Leather and Chrome (Royal Bastards MC: Detroit, MI Book 2)

by Shannon Youngblood

“Chrome?” Silver asked as I opened the door.

  “Yes, Prez?” I turned to face him.

  “You know you can tell me anything, right? If you’re in some kind of danger or need help, we’ll figure it out.”

  That man was too observant for his own good.

  “I’m good Prez,” I gulped.

  “Okay. And one more thing.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Talk to Cam.”

  I knew Silver had been referring to the new supplies the club downstairs needed, but I just smiled with wicked intent and shut the door behind me.

  As I had promised Silver, I went back to my room and conked out for several more hours. By the time I had re-awoken, it was dusk and the sun was setting. I needed to get over to Cameron’s shop to talk to her about the club, and then I was going to talk to her about my bed, and the need for her in it.

  When I got to the shop, I cursed loudly, discovering that she had already left, and her apprentice, Hodge, wasn’t sure where she had gone. My only clue as to her whereabouts was the outfit Hodge described in detail. She hadn’t just gone out to the grocery store or a book shop. She was going back to the bar, and I was going to follow her there.

  When I saw her from the shadows pull the cigarette out of her purse and dig for her lighter I knew it was time to strike. While the jeans she had worn yesterday had been form fitting to the say the least, the low-rise leather pants she was currently sporting left little to the imagination. Her tanned mid-section poked out from under her white crop-top, and she looked like a fallen angel.

  “Need a light?” I asked, walking slowly out of the shadows up to her.

  “Yes, please. Thank yo---” He words cut off as soon as she spotted me. Her eyes flicked up and down, taking me in, and they were laced with an equal mixture of both intrigue, and irritation.

  “Are you stalking me, Chrome?” She asked, taking a deep drag of her cigarette before pursing her lips and blowing it out. It took me a moment to register her words, my mind focused on the vision of those lips wrapped around the head of my cock.

  “I don’t see your name on this bar, Angel,” I winked, taking a hit off of my own cigarette. She probably didn’t even notice the way her breath hitched just a little bit, and her folded arm came down to rest at her side. I was getting to her, cracking at that solid petulant core.

  “No,” she replied, rolling her eyes just a little, “But I’ve never seen you here before last night.”

  “Just because you’ve never seen me before, Angel, doesn’t mean I haven’t seen you,” I growled a little. In truth, I hadn’t seen her before last night, at least not at this bar, but I wasn’t going to let her know that.

  It was clear my words were having an effect on her, but she was trying desperately to ignore it. I had promised Silver that I would be ready to take over in his absence, and getting this luscious woman into my bed was step one in the process.

  “What’s with the nickname?” Cameron asked, throwing her cigarette down and snuffing it out with the toe of her boot. I slowly let my eyes drink in her every curve as I walked them up her body.

  “You don’t like it, Angel?” I smirked. She did like it, but she played coy well. It was time to step up my game.

  ‘Cut the crap, Chrome,” Cam spat out, folding her arms over her chest. “What’s with the name?”

  I shrugged and turned away from her. Step two was feigning interest and I knew she wasn’t going to like it. In my twenty eight years on earth I had learned one very valuable thing when it came to women. The more interest you showed, the less they did, and vice versa. Walking away was almost certainly guaranteed to rile her feathers, and in the process get her attention.

  Right on cue, I could almost hear the anger radiating from her as she reached out and grabbed my arm, “Don’t you walk away from m--”

  I turned suddenly and grabbed her wrist, pulling it away from my arm. In simultaneous movements, I walked her backwards, slammed her against the rough wall of the bar, and brought her bound wrist above her head. Lust, rage, and an unfamiliar feeling tore through me in a whirlwind tornado. I pressed my body against Cameron’s and looked deep into her green eyes, before leaning down to whisper in her ear.

  “I already told you. I am a demon, which makes you an angel.” I wanted nothing more than to take her right up against the wall of this shitty bar. I didn’t give a fuck who saw us. I only cared about my dick being engulfed by her pussy

  Her breathing was shallow as I enunciated every word, my leg pressed in between hers. I could feel her warmth radiating on my knee, and I had to stop myself a thousand times in a ten second span from shoving my hand down the front of her leathers to cup her cunt in my hand.

  I leaned down once more to whisper in her ear, taking a whiff of her scent. My eyes dilated at the scent of her, and the beast inside me threatened to tear through my body to get to this woman. I needed to get out of here before I did something I couldn’t take back. I wanted this woman under me, but I wanted her to WANT to be under me. I wouldn’t and couldn’t just take it.

  “Don’t get too close Angel, or I’ll be forced to drag you down to hell with me,” I nipped at her earlobe before taking off towards the parking lot and my bike. I needed to ride. Now.

  The cool air whipped around me, forcing down both my insatiable lust and my overpowering and all-consuming ire and rage. Every second I spent with Cameron seemed to be a lesson in control, and it wasn’t something I was used to.

  Any time I had felt like this in the past, a good fight, murder, or fucking usually solved the trick, but I had a feeling that was not going to be the case this time. Cameron had somehow sunk her ferocious claws into my mind and she wasn’t letting go.

  What I needed was to take a woman to my bed, and fuck away this strange feeling. Silver was leaving tomorrow on his trip and he was taking Lacey with him. While he was gone, I would find one of the girls downstairs and I would get rid of this feeling of need, a feeling I didn’t fucking like, and didn’t want. Once my world shifted back into a lane I knew, I would get the supplies we needed from Cameron and I would put her out of my mind.

  The ride back to headquarters took longer than normal as I circled around the outskirts of the city. I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for, but I knew that I would know it as soon as I found it. A level of frustration I hadn’t ever encountered before spiralled inside of my brain and I needed to unravel it before it unravelled me.

  At two in the morning, I almost gave up hope and steered my bike back in the direction of my club, but someone upstairs was looking out for me and gave me exactly what I craved.

  “Get in the fucking truck, you pathetic whore.”

  The voice was almost low enough to not hear, but not quite. Shutting off my bike across the street and engaging the kickstand, I stood up and crept over silently to the scene taking place.

  There were two men in a black truck talking to the woman on the street. The woman was, it seemed, a sex worker but she didn’t at all look thrilled with the customer choice.

  “I told you to go away, Dan,” she yelled, walking away from the truck window and throwing her cigarette down. She obviously knew at least one of the men hounding her.

  “Candy. Baby. Please. Get in the truck.”

  The young woman sneered at the guys and kept walking, the truck slowly creeping behind her.

  Keeping a safe distance back, I waited to see if I would be needed to intervene.

  “You and your dad haven’t paid me for the last two times you’ve come around here, Danny, and you’ve already gotten me in trouble with Marcus. Now go the fuck away.”

  I took a stab in the dark that Candy was a prostitute and Marcus was her pimp. The thought made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I didn’t begrudge a sex worker for doing what she wanted and had to, to survive, but what I hated was both a money hungry pimp and an overzealous customer who couldn’t take no for an answer.

  Candy kept walking, and the truck kept its pace,
the driver and passenger obviously not taking the hint. I decided it was now or never.

  “Is there a problem here?” My grizzly voice was loud and assertive, but not enough to scare away the poor girl.

  “Mind your business biker scum,” the boy in the passenger seat said, opening the door and stepping out.

  “Biker scum?” I chuckled at the failed attempt of an insult. “Listen little boy. The lady asked you to beat it. If I were you, I would listen to her.”

  “Yeah, well, you ain’t me, are you,” the man named Danny spat at me.

  “No. I’m certainly not you. The best part of you dribbled down your whore mothers leg and became a stain in the backseat of my Volkswagen,” I goaded.

  Standing at maybe five foot five, the lad couldn’t have been more than twenty-two and weighed in at probably a buck twenty. He was clearly young and foolish, and exceptionally brave, It would be my honor to knock him down a few pegs. I couldn’t see the driver, Dan’s dad, quite as well, but it was clear Dan didn’t get his scrawniness from him. The driver seemed to be about my height and build.

  Taking another few steps, I closed the gap between us. Dan was clearly shaking in his boots, but his pride kept him rooted to the spot. Couldn’t let good ol’ Dad down it seemed. I couldn’t say I knew the feeling.

  “I told you to get the fuck out of here biker. This isn’t your business,” he said, his voice cracking as he took in my size.

  “Ma’am,” I said, never taking my eyes off of Dan’s.

  “Um, yeah?” She replied.

  “Did you want me to leave you to deal with this?”

  “Please stay,” she replied almost instantly.

  “You heard the lady, Dan. I’m not going anywhere. Now, why don’t you get back in your car and fuck all the way off?” I growled out the last few words.

  “And why don’t you go to hell?”

  The next second happened in a blur. Candy screamed ‘watch out’ at the exact moment, the man from the drivers side pulled the trigger on his gun aimed right at me. I hadn’t noticed him get out of the truck and come up behind me, too focused on the little pipsqueak in front of me.

  The bullet grazed my shoulder and for just a split second, blinding white hot pain clouded my vision. Almost immediately, black and red filled my line of site, and I let the monster loose. I spun around and grabbed the man in one fluid movement, wrapping my arms around his neck. As if dancing in a murderous ballet, I spun him back around to face Dan, at the same moment Dan grabbed the gun from his waistband and pulled the trigger.

  Just as the bullet hit its mark, in his fathers chest, I put my hands on the side of his face and twisted sharply, his neck snapping in a satisfying crunch. The body didn’t have time to hit the ground and I was already on Dan, grabbing his gun and tossing it to the side. I picked him up by the throat and threw him up against the truck.

  “Please. Please. Don’t kill me,” he wailed, tears already streaking down his face.

  “And why the fuck shouldn’t I?” My beast snarled, gripping his neck a little bit harder.

  “I’m sorry,” he choked out. “My dad-- he--he”

  “He what?”

  “He made me do it! I didn’t want any part of this.”

  The boy’s tears were genuine, and although my monster disagreed, wanting me to snap his neck as I had done his dad’s, my heart ached for the kid in ways I understood better than most.

  I took a deep breath, tamping down my anger, and released the boy from my grasp.

  Dan fell to the ground in a pathetic heap, inches from his fathers face, weeping uncontrollably. Hatred shined from my eyes at the pathetic excuse on the ground at my feet, and I turned away to check on the girl.

  “Are you alright?” I asked, gently.

  “Yeah. Thanks,” she said. “You got a light?”

  I fished in my pocket for a lighter and lit her cigarette.

  “Need a little company?” She said, propositioning me like she hadn’t just witnessed a murder right in front of her very eyes.

  I could use the company it was true, but the thought of anyone in my bed that wasn’t Cameron was suddenly very off putting.

  “I appreciate the offer,” I stated, “But I’m not currently looking.”

  “I see,” she smiled. “What’s her name?”

  Women were too observant for their own good.

  “Do you like doing this?” I asked, pointing around us, an idea formulating in my mind.

  Candy shrugged, flicking her butt into the middle of the street. “I don’t have a lot of other choices now do I?”

  I looked her over. It was true, she probably needed a shower, and some new clothes, but Candy was a highly attractive young woman. Her hair was naturally red and flowed long and wavy down her back. Her legs were long, and her calves were noticeably tight. Her ass was a little small for my tastes, but she had a body that men would drool over. She would make a good addition to our BDSM club, if she was interested.

  Pulling out my cell phone, I looked over. Dan was still a pile of emotional goo on the ground and I rolled my eyes.

  “Derp. Grab TBone and Barnie and get to Penrod and Warren. Bring a cleanup van.”

  I hung up without waiting for an answer. I needed to figure out what I was going to do with Dan. If he was going to be a risk to me or my club by going to the law, he’d have a similar fate to his fathers.

  I picked Dan up by his collar and stood him on his feet. His eyes were red and he sniffled, completely avoiding eye contact.

  “We going to have issues in the future with this, Dan?” I asked, pointing down to his father.

  “N-noo,” Dan whispered, his earlier bravado completely gone with the wind.

  “Good.” I leaned down and picked up both Dan’s gun, and his fathers and put them in my waistband at my back. “Now get the fuck out of here. I never want to see your face again. Do you understand me?”

  “Y--yes, Sssir,” he mumbled before hightailing it around the truck, hopping in the driver’s seat and taking off.

  I really fucking hoped I wouldn’t regret letting that kid go.

  I turned back around to face Candy.

  “Would you change your situation if you could?” I asked. Her answer would determine my next move.

  She shrugged, and although her non-verbal answer reeked of nonchalance, her eyes told a different story. She wanted out, but didn’t think it was possible.

  “You got a pen?”

  Candy nodded and reached into her bag, pulling out a pen and a tiny notebook, handing it to me. I wrote down my name and the club's address.

  “If you decide that is what you want, you can find me here.”

  Candy took the note, looked at it before ripping out the page and shoving it into her cleavage. She nodded at me and without another word, walked away from me and the scene. I didn’t know if she would ever work up the courage to leave her pimp, but a big part of me hoped she might.

  An hour later, I pulled back into my spot at the club and wearily dragged my ass up to my room. It had been a long day. With my boots still secured fastly to my feet, I fell into bed with images of Cameron swirling around in my head. I had a feeling tomorrow would be just as long.

  It was eight in the morning and I hadn’t gotten more than four hours of sleep. Thankfully, I wasn’t hung over this morning, just stressed, worked up and insatiable. After Chrome had left the bar, I had gone inside to try and get my mind off the demon in question.

  I downed one shot, but my stomach twisted itself up in knots and I decided it was best to just head home. I fell into bed early, the clock reading just past eleven, but my stupid overactive brain decided this was the perfect opportunity to bombard me with images of a certain biker.

  The way he had spoken to me last night, not including the way he manhandled me, should have irritated me to no end. Chrome was not one to trifle with. I had heard many stories from my brother TBone over the years, and not one of them were good. Chrome was a hot headed bastard with a
thirst for blood, and I didn’t need that in my life, but it didn’t stop my brain from telling me I was wrong.

  There was something about Chrome that spoke to a side of me I had little knowledge in. Yes, there was rage within him, and something dark that he wore as a forcefield, but there was something else deep inside of him. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. My mother had always said I was as stubborn as a mule, and she was, unfortunately for me, very correct.

  I spent several hours laying in bed trying desperately to figure out this man. The problem being, I really didn’t know much about him. Where had he come from? Who was his family? How did he come to be in the Royal Bastards? I racked my brain for anything TBone might have said in passing, but nothing came to mind, at least not anything to clue me in as to why he was the way that he was.

  I grabbed my cell phone and called my brother, but it was past two in the morning, and there was a chance he wasn’t even awake. I didn’t even know what I was going to say if he did answer. I decided to shoot him a text instead.

  To: TBone

  Message: Bro, you up?

  Short, sweet, and to the point. If he wasn’t busy., I knew he’d answer pretty quickly. My phone dinged back almost immediately.

  From: TBone

  Message: Sup sis?

  I punched in his number and waited for him to answer. I had no interest in a long drawn out texting war.

  “You ok?” He asked, without saying hello.

  “Yeah,” I responded. “What are you up to?”

  “On my way out to help Chrome with some club business,” he replied.

  Club business? At two in the morning?

  “I see. What’s going on?” I asked. I didn’t think he would answer me. They had a strict code about keeping club business quiet.

  “No idea. Was just told to drive down to Penrod and Warren right away.”

  I could almost hear his nonchalant shrugging through the phone's speaker. Did he know that area was famous for hookers, and drug deals? Was Chrome into drugs? Or maybe it was the whores that paraded up and down the streets. I shivered with the thought.

  “Cam?”

  “Oh, Sorry, Tyler,” I apologized, calling him by his birth name. “I’ll let ya go.”