Chapter 15
Roishin
“ W hen does the fun begin?”
I didn’t recognize the man asking. And , he didn’t have the telltale vest the Destroyers and their counterparts wore. But something about his voice was familiar. And because of that, he had my attention.
“ Well ?” His eyes dipped to my leather riding gear, which I hadn’t had the luxury of changing from since yesterday. My braids were stiff from the cold ride of the day before, and the wet ride of today. Any makeup I’d tried to apply had smudged from smokey-eye to trash panda chic.
I said the two magic words that might get his eyes unglued from my tits. “ I’m Bear’s .” It didn’t work last night, and it certainly didn’t work on this guy.
He hovered over the chair I’d claimed in the corner because Bear had abandoned me to stand outside, in front of the bar where everyone could see him as he drowned in the cold, misty air like an idiot. I was so over being cold. Finally , he said, “ No , you ain’t.”
Did I need to say it louder? I opted to ignore him instead.
“ You’re Carl’s .” His eyes trailed down a braid that had escaped the hasty knot I’d made. “ No one else has that long of hair. Nice trick with the make-up. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
His eyes locked on mine.
His were bloodshot and dilated. “ You’re one of Carl’s dealers.” An assumption that was statistically possible.
He squinted but didn’t deny it. “ My name’s Fish . I’m going to be a Destroyer .”
Nice to know.
“ And when I am, you’re going to suck my cock.”
I’d rather not. “ Did you know the Nile is over four thousand miles long? And that’s about as far as you’ll have to travel to hide from Bear when you attempt your little fantasy.”
“ Bullshit . I know you’re only on loan to Bear . And you ain’t his ol’ lady. You’re fair game in another month.”
My heart rate picked up. Carl must have yapped to him.
Or perhaps Bear or one of his brothers had.
My jacket didn’t have the magic ‘stay away’ lettering Kate or Danielle’s had.
It had no markings at all. And I’d quickly realized that this meant I was a target for just about any asshole who didn’t pay attention—unless of course, you were Tits , and wore your own colors.
I let the silence grow uncomfortable as I plotted avenues of escape.
KC slapped Fish on the back. “ About time you showed up. I was about to send a posse out to find you.” He gave him a side-armed hug and noticed me tucked against the wall. “ Rose , this is my best friend. We go way back.”
Shit . Now I had to play nice… or not . “ Perfect . Since you’re such good friends, tell him I’m Bear’s .”
KC didn’t strike me as a junkie, or someone who put up with the ultimate betrayals that would happen with someone like that, so those childhood bonds must have a deeply rose-tinted sheen painted on them. I hoped his bonds with the Destroyers ran deeper. Because one day, they’d be tested.
I stood up and sidestepped them both before heading straight for the tavern entrance. I needed to find that big hairy oaf and pretend I was who I said I was, not only to keep up the lie, but to strip Fish and any other horny asshole in the immediate vicinity of such delusions.
The surprisingly bright sun blinded me, and as it did, I hesitated. Why did I care whether KC got hurt or not? I was destined to go back to Carl . And hopefully by then, Beth would be cured, and I’d be the one four thousand miles away.
“ Woman , get your ass over here.”
That was Bear’s growl. I blinked the spots out of my eyes and plastered on a smile I didn’t feel.
He patted the seat of his bike. His long legs straddled the back hump and splayed wide, leaving space for me.
Instead of sitting, I stood by him.
“ Where have you been?” he asked.
“ Out of the rain.”
His scrutiny lingered a bit too long. Sure , I hadn’t answered directly. But that wasn’t as criminal as he implied. “ It’s sunny now.”
I set a hand on his shoulder and lifted my leg to straddle the seat in front of him. The maneuver placed my back to the handlebars and my ass landed halfway on his gas tank. I tried to make it as graceful as I could, but he quickly slipped his hands under my thighs and pulled them over his legs.
My crotch brushed his.
The stare grew more intense. He broke the tension by joking, “ Now we’re talking.”
With an adjustment and a lot of manhandling, he tugged me so close I felt his dick getting hard between us.
He leaned me backwards. The tank underneath me was hot from baking in the sun, and the gas cap bit into my spine.
But I knew we’d attracted attention. I wrapped my arms over his shoulders to arch away from the hard metal digging into my back and hovered suspended by his grip.
His hands slipped up my rib bones, positioning to either side of the tank and cushioning the surface as he leaned further forward. My back rested against his arms, no longer in danger. I relaxed a little, trusting he’d figured out why I flinched.
“ We should kiss,” I whispered.
His eyes flicked to the men clustered around us. They were loud enough, my hushed worries were too low to be heard. “ You good with that?”
I nodded.
Unlike the night before, Bear hesitated. His breath trailed along my skin and a tangle of his braid hid my face from the crowd.
My own fell loose. Likely touching the asphalt.
But oddly, I didn’t care. I licked my lips and arched to match his mouth to mine.
I started softly. Just a brush of tender skin against his.
I wetted my lips again and pressed harder, giving him a piece of my heart as I explored the forbidden.
Doing this was safe. I could back off and claim it was good acting.
That I intended it to look and feel real because we had to sell this stupid farce.
That didn’t stop me from teasing his mouth open and slipping my tongue along the slightly parted fullness of his bottom lip, dipping inside to prime our kiss for more.
His arms tightened, and I was willingly surrounded by his power. It scared me and thrilled me like no other experience before. The fluttering pulse in my neck was too fast. My breathing hitched.
A long-buried grip of fear clutched at my throat.
But my hips canted higher, riding the ridge of his erection with wanton abandon.
I reveled in that power, the knowledge that this was too close and too fast. That made me wet.
I wanted to throw away the terror and ride the wild passion.
Prove that I was far beyond the things that had crushed my spirit and ripped away my trust.
A word crawled up my throat, begging to be heard. It tore from me, half plea, half question. “ Bear ?”
My fingernails curled into his neck. I needed him to stop.
I needed him to rip my clothes off and fuck me right here in front of his friends.
I needed safety and promises, and to forget who I’d been.
I needed kindness in a world that was too harsh.
I needed a man who could stand up to the storms and conquer the skies and coax the sun to come out. Like this man did.
His eyes cleared as our mouths broke apart. His chest heaved and our hips were still pulsing with unspent desire. The tension made his thighs quiver. Mine were far beyond that point and hovering on that cliff’s-edge before leaping into a full body orgasm. My panted breaths were quick.
“ Get a room,” someone suggested.
Bear straightened, gently removing the cushion of his arms from behind my back. I held tense, arched away from the hard ridge of the cap. Waiting for him to help me up.
Instead , he ran his hands down my body. From breasts to belly-button, finally landing on my thighs. His thumbs curled in to brush my crotch, still too close to his. I arched further and bit down the moan that threatened to leak out.
Absently , he circled my clit through my jeans. His eyes scanned the parking lot to zero in on the source of the comment. “ Fuck off, Skinner . I’ll do what I want. Where I want.” He looked down at me and winked. “ How’s that gas cap?”
I pulled myself off of his tank, using his shoulders for leverage. “ It’s too hard.”
“ That’s what she said,” Sprout snorted.
And suddenly, I wasn’t so embarrassed. I laughed right along with Bear and his friends.
Bear pulled me close and whispered in my ear as the laughter died down. “ You started it.”
That I had . “ Can we finish it?” Later ?
His sudden movement had me clutching his neck and straddling his waist as he swung off his bike and locked it down.
“ Don’t mind us,” he said to his brothers. He hefted me up, tossing me in his arms like I weighed nothing. My legs slipped free, and he used that to toss me higher until I was almost thrown over his shoulder.
“ Duck .” His hand covered the back of my head until I curled over his back. My braids swung free as I caught a good view of the floor and the bar door that slammed shut behind us.
The crowd parted for him, and the noise was significantly louder as he waded through the main room to the very opposite end of the building. He didn’t stop until we dead-ended near the back door. Even there, people hung around. “ Get gone,” Bear growled.
But someone didn’t listen. “ Bear , there you are. I need to introduce you to?—”
“ KC ? I’m busy.” Bear turned, and I peeked over my shoulder. Fish hovered on his left.
“ Put me down.” I tapped Bear’s head to get his attention.
“ Nope . Not until these two leave. I don’t want an audience.”
I didn’t like the undertone of anger in Bear’s words. “ We can do this later…” I lowered my voice and finished my thought as I whispered in his ear, “ When it’s just us.” When I didn’t have to pretend. It threaded through my worried plea.
He must have heard it because he set me on my feet. I didn’t enjoy my freedom for too long because he pulled me behind him and kept a grip on my ass that was so tight, it pressed me against his back. “ Lemme guess, this is your buddy from Harrisburg , right?”
Fish stuck out a hand and tried to introduce himself.