by Rye Hart
Tears were threatening to spill. This was the most he’d acted like he cared about me since we were kids and it was breaking my heart. I had to get out of there. I reacted on instinct. I pulled my arm back and I knocked him square in the jaw. I didn’t hit him hard enough to do any lasting damage, but it was enough to startle him. He stumbled back and fell on his ass, eyes wide.
Before he could get up, I snatched the keys off the hard wood floor and ran for the car. My heart was pounding in my chest and I slammed on the gas, spinning out of the driveway. My eyes were wide and I felt panicked. I wasn’t panicked about the bikers after my life. I wasn’t panicked about being away from my family.
I was panicked over how damn close I’d come to kissing that bastard.
Chapter Eight
I didn’t know where to go so I just went to the only place that made sense. Our cabin sat on the slope of a mountain and that mountain was right on the edge of the touristy area of Gatlinburg. We were closer to where all the locals lived. This meant there was a small dive bar within a short drive; it was probably only three miles or so from the cabin.
I pulled into a parking spot and grabbed the keys, suddenly realizing that I hadn’t even grabbed a jacket. At the time it hadn’t seemed important. I was just trying to get away from Ryan so I could deal with everything at my own pace. I couldn’t be that close to him anymore or I was going to make a horrible mistake.
As I opened the creaking door to the bar a few heads turned to look at me. A few of the men leered, but when I pulled my shirt up enough to reveal the .45 Glock I was carrying, they averted their eyes and went back to drinking.
I settled at the bar and ran my fingers through my midnight hair, waving the bartender over. The busty woman took my order and handed me the whiskey without saying anything. She knew the look on my face. I had the look of a woman who was running from something, and that’s exactly what I was.
The music playing in the bar was some sad, twangy bluegrass song about lost love. It was so appropriate that it made my heart ache. Tears filled my eyes as I looked down into the whiskey, one solitary tear falling into the glass.
I pushed the glass aside for a moment and put my head in my hands, taking a deep shuddering breath as I tried to pull myself together. What was happening to me? I never would have guessed I’d find myself in a bar crying over a man I lost a long time ago. The worst part was that he was never mine to begin with. I cradled my whiskey, squeezing the glass until my hand started to shake. What was I going to do now? I how could I go back to that cabin?
“Bartender. Whiskey on the rocks, please? Thanks doll.”
A familiar voice echoed in the bar and I stiffened, not looking up. I didn’t need to look up. I knew it was Ryan. I knew his voice. It was velvety and smooth, look a good whiskey. A warm coat was draped around my shoulders and I finally lifted my head enough to look at him. He was wearing his own coat but had brought mine and put it around my shoulders.
He glanced down at me and tipped his whiskey my way. “Did want you to freeze to death. I didn’t think that would look too good on my record.”
I nodded silently and looked into my glass, taking a long drink. The whiskey burned going down but it felt so good. It made me feel alive.
“We got to talk, Kisha.”
God I loved it when he said my name. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Don’t be sly,” he murmured, that soft southern drawl coming through. I knew he tried not to talk with it and it was a damn shame. “There is something eating you up and it’s really starting to affect you. I know it has something to do with me, so we might as well nip it in the bud.”
“I need more whiskey first,” I murmured.
He obliged me and four glasses later I was ready to talk. I was feeling dizzy but plenty lucid and I felt free. I felt like I could talk about things without breaking down.
“So you want to talk?” I asked. “First you need to answer one question.”
He cocked a brow but shrugged. “Sure. What do you want to know?”
“Why did you abandon me?” I whispered, staring at him, my eyes wide.
“Abandon you? What are you talking about?”
“My dad died and you just stopped talking to me!” I choked out, my voice weak and thready.
He stared at me, clearly surprised to be hearing this. “You were so distant, I was trying to give you your space but then you never talked to me again. I thought you were mad at me or something.”
“I was mad at you!”
“I’m not a mind reader, Kisha! How was I supposed to know you wanted me to help you? You never asked for help! You never reached out! You never do!” he said, clearly frustrated.
My eyes widened at the sudden realization. He was right. I was always so insistent on doing things for myself. I saw asking for help as a sign of weakness. I stared into my whiskey. Tears were coming now and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stop them.
“I missed you,” I whispered. “I missed you so much. I thought that we were going to be together forever and then dad died and you-- I felt like you left me,” I whispered. “I became so fucking jaded and I wasted so much time being so angry.”
He glanced over at me and sighed, gently putting an arm around me. “I probably could have tried harder, but I was a kid, you know?” he said gently.
I nodded slowly, looking up at him. “I was just a kid too.”
He nodded and held me close. “You shouldn’t have had to go through that. I’m sorry you felt like you were alone. I really am. I wish I could change things but I can’t. All I can do is be here for you now and promise I’m going to try and make up for all that lost time,” he whispered, pulling away and looking down at me.
He was so warm and I wanted so badly to be close to him. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but I felt safe. I felt better. It felt like all those wasted years of being angry were just being washed away. I wasn’t angry anymore. I wanted him.
“Take me back to the cabin?” I whispered, my fingers curling in his shirt.
Chapter Nine
He was more than happy to oblige me. He took me back to the cabin and pulled me close, tangling his fingers in my hair. I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or if I was really falling for him, but my heart was fluttering wildly in my chest. I wanted nothing more than to be close to him.
“Ryan,” I whispered, my voice weak and thready. He’d broken me down in the best way. “I want you.”
“You already have me, darling,” he whispered, kissing me slowly. “It’s just now I can feel it okay to do this…”.
He pressed his lips to mine again, gentle at first. The kiss deepened soon enough and I wrapped my arms around him, tangling my fingers in his beautiful hair, moaning and arching my back. He was perfect and I wanted him in every way imaginable. I’d been waiting so long for this. I needed him naked. I needed to be naked. I wanted to be flush against his warm body. I chewed on my bottom lip, moaning softly and pleading with him silently to strip me. If I had to wait much longer it was going to drive me crazy.
Soon we’d both been stripped naked, our skin flushed and hot, glistening with a sheen of sweat from our intense desire. I gasped softly as his fingers brushed over my taut nipples and my body reacted eagerly, moving with and leaning into every touch with a desperation that spoke volumes of what I wanted and what I needed. As he touched me and explored my body, I started panting and moaning softly, raking my nails across his back, leaving angry little welts behind that only marked him as mine.
Every touch felt amazing. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I’d been so desperate for him for so long. I gasped softly and whimpered, my eyes fluttering as my hips arched and came back down. He was already leaning over me, threading his fingers through my hair, catching my lips again in an eager and hungry kiss.
He teased my overly sensitive breasts some more, nipping at the tender underside of the supple skin, making me gasp and squirm. I could feel the heat of his manhood
pressed against the inside of my thigh. Each time he moved it brushed against the tender flesh, making him growl in my ear. It made me feel like I was his. It made me feel like he was going to claim me.
I was panting and moaning desperately, my fingers tangling in his hair for a moment. “Hold on,” he whispered.
He stopped moving for a moment and looked me up and down. He smirked after a moment and started kissing down my body, leaving a trail of fire behind the wet kisses. My breath hitched and my eyes widened as I looked down at him. What was he doing? It had been so fucking long since I’d had a man pay attention to me like this. I was desperate for whatever he had to offer.
He was making his way further south, kissing the insides of my thighs for a moment before he dove right in. To say he wasted no time would have been a gross understatement. He buried his nose between my legs, making me moan, my fingers curling in his thick hair, pulling at the locks desperately. This was incredible, but I hadn’t expected it.
His warm, skilled tongue traced shapes along my most delicate areas. The sounds of him sucking and lapping at my womanhood were some of the most erotic I’d ever heard. I gasped and arched up against him, whimpering and moaning as he worked, bringing me closer and closer to the edge. It had been so long since someone had touched me like this. I whimpered and shook underneath him, my fingers curling in the bed sheets.
He smirked and licked his lips, leaning up to kiss me eagerly. I could taste myself on his lips and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the taste of myself on him. It was enough to get me right to the edge. I wanted him desperately.
Ryan chuckled and stroked my cheek, running his fingers through my hair. “You want more?”
I nodded and he gave me a little push, moving me so that I was on my hands and knees. I moaned and lifted my hips into the air, silently begging him for what I knew was coming. This wasn’t my first rodeo and I was more than a little desperate for the pleasure I knew was so close
“Please?”
He was just as eager to give into these urges and leaned over me, pressing his manhood into me deeper than I ever thought was possible. It felt amazing and I fell forward, wrapping my arms around a pillow and moaning into the fabric as he pulled his hips back and snapped them forward into mine. The feeling was so deep and so achingly perfect that I could have sobbed with pleasure. Somehow, though, I managed to keep myself together
A familiar warm, liquid pleasure was starting fill me again and I knew that I was going to finish soon. There was no way I could hold back. Not when he fit against me so perfectly. He leaned over me, using the leverage to push me closer and closer to the edge. I loved feeling him inside me and it still shocked me just how perfectly he fit against me. I’d imagined this so many times before, but in all those fantasies, it never felt this fucking good.
Every thrust came with a soft grunt that made me feel desired and as I felt the heat start to twist and expand in my belly, I knew I was going to be pushed over the edge. There was no ‘if’. It was just ‘when’. As he continued to thrust inside of me I reached behind me and gripped one of his hands, pressing it even harder into the skin. I wanted to be bruised. I wanted to be claimed by this handsome devil. Soon I found myself whimpering and pleading for even more. He was an incredibly generous lover, but I was hungry.
At my silent request he wrapped his strong arms around my smaller frame and yanked me up to his chest so that he could control the pace even better. It allowed him to move with quick thrusts that made my eyes roll back as that same liquid pleasure that had been building in my belly spilled over me in unrelenting waves. With that single movement he managed to push me right off the edge and made me cry out desperately, my head falling back onto his shoulders as sobs of pleasure burst from my chest.
My vision went black for a moment from the sheer force of my orgasm but it came back the moment I felt his pearly fluid fill me to the point of overflowing. I collapsed against him and sighed heavily, shivering almost uncontrollably.
I shook against him and started to laugh wildly. He held me close, panting and leaning over me. “Are you okay?” He murmured, his voice thick and heavy with drowsiness.
“Perfect.” I whispered. “I’m perfect.”
And I meant it. For the first time in a long time, my life felt like it was actually coming together. It didn’t matter that another biker gang was after me. None of that mattered. All that mattered was that I was here with Ryan and everything was finally alright again.
I wasn’t going to let him go this time.
Chapter Ten
I woke up the next morning, surprised to find that my head wasn’t throbbing. There was a happy ache in my hips, but nothing I couldn’t handle. My mind wasn’t as foggy as I imagined it would be, and there was no regret gnawing at the back of my mind.
As I sat up, I groaned softly and propped some pillows up so I could lean against the oak headboard comfortably. The soft snoring sound beside me drew my attention and I smiled a little as I looked down at the man I’d cared so deeply for, for so long. There was a part of me that felt I should be ashamed for the depth of my feelings for him, but I knew it was okay.
I was already close to loving this man, but that was because I’d loved him from afar for a very long time. He groaned and shifted in his sleep, eyes fluttering open. He looked at me and sighed, a smile coming to his dangerously full lips.
“So it wasn’t a dream?” he said.
I scoffed to hide the blush coming to my cheeks, but I didn’t hide the smile. “No, it wasn’t a dream.” I said, reaching out and touching his hair. “How are you feeling?”
“A bit hung over, but if that’s the price I have to pay, I’m down with it,” he said, sitting up as well.
My fingers were still threaded through his locks when he smiled at me and made my heart flutter. I had to resist to urge to put my hand over my chest.
“Do you want to grab a shower?”
“Sure. Who first?” I asked.
He cocked a brow and chuckled. “I thought we could grab it together,” he suggested.
“O-Oh, right! Yeah. Together sounds great.” God, he turned me into a puddled mess.
We slid out from under the covers and he started the shower. He stuck his hand under the water and I watched him closely, admiring the tattoos that decorated his tanned skin.
“Ryan?”
“Yeah?” he asked, adjusting knobs.
“Why were you single for so long?” He never really dated, despite all the women having their eyes on him.
He hesitated and glanced back at me. “I was waiting for you to get your shit together,” he said, reaching out and offering his hand to me.
I took his hand and leaned into him once I was under the spray of the water, my eyes fluttering closed. It felt good to be close to him like this.
“You were waiting for me?” I asked.
“Of course I was. I always cared about you and I was just hoping beyond hope that you felt the same way,” he said, wrapping his strong arms around me.
The entire world fell away when I was wrapped in his arms. For a moment all of the trouble and danger went away and it was just me and him. I held him tight and took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”
“Don’t be sorry. I mean, I was being an ass too,” he said with a soft smile. “It’s no one’s fault and we shouldn’t be apologizing. We’re happy now and that’s all that really matters,” he pointed out.
I put my chin on his chest and looked up at him. “So this isn’t a one-time thing?”
“Like a fling? God no. At least I hope not,” he said after a moment, looking down at me. “I mean, at the end of the day you have to say yes.”
“Say yes to what?”
“You have to say yes to being my girl.”
The comment was so surreal. Everything I’d ever wanted all these years was finally within my grasp. The man I’d wanted to be mine was finally here, asking me to be his woman. He was embra
cing my naked body in the shower, admitting that he wanted more than just sex from me.
“You’re an idiot,” I murmured, watching his face fall. “Of course I’m going to say yes.”
Chapter Eleven
That was just the beginning of what I felt like might be the rest of my life. Suddenly, being sent away to this cabin in the woods didn’t feel like a punishment at all. Ryan wasn’t a nuisance anymore. I actually wanted to be with him; I wanted to spend all of my days with him.
We didn’t waste any time catching up; we both knew we had a lot of lost time to make up for. We spent our days being tourists. Neither of us had spent much time in Gatlinburg, despite the fact that we were both Tennessee natives. Our families didn’t really have the time for vacations. We were always moving around with the gang.
It was nice to just relax for once and not worry about the gang or our families. Every once in a while I would remind myself as to why we were here, but a quick phone call home eliminated all of my worries. Damien was keeping a close eye on the men after me and there hadn’t been any news in a long time. They were starting to think that maybe, just maybe it was almost safe for me to come home. Maybe it really had just been an unorganized attempt at my life.
Ryan didn’t want me focusing on that. He wanted me to stop thinking about all the politics for once and actually enjoy my life. It sounded nice, it really did, and when I finally let myself relax and focus on the fun and on Ryan, I actually started to laugh and smile.
We were walking through the small strip of shops in Pigeon Forge and Ryan was smiling at me. It was a strange kind of dreamy smile that gave me butterflies and made me blush.
“Can I help you?” I murmured, putting my hands on my hips.
