First Time Rider

by Sage L. Morgan

  “Fuck!” he screamed. He grabbed his wet cock and began jerking himself, spilling more and more of his fluids on my skin. I felt it drape over me in sticky ropes of pearly milk and thought I was about to come again. I felt like Liam was marking me, claiming me for his own, and there was nothing sexier than that.

  Liam fell on top of me, panting. He didn’t even care that he was getting his own spunk all over his shirt. I held him close, matching my breath to his. I brushed my lips against the racing pulse in his temple. It felt so right. The last couple of days couldn’t even have happened.

  “So,” Liam said in my ear, “what was it that you wanted to talk about?”

  Oh, that’s right. “Shayna,” I blurted out.

  Liam pulled away. “Huh?”

  I could only laugh at his confused look.

  Chapter 9

  The parking lot of the grocery store was empty, just as Shayna had promised. The moonless night sky cast its black eye over the town. Anything outside the reach of the street lamps were completely ensconced in shadow.

  I parked the car under a lamp and waited. The blue Mustang pulled up beside me right on time. I stepped out.

  “So, you wanted to talk to me?” Alex said. He smirked, exposing his small, seed-like teeth. “You decided you missed your man after all, huh?”

  I squared my shoulders. “Not exactly.”

  The back door of my car popped open, and Liam sprang out. He pulled Alex’s arms behind his back and held him in place.

  “What the fuck?” Alex uttered.

  “Remember me?” Liam said. “I’m Aspen’s man, now.”

  Footsteps echoed from the distance. Shayna and the other old ladies emerged from the darkness, stomping across the asphalt in their platform heels.

  “Who are these people?” Alex said.

  “They’re my friends,” I said. “I have a life here, now. You can’t control me anymore.”

  Alex snorted. “You think these people are better than me?” He spat on the ground and threw his face at the old ladies. “You don’t know what I can do. I’m a dangerous man.”

  “That’s real convincing,” Shayna said. “But you’ve never seen me in action, sweetie.”

  Alex groaned loudly as Liam slammed him into the hood of his blue Mustang. Shayna reached for one of his arms and pinned it down beside his head. I could read my name on his skin clear as day.

  “Why are you hear?” Liam growled. “What are you doing with the Scorpions?”

  Specks of saliva flew out of Alex’s mouth as he bared his teeth, chuckling. “Heard you messed up some deal they made with a restaurant in town. That was a mis—”

  Liam picked up his head and slammed it back down.

  The side of Alex’s mouth was squished against his teeth, muffling his words. “You’ll pay. You’ll all pay.”

  “Answer the damn question!” Shayna said. She gave his arm a twist, distorting the tattoo of my name with wrinkles. “What’s your business with the Scorpions?”

  Alex’s was silent for a moment, and I briefly thought he was finally going to buckle and explain himself. “I don’t answer questions from bitches.”

  He yelped when Shayna stomped on his shoe with her stiletto heel.

  Liam looked at me over his shoulder. “He’s not cooperating. Might as well.”

  Heather, Eddie’s old lady, passed me two plastic bottles. One held powder, and the other held a clear liquid. “You do the honors,” she said with a smile.

  I approached Alex, wedged between Liam and Shayna. “This is just a warning,” I said. I splashed his tattoo with the liquid.

  Alex barely flinched. “You stupid bitch!”

  “I’m only telling you this once. You stop working with the Scorpions, whatever they’re doing. You get your ass out of town. You pretend you never heard of Canyon City in your life.”

  Alex snickered. “And? What are you going to do about it, sugar?”

  Liam’s fists tightened, but I heard him steadying his breaths to calm himself down. This was my battle. I deserved to take care of him myself.

  “If I ever see you in this town again,” I continued, “if I ever see your old, shitty car, and if I ever even dream about you coming back, your dick’s next.”

  Alex’s brow knitted together in confusion until I dusted his tattoo with the powder. His scream barely pierced the air before Heather stuffed his mouth with a bandana. Shayna and Liam held him down as he squirmed and kicked. I watched the skin under his tattoo pinken, shrivel, blister, and pop, like it had been set on fire. A sick smile twisted over my lips.

  “You don’t own me anymore,” I said.

  The tattoo curled in on itself and melted into the white, peachy under-layers of Alex’s flesh as his top layer of skin burned away. If I strained my ears, I could still hear the fizz and hiss of the chemicals working their magic. I hoped they burned him down to the bone.

  Chapter 10

  “No, no, no, the recipe calls for two cups of flour! How on earth did you get four?” Heather screeched. “Shayna!”

  Shayna tipped her ear toward us as she stirred chili on the stove. “Yeah, what?”

  “Come here, this gal has no idea what she’s doing.”

  I winced as Shayna wiped her hands on her apron and joined us at the kitchen island. where Heather and I mixed batter for various desserts. She’d put me in charge of the lemon bars, claiming that there was no way I could mess them up. Her lips were pursed as she regarded my mixing bowl. A jolt of terror shot through my body.

  Just then, we heard the screen door bang open and shut. “Beer delivery!”

  Hearing Liam’s voice calmed me down just a little. “I’ll go help him,” I said quickly, ducking into the living room.

  Liam’s eyes narrowed in concern when he saw my hangdog expression. “What’s wrong?”

  I shook my head and pressed my finger to my lips. Once outside, I broke down. “I fucked up Shayna’s lemon bars, that’s what’s wrong.”

  Liam’s expression deadened as he registered what I’d just said. Then, he released a high guffaw. “What? How do you mess up lemon bars?”

  “Shut up. Where’s the beer?”

  The air inside grew thick and sweet with the smells of baking as we ferried cases of beer from Shayna’s van to the house. I thought I detected a single note of lemon, suggesting that Shayna had somehow salvaged my bars and determined them suitable to be baked. I didn’t believe in God or anything, but I definitely prayed hard that day.

  Just as we iced the last beer, a shriek of outrage tore through the house. Shayna popped into the kitchen doorway, gripping her cell phone.

  “Noah’s running late,” she said. “He says it’s because I fired his only bartender.”

  Bonnie. The three of us shared a wry smile.

  “Well, we’ll have to tell him,” Liam said.

  “After the party,” I added.

  Shayna threw her hands into the air, exasperated. “Well, I don’t know what to tell ya, kids. He says he might be an hour late, maybe two. You guys can only dust the house for so long. Go find something to do until I call you.”

  “Our pleasure,” Liam said, pulling me to his side.

  * * *

  We took Liam’s bike to the edge of town and bypassed the access road for the clubhouse. The trees grew thin around us as we got closer to the interstate. Then, we were on the interstate itself. The air opened up around us, and I saw the town’s namesake for the first time. The canyons stretched out to our left, washed in the gold afternoon sun.

  Liam zipped into a dirt road, as if he’d known it was there, and climbed his bike up a hill. Not long afterward, we were at the top of it, looking out into the red and gold valley. A white, grainy line in the distance was the only sign of civilization. Canyon City.

  I got off the bike and took a few steps forward, marveling at the sight.

  “Nobody can see us up here,” Liam said. He came up from behind and wrapped his arms around me, pulling my back to his chest.
His breaths vibrated through my body, and I heard his next words inside my own head. “But we can see the whole world, can’t we?”

  I covered his hands with mine. I felt him kiss the back of my neck.

  “Why didn’t you tell me he was here?” he asked.

  I kept my eyes trained on the distance. “I wanted to handle it on my own.”

  Liam’s heart drummed steadily against my back. “I can respect that,” he finally said. “But you know you’re not alone, anymore, right?” He grabbed my shoulders and turned me around to face him. His eyes searched mine. “You’re my girl. You’re my—” He swallowed. “You’re my girlfriend.” His eyes widened. He’d surprised himself by saying that.

  “Really?”

  “Really. When Bonnie came to my place throwing herself at me, all I could think about was you. I think I knew, deep down, for a long time, but that moment was when I felt it. You’re my girlfriend, Aspen.”

  I smiled. He hadn’t said, “old lady,” and maybe it would be a while until he was ready, but a girlfriend was better than whatever I’d imagined myself to be. I kissed him, meaning for it to be just a peck. But it turned into another, and another, and then a deep, long, passionate kiss. Liam’s hands fell from my shoulders to my waist. I weaved my fingers in his hair, which always smelled of wind and smoke. When we finally broke apart, I could see years of ache and pain swimming in his eyes.

  “You’re not alone, either,” I whispered.

  Liam pushed his mouth against mine, and suddenly I craved him. I pulled my dress up and guided his hand between my legs. A few seconds later, I was bent over the seat of his bike, bare ass in the air, receiving blow after blow of his perfect cock.

  “Fuck, Aspen,” Liam muttered. He reached around me to pop my breasts out of the top of my dress. He rubbed my nipples as he thrust his hips.

  I raised myself on my toes, giving him room to go deeper. I didn’t know it could feel so good to have a cock inside me, to be cared for. I didn’t know I could get so wet. If I’d never met Liam…

  Liam’s ringtone floated out of his back pocket. He gave an anguished groan and quickened his thrusts, eager to finish. Sweat collected on my ass where his skin met mine, drawn by heat and friction.

  And the phone continued ringing. I screwed my eyes shut and tightened my core. We couldn’t stop yet. It felt too good to stop. I began pushing back at Liam. I slid off of him when he pulled away and rammed back when he thrust forward, letting his cock punch into my tightness. Liam moaned, and I knew that he liked it. We ignored his phone until it stopped ringing.

  We enjoyed a few seconds of solitude, nothing but the open canyon and our cries of pleasure. Then, my phone started vibrating in my purse. I sighed, and Liam slowed. He carefully slid out of me.

  “To be continued?” he said.

  “I guess we have no choice.”

  * * *

  “He’s coming!” Shayna hissed loudly.

  Various Skull Kings rushed around the house, turning off lights. Everyone hurried to find a hiding spot. Most of the good ones were taken. Heather and Farrah ducked behind the couch. Logan, being so skinny, squeezed behind a bookcase. The oldest members just stayed on the couches like lumps of potatoes, grumbling about diabetes and counting the seconds until they could eat.

  Liam held me close in the kitchen doorway. Everyone in the room held their breaths, rendering the air eerily still. We could hear Noah’s heavy boots on the driveway outside as he dismounted his bike, as he walked to the door, and finally—

  “Surprise!”

  Shayna’s voice rose an octave higher than the others. Somebody switched on the light, and Noah emerged out of the entrance hallway on Shayna’s arm, blinking away his confusion.

  “—the fuck—”

  “Happy birthday, Noah,” Logan said.

  Noah turned to Shayna. “I told you I didn’t want no party.” But there was a hint of an actual smile on his face.

  Beers were passed around, and Noah blew out the candles on his cake. The house filled with warm chatter, lewd jokes, and laughter. Liam never left my side, and he wouldn’t stop kissing me. I almost had to remind myself of the girl I’d been before coming here.

  “Hey!” somebody cried from the dessert table.

  Everybody turned to look at Logan. He held a lemon bar in his hand with a bite missing out of it.

  “Who made these? They’re fucking delicious.”

  “Oh, Liam’s girlfriend made those,” Shayna said nonchalantly. But she caught my eye and winked before resuming her conversation.

  “Did you hear that? The Queen approves. It’s finally official.” I said to Liam.

  “Even if the club president approved, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Liam replied. “Like it or not, you’re mine, now, and nobody can take that away from me.”

  At some point, Shayna hooked her arm through mine and pulled me away to join the other people in the kitchen. A mix of Skull Kings, old ladies, and friends were circled around the island, talking spiritedly over a spread of various chips and dips. Noah helmed the group, the shape of his mouth indiscernible from behind his beard. He jerked his head at Shayna as she led me in.

  “Come here. I need to ask you something.”

  I stepped back to let Shayna pass by. Then, to my surprise, she poked me in the side with her elbow. Noah wants to talk to me? I marveled. I shoved my hands in my pockets and approached him cautiously. “Yeah?”

  “I don’t know if Shayna told you, but I’m kind of short a bartender. And seeing as you have service experience —and the fact that your current boss is a self-righteous pussy in a man suit— how about you come and work for me?”

  I stared into his eyes. Imagining myself away from dusty, barren Buddy’s and transplanted to glitzy Amazon was almost too decadent of a thought, and I would be close to Liam. I could barely allow myself to even dream it.

  But any chance of having to look at Terrence’s simpering, pointy face chased away all my doubts. “Are you serious?”

  “I mean, we can do a trial run first, to see if it works out,” Noah continued quickly. “And I’ll train— um…what are you doing?”

  I’d just finished whipping out my phone and dialing Buddy’s. I smiled at Noah as I held the phone to my ear. “I’m quitting my job. Just give me a minute.”

  Chapter 11

  Amazon Gentlemen’s Club was busy for a Tuesday night, and it was my first bartending shift to boot. Between taking orders, flipping through the bartending handbook Noah kept under the counter, and running the register, I barely had time to flirt with the security guard.

  I took a rare moment to pause and glance at him across the club. Liam weaved through the tables, watching patrons and dancers with his stoic poker face. He kept his arms crossed over his wide chest, accentuating the bulge of his biceps and the tattoos inked into his skin. He caught me watching him and flashed a smile that made my stomach flutter.

  A thud on the bar jerked me out of my trance. A man pushed his empty tumbler toward me. “Give me another.”

  And I was back into the swing of things. After pulling his beer, I got a flood of orders. Just as I finished pouring a round of shots, I felt an imposing presence behind me.

  “How’s it going?” Noah asked in his deep, neutral tone.

  “G-good. I think,” I said clumsily.

  “You having any trouble keeping up with orders? Buddy’s Sports Bar never gets slammed like this.”

  “It’s different, but I’m managing pretty well.”

  “Good.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief when Noah finally left to attend to his other duties.

  The crowd thinned out a little bit a few minutes later. Liam sauntered up to the bar just as I cleared it off and began wiping it down. “Can I buy you a drink?” he asked.

  My shoulders drooped. “I could really use one, actually.”

  Liam hopped over the bar to my side.

  “Hey!” I said.

  “Relax. I work here.”


  “Shouldn’t you be keeping an eye on the customers?”

  Liam began examining the liquor bottles. “I think Logan can manage for just ten minutes.”

  I searched the club for Logan and spotted him licking a shot off of a dancer’s ass. I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure he can.”

  Liam plunked two shot glasses onto the bar and mixed some tequila and ice in a shaker. His movements were quick and graceful, and I was reminded of our nights back at the clubhouse. Whenever we had the place to ourselves, a couple tequila shots never failed to get the both of us wild and hot.

  “What are you thinking about?” Liam asked when he caught me licking my lips.

  I scanned the club to see if Noah was anywhere nearby before I pulled him close by the front of his shirt. “I’m thinking about that day when you bent me over the pool table and fucked me from behind,” I whispered.

  Liam’s eyes went black as his pupils dilated. “Damn.” He passed a chilled shot into my hands.

  I stared into his eyes, imagining him on top of me. My gaze fell to his lips, plushy and soft. They’d been pressed against every inch of my body, yet I still couldn’t get enough. I felt my blood surge, thrumming through the thin veins in my arms.

  “Let’s go find an empty dressing room,” I said.

  Liam grabbed my hand and clamped it to the front of his jeans. I squeezed the hardness I felt down there.

  “What’s wrong with right here?” he whispered.

  A shiver slid up my spine as he moved his hands to the tops of my thighs, pressing into the seam between my legs. His fingers slipped past the hem of my shorts, digging themselves toward my heat. My breath caught in my chest when they plunged past my panties, brushing against my wet slit.

  “This is my first day,” I said. I gripped Liam’s neck and pushed my forehead against his. Panic rose in my chest, excitement not far behind. My heart was beating double-time, spurred by Liam’s deft fingers working their way up my shorts coupled with the thrill of getting caught.