Chapter Eighteen
Jade
I leaned into the final curve as we thundered through the gates of the Kiss of Death compound, my body moving in perfect sync with Rip’s as his bike roared beneath us.
Six months ago, I’d learned to love riding with Rip.
It had been my freedom when I’d felt so trapped I couldn’t breathe.
Now I threw my head back and laughed as the wind whipped through my hair.
The vibration of the powerful engine between my thighs felt like freedom and personal power.
The three bikes pulled into formation with practiced precision.
Oktober led the pack with Mia behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist. Rip and I followed while Knuckles and Hannah brought up the rear.
The two of them had met us an hour outside of town and escorted us in.
Hannah had been my biggest cheerleader and hadn’t wanted to wait until we’d gotten home to see me after the weekend.
Road dust coated our jeans and leather cuts after the weekend trip through the back roads. My ass hurt from hours in the saddle, but I wouldn’t trade the feeling for anything in the world.
We parked and I swung my leg over the bike with practiced ease, my boots hitting the gravel with a satisfying crunch.
The leather cut on my back now was a comfortable weight and a constant reminder that I belonged here with Rip.
I knew the back of my vest held the words “Property of Rip” in proud black letters on a white background of the patch.
Words that once would have sent me into a panic now filled me with pride.
This wasn’t ownership. It was belonging.
Besides, he was my property as much as I was his.
“Good ride, baby?” Rip asked as he killed the engine and dismounted.
I ran my hand over his shoulder possessively, my fingers curling around the worn leather of his cut. “The best. Though my thighs might never forgive me.”
He grinned that wolfish smile that still made my stomach flutter. “Never heard you complain about sore thighs before.”
Oktober laughed as he helped Mia off their bike. Her photography equipment had been carefully packed into his saddlebags. She immediately pulled out her phone and started scrolling through pictures.
“We need to do that run again in the fall,” Oktober said. “The leaves will be changing.”
I nodded as I watched Rip unstrap our bags from the back of the bike. “As long as we hit that diner again. Those were the best waffles I ever had.”
“You should have seen her,” Rip said to the others, chuckling as he tattled on me. “Three plates. The waitress thought I was starving her.”
“Fuck you,” I said without heat. “I was hungry.”
Mia bumped her shoulder against mine. “Jade. Look at this one.” She held up her phone, showing me a photo she had taken at one of our stops.
I stood leaning against Rip’s bike, my head tilted toward the sun with my eyes closed.
The wind had blown my hair back from my face and the leather cut hung open, showing my tank top beneath. “Look at this badass bitch.”
I stared at the image, my breath catching slightly.
The woman in the photo bore almost no resemblance to the broken shell who had stumbled through Haven’s doors more than six months ago.
That woman had hunched her shoulders trying to disappear.
She had kept her eyes down and flinched at sudden movements.
She had been terrified of her own shadow.
This woman stood tall. Her face lit by the sun. Her body relaxed and confident.
“Send me that one,” I said quietly. “I want to frame it.”
Mia nodded, understanding in her eyes. Our friendship had taken time to rebuild. We both carried scars from Eric’s manipulation. But here we were on the other side of it all, stronger together than we had been before.
Oktober wrapped his arm around Mia’s waist and whispered something in her ear that made her laugh.
Whatever had passed between them this weekend had clearly strengthened their bond too.
They fit together like puzzle pieces, his rough edges smoothing out around her softness.
It made me so happy Mia had found such devotion and love with Oktober.
“You coming to the clubhouse?” Oktober asked. “Tiny said he was firing up the grill when we got back.”
Rip looked at me with a raised eyebrow, silently giving me the choice. That was another thing I loved about him. He never answered for me.
“Hell, yes,” I said, shouldering my bag. “I could eat a whole cow.”
We all laughed as we walked toward the clubhouse. Rip held my hand in his just as possessively as I clung to him. The compound bustled with activity as it always did. Music drifted from the open windows of the main building. I’d grown to love this place almost as much as the people in it.
Two prospects approached us, nodding respectfully. “Need help with those bags?” one asked.
“We got it,” Rip answered. “But you can grab us some beers inside.”
As we approached the clubhouse door, several members lounged outside smoking. They called out greetings. I raised my hand in acknowledgment, comfortable with the attention. These men who had once seemed so intimidating now felt like extended family.
Inside the large common room, Tiny stood behind the bar serving drinks. He raised a bottle in our direction. “Good timing. Food will be ready in twenty.”
“So how was the trip?” Hannah appeared beside us. Her eyes scanned my face with that penetrating gaze that still sometimes made me uncomfortable.
“Fucking awesome,” I said honestly. “We need to make it a regular thing.”
She nodded. “Knight and Violet might join next time. Violet said Knight wasn’t quite ready to leave Brynn after her last check-up.
Her kidney’s still doing great and Brynn says he’s a dork, but I think Knight has separation anxiety when she has to go to the doctor for any reason.
” Hannah rolled her eyes but spoiled the effect by grinning.
Knight might have missed the first part of Brynn’s life, but the man made up for missed time in spades from what I could see.
He’d devoted himself to Violet and Brynn and the entirety of Kiss of Death had backed him solidly.
The conversation flowed easily around me as more club members joined us.
Rip kept his arm around my waist, but I no longer needed the physical reassurance of his presence to feel safe here.
I belonged in this room just as much as anyone else.
The solid presence of Rip beside me served to remind me he’d always have my back.
A new life had seemed impossible when I’d first come to Haven. Though I still worked through shit in my head, still had nightmares, and still flinched at certain triggers, I felt whole in a way I never thought I would be again.
And completely fucking free.
It didn’t take us long to make our way through the compound to our loft.
He barely got the door closed behind us before I grabbed Rip by his cut and pushed him against the wall.
His back hit with a satisfying thud. The hunger that had been building inside me all day finally broke loose and let him know in no uncertain terms what I wanted.
Rip’s lips tasted like wind and freedom.
I kissed him eagerly, aggressively, while I worked at his belt buckle.
“Eager much?” he said against my mouth, but he’d already slid his hands under my shirt, calloused palms rough against my skin.
“Shut up,” I growled, yanking his belt free. “You know what watching you on that bike all day does to me. Having my pussy mashed so hard against your ass. I thought I was going to go off at each bump in the road. I swear you hit every pothole between Gatlinburg and Cherokee this morning.”
Rip chuckled. Until I dug my hand down the front of his jeans to rub his cock. Then he groaned, letting his head fall back against the wall.
When I got too impatient to feel him inside me, I shoved Rip’s jeans down his hips and wrapped my hand around his already hard cock. Rip sucked in a breath through his teeth. The power I felt in that moment rushed through me like pure adrenaline.
“Couch,” I demanded, letting him go. I toed off my boots as Rip stepped out of his jeans. We both shed clothing as we touched and kissed each other on the way to the closest horizontal surface in the form of the worn leather couch. Which was why I’d mentioned it.
Rip sat down heavily, his eyes never leaving mine as I followed him, my body completely naked. His gaze traveled over me with raw hunger branding me everywhere it touched.
“God fucking damn,” he breathed. “Look at you.”
I straddled his lap, my knees pressing into the leather on either side of his thighs. His hands immediately moved to grip my hips, his fingers digging into my flesh just hard enough to leave marks, making me impossibly wetter.
I guided his hand between my legs, grinding against his fingers to set the pace. Rip knew exactly how to touch me now, knew every spot that made me gasp and shudder. He worked his fingers against my clit in tight circles that had me arching my back.
“You gonna come for me, baby?” His voice rumbled from deep in his chest. “Wanna feel you come on my fingers before you take my cock.”
His crude words sent electricity down my spine. I grabbed his wrist, stilling his movement. “No. I want to come with you inside me.”
I reached between us to position his cock at my entrance.
Our eyes locked as I slowly lowered myself onto him, taking him inch by inch until he filled me completely.
For the first time, I took him bare. No condom separating us.
The stretch and burn made me gasp. I rested my forehead against his for a moment, savoring the fullness.
“Fuck, Jade,” he groaned. “So Goddamned hot and tight!”
I gripped his shoulders for leverage and began to move. Slow at first, finding the rhythm that made sparks shoot behind my eyes. Rip watched me with undisguised worship, his hands roaming over my body.