She slid from the seat and removed the helmet, stretching her legs as Gunner stood against the bike and made a phone call.
"Bill," he said, "I'm assuming you heard from Jupiter?" That must be the old guy. Gonna assume this “Bill” is their leader or president or something.
"Not gonna happen," he said. Then again, "Not gonna happen. Not going to fucking happen." Then he looked up towards her, continuing to speak into the phone. "I'm not executing an innocent woman, Bill, and neither is anyone else. Not when I can stop it." Fury flashed in his eyes as his voice rose. "Because I'm not a fucking monster, Bill. I've seen some fucking monsters. I'm not going to be one of them. Do I need to hang up on you right now or do you have a second option?"
She watched him listen to Bill's answer with trepidation. I'm not going to like whatever it is.
They aren't going to just let this go. He could protect her from Colin, but not from his club. Not for long.
"We'll drive out tomorrow." He frowned. "Because I need to go get a pedicure and a colonoscopy first. Why the hell do you think? Not tonight. Tomorrow." He hung up with an angry jab of his finger. Hanging up a smartphone just isn't as satisfying as the old-fashioned kind.
"I'm sorry I’m causing so much trouble," she said.
"He wants to meet you."
Her stomach sank. "What does that mean?"
He tried to keep his face impassive but his nose wrinkled with a barely contained snarl. "He wants to decide for himself if he trusts you. Because my word isn't good enough."
"And if I don't want to go?" she asked quietly, certain she wouldn't like the answer.
"Then they'll come after you. And I won't be able to protect you. Not from them. I'm gonna pay hard for what I did to Jupiter as it is."
Defeat washed over her, then - a gentle wave of it, urging "Give in, let despair take you, stop fighting, go quietly, it will be easier." She was going to be killed. All she had to do was nothing.
Gunner's brow furrowed. She'd schooled her face into stillness but he managed to read her, anyway. "Hey. Bright side. It’s pretty likely that we’ll find your sister there.”
Her jaw dropped. “Are you serious? You know where she is?” She took a step back. “You’ve known and you haven’t said anything?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I was trying to do the decent thing and give her the chance to say ‘fuck no, send her away.’ I didn’t want to get in the middle of whatever shit you two have going on. But it looks like you’ll be bumping into her whether she wants it or not, so, fuck it. I’ll shoot her guy a message and that’s it.”
Her mind raced. She’d been on the right track after all. Everything that had happened since she’d met Gunner, it hadn’t been for nothing. It wasn’t for nothing anyway. “Her guy?” she asked, trying to wrestle her thoughts into some semblance of order. “She’s with one of your club members?”
“Yeah. Irish. He’s a good one.” He patted the seat. “Come on.”
But her feet wouldn’t move. Seeing my sister. Meeting this president. It was a lot to deal with. She had a bad feeling about both meetings; she didn’t think she could handle having them at the same damn time.
Gunner frowned at her hesitation. “Nothing will happen to you as long as you're with me."
"If this Bill decides he doesn't like me?"
He gave her a long, hard look as he thought it over. "He won’t. We're going to see my father, first." Then his hands were on her hips, pulling them flush against his own. “For that unpleasant task,” he said, squeezing her ass and pulling her even tighter against him, “You’re going to have to pay. Hard. Got it?”
Her hands found their way inside his vest. "Name your price," she whispered, tracing the hard lines of his abs with her thumbs over his shirt. She couldn't believe the words as they came out; they weren't like her at all. All this crisis and trauma is changing me. She wanted him. The circumstances were unbelievably fucked up, but it was time to stop fighting herself when it came to Gunner, gang member or whatever he was. My protector. I have enough other fights to contend with.
"Name your price." He groaned silently to himself. How the hell was it that a girl like her would want anything to do with a fuckup like him? Was it simply because he'd spared her life and then saved it in less than forty-eight hours? Was it because she was otherwise alone? He'd been half teasing her when he'd told her she'd have to pay. Just as he'd been half kidding when he started talking dirty to her through the bathroom door.
Don't question it too much. Good things don't last. Just go with it until you can get her out of your system. Truth was, being around her quieted the awful darkness swirling and raging in his head like a storm. He found himself focusing on her more than on his own pain.
"I think you can guess my price." Having her touching him, pulling her tight against his body, had sent him from zero to hard in record time. He pressed his bulge against her belly, earning a heated flash from her eyes.
She was too classy to fuck by the side of the road - which would have made it even better - but he was still reeking of booze and cheap perfume and wasn't even clear on what had happened the night before. It may or may not have involved glitter and she didn't need to discover that.
Still, that was no reason not to mess with her a little.
He pulled her hand down to his erection and was gratified by her sharp gasp. "Feel how fucking big that is? How hard it is for you already?"
"What about your other girls?"
Goddammit. He'd known Jupiter's offhand comment would stick with her. That type of shit always stuck. Why did girls always want him to be a damn priest before meeting them? Not that Senna seemed deterred - she squeezed him through his pants, then traced his length with her fingers.
"I didn't fuck any of them last night if that's what you're asking," he said gruffly. At least based on what Trudy said, he hadn't. His memory was not clear or reliable. "I fucked around, though." He shrugged. "That a problem?"
"No." She looked up at him, hazel eyes glinting with little specks of gold in the sunlight. "I just don't want to add a horde of jealous strippers to the list of people who want to kill me."
He laughed. Maybe it was simply exhaustion or maybe it was the absurd image of being chased and stabbed by a sequin-wearing amazon wielding a stiletto shoe, but it burst from him unexpectedly and involuntarily.
"Come on," he said. He swung his leg back over his bike. She followed a moment later with a quiet, regretful sigh. Maybe she did want him to fuck her on the side of the highway. Well there's plenty of miles between here and home. It'll happen.
He had no intention of hitting the road that night, though. He wasn't about to let Bill order him about like an unruly son. He was going to take Senna to his apartment - another first, he never brought girls to his place - shower, sleep in a proper bed, and begin their journey when he damn well felt like it. He was in no rush to subject her to Bill's judgment. He had a suspicion he knew how it was going to end, and she was not going to be happy about it.
◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙
He needed a shower above all else, so he pointed her towards the kitchen of his little studio apartment before grabbing a towel. His cut, he hung on a hook at the front door. The rest of his clothes he idly considered burning.
He found her standing over the stove when he finally emerged from the bathroom, blessedly clean and wearing only the towel around his waist. She had something sizzling away in a frying pan. Damn. Now there's a sight I never thought I'd see. The little domestic scene ought to have made him at least temporarily pleased, but he was only filled with guilt. Alvarez would have never believed this, either. This was his stupid dream, his image for the future. Not mine. He had lived just as fast and hard as Gunner ever had. At least until a few years back when he'd claimed he was leaving the partying life behind before moving in with his mother. That was when I should have known something was wrong. Instead he’d pulled away. They'd rarely seen each other again after that.
"You okay?
" she asked. He didn't realize she'd seen him there. "You said anything in the fridge. I found eggs, and I figured since I bought some bread earlier-"
"You went out?" That pulled him back into the present. "I told you not to."
"I wasn't sure if you were coming back." There was that quiet expression again. The unreadable face. The one that he more and more enjoyed wiping away in whatever way he could manage.
"I said I would, didn't I? You think I'm a liar?" He sounded more angry than he actually was. Really what he felt was impatience, and an all-consuming need to be inside her now that they were so alone and safe from being bothered.
She turned back to the stove."I don't. I know you aren't."
"I didn't say it just for the fun of bossing you around," he said, coming up behind her and standing in her space, "As much as I would enjoy that." He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. "I said it to keep you safe. What if Jupiter had discovered you earlier?"
She leaned back into him. "I know."
"Turn off the stove."
"But-"
"Turn it off."
She turned the knob, then moved to face him. He stopped her. "No." He crushed her tighter against him. The feel of her ass so soft against his cock had him hard again in moments. "Feel that?" She nodded. "You did that. You sorry about that, too?" He let his towel drop and felt more than heard her sharp breath.
"I'm not sorry about that." She reached around to touch him but he pushed her hand away.
"Stand on your toes." She did as he instructed just as he bent his knees, positioning himself between her thighs. He held his cock between her legs and wished he'd yanked her shorts off first. "You see this?"
Her fingertips brushed the head, tentative, waiting for him to stop her again. He didn't - even that light contact was enough to send a shudder through him. "I see it."
"I'm going to put this inside you." He pumped his hips as if to demonstrate. "Before that, I'll finish what we started at the hotel." He ran the tip of his tongue along the shell of her ear. "First, I'm gonna finish making these eggs. But see, I don't like cooking." He pressed down on her shoulders. "So you've got to keep me entertained."
She dropped eagerly to her knees with a thud that made him wince.
He turned the burner back on as she grabbed his cock in her delicate hands and licked the head right across the slit. He stiffened all over, but he grabbed the spatula. She wasn't going to get his full attention that easily.
"Bastard," she grinned up at him. Then she engulfed as much of him as she could fit in the hot confines of her mouth.
He groaned and resisted the urge to thrust. It just wouldn't do to give in so easily. But still, having her mouth on him, having any contact with her at all, threatened to short circuit his brain. He didn't know what had come over him. It felt fantastic and frightening all at once.
It looked like she'd started frying the eggs. He flipped one and discovered it already burnt. But she didn't need to know that. "Turning 'em over now," he grumbled, trying to sound bored. “Dunno what made you want to cook ‘em this way.” But the swirl of her tongue and the light suction she created with her mouth were making it hard to keep his voice steady. Not that he was very good at that anyway.
She responded to his taunt by taking him deeper. She brought her hand into play as well, gripping him tight at the base and stroking him slowly.
It was a struggle not to lose it right there. All his consciousness converged on his cock. His body wanted to grab her head and thrust into that wet heat, but he wasn't quite done with his game yet.
He jammed two pieces of bread into his toaster. "What were you gonna do, make sandwiches? I think I've got cheese somewhere."
She cupped his balls and rolled them gently in her palm. He groaned between his teeth. He gripped the edge of the stove, looked down at the burnt eggs, and thought what the hell am I doing?
The spatula hit the floor.
What he really wanted to do was stand her up, bend her over, and take her right there, but as she sucked harder and her tongue firmly caressed the underside of his shaft, there was no way he was going to tell her to stop. It just felt too fucking good.
He slid a hand behind her head - both to hold her still and to cushion her from banging against the oven door - then moved with a few experimental thrusts.
She looked up at him with a triumphant grin around his cock. "Shut up," he grunted, then thrust with more force. He grinned to himself as she gasped around him. She's getting better at letting go a little. I did that.
He thrust harder and tensed up. Fuck, I'm gonna finish as fast as a goddamn teenager. It was the sight of Senna rubbing herself over her shorts and moaning around her mouthful that ultimately sent him over. His hand clenched around her dyed-black hair as he held his cock as deeply as he dared. She swallowed as he exploded with a long, low groan. He came harder than he had in a very long time, spilling a surprising volume and still twitching as she released him several breaths later. She's a witch. That's the only explanation.
Even worse, it wasn't enough. He guided her to her feet and kissed her hard, tasting his own salty remains on her tongue.
He walked backwards towards his bed and pulled her along with him. She made a sound of protest but he didn't let her up for air. He needed to have her, all of her, right away.
Her protest died as soon as she was on her back. She clung to his neck and returned his kiss with a need that echoed his own.
His cock stirred, growing hard again already.
There were no words and no games, now. They both tore at her shorts and let them fall at his feet. He didn't bother removing her top - he just pushed her shirt and bra up to her neck and beheld her tits in all their bared glory, creamy skin and hard pink nipples beckoning his mouth.
He didn't make them wait long. Much as he enjoyed teasing her, his need was too urgent. He planted his lips around one while thumbing the other and was rewarded with a sharp gasp. He nipped the pink bud, then soothed it with his flattened tongue.
Her fingers tangled in his hair. Her knees parted, calling him closer still, inviting him. "Gunner." When she breathed his name like that, it made him want to devour her; mark her, consume her, make her his completely. He was spinning into unknown territory without brakes.
His fingertips brushed her between her thighs and found her pussy soaked and swollen. He groaned against her breast.
He wanted to take her right then and there, but he ignored his throbbing erection for the moment - he had made a promise. Moving down her body, he planted one hot kiss after another, making a trail towards her center as she trembled beneath each touch.
"Look at me." He watched her eyes as he pushed two fingers inside her. Those hazel eyes flashed and fluttered with unrestrained arousal as her back arched. She bit her lip. "Let me hear you."
"Oh, God." She rasped as if she'd been holding her breath. "I can't..."
"What?" Her heat was incredible. He pulled his fingers partway out and held still, teasing her. "Tell me."
She let her head drop back as she spoke. "I'm so fucking turned on." He hadn’t heard her curse much. He considered that a victory. "Please..." Her hips rose as she sought more.
"Please what?" He curled his fingers upwards and found the textured area of her g-spot. Better hang on, honey.
"Don't tease me, Gunner, please."
Her words and her tone set him off. He drove his fingers into her, hard, making sure to strike her g-spot. She cried out as she rocked with his thrusts. At the same time, he leaned in and sought her clit with the tip of his tongue. Her fingers curled tight around his hair when he stroked it. The taste of her hit him like a drug - all he could think was more.
A glance upwards revealed a more beautiful sight than he was prepared to behold - her face flushed, eyes wide with disbelief, chest heaving with wild desire.
He'd had it backwards. She was the one who would consume him. Like a wildfire deep in the forest, she would burn him away until th
e only thing left for him to do would be to start over from scratch.
Fuck.
Me.
And then the fire alarms screamed.
He's trying to kill me after all. A delicious heat roiled through her in waves as Gunner's tongue found her clit and stroked it in time with his plunging fingers. She was so turned on and so wrecked with need that it almost hurt. What was it about him that did this to her?
The screaming of the alarms jolted her back to reality. Something was burning in the tiny apartment. "Gunner!" Was that her voice, so high and so desperate? She could see the damn smoke coiling up to the ceiling. "Oh, shit… wait…" She tried to will her fingers to release his hair but she was too weak.
He growled against her pussy, the vibrations making her toes curl. So close. But it wasn't enough. It wouldn't be enough until he fucked her. Her body screamed with pure animal need for that ancient dance.
The blaring alarms meant that tango would have to wait.
"So close, fuck..." He gave her what she needed, somehow reading her, applying more pressure without breaking the rhythm they'd built.
She came just as the sprinklers burst to life. Her fluids soaked his hand as they sputtered, spat, and finally sprayed the entire apartment. It cooled her skin as her orgasm convulsed through her. Gunner had withdrawn and left her all too quickly, but what was she thinking, she needed to move, too. Still twinging with aftershocks, she rose from the bed to see him pulling on a pair of jeans. He pointed at her shorts where he'd left them on the bed.
By the time she'd managed to get them on over her trembling legs, he had her bags in his hand and was opening the front door. The last dying wisps of black smoke followed then out.
The eggs. Those damn eggs.
She was afraid he would be furious but surprised to discover he was laughing as soon as they stumbled outside. “What about all your stuff?” she asked as they reached his motorcycle. He’d thrown his cut on over his bare chest but otherwise hadn’t retrieved a single thing.
Devil's Fall: Dust Bowl Devils MC Page 8
