18. Not Free Any More
Chapter 18
Not Free Any More
Simone
Even though I was tired, I couldn’t wait to see Steel’s home and to find out what he did with ‘room to move’.
The narrow, paved drive gave way to a bumpy road, and I realized the drive had brick pavers. Steel's house filled my vision and I almost gasped. The outside of his home reminded me so much of Mom and Dad’s house, it wasn’t funny. On one side, there was a two-car garage; the drive split off into a horseshoe shape in front of the house. The exterior was a creamy, khaki-colored siding with navy trim. A narrow walkway led to a double front door. Where Mom and Dad’s house had traditional looking French doors, these doors were a dark navy blue with vertical, chrome bars for door handles.
I hadn’t even set foot inside and I loved his house. It was stately and masculine, and it didn’t hurt that it looked like a show home.
“This is gorgeous,” I said.
He parked the truck. “You’re gorgeous. This is just a house.”
“As immaculate as the outside is, Steel, this is way more than just a house.”
He grinned. “Let me show you inside, and then I’ll come back and grab our bags.”
Steel unlocked the front door, moved to a small alarm panel and disarmed the system.
I stepped inside the foyer and stopped short. Outside, I’d noticed a wide chimney in the middle of the roof line. Standing inside, I realized the wall was the backside of a fireplace. The brick had been painted navy blue. Ordinarily, I’d call that a crime against bricks, but in this instance it seriously worked. A huge painting hung in the middle of the bricks. The background was a lighter shade of navy blue and in the foreground were wide, white stripes that looked like a pound-sign, but weren’t organized enough to be that symbol. Against the bricks though, the painting gave me the faint feeling of being in a jail cell.
I turned to find Steel staring at me. “Who painted this?” I asked, even though I suspected I knew the answer.
“I did.”
I nodded. “When?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Okay, then why did you paint it?”
He stared at me some more. For so long, it was almost unbearable. Finally he said, “Haven’t even shared this with Torque. That’s a reminder – of where I’ve been, and that I don’t ever want to go back there.”
“Jail,” I murmured.
His mouth opened, closed, and then he speared me with his eyes. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to, honey.”
“Fuck, you’re too much,” he bit out, stalking to me.
I smiled. “I’m not really. If anything, I can read you, Raymond.”
His eyes closed, he turned his head to the side, and he groaned.
“You don’t want me calling you that?”
He turned to me, his eyes open and boring into me. “Far from it. I love hearing you call me that.” His fingers came to my shorts working at my fly. “Fuck, I need be inside you, Simone.”
“Good,” I whispered, my hands moving to his belt.
He shoved my shorts down and I stepped out of them. His hand grabbed mine, and he tugged me around the brick wall and into a sunken living room full of cozy, overstuffed furniture. He led me to a huge light gray sectional where he quickly took off his boots, socks, pants, and boxer-briefs. I followed his lead and removed the rest of my clothes.
His arms came around me, he grabbed my ass, lifted me and laid me down on the sectional. I wrapped my legs around his waist, his cock lining up with my pussy. I arched in an effort to bring him inside me, but he pulled back and looked down at me.
“Christ, you’re so fucking beautiful spread out on my sofa.” His hands massaged my breasts, and since I’d told him how sensitive they were during our four-hour drive, his touch was incredibly gentle. “Such perfect tits.”
I took his cock in my hand and gave him a stroke. “I’m glad you like them, but I thought you needed to be inside me?”
The way his eyes locked on me, I expected him to say something. Instead, he leaned down while surging inside me, filling me like nobody else.
“Yes, baby,” I whispered.
“You got that right, Simone,” Steel said.
The urgent way he started, I expected a fast, furious fucking, but instead, Steel took his time. Savored every kiss, each stroke, and worked us both up higher than before which made it more explosive when we both found our release.
While he caught his breath, I ran my fingers through one side of his hair. He caught my gaze, and I wanted to say it. The words were right there. Yet, I didn’t want to break the spell.
His eyes searched mine. “It’s not free any more.”
My lips tipped up. “What isn’t free any more?”
“The falling isn’t free. You don’t want this with me, Jade, you better decide because there’s no going back. I love you.”
Part of me thought I misheard him, but I’d listened so closely, the beautiful words were carved into my mind. I’d replay this moment at will.
My teeth sunk into the side of my lower lip. “I love you, too, tough guy.”
He kissed me and we made out for a while before he lifted me from the couch and took me to another room. I opened my eyes and found we were in a huge master bathroom and Steel had set me on a marble counter between two sinks.
In front of me was a walk-in shower that had to be twenty feet deep and twenty feet wide, seeing as a huge bathtub sat on the far left side. A glass wall with a glass door separated it from the remainder of the bathroom. The wall on the right side had a bench running the entire length of it and there were two shower heads.
“You could birth a baby in that tub,” I blurted.
“Come again?”
I looked at him. “It’s a thing. Some people have water births.”
His brows lowered. “What the fuck?”
I held a finger up. “Don’t worry, this may be my first pregnancy, but I can tell you right now, I’m not going that route. I’m just saying, that’s a big-ass tub.”
He pulled a washcloth from a basket behind me, getting it wet under the nearby faucet. “It is. You want to take a bath, we can do that tonight. We’re already naked.”
My eyes danced around the room. “As fancy as this bathroom is, I’m dying to see the rest of your house, sir.”
He leaned in and nipped my neck. “Plenty of time to do both, sweetheart.”
I took the cloth from him. “Let me get cleaned up.”
Wearing one of Steel’s Harley-Davidson t-shirts, I stood in what served as his dining room, which sat between the sunken living room and the kitchen. “The whole freaking house is decked out like a show home. Who did this for you?”
The round eight-seater dining table appeared to be custom made, and the wet bar behind the table had nearly every detailed touch. The only thing missing was a beer tap.
From his dry look, I shouldn’t have asked. “Oh.”
He shook his head. “Not that it matters, but I had no intentions of ever fucking her. The moment Debra showed her true colors, I decided to thank my interior designer.”
I glanced around wondering where that might have happened.
He chuckled. “Don’t worry. It was sixteen years ago, and that piece of furniture is long gone.”
My gaze wandered to the kitchen on my right and I waved my hand that way. “For a man who says he’s a terror in the kitchen, who actually cooks in there? You? Or do you have a personal chef?”
He sauntered toward me. Unlike me, he wasn’t wearing a shirt, just a pair of boxer-briefs. “I can cook breakfast, that’s about it. Tor’s ol’ lady comes in and cooks if I’ve got two or three chapter presidents in town. On the rare occasion I let Augusta brothers swing by, I either have shit catered or pay a chef.”
I shook my head. “Pity. That kitchen is to freaking die for. I mean, a six-burner gas range? Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners here would kick ass.”
Again, that got me his dry expression. “Raymond Reynolds, you have this pristine kitchen and don’t do the holidays here? That’s—”
He slid an arm around my waist. “Going to change this year from the sound of it.”
I grimaced. “Well… normally, I’m at the Riot clubhouse or Mom and Dad’s for Thanksgiving.”
His lips pressed together, he did a slow nod and stared at a point over my head. “That will make things interesting.”
I slid my hands along his chest, tracing his tattoos. “It will, but one thing at a time, right?”
With a grin, he nodded. “Right. Let me show you the deck.”
I felt my eyes light up. “A deck? Do you have a pool?”
“Yeah, I mentioned that at lunch.”
My smirk couldn’t be restrained. “I forgot. Somebody rocked my world over on that sofa.”
“You became my world over on that sofa.”
My smirk fell away, that was so unexpected. I cupped his cheeks and laid a hot and heavy kiss on him. He slid his hands to my ass and gave me a squeeze. I broke the kiss, breathing hard. “I love you, but you can’t say things like that to me and not pay the price.”
This close to him, I felt and heard his rumbly chuckle. “If that’s the price, baby, I’ll pay triple.”
I stepped aside while he unlocked a sliding glass door and I followed him onto his deck.
If the front of the house reminded me of Mom and Dad’s, the back of the house was all Uncle Cal’s place. A kick-ass in-ground pool stole my attention before Steel opened a wine-fridge and brought out a bottle of sparkling water. That would have been where Uncle Cal kept the kegs for his two built-in beer taps. There was a huge grill and a sink, but Steel’s set-up was much more top-of-the-line. Ironic, since Uncle Cal was a great cook, but Steel wasn’t.
I took in the rest of the deck. “A fireplace?”
“Darlin’, this isn’t southern Georgia, this is north Georgia and we’re very close the South Carolina border. It doesn’t snow here often, but it gets damn cold. I’m not gonna let that keep me from being outdoors.”
I nodded. “Does that mean your pool is heated?”
He smirked. “It does, but we aren’t going swimming right now.”
I returned his smirk. “It’s for future reference, my man.”
“I’m gonna go get our bags.”
“In your undies?”
He shrugged. “I’ll put on jeans, but who the hell’s gonna see me, Simone?”
“Rafferty, maybe? He said he’d be swinging by around five.”
Steel drew his fingers along his jawline. “Yeah, and it’s not even two-thirty, Jade. We’re gonna take a bath, catch a nap, and see what your buddy thinks of Augusta.”
Turned out, Steel gave good baths – if you wanted a bath with multiple mind-melting orgasms that left your body completely limp.
The man was a machine, though when I shared that, he claimed it was me being a vixen. Either way, we’d dried off and fallen into his bed and conked out.
Now, late afternoon sunshine glared into his bedroom but he wasn’t in bed with me. I shrugged into his t-shirt and tugged on my panties and shorts. Through the blinds, I saw the backyard. Spring was in full swing with pollen dusting everything in yellow. I wondered what his backyard looked like in the fall.
I wandered out of the bedroom, through the living room, and to the kitchen. No sign of Steel.
The murmur of male voices came from the other side of the kitchen, and I realized there was a fourth bedroom there.
“This room is on the opposite end of the house from mine. You’ll be fine,” Steel said.
“If I get followed, I’d rather not lead anyone here,” Rafferty said.
“Why would you be followed? Did you do something?”
“No. Just rode around town, got the lay of the land.” That hesitation in his voice sounded familiar – like when he’d fib to his parents or Alexandra’s.
It wasn’t cool of me to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t charge in there now. I had to see if Steel caught on to him or not.
Steel chuckled. “Right. I believe you rode around town, but you aren’t pulling anything with me, Rafferty. What’d you do?”
He sighed. “I left my cut in my saddlebags, went to the Player’s Palace and hung out. Watched two Corrupt Chrome members give the girl serving drinks a ration of shit she didn’t fuckin’ deserve. I left before I got too fuckin’ pissed and interfered. Still, they followed me out, saw me at my bike and asked if I was interested in a club.”
“That’s unusual,” Steel muttered.
“That’s what I figured, but I played dumb.”
“Do not try to get inside their organization,” Steel said, his tone firm.
“I’m not, but why are they looking for new recruits? Seems like they’d have plenty of interest if they’re as flush with cash from drugs and shit like they say they are.”
“You have a certain look about you, Rafferty. Clubs always need fresh blood, and it takes time to move from hang-around to prospect to fully-patched member. They’d be idiots not to approach you. Hell, that says they’re more observant than Tie or the others give them credit for.”
I wasn’t that close to the room, so I shuffled my feet and called out, “Steel?”
“In here,” he called.
I padded that way and leaned against the doorway. “Hey, Raff. How’s it goin’?”
Seemed I wasn’t the only one who could pick up on tone. “It’s goin’ great, Simone. Something bothering you?”
“No.”
Steel’s eyes caught mine. “You overhear some things?”
“Hard not to in this house. The floor plan is rather open.”
His jaw shifted and he rubbed his cheek. “I’m letting that slide, but you’ve noticed how much I like privacy. Don’t get in a habit of doing that.”
I wanted to ask ‘or what,’ but he had a point. Keeping his business private mattered, and I needed to respect that.
Rafferty asked, “Why do you live in the middle of nowhere?”
Steel chuckled. “Not the middle of nowhere, but this type of set-up provides extra security. Nobody comes here by mistake. Not even UPS.”
Rafferty nodded. “That’s smart.”
A gleam hit Steel’s eyes. “You gotta be smart to lead an entire MC.”
“Yeah. Are you hitting the clubhouse tonight?” Rafferty asked.
Steel shrugged. “Not sure yet, but you feel free. Should be a bonfire tonight – you’ll get the full Devil Lancer hang-around experience before you decide to prospect.”
Rafferty’s eyes cut to me and back to Steel. “Back in the day, my family had an issue with your Jacksonville brothers.”
Steel dipped his chin. “That chapter was shut down for three years because of that.”
“Are all of those members gone? Or did some transfer to other cities?”
“What are you asking?”
“Prospects have to eat shit. I want to know if I’ll be eating shit from an asshole who fucked with my cousin who was seventeen at the time.”
Steel’s sharp gaze on Rafferty made me uncomfortable, but Raff withstood it. “You got a grudge?”
Rafferty scoffed. “Wouldn’t you? But yeah, that’s the issue. Those assholes will assume I have one and that I’m joining in order to carry out a vendetta or some shit.”
Steel crossed his arms on his chest. “They find out you’re related to the Riot, they’ll assume that anyway.” His eyes slid to me for a beat. “The way you two are together, it’s gonna come out.”
“Doesn’t that put him in danger?” I asked instinctively. I knew Rafferty could handle himself, but I still felt protective.
They spoke simultaneously.
Rafferty said, “Don’t worry about me.”
Steel said, “Sure, but he withstands it, he’ll prove himself in a way few other brothers have.”
I nodded.
Rafferty shook his head at me. “You didn’t ask if it puts you in danger.”
I grinned. “Don’t worry about me.”
Rafferty rolled his eyes. “Right.” He turned to Steel. “What time are you leaving in the morning?”
Steel pondered that. “If you two can shift your schedules, I’ll leave before dawn on Monday. That lets you live it up tonight and we’ll be back in Jax in time for me to meet with that contractor.”
The idea of getting up so early didn’t appeal, but I wanted to see more of Steel in his element. Plus, I wanted to take in more of Augusta.
Rafferty dug his keys out of his pocket. “Sounds good. We loading your bike tomorrow night?”
Steel nodded. “Yeah, but in my truck, and you’ll drive the rental back. We’ll load your bike into the bed of the rental truck sometime tomorrow.”
This sounded like a production, but such was biker life.
“Got it. I’ll see you at the bonfire, or I’ll be back late.” Rafferty moved past Steel, drew even with me, and said, “Later, Simone.”
I wandered toward the kitchen, but realized Rafferty must have gone out some other exit because there was no sign of him. Then I heard his Harley and it sounded as though it were outside the garage.
Steel went to the fridge. “You hungry? I have the banana pudding Jesse gave us, eggs, beer, and whatever you packed in your ‘snack bag’.”
“Is there food at the bonfire?”
He shut the refrigerator door. “Do you want to spend more time at the clubhouse? I got a fire pit in the backyard, we can stay here if you’d prefer.”
I shrugged. “I may not be a hang-around, but I think I need the full Devil Lancer experience, too.”
He nodded. “True.” His teeth sunk into his lower lip and he came to me. “I love you, and you’re having my baby, but so far only my VP and treasurer know that. I can't claim you this visit. Are you going to have a problem with that?”
With my lips pressed together, I did a slow nod. “I don’t have to be claimed, but are you also saying you’ll be with another woman in front of me? Or let a club girl hang on you?”
He grinned. “Are you jealous?”
I cocked a brow. “More like I’m possessive, and considering it seems that Jordan might have snuck around behind my back, I’m not cool with another woman touching you.”
He nodded. “That’s fair.”
Thinking about Jordan brought Debra to mind. “Why was Debra at the clubhouse anyway? Was it really just to bust your balls? I can see where Josie might have snuck in with another club girl, but your ex? How does she get inside the gate, let alone the clubhouse? And how did she know you’d be there?”
He frowned. “Unfortunately, Torque’s old lady had everything to do with that. She overheard Tor talking to me yesterday afternoon. He said he’d see me at the clubhouse. She ran her mouth to Deb, and from there, Deb’s good at convincing the prospects at the gate to let her through.”
I shook my head. “That doesn’t make sense. Are she and Debra tight?”
“No, Jade. It’s the biggest downside to Torque screwing around on Shelly. She bends over backward to fuck with him. When she can’t fuck with him directly, she knows anything that causes me problems will cause Torque problems.”
“Sounds like quite the couple,” I muttered.
He bit back a grin. “That reminds me, why do you think Torque has a grudge against you? He doesn’t even know you.”
My brows arched. “He’s certainly a master of the cold shoulder.”
“He’s doing his job and making sure I’m not being taken advantage of, sweetheart.”
I couldn’t hold back my scoff. “Where was he when Josie messed with your wallet?”
He shook his head. “He’s not my housekeeper or some shit. Besides, Josie admitted to being in my room to check which brand I use. Then she bought her own box, tampering with those at home before showing up to the club to make the swap. It was an in-and-out kind of thing.”
I widened my eyes at the pun. “Ba-dum-bum.”
He tipped his head back and groaned. “You know what I mean, woman.”
“Yeah, I do. I’ll keep that in mind if I run into Torque again.”
“ When you run into him again.”
“Right. So, at the bonfire, do you use one of those big, open-air things set away from the actual fire?”
“You mean the tee-pees?”
“Yeah.”
“Not normally, but we can do that if you want.”
I nodded.
He lowered his face toward mine. “If you start something with me though, I will drape a tarp over it so nobody sees us.”
I grinned. “You wore me out, honey. I just want to watch your brothers and see the stars.”
It could have been that everyone gave us a wide berth because Steel ‘never came out to the bonfires,’ or it might have been the way he kicked another couple out of the tee-pee.
True to my word, I didn’t start anything. It had been a long day that would soon take its toll. I enjoyed sitting back and watching the dynamics of this club while occasionally staring up at the stars.
Steel shifted next to me on the cushion. “When you look out there, what do you see?”
The fire light made his features appear more pronounced. His stubble sharper, lips fuller, and his eyes looked more intent.
I glanced back to the wide field before us. “I see a much larger club than what I’m used to. This group is definitely rowdy, and they’re younger than I expected.”
He laughed. “Younger?”
I smiled up at him. “Yeah. There’s at least half a dozen guys over there who are in their twenties. Most of the members in Dad’s club are well over thirty.”
“That’s still young.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, I’ll put it this way, I don’t see many veteran members around.”
His arm around my shoulders gave me a squeeze. “We’ve got those members too, they prefer to stay away from the bonfires.”
I shook my head. “But why?”
He grinned. “Most of them have kids that are either teens or will be soon. They don’t need to be around this crowd – not like this.”
I nodded. “Yeah, the obvious drug use would be a problem.”
That was one thing that put me off. The scent of marijuana in the air was one thing, but seeing people doing cocaine was something else entirely.
“That bothers you.”
My eyes met his. “The police attention it gets bothers me.”
A brother with a head full of brown curls trudged by and stopped. In the dim light, I saw his name patch read, ‘Nelson.’
“This is crazy, Prez! You never hang out here. You wander around and hide out in your room during bonfires. I don’t know who she is, but she’s good for you, man.”
If Steel had anything to say to that, I’d never know because Nelson delivered that and moved to the fire pit.
“He might be nice,” I muttered.
Steel chuckled. “Nice and sloshed, sure.”
I shrugged. “Better than being mean and sloshed.”
He moved in and gave me a slow, soft kiss. “You had enough of this, yet?”
I chuckled. “Why? Need to hide out in your room?”
“Yeah. My room at my house, Jade. I gotta hit the john, meet me at my truck.”
We walked side by side for a few feet, then I slowed and watched Steel make his way up to the back of the clubhouse. He had a fabulous ass.
I veered left to get to the truck. There were a few trees here and there, and I watched my step, since some brothers didn’t care where they partied – in fact, the darkness made it more enticing.
From a few feet away I heard a female voice ask, “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before. Are you a new prospect?”
Then I heard Rafferty say, “I’m just a hang-around right now.”
I focused in their direction and saw one of the women from the hot tub standing very close to him. Her hair was dry now and she wore a face full of makeup, but I was pretty sure it was Tessa. “You can come hang around me… or I can grab one of my friends if you like it like that.”
“Three’s a crowd,” Rafferty muttered, but his voice sounded husky.
I stepped on a twig and Rafferty looked around and spotted me. Tessa did too, but promptly focused on Rafferty again.
I gave him a look.
Even in the dim light, I saw him cock a brow. “She isn’t here, so don’t look at me like that.”
“Oh, there’s someone else?” Tessa asked, running her hand up his chest and under his cut.
“Yes, Tessa, there’s someone else,” I said.
She ignored me and smiled at Rafferty. “I don’t mind. Makes it more fun.”
She had no shame.
Rafferty ignored her and kept his eyes on me. “She doesn’t want me, and she’s made that clear. Repeatedly.”
“Whoever she is, she’s dumb,” Tessa said, earning her extreme side-eye from Raff. And that was all the proof I needed to know he really wanted Alexandra.
With a short headshake, I turned away and climbed the small hill leading to the parking area.
I found Steel’s truck and heard footsteps behind me. I thought it might be Steel, but Rafferty was stalking toward me.
“Why’d you follow me? I bet Tessa liked that, ” I said in a low voice.
He shook his head. “Five men who might be brothers, or might be hang-arounds, watched you walking this way. I had to make sure you stay safe.”
“What are you thinking?” I whispered.
Rafferty stopped a foot from me and lowered his voice. “Maybe I’m not thinking, Mony. I’m here, I’m horny, and I don’t have to jump through half a dozen hoops for any of these bitches. They’re gagging to give me whatever I want because they’re desperate to wear a brother’s cut.”
I tried to hide my sneer. “You can do better than a clubhouse whore.”
“I’m the son of—”
I saw red. “Don’t you dare insult Aunt Trixie that way, she’s the strongest, bravest woman either of us knows.”
His eyes widened. “I’d never insult my mom like that, but my dad spent years staying away from her trying to protect her and give her what she really wanted. I’m my father’s son because staying away from Lex gives her what she wants. Pretty sure we both know she’s the strongest, bravest young woman we both know.”
I lowered my voice. “She’s strong, but she’s not like your mom. Believe it or not, unlike Aunt Trixie back in the day, Lex doesn’t actually know what she wants.”
Rafferty dipped his head almost in concession to me. “I can only take her at her word. Not gonna force her or any damn woman into something they don’t want. Ever.”
“Even though she’s all you’ve ever wanted?”
He tossed his hands out. “I might be young, but life’s taught me that some things aren’t meant to be, babe. In the meantime, I have to live my life.”
I looked around, trying to see if there was anyone else around in the darkness. “And you want this? Are you sure?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Won’t know if I don’t see what this club is all about.”
I sighed. “Fair enough.”