Chapter Eleven
V ittoria wasn’t sure what she’d expected when Jeter said he had a safe place for them to go to, but a huge warehouse in downtown Chicago wasn’t it.
They pulled around to the back through a gated parking lot operated by a hulking guy wearing a leather jacket and a scary attitude. Jeter gave his name, and they’d waited a few minutes before the gate opened. She almost wished they’d turned them away. As Jeter drove them closer to where a row of bikes and vehicles sat, she wondered what she’d gotten herself into.
“Come on, farfallina. I’ll answer your questions when we get to our room.”
And there it was. Room. Singular.
They pulled their suitcases out of the back, with her smaller, much less cool pink case and his black one looking almost like they were a real couple. She pulled the handle up on hers, wishing he’d reach for her hand, but remembering he’d said he would need his hand free in case of danger. She whipped her head back and forth, wondering if someone was out there watching them. The hair on the back of her neck stood up.
Tori hurried to catch up with Jeter’s longer stride.
Jeter aimed for a large steel door. She stayed behind him, allowing him to lead the way. He stopped and knocked on the heavy surface. The sound ricocheted around the quiet night. Seconds dragged on as they stood there waiting. She placed her hand on his back, wondering why he didn’t knock again, but held her tongue.
The scrape of metal on metal heralded the opening of the door.
“It’s about time you got your asses here, brother. My ole’ lady was ready to go to bed.”
Jeter was pulled forward and into a hug. She watched as the other man slapped Jeter’s back and stood back. They both held onto one another’s arms, eyeing each other with shit-eating grins on their faces. “Damn, Enzo. You need a haircut. Sophie letting you get soft or what?”
Enzo gave a booming chuckle and punched Jeter in the arm. “You know better than that. Sophie would kick me in the dick before she’d let anything go soft on me. Come in and bring your ole’ lady inside. I ain’t going to get my nuts busted for making your woman stand out in the cold while we yap away.”
Tori moved through the open door at Jeter’s urging, smiling at the two men. They were both about the same size and build. While Jeter had dark hair, Enzo’s was blond. They both had green eyes that lit with fire when they were happy.
“Hey, Jeter. Don’t believe a word this one says. I swear, he gets more full of shit the longer we’re together.”
Tori eyed the woman walking toward them. She was tall, with long, dark hair. Exotic is what she’d call her.
“Sophie, I can’t believe you’re still with this one. How you doing, girl?” Jeter bent, accepting the hug the other woman offered.
“Alright, that’s enough mauling my ole’ lady, asshole. And who is this gorgeous woman?” Enzo asked. He grabbed Sophie, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and eyed Tori over her head.
“This is Tori. Tori, that big oaf, is my good friend Enzo, and the woman he’s mauling is Sophie, his wife.”
She’d been to Chicago and New York clubs many times and knew who, or rather, what Enzo and obviously Jeter belonged to. When he’d said clubhouse and his brothers, it hadn’t registered until she’d spotted the leather cut on Enzo. She’d jumped from one fire into another. From the Mafia to a motorcycle club. She looked to see if there was a patch proclaiming them to be one percenters but didn’t find one on Enzo’s cut. Of course, that didn’t mean they weren’t criminals. It just meant they didn’t advertise it.
“Nice to meet you both.” She tried to smile and hoped they didn’t recognize the fear in her tone.
“Jeter, is there going to be a problem we need to know about?” Enzo looked at Tori, then back at Jeter.
With a shake of his head, Jeter let out a sigh. “I think we’re good for the night. Tomorrow, I’m going to arrange for us to travel back to California. I need to contact my prez, but I needed to get a good night's sleep and have a fresh look at things in the morning light. Feel me?”
“Yeah, I get that. Follow me. We got a room for the two of you. There’s a bed and a couch with a television, your own bathroom, and a small kitchenette. Nothing fancy like the Ritz or anything, but it’ll do.”
Jeter let out a sigh. “Brother, you have no idea how awesome that sounds. Thank you for giving us a place to crash.”
Tori watched the men do that man's handshake and bro-hug thing again. She and Sophie’s eyes met. The other woman rolled her eyes, mouthing men . Tori grinned, feeling a connection to the other woman form.
Sophie turned and waved. “Follow me, kids.”
Enzo swatted Sophie’s ass hard enough that she yelped.
In single file, they walked, following the other two until they stopped outside a door. Enzo pressed in a code, allowing the door to swing open.
“You can lock the door from the inside, so the code outside doesn’t work, by sliding the bracket over the top.” He showed them the locking mechanism and walked them through the small space. “If you need anything, give me a call, but try not to call me too early. I’m going to take my ole’ lady to bed and fuck her brains out, then I’m going to crash. See you tomorrow.”
She stood in the middle of the room with her little case, staring at the door. Enzo and Sophie left minutes ago, but neither she nor Jeter moved.
Finally, Jeter cleared his throat. “You want to take a shower before we hit the bed?”
“Ah, yeah, sure.” Any excuse to escape the room's tension was good for her. She took the case and hurried into the small bathroom. Like Enzo had said, it was small yet functional. And there was only one king-sized bed. They could work with that, though.
She pulled out one of the pajama sets. “I don’t even care that it’s unwashed.” With one hard yank, she removed the tags. They didn’t have any smell, which was a blessing. Before getting undressed, she pulled the rest of the items out, placing them on the counter. The shower was large and inviting. If she’d had more time back at the hotel, she’d have loved to take a bath in the luxurious sunken tub there. Beggars couldn’t be choosers. Walking over to the enclosure, she twisted the handle. The cold water blasted out of the showerhead. She was thrilled she’d thought to warm the water up first before stepping inside.
She shut the door and turned back toward the counter, where her bag sat. After organizing the items they’d bought, she noted the cost of everything. Jeter was a generous man. He was also intelligent and damn good-looking. Tori braced her hands on the counter, taking a deep breath as she stared at herself. She shook her head, trying to rid thoughts of Jeter from her memory. The man spelled trouble with a capital T.
If there was one thing she didn’t need, that was a man in her life. Pushing backward, she looked around at the things she’d laid out. She’d bundled everything together into piles that formed her daily routine. Her toothbrush and toothpaste were beside the moisturizer and other face care things she’d picked up. The shower accessories included shampoo and conditioner, razor, and body wash. She placed those on the right side of the counter. Once she located the loofah, she stripped out of her clothing, folding them neatly inside the back half of her suitcase. She took her underwear into the shower and washed them by hand. They’d dry out by morning, so she’d have a pair to wear and not have to worry about the new clothes rubbing against her lady bits. A shudder wracked her at the thought of the irritation the garments might cause her sensitive areas.
She made a beeline for the shower with the essentials in her right hand and her panties in the other.
Steam billowed out as she opened the glass door. She placed everything inside, pulled the shower cap out of the little box, stretching it out until she could pull it over her head. The warm water felt amazing on her chilled flesh.
Lifting her chin, she sighed as the water splashed over her chest. Her mind wandered over the events of the night. Emotions clogged her brain, too strong to contain, anger, frustration, fear, and excitement. She had to push them down, or she’d drown in them. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths, focusing on the here and now. An image of Jeter appeared in her mind, filling spaces that had been empty.
She reached for the loofa, squirted some gel on it, and washed her body from neck to foot. Shit, she nearly forgot to shave. Grabbing the new razor, she went through the motions of taking care of her underarms and legs. One day, she’d have enough money to have that shit lasered off.
After she washed her panties, Tori rinsed them and herself off before turning off the water. At that moment, she remembered she’d forgotten to grab a towel and put it on the hook by the shower enclosure.
“God dammit,” she muttered. With her panties in her right hand, she pushed the door open, looking around the bathroom for the towels. A cold breeze made her shiver, goosebumps popping up on her flesh.
Rubbing her hand over her face, she knew her only option was to holler for Jeter unless she wanted to drip dry. The latter didn’t sound appealing to her.
She cleared her throat and tried to call out his name, but it was more like a croak. She coughed and swallowed twice before trying again. “Jeter,” she yelled, holding her breath.
The sound of his heavy footfalls got louder as he approached the bathroom door.
“Tori, did you call for me?” Jeter asked from outside.
A breath escaped her as she closed her eyes. “Y...yes. I forgot to get a towel before jumping in the shower. Do you know where they are?”
“Can I come in? I’m pretty sure they’re in there somewhere,” Jeter said.
There was a smile in his voice. “Yes, please.”
Staying behind the smoked glass door, she peered out at him with only her head visible. Their eyes met and held.
JETER’S MOUTH WENT dry. Knowing Tori was naked and wet only a few feet from him sent his mind into the gutter. He had to keep focused on the task at hand. Get her a towel and get the fuck out of there without doing anything stupid.
He found a stack of towels in the cabinet next to the sink. He grabbed a couple, figuring he’d need one after his shower, too. Turning back toward the shower stall, his feet froze mid-step as he took in the picture Tori made, standing naked behind the door. Although she was half hidden from his view by the frosted glass, he could still make out her petite form. The curves of her breasts were easy to see. His mouth watered.
“Here you go,” he rasped.
Her arm shot out, giving him a clearer view of her body. He handed her the towel, their fingers brushing when he placed the fabric in her hand. A shiver made her hand shake. Jeter placed his other hand over hers, sandwiching hers between his to keep her from dropping the towel. Her eyes jerked up to his, holding him prisoner.
“Th...thank you.”
Jeter ran his thumb over her knuckles and inhaled her clean scent. “Vanilla and raspberry,” he murmured.
She smiled. “It’s one of my favorite scents.”
“I think it’s my new fav now, too,” he said. As he stroked her hand, he realized she was still naked and in the shower. “I’ll, ah, let you finish. If you need anything else, holler.”
Tori licked her lips and nodded.
Fuck, he needed to get out of there before he leaned forward and kissed her. He let her hand go and took a step back, followed by another, until he was out the door. A huge exhale outside the closed door made him feel lightheaded. Jeter leaned against the wall, rubbing the tip of his finger over his bottom lip. He could almost picture her mouth pressed against his.
Pushing off the wall, he wrapped his hands around the back of his neck as he paced the length of the living quarters. The bed was a typical-sized king with several pillows stacked on top of the red plush comforter. Would she want to build a wall down the center for them to sleep tonight, or did she expect him to sleep on the sofa across the room? He stopped in front of the black leather sectional, eyeing the length and width. It would do if he had to crash on the damn thing. The entire space radiated a sexy bachelor pad more than a cozy couple retreat. Although he knew brothers had brought women to the clubhouse rooms in California, there were spaces that they kept strictly for brothers with ole’ ladies or injured brothers. Those rooms never got used for hookups. If he were to guess, this space could go both ways. A brother would have to be a patched member, and up in the ranks to get a room this nice for the night.
His mind scrambled to picture doing everything others had done in the room with Tori. Dammit, he had to stop thinking that way. She filled too many thoughts within his fantasies since he’d seen her, taking over his mind like his very own sexual muse. Tori, in all her innocence, made him want things a man like him couldn’t have, creating a future filled with ripples and waves that begged to be filled by grains of sand. He imagined it would be like settling down, finding peace, holding onto, and enjoying love and life. That wasn’t him. His life was absolute chaos, thriving on danger and the unknown. He could offer a woman amazing sex, orgasms that were out of this world with his mouth, hands, and body, and maybe a repeat. After the glow of sex, there was, of course, some cuddling and feeding if they were hungry, then there was the door.
Jeter heard Tori moving around in the bathroom. His entire body was hyperaware of every move she made. Shit, he needed a few minutes in the shower himself so he could rub one out in order to get his head on straight. Maybe, just maybe, then he wouldn’t have this constant urge to fuck Tori.