Maelstrőm

by Michelle Love

  ANGEL

  “Oh yeah, I forgot to offer you anything to drink,” I say as I recall Uncle Phil’s speech this morning on how to treat his customers. “I have a pot of coffee in the office and there's a few sodas. Or we have some bottled water.”

  “I was craving a cold beer,” he says with a lopsided grin that’s really adorable.

  “Sorry, we can’t keep beer anywhere inside the shop or Cletus will find it. He’s got a nose like a bloodhound for anything that contains alcohol. But I make a mean coffee with caramel and chocolate.” I get up and head back to the office. “I’ll get you one. I’m making me one, anyway.”

  I need a drink myself as this man has my insides all wiggly. It’s a thing I find quite annoying.

  And I happen to have a secret stash of alcohol hidden in an ordinary milk carton that Cletus would never touch. After I fill two disposable cups with coffee, I open the milk container and pour some Baileys into each cup and give them a stir with my finger.

  I don’t think Mr. Beg Me For A Date, will mind.

  As I walk back into the waiting room, he looks up from the magazine he’s holding and his eyes roam all over me. It makes my insides wiggle even more and I hope this drink knocks the wiggles away.

  I lean in close to whisper so Cletus won’t hear, “There is some alcohol in here, but don’t say anything about it or my secret stash will be history.”

  “Now we both have secrets to keep,” he says with a smile.

  “That we do, Benny,” I say then tap the side of my cup to his and we each take a sip.

  I watch his expression as he pulls the cup away from his very firm lips. They’re as chiseled as the rest of his face is. Hard corners in some places, soft curves in others.

  The man is a mixture of hard and soft all over his body. And from what I’ve seen so far, his personality is that way too.

  “You like it?” I ask and wait.

  He nods and runs his hand up my arm. “Thanks, I’ve needed something to knock the edge off.”

  His touch is making my wiggling insides go into a full roll and I take a step back, trying hard not to let him see how he’s affecting me. I turn and walk back to my seat. “You’re welcome.”

  I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s not like I don’t see hot guys every single day. He’s just another one.

  After another sip I find myself very curious and ask him, “So, being a lawyer, how have you managed to keep that beard you have there?”

  He gets up and brings his coffee with him then leans on the counter. “I started growing it a year ago just for this trip. It was difficult to get to keep it. Until I came up with the reason I needed to.”

  His finger moves in a circle around the top of his cup and I find myself wondering what that finger would feel like as it moved in just that fashion around my nipple.

  Damn it!

  I look into his eyes to stop myself from daydreaming such dangerous dreams. “So what was your reason?”

  “Beard products and potentially harmful effects of them. I’m supposed to be writing a legal report once my research is finished,” he says with a smile.

  “Is the gang a part of your legal research too?” I ask then take a sip of the coffee I wish was straight whiskey as he’s doing such a number on me it’s making me seriously think about accepting his dinner invitation and a whiskey would remind me that I don’t date.

  “No. No one knows about my involvement with them.” He smiles and winks. “Now you know another big secret about me. It’s time for you to let me in on another one of yours, so we can stay even here.”

  Looking into those piercing eyes has me feeling a bit freer than I usually do and I just say what’s crossing my mind, “Pain excites me.”

  His eyebrows raise and he laughs as he says, “I’ll bring my whip then.”

  I go all wet again and it makes me really mad at myself. So I add, “But I never give in, Benny. Sorry, the answer is still, no.”

  He sighs and picks his coffee cup up and walks away, going back to sit on the sofa. “Have you ever heard the expression, cut your nose off to spite your face, Angel?”

  I nod and look back at the computer screen that’s blinking like crazy so I hit the side of the old monitor and it goes all the way black. “Shit!”

  “Did you break it?” he asks as he gets back up and comes right back behind the counter and looks at the black screen.

  “Maybe,” I say and take a step back.

  He looks the whole thing over then looks at the back of the monitor and pushes the cord that’s connected to it in a bit and presto, the screen is back. He looks over at me with a huge smile, like he’s saved the damn day or something.

  “There you go. Computer repair services are not my usual thing, but I will accept a dinner date in lieu of cash.” His hand rests on my shoulder and I have to fight the urge to lean in and kiss him.

  His eyes hold mine for way too long before I manage to say, “How about you give me this one repair job for free. You know, to keep me coming back for more.”

  “No. I want to take you to dinner. I’m done taking no for an answer, Angel.” He stares hard into my eyes.

  A shiver runs through me as I see it there in his eyes. He has the ability to make me do things. Bend me, form me, rule me.

  “You have to take it, Benny. That’s all I’m giving you. No, thank you.”

  My uncle walks into the waiting room and looks at us with his small dark eyes narrowed. “What’s up?”

  Shaking off the ominous vibe this man is giving me, I answer, “I thought I had broken your computer, Uncle Phil. But Blaze here figured out the cord was just loose. He saved you a few hundred bucks as I don’t think I would’ve ever thought of that and I would’ve told you it was time for a new computer.”

  His eyes go back to normal and he reaches out to shake Blaze’s hand. “Thanks, Blaze. Is that what she called you? I thought I heard her calling you something else.”

  “She’s made up a nickname for me, it seems. But Blaze is what I’m called. And you are Uncle Phil. It’s very nice to meet you. I was just asking your niece out to dinner this evening,” he says as he cuts his eyes back at me.

  So I finish for him and say, “But I told him no. I know how you don’t like me to date the customers, Uncle Phil.”

  My uncle looks at Blaze for a good long moment then he shocks me as he says, “This guy would be okay, Angel. You have my approval to accept his invitation.”

  “What?” I say and take a couple of steps back. “No! Rules are rules after all.”

  Blaze looks back at my uncle and asks, “What’s her favorite type of food?”

  “Italian. Anything Italian,” my backstabbing uncle says. “Your bike is just about ready.” He walks away, leaving us alone again.

  “He likes me, Angel. What do you think about that? Maybe I’m not so bad after all,” he says then goes back to sit on the sofa.

  “You are bad. You are leaving. And you are not getting me to go with you anywhere. I’m not the kind of girl who likes to become a notch on any man’s bedpost.” I go back to typing in the parts I have to order as this guy has been keeping me off task for over an hour now.

  “You sure do jump to some massive conclusions there, Angel. I asked you to dinner not to join me in my motel room.” He laughs and picks up the magazine he’s been pretending to read.

  “Right, Benny. Getting me into your bed isn’t on your mind at all,” I say as I roll my eyes.

  He lowers the magazine with a Harley like mine on the cover. All I can see are his eyes. His dangerously intriguing eyes. “It’s not. But it seems to be all you can think about.”

  My cheeks heat with embarrassment. How did the fucker get me on this end of this deal?

  I’ve told the man I like pain and now he knows I’m thinking about him and me in bed and fucking like a couple of rabid animals.

  Fuck!

  I walk out of the room and go to the bathroom to readjust myself. Looking in the mirror
, I see the reflection of a young woman with a lot going on inside her head.

  Maybe it’s been too long since I had sex with a real man. The machines can’t hold you. They can’t tell you sweet words. They can’t handle you roughly and make you beg them to keep going or stop.

  Maybe I should get laid. Not by that guy!

  Not him. I think he has the power to break my heart. I know he does as a matter of fact.

  But maybe some other random stranger is going to be necessary to get myself back under control. If this guy can get me so hot and bothered with so little fucking effort, I must be a walking time-bomb, waiting to explode all over some poor schmuck.

  With a crack of my neck and my knuckles, I walk back out to find my uncle chatting it up with Blaze who has his jacket back on and is signing the bill.

  “This is a very reasonable bill, Phil. Thanks for the break in the labor cost,” Blaze says as he barely looks up at me when I walk in. “You want to run that transaction for me real quick, Sweetie?”

  Sweetie!

  I don’t say a word though as my uncle disappears back to the garage with a smile on his face. I simply punch in the price and send it to the merchant services site and wait for an approval code.

  His hand is resting on the bill and I need it to write the code down on it. But I wait for him to move his hand. Which he doesn’t do.

  “Can I have that, please?” I ask very politely.

  “Come and take it,” he says.

  I look at him to find him smiling with a shit eating grin. So I move my hand slow and deliberate over his and slide the piece of paper out from under his hand.

  Electricity flares through me, but I try desperately to ignore it and keep my eyes steady. His blue eyes flash and his grin disappears.

  He feels this too!

  I watch as his lips tremble a little. “Come on, Angel. Let me take you to dinner. Just dinner. Anywhere you want. Please.”

  With a shake of my head, I say the words again, “No, thank you.”

  I can’t let him take me to dinner because it will be me who makes the next move and takes him to bed. I can feel it inside me.

  I want him like I’ve never wanted a man in my life. He’s everything I want all wrapped up in a very nice package.

  Gorgeous with a dangerous edge. Muscles, tats, great personality. The ability to make me feel as if I’m coming unglued right in front of him.

  How he could make me scream and beg is obvious. And I can’t do that.

  So I just give the top of his hand a quick pat. “There are plenty of females waiting for you out there, Benny. Go pick one out and she’ll give you what you’re looking for.”

  In a quick movement, he has my hand in his as he looks at me with an unwavering stare. “Angel, I did come here with the main plan to bed as many women as humanly possible. That is a fact. But now that I’ve met you, I want only you. I can’t explain why, but I do. I want to spend every minute I can with you. I’m not feeding you a line. It’s completely true. I don’t do this. I don’t ask women out. I usually don’t even hold any kind of real conversation with one unless I’m drinking. You do something to me. I want to spend some real time with you and see what this is all about.”

  He seems so genuine. And it’s hard not to give in to him. But he’s a walking heartbreak for me.

  “You seem like a good guy, you do. Benny, I am broken. A piece of china held together by only a bit of Elmer’s glue. I have to guard myself. I know you don’t understand and I don’t expect you to. Please understand this is not personal. If I was a different person, I’d accept your offer in a heartbeat. But I am who I am. A product of what my past has made me.” I pull my hand from his and look away.

  “Don’t think of yourself like that, Angel. No one is completely broken. You aren’t as fragile as you think you are. Maybe we’re supposed to help one another. I don’t know. I just know I have a strong pull toward you. Stronger than anything I’ve ever felt. Now, if you can look me in the eye and tell me you don’t feel a damn thing, then I’ll leave you alone.”

  I look anywhere but at him as I don’t know if I can look at him and lie. I do feel a strong pull to him. It’s more than a mere attraction. He’s hot and all but it’s deeper than that.

  Dangerously deep.

  My body freezes as he takes me by the chin and makes me look at him. His eyes search mine. Then the alarm goes off on my phone and we both look at it as it vibrates along with the sound and moves over the counter top.

  “That’s my alarm. Time to go.” I pick up my phone and take a step back, breaking away from his hold on me.

  I grab my keys and helmet from under the counter and spin around on my heel and take off. Without saying a word, I walk out of the shop and quickly get onto my bike.

  With one quick kick, I start it and take off. I can feel his eyes burning a hole into my back.

  This feels all wrong, but I’m doing it, anyway. Riding away from the man who could be the one for me…

  BLAZE

  I watch her ride away as I stand at the glass door of her uncle’s shop. She leans over a bit as she leaves the parking lot and takes a right. The sound as someone clears their throat has me turning back around and finding her Uncle Phil standing there, looking at me.

  “Is she still saying, no?” he asks me as he rummages around behind the counter.

  “Yep.” I turn back to watch her until she completely disappears. “Do I have a chance in hell?” I turn back to him.

  He shrugs his shoulders. “The girl isn’t into bikers. Now if you were a doctor or a lawyer, you might stand a chance.”

  His words perk me up. “I am a lawyer. She knows that.”

  “And still no, huh?” he asks with a little shake of his head. “Maybe it’s the clothes you’re wearing. You may be reminding her of the guy who broke her heart a couple of years ago when he up and left her to travel the world or some shit.”

  “Do I look like him?” I ask as I’m wondering if that’s why she’s so dead set against getting to know me.

  “No. He had dark hair and was shorter than you. Just the biker thing. Gage, really did a number on her. The two were inseparable for a few years. I know at least I thought they would get married one day. So when he made this odd move to leave and leave her behind it threw her for a loop.” He looks up at me and smiles. “But you never heard that from me. Got me?”

  I nod. “Is she coming back today?”

  “Yeah, it’s just her lunch break. She’ll be back in an hour. Why? You planning on giving it another shot?” he asks as he picks up the empty coffee cup she left on the counter and tosses it in the trash.

  “I’m certainly thinking about it.” I step away from the counter and go to the door. “See you in a little while, Uncle Phil.”

  “Bye, kid. Good luck,” he says as I leave.

  Getting on my bike, I start it up and find it feels normal again and head over to the motel to change clothes.

  If she wants a lawyer, I can give her that.

  The small not so fancy motel is just up the street a bit and I find Rod and Ashley pulling in at the same time I am. We get off our bikes and all go inside the main lobby to get the keys to our rooms.

  “You booked a room here too, I see,” I say as I hold the door open for them to go inside first.

  Rod’s hand on Ashely’s ass has me wondering how they’ve managed to keep a spark going between them for as long as they have. After we all check in, the desk clerk tells us that there are free cocktails in the little lounge next to the office.

  Never ones to not partake of free anything, we three head that way and find some beers on ice in a large silver bucket. I grab three, handing them each one.

  “I’ve been needing a beer since before I got into town,” I say and pour the golden miracle down my parched throat.

  We all take seats, them on the love seat and me in the chair near them. Rod takes a drink then says, “So what was wrong with your ride?”

  “Air suspensio
n leak. The girl who works at the garage diagnosed it very quickly with no help from me at all. I actually forget what the hell was wrong with it when I laid my eyes on her.” I take another long drink, draining the can and get up and grab another.

  “She rattled you, huh?” Rod asks and looks at his wife. “I know that feeling.”

  She gives him a dark look and then smiles. “Me too.”

  Taking a seat again, I open the cold beer and ask, “So how did you know you were meant to be together? Was it love at first sight, or did you grow on each other?”

  Rod’s smile moves over his entire face as he looks at his wife. “I went looking on the internet for a woman who was into the same things I was. It was a thing the girl I was hung up on told me I should do. She was right, and I found this one after only minutes of looking over the various profiles. I knew she was it the second I saw her picture.”

  Ashley takes up the story as she runs her hand over his thigh and looks into his eyes, “He sent me a message and when I saw his picture I knew I was very interested. When I read his likes and dislikes, I knew we’d get along.”

  “And man did we get along!” he says as he squeezes her thigh.

  Ashley looks at me with a grin and says, “From the moment this man touched me, I knew he was the one.”

  I take a drink and look at Rod. “Was that the same for you?”

  He nods. “And every day has been the best of my life.”

  “So you two believe in love at first sight then?” I ask as I find this very interesting.

  They both nod and then they kiss for only a moment. Rod looks back at me. “Why so interested, Blaze?”

  “The chick at the shop got my plans for this trip all going out the window. There’s something about her that has me feeling all crazy. When our hands met, it was like electricity shot through me. When she laughed I found my heart beating harder. The thought ran through my head that I couldn’t live a day without hearing that sound. That wonderful sound.” I pull the can up to my mouth again then set it back down without taking another drink.

  Ashley watches me and asks, “So when are we going to meet her?”

  With a sigh, I answer, “Not sure you will. She told me, no, when I asked her out to dinner.”