Without giving me time to process what he just threw out there, he’s kicking off the ground and we’re suddenly flying out of the parking lot and down the quiet streets of the unknown small town. Turning onto the interstate, we pick up even more speed until there’s nothing behind us but miles and dust.
***
When he said that we weren’t going to be stopping for a while, he really meant it. It’s been four hours since we left the hotel, and as much as I don’t want to ask him to stop, I really need to pee and I need to put something in my stomach.
Patting him on the stomach, I get his attention, but I don’t need to voice what I need. It’s like he already knows. Nodding once, we take the next exit. Slowly veering off, he pulls into what looks like a truck stop with a restaurant attached to it.
As soon as the bike comes to a complete stop, I jump off, not even waiting for him to follow. I didn’t drink but one cup of coffee this morning, but holy shit do I have to pee. It’s like I was up all night drinking with the girls and I broke the seal. What the fuck is that shit about?
After finishing up in the bathroom, I head out into the store part of the truck stop to see Ice Man waiting in the doorway of the restaurant.
“Let’s get a bite to eat,” is all he says before ushering me to a booth in the corner. I thought we’d just grab some snacks we could easily eat on the road, but this is so much better.
Taking a seat, we wait quietly for the waitress to come take our order. I don’t look at him, but I can feel his eyes on me. I still have no idea what to say to him after what he said when we left the hotel this morning. I’m turned on like nothing I’ve ever felt before, my body still humming with electricity, but I’m also scared to death. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a man as much as I want him.
Yeah, I find lots of men attractive and have been so head over heels in lust that I sometimes can’t think straight. But once we roll around in the sheets for a while, that all wears off. But with Ice Man, it’s different. I not only want to fuck him so good he’ll only ever remember the feel of my pussy, but I also want to just hang out with him. Talk and laugh together because he isn’t just some dick to me. He’s a friend, a companion, someone I would go to any lengths not to lose. And I guess a little part of me is hoping I can have everything with him. I want to sleep with him, but still be able to joke around with him too. I don’t want all the seriousness that comes with a relationship though. I just want him.
“Mornin’. My name’s Jessi, and I’ll be your server. Can I start you out with something to drink?” the waitress asks, but when I look up, she’s only looking at Ice Man.
Rolling my eyes at how cliché she’s being, I wait for Ice Man to order what he wants, which he orders coffee, biscuits and gravy, sausage, and bacon, with plain toast. When she’s forced to look from him to me, I give her a knowing smile, to which she blushes, and to her credit, looks ashamed of eye fucking the man who could be my husband, before I order what I want. “I’ll have the Mexican omelet, minus the black olives. No salsa, but extra sour cream, please. And I’ll have hash browns, plain, on the side, with a large glass of orange juice. Thank you.”
Writing it all down, she rushes back into the kitchen with her tail between her legs. Laughing and shaking my head, I finally look at the man keeping me company who is currently looking at me with something akin to amazement. Not sure why, but it’s gone before I can ask, so I just leave it.
We’re quiet while we wait for our food. And when Jessi finally brings it out, she serves me first, and then hastily sets Ice Man’s plate down before turning back to me. “Can I get you anything else?” she asks.
“No thank you, hun. I think we’re good,” I reply, and then dig into the delicious food sitting in front of me. It’s been a while since I’ve gone out for breakfast, and even longer since I’ve found a place that offers Mexican omelets. Usually I have to make them myself with my leftovers from tacos the previous night, so this is a real treat. Angel will be jealous when I tell her about this place. She loves Mexican omelets just as much as me, if not more.
“So what time do you expect us to arrive?” I ask when my food is almost gone. I’m stuffed, but wish I could finish my food. It’s too bad I can’t bring the leftovers with me, but I don’t think they’d fare well on the bike ride.
“We should get there around ten-thirty tonight, depending on traffic. I let the guys at the clubhouse know we’re coming and that you’ll be with me, so they’re getting a room ready for you there. I have to meet with my brothers as soon as we arrive, but you’re welcome to relax at the bar, or if you’d rather go to sleep, you can do that too.”
After we both finish, I go to the bathroom once more before I meet him out at the bike. Since we had a late breakfast, I bet we won’t stop until around dinner time, which is fine by me. I’m not sure I could eat anything else today for a while. That meal was huge, and it’s not like I’m doing much to work it off, so I’ll probably be good until tomorrow.
“Here, I got you some snacks for the ride in case you get the munchies,” Ice Man says, showing me a bag with M&Ms, licorice, chips, beef jerky, and Skittles. He puts them into the bag right behind me, so it’ll be easy for me to grab, even while we’re riding.
“Cool, thanks,” I tell him, genuinely pleased that he was so considerate. This is a long way for me to travel, let alone to do it on a bike, so it’s nice to know he’s thinking of me.
Back on the bike, this time he pulls out of the parking lot with more ease, but as soon as we’re back on the highway, it’s pedal to the metal. But I secretly like it. There’s something about being on the back of his bike, going ninety miles an hour, the wind on your face, and nothing seemingly holding you down. It’s freeing and amazing. Maybe in the future, we can do more bike rides, but maybe not so far next time.
Over the next ten or so hours, we’ve stopped three times to go to the bathroom, once to gas up, and we went through a drive through for a burger to tide us over when the snacks weren’t doing it for us. I wasn’t all that hungry, but I figured he had to have been. He’s bigger than me and he’s doing more work than I am, so I told him we should stop for a bite and to stretch our legs.
Now, I see lights up ahead and Ice Man pats my hands that are currently under his jacket to keep warm. It’s not cold out, but on the bike and the sun down, my hands are vulnerable to the chilling air.
Yelling over the roar of the wind and the pipes on his bike, he says, “Welcome to San Angelo.”
Even though he can’t see me, a smile takes over my face. It’s weird being where he calls home, but in a good way. It’ll be nice to meet the people he calls brothers, and to see him in his element. It’ll help me piece more of him together.
It takes us a good twenty minutes to drive into town and work our way toward their clubhouse. It’s set on the opposite side of town, near the city limits.
Pulling up to an enormous gate, Ice Man waves at the man standing at the fence. Opening the gate, we idle up to the front of a massive building that looks more like an old prison than anything else. But I can hear music from inside, see neon lights, and smell the alcohol and smoke from outside. Seems like there is a party going on in there. Wish I weren’t so damned tired, otherwise I might consider joining them.
“Looks like they’re throwing a welcome home party in my honor. Too bad I don’t have time for it. But maybe after the wedding and I get some shit taken care of, we can relax a bit and have some fun.”
Not able to hold in my yawn, I nod. “I’d love that. But right now, I’d honestly love a nice, hot bath and a warm, comfy bed.”
“Well, a bath is out of the question, sorry. Not much use for them with a bunch of bikers. But there’s a shower in your room, and the bed should be made for you. I’ll show ya where you’ll be staying and where you can find me if you need anything. But any of the brothers will be able to help you as well. You can trust them, they won’t do anything to hurt you or fuck with ya. Otherwise they’ll have to answer to
me.”
It’s nice that he’s willing to protect me, even against his brothers, but I really don’t think it’ll come to that. I’ve heard him talk about them and none of them seem like bad men. They seem a lot like Torq, Bear, and the rest of the Rough Riders.
Taking my hand, Ice Man grabs both our bags and leads me inside. Once we’re through the door, everyone turns toward us and starts to clap and hoot and holler. The bar is filled with men in leather cuts that match Ice Man’s, men in regular clothes, and a few women dressed in short dresses or daisy duke shorts with barely there tank tops. But it doesn’t bother me. I work at a strip club for fuck’s sake. And after being around the Rough Riders, I know parties at a clubhouse are outrageous and dirty. I’ve wanted to attend one before, but don’t see any of the guys like that. But maybe I’ll get the chance to enjoy a real biker party while I’m here.
Ice Man smiles, hugs a few men, and tells one of them that he’ll be back in five minutes and everyone better be in the chapel for church. After that, everyone quiets down and gets serious. It’s like water was doused on a flame. Everyone was in party mode and now they’re in business mode.
“Come on, your room is this way.” He leads me down a long hallway with lots of doors on either side. Pointing to one on the far right, he says, “This is where I’ll be staying.” And then pointing the door right across from it, he motions me inside. “And this will be your room.”
Opening the door, I see a twin-sized bed with a plain black comforter on it. Next to it is a small end table. Looking around the room, there is a dresser with a large flat screen TV mounted on the wall above it. And a little off to the right is a door.
“You have an attached bathroom in here, that way you don’t have to deal with all the guys. And there’s cable or one of those fancy stick things that lets you watch shows using apps or whatever. Feel free to watch whatever you want.”
Walking further into the room, Ice Man sets my bag down beside the bed as I flop down on top of the covers. It’s surprisingly comfy. And the clean smell wafting up makes me feel a lot better about sleeping on it. I was a little worried when he said we’d be staying at the clubhouse, knowing what happens when there are parties like the one right down the hall, but my fears seem to have subsided.
“I have to meet with everyone right now. But I’ll be across the hall later if you need anything. Or you can text me if you need me before then. Otherwise, I’ll see you in the morning.”
Closing the door behind him, I stare after him for a few moments before my tired eyes get the best of me. Grabbing my bag, I make my way into the bathroom to shower quick so I can get to bed. I feel like I could sleep for a whole day and still not feel fully rested.
The bathroom is cleaner than I thought it’d be, but smaller than I imagined. There is literally only a toilet, a small sink, and a one stall shower. But it’s all I need.
Making quick work of washing my hair and body, I dry off before putting my favorite pajamas on and put my hair into a side braid. Then jumping under the covers, I grab my phone and send Angel a quick text.
11:58 p.m.
Me: Just got here. Call you in the morning after I get some sleep. Love ya girl! Xoxo
Staring at my phone, I contemplate sending a text to Ice Man. I know he’s busy, he said he had to meet with his brothers to discuss business or whatever. I’m sure they have a lot to go over since he’s been gone for so long. But I feel like I should say something to him.
My mind made up, I pull up the chat box with his name on it.
11:59 p.m.
Me: I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night :)
Closing my eyes, it doesn’t take long before sleep claims me and I’m sucked into dreamland where I’m not scared of relationships and Ice Man stays with me forever.
CHAPTER FIVE
Ice Man
Sitting at the head of the table, I stare at my phone and the text message Amy just sent. It was only a simple text, saying good night, but for some reason, my gut seems to think it means more. I just don’t know what. And I have no idea if I should reply or leave it.
Rack clears his throat, forcing my thoughts away from my phone and confusing text messages and back on the task at hand.
Getting back down to business, I continue to relay all the information I got from Bear before I left about the new club trying to set up shop and the concerns the cartel have. We go over our plan and decide to send a ghost crew out to scope out the situation. That way we know for sure what we’re dealing with, which will make figuring out what needs to happen a lot easier.
“G-spot, I need you to get me all the information you can find on these fuckers. I want to know where they live, who their family is, where they work, what they drive. And I want it all yesterday,” I say.
“On it, Prez. I should have no problem getting that and more. I’ll dig deep enough to know what their favorite color is and what type of porn they like to watch,” G-spot answers, making all of us chuckle. It’s a little scary the shit he can do on a computer, but that’s just what he does and why he’s so important to the club.
“And Reefer, I need you to go through all our assets. We need to know what we have and what we’ll need when it’s time to take care of the situation.” Bear said we’d have access to anything we need, but I need to know what our inventory has before I make that call. No use calling in favors if we don’t need it.
“On it,” Reefer says, nodding his head.
“Rack, I need you calling the shots while I’m gone at this wedding shit with Amy and keeping me apprised of everything you find. No one is to make a move until I say so. We need all our fuckin’ ducks in a row on this one. We don’t need things going badly when the cartel is breathin’ down our backs.” I already informed my guys what I’m doing and what my fucking ex pulled, and they think it’s a brilliant idea. I just wish I hadn’t made these plans with Amy now that we have a problem that need to be taken care of ASAP. But all in due time. I trust my brothers and know they’ll handle this shit until it’s time to take them out.
We spend the next hour or so going over regular business and things I’ve missed while I was away. Rack has done a fine job with handling shit while I was in Reno. I’m really fucking impressed. But then again, I knew he’d have no issues. Sometimes I think he’d make a better president to this club than I do.
After old business has been handled, we discuss taking on new prospects before voting on patching a few of our current prospects over.
I haven’t been around the last few months, but from what I remember of them, and everything Rack and my other brothers have said, I trust we are making the right decision.
“All in favor of Taz getting the patch, say aye,” I call it to vote.
Unanimously, the vote goes in favor.
“All in favor of Ripper getting the patch, say aye.”
Again, the vote is unanimous.
“All right, bring ’em in,” I call out, watching the guys’ faces turn from pride and happiness to seriousness. We play it cool and act like shit is about ready to hit the fan to keep them guessing. And it’s hilarious to make them think they’re in deep shit before we bring them into the fold. What’s patching in a new brother without a little hazing, huh?
The prospects are brought in and once they get a look on everyone’s faces around the table, I can only describe their looks as pure horror. They have no idea what’s going on and the thought of what is about to happen makes me want to smile, but I hold it in.
After Axe shuts the door, he turns around, blocking the exit. He crosses his arms and stares at them with a look of death. Glancing around the table briefly, I notice the same look on the faces of most of the other brothers as well.
The prospects look to me when I clear my throat. “As you both know, I’ve been gone for a while. But Rack has kept me in the loop with what’s been goin’ on here. So before we go any further, do you fuckers have anything to say about what I’ve learned?” My words come out almost in a growl
at the end. This is too much fun, but it feels good after all the shit that’s happened in the past. Finally, something feels right about being back.
The prospects look at each other for a second before bringing their eyes back to me. Ripper is the first to speak. “I don’t know what this is about, Prez, but I’ll make it right, even if it kills me.”
Looking to Taz, I ask, “And what about you, prospect? What are you willing to do to make this right?”
“I’d do anything for this club, Prez,” he replies, but I need more.
“Would you die for this club and every brother here?”
“Yes, Prez. I’d lay my life down for each and every one of you.”
“Good. Because one day, that may very well be what is asked of you. Both of you have showed your loyalty to this club, to each member. And because of that, I have no problem callin’ each of you brother,” I say, standing up with a smile on my face while Rack stands and produces the patches that will signify that they are a fully patched member. That they have earned their place here, just as every man in the room has.
It takes them a few seconds to catch on to what I’m saying, but when they do, a look of pride, happiness, and relief takes over. I think I even see tears gathering in Taz’s eyes, but they’re gone before I can be sure.
All the brothers congratulate and hug their newly patched brothers, me taking them into my embrace last. “Happy to have ya, brother,” I tell them both. “Tonight, we’ll party.” They both smile, but then I level them each with a stern look. “But it’s not always going to be all parties and pussy. You got a taste of what it means to be a part of this brotherhood, but now you’ll be faced with harder decisions and the weight of the world on your shoulders. Each of these men will depend on you and put their lives in your hands. Make sure you don’t let us down.”
The Biker's Religion (Rough Riders MC Book 2) Page 6
