by Joanna Wylde
“All right.”
Shade reached for the door again, then turned back. He studied me, and I wondered what was going on in his head. I was still naked, and my hair was so crazy I probably looked like Medusa. I’d tucked the sheet across my chest so at least I wasn’t totally naked. He shook his head slowly.
“What?” I asked.
He didn’t reply for a minute, his face serious. “Babe, you know I’m not a keeper, right?”
“Who says I want to keep you?” I asked, raising a brow. “I’m not looking for a relationship, remember? But I’m liking this one-night stand stuff… I’d be up for more of that. Have some fun together and then some morning you can buy me breakfast. No need to overthink it.”
Shade nodded slowly, then turned and left the room.
You still sure about that not wanting a relationship? Wonder Woman asked. Because if I didn’t know better, I’d say you—
Fuck off, I snapped at her. Me and Shade would have some fun together, and then Future Me would give him a smile and a laugh when it was finally over.
Future Me was tough like that.
Totally.
Chapter Eighteen
Four weeks later
“Are you ready?” Sara shouted through the bathroom door. “Bone just called. He wants us there a couple minutes early. Said he needed to talk.”
“About what?” I shouted back at her, drying off my hands. I gave myself a quick glance in the mirror, just to be sure everything was right. Tight tank with a hint of bra showing? Check. Lipstick was bright and shiny, no smudges on the teeth. Combine that with my low-cut jeans and I’d be rolling in the tips.
Not that Shade would entirely approve—he liked it when I looked good, but he wasn’t so into the idea of me flirting for money.
Pretty uppity for a one-night stand, in my opinion.
Of course, that one-night stand had been going for a month straight, so there was that. At some point he’d leave town—I knew it was coming. That didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy him while he was here.
Me hooking up with Shade wasn’t the only thing that’d happened in the last month.
Sara and I had officially moved in together, for one. Hannah didn’t need me living with her anymore. Heath’s family had swarmed around her like a plague of very respectable locusts, and now his mom was helping her with the kids most days. I thought the way they’d gotten together so fast was a little freaky, but then again, it wasn’t like the circumstances had been normal.
Considering that I was in a long-term one-night stand with a biker who’d made it clear he wasn’t a keeper, I didn’t have much room to judge.
I opened the bathroom door to find Sara already outside. Grabbing my bag, I followed her to the car, wondering what’d crawled up Bone’s ass. The man was impossible to read.
“We need to stop and get gas on the way in,” I said as I slid into the seat. “You told me to remind you.”
“Shit,” she muttered, turning on the car. “We’re coasting on fumes but we’re late, too. I think we can make it.”
“If we don’t, you can call Bone and tell him to come rescue us,” I said. “It’s his fault we had to rush out so fast.”
Sara nodded, turning her head to watch as she backed out of her duplex’s driveway. The bar was less than two miles away, so we’d probably be just fine. Worst case, we could walk. Wouldn’t be the first time.
By the time we pulled up to the Pit, there were only a couple cars out front. Not busy at all. I wondered if Bone would let one of us off early. Shade had messaged me saying that he had stuff to do tonight and wouldn’t be around until later, but maybe if I let him know…
Sara parked the car right in front, startling me.
“Bone will shit bricks if he sees this,” I said. “He wants you in the back, remember?”
Sara gave me a sweet smile. “Bone can get his back door action from someone else.”
I giggled, shaking my head. “Seriously—you aren’t supposed to park here. You’ll get in trouble.”
“If he wanted us parking around back, he shouldn’t have called us in ahead of schedule.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “It’s your grave.”
We climbed out of the car and started up the steps.
“Can you get the door?” she asked, pulling out her phone.
“Sure,” I replied, pushing ahead of her.
“Surprise!” a loud chorus of people shouted, and I froze, stunned. There were Hannah and Heath and the girls. A whole bunch of the Reapers and their women… Mrs. Collins, our old neighbor and even one of the church ladies who’d stopped by with the clothing after the fire. Karen something. I couldn’t remember her last name, but she was laughing and smiling at me just like everyone else.
“Congratulations on finishing probation!” Hannah shouted gleefully, hugging me so violently I nearly fell over. My little nieces joined her, squeezing me around the legs.
The wicked bitch had thrown me a surprise party. Heath came up, catching my eye behind Hannah’s shoulder.
“Sorry,” he mouthed at me. I flipped him off, but I smiled while I did it because he really was a disgustingly great guy. Hannah let me go and then Sara was next.
“Gotcha!” she said, laughing. “This is what you get for using up all the hot water. Next time, you better save some for me if you don’t want to get set up.”
“I can’t believe you guys did this,” I said, looking around. There were so many faces, but one was missing. Shade. Disappointment hit, but I pushed it away. Just because we were sleeping together didn’t mean he had time for a surprise party.
At least some of his club brothers had shown up. I’d gotten to know them and their old ladies better over the past few weeks, and I liked them. They were decent people, for the most part. Some of them were a little rough around the edges, but considering my own crimes, it wasn’t really my place to judge.
“Congrats, Mandy,” Bone said, handing me a beer. “You’re off tonight—no work. Just enjoy yourself, okay?”
“All right,” I said, still startled. “You sure you don’t mind?”
“Nope, Sara and Suz have got it covered,” he told me. “Get drunk, make the most of it. Just remember that tomorrow we have to do inventory. I’ll make you drag your ass in here even if you’re hung over.”
“You’re a ray of sunshine, Bone.”
“I do my best.”
Two hours later, I was definitely enjoying myself. Heath’s mom had taken the kids home, giving me and my sister a rare girls’ night out. Now I had a nice buzz going, and when Hannah suggested putting some change in the jukebox and dancing, I was all over it.
We spent the next ten minutes studying every song, even though I knew all of them by heart. She liked country, which was just ludicrous. Fortunately, Bone loved classic rock, so there were some alternatives.
I argued with her just for fun, but eventually we managed to agree on a playlist. Well, most of a playlist. Hannah had insisted on “Wicked Game” so she and Heath could slow dance. Stupid slow dances, reminding me that ultimately I was alone. I’ll just go to the bathroom when it comes on, I decided as the first song started to play.
It’d been a long time since Hannah and I had gone dancing, and I’d forgotten how much it kicked ass. We laughed and drank and probably made total dorks of ourselves. I didn’t care. It felt good to let go, and I was having so much fun that when Wicked Game started, I wasn’t even annoyed with her anymore.
I could use some fresh air, anyway.
“You’re a slut,” I told Hannah, bumping her shoulder with mine as Heath caught her up in his arms. Then I grabbed my beer, chugging it as I watched them, the sexy music washing through me. Standing there alone, I admitted the truth.
I missed Shade.
“Hey,” said a low voice in my ear. I turned to find him behind me. He’d obviously just come in from a long ride, with his cheeks all windburned and that fierce look in his eyes that I’d come to love.
“H
ey,” I answered, moving toward him. Shade reached around the back of my head, pulling me in for a long, hard kiss that would’ve knocked up a lesser woman.
“You’re pretty full of yourself,” I murmured when the kiss finally ended. His hands slid down my back, one wrapping around my waist while the other cupped my ass as the music washed over us.
“I hear it’s a big day,” he murmured, swaying with me as Chris Isaak wailed about not wanting to fall in love. “Guess this means you’re finally free.”
“That’s me,” I said lightly. “Free as a bird.”
Shade pulled away and looked down at me, a shadow crossing his face. “Let’s go outside.”
Catching my hand, he pulled me toward the back of the bar. Sara gave me a wink as we passed by, and I giggled, feeling silly. What’d been a good night was about to get better and I couldn’t bring myself to regret that—not for a minute.
Shade pushed through the door and then we were on the back porch. He stepped over to the picnic table and sat down, leaning back against it. I gave him a sexy smile and straddled him. Then I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I like this table,” I said, pressing my breasts against his chest.
“We need to talk,” Shade said slowly. “I have a present for you.”
I perked up. “A present?”
He smiled. “Yeah, a present. I sold that motorcycle today.”
“What motorcycle?” I asked, confused.
“The one that Rebel tried to trade you for. I sold it.”
“Nice,” I said. “So what’s my present? Let me guess, is it in your pants?”
Shade laughed, then shook his head.
“Nope, it’s right here. Lean back.”
I did, watching as he reached into his vest and pulled out an envelope. Then he handed it to me. “Congratulations on finishing your probation.”
Smiling, I opened it and froze. There was money in there. A lot of it. Hundred dollar bills.
“What the hell is this?” I whispered, looking back up at him.
“It’s the money from the bike,” he said, his voice serious. “I want you to have it.”
“I’m not a whore,” I told him, feeling almost sick to my stomach.
“I know,” Shade replied. “But now that you’re free, I wanted you to have some traveling money. Options.”
“That’s crazy. This isn’t mine.”
“Yeah, it is, and you’re going to take it.”
“Fuck you, Shade.”
“You can use it to buy me breakfast tomorrow.”
I blinked at him, feeling sick as the words sunk in. I’d known it was coming. He’d never pretended otherwise, but I’d always assumed that Future Me could handle it.
Now I wasn’t so sure.
I swallowed, then licked my lips. His eyes followed the movement and I felt his cock hardening between my legs. Jesus. Here he was dumping me and the guy still wanted to get laid. And wasn’t I just the dumb bunny, because even knowing he was leaving me, I’d still sleep with him tonight. I’d take as much of him as I could get. Somewhere along the line he’d turned into something more than a one-night stand.
Too bad he didn’t feel the same way about me.
“So,” I said. “This is it.”
“Will you take the money?”
“Yeah,” I whispered, feeling sick. “I mean, I shouldn’t, but…”
“It’s freedom,” he said. “You could use some of that.”
Shade was right—I really could. Unfortunately, for the first time in my life I didn’t want to be free. I wanted to be stuck right here. With him.
We stared at each other.
“Have you ever been to Portland?” he asked.
“No.”
“That’s my next stop.”
“And you’re leaving tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “First thing. Something came up and I have to go.”
“Right after breakfast,” I whispered.
“We could eat later, instead. Somewhere down the road.”
“That’s not funny,” I told him, my eyes suddenly full. Fucking hell. I hated crying. Hated it.
“I’m not joking,” Shade said. “You could come with me. Just because I’m moving on doesn’t mean our one-night stand has to end. I’m not ready, and neither are you.”
“Maybe you don’t remember, but I have a real bad track record with relationships,” I said, sniffing.
“Well, I got no track record with old ladies,” Shade replied, his voice serious. “But I’m willing to take the risk if you are. That’s what the money is for.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, looking down at the envelope again. There had to be a couple thousand dollars in there, maybe more.
“In case at some point you decide it’s time for breakfast,” he said seriously. “That’s your out. If you come with me, you’ll have to leave your job. I’ll take care of you but I know you don’t want to have to count on a man. If you decide to end things, that’s your ticket back home. You won’t be trapped.”
“You’re really serious?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m serious. I want you to come with me.”
I waited for Wonder Woman to tell me what to do, but she must’ve been off fighting crime. I’d have to make this decision all on my own. Studying his face, I tried to read him.
“And what would I be?” I finally asked. “I mean, if I went with you.”
“Free, Mandy. You’d be free.”
“And you?”
He raised a brow, then shrugged. “Do you really have to ask?”
“Yeah, I guess I do,” I said. Was he serious? He looked serious. “What will you be?”
Shade smiled.
“I’ll be yours, Mandy.”
“For how long?”
He leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine.
“For as long as you want me, babe. I don’t have much to offer, but what I’ve got is yours. So are you in, or what?”
I considered the question, wondering if a girl like me really could get a happy ending.
Maybe.
There was really only one way to find out. I took a deep breath, meeting his gaze head on.
“Okay. I’m in.”
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Marie doesn’t need a complication like Horse. The massive, tattooed badass biker who shows up at her brother’s house one afternoon doesn’t agree. He wants Marie on his bike and in his bed. Now.
But Marie just left her abusive jerk of an ex-husband and she’s not looking for a new man. Especially one like Horse. She doesn’t know his real name or where he lives. She’s ninety percent certain he’s a criminal and that the “business” he talked with her brother wasn’t website design. She needs him out of her life, which would be a snap if he wasn’t so damned sexy.
