She asked me to take her home as the sun began to set. Riding through that desert highway with Beth’s arms wrapped around my waist was the closest thing to heaven I was likely to get. Now she knew why.

Thou shall not covet. I broke that vow the first time I laid eyes on Beth.

Thou shall not kill. My father’s killers died at my hands. With the club backing me up, I’d ended the cartel’s hitman. Bear wasn’t stupid. I solved a problem for him too. He used me to send a message to the cartel and for a while, they pulled out of Port Azrael.

Thou shall not commit adultery. My dick still tightened at the memory of Beth’s body pressed against mine. I wanted her then. I wanted her still.

I had broken nearly every other commandment. I’d broken every vow I made or meant to make to the church. I may have lost my soul, but I found myself in the process. My club. These men. I belonged. That’s the secret I’d tried to keep for all these years. I didn’t leave the church. I found my home.

“Come inside, Deacon,” Beth said. The setting sun blazed an orange trail across the sky. Far in the distance, storm clouds rumbled.

“Beth. I came here because ... I’m trying to tell you that it may not be safe for you again. At least, not for a little while. Not because of Sean, because of me. I tried to do the right thing. But I think coming here was a mistake. If they find out ... if my enemies know what you mean to me …”

She stood on her porch looking up at me. The fading sun made flecks of gold dance in her eyes. Ten years ago, she’d come to me for confession, absolution. We found it in each other with our bodies and souls. Now I came to her for the same thing.

Beth reached for me. She took my hands in hers and led me inside. I should have turned and left. I should have called Bear and put a couple of the probies on her house and her office. Just like before, there were a million things I should have done, but only one I did.

“Why did you come here?” she whispered, looking up at me. My eyes took in every detail of her then settled on the tiny pulse in her throat.

Her question cut me to the core. There were all the logical answers I told myself. Because Beth deserved to hear about Sean from me. Because I needed to know that she was truly okay. Because things could get stirred up again and people connected to me needed protection. It was all true. And it was all a damn lie.

Thou shall not covet.

I don’t know who moved first. Maybe we moved together. But Beth was in my arms. Her breasts pressed against the soft leather of my jacket. My lips were on her, setting off a firestorm inside me.

Fuck. It was over for me the minute I saw her and I was a damn fool to have thought otherwise.

We stumbled together until I had her backed up against the wall. I pulled her shirt out of her pants and slid my fingers up her ribcage, loving the trail of gooseflesh I made.

Her hands were on me too, peeling away my cut. I flipped off my t-shirt and Beth let out a little gasp. Her eyes registered an instant of shock, then a new flare of desire more heated than before. The years had changed me. My muscles were harder. She explored me with her fingers, finding the lines of ink over my chest and arms. There were battle scars too. You can’t ride with the Dark Saints without spilling blood. Beth took it all in and kissed a path up my chest.

Then it was my turn to see her. She bit her bottom lip as I spread open her blouse. She wore a lacy pink bra that barely held her in. Her curves had rounded out in ways that revved me hard. I two-fingered the little clasp in front and her nipples spilled out.

Beth became my altar, just like she had ten years ago. I worshipped her, dropping to my knees as I kissed my way down. She threaded her fingers through my hair as I dragged her pants past her waist. She wore pretty little lace panties that matched the bra. I hooked my fingers beneath the waistband. Beth threw her head back as I pulled them down.

God. She spread for me like a ripe peach. I tasted her. Beth’s knees trembled and I slid my hands between her thighs, pulling her wider apart. I flicked the tiny little bud between her legs and loved the way she quivered. Then I fastened my lips around her. I wanted this. I wanted her. I would make her come for me the first time as she writhed against the wall.

“Danny!” she cried out as the first waves of pleasure rocked her. She came so fast it startled me. My Beth. My sweet Beth. She was a little awkward, bucking against the wall. I wanted to believe it was because she’d waited all this time for me. Maybe it was, but it wasn’t my right to expect it.

As she crested down, I turned her. Slowly, I guided her to the floor. Beth moved to kick off her heels.

“No,” I whispered, my voice a wicked growl. “Leave those on.” She looked so damn sexy like that, letting me dominate her.

Beth’s breath hitched, but she did as I commanded. She went on all fours as I stroked myself. Oh God. She looked so good, it had to be a sin. But I didn’t care. Beth was ready for me again, gaping. I swiped a finger between her legs and found her soaked.

She leaned down, practically pressing her chin to her hands. I couldn’t help it, I wanted to take it all in. My Beth. My sweet Beth. I would claim her just like I had before. She was mine. She would always be mine even if it meant we were both damned to hell.

“Danny!” she whispered. Then something changed. I put a hand on her ass, giving her a light swat. She quivered with pleasure. “Deacon!” she gasped. “Please!”

Yes. Oh yes. She belonged to me. She belonged to Danny. But she belonged to Deacon even more. I reached around and stroked her breast as I plunged inside of her. She let out a quivering sigh as she stretched for me. God. She was so tight, she felt like a virgin. I knew instantly that she had waited. There’d been no one inside her but me. All this time. She was still mine. She was so slick, her tight little walls stretched for me and I found my way home.

I couldn’t be gentle. Later, I would be. And there would be a later. Now that I’d had a taste, I wouldn’t be able to let her go. I was strong once, I couldn’t be again.

Beth bucked against me, drawing me deeper. Again, her movements were awkward, reckless. I pounded inside of her, filling her all the way. The pull between us made me see stars. I reached for her, stroking her swollen little clit as I thrust ever deeper.

“Deacon!” She screamed my name. Yes. This. Yes.

I flipped her. Beth went on her back and drew her knees up. A feral growl ripped from me as I caught sight of her like that. Her body responded to mine as if she were made for me. She reached for me, closing her fingers around my pulsing shaft.

“I want you,” she whispered. “Oh God. I’ve never stopped wanting you.”

I leaned down and caught her lips in a kiss. “I’ve thought about you every day. Dreamed about you every night, baby.”

“Yes!” she whispered. “Oh. Yes. Don’t stop. Danny, I don’t care. Please just don’t ever stop!”

Then she guided me back inside of her and wrapped her legs around my waist. So I took her there on the floor in the middle of her living room. Ten years ago, our first coupling had been fueled by grief and desperation as much as lust. There was some of that today, but it was so much more. Over and over, the truth washed over me. Beth was mine. She was mine! She was born for me and I was born for her.

I dug my fingers into the plush carpet. Beth arched her back and drew me in even closer. Her nails raked across my back, spurring me on. I fucked her deep, rattling her teeth. She matched me thrust for thrust.

Finally, my own need reached its zenith. Beth grabbed my ass and pulled me to her. I threw my head back and grunted as I poured my need inside of her. She took in every drop, whispering my name. I grabbed her ankles and drew them up over her head, spreading her so damn wide.

She was mine. Oh God. Mine! I would take her, claim her, mark her as my own. If I went to hell for it, it would all be worth it. Every second.

Beth came again. I felt her walls twitch with pleasure and her eyes rolled back in her head. I held her legs wide apart as she floated down. God. I loved watching her like this. I felt like I could do it for the rest of my life.

Me and Beth. Beth and me. I’ve killed for her. I’ve lied for her. And I would sell my soul for her again if that’s what it took.

---

Later, we stood under the shower together. I’d fucked and claimed her in the living room. I made love to her under the warm jets. I washed her hair and she washed mine. I watched the warm, soapy water sluice between her breasts and reached for her. Her pink nipples rose for me and I took each one in my mouth. Then a wicked glint came into her eye and she dropped to her knees. I dug my fingers into the grout as she took me in her mouth and made me come again.

After we dried off, we slept for a little while. Well, she slept; I watched her. She slept on her stomach with her perfect round ass slightly in the air. It drove me mad with lust again, but she needed her rest. In the cold light of day, she’d have a decision to make. I knew she might hate me a little for asking it.

When she woke, she made scrambled eggs. I sat in her little breakfast nook with a towel draped around my waist. Beth wore a short, satin robe and I had plans to get her out of it as soon as she stepped away from the stove. I had a million things to say to her, but so far we’d let our bodies do all the talking.

“What is it?” she finally said as she slid a pile of eggs onto a plate for me. When she moved to sit in the opposite chair, I reached for her and drew her into my lap. I pressed my nose between her breasts, inhaling her intoxicating, clean scent.

“Deacon, what is it?” she asked.

“Beth, I want you to get out of town for a little while. Just until we get a handle on the trouble that’s coming.”

She pursed her lips and set her fork down. When she slid off my lap and took her seat, I let her, even though my body still ached to hold her.

“Your trouble,” she said. “It’s got nothing to do with me.”

I nodded. “It shouldn’t. No. But if I’m right about Sean …”

She held up a hand. “Sean was Sean. No matter what else ... he wasn’t an innocent. You said the Hawks broke a rule by going after him. I don’t think that’s true. Everyone knew who Sean was mixed up with. Have there been any other family or friends of your club who have gotten hurt?”

“It’s just a precaution,” I said. “There’s a safe house up the coast. I want to take you there. Get you out of sight while we handle this.”

She looked me square in the eyes. “How are you going to handle this?”

I swallowed hard. “Beth, don’t ask me that.”

Her expression cooled. I realized my words had to sound an awful lot like what she’d heard from Sean. And I had to admit the danger that followed me now could be just as deadly.

“Fine,” she said, rising. “I won’t ask. Just like I refused to ask Sean. But this time, there’s one glaring difference. Danny ... Deacon ... do what you have to do. But I’m through running.”

With that, she gathered my plate and turned her back on me.