Taking Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy Book 1)

by Wild, Nikki

  After a few setbacks, we led a thrilling midnight ride below the border: the two of us, his assembled gang, and nearly seventy other bikers from his Outlaws alliance of bikers, thugs, and criminals. The assault struck the Viboras Verde hard at their new base, and in the aftermath, we found the girls and laid waste to their operations.

  The girls were saved, but my rampant insubordination came at a cost. Luckily, my police chief was willing to cut me an off-the-table favor, and with a few months of hard work I transitioned into a glorious new field:

  Sarah Buchanan, Private Investigator.

  It was with that career switch on my heels that I returned to El Paso, back to the lover who had swept me off my feet so long ago, saved me from stagnation and destitution when the wheels of chance slapped me on a dead case, and helped me to save eighteen girls from sexual slavery.

  Rubbing my belly absentmindedly, I smiled at the other small thing that was tying us together now.

  Hunter Hargreaves put a baby in my womb.

  It was more than I could hope for that he and I would hit things off again when I tracked him down. I was hoping we could at least be close allies, if not partners.

  Hunter had exceeded all of my expectations. While I’d initially feared that dedicating his life to the drug-running motorcycle club would extinguish the light inside him, the opposite had been true.

  The fire inside my former lover had burned brighter than ever, searing away the darkness and leading the Devil’s Dragons in a new direction: armed protection and, more recently, vigilante heroism.

  We had fucked long and hard the night that we were reunited, our passions for one another immediately ascending to the surface once more. I didn’t see it at the time, but it was inevitable that we would become lovers again.

  And conversations long since buried in the dust of our shattered lives stirred once more. I wondered – Does he still feel the same way now? Would he set this all aside to protect his child?

  I sipped from my coffee, still lost in thought.

  His convictions had led him to strike down a band of heinous monsters a second time, and he’d risked his life – and those of his men – to seek vengeance on Viboras Verde for their crimes.

  What now? I asked myself.

  Would he do that again, knowing that he has a child on the way? Would he be willing to put his life on the line and leave a fatherless baby in his wake?

  But more importantly, I feared on thing above all others:

  What kind of father will he be?

  As if woken by my pressing thoughts, I felt his presence behind me in that very moment. I held the warm mug cupped in both hands as Hunter’s strong, defined arms wrapped around me, pulling me into his heavy embrace.

  “Couldn’t sleep?”

  “Lots on my mind,” I replied softly.

  “I know. Mine too. It’s been a long time,” he murmured, pressing his lips into my nape as he kissed up to my ear. “I’m so happy that you came back to me.”

  I’d held it out while the media spun its tops. All those girls we’d rescued showed up out of the blue, drugged out of their minds and dropped off at a local hospital. While the headlines went ballistic with wall-to-wall coverage for over a week, I had to lay low and deny my involvement to a police precinct that could smell bullshit from miles away.

  After the news attention died down, I’d begun assessing my options and building the foundations of my new career. All the while, I kept my distance from El Paso, biding my time and playing the game until it was safe to come out from the woodwork.

  But there was another reason I was here, and I’d told him that when I arrived this afternoon.

  Business.

  “What are you thinking about?” He whispered, his words hot against my lobe. “Anything I can help with?”

  I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “It’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” He asked, although his tone was more a conclusion than an inquiry. “You can’t get this new case of yours off your mind.”

  “It’s a lot of things...” I smiled as I turned around, facing him in the light of the kitchen.

  His strong figure as a teenager paled in comparison to the chiseled specimen of male perfection that stood naked before me.

  An old scar ran from his temple down the side of his face. An authoritative tattoo of a winding dragon ran down his rippling arm. His staggering six-pack stretched down to the perfect “V”, pointing down to a huge cock that hadn’t exactly shrunk with age…

  Regardless of my fears to the future… it was still a fairytale that he was even back in my life again, after he was missing for so long. It was like finding the last, wayward piece of a puzzle you’ve been trying to solve for a third of your life.

  “Business as usual so quick, eh?” He chuckled lightly. “That’s fine… although you might need to give me some time to work out the morning wood,” he motioned to his mostly erect cock.

  “I thought we were waiting until morning anyway?” I halfheartedly protested.

  Hunter glanced at a wall clock. I followed his gaze, noting that it was half past four. “It is morning, technically,” he noted calmly. “Princess, if you’re spinning those wheels in your head, I can certainly lend you my ears…”

  “I’ll lend you a hand with that first,” I smiled, leading him by the hand back to the couch. Dropping onto my knees in front of him, letting my gown unfurl to expose my ample bosom and bare body, I climbed onto his lap to straddle his cock.

  “When I said ‘Straight to business…’”

  “Are you complaining?” I asked, stroking his cock beneath my hips as I positioned myself. The sight of his thick dick had started warming up my engines…

  “Complaining? Who said anything about complaining?” He smiled, his words turning into groans with my touch.

  “Sounds a lot like you were complaining,” I murmured as sexily as I could manage, letting the lust drip down into my voice. Although, it was true that my sex drive had been off the charts the last few weeks… I just couldn’t get enough of him.

  Hunter’s strong hands cupped me below my ass. Before I knew what was happening, he had thrown himself down along the couch, pulling me with him to straddle his chest.

  “Wait – what are you–”

  The biker didn’t stop there, sliding me into position. Within seconds, I was dumbfounded and supporting myself against the couch with a stray hand. Just as I realized he had forced me into straddling his face…

  Hot breath cascaded over the lips of my pussy, and his tongue glided against the outer folds. I felt a shudder ride through me as his hands moved to clasp me against his face, holding my hips pinned down.

  “Jesus, Hunter, what’s gotten into… on second thought… don’t stop,” I gasped, clenching his hair with my free hand. “Holy shit, this feels good…”

  It was one thing to lay back and let him fuck me with his tongue, but being forced into such a compromising position – literally riding his face – turned on the heat, hotter than I could have imagined.

  “Always wanted to do this,” I heard him murmur before he sucked on my clit. “Ride my face, babe. Ride my fucking tongue…”

  My hand slipped from the couch, and I clenched my own hair with both as I rocked against his face. The pressure against my wettening loins felt amazing as he paused for breath every once in a while, his steamy exhalations flowing over my folds and sending shivers down my spine.

  “This is so… so…” I couldn’t find the words.

  “Wrong?” I heard the muffled voice.

  Involuntarily, I let loose a low, staggering moan. “Yeah… s-something like that… but it feels so fucking good…”

  Even halfway muffled, that bastard chuckle of his quietly hit the air. Dammit, Hunter, you always know how to work my body better than even I do…

  He relinquished his grip on one of my thighs, and I felt his finger penetrate into my core. If it were possible to crush his skull between my shins, the moment would have been
there.

  My fingers clenched into his hair again, furiously forcing the pressure of his mouth and his fingers against my wet pussy as the climax built up inside…

  Wave after wave of successive orgasm struck my body, and I lost myself in a cacophony of moans. Pleasure whiplashed down my spine; briefly, I was afraid that I was going to suffocate the poor man.

  Hunter instead let me pull myself free, climbing off of his face and letting him have access to fresh air again. But before I could try to wobble down to a kneel between his legs, he was throwing me on all fours over the couch cushions.

  My ass exposed to the air, he ripped the gown off of me and gave himself a few quick strokes before pressing into my slickened pussy.

  “Now, I can fuck you as often as I want without the damned condoms,” Hunter groaned into my ear as he mounted me from behind.

  “That’s right, baby,” I huskily whispered back. “Fuck me raw. Fuck me like the filthy girl I am.”

  “Damn, Sarah,” he laughed, pulling back to secure better positioning on the couch with me. “You’ve really grown to love the dirty talk, haven’t ya? Maybe I’m rubbing off on you a bit…”

  “Maybe you are, Mr. President,” I cooed, spreading my knees a little further to tighten my grip around his thick cock. “Fuck me until I’m yours…”

  “You’ve never belonged to anyone else…”

  Before I could think of a retort, he had already clutched a fistful of my hair. Tugging my head back, he rode me on all fours like an animal, fucking me into oblivion on the couch. My knuckles went white over the back cushioning edge as he pummeled me into complete submission.

  “You’re still as tight as ever, Sarah,” he groaned into my ear again. I felt his firm arm wrap around my shoulder, sliding into position along my throat. “I’m going to make you scream…”

  His firm, muscular arm served as a light choker, holding my neck into position and only slightly cutting off my air.

  I felt so powerless beneath his might – powerless, and yet whole. I knew that his massive cock twitched only for me; Hunter Hargreaves might say he owns me, but the bond went both ways.

  I owned this cock… I’d owned it since I was nothing but a love-struck teenager, and now we had the bond of the child growing in my womb…

  Ripped from my pure sexual satisfaction, my thoughts went back to our future.

  All the creeping, nagging doubts of Hunter’s place in my life – and his worthiness as a father – wormed their way into my head and broke down my pleasure.

  “Is everything okay? Do you not like that?” Hunter asked suddenly, pulling his arm away from my neck.

  “No, no, it’s fine,” I quickly added. “Just keep fucking me. It’s okay.”

  “Sarah…” he slowed down his movements. “You’re an open book to me. I know when something’s bothering you.”

  I swallowed in my throat, feeling him come to a stop inside my pussy. The wild thrusting that had been close to building up a fresh wave of orgasms was motionless now, and I felt a quick surge of guilt that I hadn’t gotten him off…

  “It’s okay, really. I want you to come.”

  The telltale sensations of him unsheathing his cock from inside me was almost unbearable.

  “Sarah, if you want to–”

  A knock at the door cut him off. He cast me a quick glance, then silently strolled over to the front entrance. His eye went to the peephole, gazing out over the lit front patio.

  How he moved so silently with such a broad, powerful build was beyond me.

  “Give me two minutes! And it had better be fucking good,” he shouted through the door.

  I had already sat up, wrapping the gown around myself.

  “It’s one of my Devil’s Dragons,” Hunter answered my silent glance, referring to his daring motorcycle club. “They know that I’m… busy tonight, which means this must be important.”

  I shrugged, turning away.

  I felt Hunter’s curious gaze burning into the back of my head, trying to figure out what was wrong…

  “I’ll have him gone quickly. He won’t be coming in.”

  “Invite him in,” I replied, turning to face him again. “It’s okay. No point in keeping him out there if it’s really that important… And I think we’re past the point of keeping secrets.”

  Hunter’s inquisitive stare was almost intimidating as it bore into my eyes. I wasn’t sure how long I could hold his gaze before he glanced away, stepping back towards the bedroom to throw a pair of jeans on.

  A moment later, the biker president answered the door barefoot. “Ricochet,” he acknowledged.

  Remembering the name, I ascended from the couch and crept near the foyer. The only time I’d meaningfully interacted with Ricochet was when the three of us – and another one of Hunter’s men, Victor – were defending the exterior corner of a cartel-owned farmhouse under a shower of bullets.

  The man had complimented my shooting.

  Ricochet opened his mouth to reply but spotted me, skulking just in his view. “Oh. I, uh… I’m sorry, boss.”

  “Yeah?” Hunter retorted, a little testier than necessary. “Imagine that.”

  “I can come back later today…”

  “If it’s important enough to bother us in the middle of the night, then it’s important enough to share right this fucking second.” He motioned into the house with his head. “Get in here.”

  Ricochet turned my way, and I nodded.

  “Right. If you say so…”

  He stepped inside sheepishly, keeping his gaze off of me as he pushed around the corner towards the kitchen table.

  I observed the uncertainty in Ricochet’s walk as Hunter followed him, a few paces behind.

  Hunter’s quick gaze seared me on the way past, but he didn’t say a word as he continued to the kitchen.

  Suddenly feeling that familiar detective curiosity building, I followed the men to the kitchen. Hunter motioned for Ricochet to take a seat as he leaned against the countertop, bulging arms crossing over his heavy chest.

  “Now that we’re all settled… what did you have to tell me?” Hunter asked pointedly.

  Ricochet swallowed quickly, then reached into the interior pocket of his Devil’s Dragons leather jacket. After a moment, he withdrew a folded letter, holding it out towards Hunter.

  “It’s your sister, boss.”

  Sarah

  Hunter remained motionless for a moment, his gaze fixated entirely on Ricochet. His sister? Hunter told me that he only heard from her fleetingly, a couple of times since the rescue…

  Still rolling the words around in my head, I opened my mouth to repeat them. Before I could get a single syllable free, Hunter took a stride forward and snatched the letter from Ricochet’s fingers, startling both of us with the speed of his movements. Like a creature possessed, he tore the envelope open and began reading silently to himself.

  Ricochet and I exchanged a quiet glance.

  Hunter was already a little tense, but he was visibly stiffening as he read the words. Finally, he handed it my way.

  I’d never met his sister before. She was a couple of years older than him and was already leaving for college when Hunter and I started dating...

  I gave him a quick look before taking it.

  They found me.

  I’m on the road tonight and I can’t trust the phone. Juarez is coming home to roost. I’m not safe here, and you’re not safe either.

  I’m heading to our old spot.

  Meet me here. Please.

  Hannah

  “Shit,” I blurted aloud after reading the letter. “Hunter… What does she mean? Who found her? I thought we scattered Viboras Verde to the wind… Did you tell her about Juarez?”

  At the mention of their name, Ricochet straightened his posture. “Is she in trouble?” he asked, staring hard at Hunter. I handed him the letter so he could catch up.

  Hunter turned his head away, his voice dropping to a low growl. “It’s bullshit.”
>
  “It’s going to be okay,” I offered up. “We can go meet her and…”

  “No. The letter is bullshit. It’s a forgery… and a damned good one at that.”

  “How can you be so sure?” I asked cautiously.

  “It’s missing our code,” Hunter replied angrily. “But everything else is perfect. That’s her handwriting, her signature… and they know about our old spot. There isn’t anybody who knows about that but us. Everything’s there to make me think that this is real.”

  He pounded a fist against the cabinet, rattling the dishes inside. “Whoever did this knows what they’re doing, but she’d never send me a message without the code…”

  “What’s the code?” I asked him.

  He threw me a glance. “Maybe we’re past having secrets, but there are things you’re better off not knowing. Whoever wrote this letter already knows too much, and if they ever got their hands on you, they’d tear your damn fingernails off to drag that little piece of information out of your throat.”

  “That’s a bit of a stretch, don’t you think? I can handle myself,” I replied coolly, glancing over at Ricochet as he continued to study the paper.

  “Maybe she just left the code off? Sounds like she was in a hurry,” Ricochet said.

  Hunter shook his head. “No way. She wouldn’t send me a goddamn letter without our code in place… The question is, what kind of game are they playing here?”

  “Either you’re being lured into a trap… Or they’re trying to get you to leave town,” I replied, the possibilities rolling round in my head.

  Ricochet immediately stiffened in his chair. “Sorry I bothered you, boss… I’m going to get back to the clubhouse.”

  “Wait,” Hunter told him, his eyes still locked onto mine. “How exactly did you come by this particular letter?”

  Ricochet frowned, scratching the top of his head. “The Couriers, boss. One showed up in the dead of night. I was close enough to the door to hear him calling for delivery.”

  “The Couriers…” Hunter tugged his stare away from me and scratched at his chin. “That’s interesting…”

  “I get the feeling that these aren’t regular couriers,” I observed. “More of your Outlaws?”