“He wouldn’t hurt me or let anyone else hurt me either.” Her conviction was so strong I could feel it in the way she squeezed my hand. “Does knowing that as a fact make sense? No. But that doesn’t stop it from being true either. Seriously. Do you think Rain would hurt you?”
I thought about it.
Seriously thought about it.
I pushed aside the lean muscle, those storm-cloud eyes, the thickness I had felt beneath my ass when I was on his lap.
Instead, I thought about the look on his face right before I walked away. The one he made after he tried to stop me, and I’d glanced down angrily at the hand on my skin. If I was being honest with myself, which I was trying to be, he looked like he’d been gutted.
He looked as if he would’ve rather had me punch him straight in the face than to hit him with the cold disdain I had learned from my mother.
But for all the pain I had seen, he hadn’t acted out the way I expected a man like him to do when he was wounded.
Rain didn’t rage or yell or plead with me to stay. He simply let go and watched me walk away. And I knew he watched me go because for those long moments where I gathered myself and stalked away, I could feel the burn of his gaze between my shoulder blades.
“No,” I told my best friend. My confidant. The girl I trusted beyond a shadow of a doubt. “I don’t think he would hurt me.”
She nodded, having known what my answer would be before I did. This whole thing was weird. Usually, I was the one giving her advice and not the other way around. Although maybe that was because most of my advice revolved around dealing with the catty bitches who wanted to mess with her because she was so nice.
Lizzy sat up, looking down at me. My very own guardian angel. “In that case, ask yourself this. If you don’t think he would do anything to hurt you, what is there to be scared of?”
“Four letter words that shouldn’t be on my mind the first day after meeting some random guy.” Most of that emerged so quickly it ran together. Lizzy blinked for several moments, deciphering the code. Then she nodded.
“Kayla-”
I sat up, grabbing her arms. “Don’t you dare.”
“Marie,” she continued, smiling.
I squeezed. She only giggled.
“Thomas.”
I groaned obnoxiously loud, shaking her back in forth. “I’ve heard my whole name twice in one day and once is already too much.”
“Well, I said it for a reason so mine is more valid.”
“And that reason is?”
“I shouldn’t have to tell you but you’re obviously having a slow moment.”
“I’m going to sell you on the black market and find a new best friend.”
She squirmed from my grip and flicked my nose. “They would refund you and send me back and you know it. What I was gonna say is that you’re way too badass to be scared of words, girl. You’re the one who taught me to jump. Stop fighting the fall.”
“This one could hurt,” I warned her, already knowing the choice was made.
Lizzy pulled me into a hug, and I let her. “That’s why I’m here,” she said. “Even if the whole world lets us down, I’ll always be here to pick up the pieces. But you owe it to me to try.”
“To you, huh?”
“Yep.” She pulled back and smiled again. “I need you to do this so I can live vicariously through you until it’s my turn.”
“That’s a terrible reason.”
“You don’t need a reason,” she said, knowing me too well. “You’ve already decided.
My thumb found the tiny wings tattooed on the inside of my wrist, lightly tracing over them. Half my reason for getting them was that I knew the Ice Queen would hate it. The other half was for me.
A reminder.
When there was a choice between stillness or flight, I would always fly.
Always.
Chapter 5 - Rain
Made it one week, I thought, rubbing the knot in my shoulders against the rough bark of the tree behind me.
Almost one week, anyway. Four days was more accurate, but who was keeping track? My ability to tell time had become nonexistent.
There were the moments Kayla was somewhere in my sight that always seemed too short.
Then there were the moments where she wasn’t and those dragged into a miserable eternity.
The backlot of the garage was emptier than it had been in a long time. Who knew being unhappy would make me so productive? But it had. To keep from doing something stupid like trying to fuck my woman in the middle of another classroom, I had thrown myself into the task of repairing the many machines that came my way.
Tone didn’t approve of my chosen method of stress relief. Said I was going to work my way into an early grave if I didn’t pace myself. I knew he was serious because he’d shown up at the garage with two cups of his gross ass herbal tea and tried to sit me down for a face to face talk.
I hadn’t accepted either. His talks were notorious. And the last thing I needed was him sitting there all chill and composed and making too damn much sense.
I didn’t want things to make sense.
I wanted my Pixie back in my arms.
But after Monday’s disaster, I wasn’t sure how to make that happen.
So, I was doing the same shit I’d been doing all week: lurking.
There was a huge oak tree towards the top of the largest hill on campus grounds. Lots of students usually gathered around it and spread blankets on the green grass to eat their lunch. At least they used to. No one seemed too eager to make the trek up here since I had claimed it as my perch to watch the entire campus.
Go figure.
It was almost as if a scowling, tattooed guy riding a bike that growled like a mountain lion didn’t make for an approachable figure.
I didn’t give a shit.
They could have this spot back when it was done serving my purpose.
From here, I could see Kayla and Lizzy each time they strolled across campus arm in arm. The former—the one who was mine even if she wasn’t ready to admit it—would always turn, glancing up the hill towards me. She wouldn’t pause or wave and I would do nothing other than hold my breath and pretend I could hold those precious seconds inside my chest. Then she would turn away and it would feel like something was ripping me apart at the seams.
And speak of the Devil…
A shock of blue caught my eye and I straightened up in the shade, hands in my pockets.
Kayla appeared first from her last class of the day, shades over her face so big I could make them out from here. My body came to life at the sight of her, the same way it always did. The beat of my heart picked up speed. My palms itched to hold her. My cock swelled and lengthened, straining against the confines of my jeans.
The damn thing should’ve been worn out after the last few days. I hadn’t jacked off this much since I was a teenager and caught sight of my first nipple in the wild.
Except there was no end to my overwhelming need when it came to Kayla.
And every day she only looked more devastating.
A black and blue sundress hugged her curvy frame, fluttering around her ankles in the breeze. My mouth watered at the thought of tugging the front of it down and exposing the swells of her breasts. I could almost taste her skin. Feel her nipple growing stiff beneath my tongue. Smell her arousal as I took the sensitive nub between my teeth and lightly bit down.
She turned, glancing up at me. I swear on everything both holy and not that the moment she spotted my silhouette in the shadows she ran a hand lightly down the front of her body. Like my desire was so strong she could feel me even with the distance separating us.
Then Lizzy stepped from the building, and her attention moved to the short blonde.
Whatever they started discussing, I was obviously the subject. It wasn’t my cockiness speaking, for a change. They both kept shooting glances this way, and Lizzy went as far as pointing before Kayla pulled her hand down. Lizzy shook her head and pivoted
on her heel, stomping in my direction while Kayla went another.
This should be good.
Her stance and tiny balled fists told me she was annoyed before she reached the hill and started the climb. Making out the intense frown as she got closer proved I was right. Her footing staggered for a moment—sandals weren’t exactly made for scaling hills—and I was on the balls of my feet, ready to run down and catch her before she regained her balance.
I still wasn’t sure what Creed wanted with her. He hadn’t asked me to do more than watch her while she was on campus. Judging by the tight lips Tone got when I asked him about it, she was a serious person of interest for the Sinners. Thankfully, my brother had no interest in hurting women so I could only guess someone in the club had Marked her.
“You,” Lizzy said, arriving in front of me with an annoyed huff.
I raised a brow. “Me.”
“Don’t get smart with me, Creed’s brother. You’re getting on my last nerve already.”
“If you came up here to warn me off,” I said, forcing calm in my voice. “You’re wasting your breath. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Warn you off?” She tilted her head, telling me with a look that she thought I was being a complete idiot. “Why the hell would I do that when I pulled a fire alarm to get you two alone together the first time?”
“Because…”
Shit.
I had nothing.
Why had she done that?
“Where is Texas?”
I blanked my face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah right, dude.” Lizzy poked me in the chest. “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid. I’ve seen more bikers in the last couple of months than I have in years. It’s funny how they always happen to be hanging around the shops and restaurants I frequent.”
No surprise there.
Creed was about as subtle as a tank charging through downtown. While firing the main gun. While a marching band played and shot fireworks at the same time.
“There’s a lot of bikers around here,” I said. “What makes you think they care about you one way or another?”
“Don’t make me smack you, Creed’s brother. I know what I’m talking about.”
“I do have a name,” I reminded her lightly, more amused than anything by her rant.
She scoffed. “Once you stop annoying me, I’ll think about using it again. Until that point comes, you’ve been demoted. Now spill it. Where. Is. Texas?”
There was a hitch to her voice when she said his name, and something vulnerable passed through her eyes that I could sympathize with. When the Sinners had first started etching their legend across the pages of time, danger had followed Creed around like it was stuck to his very spirit.
I could remember a hundred times where I watched his bike disappear into the distance. Each of those times was accompanied by a painful clench in my chest as I wondered if that would be the time he didn’t come back. If the next time I saw him, it would be when I got the call to identify his body.
Just because I disagreed with many of my brother’s lifestyle choices didn’t mean I ever wanted anything to happen to him. So, I recognized the worry Lizzy was quick to hide. I blamed that look on why I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
Besides, she was my woman’s best friend. By proxy, I would do right by her going forward.
“Honestly,” I said. “I don’t know where he is.”
Her face fell and I cursed.
“Whatever you think you know about the relationship between my brother and me, I can tell you here and now that he doesn't inform me of shit that goes down with the club. Plus, Tex is a scary motherfucker in his own right. He can take care of himself.”
She was trying to keep up her brave face, but her eyes betrayed her. They were glassy and bright with barely restrained emotion.
“What if he’s not okay?” she whispered in a voice so quiet the wind nearly tore it away. “What if he’s hurt? Or worse?”
I thought about patting her shoulder to try and provide some comfort, but if she really was involved with Tex in some way—which I believed, given the lengths Creed was going to in order to make sure she was safe—then it was probably better to be on the safe side.
If he felt for this girl a fraction of what I felt for Kayla, he would rip my arm off and beat me with it. I settled for snapping my fingers in front of her face until she was focused on me again.
Was it rude? Probably. But not murdering people in my spare time didn’t translate to proper manners.
“You with me?” I asked. She was blinking a little too fast when she nodded, but I would take what I could get. “I can promise you right here and now that wherever he is, he’s safe. Alright?”
She squinted at me. “You’re sure of that. How?”
“Because if he wasn’t, Creed would already be on the warpath.” I shivered despite the warmth in the air, remembering the day he dealt with the Cartel thugs giving me a hard time. “Since no one has been hitched to the back of a chopper and dragged through the streets, and nothing has been set on fire recently, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“If you’re wrong about this-”
“I’m not,” I cut her off before she could get wound up again. “Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got to get back to the garage.”
I turned and made it a single step before she grabbed my arm and twisted me back towards her.
“You almost got promoted back to being Rain,” she said. “Then you ruined it. Where the hell are you going?”
I pointed over my shoulder in the direction my shop would be. “I just told you…”
“What about Kay?”
Mine, is what I thought.
“What about her?” is what I said.
“Ugh.” Lizzy groaned and threw an arm over her face. “Guys are so freaking clueless sometimes I wonder how y’all remember to attach your heads to your bodies in the morning.”
“Are you going to make a point or-”
She went to poke me in the chest again and I stepped out of the way, earning a completely non-menacing scowl. “Go after her.”
“What if-”
“Nope.” She held up a hand. “I’m going to stop you right there before you even venture deeper into that rabbit hole. You’ve been doing this dumb, stalker routine all week.”
I grimaced, but there was no denying she was right.
“And instead of coming up here and kneeing you in the balls or calling the cops like someone making good decisions would’ve done, she walks out of every class and looks for you. Every. Time. What, you thought she liked the view of this stupid tree or something?”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re very direct?”
Lizzy threw her hair back over her shoulder. “I’ll take that as a compliment, and stop distracting me. Time to put your big boy pants on, Creed’s brother. Go after our girl before I have to resort to more extreme measures. My bag isn’t out of tricks just yet.”
Even without that threat hanging over my head, I would’ve agreed. Already, the thought of being close to her filled my body with unfaltering resolve. My shoulders went back, chest puffing out. My fingers curled and relaxed while thoughts of what I would do the moment I had my hands on her streaked through my brain.
Kayla was mine.
It was beyond time I claimed her as such.
And that luscious body of hers would never be the same once I finally had her spread out before me. A banquet worth gorging myself on.
“She’s got a shift at Aster’s,” Lizzy said, grinning at me as her words sank in and my fists clenched for another reason.
I marched away without saying goodbye, almost sprinting to my bike. That place was hardly better than a strip club. My woman was a work of art, deserving of being seen appreciated. But if someone dared to put their hands on what belonged to me…
The kind of hell I would unleash on them would make the monster I shared blood with proud.
Chapter 6
- Kayla
“Look who finally decided to show up,” Paige said with a sneer when she walked into the dressing room, baggy eyes raking me up and down.
I ignored her while I finished struggling to tie my flannel shirt below my chest. Why waste a perfectly good scowl on the dark-haired, sallow-skinned druggie when I could level one at the offending piece of material trying to restrict my circulation instead.
Yeah, I had size in the chest area. Nothing new there. But unless I had fallen and hit my head while looking over my shoulder for Rain this past week, I wasn’t in a tv show where they grew every time I wasn’t paying attention.
There was no way I was getting any bigger, so why did it feel like my uniform shirt was getting smaller each time I put it on? For a moment, I considered how likely it was that the call girl turned owner, Aster, was shrinking it in the wash. And the odds were...surprisingly likely.
The woman I called boss had made her money and supported her lifestyle by taking advantage of what the Lord had given her without shame or worry about how people might perceive her. A lesson she tried to pass onto her wait staff for better or for worse. For Paige, who moved in to lean against my locker so she could keep giving me the evil eye, it was definitely worse.
Women like her didn’t need to feel like they had more control than they did. It always went to their heads. Got them all confused. That was my reasoning behind her vendetta against me, at least. She’d been the star of the show before I supplied a fake ID and started working here a couple of years ago, after the Warden and his Ice Queen cut me off.
In all her pathetic glory, Paige equated the number of tips she brought in with her self-worth.
So, when I started bringing in more, easily, she had taken it as a personal attack against her and her little kingdom of fawning bitches that worshipped the ground she walked on.
Rain Page 4
