CHAPTER EIGHT
My phone woke us up early in the evening.
I couldn’t figure out where I was at first, or why there was a heavy arm holding me prisoner. I tried to grab the phone and Reese tightened his grip, grunting.
“It might be Jessica,” I told him, shoving at the arm until he let me catch the call.
It wasn’t her.
Of course it wasn’t her … Just because she’d realized things weren’t so sunny down in San Diego didn’t mean that she’d magically turned into a responsible person. I managed to push Reese off and lean up onto my elbow to take the call anyway, because Caller ID said it was Melanie, and I’d sworn I wouldn’t ignore her.
“Hey, Loni,” she asked, her voice hesitant and a little shaky.
“Is everything okay?”
Reese reached out and caught me again, pulling me back into the crook of his arm. I found my face pressed against his chest while his fingers started running through my hair. I couldn’t believe we’d actually had sex. S. E. X. For real. Wasn’t sure how to process that. On the one hand, I felt incredible … Warm and full of endorphins that still gave me a full on glow. On the other, I knew I needed to protect myself because Reese was a Grade A man-whore, and I couldn’t let myself get attached to him.
Fun to play with but not a keeper.
Then again, keepers weren’t part of my new, improved plan to be a free and independent woman. Unfortunately, neither were hurt feelings and picking up Jessica from the airport tomorrow afternoon. The plan wasn’t off to a good start.
“Loni?” Mel asked. I blinked.
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you going to answer me?”
Oh my God, I’d done it again. I’d forgotten about Mel—while I was on the phone with her, no less. I was such a shitty person. Ugh.
“What was the question again?”
“Can I come over to your place tonight?” she asked, her voice full of hope. “Dad’s in a real bad mood. I have some news …”
Uh-oh.
“What is it?”
“I think my mom took off,” she whispered. “That’s what Dad told me, and I haven’t seen her for two days. He’s been skipping work. He’s really drunk right now—I’m kind of scared. Do you think I could stay with you for a couple days?”
I closed my eyes, feeling a rush of hot, righteous indignation. How dare that a*shole do this to Melanie? She was a sweet girl, a good girl who worked hard and deserved happiness.
“Oh, baby … Of course you can. Go let yourself into the house. You can get anything you want out of the kitchen, just make yourself comfortable. Settle yourself in Jess’s room, okay?”
“What time will you be home?” she asked in a small voice. I burrowed into Reese’s side and felt his hand sweep down to cup my bottom. He caught my knee with his other hand, pulling it up and over his leg until I sort of straddled him in a weird, lying-down kind of way.
His erection stirred to life, and I looked down through the faded light to see it. Still couldn’t quite believe that thing had not only gone into me, but made me come twice in a row.
Shitty to be me, because Mellie needed me more than I needed Reese’s dick.
“I’ll be home in twenty, thirty minutes.” Hayes snorted, and I smacked his chest to shut him up.
“Thanks, Loni. You know … Sometimes I wish you were my mom.”
A lump grew in my throat.
“Well, you’re part of my family,” I told her. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out.”
“Thanks …”
I ended the call and then dropped the phone, nestling into the muscles of his strong chest.
“Everything okay?”
“Define okay,” I said, feeling a bitter smile spread across my face. “Jess has a friend named Melanie. Her home situation isn’t so good, so she spends a lot of time with us. I think I just invited her to move in with me.”
“Nice of you.”
“She’s a good kid,” I said, sighing. “And she’s nearly nineteen—older than Jess. They graduated in the same class but Mel had a late birthday and Jess had an early one. They probably should’ve held her back a year along the way.”
“Sounds like this girl can do all right, you give her a fighting chance,” he said. “But I want you to stick around a while longer. I’m not finished with you yet.”
At that, he caught my hips and tugged me up and onto his body. My legs tangled with his and my breasts crushed into his chest, all of which made me wish to hell that Mellie’s dad had chosen another night to get drunk. Of course, he was drunk every night, thus her mom’s decision to take off. Nicole should’ve left his ass years ago—but she should’ve taken her daughter with her.
Selfish bitch.
Mellie was so eager to please and easy to be around. I couldn’t imagine why her mom would pull this shit. Thinking about it made me feel sick. That’s why, when Reese cupped my bare ass with both hands and pulled me into him, I shoved against his chest.
“I have to go.”
“I’m sensin’ a pattern here,” he muttered, frowning at me. “Every time I get you horizontal, you run away. Not a fan, sweetheart.”
“If one of your girls needed help, you’d be out of here so fast I’d find myself on the floor.”
He sighed and I knew I had him. Then one of his hands slid slowly up my body, catching me around the back of my neck. I let him kiss me, amazed that such an intense man could be so gentle. His tongue flirted with mine and his fingers tightened on me. His penis—no, his cock—kept getting harder and I felt a restless ache stir between my legs.
I have to get the hell out of here, I realized. Otherwise I won’t make it.
The kiss ended and I pulled back, staring down at his face. The man was beautiful, no other way to describe it. His short brown hair was sticking up all around his head at the moment. His eyes were bright blue, like aquamarine birthstones shining in the center of his face, and the scruff covering his chin held just a hint of gray. Not enough to make him look old. Just … mature.
And the arms holding me?
I’d never met anyone with such strong, safe arms.
You’re not safe, my brain hissed. He’s a dangerous man, you have no idea what he might be involved with.
My brain made a good point—I knew damned well that the club had business interests that weren’t totally legitimate. Everyone knew it. That’s why they paid so well—they weren’t just buying cleaning services, they were buying silence.
“I’m going home,” I whispered, kissing his cheek softly. Then I tried to roll off him, stand up. He held me tight for a second longer.
“You sure?” he asked. “If you’re worried about Melanie’s dad, I can send one of the guys to watch her.”
I shook my head. “Her physical safety isn’t the problem. She’s a young woman whose mother just abandoned her and she’s terrified. She needs hugs, not a bodyguard.”
Reese grew very still, and his fingers dug deep into my flesh.
“You didn’t mention her mom before,” he said, his voice deceptively calm, but with an undercurrent of strong emotion I couldn’t place. What was that all about?
Then it clicked. Heather. She’d had to leave their girls behind. Totally different circumstances, but that didn’t change the end result—young women without a mother, forced to grow up too early.
“Her dad is a drunk,” I said, deciding five more minutes wouldn’t make a difference. I let my head fall down on his chest, and he loosened his fingers, running them through my hair again. “I think he was beating on Nicole. She’s Mellie’s mom. I tried talking to her a couple of times but she didn’t want to hear it.”
“And now she’s taken off and left her kid behind? F*ckin’ cunt. He treats her like that, he’ll treat her girl like that, too.”
Wow, that was harsh … but fair. Nicole was a cunt. She abandoned her daughter to a drunk who liked to hit women. If she didn’t fit the word, I wasn’t sure who did.
“Don’t worry—I’ll take care of Mellie. She’s like my own.”
He looked thoughtful, then nodded.
“Okay, let’s get some shit straight and then you can head out.”
Great, here it came. The Talk. Fortunately I was ahead of him for once.
“Don’t worry, Reese. I know this was just a one-off for you, and that you don’t want a relationship. That’s what I needed, too, so in a way it’s perfect. No harm, no foul. We can just pretend this never happened.”
A scowl covered his face. “What the f*ck are you talking about?”
“Us. Or rather, the fact that there isn’t an ‘us.’ I get it—you like to sleep around. I had a good time, but I’m not expecting a ring or anything.”
His eyes widened, and I smirked.
“Although I’ll be around if you want another booty call,” I added slyly.
Yay me! I’m a sophisticated woman who knows the difference between love and sex.
Reese’s scowl grew deeper, and then suddenly he moved and I was under him, pinned down against the bed. He pulled my hands up, holding them prisoner above my head.
“Are you f*cked in the head?” he demanded harshly. “You get laid for the first time in years, it’s phenomenal—”
“Well, aren’t you the modest one?”
“It’s phenomenal,” he repeated, emphasizing the word heavily. “And now you’re just going to ignore me? I am not f*ckin’ down with that.”
Now it was my turn to be startled.
“I see you with women all the time,” I said, confused. “I know how you operate. Strictly sex. I’m not looking to change that.”
“The f*ck?” he muttered, shaking his head. It was like we were having two completely different conversations, because I had no idea why he was acting this way. “You’re so f*cking stupid I could strangle you. Don’t know exactly what we’re doing here just yet, but it’s not just sex. For one thing, I’m not okay with your seein’ anyone else, especially Deputy Dick.”
“Right, and I suppose you’re planning to be true and faithful? I don’t buy it. You’re a known man-whore. Also, you ever call me stupid again and I’ll dump paint stripper on your bike. That isn’t a threat, it’s a promise.”
He looked me straight in the eyes, his face grim and serious.
“I have no plans to f*ck anyone but you, at least for now.”
“I don’t believe you,” I told him, feeling almost wistful. “And you don’t need to be saying things like this, because I’m not interested in tying you down.”
“Listen. To. Me,” he said, his face growing colder, which I wouldn’t have considered possible ten seconds earlier. “I’ll admit it—I’ve slept around since Heather died. Slept around a lot, but none of them ever felt real to me. There’s something about you, London, something that’s real in a way I can’t even begin to explain. I like it and I want it and you dumped your boyfriend and came to me when you were hurting. Guess that means you want it, too. So far as I figure, that makes you mine.”
“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “We hardly know each other.”
“And we won’t get to know each other if we’re out there screwing other people, so I think we’re gonna have to stop doing it. Should be easy enough for you, under the circumstances.”
“So you’re saying you want to be in an exclusive relationship with me? I thought you didn’t do that. What about Heather?”
“Heather is dead. I’m not. Now I’m gonna kiss you and you’re gonna kiss me back. Then I’ll let you go home because it’s important and I respect that. Tomorrow you’ll go get your girl at the airport and I’ll give you the evening together, but come Friday night you’re with me. Havin’ a party out at the Armory and I want you there. You got a problem with any of that?”
I shook my head quickly, relatively certain that “havin’ a problem with that” wasn’t really a solid option at this point.
“Great. Let’s get started.”
Then he kissed me, and not in a laid-back kind of way. His mouth took possession, head slanting as his tongue pushed in. It wasn’t a seductive kiss, or even a comfortable one. Nope, this was his body telling mine we had unfinished business. I didn’t even notice I’d spread my legs for him until he pulled away long enough to slide on a fresh condom. Then he was deep inside, claiming and conquering me yet again.
Turns out you can improve on phenomenal. Go figure.
Half an hour later, when Reese gave me another kiss, it was a quick peck through my van window.
“Sure you don’t want someone keeping an eye on your house? If her daddy’s a mean drunk, might not be a bad idea.”
I shook my head, which jiggled my chest. He’d destroyed my bra, unfortunately—and I was a big enough girl that going bra-less wasn’t the best of options.
“Mel’s spent at least two nights a week at my place for the past three years. Not sure what the long-term plan will be, but I’ll get her set up. Unlike Jessica, she’s got a job and she’s planning to start classes at NIC in August. They’ve got student housing.”
He smiled at me, reaching out and tucking a strand of my bright red hair behind my ear.
“You know, this is sexy as f*ck,” he said. “But you were gorgeous as a blonde, too.”
“Thanks,” I whispered. Then I pulled away and turned the key in my ignition.
The starter turned over, but the engine didn’t catch.
I frowned, and tried again. “It’s not starting.”
“Your check engine light is on.”
“I know,” I said absently. I pushed on the gas pedal and tried again. The starter whined in protest. “It goes on and off all the time.”
“Sweetheart, you do realize that when the check engine light comes on, you’re supposed to check the engine, right?”
I shot him the Look of Death, and he laughed.
“Want a ride back to your place?” he asked. “I can figure this out for you, but I’m thinkin’ if you want to be with your girl while she’s all upset, now isn’t the time to start tearing apart your rig.”
I closed my eyes and sighed.
“Thank you,” I said. “That would be great. I can’t believe it’s not working. What am I going to do about picking up Jess tomorrow? Shit, now I’ll have to rent something and it’ll be a fortune and—”
“London. Honey. Settle the f*ck down. One of the perks of datin’ a man who owns a repair shop is that shit like this is no longer a crisis. I’ll find something for you to borrow while I take care of it, okay? Now get your ass out of there and over to my bike. I’m takin’ you home.”
He pulled the door open and I stepped out. He held out his hand.
“What?”
“Keys, babe. Gonna need keys if you want me to fix your car.”
“Don’t fix anything without checking with me first,” I said, my voice serious. “If it’s really bad, I may need to go out and find something new. This van is nearly twelve years old, not sure how much life she has left in her.”
“Keys?”
I pulled off the van key, which I kept on a little dealie that snapped off my main keychain for situations exactly like this one.
“Great. Now get your ass on the bike.”
I stepped toward the big Harley, which was black and silver, with the Reapers symbol painted on the gas tank. The seats were black leather, the chrome was shiny, and the whole thing looked ginormous now that I was actually standing right next to it. Hayes handed me a helmet. I studied it, bemused. It’d been a strange day and now it was getting stranger—the president of a motorcycle club was giving me a ride home.
After f*cking me.
And he planned to f*ck me some more.
Wow.
It took everything I had to bite back a little squee of excitement, because there’s not a woman on earth who doesn’t secretly want to ride off into the sunset with a bad man on a bike … Especially after having excellent sex with that man.
I glanced up at the sky. Sure enough, it was streaked with pinks and blues and gorgeous clouds, glowing as the very last of the day’s sunlight kissed the north Idaho mountains.
“It goes on your head.”
I blinked, confused.
“The helmet,” Reese said, slowly and distinctly. “It goes on your head.”
Then he smiled at me and I think I might have blushed, which is kind of crazy considering I’m thirty-eight and well past the blushing years.
“Where do you go when you drift off like that?” he asked. I laughed and gave a shrug.
“Everywhere, I guess. I’ve always done it. Used to get in big trouble at school for it, because they thought I was ignoring them on purpose. But things just catch my imagination and then I’m off. I’m sorry—I wasn’t trying to be rude.”
“Doesn’t bother me,” he said. “Just curious. Let’s go make sure your girl Mellie is all right. Come mornin’ I’ll get one of the boys to run a car over for you.”
“Thank you,” I said, wondering if any of this was real.
“Just remember, Friday night is mine.”
“Friday night is yours,” I repeated.
Then I climbed on Reese Hayes’s bike, wrapped my arms around him tight, and let him carry me off into the sunset.
It was full dark by the time we reached my place.
I didn’t want to get off the bike and step back into reality … there was something incredibly thrilling and powerful about riding with Reese, and I wanted to enjoy it while I could. Whatever he might have said earlier, I wasn’t exactly holding my breath that this would turn into a real relationship. The odds weren’t in our favor. But until things fell apart, I’d let myself savor the moment—giving up control and trusting him to keep me safe was the most liberating thing I’d done in six years.
When he turned off the Harley, I couldn’t seem to make my hands let go of him. This didn’t seem to bother Reese. He caught them in his own and pulled me tighter against his back. I smelled the leather and felt his strength between my legs. Surreal.
Then he let go.
I climbed off the bike and back into reality. The porch light came on and the front door opened to reveal Mellie. She stopped dead when she saw Reese, and her jaw actually dropped.
Fair enough.
Last time she’d seen me, I’d been dating a deputy sheriff. Now I’d come home with an outlaw biker, and I’d be willing to bet that anyone seeing us would know we’d been together. There was an intimacy between us that hadn’t been there before. I felt it in the way he put his hand on my back protectively, and the way I found myself leaning toward him.
Oh, and it probably didn’t help that I’d lost my bra—the night air was cool enough to nip me out in a big way.
Mellie had always been shy, so I was surprised when she stepped off the porch and started walking across the lawn. The kid must’ve been even more upset than she sounded on the phone. I’d just started toward her when a horrific burst of sound and heat and light exploded out of the house. Reese tackled me to the ground, covering me with his body.
Everything fell perfectly, utterly silent.
What the hell had happened?
Reese lay on top of me for long seconds. I couldn’t hear his voice but I felt the vibrations of his yelling through his body. Why couldn’t I hear him? After an eternity, he rolled off me and I looked up to find an inferno where my house had been, flames licking up toward the sky.
I realized my house had exploded.
My house had f*cking exploded!
An instant later I remembered how close Melanie had been when it went up, and my heart stopped.
“Mellie!” I yelled, grabbing Reese’s arm, jerking him toward me. “We have to find Mellie!”
He yelled something back at me, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Then he was on his feet, running across the lawn. I staggered upward, trying to figure out what the hell was happening. Neighbors were pouring out into the street all around us. Slowly sounds took shape—mostly an unpleasant ringing—and I realized the force of the explosion had temporarily deafened me.
Reese was a dark silhouette against the fire, searching through the debris. He stopped suddenly, and I saw him lift Mel’s still form, carrying her toward me. Then he was laying her in the grass and noises started filling my ears again. I fell to my knees next to her body.
Oh God. Mellie …
She looked dead.
“I’m calling nine one one!” someone yelled behind us, startling me. I was still stunned—I couldn’t seem to think. I needed to check her pulse, make sure she was breathing. Old training kicked in, and I could have cried in gratitude for the CPR classes I’d taken over the years. I found her pulse. Weak, but definitely present. Then I leaned my face into her mouth and nose, praying I’d feel her breathe against my skin.
Air tickled my cheek.
“She’s alive,” I whispered. Tears rolled down my face.
“Thank f*ck for that,” Reese muttered, pulling me into his arms as one of my neighbors knelt next to Melanie, covering her with a blanket. The wall of safety came crashing down around me and I started to shake.
My house was gone. I’d almost lost Melanie … What the hell could possibly explain this?
The wailing howls of emergency vehicles filled the air. I heard a car screech to a stop, and out of the corner of my eye I vaguely noticed that a man in a sheriff’s uniform had stepped out, speaking into his shoulder radio urgently.
Then a fire engine rumbled down the street. Firefighters ran past me, dragging their hoses with them, and EMTs swarmed Mellie’s still form.
To my relief they weren’t doing anything that looked serious and scary like you see on TV—no chest compressions or IVs or shocking her with shiny paddles. Instead they monitored her vitals, voices calm as they methodically got a neck brace on her before rolling her onto a backboard. Seconds later they lifted the entire apparatus—backboard and all—onto the rolling gurney and started back toward their vehicle.
“That board won’t do much good if you already paralyzed her. Should’ve left her where you found her,” I heard a familiar voice say. I looked up to find Nate standing over me, his voice full of venom. I pulled away from Reese and stood slowly. Nate reached a hand down to help me, but Reese caught my arm.
“Stay the f*ck away from my woman,” he growled. Nate’s eyes went wide.
“Guess that cunt’s not made of gold after all?” he commented. Reese lunged toward him and without thinking I jumped between the two men.
“I don’t have time for this,” I shouted, staring them down like two little boys who needed a time-out. “I need to check on Mel. Reese had to get her away from the fire, Nate. If you’d been here, you’d have done the same thing. She was practically on top of it. And Reese? What happened between me and Nate is between me and Nate. I’m a big girl and I can fight my own battles. I’m going to follow Mel to the hospital, and you better f*cking behave yourselves because I’m not in the mood.”
Both men gaped at me. I didn’t care—these weren’t normal times and I could give a f*ck about their little pissing match. I decided to ignore them and follow Melanie.
“Is she all right?” I asked the EMT, who was busy securing the gurney in the ambulance. She glanced over at me but didn’t miss a beat.
“Dunno,” she said. “They’ll check her head at the hospital. Looks like she hit something hard. You have any idea what happened here?”
“None,” I said, my voice grim. “But we’re really damned lucky to be alive. She was just coming out of the house when it exploded.”
“Definitely lucky,” she said. None of this added up.
“Houses don’t just explode. Do they?” I didn’t realize I’d asked the question out loud until the woman answered me.
“I’ve seen stranger things,” the EMT said. “Are you a family member? We’re headed toward Kootenai. There’s another bus coming, they’ll be able to check you out—she’s higher priority and we need to get her in. I’m going to close the doors now. Step back, please.”
“I’ll meet you there,” I said anxiously. I turned to find Nate and Reese still in their standoff, staring each other down in the flickering light of the flames. My neighbor, Danica, walked up to me and wordlessly wrapped a blanket around my shoulders.
“You okay?” she asked. “Can I do anything?”
“Can you give me a ride to the hospital?” I asked, the words broken by a sudden, harsh cough. “I need to make sure Melanie is okay.”
“Of course,” she said. “Do you want to check in with the police first? I’m sure they’ll want to talk to you, probably have a ton of questions they need to ask.”
“The answers will still be the same after I make sure Mellie is okay,” I said tightly. “Just get me out of here.”
“You got it,” she said. “Car’s parked behind the house, back in the alley. Good thing, too, because everyone on the street is blocked in. Um … I couldn’t help but notice that big guy over there was with you. And that the other one used to be with you. You want to touch base with them before you leave?”
“I don’t think so,” I said, shaking my head, frustrated. “They can play caveman without me. All I care about right now is getting to the hospital.”