Center of Gravity (Marauders Book 3) (18 page)

He squeezed her hands with a chuckle. It was so fucking good—every time. He gave her cheek a kiss once he managed to find his breath again. She laughed and opened her eyes.

“Definitely would’ve regretted missing this,” she said.

“Me, too,” he admitted.

He pulled out, gave her ass a smack, and laughed when she turned around and glared at him.

“Do you still need to go, or do you wanna stick around for a second round?”

“I need to go,” she said, as she pulled up her panties. “Mom and Dad know I’m here, and they were very worried about me going to a biker club. They’re probably up waiting for me, and I’m really not up for a serious talk with them.”

“Worried that their girl is with the big bad bikers, eh?” She was standing, fully dressed again. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer to look down her cleavage. Gently, he moved the cloth to the side and gave her nipple a lick. “Sorry, been wanting to do that all fucking night.”

“I’ve noticed,” she said and exposed her other breast as well. “Give me one on this one, too.”

“Awesome,” he groaned and did as she’d asked. “I’m gonna get hard again really soon if you keep doing stuff like this. I’ll follow you outside.”

They got some looks from the others when they walked through the bar, but not many. It wasn’t like what he’d done was something unusual. It wasn’t even unusual to get a blowjob or get laid out in the bar.

He volunteered Wrench to give her a ride home, and when he watched her leave the party all of sudden didn’t seem that fucking awesome anymore.

-o0o-

It was Christmas Day, and he was supposed to be at his dad’s place around two o’clock. He hadn’t heard from Anna at all, so her parents were apparently keeping her busy.

Lisa had attacked him when he’d gone back inside after sending Anna home from the clubhouse. She’d asked him what the fuck he was doing, that he’d promised to go easy on Anna, and now he was working his charm on her. They’d ended up in an argument that had ended with him telling Lisa to mind her own fucking business. He hadn’t talked to her since, and he really hated fighting with Lisa. Almost as much as he hated fighting with Mac, although that wasn’t anywhere near as common.

He’d just woken up when the sound of the doorbell forced him out of bed. He found his jeans from the day before on the floor and went down to answer the door. It was Anna, and it took him a few seconds to collect himself.

“Merry Christmas,” she said with a big smile on her lips. “Thought I’d bring you your gift.”

“If you’re my gift it’s a very merry Christmas,” he said and grabbed her to give her a kiss.

“We’ve got about an hour if you want to, but I do have a present for you, too.”

“Really?”

He’d bought her a gift, too, even if he’d avoided thinking about it since it had been bought, but he would still give it to her. He’d known she’d buy him something, since she seemed very big on buying gifts and also put a lot of thought into them, so he’d made a real effort—probably a bit too much of an effort. At the moment, the hour with her was a lot more appealing than anything she might have bought him, so he decided to not waste any time. He lifted her up and carried her upstairs to his bed.

Forty minutes later, she was resting on his arm naked, and he turned towards her.

“Can I open it now?”

“Yes,” she smiled.

“You like giving gifts, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she admitted with a laugh, leaning over him to get something out of her bag.

It was a small jewelry box, and for a second he was a bit disappointed. He had some rings and necklaces, but in general he wasn’t much for jewelry. He opened it, though, and then took a deep breath. It was a simple, coin-sized medallion on a leather strap. The inscription on it said
Godfather
,
JMB
, and the date of Joshua’s birth.

“Wow,” he mumbled as he took it out of the box. “This is so fucking great, Anna.”

“I though you’d like it.” She took it from him and helped him put it on. “It’s silver. You don’t really strike me as a guy who likes gold jewelry.”

“No, I don’t.” He grabbed her cheeks and kissed her. “It’s awesome. Thank you. I got you something, too.”

“You bought me a present?” She looked honestly surprised.

“Sure. Knew you’d buy me something. I’ll go get it for you.”

He got up and went downstairs to get it. When he came back upstairs, she looked at him with wide eyes. Still looking confused and a bit surprised.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

She sat up and took the box. It was a small gold babushka on a necklace, engraved with a flower pattern similar to the one she had on her cane. He’d found it at a flea market in Emporia on their latest run. Hanging next to it was a small pink heart. It was actually a diamond heart, but he figured it was better if he didn’t tell her that. It would involve him telling her that he didn’t exactly pay full price for diamonds.

He’d bought it directly from the Mexican contact. It was while he was paying for it that he’d realized exactly how gone he was for Anna. Mac had been with him, and when he’d looked at his brother and let out a deep sigh, Mac had laughed. ‘Just figured it out?’ he’d chuckled. And Mitch had been forced to admit that he had, and Mac’d just shook his head. When Mitch, a week earlier, had admitted that he’d taken Anna to their spot by the river the night when she was his alibi, Mac hadn’t even bothered commenting on it.

So that was why he’d avoided thinking about her Christmas present. It was a very clear reminder of how fucking gone he was for her.

“It’s beautiful,” Anna mumbled. She looked up and smiled. “Pink heart?”

“Very ballerina, pink and a heart, then there’s the Russian part,” he hurried to say to take her focus off the pretty fucking overly blingy diamond, and also hoping she didn’t realize it was a diamond. “Can you put it on or is it going to make your parents ask you questions?”

“I don’t care, I want it on,” she smiled. “Thank you.”

He fastened it on her and gave her a kiss. She looked pretty pleased when she ran her fingertips over it, and he liked that. Then she straddled him, put her arms around his neck with a smile, and gave him a quick kiss. He thought he deserved a better one, so he circled her waist and pulled her closer, to make sure he got a proper kiss. Having her naked in his lap with his tongue in her mouth was making him hard again. She laughed and rubbed herself against his dick.

“I need to go.”

“Sure?” he groaned and arched to press his now solid hard-on against her. Grabbing her new necklace, he forced her to get closer and licked her lips. “Can you at least say something in Russian?”

“Schastlivogo Rozhdestva!”

“More.” It was so fucking hot. She’d done it a couple of times when he’d asked her, and she had started to figure out that it turned him on. He moved them around so he was on top of her. “Please?”

“Vot der’mo!” she said and laughed.

“What does that mean, the last one?” He sneaked his hand between them and found her nub.

“Oh shit!”

“Come on, baby,” he teased and sucked on her lower lip. “Tell me.”

“That’s what it means,” she moaned. “It means ‘oh, shit.’”

He was pretty damn sure he could get her to stay a bit longer. He watched her as he slowly moved two fingers inside her, her eyes closed and lips slightly separated. It was at times like this he knew exactly how fucking in love with her he was. It would freak her out, though, if she knew. She was in no way ready for love declarations or a relationship, so he needed to take this very slowly.

“Babe, ever spent an entire day in bed?” he asked while putting on a condom.

“No,” she said and opened her eyes. “Never had time for that.”

He lay down, gave her a kiss, and smiled as he pressed inside of her. “We’ll do that when your parents have left.”

-o0o-

He dropped the huge bag of Christmas presents on the floor in the living room. The kids were examining the gifts already surrounding the tree. Eliza was the first to come up to him, and she gave him a long, tight hug.

“How’s my girl?” he asked and kissed the top of her head.

“Good. Sort of. I never heard from that guy again.”

“The slightly older one?” he asked.

“That one,” she confirmed. “I didn’t tell him I had a purity ring, but something similar, so I guess you were right.”

“Sorry, Buttercup.” He gave her a hug. “Want me to beat him up?”

“No. Not yet,” she smiled. “I’ll be fine.”

“I know.”

He gave her an extra hug, put his arm around her shoulders, and started them towards the kitchen.

“How does the turkey look?”

“They won’t even let me near it. The new rule is that you have to be a mother and not be married to Dawg to be allowed to touch it.”

The ‘not married to Dawg’ rule was obviously to keep Edie out of the kitchen, since the woman was capable of fucking up a salad.

“Did you make desert?” Eliza was great in the kitchen, though. Mel had made sure of that. She wouldn’t be able to stand the shame of having a kid who couldn’t cook; family dinners were sacred to her. “And tell me it’s good.”

“I made it, and it’s
awesome
!”

They both stood in the doorway to the kitchen, and he remembered listening to Eliza trying to explain to one of her friends how the families were tied together. It was a mess and no one really gave a shit; usually they just said ‘he’s club,’ ‘she’s an old lady,’ or ‘club kid’ and that was enough of an explanation.

When Lisa looked up, he gave her a smile. Instead of smiling back, she put down the ladle, marched up to him, grabbed his arm, and pushed him out on the porch. He stood there and stared at her as she slammed the door shut hard enough for the glass to vibrate. His smile had been meant as an apology, and he’d hoped they’d have a talk about how silly they’d been and that it was all good. Well, that was obviously not going to happen, and he braced himself for the verbal storm she was sure as fuck going to unleash on him.

“A diamond. A pink, heart-shaped diamond! What the fuck are you up to?”

“How did you...?” And it dawned on him. Mac knew and if Mac knew, Vi did and Lisa was Vi’s sister. Or it was possible that Mac had told her; the three of them rarely kept secrets from each other. “Shit. Lisa—”

“She’s had a shitty few years, and I wasn’t kidding, if you fuck her up I’ll rip your balls off.” Lisa wasn’t yelling, but only because she didn’t want the rest of the family to hear. “She’s a nice person, a friend, and I love her. If you mess her up, and she starts avoiding me just to stay out of your way, I’ll hate you forever.”

“I don’t think you have to worry. She’s not falling, don’t think she’s capable at the moment. There’s still a bit too much in her head.”

“Okay. Just...” He could see when realization hit her. “
She’s
not falling. You are.”

“Drop it.”

Lisa started laughing. She’d make a great villain in a movie with that laugh. He lit a smoke while he waited for her to calm down.

“I’m sorry,” she sniffed while drying her eyes.

“No, you’re not.”

“No, I’m not.” She sat down on a chair, and he took the one opposite her. “So, what now?”

“Nothing. I’d just scare her off. She needs time. Dancing is still her big love.”

“When the fuck did you become an expert on women?” Lisa asked and took the smoke from him with a big smile on her lips. “Dr. Mitch.”

“Nailing girls and getting away without tears has been my hobby for years. Knowing when they’re prime for the picking makes it easier.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “And I’m
very
good at my hobby.”

“You’re an ass.”

“Yeah, but you knew that. This thing with Anna would’ve been perfect if I hadn’t...”

“…Fallen for the girl,” Lisa finished the sentence and shook her head with another laugh. “Didn’t think I’d see the day when Mitchell ‘horndog’ Baxter fell in love. Why her?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “She’s different.”

“Gonna tell you a secret, Mitch. Sister to brother secret,” she said and leaned closer to him. “All men say that, ‘she’s different.’ Wanna know the truth?”

“Yes,” he smiled and leaned forward as well. “Enlighten me, Dr. Warren.”

“She’s not. It’s those love goggles that makes her different. In the end, she’s normal, just like any other girl. It’s just that she’s
your
kind of normal, and you’ve fallen for her.” Lisa stood up and gave his cheek a kiss. “Good luck.”

And she was gone. Mitch sighed and leaned back on the chair. That’s when it dawned on him, Lisa had known about the diamond, but she hadn’t known why he’d bought it. Mac had kept that to himself at least, and Mitch liked that.

The door flew open again and this time it was Brick.

“Wanna tell me why the crazy doc almost broke the fucking door to my porch?”

“She was pissed.”

“I got that part, genius. More wondering why she’s pissed at you.”