by Hope Stone
The next day, I was five hundred dollars richer, but I was also hungover. The tattoo shop seemed a thousand times brighter than usual, and I wasn’t in the mood for work. But here I was, wearing sunglasses inside and lounging in my tattoo chair. I didn’t have an appointment for another hour, so I figured I might as well make use of the thing.
“Rough night?” Kat’s voice was definitely louder than usual, and I had an idea that she was doing that on purpose.
“Can you lower your voice to foghorn level, please?” I asked. Piper snickered nearby.
“You know what I think, Piper?” Kat said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I think I’ll have the triple bacon cheeseburger from the food truck down the street for lunch. You know, the really greasy one? And fries with dripping cheese sauce.”
My stomach rolled.
“You’re the worst,” I groaned.
She just laughed. That sound shouldn’t make me feel so light.
I gathered my willpower to get up out of the chair, knowing that I should try to start getting ready for my appointment soon. I groaned as my temples throbbed.
“Here,” Kat said. When I turned her way, I saw that she was holding out two red pills in her hand. “It’s ibuprofen.”
“Thanks.” I took the pills dry, but she handed me a bottle of water too. I drained it.
By the time my client arrived, I felt so much better. I would think that Kat was a saint if she wasn’t constantly sending me mixed signals. She was so damn hot and cold, but all I wanted was to fuck her again.
I managed to eat some beef jerky in the afternoon without my stomach rebelling, so I felt damn near normal by the end of the day. I told myself firmly that I was not doing drinking contests anymore.
Either that, or next time, I was going to put more money on the line.
When it was time to leave for the day, Piper left before Kat and I were done cleaning. It was the first time I’d been in this space with her alone since our first kiss. It felt like a lifetime ago, but I couldn’t help thinking about it. Wanting it.
“Kat,” I said, stopping her just as she was about to leave.
“What?” she asked, but when she turned to face me, I could see that her breath had quickened. She knew what I was thinking, and I hoped she was thinking the same thing.
I moved closer to her until only a few feet separated us.
“I have an idea.”
“Oh, really?” she furrowed an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”
“A…chemistry experiment, of sorts.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Sex, Kat,” I stepped closer so that we were almost touching. So close, but not quite there. “I’m talking about taking you to my apartment and spreading you wide.”
She visibly shuddered, but her gaze dropped to the floor. “I told you, Blade. We can’t. Las Balas and Outlaw Souls are—”
“That doesn’t matter. Not if it’s just sex.”
“No strings attached?” she asked with a sexy little smile.
“Exactly,” I agreed.
“Well…as long as we’re in agreement, I don’t see why we couldn’t do that.”
My cock was heavy in my pants, and I desperately wanted to take her right here, but that wasn’t an option.
“Follow me back to my place.”
“Now?” she asked with wide eyes.
“Fuck yeah.”
We started to leave when something else occurred to me. “Wait a minute, if we’re going to do this, I have one condition.”
“What’s that?” she asked suspiciously.
“I get to call you Kitten whenever I want.”
“Fine,” she agreed, much easier than I expected. “Now, let’s get the hell out of here.”
Anticipation curled in my stomach. I could hardly wait.
Kat
I pulled my jeans on while Blade laid in bed, wearing only a pair of boxers. We’d settled into this no-strings-attached sexual relationship over the last few days, and it was working well. I tried to keep some distance between us at work, but after hours, I went to his place for a couple of rounds between the sheets. I never stayed the night, though, and Blade didn’t ask.
Today was a Saturday, which meant that I wasn’t supposed to see him at all, but he’d sent me a text message in the morning, offering some afternoon delight that I couldn’t pass up. I scanned the room, looking for my shirt.
“Where are you going?” Blade asked, watching me.
I finally spotted my tank top hanging off the lampshade. I grabbed it, pulling it over my head.
“I want to go shopping around for a bike.”
“A motorcycle?” he asked, sitting up in bed.
“No, a bicycle,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Okay, smartass.”
“I’ll see you later.” I picked up my boots from the floor, heading for the exit.
“I could help you.”
I stopped walking and turned to look at him. “What?”
Blade got off the bed and picked up his jeans from the floor. “I can help you get a bike.”
I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. “Why would you do that?”
“Uh, to be nice?”
I frowned. “You don’t have to do that. We’re not a couple.”
Blade rolled his eyes. “I don’t have to be dating you to be a nice guy.”
“Says the Outlaw Soul.”
“Just come with me,” he said impatiently. I sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled my boots on.
“Fine. Where are we going?”
“To see a friend of mine. He fixes up bikes and sells them.”
“This friend have a name?”
“Trainer.”
I didn’t recognize the name. “Not a member of your club, I hope.”
Blade didn’t respond, just kept getting dressed, which really told me all that I needed to know.
“Nope,” I stood, shaking my head. “No way.”
“Grow up, Kat,” Blade’s use of my name stopped me short. I was so used to him calling me Kitten, whether I wanted him to or not, that it felt weird to hear my name come out of his mouth instead. He let out a sigh while I stared at him. “It’s a bike purchase. A business transaction. It has nothing to do with my club versus your club. It doesn’t mean anything, just like our sexual relationship.”
I struggled not to wince as he threw my words right back at me. They sounded so damn cold when on the receiving end.
“Fine, but if he’s a creep, I’m never going to let you forget it.”
“Of course you won’t,” he agreed, and I spotted a hint of a smile on his face.
I followed him out the door of his apartment and down the stairs to the parking lot. “You know, Outlaw Souls owns an apartment complex. I’ll probably be moving into it once my lease is up here.”
“When is that?” I asked.
“Six months.”
At least I had time to figure out a different place to meet up with him. Obviously, I wouldn’t go to the new apartment, and I didn’t want him at my home. It made it too personal for me, especially now that I was redecorating the place and making it my own. Even more than that, I didn’t want Blade in my bed again because that was where we had sex for the first time before everything between us went to shit.
It occurred to me that I was thinking way too long-term here. If this was really just a casual sex situation, then it probably wouldn’t still be happening in six months.
Something within me somersaulted at that thought, but I ignored it.
Hopping onto the back of Blade’s bike, I wrapped my arms around him, trying not to think too much about how comfortable I was here. He rode along the back roads, which he had told me were more fun to ride than straightaways. I wasn’t sure where we were going until we pulled up in front of Ortega Auto. I’d never been here before, of course, but I knew it to be the property of Outlaw Souls.
“Damn it, Blade. Why did you have to bring me here?” I
asked, whipping the helmet off of my head. I slapped his back with the palm of my hand, but it was like hitting a wall.
“This is where the bike is,” he said, exasperated.
I hopped off the back of the bike, looking around. I didn’t spot anyone else nearby, but I couldn’t shake my discomfort. This was not somewhere that I should be.
Yet, I didn’t feel like I was actually in danger. Maybe that was foolish. I’d seen how my dad and others put the motorcycle club above everyone else, but I was sure that Blade would never allow me to come to harm.
“Come on,” he said, walking toward a side door.
I fell into step behind him. I didn’t like that he’d brought me here, but I supposed that I owed him a chance. This bike better be great.
There was nothing special about the interior of the garage. It could have been any other auto shop in the country with its stained concrete floors, big red toolboxes all over the place, and the smell of oil in the air. I knew where we were going without being told. There were a few cars in the bays, but only one bike in sight. I recognized it as a Harley Street 750. It was small, one of the smallest options in that brand, which would be good for me since I was a little on the short side. I needed something small enough to allow my feet to touch the ground while straddling it.
Blade and I approached the bike side-by-side, and I ran my eyes over it. It was pretty with its burnt orange paint color on the tank and black leather saddlebags. But, I’d have to see how it rode before getting too excited.
A large man came out of the office near the back of the shop, wiping his hands on a dirty red rag. With a full beard and long hair, he had a distinctive look, and I could imagine that some people would find him intimidating, but I didn’t. I’d had some big men in my chair and knew that things like size and facial hair didn’t really have anything to do with being tough. Sometimes, the scariest looking men cried while I used my tattoo gun on them.
Blade stepped forward and clasped hands with the man, and they patted each other’s backs. It was such a cute bro greeting that I couldn’t help but smile.
“Kat, this is Trainer,” Blade said as they came over to me. “He’s a whiz with these bikes, and I’ve asked him to give you a good deal.”
I shook Trainer’s hand and listened to his rundown of the bike. He really knew his stuff, covering everything from the type of engine to the power, to fuel return and cooling system. It was a lot of technical stuff that I didn’t necessarily care about, but it did instill confidence in me that he knew what he was talking about.
Trainer opened one of the bay doors and let me take it out into the parking lot for a test drive, and I loved how nimble it was. The bike itself wasn’t too heavy for my small frame to handle, and I loved the little windshield he’d installed. My last bike didn’t have one.
I had brought along my savings, pulled straight from the shoebox and tucked into my boot for safe-keeping. I had managed to add to it in the last couple of weeks enough to reach five thousand dollars. I knew that wasn’t a lot of money and Trainer could probably get more out of this bike, so I was a bundle of nerves when I parked it back inside the garage and hopped off the talk about purchasing the motorcycle.
Trainer admitted that he got the bike for a steal and had only put a couple thousand dollars into it. He was planning to ask six thousand for it, but to my shock, he easily accepted the five that I had on me. I couldn’t believe my luck and decided that Trainer wasn’t so bad, for an Outlaw Soul.
“I told you I could help you,” Blade said smugly after I had exchanged the cash for the keys and Trainer had gone back into the office, probably to put that cash in a safe.
“Yeah, yeah,” I said dismissively, but I grinned like an idiot as I mounted my new bike. I really loved it. “I can’t wait to take this thing out of the parking lot. It’s been too long since I went on a ride.”
“I’ll come with you,” Blade said.
I wanted to say no. We were already spending too much time together, breaking my no strings attached rule. But he was the reason that I had this new bike. I felt like I owed him, and all he wanted was to ride in formation together.
“Fine,” I said, “but I’m leading. Non-negotiable.”
“No problem. I like the view from behind anyway.”
“Pig.”
He playfully oinked in my direction before jogging over to his own bike. I didn’t wait for him to get his helmet on and mount his bike. I was sure he’d catch up. So, I shifted into gear and twisted the throttle, leading the bike out of the parking lot. There wasn’t a ton of traffic on this street, which I was sure appealed to Outlaw Souls when they obtained this building, so I didn’t have to wait at all before pulling out onto the road.
The wind whipped around me as I sped up, shifting into a higher gear. I felt powerful and free like this, and the bike was like an extension of my own body. It was so easy to control.
It took no time at all for Blade to catch up to me, falling into formation by riding behind me in the other side of the lane. We’d only ever be side-by-side during stops at stop signs or traffic lights. It had been a while since I rode, but it all came back to me easily. I found that I was operating the motorcycle without even thinking about it. It was like my body remembered what to do without the need for input from my brain.
I didn’t have a destination in mind. I just wanted to go. So, I wound my way through La Playa randomly, traveling familiar roads. I wasn’t thinking.
Then, I passed a trio of riders going in the opposite direction. I immediately recognized the lead rider as my dad. Dread crept up my spine, and I pulled off the road right after they passed. What if my dad recognized me? It might not be likely because I was wearing a full-face helmet, but it was possible. I looked over at Blade as he pulled up alongside me.
Shit.
Damn Blade and the stupid patch he was wearing on the back of his jacket. If my dad recognized me and saw that, it was going to cause a problem.
“What’s wrong?” Blade asked as he pulled off his helmet. “Why’d we stop?”
“That was my dad we passed. Fuck.”
“So?”
“So?” I repeated, shaking my head. “Look at what you’re wearing.”
Blade frowned. “Is this another Outlaw Souls thing?”
“Of course it is. My relationship with him is rocky enough without him thinking that I’m involved with Outlaw Souls.”
“You know what? That’s pretty fucking sad if you ask me. Why should you have to worry about what he thinks? What’s he done to deserve such devotion?”
“He’s my dad,” I said defensively. I didn’t want him to know that he made a good point. It didn’t change anything.
“Yeah, well, dad’s aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be.”
“It’s called loyalty, Blade. Maybe they don’t care about that in Outlaw Souls, but Las Balas takes that seriously.”
“Whatever, Kat.” Blade looked pissed, and I hated that it bothered me. “I’m out of here.”
I watched him ride away, trying not to feel too guilty. I knew that I’d hurt his feelings, but I knew my dad would be angry if I were fraternizing with the enemy. When Blade was out of sight, I pulled my helmet back on and pointed my new bike toward home. Somehow, the thrill of the ride had left me.
Blade
I was back at Luca’s street fighting ring. I knew it was a back idea, with Outlaw Souls trying to find the weapons and force him out of town. Also, I hadn’t harassed Raymond Groves’s widow the way that Luca asked me to. I wasn’t sure how I would talk my way out of that.
But I always went a little nuts on the anniversary of my brother’s death, which happened to be today. For some reason, knowing that it happened on this date brought all the dark shit I tried to keep buried right to the surface.
I needed an outlet, and fighting was as good as it got. Of course, I’d used sex as a distraction in the past, but my relationship with Kat was complicated—if I could even call it a relations
hip at all—and I wasn’t interested in sleeping with anyone else. I supposed that I could since we’d agreed to have emotionless, casual sex, but I hadn’t found anyone else attractive since that first night I spent with her. She was too good in bed.
Shockingly, luck was on my side tonight, and Luca was absent again. I had no idea what he was up to, but I didn’t care. I was just happy that I didn’t have to act like I was interested in getting paid to do his dirty work. I wasn’t sure I had it in me to even pretend tonight.
Alex was also absent, but that was because I didn’t invite him. He was my cousin, so he knew exactly what today was, and I didn’t want to have to see his pity-filled gaze. He’d probably try to get me to talk about my feelings too.
No, thank you.
I had already participated in one fight this evening, and my opponent was a tough motherfucker. I’d won in the end, pummeling his face a couple more times than I needed to as a way to release some aggression, but I’d also taken a knee to the kidneys and was surely sporting a black eye.
It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. The world was full of bad shit, and life tended to screw you over at any opportunity.
I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing as I waited for the current fight to end so that I could go another round. I never did that, always signing up for one match and getting the hell out of here, but I was looking to hurt someone tonight. Or maybe I wanted to get hurt.
I didn’t know anymore.
When it was time to step back into the ring, I knew that my focus was off, but I didn’t care. My opponent for this fight was young. He almost looked like a teenager, but he was muscular. When the fight began, we started circling each other. I’d seen my opponent fight, and I knew that his style was similar to my own—keep moving. This should be interesting.
I surged forward, ready to jab him in his exposed side, but he pivoted at the last second, using my own momentum against me to kick at my leg, making contact that sent me sprawling.
It didn’t feel good to land on the concrete, but I popped right back up, turning back to face the guy. I saw red when he shot me a cocky smirk. Trying to channel that anger into the fight, I came at him again. I anticipated his defensive move this time and managed to misdirect him and swipe his legs. He landed much harder than I had, but he didn’t take even a second to recover. Instead, he threw himself into me, taking me down to the ground with a bear hug around my waist.