Page 43 of Nova

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Nova

The moment Promise saysshe's with me, I grip the back of her neck and cover her mouth with mine. I find myself drowning, as the kiss becomes desperate and full of emotions we have yet to profess. I kiss her like she's the very air I need to breathe. She squirms on my lap, rubbing her ass against my growing erection, causing me to growl, before reluctantly breaking our connection. Promise is breathless as she locks eyes with me. "Cain, you have no idea how fast my heart beats when I'm near you. I need you so badly, it frightens me." Her confession has me standing, and she stands with me, my hold on her never wavering. Her body is humming with want and my desire for her feeding off of it. My palm skims down her arm. Then, I take her hand in mine. Before I can get the words in my head out of my mouth, I catch my brother trying to grab my attention from across the yard near the back porch. He's huddled with my other brothers.Shit. I guess my early departure will have to wait.

I sigh, willing my hard-on to subside. "We'll finish this later, Sugar. I need to talk with my brothers for a moment." Promise lets out a heavy sigh of her own, and I feel her frustration too. "Why don't you grab a drink from the cooler and join the women by the fire?"

Promise reaches her hand up, caressing the nape of my neck, her fingernails lightly scraping against my skin, causing electricity from her touch to shoot down my spine and straight to my dick. "You sure we can't leave now?" the tone of her voice makes me want to say to hell with it and get her into my bed NOW.

"Shit, babe. Keep touchin' me like that, and I'm going to lose my shit. I don't need to walk around sportin' a hard-on the entire night," I admit, and Promise's eyes sparkle as her smile brightens her face. She's enjoying the effect she is having on me, and I'm loving every minute of it myself. I give her a look, then reiterate what I said before. "Soon, babe."

With one final sigh, followed by a soft kiss on my cheek, I watch Promise as she makes her way toward the bonfire, settling into a seat between Piper and Luna, her eyes cutting to me once before she eases into conversation with the rest of the women.

Striding across the yard, I step beside the men. "What's up?" Reaching around Fender, I lift the lid to a cooler sitting a few feet from the rocking chair Pop is currently seated, sipping on a glass of sweet tea, looking off toward the waterfront. With a cold beer in my hand, I twist the top off, then lift the bottle to my lips, waiting for Riggs to say whatever is on his mind.

"Kiwi found something interesting. Looks like Hell's Punishers left town, all except for about five, who happen to be checked into an extended stay hotel on the other side of town," Riggs tells us.

"Any word why?" I ask.

"That, I haven't figured out yet," Kiwi jumps in. "But word is spreading that we are lookin' for them. The manager of the hotel himself happens to be the source who gave me this information. He says they've been keeping to themselves."

I huff. "And that sorry son of a bitch known as Creep?"

"No sign of him." Kiwi pauses long enough to down the rest of his drink, then tosses it into an outdoor trash can nearby. "No feed available from the other night near your woman's place, either."

Figures. Thinking a beat, I process the new information. "I'm tired of waitin'. This piece of shit made it clear he wanted blood."

"True," Wick mentions.

"Yeah, but I'm not sold on the idea their entire club wants your ass skinned." Riggs leans against the porch banister. "I've looked into the Hell's Punishers. They don't seem to be the type of club to pussyfoot around."

"So, what is our next move? Continue to sit on our asses?" My mood shifts drastically.

"They're waitin' for a reason. We need to find out why," Wick adds.

"We invite them for a sit-down. See what in the hell their end game is. If they were lookin' to stir up more shit, they would have by now."

"Give them a chance to explain why the hell their member attempted to rape my daughter?" I growl, keeping my voice low. My brother eyes me for a second.

"I know it's not the answer you want to hear, brother, but I've got to go with my gut on this one."

I don't like his final words on the subject. I want the satisfaction of ridding this world of the bastard who put his hands on my daughter, then my woman. But, over the years, I've come to trust Riggs' intuition on things. He can be a little more level headed than me. It's also what makes him a damn good leader and our Prez. "When?" I ask him what the rest of us are waiting to find out.

"As soon as possible. I'll get word to them first thing tomorrow. Tonight, although we are all a little uptight with the threat looming, we do our best to enjoy the family."

I look out across the yard, as do the rest of the men. We take in the smiles on the women's faces and heads thrown back in laughter with whatever they are discussing. I smile at the sight of Piper holding her cousin on her lap as she roasts a marshmallow.

"Anyone else's ears burnin'?" Wick snorts, and I laugh, knowing there is a good possibility they are talking about us men.

"I'll catch you guys later. I'm about to round up my girls and take them home." Riggs lifts the beer in his hand. "Wick, you got my six?"

"Yeah, brother. Tequila and I will be right behind you," Wick informs him. He gives the rest of us a nod before striding across the yard to his woman as well.

"I'm going to follow them to town and make my way back to the clubhouse," Fender states then looks past my shoulder. "Hey, Pop. Mind if I wrap some food up for Everest and the girls back at the clubhouse?" he calls to the place where Pop is still rocking at the other end of the porch.

"You sure can. And make sure you take them ladies some of that chocolate cake Mrs. Monroe from church made for me," Pop replies and Fender shoots him a smile along with a nod before walking inside the house. "Cain," Pop calls to me. "Come sit with me for a moment, would you, son?"

Kiwi is the only one left beside me. He looks across the yard, then back to me. "I'm going to hang around the fire until you get ready to leave, mate." Then he walks off.

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