a woman so badly. A smile crept on my face as I began to feel around for her. Juliet wasn’t in bed. She had made a habit out of sneaking out to make coffee and crawling back into bed next to me. I tried to avoid the light streaming through the white sheers. What pathetic excuse for curtains. Who could sleep with this much sun in their face? What time was it anyway?
I retrieved my phone from the crumpled jeans on the floor. Six missed calls from Hawk and Colt. I checked the time, 6:35 am. What could they want? It was practically the middle of the night to most of my brothers. Where was Juliet?
I followed the smell of the ground beans through the kitchen and into the garden. There, I quietly peered out to see Juliet sitting on a big pillow with Lord wrapped around her, laying as close as possible. Her eyes were closed, her arms stretched out in front of her. Candles lit the area. The soft music playing was no match to the tinkling of the wind chimes that drowned it out.
Juliet remained focused on her prayer? Meditation? Whatever she was doing, she didn’t hear me approach, but Lord did. He picked up his head and gave me a look that said, “Don’t even think about it buddy, this is our time.” She must have felt his movement because her eyes snapped open and found me watching her.
She smiled. The green and yellow in her eyes appeared vibrant in the sun; her dark lashes gave them an exotic frame. Her wild hair was half twisted in a knot on her head while the rest streamed down her back in gentle waves. Juliet rose from her seat, and I realized she was only wearing a loose-fitting white tank that was showing the chill in the morning air.
As much as I didn’t want to disturb her ritual, I couldn’t help but want to scoop her up, throw her over my shoulder, and go back to the bedroom. So, that’s what I did.
“Rage,” she giggled, “put me down.” Lord didn’t like it and began to growl, but her laughter calmed him as I carried her, wriggling around, before I threw her on the bed.
We ended up in the shower. Afterward, Juliet twisted her wet hair on top of her head and made her way to the kitchen while I stepped outside to call Hawk back. What the hell could he want, calling so many times?
“Rage, where the fuck have you been? Colt has been going crazy looking for you. There was some vandalism at Stained Skyn. We need you, man. We’re meeting there in an hour.”
“Yeah, okay, I will see you there.”
“Rage, one more thing.”
“What?”
“Tell Juliet I said hi.” He busted out laughing.
“Fucker.” I hung up on him.
On the small table sat a French press with two cups and some very dark green liquid in shot glasses. Cut up fruit was overflowing out of bowls, and one plate with a lid over it sat on one side of the table. Juliet gestured for me to sit. She lifted the lid and steam escaped, revealing a stack of golden pancakes. Damn, this girl.
“Is that all you’re eating?” I asked, looking at only fruit on her plate.
“Yes. I can’t practice a routine hanging upside down with pancakes in my belly. I’ll grab a smoothie at Juiced after my class.”
I nodded, but not quite agreeing.
After cleaning up from breakfast, I had to head back to my place to get a few things before meeting Hawk.
I turned to Juliet, who was putting away the last of the dishes. I pulled her in for a kiss before asking about her plans for the day.
“I’m heading to The Pit for a few rounds and some training. Then I’ll teach the one o’clock class at Fluid. Big Jake needs some help at the shelter later, so I promised him that Ivy and I would help him with a lit
ter of pups that arrived late last night. Ivy suggested we have dinner and drinks over at Stallions after we finish at the shelter. I should be home by nine, maybe.”
“Stallions? You two, alone? I don’t think so.” I huffed as I put on my boots.
“Um, last I checked I was a grown-ass woman who can decide where I’m having dinner. I’m pretty sure I didn’t tell you not to go to the Cave and have a meeting with the strippers the other night.”
“That was different. It was a club meeting.” I grinned.
“And this is dinner with a friend.”
“A lot of dangerous men go to that bar.”
“Like who, your brothers?” Her hands were now firmly on her hips.
“How about I meet you here after dinner, then I can prove that I am home safe?” she asked as she leaned against my back and lightly bit the side of my neck.
I’m not going to win with her. “Fine, but I still don’t like it,” I grumbled. “Text me when you’re there and when you leave.”
“Yes, Dad.”
I turned into the stone driveway leading to Juliet’s cabin. When I cut the engine, her music was so loud, she didn’t even hear me coming. Usually, as soon as I pulled in, Lord and Juliet were both waiting to greet me.
Rounding the garage, I could hear Juliet’s off-key singing. She was belting out vintage Metallica. I spotted her Jeep. A bright pink yoga mat and two sparkly Converse high tops were under it, tapping to the beat. There were dirty oil rags and containers by the tire. Is she…? Surprising me again, there she was, changing the oil of her pride and joy, Athena.
