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WRAITH

“ B ut I’m wearing a sundress,” Raven says suspiciously, looking at me sitting on my motorcycle two weeks later.

“I can see that.” I take in the pretty green sundress and the denim jacket tossed over her shoulders. But most of all, I admire her legs in the little ankle boots, with the sudden urge to fuck her anywhere I shouldn’t, just so I can flip up the hem of that dress.

“I thought we’d be going to the club picnic in your truck.”

Club picnics used to be one of my favorite things about the Outlaws. Lazy days with good friends, beer, fishing, women, and meat grilled to perfection by Smoke.

Fire pits we could sit around and women always happy to see to our every need.

It was even better on family days, when I had Hallie and Lottie. Felt like I’d fucking made it. The life, a family. Felt like I could breathe.

Until the two of them died the morning of the Fourth of July club picnic. I’d left early to help Catfish pull hay bales down from the loft to sit on.

That morning, Hallie had been wearing denim cutoffs and cowboy boots, and Lottie had worn a little T-shirt and shorts set that said, I’m an MC Princess on the back.

But shortly before we were due to leave, Lottie started to make a fuss. I suggested the ride would probably help calm her, but Hallie was convinced some quiet, perhaps a short nap, would set her right.

I kissed both their foreheads and went anyway, without looking back.

When she didn’t show and didn’t answer her phone by one, I drove home to see what was wrong.

While I’ve been to many club picnics since then because it’s expected of the brothers, they haven’t felt the same.

Until today.

Fen is at another overnight playdate, and I don’t feel bad about it at all. Last weekend we hosted six of his little buddies at my place. We fished in the pond and splashed in the river that runs along the back of the property.

I even got Smoke to bring one of the ponies over so they could all have a ride. For the first four hours, I thought I had it nailed. For the three hours before bedtime, I’ve never been more grateful for Raven’s steady and reassuring presence.

It was a solid reminder that kids and too much sugar is a recipe for disaster, and next time, I’ll listen to Raven when she tells me they’ve had enough treats and don’t need s’mores and ice cream.

Thing is, I just wanted Fen to have the best experience. It was the first sleepover he’d hosted since moving here, and it was important to me that we did it right.

But today’s picnic is a celebration for spending the last two weeks putting a dent in the Bratva’s infrastructure. We don’t want Denver as our own. Our small town and club mean we fly mostly under the radar. But when the Bratva decided to start interfering with our business, we had to stop them.

Which means, it’s going to get messy. I’ve shored up the security at my house while we look for a new place to give us more protection at night.

But with Raven by my side, I feel…optimistic.

Even indestructible.

“I want you on my bike, Blue. Want your legs spread across the seat. Want your arms wrapped around me and your tits pressed up against my back. You gonna make my dreams come true or stand on the sidewalk telling me what else you’re wearing?”

Raven looks away for a second, but I can see she’s trying to bite back a smile.

“What if you crash?” she asks.

“Come here,” I say, holding out my hand.

She does as I say, which fills me with a hard-to-describe kind of pride. When she gets close, I tug her to me, then slide my hand up her dress and rest my palm on her panty-clad ass.

“Wraith,” she says in warning, looking up and down the street.

“Relax, Blue. No one can see your ass. And I’d shoot their eyes out if they so much as looked at it.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“If you say so.”

I present her the silver helmet, and she looks at it for a moment, undecided whether or not to take it.

“Real talk?” she asks.

“Always, Blue.”

“Raven, the young, carefree woman, wants to get on your bike so badly that she can taste it. But Raven, the single mom with an irresponsible second parent figure, feels like it’s the last thing I should be doing. Fen deserves better than me taking unnecessary risks.”

I can see the longing in her eyes, in the way she runs her hand over the helmet and hugs it to her stomach.

“I’ll go as slow as the bike will allow without us wobbling off it. I promise I’ll take care of you. Trust me, Blue.”

Raven lets out a long breath. “Okay. But slow.”

“I promise,” I say solemnly.

Raven tugs the helmet over her head. “I must be losing my mind, letting him talk me into this,” she mutters, obviously unaware I can hear her. I connected our helmets before I left. I wouldn’t normally wear one for such a short ride, but I wanted to be able to hear her properly.

“Dear Fen,” she continues, “sorry your momma’s dead, but she thought it was a good idea to get on a bike because she likes having sex with the man driving it.”

Her arms wrap around my waist, and I can’t help but chuckle. “It’s riding a bike. Not driving it. And he likes having sex with you too.”

She jumps, and my chuckle turns into laughter. Her low growl does nothing but excite my cock.

“You asshole,” she finally says.

I put both hands behind me, scoop them under her ass, and tug her even closer. “And now I’m thinking about all that sex you like having with me.”

Finally, she breaks, and her laughter makes an already great day even better.

I slide a hand down her calf and squeeze it once. “You ready, Blue?”

“Just ride the damn thing.”

“Rather you were riding me, but here we go.”

I’ve never been into a place of worship. Always figured the Lord’s work, or whoever the fuck is in charge, was best appreciated in the majesty of the outdoors. The vastness of plains and mountains and the changing of the seasons.

But Raven on my bike feels spiritual. And I can tell the moment she starts to enjoy it.

She leans when I lean. She shifts from holding on like she’s gonna fall off any minute to relaxing her grip around me.

I do as I promised. I go slow. I see the world at her pace, not mine.

Grudge pulls up alongside, salutes, then pulls away, and I even manage to resist the urge to chase him.

Maybe slower is better. On a day like this, I’d rather be going this speed with Raven riding backpack than chasing Grudge down the road without her.

When I pull up at the club, she climbs off the bike, clumsily tugs the helmet off her head, and then tips her head back and laughs.

Yanking my helmet over my head, I take her in. “Jesus, you’re beautiful, Blue.”

“That was so much fun.” Then she leans forward and puts her lips close to my ear. “You know the honesty thing?”

I glance at her; her lips are so close to my cheek that they brush it. “Yeah.”

“The vibration of the bike was…nice.”

I slide my palm back beneath her dress like I did earlier and squeeze her butt cheek. “Nice?”

She bites down on her lower lip. “ Very nice. Like, take me on a ride somewhere and then…you know.”

“Give a man a heart attack, why don’t you?” I say, taking her hand and placing her palm on my chest so she can feel how it’s racing. “Get back on the bike. I know a place we can go.”

She steps away from me. “You promised me a picnic.”

“Fuck the picnic. I want to ride now.” I reach for her, and she jumps back.

She turns and heads to the clubhouse. “Are you going to make me find my own hot dog and beer?” she asks.

I like her like this.

I like that there’s a separation between Fen’s mom and being her own person. I want a family, but I also want to be in a couple. Both can exist.

“What if I promise you a hot dog and beer when I’ve finished with you?” My voice carries across the lot.

“Let the woman get some food,” Catfish yells.

“Shut up. Trying to get her to go for a different kinda ride, first.”

“I’ll go for a ride with you.” Isla’s appearance is jarring. Can’t explain why, because she’s a nice girl. Usually friendly.

I tip my chin in Raven’s direction. “Only one girl I want to go riding with these days.” I kick my leg over the bike. “Right, Blue?”

Isla steps closer to me. So close that she’s between Raven and I. Uninvited, she fingers the edge of my cut. “Come on. I haven’t been out with one of you guys all winter. And you only give me one kind of ride.”

I know the salacious tone. It usually works. “Step away, Isla.”

Instead, she tightens her grip and steps up onto her toes, so I shove her away. She stumbles backward in her heeled booties.

As she does, Raven steps between Isla and me, looking up at me. “She’s in the past, right? Not someone I need to worry about?”

She doesn’t seem hysterical or angry, just questioning. “Haven’t slept with her since the day I met you.”

“Wraith,” Isla says.

Both Raven and I look in her direction.

“I suggest you go look somewhere else,” Raven says, and I tuck her protectively under my arm. I like that she’s willing to stand up for me, to claim me, but she’s also tiny as fuck, and I know Isla can fight really dirty when she has to.

Isla looks to me. I can see the expectation in her eyes. “Wraith doesn’t have an old lady, as far as I know. Which means he’s still on the market.”

“Just a formality until she is,” I say.

And I lead Raven into my clubhouse, because I want it to be sooner rather than later.