“What the fuck,” he called up the stairs. “Did you lock me out?”
She rolled her eyes and pretended she hadn’t heard him.
His footsteps came pounding up towards the bathroom door, and he shoved it open before entering the room with a cloud of stale smoke and booze. It cut through the scented oils and made her wince. It simply didn’t smell sexy on Pete… Not like it did on Locke…
“Skipped out the office early today, huh?” he asked as he undid his fly and lifted the toilet seat.
Kristin covered her eyes with one hand and sighed. “Do you have to?” she asked, unimpressed.
“Are you serious?” he slurred. “When you gotta go, you gotta go.”
He started to piss and Kristin wished he would just vanish into thin air. She was so done with him, she didn’t know how much longer she could pretend to tolerate him.
When he left the room, he left the seat up and the bathroom door swinging open. As he passed, he knocked one of the candles and the wax extinguished it. A smoke trail filled the room and stung her eyes. She pulled the plug, stood up and wrapped herself in a towel. By the time she walked through into the bedroom, Pete was flat on his back in the center of the bed snoring and still fully clothed. Instead of helping him undress and into bed she left him where he was and made her way to the spare room. She turned on the side lamp and crawled into bed with a book. She looked up at the ceiling and made the decision…
Tomorrow, you’re asking him to leave, she told herself, and if he won’t, you’re going to pack up his things and throw them out onto the street.
She rolled onto her side and propped up the book on the pillow. As she read she didn’t take anything in. All she could think about was Locke. The words morphed into his face and in the end she threw the book down onto the floor and turned out the light.
5.
The following evening Kristin sat at the kitchen table, nervously waiting for Pete to get home. He had never even moved in officially. One day it just seemed like most of his things were there and he never went back to his own place. He had a penthouse apartment on the other side of the city and it was a long drive. Kristin’s house was closer to the office, so after a while it just seemed to make sense that he spend the majority of his time there. Even if she hadn’t specifically consented to it.
She heard his keys in the door and braced herself. He came inside, hot and flustered, his hair windswept and greasy from the day before. She’d heard him that morning and knew he hadn’t showered. He’d rolled out of bed late, spritzed himself with cologne and changed his shirt before heading out of the door.
“Fucking Clarke,” he said as he threw his briefcase down on the table in front of her, “Wasting my fucking time…”
Kristin didn’t respond, hoping her silence would break him out of his self-obsessed drama.
“What’s the matter with you?” he looked up finally and snarled.
Kristin breathed in and got to her feet.
“I don’t want an argument, but I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few weeks, and I don’t see this going anywhere.” She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for the backlash.
He curled his lip and sneered.
“Shut up,” he turned his back on her and walked over to the refrigerator. From all of the responses she had been expecting, that certainly wasn’t one of them.
“I’m being serious Pete,” she said, “I want you to leave. Now.”
He stopped in his tracks and cricked his neck before he turned back to her with rage in his eyes.
“I told you to shut the fuck up,” he spat. “Now move out of my fucking way before I open the door with your face!” He shoved past her and Kristin fell into the kitchen table. She was shaking and the tears welled in the corner of her eyes.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
She didn’t know what else to , so she reached for her purse with shaking hands and pulled out her cell. She furiously hit “dial” and held the phone up to her ear.
“Jonny,” she said as she heard him say hello, “I need you to get me Dan Lockhart’s phone number… fast.”
***
When she called him, she didn’t know what she expected, but Locke was a lot different to how he had been at the police station.
“I’m glad you got in touch,” he said as he sat opposite her in a park on the edge of town. He was clad in leather and big heavy boots, sitting on top of his motorcycle and smoking a cigarette.
“I need your help,” Kristin whispered as she looked around her.
“How the tables have turned,” Locke raised his eyebrows and exhaled with a grin.
“Look, I don’t know what happened the other day, but with my job and everything I really shouldn’t be getting involved with you.”
He lit up another smoke and offered her one. She declined.
“I need you to scare someone for me… Someone I work with who I may have dated for a while… He’s causing me some trouble.”
“What happened?” Locke sat up straight and instantly looked annoyed.
“I tried to break up with him and make him leave my house and he threatened me,” she said. “If you help me, you know, scare him a bit somehow… I’ll help you in any way you want with your case.”
“I’ll do it for nothing,” he said, exhaling a plume of smoke over his shoulder. “I don’t want you to be my lawyer, I told you that.”
“Well then why did you call me?” She was genuinely confused.
He smiled and moved closer to her.
“I never stopped thinking about you… When I heard what you were up to, I just got curious, made me want a good influence in my life… It was the only way I knew how to get your attention.”
Kristin shook her head and turned away.
“Well, congratulations, you got it,” she laughed. “I’ve thought a lot about you too over the years… wondered what you were up to… where you’d been.”
“I’m sure how you’ve spent the last decade is completely different to how I’ve spent mine…” he said as he looked off into the distance.
Kristin watched him and found her eyes instantly drawn to the scars running down the side of his face. They really did make him look sexier. She had never thought of how something so violent could add appeal to a person. She bit her lip and averted her eyes. She was starting to get worked up.
“I’ll get rid of him,” Locke said as he started the engine on his bike and revved it. “You won’t hear from him again.”
“Wait,” she called, “Don’t hurt him… I just want him out of my house.”
Locke leaned over and pulled her to him. He stared at her deep in the eyes and wrapped an arm around her base so he was holding the base of her spine. He leaned into her and kissed her forcefully on the mouth. His lips were red hot and full of passion as his tongue parted her lips and slipped inside, massaging against hers. Kristin melted in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. She had thought about kissing Locke since she was a teenager, and now there they both were, him thirty and her in her late twenties, finally breaking down that boundary.
Kristin pulled back and stared into his eyes.
“I’ll get rid of him,” he assured her. “Just go home, pack his stuff and put it outside.”
“Okay,” she said with a nod.
Locke rode off with a huge roar which made Kristin’s skin tingle. She had no idea what she was doing, but it just felt so right. She walked back to her Mercedes and got inside. She looked in the mirror and noticed that his stubble had worn against her delicate skin and her lips were on fire. She reached up and touched them and a squeal of delight escaped. She had finally kissed the bad boy of her dreams.
6.
As the day wore on, she didn’t hear anything from either Locke or Pete, and her anxiety started to kick in. She found herself pacing the halls of her home and obsessively looking out of the windows. She had done what Locke had asked and placed Pete’s packed bags on the driveway. She must be crazy
, asking a potential murderer to come and get rid of an abusive and annoying boyfriend, but she was so past her limit with Pete she didn’t see another choice.
She had already decided she was also going to leave the firm. She didn’t want to be surrounded by those awful men any longer. After reconnecting with Locke, she had a new-found confidence. She realized that if he had gone from boy next door to fully fledged badass, then she could become anything she wanted. And what she wanted was to quit law and find her true calling. She had never been one hundred percent happy with her career choice. She had fallen into it almost accidentally. She wanted the nice cars, to be well paid, to be able to afford a good home and support herself financially without the help of a man. But when she got all of that, she realized she hated the job. It wasn’t for her. She didn’t like the people she had to be around and that was just the clients, so when the other partners started to make her feel like shit, she knew it was time to call it a day.
Locke was a small complication now. He had come along at a time when she was impressionable and open to suggestion. Everything about him seemed so exciting, and it made her feel like she was seventeen again. If he could scare Pete off and promise her his arrest was a mistake, then she was his. Hell, even if he was a murderer at this point she was so hot for him, she didn’t know if she even cared.
She pressed her palms against her bedroom window and looked out across the street. She could see a man in the distance walking towards her and dragging his leg as if he was hurt. With horror she realized it was Pete. He was coming down the street without a car, limping in a ripped suit.
“Oh God,” she said aloud.
She watched him limp slowly up to her driveway. His suit was ripped up one leg and exposing his shoe and sock, and he had a blood patch on his knee and a little trail coming from his nose. His eye was beginning to swell. The guilt hit her all at once, like this was her fault, but she stopped herself from going down to see him because she knew if it hadn’t been him in that state, then it would have been her. He had been prepared to hurt her if she went against him. Kristin smiled smugly at the thought of Locke beating the shit out of him and watched as he struggled to lift his bags over his shoulder and drag the rest down the driveway. He didn’t once look up or try and see if she was inside. He simply walked back down the street, looking like he was about to collapse, and disappeared into the distance.
When he was gone, Kristin flopped down on her bed and stretched out. She had her home and her life back. She grinned and rolled over and picked up her cell phone. Her next item on her agenda was telling the firm that they could shove their job. She was quitting and she never wanted to set foot in the building again.
***
As the sun set that night, Kristin lay outside on her sun lounger and sipped a martini. In the space of a few days her world had been completely changed and although it was frightening to not have a plan or any clue where she was heading, it was also the most liberating feeling she had ever experienced.
Her cell phone buzzed next to her and she picked it up. Locke was calling her.
“Hello,” she smiled into it as she held it to her ear.
“Hey, Babe,” Locke said with his deep, gruff voice. “I took care of that for you.”
“I know,” she cooed, “I saw him go.”
“He’s a piece of shit, you did the right thing.” She could tell he was smoking.
“Thank you for your help,” she said.
“Listen,” he exhaled and cleared his throat. “Seeing as you’re not my lawyer and there’s no conflict of interest… You want to get together tonight?”
Inside, Kristin was doing summersaults. She clamped her hand over the mouthpiece as she smiled and tried not to explode with excitement.
“Hmm,” she teased, “Well, I don’t know about that.”
He stayed silent and exhaled again.
“Of course I’d love to see you,” she said. “Why don’t I meet you somewhere?”
“Meet me at Tuscan Motel,” he said, “I’ve been staying there.”
“Okay,” she said, unsure. She knew that this could be a terrible idea, knowing how dangerous this guy could be and going to meet him somewhere alone… but she’d known him pretty much her entire life… surely he wouldn’t do anything to her?
“See you soon,” he said and then the line went dead.
Kristin downed the rest of her martini and got to her feet. She felt a little bit tipsy, but she knew that she was fine to drive. She giggled to herself as she thought that his bad boy persona was already rubbing off on her. She went upstairs to her room and pulled a black vest out of her closet and a pair of ripped jeans. She hadn’t worn anything like this in years, but somehow it felt right. She slipped into them and ruffed up her hair and applied some black eyeliner. Now she wouldn’t look out of place walking around somewhere like The Tuscan. It was a shabby motel on the outskirts of town that was well known for its biker scene. She took one last look at herself in the mirror and smiled. She always wanted to be this girl, and she was finally giving in to it.
7.
She took a cab. She didn’t want Locke to see her car and judge her. He had already seen her suited up and in full on lawyer mode and she didn’t want to freak him out. As the cab pulled up outside The Tuscan, she could see rows of motorcycles lined up out front, some with riders and some without. The men were big and burly, clad in leather, and covered in tattoos and chains. Kristin swallowed and ran her hands through her hair. She was really doing this. She was really going to go in there and see Locke.
“Here you are,” the driver said as he turned and looked over his shoulder at her, “You sure this is the place you want?” He peeked over the top of his sunglasses.
Kristin smiled like it was nothing and just said, “Yes,” before she handed the driver a twenty and climbed out of the back seat and out onto the dusty road.
She looked around as the cab pulled off behind her and made its way back onto the highway. She felt cold and wrapped her arms around herself. She felt like all eyes were on her as she took a step towards the motel and then stopped and sat down on the curb. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Locke.
“I can see you,” he said as he answered. “Turn around.”
Kristin got slowly to her feet and turned on her heel. There was a big group of men all looking in her direction, but she couldn’t see Locke’s face in the crowd.
“Where are you?” she said into the phone.
“Look up,” he said.
She looked up to the second floor row of rooms and saw him instantly, standing in a doorway and leaning against the frame. His shirt was off and he was only wearing a dirtied pair of cargo pants. His amazing chest was on show, as were his rippling, tattoo-covered abs and his tanned skin that glistened with sweat.
“You coming up?” he asked.
Kristin smiled and hung up the phone. She took a step forward and then another, no longer noticing the gang of bikers leering at her. She made her way to the steps and climbed them, with her sights only set on one thing. She had to have him. He had never looked sexier, not in the entire time she had known him. Not even when they were younger and she used to watch him from her bedroom window as he lounged in the yard and worked out in his basement. Not even that day he had shouted out of the car for her to show him her pussy. There was something about him then, in that moment, that was driving her so wild she knew she wasn’t going to be able to keep her hands off him.
She charged up the stairs and walked seductively towards him. He looked at her with intensity, like a predator. He was set to pounce on her at any moment. As she approached the door, she slowed her pace and waited for him to reach out for her. He licked his lips and lunged out, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her inside with him before he kicked the door shut and held onto her so tightly she thought he may snap her in half.
His stubble grazed her shoulder and he kissed her so hard he seemed to suck all of the air out of her.
“You�
��re here. Good girl,” he breathed, “Now what am I going to do with you?”
Kristin didn’t respond. She wanted him to take her anyway he wanted. He spun her around and kissed the back of her neck while cupping her breasts and nibbling her, pulling at her nipples and slipping her top off over her head. She had purposefully not worn a bra and the feeling of him touching her was so incredible she was already wet and ready for him. She moaned as he pushed her forwards and she fell on the bed face first. He was behind her in a split second, pulling her jeans down and off around her ankles, hooking his rough hands into her lace panties and ripping them off in one swift motion. Kristin gasped as he separated her legs with his knees and climbed between them. He was still wearing his pants but she could feel how big and stiff he was inside them, and as he rubbed himself against her she felt the most exquisite rush of pleasure.
“Do anything you want to me,” she panted as he lifted her up with one arm and moved her across the bed so he had better access to ravage her.
Locke smiled and pulled his pants down, exposing his impressively thick and rock-hard length. He reached between her legs and slipped a huge finger inside of her. The sensation was amazing. It had been so long since someone she really wanted had touched her. His finger was slick with her juices instantly and when Locke realized how warm and wet she was, it made him harder. His dick jerked as she shuddered and writhed against him, moaning with pleasure. She let her hand wander down and she groped for him, wanting nothing more than to touch his member and have it inside her. As she wrapped her hand around him and tugged, he breathed in deeply and groaned. He was so engorged and throbbing, Kristin didn’t know how she was going to take him. She ran her other hand up his torso and touched the beautiful inked artwork on his amazing chest. He was like a human canvas.
HUNTER (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 11) Page 125
