ROUGH RIDER (5 page)

G
roaning
, I pushed Bear’s mountain-sized head away, his tongue leaving traces of drool on my pillow, waking me up like he did every damned morning.

Reluctantly, I untangled myself from Gabby and left her sleeping peacefully. I hated leaving her side, but I didn’t want to wake her just yet.

I’d made the mistake of getting up in the middle of the night to pee, and left the bedroom door open, which allowed Bear the opportunity to give me his usual rude awakening. I looked over at Gabby, her long limbs curled up in my sheets, her black hair strewn all over my pillow, looking even more beautiful in the morning light than she had last night.

If that was even possible.

My body was buzzing to take her once again, my morning wood pulsing hotly. Bear whimpered at the door, not giving one fuck about my predicament.

“Fine, goddammit,” I whispered, throwing my jeans on, leaving the fly unbuttoned to avoid the task of trying to leash the monster that Gabby had awakened and headed toward the front door, Bear trotting along beside me.

He whined again as I pulled on my boots and jacket, patting my pocket to make sure my gun was still there. I’d been reckless last night by letting it out of my sight. I should have had it next to the bed, but I’d been distracted by getting into Gabby’s pants.

I wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Again.

Would there be an again?

“Come on,” I muttered. “You’re a fucking impatient beast, you know that?” I opened the door and Bear ran out ahead of me, galloping in the morning sunlight to his favorite spot. I took a look around, making sure we were still alone.

The guys would be along in a few hours to check in, but that’s not who I was looking for.

I hadn’t forgotten the danger I’d put myself in yesterday. I was distracted by Gabby. By Gabby’s eyes, her face, her perfect fucking body, her sweet pussy…

That was the kind of girl you could die for…

Fuck.

I’d never expected it to feel like that. Not that I’d forgotten how amazing a woman’s body felt, but there was something about Gabby that made me want to spend the entire night and day sinking into her over and over.

I didn’t know what it was. Last night, I’d tried to do less thinking and more feeling, forcing my thoughts of surprise to the back of my mind, forcing my worry away, reminding myself what this was all about.

One night. That’s all. Nothing more. Nothing less.

But, for fuck’s sake! Her body fit mine like a fucking glove, and when she moaned, whimpering my name over and over as I rode her sweet curves like a fucking roller-coaster, it just did something to me. I just couldn’t get enough.

That’s why I’d fucked her three times. Once wasn’t enough. And now that she was sleeping naked in my bed in the light of day, the sunlight washing over her creamy skin, I wasn’t so sure that one night was going to be enough either.

I joined Bear, pissing over his spot just to piss him off. It wasn’t easy, not with the permanent erection I’d had since last night. Didn’t seem to matter that me and my cock had been out of commission for so long, my cock was unfazed - roaring and ready to go. And I guess I was, too. Full speed ahead with no end in sight, apparently.

Bear eyed me warily and then grunted and walked back inside, his daily exercise requirements fulfilled.

I scanned the woods as I buttoned up, the morning sounds of the forest coming alive around me. Everything was waking up, the birds singing their ancient songs, the flowers opening up. The trees towered over me, dancing their ritualistic dance in the wind. A brand new sun rose in the bright blue sky.

A brand new day.

A brand new beginning.

A beginning that I wasn’t expecting, not in a million years. I was used to be woken up by Bear to go outside, but I wasn’t used to having a woman to go to bed with.

Finding myself in this predicament was unusual, for sure.

In the blinding daylight, the effects of last night’s booze faded away. All of my senses were heightened. I was on high alert and for damned good reason. I knew the Iron Godz would be looking for me and every hour they couldn’t find me only pissed them off more.

For now, everything was quiet, the peaceful stillness of the morning air wrapping around me. Rays of sunlight streamed through the clouds, lighting up the glistening drops of dew on the leaves that had yet to burn off. I took a deep breath, hoping this sense of peace would stay for a while before the chaos that I was sure was coming my way arrived. At least long enough to let me enjoy Gabby’s delicious beauty one more time.

I pulled open the front door of the cabin, and headed straight back to bed and back to Gabby.

I knew they were coming for me. I knew it wouldn’t be pretty. Hell, I might die by the end of the day, but I was determined to die a happy man.

And happiness was waiting for me, right between my sheets.

L
icking and panting
. Wet clumps of fur brushed against my face and my eyes shot open as a little yelp escaped from my throat.

“Bear! Dammit!” I heard Dante’s booming voice coming before he appeared in the doorway. I gasped at the sight of him in the daylight. He was wearing nothing but jeans, with one button left open at the top, that thin treasure trail leading right into them, leading right into the amusement ride I’d so happily ridden all night long.
Damn
, I thought, drinking in the sight of his tan skin, his broad, tattoo slathered shoulders, his rippling muscles that felt so good beneath my fingers. “Sorry about that,” he murmured, attempting to pull Bear off the bed. Instead, the dog plopped down on Dante’s side of the bed, and curled up next to my hip.

“This guy,” Dante growled, shaking his head. “I was trying to let you sleep…” He flashed me the most adorable half-grin and my insides melted as the events of the previous night came rushing back to me.

The bar. The bikers. The fight.

Him.

What was I supposed to do now?
I wondered, as I smiled up at him. Sure, he was fucking gorgeous. Beyond sexy. Beyond fuck-able - obviously. I can’t even remember how many times he made me shiver in pleasure last night. It’s a good thing we were out in the middle of nowhere, because if there’d been any neighbors, they’d surely have called the cops with all the screaming I was doing. To say it was amazing was a cruel understatement.

He was a skilled lover - patient, giving, tender and rough at all the right times.

And these were all very, very good things.

But now, the sun was up and here we were. The next morning.

We were still two strangers, with two very different lives to go back to.

And yet, I was still stranded. Still at his mercy. I couldn’t just do the walk of shame to my car and go on with my life.

My life. Whatever that was. I knew Bella would be wondering where I was by now. She was probably blowing my phone up. I wished, for the tenth time, that I’d thought to grab my purse before we ran out of the bar. I didn’t even have access to money for a cab or anything.

I was helpless and it was driving me crazy. I wasn’t used to that. Sure, I basically lived my life under my father’s thumb, but for the most part, I was self-sufficient. I lived with Bella in a two bedroom flat in Queens and I even had a job.

“Fuck!” I said, reality dawning on me all at once. “I have to get to work!”

“Well, good morning to you, too. Work? Where do you work?” Dante asked.

“At Doris DeLuca’s.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a dress shop. I’m supposed to be there this afternoon. Will you please take me back to my car now?”

“Yeah, sure…” he replied, grinning that sexy fucking grin at me, without moving an inch.

Shit. Part of me didn’t want to leave. Bear rolled over on his back and I reached out to scratch his belly, pulling my eyes away from Dante’s. I couldn’t handle looking at him. My nipples hardened under the sheet, my sex pulsing for more of the pleasure it’d received throughout the night.

It was a good thing this dog was between us, because if he came any closer, I was bound to start begging for another round. My body was still on fire from his touch, and I could almost still feel his hands on me, his lips kissing me, his cock inside me…

“Bear, get down!” Dante barked suddenly. The dog jumped down and ran out of the room.

So much for that obstacle,
I thought.

Dante turned back to me, the same hunger coursing through my veins reflected in his dark, lusty eyes.

“I’ll take you back to your car,” he growled, his voice so low I almost couldn’t hear him. “After I taste you one more time…”

And then his hands were on me once more, pulling me to him, pushing the sheets from my bare skin, his mouth falling on my skin, so hot, so wet, so urgent, so unbelievably delicious…

D
ante’s clubhouse
disappeared in the rearview mirror. My arms wrapped around him tightly, and I leaned into his back, inhaling the leathery scent of his cut. I sighed, my voice echoing in my own ears, the helmet he had put on my head before we left muffling the sounds of the world rushing by.

The trees along the dirt road towered over us, a stark contrast to the clear blue sky above us.

We’d hardly talked at all since waking. Which was good, I guess. Because what do you say to someone at a time like this? I didn’t want it to end, but I barely knew him. I couldn’t exactly stay at his cabin letting him devour me for the rest of our lives, no matter how amazing that sounded.

S
aying
goodbye was going to be hard enough. Instead, we’d let our bodies do the talking for us. Hell, singing is more like it. He played my body like an instrument.

Part of me felt like last night was a dream. A very vivid, very pleasurable, very wild dream. The kind of dream that you never wanted to wake up from. The kind of dream that was too good to be true.

But it was true. And he was still right here in my arms, our bodies vibrating together from the powerful engine between our legs.

But like a dream, it was fleeting, and it was over, and it really was too good to be true.

I couldn’t fool myself into thinking anything different.

But fuck if I wasn’t determined to milk these last few minutes with Dante, even if it was on the back of his bike. He reached back, squeezing my thigh intimately, and I swallowed hard. He’d done that yesterday on the ride over, and yet now, it seemed to say so much more.

The ride back to Otto’s went way too fast. My heart sank when I saw the sign up above. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye, but I braced myself for the inevitable. I’d just jump off the bike, give him a quick kiss, and jump in my car. Rip it off like a band-aid. It was the only way I could think to do it. The only way that would make the pain go away quickly.

When Dante slowed his bike outside of Otto’s, I felt sick with dread.

But then we both saw them at the same time, and instead of turning, Dante kept going. My heart raced as soon as I saw them. Cops. They’d blocked off the parking lot and were swarming all over Otto’s and surrounding my car. One of them was taking pictures. A huge truck from Channel Eight News was on the side of the road and there was a huge crowd of onlookers lining the street.

“What the fuck?” I muttered in my helmet, my arms wrapping tighter around Dante’s waist as he quickly turned a corner and raced out of sight.

A
fter driving for a while
, he parked the bike next to Norma’s diner and we pulled our helmets off.

“That didn’t look good,” he said.

“What the hell was that?” I asked, my voice quivering. “Why were they around my car like that?”

“I’m not sure, but we did beat up an entire bar full of bikers. The media and cops don’t usually get involved with that kind of thing too much, though.” He pulled me into his arms and stroked my back. “Listen, everything’s going to be okay. Let’s go get some breakfast and we’ll figure out what to do.”

“Yeah, sure,” I agreed, letting him lead me into the diner. As soon as we walked in, all eyes landed on us. I put my head down as the waitress led us to a booth in the back.

“You two here for breakfast?” she asked, tapping her pen on the pad of paper she was holding as we slid in across from each other.

“Yes, please,” Dante replied.

“Coffee?” she asked, snapping her gum.

“Yes, please,” he said again. She put two cups down in front of us and slowly poured coffee into them. I looked around and saw that everyone was still staring at us.

“Why is everyone looking at us?” I asked Dante after the waitress walked away.

“It’s the cut,” he dismissed. “You get used to it.”

“Oh!” I hadn’t thought of that. I took a sip of the coffee, trying to find some comfort in its warmth. “So what was going on back there?” I whispered, doing my best to ignore the stares.

“Well, those were definitely pigs.”

“But it was just a bar fight! And it happened yesterday. Wouldn’t they be gone by now?”

“Gabby,” he replied, his dark eyes growing serious. “I guess you don’t know who those bikers were. The Iron Godz are the most dangerous club on the East Coast. They’re not to be fucked with. And we fucked with them. Hard.”

“Okay. But why the cops?”

“Not sure,” he said. Was that a glimmer of worry I saw in his eyes?

“Are you afraid of them?” I asked, a ball of frazzled nerves forming in the pit of my stomach.

“Who?” he asked.

“The Iron Godz? And the cops?” I wasn’t supposed to be afraid. I was a Loprinzi. I was supposed to tough it out, remember that I was untouchable, and keep my chin up. But my gut was telling me this was not going to work out so easily.

“Hell, no,” he said with a laugh. “I can handle anything that comes my way.”

Okay, I thought, looking over at him. His confidence was reassuring but I wasn’t so sure myself. For something like this, I needed my father. There was nobody else I trusted enough to take care of this.

“I need to call my dad,” I said, looking around for a phone in the diner. Of course, I didn’t find one because nobody has pay phones anymore these days. “Can I use your cell now?” I asked Dante, just as my eyes landed on a television screen in the corner.

It couldn’t be
, I thought, my stomach dropping.

“That’s me…” I whispered, the color draining from my face, as I slowly pointed at the TV, my face staring back at me. The bar. The fight. Dante and I leaving Otto’s together. It played out before my eyes in slow motion. The sound was off, but it was close enough that I could read the caption scrolling across the bottom.

“Missing mafia princess and biker boyfriend wanted for murders of two bikers…” I read, out loud.

“What the fuck?” Dante turned towards the television, then quickly turned back to me, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“Mafia princess?” he asked slowly. “What the fuck are they talking about, Gabby?” His eyes were wide with shock.

“I guess I should have told you who my dad is…”