Arsen

by Kathryn Thomas

  He smiled. “I think you’re exaggerating a little, don’t you?”

  “No.”

  His smile widened slightly and he put down his fork to take her hands. “You don’t owe me anything. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done because I wanted to.”

  “But why?”

  He shrugged. “Why do you do the things you want to do? You do them because you want to. I can’t give you a reason other than to say I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed having you around.”

  “What about the Horsemen?”

  “What about them? That has nothing to do with you, and it was coming had I found you or not. Don’t start taking blame for things that aren’t your fault. You’ve been nothing but a benefit to the club.” He paused and his smile softened. “And to me.”

  She looked into his eyes and could read the sincerity there, but the intensity of his gaze made her look away. “I guess,” she said as she tried to pull her hands back.

  He held tightly to her hands, not letting her take them away. “No,” he said firmly. “No ‘I guess.’ It’s the truth and I want to hear you say it.”

  “Say what?”

  “None of this is my fault.”

  “Arsen, I—”

  “Say it,” he said again, more firmly this time.

  She paused. “None of this is my fault,” she said softly.

  She wasn’t very convincing, but it was something so he let her hands go. “Not one person in the club thinks this has anything to do with you, except maybe you. You worry about increasing our sales of B3. I’ll worry about the Horsemen. It’s a waste of your time to be worrying about the same thing I am.”

  She nodded and picked up her fork again as the darkness inside her grew a tiny bit smaller.

  Chapter 39

  They finished eating and cleaned the kitchen as the weather continued to move in. By the time they were ready for bed, the thunder was no longer distant and the wind wailed around the corner of the house as flying dirt scratched faintly at the windows. It hadn’t yet begun to rain but it was only a matter of time.

  Quinn pulled off her nighty and slid into the bed with him. Arsen never wore anything to bed, and tonight she wanted to feel his skin against hers. As she snuggled into a comfortable spoon, her ass tucked comfortably into his crotch, his knees behind hers, he wrapped her up and cupped her breasts in his hands, his thumbs gently caressing her nipples.

  It was their standard snuggle position, his slow, light caress of the hard points of her breasts a source of pleasure that relaxed her, his strong arms and big hands making her feel protected. He kissed her on the neck, and she twisted her face around, offering her lips. He took them, a slow gentle kiss before pulling back and settling in behind her again. She knew he wanted her, his hardness testifying to his desire, but he’d never forced himself on her or made her feel obligated to accept him. She smiled in the darkness. He made her feel wanted and desired, but for more than her body.

  He continued to caress her, swallowing his disappointment that Quinn wasn’t in the mood again tonight. He wanted to make love to her, to remind himself he was alive, to bury for a moment the loss he felt for Chet and Greg. He supposed it was too soon for her to be over her ordeal, but for the past two weeks she’d seemed so vibrant, as if she was finally winning over her demons. Then the Horsemen had fucked that up, just like they tried to fuck up everything. Today, though, the Blades started the end game. They were going to put a stop to Horsemen once and for all, and then Quinn would finally have the peace she deserved.

  He moved his hand, slowly caressing her thigh, his right hand still warmly surrounding her left breast, his thumb sending a constant trickle of pleasure through her. She hadn’t been in the mood when she crawled into the bed, but his soft, slow strokes were warming her nicely, the heavy peels of thunder adding to the moment.

  He could sense the rising tension in her and he slid his hand farther around her thigh, slowly dragging his fingers along the front of her leg then up her belly as he gently bit her shoulder. Her gasp as she stiffened made him smile as he soothed the nip with a kiss.

  By slow degrees, he worked his fingers closer to her pussy, teasing her with the anticipation of the pleasure of his touch. He would drag his fingers along the inside of her leg, making her draw a slow breath of expectation, only to have him bypass her wet sex and drag his fingers across her thigh and down the back of her leg, his touch leaving behind tingles of pleasure.

  He smiled as he stroked across the lips of her pussy with the lightest possible touch, her delicate moan of pleasure making his heart race. He loved hearing her gasps, sighs, and moans, the way she moved in pleasure. Life seemed to pour from her like a beacon as she came alive with passion, life that somehow fed him and made him feel alive in a way he hadn’t in a long time. He needed her, needed her vibrancy, passion and enthusiasm for life, especially tonight. She was waking up something inside him he’d thought he’d lost, a thirst for life.

  She groaned again as his fingers again feathered across her pussy, making her ache to feel his touch. She hadn’t been in the mood before, but she was now, wanting to use the heat of passion to burn away her doubts and fears and the loss of the women she had come to call friends. His zest for life buoyed her, lifting her from the darkness that lurked inside her and weakening its hold on her. As his hand passed over her again, she trapped it with her own, pressing it into her, his fingers skillfully opening her like a flower to touch her. As his finger touched her clit, she gasped with the pleasure coursing through her. His touch felt like a battery, charging her and making her crackle with erotic energy. As he stroked again, she ground her ass back into him and groaned, her hand pressing his harder into her. She wanted, needed, his touch, the feel of him inside her, the caress of his lips, all physical manifestation of that part of him that gave her life and kept the darkness at bay.

  He gasped softly as he entered her, steering himself into her wetness, then returned to caressing her clit as he slowly worked his hips. She began to squirm, her breathing becoming heavy as she reached behind her and grabbed his thigh, pulling him into her. His range of motion was limited by their position but he pressed in as deep as he could and held himself there as he gently flicked and caressed her clit. She moaned, long and hard as she furiously pumped her hips then pressed back into him.

  The feel of his hardness deep inside, the searing pleasure of his finger and the slow erotic caresses of his lips on her neck were lighting her up, her body tingling with erotic energy. She reached behind her and grabbed the back of his neck, clinging to him. He made her so fucking hot she used to worry about hurting him as she thrashed in passion, but he assured her that great sex sometimes left battle scars and he would tell her if it became too much. Since then she’d stopped worrying about hurting him and my God the orgasms he’d given her when she let herself go.

  She dug her nails into the back of his neck as she pushed back into him. When she began to get rough he knew she was working up to a colossal orgasm, but he could take her roughness, giving it back to her, pressing her harder, driving her deeper into her bliss. He bit her on the neck, holding her gently in his jaws for a moment before kissing her hard, his tongue swirling away the sting of his bite.

  “Don’t come until I tell you too,” he growled into her ear, thrusting into her as he continued to sweetly torment her with his finger.

  “I want to come!” she mewled.

  He smiled. He loved this game, trying to make her come while she struggled to prevent it. She was skilled at holding her orgasm, but he always won in the end, and the longer she fought it the harder she came. He pressed her harder, ravaging her with finger and cock.

  “Oh, fuck!” she whimpered as the house flashed then immediately shook with thunder, the rain coming an instant later. The rain roared as the sky emptied itself, the wind whipping the rain against the windows. The violence outside perfectly matched the raging storm of pleasure inside her.

  He could feel her twisting up in his arms,
her left hand biting into his arm as she held his finger to her pussy. He continued to stroke her with his finger as he thrust into her, rocking his hips as much as he could, his right hand cupping her breast while gently rolling her nipple between finger and thumb. She moved with him, her ass slapping into his crotch as she clawed her way to the peak of pleasure.

  “Fuck!” she cried, long and loud, no longer able to hold against the pleasure, and her rapture poured over her like the rain. She tried to escape the searing pleasure of his touch while at the same time hoping he would overpower her and prolong the raging storm inside of her.

  A bolt of lightning sizzled in, the crack of thunder so deafeningly loud they could feel in their chests. Quinn again cried her pleasure into the night, an inarticulate wail of pleasure as she pulled furiously at his hand while thrusting madly on his cock.

  The sizzling crack of thunder startled her and another orgasm slamming into her, causing her to add her wail to the reverberating roar of thunder that rattled the house. She finally succeeded in pulling Arsen’s finger away from her but she was still alive with ecstasy, the flashing lightening and roaring wind setting her on edge, making her want to fuck harder than she’d ever fucked before.

  “Oh, fuck me!” she cried, thrusting as hard as she could, but they were wrapped so tightly together she couldn’t gain the space she wanted and needed to feel his hard cock plunging into her.

  Her desperation was winding him tight and making his blood run fast and hot. He forced her over onto her stomach then pulled her up to her knees. He drove into her again, his head flinging back as he slid into her. He began to pound into her hard and fast, leaning over her back and giving her what she wanted, what he wanted. She wailed again, her voice drowned out by another thudding roar of thunder. There was a gunshot like bang then only the sound of pounding rain and howling wind as the power failed. She wailed again, urging him on and he roared, his abs burning in effort but unable to stop. He pulled her upright, her hands still gripping the linens as she pulled them free from the corners of the bed. He crushed her into him, his arm around her chest, his cock pounding into her hard and fast as he held her tight with one hand on her breast and he found her pussy with his other.

  She wanted to scream in pleasure but couldn’t find her voice. She’d already had two hard orgasms, but the violence of the storm and Arsen’s pounding cock was working her up to an even harder one. She grabbed his arm with one hand, the back of his neck with the other, and held on as her world began to tear apart.

  She started to wail, a long almost inhuman cry of pleasure as she clamped down on him like a vice and a splash of liquid hit him in the balls and legs. The windows lit with another sizzling crack and a blinding flash of light, the house being lashed with the power of the storm. His roar of completion was added to hers, but he couldn’t stop, so lost in the frenzy of their lovemaking that even as his rapture seared through him he couldn’t stop his thrusting hips.

  She tumbled away from him with his shove, but then he dragged her back, further destroying the bed, flipped her to her back as if she weighed nothing, then plunged into her again. He was like an over revved machine, his head flung back, his body shaking, bellowing into the night as he pounded into her.

  She wailed again as he entered her, his passage so deeply pleasurable she couldn’t hold her voice. She threw her arms around him and drew herself up tight, clasping herself to him as he continued to fuck her, bellowing a third time as he slammed his cock into her, before collapsing and driving her into the bed.

  He shivered, holding her, afraid to let go lest he be swept away by the storm of his orgasm and forever lost. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, everything blotted out but this one perfect moment. He held her in him arms, resolving to never let her go and protect her from the storm as it raged around them.

  She wanted to cry and didn’t know why, so wrung out from pleasure she could do nothing but hold him. She smiled as a hard shudder passed through him, making him grunt as he thrust into her hard and fast a moment before stopping again. He was panting hard but made no move to rise.

  Slowly, eased himself up, taking her lips in a long, slow kiss. As he pulled back from the kiss, he smiled at her. “I love you,” he whispered.

  Her heart nearly stopped with those three little words. “What did you say?” she whispered.

  He began to thrust into her again, slow and easy. “I said I love you.”

  “Do you mean it?” she asked, unable to believe he’d said them.

  “Yes. I’m falling for you, Quinn. I’m beginning to fall in love with you, and I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”

  Her tears came unbidden. “I don’t know what to say.”

  He smiled, then kissed a tear as it trickled down her cheek. “Then don’t say anything. You…complete me somehow. There’s something about you. I don’t know what it is, but you…bring me peace, I guess. I haven’t felt this way since…” His voice trailed away and his smile softened and turned slightly sad. “Since Holly was killed,” he continued.

  She smiled as her tears began to flow more freely, but she didn’t wipe them away. “I think I might be falling for you, too. I’ve never been in love, and I don’t know what it feels like, but I want to be with you like nobody else before you. When I’m with you I feel like I can do anything and nothing can hurt me.”

  He nodded then kissed her slowly as he began to drive into her purpose. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”

  She nodded, pulling his head into her neck and holding him tight. She was done, totally wrung out and unable to orgasm again, but she wanted him to make love to her and never stop. She didn’t know if she actually, truly, loved him, but she was damn sure looking forward to finding out.

  He buried his face in her neck, kissing her and holding her snuggly. He couldn’t come again, not after the most intense orgasm of his life, but he couldn’t get enough of her. He held her, thrilling in her embrace, wanting to make love to her forever. The embers of love he felt for her were feeble and easily extinguished, but he was certain she was the one he hadn’t known he was looking for, and he committed himself to winning her and husbanding those embers until they were a roaring bonfire.

  They held each other, slowly making love before falling asleep, his cock still inside of her as she lay on his chest, long after the storm had passed.

  Chapter 40

  Michelle and Quinn were alone, packing shipping boxes as the other women pulled orders. Arsen and the brothers were busy, neck deep in the MDMA run, and she was dying to tell someone what Arsen had said last night. He’d made no mention of his words this morning, and though it might be her imagination, she felt like his gaze was more gentle this morning.

  “Arsen told me he loved me last night,” Quinn said, plunging right in.

  “He what?” Michelle squawked, pausing in her task, a bag of beads in her hand hovering over the box.

  Quinn grinned, delighted in Michelle’s reaction. “He told me he was falling in love with me!”

  Michelle frowned as she went back to her task. “Seems a little quick, don’t you think? It took him almost a year to say the same to Holly.”

  Quinn shrugged, Michelle’s pessimism bringing her down a little. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in love before. How long did it take you to realize that Zane was the one for you?”

  Michelle grinned. “A couple of months or so, but I didn’t admit for a long time.”

  Quinn grinned. “It’s been almost that long since he found me on the Interstate.”

  “Do you love him?”

  “Maybe. I know that I feel something for him, but since I’ve never been in love, is it love? I don’t know.”

  Michelle grinned. “You sure it’s not lust?”

  Quinn giggled. “Maybe. Why?”

  “Because word gets around. I’ve heard from more than one source Arsen knows how to please a woman.”

  Quinn giggled again. “I can confirm that. He made me come so hard
last night I made a mess. You should have seen the bed this morning.”

  Michelle grinned. “Zane and I have had nights like that. Arsen’s a pretty straight up guy. It’s been almost two years since Holly, and he has been faithful to you a longer than I would have given him credit for.” She shrugged. “I hope it works out for you two.”

  Quinn nodded. “So do I. Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure, anything.”

  “How do you know you’re in love?”

  Michelle giggled. “I can’t tell you that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I can’t. I’m not saying I won’t, I’m saying I can’t. I can’t describe it. If you’ve never experienced it, I can’t describe it to you. It’s like a warm bath on a cold night, or a cold drink on a hot day. It’s that feeling you have after a good hard fucking, but without the sex. It’s peace, and warmth, and excitement and contentment, all rolled up together. If you’re in love with someone, you’ll know it. When they aren’t around, you find yourself thinking about them, and when they are around, you don’t want to be away from them. You think of them before you think of yourself. You would rather do something for them than do something for yourself.” She shrugged. “But that doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel about Zane.”