Drake really wondered sometimes if his mother had been adopted into the Porter family.

  Knox winced when he saw Stark’s body. “Who’s responsible for that?”

  Drake opened his mouth to confess, but was beaten to the punch.

  “I did it,” Greer lied.

  “I guess I need to call the coroner. I better count how many body bags he’ll need.” Knox pulled his radio out, walking around the parking lot and poking the bodies with the toe of his boots as he talked to dispatch.

  “Want to tell me why you changed your mind?” Drake asked Greer. “I did it, and I’m going to tell him that when he comes back.”

  “Want to spend Christmas Eve with your woman or with paperwork for Knox?” Greer patted him on the back “Merry fucking Christmas. And my new truck better be sitting outside the sheriff’s office when I get done.”

  Drake couldn’t help laughing at his cousin. Greer would have the biggest truck he could buy.

  He had called Drake when he had seen the large group coming into town. They had been waiting for the bikers to attack. Drake had actually believed they would try to get her when she was farther away from the sheriff’s office, though, so he had been waiting down the street at the cut-off to her house.

  When he heard the shooting, he had come running in time to kill the one his cousins had promised to save for him.

  All of a sudden, he had the air knocked out of him when Bliss threw herself into his arms.

  “Are you okay? I called an ambulance for you.”

  “Why?” He gave her a bewildered look.

  “You’ve been shot.” Bliss tried to pull back to look at his arm, but Drake pulled her back into his arms.

  “I’m fine. It passed through.”

  Knox came back then with the yellow tape to mark off the parking lot. “Do you Porters ever leave anyone alive to tell their side of the story?”

  “Technically, he ain’t a Porter. His ma is my dad’s sister,” Greer corrected.

  “I have as much Porter blood as you,” Drake repeated the same phrase he had said numerous times over the years, proudly proclaiming what he had been thinking about denying just minutes before.

  Greer looked down at Stark’s dead body. “I’m going to agree with you this time.”

  Drake held Bliss tighter, the way she liked to be held when she was afraid.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow move from behind the building then another following, heading toward the church across the street. Three more joined them from different vantage points. Drake didn’t have to see their faces to recognize them.

  The Last Riders hadn’t left Bliss unprotected; they had been watching over her, too.

  Stark hadn’t stood a chance. He had ridden into his own execution.

  * * *

  It was after midnight when they returned to his home. Bliss had won, making him go to the hospital to be stitched up.

  Jace and Cal were spending the night with Jace’s mother and would be back Christmas morning.

  “Guess who’s spending the night?” Drake taunted as she trailed behind him to his bedroom.

  “They aren’t home?”

  “Not until Christmas Day.”

  “We can spend two nights together?”

  “Yes.

  “This Christmas is turning out to be the best one I’ve ever had!”

  “Wait until I give you my present. It will put it over the top.”

  Bliss sat down on the end of the bed, using her feet to make herself bounce on the mattress. “What did you get me?”

  “You have to wait until Christmas morning,” Drake told her as he pulled off his bloody clothes.

  “Is it bigger than the palm of my hand?”

  “A little bigger.”

  “Is it this size?” Bliss moved her hands several inches apart, mimicking the size of his dick.

  “A little bigger.”

  “Wow. Now I’m really curious.” She stopped bouncing. “Men’s dicks don’t get bigger as they get older, do they?”

  “No, they typically shrink.”

  “Is that true?” She had an adorably bewildered look on her face. “How did I not know this?”

  “Because men don’t want women to know.”

  Damn, I bet they don’t. He doesn’t have an inch I want to give up.

  “I’m only asking out of curiosity, but how much do they shrink? A little or a lot?”

  “Not much. Only a little … about half an inch.”

  “That’s all? That’s okay, then. I mean, that’s good for you. You don’t have to worry like some men would.” Bliss started bouncing on the bed again.

  “Bliss, I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about how much my dick is going to shrink.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because all I need to satisfy you is my tongue.” Drake threw his dirty shirt at her as he went into the bathroom.

  “Ew. Stark’s blood is all over that.”

  “That’s why I gave it to you. Figured you deserved it for everything that bastard put you through.”

  “I should frame it, but I won’t. I’ll burn it like he is right now. By the way, this shirt isn’t my Christmas present, is it?”

  She smiled when she heard his laughter over the shower.

  “Make sure you don’t get those stitches wet,” she called out.

  “Why don’t you come in here and keep them dry for me?”

  Not needing any more of an invitation, Bliss wiggled her ass out of her jeans then took off her blouse.

  She was about to grab a condom from his nightstand where he always kept them but stopped. They had never fucked without protection, even though there was no chance of her getting pregnant.

  She closed the drawer, empty-handed.

  Drake was soaping his body when she opened the shower door.

  “Let me.” Bliss took the washcloth he was using, rubbing it across his chest at the same time her hand went to his already hard cock. “I see you’ve been warming yourself up.” She ran her hand over the sensitive slit, not lingering before she stroked downward to cup his balls.

  He brought his hand between her thighs, sinking a large finger deep inside of her. “This is all I need to warm me up.” His finger moved deeper. “Want to give me a hint about my present? Is it bigger than the palm of my hand?”

  “Yes,” Bliss moaned, going back to stroking his cock.

  “Is it bigger than my dick?”

  “Yes,” Bliss moaned. “It’s not fair to ask me questions when you’re finger-fucking me.”

  “Being fair is for sissies.”

  “You’re definitely not a sissy.” Thank God for that, she thought when he inserted another finger, steadily fucking her.

  Bliss wrapped a thigh around his hip, pressing the heel of her foot against his firm ass. Then she licked at his pebbled nipple, raking her teeth against the tip.

  Drake moved her thigh down so she was standing on her feet again. “It’s too slippery to fuck you like this. I don’t want to be the next episode on Sex Sent Me to the ER.”

  “Drake, if fucking you was going to send me to the ER, it would have happened the first time. Baby, you’re big, but you aren’t that big,” she taunted.

  “Is that so? Let’s see how big it feels when I put it where I want to.” Drake ran a soapy finger between her ass cheeks.

  Bliss lost her smile. “Hell no! I’m not that crazy!” She tried to move past him to the door; instead, she found herself bent over the marble seat at the end of the shower. “Drake!”

  “Hush!” Drake smacked her ass then ran his hand up her back, leaning over her so she couldn’t rise. “If you don’t like it past the first inch, I’ll stop.”

  “The head will kill me before you get an inch inside of me.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him take a tube of lube from the shelf.

  “You keep lube in the shower?”

  “I believe in planning ahead,” Drake mocked as he smea
red a heavy amount of lube along the length of his dick. “It might be easier if you don’t watch.”

  “You’re an ass,” she snapped, becoming aroused despite her misgivings.

  Bliss felt the spongy tip of his cock press against the rosebud of her ass.

  “Oh, God.”

  “You have a habit of doing that. I really wish you would find something else to say right now. It kind of kills the mood.”

  “Good.” Bliss tried to rise again, but Drake pressed her back down.

  “It doesn’t kill it that much.”

  Bliss began to feel the pressure of him trying to enter her tight hole. “It’s not going to fit.”

  “It’ll fit.”

  The pressure began to turn into pain.

  “Relax, Bliss.” Drake slid his hand to her pussy, rubbing her clit then sinking his finger back inside of her, finger-fucking her as he managed to guide his cock inside her tight hole.

  “You better make this good, or we’re never doing this again,” she warned.

  “You’ll like it. I know I am.” Drake hissed between clenched teeth.

  Bliss tried to focus on the pleasure going on inside her pussy, ignoring the burning pain Drake’s cock was making as he entered her. She felt each centimeter of his cock, the ridges and veins as he pushed farther inside.

  “I better wake up to a cherry-red Porsche sitting in my driveway Christmas morning.”

  “I want you to enjoy this. I’ll stop.” She felt Drake begin to pull back.

  “Don’t you dare! I want to, I just talk too much when I’m nervous.”

  “Then let’s stop. We can do this another night.”

  Bliss went tense, not paying attention to anything except the words that had just come out of his mouth.

  “If I never wanted to do this, would you mind?”

  “No. If I do anything you don’t want to do, tell me. There are hundreds of ways to have sex. If one doesn’t work for you, we do something else.” He slapped her ass again, exclaiming, “Jesus, Bliss! Haven’t you figured out that your happiness is what makes me happy, too?”

  Bliss felt every bone in her body melt at his words.

  She put her hand on his hip to tug him closer. “It takes a lot to make me happy, but you do have what it takes to get the job done.”

  “You sure?”

  Bliss lifted her ass higher. “Yes. Just go slow.”

  “Why? If it hurts that bad—”

  “It feels so good I’m afraid I won’t last long.”

  “I’m about to come, and I’m barely inside you.” He paused before saying, “What if I said I would buy you a diamond ring if you don’t come for five minutes?”

  “Really?” Bliss attempted to wrap her swirling thoughts around what he was trying to tell her.

  “Yes, but you have to quit talking. I can’t concentrate when you do.”

  Bliss held her breath as he began pumping inside of her. His thrusts set off every sensitive muscle, and her nerve endings began to explode.

  “Slower.”

  He rubbed her clit with his thumb. Damn, he was dexterous. It would take two of The Last Riders to heat her up to the extent that had her body begging for a climax.

  “How long has it been?” she asked.

  “Only a minute.”

  She wasn’t going to make it. She wanted that ring, but she really, really wanted to come right then. She didn’t know how much longer she was going to be able to hold it back.

  Bliss couldn’t keep her ass still. She began fucking back against him, almost climaxing when he glided his fingers deeper inside of her and his cock went higher.

  She bit her lip to keep from coming. She needed motivation to deny herself an orgasm that promised to be memory-worthy.

  “Can I ask one question?”

  Drake’s sweat- and water-drenched forehead dropped to her back. “For fuck’s sake, go ahead.” He was easily in the same predicament she was.

  “Are we talking a regular diamond ring or an engagement ring?”

  “An engagement ring. Now, will you please shut up?”

  “Yes, right after you tell me how many carats.”

  “Right now, I’m thinking it’s going to be pretty damn small.”

  Bliss figured she still had time to change his mind on that.

  Spreading her legs wider, she lowered until her tits were pressed against the marble seat. She allowed her body to relax when his hips moved forward, rocking into her. The sensual movements drew a hiss from him and increased her own pleasure.

  Damn, this was more than memory-worthy. This was worthy of writing it down in a diary so that, when she was a hundred years old, she could look back and know nothing had ever beaten this one blow-your-freaking-mind, hope-you-don’t-break-your-neck shower fuck.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt his balls against her ass. He wasn’t going to last much longer, either.

  “How long?” Bliss begged.

  “Four and a half minutes.”

  She went up on the tips of her toes as he continued to thrust in and out of her.

  “One, don’t make me come. Two, don’t make me come. Three, don’t make me come.”

  “What are you doing now?”

  “Counting off seconds.”

  She moaned as he fucked her into an orgasm that had her losing count. Every time she thought she was finished coming, his cock set off another series of explosions.

  As her knees went weak, Drake had to hold her steady as he turned her until he was sitting on the seat. Then she was the one setting the pace, making sure her ass cheeks rubbed against his stomach each time she brought her weight down.

  Drake caught a breast in each of his hands as his mouth went to her shoulder, biting down softly.

  She couldn’t hold back her scream when she felt his cock begin to jerk in her ass, and she fell back against his chest, panting as she came hard enough for her mind to go dark.

  “Bliss, are you all right? Bliss?”

  “Did I make it five minutes?”

  “You actually lasted eight. I was enjoying myself.”

  “That wasn’t fair.” Her head fell back on his shoulder.

  “I’ll make it up to you. I’ll buy you a bigger ring.”

  She slid her hand down his thigh. She loved touching him.

  His hand curled around her stomach, easing the muscles still quivering. He liked to pet her as much as she did him.

  Sex with the Devil’s Rejects had never been given freely. Sex with The Last Riders had been to tie them to her. Sex with Drake was what it was supposed to be—two people learning to make the other happy and feel good, bonding together to make it something more than sex. That was why the name for it was different. It was called making love.

  That was also why, no matter what dangerous situations she had been in during her lifetime, she was never more afraid than she was right then. If she lost Drake like she had lost The Last Riders, she would never recover. That was the way the men felt about their wives, what she had tried to come between.

  “What’s wrong?” Drake broke through her thoughts.

  “I’m a terrible person.”

  “You’re a wonderful person.”

  “No, I’m not. If a woman tried to break us up, I would scratch her eyes out. I tried to cause trouble with the wives of the club, and I wouldn’t have cared if I had broken them up.” Bliss covered her face with her hands, too ashamed to let Drake look at her.

  “You were trying to hold on to the safety in your life the only way you knew how. You didn’t trust them to want to protect you because they cared about you. You didn’t trust in the club itself. You gave them your loyalty, but you held back your trust, just like with me. You can give me your body a million times, but if you don’t give me your trust, you’re not giving me you. I can wait for you to learn that I can keep you safe.”

  “You more than proved that with Stark. The Last Riders couldn’t have done better.”

  “I’ll take that
as a compliment.”

  “Why aren’t you jealous of them?” she asked, knowing most men would resent her past with the bikers.

  The Last Riders were always around town. Viper was involved in almost as many organizations as Drake. She had even confessed the meaning of the tattoo on her breast on a snowy afternoon in the hotel as they were lying in bed.

  “Sweet Bliss, they saved you, protected you, and then set you free. I would have never met you without them. I don’t go to Ohio often.”

  “I don’t ever want to go back.”

  “To Ohio or to The Last Riders?”

  Bliss remained silent, afraid her answer would damn her. She missed The Last Riders as if a part of her had been cut off.

  “You still miss them?”

  Bliss nodded. “I wouldn’t want to take part in the parties, though, because I wouldn’t want you touching someone else, and I don’t want to anymore. However, I miss how they are with each other. They’re friends. I guess that’s what I’m trying to say. I miss my friends.”

  “They were more than your friends. They were your family, and family forgives each other. That’s what they do.” Drake played with the tendril of hair that had been steadily growing. Since she always kept her hair so short, it had already almost grown back to normal length.

  Bliss gave a shaky laugh. “Maybe in a few years. I made them pretty mad.”

  “I don’t think you made them as mad as you believe you did.”

  “What do you mean?” They had been mad enough to vote her out.

  “Nothing. Let’s get cleaned up. It’s been a long day.”

  Drake helped her off his lap, and then they both washed each other off.

  Bliss was already half-asleep when she slid into bed, scooting over to give him plenty of room.

  “Why are you all the way over there?”

  Bliss opened her eyes to see him frowning at her. “I want you to be comfortable.”

  Drake reached out, drawing her closer until her head was lying on his shoulder. “Now I’m comfortable.”

  Chapter 18

  Drake stomped his feet on the front porch, shaking off the snow, before he reached out to knock on the door. It took several minutes for Rachel to answer, her face pale as the snow he had just kicked of his boots.