Chapter 14 Gwen
Pain radiated from my back. Even through the fog of the drugs Shane had forced into my arm with a syringe, I still felt the excruciating agony of it. My body was limp, but my mind was active. I could see what was happening around me without being able to say or do anything about it.
Cin was freaking out. I saw the hard line of his jaw as he rushed through the forest. At one point, I must have become delirious because I swore I saw one of the trees scoop us up with a limb and help carry us.
I didn’t have a clue where we were going.
When we finally stopped, I recognized the little hollow where Cin had taken me on numerous walks. He knelt and gently laid my body on the soft grass. One hand plunged into the dirt as he began to chant—words I didn’t understand. Or maybe I just couldn’t comprehend them from the drugs.
With his other hand, he pulled a knife from his cut. A big blade with a serrated edge. Why the hell would he need that?
The ground rumbled beneath me and began to quake. I expected to be jostled and my wound to become unbearable, but mossy grass grew beneath me and cradled my body.
A fissure opened in the ground, and then, with a burst of sunlight, a tree sprouted from the soil. Not just any tree. One that glowed with golden leaves.
To say I was shocked would be an understatement.
Behind it, I saw the most majestic creature.
A brown stag whose eyes glowed with the same golden light.
He moved toward Cin, suddenly shifting into a creature on two legs.
Not quite a human and not quite an animal.
His head had the skull and antlers of a deer, but his body was twisted together with tree limbs and bark, his feet made of roots.
The creature stared at Cin.
“I’ve come to you to help save my soulmate. My Gwen.”
I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I heard it ask Cin what he was willing to give up.
“Anything. Whatever you ask of me. If you want me to bleed, I’ll bleed.” He gripped his knife and slid the blade across his forearm. Blood instantly began to drip from the deep cut. “Take my vitality if it brings life back into her body.”
Something was wrong. I felt weak. My vision blurred.
Cin hissed as he glanced in my direction. “Please!” He lifted the knife to cut his other arm when the creature halted him.
Words flowed into my head that weren’t spoken. They came from the powerful, yet gentle being that stood in front of us. He walked to the tree and plucked a single leaf from one of the branches. The tree trembled. Light shimmered.
Cin wobbled on his knees. The puddle below his arm grew at a rapid rate. He was losing too much blood!
The creature turned his attention to me, repeating the words as if I needed to understand them. “You are bound. One soul to another. From life to life, death to death. One can never exist without the other.” As he spoke, he placed the leaf on Cin’s arm. It instantly healed.
I might have been shocked if I didn’t feel so cold. So close to death.
Cin cried out, taking the leaf from his arm, which had slightly faded. He rushed to my side and rolled me, pressing it on my skin, directly onto the wound. “Don’t you fucking leave, Gwen. You’re not allowed. You hear me?”
My body jolted. A shrill ringing began in my ears.
Behind Cin, I saw the creature move toward the tree. His glow matched the tree and softened. They both began to fade.
Cin held my upper body against his chest. He kissed my lips. “I’ve followed you after death and beyond it. I’ve loved you in every lifetime. That’s never going to fucking change, Gwen.”
He loved me.
Cin. My soulmate.
He bled for me. Nearly died for me.
How could I love anyone else?
My eyes closed, but I could feel strength returning to my body. The pain began to disappear. Where only coldness had taken hold of me, now warmth spread throughout, even into my fingers and toes. The tension eased.
I only felt peace.
And love. So much love.
When I slipped into a dream, Cin was there, waiting for me.
And just like the one I had when I first met him, I rode on his bike down an empty road, arms wrapped around his waist. The lights and trees streaked by in a blur. It was beautiful.
I WOKE UP IN A STRANGE room.
My eyes struggled to focus, but when they did, I saw four men seated in chairs. They stared with anxious expressions.
G.D., the president of the club. Juke, the prospect who helped to protect me when I didn’t even know I needed it. My brother, Ethan, gripping one of my hands.
And Cin. He was gently massaging my other hand. His gaze was focused on my face, uncertainty in his handsome features.
“That feels nice. Maybe I need to get roughed up more often so I can be spoiled like this.” My voice sounded rough and raspy. No one seemed to mind.
G.D. chuckled.
Ethan rolled his eyes.
Juke’s smile widened. A new scar had formed on his neck, but it didn’t seem to faze him.
But my biker? Cin appeared tortured.
“Don’t, baby. I couldn’t live through seeing you injured like that again. Nearly killed me.”
“You did a good job of trying to leave this world yourself. Try that again, and I’ll go back to the Tree and tell it to whip your ass.”
Laughter filled the room as I grinned.
The only one who didn’t think it was funny was Cin.
“You’ve been unconscious for three days, Gwen.”
Really? Well, shit. “I feel rested. That’s a bonus, right?”
Ethan rose and kissed my cheek. “You should know that I’m going to prospect for the club. I’m a fucking badass, so they’re lucky to have me.”
“Totally,” I agreed.
Ethan stepped back, and G.D. kissed my forehead.
“Good to have you around, Gwen. Keep his ass in line.”
“Oh, I will,” I promised.
Juke waved before he followed G.D. and Ethan out of the room.
“Just us now. You can relax, Cin.”
“Well, you might be pissed at me when you find out that I lost patience with Shane. Might have put him in the incinerator oven without getting all the answers we needed.”
My dangerous, protective, sexy biker who lived up to his road name. That was two men burned to ashes now.
“Did you learn anything that was helpful?”
“I did. I know he had a vendetta against your sister. Shane was dishonorably discharged from the Marine Corps. She helped hold him responsible when he attacked and assaulted a fellow Marine. Bad shit went down. Still don’t know how Marshall was connected. Maybe just another Marine he didn’t like.”
“And Penny?”
“Just a pawn.”
“Do you think we have to worry about retaliation? Like whoever helped him or knew about his revenge plan?”
“No. But there’s something else there. Cyber is still looking into it. Somehow, our club is connected. We won’t let it slide.”
That was enough for now.
“You know, before I lost consciousness, I heard it speak to me.”
“The Tree? Or the Leshy?”
Leshy. So that was what it was called. “The Leshy.”
“What did he say?”
“He showed me things. Images of the past. Of my past. Lives I’ve lived and glimpses of you. Well, both of us. Together.”
Cin’s eyes widened. “He blessed you.”
“I didn’t believe in reincarnation before this. But when I look into your eyes, Cin, I see the truth. I see home.”
“Fuck.” His hand slapped over his heart. “You slay me, baby. You’re my home. The oxygen in my lungs. Can’t breathe without you.”
“Then kiss me so I know it’s all real.”
Cin carefully cradled my face. “Love you, Bambi.”
Then his lips softly brushed mine.
And it really did feel like home.
“HOW ARE YOU FEELING?” Cin asked as he reached for my hand.
“Good. Really good.” Better than I should have for being shot in the back, but I didn’t remind Cin. He’d only frown and fuss and make me go back to bed. “Like I could use fresh air and a little exercise.”
Hint. Hint.
“Bedroom activities in the outdoors, if you catch my drift.”
No, I wasn’t suave. Or even subtle.
Cin hauled me closer, nearly crushing my chest against his. “Yeah?”
“I think,” I began, trailing my fingers up his cut. “You need to fuck me in the graveyard.”
His eyes shimmered, and that green took on the hue that reminded me of the god-like being I’d fallen in love with, and that he was no ordinary man. Including the monster between his legs. “Careful, little deer.”
“I want you to chase me through the headstones at midnight like the night we met. Make me come and scream your name.”
“Gwen,” he growled, already growing hard as he walked me backward, pressing my back into the bedroom wall. The one we shared in the clubhouse. Now that he couldn’t live without me.
His hips drove his bulge into my core.
“Liam.”
The sexiest sound left his throat as he attacked my neck, but I managed to push him away. Not far, but enough to give me a few inches of space.
“I won’t wear anything under my dress. Catch me and claim your prize.”
He groaned. “Gonna be the death of me.”
“Won’t you die in the best way possible? Happy and with your cock buried deep inside me?”
“Vixen,” he growled. “You sure about this?”
At my enthusiastic nod, he relented.
“Get your ass to my bike. Now.”
I guess I wore down his patience and any attempt to refuse.
Not five minutes later, we arrived at Deathrock Cemetery. It used to hold such anguish and heartbreak. The death of my sister and the loss I suffered with her murder. Now? I felt peace. I could hold her close and also let her go.
A light breeze ruffled through my hair as I stepped off his bike, reaching under the hem of my dress to slip off my panties. I flung them at Cin, not surprised when he caught them, taking a sniff before shoving the fabric into his cut pocket.
“Run, little deer. Run, but know when you’re caught, you’ll be placing your hands on the nearest surface while I fuck you from behind. I’ll count to one hundred before I search for you.”
The words sent a shiver through me. “When I cry out your name, it’s not going to be Cin.”
He prowled forward a few steps, halting when he remembered our game. “Go, Bambi. Now!”
I sprinted forward as adrenaline began to pump through my veins. The cemetery was dark. Shadows deepened as the moon hid behind a collection of thick, bubbly gray clouds. My heart pounded in my chest as I ran uphill, beyond the rows of headstones in their neat rows.
When I knew I had gone far enough, I slowed my steps. I didn’t want to make noise and alert Cin to my location. I had a better chance in the grass where my footfalls wouldn’t be loud. I veered off the path and deeper into the cemetery.
At night, with only the wind and trees as company, the grounds became spookier, almost wicked with their aging and crumbling graves. I’d gone far enough to enter what appeared to be the oldest part of the cemetery. No lights illuminated this area except for the stars.
A twig snapped nearby, and I froze, ducking behind a tall headstone that concealed my body. He couldn’t have found me that fast. It wasn’t possible. Right?
I underestimated my biker’s abilities.
His hand snatched my arm and hauled me to my feet. His back pressed against mine as he whispered into my ear. “Found you, my sweet.”
I sighed. “No fair. You used your god-like gifts.”
A dark chuckle followed. “Bend over and grip the headstone. Better hold on tight.”
I nearly moaned with how much his words turned me on. Obeying, I bent at the waist and rested my hands on the cool, smooth stone. A hiss left my lips when he lifted my dress and draped it over my shoulders. My bare bottom felt every bit of the crisp night wind.
Cin moved behind me. “Spread wider.”
I moved my feet farther apart.
“I said wider.” He slapped me on the ass.
“Ah!” I screeched, spreading as wide as I could for him.
“Such a perfect ass, Bambi.” He smoothed his fingertips over the sensitive skin. “Let’s see if you’re wet for me.” His thick, long fingers swiped through my slit. “Devious little thing, aren’t you? Getting so wet and sticky before I’ve shoved my cock deep.”
I shivered. That dirty talk. It did wicked things to my girly bits.
“Not gonna take you slow this first time. Can’t.” The tip of his cock pressed to my opening, teasing me.
“I can handle you.”
“Yeah, you fucking can.” On the last word he spoke, his hips slammed into mine. His cock buried so deep that I screamed his name.
At this angle, he touched me in a way he never had before. Hitting a spot that made me keen with pleasure and fullness. He stretched me almost to the point of pain. Right on the edge, it sent me tumbling into the abyss. Ecstasy nearly stole my breath.
Cin drove into me with relentless thrusts. His hips smacking into my ass as he gripped my hips with possession and need. A grunt fell from his lips as he drove into me harder, faster. “So fucking good. This pussy, baby. I’m so fucking addicted to how you grip me.”
I was so close. If he touched my clit, I would fall apart.
“You were made for me. So perfect. Look at how good you take my cock. Sucking me in. So wet and needy.”
“I want you to fill me, Liam. I want to be so full that it leaks onto the grass beneath us.”
His movements grew erratic, and Cin couldn’t keep up a consistent pace. With a sexy, throaty sound, he came. His body snapped against mine as I tumbled over the edge, crying out his name.
Liam. Liam. I chanted it in my head.
“My Gwen,” he groaned, lowering his body as his warmth surrounded me. “I fucking love you, baby.” He pulled out, and I felt the fluids dripping out of me and trickling down my thighs.
“I love you in every lifetime.”
He stilled. For a few seconds, I felt nothing but his embrace. “In every lifetime, Gwen. Always.”
I stood and faced him, lifting my face for his kiss. Instead, I found a man on his knees, a ring sparkling in the moonlight, which finally decided to shine.
“I need you, Gwen. My ol’ lady. My wife. All of it. Say yes.”
“Is there a question somewhere?” I teased.
“Gwen.” The growl returned.
“Yes, Cin. My protector. Liam. My lover. I’m all yours.”
In every lifetime.