Chapter 6
Hush
Ididn’t know what I was thinking. Waiting inside at Seek’s house was a mistake, but I couldn’t seem to make myself leave.
She was sick and vulnerable and it brought out all sorts of unwelcomed feelings.
Hell, she brought out more in me than I’d felt since Daphne died.
More than I thought I could feel at this stage in life.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I was supposed to live out the remainder of my life, pining for the other half of my heart. I shouldn’t be feeling anything for another woman, especially not one as young as Seek.
I liked the nickname, it suited her. Studying her driver’s license, I sighed when I saw her age. It wasn’t like she was a kid. At thirty she was a full grown woman. That still didn’t mean that I could pursue the interest building within me like pressure behind a dam.
It’s because she needs tending. That’s what I was telling myself anyway. A long low whine caught my attention and I snuck into her room. She was sprawled out on her huge bed, legs bare from where she’d stripped her pants off and kicked the covers down near her feet.
Now when had she done that?
She was in a t-shirt and panties and looked like a wet dream come true lying there. Her thighs looked silky smooth and those legs were long, making me wonder how they’d look wrapped around my waist. My dick twitched as it hardened and I bit back a groan.
Another whine demanded my attention. I looked over at the dogs, who were lying on their beds, unsure of which had made the noise. It’d been an hour since I’d laid Seek down after she’d fallen asleep on the couch. Lockout had gotten caught up in the city, but was on his way to pick me up now.
Hoping I wouldn’t lose an arm, I opened the door wide so the dogs could run past. They hopped up and happily trotted around—apparently Seek inviting me in was good enough that they didn’t feel the need to eat a stranger.
The dogs bolted out into the living room and I closed her bedroom door on my way out. They waited patiently by the sliding glass door that led out into the backyard. I let them out and cringed when the younger dog let out a few happy barks once they got outside.
I stepped out and surveyed the area. The pool had fencing surrounding it so the dogs couldn’t get in without someone opening the gate. Satisfied that I wasn’t going to accidentally kill her dogs, I went back into the cool house.
If she woke up before I left I planned to get something hot into her belly. My dick twitched again. “Hot like food, not you,” I muttered to my wayward cock. As much as I’d like to climb into bed with her, that wasn’t going to happen.
One of the dogs scratched on the sliding glass door, so I got up and let them inside. I settled back onto the couch and put on a show, waiting for Lockout to get here. Auron hopped up on the couch and circled a few times before settling next to my right hip, laying his head on my thigh.
The second dog curled up on a dog bed on the floor, chewing on a squeaky toy. He gnawed happily for a few minutes before I spoke. “You’re bein’ kinda loud.”
The dog stopped and raised his head. Intelligent brown eyes considered me for a moment before he got up and went to a basket in the corner. It wasn’t until he laid down on the bed again that I saw he’d come back with a bone. He went back to chewing, but quietly this time.
I looked down at Auron. “Does he speak English or somethin’?” The dog raised his head and yawned. “Talkin’ to dogs,” I muttered with a shake of my head. “I must be losin’ it.”
Flicking through the channels, I found Mythbusters and set the remote back down. Nothing better than seeing the right way to blow shit up. “Pretty sure you’re supposed to be sleepin’ down there,” I told Auron, pointing down to the second bed.
He snapped his eyes closed, effectively ignoring me. A chuckle rumbled out of my chest and I petted the top of his head. “Fine, but don’t tell her I let you up here.”
Auron made a whining noise that I took as agreement.
* * *
About twenty minutes passed and my phone buzzed. Lockout was waiting outside for me. I quietly let her dogs back into her room, pausing to stare down at her sleeping form. Then I walked to the front door and locked the knob as I left.
The sweltering heat hit me like a wave as I left the air conditioned house. Lockout was in one of the club’s cage rides, waiting for me to get in.
“Who’s place is this?” he asked as I climbed in the truck.
“Friend’s.”
His brows shot up. “You don’t have friends. Having friends requires talking,” he joked.
I gave him a mocking grin. He was trying to pry the information out of me, but I didn’t feel like sharing.
He chuckled and pulled out of the driveway. “Fine, you secretive bastard.”
“Put me back in the rotation at the bar,” I told him as he merged onto I-10.
His eyes shot over to me. “Yeah? My people can manage if you don’t feel like bartending.”
“Gives me somethin’ to do. Unless you don’t need me.”
“Truth is I can always use more help. I’ll have you cover Friday nights with Kit. She’s been complaining that it’s getting too busy for her and the others to handle.”
“Sounds good.” I stretched out my legs and watched the city fly past as he brought me back to where my bike was parked.
“Need anything for now?” Lockout asked as he pulled into the grocery store lot.
“No. Shouldn’t that be me askin’ you that?”
He grinned and swept a hand through his dark hair. “Nothing all that exciting since we got back from Texas. It’s been a nice change of pace, though I don’t expect it to continue,” he warned. “For now, just settle in. Trouble will find us, I promise.”
“It always does,” I agreed. This club was technically a one-percenter club, but we didn’t sell drugs, or guns. We did have direct dealings with those that did, typically by killing them. We were vigilantes.
After we’d gotten home from deployment and everyone had either retired or been forced to, due to medical and other reasons, we’d needed a way to keep helping people. We loved our city and wanted to protect the people living here.
We kept our heads low until some dirtbag decided to start trouble, then we took care of business.
If we were feeling restless and needed an outlet sometimes we’d go over to Phoenix and clean house a little, but that was rare.
The drama that started up in Austin had given them a good outlet for their restlessness.
“See you back at the clubhouse,” Lockout called out as he drove off.
I straddled my bike and pulled my keys out of my pocket.
The club owned a bar and that was the main way most of us made money.
My retirement brought in enough I didn’t need to work, but I needed to stay busy.
The bar was a good place for that. It was close enough to socializing that I didn’t need to seek people out.
Pulling out onto the street, I let the throttle out and roared down the road, enjoying the way the wind whipped past me. I drove without any real thought of direction until I came to a stop at a spot I never thought I’d come to again.
Turning off my bike, wondering why my subconscious had brought me back here, I stepped over to the section of road that dipped down.
My thoughts were pulled back to that night that I’d been helping out a friend with his bike and had come home late.
Daphne had taken the new motorcycle I’d gotten her for a ride.
She’d always wanted to learn, so I’d bought it for her and taught her as a birthday present. A monsoon had hit and she’d been caught in a flash flood.
A horn blared behind me and I glared over my shoulder at the driver as I moved out of the road.
I walked back to my bike and headed back to the clubhouse.
Coming back here had been a mistake. It was too hard to be here without Daphne.
The only thing that was keeping me here was my brothers.
And possibly—if I was being honest with myself—a certain woman who had piqued my interest. The need to run again was butting up with the desire to stay and it was creating a shit storm of emotion inside of me.
By the time I walked into the clubhouse it was busy as people rushed around, getting ready for work, coming home from their shifts. A lot of us worked—at least part time—for the bar, since it paid for most club activities. But a fair number of the men had jobs outside of that as well.
I took a seat at a table in the open expanse of the living room, next to Dash. “Where’s the wife and kid?”
“Play date,” he responded, bringing a beer up for a drink. “I never go to those things. The mothers get a little anxious when I drop Dex off.”
“I wonder why,” I said with a chuckle. Dash was shorter than me by a few inches, but he was built like a linebacker and had tattoos everywhere.
I had a few, but my friend was covered in them. One of the sweet butts that hung around the club walked over and handed me a beer. “Thanks, Syl.”
“Welcome home, Hush,” Sylvia purred.
I didn’t miss the invitation in her eyes, I just ignored it.
The last thing I needed was to get tangled up with one of the club bunnies.
In Texas things had been popping off left and right.
There’d hardly been time to be bored because we kept getting pulled into one thing after another.
The club bunnies in Austin all but vanished as the girls had moved in. Funny how that worked.
Things had slowed down here. I was going to have to figure out how to do that, too. Dash and I sat drinking our beers, watching everyone move around, grabbing early dinners before heading out again.
Realizing I’d finished my drink, I nodded to Dash and stood up. I handed Sylvia the empty bottle and went upstairs to my room. Stripping out of my cut and shirt, I grabbed the bar that was wedged in the frame of my bathroom door and started doing pull ups.
It felt good to sweat, but no matter how many sit ups, push ups, or pull ups I did, my mind kept drifting back to a pair of pretty blue eyes.
I hoped she started feeling better soon.
It was going to be hard to put her out of my mind and move forward, but I needed to.
I had nothing to offer Seek. I left my room to go run the perimeter of the compound, determined to pour all my energy into my workout.
The heat would help ensure that my workout burned the need from my system.
Then maybe my mind could forget both the past and present.