The Road Reapers: A Biker Romance

Chapter 19 - Red

Red pulled up outside Rogue's cabin shortly after getting off the phone with her. He had pushed his speed past relative safety to get there sooner; there was no way he was wasting time he planned to spend with her. The last bit of time they would have together...
She was waiting on the porch as he pulled up, wrapped in a woollen plaid blanket against the chill of the August evening breeze. Winter wasn't far off, and living in Alberta you were constantly reminded of it in the summertime. Red didn't say anything as he cleared the three porch steps and pulled Rogue in tight to his chest, one hand buried in her hair. He kissed the top of her head then let his cheek rest there while they stood in silence.
"Red?" Rogue muttered quietly.
"Hmm?"
"I can't breathe."
"Oh, shit." Red let her go immediately and stepped back, worried he'd hurt her. She wasn't gasping for air but she was breathing heavy. Close enough.
"I'm sorry, El, I didn't realize I was holding you so tight." He rubbed his eyes. All the adrenaline from his race to get to Rogue's had evaporated as soon as she was in his arms. Now he felt exhausted.
She placed a hand on his shoulder, moving it slowly along his neck to the back of his head, then stood on her toes and kissed him. It was soft, caring.
Red grabbed her hand and held it to his cheek.
"What's going on?" She asked him, her big yellow and green eyes locked on his own icy blues.
He scooped her up and sat them both down on the steps, then turned to look at her.
"I got in big shit yesterday."
Rogue giggled.
"Me too, Andy was pissed. She said I lost my vacation rights, like bikers even get those." She rolled her eyes, still laughing.
No, Elodie, this is serious. I betrayed my brothers. Shannon isn't taking this lightly."
Rogue had looked away, face solemn.
"What's he going to do to you?" Her voice was small and laced with apprehension.
"I'm never allowed to see you again." His voice was close to breaking as he spoke those crushing words.
Rogue was a statue, unmoving. A single tear escaped and slid down her cheek. She wiped it away roughly.
"So tell him to go fuck himself." Her words were hot with anger.
"I can't, Elodie, you know that. The only way out for a Reaper is death, and they are my family."
At that Rogue lost it and hurled herself off of Red's lap, almost falling down the porch stairs as she did. Her face was red and her eyes were damp and feral.
"So you just came here to tell me 'see ya later'? And then you're gonna leave me, just like that, like nothing happened."
"El, it's not like that. I don't want to do this but I have no other option. Shannon gave me forty-eight hours, undisturbed. That's it. I'm here because I want to have the best two days of my life with the most amazing woman I've ever met."
Rogue wasn't looking at him again.
"You'll forget about me." She whispered, more tears falling.
Red stood up and took her face in his hands.
"No. Elodie look at me."
Slowly she did so.
"I won't ever forget you. How can I?" He rested his forehead on hers and wiped her cheeks with his thumbs. "You're so fucking beautiful."
He felt the urge to crush her into him again, to have her so close there would be no telling where he ended and she began.
"You have to do something to fix this, Red. I don't know if I can do this without you. I mean, I can, I just don't want to."
"I'll think of something, babe, I promise. I don't want to be without you either, not for a second."
As they stood there holding each other Red thought about how quickly he had come to love Rogue, and how loving her was the only thing in his life that had ever felt so utterly right.
He tucked her head under his chin and wrapped his arms around her snugly.
"I have an idea. You have a tarp, right?" He asked.
Rogue pulled back and stared up at him wide-eyed.
"You are NOT killing your president."
"What? Oh, god no!" Red laughed and shook his head. "That bastard would haunt my ass. No, I was thinking we should sleep on the lawn tonight if the stars are out."
Her face brightened at the suggestion. 
"I would love that. Let's do it." The yellow in her eyes had almost completely overtaken the green, a small ring on the outer edges of her irises was all that was left.

They gathered heaps of blankets and piled them on a tarp in the middle of Rogue's lawn. She was busy looking for her feather mattress pad while Red chopped wood for a fire. Once he had enough wood for two nights he got the fire blazing and went to get wine and snacks from the kitchen. Rogue had the bed fixed up by the time he had come out with the food.
"Oh, look at you, being so romantic." She flicked a flirty smile at him. Taking the wine from his hand she gave him a kiss. "You've even opened the bottle for me."
Rogue plunked herself on their bed and took a sip from the bottle. Red sat down next to her and she handed it to him. He took a hearty mouthful, stretched out his legs and leaned back on one arm. The other was behind Rogue holding the bottle so it wouldn't spill and she could easily reach it.
"I guess I should tell you who attacked me." Rogue spoke suddenly.
"Well, yeah, I do want to know. But you don't have to tell me right now if you don't want to."
She shook her head.
"I want to tell you now, so it's out of the way."
"Okay girl, I'm listening." He kissed her shoulder.
"His name is - was - Nathan. We were married-"
"Wait, how old are you?" Red stared at her, incredulous.
"I'm twenty-five. I was nineteen and he was twenty-three. He was a member of the Black Angels and I was young and stupid. We got married and everything was great, we were so in love. One day he overheard me talking to my brother on the phone and he thought I was cheating on him. He tried to kill me but I hit him with a beer bottle over the head and ran. Andy found me walking along the highway and took me in. I've been with her ever since."
Red was angry at what Nathan had done to Rogue, which made him so much more thrilled that he'd gotten the pleasure of taking his life. He only wished he'd been able to make the dickhole suffer more first.
"It took him a while to find you."
"Yeah. I must be good at hiding." She smiled flatly.
"Im glad I got to kill him. Waste of skin."
"Thank you, Alaric. For killing him. And for saving me."
"I'd do it again, in a heartbeat." He let out a breath and leaned in to her. "I think what scares me the most about our...situation...is the fact that I won't be able to protect you as well as I'd like. I'm worried something will happen and I won't be able to get to you in time."
"I'll be okay. At least I hope I will. But we'll find a way to see each other Red, we have to." She put her face in his neck. "We have to."
They sat silently holding each other. Red could feel Elodie's heart beating under her skin, thrumming like the wings of fragile birds in flight.
A burning sensation on the front of his thigh pierced through his thoughts and he quickly dug in his pocket. Dammit, I thought I took that fucking marble out of these jeans. But when he pulled his hand out he wasn't holding the rose quartz. It was his grandmother's wedding ring. He quickly stuffed it back in his pocket before Rogue saw. Mother, you are a crafty witch.
"You okay?" Rogue asked him.
"Yeah, just a mosquito bite."
She laughed. "I hate those assholes."
They watched the sun set while wrapped in blankets and each other, warm from the wine and the rush of electricity flowing between them, and Rogue drifted off. Red held her through the night as she slept with her head on his chest.

Red awoke before the sun had risen. The sky was just beginning to lighten and was still an inky blue colour. Being careful not to wake Rogue he pulled the ring from his pocket. It's large diamond and intricate filigree sparkled even in the low light of the early morning. His eyes moved over Rogue's sleeping face. He hated to wake her but he knew somehow that his timing would be perfect. Stroking her head gently he began humming the chords to Metallica's Nothing Else Matters. Her eyelids fluttered open slowly.
"Elodie, can you wake up please baby?"
He asked her gently.
"Mhm." She mumbled looking up at him, head still on his chest.
"I love you, El."
She smiled at him, sleep fading from her eyes.
"I love you too, Alaric."
Red traced her lips with his thumb as he spoke.
"I don't ever want to be without you. I want to wake up with you every morning and watch the sun light your perfect face. I want to hold you as you fall asleep every single night so I know you're safe."
He held up the ring.
"This belonged to my grandma Rose. I want you to have it, as my promise to you that no matter what, I belong to you and I'll be yours for the rest of my days."
He slipped the ring on her right hand finger. It was a perfect fit, as he had thought it would be. 
Rogue was crying again and she put her hand on his cheek, face inches from his.
"You beautiful man. What did I ever do to deserve you?"
Red kissed her deeply.
"A woman like you deserves much more than a man like me, but you're my Queen nonetheless." He rolled them both over gently so he was hovering just over her. "And I'll be damned if I don't treat you like one."
Red undressed her slowly, taking his time to caress her bare flesh as he uncovered it, working his way down her body. He felt her shudder when his lips found her centre. Her shaking didn't stop until her pleasure broke against his tongue and the sun broke over the horizon.