Stryker

8 - Fuc.k the damn coffee!

Stryker

I’m showered, changed, and outside Coral’s door in twenty-five minutes. It’s fuckin.g late, and I shouldn’t be here. She’s probably asleep, safe in her bed, but fuc.k if I don’t want to bang the damn door down.

The streets are quiet tonight. Quiet is good. Chaos is better. Ain’t nothin’ like being in the thick of things. The heart of a fight is where you’ll always find me.

This is a fight of a new kind for me. I’ve never had to fight for a woman in my life. That’s not me being cock.y, that’s me being honest. Women throw themselves at people like me, bikers. It’s clichéd but true.

It’s also true that I’ve never thought about a woman this much in my life, never closed my eyes, and seen her there beside me every day for the rest of our lives.

How I feel about Coral scares the shi.t out of me. I’m not ashamed to admit it. The thoughts of her beautiful blue eyes staring into mine right before I kiss the shi.t out of her has me closing my eyes. My hand is frozen right before knocking on her door.

I drop my hand and roll my shoulders, taking a lungful of fresh air right as the damn door flies open. My eyes shoot open, landing on the blonde bombshell now staring at me with a smirk on her face. She looks wide awake. She also looks so fuckin.g beautiful in a pair of PJ shorts and a cami top, both pink in color, nothing on her feet, blonde hair piled high on her head, tied in a bun, not a lick of makeup on her gorgeous face. She smells like body wash. She must have showered away the shi.t of the night from her body not so long ago.

“What are you doing here?”

“More to the point, what are you doing answering the door at this hour? How did you even know anyone was out here?”

She eyes me, arms folded around her chest, and I’d be a damn liar if I said I’m not struggling to keep my eyes on her face and not her t**s. They’re not huge – so what if I’ve looked before now? – however, they’re a nice handful.

“I heard your bike, looked out the window, and saw you standing out here. Were you going to stand out here all night?"

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened. Realized it was late, so I was just about to leave.”

“Don’t go.” I narrow my eyes a little. She bites her lower lip. My little bird. “I mean, as you’re already here, why don’t you come in for coffee?”

Coffee. Like I want coffee right now. However, she does, and that’s all that matters to me.

I follow her inside. The place is homey enough, but it doesn’t suit her. Not this apparent sluts pad. Denise, Coral’s friend and obvious slut – yeah, I went there – is now seeing Ice. They suit each other and will probably fuc.k each other right up, but whatever. Pair of assholes.

“I’ll just put the coffee on.”

She isn’t putting any coffee on. Fuc.k the damn coffee. If Coral really believes I came in here to drink fuckin' coffee, she’s crazy.

I grab her arm and swing her around to face me, a little yelp leaving her lips, her hands pressed against my chest. The fact her chest is rising and falling hard isn’t lost on me. It draws a smirk from my lips when her eyes lock on my mouth, tongue wetting her plush lips.

Fuc.k, I want her so damn badly. I could lose everything because of this, but I just cannot fight it anymore. It’s driving me crazy!

“Stryker?”

“Mark. My name is Mark.”

Her eyes finally find mine. “Mark.” She tests my name on her tongue. I like the way it sounds.

“You got any idea how hard this is for me? Trying to fight this attraction between us every damn day is driving me nuts, Coral.”

Her throat moves up and down as she swallows hard. God, she’s beautiful. Too beautiful for a man like me, but I ain’t no dumb fuc.k who’s gonna stand here and tell you that I won’t make this woman mine just because I’m fucke.d up, or because I don’t know what the hell love is. I’m a man, not a fuckin.g alien.

Everyone on this planet experiences love at least once in their life, no matter where that love comes from. Just ‘cause I ain’t never had it doesn’t mean I’ll never feel it.

Taylor, BlackJack, the kids, they’ve shown me love in some form. Parental and sibling love and I’d be a liar if I said I don’t care for them because the fuckin.g Lord knows I’d kill and die for them anytime it was required of me.

However, this woman in front of me could show me how to love, I know it deep down. I don’t know much about her, but I know I want to protect her from everything bad in this world, even though I know that isn’t possible short of locking her up in a damn tower like Rapunzel.

I’d never want to cage this beautiful creature. I want Coral to fly free, my little bird. There is nothing I won’t do for her. Ain’t nothing I won’t do to make her mine.

Is she worth risking a bullet through the head for?

Yeah, I really think she is. I can’t go on just dreaming about her. For my own sanity’s fuckin’ sake, I need to get her out of my system or make her mine.

I can’t even stop my eyes from closing as she strokes my face with her little hand. “What’s going on, Stryker? For you to have told me your Christian name – because I know the men in your club don’t unless the girl is their Old Lady – you must...”

I cut her the fuc.k off with a kiss that would light the fuckin.g skies! Her little hands are in my hair. I have one around the back of her head, the other around her waist, holding her flush against my big body. I feel like I’m holding a doll, but fuc.k if this doesn’t feel right. Ain’t nothin’ ever felt this right before. No other woman could hold a candle to Coral.

I swallow her moans like a fine wine. I grab her ass and push my erectio.n against her. She’s shamelessly rubbing against me so hard she’ll get us both off before I’ve even got her out of her clothes!

I spin her around and press her against the wall behind her, hands above her head. “I can’t get you out of my head, Coral. I’ve tried, believe me, I’ve fuckin’ tried, but I’m just a man, dammit.”

“I want you, too, Stryker, but I’m scared.”

“What are you scared of?” I wrap her arms around my neck if nothing else but to save the dead feeling in them from being held above her head for so long.

“That you’ll think I’m stupid and walk away.”