The Devil's Due (6 page)

Once again, the image of a mountain lion sprang to mind; a predator; a wild animal with tawny gold skin, muscled and dangerous.

When he spoke, the gentleness in his voice took me by surprise.

“How’s your head?” he finally asked.

He’s never sounded like that before
, I thought before realizing that we had barely spoken up until now.

I sipped again and took stock of myself. The dizziness was gone. “Getting better,” I said slowly. “What happened?”

He sat down on the bed. I pulled my legs up to my chest protectively. I couldn’t help it. He was huge, and my weakness was making me feeling vulnerable. All the bravado from earlier in the day was slipping away in his presence. I felt like a tiny, scared child.

“Have you eaten today?” His voice was kind; too kind. Tears came unbidden to my eyes and I wiped them away quickly.

I thought back to this morning and to the eggs I had cooked for Darryl. “No, I don’t think so,” I whispered. I cringed at the memory of Darryl’s blow and my fingers moved to my cheekbone. The bruise there was still tender under my touch.

Cade caught the meaning behind my words and his eyes went dark with understanding. “I thought as much,” he rumbled

He stood up quickly from the bed and stalked away. I froze, wondering what had angered him, convinced for a moment that it was me.

He returned with a Styrofoam container. “Eat up,” he instructed, handing it to me. “It’s getting cold.”

I opened it carefully, balancing it on my knees as I bent my head to inhale deeply. The rich smell of greasy breakfast food hit my nose and my mouth instantly began to water. He had brought me a feast; hash browns and toast smeared with butter, and eggs dotted with flecks of black pepper. He had even remembered to include a little packet of ketchup on the side.

I gripped the plastic fork like a spear and attacked the food with a vengeance, my stomach growling loudly in anticipation.

As I stuffed my mouth full of the crisp potatoes, I looked up to see Cade inspecting me closely. His eyes were watching each giant bite I took and his face looked strangely content. I turned to gulp down some more water and he instantly jumped up to refill my glass.

I slowed down, my belly finally registering the food. My head was clearing; the pounding headache was easing its grip. I felt suddenly embarrassed by my wolfish hunger and dabbed my face with the paper napkin, trying to be a bit more ladylike.

But Cade silently tapped a finger next to the last bit of potatoes that I had missed. Dutifully, I scooped them into my mouth. With one last scrape of the container, I inhaled the bits of eggs, then sat back in the bed.

“Thank you.” I managed to say.

“You need to eat,” he admonished me. “No fainting and falling off of the bike.”

I sat up, rearranging the sheets around my waist. I had no idea what was going to happen next, and I had no idea how to ask.

“So, uh, I ride with you now?” I said clumsily.

He moved toward me and I flinched, a habit of many years. But he merely touched my face, his eyes soft and angry at the same time.

“You want this?” he asked incredulously.

I bent my head to brush my cheek against his hand. His touched stirred something in me. The gentleness mixed with the savage power was a heady, overwhelming mix. He had cared for me more tenderly in the past few hours than my family had my entire life.

I locked my eyes on his. “I want to be with you.”

He bent forward, moving slowly, tipping my chin up to brush my lips with his. They were warmer and softer than I ever thought possible from a man who lived his life out of doors. He smelled clean; he’d washed off the road dust and sweat while I slept, leaving only that complex, intoxicating scent of masculinity I had smelled before.

Emboldened by his kiss, I knelt up to meet him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I threaded my fingers through that mane of sun-kissed gold, grabbing hold as he moved his lips down my throat.

My pulse started to sound in my ears as my body responded to him. Each little kiss sent a spark downward; awakening the slow fire that had been burning since the moment I laid eyes on him.

He slowly peppered my neck and throat, and then moved down to the soft, firm peaks of my breasts. He flicked his tongue and curled it around the tender bead of my nipple. I gasped and arched toward him, willing him to go faster, my whole body suddenly on fire. But he was taking his time, toying with me

He took one of my nipples into his mouth, gently sucking, teasing me. With his free hand he cupped my other breast, taking the nipple between his fingers and tweaking it. I squeaked involuntarily and my toes curled.

He moved me down so that I was lying on my back. I arched toward him again, certain that he was ready to take me. I opened my legs invitingly. But once again, he bent his mouth to my breasts, trailing kisses from valley to peak.

I gasped and squirmed, the fire in my belly nearly driving me out of my mind. I couldn’t believe how slowly he was moving; how this wild and untamed biker was taking his sweet time to drive me out of my mind with desire for him.

I began to pant each time his mouth met my skin. He was bringing me close to the edge just by kissing my breasts. It was unbelievable, and yet the mounting pressure could not be denied. I started to thrash, my whole body going taut.

“Pleeeeeeease...” I squirmed, not caring that I was begging him.

He pulled back and hovered over me, his body glowing in the soft afternoon light. He was everything in this moment.

“Please,” I panted again.

Cade knelt up on the bed and moved his hand between my legs. I arched my hips, pressing myself frantically into him. I moaned in relief when he slipped a finger inside of my dripping wet cunt. Swirling it around, he hooked it forward to catch the spongy flesh of my G-spot. Electricity surged through me and I lifted my hips clear off of the bed.

He caught me and slung my legs over his shoulders so that I was suspended nearly upside down, my head hanging off of the side of the bed. He pulled me up, working his way further and further up my legs until his face was buried in between them.

Shocked, I tried to pull away, but he held me there, wide open and vulnerable to him, my whole sex at his mercy. There was nothing I could do but grab the sheets and hold on as his tongue began to fire in and out of my slit. Flicking and swirling, lapping and licking, he moved from the base of my still sore ass all the way up to my buzzing, aching clit.

I moaned for him. I wanted to feel him inside of me again. I wanted that perfect cock to fill me up once more, but he showed me no mercy.

His quicksilver tongue wrenched me away from my thoughts and sent me headlong over the cliff. I lost control, bucking and rearing in a frenzy as I desperately ground my sex into his face. The pleasure shot through me like a lightning bolt, sending my legs out stock straight and curling my toes.

“Please!” I shouted as I came, but he kept at me, working me down to a nub.

When there was nothing left of me but a shuddering, gibbering fool, he lowered my twitching hips and moved over me. Through the haze of my delirium, I felt his mouth cover mine again.

I came alive again with his kiss. This time he was rough, the gentle, feathery touches giving way to animalistic hunger. His stubble smelled like me, his tongue tasted of my most private place. From somewhere outside of myself, I registered shock at his enthusiasm; he hadn’t even taken the time to wipe his mouth. But that thought didn’t last long.

I threw my hands across his broad back, pulling on him with all my strength, wanting to be suffocated by his mass, but he was immovable. I could only dig my nails into that Gothic tattoo, trailing them down the hills and valleys of his bulging back to cup them around his perfect ass.

He lifted himself up from the kiss and looked me full in the eyes. His gaze was dark and hungry. I opened my legs.

With a surge of raw power, he thrust himself inside of me. “Shit!” I gritted my teeth at the sudden fullness. My pussy was sore and bruised, battered from the pounding it had received at my initiation. But with the first surging thrust, it welcomed Cade’s cock home with a flood of wetness inviting him in.

Cade felt my desire and began to move quickly above me. He bent his golden head to meet my lips with his once again, but this time, he threaded his strong fingers through my wildly tousled hair.

Ending the kiss abruptly, he threw my head back onto the mattress, pinning me down by my locks. I was completely immobilized and he took his pleasure ruthlessly.

With each surging thrust of that massive cock, he let out a grunt. His eyes were squeezed shut, lost in the pleasure he was taking from me. I held on to him tightly, willing him to go deeper.

He sank his cock into me up to the hilt, and I briefly wondered if he would split me in half with the force of his pounding. But I wanted more. I wanted to feel him everywhere inside of me. I closed my eyes and just let him have me.

“I’m yours now, right?” I panted.

His only answer was a growl, but he nipped at my neck, biting me quickly and painfully.

“Please say I’m yours,” I begged.

His thrusting became faster, angrier. He was fucking me furiously, demonically even. I didn’t care anymore about what he said.

“I’m yours! I’m yours! I’m yours!” I bleated with each thrust of his cock.

My words dissolved into mindless shrieks as the second wave crashed through my body. I was wrenched violently off the precipice and spilled headlong into a punishing orgasm. My sight blurred and tears came to my eyes.

I barely had time to recover before Cade pulled out of me. I moaned at the loss, but my voice was stifled as he knelt above me and jammed his cock into my open mouth. His grunting crescendoed into a roar as he jerked himself furiously.

I opened my mouth wider, and the first hot jet hit the back of my throat at such a velocity that I nearly choked. The second spurt painted my face, and I licked my lips. Recovering quickly, I lifted my head and sucked hungrily at his twitching cock, slurping up every last drop.

HIs narrow hips pumped in and out of my mouth a few more times, then he shuddered to a stop. He looked down at me and I smiled eagerly.

He let out a breath and then swung his leg over my head. He rolled over to lie sideways in the bed next to me, his long legs hanging over the edge of the mattress.

The sun was going down outside the mustard-yellow shades and the light in the room was fading. But there was still enough left for me to see each shimmering hair on his body as I nuzzled up to him.

He moved his arm and I snuggled into his armpit, resting my head on his shoulder like a pillow. I listened to his strong, rhythmic breath as it slowed and watched his beautiful cock twitch and contract until it rested against his thigh as if exhausted.

Who was this man? This was the second time I had slept with him in the same day; the second time he had possessed me fully and left me breathless and panting and longing for more. He was a biker; that much I knew. And it was clear he was dangerous. Yet he had cared for me tenderly when I had fainted, and then he had concentrated fully on my pleasure before taking his own.

I was confused. I pushed my head up to look at his profile. His eyes were closed and the normally tense muscle along his jaw line was relaxed. This was the best time I could think of to try to find answers. I figured I should probably start small, though.

“What’s your last name?” I asked carefully.

H
e breathed out and the muscle at his jaw twitched. I wondered why such a simple question would make him angry. I moved to pull away, but he held me firmly.

“I guess it’s Turner,” he finally replied.

“You guess?”

“That name hasn’t done me much good.” The tone in his voice was odd, almost like resignation. Resignation and deep, profound sorrow.

Without even knowing why, I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes. My hands fluttered of their own accord. They wanted to touch him, to smooth out those furrows on his forehead.

But I hesitated, and then pulled away. Realizing I had no idea how to respond to him, I pressed my lips together and resigned myself to waiting for the right moment to draw him out. Now that I was riding with the Devil’s Due, I had all the time in the world to understand Cade Turner and figure out what it would take to make him happy. I wanted desperately for it to be me.

I snuggled back down again, content with his answer for now. He’d tell me more later. Once we were out on the open road, heading out towards adventures and freedom, I would find out so much more.

I could picture the wind in my hair again as the two of us rode entwined, leaving the hot desert behind us. I wanted to see trees. I wanted to see green. I hoped we were headed to California.

The thought excited me. I had seen pictures of the Redwoods in the books at my school library. They had seemed impossible to me, as far away from reality as fairies and dragons. The only plants that grew around Flint Springs were dry little scrubby things that took root after the rain and then died slowly, wilting to the ground as if giving up before they ever had a chance at life.