Outlaw's Vow: Grizzlies MC Romance (Outlaw Love)

by Snow, Nicole

  He let out a long sigh. “Fuck it. You win. Keep the gun. But if something happens, you didn't get that thing from me. Promise?”

  I nodded, smiling to myself. I didn't want to carry it around anymore as soon as we got home, but something made me feel better about having a spare at home.

  Even if this all blew over, Roman couldn't always be there. One day, I might have to depend on myself.

  The men were filing in through the garage door when we got into the bar. Blackjack stepped through first, motioning to Asphalt and a prospect. They were carrying a strange, sweaty man in a dirty white suit. When I saw the deep, dark blood stain all the way up his leg, I covered my mouth.

  “Keep moving, boys,” Blackjack growled, following his men. “Get this piece of shit in the back. We'll get something on the bastard's bum leg after everybody's done playing doctor. Then he's ours.”

  They disappeared down the hall we'd just left My heart pounded like a war drum, and I counted all the familiar faces filing in.

  Brass and Rabid appeared together, their faces solemn. Christa and Missy bolted out of their seats. They hit their guys hard, locking their hands over their huge necks, smothering them in kisses and questions.

  More prospects came. Southpaw was next. Then a gigantic man wearing Prairie Devils MC colors, the Grizzlies old rival-turned-ally. He was almost as big as Roman, and he carried a black bag, marching straight toward the back where the others had gone.

  No sign of Roman.

  Missy and Christa were still chattering away when I walked up. Rabid saw me, and his gaze darkened.

  “Where's Roman?”

  “They're working on him now, Sally.”

  Oh, God. If it wasn't for holding onto Caleb, my knees certainly would've dropped out. “Working on him?”

  “He's gonna be okay. He took a hit in the shoulder, lost a lot of blood. We've got the crew patching him up, disinfecting his shit. Tank's here from the Devils too, and he's got his girl on the line. She's a nurse. He's learned a thing or two about dealing with this kinda shit, or so he says.”

  “Girl, wait!” Missy called after me, tried to stop me from spinning around, but I wasn't having it.

  I stroked Caleb's head and moved forward, heading for the back, looking for the spare room the club used as a makeshift infirmary before these bloody battles. My heart threatened to give out, drop me to the floor with every step I took.

  The door was cracked. Men yelled inside, and so was a woman, cutting through the static. I shoved it open with my foot.

  My jaw practically hit the floor. Roman was slumped in the bed, looking ghost white, a tube running into his arm from a blood bag suspended overhead. A shallow metal bowl sat next to him, a rusty looking bullet in the center. The big man in the Devils cut had his phone propped up on the small nightstand next to him.

  He looked down at Roman's bloody shoulder, a needle balanced in one hand, thread dangling all over the place. “Say it again, babe,” he growled toward the phone.

  “You've got to pull the skin tight, Tank. Stitch by stitch. Hurry, before it's left open too long! There's germs in the air, all over the place, really. That disinfectant only works so long!” the woman barked over the phone.

  The prospect on the opposite side of Roman saw me, looked up, and waved his arm. He pointed to a chair in the corner. “Get the fuck in, or don't.”

  Holding Caleb tight, I stepped forward. I stuffed back tears, watching in horrid fascination, wishing for nothing more than being able to walk up and grab his hand while they worked on him.

  Tank's thick hands moved fast. They seemed to do the job, but he also moved like he wasn't sure, and that made me nervous as hell.

  “Don't fucking know about this, Em,” he whispered into the phone. “This shit's a lot bigger than the ones you taught me how to patch at home. He's still bleeding, slower and darker.”

  “It's clotting, Tank. Keep going. Seal him up quick. He's plenty disinfected by now.”

  Tank sighed, working his hands, swearing when he stubbed his finger on the needle. Roman's eyes twitched, and he kicked his legs slowly.

  “Hold him the fuck down,” Tank told the prospect. “This is gonna be ten times harder if he starts flopping like a goddamned fish. Guess we should've given him more of that ether shit after all...”

  The prospect made a face, and walked to the end of the bed, flattening Roman's feet. I stood up, saw my in, and took it.

  “Let me. He knows my touch. Here, hold the baby for a second.” I didn't wait, pushing Caleb into the bewildered prospect's arms.

  Tank gave me a sharp look, but he didn't order me away. Roman's movements beneath my hands were so weak, so fevered. His chest rose erratically, somewhere in between sleep and pain and rage.

  “Rest up, baby,” I whispered to him. “He's trying to help you. Just let him patch you up. Caleb's here. So am I. You're going to be fine.”

  Up here, I had a scary view of the wound. Whatever tore through his shoulder, it wasn't small. It looked almost like a dog bite, if dogs had teeth more like sharks.

  “Last one, babe,” Tank said sternly into the phone.

  “Now do the seal. Just like I taught you. Wrap it up, clean and neat.”

  My stomach did a sickly flip as I watched Roman's torn flesh mesh together. Tank formed what looked like a knot before he shifted the clamps on Roman's shoulder, holding the skin together. He didn't stop until he cut the last thread with the small silvery scissors.

  The tools slammed down on the nightstand, and he grabbed the phone. His hands were a bloody mess.

  “It's done. I gotta hang up so I can talk to their Prez. I think he's gonna live, hopefully without any fucked up complications.”

  “Make sure somebody's with him for the next twenty-four hours. Don't let him sleep alone. You need to tell them to refresh the fluids too. Don't just assume they're going to know –“

  “Babe, I've got this. Believe me, some of these boys'll put my ass on the line if he dies. I'm doing everything by the book as fast as I can so I'll be coming home soon. Love you, Em, I gotta go.”

  He hung up. We shared a brief, tense look, and he nodded to me.

  “Shit. Looks like we do have the same tastes after all...”

  “Huh?” I didn't understand what he was getting at.

  “Nothing. Stay with him. I'll fill you in later on what to do. I gotta find Brass or Blackjack.” Tank stepped quickly out of the room, opening up the narrow space on the chair next to the bed.

  I pulled it close and gripped Roman's hand. He was cold, freakishly heavy between my hands.

  For the first time since he'd stormed off with his crew, my emotions aligned. Everything faded away. All the hate, all the confusion, all the anger.

  It all evaporated into a great yawning nothing, void of everything except the slow, steady thud of my heartbeat, feeling for his pulse. I wanted to make his match mine, anything to bring him back to life.

  Don't die on me. You can't fucking die.

  Not now. Not ever.

  For the next four hours, I prayed and fought my tears.

  * * * *

  Caleb woke me up crying. I'd fallen asleep shortly after Blackjack came through, eyeing his man and whispering a few things I couldn't really understand. He told me to get some sleep before he stepped out.

  Christa and Rabid came by to keep me company too. She was still up with a cup of coffee in her hands, keeping watch while I napped. She must've taken the baby as I went to sleep because when I woke up he was bouncing on her knee and smiling.

  “Sorry,” she whispered. “I think the little guy needs a change. Want me to take care of it?”

  Before I could answer, Roman's fingers wrapped around mine. “Babe.”

  “Holy shit.” Both my hands flew to his and squeezed him tight. “Christa, go ahead. I just need a moment with him...tell them he's awake too.”

  They'd said he wouldn't come out of it before noon tomorrow. The old clock hanging on the wall said it wasn't
even seven A.M.

  His color looked better, and he was warmer too. I leaned in, spilling my tears, dragging his heavy, strong hand up to my lips and giving it a kiss.

  “We gotta talk,” he said, his voice low.

  “Roman, we can do all that later. You're hurt real bad. You just need to rest.”

  “Bullshit.” He tried to move, but his body instantly turned against him. “Fuck.”

  I felt him tense up and then slump down on the mattress about five seconds later. “Baby, just rest. Don't strain yourself. You'll only make it worse.”

  “My shoulder's burning like a motherfucker,” he growled.

  “Let me talk to them. I'll tell them you need something stronger for the pain.”

  His strength surged, and I gasped when he grabbed my wrist. “No. I don't give a shit about that. There's something else bothering me. Come closer.”

  I leaned down, wiping away another tear as his stubble grazed my cheek. It made me think about the better times when we were so close, feeling his naked body against mine, rough and hot and powerful.

  “I'm sorry I doubted you, babe. You were right about everything, and it's fucking gutting me. We walked into an ambush, and I nearly got my ass killed, just like my old man.”

  Talk about slayed. I felt my heart ripping in half when I looked him in the eyes, saw the sorrow, the regret, the shame.

  Jesus. Yeah, I'd been mad at him before I found out he'd be lucky to ever say another word to me, but I never asked for this.

  And he wasn't done yet. Oh, no.

  “Roman...” I shook my head.

  “Quiet, babe. I'm telling you the honest truth, and I gotta lay everything out there, in case I can't later. I'm supporting you and staying in Caleb's life no matter fucking what. Still, this shit's taught me I can't make you a prisoner to this if you don't wanna be. I can't leave my brothers, just like I can't leave you. But I'll be an even bigger bastard if I don't offer you an out.”

  “What?” His words were barely making sense. I couldn't even comprehend leaving this incredible bastard, even if he'd torn his way across my life like a storm.

  “I'm not gonna force you to do a damned thing except keep your pretty head safe. You see the shit I get into. There's no guarantees it won't happen again, and maybe next time, I won't be so lucky. If you wanna scrub the brand and walk the fuck outta my life, I won't blame you. I won't chase you. I want you to be happy, babe, and something tells me you might be if you're not my old lady.”

  I looked at him for about ten long seconds. Two futures flashed in my head like lightning.

  There'd always be drama, passion, and sometimes as little taste of hell as long as he was around. But the alternative was a thousand times worse, dark and dead and gray.

  Empty. Void. Meaningless.

  “Think about it,” he growled. “You don't have to tell me a damned thing right –“

  I had to be careful touching him, but just then, I wasn't even thinking. I stood up, leaned over, and pressed my lips to his so hard I almost bruised myself.

  We kissed long and hard, and I didn't let up until he understood. I'd make him feel the message, through all his pain and regret, straight through whatever the hell they'd given him for meds.

  “Babe...what the fuck was that?” he said, his eyes wide and more alive than they'd been a minute ago.

  “That's me telling you love doesn't back down. I don't care what the future holds, Roman. The only one I want is with you, and I'll get your name inked in three more places before we're married.”

  “Fuck.” The kiss must've breathed more fire into him. He grabbed my hand with only a little less ferocity than when he was well. “That's happening as soon as I can walk. It has to.”

  “What?”

  “The wedding. I'll get a proper ring on your finger as soon as I'm outta this place. Right now, all I can do is grab your fist and pull it tight. I'm asking you one more time – you wanna make this official for more than just the club? You really want to be my old lady and my wife?”

  I laughed and threw my arms around his neck, shoving my lips to his again. “You know I do. Come on, Roman. Don't tell me the shot to your shoulder's blinded you.”

  Smiling, he grabbed my hand, and pulled it tight. His lips steamed across my fingers, kissing me with a hunger so intense it made me imagine his face between my legs, growling and tonguing me to perfect chaos.

  “Babe, my eyes are wide a-fucking-wake. I'm gonna shove my ring right where I just kissed you before Halloween hits, and then I'm gonna fuck you 'til you're seeing stars.”

  Laughing, we kissed some more. I didn't blush until I turned around and saw half the guys standing in the room, complete with Missy, Christa, and Caleb next to them.

  “Finally some good news,” Brass said, throwing an arm around Missy and tugging her tight. “I'll tell the Prez. Soon as we finish the sick fuck we've got in the back, we'll throw this club a party it'll never forget.”

  “Shit,” Rabid growled. “Never thought you'd beat us to the punch, brother. Now this club's gonna be hearing wedding bells for a whole damned year.”

  “You know I don't fuck around,” Roman said, his eyes still locked on mine. “This thing was a given the second I hauled her back here and met my son. Long as I'm still breathing, this woman's mine.”

  XIV: Clean Cut (Roman)

  My shoulder still ached every time I twisted my damned arm, but at least it didn't look like a bad butcher's cut anymore.

  I was back on my feet and riding for the first time in days. I'd finally gotten out of the infirmary the day before, and fuck if it didn't feel good to sleep with my girl that night, in my own house.

  Sally laid on my bare chest, careful to avoid the patch covering the stitches in my shoulder. Her fingers gliding over my chest soothed the crazy animal stamped on my skin. Too bad they didn't do shit for the beast inside.

  My dick jerked hard, coming back to life for the first time since I'd lost my blood on the pavement. Shoving my fingers through her hair, I pulled it tight, moving her face to mine.

  “What's up?” she purred.

  “Nothing. Just thinking about how many days I've gone without tasting these lips.” And I sure as shit wasn't content to just think.

  Without another word, I smashed my lips on hers, driving my tongue into her mouth. Sally opened like a good girl, coupling her tongue with mine. I slid mine in and out of her mouth, unable to resist the insane momentum building through my body, the need to fuck her the same way we kissed.

  Growling, I ignored the hellfire in my arm, and rolled on top of her. My cock hummed like dynamite on a short fuse. I didn't want to explode anywhere except inside her.

  After the wedding, we'd be talking family again. Coming close enough to feel the reaper's bony hands on my head forced me to look at my mortality. There was no goddamned way I meant to leave this world without a few more kids.

  I'd be fucking her constantly soon, dumping her pills in the trash with a grin, and spilling every drop of come inside her 'til she was knocked up again. Just thinking about her swelling up with my seed, giving me the greatest gift a man could get, caused my hips to shake. I thrust my dick hard against her panties through my boxers, feeling her moan sex and sugar into my mouth.

  “Oh, fuck. Baby,” she whispered, snatching her lips away from mine. “You need to be careful. We really shouldn't be doing this. The guys and that nurse said –“

  “I don't give a fuck about doctor's orders, babe. You're the only medicine I care about right now. I've lost too many nights feeling your nails on my back, hearing you whimper my name.” I reared up, leaned on my knees, and pulled her up with me. “I'll feel that gunshot all over again if that's what it takes to fuck you. Or you can get on top and ride me like there's no tomorrow. Your choice.”

  The concern in her eyes faded as I reached between her legs, found her clit, and swept my thumb over it in slow, smoldering jerks. Her lips pursed mischievously before turning into an O-ring of pleasure.
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  She pushed my hand away and rolled. I fell down flat on my back, ripping off my boxers. My dick sprang out, hot and slick and ready, twitching between my legs every time I thought about her hot pussy clenched around every inch of me.

  Sally moved, but not fast enough. Soon as she straddled me and lifted up her thin nightgown, I went for her panties, tearing them down her creamy thighs. She shuddered from the motion, barely remembered to move her legs so I could push them the rest of the way off.

  “Get on this cock, babe. No more playing around. I've missed your heat like a fucking eagle misses the sky.”

  I knew I wasn't the only one jonesing for flesh. Her eyes narrowed and she bit her lip while she curled her little fingers around my big dick, aiming at her entrance, dripping cream against the sheets.

  Fuck. The look she gave me was so goddamned hot I almost shot my load then and there.

  Then I thought about the other looks she'd give me when my dick throttled her. I wasn't gonna come 'til she clawed at the pillows and screamed my fucking name through our house, snapping those long blonde locks in my hand like lightning cracking on the horizon.

  My hands clapped her ass and squeezed tight. I helped lower her onto my cock, giving her ten seconds to sink down and adjust to my size.

  Our hips rocked simultaneously. It didn't take long to pick up some speed. I watched her hot, pink nipples bobbing as she fought to keep up with me, grinding her swollen clit on my base every time I sank deep.

  “Don't you fucking stop, woman. Not for anything. Show me how much you missed me.” I picked my hands up and slapped her ass hard again.

  She gasped pleasure, and her hips picked up, riding me harder. We fucked hard, bouncing her curves and rocking our bed. Fire bit my shoulder, reminding me to slow the fuck down, but I wouldn't listen to that shit for anything.

  When her face tensed up and I knew she was on the verge, I doubled my thrusts, stroking her pussy in such quick, rough thrusts I put her damned vibrator to shame. She'd never need that fucking thing again as long as I was on the job.

  Her warm cunt clenched a second later, and her knees began to shake. “Roman! Travis! Fuck!”