“Okay,” he said as if he was ready to make a confession. “So I didn’t just bring you all the way out here because this is a damn fine restaurant.”
“Oh yeah…?” Courtney leaned her elbows on the table and listened intently.
“Yeah…” Gunner sighed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. “It’s because I knew there wouldn’t be a place in Slate Springs where we could sit peacefully for even five minutes and talk properly.”
Courtney smiled and relief washed over her.
“I think I know exactly what you mean,” she said coyly.
“Well yeah,” he exhaled a plume of smoke into the air. “You’re the hottest girl in town and I’m the forgotten bad boy making his big come-back… of course people are going to start talking…”
Courtney decided to seize her opportunity…
“Bad boy?” she asked with raised brows. “Maybe you need to elaborate on that… I’d like to know what I’m getting myself into…”
Gunner blew two identical streams of smoke out of his nostrils and curled his lip in a wry smile.
“It’s probably not at all what you’d think…” he said slowly. “But I respect what you’re saying.”
“Then tell me everything,” Courtney leaned forward and let her fingertips lightly skim his. “I feel like I’ve been in the dark for so long and I have no idea what I’m walking into. I need to know… I can’t do this without knowing everything…”
Gunner could sense the urgency in her plea and he took hold of her hand and squeezed it tight.
“Okay,” he said. “I’m going to tell you it all…”
9.
“I was a bad boy,” he said sternly. “But a lot changed five years ago…”
Courtney could sense the pain in his eyes and although she didn’t want to hurt him by getting Gunner to open up, she knew she had to find out what all of this was about… Why was he back in Slate Springs? And what had happened to Red X six months before…?
“I was part of the Forsaken Riders as you may have guessed already,” he half laughed. “King and I were rising up through the charter and making waves. He was the calm brother and I was known as the mental one.” He rolled his eyes and lit another cigarette. “If I had a score to settle I got it done… and I did it well. I was the go to guy for taking care of a lot of the clubs messier affairs… I guess you could say, I wasn’t afraid to do the dirtiest work that needed doing.” He looked down, as if he was ashamed.
Courtney felt her gut tighten… did she really want to know anymore?
“When tensions first started with the Iron Riders, I was involved in some of the beef that went down… but it all came to a head one night when the gang stormed our club house out of nowhere and murdered one of our old boys,” he exhaled and shook his head. The anger was rising within him. “It was then that shit really started to kick off.”
Courtney felt so terrible for him, she could tell that he had clearly been through and seen a lot of terrible things.
“But,” he took a long, deep drag. “There was a woman in the house there that night, and she got in the way… she was with me, and they killed her too.”
Courtney felt her jaw drop.
“They killed… a… your… girlfriend?” she asked nervously.
Gunner blinked back a rogue tear and nodded.
“It was brutal what they did, and I always vowed I would make them pay for taking someone who was innocent in it all… but I was burnt out… I was grieving, I’d lost a friend… you know?” He looked up at her hopefully, as if this wouldn’t terrify her.
“I understand,” she said.
“There aren’t many ways of getting out of a club like ours… but after that happened I started drinking a lot and it all spiraled out of control. I was no good to the Forsaken, and I was no good to myself… so they let me leave. They let me go and clear my head, get some breathing room. Six months turned into a year, and then into two… two turned into three… and before I knew it… I just didn’t want to come back and live that life anymore.”
“Until?” Courtney stared deep into his eyes.
The old man shuffled over to them with a jug of water and two dusty glasses. He placed them on the table and shuffled off again.
“Until six months ago, the Iron Riders stormed Red X and killed someone who was like a brother to me… I knew I had to come back and settle this once and for all.”
Courtney’s pulse quickened. So Tanner had been killed in Red X…
“But, what will you do?” she asked him, her eyes wide and her palms clammy with nerves.
“This isn’t a quick fix,” Gunner said. “Nothing will happen immediately… But they know it’s coming, we know it’s coming… and now I’m back, once they’ve heard about it, we all better be ready…” he looked off into the distance and Courtney felt tears welling up behind her eyes.
She didn’t want to admit it, but she was frightened.
“You don’t have to do anything,” she whispered. “It was all so long ago, you’ve moved on, you’ve made another life away from Slate Springs… Why come back now and get mixed up in it all again, and potentially get yourself killed?”
“Because,” he said sternly as he took hold of her hand. “It’s my duty to my brotherhood.”
Courtney knew how loyal they all were, and she also knew there would be no way she would be able to change his mind. She nodded slowly and squeezed his hand.
“And once it’s over?” she asked.
“Well then, we’ll probably have a town to rebuild and a new one to run,” he said smugly.
The old man doddered back over to the table and pointed to the menus. Courtney looked at Gunner and shook her head. After all of that information, the last thing she could think about was food.
“It’s okay thanks Sir,” Gunner smiled up at him and got to his feet. “We’re not going to eat today.”
He reached into his back pocket for his wallet and pulled out a fifty dollar bill. He pushed it into the old man’s palm, took hold of Courtney’s hand and pulled her to her feet.
As they walked away back towards the truck Courtney looked up at him. If everything he said was true, then he really was reformed. He had class, manners and a caring attitude towards everyone he came across, and she knew he would protect her to the very end.
As they reached the truck and he opened the door for her, she noticed his gaze staring off into the distance, and his whole demeanor stiffened.
“Get in the car,” he said sternly before he pushed her inside and slammed the door behind her.
Courtney was stunned, she spun around in her seat, trying to see where he was going. He stormed over to the other side of the road and she saw a man standing there, his arms apart, waiting for Gunner to run at him.
It all happened so fast, she had no idea what was happening. Gunner lunged at the man and they both tumbled to the floor. A cloud of dust billowed out around them and Courtney couldn’t do anything but scream. She watched as they punched and kicked one another, and several people who had been hiding behind their curtains came out into the street to watch what was unfolding.
Gunner was clearly winning, he had the man pinned underneath him and he was smashing his face with his fist. Courtney saw a spray of blood and heard a pop like a watermelon dropping on a stone floor, and she covered her eyes and buried her head into her hands.
“No, no, no,” she said aloud.
“If I see any of you fuckers anywhere near Greenville or Slate Springs again, I’m going to rip the lot of you apart!” She heard Gunner spit as he pulled the driver’s side door open and jumped in next to her.
He slammed it behind him and started the engine. The people on the street started to walk back into the houses or stores and the man was left rolling around, clutching his nose as he spat blood out into the sand.
“Gunner,” she panted as he swerved out onto the street and floored it through the desert. As they left the little town beh
ind them in the dust, she noticed the blood on his knuckles as he gripped the wheel. She didn’t dare speak, and he didn’t say a word.
They drove back to Slate Springs in silence, with the weight of a six year long vendetta hanging high over their heads.
***
Gunner began to calm down with each mile that passed. Courtney looked out at the dusty landscape and at the other cars flashing by, leaving streaks of red, yellows and blues in her vision. As they approached Slate Springs, Gunner’s breathing had returned to normal and he turned to her and squeezed her thigh.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I would never have wanted you to see that…”
Courtney swallowed and bit her bottom lip.
“I take it he was one of the Iron Riders?” she asked bravely.
Gunner nodded.
“One of the very worst,” his hands gripped the wheel fiercely. “I thought we were going to bide our time, but now I’ve been involved in a fight, we may have to move faster than expected.”
Courtney’s heart began to race.
“Please don’t do this Gunner,” she pleaded with him. “I’ve just found you and I’m terrified you’re going to get hurt.”
“I know,” he said sadly. “But I have to…”
“But… they’re dangerous… all of this is so, so dangerous.”
“And that’s exactly why I’m taking you to a safe house,” he said.
“What?” Courtney couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“They know I have a woman with me… wouldn’t that just be the icing on the cake for them… to kill another one of Gunner’s Girls…”
Although she had been trying to keep it in, she couldn’t any longer, the tears started to stream down her face.
“Please,” she said. “This is madness, they’re not going to do anything to me!”
“But I can’t take that chance,” he turned and looked at her dead in the eye.
He drove quickly to the motel and swung into the parking lot. He jumped out of the driver’s side and marched around to her and pulled open the door.
“Come on,” he said calmly as he looked around with nerves.
The parking lot just looked the same as it always did. There wasn’t anything to suggest that they were being watched or that any of the Iron Riders were waiting for them.
Gunner held Courtney’s hand and walked with her quickly to her motel room and waited as she found her key and opened the door.
He pushed her gently inside and closed it behind him, locking it and bolting it tight. He moved over to the windows and drew the curtains before he stopped for a moment and sighed.
Courtney could tell that he was struggling. There was something that was tormenting this man, and it was killing her to see it.
“This is why I didn’t want to come back…” he said. “I always knew I would be straight in with some big vendetta, getting worked up, and fighting, getting people into danger…” he trailed off and turned to look at her. “You don’t deserve any of this…”
Courtney knew there was only one thing she could say, “And neither do you…” she looked at him hopefully. “Neither of us need it…”
“But what’s the solution?” Gunner shrugged.
“Let’s leave,” she said without hesitation. “Before things get worse, let’s just get out of here.”
Gunner shook his head.
“I just can’t…”
Courtney was filled with both rage and disappointment. She had only known him a short time, but she almost felt like she knew him better than she knew herself.
She sat down on the bed and looked at the floor. Her feet were crossed at the ankles and she kicked off her silver pumps, and leaned back and sighed.
She could feel his eyes on her and his breathing becoming shallower. She let her head fall back so that she was looking up to the ceiling and the swell of her breasts were heaving out in front of her. She still couldn’t shake the previous night’s dreams from her mind, and knowing that he was there with her in her room only made it harder to ignore her desire. She let her legs fall open slightly and she subconsciously beckoned him…
Luckily for her, Gunner heard the call…
10.
He stepped towards her and took hold of her legs. Courtney looked up at him and smiled coyly. She hadn’t just been waiting for this moment since she had lay eyes on him, or even since she arrived in Slate Springs… she had been waiting for this moment her entire life. She had wanted more than anything to fall in love, to be adored, and to find a real man… and now she had one standing in front of her, with a rock hard dick in his pants.
He took hold of her underneath her knees and pulled her butt to the edge of the bed. He looked down at her and his breathing was becoming sharper and heavier with each second. He was full of rage and lust, behind his eyes there was a fire burning that Courtney found intimidating, but she wanted to experience it all the same.
When he flipped her over and slipped down her panties, she was already soaking wet with desire. He pulled her up onto all fours and ran his rough fingers along her juicy slit before he pulled her legs further apart and brought her hips close to his jaw.
When she felt his tongue on her pussy for the first time she shuddered and moaned. He licked her slowly and deliciously, and with each flick he was taking her to new heights of ecstasy.
“Gunner,” she panted as he kept tight hold of her ass and thrust his tongue in and out of her.
She could barely hold on, he was pleasuring her in ways no man had ever before and it was so intense and incredible, she was on the verge of losing control.
When Gunner realized she was on the edge of an orgasm he flipped her back over and climbed on top of her. She could see and feel his throbbing member through his jeans and when he released it with a snap of his belt and pop of his buttons Courtney moaned again. He was thick, red, and engorged, ready to take her. She opened her legs wide and bucked her hips up to meet him, but he teased her delicately, pressing his helmet on her clit and rubbing it up and down.
“Please,” she begged. “I can’t take it anymore.”
He pulled her legs apart as wide as they would go, and with one long, hard and powerful thrust, he entered her fully and sank himself into her, balls deep.
Courtney gripped onto his shoulders and bit onto his neck as he fucked her hard and slow. Gunner was everything she had hoped for, and more. He was strong and sensual, but he was also an animal. She could feel the power running through him and with each stroke he was opening her up and reaching parts of her that had never been touched before.
He slowed his pace and took her face in his hands. He looked at her deep in the eyes and kissed her. As their lips met, he took her breath away. As his tongue slipped inside of her mouth and massaged against hers, it was as if their souls were hungry for each other, as if they had been waiting for this very moment since the beginning of time.
Courtney ran her fingers through his hair and held onto him tight. He rolled over onto his back and pulled her with him, keeping a tight grip on her hips so that they weren’t separated, even for a second.
On top of him Courtney looked down as he ripped at her dress, pulling the buttons open all along the front and exposing her beautifully rounded breasts. He pulled her forward and slipped a nipple into his mouth, and Courtney moaned with pleasure as she rode him slowly and felt him disappear deeper inside of her than ever before.
Gunner pushed her back onto the bed and climbed on top of her once more, taking hold of her leg and thrusting himself inside of her. He was ferocious, feverish and ready to fuck her so hard she wouldn’t be able to walk for a week.
As he gripped onto her neck Courtney felt herself unravelling. She couldn’t control herself anymore and as she came and her body quivered beneath him, Gunner exploded and shot his red hot seed up inside of her.
He groaned as his whole body shook and his release took him over. The sweat dripped from his forehead and Courtney wrapped her legs aro
und him tightly, never wanting to let him go. Her orgasm was still raging and she was having the best sex of her entire life. They fit together perfectly, and she knew then for sure, that they were meant to be.
As they both regained their breath and Gunner held Courtney tightly in his arms, she had never felt more safe. She knew that there was danger all around them, and that he was part of something that could surely get them both killed… but now she had him in her life, she knew she would never let him go.
“That was amazing,” Gunner whispered as he pulled her closer and she nuzzled into his rock hard chest.
Courtney smiled and kissed him softly.
“I’ve been waiting for someone like you,” she whispered back.
Gunner looked down at her and smiled.
“I never thought I’d meet anyone who grabbed me like you did,” he admitted. “I’ve thought I’ve been in love before… but nothing’s ever felt like this.”
Courtney felt her heart skip a beat. She felt exactly the same way but didn’t know if she ever would have had the balls to say it so soon.
“You know,” he said as he leaned up in his elbow and looked at her seriously. “Maybe you were right…” he looked off towards the window and Courtney waited for him to continue…
“Maybe I don’t need this…” he scratched his chin.
“What do you mean?” she asked cautiously.
“I love King,” he said. “I mean of course I do, he’s my brother in blood, and with the club… But I was out of this… and I didn’t want to come back…”
Courtney felt her hopes rising.
“I never wanted to come back and be a part of all of what they have going on here… I had my way out… I was doing just fine…” he got to his feet and took hold of her hands, pulling Courtney to the edge of the bed and holding her close to him.
“I’m not going to do it,” he said with relief. “I’m not going to go back to the Forsaken Riders… I don’t need to… I don’t need revenge… I’m above all that…”
BULL: MC ROMANCE (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 6) Page 159
