Freedom to Ride (Ravens MC) (6 page)

They continued to work for another hour on how to escape from different positions, the girls getting better and better as the friendly and playful banter between Nate and Deanna continued.

One evening, just over a month of living together, the usual gang was gathered together, all having had a bit too much to drink.

After putting Holly to bed Deanna helped herself to her favourite whisky, it always relaxed her and made her feel warm and fuzzy. She walked into the living room and glanced towards Nate sat on a couch, who patted the space next to him. She sat beside him and he moved a little closer, resting his arm across the top of the settee behind her.

“
She get to sleep okay?” said Nate.

“
Yeah. One of the best things about her is she loves her sleep. It made things easier when she was younger. She didn’t see or hear some of the things that went on around her,” Deanna quietly replied. Nate nodded in understanding.

“
I’ve got it. We’re gonna play a wee game of Truth or Dare,” shouted an inebriated Bruce suddenly. Several groans could be heard around the room.

“
What are we, twelve? Hell no,” replied Logan.

“
Come on you lot, it’ll be fun. I haven’t played it in years,” Megan challenged, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

“
Stop being an eejit. Just for that, you’re goin’ first Logan,” Bruce declared.

They all decided it could be fun, each of them fuelled by too much alcohol and feeling reckless.

Looking over at Bruce it was obvious he was thinking up Logan’s punishment. Logan reluctantly chose a dare, not wanting to spoil the lively atmosphere.

“
Ha, I know the perfect thing. You’ve got to strip to your tiny whities and run across to the compound. I forgot to lock the gate earlier so that’ll save me a trip over there,” Bruce smiled evilly at Logan.

Logan looked out the window and blanched.
“It’s bloody pourin’ out there. I’ll freeze to death.”

Deanna couldn
’t help a snigger at his appalled expression, and feeling a gentle nudge in her side she turned to see Nate sharing her smile.

“
Nah. You’re just worried your little nugget will shrivel and won’t impress your missus here,” Bruce slurred, indicating Heather, who blushed at the comment.

Logan huffed loudly, clenching his teeth as he pulled his jumper over his head. Megan shrieked and covered her eyes, not wanting to see her brother naked.

“Woo hoo,” shouted Heather, encouraging him as he stood up proud as a peacock and strutted outside in just his boxers. Everyone scrambled to the door watching as Logan scampered across the road.

“
Bloody hell it’s freezin’,” he shouted, causing them all to laugh.

As Deanna chuckled she felt a soft touch to her shoulder and turned her head to see Nate standing close behind her, gazing down at her intently. She couldn
’t take her eyes off him as their bodies pressed together, his hand tightening on her shoulder as his other arm slid slowly around her belly to pull her back into his hard chest. Her breathing became shallow as the seconds passed and he squeezed her tight.

The moment was interrupted by the others cheering and clapping as Logan ran up the path towards the door, pale and teeth chattering. Heather held out a towel which he gladly ran into and she planted a kiss on his blue lips.

As the others returned inside, Nate gave Deanna’s waist a last squeeze before releasing her.

Deanna went to sit next to Nate without hesitation, bravely making sure she sat a little closer to him. She glanced across to Logan shivering in his towel and was a little worried to see him staring intently at Nate and her. She could see from his expression that he was planning something, which made her nervous.

As Logan tried to calm the shivers running through his body he realised what he had to do. Seeing Nate and Deanna close yet so unsure around each other gave him an idea on how to give the pair the push they needed. Everyone could see how good they would be for each other, Nate just needing to dump ‘The Bitch’ and make his move on Deanna.

“
Alright, you sadistic bastards. My turn.” Logan looked at each of them in turn, his gaze finally settling on Nate.

“
As you look so smug over there I think it’s your turn. Somethin’ that will shock the shit out of you.” Logan challenged Nate.

Nate smirked in response, not fearing anything his friend dished out. Running around in the rain in his undies didn
’t faze him in the slightest.

“
Dare. Bring it on,” he responded, rolling his shoulders playfully.

Logan
’s eyes shifted to Deanna and then back to Nate, a cunning smile forming on his lips. Nate saw his expression and suddenly felt slightly apprehensive.

“
You asked for it. You, mate, have to give the lovely lady sittin’ by your side a kiss. And I don’t mean a pansy ass peck on the lips. I want proper kissing with tongues and everythin’,” Logan said with the biggest and dirtiest smile on his face.

Deanna looked warily towards Nate, whose face was expressionless. For a long time he didn
’t seem to move or breathe. She couldn’t believe Logan’s challenge, she’d make sure he got a big kick in the nuts for that later. Nate slowly turned his eyes to Deanna and as they stared at each other resolve filled his features.

Nate turned his head towards Logan.
“I accept. Come here babe.”

Turning back to Deanna he edged towards her and noticed her eyes were so wide he was surprised she hadn
’t keeled over in shock. Deanna couldn’t believe he was going to kiss her in front of everyone.

Nervously she moved closer until their legs were touching and he grabbed both her hands in his and gave them a reassuring squeeze. She glanced around the room trying to delay the inevitable and saw Megan staring at her giving a little nod of encouragement and mouthing
“go on”.

Deanna turned back and saw Nate
’s head slowly moving closer to hers, his gaze intense. When his lips briefly touched hers the heat that ran though her body at the contact had her holding back a moan. His lips were soft and warm but he must have sensed her nervousness so, thinking she was going to move away, he raised his hand to cup her cheek. A rumble ran through his chest at the intimate touch and Deanna couldn’t resist lifting her hands to hold onto his wide shoulders.

His fingers moved and tangled in her hair at the back of her neck as he tilted her head and deepened the kiss. When his tongue lightly touched her lips she was unable to hold back a moan, which gave him all the encouragement he needed. His tongue ran into her mouth and she hesitantly tangled hers with his.

The kiss became more heated as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him with everything she had. A deep groan came from him as his other arm circled her waist, pulling her as close as possible, squashing her breasts into his chest. Deanna’s whole body filled with an unknown heat as a throb started low in her stomach.

Just before things became even more passionate the moment was interrupted when hollering and whistling erupted, startling both Nate and Deanna who had completely forgotten their audience.

Breaking away she stared into Nate’s eyes, bright with a desire that excited her. Still wrapped in each other’s arms Deanna glanced over to Megan who was grinning and clapping. Deanna looked back to Nate and smiled, both of them breaking into laughter, their lips swollen from the intimate kiss.

“
Bloody hell . . . that was hot,” declared Bruce.

The others grinned and nodded in agreement, embarrassment flooding Deanna
’s face. Staring at Nate she was surprised when he leaned forwards and planted a quick tender kiss on her lips.

“
Don’t be embarrassed Deanna. We both enjoyed every second of that. Your beautiful flushed face and delicious mouth makes me want to do it all over again,” Nate whispered.

Deanna
’s jaw dropped open in surprise and Nate winked at her, breaking the awkward moment and making her giggle. Just then Deanna heard a faint cry and realised that Holly had been disturbed by all the noise.

As they all cooled down they decided to call it a night and head home. Before Deanna left the room she hugged Bruce, thanking him for the game, and he gave her a knowing wink as he left.

Logan, with an arm around Heather, approached her.

“
I’ll get you back for that, you git,” whispered Deanna as she hugged him. “I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life.”

“
Listen, I did that because you both needed a push. Don’t be scared. He’s a good bloke and he adores both you and Holly. Give him a chance,” Logan replied seriously.

Deanna didn
’t know how to respond so she simply gave Heather a hug, thanking them both for a fun night before the couple left. Turning back, Deanna noticed that Nate had disappeared and Megan was sat with Fraser, whispering with their heads close together.

“
I’m going to call it a night once I’ve got Holly settled. Night you two.”

Megan jumped up from the couch and approached her.
“Deanna, I can’t believe what just happened but please just let it happen,” said Megan. “If it’s meant to be, which I think it is, give him a chance. It’s obvious he’s crazy about you. I know you’re scared so just explain to him that you need to take things slowly. Okay?”

“
Okay,” Deanna whispered back. She knew what Megan had said was the truth and said from the heart. She was scared to start something with Nate but the connection between them was undeniable. She didn’t want to fight it anymore.

Megan and Fraser left the room with their arms wrapped around each other, heading towards Megan
’s bedroom.

Deanna turned off the lights in the living room, deciding to clean up in the morning and headed towards her bedroom. On entering she saw Nate bent over the cot with an outstretched finger gently stroking Holly
’s cheek, soothing her back to sleep. She tiptoed to Nate’s side and he turned, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Deanna rested her head on his chest to watch her sleeping daughter.

After a few contented minutes she stepped away from Nate and sat down on the end of the bed. She couldn
’t help but release a sigh as her head flopped forward, everything that had happened in the past few minutes replaying in her mind. Nate’s feet came into her line of sight as she felt his fingers under her chin, tipping her face back to look up at him.

“
Are you alright?” he said gently.

“
Yeah, just tired,” she replied, smiling at his concern.

Crouching in front of Deanna, Nate looked closely into her face, trying to see whether she regretted what had just happened between them. He was glad to see she didn
’t appear to but he did recognise apprehension in her gaze.

“
I know you’re scared, but I would never hurt you. I am nothing like your ex,” Nate declared.

“
I know.”

“
This thing between us, I can’t ignore it anymore. I know you feel it too. If you don’t want to explore it you have to tell me now.”

Deanna remained silent but her smile grew bigger. Nate took that as a positive sign.

“You’ve made me so happy. There isn’t anythin’ going on between me and Vanessa. I told her ages ago that what we had was over, but she won’t take no for an answer. She’s been trying to cause problems at the garage with some of the other lads, so I know I need to get rid of her. I’ve been looking for her replacement but it’s taking a while, which is why she’s still here. If we’re going to be together I’ll make sure she’s gone tomorrow. I won’t have that bitch anywhere near you. She can be a real pain in the arse and you are not going to have to deal with her. Okay?”

“
Yeah. It’s . . . I . . . Logan told me a bit about you two. He said that she was only here because of her job at the garage. I was relieved about that because I didn’t like thinking of you two together,” Deanna responded, feeling stupid admitting her jealousy.

“
You’ve nothin’ to be jealous of. We’ve never been serious and haven’t been together in a long time. Since you showed up I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. To tell the truth, I’ve been curious about you ever since Logan mentioned you weeks ago. I was looking forward to meeting you. When you arrived and stood in front of me covered in cuts and bruises I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. You and your daughter are very important to me,” Nate stated, leaning forward to give Deanna a tender kiss.

Getting to his feet, he reached forward to slowly run his thumb down her cheek, making her eyes slide shut with pleasure.

“Get some sleep babe,” he said before walking out of the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him.

Deanna flopped back onto the bed smiling up at the ceiling. She couldn
’t believe it. She was so happy, the giddiness inside making her feel like a teenager again.

Changing into her onesie she climbed into bed, her last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were of her wonderful gentle giant.