Matt

 

I dropped her off at her car and watched as she drove away. I made sure she was out of there before turning back to go to the shop. Outside the door I found myself hesitating, part of me dreading the fall out I’d have to deal with inside.

 

They weren’t supposed to know about her, I thought, a spike of uncertainty that was almost fear racing through me.

 

It wasn’t that I was ashamed of Annie or what we’d done together. Hell, I wasn’t even worried as far as taking responsibility for the baby went. That was what it was and if there was a man inside that building right then who didn’t know what that was all about, then they weren’t old enough to throw in on it.

 

Instead, it was a concern of how they would react to her—and how she would react to them. If Annie decided to get rid of the baby, I had promised I would support her, and I would. But letting her see this side of my life and letting the people in this side of my life see her could potentially cause problems. If they knew she was pregnant and then learned that she wasn’t? That probably was not going to help out with my “family man” image. And what if she stayed?

 

I frowned.

 

What if she stayed? It was something I hadn’t had a whole hell of a lot of time to consider in all honesty. This was a week stint together, a crash course in living with someone else and making hasty decisions. But I still wasn’t sure what any of that meant.

 

Do I really want her hanging around for an extended period? I wondered, my hand hovering over the door handle.

 

Sure, the sex was great—hot and dirty and everything I liked—but sex alone wasn’t enough to build on. There were plenty of women I’d had a good time with in the sack. I didn’t feel like spending time outside of bed with any of them. Would Annie be any different? I had enjoyed talking with her at the café. I’d even opened up to her, which was pretty damn unusual in and of itself.

 

Before I had time to think any further on it, thank god, the door was jerked out of my hand as someone on the inside pulled it open.

 

I looked up to see William grinning down at me, his big beefy arms folded across his muscled chest. “You comin’ in or just going to stand there like a damn life size doorstop?”

 

Sighing, I shook my head and stepped past him into the shop. Buck looked up instantly and leaned forward eagerly. “So?” he asked.

 

I glanced between him and William, who was still standing beside me, but had let the door close. “So?” I repeated with a raised eyebrow.

 

William rolled his eyes, then came forward, clapping a heavy hand on my shoulder. I felt the weight of it, the urge to sag beneath it strong, but I resisted. “C’mon, don’t hold out on us. That sexy little Annie of yours is sure a cutie. And she seems into PDA. Hard to go wrong with that.” His grin widened until I could see a silver cap towards the back of his mouth.

 

“Look, she’s just…staying with me for a little bit,” I muttered, not sure how to stall the inevitable train wreck her appearance was. “It’s not a big—”

 

“She’s staying with you?” exclaimed Buck, coming around the counter so he was standing beside me. “Wow, I didn’t think you’d reached that point already. I mean, that’s a huge step.”

 

I tried to butt in and correct him, Explain that this wasn’t so much of a step as it was a necessary arrangement to figure out whether or not I was going to be a father any time soon. But apparently, I wasn’t going to get the real story out, because William let out a belly laugh that boomed through the little room. I imagined pools of water rippling and buildings shaking, though that was a little excessive. William just made you think of giants whenever you saw him. He was a big boy.

 

“Leave it to you, boss,” he said, teasing good-naturedly. “We tell you to go get yourself a family and you do it while none of us are looking.” He shook his head, still grinning. “Did you knock her up, too?”

 

I stiffened. I did my best to keep my expression blank, clear of any telltale signs that might show that I actually had gotten her knocked up. I had a feeling she wouldn’t be thrilled about these guys knowing that piece of information. Hell, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea myself and I knew these guys.

 

Despite my best efforts, however, it seemed that something had slipped through my reserve. William noticed it first. His hand slipped from my shoulder and he took a step back, his eyes widening slightly and his jaw dropping just a little. He stared at me as though I’d grown a second head or something, then he let out a low whistle. “Shit, boss. Really?”

 

I began to shake my head. “No, it’s not—” But Buck was glancing between the two of us, confused.

 

“Really what? What did I miss?” he demanded, gaze still darting between the two of us. “What’s going on?”

 

I turned to him, but didn’t get the chance to say a damn thing.

 

“The boss is going to be a daddy,” William boomed, and now I knew there wasn’t a soul in the place that didn’t know that I had knocked up that pretty little girl who had come in looking for me.

 

Shit. This is not going to go well.

 

***

 

I spent the rest of the afternoon dealing with questions from my men. I was right: William’s booming announcement had made sure everyone in the shop had heard it, including customers who were eyeing me curiously now and again. I ignored them at least. I owed them nothing. But my guys were a bit more difficult to fend off. They were equal parts suspicious—Mathis’s faction within the club were following him over the whole family thing in the first place—and thrilled by the idea of me and Annie together. I thought it was strange, but William spoke of her like she was the perfect angel.

 

“She’s fucking cute,” he told Aaron, who was tattooing a big burly man who was in a suit, but had taken off the top half except for the wife beater beneath it. He was listening curiously, but not rudely so. He just couldn’t help overhearing the conversation given that he was sitting right in the middle of it. “And sexy, too, but fucking cute, you know? She’s got one of those faces, like a damn angel, and she’s so petite. Looks perfect next to the boss.”

 

Aaron was nodding, looking the part of bored, but I could tell that he was listening attentively. He was interested in what was going on and it was then that I really realized that having a woman at my side was going to be an important part of my role as leader.

 

“And she’s nice, too,” Buck chimed in. “She was really polite when she came in today.”

 

I rolled my eyes. Buck was easily charmed by the fairer sex, though he preferred older women. Now that I thought about it, though, that probably had a lot to do with the politeness he’d just accused Annie of. I wanted to tell him she wasn’t so polite in bed, though she said please a lot, but I refrained. What happened between Annie and me in the sack was between us.

 

“How long you guys been together?” asked Christian, a middle-aged man who had a growing bald spot in the middle of his head. It made him prone to wearing hats, and he had about a dozen of them, mostly faded Yankees caps.

 

I opened my mouth to answer, but William headed me off. “Long enough for her to move in with him.” He winked at me as Christian’s eyebrows shot through the roof.

 

“Damn, I didn’t think it was that serious!”

 

I was about to tell him it wasn’t, but what came out of my mouth ended up being a little different instead. “She only just moved in. Yesterday. It’s a new arrangement for both of us.” What I’d intended to say was that this was a temporary arrangement and that we hadn’t been together long, that we weren’t technically together at all. But I didn’t say that and I didn’t correct myself either.

 

Christian whistled. “Quite the commitment. She must be something special for old hard heart here to cave.”

 

I frowned at that. Hard heart? I hadn’t considered what my bachelor lifestyle said about me before, not until very recently. And when I did, I had arrived at the conclusion that it had made me look strong, tough. Now, I wasn’t so sure. I might have commented on it, but Christian was just teasing, his tone light and even affectionate. I wasn’t really close with him like I was some of the guys, but in that moment, I felt as though he was fully on my side.

 

And that was something I needed these days.

 

“What can I say?” I answered, smiling cockily. “Can’t let some other asshole swoop in and snatch her up.”

 

My words brought out the desired reaction in not only Christian but everyone else, too. The guys laughed and offered their agreement. They started talking and joking amongst themselves, talking about their own partners or kids, blunders, and first loves. Mostly it was joking around, but I could see by the satisfied look in William’s eye that he’d known this was going to be the result. He’d played this out perfectly, I realized, and his booming announcement in the front hadn’t been as accidental as I might have initially thought.

 

You sly dog, I thought, but couldn’t really make myself be mad about it.

 

In one afternoon, I’d started to win guys over, and all it had taken was one woman with full hips and a sweet, sultry smile. Who would have guessed?

 

***

 

When I finally got home, I felt lighter than I had in a long time. Since taking over the Reaper’s Thorns, as a matter of fact. It was a lot more work than it seemed from the outside looking in and it took its toll on me. I had never been the sort of man who dealt with things softly, with a subtle hand. If there was resentment, I responded to it with a heavy hand of violence. If I felt like there was dissention, I beat it down with my fist.

 

Which was half the reason I was in this mess with Mathis to begin with. I had called on my lieutenants and they had offered me advice. Advice I hadn’t thought myself capable of taking.

 

But now?

 

I shrugged off my jacket and threw it onto the back of one of the armchairs in the living room adjacent from the door. “Annie?” I called, wondering if she was around. I saw her car parked out front, but she could have gone for a walk to explore the area or she might have been taking a nap. I winced when I thought of that and decided to keep my mouth shut until I knew for sure. No sense waking her up; she was pregnant after all.

 

But as I walked towards the stairs to see if she was asleep in my room rather than the guest room I’d offered her—call it wishful thinking—I noticed a savory smell wafting in from the kitchen on my right. I poked my head in and was surprised to see Annie was there. She had an apron thrown over her blouse and I noticed immediately that she wasn’t wearing pants. Only a thong. My gaze lingered on her round, perky ass and I felt myself instantly grow hard.

 

Oh, the things she does to me, I thought, wondering if I could get her in the mood right here in the kitchen.

 

She glanced over her shoulder then, tossing her messy, wild blonde hair out of the way as she did so. A smile bloomed on her lips. “Hey, honey, how was your day?” She said it in a low, sultry tone and was clearly teasing.

 

I laughed, though I admitted somewhere deep down I liked that she said it. I liked finding her home when I got here, and not just because she was half naked in my kitchen.

 

Moving to stand directly behind her, I pushed my body flush with hers, rubbing myself against her all but bare rear. “Better now. What are you doing?”

 

I looked over her shoulder to see that she was cooking something that looked suspiciously like steak. I raised an eyebrow at her. She giggled at that and I swore she deliberately rubbed herself against my crotch. It took everything I had not to groan in her ear at the sensation.

 

“I’m making dinner, can’t you tell?” She batted those long lashes at me, her lips forming a sweet little smile that was not half as innocent as it looked.

 

I cleared my throat. “I see. And what prompted this?”

 

She shrugged. “I wanted to say thank you. For the clothes and the place to stay.” She hesitated, then added softly, “For the time.”

 

Something tightened in my chest and I acknowledged that I was feeling something more than just pure, unadulterated lust right then. Though, of course, that was there, too. For a second I didn’t answer. I was too stunned to think that she was standing in my kitchen not wearing any damn pants and cooking me a steak all to say thank you. To me.

 

I moved my hands from her hips, sliding them across her belly. It was still small, all but flat. I laid my hands there, palm flat, imagining what it would look like as the baby inside grew. She wouldn’t be fat, but her stomach would be swollen and heavy. I imagined putting my hands against her then, like this, and what it would feel like. Would I be able to feel the baby kick?

 

The thought sent something rippling through me that I couldn’t quite explain. But it was fierce.

 

“Thank you,” I muttered into her ear, then pressed a sweet kiss to her fair cheek.

 

We stood like that for a long moment. I left my hands there, caressing her flat stomach, enjoying the way she felt in my arms as she continued to cook my steak. Slowly, she swayed her hips, moving against my crotch, reminding me that despite the strange tenderness I felt towards her, I was also a man and I felt lust, too. I did my best to keep that lust at bay, but eventually a groan slipped from my lips.

 

I felt her shudder.

 

“You’re a little overdressed for dinner,” she told me in a low, husky voice. “You should change.”

 

My hands finally moved from her stomach and back down to her hips. I pressed her into me firmly this time and encouraged her movements against me. “Whatever the lady wants,” I murmured against her neck.

 

She let out a soft, breathless laugh that sent ripples of heat through me. “I’ll remember you said that.”

 

I nipped at her neck before I pulled away from her, aware of how I ached and of how suddenly cool the space where she’d been against my body was. I jerked my shirt up over my head in the middle of the kitchen and tossed it over my shoulder towards the hall. I’ll get it later, I told myself, focused on the beautiful woman in front of me. I undid my belt buckle and then popped open the button of my jeans. All the while my gaze was trained on her.

 

That ruddy colored blouse exposed her shoulders and the material was transparent enough that I could see there was no bra supporting her large breasts. She must have gotten rid of that earlier, because I was sure I could see a bra beneath her shirt in the shop. The apron was cinched around her tiny waist, emphasizing her hourglass shape, and the little strings to the bow she’d tied it into hung down to graze along her ass.

 

I stared at that smooth, round skin as it bounced a little with her movements.

 

I kicked off my boots and sat to take off my socks, never tearing my eyes away from her. When I’d put them just outside the kitchen in the hall, I finally shoved my pants down and hung them over the back of one of the chairs shoved in at the small table I had set up. I was completely naked and I was definitely ready for whatever she had in store for me. My cock jutted up proudly from between my legs, eager for her.

 

“It’s ready,” she told me, sliding a steak onto a plate beside a baked potato. “Do you want some sour cream for your—” She broke off when she turned around to face me, plate in hand. Her eyes raked over me as though they could reach out and touch me physically. They dragged across my form, going over my chest and abs until they found my hardened cock. There they lingered.

 

I saw her let out a shuddering breath, then she walked over to me carrying that plate. The apron just barely covered her breasts, or at least her nipples, because I could see ample side boob from beneath her sheer blouse and the edges of that apron. Her heels clicked on the floor as she approached and then she stepped her right foot to the outside of my leg. The left one she threw to the outside and then she lowered herself, straddling my lap. My cock ended up between us.

 

“Mm, that’s much better, don’t you think?” she purred, her hands going to my shoulders and caressing them lightly. “Much more comfortable?”

 

My hands went behind her back and undid that damn apron. I jerked it over her head and tossed it aside, pleased to see her nipples were visible through the fabric. They were hardened pebbles already, proudly pushing against the sheer material. “I don’t know. I’m pretty uncomfortable right now. Think you can help me with that?”

 

Her cherry red lips spread into a wicked smile. “You know, I’m not sure what to do. I’ve got some ideas though; guess I’ll have to try them all out until I find the right one.”

 

I only raised an eyebrow at her in question, letting her do as she liked.

 

She leaned forward and kissed my collarbone. I felt her pink tongue flick out and lick the skin there, a velvety feeling that sent a shudder through me. But she didn’t linger there for long. She kept moving, kissing along my shoulders and my chest. She slid back down my legs until she was resting on my knees rather than my lap, all so she could continue to kiss down my body.

 

My cock jumped as her lips continued to press against my skin, extra soft. I felt the silky fabric of her blouse caressing my length and noticed when her breasts slid on either side of my member.

 

Finally, she could go no farther. She got off of my lap and I might have protested if she didn’t get down on her knees in front of me instead, settling between my legs. Her big blue eyes looked up at me from beneath full lashes and she grinned. She let out a soft sigh against my cock, making me groan. She hadn’t even put her lips against me yet and I felt ready to explode.

 

Don’t come in her mouth, I told myself. Not that I didn’t want to, but it seemed kind of rude given that she was being so damn sweet to me.

 

Her little tongue flicked out and tasted my head, swirling around the tip. It sent a jolt of electricity through me and I cursed between gritted teeth. She looked pretty pleased by that. Her mouth opened wide and I got to watch as she popped my head into her mouth, her ruby red lips circling my cock.

 

“Fuck, baby,” I hissed, putting my hands behind my head so I couldn’t tangle them in her hair. I was worried that if I did that, I’d just shove her the rest of the way down my length until I hit the back of her throat.

 

The thought alone was enough to make me pulse with need.

 

Her mouth was warm and wet as she slid slowly forward to take more of me into it. I felt her tongue slide beneath me along the vein there as she swallowed me. It was a wonderful, velvety sensation and it was driving me absolutely nuts. I wanted to jerk my hips up and shove into her the rest of the way, but resisted the urge.

 

Finally, she swallowed until I hit the back of her throat. “Oh shit, that’s fucking good,” I told her, gritting my teeth and digging my fingers into my own hair so I didn’t start tugging on hers. “I can’t believe how much you can swallow.”

 

She hummed around me, pleased with the compliment. She pushed just a little more in, coughed, then pulled back. Her spit covered my length as more of me slipped out of her mouth. Eventually, she only had the head between her rosy lips. She sucked, then swirled her tongue around the tip, then she moved back down my shaft until I once again hit the back of her throat.

 

I gasped; she moved again.

 

She repeated this over and over again, her tongue swirling over my head and the underside of my shaft. Her mouth swallowing me until I hit the back of her throat. Then she’d pull back and repeat.

 

It was driving me crazy and I felt my self-control slipping. Either I was going to have to pull out of her mouth and bury myself in her sweet, tight little pussy, or I was going to start bucking into her mouth until I spilled myself down her throat. And as appealing as that was, I thought maybe that was a little too rough for my beautiful girl.

 

“Baby, you’re gonna have to stop,” I ground out.

 

She paused, looking up at me. There was a moment where she looked almost hurt, like maybe I hadn’t been enjoying this.

 

I groaned. “If you don’t, I’m going to shove my dick as deep as I can into that pretty little mouth of yours until I come down your throat. So, either let me do that or stand up and bend over so I can bury myself between those gorgeous legs of yours.”

 

Her eyes flashed and for a moment, she just remained still. She left my cock in her mouth, my tip touching the back of her throat. Almost like she wasn’t sure which of my proposed scenarios she liked more. Almost like she wouldn’t mind swallowing what I had to give her.

 

Oh fuck. I imagined letting myself go and spilling in her until there was more than she could swallow. I pictured it dripping from her lips and nearly lost control.

 

But then she pulled back, letting her tongue slip over my veiny length. The head of my dick popped out of her mouth, saliva connecting the two for a second longer. Then she licked her lips. “Salty,” she said, low and sultry. Then she stood, that ridiculous excuse for a shirt showing her full, round tits in a shade of deep red and revealing that lacy thong I’d bought her earlier.

 

“Take that off before I tear it off you,” I growled at her, motioning towards her thong.

 

Her blue eyes darkened with lust and I heard her breath catch. The promise of ripping her clothing off had apparently turned her on, but her hands went to the waistband of her panties just the same. She tugged them over her hips, letting them drop around her heels on the floor.

 

Still seated, I made a motion for her to turn around. “Bend over,” I commanded.

 

Biting her cherry red lower lip, she nodded and turned. Her hands went to the table, palms flat, and she bent over. She bent so low that her breasts were pressing against the counter, her back arched and her curved, firm ass jutting out towards me.

 

Only then did I stand. I moved right behind her, reaching out my hand to caress her round cheeks. She shivered at my touch as I caressed her soft flesh, letting my hand slip between her cheeks and down between her legs. I felt that she was wet, the moisture coating my hand.

 

I groaned as my cock twitched. I needed to be inside of her. Now.

 

I positioned myself between her legs and used one hand to spread her lips open. I nestled the head of my dick between them. She shuddered at the contact. “What do you say?” I prompted, pausing for half a second.

 

“Please,” she breathed out.

 

I slammed into her and she screamed out, not holding back this time. We weren’t in a store, and if anyone had a problem with the sounds she was making, they could take it up with me.

 

“Fuck, baby, you’re tight,” I told her, the feeling of being sheathed inside her sending ripples through me.

 

I found my rhythm quickly, pulling out and pushing into her again with a hurried speed. She seemed to always be pushing my desire to the next level, and after that teasing moment where her mouth did its best to swallow me whole, I knew I was too close to try a slow fuck today.

 

My pelvis slammed against her ass as I gripped her hips for leverage. The whole time she moaned and begged, making delicious mewling sounds that only spurred on my need for her.

 

“Oh, Matt,” she murmured as I buried myself into her as deep as I could go, bottoming out inside of her.

 

“Jesus, you feel amazing,” I ground out, pulling back and slamming into her again. I felt my pleasure peak and knew there was nothing I could do to prolong this further. I jerked into her several more times, my orgasm ripping through me as I cried out her name and spilled myself inside of her.

 

I slumped back into my chair, pulling her sweaty body with me so she sat on my lap. I felt myself softening inside of her, the remnants of my pleasure making me feel drugged and so damn good that I didn’t want to let her go. “Hell of a welcome home,” I murmured against her back, placing small kisses there.

 

She giggled. “I wanted to make sure you knew how much I appreciated what you’ve done for me.”

 

I rubbed small circles into her hips with my thumbs. “Oh, I definitely know. No doubt.”