The ride back to Florida seems longer, which I’m pretty sure attributes to the fact I’m riding away from my woman who’s laying in my bed, warm and safe. Each mile marker that passes puts more distance between us, and I feel it down in my gut. Part of me wants to say ‘fuck it’ and go back to my woman. On the other side, these assholes need to be taken care of so my woman is safe. Her safety wins out. I tap the side of my cut knowing Leah’s words, her letters, are with me close to my heart. Leah. This is all for Leah.

With every mile, the rage inside me grows. It’s like a living thing inside of me that just got its only recourse to live and it’s splintering out through my body. My hands itch to destroy. My mind seeks revenge. My heart will protect. All of that festers, spinning while we ride and the anticipation grows to wrap my hands around their throats and squeeze the life from their bodies.

We pull into a small town outside of Crest, Florida.

After pulling off, Buzz gives us the run-down, sending us pictures of the two assholes to our phones. Seeing those dicks’ faces gives me the burn. And I’ve come to realize it’s more than anger. It’s revenge. Deep-seated revenge.

I didn’t get my chance with Poe, Len, and Nick because my girl needed me. I will get my chance with these two. They are not people to me. They are living, breathing threats to my woman that will be extinguished.

She will be safe. She will be able to walk down the street and not worry that these two are behind her. She will get to live her life the way she wanted before all of this. I will destroy them and feed the beast inside me who didn’t like not getting his hands on the first three.

We pull up in front of a dive motel on the outskirts of town. It’s seedy with little light and two floors whose doors open from outside. The sign has several lights out as well. This is the place where these two have made cell calls from. GT goes in and schmoozes the lady at the front desk, getting the numbers and keys of the room. This shit is just too damn easy. Which always means something is going to blow up at us. It puts us all on high alert.

Moving to doors seven and eight, Jacks gives me a nod as we slip the metal keys in, our brothers at our backs. Turning the handle and opening the door slowly, I reach for my gun.

A man’s ass is in the air between a bleach blonde’s legs, pumping away. When the door crashes, he jumps off the woman flying off the bed. Instantly, I realize without one fucking word, this isn’t the guy. The woman starts screaming at the top of her lungs, pulling the sheet up over her tits.

“Fuck!” I growl as Cooper, Rhys, and Buzz enter the room. I point to the asshole on the ground with the tip of my gun. “Not him.”

“Shut up!” I growl at the woman who looks back and forth between the guy on the floor cowering and us. Finally, she shuts the fuck up.

Rhys steps out of the room and demands, “Jacks, details.”

“Not them!” I hear and fuck if it doesn’t piss me off more. Looking around the place, nothing seems out of place, everything dingy and old as hell.

I move over to the guy. “Where’s your fucking phone?”

His eyes widen in fear. “It’s not mine! They gave it to me!” he says quickly, obviously just too fucking stupid to know what the hell he’s just opened up for himself.

“Phone!” Rhys growls. That man could make a gladiator piss his pants. God love him.

The asshole crawls then rises to the table, lifting his jeans and pulling out a phone. It’s a cheap piece of shit flip phone. He tosses it to Rhys, still shaking. Rhys hands it off to Buzz so he can work his magic and find out where these fuckers are.

“What’s your name?” I ask, taking a step closer to him and watching him panic more.

“LeRoy,” he chatters.

Buzz pipes up, “This is the right one.”

Fucking hell, I need answers.

A step closer, I push, “Where’d ya get the phone?”

He takes a step back and tumbles over the lone chair in the room, falling on his ass. He’s as scared as a jackrabbit with a wolf on his tail.

He starts stuttering, and I put my hand out. “Stop the shit. We aren’t gonna hurt you as long as you tell us what we wanna know.”

He nods, but it’s more to himself than us. “Met two guys at the bar. We got ta drinkin’ and they slipped me some cash, gave me the room and the phone. I told em’ I couldn’t, but they said they were ridin’ out and weren’t gonna need the phone or room anymore. They didn’t say nothin’ else.”

I pull out my phone and hold up the pictures of the assholes in question.

“Yeah…” He stumbles again. “That’s them. They in some kinda trouble?”

“No, we’re the fuckin’ welcoming committee,” Rhys says with anger in his voice.

“Son of a motherfucker!” I yell out, putting my gun away.

That’s the moment I hear it. Bike pipes close but not too close. Then the loud pops and pings coming off the old brick building.

“Fuckers are shootin’ at us!” Buzz yells, moving into the room and taking cover. Peering out the window and clutching my gun again, there sits Jonny and Troy fucking firing at us.

“It’s them!” I yell as each of us start firing at the two bikes. We quickly get out of the ground level room, still shooting. A bullet whizzes past my face so damn close I can feel the air shift. Fuckers will pay for that.

The two dickheads take off on their bikes riding hard and fast. We hop on our rides and take off like shots. My brothers surround me as we chase in a pack. Cruz looks over at me pointing down to the wheels, telling me without words to shoot the fuckers.

A car starts coming the opposite way, quickly moving past us. Then the assholes move into the oncoming lane of traffic. What the fuck are they doing? They pull out their guns just as an eighteen-wheeler starts blaring their horn. The two assholes slide back over, and I don’t waste anymore time. I shoot, aiming for the tire. He shoots back. Ravage shoots back.

The bike closest to us with Troy on it gets hit several times, but it’s not until he fires back am I able to clip the fucking tire. He loses his balance, over-corrects, and the bike starts to roll. Troy is tossed off the bike and into the rocks on the side of the road.

Instead of stopping, I keep motoring along wanting Jonny like no tomorrow. Some of my brothers will stop for Troy.

Looking around, Rhys, Cooper, Tug, Dagger, Cruz and GT are riding with me.

Jonny stops shooting at us and focuses on accelerating his speed. He gets a little jump on us, but not much. A small white car pulls out in front of him and he veers out of the way, getting in front of the car. We throttle it and one by one get around the car. Jonny’s gained a bit, but we’re able to catch up quick.

I pull my gun out, ready to shoot his bike, when out of nowhere a farm fresh box truck swerves in front of Jonny. Jonny has a good handle on the bike, but it’s not enough. The bike lays on its side, taking Jonny with it. Fuck, that burn is going to hurt. Good.

We make our way to Jonny, who is screaming in pain. The guy in the truck slows down along with the white car that was behind us. Dagger and GT make their way to those vehicles, hopefully getting them to get the fuck out of here and not call the damn cops.

Jonny is pinned down by the bike, his leg trapped under it, blood everywhere. Getting off my bike, I approach and bend down to him. “You did this shit to yourself, fucker. But don’t worry. What I have in store for you will be much worse.”

“Fuck you!” he bellows, while trying to rip his leg out from under the bike. His gun sits just out of reach, having flown off of him during the tumble. Rhys goes over and picks it up.

Cruz is on the phone barking orders. “Right!” I hear him say as he makes his way over. “Stone’ll be here in five. Need to get somewhere where we’re not drawin’ so much fuckin’ attention.”

“You fuckers aren’t takin' me anywhere.” Jonny goes in his jacket, but I’m there first, grabbing the gun from him and giving him a swift punch to the leg where the peg of the bike ripped open his calf. Fuck that has to hurt, good.

“Let’s get the bike off and drag em’ over there. Make it look like we’re stoppin’ for a rest,” Rhys says, pointing over to a large oak tree. It’ll work.

Jonny starts to talk again, and I rip off my boot, pull off my sock, and stick it in his mouth then grab his arms and put them behind his back, zip tying them. He groans from the pain, trying to hold it in.

“Little help?”

Rhys just laughs at me, grabs Jonny under the arm, and we drag him over to the tree as he fights to get the sock out of his mouth. Tug and Cooper grab the bikes, even Jonny’s shit, and brings it over.

Jonny mumbles something and spits out the rag. “You assholes. I will fuck you up. I’ll destroy you and that fuckin’ bitch who took out my brothers!”

A solid punch to the jaw comes from my fist. He slumps to the side as Rhys pulls him back up.

“You fucker,” he groans, and I’ve had enough of his mouth. Going to my saddlebags, I pull out the duct tape then stick the sock back in and tape over it.

“That should keep him quiet.”

The large truck and car pull off, and I see GT and Dagger striding, grabbing their bikes on the way.

“Gone. Told em’ we’d handle it. They were pretty easy to convince,” GT says to us all with a smile on his face.

“How’s the other one?” Tug asks as Cruz gets off the phone again.

He slips the phone into his cut inside pocket. “Guy’s still alive, but barely. Stone’s pickin’ him up then coming here. Be ready to move.”

“They gotta spot for us?” I ask, ready to make these two pay. Almost dead means he’s still alive and needs to feel what I can do to him.

“Sinister Sons has a place, and Stone’s gonna take us there.”

“Nice.” Rhys’ smile is purely evil. He’s been with the club forever and still gets a kick out of this part of the job. My blood’s pumping to do the same.

Minutes later, Stone pulls up in a large van with a trailer and blacked out windows. He jumps out of the vehicle as our brothers follow behind him.

“Let’s get movin’. Too out in the open,” he says. We bust ass getting Jonny inside the van, him fighting and yelling through his sock the entire time. When we toss him in, Troy lays there, his lids closing and then opening. Cuts and road burn cover him everywhere. Yeah, he hurts but not enough.

We hop on our bikes and follow Stone. He’s become a very good ally in all of this. He is Bristyl’s brother even if they have some rocky shit going on.

Anticipation bubbles as all the anger I’ve felt over the last few months comes to the surface. Seeing Leah bleeding on the bed. Watching her in a coma fight for her life. Feeling every fear roll off her day in and day out. Hearing her cry out in her sleep when the only thing I could do was hold her. Touching every single scar on her body and knowing how she suffered. Everything balls inside of me, feeding the raging beast that has been kept dormant the last few months.

Getting off my bike and walking into the tall building with nothing surrounding it, Stone meets us at the back of the van. “You’re all set. No one’ll know you’re here. You’ll have everything you need in there. If not, improvise,” he says on a chuckle.

I hold out my hand which he takes. “Thank you.”

His other hand pats my shoulder. “Make em’ pay.” Stone helps unload the bikes while we get the two men inside the building. After shaking hands with my brothers, Stone takes off.

Then it’s just us and two dickheads who threatened my girl.

The room is damp and dark. There’s one fluorescent light overhead that looks like it’s missing a bulb. Chairs sit in the middle of the room, and off to the side is a table filled with toys. Not really toys, but tools. Payback tools for Leah. Sinister Sons knows what they’re doing. I spot some eye holes attached to the cement walls and begin my search for rope and tie it off to the side. Plans start in my mind, and I haven’t even set this fucker down yet.

The assholes are tossed on to the floor and they hit with a hard thud, echoing in the confined room. Unable to hold back, I kick Jonny’s stomach hard with my boot, the sound of his grunts muffled through the sock.

Jonny kicks out and I barely jump in time to miss his attack, but I do and land a hard boot to his injured leg. His cries of pain bring me joy.

“What’s the plan?” Cruz asks, surprising me. He nods to the floor where the assholes lay. “This is your party. We had our fun. You’re the lead.”

A sinister smile tips up my lips. “Hold him.” I point down to Jonny. Cooper is the one to pull him up to standing.

The anger boils over, splashing to the floor and spreading like a spider’s web throughout the room. One punch, two. Three. Over and over I lay into the man, my fists as bloody as his face. He pleads, but there is no mercy.

Cooper throws the guy down to the ground as he moans, turning his body. I look to the next one who has barely moved.

I bend down to him. “One last thing before you die.” Moving over to the table, a jar marked acid sticks out. Without any thought, I cover Troy with it and only then do I hear the screams from his body. Each scream of pain is one that Leah doesn’t have to feel. That she doesn’t have to experience.

Leaving him there, I move back to Jonny. “Jacks, you’re up for this one.”

Jacks walks up and grabs Jonny, holding him up, his leg hanging on by a little muscle. “Fine by me.”

Troy’s screams lessen to whimpers, and I know he doesn’t have much time left. He’s getting more dignity than I should allow for his death. There’s just something about killing a man who’s going to die of his own stupidity that makes me want to wait for that to happen.

The adrenaline is still fresh and demanding as I lay into him, causing cuts along his chin and head. The punches keep coming until my anger settles, and I couldn’t even tell you how long that is.

My brothers stand back. Cruz is on his phone. GT is talking to Dagger. Rhys is watching both the guys on the floor carefully. Buzz, Breaker, and Tug are huddled in the corner. Everyone is doing their thing like this is just another day in the life of Ravage. It is, but it makes me smile because that’s who we are—family. They’re giving me this, but still staying close to keep it all in check.

After Jacks tosses the guy to the ground, I grab the rope, looking at both Cooper and Jacks. Us three can withstand anything with each other at our backs. I nod to the eye holes in the wall. “Strip him and let’s tie him up.”

“Fuck yeah.” This catches several of the brothers attention as Jonny screams and thrashes, trying to get away. It doesn’t help. Knotting the rope to the wall, I yank it to see how tight it is. Rhys comes over to help tie the last two for me.

Jonny continues to move while we tie him, and it only amps me up more and more. He will pay for wanting to hurt my woman.

After he’s tied up, only his ass on the ground while his arms and legs are spread wide and attached to the wall, the biggest knife I can find off the table lays in my hand. Ripping the tape off and tearing the sock out of his mouth, he screams and thrashes.

“You fuckers! Do you know who I am? What I can do to you!” he yells.

I laugh. “I know exactly who you are. I also know you fucked with the wrong woman. My woman. You think Nick, Poe, and Len didn’t deserve what they had comin’? Batten down the hatches, pissant, and let’s see if you can hack it.”

He screams as the knife pierces his flesh then continues, making its way around his body. Each insertion of the blade is for Leah. For every drop of pain that she felt. For every fear she had I continue around his body, knowing in his chest I’ve hit some organs as he bleeds on the floor.

I take the knife and rip a line from his hair, down his eye and lips. The knife digs in as he screams. “No one fucks with my woman.” The knife slices into his neck close to his artery, but not close enough. He doesn’t deserve to have an easy death.

Blood pools underneath Jonny as his head falls back, him losing the strength to hold it up. I grab his hair and pull it hard. “Those three fucks deserved what they got. As do you for fucking with my girl. Shit ends now.” His neck snaps back as I move over to the table where a bottle of acid sits. Ever so slowly, I start to pour it on Jonny’s face. He screams like the pussy he is. I toss a little on Troy to see if he’s still alive, but he doesn’t move.

Rhys goes over and checks him. “Dead.”

“One less asshole in the world.” The acid touches every cut and scrape on Jonny’s body as I circle him. His cries are a cleansing reminder that he will never touch my girl again.

The smell of burning flesh and cries of pain permeate the air. My brothers sit back and watch me work.

As I watch Jonny crying out, it hits me. Fuck these guys. They don’t deserve my time or efforts. I need this shit to be over because Leah is waiting at home for me. That’s the only thing that matters.

Grabbing the Zippo off the table, I light the flame.

“Brother, don’t know if we got shit to put that out with,” Cooper, the ever voice of reason, says.

“It’ll be fine. The ceilings are high, and there’s nothin’ around them that can catch,” Rhys says with a nod to me. “Ropes’ll go up, but it’s concrete walls, won’t go anywhere.”

Not taking another moment, I toss the flame on Jonny and just as I suspect he screams, thrashing and trying to get away from the fire but unable to.

Lighting Troy on fire is just to make it easier on cleanup.

The smoke in the room is the worst part of it, and Tug opens two of the doors, letting it out.

I’ve never liked the smell of burning flesh before, but smelling theirs is fucking worth it. It’s a vengeance I needed, that Leah needed to know she’s safe. She can let her fear go and live. This rights the wrongs. While Leah will never forget what happened to her, I’ll damn sure know and remember this moment, when these two lost their lives because they threatened my woman. It’s a relief they are gone.

A hand touches my shoulder. “It’s done now, brother. Everything is clean,” Cooper says in my ear. “No one will hurt your girl.”

“Or yours.” Cooper nods.

Only then do I let the anger go as Tug and Buzz throw blankets over the bodies, putting out the flames.

“Let’s get this shit cleaned up and get out of here. We need to meet with the Red Devils prez and get shit sorted,” GT orders, and that’s what we do.

The ride to the Red Devils isn’t far from the Sinister Sons place. On the ride, I let it all go. The anger will not rule me, but I’ll never forget. Let this be a sign that no one will get away with fucking with my woman. If there is ever a next time, they will have it worse. Much worse. I guaren-damn-tee it.

We pull up to the Red Devils and have to stop at the gated entrance while a little pipsqueak of a man comes out and up to Cruz. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but my guess is ‘let me see your president,’ or however Cruz will put shit to get his way through things. He always does.

The guy motions us through the gate. The clubhouse isn’t like ours. It’s more run down as in no green grass, picnic tables, or really anyone around. At Ravage, we always have something or someone present so fuckers know not to screw with us.

Cruz pulls off into a spot and we all follow him, parking side by side. An older man comes out of the small house, which I suspect is their clubhouse, and moves directly to us as we get off the bikes. Not going to lie, I don’t want to be here. I want to be on the road back to my girl, but if we don’t get to an understanding with the Red Devil’s, shit’s going to get bad.

Considering we thought we had an understanding and their prez had two rogues, that doesn’t fly with us.

The guy holds out his hand, and Cruz takes it. “Hello, you’re here to see our prez.” They give a shake and let go while the guy holds Cruz’s gaze.

“Yep. I’m Cruz, president of the Ravage MC, and these are my boys. Can you lead us to Piney?”

“Dogtag,” the guy says, instead of answering the question.

We all move up just a bit, waiting to see what this guy has up his sleeve. No more getting jumped with shit. Troy and Jonny pulled one over, not again.

My gun rests against my left side in its harness, ready for whatever is about to happen.

“Well, Dogtag, we need to see Piney. You gonna take us to him or are we gonna take ourselves?” Cruz asks as GT and Cooper step in line with him while the rest of us take their backs.

“Calm down. Just introducin’ myself.” He shakes his head like we’re funny or something. I’ll show him funny. We’re all amped up and more than ready to fight again if necessary. “Come on.”

He turns his back to us, and Rhys pulls out a knife. Cooper looks over out of the corner of his eye and shakes his head. It’s a nice thought, that’s for sure. Rhys sheaves it back in his holder. A chuckle leaves me while he shrugs. This is Ravage.

We enter the door. Smoke and darkness blanket the space. Men are all around the main area, all eyes coming our way. The air is a bit tight, but what does one expect when a room full of bikers come head to head. My blood is still rushing through my veins from the events earlier. While we’re all still amped up, we aren’t men to have full on problems with a club unless they want to fuck with what is ours; then yes, we have a problem. And it’s one we will deal with by whatever means necessary.

A man with silver hair rises from his seat, his cut reading president. He makes his way to Cruz with a small limp that he tries to hide, but he does a piss poor job of it.

“Cruz,” he says, holding out his hand, and my president takes it, shaking once and releasing.

“Piney, seems we have a bit of a problem here.”

“I take it the boys are dealt with,” he says, moving back to his chair and motioning for us to take seats as well. Looking around, every one of the men have cuts on their back. This is good. Outsiders need to stay outside, and all these men need to know what will happen to them if they fuck with the Ravage MC or my woman.

Cruz sits in front of him, while I take a seat off to the side nodding at the man next to me. His cut says Splinter. I don’t even want to know where the hell he got that name from.

“We handle our shit,” Cruz says, crossing his arms over his chest. “First Nick, Poe, and Len, and now these two fuckers. Your club got a problem with the Ravage MC?” Cruz challenges.

Coughs come around the room from the Reds. I get it. Cruz is laying it out. Someone came into my club and laid it out, we’d have problems. But this isn’t about someone coming to our club. If they wouldn’t have attacked, we’d never be in this situation. Not a single doubt in my mind what Cruz would do to any one of us if we betrayed our brothers and brought this much attention to the club.

“Look, Nick got himself into shit, and Len and Poe tagged along for the ride. Their business was with Sinister Sons, not Ravage MC.” He leans back in his chair, boasting his dominance of the room.

Cruz does the same, except he doesn’t have to try. It’s quite comical actually.

“Then it was with Ravage. Now your two came after a Ravage-protected woman. Are we gonna continue to have problems with the Devils’ or is this under the rug?” Cruz’s eyes penetrate Piney’s, who then looks to his men.

“No one else is comin’ after Ravage. They do it’s without my authority, and we will take out our own.” His warning is clear and precise, not that I completely believe him, but it’s a start.

Cruz shifts slightly in the chair, but it’s GT who talks. “We got problems stemming from Nick and his assholes; shit isn’t gonna be pretty. They got what they deserved and so did the two assholes today. We don’t put out warnings. We just do.”

“I’ll handle my boys, you handle yours.” It’s a cutting remark, but both GT and Cruz smile sinisterly.

Cruz turns to me and nods once. “See that man over there? That’s Leah’s man. You fuck with Leah, you fuck with him.” Eyes turn to me and I give nothing away in my appearance, but I do eye every single person in the room.

“My boy, Cooper,” Cruz starts, twisting his neck to indicate his kid. “That’s Bristyl’s man. She’s no longer under Sinister Sons, she’s Ravage. You, any of you…”—it’s his turn to look amongst the crowd—“...fuck with them, you fuck with us. Bottom line—nothin’ gettin’ you out of that shit. Whatever your shit is with Sinister Sons, it doesn’t touch what’s Ravage’s under any fuckin’ circumstances.” He looks back to Piney. “We got a deal?”

Looking around the room, some faces are angry, while others couldn't care less about what’s going on in front of them. One looks higher than a fucking kite with his eyes barely open. That guy does straighten just a bit when his president looks at him.

“We don’t want no trouble. What’s done is done. We have no reason for retaliation, and we have no reason to have a beef with ya. I’ll take care of my boys.”

Cruz knocks on the table twice and rises. “This is a good thing because we don’t just kill, we make shit hurt.”

Piney holds his hand out, and Cruz shakes it. Slowly we rise, eyes in the back of our heads, and get the fuck out of there.

Finally, it’s time to go home and see my woman.

* * *

We pull up to the clubhouse at dusk. I feel her before I see her, which I love. The ride was calming and peaceful, but I wanted to get back to my woman. Leah’s sitting at the picnic table with Bristyl and Princess, a small smile directed my way. Parking my bike, I move over to my woman, her gaze never leaving mine like magnetism pulling us together.

“Hey,” she says, arching her neck to me. Instead of talking, I pull her up off the bench and press my lips to hers. It takes her a moment, and I’m sure it’s because of the audience around us, but she needs to know; I don’t give a fuck who’s around, I’ll kiss her when I feel like it. I’ll hold her when she’s close. I’ll touch her when I feel like it. I’ll love her…

“Come on,” I say, pulling her willing body with me through the clubhouse and to my room, kicking the door shut with my boot. Being away from her was more of a challenge than I thought.

Leah’s eyes blaze with passion as she grabs my shirt and pulls me to her, this time kissing me with a ferocity that turns my dick to steel. Her tenacity takes me a moment to process because I’ve never had this side of her, but I love it. I unbuckle her pants, and she freezes for a moment. It’s only a second, but I feel it, and I’ll damn well work my ass off to make sure that she doesn’t have any of those hesitations with me anymore. Even the brief ones will be gone.

As she relaxes, I pull her jeans down her legs and kiss up them. Her back is to the door of the room, and her hands are gripping my hair.

“Green,” she pants. I continue kissing up her body, pulling her shirt as I go, then tearing it off as I take her lips once more.

“You’re so damn beautiful, Leah.”

She groans invitingly, and I don’t disappoint. Scooping her up, I set her on the bed as I remove everything from my body. As I lay down, I crook my finger. “Get those panties off and get up here and ride.”

Her eyes dilate and her breathing is erratic. Slowly, she removes her bright pink underwear and unclasps her bra, letting her tits fall, and my mouth salivates. She breathes in a very deep breath, and I know she’s willing her confidence, which is fine by me. We have to get her past all of the walls. She needs to live happy and free. That’s what I’ll damn well give her.

As she throws her leg over me, she has no idea how damn beautiful she is, and it’s not just her body. Her strength is unbelievable. Her conviction to start her life again. Her power she is slowly taking back. Everything. The entire package I crave. Damn, I love this woman.

She rests on my chest, most of her weight on her knees and her hands at my pecs. “I don’t know, Green. I…”

I knife up and wrap my arms around her. “You’re fucking gorgeous, Leah. Every fuckin’ thing about you is beautiful. I’ll spend every day of my life showing you. Don’t hide from me, baby.”

Something clicks in her eyes as she kisses me hard and deep then pushes me down to the bed. I reach over, grabbing a condom and hand it to her. She’s a bit timid opening it up and rolling it down my length, and fuck I love the feel of her gripping me. Any damn place she wants is hers.

When she lowers herself on me, the squeeze is unbelievable. She stretches and molds to me, seating herself down to where her ass is on my legs. She looks down at me, her hand moving up and down my chest through the deep crevices, stopping at my tattoos and tracing them.

“I love this,” she says, looking at the wide angel wings on my chest. My heart twists.

“My mother.”

A sad look comes across her face and I buck my hips up, bringing her back to the present. The sadness turns to lust as I do it again and again. On the third time, she takes charge. She rides me, hard. Up and down and circling her hips. I close my eyes and enjoy the feel of her, savoring each movement. My hands rest on her hips, feeling the muscles tighten and relax with each motion.

She pants, her movements starting to wane, telling me she’s close and she’s about to lose it. Only then do I flip her over and pump into her. Her cries and moans are loud and sexy as hell. I reach down, circling her clit, and she clamps down hard on my cock taking me with her as she comes hard.

Her entire body shakes and quivers. Mine is tense until the orgasm begins to recede. I lean down kissing Leah and maneuvering her so we’re on our sides, still connected. We hold each other like this for long moments, enjoying each other.

She pulls away, and a smile graces her face. Fucking love I put that on there for her. “Love you, Green.”

Completeness surrounds me, and I let my feelings go. “Love you too, Leah.”

Her eyes water as I kiss her more, savoring every touch.

* * *

“Where did you go?” Leah asks, laying on my chest and swirling her finger over my pec.

Letting out a heavy breath, I say, “Club business. Can’t tell you what. Can’t tell you how. Just know from this moment on, you’re safe. You don’t worry about someone coming in and destroying the place. You’re clear of all that shit and have no worries at all anymore.”

She’s quiet for a moment, probably processing the words I couldn’t say but implied.

“What happened to your mom?” Talking about my mother after screwing my woman isn’t the ideal time, but no time really is. Every time I do, it burns in my chest like a fire that will never be put out. It calms down at times, but the blaze is always ready to ignite. At least though, she let the other question go.

“My mom got really sick. She had a condition where her lungs were pretty much calcifying in her body and making it hard for her to breathe. She was in a coma and on life support for a while, and I ended up having to take her off the vent.”

Leah’s head lifts up, realization hitting her of the parallels between her and my mother. “Oh my God, Green. I’m so sorry.”

I brush my hand up the soft skin of her back. “Not your fault, baby. It’s life.”

She moves her body a bit, getting a better angle. “And you sat there with me in a coma, not knowing if I was going to wake up?”

Placing my hand behind my head, I look at my woman’s face filled with sadness for me. All the more reason to love her. She cares so damn much and has so much to give. She just needs to realize it. “Yeah. Didn’t like that part one bit, but I wasn’t going to let you lay there by yourself. No fuckin’ way.”

The ache in my chest pangs from the memories. No matter how much I keep pushing it down, it will always be there. Seeing her laying in the bed. Hearing the beeps of all the machines attached to her small body. Smelling the bleach and overall sickness that comes with being in a hospital. How when I touched her she was so cold at times, freaking me the fuck out. All of it. Guess I’m doing a shit job of really letting it go.

Tears well her eyes. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that with me. Why didn’t you leave?”

“No fuckin’ way I was leavin’ you, Leah. I was all in.” Even the breaks sucked, and it was mostly when I got kicked out by her parents to go for a walk or food—or to shower when her dad would point out that I reeked. Those few moments with her out of my sight were difficult.

A tear falls down her cheek, splashing on my chest. “Even then, you were all in?” she asks, a small trepidation to her tone.

I smile. “Your father asked me if I was in love with you, and I didn’t have much of an answer for him. But yeah, I fuckin’ loved you.”

She leans over and kisses me hard. Then continues to kiss down my chest. Down my abs and down to my cock. Her warmth surrounds me as my cock goes deep down her throat. “Holy shit,” I gasp, going to reach for her head then gripping the sheets instead. Sometimes I forget that her scalp is still sensitive, especially when she’s trying to milk my cock dry.

She works me up and I feel my balls pull up, ready to shoot down her throat. I lift her, flip her around, slide my cock inside of her then fuck her without abandon, only stopping for a brief moment for the rubber. The entire time, she fucking loves it and so do I.

Now the question is, how can we build a life in Sumner? One where both of us get what we need. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure it happens, no matter the consequences.