Atonement (Angel's Halo MC 5)

It was a little embarrassing how fast she had made me come, but it had been exhilarating in a way I had never experienced before. The way she had clung to me, even when I must have been ripping her apart, it had been so loving. While she must have been sobbing in pain, she had still held me close and let me have the pleasure.

A pleasure that had consumed me completely.

Just thinking about it had my dick aching for her all over again. I ignored the tightness in my balls and lifted her into my arms. Quinn shied away from me, turning her head as far away as she possibly could, trying to hide her continued tears from me.

I kissed the side of her head, inhaling that intoxicating scent of honeysuckles and sunshine. Then I carried her into the bathroom, and after securing her with one hand, I reached into the shower to turn it on before setting her on her feet. As she straightened, I cupped her elbows, keeping her close when she would have moved away.

Her head was bent, her eyes focused on the tile of the bathroom floor. I gripped her chin gently between my thumb and index finger, forcing her to meet my gaze.

The tears had started to slow down, but they still had the power to punch me in the gut with each one that fell down her beautiful face.

“I’m going to let you get cleaned up, sweetheart. I’ll leave your clothes in the bedroom. Take your time.” Confusion filled her baby blues, but she remained silent. “I’m going to go. You don’t have to worry about me bothering you.”

She slowly nodded and pulled back, wrapping her arms around herself as if she were cold, even as the room filled with steam from the shower.

I wanted to say more. Fuck, what I really wanted to do was fall to my knees and beg her to forgive me for hurting her. Instead, I pressed a kiss to the middle of her forehead and walked away, closing the door behind me.

Back in my bedroom, I cleaned myself up and threw on the clothes I had been wearing earlier, trying to avoid looking at the bed and the evidence of what had taken place. But the blood on the comforter kept drawing my gaze, and even though I would have given anything to have taken away the pain I had just caused Quinn, I felt kind of smug.

A lot smug, actually.

I’d had Quinn. I had been her first. No matter how many men came after me—

I stopped that thought dead cold. I didn’t want to imagine her with any other guy. Shit, just imagining her with some faceless prick made me homicidal.

Pulling my cut on, I grabbed the keys to my bike. Locking the door behind me so no one could walk in on her, I took the back way out to the parking lot. Right then, I couldn’t have looked my brother in the face without giving away the fact that I had defiled his best friend. Motherfucking hell, I didn’t think I could ever look myself in the eye again without regretting what I had just done.

As I got on my hog and started it up, I realized something that terrified the fuck out of me.

I wanted to do it again. Not hurt her, for fuck’s sake, but I wanted to have her again. Over and over again. I wanted to go back in there, kiss every inch of her body, and make her feel

everything she had so easily made me feel. I wanted to love her until neither one of us could breathe, and then I wanted to start all over again. I wanted to show her how good sex could feel and get lost in the nirvana of her body.

I had just left her, but I craved more.

Chapter 8

Quinn

I stood in the middle of the bathroom for several long minutes after Raider had left me. The events of the last hour replayed over and over in my head like a slideshow on repeat.

Making out with Boomer in the hall. Stumbling into Raider’s room. Raider sending away the prospect. Us lying on his bed, talking. Then …

Well, the then was what had me gasping for breath each and every time, but I still couldn’t understand how things had gotten so out of control so quickly. One second I was on the brink of a major orgasm, and the next I … wasn’t.

I couldn’t blame Raider, not really. He was just doing what he did best—getting off with whatever pussy was handy.

But afterward, he had been so gentle.

When had I ever seen Raider Hannigan gentle with anyone, other than his niece and nephew? When had he ever wiped away my tears and apologized?

That was really what made the entire experience so surreal. His tenderness. The way he had picked me up like I was the most precious thing in the world and carried me into the bathroom. The way he had pressed his lips to my forehead like he was savoring it had nearly brought me to my knees.

I seriously doubted he was like that with any other woman he’d had sex with. Then again, I could be wrong.

Tonight showed me exactly how wrong I could be.

As each second ticked by, I was able to finally unlock my muscles and step into the steaming shower. I washed my aching body, being careful of the tender flesh between my legs that was surprisingly still bleeding a little. None of the sex talks I’d had with my mother growing up or with my girlfriends over the years had prepared me for how painful losing my virginity would be. If anything, I was a little upset for how they had downplayed the experience.