“I want you, too, Stryker, but I’m scared.”
“What are you scared of?” I wrap her arms around my neck if nothing else but to save the dead feeling in them from being held above her head for so long.
“That you’ll think I’m stupid and walk away.”
Chapter Eight
Coral
Why would you think that?”
I swallow hard. How do you tell a man that you’ve never willingly slept with anyone in your life? That you’re basically a virgin?
“Because I’ve never done this before.” His eyes bug out, but he doesn’t let me go. His hands are stroking my back gently.
I don’t know what it is about this man, but I’m falling for him. How is that possible when I don’t even know him? Not really.
However, in the month I have been home, I’ve watched him. I’m a good judge of character. I read people well. This man is lonely. Not in the conventional sense. He’s surrounded by people every day, but deep inside, he’s alone.
I know from Taylor that he has no family at all. BlackJack found him living on the streets when he was nineteen, skinny from starvation, dirty and alone. He tried to rob BlackJack, who took pity on Stryker and took him home. Taylor mothered him, and Jack brought him into the club.
To look at him now, you’d never know this beautiful man was once a lost child. He’s built like a giant in every way, years of hard work and working out with the men of the club have turned him into a giant of a man. Yes, he’s a biker, he’s dangerous on level’s most can't even fathom. However, I see the beautiful man inside. He’s kind, compassionate, warm, and so beautiful it floors me.
Shepard will most definitely kill Stryker for even being here with me like this, for kissing me, holding me, touching me, but I want it so badly. I feel safe in his arms. Don’t get me wrong I’m a strong woman, I’ve been through some tough shit in my life, I survived it, it made me stronger. I can survive anything, but it doesn’t hurt to be in the arms of a strong man who would kill an army if they so much as looked at you the wrong way, just as he did tonight with that guy.
Don’t think about what happened tonight and what Stryker so obviously did to that man. It will only play on your mind and drive you crazy. You’ve spent all month wishing this man would feel something for you. He just saved your life, and now he’s here trying to tell you how he feels. Just be honest with him.
“I want you so badly, Stryker. I want you to touch me and do all those things you like doing to other women to me, but the truth is, I’m just not ready to go all the way.”
I don’t know what else to say. I imagine I sound like a stupid little girl to a man like him, but I won’t force myself to sleep with him when I’m not ready. I wouldn’t be all there with him, and he deserves a woman’s full attention.
My hands slide down his chest as I lower my head. I feel stupid, but at least I know now. He doesn’t want me for anything other than my body. I was dumb to think that he could want me for anything more.
His hand cups my face, lifting my head. I look deep into his eyes, I see so much within them. He wants to be loved so badly. I want to be the one to love him. I wish it could be me.
“What happened to you, baby?” His voice is low, calming, full of curiosity. How can he read me like this? “Who hurt you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Stryker. I’m not ready.” I don’t think I ever will be, and definitely not with this man.
He doesn’t say anything, he just pulls me into his arms and holds me close to his big body. I wrap my arms around him and sigh. It feels so good to be held.
He rocks me gently and kisses my head, drawing a smile from my lips. “No one will ever hurt you again, not with me around.”
“Planning to be around long?”
“As long as you want me, baby.”
Oh, god. Kill me now. My ovaries are about to explode for this man.
“What’s happening between us, Mark?” I feel him smile against my head at the use of his given name, but I need to know. I don’t want to open my heart to him if I’m not really what he wants.
I know we don’t really know much about each other, but I know it will be easy to get to know each other. I know Stryker is special, I know he should be mine. He will be mine. He just needs to stop fighting it.
“I'm claimin’ you, Coral.” I pull away just enough to look up at him. His eyes tell me that he’s deadly serious. Do I want to be claimed? Erm... By this man? Yes, I think I do. “Ain’t waitin’ another day for some other fucker to come along and steal you away from me.”
“I don’t want any other man.”
“Damn fuckin’ right you don't. Ain’t got a damn clue how I’m gonna tell Shepard. The man is gonna kill me and then some.”
“Don’t say that.” I press my fingertips against his lips. I know what Shepard will do when he finds out about this, he told all of his men what he would do if they came near me, and I know Stryker thinks a lot of his president. So the fact he’s here, wanting to claim me, tells me that he’s been struggling with how he feels. It says that he thinks I’m worth going against his president for.
I feel fucking honored.
“I need to say it, little bird, because if we’re gonna do this thing, then we need to be ready for the shit storm that will no doubt hit us.”
“Can’t we just get to know each other first? Can we wait a little while before we tell Shepard anything? I mean, you might not even want to be with me in a weeks time.”
He smirks and tells me, “You have no clue, baby, none at all.” With that, he kisses the shit out of me. I can’t even keep up with him. I have never been kissed like this, not by a man.
I slide my hands into his hair, pulling him closer to my aching body. I’m not ready for sex, I know that, and I won’t just have sex with him because I’m throbbing in places I’ve never throbbed before. But the Lord knows I want to touch, taste, and feel him in every other way possible.
However, this perfect man doesn’t attempt to touch me anywhere but my back and my face. He knows I’m not ready. He heard me. He respects me, and I am falling so hard already.
His forehead rests against mine, his hands on my hips. “Do you want this, baby girl? You wanna try with me? It won’t be easy. I’m not an easy man to get along with, I’ve been on my own for so long I don’t even really know if I can give you what you need. But you make me want to try, Coral.”
Never has anything been easier to answer in my life. “You’re not alone anymore, baby,” I tell him as I stroke his face with my hand. His eyes are closed, chest heaving with emotion. I don't know all that he’s been through in his life, but he’s not alone now. “I’m here with you. I’m claiming you, Mark. I’m claiming you, Stryker.” I’m claiming both sides of this man. I want all of him.
I kiss his lips softly.
“No matter what we have to face, you need to know that you are worth it, Stryker. No matter what Shepard said, I know he’ll be okay with this in the end. He would never hurt me. I know that. All he has ever done is protect me. I don’t know what’s going to happen between us, where this thing will lead us,” Apart from me falling in love with you, totally, utterly, and completely. “But I want to find out.”
He holds me in his arms, tightly, safely, rocking me from side to side, mumbling his thanks in my ear. He has nothing to thank me for, but I feel he means the fact I’ve claimed him as much as he’s claimed me.
I’m claiming his heart. I’ll hold it tight and safe, and I’ll never let him down. I don’t care how this makes me sound, I have never felt this way about anyone in my life. I don’t care who says it’s too soon to love him. It’s too late, I already do.
I know he doesn’t love me yet, and I say yet because he will soon enough. Yes, I’m cocky, but I see where this is heading, and I am so excited for the future.
Shepard, on the other hand, he’s another story, but I believe what I told Stryker, Shepard will come around in the end. I just think, maybe, we
should keep our relationship to ourselves until we’ve figured each other out.
I’m going to enjoy that part.
Chapter Nine
Stryker
Some men might have second thoughts the day after. I didn’t. I haven’t had a second thought for the past two weeks. She’s mine, and I won’t give her up for anything in this world.
Yeah, we’ve talked a few times about how we’ll tell Shepard about us, I want it over with already, but Coral isn’t ready. I think she’s holding onto what we have now in case Shepard doesn’t take it too well and ends up killing me.
Whenever I’m not at the clubhouse or work, I’m with Coral. Don’t wanna be anywhere else but with her. We haven’t slept together, or even done anything sexual yet, but she sleeps over at mine when Denise is at home. When Denise is not home, and she’s over at Ice’s, I stay over with Coral at their place. I hold her every fuckin’ night in my arms, and I sleep so well. Ain’t slept like that in... Well, ever.
There is no doubt in my mind that Coral is my best friend. She understands me like no one ever has. She tells me the same thing. Tells me that we're soul mates. Never thought about shit like that before, but it's nice to think about.
Call me what you will, but I’ve been thinking a lot more about the future. All I see is Coral by my side, as my wife, the mother of my children. I want that, and I’m going to make it happen, no matter what I have to do. Shepard will understand eventually. I’ll make sure of it.
I’m not a man of material things, I’ve never had much of anything. Never needed many things. Things are only things. Things can be replaced. Hell, anything can be replaced.
But I’ve become a selfish man, a man who wants to own the woman who fast stole his heart. I want Coral for the rest of my life.
Who said it was okay to bring her into my life and make me fall for her?
Who said it was okay for her to show me that I’m not the nothing my old man told me I was?
But she has shown me that I’m something. She has made me fall in love with her, and it feels fuckin’ amazing. I don’t care about the biker image I’m supposed to show at all times. The hard man, the strong man, don’t give a fuck about the guy everyone sees every day. Because I’ve never given a fuck about much, but I give a fuck about Coral and her happiness. I don’t know if I can be the man who brings her happiness every day for the rest of her life, but I’ll give it my best shot.
Since joining the Snakes, I fail at nothing. I do a job, I win. I’m a fighter, a survivor, and I’ll fight for Coral until my last breath. I won’t give her up for anything.
Will I walk away from the Snakes if Shepard tells me I have to choose?
You bet I will.
Never thought I’d ever say something like that, not even to myself, but there are just some things in life that are more important than the MC. Yeah, those guys are my brothers, BlackJack, my surrogate father, but Coral is my future. She’s going to be my family. I need her like I need my next breath to live.
Just being around her makes me smile. I feel like a fuckin’ woman half the time. Especially when I see that smile on her face the second she sees me. My stomach muscles tighten, my face aches from smiling at her, and when she’s in my arms? Fuck, there ain’t no better feeling in this world.
Her little body molds against mine like she was made just for me, ain’t no denying that fact. Hell, she was made for me, and no one will ever convince me otherwise.
When I’m not with her, I want to be. I can’t think of anyone but Coral, and I know she feels exactly the same way. She doesn’t have to tell me for me to know it. I fuckin’ feel it deep inside of me.
Like tonight, I was at the clubhouse drinking with some of the brothers. We drank, played pool, talked bullshit, and all the while there was a soft voice in my head telling me it was okay to have fun. I don’t do fun. Shit, I don’t speak half the time, but I did have fun right up until I heard her voice in my head telling me to call her. The weird thing is I could seriously hear her voice in my head telling me she needed to hear my voice. So I stepped outside and did just that. “This is so weird,” She’d said.
“Why, baby?” I asked.
“Because I was just lying on my bed thinking about you. I felt sad for some reason,” Gutted me to hear her say that to me. “I’m not sad. I have nothing to be sad about, but I started missing you. I was just about to call you so I could hear your voice, and here you are calling me. How did you do that?” There was amusement in her voice, a little giggle, and all was well in my world because she was just fine.
“Sounds stupid, but I heard you in my head saying my name, telling me you needed me. Want me to come over?”
“Dumb question, handsome. Of course, I want you to come over.”
I’m there not fifteen minutes later, lying in her bed with my arms wrapped tightly around her, hers around my waist, head on my shoulder, and if I died right now, I’d be a happy man.
I’ve never had this. All my life I’ve kept people at arm’s length as much as I could. My childhood... Let’s just say no kid should have to grow up the way I did. Never knowing what love is, never feeling safe or wanted.
Mom was a flake. Couldn’t handle a kid she never wanted. Stunned me when I first saw Taylor holding Dominic and making him laugh because he thought he was such a big boy that he didn’t need hugs and kisses from his mother anymore, but I know he secretly loved it.
She’d tell her son’s hundreds of times every day how much she loved them. Wasn’t shy in telling her husband either. I had no honest clue that mothers were anything like Taylor. How could I when I had no example of it?
If I so much as tugged on my mother’s sleeve, she’d beat the crap out of me. She got it from my old man so she’d pass the beatings on to me. All I knew by the time I was four was how to stay silent. Not talking or whining when I was hungry meant I didn’t get a beaten. Ignoring her and my old man screaming at each other and hiding in my bedroom meant I was safe for a little while.
Can’t say I was sad when she split. In fact, I was fucking glad. Bitch never cared about me, never called, sent a letter, nothing. I don’t even know if she’s still alive. Don’t even care.
Daddy dearest, on the other hand. That motherfucker used me as his personal punchbag from the day that bitch walked out until the day I did something about it. That bastard did some ungodly things to me as a small child. I’m not talking about sexual abuse and all that shit. Trust me there can be worse things.
I was terrified of him for a while there. Until I was nine anyway. You soon learn that crying and begging get you nowhere. ‘Ain’t no one out there gonna save you, boy!’ He screamed one night while pinning me down on the couch by my throat.
I can't even remember what I’d done wrong that day. Probably looked at him wrong, or some pathetic shit like that, but he beat the living hell out of me that day. ‘You’ve been a fuckin’ let down since the day you were born! You’re nothin’. You will always be nothin’!’
Broke my wrist and collarbone that day. Did worse in the years that followed.
However, I’m a survivor, I got the fuck out of there before that prick killed me, or I killed him. Fuck me. I was so close. I turned on that bastard and made sure he never forgot my name.
“I love when you hold me like this.” I smile and kiss Coral’s head. Like every other time we’ve been in bed together, she’s wearing a pair of pajama shorts and a tank. I’m in my boxers and t-shirt. Can’t let her see what lies beneath just yet.
But I won’t lie, it’s hard – my cock, literally – being this close to her and not touching her the way I want to. Not that I would ever push her into anything she’s not ready for. I respect the fuck out of her. Always will.
When she’s ready, she’ll let me know. Until then, I’ll happily wait. Because just being with her is enough for me.
“Mark, there’s something I want.”
“What do you want, baby?” My eyes are closed. I’m tired as fuck. Don’t slee
p well without her. When I’m with her, I sleep like a baby. But right now, whatever she wants I’ll give her.
“I want you to touch me.”
My eyes spring wide open. Did I hear her right?
I turn my eyes to her and ask, “Coral, what are you talkin’ about? Baby, you don’t have to do anything you're not ready for. Don’t you know that I’d wait forever for you?”
“You’re so perfect, Mark, you have no idea what you do to me. I’m not ready to go all the way, but I don’t think I can go one more minute without knowing what it’s like to be touched by you.” I groan as she presses those perfect pink lips to the pulse in my neck. “Please. I want us to help each other come.”
Ah, fuck.
I turn on my side, pressing her into the mattress. “Do you have any idea what you’re askin’ me?”
“Yes, I’m asking you to make me come.” Little hands slide around my neck, pulling me between her now open legs. Fuck, I can feel the heat of her pussy against my erection. Yeah, I’m hard as fuck, who wouldn’t be right now? “My pussy is aching for you. I’ve been so wet all day thinking about you touching me. Since the moment you claimed me, you’ve respected the fact I’m not ready for more than this. You’ve become the best friend I have ever had, Mark.” She strokes my cheek with the back of her hand.
I close my eyes and groan. This woman is going to be the death of me.
“How do you want me to make you come, little bird? My hands or my mouth?”
“I want your mouth all over my body. Make me your woman, Mark.”
“You already are.” I grab the hem of her shirt, and she helps me pull it from her body. She’s not wearing a bra, and I swear, I almost come in my damn boxers. Her tits are the perfect handful, and I take full advantage of touching, tasting those perfect little tits.
She moans as I suck on her pretty pink nipples one at a time. She tastes so damn good. Every inch of her skin is perfect. I lick and suck at her skin, her tits, her neck, her stomach. I can't get enough. Her hips tip against me, shamelessly rubbing her pussy against my hard-on. She wants my mouth on her pussy. She doesn't need to say anything for me to know it.
Strike Fast: Prequal (Snakes Henchmen MC) Page 6
