by Blair Grey
“How was your day?” Mia asked, stirring something on the stove. She nodded toward some produce lined up on the cutting board next to me. “Would you mind dicing up those onions and tomatoes and things? If you can get all that ready while I finish up the shrimp real fast, we’ll be well on our way to some tasty tacos.”
“I like the sound of that,” I said, rolling up my sleeves and grabbing the knife. “My day was good,” I told her as I carefully chopped the onion.
“Yeah, how was your thing this afternoon?”
“Red Eyes club meeting,” I told her because I knew she already was well aware that I was a member of the motorcycle club.
“Ah, fair enough,” she said. “Any big club news? Or can you not tell me about any of that stuff since I’m not a member?”
I laughed and shrugged. “Honestly, given the amount that Ray and Candice chat at the bar, I’m sure you already have a pretty good idea of what we do with the club,” I told her. “Nothing too big going on at the moment, though. Thankfully, I guess.”
“Why thankfully?” Mia asked curiously.
I paused, debating how much I wanted to tell her. Surprisingly, I found myself wanting to talk about Landon and the Florida mission. Of course, I wouldn’t give her all the details. She didn’t need to know that I had been held at gunpoint or anything like that. But I had a feeling she would understand some of this stuff, and I found myself wanting to share it with her. You know, in the spirit of friendship.
I glanced over at her. “Landon and I had this mission in Florida, that’s why we went there in the first place,” I told her. “And it wasn’t a terrible mission, but it’s kind of nice to come home and just have a chance to breathe again. I like it when there’s action, don’t get me wrong, but…” I trailed off. “I guess the main thing is, I’m not ready to go into the action without Landon at my side yet.”
“Yeah, I can imagine,” Mia said, nodding her head. “I mean, I can sort of imagine. You guys spent a lot of time together. Bet it’s like being a police officer and having to find a new partner. Only worse.”
I laughed, surprised by the insight in that statement. “Yeah, actually,” I said. “I guess it’s kind of like that. Only Ray seems to already have someone picked out for me, so I’m not really trying to find a new partner so much as just trying to get used to him.”
“Is it Grant?” Mia asked, scooping shrimp out of the frying pan and into a serving dish.
“Yeah,” I said. “How’d you know?”
“I’ve seen him in Sunshine a few times before, but you’re not usually the one-on-one kind of guy,” Mia said. “And to be honest, you didn’t seem to be having a ton of fun with him the other night.”
I grimaced. “We just don’t have much in common outside of Red Eyes,” I told her. “And he’s young.”
Mia laughed. “Like you’re so old,” she teased.
“I’d like to think that I act at least a little older than him,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Or maybe it’s just that I’ve never been as much of a pansy as he is. He’s been practically begging me to go out for drinks with him again. It’s kind of pathetic. I guess he must not have many friends or something.”
“Isn’t that why you guys join motorcycle clubs in the first place?” Mia asked. “To make friends?”
She had started building the tacos, and I watched her talented hands work as I thought about how to respond to that. “I guess so,” I finally said. “There’s definitely a good camaraderie there. We’re like a family.”
“Do you have friends outside of the club?” she asked patiently.
“Of course I do!” I said.
“Other than the random guys that you know and sometimes chat with at the bar?” Mia asked. She glanced over, a grin on her lips. “I mean, I know you’re a pretty social guy, but I’ve only ever seen you come into the bar with guys from Red Eyes. Sometimes you chat with other guys, but you don’t ever show up with them.”
I stared at her, feeling momentarily flat-footed. When I thought about it, I supposed she was right. And maybe that was part of why I was feeling so lonely lately. It wasn’t just that Landon was in Florida. It was that Will had Belle and Marcus was in the Northwest with his girl, and now Landon was in Florida, too. All my friends were shacking up and settling down with women, and it wasn’t just that Red Eyes didn’t have that many members anymore. It was that all my best friends didn’t have a reason to go out to the bars anymore.
“Huh,” I said.
Mia laughed. “Huh,” she agreed, nodding her head. “So maybe you should stop being a dick and just take the kid out for beers a few times until he finds out that you’re a terrible person to be friends with.”
That surprised a laugh out of me. “You think I’m a dick?” I asked.
“Oh yes,” Mia said seriously, nodding her head. “I think you’re absolutely terrible.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. It was interesting how turned on that got me, the way that she was teasing me. She sure wasn’t like other women. Demure and quiet and respectful, she was none of those things. And I liked that. She spoke her mind, and she liked to joke around.
Suddenly, even though we hadn’t even sat down to dinner yet, I couldn’t hold back. I caught her by the hips, turning her around to face me and forcing her back against the counter. “Say it again,” I growled.
Mia’s eyes went dark as she grinned up at me. “You,” she said, breathlessly, pointing a finger at my chest, “are absolutely terrible. The worst.”
But from the way that she said it, I could tell that she meant anything but that.
I pressed my mouth against hers, feeling her body melt against mine. Her hands came up to tangle in my hair, holding my head where it was until I wasn’t sure anymore who was kissing whom. The kiss was hungry, and I was already half hard just from pressing against her like this, my tongue twisting with hers. She moaned as I nipped at her lower lip, and the vibrations were better than those of a good bike between the legs.
Her fingers came up to my shirt, rapidly undoing the buttons, and if there had been any question about how this night was going to go, that uncertainty was gone now.
Mia pushed at my shoulders, forcing me to take a step back. “Come on,” she said, her eyes lusty as they took in my muscular chest through my open shirt. She grabbed my hand and tugged me through the hallway, past the living room, and toward the stairs.
In the bedroom, my lips found hers again, even as we both furiously ripped off each other’s clothing in the heat of passion.
10
Mia
I could barely believe how easy it was to get Braxton upstairs and into bed with me. I didn’t know what I had been expecting. But it just felt like after all those years of tiptoeing around each other at the bar, of not being certain if he was even interested in me, that this should be trickier than it was. But one minute, we were talking, and the next minute we were kissing until I was breathless and dizzy with desire.
We hadn’t even had dinner yet. I couldn’t help but feel amused by that.
In fact, I’d been pretty sure that if I didn’t break the kiss and lead Braxton upstairs when I did, we would have just had sex right there on the kitchen floor. It felt like the tension between us had suddenly reached an unbearable level. As though my whole body was on fire with need and he was the only way to quench that burning desperation.
I wasn’t complaining. But as much as I liked the way he was pressing me up against the cabinets, it had been a while since I’d had sex, and I wanted there to be a little more preparation. A little more gentleness. So I brought him up to bed with me.
I didn’t need to worry, really. When Braxton plunged his fingers inside of me, I was already wet and slick, practically dripping with the need for that soft stimulation in my core. I rocked wantonly down onto his fingers, driving them deeper and deeper inside of my hole, gasping as the pads of his fingers dragged down my velvety skin, stimulating long-dormant nerves.
I couldn’t stop stari
ng hungrily at his body, watching as his muscles flexed and released as he moved against me. His tattoos stood out starkly against his skin, swirling all along his torso and down across his hips. His body couldn’t have been more different from those of the guys I’d slept with in the past. And I wanted him. In every way.
His teeth raked across my skin, leaving goosebumps all along my arms and down my sides. His beard almost tickled me, sending prickles of lust racing toward the pit of my belly. I was helpless and needy and already making soft sounds of desperate desire. But I could tell that Braxton was just as turned on as I was by the hot, curved length of his cock was anything to go by.
He tugged his fingers out of my quivering entrance and lined his tip there instead. I put a hand on his arm, biting my lower lip and feeling my body flush with embarrassment from my cheeks down to my breasts. “Go slow,” I whispered. “It’s been a while.”
Braxton looked amused by that, but he didn’t answer with words; he just covered my lips with his again. He pressed into me with careful, tender movements, though, giving me plenty of time to adjust to his girth. It was only when I took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling and relaxing back against the bed, that he started to move his hips. A slow drag of his head against my walls, and already I felt like I might explode.
I tried to hold out a little longer, though, wanting this to last. I knew if I could just make it last, the orgasm would be all the more intense. He wasn’t making it easy for me, though.
His hands danced across my skin, fingernails dragging lightly against my sides. I was like putty in his hands, my whole body already aching for release. No one had ever brought me to the brink this easily before, even prior to when he lowered himself onto his forearms, his breath hot in the crook of my neck as he slammed into me in rapid movements that drove the air right out of me.
I cried out desperately, my fingers grasping his hard ass and pulling him toward me, urging him to continue what he was doing even as I flew into a million shards of scattered thoughts beneath him. I was helpless in the face of boundless pleasure, barely aware of his hips stuttering against mine as he, too, lost control.
We spiraled through joint pleasure, breathing gone ragged. My core spasmed around him as all my muscles tensed and relaxed, my body shivering with the force of its release. His teeth nipped at my neck, sending a whole new wave of feeling through my body until it was almost too much to bear.
I fell back against the sheets, sweaty and sated, my eyes closed and a small smile on my lips.
“Fuck,” Braxton groaned as he pulled out and dropped down next to me on the bed.
I couldn’t help but giggle. “Yeah. Fuck,” I echoed. I stretched, my whole body feeling loose and relaxed. I knew all the dinner stuff was still waiting for us downstairs in the kitchen, but as I yawned, I decided that it could just stay there. I’d deal with it tomorrow. Right now, I was too comfortable even to contemplate moving.
Braxton chuckled and pulled me into his arms, kissing my hair. “Hope that was as good for you as it was for me,” he said, sounding amused.
I made a wordless noise of agreement and curled into his body, nuzzling his chest. I could feel myself falling toward sleep already, but before I could lose my grip on consciousness, I realized there was one thing that I needed to clear up. “We’re not in a relationship,” I told him. “And we’re not going to be.”
I felt Braxton stiffen against me, and I wondered if he had thought that was where we were heading. He didn’t exactly strike me as the relationship type, and I’d seen him go home with plenty of women from the bar. But I just hoped he hadn’t been thinking that now that Landon had settled down with some girl, it was time for him to settle down as well. And I hoped he hadn’t thought that he’d be settling down with me.
I pulled back, looking into his eyes. “I mean, not that you’re not a great guy. And we can keep having sex or whatever. Hanging out. But just to be clear, I’m not looking for a relationship.”
Braxton grinned at me. “As long as we can keep having sex. Or whatever,” he said teasingly. He gave me another filthy kiss, plunging his tongue into my mouth, and I groaned, already feeling my body start to want more. But I was too sleepy to do it again right now, even if he had been able to get it up again already.
“Not a relationship,” Braxton agreed as he pulled away. “Got it. But right now, I just want to sleep.”
“Good.” I sighed, closing my eyes. “Because I am right there with you.”
I snuggled closer to him, reveling in how good it felt just to be held like this by someone I trusted. Things had never felt this good with my ex, not by a longshot. I wasn’t about to look for a relationship, but I wouldn’t mind more nights like this. Maybe we’d even manage to eat dinner first next time.
I smiled as I drifted off to sleep.
11
Braxton
On Tuesday morning, I woke up with Mia still in my arms. She was sound asleep, and she didn’t even stir as I shifted a little to get my arm into a better position. I had to admit; I liked that about her. She was comfortable to sleep with. The right amount of cuddling and she didn’t move around too much. Pretty much the perfect bedmate.
Not least of which was because she’d been so sure to lay out the terms of the agreement before we’d ever drifted off to sleep. This was just sex, and that was all it was going to be. A friends-with-benefits relationship, not boyfriend and girlfriend. Again, I liked that she knew what she wanted and went for it. And there was something sexy about a woman who wasn’t looking to get married just because we’d tumbled into bed together once.
My stomach growled, and I was reminded of the fact that we hadn’t had dinner the previous night. What a shame, too, after it had smelled so good. But Mia had said that we could continue having sex “or whatever,” so I supposed that meant that I had her good cooking to look forward to at some point in the morning. For now, I was already thinking of where I could take her for breakfast. I couldn’t help it; I wanted to get her back on my bike with me. Especially after last night.
Mia shifted and stirred, her sleepy eyes blinking open. She yawned, belatedly bringing up a hand to cover her mouth. “Sorry,” she said cutely. “Good morning.”
I gave her a chaste kiss and smiled right back at her. “Good morning,” I said. “How’d you sleep?”
“Like the dead,” Mia said, shaking her head. Then, she grimaced. “God, I didn’t say anything, did I? Sometimes I talk in my sleep.”
I laughed at the confession, but I shook my head as well. “Nah, you didn’t say anything. Or if you did, I was asleep and didn’t hear it.”
“Good,” Mia said, grinning at me. I had to wonder what she was afraid that she might have said. Then again, no matter what it was, I probably would have teased her mercilessly about it. Probably a good thing that she hadn’t said anything.
“Hey, do you want to go grab some breakfast?” I asked.
Mia glanced at the clock and made a face. “I can’t today.” She sighed. “But why don’t you come by the bar tonight and we can hang out a little there? I’ll spot you some free shots.”
I laughed. “Deal,” I said. “But I was actually already planning on coming by, even before you said anything about free shots.”
“Good,” Mia said. “But for now, get out of my house, would you?”
I gave her one last kiss and then disentangled myself from her and the bedding, grabbing my clothes and beginning to pull them on. It was just another thing to add to the list of things I liked about her: how relaxed and easy this morning after was. Not awkward at all. And it did seem like she wanted to do this again if she was inviting me to visit her at the bar that very same night.
All good signs, because I definitely wanted to keep having sex with her. Last night had been pretty tame, but there were a few different positions that I could already see having her in.
I shouldn’t be thinking about that now, though, or else my morning wood was going to make a reappearance.
&n
bsp; Mia was at her dresser picking out clothes for the day, and I pulled her back into my arms, kissing her until she was breathless and half ready to drag me back to bed with her, or at least that’s what I imagined. I winked at her. “See you tonight,” I said, slipping out before she even had a chance to respond. I could hear her laughter from behind me as I headed down the stairs, though, and it made me smile.
I got my hair cut that afternoon and did some other errands, but my mind was on Mia for most of the day. I wondered if this was how Landon had felt when he first started sleeping with Anne. But when my brother himself called later that day, I was careful not to tell him anything about Mia. Not yet. It was too soon. And it wasn’t a relationship anyway.
Then again, Landon hadn’t intended to get into a relationship with Anne at the start either. He had still planned on coming back to Las Cruces and leaving her behind. I wondered where things had changed, and if he had even realized that things were changing at the time.
Not that I thought I was going to end up falling in love with Mia. She was gorgeous, she was smart, and I liked her. But I wasn’t a relationship kind of guy, and it sounded like that wasn’t what she wanted either. This was just sex, and eventually, we’d go our separate ways.
Grant raised an eyebrow at me when I showed up on his doorstep. “Hey, Braxton,” he said, sounding almost nervous.
I frowned at him. “We were going to go get drinks, remember?” I said. “What, did you expect me to call and confirm this afternoon?”
Grant shrugged, looking off to the side. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t really think you wanted to,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “You sound like a girl,” I told him frankly, trying not to lose my patience with him. I remembered what Mia had said the previous day, reminding me that most of my friends were the guys in the club. And if it hadn’t been for Landon at my side, I might have felt just as insecure and uncertain around guys like Cameron and Marcus as Grant clearly felt around me. It had been easier for me because even when I’d felt awkward and nervous, Landon had been there at my side for me to talk to. I had never had to go it alone. I could only imagine what that must feel like, especially for someone in his early twenties.
