Autumn shifted so she faced him. “Why do people who are supposed to love you treat you so shitty? I’m sorry you had to go through that.” She tucked her legs under herself. “Bret told me he loved me. He just told me that before he left on business a few days ago.”
“People lie—they’re full of shit. Love is such an overused word. It’s easy to say but tough to live.” He poured more liquor in the glass, then brought it to his mouth.
“You’re so right. There’re too many selfish people around—they take but never give. It seems like nowadays, loyalty isn’t very fashionable.”
“For the most part, citizens don’t know shit about loyalty and strong bonds.”
Autumn cocked her head. “Citizens?”
Chains smiled. “You and all the others who aren’t in the biker world.”
“That’s right—you’re in the Night Rebels. Bret told me that recently,” she said.
Autumn lightly touched his arm, and he clenched his teeth. Down, boy—fuckin’ behave. He dragged his gaze away from her tits and focused on the dancing flames in the fireplace instead.
“What’s it like to be in a biker club?”
“Cool.” Leaning back, he stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankles.
“Bret made it sound awful.”
“I’m sure he did. My family doesn’t approve of my lifestyle choice, and I don’t give a damn. I never gave a shit what people thought, even when I was young. I live my life the way I want to, and there’s no fuckin’ way I’m gonna apologize for it.”
“I think that’s admirable.”
Autumn touched his forearm again, but this time she didn’t pull away. Chains groaned inwardly and kept his gaze on the fire.
“So, you’re from Denver?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Yes. I went to the veterinary school at CSU in Fort Collins after I graduated from college. I was with a practice in Denver, but after my breakup with Dylan, I needed a change of scenery, so I came here. I love Alina. When I was a kid, my parents and I spent a few weeks in this area. We went to Mesa Verde and camped in the San Juan Mountains.”
“The trails and passes kick ass for riding. Now that Bret’s proven he’s a jerk, you gonna take off?” Chains glanced over at her.
She shook her head. “No. I’m here to stay.”
He nodded and looked away.
“Should I call Bret and ask him why he did this?”
Chains cocked his head and gazed at her. “I wouldn’t—but I’d definitely ask him to reimburse you for the money you lost. He’s the fucker who broke it off—he needs to pay up.”
“I’m pretty sure he’s not going to do that.” She looked down at the diamond ring. “I could hock this—that would piss him off.”
“Then do it.”
“I threw my last ring at Dylan and told him to go to hell. My parents lost money on that one. I’ve paid for most of the wedding this time around.” She covered her face with her hands and groaned. “I can’t believe this is happening again.”
Before he could answer, the doorbell rang, and Autumn leaped up from the couch and scurried out of the room, saying, “It’s our food.”
Autumn came back into the room with two large bags as the aroma of chili and cumin swirled in the air.
“Damn, woman, how much shit did you order?”
“A lot. Remember, this is make-me-feel-better and fuck-you-Bret food. We can eat on the coffee table. I’ll get some forks and hot sauce,” she said, walking into the kitchen. Her cat followed behind, meowing.
Chains laughed as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He called Eagle and told him to feed Thor and keep an eye on him, then he hung up.
“Is Thor doing well? I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” Autumn said as she put the round foil takeout containers down on the table.
“He’s back to his old self. What do you need me to help you with?”
“Nothing. You can start eating.” She put the hot sauce down on a coaster. “I’ll grab some extra napkins after I put the side of ice cream in the freezer.”
When Autumn came back into the room, she plopped down next to Chains, and her cat jumped up to snuggle against her other side.
“This is my cat, Cinder. She loves to cuddle.” Then, she asked, “Do you have enough room? I can push her over a bit.”
Autumn’s legs were brushing against his.
“I’m good,” he said, then cut into the beef burrito supreme with a fork.
“I can’t wait to try the enchiladas. I’ve been craving them all day.” When she reached over to snag her foil container, her arm touched his.
Autumn’s closeness felt good—comfortable and familiar. It had been a long time since he’d found himself so attracted and intrigued by a woman. Part of him wanted to embrace it, relish in it, but the part deep inside him that was still raw from Krystal’s betrayal held him back.
After dinner, Chains helped Autumn clean up, then he stayed and watched a mindless sitcom on one of the channels. During the show, he glanced over at Autumn and saw that she was fast asleep. Her head was on the armrest and her feet were bent at the knee and lightly touching the side of his right thigh.
He couldn’t drag his eyes away from her body—the outline of her tits and the curve of her waist. Licking his lips, he stared at the auburn strands of hair cascading past her shoulders, the smooth skin tinged with a golden glow from the floor lamp, and her softly heaving chest. Autumn’s lips were slightly parted, and he was seized with the overwhelming urge to slip his tongue in between them.
Chains gripped the arm of the couch and pushed up to his feet. He looked around and noticed a blanket on top of a chest near one of the windows, and went over and grabbed it. Gingerly, he placed the blanket over her body; she sighed and gripped it, then tucked it snuggly under her chin. He picked up one of the decorative pillows from the couch and carefully placed it under her head so as not to wake her.
After turning off the television, Chains dimmed the kitchen lights and made his way to the front door. Trying out a few bump keys, he let himself out and then locked the door. The air had turned icy as the nighttime temperature dropped. He breathed in deeply, and the cold burned his lungs and made his eyes water.
Straddling the bike, Chains glanced at Autumn’s house and narrowed his eyes. He was drawn to her, pulled by something deep inside him, something that craved her in a way he’d never felt before.
“That can’t happen,” he muttered under his breath. “No fuckin’ way.”
Chains turned the keys in the ignition and pressed the starter. The bike roared to life, and he squeezed the clutch, clicked the gearshift lever, and twisted the throttle as he pulled away from Autumn’s house and sped down the road.
Chapter Twelve
Autumn tried to sit up, but the pressure in her head made her sink back down. It was like an axe had been planted in her brain. She tugged the blanket closer and burrowed deeper into the couch. Then a moment of panic hit her. I have to get to the clinic! What time is it? She glanced at the clock on the bookshelf, then bolted up. It was nearly one o’clock in the afternoon. How could she have overslept this long?
Ignoring the pain in her head, Autumn pushed up from the couch and shuffled into the kitchen to get a glass of water to wet her parched throat. When she spotted the half-full vodka and the two empty bottles of red wine on the counter, she groaned.
Cinder meowed and rubbed against her legs, then padded over to the pantry.
“Oh, God. Did I forget to feed you last night?” Moaning with every step she took, Autumn opened the pantry door, pulled out a box of dry food, and poured it into Cinder’s bowl. She glanced at the shelf and counted ten cans of wet food, then let out a breath of relief: she hadn’t forgotten to feed her sweet cat the night before.
After downing two glasses of water, Autumn trudged up the stairs. She turned on the faucet in the master bathroom and splashed cold water on her face just to feel something refreshing. Glancing in th
e mirror, she groaned at the reflection of her eyes—a lattice of pink over the white.
“You’re a total mess.” She turned away and shuffled to her bed. “How am I going to function today?” Without thinking, Autumn picked up the receiver of the landline phone and dialed the clinic. There was no way she could properly do her job, so for the first time since she’d bought the clinic, she’d have to call in sick.
“Dr. Jenkins,” Mark’s voice said.
Confusion stabbed at her brain. “Uh … sorry, Mark. I thought I called the clinic. This is Autumn.” It felt as if her mouth were full of cotton. She glanced at the bathroom and wished she’d brought a glass of water with her. The room was spinning a bit, and Autumn didn’t think she should try and stand up.
“Hi, Autumn. Are you okay? You sound a bit funny,” Mark said.
“I’m not feeling very well today. I won’t be able to come to the clinic. Can you and Marian handle my patients?” Autumn scooted back on the bed until she hit the headboard.
“The clinic’s closed. I’m the doctor on call.” A small hesitation. “Do you have a fever?”
“Why’s the clinic closed?” If only I could get this fucking drum to stop beating in my head. She pressed her fingers against the right temple.
“You are out of it.” A small chuckle crackled through the phone. “It’s Saturday—we close at noon, remember? I picked up two of your patients this morning, and Marian spotted the other three. I was actually going to give you a call to check up on you. Marian said you were probably doing wedding stuff.”
The wedding. Autumn’s stomach lurched. Bret called it off—he dumped me. “I overslept, but I’m actually feeling pretty sick now. I really have to go.”
“Do you need anything? Kim can drop by if you want some help.”
Kim Jenkins was a sweet woman and always willing to help. With two small kids and another one on the way, she seemed to have oodles of time to devote to her husband and keeping a well-organized home. Autumn didn’t know how Kim did it all and still maintained her cheery disposition.
“I’ll be okay. It’s probably a twenty-four-hour something or other. I gotta get to the bathroom.”
“Uh … okay. I’ll call you later to make sure you’re all right.”
“Thanks,” she managed to get out of the bed and stumbled into the en suite.
A short while later, she lifted her head from the toilet and dragged herself over to the sink and washed up. Three aspirins later, Autumn lay on the bed, trying to summon some small amount of energy. The events of the night before blitzed through her mind, and she couldn’t believe Bret wasn’t man enough to break off the engagement in person … or even in a damn text. The jerk sent his brother over to do the dirty deed. His brother—Chains. The corner of her mouth tugged up a little. Chains had tried to be so supportive in a very awkward situation. Autumn could tell that he hadn’t wanted to be in the middle of their relationship, but he’d come over to console her anyway. The brother in the outlaw club had done that, whereas the brother with the white-collar job who owed her an explanation had passed the buck.
She grabbed the phone and typed a quick text to Bret.
Autumn: What the hell?
It seemed like forever until the small response beep sounded.
Bret: Things just haven’t been working between us.
Autumn: So u sent ur brother to break off the engagement???
Bret: U seemed to have a rapport with him.
Autumn: But u and I were the couple. U should’ve been man enough to talk to me.
Bret: I just don’t want to be married.
Autumn: Why the fuck didn’t u tell me that b4 I put deposits on everything!
Bret: I thought I wanted this. I don’t.
“So, that’s it?” she said at the phone.
Autumn: U owe me for the deposits and the money I put into this.
Bret: The woman’s the one who pays for the wedding. It’s always a risk.
She clenched her teeth and growled in exasperation.
Autumn: And u owe me the 4k I loaned u for ur business.
Bret: I have to go.
Autumn: Ur a fucking coward!
Tears stung her eyes as she threw the phone across the room. In the distance she heard a bell chime and at first wondered if she was imagining it, but the ringing didn’t stop. Groaning, Autumn swung her legs over the side of the bed and slowly stood up. At least the room had stopped spinning in front of her.
When she was halfway down the stairs, she figured out that someone was ringing the doorbell and had no plans on stopping.
“I’m coming,” she said.
Autumn paused at the door to look through the peephole and froze when Chains came into view. She glanced down at the pair of baggy shorts and the small black T-shirt she’d thrown on, and moaned.
The bell chimed again, and she quickly ran her fingers through her hair, then swung open the door.
“You could wake the dead with all that damn ringing,” she grumbled as she unlocked the screen.
“Good to see you too.” Chains stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
“What’re you doing here?” Autumn asked.
“Making sure you’re okay.” He walked past her into the family room.
“You don’t have to check up on me,” she said, following close behind.
“I know.”
Chains stood in the middle of the room, looking at her, and Autumn felt her face flush as his warm brown eyes dropped to where the swell of her breasts peeked out above the scooped neckline of her T-shirt. She folded her arms across her chest and shifted in place.
“I’m doing fine, all things considered.”
“That’s good.” He cocked his head to the side, his gaze tracking up and down her body.
Autumn cleared her throat. “Why don’t you sit down. I can offer you juice or water.” She glanced at the empty bottles on the coffee table. “I pretty much killed the wine and vodka last night.”
“And I took care of the tequila. Water’s good.”
Grateful for an excuse to get away from his stare, she scurried to the kitchen and opened the cabinet. The way Chains looked at her made her nervous, excited, and irritated all at the same time. She couldn’t be thinking about him in that way, or any way, especially since she should be nursing her wounds over the breakup.
“I bet you had a helluva hangover this morning,” he said.
“This afternoon, and it’s a doozy.” Autumn handed him a bottle of water. “I unintentionally played hooky this morning—a first for me.”
Chains chuckled. “You gotta do shit like that once in a while. Always playing it straight sucks.” He brought the bottle to his lips.
“I guess I’m the epitome of ‘playing it straight.’ I’ve always lived in life’s safe zone.”
“I gotta change that,” he said.
Autumn shifted her eyes away from his. “How do you plan to do that?” She picked up Cinder and nestled the cat onto her lap.
“First thing is to get you on a Harley.”
She smiled. “I guess that would be a start. A lot of people don’t like the noise motorcycles make, so I’d be going against the norm by riding on one, I suppose.”
Chains nodded. “There’s nothing like it. When you got the wind rushing around you, and the smell and taste and feel of the landscape, nothing else matters. It’s like fuckin’ meditation for a biker. As far as the sound goes, I get a kick outta revving the engine at stoplights. It’s my way of saying, ‘Fuck you’ to a world of noise, rules, and regulations.”
“You’re quite the rebel. What do you do besides ride your motorcycle and piss off people?”
“I have a web development business, but that’s definitely secondary to the club and my bike”—he took another drink of water, then smiled—“and to irritating citizens.” He laughed.
“Wow, I never would’ve thought you’d be into computers. You don’t fit the stereotype.”
“I’ll take that
as a compliment.” Chains winked at her.
“How long have you had the business?” She ignored the warmth spreading through her.
“Seven years. It’s been good. I could hire some people to take care of the orders I have to turn down, but I’m cool with where it is. I need time for the club.”
“And for riding your motorcycle.”
He nodded. “You catch on fast.”
She stroked Cinder’s coat with both hands. “I’ve got a question. Did you clean up the place last night?”
Chains leaned back against the cushion and stretched out his legs. “Yep. I also draped a blanket over you before I left.”
“So that was you. I wondered how it got there when I woke up. How did you lock the door after you let yourself out?”
He shrugged and looked away.
“Okay … I guess I don’t really want to know.”
Then a silence fell between them.
“I contacted Bret,” Autumn blurted out.
“Yeah?”
“By text. I knew the coward wouldn’t pick up the phone.”
“You got that right.”
“He told me he just didn’t want to get married anymore. Can you believe that?”
“Actually, I can,” Chains replied.
“I don’t even know what that means. He was acting like everything was cool with us, and then this out of the blue?” She shook her head. “Anyway, I told him he’d have to reimburse me for half the wedding, and he said something stupid—I can’t really remember what it was.” She reached over and grabbed her cell phone.
“Bret always says stupid shit. You don’t have to find the text.”
Autumn tossed the phone. “And when I told him he has to pay back the four thousand I loaned him, he stopped texting pronto. What an asshole. What did I see in him anyway?” Security, companionship, the American dream. The words looped through her mind.
“I’ve got no idea. And why the fuck is he borrowing money from you? To hear my dad tell it, Bret’s making a shit-ton of money at his job.”
Chains Page 12
