by April Lust
Shaking my head, I jogged down the stairs two at a time. But something seemed off. I knew that I’d scared her, but had I scared her so much that she’d reconsider whatever she was starting to do? I had no idea. Then again, I had no idea of what she was up to, either. Well, I had some idea. But nothing substantial. Nothing that I could take to the guys for help. Nothing that I could ask the cops about.
“Damnit,” I grunted. “I need answers, woman!”
No magical version of Caroline floated down from the sky and gave me answers. I decided that I was going to have to talk to her again. Judging from the condition of her car, I could catch her before she drove out of the lot. The thing looked like it maybe had about ten miles left on it before it gave up and stopped working. Poor Caroline. Then again, I couldn’t believe that I was pitying someone who was probably involved in thievery. Pull yourself together, asshole , I told myself. It’s only going to get worse from here on out .
As I turned around and headed back up the stairs, I heard voices arguing. There was a man attacking and a woman screaming and shrieking in fright. Frowning, I kicked my jog into a run and took the stairs as fast as I could. I was just about to intervene when I realized that the woman was Caroline. Pausing in the stairwell, I ducked to the side so they wouldn’t be able to hear me. The guy looked vaguely familiar; it took me a few seconds to realize that he was the guy from the other night, the guy that I’d told off. I couldn’t remember his name. Rick? Roy? Whatever, didn’t matter. The guy was clearly a prick and a bottom-feeder.
“Leave me alone,” Caroline was crying out in a hoarse voice. She was backing into a corner and waving her arms in front of her as though she had a knife. The guy laughed and followed her.
“C’mon, baby,” he called out. “You gonna finish helping me or not? We just started, you an’ me!”
Caroline shook her head. “It’s off,” she called out, sounding scared. “It’s off. I can’t do it. I can’t help you.”
The creepy asshole stepped closer. I caught the words “too late” and “picture will be up,” but I couldn’t tell what else he was saying. Just as I thought he was about to leave her alone, he reached over and smacked her, hard.
“Fuck off!” I heard her cry through sobs. “Leave me alone!”
I started jogging towards them and called out, but they didn’t notice. I watched as the guy grabbed Caroline and slammed her against her car with one hand. Her body hit the metal with a sickening crunch, and she crumpled to the ground, sobbing. Listening to her cry was hard on me, but it was a relief that she was making noise; I’d seen a lot of impact trauma cases where the victim couldn’t speak afterwards.
The only thing that flashed through my mind was keeping her safe. I bounded across the parking garage and grabbed the guy by the scruff of the neck. Judging by the shocked expression he gave me, I didn’t think he’d expected to see me. I wound up and swung, hitting him square in the jaw. Beneath my fist, I felt his teeth loosen and pop out. When he fell to the ground, he smacked his head against the concrete and lay prone.
Caroline was in a shaking heap to one side. She was curled up with her knees against her chest and I could tell that her whole body was quaking. I eyed her carefully.
“Are you okay?”
She bit her lip and nodded. A single tear escaped from her green eyes and oozed down her cheek. “I’m fine,” she said shakily. “Thank you.”
I shook my head. “Sorry I didn’t get here faster,” I told her. “What was that?”
We both stared at him, passed out on the ground. I held my hand in front of his face. He was breathing, but very shallow breaths. I rolled him on his side, giving him a kick in the ribs for good measure. I looked at Caroline. She was looking down at him with an arrogant look on her beautiful face. “Thanks,” she said again after a beat. “I appreciate that. You saved the day.”
I shook my head. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?” I took her by the shoulders and looked into her face. Caroline’s skin was a creamy pale white, and she had a red mark starting to blossom on her cheek from where he’d hit her.
“I can’t,” she said, sniffling. “I really can’t talk about it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. But what about this clown? Who the fuck is he?”
Caroline hesitated. “His name is Lucas,” she said quietly. “He works at the bar. He used to work with me. Remember him from the other night?”
I snorted. “Oh, so you do remember the other night, do you?”
Caroline blushed madly. “He’s a jerk,” she said.
“Tell me about it,” I cracked drily. Caroline didn’t smile.
“You really should go,” she told me. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”
Chapter Eight
Caroline
Carson was frowning at me when we both heard a stirring on the ground. I looked down to see Lucas waking up into consciousness. He groaned and held a hand up to his face, wiping his chin. When he pulled it away and it was bloody, he grunted.
“What the fuck?” he hissed.
I smirked at him. From where I stood, he seemed like such an insignificant little prick. He wasn’t intimidating or threatening at all. I watched with satisfaction as the blood trickled out of his mouth. When he tried to roll into a sitting position, Lucas’s eyes rolled back in his head. For a moment I thought he was going to pass out again.
“Stay awake,” Carson hissed. He leaned down and grabbed Lucas by the throat, yanking him into a standing position. “What the fuck is going on? Who the fuck are you?”
Lucas laughed, showing a mouth full of blood and yellow teeth. “Fuck you,” he said to Carson. “I’m nobody to you, asshole. You can’t save your little girlfriend.”
Carson shook his head. “She’s not my girlfriend,” he said tersely. “But you didn’t answer my fucking question. Who the fuck are you, and what do you want?”
“Nothing with you,” Lucas cackled. He spat blood on Carson’s face and Carson decked him again, sending him flying to the ground. I watched as a tooth dribbled out of his mouth and bounced along the pavement. “It’s gonna take more than that to keep me down,” he said with a grin. “You’re gonna have to work much, much harder, boy.”
I watched as Carson’s face twisted into an almost unrecognizable mask of anger. Kick him again, I thought. Harder this time!
But Carson restrained himself. He turned to me. “Come on,” he said shortly. “I’m taking you home.”
I shook my head. “I can drive,” I told him. “My car’s right here. See?”
Carson shook his head. I felt his strong hand encircle my arm and a little shiver of arousal went through my body. “No, you’re coming with me,” he told me. “Come on.”
We walked down the steps of the garage without speaking, leaving Lucas in a pool of blood and a few teeth. I wanted to go back and make sure he was really hurt, but something told me Carson was going to start hounding me for more answers.
“You really don’t have to do this,” I told him after a few minutes of silence. “I’m totally fine on my own.”
“You’re obviously not,” Carson shot back. “I left for what, like, two seconds?”
I blushed and ducked my head. “Whatever,” I muttered, not wanting to argue. “Where are you parked?”
Carson led me through the trees. His bike was leaned against a fence. “Here,” he said, handing me a half-dome of a helmet. “Put this on.”
As we cruised through the streets of downtown, I wrapped my arms around him and held on a little tighter than I should have. There was something really sensual about riding the motorcycle; it almost felt more like a live animal than a piece of machinery. Carson handled it expertly. “Lean with me!” he yelled as we approached a sharp turn. I felt his body angle in the opposite direction and I leaned with him. It was scary—I felt like I was actually close to the ground even though we were fine. It was exhilarating; between our encounter with Lucas and the fast bike ride, my adrenaline was going crazy.
; Being this close to Carson was making my heart beat fast, too. His hair smelled like tobacco and cologne, and I buried my face in the back of his neck and breathed in deeply. He was muscular and heavy; it didn’t look like there was any fat on his body whatsoever. Holding him through his leather vest, I realized just how bulky he actually was. With Carson, I felt safe and protected. Even though I was getting evicted, I could close my eyes and actually pretend like everything was alright.
The ride to my apartment didn’t take nearly long enough. As we pulled in the parking lot, I handed Carson back his helmet. “Here,” I said. “Thanks. Bye.”
Carson shook his head. “Oh, no, no, no,” he said, wagging a finger at me. “I’m not leaving now. We’re gonna have a little talk, honey.”
I blushed. The thought of him going inside my apartment was almost unbearably intimate. I couldn’t think of what would happen. Was he going to laugh at the way I’d decorated? It was hard to imagine him reclining on my gypsy-ish couch with the purple silk throw.
“Okay. It’s this way.”
Carson followed me up the stairs and down the hall to my door. The neighbor’s dog went apeshit as usual and barked its fool head off. “I hate that dog,” I muttered under my breath. Carson chuckled.
“Yeah, doesn’t seem nearly intimidating enough for this kind of place,” Carson said, raking a hand through his hair. “You must be always wanting to put extra locks on the door.”
I shook my head. “It’s not like that, really,” I said. “This is actually pretty safe. I’ve never had any trouble.”
“Do you like it?” Carson’s eyes bore holes into mine as he flopped down on the couch. I blushed. He had no way of knowing that I’d be leaving soon, but it was almost like he was trying to get me to say it. I watched as he fingered the edge of a throw pillow.
“It’s fine,” I said, looking to the side. “What’s up?” I prayed he wasn’t going to start with the same business again. As I looked at Carson, I wondered just how much of our conversation he’d overhead. There was Lucas threatening me with the pictures and telling me that I had to tell him…it was all pretty damning. Even though Carson was a tough guy in a motorcycle club, I didn’t really want to tell him about the pictures. I felt like it didn’t really make me look very smart. Of course nudes were always going to resurface after you took them. It was honestly a miracle that I hadn’t been blackmailed before.
“I just want to know what’s going on,” Carson said. He shook his head. “And don’t lie to me, I have a good bullshit detector, Caroline. Maybe even better than yours.”
I snorted. “I can’t tell you,” I said finally. “I really can’t talk about it. I don’t even know what I’d say that would make it seem understandable.”
Carson glanced up. “So you are involved with something, then,” he said. His words hung in the air.
I looked at the ground. “Does it matter?”
Carson stared at me. His intense blue eyes pierced a hole right through me. “I know you are,” he said carefully. “And you need to be a little more careful, Caroline. I’ve seen people who were planning to commit big heists acting like you did this morning. And the other day.”
I frowned. “What other day?” I lied, looking away.
“Caroline, come on,” Carson said. He leaned forward and his scent washed over me. It was incredibly difficult to resist the urge to kiss him. I wanted to lean forward and tangle my hands in his masses of blond hair, pull him close, and feel his tongue lick its way into my mouth.
“What?” My mouth felt too dry. I swallowed.
“You know that I know that you were there,” he said. I giggled nervously. “What? This isn’t funny, Caroline. This is really serious, and you could go to jail for a long time. Come on. There has to be something you can tell me.”
I shook my head again. The way that he was pleading with me was tugging at my heartstrings. I was so close to telling him everything—about the eviction, about the pictures, about Lucas being a complete and total creep—but there was something in his gaze that made me stop dead in my tracks. It was like Carson was built on layer after layer of person, and there’s no way I’d be able to break through all of them. I envisioned that he didn’t get close to many people in his life, maybe save for the other members of the motorcycle club. But I wanted to be close to him.
“You can tell me,” Carson cajoled. I bit my lip. “And even if you don’t tell me, I’ll probably find out anyway. Don’t you know that, Caroline?”
A blush spread over my cheeks. “No,” I whispered. “I don’t think you’ll find out, because I’m not really involved.”
Anger flashed over Carson’s face and he closed his eyes, throwing his head back dramatically. I watched as his veiny, masculine hands curled into fists and pounded at his muscular thighs. “Caroline,” he said through gritted teeth, his eyes still screwed shut. “Stop fucking with me,” he growled.
A shiver ran down my spine at the way he said my name. I closed my eyes and imagined him riding me hard, my wetness spilling down my legs and making a mess. I knew that he’d tangle his hands in my hair and pull my head back until I was screaming with pain, only to give me the most savage orgasms that I’d ever had.
“I’m not,” I said softly.
Carson opened his eyes and glared at me. He got to his feet and my breath caught in my throat as he bridged the gap between our bodies with two swift steps. My heart was hammering in my chest as he leaned down and tangled his hands in my hair, pulling my head back so that I was looking right into his blue eyes.
“I can tell that you’re lying,” he whispered gruffly. “And I’m going to find out what’s going on, Caroline. Don’t even think for a second that I’ll let you get away with this.”
Fear and desire crawled down my spine. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I whispered breathily. My heart started to thud in my chest as Carson leaned closer, without breaking eye contact. I couldn’t tell if he was going to slap me or kiss me, but I impulsively leaned up on my toes and planted my lips on his. For a moment, the kiss was stagnant. It had no life of its own, and just as I was about to pull away in defeat, Carson moved his lips against mine.
My whole body jolted with arousal and electricity as he gently tongued his way into my mouth and caressed my tongue with his. I felt my whole body melt as he tangled his hands painfully tight in my hair and kept my mouth smashed against his. His breath invaded my mouth and his taste was enough to set the area between my legs on fire. I moaned softly into Carson’s mouth and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close with want and need.
Carson groaned softly. I licked and nibbled at his bottom lip and he slid a hand down my back and squeezed my ass. In his big hands, I felt delicate and tiny. A shiver of pleasure ran through my body as he kneaded the flesh of my ass with a skilled hand. I could feel my juices soaking through my panties and I squirmed and twisted in his grasp, desperate for more. As Carson groped me, I pressed my body against him. I could feel how stiff my nipples were, and against the silk of my dress they throbbed hotly as we rubbed together. As I ran my hands over Carson’s back, I felt his muscles tense. He was so strong, it turned me on just to touch him. As the kiss deepened, Carson twisted my head to the side. Just as I was about to wrap one of my legs around his strong thighs, he pulled away.
“No,” Carson muttered. “Forget it. I have to go.”
I stared at him, feeling a blush crawl down my face. My heart was thudding. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, looking down. I kept my eyes on the carpet as Carson’s heavy footsteps walked to the door. He threw it open with so much force that it slammed against the wall, the doorknob leaving a dent in the plaster. I winced as I thought about it coming out of my security deposit.
“Caroline?”
“Yeah?” I looked up at him, biting my lip. “What?” He didn’t meet my eyes.
“Stay out of Tinder’s,” Carson grunted. Then, he was gone.
Chapter Nine
Carson
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br /> It was hard to get her out of my head as I stalked towards my bike, anger and lust coursing through my veins. Damn her , I thought, my eyes flashing. She thinks she’s so much smarter than me! I’ll show her!
I hopped on my bike and rode home. That night, I was meeting Josh, Tommy, and Steel out at a bar. I wondered if Josh was finally gonna talk about the Aztecs; if we didn’t do something soon, I had a feeling they were about to become a real problem. The whole time I was in the shower and getting ready, I thought about Caroline. I remembered how her hot little body responded to mine with such catlike grace and desire. I could smell the fumes wafting off of her, that’s how hot she’d been. If I’d yanked up her dress and plunged my cock inside of her, I bet she wouldn’t have even made me wear a rubber.
