by Nicole Snow
Next thing I knew, it happened. She pursed her lips, suppressing a wider smile than the one creeping across her face. “Come join me in here,” she purred.
“You're tired, babe. You gotta rest. My dick's a greedy motherfucker, but I've got him on a tight leash tonight. Seriously.”
“I didn't ask.” She winked. “You know what I need.”
Yeah, I did. Fuck, yeah.
Never dropped my pants and ripped off the rest of my clothes so fast in my life. I slid into the water, pushing between her legs. She started moaning the second I pushed into her.
We fucked hot. Messy. Hard.
I took her like a storm, not even giving a damn about the droplets flying all around us. My hips drove into hers, crashing into her, taking everything I cared about.
“You're wearing my ring next, woman,” I told her, pulling her face into mine for a kiss. “Say you'll fucking marry me, Cora. Say it. I need to hear that shit from your own lips before I shoot my come inside you.”
My hips rolled harder. I fucked her 'til she was speechless, her lips open, her eyes rolling back. Reached down between her legs, flicking the hell out of her clit, before I slowed my strokes down to a mad tease.
“Oh, God!” she groaned.
“Say it, girl,” I growled, echoing the only thing on my mind except for the fire, roaring in my balls.
Just. Fucking. Say. It.
“Yes!” she whimpered, right before I took her mouth with mine, digging my teeth into her bottom lip. “Yes, yes, yes, Firefly!”
Those words tasted sweeter than whiskey on my tongue.
They were all I needed to hear before my hips went into overdrive. I fucked her so fast, so hard, so furious I thought we'd crack the damned tub.
Water churned around us, and her legs wrapped around mine. Her whole fucking body begged for sweet mercy before I lost it, and she took it in spades.
She tensed up, broke the kiss, and screamed, convulsing on my dick. I shot my load deep, harder than I'd ever come in my life, growling the entire time.
We got into bed and slept off our hellacious hangover. Prez rang my burner phone half a dozen times while I drifted in and out, laying on the huge bed, holding her tighter than any man oughta be able to keep a woman close in his sleep.
Ignored that shit every time. I'd already done my part for the club. The brothers could wait 'til after I slept off the ruthless fuckery of the last few days, right next to my girl, my wife, where I belonged.
Sometime around noon, I opened my eyes without feeling like the sunlight trickling in would set my fucking eyes on fire.
The little minx had slipped outta bed at some point during the morning. Cora sat in the chair by the window, tea and toast in her hand, blonde locks and blue eyes shining.
Great fuckin' sight first thing in the morning. Only one I wanted to see for the rest of my days. My dick ached like it was gonna fuck its way straight off my body to get to her.
I rolled outta bed, stood up, and watched her smile.
“Hey, old man,” she purred, waving at the little tray on the stand.
I walked over and took the chair next to her, grabbing for the coffee thermos and the cup she'd brought up for me. “Helluva morning, ain't it, babe?”
“Yeah,” she said, reaching over to squeeze my arm as I took my first slug of coffee. “It's great, now that you're here, and we're safe.”
I leaned up, shoving the curtains aside. We both watched the sun piercing through the thick clouds hanging over the mountains. The Smokies towered around us, green and alive as ever, like God himself had reached down and painted the landscape something beautiful.
It was gonna be summer soon. Already felt like it. I took another long pull of my coffee, twining her fingers with mine, giving her hand a possessive squeeze.
“Gotta make a run to the clubhouse today. The boys'll keep busting my balls if I don't. You come with, and then maybe we'll drop by the Heel to figure out when Meg wants you back at work.”
“I've been thinking about that,” she said, still wearing the same tense, loving smile.
Goddamn, I wanted to bite those lips. Even when she looked at me like no woman ever had, the looks that went straight through my chest, I still wanted to rule her like a fuckin' Neanderthal.
“Yeah? Thinking about what, darlin'?”
“The future. I'll stay on with the Heel until we get a little more established, bring in some extra dough...but I'm not sure about doing it forever.”
My hand cut through the air. “Bullshit. Club's really building up it's business. You wanna go off and do something else, you just say the word.”
“No. I need experience, Huck,” she said, clinking her cup down on the tray. Hearing my real name got my attention, temporarily numbing the need to fuck her senseless. “I want to make my own way. Up until now, there's always been something in the way. Daddy's demands, the club, everything we just went through...God!”
She pinched her eyes shut, remembering all the bullshit. That look on her face made me wanna bring the Torches back to life just to kill their asses dead again.
“Babe, no, it's gonna be okay. You said it yourself – we're all about the future now,” I growled, standing up. I reached down, jerked her out of her chair, and then took her back to my seat, plopping my woman in my lap where she belonged. “Listen to me. We've got money. I'll never be as rich as my fucking sis here, but I'm not into this fancy horseshit anyway. I've got plenty to help you do whatever the hell you want. Plenty for us to start a life as man and wife.”
She smiled, blinking back fresh tears. I pushed my lips down on hers before that shit fell, making her burn. She wasn't crying anymore if I had anything to say about it.
“You're a good man. I'm sorry it took me so long to see it.”
“No, I ain't, Cora.” I looked at her, cupping her chin in my fingers, tilting her face to mine. “I'm an outlaw. I'm a bastard. I'm good to you and my brothers. That's the only world where I'm ever gonna fit, the only one I'll ever fuckin' need. Sky's the limit for you, for us. That's where I'm all in. Everybody else, everything else – it can all get fucked.”
“I want to teach again someday,” she said. “Maybe figure out something I can do in business education. I know we've got money, Firefly, but I need experience. I need to learn more from Meg, about how to manage a company, so one day I won't screw it up when I've got my own.”
“Fuck yeah, you'll own it,” I said, running my fingers through her soft, golden locks. Had to fight the urge to tangle it around my fingers and fist it like I did when we fucked. “You stick with me, babe, and you can have the damned moon. Shit, maybe Mars and Jupiter, too. I'm gonna make you the happiest woman alive who ever wore another man's ink and took his ring.”
“You don't understand,” she said softly, grabbing my hand with both her little ones. “You already have. Even without the wedding, or anything else.”
“What're you saying?” The look in her eyes was heavy, but it was happy, too, and I didn't know what the fuck to make of that.
“All the time we've been spending together lately, before the Torches took me.” She swallowed, and new tears glowed in her eyes. “There's no easy way to say this. I'm pregnant, Firefly. We're going to have a baby!”
Right. Between. The. Eyes.
The whole damned world shrank down like some bastard had shoved it through a tunnel, narrowing on her and I, wiping away everything else.
No, not just the two of us. Me, Cora, and the kid.
My kid. Holy mother of fuck.
“What? What is it? You're not scared, are you?” she said nervously.
I jumped up, still holding her in my arms, and let out the happiest fucking war cry of my life. Must've shaken a few shingles off my sis' fancy roof as I swung her around, before pulling her in gently, remembering I had to protect the fuck out of this girl from now on.
“Oh, God, you're happy!” she chirped, the realization dawning on her before she burst into soft, sweet laughter.
“Babe, you don't got a clue. Think you just made me the happiest SOB in the entire fucking universe!”
I kissed her like a maniac. So hard and long my tongue owned her little mouth, lips moving all over hers, taking what was mine, mine.
Mine down to flesh and blood and bone.
Knowing I'd knocked her up caused my dick to sizzle. About ten more seconds, and I'd fuck her up against the window. The brothers could wait a few more minutes, and so could everything else – all except one thing.
“We're getting hitched today. No more waiting. Can't fuckin' stand it, Cora.”
Thought she'd resist. Hell, the girl deserved something special, a full on palace coronation for becoming my wife, but there'd be years to renew our vows a thousand times over.
I gazed into her eyes, diving deep into the blue, knowing just one thing. I needed my ring on her finger. Now.
Not tomorrow. Today, goddammit.
“Today, darlin'. Don't force me to make you scream yes again...” Growling, I grabbed her thigh, and squeezed.
“Yes! Let's do it!” she whimpered, about one second before she threw her hands across my neck.
We kissed. Christ, I could've kept myself glued to those lips all day.
Next thing I knew, I had her back in bed, tearing off her robe.
One more animal fuck, and we'd get down to business.
Just two or three dozen kisses from now, she'd be mine forever. My wife.
“Hurry the fuck up, Prez. We've got a wedding to get to.” I sat down at Dust's side at the big meeting table, watching the brothers grin.
“You're goddamned lucky it's your wedding day, boy. I'd be thinking about taking your balls again for coming in so late if it weren't.”
I smiled, looked at Skin, and he gave me a wink. “Fuck, you're gonna need those, brother. Can't get hard without 'em, and these chicks are insatiable once they're wearing your brand.”
“I'll take the insatiable part,” Joker said, his knife out, slowly tapping the blade between his fingers on wood he'd scratched to hell about a hundred meetings ago.
“Joker!” Dust slammed his gavel down. “Put that shit down and let's talk biz.”
When the room fell silent, Prez pulled something out of his lap. It was a small, dark gun case, and I knew he had an antique on hand before he opened it.
“You boys know what this is?” he growled, pulling out an old Colt revolver that probably hadn't seen action since the Civil War.
I shrugged. “Some shit your old man left behind?”
“This gun belonged to my great, great grandfather, plus all the other men sharing my blood in between. This tough old motherfucker's one more reason we got our club name, calling ourselves the Pistols, and not the fuckin' Rifles or some shit. This is our namesake. This is everything.”
“Shit, Prez, didn't know we were here for a history lesson.” Sixty said, scratching his goatee and pulling out a smoke. “We gonna debrief about the Torches, or what?”
“No need,” Prez said slowly, staring at the old revolver in his hands. “We were all there. They're all dead. No signs the cops figured out it was us, instead of the Deads.”
I stared at him as he looked up, turning his gray eyes to me. “It's over, boys. Torches have been snuffed the fuck out. And we've got a long way to go before we catch the Deads.”
“We really planning to? Go on the offense?” Skin asked, looking around at Crawl and Sixty, then at me.
“We gotta,” Joker growled. “We fuck them first, or they'll fuck us harder.”
“He's right, of course,” Dust said, turning the gun over in his hands. “We're damned lucky they haven't been back for more since we bailed out your old lady, Skin. Lady fuckin' Luck gave us all a blowjob here, keeping them off our backs so we could hit the Torches and bring Cora home.”
A couple brothers snickered, Sixty and Crawl. Dust's cold, dead eyes shut them right up.
“We can't wait for the bastards to nail us again. Gotta hit them fucking harder, hit them first, and knock their asses out. Get ready, boys. These pistols have only been firing to protect ourselves too much lately. It's high time we start shooting first.”
“It's risky,” I said, imaging all the shit we'd have to do to hit 'em in Georgia, the Carolinas, wherever the fuck the Prez thought we had an in. “They're gonna be busy moving into Atlanta proper, now that the Torches are outta their way. You really think it's worth it?”
“Think harder, Firefly,” Dust said, staring at his own reflection in the gun's cold steel. “We did the evil fucks a favor taking out the Torches because we had to. They're gonna have a fuckin' field day in the big city, even if they've gotta fight off a few more street gangs to truly claim it. But they'll get their peckers up sooner or later, own their chunk of that city. Who you think they're coming after then?”
Every brother in the room felt his blood run cold. Mine dropped to sub-zero, before it turned lightning hot.
That shit couldn't happen. No fucking way.
I'd never let any bastards get the jump on my club again, here on our own turf. This was my home, and I'd keep their paws off setting it on fire. Much less my girl, my wife, my kid!
My fist hit the table so hard half the guys jumped. “I'm sold. You name the time and place, Prez. I'll be the first on my bike, ready to ride to war.”
“I've got a few ideas. A few more gun shipments to collect, and a couple more maps to study. All you boys gotta know for now is, it's happening. Get ready. Get your shit right with your women, those of you who got 'em. Rest of you, get right with yourselves. Might be your last fuckin' chance before catching a bullet.”
“Got it, Prez. We all know this club doesn't have a choice. We can't do shit with these fucking wolves breathing down our necks,” Crawl said, dragging tense fingers through his dark hair.
“You're wrong about that, brother,” I growled. “We can do plenty. Before we go to war, we can live. We can ride. We can laugh or fuck or booze, however the hell we please. That's the privilege wearing this patch gives us. As for me, I'm gonna marry my wife and take her home, put her where she belongs. Outside this club, that's the only thing that matters.”
“It'll pay off in time,” Dust said, moving the old revolver from hand to hand, looking at each of us. “I promise. All the good things Firefly mentioned, that's what anybody wearing a Pistols patch deserves. I'll die to make it happen. Fuck, I'm gonna make us rich. Gonna beat our way to the goddamned sea and make Blackjack or Throttle come begging us for a deal!”
“Yeah! Fucking make 'em!” Sixty shouted, moving his mouth so fast he lost his cig, and had to pat it out before it torched his jeans.
Several pairs of hands slapped the table. Prez wasn't shy about his dreams of building the MC into something big, something worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with the powerful Grizzlies and Devils out West, or the Phantoms in the East.
Me? I didn't give a shit about any of that. I just wanted us to be safe, build a damned wall around Tennessee so I could live with my brothers, my girl, and my family in peace.
The commotion hit its sweet spot when Dust stood up, aimed the old Colt at the ceiling, and fired. Half the brothers cheered, happier than I thought I'd ever see guys get over a hole being blown in our own clubhouse.
“Don't cheer the damned roof off yet, boys,” he said, turning to me. “Firefly, what's happening with our boys? We need all our numbers again.”
“Checked with the hospital this morning. Tin's back at home, resting his bum shoulder and bruises. Lion's gonna need a few more weeks. Lots of casts to heal those bones after the beating those shitheads gave him, but he'll live. He'll ride again. Full patch, I hope.”
Prez nodded solemnly, along with all the brothers in the room. “We'll take a vote as soon as he's out. Far as I'm concerned, these boys have earned their bottom rockers, and then some.”
“I'm wondering about something else,” I said, leaning forward. “What about that other loose end? Tony What-the-fucks-his-face
? The asshole who roughed up my girl at the Heel and ratted her out to the Torches?”
Joker dragged his knife across the edge of the table, making a sound like screws on chalkboard. Everybody swore.
“Already done, brother.” He flashed me a crazy ass smile. “Paid the asshole a visit last night on the way home. Crawl, too. Bastard bit it quick and dirty in his sleep. Now he's rotting in the forest, close to the usual spot.”
I nodded. Knew from everything Cora told me that the prick had been the worst kinda family man. Neglected his kid, beat up his woman before she left his evil ass, never paid his child support. Thank fuck the little boy had gotten a better home the first time we'd fucked him up at the Heel.
His family would be better off without him. That went double for the whole damned world. Easily a better place today with one less miserable stain on it named Tony fuckin' Pearson.
“Thank you, brother,” I said, reaching across the table to fist-bump the wild-eyed Veep.
Between us, Prez's lips twitched, and he slowly pulled out his pipe.
“Now, we're done,” Dust said. “Ya'll know what's coming, and what's behind us. Get the fuck out there and make hay before the storm.”
Joker looked at me, his face as stern and mysterious as ever. “We got a wedding to get to, don't we?”
I grinned. Hearing it from the Veep meant something. Standing, I walked around the table, slapping him on the back.
“Yeah, brothers, we do. This is the day I start living the rest of my life like the man I was always meant to be.”
Everyone growled their approval. A second before Dust's gavel smacked the table, dismissing church, I was heading for the door, ready to scoop up my girl and drag her to the makeshift altar.
14
This Side of Destiny (Cora)
I sat at the bar while the men streamed out of their meeting, talking to Dust's mom, Laynie. She'd heard all about the big wedding plans. No sooner than I told her, the older woman flew into a storm, calling up a preacher and trying to find me a dress.
