Move the Sun (Signal Bend Series) (26 page)

That came out of nowhere. Lilli loved to ride with him, and that itself was sexy as fuck, but she had a different kind of riding in mind just now. She lifted her hips and squirmed against his cock, making him twitch and groan. “I thought you wanted to make me scream. I want you to make me scream.”

“In good time, baby. Ride with me. I’ll make it worth your while.” He stood and held out his hand. Bemused and frustrated,
she let him pull her up. They gathered up the blanket and cooler and headed back to the camper and Isaac’s bike.

~oOo~

He rode them out far into the country, taking winding roads, mostly through farms and fields. Some woodland, but not like it was around Signal Bend. Lilli held on tight and laid her head on his back. She felt Isaac’s gloved hand squeezing her linked fingers, and she kissed his back, breathing in the smell of his leather kutte.

Eventually he turned onto a gravel road in fairly thick woods. They came to a gate, and he dismounted and opened it. Lilli was curious, and gave him a look that said so, but he just got back on the bike and followed the road, leaving the gate open behind them.

He stopped near a small lake and parked the bike. They got off, and he took her hand and led her to the shore. A stand of pines ringed the lake, and there was a narrow, pale rim of sand circling the shore. It was lovely, the bright moon making the water sparkle, but Lilli was confused.

Curiosity overwhelmed her, and she pulled on his hand. When he turned to her, she asked, “Why are we here? Where
is
here?”

“A friend of mine owns this place. Just a little private lake. Emphasis on private. Since you like skinny dipping so much, thought I’d take you somewhere we can do it together.” As he spoke, he lifted the bottom of her hoodie and pulled it up. Surprised and delighted, she raised her arms and let him pull
it off, bringing her t-shirt with it. Then she took over the rest of her undressing, and Isaac stripped, too.

There was a little
dock jutting out from the slim sand beach. When they were naked, he got a gleam in his eye. He swept Lilli up in his arms and ran down the dock. Lilli laughed and yelled, “Oh, shit!” when she realized what he was going to do. He jumped, she squealed, and they landed in the water together.

The water
was deep and cold, and they both came to the surface gasping. Laughing, Lilli swam away and floated on her back for awhile, reveling in the feel of the water lapping at her bare skin. She spread her legs, and the cool eddied over her tender flesh. Closing her eyes, she let the water take her, her hair loose and swirling softly around her.

Isaac came up from
below and wrapped his arms around her, her back against his chest. He swam with her, pulling her into shallower water. When he could stand, the water at chest level for him, he swung her around, pulling her legs around his waist. His cock was there, steely and proud despite the chill of the water, pressing against her entrance. Lilli was completely relaxed and completely aroused, and she moved, starting his slide into her core. With a grunt, he grabbed her ass and pushed all the way in.

“Jesus fuck, you feel good,” he breathed. She didn’t say anything. She was too wrapped up in the amazing feel of
this night, of him sliding inside her. Moaning, she tipped her head back, and he latched on, suckling at her throat, then kissing along her shoulder where the surface of the lake lapped at her.

She couldn’t stop moaning. His hand was on her breas
t, under the water. The cool had tightened her nipples to hard points, and every time his thumb flicked over her, she twitched and gasped, and he grunted. He was moving fast inside her, the hand not exciting her breast clutching her ass. God, she could feel all of him. All of him, so hot and smooth inside her, and—wait.

She stopped, resisting his thrusts. “Isaac,” she gasped, fighting for focus w
hen she wanted to keep moving. She was caught up in the way the water buoyed them and changed their movements, made them nearly effortless. She wanted more. But she made herself focus. “Isaac. Wait. We don’t have a condom. Wait.”

He stopped and met her eyes.
He was breathing hard, every exhale coming out in a growl. Releasing her breast, he brought his hand up to hold her head, his thumb on her cheek. “I don’t want to stop, baby. It’s too good to stop.” He flexed, thrusting hard and deep, and she cried out.

This wasn’t fair. She didn’t want to stop either, but somebody needed to be responsible here. She whimpered. “Isaac, come on.”

But he was insistent. “No. We’ll get you something at the drugstore. I want to feel you. So silky and hot on my cock. God, let me feel you.” She was torn. She shouldn’t be torn. She should get loose of him, swim back to shore, and get dressed. And then kick his ass for being a fool. But she loved him, she loved
this
, and she didn’t want to stop. Still deep inside her, he took several steps into shallower water. When they were just more than waist deep, he unhooked her arms from him and laid her back. She was floating on her back, her legs around his waist, his cock filling her up. He thrust into her with a long grunt, and her decision was made. Or not made. She just let it happen.

She spread her arms out in the water and loosened the grip of her thighs around his hips, letting him move her as he would.
She’d always wanted rough sex; sweet and gentle made her feel impatient and unsatisfied. Sometimes her fucks had seemed only a few steps from brawls. That was the case with Isaac, too. They’d literally fought their way to a fuck. But she’d learned something in this time with him. What she really wanted, what turned her on more than anything, was to trust her man enough to give herself over. She wanted his strong hands to move her, demand of her. Sweet and gentle was amazing when she felt tamed by it. Now, floating in the lake, attached so intimately to him, his big hands grasping her, stroking her, making her glide through the cool water as he moved her on his cock, taking this crazy risk with him, she felt something inside her, in her core, in her heart, fold open.

When her orgasm came on, it came like a locomotive. She gasped and lifted out of the water, crashing her body against his, clutching him tight, moving with him now. Isaac crossed his arms on her back and gripped her head, his mouth on hers, devouring her as she devoured him.

He broke from their kiss and tucked her head to his shoulder. She surged on him, driving him into her. Growling in her ear, he urged her on, “Yeah. Yeah, baby, that’s it. That’s it. Go, baby, go.” When he started walking to the shore, his cock shifted in her with every step, and she was done. She cried out, driving her fingernails into his back as the waves of ecstatic release undulated through her.

Then she was on the ground, feeling
grass, sand and pine needles under her still-thrumming body. Isaac hooked her knees with his arms and pushed her legs to her chest. “Fuck, Lilli,” he groaned, “oh
fuck
, this feels like nothing I’ve ever known. Like everything.” Their bodies slammed together, the sounds of their joining—their cries and moans, the slap of their slick flesh—driving the night animals to silence. Isaac didn’t even try to be gentle now, and she was glad of it, wanted his hard, heavy need. She could feel another climax coiling hot inside her, and she reached out to claim it.

She felt a sudden swell of him inside her, and, still pounding deep into her, he raised up on his hands, looking down at her as if he were surprised. “Oh God, Lilli! Jesus—jeez—oh
FUCK
.” He came, his body straining, every muscle flexed and corded with the force of it. She was close, watching him in his throes pushed her closer, and she wrapped tight around him and let her hips free to buck hard on him until she caught it, and she screamed.

Isaac collapsed at Lilli’s side, his breathing rough and irregular. Lilli felt dazed and utterly, utterly full. His hand rested on her belly, lightly stroking. She felt sated. Loved. Happy. Damn. Damn, it felt so good. As soon as she recognized that feeling, dark thoughts of what awaited them stole to the edges. She slammed the gate and kept them at bay. Turning away from those thoughts, she curled into the shelter of his embrace.

“I love you, Lilli. So much I’m dizzy with it.”

Lilli knew she didn’t need to say anything. She simply snuggled closer and let him swallow her up into his arms, wanting to stay exactly like that forever.

But they couldn’t, of course. They finally got up, rinsed off again in the lake, and dressed. Just before Isaac swung his leg over his bike, Lilli said, “Let’s find a drugstore tonight, okay?”

Isaac put his leg down and turned to her. There was a look on his face that she thought she could read—but it scared her. Lifting his hand to her cheek, he asked, “Would it be so bad?”

Holy God. She didn’t hesitate. “
Yes
, Isaac. Fuck, you know it would. What the hell are you suggesting?”

He dropped his hand, and for a scant moment he looked badly hurt. Then: “You’re right. I don’t know what—you’re right. I know where there’s a drugstore. Let’s go.” He pressed a light kiss to her cheek and mounted his bike.

Lilli’s heart was pounding. They’d crossed a line somewhere, and now they were in territory she had no map for.

~oOo~

On Sunday, the weather threatened rain, and the show attendance was down because of it. Saturday had been so good, though, that nobody seemed to mind much. They just kept an eye on the skies, prepared to protect their work if the rains came. They didn’t.

The show ended several hours earlier the second day, and, with little stock left, they had the trailer
hitched, packed and ready to go within an hour of closing. Though a lot of the artists were camping one more night and leaving in the morning, Isaac and Lilli were heading home that night. But Isaac had Horde business in Tulsa, so he left Lilli to pack up their camp while he rode out to conduct it.

As she was packing up the campfire cooking gear, she felt a tingle at the nape of her neck and turned around. Her
new friend Lucinda was standing akimbo on the road just at the edge of their site, glaring at her. Lilli walked up to her. “Something you need?” She pointed to Lucinda’s face. “A matched set, perhaps? I’m just as good when I lead with my left.”

The older woman sneered.
“Just thought I’d let you know—if you want to keep him, you better come with him to every one of these things. Because I’m taking him back.”

Lilli was done with this sad broad. She smiled and turned away. She was hoping Lucinda would grab her again, but she didn’t.

Just then, they heard the roar of a Harley, and Lilli turned back around as Isaac rode up. Lucinda stood pat as he parked and dismounted, setting his helmet on the handlebars. He looked straight at Lilli, strode up to her, and kissed her deeply, his hands on her ass. When he pulled away, he winked at her before he turned to the other woman standing there. “Cin,” he said.

Lucinda turned on her heel and stalked away. Lilli had seen the hurt on her face, though, and she felt a stab of pity. She could understand feeling possessive of Isaac. He was something special. And he was
hers
. The ferocity with which she felt that claim surprised the hell out of her.

Isaac turned back to her, his hands on her hips. He drew her tight to him. “You want to tell me what’s been going on between the two of you this weekend?”

Lilli thought about that for a moment. She considered blowing it off, but decided to just be straight with him. “Your friend Cin isn’t ready to give you up. She put me on notice that she plans to get you back. We’re probably not going to be BFFs.”

Isaac shook his head, a wry smile pulling up one side of his mouth. “I figured her eye wasn’t from a love bite.” His face clouded over then, showed an edge of anger. “I’m sorry, Sport. She never had me. You know that, right? I’ll talk to her, make sure she backs the fuck off.”

“No, Isaac. It’s okay. I know we’re solid. I’m pissed, not threatened. I’ve got it handled.”

He didn’t look satisfied with that, so she repeated herself. “It really is okay. I mean, she gets all up on you again, and I will break several important bones in her body, but you don’t need to intervene
, at least not now. I got it.”

Laughing now, he kissed her head. “Lucinda does not know the hornet’s nest she stuck her hand in, that’s true.”

Lilli nodded. “Exactly.” She remembered that he’d been off at a club meeting. “Hey—everything go okay with your thing?”

“It did. Pretty well.” She didn’t ask more, and he didn’t offer.

Isaac slid his arm around her waist. “You ready to hit the road, Sport?”

Whatever had happened between them in that moment
at the lake seemed forgotten. Or, not forgotten—Lilli certainly had not—but set aside. She’d taken her pills, and she and Isaac were as they should be. “Yep. All packed. “

With a
nother kiss to the top of her head, he went to trailer the bike. Then they went around camp to say their goodbyes. Lilli felt wistful; she liked it here. She liked these people—with one key exception—and she’d liked the way she and Isaac were. She didn’t want to face what Signal Bend had waiting for them.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Isaac woke and didn’t feel Lilli. He lifted his head, worried, and found her sleeping on top of the covers, her head at the foot of the bed, her feet on her pillow. She was sometimes a fairly athletic sleeper, usually when she was having a bad night. This, though, was a first—and if she’d dreamt, she hadn’t woken him, which would also be a first, he thought. She looked relaxed, so he switched his own position and slid up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pressing his face into her hair.

He was done sleeping, but he wasn’t done being close to Lilli. She didn’t even stir when he brought her close, so he relaxed and let his brain kick into gear. His meet with Becker in Tulsa had gone as well as he could have expected. Becker was unwilling to offer manpower, but they cut a decent deal on firepower, and Becker would handle the transport, freeing the Horde up from that expense of time and risk. Then Show had called him while he and Lilli were on the road home with two pieces of critical information: first, that his own meet with Dandy in Joplin had been a bust, and second, that Wyatt had called in—he and Ray were coming home.

That was yesterday. He and Lilli had gotten in late, unpacked the trailer, and gone to bed. He didn’t share with her what Show had told him; he wanted to keep hold of every possible second with her trouble with Ray set to the side. It had been late when they finally turned in, and they had both been tired, so they had simply curled up to sleep.

She sighed and snuggled deeper into his arms. Isaac’s cock, alert since he’d lain behind her, swelled full, but he simply held her more tightly, taking in the encompassing sensation of completeness he felt merely being close to her like this, knowing that he had her trust. He moved his hand to press it against her flat
, firm belly, his fingers splayed wide. What their weekend away had told him unequivocally was that Lilli was his one true. He wanted a life with her. A long one. He wanted a
family
with her. He’d been surprised, too, at the lake, when the thought of her full of his child had made his heart expand, and he’d seen, bright and clear, the life he wanted. His woman, his child. A family, done right. Love filling his home in a way it never had in his lifetime.

They had Ray to deal with. He had Ellis, too. But he swore a vow right then, mouthing the words, that h
e would get them through this shit or die trying. He would keep her.

He could no longer be still, and he let his top hand roam her sleek, strong body, stroking the long planes of her legs and arm, cupping the curves of her ass, her tits. He tweaked a nipple, and she moaned and gently scissored her legs.

Nuzzling against the nape of her neck, he murmured, “There’s my girl,” and moved a little so that he could slide his bottom arm under her head. He felt her make way for him—she was awake.

“Are you faking?” he whispered.

“I never fake.” He could hear the smile in her sleep-sultry voice.

He chuckled. “That’s good to know.” He took her breast in his bottom hand and pushed his top hand between her legs. She was wet for him, and she arched her back, kicking her leg back to hook over his, leaving herself open to his touch. She reached between her legs to grip his cock, already trying to bring him into her.

He took her hand away and rolled over onto her. “Easy, Sport. I’m gonna linger over you this morning.”

She huffed. “I thought you liked our wild fucks.”

He traced his nose and lips over the contours of her beautiful, clear face, moving down the side of her neck. He loved the little hollow at the base of her throat, and he paused to lap at it. “You know I do, baby. I love it rough with you. It’s explosive. You are hot and strong and can take everything I can give you.” He groaned and flexed at the thought. But things were about to explode around them. On this very day, in fact. He knew that, but she didn’t, not yet. He wanted to linger, savor, love. As he kissed her, all over, down her arms, over her belly, across her breasts, he whispered to her. “But right now, I want to take some time and feel the way we slide together. I want it to build up. I want to fill you up over and over, I want to feel your skin moving under mine.”

She stilled, and so did he. He looked up, checking her response. “Jesus Christ, Isaac.”
She sounded breathless.

Not sure yet whether she was still frustrated, he gri
nned a little. “You okay, Sport?”

He saw her swallow. “Yeah. That was sexy as hell. Do that. I want to fuck like that.”

His lips on her belly, he shook his head. “I’m not gonna fuck you, baby. I’m gonna move you. Let me. Let me have you.” She nodded, and he felt her relax completely, like she’d flipped a switch. With a smile, he ducked between her thighs and tasted her. He took his fill.

That morning, he made her come over and over, slowly, with his mouth and his hands and his cock.
He made her come until she cried mercy. Then they showered together, and he brought her off again. Always in the back of his mind was the knowledge that this could be their last time alone together, and he did everything he could to make it count.

Then, he took her to Marie’s for breakfast. They greeted the regulars, and Lilli had her usual, as did Isaac. He watched her eat her waffles, carefully filling every square with syrup before she dug in. When she looked up
and caught him staring, her lips glistening with syrup, he smiled. “I love you, Sport. You’re it for me. You fill up a space in me I didn’t even know was empty.”

She grinned smugly and took another big bite. She looked happy and at her ease. She was perfect.

When they were done, he rode her back to her little house. Not knowing yet that Ray was back, she planned to spend the day working.

~oOo~

For the first time in his memory, Isaac hated walking into the Night Horde clubhouse.

Even b
efore he crossed the threshold, he felt the weight fold over his shoulders like a mantle. Ray Hobson. Lawrence Ellis. So much trouble focused on the club. He couldn’t shake the notion that his brief weekend with Lilli had been some sort of last hurrah. The choices he would make this day could determine the fate of his club and his town, and
would
determine the course of his life and Lilli’s.

When Isaac came into the Hall,
Dan was standing at the bar. He was about to do his shift patrolling the town, Isaac knew. Wyatt was at the bar, too; he and Dan were drinking coffee and chatting.

“Hold up, D. Let me talk to Wyatt a minute; I’m gonna send him out with you.”

Showdown had been pondering the chess game, obviously, but his eyes were on Isaac now. “Show, why don’t you head back to the office with Wyatt and me. We can get him up to speed on what he missed.”

Isaac and Show sat Wyatt down in the office and filled him in about Ellis and the Northsiders, and the new plan for keeping watch against trouble. When Wyatt was caught up and understood the plan for actively patrolling the town and surrounding farms, Isaac leaned back in his desk chair and asked, “How was your trip? Ray doin’ okay?” Show gave him a sharpish look but said nothing.

Wyatt shrugged, looking morose. “Trip was okay. Put a pile of fish in the freezer for the next fish fry. Ray’s Ray. Ain’t really been right since he got back. Thought getting him out in the woods, doing somethin’ we always did, tradition or whatever, might shake him loose some. But I don’t know. He’s got shit goin’ on in his head.”

Isaac leaned forward. “What kind of shit?”

Wyatt simply shrugged again and said, “War shit,” but there was something in his eyes. Isaac saw it and knew: Wyatt knew about what had happened. Ray had told his brother. Isaac wasn’t sure how or whether that changed the plan, but it was something to be aware of.

He sent Wyatt out to take off with Dan. When he and Show were alone in the office
, he asked his VP, “You ready for this?”

Show nodded. “Are you?”

Isaac was chomping at the bit, in fact. “We got four hours. Let’s get it done.” They waited until Dan and Wyatt left, and then they took the club van and drove south to Ray’s place.

~oOo~

They found Ray in his underwear, already half drunk, barely past noon. They got him dressed and brought him to the clubhouse promising all the booze he could drink.

What he really wanted to do was drag Ray’s sorry, drunk ass back to the room and torture the truth out of him. Isaac didn’t need Victor for it, either. H
e was more than happy to get Ray’s blood under his fingernails. But Show had talked him down from that idea. They were sticking with the plan. Ply the bastard with alcohol, get him blubbering. The thought sickened Isaac. It was plain that Ray was experiencing some kind of guilt over what he’d done. He was a broken shadow of a man. Good. Fine. Whatever. His guilt, when he’d never made an attempt to come clean and set to rights what parts of his crime he could, was hollow and self-indulgent.

Isaac wasn’t sure how he was going to sit next to this guy and drink with him.
He had to do it, though, and he had to do it friendly. So he and Show sat Ray between them and got the booze flowing.

For a long time, Ray just blathered. He talked about their trip. He talked about Wyatt. He talked ad nauseum about hot chicks he’d supposedly banged. And he talked plenty about Afghanistan, too, but it was all gloryhound bullshit. Then, finally, when Isaac was beginning to worry that he’d pass out before they could get it out of him, he started moaning about losing his commission and being dis
charged after being passed over twice for promotion to Major.

In the midst of that pity party, Ray muttered, “Handed that damn cunt her oak leaf on a fucking platter.” Isaac’s ears perked up and his fists clenched. He looked at Show, who cocked his head and gave it a slow shake, his eyes turning to Isaac’s fists on the bar.

Isaac relaxed his hands and took a breath. “What d’you mean, Ray?”

Ray had been staring at his half-full glass. He looked up, startled, when Isaac asked. He seemed to be trying to think what it was he said, then, getting it, shrugged. “
Hotshot chick pilot gettin’ favors, prob’ly cuz she was givin’ favors, you know what I mean. Got upped right past me, way before her time. She was supposed to be some big deal, but she got where she did on her knees, I guarantee you.”

Nope. Isaac couldn’t deal. Torturing the truth out of Ray was suddenly
his only possible option. He came off the barstool fast, surprising Ray and Show. Show covered, flashing Isaac a look that said,
you will fuck this up, if you can’t maintain
, and then he asked Ray, “Sounds like a shit situation, buddy. Anything you could do about it?”

And Ray started to cry.
Isaac stood there, rage jackhammering through his veins, and waited to see if Ray would end this fucking farce and spill. “I tried, man, but it all fucked up. It was s’pose to just be her and that pussy new kid flying with her. She was s’pose to go on a cargo run. Just her and the kid. No big loss. But then we had hostiles, and everything went to shit.”

Isaac stepped back, went around the bar and busied himself getting a fresh bottle of whiskey. What he’d heard made him want to bash Ray’s head in; he needed a little bit of distance. He let Show keep the lead.

Show put his huge hand on Ray’s back. “Aw man, that’s tough. You’re saying, what, you did something to make her crash?”

Ray was crying hard now; he nodded. “Just s’pose to be her and the kid! Wouldn’t have killed ‘em, just blown her ride,
got her taken her off flight duty. All I wanted—get her out of the damn air. She wasn’t s’pose ta be flyin’ transport that day.”

Show, his voice easy, encouraging, asked, “Transport?” And Ray dropped his head to the bar. Blubbering heavily, his head resting on his arms, facing Show, he told the same story Lilli had already told them. Isaac’s fist was clenched so tight around the bottle of whiskey he was still holding it was shaking. When he noticed, he put the bottle back on the shelf. This bastard had had his last drink on the Horde.

He came back around the bar and slapped a hand down on Ray’s sloped shoulder. “Hey, buddy. What say we take you back to the dorms and you can kick back awhile, wait for Wyatt?” Ray nodded miserably, and Show walk-dragged him back to one of the rooms.

When Show came back out, Isaac asked, “We good?”

Show nodded. “I was already on board, brother. That’ll be enough for Victor and CJ both. Bart and Len, too. Probably everybody but Wyatt. That’s some bad shit he did. He’s got to pay. I’d want him dead even without your girl.”