Crash & Carnage by Emma Slate

Chapter 16

No sooner hadthe door to my condo closed than Boxer pounced. I dropped my purse, not at all caring if my phone shattered.

In between bouts of kissing, we stripped off our clothes on our way to the bedroom. Somehow, we managed not to bash into the walls as we went.

My back hit the bed and Boxer stared down at me, his gaze raking me from head to toe. His hands went to my thighs, and he spread them. Suddenly, he was leaning over me, peeling me back, his tongue gliding over my flesh.

I sucked in a harsh breath, and my hands fisted at my sides.

“You like that, don’t you?”

It was clearly a rhetorical question, but I was lost in sensation and nodded so he wouldn’t stop.

He went back to licking me, flicking his tongue against the core of my body. “If I had any self-control, I would drag this out.”

“If you drag this out, I’ll kill you.”

He lifted his head and grinned, his lips glistening with my desire. His fingers teased the trimmed blonde curls at the apex of my thighs before sliding in deep. I arched my back and moaned out my pleasure.

I was mindless with it, my brain melting as my body overruled everything. Sensation after sensation coursed through me. There was nothing but this moment. I wasn’t even myself, a conscious being. I was an animal, guided by instinct.

Boxer slipped his fingers out of me. I managed to open my eyes, watching him from beneath heavy lids, as he stalked from the room. He was back almost instantly with a condom in his hand. Boxer ripped the foil with his teeth and then quickly sheathed himself.

He crawled onto the bed and hovered over me. Taking himself in hand, he guided himself to the entrance of my body. The head of him teased and tormented for a moment and then he pushed into me.

We both groaned, and then we were moving, meeting each other thrust for thrust. I scored his back with my nails, which only spurred him on. He was ruthless and determined, angling his pelvis and driving into me with one intent.

I bucked and cried out, clenching around him, gripping him, trying to get him deeper.

“Fuck, Linden,” he growled.

We were sweaty and slick, and my brain was scrambled. Boxer was the perfect escape.

I didn’t last long. My orgasm screamed through my entire body, lighting up every nerve.

And then he gripped my hips, speared into me again and came with his own shout. He pressed his forehead to the crook of my neck for a moment, and then he gently eased out of me. Boxer removed the condom, tied it off, and then headed for the bathroom.

I stretched, my muscles slack, as if I’d just had an intense workout. The late afternoon light floated through the window. I had no desire to move as I let the sweat dry from my body.

Boxer came back and stood naked in the doorway of the bathroom. “Bath? Massage? Take out?”

I stared for a moment, studying his sleek muscles, the ink on his skin, wishing I had enough energy for another round.

“Rain check on the bath and massage,” I said, slowly sitting up. “I want food.”

“What are you in the mood for?” he asked, pushing away from the doorframe.

“Greasy pizza.”

“My perfect woman.”

I rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. After I cleaned up, instead of walking into the living room to pick up my clothes, I went to the dresser and pulled on an old, navy–blue sweatshirt that hung off my shoulder and a pair of black yoga pants.

“What do you want on your pizza?” Boxer called.

“Pepperoni.”

“Yes!” he cheered.

I laughed and headed into the living room.

He hung up the phone and set it down on the coffee table. He was wearing his jeans, but no shirt. Without a thought, I trailed my fingers down his back and spine. He turned his head to look at me and smirked.

“Pizza should be here in about half an hour.”

“I don’t have beer,” I said. “I only have wine.”

“I’ll run out and grab some.” He leaned down and scooped up his shirt, hastily throwing it on. He moved toward me, grasped me to him, and kissed me quickly. “Joni and Zip’s party is this Thursday. Can you make it?”

“Yeah, that works with my schedule. Is Freddy going?”

“No, why?”

“I need to give her back her clothes,” I stated. “She was the one who dressed me.”

“Remind me to send her a fruit basket,” Boxer said with a grin, as he finally released me.

“Why won’t she be there?”

He leaned down to grab his boots and socks and then sat down in the chair. “Because she’s not family.”

“I don’t get it. She’s sleeping with Bishop. I mean, I know he’s not a Waco Blue Angel, but—”

“Yeah, she’s sleeping with him. That doesn’t mean anything. She’s a free agent. No one has made her an Old Lady yet, and she’s not asking to be one. She could fuck Acid and then tell Bishop all about it, and he wouldn’t care.”

“I haven’t met Acid yet.”

“He patched in just last year.”

“So strange. You Blue Angels seem pretty possessive of your women. It really wouldn’t bug Bishop if Freddy slept with another brother?”

“If you want a woman, you gotta claim her. The fact that he hasn’t?” He shrugged and stood. “Do you have a beer preference?”

“Nothing light. If you’re going to drink beer, drink real beer.”

“Just when I think you can’t be more perfect,” he teased. He came over and leaned down to kiss me before sauntering to the door. It closed behind him as he left. And almost immediately, there was knock against it.

I went to answer it. Boxer stood on the threshold.

“Forget something?” I asked in confusion.

Boxer dragged me into his arms and kissed me deep and hot, with a lot of tongue. He didn’t say a word as he released me. With a wink and a salute, he was gone.

* * *

“Do you work the day after Joni and Zip’s party?” Boxer asked, filching the crust from my plate.

“Hey, I was going to eat that.”

“No, you weren’t,” he said, taking the bottle of sriracha and dousing the doughy bread.

“Yeah, I definitely wasn’t. Knee jerk reaction.” Full of pizza and two beers, I was relaxed and happy. “No, I’m not working the day after the party. Why?”

He chewed and then swallowed before answering. “Stay the night with me. At my place.”

“Your place?”

“Not the clubhouse,” he clarified.

I paused. “You sure?”

He nodded.

“Rachel, Allison, and Freddy…they all said you’re not the same person. That you went into the hospital one man and came out another. What do they mean by that?”

He took a drink of his beer before he answered. “You might’ve noticed that the Blue Angels are paired off. Most of the Waco boys, I mean.”

I nodded.

“I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand what made men like Colt, Reap, and Zip wanna settle down with one woman. I thought they were insane.” He paused and looked down at the beer bottle in his hands. “I almost died. That’s not the way I thought I’d go, Doc. I thought I’d be out on the streets, dying protecting those I love from bad shit, or worst case I’d die on the bike. It never occurred to me I could die in a fucking hospital bed like an old man. It made me think about things. Really think about them. What I wanted. What I was missing. And more than anything, it showed me that none of us are really in control of how it all ends.”

“So, you only want me because I saved your life?”

“Woman,” he sighed, “I want you because for the first time in my godforsaken life, you made me realize what the hell I was missing. I’ve never invited a woman to my home. I’ve never wanted one in my bed.”

I’d never planned on meeting a man like Boxer. I’d never planned on this turning into something more than a casual, physical thing.

But I couldn’t walk away.

I’d lived a safe and boring life, scripted by society. A life that was recognized as virtuous and worthy. But to whom, and for what?

Boxer was raw. Real. And he was offering me something I’d never experienced before: a life full of adventure and excitement. And I knew he would do anything to protect me.

Sometimes, there weren’t enough words to express how I was feeling, so I settled for what was in my heart.

I smiled softly. “Yeah, Boxer. I’d love to stay the night with you.”