Cole

 

It was a long day. It took hours for the police to finish questioning me in the parking lot of the hotel. I knew there would be more questions to come, especially when it came time to sign a formal statement. I’d been down this road before.

 

I kept looking back at Alena. She wouldn’t let Sara out of her sight, and for that matter, Sara didn’t want to be without Alena. I knew the two of them would be inseparable for a long time.

 

Cops led Alan and Casey to separate cars, placing them in the back. I wasn’t sure how I felt about them. They were stupid kids. Skull had probably told them they would be big men in the club if they helped him make the peace with Pablo and his crew. Could I blame them for being a little dazzled by that? Probably not. But it didn’t mean I forgave them. They had their own shit to deal with outside of the club, though. They’d held Alena hostage, for one thing. It all depended on whether she wanted to press charges.

 

Skull was on a gurney, wheeled from the room to an ambulance. “Can I talk to him for a minute?” I asked. The cop let me go, and I walked over to where the paramedics were about to load him in. They waited when they saw me come up to them.

 

“Hey,” I said.

 

“Hey.” He looked gray, but I guessed it was from the loss of blood.

 

“I’m sorry I shot you,” I said. “Wow, that sounded really stupid.”

 

He laughed a little. “It did. But it’s okay. That’s nothing compared to what I did.”

 

I shrugged. It would take me a long time to get over everything that had happened, but I knew one thing for sure. “I forgive you.”

 

His eyes went wide. It took a lot for me to say it, but his reaction made it worthwhile. “Really?”

 

“Really. You’re my brother, man. I know why you did everything. I’ll stand by you.” And I meant it. I had to accept the decisions he had made, like the drugs and the lying. But at heart, he was still the same person. Other things got in the way, was all. Once that shit was taken care of, we could be on the same footing again. Granted, I didn’t know if he’d be going to jail or what. But I’d stand by him then, too.

 

“Tell her I’m sorry,” he said. “Tell them both how sorry I am. You know I didn’t mean any of it.”

 

“I know you didn’t. That’s why I aimed as low as I did.”

 

He laughed again, nodding. “Fair enough.”

 

We shook hands, and I watched as paramedics placed him inside the ambulance. I didn’t know where he was going after the hospital, or how long it would be before he was free. But he was my brother for life, no matter what.

 

I turned back to Alena, who was still sitting with Sara. She smiled, nodding a little. She understood.

 

There were more questions. This time, the cops took Sara into the room, and then Alena. I waited until it was all finished. I knew I should technically have gone back to the clubhouse, but I called over there to explain what was going down and had a long talk with Ryan, who was sergeant at arms. He was third in line, or second considering the way Skull had left the picture. I would do my best to be sure he wasn’t removed permanently, but I didn’t know if the rest of the guys would be as forgiving as I was. They didn’t owe him what I did, didn’t know him like I did. I would have to do a lot of convincing to keep him in good standing.

 

In the end, it was my decision who stayed and who went. I wouldn’t patch in Alan or Casey after this—they were too stupid to be valuable club members. If they didn’t know enough to take big deals like the one Skull had gotten them involved in to their president, they didn’t deserve to wear our patch. I would vote for Skull to stay in, but there was a good chance the rest of the guys would overrule me. I couldn’t be a dictator. I would have to bend somehow. If they insisted Skull had to leave, I would make sure he stayed safe. That would be my only condition.

 

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” Ryan said when our conversation came to a close. I laughed a little.

 

“Yeah. Something like that.”

 

“You okay?” he asked.

 

“I’ll be okay. It’s a lot of shit to handle.”

 

“Well,” he said, “if there’s anyone who can handle it, you can. Nails thought so, too, or else he wouldn’t have put you in his place.”

 

I laughed again. “He had no idea I’d be taking over so soon, though.”

 

“Eh, I think he had an idea. He knew something big was gonna happen. He wasn’t in the dark. Pablo and company had been quiet for too long. He used to talk to me about the chance of them attacking us. And he had faith in you.”

 

I felt stronger than I had in a while. “Thanks, buddy.”

 

“Don’t mention it. Go take care of your old lady.”

 

I chuckled a little when I hung up the phone. My old lady. How would Alena feel about that title? I didn’t even know if she wanted the job—but if she did, she definitely wouldn’t want to be talked about like a piece of property. I was getting smarter when it came to dealing with her temper and stubbornness. Was that what love did to people? Because I would never have changed my way of thinking for anybody else. For her, it seemed worth it.

 

It was well past dark by the time we left the hotel. Alena drove herself and Sara, who said she would come back for her car another time. One of the cops offered to have it towed to Alena’s house instead.

 

We stopped to get something to eat halfway there, at a diner just off the interstate. Now that I saw them sitting together, it was like looking at twins. And I knew from the way Alena kept touching her sister, stroking her hair, patting her hand, that it would take a long time for her to get over this.

 

Sara kept looking at me, with her head tilted down toward the table. I knew why she felt uncomfortable. “I guess you wouldn’t imagine sitting here with me like this, would you?”

 

She shook her head.

 

“We don’t know each other very well,” I said.

 

“No, we don’t. It’s really weird,” she admitted. Alena was quiet, watching us.

 

“Well, there’s plenty of time to get more comfortable. The main thing right now is that you’re safe. You’re both safe.” I looked at Alena, my chest tightening when I thought of what could have happened if I’d gotten there any later than I had. She was mine. And she would keep being mine. I would never let her go after this. She meant too much to me.

 

“Do you know who called me?” Alena asked.

 

“Yeah,” I said. “Teresa. The woman who’s been living with Skull.” I shuddered a little, wondering how he could have been with her. He fell far, going from a pretty girl like Sara to someone like Teresa. I looked at Alena. “She didn’t mean to hurt you when she did it. He had his ways of getting her to do what he wanted. And hey—she told me where you were going. That was good, anyway.”

 

“I never would have gone if it hadn’t been for her calling me.”

 

“But then you wouldn’t have found me, either,” Sara said. I watched her eat like she hadn’t eaten in weeks.

 

“We’ll go crazy if we keep thinking about what could have happened. Let’s just be happy everything turned out all right.”

 

We left the diner soon after. “Should I come to your place?” I asked Alena, keeping my voice low. She nodded.

 

“Where am I going now?” Sara asked. I looked at Alena.

 

“To my house,” Alena said. “You can stay as long as you want. I have all your things in your old room, but the bed is ready for you.”

 

“I guess I don’t have an apartment anymore. Or a job,” Sara said.

 

“It’s all right. We’ll get it all worked out. I’m just so glad you’re back. We can talk about it in the car.”

 

I got on my bike, smiling to myself. If that kid thought she was gonna make a move without her sister’s permission any time in the next year, she had another thing coming. Maybe even more than a year.

 

###

 

Alena was finishing up with getting Sara settled in her room. I had helped move things around in there to make it a little more comfortable while Sara showered and changed into her own clothes, then I went to Alena’s room to give the two of them some alone time. Alena had been glowing when she led Sara through the front door. Like a dream was coming true. It meant everything to me that she was safe, and finally happy.

 

I realized something then. I had never felt that sort of feeling before. Being happy over another person’s happiness. It was like I was learning all the things other people already knew. It had taken long enough.

 

I stripped down to my boxers and got into bed. It was incredible, the way things had turned out. I wouldn’t have guessed that the girl who came storming into the bar, demanding to know where her sister was, would work her way into my brain and my heart the way Alena had. Now, here I was. In her very feminine bedroom, full of ruffles and lace and fluffy pillows. She was definitely the girly-girl on the outside.

 

Inside was another matter.

 

I was laughing to myself when she came into the room. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

 

“This room, and me in it. I don’t really fit in, do I?”

 

She smiled. “You fit in my world just fine. But yeah. You do look a little out of place.”

 

“Does it bother you?”

 

“It’s not me I’m concerned about,” she said. “It’s you. Does it bother you?”

 

I thought seriously about it. “Not if it has to do with you, it doesn’t. I’ll do what I have to do to make it work with us. If that’s what you want.”

 

“Is it what you want?”

 

I sighed. We were getting nowhere. “I feel like we’re both trying to say the same thing here, and I guess I have to be the one to say it first.” I sat up, taking her hands in mine. “I love you.”

 

She smiled hugely, and her eyes filled with tears. “Are you sure?”

 

“Am I sure? Alena, I almost died today. Not because of Skull. Because I didn’t know if you were okay. It would have killed me if anything happened to you. That’s when I knew I loved you. I couldn’t live without you now if I tried. Simple as that.”

 

“I love you, too,” she whispered.

 

Something in my heart clicked, like a piece falling into place. I felt like a whole person for the first time in my life.

 

“What are you going to do with the club?” she asked. “I have to know.”

 

“Will the answer change how you feel about me?”

 

“Never how I feel,” she said, “but it will affect my life, so I think I should know.”

 

“I want us to be legit, all the way,” I said. “I’m tired of the dangerous bullshit Nails got us into. He was a good man, and he meant well, but I know there’s a better way for the club, and all of us. I don’t want my guys getting killed over bad blood and deals gone wrong. It’s not worth it. It’s not what we were originally about.”

 

“How will you do it?”

 

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I know it’s possible. I talked to Ryan about it tonight, and he and a lot of the guys feel the same way. They don’t want to continue down the path we’re on. I know I can set things right.”

 

“I know you can, too.” She smiled. “I want to be with you while you do it.”

 

I had a funny thought. If there was a chance for me to make things right, the odds were in my favor with her in my corner.

 

I took her in my arms, lowering us both to the bed. “I’ll never let you go,” I whispered. I meant every word.

 

“Me, too,” she said. “I thought I was going to lose you today. Or that you would lose me. It broke my heart. That was when I knew how much I love you.”

 

I tilted her head toward mine, until we were face-to-face, and kissed her gently. All the feeling I had for her was in that kiss.

 

We weren’t gentle for long, though. She opened her mouth, sliding her tongue into mine. That was all it took for me to get as hard as a rock, almost immediately. I needed her.

 

She rolled onto her back, taking me inside without saying a word. The first time was fast, both of us desperate to come together and hold onto each other while we did. I pushed into her hard, fast, possessing her. She was mine. All mine. Only I would ever do this to her.

 

She looked up into my eyes, and I saw the truth in them. She was mine, but I was hers. She hardly made a sound, moaning into my shoulder just once when she finished. I was quiet, too, for Sara’s sake. When I rolled off of Alena, I had to laugh at myself. I hadn’t even taken off my shorts.

 

“That was fast,” she whispered, smirking.

 

“That was just the appetizer, smart-ass,” I said.

 

“Oh, really?” Now she was challenging me.

 

“Yeah, really.” I grabbed for her, and she giggled, twisting away. So she wanted to make it hard for me to get to her. I let her have her way for a little while, playing, pretending I couldn’t get a hold of her. But soon enough was enough. I wrapped an arm around her waist and roughly pulled her to me, reminding her who was boss.

 

She was on her back. I ran a hand up her legs from the tops of her feet to her hips, then over her stomach and her chest. She was still wearing a thin little tank top, and I could see her nipples poking out under the fabric. I flicked them with my fingertips, and she sighed.

 

I let my fingers trail down her body, over her hips, then lower. I’d only pushed her panties to the side before, and now I ran my fingers over the top of her mound. She was still playing hard to get, holding her legs tightly shut. It didn’t take much work to get her to start opening up to me, her body responding without her meaning it to.

 

“You want more?” I whispered, rubbing her through the thin black cotton. She whimpered with her eyes closed, writhing against my hand. She pressed herself to me, trying to get satisfaction. I slid inside her panties and she arched her back, gasping when I made contact with her button.

 

“Yes, more!”

 

I rubbed quickly, with a light touch, knowing it would drive her insane. And it did. Soon her hips were off the bed, bucking into the air as she desperately tried to come.

 

“Please!” she begged, straining against me as I teased her. I wouldn’t give her what she wanted, not right away. My fingers fluttered over her, just enough to make her crazy but not enough to send her over the edge. She whimpered painfully, struggling to stay quiet as she struggled to go just a little further. I saw the sweat forming on her forehead and felt myself straining to be inside her again, so I gave her what she needed. I pressed a little harder, rubbing all along her clit until she cried out against me. I watched as she shuddered, her legs closing tight around my hand. I stayed there, moving ever so slightly, taking in her beauty. Knowing she was mine.

 

As soon as she was finished, she pushed at my shoulders, shoving me onto the bed. For a little girl, she could be very forceful when she wanted to. I was happy to let her do what she wanted. I pulled off my shorts while she knelt beside me, pulling the tank top over her head. Before she did anything else, I buried my face in her tits. She ran her hands through my hair, whispering nasty things while I sucked her nipples.

 

Her words only made me harder, and I moaned. She took me in her hand, stroking me while I licked her. “Mmm, baby…I love it…suck them…” she whispered, stroking harder. She had to stop soon or else I was gonna come all over her hand, but I didn’t want her stop, either. It felt too good, the way her little hand slid over me. But I had to move her hand away with a groan before it was too late.

 

“Fuck me,” I whispered when I finally pulled my face away. “I wanna feel you come for me.” She gave me a little squeeze before straddling me, leaning over me as she slid down my length. Then she was rocking back and forth, riding hard and fast.

 

I was mesmerized by her. She was like a different person, like some sort of warrior goddess. Taking her pleasure from me, exactly how she wanted it. I ran my hands up and down her body, feeling the way her muscles moved as she fucked me. At that moment, it didn’t matter who I was. I could have been anyone with a cock. Her eyes were closed, and she did what she needed to make herself come.

 

I felt her muscles tightening around me, and I held onto her ass as she bounced up and down. I squeezed her soft, firm cheeks and she groaned. She opened her eyes, looking at me finally, and her tongue darted over my lips. I opened my mouth, catching it, sucking it. She tightened even harder, clamping down around me before coming.

 

She screamed silently, her mouth wide open, her head thrown back. Her entire body tensed, then began to tremble. I held onto her, keeping her hips still while she came.

 

“Yes…” she whispered, throwing her head forward. Her hair covered her face. I pushed it aside so I could see her expression when I lifted her, then slammed her back down onto me.

 

“Cole…” she whispered, shaking her head. “I can’t take anymore…”

 

“Yes, you can,” I muttered, deliberately moving her up and down. “You can, because it’s what I want to give to you. You can, because you’re mine, and I say you can.”

 

She moaned softly as I continued to move her up and down my length. I went faster, moving her easily. When I started to thrust upward, she moaned again, her eyes closed.

 

“That’s right,” I said. “You want more. You can’t get enough. Take it.” I slammed her down, and she shivered.

 

“Want more?” I asked.

 

“Y-yes…”

 

I lifted her, then slammed her down while jerking my hips upward. She groaned.

 

“See? I knew you wanted it.” She rolled her head on her shoulders, gasping while I fucked her hard and fast. Now I was taking her the way I wanted to, breaking her down until she couldn’t think straight or see straight. Until the only thing in the world was our two bodies.

 

She gasped with each thrust, and I sped my pace to meet her body. Her tits bounced up and down with the force, and she held them, squeezing them in her hands. “That’s right,” I whispered, barely holding on. It was unbearably hot, watching her play with herself. She moaned, pinching her nipples.

 

“Rub yourself,” I said, and one of her hands slid between us. I felt her fingers moving, rubbing back and forth over her clit. She started crying out softly, and I felt her tightening around me. I let myself go, speeding to orgasm. By the time she was pulsing around me I was coming with her.

 

She fell over me when she was finished, her sweaty body sticking to me. I didn’t care. This was real, this was us. This was the best thing I had ever found. I wondered if it would always be like this. I was willing to find out.

 

I had been with a lot of women, but it was never as good as it was with her. She was made for me.

 

“You know,” she whispered, still draped over me, “if we’re going to keep going at it like this, I’m going to need a stronger bed.”

 

I bit my lip to hold back a laugh. We’d been loud enough. I didn’t wanna disturb Sara.

 

“There’s always my bed,” I said, thinking of all the wild sex I’d had in it over the years. “It’s nice and strong.”

 

She picked up her head, squinting down at me. “How strong?” I heard the real question in her voice. I backpedaled.

 

“Oh, um, kinda strong. Like, medium strong.”

 

“Medium strong. How strong is that, exactly?”

 

“Oh, did I say medium? I mean less than medium. Like…pretty weak. I guess we both need a new bed, because mine can’t handle it, either.”

 

“Mmm-hmm,” she murmured, nodding her head. “And I guess you’ll need a new headboard, to replace the one with all the notches in it?”

 

I couldn’t help laughing this time, and she laughed, too. “Does it bother you? I mean, really?”

 

“Eh. Maybe a little at first. But you’re mine, now. That’s all that matters. Besides,” she grinned wickedly, “all that action taught you what to do with me, and I can’t be upset about that.”

 

I felt corny for even thinking it, but she had taught me a lot more than any of the rest. Before her, I never knew what it felt like to connect with another person. That was what made it special. Yeah, it was hot, and she was usually just as ready to go as I was. But all that aside, the way we felt about each other made it better.

 

I pulled her to me, and she rested her head on my chest. “This is it,” I said, and the words felt right when they came out of my mouth. “You and me. Yeah?”

 

“Yeah,” she said. “You and me. Even though it’s completely improbable. I mean, we don’t make any sense at all, do we?”

 

She was right. It didn’t make any sense on paper. But here, now, with her in my arms…it made all the sense in the world.

 

THE END

 

 

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