Chapter Four
Cathy couldn’t believe she had made that kind of deal. She didn’t know what Brick wanted her to do. She’d always been real, but last night had been the first time she’d been different.
She wasn’t acting out. It had been about living in the moment, forgetting what her family had done to her.
“So, how about I take you to lunch?” Brick asked.
“Lunch?”
“Yeah. It’s too late to enjoy breakfast and I’m starving.”
Just like that, her stomach rumbled. She’d not eaten breakfast herself. Instead, the last few hours had been working. First, she had a final deadline on a review for a magazine, which she sent in. Then, she needed to film more content for her channel. There was a delivery of new products heading her way. Lunch sounded good, and she told him so.
The smile on his lips would stay with her for a long time. He looked so happy with himself, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Right, let’s go. Grab your jacket, I’m taking you on the back of my bike.”
“Your bike?” Cathy asked.
“Yeah, my bike. I want you on it. You ever rode a bike before?”
“No.” She couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of being on the back of a bike.
“Good, it looks like I might be several of your firsts. But, there is something I want to do right now,” he said, stepping toward her with a smirk on his lips.
She was about to ask him what, when he gripped the back of her neck and pulled her in close. His lips slammed down on hers, and she lost all thought and common sense. All she could do was focus on the moment and how good his lips felt. Her body came alive under his kiss, and she didn’t want him to stop.
All too soon, he did stop, and she licked her suddenly tingling lips. “And I’ve been wanting to do that all morning.”
They walked out of her film studio, and she couldn’t help but follow him. She grabbed her jacket, along with her purse and keys, stepping out of the house.
“Do you have a helmet?” she asked.
“You don’t need one. I’ll take care of you.”
She was absolutely terrified, but this was about enjoying new experiences. Locking her door, she walked up to his bike and threw her leg over the saddle.
Brick helped her climb on, and instinctively she wrapped her arms around his waist. Realizing she had done so without asking permission, she pulled back but he suddenly grabbed her arms and pulled them around him, making her hold onto him.
Pressing her face against his back, she smiled. It felt good to be with him.
The engine purred to life, and she couldn’t deny the excitement that rushed through her at the feel of the machine between her thighs, or the fact he was right there with her.
He pulled out of her driveway, and they went down the street.
Cathy didn’t know where he was taking her, but when he started to head into town, she held onto him a little tighter. She didn’t care what people thought. There had been some who said it was wrong of her sister to do what she did. Others said it was right as Tiffany was beautiful and deserved someone like Eric. She didn’t care. Brick was making it so easy to not care about anyone or anything but him.
The diner was a popular place, and had a fantastic lunch menu. She loved their fried chicken as well as their waffles. They also did an amazing special pumpkin latte but they only served that from October through Thanksgiving. After that, it was hot chocolate with mint or cinnamon. She liked hot chocolate but it wasn’t her favorite.
Brick found a space, and she climbed off. Before her ass hit the ground, he captured her hands and pulled her in close.
“It takes some getting used to,” he said.
She had a feeling it was going to take a whole lot more getting used to him not being here, than it was her being used to him and this bike.
Cathy waited as he swung his leg off the other side of the bike and stepped forward. He was so much taller than her, and she liked how it felt as he moved closer. One of his arms moved around her shoulders and as they walked into the diner, she couldn’t help but love the way he smelled, the way he moved. His very presence was addicting.
Several people turned their heads, but she didn’t care. The gossip would make its way back to her parents, and then it would be up to them. Not that she expected anything. It didn’t seem to matter what she did or didn’t do, they were going to judge her regardless. Unlike her sister who got a free pass, she never did. They judged her for everything. Pushing them out of her mind, she followed Brick’s lead as he got a table.
“Is this place any good?” he asked.
“You’ve never been to the diner?”
“Nope.”
“How long have you been in town?” she asked.
He wrinkled his nose. “In all honesty, we’ve not been to town that often. The bar and clubhouse, as well as the open road, draws us out. We’re not ones for hanging around small towns. Also, Rebel doesn’t want us causing trouble.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Are you used to causing trouble?”
“Only the best kind.”
Cathy loved the way he winked at her.
They found a quiet booth, and Brick let her go so she could slide in opposite him. She was pretty sure he didn’t like letting her go, which was an entirely new experience for her.
She wasn’t used to men wanting to be so close to her, but it was a feeling she rather liked.
****
Brick stared across at Cathy, who smiled at him. Damn, he loved her smile. Even a small one seemed to light up her whole face. When he saw her come into the bar last night, she hadn’t been smiling. He’d been so caught up in her body that he hadn’t realized she wasn’t happy. Then, all he’d wanted to do was make her smile.
He hoped he never met her sister because he didn’t know if he would be able to control himself. He’d known a lot of bitches in his time, but her sister seemed to be on another level.
The waitress came to take their order, and Brick ordered double of everything. He was starving and needed food. Cathy placed her order for the same, only single of everything.
“Are you sure you’ll be able to eat all of that?” she asked.
“Babe, I worked up an appetite last night. Trust me, it would have been better if you’d stayed and we’d gotten breakfast, but lunch is the next best thing.”
There was that beautiful, sweet smile again.
“So, uh, I don’t really know what to do or say right now,” she said, frowning.
“Have you been on a lot of dates?” he asked.
“Is this a date?”
“Yeah, it is.”
Again, that fucking smile. It was twisting his guts.
“I’ve not been on loads of dates. A couple. Not many. I don’t really have a lot to compare to. It’s hard to explain.”
“Nothing hard to explain. You’ve been around a bunch of fucking losers, it sounds like to me,” Brick said. He shrugged. “Their loss.”
“You really think so?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s their loss, all of it, but I’m the lucky bastard who got you.”
She opened her mouth and closed it. “Thanks.”
He frowned. “You’re not used to getting compliments, are you?”
“Not in person. Through my channel, I do, but not in real life.” She took a deep breath. “Trust me, I’m not looking for pity or anything like that.”
“Well, let’s change that. I want to get to know you,” he said.
“You do?”
“Yeah, I noticed you don’t have a lot of pictures around your house,” he said.
She frowned and sat back. “How could you know that if you haven’t been in the rest of my house?”
“It’s kind of a knack of mine. Scoping out the area, knowing my surroundings. When you’re on the road, it’s what you’ve got to do to survive. There are a lot of people out there that would have you killed.”
“Is that why you’re settling down at Storm’s Bar?” Cathy asked.
Normally, when it came to personal questions, he made sure to shy away. He didn’t want people he didn’t know snooping around in his business. The law has always spent its fair share wanting him and the club.
Again, they never got what they wanted. Rebel, the club president, knew what to do and when to do it, to avoid any bullshit landing at their door.
Cathy was no snitch. She wasn’t an undercover cop. She was a woman who was curious about him. And he found that refreshing.
“Yeah, I guess. Also, the club prez is married now, has a kid, and that whole deal. The clubhouse is open to those of us that want to settle down, or just pit stop. We’re a club that has each other’s backs, but we’re not like close-close. If that makes sense.”
“And did you love it on the open road?” Cathy asked.
“I did for a long time.”
“And now?”
“I’m the one that is supposed to be asking you all these questions, getting to know you.”
“And I can’t ask them of you?”
“You can, but I’m the one doing all the answering.”
She shrugged. “Go ahead, ask me anything.”
“Why are you alone?”
“Wow, you really like to get right in there, don’t you?” she asked, laughing. He saw the blush staining her cheeks.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“It sounds bad, but it’s not.” She pressed her lips together. “Okay, so my sister and I don’t get along.”
“Are you the oldest? Youngest?”
“I’m the youngest. My sister loved being an only child, and that was the way she wanted it to stay. Just her and our parents. Then I came along, and obviously, being a newborn baby, I demanded a lot of attention. Attention she didn’t want to give up. So, she always will hate my guts. It’s not logical, but that is all I can put it down to. You know the other details of her stealing my boyfriend, and pretty much ruining any other relationship I’ve ever had. One day, she sent my boyfriend running away because he couldn’t handle it. He hated her that much.”
Brick sat back, watching Cathy.
“What do you think she is going to do with me?”
She shrugged but he saw a slight tear in her eye. Cathy glanced away and then blew out a breath.
“Honestly, she’s a beautiful woman. Let me show you a picture of her.” Cathy reached into her bag, pulling out her cell phone, clicking away, and then holding the phone out to him. “She’s the blonde.”
Brick took the phone, and sure enough, the woman was beautiful, no doubt about it, but Brick didn’t like her. He flicked across some of the images, and there was one of the two sisters. Where Cathy had deep brown hair, the other woman was fair, light, blonde. Even in the photograph, he saw how horrible she was. The snide curl to her lips, the nastiness in her gaze.
He hoped he didn’t meet her, because for him, it was an instant dislike.