Chapter 10
KNIGHT
Sweat poured down my back, and it was only nine in the morning. Too damn early for a workout, but I’d finally finished trimming back the shrubs along the entrance of the park.
I tugged my shirt out of the back pocket of my jeans and swiped at the sweat on my chest as I opened the front door. The air-conditioning washed over me like a cool wind. Damn, that was nice.
A table sat next to the door, holding a basket filled with mail, keys, and a few butterscotch candies that Aiden kept leaving around.
It was a strange candy to prefer—I hadn’t seen a butterscotch since visiting my grandfather as a kid—but my mouth tasted like dust, so I grabbed one and unwrapped it.
Laughter trickled out from the kitchen. I glanced over and froze. Aiden stood on the other side of the breakfast bar, phone raised to his ear.
His smile stole my breath away.
“Haley! That’s ridiculous.” He laughed again. “You don’t have to exaggerate to make me feel better.”
Damn, I wanted to be the one to make him smile like that. I’d almost forgotten how adorable he could be when he was happy and carefree. That night in Omaha, he’d smiled easily.
Aiden’s gaze flicked to me as I put the candy into my mouth. He probably wouldn’t be happy to see me. When was he? And here I was stealing his candy, to boot.
I couldn’t bear the idea of seeing that smile disappear. I turned on my heel and went straight into my bathroom.
I turned on the shower and adjusted the water to a lukewarm temperature. I had no desire to scald myself after melting outside.
I tossed my shirt into a laundry basket in the corner, then unlaced my boots and kicked them off. I shoved down my pants and underwear roughly, frustration leaking into my movements.
My one hookup with Aiden had been perfect. Why did he have to be Flynn’s brother? Why did he have to be so close and yet so damn far away at the same time?
Bad idea or not, I wanted him again.
I got into the shower and soaped up, trying to ignore the thoughts that kept seeping into my brain. The thought that if I kissed him, he wouldn’t stop me. That if I really tried, Aiden would melt for me the way he had before.
Would his mouth taste like butterscotch? I groaned softly at the thought and sucked harder on the candy.
Aiden had gone so soft and pliant in my hands in Omaha. His whimpers and moans had been so fucking sweet.
My cock hardened between my thighs. Inevitable when I couldn’t stop thinking about sex. I took myself in hand, not even trying to force Aiden from my thoughts. If he was going to torment me by being gorgeous and untouchable, then I was damn sure going to revel in my memories.
The taste of his skin, his musky smell when I nosed along his groin, the way he’d rolled his hips, forcing his dick deeper into my throat.
So fucking hot.
And then he’d cried out, and everyone in the room knew I was taking him apart. He’d liked it a little, knowing people were listening to us. Knowing we were putting on a little bit of a show, even in the dark.
I stroked my dick harder, pleasure surging up and out. I groaned loudly enough that Aiden could probably hear me. Fuck it. I wanted him to know what I was doing. I shouldn’t be the only one suffering with this damn craving.
I damn near choked on the candy when my orgasm hit. Wouldn’t that be fitting?
My cum spilled over my fist, the water washing it away as if it were never there. So I could go on pretending that Aiden and I were just roommates.
I swallowed the candy down, my mouth too sickly sweet now. It went right along with my shame for jerking off over a man who didn’t want me anymore.
I got out of the shower and dried off, then went next door to get dressed. The house was quiet. Aiden had left sometime during my shower. Probably best I didn’t see him right now. I might do something stupid.
I pulled on fresh clothes, my typical blue jeans-tank combo of summer. Today the jeans were a washed-out blue with big rips in the knees, and the tank was black, but the sun had faded it to nearly gray.
I grabbed my motorcycle jacket on the way out the door and grimaced as the heat smacked me in the face. God, I fucking hated summer. Give me freezing winds over this any day.
The ride to work was short, thankfully, and soon I was walking into the chill of the air-conditioned tattoo parlor. The trailer had been like stepping into a cool wind, but this place was more like walking into a refrigerator. I needed that today.
I shrugged out of my jacket and hung it by the door. “It’s hot as balls out there. When is summer going to be over already?”
“Someone’s cranky today,” Fox called from his station near the back of the shop.
I crossed the stained concrete floor to our supply closet. “I worked outside all morning. Damn near got heat stroke.”
“Shit, man, you really do like working,” he said. “Isn’t one job enough?”
I laughed, a little bitter edge sneaking in. “I wish.”
Emory stopped me as I reached the supply closet. “Are you okay?”
“Of course. Just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”
Or maybe in the wrong bed. I’d be in a lot better mood if Aiden let me into his. Not that it’d really solve anything. I wasn’t fit to be anyone’s boyfriend.
I pulled on a pair of disposable gloves, grabbed a bottle of CaviCide disinfectant, and went to work wiping down each station so the artists would be ready to work. Once I finished that, I restocked disposable gloves, ink cups, needles, and other supplies.
Cyrus came into the shop, along with Angela, her hair pulled into two perky ponytails dyed a bright teal. Everyone else called her Angel, but I couldn’t think of her that way because it was my private name for Aiden.
Even if he didn’t want me using it.
Damn it. I really needed to stop thinking about him.
“Hey, Knight,” Angela called from her station. “Can you get me some fresh plastic wrap for my machine? It’s unraveling.”
“That was my next step,” I said tersely.
“Oh, I wasn’t criticizing…”
“Don’t mind him,” Fox said. “He’s in a shit mood. He blames the heat, but I think someone needs to get laid.”
Angela laughed. “Well, I suppose I could volunteer as tribute.”
Fox fake-coughed out “skank.”
Angela shot him the bird. “I didn’t hear you complaining when you were getting a free ride.”
I chuckled. “Thanks for the offer, Ange, but I’m batting for the other team.”
She sighed and shook her head. “All the hottest ones are.”
“Hey,” Fox protested. “I’m still fifty/fifty, baby. Equal opportunity fucking over here.”
“Meh,” she said. “Been there, done that.”
Fox clapped a hand to his heart, but it was pretty obvious they’d only ever been casual hookups. Just friends with benefits.
Without Flynn between us, it’s what Aiden and I might have been.
Annoyed at the turn of my thoughts, I got busy retrieving the plastic wrap. We wrapped machines, the artists’ chairs, and other work surfaces to avoid cross-contamination. Tattoo parlors had to take the risk of infection seriously.
As the shop opened and I started ringing up clients, booking return visits, and cleaning stations between each job, I lost myself in the distraction of work and the playful banter of the other artists.
“Emory, are you stealing more of my clients?” Angela demanded in a faux-outraged voice.
“What? No!”
“I understand Gray. You’ve got him all dickmatized. But Rachel?”
“You weren’t available. You asked me to cover!”
“Yeah, for one sesh. But now you’ve got two more booked.”
“It’s a big piece!”
“Sure it is,” Angela said, narrowing her eyes. “I’m going to be watching you, Mr. Poacher.”
Emory spluttered, and Cyrus chuckled. “Angel, we’ve talked about this. Emory doesn’t always get your sense of humor. He’s too sweet for your brand of evil.”
She cackled. “Sorry, Em. I’m just fucking with ya.”
He visibly slumped with relief. “I’d never poach from anyone. Seriously. You’ve all taught me so much.”
“Aw.” She crossed the room to pinch his cheek. “You are sweet. Gray better hold on tight or I might steal you.”
Emory blushed. “Thanks, but Gray knows I’m never leaving him. We’re end game.”
Over lunch, I ran next door to Ball Breakers and put in orders for everyone but Emory, who was meeting Gray for a lunch date.
We ate during the lull before the next booking came in. I was just finishing my club sandwich—thinking I really should have packed something from home to save coin—when three guys in leathers walked through the door.
“Hey, yo, can you do a walk-in?” the shortest of them called.
I nearly choked on my food.
I knew that voice. Knew his face when he turned to survey the shop. Even with his hair grown out into a shaggy mess instead of the shorter cut he’d always worn before.
Puck.
My ex-boyfriend.
But even more concerning, my ex-biker-club connection. If he saw me here—
My heart thudded, and I looked around wildly, but it was too late. His eyes locked on mine. “Knight, what the fuck? I thought you were in prison.”
“Early release,” I said.
“No shit?” He laughed and grabbed me in a big hug, his head barely reaching my chin. “Shit, man. I would have met you at the gate if I’d known.”
“Your old lady might frown on that.”
“That hag?” His two friends laughed. I didn’t recognize them, even though they wore the Serpents patch. New joiners after I left, most likely. “She doesn’t get a say in anything I do. She knows I call the shots.”
He smirked and grabbed his crotch, posturing for the guys, but his gaze lingered on me, sweeping over me the way it did before everything went south.
Before I’d taken the fall for him, and he’d moved on without a second look.
“These friends of yours, Knight?” Cyrus asked. “Unfortunately, I’ve got my next client in ten minutes. I won’t have time for a walk-in today.”
“I knew Puck before prison,” I said.
Cyrus didn’t react, but he was a smart guy. He understood I’d done something criminal to land there, and Puck was someone I’d associated with at the time.
He spread his hands. “Well, sorry, guys. Maybe next—”
“I can take a walk-in,” Angela called from her station, oblivious to Cyrus’s attempt to send them on their way.
Cyrus glanced at me, a question in his eyes. I shrugged. Riling them up by refusing service wouldn’t help anyone.
One of the bikers—a tall, gangly guy with hawkish features—turned toward Angela. “A tattoo with a gorgeous view? Sign me up.”
Angela smiled, probably used to flirty clients. “Come take a seat, then. I’ll be gentle with you.”
He laughed. “Oh, be as rough as you like. I can take it.”
“That’s what they all say until I get my needle into them.” She winked playfully.
“Puck, you coming?” the second guy called.
“In a minute.” Puck’s eyes lingered on me. “I need to have a chat with my old pal, Knight.”
“Knight is on the clock,” Cyrus said sternly.
I knew he wasn’t really concerned about me slipping out for a chat. He was trying to give me an out. But if I didn’t talk to Puck now, he’d just hang around until closing time.
“It’s okay,” I said. “We’ll make it quick. Right, Puck?”
“Sure,” he said easily. “You won’t even know he’s gone. He’s good at sneaking off. Aren’t you, Knight?”
“Come on,” I said, leading him toward the door.
I stepped out into the heat of hell—complete with my personal demon—and turned to him. “What the fuck do you want?”
“What kind of greeting is that for your long-lost lover?” he asked, lips curling with amusement, but eyes cold. Had he always been this fake?
“Cut the crap. You dumped me for Lana a month into my sentence.”
“I couldn’t exactly request conjugal visits, could I?”
“You cut off all contact.”
He pressed a hand over his heart. “I just couldn’t bear to see you that way.”
I rolled my eyes. “Right. I’m sure.”
“It’s true.” He batted his eyelashes. “You saved me, baby. Come back to the club, and things can be like they were before. Remember how good it was?”
“I remember you stabbed me in the back.”
“I couldn’t do shit to save you from the cops,” he snarled. “I convinced Hector not to have you shanked in jail to make sure you didn’t testify against the Serpents. You should be thanking me.”
I shook my head. Puck always was good at revisionist history. “What do you want from me?”
“What I’ve always wanted. I keep Lana around for appearances, but I’m dying inside, man. When I get desperate, I sneak off, but it’s risky as fuck.”
“Not my problem.”
“Yeah, well, me seeing you here? That makes it your problem.”
“I’m not going back to that life,” I said. “I got a chance to start over here, and I’m taking it.”
“Nobody leaves the Serpents. If Hector finds out where you are, he’ll kill you.”
“I did my time, Puck. For you. All these years you’ve been rolling with the Serpents, I’ve been in prison. I earned this.”
He glanced toward the glass window, where the shop interior was visible, then took a few steps back, motioning me closer. Out of view of the other bikers.
He fisted a hand in my shirt and pulled me close. “You’ve gotta come back, Knight. He’ll kill you. You know he will. Hector is unhinged.”
“So don’t tell him,” I said.
“If he finds out, he’ll kill me, too.”
“Well, lucky for us both, you’re good at keeping secrets.”
Puck had to keep his sexuality a secret, or his own club would murder him. Keeping my location to himself was a small ask, really.
I pulled away. “I gotta get back inside. My boss is waiting.”
He glowered. “You better hope this doesn’t blow up in both our faces.”
“If it does, I won’t be saving you this time,” I said shortly. “I’m not a martyr for you to use anymore.”