A flush creeps up into my cheeks. He puts his hands either side of my head and brings his mouth down close to mine. He smells good, so fucking good.
“I can’t do that tonight. Not goin’ to risk my baby.”
I swallow.
“But you can make it up to me.”
My eyes narrow with confusion.
“Get on your knees,” he demands.
I blink. “Pardon me?”
“You heard me, baby, don’t pretend you didn’t. It’s time to make it better.”
I want to laugh hysterically at his request, yet I’m so damned excited by it I just stand there, my body on fire, my eyes holding his.
“I’m not sure you deserve that,” I whisper, licking my bottom lip.
He grins. “Oh, I deserve it. If I could tan your ass, I would, but considering I can’t, I’ll have to settle for your lips wrapped around my dick. Now, I won’t ask again—get on your knees.”
I do as he asks.
I get on my knees.
I reach for his belt, my heart racing, my pulse beating so hard I can feel it jumping in my neck. The excitement inside me is overwhelming, but mostly, I’m so damned happy to be on my knees in front of Danny, because it means maybe we have a chance. I unbuckle his belt, and I can already see the thickness growing in his jeans. My pussy clenches.
I pop his top button open and jerk down his jeans, just enough for his cock to spring free. He’s commando. I lick my lips and look up at him. He’s watching me, his jaw tight, his eyes lusty. “Don’t play with it, baby,” he growls. “Put it in your mouth.”
I oblige.
I spread my lips and slide his cock inside my more than willing mouth. He groans upon first contact, and so do I. It feels so good to have him without any guilt, without any strings, just him and me, the way we used to be. My heart flutters and I reach up, curling my hand around the base of his dick and pumping lightly as I suck. I take it slow, circling my tongue around the tip before taking him deeper.
“Fuck, baby,” he moans. “I forgot how good you feel.”
Encouraged, I suck harder, bobbing my head, coating his dick with my saliva, tasting him, needing him. He fists my hair and groans, thrusting his pelvis, driving himself deeper. I’m so wet I can feel the moisture pooling, desperate for some kind of release. I reach down and slip my hand in my yoga pants, stroking my clit. I’m throbbing and so close to release it only takes a few hard circles before I shudder with my orgasm.
“Did you just make yourself come?” He gasps. “Bad fuckin’ girl.”
I moan around him and suck harder, faster.
“Give me your fingers.”
I raise a hand and he takes my wrist, lowering his head so he can suck my arousal off. I gasp, and fire builds deep inside again. He bellows my name and with one more jerk of his hips, he’s coming inside my mouth. I take all of him, swallowing every last drop, and then I let him slide from between my lips with a quiet little pop.
“Fuck,” he murmurs, reaching down and lifting me from under my arms, bringing me back to my feet. “Nobody could ever do that like you do.”
I look up at him, my lips swollen, my mouth tingling. “What are we doing?”
“I don’t know. All I know is I’ve tried to stay away, and I can’t. I want you.”
“But you don’t trust that I’m not going to run,” I offer.
“No, I don’t, but pretending this isn’t what it is . . . that isn’t helping. I can’t stay away from you. You’re having my baby—this is where we are. I can only hope you’re tellin’ me the truth.”
I reach up and cup his face. “I’m here, Danny. I’m not leaving you again.”
His eyes grow soft. “You need some rest.”
“Oh.” I giggle. “Now I need rest, after you took what you needed.”
He grins, then reaches down and hauls me up into his arms. “Owed it to me, baby, and you know it.”
“I do.”
He carries me to my room, and I feel light for the first time in months.
I feel hope.
~*~*~*~
I fall asleep quickly. I’m exhausted.
I wake later on. The room is light, so I assume we’ve made it ’til the morning without waking. Danny is beside me, his leather jacket still on, sleeping above the covers. His arm is tucked up behind his head and he looks peaceful. Since my bladder is ready to burst, I climb from the bed and tiptoe to the toilet, cleaning up and brushing my teeth before heading back in to my room.
Danny is sitting when I come back, his hair messy, his eyes sleepy.
“Hey,” I say carefully, not knowing how today is going to go. He might regret what happened last night and tell me it was a mistake. I have no way of knowing.
“Mornin’,” he murmurs.
“You doing okay?”
He runs a hand through his hair. “You mean after breakin’ up with Macy?”
I nod, walking over and sitting on the bed.
“If I’m bein’ honest with myself, I knew it wasn’t goin’ to work. I was just holding hope it would because that meant I could justify not being with you.”
“Still, you liked her. It can’t be easy.”
He shrugs. “Hard to mourn someone when I know what real heartbreak feels like.”
I meet his eyes and then reach over and take his hand. “I’ll say sorry until the day I die, but it’ll never be enough.”
He leans forward, kissing me softly on the lips. “It’ll always be enough. I’m gonna shower, then you’re goin’ to make me breakfast.”
I snort and lean back. “Is that so?”
He grins. “It’s so.”
He rolls off the bed and moves into my shower. I can’t wipe the grin from my face as I walk downstairs. I stop dead when I see my dad and Spike standing in my living room.
“Wanna tell me what Danny’s bike is doing here?”
God. Here we go.
“I think that speaks for itself,” I say, shrugging. “We worked it out.”
Spike looks pleased. Dad looks pissed.
“Can’t just get over all that shit in a night, Skye. Where is he? Been tryin’ to call him all night. Got business to sort.”
Of course they do.
“He’s showering.”
My dad’s face darkens.
“Daddy,” I say carefully. “I know things are messy, believe me. We’re not going to rush whatever the hell this is, but I love him. I can’t change that. If I can have him in my life, in my baby’s life, then that’s what I’ll do.”
He sighs. “You know what bein’ with him means, Skye.”
“Yeah,” I say, smiling. “It means I get to be Mom, and Ciara and Serenity and Janine . . . It means I get to be strong and loving and raise my child the same way I was raised—with love, happiness and strength.”
He smiles. “Fuck me, get over here.”
I rush forward and throw myself into his arms.
“Proud of you, baby.”
“Love you, Daddy.”
“All right, Cade,” Spike says, jerking me out of Dad’s arms. “Share. I’m goin’ to be that baby’s granddaddy as well.”
“Good fuckin’ God,” Dad groans. “Lord help the poor thing.”
“You’re tellin’ me.” We all turn and see Danny moving into the living room. “Dad, Cade, what’s up?”
“Heard you’re back with my daughter,” Dad says, crossing his arms.
Spike keeps his arm around my shoulder. Smart man.
“Yeah, and save all your overprotective crap, Cade. You know I got what it takes to love her better than anyone else, and I assure you that’s exactly what I’ll do. Now, why are you here?”
I grin. Spike chuckles.
My dad eyes Danny for a few minutes, then mutters a curse and says, “Got some club business to discuss. You need to come in.”
Danny nods. “Urgent?”
“Urgent enough.”
“No time to eat breakfast with Skye?”
My dad’s
mouth quirks. He likes that. I like that. “Yeah. While you’re at it, make us some.”
He walks over and throws himself down on my couch, and Spike follows. I grin at Danny who shakes his head with a muttered curse. He moves into the kitchen and swings open the fridge, scanning the ingredients.
“Jesus, Skye. What the fuck is all this?”
I walk up behind him, placing a hand on his hip and leaning around to scan my fridge. “The doctor said it’s good the baby.”
“It’s all green.”
I giggle. “The good stuff usually is.”
“Tell me there’s bacon?”
“There is, but there are no eggs. I have flour though; you can make pancakes with bacon.”
“That’ll do.”
He pulls out what he needs, muttering more nonsense about green stuff. While he whips up the pancakes, I entertain my dad and Spike. When it’s ready, we eat. I already knew Danny could cook, but it seems he’s gotten even better since the last time.
“Remind me to fill my fridge with all the things I love so you can cook it all,” I say, rubbing my stomach when I’m done.
“So long as it’s not green, you have a deal.” He stands and clears up, then turns to us all. “Ready to go?”
Dad and Spike stand. “Yeah we’re good. We’ll wait outside.”
My dad comes over and kisses my forehead before leaving. Danny turns to me, his eyes going warm. “How you feeling?”
“Like this is a dream. Is it a dream?”
He presses his lips against my head. “Nah, it isn’t a dream. What it is is fucking good.”
I reach up on my tiptoes and kiss his lips, softly at first, but slowly growing harder until my tongue invades his mouth and we’re kissing long and deep.
“Gotta go, baby,” he moans, pulling back. “I’ll be back later, though.”
“Okay,” I breathe, licking my bottom lip.
“Stop doin’ that or I’ll take you back to bed, only this time you won’t be suckin’ me but I’ll be suckin’ you.”
I flush.
He grins. “Yeah, think about that while I’m gone.”
“I will. Don’t you doubt it.”
He kisses me quickly. “You feelin’ okay? Physically, I mean.”
I nod. “No more cramping.”
“Good. Call me if you need, yeah?”
“Yeah, Danny.”
He flashes me a smile—a real smile. One that reaches his eyes.
Finally.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Skye?”
I stop midway through pushing my cart at the store and turn to see Macy walking towards me. Great. Just great.
“Macy, hi,” I say hesitantly.
“I was just wondering if you have spoken to Danny?”
I swallow. “Ah, why’s that?”
“I called him this morning. He said he wanted to talk, to sort things out. I overreacted yesterday; I shouldn’t have ended it with him. I was just so hurt. I didn’t realize you two were a thing and you having his baby—it was a hard pill to swallow. I regret it, and I want to tell him that. He isn’t answering his phone though.”
I feel sick.
“I know this must seem weird. You’re having his baby. But he told me yesterday you two are a thing of the past, and I believe him. We had something special; I know he felt it too.”
Did he? God, are we rushing this?
“I haven’t seen him,” I mutter. “Sorry.”
“Well, if you do, please tell him I’m looking for him. I’m cooking his favorite dinner tonight; I’m hoping he’ll come over.”
Vomit rises in my throat.
“I hope you’re okay with me being in his life. I know having a baby is a big deal.”
“Ah, yeah,” I manage, my voice stuck somewhere behind the big lump in my throat.
“Okay, well, gotta go. Bye!”
“Bye.”
When she’s gone, I numbly move through the store and finish shopping. Will Danny consider taking her back? I mean, he didn’t really choose to end it with her. Would he have done so if she didn’t break it off with him? That thought scares me the most. Are we moving too quickly? I know we’ve known each other a long time and loved each other even longer, but is that enough after what we’ve been through?
I shake the thoughts from my head and head out to my car, throwing all the groceries in the back before walking around to get in. A rumble of Harley-Davidsons has me stopping, my hand on the door. I thought the club were locked away with business. I squint, but notice almost immediately it isn’t my dad’s club—it’s the Jokers’ Wrath.
I’ve met them. They seem really nice and now that Mercedes is a part of their family, they have some sort of truce with our club, so things have settled and are going really well. They usually hang around Denver, so seeing them here makes me wonder what’s going down. There are a lot of them, probably the whole club, and they’ve got ladies on the backs of their bikes.
I step out from the side of my car and lift a hand to wave. They all slow down to a stop. Okay, I wasn’t expecting that. I walk towards the president, Maddox. He’s a daunting, extremely handsome man. He gets off his bike and strides toward me with a purpose. “Skye. Been lookin’ for you.”
They have?
“Ah, hey Maddox. Nice to see you again.”
He stops in front of me and I look up. God, he’s freaking huge. Like, monster huge. His eyes are as blue as the sky and piercing, as if they can see right into my soul. I swallow.
“You not answerin’ your phone?”
I blink, then reach down into my purse and pull out my cell. There are so many missed calls. It’s on silent; I hadn’t realized I didn’t take it off when I grabbed it off the charger this morning. “Oh, no,” I murmur. “It was on silent.”
“Right, well, your dad is lookin’ for you. So are we. Jump on the bike; I’ll take you back to the club.”
I shake my head, confused. “What’s going on?”
“We’re on lockdown, both of us. Safer to be here. Long story. Get on.”
Lockdown.
Great.
“I . . . I’m not . . .”
“Jump on, Skye,” he says, voice firm.
I know the clubs have a truce, but would my dad want me to get on a bike with this man? What if they’ve changed their mind and this is some sort of trap?
“I like you, Maddox. Truly I do. But I was raised in a club, which makes me extra weary. You don’t mind if I quickly call my dad and make sure this is okay?”
His eyes flash, and then he grins. “Smart girl. Go ahead.”
Phew. I quickly dial my dad’s number, and he answers before the first ring is even complete.
“Skye! Where the fuck are you?”
“I was at the store; my phone is on vibrate. Dad, I’m with Maddox. He said I need to go with him. Is that right?”
“He found you, thank fuck. Yeah, get on and he’ll bring you here.”
“Okay, well, we’re on our way.”
“Move, Skye,” he says, his voice far more frantic than I’d like.
“Okay, Daddy.”
I hang up and turn to Maddox. “There are groceries in my car. I don’t have a lot of money; I don’t want to lose them.”
“Give me your keys. We’ll bring them to the club—probably gonna need them. I’ll give you the cash back.”
I hand him my keys. He turns and barks an order to a prospect who gets off his bike and walks over.
“Take this car to the Knights compound, then have one of the guys bring you back to get your bike.”
“No problem, Prez.”
He takes the keys and disappears.
“Now,” Maddox says, “on the bike.”
I nod and hurry towards his bike, waving to Krypt and Mack as I go. They nod in my general direction, but their wives, who are on the backs of their bikes, wave happily. I smile and climb onto Maddox’s bike.
“Where’s Santana?”
“Already at the
club.”
Right. I fit my tiny body behind this massive giant’s body and attempt to grab him around the stomach. Yeah, right; he’s like a brick wall. I do the best I can and grab hold of the sides of his jacket. He waves a hand, and then we’re off. The rumble behind me gets louder and louder as we pick up speed. I haven’t been on a ride in such a long time. I remind myself to do just that when this is all over.
With Danny.
Maddox turns onto the road that leads to the compound, and it comes out of nowhere. The shots. Like from a rapid-fire machine gun, they explode through the air louder even than the bikes. Fear stabs into my heart and I frantically look around, trying to see where they’ve come from. I can’t see anything. Maddox waves a frantic hand and we speed up. The shots keep coming. A bike swerves off the road as a bullet rips through the fuel tank, and Maddox’s entire body goes stiff.
Krypt rides up beside him. “Comin’ out of the trees, boss. We gotta get clear or we’re goin’ down.”
“Ride faster. There’s nowhere for us to go,” Maddox barks.
He drops down a few gears on the bike and launches it forward, going faster than I’ve ever gone on a bike in my entire life. He reaches for my hand and jerks me closer so I’m flush against him, my hands now clutching his jacket with fear. “Hang on, honey,” he yells.
More bullets come. More bikes go down. We just keep speeding along the road, dodging cars that are slowing down or speeding up because of the influx of bullets. We weave and turn, moving as quickly past the cars as we can. We get to a clearer spot on the road, but the bullets keep coming, like this is a scene from a God damned nightmare. The shooters must be positioned all down this road.
I’m terrified. I press my face into Maddox’s back and close my eyes, trying to breathe through my panic. A loud sound cracks through the air far too close, and in a matter of seconds, a pain unlike any pain I’ve ever felt in my life tears through my shoulder. Maddox jerks, and for a few moments, my mouth opens but nothing comes out. Then I scream.
I scream and scream.
Blood pours down my arm, and it feels as though a hot poker has been driven through my back and out my shoulder. Maddox is saying something to me, hanging onto my hand as if I’m going to fall at any second, but I can’t hear a single thing through my agonized screams. I jerk and pull, wanting it to go away. Krypt comes up beside us, his bike flying, and his eyes fall on my shoulder. I can’t hear his curse, but I can see it.