Page 30 of Taming Raptor

Where before he played, building my body up for the explosion, this time he was full of passion. It was intense and deep. As the kiss deepened, he drew my hands to the side of my head where he laced his fingers with mine. When he entered my body, we locked our hold and held on for dear life—it was like the world settled and balanced. Though I knew it was unlikely, I would almost think he was making love to me.

By the time he tensed and came inside me, I was arched up as I shattered and cried out his name.

The first wisps of morning light shone through the blinds on his window when we finally collapsed on the mussed bed. I was boneless, laying on the wrinkled sheet with him curved around me—his arm heavy and protective over my chest.

I must’ve dozed off, because the sound of a zipper startled me awake. It took less that a blink for me to realize I was cold and very much alone. A rustle made me sit up and my eyes fell on him as he stuffed something in one of his saddlebag inserts and zipped it closed.

“You have a run?” I was confused because he hadn’t mentioned leaving. He may not ever tell me details of club business, but he usually told me when he was going out of town.

“No.” His voice was soft and low. I swore I heard a hint of regret, in that single word. Ignoring my nudity, I scrambled out of the bed.

“Raptor? What’s going on?” I asked as I approached him, bare feet padding on the cool concrete floor.

My heart froze in my chest when he caught me by the upper arms and stopped me before I could get up against him. His cut was folded on the desk next to the bags. I noticed the short threads that formed the shape of his bottom rocker that was no longer sewn on.

“Raptor?” Panic began to claw at my throat. I struggled to free myself, but he was much too strong.

“I’m leaving.” He wouldn’t make eye contact.

“Leaving?” I shouted in shock. “What do you mean leaving? Like you have a cross-country run?”

That time, when I fought to get free, he released me and didn’t make an attempt to help me when, off balance, I stumbled. Hands clenched in fists at his sides, he swallowed hard, and his dark gaze finally locked on mine. He lifted his chin slightly.

“No, Cookie. I’m leaving for good.”

I paused. He never called me Cookie in here anymore.

“What?” I was flabbergasted. This had to be a horrible dream. Why wouldn’t he have said something to me sooner? I had no time to pack. Then I froze running over what he said. He called me Cookie.

He had no intention of taking me with.

My brows pulled in and my lower lip trembled. “You’re leaving me behind.”

It wasn’t a question; it was a statement of understanding. He rubbed his inked hand over his mouth uncomfortably. I was sure I was crumbling from the inside out and any moment I would fall to pieces.

“Look, it’s best that this happened now. It was fun while it lasted. Right? Just think… you can go back to all the other cocks you enjoyed before me. It’s not like you’ll be lonely.” Each bitter word was a knife to my soul. Inflicting pain. Drawing blood. Reminding me that he had warned me—I was the one that ignored that warning when what we had seemed like so much more.

Didn’t he know that he was the only one I wanted now? Clutching my chest, trying to hold the pieces of my heart together by sheer will, I staggered. I would’ve went with him.

He grabbed his sunglasses and covered up the eyes I’d grown to love, especially when they were on me. Then he took his cut and walked out of the room and my life.

“Tuesday’s Gone”—Metallica

Two Months later….

Sweat ran down my back as I powered the chainsaw through the tough cedar trunk. I hated cedars. They fucked with my sinuses, but they also spread like crazy. With the Dallas area property sitting empty for so many years, they’d gone wild.

I’d talked with Nationals and we were set to close on the land over the winter. It would give me time to get things rolling.

Over the years, I’d saved up quite a bit. I wanted to purchase an acre of the RBMC land to build a house. That had sparked an idea that had quickly taken root in my mind.

Initially, the idea to build cabins on the acreage was a way to keep everyone close. We’d had a few run-ins with a local motorcycle club that was trying to establish a foothold in the area. It was time to show them that this was our territory. To do that, we’d need a safe place to land.

The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of a housing area for us back behind the clubhouse. To create our own neighborhood much like the Ankeny chapter had done by slowly taking over the neighborhood they lived in. Except in this instance, we would be starting it exclusively for us.

There would be several smaller cabins for visiting brothers and their families—kind of like those tiny homes everyone was so fond of nowadays. Then I had plans to add onto the clubhouse to allow for a bigger common area and more rooms. Those would be designated for single members, visitors, and long-term club girls. They would also be open to widows who needed a place to stay, because unfortunately shit happened. I prayed we wouldn’t need them for that, but I wanted it to be an option.

It would take time, but I was happy for the work to keep my mind off of Sage. With each day that passed my regret grew.

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