Lennon
WE EXITED THE Saddle Rack and stepped out into the warm night air. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had such a good time. I reached into my pocket for my phone only to realize it wasn’t there. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Snarl asked.
“I must have left my phone inside our booth,” I said, turning to go back inside, only to be stopped by Snarl’s gentle hand.
“How about you wait right here, and I’ll go back in to find it?”
My insides turned to goo at his simple but thoughtful gesture. “Nice to see chivalry isn’t dead,” I said.
“Not on my watch, it isn’t,” he replied with a sly smile, before delivering another kiss and disappearing back into the restaurant.
If I wasn’t careful, I was going to catch feelings for this guy, and that absolutely could not happen.
Not just because Snarl was a nomad biker and I had no business inside of that world, but because my life was complicated enough already without adding two-hundred and fifty pounds of hair and tattoos to it.
And as much as granny trusted him, I couldn’t risk letting a man get close enough to break my heart again.
My ex-fiancé had driven me to the edge of sanity by the end of our relationship, and the break-up just about pushed me over.
As nice a time as I had with Snarl tonight, I was going to have to tell him that this would be a one and done kind of deal.
Not that I assumed he’d want a second date.
I was probably far too boring for a guy like him.
Plus, a nomad biker must have a girl in every port, right?
Snarl had been gone for barely a minute when three guys who looked like they were in their late twenties approached me. Given how they were dressed, the trio were all clearly guys who worked in the nearby financial district. They were also clearly drunk.
“You waiting for a ride, sweetie?” one of them asked.
I rolled my eyes. “No. I’m fine thank you.”
“I know you’re fine, honey,” he replied. “But do you need a ride?”
His two buddies laughed, and the smell of booze wafted through the air.
“Good one, Brad,” douche number two retorted.
“I’m just waiting for my date.” I nodded toward the door of the Rack. “He’ll be out any minute. Please move on and enjoy your evening.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” Brad replied. “But I think I’d enjoy it a lot more if I could spend it with a beautiful woman like you.”
I shook my head. “I’ll pass, thank you.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. I just got a big fat promotion at work, and I want to celebrate. My bros and I will take you anywhere you want to go. Anywhere at all. Believe me, honey. I have the money to cover your tab at any bar in town.”
“Congratulations. But, like I said, I’m waiting for my date to come out.” I crossed my arms. “Please leave me alone.”
Brad took a step closer to me, followed by his ‘bros,’ and I stiffened.
“I’m pretty sure the lady asked you to leave her alone,” I heard Snarl say from behind.
The trio parted to reveal Snarl standing with his arms folded, his biceps bulging.
Now, I would have thought that the mere sight of a big ol’ bad-ass biker would have been enough to scare these guys away, but it didn’t.
“Hey, man, we were just talking,” Brad said.
“No, you were harassing her. Now, take a hike, man.”
“No reason to be rude,” Brad said. “All I was trying to do was have a conversation with this lovely young lady.”
Snarl smiled. “Well, now your conversation is over and it’s time for you and your friends to move on with your evening and leave the lady alone.”
“Sorry, man, but I don’t see a ring on her finger. And by the looks of you, I’m betting you couldn’t afford to buy her one unless it came out of a gumball machine. Do you see this suit I’m wearing? It’s Armani.”
Snarl stopped smiling. “I don’t give a shit if it’s asbestos. This is the last time I’m gonna say this. Get lost and stay lost.”
“Oooooooh. I’m scared now,” he mocked. “Is that what you were trying to do? Huh? Scare me. If you didn’t notice, there’s three of us and only one of you. Or are you too fuckin’ dumb to count?”
“You’re right. It’s three to one. Bad odds for you,” Snarl replied.
“You think a dirtbag in a leather vest is gonna scare me?” Brad asked, taking a step closer to Snarl and puffing out his chest.
“It’s not a vest, it’s a cut, and these are my colors,” Snarl said pointing to his back. “I’d advise you show some respect.”
“You think that vest makes you look tough?”
“I don’t know.” Snarl shrugged. “Do you think your broken jaw makes you look tough?”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I don’t have a bro—”
Before he could finish the sentence, Snarl cold cocked the asshat so hard his feet actual left the ground. He then turned to the other two and let out a low deep growl. “Pick that piece of shit up and get him out of my sight or I’ll send both of you to the ground right next to him.”
Brad’s two bros picked him up without hesitation and began dragging his limp body away.
“Holy shit, he really broke Brad’s fucking jaw,” one of them said to the other.
“Ahhhhm gaanaaah fushing sue yoooh, yoooh fushing assssshhhole,” Brad gargled as he gained consciousness.
“What the fuck did you just say?”
“Shut the fuck up Brad,” one of the bros said as they began dragging him away.
“Hold on, a second,” Snarl said, before bending down and taking Brad’s wallet from his suit pocket.
“Listen here, Brad Parsons,” he said, reading from Brad’s driver’s license.
“Who resides at 4216 Parkview Terrace apartments, unit 302. When I get back home tonight, I’m gonna tell the members of my club all about you and your friends here.
And if I ever so much as hear your name or see your face again, me and my club will kidnap you, beat you half to death, and then make you watch as we do the same to your friends and family members.
Then we’ll finish the job we started on you. Do you understand me?”
Brad moaned.
“You,” Snarl said to one on Brad’s buddies. “Grab him by his hair.”
Brad’s buddy did as he was told.
“Good, now make him nod ‘yes.’”
Again, Brad’s buddy complied. Nodding Brad’s concussed skull like a ventriloquist’s dummy.
“Good. Now that we all understand each other, get the fuck out of here before I change my mind and kill all three of you now.”
As soon as the trio of losers were out of sight Snarl turned to me. “You okay? Did those guys touch you?”
I shook my head. Terrified by what he would have done if they had.
Terrified, and also completely turned on.
Never in a million years did I think violence would have had that kind of effect on me, but it did.
In fact, Snarl protecting me was the hottest fucking thing I’d ever experienced in my entire life.
Snarl reached out, sliding his hand to my neck and tugging me forward. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay, I’ve just never seen a fist fight before.”
“That wasn’t a fight. That was scraping dog shit off the sidewalk,” he replied.
“Thank you, either way.”
“We should probably get the hell out of here,” Snarl said, scanning the parking lot. “Just in case someone saw us and called the cops.”
“Would your club really beat up their family members?” I asked, a little afraid of his answer.
“Get our hands dirty over those weasels? Not a chance in hell,” he said with a laugh. “We’re far from squeaky clean, but we’re not about that kind of shit. Come on, let’s go.”
Snarl quickly led us to where we’d parked, and I got into the Red Rider as he climbed onto his bike.
Before closing the car door and before losing my nerve I asked, “Would you like to come to my apartment? Well, our apartment. I share it with two other women, but they’re both away during the summer break, so we’d have the place all to ourselves.”
Snarl smiled wide. “I’d love to.”
“Great. Follow me,” I said, hoping I wasn’t blushing too much.
I’d been in a serious relationship throughout most of college and had never asked a man to ‘come back to my place,’ before.
I turned the key to the ignition but instead of the Red Rider roaring to life, she let out a pathetic ‘click, click, click,’ so I stopped, waited a few seconds and tried again.
This time, she only gave me two clicks, and then no clicks.
Snarl tapped on my window, and since the power windows were kaput, I opened the car door.
“Sounds like a dead starter motor,” Snarl said.
“Everything else is dying on this old gal. Why not?”
“If it is the starter, it’s something I can fix, but not here. I’ll call some brothers to haul your car back to our shop.”
“That’s so sweet of you, but I think ol’ Red’s days of riding might just be over. Maybe your guys could tow it to the nearest cash for cars lot. That would be incredible.”
“I got you covered,” Snarl said, before starting his bike. “Now, get on.”
“I’m sorry. The engine of your bike is very loud. It sounded like you told me to get on.”
Snarl nodded. “That’s right. There’s a helmet on the back. Put it on your head, tighten the strap, climb onto the bike, and hold onto my waist.”
“I don’t think so,” I replied.
“Well, your car is dead, and I’m not leaving you here in this parking lot.” He cocked his head. “I assume that when you asked me to come back to your place it was to fuck. Yes?”
I nodded vigorously.
“Good, then text me your address, then climb on and let’s go.”
Having no other option and agreeing that we should get the hell out of Dodge, I did as he instructed, then strapped on the helmet, and climbed on the back of Snarl’s bike, which tore down the road before I knew what was happening.
I closed my eyes, held onto Snarl for dear life, and even sent up a few prayers.
Granny would have been proud. But soon, fear gave way to exhilaration, and I opened my eyes to see Denver flying past us as Snarl’s bike cut through the cool night air.
I did my best to relax and enjoy the moment, thinking of the experience as field research.
I wasn’t straddled onto the back of a death machine with the sexiest man I’d ever met, I was studying the elusive nomad in his natural habitat.
A city that seemed almost new to me from the back of Snarl’s bike.
“You doin’ okay?” Snarl asked.
“Terrified, but kind of loving it, too!”
“Yup, that’s the point,” he replied, before pulling back on the throttle.
I squealed in delicious terror as the bike roared down the highway, passing cars like they were standing still.
I was afraid, but also exhilarated by the ride.
Snarl and his bike moved together like they were dancing partners.
All I had to do was hold on, and trust that he knew what he was doing. Much like the rest of the evening.
The second I unlocked my door, Snarl pushed me up against the wall and kissed me for all I was worth.
“Wait,” I panted out. “I need you to know I’m not this girl.”
“What girl?” he asked.
“The kind of girl who fucks a guy she just met.”
“Shut up, Lennon.”
“I just need you to know I’m not a slut.”
“Jesus, woman, in what world would you ever think I’d think you were a slut?” he growled.
“Um, I just met you and we’re about to do the nasty?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Well, um, that’s probably—”
“Don’t think you’re a slut, baby.”
I cocked my head. “Are you saying that so you can get in my pants?”
He chuckled. “If I say yes, are you going to stop me from getting into your pants?”
I bit my lip and then sighed. “No.”
“Then it’s a moot point. However, in no scenario would any of this make you a slut, just to be clear.”
His mouth covered mine again, and his tongue slid inside with a grunt that built a hunger straight to my soul.
I reached for his belt but couldn’t figure out how to undo the complicated hook, so he did it for me and once it was undone, I tugged it from his jeans.
The whoosh was the only sound in the quiet until the metal of the buckle hit the hardwood.
He’d already unzipped my jeans, and they were halfway down my thighs, so I pushed them the rest of the way, kicking them off, shoes and all.
He broke the kiss just long enough to lift my shirt over my head then he hooked a thumb in the side of my panties, pulling them down my hip. Not all the way down, just to the top of my thighs, his thumb digging into my flesh, and I shivered at his touch.
I frantically tugged at the zipper of his jeans as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, the chain attached to it brushing against my fingers. He grabbed a condom from his wallet and tore open the packet with his teeth before throwing the wallet in the corner next to my jeans and shoes.
He paid no mind to the fact my panties were still around my thighs and rather than shimmying them down my legs, he ripped them from my body.
This might have bothered me in another lifetime, but in this one, it made me soaked.
He then shoved his jeans and boxer briefs halfway down his thighs as he kissed me again.
“Hold on, Lennon,” he growled, lifting my legs and guiding them around his waist and anchoring me to the wall and then he was inside.
I cried out as he buried himself to the hilt, his groan meeting mine.
“Baby, look at me,” he demanded, and I met his eyes.
With our gazes connected, he moved. I gripped his hips with my legs, digging in, matching his strokes and I grasped the back of his neck with one hand, while the other did its best to hold onto his giant bicep.
I couldn’t breathe.
I mean, I could, because if I didn’t, I’d cease to be alive, but as he stared into my soul and fucked the ever living life out of my body, I could not breathe.
He, on the other hand, was. In the form of grunts of pleasure as he slammed into me, over and over again, hard enough, I feared he might put a hole in my wall.
“Snarl!” I cried out, then quickly shoved my face into his neck as a climax shot through me. I’d never felt anything like it before. It might have been fast, but it was also beautiful.
Seconds later, he gave one last thrust, then let out a quiet grunt as I felt his cock pulse inside of me, all the while, keeping me pinned to the wall.
“Oh my god,” I rasped.
Snarl grinned, kissing me gently, as he pulled out, helping me lower my feet to the floor and holding me tightly as my legs wobbled. “You good?”
“Ah, give me a second to get my sea legs,” I said, gripping his cut.
It was then I realized he was still half-clothed, and I hadn’t taken my bra off.
He chuckled. “Next time we’ll get all the way naked, sound good?”
I met his eyes. “Just as long as there’s a next time…”
He stroked my cheek. “There’s gonna be a series of next times, beautiful.”
I grinned. “Correct answer.”
“Let me get rid of this condom. Bathroom?”
“Down the hall on the left.”
“Which one’s your room?” he asked.
“Last door on the right.”
He kicked off his jeans and then headed down the hall while I removed the rest of my clothes and met him in my bedroom.