by A. M. Myers
“Hey, why don’t we plan like a big family dinner or something?”
He arches a brow. “You really think it’s the best time for that?”
“It’s like Blaze said,” I answer with a nod. “We need to be solid and we need to lean on each other to get through this.”
Studying me for a second, he nods and reaches in the window to slap me on the shoulder. “Okay. I’ll go talk to Blaze about it.”
“Sounds good. I’ve got to go get Piper from work.”
Taking a step back from the truck, he nods and I start the truck before pulling out of my parking space. As I pull out of the lot, I see him walking back to the clubhouse and I nod to myself. It will be good to get everyone together and maybe even laugh a little bit. Right now, we are all broken off into our little couples and families, silently losing our shit over what is coming. The feeling is so strong now that I can feel it in every fiber of my being, like the deadly calm just before a massive tornado strikes. Whoever this guy is, he is coming to get whatever twisted sense of revenge he thinks he is owed and we need to be ready for it.
The night of the break-in, Piper and I laid in bed talking until three in the morning. I told her all about each of the cases and explained the timeline to her, trying to make her understand how dangerous this guy is but that is not what happened. Instead, when confronted with all the evidence, she pointed out that this guy has been playing a long game since the beginning, slowly torturing us for maximum effect and she doesn’t think he’ll change tactics now. When I started to argue with her, she said it would make even more sense for him to go dark now that we know about him because we will all be going crazy.
As much as I didn’t want to admit that she was right, it makes fucking sense. With no new crimes, we have no new evidence to look into, and we’ve clearly gotten no where with what we have now and all of us are feeling the tension. If it goes on much longer, we’ll all start losing it. She also pointed out that he’s never gone after an old lady and it would be a big escalation but I can’t afford to let my guard down where she is concerned. Just because he’s never gone after anyone close to us doesn’t mean he won’t and she needs to keep her guard up until we find this son of a bitch.
I glance behind the passenger seat where the new pistol I bought Piper is sitting. It was a spur of the moment, reacting to the crazy kind of decision and I have no idea how she will feel about it but I’m going to teach her everything I can about the weapon and teach her to shoot it so that I feel a little bit better. If Tate wasn’t pregnant right now, I might even ask her to teach Piper some self-defense moves but there is no way in hell Kodiak would be okay with that. Although, I’m certain if I asked Tate first, she would tell him to suck it up. That girl doesn’t like anyone telling her what to do but I can’t do that to Kodiak, especially now that we’re on good terms.
As I get closer to Piper’s studio, I sigh. My stomach twists and my throat feels tight as I think about her and Eden there all alone. It’s so dangerous and anything could happen despite what Piper thinks. On top of everything else, I am really worried about how she is handling all of this and I hate myself for bringing this down on her shoulders when she is already dealing with so much internally. I’ve thought of every single possibility - hiding her away somewhere, telling her to leave me, following her everywhere she goes - but none of them are ideal. This guy has obviously been watching us for a while so he already knows about Piper which means either one of the first two options will put her in even more danger and she might kill me if I try to be her personal bodyguard. I need to do something, though.
Pulling up in front of the studio, I see Piper in the doorway, waving to a cute little family of three as they get into their car and for the first time since I dropped her off this morning, I feel like I can breathe again. Her gaze flicks in my direction as I get out of the Bronco and she smiles, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the door frame. I flash her a smile but it feels forced.
“Hey, baby.”
She smiles as I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her close, needing to feel her in my arms. Pressing her forehead to mine, she releases a breath and I feel a little bit of the tension slip out of my body.
“Hi,” she whispers, stealing a quick kiss. “I missed you.”
I shake my head. “I missed you way more, baby. You done for the night?”
“Yeah. Eden’s still here, though.”
As soon as the words leave her mouth, Eden walks into the front of the studio and when she sees me, she narrows her eyes and props her hands on her hips.
“Hey, I’ve got a bone to pick with you.”
“What?” I growl, not in the mood to deal with Eden and her attitude. After her little scheme to get us back together, she rubs me the wrong way and I get the sense that she’s jealous of the time Piper spends with me. I mean, it makes sense. Before I came back into her life, Piper spent a large amount of her time with Eden and Lillian so it will take some adjusting on her part but I really hope, for Piper’s sake, she and I can work through our differences.
“All the extra security,” she says, motioning to the door. “Is it really necessary?”
When I dropped Piper off at work this morning, we filled Eden in on the gist of what was happening, that someone was coming after the club and they needed to be more careful, but we didn’t tell her many details about how serious the threat was. Even though it makes it hard for her to take this seriously, it’s for the best. This is club business and the less people know about it, the better. I nod.
“Yeah, it is.”
She rolls her eyes.
“It could be worse, you know. I could have one of the guys come babysit y’all.”
A smile stretches across her face as she arches a brow. “Would it be a single guy?”
“No,” I answer with a laugh and her face falls.
“Fine. Ruin all my fun.”
“Honestly, Edie,” Piper says, shaking her head. “As two women who stay here late at night sometimes, we should have been doing this way before now.”
She sighs, reluctantly, nodding her head. “Yeah, okay.”
“Are you finished for the night?” I ask her. “We’ll walk out with you.”
“No, sir,” she replies, shaking her head with a stubborn look on her face as she pulls a pistol out of her bag and my brow shoots toward my hairline. Well, shit. “I have one more shoot tonight and I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
I study her for a second and consider arguing with her but there is something about the look in her eyes that tells me she has been through some shit and she is more than capable of taking care of herself. Although, judging by the shocked look on Piper’s face, it seems to be something she doesn’t talk about much. Finally, I nod.
“Yeah, okay. But call me if you run into any trouble.” I release Piper and pull one of the club’s business cards out of my wallet and scoop a pen up off of the counter before scribbling my number down on it. I hand it to her and I see a flash of vulnerability in her eyes before she covers it up and nods.
“Thanks.”
“When in the hell did you get that, Eden?” Piper asks as she finally recovers enough to speak and Eden shrugs like she didn’t just pull a firearm out of her purse.
“A girl’s got to protect herself, Pip-Squeak.”
The darkness flicks across her gaze again as Piper turns to stare at me with wide eyes. Maybe she’s expecting me to say something or insist that we stay here with Eden but I’m not going to. The look in her eyes is the same one Tate gets sometimes and I have no doubt if the worst case scenario happened, Eden would handle herself just fine.
Nodding, I wrap my arm around Piper’s waist. “All right, I guess we’ll just get out of your hair then.”
“What?”
Eden smiles her thanks as Piper bores a hole into the side of my head. “Have a good night, y’all.”
“Oh, we will be talking about this later,” Piper says, pointing a f
inger at her best friend as I pull her into my side and my body relaxes at the contact.
“Mmhmm,” she calls as she stands up and grabs one of her cameras off of her desk. “Looking forward to it.”
As she walks away from us, I release Piper’s hips to grab her hand and lace our fingers together as I grab her purse off of the counter and hand it to her. She eyes me but before she can say anything, I flash her a smile.
“I’ve got a surprise for you.”
She arches a brow. “What kind of a surprise?”
“Huh?” I ask, feigning innocence as we open the front door and step outside. She stops and puts her free hand on her hip as she stares me down with that “tell me now” look.
“You said there was a surprise.”
“Did I?” I ask, scowling at her and shaking my head as I pull her around the passenger side door and open it. “Huh… I don’t remember.”
“You’re a liar.”
I shake my head again, fighting back a grin. “No, I swear… Are you hungry?”
She gets this cute little smile on her face and I swear I can read her mind. Memories from when we were kids flash through my mind and I mirror her expression. Right after I got the Bronco, we used to love to just drive around with the windows down and Piper cuddled into my side. After a while, we would go to the little hole in the wall burger place downtown - the kind of restaurant that only the locals know about with big greasy burgers and the best French fries you’ve ever had - and we’d drive down to the river, put the tailgate down, and cuddle in the back while we ate. It was part of the inspiration for the night and I hope she remembers.
She shakes her head, still stuck on demanding to know what her surprise is when her stomach growls and she lets out a surprised laugh. “Yeah, I guess I’m a little hungry.”
“Jump in,” I say with a nod. “And we’ll go grab some food.”
The defiant look on her face tells me she wants to argue but when her stomach growls again, she climbs up in the truck and I don’t miss the opportunity to guide her up with my hand on her ass. As she plops down in her seat, she rolls her eyes at me, fighting back a grin and I shut the door before jogging around to my side and slipping behind the wheel. Her stomach growls again as I start the truck and I laugh as I point over my shoulder.
“I may have fibbed a little bit. Check the back.”
She spins around and rises up on her knees to look behind the bench seat. She lets out a squeal that makes me laugh and when she sits down again, she has the brown paper bag in her hand with Mike’s Burgers and More logo on the front. Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath and lets out a moan that makes me sit up a little straighter.
“Oh my God, Wyatt. It smells so good.”
I smile. Seeing her happy makes me happy and I just hope we take care of this threat so I get to do it for the rest of our lives. “Dig in, Pip.”
She squeals again, practically wiggling with excitement as she peels open the bag and looks inside before meeting my gaze with a scowl.
“There is only one meal. Aren’t you hungry?” she asks and I shake my head.
“Naw, I ate earlier and I’m still full.” It’s a lie. I haven’t been able to eat much of anything in the last few days, too worried about Piper and too worried about my club to get anything down but I don’t need her knowing that. She would just worry about me and I need all of her attention to be on making sure she is okay. After studying me for a second, she sighs and scoots across the seat until she’s pressed against my side and when I glance down at her, she holds a French fry in front of my lips. Fighting back a smile, I turn back to the road and bite it in half.
“Do you want to know a secret, Wyatt?”
I nod, peeking down at her again as she eats a fry of her own. “Sure.”
“You never were a very good liar.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, feigning ignorance but I know she’s right. At least, when it comes to her. One look in her green eyes and I would be spilling my guts but it’s always been that way. She nudges me, meeting my gaze with a no-nonsense look on her gorgeous face.
“You have to take care of yourself, too. I’m not going to let you fall apart.”
I nod to her food, ignoring her comment. “Eat your dinner, baby.”
We spend the rest of the drive cuddling in silence as she eats and when we pull onto the old first road that we used to take to the river back when we were kids, I see her grin out of the corner of my eye. This place holds so many damn memories for us and if I could, I would buy this land and build her a house facing the water but the old man who owns this ground has known my parents since I was a little kid and he has always said that he’ll die before he sells it. The good thing is, he was always cool with letting us come down here anytime we wanted.
“Here,” Piper says as I park the truck at the end of the dirt road and I glance over at her as she holds half of her burger to me. I shake my head and determination flashes in her eyes. “You need to eat and I won’t get out of the truck until you do.”
Rolling my eyes, I swipe the burger from her hand and take a bite. As soon as the flavor explodes across my taste buds, my stomach growls like my body is suddenly remembering how hungry it is and I inhale the rest of the food before glancing over at her. She is turned sideways in her seat, staring at me with a cocked brow and her arms crossed over her chest.
“Not hungry, huh?”
I narrow my eyes. “Watch it, Pip.”
“Or what? You’ll spank me?” she asks, rolling her eyes as she turns away from me and I grin. When she glances back at me, she lets out a little shriek and fumbles for the door handle but I grab her first and drag her into my lap as I press kisses up her neck. She straddles my thighs and I groan against her skin.
“That’s not a bad idea.”
She shakes her head and steals a kiss. “Don’t even think about it, Landry.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ll be very mad at you.”
I grin as I thrust up into her. “Yeah, but then I’ll make you very happy.”
She is trying desperately to stay focused but I can see the smile threatening to break through and I thrust up again. Her lips part and she lets out my favorite sound, that sexy little sigh, so I do it again.
“Wyatt,” she breathes, gripping my shoulders in both hands and my cock strains against my zipper. Shit, I love hearing her whisper my name like that. In that small fraction of a moment, nothing else exists but her and I.
There is no nosy friends poking into our business.
There is no club.
There is no threat coming for all of this.
There is just me and my woman.
She tips her head back when I do it again, grabbing two handfuls of her sexy ass and bucking my hips off of the seat, grinding up into her. I take advantage of the opportunity to lean forward and lick a path up the side of her neck.
Fuck.
She tastes so damn good and I need more.
She shudders in my arms as a moan slips past her lips and her nipples pebble against the thin fabric of her shirt. I growl as my desire for her boils over.
“Was this my surprise?” she asks, rocking her hips against my erection and I shake my head.
“No. That’s going to have to wait.”
Nodding, she leans down and seals her lips to mine with a moan as I try to unbutton my jeans.
Fuck.
This is going to be quick and dirty but I need her now and I don’t have the patience to move to the back of the truck or wait until we get home. After the last few days, all I can think about is getting inside my wife. I need it more than the air I breathe.
Thank God, she wore a skirt today.
Once I get my jeans down and my cock springs free, she reaches down between us, wrapping her fingers around my length and bolts of pleasure zip through me as I drop my head back and groan. Her warm breath hits my neck and goose bumps race across my flesh as she pumps her hand, stroking me agai
n and again so slowly that it’s damn near torture.
“I want you so bad, Wyatt,” she whispers in my ear and my entire body lights up like a bonfire. My hand skates up her spine before diving into her hair. I grab a chunk of it and pull, bringing her face away from my neck and claiming her lips again. She moans, releasing my cock to grind against me. Her panties are wet and I sink my teeth into her bottom lip as my head spins.
“You keep talking dirty to me, baby,” I growl in between kisses. “And we’re never going to get to the surprise.”
She nods. “Fine by me.”
“You want me to fuck you all night long?” I ask, hyping myself up at just the thought and her breathy little moan spurs me on, making me crazy. “Want me to put a baby inside you?”
“God, yes, Wyatt,” she moans, her head falling back as she continues grinding on my lap. When she rocks back again, I can’t take it anymore. Growling, I reach between us and pull her panties to the side as she grabs my cock, pressing it against her entrance as we both moan. Her lips brush over my ear and I shudder as I sink into her with a low groan. The air punches out of my lungs as I still, giving her a moment to adjust.
Shit.
She feels so goddamn good and I’m never going to last.
Why the fuck is it that the feeling of my wife wrapped around my cock turns me into a teenage boy all over again?
“Fuck me, Wyatt,” she pleads before pressing a kiss to my neck and I groan again, gripping her hips and thrusting up into her. She cries out into the cab of the truck, clinging to me like I’m a life raft and circling her hips to add to the sensations. I glance up at her and stop moving, drawing her angry eyes down to my face. “What are you doing?”
“I think I wanna watch you fuck me this time, sweetheart.”
The fury fades from her gaze in an instant and a slow, devilish little smile stretches across her face as she starts rocking and circling her hips again. She plants her hands on my chest and meets my gaze as her mouth falls open in a silent moan and her body shudders.
“Goddamn, baby,” I whisper, reaching up and cupping her cheek as pressure builds at the base of my spine. I slip my hand between us and grab the base of my cock, trying to hold off as long as possible but when she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, I know I’m a goner. Her eyes flutter closed, wrapped up in the sensation as a moan tears through her and I can’t hold back anymore.
