He leaned back and they locked eyes once more.
“Goodnight,” he smiled.
“Goodnight Gunner,” she whispered as she watched him walk backwards towards the door at the right of the stage that led down to the office.
As he disappeared down there her heart was racing and her palms were sweating. She knew these boys were bad, and she knew they were dangerous… but she still wanted him. Gunner had a dangerous edge and she could tell that there was something more than ferocious running through his veins, but now they had connected and he was bringing her back to life.
She didn’t care if she was getting in too deep with the Forsaken Riders. She didn’t care if she was about to get burned. All she knew was that she had to have him. She had to feel him next to her. She had to hold him and run her fingers through his hair. She had to let him take her and do with her whatever he wanted.
She was going to give herself up to him and give him all the power over her that he needed. She knew he could dominate her in ways she could only dream of, and she wanted to experience it so badly, she was willing to do anything to get it.
As of that moment Courtney only had one purpose, she was going to make herself Gunner’s girl…
8.
She woke the next morning with a smile on her face and a skip in her step. As she bounced out of bed and flung open the curtains she smiled so wide, for a second she thought her skin may crack.
All night she had dreamt of big, burly men. Men with muscles so hard they could tear her in two, and ones who were rough, rugged and dangerous. She had woken several times in the night, drenched in sweat and so turned on she was wet between her legs and aching for Gunner to relieve her. She kept replaying over in her mind what he had said before he left Tanner’s…
I’m going to need you to save some energy for me…
Her whole body shuddered. What he could do to her… and what she wanted him to do…
She went straight into the bathroom and ran the shower on cold. She stepped in she gasped as the water hit her skin and cooled her off. It had been such a long time since she had met someone she had felt like this about. Even King hadn’t inspired this kind of reaction, and the fact that there was so much brooding mystery surrounding Gunner, only made him all the more sexy.
After she had dried off and wrapped herself in a towel she went over to her closet and pulled open the doors. The black dress had clearly been a hit with all of the guys at the club, and she wanted to keep the momentum going. She reached into the racks and moved the hangers around, looking for a little white dress that she hadn’t worn for some time.
She found it and as she pulled it out, she smiled. The dress had been one of her favorites many moons ago, and she felt like she was hugging an old friend as she held it up to her chest and looked at her reflection. The old Courtney was on her way back with a vengeance and was about to take no prisoners.
She slipped the dress over her head and pulled it down past her butt. It was delicate, light and so very girly that it was a stark contrast to her blunt, jet black hair. She leaned forward into the mirror and winged out some eyeliner before she slicked on her trademark red lipstick. Now, it didn’t matter if she bumped into Gunner in ten minutes, or ten hours, she looked amazing and she was ready for him.
Her stomach churned and she grabbed her purse. It was nearly noon and she had to eat something. She slipped her feet into a pair of silver flats and pulled her shades out of her drawer. She swung open the door and stepped out into the hot sun with a huge smile on her face.
Luckily, she didn’t have to wait ten hours… Gunner was in the parking lot, leaning up against his truck with a dirty pair of jeans on, a bare chest, and his shirt tucked into his back pocket. Courtney stopped and leaned against her door frame, watching him with amusement. She wondered how long it would take him to look up and realize she was there.
“My lovely lady,” he said without looking up.
Her smile spread wider across her lips.
“My rugged stranger,” she joked.
Gunner looked up and their eyes met. He squinted because of the sunlight but she could still see the beautiful deep brown, pulling her in.
“See, I told you that you didn’t need my number,” she smiled.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” he said as he stood up straight and scratched the back of his neck. “I’ve been waiting out here since 8am.”
Courtney laughed and Gunner winked. He wiped his hands down his jeans and stained them with oil as he walked towards her, his boots kicking up dust behind him that was taken away by the breeze.
“So,” he said as he stopped, millimeters from her.
She looked up to him and their eyes locked in on each other’s.
“Where am I taking you?” he raised an eyebrow.
Courtney licked her bottom lip and looked down the highway.
“Anywhere,” she said demurely. “As long as you buy me lunch… I’m starving…”
Gunner smiled and raised his hands above her onto the doorframe, so he was even closer.
“I like the sound of that,” he whispered.
He leaned forwards and their lips skimmed against one anothers. Courtney felt dizzy. She was such a mess of arousal and emotions. All she wanted was to pull him inside her motel room, kick the door closed and let him throw her down on the bed… But she knew she couldn’t. She had to make him wait. It had to be perfect, and there was still so much about him that she didn’t know.
“Give me a minute,” he whispered, before he slowly backed away.
She had been ready for his kiss, and yet it terrified her. What if she got burned? What if he really was someone unbelievably dangerous? Could she be getting pulled into something that would destroy her? But even without asking herself those questions seriously, she already knew the answer… She didn’t care. She wanted him whatever the cost. Even if it meant she was putting her own life at risk.
Gunner disappeared inside his motel room momentarily before he came back out with a pair of clean jeans and a black t-shirt. The fabric clung to his muscles perfectly, showing off how intricately sculpted and defined he was. Courtney felt a pulse in her panties. How much longer was she honestly going to be able to resist him?
“Come on then,” he said as he slipped his hand into hers and began to pull her across the parking lot. The breeze whipped up the back of her dress slightly and she giggled as she trotted along beside him.
“I’m going to take you somewhere I used to go way back,” he said as he opened the door to his truck and stood back, waiting for her to climb inside. “If it’s still there, you’re going to love it.”
“Sounds good to me,” Courtney smiled as she climbed in and looked at him out of the window.
He walked around the back of the truck and climbed in beside her. For a man who was so rugged and rough, he had the inside of his truck spotlessly clean. She had imagined it would be full of tools and spare bike parts, but it was just like new and completely tidy.
He started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. Flying down the highway away from Slate Springs and towards the south.
“Where are we going?” she asked as she looked out over the desert.
“Trust me,” he said. “It’s worth it.”
***
They drove for around half an hour before he started to slow and he turned off the main road and down another desert path. Courtney felt her anxiety mounting. She had never been out this far and she didn’t know where he could possibly be taking her. Just when she was about to give up hope and slump back in her seat, a town started to appear before her very eyes.
Out of nowhere, they rose over a hill and down the other side, houses and stores sprung up out of the desert landscape. It was a one road town, and totally tiny, but Gunner was right, it was worth the drive. It was so quaint, so old and western, it was almost like the set from a movie.
“Wow,” she breathed. “This is something else.”
“Sure
is,” Gunner looked across at her. “No one really knows about this place except the people in Slate Springs, Iron Hill and this town. It isn’t the sort of place anyone moves to, and with it being off the main highway, it’s not the kind of place people pass through either.”
“It’s bizarre,” she said as she looked at the old men and women sat outside on their stoops in the midday sun.
“Yep,” Gunner said. “But it’s got one of the best little restaurants I’ve ever eaten at… and apparently they’re still open for business.”
“No way,” she laughed.
“Umm hmm,” he nodded.
He swung the car over to the side of the street and parked by the curb. He jumped out and moved around to Courtney’s side before he opened the door and she stepped out onto the sidewalk.
She could see that the town was almost derelict. But people still worked and lived here and kept it ticking over. She looked up at the dusty sign swinging in the breeze above her head.
“Greenville?” she said with amusement. “Is that ironic? I mean look at this place… It’s a sand box.”
Gunner laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“Come on,” he smirked.
They walked along the street holding hands and, although Courtney could sense that there were people behind the windows, inside the buildings watching them, they were the only ones there. As they walked, Courtney looked at each of the stores. It was like they were stuck back in time, a hundred years ago. She looked in the window of a pharmacy and shook her head in disbelief.
“This looks like it could be in a museum,” she whispered, not wanting to cause any offence just in case someone from Greenville was close by.
Gunner looked down at her and smiled.
“These people don’t know much different,” he whispered back. “Old town, old folks, old ways…”
Courtney nodded and they kept on walking.
Gunner stopped when they reached a restaurant at the end of the street. It had two little tables outside on the curb with old, faded paper tablecloths and salt and pepper shakers. Courtney smiled, it really was like another world.
Gunner peered inside and waved to someone right at the back of the store.
“Hey!” he called. “Can we get a table?”
There was no one else in there, and the two tables out front were empty so Courtney didn’t know why Gunner felt the need to ask… but she thought it was sweet that he seemed to have manners.
An old man doddered out and smiled at them both before pointing to the two tables out the front. Luckily they were in the shade of the awning so Gunner pulled out a chair and Courtney sat down before he pushed it in.
“Thank you,” she said.
Gunner sat down opposite her and the old man handed them some ratty old menus. When he wobbled back inside, steadying himself with the doorframe, Gunner leaned forward and whispered;
“He won’t remember me now… but he’s been here since the beginning of time…”
Courtney smiled and giggled. Her eyes scanned the menu and she had suddenly forgotten all about food, she didn’t feel like she could eat. She had a knot in her stomach… one that was created by curiosity and nerves. She wanted to know everything about Gunner, but she was afraid to ask.
“Okay,” he said as if he was ready to make a confession. “So I didn’t just bring you all the way out here because this is a damn fine restaurant.”
“Oh yeah…?” Courtney leaned her elbows on the table and listened intently.
“Yeah…” Gunner sighed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. “It’s because I knew there wouldn’t be a place in Slate Springs where we could sit peacefully for even five minutes and talk properly.”
Courtney smiled and relief washed over her.
“I think I know exactly what you mean,” she said coyly.
“Well yeah,” he exhaled a plume of smoke into the air. “You’re the hottest girl in town and I’m the forgotten bad boy making his big come-back… of course people are going to start talking…”
Courtney decided to seize her opportunity…
“Bad boy?” she asked with raised brows. “Maybe you need to elaborate on that… I’d like to know what I’m getting myself into…”
Gunner blew two identical streams of smoke out of his nostrils and curled his lip in a wry smile.
“It’s probably not at all what you’d think…” he said slowly. “But I respect what you’re saying.”
“Then tell me everything,” Courtney leaned forward and let her fingertips lightly skim his. “I feel like I’ve been in the dark for so long and I have no idea what I’m walking into. I need to know… I can’t do this without knowing everything…”
Gunner could sense the urgency in her plea and he took hold of her hand and squeezed it tight.
“Okay,” he said. “I’m going to tell you it all…”
9.
“I was a bad boy,” he said sternly. “But a lot changed five years ago…”
Courtney could sense the pain in his eyes and although she didn’t want to hurt him by getting Gunner to open up, she knew she had to find out what all of this was about… Why was he back in Slate Springs? And what had happened to Red X six months before…?
“I was part of the Forsaken Riders as you may have guessed already,” he half laughed. “King and I were rising up through the charter and making waves. He was the calm brother and I was known as the mental one.” He rolled his eyes and lit another cigarette. “If I had a score to settle I got it done… and I did it well. I was the go to guy for taking care of a lot of the clubs messier affairs… I guess you could say, I wasn’t afraid to do the dirtiest work that needed doing.” He looked down, as if he was ashamed.
Courtney felt her gut tighten… did she really want to know anymore?
“When tensions first started with the Iron Riders, I was involved in some of the beef that went down… but it all came to a head one night when the gang stormed our club house out of nowhere and murdered one of our old boys,” he exhaled and shook his head. The anger was rising within him. “It was then that shit really started to kick off.”
Courtney felt so terrible for him, she could tell that he had clearly been through and seen a lot of terrible things.
“But,” he took a long, deep drag. “There was a woman in the house there that night, and she got in the way… she was with me, and they killed her too.”
Courtney felt her jaw drop.
“They killed… a… your… girlfriend?” she asked nervously.
Gunner blinked back a rogue tear and nodded.
“It was brutal what they did, and I always vowed I would make them pay for taking someone who was innocent in it all… but I was burnt out… I was grieving, I’d lost a friend… you know?” He looked up at her hopefully, as if this wouldn’t terrify her.
“I understand,” she said.
“There aren’t many ways of getting out of a club like ours… but after that happened I started drinking a lot and it all spiraled out of control. I was no good to the Forsaken, and I was no good to myself… so they let me leave. They let me go and clear my head, get some breathing room. Six months turned into a year, and then into two… two turned into three… and before I knew it… I just didn’t want to come back and live that life anymore.”
“Until?” Courtney stared deep into his eyes.
The old man shuffled over to them with a jug of water and two dusty glasses. He placed them on the table and shuffled off again.
“Until six months ago, the Iron Riders stormed Red X and killed someone who was like a brother to me… I knew I had to come back and settle this once and for all.”
Courtney’s pulse quickened. So Tanner had been killed in Red X…
“But, what will you do?” she asked him, her eyes wide and her palms clammy with nerves.
“This isn’t a quick fix,” Gunner said. “Nothing will happen immediately… But they know it’s coming, we
know it’s coming… and now I’m back, once they’ve heard about it, we all better be ready…” he looked off into the distance and Courtney felt tears welling up behind her eyes.
She didn’t want to admit it, but she was frightened.
“You don’t have to do anything,” she whispered. “It was all so long ago, you’ve moved on, you’ve made another life away from Slate Springs… Why come back now and get mixed up in it all again, and potentially get yourself killed?”
“Because,” he said sternly as he took hold of her hand. “It’s my duty to my brotherhood.”
Courtney knew how loyal they all were, and she also knew there would be no way she would be able to change his mind. She nodded slowly and squeezed his hand.
“And once it’s over?” she asked.
“Well then, we’ll probably have a town to rebuild and a new one to run,” he said smugly.
The old man doddered back over to the table and pointed to the menus. Courtney looked at Gunner and shook her head. After all of that information, the last thing she could think about was food.
“It’s okay thanks Sir,” Gunner smiled up at him and got to his feet. “We’re not going to eat today.”
He reached into his back pocket for his wallet and pulled out a fifty dollar bill. He pushed it into the old man’s palm, took hold of Courtney’s hand and pulled her to her feet.
As they walked away back towards the truck Courtney looked up at him. If everything he said was true, then he really was reformed. He had class, manners and a caring attitude towards everyone he came across, and she knew he would protect her to the very end.
As they reached the truck and he opened the door for her, she noticed his gaze staring off into the distance, and his whole demeanor stiffened.
“Get in the car,” he said sternly before he pushed her inside and slammed the door behind her.
Courtney was stunned, she spun around in her seat, trying to see where he was going. He stormed over to the other side of the road and she saw a man standing there, his arms apart, waiting for Gunner to run at him.
[Runes of Argyl 01.0] The Runes of Argyl Trilogy Page 76
