Tori—
I give a barely discernible nod, and it’s all the permission Rafe needs.
He slowly tugs at the string until it loosens and billows at my feet, leaving me standing in a strapless bra and my cutoffs.
His eyes roam over my body, and then he tugs me closer for a kiss full of need. He plunders my mouth, deepening the kiss, and his hands roam over my body. They slide down my stomach and slip under the waistband of my shorts.
I feel a rush of heat at the memory of those fingers slipping inside me and moan against his mouth.
He breaks the kiss, tugging gently on my lower lip with his teeth. “Fuck baby, that sound was sexy as hell.”
Rafe goes to his knees, and my heart quickens. His eyes lock on mine as he unbuttons my shorts and tugs them down my legs. Then his gaze drops to the scrap of cream lace that matches my bra.
He hooks his fingers on the sides and pulls them down until I step out of them.
His eyes lock on my bare pussy.
“Lay down.” His voice comes out gruff.
I back up the few feet to the bed and sit, scooting until I rest on my elbows.
“Take off your bra.”
Normally being ordered around would piss me off, but something about Rafe telling me what to do in the bedroom is hot as hell. I rise on one elbow and unhook the bra.
Rafe moves forward, pulling it from my chest and licks his lips.
“I’ll be with you two in a moment.” His lips curl into a smile. Then he moves between my dangling legs, getting down on his knees and grips both of my thighs, spreading them wide.
“Rafe,” I call out breathless.
He looks at me with a twinkle in his eye. “You’re so beautiful. I told you I couldn’t wait to bury my face between your legs.”
Before I can even respond, he lowers his head and slides his tongue between my folds, sending a shockwave of pleasure through me.
My hips respond, thrusting upward to meet his touch as he swirls his tongue in little circles over the bundle of nerves.
Rafe raises his head, and I can’t help the protest that escapes my lips.
“Don’t stop.”
“As much as I want to taste you as you come all over my tongue, I can’t wait another second to be buried inside you.”
I bite my lip. “Yes, please.”
“Oh, baby. You never have to beg.”
He rises, undoing his pants and pulling his very hard, thick length out.
My eyes drop to it, and I’ve never wanted something more than I want this man right now.
His dick jumps at the sight of my tongue sliding across my lips. He takes it in his palm, stroking along it, and brings the tip to me, swirling it in my wetness.
“Jesus, you’re so fucking wet for me,” he practically growls. Then he lowers himself to me, sliding inside me until he fills me. His thrusts are slow, but they quicken with each plunge. My hips rise to meet him as we enter a vigorous rhythm.
“You’re so tight. It’s like you were made for me,” he groans out.
“You’re so thick. It’s driving me wild.”
He smiles, then lowers his head to my breast, taking the taught nipple into his mouth and sucking gently. His hand cups my other breast, dragging his calloused thumb across the nipple and sending a shiver through me.
I feel the intensity building until it explodes.
“Rafe,” I moan as the ecstasy pumps through me.
His pace quickens, and he’s slams into me over and over until I feel his muscles tighten, and he groans out my name.
“Tori.”
His slick muscular body collapses on top of me, and he rolls to the side, pulling me with him so I rest against his chest.
We lay cuddled in each other’s arms, staring at the ceiling.
Church bells toll, and I feel Rafe’s chest vibrate with his chuckle. “It’s midnight.”
I lift my head. “Do those go off every night?”
“Yup, 6am, noon, 6pm, and midnight. Every night.” He rolls his head to meet my eyes. “This neighborhood is on the edge of the Little Portugal North neighborhood. The Portuguese catholic parish is two blocks over.”
“Really? That’s kind of cool.”
“Mrs. Vargus, who lives next door, works for the church. She’s always trying to get me to attend.
Guess she thinks my soul needs saving, and she seems determined to see to it.
Two summers ago, she and her husband invited me to the Feast of the Holy Ghost. It was pretty cool. They’re a sweet old couple.”
“Not this year?”
“This year she tried to fix me up with her granddaughter, but I wasn’t about to go there. I didn’t want to have to start avoiding my neighbors if it didn’t work out.”
“How considerate of you. No other reason?” I ask teasingly.
“Okay, I’d seen pictures of her on their mantle. I’m sure she’s a sweet girl, but not my type.”
“You have a type? I’m nothing like Sutton.”
He shrugs. “Maybe not a type, but there has to be a zing. I have to be attracted, right?”
When he doesn’t like my silence, he rolls on top of me and brushes the hair from my face. “It’s more than attraction with you, Tori. It’s the whole package.”
“Like what?” I press.
“I don’t know, you’re easy to talk to. I feel like you get me. I feel like I can be myself with you.”
“Can I ask you something, Rafe?”
“Anything, but I hope it’s not about Sutton, because I really don’t want to talk about her anymore.”
“It’s not about Sutton. It’s about your accident. Will you tell me about it?”
“How’d you know about that? Wait, let me guess. Fiona.” He rolls off me.
I go up on an elbow. “Don’t be mad at her. She thought I already knew, and when she realized I didn’t, she wouldn’t tell me anything, just that it was your story to tell.”
“Well, that’s something, I guess.”
“So, tell me.”
He sighs. “You really want to hear it? It’s kind of a mood killer.”
“Yes, I really want to hear it. I thought we were going to share everything.”
“Okay, fine. I was with the club. A couple of us were at Gigi’s tattoo shop. She’d been having some trouble with an ex-boyfriend stalking her.”
“Oh, my God. What did he do?”
“This fucker named Tick… he broke into the shop. Vandalized the place. Anyway, TJ put some of us on guard duty whenever she was there, to make sure she felt safe. Tick was actually the son of a really bad dude named Taz who used to ride for the Devil Kings MC. He made my father’s life hell, but that’s another story.
“Brayden and Kyle were in front of Gigi’s shop, guarding her.
Back then, we were all prospects. I was covering the back alley.
We’d come every day since Gigi reopened her shop to keep her and her unborn baby safe.
I’m told, though I don’t remember, that Gigi came out the backdoor to empty her trash in the dumpster in the alley, and that’s when Tick and another guy kidnapped her.
They tell me I was already on the ground with a puddle of blood pooling under my head.
“Brayden and Kyle found me and saw the car tearing out of the alley. They got me to the hospital.”
“Were you shot?”
He shakes his head. “I’d been hit with something. Maybe a pipe.”
“Oh, my God. You poor thing.”
“I had a pretty severe head injury. It took me a long time to recover. Years of physical therapy to relearn how to walk, how to talk. I was pretty messed up.”
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
“I had headaches for a long time, though not as often now. There’s a lot of shit I don’t remember.
Like today, that story my mom told you about me and Kyle stealing and racing shopping carts?
I have no memory of that. I don’t even remember when I first became a prospect for the club.
It’s just gone.” He meets my eyes. “My club doesn’t know.
Even Kyle doesn’t know. You’re the first person I’ve ever told. ”
I cup his face. “I’m so glad you made it through. I’m so glad you didn’t die in that alley.”
He strokes his thumb over my lower lip, his eyes locked on my mouth. “It’s not easy to confess all that. But, God, you make it easy, Tori. The way you hold me, the way you let me tell as much or as little as I can?” He nods. “It’s what I need. You are what I need—what I’ve needed for a long time.”
I rest my head on his chest. “I’m here now, Rafe. I’m not going anywhere.”
He strokes my back for a long time.
“Rafe?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Why don’t you and Kyle get along?”
“We do. It’s better than it’s been in a long time, but…”
“But what?”
“I was bitter. He did so much to help me after the attack. We were always so close, and he was there for every minute of my recovery, but things were different. We weren’t on equal ground anymore, and that shifted the dynamic between us. I had a hard time with it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I couldn’t do what I used to do. Everything was a struggle for a long damn time. Kyle tried to make things easier for me. I get why, but it probably wasn’t what I needed. He’d do things for me instead of watching me struggle. I started to resent it. To resent him .
“And then the whole thing with Sutton… it got worse, but then it got better. I had to face the fact that I used him, asked him to do way too much for me. It was a dick move on my part. I apologized, and for a time, things were good again.”
“But?”
“But my brother found his happiness, and don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy for him. I’m happy he’s got Sutton, and I’m happy he got his restaurant, it’s just…”
“What?”
“I started to think maybe I’d never have the happiness he’s found.
I started to envy him. I wasn’t a big part of his life anymore.
Which I get—he was so busy with the restaurant and Sutton, but I felt like I’d been pushed aside.
It pissed me off, and I’ve been distant with him ever since. I know that’s on me.”
“Then pull your head out of your ass,” I say, shocking him. “You’re right, Rafe. That is on you. You have no reason to be jealous of your brother. You have to live your own life. You know I think you could run my father’s mill, if you wanted to, that is.”
“Run the mill?” He scoffs like it’s a pipe dream. “Me?”
“Why not you? You’re smart and you know what you’re doing. I’ve seen you tell some of the men what to do or to stop goofing off. You’d make a great foreman.”
“You really believe that?”
“Yes. And you know, someday my father is going to want to turn it over to someone to run full time. Someday it will be too much for him. Maybe that someone could be you, Rafe. There’s no reason why it couldn’t be you.”
“You really think that’s a possibility? You’re a dreamer, girl. But keep dreamin’, because I like that about you.”
“Maybe you need to be more of a dreamer, too, Rafe. If you don’t reach for what you want, you’ll never have it.”
He rolls on his side, dragging the back of his finger over my breast. “Guess you’re right about that. I got you here in my bed, so it must be true. I reached for what I wanted, and now I have it.”
I grab his finger and bite the tip. “Don’t get too cocky, biker boy.”
He rolls on top of me, grinning. “You want to see how cocky I can be, little girl?”
“I can feel how cocky you can be,” I tease with a wiggle of my hips.
Suddenly, his face gets serious, and he strokes my cheek, staring deeply into my eyes. “Are you mine, Tori?”
“Yes, Rafe. I’m yours.”
“Then dump Alex Powers. You tell him tomorrow, and you don’t ever see him again.”
“I already planned to blow him off. I told my father I wasn’t going to see him again, and I didn’t care what happened with his deal.”
“I’m committed to this—to us. I need to know you are, too.”
“I am. I think I… I think I love you, Rafe.”
His face lights up, but his brows lift. “You think?”
“I do.” I wait, hanging on every minute facet of his expression, wondering if he’ll say it back, if he feels the same way.
“Goddamn,” he whispers, stroking my hair from my face. “I love you, too.”
“You weren’t sure until right this second, were you?”
“Baby, I didn’t want to say the words if I wasn’t absolutely sure I meant them.”
“So, do you mean them?”
“I think so,” he teases.
“You better know so.” I arch a brow, and he chuckles.
He climbs from me and starts dancing around in a circle at the foot of the bed. “Goddamn, I want to shout it from the roof. I want to stand out in the street and yell it to the heavens. I love Tori, and Tori loves me!”
He jumps on the bed, landing on top of me. “You know what I want to do?”
I giggle. “Get off me?”
“Nope.”
“I give up.”
“I want to call in sick tomorrow and go down to Gigi’s shop and get tattoos.”
“Tattoos?”
“Yes. I want to put your name right here.” He takes my hand and drags it to his ribs, right below his pecs. He’s so lean, I can see every line of sinewy muscle.
“You want my name on you?”
“Hell, yeah. I’ll get yours, and you get mine.”
He looks so happy, and I don’t want to ruin it, but…
“I kind of hate needles, Rafe.”
His smile dims, but he shakes his head. “That’s okay. But I want to get yours.”
I giggle. “I swear if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were on some kind of happy pills.”
“I don’t need a damn pill. You make me happy. You, Tori. Hell, I’ve never been this happy.”