by K E Osborn
Attempting to calm the now-raging headache blasting my skull, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Fuck, brother. I should be there helping, considering it’s my fault. I’m sure this is my father, Nycto.”
“I figured as much. When Tony swore it wasn’t him, I knew straight away some asshole was coming after you. So, I did some digging and saw your father’s been released, but obviously, you’ve done your own research. I knew how you’d react to hearing the news, so that’s why I tried to keep it from you as long as I could, till I could figure out what the fuck to do about him.”
I glance over at Ivy in the kitchen who’s oblivious to our conversation. She’s got her headphones on dancing away as she bakes something which smells fantastic. How she can be so carefree, while I sit here panicking about how this is all going to end astounds me.
“I feel fucking useless sitting here doing nothing.”
“You’re keeping Ivy safe. That’s what matters right now. The rest is noise. Let us handle anything coming the club’s way.”
“Keep me in the loop. I want updates.”
“You got it. For now, spend time with your woman.”
Glimpsing back at her, she now has her headphones off and is walking over with a tray of something I can’t quite make out.
“Nycto, be careful, you hear me?”
“You, too, brother. You, too.” He ends the call.
As I slide the cell across the table, Ivy places a tray in front of me. My eyes widen as cookies with something that looks like caramel in the middle come into view. Some are a little browner on the edges than the others. They’re not picture perfect like Trixie would bake, but hell, they’re fucking good enough for me. “You made these… from scratch?”
She nods, wiping her hands down her pants. “Cuban sugar cookies, with dulce de leche.”
“Dulce de what now?” I tilt my head.
She giggles, picking one up and handing it to me. “Just try it.”
I take it from her, then pat the sofa next to me. “I just spoke to Nycto.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh?”
I take a bite, and the flavor explodes in my mouth.
Shit, my girl can cook.
“Fuck, Ivy, these are awesome—”
“Tell me what’s going on, don’t change the subject.”
“The heart...” Ivy’s muscles tense, her hand moving to her chest like she’s preparing for the worst possible outcome. “It wasn’t Dash.”
She clenches her eyes, letting out a long exhale. “Is he okay?”
I wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her to me, then kiss the top of her head. “Yeah, Nycto’s had contact. Apparently, he’s fine.”
“Thank God.” She pulls back, searching my eyes. “There’s strain in your voice. You’re not telling me something.”
I hesitate, and she fully withdraws from me, stands, and folds her arms across her chest. “Void! What the hell is going on? Don’t hide shit from me. Not here. Not now.”
Rubbing the back of my neck, my muscles are tense as fuck.
She isn’t going to like this.
“Another package was delivered to the clubhouse.”
She’s trying to remain stoic, but one look can see her walls are crumbling. “Another heart?”
“A timer.”
“A timer? What for?” She scowls at me.
“It’s counting down. Apparently, it has three days left on it.”
She lets out a heavy exhale, then starts pacing. “Three days! Three days till what?”
Here comes the storm.
“Nycto is assessing whether to keep everyone locked down or to get them the hell out of the clubhouse.”
Ivy’s head snaps to me, her eyes wide in sheer terror. “They’re going to attack the club looking for us… in three days? But Eva… Eva’s there!”
I stand to go to her, but she turns, heading for the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She spins, glaring at me. “I have to go back. I must help Eva.”
“And what are you going to do that the entire club isn’t gonna do? Think this through, Ivy. You’re one woman. The club is better off with us here. Then they don’t have to be concerned about protecting us as well. They will be better able to defend themselves properly if we stay away. After all, whatever this is… it’s leveled at us.”
She lets out a low growl throwing her hand in the air. “This is bullshit!” She turns, heading for the back door.
“Ivy, it’s for the best.”
“What would you know? You took me away from my sister, and now she could die. Dammit! I might never see her again. This is all your fault!” She scowls at me.
Those words hit like a sucker punch straight to the gut.
She heads for the door, I move to follow her out, but she puts her hand up in a stop signal. “Don’t you dare follow me. I don’t want to see you right now. Déjame solo!”
I’m glued to the spot as she walks out the door, slamming it in my face. Usually, I’d yell right back, tell her not to talk to me like that. Show her who the man is in this relationship, but she has me by the balls.
Why? Because she’s right.
This is my fault.
We are here not helping those back home because of me and my fucked-up family.
And because of that, Ivy might not get to say goodbye to hers.
Inhaling deeply, I turn, make my way back to the sofa and slump on it with an overexaggerated huff. She needs to cool off. Chasing after Ivy won’t accomplish anything right now. I have to let her come to me. And she will, once she realizes we’ve got to stay here to protect those back home.
This is the only way.
Having us at the clubhouse would be more of a distraction, and the boys don’t need that. They have enough to worry about protecting everyone else who’s there right now.
Reaching forward, I grab Ivy’s sugar cookie and shove it into my mouth. No time like the present to eat my feelings.
My cell starts vibrating on the table. I figure it’s Nycto again, and I need to waste some time before I go after Ivy, so I answer, “Yo!”
“What the fuck is Nycto doing that’s so important he’s not answering his damn phone?”
I furrow my brows at the voice on the other end. It takes a second, then I register—it’s Spark. He left a little while ago to battle bushfires, Australia put out the call, and he answered.
“Asshole’s probably occupied with Eva. How the hell are you? Wait, how did you get this number? It’s a burner phone.”
He grumbles under his breath, “Couldn’t get a hold of fucking Nycto, so I tried you. You rang out, so I called Whiskey. Then he gave me this number because I told him it was fucking important.”
Exhaling, I run my fingers through my hair. “There’s a fucking heap of shit going on at the moment, man. Nycto’s in damage control. I’m not surprised he’s AWOL.”
“Fuck. Now I feel even worse to have to tell you I ain’t coming back.”
My eyes widen in shock. “The fuck you talking about? You found a hot piece of Aussie ass or some shit?”
Spark lets out a laugh. “Somethin’ like that. Tell Nycto I found my Eva. I’ve already called Jameson, and he nixed me going nomad, so we’re setting up a chapter down here in South Australia. My brother, Falcon, is going to be the prez while I’ll be his VP. So, don’t lose my fucking number, brother, I might be hitting you up for advice with this shit.”
“Holy shit! Well, I’m happy for you, brother. Maybe I might have found my Eva, too. Fuck... I don’t know. Shit! This got fucking deep. We’re all turning into pussies.” I let out a small laugh. “Seriously, though, man, I’m happy you’ve found a home there. I sure will miss your broody ass, though.”
Spark chuckles. “I ain’t the broody one, fucker. And we got Evas popping up everywhere, huh? If you think you’ve found her, I’m sure you have. Don’t let her get away from you. No sense in being lonely when you know where the other half of your soul is�
�” He pauses, clearing his throat. “Okay, yeah, gettin’ way too deep here. Listen, if you or any of the others ever want to come Down Under for a visit or whatever, just let me know. There will always be room for my Tampa brothers.”
“All right, man, I’ll let Nycto know you called, fill him in on what’s happening. And hit me up anytime. Whether you’re in Tampa or Australia, you’re always my brother.”
A sense of pride fills me when Spark ends the call. He’s come a long way. I’ve been with him ever since he prospected in. Now he’s a VP like me. Knew he fucking had it in him. Not to mention he’s found himself a woman.
As I sit pondering what the hell the next three days is going to look like for Ivy and me, I swallow down another four cookies. The rush of sugar hits me hard, so I slide the tray away because I need to get up and move. I start pacing the living room, my fingers running through my hair as my eyes shift to the rear door.
She’s not back.
It’s been at least fifteen minutes, and she’s outside doing God only knows fucking what.
This is fucked.
Ivy can’t stay mad at me forever.
I should go find her.
My feet pound heavily as I make my way to the rear door. I yank it wide open, expecting her to be on the back porch. But, of course, she’s not fucking there. A sinking feeling creeps through my veins as I edge out of the house, looking through the trees of the back yard.
“Ivy?” I call out.
Nothing.
Racing out the door and down the stairs, I turn left, my chest squeezes with anxiety as I rush around to the front of the house.
The pickup’s still here.
She hasn’t taken off back to Tampa.
So, where the fuck is she?
“Ivy!” I scream louder, racing faster around the back as I head toward the tree line.
My adrenaline spikes, my head twisting from side to side with every snapping twig, with every bird that sings.
My mind starts going places I don’t want it to go.
What if while I was too fucking busy on the phone, my father found us?
What if he’s aware the one thing holding me back from joining him is Ivy?
What would he do to get her out of my way?
“Fuck’s sake, Ivy, this isn’t a damn game,” I yell, causing a flock of birds to flurry out of the trees above me. I duck, pulling out my gun—anxiety becoming too much to bear. I pant for breath as I turn, and spot the creek in the distance.
I pause.
Taking a second to gather my thoughts.
If my father is here, it’s definitely where he would take her.
Each step I take is harder than the last. My breaths are short and shallow as I enter the clearing, and the sight almost knocks me to my knees.
Ivy’s floating on top of the water with her eyes closed.
Her arms out like a starfish as she floats aimlessly.
Her usually tanned face, a little paler.
I can’t tell if she’s alive or something much, much worse.
My stomach lurches into my throat when suddenly, I see something moving in the trees on the other side of the creek. I stop dead still, watching, my head snapping up to see a flash of white, then Ivy’s eyes shoot wide open. She turns her head in the water, looking right at me, then she shifts to standing, fully clothed in the water, watching me while I practically fall apart on the bank of the creek. “What’s wrong?” she asks, confused.
My feet don’t fail me as I take off into the cold, murky water. Fully clothed, boots, fucking everything as I rush toward her in frantic movements. She scrunches her eyebrows when I finally reach her, pulling her to me in the tightest of fucking embraces I’ve ever given anyone in my whole damn life.
She holds me, water running down our bodies as her hands smooth down my back.
“Don’t you ever… ever scare me like that again. What the hell are you doing out here?”
“Just recharging my energy.” She holds on while I try to soothe my racing heart. “I get this is stressful for you… but it is for me, too, Void.”
I pull back, my hand comes up to caress her face. Leaning in, I kiss her like I fucking mean it. My tongue collides with hers, desperate to let her know how much I care about her. Even though the water’s cold, I’m heating up like a raging inferno.
Pulling back, I lean my forehead against hers, staring into her eyes. “I’ve never been as petrified as when I saw you floating. I thought you were dead. For fuck’s sake, I swear a piece of me broke seeing you like that, Ivy.”
Her concerned expression falls as she exhales. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to process this the only way I know how.”
“You could’ve talked to me—”
“Can we not talk right now?” She moves in, wrapping her legs around my waist, her body floating in the water. I understand what she’s asking for, she wants me to take her emotional pain away.
I don’t know what the hell I saw, but my mind was obviously playing tricks on me from being so fucking torn up at seeing Ivy lying motionless on the water.
I fucking need her right now.
So, I move my hands to support her ass. My cock grows hard against her as Ivy presses her lips to mine again. With her wrapped around me, and my hands gripping hold, I walk us out of the creek and over to the grassy patch. I kneel on the greenery, lowering Ivy to the ground, my lips never leaving hers as I tower over her.
My fingers move to her button-up blouse, ripping it apart with ease. Buttons pop off in all directions as the wet fabric sticks to her gorgeous skin. My lips slide down over the black lace bra where her nipples are so pert and ready. I bite through the fabric, my cock so fucking hard I can hardly bear the feeling.
Ivy’s back arches off the grass with a slight moan as my hands slide under her back to release the bra. I pull it off, leaving her topless, her ample breasts heaving as her hooded eyes look up at me through her lashes.
Making my way to her leggings, I slide them off, the same time as her panties. She’s so fucking beautiful, panting like this in wait for me. “You don’t know the effect you have on me, do you, sweet thing?”
She draws her bottom lip in with her teeth. The move, sexy as fuck. A single water locust leaf sits on the ground next to me, it’s perfect for what I need right now. She shows me who’s boss in the bedroom all the time.
I’ve been holding back, it’s time for Cade to come out to play.
“Put your arms above your head and lock your fingers together. Don’t move them, or I will punish you.”
A wicked glint twinkles in her eyes as she wriggles on the spot, rubbing her thighs together, but I grab her ankles, pulling her legs wide apart.
As I lean in over the top of her, I direct, “Do. Not. Move.”
She giggles. “Okay.”
Bringing the leaf up, I gently edge the lengthy tip of leaves down in between her breasts. Her body shudders when she feels the tickling of the flora against her.
She’s reacting exactly how I planned.
“Keep still, sweet thing.”
Her fingers wriggle against each other as I slide the leaf down the center of her body. Beads of water run down her skin from being in the creek, and it makes her body look so fucking tempting as she writhes about. Having the leaf gently grazing her skin will be bringing all her nerve endings alive, awakening her entire body. She will feel everything more powerfully.
I run the leaf slowly over her pussy, she gasps out, “Void, please.”
“We’re only at the beginning, Ivy. Patience.” I shift further as her body wriggles again. “Don’t move, Ivy,” I warn.
She groans, her hands releasing, one moving to her breast so she can massage it herself.
“I warned you.” I sit back on my knees, smirking widely, her eyes flying open as I grab her, hoisting her to sit. “Get on your knees.”
Her eyes widen.
“This time you’re submitting to me, Ivy. Now… Get. On. Your. Knees!”
; She tries to hide her grin, but she scurries to her knees before me as I stand. I move to my belt buckle, undoing it and lower my jeans to my ankles, my cock jerking free from the tight restraints.
She reaches out to grab hold, and I seize her wrist. “You are not in control here, Ivy. I am. I tell you what to do.”
Her hooded eyes look up at me like she’s having trouble holding herself together. “Yes, sir.” Her voice is low, husky, and it nearly does me fucking in.
My hand wraps through her wet hair. “Open your mouth, Ivy. I’m going to fuck it. Hard. And you better not pull away.”
“Yes, sir.” She licks her lips.
A low growl rumbles through me as she opens her supple, fuckable lips so damn wide, I ram my cock straight into her mouth, giving her no time to prepare.
She broke the rules, so she must pay the price.
Ivy’s eyes widen as I push my cock to the back of her throat. Her eyes glisten as her warmth envelops me. Damn, she feels so good, and I let out a deep guttural groan.
“Fuck, Ivy, you feel so fucking good.”
I slide her mouth off me halfway, then pull her back down. She doesn’t resist. In fact, I see the light in her eyes, or should I say more like a hellfire. She loves this as I fuck her dirty little mouth. For her first time doing this, she’s sucking like a pro. Her tongue glides around my cock, her lips sheathing her teeth as she takes all of me. Warmth and tingles radiate from the depths inside, but I can’t let go just yet. I can’t let the leaf play go to waste, even if this is her punishment for moving.
“Ivy, I need you to touch yourself,” I demand.
She looks so fucking gorgeous wrapped around my cock like this, but I want her pleasure too. Ivy slowly edges her hand down between her legs, her fingers searching for her clit. The moment she touches herself, her eyes close in delight.
“Eyes on me beautiful.”
Her eyes fling open as I keep pulling her on and off my cock. A light whimper vibrates through her mouth, making me tense. A wave of pleasure rolls through me as she flicks her clit the same time she slides my head down her throat a little. I groan with the feeling of us being in this moment together.
To be honest, I thought I had to hide Cade from Ivy, but the truth of the matter is, Ivy and Cade belong together. She’s as fucked up as I am. This is nothing compared to what I used to do, so I can’t wait to take this up a notch with her when she’s ready.
