I could feel her body relax as the stress she had built up melted away. “You were right. I’m sorry for overreacting.”
“Babe, if I couldn’t handle your overreactions, I wouldn’t have put that damn ring on your finger,” I whispered into her ear.
The relief I felt in that moment was more than Raine even knew. The shitty thing was that I was keeping a secret from her. We were in danger—we were almost on lockdown, but I couldn’t tell her. I hated keeping things from Raine, but it was for the good of the club and for her. Crickett was privy to minor details, but even our queen was in the dark; that was how bad it was getting. We were doing our best to handle everything, but I didn’t know if it was going to be enough. Standing there in the kitchen with Raine, I didn’t want to think about any of that—not about the fact that one of our gun shipments had gone missing, or that Bear was on his way up from Atlanta with reinforcements for us, or that the Sinners were making our lives hell again.
“Come on.” There was no way that I was going to be able to wait until the morning. Grabbing the keys out of her hand, I pulled Raine out the back door, not even giving her a chance to put on shoes. She followed without question or protest and climbed into the front seat of my restored Ford 100. I loved how Raine could practically read my mind. She cuddled up to my side on the bench seat of my truck as I drove us to our new home.
The old wooden steps that led up to the front porch creaked under us as we ran up hand in hand, trying to evade the rain. The look of excitement that lit up Raine’s face was breathtaking; I never wanted that carefree smile to ever leave her lips.
“Will you do the honor?” I asked, holding the keys out for her to take.
“With pleasure.” The lock turned and clicked.
We walked into the dark foyer. I tried the light switch, but nothing. “I guess we’ll have to call the power company in the morning.”
Raine pulled me to the staircase in front of us, leaving the front door wide open. She took a seat and I sat down on the step behind her. “This is perfect.” Her sweet voice echoed through the bare house as we both took it in.
I stared out the front door with Raine’s head leaning back on my chest. Lightning coursed through the dark clouds and thunder shook the old home’s rafters.
“This is the first step in the rest of our lives,” she stated. “This is where we will see our kids take their first steps, right over there in the living room.” She pointed into the darkened room next to us.
“And over there is where we will mark their growth on the wall.” I pointed to the wall in front of us.
“And that is where I will make Christmas dinner for everyone.” She pointed into the kitchen. “I can’t wait to make so many memories in this house with you.”
“I think we should start with one right now.”
I let my fingers knot in her hair, pulling sharply back, and a low moan rumbled in her throat as I watched her lick her lips. Her eyes locked with mine as lust filled her eyes. I kissed from her forehead to her chin with her hair still firmly in my grasp.
“Ryder.” My name rolled off her tongue as I collapsed my lips onto hers. I let my fingertips pull at her tank, exposing her plump breasts.
The sound of her breath catching as I yanked down her cotton shorts was intoxicating.
“No underwear, babe?”
“It’s laundry day,” Raine explained, playfully biting her lip.
“It should be laundry day every day.”
Gently, I teased her clit, and her desire pooled quickly as I quickened my pace. Her back arched, pressing her head harder on my shoulder while I explored her wetness with two fingers.
Raine tried to shove away from me to change positions, but I held her still. “You’re not moving until your come drenches my fingers, baby.”
Her moans of pleasure cheered me on. I tugged on her hardened nipples, her nails digging into my thighs. “Dammit, Ryder, faster,” she cried, her body gently shuddering against me. Her pussy tightened around my fingers and her hips bucked a little as she rode out her climax.
Taking my fingers out slowly while she caught her breath, I growled, “That’s a good girl.”
I rolled my damp fingers over her strawberry cupid’s bow before she licked them clean. Hottest fucking sight ever.
“My turn to play?” Her sheepish gaze met mine.
After fixing her clothes, I picked her up and spun her around in my lap. “Definitely.”
I undid my belt as her nails raked down my bare chest. Raine knelt a few steps down, taking the zipper into her teeth, and I laced my fingers through her long locks as she freed my growing cock.
Starting at the base, she licked up to the head, slowly sucking as pre-come bubbled up at the tip.
“Open,” I commanded. Forcefully, I let my dick slam against the back of her throat, her tongue working my shaft as she gagged.
I pulled my dick out of her mouth. “Breathe,” I ordered before throat-fucking her again, over and over. Tears filled the corners of her eyes as she smiled with my cock buried in her perfect mouth.
Barely being able to control myself, I stopped her. “I want to see my come dripping from your gorgeous cunt.”
I pulled at her clothes, piling them at the bottom of the steps. Raine leaned on her elbows a few steps up with her feet planted on the bottom step, arching her back. Positioning myself behind her, I grabbed her hips. I plunged my dick into her soaked opening, going as deep as I could. With a fast pace, I thrust as hard as I could, her walls hugging my cock. It didn’t take long for me to fill her, and my knees were shaking as I let my head fall onto her shoulder blades.
“You’re fucking perfect,” I whispered against her back.
We sat cuddled together on the steps for a few more minutes.
Raine let her head fall into the crook of my shoulder as she drew small circles on my knee with her index finger. “I feel like I am in a dream and will wake up tomorrow with none of this being real.”
“What? The house?” I asked.
She shifted to look up at me. “No, all of it—the wedding, our incredible honeymoon, you, this house. How’d I get so lucky to see all of my dreams come true like this?”
I kissed the top of her head. “I’m the lucky one, baby, and I promise this isn’t a dream. We’re really here, and all of this is really happening.”
Chapter 4
Raine
A few months later
I threw my paint roller on the ground like a football player slamming the ball in the end zone after making a touchdown. It totally would have been deemed excessive celebration but I didn’t care, I was excited as fuck. “Finito!” It was the best feeling in the world to finally be finished painting.
“It’s all coming together so nicely.” Crickett took a step back, wiping sweat off of her forehead.
“Thanks for all of your help with this.” I sat down cross-legged on the plastic-covered wood floor, collapsing from exhaustion. Painting always seems like such a great idea when you’re picking out colors and all excited, but it was hard fucking work.
We had finally finished moving all the furniture into our four-bedroom home. The front steps still needed some work and the basement needed refinishing, but other than that we were making the house into the perfect home.
“Who knew elephant skin could be such a pretty gray color for a bedroom?” she remarked, handing me a bottle of water.
It was the last room that had needed paint and it was finally done. I stifled a yawn as I agreed with her. “I have to hand it to you, you were right—it is the perfect color.”
“Are you feeling all right, honey? You’ve been more tired than usual lately.” Leave it to Crickett to always play the concerned mom card.
“Moving has definitely taken it out of me,” I responded.
She eyed me for a second. “It’s more than that. You’re not pregnant, are you?”
The question took me completely by surprise. Ryder and I had known for only a few days and we
had planned on keeping it just between us for the first trimester.
I couldn’t lie to Crickett, so I just didn’t say anything. Her eyes narrowed at me. “Holy shit! Are you kidding me?” She started bouncing on her heels as she bent down to throw her arms around me.
“I’m barely at eight weeks.” I walked over to the nightstand, pulling a sonogram out of the top drawer. “We were going to tell you guys once I was a little further along.”
Her eyes watered as she stared down at the black and white photo of a small circle that was barely visible. “I am so beyond thrilled! Honey, this is incredible.”
Suddenly, my stomach went into knots, making a noise like a swamp creature was living in my gut. “Damn, I think it’s time for a food break.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me, little momma.” Crickett walked into the bathroom. “Let me just get some of this paint off of me.”
We both had elephant skin speckles splattered all over us. As I got up to follow her, I felt like my insides were doing flip-flops. Rushing past her, I barely made it to the toilet fast enough.
Without missing a beat, Crickett put a damp towel on the back of my neck. “The morning sickness will pass, sweetheart.”
I groaned. “Not soon enough.”
She laughed. “That’s for damn sure. Pregnancy is no picnic, trust me.”
“Whoever decided to call it morning sickness was a damn liar—it’s any-time-it-fucking-feels-like-it sickness,” I grumbled.
I sat on the edge of the bathtub feeling like complete ass. I was still kind of in disbelief. Ryder and I had talked about wanting to start trying soon and I had missed a few of my birth control pills while we were on our honeymoon in Mexico, but it wasn’t supposed to happen so quickly. I didn’t know if I was ready, if we were ready.
Crickett was sitting on the plush white mat in the master bath, barely able to contain her excitement.
“Can I call Abel?” she blurted out with a little shrill. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a grandmother!”
I grabbed my cell from the counter, dialing my dad. “I think he would kill me if I didn’t tell myself.”
His phone rang and rang, finally going to voicemail.
“Let’s just go tell him in person. It’ll be better that way anyway.” Crickett grabbed my hand, helping me up.
After brushing my teeth quickly, I followed her to the car.
“He’s going to fucking freak,” I remarked as we made our way to the mechanic’s shop where my dad and husband were working.
“I can’t wait to see Abel’s jaw hit the damn floor.” Crickett smiled over at me from the driver’s seat. Right as we were going through the last intersection, I heard the squealing of tires. I felt the crash, my body being jostled and thrown as our car spun, and then nothingness.
Chapter 5
Ryder
We have to go to the hospital right now,” Abel yelled to me. I rolled out from under my truck, in the middle of an oil change.
“What happened?” I asked, putting my cut back on and wiping off as much of the grease from my hands as I could.
He was already in his truck with it running. “Just fucking get in.”
Once we were speeding off, Abel finally told me that Crickett had been in an accident.
“You need to call Raine,” he ordered.
I dialed over and over as her phone continued to go directly to voicemail.
“She never turns her phone off.” I threw my phone onto the dash, worried as fuck.
Abel barked at his phone, “Siri, call Collin Hellock.”
He answered on the first ring, his voice coming in through the truck speakers. “Yeah Pop?”
“Go to the house and check on your sister. Mom was in an accident and we can’t find Raine.”
“On it.”
“Meet us at the hospital with her.”
Click.
“Do you know how bad it was?” I asked. I was shaking. I hated not being able to get ahold of my wife, and knowing that Crickett was supposed to be with her was making me lose it.
“All I know is that Officer Crowley was first on the scene and he told me I needed to get my ass to her right away.”
Robert Crowley was one of the cops in our pocket. He had turned into a good friend of the club and helped us out when he could.
We made our way through the hallways of the hospital until we were finally in Crickett’s room. She had been knocked out in the crash, and her face was swollen with huge gashes on her forehead and chin.
Abel sank down on the foot of her bad, grasping her hand and sighing as he said, “Baby, I’m here.”
“Abel?” Her voice was weak as she tried to open her eyes. “Where’s Raine?”
Hearing her ask for Raine made me worry even more.
“We are looking for her, her phone is off,” he answered.
Crickett’s head fell to the side and Abel shook her gently. “You have to stay awake, sugar.”
The nurse came in to check on her. “Are you her husband?”
Abel stood and introduced himself. “Is she going to be all right?”
The nurse nodded, using a small flashlight to check Crickett’s pupils. “Your wife has a concussion and a few bruised ribs, but she’s going to pull through this fine. She’s going to be groggy and out of it, but she cannot fall asleep.”
“We’ll keep her awake,” I said as my father came into the room with Bear following closely.
Bear was the president of the Atlanta Unacceptables charter, a gruff beast of a man with a burly beard and a shaved bald head he always kept covered with a bandana. He took up the doorway as he entered.
“Abel, a word?” Bear asked before walking out to the hallway.
Holt and I stood at Crickett’s bedside. “Crickett? It’s Holt, honey.”
She tried to pick up her head with her eyes still closed. “Raine,” she slurred, “I need her…you need her.”
“Was Raine with you?”
Hearing my father ask my mother-in-law if my wife had been in the car made my entire body go into a near panic, but I knew I had to keep calm on the outside. I couldn’t let the guys know how fucking terrified I was.
“We were coming to see you.” Crickett slurred.
“Who is we? Was Raine with you?”
“The baby. We were going to tell you. Raine, so excited.”Crickett’s head rolled to the side. She kept mumbling but we couldn’t make out what she was trying to tell us.
Abel and Bear came back into the room and Collin was with them. That’s when I knew my fears were turning into reality—my wife was fucking missing.
“Raine was with Crickett. She’s fucking missing!” I yelled at Abel.
He pursed his lips and nodded. “I know. We’re going to the bar. Collin is going to stay here.” Abel’s voice was stern.
“How do you fucking expect me to react when you tell me my wife has been kidnapped and we have no fucking clue who would do it?” I heaved the large desk in front of me over in the small office as my dad, Bear, and Abel stood next to me. I still hadn’t figured out how to explain to Abel that my panic was not just because Raine was gone, but that I was freaking out because no one fucking knew she was pregnant. It added a whole other level to the whole fucking thing and I was keeping my damn mouth shut. It also wasn’t helping that I could feel that all three of them knew details that I didn’t. Usually being the low man on the totem pole didn’t bother me too much, but right in that moment I hating the secrecy that was lingering in the room.
“We will find her,” Abel growled.
Holt grabbed my arm, pulling me through into the room where the rest of my club was gathered. “I am going to fucking kill them. Whoever the fuck they are, they are dead men walking.” I was in a rage.
“I have men working on this.” Bear was standing in the corner being as vague as humanly possible.
“Who?” I asked.
Abel put his hand in the air. “We have good men doing their jobs to get your wif
e home. That is all you need to know.”
With that he asked Holt and I to leave the office. I didn’t want to but my dad pulled me out the door.
“You need to put a little faith in Abel and Bear.” My dad growled at me low enough that only I could hear him.
“I don’t know how to do that right now when I know that they aren’t telling me everything.” I snapped.
“Then fucking fake it, kid. Those two men are the only ones that will be able to get your girl home. Do not fucking piss them off or make this worse.”
My dad’s advice was solid and true. I did need to stop acting like a raging lunatic. It wasn’t going to help the situation at all.
Bear and Abel stayed in the office for a few minutes talking. I paced, digging a pack of smokes out of my pocket. I didn’t give a fuck that I wasn’t supposed to smoke in the bar; it was happening. As I puffed away, I tried to ignore the chatter of the guys all trying to talk the situation out.
“The fucking Sinners are going to pay. They have to be behind this,” Trent Laurence’s ignorant ass muttered next to me. Out of all of the Unacceptables, Trent was my least favorite. It all started when Raine and I first started dating and he hit on her constantly.
“The Sinners aren’t stupid enough to fuck with us like this again,” I barked, remembering the night we made it a point to let them know never to mess with our family. Yes, they wanted revenge from it, but too much time had passed and this was too sophisticated of a move for just them to have pulled off.
Bear and Abel finally joined us, and Abel walked into the middle of the crowd. “Everyone, get your families here now. We need to make sure we’re all accounted for. No one goes anywhere alone or without my permission until further notice.”
Everyone started to make calls and went to gather up their loved ones. Holt, Abel, Bear, and I all took seats at the table.
“Please tell me we have some sort of lead,” I pleaded, putting out my cigarette on the underside of my boot.
“We think we might,” Bear replied. “I had a problem with a few shipments not too long ago, right when the Sinners started giving you guys issues a few months back. I have a feeling it’s all related.”
The Unacceptables Series Box Set Page 19
