Fear seizes my chest and I scream for my sister.
“It’s okay,” she soothes. “He won’t hurt you.”
This is a dream. It’s all a dream.
Santana isn’t really here, she’s not.
I start to shake.
We reach the fence and I cry out as the man holding me tosses me over. I land hard on the other side, but that doesn’t stop him. He leaps over and then I’m back in his arms and we’re running again. Santana is talking frantically and I struggle to keep up. We reach a big car and before I know what’s happening, I’m thrown in. There’s a man in the front seat and when he turns to look at me, I stop breathing. He’s got the most beautiful brown eyes I’ve ever seen. He smiles a little, before Santana and the other man jump in.
“Go!” The man roars.
And then the car is screeching away. I turn to my sister, who is crying so hard there’s tears pouring down her face. She takes my hand and I allow myself to believe this might just be real.
“Are you really here?”
“I’m really here,” she sobs. “You’re safe. You’re free.”
I’m free.
I’m safe.
Oh God, I’ve been saved.
~*~*~*~
NOW - Pippa
“Pip!”
My eyes flutter open and the hard body beside mine shifts. Tyke and I fell asleep after I told him my story, and now it seems to be early evening because the room is dark. I shift, and Tyke doesn’t move; he’s still dead to the world. I sit up slowly, rubbing my eyes.
“Pippa!”
That sounds like Mack. I slide out of bed and tiptoe to the door, unlocking and opening it. “What’s wrong?” I ask, seeing Mack at my door, about to knock again.
“Oh, sorry to wake you,” he says, lowering his hand. “Your friend is here.”
“My friend?”
“Rainer?”
My eyes must light up, because Mack laughs. I rush past him and out into the main area, where everyone is drinking and chatting. Rainer is standing with Maddox, talking to him. He’s laughing, his face alight with joy. When he sees me coming towards him, his smile gets bigger. I launch myself into his arms and he holds me tightly.
“Hey there, pretty girl.”
“I’m so glad to see you again.” I beam as he lowers me. I look up at him. He still looks amazing.
“Me too. How are you?”
“Great. Better now you’re here. Will you stay a while?”
He looks to Maddox, who is smiling fondly at me. He shrugs, as if saying he doesn’t mind, and Rainer nods. “All right. I’m not busy tonight so I’m all yours.”
“You have to meet everyone.”
I drag Rainer around to meet everyone, and by the time I’m done, Tyke comes out of the room, looking sleepy and beautiful. His eyes are only partially awake, still heavy and half-lidded, and he’s wearing only a pair of faded denim jeans. He runs his hands through his hair and looks around until his eyes fall on mine.
“Yo Tyke,” Grimm yells. “You have a nice nap, princess?”
Tyke flips him the bird and everyone laughs.
I swallow as his eyes move to Rainer and he stiffens. He studies him, and me, and our hands clasped together. I tug Rainer’s hand and lead him over. When we stop in front of Tyke, the two men take each other in.
“Tyke, this is Rainer. My friend I told you about. Rainer, this is Tyke.”
Rainer stretches his hand out, and Tyke hesitates a moment before clasping his hand and shaking it, roughly.
“Heard a lot about you,” he grumbles.
I want to giggle at his display of rugged manliness. I love that he’s feeling jealous, that he’s protective over me. That’s how I want him to feel.
“You, too,” Rainer says, then turns to me. “You want a drink, Pip?”
“Yes, please.”
He disappears and I turn to Tyke, stepping forward. My hands go to his waist and I press my cheek to his chest. He sighs and wraps an arm around me. “Fuckin’ hate bein’ jealous.”
I giggle into his chest.
“Glad you find it funny.”
I look up at him. “You’re the only man I see, Tyke.”
His eyes flare with lust and he leans down, capturing my mouth in a kiss. It’s soft and gentle, but short. He pulls back and lets me go. “I need a beer.”
“Are you going to, ah, get dressed first?”
He grins. “No baby.”
Then he steps past me, and I can’t help the smile that stretches across my lips.
CHAPTER TWENTY
NOW – Pippa
“Hey, look!” Ash says, giggling over her beer. “That Raide dude is here.”
We all turn and see Raide standing in the doorway, talking closely with Maddox. Gosh, he’s still handsome—time doesn’t change that. I watch him, fascinated, wondering what his story is.
“He’s so hot,” Jaylah says, leaning in close. “It should be illegal.”
“Right?” Santana sighs.
I turn back to them, sipping my first beer still. I’m not a massive drinker. “He’s a nice guy, too. It seems.”
Ash rolls her eyes. “Nice.”
I laugh. “Nice is good, Ash.”
“No,” she scoffs. “Bad boy is good.”
“You would say that, when you’re married to the ultimate bad boy.”
She smiles and looks over to Krypt with love in her eyes. “Ultimate he is.”
“Ugh,” Santana groans. “Keep it to the bedroom.”
We all laugh and they turn their eyes to me.
“So.” Tana grins. “You and Tyke.”
I shrug, sipping my beer.
“Are you going to give us all the juicy details or do we have to guess?” Jaylah prompts.
I shift and my cheeks heat. “There are no juicy details.”
They all give me ‘as if’ looks.
“We walked in on him half-naked, which was a good look by the way, and you with sex hair,” Ash points out.
“I did not have sex hair!” I protest.
They all laugh.
Okay, so maybe I did.
“Come on, Pippi,” Tana pleads. “Let me be an awesome sister and tell me about it.”
I look down at my beer. “It was my first time.”
“Aw,” Ash croons.
“Oh, that’s so sweet. Mack was my first oral. It was amazing,” Jaylah says, and we all burst out laughing at her.
“What?” she cries. “It’s true.”
“Okay,” Ash laughs, shaking her head. “Moving back to Pippa. What was it like?”
I mumble, “Painful.”
“Aw, Pip!” Jaylah whispers, clutching my hand. “I forgot how painful it was.”
“It gets better then?” I ask, my eyes hopeful.
I loved being with Tyke. I loved everything about it. But I’m praying it gets better. I don’t want to feel pain every time we are together.
“Yes, gosh yes,” Ash says. “But you have to experiment.”
“Experiment?” I ask.
“Yeah, you know. Play around. Use your mouth. Your hands. Explore. Find what makes it feel good.”
My mouth?
Oh boy.
“Mouth?” I squeak.
Jaylah giggles. “Oh girl, we have so much to teach you.”
They spend the next hour telling me about how to give Tyke pleasure with my mouth, receiving pleasure from his mouth, and all the things in between. My cheeks are red-hot by the time we were done, but my curiosity is spiked and my eyes instantly go to Tyke who is sitting beside the guys, feet up on a table, laughing.
Beautiful.
Mine.
Our eyes meet, and he sees it. I see it.
We both want it.
~*~*~*~
NOW - Pippa
I take a walk outside as the party begins to liven up inside. I head out, desperate to see the trees. There are some beautiful clusters of them in the far corner of the lot. I weave through them, breathing th
em in, enjoying how they feel against my fingers. I do this for what seems like hours, and then finally I head back in.
I’m part of the way there when I crash into a hard body. I squeak and leap backwards. “This is the second time we’ve done this. Anyone would think you’re following me.”
Raide.
I rub a hand over my face and laugh softly. “Sorry, I don’t have great night vision.”
He chuckles in the dark, a deep, sexy sound. “No. Funny that.”
I smile at my stupid comment.
“What’re you doing out here in the dark?”
“Just walking through the trees.”
He snorts. “In the dark?”
“You don’t have to see them to feel and enjoy them.”
He chuckles. “No, I suppose you don’t. You’re a fascinating woman, Pippa.”
“So are you.”
“A fascinating woman?”
I bark a laugh. “Sorry, no, a man. What’re you doing here, anyway? I didn’t think you were associated with the club.”
“Maddox is still getting my information. I was there when they were ambushed, too. It was fuckin’ ugly.”
“I heard,” I say softly.
“I’ll get on my way soon, but for now it’s nice havin’ somewhere I don’t have to hide.”
“You’re really running from the police?”
“Yeah,” he mutters. “They’ll send a goddamned bounty hunter after me soon, so I’m runnin’ out of time.”
“A bounty hunter?” I question, a little confused.
“You know, when you skip bail or don’t show up for a trial, they send someone after you. It’s usually a big angry man who tackles you to the ground and drags you by your fuckin’ legs back in.”
I laugh softly. “Surely it isn’t that bad.”
He snorts. “No, probably not. But I don’t have long. I’m already being searched for.”
“Is it really so bad that you have to bypass the police to seek justice?”
“You ever had someone you loved more than life, Pippa?”
“Absolutely.”
“Imagine if they were taken away, and you were left with no one. All you have left is a bitter anger, deep in your chest. You want to make the person pay who took that person from you.”
“I do understand that.”
“I imagine you do. Maddox let slip about your life before this.”
“Yeah,” I whisper.
“Anyway, we better get out of the dark.”
He turns and walks back into the darkness.
“Hey Raide?”
He turns and stares back at me.
“Yeah?”
“I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
He flashes me a smile, then disappears back inside.
I think I like Raide Knox, and his story has certainly piqued my interest.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
NOW –Pippa
“It’s been nearly two days,” I whisper against Tyke’s mouth.
“Baby,” he murmurs, squeezing my waist. “You’re killing me.”
“Don’t you want me, Tyke?”
He groans. “You have no fuckin’ idea how much.”
“Then make love to me again, please?”
We’re standing at the edge of the bed. It’s early in the morning and Tyke has just come fresh from a shower. He has a towel wrapped around his waist and his skin is hot. He looks down at me, his eyes full of lust and need. He wants this as much as I do. We’ve waited nearly two days since the first round. We both want more.
“Don’t wanna hurt you again, darlin’,” he murmurs, staring at my mouth.
“You won’t. The girls gave me tips.”
His brows go up, and his lips quirk. “Tips?”
“Mmhmm, tips.”
“Do you want to inform me on what kind of tips those were?”
I smile up at him. “Take me to bed and we’ll find out.”
He looks around the room, and then says, “Okay, what have you done with Pippa? Where did she go? Because this girl in front of me isn’t her.”
I frown. “You don’t like it.”
He looks back to me, and his eyes are soft and joking. “Course I love it, it’s just not something I thought I’d hear come from your lips.”
I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss him. “Well, I’m trying to be different.”
He grins and pulls me closer with an arm around my waist. His lips find mine and I let him kiss me softly for a while, before deepening the kiss until there are tongues, and groans, and wandering hands. He turns me around and pushes me down onto the bed. “You want me to give it to you? I’ll give it to you, baby. Are you ready?”
“Always,” I breathe as his body comes over mine.
He leans down and brushes his lips over my jaw before moving down my neck. He takes the hem of my shirt and quickly discards it, before making light work of the rest of my clothes. Then he kisses my breasts, slowly trailing his mouth over the soft flesh, before covering my nipples with his mouth. He sucks gently at first, and slowly pulls them deeper and deeper into his mouth.
“Tyke,” I gasp, arching up.
He takes my hips, pushing them back down as he continues his torture on my breasts. When he’s satisfied, he slowly moves below them, licking and sucking my flesh as he moves down my body. He reaches my belly button and dips his tongue into the little groove. I whimper and shiver at the odd sensation. It shoots pleasure right to my sex.
Tyke’s hot mouth moves farther down, finding my hipbones. He kisses them and then moves right past my sex to my thighs. I cry out desperately as a throbbing begins in my core, and starts radiating out. It’s as if my body knows he’s there, and it wants more. I plead with him as he kisses my inner thigh, and I can feel his soft chuckle against my flesh.
“Tyke, please,” I beg. “Don’t make me wait anymore.”
“Then wait you won’t, princess.”
He moves his mouth up, gently sucking the inner lips of my sex into his mouth. The sensation is out of this world and my neck tilts backwards, pushing my head into the pillow as a strange pleasure starts filling my veins. I clutch the pillows beside me as his hot breath moves over my clitoris, and to the other side. He repeats this process, torturing me slowly.
“Tyke,” I plead. “Please.”
He hovers over my clitoris, his mouth so close I can feel him. Then slowly he lowers his head and closes his lips right over the aching nub. I instantly jerk and cry his name as the most amazing sensation takes over my body. It feels like heaven between my legs. I gasp Tyke’s name over and over as his tongue flicks out and rubs over and over, causing fire to erupt in my body.
“Oh, God, Tyke,” I gasp.
He sucks and licks until I’m bucking on the bed, his hands firmly planted on my legs to hold me down. Then, the most amazing sensation bursts to life. It’s like all the happiness in the world combined in one tiny explosion. I scream Tyke’s name as bolt after bolt of pleasure shoot from my core right through my body.
“Tyke,” I pant. “Tyke.”
He places a soft kiss to my aching flesh, and slowly crawls up my body, kissing a trail as he goes. When he reaches my mouth, he crushes his lips back down over mine and I can taste myself, a strange flavor that has my cheeks burning. Tyke kisses me until all I can taste is him, then he pulls back, staring down at me with more want in his eyes than I’ve ever seen before.
“Are you protected, Pip?”
“Protected?” I whisper.
“On birth control?”
I nod. “I’m on the pill, because of severe periods.”
“You been on it long?”
“Since I got home.”
“Thank fuck—you good with me going ungloved?”
“Ungloved?” I’m confused.
“No condom.”
Oh.
Oh.
“I want to come inside you.”
Oh my.
“Ah, I don’t know. I’m not . . .
”
“I’m clean, Pippa. I’ve never fucked anyone without a condom.”
Too much information.
“Okay, Tyke.”
His eyes flash and he takes hold of me, sitting up and turning us around so he’s sitting back against the headboard. He places me over his lap and I bite my lip, confused. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. I can feel his erection pressing right against my core, but I don’t know how he wants me to work this.
“Just slide down, baby,” he says in a thick voice. “Then rock.”
I swallow and meet his eyes, still unsure. He takes my hips and gently guides me down onto his length. I gasp as he begins filling me slowly. It’s still quite painful, but this time I’m more aroused and I adjust easier. When he’s filling me and we’re flesh to flesh, he gently rocks my hips. The sensation that fills me is quite delightful, and deep in my body, a bundle of nerves jerks to life.
“Work it so it feels good for you,” he says through clenched teeth. “Just ride me nice and slow, baby.”
I do as he asks, and gently rock my hips, sliding up and down, tilting until I find the sweet spot that seems to be igniting with every stroke. I close my eyes, let my head fall back, and focus on getting that point over and over again. Tyke rumbles something sexy, and then his finger is between my legs, rubbing. Fire burns in my sex and I gasp over and over as my body stiffens, preparing for something even more brilliant than the other times.
“Jesus, baby, you’re so tight,” Tyke grunts. “Fuck.”
“Tyke,” I moan. “Oh God.”
“Come for me, beautiful girl. Give it all to me. Let me know my cock does that to you.”
That word. Oh, that word. I shudder.
“S . . . s . . . say that again,” I demand, shocking myself.
“My cock, baby. It fucking loves you. Your pussy feels so fucking good around me.”
Oh. God. Yes.
I rock harder. His finger works fast.
“More,” I gasp. “More.”
“I can’t wait until it’s your mouth wrapped around my dick, sucking, those sweet lips making me come.”