She unconsciously reached out a hand to touch his tattoos. She tried to grab it back but—too late—he caught her hand and held it in his. Her eyes rose to his and her nostrils flared, breathing in his scent. She didn't recognize his cologne, but she was sure it was committed to memory now. It was earthy and rich, something she figured fit him perfectly.
Vance was not going to let this go; he was not going to let her go. He had never wanted someone so badly so fast. He reached out and lightly placed his hand behind her neck. He rested it there softly, allowing her ample time to run away or make some excuse to go back to the kitchen. She didn't do either of those things. She just stood there, waiting for him to make the move.
He leaned forward, tilted her chin up, and kissed her square on the lips. For a second, she didn't move. He started to worry she was just letting him kiss her. He was just about to back away when she came at him full force. She returned each advance, sucking on his bottom lip in a fashion that made him even harder than he already was.
He opened her mouth wider and slipped his tongue inside. Their tongues did a dance, sliding and licking each other. He heard a moan—couldn't tell if it was him or her. His arm brought her the rest of the way against him and he loved the way her body felt against him. She was all soft and womanly; he was all hard and masculine.
He withdrew and she made a small mewl of protest, but he took one step back to remove his shirt. He saw her eyes gleam in the low light and thought she looked like a tiny cat before a saucer of milk. He grabbed her shirt by the hem and lifted it up over her head. He was expecting her to cover herself, but apparently she was a woman comfortable in her own skin.
She angled her arm back and removed her bra, letting it fall to the floor. His eyes roamed over her body, taking mental notes of her high, perfect breasts and pink nipples. She had a little tattoo peaking out over her shorts and he thumbed it absentmindedly. She shivered. He undid the buttons on her shorts and slid them over her legs. Then he threw them back on the floor, not caring where they landed.
He shucked off his own jeans and then pulled her backward onto the bed. They landed together, her on top of him. He kissed her again, trailing his lips down to her throat and collarbone. She tilted her head up and away, giving him full access of her soft fragrant skin.
When his lips latched onto her nipple, she inhaled deeply. She pulled his head closer to her, and he nipped at her playfully. In response, she tugged his arms free and bent them up over his head. She stretched out along him, all her peaks and valleys resting on top of his. With her arms holding his and her breasts crushed against his bare chest, she repeated his actions. She kissed his throat, sucked on his nipple, and then stretched to kiss his two tattoos.
Vance took in a deep breath and shuddered when he felt her feather light kisses on his lower belly. It felt amazing. He had never had a woman so interested in his tattoos there. When she bent to place a kiss on the tip of his member, he jerked and caught her calf.
"Not this time, Little One," he murmured. He grabbed her other calf and flipped her so he was lying on top of her. She rubbed up against him, the little minx. He tugged her panties down her leg and without warning placed his mouth on top of her womanhood. She spasmed, fingers clenched in his hair. It didn't take long to bring her to orgasm. Soon she was shaking and begging for him to be inside her.
He slid only the tip of his head inside her; enveloped by her scorching heat. He groaned as she twisted, trying to force more of him inside her. He held her still and started moving forward into her, inch by agonizing inch. He heard her groan when he was fully inside. She was stretching around him and he didn't want to hurt her. Although, she didn't seem to hurt. Really, she was thrusting up against him and getting herself off in the process.
He bent down and put his arms behind her back. Lifting her up against him, they ended with him sitting upright and she on top of him, wrapped around him. He groaned, feeling the delicious friction every time he lifted her up and sank her back down on top of him. She was breathing heavily and he knew he was close too. When she starting sucking on his earlobe he lost all control. He started to thrust faster and harder into her until she was letting out breathy screams and moaning, fists clenched in the sheets.
He held it up as long as he could and then exploded into her. He felt her clenching around him and was lost in the bliss of orgasm.
What felt like hours later, he lifted her up and under the covers so they were both tucked in. He opened his mouth to ask if he needed to move his bike out of the way of her car, but realized she was asleep. Her brows relaxed and her face curled into a soft smile and he knew he was enamored with her already. He tugged her close so that she was cuddled up against him.
He awoke to the sound of birds at the window. It was light outside, which was surprising. Normally, he was an early riser. He was almost always up before dawn. Memories of the night before trickled into his mind and he reached for Mimi. What he got was... nothing. She was gone.
He became fully awake and looked around the room. He saw she had picked up after them and put his clothes neatly on the chaise at the bottom of the bed. He got up and stretched. After getting dressed, he walked into the kitchen and saw the pot of coffee and a note.
Thanks for fixing the faucet - Mimi
He crushed up the letter in his hand. The faucet? Really? That's what she was grateful for? There was no mention of the previous night, or how to get ahold of her, or when he would see her next. And Vance Alvarez was not a patient man. He grabbed his jacket, locked up her house, and got on his bike. He drove home, showered, and headed into work. At lunchtime, he brought his coworkers to Joe's.
Mimi saw him walk in with another group of people. She assumed they were coworkers since they were dressed in business casual. She glanced over him quickly and realized that, though he was hot as hell in casual gear, he was gorgeous in his dress pants and button-down shirt.
She served their table, treating him as she normally would a paying a customer. By the end of the meal, she could see his temper rise. There was a pulse beating on his temple and his gaze never left hers.
He left her a generous tip and had written next to his signature See you tonight babe. Her heart beat a nervous pattern. She wasn't sure why, but him wanting to see her tonight made her nervous.
He pulled up in front of her door at promptly seven o'clock. She had been waiting and was excited to see him. He gave her a hug and a kiss then took her to the steakhouse on the other side of town. They went to his place afterwards.
It went on like that for two months. Every night they spent together, Mimi got more attached, and a little more anxious that leaving could be harder than ever before.
One night after they had their typical dinner and she was snuggled up against him on the couch watching the football game, he mentioned her apartment.
"How much longer do you have on your lease?" he asked her.
She thought for a minute. "I'm not really sure. I left it as a month-to-month. I just have to give her 30 days to try and re-rent it. Why?"
He reached for one of her feet and started to rub circles into the arch. She sighed. This was heaven. "I was thinking about making an offer on that house two streets down, the one that I showed you before."
She was surprised. "But why now? I thought you said when you had a family. Doesn't it have like six bedrooms and a pool?"
"Mmm... something like that. I figured now is as good a time as any. You can't be wanting to stay in your apartment forever," he added.
Mimi sat straight up, the chips and dip and football game long forgotten. "What are you saying, Vance?"
He shrugged. "Not saying anything. Just making an observation. You haven't painted or anything so I assumed you'd be leaving that place pretty quickly."
"I am," she asserted. "But I'm not just leaving there, I'm leaving this town. You know that."
"Well, I know that you were planning on leaving, but you're not still planning on that... right?" He asked, his voice
edging upwards.
"Vance, I'm still leaving," she declared obstinately.
"The hell you are," he answered.
"I'm leaving, I said! And not you or anyone in this town is going to change my mind. Frankly right now, I'd like to leave this minute!" she stated defiantly.
"Oh calm down, Mimi. You're being ridiculous."
She stood up and put her hands on her hips.
He sighed inwardly. Stubborn female.
"I'm not being ridiculous. I'm being... me. You know how I am; what I want. I wanted you, and now I don't," she said, daring him to say otherwise.
He didn't disappoint. Answering her back with just a tinge of frustration and anger, "You want me, and I want you. Now relax, and let's finish the game. We'll talk about this later."
Stupid man, she thought. "I don't want to talk about this later because there's nothing to talk about! You need to leave."
He laughed. "Babe, it's my house. Now come sit down."
She grabbed her sweater and headed towards the door. He leapt up, trying to catch her before she slammed the door in his face. He followed her down the concrete steps onto the sidewalk.
"Mimi, I'm not going to chase you. Come back like an adult and let's talk about this."
She heard him from inside her car, but didn't acknowledge him. All she could think about was a wedding and babies and grandkids. She couldn't do this. What had she been thinking?
She started the car and zoomed off. To her credit, she didn't even look at him in the rearview mirror. She stopped at her apartment, grabbed her necessities, left instructions for her landlord, and then left.
She wasn't sure how long she'd be gone, but she'd figure that out on her drive.
The next day at lunch, Vance went to the restaurant, but Joe said he hadn't see her. She hadn't even come into work. Vance was surprised. She may be flighty, but she wasn't usually cruel. She knew Joe couldn't handle the place by himself any longer.
After an unsatisfying, but delicious lunch, he headed over to her apartment. He found an unlocked window and let himself in. She was clearly gone. She had taken all the things from the bathroom and a good chunk of clothes from what he could tell. Her cell phone and charger were gone off the place on the counter she always left them.
He sat on the barstool. He was an idiot for pushing her so hard the day before. He knew she frequently ran, he just didn't think it would be away from him. He sat there for an hour, calling himself fifty shades of stupid and waiting for the call he knew would never come.
Mimi stopped to get gas in a city called Little Peaks. She had no idea how far she'd gone, but she'd driven off and on through the night. She went inside to pay and saw an old man and his wife. He was holding her hand and their shopping basket. He was joking about forgetting their anniversary and the wife swatted him on the arm playfully.
Her heart hurt watching them. Before, she had always thought marriage was entrapment, a responsibility with no way out. Now, looking over the map she was waiting to pay for she couldn't think of a single place she wanted to go. Well, not by herself. She saw the couple exchange a swift kiss and she wanted to cry. That could've been them.
You're an idiot, Mimi Parker, she admonished herself. She put the map back and ran out to her car. Hopefully he hadn't given up on her just yet.
She got on the ramp to go back south. About an hour away from Lincoln she noticed the semi in front of her making weird jerking motions. She put her blinker on and sped up to pass it. Just as her passenger mirror came along with the back end of the semi trailer, it popped a tire and the trailer slammed into the side of her car.
She veered off the road, crashing into the concrete median. Later, she would only remember the sound of tires squealing and crunching metal, and then everything went black.
It was the end of the month and things were crazy for Vance at work. He'd been locked up in meetings all morning and then had gone out for lunch. He'd left his phone at home, which didn't help. When he finally got home it was after dark and he was exhausted. He picked his phone up off the charger and saw that he had ten missed calls.
He listened to his voicemail. Three of those had been a nearby hospital and he wondered who it was for. Hopefully something hadn't happened to Joe. He'd seen him at lunch, but not since then and he couldn't think of anyone else that they'd contact him for.
He called back and talked to the nurse on call. She said he was listed as an emergency contact. He listened to her sift through her paperwork and search for the name.
"It's a... here we go, a Mimi Parker. Does that sound right?"
He almost dropped the phone. His hands started shaking and his vision went blurry.
Oh God, no, he thought. "I'll be there in 20 minutes."
He ran every yellow light and pushed all the speed limits to get there. He found the hospital room and took a deep breath before opening the door, preparing himself for whatever was behind it.
She looked tiny and scared, like a little baby bird. She was hooked up to a bunch of machines, but at least her eyes were open. He knelt down by her side and picked up the hand without the IV in it.
"Hey, baby girl. You ok?" he asked softly, fingering her hair.
She sniffed, nodded, and he watched her eyes well up with tears. He held her awkwardly and tried to soothe her. He had no idea what to say, what she was thinking.
She whispered something, but he didn't catch it. She repeated it, this time stronger. "I was coming back. I... you..."
He interrupted her. "I didn't figure it out until I got the call from the hospital. I knew for you to list me as an emergency contact, you had to have some pretty strong feelings."
She squeezed his fingers and a tear trickled down her cheek. He brushed it away, cupping her face tenderly, avoiding the bruises on her jaw and cheek.
"I love you, Mimi," he stated softly. "From the moment I saw you. There will never be another for me."
She smothered a soft sob and choked out, "I love you, too. You big oaf."
He chuckled and placed a kiss on her hand.
"Now, how about some of that pudding?" He wiggled his eyebrows and she laughed.
Oh yes, this was definitely love.
Below are some of Ellen Graves' other works to enjoy! Tap the covers for a sample
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KAY PERRY
Iron Angel
Kay Perry
There are days when you just have to ride.
Sometimes you ride because your life has turned to shit and everything is going down in flames. So you rev up the Harley and it’s just you and the open road as you reflect on times past and consider your options for the future. Usually, life slowly gets better as miles of concrete pass beneath your wheels.
Sometimes you ride because everything is golden. You are on top of the world, so you ride in glory. The sun on your face and the wind through your hair celebrate a glorious day with you as you scream down the highway and watch the mountains grow larger in the distance as the miles pass.
Sometimes you ride because the club is riding. Then you ride whether you are happy or sad, whether you want to ride that day or not, whether you are getting anything out of it or not. You ride because the club is a living body, and you are a part of that body. When that long line of bikes snakes its way through the traffic on the open road or roars through the center of town, you are a body riding together as one.
And sometimes you ride because you need a time and place to think. Sometimes, you need a place totally by yourself so you can sort out your thoughts and weigh your next moves very carefully. There’s no better place to be alone than on a Harley roaring down the road.
Maddox Robinson was on the road today because he needed to think. The rumble of his engine and the whine of his tires were a background concert that drowned out everything but what was important. What was important right now was his next move to achieve presidency of the Iron Angels Motorcycle Club.
There was a time when such a move was ju
st a matter of power and nerve. Like lions on the savannah, when you thought the time was right, you challenged the president of the club, and the survivor of the fight was the new leader. Now, it was more like Survivor: Motorcycle Club Edition. You had to make the right alliances well in advance and carefully win the respect and loyalty of the members before you could even begin to act.
Maddox knew how the game was played today. He had laid the groundwork carefully and had gained the respect, and probably the loyalty, of most of the club. He had also formed his alliances very carefully. His strength and personal power helped him make some of those alliances. His good looks, charm, and muscular body aided him in forming others– most importantly his close alliance with Carol Malone.
Runaway Ride: Alpha Bad Boy Biker and MC Romance Box Set Page 18
