Chapter 13
Having Mom around wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be.
She ignored Priest, who stayed out of her way as much as possible.
We ordered sushi and watched TV. I told her everything—almost. I admitted that it was Priest, not cast members who brought me home after the Inferno incident, but left out everything else biker related.
When we finally got ready to sleep, she didn’t even comment on the bed, acting like it’d always been there.
Having her sleep over almost feels nostalgic.
I remember being little and sharing a bedroom before Dad showed up.
And then after he left, having her force me back into her room because all of a sudden it wasn’t appropriate for me and Axel to share the living room.
As I got older, I realized she was just lonely.
She loves me, but I don’t think she really sees me as my own person. I’m there to keep her company when she wants, and be pushed away when it’s not convenient.
I close my eyes and try to sleep, but my mind is still whirling with everything that happened today. Her soft snoring feels like a poke in the face every time I hear it. Especially up close, and I already set up the air mattress in the living room for Priest.
I roll over and pick up my phone, hiding the glow under the edge of the blanket. “Are you asleep?” I text him.
“Why aren’t you?” he responds.
Carefully pulling the comforter back, I slide my feet over the edge and sit up as I put them on the floor, watching Mom the whole time.
I stand, then tiptoe to the bedroom door, only pausing when she suddenly snorts and rolls over.
I hold my breath, hand on the doorknob until her breathing settles down into the same low rumble.
The bedroom door opens silently, and I sneak out, closing it behind me with a soft click.
Priest isn’t on the air mattress, or the couch.
Is he in the hall bathroom? No, the door is cracked open and the light’s off.
I look around. My apartment might be more expensive than I should be spending, but it’s not huge.
Movement in the darkness makes me squint harder at the balcony.
He’s just a shadow, but he’s there, sitting on the blanket I left and leaning back against the window with one leg stretched out and the other bent at the knee.
There’s a flicker of red, and a small plume of smoke rises from his fingers.
I’m still several steps from the door when he speaks without even turning. “I can hear you, you know.”
“I wasn’t trying to surprise you,” I lie.
So much for that. I should’ve known he was too aware.
I pad out onto the balcony and sit next to him, tucking my nightshirt around my thighs.
It’s not cold exactly, but the soft breeze has an edge of chill to it.
I hug myself and enjoy the view of the city at night.
In the distance, lights occasionally blink from ships far out on the water.
“You smoke?” Back when he and Axel hung out, I remember catching them sometimes. I think Dad would buy packs for them.
“Not really.” He can probably feel the weight of my look even in the dark, because he chuckles. “Guilty pleasure. I can take it or leave it, but sometimes on a night like this, it just feels right.”
“I stole a cigarette from Ax once. You guys wouldn’t let me try.”
“How was it?”
“Horrible. I’m sure I did it wrong, but I was probably eight or something. What I remember most was wondering what the point of getting good at something so disgusting was.”
He takes one last drag and crushes the end on the railing to put it out. “Sorry.”
I lean my head against his arm. “No, it’s okay. I’m not a fan exactly, but I know what you mean. The smell reminds me of summer nights with the window open, knowing that you guys were outside.”
“Wanna go inside?”
I shake my head. “No. It’s nice out here. Quiet. And I can’t hear Mom snore.”
He laughs softly, then shifts to put his arm over me and rest my head on his chest. “How’re you holding up? That was some fucked up shit today, and you didn’t get much time to process it.”
“I think I’m okay. The attack happened so fast, and Sinner was right there.
It was all over almost before I even knew what was happening.
The really scary part is knowing that someone is trying to hurt me, or at least scare me.
Mom set up a meeting tomorrow with someone who’s supposed to be good at this sort of thing. ”
“We aren’t going anywhere,” Priest snaps, with a bit of a growl in his voice.
“No! I know. He’s more for the media side I think, and to organize everything.” I slide my arms around him and lean into his warmth. I can feel his heart beating, strong and steady. “Can I ask you something?” I’m treading dangerous ground here, but it feels like the right time.
“Of course.”
“What are we doing?”
He lets out a brief exhale, like a little laugh. “Gonna have to be more specific, Q.”
Gathering courage, I clutch him just a little harder. “The other night, I really wanted you to kiss me. That wasn’t just me, right?”
“No, that wasn’t just you.” He brushes his fingers through my hair, an innocent gesture that feels anything but right now.
“Sinner kissed me,” I confess.
“I know. I was there.”
“No, not just then. When he dropped me off, too.” Maybe I don’t quite know what I’m asking, I just need to get rid of the vague feeling of guilt that comes with liking it when they all flirt with me.
“Was he good? Did you like kissing him?” He doesn’t sound jealous at all. Curious, maybe?
“Y—yes?”
“We only go around once, Q. If you liked it, that’s your answer. If you didn’t, then tell him to back off, or if you’re uncomfortable, I’ll do it for you. I don’t see the problem.”
“But…”
“You worried about getting between us? That maybe me and him want the same thing from you?”
I nod against him. “Or that I want the same thing from both of you.”
“What about Colt? I saw you together at Inferno, and I’ve seen the way you sneak a look when you think he won’t notice.” There’s a soft note of amusement in his voice.
“Colt? I haven’t spent as much time with him. Why are you pushing me at your friends?” I push away from Priest so I can get a better look at his face when he answers. “If it’s too weird because you knew me when I was little, I understand. You don’t have to try and hook me up with someone else.”
“Hook you up with… Quinn, what the fuck are you talking about? There’s no jealousy between the three of us. We’re brothers in all the ways that matter. Shit, I’m not used to talking to people who don’t know the score. Sharing isn’t an issue, not for us.”
“What do you mean?”
“No one’s gonna make you do something you don’t wanna, but I’m telling you this straight out.
If kissing Sinner feels right, or suddenly Colt is looking really fucking good, it’s not going to fuck anything up.
Life’s too fucking short, especially in an MC.
We’re not exactly known for dying of natural causes. ”
His words bring to mind all the vests on the wall in the church.
“So you’re saying I shouldn’t read too much into it. That sex and stuff is no big deal for you guys?”
“Is that what you want?” he asks. “No strings attached sex?”
Do I? “Maybe. But not with anybody.”
“Just us?” Priest leans close enough that I can sense his soft breath over my lips.
“I think we can work with that. And just to make things crystal clear, I’m more than happy to show you how much fun sex can be when you let yourself get a little wild.
I can guaran—fucking—tee that the thought of you spread out naked between the three of us is going to star in my dreams the next time I take matters into my own hand. ”
Oh? Oooohhh.
I know we all have our moments, but no one has ever straight out told me that they—
“You’re thinking too much.”
God, the way he looks at me. “You’re right, I am. What are you going to do about that?” I close the tiny gap between us, pressing my lips against his.
His laugh is a quiet rumble in his chest as his fingers tighten in my hair and he teases my mouth open with his tongue.
I might’ve started the kiss, but he wastes no time taking control of it.
Why didn’t we do this sooner? He kisses like he’s got no place to be and nothing he’d rather be doing. It’s slow and sweet.
I’m already sliding my hands up underneath his T-shirt, feeling the smooth texture of his skin under my fingers, trailing them through the dusting of hair on his chest as I push it up.
I want to see him with an urgency ten years in the making.
My childhood crush must’ve just been lying dormant, smoldering in my memories and waiting to be rekindled now that I’m old enough to understand what to do with it.
He laughs quietly, raising his arms so I can get his shirt off. “Shhhh, let’s try not to disturb your neighbors.”
Oh my God, we’re on the balcony. He’s got me so flustered that didn’t even enter my mind. The units are angled so that we can’t see directly onto each other’s balconies, but that doesn’t mean they can’t hear us.
Priest pulls me into his lap, so I’m straddling his thighs with nothing on under my nightshirt.
I press a kiss behind his ear, and then another, and another.
His skin is hot under my palms, and beneath me, his cock stirs in his jeans.
Down his right side, names are tattooed one after the other.
Axel is there, Sean his step-father, and then several with names like Ice who must be bikers.
A memorial written in ink that he carries with him every day.
“I don’t think he’d hate that we found each other again,” I say quietly as I trace my brother’s name.
“Nah, but he’d hate this. So how ‘bout we leave him out of it.”
Priest flips me around so I’m facing away, then he lifts me enough to work his belt open one-handed and get his jeans low enough so his cock springs free.
He settles me back down, leaving me spread open on his lap with his shaft rubbing right up against my slit.
I shiver, staring at it, both for its size and the suddenness of it.
He slides a hand up the back of my shirt, tangling his fingers in my hair and forcing me to sit up straight. It also tips me forward a little, grinding me softly against his erection. I wrap my fingers around him and he hisses in pleasure.
“Don’t forget the neighbors,” I whisper.
Priest bucks his hips, rocking me forward again.
We go back and forth, teasing moans out of each other.
I slowly slide my fist up his length until I cup the thick head at the end, capturing a slick drop of precum in my hand.
Completely enthralled by his cock, I spread it around, making him slick as I stroke.
His free hand steals up my shirt and cups my breast. I groan, switching tactics and holding his cock tight to my body as I grind. My clit brushes against the head. Pre-cum and my own slickness mix together, making it a sinful glide for both of us.
“Fuck, you look amazing,” he groans.
“This is crazy,” I hiss. “Mom is only two rooms away.”
He pulls his hand free of my hair and turns my face towards him so he can kiss me again. My thighs burn as I rise and fall against his hot shaft, each time I reach the top, it takes every ounce of willpower I have not to lean forward just a little and sink down on it.
I manage to stay good until his fingers roll and tug my nipple just right.
The next thing I know, my back is rounded and I can feel him nestled right against my pussy.
Priest shudders. I think we’re both holding our breath as gravity starts to finish the job for me.
He comes to his senses before I do, pushing me down onto my hands and knees.
My mouth opens in a silent gasp as he sinks two fingers into my core and I drop to my elbows.
My shirt is pooled around my shoulders and I’m writhing onto his hand.
If anyone hears us, it would be a disaster, and if my mother caught us?
Less trouble for my career maybe, but I might die of embarrassment on the spot.
Stopping isn’t an option. Which leaves one solution.
I reach between my legs and start stroking my clit.
“That’s right, show me how you come,” Priest whispers low and rough.
I flip over, lying on the blanket in front of him with my shirt just over my breasts and my hand buried in my pussy. Priest stares down like a hungry lion, watching as my abs clench and my body pulls tighter and tighter. He shifts forward and fists his cock. We’re both so, so close.
With a groan that sounds like it was pulled from his soul, he slaps a hand down next to my head and leans down to capture my mouth again.
His hips jerk, and it pulls on something inside me like an echo.
The hot splash of cum over my stomach and his quiet, desperate noises send me over the edge.
I groan into his mouth as my nerves finally hit the breaking point and everything washes over me in a hot wave of pleasure.
We stay like that for a long moment, locked together in the aftershocks.
Far below, a car honks, though I don’t think it’s at us.
Now that I can hear more than the sound of my pulse in my ears, it really settles in what just happened.
I almost had sex with Priest. Depending on your definition, maybe I did.
“Holy shit,” I whisper.
“You drive me crazy, Q. Fuck.” He laughs, tracing my shoulders with one hand and curling a lock of my hair around his finger.
He cleans me off with his shirt and leans back against the glass balcony door. I need to wash up and get back to bed, but first I sit back down next to him and lean my head against his chest, listening to his heart beat as he strokes my hair and we stare out into the city.
“Still sure you want to share me?” I say it as a joke, just to tease him, but the words hang between us, and it brings up the mental image of what it would be like to have not just him, but two or three of them at the same time. Watching each other, touching each other.
“You like that idea, don’t you?” He puts a finger on my lips before I can answer. “You don’t need to say anything yet. Just think about it.”
It will be impossible not to.