by Brook Wilder
“You are brave, Lori,” Carrie said softly after a long pause. “Just don’t be stupid.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
“You better not! You’re my best friend. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
Lori knew her friend was talking about Gears, but it was not him she pictured. It was Tex. She was afraid she’d already let him in too much, made herself vulnerable to him. She was terribly afraid that he could hurt her too, now, albeit in a different way.
“I’ll be okay. You’ll see,” Lori said, forcing an optimism into her voice that she didn’t feel. “Talk to you later, alright?”
“Alright. Bye, Lori. Take care of yourself.”
“I’ll try. I promise, I’ll try.”
It was the only promise she could make.
Chapter 19
“Damn it!”
Lori bit off the curse as she wiped the spilled beer from her hand on the white towel at her waist. It was the third time that night that she’d messed up.
Lori shot a rueful grin at the biker standing at the bar.
“Sorry, Red,” she told the big man with the bright red beard that gave him his nickname. “Let me get a fresh one for you. Must be something wrong with the tap.”
Lori knew it was a lie. There wasn’t a damn thing wrong with the tap. She was the one that had something wrong with her. Her mind had been in the clouds all night.
More like mind in the gutter, Lori thought to herself as she re-poured the pint glass.
“Here you go.”
“No worries, Shortcake,” Red said, slapping a few bills on the bar before rejoining his buddies.
Lori looked at the two-dollar tip, wondering not for the first time if she’d ever make enough money to get out of there.
That drew her mind back to the previous night at the club, and afterwards. And back to Tex. Always back to Tex. The man just wouldn’t leave her thoughts, no matter how hard she tried to focus on other things. Like her work, for instance.
She just couldn’t stop thinking about what happened between them. If she was being honest – and she always tried to be, at least with herself – it had been one of the best nights of her life. Lori had never felt anything like that before, like being with Tex. The things he did to her body, the pleasure he drew from her... it was incredible. And she hated the fact that she already wanted him again.
It wasn’t a good idea. Lori didn’t need anyone else to tell her that. It would be a terrible idea, actually. To give in to him again. To give in to the desire that burned like a wildfire between them, no matter how good it felt. She could handle him as a business partner. But as a lover…? That road spelled disaster for her for sure, Lori was certain of that.
And even more she knew that she didn’t want to lay down any more ties that could keep her there. The cleaner the break, the better. But Tex was making that hard for her.
Lori tried to think of her past boyfriends and nearly snorted out loud. She hadn’t had an actual boyfriend since high school. She’d tried a few one-night stands, but it wasn’t for her.
I don’t do that, she reminded herself sternly, thinking of the night before.
But then again, her night with Tex hadn’t felt like a one-night stand. It had been intense and amazing. And personal.
She was so busy biting her nails, so lost in her own thoughts, that she didn’t notice that Gears had walked over until he spoke.
“Hey there, Lori. How’s it going at the bar tonight?”
He grinned at her, a grin that was far too comfortable for her own peace of mine. She tried to force an answering smile to her lips but was pretty sure it ended up as more of a grimace than anything else.
“It’s been good for a Thursday night.” Lori said, trying to keep her voice business-like.
But he leaned forward, brushing her arm with his hand, and she jumped back, fighting off the repulsion that filled her. She reminded herself why she needed to stay calm. The last thing she wanted to do was tip him off, or set him off.
Lori hurried to grab a glass, wiping it with the bar towel even though it had already been cleaned. It was an excuse to put some more distance between them. Distance that she desperately needed.
Even though she tried to keep her face expressionless, he still must have picked up on something because, in the next instant, his too friendly grin was gone and, in its place, was a crazed sort of suspicion.
“So, where were you last night? I didn’t see you come home.”
“What are you talking about?”
Lori fought to keep her voice from trembling, but she couldn’t look at his direction. She just kept her gaze on the glasses.
“Well, I told you, Shortcake. You’re my responsibility. And I always keep track of my responsibility.”
“I was, uh, I was just at a friend’s house. Lost track of the time I guess.”
“Friend, huh?”
He still sounded suspicious and it was obvious that he thought she was lying. It didn’t matter. The last thing she was going to do was tell him the truth of where she really had been. She didn’t have that big of a death wish.
“What kind of friend?”
“You know her, Carrie.”
“I told you about hanging out with that slut.”
His features drew into a deep, angry scowl and Lori’s heart skipped a beat at the sudden shift in his emotions. A second later he was all smiles again, leaning forward to flirt with her.
“Oh, you know I’m just messing with you, Lori. You know that, right?”
“Uh, sure, Gears. Whatever you say,” she finally muttered.
“That’s right, what I say,” he said with a smug smile, leaning forward even closer, and she swore she heard him inhale, as if he was smelling her hair.
There was nowhere to escape from him behind the narrow bar. Her back was already pressed against the back rail.
“Let’s go to dinner some night,” Gears said suddenly, his suspicious and anger gone in a second as if it had never been. “What do you think? I heard there was a nice Italian place that just opened up in Carlonville.”
“Thanks for the offer, but…uh…I’ve been trying to save my money.”
“Why would you be doing that?”
His voice had dropped an octave and he stared at her unblinking.
“I feed you, I give you a shelter. I take care of you.”
Lori didn’t know which was more awful, the tone of his voice or the way he spoke about her like he was talking about a dog. Like he thought of her as a pet, instead of a person.
Gears’ grin was back quicker than she could blink.
“Besides, I’d pay for dinner, of course. I wouldn’t take someone out on a date and then not pay.”
“I don’t think that would be right,” Lori said as gently as she could manage, “with you being my boss, and my landlord. I’m sure you understand.”
She watched the fury flare back into his gaze and brazed herself for the burn. But, just then, a group of customers walked up to the bar.
Lori was more than grateful for the chance to extricate herself from the conversation with Gears. She just prayed he’d leave it at that. Surely even he wouldn’t cause a scene in the middle of service at the club.
Lori moved over to the customers, taking their order and chatting, but she watched Gears the whole time from the corner of her eye. Finally, he turned and walked back to his regular table in the back corner. Only then could she draw in a breath again.
She exhaled, shooting a big smile at the customers. She even gave them extra strong drinks, feeling grateful for their presence, even though they’d never know why. Her heart was still racing from the near miss with Gears. Lori had a feeling it would take a while for her to calm down after that. It certainly didn’t help that, every time she looked up, she could see Gears tracking her every movement from the back of the club.
It took nearly forty-five minutes for her to recover. But, as she walked to the sink to wash out the shaker, she was almost
back to her normal self. The feeling was short-lived because, when she turned around, her heart started pumping in her chest all over again.
In a million years she never would have expected to see him back in the club, not after what had happened. Not after the way she’d left.
Lori blinked hard, just in case. Nope. Not a mirage. Not a hallucination. It was really him. Tex. Standing there, looking as handsome as sin, and staring at her with banked desire and anger swirling in his green-eyed gaze.
Lori was frozen in place, the half-dried shaker still in her hand and dripping on the floor. She couldn’t move. She didn’t know what the hell she was going to do: run or stay and bluff her way through it.
The next moment the decision was taken from her. He was stalking straight towards her.
Chapter 20
Tex pushed open the door to the Reaper club and strode inside. He didn’t know what the hell he expected. Anything but the rush of emotion that hit him like a semi-truck as his eyes scanned the crowd until they finally landed on Lori.
She was standing behind the bar in a short denim skirt and a soft cotton t-shirt. Her strawberry blond hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her hazel eyes were shifting from grey to blue to green and back again under the fluorescent lights.
A potent mix of anger and desire, lust and frustration all tangled up together inside, so that he didn’t know where one stopped and next started. For a moment that seem to stretch out to hours, all he could do was stand there and stare at her.
Tex had come to see her. He had told himself, on and off all god-damned day, that it was a bad idea. That it wasn’t worth it. That it would only end in trouble. He knew that nothing good was going to come of it. But that still hadn’t stopped him from getting on his bike and driving across town to the club.
He could still remember the shock of coming back to the bedroom to find Lori gone. There he’d been, making coffee and thinking of showing her just how she could get rid of those bad dreams of hers, with a little help from himself of course. Then he’d walked back to his room, more than ready to show her and she was nowhere to be found.
She’d just disappeared and left him with the worst hard-on he’d had since he was a teenager. Three cold showers later and he still hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. No, she owed him an explanation at the very least. And, if he was honest, and more than a little lucky, he was hoping for an encore as well.
Because last night had been something he wanted to repeat over and over again. He had no intention of just letting her sneak off without a word. Without even a good-bye. Tex didn’t know why the hell that bothered him as much as it did. He didn’t want to look too closely at it. What he did want was standing behind the bar on the other side of the club, and he had more than one bone to pick with her.
Tex stalked forward. There was no other word for it. He was the hunter and she was the prey, all wrapped up in a cage that she couldn’t leave. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about her sneaking off on him there at the bar. Or so he hoped.
He didn’t say a word as he took a seat in one of the empty bars at the edge of the big, wrap-around wood top. He could see how uncomfortable Lori was. She couldn’t quite meet his questioning gaze. A surge of petty vindication shot through him. Good. She’d left him feeling a damn sight more uncomfortable earlier that morning.
Tex watched her from the corner of his eye so that he saw when she drew in a deep breath and squared her shoulders like she was about to walk into battle. He had to concede one thing. She was brave.
For a moment, he wondered how many women he knew would be able to go through what Lori was going through with Gears and not lose her nerve, how many women he knew who had her strength. It was an easy list to count. None.
Tex made sure to keep his expression as blank as possible as she finally stopped in front him. It was obvious she was going to try and treat him like any other customer at the bar. Hah! As if he was going to let her get away with that.
“What can I get you?” Lori asked.
He had to give her credit. Her voice was a little tense but still casual. It was her eyes that gave her away. Those eyes that were full of memories of the night before, memories of their bodies twined together in the dark.
“How about a fucking explanation? Let’s start with one order of that.”
Tex kept his voice quiet enough not to be overheard but, even still, he saw Lori take another deep breath, flicking her gaze worriedly behind him.
His brows lowering in confusion, he threw a glance over his should and saw what Lori had been looking at with so much concern. Gears was lurking in the back-corner table and, for one single second, all of his aggressive, protective instincts seemed to fire at one.
Tex’s hands clenched into tight fists and all he could think about was going over there, pinning the guy against the wall, and beating the shit out of him for what he was putting Lori through. The urge was so strong that he almost leaped from his stool to rush over there. But then all the reasons why that would be a really fucking bad idea came back to him in a rush.
If he was responsible for starting a gang war between the Grim Riders and the Devil’s Martyrs, more than one person would pay the price, and probably with their lives.
“Come on, Tex,” Lori pleaded, drawing his attention back towards her and away from the asshole. Gears already had his death sentence. He just didn’t know it yet. “Don’t. Don’t let him catch you looking at him like that. Please.”
It was the please that finally had Tex turning back around.
He could hear the fear in her voice, it was the same fear that was reflected in her eyes, and he hated it. Tex forced his fists to unclench, finger by finger, and then he nodded.
“Okay, sweetheart,” he murmured too low for anyone else to hear. He leaned his elbows against the edge of the bar top and then spoke in a more normal tone. “How about a beer then? Whatever’s on tap.”
Lori gave him a grateful look. It was a small thing, but it still filled him with an unfamiliar warmth. He tried to pretend like he wasn’t watching her as she walked back and forth behind the bar, grabbing a glass, pouring the beer, and then bringing it back to him.
She slid the pint glass onto the bar in front of him and he reached out at the same time, taking the beer from her and, at the same time, trapping her hand under his.
“We will talk about this thought,” Tex said low and intense, pinning her with his stare.
He watched her throat move as she swallowed, and then she gave him a barely perceptible nod.
“Later.”
“Later.”
Lori let out a sigh of relief when he let her go. She walked over to another waiting customer, smiling, and taking his order.
All he could do was sit there, watching, remembering. He tried to block out the thoughts, but they came again and again. Tex took a long drink of his beer, his gaze sliding back to her despite his best intentions. Something about her just destroyed his control.
Maybe it was her beauty, those sweet good girl-next-door looks combined with that deadly sexy body and her wicked grin. It was almost unfair, all of that wrapped into one petite package.
Tex traced her face with his eyes as she chatted with a customer, thinking about how gorgeous she was, even more so when she had been moaning out in pleasure, her head thrown back, as he rode her until they were both boneless and exhausted.
His body tightened painfully and immediately at the thought. Tex bit back a groan, taking another long pull on the cold beer, hoping that it would be enough to cool him down, and glancing around the club. Anywhere but at Lori.
His gaze fell on Gears once more. The guy was watching him now, but Tex shrugged it off. The man was lower than dirt in his mind. Just like any other man that hurt women or children, those who preyed on others that were weaker than them. There was a special spot in hell for people just like him.
Tex finished his beer and slid it to the edge of the bar. A moment later, Lori was back in his lin
e of vision and he had to swallow hard before he could speak.
“I’ll take another beer,” he said slowly, and then leaned forward so no one else could overhear.
There was enough noise now in the packed club not to worry about being overheard, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
“What happened with Rocko? Did you… Have you gotten a hold of Carrie? Did her guy come through?”
A sudden grimace flew across her face but a second later it was gone.
“Rocko is not her guy,” Lori said with a snort, pretending not to look at him. “Rocko got a little too… insistent. He basically told Carrie that, if she slept with him, he might set up a deal. But the more I think about it, I don’t even think the rat bastard had Solomon’s number. He’s probably never even spoken to the guy.”
