It was him.
Knowing in my heart he’d show up that night. Searching for me amongst the darkness too.
My thoughts drew back to the present, and I called out, “Noah?” not finding him anywhere. Considering he was the reason I was in this gym in the first place.
He shouted, “Back here, Cutie!” from the far corner of the warehouse.
I smiled, walking on the light hardwood floors that were partially covered with foam mats. Making my way around the black punching bags and boxing ring in the center. I turned the corner after the lockers, coming face to face with Noah.
A very naked, wet Noah.
Wrapping a thin towel around his waist as he strode out of the shower. I should’ve looked away, turned my back and given him some privacy, but there wasn’t a chance in hell that was happening. My mouth dropped open at the sight of him standing in front of me. The steam filling the air behind him like those body wash commercials where a hot guy steps out in slow motion, whipping his wet hair around, flexing his lickable abs.
I shook off the vision, concentrating on my hot guy. I’d never seen him this exposed, this vulnerable, this bare. His muscles were strained from working out, accentuating the veins in his arms. Showing off his broad, sculpted, tattooed chest, down to his carved abs, emphasizing his eight-pack, and the V right above his happy trail.
Which, in itself, did all sorts of things to me. His tattooed arms were defined, toned, and bulky, only adding to his tall, husky frame.
He was a real-life bad boy.
I. Couldn’t. Breathe.
He followed my intense, captivated stare down to his exposed body before looking back up to my face. Pursing his lips, trying not to grin. My cheeks felt flushed, burning against my heated skin as my heart raced, rapidly thudding against my chest, making me weak in the knees and fuzzy in the mind.
With a cocky smirk, he baited, “Like what you see, baby?”
And I swear I fucking died, right then and there.
“No!” I squealed in a high-pitched tone I didn’t recognize. Clearing my throat, I shook my head and stood taller. Trying to act unfazed on the outside, when internally I was flipping the fuck out.
“No, huh?”
Shit! Even his rough, raspy voice was doing things to me. The somersault feeling in my belly returned for the first time in over two years, doing the ultimate floor routine.
“I’m going to wait—” I abruptly turned, slamming face first into one of the lockers— “Ow! Fuck!”
“Skyler—”
“No!” I held my hands out in front of me, stopping him from coming any closer like I was suddenly a magician.
“You alright?” he asked, nodding to the bump that was probably forming on my forehead.
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “You’re fine, I’m fine—wait, what?”
He hid back a smile, biting his bottom lip.
My eyes widened, and I swallowed hard. “Oh my God! I can’t be here with you when you’re not wearing any clothes. Okay? There. I’m going to go wet.”
He cocked an eyebrow with a predatory flicker in his gaze, like he could smell my arousal.
“What? Did I say wet? I meant wait! I’m going to go wait.” I pointed somewhere behind me. “Out there. While you’re wet in here. Right?” I nodded to myself. “Yeah, that makes sense.” With that, I abruptly turned again, slamming into the same locker. “Goddamn it! How does this locker keep coming out of nowhere?!”
“Cutie…”
I bowed my head, walking away. “I’m going to go try not to hurt myself.”
He chuckled. “I’ll bring ya some ice, yeah?”
“Yeah, whatever. I’m fine.” I stalked back into the gym, whispering to myself, “You’re an idiot, Skyler. What the fuck was that? You didn’t even act like that when you met Brad Pitt.” I sighed, grabbing a pair of boxing gloves hanging from the ring, and started hitting one of the punching bags. A sequence of right and left hooks that barely budged the massive bag. It made me feel better, so I hit it again and again and again. Losing count of how many times I struck it.
Until I overheard Noah chastise, “Your form is all wrong.”
I spun and glared at him. “Hey, I know how to fight. I can kick someone’s ass too.”
“Is that right?” he drawled, sidling up next to me. Placing a bag of ice against my bruised forehead, causing me to hiss.
I ignored his sly grin and answered, “Yeah, that’s right.” Cocking my head side-to-side. “I’m a badass bitch, mothafucka,” I mocked in an arrogant tone.
“Don’t call yourself a bitch, and don’t fuckin’ cuss.”
I put my hands on his chest, giving him a little shove. Spewing nothing but attitude, “You want a piece of me? Is that it, Prospect?”
He hadn’t said much about his new role in his MC life, and to be honest, I was too scared of him to ask. We didn’t talk about our time apart, we just lived in the moment like we always had. It was easier falling back into the refuge and comfort we sought out in each other in the first place. Making our time together more memorable, personal, life changing.
More everything.
His eyes zeroed in on me, amused with my performance. “I just saw you get your ass kicked by a locker. That answer your question?”
I snidely eyed him up and down, staying in character. Shoving the ice away from my forehead to get right up in his face. I mimicked the way he talked, “You scared of me? ’Cuz I ain’t scared of you.” And to really prove my point, I dramatically threw off my gloves and started jumping up and down, from my left foot to my right, holding my fists out in front of me like a real boxer. “I can take you raw.” Referring to my bare knuckles.
“Those are fightin’ words, little girl.”
“I’m a fucking ninja.” With that, I went to punch him in the face with my right fist, but he caught it.
“What I tell you ’bout cussin’?”
“You ain’t the boss of me,” I sassed, trying to hit him with my left fist, but he caught that one too.
“Didn’t ya say you were gonna try not to hurt yourself,” he taunted, spinning me around so fast that my back collided with his solid chest which felt like a steel wall. His sculpted arm snaked around my neck, holding my tiny frame captive against his massive physique. “Whataya gonna do now? You’re at my mercy,” he rasped in my ear, thrusting his groin into my ass. “Ya feel that? That’s not me scared of you, baby, that’s me fuckin’ hard for you. Wantin’ to take you fuckin’ raw.”
My eyes widened, and my heart started to race a mile a second.
“Not so tough now, yeah? Not when my cock is in between your ass cheeks. Ya said you wanted a piece of me, is it everythin’ you imagined back there in the locker room? Huh? Or is it too fuckin’ big for your pretty little pussy?”
My mouth suddenly felt dry, battling my mind over what my body yearned for. I hated losing, but Jesus he felt huge, and I wanted to see just how big it was. Needless to say, my mind trumped my body, and when I felt him loosening his hold around my neck, I sprang into action. Choosing to win, I crouched low to the ground to break out of his hold and gripped onto his arm before swiftly stepping behind him. In one quick motion, I kicked his legs out from under him, and he instantly fell backward onto the mat with an oomph.
I smiled, hovering above him. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” All proud of myself, I straddled his waist, leaning forward until I was close to his mouth. Breathing out against his lips, “Not so tough when your ass is on the ground.”
He scoffed, “Where’d ya learn how to do that?” mirroring the proud expression on my face.
“My last movie.” I smiled wider. “I do all my own stunts. I told ya, I’m a fucking ninja.”
The last word barely left my mouth before he rapidly flipped me over, and now I was the one under him.
I gasped, surprised by the turn of events. His body was in between my legs, pressing his cock into my core. His right leg was hitched against my ass and the other str
etched out behind him. He had one hand gripping my left thigh up to his hip and the other around the back of my neck, locking me firmly into the mat with his weight.
Looking deep into my eyes, he spanked me, hard.
“What the fu—”
“Cuss one more fuckin’ time and it’ll feel twice as hard, and I ain’t talkin’ ’bout my cock,” he murmured. “I let you take me down.” His thumb started to caress my cheek as he rubbed the tip of his nose against mine. The scent of mint and Noah mixed together assaulted my senses, causing a wave of sensations I had never felt before.
I smirked, despite the heady urgency running at lightning speed through my body. “Oh yeah?”
He leisurely nodded, never letting up on grazing my nose with his. “Fuck yeah.”
“Why is that?”
“’Cuz I always follow my dick, I mean my heart.” He mischievously grinned. “And it wanted to be on top of you, feelin’ you beneath me.”
I didn’t have a clue how he could say something so dirty, but make it sound like he was reciting poetry. My thighs clenched and my face felt on fire, igniting his flame to keep going.
He pointed out, “I really do fuckin’ love that shade of red on you.”
Blushing more, my eyes shifted toward the door. Thinking someone could walk in on our compromising situation.
“I locked it,” he replied, reading my mind. “I don’t ever fuckin’ share, Cutie. Why? Are you ready for me, Skyler? You think you can take me?”
I wasn’t sure if he was still talking about fighting or if he meant it in a sexual manner, but either way, my body responded for me. Loudly moaning, rolling my hips into his rock-hard cock.
He gripped onto my thigh harder, huskily groaning, “Fuck me…”
“Wha—”
He. Kissed. Me.
Cutting me off.
My eyes shut tightly, my breathing hitched, and my hands went to his back. This was the first time he truly kissed me because I was the one who kissed him in his room years ago. This embrace was much different than the last. His lips were rough but smooth against mine, his touch firm yet gentle. My heart drummed so fast, I swear he could hear it, feeling it against his chiseled chest. He pulled me closer by the nook of my neck as if I wasn’t already close enough, pinned beneath him.
My body molded perfectly against his like I was made just for him, only him. It was the most overwhelming, mind blowing, consuming feeling I’d ever felt in my entire life. There would be no coming back from this.
From him.
From us.
Ruining me for any other guy. He slowly parted his lips, beckoning me to do the same. I followed his lead, imitating the same rhythm he set. His tongue traced my swollen lips, and it left the craziest sensation in its wake. A tingly fire that only he could put out. I’d never be able to lick my lips and not think of this very moment. It would be lodged next to my heart where he belonged.
I pulled back my tongue, and he took it as an open invitation to gently push his into my awaiting mouth. Seeking mine out, turning this kiss into something more than I could’ve ever imagined it could be.
No words came close to describing what was happening between us. The feelings he stirred deep within my mind, my soul, matching my emotions with each stroke of his tongue and lips. This push and pull was as uncontrollable as wherever it was fate wanted to take us. I never wanted him to stop kissing me.
Not for a second.
A year.
A lifetime.
Noah’s lips were meant to be on mine. My body was meant to be beneath his. Our hearts were meant to be together.
I was his girl.
I had always been his girl.
A soft moan escaped my mouth as he pecked my lips one last time, gradually pulling away from me. Leaving me breathless and wanting more. Soooooo much more. Incoherent thoughts ran rapidly in my mind with no end in sight. My eyes fluttered open, instantly locking with his hypnotizing blue-green stare that answered every question I needed to know, every emotion I needed to feel, every expression I needed to see.
But I still found myself asking, “Why did you kiss me?”
He pecked my lips a few more times, rasping in between, “I wanted to know what Heaven felt like.”
My heart melted, beating only for him.
Taking breaths in between, he added, “I wanna lose myself inside of you,” kissing me again. Deeper, more urgent and demanding.
His hand moved from clutching my thigh and began roaming. It started in my hair and traveled down to my face as I writhed and moaned beneath him, enticing him to go further. Wanting to feel his callused fingers on every inch of my tingly skin.
“Fuck… you feel good. How do ya feel this fuckin’ good?” he growled, gliding his hand toward the top of my breast. I could feel my nipple hardening through my flimsy cotton tank and bathing suit top underneath.
I pushed my chest further into his hand and he immediately gripped it harder, using his knee that was still holding up my thigh as leverage. He started thrusting his dick against my core, earning him another whimper. My hips moved on their own accord, rubbing against his cock with the same momentum of his thrusts. His thin gym shorts and my cotton ones made it easy to feel the friction that ignited between us. His dick relentlessly grinded against my clit, stimulating my longing to come felt fucking amazing.
He painfully groaned, knowing exactly what he was stirring inside of me. Kissing me with all the passion and hunger of a starved man while his hand slid under my tank. Demanding a response from me that only he elicited. He caressed the top of my bathing suit, and it didn’t take long for him to push the material aside and knead my warm, perky breast. My sweltering skin felt fucking incredible in the palm of his hand, exciting me in ways I never thought were possible. With that one touch, my nipples hardened, my stomach clenched, and shivers coursed down my spine.
Our movements became headier and more urgent, both of us searching for something, anything. My back arched off the mat when he pushed my shirt up and kissed his way down to my breast. His lips sensually pecked from the side of my neck to my collarbone. He was slowly savoring the burn of my body coming apart against his rugged frame. Getting hotter with each caress of his tongue touching my flesh.
The desire…
The ache…
The need for relief…
Was right there, wavering and waiting to go off.
My hips rocked faster against his cock with him keeping up the same momentum. Both of us wanting to come down from the high that we were rousing with dry fucking each other. My breathing picked up as did my arousal, engulfing him in nothing but my want for us to keep going and have him claim what had been his for so long.
“Fuck… Skyler. You’re so fuckin’ wet. I can feel your come on my shorts against my cock.”
“Please… don’t stop… please…” I shamelessly begged, swaying my hips faster against his dick with much more force than before. “Please… I’m… almost… there…” I panted all in one breath.
He released a growl from deep within his chest, vibrating against my core. His mouth slammed back into mine and our tongues did a sinful dance, colliding as one.
His lips.
His tongue.
His hands.
I felt him everywhere and all at once.
“Skyler… give it to me, baby…” he roughly muttered in between kisses. Biting my bottom lip and sucking it into his mouth.
I surrendered to it, I surrendered to him. My legs quivered, my core pulsated. I breathlessly gasped, sucking in air and falling over the edge so fucking hard I saw stars. Coming undone from the inside out. Throbbing, shuddering, helpless beneath him. My panties were drenched. I was motionless from his touch. He could do whatever he wanted with me and I’d mold to his every desire. Just to feel like I did right now.
Loved.
So very loved.
It wasn’t until I heard Noah whisper into my ear with a seductive regard, “Can you imagine how much harder I co
uld make you come wit’ my cock actually inside of your soaking wet cunt?” that my eyes snapped open. Connecting with his intoxicating stare.
Knowing, he meant every last word and I was royally screwed. If things were complicated and confusing with us before, well this just added a whole new dynamic to our relationship. Where I prayed neither of us would get hurt because now we were playing with fire, just waiting for one of us…
To get burned.
EIGHTEEN
NOAH
It didn’t take long for my name to get around all the MC chapters in North Carolina, maybe even across the states. Not that I expected it to, but I guess it went along with never losing a fucking fight for my old man. I honestly couldn’t tell you how it all started. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was taking bets on the side for matches between rival clubs. Laying motherfuckers out left and right. One fight alone could make me a shitload of money. Anywhere from a couple hundred to several thousands of dollars. It just depended on if it was a kill fight.
But I wasn’t fighting for the money. I fought for the peace the act of vengeance provided in my mind. The control of having someone’s life hanging from my fingers like a goddamn puppeteer.
Fight or die.
Fighting was my outlet, an act that allowed me to take out life’s frustrations I’d gathered over the years. More of a punishment than a relief, but I deserved it. The last words Luke spoke would forever haunt me.
“I wanted to crash, but I don’t wanna be around you right now. So thanks for not only ruin’n my day, but for ruin’n my night too.”
Every punch came from Luke’s words, and everything that followed was from seeing his dead, lifeless eyes bearing into my soul. I fought for him now because I couldn’t fight for his life then.
The only thing that had changed in the last six months since Skyler came home was I had to be more fucking careful on how and where I got hit. She didn’t know about the life I led, the life I fell headfirst into while she was off being a fucking movie star. The fights were always scheduled well into the wee hours of the night, when fucking outlaws could come out and play.