by Unknown
Mark let out a strangled chuckle that he tried to hide in a cough, earning a glance from Animal. The other man wore a slight grin and stood up from the couch, walking towards them.
“Mark was invited here! You however weren’t, so leave! ” Sammy almost screamed at him.
Mark, who had always been a smart man, took it upon himself to bring them away from what looked to be the edge of a yelling match with a few well-placed words. He stepped up beside Sammy, taking her hands into his before Animal could stop him.
“Darling, don’t worry, if you need me to help with your project after he leaves, you know all you have to do is call.” Mark reached out intending to brush a hair off her face but Animal caught his hand before it could make contact.
“No,” Animal said gruffly, making it clear that Mark shouldn’t touch her again. He looked at Animal for a long moment, his eyes dark as he tried to work out why Animal was preventing him from comforting Sammy. Animal knew that he was being a dick but he didn’t want him touching her. Mark nodded and dropped his hand, also releasing her hand with a slight grin that he quickly hid. Animal didn’t like that the other man so easily read him.
Mark left while Sammy stared after him in disbelief. When the door closed behind him, she turned on Animal, her blue eyes full of fire and her finger poking into his chest as she uttered every word from between clenched teeth.
“Are you freaking kidding me? How dare you come into my home and tell a guest to get out of my house. You are not my keeper, how many times do I have to tell you that?”
“No, I needed to talk to you and he was in the way. You’re the one who refused to excuse yourself to the bedroom so we could talk,” Animal told her, grabbing her finger, which was getting annoying. He leaned down until his face was a mere millimeter from hers, feeling her breath brush sensually over his own lips. He wanted to pull her closer and kiss her senseless but he knew that he shouldn’t, it would only cause more trouble than teaching her to defend herself would.
“Unbelievable! How the hell can you actually not know that what you just did wasn’t okay in any way, shape, or form?” Sammy threw at him, jerking her finger from his hand and storming into her bedroom, almost slamming the door in his face if his foot hadn’t shot out to stop it. She glared from over her shoulder at him. “You need to get the fuck out of my house because I will shoot your ass!”
Animal almost laughed at that statement because he knew that she wouldn’t shoot him. She just didn’t have it in her to shoot him, even if he was annoying her. Maybe if he hurt her but not for annoying her. He reached out, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to a stop before she could storm over by the bed to wave the gun at him. No sense in tempting fate by allowing her to do that because the damned thing might go off by accident.
Sammy turned on him, her hand heading towards his face about to slap him. Animal quickly put a stop to that by twisting her arms behind her holding them in one of his own. Not painfully, just so that she couldn’t hurt him or herself. “Stop, you little hell-cat!”
“No, get out!”
“I’m here to talk to you about learning to defend yourself. I changed my mind. I’ll help you,” he told her, trying to get her to stop fighting him. It didn’t work; she still tried to kick him to get away.
“I don’t need your help, you big jerk. I already asked Mark to help me. You are no longer needed.” Sammy struggled to get away, stomping on his instep, making him cry out in pain. Fuck, that hurt. She actually didn’t need much instruction in how to escape a man’s hold; if she just pulled that move on someone then slammed that bony little elbow into them, she’d be fine. He snorted when she attempted to do just that. He had to shift slightly to prevent the elbow from making contact with his ribs. It slid along his side, grazing him instead of making painful contact. It also allowed her to break free of his hold because he was trying to keep her from injuring him.
Sammy jerked back, stepping a few feet away, her strawberry blonde hair a wild mess around her face, her breaths coming in quick loud pants as she glared at him. He stared at her, his cock hard and his foot throbbing where she’d stomped on it. Animal scowled back at her.
“You already know a little bit of how to get away from a man I see,” Animal said, watching her face change from anger to shock to pride. He realized that she had never really been put into a situation like the one that she had just fought her way out of. It was impressive. She had good instincts when it came to how to fight and they would help her to pick up more advance techniques. He liked that because he never wanted her to be helpless in a situation she needed to take care of herself in.
“I guess I do. I still don’t want your help anymore. Leave,” Sammy told him, brushing her hair off her face, still unwilling to admit she wanted his help. Damn, she was stubborn. This was about his rejecting her the other day without an explanation.
“We both know that I’m not going to leave, Sam. I’m sorry I said I couldn’t help you. I should have thought about it first.” Taking a step forward, Animal reached out intending to brush more hair off her face but she stepped back, her knees hitting the edge of the bed and she teetered for a moment until he grabbed her elbows to steady her.
“What did you think was going to happen when you came over here? Did you think because I’m fragile and broken that I would be so grateful that I thanked you while on my knees offering you anything you wanted?”
Animal tried hard not to think about her on her knees in front of him, failing miserably he realized when his cock sprung from slightly interested to harder than a steel rod. Fuck, her on her knees with her hands on his cock, then her sweet bow of a mouth wrapping around the tip to take it deep inside as he held her head guiding her. Damn, now that was a hot image that left him sightless for a moment as he thought about it.
Unable to completely discard that image, he shoved it to the back of his mind while shifting from foot to foot to try and relieve some of the pressure those words had created in his jeans. His dick was likely going to have the impression of his zipper by the time he left here because after that comment and her standing inches from him, it wasn’t going down anytime soon.
Releasing her before he did something he would regret, like tackle her back onto her bed to take her, he stepped back, his hands leaving her skin reluctantly. Animal ran a hand over his head, sighing as he tried to think of anything other than Sammy and the bed behind her.
“Of course not. But I did expect a little bit of respect and maybe a thank you.”
“Ha, I just bet. Well I have news for you, buddy, I already have someone who can help me so you’re not needed anymore,” she told him, moving to the other side of the room and lighting a candle before turning to glare at him again. “You can go now. Thanks for that kind offer three days late but I have it covered. Now get out, I’m going to bed.”
“He can’t help you, Sam.”
“Why the hell not, Animal?” she asked, glowering at him with her hands back on her hips in an adorable pose. Those jeans really accented the changes in her weight and he didn’t much like the loss of those curves he remembered from Spangles. He was going to figure out a way to get her to eat more so that those hips weren’t so angled like they were at the moment. He didn’t like it.
“Because it will cause issues with the club,” he finally answered.
“What? That’s insane! Of course it won’t cause issues,” she said shaking her head.
“Yeah, babe, it will,” Animal told her, refraining from telling her that it was because he would kill Mark and since he was the brother of a Red Devils MC lieutenant, they wouldn’t take it kindly. It might even start a war between them and the Red Devils, which wouldn’t be good considering they already had their hands full with the Headhunters MC. It might even get him killed, Animal realized, unsure if Reaper would feel that his need to keep other men from fucking Sammy was a good enough reason for them to go to war for his killing Mark.
“You can’t be serious?” she asked,
looking at him in disbelief.
“I am. It’s an MC thing you wouldn’t understand but it would cause issues, trust me,” he told her, rubbing along his jaw. He watched her stare at him like he had lost him mind for several moments before he added, “Might even start a war.”
“Oh please! Mark helping me learn to defend myself isn’t going to start a damned war.”
“It might.”
“You’re ridiculous. No, it wouldn’t. At least make your insane comments about why you don’t want me to get help from someone else make sense. It’s not going to start a war. Fine, if it means so much to you that I let you help me, then you can, okay. Just stop with the crazy talk and get out of my house.”
Animal didn’t care that she didn’t believe him as long as she didn’t defy him over Mark helping her. He didn’t want to test how much a part of the club he really was by starting a war and seeing if they would back him up. Besides, Mark was a friend and had been for years.
“Have you eaten?” he asked quietly.
“I had a salad,” Sammy replied glaring.
“So that’s a no then. You take a shower and I’ll make you something to eat before I head over to Ink Bandits for my shift,” Animal informed her, ignoring the sound of something hitting the wall behind him as he moved into the living room and headed to the kitchen to find something to make her for dinner after calling Pansy to come over to watch the place when he left in a half hour.
Damn, she was feisty. Her growled ‘asshole’ ringing in his ears making him smile, he opened the freezer to see what she had in there and sighed. The woman needed food. He’d have to get her some. Too bad she didn’t have some steaks, he could really go for one of those right about now. He opened the fridge, seeing it was full of salad and little else.
Finally settling on making some grilled cheese sandwiches, he searched the cabinets till he found some tomato soup in a can before he started heating the pan. Whistling as he made them food, he was content now that she wasn’t arguing with him over the self-defense lessons anymore. It was about thirty minutes later as he was piling grilled cheese sandwiches onto a plate that she came out of the bedroom wearing a pair of tiny shorts that left nothing to the imagination and a t-shirt that stopped at her midriff.
Animal almost swallowed his tongue, feeling hunger gnaw at him, only it wasn’t for food, it was for her. All he could think about for a moment was getting her naked and bent over the nearest surface. Shaking his head to clear the lustful thoughts, he set the plate on the table with a little more force than necessary.
Sammy’s brow rose at his odd behavior but she didn’t comment on his staring or the fact that he was almost panting as he watched her sit down at the table to eat. She took a sandwich and began dipping it into her soup, which he had set out to cool a few moments ago.
“What?” she asked after she swallowed the bite of her sandwich that she had taken.
Animal couldn’t help peering at her for another long moment before answering in a hoarse voice that sounded squeaky even to his own ears, making him wince. “Nothing, I just thought you would argue.”
“Ha, would it do me any good?” she asked as she ate another bite, seeming to enjoy the meager meal he had made for them.
“No,” he replied, sitting down and taking a bite of his own sandwich, waiting for her to elaborate.
“Thought so, which means that the faster I eat, the faster I get rid of you,” Sammy replied snidely before eating the rest of her meal in silence.
Chapter 9
Sammy hit the training mat again with a loud grunt. Damn, how the hell did he keep doing that? After four weeks of working with Animal three times a week she should have learned how to stop herself from landing on her back staring at the black tiles on the ceiling of the roomy gym. Yet she still hadn’t managed to stop him from laying her on the mat with that maneuver even once.
Animal chuckled and his hand appeared in her line of sight offering to help her up. Sammy ignored it and stood up on her own. She was pissed that she still didn’t know how he was able to do that move even after four weeks of him using it on her. She’d learned how to break his hold from behind, how to knock him off his feet, and how to prevent him from pinning her down but this grab flip thing was beyond her. She couldn’t seem to figure it out no matter how many times he used it.
“Oh now, don’t be so petty. You’ll get it––eventually.” Animal wore a grin as he stood on the mat near her. Sammy looked around the gym taking in the large room that was full of different gym equipment. It was built next to the clubhouse and like the gun range that was about ten minutes away, it was for the MC’s use only. Animal had started training her in the backyard at her place but when she had landed on a tree root getting a nasty bruise on her back, he’d decided that the gym was better.
She was glad that she’d asked him to train her but she didn’t like ending up on the mat with every muscle in her body aching like she did every time she came here. It was frustrating, mostly because he thought it was funny as hell and she didn’t agree. She ended up on the mat and he laughed at her. The asshole.
“I’m not being petty. I’m pissed,” Sammy informed him, wiping sweat off her brow with her arm, glaring at him.
“Aw, babe, you will get it someday and then I’ll show you something else to learn,” Animal told her laughing.
“Shut up. I can’t wait till I figure out how you’re doing that because then I’m going to put you on your ass instead.” Sammy pulled on her ponytail trying to make it tighter while glowering at him. She was hot, sweaty and now, in a bad mood. Walking over to grab her bottled water off the bench, she took a long swig while watching him.
Animal was wearing a t-shirt with jeans and as she watched he lifted the shirt, wiping his brow, but what caught her attention was the rock-hard abs he revealed. Feeling her body heat, her eyes glued to those sexy golden ridges, she felt her mouth go dry even though she’d just drank half her water bottle. Damn, he was hot as fuck. Sammy wanted to walk over and run her hands all over those abs before begging him to take her.
Her cravings for him had grown over the past few weeks, burning out of control every time he held her to the mat while she struggled to get away. Sammy knew she wasn’t the only one affected by what amounted to foreplay for her. She had felt his hardened cock on more than one occasion in the past weeks. She watched the shirt fall covering him but her mind still played over his male perfection. She felt the wetness between her legs, which had nothing to do with working out and everything to do with the man before her, and cringed a bit.
After weeks of his touches and hovering over her while she was pinned down, she thought she might be able to allow him to help her get over the trauma that Tom, her abuser, had caused. She wondered if she could really allow Animal to tie her up. Was she ready for that step yet on her road to recovery?
“Let’s try a few more moves before we call it a day, princess,” Animal said, moving to the mat and motioning for her to come back. It shook her from the musings over his rightness for helping her get over the incident.
Ha, incident, as if it were simply something that happened when to her it was life changing in so many ways. Sammy took another long swig before walking out to the mat with Animal. He watched her for a moment looking concerned before he grinned and grabbed her. She moved, grabbing his arm to twist it and brought him down onto the mat with her sitting on his hips. It wasn’t too far off from the flip maneuver he had pulled earlier.
Animal looked up at her, a little surprised that he had ended up flat on his back beneath her she would bet. She hadn’t shown him that she’d learned that move yet. Watching him take her down that way over the past few weeks had been educational.
“Ha, I win,” she told him, leaning down until she was right in his face, pinning him with her arm across the front of his chest, her breathing coming in pants as their eyes met. The need that had been on slow simmer began to burn out of control as she felt his hands lift to cup her hips, pulling
her down to meet his hard cock.
He groaned, but it had nothing to do with being on the mat and everything to do with his cock being cradled between her legs. She moaned, her lips moving towards his. Inches away, she felt like her body was on fire. Animal moved then, suddenly rolling her beneath him, coming up above her, his mouth hovering over hers. Letting out a loud groan that seemed to escape him against his will, he closed the last few inches between them, their lips touching. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, taking hers in a devouring kiss that stole what little breath she had left.
Sammy felt as if she was on fire pinned beneath him with her legs wrapped around his hips and his hard maleness pressing into her. She felt his hand grip her hair, pulling her closer as he savaged her mouth. She moaned, letting her hands caress his shoulders, wanting to feel his skin. Animal growled, pulling back and nipping at her lips several times before he let out a tortured grunt and jerked off of her, rolling away and to his feet.
Sammy didn’t know why she was suddenly lying on the mat alone when they’d been on the same page just a moment ago. She lifted up to rest on her elbows, looking at him standing a few feet away with his back to her. He was bent over and she could see that his hands were clenching and unclenching as if he were fighting to stop himself from grabbing her again. Maybe he thought she didn’t want him?
“Animal,” she said, trying to get him to turn and look at her. He glanced over his shoulder looking grim. “It’s okay. I wanted you too,” she told him, earning a dark frown from him.
“It’s not a good idea for you to tempt me right now, babe. I need some space.” He began moving away from her towards the door.
