I could feel every sinew in Fox’s torso, and I even dared to brush my fingers against his nipples under the thin cotton of his tank top. We rode through giant swelling waves of almost blistering hot air, although some slopes were still carpeted with electric blue desertbells and richly purple fivespot wildflowers after a good decent rainy season.
When we stopped in Vegas, I was alive with craving for the buff, ginger hitman. I was shocked when he paid for a separate room for me at the Venetian. We spent all night partying as a group, but he didn’t necessarily sit next to me or seek me out. I was floored. It even seemed that Maddie was looking at me quizzically. I went to my room much earlier than everyone else out of sheer confusion, clutching a bottle of Blue Nun. I almost turned on my phone to text someone, anyone. Then I remembered. The only people I was allowed to talk to were in the same hotel.
The next morning, though, Fox sat next to me at the buffet breakfast and looked at me, it seemed, with glowing eyes. Maybe he was just as hungover as I was. That Blue Nun was garbage.
“We’ll be in Winnemucca in eight hours,” he said with a smile. “Then I’ll take you to dinner. Enough of this crowd bullshit.”
I was more confused than ever. But Duji was standing now, making a speech about giving Gollywow something called a Fast Riding Award. I guessed that Gollywow had gotten to Vegas before everyone else because there were lots of congratulations and jokes.
In the parking garage, our group had swelled to about fifteen scoots. There were a couple of guys wearing cuts that marked them as members of The Friends of Distinction MC out of Las Vegas. Fox told me they were like a brother club to us. But for some reason they looked meaner than us, maybe because they wore chains and ball peen hammers around their waists. They didn’t even make the slightest effort to hide their large caliber pistols stuck down the back of their pants.
Wolf was there, apparently having ridden two up with Tracy. I wondered how he’d stolen her away from Tobias. There were also a couple of guys from a club named The Bent Zealots. They seemed well-mannered, and Fox said they were actually a gay club. That intrigued me.
But I didn’t have much time to ponder on their sexy asses, because Ford was standing on the seat of his bike, yelling like a referee. “All right, you bastards! The Bare Bones are heading for Winnemucca. Anyone is welcome to come with us. We’re one band of brothers connected at the heart.” He pounded his heart for emphasis. “But we’re not stopping for one more dickhead cop ticket.”
“Yeah!” shouted a few guys like Duji, Faux Pas, Sax, Knoxie, Wild Man, and Speed. They all cast daggers with their eyes at Gollywow. And that’s how I found out what a Fast Riding Award was. It was not good.
But the enthusiasm, the power in that parking garage was unbelievable. Fifteen men and fifteen women fist pumping and roaring. Women climbed on the backs of men, hanging on like baby possums. Men started their engines and revved them like the starting line of the Indy 500. It was wild.
Ford’s last vows were, “If any pigs stop us, we fight! Anyone not willing to fight can just stay here and swim in the fucking pool and gamble all their money away like a scum-sucking rat bastard.”
I was so excited I actually grabbed Fox’s arm and jumped up and down, rubbing my tits against his bare skin. I didn’t want to risk looking at his reaction, but I was unbelievably aroused by the show of brotherhood, the feeling of belonging. Right behind me some loud numbnuts bellowed,
“The sun never sets on a Bare Bones patch!”
Normally I’d be annoyed—my ears were going to ring all day now—but when I turned around and saw it was the amiable Wolf Glaser, I just laughed even harder. Fox grabbed me right back—in front of everyone!—and effortlessly lifted me by the waist. I easily slid my arms around his neck, still unsure of his intention.
He was smiling too, carried away with the emotion of the moment. He had to shout to be heard above the yelling, the tailpipes. “I’m glad you came with me, Pippa. Whatever happens, I’ll see that you stay safe. I’ll hunt down anyone who tries to hurt you.”
And then he kissed me.
It was a bruising, punishing kiss, full of pent-up lust. It only lasted for a few shocking seconds, but it was like he had poured part of his soul into me. I nibbled lightly on his shapely lips, letting his soothing being ooze into me. Spearing my fingers through his thick, glossy hair, I reveled in the luxury of the moment. I had never felt so safe as in those few seconds.
He broke the kiss, grinning to beat the band. I’d never seen the serious, thoughtful man this happy. He even slapped me on the ass then, commanding me to “hop on board, woman.”
He didn’t know I’d inserted those Ben Wa balls earlier that morning, just to see what the motorcycle’s vibrations did to me.