OWNED & UNTAMED (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) (30 page)

“He’ll be okay,” I whispered to Belle. “He’s a tough asshole.”

Belle nodded. She sipped the coffee. She held the paper cup between her hands. I saw her fingers interlock. She didn’t wear nail polish. She didn’t have any rings on either. I had never met a woman like Belle… someone who could be so classically beautiful without a damn thing on. She could roll out of bed, skip brushing her teeth, skip touching up her hair, and she would be breathtaking to me.

I slid off my chair and turned to face her. I grabbed the coffee from her hand and put it on the floor, along with mine. I took her hands and held them tight.

“Sweetie, this is what it’s all about,” I said. “About fighting and pulling through. Making things work. That’s what we do in the club. Not everything goes right and not everything goes to plan. But we make it work. I hate the way you feel right now, Belle. I want to capture it and steal it for the rest of your life.”

“I can’t stop thinking about you, Duke. Not Jim. You.”

“Me? What about me?”

Belle’s eyes met mine. “I couldn’t go through this if it was you in there. If you got shot. If you got hurt. I get why you never came back, Duke. Because of this feeling inside me right now.”

“Ah, sweetie…”

“No. Listen to me.”

“Okay, fine. I’m all ears.”

“I want this, Duke. Whatever it is and whatever it takes. Nobody could ever be you or replace you. But I hate the idea of you going out there and getting hurt. Just like all those years ago. You’d come home from training and you were so happy. But I was scared something was going to happen. You got sent over there and it was bad for me. I was in such a dark place. I had nowhere to turn. My father was going through the same thing because of Jim. I spent every hour waiting for you to call me. And even when we talked, it wasn’t enough and it wasn’t the same.” Belle’s eyes filled with tears. “The night before it all happened, I had this dream. It was us. We had a house. We had a baby. I… I woke up feeling alive. I woke up feeling a future. Then it all changed.”

I wrapped my arms around Belle and let her cry. Shit, I had been over there dodging bullets and never really thought about what it was like for Belle. Or for anyone who was
back home
. They were enjoying their basic freedoms and chasing their opportunities but they were also carrying heavy hearts of worry for those who weren’t there.

What a fucked up thing to go through.

“Listen, sweetie, I love you,” I said. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that and then some. I told you, I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it all up to you. You will never be alone. You will never feel alone.” I slid my hands up her face and forced her to look at me. Tears streamed down her cheeks, over my thumbs. “I will forever fight for us. For you and me to be together. When I go out on the road, yeah, there’s a chance the reaper might claim my ass. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to live in fear. And it also means that every moment we have together we take full advantage of it.”

That’s when it hit me. The truth of the rest of my life.

I felt words slipping up to my tongue that shouldn’t be said in a hospital in such a dire time.

I opened my mouth again to say something but someone called Belle’s name.

It was the doctor.

We both stood up, holding hands, ready to face whatever waited.

I kissed the top of Belle’s head.

Then I asked,
“How is he, Doc?”

**

Jim survived surgery. It took him hours to wake up and I sat in a chair next to his bed until he did wake up. When his eyes fluttered open, I grabbed his hand and stood up.

“Brother,” I whispered.

“Asshole,” Jim groaned. “You got me shot.”

I smiled. “You deserved it.”

“Probably.”

I stood there, smiling at my best friend. For a split second I saw Jim as a ten year old out of control punk kid. Clothespins holding baseball cards to our tires so it sounded like we were riding motorcycles. Stealing Big Jim’s air rifle to sneak out into the woods and shoot squirrels and birds. Getting caught and Big Jim cracking both of us across the ass with his bare hand. Not being able to sit down for hours but laughing the entire time.

That was my best friend right there.

Then we’d go upstairs and pick on his little sister. Twist the heads around on her dolls and convince her they were evil. Poor Belle, right?

Life was such a sick journey. A wild and twisted ride.

Belle came into the room and broke down in tears. She hugged Jim and he mustered up enough strength to hug her back. Then the entire MC came into the room.

To my shock, some of our brothers from Frelen were there.

“So this is the one legged wonder?” Miller asked.

“That’s me,” Jim said in a weak voice.

“Jesus, man,” Blaine said, “did you lose that just now?”

“Fuck, Blaine,” Gaige said.

“I lost it in Iraq,” Jim said.

“They ever find it?” Blaine asked.

I swore everyone let out a gasp. But Jim laughed.

“Hey, I’m just trying to lighten the mood,” Blaine said. “My bad.”

“Let’s get real for a second,” Trev said. He stood next to Miller. “This guy next to me is the President of another charter. The main charter for the MC. I wanted him to meet you.”

“Sorry I’m not dressed up,” Jim said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Miller said with a grin. “You’re a brave man, Jim. I want you to know that what you’ve done has helped the MC shore up some loose ties with things. We know who financed the Hell Five. We’re on good terms with the Russians, even down through Frelen. And thank you for what you did over there in that hell hole of a war zone.”

Jim nodded.

“And for the record,” Trev added, “
all signs are pointing to the Hell Five for this shit. You getting shot and surviving keeps the MC out of this mess. The land, the body, everything. Looks like the Hell Five got themselves into some trouble and you were just a casualty, Jim. Police are going to talk to you but our lawyers will walk you through everything.
”

I saw Jim blinking fast, probably fighting back tears like a big pussy. Ah, hell, I was doing the same damn thing.

“This guy here was my first brother in life,” I said. “My best friend. From kids to men to war and back.”

“A-fucking-men to that,” Miller said.

“Okay, let’s give him some space,” Trev said.

“Good,” Blaine said. “There was a nurse with nice tits I wanted to check out. Tell her my leg hurts so she’ll bend over and I can see down her shirt.”

“I thought you were happily taken,” Jasper said.

“I am,” Blaine said. “But this could be a medical emergency.”

“I’m not taken,” Cash said. “You look, Blaine, but I’ll get to touch.”

The two charters started to shuffle out. A few minutes later a nurse came in to kick even me and Belle out. She hugged her brother and walked away with tears in her eyes. I kissed Jim’s greasy forehead.

“Stick this out,” I said. “You’re the toughest guy I’ve ever known.”

“Duke, send Maggie in next. Before they give me meds. I want to tell her something.”

I never found out what that
something
was, but that was not my business.

Outside the room I took Belle by the hand and walked her to the elevator. On the ride down to the ground floor we kissed. We exited the hospital and I gave her my helmet to wear on the ride back to the clubhouse.

She wrapped her hands around me and I looked down, again seeing her bare fingers interlock around my body. She was holding me tight as I rode away, letting my two-wheeled steel beauty take us wherever we wanted to go.

I’d been on a journey for freedom for years… yet freedom was sitting behind me… my freedom was my love for Belle.

thirty-four.

(duke)

*** ONE MONTH LATER ***

Jim was alive and out of the hospital. The land deal officially collapsed and he owned it all again. He and Belle agreed to put the house up for sale and split whatever they made off of it. What they didn’t know yet was that the MC had put together our earnings from Jim’s fight and we were going to buy it. There could never be too much real estate in our club portfolio. Or at least that’s what Cade always told us.

I had put money on Jim’s fight on my own, along with all the other guys. So the sixty-five we paid to Ivan was nothing compared to what we all made. Not to mention after Carlo’s death, another top member of the Hell Five got in touch with Trev to settle the score, which resulted in the club getting the original fifty thousand they stole from us. Funny how that shit worked sometimes.

Jim gave up the bottle and traded it for between Maggie’s legs. Still a dangerous addiction to have but at least he was happier than ever.

The MC was pushing forward, like we were meant to be, Trev at the head of the table, smacking the gavel and the rest of us causing hell.

We knew that the reaper was out there waiting to call our numbers. Until then we just drank whiskey, made loud noises, and rode our motorcycles, screaming into the midnight sky.

But tonight I wasn’t riding into the midnight sky.

I was just simply riding Belle.

My hands held her perfectly round ass as I thrust into her. Her pussy sheathed me tight, her hands holding the sheets as she pressed back against my movements. Our bodies collided with a beautiful sound. Her cries bounced off the walls of my bedroom.

I loved that fucking sound.

My balls were wound tight and the muscles in my legs were tight.

“Fuck, sweetie, get ready for me,” I warned.

Belle threw her hair back and looked back at me. “Go… now.”

Her eyes were seductive and on fire.

I pulled out of her and hurried to turn her around. I wanted to look into her eyes and see her tits dance for me as I came inside her. She let out a whimper as I pressed my thumb to her clit, twisting, feeling her hips buck at me. I ran my hand up and then took hold of her by her hips. I fucked forward and sank back into her pussy. I went deep and held there, gritting my teeth and thrusting.

Belle groaned and arched her back.

I lowered my mouth down to her left breast and devoured her. My tongue flicked against her nipple. I pulled away using my teeth against her nipple, making her wiggle. That little move was all my cock could take. Our eyes met a second before I started to come. I pulled back, my cock losing control, and then I plowed forward again. Our lips and tongues met and I kissed her as hard as I fucked her as I came. I couldn’t control myself around Belle. My cock craved her body the way my heart craved her love. It was insatiable and I couldn’t get enough. If she were a drug there would be getting off her.

Once we were done, I gently made love to her again, always making sure she felt me nice and slow. I loved the way she came when I fucked her slow. The way her body shuddered and how her insides quivered. The way she latched her mouth to my chest or shoulder, biting at me, jerking her pussy at me, deep down knowing she always wanted it harder and faster. Making love to Belle was my way of torturing her wildest desires.

My tank was dry - for the moment - and I pulled out of her. I climbed off the bed and got dressed.

“Come on, sweetie, I have a surprise for you,” I said.

“What?” Belle asked. “Right now?”

“On the roof on the clubhouse.”

“Are you going to fuck me again?”

I grinned. “Only if you beg.”

Belle laughed and I helped her off the bed. She threw on some PJ’s, which only drove me nuts because she wore no panties and no bra. Just pants and a hoodie. I wanted to fight anyone who caught a glimpse of her like that.

The clubhouse was loud and rowdy. I heard Cash’s booming voice daring someone to take a body shot out of his ass. Then a glass shattered and everyone started to laugh. Looking at me made me wonder how in the fuck I even gave a shit about nights like that.

We climbed the ladder up to the roof. I had a prospect set all the shit up for me. He cleaned up the table and chairs, put down a blanket, brought up some food, and had an ice cold six pack of beer. We were just hours from sunrise and what better way to experience it?

I let Belle sit down first.

There were two bottles of beer on the table, caps already off.

“Have a drink,” I said with a smile.

Belle looked at me weird and then reached for the bottle. She lifted it to her lips, not realizing there was a ring on the neck. It touched her mouth and she pulled the bottle away, the ring falling into her lap.

That’s when I dropped down in front of her and grabbed her hand and the ring.

Belle’s eyes went wide.

She knew what was coming but I was going to ask it anyway. A real outlaw needed a real woman who would become his wife and the mother to his children.

I already knew the answer to my question though. Belle had been mine from the moment we met.