Page 9

Gunnar

Surprisingly, my father didn’t make an appearance before me and Pippa took off with Chains and Hawk. I sat in the back with Pippa and she’d leaned against my shoulder and slept most of the two-and-a-half-hour drive. If the situation had been different, I’d have loved to have made this ride with Pippa on the back of my bike. You know. If I had a bike. Something I’d have to make a top priority if I was gonna live in an active MC.

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when we rolled into the Kiss of Death compound. I had no idea how the club had acquired this area or how much land and construction it owned, but the compound consisted of fenced-in city blocks. Multiple blocks. Nothing but three-story warehouses occupied the spaces. Not in neat rows to maximize the space, but set up seemingly at random. Each building looked exactly alike, though each building had a different purpose. You couldn’t tell from the outside what was on the inside. From what I could tell, Torpedo ran a tight ship. There wasn’t a vehicle outside on the paths or in any kind of parking lot not under cover. Even the paths were camouflaged from above. Once someone entered the compound, it was impossible to see where they went, even from the air.

Hawk wound his way under the fixed camouflage netting, the Humvee barely fitting between some of the buildings. He drove the vehicle like he’d driven this same route a million times, never hesitating when I just knew he was going to take off a mirror or get a wheel wedged at a corner.

“Fuck,” I grumbled. “I only had my driver’s license like three months before I went to prison.”

Hawk barked out a laugh. Chains raised an eyebrow at Hawk but said nothing. “Don’t worry, kid. I’ll give you a crash course, so to speak.”

“You know, I’m not afraid to go back to prison.”

“And miss your honey? I don’t think so. I’ll take my chances today. Tomorrow might be another story.”

“Fucker,” I muttered under my breath. And yeah, those two bastards heard me. Even Chains snorted this time.

“I never learned to drive,” Pippa offered, lifting her chin. If I hadn’t already been in love with the woman, I’d have fallen then.

I leaned in on impulse and gently nipped her earlobe. “Remind me to tell you what you just did to me when we’re alone.”

Pippa sucked in a breath, her gaze snapping to mine. Her vivid green eyes were wide with shock and hunger. I wasn’t experienced in sex, but I knew what the look she was giving me meant. “Oh?”

Instead of saying anything else, I tightened my hold on her, needing to wrap her up in as much protection as I could. Not because I didn’t trust the men riding with me. Because I was a jealous bastard, now that I had the woman I wanted. It wasn’t something I’d ever known about myself, but there was no denying the monster inside me. Pippa had caught Chains’s and Hawk’s attention and I found I didn’t like their interest in the woman in my arms.

“Calm down, you jealous bastard.” Hawk chuckled. “We ain’t gonna make a move on your girl.” Then he addressed Pippa. “He don’t treat you right, though, you come runnin’ to one of us. We’ll put the asshole on the straight and narrow.”

Pippa looked up at me, curling her lips in to keep from smiling too much. Which she failed at miserably. “I don’t think I’ll have anything to worry about,” she said, finally giving up and giving me a dazzling smile. “Besides, I’m fully capable of making sure he treats me right.”

“Yep,” I growled. “Gonna have to have a long talk with you when we get inside our room.”

“Can you guys at least wait to get mushy until Bohannon assigns you a fuckin’ room?” Chains sounded put out, but he was fighting another grin.

“Nope,” I quipped. “Sure can’t.”

I leaned in and took Pippa’s lips with mine, thrusting my tongue inside her mouth once before pulling back. Her smile was glorious before she buried her face in my chest demurely. Kissing was as far as I’d ever go where someone might see, but I really liked staking that claim. Even if it was only two of the club members. Putting a claim on Pippa was the most satisfying thing I’d ever experienced to this point in my life.

“Honestly, Chains. It’s like you do it on purpose.” Hawk kept driving until he pulled into one particularly large warehouse. The door was easily wide enough for two semitrailers to back in side by side.

Once we rolled in, the doors shut behind us and we all climbed out of the cage. Bohannon and Torpedo both moved to me with identical grins on their faces. “Good to see you made it, kid. Everything go according to plan?”

I nodded. “That place was evil, Torpedo. We got Pippa out and killed anyone inside or on the grounds. When the other half of Fire and Steel gets back to their clubhouse, they’re gonna go hunting.”

“Ice and Cyclone know the score?”

I nodded. “Yep. We tried to drop any breadcrumbs we could going away from Bones. If they decide to go hunting, they’ll come here. Not to Bones.”

“Good. I got Data involved. He and Knight are working together on this. Between the two of them, we’ll have plenty of heads-up before those guys show up.”

“Torpedo. Bohannon. This is Pippa. Her dad was my cell mate. He might contact you guys at some point. If he does, I’d appreciate you letting me know.”

Bohannon glanced at Torpedo before speaking. “There a problem?”

“Not at all. But Knuckles, a convicted killer who, by his own admission, killed the men who raped and murdered his sister, told me to rescue his only daughter and make her my old lady. Last thing I’m gonna do is not follow up on any call he makes in case he thinks I’m avoiding him. The man will put a hit out on me if he thinks I’m trying to keep him from contacting his daughter to confirm my treatment of her. I ain’t too ashamed to admit I’m scared as shit of the man.”

Pippa chuckled before putting her face against my shoulder but continued to laugh. The other guys laughed outright, and I found I’d missed this so fucking much. The comradery. The ribbing. The brotherhood I’d never found anywhere else in my life. Not even when I played sports in high school. My gaze met Bohannon who was grinning like a loon. He nodded at me, reaching out to give me a firm handshake. “We got your back, brother.”

Everyone else followed suit. Three of the guys I knew from Bones. I figured they’d followed Torpedo and Bohannon, probably to help get things set up around guys everyone was familiar with until they knew they had guys here they could trust. There were a couple from Salvation’s Bane as well. Mostly, there were guys I hadn’t met before. Most of those had rap sheets as long as my arm. And all of them were men I recognized as being loyal to Knuckles. How did I know this? That same tattoo in the webbing of their thumb and forefinger I had. To a man, everyone who had that tattoo gave me respectful nods.

Bohannon’s wife, Luna, took us to the top floor of the warehouse we were in. The place had been converted into an open plan apartment. “All four of my sons are with Kiss of Death now.” I thought that was as much for me as it was for Pippa. “They’re looking forward to seeing Gunnar again and meeting you. Probably wanting to meet you more than they want to see that one.” Luna gave me a little smirk. “For now, think of it as the presidential suite,” she said with a cheeky grin. “Only special people get to stay here. Mainly because the guys think it’s too comfortable. Somehow, it makes them less manly to have a place this big. They own enough of these warehouses to make everyone a top floor flat, but the guys are holding out. I think they’re taking bets on who gives in first.”

“It’s that pesky Y chromosome. Does something to them.” Pippa winked at me, and I’d never been so happy to see a woman flirt with me. She should be scared and fragile. Instead, once she’d slept off the lingering effects of the drug she’d had forced on her, she didn’t seem worse for wear. Which set off all kinds of alarms, but I had bigger problems right now -- because Luna said her goodbyes and shut the door and that left me in this place alone with Pippa.

Speaking of Pippa. She stepped into my personal space and put her arms around my neck. She didn’t kiss me or do anything other than cling to me, pressing her body against mine. Of course, my arms went around her as if I had no control over them.

I had no idea how long I stood there with her, but I had no desire to move. As long as Pippa was in my arms, I could stay close to her. I could protect and cherish her. Maybe it was because I’d been in prison so long, away from human affection. Yeah, I got to see my mother and father and occasionally Hannah or Mama and Pops, but we weren’t allowed to touch, and until I’d held Pippa in my arms when I carried her out of hell, I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed affectionate physical touch.

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes, and I felt like the biggest fucking asshole in the world. Here she was, hurting, and I was losing myself in the feel of her sweet body pressed against me.

“Fuck,” I swore as I used one hand to gently sweep away her tears with my thumb. “I’m sorry, Pippa. You’re hurting and I’m…”

She reached up and put her trembling fingers over my mouth to hush me. “I think we’re both hurting. I also think it’s time to start healing.”

“Tell me what to do, Pippa. I’m gonna need some help here.” I’d never been more serious in my life. I was totally out of my depth.

“Kiss me, Gunnar. Then, just do what feels good because I’m out of my depth, too.”

That was a tall order, but I couldn’t argue. People had been doing this as long as there had been people. I knew the basics. I’d figure it the fuck out. But that wasn’t as much a concern as her well-being. “Are you sure about this, Pippa? We don’t have to have sex now. Or at all, if you don’t want to. I can hold you while you sleep. I can pleasure you. Whatever you need.”

“I want you, Gunnar. Please. Kiss me. We’ll decide what happens after that together.”

Maybe it made me a deplorable human being, but a fifteen-year prison sentence said I wasn’t a fucking saint. Kissing Pippa was easy. My mouth claimed hers, tongue sliding into her mouth like it belonged there. God, did it feel good! Like coming home after a long time away. Maybe that was what Pippa meant. Like I’d found something that completed me.

Pippa tilted her head, inviting me deeper, and I took what she gave me. My hands slid down her sides, cupping her ass before pulling her against my hard cock. The sound that came from my throat wasn’t human, but Pippa didn’t pull away. In fact, she moaned into my kiss and pressed herself against me harder.

“Bedroom,” I said, more to myself than to Pippa when I finally pulled back enough to breathe without gasping. She nodded and led me over to the door on the far side of the room with a room key dangling from a hook on the wall beside it.

I picked her up without thinking, Pippa giggled and wrapped her legs around my waist as I carried her into the room and onto the queen-size bed along one wall of the corner space. The sheets were soft, clean with only one pillow on the bed. I should probably have been embarrassed at how my cock stretched the shorts I was still wearing, but fuck it. I had my woman in my arms about to claim her. She was letting me, and she’d be the only woman I’d ever be with.

When I was a teenager, before my life had gone to hell, I’d looked at the men in Bones and watched them interact with the club whores in the clubhouse. Anyone not married or in a relationship -- men and women alike -- took their pleasures frequently and with whomever they wanted as long as the woman was willing and everyone was single. I hadn’t had that opportunity and, thanks to Knuckles, had been able to avoid sex in prison. I thought I’d never be in a sexual situation with a woman for a number of reasons. Even once my time was served, what man wanted to admit to any woman he was getting ready to fuck he was a virgin? I’d decided I’d lived without it during my prime years, I could manage going forward.

Pippa let me go and moved to the center of the bed, shrugging out of her shirt and pants before rolling onto her side to watch me strip off my clothes. I’d never been completely naked in front of a woman before and I’d never been so nervous in my life. The thought of showing every inch of my body to this woman made my heart race and my breath catch in my throat, and I wasn’t sure how much was anticipation and how much was dread. If she found me lacking, I knew I’d never recover.

Pippa tracked my every movement, her attention completely focused on me. I saw her body shimmer in the lights as sweat coated her skin. The bruising on her body stood out in stark relief and I paused in undressing.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this? Much as I want you right now, I absolutely will not risk hurtin’ you, Pippa. Not for any reason.”

I swallowed as she moved to the edge of the bed, her knees bent so she sat back on her heels. Without a word, she pulled her bra over her head, revealing the most beautiful breasts I’d ever seen. I figured I’d seen more than my fair share in smuggled-in magazines, but Pippa was absolutely exquisite. Her breasts were small and tipped with dusky nipples my mouth watered to taste. I simply to God couldn’t take my focus from her to finish shedding my clothes.

“I’ve kissed a couple guys,” Pippa said in a soft voice. “But I’ve never been naked in front of one.”

I scrubbed my hand over my mouth. “I’ve never been naked in front of a woman.”

“So, another first for both of us?”

“Gonna be a lot of firsts.” I let out a nervous laugh as I reached for her.

Pippa pulled me to her and kissed me until instinct took over and I took the lead. Do what feels good? I could definitely do that.

As Pippa’s soft lips parted under mine, I took that as my permission to explore her mouth with my tongue, tasting her sweetness. I didn’t even try to fight the groan bubbling up from my throat. I’d have been embarrassed, but Pippa’s soft moan mingled with mine. Any reasons I thought I had for hiding my reactions from her became unimportant. She deserved to know how wonderful she made me feel.

I trailed my hands over her smooth flesh, relishing the sensation of silky skin against my roughened palms. She was so warm, so alive against me, it was intoxicating. I pulled her closer, needing her tight against me, her breasts mashed against my chest. Pippa responded by arching against me, her breasts rising and falling with each ragged breath.

I moved lower, trailing kisses down her neck and shoulders before taking the top of one breast in my mouth. I sucked, shuddering in pleasure when she cried out and thrust her chest toward me again. She tunneled her fingers through my hair and held me to her. The harder I sucked, the better she seemed to like it.

“Gunnar.” Her soft gasp sent pleasure through me. My cock was hard as granite and I knew there was no way I would last very long.

“I’m gonna do everything I can to make you come, Pippa. But, please don’t hold it against me if I can’t. I promise you I’ll figure it out.”

She let out a small laugh. “I don’t think you’ll have to do much. I’m wound so tight I’m pretty sure a stiff breeze would set me off.”

“Don’t I know the fuckin’ feelin’.”

My hands shook as I continued to move down her body. My lips followed my fingers as I kissed my way down her beautiful body. I marveled at her sweet scent, at the salty taste of the sweat glistening on her skin. With every sigh or sharp inhalation Pippa made, my cock pulsed even harder.

When I reached the hem of her panties, I took in a shuddering breath. With trembling fingers, I pulled them over her slim hips and down her long legs until I slipped them from her feet and tossed them to the floor beside the bed. My heart thundered in my chest as I took in the sight of her perfect pussy -- smooth, pink, and inviting.

Pippa’s eyes were lowered but she watched me intently as I dipped my head to taste her for the first time. We both seemed to hold our breath until the second my lips grazed her glistening sex. Her clit pulsed under my tongue as I lapped gently.

The taste hit me like a punch. I actually grunted as her flavor exploded on my tongue in a tangy, musky zest. I grunted at the same time Pippa cried out in surprise.

“Holy fuck!” She leaned up on her elbows. “Don’t you dare fuckin’ stop!”

With a growl, I fastened my mouth on her pussy and licked and sucked while she writhed underneath me, grinding her cunt against my face.

I wanted to put my fingers in her, to see how much more I could give her, but I wasn’t exactly sure if I should. I didn’t want to hurt her. As I brought my fingers to her pussy to circle her opening with my fingertips, Pippa’s breathing grew erratic and ragged.

“Gunnar! Oh, God!”

Her body tensed beneath me, then she thrashed her head from side to side as she screamed. Her pussy quivered beneath my lips and tongue as she came. I was so relieved I got lightheaded and thought I might have sobbed in relief.

When her body relaxed, so did her grip on my hair. I kissed her inner thigh and lapped softly at her folds. Sweat coated my body, and I actually trembled.

“Gunnar?” She found my shoulders with her hands and tried to pull me to her. I took my time, kissing a blazing trail up her torso, between her breasts until I kissed her lips as I lay on top of her, my hips in the cradle of hers.

“Are you sure this is what you want, Pippa? I’m not strong enough to let you go once I have you.”

She smiled at me, stroking my beard with her fingers. “Were you planning on leaving me if we don’t have sex?”

I didn’t even hesitate. “Fuck no!”

Pippa’s laughter warmed my heart. After everything she’d been through, I had no idea how she could manage any sort of humor, but my woman wasn’t a shrinking violet. She was brave. Strong. Once she found her footing with me and wherever we landed after this, I knew she’d be a force to be reckoned with. “Yes, Gunnar. I’m sure this is what I want. I want you to make love to me.”

“Not sure I ever thought I’d actually make love with a woman. Always thought of it as just fuckin’, but I see the difference now.”

She smiled up at me. “Don’t make me wait any longer, Gunnar. I’m just as anxious as you are to do this.”

I nodded and took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart as I reached between us and fisted my cock to guide myself to Pippa’s entrance. The head of my cock brushed against her slick folds and we both gasped at the sensation. I froze. “I forgot a condom.”

“I’ve got an implant. Mama said all the tests she ran came back clean. There’s a couple pending, but she said…” Pippa’s face flushed pink. “My hymen’s intact,” she finished in a soft rush. “And I was pretty sure they hadn’t touched me like that before, but she confirmed it.”

“I got tested when I got out on account of the ink. And I didn’t have sex.”

“Then if we’re doing this, let’s do it all the way.”

“Nothing between us?” I raised a questioning eyebrow.

She smiled up at me. “Nothing between us.”

“I’ll be as careful as I can. You tell me if I hurt you.”

“I don’t think anything could hurt right now.” Her eyes were glazed, and she looked like she was on the verge of another orgasm. Sweat dripped down her temple and also beaded on her upper lip. My own body shuddered occasionally as I shifted my weight. Anticipation was off the charts.

Bracing myself on my forearms, I slowly pushed forward, groaning as I sank into her tight heat. Her body enveloped me inch by inch. Pippa’s breath hitched and her fingers dug into my shoulders. I paused, giving her time to adjust, but the effort it took bordered on superhuman.

“You OK?” My voice was strained as I summoned every ounce of willpower I possessed to keep from shoving the rest of the way inside her.

“Yes,” she gasped. “Don’t stop!”

I pushed again, easing the rest of the way inside her. Her pussy squeezed me so tight I thought I might lose my Goddamn mind. I tried to give her as much time as she needed as I strained to hang on to my control. Which was fast slipping through my fingers like the finest sand.

When I was finally seated inside her, I shivered, wrapping my arms around her as tightly as I could, holding myself still inside her as deep as I could go.

“Sweet God, Pippa.” I buried my face in her neck. “You feel so fuckin’ amazing!” It was the truth. Pippa’s muscles clenched around me, milking my cock in the most incredible way. I had no idea how I hadn’t come yet, but I knew there was no way this was going to last longer than a couple of minutes. No fucking way.

“So do you.” Pippa shifted beneath me, urging me to move until we found a rhythm with each other.

I pulled back only to shove back inside her and she moved with me like we’d been doing this forever. Her body felt like a homecoming. As her moans and whimpers grew louder with each stroke, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. With this woman. Pleasuring her. Protecting her. It was like everything in my life suddenly clicked into place. I would not be the man she trusted so completely with her heart and body if I hadn’t gone through everything I had. She’d said as much before, but it hadn’t really penetrated until this one perfect moment.

The bed squeaked beneath us as we found our pace. The sharp crack of thunder outside only punctuated our lovemaking, turning it wild and primal. I thrust into Pippa over and over again, with ever harder strokes. But it wasn’t only me. Pippa planted her feet on my calves and lifted herself to meet me, crying out every time my body slammed into hers. She screamed my name, and her pussy contracted around my cock. The smell of sex in the air was something I’d always associate with this first time.

“I’m gonna come, Pippa. Tell me if you want me to pull out because I can’t do it unless you tell me to.” I thought that would be harder to admit, but not to Pippa. She already knew my flaws and accepted me. The least I could do was be honest with her and show her how much she affected me.

She dug her nails into my ass and pulled me to her. “Inside me,” she whispered. “Inside me.”

That was as long as I was capable of waiting. With a brutal roar, I emptied myself inside her sweet pussy. It made me a complete bastard, but I felt a sense of pride. Like I’d marked her for any other man to know she was mine. Then I collapsed on top of her.

As my breathing settled and my heart rate returned to normal, I nuzzled her neck and shoulder while she clung to me, her fingers once again in my hair as she held me to her.

“Thank you.” Her voice was soft and drowsy. “That was so wonderful.”

“Yeah. So worth the fuckin’ wait. So fuckin’ worth everything …”

I knew I needed to get up and help her clean herself or something. I definitely needed to pull out of her pussy, but I couldn’t seem to make myself. Instead, I settled myself on top of her, my dick still firmly inside her, not softening one bit. I took a breath…

And I was out.