“You sleep good?” he asked.
“Great,” I said. “Think we can do the shower thing every night before bed?”
I smiled.
Tripp turned his head.
He wasn’t smiling.
“What?” I asked.
“I have to go,” Tripp said. “Alone.”
“What?”
“Listen to me, darling,” he said. He turned his body and touched my face. “I have to end all this. But I have to do it alone.”
“Why?”
“I’m going after Skull X.”
“Tripp! No.”
“Stop,” he said and stood. “I have to do this. I have to do it alone so there’s no chance you can get hurt. You stay right here. Don’t leave the room, okay? Promise you won’t leave the room.”
“Tripp… I…”
“Promise me!” he bellowed.
“Okay. I promise. I’ll be right here. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“I just have to do this. Once and for all. One more fucking fight.”
I was scared to death. I wasn’t going to lie. Not to myself, not to Tripp. I couldn’t imagine Tripp going to Skull X and coming back alive.
I looked up at him. I moved closer to the edge of the bed.
I dropped the blanket off my chest.
I reached forward and grabbed between his legs.
I needed him. Right now.
~
Tripp thrust into me and I cried out his name. One hand held my breast tight, the other held the sheets on the bed. He stood on the floor, fully dressed, his zipper undone. His cock was buried deep inside my body as I had my legs around him, pulling at him as he sank into me over and over. His mouth felt like it had been everywhere. My lips, tongue, neck, chest all tingled where he had kissed me. My left nipple was red and swollen where he had suckled me so hard I screamed.
But I loved it.
I fucking loved it.
Desire flowed through my body so freely as I clawed at his shirt, pumping my lower body at him, never wanting him to stop fucking me. It was a need I never knew, and a need I never wanted to lose.
There was only one Tripp. I wanted him all to myself.
My hands fought their way up to his neck. I scratched at him, then my fingers dug into the back of his neck. I needed his mouth to mine.
Tripp kissed me and it set off fireworks deep in my core. I throbbed, pulsed, and started to come. My ankles unlocked and my legs fell open for him. His hands slid down and cupped my ass, lifting me off the bed. He moved harder, faster, bringing himself to a breakneck speed. The bed groaned almost as loud as I was.
He then moved into me one last time and started to come. My pussy clenched at him, throbbing each time he did, coaxing every last little bit out of his sexy body. My right hand was up and over his shoulder, holding onto his muscular back. My other hand touched his face.
And as he gently fucked me some more, my eyes filled with tears. Tripp brushed one away but more were to follow. So then he simply kissed me. Because he knew the truth as much as I did. That maybe sometimes it was easier to live with nothing because there’s no pain.
Tripp buried his face into my neck, his body rocking back and forth.
I loved him.
And now… now I had to let him go.
29.
(Tripp)
I should have never let it get as far as it did. It was too late now though. We were far too deep and there was a slim chance we would make it out alive. In my mind, I tried to keep it simple. All I needed to do was get to Skull X and get to Autumn. I could fight my way there, fight my way through anything. I just needed more of the truth. I would make everything right by Aldo, by his now dead son, by Winter, and by all the pain and suffering she had to endure.
When I pulled up to the Red Aces lot, they were at the front gate, all together, ready to leave. All their motorcycles firing up at once sounded like scattered thunder.
Of course, Stoney was in front.
When he saw me, he put up a fist. He then climbed off the motorcycle and took his sunglasses and helmet off. He approached my car.
“Tripp,” he said. “I think it’s time I get sick of seeing you around here.” A second later he asked, “Where’s Winter?”
“Not with me.”
“Everything okay?”
“Not your business. Just so you know, Aldo’s son died. Couldn’t survive the coma or the bullet. It’s not going to be good around here anytime soon.”
“You came all that way to tell me that?” Stoney asked. He was defiant and had a smirk on his face.
Like he enjoyed this shit.
“No, I came here for directions to Skull X.”
Stoney’s face dropped. “Are you fucking serious?”
“Give me the goddamn directions.”
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, Tripp.”
“I’m willing to take the risk.”
“They’ll kill you.”
“I know that.”
“What’s the point then?” Stoney asked. “Christ, you’re willing to do this for a woman? For Winter? Trust me, when you get to know her better…”