Page 25 of Pike’s Redemption

“It’s enough, buddy.” I meant it, too. Although my insides squirmed at the thought of how fucked up he could be. I would figure it out. That didn’t mean I would be lax regarding Nat and Ronnie’s security.

He left the warehouse ahead of me, melting back into the alleyways. I had the answer I’d always hoped for, but in place of that hope, I had this unsettled, oily feeling about how to deal with the broken remnants of the brother I longed for. Eli wasn’t whole by any stretch, and I wasn’t sure if it was even possible to put him back together.

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

NATASHA

Pike texted thirty minutes ago, saying he was coming over to meet with Ronnie and me so I’d freshened up my hair and makeup. He would be here any minute now. Things had been quiet for the last few days, and with the arrival of Enzo and Luca, our Bratva contingent, things seemed farther removed out at our little farmhouse than when we had lived in town.

Dimitri had been out to put in our security system, which Ronnie had instantly hacked, but I felt safe here. Enzo and Luca were known quantities and weren’t precisely stuffy bodyguards. Both were skilled and vigilant, but they kept things low-key. Enzo made a big deal about perimeters and boring stuff like that, but overall, he stayed in the background and didn’t bother me, which was why I liked him. That wasn’t entirely fair. Enzo was a nice guy. When we first had been reintroduced to Max, Enzo had been assigned to me, and he’d made a considerable effort to make it easy for me, fading into the background whenever I’d gone anywhere. When I’d broken up with my boyfriend, he’d bundled me up and taken me for ice cream and asked if I wanted him to go back and punch him in the face. Luca complained a lot, but he was Ronnie’s shadow for the most part.

When he arrived, Pike looked agitated, not even annoyed, when Luca refused to let me answer the door, opening it for me. “Is that necessary?” I asked. “I was expecting him, you know. What do you think he’s going to do? Shoot me?”

Luca didn’t even blink at me. “Your safety is our concern. The pakhan would not entertain any protests anyway, Nat,” he said stoically. Luca was the least willing to give me any leeway of the two.

“It’s their job to keep you safe,” Pike said, being amazingly understanding in my mind, and it was a little suspicious given that he’d been a little grumpy about the guards patting him down just yesterday. It wasn’t that I blamed him, but Max had been adamant that until Pike was ‘approved,’ he wouldn’t be entering the house with weapons of any sort. All that was Max’s way of making Pike’s life a little more complicated because he had inadvertently involved Ronnie and me in something to do with a serial killer.

They gave him the all-clear and then faded into the woodwork, returning to their posts. I gestured for Pike to follow me into the kitchen, where we could hang out in an open area in the courtyard.

“Sorry about them. I’m trying hard to get Max to relax. Can I get you some lemonade, maybe?” I asked. “Or something stronger?”

“Stronger, for sure. A beer or whiskey—anything. We’ll need Ronnie in a minute. I just need to hold you.” I found myself crushed against him. He smelled of leather and the sharp sting of exhaust fumes from his bike. His hands wrapped firmly around me. Burying my face into his neck, I leaned into the moment. Pike skin was somehow infused with sunshine from being outside riding in all the open spaces.

Licking the skin of his throat, I bit it gently, sucking it into my mouth, tasting the saltiness from being outside. God, he was sexy. He moaned a little, tangling his fingers in my hair. “Nat, give me your mouth.” Drawing his head back, he trapped my face and held it with both his hands, stopping me when I went to move forward into the kiss. “I don’t deserve you. You know that, right?” he said gruffly, urgently, as if he wanted me to listen.

“You do,” I said stubbornly. I didn’t care about anything else. I didn’t want picket fences or suburbia. I wanted him.

“I’m keeping you,” his words were fervent as he kissed me savagely, bruising my lips as he claimed my mouth with a raw intensity that sent shivers down my spine. The kiss blended passion and desperation as if he was trying to convey everything he felt at that moment. His hands tightened in my hair, pulling me even closer. I wanted him to keep me. Nothing made sense, but that feeling in my gut that told me that Pike and I were destined in the stars was either lying to me and setting me up for failure, or it was leading me in the right direction. I was going to be crazy and believe it. I was going to lean into the fairy tale.

When we finally broke apart, I was breathless. Pike's eyes bore into mine, a mixture of lust and something deeper, something more profound that I couldn't quite place.

"I needed that," he murmured against my lips, his breath hot and intoxicating. “I need you so bad, Natty. You are my drug.” He licked into my mouth again, moaning hot and needy, rocking against me, his cock against my stomach.

“Pike,” I groaned, feeling my cheeks flush and the answering wetness in my panties. He could take me right on this counter, but I wouldn’t even care. Enzo and Luca would probably see or intervene, but it wasn’t stopping me.

"But you have something to tell me, right?” I angled my legs open, grinding against him. Maybe I could come before this big conversation. His hand slid down to one thigh, and my head tilted back, my eyes falling shut.

“That’s right, baby. I do have something to talk to you about.” He pressed against the center of me. “Are you feeling needy, Nat? I love that. My cock wants you too.” The things he said. One hand gripped my skin along my back so hard I was sure I’d have bruises. “Let's get Ronnie in here. After that, we can be alone. I can make you come. I’ll taste that pussy of yours. Would you like that?” Would I ever?

“Yes.” He watched me under hooded eyes as I slid my phone out of my pocket and texted Ronnie as he ran his fingers over the apex of my thighs, caressing the edges of my thighs and pressing hard into my slit until I moaned.

Me: Pike here. Has news. Come up.

Ronnie: Fine

“She’s on her way,” I moaned. His hand withdrew and touched the edge of my lips, where I could literally smell my arousal. Taking a step out of his arms, I moved to get him that drink I had offered so I could resettle myself before this news. Not to mention, I didn’t want to be splayed out on the counter when my baby sister came in. I wasn’t an exhibitionist — I didn’t think that was my kink anyway. Pike didn’t strike me as the sort to be down for that kind of play.

I handed him his whiskey while we settled at the kitchen island and reached out to clasp his hand. I wondered what had happened today that made him look so out of sorts. Surely, there hadn’t been another body. If so, would the police have contacted him directly? He’d have called me, so he wouldn’t have been questioned alone, right?

“Pike, what happened?” I asked.

“I’ll tell you, sweetheart,” he swallowed. “I just don’t want to go through it twice. Let’s wait for Ronnie.”

She came up from the basement, blinking like she hadn’t seen daylight for the last week. You’d think there wasn’t a whole bank of windows down there. “Why do you look like you’re squinting?” I asked. “You look like a mole person.”

“I had the blinds closed. It’s so bright up here,” she said. Ah, that explained it. She had developed a habit in the hospital of preferring her windows covered when she was hot on the trail of something. Ronnie worked best in the dark. She said the silence was her favorite, but if she couldn’t have that, she’d manufacture her own. Even when she was smaller, she’d make blanket forts and cocoon herself in to read stories to herself. “I was working. And what does a mole person even look like?” she said grumpily, rearranging her ponytail, which sat crookedly, the top knot drunkenly bobbing on her head. “You rang?”

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