Chapter Twenty-Three
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
WHAT THE HELL was taking so long?
Liv had dropped Talia back at the apartment five minutes ago with strict instructions to stay away from the clubhouse.
“Let the guys work it out their way,” she’d said with a sympathetic smile.
“I don’t like to be put on the sidelines,” Talia had responded.
Liv had laughed at her. “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
Right.
Well, subtlety didn’t have to be everyone’s strong suit. Talia was a problem solver. A fixer. She’d never apologized for it before and wouldn’t today.
Once Liv left, Talia realized how much gratitude she owed the women for keeping her distracted over the past hour and a half. After five minutes alone, she was practically climbing the walls. If she’d been left to her own devices the entire time, Pulse might have returned to a pile of rubble where the apartment once stood.
Heavy footsteps outside the door had her stopping mid-pace. The door opened, and there he was. Pulse filled the doorway, tall, dark, and handsome, with a hint of danger and power that she’d always avoided. On paper, a man like him wouldn’t mix with her. He was strong, assertive, a former fed, and a current outlaw biker. The type of man she typically bucked against on principle.
Yet the second she saw him, her breath caught, and butterflies filled her stomach.
She wanted him on a cellular level—wanted to be close enough to breathe his air, wanted to touch him, and wanted to do nothing but exist near him.
What was that?
“Hi,” she whispered because she couldn’t think of anything to say.
He started at her with an intensity that had her nipples hardening and her pussy fluttering.
“Um… are you… did they…” How did she ask the man if his entire life had been turned upside down?
“I’m not going anywhere.” He stepped into the apartment. “Unanimous vote minus one.”
Oh, thank God.
“Spec?”
He nodded.
“I’m sorry.”
Pulse didn’t respond. His steps lengthened, and in two seconds, he stood directly before her. The now-familiar scent of his fresh cologne had her inhaling like it was the last breath she’d ever take.
He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her in until their lips nearly touched.
And just like that, she was wet and trembling. What came next would feel so good. It did every time—his hands on her, his mouth on her, his cock inside her. She wanted to shove him back and demand he strip so she could have her way with him, but she also wanted to see where he would take this. To let him take the lead and take control of her body, something she’d never wanted and vowed she’d never give to a man.
But she trusted him completely. It was the scariest and most exhilarating realization.
“Pulse,” she said, brushing their lips in the barest kiss.
“All I could think about was getting back to you,” he whispered. “I cared more about that than the fucking vote.”
Her knees weakened, and she grabbed his cut for support. This man would be her undoing.
“You gonna let me have you?”
God, the fact that he asked. He had her at his mercy, a quivering mess of need he could take advantage of, but he’d never. He asked because he knew her and what mattered.
“You gonna let me inside this beautiful body? In the one place where everything makes sense. The one place I know I belong, and I never want to fucking leave because it’s as close to fucking heaven as I’ll ever get.”
“Pulse, please.”
She could feel his smile against her lips. “Yes?”
“Yes. So much, yes. All the yes.”
Their lips met in a slow, deep, soul-changing kiss she lost control of straightaway. Pulse held her where he wanted her and helped himself to her mouth as though it was custom-designed for him. And she supposed it was. No man had ever kissed her so thoroughly, and she couldn’t imagine letting another try in the future.
He swept his tongue into her mouth, gliding it along hers. She chased him when it retreated, only to be rewarded with another taste of him. He kissed her until she clenched his sides so hard she risked puncturing his cut with her nails. He curled his hand in her hair, which gave him complete control of where she went. One light tug had her chin tilting up. He took full advantage of her exposed neck, attacking the soft skin with nips and brutal kisses.
“You taste like champagne,” he whispered when he reached her ear.
“Uh… oh God…”
He sucked her earlobe.
“The girls…”
“That was nice of them.”
“Uh-huh.”
What was he talking about?
He sucked the side of her neck beneath her jawline with enough sting to leave a mark.
Talia moaned and squirmed. Her panties were soaked, and she ached with an emptiness that couldn’t be ignored much longer. Pulse must have sensed her desperation. He kicked her legs apart with one booted foot and stepped forward, pressing his thigh between hers. Talia needed no instruction as to what to do next. She ground her pussy against his denim-covered leg, brazen in her quest for relief.
Pulse worked his hands under her T-shirt. As soon as he found skin, she sighed in relief.
“You like my hands on you?” he asked as he stroked up and down her back with those warm, roughened fingers.
“I love when you touch me.”
“Yeah?” He pushed her wireless bra up, releasing her breasts. “That’s good because I can’t seem to keep them off you.” He brushed his thumbs back and forth over her nipples. She arched into him with a soft moan.
“You can touch me whenever you want.”
“Yeah?” He increased the pressure, drawing another moan from her. “What about in public, where everyone will know you’re mine? Can I touch you then? Show all the fuckers out there who you belong to?” He pinched her nipples.
She should have been horrified that a man wanted to claim her. Instead, she was trying to hold off on coming from his words alone.
“Show everyone who I belong to,” he said in a low rumble.
Their gazes locked, and she didn’t dare breathe. What was he asking?
“What do you say?” he asked, still playing with her nipples, which made it nearly impossible to think. “You want to be my ol’ lady?”
Her heart skipped a damn beat. “And you’ll be my ol’ man?”
“Only way it works,” he said with the first grin she’d seen from him all day.
“Yeah, Pulse. I want that. I really want that.”
Together, they worked her shirt and bra over her head. It took five times as long as it should because they couldn’t separate their mouths long enough to complete the task.
Whatever, they weren’t in a rush. They had all afternoon to celebrate.
Once she was bare from the waist up, Talia went to work on Pulse’s clothes. She slid her hands into his cut, easing it off his shoulders. He caught it as it slipped down his arms, then tossed it over a kitchen chair. His T-shirt was next. Pulse grabbed a handful of fabric behind his back and tugged it over his head in a way women drooled over.
Various tattoos covered his body, detailing his life story before he met her. A lifelike motorcycle with flames shooting from the rear wheel adorned his entire right ribcage. A medical symbol she recognized as representing his career as a nurse ran the length of his left side. He had a storm cloud near his collarbone with six numbers inked inside. A date. The day Camila died and when he walked away from his former life if she had to guess.
He backed her through the small apartment toward the bed. The whole time, she ran her hands along his torso, tracing tattoos and absorbing the solid strength beneath her fingertips. When her calves hit the bed, he reached for the button on her denim shorts. Every time his knuckles brushed her lower belly, she shivered in anticipation.
Once nothing remained of her clothing but a heap on the floor, Pulse started on his jeans. She followed as he shoved them down his hips, running her hands down to his cock where she took him in her fist.
Pulse hissed, and his pupils flared as his stomach muscles contracted. What a rush to elicit such a strong reaction with nothing but the touch of her hand. She stroked him from root to tip, mesmerized by the pleasure playing across his face. His eyes darkened, and his nostrils flared as he clenched his fists at his sides. How he visibly struggled to hold himself in check and let her do as she pleased was a thrill like no other.
Her mouth watered, so she started to lower to her knees.
“Another time.” Pulse caught her under her arms. “I’ll fucking lose it in two seconds, and I want to be in your pussy when I come.”
As though stating it’s agreement, her pussy clenched.
“Bare?” she whispered.
He raised an eyebrow. “Your call.”
They’d talked about it at length. Both were clean and hadn’t been with anyone else in that way. Talia had been on birth control for years to regulate her cycle. Did she want him to be the first man to fuck her without a condom? Did she want to feel his cum inside her, dripping out when they finished?
“Yes. I want it.”
He groaned. “Lie on the bed.”
The dark promise in his voice had her limbs shaking as she sat on the bed and then scooted up to the pillows. The sheet’s soft cotton felt cool on her overheated skin. Pulse watched every move she made with hungry eyes. He’d taken over stroking his cock in an intoxicating show. All those muscles and tattoos moving as he slowly pleasured himself could make him millions if he ever had the urge to film himself.
“Spread your legs.”
She did as he asked so quickly it was almost comical.
“Christ.” He swallowed. “I can see how fucking wet you are. Your pussy is soaked for me.”
“I want you,” she whispered. “I always want you.”
“Fuck, I’m a lucky bastard.” He released himself, chuckling at her pout, then crawled onto the bed between her legs. Starting at her ankles, he worked his hands up her legs in a torturous combination of massage and light, tickling touches. Talia fought to keep from squirming. When he reached her inner thighs, he walked his fingertips across the sensitive skin, and her back bowed off the bed.
She bit her lower lip and watched as his gaze zeroed in on her sex. The air felt thick and charged with electricity. She could almost hear crackling and popping as it sizzled around them.
Pulse scooted up and smoothed his hands across her lower belly and down to her sex, where he used his thumbs to part her folds, all while staring as though transfixed.
“So pretty,” he whispered.
Never had her body been so exposed. If any other man had ever wanted to stare at her pussy this way, she’d have burst out laughing and kicked their ass to the curb.
But not Pulse. With him, it felt symbolic. Her body was as open and exposed to him as her heart. His for the taking, and he treated both with reverence and, dare she hope, love?
As much as she wanted him inside her and wanted to come, she never wanted this moment to end. Something shifted between them this afternoon. They’d created a bond, a connection that felt permanent and unbreakable as though their souls had merged.
If anyone had told her they felt that way about their significant other, she’d have politely smiled and nodded while internally rolling her eyes and vomiting. Talia spent her adult years convinced the love people wrote poems about was nothing more than a flight of fancy.
But right then, she understood.
And she was safe in that understanding because Pulse would never reveal her secrets.
He pressed a slick thumb to her clit, shocking a bolt of pleasure through her core. She lifted her hips in a silent invitation.
Further foreplay wasn’t necessary. All she wanted was to be joined with him in every way she could think of. He rose on his knees and fisted himself again. Talia bent her legs to give him better access. She kept her gaze locked with his as he ran the tip of his dick through her wetness.
“Pulse…”
He fitted himself against her pussy, then pushed in—slowly. So slowly, it felt like he’d never bottom out. Every inch that sank into her brought a heightened pleasure. Part of her wanted to grab his hips and yank him fully inside her, but a more significant part wanted to stay in suspended need for as long as possible. It was the most delicious place to be, experiencing ecstasy while knowing there was still more to come.
She reached for him, and he captured her hands, then pressed them to the mattress by her head. The move had him looming over her.
“Kiss me,” she whispered, letting her desperation bleed through her voice. “I want to feel you everywhere.”
He did as she asked. Their lips met as he bottomed out inside her. She moaned into his mouth, and he greedily swallowed the sound. Pulse pressed her into the mattress with his firm body as he fucked into her at an unhurried pace.
She got what she asked for. She could feel him along the entire length of her body as well as inside her. Even their feet were hooked around each other in an embrace. Their legs slid against each other as he slowly thrust in and out of her pussy. Every movement made his solid chest brush against her nipples, and his stomach muscles flex against her softer belly. He held her arms captive against the bed, and their mouths licked and sucked in a passionate dance.
No part of her was neglected. Even their hearts seemed to beat against each other in a synchronized rhythm.
Time no longer mattered as they kissed, fucked, and shared the same breath. Instead of ramping up toward a consuming orgasm, Talia floated on a cloud high in the sky for what felt like hours. When she finally came, wave after wave of pleasure crested over her while she stared into the eyes of the man she could finally admit to herself she loved.