CHAPTER 27
STORM
After that kiss with Shadow, I can hardly think straight, and now I have to ride to Cinder Ridge with her sitting behind me. The fuck. First, I have to walk down two flights of stairs on wobbly legs when all I want is to kiss her again.
By the look in Shadow’s eyes, the kiss affected her, too. All she’d managed was a nod when I asked if she was ready. I reach out and take her hand. I can’t leave it like this. Her warm hand slips into mine, and it fits like it belongs.
“Hey,” I say. “I know it’s complicated, but there’s something here, and I’m pretty sure you feel it, too.”
She nods but still has no words.
“When we met, I was drawn to you.” I dig deep for the courage to open up. “The past three weeks, the highlight of my day was talking to you. I didn’t know how things would be today. I thought this might be it. You’d pick up your bike and disappear, and the thought scared the shit out of me.”
I reach for her other hand, and she reaches back. We stand facing each other, our fingers intertwined.
“But as soon as I laid eyes on you, I knew I couldn’t handle letting you disappear from my life. I wasn’t planning on kissing you, but—”
“It complicates things,” Shadow says.
“I was going to say, but I’m glad I did.”
She smiles. “Me too. But it still complicates things.”
“It doesn’t have to.”
“Sure, because Wiz will graciously accept it. She hates the Thorns, and from what I can tell, you’re not a big fan of hers.”
“It goes way back.” I squirm, knowing I shouldn’t be having this conversation with a Grace.
“Goes way back to what? Nobody can tell me or won’t.”
“I don’t know myself. Aces and Wiz met in college, so the rivalry started back then. Apparently, they’ve hated each other ever since.”
“Wiz is pushing sixty. Forty years is a long damned time to hold a grudge.”
I shrug. “Aces wouldn’t talk about it. I asked her once. Once!” I scrunch up my face, showing how unpleasant it was.
“What happened?”
“I was a prospect. It was during a charity event. The Thorns and Graces were both there. I noticed the tension between them, and I’d heard the other girls talk about how much Aces hated Wiz. When I asked Aces, she gave me her patented withering glare and told me to leave the past in the past.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
I give her a half-smile. “It wouldn’t have been had I not been a young, foolish prospect.”
“Uh-oh, you pushed.”
“They don’t call me Storm for nothing. Aces said I blew in like a storm, and sometimes I struggle to harness all that energy.”
Shadow tilted her head. “I don’t see you like that. It makes you sound like a hothead. Out of control.”
“I’m older now, but I was raw and untamed when I first met Aces.” A lump catches in my throat. “But she saw something in me. Believed in me when others would have tossed me aside. I was angry and lost back then.” I wave my hand. “That’s a story for a different day.”
I see the hesitation in Shadow’s eyes, but then she nods. “I’m gonna hold you to it—to telling me your story.”
The tension in my chest releases. “Does that mean there’ll be a next time? That you want to get to know me better, too?”
She breaks eye contact and glances at our feet. “I do. But for now, would you finish your story?”
“Oh, yeah. So I push Aces for answers. Remember, I’m a prospect—no patch on my back. The other girls looked at me like I was fucking insane.”
“Oh, god, tell me you didn’t confront her in front of the other club members.”
“I wish I could, but I was young and dumb. Aces was chill unless she was pissed. And man, was she pissed. She shoved me against the wall so hard my teeth rattled. Her forearm was against my throat, and she’s staring at me with her ice-blue eyes.
My heart’s beating out of my chest, knowing that if I fight back, I’m out of the club, so I’m preparing to get my ass kicked. ”
Shadow’s eyes widened. I doubt the Graces’ confrontations get physical, but that ain’t true with the Thorns. Sometimes an ass-whupping is the best way to settle our differences.
“She jabbed her finger into my prospect patch, looked me dead in the eye, and said, You’re a disappointment.
” The memory still tugs at me after all these years.
“At least, that’s what I heard. She claims she said, I’m disappointed in you.
Either way, it practically killed me. I worshipped Aces.
She didn’t talk to me for over two weeks.
I thought I was gonna have to leave the club. ”
“Oh, Storm.” Shadow squeezes my hands. “How did you fix it?”
“When Aces stopped talking to me, everyone else shunned me, too.” I smile. “Except Dimples, but she didn’t let anyone see her talking to me. Then one night, I’m sweeping the clubhouse floors, and Aces calls out, Hey, Prospect, get your ass over here and have a beer with me.”
“Did she tell you why she reacted so bad?”
I shake my head. “Nope. We didn’t talk about it then. It was years later I told her how much it tore me apart when she called me a disappointment. She denied saying it. Said I could never be a disappointment to her, but that day she was disappointed in how I acted.”
“What did she say about her feud with Wiz?”
I chuckle. “She didn’t. And I wasn’t stupid enough to ask again.”
“Smart. So that’s it? Nobody knows?”
“Some old-timers claim it was over money. Aces lived in Cinder Ridge, while Wiz came from money. Word was they became friends, but Wiz’s family didn’t approve of the poor scholarship girl, so Wiz stopped hanging out with her.”
“Is it true?”
I shrug. “It could be. Aces came from nothing and made something of herself, and I’m guessing Wiz was born with a silver spoon.”
Shadow stiffens. “Just ’cause her family has money doesn’t make her a bad person. She’s been good to me. Helped me out when I hit bottom.”
I squeeze her hands. “Sorry. I’m not here to diss her. I don’t know what happened between them. Dimples guesses it was because Wiz stole Aces’ girlfriend when they were in college.” I chuckle. “That was just Dimples being an idiot.”
“Yeah, wow.” Shadow laughs. “I’m sure Kent would love to hear that one.”
“Kent?”
“Her husband. They were high school sweethearts and married right after Wiz graduated college.”
I wiggle my eyebrows. “You never know. Some girls go wild when they get to college.”
“Stop.” Shadow laughs and closes her eyes. “I don’t want to imagine Wiz getting it on with some girl.”
“Homophobic?” I tease.
“Yeah, that’s it.” Shadow wrinkles her nose. “It’s like thinking about my parents having sex. Ew.”
I put on a serious face. “Oh, my parents never did.”
Shadow studies me. “Are you adopted?”
“No, but my parents never had sex.” I break into a grin.
“Jerk.”
“I had you going.”
She smiles, but then her face drops. “Back to our complicated situation.”
“Hey, maybe we should talk about our parents having sex.”
She laughs. “Nice try, but we need to talk about it.”
I sigh. “I know. But if you’re gonna tell me this won’t work, I don’t wanna hear it. The Thorns and Graces will just have to deal.”
“Just like the Montagues and Capulets?”
“Who?”
She lets go of my hand and slaps her hand against her chest. “We might’ve overcome our clubs, but I’m not sure I can get past this.”
Now she has me confused, although the name Capulet dings in my head like I should know them.
“Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare,” she says.
“Are you telling me that the motorcycle-riding babe is a Shakespeare fan?”
She gets a faraway grin. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
“Oh, god, if we do this, are you going to make me read Shakespeare?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“Good. Then—”
“I’m gonna read it to you.”
I groan, but the thought of her reading Shakespeare to me isn’t unappealing. I imagine her raspy voice quoting words that only half make sense.
“All right. If I agree to Shakespeare, does that remove the complication?”
Her smile fades. “Cinder Ridge is two hours from here.”
“Got it covered. The way I ride, I can do it in an hour and a half.”
I get a slight smile from her. “And then there’s my ex and the girls.”
“Your girls are adorable. I’m not scared of that.”
“My girls are my world.”
Tears well in her eyes, and I want to brush them away. I don’t because I doubt she’d want me to.
“As they should be,” I say. “I get you don’t wanna see me when they’re here, and I’m okay with that.” Kinda. “We need to get to know each other better first.”
“Shit. Why are you making this so difficult?” Her tone tells me she’s not really angry, so I grin. She points at me. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Why are you so fucking adorable?”
I shrug. “To fuck with your mind.”
“It’s working.”
“Good.” I pull her to me. “Please give this a try?”
She looks up into my eyes, and I melt. She doesn’t answer me in words. Instead, she puts her hand behind my head and draws my lips to hers.
We stand in the middle of her living room kissing for some time before she breaks the kiss. It was better than the first. My wobbly legs had about recovered, but now they’re jelly again.
“Wow.” I’m sure I have a glazed look in my eyes, so I blink several times trying to clear my vision.
She grins. “You didn’t just say wow, did you?”
My face heats. “The fuck. Did I say that out loud?”
“’Fraid so.” She shakes her head. “You’re not pulling off the big bad biker thing very well.”
“I’m not, huh?” I back her up against the wall and press my body against hers. “Is this better?”
Desire flashes in her eyes before she puts her hands against my chest and lightly presses. I take a step back, not wanting to crowd her.
“While this side is sexy, I prefer the other.” She flashes me a smile and looks up toward the ceiling. “I can still see you carrying that teddy bear at the poker run.” She puts her hand against her chest. “You had me then.”
“Then we can blame this whole thing on the teddy bear.” I smile. “I was lost when you hugged it against your chest.”
A crease appears on her forehead. “I didn’t do that.” The crease lessens. “Did I?”
“You did.”
“Oh, god. How embarrassing.”
“I thought it was adorable.”
“Are we really gonna do this?” she asks.
“Date?” With any other woman, I’d consider it an invitation into her bed, but that’s not my aim with Shadow. I like her too much.
She gives me a flirtatious smile. “Did you have something else in mind?”
“A lot.” I smirk. “But as much as I’d love to see you out of your clothes. I’d rather get to know you better.”
Her eyes soften. “Are you too good to be true, or are you just delivering a line?”
“I admit I’ve been known to charm the ladies with smooth talk, but this ain’t it.
” I put the palm of my hand against her cheek.
“Ellen,” I say, using her real name. “Let’s see where this can go.
I know it’s complicated, but we’ll take it slow.
All I know is I wanna keep talking to you every night.
And I’d like to take you on a real date. Are you in?”
She gazes into my eyes for several beats, which makes me nervous. What if she says no?
“I am,” she says. “But it’s still complicated.”
“No doubt.” I brush back the hair that’s fallen across her forehead. “But I think it’s worth it.”
“Me too.” She gives me a mischievous grin. “But I didn’t think it through. Now I have to sit on the back of your bike, pressed against you for the next two hours. With the motorcycle vibrating between my legs the entire time.”
I smirk. “Remember, I drive fast. It’ll only be an hour and a half.”