Page 15 of Shadow’s Protection (Hurricane Heat MC #1)

Violet

I wake up in the most comfortable and warm position I think I’ve ever been in in my entire life.

Before my eyes even open, I register where I am—back in Shadow’s bed.

Blankets and sheets around me. The room is dark, but instead of the sounds of storms and wind, I hear the gentle thud of… Shadow’s heartbeat .

We’re woven so tightly together, I don’t know how I’m going to get myself up.

I can feel the cool air on my bare toes, and I realize I’m naked except for a pair of panties.

I don’t remember how my clothes came off, but after everything I do remember from yesterday, I’m pretty sure I’d remember if Shadow and I had a repeat of any of the fun we had in the garage or right here in this bed.

I wiggle my toes and press my lips to his broad, hot back. I kiss him gently and realize that once I get up…if the storm is over, it’ll be time to go. Time to end this small detour on the path to my new life, and that is not something I’m excited about doing.

I have to admit to myself that I have had fun. Shadow is a surprise… Not a serial killer, thankfully. A big, beefy, complicated man whose touch makes me feel safer and more alive than I have ever felt before.

I run my hands over the tattoos that cover his back and try to remember the stories he told me about them last night during our drinking game. I must have been really smashed, because I remember some but not all of what we talked about.

Before I untangle my limbs from his, he rolls onto his side and faces me.

He looks wide awake, and he smooths the hair back from my face.

We lie there facing each other, maybe both taking in the fact that, at some point, I’ll have to leave.

Let him get back to his life, his work, whatever things he would do with his club and the club bunnies if I weren’t here.

The thought makes me suddenly sad.

Shadow seems to notice. He rolls me onto my stomach and kneels over me. “Storm’s passed,” he says quietly. I don’t want to read too much into the way he sounds. Is he regretting that it’s almost time for me to leave? “Power’s still out in most of the county.”

“Mmm.” I’m so lost in the feel of his hands as they explore my bare flesh, I can’t really process what he’s saying.

“Power lines are down. Roads are gonna be covered in debris, downed trees. Puddles as deep as your knees.”

His hands slip under my panties and I sigh, and it’s as if every weight, every worry, leaves my body and seeps into his mattress from his touch.

“You,” he says gently, hooking his fingers in the waistband of my panties, “might have a hard time getting where you need to go.” He slides my panties off, wanting more, and tossing them on his floor.

“Yeah,” I whisper, resting my cheek against the sheets that still feel warm from our bodies.

I feel him open my legs, separating them and then lowering himself between them. I nearly cry out when I feel the hot, slick tip of his tongue flick between my thighs.

We don’t talk anymore. Shadow moves his tongue from my clit to my wetness, licking and sucking with perfect pressure.

I’ve never had an orgasm from oral sex before, but Shadow’s mouth, his soft breath, the light prickles of his beard have me lifting my butt and rocking my hips greedily against his mouth.

He flips me onto my back and grabs a condom from the bedside table. I take it from him and tear it open, then I roll the rubber carefully down his head and past the large silver barbells of his piercing.

“I’m going to miss this,” I say, in spite of myself.

Shadow doesn’t reply. He just thrusts inside me, slow and deep. He’s supporting his weight on his hands, and I lift my legs and hold myself open as wide as my muscles will go. I close my eyes and feel everything. His heat, his weight. Every powerful thrust and shuddering breath.

I circle my ankles with my hands and put my feet on the mattress, lifting my hips to meet his. The friction is perfect, the pressure intense. He breaks out in a sweat, small droplets falling from his brow onto my chest.

He clamps his lips onto my breast as he moves his hips back and forth, driving his erection deep inside me. He tightens his teeth around my sensitive nipple, and I feel a gush of wetness before my walls clamp down.

I release my ankles and scratch his back, pulling his weight closer to me. I am filled by him, crushed beneath him. Complete in the pleasure that he gives with every movement, every breath.

I climax, but I don’t open my eyes. I want more.

I want to come again. I don’t think I can, my body so raw and full of him, but he’s fucking me, shaking the bed.

The power moving from him through me is so intoxicating, he makes the whiskey seem like water.

I rock my hips, chasing more—more of this, more of him—until I come again, my legs crossed behind his back, my hands crushing his head to mine.

When he starts to shudder, I feel the head of his cock get bigger, fill my walls so deeply and so deliciously, I want him to come for hours, days.

Being filled by him, feeling this—I don’t even recognize myself.

My body, my pleasure. Shadow is going to be an impossible act to follow. I only wish I didn’t have to leave.

But thoughts like that are dangerous.

Falling too fast, not knowing enough about a man… I know where that ends. And I want to leave while the memories are good.

That means I have to leave today.

After Shadow is done, he kisses me everywhere. My shoulders, arms, my belly. He flops onto his back, breathless and damp with sweat, and I curl under his arm. The room is quiet.

The storm has ended. And now, so has this.

By the time I’ve showered and packed up my overnight bag, Shadow has brought me a cup of coffee and a couple slices of toast.

“Soaks up the alcohol,” he says, but his words feel different.

The power is back on, and his room is a lot brighter than I’ve seen it before. The generator must run on a lower power setting than the bulbs can handle, because the room is bright. Maybe it’s also all the whiskey and all the sex.

I sip the coffee and eat the toast, then stand to grab my things. “Can I say goodbye to the girls?” I ask.

He nods, his hair slightly messy. He opens his bedroom door, and I walk down the corridor, fully aware that his hand isn’t at my back. He’s not guiding me. Not protecting me. I’m really on my way out. He’s probably counting the seconds until I’m gone.

But I’ll be okay. I can’t let it get to me. This was a?—

“Nerd girl.” Cammy runs up to me before I even make it back to the main room and slams me in a hug. “Power is back, and I have a hankering for omelets. You’re on egg duty.”

I give her a fast hug. “I wish I could stay,” I tell her, my voice trailing off.

What is wrong with me? I’m acting like these people are my friends, when just two days ago, I was terrified they were some kind of sex slaves entrapped in a dungeon.

Now, I’m wishing I could make breakfast with Stella and the girls.

I wonder what more I could uncover if I had one more night to play drinking games with Shadow.

Cammy gives me a long, hard hug back, and I squeeze my eyes shut so I don’t have to look at anyone as I say goodbye. She releases me and bounds back to wherever she was headed.

I continue down the corridor to the main room, which is once again a mess of half-naked sleeping bodies.

Two of the prospects, including Jizzy, are already cleaning up, throwing empty bottles and cans into big plastic bags.

I see Stella talking in a low voice to Phantom, whose arms seem permanently crossed over his chest.

Even the president of this club seems a lot less terrifying and imposing now. I approach them and clear my throat loudly.

“Hey, babe.” Stella looks a little troubled, but she manages a smile. I wonder what she and Phantom were talking about, but his face is a solid wall of stone. Unreadable.

“Thank you for letting me stay here.” I hold out a hand to Phantom, who looks at it like he doesn’t have the first clue what to do with it. I wait, though, giving him a bright smile. “Uh, Phantom, thank you. I truly don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t given me a place to stay.”

He flicks a look at Shadow, one of his dark brows lowering. He grunts, then looks at my hand and takes it. He shakes it once, then claps me on the shoulder. He looks into my eyes but doesn’t say anything else. Then he turns away from me, putting an arm over Stella’s shoulder.

“I’m going to make a real pain of myself and interrupt you to give Stella a hug goodbye.” I tap her on the shoulder, and she turns away from Phantom.

“Wait, you’re going?” Stella opens her arms and gives me a tight, fast hug. “Girl, you were just getting started.” She tosses a look at Shadow, but he just looks away. “Come back anytime to party. I’ll have a drink waiting.”

I smile and wave as a few more of the bikers and women wave back.

Then I feel it.

Shadow’s hand against my lower back. I lean into it instinctively and can’t help but wonder how many times after today I’ll miss the feeling of his hand right there.

I shove the thought away.

I’m sure he’s done this walk of shame with so many women before me. And he won’t give me another thought once I’m out of his hair.

We leave the compound by the back door, the same one I came in just two days ago. It feels like a lifetime, somehow.