Seven
Maverick
Going on runs was something I was used to, but I’d been pissed when Reid got stuck on a jobsite and couldn’t go with Jack and Kingston to Reno. When things had been delayed and we’d had to spend extra time on the road, I’d nearly blown the whole trip.
I shouldn’t have even been there to begin with, and then it seemed like I was going to miss my girl’s birthday. When I started shaking from the intensity of my rage, the guys we’d been there to meet had gotten nervous and then hurried shit along.
Worrying over not arriving in time hadn’t kept me from thinking about what would happen once I got in front of Colt. The night before in our hotel room, I’d practiced what I would say to the father of the woman I loved, rehearsing my speech on two of his nephews.
My plan was to ask for his blessing to marry River. Might as well let the man know just how committed I was to his daughter. But Jack had recommended working up to that and just asking to date her for a while. Throwing marriage out there right out of the gate was more likely to end with blood being spilled, which I had to admit was smart. So, I’d amended my speech to just dating.
But nothing I’d rehearsed had come out of my mouth as I’d stood before him.
“I love River. I humbly…”
Humbly? I mentally groaned, surprised that every one of my MC brothers didn’t burst out laughing at me being humble. But this was about openly making River mine. I could be humble and anything else Colt Hannigan needed me to be if it meant he didn’t stand in my way.
While I was silently berating myself, my mouth kept moving. “…ask for your blessing to—”
“No.” His vicious growl cut me off before I could finish speaking.
“Date her.”
He took a menacing step toward me, but I stood my ground as he got in my face. Colt was a tall man, but I was a good three inches taller, so we weren’t eye to eye as he pushed into my personal space. “No,” he repeated. “She’s too young to date.”
“She’s eighteen now,” I reminded him, trying to hold on to my anger. He was only a few inches from me. I could feel his breath on my face, could see the tiny red vessels in the whites of his eyes as his agitation started turning his face a puce color. If anyone else had gotten in my personal space like that, I would have already laid them on their ass with a punch to the jaw. But this was River’s dad. I couldn’t hit him. “I love her, and she loves me. We want to be together.”
“What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand, boy?” Colt seethed. “I don’t want you near my little girl. You’re not—”
“What?” my dad snarled behind him. I shifted my gaze to him to see he was holding Ian, but the look on his face was just as intimidating as Colt’s. Fuck, I was just surprised he wasn’t yelling at me too. He loved River like a daughter. All the women in our family were important to each and every member of the MC, but there was just something about those Hannigan females that got a man’s protective instincts engaged on a whole other level. “He’s not what, brother?”
Colt’s jaw clenched. “Your kid has no business dating mine.”
“Why not?” Uncle Bash asked, his brows raised as he looked down at his brother-in-law. My MC prez and godfather defending me made something tighten in my chest. “He’s a good kid. Keeps his nose clean and does what he’s told when we tell him to do something. The boy has a job and hasn’t been in any trouble. From what I’ve seen, he respects River.”
“Doesn’t matter. No one is dating my girl. She’s too young and—”
“And you’re full of shit.”
I was getting whiplash from all the new voices entering the conversation. Aunt Kelli squeezed between her husband and me, getting in his face as he’d gotten in mine. Reaching behind her, she pushed at my chest with one hand, silently telling me to back up. “River is eighteen today, you idiot. Eighteen. That makes her an adult. She can do whatever the fuck she wants. If she wants to date Maverick, she can, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it. The boy had enough respect for you to ask for your blessing, and you turned into a dick.”
“She’s just a little girl,” he argued, his face turning an even darker red, making me wonder how high his blood pressure was at that moment. “River is still in high school.”
“She graduates in little more than a month,” she yelled at him. “Would you stop for two seconds and just look around you? Our daughter is all grown up, Colt. She’s not a baby anymore. This party only proved to me that you haven’t faced the reality that she’s an adult now.” She lifted her hand, waving it at the banner hanging from the ceiling then at what was left of the pink cake. “You told me to let you take care of the party, and look at what you did. This is the same exact setup we had at her eighth birthday. Even that ugly pink cake.”
“She loves pink!”
Kelli stopped and inhaled sharply. “Does she?”
“It’s her favorite color,” he grumbled.
“Dude, it’s blue,” my dad muttered from behind him.
Some of the reddish-purple color drained from Colt’s face, and he turned his head to gape at the enforcer. “No, it’s not.”
Dad only glared at him. “She’s not even my kid, and I know her favorite color is blue. And I know caramel is her least-favorite cake flavor, but you picked that for her birthday cake.”
“You spend too much time with her,” he snapped. “She can’t work at your place anymore.”
“Why? Because I know her better than you?” He shifted my nephew in his arms, looking down at the other man with disgust. “She’s eighteen. If she wants to keep working for me, she can and will. Just because you don’t know shit about your own kid doesn’t mean I have to fire her.”
I felt River before she even touched me. Her hands trembled as she wrapped her arms around me from behind, her face pressing into the center of my back as she inhaled deeply. I stroked my hands over her bare arms, soothing myself with the feel of her beneath my fingertips. Being away from her the last few days had been agony. I’d been on runs in the past that had taken longer, but she hadn’t been pregnant then.
There had been an urgency in me, screaming at me to get back so I could protect my woman and baby.
I ached to pull her around in front of me, kiss the hell out of her, and mark her as mine right there in front of her father. My instinct to protect her, however, had me keeping her behind me.
“You don’t know her better than me,” Colt raged at my father as he turned fully to face him. From the look on Colt’s face, I knew if Dad hadn’t been holding Ian, Colt would have probably punched him. “She’s my little girl. If I say she can’t work for you anymore, then she won’t. And she sure as fuck won’t be dating your worthless son.”
Behind me, I heard River gasp at the same time my mom and both of my sisters started shouting.
“Stop it!” River’s cry drowned out whatever they said. She started to pull away, but I tightened my hold on her. Sighing, she kissed my back then tugged herself free before walking around me to face her father. Colt glared at her, but she marched up to him fearlessly. “Maverick is not worthless, and I’m not going to stand around and let you talk about him like that. I love him, Dad. With everything in me, I love him. And I will be dating him. You have no say in it. Just like you have no say in where I work. As of today, I’m an adult, and I get to make my own decisions regarding my life.”
“Not while you live under my roof!” His voice boomed off the walls, causing Ian to jump and the other babies to start crying.
She tipped her head back, meeting his gaze without flinching. “Then I guess I’m moving out.”
“I forbid it.”
A humorless laugh left her. “Forbid all you want. That doesn’t mean shit to me now.” She shook her head at him. “You know, I’ve always respected you. You’ve worked so hard and given me so much. Yet right now, I see you have no respect for me in return, Dad.”
His jaw clenched shut, and I saw him gritting his te
eth. Long moments passed with father and daughter staring each other down, but then River’s shoulders slumped and she turned to me with a sad smile. “Let’s go,” she murmured softly.
I took her hand and tugged her close. She melted against me as her side brushed mine, and we started for the door.
“River, get your ass back here!” Colt roared behind us.
She glared at him over her shoulder. “I’ll get my things from the house later.”
He took a step forward, but Aunt Kelli got in his way. “Let her go.”
“She’s not moving out. Where’s Ben? Have him arrest Maverick.” River stumbled, and she looked up at me with a ghostly white face as fear filled her eyes.
“What for?” Aunt Kelli demanded. “She’s eighteen and leaving willingly with him.”
My hand tightened around River. Ben probably could arrest me if they knew I’d gotten River pregnant before she turned eighteen. But no one knew she was carrying my baby.
Still, if Colt found out, he would have Ben tossing my ass in jail in a heartbeat.
That wasn’t something I was going to worry about at the moment, however. For now, I just wanted to get my girl home.
Eight
River
My relief that there hadn’t been any bloodshed was so strong that I sagged against Maverick as soon as we were outside.
His arm tightened, and he pulled me closer into him as we walked to his motorcycle. Taking his helmet, he offered it to me and then climbed on. I put it on and got on behind him. As I pressed my front into his back, my arms going around his waist, everything felt right in the world.
That feeling was short-lived as Dad stormed out of the bar with half the party guests right behind him. “Let’s go,” I told Maverick, and he started his bike.
“River!” Dad bellowed behind me, and I tightened my arms around Mav.
Before Dad could reach us, the growl of the engine vibrated between my thighs and we were moving.
As we rode to Maverick’s apartment, I kept replaying everything from the moment he’d walked into the bar. My heart was still pounding from the fear of what could have happened. Uncle Spider’s reaction had been so surprising that I wanted to hug him. But while my dad’s reaction wasn’t exactly as I’d expected since he hadn’t started throwing punches, I had no doubt that if Mom hadn’t gotten between him and Mav, he would have.
My wish hadn’t come true. Dad might not have physically hurt Maverick, but he’d broken my heart, nonetheless. No one would ever be good enough for me in his eyes. Part of me understood that on some level. A father’s daughter was the light of his life.
But if I was so special to him, why hadn’t he ever taken the time to get to know me?
Maybe I was being overly sensitive from all the pregnancy hormones, but I was beginning to realize there was a difference in his physically being there for all the special events in my life growing up and his being present. He might have been there, but it didn’t seem like he’d actually learned anything about who I was as a person.
Within ten minutes, we were pulling into the parking lot of Maverick’s apartment building. After he turned off the bike, he reached back and helped me off. Slowly, I got to my feet, not wanting to scare him if I moved too quickly and had another dizzy spell. As soon as his legs swung off the powerful motorcycle, he scooped me up into his arms.
“Happy birthday,” he murmured, pressing his lips to my temple as he carried me up the steps to the second floor where his apartment was. “Sorry I was late. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
I laid my head on his shoulder. “You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”
Reaching his door, he shifted me in his arms long enough to hand me his keys. After handing them over to me, he bent his knees so I could unlock the door and then open it for us. Once we were inside, he kicked the door closed and flipped the lock before carrying me through the apartment and straight to his bedroom.
It wasn’t the first time I’d been to his place, but my visits had been few and far between because there was rarely time for us to enjoy the comforts of an actual bed. Other than the necessary furniture, the place had always felt empty to me. He’d said it was because it was missing the most important feature—me.
Carefully, as if I were made of delicate glass, he placed me in the center of his bed and then stepped back. Pulling off his cut, he hung it off the closet door before kicking off his boots. While I watched him, enjoying the show of him stripping in front of me, I strained my ears, listening for signs of a motorcycle or anything else that would alert us to my dad having followed us.
Just because we’d made it to Maverick’s apartment didn’t mean we were in the clear.
When he was down to just his boxers, Mav walked back to the bed. His gray eyes skimmed over me hungrily, making the ache between my thighs intensify. “It’s taking everything in me not to devour your right now.” He grabbed my ankle and pulled me to the edge of the bed. Dropping to his knees, he started working on getting my jeans off, and I lifted my hips to help him.
The sound of my clothes hitting the floor hadn’t even reached me before his mouth was on my pussy. My fingers stabbed through his hair, holding him in place while his tongue spread my lips and then flicked teasingly over my clit. I arched my back off the bed as my body gave in to the pleasure it knew only Maverick could deliver to me.
“So fucking sweet,” he growled, making wet, slopping noises against my core. “I’ve missed this pussy almost as much as I’ve missed you.”
“Maverick, I’m close,” I whined. “Please.”
“Shh, I got you, baby.” Squeezing my ass in his hands, he lifted me closer, but he continued to tease me. With only the very tip of his tongue, he licked from my clit down to my entrance, where he circled and then traveled back to my pulsing clit once more. I felt my arousal dripping down my ass, his torture only turning me on more.
He licked and sucked and teased me until I was begging him to finish me off. Maverick knew all my triggers, and when his thumb circled my rear entrance just as his tongue thrust deep into my center, I screamed his name as my release sent me flying.
I was still struggling to catch my breath when he lifted me to the center of the bed again. Pushing his boxers down, he thrust deep inside my still convulsing pussy.
“Motherfuck,” he groaned. “You feel so damn good, baby.”
“You…too,” I panted, wrapping my legs around his hips. “I missed you so much.”
“Ah, babe. I missed you more. Hate being so far away from you, River. Can’t breathe when you’re not close.” He licked up my neck, the edge of his teeth grazing my skin and making my inner walls clench around his thick shaft. “You keep that up, and I’m going to blow before either of us is ready.”
“Who said I’m not ready?” I turned my head and caught his mouth. I thrust my tongue into his mouth hard, urging him to pump his hips into me with the same intensity. I was already close again.
And like Mav knew all of my triggers, I knew all of his. We were each other’s firsts, and we knew each other’s bodies as well—if not better—than we knew our own. While I sucked on his tongue, my nails sliced down his back, giving him that little taste of pain I knew always sent him over the edge.
His cock stretched me even farther as the first shot of his come spilled deep inside me. The feel of his hot release triggered my own, making my walls contract around his hard girth as I milked him of every last drop.
Maverick collapsed on top of me, and I savored the feel of his weight pressing me into the bed. But it only lasted a few seconds before he cursed and rolled onto his side. “Sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to squish you and our munchkin.”
“You didn’t,” I tried to assure him, but he only wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me on top of him as he rolled onto his back.
“I’ll be more careful.”
My eyes were already closing. I’d barely slept the night before, worrying over what might happen at my par
ty. Now that things were mostly okay—and my body was still humming from sex—my lids became too heavy to hold open.
Maverick shifted, then pulled the blankets up over us. Before I fell asleep, I felt him kiss the top of my head. “Love you, babe.”
“Love you,” I garbled sleepily.
Nine
River
Dawn was just starting to break when I finally found the strength to lift my lashes. My bladder was screaming in agony, and my stomach was grumbling from lack of food. Groaning, I untangled myself from Maverick’s hold and stumbled to the bathroom.
There was a towel on the floor when I walked in. Picking it up, I placed it in the hamper before relieving myself. But as I sat on the toilet, an intense cramp like I had when I was on my period hit me so hard that my arms shot out to steady myself even though I was sitting down. My palms hit the walls on either side of me, and I whimpered as the pain lingered.
Inhaling slowly, I tried to breathe through the cramp, and slowly, it began to fade. When it stopped, the relief of no longer being in pain was almost euphoric. Until I wiped and saw the smear of blood on the tissue paper.
My heart stopped as I looked down at the stark red on white. “No,” I whispered, my free hand going to my lower abdomen. “No, it’s okay. You’re okay.”
I told myself it was just a little blood, that maybe Mav was just too rough when we’d had sex. But that cramp had been close to the one I’d experienced the day before when I’d picked up that box from Aunt Raven’s trunk.
Sick with worry, I washed my hands and then walked back into the bedroom. I pulled a pair of Maverick’s black boxers out of a drawer and stepped into them before finding a T-shirt in his closet to wear. Maverick was still out cold, so I went into the bathroom to make a toilet paper pad before going to the kitchen in search of a bottle of water and my phone.
Sacred Vow Page 6
