Page 12 of Protected By the Biker

Do you know how much patience is required to wait nearly twelve hours for something like this?

She doesn’t notice me right away, so I take her in. Her little rounded belly tucked under a bright pink dress, her hair tied up in a messy bun, and the little tattoo I gave her is still on her right wrist. I’m not an artist, but a buddy of mine works at the tattoo shop in town and he let me borrow some tools. She gave me one too. We’ve got matching initials.

“Outside… now,” I grunt like a fucking caveman. I could’ve started softer, but this is what comes out.

I stand long enough to watch her eyes roll. “You’re relentless.” She storms away, heading for the back door.

I follow her out, stopping her in the back alley. “I talked to your buddy, the ex. He’s a real piece of shit. He’s out on bail, domestic violence. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“What are you talking about?” She’s finally close enough that I smell her perfume and it’s like going home. Lemon and lavender with something in the background I’ve never been able to place. “You didn’t talk to him.”

“I did. He was hiding out up here but he’s on his way back to Wyoming now. But… he told me a few things first.”

She looks away and rubs the back of her neck. “Look, I can’t do this right now. You’re crazy and I—”

I lean into her lips and kiss her. It’s neither soft nor rough. It’s steady and firm. She backs against the brick exterior wall with a soft moan.

My hand is on her throat, hers winding through my hair. I rest my free hand on her stomach and roll it down over the bump, feeling my baby girl kick.

“We need a name.”

“Stop.” She’s panting as she says, “Seriously… stop. What are you going to do with a baby? You’re not the type, Max.”

The comment hits me like a ton of bricks. “I can be.”

Her brows narrow. “To what expense? You’d stop for a few years, do the family thing, then you’d get bored, and you’d be at it again. I’d lose you. She’d lose you. Everyone would get hurt.”

“My job isn’t safe, little cat. It’s never going to be safe. You’re right about that. There’s always going to be danger, but this is how I make money. It’s how I live. It’s the reason you love me.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong. I don’t love you for what you do.”

“You love me for who I am, and who I am is the reason I’m so good at this.”

She looks away and brushes a strand of hair from her face. “You’re so stupid.”

“And you’re so beautiful.” I land my hand on her cheek and palm over her panties with the other. She’s soaked.

“You’ve been a naughty, little cat. You know that?”

She whimpers, collapsing into my arms as though her knees are weak. “Stop.”

“I think you need to be punished.” I lean into her ear and growl, “Don’t you?”

My lips land on her neck and I drag in her scent before scraping my teeth along the edges of her shoulder. These are the moments I live for. The moments I can’t recreate on my own. The moments I’ve thought about every second of every day since she left.

“We’ve all moved on now. We aren’t the same people anymore.”

“You really want me to stop?”

She stares toward me and sighs. “You know I don’t.”

“Okay then, what do you want me to do?”

Her breath is ragged and quick, as though she’s desperate to be touched. “I don’t know… this is confusing. I’m all hormonal and—”

“That’s not what I asked, little cat. Do I need to punish you?”

She lets out a devilish grin as she whispers, “If you can do it right.”

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