Page 42

42

Raven

A fter sleeping surprisingly well, I wake up feeling energized for the first time in a long time. Even with the bullshit we came back to last night, I still slept like a rock. Receiving orgasm after orgasm from the club's enforcer made me too exhausted to stay up all night worrying about what comes next. That's today's problem, I suppose.

I stretch my limbs, feeling the not-so-subtle ache where Reaper pounded me into his mattress last night. It felt glorious. No one has ever made me feel so thoroughly used and elated at the same time. I can't help the smirk that etches itself on my lips at the thought.

Then it hits me, a change in the atmosphere, that feeling of being watched. It sets me on high alert, making my body gear up for a fight as I look for the source. When my eyes land on the open bedroom door, I see the person responsible.

My heart kicks up, and my breathing becomes shallow as I take in the intruder. Dark, hungry eyes meet mine as he leans against the door frame, arms crossed and brows drawn. He stands there, drinking me in, not bothering to hide the lustful look in his gaze. Reaper.

Fuck. Why does he look so good in last night's clothes?

I lean forward, letting him get a better view of my cleavage as I take him in. His muscles are barely confined in his rumpled shirt. The seams around his biceps threaten to burst open at the slightest movement. He's a pillar of solid muscle cased in rough, tan skin. His messy, dark hair rests below his shoulders, and his eyes are searing me with a look of longing.

I lick my lips as I let my gaze travel south. His bulge is prominent behind his zipper. The same zipper I touched last night. The one attached to those jeans, that are the only barrier between me and Reaper's giant di—

"You keep staring like that, and everyone in the house is gonna learn who you belong to."

His deep voice halts my perusal, snapping my attention back to his face. "Who said that's what I want? Maybe I don't need to scratch that itch anymore. Ya know, been there, done that," I snark back, unable to help myself. He liked it when I acted like a brat last night.

In a flash, Reaper is off the door frame and towering over me. My breath hitches as he leans close, ghosting his lips over my ear. "Tell that to your soaking pussy."

I don't remember closing my eyes, but when I open them, Reaper is too far away, watching me with a smirk. "Fuck you," I whisper. My voice unable to produce its usual venom.

Something flashes in Reaper's eyes as he licks his lips. "Too many people downstairs for me to do that."

The pulse between my legs is growing harder to ignore. Why the hell did this have to happen right now? And why is he so irresistible? My hips buck under the sheets, something he notices right away. His nostrils flare as he steps closer to the bed. "Needy this morning, aren't you?" he asks, his voice dripping with sex.

I buck again as I wet my lips, marking the way he tracks my every move. He's winding me up, and I don't care to stop it. The memories of how he felt last night are too tempting. My body knows what he's capable of, and she wants more. So does he.

His heavy-lidded gaze bores into me possessively. After shooting a quick glance at the open door, Reaper eliminates the space between us, grabbing my face as he devours my mouth. My hands tangle in his locks as we steal the breath from one another, growing needier with each passing second.

Too soon, he pulls away, still looking ravenous as he growls through his swollen lips, "Can't get too loud. Everyone will hear."

Excitement roils through me as I wait for him to take me. I want him. Need him so badly that every moment without him inside me feels like torture.

When his large hand starts working up my leg, I think I might burst. I fall back onto the pillow, letting my eyes roll as he teases me. He slides his fingers up my inner thigh, stopping before he reaches the edge of my underwear. I'm about to demand he keep going when he presses his lips to my cheek, silencing me.

He's breathing heavily as he says, "You have to be quiet, Raven, or everyone will hear how you sound when you come."

Before I can respond, two of his thick digits plunder into my weeping hole. I cover my mouth to stifle my cries of pleasure as he thrusts in and out, curling his fingers every so often, making me bite back moans as he gives me what I need. Reaper fucks me with his fingers, whispering dirty words in my ears until I come hard all over him.

It takes everything I have not to scream as he wrings me dry, making me come once more as I watch the open door. The thrill is real. The anticipation of getting caught in such a compromising situation makes my pussy purr. It's hot and risky, and I want so much more.

When I come down from the high of my second orgasm, I watch with delight as Reaper licks my juices from his fingers, humming at the taste. "So fucking good. I can't wait til we're alone long enough for you to ride my face."

His words send a lightning bolt of desire straight to my core. I immediately imagine Reaper lying flat on the bed, holding my thighs as I straddle his face, growling happily as I fuck his face, making a mess of his thick beard. I can't wait.

A knowing chuckle comes from his chest, something I've never heard. It's different, sexy even. "All in good time, Wildfire."

The new nickname catches me by surprise, pausing my sordid daydream. "Wildfire?"

Reaper shrugs. "Seems fitting."

"Say it again," I demand.

With a smirk, he obliges. "Wildfire."

I let the name sink into my bones. It sounds good coming off his tongue, especially when he's looking at me like an animal ready to devour its next meal. Wildfire. It makes sense considering what we've become. Something uncontrollable, hot, and wild that spreads like crazy until contained.

He's right, it does fit.

"I like it," I admit, letting a comfortable silence fall between us. I feel more settled now, more in control since the post-orgasmic bliss has relaxed its hold on me. Every breath feels deeper and cleansing. I have the intimidating man next to me to thank for that. As I study him, a possessive wave crashes over me, screaming one word in the back of my mind over and over again. A silent claiming. A stake of ownership.

Mine.

Our eyes meet, and I see the same claim weaving its way through Reaper's mind. I'm his; he's already decided, and my soul flares at the idea. Whether we meant to or not, we've become something powerful and passionate over time. All the friction and fighting between us before was a hapless attempt to put distance between us. A fruitless effort to keep our attraction at bay.

We should have known better than to fight it, but that's not in our nature. Neither of us stood down from a fight easily. Another thing we have in common.

He's mine. My mind screams again as Reaper connects our lips for another sensuous kiss.

A shout from downstairs interrupts our peaceful existence, reminding us of the reality we all still have to face. There's a war raging, and no one is immune from the fallout. There's so much to figure out and it can't be done from this room, no matter how badly we want to stay.

As if reading my mind, Reaper stands from the bed and heads for the door. "We need to check in with Viper. Raptor and your sister are already down there."

I nod, tossing the sheets off my legs. "Guess we should get going then, huh?"

He waits as I change, watching my every move. When I'm done, he follows as I lead the way downstairs.

We find everyone in the kitchen, discussing something as Nix and Lace dish out breakfast. Upon our arrival, Nix smiles at me. "Morning, Rae. How'd you sleep?"

"Great, I must have been exhausted because I slept like a rock."

Beside me, Jesse's eyes grow wide. He's one of three who knows the reason I'm so worn out. He looks at Reaper before schooling his features. I try to look indifferent, try to hide the elation I feel from this morning's activities. No one needs to know what's going on, not yet. There's too much else to focus on, too much left to figure out. It's a sobering thought.

When I look at Nix, a sinking feeling hits my stomach at the expression she wears. She's worried and scared. The shit with the Sons and the Bastards did that to her. It pisses me off, and suddenly the euphoria I felt minutes ago starts to fade into anger. Dom and his crew need to pay for what they did. And if the look on Viper's face is any indication, they'll pay in spades.

Daddy Dearest and I have a quiet understanding. We haven't spoken much since our last fight, but in the wake of Misty's death, we both know it's time to let bygones be bygones. Our fighting won't help anyone but the Bastards right now, and those fuckers aren't getting shit from me.

We all want to take them down, and Viper is making plans to do that. Nothing is set in stone as far as I know, but the MC is working hard to come up with something. Viper has most of his guys checking on the businesses and getting intel while he and Bear drum up support from old friends.

Meanwhile, Nix, Lace, and I are once again on lockdown at the clubhouse. It sucks, but this time I don't fight it. I am getting restless, though. I need to relieve my pent-up energy, and since I can't do so with Reaper yet, I come up with an alternative.

"We need more space. Move the couches back further," I tell Archie and Tweak as they clear space for a makeshift boxing ring in Viper's living room.

"Why are we doing this again?" Archie asks as he moves an end table to the kitchen.

"We're teaching Nix and Lace self-defense," I answer with a huff. It didn't take much convincing earlier to get Raptor and Reaper to agree. I made a compelling case that having Nix and Lace trained in basic self-defense was smart in our current predicament. They immediately jumped on board and started helping transform the living room.

I spend the next two hours demonstrating and training them with the help of my MC assistants. Nix picks things up quickly with Raptor's help, and Lace does okay at first. She really seems to improve when Stitch arrives from his errand and starts helping out. With him demonstrating techniques for her, she does so much better. I know their chemistry has a lot to do with it, but whatever the reason, I'm glad she's retaining the information.

It makes us all feel better to know they have at least some basic defensive knowledge. If something horrible happens, they can at least attempt to fend off an attacker. Let's hope it never comes to that.

The air is thick with tension that no one wants to mention. More people are going to get hurt before the end. Probably some standing in this room. Maybe all of us if things go to shit. It isn't a happy topic, and we want to prolong any sense of normalcy we can until it's too late.

My eyes meet Reaper's from across the room, and something inside me stirs. Nix is more than enough reason to want this war to end sooner rather than later, but now I have more than her to stress about. My former nemesis now means something to me, something I never expected. He, Jesse, Lace, and the rest of the MC have all become important to me.

Now, the Bastards have more than one way they can destroy me. Now, losing any one of them would cut me to the core.