GRIT: A Spartan Riders Novel (11 page)

FIFTEEN

The alarm was about to go off, signaling the start of the day. Staying was out of the question, but that’s exactly what Blake wanted to do. Having a woman in his arms felt good. Sharing his bed with a warm body felt good. Sinking deep inside a warm, wet, willing woman all night felt damn good.

Blake was loathe to call an end to the night’s festivities, but it was time to get up and get moving. “Come on, teach, time to roll.” Flinging back the covers, he rolled on top of her, nudging her slack thighs out of the way, and filled her with morning wood.

Her head rolling on the pillow, Gabby moaned, and Blake grinned as he took up a slow, steady motion, like waves lapping against a shoreline. She had a sweet pussy, better than any club whore, and he couldn’t get enough.

“How am I supposed to go anywhere when you’re constantly inside me?” she said lightly, feigning annoyance.

Lazily circling his tongue around her nipple, Blake hummed. “That’s your problem, teach. I got no issue calling in sick and spending the day right here.”

“I’m going to be so sore later.”

“Good.”

“Good?” Her eyes danced with fire.

“Good,” he repeated. “It means you’ll spend the day thinking about me.” Just like he knew he’d be thinking about her. Gabby made his dick painfully hard every time he looked at her. It only seemed fair to return the favor.

She made a face then, with her hands on his shoulders, pushed him onto his back. Straddling his hips, Blake’s attention latched onto her perfect teardrop breasts and he palmed them, squeezing and kneading as she rocked against him.

“I need to get home so I can shower and change before school,” she told him, her breaths choppy as she rode him.

“Then you’d better fuck fast so you can go,” he told her. “Ash is going to be up soon.”

Her eyes shot open wide, and all movement stopped. So Blake took it upon himself to do it for her. Taking hold of her waist, he pushed up into her at the same time he pulled her toward him, then away.

“He can’t see me here.”

“He asked you to stay.” Thrusting up, he caught her sweet spot, and Gabby’s head fell back, a soft moan spilling from her kiss-bruised lips. Engaging every abdominal muscle he had, Blake sat up, his mouth closing around her throat so he could feel the subtle vibrations on his tongue.

Her fingers threading through the longer bits of his hair, Gabby said, “He’s going to get the wrong impression.”

“That you’re fucking his dad? Newsflash, teach, you are.” Blake muffled his raspy laugh with a tit between his lips.

“You’re terrible.”

“Yet here you are, riding my cock like it’s a carnival ride.”

“Shut up and fuck me, asshole.”

Grinning, Blake rolled her back onto the bed, flipped her over onto her stomach, and pulled her up onto her knees. Positioned right where he wanted to be, Blake said, “I plan to,” then slammed home.

***

Sitting behind his desk in the company’s single-wide, Blake stared at the stack of endless papers and let loose a curse. He fucking hated paperwork. It was worse than death, truly. Where the fuck was Country when he needed him? Whenever shit piled up, he pawned it off. Being the only person who knew why he hated that part of his job, Country was cool like that. Without him, the project would fall behind and eventually come to a halt.

Leaning back in his chair, Blake rubbed his eyes, feeling the strain. Days like this, he wondered why he didn’t just stick with engineering. Reading, of any kind, always fucked him up. Case in point, that humiliating moment in Ash’s room when he got all twisted over a children’s book. But sorting through contracts and other legalese was a special kind of hell, and one that he’d only wish on his worst enemies.

Like Ricky Cruiz.

That piece of wasted sperm was on the move. Word around the clubhouse was that a couple of Cruiz’s boys had busted up a carry-out late last night after the owner refused to pay their toll—a fee that would purchase their so-called protection from rival gangs.

Only problem with that was the Spartans were the closest thing to a gang within a hundred miles, and they’d gotten out of the game a long time ago. But they still held enough clout with the locals that Cruiz was playing it smart, sticking to the outskirts of Spartan territory, though it was clear he was tightening his belt notch by notch. For the time being, Blake and his men were playing it cool, and as long as Cruiz kept a respectable distance, there wouldn’t be a problem. The second he didn’t…

Blake’s thoughts threatened to take a dark turn, and he shook his head to clear it. No sense traveling down that road unless he had to.

Instead, he reflected on the previous night and that morning. He’d known Gabby would be sweet, but he hadn’t anticipated just how much. Man, she was a hot piece. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been able to go more than two rounds in a night, never mind five. His dick was sore from taking her so many times, but it was worth it. Hell, if she was sitting in front of him now, he’d spread her out like an all you can eat buffet and take her again, that’s how good it was.

That was the difference between screwing a broad at the club and screwing a lady with class. Gabby was all class, from her silky brown hair to her polished toes, and Blake was the kind of man who enjoyed some of the nicer things life had to offer—
like brown-haired beauties with polished toenails.

But with class came complications, and having Gabby stay over brought with it a few that Blake wasn’t certain what to do with. Sometime during the night, when he’d decided to cut her a break and let her get some shut-eye, he’d ended up lying there like a schmuck and watching her sleep. He knew as he was doing it that he could be in trouble, and when she curled into his arms and slung her leg over his, nestling in real close-like, he knew for a fact that he was. Couple that with the fieldtrip to the zoo when he told Gabby she would be his old lady one day? Yeah, there was no coming back from that.

And when she’d started whimpering sometime later, caught in the throes of a nightmare, he’d been there to kiss her awake and chase her troubles away with a gentle touch.

What a woman like her would have nightmares about, he hadn’t a clue. From what he could see of it, her life was pretty damn idyllic. Good job, great parents, roof over her head. But he knew better than anyone that appearances could be deceiving. The trip to Swan Creek came to mind, as did that brutal scar on her back. He’d traced it more than once throughout the night, and it most definitely hadn’t been a scratch. However, she came about that marking, it’d been a traumatic experience.

He’d seen worse on brothers fresh out of the pen bearing battle scars from run-ins with scum who’d paid to see them dead, but not by much.

There was definitely a story behind it, and Blake was more determined than ever to find out what it was.

A knock at the trailer door shattered his concentration, and Blake shot an evil look at whoever stood behind it. “It’s open!”

Country stepped inside, battling to shut the door against the heavy winds. There was a storm coming in, and Blake was looking forward to trying to talk the good teacher into sticking around for another night. After the way she moaned in his ear and called his name throughout the night, though, he didn’t think convincing her would be much of a problem.

“Hey, Prez, catch you at a bad time?”

“Why would you say that?” he asked, his tone cutting.

“Because your dick is trying to punch a hole through your pants, and you’re looking at me like you want to put a bullet through my skull.”

Glancing down, Blake saw that, indeed, he was rocking a pretty impressive hard-on. With a rueful smirk, he asked, “Why the fuck you checkin’ out my dick, Tuck? You straddlin’ the fence now?”

Country’s lip curled as he dropped down in the chair across from him. “Fuck no. The only thing I get my dick wet in is pussy.”

“The younger the better, right?” Every time he saw Country with one of the house bunnies, he swore she was younger than the last. Pretty soon, he’d have to start IDing bitches before they entered the clubhouse so they didn’t get raided for corrupting minors, or whatever the hell police arrested full-grown men banging teens for these days. He wasn’t up-to-date on the laws.

“Always.” Kicking an ankle up on his opposite knee, Country slanted him his standard lazy look. “So what did you want to see me for?”

That’s right. Blake had called him there, hadn’t he? Brows nearly touching in the middle, Blake sat forward, folding his arms on the desk. “Jodi paid me a visit last night.”

“That bitch still crawlin’ around?”

Nodding, Blake said, “Like a cockroach. She woke Ash up, got him upset.” Country cursed, and Blake cleared his throat and drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “I had a woman over. Didn’t look good.”

Country’s sandy eyebrows shot up. “I assume we’re not talking about a broad.”

He knew the answer to that. Blake never took ass home. The only woman to enter his house after Jodi left was Gabby. He made it a point never to expose his son to anything that might harm his childlike view of the world.

The time for that would come eventually, but until it did, he was doing his damnedest to keep him a kid as long as possible.

Running his hand over his mouth, Country eyed the floor, his head nodding slowly. “Want me to have a talk with her?”

“No, I don’t want anyone near her. I can’t put my finger on it, but Jodi’s up to something. You should have seen the wild look in her eyes last night. It’s more than just drugs.” His gaze lifted and Blake pegged Country with a hard look. “Get someone on her. Find out where she’s staying, who she’s hanging with, how she’s spending her free time. Everything.”

Reaching into his back jeans pocket, Country pulled out his phone and started typing. “You got it, Prez. I’ll handle this one personally. If that bitch so much as queefs, you’ll know about it.”

Holding up his hand, Blake chuckled. “I don’t want that much detail, bro.”

“You sure? ‘Cause if anyone can dig up the dirt, it’s me.”

“I’m not looking for that kind of dirt, but I appreciate your enthusiasm. Just make sure that whatever she’s into, it’s not going to blow back on me or the club.”

Pushing from the chair, Country gave him a two-finger salute. “You got it. Anything else before I take off? I promised I’d take that little cherry I told you about the other night for a ride up the coast later.”

Blake raised his brows, but didn’t ask. Instead, he slapped the stack of eye-bending papers sitting on the desk. “Yeah, you can get these out of my sight.”

Striding over, Country lifted the pile and gave it a cursory glance. “These all need signatures?”

“I’m assuming. I haven’t had time to read through them all.” They both knew that wasn’t entirely true. He’d had the time, just not the wherewithal.

“I’ll give them a look tonight, give you a summary of what we’re looking at in the morning.”

“Sounds good, bro. Enjoy your ride.”

Tipping his head, Country disappeared out the door, only wrestling with it a little bit this time. Once Blake was alone again, he dropped his head back on the chair’s headrest and stared at the stained tiled ceiling. So much for the quiet life. Seemed no matter how hard a man tried, the past was determined to dog him to the grave. At least he had the company of a naughty school teacher to keep him company until the reaper decided to pay him a visit.

Closing his eyes, Blake replayed his night with Gabby, and found himself wondering what she was getting up to.

SIXTEEN

“What am I going to do with you?”

The kitten, covered in grime and soaked to the bones, gave a plaintive cry. Gabby’s heart melted and she cuddled the poor animal closer, uncaring that it might ruin her outfit.

She’d already thoroughly accomplished that when she’d decided to crawl on her hands and knees through matted leaves and various debris to reach the little critter. Which turned out to be a wasted effort. It’d taken a crew of firefighters to cut through that storm drain and rescue the kitten.

Which, apparently, was now her responsibility.

She had no idea what to do with a cat. Due to their allergies, her parents never allowed her a pet growing up. When she was small, she used to wish she could have a dog or cat like her friends, but eventually, she’d outgrown the curiosity in favor of childhood thrills and discovery. Now, looking down into a set of multicolored green and gold eyes offset by black, orange, and white calico fur and a little pink button nose, she was smitten.

“Can I hold it, Miss Gabby?” several of the children asked, their little hands reaching and their faces straining as they jockeyed for the closest position.

Crouching down, she held the kitten close to her chest while giving them better access. “Pet him nicely, boy and girls. He’s been through a lot today, and we don’t want to scare him.” The kitten fairly disappeared from sight under the onslaught of excited hands. By the time she stood again, she noticed the parking lot was filling up with parents arriving to pick up their kids.

Gabby sighed, more than ready for the day to be over. “Okay, class, recess is over. Let’s head back inside and get our book bags.”

“Are you gonna keep ‘im?” Ash asked, falling into step with her rather than running ahead with the other kids.

“I don’t think I can,” she hedged, sorting through different scenarios in her head, all of which ended up with one or both of her parents having an attack that resulted in hours at the ER. Looking down at Ash, she thought maybe…But it was best not to ask in case she got his hopes up for nothing. She’d have to wait for Blake to get there, she thought, then wondered if he even liked cats. For the sake of the furry feline in her arms, she certainly hoped so.

After sending off her crew, Gabby sat on the front steps with Ash while he held the cat and they waited for Blake to arrive. For once, she wasn’t irritated at him for not being on time. Last night, while he’d read to Ash, she’d noticed the way he seemed to struggle over the words. He’d tried to brush it off, and Ash, bless him, had stepped in to offer up plausible explanations, but Gabby still wondered. She’d met a kid once with dyslexia and saw how much trouble they had with words and other things every person was forced to deal with on a daily basis—like keeping track of time. Every day things that most people took for granted.

If she was right, and Blake was dyslexic, it explained a lot. Especially Ash’s behavior, rushing in to save his dad. It would also explain why Blake seemed almost ashamed when she’d volunteered to take over. But he needn’t be ashamed or embarrassed. If he were there now, Gabby would tell him that she actually found it endearing that such a dominant man, so fierce and formidable, would possess such a flaw. It made him more accessible in her eyes.

Not that she hadn’t accessed plenty of him last night. Instantly, her skin heated, as if exposed to open flames. She’d been struggling all day not to think about the time she’d spent in his bed. About Blake’s aggressiveness. The way he manhandled her while still somehow managing to be gentle. The only pain he’d inflicted had been the good kind, and the thought of never experiencing it again brought Gabby’s mood crashing down to the concrete beneath her.

One time would not be enough.

The thought that she might already be getting attached to Blake was bad. Not because he was bad for her, but the other way around. Gabby had things in her past that she hadn’t quite come to terms with. Things that still posed a threat if ever anyone found out who and where she was. Because she hadn’t just come home to start a new life as she’d led everyone to believe.

No, she came home because it was the only place she could think to hide.

What a hypocrite she was, pointing fingers at him and shaming his lifestyle when in all actuality, it was she who posed the real threat. Gabby was ashamed of herself, of the way she’d acted, and when Blake uncovered what she was hiding, as he eventually would, she wouldn’t blame him if he walked away.

Except Gabby didn’t want him to walk away. Not for a second. The reality of that scared her even more.

Gabby was worrying her teeth over her bottom lip when she heard the distinct rumble of Blake’s bike coming down the road. He’d made himself clear how hard he’d worked to get himself and his club…friends…whatever on the straight and narrow. Again, she considered what would happen if he found out the kind of skeletons that were lurking in her closet…

Gabby rose alongside Ash, her stomach doing flip-flops as he coasted to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. As per usual, he stayed firmly seated while Ash ran up to him. Only this time, instead of making a beeline for his helmet, he shoved the cat in his father’s face.

On reflex, his head jerked back before Blake dragged the helmet over his head and inspected the scrawny animal.

“Where the hell’d you find this thing?”

Ash’s face was bright with excitement. “Miss Gabby found him in the sewer. The firemen had to come and cut him out. It was awesome! Can we keep him?”

“He’s filthy,” Blake observed, then looked up at Gabby as she approached. Taking in her disheveled appearance, he raised a dark brow.

Coming to a standstill in front of him, Gabby smiled dolefully. She hadn’t had a chance to see herself in a mirror, but she knew from the black, scratch-like smudges and large, brown stains on her blouse, as well as the runs in her stockings and dried dirt on her palms that she was a sight to behold. At least it was the end of the day and there was a shower in her near future.

“So firemen, huh?” Blake finally spoke, his voice gruff and holding more than a little edge.

This time, Gabby raised her brow. “Jealous?”

Without notice, he reached out and snagged her hip, hauling her up for a searing kiss that stole Gabby’s breath away. She clutched his shoulders to steady herself, caught by surprise by his aggressiveness. When he finally released her, her skin felt tight and she knew her panties were completely sodden. Just another piece of clothing destined for the trash.

Pressing her fingers to her lips, she stared at him, a question in her wide eyes.

But there were no answers forthcoming. Blake just turned his attention back to Ash and scratched the top of the cat’s head with a finger.

One of the fingers that had been inside her last night, Gabby thought, and experienced another heatwave that made her throb with need.
Hell
. She’d spent all day trying to keep her body in check, and he’d gone and unraveled all that hard work with one toe-curling kiss.

She was doomed.

“He is cute,” Blake was saying. Ash’s eyes were filled with hope, and Gabby knew by the look on Blake’s face that he was no more immune to his son’s charms than she was of his. “Fine, you can keep him.”

“Yes!”

“But as a trial run,” Blake added. “You want him, then he’s your responsibility, and if he pisses on anything, he’s out.”

“Deal!” Ash was bouncing up and down, hugging the cat and scrubbing his cheek against the top of its head. It was easy to tell that he was already in love.

Gabby grinned, happy for him.

While Ash busied himself trying to figure out how to juggle the kitten and his helmet, Blake drew Gabby close again, tilting his face up. The skin around his eyes crinkled around the corners from the sunlight spilling down from above as he said a gruff, “Come here, teach.”

Gabby’s heart seized as she stepped closer, leaving nothing but a sliver of air hovering between them—for modesty’s sake, of course. The warm touch of Blake’s calloused fingers wrapping around the back of her neck caused a shiver of awareness to trickle down her spine.

“I’ve been thinking about being inside you all day,” he murmured, his lips grazing the shell of her ear. “Come back to my place tonight. Six. We’ll order in, watch a movie, then put the kid to bed and have some fun.”

Gabby got the sense that he wasn’t asking. She was inclined to say no, just to save herself the headache of getting in any deeper than she already was, but she had very little willpower where Blake was concerned.

“What about the kitten?” she asked, jerking her chin up.

“There’s only one pussy I’m interested in having in my bed.”

Rolling her eyes, Gabby made an exasperated sound. “I meant what are you going to do with it? A kitten needs things, like a cat box and food. A bath,” she added, pinching her filthy blouse and giving it an evidential fluff. She was loath to admit that her clothes were probably ruined. The idea of having to shop around for replacements had her gritting her teeth.

“Good point well made,” Blake conceded. “So how about you run on home, grab a change of clothes, and we’ll swing by to pick you up in thirty.”

“Pick me up for what?” she asked hesitantly.

“So you can help us pick out everything we’ll need.”

“I don’t know the first thing about animals,” she protested.

“Well, then this is the perfect time for you to learn. Isn’t that right, Ash?”

Up until that moment, Gabby had assumed that Ash hadn’t been paying attention, too absorbed in trying to figure out the logistics of getting himself and the cat onto the back of the bike without falling off. Apparently, she was wrong. He’d already stashed the feline in his backpack.

His head shooting up, Ash was all wide-eyed enthusiasm. “You can help us pick out toys. It will be fun!”

“Yeah, teach,” Blake said with a lopsided grin, “it’ll be fun.”

Holding his unrelenting stare, Gabby weighed her options, of which there were precious few, and realized one thing. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“Now you’re learning.” With a cocky smile and a wink, Blake slapped her ass and released her. Sliding his helmet over his head, he double-checked to make sure that Ash was set to go, then reminded, “Thirty minutes.”

Flipping the visor back into place, he fired up the engine and Gabby stepped back, giving him space and watching as they rode off down the road. And just like that, she was spending another evening with the Mahone boys.