RENEGADE FIRE Read online

  “Oh, Willow. There’s no fixing. It’s about accepting. I don’t want you pressured into anything, okay? I have a facility that would be perfect for her. She’ll be taken care of. She’ll be happy. She’ll live a good life and we can visit whenever we want.”

  “How good of a life can she live like this?”

  Deb wiped the corner of her eyes. “There’s not much else I can say here, Willow.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you.”

  “I know you’re not. Now, tell me about the plumber.”

  I smiled and shook my head. “I can’t.”

  “Yes you can. Your face turned red as an apple when Grammie said that.”

  “It was a guy I had over, okay?”

  “What?”

  I gave her the quick rundown of what had happened with Gage. I left out the parts of us being in the shower together and made up a story on the fly. That Gage had been dirty from work and asked to take a shower. Grammie got nervous so we made up a quick story.

  That seemed to ease Deb’s curiosity.

  “So you’re dating the guy that used to pick on you?” she asked. “That’s sort of sweet.”

  “I’m not dating…”

  “Oh? So what is it?”

  “It’s nothing,” I said. “We just talk. That’s all.”

  Yeah, right. Just talk.

  “Willow, I need you to do something for me,” Deb said.

  “Okay, what?”

  “I need you to really think about everything. You left your life in Georgia to come up to take care of Grammie. I know, it wasn’t a glamorous life or anything, but it was your life. I need you to make a decision on what you think is best for you and for Grammie. I’m happy you found someone to be with. But if you’re sneaking a guy around, how does that work? You think that’s going to work out in the end?”

  “Trust me, this isn’t anything serious,” I said.

  I was desperately lying to myself there. Everything with Gage had some kind of meaning. From when he was putting gum in my hair back then to thrusting his cock inside me now.

  “Even still… just think about everything.”

  “I am. I will. I’ll keep thinking.”

  “I’m also coming up again.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “I wanted you to see it all for yourself for a little while.”

  “So you set me up?”

  “Willow, no. I want to come to help. I have some time from work and it’s fine. Jerry has the kids. I’ll come up for a couple weeks. Maybe the two of us together with her will do something.”

  “Or we just decide to sell the house,” I said.

  “That too. I’m not pushing for anything. Plus, if you want a chance to be alone with your guy friend…”

  “Stop,” I said.

  Even though Gage did ask me to go on a real date with him…

  Deb laughed. “Love you, Willow. Please get some rest. I’ll be up in two days.”

  I ended the video chat and shut the laptop.

  I sat there.

  I grabbed for my phone and pulled up all the text messages between me and Gage. Most of them were simple - me asking him to come over. A few of them were flirty from Gage.

  It had been two days since I heard from him.

  I sent him a message.

  Tonight?

  It took Gage all of a minute to reply.

  Be there by midnight, babe.

  I smiled.

  I had some time to kill.

  There was a knock behind me on the glass door.

  I looked back and Grammie stood there.

  I jumped up and had to take care of her.

  I was going to put her to bed for the night.

  Then Gage could put me to bed.

  chapter twenty-four

  (gage)

  *NOW*

  I grabbed Willow’s hips and held tight. Her hands grabbed the headboard and her tits were hanging right in front of my face. She bounced on my cock, taking the entire thing over and over, riding me like she was never going to get the chance again. When she lifted up, I thrust up at her, bouncing her up even more. Her hair was draped all over the place and our eyes were locked tight.

  My hands slowly climbed up her beautiful body and I cupped her supple breasts tight. I pushed at her, forcing her back a little so she rested on her knees. My cock was buried all the way to the hilt.

  I then sat up and slipped my right hand around to her back and kept her close to me. I kissed her lips once and then went down her neck with kiss after kiss tasting her sweet skin. I worked my mouth to her left breast and engulfed her. She quickly wrapped her hands around the back of my head, holding me close, like she was a snake trying to kill her prey. Good thing I could hold my breath for a long fucking time.

  Willow rode me harder and faster, my mouth kissing anything I could get to. She put her head back, her nails inching down to my neck, scratching me until my skin burned as though it were on fire. She then let her hands fall to the bed and leaned back, displaying her beautiful body, showing me the way her hips could thrust and fuck against my thick cock.

  She grabbed handfuls of the sheets and started to whimper as I felt her coming.

  I then made a quick move and pressed forward. Without leaving her pussy for a second I managed to climb on top of her. Her head hung off the bed. I gripped the edge of the bed tight and plowed into her over and over until I felt myself ready to come.

  There was nothing like the feeling of coming deep inside her. My body exploding, my cum exploring the wildest depths of her desire. I fucked her until my cock started to ease up.

  We didn’t speak.

  We just stared at each other, stealing a kiss here and there.

  The feelings all around us were far too serious for this to be a casual thing.

  I pulled out of her body and then climbed off the bed. Willow was a mess of sex as she just lay there on the bed. I stood next to the bed, feeling a hundred feet tall, wanting to protect her.

  I couldn’t believe the shit rolling through my mind, my body, and even my fucking heart.

  Willow turned her head and looked at me. She offered a little smile. Then she lifted her finger to her mouth and bit. I don’t think she realized how beautiful she was. Part of me wanted to kick the ass of anyone who ever made her feel not beautiful, but if I did that, I’d have to look in the mirror and start there.

  Had I set her up for this kind of life?

  “What are you doing?” Willow asked.

  “Nothing,” I said.

  I reached down for her. I scooped her up in my arms and lifted her. There I was holding a beautiful naked woman in my arms. She put her arms around my neck. My hands touched her silky skin.

  This shit felt like it was going too far. And I wasn’t sure if the direction was good or bad.

  “Say something,” she whispered to me.

  I leaned down and kissed her lips. “Go out on that date with me, babe. Just you and me. So we can just…”

  “Stay the night here,” Willow said. “Right here with me.”

  “What about downstairs…”

  “For one night it’s okay. I just want to be held, Gage. I just want to feel needed and okay.”

  Ah, goddamn.

  It cut through my heart.

  I put her on the bed and hesitated before I climbed on the bed next to her. She turned and thrust her ass back at me. I propped myself up on my elbow and touched her soft shoulder. I ran my fingertips down her arm to her curvy hip and down her leg. Then I repeated the motion all the way back up to her shoulder. I pulled her hair out of the way and kissed her neck.

  Willow groaned and offered more of her neck.

  “Gage…”

  I kissed her again and again. My tongue sampled her skin.

  Willow reached back and touched my leg.

  My cock was already throbbing back to life. It didn’t take much for me to
be ready to go again… and now that I was with Willow, it was instant. Like my body had been storing up years of cum for her to savor.

  I palmed her shoulder and squeezed. I pulled myself away for a second.

  “Goddammit, babe,” I said.

  “What?”

  “What are you doing here with this? I know it’s not my business, but shit, what is all this?”

  “You told me to call you if I wanted to get fucked. So I called you. Many times. Is that wrong?”

  “Fuck no. I just… I don’t do this stuff, Willow.”

  “What stuff? Fucking a woman? I find that hard to believe.”

  “No, not that. This. Coming here to see you. Wanting to talk to you. Giving a shit about your feelings. Touching your body. I’m…”

  Willow turned her head and kissed me. Her tongue flickered against my lips and she thrust her ass back at me again. Her hand then cut between our bodies so she could touch my cock. The second her fingers grazed my shaft I was ready to go.

  I threw my left leg over her body and turned, pressing my front to her back. I used my knees to kick her legs open as she lay on her belly. I put my hands to the bed and stayed there. When I breathed my stomach pressed against her ass. She had her elbows tucked, back arched, ready for me to take her again.

  This woman was insatiable.

  I put my right hand to the top of her back and traced a line all the way down to the crack of her ass. I pulled my lower half away from her and grabbed my cock. I pressed against her soft pussy and felt her warmth sheath me as I sank deep into her. Willow buried her face into the pillow as she let out a cry of pleasure. I pressed on her lower back and stayed right there, thrusting as hard and as slow as I possibly could. Each time I connected with her body, she let out a cry into the pillow. She then started to fuck back at me.

  It was so soft yet so hard. We moved super slow at times, then killer fast. Sometimes she groaned, sometimes she cried. Sometimes I growled, sometimes I hissed. I put my body against hers, holding my cock deep inside her as my lips and tongue kissed the back of her neck and down her back.

  That’s when I realized I had moved beyond fucking her.

  I was making love to her.

  chapter twenty-five

  (willow)

  *NOW*

  I opened my eyes and reached across the bed wanting to grab for Gage.

  But my bed was empty.

  I jumped up and looked around the room. There was no sign of Gage.

  I sat up and had a hangover feeling. Not from drinking or partying too late. But from having sex. I couldn’t believe what had happened with me and Gage. Yeah, it was my fault for having him come over yet again. And then all but begging him to take me upstairs and spend the night. And then something got into me and I wanted him more and more. We ended up having sex two more times before finally falling asleep. And the sex wasn’t just sex. It was us connecting.

  The best night of my life.

  I wanted to go back to bed. I wanted to curl up in the covers and sleep for hours. I wanted to dream about what Gage had done to me.

  But I needed to check on Grammie.

  Oh, shit, Grammie…

  I jumped out of bed, naked. I grabbed my clothes and got dressed as I hurried out of the room. I was sort of pissed that Gage had bolted on me. I’d give him shit about it later. First, I needed to focus on my grandmother.

  I raced down the steps and froze when I heard Grammie’s voice.

  “Oh, that’s just wonderful. Thank you. It’s perfect.”

  I started to panic, fearing she was talking to someone not there. Deb warned me that that could happen. I stopped and took a deep breath so I could prepare myself for whatever waited.

  I turned from the steps and saw Grammie sitting at the dining room table with a cup of coffee.

  Did she make that?

  Now I was mad at myself.

  Grammie getting up, walking around on her own, touching electric things?

  I hurried forward and said, “Grammie? What are you doing with coffee?”

  She turned and looked at me. She smiled. “Willow! Good morning.”

  “Good morning. What…”

  “I guess we had a leak down here too.”

  Before I could say anything Gage stepped out of the kitchen holding a second mug of coffee. I lost my breath for a few seconds, stepping back, touching my chest. My jaw dropped.

  “Morning,” Gage said. He walked to me and handed me the mug of coffee. “I assume you’re a cream and sugar woman. You have that look about you.”

  He leaned forward and kissed my forehead.

  I took the coffee. “Gage. Thank you. I… you…” I whispered, “Did you break anything in the kitchen to convince her you’re a plumber?”

  Gage grinned. “No, babe. I came down and made coffee. She came walking out. She instantly knew me as the plumber. So I ran with it.”

  I was in total shock.

  Gage winked and walked away, back into the kitchen. I followed him and he dropped down to his knees and opened the cabinet under the sink. He started to tinker with something.

  I looked at Grammie.

  She wrestled to get on her feet and grabbed her coffee. “I’m going to go watch the news in my bedroom.”

  “Let me carry your coffee.”

  “No. I’ve got it, Mary.”

  I felt the wind suck out of my gut again.

  One second Grammie was there. The next second she was gone.

  I made sure to stay close behind Grammie as she walked to her bedroom. A couple times I had to nudge her elbow to keep her balance with the coffee. It was perfectly poured as though Gage had the care to make sure my grandmother wouldn’t burn herself if she spilled.

  Grammie sat down in bed and as I turned to leave, she grabbed my arm. “Pssst, Willow… look at me.”

  I looked at her. She was fully there.

  “You should date him. He seems like a good one.”

  Grammie smiled big at me.

  These were moments that were going to be few and far between.

  “Maybe I will,” I said.

  I left the bedroom and shut the door. I collected myself and considered jumping into the bathroom to see how terrible I looked. Messy bed head. Tired eyes. Oh, shit, what about my breath?

  I skipped all that figuring Gage was due for some payback for all he did to me. He could stand my crazy hair and morning breath.

  Gage was at the backdoor to the deck, his leather cut back on. Something about that leather cut made him freaking sexy but it also scared me. Whatever he did was some serious stuff. The Bitter Aces were obviously serious guys.

  “What’s wrong?” Gage asked.

  “Grammie said I should date you.”

  “Smart woman.”

  “She’s losing it,” I said. “Maybe that just proves how much.”

  Gage slid the door open. “So a date with me is that bad of a thing?”

  “It could be,” I said.

  We were flirting. It was fun.

  “I have to get rolling here. Club business.”

  “Right,” I said. “Gage, are you safe with what you do?”

  He grinned. “I’m a mechanic who loves motorcycles. I fix them. I rebuild them. I flip them.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes, babe. I have my own stuff I do along with the MC shit.”

  “But the club… that could be deadly right?”

  “So could driving down the street. Garbage truck loses its brakes and smashes into the side of my bike.”

  “Thanks for that visual.”

  Gage reached for me and touched my cheek. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, babe, it’s that the reaper is closer than you think. And you never know when that motherfucker is going to take a swing at you. So on the days he doesn’t, just live.”

  I grabbed his hand and rubbed my cheek to his palm.

  The butterflies
in my stomach were going wild. Dangerously wild. I was scared. Terrified.

  I pulled his hand off my face and kissed it.

  “You text me if you need anything,” he said. “I’ll be around.”

  I watched as Gage walked down the steps of the deck. An instant surge of loneliness hit me, crushing against my chest.

  Next thing I knew I was running after Gage.

  I hurried down the steps and didn’t stop until I grabbed him. I made him turn around so I could jump into his arms. We kissed for a few seconds and then I backed away.

  “Miss me already?” Gage asked.

  “I want to go on that date with you,” I blurted out. “Deb is coming back for a little while so I’ll be able to sneak away.”

  Gage smiled like I’d never seen him smile before.

  “Sounds like a plan. Let me handle everything.”

  “You sure?”

  Gage snuck one last kiss from me. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

  chapter twenty-five

  (gage)

  *THEN*

  I lit the string of firecrackers and covered my ears. Willow stood on the back porch holding her favorite dolls. I drew mustaches on her other two with permanent marker but she was so poor she couldn’t get new ones. I felt bad. So I didn’t want to destroy these other dolls.

  She had no idea what was about to happen.

  I waited with a smile on my face. I was a prick, probably more or less a psycho.

  The firecrackers started to pop one at a time. There were only a handful in the bunch, but they did the trick. They exploded as they sparked and Willow freaked out. She let out a long scream, throwing the dolls into the air.

  A few seconds later everything went silent.

  Willow stood with her hands out, shaking.

  “Whoops,” I said. “I should have told you I was going to do that.”

  Willow looked over her shoulder at me. She was breathing heavy, her teeth gritted. She looked ready to attack me. I didn’t know why but I thought if something like that happened it would be cool. Her running at me, tackling me. Our bodies…

  “You’re a jerk, Gage.”