Bash, Volume II (11 page)

Angelica

It was daylight when I awakened, and I could tell from Bash’s breathing he was still asleep. I had no plans for the day, and wanted to play with him, so I only glanced at his face for a microsecond. Much more and he’d sense me looking and rouse. I dove under the covers with a smile, and took him into my mouth with no warning.

He let me have control for maybe twenty seconds, and then his hands fisted in my hair and he pushed up, forcing me to take all of him. I gagged a little, and he backed off a touch, but then pushed again as he said, “Mmmm, love feeling you choke on me. Love your mouth.
Fuck
, I missed you.”

He didn’t keep it up long, but his rough treatment turned me on, so when he let go and pulled me up, I pushed his shoulders down when he would’ve flipped me on my back, and I told him, “Give me a few minutes, Bash. Want to ride you.”

He relaxed back onto the bed and folded his hands behind his head with a smirk. “Not gonna say you can’t.”

I groaned as I slid down his thick length, and then opened my eyes to meet his gaze as I said, “Doing this instead of running. Need to get my cardio in.”

He chuckled and moved his hips under me, but kept his hands under his head. “Then ride me, Princess. You feel so damned good wrapped around my cock. I’ll give you a little time, but you have to know you may not get much.”

I got myself off on his cock once, though he helped by playing with my clit and talking me through the orgasm, and then he ordered, “Turn around and climb back on.”

I did as he commanded — there was no doubt it was an order and not a request — and he said, “Bend over, put your face on the bed between my knees.”

My heart skipped a few beats when he pushed his finger inside me, alongside his cock. I moaned at its withdrawal, and then whimpered when he touched my ass. His finger was slick from being inside me, but it wasn’t enough lube, and yet it was a single finger so it was okay. I gasped and wriggled as he pushed it in all at once, invading me in a spot I wasn’t used to being entered — but then he held it motionless, but crooked it and… fuck if he didn’t hold me in place with his finger in my ass while he pounded me from below. When I tried to sit up, he pushed me down and put a leg over my back. “You need up, tell me,” he got out between breaths as he hammered into me, “I really hope this works for you though, because,
damn
, this is perfect.”

I made a few small adjustments that straightened my torso out so I could breathe better, and suddenly, the position worked for me, too. “Fuck yeah, Bash. Shit, yeah… right there, fuck, right fucking there…” I kept a running commentary going, because I was stuck in place while he drove into me with a brutal intensity, using his finger in my ass and his leg on my back to hold me down as he pounded me from below. He was relentless, wild, and it was exactly what I needed.

My orgasm crashed around me before I expected it to, and all I could do was scream, breathe, and experience it. Bash wasn’t at the right angle to hit my g-spot, and yet he slammed into a previously unknown trigger deep inside me that disengaged some of my muscles, rendering them useless as he gave me the most ultimate bliss ever, so all I could do was take it. Survive the ecstasy.

When at last the orgasm faded, he lifted me, gently arranged me on my back, and rose over me as he once again took me. His hand shifted to wolf and back, and I realized he’d done it to clean the finger he’d had in my ass, and wondered at his strength and control. Not many wolves can handle a partial shift even when they can give all of their attention to it, and he did it in the middle of sex.

And he did it so he could cradle my face as he made love to me, our gazes locked, our bodies in perfect synch as we moved together and apart, together and apart. Not fast, not rushed. Perfect.

He told me he’d given me his heart, and now he let me see it in his eyes, his expression. He let me feel it in the way he touched me, caressed me. Loved me.

When I came this time, it wasn’t with fireworks and screams as we barely held on. This time, the orgasm slid through me, my eyes locked with Bash’s, my mouth open in a silent gasp as I fell into his gaze. He sped up as I let go, and before I was finished, he was coming with me. He kept eye contact the whole time, and let me see into the depth of his soul as we found our release together.

Ten minutes later, tangled in each other’s arms, boneless and spent, neither of us had said anything and I never wanted to leave the safety of his embrace.

I turned in his arms, spooning into him, my back to his front, my cheek resting on his bicep. “I’ve never felt anything like that before,” I told him, my voice soft. Lazy.

“Neither have I. I’m not in the habit of making myself vulnerable, and you have to know you hold my heart in your hands, Princess.”

“Yeah, and you have mine, too. It’s a little scary, isn’t it?”

He sighed, and his breath tickled the side of my neck. “It’s damned scary, but I’m not lettin’ you go.”

“If you’re speaking metaphorically, then good,” I said, looking back at him. “Realistically, though, we can’t stay in bed for the rest of our lives. Or even all day. I’m hungry.”

His smile went all the way to his eyes and I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him this happy. “Me too, Princess. Let’s go find an all-you-can eat breakfast buffet and wipe them out.”

A fantastic idea, but I couldn’t ignore what I smelled on him any longer — not even the shower had washed it away. “I smell new wolves on you.” It wasn’t any of my business, but I had to ask.

“Yeah. Was supposed to bite one of them, but told Duke I couldn’t take on the responsibility right now. He understood, thank goodness.”

He didn’t turn them because he wanted to focus on me right now. He didn’t have to say it, I heard it in his voice. Which meant it was time to bring up some of the tough stuff. I was happy he was making these changes for me, but I wasn’t sure how much of my life I could change for him.

“If you wanted, you could probably move to a smaller city, join the local Pack and rise to Alpha. I’ve always known you were strong, but you shifted your hand during sex without missing a beat. And we both know you can fight.”

His muscles tensed a second, then loosened. He knew we were moving onto tricky territory. “Maybe, but I have my brothers. Don’t want a Pack.”

“I’d rather have you than the Pack, but my wolf still needs more.” I’d gotten used to being kind-of part of the Pack in Massachusetts, and my wolf was still calling to me about it. The human understood why it couldn’t happen if we wanted Bash in our lives. However, the wolf didn’t want to hear the logic — she only knew what she craved.

Bash kissed the top of my head and some of the tension and worry inside of me loosened. He understood. He knew this wasn’t easy for me, and was aware we’d have to find a solution. “You’ve heard from some of the women?”

“Yeah. I’m going to meet with them the weekend before the next full moon.”

“Good. We’ll figure something out — something that works for both of us, Princess. Don’t know what it’ll be, yet, but I know there has to be an answer.” He kissed the top of my head again and said, “Dawg’s probably still crashed. You want to get your hands dirty?”

“I’d love to tear his engine apart and rebuild it, but I know better than to touch someone’s bike without permission.”

“He knows we’re planning on it soon. I’ll let him drive mine while we have his torn down, if he bitches too much.”

They were close. Bash wouldn’t do it unless he knew Dawg would be fine with it, and Dawg had let me work on it the other night.

“Let’s go eat and then see if he’s up. If he is, we can ask him. If he isn’t, you take full responsibility.”

* * * *

The shop was open on Saturdays for tune-ups and oil changes, but only a couple of mechanics were in, so a few bays weren’t being used. We set up in one of them near the back, so we’d have a little privacy.

I’d forgotten how easy it was to work with Bash. We functioned together as if we’d been tearing engines down for years, our movements choreographed in a freaky dance involving wrenches and rubber mallets, pliers and screwdrivers, fingers and laughter.

Dawg hadn’t been up and about when we’d checked in at the clubhouse, and Bash had driven his friend’s bike across the street. The fact he had a key to it made me feel better, but I was still a little nervous about Dawg seeing his bike in pieces.

Bash and I both laid everything out the same, and worked through the parts in the same order. Several hours in, I stopped to rotate my shoulders and flex my hands, and he grinned at me as he asked, “You want to bore the cylinders while I see what I can do with the flywheel?”

“Yeah. Shouldn’t we have heard from Dawg by now?”

He nodded and reached for his phone. “Yeah, I’ll text him we’re across the street. He’s probably hanging out watching TV or something, doesn’t realize his bike isn’t out front.”

When Dawg came ambling in fifteen minutes later, he smirked at Bash and said, “Don’t know whether to hug you or kick your ass. How’d you rope your girl into helping? This is a big job and she works all week.”

“If you knew how to do this,” I told him, “and my bike needed it, you and Bash would be doing it, right?”

He considered me a few seconds before saying, “Yeah, Girly. Guess we would, and now that Bash is around I can tell you how sexy you look in dirty jeans and a tight t-shirt, workin’ that wrench like you know what you’re doin’.”

I raised an eyebrow. “As luck would have it, I
do
happen to know what I’m doing, and your bike’s gonna kick ass when we’re finished with it.”

He looked at his watch. “I’m about to go put playground equipment together, and then I’m scheduled to bartend from nine to close. Ya’ll want to do dinner around six? My treat?”

Bash

I was feeling a little more possessive of Angelica tonight, likely because of what I had planned for the evening, but Dawg picked up on it and kept things light and fun at dinner.

He told us about putting the playground equipment together at the shelter, and helping a little boy with his arm in a cast into the fort area, above the slide.

“I wanted to find out who hurt that precious little boy’s arm and tear them apart for it, but we were told ahead of time if we saw injuries we weren’t to mention them. We also weren’t supposed to ask for their names.”

I could smell Dawg’s frustration and didn’t know what to say, but Angelica didn’t have the same problem. “He’s safe where he is, and you showed him that all men don’t hurt little boys. We don’t know if a man hurt him or not, but if one did, you gave him another example of a bad-ass — one who takes care of those who’re weaker.”

He nodded and looked away a few seconds, and then looked back to Angelica and changed the subject. “I semi-regularly hook up with one of the salespeople at the BMW dealership. If I introduce you as Bash’s girl and ask nice, she’ll likely give you a deal.”

Angelica’s eyes lit up as she said, “Cool! I’ve been looking at Subarus and BMWs online. From an engineering standpoint, both make me happy.”

I chuckled and leaned into her. “I’m friends with one of the mechanics at the Subaru dealership. Can probably help you get a deal there, too.”

* * * *

Angelica

Bash and I stopped at the grocery store on our way home to pick up some snack food, so we walked in with a dozen full bags of groceries.

I had no idea how werewolves who hadn’t told their girlfriend or boyfriend they were a shifter managed to explain how much food they put away. I’d gone out with lots of humans who didn’t know, but I hadn’t lived with any of them, and had spent enough time away from them, they weren’t aware of how many calories I consumed every day.

He helped me put the food in the fridge and cabinets, and stepped out onto my balcony. I followed him out and sat in one of my chairs. I have an awesome view of the Walnut and Market Street bridges, as well as the Tennessee River between them, and Coolidge Park across the way.

“This is going to be perfect during the Riverbend Festival,” he said as he sat beside me.

“Yeah, and Pops on the River for the fourth, and the Parade of Lights at Christmas. I’m really excited about living here.”

“Not thrilled about one of your neighbors, but you haven’t seen him since the big blowout, have you?”

I shook my head. “I think he spends most of his time on the mountain, and only has the apartment here for when he works late and doesn’t want to make the drive.”

“Or when he’s interested in a new tenant.” His voice and face were without expression, and I decided there was no reason for us to continue that particular conversation.

“You haven’t considered getting your own place? You happy at the compound?”

“Dawg has a house, and Gonzo and I are welcome there pretty much anytime. Gonzo planted bushes and shit in Dawg’s yard. It’s beautiful, and Dawg doesn’t mind, ‘cause he tells the girls he takes home all about how his roses are thriving, and the steps he’s had to take to keep the deer from eating his hostas, and how his climbing something-or-other is doing so well he needs to reinforce the arbor. He’s just repeating what Gonzo’s told him, but he says the girls eat that shit up.”

“So, that’s a no?”

“Don’t need more’n a place to park my bike, hang my vest and jeans, sleep, eat, fuck, and shower. I’m happy surrounded by my brothers. Grew up in a big community without a place to really be alone, so it’s kind of what I’m used to.” He looked around at the view, and then to me. “I could get used to this, though. Here with you. Like being alone with you.”

“I liked working with you today. Felt good. Right.”

He reached for my hand, threaded his fingers through mine, and brought both our hands to his lips. He kissed the back of my hand and settled them both back on the arm of my chair. “Yeah, felt damned right. If we don’t run into problems tomorrow, we should have it back to him before night. If we hit a bump though, no problem. I can finish it up Monday during the day.”

“I really want to be in on the final reassemble, so I’m hoping we can do the whole thing together.” I took a breath and asked the question I’d been wanting to ask for a while. “Are you keeping me away from Gonzo on purpose? You talk about him like you and he and Dawg are super tight, and yet it feels as if you’re avoiding him when I’m with you.”

“I already told you, Gonzo’s my brother and I love him, but he ain’t right. He doesn’t see women as people, but… I dunno — like animals who can’t be trusted and have to be watched every second. If he treats you that way I’m gonna pummel him, so it seems best to just not have you around him, when I can help it.”

He looked at his watch and stood. “Need to make a phone call. Club business. I’m gonna go inside, and I’d appreciate it if you stay out here. Know you can hear my side of the conversation even through the door, but it’s important you don’t hear the other person.”

I nodded, and he went in.

I knew how club business worked. My dad had shielded me from it all my life, and Bash was letting me in on it for the first time, but I knew I still couldn’t — and probably shouldn’t — know everything.

I listened to his side of the conversation long enough to realize he was checking in on how the new wolves were doing, and then I focused my hearing towards the pedestrians on the Walnut Street Bridge. I heard teenage girls talking about who liked who, and a middle-age couple discussing what kind of dog they wanted. Another couple was arguing over whether the guy had looked at another girl’s ass, and two men on bicycles were debating whether they wanted to eat Italian or Chinese.

I focused my hearing back in the apartment and didn’t hear Bash talking anymore. When I went in, he was sitting on my sofa, sprawled, a beer in his hand.

“I didn’t listen to you — it’s fun to tune into the conversations on the bridge, sometimes. Everything okay?”

He shook his head as he stared as his beer bottle. “One of the new wolves isn’t doing so well. Don’t know if he’s going to find his humanity again.”

“Fuck, Bash. That’s hard. My wolf came on in bits and pieces as puberty hit, I can’t imagine what’s it’s like for a human to just suddenly have a full grown wolf to deal with.”

He nodded. “I know, but I thought he was strong enough to pull ahead, to dominate the animal.”

“Anything you can do to help? Do you need to leave?”

He shook his head and looked at me. “No. I didn’t bite him, doubt my influence will help.” He opened his arms. “Come here and let me hold you.”

I didn’t need a second invitation, and I sat on his lap, facing him, and leaned into his torso, resting my head on his shoulder. It felt like coming home, and I smelled the same relaxed, happy, comfortable scent coming from him.

“It’s kind of strange to be this serious so soon, isn’t it?” I asked. “I mean, you were only gone a few days, and we haven’t been an actual item that long. It’s crazy I missed you as much as I did, and that I’m so happy to have you back.”

“Not interested in analyzing it to death right now, Princess. Just want to hold you a little while.”

A few minutes later he sighed and caressed my back before saying, “Okay, so maybe we
do
need to talk. I need to know about your first time. Not the details, but… was it good? Was he gentle? Did he do you right?”

My head was still on his shoulder, and I snuggled into him a little more as I admitted, “I didn’t tell him I was a virgin. It could’ve gone better.” He didn’t push for the rest of the story, just held me until I was ready to give it to him. “He got pissed at me for not telling him, then he freaked out, thinking I must consider him ‘
the one
,’ and it kind of went downhill from there.”

“Why didn’t you tell him?”

“He was twenty-three, I was nineteen. It was embarrassing.”

“Second time?”

“One-night stand I found off campus. It was
so
much better.”

He kissed the top of my head. “Long term relationships? Anything of note to tell? Have you had a chance to have fun with sex? You seem to know what you’re doing, but I guess I need a little more history.”

I didn’t ask why he wanted to know. I knew he’d probably been with dozens of women just this year, and I didn’t want to contemplate how much experience he’d had since his first time. He’d known me when I was a virgin, and he wanted a road map of where I’d been in the interim, before he figured out where to take me. I’m not sure exactly how I knew why he was asking, other than to say I knew him so well, it seemed common sense.

“One relationship lasted eight months, that’s my longest. And yeah, we had fun with it sometimes, and were serious sometimes.”

“How is it you’re still an anal virgin?”

“Only a few guys brought it up, but they all backed off when I said ‘no’. None were long term guys.” Two of the bikers had pushed, but I’d managed to divert their attention to other things. I figured the less I reminded Bash I’d gone looking for bikers, the better, though.

“So far, I’ve pretty much told you what’s going to happen, or just done what I wanted without warning. I’m not in the habit of asking for what I want.” His coarse words conflicted with the hand gently playing with my hair. “But you’ve held it off this long, you should be sure I’m the one you want to give it to. So, I’m not gonna take your ass until you ask me to.” He sat me up, held my face so I had no choice but to look into his eyes. “I want my cock
buried
in your beautiful ass, want you to be mine in a way you’ve never been for anyone else, but I want you to
ask
me to take it. I need it to be your decision.”

I’d been nervous about it before, but hadn’t really considered the whole ‘giving up my virginity’ thing. I’d tried to get rid of my other virginity for so long, I’d hadn’t thought about the fact I had another metaphorical cherry to pop.

The bottom line, though, was if anyone was going to do it, I wanted it to be Bash.

“I want it to be you.” I held his gaze, let him see — and smell — my truth. “You’re important to me, you’re special, and I want…” I shook my head. “I don’t want to give it to you. I want you to
take
it. I know you won’t hurt me; I know you’ll make it good.”

His gaze went soft a few seconds, then hardened with determination. His fingers slid from my cheek to my hair, threading through it before he grasped my entire head in his hand. “I love you, Princess. You good with
that
?”

My heart hopscotched in my chest as I figured out how to answer him. He hadn’t asked it in a way that demanded I give him my undying love back. If he had, I likely would’ve freaked, but the way he asked it put me in a different mindset. Was I okay with it? Yeah. Fuck me, but I was damned fine with it.

“I can’t promise you forever. This is unfamiliar territory for me.” I pushed my head in to his hand as I closed my eyes and enjoyed his touch. I opened them again, looked into his eyes, and finished my thought. “I love you, too, Bash. I’m not freaking out about it, though, because I
know
you. I trust you. I believe in you.”

He tipped his chin down and back up, and my heart fluttered as he stood with me in his arms. I grabbed at him, startled and off balance as I was lifted into the air with no warning, but he quickly turned me in his embrace until I was cradled against his chest, and I relaxed into him.

When we made it to the bedroom I expected him to throw me onto the bed, but he settled me gently on my back in the center of the mattress as he crawled onto it and over me, his lips meeting mine in a dance instead of crashing into me, as I was accustomed from him.

Our tongues tangled, our lips caressed, and my hands reached for his shirt. He rose so I could slide it up his body, and lifted his arms as I pulled it over his shoulders and head. His fingers went to the buttons of my blouse, and I almost chuckled at the way he carefully took it off, but knew he’d rip it off with a smirk if I dared laugh — even if it meant another trip to the mall. I kissed him with all I had as he worked his way down, slowly freeing me from the fabric while my hips moved and twisted because I couldn’t
wait
for him to get to my pants.

I worked his belt buckle and button, and he lifted up long enough to do the zipper and push his pants off. Thankfully, he’d taken his boots off earlier.

“Fuck,” I complained as I took care of the last couple of my shirt’s buttons, “taking too long to get rid of our clothes.”

“So impatient, Princess,” he said, his eyes dancing as he came back to me. He pulled my pants off as I got rid of my shirt and bra, and then my legs wrapped around his waist as he slid into me, and we both groaned in bliss as I accepted him into my body.

I tried to move my hips faster and urge him along, but he put a hand on my hip and shook his head, “You’ll take what I give you, and I’m of a mind to make love to you right now.”