"Babe..."Her eyes shot up and met mine. Either she'd been stunned into silence or hadn't recognized the term of endearment. I couldn't be sure of which, but the surprise in her widened eyes was adorably fuckable."Maybe you missed the baseball bat wedged between your legs, but I think it's safe to say, I'm incredibly turned on. And if I weren't interested, there'd be a limp noodle, not a sledgehammer...if you get my drift."Nikki sucked her lips between her teeth and nodded. Her nostrils flared as she inhaled deeply, and her tight nipples peaked through her tank top to tickle my chest. Fuck she was sexy, and she still had on all her clothes."I'm not going to rush you or even push you on this, but if you need a little encouragement, I'm fully supportive of anything you might like to do to use my body...you know, for your own gratification." I winked, and she turned a fiery shade of crimson. The color seeped from her cheeks down her elongated neck and fanned out onto her che
I gasped, sitting straight up in bed. My heart hammered against my sternum, and it took me a minute to realize I wasn't at home nor in any danger. At least not immediate, imminent danger. Clutching my chest, I took several ragged breaths in an attempt to calm my racing pulse."Babe?" Ryker sat up next to me, clearly concerned by my sudden burst of panic. "What's wrong?"The sun hadn't begun to rise, leaving the room as dark as Egypt. I wanted nothing more than to turn on the overhead light to soothe my erratic soul, but I was being irrational. I knew that, yet I couldn't stop the feeling of impending doom. His arms wrapped around my waist from behind, and he hauled me into his lap between his legs. "Talk to me." The husky rattle of his voice should have scared me, but I relaxed into his embrace instead. The rise of his chest against my back began to soothe my trepidation.I shook my head and cradled his arms in mine. "Just a bad dream." One that felt as real as his touch.
The immediate sense of loss I felt when he pulled out and rolled onto his back hit me in the gut like a power punch thrown by a professional boxer. I refused to let my heart get involved. After tonight, I'd go home, back to the slum of an apartment I shared with Ma. If I was lucky, I wouldn't have to spend any more nights getting naked at Swank, but I wasn't even assured of that. This wasn't a fairytale, and Ryker didn't have on armor. His trusty steed was a black Harley, but the last time I checked, tattoos didn't repel bullets. Our worlds hadn't changed just because we'd gotten naked. We'd fucked. Twice. That was it. Ryker wasn't looking for a relationship, and I didn't need to be. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and when my feet hit the floor, I took off like my ass was on fire. The last thing I needed was to have an emotional breakdown after sex in Ryker's bed. And the only place in this damn apartment to hide was the shower, which was exactly where I la
Ryker's apartment brought new meaning to the word boredom. There was nothing, I mean nothing, to do. No TV, no magazines, no books. Just me and my cell phone after I cleaned up the two dishes I'd used. The man was the epitome of a minimalist, and with nothing in the apartment, being a neat freak didn't take a lot of effort, either. I'd entertained myself on my phone for as long as humanly possible and started to get restless. When I glanced at the time, I groaned. It was barely eleven in the morning, and I still had seven hours to fill before Ryker came to relieve me. With nothing to do other than cook and eat, I went back to the kitchen to see what I could rustle up for lunch. I didn't know how I'd missed them before, but there on the counter, like a glowing, neon sign, gleamed a set of shiny, silver keys. I made my way across the living room and peeked out the blinds into the parking lot, praying I didn't see a Harley in front of the building. To my chagrin, the bike was gone, and
I pulled my key from my pocket and stuck it in the deadbolt. The turn was ominous, and I expected something dramatic on the other side. But when it opened, the place had been picked up and restored to as much normalcy as one could expect after the hurricane that had blown through here two days ago. I had a difficult time wrapping my head around the fact that I'd only been in Ryker's care since Friday. The door shut behind me with a click, the weight of the metal closing it on its own. "Ma?" I called out, although I could tell she wasn't here. The television wasn't on, the lights were all dark, and the place was still. "Ma?" I tried again as I moved through the living room and then down the hall.Everything had been put back in its place, which surprised me. Ma wasn't the greatest of housekeepers. That and the cooking always fell to me. She tried, but when she worked more than one job, she was tired when she came home. I didn't mind helping out then. She'd even picked up my room an
When five o'clock rolled around and I hadn't heard from Nikki, I tried to call her to see if she wanted me to pick up something for dinner or if she wanted to go out. I wasn't in the mood to cook. By the time I got home and showered, I'd have no desire to spend another hour working in the kitchen. It'd been a long day with more shit to show up in the shop than I cared to work on, and I just wanted to unwind before we met up with Jesse. When she didn't answer, I assumed she'd gotten bored and fallen asleep. I should have known better. I came around the corner in my complex and immediately noticed the empty spot where the SUV sat this morning when I had left. I shouted a string of expletives that couldn't be heard over the roar of my bike, but they made me feel better just the same. One day. One fucking day. I asked her to sit tight, not do anything stupid for one goddamn day, and she couldn't follow that simple request. I ripped the helmet from my head after putting down the kicks
I fumed from my apartment until I pulled into the Warehouse parking lot. For people with power oozing from every orifice of their body and more money than most people made in ten lifetimes, one would think they could come up with a name more original and better suited for a huge gang than the Warehouse. I had friends as a child with clubhouses more aptly named. God, I hated everything these motherfuckers stood for. My disposition didn't get any sweeter when I got off the bike, nor when a jackoff in a suit opened the door to escort me inside. "Mr. Silvano is in his office. He's expecting you." The unidentified man who'd let me in didn't accompany me upstairs. Instead, he pushed the button on the elevator and then resumed his post at the entrance to the building. Sam waited for me on the other side of the metal doors on Jesse's floor. "Ryker." "Sam." I followed him down the familiar hallway. Even as a kid, I'd known there was nothing good about this place. Despite its opulence i
"Diamond is special." He spoke to me, staring directly at her. "And she's in the service of the Union." Jesus, he sounded like a psychopath. I'd known the man my entire life. Never had I heard him sound like a lunatic as if he'd fallen off his rocker. If I could have sunk my fingers into his eyes, I would have gouged the motherfuckers out just for looking at her. That wouldn't get either of us anywhere, though. I took a deep breath and threw down what we all knew I was here to say. "I'm calling in my mark."Nikki hadn't made a peep and stood just far enough behind me that I knew she was there, but I couldn't see her face. I'd kill to have her in front of me so I could witness the emotion cross her cheeks and see her irises change color. Jesse sat up, putting his feet on the floor. His eyes narrowed on Nikki. "This is how you want to use the debt of the Union?" His tone not only depicted his surprise, but there was an element of disgust behind it as well. He returned his attenti
Nikki missed graduation the following day, but I didn't think there was a single piece of her that minded. Although, when my parents left the hospital, I couldn't help but notice she seemed a bit somber. It was possible that she was tired or that the glow of giving birth had started to wane, but I still needed to check. "Babe, you okay?" I had just thought pregnancy was sexy. Seeing Nikki holding my son was hands down the hottest thing I'd ever witnessed. I could stare at her with Graham for hours and never tire of it.She smiled as she gazed at Graham, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I guess I had thought my mom would stop by." Nikki had tried several times over the last few years to get help for her mom, but Nikki couldn't force Tabitha into treatment, regardless of the number of carrots she had dangled in front of her. Nikki had believed the birth of our son-her mother's only grandchild-would get Tabitha to surface, even if it was just briefly. I'd done my best to keep her fr
"I'd like to tell you not to be a stranger, but you're one of the few I doubt I'll ever see again." My parole officer had been with me since I'd gotten out of prison years ago, and today was my last meeting. "Not gonna happen, man." I had never been in trouble before that raid with Chase, and I would never be in trouble again. I couldn't even smell Union 21 anymore they were so far away from my daily life.Nikki would have me by the balls if I ever got arrested again, and there was no way in hell I'd ever cross that woman. I'd only thought I was in control when we were younger, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Looking back, claiming a girl who wasn't mine was the best decision I'd ever made. She'd turned me into a man I was proud to be: her provider, her lover, and her best friend. And sooner rather than later, she was going to add father to that list. As I left my PO's office, I couldn't help but think of all that would happen in the next couple of days. Nikki would gradu
His silverware clanked on the plate, and he wiped his mouth with a paper towel. "What did you misunderstand about what I said in there?" He used his thumb to point over his shoulder toward the bedroom. "None of that meant you wanted me to move in." It kind of had, but I needed to hear the words because I was a girl, and girls needed copious amounts of confirmation."I told you I wanted to wake up next to you, go to sleep next to you. How is that going to happen if you live somewhere else?" He had a valid point, but I still needed more. It couldn't, although I wasn't ready to concede since I hadn't gotten what I wanted. "I don't know."Ryker turned toward me, and with his hands on my hips, he angled me to face him. "I know it's unconventional, and I'm probably out of my mind for suggesting it, but it's not like my life has followed the straight and narrow. I want you here. Every day. In my bed. In my home." That was hot as hell and almost had me convinced."And what am I sup
Basking in the afterglow of two mind-blowing orgasms, my stomach growled. It had gotten late, and the two of us had skipped eating in favor of savoring each other. Somehow, even the lingering smell of burned garlic bread tempted me out of bed. I rolled over onto my side to face the man who'd just rocked my world...twice. "Are you hungry?""Famished." He pulled me onto his stomach, and if I weren't careful, he'd have me chasing peak number three.I giggled, like a school girl, and my cheeks flushed with heat. "I meant for food."He leaned up to kiss me, grabbing the back of my neck with one hand and my ass with the other. "Trust me, I could dine on you all night long." The pinch of his nails digging into my skin jerked me into an upright position, right on top of his growing erection."If you're up for round three after we eat real food, then I'm game, but right now, I'm starving." I patted his chest and rolled off of him. "I still have to cook the noodles, but I managed to make
My mouth watered, and my heart raced. I shouldn't want him, not after what I'd been through last night, but damn, I was desperate to be caught in his web. No matter how hard I tried to drag my eyes from his skin, I couldn't let go. Ryker snapped his fingers to get my attention. "Nikki...""Huh? Yeah." That was hardly a recovery to be proud of. "What's up?" At this point, I would look like a moron regardless of the turn this conversation took.He didn't bother to reach into the drawer to grab clean clothes. Instead, he sauntered toward me. As much as I wanted to meet his eyes, to get lost in their hypnotic gaze, I couldn't stop staring at the package between his legs. And the longer I looked, the bigger and harder and more erect it got...until it lay flush with his stomach, and he was close enough for me to feel the warmth of his breath. His fingers met my chin and lifted it. Reluctantly, I tore my stare from his sex."You were apologizing?"I'd forgotten that was what I'd in
I jumped up and down, fanning the dish towel as close to the smoke detector as I could. What had started off as a sweet gesture had quickly morphed into a kitchen nightmare. At this point, I prayed the shrill beep stopped before the fire department arrived. I'd opened the door and continued to try to get the acrid-smoke smell to dissipate, but thus far, I hadn't been successful. A thick fog hovered in the air, and I coughed with every other breath I took. With no furniture to speak of, coupled with my height deficiency, it was difficult to get near the contraption on the ceiling to get it to shut up."Nikki!" Ryker's voice erupted into the frenzy just as the front door slammed shut behind him. "What the hell?" The anger on his face shattered the final shred of composure I'd held onto. His pinched brows and cerise cheeks spoke volumes that I didn't want to hear.My shoulders slumped as tears dripped from my chin. "I can't-" "Babe, why does it smell like burnt ass in here? Where d
The buzz of my alarm continued in my dream until I realized I wasn't asleep. I just didn't want to get up. I'd slept like the dead for what little time I'd actually logged. I silenced my alarm and peered down my nose at the dead weight settled on my chest. Neither Nikki nor I had moved all night. Her hair flowed over my arm and spilled onto the mattress, and her tank top had ridden up, exposing the skin on her waist. I wished I had the time to stop and explore all the milky flesh that taunted me, but as it was, I would be late if I didn't get going. I managed to slide my body out from under the goddess in my bed without waking her. Even with dark hair, she looked like an angel as peacefully as she slept. The urge to touch her, to make sure she wasn't a figment of my imagination, was strong, so I settled for a kiss to her forehead. She rolled to her back, and I felt like a pervert watching her tits move with her. The swell spilled out the sides, and at the hint of a nipple, I adjuste
Every sentiment she uttered rang true in my own life, only I hadn't been smart enough to keep everyone at bay. My tie to Chase ended up completely derailing me, and I'd never been able to get back on track. However, I still wanted the same things Nikki did. "I didn't mean to sound ungrateful for what you did, Ryker. It just meant more to me than it did to you." She'd managed to get my attention with that statement."How so?" This time, I pulled back, making certain she could see the dismay in my expression.Nikki swallowed and took her time before saying anything else. "You're safe here. The Silvanos will always have your back. But now that I'm on their radar, if I do anything to you, or you discard me...it won't be so easy for me to recover." I couldn't tell what exactly she meant by that. The only thing I knew with any certainty was that I was hungry and tired, and I had to be at work in the morning. This wasn't the time to have this conversation, especially when I couldn't
I needed more than a ten-minute ride to clear my head. Leaving the Warehouse, I hadn't been able to shake Jesse's words or what I'd implied in claiming Nikki. It was more than just getting her out of the current situation. I never wanted her in danger again. I didn't even want the stench of the Union to rub off on her, and the only way I could ensure that was by having her at my side. But I'd stayed clear of relationships with women my entire life. Not because I batted for the other team-hell no. If the day ever came where one won me over, the game of life in Dacon ended. I had too many connections to the Silvanos, and any female in my life would be tethered by those ties as well. It was a greater burden than a help. Yet from the moment I'd laid eyes on her, I couldn't shake the need to protect her. She'd fought it. Hell, she was still fighting that shit until I had shown up at her apartment tonight. If I'd had to give an account of what took place once I had knocked on the door