Wolf (The Henchmen MC #3)

by Jessica Gadziala

  The next words were out of my mouth before I could temper how desperate they sounded. "Can I come?"

  "Like that?" he asked, a wicked grin pulling at his lips and I realized I was sitting up in bed, sheet pooled around my waist, shirtless.

  I rolled my eyes, snatching up the sheet and holding it to my chest. "Real mature. No not like this. I'll put on my..."

  "In here," he said, jerking the bag up.

  "I'll figure something out," I said, pulling the sheet with me as I climbed out of the bed. I couldn't exactly wear his tee out in public. But maybe if I took his flannel and belted it so it looked like a dress? That could work. I moved toward the hook by the door, snatching the flannel off. "What?" I asked when Wolf just stood there staring at me, brows drawn together.

  "Sheet."

  "What about the sheet?" I asked, looking up at him.

  "Fine naked last night."

  He wasn't wrong. After we had had sex, we had both stayed on top of the blankets, both gloriously naked, me babbling, him giving me his usual short answers. Occasionally, his hand would move over and drift across my belly, down my thigh, over my breasts. But it was chaste, like he was just trying to get to know every inch.

  I hadn't ever been a particularly insecure woman. We had very little privacy at Hailstorm. I'd seen Lo naked more times than I could count and she could say the same of me. Besides, I didn't really have all that much going on body-part wise. I liked how I looked, but I was flat and boyish, straight up and down. There didn't seem to be much to be insecure about to be honest.

  "That was last night," I said to cover my own confusion at my actions. "This is this morning."

  To that, I got an exaggerated eye roll. His arm moved out and snagged the tuck I had made above my chest and pulled it free. The sheet pooled to the floor. "Better," he said with a nod.

  "I needed to put this on anyway," I said with a chin lift as I slipped my arms into the flannel. He wasn't going to get a rise out of me over that. Nope. No way. And I didn't feel a pleasant flush of warmth as his eyes took me in hungrily as I buttoned up his shirt. "Do you have a belt?" I asked, expecting an immediate yes as I cinched in the waist.

  "Got rope."

  I looked up, fighting a smile. "You can't be serious," I said, shaking my head. He shrugged a shoulder and then, well, he got me some rope.

  It wasn't high fashion, but it didn't look as absurd as it sounded either.

  So off to the laundromat we went.

  See, here's the thing: I'd never been to such a place before. Growing up, we had our own machines and at Hailstorm, the girls co-opted their own set separate from the guys too. So I had never been introduced to the washer and dryer-lined walls and the white folding tables down the center. I use the word "white" loosely here because there was brown stuff of indeterminate origins in the crevices. Why? I couldn't tell you because they were for folding the clothes, you know... after they had been cleaned. At a machine in the center, a woman with a baby in a sling was hauling crib sheets into the washer with a huge yellow stain in the center. Now, I'm no baby expert, but I knew a piss stain when I saw one.

  Wolf hauled the bag up into a metal cart and moved toward a washer close to the door, looking over his shoulder at me because he had barked something about quarters to me as we walked in which I promptly forgot all about because I had spotted two dudes in the back corner doing a hand-off. Meaning... a drug deal. In broad daylight. In a laundromat.

  "What's with the look?" he asked, head cocked to the side.

  I wasn't aware I had a look, but given the level of disgust I was feeling, I imagined that was true. I also imagined said look intensified when I turned to him, holding up a hand. "You are not putting my clothes in that machine," I declared, making his brows raise and his lips twitch.

  "This'll be good."

  "Wolf that lady just put pee-stained sheets in that machine. I don't even want to think about how many different bodily fluids are floating around inside that washer when you turn it on."

  "It's a washing machine."

  "Yeah."

  "Self cleaning."

  "If we're following that logic. You know dishwashers?"

  "Yeah," he nodded, starting to look genuinely amused.

  "Well one could say they're self-cleaning, right?"

  "Yep."

  "Then how come you're supposed to clean it with vinegar and baking soda once a month? Huh?" I pressed when he didn't answer. "How much do you want to bet the owner of this place doesn't bother running empty cycles with bleach to clean these cesspools out?"

  Wolf exhaled on what was almost a laugh. "This a big deal?"

  I pursed my lips. "I'm pretty sure I don't want to be wearing clothes with leftover pee and god-knows what else on them."

  Wolf nodded, grabbing the bag and hauling it over his shoulder as he made his way to the door.

  "Um... where are we going?" I asked as he tossed the bag into his truck out front.

  "Buy a washer," he said, going to his side of the truck and climbing in.

  So yeah... then we went to buy a washer.

  "Janie..."

  "I'm just saying... you're a big bad biker dude and your clothes are probably covered in grease and blood more often than they're not. Do you really want a machine that you can't use the extra strength, super sudsy laundry detergent with?"

  "It's bigger."

  "Yeah well maybe you'll just have to do a few more loads."

  The salesman stood there, stoically silent, hopefully taking my "grease and blood" comment with a grain of salt. But if he did, he was a fucking idiot. This was Navesink Bank, if we were talking about blood, we didn't mean from falling down and skinning a knee.

  "It's not the washing machine's fault that one pair of your pants take up as much space as three pairs for a normal person," I added when he remained silent and the salesman checked his cell discreetly. To his credit, he didn't even look uncomfortable. I guess people fought a lot in the appliance department.

  Wolf sighed, slamming his big fist down on the machine I picked. "This one," he said, making the salesman jump. "This too," he said, hitting the dryer.

  "Great, sir. Now would you like us to deliver and set everything up for..."

  "No."

  I looked at Wolf's profile and felt my own lips twitching. To the salesman or anyone else, his no just sounded like a no, but to me, I heard more. I heard- no, I have a huge truck so I don't need it delivered; I also heard- no, I don't need you to set it up. I'm a man who knows how to do manly things like that.

  "If you can just bring it to the back, we can load it into the truck," I supplied, giving the salesman what I hoped was a sweet smile.

  "Sure thing. We can just ring you up back here..."

  So a washing machine, a dryer, two gallons of extra strength, super sudsy laundry detergent, and a laundry basket later, we made our way back to the cabin. I was still a little jazzed up that he had chosen the machine I suggested and even more jazzed at the idea of getting to watch him set said machine up. If there was one thing that was guaranteed to be sexy to watch a man do, it was pretty much anything that involved tools.

  "Where are you going?" I asked as he drove past the cabin and into the woods.

  "Shed."

  "The shed?" I yelped, thinking of the little shoebox of a room where he had been shoved when he was all nutso. "How can you hook them up in the shed? There's... nothing in there."

  "Got electric. Got plumbing."

  "There were no lights and no bathroom!" To this I got a shrug. "So you're telling me that you built it, plumbed it and ran electrical but somehow forgot to put in a toilet and a lamp?"

  "Something like that."

  I shook my head, settling back against my seat. Okay so maybe the plumbing thing made sense. He was a guy after all; the world was his urinal. But why not put some lights up? Maybe he just never spent any time there because it was so far away from...

  "Wolf, yo
u do realize how long a walk the shed is from the house, right?"

  "Yep."

  "So you plan to just trudge through these woods with a laundry basket all through the dead of winter... even when there is a foot of snow on the ground?"

  "Nope."

  "What do you mean 'nope'?"

  "Not me, you."

  I clicked off my belt and turned fully toward him. "I'm sorry... what?"

  "I cook. You got laundry."

  Well then. That was kind of... fair. Except... "Yeah that would work if you had to you know... trudge a mile through the woods holding a turkey and a bag of potatoes to get to the kitchen."

  Wolf pulled off beside the shed, cutting the engine, and hopping out. I hopped out too, much less easily given my height, stumbling slightly until I righted myself. "Is this some kind of punishment for throwing a fit about the laundromat?" I pressed as he hopped up into the bed to get the climbing dolly we had rented at the home improvement store on the way back.

  "No," he said, rolling the dolly toward the boxes.

  I wanted to follow him up, but there was no way I could get into the bed without flashing him. And I wasn't wearing panties. I had tried to get him to stop off at my car so I could at least grab a bag with some clothes in it. For whatever reason, he refused. And unlike the argument about the washing machine, he did not bend.

  I watched as he got the first box on the dolly and let the awesome contraption do its job and lower down to the ground. He brought it into the shed and came back out for the other. When he got it down, I moved to fall into step beside him. But then he turned, grabbed me at the hips, hauled me up onto the open truck bed and put me there.

  "Stay."

  "Stay?" I sputtered, slapping at his hands. "I'm not a fucking dog, Wolf."

  "Need to work."

  "Yeah, I know. I can help. I know all about tools. I can like... hand you stuff."

  "Need quiet."

  "I can be quiet." He gave me a look, the side of his lips turned up slightly in a mocking way. "Alright, fine. I haven't given you a lot of reason to believe I can, but I can. I swear."

  To that I got a chin jerk which I took for permission to enter (as if I would have stayed out regardless) and followed him in.

  Wolf didn't want tools handed to him. He wanted me to sit down on the discarded washer box and keep my mouth shut. And I had a point to prove so even though after almost two hours of sitting there, I kept my thoughts and opinions to myself though I was pretty sure he'd have had an easier time at one point if he used pipe wrench pliers instead of an adjustable wrench. But that was just me.

  "Done," he said suddenly, making me start. I hadn't been sleeping, but I hadn't exactly been fully conscious either. I pulled my legs up under me and got to my feet. The washing machine was in the process of filling and the dryer was vibrating gently as it ran through an empty cycle.

  "Awesome. It's a shame it's not going to get any use December through February."

  Wolf snorted, reaching for my hips, sinking in hard, and hauling me off my feet. I made some sort of gasp/shriek hybrid, unaccustomed to dangling in the air, until he dropped me down on top of the dryer. I barely got a second to interpret the look in his eyes until he moved inward, pressing into my knees until they parted around his body and he pushed in close.

  "What are you..." I started then trailed off as his hand went around the back of my neck hard as his mouth crashed down on mine. I heard a groan escape me, muffled by his lips on mine. There was no control in him, none of his usual tentativeness, giving me space to pull away. This was consumption; he was devouring me. His free hand went between us as his tongue teased mine, stroking up my slit and finding me already wet from the surprise, his lack of restraint, and maybe a little bit because of the vibrating going on beneath me. His fingers slipped inside.

  My legs tightened around him as his finger curled upward and stroked over my G-spot. His lips ripped from mine, his heavy lidded eyes holding mine as his finger raked over the spot relentlessly, the sensation almost overwhelming, making me tighten around him and rake my hands down his arms.

  "Wanna fuck you," he said, sending a shock through my body as his thumb brushed my clit.

  "Okay," I gasped, needing that like I needed to take my next breath. I was mindless with the urge for fulfillment.

  "Sure?"

  "Sure," I agreed, letting out a loud whimper when his fingers moved away from me.

  Wolf reached behind him, grabbing his wallet, and pulling out a condom. He made short work of removing his pants and protecting us. His hands gripped my hips, dragging me forward so quickly I squealed, grabbing the sides of the dryer, worried I would fall even with his body pressing against the front of the machine.

  "Ain't gonna be gentle," he warned, his voice rougher than I had ever heard it, the need I sensed there sending a shiver of desire through me.

  "I don't care. I just need you," I said, grabbing his arms.

  "'Kay," he said and then he was inside me, hard, to the root. My head fell forward onto his chest on a cry. "You good?"

  "Doesn't even cover it," I gasped as he withdrew, causing my body to clamp down tight, trying to keep him inside. Then he was. It wasn't fast, but it was hard, each thrust making my entire body jolt. Wolf's hands went behind my knees, hauling them up, and placing my feet on the edge of the dryer, spread wide for him. Then my hands were no longer on his arms, but around his neck, holding on as he picked up speed, threatening to send me flying with each thrust.

  This was something new, something completely immersive. Every nerve ending felt hypersensitive, tuned in to the barest of touches, like the way his ragged breath rushed over my cheek and neck and how his fingers dug in hard- one at my knee, the other at my hip. My heart slammed, my skin heated, and my breath got completely caught deep in my chest, leaving me choking out airlessly. Where I was strangled silent, Wolf was letting out growling huffs as he buried deep and jerked upward, hitting a delicious spot I was pretty sure there wasn't even a name for.

  Just when I was sure it wasn't going to happen, his hand released my knee and his fingers went between us, creating firm pressure against my clit. With each thrust, his finger hit me again and in seconds, I felt myself clamping down hard as I teetered on the edge before crashing over. Hard. Viciously. My air came back to me in a rush and I cried out his name, burying my face in his neck as my body, head to toe, started shaking.

  "Fuck," Wolf cursed, planting to the hilt and jerking hard as he came.

  The aftershocks coursed through me, my body feeling completely overwhelmed. A laugh welled up and escaped. "I think I like not-gentle," I told his neck, placing a kiss there in an intimate, sweet gesture that never felt natural to me.

  "Like it any way with you."

  It wasn't poetry.

  But it melted me.

  I pushed back slightly, wincing as I moved my legs out of their awkward position. "Ow ow ow," I grumbled as they fell numbly down.

  Wolf chuckled, reaching down and rubbing my calves roughly, working out the soreness. "Forgot you're delicate."

  If there was one thing he could have said to break through my sex-sated daze, that was it. "I'm not delicate!" I snapped, slamming a hand down on his chest.

  "Tiny."

  "That doesn't mean I'm delicate. Anyone would have sore legs after being in that position while getting fucked pretty hard."

  "Pretty hard?" he asked, head tilting to the side.

  "Figured you were still holding back."

  "Could break you."

  "Is that a challenge?"

  "Want it harder, ask," he said simply and I realized with a swelling feeling in my chest, that that was what I liked best about Wolf. It was always that simple. Wolf had no secret expectations, no hidden agenda, no reason to lie or evade or make things difficult. He might have been the least loquacious person I had ever come across, but he was also one of the most self-realized as well.

  It was righ
t that second, him still buried inside me, the sweat on our bodies still drying, that I realized he wasn't just under my skin. He had gotten into my heart as well.

  Holy shit.

  Holy shit.

  My body must have tightened because Wolf pulled back. "Gonna cry again?" he teased in a way that managed to actually sound sweet. And for a second, I was genuinely worried I would. Then I pulled my shit together and blinked that nonsense back.

  "No," I said, rolling my eyes for good measure.

  "Woman..."

  "I'm fine."

  "Fine is never fine."

  "Let it go."

  "No."

  "Augh!" I growled, shoving at his chest with everything in me. But, well, he was like hitting a brick wall.

  "Got all day."

  "I like you, alright? Jeez!"

  His face softened, his eyes went all liquid. His hand moved up to brush along my cheek. "Like you too, Janie."

  My belly fluttered and the gooey thing happened again.

  And right then I realized that what I thought was impossible was actually possible.

  And for a moment, the Earth started to revolve around the moon.

  Unfortunately, it wouldn't last.

  Not even through the night.

  NINETEEN

  Janie

  The lights woke me up.

  Blue and red, meaning only one thing.

  All I could think as I shoved Wolf hard was: thank God I cleaned up all the evidence in the house and truck. That being said, who knows what was left at the scene. While I'm sure Reign and the guys had tried to clean some of it up, they probably weren't quite as good at it as Hailstorm was.

  Wolf got up slowly, seeming to take the invasion with the ease he took everything as I fell over my own feet to get my clothes on. By the time they were slamming on the door, Wolf was fully dressed, boots and all, and I was still fumbling to drag a shirt on. Ignoring the knocking, he walked over to me, grabbed the shirt, rolled it up, and slipped it over my head.

  "Relax," he said, giving me a look that was both sweet and firm, that said "everything is going to be okay" as well as "pull your shit together". I sucked in a breath, giving him a nod as I put my arms through the holes.