Keeping Winter

I gave up on my plans for revenge. But can a girl with my past build the future I hope to have? Gabriel and I are leaving Blackmoor for good. A new life, a fresh start in a town called Whitfield, where he and his friends will start a new chapter of the Devil’s Sons—and I’ll start a new chapter too. I’ve left it all behind. The money, the power, the prestige, the girl I used to be and the things she thought she’d have—and my desire for revenge. I have a child to think of now, mine and Gabriel’s, and the future he’s promised us both. Those changes have brought me more happiness than I would have ever believed—but deep down, I’m still afraid. Can I truly start over? Can I be a biker’s wife, raise a family in a small town with love but no money? Can I make a new life from nothing, with the man I’ve promised to stay with forever? Or will the past—mine and Gabriel’s—haunt us forever? Gabriel has always wanted nothing more than to keep me forever. But we both have demons—and his have other plans.

Winter

The rubbery creak of the air mattress as Gabriel shifts in his sleep slowly draws me from my unconscious state, and for a moment, I can’t quite remember why we’re sleeping on an air mattress in the first place. Wrapped in Gabriel’s strong arms, I feel safe and warm and content. Slowly opening my eyes, I’m startled by the unfiltered morning light shining down on the tiny diamond solitaire on my left ring finger. It sparkles beautifully in the sun, and I’m filled with a deep sense of joy at what we’re doing together, me and Gabe. 

We bought a house, we left Blackmoor in our rearview mirror, and we’re setting out on a new journey to build a life together in Whitfield. Thinking of the small life growing inside me, I’m amazed at how quickly I’ve wrapped my mind around this new existence. This might be the closest to actually being happy I’ve ever been. Sure, my life of luxury, living as the daughter of Jack Romero, when everything I could ask for was just a credit card swipe away, had been incredible and lavish and had given me everything I had ever wanted. But in the end, it hadn’t been anything I’d needed. 

And as I lay curled against Gabe, my back pressed snugly against his chest, it amazes me to think that the tall muscular brute who all but kidnapped me and held me hostage in his room just last year taught me that. He showed me that money and power aren’t the end all be all my father taught me they were. What matters is that someone cares for me, would do absolutely anything for me, would love me till the day I die. And while Gabe isn’t perfect by any means, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone more willing to try for my sake. 

A smile creeps onto my lips as he mumbles something in his sleep and pulls me tighter to his chest. Then I giggle as the scruff of his chin tickles the skin behind my ear. The warmth of his lips follows a moment later as he makes a slow trail of kisses down the length of my neck to my shoulder. Goosebumps rise in their wake, and I shiver with the delicious pleasure of feeling him touch me. 

“Good morning,” he rumbles next to my ear, making my insides quiver.

“Hmm, morning,” I respond, turning enough to press a chaste kiss to his lips. 

His electric blue eyes stare deeply into mine, and I run my hand across the stubble on his cheek, relishing the way it tickles my palm. 

“I need a shower,” I confess, feeling grungy after our move yesterday and the sex we had on our new floor. I haven’t cleaned up yet and I feel the dried salt on my skin. 

Gabriel chuckles lightly. “Well then, I’ll join you.” 

My smile broadens, and I nod. “Good thinking.” 

I press one more quick kiss to his lips before slipping out from beneath the covers. I don’t bother to put on any clothes. It’s not like he hasn’t seen it all before, and for once, no one else is in the house that would make it matter. We’re all alone. I could walk to the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee without a stitch of clothes on, and no one would be the wiser. Aside from Gabe. I’m half tempted to do just that. But I have months to go before I’ll get to drink another cup of coffee. Dear God, what I wouldn’t give for just a sip of delicious creamy latte. Hell, I’d even take a crappy gas station Americano at this point. 

Instead, I pad to the master bathroom, a tiny room with barely enough counter to fit our two sinks, but I don’t even care. It’s our bathroom, our very own, and it’s even attached to our bedroom. I couldn’t love it more. 

Turning the water on, I let it slowly creep its way to warm as I attempt to run a brush through the tangled knots of my red hair. It feels thicker lately, and I wonder if that’s because Gabriel and I haven’t had any rough, carnal sex since he found out I was pregnant or if that’s just a part of pregnancy. Maybe both. I hate to admit it, but I kind of miss the way he used to manhandle me, shove me up against a wall and grope me, take me wherever, however he wanted. Not that I don’t love this softer side. He still makes me come harder than I ever came before him. But every once in a while, I would love to feel that same level of intensity he used to give, that animal kind of lust that told me he craved me so deeply he couldn’t stand to be gentle or kind. 

The water finally gets warm enough that I turn it from the bath head to the shower head, and I step beneath the steamy spray. Gabriel follows me in, drawing the curtain closed behind him, and I groan with appreciation as the heat of the water soaks into my skin and washes away the dirt of yesterday. 

Squeezing a large palmful of soap onto my washcloth, Gabriel starts to gently massage my skin with it, cleaning and relaxing me at the same time. I close my eyes, relishing the feel of his rough hands and the soapy water sliding over my curves. When he’s done with the front of me, I willingly turn to allow him access to my back, pulling my hair aside so he can reach every inch of me. 

And he does, scrubbing me from the back of my neck all the way down over my ass until he reaches my calves. Then he slowly works his way back up the inside of my thighs. Hot excitement pools in my belly as his fingers take over, creeping higher until at last they stroke between the folds of my pussy. 

A breathy gasp escapes my lips, and I press a hand against the shower’s blue-tiled wall to brace myself. Electric pleasure zings to my core as his finger circles my clit before tracing between my pussy lips once more. 

“Mmm, baby,” he breathes next to my ear. “Are you still wet from me coming inside you last night? Or did you have a dirty dream?”

I don’t know. I don’t care. I just want him to keep doing what he’s doing. Gabriel grips my hips, turning me so I’m standing beneath the water once more, letting the suds trickle down my back and into the drain as his lips meet mine in a scintillating kiss. His tongue presses eagerly against me, demanding entrance, and I comply, parting my lips and tangling my tongue with his as my fingers travel up his chest to tangle in his thick black hair. 

Trimmed short on the sides, he normally keeps the slightly longer hair on top styled in a slick yet careless look that will only get sexier now that I’ve run my fingers through it, but the sexiest thing about him right now is the prominent erection he presses against my growing belly. I can almost feel it throbbing as his hands travel around my hips to grab my ass and pull me tighter to him. 

“You’re so fucking sexy,” he growls against my lips, making my pussy clench with anticipation. 

“Fuck me,” I beg, lifting one leg to wrap it around his hip. 

His hand follows my lead, traveling down over my ass to grip my thigh as he holds me steady. Shifting his hips, Gabriel aligns his cock, letting the tip stroke between my clit so he can coat himself with my juices. I can feel how fucking wet I am just by the silky slickness of his erection. And then, slowly, gently, Gabriel presses inside me. 

“Fffuck,” he hisses, and his hand still gripping my ass presses tighter. 

I can feel the intensity of his desire in the powerful way he holds me, and my own arousal spikes as I think about how he’s going to come inside me. I want it so badly. It amazes me how, after all these months of experiencing it, I still crave the feel of his cum filling me up. The incredible sensation of his raw cock stretching me never gets old, the heat of him building a kind of friction that no condom could ever duplicate. 

His pace slowly starts to increase as Gabriel rocks in and out of me, and he brushes lightly against my clit with each thrust. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I crush my breasts against his hard chest, needing to be closer to him, and Gabriel responds enthusiastically, his hand cupping my ass moving down my thigh to sweep me off my feet as he wraps both of my legs around his hips. Turning, he gently rests my back against the cool tile for better leverage. Then he sinks deeper inside me. 

“Yes!” I cry, and for once, I don’t have to worry about how loudly I shout because no one is here to know except me and Gabe. 

Gabriel groans, and his lips capture mine once more, sucking my lower lip between his teeth so he can gently bite down on it. The hint of pain excites me beyond reason, and my clit throbs painfully as I hammer toward my release. Tightening my arms around his neck, I pull Gabe closer still, my thighs gripping his hips as I rock with him, allowing him to enter me until he’s deep inside me.  

I can feel him approaching his own orgasm as his cock stiffens, growing impossibly larger inside me, and the anticipation of feeling his cum sends me over the edge. Tilting my head back until it rests against the tile, I cry out at the same time as my pussy clenches around his erection. Gabe explodes inside of me at the same time, his cock throbbing with each jet of cum that fills me. The guttural groan that rumbles in his chest matches my own intense satisfaction as I pulse around him, pulling him deeper inside me with each wave of my orgasm. 

Gabriel’s forehead gently rests against the tile next to my shoulder as he holds me there, pinned to the shower wall, his cock still inside me as we come down from our high together. His gasping breaths tickle my shoulder, and I’m sure he can feel the way my heart is pounding against his chest. 

Tenderly, Gabriel eases me back onto my feet, his hands sliding up to my hips to steady me on my noodle legs, and I chuckle drunkenly with the ecstasy of having come at the same time as him. It felt so fucking good. 

“Well.” Gabriel chuckles. “I can check another spot off the list.” 

“What list?” I ask, my brain still hazy with lust. 

“The list of places I plan to have sex with you in the house.”

My stomach clenches with anticipation as I think about all the extensive list he gave me last night as he fucked me on the floor of our spare bedroom.” 

“Mmm, we might have to do this one again. Just to make sure it’s thoroughly checked off.”

The kiss Gabriel presses to my lips this time is full of emotion, and though it doesn’t last long, it warms me.  

When we resume our ablutions, we work at a much more practical pace, me shampooing and conditioning my hair, while Gabriel soaps his body and washes his short hair. We take turns beneath the water to rinse the soap away then step out of the shower. Wrapping ourselves in towels, we both start to get ready for the day. I watch myself idly in the mirror as I brush my teeth, considering how my body’s changed over the last several months of pregnancy. Wrapped in a towel that clings to my curves, it’s still not too obvious that my breasts are a little larger. Neither is the baby bump that’s begun to form on my belly. Right now, it just looks like I’m relaxing my stomach, though I know that if I took off the towel, I would be able to see how my flat tummy has softened some. 

Gabriel steps up behind me, his hands resting lightly on my hips as he grinds into me softly from behind, pressing his considerable girth against my ass. “I’m adding against the sink to our list,” he purrs, his intense blue eyes burning into mine through the mirror.

A shiver of anticipation ripples through me, and I smile at him around my toothbrush, leaning back into him and rocking my hips to let him know I’m on board with that. Then he presses a kiss to my temple and leaves me in peace. As I spit my toothpaste into the sink and wash it down the drain, I’m struck by how domestic this feels. As though we’re just a normal couple starting a normal family. It doesn’t quite feel real to me just yet. 

I don’t bother drying my hair or doing my makeup. Instead, I pull on one of Gabriel’s oversized T-shirts that fits me almost like a dress, slip on some undies, and head to the kitchen to make some breakfast. I’m starving. 

We didn’t pick up much on our way into town last night. It was getting late, and we wanted to get to our new home, but we did grab some eggs and bread, so I whip up some scrambled eggs and use the oven to cook our toast. We’ll have to get a toaster at some point. To be honest, my first attempt at making breakfast myself doesn’t turn out all that bad. The toast is a little on the crispy side, but I figure that could happen to anyone trying to cook two measly slices in a giant oven. 

“Smells good,” Gabriel says, stepping into the kitchen to watch me scrape the eggs onto two of the plates I had to dig out of boxes. 

I smile at him and hand him a plate and fork. “Bon appetit.” 

Gabriel grins coyly. “I didn’t realize I was marrying a french chef.” 

“If you don’t like them, don’t tell me. I’m not sure my ego would allow me to make a second attempt if my scrambled eggs are inedible.” 

“Mmm, they’re delicious,” he confirms. 

A bit dry compared to how my personal chef used to cook them, but not bad for a first try. Maybe I can look up some tips on how to get it right. Or call Starla, she would know. I’m surprised to find how much I already miss having her just down the road. But now that I have a phone again, I plan on talking to her regularly. 

“Well, what do you think of our new house now that we’ve spent our first night in it?” Gabe asks as he eats every bite of breakfast without complaint. 

“I think we did quite well, considering that little sum your parents left in Mark’s trust.” I pause, thinking about our engagement party and the moment we opened Mark’s card. I’d never seen the president of the Devil’s Sons show emotion like that before. Not that he’d cried or anything, but I could see in his eyes that it meant something to be giving us enough of a down payment that we could actually buy a house. Setting aside my breakfast, I link my fingers behind Gabriel’s neck and lean into his hips resting against the counter. “I love it.” 

Gabriel sets his plate aside as well and snakes his arms around my waist. “I know it’s modest. But it’s a good start.” 

I nod. “I’ve come to find I don’t mind modest.”

Gabriel leans in and presses his lips to mine. He tastes salty and sweet from the butter and jam I put on his toast, and I deepen the kiss, wanting to taste him further. Groaning, Gabriel pulls away. 

“Don’t get me started again. I’m supposed to be meeting the boys. We need to get that shop up and running.” 

“I’ve got a busy day planned as well,” I say, though I’m not quite sure where I’ll even begin.

Gabriel smiles and kisses me gently before he stands to his full height. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Trying to quash the sense of isolation as he walks out the door, I watch him leave in silence. I know he can’t stay with me all day. If we’re going to make this work, we need to get our lives in order. Still the task feels quite daunting.