by Debra Kayn
Unlocking the door, she opened the house to Thad's parents, who she hoped was telling her the truth.
"Hello?" she said, keeping her foot behind the opened door.
"Hi, Lena. I'm Karen. This is Thaddeus's dad, Will." His mom pointed at her chest and then at her husband. "Our son wanted us to bring over some food for you to eat because he's going to be late coming home."
Thaddeus? She blinked, struck dumb over a name. Of course, that was his proper name. She should've realized that from the beginning when she'd met him outside the bar.
Mr. Bowers took the basket from his wife. "I'll put this in the kitchen."
"Oh. Um." Lena stepped back. "Come in. Sorry. I wasn't expecting—"
"We understand." Thad's mom squeezed Lena's hand as she walked into the house. "Thaddeus never was one to have food in his house that was convenient to eat. I think he lives off food at the bar most of the time unless he comes over to visit us at dinner time."
Lena shut the door and followed them into the kitchen, highly aware of how she looked. She was sweaty and red faced from exercising. There were dark circles under her eyes. She had no desire to hide under makeup on her day off.
"Honey, put those in the fridge." Mrs. Bowers waggled her finger at the containers of yogurt. "Oh, and the cheese sticks, too."
Lena's stomach growled. She would've given her left kidney for a cheese stick earlier. Though, knowing Thad's parents brought over grocery items, for her, made her nauseous.
"Oh, boy." Mr. Bowers held up a fistful of Snickers bars. "I thought this was food for Lena."
Thad's mom laughed softly. "Stop it. You know how our son is about his Snickers."
Lena watched the interaction going on between Thad's parents. They thought highly of their son. That part was obvious. They also knew his likes and dislikes. When he called his parents to lend a hand, they followed through, bringing food to the house.
Her overheated body chilled. Her stomach cramped.
"I hope there are things here you will eat." Mrs. Bowers sighed. "Thaddeus didn't give us much to go on or if you followed a certain way of eating. So many of the younger generation are eating this way or that way and making it a life choice. Mabel Conrad—she's our neighbor—is always telling us about her granddaughter who eats...what is it called, Will?"
"Pallo or palel. Like the cavemen. Ugh. Me, man," said Mr. Bowers.
"Paleo?" said Lena, fascinated at the direction of the conversation and Thad's dad imitating a caveman, including thumping his chest.
"Yes." Mrs. Bowers laughed. "That's the name. Lots of meats and greens and nuts."
Lena cleared her throat. "Um, no, I eat whatever I like."
"Good." Mrs. Bowers smiled and peeked into the basket. "I guess that's it. If you need anything else or we forgot something, please call and let us know. We can run to the store and pick up whatever it is."
"She needs our phone number, dear," said Mr. Bowers.
"I'm sure I won't need anything. Thad will be home later, and I'm not going to be here long. A couple days, maybe." She couldn't inhale. "B-but, I appreciate what you've done."
"It's no problem." Thad's mom looked at her husband and raised her eyes. "We should go."
Lena's chest tightened. She reached out for the counter, lightheaded and sweating. This was why she never attempted to have a normal relationship where people involved families, planned for the future, and...and she couldn't do that.
"We'll get out of your hair." Mrs. Bowers patted Lena's arm. "Come on, Will. Let's go home."
"Nice to meet you, Lena." Thad's dad mouth softened, and Lena had to look away because Mr. Bowers had the same baby blue eyes as Thad.
"Thank you," she whispered, following them to the front door.
She wanted to push them outside, make them leave, shut herself away from the fact that Thad had loving parents that cared about him, even though he was a middle-aged man. Adding another kick to her stomach, she caught sight of Mr. and Mrs. Bowers holding hands on the way to the car before she shut the door and stumbled to the couch.
Her body vibrated, and she pulled her legs up and leaned into the arm of the couch gasping to get enough air in her lungs. If she would've known Thad would involve his parents in her life, she never would've stayed with him. She would've taken her chances with Tigres.
Wiping her palms over her face, she pulled her hands away and wrinkled her nose. She needed a shower and to calm down. Thad's parents said he'd be home later and she wanted to be ready. The last thing she wanted was a bunch of questions about why she freaked out meeting his parents.
She stood, more exhausted than she should be and headed toward the bathroom. Clarity over her situation came with Thad's parents visiting her. She couldn't even jump into a relationship with him if he followed the rules because he lived differently than her. He'd only end up getting hurt, and she couldn't deal with the added pressure from him involving his folks and his club in her life. That was something she hadn't asked for.
Hours later, Lena woke up with the sound of a motorcycle rumbling the bedroom. She swung her arm out and felt along the night stand for her phone, then squinted at the screen. It was almost midnight.
She sat up, turned on the light, and double checked what she was wearing. Yoga pants and a sweatshirt covered her completely. Nothing to tempt Thad into touching her. Getting out of bed, she walked barefooted out of the room, down the stairs, and sat on the bottom step.
The crinkle of a wrapper came from the kitchen, then Thad walked into the living room and stopped at the sight of her on the step.
"Hey," he said, around a bite of Snickers. "I wasn't expecting you to still be awake."
She pulled the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands. "I'd like you to take me home tomorrow morning or tonight. It won't take me long to put my things in my bag."
"We had an agreement."
She thrust her covered hands between her legs. "On our second date, I figured it was only you who I'd have to deal with...and I was more than willing to be with you if you agreed not to turn this into something bigger than it was, but now it's not just you. It's your folks. It's your club. It's me living here. Even for a normal relationship, this—what is happening to me— is too much. I like my life. I enjoy my job. I'm extremely attracted to you, but I don't want everything that comes with you."
"Slow down. Talking is free, and you have no rules against that, right?" He finished the rest of the candy bar.
Her heart raced. She wasn't unreasonable. Nothing about the situation was normal. "You sent your parents over here and involved them into our arrangement. I don't do families, of any kind."
He walked out of the room and returned minus the wrapper. "Fine."
"What do you mean fine?"
"You don't want to deal with my parents, I won't ask them to help me when you're here. You won't have to see them." He tilted his head to look at her. "Did they say something to upset you or scare you?"
"No."
"Do you have a problem with me?" He walked over, patted her thigh to move her over on the step, and squeezed in, sitting two steps above her.
"No." She half turned, surprised that he'd want to talk about how she was feeling. "I don't like being tied down where people start having more feelings than...a mutual respect. Like, you and me, we can respect each other. Keep our feelings from going out of control. But, now, your parents have met me. Your club is involved with this gang thing that's happening to me. I'm feeling claustrophobic."
His hand landed on her shoulder and his fingers squeezed. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I've got the cure for that."
His deep, husky voice sent a shiver through her. He'd tipped the teeter totter she found herself stuck in the air on, and put her feet back on the ground. She could now leverage her life.
"What is that?" she asked.
He grinned. "Sex. Good sex."
Her stomach released all the tension she'd held inside of her since his parents had shown up unannounced. A
sexual relationship between them she could handle. It was why she wanted to keep seeing him.
"Okay," she whispered.
He whispered back, "Okay, then."
He lifted her to her feet and walked her to the bedroom. They were going to have sex. She liked when she understood what was happening. When Thad was focused on her, she accepted their relationship. It was when other people came between them that she stopped wanting to work on the two of them.
Inside the bedroom, more confident than earlier when she was left alone, she stripped out of her clothes and turned toward Thad and raised her arms out to the sides of her, ready to have sex.
Thad remained standing in the bedroom, fully dressed, and frowning. He wasn't looking at her body. His intense gaze zeroed in on her eyes. And, what she saw staring back at her was foreign and shocking.
Chapter 12
Thad wouldn't look at Lena. He couldn't. Her ability to put herself in front of him to use pissed him off. That wasn't one of the things he was attracted to with her. He wanted the fascinating woman who had stood up to him and demanded asinine rules in a relationship.
Lena acted like she was doing him a fucking favor. He'd thought better of her.
"Get in bed. Go to sleep." He turned around and took off his Notus jacket, his boots, and stripped down to his boxers.
Not pausing at going ass naked, he ripped off the last piece of material on him and turned around. If she wanted to know what was going on with him, she could look at his limp cock and figure it out herself.
"Thad?" She stepped toward him.
He shook his head, stopping her from touching him, and crawled into bed. "Not interested."
"You don't want me?" she asked.
"Nope."
"So, our little talk moments ago was for nothing? Great," she mumbled, shutting off the light.
The mattress compressed as she crawled up onto the bed and stole half the covers. In the darkness, knowing she was close, and even pissed at him accelerated his pulse and his cock stirred to a half-assed woody.
"You know, you're nothing like I thought you would be or how you were when we had our dates." She pounded on her pillow and squirmed on the mattress.
"Right back at you, babe," he muttered.
She huffed. "Sure, whatever you say. I just love dealing with someone who goes from age twelve and needing his parents to forty-four and set in his ways in the space of a half hour. You wanted sex. Now you don't want sex. Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore. Tomorrow, when you change your mind again, I'll be gone. I'll be back at my house dealing with real-life problems and living an honest life where people don't demand anything from me. So, enjoy your sleep, Thaddeus."
He opened his eyes at the use of his name. Amusement hit him. She was one to talk about his mindset. She was silly and unreasonable.
"Are you laughing?" she said.
He let it all out. The tension. Their stupid agreement. The hopelessness in the case of the drifter. The way he'd bent over backward to treat Lena differently than the way he treated women in his past.
And, she had the guts to call him Thaddeus.
Thaddeus.
A name he defended on the playground growing up. A name he'd beaten many men over for uttering. A name only his mother was allowed to call him.
Lena smacked him on the chest, making him laugh harder. He captured her hand and shoved it underneath the blanket to his cock. Touching him, stopped her from arguing and pushing him away.
He held her fingers around the width of his dick. "I liked the woman you gave me when we first met. The one that kept me thinking about her twenty-four/seven. The one who interested me to the point you ruined my days and nights because I couldn't think about anything else."
"There's more to me than what you originally learned," she whispered.
Without letting go, he stroked himself, using her hand. "I plan on learning everything about you. If that means calling bullshit on the way you act when you push me away, get used to it. That's how relationships—regardless of the fucked-up rules—work. Now, your hand feels real nice on me, Lena. That's how it should feel between us. Not the other stuff that distracts us. Why don't you do whatever you want to make yourself feel good, so I know what you like, huh?"
He stretched his legs as blood rushed to his cock. Letting go of her hand, he relaxed and enjoyed the pleasure of her continuing to stroke him.
Lena exhaled loudly in another stubborn show of not wanting to listen. But, her hand never stopped moving.
He wanted her softened and willing. He wanted her open to him and not battling whatever baggage she carried with her. He wanted inside of her because once he made sure it was only the two of them in the bedroom and not the shit she was dwelling on, she'd see what he was talking about. She'd learn from him. She'd believe in what he could already feel happening between them.
Then, he'd deal with her ridiculous reasons for rules.
Lena's strokes slowed and grew longer, feeling him tip to root. He wanted to push her hand away because he wouldn't last much longer if she continued. Instead, he rolled to his side. He hooked her hip and pulled her closer, letting his hand wander down her thigh and up her inner leg until the heat of her pussy warmed the back of his fingers.
He dipped his finger inside of her and lowered his head to her neck, growling his pleasure. "Smooth. I like it."
Unlike the clothes and beautiful, almost black, curtain of hair she used to hide behind, she shaved her pussy. He never pictured her as the type to bare all.
"You're wet." He trailed his finger from clit to ass. "Do you get off on fighting?"
"No. I hate fighting." She sighed, arching her back. "I'm not even sure I like you, but you...God, that feels good."
"Yeah?"
She turned her head toward him. "You're a sexy man, and you're taking care of me. That's a hard thing to ignore, even when you're an asshole."
That's all he wanted to do was take care of her. He closed his eyes an extra beat. Protect her. Keep her safe.
Lena pressed her sex against his hand. He circled the pad of his finger around her clit, amazed at how responsive she became and wondering if it had to do with how she was feeling or if she was exceptionally sensitive to touch.
She slithered her hand up his chest, around his neck, and pulled him down, lifting her mouth. He captured her lips and continued rubbing her between the legs. His cock pulsed and hardened against her hip at the brush of her breasts against his skin.
He deepened the kiss, stroking her with his tongue. His hand was on her pussy. His leg pinned hers to the bed. In return, she held him down against her. He didn't care that he was tired. He didn't care that he was confused. He didn't care that tomorrow he had to deal with her shit. He didn't care because Lena moved against him and made soft moans that reminded him of the thrum of a V-twin.
Pulling back, he gazed down her body. Her hard nipples called his name. He dove in and bowed his back, his lips latched around her nipple, and he sucked hard.
"Yes," she said panting.
That voice. Her voice. Pulses shot straight down his spine and settled between his legs.
He removed his mouth from her and reached over for a condom on his nightstand. Normally, he had the woman put the protection on him. Not only because he enjoyed the step, but to make sure his sexual partner understood he was covered.
With Lena, he needed to do the job because an extra touch from her hands would have him shooting early and he hadn't even gotten started yet.
She reached for his head. He ducked, moving to the end of the bed. He picked up her leg and slid under, settling between her thighs. He swiped her pussy with his tongue and caught her fisting the blanket at her hips before he closed his eyes and lapped at the folds of her sex.
Her body quivered, and her hand found the back of his head again. He slid his hands under her ass, lifting her up and dipping his tongue in her. She moaned, and in the expression of pleasure, she vocalized everything he was feeling.
Being between her legs was like coming home. No fight. No argument. Total acceptance.
Her thighs clamped his head in place, and she shuddered her release. He licked until her body melted in his hands and he pushed up on his knees, wiping her arousal off his mouth onto his shoulder.
She blinked up at him with half closed eyes, reaching blindly for him and finding purchase on his chest. He lined his cock up at her entrance and looking down onto her face, he pushed his way inside of her, inch by fucking inch. Deeper than imaginable, he pulled out and plunged into her harder, staying put. He groaned at the tightness surrounding him.
Lena's nails scratched his skin. His pelvis spasmed in response and he pulled out and rammed in again. Over and over, he drove home. Feeling her orgasm for the second time around him had him exploding hard. He went down on his elbows and buried his face in her neck.
His heart pounded in his chest, and he sucked in air, trying to catch his breath as his body rocked out every drop he'd saved for her. "You need to listen to me before I pull my cock out of you, Lena. Tonight's bullshit isn't going to happen again. You see what it could be like between us. Don't fucking make excuses or push me away by acting like someone else."
She stopped breathing.
"I think you're scared of yourself, and I don’t know why. But, I'm going to figure you out and make you feel what I feel." He pushed off her and rolled out of bed.
Walking to the bathroom, he removed the used condom. The first thing he needed to do was get the target off Lena's back and make sure Tigres left her alone. Then, he was going to convince her that the life she'd planned for herself wouldn't work if he were going to be involved with her.
He had no fucking clue if they'd end up loving each other after time or if marriage and kids would be a goal, but she damn well needed to open up to him in the meantime. He needed more than sex.
Chapter 13
