by Hope Stone
When I was finished, the customer paid Brie and left. The second the door closed behind him, Kat scoffed.
“So, are you trying to get new recruits for Outlaw Souls or something?”
I sighed, already sick of this game. “What are you talking about?”
“Just the way you were talking to that guy, going on and on about bikes and riding, mentioning that other guy. I recognize his name. I know he’s a member, too.”
“Trainer’s our Road Captain and a hell of a good guy.”
“Says you.”
“Says his wife and kids.”
Something in Kat’s face softened for just a moment, but it was gone so quickly that I started to question if I imagined it.
“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes. “I’m taking a break.”
Grabbing her purse, she stood and walked out the back door of the tattoo shop. I hesitated for a second before deciding that I wasn’t done talking and followed her. To my surprise, I found her leaning up against the side of the building, lighting up a cigarette.
“I didn’t know you smoked,” I said, earning myself another glare.
“I don’t,” she replied while exhaling a cloud of smoke.
“Could have fooled me.”
She rolled her eyes. “I quit a month ago. You’re witnessing a relapse. Hell, you’re causing it.”
“Don’t you think you might be overreacting?”
“You know what bothers me? You act like I’m the only one with a problem.”
“No, we both have a problem.” The sound of a motorcycle drew my attention to the street, and I realized that Ryder was here. “And I have a feeling it’s about to get worse.”
“Who is that?”
“Ryder.”
“Ryder Hernandez? The president of the Outlaw Souls?”
“The one and only.” I reached over, took the cigarette from her hand, and took a puff.
Kat snatched it away from me, shaking her head.
“What’s he doing here? Has he come to threaten me?”
“What? Of course not. Jesus, what kind of people do you think we are?”
Kat didn’t answer, just tossed her cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it with the heel of her boot.
“He’s here for a tattoo.”
“Then let’s get in there.”
I pulled open the door, letting Kat walk in ahead of me. She plopped herself down on her stool while I headed to the front, just as Ryder walked in.
“Hey, man,” I greeted him. “Come on back.”
Piper had her curtain pulled, and I knew that she was giving a tattoo to a woman that wanted a tribal design that started on her back and wrapped around her ribcage, right under her breasts. It was going to take a while, but it sounded like it would be an impressive piece.
Kat didn’t have a customer right now, so she was playing on her phone. Or at least pretending to be. I had a feeling that her ears were wide open.
“Thanks for fitting me in. I’m so damn busy these days, but I had time today.”
Ryder took off his jacket, and I carefully hung it up for him. It was part of the club rules that the patch could never touch the ground, so I needed to make sure that didn’t happen. He took a seat in the chair and held his arm on the armrest so that I could reach the area where he wanted the tattoo.
“Well, you should probably appoint someone to be your vice president. That would help with the club matters.”
“You asking for the spot?”
“Hell no,” I said, taking a seat on the stool. “I haven’t been in the club long enough for that.”
Ryder smiled as he leaned back in the chair and got comfortable. “You’re right about that, but down the road? I could see you working your way up into an officer position. You’ve got the right stuff.”
From her spot ten feet away, Kat made a huffing noise that I thought was supposed to indicate disbelief. Or maybe humor. I ignored it, but Ryder looked over. I saw him eyeing Kat curiously for a moment, and a completely stupid feeling of possession came over me.
“Anyway,” I drew his attention back to me. “I did a mock-up of what we discussed. Is this what you had in mind?”
I showed him a page in my sketchbook of a skeletal head in black and white clutching a blood-red rose between its teeth.
“That’s it,” Ryder confirmed. “Maybe just a little smaller, because I want it here.”
He pointed to a spot just below the crease of his elbow. I grabbed a pen and drew the outline on his skin.
“That looks great,” he said when I was done.
“Okay. Relax, and we’ll get started.”
Ryder was unphased by the tattoo gun. He relaxed back into the seat and even closed his eyes for a while. I almost thought he might be asleep until he spoke.
“Meet at the Blue Dog tomorrow night at seven,” he said. “We could only get four metal—”
“Maybe we should talk about that later,” I interrupted him. I glanced over at Kat, and she was sitting perfectly still. I didn’t want to think that she’d run and tell her dad or brother what we were up to, but her behavior the last couple of days made me think that she would. If nothing else, just to spite me.
Ryder’s eyes followed mine, and he once again scrutinized Kat. She must have felt his eyes on her because she looked up with narrowed eyes.
“What?”
“Do I know you?” Ryder asked. “You look familiar to me. I just can’t place you.”
“I’m Kat Maddox.”
“Maddox? As in Clint Maddox?”
“That’s my father.”
I saw the hardening of the lines in Ryder’s face. He obviously knew that her dad was in Las Balas. Kat must have thought that he would do something to her despite our conversation outside because her next words were defensive.
“Don’t even think about laying a hand on me, though. You’ll bring down a lot of trouble on yourself.”
“I wouldn’t,” Ryder said, but he sounded pretty damn unhappy. “We have a code of honor. Las Balas are the ones that go after families. They did it to me.”
“I don’t believe you.”
I almost felt sorry for her.
“That’s your problem,” I told her. “You won’t even consider that you’re wrong.”
“My dad isn’t a bad guy,” she said, and for once, I could hear doubt in her voice.
“Neither am I,” I said, and Ryder looked at me questioningly. I didn’t think now was the time to elaborate on my relationship with Kat, but I knew I’d need to fill him in later. As much as it felt like a private thing, I knew that it wasn’t anymore. It could affect the club.
Kat huffed before getting up and walking to the front of the shop. After a moment, I heard her talking to Brie like nothing was wrong. She had just been trying to get away from me.
It was amazing how different this job felt now. Working closely with Kat didn’t feel like such a blessing anymore. It was more like being trapped in a cage with a wild animal that was likely to bite my head off at any moment.
I went back to working on Ryder’s tattoo, and he watched my work in silence. In the end, the tattoo turned out great, but I couldn’t say if it was worth the headache.
Kat
“Come out with me,” I insisted as Piper and I were leaving for the day. The shop was technically closed even though Blade was still finishing up a tattoo with a client. So, the two of us were taking off while Blade and Brie stayed behind.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked as we both waved goodbye to Brie. Piper had bid Blade a good night while I said nothing.
“Let’s go to the Copper Bar again. I liked that place. And maybe you’ll get lucky enough to find a man worth bringing home again.”
“Or maybe you will,” she said.
I pulled open the door of the shop and let her walk through first. I couldn’t imagine finding anyone to take home tonight. My mind strayed to the hot night I’d spent with Blade. His big hands knew exactly how to touch me t
o bring out all the pleasure I needed, and his full lips set me on fire.
Damn it. I didn’t want to find him physically attractive anymore, but it turned out that it was something I couldn’t just turn off.
“We’ll take my car,” Piper suggested.
“Sure,” I agreed.
I didn’t care either way. I just needed a stiff drink. Maybe it would help keep me from giving in and smoking again. I really did attribute my falling off the wagon to Blade. Knowing that I had to work so closely with him was stressing me out. I was trying to cling to my anger with him to keep myself from focusing on how much I was still attracted to him. Sitting ten feet away from each other for most of the day was not making that easy.
“So, today was…interesting,” Piper said once we were inside of her car. The door of the shop opened just as we were leaving the parking lot, and Blade’s customer walked out.
“That’s one way to put it.”
“Help me understand what’s going on here. You guys aren’t the Capulets and the Montagues, you know.”
“That doesn’t mean we aren’t enemies,” I sighed. “I’m choosing a side in a war between these two clubs. I’m backing Las Balas.”
“Why? We both know how secretive they are. We don’t really know what they get up to.”
“Because my dad’s in the club,” I said, avoiding her eyes. If anyone knew about the strained relationship I had with the man, it was Piper.
“And someone has to be the bad guy in this story. You don’t want it to be him.” It wasn’t a question.
“He’s not always a good guy. I know that,” I said. “But I’ve heard that Outlaw Souls kill people. They don’t just attack Las Balas, they are a plague in La Playa with their drug running and the other shit they get up to. My dad always told me growing up that they were like a gang terrorizing the town. Blade can be as charming as he wants, but if he is a part of that, I don’t want anything to do with him.”
The truth was, I felt conflicted, but it was easier to shun Blade than to turn my back on everything I’d ever known. It was driving me crazy to be near him, and I turned that into anger. I could deal with anger, but this needy desire that I still harbored for the guy was another story.
Piper took us by her apartment before we went to the bar so that she could change into something more suited for picking up men. I wasn’t worried about that, but she shoved a little black dress into my hands and insisted I put it on. I agreed, pulling it over my head, and checking myself out in the mirror, I saw it fell down about mid-thigh and looked good with my boots. I liked it.
When we went to the Copper Bar, it was busier than I expected for a Tuesday night. The parking lot was half-full, and we walked inside to see that there was a large group of people that had pushed a bunch of tables together. They seemed to be celebrating something, and most of them were men.
I went straight to the bar, ordering a shot and a Long Island iced tea. I tossed back the tequila, not bothering with the lime chaser. Piper ordered herself a drink beside me, sticking to beer.
“Starting off kind of strong, aren’t you?” She asked.
“I’m here to drink.”
“Then, allow me to buy that for you,” said a man’s voice from behind me.
I swiveled the barstool around to see a tall man with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes standing there. He looked like a representation of the perfectly typical white, American man. He was probably the quarterback of his high school football team and homecoming king. He just gave off that vibe.
Not my type, but if I could avoid handing over my cash, I would. Besides, I wanted to go home with someone tonight to get this need for Blade out of my system, and the guy that looked nothing like him was probably a good candidate.
“Thanks,” I said with a smile. “I’m Kat.”
“David.” He held out his hand, and I shook it. There was no electricity between us, but I didn’t have to have that with every guy I slept with, right?
“You with the party?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s my friend’s birthday, so we figured we’d grab a few drinks.”
He spoke as if they were stepping outside the box by coming here. I wondered if it was because it was a seedy bar or if the day of the week was the issue.
“So, that’s why you’re here, buying me drinks?” I asked with a flirty smile. “Figured you’d take a walk on the wild side to celebrate this special occasion?”
“I’d like to.” He smiled, and I saw two rows of perfectly straight, white teeth.
I sipped my drink while we talked. It was nice and strong, exactly how I liked it. Which was good, because David might be physically perfect, but he was dull, and after making small talk with him for ten minutes, I needed the alcohol to keep enjoying myself.
I looked around and found that Piper was on the dancefloor, grinding between two guys that were also a part of David’s group. I finished off my drink and ordered another shot, enjoying the way the burn of the alcohol seemed to spread through my whole body. I slammed the empty shot glass down onto the bar and got off the barstool. The dress I was wearing rode up my thighs, but I didn’t fix it.
My head swam once I was on my feet, all the alcohol that I’d consumed quickly taking effect and making everything seem somehow more vibrant and muted at the same time.
“Let’s dance,” I said, grabbing David’s hand and leading him to the dance floor.
My long hair was down, and I whipped it around as I closed my eyes and let my body move to the music. David was with me, and I could feel his cautious touch as his hands rested on my hips. The music was coming from big speakers on each side of the stage, and the volume was so cranked up that I couldn’t even hear myself think. The heavy bass made my bones vibrate.
Suddenly, there was another set of hands on me, pulling me back into a hard body. My eyes flew open, but I knew who it was before I even saw him. It was clear in the way that every nerve ending in my body lit up like a firework. A rolling heat that was shockingly similar to the warmth I got from my tequila shot licked up my spine, and I arched my back so that my ass was pressed into Blade’s erection. I loved knowing that I got him so worked up.
“What the hell, man?” David said, stepping forward.
“Back off, All-American. She wants me.”
I did, and my hazy mind couldn’t seem to hold onto the good reasons why I shouldn’t. I turned around in his arms and looked up at him. The lighting in here was dim, but I could see him clearly. His eyes were burning into mine, and he looked almost angry.
That shouldn’t make me hot for him, but it did.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, but he couldn’t hear me over the music.
The next thing I knew, I was being led off the dance floor. I glanced back to see David watching me go with a frown on his face. I gave him an apologetic smile before I was pulled out of the backdoor of the bar. We were in a poorly lit alley between the bar and a brick building behind it, with no one around.
“Are you looking for trouble here, Kitten?” Blade asked.
The fresh air cleared my head a little, and I felt a flicker of irritation. “I told you not to call me that.”
Blade moved closer to me until my back was pressed up against the vinyl siding of the bar. He didn’t stop until I was caged in by his arms, and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. The heat radiating from him seeped into me, and I couldn’t hold myself back anymore.
I reached up to grab the sides of his face and pulled his lips to mine. I could blame it on the alcohol, but that wasn’t really why I did it. As Blade took control of the kiss, I knew that I needed to be with him one more time.
Blade
I probably shouldn’t have come to the bar. It wasn’t in my plans for the night. In fact, I didn’t have any plans and probably would have ended up at the Blue Dog. So, when I heard Kat and Piper talking about coming to the Copper Bar tonight and meeting men, I talked myself into following them.
I couldn’t explain my reaso
ning, but when I arrived and saw Kat on the dance floor in a skimpy dress with some asshole’s hands on her, I didn’t stop to think before I acted. I knew that whatever had started between us was over now, but then she rubbed her body against mine, making me hard as a diamond. Now my tongue was in her mouth as she kneaded my ass with her fingers.
I was under no delusions that this would change anything, but that wasn’t going to stop me. If anything, I was fueled by my anger at her. It needed an outlet, and I was going to take it. Reaching down, I unbuttoned my pants and pulled out my cock. Lifting her legs, I put them around my waist while her back was braced against the building. I broke our kiss and looked into her eyes as I pulled her thong to the side and lined myself up at her entrance. I thrust inside of her wet heat. It was raw and rough, with an added thrill of knowing that we were in public, even if it was dark here.
I took her hard against the back wall of the bar, fulfilling a need that we both didn’t want to admit we had. Kat’s ankles hooked together behind my back, and she clung to my shoulders. I buried my face in her neck, breathing in the flowery scent of her hair.
God, she was so tight in this position, and her breathy moans were driving me wild. I’d never been so uninhibited with a woman, and the gritty nature of our sex meant that I was barreling toward an orgasm quickly. But I wouldn’t finish until she got what she needed out of this, too.
With her dress pushed up around her waist, the bare globes of her perfect ass were exposed, so I grabbed them with my hands and squeezed while I directed her up and down on my cock. I took her mouth again, nipping at her lower lip.
Kat shrieked into my mouth as she came, her inner channel gripping my erection and sending shockwaves of pleasure through my body. I pulled my mouth away from hers as I reached my own climax, barking out her name like it was a curse as I exploded inside of her.
It was so damn good, and I had a feeling this quickie wasn’t going to be nearly enough. Whether Kat considered us enemies or not, our sexual chemistry was too much to ignore. I disengaged our bodies and lowered her until her feet were back on the ground. I turned away as I zipped my pants back up and she righted her dress. When I’d pulled her out here, I’d hoped that afterward, the lust that I felt for her would be gone.
