9. Sunni
CHAPTER 9
Sunni
I t was a few blissful weeks later that Raker came into the room and announced I needed to get ready to go on a trip out to the desert to The Fountain for the annual Water Distribution Ceremony. I was so excited I was almost vibrating, and a few days later I was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt so I could even ride with him on his motorcycle!
As I waited for him to finish getting ready, Raker took a key from his pocket and walked along the back fence behind the clubhouse, stopping at a patch of desert scrub that looked indistinguishable from any other to me.
In this position, behind the high fence, we were hidden from anyone passing by.
He bent down, then easily rolled aside a massive rock, so big it was almost a boulder to me. Brushing away sand and dirt, he revealed a heavy wooden trap door with an old-fashioned lock.
Raker turned the key in the lock and it opened with a well-oiled click, revealing a huge underground room with what looked like hundreds of boxes of neatly stacked guns.
We descended together down a short set of stairs, and Raker counted them quickly, then made a note in a pad of paper.
“Don’t tell,” he said, pinching my chin gently in a way that made my skin prickle with desire as his harsh mouth twisted up in a smile. “The feds would love to get their hands on this.”
“Of course not,” I cried, proud and excited that I got to know some of his secrets.
And my excitement only grew on the ride, as I sat nestled between Raker’s big thighs, the wind streaming through my hair as we rode in formation out deep into the desert.
I was the luckiest woman in the world to be his.
We stopped at a little drive-through burger place and I waited in line to get Raker and I some burgers, even the bills in my pocket feeling warm because they were his, and he had given them to me.
But as I carried the tray with the burgers wrapped in crinkly paper, my hands tightened as I saw Raker leaning on his bike and talking to Angel.
The way she was leaning into him, her hips nudging his thigh.
It couldn’t be more transparently obvious that she wanted to fuck him. And that they had fucked before.
He wasn’t looking in my direction, even though I had his lunch and was close enough to hear her breathy little giggle.
I fought down the urge to vomit.
He wasn’t going to do anything to her in the middle of the parking lot. I hoped.
No one seemed to be paying them even the slightest bit of attention, except for Bridget, who gave my arm a gentle squeeze.
“Here, come sit beside Builder and Amira.”
I felt ashamed of my emotions.
This was why I had been trying not to get too attached to him. He was still the MC President, still had the exclusive right to every cunt on the premises.
Angel bent still closer, her thighs spread so her legs were on either side of Raker’s.
She was practically fucking humping his leg, her perfect ass wiggling in that skintight skirt as she whispered things in Raker’s ear.
What was she saying to him? I wondered jealously.
He slapped her on the ass, and the sight of his big hand coming down on her plump cheeks seemed seared into my vision. He slapped her ass like he was so comfortable, like he’d slapped her ass hundreds of time and knew just how her cheeks would jiggle.
I dropped my eyes quickly to avoid him seeing how I was watching like a little green-eyed monster.
He never promised me faithfulness , I reminded myself as I gripped the side of the picnic table so hard I felt splinters digging into my palms.
He promised only that no one else would fuck me but him.
I clung to that promise as they sat down across from me, Raker casually grabbing a handful of fries and the burger in his hand.
My eyes were on my food so I wouldn’t give anything away, even though my stomach was twisting still, nausea roiling in my gut.
What was wrong with me?
I tried to shake the feeling off, but the nerves and anxiety almost overpowered me.
That night Raker and the other MCs slept outside The Fountain, where the Elders would come from their secret home in the Celestial Abode to coax and guide the water from the earth.
Not being next to him only shattered the rest of my rattled nerves, as I walked with the other club girls to the Fountain.
The Fountain was an earthen mound in the desert, and the Elders would pray over it to coax the reluctant water from the earth.
We were always required to abstain from water the whole morning before a Ceremony.
Thirst lay on my tongue, the dry hunger familiar as a friend.
Even though I had access to more water than I’d ever seen in my life with the Saints MC, I didn’t know if I would ever forget how familiar this dry, aching need was.
It was a huge honor to be here with Raker. I had never been close enough before to see much of the Ceremony.
I knew what was going to happen though, and my stomach twisted in anticipation.
The Ceremony also determined water restrictions. Most of Resurrected had the same water restrictions, but those could be increased or decreased in accordance with behavior.
The Elders themselves came out as the other girls and I knelt on the ground, the holy ones surrounded by the powerful muscular Priests who acted as their bodyguards.
From my vantage point with the Saints, I looked around to see the other MCs lined up at the front, Elizabeth herself getting to stand respectfully instead of kneel. Because of course she was pure and we were whores.
I felt a flicker of unusual defiance in my gut. I felt sick to my stomach and very tired. Why should she get to stand while we had to kneel? There was nothing holier about Elizabeth than the rest of us. My friends Amira and Bridget were kind. Why shouldn’t they get recognized for their good deeds too?
The Ceremony started with the traditional prayer of thanks to the Elders for giving us water, then moved into the Elders admonishments and moral guidelines.
The words all blended together with me as I stared at Raker’s tall, harsh form, standing in a line with the other MC Presidents.
Of course, the Saints MC had the biggest water allotment, and the Elders moved to give each Prez the ceremonial first drink, a special crystal goblet full of pure, sparkling water.
Carefully, without spilling a drop, an Elder poured a clear stream into Raker’s mouth. He had to stand on a big stool because Raker was so tall, and my eyes gobbled the seductive sight down. Craved the broad width of his shoulders and the water he had, my mouth so dry my tongue stuck to the roof, and I didn’t know if I craved water or Raker the most.
“Take and give,” the Elder intoned. “May you distribute the blessings of the land in any way you see fit, and always remember who gave them to you.”
Hell, it was going to still takes ages until they’d let us go so I could get a drink.
Was he going to give the water to Elizabeth first, with her perfect beautiful devout face? I felt jealous again.
And Raker turned and took two steps into the crowd. Then he put hard hands on my chin, tipping my face up for him. For a moment I was frozen until his big fingers pulled gently down on my lips.
I opened my mouth eagerly, and Raker bent closer and gently spat the holy water in my mouth.
The water was warm and seemed to spread a heated glow all through my body, suffusing each limb until I was tingling with power.
It tasted sweet too, sweeter than the best honey I’d ever had.
I felt Elizabeth’s angry eyes on me. With all her purity and finery, I was the one Raker had given the holy water to.
Trembling, I sw?llowed, my heart full of love, wishing he was mine only. He felt like mine only. Why couldn’t it be true?
I had to use the bathroom before we left, and I hurried over to the Elders’ marble-clad facilities. We had abstained from water all morning, but I always had to pee these days.
As I was heading back out, wiping the hand sanitizer on my hands, I heard Angel’s voice, and I flattened myself back against the building.
She was probably pissed that Raker had given me the first water, and I was in no mood for her to slap or pinch me, especially without my friends Amira or Bridget around to rescue me.
Then I heard Elizabeth’s voice, too.
What in the world would she have to talk to Angel about?
Moving cautiously, I sidled as close to the corner of the building as I could. There was a little tiny hole in the marble and I bent down so I could see Angel and Elizabeth.
“I have some information to give you,” Angel said, her eyes downcast in a modest way that was most unlike her.
“What is it?” Elizabeth snapped, arranging her pure white gloves.
But just then my clumsy hands bumped into the side of the building, knocking off a ceremonial jug, and Elizabeth whipped her head around.
“What are you doing there, you little whore?” she hissed, dragging me out. “Trying to spy on me?”
Angel’s eyes glistened and I felt my stomach sink knowing she must be talking about me.
“ Sunni is in love with Raker. She’s so delusional she thinks there’s a chance he’s going to marry her.”
Elizabeth turned ice-cold eyes to me. “Why, how foolish of you. What a silly strumpet you must be.”
“I don’t—I’m don’t want that,” I said feebly.
Was the lie written all over my face? I did want to marry Raker.
“He’s going to marry me , make no mistake of that.”
“I know it,” I said, trying to keep the strangled bleak sound from my voice. “I know he is.”
“There’s something even worse,” Angel said, and I tried to beg her with my eyes to stop.
Elizabeth with her streak of cruelty was the last person I wanted angry at me!
“Sunni’s planning on tricking Raker into getting her pregnant. If I were you, I’d tell him to be careful with the condoms.”
There was a sudden frozen silence.
“Surely she wouldn’t stoop to tampering with holy protection,” Elizabeth said sharply, a different note in her voice now.
“She would,” Angel said, her blue eyes flashing maliciously at me as Elizabeth stared in horror. “She’s just so desperate for his baby.”
“ Well ,” Elizabeth said. Then she turned and slapped me across the face, with such sudden, vicious violence that I almost fell on my ass. “I will make sure he drops you before our marriage. And any baby you have gets kicked out with you.”
Although I had managed to stumble away from them and find my way back to the Saints MC, I felt sick with worry. Even Raker’s strong arm around me on the way home didn’t fully shake my sense of unease.
What if Elizabeth tried to make trouble? Surely Raker wouldn’t believe her. I would never dare to tamper with his condoms!
When I got home, I still felt nauseated, exhausted. The smell of the ground beef for the BBQ suddenly made me feel unbearably sick, and I had to run to a bathroom, where I threw up in the sink.
Awareness crawled over my skin, and I tried to ignore it, but it would not go away.
Oh no
Joy and fear, all mixed together in a confusing mix of trouble in my belly.
Finally, I made my furtively to the bathroom, digging around in the First Aid kits and the plastic containers full of pads and tampons.
God damn it, there had to be one!
Condoms were thick and reliable, but surely someone. . .sometime had been curious!
Finally, just when I had given it up, my fingers closed on a box shoved at the very back of the drawer.
Eagerly, I ripped it open and ran to the toilet.
Maybe I wouldn’t have to pee. But no, I had to pee all the time these days.
I had barely ripped down my panties when I was spraying all over the whole test. Squeaking in annoyance, I gritted my teeth and made sure it was positioned correctly under the stream.
Then I set the test on the counter and cleaned up the seat.
The seconds ticked by and my blood roared in my ears.
I couldn’t put it off any longer.
I looked over.
That second pink line was as bold and bright as anything.
Pregnant