Trooper (The Reckless Order MC #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter one

Shea

With a tattoo gun in my hand, it was easy to lose track of time. That steady buzzing drone could send me into a meditative trance within seconds.

I’ve tried many things over the course of my life and failed spectacularly at all of them.

Except this. I always found my way back to the tattoo gun and the canvas of warm skin like it was my home, my soul’s calling.

It wasn’t easy to make Hotline Tattoo Parlor go from a dream to a reality, but it was worth all those sleepless nights and pinched pennies.

I was financially successful enough now that I could afford actual employees full-time instead of running the show by myself.

I even had a training program for apprentice artists on the side.

“Girl, your posture is going to be total shit by the time you’re forty if you keep hunching over like that,” Raine said from the front desk, painting her nails glittery pink.

As my admin assistant, she handled the tasks that I hated most—customer service and paperwork. And she made it look like a breeze. Thanks to her flirty personality and colorful style, she wielded a magnetic charm that had people instantly fall in love with her.

I stretched my aching back, massaging one shoulder. My stomach grumbled, reminding me that I was overdue for lunch by an hour or two.

“Small price to pay in my book when I get to make cool art every day for a living,” I replied.

Raine examined her nails in the light, studying her handiwork.

“Well, I would appreciate it if you didn’t look like a withered old crone before your time. As your personal matchmaker, I still have to find you a husband. You’re not getting any younger.”

I huffed a laugh, helping my client sit up as I stripped off my latex gloves. As much as I adored Raine, she had a reputation for being a busybody, too invested in everyone else’s love lives for her own good.

After I gave my client a rundown of basic care for their new ink, I sent them on their way. When the door was shut, I flipped the sign to Closed for Lunch, and turned my attention to Raine.

“As I recall, you appointed yourself as my matchmaker with no input from me. I’m only thirty years old, by the way. Stop acting like I practically have one foot in the grave.”

Raine gingerly blew on her nails to dry them.

“I was the one who set you up with that cute cowboy last Friday.” She waved me off, muttering, “I still can’t believe you didn’t sleep with him. He used to be a champion bullrider, Shea. He probably had stamina for days.”

I chuckled and shook my head.

“I told you cowboys aren’t exactly my type.”

She swiveled her chair to look at me.

“You’re so busy working all the time, I’m convinced you don’t even have a type anymore. Your sex drive has probably withered away to nothing but a dry husk by now. All work and no play, Shea. It’s not good for you.”

“My sex drive is alive and well, thank you very much,” I protested.

Raine’s eyebrows flicked up.

“I’m not talking about anything silicone or battery-operated. I’m talking about a real flesh-and-blood man who can give you mind-blowing orgasms that make you forget your own name.”

I rolled my eyes with a sigh. Raine called me guarded and aloof, with black cat energy and iron walls that no one could get through.

I blamed it on my tattoo shop. Starting a business took up most of my time and attention, I reasoned.

After hanging around clients all day, I didn’t really have much interest in going out to dinner and making small talk.

But deep down, I suspected it had more to do with the transience of men in my life. They didn’t stick around for long. Just when I began to open up, to expose a little piece of my heart, they disappeared.

It was getting harder and harder to imagine anyone would want to stay for the long haul.

Before I could reply, the rumble of a motorcycle cut me off. Raine popped out of her seat to look through the front window.

A large portion of my clientele were bikers, so the arrival of a motorcycle wasn’t an unusual sight. But Raine liked to ogle the hot ones.

She clucked her tongue and shot me a wry look over her shoulder.

“Your man is here.”

I frowned, confused. “I don’t have a man—”

Without waiting for me to finish, Raine flung the door open and cocked her hip with a little wave.

“Hey, Trooper! You’re looking extra sexy today in those tight jeans.”

I relaxed at the familiar sound of his laughter.

Theodore “Trooper” Gerard moved to Juniper Creek a few years ago after leaving the military.

He had stopped by the parlor to get a tattoo with a few of his ex-military buddies.

We were both sarcastic little shits, so we hit it off, and we’ve been friends ever since.

But he was not my man. And Raine knew that.

A moment later, Trooper walked in, wearing his customary black jeans and leather cut with his club patch across the back in bold letters, The Reckless Order MC. He carried a takeout bag from the Huckleberry Diner.

“I can always rely on you for an ego boost, Raine.” He took her hand and kissed it with a playful gleam in his eyes. She batted her lashes at him and curtseyed. “You make me blush when you objectify me like that.”

“Well, I’m always happy to oblige,” Raine replied. “A little friendly flirtation is good for your constitution, you know.”

Trooper made a noise of approval, examining her nails.

“This color is gorgeous. And I swear your mini-skirts get shorter every time I see you.”

Raine swatted his arm.

“I bet that silver tongue of yours makes panties melt everywhere you go.”

He chuckled as he rummaged around in the bag of food.

“I bet that you’re not even wearing any panties at all.”

She feigned a dramatic gasp, pressing a hand to her chest.

“How did you know?”

Trooper set a takeout container on her desk.

“Because you’re a very vocal ambassador of the commando club. Now, dig in. I got you a turkey club, no mayo, with a Greek salad on the side. No dressing. There’s a warm fudge brownie in there, too.”

Raine beamed and rose on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

“Oh, you know just what I like and you spoil me so well. It’s a crying shame that you’re single. Are you seeing anyone by the way? Asking purely for a friend. I could set you up—”

I huffed. “For God’s sake, Raine, leave the man in peace.”

She feigned a pout and flopped into her chair, digging into her lunch.

“Trooper, help me out here,” Raine said. “Maybe you can talk some sense into Shea. She hasn’t been laid in ages and it’s making her bitchy. Well, even more bitchy than she usually is.”

I wrinkled my nose at Raine. Then I pointed at Trooper.

“Not a word out of you,” I said. “Raine’s meddling is bad enough. I don’t need it from you as well.”

Trooper smirked and crossed his arms, leaning back against Raine’s desk.

“Sounds to me like it’s time for an intervention.”

I groaned, balling up my gloves and tossing them in the trash.

“Did you bring me food? Or did you just drop by to judge me?”

“Both.” Trooper crossed the room and placed a takeout container on my work table. “Bacon cheeseburger, extra onions and mustard, no tomatoes. Sweet potato fries on the side, with a jumbo chocolate chip cookie. Fresh from the oven, so it should still be warm.”

I raised my eyebrows, impressed that he remembered my favorite order at the diner, word for word. Then I squinted at him with suspicion.

“Smells good,” I said, inhaling that mouthwatering cheeseburger scent. “But I know a bribe when I see one. You’re buttering me up.”

“Am I not allowed to do something nice for the ladies in my life?” he protested.

I scoffed. “Now I know you’re full of shit. What do you want, Trooper?”

“How many times have I told you to call me Theo? You don’t have to use my road name like everybody else does.”

I took a giant bite of my burger, saving me from a response. As honored as I was that Trooper was willing to grant me that privilege, I wasn’t ready to take it.

Trooper was easy—familiar in a friendly way, but not too friendly. When I used his road name, it made me feel like one of the guys.

Teddy, he declared, was a childhood nickname that didn’t really fit him anymore, but it stuck regardless.

And Theodore was used by his parents. Usually when they scolded him. He preferred to never hear anyone call him that again for obvious reasons.

Theo was supposed to be just for me.

And that’s exactly why I didn’t want to use it. Because it was too close. Too intimate. Too personal. I knew what a slippery slope that could be.

So, I stubbornly called him Trooper.

“Is that what you came here to talk about?” I asked. “I’m pretty sure we’ve had this conversation a few times before already. You didn’t need to make a special trip just to tell me that.”

“Fine,” Trooper said. “I know a deliberate change of subject when I see one. I dropped by because I may have heard a rumor that Psycho is getting new ink from you.”

I shrugged, failing to see the connection. Psycho and Trooper were members of the local motorcycle club, the Reckless Order. I’d tattooed many members over the years, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

“What’s your point?” I prompted.

Trooper fixed me with a long stare.

“Do you like him?”

I sputtered a laugh of disbelief.

“You’ve got to be kidding. He asked for a tattoo, so I gave him one. That’s my job—”

Trooper shook his head and braced his hand on the back of my chair, leaning close to look me in the eyes. His dog tags slipped out of his shirt collar, swinging freely. I almost reached out and hooked my fingers into the silver chain with a tug.

Something about Trooper’s close proximity was soothing in a way I couldn’t explain.

Even on my worst days, when I pushed everyone away, he still stuck around.

He didn’t flinch at my sharp tongue and my need for independence didn’t threaten him, unlike every man I ever dated who took personal offense to it.

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” he replied. “Psycho said you two had chemistry. You were flirting. And as your friend, I feel it’s my responsibility to inform you that the guy is batshit crazy. You can do better.”

I searched his face, jutting out my chin.

“Wait a minute. You seem really invested in all this…”

Trooper raised his eyebrows, a challenge in his gaze.

“Are you…jealous?” I ventured, delighted at my discovery.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Absolutely not.”

“You are! Poor Trooper,” I crooned, patting his cheek. “Is that why you brought me food? You’re trying to buy my affection?”

He laughed, his blue eyes sparkling.

“I just wanted to make sure that you remembered I’m your favorite. Even if you sleep with Psycho.”

I snorted. “I’m not sleeping with Psycho. Yes, he asked for my number. No, I did not give it to him.”

Raine squawked in dismay.

“Why not?”

“None of your business,” I replied. “I wasn’t interested, plain and simple.”

When I bit into my burger, a flicker of concern shadowed Trooper’s eyes for a moment.

“He didn’t make you uncomfortable, did he?”

I glanced up at the edge of concern in Trooper's voice. For the most part, he was an easy going guy, friendly and charming. But his membership with the Reckless Order MC indicated he was capable of getting into some pretty dirty shit that could land him in prison if he wasn’t careful.

“No,” I said firmly. “Psycho was looking to hookup. I told him that I was flattered, but not really in the mood. It had been a long week. I just wanted to head home, watch some trashy reality TV, and go to bed early.”

Raine groaned and rubbed her temple.

“Oh my God, you are so hopeless.”

Trooper’s demeanor lightened and he snatched a fry from my lunch.

“If he gives you any trouble, let me know.”

“I don’t need you to fight my battles for me,” I said.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re tough as nails. I get it. Now, I’m going to take a leak, and when I return, you can fill me in on that trashy reality TV you watched.”

As soon as Trooper had disappeared into the back of the shop and shut the bathroom door, Raine rounded on me.

“So,” she said, twirling a forkful of salad in the air. “When will you ask him out?”

“Who?” I said, garbled around a bite of cheeseburger.

Raine heaved a long-suffering sigh and rolled her eyes.

“Trooper, of course. You two are eye-fucking each other like…all the time, basically.”

I shook my head. “We’re just friends.”

“That man is so into you, Shea. It’s ridiculous. You’re blind if you don’t see the way he looks at you.”

I gulped my food down, poking absently at my fries as heat crept up my neck. Why the hell was I blushing like a school girl?

Of course I could admit that Trooper was an attractive guy, with his wavy blond hair, dark blue eyes, and easy smile. Everything about him was warm and playful and he had a knack for making me laugh when I needed it the most.

I liked him. As a friend. And it had to stay that way.

“Did you say someone was looking at Shea?”

I startled out of my thoughts when Trooper returned. He grabbed for my fries and I moved them out of reach.

“Stop stealing my food,” I protested, petulant. “Get your own.”

“Actually, we were talking about you,” Raine said with a sweet smile.

I shot her a warning look across the room. She ignored me.

Trooper flopped into a chair, tucking his hands behind his head. The hem of his shirt rode up, revealing an inch of clear skin at his hip. My gaze snagged there and suddenly, my mouth was as dry as the Sahara desert.

“I thought my ears were burning,” he replied.

“Shea was checking out your ass,” Raine put in. “She said it’s so tight and grabbable and hot.”

I choked on my food.

“Damn it, Raine,” I wheezed. “I did not say that—”

“Wow,” Trooper said, grinning from ear to ear like a smug cat. “I should hang out with you ladies more often with all these compliments you’re throwing my way.”

I grumbled with defeat and shoved my fries at him.

“Great. Now we’ll never get rid of you.”