Chapter Eleven
Falcon
Viv’s breath warmed my chest. Her naked body was draped half across mine with one delicate hand resting just above my cock.
She wasn’t awake, not yet, but her fingers twitched as though she was dreaming about gripping me and shoving me down her throat.
Down boy, I reminded my cock. I shouldn’t have thought about sliding my cock between her lips because it was a one-way ticket to filthy thoughts.
My lips tipped up into a smile, and I couldn’t remember the last time I smiled to meet a new day.
Even when I woke up with a woman in my arms, I didn’t wake up smiling.
Usually I woke up all business to grab my shit and get the fuck out before she started talking about phone numbers and coffee dates.
But with Viv I had no thoughts of leaving.
All I wanted was to keep her close, so I slid a palm down the curve over her back until I reached the fleshy globes of her ass, pulling her fully on top of me until she gave a sleepy, appreciative hum.
With her eyes still closed, she pressed a kiss to my chest, somehow finding the spot right over my racing heart.
This woman. I kissed the top of her head, breathing in the feminine, floral scent of her.
It was faint but thankfully stronger than the cheap fabric softener on the motel sheets and mixed with the scent of sex and man in the air it was as potent as a shot of moonshine.
This fucking woman had the power to wreck all my hard-won resolve.
She was chaos and peace, sweet and sexy, all wrapped up in one stubborn as fuck, gorgeous package.
She was mine. She’d always been mine, even when she was on the run, even when she was in hiding while we were apart, she was mine.
Always had been.
Always will be.
Being with Viv had brought home a few hard truths.
The first was that I’d spent the past few years filling my life with the noise of the MC, nameless, faceless women, engines, booze, and tattoos.
It didn’t matter, not the booze or the woman, just enough to drown out the silence so I didn’t have to think about the woman who’d left me.
Who, I thought, went back to her rich prick fiancé.
But none of that noise had worked and I only realized it when she came back into my life, a whirlwind of trouble, chaos, and stubborn independence. Despite the shit with the Russians, having her back has brought me peace and I’d fight any motherfucker who threatened that peace.
Eventually, Viv stirred, stretching like a cat against my body before her eyes fluttered open and slammed into mine. Her smile, soft and sleepy, came instantly. It was so real, so goddamn genuine it slammed against my chest. “Morning,” she said on a low, gravelly whisper.
It was a good fucking morning. Better than any I could remember in recent history. “Good morning.”
Her fingertips danced along my semi-chub and she gasped, the sound so fucking sexy I knew one of us needed to back the fuck up or we’d spend another day here instead of the clubhouse. And, goddammit, I didn’t have a day to spare.
I gripped her wrist and closed my eyes. “We should shower.” I pushed the words past my lips because they were necessary, not because I wanted to. “We gotta get back to the clubhouse.”
Her smile faltered just as I knew it would. She stared at me as if she wanted to argue before she thought twice and nodded, climbing silently from the bed before she disappeared into the bathroom.
I tried to be a fucking gentleman. Tried to give her the space she needed to get ready for the day, but I only lasted about three minutes after the shower came on. Then I was out of the bed and slipping behind her into the shower.
“I thought we didn’t have time.”
“We don’t,” I told her as I proceeded to make time to give her two more orgasms before the water turned lukewarm and then cold. I took my time because I had a feeling things would change—again—once we were back at the clubhouse.
I was just as reluctant to leave this little bubble as I’d been three years ago but now there was TJ to think about. And his mom. When she hopped on the back of my bike and pressed those curves against mine, I knew without a fucking doubt she was exactly where she belonged.
***
The ride to the clubhouse was tense as fuck. I knew the Russians were out there somewhere, but not knowing where, meant they could be anywhere waiting to ambush us. Thankfully, we made it to the clubhouse without any incidents.
As soon as the door opened, a streak of blond curls rushed towards us, wrapping his arms around my legs. “Dada!” He squeezed tight, squealing when I gripped his little body and lifted him in the air.
“Hey little man. You been good for Uncle Diesel and Aunt Ellie?”
He nodded and then his eyes widened and he launched from my hold and straight at Viv. “Mama! Mama! Mama!”
Viv reached out wordlessly, grabbing our son against her chest and holding him so damn tight I thought she would crush him. She held him as though he was the only thing keeping her sane, which he probably was.
Watching them together, the love and the connection they shared, nearly knocked me on my ass. They were, without a doubt, my whole fucking world.
I know she said she had to leave, but I also knew that wasn’t what she really wanted. What she wanted was for her and our son to be safe, and I was gonna do everything in my power to make sure that happened.
Viv whispered something into his hair, kissed his temple, then caught my eyes over his shoulder. No walls, no sharp edges. Just a woman who loved her kid more than her own life. “C’mon sweetheart, help me put away my things.”
“Mama gone?”
Her smile dimmed but it lasted less than a second. “Yeah, Mama had some work to take care of. Did you have fun here?”
TJ nodded and then launched into a tale of his night with his new friends and Chopper the bulldog. It was half English and half baby babble, and I smiled because I couldn’t wait to become fluent in baby babble.
“Why don’t you tell me all about it while I put my things away,” she asked gently, watching me again with an unreadable expression on her face.
“Okay, Mama.”
“We’ll be in… there,” she said, nodding to the room where her things still sat.
“I’ll go check in with the guys,” I said nervously, reluctant to leave her side and not just because I was worried that she’d run again.
I thought I was worried about that too.
But I realized I just wanted to have her near me, goddammit.
I let out a sigh. Now wasn’t the time for daydreaming. It was time for business, so I went in search of Diesel and Rocky, and found T-Bone, Gio, Slate, and Sniper all inside the office looking serious as fuck.
“Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.” T-Bone flashed a teasing, knowing smile. “Viv come back with you?”
I nodded. “For now. She’s still skittish, still thinks her leaving is best for the rest of us.” I shook my head and took a seat, my expression grim. “It was the fucking Russians, right?” The truth was they weren’t our only enemies, just the newest, so I had to ask.
Slate nodded, his expression more fucked than my own.
The screens fixed to the wall were all black and the one on his laptop looked like some old ass Greek shit.
“Yeah, it was definitely the Russians. I spent all night tapping into emergency dispatch until I got the right call. The accent was thick as fuck, definitely Russian. But even better,” he began with a hint of a smile.
“The call came from a burner purchased with a credit card tied to the Petrov Bratva.”
“That’s about as fucking definitive as you can get,” I grunted.
“Russian fuckers,” Gio agreed and smacked the table.
“The caller said we were keeping a woman against her will,” Slate explained. “They gave our address like they were reading it from a piece of mail. “Cross is coming by later to speak to the victim, seeing as there was no sign of her when he and his boys rocked up yesterday.”
“That’s gonna be a fight.”
Deep chuckles sounded around the room. “Better you than me,” Diesel shot my way. “But it has to be done.”
“It will be,” I promised. I understood her reluctance, but Diesel was right, if Sheriff Cross didn’t talk to her he’d have no choice but to investigate the claims himself before he could clear it. “I’ll talk to her.”
My mind wandered back to Viv. Was she already planning another escape from the clubhouse or was she resigned to stay for a while? I needed to get her to trust me first, which was rich considering she was the one who up and left.
“You good with that, Falcon?” Rocky’s voice was full of amusement, which meant I missed something important.
“Yep. Sure.” I knew I was busted but with these guys you couldn’t give an inch, or they’d bust your balls all day.
“Don’t worry about the security for the whorehouses, or your shifts at the gun range, the auto shop, and the tattoo parlor,” Diesel explained, his words tense. “Just focus on keeping Viv safe.”
“And here,” Rocky added, his tone more serious than it usually was.
“Yeah,” T-Bone laughed. “You done staring off like a lovesick asshole?”
I flipped him off. “Are you saying I look like you?” The fucker’s been walking around with heart eyes since he met Faith.
He shot me a bird right back before pushing away from the table.
One by one the brothers left until it was just me, Rocky, and Diesel.
Slate had gone back to his office, digging into the Russians was my guess.
Diesel’s gaze was steady on me, no hint of teasing found.
“Vivian is your responsibility, Falcon. You’re in charge of her protection. Is that gonna be a problem?”
I didn’t even hesitate. “Nope.”
He arched a brow.
I met his doubt head-on. “Not on my end anyway. She might think she’s leaving but TJ needs her. He needs both of us and I’ll make damn sure that happens.”
A long silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken doubts and unanswered questions. “Good,” he said finally. “Handle it.”
“Consider it handled.” The last fucking thing I wanted was to see Viv hurt and now that I was solely responsible for her safety, I wouldn’t fuck it up.
Viv was mine and I wasn’t letting her go.
Not again.