Masked & Miserable: A Novella of the Sacred Hearts MC (Book 3.5)

by Downey, A. J.

  “So was that your motorcycle back at the parlor?” Parlor!? Who said parlor anymore? I shook my head laughing softly.

  “What back at the shop?” I asked and smiled, teasingly. He smiled back and it made him devastatingly handsome.

  “Yeah,” he said shyly.

  “Yeah that was mine.”

  “What is it?” he bowed his head against the sharp autumn wind that cut in our direction and I admired his profile when he did it.

  “She’s a 1970 BMW 75/5,” I answered.

  “She?” he grinned, I shrugged.

  “Meh they’re like ships, they’re all she’s…” I smiled.

  “Does she have a name?” He held the door to the bar he’d suggested and I stopped.

  “Not yet. Some of the other guys, their bikes have names.” I ducked inside. It was surprisingly mellow in here. Not loud at all. Aaron grinned.

  “Must be between sets,” he muttered and I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. He shrugged laconically, “Or it’s a slow night.”

  I blinked, “What’re you talking about?”

  His eyes widened and he pointed out the glass door. Shit! My eyes had been just for him, I hadn’t noticed the sandwich board outside proclaiming loud and proud that it was open mic night.

  “Oh,” I said, then muttered, “Wasn’t looking at the damn sign.”

  Aaron smiled really wide and bit his lower lip to keep from laughing and I felt an answering grin of my own. I caught myself thinking, damn! Never had a lip bite looked so fucking sexy before, as we went into the bar, which wasn’t really super crowded for a Thursday night. We found a table pretty easily and I took one of the tall stools.

  “What’re you drinking?” he asked.

  “I’ll just have a beer.”

  “Preference?”

  “Surprise me.”

  He came back a few minutes later and set a bottle of Hefeweizen in front of me. He sat across from me and took a pull off his own.

  “Thanks man,” I took a drink. Cold and crisp.

  “So if you had to give her a name, what would you name her?” he asked and I smiled and laughed a little.

  “No idea,” I answered honestly.

  “Well what did the other guy’s name theirs?” he asked. I leaned back slightly and blew out a breath.

  “Well, Dray, that’s our VP, he named his bike Matilda after his mother. Reaver calls his Baby and Trig named his bike Betty after the song.” I took another sip of my beer and Aaron raised his bottle to his lips. God I wanted to be that bottle.

  “What song?” Aaron frowned and I gave him a one sided smile.

  “Black Betty, it’s an old song but he took it from the more modern version by RamJam.”

  Aaron raised an eyebrow, “Never heard of them.”

  I grinned and brought out my phone. It was a good song and I happened to have it. I plugged in my headphones and handed him one side while I put the other in my ear and it almost felt like a modern version one of those old ass Norman Rockwell paintings. You know, one of the ones of 1950’s perfection where the dude and his date are sucking the same milkshake out of two different straws? I laughed and Aaron smiled, his brow furrowing in confusion.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked and so I told him.

  He laughed too and asked softly, the smell of beer and spearmint faint on his breath, “Is that what this is? A date?”

  I swallowed hard and licked my suddenly dry lips. Aaron gasped faintly and I was startled to realize that he thought I was hot. Which was, admittedly, a little weird for me. Not that he found me attractive as a dude, just… most people were turned off by all the ink and piercings and I had a lot of both.

  “Depends,” I said, voice faint, “Do you want it to be?” Aaron’s deep dark eyes slid over my face, searching before he nodded slowly.

  “Good song,” he said, “Catchy and a real good beat.”

  We listened to the rest of it and he handed me back my earbud and leaned back. I suddenly missed the closeness. He smelled really nice. Like clean laundry, a mellow aftershave and that ever present but faint tang of spearmint which was only slightly out of harmony with the rest of him but still managed to fit.

  We talked. A lot. Like a real damn lot, and Aaron was a cool fucking dude. The more he talked the more I liked him. And not just because he was my kind of hot. I think he liked me more than a bit too but I couldn’t let myself be sure, at least not until I walked him a few more blocks to his place. He stopped in front of his apartment door and smiled at me. All of a sudden I realized, acutely, that we were alone. A fission of anxiety travelled up my spine, his liquid dark eyes assessing through the lenses of his glasses. The faint light from his landing gleaming along the silver wire frames. I felt like my damned chest was going to cave in when he leaned towards me, deliberately, slowly… I couldn’t stand it. I put my hands up, touching his face on either side gently and closed the gap between us.

  Oh god! His kiss was electric! His mouth warm and his lips soft and full beneath my own. I groaned and plunged my tongue past his lips. He tasted fresh and cool. Like the beer we’d drunk overlaid by the sweet crisp zing of spearmint from the mint he’d sucked on the way from the bar. My dick got hard from it. Hell I think I’d had a perpetual stiffy since he’d walked into the shop! He broke the kiss.

  “Come inside,” he breathed against my lips and I pulled back. Both of our chests were heaving. We’d kissed each other breathless. Fuck I wanted to. I really wanted to.

  “I don’t do one night stands,” I told him and flicked my tongue over suddenly dry lips. He groaned and his mouth crashed against mine. We kissed savagely, needy… for several more moments before he broke away.

  “Neither do I,” he breathed.

  “Pretty bad if we fuck on the first date,” I said with a little self-deprecating smile, he smiled back.

  “Who said anything about fucking? Maybe I just want to cuddle,” he said with a rakish grin and I barked a laugh. I waved a hand motioning for him to unlock the door. He did with shaking fingers.

  “I’m serious, I don’t do one night stands,” I reiterated.

  “I’m dead serious too. Gimme your phone and I’ll prove it.” I went through the door behind him and he shut and locked it. I handed him my phone. He looked at me and frowned.

  “Unlock it first dork,” he complained and I grinned, took it back and unlocked my phone, thumb zipping over the screen. He added himself as a contact and handed it back. I raised an eyebrow and called the number. His phone started ringing, he smiled and he pulled it out of his pocket.

  “Okay Aaron Cartwright. I believe you,” I said glancing at his full name that he’d entered.

  “Okay Andy…” he faltered, thumbs poised over his screen.

  “Buchannan,” I supplied and smiling he typed it in and hit save.

  “Good, now that we’ve got that out of the way…” he tossed his phone on a small table by the door, “Kiss me,” he demanded. Who the fuck was I to argue? For the next several minutes it was my mouth against his, our hands moving in a frantic dance to get each other out of our mutual clothes.

  Aaron lived in a small studio. A bed took up the vast majority of the room, he had a single folding chair, a stand for sheet music and sure enough, a Cello and a guitar propped to either side of it by the little apartment’s only window. Thick drapes obscured that. Light glowed softly from a floor lamp by the bed, one of those halogen deals and it was bright enough to see by without being blinding. Pretty soon we were at the bed, the mattress hitting the backs of his thighs where I had him backed up to it. He reached out and the light from the floor lamp flared.

  “I want to see you. All of you,” he said against my mouth and I yanked his belt through the loops and let it fall. Sounded good to me. I wanted to see him right back! He pulled my shirts, a thermal overlaid by a tee, off over my head and I raised my arms to let him do it. I had a couple of necklaces on, just a couple of odd ball things and they tumbled free, the cold metal resting again
st my chest. I jerked back from them and pulled them off too and dropped ‘em. Aaron’s eyes were roving my tattoos. His fingertips touched lightly the zombified little mermaid Disney princess on my ribs and I jerked, laughing.

  “Ticklish?” he asked, a slow smile spreading on his lips which were swollen from my kiss. He bit the lower lip and Squick Jr. was standing straight at attention. I relieved him of his sweater and tee and kissed and bit along the side of his neck and shoulder. He threw back his head and gasped out this lush moan as I let my fingers splay along the heated skin over his ribs. I pulled him tight against my body and groaned. He was so fucking beautiful. Tight in all the right fucking areas!

  “God please tell me you like it all,” I said against his neck.

  “I want all of you,” he said back, voice brittle with desire. We made quick work of the rest of our clothes and his fingers wrapped around my cock, stroking.

  “Holy fuck!” I cried out, bowing my head. He turned me and pushed me down onto the bed and got to his knees between my own. He looked up my rainbow tatted body and then looked at my cock.

  “Never been with a man who’s pierced,” he said, fascinated. I smiled.

  “I’m a night full of firsts then aren’t I?” I asked and he smiled and took me into his hot waiting mouth. I think I’d fucking died and gone to heaven! Aaron had the most talented mouth… Holy God.

  I bowed my head and closed my eyes and gave myself over to the sensation. He swirled his tongue around the head of my cock, teasing at my Prince Albert piercing and I felt myself twitch, I had to fight myself to hold still, my hands fisted in the comforter to either sides of my hips as his head bobbed between my legs. He fondled my balls and I sucked in a sharp breath.

  “Oh fuck yeah!” I threw back my head and moaned and he must have liked what he heard because he sucked me with more enthusiasm. I about lost my shit when he slipped his finger into my ass.

  “Aaron! Aaron! I’m going to come!” I warned him and he smiled around my cock in his mouth and worked at me harder.

  “Oh shiiiiit!” I felt myself spill down his throat, and couldn’t help it, my hips bucked and I went deep, he swallowed and I could fucking feel his throat convulse around the tip of my head when he did it. I’d had a few decent blowjobs in my time but fuck he was by far the fucking best I’d ever had.

  He sat back on his heels and smiled this secret little smile and watched me as I relearned how to breathe. I raked him with my gaze and he got up onto the bed, sitting beside me.

  “You’re good at that,” I stated and suddenly I couldn’t wait to taste this beautiful man. He smiled and blushed faintly.

  “Haven’t had a whole lot of practice,” he said, slightly embarrassed.

  “Then that’s one amazing natural talent,” I told him and reached for him. I kissed him and laid him back against the bed. He kissed me back with serious intensity. Truth was I’d only been with one or two other guys myself and after that spectacular display I was feeling some performance anxiety. I pulled back from the kiss and went down on him.

  He was velvet wrapped steel in my mouth. Not overly long, not overly thick, just a perfect size. I took him all the way in and I heard him pant. I rolled my eyes up his body and saw that he’d taken his glasses off. They were dangling forlorn against the bed in one outstretched hand. His other arm, the one with the bandage on it from the fresh ink I’d laid under his skin, was thrown over his eyes. I sucked him and his hips lifted off the bed.

  “Oh Andy,” he groaned, my name an impassioned plea on those fucking perfect lips of his. I smiled around him. He tasted so good, masculine but sweet at the same time. I backed off of him and plunged him deep, the tip of him barely hit the back of my throat but was in the prime spot for my gag reflex. I fought it down and breathed with minor difficulty around him and laved the underside of his cock with my tongue. He moaned and it was his turn to fight the urge to writhe.

  I felt myself getting hard again. I wanted to fuck him so bad it wasn’t even funny. I pulled off of him.

  “I’ve got condoms in the headboard,” he said as if he’d read my mind and indicated a cubby in his headboard with a wave of his glasses.

  “You going to let me fuck you?” I asked and he nodded and I reached into the indicated cubby. I fished around and pulled out a condom and a small bottle of some lube.

  “Fucking boy scout too, I love it,” I said and he laughed. I tore open the foil packet and rolled the condom on and he watched me do it, his expression hungry and full of desire. I dripped lube onto my cock and coated it with my hand. The best fucking sex I’d ever had was messy as hell but I had a feeling the top spot was about to be taken with this right here with Aaron. I wanted to watch his face while I fucked him so I wouldn’t let him turn over. I got between his thighs and put his hands on his ass cheeks. He held them apart for me and I lubed up his asshole, sliding first one then two of my long fingers into him to the second knuckle.

  His eyes slipped shut and his cheeks held a faint pink blush that made me throb with need. I moved my fingers after he was good and slick. I pressed the head of my condom covered cock to his ass and felt him push out to accept me. I closed my eyes and reveled in the sensation of breeching his opening. His ass spasmed around me and I bowed my head and pressed in harder and deeper until I was balls fucking deep.

  “Fuuuuck you’re tight,” I said and my voice sounded breathless even to me. I pressed my palms to the backs of his thighs up near his knees, holding his legs out of my way and slowly drew back and pressed forward. He moaned the look on his face pure ecstasy and it nearly tipped me over the edge. I took my time with him, enjoying every minute. It’d been a long time since I’d been able to let loose and enjoy myself so completely.

  I looked up the long, lean line of Aaron’s torso and smiled, picking up pace. His cock was swollen, high and tight to his body, the head riding just below his bellybutton, smooth and perfect and just plain beautiful to look at. I gave myself over to all the myriad sensations of his body. The warmth and heat, the feel of him squeezing around my cock, the crisp hair of his thighs under my palms and I came, hard after several long minutes inside him. Shit, who am I kidding? I lost myself in Aaron so completely I couldn’t tell you for how long, could have been a couple of minutes, it could have been an hour, I just don’t know.

  I let him go and slid from him, bowing over him, my forehead coming to rest over his heart. His fingers tangled in my lengthening hair gone too long between cuts, running through it so gently, delicately pulling and working through any tangles that he encountered. His touch tender.

  “Mmmm, does this mean it’s my turn?” I heard the lazy, satiated smile in his voice and felt my lips curve into one of my own against his skin.

  “Hell yes,” I said. He untangled himself from beneath me and put on a condom. “How do you want me?” I asked.

  “On your knees,” he murmured. I was a fan of doggy style so I complied. He lubed me up gently and competently and I relaxed and let him do his thing, giving myself over to him. He pushed into me and I groaned. He felt a lot bigger this way than he had in my mouth.

  “Oh God, harder,” I gasped and he groaned and complied. Shit, fuck and God damn! He was perfect. I pressed back onto his cock, meeting him with every thrust as he pounded my ass. After a time he moaned and voice high and tight with passion warned me he was close which made me smile. I wanted him to come and he did. Jerking hard against my body, his long hands with their broad palms stroking up and down my back, smoothing over the colored skin.

  “I love the colors,” he gasped and placed a few kisses to my inked skin, almost reverently. I smiled into the comforter and he pulled out of me, I shuddered, so satisfied. He felt so good.

  “Thanks,” I murmured. We cleaned up and I helped him with his new tattoo. We took our time, making out in his almost too small for the both of us shower. His kiss was patient and kind, as he explored my mouth with his more thoroughly than anyone else ever had.

  “Stay the night
?” he asked timidly and I nodded and pressed my forehead to his, cupping his cheeks with my hands and just reveled in the sensation of his lean hard body against mine.

  “Sure, yeah.”

  He laughed, “Isn’t there some kind of rule against sex on the first date?” he queried and I scoffed.

  “I’m a biker,” at least I hoped to be… “Don’t you know? The rules don’t fucking apply to us,” I joked. He laughed and we got out of the shower and dried each other off. We cuddled up in his bed, which was a hell of a lot more comfortable than the crappy futon back at my place and I fell asleep to Aaron’s soft and even breathing, the weight of his head and arm across my chest and stomach oddly comforting in the close dark.

  All I could think was how was I going to do this? Balancing the MC and my day job was hard enough… how the fuck was I gonna add a boyfriend to the mix? I didn’t know, but Aaron made me really, really want to try. I was just that damned attracted to him and I really wanted to see where it could go.

  Fuck.

  Way to make things more complicated.

  Chapter 2

  Squick…

  “Good morning.” Aaron’s lush mouth curved into a gentle smile. I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled in a rush to clear out the cobwebs. I stretched and flicked my tongue over my dry lower lip and clipped the edge of the ring through the lower left corner of it. I stretched hard, cat like, and returned Aaron’s smile with a faint one of my own.

  “Morning,” I replied, voice rough with sleep, and asked, “What time is it?”

  “Early yet and time for us to talk.” The ominous nature of his statement belied by the smile still firmly in place on his face.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  I eyed him carefully. “What’cha got?” I asked and steeled myself for whatever he was about to say.

  “I want to see you again,” he said carefully, his gaze fixed on his beautiful hands which rested on his white down comforter. The hard look I’d been giving him softened.