Cody slammed his door behind them. Mariah stood quiet beside him. After seeing him in action against Nelson, she knew how powerful and fierce he could be. He had never directed that towards her until now. His eyes fired daggers as he glared at her. “I wasn’t going to make your getting hurt about me, but here goes,” he hissed, clenching his jaw afterwards. “Sit down.” He swallowed hard and lowered the tone of his voice. “Please.”

Mariah hardly took her eyes off of him as she backed onto his sofa.

“That biker knocked you out with a single punch. He hit you hard, and then you hit the pavement hard. I thought I lost everything I had just found as I watched you fall. I was actually against the hospital releasing you, but I knew you would leave whether you were cleared or not.” He pointed at her, frustration clear on his face. “But you and I had an agreement that you would let me take care of you.”

“And you have. You’ve done an amazing job,” she said meekly.

“What were you doing out there?” he asked. “Any one of those guys could have done anything to you and re-injured you. Or killed you.”

“Same with you,” she blurted. “Those guys mean business. They don’t mess around.”

“Neither do the Dark Riders! If someone’s going to rule the streets of Baltimore, it might as well be us. No one—and I mean no one—is going to threaten my girlfriend. Harm my girl and a message has to be sent. I went over to deliver that message in person.”

She opened her mouth to respond but had nothing to say. Cody’s words stunned her. They had shared intense passion and an amazing connection, but she had no idea he felt as strongly about her as she did about him. Caring for her could simply have been out of a sense of duty. He was that kind of guy. But his actions came from a place deeper than that.

He shook his head. “You could have undone everything by going over there,” he said in a whisper. Emotion had muted his voice.

“I couldn’t let you go after Nelson without me,” she said quietly. “I wanted to keep you safe.”

He raised his eyebrows. It was kind of a ridiculous statement, she knew it, but it made sense to her. “You’re going to keep me safe?” he scoffed. “More like get us both killed.”

He was right. She was an idiot. Still, his words stung. She tried not look like a big baby, but she felt like that was exactly what she was looking like. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m really sorry.” She couldn’t meet his gaze. Part of her wanted to go to her house to hide; the other part of her wanted to grab him and hold him close forever. She didn’t want to lose him. Not now, not ever.

“I think we need to get you back to bed,” he said, taking his lecture down a notch. “Some of the guys are coming over just in case. Just for extra security. I have definitely opened a can. I’ve pretty much demoted Nelson Primeaux as captain of the Robinson Street bikers. But there is a possibility…” he said, but then he self-censored.

“What?” she asked.

“Well, that someone might want to prove himself as worthy of being a captain, and come after me or any of the Dark Riders. I may have started a bit of a, you know, turf war.” He grinned, like he thought it was funny.

“How can you make light of this?” she said in frustration.

“Hey,” he said, pulling her to her feet and gathering her into his arms. “It was worth it. Teach that spineless woman-hitting prick a lesson. All of them. We may be gun-waving, gun-loving, woman-loving Neanderthals, but we don’t abide hitting women and children. I’d love to know what happened to the jack-off who punched your lights out. But, no, what my guys and I did was all for you and your friend.”

Lenny. Lenny was in the hospital because of all of the craziness.

“I want to go see him tomorrow.” She wasn’t going to take no for answer.

“Fine. I’ll take you. I have to be at work first thing in the morning, but I can take you afterwards.”

“Alright,” she rasped. She was overloaded with so many emotions—for him, for what had happened, and because she was exhausted. However, her feelings for Cody overran everything else at the moment. Adoration. Passion. In a way, she owed Nelson Primeaux a debt of gratitude. Not much, though; barely a smidgen. If he had not tampered with her car, Cody wouldn’t have stopped to help her when they first met.

He guided her to his bedroom. He spread an electric blanket on top of the bed and helped her out of her clothes. The warmth of the blanket was so delicious against her bare skin. The heat penetrated her muscles.

Cody lit candles and spilled peppermint oil into his palms. He straddled her buttocks and pushed the palm-warmed oil into her skin. He applied just the right amount of pressure on her stiff and sore body. Her fall to the ground felt the same as if she had gotten rear-ended by a car. He worked the aches from her. The oil soothed her tremendously.

“Oh my goodness,” she said. “You’re a genius.”

“Hmm,” he said, with a slight scold in his voice. “You mean I know what I’m doing?”

“Yes,” she relented, getting his meaning.

“Good to know,” he whispered, nuzzling her ear.

His voice tickled her and sent an electric buzz through her. Her nipples were hard against the electric blanket. To be excited while the blanket warmed her was super-sensuous. The effect went straight to her core. She ached immediately. She needed to be filled. She swam in her need, letting it sweetly torture.

Cody paused and peeled his T-shirt from his perfect torso. He massaged her tender back, working lower and lower to the small of her back. He shifted to the side of her. His hands worked the firm curves of her buttocks. The peppermint oil cooled and heated her flesh at the same time. He continued to her taut hamstrings and calves.

But when Cody began to massage her feet, she really got turned on. He had the talent to work her feet without tickling her like crazy. The pressure in particular at her arches was particularly erotic. He pushed his thumbs into the soft spot of her feet. She was in blissful agony.

Mariah rolled over onto her back and boldly touched herself. Cody watched, continuing to massage her feet, knowing what kind of effect he had on her. He did something almost a little weird for her. He put her toes in his mouth. She had never had anyone do that before. She probably couldn’t let anyone but him do that.

His mouth was so soft and wet and hot, and every nerve of her very sensitive toe was alive. All paths of the feelings in her toe went straight to the center of her body. Mariah had the strongest urge to come.

Again, he knew.

She was writhing with pent-up passion. She worked her fingers back and forth. He kissed the arch of her foot, which made her cry out. His lips traveled up the inside of her leg. Mariah stomped her free foot against the mattress.

Finally, Cody’s mouth was where her hand was, working with her to help her find her pleasure. Her fingers moved against his tongue, until she was felt her body shift into orgasm mode. The darting of his tongue in and out of her aroused, swollen channel was too much. She needed release. Now. From deep within, she climaxed.

Cody licked and stroked all the way through the tremors. The rush was like a tidal wave that bathed her from head to toe. He did not let up while the sweet seizing took her.

He rose slightly. She watched him through her lowered lids. Every chance she had to catch sight of his magnificent body, she took it. He was like human stallion, rearing up as he unbuckled his jeans and pushed them down.

Cody leaned forward in a push-up position over her. Mariah’s hands were now free. She reached between them and guided his erection into her. His heat filled her so sweetly, so completely. Mariah’s heart revved. Her breath rose as he slowly moved in and out of her.

His large hand cupped her buttocks, now slick with peppermint oil. The support of her backside as he drove into her created luscious tension. His fingers slipped into her deep crevice and tantalized her opening there.

Mariah’s body, already sparklingly sensitive from her recent orgasm, spasmed and drew up with his stroking. She could hardly withstand the barrage of pleasure. She felt like she was going to come again.

She slid an oiled hand over her breast and down her stomach. Cody’s movement did not stop, but his eyes followed her hand. She touched herself again, moaning from the luscious sensation of him inside of her and her fingers touching her swollen nub. The peppermint oil was now everywhere, and the heat stimulated her most sensitive places. She was throbbing. She worked her fingers, bringing back to life her pleasure. Her muscles tightened around his hardness uncontrollably. Her nipples grew hard, and pointed towards the ceiling as Cody drove into her.

Mariah’s breasts bobbed with Cody’s pumping. He bent down and captured one of her erect nipples in his hot mouth. He sucked hard. It tugged at her very core. Her belly melted as the ripples of pleasure rolled through her.

The stiffness of her body, the aches and pains from the fall, had left her body. She was able to lift her leg and rest it on his broad shoulders. Cody continued his ride. He drove deeper and deeper into her. Her orgasm ebbed from her body, though his stroking continued to pleasure her. She couldn’t stop the need for more of him. She wanted to come again.

She cupped her wobbling breasts wantonly. She played with them as she looked into his eyes. Cody’s eyelids were heavy with arousal. She teased him mercilessly, tweaking her nipples between her fingers and thumbs for his visual pleasure.

Cody’s body stiffened. His motion became jerky and less fluid. His head arched back towards the ceiling as his orgasm exploded. The mighty biker man was helpless in his pleasure. It turned her on even more. She helped him along by pumping her hips upward against him. She swiveled her body to mix up the tension. He whimpered, but he took it. Mariah kept it up for as long as he held up, until, finally, he folded against the mattress.

Cody squirmed against the bedding, still reeling from his climax. He panted and clutched her side, his massive hand covering her ass cheek as he groaned and caught his breath. Once he was restored, he stroked her with his fingertips. “How’re you doing?” he asked with concern.

“I’m more than fine,” she responded with a lazy smile.

“I know you’re fine,” he replied flirtatiously. “I don’t think that the doctor had raging sex in mind when he asked me to take care of you. In fact, he said to take it easy.”

She grinded against him lasciviously, her wetness warm against his hot skin.

“You don’t think he would approve of your special injections?” she asked.

Cody choked on her graphic joke. “What happened to my sweet little lounge singer? Did your association with a bad boy biker change you?”

“Maybe,” said Mariah playfully. “Or I’m just showing you my true colors now.”

“Oh really?” He raised an eyebrow at her as his hand slipped between her legs. His finger slid inside her. “Have I been misled all this time?”

“Well, if you don’t like it,” she said and rolled over. His touch left her craving more; even teasing him excited her.

He reached for her and forced her onto her back, and then set his hands on the mattress, on each side of her shoulders, towering over her. “I’m not complaining at all.” His growing erection teased her inner thigh.

Mariah was randomly struck by a serious thought. “You gave Nelson a pretty serious beating,” she said.

He groaned and gave her a look that seemed to say ‘really you want to talk about him now?’ He shrugged. “I did. However, not bad enough to put him in the hospital like he did you.”

“Well, not to argue, but it was his guy who hit me,” said Mariah, rotating her hips to press against him again.

“Let’s just say he’s damn lucky he wasn’t there,” growled Cody. “Nelson called the shots.”

“Is there a chance the cops are going to come after you now?” The thought scared her enough to stop her gyrating.

“I guess if someone presses charges. I don’t think he has the balls,” said Cody. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I will worry about it, but I trust you,” She yawned, the warmness of the heating blanket changing her desire to relaxation.

“Oh, good,” he said sarcastically, but she could tell he was teasing her.

Cody got off the bed and lifted Mariah to lay her under the sheets. He climbed in beside her, pressing her back against his front. “I’d fuck you again, but I just heard two bikes pull up,” he whispered in her ear.

When the bikers let themselves in, Cody got up to check, and then quickly returned. They slept soundly, knowing they were secure for the remainder of the night.