BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset)

by Parker, Kylee

  Morgan grinned at the thoughts, remembering their morning spent in the shower until they were both so prune-y they eventually had been forced to get out. She sighed. She could have stayed in there all day with him. In fact, the more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to. These past few weeks had been amazing, and she didn’t want them to end. She had found something in Adrien that was so much more than she expected.

  She’d always known that there was more to the man than he let on, hiding his true heart behind a façade of jokes and charm, but she realized now that is was because of his painful past. He had gone through the horror of losing not just one parent, but both and it had taught him to put up a mask and not let anyone get to close. Because if he didn’t care, then he wouldn’t get hurt again. But she sensed something different from him since they had been out there. He had let his shield down, letting her see the true him, and if she was honest with herself, she liked what she saw. Okay, more than liked.

  Morgan threw the line out into the water, laughing to herself when she recalled Adrien’s attempt to do the same that had ended up with the fishing pole in the middle of the stream, shortly followed by him, and then herself. That steamy kiss in the water had her mind on something besides fishing entirely when she felt a tiny tug on the line.

  She wasn’t sure how long she had stood there waiting for a fish to catch, it must have been an hour at least and she slowly reeled it in. Adrien hadn’t been able to show her how to handle this stage of catching the fish but as she pulled on the line, finally revealing the tiny fish she breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t too big. Morgan grabbed the thing, trying to ignore the squirmy feeling as it flopped in her grasp.

  Grimacing the whole time, she finally was able to get it off the hook and toss it in the small bucket she’d brought with her from the cabin. One down, one to go. Unfortunately, the second one took just as long to catch and she felt a thrill when another fish latched onto the berry tipped line and she started to reel it in.

  She had just pulled on the line and was bracing herself to take the fish off of the hook when movement on the other side of the stream caught her eye. Morgan froze as she found herself staring at the biggest bear she had ever seen. Well, the only bear she had ever seen outside of a nature documentary. She held her breath, waiting for the panic to set it, and was surprised when it never did.

  Her gaze swept over its massive form, its fur a dark brown color marked with tan and its golden amber eyes seemingly as shocked as she was. Maybe even more so. She shifted slightly on the shoreline, wondering at the complete sense of ease that flowed through her. She knew she should be terrified; she knew she should be screaming her head off as she ran towards the safety of the cabin. But she also knew, somehow, inextricably, that the animal wouldn’t hurt her.

  Morgan watched in awe as the bear stared at her for another long moment before slowly melting back into the tree line as if it had never even been there in the first place. Amazed, she shook her head, and grabbing the second tiny fish headed back to the cabin, her mind full of the incredible animal she had just witnessed, and even more so, her strange reaction to it.

  Chapter 7

  Adrien backed slowly into the shadows, huffing out a breath of relief as he watched Morgan slowly turn away and head back up the small hill to the cabin. What she had been doing out there in the first place, he had no idea. She’d just told him earlier that afternoon that he was banned from the cabin until six o’clock that evening because she needed time to get her surprise ready for him.

  Warmth and affection flooded through him. It was so unbearably sweet. He couldn’t remember anyone ever wanting to something for him just because. Just because they wanted to, just because they cared, not for any ulterior motive.

  He shook his giant head, feeling the fur shift against his skin as he did so. He also didn’t know why the hell she didn’t run away. She had stared at him, bold as brass, not a trace of fear to found anywhere on her. It was almost like she had recognized him, but he shook that thought away. It was impossible. But still, the idea stuck with him, adding fuel to the fire already burning in his chest.

  The big bear stuck its snout up, gauging the placement of the sun. He still a few hours or so left before he was supposed to be back for his surprise so Adrien turned and trundled down the path away from the stream, and the cabin. Hopefully there would be no more run ins with his mate. At least not until he was ready for her, and not in bear form.

  He tromped through the soft underbrush, his paws digging into the soil and leaving behind prints that followed him like a shadow. Joy filled him as he reveled in the beauty of the nature surrounding him. He had gotten used to living in the small city, but this was where he truly felt at home. In fact, if it wasn’t for the bar, he would have moved out to the cabin long ago instead of the weekend trips he tried to make out there every month.

  Every scent seemed more intense. The sunshine was brighter, the smell of the earth and the stream mingled in his nose, pulling him forward. The breeze ruffling his fur felt like a caress as he leapt into the air for the pure hell of it. He would have laughed out loud if he could have. Adrien didn’t know if it was because of the time he’d spent with Morgan, or the fact that he was mated, but he felt more in tune with his inner animal than ever before. For so long, the twin halves of him at been at war, especially after the death of his father, and there had always been a rift between man and bear. Now, he felt as one. Whole, for the first time in…he couldn’t even remember how long.

  With another playful leap he turned, loping through an open field of tall grass and weeds before rolling onto his back and letting his tongue loll out as he soaked in the warmth of the sun.

  Adrien lay there, both parts of him completely at peace as he watched the bright morning star track across the sky. With a jolt he remembered Morgan’s surprise and her strict admonition to be back on time.

  He turned, his large fur covered body running seamlessly through the grass, between the trees, and up the tiny hill that led to the cabin before stopping. He sniffed around until he found the pile of clothes he had stashed, saying a quick prayer of relief that Morgan hadn’t found those. That would have made for an awkward entrance.

  The air shimmered around him as he shifted from bear form, to human and he quickly dressed before looking around once more to make sure the coast was still clear. Adrien wondered briefly what sort of surprise Morgan had in store his mind instantly conjured an image of her in lacy black lingerie and covered in whipped cream. He shook his head, okay maybe not the whipped cream, but a bear could dream. He stepped up to the front door and then opened it, freezing at the smell that hit his nostrils. It was not a good smell.

  “Uh, Morgan? I’m back.” He yelled out from the front door, slowly walking back towards the kitchen where the smell was strongest only to see Morgan standing there by the small table, smiling at him and gesturing toward the table. Adrien looked from the table, to her, and back again. So, that was where the stench was originating. He looked over the food that sat there on various platters and plates.

  “Surprise!” She finally said, with a concerned glance towards the food she had obviously just been preparing.

  “Yeah, this looks...definitely surprising.” Adrien said, fighting the urge to open up all the windows and let out some of the smoke that still lingered in the cabin.

  “Come and sit down,” Morgan pulled a chair out for him and he had no choice but to take it. He looked warily at the plate in front of him as she put a very small, very burnt fish on his plate that hadn’t been cleaned. It still had it’s scales and eyeballs, blackened though they were and Adrien swallowed hard. Correction, this was the source of that awful smell. A spoonful of overcooked vegetables were added and a wilty salad took up the little space that was left. Out of all the food, the salad looked the most palatable, but his stomach knotted in protest as he looked up at Morgan and forced a smile.

  “Wow, Morgan. This is...amazing,” Amazing was one word for
it, “I can’t believe you cooked me dinner. That's such a nice surprise. Thank you.” She beamed at his words and it caused a warmth to gather at his chest. He looked down at the plate and strengthened his resolve. For that look, he would eat any amount of gross food. He could it. For her.

  Adrien looked down at the plate of food, choking back a sigh as it stared back at him. He didn’t even have a clue how he was going to eat that fish. With a grimace, he decided to attempt one of the safer looking items on the menu first. He glanced up to see Morgan watching him, that smile still lighting up her face as she waited for his reaction. Steeling himself, he stabbed at what looked to be a lima bean and quickly put it in his mouth. He barely held back the cry as he bit down and it was hard as a rock, the vibrations of it rattling through his head.

  “This is delicious,” He lied through his teeth, “You should eat too.” He waited for her to look down at her plate before surreptitiously grabbing his napkin and spitting it out. He wanted to make her smile, but he also didn’t want to chip a tooth.

  He took several more bites, choking it down in silence, and had still yet to get to the fish. So that must have been what she was doing down there by the stream. He smiled.

  “You caught these?” She paused from staring at her force in determination to look at him.

  “Yep,” Morgan nodded her head, and then grinned a little, “I used everything you taught me. It took a little while to catch them, but they really do like those berries.”

  Adrien barely held back a shocked laugh. Well, I’ll be damned, he thought, maybe he wasn’t such a bad fisherman after all. He glanced at the fish again, poking it a little with his fork before taking a deep breath and diving in.

  He tried to get under the scales and the skin with the fork alone, then he grabbed a knife and made a mess of the whole thing only to find it was somehow still completely raw inside, despite its burnt exterior.

  Morgan made a sound and he looked up to see her pushing her plate away, a devastated look on her beautiful face.

  “I’m sorry, Adrien. It’s not very good, is it?” That was the understatement of the year, but all he did was shrug, not wanting to say anything to make her feel worse. A moment later, she surprised him when a laugh bubbled out of her and then another. She looked up at him with mirth shining from her emerald green eyes, her hand covering her mouth. “It’s horrible.”

  Her laughter was contagious and soon they were both giggling uncontrollably. He laughed until tears were streaming from the corners of his eyes and his side hurt. Finally, he got a hold of himself and opened his arms, gesturing for her to come close and she was in his lap in an instant. He wrapped them around her, holding her tight against him and laid a kiss on her cheek.

  “That was the best surprise I’ve ever gotten. Thank you.” Morgan looked at him, but her expression melted when she saw the sincerity shining in his amber eyes.

  “I don’t believe you, but you are welcome anyways,” She leaned over, intending to just give him a peck on the lips but he held her even tighter, deepening the kiss until she forgot all about her ruined dinner. After a moment, she leaned back. “Well, there is one last surprise,” She laughed at his expression of doubt. “Don’t worry, this one is foolproof.”

  Adrien watched as Morgan jumped up from her seat on his lap, which he instantly regretted, and walked over the cabinet. A second later she turned back to him, a bag of marshmallows in one hand and graham crackers and chocolate in the other.

  “S’mores.” She grinned at him, full of joy and mischief and spirit, despite her disastrous meal, and he fell head over heels in love with her then and there. He could almost feel his heart leap out of his chest and fly across the room, because it didn’t belong to him any more. It was hers.

  Chapter 8

  The fire was crackling as evening slowly melted into night. One by one the stars came out but Morgan didn’t notice. All she could see was Adrien. He eclipsed everything else for her, and it scared her a little when she thought about how intense her feelings were for him.

  “...see, this is how you roast a marshmallow,” He was saying. He took the biggest one he could find and pushed it onto the end of the sharpened stick with a grunt for good measure. Satisfied with his work he stuck it all the way into the fire. Morgan just shook her head, continuing to slowly turn hers a few inches above the heat until it was just starting to go all golden brown.

  “You are going to set that thing on fire.” She finally said, watching it melt, threatening to fall right off the stick and into the burning logs.

  “No, no. You’ll see. Just wait. It’s going to be perfect.” He said, his face all set into lines of concentration as he tried to turn his stick without losing the bubbling mass of marshmallow.

  Adrien glanced over at her chortling laughter, unable to keep the lopsided grin off of his own face and looked back just in time to see his marshmallow hit the coals of the fire in a spray of sparks.

  “Well, Obviously, the marshmallow was too big. It couldn’t handle its own weight.”

  “Uh huh. Sure. That was it.” Morgan giggled again, staring into the fire and shaking her head. He stared at her for a long moment, enraptured by her beauty illuminated by the flickering light of the fire. It suited her so well, he thought. Full of heat, but also a comforting warmth that eased through his entire body, and making him want to draw closer.

  On the pretense of reaching for the bag of marshmallows to replace the one currently turning to a burnt piece of sugar in the fire, Adrien scooted just a little nearer where she was sitting on the log, still calmly turning her stick. He eyed it suspiciously, but even he had to admit that hers looks a far cry better than his. Adrien quickly grabbed another one, jammed it on the stick and set it once more in the flames. Morgan just shook her head at him, rolling her eyes. It would definitely work this time. He was sure of it.

  As it toasted in the fire he kept being distracted by Morgan. Every move she made, or tiny humming sound as she slowly turned her marshmallow had him staring at her. She was so enchanting; he couldn’t force himself to look away. Every emotion and feelings he had for her welled up inside him and he knew he had to tell her the truth. It was killing him to keep those secrets from her but his stomach sank at the thought of revealing who and what he really was and that they were mated. What if she didn’t understand? What if she ran away form him? Or even worse, what if she was scared of him? Thought he was some sort of monster?

  A million questions stormed through his head but he knew he would never have a better chance than this to try and begin at least explaining to her the truth about himself. Adrien opened his mouth and a garble of words came out.

  “I think I really care about you and I’ve never felt like this before and it is kind of scary but I have something to tell you. It’s really important and I just want you keep an open mind because I know it’s hard to understand but I just have to tell you the truth I can’t keep it inside any longer. My feelings for you have grown so much over the past weeks and every day we spend together I feel closer to you, like fate has put us together for some inexplicable reason. Because I sure as hell don’t deserve you but–.”

  “Adrien, you’re on fire.” Morgan interrupted his speech and he took a deep breath before continuing.

  “Yes, well, thank you. I thought I was doing pretty good, myself, but what I was saying was that I–.”

  “No, I mean you are actually on fire. Your stick, Adrien!” She pointed at the marshmallow tipped stick that he had completely forgotten about that was now a flaming torch. He jumped up, whacking the stick a couple of times on the grass to put the flame out and looked on heartbrokenly at the charred remains of his second marshmallow. Finally, he turned back to Morgan with a small smile.

  “Maybe s’mores are not my dessert.” She was on her feet and walking towards him with a sultry smile of her own that wiped any thoughts of tasting anything but her completely from his mind.

  “It doesn’t matter. I’ve got another type of dess
ert in mind anyways.” The words whispered huskily across his body causing chills to tingle down his spine. In the next instant her arms were around him, sending a wave of heat more intense even than the blazing bonfire they were standing next to.

  The night seemed to close in around them as he held her in his arms, just holding her for a long moment, treasuring the exquisite sensation of having her close to him, her body pressed against him. Of their own volition, his hands began to roam. Touching, feeling, wherever they could find bare skin they teased and tickled and soon they were both panting, desire hanging thick around them.

  No other words were needed as he leaned down and kissed her. It wasn’t a sweet and gentle thing, which was what he had planned, but instead it took on a life of its own. Hungry and starving for her Adrien tightened his grasp on her even more, wedging one jean clad leg in between her thighs and listening to her husky moans. Every one spurred him on, spurred his desire that much higher until he though he might explode then and there.

  When he was finally at his breaking point he pulled away staring down at her as they both panted heavily in the night air. Without a word he took her hand in his, so much smaller than his own, so much more delicate. He led her over to a patch of grass beside the fire where she had laid out a blanket earlier. Slowly, so slowly he thought it might just kill him, he reached for the hem of her shirt. As he grabbed it his fingers brushed the sensitive skin of her stomach and her soft gasp had him grinning in the dark.

  Inch by inch he dragged it over her head, throwing it somewhere into the shadows. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but seeing all of her, touching all of her. Adrien reached for the string that tied at the waist of her skirt next. The cotton fabric tickled his skin as he undid the bow with trembling fingers. He could have almost laughed if he wasn’t feeling so desperate. He was shaking like a leaf.