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Raven

O nce Nix moved in with Raptor, I dove headfirst into things with Reaper. I moved in with him, and we now share the bed where this whole thing started. It seemed like the thing to do, and I don't regret it in the least. All-day sex marathon? Yes, please.

No roomies to worry about. No risk of getting a surprise visit from a mysterious landlord—a landlord who was totally cool about Nix and me moving out even though we weren't at the end of our lease. One who finally revealed himself when we announced we were moving out. Elias West.

Big shocker there.

But get this, he'd been saving every dime we paid in rent and split it between Nix and me after we moved out. Said he felt it was the least he could do since he'd missed so many years of our lives. We tried to give the money back, but he wouldn't budge. Told us he'd find some other way to give it to us anyway.

Today, the house Nix and I lived in serves as an extension of the clubhouse. A place for the Sons' allies to crash when they come to town. One the Devils have used frequently, as of late, meeting with the Sons and making plans for the future of both clubs. Everyone's settling into the new normal.

The bar was rebuilt, and the clubhouse was fixed up. But those weren't the only things that needed repairing after the epic battle with Scar's crew. The biggest was Kat. She started coming around more, working through what happened in any way she could.

I've taken her under my wing, helped her sort through her shit, and started teaching her to defend herself. It seems to help her. It helps me, too, if I'm being honest. She had it way worse than I did, but over time I've seen her spark come back. The light that seemed dim in her eyes has started to return. Helping her get there has been therapeutic for me. We'll spar and talk, leave everything out on the mats, and by the time we're done, the air doesn't feel so heavy.

We were lucky in the battle with the Bastards. We didn't lose anyone, and only one of our allies was critically injured. The road captain for the Devils took a bullet that missed one of his major arteries by only centimeters. Lucky for him, Doc was able to patch him up well enough to get to a hospital. Besides that, the worst of the injuries were a few through and throughs to a couple of guys' arms. And there were several flesh wounds. Everyone has since recovered and left that in the past.

We're healing. All of us. Getting back to some semblance of routine, just the way we should.

Even the sweetbutts have started coming around again, which is fine for the most part. Most of them respect boundaries, but the skanky brunette who always had her eyes on Reaper needed a lesson on the subject. She crossed me once, getting touchy with Reaper, and learned pretty fast who he belonged to.

The first time she put her hands on him when the boys had a party, he shrugged her off. When she didn't get the message, I drove the point home with a hand around her neck and a crystal clear threat—touch my man, and I'll fuck you up. She saw the light, and after that, none of the girls looked twice in his direction.

And the sex we had that night . . . Let's just say that my staking my claim made his innermost caveman emerge. My mind was fucking blown. As it is every night with him. Tonight included.

Deep inside me, the coil tightens, growing heavier with every snap of Reaper's hips. Ecstasy. Pure ecstasy is all I feel when he's inside me. So full and warm and—

Oh, fuck.

My mouth pops open as he brushes the spot that always drives me wild. I can't help the needy moans that escape me as he thrusts into me over and over and over. "Mmmm, yes," I cry. "Don't you dare fucking stop."

With a wicked half-smile, my lover buries himself deeper, taking me the way he knows I want to be fucked. Reaper's grunts come faster as he fucks me like a wild beast. He gives no mercy as his huge dick pounds my pussy into oblivion. I can't get enough.

I know I'm leaving scratches down his back that will leave their mark for hours if not days, but that only seems to spur him on. My man likes it rough, just like me. Call me a sadist or whatever; I don't care. I proudly wear his marks on my skin after we've gone a few rounds. Bruises from his fingers digging into my waist, his bright red handprint on my ass, imprints from his teeth between my thighs—I'll take it all.

He knows how to leave his mark without causing me pain, only pleasure. And the feral look in his eyes when he sees those marks on me . . . Fuck, does that drive me wild.

His possessive and claiming nature makes me want to do the same for him. So, every mark leaves my signature each time we fuck, letting everyone who sees them know this man is mine. It's strange how good that makes me feel. Old Raven would have scoffed at the idea, but not me. Now I revel in it, fucking live for it.

Reaper moves inside of me again, and my soul leaves my body. Fuck, the things this man does to me.

I feel a rumble in his chest as he growls in my ear, "You're. Fuckin'. Mine, Raven. Mine. " He punctuates every word with a vicious thrust, rendering me deliriously satisfied.

The way he gets all growly and possessive over me—yeah, I'm addicted.

A fierce orgasm crashes over me like a tidal wave, reminding me just how talented the man between my legs is. A heavy hand circles my neck, squeezing just enough to send a bolt of excitement right back to my core. Reaper keeps rutting into me, holding me in place by my neck as his hips snap viciously between my legs. He fucks me thoroughly, coaxing another climax from my core.

It's something we've learned over the last few months—how to ring every ounce of pleasure from each other. We've explored things sexually in almost every conceivable way. Finding new ways to make each other come has become one of our favorite activities. That's how we learned we both have this kink.

With his hand around my neck, I arch my back, needing more. Needing him . Like he can read my mind, he releases his grip on my hip, still holding my throat firmly but gently in his other fist. He palms my tits, tweaking and pulling my nipples before lavishing them with his warm tongue. He touches me everywhere, just like I need him to.

Marking. Claiming. The sensations drive me wild, sending me over the edge again. This time, he falls right along with me. He roars my name as he spills into me, letting my greedy pussy milk him of everything he's got.

His thrusts grow slow and shaky as he rides out his orgasm inside me. Meaty fingers pulse around my neck with every throb of his cock. Heaven. That's what he feels like every time. He sends me straight to heaven with every climax, and I can't get enough.

When he pulls out and rolls to the side, he pulls me with him, planting me against his chest. His dark hair scratches my cheek as I listen to his wild, beating heart. "That was incredible," I breathe, relaxing into him.

"Every time with you is," he agrees, making my lips curl vainly.

Time seems to slow as we lay here, basking in the aftermath. Our breathing starts to relax, and our skin cools as the fan spins overhead. The steady beat of his heart lulls me into a peaceful haze as his fingers trail across my skin.

Safe and sated we lay there, our bodies tangled as one like it's the most normal thing in the world. Maybe it is. Maybe this is what it's like when you've finally found your match. Peace. Happiness. Understanding.

Love.

The word still knocks me off kilter, and I haven't told him outright how I feel. But it's there marinating under the surface, waiting for me to grow a pair and tell him. I will. When the universe gives me a sign that it's time, then I'll tell him my heart belongs to him, that he's the only one who's ever made me feel this way.

A gentle caress brushes down my scalp as Reaper's long fingers tangle in my strands. His full lips press a kiss to the top of my head, making me melt a little more for my mountain of a man. This soft side of him is unnerving in the best ways possible.

For someone who looks like Satan's bodyguard, it's a huge surprise to find any softness in him, and he saves it all for me. Knowing that makes me more than a little giddy. It tells me that this man, this beautiful, frightening man, feels our unique connection as strongly as I do.

I've given him parts of myself that I never dreamed of giving to anyone, and he's returned the favor tenfold since saving me from that warehouse. My hero. My protector. My love.

Reaper's grip tightens on my hip as he rests his cheek against my hair. "I never used to do this," he says quietly. "Never used to hold anyone after taking what they had to give. Never wanted to. Until you."

My heart skips a beat at his confession. The silence stretches for several agonizing seconds before he continues.

"What you are to me, Raven, my wildfire, what you've become. I'm not good with words or feelings, but I need you to know.

"The day you showed up to the clubhouse, banging on the door like you'd bust it down to save your sister—that day you jumpstarted my heart. Woke something inside me I never knew was there. Since then, Raven, you've become my world, my everything. This ice-cold stone in my chest started beating that day because of you— for you —and it hasn't stopped since."

He takes a deep breath, and I feel his heart thumping faster in his chest. "I need you to know that," he says with a whisper, leaving me in stunned silence.

Tears prick my eyes as my lip starts to tremble. A vulnerability I've never felt before seeps into my bones as his words sink deep into my soul. I give myself a minute to gather my composure before sitting up and leveling his gaze with mine. "I love you too, Reaper," I tell him with a shaky breath.

His eyes blaze with surprised elation before he crashes his mouth to mine, delivering a breathtaking kiss. Every coherent thought leaves my mind as his mouth works over mine, pouring into me love and devotion like I've never felt before.

Too soon, he pulls away, ghosting his lips against mine. "I'm so in love with you, Raven West, so fuckin' deep. My heart is yours."

"And mine is yours, Reaper. It's all yours. Every part of me." I kiss him again, deeply, telling him with that kiss just how much of my heart has been his all along. Every. Last. Piece.

"Knox," he says breathlessly, sending a wave of confusion over me. "My name—it's Knox."

Another piece of himself, gifted to me.

"Knox." I let the sound roll off my tongue, relishing how it feels.

His eyes dilate as I repeat his name a few more times, loving that he's giving me more and more of himself as time goes on. "I love you, Knox," I say, pulling his hand over my heart. "I love you. And this, this beating heart in my chest, she's only ever come alive for you."

I'm not sure which of us moves first, but we tumble back to the sheets, becoming a mess of limbs and breath and sex. We get lost in one another, showing how hot our fiery passions burn. When he makes me come again, I scream his name. Not Reaper, but Knox—the one he shared with me, the one he trusted me with after confessing his feelings.

“Knox. Knox. Knox.”

Hearing his real name spill from my lips sends my man into a primal frenzy. He makes me come twice more before his orgasm hits him so hard he looks like he's been to Eden and back. Panting and glistening with sweat, Knox collapses onto my chest. His arms tremble as he wraps them around me.

"Never thought it could be like this," he mutters against my boob, making me chuckle.

"Never has been," I tell him. "Not until us ."

Neither of us speaks again as we fall into a peaceful sleep. Nothing is left unsaid, not since we laid ourselves bare, giving the last pieces of our hearts to the one who was destined for them all along.