Chapter 9
The last thing I expect to see through on my doorcam when someone knocks the next morning is Sinner and Colt standing in the hall holding a TV. I crack the door open. “Um, can I help you?”
“Yeah, open the door. This isn’t heavy but it’s a pain in the ass to carry,” Colt grumbles.
I step back, watching in confusion as they bring it in and push my coffee table to the wall to have something to put the TV on. Sinner has a backpack swung over his shoulder, and he unzips it, fishing out some cords and a small coffee maker.
“No, but really. What are you guys doing?” First a bed, and now this?
Sinner grins. He’s probably the roughest looking of the three of them, with fierce features, dark golden beard and chaotic mix of tattoos, some professional and crisp, others barely more than blown-out scribbling.
But his smile changes everything. I bet not everyone gets to see this side of him and I kind of like it in a way I’m not sure I want to examine too closely yet.
Colt, on the other hand, is more traditionally handsome in a bad boy sort of way, but he’s not as open. It makes me wonder what’s going on behind those mossy eyes.
“It’s no big deal. We were just talking about how empty your place was the other night, and living in the compound with all the guys, there’s never a shortage of extra shit lying around,” Sinner explains.
“How did you get this here on a bike? And how’d you even get in? I haven’t added you to the guest list or anything.”
That actually gets a grin out of Colt. “Clarke likes us. The security routines here might need some tightening.”
“Clarke? Didn’t he wonder why you were still in your ‘biker costumes’?” I make air quotes with my fingers.
“Didn’t wanna rock the boat by asking.” Sinner laughs while he fiddles with connecting the TV.
Oooo-kay.
Once they have everything up and running, Colt takes off to return the van he used to bring over the TV. Sinner sits down, flipping through the setup guide with the remote.
I can’t let them keep doing this. I’m only here because Mom was adamant it wouldn’t look good if people saw me going in and out of her place. Using my allowance to decorate felt like even more of a waste of money, but at this rate, it’ll look like I actually live here.
“Not to put a damper on the party, but I’m kinda working today.”
Sinner gives me long, slow once over, taking in my sundress and low-heeled sandals. “You mean you didn’t dress up just for me? Not that you need to. The T-shirt and bare legs look is always a favorite. Even better if the shirt’s mine.”
There’s a blush spreading across my cheeks, and I know he sees it. “Believe it or not, no. I’m meeting Erika down at Brentport Commons in about a half an hour.”
“What’re you going to do? Eat ice cream and feed the ducks?” he asks with a dismissive chuckle.
When he puts it like that, it sounds ridiculous, but…
“Yeah, actually. How do you think the media ends up with all those candid pictures of celebrities? This isn’t LA and we’re not A-list actors, so nobody just happens to be hanging out waiting to take pictures of us.
Our managers make sure someone will be around to catch us hanging out together so they have new pictures to post without it looking staged. ”
“People hide out to take pictures of us sometimes, too.” He emphasizes it with a playful wink. “But it’s usually the cops.”
“Are you… You’re joking, right?”
“Meh.” He shrugs. “You want a ride?”
“On your bike?” I remember Priest talking about what it means to ride on the back. “You don’t mind? I was going to call for a car.”
“Yeah, Demon, it’s fine. Though I hate to say it because you’re looking sexy as fuck in that dress, but you’d need to change.”
He probably has a point. It’s not the safest outfit for riding, and if we were seen out together right now, the headlines would be something like ‘Barbie and the Bikers’.
I change into a pair of hip hugging jeans with fashionable slits across one thigh, and pair them with a flowy black cotton top and some layered necklaces.
With my hair pulled up and pulling on Desdemona’s jacket again, it’s a much more motorcycle appropriate outfit.
Hopefully, it’ll still be cute enough that Mom doesn’t tear my ear off for not wearing what we picked out together.
Sinner lets out a low whistle when I emerge. “We need to take you to a party at the club one of these nights. You can really let your hair down. Might be a little wild for a nice girl like you, though.”
“I’m not that nice.”
He doesn’t look very convinced. “Compared to us you are. I know you didn’t come from money or anything, but look at you. You’re living in this place, and probably gonna be out of this town and onto something big before you know it. And then I’ll be able to say I kissed Quinn fucking Callahan.”
I plop down onto the couch next to him. My fingertip fiddles with one of the slits in my jeans. “Now you’re the one being nice. I never would’ve expected—”
“What? That we’d look out for you? You’re practically Priest’s little sister, that puts you under our protection.”
“Little sister? Is that how you think about me?”
He laughs. “Fuck no. The way I think about you is probably illegal in some places, and I already have one sister. Don’t need another.”
“Really?” It shouldn’t surprise me. It’s not like I think bikers spawn in a pond somewhere. They must all have histories and families, I’ve just never really considered it.
“Yeah, Mila. She’s not much older than you, actually.”
“She’s lucky to have you for a brother.”
His full lips draw into a tight line and he shakes his head. “Nah. I did a shit job taking care of her, so maybe taking care of someone else’s is my do-over.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
What’s left of Sinner’s smile drops completely. “It really fucking is. This guy you’re looking at? He’s three fucking years old. I was a mess when I was a kid. Don’t romanticize me, Quinn. Shit, I basically grew up in prison and it wasn’t pretty.”
“What did you do? Sorry, that’s rude. You don’t owe me your story.”
“Got picked up for dealing when I was a teenager and slapped with a bullshit sentence.”
“You were innocent?”
His chuckle is deep and gritty. “Nah. Just not guilty of the shit they pinned on me. Mila was the only one that never gave up. She became a reporter just to take down the assholes that put me away. Every morning I wake up and realize I’m the only one with a key to my own fucking door is a beautiful one, but I fucking hate that she risked herself for my sorry ass. ”
“Of course she did. You’re her brother.” I would’ve done anything to save Axel if I could’ve. “She sounds pretty amazing, if you ask me.
“She is.” His grin is back and he turns it on me.
“Even if she married into the wrong MC. She got claimed by a few of the boys in the Screaming Eagles. I almost stuck around and ended up there, but there was too much history. I needed to get out of that city and start over. Her men put in a good word for me here and the Sons are a better fit anyway. Plus I’d be fucking lost without Priest and Colt to keep me level.
You should’ve fucking seen me that first year or so. I was like a feral raccoon on wheels.”
I’m very aware of how close we’ve drifted together.
Physically, I understand my attraction. They’re all good looking men who draw attention just by being in the same room.
With Sinner and Colt, I felt a spark right from the start when I met them at the club and still thought they were actors.
I have a shared history with Priest that makes it more complicated, but it’s still there.
But none of them have reacted to the others flirting with me, so I’m not sure how much to read into what I’m sensing.
“Can I ask you—” My alarm goes off, reminding me that I only have fifteen minutes to meet Erika. “Crap, I have to get going.”
My questions are going to have to wait. Clarke waves as we leave, like it’s totally normal for me to be coming and going at all hours with bikers. He’s been working here for a while so I bet he’s seen stranger things. Me riding off on the back of a motorcycle isn’t even a blip on his radar.
Riding behind Sinner is similar to riding behind Priest but different.
He’s built broader, but not so much that I can’t wrap my arms just as tightly around his chest, and the body underneath is just as firm.
I’m ready for the roar and kick of the engine this time, but it still makes my heart race when we pull away from my building.
It’s early in the day, so traffic is heavy, but Sinner weaves through it all like it’s second nature.
His muscles shift as he takes the turns, my body leaning with his as the road rumbles away beneath us.
We draw a lot of attention, especially on this side of town.
Brentport Commons is an upscale little strip of restaurants and stores along the river.
A hundred years ago it was some sort of mill or factory, but now all the old workshop spaces have been converted and it’s a popular spot to shop, have lunch, or rent a bike to ride on the river trail.
We get there with two minutes to spare before I’m supposed to meet Erika. On impulse, right as I swing my leg over the bike and find my footing, I lean in and put a little kiss on Sinner’s cheek, right above the beard line. “Thanks.”
Before I have time to react, he cups the back of my head with his big hand, keeping me from pulling away. We’re so close our noses brush. “Didn’t you learn anything from last time?” he asks with a grin.
I was right. From this close, I can see where his beard dips ever so slightly over a deep dimple. “What was the lesson?” I wet my lips.
His eyes drop to watch, before they come back to mine.
This is such a bad idea. We’re still tucked away from the main strip, but there are people with telephoto lenses literally scheduled to look for me right now.
He makes the decision for me, hooking his finger into my belt loop and yanking me right up against him. I let out a tiny gasp and he takes the opportunity to tease his tongue between my lips.
I lean into it, opening to him as my hands slide under his vest, his heartbeat thundering under my fingers. Sinner makes a deep, satisfied noise and adjusts his grip so he can palm my butt, digging in. Sparks sizzle everywhere we’re connected, sending a current tickling its way across my skin.
Heat washes over my core as we kiss like it might be our first and last chance.
When I finally push away with a gasp, it’s not because I don’t want to continue, but simply because I’m afraid I’ll drown in the feeling. He keeps me a moment longer, then lets me go. His masculine smirk is irritatingly tempting. I want to kiss it off him, and stupidly lean in again.
“Quinn?” a hesitant but amused voice asks.
I whirl to find Erika there, her eyes flitting between Sinner and me. “Uh, hi. I just—I mean, he just gave me a ride.” The flush that heats my face feels like it goes all the way down to my feet.
“I bet.” She gives Sinner another look, and I can’t tell if she’s scared, intrigued, or both.
I pat Sinner’s shoulder. “Listen, I have to go. Thanks for the ride. I appreciate it.”
He rocks his bike up on the pegs, and climbs off. “Sure. It’s a nice day. I’ll just hang out here and enjoy the sun. When you’re done, I’ll bring you home. Or did you have other plans?”
“No, that would be great.”
Erika and I watch, spellbound as he slips off his vest and pulls off his T-shirt, tucking it into his waistband. His chest is… Oh God. I want to catalogue every little scar, dip and tattoo. Short golden hairs trail down his abs and into his jeans. We are far from the only ones watching.
“Have a nice walk, ladies,” he says with a wink before wandering over to a sunny spot on the grass and stretching out.
As Erika and I walk away from him, she glances quickly over her shoulder. “And here I was worried we wouldn’t have much to talk about.”