As they shed their clothes, Kim reached out a hand and took his large fingers in hers, guiding him to the bed. It was intriguing, really, that she seemed to be headed in the direction of a fairly traditional wedding night, despite the swift decision to elope and all the situational elements that stood in the way and should have served as obstacles between them.
Still, it was invigorating to think that this special moment, their first night together, was going to be a session of lovemaking that followed the most complete relationship two people could share. The man who laid over her as she lie back on the pillows was her husband, a word with so much meaning it was difficult to fathom. And yet, as he kissed along the swell of her breasts and caressed the skin of her stomach, she felt like she'd never known anyone better.
The temperature seemed to rise, and there was a heated look in Diesel's eyes that reflected the flickering fire in her belly. They moved together, and he touched her in all the right places, as if he could read her mind. As if they were connected on some higher plane of thought that neither of them truly understood.
They were one entity, made up of two bodies, and Kim had a brief moment to muse that it should always be this way between two people. True love and deep commitment made their physical relationship so much stronger, so much more blissful. As he entered her body, she closed her eyes and felt the electrical shock go through her, followed by the intense sensation that he'd joined them in more than a bodily sense.
Kim's heart beat in the same rhythm as Diesel's, and she sailed to a height beyond her wildest imagination as he filled her completely, his body convulsing as hard as hers as they found their satisfaction together. He hugged her tight to him, their skin fused together in mutual contentment and glory, and when he finally peeled away, it was only to lay beside her and cradle her in his arms.
This was marriage, she thought. This was a deep seated love that nothing was going to break apart. She knew there were things left unsaid, problems left unsolved. But none of that mattered. They were together, linked by emotion and law, and as she threaded her fingers with Diesel's before falling asleep, she knew they would be stronger and more competent together.
She woke up still in his embrace, her face tucked into his shoulder as he snored softly into her hair. Kim shivered with delight, hoping it was always this poetic to wake up beside him, and tried to slide out of his arms without waking him. "I'm a light sleeper," he mumbled in a gravelly voice, cracking one eyelid to look at her with a boyish grin.
She gave him a sheepish, apologetic look. "I'm sorry."
Yawning and stretching, which offered her a beautiful view of his perfect torso, he told her, "Don't be. It's just part of the job description of being in a biker club. And in jail. You always keep an eye open and look over your shoulder. If you sleep too deeply, you're going to get raided and have nothing left." He reached for her and drew her down into a kiss. "Good morning, wife."
"Good morning." Kim beamed. "I'm going to shower so we can be on our way."
He nodded and slipped out from under the covers. The view still made her blush and turned her stomach with desire, all at the same time. "I'll join you." His eyes were predatory, and she squealed as he chased her down.
After a very intimate and enjoyable shower, they packed their things, collected Bryce and Nettie, and headed home. Kim was on an incredible natural high, her body buzzing and her mind full of static. She couldn't stop smiling, not that she wanted to. And the excitement lasted all the way home and almost into the driveway.
Unfortunately, the uniformed officer waiting there dampened her mood slightly. She climbed off the back of the bike and exchanged glances with Diesel, who seemed to be telling her to keep quiet. She did so, waiting to hear what the police wanted this time. He took her hand, and Kim stayed at his side and slightly behind, Diesel holding her in a protective stance.
The officer squinted, looking nervous. "I was told I needed to wait for the two of you to come home and bring you both in for questioning," he said, sounding apologetic.
Diesel sighed. "We just got off the road, and it would be really nice to get a little rest. Besides, we're on our honeymoon. I think your detectives can wait a bit. We can make an appointment to come see them in a couple of days."
Kim could tell the uniform was torn between a 'yessir' and running away and trying to put his foot down and bulldog a man like Diesel who was twice his size. "I wish I could allow that. But I have to bring you in. Maybe you can talk them into rescheduling once you're there."
Kim didn't want to reschedule. She wanted to be done with the damn law enforcement. Until they had some solid evidence that Diesel had fired his gun with the intention of shooting the son of the mob lord, they needed to leave well enough alone. She squeezed Diesel's fingers, calling his attention. "Let's just go, babe. The sooner we let them feel like they're important and can tell us what to do, the sooner we can move on and celebrate."
He grinned and kissed her forehead. "If that's what you want, then that's what we'll do." They got right back on the bike and followed the uniform, Diesel again flat refusing to ride in the car. Kim didn't mind – this was a black and white, not an unmarked, and she couldn't imagine how much like a criminal she would feel like inside. It was a short ride, and they followed the uniform to an interview room.
Diesel put her in a chair facing away from the two-way mirror and pulled a chair around beside her while they waited. This time, only one of the suits – the taller one – came in, and he looked angry. "Do I need to separate the two of you?"
With a frown, Diesel asked, "Why would you do that? There's nothing for either of us to hide here."
"Good. Then, let's get to it." He leveled his gaze on Kim, who refused to squirm under his scrutiny. "I'm assuming your boyfriend tells you about his business, at least enough that you know something about the gun fight the other day that landed the bullet in his shoulder."
Kim hesitated and then shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. We're a typical couple. He comes home, I ask him 'how was your day', and he tells me a few details here and there about interesting things that happen." The detective opened his mouth to speak again, but Kim held up a hand to stop him. "And I should correct you. He's not my boyfriend. He's my husband."
The detective snorted. "Yeah, right! He's already married."
Diesel shook his head. "How many times do I have to tell you that Sophia is my ex-wife? Check the records. The divorce is final. And we have our marriage certificate with us." Kim took the cue and presented it to the detective.
An even deeper scowl marred his brow, and he all but threw the paper back at her. "This is pretty disgusting." Kim just shrugged and smiled. He knew what it meant, and he knew no amount of questions were going to get him anywhere. "Look, I'm not done. I'm going to find someone who'll talk, and when they do, you're both going to regret this. You'll be up to your eyeballs in trouble."
"That's a threat, detective," Diesel said, his tone warning and his eyes sparking with rage. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, and my wife and I are going to go celebrate our recent union like a real honeymoon. I would resist the urge to interrupt it like this again." Without waiting for a response, he stood, took Kim's hand, and drew her to her feet and through the door.
They didn't speak the entire ride home, and Kim was worried. When they finally got inside the house, she asked, "Are you nervous?"
He shook his head. "I'm angry. I'm not nervous about the police. That guy's never going to get anything. If any of the Skeletons talk, they incriminate themselves. None of the Shadows are going to say anything, obviously. And no one in the mob is going to let the law take care of justice. They'll want to do it themselves. So, even if they know who it is, they're not going to say anything to the cops." He smiled. "And they seem to have realized that Sophia si no longer a viable source of information in this case."
He came over and pulled her against him, gazing down at her with dimples in his cheeks. "Don't worry about all that noise, o
kay? It'll blow over, and when it does, we'll deal with the mob and whoever we need to worry about. The cops aren't going to take me away from my new wife and my happy home."
Kim felt a little better, honestly relying on the buzz still coursing through her veins to turn her mood around. The police had nearly soured it, despite the fact that she'd gotten a chance to wave her marriage certificate in the guy's face like some sort of grade school taunt. She took a deep breath and relaxed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Well, tomorrow, I'm going to start packing up my things to bring over. But for now, I have you all to myself, and there shouldn't be any other interruptions. So, what do you say we have a light lunch and see what sort of trouble we can get into alone in this house?"
He grunted in appreciation, and she felt his muscles tense. He opened his mouth to speak, but there was a knock at the door, and he scowled, pressing his lips closed. Kim groaned, certain it was one of those damn cops again. Or maybe a couple of the brothers from the motorcycle club who'd caught wind of their elopement and come to give him a hard time. Nettie liked to gossip, and Bryce wasn't above spreading the word quickly.
Suddenly angry, Diesel grumbled the whole way to answer it, Kim staying on his heels, filled with curiosity. "Whoever it is better not say a word. I'm going to send them packing, by force if I have to. And if I have to kick some ass, they're going straight to hell. Do not pass..." He threw open the door and stared, whispering, "Go."
But he couldn't have been half as surprised – or terrified – by the person on the other side as Kim was. "Grandpa?" she asked, otherwise dumbfounded.
He didn't answer, barely glanced at her, disdain and disapproval carrying disgust and hate riding just on top of it. "Step back, Kimmy," he instructed in no uncertain terms. But Kim couldn't move. She was frozen in place, and she swallowed hard as the old man raised his shotgun and cocked it. "I said, step back."
"Grandpa, I..."
"I don't want to hear it," he cut her off, his voice booming. "I said step back, and I meant it. You have no business being with this boy, and I’m going to take care of it. Now, you can come with me and stay the hell away from this man and anyone else connected to him, or I can make sure you never have a chance to speak to him again."
Diesel took a deep breath, looking more put out than frightened. That didn't make a lot of sense to Kim, who was horrified and shaking. She knew for a fact that her grandfather would shoot Diesel on the spot. Obviously, the word about their elopement had gotten back to him before they'd even gotten back to town, and she couldn't figure out how that was possible.
Diesel simply said, "I love your granddaughter, sir, or I wouldn't have married her. I'm not going to back down, so if you want to take her, you're going to have to shoot me."
"My pleasure," her grandfather replied, and Kim gasped as he pointed the barrel into Diesel's chest. This couldn't be happening right now.
Diesel’s wounds are on the mend, but how is his reputation now that he is married to the weekend warrior’s daughter? It may not be as shiny she hopes or expects.
On top of the tensions at the MC, he also has the mob right on his tail, ready to take away all he holds dear which now includes a beautiful wife he never knew he wanted and a surprise that he doesn’t even know about.
When someone who was only an emotional threat before becomes so much more, Diesel and Kim find that their days as they are might be numbered.
Chapter 1
“Grandpa, wait,” Kim managed. She reached out and grabbed the barrel of the shotgun her grandfather held shoved in Diesel’s gut. This was seriously not happening, not with everything they’d already been through in the five whole minutes they’d been home. Her grandfather had always threatened to take a shotgun to her boyfriends, but this was the first time he’d been serious about it, and she was terrified.
“I’m not asking, Kimmie, I’m telling you. Get the hell back,” her grandfather insisted again.
“I’m sorry, old man, but I’m not going to let you tell my wife what to do in our house,” Diesel said in a very serious tone. “I love Kim, and I’m not backing down. You’re going to have to shoot me.”
There it was again. What was wrong with her? Her flesh and blood stood here, threatening to take the life of the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and all she could concentrate on was the fact that, for the first time, Diesel had pronounced his love for her out loud, to someone else. In a situation that could easily get him killed for it.
“It’s my pleasure.”
“Stop it, Grandpa!” She tightened her grip on the barrel of the shotgun and pressed down, shoving the end of it to point at the floor. Then, she stepped in front of Diesel, facing her grandfather and glaring at him. “I won’t let you do this.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he groused. “You’ll thank me for it later. Now, get away from this slimy, no good son of a bitch so I can take him out of way.”
“No, I won’t thank you,” she argued insistently. “I’ll hate you. And I will stand against you and testify in the trial if you do anything to hurt him.”
“I can live with that,” her grandfather confirmed with a nod. “I’ll count the rest of my days with tick marks on the walls of a prison cell knowing you disowned me without complaint if it means I’ve made sure you’re safe from this man and his sorry excuse for a family.”
“You won’t convince him,” she heard Diesel say as he placed a hand on her shoulder from behind. “You should just step aside, Kim. I don’t want you caught in the crossfire, and I don’t think you’re making any headway.”
But Kim was determined and she jutted her chin forward in defiance. She had never defied her grandfather, had never denied him anything. Now, for once, she had a request, and she knew he would be able to understand. “Grandpa, you always told me you wanted me to be happy, no matter what it took. You said you’d chase the moon till you caught it, and you’d hang it from the light fixture on my ceiling for me to adore. And that you’d dance a jig all the way to Brazil if it made me smile.”
He clenched his jaw and was quite obviously impatient, waiting for her to make her point. “Guess what, Grandpa. You don’t have to do any of those things. Diesel makes me happy. Incredibly so. And all you have to do now to make me happy is hug me and then walk out the door. And then come back to visit without the shotgun.”
“I can’t let you do this,” he told her, a plea in his voice now.
But Kim shook her head. “It’s done, Grandpa. I found a man who loves me, and I love him. He’ll take good care of me, and I’ll take care of him. That’s all I could ever ask for, and it should be everything you want for me.”
She knew there was something her grandfather wasn’t saying, but she wasn’t going to ask. He clenched his jaw and gazed over her head at Diesel, the tension going out of his grasp on the shotgun. “This isn’t going to work.”
“Why not?” Diesel challenged. “There’s no reason it shouldn’t. Like she said, we love each other, and anything else is just background noise.”
The older man laughed out loud, shaking his head. “That’s a crock of shit, and we both know it.” His smile faded. “I’m not the only one who’s going to take issue with it. Kim’s whole family is going to line up with shotguns, and I wouldn’t be surprised if your family did the same. And what about your club? She’s not one of you, and they might not accept her. Technically, she’s the offspring of a rival.”
Kim was about to argue. She hadn’t had a problem with anyone at the club yet. In fact, two of them had come when they eloped as their witnesses. But before she could say anything, Diesel piped up, sounding irritated. “I’m actually surprised you beat my ex-wife to the door. But when it comes to the MC, I’m not worried about it. They can kiss my ass if they have a problem with who I love. And so can my family. So, just worry about your family and keep them at bay, and leave the rest to me.”
“I don’t need their approval,” Kim cut in. “I don’t need anyone
’s approval, not even yours, Grandpa. But I’d like to think I have yours.”
“Not really,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “Kimmie, this is probably the damn dumbest thing you’ve ever done, but we’ve all done stupid shit in our lives. And we’ve either suffered the consequences and regretted it or come out lucky and stronger on the other side. For your sake, I hope this turns out to be the latter.” He took a step closer, forcing Kim to step aside, and jabbed a finger in Diesel’s chest where the shotgun had pointed before. “And you better hope so, too, or you’re a dead man.”
Diesel grunted. “If things turn sour, I trust she’ll kill me before you can knock down that door.”
That was true. Kim snorted, “Grandpa did teach me to shoot.” Before anything else could go wrong, she escorted her grandfather to the door and shoved him outside, telling him she loved him and locking the door up tight behind him. She turned and leaned hard against it, blowing out a long breath to relieve some of the tension in her body.
“Can you believe all this?” she asked, her voice weak and her mind suddenly exhausted. “We’re gone for a few days, and we come back to all hell breaking loose. And every demon it releases comes knocking on our door.”
“Par for the course, I suppose,” he laughed, ambling toward her with a look that told her he was just as tired as she felt, despite his attempt to seem otherwise. “But we survived, and we’ll survive again. Like we always do. And now, we have each other to count on to make sure we can do that.” He put his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, away from the door. “As much as I hate to admit it, though, the old man has a point.”
Kim frowned at him, cranky and not wanting to hear that he agreed with her grandfather for any reason. “What are you talking about?”
BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) Page 13
