Blacktop Freedom

by Winter Travers

  *

  Chapter Nine

  Your hunk is waiting...

  Lynn

  “Your eleven o’clock is here.”

  I jumped in my chair and grabbed the receiver of the phone. “Eleven?” I mumbled. How in the hell was it already eleven? Maybe because you just slept for the last hour at your desk?

  “Yes, Lynn,” Jeanie laughed. “Justin is here.”

  “Uh, send him back.” I dropped the receiver and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Sleeping at your desk was not the best idea. I had a rare open hour, and I obviously was tired because the last thing I had remembered was grabbing a stack of papers from my drawer.

  I looked down and saw the stack scattered on the floor. Great place to put that, Lynn.

  Last night had really wrecked me for today.

  Zephyr and I didn’t manage to fall asleep until well after three o’clock this morning, and the only reason we had fallen asleep was because we were both exhausted. I had woken up groggy and grumpy when my alarm had sounded, and I was still pretty groggy. The grumpiness had vanished once Zephyr’s arms had wrapped around me and he pressed a kiss to my cheek.

  I had quickly gotten dressed while Zephyr headed to the kitchen. Once I stepped into the hallway, the smell of coffee hit my nose, along with the savory aroma of bacon.

  Zephyr had cooked me breakfast. I couldn’t tell you the last time anyone had cooked me breakfast. That right there put a huge gold star next to Zephyr’s name.

  Nice to Dad, even when he didn’t need to be. Gold star.

  Amazing in bed. Gold star.

  Cooked me breakfast and made coffee. Gold star.

  Those gold stars next to his name were making me want Zephyr to always be around.

  A knock sounded on the door, and I again jumped because I was a groggy loser. “Come in,” I called.

  Justin peeked his head in the office with a loopy smile on his lips.

  He was sober.

  Thank God.

  I always worried about when I met with patients if they were actually going to show up sober. I couldn’t tell you how many times I had dealt with a patient who relapsed right in front of me. The only thing I could do is get them back on track and try all over again.

  Sobriety was a slippery thing to get your hands around and hold on to. I was the one who helped people put some glue on their hands and help them cling to it.

  “Hey, Justin,” I chirped.

  He sheepishly walked in and shut the door behind him. I had been seeing Justin for the last six months for his addiction to heroin. He was doing amazing at staying clean and on track.

  We talked for half an hour when Jeanie buzzed again. “You have a visitor,” she stated.

  I picked up the receiver and smiled at Justin. “Just one second.”

  “Your hunk is here,” Jeanie laughed. “Again. And this time, he says he has lunch for you.”

  Oh, Zephyr. “Uh, okay. I’m almost done with Justin. I’ll come out when we’re done.”

  I hung up the phone and couldn’t hold back my smile. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know I was having lunch delivered.”

  “Do you need me to leave?” Justin asked.

  I shook my head. “No, no. Of course not. We have about thirty minutes left, Justin.”

  Justin sighed and sat back in his chair. He had been holding his breath after he asked the question.

  “Everything okay?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah, yeah. I was just worried that my time with you was going to be over too soon.”

  I tipped my head to the side and tried not to cringe at his words. That was a bit creepy, but Justin was sort of a different guy.

  We talked some more and planned when our next meeting would be. Justin was nearing the end of his need to meet with me weekly, and when I had mentioned that to him, he didn’t seem happy about moving to bi-monthly or even monthly meetings.

  “You’re doing amazing, Justin. I think it’s time you really step out on your own and see how you do. I’ll still be here if you need me.” It had to be scary to spread your wings when your addiction could easily knock you down. “If you need to talk, you can always call me, and I’ll answer.”

  I reached into my drawer and pulled out one of my cards with my cell phone number on it. I didn’t freely hand them out, but I gave them to those patients who might need that extra support. Justin seemed to be falling into that category. This seemed to settle him, and he eagerly took the card.

  “What did you order for lunch?” Justin asked when we finished his meeting.

  I opened my office door and laughed. “I really don’t know. It’s a surprise.” I never really talked about my personal life with patients, but that was mostly because I didn’t have anything that was worthy enough to talk about.

  Justin glanced back at me as we walked down the hallway to the reception area. “Oh, that’s odd.”

  The past few days had been odd. Completely opposite from the past few years. I wasn’t ready to explain that to Justin. I was still processing it all.

  Justin opened the door to the reception area and came face to face with Zephyr.

  The difference between the two men was rather shocking.

  While Zephyr was tall, muscled, and tattooed, Justin was also tall but pencil-thin with tattoo-free skin. Zephyr’s facial features looked like they had been chiseled from stone, while Justin looked like any guy you would see walking down the street.

  “Got time for lunch?” Zephyr asked. He didn’t even look at Justin, who had faltered when he saw Zephyr.

  Justin looked back at me, shock all over his face.

  I plastered a smile on my lips. “I’ll see you in two weeks, Justin,” I finished. I wasn’t about to introduce these two.

  Justin nodded meekly and beelined out of the office.

  “He sure is a strange one,” Jeanie muttered quietly.

  “Stop,” I scolded. Thankfully no one else was in the waiting room, and Zephyr didn’t care what Jeanie said. “He’s just shy.”

  “I’ll hold your calls for a bit.” Jeanie winked and answered the ringing phone.

  I rolled my eyes and motioned for Zephyr to follow me. I felt his eyes on me as we walked down the hallway. Mostly, I felt his eyes on my butt. Hopefully, he didn’t plan on eating whatever lunch he brought off of my ass. Last night was enough of that. At least, for a while.

  I opened my office door and held it open for him. “What did you bring for lunch?” It couldn’t be anything big because he wouldn’t have been able to carry it on his bike.

  He set a brown paper bag on my desk and turned toward me. “Not even a hello for me? You must be starving from last night’s activities.”

  I rolled my eyes and closed the door. I didn’t need any patients or anyone who worked at the clinic to hear Zephyr and me. “Hello. What did you bring me to eat?”

  Maybe I was a bit hungry. And cranky.

  “Burgers from Tom’s.”

  My mouth watered at the thought of a greasy and cheesy Tom’s burger. “Fries?”

  Zephyr laughed. “Yeah, darlin’. You can’t go to Tom’s without getting fries.”

  My smile fell. “I made you wait out front for half an hour.” The food was going to be cold and soggy.

  Zephyr shrugged and reached his hand out to me. “I had it delivered, Lynn. It just got here two minutes ago.”

  I put my hand in his, and he pulled me to him. “Have I ever told you that you’re brilliant?”

  Zephyr chuckled and shook his head. He pressed a kiss to my lips and smiled. “No. Maybe you should tell me again.”

  I wound my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his. “You’re brilliant, Zephyr.” I guess it didn’t really take much to make me happy. A hot burger and fries, and I was a happy girl.

  “You got a lock on that door?” he whispered against my lips.

  I shook my head. “No, so keep your hands above my waist, mister.”

  “Mister?” Zephyr chuckled. He presse
d his lips to the side of my neck, and I tipped my head to the side to give him better access.

  “Yes. I’m at work, so I need to be professional.” A gasp escaped my lips when his teeth brushed against my skin.

  “I won’t take you right here, but you’re mine tonight,” he growled. “Come to the clubhouse when you get off work.”

  “Is that a demand or request?” I asked. I was going to come either way, but a request was better than him demanding I come to the clubhouse.

  “It’s me asking you to come to the clubhouse when you get off work.” He trailed kisses up my neck and over my cheek. His lips connected with mine, and it felt so right. Even in the middle of my workday, with tons of stuff I needed to do before the end of the day, Zephyr made everything feel okay. He melted away the world with one kiss.

  “I guess I can come over since you asked so nicely.”

  A smile curled on his lips. “That’s my girl.” He pulled away and grabbed the bag of burgers.

  I took a second to drop back to reality. I know I had told Zephyr to tone it down since I was at work, but he could have kissed me a little bit longer. “Did Quinn mention anything about my sister to you?”

  Zephyr shook his head. “I asked him how it went, and he said she was a little too touchy, but everything was fine. He pawned her off onto Brick for the most part.”

  I laughed. “I’m sure Kimber appreciated that.”

  I wouldn’t want to get on Kimber’s bad side. She was sweet as hell, but I always knew that behind the sweet was a wicked kind of bitch you didn’t want to mess with. Those, in my opinion, were the best kind of people.

  “Got church this afternoon, so maybe I’ll hear more about it then.” He pulled a huge burger from the bag and set it on the desk. “I got you a double because I didn’t know how hungry you would be. If you can’t finish it, I can.”

  He pulled an even bigger burger from the bag and set it on the edge of the desk.

  “What did you get?” I sat behind the desk and started to unwrap my burger.

  Zephyr pulled out a huge sack of fries and dropped the empty bag on the floor. “A triple.”

  “Good Lord,” I laughed. “I’m going to have to roll you out of here before my next appointment.”

  He shrugged and unwrapped his burger. “I’m hungry. I was pretty busy last night.” He winked at me and took a huge bite.

  “Oh?” I laughed. “Well, then you better refuel because I have a feeling you’re going to be just as busy tonight.”

  “Let’s fucking hope so,” he drawled.

  We were halfway through our burgers when Zephyr brought up my dad.

  “I figure I’ll take him to the thrift store to get his shit, and then he can come out to the construction site for the strip club.”

  I sighed and set down my burger. “You really think that is a good idea, Zephyr?”

  “I don’t see why it isn’t. It gets him out of the house, and you don’t have to be the one taking him.” Zephyr cleared his throat. “Which I don’t get why you don’t want him driving, but I’m gonna trust you that he shouldn’t be behind the wheel.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “I’ll let you drive with him one time, and you’ll see exactly why it’s better if you do the driving.” Dad was a menace behind the wheel. Maybe it was better for Zephyr to see firsthand what I was talking about.

  “Well, since Kimber, Petra, and Queenie are coming with tomorrow, I’ll let him drive some other time. I’m pretty sure the guys won’t appreciate me letting Walter drive with their women in the car.”

  I tapped my nose. “Good thinking. It would be even better if you just let me take Dad to the thrift store tomorrow. I can do it on my lunch.”

  Zephyr shook his head. “Nope. I already told the girls, and they are keyed up to outfit your dad for the party.”

  Jesus. “Well, fine, but you don’t need to take him to the strip club, Zephyr.” He didn’t need to take time out of his day to take care of my dad.

  He wiped his mouth with a napkin, and his eyes connected with mine. “I don’t understand why you are so hellbent on your dad not coming to the clubhouse or the strip club.”

  I didn’t know exactly why either. It really just came down to the fact that I didn’t want me or my dad to be a burden on Zephyr. I didn’t know what exactly we were doing, but I didn’t think it included him taking care of my dad. “You just don’t have to do this.” I waved my hand at the food on the table. “Any of this. None of this is anything you have to be doing.”

  I had told him before that I didn’t need his help, but he wasn’t getting it.

  “I know, Lynn.”

  “Then why are you doing it?”

  He shook his head and picked up his burger. “I’m gonna give you the same answer I did before.”

  “And what is that?” I snapped.

  “Because I fucking want to,” he thundered.

  I sat back in my chair. “That isn’t a good enough answer.”

  He took a huge bite and watched me as he chewed. He wiped his mouth and then swallowed. “Are you trying to shrink me again, Lynn?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m trying to figure out why the hell you want anything to do with me or my crazy family.” He had seen with his own eyes last night the crazy that came with me. If I could, I would run the other way just like he should.

  “Are we really gonna waste your lunchtime talking about this?”

  “Don’t ignore my question, Zephyr,” I snapped

  He set his burger down again and grabbed a napkin. He methodically wiped his hands and then his mouth. He raised from his chair and slowly walked around my desk.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded.

  He grabbed my chair and swiveled it around to face him. He leaned down, placed his hands on the armrests, and was face to face with me. “Stop fucking asking me what I’m doing or why I’m doing it. Got it?” He didn’t let me reply. “I’m a grown fucking man who knows what he wants who doesn’t need to be asked fifty times a day why he is doing it.”

  “I just—”

  He shook his head and cut me off. “I’m here because I want to be here. If there comes a time I don’t want to be here, or I don’t want to do shit for you, I won’t. I don’t need you reminding me all of the time that I can leave. It makes it seem like you don’t appreciate me and the time I want to give you.”

  “But you don’t have to,” I insisted. That was what I was trying to tell him. He didn’t need to be doing any of this.

  His hand shot off the armrest and grabbed the back of my neck. He tipped my head back and leaned closer. “I want to be here. I want to help your dad. I want you.”

  “But...”

  His eyes ignited, and his nostril flared. “If you tell me I don’t have to, I am going to bend you over this desk and fuck you until you get it through your head.”

  “There’s no lock,” I whispered.

  His eyes dropped to my lips. “Try me, and see if I care that there isn’t a lock.”

  I gulped and licked my lips. Part of me wanted to say it, tell him he didn’t have to be here, just to see if he would follow through with his threat.

  His deliciously sexy threat.

  “Uh, if I tell you those...uh words...tonight, will you, uh, do what you say then?” I didn’t even know if that made sense. Zephyr’s words had fried every brain cell I had.

  “Every time you tell me I don’t have to help you or that I don’t need to do something, I’m gonna fuck you until you think.” He pressed a kiss to my lips. “That is a promise you can count on, darlin’.”

  His eyes were warm pools of desire staring back at me.

  “Uh, I’m good with that,” I whispered.

  His arm wound around my waist, and he lifted me from the chair. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and his hands grabbed my ass. “I’m not going anywhere, Lynn. Stop trying to push me away.”

  “How did I get so lucky to get you?” I asked, truly shocked.

  “I co
uld say the same about you, darlin’. The difference between us is I know not to question a good thing. Fucking embrace that shit and don’t let it go.”

  “Okay,” I whispered. That really was the only thing I could do. I had to stop questioning why Zephyr wanted me and just take it. Take whatever he wanted to give me, and all I had to do was give it back to him. “You know, this goes both ways, right? If you need me to do anything for you, I can.”

  Granted, I didn’t know what I could do for him, but whatever it was, I could.

  “I just want your thick ass in my bed and your mouth wrapped around my cock tonight.”

  Well, then. “Uh, I can do both of those things.”

  A sexy smile spread across his lips. “Fucking deal, darlin’.”

  By the time I got back to eating my burger, it was ice cold, and all of the fries were soggy.

  It was okay, though. I got about fifty more kisses from Zephyr, and those were way better than a greasy burger from Tom’s.

  *

  Chapter Ten

  Let’s make a deal...

  Zephyr

  “Fucking keeping secrets from us.”

  I rolled my eyes and sat down in my chair next to Rhino. “Didn’t know I needed to tell you guys everything going on in my life.”

  “See,” Rhino laughed, “the reason you need to is because you’re doing shit without the whole club watching you. I didn’t tell you guys everything that was going on with Petra because the shit was right in front of your face.”

  I sat back in my chair and raised my arms over my head. “Sounds like your problem, not mine.”

  “Don’t worry,” Dyno called. “Lynn’s coming over to the clubhouse tonight, so you know the girls are going to get everything out of her then. We’ll know everything by morning.”

  Quinn walked into the room and sat at the head of the table. “What will we know by morning?”

  “What Zephyr has been doing,” Brick laughed. “Though we kind of got a glimpse of that last night.”

  Quinn leaned back in his chair and looked at me. “You got yourself into some crazy there, brother.”

  I shrugged. “Nothing I can’t handle. Problem I had last night was I didn’t have a way to get Lynn’s sister out of there.”

  Quinn nodded. “Well, I guess that is why we’re here, huh? Ready to help each other whenever we need to.”