Annabelle

 

I knew before I left the hospital what I wanted. Maybe it wasn’t the kind of thing that most girls my age in my particular situation wanted. Maybe it wasn’t even the smartest decision. Who turned down an inheritance like the kind my father inevitably would leave me? No one, I thought, but it didn’t change how I felt. Yes, the money would make my life easier in so many ways, but it wasn’t worth it to me in the end. What I had to give up to get that money was my unborn child—and the man I now knew I loved.

 

Except he doesn’t love me back, I thought as I stared into his dark eyes.

 

There was no question in my mind that this baby was very important to him. In fact, I thought it just might have meant the world to him. But that affection and adoration didn’t necessarily extend to me. I knew he would stick around and help me raise this child, whatever he felt for me, because he’d told me how his father had abandoned them after his mother got pregnant. But that was out of duty and a lingering need to not be like his biological father.

 

That still didn’t mean he cared for me. Not really. Oh, I was sure there was some affection there. He enjoyed my body, sliding his hands over it and his cock inside of it, and I did, too. But physical lust wasn’t the same as love; I understood that now.

 

Because I was in love.

 

I wanted him physically. I loved his strong muscles and his carved abs and the way his cock stood at attention every time I was near or bent over or doing something I shouldn’t be. But that was only part of it for me. I loved the way he was a strong leader to his men. I loved the way that he was determined to do the right thing by this baby and me, even though he could have walked away from it a month ago. Even though I had all but asked him to do just that. I loved the way he laughed and teased, the way he was around his men. There was a connection there I couldn’t deny, something that brought out a sweetness in him that I didn’t think other people realized.

 

So maybe he didn’t love me, so what? He cared enough for me—and the baby—to come rescue us from my father before he could force me into something terrible. That was enough for me, I told myself. That was enough to live off of. And maybe it would be enough to grow into love.

 

I could hope.

 

The sirens sounded around us and by now I could hear my father shouting. I couldn’t make out his words, but I wasn’t trying very hard either. I no longer cared what he had to say because there wasn’t anything he could say that would convince me to stay. He was going to force me to lose this baby and he was going to force me to give up Matt, the two things I just couldn’t do.

 

I stepped closer to Matt, putting my hands against his chest. He had looked up towards the sounds of sirens and my father, so I reached up my hand, caressing his jaw with my fingertips and pulled him back to look at me. His eyes were deep and dark, troubled and intense. I offered a smile, then pushed up and kissed him. It was chaste and soft and a second later I pulled away.

 

“I know what I want,” I told him seriously. “I want to have this baby and I want to be with you. We can make this work. It won’t be easy, but that’s how I know it’s worth doing. Everything that I’ve ever done that was easy wasn’t worth the time I put in to it. But this…this is worth every second.”

 

He cracked a smile at me then and lifted me up, pulling me tightly against his chest as he kissed me deeply. This one wasn’t chaste. He devoured my mouth and my hands tangled in his thick hair. I breathed him in and let his tongue slide inside me, exploring my mouth as he held me against his body.

 

We might have gone on like that forever under different circumstances, but we definitely didn’t have time for things like that today. To confirm that thought, I heard William clear his throat behind me. Even with that and the sirens and my father’s yells, it took a moment longer before Matt broke the kiss. When he did, we were panting and I felt flushed. All I wanted to do was have more time with him.

 

I shook my head to try to clear it of the thoughts. At the same time, Matt lowered me back to my feet and nodded at me. “Time to go.” And before I could say anything, William hefted me up off my feet and started climbing the fence himself. I let out a squeal as I realized he was carrying my body weight and his both over the fence without much difficulty.

 

Definitely a giant with giant strength.

 

As we made it to the top of the fence, but before we dropped down the other side, I finally could start to make out what my father was saying.

 

“Annabelle! Come back!” he cried as he ran towards our general direction, and for once he truly sounded distressed. I took satisfaction from knowing this, though it probably wasn’t fair. After all, he for once actually looked like a panicked, uncertain, at a dead end father. Except I knew part of that was only show for the police. The other half was less about me and more about his reputation, his money, and the knowledge that if I left, I would never come back. “Please, honey, please come back! Don’t let that criminal do this to you!”

 

I wanted to yell back at him that Matt wasn’t a criminal—which, okay, he was technically, but he was a good guy, too. I also wanted to tell my father that he wasn’t doing anything to me. I was making my own decisions, the right ones for myself and my baby. But I didn’t bother, and it wasn’t just because William was already beginning to crawl back over the top of the fence towards the ground. The sounds from inside were growing fainter, while police sirens were growing louder. I realized that more were coming and they were on what was now our side of the fence.

 

For a second, I panicked. They would definitely see us as we climbed down. But they didn’t seem to. The squad cars just sped past us quickly as they headed for my father’s house. Thankfully, the Reaper’s Thorns had picked this place carefully. Vines, trees, and bushes covered the location almost entirely. It had been deliberate on my father’s part, I was sure, as a means of disguising the ugly gate that he’d insisted in having around the whole house. Now I had to assume that he would be more than a little pissed off to realize that deliberate plan to make everything pretty on the outside had once again backfired.

 

As we made it down to the ground and William finally planted me back on my feet—he didn’t even seem breathless, though I felt breathless enough for the both of us—I turned to him. I demanded to know, “What about Matt? What about the other Reaper’s Thorns?”

 

He waved me off. “Matt is already headed over the top,” he told me even as he grabbed my wrist and began tugging me along.

 

“And what about the others?” I demanded, not bothering to struggle against his grip. It was clear to me that if he didn’t want to let me go, he wouldn’t. And while I didn’t like not having a choice—there’d been far too much of that lately—this didn’t make me nearly as angry as my father. This man was only doing what he knew Matt wanted him to do: get me to safety.

 

William answered me over his shoulder. “The ones who can get over the fence will. The ones who can’t shouldn’t be in any trouble.”

 

My eyes widened at that. “How can you say that? You just broke in to rescue me!” For which I was eternally grateful, but my father would definitely spin it as kidnapping not rescue, and the law would fall on his side, given that he was the mayor and I was his daughter.

 

William jerked me down to the ground behind a bush as another cop car flew past. We waited there for a moment and he dropped his voice to answer me in a whisper. “Buck and Daniel haven’t technically done anything. They went to the front door, they knocked, they asked about you. No one can do much of anything to them for that, no matter what kind of spin doctors your father gets a hold of. At the very most, they can try to get them for trespassing, but I doubt even that would stick. They’ll be questioned and then they’ll be released. The others are already heading for exit points. No one’s getting left behind, honey.”

 

Something eased just slightly in my chest at the knowledge that they’d planned this so thoroughly, but I wouldn’t truly feel better until I saw Matt. I glanced behind us. “Where is he?”

 

I turned back to look at William just in time to see him quickly smooth out a frown that had come over his face. He was worried, too, it seemed, and that definitely didn’t make me feel better. “C’mon,” he told me, motioning towards where I could now see a row of motorcycles parked, hidden amidst the bushes. “We need to get moving.”

 

But I jerked back. “We have to wait. Matt isn’t here yet!”

 

William fixed me with a glare, his frown deep and his eyes worried. “Look, we did this all for you and Matt isn’t going to be too fucking happy with me if this all goes sour because we wanted to wait and make sure he was fine. He’s a big boy; he can take care of himself.”

 

I opened my mouth to argue further with William about how leaving Matt behind simply was not an option for me, but before I got even the first word out, we heard sounds behind us. The rustling of trees, the “oomph” of someone dropping heavily into the dirt. We froze momentarily, sure it wasn’t Matt, but the police coming over the fence after us at my father’s order. But then he broke through the foliage at a run, frowning as soon as he saw us.

 

“What the hell are you guys doing standing around? We need to get the hell out of here! The cops haven’t realized where we are, or how many of us there are, but it won’t take them long to start putting numbers together. We need to be gone before that happens.”

 

I was so relieved to see him that I threw myself at him and wrapped my arms around him. Relief washed through me as soon as we collided, though our embrace was short lived.

 

He squeezed me once tightly, the quickly pulled away. “Jesus, you guys, we need to move!” He grabbed my arm and I happily let him drag me towards the motorcycles.

 

I heard yelling and sirens behind us, but thankfully, I didn’t hear any gunshots. “The others?” I questioned as we arrived at the bikes.

 

 William and Matt both got on and revved up the bikes. I slipped behind Matt, wrapping my arms around his middle to hold on. This feels right, it is right. This is definitely where I’m meant to be.

 

Above the roar of the motorcycles as they peeled out of the underbrush and onto the road, going the opposite direction of my father’s house and the multitude of people currently causing problems there, I heard him call over his shoulder at me, “They’ll be out in no time! They’re already halfway to the bikes!”

 

They must have gone over the fence at different locations and I only hoped they would make it out fine. But even as I thought it, I selfishly found myself grateful that at the very least the man I loved most got out.

 

***

 

We drove for several hours to get out of Mount Rose and away from the police that would be following us. It wasn’t the easiest of drives and by the time we finally stopped at a bed and breakfast, I was exhausted and my legs were shaky. The place we’d picked to stay for the night was a little mom and pop place, not where you expected to find a fugitive biker and his pregnant girlfriend.

 

“Are you sure the others will be okay?” I asked as I sat heavily on the bed, falling back from exhaustion and the general stress of the day. I’d asked a bunch of times already and it was probably annoying, but I was honestly worried and, more to the point, I didn’t want to sit in silence.

 

Matt nodded in my direction, taking off his boots and his shirt as he got himself comfortable. “Yeah, they’ll be all right. I got a text from William. He says the police are questioning Buck and Daniel, but we expected that. They’ll walk away clean and clear. No one can prove they were involved with my escape or your so-called abduction.”

 

I snorted at that. “Abduction,” I scoffed. “I’m nineteen. I can make my own adult decisions.”

 

Matt nodded in agreement. “Yeah, which is why even if they accuse Daniel and Buck of being involved with what happened, they’ll probably still walk. Any good lawyer will argue exactly what you just argued: you’re old enough to make your own choices. Doesn’t matter who your father is; he can’t change that.”

 

We fell silent. He was right, but it didn’t really ease my worries. I wouldn’t feel better until I knew the police was no longer holding them, though I supposed I would just have to wait it out. Besides, I still had other things lingering on my mind.

 

Like me and Matt.

 

I sat up on the bed, using my arms as support behind me. That was when I saw that Matt was actually staring at me. He’d stripped out of his shirt and boots, leaving me to marvel at his sculpted chest and the rose tattoo that wound around his arm.

 

“Thank you,” I said after a breathless moment of just staring at him. “For coming to get me.”

 

He smiled at me, a cocky smile that made me want to lie down and let him do dirty things to my body. “What else could I do? I couldn’t just leave you there.” He looked like he wanted to say something else, but held back.

 

I returned his smile. “Yeah, of course. The baby.” I stroked over my only slightly bulged stomach. “Thank you for that. I really didn’t know what I was going to do. My father’s a powerful man and he was never going to let me keep it.”

 

He nodded. “Your father can’t control you anymore. I won’t let him.”

 

His look turned fierce and protective, sending a thrill through my body. I wanted to see that look every day for the rest of my life if he’d let me. It sent heat through my body and I didn’t know if it was the heat of everything that had happened, the adrenaline of adventure, or if it was the hormones, but I wanted things from him. I wanted to be fucked senseless until I cried out his name and lay boneless beneath him.

 

Letting out a huff of breath, I brought my focus back to the conversation. “Thank you for everything. I…” I broke off and let the silence hang between us.

 

After a moment of that silence, he spoke again, sighing. “Don’t thank me yet.” He ran a nervous hand through his hair. “I’m not sure you really understand what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

 

I raised a single, defiant eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean we may never be able to go back to Mount Rose,” he told me. He hesitated, then continued. “There’s a possibility they could drop the charges, but fact is I’m not exactly innocent of what they got me for. Maybe they’ll drop the assault charges since I only punched the mayor after being provoked, but the rest? The drug charges? Technically, they aren’t wrong. My only chance would be if their case falls apart. And if it does, I still have the charges that will come up since I broke out of prison.”

 

He stopped and just stared at me, letting his words sink in. And I admitted to myself they did take a moment before they fully hit me. Never come back to Mount Rose? Before that thought never would have bothered me much, but then it was also not likely to ever happen. And even I did get the hell out of there, the option to come back would have always been available to me.

 

But not now.

 

Not so long as I stayed with Matt.

 

I thoughtfully caressed my stomach, then looked up at Matt. I had made my decision and now that I had more time to think about it, I realized something. I would make it again. Offering him a smile, I stood up and went over to him. I put my hands against his bare chest, the skin warm and hard beneath my fingertips. I felt him tense, the muscles contracting at my touch, and I felt that familiar tendril of desire weave itself through me.

 

“I know,” I whispered to him. “I know things won’t always be easy. I know maybe I can never go home. And I know my life is changing with you, but my life needed to change. If I had the chance to make this decision all over again, I’d choose just the same. I’d choose to be with you.”

 

I felt his heart beneath my hands as it skipped a beat at my words. I reached up on my tiptoes and placed my lips against him in a sweet, comforting kiss. When I pulled away I saw that his eyes had closed and it looked as though he were almost savoring that moment when our mouths touched.

 

When his eyes finally opened, he looked down at me and said, “I want this to work between us. I want all of this to work out, and I promise I will do my best to make sure it does. If there’s a way to clear up this stuff in Mount Rose, I’ll do it. And if there isn’t, I’ll make you a home wherever you want. I promise you.”

 

I smiled and nodded, grateful for his words even if they were still lacking those three little ones that I wanted so very much.

 

When he bent forward to kiss me again, I didn’t resist. I let my own eyes close this time and fell against him, letting him turn the initially chaste kiss into something much, much more. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me tightly against him. Our tongues dueled and battled as we tasted and explored. His hands traveled up my shirt, flattening against the smooth expanse of my bare skin beneath the fabric. He felt all along my back, his hands ever rising, until they reached the clasp of my bra. He hesitated a moment, long enough to pull away and meet my eyes. “You sure?” he asked.

 

I nodded breathlessly and he kissed me again. I felt him pop open my bra. Then he continued to push the fabric of my shirt up. He got it to my shoulders and then we had to break apart for a moment so he could get it the rest of the way off. When he tossed it to the floor of the hotel room, his hands quickly went back to my bra and tugged it down off my arms. When that was discarded, too, he pulled me back against him. Our bare chests pressed together, hot skin against hot skin.

 

His mouth kissed my lips again, then traveled. He moved his lips down my neck and along my collarbone, placing hot, open mouthed kisses there. My skin was on fire as he moved lower. His hands gripped my hips and pulled me up so he had more access to my chest. Automatically, my legs wrapped around his middle, holding me in place as his hands moved around my hips to grip my backside tightly.

 

I moaned as his mouth encased my nipple, letting my head fall back as my hands wandered into his thick hair. I tugged at it and urged him to continue. He licked and suckled at my breasts, which had grown bigger with the hormones from the pregnancy. They were more sensitive, too, so even his lightest touches sent ripples through me.

 

He began to walk us back as I whispered his name, then he tossed me down onto the bed. I let out a little cry of surprise, but it was followed by a breathless laugh. Then I saw his hands begin to unbuckle his belt and undo his jeans. The laugh died on my throat and I watched with rapt attention as he slipped his pants down his hips, revealing his hardened manhood to my hungry gaze.

 

Delicious.

 

Wonderful.

 

I wanted him desperately.

 

He came to me then and took his time. He took off my shoes and then my socks. Then he crawled up my legs to my waist where he undid my jeans. He kissed at my navel as my now open jeans revealed the skin there, then he began to tug them down over my hips and my thighs. Each spot of new skin revealed, he placed a hot kiss.

 

Heat flooded my body. I was gasping and begging for more, undulating and writhing as he continued to undress me and kiss the exposed skin at the same time. Finally, he got my pants down, and it was a good thing because I was a hot mess.

 

I needed him. Now.

 

He went back up to my panties and I groaned at the idea that he would once more take his sweet, sweet time drawing them down. He would drive me absolutely nuts if he did that. Thankfully, he didn’t. Instead, he pulled them to the side and allowed himself enough room to slide one finger into me. I let out a cry at the insertion and arched my back.

 

He began to caress the inside of me, curling his finger in a come-hither motion until I was a pathetic mess of a woman, putty in his hands. Still he continued. He added a second finger and I felt his tongue sliding along my clit.

 

Intense, insane.

 

He had me writhing beneath me as I felt my orgasm build. I was panting, my heart beating erratically. The feeling of his tongue against my clit and his fingers buried to the knuckles in my warm, wet center was more than any woman ought to be able to deal with.

 

I was begging him, for what I wasn’t even sure, but I wanted it and I needed it. As soon as possible.

 

He placed a gentle kiss right above my bundle of nerves, then pulled away. My eyes snapped open. “Why’d you stop?” I demanded, then I saw him grinning at me as he slid the length of his body along mine. “Oh,” I said.

 

He laughed a little, husky and low, as he positioned himself between my legs. His hands were bracing himself above me so he didn’t crush me, so I used my own hands to guide him towards my waiting core. He groaned as soon as my fingers touched his erection.

 

“That’s it,” he murmured as I positioned the head of his cock at my entrance. “That’s it, baby. God, you’re wet.”

 

When the head of him was just beginning to press into me, I pulled my hand away and placed it on his hip instead. “Please, Matt, I need you. It’s been forever.”

 

He nodded once, then thrust himself inside me as deeply as he could, bottoming out within me. I cried out, noting that there was the slightest pinch of pain since it had been so long since the last time, but it died almost instantly. It was replaced with a heated lust that swept over my entire body and pushed me over the already precarious edge. I was rocked by an orgasm, since I’d already been so close before.

 

I clung to him, holding him within me, as I rode it out. When I finally came back to my senses, I found that he was patiently kissing at my cheeks and my forehead and my neck. Anywhere he could reach. They were sweet, almost chaste kisses, and when he pulled back I noticed a tender look across his features.

 

He smiled sweetly at me, then leaned down to press a soft kiss to my mouth. “I love you, too,” he murmured against my lips, and my eyes widened in surprise.

 

“Did I…I mean, I shouldn’t have…” I stuttered, realizing that I must have not only cried out as I came, but told him the truth that had been in my heart for a long time now.

 

He shook his head, shushing me. “Shh, it’s okay. I should have told you a while ago. There was just so much going on. But I’m saying it now. And I’ll say it tomorrow when I’m not achingly buried inside your sweet pussy.” He groaned, letting me know it was the best kind of torture he could ask for. “And I’ll tell you the day after. And the day the baby’s born. And the day after that. I’ll tell you every day, Annie, that I am in love with you.”

 

He kissed me again and then he couldn’t hold back. He began to move. My body was still sensitive from my orgasm and I groaned at the movements. They became rhythmic, like a heartbeat, and then faster. His easy, measured thrusts became urgent, fast and hard. I was moaning all over again, little ripples of pleasure still washing through me.

 

I clutched at his shoulders and brought him to me. He panted above me, muttering and moaning as he pounded into me. The rhythm was gone and all that was left in its place was need. Pure, unadulterated need.

 

Then he cried out.

 

He thrust into me once, twice more, and then spilled himself inside of me.

 

He collapsed beside me, sweaty and spent, but pulled me close just the same. His hand found my stomach and stroked it gently. “Thank you for keeping the baby,” he murmured. “I promise you, I will be a good father.”

 

I smiled at him and snuggled close. “I know you will. And I wanted to say…I didn’t mean to say that, but I’m glad I did. I don’t think I would have had the courage to just tell you, but now that I have it’s easier. I love you, Mateo. With all my heart.”

 

He returned my smile and held me against his sweaty, hot body. “I love you, too, Annabelle. And I’ll love our baby.”