Chapter 9
Stop dating guys that look like they’d steal the copper out of your IUD .
— Life Lesson
CUTTER
She was a skittish little thing.
Though , my instincts were roaring at me to tell her what I’d heard her friend say about her, I decided that, maybe, I’d not butt into her life.
At least, not until I decided how to handle what I’d heard.
Maybe I’d just stay out of it.
I mean, the woman was nothing to me.
She was just a client.
I didn’t need to add her problems on top of my own.
Then again, I’d just invited her on a motorcycle ride to the fuckin’ prison that my brother was currently serving his sentence at. If I didn’t want to be involved with her problems, maybe I shouldn’t involve her in mine.
Though , she didn’t know that was where we were going.
I wasn’t super inclined to tell her, either.
I probably should.
But I wasn’t.
I don’t know if I was testing her or what, but if she wanted to have her mind off of her own problems, getting them onto mine seemed a good way to do it.
That , and if she thought she had it bad, all she had to do was see how Copper had it, and she’d know that her problems were insignificant in comparison.
When she got into my truck, I waited until her seatbelt was on before closing the door.
As I rounded the hood, I saw her eyeing all the shit around her, and grinned.
“ Sorry ,” I said as I got into my own seat. “ It’s a work truck.”
“ I can see that,” she said as she pulled a tape measure out of the crack between her seat and the console.
“ Hey , I’ve been looking for that,” I said as I took it from her hand, my fingers brushing her palm. “ Thanks .”
She flushed, and I wanted to run my finger down the length of her cheek.
Instead , I rolled the window down slightly and pulled out of my spot.
As I drove, I watched her face out of my peripheral vision, noticing her taking in every single turn we made.
“ I live close to the lake,” I said. “ Actually , I live on the lake if you want to be technical.”
Her brows furrowed. “ What ?”
I pulled down a street that not many people knew about, and her hands fisted in her lap.
Knowing she was probably freaking out right now, I said, “ I live on a houseboat.”
Her mouth fell open. “ What ?”
I grinned at her incredulity. “ I live on a houseboat. I was going to buy a place, but when my father passed away, he left me this thing in his will. As well as this parcel of land,” I pulled to a stop in a clearing. My motorcycle was under a covered porch area that housed a duck boat, my bike, and a spot for my truck. I pulled the truck in next to the bike before saying, “ And I own about eight acres.”
“ Wow ,” she said as she looked out at the lake. “ This has to be some prime real estate.”
“ It is,” I said. “ When my dad died, our grandfather separated the land and left all four of us twenty-four acres. We split it into three. My sister wanted nothing to do with the lake. This place holds some unhappy memories for her.”
She looked at me curiously, and I could tell that she wanted to ask, but I didn’t explain.
That would be something that I’d keep quiet.
I didn’t like telling my sister’s secrets.
If Keely felt that Milena should know them, then I’d share, but until then, I wasn’t going to make my sister vulnerable.
“ You have three siblings? One sister and two brothers?” she asked instead.
“ Yep ,” I said as I got out of the truck.
She was unbuckling her belt and turning for the door handle when I had her door open.
“ Thank you.” She blushed.
I wondered if any man had ever gotten the door for her.
Chivalry was a lost art among most men nowadays, but my grandfather taught all Clayborne siblings his ways, and he’d pitch a massive fit if he caught us not getting the door for a woman.
The way she was staring at me, a soft blush on her cheeks, let me know that she liked my grandfather’s teachings.
“ This place is pretty cool,” she said as she stared at the house. “ What’s that look like inside?”
I grinned. “ Like a 1950s trailer on pontoons.”
I wouldn’t take her inside.
She looked nervous enough as it was.
“ Oh ,” she said, her eyes going to the lake. “ I live across that point.”
I followed where she was pointing and saw what she was pointing at.
I didn’t bother to tell her that I already knew.
Instead , I said, “ Big fuckin’ house.”
“ The biggest.” She sighed. “ That one isn’t mine, though. That’s Shasha’s . The one on the end, that one is my brother, Dima’s . I’m the next to last, and my sister’s sandwiched in between us. Though , when I say sandwiched, I really mean that we have about five acres between us.”
“ Prime real estate,” I teased.
She sighed. “ My brother’s insanely rich, protective, and overbearing.”
I grinned. “ If Keely would, I’d have her sandwiched in between us, too.”
“ Keely sounds like a smart girl,” Milena grumbled.
“ The smartest,” I agreed as I led her to my bike. “ I have a helmet that used to belong to an old girlfriend. It’s been in storage for a year, so I’m not sure how it smells.”
She wrinkled her nose. “ We should’ve stopped to get one.”
I walked over to the storage room, pulled down the big tub that I held all my extra gear in, then pulled out yet another box.
I pulled it out and gave it a sniff.
Smelled brand new.
Which tracked, because other than getting it out of the box to look at it, my ex, Dorie , hadn’t much cared about riding.
I took the helmet out to her and offered it to her. “ Smell .”
She did, pulling it back with a surprised look on her face.
Fitting it onto her head, she snapped the clasp closed and said, “ It’s brand new.”
“ Never even worn,” I admitted.
“ She didn’t wear it?” she asked in surprise.
I grinned.
“ I seem to attract women that don’t really care about my values and beliefs. Dorie , the original owner of the helmet, didn’t like riding with me. She said it made her feel dirty,” I explained. “ We broke up because I , and I quote, ‘spend too much time with your club brothers and you might as well go fuck one of them.’”
She blinked rapidly, before her mouth twisted. “ If she rode around with you, she might have gotten more time with you.”
I flashed her a grin. “ Something I’d told her about a hundred times before we broke up.”
She gestured to the bike. “ Where are we going again?”
I smiled. “ Somewhere about two hours away. There’s a really nice diner there.”
That I’m going to leave you at while I go talk to my brother.
I didn’t know why I felt the need to have her go with me.
I should leave her here.
She’d probably be pissed as hell that I drove two hours and then left her at a diner for an hour, but I’d deal with that later.
Getting onto the bike, I held out my hand. “ Mount , Go Go .”
She got onto the bike with surprising grace, then scooted up until she was almost touching me, but not quite.
I touched her knee with my hand, my fingers splaying over her lower calf, and said, “ Scoot closer.”
She did.
“ More .”
She scooted some more.
“ All the way in, darlin’,” I urged.
She came the rest of the way, until every inch of her inner thighs, pussy, and torso was pressed to me.
I caught her hands and wrapped them around my middle. “ Hold on tight.”
I started the bike, and I swore I felt a full body shiver.
“ You okay?” I asked.
She nodded against my back. “ Okay .”
I set off, questioning myself for the first ten miles.
By the time we got on the highway, and somehow her hand had made it up underneath my sweatshirt, pressing against my t-shirt-covered abs, I stopped questioning.
I wanted her here.
I’d wanted her with me since I’d taken her off her man’s bike.
There was no use in denying it.