Chrome & Kisses (14 Days of Love & Lust: Biker & Mobster)

Chapter 1 Rael

“Is that fucking pink?” I asked my brother, staring at Chrome like he lost his goddamn mind. I gestured to his spray paint job. “It looks like a bottle of Pepto-Bismol.”

The left corner of his lip curled, and I wasn’t sure if it was with humor or disgust. Maybe both. “Drinking that shit was disgusting as a kid.”

Right? I used to kick my feet and fight our dad when he gave it to me, and tried to hide it when I had an upset stomach because our mother thought Pepto cured everything.

“So why are you—”

“Painting this minivan this color? Because it’s a surprise.”

I snorted. “For who?”

“Can’t say yet.” He smiled too wide. Too self-assured. “You do understand the concept of a surprise, right?”

Not funny. “If you try to give this to me,” I warned.

“Rael. Shut the fuck up.”

He was lucky I loved him. I told him so, and he laughed.

“Seriously. It’s a pink nightmare.”

“Get the fuck outta here, brother. You’re a distraction.”

“That’s the whole point.” I sighed. Loudly. “I’m bored.”

Chrome ignored me, continuing to spray the vehicle that awful color. “You’re whining,” he finally pointed out as he ran out of paint. “Go find your wife.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I promised I wouldn’t bug her while she’s out shopping,” I replied, kicking at a rock on the edge of the grass with enough force that it hit the side of the minivan, nicking the fresh paint. Oops.

“Fucking hell, Ian!”

Laughter bubbled from my lips as he swung, and I stepped backward out of his reach. “That’s proof this color sucks!”

“That’s it!” He roared at me, tossing all the paint equipment to the ground.

“Finally!” I shouted, planting my feet right before he slammed into my chest, lifting me off the ground as I hunched over, and my elbow landed in the center of his back.

We twisted and contorted our bodies, each trying to get in hits. It was fucking glorious. I lived for this shit.

I got a good hit in, cracking his jaw.

A groan escaped as he cursed, sinking his fist into my stomach before landing a brutal uppercut. My head snapped back. I lost my balance, and we tumbled to the lawn, rolling several times as we each swung fists in a frenzy.

“My love?” Cameron’s voice reached us from the front porch. “Try not to injure anything important.”

“I won’t.” Noah exhaled with an oof as I backhanded his chest. “We’re good, Cam.”

“Uh-huh.” She spun on her heel and entered the house, leaving me with my brother.

I flashed him a grin. “We’re both bleeding.”

“You’re the only one who ever thinks that shit is funny.”

I didn’t buy it. “Nope. I see that gleam in your eyes. You think it’s fucking fun too.”

“Maybe.” He tested his jaw, rubbing it with his fingers. “Damn. That hurts.”

“So does my stomach,” I admitted, collapsing against his lawn. Well, what growth of grass he managed to grow since this was fucking Tonopah, Nevada, and green grass was as fucking elusive as Lucifer fucking Morningstar.

I didn’t say his name aloud, not wanting to gain his attention.

Noah stood. “Come on. Let’s grab the first aid kit.”

I dusted off my clothes and followed him into his house.

Cameron was already waiting. She held up the first-aid kit and a bottle of pain relievers. “Here. I’m taking Liam into the garage so I can get some work done.”

Noah’s lips twitched like he wanted to smile but didn’t dare.

“Don’t even think about sitting anywhere but the wooden chairs in the dining room,” she added.

“We won’t, my reason for breathing.”

“Damn right I am,” she huffed before picking up Liam and heading to the garage.

“She’d probably be able to kick my ass. No lie.”

I snickered at his comment. “I know Nylah could beat my ass if she wanted. Of course, I’d let her.”

He snorted. “Yeah.”

We cleaned up the blood and patched our injuries before grabbing a few beers and settling around the table, keeping our dirty clothes and boots confined to one spot so Cameron wouldn’t have to clean up a mess. If we made one, Noah would take care of it. He’d never leave it for his wife.

I wouldn’t do that to Nylah either.

“What are you doing for Valentine’s Day for Cam?” I asked, taking a sip of my beer.

“Besides attending your wedding?”

“Yeah, besides that,” I laughed.

“Booked her a spa appointment and then dinner and a show in Vegas.”

I nodded. “Nice.”

We grew quiet as we finished our beers. It wasn’t uncomfortable.

Never could be with my brother. He was an extension of me, my other half, in a way that no one who wasn’t a twin could understand.

We’d had so much taken from us and lost our parents too young.

Life had been cruel, but that didn’t stop us from finding a way to one another.

“I love you, Noah.”

He cocked a brow. “You feelin’ emotional?”

Maybe. “Tryin’ not to dwell on the fact that whenever everything is going right in my life, something usually happens to fuck that up.”

“Yeah.” He spun his empty bottle in circles, deep in thought. “If it does, I got your back, brother.”

“I know.”

“Your wedding is going to be amazing. Don’t let those dark thoughts fuck it up for you.”

Easier said than done.

“We earned our happiness, Ian.”

We did . . . but that didn’t mean fate wasn’t a fucked up bitch waiting to ruin it.

“We got all of them. It’s fucking over.”

He was referring to bullshit I wanted to forget and couldn’t.

“Yeah.”

I agreed with him that we faced and defeated every enemy we had, but there was still that tiny part of me that couldn’t let the past completely go. If there was danger, my Reaper and Berserker would sense it. They would know.

But I wouldn’t stop protecting my family or my club or staying vigilant in case shit went down. Those Russian motherfuckers nearly destroyed my family. Shit like that stayed with you long after it was finished.

“Ian.”

I focused on my brother, releasing a sigh. “I hear you.”

“I’m living next door. Our families are protected on a street where, on some nights, there are more club members than in the clubhouse. Nothing is gonna take us by surprise.”

He was going through a hell of a lot of effort for someone who wasn’t worried. “Says the guy who’s overexplaining shit.”

He chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”

“We focus on our women and making this the best Valentine’s Day they’ve ever had.”

“And if something isn’t right?”

“We take care of it.”