Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Marie
We arrive in Black Hills after one more break in between, and my ass is completely asleep. The view has been incredible though, all craggy mountains and dips. It makes me want to go exploring, once my ass decides to stop hurting.
“Do you want me to massage your ass? Or, I could give you that spanking you deserve,” Lore says loudly just before he turns off the motorcycle.
The words ring in the air and my cheeks heat as a throat clears. Lore chuckles under his breath as he pulls off his helmet, though he leaves on his neck gaiter.
While news does travel, Ryder doesn’t know that Lore is supposed to be dead. The bike itself is a pretty big indicator of who my alpha is, though only to Ryder. There aren’t any replicas of the motorcycles he makes, and he’s likely to remember it’s one of his.
Wilder made this appointment for Lore and I, so we’re playing it by ear.
“I don’t need to know about your sexual proclivities,” the man drawls, watching as I take my helmet off. “How was the ride over? It’s a long one if you’re not used to riding.”
“I’m a little sore,” I admit, my hand on Lore’s shoulder as I carefully get up. “We took a couple of breaks to get my blood moving again.”
“Well I’m Ryder,” he says. “I don’t know who the alpha you’re with is since he’s too impolite to pull down his face covering.”
Lore snorts in amusement, his hand on my hip to help stabilize me.
“There’s a reason for that,” he says, his voice in a lower register than usual as he stands. Lore places our helmets on the bike, and his arm wraps around my waist as we move closer to Ryder.
Lore’s hair just keeps growing, and it’s messy from the wind. Soon, he’ll need to pull it up so it doesn’t completely flop into his face. It makes me think about what an adorable little boy he must have been growing up.
Ryder’s lips purse stubbornly, and I can only imagine the way he’s about to dig his heels in on this. According to Lore, he takes his craftsmanship seriously. He won’t sell his bikes to people he doesn’t like, which tells me Lore is keeping his identity anonymous for shits and giggles.
Petty MC men are going to be the fucking death of me. The sun is shining behind me, the weather clearing up once we left Minnesota. There should be plenty of light left in the day for what we need to do.
“Look, man, I don’t do business with people I don’t know,” Ryder says. “I honestly thought I was doing this for Wilder and his girl—”
“Our girl,” Lore says, pulling his gaiter a bit further down until Ryder’s eyes widen.
“Huh. Is this the Little Queen then?” Ryder snorts.
It figures he’d hear that fucking nickname, yet not know that Lore is supposed to be dead. I have a feeling the MC grapevine will never fail to keep me on my toes.
“That’s what they call me,” I grumble, even as I shrug with amusement.
“You’ve got two clubs wrapped around your finger,” Ryder snorts. “Alright, Prez, keep your secrets. Let’s go build a bike then, shall we?”
I excitedly bounce on my feet, grinning in excitement.
“You don’t know how to ride it though, right?” Ryder asks, confused as we walk into the shop.
Lore’s face is covered again as Ryder directs us back to his office. There are people working on things in the garage, and while I can hear the ambient noises, no one else comes inside to talk to Ryder.
I shake my head to answer Ryder and he chuckles under his breath.
“How did your pack end up with a girl this straightlaced?” he asks.
“Fate,” Lore grunts. “She’s a crack shot and definitely not as innocent as you might think. It’s important to me that she learns how to ride.”
“Wilder mentioned that, I just needed to confirm. I have a couple of beaters, so I can give her a crash course, and she can continue to learn how to handle herself once she has the bike,” he says.
“This is going to sound dumb,” I sigh.
“No such thing as that, not unless you’re about to tell me my bikes are ugly as sin,” he says.
“I would never!” The shout makes Lore and Ryder chuckle, while my cheeks heat with embarrassment. “It’s just, while we were on the way here, we found some… Shit, I don’t even know what to call them.”
“Outlaws,” Lore says helpfully. “We were at the gas station, and everything got too quiet. Marie noticed the difference immediately. We got the fuck out the second we heard the bikes coming down the road.”
“Are you asking for defensive riding moves?” Ryder asks. I nod tentatively and he shrugs. “That’s not dumb at all. It’s smart to know in this world too. Let’s nail the basics, and then go from there. Now, you’re on the shorter side, yeah? How tall are you?”
“Five foot two,” I reply, watching as he makes a note of it.
“I need the bike to be tall enough not to scrape the road, while not having you worry about how the fuck you’re going to get on,” he muses.
I appreciate that he’s aware my vertically challenged frame may affect how he creates the bike.
“I think the best approach will be to lower the seat for you, as well as adjust the handlebars,” he muses, already beginning to sketch.
“Unless you have an issue with it, I’d like to make her motorcycle all black with little to no chrome accents.
I want her to be able to blend into the road if she needs to.
She’ll always have someone with her, right? ”
“Yes,” Lore says, watching Ryder work. “I want to have a smooth ride, while still giving her the speed to get the fuck out of a bad situation if needed.”
Ryder nods as he continues to sketch, talking about things I don’t understand like stator and rotors. I know they must be parts of a motorcycle, but that’s where my knowledge ends.
“This is what I’m thinking,” he says, turning the paper around with one hand to show me what he’s thinking.
My lips part, and I swear, my eyes get misty as hell as I see what he’s sketched out on paper.
“Wow,” I whisper. The bike is all black as promised, with handlebars I’ll easily be able to grasp.
Not only are they closer to me so I won’t have to bend forward the entire time, but the lines are sexy too.
Long sleek hardware heads down to the front wheel, while the rest of the motorcycle is more compressed throughout its body.
“You’ll be able to pick up the bike, though it’ll take a little getting used to, and there’s going to be a storage area for when you head out on trips. Even if your alphas are planning to be a little more settled, I can’t imagine them being able to sit still for long,” Ryder says.
He’s careful not to use Lore’s name, simply going with the flow now that he knows there might be a reason for the anonymity. He’s happier now that he knows who he’s doing business with.
Everyone else can get fucked. There’s a strange sense of comfort in knowing Lore’s secret is safe for now. I also appreciate that he doesn’t call attention to my leaking emotions as I struggle to get them in hand. Lore rubs my back as he looks appreciatively at the sketch, looking as awed as I am.
“I’ll make sure you have some extra oomph to the engine. It won’t be legal, but there ain’t a soul who will be checking the specs on your bike,” Ryder snorts. “I’ll make sure you can handle the speeds it’ll reach too.”
“She’s beautiful,” I say, blinking furiously.
My motorcycle is sleek, and even appears dangerous from the page. Ryder points out the only two places a little chrome will be visible, but otherwise, it’ll be all black. My pack will keep me in the middle of their group while riding, Lore explains, unless I’m out with just one or two of them.
I’m even more excited to learn how to ride now.
“Ain’t nothing,” Ryder says, noticing my damp cheeks. “You really are meant for this life if a motorcycle brings you to tears, Little Queen.”
My snort is loud, and Ryder’s lips curve up at the sound. I know that families are complicated, but I hope he and his daughter find a way to reconcile.
“Are you going to call me that while you teach me how to ride a motorcycle?” I ask.
“Why don’t we see?” he grins, standing. His teeth are straight and white, and his ash blonde hair has a bit of white within it. “I’ll get the parts ordered from your people and get working on it.”
I nod, following him outside with Lore close behind.
“There’s one small thing,” Lore says carefully. “Marie can’t be too far away from me. I’m not sure what the exact distance is, but she gets really sick otherwise.”
“Bond sickness,” Ryder murmurs, nodding.
“We’re going to be right in this empty parking lot for a while, getting the feel for the bike.
When we decide to take her out onto the back roads, you’ll be right there with us.
I think it’ll take a couple of days to get you acclimated, Little Queen.
You’re not in a hurry to get back, right? ”
I shake my head because I’m not aware of any plans and Lore agrees.
“Then let’s get to it!”
Lore
My hand plays with Marie’s hair as she sleeps on top of me. Ryder has a guest house in his backyard, and that’s where he put Marie and I up while we’re here.
He was incredibly patient with her while she figured out how to master the friction zone. Even though it feels as if I was born on the back of a motorcycle, I was transported back to when I first learned how to ride.
People are lying if they tell you it’s intuitive. There’s a big, growling beast between your thighs, and it’s up to you to make it happy. I can’t even say “tame” per se, because the second you’re not paying attention, you’ll wreck. Riding a motorcycle is about being in tune with it.
Marie had a lot of starts and stops today, but by the time the sun set, she was able to get a smoother ride. Ryder was impressed, though Marie is simply a fast learner. She doesn’t mind trying new things, which I adore about her.
I’m glad we chose Ryder as her teacher, because he runs a boot camp for those who want to ride in his city. He knows exactly how to explain things to her, but since I’ve been riding for so long, I tend to forget the growing pains of learning.
We’ll take her out riding on back roads tomorrow, and help her get used to different terrains.
Now in the late night hours, I’m deep in my head while I watch my omega sleep. I love how peaceful she looks, while my mind races with moral dilemmas.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand, making me sigh. I went from being blissfully without one, to rejoining the real world. Granted, it’s a new number and only my pack has the phone number, but still.
Reaching out to pick it up, I grimace that it’s officially the next day. It’s now one in the morning, and the hours slipped by me while I’ve been thinking.
Ransom
Hey, is everything okay? You feel odd.
I’m not hiding how conflicted I am, I just didn’t realize he would be able to feel it miles away from me. Our bond really is tighter than I thought it would be.
Me
I’m just being my usual self. Ya know, weighing every movement and thinking about all of the different consequences.
That’s what I do. However, I majorly fucked up with Marie and my pack. I should have thought about how my “death” would affect her. It doesn’t even matter that I didn’t have all of the information. Even if I wasn’t sure of all the moving pieces, I still could have reached out.
Now, I find myself agonizing over every single thing, and I want to kick my own ass because of it. I should be asleep instead of wondering if I should tell Ryder his daughter is not only alive, but living in Minnesota.
Fuck me. Maybe, I should have Storm keep tabs on her instead. Is that just as invasive? For someone with few morals, I find myself having too many problems based on them.
Ransom
Evasive as usual. Ya know, this isn’t sexy.
Forcing myself not to bark out a laugh, I shake my head as I stare at my phone. Is he serious right now?
Me
Most of the things I do aren’t sexy, they just are. Though, keeping people I care about safe is something I’ll always hyperfixate about.
Ransom
Ugh. I was really hoping you’d just be all growls and possessive.
Me
Blows on my knuckles. Catching feelings already. That was fast.
Ransom
Asshole.
Me
Speaking of, have Storm or Wilder bent your bratty body over and fucked yours yet?
There’s a long bout of silence, making my lips twitch in amusement as I close my eyes with a small sigh. I wasn’t sad, nope not me. I apparently just needed to flirt my way out of my head.
Who would have thought?
My phone beeps again and I open my eyes to find a text message from Wilder. Damn, apparently no one is sleeping.
Wilder
What did you tell Ransom? He’s been having trouble sleeping, and keeps rolling around in bed. It’s fucking annoying. Now, his cheeks are blood red.
For someone so big, Ransom is adorable.
Me
He called me an asshole, so I asked if you’d fucked his yet.
Wilder
Ohh. Nah, not yet. Storm and I are edging him. I made him watch as I fucked Storm’s face before bed, and wouldn’t let him touch himself. He’s kind of salty about it. I think he needs to wait until you get back so we can run a train on his ass. I can think of no better bonding experience, can you?
Fuck no, I don’t think I can. The thought of Marie mixed into our kinky fuckery makes me grin.
Me
A train it is.
Wilder
Fuck yes! That’s one way to be welcomed into the pack. We’re Ransom’s first.
My cheeks hurt from how much I’m smiling. I know he doesn’t mean Ransom’s first train, but instead the first men who have caught his eye. I’m both flattered and excited we’ll also be his last. We don’t share outside of our pack.
Putting my phone away, I let thoughts of a sex train fill my mind instead of my moral dilemma with Ryder, and I soon find myself drifting off.