Wreck & Ruin

by Emma Slate

  “Doesn’t she have a say in things?” I ventured to voice. Neither one of them was paying any attention to me, so my question fell on deaf ears.

  “You’re right, Prez,” Zip drawled. “She should stay with you. It’s just for a little while, right?”

  Colt’s scowl could peel chrome off a trailer hitch, and I was glad it wasn’t directed at me.

  “You’ve got a guest room,” Zip pushed. “Oh, wait, you have that one little rule, don’t you?”

  “What rule?” I asked.

  “Zip,” Colt warned.

  Zip’s grin widened. “He doesn’t bring women back to his house. Not ones he wants to fu—”

  “Shut it!” Colt yelled, making me jump. “Mia, let’s go.”

  “Go?”

  “My house.”

  “Yeah, no. I’m good. I’ll just stay here.”

  “I’m not asking, I’m telling. Now get your ass up. You’re coming with me. And you can save the smart ass retort.”

  Apparently I was taking too long to follow his edicts because he reached down and scooped me up into his arms.

  Right now, I was dealing with Colt, MC president. But earlier, when he’d washed my feet, I had been dealing with someone else. Perhaps that was the man beneath the leather.

  “Bye, darlin’. See you later,” Zip said with an irreverent grin and a wave.

  “Yeah, if Colt and I don’t end up killing each other, I’ll see you later.”

  Zip’s laughter followed us out onto the porch and then faded away. Colt managed to open the passenger side door of the truck with me still in his arms and he set me down on the seat.

  “Buckle up,” he commanded.

  I rolled my eyes but did as he said. I shook my head. “You’re such a grumpy old man.”

  Colt came around to the driver’s side and hoisted his large body into the seat. He closed the door and then jammed the key into the ignition. “I may be grumpy, but I’m not old.”

  “Whatever. You’ve got to be pushing what—thirty-five?”

  “Thirty-eight,” he admitted.

  “Positively ancient.”

  “Are you even legal, darlin’?”

  “I’m twenty-five.”

  “Baby.”

  I hated his mocking tone. “It’s okay, Grandpa,” I taunted. “You couldn’t keep up with me.”

  “You wanna bet?”

  The carnal promise in his voice was so unexpected I couldn’t stop the shiver that raced down my spine. I stared out the window and pretended he didn’t affect me. That was the last thing I needed. Getting involved with one biker president while trying to run from another.

  “I don’t like grumpy men,” I huffed.

  “Maybe not. But you like me.”

  “I do not.”

  Colt’s gaze dipped down my body and lingered on my breasts. “Then your nipples are liars.”

  “You’re crass. And an asshole.”

  His smile was slow, heated. “Yeah. And you definitely like it.”

  We drove to Colt’s home in silence. After he’d commented on the state of my nipples, I was feeling a bit exposed. My wrist was in a cast and I had a cut along the apple of my cheek. I was feeling needy and he’d called me a burden.

  I peered at Colt out of the corner of my eye, trying to discreetly study him. He was attractive, there was no denying it. Coffee colored dark hair, brown eyes, stubble for days. Not to mention his body. Tall and broad. Tatted. Muscled. He smelled like woodsmoke and something else …something entirely uniquely him. I’d tried not to pay attention to his scent, but the man had carried me several times and it was impossible not to notice.

  Colt turned his head and caught me staring at him. I couldn’t see his eyes behind his aviators, but his grin said enough.

  “Almost there,” he said.

  “Good.”

  He chuckled but fell silent again.

  We were twenty minutes outside of Waco when he turned off the main road onto another path. After a few miles of windy gravel, we arrived at his place. It was a two-story white home that looked like it had been built in the forties. The lawn was well-kept, and the trim was newly painted. There was a swing on the wraparound screened-in porch. It was the perfect spot to curl up with a good book.

  “You live here?” I asked in surprise.

  “Yup.”

  I glanced at him. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it seems…out of character.”

  “And you think you know my character?”

  “I think I have a pretty good grasp on it, yeah.”

  He gave a slight smile. “I like space. Big guy like me can’t do an apartment. This house was falling apart when I bought it a few years ago. I wanted to fix something with my own two hands. Something that wasn’t a bike or a car.” He cut the engine. “I can sit on the porch, watch the sunset, listen to the cicadas.”

  “I like that you restored it instead of tearing it down.”

  Colt stared at me for a moment and then said, “Nowadays when things break people don’t fix them, they just throw them out.”

  I nodded. “Disposable.”

  “Yeah.” He looked at the house. “Didn’t want it to become just another pile of wood and nails. I wanted it to have a life again, you know? I needed it to have life.”

  It was the most Colt had ever said in one go. I wasn’t sure what to say. It felt like he was talking about one thing but meant something else entirely.

  He had given me something honest, and for some reason, I felt compelled to do the same. “My home hasn’t felt like a home in a while. Not since my grandmother died. No place like home as they say, but what really makes a home? People, I think.”

  He looked at me for a long moment and slowly removed his sunglasses. He continued to stare at me. His jaw was clenched and I wanted to know why. What was he holding back? Colt didn’t seem like the type to hold anything back.

  “Come on, let me show you the place,” he said.

  I was glad he brushed past the moment between us.

  The living room was large and open, decorated in taupe and shades of brown. The kitchen was modern with white cabinetry and an island. We headed upstairs, and he led me down the hallway.

  He opened a door. “Guest room.”

  “It’s nice,” I said as I stepped through the doorway.

  Colt leaned against the doorjamb. “Bed’s pretty comfortable. Got a new mattress for it a few months ago.”

  “Yeah?” I turned to him. “Great.”

  His gaze traveled down my body, his eyes warm and inviting.

  “Hey, eyes up here,” I stated, snapping at him and then pointing to my face. “Let’s get something straight.”

  “What’s that?” Humor radiated off of him and it was nearly my undoing. Surly Colt made me want to keep my distance. Happy, smiley Colt made me want something else entirely.

  “I’m leaving town—”

  “How do you expect to get out of town without your truck? And don’t forget that the doc told you not to drive.”

  “Zip will get my truck when the coast is clear. And the doctor advised me not to drive. He didn’t forbid it.”

  “Is it a stick?”

  “What does that matter?”

  “Color me curious.”

  “Yeah, it’s a stick.”

  “That’s hot, by the way. The idea of you driving a stick.”

  “Stop flirting with me,” I snapped.

  “Why? Does it make you uncomfortable?”

  “If I said yes would you stop?”

  “Probably not.” He grinned. “What are you going to do about money?”

  “I have money. I just don’t have access to it at the moment because I left my bank card in my wallet which is still in my house.”

  “So you don’t have money. Okay, what about clothes?”

  “Stop asking me questions!” I groaned. “You’re such a pain in the ass.”

  He barked out a laugh and pushed away from the doorframe to come toward me.<
br />
  Damn, he was tall. And huge.

  “What are you doing? Stop right there.” My hand shot out to halt him, but he kept coming and eventually my fingers hit his expansive, muscled pectoral.

  “Are you afraid of me?” he asked huskily. He covered my hand on his chest with his, effectively ending the futile struggle.

  I swallowed. “No, I’m not afraid of you.”

  “I think you’re a liar.” He shifted his stance, bringing himself into my space. He was so close that his leather cut nearly grazed my pajama tank. I wanted to draw him closer. I wanted to touch him, stroke the skin of his neck to see what it felt like against my fingertips.

  “If you’re not afraid of me,” Colt continued, “then look at me.”

  After a moment, I forced myself to gaze up into his face. His eyes were dark with desire.

  “I can’t figure you out,” I admitted. “One minute you’re cold, the next you’re laughing at me.”

  “I can’t seem to help it,” he said with a wry grin. “You make me smile. What can I say?”

  I dropped my eyes from his to stare at his chest when I said, “I don’t like having to rely on anyone.”

  “It doesn’t mean you’re weak if you need help.”

  “Who said anything about being weak?”

  “You don’t have to say it; I’ve been watching you. You can’t stand needing help.”

  “Most things I can handle on my own,” I admitted. “This thing with the Iron Horsemen? I’m way out of my element.”

  “I rely on my brothers, my club. They’re my family. Does that make me weak?”

  Colt was anything but weak. He was strong, assured; the man swaggered when he walked. But for him it wasn’t a struggle, it came naturally.

  “You want me,” he stated, changing the conversation entirely and calling me out directly.

  I shook my head in negation.

  “I want you. I’ve been thinking about you since I kissed you at Dive Bar,” he said huskily, his hands grasping the back of my head as he bent down to kiss me. His lips met mine in a show of sexuality. He plundered my mouth with his tongue as he held me to him. My hand touching his shirt curled into his body to feel his strength. It was a kiss of ownership, and I felt it everywhere. I was buzzing from the electric charge between us.

  Colt pulled back but kept his hold on me, his eyes lit with hunger and promise. His hand came up to tease the strap of my tank top.

  I swallowed, needing space, needing to get my bearings. “I won’t have sex with you as a thank you for letting me stay here. You’re not expecting that, right? Because—”

  “Woman, you’ve got all kinds of issues.”

  “That came out wrong.”

  Colt released me. “How was it supposed to come out?”

  I stepped away from him and shrugged. “I dunno. I didn’t mean to insult you but…I have nothing, Colt. And you have everything I need right now.” I looked away, hating my vulnerability. “I won’t be a pity fuck.”

  “What makes you think you’d be a pity fuck?”

  My gaze snapped back to his. “Look at me.”

  “I am.” His brown eyes stayed on mine.

  “You brought me here under duress.”

  “You think anyone can make me do something I don’t want to do?” He shook his head. “You needed a place, I got a place.”

  “I could’ve stayed with Zip,” I pointed out.

  “Like hell you could have,” he snapped.

  “Why couldn’t I have stayed with him? He’s your brother, right? You clearly trust him.”

  “Not when it comes to you.”

  “You think he would’ve made a move?”

  “No.”

  “Then I don’t understand.” I cocked my head to the side. “If you weren’t worried about his actions, were you worried about mine? Did you think that if I stayed with him, I’d fall for his charms and throw myself at him?”

  “This is why I don’t talk to women,” he grumbled. “They’re nothing but trouble.”

  “We’re nothing but trouble?” My eyes widened. “You’ve got three different personalities and I never know which one I’m talking to.”

  He sighed. “Fuck, I’m no good at this.”

  “Good at what? Conversation? Yeah, I realize that.” I turned away from him, but his hands were still on my shoulders and he forced me to face him.

  “Look, I don’t connect with people easily,” Colt stated.

  “Okay.” I stared up at him with a quizzical gaze.

  His thumb stroked along my neck, making me shiver.

  “You don’t owe me anything. This isn’t payment.”

  “Why are you helping me, Colt?”

  “I may be an asshole,” he smiled slowly, “but I don’t turn my back on people who need help.”

  He pressed a quick kiss to my lips and then left the room, leaving me to stare after him in dumb amazement.

  Chapter 5

  I took a few minutes to look around the guest room. There was no bathroom suite, but when I left the bedroom, I found the bathroom just across the hall. I headed downstairs, pausing briefly to look at the framed photographs hung up along the wall of the staircase. Following the series of a happy couple were photos of a young Joni and Colt. I didn’t know their age difference, but there was one picture of a teenage Colt holding Joni, who must’ve been ten or so. Both of them wore huge smiles and I wondered where the seemingly easygoing Colt had gone.

  I walked into the kitchen. Colt was at the counter, making himself a sandwich.

  “Want half?” he asked, slicing it down the center. “It’s turkey and Swiss on rye.”

  It was a thoughtful gesture. One I hadn’t been expecting. “I’m good, thanks. Do you have a cell phone charger? My phone is dead.”

  He took the plate to the kitchen table and sat down. “I’m getting you a new phone,” he stated.

  “Why? I have a perfectly good phone.”

  “Did you give your cell phone number to Dev?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Then you get a new phone.”

  “You know I can just block his number, right?”

  “I want another layer of protection.”

  “Wow.”

  “What?”

  “When you go into protector mode, you go all in, don’t you?”

  “Yeah. I do.”

  This was not a battle I was going to win. “Fine. I’ll fold on the new phone thing, but I need to call my best friend first.”

  “Why?”

  “Why? What do you mean why? She’s my best friend. She knew I was leaving town and I told her I’d call her when I got settled.”

  “But you’re not settled,” he pointed out. “You’re in a shit storm and the best idea is to go underground.”

  “Colt—”

  “Mia.”

  We stared at each other and finally Colt said, “I’ll get a message to her, but you shouldn’t call her.”

  “How are you going to get a message to her? If you call her and she doesn’t hear my voice, she’s going to worry. If you send one of your guys to talk to her, she’s going to worry.”

  He smiled. “I guess I’ll have to convince her that you’re safe and not being held against your will.”

  “She doesn’t trust bikers,” I announced. “She told me I should’ve chosen someone else to help me get rid of the guy at the bar. That I made a mistake by approaching you.”

  “Probably,” Colt agreed. “But you’re in it deep now, darlin’.”

  “In what, exactly?”

  “You kissed me.”

  “Actually, you kissed me.”

  “Damn right I did. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, too.”

  “Is this the possessive biker thing Shelly was trying to warn me about?”

  Colt let out a laugh. “What did she tell you?”

  “I’m not sure I understand exactly what she was trying to tell me. Did you—were you claiming me? When you kissed me in public?”
<
br />   “Sweetheart, if a kiss was all it took to claim a woman, I’d have a damn harem.”

  I glared at him.

  “You’re cute when you’re riled. Grab a beer and stop thinking so much.”

  “Just when I think I’m about to like you, you’re an ass again.”

  He took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. “How am I an ass?”

  “The next time you’re stressed, I’ll just tell you to chill out and completely ignore how you feel. See how you like it.”

  “I didn’t tell you to chill out. I told you to stop thinking so much.”

  “What’s the difference?” I demanded in a huff.

  “Mia, grab a beer. Then I’ll give you my phone to use, but only so you can call your bank. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  Colt jotted down the clubhouse address and said, “Have your shit sent there.”

  He left me alone while I sat at the kitchen table to take care of business. A beer later, I had cancelled all my credit cards and requested new ones. Until then, I was at Colt’s mercy. If I wanted anything, I’d have to ask him.

  My pride prickled at the idea. But I was shit out of luck. I’d keep a running tally in my head of everything I owed and when I had access to my bank account again, I’d pay him back.

  I didn’t know Colt. And here I was, sitting in his kitchen, my bare feet resting on his wooden floor. It was unsettling, but only because it wasn’t. I felt comfortable in his home, despite his growly nature.

  Colt walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out another beer. “How’s it going?”

  “It’s done.”

  “Great. I’ve got some good news.”

  I perked up. “Zip was able to get my truck?”

  “No. Joni is coming over with clothes for you.”

  “Ah, just call me Charity Case Barbie.”

  Colt’s laughter boomed through the kitchen and I found myself laughing along with him. I was so deep into our moment that I didn’t hear the front door open and I jumped when Joni appeared in the doorway of the kitchen looking shell-shocked.

  “What the hell is going on here?” she demanded. “Are you laughing? Did you actually get my brother to laugh?”

  “It’s not the first time,” I said.

  Her gaze went to Colt. “Interesting.”