8. Gunnar
GUNNAR
As we walk hand in hand to the backyard of the compound, it feels slightly like I’m free-falling. This sensation reminds me of when I learned to parachute in the Army.
That first time changes you. Just like tonight. I won’t be the same man.
This little half-pint in a zombie costume has completely ripped the rug out from under me.
Fuck.
I rub a hand over my face.
“What are we doing now?” Rue asks.
“I’ll be on cleanup detail. Putting out the bonfire, making sure no one is lurking. I want you to hang out with the women as they wrap up the concessions and ticket sales.”
Her fingers tense in mine and I feel her withdraw enough to notice.
“They’re nice, Rue. You don’t have to worry. The only women for the rest of tonight are the wives and old ladies. There’s no drama here.”
Her hair teases her neck as she nods. “I guess I have a lot to learn about the club.”
I stop walking, turning to face her. “This doesn’t scare you?” I ask with more of my heart in my throat than I’d like.
“Not exactly. But I do feel out of my element.”
“We’re just people, Rue. The men came for brotherhood and order in their lives.
Yeah, we raise hell and blur the lines of the law from time to time, but the club life isn’t what you probably think it is.
We’re loyal in this club. That’s one law we don’t break.
No cheating. We won’t stand for it. It’s not like some other clubs. ”
“Wasn’t there a war?” she asks, looking up at me. “I heard some women got hurt.”
“That’s true. But we work every day to keep that kind of thing from happening. You’ll be safe here. Our house will be safe too. I’ll make sure of it.”
She leans into me, her hands coming around my waist. “No one has ever promised me that.”
A fist locks around my throat and I hug her tightly. When I look over the back of the compound, Prez is looking at us with his bulky arms crossed.
He knows I’m fucking toast.
“Let me introduce you around,” I tell Rue.
She steps back and takes my hand. This time there’s no tension in her grip.
“This is Katie and Vera,” I say as we approach the caramel apple table.
“I’m Rue.” She extends her hand and they all shake. Vera pushes a golden caramel apple into her hand when she’s done.
“We’ve got plenty.”
“I’m starved,” Rue admits. “I guess it’s all the excitement.”
The way she grins and looks up at me makes me clear my throat. “I’m going to get on this cleanup,” I rasp. “You ladies hanging out for a bit?”
Katie laughs. “I’m not going anywhere until Skull’s done.”
“Is that the pumpkin eater?” Rue asks before she licks caramel off her lip.
Katie’s eyes widen and she laughs. “Oh lord. That T-shirt… I’m not responsible for it.”
Enough of Rue’s makeup has worn off, I catch her blush this time and I know exactly what she’s thinking.
I brush my thumb over her neck. “Stay out of trouble.”
“I’m good at that when you’re not around.”
They’re laughing as I walk away, and I’m not one fucking bit worried whether it’s at my expense or not.
“Well,” Ace says flatly as I grab some logs from the fire-pit area. “Your night is going well.”
“I’m sure yours is going to go well too. I see the way Vera looks at you.”
“She likes the costume.” He motions to his black-velvet wizard costume. With a rare chuckle, he adds, “Specifically she likes my wand.”
I stop as I reach for another log. “Jesus, man. I did not need that image in my head.”
He’s chuckling when he walks off. Fuck, Vera has changed the man. Never used to see his ice-cold demeanor. I’m on the same slippery slope.
When I look up the hill toward the girls, I get a tight sensation in my chest. Rue’s helping pack things. But it’s the smile on her face that works my rusty heart over with a sledgehammer.
Prez is standing next to the firewood storage area when I walk up. He says, “Surprised you made it out of your apartment.”
“Got work to do.”
“She staying?”
“Forever if I get my way.”
“Fucking hell, there must be something in the water around here. I’m going to start having mine shipped in.”
I snort. “Good luck with that. There’s no telling what is gonna happen.”
He tosses a stray log on the wood pile, then adjusts his cowboy hat. “I know what’s gonna happen. It doesn’t include getting pussy-whipped.”
I’m shaking my head when he wanders off muttering about doing one more sweep to make sure there are no drunk guests in the field.
I’m not the only one placing bets on Prez falling harder than the rest of us. It’s only a matter of time before the bastard meets his match.
It’s an hour later by the time I finish. I might have looked at Rue across the compound four thousand times. It has the same effect every time. Heat down low. A dry throat. An internal clock ticking down the minutes until we’re alone.
“There you are,” Rue says brightly as she loads cupcakes into a box.
“Dessert with the dessert,” I say as I scoop her off her feet. “Grab a couple of those. I’ve got plans for the icing.”
Vera roars with laughter. She drops two cupcakes in a paper bag and shoves them into Rue’s hands. “Have fun, you two. Try not to break anything.”
Rue’s giggling. “Only me,” she says in a breathy voice.
Adrenaline and testosterone pour through me like jet fuel. “Careful,” I warn as I carry Rue to the back of the clubhouse.
The music is still on, but there are only club brothers and their women milling about inside. Everyone looks haggard. Costumes crooked. Bleary eyes that turn our way as I pass through, not saying one thing.
I open the door to the apartment, carry her inside, and lock out the world.
“Whew, what a night,” Rue murmurs when I set her on her feet. I take the bag from her hand and toss it on the bed.
“Oh. Oh,” she says, surprised. “Those will be squished.”
“I’ve only got plans for the icing.”
Her breathing is faster. She licks her lips. “What plans do you have for me?”
“Ripping this dress off of you.”
Her eyes go dreamy. “Can you?”
“Remember your safe word?”
“Definitely. Won’t be forgetting that any time soon.”
I grab the front of her dress at the collar and tear it open. The sound is ridiculously loud. Lace and cotton give way. I nearly combust on the spot when her tits are exposed.
“Fuck, Rue. Goddamned perfect.” With the dress hanging down her arms and two full breasts straining at her bra, I growl.
“These are dangerous,” I tell her as I reach for the clasp in the valley between her breasts. “I look forward to discovering every way they’re gonna make me lose control.”
Rue’s lips curl up into a sweet smile. “You’re just saying?—”
She gasps loudly when I roll her nipple between my fingers, abrading her with my calluses. With both hands, I press them together.
“I’m gonna fuck these,” I warn, and her head falls back with a moan.
“I don’t know what that means, but you can do whatever you want.”
Every abdominal muscle I’ve got locks as I unlock the bottom of my mask and toss it aside. My mouth needs to be on her, right fucking now.
I take her nipples into my mouth, one then the other, tasting the remnants of beer on her skin from the incident that started this whole thing.
Whoever knocked into her needs a fucking thank you gift.
“I need you in that bed, but this goes first.” I yank more fabric open, revealing the skirt she has beneath—the one with the hoops.
Her skin burns me as I press my palm flat to her stomach and push inside those layers of fabric.
She whimpers when I touch her pussy. “Gunnar, hurry.”
I shove the costume to the floor—dress, hoops, undergarments and all pool around her feet. When I’m finished, Rue’s naked and trembling before me.
“You okay, baby?” I ask, going still.
“Excited.”
That’s all I need. I lift her by wrapping my hands around her waist. Her legs come around me. “Mask or no mask?”
“Leave it on. Wait. I don’t want you to think?—”
“I don’t. Tonight is all about the game. Next time I know you’ll be looking at my face with those loving eyes.”
“I will,” she promises.
When I spread her out in the center of the bed, I take a moment to look at the beautiful gift I’ve been given. A weird twist of fate. A wrong turn looking for the bathroom, and here we are.
“You’re still dressed,” she says in a husky tone, those pretty eyes dropping slowly down my body.
“Not for long.” I shrug out of my cut, drop my jeans, and shove down my boxers as I kick off my boots.
My cock juts out sharply, the veins thick along the shaft.
“Wow,” she whispers, propping up on her elbows. “If I saw that before in the woods, I think I might have really run from you.”
Flames lick through me, remembering catching her and fucking her on the ground.
“But you took me perfectly.”
Her knees slide together, her soft moan making my cock pulse.
I grab the bag of cupcakes and pull one free, taking a long lick of the chocolate icing. Her gaze is hot as it follows my tongue.
“Where’s that going?”
“All my favorite places.”
She watches with her breath hitching as I move the cupcake to one nipple, then the other, smearing the icing onto her. When they’re covered, I scoop off a bit of icing and spread it over her clit.
“Open up, little zombie.” I feed her a bite of cupcake, and she closes her eyes, savoring the flavor.
“You’re so beautiful,” I tell her.
Her cheeks turn darker pink. “Gunnar, I’m not?—”
“You are and you’re mine.”
I spread her legs with my battle-scarred hands and drop to the bed where I devour her pussy, lapping up the icing with a deep growl in my throat.