One More Try

by Erin Trejo

  I bite the side of his neck, causing him to growl. I love it. I love that guttural sound that he makes.

  “You’re fuckin’ killin’ me, darlin’,” he growls before kissing my neck. His tongue works me up. He drives me higher and higher.

  I can feel him swelling inside of me.

  “Fuck, Shan. Let me pull out, baby,” he grunts, trying to keep himself under control.

  “I got the shot. Fuck me, Bash.” I grind against him needing to feel him. I just need him right now.

  Bash grabs my waist and bucks his hips into me. I cry out his name as my release washes over me.

  Bash curses under his breath as I feel him release everything he’s been holding back inside of me. I lie my head on his chest and catch my breath.

  His breathing is fast but his heart beats a steady rhythm beneath me.

  “I’m not givin’ up on you,” he whispers.

  “What if I’m already gone?” I ask him. He sighs but holds me tighter.

  “You’re in there, Shan. I know you are. It’s hard to imagine her not bein’ here. I was really excited about it. I bought you somethin’ but I never gave it to you.” I pull my head back and look up at him. His eyes water and it isn’t from the shower.

  “What did you get?”

  “Let’s just get out of here and healed first. I don’t wanna mess you up anymore.” I kiss his lips before I stand.

  “I want it, Bash.” He grins at my now demanding tone. I haven’t felt this alive in a while and I don’t want to lose it.

  “As you wish,” he says, shoving his massive body off the shower floor. We didn’t even wash. We just sat there but I feel the purest I’ve ever felt in my life.

  I wrap up in a towel and follow Bash into the bedroom.

  He walks over to his cut and grabs out a long box, wrapped in pink paper.

  “I just... fuck... I don’t know.” He tries to explain it to me but he can’t. I can’t say that I blame him.

  He passes me the box. I sit on the edge of the bed and look at the small box in my hands. It’s a little unnerving. I don’t know what to say or how to react.

  I pull the lid off and my heart leaps when I see it.

  “Oh, my God, Bash,” I gasp. The necklace in the box takes my breath away.

  Two motorcycle helmets and a tiny pink one in the middle, hang from the gold chain.

  It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.

  It was the three of us. I suppose in a way it still is. She will always be in our hearts. The fact that she’s gone hurts, though. It hurts deeper than anyone could know.

  “I wanted to give it to you sooner. You were just... gone.” Bash sits on the edge of the bed next to me. I reach over and grab his hand, pulling it into my lap.

  “It’s the best thing anyone has given me aside from her.” I rest my head on his shoulder as I look at the necklace.

  Where three, became two.

  Chapter 38

  Sebastian

  Bomber watches me from across the parking lot with that pissed off glint still in his eyes. I know he’s still pissed with me. Hell, I’m still pissed with myself.

  I hate what happened. Even more, I hate that I could have been the cause of it. This club could have cost me my child.

  That’s a never-ending regret that I will always have.

  Dax passes me a cigarette before he says, “You two ever gonna sort this shit out?” I let out a chuckle before looking over at him.

  “It’s not on me, brother. I’ve said my part. I can’t change that shit.” Dax grunts knowing all too well that Bomber will fix things in his own time. He’s never been the type to take an apology at the first word. He waits. He plays his hand and waits to see if I will fuck it up again.

  “I’ll talk to him.” Shannon’s voice sends chills up my spine.

  “The fuck you will. He’ll come around.” I throw my arm around her and ignore everyone else that stands outside. She’s all I need to focus on. “What are you doin’? Thought you didn’t wanna go?” I ask her.

  Shannon looks up at me with a strange look in her eyes. I don’t like it. It’s the look I get at times when I want to see blood.

  “And have you flirting with another girl? I don’t think so.” What the hell? Where did that shit come from?

  Shannon tries to walk away from me but that shit isn’t happening. I grab her wrist and drag her back in front of me.

  “You wanna tell me what the fuck that was?” She looks everywhere but at me. She knows she fucked up with that comment.

  “Do you think I’m stupid, Bash?” She looks me in the eye now.

  “Not at all. You think I really want another woman, Shan?” She wants to push me, I’ll push back. The difference is I’ll push harder. I will play her game. I will play it with a fierceness she’s never seen before.

  “I don’t know. Maybe that’s why you didn’t want me going.” Something about the way she grinds her teeth gets me hard. She’s pissed and doesn’t even have a reason to be.

  “I’m pretty sure I asked you. You said no, darlin’. You wanna play this game?” I squeeze her wrist harder. When I expect her to flinch, she doesn’t.

  Instead, her eyes harden. She hardens.

  Shannon licks her lips, stepping into me. Her free hand comes to rest on my chest. She pushes up on her toes, chewing her bottom lip.

  “The more you get rough with me, the more I like it. I told you I’m not the same. You didn’t believe me.” Her words are meant to prove her point.

  They don’t.

  They make me insane. They make me hard.

  “Get inside,” I grit my teeth.

  “Make me,” she retorts.

  “Everything ok?” Kane asks when he walks over and sees the power struggle the two of us are having.

  “Everything is goddamn wonderful.” I grind my teeth almost painfully as me and her are having a stare off.

  “It’s great,” Shannon responds.

  “We’ll meet you over there,” I tell Kane. He chuckles before walking away and leaving us in the heated exchange.

  Chapter 39

  Shannon

  Death can pull you down or lift you up. It can make you regret being alive or it can give you a new strength.

  After my attack, I let it pull me down. I let it suck me into a depression that I hated but understood.

  Watching the spark of fire in Bash’s eyes right now, I know my new strength.

  I want to challenge him. I want to push him. I want to see where his breaking point is.

  The more I lied in that bed, the more I wanted blood. I wanted to watch the life slowly drain from the asshole that stole my daughter from me. I wanted to see what it felt like to take something as precious as the air you breathe.

  Bash is the one to show it to me. I know he is. He’s the darkest person I know and I love that about him. I may have found things that he’d done in his past horrifying but now, I feel like I understand them.

  “Get your ass inside,” he grits his teeth. I can see the muscles in his jaw ticking with each word he says. I’m pushing him.

  “I said—make me.” He won’t win. He won’t get me to submit that easily.

  When I was in that bed, my dreams haunted me. They stole pieces of my goodness and ripped it all away.

  I’d like to think that this started before I lost my angel. When I was kidnapped the first time.

  The struggle between us is becoming charged. You can feel the crackle.

  The guys have all since left to head to the fight tonight but not us.

  “You better think long, and hard, about what you’re doin’ right now, darlin’. Once you unleash that motherfucker there is no pushin’ him back,” Bash says in the surest tone I’ve ever heard from him.

  “I don’t want him to go back.” In seconds, Bash has me lifted into the air. His palm coming down roughly on my ass as he walks us back inside.

  His grip tightens and so do my thighs. This man—the one carrying me—is the one
that I’ve never seen before. He’s the one I’ve heard about but never met.

  When he gets to his room and throws me roughly onto the bed, my head spins. The feral look in his eyes should scare me. It should push me back into reality but for some reason, it excites me.

  Bash starts ripping his clothes off his body at a speed I’ve never seen before.

  “I won’t go easy. I don’t give a fuck if you cry or fight. I want you to fight. I want to see the fuckin’ look in your eyes,” he growls, “Get the fuckin’ clothes off.”

  Bash walks into the closet while I quickly take all my clothes off. When my hand brushes over my stomach, I find myself looking down at the scars.

  She’s gone. She’s never coming back. A tear forms in my eye, blurring my vision.

  I can feel his presence. I don’t need to look up to know he’s there.

  “Wipe your fuckin’ eyes. You asked for this. You asked for what I’m about to give you and that baby plays no part in it.” I suck in a breath but when I look up and see the darkness in his eyes, I know he isn’t playing.

  I wipe my eyes as Bash walks toward the bed with a rope and chain. My heart slams in my chest as I watch him toss the chain around the headboard.

  “What the hell are you doing with that?” I ask. His dark laugh is all I get in return.

  I look straight ahead and blow out a breath, knowing I started all of this. I want it. I want him.

  It’s not until I feel the chain around my neck that I panic.

  Chapter 40

  Sebastian

  The chain is secured around her neck, and the rope is around her ankles. I lied when I said I wouldn’t hurt her too badly. I don’t want to hurt her. I want her to see what she is evoking out of me, though. Her taunting isn’t going to get her anywhere but in trouble.

  Her eyes dance with a new fire that I’ve never seen before. If I wasn’t mistaken, I’d think she just might like this shit.

  “You look comfortable,” I tell her. I watch her as she swallows hard, the chain moving so slightly. FUCK! That gets me hot.

  “You wanna tell me what the new attitude is about?” Seeing her legs tied to either side of the bed, her pussy on display for me. Damn, I’m almost glad she was acting up.

  “I told you, I’m not the same.” I love the defiance in her eyes. I love the way her voice cracked only slightly.

  “I’m gonna make you cum. I’m gonna make you fuckin’ scream, but first I’m gonna bring you right to your orgasm before I take it all away. You move too much, you get out of control, that chain will tighten.” Her eyes blaze with fire. She’s so fucking turned on I can smell her arousal from here.

  I climb on the end of the bed and straight between her legs. I kiss her ankle before moving up her leg. The way she’s panting right now, she’s trying to push me over the edge before I get her where I want her.

  I stop between her thighs, biting down into her flesh. Her back arches, her breath catching in her throat.

  “Bash,” she says my name breathlessly. God, I love hearing that.

  I slide my finger through her wetness before sucking that finger into my mouth. Her eyes move to meet mine and I can see all the desire that courses through her body.

  I lean down, dragging my tongue over her clit slowly. Her body jerks to my liking.

  When I bite down on that bundle of nerves, Shannon tries to sit up, the chain effectively doing its job. It halts her. Jerking her head back down.

  I grin against her before I lick and suck at every piece of her. She tastes so fucking good on my lips.

  I slide a finger inside of her, getting that perfect angle. I work her little body up until I feel her begin to tighten around me.

  I pull my finger free quickly, her body responding. She pulls at the binds that hold her legs in place. The rough rope scratching at her skin. I climb up her body and hover over her. She pants as her eyes come to meet mine.

  “You’re gonna be all scraped up.” The lust turns to rage. I know what she wants but I won’t give it to her. Not until I’ve had my time.

  She may think she holds the power here but she will fucking learn quickly that it’s me.

  I lean down and take her nipple into my mouth. I suck gently at first, letting her relax into my touch before I bite hard enough to draw blood.

  Shannon screams my name as I lick at her nipple. She tries again to lift her head but it’s immediately snapped back into place with the chain.

  “You are gonna be wearin’ those marks for a while.” The thought of that makes me so hard I can barely fucking stand it.

  I spread her thighs a little more before plunging inside of her. Her body reacts like always.

  She pulls at the chain with her hands but she can’t get free. All she can do now is ride out the pleasure and pain.

  Chapter 41

  Shannon

  I’ve never felt anything like that. I’ve never wanted to.

  The marks on my neck and ankles do little more than send heat coursing through my body again.

  I stand in front of the mirror, and take it all in. Bash walks in, standing behind me.

  His hands come to rest on my shoulders before he says, “I won’t say sorry.” My eyes connect with his in the mirror when his hand roams to the marks he made around my neck. They aren’t so bad that they will leave a permanent reminder but they are there. “Fuck, they look sexy as hell on you.” His fingers travel around my neck, bumps erupting across my skin.

  “You like that?” he asks me, sounding a little unsure of that fact.

  “I think I do. I’ve never felt anything like that, Bash. I was floating... on a high,” I admit. I did though. It isn’t a lie. He made me feel like I could fly.

  “Is that how you always want me?” I ask. I know he said before we were together that he wanted things like that. He told me that much but to see the look in his eyes when he does it, it’s something else.

  “No. Not always. I did want to do it to you before but the more I spend time with you, the less I want to,” he admits. He walks away grabbing his jeans before I wash my face.

  I don’t know that I’ve ever felt this way before. The feeling that I have coursing through my body is unreal. I want more of it.

  “Will you teach me to shoot?” I ask him as I dry my face. I walk into the bedroom and watch him pull his shirt over his head. It’s such a waste to not be able to see that amazing body of his all the time.

  “No.” His answer is short. Asshole.

  “Why not? I want to be able to protect myself, Bash. We still don’t know who came after me or why.” I cross my arms over my naked chest and glare at him.

  “I said, no. You don’t need to shoot. You want to fight, I’ll work with you on that. Hand to hand combat. A gun is the last thing you need to use.” He pulls his boots on as I watch. I’m starting to get a little pissed off with his attitude.

  “You assholes use guns all the time!” I protest, walking over to where I discarded my clothes earlier.

  “Yeah, when we have an open shot! Think about it, baby. When they came at you, did you have time to pull a gun?” He shrugs into his cut while I drag my jeans up my legs.

  “No.” I guess he does have a point.

  “Exactly. If you can use your hands, that’s always the first line of defense.” He cracks his neck from side to side before walking toward me. He reaches out and grabs my nipple before I can get my bra up my arms.

  “Bash.” His name falls from my lips so easily.

  “Nope, we’re late. We promised we’d be there.” He kisses me quickly before walking to the dresser and pulling out a cigarette.

  I watch him as he drops onto the chair in the corner and smokes, while his eyes stay trained on me.

  “Are you really going to watch me? I’m almost dressed.” I roll my eyes. I already have my pants on, the pervert.

  “You got it right. Almost. Not fully.” I can’t help but laugh at him. He’s the epitome of gorgeous but also of danger.

&nbs
p; He’s a finely tuned machine that can kill in the blink of an eye or make me cum just from his look.

  I think I’m far beyond gone for this man.

  Chapter 42

  Sebastian

  The fight flew by. Dax has really outdone himself with his fighters. He’s a damn good teacher, though.

  “Nice fuckin’ fight, brother.” I slap my hand on Dax’s shoulder as everyone fills the local bar. This wasn’t our ideal choice for the party but Bomber didn’t want any more shit coming down at the clubhouse. I can’t blame him there.

  “You know it. That kid has some strength, Bash. It’s like me when I was younger.” I don’t miss that glint in his eyes. He loves what he does. He worked his ass off when he was fighting but once he had Laura and Cory, he gave it up.

  “Trainin’ is your thing, Dax!” He nods his agreement with a smile on his face.

  A slow song comes over the speakers when her hands wrap around my waist. I glance over my shoulder at her and smile. “What are you doin’?” I ask her. She smiles up at me and says, “Waiting for this dance.”

  I laugh. I don’t dance. Never have.

  “Not my thing, sweetheart.” She gives me a pouty face before she turns and walks away. I grab my beer off the counter when I hear Micah whistle.

  I follow his gaze to my woman on the dancefloor, wrapped up in Link’s arms. A part of me sparks with fire but another part of me calms. I know they are friends. He was all she had for a long time when I had my head in my ass.

  Bullet nudges my arm until I look over at him and ask, “What the fuck?” He nods toward Shannon with a smile on his face. I know what he’s saying.

  I take a long pull from my bottle and set it back on the counter before moving toward her.

  “My turn.” Link grins passing her off to me.

  “Thought this wasn’t your thing,” she beams up at me. I could get lost in her. It’d be easy...

  “It is when I seen the way that asshole had his hands on you.” She laughs, throwing her head back. It’s a beautiful thing to hear after not hearing that from her for so long.