It was only moments before she was panting for breath, heart in her throat as he sat her on the edge of the counter. Hands roaming up and down her back, he settled with a palm on each globe of her butt and gripped almost painfully as he yanked her forwards. With his hard dick grinding into the softness between her legs, she lost herself in the sensation of pressure and heat. Her head fell backwards and she arched against him as Bane dropped hard kisses along her neck, ending each with a bite that pinched and stung. She knew he was marking her and didn’t care, didn’t wonder why, couldn’t think about anything except his body against hers.
“All good in there?” Gunny’s voice was accompanied by a hard rapping against the door, and Bane groaned, breaking off from kissing her again to drop his head against hers.
“You are a serious pain in my ass.” Bane’s lips against hers demanded another kiss, and Myrt gladly gave it, teasing along the crease of his lips with the tip of her tongue. “And you’re killin’ me softly.”
“We’re packin’ up to go, brother.”
“Okay, okay. We’ll be right out.” Bane’s eyes were dark and intense, the look he gave her filled with promises she took on faith. “Seems bathrooms aren’t our thang, darlin’. Let’s get them gone, and then take care of business. I’ll book one room for another night, so we can leave tomorrow fresh.” He kissed her hard, going from zero to a hundred miles an hour in a breath. “And tonight, tonight you’re mine.”
“I am.” Her quiet agreement seemed to fuel him, and he pressed his mouth to hers again and again, biting her lip in that sexy way as he stared deep into her eyes. “Bane.” She didn’t know what she was asking for by saying his name, but he seemed to know.
“We will reconnect on this later.” Backing up a step, he lifted her from the countertop and slid her down his body until her feet rested on the floor. “And that, my dear, is a promise from me to you.”
Both boys were staring at the door as she walked out, and it was only moments before their expressions went from anxious to amused. She shook her head as Thad turned to say something to Luke, mouth hidden by one lifted hand. Marian was right there, arms out, and Myrt folded her arms around her sister, holding her close.
Last night had been a revelation, providing an unwelcome window into the rage and brutality their father had subjected Marian to over the years. She’d never been sexually abused, but the mental and physical anguish had been incessant. So much, that when two rough-looking strangers had shown out of the blue and claimed to be rescuers sent from her sister, Marian hadn’t hesitated more than an instant before gathering her things and bolting. “Anything was better than there” had been the explanation, a falsity Myrt felt like contradicting, but the past was in the past, and there’d be time to teach her sister whatever life lessons were needed. Talking far into the night had drawn them closer, and Myrt couldn’t wait to see how Marian would take to being free.
Free.
She lifted her gaze to find Bane looking at her. Pressing her lips together, she dipped her chin and permitted herself only the smallest of smiles. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that free was exactly what he was offering. Freedom to grow and learn more about herself. Freedom to trust and believe in his affections. Freedom to explore the sweeter side of life.
Free indeed.
The flurry of leave-taking activities carried her through the sudden terror at seeing her family, so recently reclaimed, drive away in the van. Myrt looked sideways at the motorcycle parked next to where she and Bane stood. The arm he had wrapped around her shoulders tightened, and he rocked her back and forth.
“I’ll keep you safe, darlin’. Promise from me to you. I’ll always keep you safe.”
“I’m as much excited as nervous about riding with you.” She followed when he turned to go inside, their joined hands a tight bond between them. “I trust you.” Ducking under his arm, she went through the door he held open. “Before we go anywhere, can I ask you a couple of questions?” She took the stairs double-time so he didn’t have to slow his pace.
Inside the room, he sat in a chair, drawing her to stand between his legs. “You can ask me anything, Myrtle. I’m an encyclopedia when it comes to bikes.”
She settled on his thigh, steered there by his hands on her hips. Leaning against his chest, she laughed. “I don’t have any questions about the bike.”
“Then what, darlin’?” One large hand slipped down her arm and folded around her fingers, threading through and flexing to hold her firmly.
“Tell me about yesterday. I want to know everything.” He turned to stone underneath her touch, and she pressed closer, lifting her lips to softly kiss the edge of his jaw. “They’re both dead, aren’t they? I just need to know for sure.”
“Yeah, darlin’.” His voice was soft and cautious. In between words, the only movement was the rise and fall of his breathing. She lifted her hand and placed it flat on his chest, realizing his heart was thundering. “They’re both dead.” He repeated her words back to her, flat and implacable. “What else do you want to know?”
“Did they die easy?” She moved her hand to curl around his neck, snuggling closer.
“No, Myrt. They didn’t. They died hard.” His tone was stiff. “Where you goin’ with this?”
“They can’t hurt anyone, ever again?”
Bane relaxed the tiniest amount as he took in a deeper breath. “No, baby. Never again.”
“Daddy beat Marian. Badly and often. So much she said it was a rare Sunday she attended church, and she’d always been one to seek peace in worship.” Myrt chewed on the inside of her cheek. Could I have helped? “I didn’t know, Bane. I promise I didn’t know what her life was like. Every time I saw her, I worried, but I never asked. Why didn’t I ask?” That had been the thought circling her brain when talking to Marian.
“Baby, it wasn’t like you were in a position to have done anything about it. Not trapped like you were with Sallabrook.” Bane stroked slowly down her back, his hand coming to rest against her hip. “In over your head, both of you were drowning in different pools of shit. That’s a precarious balance on a good day. Adding a layer of misery belonging to someone else could have been enough to send either of you under. Don’t beat yourself up over the fact you were worn out simply trying to exist. That’s not on you, but on the bastard who thought he owned you.”
Tightening her hold on him, she asked again, needing reaffirmation, “He’s really dead?”
“Yeah, darlin’. Yes, and yes. Sallabrook will never lay a hand on another person.” She felt pressure against the top of her head and knew he’d laid a kiss there. “Not you, not the boys, and no future anybody. Never again.”
“So what’s next?” She rolled her head and touched her lips to the base of his neck, happily returning the affection.
“Need a decision from you.” He’d gone still again, telegraphing the importance of his question. “Do you want the baby to inherit from their sperm donor? The place on the mountain, and any assets the bastard held, should go to his next of kin.”
“No.” She didn’t have to consider or think; the response was visceral. “He’s got—had—older kids. They should get his things. I—” Myrt hated the tiny bit of hesitation inside her, fear of cutting ties like this, even if it was what she wanted. Saying what she intended to say set her adrift, ending her association with a man who’d owned her for a third of her life. He might not have cared for her, but she’d had food and shelter, and by denying his relationship with the baby growing in her belly, she was condemning the child to a life without a father. The only way forward is through the flames. “I don’t want anyone here to know the baby is his.”
“Baby is ours.” Growled out, the words reverberated through her, and Myrt pressed another kiss against the notch at the base of his throat. “I’m not destitute, Myrt. You want to set aside any claim to Sallabrook’s estate, that’s your prerogative. But I will not let you go without. Feels like I keep sayin’ that I promise or askin’ you to tru
st me, but I’m all in, baby. Gonna take care of you. Of us. And that includes the bump.”
His hand slipped around to cover her low belly, and she laughed, the sound so loud in the quiet of the room that she cut if off, silencing herself. “I’m amazed by you, Bane.”
“You got any other questions, darlin’?” He created space between their bodies, holding her far enough away he could look down into her face. “If not, then I need to get business taken care of so we can come back and relax. Revisit those moments we’ve had interrupted. See where we go next in that arena.”
The hungry expression on his face gave her the courage she needed to be bold. “I know where I wanna go.” Bane swallowed hard, muscles in his neck working as his jaw clenched. His reaction to her words emboldened her further. “I want to take you all the way. Want to find out what it’s like to play, to tease.” On impulse she stretched up, relieved and pleased when he met her halfway. The kiss was tender and passionate, one trembling along the edge of her control. Bane pulled away, and she choked off a groan, which made him laugh quietly. “Seems you’ve got the teasing part down already.”
“Baby, we’ve got business to tend to first.” He guided her to stand, then pushed back the chair to climb to his feet, too. “This’ll be the only time you hear me say business before pleasure. We gotta deal with a couple of things, and then you’re all mine.”
“Or…” She grinned as he lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. Everything he did gave her more confidence, a willingness to pull him close. “You’re all mine.”
***
Bane
The day had delivered a series of surprises, and every single one of them had been positive. Bane had kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, expecting to find trouble around the corner, or at least questions that were hard to answer.
He’d first made a call to Blackie, needing to bring him up to speed on everything that had happened since their earlier conversation. He went into greater detail about the events on the mountain, and laid out their planned next steps.
Fortunately Mason had already talked to Blackie, expounding on the RWMC ask where it touched on Myrt via Truck and Vanna. With shrewd questions, Blackie had steered the conversation, ending with a musing, “Need to get my ass to Florida, seems. See you in a couple of days.” The man hadn’t given Bane time to respond, disconnecting and leaving only dead air in his wake.
The next call had been to Mason, wanting to give him a heads-up on the name-dropping Bane planned on doing today. Not only had the man been entirely on board with the idea, he’d immediately initiated a three-way call with the local sheriff. Obviously well known to the lawman, Mason had been judicious with the details he’d offered, without dropping anything incriminating.
“Yeah, everyone knows Sallabrook’s place burned down yesterday. I’m going to call in an investigator.” Sheriff Heame laughed, the sound broken by a wet and awful cough. “Man died in bed. If you ask me, too easy a death for a bastard of a man.”
“What’d it take for you to drop your investigation and take face value into your reports?” Mason’s question was far more direct than one Bane would have posed, but it seemed to be the right tack with the sheriff.
“That question’s enough for me.” Another series of coughs. “Mountain cleansing herself, way I look at it. She kept the fire from damaging anything else in that clearing. Barn, trees—hell, Sallabrook’s truck wasn’t even singed. Divine intervention. Man like me?” He chuckled and Bane braced for another round of coughing, relieved when it didn’t present itself. “I won’t question God’s plan.”
“Good deal.” Mason was quiet for a beat, then asked something Bane hadn’t expected. “You know about the trafficking happening in your county?”
“Yeah. Can’t get my hands on the bastards or I’d kill ’em myself.” Heame’s voice firmed, growing serious. “We ain’t had shit like this since your daddy’s times, Davis. Not to speak ill of the dead, but he seemed to inspire some sadistic fellas, didn’t he?”
“So you wouldn’t be opposed to having some shit cleared up on that patch of ground?” Mason’s question was light, airy, his tone not conveying the gravity of the question. Bane held his breath, waiting.
“Nope. Count it as another blessing.”
“Threadgill’s dead. His girls and two youngest sons are under my direct protection as of a week ago.”
“Shee-it.” Heame sighed heavily, the sound echoing on the phone’s speaker. “How’d he pass, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Tripped and fell into a hole of his own makin’.” Mason wasn’t leaving anything up for interpretation, fortunately.
“Well, that’ll do it for a fella. Sure enough. Anythin’ you need from me and mine?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a man on the line. He’s in town now at my direction, you feel me?” Mason paused as Heame made an agreeable noise. “He’s gonna show at your office in an hour for Threadgill’s daughter to sign off on anything you need signed.”
“Marian? She’s a good girl. Too bad her daddy’s been—that he was such a waste of space.”
“No, cousin.” Mason revealed his connection to the sheriff, and Bane nodded to himself at the understanding. “Threadgill’s younger daughter, Myrtle.”
Heame’s intake of air had a hoarse whistle to it, and he hummed for a few brief notes. “I got the picture now, Davis. I got it and I’m all over it. We’ll take care of the girl. My daddy’s still got some rentals. I’ll see if one’s open, put her up until we can get her on her feet.”
“She’s taken care of just fine.” Bane spoke for the first time, uncaring if Heame had understood Mason’s reference earlier about him being on the line. “I needed to know you weren’t going to try and bury her with all that’s landed on your doorstep this morning.”
“Hell, man, Threadgill isn’t even on my radar yet. I can take my time with that one, maybe a varmint’ll deal with it for me. Hate to have to euthanize me a bear, but can always relocate one if needed. I got the DNR boys on speed dial.” Heame didn’t miss a beat at Bane’s interjecting himself into the conversation. “Good to know Myrt’s landed on her feet. Sallabrook was out of his mind these past weeks, scouring the hills for anyone who mighta had sight of her.”
“Where do you want us, and when?” He could let the lawman dictate this small piece of the action, giving him a message that because Mason trusted him, so did Bane. Giving away control was a risky move, but it felt right in the moment.
“Brother, sounds like you’ve got this. I’m gonna click off. I got places to be.” Mason paused, then added, “See you in two days, yeah? Take your time, but not too much. We’ve plans to tend to.”
Mason was referring to the same business Blackie had referenced earlier, and Bane had a brief instant of trepidation. Then Myrt strolled into view, bag in hand. He’d asked her to go through the room Marian had shared with the boys and pack up anything inadvertently left behind. Relaxed and calm, the lines of her shoulders sloped down, tendons in her neck not straining and visible for the first time in a while. She was comfortable here with just him, no more buffering presence of other people. It reminded him of how easy she’d been in the van when it had been just them.
“I hear you, brother.” Myrt looked up at his words and gave him a broad smile, lifting the bag slightly as she shrugged one shoulder. “Oh, yeah, I hear you. Heame.” He turned away from Myrt after shooting her a wink that had her cheeks pinking. “Did you say when?”
“Right now and the diner sound good, if you can make it that soon. No need to come to the office for this. I’ll send my boy. He’ll be up to speed.”
“I’ll buy the pie,” Bane offered, and Mason’s laughter cut off as he disconnected. “We’ll see him in a couple minutes. We’re right at the edge of town.”
Seated at the table with Myrt’s hand in his, he watched as a tall man in a tan shirt and dark pants strolled in. Heame Junior. had dispensed with his duty belt, wore only a simple hip holster to carry
his service weapon. When his gaze landed on their table, he smiled broadly, Bane bristling at his unmistakable pleasure at seeing Myrtle.
Heame nodded at Bane, then held out his hand to Myrt, bending at the waist so she didn’t have to rise from her seat. Bane stood slowly, unfolding to his full height and staring down his nose at the deputy.
“Myrtle, I’m glad to see you looking so well. You had us all worried—” Heame dashed a glance at Bane, then cut his gaze back to Myrtle. “And, well, I’m sure glad you’re okay.”
“I’m doing well, Thomas.” The familiarity in her voice hit Bane like a brick wall. For some reason he hadn’t expected her to know this man, hadn’t anticipated Mason’s professed cousins would have personal experience in Myrt’s life that excluded Bane. He didn’t like it. Myrt tugged at his hand, and he realized he’d kept his grip, holding tight. She tugged again. “Isn’t that right, Will?”
Her denial to give Heame his club name was confusing until he looked at her, really looked at her. She was concerned, and he remembered she hadn’t been on the call with Mason and the older Heame earlier, only having what Bane had told her to go on.
She’s protecting me. He relaxed his grip, then gave her a gentle squeeze. So fuckin’ cute.
“I didn’t catch what you said, but I still agree, darlin’.” He knew the hesitation Heame had showed earlier was because he’d nearly called Myrt a sweet name. “Whatever you want, babe.” Fuck this dude. “Anything you need, honey.” There, he’d covered about all of them in one fell swoop. “Sweetheart.” Nearly forgot one.
“Silly man.” Ignoring Heame, who still hadn’t officially greeted Bane, she stared up at him. “I could ask you for anything and you’d cave.”
“Before the request was even off your sweet lips, yes, ma’am.”
“I’m gonna have sweet tea and a piece of pie, Deloris. Server’s choice.” Heame pulled out a chair and sat, looking over his shoulder at the waitress. “Myrt’s Mr. Crow here said he’s buying, so I’ll take a chance on whatever looks good today.”
In Search of Solace (Rebel Wayfarers MC) Page 18
