Page 42 of Grave Games

Her movements became more uncoordinated, more urgent. “For me, you can be sweet?”

“For you, I can be anything.” Whatever she wanted, needed, I’d find a way to give it to her.

“I just want you.” At last her eyes squeezed shut and her breathing shallowed out, telling me she was close. I tried watching her as rapture came to claim her, but it already had me, a willing slave, in its grip. With a groan I closed my eyes and gave myself over to the wild force that was pure pleasure ballooning inside me. Mindlessly I thrust into her—brutal, wild, as out of control as I’d ever allowed myself to be, and it was fuckingglorious. I was safe with her, safe enough to simply let go and feel everything without holding back or guarding myself. That was a luxury I didn’t have in my adult life, but with Shy, it was different.Iwas different. I couldn’t hold back for her any more than I could touch the moon.

Her sudden cry dragged my eyes open long enough to see her press her head into the mattress. Her hips slammed against mine as she chased after that blissful insanity, and her frantic movements kicked off my own. I let go, coming so hard I shouted with it, and as I heard my own voice echo around the room, I realized that it was her name I shouted.

It took a long time for the world to come back into focus, but eventually I realized it was still winter in Chicago. Gently easing out of her, I tucked her under the covers, then dealt with the condom before returning to her. When she rolled over to snuggle up against my side, laying her head on my shoulder while her arm came to rest around my middle, the universe quietly clicked into place.

“Will there be consequences after tonight?”

The soft sleepiness of her voice closed around my chest like a velvet glove. “Hell, yeah, there are going to be consequences.”

I felt her duck her head. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m talking about the consequencesthey’regoing to pay for stalkingyou, Shy girl,” I said, tightening my arm around her. “What happened tonight with Marvel and Radar rolling up on you is unacceptable. You’re a civilian, and they damn well know it. They don’t have a right to even cross your path, so when I say consequences, I’m not thinking about the beatdown I put on Marvel’s worthless ass. I’m talking about how Hades and his crew are going to pay for daring to close in on you.” And they would pay, by God. I’d see to it personally.

*

Shiloh

With the sun high overhead in a noonday sky, I leaned into Romeo’s back, wrapped my arms more securely around his waist, and watched the world fly by as his bike roared through the manmade canyons of Chicago. For someone who’d just lost their job, I was almost insanely happy, and it was all because of Romeo.

The day had started off with a surprising lack of awkwardness, considering I wasn’t used to waking up with anyone in my bed. In point of fact, I’d never done it before in my life, not even during slumber parties when I was a kid. But this was no regular sleepover. This was naked-sleeping, legs-tangling, cuddled up for warmth and comfort with the man who knew how to make me come my brains out with ridiculous ease.

How lucky was I?

Then I’d remembered that I owed Romeo an orgasm, so I slid down his naked length, trailing tasting kisses down his beautiful, sculpted body to his cock, already semi-hard even in sleep. I stroked him first, alternately squeezing and caressing his shaft before fondling his balls. His low groan brought my attention up to his face, only to find his sleepy eyes slitted open and fastened on me as if I were the only person in the universe. Then I took him into my mouth, because I’d loved that sound he’d made, and I wanted to hear him make it again. And again. I was so determined to make him cry out his pleasure that I didn’t stop until I’d paid him back the orgasm I owed him, with interest.

After that we showered together—another first for me, but hopefully not the last—before I made us a simple breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast. He put the coffee on, then hung out in the kitchen with me, helpfully pointing out where things were, seemingly content to enjoy my company rather than do whatever it was he normally did when he was by himself. It was shocking, how companionable it was between us, and I had the feeling he felt the same way, considering he didn’t seem too eager to be rid of my company.

That had to be a good thing.

I never thought I’d enjoy Romeo’s company as much as I did. In fact, I never thought I would enjoy anyone as much as I enjoyed him, from his smile, to the sound of his voice, to his dirty sense of humor, and most definitely the sex. Everything about him clicked with everything in me, and I wasn’t in any hurry for it to end.

That was why I didn’t balk when, after checking the weather forecast, he announced that he wanted to go for a ride with me on the back of his bike. For years I’d hated anything having to do with motorcycles, but Romeo had changed me. Motorcycles weren’t an evil thing, and the prospect of hanging on to Romeo while the world flew by made delighted anticipation bubble through my veins like champagne.

Everything about Romeo spawned that response.

I was surprised when he didn’t take the turn leading to Buzzby’s, where my pickup was still parked, but I couldn’t exactly ask him where we were going while roaring down the road. Then he turned into a large lot fronting an even larger metal warehouse-like building, except there were massive display windows on either side of the door showcasing the fanciest motorcycles I’d ever seen. The lettering over the door read Ride or Die Choppers, and I knew without being told this was one of the Gravedigger businesses Romeo had talked about.

“Ready to see your new workplace?” Gallantly he helped me dismount, then took the helmet from me to hook it on the handlebar. “I’ll be your personal tour guide.”

“I still don’t know if this is the right job for me,” I warned as we headed indoors. I blinked, pausing a moment so my eyes could adjust. What I saw was a professional-looking showroom done in sophisticated grays and whites, with several bikes up on platforms, or spotlighted in long rows. There were a few people strolling through, clearly looking to buy while a salesperson with long hair tied back and sleeved-out arms watched them with a faintly bored expression. Hand in hand, Romeo and I walked down the center aisle toward the back, when the man I knew as Tyr came out of the office and made a beeline for us.

“Hey,” he said by way of greeting, then folded his arms in front of his chest as he locked his gaze on me. “Heard you had a run-in with my cousin.”

“Your cousin?”

“Hades’s boy. Marvel. You had a run-in with him?”

“I guess it could be called that.” I took care in choosing my words. I had no clue how much trouble Romeo could be in, so brevity with zero amount of detail seemed to be the best bet.

He lifted a brow at Romeo. “She’s a careful one, I’ll give you that. But that means I’m not getting what I need out of her, so talk to me. Run-in or coincidence?”

“No fucking way was it a coincidence,” Romeo said at once, his voice hard enough to slice through steel. “Marvel had Radar with him inside the restaurant, and another one of Hades’s guys, Hacksaw, was planted near my Shy girl’s truck in the parking lot.”

A block of ice slipped into my stomach. “I didn’t know that.”

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