Fractured & Formidable: The Sacred Hearts MC Book V

by Downey, A. J.

  “I know you got a thing for the fire… hair,” he changed what he was about to say at the last second at my baleful look and Dray looked impressed.

  “You trust us to get it handled? We won’t do you wrong brother.” Dragon shook me back and forth by the shoulder and I nodded.

  “Thanks for having my back.”

  “Our pleasure,” Dray said. “I been living with her for the last, almost year. So seriously, I’d do it myself but yeah…” He looked over his shoulder and made some thoughtful nonsensical noises as he scanned the room.

  “Duracell!” he called.

  “Yeah VP?”

  “You gingers like to stick together yeah?” Dray asked. Duracell frowned from where he was sitting.

  “The fuck you talking about!?” he asked and Dray gave a wolfish grin and went over. Dragon chuckled I shook my head.

  “Thanks man,” I held out my hand and he clapped his into it. We clasped hands and shook on it.

  “Happy Thanksgiving brother,” was all he said. We let go and I went off in the direction of the kitchen. I leaned a shoulder just inside the doorway and buried my hands in my shorts pockets.

  Red and the rest of the girls were around the center kitchen island. Everett was fixing her, and it looked like maybe even me, a plate. Hot damn! Someone had found Red a tall cylindrical, thick glass vase and she had the flowers out on their wrapping and unbound. She was clipping the ends with some hand held garden sheers, the fuck if I knew where those came from, and was artfully arranging both lilies and greenery as she talked with the girls.

  “Where in the hell did you find lilies this time of year!?” Chandra asked me, lighting the cig she had pressed between her lips.

  “I told you, I’d have to kill you,” I said. She snorted and smoke came out her nose.

  “Classy,” I commented dryly. She flipped me off and I grinned, pushing off from the wall. I took a seat on one of the stools the girls had brought in from the bar as the microwave went off. Everett slid a steaming hot plate of food in front of me.

  “Thanks Irish,” she smiled and handed me silverware and a napkin. “Ashton cook this?” I asked with my mouthful.

  “Yes, you barbarian,” Sunshine said from the sink and I blinked. I had the flowers between me and her and she was so damned small I completely missed that she was in here!

  Just to irritate her I talked with my mouth full again, “You think I’m gonna stop eating your cooking just so’s I can talk!? Pffft!” a meaty smack landed on the back of my head, the blow cushioned a bit by my favorite Bucaneer’s hat.

  “You got a bunch a Ladies in front of you asshole,” I grinned unrepentant up at Trig.

  “Whoa! Those are nice!” he exclaimed for Mandy’s benefit. She smiled and it was the sweetest thing… I didn’t think I would need desert after that, but fuck that if it was Ashton-made pie.

  “Ash, you make the pie?” I asked.

  She shook her head, “Mandy made them all for us,” I looked over at my girl who was suddenly very focused on her flowers. She made enough pie to feed the entire MC and everyone attached to it knowing she wasn’t even gonna be here. I smiled. I loved her for that.

  She finished putting all of her flowers in their water and slid up onto a stool next to me to eat. She gave a little secret smile at her flowers while she chewed thoughtfully and I wondered what was chasing around in her brain under all those fiery red curls. Whatever it was, it looked to be good. I was a lefty and she was a righty and unfortunately we were sitting on the wrong sides of each other for it to benefit us which was both a blessing and a curse. Blessing because the dudes wouldn’t be able to call me a pussy but a curse because I really just wanted to hold her fucking hand where it rested idly on the countertop by her plate.

  The crowds in the kitchen and the common room were thinning out as dudes hauled their Ol’ Ladies off to fuck and other dudes hauled themselves off to just plain take a nap. Red covered her mouth politely to yawn herself. She’d had a rough day so I was pretty sure it wasn’t the Turkey kicking in. She stood and cleared our plates and I stood too.

  “C’mon Red,” I said and held out my hand.

  “What should I do with..?” she indicated her flowers. I smiled.

  “They’re fine where they’re at,”

  She took my hand, and slung her purse over her shoulder and I led her quietly through the back to my room. She went inside first and I shut the door behind us. She set her purse on the black leather recliner I had in the corner. That was pretty much it in here. Recliner in the corner with a lamp behind it. Queen sized bed with drawers in the base for some spare clothes and a bedside table. I had a couple of framed drawings up on the walls. Mostly scenes I’d imagined from some books I had read. Cool shit.

  Mandy looked at them, her eyes roving the one above the head of the bed. It was a scene out of Dante’s Divine Comedy, complete with the canto in its original Italian. Her eyes roamed the image for long moments.

  “Is this in Latin?” she asked.

  “Italian.”

  “You know Italian?” she asked surprised and I smiled.

  “No. I know what it says though,” I couldn’t stop smiling.

  “What does it say?” she asked, the question of course, inevitable.

  “Says ‘Do, in me, preserve your generosity, so that my soul, which you have healed, when it is set loose from my body, be a soul that you will welcome.’ It’s from the thirty-first canto in Paradiso.” Mandy turned back to the drawing of a ravaged Dante in his Beatrice’s lap as she lovingly bound one of his wounds. I studied her face as she studied my drawing.

  “What are you thinking?” I asked softly.

  “It seems so sad,” she murmured.

  “Do you know the story?” she shook her head. “It’s an old poem, about a man who travels first through Hell and then through Purgatory to reach Heaven and find his lost love who was taken from him.”

  She hugged herself as her eyes roamed over Dante who I had drawn pretty much in as wretched a state as anyone could get. He looked to be on the verge of death in my version which was kind of the point. He was on the edge, too soon to tell if Beatrice could pull him back from the brink, but at the same time, his expression beautiful and at peace, utterly content at being reunited, even if she couldn’t save him. I don’t know why I’d drawn it that way. I just had and it had come out pretty badass so I’d framed it and put it up here, so I had something instead of nothing on the walls. She turned reluctantly from the drawing and faced me. Eyes searching.

  “I apologize for what you had to see today,” she started and I went to her. She seemed just, fractured… in need of some healing. I pulled her into my arms and placed my fingers over her lips, shushing her.

  “Shhh, no need to talk about it anymore today, Sugar. You’re safe with me. You know that right?” I trailed my fingertips from her lips, grazing her cheek. Her eyes closed and she seemed to relish the little touch. She sighed out and nodded faintly. God she was beautiful. So soft, so sweet and I couldn’t imagine anyone treating her like anything less that the fucking magical creature she was.

  “Kiss me?” she asked softly and I smiled. I couldn’t think of anything I would rather be doing. I leaned in and brushed her lips lightly with mine, so softly, in a barely there caress. She sighed out and leaned into the kiss, pressing her lips to mine, parting them in invitation and I didn’t need any further urging than that. I swept my tongue past her lips and slipped it into her mouth.

  Her arms slid along my shoulders and twined around my neck. She pressed her body the length of mine, and buried her fingers in the hair at the back of my head, pressing me closer. The action knocked my hat off but fucked if I cared. It was just the first of many articles of clothing that I planned on making the floor their new home.

  I held Red around her waist but I wanted skin, I wanted my hands on her smooth skin so bad. I slid my hands around to her front and worked at the wide decorative belt she had on. She took a half step back with her lo
wer body but kept us firmly pressed up top. She wanted this, was letting me do this. Yesssss. I felt giddy, excited, I dunno, like I was on top of the world. The belt dropped to the floor and I gripped her lush ass and pulled her in to me.

  God I loved her hot, soft mouth on mine. Her kiss was sweet and honest and so pure. A wild thing. She didn’t think when she kissed, she felt and it was so raw, so real, and so fucking good! I rucked up her sweater until I reached the hem and slid my hands underneath it, sliding them ever upwards until the denim of her jeans gave way to smooth, soft, silky heated skin. She moaned into my mouth at the contact and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to be inside her. I needed to be inside her. That tiny, soft little moan had me completely undone.

  I broke the kiss and lifted the sweater off of her, over her head. I dropped it to the floor and had the camisole she had on underneath it join the sweater in short order. She wore this satin and lace nude bra and I couldn’t wait to see if the panties matched, but first… I shrugged out of my cut and tossed it at the recliner. It landed, leather on leather with a slap and Red jumped. I pulled my shirt over my head and dropped it to the floor and pulled her by her denim clad hips tight up against my chest, skin on skin and good Christ it was almost enough to make me jizz in my pants.

  She kissed me, her mouth more insistent the more comfortable she became. I could feel her heartbeat pounding, throbbing steady and sure where my hands smoothed up her ribcage. I curved one arm around her back and held her against me. The other I smoothed up her body to cup one satin and lace clad breast. I gave the lush globe a squeeze and she moaned again. That sound was officially my new very favorite sound in the fucking world. I turned us, putting her back to the bed and broke the kiss. I searched her face and found it flushed, her eyes hooded with desire and lust and yeah, I could totally say the feeling was mutual. So very mutual.

  I grinned and gave her a shove and she yipped out a short laugh and tumbled onto her back in the middle of the bed. The down comforter fluffing up and nearly swallowing her. Her red hair turned fiery against the black backdrop. I knelt and she started to sit up. I planted a hand on her chest, between those glorious tits of hers and pressed her back down.

  “Lay back, I’m gonna get your boots,” I murmured. She relaxed after a heartbeat or two of consideration and I knelt, lowering first one zipper and the next, easing off first one boot then the other, divesting her legs of the socks she had on while I was at it. I reached for her waistband, keeping eye contact. She bit her lower lip uncertainly, almost shyly and it was the most erotic damned thing. I slipped the button free of its loop and lowered the zipper slowly.

  Holy God the panties matched and I think I about died and went to heaven. Yep. I was pretty sure I was dead and this was heaven because I had the most perfect fucking angel in my bed. How did I get so lucky? I knelt on the bed between her legs and kissed her. She captured my face between her hands and kissed me back and there was a low level need to it, an urgency a barely controlled frenzy to it this time. I unbuttoned and unzipped and shoved my shorts to the floor, taking the boxer briefs down with them.

  I fumbled at the laces of my high tops and got them loose, toeing one after the other off as I lowered my body over hers. I wanted her skin against mine. She was so warm and I loved it. There was an awkward couple of half seconds while I reached back and ditched my socks that left her laughing nervously. My erection pressing over her mound, I shuddered. She was soaked through her panties, so hot and wet and ready and she smelled fucking amazing! Like her lilies and all woman, her sex delicately perfuming the air.

  I kissed the side of her neck and she must have liked it, she must have liked it a lot because she cried out and she writhed underneath me. The feel of all that silky soft body pressing up against mine, oh yeah, oh God, I needed in her. I needed in her right now. I slid my hands under her back, my lips working that sweet spot on the side of her neck and unclasped her bra. Not the smoothest unhook of my sexual career but the girl was driving me nuts with the beautiful soft little whimpers she was making, her nails digging into the back of my neck lightly where she held me to her.

  The bra joined the rest of the textile wreckage on the floor. I disengaged from kissing her reluctantly but I wanted so badly to see. I cupped her breasts in either hand, the full weight of them so incredibly sexy and alluring. Her nipples were perfect, a soft shell pink and standing like perfect beaded pearls. I looked up her body as I took the first one into my mouth. Her back arched so beautifully, her eyes fixed on me, so deep and dark and lovely with the heat of her passion. I rolled the delicate tissue of her nipple between my tongue and my teeth and she cried out. Her eyes closed as she relished the sensation, and she was so beautiful doing it my heart gave this sharp ache at just how exquisite the vision was.

  I hooked my fingers in the waistband of her panties and whisked them off her legs, quickly re-covering her body with my own. I kissed her, tongues playing against each other, bodies pressed hot and close, intertwined. She broke the kiss with a gasp.

  “Zander!” my name spilled from her lips an impassioned plea, a siren’s call and I didn’t even care. I lined myself up, I would put a condom on, but first, God, I just had to feel her wrapped around me just once, just for a moment without. I know! It was a selfish, dick thing to do but I couldn’t resist, I couldn’t not do it.

  “Zander!” she cried desperately and I thrust forward, I felt some unexpected resistance, a slight pop, Mandy cried out and it wasn’t in passion, oh no, I knew the difference. Something was wrong, this was pain. One of her hands pressed over her mouth, the other against my stomach. I froze, seated deeply inside my girl and didn’t move.

  “Oh shit! Oh Baby, oh Red no… Why didn’t you tell me Honey? Huh? Why didn’t you say something Sugar!?” I said in a panic as I smoothed her copper curls back from her frightened face and felt the worry crease my own.

  My girl, my beautiful angelic Red, had been a virgin.

  Chapter 8

  Mandy…

  “Oh shit! Oh Baby, oh Red no… Why didn’t you tell me honey? Huh? Why didn’t you say something Sugar!?” his voice was strained tight over his panic. My eyes watered and the moisture slicked down my temples. He smoothed my hair back from my face with gentle hands.

  “I was trying to,” I whimpered and he closed his eyes. It had hurt, briefly, a flash of pain then nothing. Now I simply felt full and wet and I swallowed hard, half afraid there might be something wrong with me. Everett had always described it as something so magical, so full of bliss… We were both so still. Zander searched my face but then he dropped his forehead to mine closing his eyes. He swallowed hard, overcome by some unnamed emotion.

  “I’m so sorry Sugar. I would have made this so much better, been so much more careful with you if I’d known,” he murmured, his breath warm and gentle against my lips. I pressed my hands to either side of his face and forced him to look at me.

  “You know now,” I said gently and he nodded.

  “I promise Baby, I’m not gonna leave you like this. I promise I’m going to make it good for you.” I smiled tremulously at this and nodded.

  “I’m gonna move now, okay?” he asked and I nodded again and oh my God he moved. He withdrew from me slowly, searching my face for any signs of discomfort, and finding none, eased his way back in. The sensation of it, the feeling, it was as if my body was awash in a tingling wave, as if the most pleasurable electric current gently hummed through me.

  My eyes drifted shut as I let the sensations take over. Zander felt so good. His hard body warm against mine, caging me protectively in his embrace. He tenderly moved above me, inside me and kissed me so sweetly… but too soon he stilled and with a gentle kiss or two murmured for me to stay put.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, startled.

  “I need a condom baby, you’re not on birth control.” I blinked.

  “Yes I am,” I colored deeply and he frowned in confusion. “I have been since I was fifteen, it helps keep my periods
regular.” I felt myself blush an even deeper shade of crimson.

  “I guess I just never figured a virgin would be on it,” he murmured, “Still want me to get one?” I thought about it and shook my head. I knew there was still a risk but the moment called for this, for us to simply be and I was okay with that. Zander looked relieved and started that slow rocking of his hips that was driving me crazy! I smoothed my hands down his body and gripped his ass, urging him on and he groaned and it was such a sound! It coiled things low in my abdomen tight and tighter until I simply couldn’t stand it. I knew something had to give, that something should give, and I had had orgasms before through pleasuring myself but what happened next… there were simply no words to describe it.

  The world imploded. It was as if my body had become this bottomless black hole, every sensation known, hot, cold, soft, sharp, tingling, rough; all of them filtered through me all at once! White shining starbursts, fireworks of passion and beauty and grace went off at the edges of my vision and I bowed beneath him. He held me fast, grounding me in the moment, keeping me protected and safe as pleasure coursed in a rapid paced closed circuit, over and over again, from my head to my toes through my body. I was vaguely aware of my echoing cry bouncing back from the ceiling at me before his mouth closed over mine in a greedy desperate kiss.

  Zander swallowed my cry and too soon the ride was over and I fell limp and quiescent beneath him. He smiled at me and kissed the tip of my nose. I laughed, which twisted into a throaty moan as the pause he’d taken to let me come down ended, and he stroked into me once more.

  “Oh God, Red!” he closed his eyes, the cadence of his breathing becoming ragged and abnormal and with a final violent jerk of his hips, he withdrew from my body the hot wet splash of his release coating my hip and lower stomach. He held himself up from crushing me and I cradled his head against my breast, smoothing my fingers through his sweat damp hair, lightly scratching his scalp with my nails which made him groan, his eyes slipping shut in pleasure.