Reaper's Legacy (12 page)

Hairy ears,
I thought.
Pretend he has hairy ears.

“You’re a very frustrating person, Ruger,” I said, torn between bitching at him for being such a giant whore and jumping over the counter, ripping off his pants, and riding his cock. Not the best way to handle the situation.

I knew this.

Really.

“You say I shouldn’t judge the club,” I added, trying to focus. “You say you want me to get to know everyone, and that Noah’s life would be better if he had the club behind him. If that’s true, why can’t I go to one of their parties?”

“Because this one’s gonna get pretty fuckin’ wild. Not really a starter party,” he said, unfolding his arms to brace them on the counter on either side of his body. I saw his biceps rippling under his full-sleeve tattoos. He had more ink across his shoulders, some kind of rounded slash things in addition to the pattern on his chest. There was another tat curling around his stomach from his hip. A panther disappearing down into his pants on one side.

Lucky cat.

I really, really wanted to see the rest of it.

“You said some shit the other night that we gotta deal with. Um, Sophie? I have a face, you know,” he added, and my eyes jerked up from his stomach. I felt myself flush and he stayed silent, watching me with hooded eyes. He raised a hand and rubbed the back of his neck, biceps and triceps flexing nicely, then scratched at his stomach. The muscles between my legs took note, pulsing their approval.

“What do we have to deal with?” I asked, feeling my cheeks flush again.

“No friends with benefits for you,” he told me without a trace of humor. “No fucking around, no kissing, or even fluttering your goddamned eyelashes at any guy in the club. That’s the only way you’ll be at the party. Or any club event.”

I raised my brows at him and shook my head. No matter how uncomfortable this conversation might be, I needed to set some boundaries.

“That’s stupid. I’m single. If I meet someone I like, it’s my decision whether I flirt with them or kiss them or whatever. And you’re one to talk—you just threw a naked chick out the door without even a thank-you for the road. Hypocrite much?”

“My house, my rules,” he replied. “You go to that party, nothing happens. You’re the Virgin fuckin’ Mary, got me? Otherwise you stay home.”

I thought about this, then straightened, placing my hands flat on the counter. Until that moment, I’d been on the fence about the party. I wanted to give the club a shot, but I’d been nervous about jumping in headfirst. Now? Now I’d show up at that damned Armory if it killed me. I’d flirt all over the place, too.

Fuck him and his whore.

I glared at him. He glared back. Neither of us blinked.

There’s a lot Ruger and I refused to talk about, and God knew he could hide his thoughts from me. Now I couldn’t even begin to follow his logic—he’d made it clear nothing would happen between us, so why the jealous boyfriend act?

“Why does it matter?” I asked finally. “Are your friends so dangerous that I’m not safe? Because you’ve spent a lot of time giving me shit for assuming they’re dangerous criminals instead of giving them a shot. So it’s either that or because you’re jealous. That it? You don’t want me but nobody else gets me, either? Would it be easier if you peed on me so they know I’m taken?”

“It’d be easier if you’d shut the fuck up,” he said, eyes darkening.

“That’s what you want from me? Silence?” I demanded, feeling my temper rise. “Call me stupid, but it seemed like you wanted a hell of a lot more the other night. You can’t have it both ways, asshole. Either there’s something between us or I’m a free agent.”

Ruger pushed away from the counter, holding my gaze as he stalked across the kitchen.

“Oh, I
can
have it both ways,” he said. “You shouldn’t make assumptions about what I’m capable of, Soph. I’ll be nice and give you a heads-up what’s happening here. I want to fuck you.”

He rounded the kitchen island, prowling like the big cat tattooed on his hip. The kitchen felt smaller and smaller. I was all too aware of his bare chest, black ink rippling as he moved, and just how tightly controlled he kept his strength. Perhaps direct confrontation had been a mistake …

“That’s the thing about guys like me,” he continued, his voice low and smooth, eyes boring right through mine. “We don’t do what we’re supposed to. We take what we want. And me? I
want
all kinds of things. First I want to tie you up in my bed with my belt. Then I want to cut off your clothes and fuck you in every hole you have. I also want to come on you and rub it into your skin and lick your pussy until you scream at me to stop because if you come one more time you’ll die. Then I want to do it again. I want to
own
you, Sophie.”

He stopped beside my stool, so close the heat of his body engulfed me. I couldn’t even turn my head to look at him, frozen like a rabbit, his words turning over and over in my head. His scent surrounded me. I tried to breathe as he leaned in close, one arm braced on the counter, whispering in my ear.

“I want to own
every part
of you,” he continued, his breath hot against my skin. “I
want
to throw you face-first across this counter, rip off those shorts, and fuck you hard and fast until my goddamned cock stops hurting and my balls don’t feel like they’re gonna
explode. Because they’ve felt that way for a helluva long time, Soph, and I’m startin’ to think it’s not gonna go away unless I do something about it.”

It took everything I had not to squeak in panic. Every part of my body tingled and I clenched my legs together tightly, putting pressure on my clit with every pulse of desire. Oh, that felt good. Not good enough, though, I needed more. My cheeks flushed and my breath came quick. I considered reaching down and shoving my hand into those half-fastened pants. Maybe discover for myself if Kimber had been telling the truth about his cock …

Ruger hadn’t even touched me.

He
still
wasn’t touching me. I bit back a moan.

“But that’s probably not a real good idea,” he added, his voice cooling as he pulled back. “We both know it. Not what Noah needs and a fuckin’ tar pit for you and me, too. But your idea about hooking up with one of my brothers? That keeps runnin’ through my head, Soph, and then I start thinking about shootin’ people. I don’t want to have to shoot anyone tomorrow, get me? Shitty way to end a party. Not to mention the prez might get frustrated, one of the local brothers loses it in public with the whole fuckin’ club here for a meet.”

Holy crap.

I nodded, chest tightening.

“So, all things considered, you might think about doing
exactly what I say
at that fuckin’ party,” he said, and while he phrased it like a suggestion, it was a straight-up order. “I get that you don’t want someone like me in your bed, not as a keeper. Don’t want things to get weirder than they are between us, either. But if you’re gonna screw a biker, Soph, I’m the only one you get. I won’t stand by and let you fuck one of my brothers.”

“I can’t believe you just said all that,” I whispered. “That’s wrong on so many levels. I don’t even know where to start.”

He considered me, eyes hard, voice cold.

“I don’t care if it’s wrong,” he said. “That’s the way it is. My house, my world, my rules. Tell me you understand and I’ll let you go to the party.”

“I’m an adult,” I managed to say, although my voice shook. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

“And yet I’m doin’ it,” he returned, shrugging casually. “Do you really think I won’t enforce this? I’ll fuckin’ enforce it, Soph. Don’t test me.”

“I haven’t decided about the party,” I whispered. “But I’m done with this conversation. I’m going back downstairs.”

“No, you’re not,” he said, and that little, instinctive voice deep down inside me screaming to run finally won. I slid off the stool and made a break for the stairs. Big mistake, because Ruger caught me around the waist and lifted me up onto the kitchen bar, eyes blazing. Two seconds later he stepped in between my legs, one hand pulling me in tight and the other twisting through my hair, jerking my head back.

“Let me go,” I whispered. He cocked his head, as if considering the idea, then slowly shook it.

“I can’t,” he said. Then his lips covered mine and a fuse blew in my brain.

It wasn’t a polite kiss. It wasn’t slow and seductive and deeply meaningful. This was an explosion of pent-up lust … Years’ worth, to be honest. Ruger’s chest was like a concrete wall, and I wrapped my legs around his waist without a thought. His hand tightened in my hair, tilting my head to the side, giving him better access. His tongue was thrust deep and without mercy. The little ball in the center teased me, reminding me that sex with him would be different than anything I’d felt before. His cock pushed into my stomach so hard it almost hurt.

Holy hell, I wished we weren’t wearing so many clothes.

Ruger slid his hand into my tank, pulling his torso back just enough to cup my breast. His fingers found my nipple, tweaking it through the thin silk of my bra as I arched my back, desperate for more. He tore his mouth free, and we stared at each other, panting, mesmerized.

“We decided this is a bad idea,” I reminded him rather
desperately, wondering how he’d feel if I just leaned forward and sucked on his lip. I couldn’t take my eyes off it, all dark red and glistening with a sheen of moisture from our kiss. “I’m not drunk today. No excuses.”

“You said you wanted to get laid,” he replied, pupils dark and full. “I’m here. It’s already all screwed up between us, so why not make the most of it? Damage is done, we’re totally fucked. I can’t forget how you tasted the other night, or how you felt on top of me on that couch. I need inside you, Soph.”

Oh, so tempting …

But could I keep messing around with Ruger and still live here? I’d lusted after him forever, and there was no question he wanted me. Then I thought about the woman who’d sat naked in this very kitchen just half an hour ago. The purple panties. The green bra … All in Ruger’s house, which was supposed to be Noah’s refuge.

Sleeping with Ruger was suicide.

I felt like banging my head against something hard, but only his chest was handy and getting closer to that expanse of bare skin was the last thing I needed.

“Bad idea,” I said. His fingers rolled my nipple. His other hand lowered to brace my hips as he rubbed the rigid length of his cock against my clit. That slow back-and-forth would only get better once he slid inside me.

I felt all wound up inside, almost dizzy. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more than I wanted him in my body.

Except a decent life for Noah.

“If we do this, you can just move along afterward,” I told him, closing my eyes. My sex clenched tight, desperate and empty. I tried to ignore it. “Who you sleep with is nothing to you, Ruger. But I’m different.”

“You’re the one who was talking friends with benefits,” he murmured. “Why’s your story changin’ now? Scared?”

“Hell yes, I’m scared,” I replied, opening my eyes again,
searching his face. I saw no mercy or understanding there, just harsh, unyielding lust. “I live with you and I don’t have anywhere else to go. I found three pairs of panties in your couch cushions yesterday, and none of them were the same size. I don’t think I can sleep with you and then nod and smile while a parade of women passes through the house. Sounds like a pretty good reason not to do this.”

“Why the hell were you looking through my couch cushions?” he asked, and his hips stilled.

I’d caught him off guard with that one.

“I cleaned your house,” I replied. “Kind of a surprise-slash-thank-you-present. Your company last night pretty much took care of that, though.”

“Jesus,” he whispered, shaking his head slowly, hips starting to rock again. Oh, that was nice … His cock felt so good rubbing against my most sensitive spot. Could I come from just that, even with the fabric between us? “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t even know they were coming over. Don’t suppose that’s much of an excuse.”

I shrugged, unable to meet his gaze. I looked at his tattoos instead. Most of them were high quality, fanciful designs clearly put together by a true artist. He took his body art seriously, I realized. Ink wasn’t just a whim. I’d bet he had a story for each one, and I wanted to hear those stories far more than was healthy.

Ruger eyed me thoughtfully, rubbing the tip of my nipple with his finger in a slow circle. Then he took my hand and slid it down between us, pressing it against the length of his hard cock, the backs of his own fingers brushing my clit. I gasped and squirmed. My grip tightened, shaping him through the stiff fabric of his jeans. Even through the denim, I could tell he was big and broad, much bigger than my vibrator. Was that hard bump near the tip his …? I didn’t even know what to call it. I wanted to see it—to see all of him—so badly I could’ve died. His knuckles framed my clit and I moaned.

Ruger’s eyes darkened.

“You want this as much as I do,” he said, voice soft. “It’s not goin’ away. We’re just going to burn up higher and higher until one of us explodes and we get hurt. Let’s end it now. I need inside you, Sophie.”

“You
needed
to be inside your blonde last night,” I replied quietly. “And look how that ended. You going to kick me and Noah out if things get awkward?”

“You’re wrong about that,” he replied.

“About kicking us out? It’s not going to work, us sleeping together and you sleeping around. Some random guy I could just ditch, but I’m stuck with you.”

“Wrong about needin’ to be inside her last night,” he corrected me. “I needed
you
. You’re all I thought about while I was gone. Went to sleep every night with a stiff dick, woke up harder, didn’t matter how much I jerked off or who I fucked. Riding home from Portland last night, I knew that if I came back into this house all dark and quiet, I’d go downstairs and find you. I’d crawl into your bed and stick my fingers into your pussy and open you up for me whether you wanted it or not. So I tried something else, because we decided we weren’t going to screw around with each other. It didn’t work.”

My hand had started rubbing his dick through the rough fabric. It was hard to focus on his words, between that and his knuckles stroking my clit. They’d found a steady rhythm up and down, and my hips rolled into them ever so slightly, rebelling against all rational thought.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I asked. “Because when I saw her, I wanted to kill her. And you. I don’t have any right to feel that way.”

“I don’t have any right to put you off limits, either,” he replied. “But I’m doin’ it anyway. No fuckin’ around with anyone at the club. Make that no fuckin’ around, period. You’re mine.”

I lifted my hand and slid it down into his jeans, fingers tracing
his naked cock. I found the metal bar piercing his glans—two hard, metal balls capped it, top and bottom. I touched it softly and he groaned.

“Imagine those deep inside you,” he muttered, closing his eyes and as his hips spasmed. “First I’ll rub them against your clit, and then they’ll hit your G-spot the whole damned time I’m riding you. Un-fucking-believable, babe.”

I tightened inside at the thought, nearly undone. I played with them a few seconds longer then moved lower, gripping his shaft firmly. He moaned and I tightened my fingers, almost angry because I wanted him so bad.

Ruger opened his eyes, giving me a lazy smile.

“You trying to hurt me?” he whispered. “Because you’ll never be able to, babe. Squeeze me hard as you like. I get off on it. I’m stronger than you, which means in the end, I’ll win. That’s the way of the world.”

“That’s not fair,” I replied softly. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine. His fingers pulled away from the front of my cutoffs to slip inside. I felt them lower, one on either side of my clit, fluttering and squeezing. His cock pulsed in my hand, hot and hard, the ball brushing lightly against the inside of my wrist.

“Life isn’t fair,” he whispered. “Sometimes you just have to make the most of what you’ve got.”

“Would this be a one-time thing?” I asked, so tempted. Could I do it? Just give in for once, then go back to pretending it never happened?

“No idea,” he replied, voice lowering, growing harsher. “Probably take more than once, gettin’ out from under each other’s skin. I’ve wanted you a long time, Soph. Never forgot how you tasted, not for one single fuckin’ day in the last four years. Jesus, you were sweet.”

My breath caught.

“And after it’s over?”

“We move along,” he replied. “I’ll show you respect, you do the same for me. Won’t bring any women here. Shouldn’t have done it anyway, got beds at the club.”

“But you’ll move on,” I said slowly, feeling something deep inside me tear apart. “And I’ll just be another in your lineup, because that’s what you do. You fuck women, and then you fuck them over.”

“Better than fucking my hand,” he said bluntly. “I’ve never pretended to be somethin’ I’m not, babe. I’m not gonna settle down. I don’t want to commit. I love my life the way it is. Most guys feel the same way—the difference between them and me is I’ll never lie to you about it.”

“That’s why this is such a huge mistake,” I told him, wishing it could be different. I hurt, and not just from frustrated desire. I’d always known this about him, but hearing him say it so bluntly … that got to me. “I should go downstairs right now and we’ll forget it ever happened.”

But my hand kept sliding up and down his cock, reaching up and catching on the metal as I found his pre-come, using it to ease my way back down. His fingers kept moving on my clit, rolling it as a shiver tore through me. My inner muscles clenched and I knew I had to be dripping wet by now.

“We’ll stop soon,” he said, rubbing his nose along mine oh-so-slowly. “Just one more taste.”

Ruger’s lips parted mine again, tongue plunging deep, filling my mouth the way I wanted him to fill my body. It was hard to focus on all the sensations—Ruger’s hungry kiss, his fingers gliding along my clit. His hard cock in my hand, pulsing as those two metal balls taunted me. All of it blended into one big ball of aching, burning need. Then his fingers moved faster and I gave up everything but my own pleasure.

Tension built in me as he pulled his mouth free, tugging up my shirt. The cup of my bra came down and his mouth took my breast,
sucking it in deep and hard, flicking the peak with his tongue. The hard metal tormented my nipple, the contrast between solid steel and hot flesh destroying my ability to think. Ruger’s powerful body surrounded me. His fingers played me and I couldn’t do anything but fall back into the incredible intensity of his touch on my clit.

I was close now, panting harshly.

Ruger’s mouth still held my nipple trapped. He caught the other in his fingers, tugging and jerking everything all together. I whimpered, so close I could taste it but needing just a little more to go over the edge. Then he stopped teasing and pushed down against my clit, rough and demanding. My hips convulsed as I came, twisting on the counter shamelessly. Ruger covered my mouth with his once more, kissing me softly as the tremors ran through me, leaving me limp in his arms.

Then he lifted his head, meeting my eyes.

The hunger in his face was intense, more than I’d ever seen on a man. I’d stopped stroking him in the thick of things, but I still held his cock. He’d gotten thicker, and now I pumped his length hard. His fluid coated everything and my fingers slipped across his pierced head as he arched in my hand. We stayed like that, locking gazes, as I worked him faster and faster. After a minute his face darkened and his breath quickened.

Then he reached between us, pushing down his jeans and pulling his cock fully free, hand covering mine. He started jerking our joined hands up and down together, much rougher than I’d do on my own. The heel of my hand caught his pierced head each time, and he growled, primal and hungry.

“Let me fuck you, Sophie,” Ruger gasped, his voice full of pain. I shook my head, closing my eyes because I didn’t want him to see how close I was to giving in.

“No,” I said, almost crying because it hurt so bad to say it. “I’m not going to screw you and then watch you with other women. I can’t do it. I
know
myself, Ruger. Unless you can tell me right here,
right now that you want to seriously try to make something together, I can’t sleep with you. Let me finish this and then it’s over.”

He caught my hand, squeezing it tight around his cock and closed his eyes, shuddering. Then he pulled my hand away with visible pain and twisted it behind my back, jerking my body forward into his, transforming me from lover to prisoner so casually it terrified me.

“There’s no lie here,” Ruger said, voice grating. His face flushed dark red and his chest heaved, eyes burning. Every part of him was rock hard, from his chest crushing my breasts to the naked cock pressed into my belly. “No manipulation between us. It is what it is. But I’ll give you the ride of your life, Soph. That I guarantee.”

“The ride of my life?” I asked, the words hitting me like cold water, breaking through my fog of stupidity.

Holy hell. What was I doing?

I’d lost my fucking mind
.

Ruger might be a great uncle, but I couldn’t trust him for shit with my body, let alone my heart.

“Zach already gave me the ride of my life, Ruger,” I said, making every word count. “I learned my lesson from him. Sex is short and it changes everything. That’s something men like you can’t begin to understand.”

He jerked away from me, mouth tight and eyes hard, glaring at me.

“Jesus Christ, you’re a bitch.”

“I’m not a bitch,” I replied, and it took everything I had to keep my voice steady. “I’m a
mother
. I can’t afford to play games with you, Ruger. You’ll break me, and that will break Noah.”

“Un-fucking-believable,” he muttered, slamming his hand next to me on the counter. I jumped, almost scared as he reached down to tuck himself back into his pants, visibly pained. He refused to step away or allow me any kind of escape, taking my shoulders in his big hands with a jerk.

“Nothin’ is changed,” he said, eyes burning with anger and frustrated need. My breath caught—Ruger had always been scary … But because there’s something wrong with me, seeing him this angry turned me on, too. He leached the common sense right out of my body. “You go to that party, you keep your hands off. That’s a fuckin’ order. No flirtin’, no makin’ out, no touchin’,
nothin’.
These aren’t Boy Scouts, and they won’t be happy if you start something you don’t plan to finish. You’re off bounds. We clear?”