by K E Osborn
“What time is it?” she asks looking around to the kitchenette.
I shrug. I have no idea. But I’ve been here for a good few hours with her snoring her head off.
Heeley’s eyes bug out of her face as she obviously catches sight of the time somewhere, and she stands up from the loveseat. “Shit! It’s two in the morning.”
My stomach falls, and I nod standing. “You have class tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” She weakly smiles and nods.
I knew the night would end sometime. I guess I just wasn’t quite ready to leave her yet. “Okay, well… I’ll let you get some actual sleep.”
She swallows hard, drawing her bottom lip in between her teeth and reaches out grabbing my hand.
My eyes meet hers, and I can’t help but wonder what’s ticking over in that mind of hers. “Heeley?”
“Stay.” The one simple word leaves her mouth, and my stomach twists wondering what exactly it is she’s asking. “I don’t mean for…” she waves her hands around, “… that. I need to sleep. But without sounding like too much of a girl, I kinda… just… want to sleep next to you tonight. If you… want… to.” The hesitation in her voice is cute, and I reach out taking her other hand in mine and smile.
“I wanna, and don’t worry, I’ll let you sleep.”
She lets out a small giggle threading her fingers into mine, and bends down picking up the remote and flicks off the television. Then she heads toward her room, and I follow as she walks. The living area descends into darkness as she turns off the switch, and we walk through the tiny hall to get to her bedroom. She drops my hand and walks to the side of her bed, the light from her bedside lamp illuminates sending an amber tint around the room. I smirk as I look at the floor, noticing piles of clothes and papers sprawled out everywhere, and I shake my head wondering how she can live like this. I mean I’m not a neat freak by any means, but this reminds me of something from my adolescent teenage years, not a twenty-five-year-old pre-med student, who also holds down a part-time job.
She glances over her shoulder to look at me and chews on her bottom lip. “I… ah… don’t have anything for you to wear to bed.”
I snort out a laugh, shaking my head. “I think I can manage.” I wade my way through the crap on her floor and walk around the other side of her bed which is closer to the bathroom as I begin to shrug out of my cut. The nightstand on this side pretty much has a lamp and not much else so I can put my shit on it. Her eyes follow me every step of the way as I lay my cut on the wooden table.
She swallows hard and clears her throat as she walks to her closet shuffling through the clothes on the floor and pulls out a set of satin pajamas. Fuck! They have a little too much material for my liking. She makes her way past me as I spin and sit down on the edge of her bed and move to take off my combat boots. She scurries into the bathroom, and I chuckle shaking my head as she disappears to.
“You know you could have changed out here, and I would have kept my eyes off you?” I call out as I hear her moving about in there while I pull off my boots, then stand up and yank off my jeans, placing them with my cut.
“Well, yeah, but I have to brush my teeth anyway so may as well come in here.”
I chuckle and reach over my head pulling off my shirt, leaving me in just my boxer briefs. I neatly place my shirt over my jeans and position my boots at the base of the nightstand, making sure to have my cell on top of everything in case someone needs me.
I hear her brushing her teeth, and figure I’ll head to the bathroom to see what she looks like in her pajamas. So I round the corner to see her wearing a pair of cherry-red satin pajama bottoms and a matching satin camisole top with black lace above her fucking tits. My eyes open wide as the curve of her cleavage pops up through the lace, just enough to make my cock throb behind my briefs. I clear my throat making her head snap to the left to see me while still brushing her teeth. Her eyes bug out of her head as she looks me up and down, taking in my practically naked form, and she instantly begins to choke on the toothpaste. The toothbrush flies out of her mouth as toothpaste darts forward onto the mirror.
I lunge forward, my hand on her back rubbing circles as she spits the remainder of her toothpaste out into the sink, rinsing her mouth out under the tap. Then slowly she brings her head back up, clearing her throat from the chaos and looks me up and down.
“You could have warned me you were coming in, so you didn’t scare the life out of me. I could have died, Torque.”
I smirk. “You think I’m gonna let you choke on toothpaste, foxy? I can think of things much better to choke on than toothpaste.” I waggle my eyebrows. “Don’t worry, I would’ve given you mouth to mouth.”
She picks up a hand towel and dabs it around her mouth. I don’t miss the way her eyes subtly scan my stomach and arms.
“Well, you wouldn’t need to if you gave me a fair warning is all I’m saying. Coming in here with no freaking clothes on… aren’t you cold?” She throws the hand towel at my chest as she turns toward the bedroom, and I smirk placing it on the bench and switch off the light and follow her back to the bedroom.
“I run hot.” Stepping up to the side of the bed, I pull back the turquoise comforter, surprised that with all the mess of this room, she actually makes her bed. Sliding inside the crispness of the sheets is quite refreshing, and I smile as she glides the curtains across her window and then moves onto her side of the bed.
The mattress dips beneath her as she slides in next to me. Something washes over me, a feeling of familiarity, a feeling of comfort. Being in a bed with a woman is something I’m used to, but being in a bed and just sleeping, that’s something I haven’t done for six long years. Being with someone just because you want their company because you actually want to be with them for them and not because of the pussy between their legs.
This is a huge step for me.
I know that.
Heeley does not.
And as my head hits the pillow, my stomach churns slightly at the thought of replacing Zoey.
Can I do that?
Can Heeley be the woman I could finally move on with?
She flicks off the lamp, and the room descends into darkness. My mind’s running a million miles a minute. The side of her body connects to mine, and I’m kind of stunned for a second. Like I’m back to the teenage boy who had no idea what the hell to do with a woman in his bed for the first time. Memories of Zoey flood back, and I screw up my face lying stock still, my heart pummeling in my chest as Heeley rolls over in her bed. Her back now facing me.
“Good night, Rylan,” she murmurs, and it’s enough to snap me out of my funk. She called me by my name. My actual name, and I turn my head on my pillow to look at her. Her silhouette outlined in the darkness of the room, and I take a deep breath. Zoey wouldn’t want me to wallow, she would want me to move on, and here I am spending the night with someone who Zoey would love undeniably. Heeley is fucking perfect. She sends every part of me revving. So what the fuck am I doing lying here like a fucking motionless idiot?
Rolling over in the bed facing her, I don’t ask for permission, I don’t let her know what I’m doing.
I’m Rylan ‘Torque’ O’Shea, and I fucking take what I want.
And right now, I fucking want to hold Heeley in my arms.
So I move in behind her. My front firmly pressing against her back. She stirs as my arm wraps in around her waist and then slides up grabbing her hand, and I hold it to her chest.
We’re spooning—officially.
Legs fucking tangled. Bodies entwined. The whole nine yards. I don’t give a shit. I want to feel her, and I want her to feel me.
My nose nuzzles into the back of her neck, letting her hair tickle my face as I inhale her sweet smell. My lips slowly press to her neck, and she relaxes back into me as I close my eyes letting myself succumb to this new feeling.
I don’t sleep next to women.
I don’t cuddle.
I don’t get attached.
An
d tonight, I’m already breaking all three of my rules.
For her.
For Heeley.
I’m fucking screwed.
CHAPTER EIGHT
TORQUE
The sudden screeching of an alarm clock makes me raise my head and has my eyes blinking rapidly. It takes me a second to register where I am, but when I look down to see I’m still firmly wrapped around Heeley, and neither of us budged last night, a slow smile creeps up on my face. A small groan erupts from Heeley as her arm sluggishly moves out from under the covers and slams down on the alarm, turning it off. I chuckle, her body doesn’t move next to me as her arm drops down to the side of the bed like she’s falling back asleep. She’s obviously having trouble waking. I move in behind her and plant my lips on the soft skin of her neck. She tastes divine, but she doesn’t budge only gaining a slight snore from her mouth.
I let out a small chuckle as I realize she mustn’t be a morning person. I think tough love is only going to work today. So I reach out and fling her onto her back. Her eyes finally burst wide open as I land on top of her, and she gasps for air like she’s almost forgotten I’m here. I grab her wrists and pin them either side of her head as her still half-asleep eyes look up into mine.
“Good morning,” I tease.
She clears her throat and licks her lips. “It was until someone woke me up.”
I snort. “Foxy, your alarm woke you up. I’m merely helping you open your eyes.”
Her eyes open wider as she turns her head looking at the alarm clock. “Shit. I have to get up.” Heeley moves to break free from me, but I pin her to the bed further, grinding myself into her and she looks at me, the unmistakable look of desire mixed with panic rushing through her body.
“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna make you late for class, but I’m also not gonna let you go. Not yet.”
She relaxes in my grip and pouts. “Fine. What do you need?”
Chuckling, I lean in and press my lips to hers firmly. Her body melts against mine finally, and she kisses me back as the satin of her pajama leg begins to ride up my thigh with her movement. She brings her leg up behind my ass, pulling me closer to her, and I smile against our kiss as I pin her to the bed. Slowing the kiss, I pull back and look into her still sleepy eyes.
She smiles and lets out a long sigh. “I suppose I can cater to your needs a little longer.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “Nope. No can do. You miss, have to go to college, and I have breakfast to make for you.”
Her eyes blink as I lean in, plant a chaste kiss on her lips and then roll off her and out of bed. She groans as I walk to the window and yank open the curtains letting the brightness of the springtime sunshine into her room. Her arm slaps over her eyes to shield her face as she continues to groan like a feisty teenager, and I chuckle to myself as I walk out of the room into the living area to put on the coffee pot.
“Torque,” she calls out, but I ignore her getting to work on her coffee. “Torque,” she calls out louder, and I smile taking a deep breath.
“Yes?”
“I hate mornings. I want to go back to bed. Come sleep with me.”
I chuckle and put the coffee on to brew. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” I call back.
There’s a stale silence for a moment as I move to her fridge, opening it to see nothing much of any use other than half a loaf of bread. So I pull that out to make her some toast.
“Fuck.” Her voice calls from the bedroom as she finally registers. “It’s Monday, isn’t it?”
Shaking my head with a roll of my eyes, I find the toaster, and I plug it into the socket. “Mm-hmm.”
“Shit! Why can’t I fucking function in the morning? I swear to God, I know I’m a deep sleeper, but did you drug me last night or something because I slept even deeper than normal,” she grumbles as I hear her fumbling about in the other room.
Chuckling to myself, I continue making her breakfast. The coffee’s nearly done, and I’m spreading some peanut butter on her toast as she finally drags her feet out of the bedroom. Her hair is falling around her face in messy blonde waves, her eyes are still half closed, but she’s dressed in jeans and a black shirt with the simple words on it, ‘Sorry, I’m not listening.’ Then she has the front scrunched up together in a loose knot at her stomach. The look half tomboy, half sexy as hell as I raise my brow, the butter knife in my hand stopping mid-swipe. I clear my throat taking in her fucking perfect look.
She glances up, running her fingers through her tousled hair, and she stops mid-walk. “Are you making me breakfast?”
I smirk, turn back to her toast and continue spreading the peanut butter. This is also to try and stop myself from getting a raging boner while only wearing boxer briefs. “Can’t go and do a full day of studying without carb loading.”
She snorts and walks up to me. “So, carb loading is really marginally okay for endurance athletes who want to maximize their storage of glycogen. But for studying, I need a normal dose of carbohydrates because they are the body’s main source of energy and should comprise fifty to sixty percent of your total caloric intake. But most of these carbs should be eaten as beans, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. You understand what I’m saying?” she asks, and I raise my brow with a smirk.
“Ahhh... not really. But I have to admit you getting your doctor talk on right now, kind of has my cock getting a little hard for you.”
Her eyes look straight at my cock in my briefs. Yeah, nothing I can do, it’s semi-hard, and a blush creeps up on her face as she clenches her eyes shut and turns around like she’s embarrassed to be here. I burst out laughing and look down at her toast slicing it into two triangles.
“So… if you need whole grains, toast is okay for you, right?” I ask grabbing the plate and walking it over to her tiny dining table, fit for only two people. She spins back to look at me while I place it in front of her, and she looks down at the plate as I turn back to get the coffee.
“Yeah, toast is great. Thanks, Torque… you really didn’t have to.”
Pouring out the coffee into two mugs, I glance back to her and smile. “I know. How do you have your coffee, foxy?”
She smiles taking a seat at the table. “Cream with sugar, please.”
Smiling, I make her coffee, the same as mine, and then walk our mugs over to the table and sit next to her as she picks up a slice of toast and takes a bite.
She looks at the mug and smiles. “Thank you for the coffee. I’m incoherent without the nectar of the God’s in the morning.”
Laughing, I nod. “Really? I hadn’t noticed,” I tease, and she gives me a look of ‘get fucked.’
I snicker under my breath as I pick up my mug and take a sip. It’s good to be sitting here sharing our breakfast together. I thought in the light of the morning, I might feel strange. Sleeping, just sleeping, next to a woman after so long is something different for me, and I thought maybe it might have brought up some feelings that scare me, but all I feel is alive. I feel reborn if that even makes sense. Sitting here in a comfortable silence, drinking coffee with Heeley, feels fucking right. And I’m pretty sure I could get used to this feeling.
Maybe next time I sleep over, we could be naked.
And do less of the sleeping.
***
Heeley finally got her shit together, and I tailed her to campus, which was about five minutes from her place. Needless to say, we drew some attention when I pulled up beside her on my ride. I guess the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Medicine doesn’t typically have a hell of a lot of bikers turn up. So having Heeley ride is one thing, but having a biker show up in colors, that’s entirely another.
But she didn’t hesitate in kissing me goodbye, and I watched her walk into class. Some friends of hers rushed up to her on her way in obviously dying to catch the gossip as I sit and wait for Zane to show up. He’s a prospect and does whatever the fuck I tell him. He wants his patch, and I know I’m about to give him the shittiest job of them all. Ta
iling someone and not letting them in on it is one of the crappiest jobs for a prospect. But I need someone to do it, and Tremor is still recovering from the Andretti attack on Neala. His stab wound isn’t bad, but I don’t want him opening up his sutures if anything happens. I need someone at full strength. So, Zane, it is. Plus, he’s a little rough around the edges, and I know he’ll do anything to keep Heeley safe.
The roar of an unmistakable Harley pulls into the parking lot, and I grin as he rides in beside me, his bike skidding to a halt. The kickstand comes out, the bike tilts to the side, and his helmet flips off his head. His scruff of hair seems messy no matter what time of day, and his eyes squint taking in the brightness of the blasting sun. He wastes no time fishing out a cigarette from his top pocket and lights it up without hesitation as he looks from me to the school and then back to me.
“Mornin’…” The long draw on his cigarette makes the end light up red as he sucks in the tar, the smell of tobacco filling the air.
“Zane, how was shit at the clubhouse last night. Any issues?”
He shakes his head. “Nah. Lala was creating chaos. Making everyone run around after her until Freckles came in and calmed her crazy ass down.”
I snort out a laugh and nod. “First of all, don’t call my sister crazy. Only Trax and I can do that.”
“Noted.”
“And second of all, how’d Freckles take what happened with Lala?”
He takes another long drag of his cigarette and shakes his head. “Let’s just say her, Trax, and Surge were having a very long, loud, and lengthy discussion about it all.”
My shoulders hunch, and I scrunch up my face. “Fuck! I better get back there then. Okay, you know the deal?” I ask.
He nods. “Heeley Fox. Eyes on her at all times, but she doesn’t know I exist.”
“Bingo! She’s inside at a lecture at the moment. I want you in there watching her. Sit at the back. You might have to take your cut off for this, brother. I give you permission. Do whatever you need. You might need to dress like a nerd, I don’t give a fuck. Just make it happen.”
