by JA Huss
"Well, you're pretty good at this business stuff, Spence. You have a lot going on professionally. What'd you major in, Ronin?"
Ronin just smiles, like he's keeping a secret.
"What was it, Spencer? Accounting, right?" I look over at Ronin and wink. "Spencer the Businessman Biker and Top Model Ronin the Accountant. Seems about right."
"Marketing," Ronin says. "I majored in marketing. And that's what I'm gonna do when we quit after this contract."
"Quit?" Spencer is appalled. "You're not quitting, are you, Rook?"
"Afraid so. We're done. Gonna buy a minivan and get desk jobs."
Spencer looks over to Ronin. "Did you do this on purpose?"
"Do what?" I ask.
Spencer stands up and puts a hand towards my face. "Hold on, Rook." He walks over to Ronin. "Did you talk her out of the next deal I was gonna offer? That was confidential."
"I didn't talk her out of anything, Spencer. And as far as I know, she has no idea what the next deal is."
"What deal?"
Spencer ignores me. "I told you, motherfucker. I wanted her for all the deals."
Oh shit, what just happened?
"And I told you, she's my fucking girlfriend. She's not a goddamn toy to parade around your shop for the next few years."
"Wait, what?"
Spencer takes a deep breath and then comes back to me. "OK, Rook, since Asshole over there pretty much ruined the surprise, I might as well tell you. If they like how things go in Sturgis and we give them a compelling reason to believe this show will fly, they're gonna offer us a twelve-episode season contract and we'll start filming in September. What we're doing right now is the two-hour pilot. It's a test, really. So if we got that deal, I was gonna ask you to come work for me up in the shop."
"Doing what? Sitting in the showroom naked?"
"Not the showroom, the shop. Where I build the bikes."
"But I don't build bikes, Spencer, so what would my job be?"
"Parts girl. You're like a pick-up girl, drive around and get us stuff, drop frames and tanks off at the painters, answer the phone and talk to clients."
"Hmmm." I think about it. I picture myself doing all that normal boring stuff, then look over at Ronin. "It's not modeling. Are you against this?"
I can tell by the look on his face he is, but he's in professional mode right now. "We'll talk about it in private, Rook."
Spencer growls at that answer but just goes back to work on the belt. The rest of the session is very quiet and very tense, but he was almost done anyway, so we're ready for Antoine before it gets old.
This time Ronin is the one who walks me upstairs.
If Elvis was a bike, he'd be this bike. It's even got lights on it—all sorts of gold and white and blue lights, and of course it's painted white, just like the outfit I'm wearing. I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror and I look so much better than I did yesterday in those bikinis. This outfit is like Elvis if he were a girl and he had on a sexy one-piece bathing suit covered in gems instead of a bell-bottomed jumpsuit. I have the huge sparkly belt, the long pointed collar wrapping around my neck, and just as I'm starting to wonder where the cape is, Ronin appears and shakes it at me.
"Sexy, huh?"
I nod. It really is.
"OK, Rook. Sit for Josie and I'll go change and get ready."
Oh, my heart flutters at that. Ronin in a costume. Josie is watching me as I approach and take my seat in her chair.
"Yeah," she says. "No offense, I'm not sure if you're the jealous type, but seeing Ronin dressed up for his jobs is like the best perk this place has."
I laugh. "Well, I probably should be jealous, but I'm too busy picturing him all up as Elvis!"
We giggle at that and suddenly I wonder if Josie and I could be friends. She starts brushing my hair and I decide to fill in the silence.
"Are you married, Josie?"
"Thirteen years now," she says brightly. "So when you finally meet my husband, hush on the fawning over Ronin stuff. All the boyfriends and husbands around here think us girls are secretly in love with Ronin." She winks. "But it's no secret, Rook. We are!"
I laugh at that too. I can see why. Ronin is a total catch. "Do you have kids, Josie?"
"Four."
"Really? But you look so young and I'd never be able to tell, you're so tiny and cute."
"You have the model genes and I have the baby-making genes." She shrugs. "I like it, so I'm not bitter about starting out as a teen mom. My husband was my high-school sweetheart. We weren't all that bright and well, let's just say I wasn't partying on my graduation night, I was seven months pregnant.
"We got married, and you'd think we were doomed, but it all worked out. I went to beauty school and landed a job here with Antoine and Elise almost right away. And we own a tow-truck business. That's how I met Elise, actually. She was the night dispatcher for us around the same time she was trying to decide if Antoine was the right guy for her. She said she'd give him a chance if he gave me a chance. I was just getting ready to graduate beauty school, no experience or references. And, well, the rest is history."
She's standing in front of me doing makeup and I can just tell she's thinking about her life. All the years that she's spent here in this studio. How Elise changed her luck, maybe.
"Elise is a good person, isn't she?"
Josie smiles. "She's the best, Rook. The absolute best."
I knew this the day I met her. Before she offered me the fake shampoo girl job and saved me from homelessness. I knew Elise was nice by the way she talked to me when she took me into her salon and washed my hair.
But it would've been so great to get a second opinion from someone I trusted. It would've been nice to go grab coffee with a best friend or a mom so I could run everything by them first.
Since I don't have a mom—and even if she was still alive she'd be the last person to ask for advice—and since I have no friends to double check my decisions with either, I decide to trust Josie's opinions instead. Almost everyone who works for Antoine and Elise has worked here for a significant amount of time. I think that counts as a reference.
Chapter Eighteen - ROOK
Ronin is hot.
Ronin is so fucking hot dressed up as Elvis, I can't keep my hands off him as we sit here on the amazing Shrike Elvis bike. The lights are blinking, Antoine's camera is going crazy, the shutter snapping like wild as he captures this mood we're in, and I'm about to abso-fucking-lutely lose control.
My fingertips trace down Ronin's chest, then begin unbuttoning his shirt.
"I never knew you had a thing for Elvis, Gidge," Ronin says playfully.
I lick my lips as his hands slip inside my cape and grab my ass. I have no idea what we're supposed to be doing on this bike, but no one seems to care that we're just sitting here flirting. The camera keeps clicking and the one time I managed to pry my eyes away from Ronin I-am-sexier-than-Kurt-fucking-Russell-in-3000-Miles-to-Graceland and glance at Spencer, his teeth are practically glinting in the sunshine, that's how big his smile is.
He catches my gaze. "Now this, Rook, is what I'm talking about. I'm gonna sell a shitload of bikes with this shoot!"
I continue my task of undressing Ronin, ignoring Ronin's question about Elvis and Spencer's remark about sex selling bikes, but Ronin's still talking. "I mean, shit, Gidge, I might have to wear a costume everyday if this is what it does to you."
I laugh a little, but nothing will deter me from getting him out of this shirt right now. The last button comes undone and I slip the shirt down his shoulders a little. I suddenly notice Antoine's positive remarks. Of course, I don't understand them, but his tone is pretty clear. He's happy with my performance today as well.
I go for that big belt next, unclasping it and letting it drop to the floor with a thud, then drag the shirt down his arm, the pads of my fingertips caressing his biceps as they fall with the shirt sleeve.
He withdraws his arm and then I repeat this move on the other side, so the
shirt drops to the floor next to the belt.
Now we're both naked on top, but being dressed up in paint makes it hard for me to consider myself nude. I feel dressed.
Overdressed, in fact.
As is Ronin.
When I look up Ronin's eyebrows are lifted up to his forehead. "What?"
He stretches out, easing himself down on the back fender, blue and yellow light flickering against his face. "Go for it, Gidge."
I lean down on his chest, moving forward just a little, just enough to tease myself, then sit back up, the palms of my hands dragging along his chest, across his abdomen, and then to the snap on his Elvis pants.
It clicks as I undo it.
Ronin draws in a breath.
I unzip his fly.
He lets out a moan.
I bite my lip, thinking about my next move just as Antoine barks out, "OK, we're good."
It's like he does it on purpose.
Ronin buttons his pants, sits up, grabs me under the ass, then lifts me up as he stands. He carries me up the stairs to his apartment and sets me down outside the door so he can punch in his key code, then whisks off my cape and tosses it to the floor and leads me down to the shower.
"I'm having déjà vu. How about you?"
He winks back at me. "Give it a minute. This will be nothing like this morning."
And it's not.
Ronin finishes what I started downstairs, his pants dropping to the tiled floor. He pushes some buttons on the shower control panel on the wall and brings up his favorite setting. Steam and drizzle.
When we shower together, it's like being on a tropical island.
The bucket and sponge are waiting, ready for Ronin to wash me off. He swishes the sponge in the bucket and then takes my left arm and drags the sponge down in one long swipe. My head tips back as I open my mouth to suck in a breath. Holy shit, this is just my arm!
He does the other arm, then bends down to caress my legs. "Open them a little, Gidge."
I am immediately wet right where he wants me to open up. But I do as I'm told.
He slides the sponge along the inside of my thigh, then up against my slit, parting it slightly, just enough to make me gasp. When I look down, he's smiling up.
He repeats this motion several times and each time I am so close, but just as I'm about to let it go, he pulls back, relieving the pressure. He doesn't let me come, but instead finishes my legs and moves on to my back. The sponge slides down the middle of my spine, then across my ass, and right between my legs. My clit practically has its own heartbeat right now.
When my back is clean to his satisfaction he turns me around and starts with my stomach, massaging little circles around my belly button, then sweeping down between my legs, just enough to remind me that I'm ready.
He drops the sponge in the bucket, swishes his hand around a little in the solution, then removes the paint from my breasts with his fingertips.
When all the paint has been cleaned, he repeats every single motion with the soap and by the time he's rinsing me with the detachable shower head, I'm about to explode all over him.
It's only then, when the paint is all gone and my body is soft and sweet-smelling, that he presses himself up against me. He's been hard the entire time but when he grinds against my hips, his hands on my ass to guide me along with his motions, he is more than hard. He is solid and thick.
"I love you."
My eyes search his as I take this all in. "I'm not sure what I feel, Ronin, but I really want to say that back to you."
He slides his hand behind my neck and laces his fingers into my wet hair. "So say it."
"I love you, too."
His kiss is immediate, almost before I'm finished uttering the words he was looking for. His mouth opens and I flick my tongue against his. He devours my mouth and for a few minutes we are breathless, moaning, and grasping for one another's most sensual parts. Then he draws back and leads me out of the shower, punching buttons on the control panel to turn it off as we walk by.
I'm still dripping wet when Ronin sweeps me off my feet and sets me down on the bed. He gently lifts my legs up and pushes my thighs apart, then delves down and devours me again.
I'm writhing in seconds, my back arching, my hands fisting the sheets. He pushes my thighs higher, exposing me further, and then sucks gently.
My moans are louder now and I squirm as the feeling becomes too intense.
He slips a finger inside me, sliding back and forth gently at first, then pumping harder as his thumb and tongue swirl against my nub.
I lose it.
I come hard against his mouth, my hands fisting his hair. He waits, his tongue dipping down as I continue to pulsate from the explosion of sensations. When I'm done he scoots up towards me, his thick erection in his hand, ready to enter.
But I push him back. "Not this time, Larue. My turn. Lie back."
He laughs. "It's not a quid pro quo, Gidget."
"I know." I've resisted giving him oral, I have bad memories of it from my ex. But I push that thought away and concentrate on the beautiful, caring man in front of me. He is a gentle lover. So, so gentle. "I want to, Ronin."
Chapter Nineteen - RONIN
I didn't think it was possible to be any more turned on right now, but I am. Her words have turned me up a thousand decibels.
Rook watches me. "I want to, Ronin."
Her eyes are still half-mast from coming hard, her taste still on my tongue. I swallow because this girl—this girl makes me feel more than good. It's like every touch, every look, every sound that comes from her mouth is something sensual and perfect.
"Lie back," she says again.
My crooked grin makes her smile as I lie down next to her. She twists her body, pressing her breasts against my chest, then stretches up and kisses me, just little kisses at first, as if she's deciding if she likes the taste of herself. Then she straddles me and opens her mouth, her tongue done probing, ready for more.
Just as fast, she stops, her body sliding down, her chin rubbing against my stomach muscles as she descends. She plays with my hard-on for a second, then her tongue slides along the slit in my head and dips in for a taste.
Before I can even process how fucking good that feels, her mouth is desperate to wrap me up. She pumps again and again, sucking slightly, tonguing me as she pulls back, then massaging me with her lips as she descends down my shaft.
I give up.
The breath comes out of me in a soft rush as I relax back into the pillows and enjoy her. Fully enjoy her and everything she's doing right now. My whole body is on fire for this girl, my arms ache to flip her over and take her from behind, make her scream my name over and over again.
But I calm myself and suck in a breath between my teeth as I try to maintain control. I moan as the hot air of her laugh tickles the tip of my cock.
"Gidge," I say in a throaty whisper. My hands go to her head, pushing her slightly, compounding her rhythm as she evokes so much more in me than just a desire to come.
"Gidge," I repeat. "Climb on, baby."
She continues with her pumping and sucking but I'm not about to come this way. I sit up and toss her over on the bed next to me, then crawl up between her legs.
She's laughing at me.
"What's funny, Gidget?"
"You love me."
I laugh back. "I do, and I'm going to show you just how much every chance I get." I push her thighs open wider and flick my cock against her swollen clit a few times, back and forth, making her moan. She likes that.
I slide inside when she's in mid-gasp. She's so wet, so ready for me again. I ease in and out, slowly, then harder. Slow pumps become short thrusts, and then deep, penetrating, plunging assaults. Her back arches and her fingernails dig into my shoulders.
This is her signal. Her signal that she's gonna come and there's no way to avoid it.
At least that's what I think it says to her. But to me it says, Do something spectacular right fucking now, Ronin, and I wi
ll make the most amazing noises for you.
I reach down and play with her, slip between her folds and then sweep up to her clit and twirl my thumb, pushing it around gently in little circles.
She screams this time.
And I can't help it, this girl just does it for me. I lean down and growl into her neck as I come with her.
We fall asleep like this, me clutching her around the waist, her legs twined around mine in a way that makes me feel both wanted and whole. I wake once when she gets up to use the bathroom. But as soon as she returns to my bed I tug her ass up against me and fondle her breasts until we drift off again.
When we wake it's late afternoon. "Hey," I say, squeezing her breast a little. "Wake up, let's not waste the day."
She moans and turns away and I just have to smile. I've never met a girl who sleeps so soundly. She's not a naturally early riser and she's not easy to wake. Ever.
"Rook." I try again. This time I breathe into her ear and her shoulder draws up against my face.
She growls at me.
"Come on, I have plans for us."
"What plans?" she moans.
"Bike ride to the mountains."
"I don't wanna go to Black Hawk, I can't even gamble or drink. It's boring."
"Not gambling, Rook. A ride up to Lookout Mountain. Come on, it's romantic. Besides, it's good practice for the road trip to Sturgis."
She turns. "I thought we were taking an RV up there?"
"We are, but you can't ride into Sturgis in an RV, Gidge." I laugh as I picture Spence RV'ing into Sturgis. "Spencer would be laughed out of town. He said he's working on your bike too, says it's real nice."
"When you'd talk about that? He never said anything to me."
I shrug. "I talked to him last night after you hung up on me."
She reaches out and pokes me in the arm with her fingernail. "You were checking up on me."
"Of course I was. That's my job."
She tilts her head and gives me a dirty look.
"It's not weird, Rook. It's normal. That's what boyfriends do for their girlfriends. This fear you have is unreasonable, ya know."
