Chapter 22 The Pale Rider
The Pale Rider
Luke
The car stops, and I jerk awake. Fuck, I hate pain meds. Harper squeezes my hand.
“We’re at Caden’s.” She watches me carefully, as if I might break. She’s been hesitant with me, like she can see I’m in pain.
“Come on.” Caden opens the door and offers me his hand.
I want to refuse but know that I can’t. Sitting for so long at the party made me stiff. I take it and bite back the moan of pain clawing at my throat for release. Harper gets out on the other side.
“Come on, sweetheart.” Jack wraps his arm around Harper’s shoulders, and we all head to the back of Caden’s house. Instead of stopping in the basement, Caden leads us up to his room and straight into the bathroom.
He flips his toilet lid down and points. “Sit.”
I don’t have the energy to refuse. The pain meds have begun to wear off.
Jack moves to the tub and starts the water, testing for warmth. Harper wraps her arms around her waist as she leans in the doorway and watches. Always watching. Any other girl would yell at me for missing dinner with her mother. Not Harper.
Caden grabs my shirt. “Lift your right arm only.”
I grunt. “I don’t need a fucking babysitter.”
“Yeah, but you still need help,” he growls. He’s a stubborn bastard but I know he cares about me. This isn’t the first time he’s taken care of me after my father got angry.
I lift my arm and find Harper watching me. Her hand rests against her throat. When Caden lifts my shirt, she gasps and covers her mouth. It probably looks worse than it is. My ribs aren’t broken, just bruised. He eases the shirt down my left arm.
What if she decides I’m not worth this? What if she pulls away from me?
Jack goes and stands in front of Harper. “We’ll wait out here if you need any help.”
She stiffens, and her eyes go wide. “What?”
Jack tips up her chin. “Luke needs help, and he needs to explain his ass, so help him with a bath that will soothe his bruised body.”
Her eyes dart to me before returning to him, but she nods and comes into the bathroom, wringing her hands. Caden helps me stand.
“She can help with the rest.” Grabbing the back of my neck, he bumps his forehead against mine and says softly, “Let her in.”
Caden stops at Harper and tips her chin up to meet his eyes. “He’s had a rough night. Go easy on him, little nympho.”
Her head jerks in a nod. He kisses her before leaving the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.
Her brown eyes flash to mine as she walks over and checks the temperature of the bath. “Do you need help with the rest of your clothes?”
I could probably manage, but I won’t deny her help. “Yes, princess.”
Her face softens. She walks over to me. Her hands go to my belt without hesitation and undoes it, sliding it out of the loops.
As she works on the button and zipper of my jeans, her breath is harsh against my bare chest. Her thumb brushes over my bruise on my left hip.
I suck in a breath at the unexpected jolt of pain.
“Sorry,” she whispers. Her head rests against my chest for a moment.
“It’s not your fault.” Needing to touch her, I lift my hand to stroke her hair. My hand trembles, and I let it fall away as she straightens.
“What happened, Luke?” she asks softly. Carefully she lowers my jeans, helping me take off my shoes and socks, until I stand naked before her. My cock is hard because she’s near me, but she’s not looking me in the eye.
Does she not want to be here? When have I really given her a choice to be here or not? I blow out a breath, ready to step away and let her do as she pleases.
Her fingers ghost over the bruise, sending a shiver coursing down my spine.
“Did it happen at football practice?”
I tip her chin and search her worried brown eyes. I almost wish it had been practice or even Zach and his crew getting one over on me. It would be so much easier to explain. “Get in the bath with me, Harper.”
She turns her back on me. My heart clatters to a stop at the thought of her walking away. She moves her hair over her shoulder. “Undo my zipper, please.”
When I release my breath across her neck, she shivers. I reach for her zipper and lower it, revealing her smooth pale skin. She kicks off her boots and socks, and her dress falls to the floor, leaving her in her bra and panties.
Turning, she shuts off the water. “Practice?”
I swallow as she lifts her hands and ties her hair into a soft knot. I have to touch her. My hands reach out to hold the swells of her hips, trailing my thumb along the elastic of her panties.
“No. Not practice.” I run my hands up her sides and release her bra, pulling her against me, relishing the feel of her skin against mine. Goosebumps raise on her arms, and she presses a kiss against my chest.
No one has ever been tender with me. No girl ever wanted that from me. Harper lifts her eyes to mine, and something shifts in my chest. She’s an enigma.
She lowers her panties and gives me a determined look. Taking my hand, she steps into the bath. She waits for me to step in with her, then she lowers into the bathwater and sits against the back.
“Sit down. You won’t soak anything but your legs like that.” She parts her legs and I lower to sit between them. She draws my back against her.
It feels odd and comforting in the same breath, only because no one has ever held me like this. She wraps her arms around my chest, careful of my side. Her breasts rest against my back and her legs fold around me. She sighs with her cheek against my back.
“What happened tonight, Luke?”
“Do you want the long or short story?” I sink against her warmth and let the warm water relax me. She moves with me to rest against the tub.
She’s not going anywhere. She’s here. My breath eases.
“I just want the truth.” Her fingers trail along my arms on the sides of the tub.
My jaw clenches. Everything inside me says to keep it to myself. That telling her will weaken me. But she deserves to hear everything.
I run my hand along her leg. Water droplets run down her smooth skin. “Hearing what happened to you in that locker room wound me up. I was going to work out, but then Sidney texted me.”
“Why didn’t you use me?” Her voice is quiet in the room.
“Use you?” I twist to look back at her. Not sure what she means. The movement pulls a little at my muscle, but it confirms it’s mostly bruising.
She shrugs. Her cheeks flush pink. “To work out your anger.”
“Fuck, Harper. You were struggling through your own issues, and I don’t want to use you. At least not just for release.” I brush a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You deserve so much more. I couldn’t have done that to you, princess.”
She searches my eyes. Whatever she finds in them settles her. Her eyes soften as she caresses my neck. “What happened next?”
Returning to lean into her, I tell her about finding the cheerleader and what she told me.
“There was still time before I needed to be at your place, so I decided to see if I could find anything useful at Zach’s.
I didn’t realize my phone had dropped somewhere until I couldn’t find it. It was too dark to see it.”
Her hands massage the knots in my shoulders. Someone like her taking care of me is new. Someone soft who has every reason not to want to take care of me. I blow out a breath as I relax back against her.
Caden and the guys have helped me in the past when my father took it too far. But nothing is like her soft touch. I take her free hand and run my fingers over hers. She makes me feel things I’ve never felt before.
“I went home to get my spare phone. Figured we could go back later to find the other. But my spare wasn’t where I keep it.
” My body tenses. It wasn’t hard to guess what happened to it.
“I knew my dad had found it. He likes to spy on me, and probably after realizing I was with you, he wanted to find out more.”
Her arms wrap around my chest, and she puts her cheek against my shoulder, holding me tight like she could protect me. Everything about her is new to me and my heart beats a little harder. I don’t want her to see me as weak but not telling her isn’t an option anymore.
Not if I want her to trust me. Not if I want her to tell me her truths.
“I confronted him in his office. He read everything we said to each other. The group chats aren’t on that phone, so he didn’t have that.” I clench my fists, remembering him mocking me.
He didn’t know what he was talking about, but he thought I’d gone soft for Harper. He’s right, but I can’t let him know that. I can’t let him know how much she means to me. He’ll find a way to drive her from me if he thinks she has any hold over me. Or worse, use her to keep me in line.
“He was angry you and I were together. He told me to break it off.”
She gasps but doesn’t release me.
I grab her hands with mine and hold them against my chest. “I told him to fuck off. He doesn’t like it when I talk back. He shoved me until I fell to the floor, and he kicked my side.”
Warm wetness that isn’t the bathwater drops on my back. I don’t need her tears, but I’ll take them. Maybe her tears will cleanse me.
“He can’t get away with that.” Her lips move against my skin, sending sparks through me.
“He’s been getting away with it my entire life.” It’s the truth. It doesn’t hurt any less. But I’m mostly numb to it. “He doesn’t do it often and hasn’t for a while. As long as I follow his rules, he lets me do my own thing.”
It’s only when I fight back that he takes me down.
I scoot forward in the water and draw her out from behind me. We shift in the water until she’s straddling my lap. My back rests where hers was. A tear escapes her eye, and I brush it away with my thumb.
“You’re not crying for Death, are you, princess?” I attempt a smile, but I don’t like seeing her cry. Not over me. Not this. It’s just part of my life.
“No.” She cups my cheeks. “I’m crying for the little boy who grew up with a monster for a parent. He shouldn’t get away with it.”
“He’s wealthy, and I’m a boy. I play sports and obviously roughhouse with the other boys. Of course, I’m going to be bruised.” The words flow out of me just like the lies flow out of him.
“Why doesn’t he want you to be with me? Has he ever cared who you were with before?” Her eyes search mine.
“I don’t know.” I bring her hips against mine. Her pussy caresses my cock, but we’re not done talking yet. “And no, he doesn’t get involved with my sex life. Though I’m sure if he thought it would help him in business, he would use me that way.”
“That’s horrible.” Another tear slips free. I catch it and bring it to my lips, tasting her salty tear. She’s not crying because of me, but for me.
I shrug. That’s my life. “I don’t want you anywhere near him. I’ll tell him we split up. That will make him happy.”
Running my hands over her back, I draw her into my arms and she rests against me, even though it hurts my side. I don’t care because I need to feel her against me more than I want to admit. Comfort is a luxury I’ve never been afforded.
“Mom thinks you all are my boyfriends,” she whispers against my neck.
“That’s what we decided.” I stroke my hand down her back, just enjoying having her snuggled up against me. My cock is still hard between us, but the urgency isn’t there. “You’re mine.”
“But what if she says something to your dad?” She raises on her knees.
“She won’t.”
“You don’t know that.” Harper looks down at my bruise.
“Your mom and my dad don’t talk. My dad is rarely around, and your mom doesn’t deal with the board members.” I shift as her hand brushes against my cock.
“What were you going to do at Zach’s house?” She slips her hand down to my cock and brushes against it again. This time intentionally. I groan as she wraps her hand around me.
“As much as I want to kick his ass, that wasn’t why I went over there.” I cup her breast in my right hand and rub my thumb around her hardened nipple. A gasp escapes her lips as she strokes my cock. “I also wanted to see if Sidney was there.”
Her narrowed eyes fall to mine and she stops stroking me. “Why?”
“I was hoping he saw my texts to her earlier.” I smile at her fierceness. “Worried I’m going to step out on you already, princess?”
She squirms in my lap as she tightens her hold on my cock beneath the water. “We have a deal. And horsemen always keep their word.”
“We do.” I hiss as she strokes me.
Her brow pinches as she search my eyes.
“Does this hurt?” She starts to let my cock go.
“Only because I want to fuck you so fucking bad.”
Her eyes soften and she strokes her hand up and down on my cock while I play with her nipple.
Her darkened eyes lift to mine. “Do you want me to—”
She doesn’t finish the sentence as I lift her and position my cock at her entrance. I ignore the twinge of pain in my side from the movement. She’s worth every twinge of pain.
“Always, princess.”
Smiling, she sinks down on me, taking me inside her in one stroke. I groan. So fucking perfect. Her lips part, and her eyes close as she tips her head back. She’s glorious.
Fuck, this girl is too much. I can’t get enough of her.
She grabs my hand against her breast as she grinds on me. I can’t do much in my current condition. Thrusting would definitely hurt.
I grab the back of her neck and tug her mouth down to mine. “Take what you want, princess.”
Her dark eyes search mine as she lifts and slides her pussy down on my cock. She’s fantastic. Her pussy is tight as it grips around me. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything quite like Harper. It’s not just sex. It’s connection. Something raw and needy that can’t resist her.
The little noises she makes has my cock twitching inside her. She pants against my lips, but I hold her so our mouths are just touching, but not kissing. Her hips rock as she rides me.
“Kiss me, Luke,” she begs. Her tongue flicks against my lips. “I want to taste you.”
Groaning, I give in, drawing her in flush against me. I take her mouth in a carnal kiss, diving in deep to slide my tongue against hers. I lower my hand to her clit and glide my fingers over the hard button.
She bites my lip, moaning, as she shatters around me, tightening so fucking snug it draws me into my release, and I spill deep inside her on a groan.
She rests her head against mine, and we just breathe each other in as we let our bodies settle.
“Applause seems in poor taste right now, but fuck, can you guys do that again?”
We both turn our heads. Jack smirks at us from the doorway. “You’ve soaked enough and fucked, so come on, we need to talk.”