Chapter 20 #2
She stares at me. Then her hair flies around her face as she shakes her head vigorously.
“I don’t care. Money means nothing to me.
Freedom to do what I want is everything I need.
If I end up completing my degree, getting a job, and supporting myself, that’s worth more.
I don’t hold it against you.” Her last sentence has me perplexed for a moment.
She sees my confusion and clarifies, “That you’re doing this, being here with me just for the money. ”
I bark a short laugh. “I haven’t thought about the money in days.
” Grimacing, I admit, “At first, it was what kept me going. But despite my fuckin’ ankle…
” I tap my leg to reinforce what I mean and give her a sideways glance as I correct.
“I didn’t get the bad end of this deal. I won the fuckin’ lottery. I enjoy your company.”
“I enjoy yours too,” she admits. Then chuckles, “Though I didn’t expect to.”
I move closer and put my arm around her, pulling her to me and placing a kiss on the top of her head. It’s then she moves her face upward, and I can’t resist. Just like I’d done the night before, I lower my head and take her lips.
She melts into me as I deepen the kiss. The birdsong is no longer audible as I lose myself in everything Ames, her gentle, untutored caresses as she follows my lead, making my cock twitch as I wonder what else I could teach her.
Our tongues move together, making me groan as she tastes so sweet.
And that little moan she gives in response sends tremors through me, shooting straight to my dick.
Suddenly, she moves, changing position so she can throw her leg over and straddle me, then goes to immediately resume the kiss.
Holding her just inches away, I groan as I issue a warning. “You’re heading into dangerous territory, darlin’.” Her shorts covered pussy is resting only an inch from my dick, and though it must be my imagination, I swear I can feel the heat of her core through the denim covering my crotch.
“Maybe I want dangerous,” she murmurs, right next to my ear.
I’m no saint, I’m holding on by a thread that’s getting tighter at every passing moment and is ready to snap. My cock thinks stripping her bare and taking her here is the best idea it’s ever had, and my brain is struggling to come up with any argument.
We’re married and got the piece of paper to prove it, no one could criticise…
But on the other hand, we’re married. This wouldn’t be a fling.
I couldn’t discard her if it all turned to shit.
I couldn’t turn my back on her, tell her to get dressed, and send her on her way.
The idea of commitment is like a bucket of cold water being thrown over my head.
“We can’t.” I say the words while physically lifting her off me.
“Flynn?” She manages to sound hesitant, confused, and hurt, all the emotions blending together.
“I don’t do relationships.”
She thinks about that for a moment. “What if all I want is sex?” Then tries to encourage me. “I don’t want to die a virgin.”
Ignoring the confirmation of her status, which I’d already suspected, I growl, “You’re not going to fuckin’ die.
Not on my watch. Not on the Kings. We’ve got your back.
” Pursing my lips, I add, “Ames, this is just a blip on the horizon, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you.
You’ll find a good man to gift your virginity to, one who’ll give you everything, the house, the white picket fence. ”
Her mouth thins stubbornly. “Who the fuck cares about a body count? What if I want my first to be you? Even if that’s all you are prepared to offer.”
“Yeah?” I harden my voice deliberately. “We play around? We fuck? Then what? We’re already playing house, what if you come to believe it’s real?”
Her eyes rise in challenge. “What if you do?”
I don’t dismiss it. Honestly, she’s the first woman I’ve ever let myself become even this close to.
And I’m not blind to the possibility, weak though it is, that if we take this next step, it might be me finding out she’s as addictive as my brothers have found their old ladies.
And she’s not for me, she’s not come from trash, not been discarded all the way throughout her life.
We’re totally different. She’s got as much, if not even more of a chance of coming to her senses as I do.
“If we’re not on the same page, anything between us could become fuckin’ awkward fast.”
Practicalities also go through my head. I’ve got a condom or two.
I never go unprepared. But with no end in sight to our stay in the cabin, my meagre supplies won’t last long.
If she’s not on birth control, and we become addicted to each other, she could end up getting pregnant fast—which would tie her to me.
And get the club its money sooner. Fuck my share.
She alone would be enough of a prize. To see her belly swelling with my kid…
For the first time, I understand why Saint changed when he saw Pippa growing round with his child.
What the fuck’s gotten into me? Suddenly, I realise how much I want this, how much I want her. And how I’m just a stone’s throw away from saying fuck it all and taking what she’s offering me.
But not now, not like this. She deserves to be treated like the lady she is. A bench in the open is no place to lose her virginity. And I need to know how to deal with the dangerous, alien thoughts that have entered my mind. Decide for once if I can really make the commitment she needs.
Using my hands, I lift her off me and place her back on the bench. I stand and adjust myself discreetly.
She gets to her feet fast, the action making her pert, braless tits bounce, almost shattering my resolve. “We can…”
“No,” I tell her firmly. “Not like this…” I’m about to explain I’m not turning her down, that I want to do things properly, but I don’t have a chance as my phone rings. I hold up a finger, indicating she should wait.
“Prez?” I walk a distance away for privacy.
Bullseye’s voice booms into my ear. “You’ve got trouble heading your way, Brother. Fuck knows how, but Stone’s learned about the cabin.” In the background, I can hear shouted instructions and the throaty roar of a bike engine coming to life.
“We’re on our way, but he’s got a head start, and he’s not alone.
You’re going to have to run. Listen up, Rat.
Get up and over the mountain behind you.
The road does a switchback and a prospect will get a truck there to meet you.
You got it? You go directly north, up and over and keep fuckin’ going. ”
I suck in air as the realisation hits me. “She can, I can’t. I’ve wrecked my ankle. I won’t be able to make it more than a few yards.”
“Fuck, Bro.” I read a wealth of concern in his words, as well as hear his own engine start. “Hold the fort as best you can. We’ll be there as fast as possible. But, Rat, you’ve got to get her the fuck out of there.”