by Sophia Gray
# # #
“Hey, where did Aubrey go?” Ethan asked when he walked back into his house and found only Amelia sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of the tea she’d asked for the last time he’d gone to the store. He’d never been a tea drinker himself, but there was something calming about the scent in the air when she brewed it.
“Oh, I couldn’t convince her to stay,” Amelia said, dunking her tea bag up and down in the steaming water. “She’s crashing in a hotel and then she’s heading back to Texas in the morning. She couldn’t take too much time off of work and flying freaks her out.”
“Short trip,” Ethan commented.
“Good friend,” Amelia countered.
“Yeah, I liked her,” he agreed, opening the refrigerator and pulling a beer out of the back. He twisted the cap off and flicked it into the trashcan. “It’s too bad she doesn’t live closer; it’d be good to have her around more.”
Amelia thought of Aubrey’s offer to let her come and stay with her in Texas. It had been circling in her mind since her friend had left for the hotel. A town where she wasn’t known as a politician’s daughter. Where her father couldn’t watch over her every move. It was an intoxicating thought.
But the thought of being that far from Ethan didn’t seem like fair play. He probably wouldn’t be able to afford a lot of trips down to Texas. And working for starting pay at any job she found wouldn’t give Amelia any extra cash either.
“What?” she asked, getting the sense that Ethan had just asked her something.
“I asked if you’re okay,” he repeated. “You looked kind of down.”
“No, I’m fine.” Silence stretched between them. She rummaged through her mind frantically, looking for something to say to him. It wasn’t like she could tell him that she was thinking about what it would be like to go and live in Texas with Aubrey.
“We’re going to take a ride this weekend,” Ethan said. “We’re planning to camp at the Valley of Fire on Friday and Saturday night.”
“Oh,” Amelia said. She’d be on her own this weekend. She really needed to find a hobby; she was going to atrophy if she had to sit on the couch any longer. “That sounds like it would be fun.”
He smiled, looking relieved. “Good. I’m glad you like the sound of it.”
She blinked up at him. “Wait, I’m invited?”
“Hell yeah, you’re invited,” Ethan said incredulously. “What did you think? That I was just gonna take off and leave you sitting here twiddling your thumbs?”
For some reason, his reaction pissed her off. “How was I supposed to know?” she demanded. “It’s not like I know you! I mean...not really. If you wanted me to go then why not invite me? I’m not exactly a mind reader and I have no idea where I stand in your life!”
Ethan stared at her when she broke off. Where the hell had that outburst come from? “You gonna yell at me every damn time you don’t like how I say what I say?”
“I didn’t yell at you!” Amelia winced when she heard her voice carry through the small room. She hadn’t yelled before, but she was close to it now and she really didn’t even know why. “Why would you just assume that I was assuming the same thing you were?”
“What?”
“You know what I mean! You assumed I knew I was going!”
“Yeah, and what was so wrong with that?”
“There’s nothing wrong with it, but to be perfectly honest, I don’t even know if you want me in the same house, let alone out with your friends! Who, if you’ll remember, seem to hate me!” When he didn’t speak, she crossed her arms. “You don’t have anything to say about that?”
“I was just making sure you were done,” he said. “Okay, yeah. I should have asked you. Sorry.”
His tone was gruff and she wanted to be offended, but she knew that she’d overreacted. “In that case, I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she said stiffly.
He sighed, pushing his hand through his hair. “Jesus, this is exhausting. We don’t know a damn thing about each other,” he said.
Amelia blinked back tears. “No, I guess we really don’t. But I think it’s worth finding out.”
He gave her a short smile. “Yeah,” he said noncommittally.
“Do you want to go to bed?” she asked, suddenly worried. Had she pushed him too far? She hated the fear that lay in her stomach as she stood and reached for him.
He pulled her against him briefly, but then he stepped back. “That sounds good, but I think I’ll just shack up on the couch tonight. The sex just gets in the way. It’s too damn good with you.”
Amelia looked down at the tabletop as he walked out of the room. Everything had been going so well. They’d been so polite to each other since she’d moved in. She bit her lip.
Was polite the same as superficial? If they wanted to get to the real issues, it might be. It didn’t mean that she wanted to repeat the scene they’d just had, but the extreme, unrealistic niceness would have to stop.
As much as Amelia wanted to ask Ethan to come to bed with her, he was more than correct on that score. The sex made it easy to forget that they didn’t know each other very well. She sighed and walked down the hall.
Chapter 22
Amelia
Amelia rested her head against Ethan’s back when he stopped at a red light. The ride to the Valley of Fire was going to be the most physical contact they’d had since Aubrey left.
It had been a rough, awkward week. She wanted to talk to him, but she had no idea what to say. She couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the same way, because he’d been working as much overtime as he could handle, barely managing to stumble into the shower and get clean before he fell asleep on the couch every night.
Rough week or not, she planned to soak up all of the contact that she could while she could. As they sat there, the bike thrumming beneath them, Ethan reached back and squeezed her thigh. Amelia couldn’t hold back a shiver. Maybe he missed touching her as much as she missed touching him? She edged slightly closer, pressing her body against his lean back. She saw his free hand tighten on the handlebar.
The light flicked to green and Ethan eased into traffic again. Amelia went back to wondering if they’d forgotten anything. She’d been shocked at how much stuff Ethan had managed to pack down into the saddlebags and the old tan leather bag that was strapped down behind her. It still didn’t seem like enough to get them through a three-day weekend, though.
She glanced to the side and Ryan gave her a thumbs up. She gave him a slight, careful wave. Letting go of Ethan while they were riding still made her nervous.
It was really fun to ride in a pack like this, though. The Angel’s Keepers moved smoothly through the traffic, not holding anyone up or endangering anyone. Just another thing her father had been wrong about.
No matter how much fun the ride was, by the time they pulled up at the Valley of Fire, Amelia was more than ready to stretch for a bit. Ethan handed her a bottle of water after she’d tugged her helmet off.
“Go and take a rest while we get everything unloaded,” he said, pointing to a shaded picnic table. “That’s our site.”
“I can help,” she offered.
“Yeah and you can take a rest, too.” He swept his thumb down the curve of her cheek. “I know it was a long ride.”
She glanced down. “I don’t know why I’m so tired. All I did was sit.”
Ethan put his arm around her shoulders and steered her to the picnic table. “It takes some getting used to. What did you think, though? Did you like it?”
She looked up at him. “I loved it,” she said, happy she could be honest about that. She’d been afraid that she wouldn’t like it, but the freedom and the sound of the wind were downright addictive. His smile at her answer had her heart skipping several beats.
“I’m glad,” he said simply. “Sit down and drink that water. Once you feel better, you can help set up.”
Amelia watched as the rest of The Angel’s Keepers arrived, unpacking their saddlebag
s and calling a combination of helpful advice and friendly insults to each other. Ryan helped Taylor get his tent set up while Kenny walked over to the grill at the site and lit a fire.
“Hey, how’s it going?”
Amelia glanced up at the sound of the voice and saw a pretty brunette standing in front of her. “Hi,” she answered. “Um, good, I guess.”
The brunette smiled. “You don’t have to look so freaked out. I promise I won’t bite,” she said with a short laugh. “I’m Penelope Maxwell, Taylor’s girlfriend.”
“It’s not nice meet you, I’m Amelia Stratton.” She gestured to the bench in front of her and said, “Please, have a seat.”
The other woman slung her leg over the bench and pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of her riding pants. “You smoke?” she asked, pausing before lighting one of the slim white cigarettes.
Amelia shook her head. “No, but you go ahead.” There was a strong breeze blowing through the canyon. It would sweep the smoke away with no problem.
Penelope tossed the pack down onto the table between them and took a drag of the one she’d just lit. “Don’t tell Ethan I’m doing this,” she said. “He’d have my head.”
“Why?” A few of the guys walking around were smoking too. Amelia didn't really see the difference between lung cancer for them and lung cancer for Penelope.
“Because you’re knocked up,” the other woman said matter of factly. “But he’s across the site looking at Buddy’s bike and it’s been a long damn ride, so I’m going to take the chance.”
Amelia’s eyes widened. “Wait. What? Because I’m what?”
Penelope exhaled a thin stream of smoke and shook her head. “First thing you’ve gotta know is that there are no secrets in a motorcycle club. From the minute Ethan told the officers, it’s been circulating through. Everyone knows by now.”
Amelia blinked, trying to figure out how she felt about the news that everyone in the whole club knew she was carrying Ethan’s baby. Hardly anyone she knew was aware of the pregnancy and she wished Ethan had told her that he was going to tell the club.
Penelope looked closely at her. “Don’t get worked up,” she advised. “William’s the only one that really hated it. The other guys are happy to wait and see.”
“Wait and see what, exactly?”
Penelope shrugged casually. “What kind of person you are. Whether you’ll fit in. Your father’s a dick. You might be one, too.”
“I’m not,” Amelia said, her tone frosty now. “He and I don’t hold the same ideals.”
“Fancy political talk won’t get you too far,” Penelope said. “And I’m not trying to piss you off; I’m just telling you like it is. You’ll need to get used to it if you’re gonna hang around.”
Amelia looked down at her hands. The other woman smoked in silence.
“Okay,” Amelia said after a moment of thought. “Then you’ll need to get used to the fact that all of this is new to me. I don’t know anyone here except for Ethan. I’m getting used to things, too.”
“Fair enough,” Penelope said. “Hey, look. Kenny’s starting to grill.” She huffed out a laugh. “He’s actually wearing a damn apron. Wonder who he lost a bet with?”
Amelia glanced over and saw a stocky man with an extremely pink, extremely ruffled apron wrapped around his waist. He was laying steaks on one of the grills at the site. She clapped a hand over her mouth as another man walked up behind him and jammed a matching pink chef’s hat down onto Kenny’s head and over his eyes.
“That’s Taylor,” Penelope said with a laugh. “My guy’s so mature.”
Taylor ran away as fast as he could while Kenny swore and tugged at the hat. It appeared to be stuck. Kenny had a surprisingly varied vocabulary and it rang across the site, even over everyone’s laughter.
“Don’t take the bet if you’re not ready to lose,” Ethan called once Kenny had managed to pry the hat off.
“You wanna wear the hat or you wanna shut up and let me cook?” Kenny called back.
“Burn my steak and you’re out on your ass,” Ethan returned.
“Big kids. All of ‘em.” Penelope said, lighting another cigarette with the end of the first one.
“How long have you and Taylor been together?” Amelia asked. With the tension between the two of them broken, she wanted to continue in a friendly vein of conversation.
“Not long,” Penelope said. “Just about three months, officially. This is only the second ride I’ve been on with him.”
“Oh, really?” Amelia looked at the other woman. The boots and the jacket and the riding pants looked worn in; she hadn’t expected to hear that this was only her second ride. “You don’t seem like you’re new to all of this.”
“Oh, no, I’m not,” the other woman said, still watching Taylor, who was sneaking back over to Kenny, clearly aiming for the hat that was now on the ground. “I’ve been dating bikers since I was old enough to sneak out of my bedroom window. So, since I was fourteen, if you’re counting.”
“I used to sneak out, too,” Amelia said.
“Oh yeah?” Penelope turned to look at her. “That’s unexpected. Were you fucking bikers, too?”
“No,” Amelia said quickly. “I mean, not ‘til Ethan. Mostly, I was just getting away. Sometimes I’d go out drinking. But a lot of the time, I’d go to my friend Aubrey’s house and hang out with her and her family. Or I’d just go out for a walk. Basically, I went anywhere that my dad wasn’t.”
Penelope nodded. “I know how that feels. For me, it was my mom, though. She was always on my case about something.”
“Get better grades,” Amelia said.
“Don’t wear your skirt so damn short,” Penelope added.
“Remember his name, he’ll be important later on.”
“Get that mascara off, you look like a whore.”
“Hey, I got that one from my dad, too!” Amelia exclaimed.
Penelope grinned. “Yeah? Guess there’s not as much of a class difference as I thought between the rich and the poor.”
“Our parents would probably get along well,” Amelia agreed. “Maybe we should set them up.”
Penelope laughed, but there was a slight tinge of bitterness to it. “That would involve talking to her and I’m not ready for that, even if it would mean I was rich by proxy.”
“You two don’t speak at all?”
Penelope shook her head. “Not since I turned eighteen. Do you talk to your father now that you’re with Ethan?”
Amelia paused. “No. Not really.” But she hadn’t really planned for that to be a permanent thing. Although...when had Gregory Stratton ever changed his mind about anything? Had walking out with Ethan really severed that relationship completely? The thought was unnerving.
“Just from personal experience, I wouldn’t expect that to change,” Penelope said. “I guess you miss your friends, since you’ve been hanging out with the likes of us for so long.”
Amelia paused and then shook her head, realizing she hadn’t thought about Lauren or any of the other women she would have causally called her friends a few months ago. “No, not really. It’s mostly just political gossip and talking about whose dress cost the most or looks the worst.”
“You sure as hell won’t hear about that around here,” Penelope said with a chuckle. “I work retail and I’m usually a combination of K-Mart and Goodwill, which I make look hot as hell. And the only political gossip I know is that Ethan Billings knocked up Representative Stratton’s daughter. But I’m guessing you know that.”
Amelia nodded seriously. “I’d heard something about it, yes.”
Penelope leaned in, her dark brown eyes dancing mischievously. “And who the hell could blame her when he looks like that?”
Amelia looked over to where Ethan was putting up their tent. When he bent over to grab a tent pole and his jeans hugged his ass, both of them sighed. He really was incredibly hot. Amelia felt her whole body flush at the memories of what that muscular body could d
o.
“If news travels that fast in the club, maybe--”
“I shouldn’t be ogling your guy with Taylor right over there?” Penelope finished, picking up Amelia’s train of thought with no problem. “I like to live dangerously. And you’ll have to get used to that, too. Every girl I know gives Ethan the longing looks. Especially since he used to play so damn easy to get.”
Amelia’s gaze snapped back to Penelope. “Did he?” she asked, trying to sound casual.
“No reason why he shouldn’t,” the other woman said easily. “Don’t get freaked out about it. He’s with you now, isn’t he?”
