Faith’s Temptation (Dueling Dragons MC Book 1) (19 page)

Oh, my sweet lord.
What have I gotten myself into? I fight an internal battle between my head, my heart, and my goddamn body! One is going to win soon.

You aren’t this person, Faith. Stop this!
my brain screams at me. You’re falling in love. My heart laughs at me. And my body screams out, you want him. You know you do. So fuck him!
My body is a traitor.

He does it again—licks me—and I breathe very sharply, almost a whistle. He slides a finger into my wet pussy, and pulls it out then in, out and in and out again. He puts his fingers to my mouth and says, “Lick and taste how good you are. Taste what I’ve been craving since the first time I tasted you.”

Sucking his finger into my mouth, I moan around it, tasting my salty cum on it.
God, he’s making me so hot!

He moves, pushing himself away from my body. “On your hands and knees. Now.” I do as I am told again. His voice is so domineering yet sexy.

He kneels behind me between my legs and spreads them out.
Whack.
The sting on my ass cheek causes me to gasp. “Ouch!” I try to scoot away from him, but he reaches under my hips and drags me back. My rear is on fire, though it cools to a tingle that spreads straight to my damp center.

“Shhh, what did I tell you?” He spanks me again. His hard cock touches my entrance as he strokes my back, but all I can focus on is how much I want him inside me.

He thrusts his cock between my legs, smacking my thigh with it. “Want some of this? Want my hard cock inside your wet pussy?”

I nod.

He slaps my ass a few times with his erection then pushes his feet between my legs until we’re facing the same direction and my sex is perched above the head of his cock. He groans and I know he loves the view he’s getting of my ass.

“Sit.” He holds my hips and guides his dick to my entrance. Then he slams me down on him, leaving me weak and ready to buckle. I gyrate, slowly slide up and down his length, and cup his balls. My body shudders with ecstasy. I knew us being together would be out of this world, but I had no idea it’d be like this.

My insides stretch from the girth of his hard length. “Oh, God, you feel so....” I pant, unable to form a full sentence.

His warm palm glides around me and finds my clit. I move faster and faster, grinding into his finger, taking him deep inside me. My breasts bounce with my frenzied movements.

“Let go, Faith. Let me have you, all of you,
now
!”

He smacks my ass causing my insides to tighten, and I feel myself tip over the edge. I scream and climax around his hard cock, he slams into me again. With one final, hard thrust, I feel him pulsate inside me.

***

We lay on the blanket looking at the moon and stars, our arms and legs intertwining and fitting like a glove.

“So you promise that you’ll never leave me?” I ask as he draws lazy circles on my back with his fingers. I don’t want to leave this little cocoon of lust that we’ve created around us. For the first time in my life, I feel whole.

“Faith, I promise you that I’m not going anywhere. How many times are we going to go over this? You’re it for me. You’re all that I want, and you’re all that I’m ever going to want. Just trust me, okay?” He leans down and kisses me deeply again, and we’re pulled into another steamy lovemaking session.

Ryder

“SO, WHERE YOU AT?”
Ziggy barks into the phone. I run my hand over my head.

“Alabama. Deep South.” I step off the porch, surveying the yard. “It’s strange being down here though, man.”

Ziggy laughs into the other end of the phone. “Let me guess. You fucked her?” He continues to laugh into the phone.

“Shut the fuck up. It’s more than that,” I seethe through the phone at him.
It has to be more than that.
Shaking my head, I see headlights turn down the driveway. “Hey, gotta go.”

“Yeah, just hurry up and get back so we can get this shit over with,” he says hanging up the phone.

Watching the car pull up and park next to the house, I lumber back up the steps and stand at the top.

“Can I help you?” the tall blonde guy says to me as he comes up.

“Um, yeah. You must be Nate, right?” I ask, reaching my hand out to shake his.

Narrowing his eyes at me, Nate replies, “Yeah, I’m Nate. And you are?” He shakes my hand.

“Oh, shit. Right. I’m Ryder, Faith’s boyfriend.” I respond, shaking his hand as we head into the house.

“Oh, yeah, my brother said that she brought a guy home. Said that you were kind of ‘badass,’ but I never thought you would be” –he shrugs— “a
big
badass.” He peers back at me as he walks into the kitchen. “Want a drink?”

Deciding that I should have a chance to size up Faith’s brother, I nod my head and answer with a yeah. We sit down at the table in the kitchen and start to talk about all different things.

***

Faith

The next day, I wake up in my old bedroom to the sound of my brother, Nate. Considering that Ryder is sleeping next to me in my childhood room, I conclude this should be interesting!

He told you that he loves you. Are you gonna trust that?
My mind is screaming at me again. I feel great, though a little sore from the spectacular time I had with him last night. My cheeks warm but I’m not sure why.

Because you love him, dummy!

Just as I tell myself to shut the fuck up, an arm slides around my waist and pulls me backward. “Eek!” I squeak and my back is shoved into a hard chest. I instantly smell Ryder and my childhood home. Coal, diesel, and breakfast. I try to sit up, but he holds me with all his might. “Can I please get up? I wanna go see what’s cooking.” My stomach growls as I run my fingertips along his forearm.

“Well, good morning to you too, babe. I think that’s what woke me up was the food. Either that or knowing that you’re in bed next to me and I didn’t wanna waste another minute sleeping.” He grabs my head and pulls it toward him, but he meets me with the gentlest kiss that I have ever received.

My hand instinctively finds his neck. Just as the kiss starts to heat up, someone knocks on my door.

“Yes. One minute please,” I say at the door, knowing damn well that if it isn’t Will asking to wait a minute is out of the question.

“Squirt, you little shit!” Nate comes bursting in the door and I let out a scream and yank the blanket up to my chin. I look and Ryder lays next to me cool as a clam.

“Nate! Don’t you ever fucking listen?” I yell.

“You want pancakes?” he asks, smiling at me.

“No, fuck off! Let us get dressed for fuck’s sake!” I yell, throwing my hands in the air.

“Fine, hurry your ass up. You like pancakes?” he says as he jerks his head quickly at Ryder.

“Yeah, sounds fine to me.”

Why is Ryder so confident around Nate? There’s something going on here, and I intend to find out what the hell it is.

Nate stalks out the door without saying another word to me. I turn and look Ryder right between the eyes. “What the hell was that all about?” I blurt out in a slightly raised whisper.

“I had to take a late-night—or rather, an early morning—call with the guys at the MC clubhouse to finalize a few last minute things. Nate happened to be just getting here when I was outside, so I introduced myself and we talked for a few.” He winks at me and flashes that damn dimple. “We have to leave Alabama tomorrow, babe. Sorry.” He grabs my hand and brings himself to a sitting position on the bed.

I get up from my warm spot on the bed and pad over to his side of the bed. He parts his legs and pulls me in toward him.

Reaching up, I run my fingers over his head. He gently leans his head against my stomach.

“I don’t wanna do this last run, Faith,” he confesses, as he tightens his arms around my waist.

Honestly, if he squeezes any harder, he might pop me in half.

“Everything is gonna be fine. It’ll be like any other trip. You drop and hook.” I push his shoulders back and raise his face so I can see those beautiful eyes. “You may hate me for letting you fall in love with me, but then I would have to say that I hate you also.” I lean down and gently kiss him. I don’t exactly come out and tell him that I love him, although I know that I’m so fucking close to being madly in love with him, I don’t want to actually say it ‘til I know that it is the head-over-heels kind of love.

The kind of love I didn’t have with Beau.

***

We walk down the stairs hand in hand. It feels like I’m a child again, and I’m going to be in a lot of trouble. I get halfway down the stairs and I smell bacon, toast, waffles, eggs, and coffee. I hear my two dumbass brothers talking shit to each other.

“Nah, dude. You don’t understand how
hot
Mila Kunis is in
Oz the Great and Powerful
. She is so damn hot, bro. I can’t believe that you don’t think so,” Nate says to Will.

Will lets out his low laugh. “Dude, when you find your number one girl, you’ll understand why I just don’t notice most women anymore.” Will has been with his girlfriend Bree for about eight years, I think. They got together a couple years before Beau and me.

Ryder squeezes my hand, stops at the bottom of the stairs, and turns around. He leans forward and wraps his strong, wonderful arms around me and picks me up. He kisses me sweetly as he turns away from the stairs and starts to walk toward the kitchen while still carrying me.

“You need to put me down. My brothers will have a field day with this,” I murmur against his lips, not wanting to stop our kiss.

“For some reason, I don’t think your brothers mind that you’re with me. I talked with Nate, and Will seems pretty laid back. They both understand that I’d never hurt you. I love you.” He kisses me hard.

He loosens his hold on me and I slowly slide down his body. My feet touch the floor again, so I run my fingers through his hair and down his cheek to his jaw one last time. “I know you do. Just give me time. Okay?” I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him. I turn on my heels and reach back for his hand. As he takes mine in his, I notice how small mine feels in his big, strong one, and I instantly feel safe.

Walking into the kitchen, it looks like Nate has been cooking for
hours
. There is so much food and drinks that it looks like a buffet. “Damn, Nate. Are we feeding an army?” I ask, as I head for my normal spot at the table and point for Ryder to sit next to me.

“Faith, really? Have you seen your boyfriend? He could eat a small army by himself,” Nate says jokingly as he comes to the table with a jug of OJ.

We all start laughing at him and his ability to turn an uncomfortable situation into a comedy show, which is one of the only things that I honestly find charming about my brother.

I can’t believe that Nate and Will are joking around like this about Ryder. I thought that they would be royally pissed because he slept in my bed. I really do wonder what the hell they talked about. It is something that will haunt me ‘til I ask, which I’ll do once we’re alone, of course.

Ryder and I sit down and we dig into the food. We all sit there silently eating ‘til we hear a loud beeping noise coming from upstairs. Will and Nate give each other a sidelong glance, and all I can do is glance up at the ceiling like it’s going to cave in.

Will and I stand up at the same time. “Please, Will. Sit and eat your breakfast. Can I have a minute with him?” I ask and he gives me a curt nod. “I’ll be right back.” I lean down and kiss Ryder on the cheek.

“Take your time, babe,” he says to me as I leave the room, but I am stopped by Nate.

“Here, take this up to him.” He hands me a sponge on a stick.

I give him a look like,
what the fuck is this
? and he laughs. “It’s dad’s pain medicine. Since his lungs have….” He starts to trail off slowly. “Just let him suck on it when you talk to him. We’ll talk when you come back down.”

I turn and start to slowly walk toward the stairs. I get to the top and slowly cross the landing to my parents’ room. I’m now noticing in the daylight that it’s just the same as always. The ugly pink wallpaper that my momma hung up when they bought the house is still here. It smells like pee and bleach and something I can’t quite put my finger on, but an odor that I would associate with death. It’s a very unsettling smell. It reminds me that my father’s body is shutting down, basically against his will.

“Squirt, I was hoping that I was going to see your smiling face today.” Dad tries to push himself up in the bed so he can see me better.

“No, Daddy. Daddy, don’t move. I’ll tilt your bed to the sitting position. Okay?” I peer at my father and he seems so defeated. He doesn’t have much more fight left in him, and I can see it. “Here, Daddy. Nate told me to give this to you.” I hand him the sponge pop.

“Thanks, Squirt. So tell me something. Are you very fond of your Ryder friend?” he asks me with all seriousness in his face.

Where is this coming from, and where is it going? I start to wonder to myself.

“Well, Daddy, I told him everything about what happened with Beau. Right down to....” I actually need to talk about it again. I thought that once I told Ryder about the baby, I would never have to speak or think about it again.

“Baby girl, you don’t need to bring it up again.” I gaze down and see pure pain and loss in my father’s eyes. “If I had only known about you being pregnant when you were....” He wheezes and pushes the oxygen closer to his nose, inhaling as deeply as he can.

“If you‘d told me, I would’ve supported you in having my grandchild. But I don’t blame you for doing what you did. I’ve always told you don’t cry over spilt milk. And that is what you are doing right now, crying. Faith Anne, it is now time to sink or swim, baby girl. I love you with all my heart. You’re my daughter. My only daughter. I want you to live your life to the fullest and never expect much from anyone.”

I have never heard my father talk like this in all my years. He has always been considered to have a black heart, no feelings.