by Flite, Nora
My name never sounded so good. It was the first time Flora had said my name without it slipping out accidentally, or being used as a warning. The name Ronin was given to me just after I'd been patched in and made a full member. I'd immediately asked to go Nomad. The name was synonyms for wanderer and loner. I was a warrior who'd lost his way.
Flora hugged me. I didn't feel so lost anymore.
Eventually, she peeled herself off me. “Ugh, I am so damn filthy!” She laughed. “I need to go take a shower. You better not leave. If I slip and crack my head open, that's on you.”
“Scouts' honor.” I put up the three-finger boy scout salute, then helped her to the bathroom. I kept the door open a crack so I could actually hear if she did fall over, not that I thought she would, but at this point I'd lost track of the karma I'd stored up. I didn't want to take any chances.
It was twelve agonizing minutes later that she called for me. It was difficult knowing she was wet and naked and so near. There wasn't any pain in her voice, so I knew it wasn't a call of distress. My concerns alleviated, I opened the door. Steam billowed out and obscured my vision. “You alright?” I asked carefully.
“Yes, I just...” Flora folded back the curtain enough to pop her head out. Once she cleaned the shampoo out of her eyes, she looked at me with eyebrows upturned. “I have to hold on to the wall because of my stupid leg. I was wondering, would you mind, well.” A slightly nervous smile parted her lips. “Washing my back?”
I didn't bother hiding the smirk that crawled across my face. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a morning. “It'd be my pleasure,” I replied, watching her head fade back beneath the steam and semi-opaque curtain.
I pulled the barrier to the side. Flora had her naked back to me. The harsh, bluish bathroom light couldn't rob the beauty of her every tight curve. Her slick body shimmered, daring me to touch her.
I resisted, at least long enough to grab the bar of soap and lather my hands. I started at her shoulders. They were supple, her skin yielding to my grip. I massaged the soap into her back. Slowly I moved downward, sliding my thumbs on either side of her spine and letting my fingers caress each rib.
I slipped a hand around to her stomach. “Just for support,” I cooed softly. We both accepted it for the lie that it was.
“Of course,” Flora agreed, breathing in deeply. Yearning radiated from her.
My other hand washed over each hip in turn, then lingered just above the swell of her ass. She arched forward, the water running down her back and collecting over my hand. My eyes traced their path over her thighs and between her legs.
And then my hand followed.
I stopped, inches away from her pussy. Flora mewled, wiggling against me. The emanating heat that bathed my fingers was maddening, but I wanted to hear her beg me for it.
“It's not nice to tease a wounded girl,” she said.
I let go of her thigh altogether. “Do I strike you as the nice type?” Flora groaned in disappointment. Her whole body tensed in fleeting protest.
I flexed my fingertips into deep lines across her stomach, pulling her against my chest. My cock dug into her flesh, both of us hissing.
I kissed and bit her; at the back of her neck, at her collar bone, at everything I could. I barely noticed that her water slicked skin had soaked through the front of my shirt and pants. I certainly didn't care.
“Connor.” Her voice was so lustfully liquid that I tried to drink it through the nape of her neck. Her fingers crept along the back of my head, intertwining with my hair, her nails dragging along my scalp. “I need to feel you.”
One of my hands drifted up past her belly button to graze gently between her breasts, while the other dragged down through the nook of her hips. Every touch and scrape doubled my desire for her, it became suffocating. “How badly?”
I let my fingertip slip over lher pussy, flicking gently inward. “More, please.” Flora's voice was distant but eager. Her tone alone hardened me. My erection cried out in my soaked denim. I couldn't take it anymore.
I turned flora around to face me. She winced from the pain in her leg.
“Are you—” I started to say.
She cut me off by kissing me and pulling me deeper into the shower with her. Her back slapped against the tile, if it hurt she didn't acknowledge it. The water cascaded down my back, I was soaked, but all that mattered was Flora's lips. They pressed against me both fast and violently while still maintaining an earnest tenderness.
“Fuck me,” she begged, tearing at my shirt. I leaned back and tore it off.
She kissed at my chest and popped the button on my jeans. I took over, sliding them down and tossing them onto the opposite sink. They landed with a heavy slap.
Flora's hand reached into my skin-clinging boxers and grabbed my rock hard cock. She was ravenous, but then, so was I. My shaft flexed in her small hand. “Squeeze,” I ordered. She did, the pressure felt wonderful.
I plunged two fingers into her mouth, then watched her eyes light up when I slid two more into her pussy. She smiled, sucking on my fingers while sliding her fist back and forth down my shaft. I let my fingers drag out of her mouth, then down her bottom lip and chin. I kissed her again.
“Do you have any condoms left?” she asked between bursts of passionate kisses.
I reeled my jeans in, searching for my wallet. Spotting it on the floor I grabbed it, pulling out a recently bought condom. I tore at the packaging with my teeth.
I handed it to her, then flung the leather wallet across the room to hopefully somewhere dry. “I want to see you do it this time.”
Flora smiled, pinched the latex before pulling the ribbed circlet over my cock's fat head. She then rolled it down the length, all the way to the stem. I swiveled the shower head straight down, off of us. Water, although fun for foreplay, makes a terrible lubricant.
I dropped my boxers the rest of the way and pushed her against the wall, taking the stress off her wounded leg. Brushing the matted hair from her eyes, I gazed at her. Rivulets of water from her hairline traced the subtle beauty of her face. I couldn't help but lose myself in it, she was truly stunning. Full of life and hope and passion. I could hardly believe that after everything I'd done, that I'd end up with someone as special as Flora.
“What?” She smiled, getting a little self-conscious.
“Nothing,” I said, kissing her chin. I let my grin turn mischievous, working my way down her neck. Gripping my cock, I dragged the tip of it along her clit before plunging into the warm opening I'd been yearning for. She took every inch, crushing me from the inside through pulses and waves. I felt her pussy's every involuntary ripple.
I rode her rhythm, watching her chest rise and fall, feeling the way she counter moved with each of my thrusts. I listened. I touched her where and how her body demanded. I played Flora's gasps and whimpers, grunts and screams like a delicious orchestra, getting high on her every note.
With a hand squeezing her ass, I rocked my cock back and forth. I fucked her dirty and raw. My cock throbbed the closer she got to coming. When she straddled the cusp, I leaned her over and pressed small, rapid circles into her clit with my thumb.
Her hips bucked, nipples turning to diamond. As Flora screamed, I sped up and thrust harder. “Oh God, oh God!” Words escaped her in a jumbled, incoherent mess. Her whole body jerked in spasms. Her cunt strangled me.
Sweet ecstasy moaned through her lips. The way her smooth body pushed into me and quivered made me explode. I'd needed to feel her come, to feel her vibrate with pleasure, to get off. Her tight pussy milked me until my balls ached. All my strength drained away.
I braced myself against the shower wall with my forearm and fist. Flora wrapped her arms around me, like she never wanted to let go. My convulsions finally slowing, I embraced her back. Flora was incredible, I couldn't recall any girl that matched her.
Pulling out, I tossed the condom in the toilet and turned the shower back on us. The water temperature had cooled, but we both welco
med the chance to wash off the glistening sweat.
“How're you feeling?” I asked, nuzzling her throat.
“I'm fine, I feel wonderful.” Flora kissed me, our tongues curling in a slow dance. She grabbed a towel for each of us. “I am a little exhausted, though.” Between the emotional and physical exertion, the meds and the sex, she was visibly beginning to power down.
I dried off, then flicked my eyes down her body. “And the rest of you?”
She blushed, laughing until her teeth flashed. “You're awful.”
Once we were both dry enough, I picked her up and carried her to bed. After a quick bandage change, we laid together in an actual bed for the first time and drifted to sleep as one.
****
There was a knock on the door.
I'd woken up before Flora. Part of that was because I was terrified she'd be gone when I opened my eyes. The way her head rested on my shoulder, though, I knew that wasn't a valid fear any longer.
I'd laid in bed for a while, just listening to her breathe. I thought back to that first night in Roach's place when I'd done the same, but while on the floor. I'd dreamed of what it would be like to be where I was now.
If the Ronin then knew what was in store, would he have stuck it out or run screaming? I honestly didn't know for sure. That version of me seemed like such a different person now. So far removed.
The knocking came again.
Flora groaned and pushed herself onto her side in a pitiful attempt to wake up. “Is there someone at the door?”
I sighed. I'd held onto her as long as I could, but the rest of the world had caught up. I stood, throwing on a pair of boxers. My clothes were still wet from that glorious shower sex, but I did find a powder blue bathrobe. It wasn't the most flattering thing, but it did cover what it was meant to.
Poet's lean build braced against the adjacent exterior wall when I opened the door. He cocked his head back, brushing his shaggy brown hair out of his face. “And now good-morrow to our waking souls. That's a good look on you.”
I shook my head and smiled. I knew someone was going to stop by, but I didn't think it'd be him. “It helps me get in touch with my tender side. Hey, Rem. Good to see that you made it.” We embraced like only bikers could. “Don't you have a club to run?”
“It's going to take a few weeks to clean up our involvement in this mess. Consider this my lunch break.”
“The Knights?” I asked with more curiosity than concern.
“All but dismantled. With no leadership or income, the rest of their chapters will either splinter off or dissolve. Either way, they're no longer a threat to us. You were right, going after them now was the correct play.”
I nodded. “You gonna torch the mansion?”
“We'll salvage whatever we can to recoup our losses, compensate our fallen brothers' families, and to get those girls somewhere safe.”
With the mountain of drugs in there, it was almost a shame we didn't deal. Drugs were a dirty game, one I've always been glad we weren't playing anymore. “If we're not going to burn it, what comes next??
“After we scrub the place, there won't be any proof we were there. We'll let the cops do their jobs. With some well placed bribes, it should look like Lucky got ambitious and used his Knights to go after his brothers' trafficking empire. The cops get to be the heroes for toppling two massive criminal organizations, and we get to stay out of the news.” Poet shrugged. “Win win.”
Remy had vision, that was for sure. It was why he was running things. The man was an artist at finding all the angles.
“Damn, I was hoping for a parade in my honor.”
Remy snorted. “Maybe next time.”
“With all the wreckage to get out in front of, I figured I'd only get a phone call from you, if anything at all. What brings you here?”
“Yeah, well. I couldn't give you your bike through the phone.”
“No shit...” In all the chaos, I hadn't had the chance to ask Flora where she'd left it. I think part of the reason I didn't bring it up was because I was worried she'd say that it was destroyed or something. I nearly jogged past him.
Barefoot and in the bathrobe, I went far enough down the outside hallway for the cracked parking lot to come into view. There were a few beater cars around, but it was otherwise empty. The only exceptions were an idling black SUV, with a few Steel Veins hanging around smoking, and the familia,r dusty chrome of my heavily missed bike.
And my bike's rider?
Claudine hung her helmet on the handlebars, making her way toward us.
“We found it in the grass near the house,” Remy said, casually approaching up to me.
“You let her ride my bike?”
“She said she was a friend of yours, and I wasn't going to let her ride mine.” He slapped me on the back and gave me a sly grin.
It was a short walk that brought her to us. Claudine looked about as rested as she could be, all things considered. “Morning, Ronin. Is Flora awake?”
“Should be. Room twenty-three.”
“Thanks.” Smoothing her hair, she walked around me.
I grabbed her hand as she passed. “Good choice.”
Claudine smiled, catching my meaning. I was glad she'd stayed. Passing me, she headed towards my room.
“So what's next for you, Ronin?” Poet leaned his back against the railing.
“Hadn't had time to think that far ahead.” I watched Claudine knock on the open door to our room, then slip inside. When I turned back, Poet was holding out a set of patches.
“You still looking for a home?”
My hand came up, fingers flexing. “You're letting me back in?”
“Something like that.” Poet gestured that I should look at the patches.
Taking them, I squinted. “The Leslie chapter?” It was the Knights that had forced the Veins to kick me out. Being let back in was one thing, but this... The unlikeliness of it slapped me like a wet fish. “You want me to join the mother chapter, your chapter?” This was a huge honor. I felt the need to look around for cameras. This had to be a joke.
Since the changing of the guard, Steel Veins' membership became extremely strict throughout the whole club. This was especially true of Remy's crew. He only allowed in those he trusted personally.
“Don't you think you've been running long enough?” he asked.
I chuckled and looked off, thinking it over. I'd always been an outsider, even in the Steel Veins. As a Nomad, I was a loner in an organization that prided itself on brotherhood and family. Joining an actual chapter... I'd toyed with the idea every once and a while, but it never seemed like a good fit for me. Even if I'd wanted to, I had something of a reckless reputation. No chapter would risk taking me on.
I looked back down at the embroidered cloth rectangles in my hand. There were two of them. One of them read 'SGT. AT ARMS.' “You're joking, right?”
Remy packed and lit a cigarette, letting the smoke invade, then retreat, from his lungs.“What you did yesterday, most men couldn't have done, especially for the reasons that you did. That shows me that you do care about something larger than yourself, and that you're determined to see it all the way through, no matter how hopeless or desperate.”
Poet handed me a smoke. I took it.
Lighting my cigarette, he continued. “Hate to tarnish your reputation, but those are some pretty admirable qualities. When things get rough, I want a man with those qualities watching my back. The whole chapter agrees, Connor. You're finally ready for this.”
I laughed and looked away. Shaking my head, I turned back to him. “You're serious, aren’t you?” He turned out his hands and raised his eyebrows in an expression that casually said yes.
Flora, my bike, my club... and the piece of myself that I'd been searching for, all within reach. All I had to do was take it.
“On one condition.”
Remy rolled his hand for me to continue.
“Flora's sister comes with us. I want the club to take care of her,
too.”
“Might be a little cramped at the clubhouse, but we can carve out some space for her. There's also a methadone clinic at Leslie memorial, it can help her kick the addiction. We'll even foot the bill. Hell, Star will probably find a way to make it tax deductible.”
My smile was hard to mute. “Your girl is pretty crafty. Hey, one more thing. We got any extra hardware kicking around? If I've learned anything, it's that both these girls are going to want to ride. I can't imagine the Knights need their bikes anymore.”
“I think we can dig up something. Lucky's not using his at the moment, I'm sure he wouldn't mind donating to the cause.” Remy smiled knowingly. “Look at that! Concern for others... Shit, man, you have changed.”
I laughed. “I just don't want them stealing my bike anymore.”
Epilogue
Flora
The wind whipped through my hair, long strands curling close to my ears like they had a secret for me. With the fringes of winter on the horizon, today was possibly one of the last days with sun in some time.
I wasn't going to let it be wasted.
Bending low over the bike, I gripped the handlebars. The smile on my face was frozen there, my cheeks aching from the tension of my joy. Nothing came close to this freedom. I'd thought I'd appreciated the sensation long ago, but now I knew better. After coming so close to death, I'd never waste another moment on Earth.
Never again.
At my side, an engine revved. The young woman by my hip was thrusting forward on her bike, as if she was daring the wind to take her captive. Even with a helmet on, her thick hair danced and coiled like a long line of mist on a mountain. Pink glowed on her skin, the surface shiny, fresh.
I knew that face well. I carried it in my pocket everywhere I went.
It had taken a month in rehab, but Claudine had turned back time. She resembled the woman I'd spent years looking up to. Literally, and figuratively. The Veins had been incredibly kind to us both, making sure that we were taken care of.
Truly, I had many people to thank.
But only one of them held a special place in my heart.
Peeking over my shoulder, I saw Ronin a split second before he rolled close to me on the empty road. The day he'd told me that Claudine and I had a new home, if we wanted it, had been one of the best moments of my life.
