ROUGH RIDER (4 page)

T
he thick forest
surrounding the clubhouse provided total and complete seclusion from the rest of the world. It would have been great if seclusion had been something I was seeking. But while I’d gone to Otto’s seeking a little carnal biker knowledge, I’d never expected it would come with a side of violence and end up with me hidden away like a bad secret in some strange biker’s bizarre private world in the middle of Jersey, of all places.

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t nice though. So far, so good. Dante wasn’t bad company at all, and although a tiny little voice kept telling me that he was basically keeping me prisoner, I kept pushing it away and reminding myself that he had been a complete gentleman so far.

I shuddered to think of what would have happened if he hadn’t been standing next to me at Otto’s when everything went down.

But he was right there. Just as he was now, walking beside me, steady and strong and sexy as could be.

Maybe the night wouldn’t be a total loss. Maybe just one night alone with this man was exactly what I needed, after all. One night and then tomorrow - after all my curiosities had been satisfied - I’d be on my way home and back to my normal, boring, protected life as the daughter of a mafia boss.

After everything he’d told me about over dinner, I planned on keeping that little bit of information to myself. Dante didn’t seem to have a very high opinion of the mafia, so as far as I was concerned he didn’t need to know just how close I was to that life.

Besides, what were a few secrets between lovers? Even if we were just lovers for one night?

“How long have you had Bear?” I whispered, reaching down and petting him as he walked beside us. I stood back up, staring up at Dante beside me, his towering frame not much more than a silhouette in the darkness.

“Five years,” he replied, his voice thick with emotion.

“Did you get him when he was a puppy?” I asked, trying to make small talk. The silence of the forest made me a little uncomfortable and I wanted to learn more about him, to draw him out a little. He’d told me a little about himself, but I sensed there was so much more to him.

“I guess you could say I inherited him,” he said.

“From who?”

He let out such a huge sigh, I instantly regretted asking.

“Maggie.”

“Maggie? Who is she?”

“She was my fiancé,” his replied, his voice tight and tense.

“Oh. I see,” I replied, not sure if I should push the issue. “She didn’t want Bear when you broke up?”

“We didn’t actually break up,” he replied.

“Oh!” Of course not. Just because she wasn’t there, didn’t mean there wasn’t a woman in the picture. A man like him? Single? That just didn’t happen. “So you’re still together, then? I didn’t realize…”

“No, wait, that’s not what I meant. Maggie died, Gabby. That’s what I’m trying to say.”

“Oh, no! I’m so sorry, Dante!” I blurted out, stopping in my tracks and grabbing his hand. I looked deep into his black eyes, the pain so evident now. “That must have been so hard for you.”

“It is. It was,” he replied, pulling his hand out of mine and turning away. “It’s been about five years now. I’m okay, though,” he muttered through the darkness.

“How did she die?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t digging a little too deep, but unable to stop myself.

“Car accident. It was quick,” he said, his voice clipped. “Bear was in the car with her, he was just a puppy then. He survived, but she didn’t. It happened two weeks before I was due to be discharged. He’s all I have left of her.”

“Dante, that’s so fuckin’ sad,” I exclaimed.

“I know, I know,” he said, turning back to me and grabbing my hand. I let him have it, intertwining his fingers in mine, as we started walking again. “I’m okay now, though, really,” he nodded vigorously. I wondered briefly who he was trying to convince.

“Okay,” I whispered, his confession leaving me speechless, my head spinning. Five years was a long time, but not for losing someone you loved. He probably felt like it had happened yesterday. “If you say so…”

We walked silently for another half hour, the quiet of the night surrounding us peacefully, my hand clasped tightly in his the whole time. The night was clear, the stars sparkling brightly above us.

Finally, he stopped and turned to me, his warm eyes looking down at me questioningly. His hand reached out, brushing a lock of hair from my face as I smiled up at him.

“You’re beautiful, Gabby,” he whispered.

“Thank you,” I replied, as butterflies rippled through my gut. He fell silent again, staring at me, his eyes full of unspoken words. I knew what he was asking, without a word passing between us. I smiled at him, looking down at his full lips and back into his eyes - a silent answer.

Slowly, his head lowered until his warm lips pressed against mine gently. I kissed him back, a slow, pulsing electricity flowing between us, a small spark of lust igniting inside of me as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close.

The searing warmth of his lips against mine fanned the flame of desire that rushed through my body and I pressed into him, feeling his hardness against me. I moaned as his lips parted mine, his tongue darting in, searching, exploring, as waves of passion flowed between us. His strong arms lifted me from the ground, his kiss turning hungry, urgent, hard.

Breathless, I kissed him back, moaning into him as he gently placed my feet back on the ground and pulled his lips from mine. I looked up at him, his lips wet and swollen, his dark eyes raw with lust, and my breath caught in my throat.

There was no fighting it.

Tonight, I was his.

Luckily, fighting it was the last thing I wanted to do.

T
alking
about Maggie was the last thing I had intended to do, but I found myself explaining everything before I could stop myself.

After that, I was thrown off my game. Hell, it had been so long since I’d had any game in the first place and I felt completely lost.

I had every intention of convincing Gabby to get into my bed before the night was over, but after I’d explained everything about Maggie, it took a good half hour before I could even clear my head enough to kiss her.

But then, once I did - it was all over. Once my lips touched hers, the flames were ignited and there was no turning back. I was on fire with desire for her. My cock sprang to attention, and suddenly I missed the touch of a woman more than I’d ever missed anything in my life. I was hungry, starving for it.

I needed her, her body, her touch. And I needed her now.

“Let’s go,” I said, tearing my lips from hers and grabbing her hand again before practically dragging her back to the cabin. She didn’t resist, thankfully, because I don’t know what I would have done if she had. I was ready to explode into a million pieces right there on the road and by the time we made it back to the cabin, I was cursing my ridiculous idea to take a walk in the first place.

Bear lagged behind, but I knew he’d catch up. He was more loyal and devoted than most soldiers I’d come across in the Army, even if he was a little slow.

Once we were inside, I pushed Gabby up against the wall and kissed her again. Hard. She whimpered in surprise, but it only served to make me harder. I liked surprising her.

My cock was throbbing painfully, making me aware of exactly how long it’d been since I’d made love to anyone. I tore my lips from hers, burying my face in the softness of her hair, inhaling the sweet floral scent of her skin. My lips brushed against her neck, and she gasped, arching her back, the curve of her breasts pushing against my chest.

“Shit!” I exclaimed, and she jumped. “Sorry,” I replied, kissing her lips again quickly. “I forgot something. Stay here! Don’t go anywhere!”

She looked at me like I was a lunatic, but she nodded and stayed exactly where she was standing, her wet lips plump and ready and waiting for me to kiss them again.

I ran to the bathroom, frantically searching my cabinets for condoms. I was completely unprepared for this, I realized, as I looked around at my dirty bathroom. I suppressed a shout of joy when I found an unopened box of condoms in the back of a drawer. I was almost positive they’d been left there by Romeo during a party a few months ago and I made a mental note to thank him later. He’d love that, the fuckin’ playboy.

“You alright in there?” Gabby called from the living room.

“Yeah, totally, be right there!” I called back, stuffing a few of the condoms into my pocket. I stopped and looked at myself in the mirror before leaving.

“Go get ‘em Casanova. You remember how to do this,” I said to myself. I could almost hear the guys cheering for me in my head.

Gabby was in for quite a ride and she didn’t even know it.

I only hoped she was still in one piece when I was done devouring her.

W
hile he was gone
, I searched frantically for a mirror. Of course, there was nothing at all in sight. I hadn’t thought of my appearance until now. I smoothed my hair as best I could with my hands, dreading the task of brushing it later. The wind had whipped it into one big tangle. I looked down at my clothes and was surprised to see they were still relatively clean.

After everything that happened, I was shocked they weren’t covered in ugly biker blood.

Dante was taking forever in the bathroom and I was beginning to think something was wrong. Maybe he’d changed his mind?

Bear stared at me from the corner, watching me with lazily hooded eyes as I threw another log on the fire.

Was this really happening?
I thought. His kisses made me feel like he’d set fireworks off inside of me. The walk back to the cabin had been quick, almost frantic. And then he’d kissed me again once we’d gotten back in the cabin. Hard.

My god, it had sent ripples of delight through me, his mouth searching mine so deeply it took my breath away. And then, just like that - poof! he was gone again.

I didn’t know what to think.

I walked to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of whiskey he’d left on the counter, not bothering to pour it into a glass. I brought the bottle to my lips, pouring the warm amber liquid into my mouth as I tried to imagine it was courage I was pouring in.

For fuck’s sake, I needed it. Dante was intense. He might even be dangerous. And here I was, about to let him fuck me.

I was a little terrified, but I knew I also needed to remember why I came here. I was full of bravado earlier, the fearless woman on a mission. And here I was. I’d done it. Found myself a biker to bed, even if it came with a small side of lingering fear. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe that would make it even better, add a little thrill to the whole thing.

I lifted my chin, threw my shoulders back and smiled to myself. Yes, I’d done it alright.

Mission accomplished.

Almost. If only he’d come out of that bathroom and fuck me already…

I put the bottle down after a few more swigs and turned around to walk back into the living room.

He was standing there, watching me from the kitchen door.

For how long, I don’t know, but I replayed the last few seconds back through my head to make sure I hadn’t said anything stupid out loud. From the way he was looking at me, though, it apparently didn’t matter if I had or not.

The look on his face said one thing and one thing only.

“Now,” he whispered, his voice full of authority - demanding, confident, steely.

If I wasn’t so turned on, I’d have been more afraid.

Instead, I walked right into his arms, right into the storm brewing in his eyes - our mouths, our bodies, our souls, clashing together in a passionate frenzy of kisses, caresses, gropes…pushing and pulling against one another, trying to get as close as possible through our clothes.

I moaned into his mouth as his python-like biceps wrapped around me, pulling me closer, his kiss deepening, his tongue dancing with mine deliciously. He tasted like whiskey. He tasted like heaven. He tasted like pure, unleashed lust. I couldn’t get enough of his mouth.

Torturously, he pulled his mouth away and I heard myself whimper in protest. All sense of restraint had left me. At this point, I would have done anything he’d asked. Begged him, if necessary.

I was on fire for him, his touch awakening something deep within me that I never knew existed. Raw desire…pure, unleashed passion…savage, animalistic yearning…it all overwhelmed me and all my inhibitions fell away in the face of this one undeniable, pulsing need that ripped through me.

He reached down before the pleas escaped from my lips, lifting me easily into his arms and carrying me down the hallway. He kicked open a door and we entered a small, dark, cavelike room. Before my eyes could adjust to the darkness, he slammed the door shut behind him, throwing us into almost pitch blackness before he placed my quivering body on the bed.

His frame was barely a silhouette, the moonlight shining through the open window providing the only light.

Silent as an empty church, only one sound broke through the darkness - our combined breathing - thick and heavy in the air between us.

I watched him begin to undress with barely contained excitement. I’d been waiting for this moment, to finally see the taught muscles I’d felt earlier. His barely lit limbs shimmered in the shadows, making me wish I was the moonlight so I could kiss every inch of his smooth, tan skin as it came into view.

He was magnificent. A masterpiece of masculine flesh, he looked as if he was carved from the finest marble. Every muscle rippled as he moved, his wide chest sprinkled with dark curly hair that I longed to run my fingers through. As his hands moved to the buttons of his jeans, I swallowed hard, the thrill of anticipation swelling inside of me.

Pop.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

Pop. Pop.

The fly of his button-fly Levis parted, revealing a thin black trail of hair running into his jeans. A treasure trail, Bella always called it.

Bella,
I thought.
If she could only see me now.

But no. This treasure was mine and mine alone. I had never felt luckier.

Dante’s hands pushed the jeans over his hips, his thick, heavy cock springing into view. It was dark, but I didn’t need more light to see its beauty, its sheer perfection, just as I knew a man like him was sure to possess. It was perfect. Pulsing, hard, full of strength and life and heat. I had no doubt he knew how to use it, too.

As if he was eager to prove that very fact to me, as soon as his jeans hit the floor, he closed the distance between us, and this time, he felt ten times hotter than he had before. Heat exuded from his naked skin, from his lips, his tongue, his hands.

He kissed me again, even harder than before, my lips bruising under his touch. His fingers found the edge of my tank top, pulling it quickly over my head, revealing my red lacy bra. Quickly and expertly, he released the front clasp, and my breasts came spilling out into his hands. A low groan preceded his warm wet lips engulfing my nipple and I arched my back, my fingers sinking into his silky hair, pulling his head in closer as his tongue twirled around it.

“Dante…” I whispered into the darkness, his mouth moving to engulf my other nipple as his fingers began unzipping my jeans.

“Off!” he commanded. I lifted my hips as he pulled them down, his feathery kisses landing on my stomach as he did so. Throwing the jeans to the side, he brought his mouth to my sex, inhaling with a smile. His fingers dipped into the side of my panties, the red lace a stark contrast to the tan skin of fingers.

I smiled to myself, remembering that I had purchased this set of underwear specifically for this night. I never in a million years thought it would end up this amazing.

His mouth engulfed my mound, his lips sucking my clit hungrily, pulling the pleasure from my body with every caress. I pushed my hips up, wanting more, more, more of him, wanting all of him. My fingers tangled in his long dark hair, pulling his head into me as I squirmed beneath him, my body on fire, my juices flowing over his hand as he slipped a finger into me, his name escaping from my lips once more, my body crashing over the edge, leaving me wet and panting and gasping for air.

Dante slid up my body, his lips capturing my quivering lips again, his cock throbbing hard against me as his kisses grew more urgent.

“I can’t wait any longer,” he whispered, his voice thick with desire.

“Don’t,” I said, wrapping my thighs around his hips, his cock sinking into me with a piercing deliciousness.

“Yes!” I cried out, tightening my grip on his hips, pulling him deeper and deeper as waves of pleasure washed over me. “Oh, yes, Dante!”

My arms wrapped around him, needing him closer. I couldn’t get enough of him. I couldn’t get him close enough, deep enough. Blissfully, his cock filled me, his hardness sliding into me, throbbing against me, our bodies dancing together with one shared purpose on our one shared night.

He pounded into me, my hands finding his tight ass, delighting in the way his muscles flexed under my palms, the way his hair fell onto my face as he rode me, harder and rougher, my pussy pulsing around him, tightening, releasing, and tightening again.

He growled, a deep, guttural moan echoing in my ears, his hammering speeding up - unhinged, raw, savage, animalistic - powerfully he slammed into me, until I felt him swell and throb, his cock exploding with the lust that shone across his face, my body writhing with pleasure, sliding over the edge of bliss with him, our bodies tangled up together as tight as we could get.

“I never want to let you go,” he murmured into my hair. I sighed with pleasure, wrapping myself around him, feeling exactly the same way, ignoring my promise I’d made to myself about this just lasting for one night. How could I only have one taste of this heavenly bliss?

“Don’t…” I whispered, “don’t.”