2. Chapter 2
Chapter 2
***** Demon *****
I had no right to be upset, I knew that, but the fact that she had someone else check it out rather than herself, when she has the skills, really irks me. And I knew she had them because I’m the one who taught her. I was the one who carefully took the time, laid out the pieces, and then suffered as she bent over a bike to fix the necessary things.
Given all that, you tell me if you wouldn’t be upset that someone else was fixing what she knew how to do?
“I told you; I didn’t have the time. Come on, you know how my dad is. He was hounding me to come, and work wasn’t letting up. I had no chance to make sure the bike was in tip top shape to make the trip.”
“All the more reason for you not to have made the trip.”
I got to her bike, glad to see it was still in one piece, but even after the time spent walking, and at the bar, there was still a little bit of smoke, which meant something was damaged in the engine. And I had a rather big suspicion that it wouldn’t be an easy fix, or something that could be done in just a few hours.
I didn’t want to tell her, but I felt she was going to be stuck here. And I sure as hell didn’t want her dad to know that.
I sighed as I stood up, dusting the dirt off my jeans and turned to look at her.
The moon was making her look far too enchanting and making my cock stir in my pants. This wasn’t good. And I sure as fuck didn’t want to offer up my cabin for her to stay the night in, but honestly, there wasn’t anything else.
I wasn’t going to let her stay in a hotel, because I would have to take her, and then spend the whole night thinking about a guy she’d find and lured into her room.
Better for my sanity if she just stayed with me. However, that was only a small slip of better in my books.
“Don’t tell me it’s shot?”
“Not shot, Brandi, but this isn’t going to be something I can work on and get you on your way tomorrow.”
“Damn it! You ever have that feeling, Hugh, that you shouldn’t be doing something, but you ignore it and do what’s been asked of you?”
My name rolling off her lips was a siren’s call like never before. No one called me by my name, unless it was the people out here. No one in the biker club ever knew it, so I was surprised, and thrilled, that she did, and that she used it.
“All too well.”
“I knew I shouldn’t be on this trip. My gut has been screaming at me for the past two weeks when my dad called. I tried telling him no, but you know how well that would have gone down.” She ran her fingers through her hair before sighing.
How I wish those were my fingers threading through her locks, then tugging her hair back, and kissing her soundly, snatching that sigh from her with my tongue.
Hello, danger ahead, man!
I mentally shook the thoughts before nodding. Nothing she said was news to me. Telling the boss no was a sure death sentence. And yeah, Brandi was his kid, but that didn’t mean it was any easier for her to say it.
“Look, it’s not ideal, and you can’t tell him you landed here, but my cabin isn’t too far away. You can say the night, and in the morning, I’ll check out the damage. Maybe I can get you on the road faster than I thought. It won’t be bright and early, but it could still be tomorrow.”
By the look in her eye, we both knew the truth of that. She wasn’t leaving tomorrow, but we could both pretend it was happening.
“You don’t have to go out of your way, you know. I can just grab a room at the hotel, or something.”
“One, your dad would find you a whole lot easier that way if he had half the mind to come this way. This is still Nevada. Two, I would be up half the night worried about you. Just save me the mental anguish and go to my cabin.”
“You have such a way with words, Hugh.”
There went the name calling again. Why the hell did I love that sound so much? What was it about it, about her, that had me wanting to hear it all the time? But only from her.
Dangerous ground, I knew I was on dangerous ground.
But instead of throwing on my flashers and stopping to figure out another game plan, I took her hand in mine and walked back to the bar. I went in, paid for the tab, and then headed back to my bike; glad she had the mindset to know that the only one out there was mine.
“She’s new,” she whispered, running her hand over the custom paint job, clearly in awe of it.
“Had to get a new one. Actually, she’s custom, all of her. When everything happened with your pops, I had to really make a new life.”
“Hugh,” she started, turning to face me. I could see the pain on her face for whatever she thought she caused. And maybe she did, but I didn’t have to kiss back, I didn’t have to taste the forbidden fruit. No, this wasn’t on her, this was on me.
“Don’t worry, Brandi. Things worked out. I’m out of that life. Believe me, it wasn’t the one I wanted. I just got sucked into the vortex of it.
“Now, climb on and hold on, because the road is a little rough leading up to the cabin.”
I swung my leg over the bike, kicked the stand up, and started her, savoring the rumble of her purr. Then I felt Brandi climb on, her chest pressing to my back, her arms around my waist, and I knew this was going to be the longest ride of my life.
***** Vixen *****
Abort!
Bad idea!
Stay away!
U-turn!
That was everything my mind was screaming at me when I felt his body heat against mine.
Fucking hell, why did he do this to me? It’s been a few years, I thought the urning for him would vanish, if not fade. But nope, it’s still strong as ever.
And being on his bike?
In the spot for an old lady?
Did things to my body that weren’t normal. The heat spreading through my core and making my clit throb, wasn’t normal. At least, not over an idea. But here it was.
And the ruts on the road we were going through, sure, didn’t help that bundle of nerves. It was making me clench my legs even tighter. It also made my grip on him tighter, not that he seemed to mind.
In fact, I was pretty sure it was an afterthought, but a few times he dropped his hand from the bars to rub my arm as if comforting me, an action I wish he’d do someplace else.
“We’re here,” he told me, as if I couldn’t see the cabin before us.
And what a great job it was! He always had amazing skills with his hands, and this was no different. I knew he built this from scratch as well, and it was impressive. It had at least two rooms, a wraparound porch, and windows on two of the four sides of the place.
“I’m stunned,” I told him, once he killed the engine and kicked the stand down. I climbed off, my eyes still taking in the beauty of not just the building, but the surrounding mountains. There was a peacefulness I could feel down to my bones here. And when a storm blew in, oh I could only picture the majestic beauty in that.
Of course, that also led my mind to think about being locked away with him for days on end during a snowstorm with nothing to do but cuddle, kiss, or down right screw around. That would be just as wonderful too.
I had to give myself a slight shake and then wait for him to open the door before walking in. The interior was simple, the view of course being the main focus. But it was still homely and comfortable, something I wouldn’t have put with Hugh.
Sure, at the compound in Vegas, the only thing really yours, was a room. And though it was more like a suite than a room, it still wasn’t a big place to call home. Only a handful of guys stayed in their own home outside of the compound, and those were usually men my dad trusted with his life.
“I can’t believe you did all this. I expected more of a man cave than a home.”
He flicked a light on and then lifted a brow at me.
“When you are part of the club, you tend to keep things to yourself, not wanting to share too much as things often get used against you. I don’t like simple places and need something comfortable. Always have. So, when it came time to create this, I needed a place for me, that was all me.”
I looked around at the simple pictures, the huge fireplace, the breathtaking view, the massive kitchen with an island, and then turned back to him.
I thought I knew him, but I was starting to wonder if I truly did.
“This is something I didn’t know about you.”
“No offense, Brandi, but you didn’t know a lot about me.”
“You are right, I may not. But that doesn’t neglect the fact that I felt comfortable with you. That I still do. That you spark something in me that no one else has and it is something I wanted to pursue then and still do now.”
“Now you’re talking foolishly. I’m fifteen years older than you.”
“And what? Do you think I want a damn man my age? I know what they fucking do, how they treat woman, no thank you.”
He winced at the thought, and I know he was thinking about the newbies in the gang. Most were younger than me when they joined, thinking it was fun, that they just went on the open road, not realizing that there was drug trafficking, gun trafficking, and unknown to quite a few of the guys, sex trafficking.
What he didn’t know, what my own dad didn’t know, was how I found out about that. Because I was taken, and used, before I was able to get up enough to stab the guy in the dick to back him off of me. It was a secret I told no one, one I planned on taking to my grave.
“Okay, so, they’re idiots.”
“Trust me, Hugh, I know that better than anyone. I had my own fair share of assholes my age.”
“How? I mean, sure, they talked to you, but your dad did a damn good job of making sure everyone left you alone like that. Getting close to you was not something anyone could do.”
“You found a way.”
“Your dad trusted me, Brandi. And if you recall, you got close to me.”
“But you didn’t stop me. You wanted me just as much as I wanted you. Only logic finally kicked in and you pulled away.” I stepped closer to him, seeing his intake of breath. “Do you know how many times I recall that night?”
“You shouldn’t.”
I growled at that.
“I am so damn tired of people telling me what I should and shouldn’t do. If I can fend off someone using me as their personal whore behind my dad’s back, don’t you think I should be able to make my damn decisions.”
“What did you say?”
My eyes opened wide briefly and then I shook my head.
“Nothing, it doesn’t matter. This was a bad idea; I’ll just go back to town and get a room.”
“Like hell you are. What did you say?”
“Just drop it, Demon,” I flung out before making my way outside, in the dark, with no clue where I was going.
I was too heated to think about staying, and I didn’t care what happened to me.
Of course, not knowing the terrain, I missed the massive tree stump, and the huge hole, easily flinging myself several feet down the side of the mountain, landing with a loud thought against another tree.
“Shit,” I howled, trying to move, and then gasping for air as the pain shot up the side of my body.