Chapter 8
Chapter eight
Nitro
Riley was dead asleep in my arms. My fingertips wandered in idle circles on her bare back while she rested her head on my chest.
We just met this week. There’s no way you’re thinking about marriage already.
If only she knew what flooded my mind when it came to her. Having her as my wife. Carrying our baby. Filling a house with kids. Growing old alongside her and watching the laugh lines form around her sparkling eyes. Celebrating every Christmas together for the rest of our lives.
My phone rang, muffled somewhere from the floor. I grumbled under my breath and carefully extricated myself from Riley. Searching for my pants, I grabbed them and rummaged around in my pockets until I found my phone.
“Got that info you wanted,” Trooper said.
I glanced back at Riley’s sleeping form as I slipped into the bathroom and shut the door. Wedging the phone against my shoulder, I tugged on my pants.
“I’m listening. Give me everything you have.”
“Chett Kramer has a history of assault and battery on several other women, but they did not press charges.”
I closed my eyes and exhaled, boiling with anger. He probably scared the shit out of them until they backed down. Trooper continued.
“With his last girlfriend, he stripped her savings clean. Took every penny and then shacked up with another woman.”
I didn’t think it was possible for me to hate this guy even more than I already did.
“Please tell me you have an address,” I said.
“Nothing permanent, unfortunately,” Trooper said. “His credit is a mess thanks to a gambling addiction. So, he doesn’t stay in one place for too long. It looks like he latches onto one woman after another. He moves in with them, bleeds them dry, then finds another target. Rinse and repeat.”
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.
“So, he’s in the wind?”
“Not quite.”
I could hear the grin in Trooper’s voice.
“He’s staying at a motel this weekend. I’ve got an address—”
“Send it to me,” I said, already on the move.
“Not so fast, tough guy,” Trooper said. “I want in on the action.”
“Trooper, this is my fight.”
He scoffed.
“Like hell it is, brother. If you’re hunting down this guy’s personal info, you’re going after him. And I know for a fact that’s biker business, not by-the-book security agency business.”
I pressed my lips together with a growl of frustration. He had a point. I kept the security agency squeaky clean for legal reasons. I didn’t want clients getting in trouble with the law.
But when it came to breaking the rules, that territory belonged to my club.
“Fine,” I said. “But just you. Not the whole crew. I don’t want to scare this guy off, all right?”
Trooper let out a whoop and hung up. Slipping out of the bathroom, I got dressed as quietly as I could so I didn’t wake Riley. Then I tiptoed to the side of her bed and leaned over, kissing her forehead.
“Everything is going to be okay, angel,” I whispered. “I promise.”
Trooper texted the motel’s address to me. It was a greasy little place outside of town. When I arrived, Trooper was already there, leaning against his bike in the snow.
Three more bikers from the Reckless Order MC were lined up on the road at a safe distance—Ironside, Psycho, and Bruiser. Among the club, they were the members who knew how to hit hard, fight mean, play dirty, and get away with it. They wouldn’t get in the way either unless I really needed backup.
“I told you to come alone,” I said, stepping out of my truck.
He shrugged.
“I did. They followed me.”
I narrowed my eyes, fixing him with a look to indicate I didn’t believe him. Trooper flashed me a grin.
“She’s cute, isn’t she?”
“Who?” I demanded.
“You’re on the war path for a girl. It’s obvious.”
I thought of Riley sleeping soundly in her home. I thought of how scared she’d been after the altercation with her ex.
“I won’t be introducing you bastards to her anytime soon,” I said, marching up to the motel.
Trooper trotted along behind me.
“Come on. Why not? We just want to welcome her into the family.”
My gaze panned over the door numbers until I found room ten, where Kramer was staying. I glanced back over my shoulder at Trooper.
“Because she doesn’t even know I’m planning to propose yet. So, I don’t need you knuckleheads chasing her off with your antics.”
Then I rammed my shoulder against the door. The lock splintered and the door burst open. Kramer was seated in front of the television in his boxer shorts with a case of beer on the table next to him.
“What the fuck?”
He rose from his chair and before he could take a swing at me, I grabbed his wrist and twisted until the bone snapped. Kramer squealed like the pig he is.
“That’s what you get for laying your hands on my woman,” I said.
“Are you fucking crazy?” Kramer screeched, cradling his broken wrist.
“Trust me, buddy,” Trooper said. “You’re lucky he’s not cutting your balls off and using them as Christmas ornaments.”
“Who the hell are you?” Kramer demanded.
Trooper grinned.
“Just a spectator who came to watch the show. I love seeing a creep get his ass kicked.”
Kramer turned five shades of red in the span of two seconds. He lunged at me, but Trooper stuck his foot out. Kramer tripped and went sprawling on his back. I crouched down next to him and grabbed the front of his shirt, yanking him up to my face.
“Merry fucking Christmas,” I said. “Stay away from my future wife.”
Releasing him with disgust, I walked out, eager to get home to Riley.
Riley stretched with a yawn when I arrived. She rubbed her eyes and attempted to tame the wild halo of frizzy curls around her head.
“Where were you?” she said with a sleepy little pout. “I woke up and you were gone.”
“I’m here now, angel. I was just working.”
She squinted at me, suspicious. I kissed that little worry line between her brows until it smoothed away. Then I stripped off my clothes, coaxing her pussy open with my fingers again. I’d barely been away from her for an hour and it was driving me crazy.
“Remember what you said to me last night?” I asked.
Riley whimpered, fucking herself on my fingers.
“I don’t—I said a lot of things. I don’t remember.”
Fumbling for a condom, I barely got it on before I was plunging inside her again, watching the ecstasy play across her beautiful face.
“You said that I couldn’t possibly be thinking about marriage,” I said.
Riley gave a shaky exhale with a moan. I smoothed her hair back from her forehead, making sure she looked at me
“I want you to marry me, Riley,” I said. “I’ve known practically since the moment I met you.”
Her walls clenched around my cock with a vise-like grip. I grunted, thrusting balls-deep with surprise.
“Wh-what?” she stammered. “You can’t mean—you’re not serious.”
“I’ll wait,” I said. “I know it’s too fast. I know you need time after all this bullshit with your ex. I’ll be here when you need me, baby. Always.”
Confusion clouded Riley’s eyes as she tried to make sense of this. Then she locked her arms and legs around me, burying her face in my neck. Clinging to me for dear life.
I couldn’t get close enough, couldn’t get deep enough. I sealed my mouth to hers, sucking on her sweet tongue to match the rhythm of every stroke. I wasn’t working a protection detail anymore. This was more than just a job.
This woman would be my wife one day. And I would stop at nothing to keep her safe.
A desperate whine rose in Riley’s throat. She shuddered, rolling her hips to meet mine. I grabbed her chin, tilting her head to meet my gaze.
“Come on my cock, angel,” I said. “Fuck, that’s it, squeeze me tight. Show me how much you love it when I fill you up like this. When you feel every fucking inch—”
She shattered, scraping her nails down my back with a delicious burn. I rutted into her, again and again, swallowing her moans with a soul-sucking kiss.
“Yes,” she gasped, fisting her hands in my hair. Her thighs bracketed my hips. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Please. Fuck, make me your wife.”
Her words flipped a switch. Gripping her waist, I raised her up, arching her back in the process, hitting a fresh angle that drew a strangled cry from her pretty throat.
I pounded into her, a madman obsessed. Her cream coated my cock in a slippery mess.
I pressed my thumb to her clit, and we tumbled over the edge together.
I buried deep into her pussy with one final thrust, groaning as my cock seemed to pump endlessly.
One day soon, I’d be emptying into her, filling that soft pudge of her belly with our baby.
I slumped against Riley, covering her with my body. Pressing her into the mattress. She smiled as she kissed me, threading her fingers through my hair.
“Merry Christmas, my husband-to-be.”