by KB Winters
“How’d you learn to pick a lock?”
She grinned up at me with a shrug. “Misspent youth in foster care.”
“Really? You don’t seem…” I didn’t know how to finish that statement without offending her so I snapped my mouth shut.
“Like a foster kid? Oh believe me, I’ve got my coping skills and shit, but I’m as fucked up as the rest. Jealous?”
“Been there, done that.”
The door opened, and we were inside like cat burglars, crawling on the floor so we wouldn’t draw any attention from the patrol car out front. I found the safe under the loose floorboard under my creaky ass bed, untouched. Still stacked with thousands of dollars in cash.
My safety net. My rainy day fund. “Got it!”
She smiled and tugged me out of the apartment before I could grab a few creature comforts.
“We can go shopping later, as long as we don’t get caught in here.” She had a point and though my shoulders fell in disappointment, I let her drag me out. “It’s late—or early—enough that we could get breakfast now. Martha has Maisie so I have the time.”
“I’ve got nothing else on my agenda,” I told her with a half-smile, and we headed for the all-night place on the edge of town.
Peaches dropped down in a back booth, and we ordered more food than anyone would consider ladylike. Luckily, neither of us claimed to be ladies.
“So Hazel, how’d you end up in Opey?”
I shrugged. “My best friend who’s more like my sister fell in love and got married. I left her in Oklahoma. I wanted to do something with my life and somehow ended up in Texas.”
I left out the fact that there had been several stops over the years along the way.
“I have one of those. Vivi. I didn’t want to leave her either, but with bad guys chasing me and her being knocked up, I had to book it out of town. I miss her like hell, though.”
“Me, too,” I admitted just before the waitress arrived with our food. “How’d you meet Gunnar? You guys seem so different.”
He was gruff and borderline grouchy all the damn time and Peaches seemed to be a bottle of fucking sunshine.
She laughed. “He’s a grumpy bastard, isn’t he? Hated me on sight the moment I met him. Vivi is married to one of his brothers in the MC.”
“MC?”
“Motorcycle club. Back in Mayhem. It’s a small town by Las Vegas. He just started the Opey chapter of the Reckless Bastards MC. I thought you knew.”
I shook my head, surprised as shit because I expected bikers to be big bad, leather wearing motherfuckers who cussed a lot and treated woman as disposable objects. Because that was what the bikers were like during the five months I’d spent working at a biker bar. “They don’t seem like the sort.” Especially Saint.
“They aren’t. They’re Harley enthusiasts.” She said with air quotes. “And more like family. Just like the club in Mayhem, these guys are all vets. They served their country and lost themselves in the process. Through the biker club, they get a little of it back.”
“Sounds kind of nice, actually.” It made sense why many foster kids ended up in gangs or cults. The need to belong was more powerful than any drug.
“It is. And if you let them, they’ll welcome you right into the fold.”
I shook my head. “I can’t afford to do that.”
If I got too close to people, I’d set myself up for a world of hurt. It was a lesson I’d learned too many times to forget now, at the ripe old age of twenty-six.
“I’ve got Jessie when we find the time, but at this point, I’m used to being on my own.”
“Bullshit,” she said with a sweet smile. “It’s easier to be alone, that’s for sure. I was alone for many years. Until the shit hit the fan, and I had no one to lean on when I desperately needed it.” Her eyes took on a faraway quality that said she was thinking of her own need.
“Yeah but that’s easier to accept than expecting someone to be there when you need them, only to have them disappoint you.”
I was the one person I knew wouldn’t let me down so that was who I let myself lean on. Period.
“Good point. I’ll just say this and then I’ll shut up. At some point you’ll have to trust someone.”
“I trust people as I need to.”
Peaches sighed and pushed some of the curls off her face. “Okay, well you can trust me and maybe we can even become friends.”
That sounded nice, but I wasn’t good at making or keeping friends. “You seem like you have plenty of friends.”
She laughed. “I have Vivi, Maisie and the guys.”
It was more than I had. “That doesn’t sound so bad. Who’s Maisie?”
“Gunnar’s sister. She’s a little kid and as a big girl, I need some big girl friends.”
Her honesty was refreshing and I found that I liked Peaches.
“I’m a terrible friend, but I’m game if you are.”
She accepted my words and paid the bill before we set off for Hardtail Ranch. Peaches made her way to the main house and I headed toward the bunkhouse.
Where Saint was waiting with a dark look on his handsome face.
Chapter Seventeen
Saint
“You here to see me?”
Hazel didn’t give off the stalker vibe but the crazy ones never broadcasted their intentions until it was too late and even though my cock was already stirring in my jeans at the sight of her, I knew I had to play it cool.
She stopped short, hands loaded with bags, leaving her body fully on display. Even in baggy clothes, those sinful curves peeked out and made me lick my lips.
“No, I’m not,” she huffed. “My apartment is next to Edna Mae’s, and I can’t be there, so one of your buddies told me there was an empty bed in the bunkhouse. Is this gonna be a problem?”
Hell yeah, it was. How in the hell would I keep my hands off her when we were in a room filled with beds? Even now my fingers twitched to reach out and grab a handful of hair until she had no choice but to drop down to her knees and open her mouth to me.
“Not for me.”
“Good. I won’t be here long,” she said, her dark eyes boring into me, daring me to tell her the truth, to tell her that she couldn’t stay here.
“A few days. Tops.”
“Don’t hurry on my account.” My lips curled into a slow smile that made Hazel roll her eyes.
“Right.” She went out of her way to avoid touching me, which made me smile.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she said automatically in a flat voice that said she was used to handling things on her own. Exclusively on her own.
“I’ll take this side,” she said, dumping her stuff on one of the beds. She kept her back to me, which I didn’t mind since it gave me a clear view of that round, heart shaped ass. It really was a great ass.
“Did they steal anything?” The thought of her place, her personal space being violated pissed me off and my hands balled into fists at my sides.
“Not that I could tell. They didn’t take the thing I was most concerned about so it’s no big deal.”
“What were you most concerned about?”
“The safe where I keep my cash.” Again, her words were matter of fact, devoid of emotion.
“How did you get it if your place is a crime scene?” She didn’t strike me as a woman who’d take the risk after the cops told her to leave, which told me just how much that money meant to her.
“I have my ways. All that matters is that it’s safe and back where it belongs.” Finally she turned around, fire burning in her brown eyes as she crossed her arms and stared at me. “I already told you that I don’t plan to stick around long, Saint. What’s going on?”
“I just want to make sure you’re all right. Nothing more. Is that a problem?”
“It’s not a problem, I’m just wondering where this concern is coming from all of a sudden? Most days you seem to hate me, so excuse the skepticism.”
“
Hate you? Is that what you think? My life would be a hell of a lot easier if I hated you, Hazel.”
I don’t know what possessed me to say that, but it was already out there, and I couldn’t take it back. “I don’t hate you.”
“Good, because I haven’t done anything for you to hate me, but for the record, I can take care of myself, Saint.”
I grinned and held my hands up. “Never said you couldn’t.”
“I know that,” she said automatically, a hint of sadness in her voice. “I just mean that you don’t need to worry about me.”
“Maybe I want to worry about you.”
Her eyes flashed wide and wary as I bridged the distance between us, not stopping until I could see the little pulse at the base of her neck, pounding a hard rock beat of arousal.
“And I’m telling you that you don’t need to. I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself, Saint.”
“They aren’t mutually exclusive, you know.”
She was a tough girl, not just playing at it like some of the lost souls I’ve come across working The Barn Door, or just hanging out in dark places where people wanted to forget who they were and the things they did.
“I want you to be careful Hazel.”
“I always am. What happened had nothing to do with me so you don’t need to worry that I’ll bring some unsavory element to the club.”
My lips curled into a grin. “You’ve got me all figured out, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t.” She stepped back to put some distance between us but found herself sandwiched between me and one of the bunks. “But I know you run the club so I’m telling you before you can ask, that I’m not the source.”
“Again, I didn’t think you were. Wow. So defensive,” I told her and slid a finger down the curve of her jaw, lightly gripping her chin so she couldn’t look away. “I wonder why that is.”
She tried to jerk away but I tightened my hold until her gaze met mine, unable to look away.
“Maybe because I don’t know you?”
I laughed at her deflection. “You know me well enough to deepthroat my cock. Well enough to let me finger fuck you, eat you out and fuck you until you could barely walk.”
“That’s just sex,” she insisted. “It’s not the same. And I don’t want anything from you, so just relax.”
“You don’t know what you want,” I told her and ran a finger across her bottom lip. “If you did, you’d already be naked and begging for this dick.”
She sucked in a breath that hit me straight in the cock, making things even harder than they were.
“I know exactly what I want, Saint. You just can’t believe that it might not be you.”
I let out another laugh and shook my head, stepping in even closer so my chest brushed against hers. She was so fucking soft, felt as good as she smelled, and I wanted to be as close as possible. Hell, I wanted to bury myself deep into her wet pussy until her fingernails broke my skin and she forgot her name.
“You want me, I know that. Without a doubt. What I can’t figure out,” I whispered the words in her ear and tugged her earlobe between my teeth until she hissed out a breath, “is why you’d lie about it.”
“Maybe because I like my job, Saint. I need my job, and I don’t want to lose it because I wasn’t clingy enough or standoffish enough afterward.”
I could see that truth.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
I took a step back and slid a hand through my hair. “I would never do that. Shit, I haven’t even done any of this in a long damn time. Too long.”
“I’ll bet you say that to all the girls,” she practically purred with a gentle, sweet smile that was at odds with the firmness of her words.
“You’re hardly a girl though, are you?” She was a woman, a grown ass woman that my body wanted. Needed on a level that was uncomfortable and honestly, unwelcoming.
“No, I’m not. I’m a grown woman who knows exactly what she wants. And when a man’s trying to fuck her. That’s what all this is about, right Saint? You want to fuck me again.”
She shook her head and mumbled under her breath as she yanked open her jeans and shoved them down over her hips.
“That’s all you had to say, Saint. As you said, I’m a grown woman and I don’t need pretty words or false promises.”
Before she finished the words, she was naked as the day she was born, chest heaving, nipples hard and her skin was pink and flushed. Beautiful.
I wanted to resist her just to prove a fucking point, that my concern wasn’t false or insincere, but those hard pink nipples made my mouth go dry. I couldn’t resist the way her belly trembled when I ran a hand from her throat down to the pretty pink slit between her thighs. But I was a weak man, unable to resist the allure she presented, beautiful and angry and aroused.
“Just because I want you, because I can’t stop thinking about you, doesn’t mean that my concern is insincere.” One finger slid through her went pussy lips and her head fell back as a moan erupted out of her. “You’re so fucking wet.”
“You seem to have that effect on me,” she said, the words came out barely a whisper. Hazel’s legs widened just enough that I could slip inside. If I wanted.
“Not yet,” I told her as she swirled her hips to get closer, to take more of my finger inside of her.
“I don’t play games, Saint.” She pushed at my chest and took a step back, or at least she tried to, but I dipped a finger into her pussy and cut off whatever else she’d been about to say.
“Oh fuck!”
My lips curled into a grin at her words, and I took another step closer, wrapping an arm around her waist so I could pull out and plunge two fingers into her.
“You’re so fucking wet for me, Hazel. I can feel your pussy clenching and squeezing, greedy. Just. Like. You.”
She vibrated in my arms, purring and writhing while I fucked her with my fingers and teased her clit with my thumb.
“Fuck, oh fuck!” She gripped my wrist and rode my hand, and I swear it was the hottest goddamn thing I had ever seen.
“Come for me, Hazel.” I was hungry to see her come apart, to feel her pussy squeeze my hands until I lost feeling. I needed to see it again and again, somewhere other than my dreams.
“Make me.”
I would have liked to believe it was the challenge in her tone and in her eyes that pushed me, but it wasn’t. It was her. The scent of her pussy when she was all hot and bothered and ready to come, got to me in a way even I didn’t understand.
“Make me come, Saint.”
Okay yeah, maybe it was the challenge in her eyes. A little.
“Not yet,” I told her and smiled when she growled at me. Hazel was a feisty bitch, and I was learning, a little each day, that I really loved a feisty bitch.
“Dammit, Saint!”
“Oh yeah, now you’re ready.” I lifted her in the air and threw her down on the nearest bed, enjoying the way her tits jiggled when she landed. My cock grew harder than it had ever been in my whole fucking life, I grinned at her. “Are you ready to come now, Hazel?”
She nodded, a hungry, greedy look in her eyes that I knew I’d never forget in a million years.
I kissed her slowly, from her lips down to the soft skin between her thighs, parting her so I could see the way her pink pussy glistened with arousal. Then my mouth was on her pussy, feasting as her sweet honey coated my tongue. I licked and sucked her clit while my fingers worked her over, in deep quick thrusts that had her panting and crying my name in regular intervals.
“Fuck, your pussy is so sweet.”
“Suck. Harder.”
My gaze connected with Hazel’s, and I gave her exactly what she wanted, sucking her clit so hard she bucked off the bed and smacked against my face, but still I didn’t stop. I nibbled her clit and sucked it, fucking her with two fingers until she was so close I knew one soft blow and she’d be done for.
“Not yet,” I told her again and slipped my middle finger deep inside her w
et cunt.
“Saint. What the fu—?” Her words were cut off by the feeling of my one long middle finger sliding between her ass cheeks and into that dark star most women pretended to hate.
“Oh fuck,” she moaned and bucked against me again, this time not knowing which way to buck.
“Now you’re ready,” I told her and put my mouth back on her clit, sucking as hard as I fucked her ass with my finger until pleasure erupted out of her, bubbling to the surface with every violent jerk of her body, every cry of pleasure that tore through the air.
“Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Shit, oh fuck!” A nervous laugh escaped, and I continued licking her clit until she began to squirm and then the flutters started.
Again.
I sat up and undressed quicker than I did the first time I showered in the desert, fisting my cock in my hand and shoving into her wet cunt.
“So. Goddamn. Hot.” There was nothing better than sliding into a sloppy wet pussy, except sliding into a hot wet pussy, and Hazel was right there, gripping my cock inside her cunt’s vise grip.
“Oh, Saint...” Her back arched and her heels dug into my back, sending me further into the dark abyss and making me lose all sense of time and control. Hazel gave her body over to me, shouting as I pumped into her pussy hard and fast, keeping up a brutal pace she didn’t just tolerate, but enjoyed. “Yes! Please! More.”
“Ah, fuck!” My hips moved out of control and seconds later she was coming apart all around my cock, clenching and drenching me in her orgasm. It was a glorious thing to watch, and I got so caught up I barely noticed the volcanic eruption that was my own orgasm.
“Fuck. Me.”
“We just did. And we can do this anytime,” she said with a smile that almost made me believe her.
Almost.
“I thought you didn’t play games.”
She froze and her smile faded. “I don’t. Just consider it a compliment that your dick scrambled my brains enough that I almost did something stupid.”
In the next second her hands were on my chest, pushing me away as she strode to the bathroom, stark naked, and closed the door behind her.
I could’ve waited her out, and I would have, but Gunnar had called emergency church, and I was already running late.