by Lane Hart
“Fuck no. I think her father was happy enough to send me away, keep her from seeing me, like I was the bad influence.”
“Jeez, that’s bullshit!”
“Tell me about it,” he chuckles. “In our small town, it was major gossip. My father was a family doctor, and my mother ran in all the uppity social circles. They were mortified. When I went to jail, they decided to pretend I didn’t exist. My sisters wrote me a few times before the letters stopped coming. When I got out, I didn’t go home again.”
“You haven’t spoken to them since?” I say in surprise.
“Nope. And I haven’t stopped any place long enough to call it home again either. But like I said, for the right woman, I could try.” He grins and gives me a wink at that, trying to lighten the mood.
“Try? That’s not exactly a glowing endorsement,” I remark. “And I’m certainly not naïve enough to believe I could be that woman. You’re a self-described wanderer. In a few days, you’ll get bored, and then you’ll leave in search of more…well, more of whatever it is you’re looking for.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” he answers before shoving a piece of bacon in his mouth and chewing it. “As a nomad, I’ll always have to hit the road when duty calls, so that’ll give me enough excitement to keep me happy. All I need is a woman to come home to, one I know won’t get sick of waiting around or think I’m disloyal just because I’m not in the same room, and then I’ll be set.”
“It’ll be hard to convince anyone that a man like you would be happy with just one woman.”
“I won’t deny that I’ve had plenty of women, all different kinds over the years. But I’m twenty-nine now, and quality is starting to be more important than quantity. Hookups have lost their appeal. I’m not saying I want to settle down, get married, and have kids or anything anytime soon, but I am fully capable of being faithful to one beautiful, sexy woman.”
Chapter Four
Nolan
I don’t know why the hell I’ve been telling the woman across from me my entire life history. The criminal record isn’t something I normally bring up. Neither is being abandoned by my family when I needed them most. But for some reason, I just know that if I didn’t tell her now, get it off my chest, then later on, if we did keep seeing each other, then one day it could all come back and bite me in the ass.
I want to be honest with her, like I think she’s been honest with me. The woman is as serious as they come, raising her little brother and working two jobs. That kind of loyalty and dedication makes her even sexier.
We finish our meal mostly in silence, making me think I’ve lost her.
I told her too much too soon.
“I should really get home and get to sleep,” Rita says as she takes the final sip of her soda.
“Right, yeah. Sorry to keep you from your bed for nothing, Cherry Pie.” I pull out my wallet to take out enough cash to pay for breakfast.
“I wouldn’t say that it was for nothing. A free, hot meal with a handsome man who didn’t try and grope me? That’s better than most nights.”
I freeze with my wallet open to look up at her in surprise, certain she would be running for the hills by now to get away from me. Instead, it sounds like…maybe she had fun. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She even smiles at me, and with that I’m fucking done for.
“Can I see you tomorrow?” I ask her as I count out the cash and lay it on the table.
“I go to lunch at twelve.”
“Lunch would be great,” I agree. “Where?”
“My day job is Cartwright Accounting Services. If you want to meet me there first, then we can decide?”
“Sounds perfect,” I tell her. “I thought I may have lost you with too much honesty.”
“There’s never such a thing as too much honesty, no matter how hard it might be to hear,” Rita says, making me fall a little more in love with her. I can admit that, at the club, I fell for her long, beautiful legs and sexy curves first. I should’ve known that she was even more gorgeous on the inside.
“Let me walk you out,” I tell her since anywhere this late at night is dangerous. Not to mention I’ve already taken out two would-be-robbers on her behalf. Poor girl might just be a magnet for trouble.
“Okay, thanks,” she agrees as we both slide out of the booth. I rest my hand on her lower back to guide her toward the door, mostly using it as an excuse to touch her.
When we get to where she parked her car with my bike next to it, I tell her, “It sucks that this is goodbye for now, but I’m looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow.”
“Me too. Thanks for tonight,” she says. Then she leans up and kisses my cheek.
Granted, it’s not the deep, passionate one I was hoping to get while we were both naked, but it’s even better because it hints at this being more.
Abel and Hugo would never let me hear the end of it if I told them a kiss on the cheek made my fucking night.
Which is why I don’t intend to tell them.
Rita
Unlike most mornings, I didn’t struggle to haul my ass out of bed to get ready for my day job. Nope, I popped right up when my alarm went off, eager to get my shower, put on some makeup and put some curl in my stick straight hair in anticipation of meeting Nolan for lunch.
With most men, I wouldn’t trust that they would show, but I really do think that the biker will be there at noon.
Of course, the first part of the day goes by at a sloth’s pace, making me think that lunch would never get here.
Then, at around eleven-fifty, I hear the unmistakable sound of a motorcycle pull into our parking lot.
I can’t concentrate on the payroll numbers in front of me for those last ten minutes. Instead, I go freshen up in the bathroom, hoping he still finds me attractive in the light gray dress pants and white button down.
Finally, I yell to my boss, “I’m going to lunch!” and then slip out the door before he can catch me with a last-minute emergency.
As soon as I walk outside, I spot the tall, dark, and handsome man leaning against my car in his leather cut and jeans, one ankle crossed over the other, a pair of dark sunglasses hiding his eyes from the bright coastal sun. He looks good enough to eat even before a grin lifts his sensual lips like he’s genuinely happy to see me.
Either he’s serious about wanting more than a one-night stand or he’s being incredibly patient.
“Hi,” I say first.
“Hiya, Cherry Pie.”
I’m a little surprised when he pushes away from my car to come toward me, wrapping his arms around me in a hug.
The smell of leather and motor oil on him is nice and familiar.
When I pull away, he picks up a lock of hair from my shoulder and curls it around his finger. “I like the curls. And the professional woman look works for you, baby.”
“Ah, thanks,” I tell him. “I’m guessing you always wear the same thing.”
“I never go without my cut. Jeans are a must. So that just leaves the decision of what color tee to wear under the leather.”
“Must be nice to have a constant uniform,” I joke with him before a thought hits me. “You never mentioned what you do for work.”
“I work for the Savage Kings,” he answers smoothly.
“I thought it was just a motorcycle club.”
“It’s a club that’s willing to accept even society’s rejects like me and pay us to occasionally get our hands a little dirty.”
“Nothing bad, though, right?” I ask in concern.
“The Kings are good guys who sometimes have to work outside the law. That’s all. Nothing too dangerous.”
“I find that hard to believe,” I admit. “What were you doing last week?”
Nolan glances away, and even though I can’t see his eyes, I know he doesn’t really want to answer, but eventually he does. “Last week I was helping a chapter locate some firearms that were stolen. The Kings wouldn’t use them for nefarious purposes, but other people might.”
“No drugs. Ever. That shit doesn’t fly with the MC. And the only people we hurt are the ones who are dangerous or the ones stupid enough to hurt one of our crew.”
“Good,” I say in relief.
“Now all that’s out of the way, what are you in the mood for?”
Well, isn’t that an open-ended question.
“I don’t know. What do you want to eat?”
Nolan lifts a brow and smiles. “Besides the obvious answer? I think I could go for some steak.”
“Then, by all means, lead the way.”
“If we take my bike, we could make it there and back even faster,” he suggests with a nod of his chin toward the shiny, black Harley.
“Or we could end up dead on the side of the road,” I remark.
“There’s no place you’ll be safer than on the back of my bike,” Nolan replies. “I promise you that, Cherry Pie.”
Just looking at the motorcycle makes my heart race with nervousness.
“Come on. You could use a little freedom in your life.”
“What makes you say that?” I ask.
“You work two jobs, are raising your brother, and never get any time for yourself. Let go with me for a few minutes, baby.”
“Fine,” I huff.
Nolan smiles at me like I just made his day by agreeing to ride on the back of his dangerous vehicle.
He places a helmet on my head and fastens the chin strap. Then, once he’s in position on the bike, I climb up behind him sort of awkwardly, glad he can’t see me.
“Hold on to me but let go of everything else,” Nolan instructs.
And that’s exactly what I do.
Chapter Five
Nolan
“Well? What did you think?” I ask Rita as soon as I kill the engine. I have to physically peel her fingers away from my cut to climb off my bike.
“That was…scary, but, ah, also sort of exhilarating.”
“Yeah?”
“I can see the appeal of them, feeling so free and nervous at the same time, but I think I prefer my car.”
“Maybe being the one driving makes it more fun,” I tell her.
“Maybe so. You were going way too fast!”
“Sorry,” I say without any regrets since I was doing the speed limit the entire way and was being more careful than if a newborn baby was behind me.
I hold out my hand for Rita to take, helping her climb off and noticing the slight wobble in her long legs when she is finally standing next to me.
“I’m shaking so hard I’m not sure if I can eat now,” she says, a noticeable tremor going through her.
“Let me see if I can help with that,” I suggest as I grab her waist to pull her body against mine. My lips place a kiss on her neck, making her shiver even harder at first. But by the second and third one, Rita slips her arms around my neck to hold on, leaning her weight against me.
Once my lips work their way over her jaw and cheek to her lips, our mouths are moving in sync.
“After near-death experiences…it’s good to find something…to ground you,” I tell her against her lips, between kisses.
“Yeah? I think you might be right about that,” she agrees before her tongue slides against mine, sending a jolt of need straight down to my cock.
Her fingers slide up and caress the back of my head. My hands glide down to grip the swells of her ass, urging her impossibly closer as I explore her mouth thoroughly.
In no time at all, I’m no longer hungry for food. In fact, I think I could be sustained by this woman’s mouth alone from now on. Her soft curves are pressed deliciously to my hard ones, especially the aching ones jutting into her belly in a silent demand to be inside of her.
“Nolan?” Rita whispers against my lips before her tongue takes away the ability for me to respond right away. Instead of answering with words, I make a grunt of acknowledgment. “Why didn’t we go back to my place for lunch?”
“Fuck if I know,” I answer. Then I realize that there’s no time for sex and lunch, not with what I have in mind for the first time I get her naked. And since she’s still got a shit ton of hours left in her day, the woman needs to take time to eat a good meal. I finally pull back and stop kissing her, even though my hands aren’t quite through with their roaming.
“Let’s eat now, and then pick this up tonight?”
“Okay,” she agrees, easier than I anticipated. Her palms slide down the front of my cut before they finally, unfortunately, drop. “But, um, only if you promise I’ll see you again tomorrow. On Saturdays I don’t have to go to work until six…”
Smiling as if she thinks that’s some sort of huge compromise for me, I tell her, “Cherry Pie, I’ll be the first person you see in the morning when you wake up, because I’m not going to want to leave your bed. Then you’ll be damn lucky if I don’t follow your gorgeous ass to work like a puppy dog.”
Rita
Of course by the time I pull up to my apartment in between my day and night job, I’m having second thoughts about inviting Nolan over tonight after I leave the club.
Sure, kissing him is great. And so was the conversation over our early breakfast and quick lunch. But now…I’m not sure if I should be jumping into anything with a man I just met quite so quickly.
Getting out of my car, I head up the two flights of stairs to the apartment, weighing everything in my mind.
And as soon as I turn the key in the lock and open the door, I hear a commotion and urgent whispering coming from back in Cory’s bedroom. Guess he’s not alone.
Before I can even start heating up a frozen meal for my dinner, a teenage girl with long, blonde hair in a skimpy spring dress comes bolting out of his room. Didn’t Cory have a redhead over last week? “Hi, Rita. See you later,” the girl I don’t recognize says in a hurry as she runs out the door.
“Cory!” I exclaim while watching the time tick down on the microwave. It seems like all I do every day is watch some kind of clock.
“What’s up?” my little brother asks when he finally reappears a few minutes later wearing nothing but a pair of athletic shorts, his fingers trying and failing to comb his tussled reddish-blond hair.
“Who was that who just left?”
He grins in response before disappearing behind the refrigerator door. “Oh, that was Jenny. Cute, right?”
“Cute, yeah. The girl last week was cute too. So was the one last month. Do I have to even say that you better be wrapping it up?”
“Trust me, sis, the last thing I want is a kid. No matter how good it feels to go bareback, it ain’t worth that shit.”
“No, it’s not,” I agree. “I’m glad you’re being somewhat smart about this. And, ah, since you’re obviously not a little kid anymore, you should know that I’m seeing someone.”
“Yeah?” he asks before drinking straight out of the two-liter bottle of cola – the cheap kind since we can’t afford name brands.
“His name is Nolan, and, um, you may see him around here in the mornings…”
“No shit? You’re gonna have sleepovers? You haven’t ever invited a man over before. What makes this one special?”
I’m surprised he actually noticed. It’s not that I haven’t slept with anyone in the six years Cory and I have been living together on our own. I just haven’t brought any men home or thought any of them were worth introducing to him because I knew they wouldn’t last. And I was right about every one, not that there have been all that many.
“Nolan is nice and handsome. I like him. Even though I haven’t known him long, I think he’s looking for more than a hookup.”
“If you say so,” Cory replies, not sounding convinced. Just because my teenage brother can’t keep it in his pants doesn’t mean the twenty-nine-year-old biker isn’t ready for monogamy.
Chapter Six
Nolan
Since it’s been over twelve hours since I last saw Rita at lunch and I’ve missed her, I dec
ide to head into the club for the last hour before closing time.
It’s a Friday night, which means Abel and Hugo are with me, willing to pay way too much money to get Felicity in a private room again.
“Why not just wait until she gets off tonight?” I ask them when we find one of the few empty tables in the back. Guess the rest of the men want to be near the stage to see the tits up close and personal. Since that’s not why we came, we don’t mind the dark corner.
“You mean why pay to have her grind on our laps when she will do it for free later?” Abel asks.
“Yeah. It’s a waste.”
“It’s the forbidden and doing it in a public place,” Hugo explains. “She’s not supposed to touch our dicks, so enticing her to do it is part of the fun.”
“What he said,” Abel agrees with a nod. “She’s a sexy little thing who every man in here wants.” When I raise my brow, he amends that statement. “Fine, almost every man in here wants her and can’t have her the way we get to. Sure, she’ll dance for them and shake her tits in their face, but she wants us to fuck her brains out. At the same time.”
“Amen, brother,” Hugo mutters, offering Abel a fist bump across the table.
“If you weren’t so hung-up on the redhead, Felicity would be up for a four-way.”
“No fucking thank you,” I mutter since sharing a woman has never been my style. Especially not a woman like the stripper. No, I much prefer the beautiful, hardworking waitress who doesn’t give in to cash so easily.
I think that’s the reason why I kept offering her more money to dance for me after the manager said she could if she wanted for the right price.
There wasn’t a right one for Rita.
Thank fuck.
I don’t like my Harleys rode hard by every asshole in town, and the same goes for my women. Unlike Hugo and Abel, who like the dirtiest chicks they can find.
