by Rachel Cade
It was a release, a wordless honesty for what they felt for one another.
Noa’s lips dragged over and underneath hers as the pressure of his mouth pressed the back of her head into the blanket.
When he pulled his mouth away, the suction bordered on painful.
Lyndie felt his lips on her neck and then her shoulder before he found her breast.
The edge of his tongue swirled over the tip before he pulled it into his mouth.
Her face broke before the low cry split her lips.
Noa switched to the other breast, offering just as much attention.
Lyndie squirmed beneath him. Her breasts were ultra sensitive, aware of the slightest touch. And Noa’s touch wasn’t slight at all.
“Tongue everywhere.” At some point she heard his voice again. Something whisper soft was gliding down the center of her stomach.
A rose petal.
“Bride’s choice.”
Noa moved down between her legs, opening them wide so that one of her thighs rested against a cream embroidered pillow.
Gently, he began peeling petals from the inside of her thigh.
“I don’t know if this is romantic to say.” He was staring up at her from a relaxed position, propped up on one elbow. His cheek caressed her other inner thigh as he spoke. “But you’re gonna come for me.”
When her thigh was clean of roses, he ran his fingers down it. “Okay?”
A shuddering breath was her only answer.
Noa’s head moved between her legs and the first feel of his tongue sipping at her drenched body caused her fists to clench.
Her top half shifted over the sheets. Her breath rushed hard through her nose because her lips were clamped shut. Below her waist, Noa’s head shifted a fraction as he lapped at her body.
His tongue was cool against her at first then warm, followed by his mouth gently cupping her clit. Swirling around both sides of the swollen nub, he drank it in, letting her lift up to his mouth’s caresses.
The first swipe of his tongue ring caused a deep gasp.
Then he dragged his pointed tongue along her entrance.
“Noa.” Breathlessly, she covered her eyes with her hands.
Two strong hands held her thighs open right before she felt the full force of his tongue against her.
Lyndie cried out. She shifted hard against the bed, but couldn’t escape his mouth.
“Noa.”
He feasted on her relentlessly, each twist of his tongue pressed the ball against a new crevice of her sensitive flesh. His lips applied pressure, holding her open while she bucked up to him.
Lyndie’s back twisted; Noa’s strength was too much for her.
Her head buried into the mattress as a lava-filled shock ripped through her body.
She shook against Noa’s mouth, panting and moaning at the same time.
“God, please.” The words were a mewling sound from her lips that mixed with the crackle his lips made against her.
When his hands dropped from her knees, she numbly cradled his head with her thighs. His tongue continued to lick at her while she struggled to catch her breath. Noa’s hands smoothed up the back of her thighs. Her body still tremored while the pads of his fingers tested her skin.
Lyndie squeezed her eyes shut, knowing she’d never gets used to that wicked silver ball.
She said his name, not sure if she meant for him to stop or keep going.
“You want another one?” His voice was like wine; the vibration of his voice against her skin felt as good as the tongue that followed again.
In a haze, Lyndie shook her head. “God. I can’t.”
His tongue curled around her crevice once more, lurching her ass from the bed before he opened her legs with his body as he began kissing up her stomach.
*
She knew he wasn’t asleep.
He was behind her in the bed, the pitch black and the shiny glow of Las Vegas framed the lower half of the window.
Noa did only as she asked, licking her everywhere until she orgasmed twice and he had to carry her up the bed and put her under the covers.
If he wanted sex, she would have been helpless to stop him.
But he didn’t try anything, despite clearly being ready for it.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“You never have to thank me for giving you what you ask for, babygirl.”
His voice sounded sleepy behind her head.
One of his leather clad thighs pressed the back of hers.
Lyndie couldn’t think of anything else to say.
It was strange at first to lay in bed with someone. She’d gotten so used to sleeping alone with the exception of Max.
Noa definitely wasn’t Max. He was a grown man she somehow knew and didn’t at the same time.
And now he was her husband.
Chapter Ten:
Something New
“You like this one, munch?” Lyndie lifted the blue dinosaur print shirt up for Max to see.
He was in his stroller, wrapped in his cloud blanket but awake. His tiny feet kicked a little bit beneath the blanket. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Noa’s face flashed in her mind as she hooked the small hanger on her stroller handle.
Two days had gone by since they’d returned from Vegas and he was never far from her thoughts. As he promised, before they left the city, he’d gotten her money, seventy-five hundred dollars in cash. Lyndie never had so much money at one time in her life.
She’d stared at it on her bed for the longest time while holding Max.
This was the deal she’d made. Become his temporary wife so he didn’t get deported, and get paid.
Technically their marriage wasn’t consummated, but she’d still let him touch her.
Everything that had happened between them had been her choice.
Was it a mistake? She wasn’t sure.
But it didn’t matter. She needed to stay grounded in reality. Her primary focus was being a mother to Max. She couldn’t have a fling with Noa because she had to be smart about this. Listening to her head, not her body, was the only way to get through this unscathed.
He probably had women scattered across the country. Picked up on his travels like a trinket at a souvenir stand. Once he got tired of waiting for her, he’d go back to one of them.
And I know you want it.
“Hi, little sweet pea.”
Lyndie lurched at the voice.
To her right, Ashley Langley was standing by the carriage, waving down at Max.
The general store was the only place that sold baby clothes, which was unfortunate.
“Look at you and your curly brown hair,” Ashley continued. “You would have had so much fun at my party.”
Lyndie rolled her eyes.
Ashley turned to face her. “How are you, Lyndie?”
“Fine.”
Ashley was dressed for business today. She was so accomplished managing to land a job working for her rich father. Since elementary school, this girl had been developing her nice/nasty attitude.
“Doing a lot of shopping, I see,” she added cheerily.
“Yeah.” Lyndie kept her same lack of excitement.
“I’m glad you’re spending Will’s money on Max.” Her shiny blond curls bounced with her slight shrug. “You know how some women are, taking their kid’s money and spending it on themselves. I told Will you wouldn’t do that,” she added lowly.
Lyndie tried to keep shopping so the woman took the hint to get lost, but the last sentence in particular stopped her hand.
“You told Will?”
The idea of the two of them sitting around bad mouthing her got her hot; it shouldn’t have, but it did. Will and Ashley, two self-absorbed assholes who decided to hook up at her expense, an act that almost cost her Max.
Those two took it on themselves to sit around and decide what she was going to do with the crumbs Will decided to give her.
With each passing second, rage
rose in Lyndie. She kept trying to tamp it down, knowing Ashley would twist any reaction and make herself the victim, spreading lies that would be believed all over town.
Still, the plastic squeaked under her hand as she held onto the hanger holding a teddy bear pajama set.
Ashley wanted to make this about Will. And it wasn’t about Will. Every bit of love Lyndie had for him now belonged to her son. Which was the only good thing to come of their relationship, besides the crash course in men’s bullshit.
If Lyndie shoved Ashley back into the decorative baby monitor display, she’d be doing it for herself.
On that thought, she grabbed the handle of the stroller and leaned down to her squiggly bundle. “Come on, Max. Let’s go check out.”
The noise Ashley made was barely audible, but it made Lyndie’s mouth kick up.
A hundred and twenty dollars’ worth of items at the cashier, and she handed over the cash with ease.
Bill, the owner, was more than happy with her spree. “Do you need some help bringing this to your car, Lyndie?”
The older man had had white hair from the time she could barely walk. He moved slow and always scowled at just about everyone. He also carried a bushy beard that reminded her of Santa to this day.
“That would be nice,” she answered. “Thank you.”
The plan was to spend the day organizing Max’s room, and Lyndie was more than giddy about it. Things in her life were finally picking up.
At the store’s exit, she pulled the bear print baby carrier out of her bag. “You want to walk with mommy and get out of the stuffy carriage for a while?”
With a little adjusting, she got the carrier on and put Max’s little body inside.
He seemed pretty excited and so was she, kissing the top of his head.
Lyndie backed out of the store with the carriage, smiling at Ashley who eyed her as she cashed out her own items.
“We should take a little walk later, huh?” Lyndie never thought she’d be using baby voice, yet there she was.
She had one more stop at the pharmacy across the street before they’d head home.
She stopped under the store’s awning to make sure her receipt was stuffed into her pocket when she heard rumbling.
Her head lifted.
She could see passersby and people across the street, slowing down and looking.
The noise continued to get louder.
Sometimes a loud truck would pass through, delivering to one of the stores, but they never sounded like that.
Lyndie looked to her left.
Motorcycles with riders. They took up most of the street, not speeding, but it was best to stay out of the way.
A bell chimed and the sound of Ashley in her heels stopped to stand beside her as the bikes passed. The rumble was almost deafening.
The whole town seemed to freeze as they rode through.
Lyndie held Max to her, bouncing him in hopes the engines didn’t scare him.
They were a grizzled looking bunch, not appearing friendly at all. Most of them were huge men, many of them had piercings and other strange adornments on their bodies. One of them stuck his tongue out hard to a staring old couple; half his head was shaved and he wore a spiked collar around his neck.
As the first few bikes rode by, she could see their vests all had the same symbol: skulls screaming fire.
Below the monstrous artwork read Death Skulls MC.
Lyndie felt like everything was upside down.
People began scrambling, heading for the nearest open door.
“Oh my God.” Ashley covered her mouth. “What the hell is this?”
One of the last riders went by as the group continued up the street.
Noa.
Sunglasses covered his eyes. His wild hair blew in the wind as he passed. Like the rest of the gang, he was wearing the vest, his arms bare except for the black gloves he wore as he held his bike’s wide handles.
Max was likely the only thing keeping Lyndie from dropping to the ground.
Had he seen her? He kept his eyes forward on the road, so she couldn’t be sure.
“Jesus H. Christ,” Bill’s voice sounded from somewhere behind her. “They look like a bunch of killers.”
Even with all the sound and commotion, Lyndie could only hear her own breath.
With each rise and fall of her chest, paranoia and realization grew.
Noa’s MC… was here… in Amber Falls.
“Get inside.” Will’s voice came suddenly.
She looked up and he was in front of her.
“Will!” Ashley shouted.
“Get inside somewhere.” Will’s hand brushed Lyndie’s arm as he ran off toward his squad car, yelling for people to calm down.
*
Twelve Hours Earlier
“Married man.”
Tin greeted Noa’s eyes as he opened his motel room door.
“Holy shit.”
Standing outside behind the sight for sore eyes were nine Death Skull members.
Noa lowered the gun that none of them flinched at being greeted with.
Tin grinned and stepped forward, pulling him into a bear hug.
“Old Skorp, married.” Bleed, another Nomad, leaned against the wooden porch pole. “It was a ride and a half out here man.” His red tattoos pressed against his bicep as he folded his arms.
Noa glanced around the road. “You guys were careful coming here? Surprised they didn’t have my place staked out. I think I’m on curfew.”
A few of them laughed.
“At least you didn’t get tossed in jail. But the night’s still young.” Tin laughed, pulling back. “You’re alone. That’s good. Gas up that bike. We’re heading to the next town over.”
“For what?” he asked.
Tin tossed his hand up. “The fuck you mean for what? Your bachelor party asshole. Grab a shirt.”
“I’m lookin’ forward to seein’ some desert girl’s tits.” Chaos smiled, showing off his rainbow-colored fangs. He might have been more proud of his teeth than his bike. He was crazier than a shithouse rat pretty often, but Noa trusted him with his life.
“If this place is called Lil’ Apple, why the fuck is it not shaped like an apple?” Chaos’s face was marred with concern as he asked the question.
Noa immediately felt like he was home. He scratched the side of his face. “Welcome to Amber Falls.”
“How’s it been?” An hour later, they were at the bar, Tin was on his third beer and Noa his second. “With the lady.”
“Alright. It’s been fine.”
“She lives in the town?” Tin kept his voice low.
Noa nodded, turning the bottle up to his mouth.
“How much does she know about you?”
Noa set the bottle back on the counter. “She knows I’m in an MC.”
“You think you can trust her? At least to be scared enough to keep her mouth shut?”
“She keeps to herself; she doesn’t really fuck with the town folk like that.”
“What about you? Are you two…” He made a hole and slid his forefinger through it back and forth while grinning.
Noa stroked his chin hair. “No.”
“So she’s ugly?”
“No.” Noa glanced at him sucking his teeth. “What does that even have to with anything? I thought you pulled me over here to talk business?”
“We’ll get to that.” Tin’s voice lifted. “You know I’m nosy.”
Noa could only laugh.
Tin smacked his shoulder. “Has it been good for you out here?”
He nodded, knowing it was true and not just a reflex answer.
“You getting sleep?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. We got a lot of work to get done in this town.”
Noa took a swig of his beer. “You wanted to keep a low profile, so you bring Chaos and Bleed?”
Tin chuckled a bit.
“You know they have a guy tied up in the back of their van right now? What th
e hell is that all about?”
Tin raised weary brows, nodding it off. “They’ll let him go. Something to do with Ignacio.”
“Ignacio?” Noa stared hard at Tin. “He’s not coming up here, is he?”
Tin shrugged. “Who the fuck knows where he is.”
“He needs to keep his ass in Tijuana.” Noa shook his head hard. “You’re gonna have to cage these fucking guys out here Tin. They’re crazy.”
“Right. I just might have to bail one of ‘em out of jail or somethin’.”
Noa’s lips twisted at the old bastard’s words.
*
The police sirens were to be expected. Noa was one of the last to stop as they were pulled over near the gas station at the edge of town.
Two police cars, probably their whole squad.
Noa grinned at the thought while he heard some of his crew groan and curse.
They stopped in front of all of them. Noa recognized the guy that left his car first. That fucking Sheriff.
“Is it a crime to ride a bike?” Tin called out.
The Sheriff didn’t speak right away, observing all of them. His mouth was a flat line above a tight jaw.
“I’m Sheriff Durand. You caused a lot of ruckus downtown just now, blocking up the road. What business do you have in our town?”
“How do you know we have business? Couldn’t we just be ridin’?” Tin questioned.
“No.” Henry, the pipsqueak was out of his car, providing backup for his boss. “Because of that guy right there!” A thick finger jutted in Noa’s direction.
He made a point to part his lips in a silent gasp.
Durand flashed his teeth, staring dead in his direction.
“I’ll ask again.” The Sheriff’s eyes swung back to Tin. “Your business?”
Tin rested back on his bike. “Listen. I know bikers have a bad reputation, and you’re just doing your job, trying to protect your town. I respect that. We ride bikes, but we’re law abiding citizens. Half of us are veterans.”
Noa did a good job of keeping his face straight. He doubted Tin’s smooth talking was going to get this Sheriff to back off. And the little attack dog behind him seemed keen to bite. Noa imagined him to be one of those extra hairy trigger finger types.
“I want to get one thing straight.” Durand walked up closer to Tin.
