Page 10

Delaney

Two Months Later

The last two months have been incredibly healing. It was hard for me to process Fang raping me, but even more so that I nearly died. I tried to pull away, but no one would let me, especially Talon. We have an agreement that he can absolutely punish me for trying to push him away or not communicating when I am struggling. The agreement goes both ways, but it only took once for Talon to start talking to me. He tried to lie and say he was fine after having a violent nightmare, so I punished him. Turns out, I’m a sadist.

I laid him down and edged him with my hand and mouth repeatedly until he was in tears, then I made him come so many times that he started coming dry and was nearly unconscious. After, he finally admitted to being triggered the day before and it all piled on top of him, which resulted in the nightmare of Vince hitting him.

My punishments usually involve getting spanked or also made to come so many times that I am nearly unconscious. I don’t know why I can’t just open my mouth and talk to him, but it’s almost like a reflex to automatically say I’m fine when I’m not. A few days ago, he throat fucked me to the point that I threw up. Now, I am finding myself second guessing lying when he asks what’s on my mind or if I am okay. Who knew that would be the most effective punishment for me.

We’ve been letting things settle since Fang was killed. Nothing has come out, but I have a feeling something will eventually happen. Vince, Logan, and Cheryl have been silent. We’ve been able to live in peace and we’ve found a sense of normalcy. Talon has almost completely stopped all the illegal activities he used to be involved in. I don’t mind either way as long as he is not hurting innocent people anymore. It seems like he is just not interested so he’s taking the opportunity to go legitimate. He is actually able to be involved in more things because he’s not having to worry about getting caught doing something illegal.

Every Saturday afternoon, we go for a ride. Talon and I take some time for just him and me without anyone else around. We generally spend about two hours just cruising around and enjoying the open road. The only time we do not go out is if the weather is bad. I don’t mind riding in the rain, but Talon insists that he does not subject me to being on the back of the bike when it’s raining.

Talon recently bought me some leather riding pants that I can put on over my jeans and some better boots. I am very well protected, and because I make him wear the same thing, I’m far more confident being on the bike. I don’t worry as much about him being out, especially with the bike that Talon has now. He decided that since he was riding with me a lot, he wanted me to be more comfortable than I was on his dad’s bike. I don’t mind either way because as long as I am with him, I am happy.

“Ready, Little Flower?” Talon asks, smacking my ass. I yelp and spin around to find him grinning at me.

“That was uncalled for,” I say, trying to be serious.

“What would be uncalled for is bending you over that table and turning your pretty little ass bright red,” he smirks.

“No, that would be fun,” I laugh.

“You two are sickly sweet,” Torch says. “I love it, even when you make me gag.”

“Hey, I say that to Talon all the time,” I say with a grin.

“Oh my God,” Viper laughs and shakes his head at me. “Go ride, pervert.”

“I plan on doing that later too,” I say with a wink.

“Your dirty mouth could make a whore blush, Laney,” Rogue laugh.

“If Viper is the one blushing, does that make him a whore?” I ask.

“Yes,” Talon laughs. “Come on.”

“On what?” I ask with a grin.

“You are a bratty little thing today,” Talon laughs as he slings me over his shoulder. I squeal and giggle when he playfully smacks my ass a few times. “We will be back after while, guys.”

“Alright. Be safe, please. It’s slick out there,” Viper says.

“It’s okay. So am I,” I chime in.

“Goodbye, Delaney,” Viper laughs.

“Bye!” I say happily as he carries me out.

When we get to the bike, he drops me to my feet and kisses me. After, he puts my helmet on and fastens the strap under my chin. He sets me on the bike before sitting in front of me and sliding his helmet on. I wrap my arms around his waist when he starts the bike and relax. As we start to pull off, I see everyone come outside. Viper throws his hand up, so I put mine up to wave goodbye.

The open road is thrilling and nerve-wracking all at once. I love the freedom of not being surrounded, but nervous that anyone at any given moment could kill me by simply looking down at a text. It takes one second of not paying attention to end the life of a biker. When vehicles get too close, I instantly wonder what would happen if this bike went down. I don’t know whether I am self-sabotaging and secretly hoping something bad will happen or it’s just simple anxiety. It’s like right now, there is a car on our ass. It’s a small car, but their size won’t make a difference if we hit this concrete. We have nowhere to pull off as we wind down the mountain, but they stay on us the entire time. I have a tight hold on Talon and stay tucked behind him as he speeds up to try and put some distance between us and the car. We can’t go too fast because this road is getting incredibly curvy.

“Tal,” I say loudly, panic lacing my voice as they intentionally speed up to get closer. I have a horrible feeling in my gut when they won’t let up. Talon gently squeezes my knee when we come out of a curve and the feeling of dread that has been lingering for this entire ride is spelled out for me.

The car abruptly moves over and speeds up to get beside us. Talon tries to evade them, but they come over on us so fast that to avoid being hit, Talon lays the bike down. Everything moves slowly the moment we hit the pavement, but Talon manages to reach back and grab me as we are thrown into the grass. His body envelops mine, protecting me from the world. By the time we stop, I am in shock. I don’t move or speak because I’m afraid I might actually be dead. Can dead people move if they don’t know they are dead? What if he is dead? Why would do that to someone? That’s a dumb question. I know exactly who would do this.

“Laney? I need you to talk to me,” Talon says with a panicked voice. “Delaney!”

“I’m okay,” I whisper when I finally manage to speak. How long was he trying to get my attention? “I’m okay.”

“Does anything hurt? Your head? Neck? Anything?” he asks, checking my body over for injuries.

“I’m okay,” I repeat.

“Baby, I need you to say something else. Does your head or neck hurt?”

“No,” I answer.

“Back?”

“No,” I say.

“You can feel everything? Did you hit your head?”

“No, I think I’m okay. Just… it was them, wasn’t it?” I ask.

“Yeah, I think so,” he says. “I’m going to take your helmet off, okay?”

“Mmkay,” I sigh.

“What the fuck happened?!” I hear Viper nearly scream as his voice approaches. “Is she okay? Are you okay? We tried to get your attention before you left.”

“She says she’s okay,” Talon says as he gently pulls my helmet off. He cups my face and leans down to softly kiss me and I bring my hands to his face.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“Yeah. I’m okay,” he says. “I tried to get us away from them without throwing us off the mountain. I didn’t really have a choice but to lay us down. If they had hit us, they would have run us into the guardrail.”

“You reacted quicker than I would have,” I say. “I’m sore.”

“Where?” Viper asks.

“Is she okay?” Torch asks.

“Seems to be. I got us into the grass pretty fast,” Talon says.

“I don’t hurt,” I say. “I’m just sore from being thrown off a bike at sixty miles an hour. Can I get up?”

“Yeah,” Talon says as he stands up. He and Viper help stand me up and everyone is here now. “Why is everyone here?”

“What do you remember?” Talon asks me, raising an eyebrow.

“We went down, and you grabbed me. I think I went into shock because I just remember laying here thinking I was dead.”

“They shot at us, love,” Talon says, cupping my face. They started coming over and I saw the gun in the window right as I laid us down. When I grabbed you, I was trying to keep you from getting shot. They sped off then the others arrived.”

“They stopped?” I ask.

“Yeah, for about five seconds until they heard all of the bikes coming at them,” he tells me. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks me, and I nod. “I am so sorry, Delaney. I…”

“It’s not your fault, Talon,” I say. “Thank you for keeping me safe.”

“I did my best,” he says with a sigh as he wraps me in a tight hug.

“Are you sure you are okay?” I ask quietly.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he says softly. “That just scared the hell out of me. When you wouldn’t respond… I thought I was losing you.”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” I say sweetly, kissing him softly. “How bad is the bike?”

“Uh… It’s bad,” he says. “It flipped and hit the guardrail, so it’s far past being able to be repaired.”

“Oh shit. I’m sorry, honey. That sucks,” I say.

“I’d rather have you than the bike,” he says.

“You can hit me later,” Viper says as he steals me away from Talon to wrap me in a tight hug. He is trembling, despite his calm voice. He is holding me tightly and I look up to give Talon a concerned look as I wrap my arms around Viper.

“Hey, Jude, I’m okay,” I say. “You hear me?”

“You scared the shit out of us, Delaney,” Viper mutters into my neck.

“I’m right here, Jude,” I say softly. “I’m like a cat. I have a few lives left.”

“At least seven,” Torch chuckles.

“Not funny,” Knox says with a frown.

“He’s not swinging on anyone. Lemme hug her,” Rogue says as he pulls me to him so he can hug me next.

“What is this, pass Laney around like a joint?” I ask, making Talon laugh. “Guys, I’m okay.”

“I know that,” Rogue says, squeezing me. “I know you’ll live to brat another day.”

“You’re just bitter that you can’t do anything about it,” I laugh and turn to let Torch hug me. Knox hugs me next before I move back to stand with Talon. “I don’t know if y’all know this, guys, but Talon isn’t going to murder you for hugging me.”

“I don’t know,” Knox laughs. “He looked a bit twitchy when Rogue grabbed you.”

“She’s right,” Talon says. “I know you respect her enough to not take advantage of her or cause her any harm. Shit… Pretty sure you’d save her life over mine.”

“She’s prettier,” Rogue says with a shrug. “Joking aside, she actually is like a little sister. I care about her a lot, but wouldn’t put my dick in her.”

“That would feel like incest,” Torch says.

“Mmmm. Yeah,” Knox laughs.

“What about you?” Talon asks Viper.

“Mhmm,” Viper says. “Ripper is coming with a truck to get the bike. How do you want to get back?”

“I’d like to stay with the bike, but I want Laney back at the house,” Talon says. “Are you comfortable riding back to the house with Jude?”

“As long as he doesn’t throw me into the grass,” I smile.

“You mean on the bike?” Viper asks.

“Yeah,” Talon answers slowly. “That okay?”

“Mhmm,” Viper says. “Probably shouldn’t chance them coming back anyhow.”

“How long will you be?” I ask Talon.

“Hopefully not long,” he says. “You have my location, so you can keep an eye on me if that makes you feel better. Just please stay with Jude when you get to the house.”

“Afraid the dust bunnies are gonna get me?” I ask with a smile.

“Something like that,” he chuckles and wraps me in a tight hug. When he speaks again, he is nearly inaudible. “Viper panicked a bit when he saw you were on the ground not moving. The guys made him wait for me to give them the signal to get closer, so he’s shaken up. He’s going to crash from that soon.”

“What can I do?” I ask quietly.

“Just be there for him. He wrecked a few years back with his girlfriend and she died in his arms. He’s got a lot going on in his head,” he says. When he pulls back, he kisses me.

“Be safe,” I tell him.

“I will,” he smiles. “Just take a shower and force Jude to sit and watch a movie.”

“Oh, she’s gonna make me watch some dumb rom-com,” Viper frowns.

“Hell yeah,” I laugh. “Come on.”

“Hey,” Talon says as he grabs my hand and pulls me back to him. He cups my face and kisses me again. “I love you, Delaney.”

“I love you too, Talon,” I say with a bright smile. “That’s the first time you’ve said that.”

“Thinking I lost you, even for just a few minutes… hurt. It forced me to realize a lot, and that is centered around just how in love with you I am,” he says.

“See? Not so heartless, huh?” I tease.

“Mhmm. Go on before I bend you over that guardrail,” he chuckles and kisses me again. He takes a second to put my helmet back on me before securing the strap. “Jude?”

“I’ll be careful with her. I promise,” Viper says.

“I know you will,” Talon says. “I was just going to ask for you to stay with her until I get home. She’s going to crash from the adrenaline high. Just comfort her the best you can and let me know if you need me.”

“Alright man. We’ll see you soon,” Viper says.

We go to the road and I just stare at his bike, feeling a bit panicked. “I’m sorry, I…”

“Don’t apologize,” Viper says before picking me up and sitting me on the back of the bike. When he gets on, Talon walks over to us.

“You okay?” Talon asks me.

“Yeah,” I say, and he narrows his eyes at me.

“I’m a bit panicky, but I’m okay,” I clarify.

“Well, just hold onto him and he will get you home as soon as he can, okay?” Talon says.

“What if they come after us?” I ask.

“He’ll keep you safe,” Talon says. “Get going, y’all. I’ll see you soon.”

“Be safe,” Viper says to Talon as he starts his bike. I whine and wrap my arms around Viper, laying my head on his back. Talon rubs my back for a second before stepping back and letting Viper take us back the direction that we came from.

I clung to Viper the entire trip back to the house. I was so afraid of that car coming back, but they didn’t. The trip was nearly uneventful. I all but ran inside and now I am on the verge of a breakdown as I try to get my riding gear off. Viper is in the bedroom and leaning against the doorframe, watching me.

“Do you need help?” he asks simply.

“No,” I snap at him, but then immediately feel bad. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he smiles softly.

“Fuck. Why is this so hard? Why can’t I get these goddamn pants off?” I ask, nearly yelling.

“It’s because you are shaking, Laney,” he says.

I try to get the button undone, but just scream when I can’t. “Goddamn it!”

“Alright. Stop,” Viper says. “Let me help.”

“Jude,” I sigh.

“Hush,” he says as he pulls my hands to my side and unbuttons the pants.

“Thanks,” I whisper.

“Anytime,” he says. “Step out.”

I step out of the pants, and he lays them across the armchair before unzipping my jacket and helping me out of it. I sit down and start taking my boots off but he kneels down in front of me and starts untying them. “Talon said… well, maybe I shouldn’t bring that up,” I say, but stop myself.

“What?” he asks.

“He said you lost your girlfriend a few years back?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he sighs and takes one boot off. “Charlotte was a sweet woman. I fucked up and we wrecked.”

“How… did she die?”

“A broken neck and brain bleed,” he says. “When the bike went down, she slammed into a tree.”

“Oh fuck,” I say. “I’m so sorry. Is that why you seem off?”

“Mhmm,” he says unconvincingly as he pulls the other boot off.

“I think I just want to get changed and lie down,” I sigh.

“Well, do that. Get changed into something comfortable and I’ll turn the television on,” he says, patting my leg before standing. I gather what I need to go to the bathroom to change. When I pull my shirt off, I notice a rapidly forming bruise on my side.

“Oh fuck,” I say louder than intended.

“What’s wrong?” Viper asks as he nearly rushes in. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees I don’t have a shirt on. I watch as his eyes go from my face to my tits. His gaze lingers for a moment before he sees the bruise. “Oh, wow.”

“How the fuck did I get that?” I ask, turning in the mirror to see it better. He steps behind me and rests one hand on my bare shoulder before gently pressing in on my ribs.

“Ow!” I gasp. “Fuck, that hurts.”

“Grab your shirt and come lay down,” he says.

“Why?”

“I’m going to see if you have a broken rib,” he says as I pull the oversized shirt on. I nod and we go into the room. I lay on my side, and he gets on the bed behind me.

“Is this going to hurt?” I ask as he pulls my arm up.

“Yes,” he says honestly. “But I’ll be as gentle as possible.”

“Okay,” I say with a small voice.

“Take a deep breath,” he says. As I draw air into my lungs, he presses in to feel my ribs. I groan slightly but it doesn’t hurt as badly as I expected. “Nah. Nothing is broken. You just bruise easily.”

“Yeah, I do,” I say. My voice cracks when emotion builds up. “I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to have to babysit me.”

“Believe it or not, Laney, I like being around you,” he says as he rolls me to face him.

“Why?” I ask.

“You’re fun to be around. You challenge me every day. You’re smart,” he says. “How about this? You sleep, and I’ll stay right here. Okay?”

“I’m afraid,” I admit quietly.

“Of what?” he asks, brushing hair out of my face.

“That they’ll hurt someone I care about,” I say. “Talon has already been hurt so much by them. What would stop them from hurting you? I’m afraid if I go to sleep, I won’t be able to help anyone.”

“You mean if you go to sleep, you can’t sacrifice yourself instead,” he says, and I nod. “We are all in this together, Laney. We all play a different role, but we are all together.”

“I’m sorry you lost your girlfriend,” I say softly. “You’ll find happiness, though. Talon did.”

“I know,” he says with a soft smile. “Happiness has a way of finding us when we least expect it.”

“Yeah,” I smile.

“Stop being stubborn and close your eyes, Delaney,” he instructs.

“Bossy,” I argue.

“Bratty,” he laughs. “Go on.”

“M’kay,” I say and close my eyes. I sigh and relax when he starts gently stroking my hair. Exhaustion sneaks in and starts dragging me down faster than I expected. I am mentally drained, but I feel safe enough to relax.