DECK

Deep in the recesses of my brain, I knew Charlie and Shiloh were okay. Darth, despite his appearance and lack of social skills, would never harm a hair on Charlie’s head. And I know without a doubt he wouldn’t hurt Shiloh. Darth had been there the minute Zoe went into labour, and he never left my side after she died only minutes after birthing our daughter. His devotion to my daughter was priceless.

Shiloh was born early, and that in itself had caused many small problems. One, she had colic. All of us had spent hours walking the tiny baby, rocking her, and sleeping virtually standing up against doors, walls, or anything that would keep us upright in our sleepless states. Darth had taken more than his fair share of turns. Shiloh’s presence in our lives seemed to give him a purpose. Their bond was definitely unique. In his room, he had a framed photograph of her at nine days old and in the palms of his hands, her tiny body fitting perfectly. It amazed me how perfect she fit with everybody.

I needed to move. The crying I’d heard over the phone put me back on edge. Shifting my weight, I rolled my shoulders, working out the kinks in my body after spending the last few hours as Creed’s punching bag.

Next time, I’ll think twice before letting that fucker take his aggression out on me. I watched Darth’s truck come into view and park in his space.

My first priority was my daughter, so I hauled open the back door and took in Shiloh’s face. The tears had dried up, and her nose a bit snotty, but she looked okay.

“Hey, Squirt, what ya watchin’?” I asked as I unbuckled her belt and helped her turn off the DVD player, leaving the disc inside so it would resume from that spot the next time she turned it on.

“I watchin’ Tour of Duty.”

“Ahh, of course, you are,” I replied drolly. I gave Darth a filthy look, which he, of course, ignored. Why he had to share his obsession with the nineties war show with my daughter was beyond me. Darth continued to snub me as he got out of the truck, and I knew he was going to help Charlie out. Our hello was coming, but I had to make sure Shiloh was all set first.

“You ready, baby? Wanna ride your Harley?” I asked softly. Taking a handkerchief from my pocket, I quickly cleaned up her face. One thing we learned early on when Shiloh was a baby was to have a handkerchief in your pocket at all times.

“Yes, pwease, Daddy.”

“That’s my girl,” I praised her gently. Shiloh was a sensitive little girl. Even though we lived in the compound with bikers and such, her feelings were always just below the surface. And anything emotional, especially involving Darth, could set off a tidal wave of tears.

Taking her out of the truck, I set her on her feet, holding my hand behind her until she had her balance.

Finally, I could turn my attention to my other girl. Looking around, I saw Darth lift Charlie down to the ground. The jealousy I felt all of a sudden at seeing him put his hands on her hit me full force. The desire to punch the fuck out of him must have been obvious to him because his hands quickly dropped from her waist. A low growl left my mouth.

“See, that’s why I’m not calling you Charlie, Charlotte,” Darth declared, then took Shiloh’s hand in his own and took off towards the building. “I’ll get Squirt sorted then hand her off to Vegas,” he called out, not bothering to stop.

I didn’t bother replying. Instead, I reached out and snagged Charlie around the waist. I needed not only to have her close but to remove any feeling of Darth from her body.

“Hey, Sweetness,” I greeted her softly with my lips close to hers.

“Hi, Deck,” she whispered back, her breath warm against my mouth.

“I’m going to kiss you now. I need your taste on my tongue.”

“Yes, please.”

And that was it. My lips landed on hers, the soft fullness and the warmth of her lips moving perfectly in sync with mine. Kissing this woman was a pure fucking pleasure, one pleasure I had never known before. I had never wanted to take the time to do this, to make out, but with Charlie, I didn’t want to stop.

Her hands found my hair and raked through it. The feel of her fingers against my scalp sent shivers down my body and straight to my dick.

Her moans were driving me crazy, but I loved them. I owned them. I wanted so many more of them.

Without my mouth leaving hers, I turned so her body was up against the car door. I wanted to get closer. I wanted her to feel me from the inside without being in her.

“Lord have mercy, Charlie. I’m so fucking hard.” I growled as I ground my hard as fuck cock into her belly.

This wasn’t me. I didn’t do slow, and I certainly didn’t make out against a truck in broad daylight. I fucked hard.

But this woman.

My woman.

I wanted to do things at her pace.

I could feel her mentally and physically pull back, so I put my mouth on her beautiful throat, not wanting this moment to stop. I also didn’t want to frighten Charlie away.

That was not going to be an option. So, I slowed.

“Deck.” Her voice was throaty and soft, almost embarrassed. That was not okay. No way did I want my woman to feel bad about halting this. My lips took one last hit from her sweet-tasting mouth, and our foreheads came together.

“Sweetness, listen to me, okay?” My hands clasped her heated cheeks, bringing her eyes to mine, but she closed them at the last minute.

“Look at me, please, Charlie,” I begged.

Seconds passed, but Charlie finally lifted her eyes to mine. They held so many emotions. One I could see for sure was desire. The desire for me. It fuelled me, reassuring me that I was on the right path with Charlie. The rest of it would come. It was definitely going to happen, but in its own time—in Charlie’s time.

“Deck, this is so new to me. I’ve never been with a man in any way at all.” Her soft voice and declaration nearly brought me to my knees.

“That is so fucking great, Charlie,” I breathed out. A dick move? Maybe, but I was powerless to stop it.

“What?” she said with a gasp.

“Charlie, I want to be that man. The man who gets to give you your firsts. First kiss, first touch, first orgasm, first time to make love. First time to fuck.” I couldn’t help myself I had to kiss her again. This kiss was totally different again. I opened my mouth more and took the kiss deeper, devouring her mouth.

My own words were working against me. I was supposed to go slow, and here I was dry humping her against Darth’s truck. Practically eating her mouth whole.

Oh, God, I needed to stop. The pressure behind my zipper was too painful. My dick was going to have a zip imprint on it soon.

Ending the kiss, I sucked in a breath of air. So did Charlie, her breathing erratic.

“Your pace, Charlie. We do what you want to do when you are comfortable doing it.”

The words were foreign coming from me, but I meant them. Charlie must have sensed I meant them, too, because her eyebrows rose into her hairline as a gentle scoff left her perfect mouth.

“That doesn’t seem like your style, Deck.”

“You’re right. It’s not. But I have never had anyone do to me what you do, Charlie.”

It was important to me that she believed me and understood the level of attraction I felt for her.

“I want you, Charlie. Make no mistake about that. I want to bury myself so far inside you that we become one person. I want to hold you naked in my arms, eyes locked on each other as I drive my dick into your tight wet heat. I want to lose myself in your body and taste your pussy, and then hold your hair in my hands as I drive my dick into your mouth.”

I was panting now. And so was she.

Oh, yes, this was going to be our life soon. It had to be. There just wasn’t any other woman for me now. Just the thought of no Charlie scared the fuck out of me.

“Your pace, Charlie. You tell me when you are ready, and I will take care of the rest.”

I waited for her answer. She had to be all in—no maybe, no we’ll see—all in.

Then the most beautiful thing happened.

Charlie smiled and kissed me lightly on the lips.

“Okay, Deck. I want all those things, too, and so much more.”

Her lips found mine once more. This time, slow and sweet, soft and calm.

“My pace.” Her lips moved against mine.

“Yes, Sweetness, your pace.”

Please, don’t keep me waiting too long, Sweetness. I didn’t want to voice that thought aloud and put pressure on her to move faster than she was comfortable with.

I could wait.

If Charlie was the prize at the end of the day, I could wait.