by Pj Fiala
It was Oakes’ turn to be embarrassed. He rubbed his fingers over the bandage on his head and flicked his eyes to JT, then back to Kayden. “Sorry, Kayd.”
The silence stretched only a moment longer, and Joci saved the day. “Kayden, we’re having a big dinner at the house the day after tomorrow to celebrate the end of the Build-Off and we’d love it if you and Dakota would join us. Your dad has already agreed to join us as well. The girls and I will be cooking.”
He watched Kayden’s gaze rest on each of the women in the family, each waiting for her answer. She smiled the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen. “We’d love to. What can I bring?”
Joci shook her head. “Nothing. You’ll be in Sturgis all week working and we’re just along for the ride. We enjoy having family dinners and wanted to have one while we’re here. Just bring Dakota and we’ll enjoy the evening together.”
“Thank you very much. We appreciate you including our family.”
Dog finished his soda. “Okay, saddle up.”
The group finished their drinks and began grabbing money off the bar and generally getting ready to ride.
JT looked over at Oakes. “Are you feeling better today?”
Oakes walked to him and held out his hand. “I’m good and thank you for helping last evening.”
“Of course.” Leaning in to whisper, he added, “I wish you’d let us help you.”
Oakes shook his head. “Nothing to help with, son.”
24
The ride to Sturgis was quiet, each lost in thought. Almost there, JT turned to her. “What time are you leaving today? I want to follow you home.”
“You do? Why?” The sly smile she turned on him made his nostrils flare. She watched him swallow, then glance out of the corner of his eye. He pulled to a stop at an intersection and leaned toward her just a bit.
“Because earlier was just a warm-up. I’ve got more playing to do with you and tonight is about the longest I’m willing to wait.”
A shiver ran the length of her body and her nipples puckered. He hitched his mouth up on one side.
Since she’d already decided to play with him as much as she could while he was here, she smiled right back at him. As sultry as her voice could be, she ran her fingers from his knee to his thigh, resting her hand high up on his thigh. “That’s about as long as I’m willing to wait, too.”
His breath hitched. Grabbing her hand, he placed it over the quickly-thickening bulge in his jeans. With a gravelly voice, he managed, “Look what you do to me, Kayd.”
She squeezed then pulled her hand away, teasing. “Just you wait to see what I’ll do to you.”
A horn honking from behind brought his attention to the road and he quickly took off following the Rolling Thunder group as they rode ahead of them into Sturgis.
They parked in the designated spots behind the building where they each had their respective business pursuits going on. Her Jeep was just a few spaces and rows from his truck and trailer. She turned to open her door, then stopped and said, “I’ll be ready to go around seven o’clock, will that work?”
He nodded. “Yeah.” Hopping from the truck, he walked around to help her down, held her head gently in his hands and kissed her lips softly, but thoroughly. “Have a good day today,” he whispered.
“You too. I’ll stop around if I can.”
He nodded.
JT stood next to his truck as he watched Kayden walk into the building. Dang girl was sexy, and her fine ass swayed as she moved. She was going to be hard to leave behind. He turned his attention to matters at hand. Today they were selecting the top three Build-Off bikes and he hoped to God he was one of them. Several weeks ago, this was all he thought about; now, for some reason, it didn't hold the same appeal it had.
Taking a deep breath, he turned the handle on the door and and stepped into the building. The air conditioner was already working overtime and the building was full of designers. He walked to his stall, uncovered his bike and looked at it once again with a fresh set of eyes. It was still a thing of beauty. Glistening white paint and chrome made it look sleek and sexy. But she was bad ass and he’d had the pleasure of taking her out on the road and working her up to a hundred twenty miles an hour. She was smooth, even at that speed.
The same gravelly-voiced judge who’d been around all week, yelled out, “Doors are opening; get ready, the street’s full.”
The large double doors leading to the street opened up and the crowds of people came flowing in, each with their entry ballot and a little pencil. They’d walk around and look at each bike, and then place their ballots in the box in front of the stage. Tonight around six o’clock, the organizers would select the top three vote getters. Those three bikes would then be set up on stage and each of the designers would have the chance to tell the crowd all about their bike, start it up, and let the voters decide from there. That was all tomorrow, then the day after, the winner would be announced. Three friggen more days.
He turned his head to the back room where he knew Kayden was selling her clothing and wondered if he’d be able to get the chance to see her in action. She was proud of her clothing and his future sisters-in-law had been oohing and aahing over it for the past couple of days. Ryder mentioned that Molly was sexy as hell in the corset she’d purchased and he thought she should buy a few more.
JT had raised his hand in the air. “No more information, please.” He didn’t need to think of his future sister-in-law in a sexy corset.
He glanced around at the people walking by and whispering to each other about this and that. No one was looking at him, so he stepped away and walked to the doorway separating the two parts of the building. He glanced across the room and saw Kayden standing behind her table with a dark-haired man standing next to her. They were engaged in conversation and she was showing him different pieces of clothing. What irritated him was the man was behind her table, alongside her and they looked friendly. He said something; she laughed. She said something back; he laughed. He pointed to the back of the room, and she nodded and stepped from behind the table. The man followed her, his hand at the small of her back. The people milling about blocked his view of where they went and his heart began racing, his neck grew tight. It was hard to breathe but he craned his neck to locate them. Not seeing them, he stepped into the room and slowly walked to the back, his eyes peeled for them.
“What the fuck are you doing out here?” Frog, the Rolling Thunder mechanic who was with them this week chided. “People may want to talk to the builder and you know that helps with votes.”
JT shook his head to dispel the negative thoughts. “I know. I’m going back right now.” He turned to head back to his stall, berating himself for not keeping his head in the game. He’d worked his ass off on this bike for this very event. Focus, dumbass.
The hours ticked by slowly, and JT felt like he’d answered the same five questions over and over, but he smiled and flirted just a little with the ladies, hoping for their votes. Sure, he wanted to win because people thought his bike was the best, but it didn’t hurt for the extra fluff vote or two. A sultry blonde with a see-through black lace tank top walked over to him. He’d noticed her walking around before, hard not to with her large breasts almost exposed. Her blood red lips parted and the contrast with her white teeth was almost too much. The thick black liner and long straight hair was a look for a magazine; up close and personal, it was unattractive. Not at all like Kayden.
“What’s your name, baby?” she purred.
“JT. Yours?”
She parted her lips in the biggest smile he’d ever seen. It diminished her whole face. “Treasure.” She moved her shoulders in an effort to jiggle her breasts. “Nice to meet you. Did you build this beauty?”
He looked down at the bike and nodded. “That I did.” He smiled at her. “Are you a model?”
She threw her head back and laughed the phoniest laugh he’d heard, loud enough to capture the attention of many people. Suddenly men were standing all
around them, mostly watching the show. She reached up and laid her palm on his chest and whispered, “Built strong and lean, just like I like ’em.”
He felt the hair stand on the back of his neck. “You’ll have to find your own…Treasure,” came the sarcastic remark from Kayden, who’d somehow made her way through the throng of men. She walked up to JT and looked him in the eye. “This one’s mine.”
A smirk creased his face as he stared into the hazel depths of her eyes and watched her emotions running through them. Damn, she was sexy when she was territorial. So hot!
25
So excited to tell JT what had just happened, Kayden’s excitement turned to irritation and then jealousy when she saw the bimbo touching him. She may not have him for long, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to share him while she did have him, that was for sure. She pushed and weaved her way through the crowd of mostly men that had formed and stood her ground. She told him with her eyes that she wasn’t joking around, that it wasn’t funny. Not even a little.
Then, he smirked at her. She fought between anger and melting. He smirked. At. Her. But, dammit, he looked good doing it, too. Treasure walked away with a quick, “You’re a lucky lady.” JT winked at her and said, “Do you have a minute to wait until I speak to these guys here?”
She nodded and stood to the side, watching him beam over his baby. She saw more than a few guys make notes or vote on their papers and she smiled sweetly at them when they glanced her way. She could work a crowd, too; she’d been doing it for years in the bar. When the last of this group had left, he turned to her and kissed her lips.
“So. I’m yours?” He studied her expression. “That’s new.”
She touched a couple buttons on his shirt, then looked into his eyes. “I think when you spank a woman, that means she owns you.” She slyly smiled at him. “And about that. You always spank your women?”
He shook his head. “I’ve never spanked anyone before.” He leaned down close to her ear. “But I plan on spanking you again.” He nuzzled her neck and she heard him breathe deeply into her hair. It was simply exciting the way he seemed to want to breathe in her scent. No one had ever done that before.
A shiver ran through her and she squeezed her legs together. He stepped back. “Now, what about you? I saw you leave with some man; what the fuck was that about?”
She smiled brightly. “I came to tell you. He wants to license Kayden’s Concealed Carry. I’m so excited; it’s what I’ve dreamed of.”
“License, as in, he’ll pay you for your designs and then manufacture them?”
She squealed in delight. “Yes. Isn’t that fantastic?”
His smile took her breath away, simply nothing like it in the world. “If that’s what you want, it’s fantastic.” He cocked his head. “Why would you want that?”
She pursed her lips. “The fun part is the creating, designing.” She looked at his bike and held her hand out. “What was the fun part of building this bike, creating it or actually manufacturing it?”
He glanced at his bike and nodded. “The creating. Coming up with the different ideas and getting them to come to life.”
“Right? Now I can create, draw, design, and pull something together and get paid for it and someone else will go through the trouble of manufacturing it and selling it. It’s perfect. I’ll be able to support Dakota and myself without the bar.”
She threw herself into his arms and hung on. He smelled spicy and delicious and she couldn’t wait to get him home and enjoy herself with his body. She hadn’t had the time to look at him naked and she wanted to. Badly. Especially after this morning.
She landed against his chest and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. She fit perfectly against his body. Her curves molded to him like they’d been made for each other. Watching her excitement at getting a licensing deal made his heart hammer in his chest. They had so much in common with each other. They both had dreams of building their lives in a way that suited them—not settling.
He set her on her feet and looked into the hazel depths, noting the brown flecks that gave them the deepness in color but the green hues that gave her the exotic edge he’d first found so damn sexy. He leaned in and softly kissed her lips, his hand holding her head in place until he was ready to release her. She whimpered and he caught it in his mouth and growled. When he ended the kiss he watched her slowly open her eyes, seductive she was. Damn.
“Don’t leave here without me. Hear?”
Smiling, she shrugged a shoulder. “Or what?”
He swatted her ass, eliciting a yelp. “More of that.”
“That’s not going to make me behave.”
He grinned. “Then, let’s say this. If you leave without me, there will be no spanking. Yeah?”
She giggled and walked toward her end of the building, glancing back at him once and winking, which made his cock thicken and butterflies swirl in his stomach. Wench.
26
The announcements rang out through the PA system. “Five minutes and the top three Build-Off bikes will be selected. Come see who the top three builders are this year at the main building in front of the stage. Five minutes.”
JT glanced at Ryder and Gunnar and let out a long breath. “This is it guys; my moment of truth.”
Gunnar lightly punched his shoulder. “You’ve got this, bro. There’s a fair amount of competition here, but you’ve got this.”
JT nodded. “Where’s Dad?”
Ryder pointed to the stage. “Already there and he’s rooting for you, JT. Despite his reservations about you moving into building, he’s proud of you.”
JT swallowed. “I sure as hell hope so. I’ve been railing on him pretty hard these past couple of months. We’ve never argued so much. I know he was worried and it affects the business, but I needed him to see I could do this.”
Gunnar chuckled. “He sees it.”
The announcer stood at the front of the stage. “Are we ready to hear who this year’s top three builders are?”
The crowd yelled and whistled.
“Don’t forget, tomorrow is the only day to vote for the number one bike. Four hours only, from ten o’clock in the morning until two in the afternoon. After that, it’s all over. So, get your asses out of bed, hear me?”
The crowd cheered and laughed. In Sturgis the parties ran well into the night and the town didn’t get hopping until around ten o’clock or later depending on the doings the night before.
JT nodded at his brothers and the three of them made their way to the Rolling Thunder group near the front of the stage. Joci hugged him and yelled over the crowd to be heard, “I’m so proud of you, JT. We both are.”
She looked at Jeremiah and he grabbed JT’s shoulders and pulled him in for a hug. “Your mom’s right. We’re both proud of you.”
Choked up, all he could do was swallow. He looked around for Kayden; he hoped she’d be here. With all of the people standing around, she could be anywhere, but he wanted to see her. She’d calm his damn churning stomach.
The announcer revved the crowd. “Okay, are you all ready for the first builder?”
The crowd yelled and cheered.
“These builders are not announced in any particular order. The first builder is from the Midwest. He’s worked in the family business most of his life. This bike is the first bike he’s built on his own.”
JT swallowed, his heart pounded so hard he thought he’d lose consciousness.
“Come on up here, Gene Raymond.”
The crowd went wild with excitement. JT’s stomach dropped. He’d thought it was him; shit, he needed to get a handle on this. His knees were shaking and he couldn’t help it, and he continued looking around for Kayden.
The announcer continued. “Our next builder is also from the Midwest. He’s been building bikes for many years with his father and brother. He’s a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, proudly serving in the United States Marine Corps. This isn’t his first time here, but it is his
first time as the sole builder. Come on up, JT Sheppard.”
His family and co-workers around him all jostled and hugged, yelling loudly and slapping him on the back. His dad squeezed his shoulders and JT looked into his eyes. They were glistening with unshed tears. Jeremiah gave him a little push toward the stage, and JT made his way through the throngs of people who thunked him on the back and congratulated him. He walked up the five steps to stand on the stage and he couldn’t help himself, he looked around for her. Where was she? He glanced around the crowd, wanting to see that she was here watching him reach one of his goals. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to tamp down the disappointment that she wasn’t interested in him as any more than a sexual partner. He waved his hand to the crowd, raising the noise level to deafening. He smiled his brightest smile.
The announcer barked out. “This is it. Our final builder completing the top three. Are you ready?”
JT barely heard the announcer as he continued on, then he saw her—right at the front of the stage—jostled and pushed by the horde of bikers, most dressed in leather vests with varying patches signifying their affiliations to various clubs, groups, and organizations. His eyes met hers and his heart sped up at the sight. Her alluring smile challenged the shine of the sun glinting off the chrome on his bike. She blew him a kiss, and that was it. His eyes welled up and he swallowed furiously to get control of his emotions. He pointed at her and winked. He motioned to her to go to the steps leading to the stage.
The announcer walked over to him, and stepped between him and Kayden and began asking him questions. JT had to listen carefully to hear his questions above the deafening noise.
27
She knew that she’d never felt like this about any man before, and that was saying something. She thought about him all the time lately, wanted to share things with him about her day or her life. Today when she’d been offered the licensing deal, the only thing she wanted to do was run and tell JT. She laid her hand against her stomach and drowned out all of the noise going on around her. She vaguely heard JT answer mundane questions from the announcer but her mind reeled at what this meant.
