Chapter Fifteen
“You’re not taking a rideshare home.” Pax interrupted, regretting his tone almost instantly.
If looks could kill, he’d be sliced and diced.
“Oh, really?” The easy smile Elena had been wearing earlier was nowhere to be seen.
“Ummm,” he stalled, trying to figure out how to dig himself out of the hole he was in. He wasn’t about to let his dumb ass be the reason their date bombed.
They may still be getting to know one another, but it was obvious Elena wasn’t the type of woman a man ordered around— unless he wanted to lose his balls . Honestly, it was one of the things he liked most about her. Her independent streak made him hard. She was a sweetheart, but she wasn’t a pushover and that kept them all on their toes.
He hated to admit it, but they’d gotten used to putting in minimal effort when it came to scoring pussy. Sex was easy when there were no expectations besides making sure everyone was having a good time. Feelings didn’t come into play because there weren’t any. There were times when it had only taken a head nod for him to call over their companion for the night.
Elena was different; she was important.
“It’s not safe,” Vinyl added, helping Pax out. “We’d never forgive ourselves if something happened to you.”
“Please?” Pax watched Elena shift from annoyed to understanding in the blink of an eye. Her face was so expressive he’d spent most of the night simply watching her.
It had gone better than he’d expected it to, especially considering her hesitation this afternoon. The four of them had practically closed the restaurant down, sitting and talking for hours. The guys had shared a bit about what life had been like in Colorado—leaving out any mention of she who shall not be named —and how things were different now that they were back in Lawrence.
Elena gave them a peek into her life, going through the odd jobs she took to make ends meet and the reading she managed to squeeze into what little free time she had available. She’d blushed like crazy when Vinyl had asked what kind of books she read, giving them all an idea of the genre without her saying a word. It was the cutest fucking thing he’d seen in a while. The way her face lit up when she talked about going to book signings made him want to find out if there were any coming up soon that they could take her to. He’d happily follow behind her, playing book sherpa to her haul while she enjoyed herself.
He wasn’t the only one that would pamper her either.
Tanner and Vinyl were just as far gone for her as Pax was. If there had been any doubts that she was their one , tonight had taken care of them. Not only was Elena gorgeous; the mixture of sweet innocence and sass she had was addicting. He was hooked—they all were.
“Are you serious?” she asked, wrinkling her nose. The small diamond stud decorating the area twinkled at him. “I do it all the time.”
Her eyes moved over each of them as she gave the bag at her side a little pat. “Plus, I’m always ready to tase a fucker if I need to.”
“You carry a taser?” Tanner asked, his brows shooting up.
She nodded. “And a knife.”
Pax blinked at how casually she added that.
“Did she just say she has a knife?” Vinyl asked, looking over at him.
“She did.”
“It’s not a big one or anything,” she interrupted with a roll of her eyes. “I prefer the taser, but the blade was a graduation present from Ricky, so I feel like I kind of have to carry it around, you know?”
“Who the fuck is Ricky?”
“He’s a Medina,” Pax answered Tanner, having already put it together. The three of them hadn’t been in town long but they were somewhat familiar with the Medinas’ taco shop. It was one of the reasons he’d been shocked to learn about Elena’s connection. In all their after-work visits, they’d never once seen her there. “You know him. He’s the son that works in the kitchen and is always twirling that damn knife around.”
“Ahhhhh,” both Tanner and Vinyl said at the same time. “The knife guy.”
“Did the two of you ever…” Tanner didn’t finish whatever it was he was going to say; he didn’t need to.
“What? Ewww, no.” Elena covered her mouth, looking ill. She swallowed hard. “I think I just threw up a little bit.”
“I take it that’s a no,” Vinyl said, giving Tanner a nudge.
“It’s a fuck no,” she clarified with disgust, holding down the edges of her skirt as they were hit by a gust of wind.
Pax knew that there was a storm blowing through tonight, but he hadn’t realized it was going to hit this early. He could already smell the thunderstorm heading their way.
“C’mon,” he said, tugging her hand. “We parked over here.”
“Wait, what?” she sputtered without resisting. Her tone was sassy but the hold she had on his hand was tight. “When did I agree to a ride?”
“You didn’t.” Pax kept them moving, his two friends just a step behind. “Let’s argue about it later though, okay? It’s getting ready to storm and I want you home safe and sound before that happens.”
As they approached his truck, the lights flashed as the doors were unlocked.
“Well, huh.”
He looked back at her in question when she slowed.
“I wasn’t expecting that.” Elena gestured to his truck. “I thought all you guys rode motorcycles.”
“We do,” Tanner answered as he opened the passenger side door for her. “And don’t worry, you’ll be on the back of our bikes soon enough.”
As if they’d done this before, Vinyl stepped in to help her buckle up as Pax slid behind the wheel. They’d witnessed his dads working together enough to know how to handle stuff like this as a team. Even if they hadn’t, Pax had a feeling they would have found their way without issue. Caring for her, with the help of his friends, felt completely natural. They were all simply following their instincts.
“We figured the truck was better for date night,” Vinyl told her with a smile.
“That, and we kept fighting over who you’d get to ride with.” Tanner grumbled from the backseat.
Elena turned to Pax with her brows raised. “Is this how it’s always going to be?”
Wary of the doubt in her eyes, he reached over to hold her hand. It had taken them all night to get her comfortable with the idea of dating three men; they couldn’t fuck it up now.
“We’re just excited to get to know you is all. It’ll settle down, I promise.” His thumb stroked the soft skin, hoping the contact gave some reassurance. Although the three of them had shared women before, they’d never really shared a woman before. Physically yes, but emotionally no. It was going to take some adjusting on their part.
“Have you ever been on the back of a bike?” he asked, changing the subject.
“No.”
“You’re going to love it,” Tanner said, leaning in between the front seats to give her a big smile. “Especially if you ride with me.”
Vinyl smacked him on the back of the head as she giggled.
The happy sound bubbling out of their gorgeous woman had them all smiling like fools.
Her big brown eyes sparkled as she glanced back and forth between them. “What am I going to do with you three…”
“I have a—” the rest of whatever Tanner was about to say was cut off by Vinyl’s hand covering his mouth.
“How long did you say you’ve lived out here?” Vinyl interrupted, earning another laugh from their woman.
“Almost a year now.” She looked out the window at the cornfields flying by. “I like it. It’s quiet and a lot less expensive than in town. Plus, you can see all the stars out here.”
“It’s beautiful,” Pax agreed. He was relieved to hear she liked living out in the country. It reminded him of the private community the MC had built for themselves on the other side of town. What had started out as a farmhouse or two had grown into a tiny town. It grew as more families sought refuge within their accepting walls. The compound gave them a safe place to live openly with however many partners they chose. The place and the people in it were priceless and he had no doubt Elena would fit in perfectly. “If you love this, you’re going to love the compound.”
Mentally, he was already making plans for them to take her out there as soon as possible. He had no shame using the rolling acres of land that surrounded his home to woo their lady. It was impressive by itself but with their additions, the wow factor was on another level. They even had a small clinic and a library—it wasn’t anything to brag about, but he was still going to point it out. According to his mom, women loved libraries.
She turned slightly to look at Tanner in the backseat. “It’s out by the lake, right?”
“Not far from Stull,” Vinyl said, mentioning the burnt-out church that was supposedly one of the gates to Hell.
“That’s—” she paused as if searching for the right word, “nice.”
The guys laughed.
“It’s not that bad,” Pax promised her. There was so much land between them and the ‘gate’, he never really gave it much thought. It wasn’t anything other than a landmark that signaled where to turn. “Every once in a while, they’ll catch someone trespassing but that’s about it. It’s never anything bad either. A lot of the folks that visit are fans of that one supernatural show, so all they want to do is dress up and take pictures.”