by Sarah Carter
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, it would be silly for me to wear it. I’m not a rider.”
Claire gives her a big smile. “You can always go on my bike with me.”
“Really?” Kayla gasps.
“Sure, I take my girlfriends on my bike all the time.”
Kayla claps. “I want to put on the outfit.”
“Okay, come on.” Claire tilts her head to the steps.
Kayla runs up them with a huge smile on her face.
“We’ll be right back. Why don’t you meet us outside?” Claire suggests.
“I’ll get your bike out of the garage,” Alex declares.
“Thanks!” Claire yells, running up the steps.
When she gets in her room, Kayla grins madly. “I’m so excited!”
“It’s red with black trim,” Claire states. She goes into the back of the closet and pulls it out. “I’m positive it’ll fit you.”
“Yeah, I’m just shorter than you,” Kayla replies.
“You’ll fit into the suit just fine,” Claire groans. “What size shoes do you wear?”
“Seven and a half.”
“I wear an eight, so if we put thick socks on, they should be fine.” Claire starts rooting around the back of her closet.
“I have to wear boots?”
Claire stands up. “Yes, I’m particular about that: helmet, protective clothing and boots. I don’t need to scrape you off of asphalt.”
Stopping, Kayla asks, “Have you been in an accident?”
“Nope, I don’t do anything crazy with someone on the bike with me. You’ll be fine, but it’s other people that you need to worry about. There’s no reason for you to be scared. You’ll have fun.”
“What do you wear underneath the jacket?” Kayla asks.
“I’m wearing a corset,” Claire states. “Why?”
Kayla turns around. “That’s hot.”
“Want to wear one? I have a brand new one. Tags still on and everything. You’ll get hot at the racetrack with the jacket on.”
“Yes!” Kayla exclaims.
Reaching into the closet, Claire throws it at Kayla. It’s black with red ribbons. “It’ll match your outfit.”
“Jackson is going to die.” Kayla giggles. “This is awesome.”
“Maybe he’ll get lucky later.” Claire laughs.
Looking at her, Kayla says, “I’ve thought about it so much, but I want us to be really serious if we do it.”
“Well, I guess Damien and I could.” Claire sighs.
“Why do you say that?” Kayla asks, as she ties up the corset.
Claire bites her lip. “You’re my friend and Damien’s best friend, right?”
“Yeah, totally.”
“If I tell you something, can you promise to not tell Jackson?”
“Something top-secret?” Kayla asks, as she puts on the pants.
“Sort of.” Claire exhales. “Damien and I are…kind of…betrothed.”
Kayla slips and falls onto the floor. Claire runs over to help her. Kayla shakes her head and stutters, “You’re engaged! Seriously?”
“No,” Claire says. “We’re just…promised to each other, I guess. I mean, he needs to actually propose. We’re going to make sure things work out for us, obviously, but yeah, we plan to get married. They want me in his bloodline, and I know my children and their children will be safe.”
“So, you know the next succubus will be taken care of,” Kayla adds on, pulling her pants up.
“Yes.”
Standing back up, Kayla huffs. “Well, I expect one thing, then.”
“What’s that?”
“I better be standing up in the wedding,” Kayla says, with a big smile.
“I’ll make sure of that.” Claire laughs. “Alright, put on the boots so we can get going.”
Five minutes later, they walk outside the house. “I’m nervous about Jackson seeing me,” Kayla whispers.
“You’re gorgeous in that. He’ll die,” Claire promises.
When they turn around the corner to the garage, the guys look at them. “Holy crap!” Jackson exclaims. Kayla turns bright red. “Baby, you look hot!”
“Really?” Kayla replies.
“Yeah,” Jackson says. “Wow.”
“Alright, we have to get going,” Claire says. She walks over to her bike. “Damien, do you have the keys to my car?”
“Yup,” he says. “Right here.”
“It isn’t that far, so just follow us,” Claire states. She climbs onto the bike and starts to engine.
Someone yells, “Wait! I’ll drive with you guys.”
They see Ben coming up the driveway. “I thought you were meeting us there?” Claire says.
“I figured I’d drive since Damien isn’t used to this area,” Ben states.
“Okay,” Claire replies. She reaches behind her and puts the foot pedals down on her bike. “Come and get on Kayla.”
She walks over and laughs. “I’m nervous.”
Claire snorts. “Just climb on. You’re completely safe.”
Kayla does.
“Alright, make sure you keep your arms around me.”
“Okay,” Kayla says.
Alex hands Claire and Kayla their helmets. They slide them on, and then Kayla grabs hold of Claire.
Jackson crosses his arms and says, “Honey, remember how before we started dating I mentioned you could experiment with a girl? I say…go for that right now.”
Damien laughs. “Dude, that’s my girlfriend.”
“But look at that. They’re so freaking hot. Kayla all up on Claire’s back. Both in tight leather. It’s every guy’s fantasy.”
Claire revs the engine and says, “Yes, well, keep it in your head. You can pull off her suit later.”
“Sounds good to me!” Jackson cheers.
“Oh my god,” Ben groans. “Come on.”
Alex jumps on the Ducati and starts the engine. Claire pulls her bike up to his. “Are you ready?” Alex asks.
“Whenever you are,” Claire says. Alex revs his engine loudly and then takes off down the street. Claire follows him. She can hear Kayla yelp behind her. When they get onto the highway, they open it up quickly. Kayla holds onto Claire for dear life. It takes them about fifteen minutes to get to the racetrack. They pull through the gate and meander through the lot to the track.
There are already a bunch of bikers there. Claire pulls up next to Alex and stops the bike. She pops up her visor and says, “You can get off now.” Kayla shakily gets off and braces her hands on her knees. Laughing, Claire asks, “You okay?”
Kayla takes the helmet off and yells, “That was awesome!”
With a snort, Claire turns off the bike. “I’m glad you liked it.”
“Can you teach me?” Kayla squeals.
“Sure,” Claire replies. “Not today, though, and not on this bike. You need to start off small and easy.” She climbs off the bike and sets her helmet down.
Alex gets off his bike and says, “We should see who all is here.”
Pointing her finger at Alex, Claire says, “Why don’t you go check it out and come back and tell me?”
“Get over it, Claire.” Alex sighs. “Anyway, don’t you have a really hot boyfriend now?”
“Awkward, but yes. Where is he?”
“They’re coming,” Kayla points out. “They parked down there.”
Someone says, “Well, I didn’t think we’d see you here.”
They all turn to their right. Claire loses her smile. “Hi, Sunshine.”
The girl crosses her arms and cocks her hip. “Hi, Claire.”
“I was hoping we wouldn’t cross paths today,” Claire declares snidely, “But obviously we can’t get everything we wish for.”
“Who are you here with?” Sunshine asks with a smirk.
“Friends,” Claire drawls out. “They’re coming. You know Alex. This is Kayla.” Kayla nervously waves.
Sunshine gives her a half smile and then looks
past them. Her jaw drops. “Holy damn…who in the hell is that?”
Claire turns around. “Which one?”
“Him…the dark-haired god,” Sunshine says, pointing to Damien.
“Oh…that’s Damien Blakely,” Claire states. She turns back to Sunshine. “My boyfriend.”
Shaking her head, Sunshine stutters, “Your…what?”
Damien saunters up.
“Hey, baby,” Claire chimes.
“I think you gave Jackson a heart attack,” Damien laughs.
Claire snorts. “Eh, she’s alive. Anyway, Damien, love, this is Sunshine.”
Damien’s gaze falls on her. He cocks an eyebrow. “Really? Well, hello, Sunshine.” He sticks his hand out to her.
Sunshine takes it. Damien bends over and kisses the back of her hand. Looking like she’s going to pass out, Sunshine just stares at him.
Damien picks up her hand. “Ah…an engagement ring.”
Claire clenches her hands into fists.
Holding it up, Damien murmurs, “Who’s the designer?”
“Excuse me?” Sunshine squeaks.
“Well…” Damien starts. “I’m looking for a ring for Claire. I can’t decide between Cartier and Tiffany.” Holding her hand up, Damien asks, “What do you think, darling?”
Bending over, Claire looks at it. “Baby, my diamond better be clearer and bigger.”
“Excuse you,” Sunshine snaps.
“I totally agree.” Damien sighs, letting go of Sunshine’s hand. “Your fiancé shouldn’t have bought such a yellowed diamond. Maybe he did it because you’re like sunshine.”
Sunshine brings her hand to her face. “What?”
“Anyway,” Damien says, turning to Claire. “I missed you, baby.” He grabs Claire and kisses her hard. Claire forms her body to his, kissing him back passionately.
When they pull apart, Claire smirks. “You need to miss me all the time.”
“Phil is over there,” Sunshine declares.
A devilish smirk passes over Damien’s face. “I’d love to meet him.”
“Oh, god.” Claire exhales.
“Come now, I love to meet people from your life,” Damien replies smoothly.
“Well, everyone is over there. I can introduce you.”
“Excellent.”
Shaking her head, Claire looks at Alex. “This is going to be great.”
Alex walks over and pulls down the zipper on her jacket. “Hey!” Damien snaps.
“Hush,” Alex says. “There. Enough cleavage to make him stare.”
“I’m going back over to my fiancée,” Sunshine enunciates.
“Come on, darling,” Damien says. “Let’s go mingle.”
He takes her hand and starts to pull Claire forward, following Sunshine.
“I hate this,” Claire hisses.
“Baby, Sunshine isn’t even in the same league as you,” Damien whispers. “His jaw will be on the floor.”
Putting on a smile, Claire pulls the zipper down a little further, showing the top of the corset. “We’re good.”
They walk up and Sunshine pulls a guy around. “Honey, look who it is.”
Phil turns around and sees Claire. She cocks her hip, leaning against Damien. “Hi, Phil,” she draws out.
He eyes her from head to toe and back again, with his jaw slightly down. Sunshine sees him and she stomps on his foot. Phil yells out.
“Anyway, Phil this is my boyfriend, Damien. Damien, this is Phil.”
Extending his hand, Damien says, “Hi.”
With a steady stare, Phil shakes his hand. “Hey.”
“So, I hear congratulations are in order.”
Phil smiles. “Yup.”
“Finding your soul mate is great, isn’t it? The person that rocks you to your core.” Damien inquires smoothly. He looks down at Claire and says, “My pulse races every time.”
Claire traces her finger down Damien’s chest. “I’ll rock something else later.”
“Promise?” Damien whispers.
“Guarantee it,” Claire replies.
Playfully, pulling on the zipper, he says, “Do I get to see what’s underneath there?”
“Y-u-p,” Claire enunciates.
“So, what are you doing here?” Phil interrupts roughly.
“I’m going to take the Ducati on the racetrack,” Claire answers.
“Alex is finally letting you take it out?” Phil snorts.
Damien smiles at him. “Actually, I’m buying her one and I just want to make sure she wants a Ducati.”
“What?” Phil snaps.
“Yeah, it’s an ‘I love you’ present. You know, a little something to brighten her day.”
Stuttering, Phil says, “What?”
“I can afford it,” Damien declares. He turns to Claire. “And I take care of what’s mine.”
“And I’m yours in every way,” Claire whispers. She leans over brushes her lips against Damien’s, teasing him. She then bites his lower lip. “Mmm,” Claire hums.
“I adore you,” Damien murmurs, bending over to kiss her.
She meets him and kisses him hard. Finally, Claire pulls away. “I may be yours and you may want to take care of me, but I’ll buy my own Ducati.”
With a heavy sigh, Damien says, “Alright, if you insist.”
Phil scoffs. “Yeah, okay, go ahead and buy a Ducati, Claire.”
She smiles at him. “With the new job I have, I can afford one.”
Phil raises an eyebrow. “What new job?”
“Consider it an internship with my family’s company,” Damien purrs. “She’s an asset.” Eyeing her up and down, he whispers, “And I’m not talking about her killer body.”
“A man who can appreciate me for all my many talents,” Claire purrs. “He can also keep up with me.” Turning her gaze to Phil, she says, “You know, physically.”
“Yeah, okay, Claire,” Phil retorts, rolling his eyes.
Smirking, Claire lifts up Damien’s shirt. Running her hands across his abs, she murmurs, “Does this body say anything?”
“Wow.” Sunshine exhales.
“Exactly,” Claire quips, dropping the shirt. “Come now, love. I have other people I want to introduce you to.”
“Sounds splendid,” Damien replies.
Claire takes his hand and pulls him away. She makes her way through the rest of the crowd. Claire knows pretty much everybody. Damien smiles and is polite to them all. Most of the guys check Claire out, and after a while, Damien starts to lose his smile.
Claire pulls him against her. “You okay?”
Whispering in her ear, Damien asks, “Could any of these guys not drool over you?”
“Baby,” Claire replies, pulling his face down to hers. “You’re the only one that I want drooling over me. I don’t want anyone else near this body.”
“Neither do I.” Damien growls playfully.
Claire giggles, as Damien bends down to kiss her. Claire runs her fingers through his hair, gripping him hard.
When they finally pull away, Damien says, “I feel much better now.”
“Good,” Claire replies, brushing her lips against his. “I need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
With a smile, Damien says, “I’ll go check out the bikes. Hurry up.”
“I will,” Claire says. She kisses him one more time and walks away. Every guy that she walks past, turns and watches her go. It makes her saunter a little more than necessary.
The bathrooms are down a long hallway in the center building. Claire makes her way down there. After she goes, she checks herself out in the mirror. Her makeup is still perfect and Claire smiles. “Excellent.”
When she leaves the bathroom, someone is standing on the far wall. It’s Phil. Claire stops and stares at him. Finally, she turns and walks away.
“Claire!”
Claire exhales heavily. She turns and looks at him. “Yes?”
“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Phil mutters.
“Ye
ah, I know. I distinctly remember your tongue down Sunshine’s throat at my prom.”
Phil looks down and shuffles his foot. “Yeah, that wasn’t cool.”
“No, it wasn’t. Now, what do you want?”
“That boyfriend of yours…is he for real?”
Claire raises one eyebrow. “Nope. He’s actually an android. He’s a really expensive pay-by-the-hour boyfriend.” Phil looks at her blankly. Snorting, Claire says, “What makes you think he’s fake?”
“Just…is he so rich that he could buy you a Ducati? I didn’t know that mattered to you.”
“His money doesn’t matter to me. He could be a pauper. Damien is kind and loving. He’s a wonderful specimen of a man and I think more guys should be like him. He’s faithful.”
Phil nods and looks down. “I never meant to hurt you.”
“You didn’t give a crap about me,” Claire snaps. “Don’t play that game. I hope you treat Sunshine better than you ever did me.”
“She actually has sex,” Phil retorts.
“Well, good for her.” Claire snickers. “I knew it was better to save myself for someone much more attractive and intelligent than you.”
Glaring at her, Phil growls. “I remember you being attracted to me.”
“I have taste now,” Claire states. “I grew up.”
“It hasn’t been that long,” Phil snarls.
“Well, a lot has happened to me.” Claire sighs.
When he crosses his arms, Phil asks, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Claire bursts out laughing. “Why the hell would I talk to you about anything? You didn’t even care when we were together!”
He shrugs. “I thought I’d offer.”
“Why?” Claire scoffs. “You want back in my life?”
“You offering?” Phil inquires.
“Ugh, no. Go to hell,” Claire replies harshly. “I’m going back to Damien. At least he knows what he’s doing in and out of the bedroom.”
With a growl, Phil steps up to her. “Watch what you say, you little…”
Quickly, Claire spins around. She slams Phil against the wall, with her foot in his throat. “I wouldn’t finish that if I were you.”
A look of pure terror sweeps across Phil’s face. “You can’t hurt me.”
“Want to make a bet?” a voice says from next to them. They both turn to see Damien. “From what I saw, you attacked her first.”
“What?” Phil yells.
“I saw it. You swung,” Damien says. He looks at Claire. “Go for it, honey.”
