Burning to Ride

by Michele De Winton

  For an eternity he was held up there. Cushioned from the world by their lovemaking. Lost in her.

  “Well,” she said when they both came down to earth.

  “Indeed,” he said and stroked the side of her face with a gentle finger. They both paused and Cole felt sure she was as uncertain as he was about what to say next. He took a breath. “That was amazing. You are amazing.”

  She smiled and it lit up her face. He saw the look again, the one that echoed his own and his heart sang out, loud as a canary at the sight of the radiance in her eyes. “You are so beautiful when you smile,” he said and kissed her on the nose.

  “You ain’t so bad yourself,” she said. “Although you could work on your body a little. This?” She slapped his rock-hard abdomen. “Too many pies, mister.”

  The light chuckle felt good and he reached over to dispose of the condom and pull his shirt back on.

  “You have to go?” she said, and all he wanted was to take his shirt back off, curl up next to her, and spend the night luxuriating in her body. Then, as if his leg had just remembered he was lying on a chaise longue built for a shorter person, a shot of pain spiked through his thigh and he stood to release the cramp. “I don’t have to go, but we do need to get out of here if I’m going to keep any feeling in my legs.”

  Her smile warmed him all over again.

  “I also can’t see you sneaking out without any clothes on and not causing a riot next door.” He jerked his head to the bar where the sounds of drinking were audible through the wall now that they weren’t bound into each other.

  “Good point. Let’s go. I’m not done with you yet.” She pulled on her pants and vest and he did the same, only stopping to pull her into a kiss that he hoped promised everything he had to show her when they got upstairs. She wound her hands around his neck and pushed her fingers through his hair, making him want to ignore his legs and take her on the chaise all over again.

  “If you were putting on a show for someone, they’ve gone. And you don’t need to pretend for me.” Rocco’s voice came from the office door he’d just opened.

  Briony dropped her hands and stepped back. Cole missed her touch instantly.

  “We were just . . .” Briony stammered and Cole looked up to see Rocco’s face twisted in amusement.

  “You don’t need to explain,” said the older biker.

  Damn him for interrupting. And damn him for making Briony feel like she had to explain anything.

  “Thought you should know that Hade and the boys have finished your last bottle of bourbon.”

  Briony’s mouth opened and her face went from flushed to flat. “I got a new order in yesterday. How did they go through it so quickly?”

  Rocco shrugged. “Guess they were celebrating. Marnz beat that guy from the Fury’s this morning. You know Marnz hates anyone calling him out.” He turned to Cole. “Honor thing. You know how it is.” He cocked his head to the side. “Or maybe not, I guess.”

  Bastard.

  “Anyway. Bourbon.” Rocco titled his head back toward the bar.

  Briony sighed and walked out of the room without giving Cole a second glance.

  Rocco watched her disappearing back. “Taking the whole wedded bliss thing really seriously, ain’t you? Nice work. No one will ever suspect.”

  Cole’s stomach contracted as if the man had punched him. “Whatever you say.”

  “It is whatever I say, because Bri is different. She’s not just one of your fancy girls. You don’t get to do whatever you like with her and then walk away. Bri’s got people.”

  “So I see,” said Cole as nonchalantly as he could.

  “I mean it, big shot.”

  “I know you’re her family, and that’s all very noble, but Briony is a big girl. She can make her own decisions.”

  “Of course she can. I’m just sayin’, Bri is one of us. She’ll never fit into your world, so don’t go thinking you’re going to change her.”

  “I wouldn’t.”

  “No, of course not. It’d take too much energy.”

  Cole took a step forward, but Rocco put a hand on his chest. “Easy, tiger. You don’t want to start something you can’t finish.”

  Cole opened his mouth, but Briony reappeared right at that moment. “Nice to see you two getting along.”

  Cole thrust his hands into his pockets and took a step back. “I’m going to turn in for the night. See you tomorrow.”

  He saw her face drop and he wanted to take it back. Screw Rocco and all the Hell’s Boys. So what if they knew he wanted Briony in his bed? Wanted her, full stop. But he didn’t have the words. Not in front of Rocco.

  Her eyes flattened and she pursed her lips, the moment lost. He turned and headed for the stairs. Although he felt Briony’s eyes on his back, Cole didn’t turn around. If he stayed in the room with Rocco a moment longer, he would probably regret what happened next. But lying in bed he couldn’t settle, replaying what had just happened with her in his arms and then with Rocco’s appearance, everything the variety of men in the Raising Hellfire Gang had said over the past weeks. Rocco’s parting comment was the kicker. They were family, all right. Quite the family. But that wasn’t even the bad bit. If he was going to have Briony in his life all year, he had to somehow come to terms with the fact that with her, came all these bikers, too. It was a dark world he wasn’t sure he wanted in on. One he wasn’t sure it was a good idea for him to be in on, ever.

  And? Exactly. Why he gave a rat’s ass about what or who Briony did was beyond him, but his body cared. It cared a lot, and the more he was around her, the more his heart cared, too. He was jealous of the way she was around her biker boys. Jealous of anyone who spent more time with her than he did. Not in the way his body raged at how she was around Martinez, but in the fact that he tensed thinking that she cared more about them than him.

  So she liked to rescue lost things, and the gang was her answer to family, sure. But it didn’t mean he had to like it. Seriously, Knight? Get over it.

  Cole shook his head and rolled over to start counting sheep. Once he’d gotten to sheep number fifty-six, it was pretty clear sleep was not coming. Time to finish their earlier conversation. “Screw it.”

  His room was in the other wing from Briony’s, but it didn’t take long to get there as his bare feet ate up the distance. He took a breath at the door. There was music on, a voice, maybe two? A cold hand of anger gripped his heart and gave it a mighty squeeze. He pushed open the door and stopped dead at the scene in front of him. “Seems someone forgot to invite me to the party,” he snarled.

  The music kept playing, but the other noises dropped away as Hade and his girlfriend, Lee, and a few random bikers he didn’t recognize put down their glasses and lifted their faces to eyeball him. Swaying to the music with her back to him, Briony mustn’t have heard him with the music up loud.

  Cole watched a male hand with its fingers splayed across the small of her back. Martinez, of course. She was dancing with the tall, dark-haired biker, his arms casually wrapped around her waist. And the best part? She had her leather jacket on as usual, but her leather pants seemed to have shrunk into the shortest miniskirt he’d ever seen.

  Cole slammed the door behind him. “I said,” he growled over the music, “someone must have forgotten to invite me to the party.”

  Briony jumped and turned toward him. For a moment, Cole’s body surged with the reaction to seeing her dressed only in the denim mini, a low-cut cotton crop top, and her red leather vest, but his mind shut it down. Fast.

  Cole crossed to the stereo and turned the volume knob down. What are you doing? He was getting answers. Wasn’t he? “So. Bar get boring, did it? Although I guess there’s more privacy up here for you and your boys.”

  “We were just having a little private party. Bri had to shut down the bar ’cause someone broke the toilet,” Hade said nonchalantly from the back of the room, his girlfriend sitting limply on his lap.

  “That right?” Cole said.

&
nbsp; “Yep. You saying you don’t believe us?” Martinez put a protective hand on Briony’s shoulder.

  For a moment Cole didn’t see Briony and Martinez. It was Martha in front of him. Martha and her new lover. History repeating, history that he didn’t need. The room swam back into focus. No. Our history is ours to shape. He would not be made a fool of. Not again. Cole didn’t take his eyes off Briony, and for a minute it looked like she wasn’t going to add anything. Then she looked up at him and the flash of dark night in her eyes made his breath catch. “There’s nothing here to see. Go back to bed. We can talk in the morning.”

  Nothing to see? “Oh, I think there’s plenty to see. Only I’m not sure I like who you’re sharing the view with. You might think this is all about family, but this one here has got brotherly love mixed up with something else.”

  “You don’t like it? And what makes you think you get a say?” Martinez stepped out from behind Briony and took a step toward Cole.

  “I know it’s hard to let go of your little Bri-bird, but she’s engaged to me. And no one but me gets to see her in her underwear.” Cole took a step farther into the room.

  “This is hardly underwear,” Briony said but Cole’s eyes were locked with Martinez’s now.

  “I say she gets to do whatever she wants with whoever she wants.” Martinez took another step closer.

  “And I say she doesn’t.” Cole could smell the bourbon on the other man’s breath now. Bourbon and the sharp tang of adrenaline-laced anger.

  Martinez took a swing, but Cole sidestepped and the fist swung wide. “You’re going to have to do better than that,” Cole said, the words barely making it out between his bared teeth. “Or at least sober up.”

  “Down, boys. I’m right here, you know. And we’re not living in the fifties. I don’t need a man to speak for me.” Briony stepped in between them.

  Martinez smiled and poked a finger in Cole’s chest. “See? The lady wants to hang with me.”

  Cole took hold of the man’s finger and pushed it away. “That’s not what she said.”

  “Enough,” Briony said and shoved them back from each other. “Put your dicks back in your pants, both of you. I don’t need a pissing contest in my room.”

  Cole let the flicker of a smile lift his lips but then reformed them in a straight line, never taking his eyes off Martinez. “We’ll be fine as soon as this guy learns some manners.”

  “Manners? Ha, you can talk. Think you’re the big man with all your money and your fancy suits? Money isn’t everything. Boys and me are family here.”

  “I know it. And I’m not worried about the others. It’s just you who has your priorities wrong.”

  Martinez snorted. “My priorities are just fine. Bet you wouldn’t last two seconds on the road.”

  “You wanna test me?”

  All the men in the room laughed and Hade crossed to stand beside his friend. “Really? You want to take him on in a race?”

  “Chickening out now it’s getting real?” Cole said.

  Martinez scoffed and the tension in the room eased. “Not a chance. See you out front in ten minutes. You might need to put some shoes on.” He nodded pointedly at Cole’s bare feet.

  “No. Wait. Marnz. This is madness. He doesn’t have a bike here.”

  “You not going to lend me yours?” Cole finally tore his eyes away from the biker’s and looked down at Briony. She stood shifting her gaze from one man to the other. The two of them dwarfed her tiny frame. There was fear in her eyes. Fear of what?

  She bit her lip. “Didn’t you crash the last time you rode? My bike isn’t for beginners.”

  Martinez roared with laughter. “That’s too perfect. Come on, let’s race. You won’t last ten miles.”

  “I crashed my pop’s bike years ago. I didn’t crash mine.” He waved Briony off. “Forget it. You’ll have to wait while I go and get her,” he said to Martinez.

  “Cop-out,” one of the others muttered.

  Martinez’s eyes narrowed. “Hold on. What sort of bike do you have?”

  “Ducati 1098 series,” Cole said.

  Martinez’s jaw dropped.

  “One of the boys will lend you a bike,” Hade said.

  Cole let himself smile. “Fine. Wouldn’t want to inconvenience you,” he said to Briony.

  “That’s not it. I just—”

  Cole held up a hand. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Yes it does.” She took his hand. “You don’t have to do this. Don’t be an idiot. You could get hurt.”

  “That’s right. Might break a nail.” Martinez laughed and the others joined in.

  “That bike come with a jacket and helmet?” Cole asked.

  Hade looked at one of the others and nodded.

  “What are we waiting for, then?”

  * * *

  The bike wasn’t a bad ride. Full chrome with the obligatory Raising Hellfire flames painted down its tank, it had a decent motor on it. Sure, it wasn’t his Ducati, but Martinez was at least playing fair. The two bikes had the same horsepower and from its revving action, it sounded like Cole’s bike was a well-tuned machine.

  “We race down to the beach.”

  “What about police?” Cole asked.

  “What about them?”

  “I can’t afford to push my luck.”

  Martinez gave him a sideways look. “Pretty little hot shot like you? Who woulda thought you had anything to worry about? Okay, we don’t race till we get to the hills. There won’t be any cops out up there this time of night.”

  Cole nodded.

  “Don’t be an idiot. The roads will be slippery as hell in the hills after all this rain, and the light is crap out there. This is a stupid idea.” Briony had come down and was standing shivering in her short skirt and crop top.

  “Well, if your boy here wants to go back inside he’s welcome to.” Cole pulled the helmet over his head.

  Martinez pushed out his chest. “Hell’s Boys don’t back down.”

  “Great motto. Bet that gets you all the girls,” Cole snarled.

  “Don’t do this.” Briony was looking at Martinez, trying, Cole guessed, to get the guy to go easy on him. Well, screw that.

  “Come on, big boy. Time to show Briony what you’re made of, which I’m guessing isn’t much.”

  Martinez snorted. “More than what you’re made of, Slick. She’s giving you an out. Last chance to say you’re sorry and leave Bri the hell alone.”

  “Not going to happen,” Cole said through gritted teeth. He dropped down his visor and gave the bike another rev.

  The biker shrugged and pushed his helmet on.

  The two of them eased out of the parking lot, the look of pain in Briony’s eyes etched in Cole’s mind as he drove away. All his anger, all his frustrations, all the worries around his development knotted themselves together in his chest and formed an aching ball of ice. Briony. What if her fear was for Martinez, not him? He shook his head. He was not going to be the loser again. Not like he had been with Martha. Despite their start, Briony was his fiancée and that counted for something, at least in his family. He was going to win this race. And win back the smile that he’d seen on Briony’s face when they talked about their designs together. She was his. Period.

  As they drove through the city streets on the way to the hills, Cole stayed behind Martinez, his taillight a flickering beacon in the murky evening. But when they reached the hills, Cole put on a burst of speed and overtook the biker, giving his bike its head and relishing the sheer power of the motor. This was more like it. He started to get into his race zone, the thrill he used to relish as a teenager. He felt the torque of the bike through his legs, let its rumble drive into his muscles. When he was younger he’d been running from himself, using speed as a means to escape. Now he was using it to chase something he wanted. Something he needed. Briony.

  As each corner came, he leaned into it and along the straights he crouched low, almost hugging the barrel of the tank. The wind tore at him an
d he welcomed it, using the punishing force of it to shake out his mind. This race was about honor, not ego. Wasn’t it? As the number of corners increased he couldn’t stay in his numbed state and with each new twist he found himself picturing a curve on Briony’s body. A deep right-hand bend, her hip. The next, the underside of her breast. This, the soft skin behind her knee.

  The roar of Martinez’s bike came up behind him and Cole snapped his attention back to the road. Briony was his. Martinez was going to back off. Looking ahead he saw the next corner was a hairpin coupled with a steep incline. The cliff wall on his right cut off all options for taking the corner wrong. He flicked a look over his shoulder and saw Martinez coming up. Fast. Screw it. He gunned the bike and prepared to take the corner hard, but Martinez anticipated him and screamed past, his bike whining at the acceleration.

  Cole pushed his bike to chase, ignoring the speed. They’d left the speed limit back down on the flats of the city, but as he came up to the crest of the corner he saw lights coming up the road.

  Hugging the side of the hill he kept his speed, but didn’t push it anymore. To take the corner head-on he needed to swing out wide. Martinez must have checked his rearview mirror and seen Cole as he lifted a hand and gave Cole the one-fingered salute just before—

  Brakes on. Swerve hard. Tires screaming. Lights in his face. Pieces of bike flying, bouncing off the cliff. Cole’s whole body tightened for impact till he stopped, breathless, twenty yards from the bend.

  The car horn bled a lonely beeeeeep into the darkness and the drizzle turned to rain. Real rain. Other than that it was silent. Deadly silent.

  Chapter Nine

  Briony checked the clock for the hundredth time. “I’m going outside. Maybe I didn’t hear them.”

  Hade raised an eyebrow at her. “Chances of you not hearing over sixty horsepower of engine, times two? Low, I’d say.”

  Briony shrugged. “I have to do something. This is taking too long.”