Bounty:Fury Riders MC(22)

She quickened underneath me. Her thrusts were faster, her grunts louder.  She raked my back with her nails and I roared in response, the pain and  pleasure mixing in a haze of sensation. She cried out and stiffened,  and I felt her muscles clamp down around me as she came. "Vince!" she  screamed, then bit into the muscle of my shoulder as she shuddered.



I couldn't hold back anymore. I pumped into her, listening to her  screaming into my shoulder as the pleasure got bigger and bigger until I  had to let go. I slammed home once more before I started to explode. I  came so hard I thought it would kill me. I was dizzy and breathless and  nearly in pain by the time I finished, and I collapsed on top of her.



For a long time I lay that way, stretched out with my face in the  pillow. I couldn't move. The best I could do was make sure I didn't  crush her.



Our bodies were both slick with sweat, our breath coming in heaving  gasps. It had never been that intense before. For a second I thought I  might be having a heart attack. I forced myself to calm down and breathe  deeply. Was sex always supposed to be like that? I was afraid I might  die next time.



It wasn't just physically intense either, though that was what first got  my attention since I could hardly breathe. It was the way I felt inside  that was so different. A lot of women had seen me naked, but I had  never made love to any of them. Erica and I made love. It was like my  first time all over again, only this time it was incredible.



I pushed myself up on my arms so I could look down at her face. I needed  to know if she felt the same way. What I saw was beyond words. Her eyes  filled with tears, but she was smiling softly. I kissed her, gently  brushing my lips against hers. She sighed and returned the light  pressure.



I had never felt so completely connected to another person in my life.  It was like being wide open to her, and she could see everything inside  me. And she was still smiling. She didn't want to run away. She stroked  the back of my neck with her slim fingers, and I felt her heartbeat  gradually slow down.



If I hadn't already been prepared to die for her, I was then. I would  have done anything to protect her. She was mine, completely. No one  else's. My woman. Nobody took what was mine.



Shit. There was no going back now.





Chapter Fifteen





Erica





I couldn't say the act itself was unexpected. I'd felt it coming ever  since we kissed-maybe before then. I knew it was only a matter of time  before we slept together. The pull he had on me was too strong. Our  chemistry was too strong. It was inevitable.



I just didn't know it would be the way it was. My whole body was still  tingling. The occasional tremble would go through me. I was on fire,  maybe not as bright a fire as had burned when we were going at it, but  the embers were still glowing.



What the hell?



When I started thinking clearly, my face burned hotter than the surface  of the sun. "Oh, no," I whispered. We were flat on our backs, side by  side.



"What? You okay?"



I turned my head to look at him. His hair was disheveled. His face had a  look of complete bafflement. So he felt the same way I did.



"Do you think everybody heard us?" I wanted to die just thinking about  it. How would I face any of them? I'd never, ever been as loud before as  I was with Vince-and I'd been trying to hold back, too.



He considered it for a second, then snorted. "I don't know. Maybe. But  it's not like nobody here has ever had sex in the middle of the day. I  mean, we're all together a lot of the time. There are bedrooms here for a  reason-not primarily for sleeping."



I didn't feel much better, but the grin on his face told me there was  nothing to worry about. I had to play it cool. If we were going to be  together, this would happen again. I'd have to get used to it.



The thought chilled me to the bone, out of surprise rather than fear.  Was I really thinking that way now? That we might be together in the  future? One good lay and all of a sudden I was practically planning the  wedding.



I sank further into the bed, knowing that wasn't the case. It wasn't  just because of the sex. The connection we had was too strong to be  denied-I could try to pretend it wasn't there, but to what purpose? I'd  been trying already, and look where that got me. Not that I was  complaining.



We were supposed to be together. It sounded ridiculous, but that didn't  make it any less true. It was Fate that made Vince ride down the street  at the very moment I needed him. How else could I describe it? If it had  been any other member of the club, I would have been grateful to them  for helping but I wouldn't be in bed with them. It wasn't attachment due  to what we'd been through. The attachment was there the minute I looked  at him.         

     



 



I wondered what he was thinking about all this, and I pulled the sheets  protectively around my body. I felt very vulnerable all of a sudden.  What if this meant nothing to him? He'd had so many women. I couldn't be  that special.



Then, he turned to me and smiled. His hand found mine, and he covered  it. I couldn't help warming at his touch, and hoping that this meant  more to him than the average nooner.



"Why are you so far away?" he asked, tugging my hand to pull me closer. I  giggled and allowed him to gather me up in his arms. He held me close  to him, tight. I dared to hope that he was doing it because he cared  about me.



He smelled vaguely of sweat and sex, and musk that was his own. I  breathed deep, loving every bit of him. His body was so warm and  inviting. I couldn't get enough of him, couldn't get close enough or  touch enough. I snaked one leg over his, pulling him closer, and held  him tight with my arm while nuzzling his neck.



"Whoa, girl," he whispered, laughing softly. "I need a minute to  recover. You girls are ready way faster than we are, which is so unfair.  Even if I could go right away, I don't know if I would. I thought you  were gonna kill me for a minute there."



I laughed against his skin, then bit him playfully. "Same here," I  murmured. I eased up on him, loosening my grip and leaning my head on  his shoulder.



I had to get something off my chest. It had been weighing on me since  the night before, and after Vince saved me again, it was almost crushing  me. "I'm sorry for all of this."



"You're what?" He pulled away, looking down at me with a frown.



"I'm sorry. I can't help feeling like so much of this is my fault."



"It's not. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now they have  some weird obsession with you. That's not your fault either. The Wolves  have always been a little crazy. I can't explain why they do what they  do. Maybe it's pride. You got away, and that's not sitting well. I don't  know."



"I wish I hadn't gone out last night," I muttered, idly stroking Vince's chest. "I really do."



"But then, we wouldn't be here right now."



He wasn't kidding. I could tell from the tone of his voice. "That's  true. You have a way of looking at things. I wouldn't expect it."



His handsome face shifted into a smirk. "What do you mean?"



Something that had teased at the edges of my brain since our first  conversation bubbled back to the surface. "Can I ask you something  personal?"



"Well, I'm naked in bed with you. How much more personal does it get?"



I snickered. "For real. Do you mind? I'm curious about something."



"Go ahead."



"How come you're always trying to hide how smart you are?"



He laughed and avoided my eyes. "Who said I'm doing that?"



"Come on. You're very intelligent. It's obvious. Give yourself a little credit."



He shrugged, and I could tell he was trying to brush it off. Then  something stopped him. Maybe it was the look in my eyes when he finally  got the nerve to look at me again.



"You know, I've spent so much time playing it down, it's like a habit."



"Why do you do it?"



He shrugged. "A lot of reasons. The people in the club and the people  who hang out with us … they're not big on book smarts. They sorta resent  people with educations, either because they don't have the smarts, or  they didn't have the money to get one for themselves."



"So it wasn't smarts that held you back. Was it money?"



He nodded. "Partly. I was on track to graduate at the top of my class until halfway through my junior year of high school."



I gasped softly. "Stop playing!"



He chuckled and glared playfully at me. "What, that's such a big surprise?"



I smacked his chest with the palm of my hand, not missing the way the  muscle beneath his skin didn't yield even a little bit. "No, no. I  mean … what happened that year that stopped you?"



He stopped being playful, and it took a while before he spoke again. I gave him time. I hoped I hadn't pushed too far.