And as our room filled with the smell of her, my cock wept with angst.
I needed to feel her around me.
I rushed up her body, feeling her collapse as our lips collided. She licked herself off me, sucking on my lower lip and brushing her tongue against mine. I growled as I pressed down on either side of her head. Supporting myself, as I lined my aching dick up with her entrance. She lifted her hips, offering herself to me as her curves jumped with ecstasy.
“I love you,” she said breathlessly.
And as our eyes connected, I slid deep within her. Sinking every solid inch of myself against her walls and into her wet warmth.
Until nothing kept us apart any longer.
“I love you too, Margot,” I murmured.
She felt like velvet wrapped around my body. She hugged me. She tightened her legs around me. She fucked me senseless as I hovered over her, riding the wave she created for us. She set the rhythm and I followed the beat, allowing my heart to step in time with hers. I nibbled her shoulder. Sucked on her earlobe. Whispered how gorgeous of a woman she had turned into. She was my sweet girl. My Margot. My woman.
And one day, if she’d have me, my wife.
“Fuck,” I growled.
“Come for me. Fill me up with you, Bear. Just like you used to do.”
“Margot, I—”
“Come with me, Bear.”
“Shit.”
“Come with me!” she cried out.
Her head fell back and an unearthly sound fell from her throat. I sank my teeth into her neck, feeling like a feral fucking animal as the hairs on my back stood up. My arms prickled. Her pussy clamped down onto me, sending electric shocks wafting throughout my body. I pumped myself deeply into her, rutting against her. Raking my thick curls along her sensitive clit, feeling her jump for me.
“You’re perfect,” I grunted.
I poured myself into her. Thread by thread. Pump by pump. Until my balls drained dry and her pussy pushed me out of her body. I collapsed on top of her, feeling her gasp for air as her curves blanketed my fall.
And as my face fell to the crook of her neck, she pressed a soft kiss to my cheek.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered.
I slid off her body and pulled her with me, getting us both out of the mess we’d made. I cradled her against me, watching her eyes dance between mine. That glow in her face and the tint of her cheeks made me smile. Really, truly smile. And as my heart beat rapidly in my chest, I reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Then, reality set in.
“Why were you coming to the hospital if you knew it might put me in danger?” Margot asked.
I sighed as I cupped her cheek, trying to find the right answer.
“I did what I did the first time around because I made a silent vow to always protect you. Even if it was from myself,” I said.
“So, you weren’t completely confident I was safe when you pushed me out of here a few weeks back,” she said.
“I’m never one hundred percent sure about anything. That’s the nature of this lifestyle. So, I started sneaking out at night—evading the guys—in order to come see you. Check on you. Just to make sure you were okay. And healthy. And happy.”
“Until you were caught?”
I nodded. “They gave me inclinations that they didn’t know where this place was because of how they caught me. So, I figured if they knew about you at the hospital, I could still scare them away long enough to get you back here. A place they still don’t know exists. I’m sorry for getting you wrapped up in this, Margot. All I wanted was your safety.”
“You know how ironic that sounds, right?”
A grin spread across her face and I let out a soft chuckle.
“I promise you, with everything I am, you’re safe with me. At least, safer with me. Whatever threat is coming, we’ll take care of it. This crew? The guys? They’ll take care of you. Because so long as I love you—so long as I choose you—you’re one of us. And we’ve got your backs. Always,” I said.
She smiled. “Well, that much I know, at least. You guys lead a crazy and insane lifestyle, but you’re loyal. To a fault.”
“Bear!” Diesel exclaimed.
The slamming of a fist came down onto the door and I rolled my eyes.
“Sounds like the guys are mad,” Margot said.
“You stay here and do whatever you want. Take a shower or a bath. Get dressed and go get your things from your car. There’s a mini-fridge in the corner with drinks and snacks. Help yourself. You can turn on the T.V. Anything. Let me handle the guys, and I’ll be back,” I said.
“Church! Now,” Diesel growled from behind the door.
Then, he slammed his fist against it again.
“You sure they aren’t gonna kill you first?” Margot asked cheekily.
I snickered. “I’ve done worse.”
“Sounds like story time when you get back.”
I grinned. “And I’ll be back as quickly as I can get back.”
I hopped out of bed and managed to find my jeans. I slid them up my body, being careful of my sensitive dick as I zipped myself in. I pulled a black shirt over my shoulders and slipped out, taking one last peek back to see Margot sliding her gorgeous form out of bed.
Oh, I’d regret missing that shower with her.
“What the actual fuck is wrong with you?” Diesel asked.
“Excuse me, just sliding in here. Yeah. Excuse me. You guys can continue yelling at one another in a second,” Sutton said.
She pushed her way through the crowd and slipped through the door just as I went to close it. She didn’t ask. She didn’t call out. She simply barged through with that headstrong grace I’d come to accept about her. Diesel’s eyes were on fire as I let her into the room, and I knew he was ready to draw blood. And once Sutton was safely inside, I closed the bedroom door. I turned around, coming face to face with all the guys, and I mean all of them.
Grave. Brewer. Knox. The prospects.
“You’re gonna wake the girls and the kids if you don’t hush,” I said.
“Then, start explaining now. Otherwise, everyone’ll be miserable tonight. And that’ll be on you,” Diesel glowered.
“Look, when I shoved Margot out those doors a few weeks ago, I wasn’t sure she was completely safe. Not really. Maybe ninety percent sure. But after I started feeling better—”
“You started going to the hospital to check up on her,” Rock said.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“And how did that serve you?” Grave asked.
“The better question is how the fuck you got past us,” Brewer said.
“Around the back just off the cliff is a rockside that juts out a bit. I wrapped my bike around and took that path so you guys couldn't see or hear me,” I said.
They all blinked at me like I’d lost my damn mind.
“You could’ve plummeted off the fucking cliffside!” Diesel exclaimed.
“My man,” Toxin said, chuckling.
“You love her, don’t you?” Saint asked.
Toxin sighed. “Fuck. Another one to protect now.”
“Shut up,” Brewer said hotly.
Diesel narrowed his eyes. “Do you?”
I looked around before I herded the guys down the hallway. I didn’t want Margot hearing anymore of this. I didn’t want to ruin the beautiful moment we’d just had together with all this bickering outside the door. Diesel tried stopping me, but I bucked up to him. I pinned him with a look that told him there were more important things on my mind than him yelling at me. And he seemed to understand.
He turned around and got all of us away from my bedroom door before he demanded an answer.
“Okay. Speak,” Diesel said.
I nodded. “Margot and I go back. I dated her in high school. She was my first. And I never shook her.”
“Did she shake you?” Grave asked.
“Do you have to ask after the sounds we just heard?�
�� Rock asked.
“Say what now?” I asked.
The guys chuckled as I cleared my throat.
“How long had you guys been standing here?” I asked.
“Long enough,” Diesel said.
I glared at him as I puffed out my chest, towering over our president.
“You don’t do that again. That’s a shared moment between myself and the woman I love. You don’t get to experience her like that. She’s mine, and that’s that,” I said.
I stared Diesel down for a long time before he finally cracked a grin.
“You’re an asshole for putting us all at risk. But what’s done is done. The truth is, Margot came under our protection the second she treated you,” he said.
“Now, can you fill us in on how Lars’ men knew you were seeing her at the hospital anyway?” Grave asked.
Diesel furrowed his brow. “Sounds like there’s more to the story.”
I nodded. “They cornered me on the road today. I was able to bluff myself out of the situation and scare them off. But they knew about Margot. About the hospital. About why I was headed there. They knew other stuff, too. They’ve been doing recon on us.”
“What do you mean?” Knox asked.
“How nice of you to join us,” Ryker said, chuckling.
But Knox only shot him a nasty look.
“When they confronted me, I cracked some joke about having a hard-on for ambulance lights. It was a situational thing, and they said something to the extent of ‘we thought jokes were more up Toxin’s alley.’ They’ve gotten close enough to know who we are, but they haven’t done recon on the area we’re in. Because I bluffed about there being a police station around the corner from where they blocked me off as well as cameras on all the light poles. And they didn’t question it. They kept looking around, like they’d been caught off-guard,” I said.
“Shit,” Grave murmured.
“I think their recon’s at least two months old. Maybe back when we first antagonized them and wiped them out. But now that thing Rock dug up on the construction site or whatever is starting to have merit. If we wiped out that many of Lars’ men—”
“—then they didn’t have enough guys to run the purchase of the site and do recon,” Diesel said.
I nodded. “I made a shit decision and it backfired on Margot, but it gave us some intel to work with.”
“No, your reasoning of the situation got us that. Good job,” Diesel said.
“Wait a second. He chases after some pussy in the middle of the night, dodges the rules, and he gets a pat on the back because he comes back with information on guys who cornered him because he didn’t evade them well enough?” Toxin asked.
“You watch that filthy mouth of yours, Toxin. She’s got a name, and if you don’t wanna use it, then shut the fuck up,” I growled.
“All right, that’s enough,” Knox said.
He pushed his way to the forefront as I drew in deep breaths through my nose.
“I think we can all agree from this that we need to be on the offensive. It’s not enough to defense. We need to attack, or do something before the mafia finds us first,” he said.
“I think he’s right. If they did recon once, they’ll strike it up again,” I said.
“Finally, some sense,” Cage murmured.
Diesel nodded as he bit down onto his lower lip.
“All right. All in favor of coming up with a plan of attack, raise your hands,” Diesel said.
But before any of us could get our hands in the air, gunshots rang outside.
18
Margot
The quick shower I took felt fantastic. But the second I got out, I heard the guys bickering. I didn’t know what they were saying. However, I did hear the frustration in their voice. The anger. The obstinance. I picked up the clothes I’d kicked into the bathroom with me, ready to get dressed and sit in the room until Bear made it back. I still had so many questions. I was still confused. Still afraid. Still wondering what the hell was going to happen from here and what I was going to do about work.
However, when I came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my head, I saw Sutton sitting on the edge of my bed.
With a very cheeky grin on her cheeks.
“How long have you been there?” I asked.
“For the whole of your shower,” she said.
I nodded slowly as I took my hair down, then tossed the towel back into the bathroom. The guys had stopped arguing outside the door, but they were still standing there. Their shadows filled the crack between the door’s bottom and the floor, heavy shadows looming. It wasn’t until they made their way down the hallway and around the corner that I felt a small weight lift from my shoulders.
While I was curious as to why they were arguing, that didn’t mean I wanted to listen to it.
“Come here. Take a seat with me,” Sutton said.
I sighed, not arguing as I went over and flopped down onto the bed. It smelled of Bear. Of his cologne and his musk, his strength, and his peace. I laid down on my back, staring up at the ceiling as my clothes stuck to the water that was still damp on my skin. How the hell had I gotten into this mess again? Oh, yeah. My fucking doctor placed a desperate call to me and I decided, “to hell with it. I’m sure this won’t be as bad as she thinks.”
Great.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Sutton asked.
I sighed. “Well, my feelings for Bear never left. I don’t know what I’m going to do about my residency. And I’ve got no idea if I’m ready to be involved in something I’m already involved in.”
“Bear or the crew?”
“Both?” I asked.
She giggled as she laid down next to me, gazing up at the ceiling fan. We fell silent for a little while and I heard the guys’ voices rise up down the hallway. They were far, far away. But the fact that they could still be heard was unnerving.
Was Bear all right?
Sutton held out her hand, looking over at me as I tilted my head toward hers. She had this knowing smile on her cheeks, then wiggled her fingers. Beckoning for my hand. I slipped my hand against her palm and she rested our entanglement against the sheets. And all the while she smiled at me. Like she was in on some sort of secret that would magically make all this better.
I wish she’d go ahead and spit it out if she was.
“You know, I grew up on this kind of mess,” she said.
I nodded slowly. “That’s right. Your father’s—”
“You know, Cage thought he’d killed my father.”
I paused. “Your father’s supposed to be dead?”
“You don’t remember that part, do you?”
“How about you start at the beginning. Just in case I’m missing anything else.”
She giggled. “Yeah, a nice recap to settle our souls is just what we need.”
I laughed softly with her before I heaved a heavy sigh.
“Look, my father runs his own ring that we know is tied to the mafia. He runs his own band of goons that loots casinos, skims off the top of them, then reinvests into his own casinos without ever getting caught because that’s what my father does. He’s an arrogant, psychotic asshole who will stop at nothing to destroy those who come in between him and his money and don’t show loyalty to him if he treats them well. And that includes me. But, all that to say, I grew up in this mess. I grew up watching my father walk through the front doors of our mansion while wiping blood off his hands. I grew up watching my father burn suits and shoes and belts in our backyard to get rid of evidence. I grew up listening to my father talk about ‘business meetings’ and ‘private sessions’ and ‘monetary exchanges’ knowing damn good and well that meant someone was going to die, and I did nothing about it.”
“Sutton, none of that is your fault,” I said.
“I know it isn’t. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t play a complacent role in things my father did. I told myself he did all of it to provide for me. A single father, trying to make his way in t
he world and do the best he could by me. But that isn’t the case at all. At least, not anymore. For the longest time, I tried to justify the good in my father. Because I wanted so badly for my father to turn out to be a good guy. He’s not, though. He’s a raging psychopath who has a hard-on for dead bodies, and he’ll stop at nothing to eliminate anyone who can incriminate him in his crimes.”
“Including you,” I said.
She nodded slowly. “But there was a time when I wasn’t used to all this. A time when things like this did shock me. Did scare me. Did take me aback. I know how you feel right now, Margot. I know how overwhelmed you feel and how worried you are right now. And I want you to know that there’s one massive difference between this crew and how I grew up.”
“None of them have hard-ons for dead bodies?”
She giggled. “I don’t know. Not sure about Diesel sometimes.”
I snickered before the two of us giggled again.
“But seriously. The big difference between how I grew up and this crew is the fact that they sit on the good side. They sit in the light. It might not feel like that sometimes, but after growing up in the dark? It’s painfully obvious to me. This crew is made up of good men. Weird men. Sometimes crazy men. But, good men. All of them. They might be damaged, and they might be self-sacrificial, and some of them might have a tried and true death wish. But they’re good, Margot,” Sutton said.
“How are you feeling with all this? Knowing your father is still alive and chasing you guys into hiding like this?” I asked.
She squeezed my hand before she let go, and I turned onto my side. I propped my hand underneath my head, holding it up as she stared at the ceiling.
“Every night, I dream. I relive things, like the first time my father and I ever fought. Or, the first time he came home with that dead look in his eye. Or, the first time I ever heard him slaughter someone in his office right there on the ground floor of our home,” she said.
“I’m so sorry,” I said softly.
“And every time I wake up, I’m exposed to the monster he really is. The monster Cage tried so hard to get me to see for months. It kills me inside, knowing I defended him for so long. Knowing I was only a few strides away from fully contaminating myself with the disgusting essence that was his life.”
Dead Souls MC: Prospects Series Books 1-5 Page 26
