by Nikki Landis
Part of me felt like calling up Detective Sims and telling him I didn’t care if I wasn’t supposed to be in Providence I wanted to find my best friend. Why should I live in fear? Why did I have to be the one to give everyone and everything up?
Agitated I began to pace my balcony.
Not five minutes later I was determined to follow through with my choice. I didn’t care anymore. Nothing was as bad as being alone and forgotten. If the Outlaws still wanted me dead there was nothing I could do to stop it but my life was at an all-time low and even rival MCs wasn’t enough to convince me to stay here a minute longer.
Paul was on my speed dial. I didn’t remember adding his number to my I.C.E. list and had a sneaking suspicion he did it when I wasn’t looking. Frowning, I waited for him to answer.
It rang twice.
“Hey Rae, you alright?”
“Yep,” I answered curtly. “But I need to talk to you. Now!” I hadn’t taken that tone with him before, and it seemed to put him immediately on edge.
“What’s this about? Are you in trouble?”
“No, but you might be if you don’t get here ASAP.”
“Shit. Give me ten minutes.”
He was at my front door in eight. I opened the door before he had a chance to knock and I ushered him in, pacing back and forth in a rare display of temper.
“Do I get to know what this is all about Rae?”
I sighed, leveling him with a serious stare, “I’m not staying here any longer. I need to go home.”
His eyes widened and he shook his head, taking several steps toward me, “No way.”
Sorry? Did he just tell me no? “I don’t care what you say I’m sick of living my life alone. I’m done.”
“Done? What happened? I’ve never seen you like this before. Did someone threaten you? Bother you? Just tell me –”
I cut him off with a snappy attitude, folding my arms across my chest in agitation, “Does something have to happen for me to want to leave? Can’t I just want to find my best friend and live a normal life? Hayley is the closest thing I have to family. Everyone else is gone.”
My voice broke, and I turned on my heel, practically running through the door and out on my balcony.
I needed the fresh air, gulped it into my lungs as I leaned over the black metal railing, squeezing the bars so tight my knuckles turned white. My chest heaved as the first tears filled my eyes but I wouldn’t let them spill. Not anymore. I’ve cried so many times the last five years I lost count.
“Rae? I’m sorry. I should have understood where you were coming from. I forget sometimes . . . how young you are and how much you’ve lost.”
I didn’t answer him as I turned around, afraid all of the emotion I kept bottled up would overflow.
“Rae, honey?” he was right there, so close we could nearly touch. “You aren’t alone. Not ever. Don’t you see that?” he tilted my chin up until our eyes met. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Sims, this isn’t the time.”
“Paul, remember?” his lips twitched with a small smile.
“Paul, whatever you think this is between us, it’s not –”
I was going to say it would never happen but he cut me off . . .
With a kiss.
I STRADDLED MY HOG, sitting as the heavy engine rumbled beneath me, staring up at Rae’s balcony from a distance. Whirling from my afternoon at the hospital with Bryce I left with only one destination in mind. Today I had been reunited with the brother I never knew I had. That shit was surreal, but for once I was actually sort of happy. I knew my mother was a good person so I wasn’t upset with her choices. Who knew what she had to endure with Striker? He was Bryce’s father but also a dangerous prick. Maybe she left him for my dad. Who knew?
A hundred questions floated in my head for Mack, but there was one thing I had to do first. Even if I failed and Rae rejected me, I decided once and for all that I wasn’t going another day without her in my arms.
No matter what.
So here I was, nervous as fuck, looking up at her apartment and hoping I had the courage to tell her how I truly felt. Sitting in the late afternoon shade, hidden off to the side behind a long stretch of trees, I rehearsed the words I wanted to say in case I got tongue-tied.
She had that effect on me when I was near her.
Consumed with memories of Rae I let out a shaky breath and tried not to let all my regrets and stupid choices convince me to walk away. In the background played a rock version of “The One That Got Away” from my phone. I wasn’t sure how that song made it onto my playlist, but I’m pretty sure this was some kind of sick joke from one of my brothers and really shitty timing.
Sighing and gathering my courage, I glanced up at her balcony one last time to see if she had gone inside. Instead, I was witness to some asshole pull her into his arms and force a kiss on her lips.
What the fuck?
Who was this motherfucker and why the hell was he kissing my girl?
Off my bike in two seconds flat I ran for her building and slipped into the reception area right as a couple was leaving. I barely acknowledged their look of surprise as I darted past and sprinted for the stairs, not even bothering to wait for an elevator.
That’s the fastest I’ve run in a long time, but I wasn’t short on breath. Oh no.
I was short on fucking temper.
Stomping down the hall to her apartment in my heavy, clunky boots, I pounded on the door as it swung open and slammed against her wall with a loud crack. The air sizzled with my anger as I headed right for the tall fucker who was touching my old lady. Without a single thought in my head other than he was going down, I swung a meaty fist and connected with his jaw so hard I laid him the fuck out. I enjoyed the thud of his body hitting the ground a little too much.
“Get away from my fiancé you bastard!”
“What the hell are you doing here Edge?” he was down but not out, his hand on his jaw as he tested it, groaning lightly in pain.
Good.
“I could ask you the same thing. Since when do detectives and RICO agents show up and make house calls? How long have you been coming here and making a move on my girl?” I loomed over him menacingly absolutely certain I would end up hitting him again when he answered.
“Damn Edge she’s single. You aren’t together and haven’t been in years. What did you think was going to happen?” Yep, he was going down a second time.
I darted forward to hit him again, but Rae jumped in front of me and slapped her hands on my chest, pushing hard. It was sort of cute how she thought she could stop me. Pissed but slightly distracted by the feel of her soft hands on my body, I growled, “Get out of my way Rae.”
“No. Who the hell do you think you are Peter Harding?” her voice was high and borderline screeching, but I didn’t care. I was settling this shit here and now. My girl. My old lady.
And she was going to accept it even if I had to stay here all fucking night to convince her.
“You’re fiancé,” I retorted, watching as shock filled her eyes and then blazing anger.
Shit, this was going to be bad.
“My fiancé? You bastard!”
Chapter 38
“You bastard!” I yelled, shoving his chest away after the initial shock and joy of seeing Peter returned. “What the hell Peter? You haven’t been here –”
His lips crashed down on mine and I froze, completely engulfed with memories – his scent, his touch, his strong grip, and that raw, sexy look of possession and fierce attraction in his eyes.
Pete pulled me close into his strong and capable arms, his embrace locking and preventing me from escape, “I’ve fucked up Rae, and I’m sorry but please, listen to what I have to say.”
“Why should I listen to any of the lies that come from your mouth?”
He sighed, “Baby, I don’t lie.”
I didn’t want to give him another chance or remain in his arms where my brain turned to mush, and I couldn’t form a coh
erent thought to save my sorry ass if the world depended on it. “Peter, you left me. You abandoned me,” I accused, tears filling my eyes at the sudden unexpected rush of emotion that churned through my body like a tidal wave. His presence always made my emotions surge.
“I didn’t abandon you, Rae, baby I swear it.”
“Yes, you did. You had your chance and refused to take it. And don’t call me baby,” I glared at him, determined not to fall prey to his hypnotic gaze. “Besides, I’m seeing someone.”
I noticed that Paul smiled in his direction but headed for the door when Peter stiffened, and a snarl curled the left side of his mouth upward, “The fuck you are. You’re mine, Rae. You got that? Mine!” He shouted, rattling the pictures on the walls of my apartment.
“Now Edge, I think that’s up to Rae –”
“Get the fuck out now, or I’ll put you out myself!” he thundered.
Paul smirked and walked toward the door, saying over his shoulder before he left, “Bye Rae, we’ll talk soon.”
I didn’t answer, too preoccupied with the angry alpha male in front of me. My eyes narrowed at his caveman performance, “I can do whatever I want Peter Harding. Now get the hell out of my apartment!”
He took a step forward and growled like a freaking bear. That’s what he was, a wild animal. I saw it in his hardened eyes and chiseled jaw, in his stiff shoulders and angry stance, but most of all I saw the deep vulnerability and fear he tried to hide. Lurking behind the macho façade and harsh words was the guy I fell in love with as a young girl. The one who promised to love and protect me so many years ago.
He lingered inside like a lonely and scared little boy discarded as if he was unimportant, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. My heart broke at the thought he could be as empty and heartbroken as I was. Maybe I misjudged him?
We lost each other five years ago and now we were on the verge of doing it all over again. Seemed like we were destined to fail before we really had a chance to begin.
Torn apart by chance and one fateful night, was love enough to reunite us?
Peter was watching the different emotions play out on my face as my chaotic thoughts ran through my head.
“Trust me, baby,” he begged. “Don’t give up on us.”
The way his voice brushed over me, so sad and yet so full of love and promise, caused a wave of uncertainty to wash over me, a wave that clawed at my composure and threatened to tear all my walls down.
Could I afford to let him back in? To take a chance he could break my heart again?
Pete wasn’t the same guy I knew back in high school, but the truth was I had changed too. Our innocence was stolen from us both, our love ripped apart, and if we didn’t give it a chance now I wasn’t sure another opportunity would ever arise again. Second chances didn’t happen often, but when they did, I knew enough not to throw them away.
My parents didn’t get a second chance. They lost everything.
If I let Peter walk out my door right now, I would lose the only man I ever truly loved. The thought of never seeing him again frightened the hell out of me. He was my anchor. My hero. My solid rock. In this cruel and unpredictable world, he was the only thing that made sense.
What if I lost him again? What if he walked out my door and never returned?
Could I live with that?
“Peter, I’m afraid.”
His face softened, the hard edge disappearing as quickly as it appeared, “I’m scared too Rae but baby I love you.” He stepped closer as his hands lifted to my cheeks and his palms pressed softly against my skin. “Do you still love me Rae?” his breath caught in his throat as if he was uncertain of my answer.
I searched his pleading eyes knowing there was only one reply I could give, “With all my heart Pete.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled into the sexiest little lines as he replied gruffly, “That’s enough for us to start over honey. Don’t you think?” His voice lowered seductively, raspy and deep as he leaned in and let his lips hover above mine.
I closed my eyes and breathed him in, that old familiar scent of masculinity and aftershave and leather, hoping he would kiss me. I could feel his warm breath blanketing my skin, “Yes.”
To Peter, my answer was always yes.
“Rewinding time isn’t possible Rae, but do-overs are baby. We’ve been given another chance to do something right the second time that we got wrong the first time. I’m not taking any chances with you, this time we’re going to make sure this bullshit with Rafe and the SOMC ends, and we secure a future together,” he promised, his hazel eyes searching the depths of mine as they fluttered, desperate to convey his intentions.
“All I want is you, Peter. I don’t want to be left alone, empty, and hurt anymore.”
“Then don’t baby. Let’s pick up right where we left off. You don’t have to live another second alone. Let me erase all the sorrow and pain. Let me take it away and hold you close just like I used to do.”
“Oh Peter,” I whispered. My throat was tight with unshed tears, “Don’t ever leave me again.”
“I can’t Rae. It would kill me,” he gulped, swallowing hard and pulling me tighter against his chest. “I won’t live another minute without you.”
I rose up on my tiptoes and pressed our lips together before he had a chance. There was haunting desperation in that kiss, five years of longing and loneliness as we embraced, each of us clinging to the other because we knew just how fragile and unpredictable the future could be. Peter and I would take our chance, and we wouldn’t squander it.
Not anymore.
His hands drifted to my waist as he lifted my hips higher and deepened the kiss, my legs wrapping around his waist. For so long I had imagined this moment and what it would feel like to be in his arms again. None of my dreams came close in comparison.
We were a mess of teeth, lips, and tongue. Nipping, sucking and invading each other in a desperate and fierce need to make up for all the lost time apart. Ripping our clothes off each other, we couldn’t get naked fast enough. I fell back on the bed as Peter caught and suspended his weight above me, a sly smile curling up his lips in a seductive grin.
“I’ve wanted to taste you for so long . . .” his words trailed off as I realized he was lowering his lips to my stomach, licking with his rough tongue all the way down to my thighs. He pressed a kiss to my inner thigh and spread my legs apart, a look of pure sin on his handsome face before he dove into my folds face first with a fervor that shot white-hot sparks of desire coursing through my veins.
I moaned loudly when his tongue pressed into my opening, spreading my slick folds apart as he licked and sucked, thrusting inside with a pressure that made my hips buck. His strong hands held me in place as he murmured something unintelligible. His tongue ran up to my clit where he nibbled with his teeth and flicked it with the tip of his tongue, alternating to suck and lick while his fingers dipped between my thighs and into my heat driving me to near madness with the sheer pure bliss that radiated across my skin.
“You’re so fucking wet baby,” he grunted. “I don’t think I can wait to be inside you.”
I reached for him at the same moment he rose up and over me until our chests were touching, “We can take our time later Pete. Right now I need you.”
He growled low and dipped his head to capture my lips, his kiss both pain and pleasure, the rough hair of his beard scratchy but magnificently familiar as my fingers ran through his thick dark hair. He pulled back, a look of raw hunger in his eyes, one hand moving to my breast to tease my nipple before his tongue darted out to nip, bite, and flick it into a tight bud, sending a shiver across my bare skin.
He licked, sucked, nipped and pressed kisses from one breast to the other until I squirmed beneath him. Raw carnal need was filling me. I couldn’t wait much longer for him to join us together.
Peter’s fingers dipped with a soft pressure and ghosted across the sensitive skin of my stomach and down to my inner thigh leaving behind little ele
ctric sparks to ignite along my tender flesh.
“So beautiful,” he whispered, lowering his body to mine and taking the head of his hard cock and positioning it right outside my entrance, rubbing it against me with a low moan. Drops of pre-cum slickened the tip and coated my skin. I could feel it as he rocked his hips into mine.
His eyes met mine, locking as he ground out, “If I give you my cock baby this is it.”
“I know Peter,” I replied, panting with need.
“This isn’t foreplay, or me just showing you a good time,” he rasped. “This is me worshiping your body and making every inch of you mine.”
“I am yours,” I assured him. “I always have been.”
“No one else Rae. You and your pussy belong to me,” his eyes were wild with lust, but he kept control as I nodded my head.
“Only you Pete. Forever.”
As soon as the words left my mouth he thrust hard and fast inside me as I screamed out his name, pleasure bursting inside my head like an explosion, every synapse in my brain firing at the same time, “Peter!”
I noticed his wide grin of self-satisfaction as he plunged deep, filling me completely with every tilt of his hips, and enjoying the ecstasy that gripped us both. His hips rocked into mine with a surety and confidence that proved how much we belonged together. A perfect fit.
I lifted a hand to his cheek, and he kissed my palm, a look of such love and devotion that my heart skipped a beat, “Forever Rae.”
He reached for both of my hands and picked them up, pushing them above my head until I gripped the wooden slats in my headboard. Holding onto my wrists, he slowed his pace to a steady and grinding rhythm. Slow in and pulling out fast then slowly driving back in, hips rolling into mine, until he was so deep he couldn’t go any further.
“Peter,” I gasped, the pressure in my lower bodybuilding until I thought I would explode.
“Let it go, baby. Come for me. I want to hear you scream my name,” he growled, his hot breath near my ear. His teeth tugged on my lower earlobe at the same time as one of his hands slipped between my legs. Two fingers found my clit and began to rub slow, deliberate circles while he whispered, “I love fucking you. You’re so damn tight baby. I’m going to fill you up until every ounce of me is inside you.”
