Chapter Eighteen
Two hours later, Iris was sitting at the bar nursing a glass of pineapple juice, and feeling like she’d forgotten something. She was having trouble focusing on just what that might be, though. She was jumpy and distracted, practically leaping to her feet every time the bar door opened, sure that it was Viking coming back from the bank.
“Geez, girl,” Cole said. “You’re like a cat on a hot tin roof, with the jumping up and down and whirling around every time the door opens. What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing.” She took a massive gulp of juice, scrambled for some explanation that would satisfy the very curious Cole.“I just think that I’m forgetting something.”
“Like what?”
“Dunno.”
“It’ll come to you.” Cole refilled her glass. “Now, will you take a breath and calm down? You’re making me tense, and I sure as hell haven’t forgotten anything.”
The door opened and once again, Iris swung around on her stool to look… and this time, Viking was standing there. Right away, she relaxed completely and a huge, stupid smile broke out across her face.
“Ahhhh,” Cole said. “ Now I get it. I should have guessed.”
“Get what?” Iris asked breathlessly as she watched Viking make his way over to her. “Guess what?”
“Sugar, I might not be the smartest man wandering around this place, but I’m no idiot. Besides, my job is to notice everything and everyone, and see when people are acting out of character. I know what nerves look like.”
“Nerves?”
“Yeah, nerves. You’re nervous and excited about something, so let me try to guess what that might be.” He shot Viking a look then glanced back at her, his dark eyes dancing at her obvious mortification. “Hmmm… something about you and Viking…”
“Shut up,” she whispered. “I am begging you.”
“Begging, huh?”
“Yes. Begging .”
“How about this, sweetheart: you make me some of that amazing cheese bread tomorrow, and I’ll forget this whole conversation.”
“Blackmail!”
“Yep. Is it working?”
“It is,” she said grudgingly. “Well played.”
“Viking! What’s going on, man?” He gave Viking a huge grin. “Looking spiffy.”
Viking took off his suit jacket with a deep sign, rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up and over his massive forearms. “I’ll be thrilled to get out of this monkey suit, man. It’s almost itchy on me, you know?”
“Maybe you should go upstairs and take it off,” Cole said with a straight face. “Maybe Iris can help with that.”
Viking started, stared at his MC brother. “ Huh ?”
“You promised !” Iris exclaimed. “No cheese bread for you, traitor!”
“It was worth it.” Cole grinned, clearly feeling zero shame. “So… you want a drink before you guys retire for what will surely be an eventful evening?”
“Nothing for me, thank you,” she said with as much icy dignity as she could summon. “Viking?”
“Pass. Thanks, man.”
Cole nodded affably, gave Iris a wink, and sauntered over to Vixen to take her drinks order.
“How did it go?” she asked, trying to sound semi-calm and not at all rattled by Cole. “At the bank?”
“Good. All done.”
“That’s great.”
“Baby?”
“Yes?”
“ On your feet,” he said, pulling her up with one gentle tug. “ I ’ m taking you upstairs to my room… and then I ’ m taking you.”
Her knees almost gave out beneath her, but she nodded. Without a word, they slipped away quietly, but Cole watched them go and he grinned to himself. Yeah, he enjoyed teasing and taunting the people that he cared about, but when it came right down to it, he was a sucker for all things to do with love.
Viking and Iris walked up the stairs holding hands, and when they reached his room, Viking didn’t even bother to turn on the light. He kicked the door closed behind them, picked Iris up without a word and kissed her.
She gasped in shock at his easy strength, then kicked off her canvas shoes and wrapped her legs around his waist, returning his kisses wildly. She had no hesitation or fear about this, despite the fact that she hadn’t ever really been satisfied by sex, even before the nightmare that was Gideon. With her exes, it had always been pleasant, she supposed, but certainly not mind-blowing in the way that she'd heard it was supposed to be, though that may well have been the influence of drugs. She was sure that if anyone was going to show her the real joy of sex, it was this man.
He carried her through the whole room in four steps, never leaving her sweet lips; she gave a small scream when he threw her on the bed. He stood over her now, shedding his clothes at roughly the speed of light. When she reached for the bottom of her dress, he shook his head.
“ No. ” His voice was thick with desire. “ I undress you.”
Her hands fell away and she watched, breathless, as the last of his clothing hit the floor. There he was, his cock reaching for her, the faint light from the moon playing on the ripples of his muscles. She licked her lips, sure that no man had ever looked better than Viking did right this second.
He came to her now, flipped her over onto her stomach. Slowly, he lowered the zipper at the back of her dress. Her smooth skin was revealed one tantalizing inch at a time, and he mouthed hot kisses on her until she was wriggling with need. But still he made her wait, his control perfect. His tongue traced the curve of her spine, nuzzled her lower back, nipped her ass. When his hand slid under her body and stroked her pussy through plain white cotton, she lifted her hips off the bed, shameless in her wanting for him.
“Ah! Viking!”
“You're so delicious,” he murmured against her neck. “The whole time I was at the bank, being all serious and signing financial documents, I was dying to taste you again. It was all I could think of.”
He turned her over to face him, pulling the dress off her shoulders. He lowered the cups of her bra to expose her breasts and she moaned in anticipation. His hot breath was everywhere all of a sudden: her cheeks, her lips, her collarbone, her nipples. The man's mouth was nothing short of miraculous, and Iris seriously wondered if anything had ever felt so good.
Gently, Viking tugged her dress over her hips, down her legs and threw it on the chair. Her bra and panties soon followed and then she was naked under him, all welcoming and soft.
“You are so beautiful,” he said. “The most beautiful thing that I’ve ever seen.”
She blushed and lowered her eyes.
“Nuh-uh. No way you don't accept a compliment from me now.” He forced her chin up and held her eyes. “I'm about to be inside you for the first time... you need to believe what I'm telling you in this moment. You need to trust me.”
“I do," she whispered. "I trust you with my life. I trust you with everything.”
He took her in his strong arms and held her tight and close, just let their hearts beat at the same time. He kissed her forehead, ran his hands over her shoulders.
“You sure you want this with me, Iris? You sure I'm a man you want to let into your body?”
“Yes, I'm sure.” She pulled back to see his face. “I feel like…”
Her hesitation worried him. “What?”
“Like you're meant to be inside my body... like my body wants yours there.” She blushed. “I know it's stupid.”
“No, it’s not.” He was staring down at her with his usual blazing intensity. “I feel the same way, baby. God, you feel like home to me.”
Suddenly, tears were in her eyes. His words hit her deep, touched on that part of her that was always searching for a place to call home. She’d hoped so hard for so long that the Garden with her sisters could have been home, and that had all crumbled to dust. But Viking…she belonged with him and to him, and she longed for him to belong with her and to her, too.
He saw the sparkle of tears, and his face softened in that way that brought her to her knees every single time that she saw it. The fact that she could make this tough, lethal man look like this was nothing short of astounding.
“ Iris, ” he said. “Don't cry.”
“I'm not crying.”
He cocked his head. “ No? ”
“Not really.” She wiped the tears away. “I mean, I am, but I’m actually happy.”
“Yeah, me too.” He moved her onto her back now and loomed above her, his upper body massive. “I like making you feel good.”
Iris smiled at him now. “You want to make me feel even better?”
“Hell, yeah. Will you let me?”
“ Yes. ” She arched against him. “You know I will. You know it’s what I want more than anything.”
He kissed the length of her body, listening to her breathing change as he worked his way down. Her first orgasm was on his finger and tongue, and he smiled when her nails dug into his upper back as she called his name, over and over. She was still recovering when he grabbed a condom from the bedside table and rolled it on, his hands stroking her soaked pussy. Gently, he parted her lips and watched her face to see if she winced.
“You're not too sore from last night ? I was pretty… erm… vigorous,” he said. “If you are, we can wait.”
“ No. ” She gasped as his fingers slid inside her again. “No, I'm OK now.”
“I don't want to hurt you. Not ever.”
“You won't, Viking. I don't think you even have the first idea how to hurt me.”
He paused, her words settling in his heart. He had no clue how all of this was going to go once she saved up her money and left Satan’s Bar, but he did know one thing: he was going to fight like hell to keep her with him. He'd do damn near anything now to hold on to this woman and her tough vulnerability. Without her, his life just wasn't complete – he needed her by his side to feel whole.
Viking lay on his back, pulling her up and on to him. She came willingly, even eagerly, not the slightest bit self-conscious about her small breasts anymore. Viking's unquestioning adoration of every inch of her body had made her look at herself in a whole new light; she now saw herself as unabashedly sexy. It was funny what pure desire could do, and every time she saw that hungry look in his eyes, she knew that she was beautiful to Viking.
“You’re in control here, baby,” he said. “You choose when it happens.”
“Hmmmm.” She rubbed herself against him, loving how his whole body jumped. “How about – now ?”
She lowered herself onto him and took him into her body for the first time, and they both gasped. Viking's hands were on her hips, guiding and steadying her and she sank down slowly, an inch at a time. When he was inside her all the way, she shut her eyes to savor it. His cock felt incredible: its hot length pushing into her deeper and farther than anyone ever had. Iris had never understood before now just what it meant to be taken , to be filled ... but Viking did both and she was shaken by how much she needed both from him.
He looked up at her, loving the way her hair cascaded over her shoulders and breasts. She was like a dark angel, pure and innocent, but also wicked, mouthwatering temptation. When she opened her eyes and gazed down at him, he felt a wave of tenderness threaten to wash him away. She made him want things that he'd never even thought about before: marriage and kids, a mortgage and a minivan. He smiled at her and she smiled back.
“You feel so damn good, baby,” he said. “ I could stay right here like this forever.”
“ Yeah?” She rolled her hips and he exhaled, hard. “ Forever, huh?”
“ Not if you keep doing that,” he said through gritted teeth.
“ Really?” She moved faster, her body tightening and releasing on his cock. “ Why not?”
“ Iris…”
“Elle.”
Viking’s heart stopped dead in his chest, then started beating again double-time. Had she just –
“Your name is Elle?”
“Yes.” She lowered her face to his, whispered against his lips. “And I know that you have another name, but frankly, I think ‘Viking’ suits you better than whatever name you were born with.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I want you to fuck me like a savage… hard and deep.”
His breath caught at her words, at the image that they conjured up. “You mean that?”
“Oh yes. Yes, I mean that.” She leaned back all the way, riding his cock without mercy, her rippling pussy driving him insane. “Fuck me, Viking. Now .”
He growled deep in his throat and without a word, he sat up, flipped her over. She gasped in shock, amazed at how quickly a man Viking's size could move. Then right away, she forgot her surprise, awash in the sensation of having him even deeper inside of her. He pulled out, slid back in, his one hand holding her in place, the other above her head, taking his weight. He was gorgeous and wild and he was inside her body. She gave a sharp cry as he nipped her breast and thrust again, loving the combination of pleasure and pain.
“You ready for me?” he ground out. “I said I'd take you, baby, and that's what I intend to do.”
“ Yes. ” The word ended on a moan as he sucked her nipple into his mouth. “Take me, Viking... please.”
Her words sent his desire straight into overdrive. He did as she begged and took her hard, so hard that the bed banged against the wall, over and over. His face was buried in her delicate throat and he inhaled her scent, pulled it deep into his pores, trying to make her sweetness an actual, physical part of himself.
Elle couldn't believe how he moved on her, in her. She had a crashing orgasm within seconds and when he groaned and raised her legs above her head, she felt another one start to build. He closed his eyes and threw his head back, and the look of rapture on that handsome face was dazzling. She gripped the bed sheets under her straining, writhing body, moving with him again and again, his rhythm perfect and amazing. Their pace increased, increased again. They were both breathless, panting, moaning, out of control.
Elle jolted under him as he plunged deep. He stretched her, filled her, took her – and he did it completely. She gasped for air, and all she knew in the whole universe was how good his cock felt in her body. He soothed an ache deep inside her, but he also intensified it, made it throb more keenly. She needed more, she needed all of him.
He planted his hands on the bed next to her head, straightened his arms. He raised himself above her, his chest massive and muscled, and he started to move. His powerful hips rocked back and forth, his rhythm smooth and steady. Perfect . She arched her back, wrapped her legs around him, dug her nails and heels into the small of his back.
“ Closer,” she begged, beyond shame. “ Harder. Deeper. More .”
He stopped thrusting now, so suddenly that she blinked up at him in confusion. His face was blazing with intensity, with sheer lust and want – but he wasn ’ t moving a muscle. She froze, terrified. Was he going to stop?
“ This is what it feels like when you choose a man, baby,” he growled. “ It ’ s hot and it ’ s hard and it goes deep. No pretending it isn’t happening, no running from it, no floating out of your body to defend yourself from what’s going on. It just is , baby, and you ’ ve got to let go. Just let it happen. Let me make love to you.” His hand ran over her face roughly. “ Trust me to make love to you.”
His words smashed her in half. Just destroyed her, utterly. Elle didn ’ t know where to look, or what to say, or even what to feel. Those blazing brown eyes stripped away every single defense she ’ d ever constructed, those rough, tender hands wrenched away every iota of control she ’ d worked so hard to gain. Viking wrecked her with those words – and she ’ d never felt stronger, or more beautiful, or more alive.
“ Viking…” Her voice and eyes were steady, bright, and he rejoiced to see it. “ Yes .”
He fell onto her now, his body stretched the entire length of hers. He lowered his forehead to hers, rained kisses all over her gorgeous face. When she started to beg again, he obliged her with faster, harder, deeper thrusts, needing to both see and feel her come again.
Elle was close… so close that she could taste her climax. She lifted her hips, angling so that his cock rubbed her throbbing clit with every push in and pull out. That pressure was all she needed, and she gave a wild cry as she started to go over.
“ Let go, Elle. Just fall, baby.” His fingers tightened in her tangled hair; his eyes burned into her. “ Trust me to catch you. Trust yourself to fly.”
With an untamed cry that came from Elle ’ s wildest, hungriest place, she flew. She unraveled around him, unleashed her darkest and most-unnamed needs on him. She gave him her entire soul in this second, and he knew it. She was his, all his, and possession blasted through him, hot and fierce.
Fucking mine.
Her pussy clenched him in pulsing waves, and that was good – but the look on her face as she surrendered completely to him – really and truly – for the first time, was even better. It was that look of absolute abandon that set off his own orgasm, and he groaned her name as he detonated, his voice husky and molten.
His climax stole the breath and bones right out of him and he collapsed on top of her, catching himself just in time. She was still convulsing under him and all around his cock, and her passionate cries were the most beautiful things he'd ever heard. She was totally undone and abandoned, and it made her all that more stunning to him.
Slowly, they relaxed. They didn't speak, didn't even move for a long time. Viking was still in her sweet, amazing body, and damned if he ’ d be rushing to pull out. He kissed her, a lingering, loving kiss that made her toes curl. He stroked her tousled hair, stroked her lips with his tongue. She responded, totally giving herself to him. Again.
At last, reluctantly, cursing his body ’ s natural functions, he slipped out of her. Together, they sighed, sighs of both completion and regret. Viking rolled off the condom, tied the end, dropped it on the floor. Not the classiest thing to do, and not something that he ’ d normally do, but no way he was leaving this bed quite yet. He was worried that Elle may be feeling vulnerable or shaken, and he wasn ’ t about to leave her alone. Not even for the thirty seconds it ’ d take to dart to the bathroom and back again.
“ You were incredible, baby,” he said. “ So open and trusting. So fucking hot .”
“ I was incredible?” she said, incredulous. “ Good Christ, Viking… you damn near killed me, and I didn ’ t even mind .”
His hands ran over her delicate curves, possessive and protective. “ So, you’re OK?”
“Never better.” She mouthed a tiny kiss on his chest. “I promise. I’m really, really OK.”
“Then I just need to do something, really quick.” He sat up, grabbed the condom off the floor. “ I ’ ll be right back.”
She nodded and stretched out in the bed, looking for all the world like a sated little kitten. He couldn ’ t get back to her fast enough, and he dragged her into his arms the second he climbed back into bed. She looked safe and cozy and nestled against his large body, just curled up to him and closed her eyes. Almost immediately, Elle fell into a deep sleep, her breathing light, her beautiful face sweet and relaxed.
He sighed now, amazed and grateful that this woman was in his life, in his bed. In his heart. He barely deserved her, but now that he had her, really had her, he wasn ’ t letting her go. She was his. He was hers. There was just fucking nothing more to be said. They’d work it all out, whatever it would look like in the future.
“Goodnight, Elle,” he whispered. “Sweet dreams, baby. Nothing but sweet dreams ever again.”
**
Elle turned over in bed, trying to move her small body carefully so she didn’t wake up Viking. His bed was a bit bigger than hers, but the truth was that he barely got into it comfortably, so having her in it meant that they’d both had a pretty sleepless night.
Well, maybe the fact that they’d made love twice more had a little something to do with them not sleeping too. Not that she was sorry: she’d work the next ten hours as easy as walking through the park on a sunny day. Her body felt light and airy, like she’d just let go of ten tons of weight, like Viking had unlocked and released something in her that she’d been carrying around. Even her back and shoulders, which always felt weighed down physically by the ink across them, seemed to have sprouted wings.
She slipped out of bed, turned off the alarm before it went off. It was almost six o’clock, and she decided to just let Viking sleep in. She’d make fresh coffee and his favorite cherry muffins, then surprise him with breakfast in bed. With a bit of luck, he’d grab her by the wrist and pull her back into his arms, and make her late for her shift at ten o’clock. She was sure that Rebel would understand this once.
Moving as quietly as possible, Elle opened the door and went to her room to grab a change of clothes. Viking hadn’t turned on the motion sensors last night, she knew, so she was able to move around without setting off any alarms and disturbing his slumber. She got dressed and snuck past his bedroom again, pausing to peek inside one more time.
Elle drank in that gorgeous chest rising and falling steadily, those massive tattooed arms that felt like the only home that she’d ever had. That hard face that broke into a smile when he saw her, those warm eyes hot with desire for her. Silently, she thanked him for every single thing that he’d taught her and given her; he’d introduced her to real physical pleasure, to the notion of choice, to a man’s body that didn’t scare her or shame her. He’d shown her that she was worthy of happiness and joy. Maybe even love, one day.
She closed his door quietly, and headed down to the kitchen. She turned on all the lights, opened the fridge to grab what she needed to get started and that’s when she remembered what she had forgotten the night before. She was out of eggs.
“Damn,” she said to the mixing bowl on the counter. “This is what I get for being distracted by the sexiest man alive. Guess I’m going to the store.”
Back upstairs she went to get her coat, boots, and some money, moving silently past Viking’s room. She scribbled a quick note on a bar receipt and left it on the counter, just in case Viking woke up and came looking for her. She didn’t want him to worry.
The bar door swung closed behind her and she turned to face the purple sunrise over the Rockies, the kind that was cold and remote and yet undeniably beautiful. Elle lifted her face to all of that awesome wild beauty, and breathed another silent thank you to Viking, this time for bringing her to this place. Her whole life right now was like a dream, one that she was afraid she would wake up from, and find herself back in the Garden basement being punished for trying to run away.
But that was ridiculous: nobody could take her away from this life that she’d been partly forced into, and that she now fully chose. She was safe. She was happy. She was free.
Elle hurried across the parking lot to the street. There was a small convenience store about fifty feet down and she knew that it opened at five. She wouldn’t be gone long.
She barely looked at the white van parked at the very edge of the lot, didn’t even think that it was odd. The guys from the garage often parked vehicles out there when the jobs got backed up and space inside was tight. That was when she heard doors opening and footsteps crunching in the snow.
Elle didn’t make it to the street.