Page 19 of Hard & Haunted

Eden comes viciously, one orgasm splintering into another. The hitches and gasps in her breathing turn into moans and whimpers of pleasure that blend together until she’s screaming, crying out endlessly as I make her come and hold her there.

I stare at her swollen lips, unable to stop myself from kissing her as I stroke into her again and again. The base of my spine burns as fire flashes through my body all at once, then leaves in a rush of ecstasy. I spill my seed deep inside Eden’s tender, swollen pussy. She takes all of it, every last drop, clinging to me as we ride out the last of our orgasms together.

Eden goes limp in my arms as a satisfied sigh leaves her lips. Fuck, I love that I’m the one who did that to her. I roll onto my back and drape Eden over my chest, wrapping my arms around her. She cuddles even closer and presses a kiss over my heart.

“Promise you’ll always talk to me, Eden. Promise me you’ll never leave like that again.”

“I promise,” she murmurs, kissing my heart again.

We stay like that for a while, until I feel her start to shiver from the slight chill in the air. I pull the blankets over us and wrap my arms around her. Tucking my precious girl closer into me, I curl around her body, wanting to cover as much of her body with mine as possible.

She snuggles deeper into my embrace and relaxes, letting go of every single thing. I can feel her doubts float away until there’s just us.

“This,” I whisper into the shell of her ear while squeezing her tightly. “This is me showing you how I’ll keep you. I don’t ever want you to feel like you’re trapped. Never again, Eden. You are far too precious, too beautiful, too pure to be put in a cage. But right here, in my arms? You’re free. You’re safe. You’re protected. You’re mine.”

She swallows thickly as I place a kiss below her ear and nuzzle into her neck.

“Yours,” she whispers.

I want to tell her to say it again, say it louder, scream it while I fuck her again and again. But this, right here, is everything. That one-word echoes in my head, and settles in my core. She’s mine, and now she knows it.

CHAPTER TEN

EDEN

The leather sofa in the clubhouse lounge is impossibly soft, but I can’t stop my right leg from bouncing up and down. Every tick of the wall clock feels like a physical strike against my frayed nerves.

Somewhere out there in the dark, the Rebel Kings are storming the local Black Meridian cell, putting their lives on the line to destroy the monsters who branded me. To destroy the men who want to take me back. And Onyx is right at the front of the line, fighting a war that I brought directly to his doorstep.

A gentle hand lands on my bouncing knee, stilling the frantic movement. I look over to see Corinne sitting beside me, offering a warm, understanding smile. Next to her on the oversized sectional are the other "old ladies" of the club—fierce, beautiful women who have all claimed their own bikers. Hadley is curled up in a side chair, and a few others are sharing a bowl of popcorn, projecting an aura of calm that I am desperately trying to absorb.

"Breathe, Eden," Corinne says softly, giving my knee a reassuring squeeze. "You're going to make yourself sick with worry."

"I can't help it," I whisper, my voice trembling. "They're walking into a dangerous, possibly deadly situation. Because of me. What if something happens to him?"

Hadley leans forward, her expression serious but deeply comforting. "Every single woman in this room has sat exactly where you are sitting right now, terrified out of our minds while our men rode out to handle a threat. But you have to remember who they are. Onyx isn't just riding with the best men in the club. He is one of the best men. He’s their Sergeant at Arms for a reason. He’s going to come back to you."

The other women nod in unison, their quiet confidence wrapping around me like a heavy, protective blanket. I swallow the lump in my throat and nod back, trying desperately to borrow their strength.

“And,” Soraya adds, “don’t you think for a second that this is your fault.”

“But–”

“Nope!” Soraya says, cutting me off. She grins at me, but then her features turn more serious. “Nearly everyone here has been harmed or threatened by the gang we now know as The Black Meridian. They destroyed my storefront in a violent outburst, leaving me exposed and financially ruined.”

“And I found a glitch in the shipping manifests that revealed the set-up,” Hadley explains as she and the others gather around me. “It made me a target, but my discovery eventually led the club to discovering the mysterious logo.”

My hand automatically rests on my right shoulder, where that logo will forever be branded onto my skin. I pull the collar of my sweatshirt down just enough for them to see. It’s no longer an open wound, though the skin is still tender and swollen.

“Eden,” Corinne and Hadley say at the same time, in the exact same tone. They truly are sisters.

Soraya places her hand over mine where it’s resting on my shoulder, giving me a look of genuine sorrow laced with anger at the men who did this. Layla, who has been quiet most of the evening, takes my other hand in hers. “My older brother was following up on false leads from The Black Meridian syndicate. He put the entire Rebel Kings MC at risk. The Kings took up for me anyway, coming to find me after my brother tried kidnapping me.”

“We’ve all hurt, and we’ve all contributed to taking those bastards down in one way or another,” Hadley says softly. “You included. I don’t know all the details, but Wolf told me the info you handed over was exactly what they needed.”

“Trust all the work we’ve put into this as well as the men executing the plan,” Soraya tells me. She’s the President’s old lady, and while we’re around the same age, she has a motherly instinct backed up by all the confidence of the First Lady of Rebel Kings. Is that a thing? I’ll have to ask her later.

I nod and thank them for their wisdom and kind words. I’ve never had a support system like this, people who care and want good things for me simply because I exist.