And while he might love pussy, he didn’t know how to love a woman, at least not in that way. He’d been fucked up and closed off ever since his bastard of a stepfather had crawled into bed with him. And as stupid as it sounded, Rose made him wonder if maybe he could love a woman. No, not just any woman.
It made Duke wonder if he could love Rose.
Chapter Eleven
“Hello there, cherie.”
Rose glanced up from her phone as Voo slipped into the booth across from her.
The diner was relatively empty—just a couple of prospects doing dishes, visible from the window into the kitchen. On the counter, a small television broadcast a rodeo event–barrel racing.
Coyote sat at the counter with a sandwich and a piece of pie, and a couple of locals occupied a table in the rear of the room.
Speak of the devil, she’d been checking her messages, hoping there might be one from Duke. No such luck.
This morning she’d woken up to find a succinct note from him taped to the coffee pot, saying he had another mysterious appointment She knew it was crazy, but in some ways, it felt like the ‘morning after’ and it was empty not to have him there.
Rose had tried to shrug it off. He’d given her a massage, and while it’d been very intimate, they didn’t actually have sex.
She’d made a cup of coffee and drove back to the hotel—then busied herself with chores and practiced punching the bag until lunch. Afterward, she’d decided to go to Hades. She told herself it was convenient, but part of her hoped Duke might show up.
Rose realized Voo had spoken to her.
“Hi there.” She offered him a smile.
He raised a brow and fixed her with a penetrating stare.
Rose could almost see the questions in his eyes, and she ignored all of them.
Voo whistled appreciatively. “I ain’t sure what you and Duke are up to, but it seems to be agreein’ with you. You look healthy, vibrant. Tell me, have you gotten your joie de vivre back?”
She blushed. Accepting compliments had never been her strong suit.
“Er, thanks. I don’t know if I have it back, but I’m certainly on the road to it.”
“So, what have you two been doing?”
Rose preferred to keep her own counsel on this one. “Nothing much.”
“Like?”
Rose shrugged. “Nothing to tell.”
“Have it your way, cherie. I’ll bring you something delicious.”
“Thank you. I’m starving.”
“You are? Now that’s good news. I’ll load up your plate.” Voodoo drifted off to the kitchen and started barking orders at the prospects who scrambled to comply.
Coyote drifted over to the booth, carrying his dessert.
“Hi. Do you like pie? Because I like pie. I thought maybe you’d enjoy this piece of pie with me—togetherness and fruit. What’s not to like?”
She frowned, unsure of what to make of his babble.
“Mind if I join you?”
“Go ahead and have a seat.” With a sweep of her hand, she indicated the other side of the booth.
Coyote sat down.
Rose could tell he had a crush on her, but it was never, ever going to happen. She didn’t feel the slightest bit of attraction. And there was the matter of Kent’s video threat. She wanted to know if Coyote had seen it, but she didn’t feel comfortable bringing it up.
He sliced into his pie with a fork and offered her a bite.
“No thanks.”
He shrugged, putting it in his own mouth instead, chewing quickly and then swallowing. “So, you’re still doing chores with Duke.”
Evidently, Voo had spread the world.
“Yes, I helped him clean out the gutters. I’ll probably be back next week to help out too.” That lie came out pretty easy. Hmph.
“Good. You like it then? The club?”
“Yes, very much.”
She used to want to get a million miles away from bikers after dealing with the Raptors, but she liked the Horsemen. They were more like a community, or even closer—family. The Horsemen had been wonderful to both her and Daisy, taking them in. Not to mention offering her protection from the Raptors. She owed them a huge debt.
“Good, good. It’s great, actually. So you’ll be stickin’ around then? In Hell, I mean? You don’t have plans to go anywhere else?”
Rose had no idea what she wanted to do, but this place seemed as good as any to figure it out.
“Nope, no plans. Looks like I’m here for the time being.”
“Fantastic. I mean… uh, good. You know, to not have plans.” He took another forkful of pie as Voo came over with a plate for her.
“Chicken salad on a fresh croissant, homemade potato chips, and a piece of peach pie.”
“Wow. That looks amazing.”
Her stomach rumbled in response. Since she’d been active with Duke, her metabolism had kicked into high gear, and she spent most of the day ravenous. Rose had put on a bit more weight, and her skin didn’t quite look so sallow.
“It is. Try it and see.” Voo turned to Coyote. “And what’s goin’ on here?”
“We’re eating.” He lifted his chin as though challenging Voodoo to say something about it.
“I see. And does Duke know you’re here?”
Rose frowned, staring at the table. “Why? Is this his booth or something?”
“No, Cherie, but I think there is somethin’ here Duke believes is his,” he said with a pointed look in her direction.
“What? No. We’re, uh….” She flushed. What were they to each other, exactly? Friend didn’t seem to fit. Definitely not lovers.
“Yes?” Voo waited for an answer.
Coyote also watched her.
“He and I are friends.” Rose hoped it sounded neutral.
“You aren’t dating him, then?” Coyote asked.
“Nope.”
“Good to know.” His eyes widened. “I mean, from a purely indifferent third party type of way. Like, hmm… interesting.”
Voodoo rolled his eyes. “Very smooth, brother.” He sauntered off.
She picked up her sandwich, grateful to have something to do with her mouth besides talking. Maybe letting Coyote sit down was a bad idea.
Coyote took a couple more bites as well.
They both chewed in awkward silence.
“Did you watch the video?” Rose blurted it out before she lost her nerve. It was killing her not to know.
If it were possible, he looked even more uncomfortable than she felt.
“I’ve analyzed it. Uh, from what I can tell, it was made in a hotel room. I wasn’t able to pull up enough detail to pinpoint which hotel—the image was too grainy. Duke is supposed to come around and collect it.”
“Thanks,” she muttered. Suddenly, the food tasted like ashes. Rose dropped the sandwich to her plate.
Coyote reached for a napkin from the dispenser and nearly knocked over his tea. He grabbed it at the last minute.
“So, um, maybe you could come over tonight. To my place, I mean. You know, to take your mind off of things. I have an HD TV, as well as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime. Name your poison. We could hang out and watch some stuff. Or do you play video games? We could have a tournament.”
Rose tried to think of a polite way to turn him down, but it wasn’t coming to her.
“I don’t play video games.”
She could feel his knee bouncing under the table, the vibrations making it shake the slightest bit.
“Movies or television it is. My apartment is a great place to chill—very low key. I’ve feng-shui-ed the shit out of it. It has very soothing Earth tones, fountains, Zen garden… you name it.”
Duke strolled in the diner, and Coyote visibly paled. No wonder, because Duke glowered at him, nostrils flaring.
He jerked a thumb in the direction of the door. “Leave.”
“Rose and I were havin’ lunch.”
“And now you’re done. Beat it. I need this seat.
”
Was Duke in overprotective bodyguard mode? Or maybe Voo had been right. Duke felt he had some sort of claim on her. Whatever the reason, Rose didn’t like the possessive tone, mostly because it was presumptuous. And because he’d left without a word in the morning, leaving only a terse note.
She scooted in and patted the seat beside her. “Why don’t you sit beside me?”
Only Cowboy, Daisy, and Duke had gotten close to her. Inviting Coyote into her personal space was a big step.
With a smug grin, Coyote swaggered over and sat beside her, draping his arm on the seat behind her head. She sat ramrod straight, though, thereby avoiding any touch. Meanwhile, Voodoo watched them from behind the counter with intense interest.
What a mess.
“We need to talk real private like.” Duke dropped down into the other side of the booth.
“We can talk in a bit, Duke.”
His eyes were cold and hard as if he could force the other man away from her using only his displeasure.
Rose didn’t know how Coyote withstood the full force of Duke’s ire.
“So, are you comin’ over tonight?” Coyote asked.
Duke grasped the glass salt shaker, playing with it, but she thought it might shatter in his tight grip.
“Um, I can’t, but thank you for the invitation.”
She wasn’t ready for a date—or maybe the wrong person had asked her. Rose imagined if Duke had asked, the response would be different.
“What about tomorrow night?”
“That’s it! No means no, asshole.” Duke yanked Coyote up by the collar and hauled him out the door
“Hey, stop it. Leave him alone.”
Rose ran after them, but Voodoo stepped in her path.
“Mais non, cherie. You have to let them work it out—this is a fight between brothers.”
“Even if they're being stupid?”
Voodoo nudged her shoulder with his own and gave her a wink.
“Especially if they’re being stupid.” He walked her over to the window. “Come on, let’s watch. This should be an excellent show.”
***
Duke released Coyote, who made a big show of straightening his Hulk shirt like Duke had somehow sullied it with his hands.
“What the fuck, man?”
“Leave her alone. She’s been to hell and back, and she doesn’t need snot-nosed little shits hittin’ on her.”
“There was no hittin’. Well, there was… but you don’t gotta make it sound so deviant. I like her is all. I just thought she might want to hang out with me… since we’re close to the same age.”
“Yeah, well, she don’t. Move on.” Duke ignored the insult.
“Yeah, I picked up on it. I know she’s been through a tough time, but I ain’t some dickhead trying to get in her pants. I want to do it right, date her.”
“Yeah, well, stop. She’s off limits.”
“The only person who can give an order like that is Shep. Why you actin’ like she’s your old lady or somethin’?” Coyote thrust his chest out.
“I’m not. I’m….” Duke froze.
Yeah, he’d been acting exactly like she belonged to him. Like he had some sort of claim on her. He’d made fun of Ryker and Cowboy for their obsessive, possessive bullshit when it came to their women, but he’d be damned if he wasn’t acting the same fucking way.
“What the fuck, man? You got some claim on her? If so, tell me, and I’ll back off.” Coyote stared at him, waiting for an answer.
Well, hell’s bells.
Duke couldn’t say he had an understanding with her—but Rose felt like his. More than any woman he’d ever known. Maybe because they’d been spending so much time together. Or maybe it was because every time she got close to him, he felt like he was about to come out of his skin.
Yeah, this was all kinds of fucked up.
“She ain’t my old lady, but she’s my responsibility. When I tell you to back the fuck off, I mean it.” It was middle-of-the-road bullshit, but it might work.
“Yeah? Well, we’ll see what Shepherd has to say about it.” Coyote made tracks before Duke could use his fists to beat some sense into him.
When Duke looked up, he saw both Voo and Rose watching him avidly, which made his tirade even more fucking embarrassing than it already was.
Duke slammed his fist against the wall and stalked off to his Harley. He got the hell out of there before he did anything else stupid.
***
It didn’t take long for Shepherd to find Duke.
After he’d made a scene at Hades, he’d gone to Perdition and drank so many beers, he’d lost count. He felt better. Okay, a bit queasy, but he’d stunned his brain—hard to ruminate about shit, when you had a beer buzz.
He’d originally been looking for Eddie, but no fucking luck there. He’d asked around, but she was at home, bottling up some ‘shine. Eddie made the best moonshine in Texas, and demand for her product was increasing. A couple of his brothers had approached him, but he’d told them off. Duke wasn’t in the mood for just any company.
Unfortunately, Shep didn’t give a damn whether or not Duke wanted to speak with him. With a grin, he sat down and pulled out a smoke.
“You gonna make me ask or you plannin’ on ’fessing up?”
Duke didn’t even spare him a glance.
“So, when’s the engagement?”
“Fuck off, you snoopy bastard.”
“Can’t. It’s my job, and I have a duty to the club. So spill. What’s going on with you and Daisy’s kid sister?” Shep blew several smoke rings into the air.
“Nothin’. Don’t know what the fuck you’re goin’ on about.”
“Liar. Everyone else is making cow eyes—I guess it’s your turn.” The brothers had been joking about some sort of love bug in the air.
“I ain’t datin’ her. I’m trainin’ her.” This was such a fuck up. He had no right to keep her from seeing the pissant if she had a mind to.
“For what, exactly? Last time I checked, we don’t take female prospects. Captain is so fucking old school it ain’t funny.”
No point in trying to keep it under wraps. Shepherd wouldn’t let it go, anyhow. Duke might as well give him the details.
“She wanted to learn how to fight. Rose got a video threat from the sick fuck who kept her prisoner, and he said he wanted her back. So she needed to be prepared if he comes after her again.”
His mouth fell open for a moment. Shep slapped a hand against the table. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell the club?”
“She asked me not to. Besides, our main priority has been shuttin’ down the Raptor’s brothel. Kent’s no longer with the Raptors, so I didn’t figure finding him was a big priority.”
“It isn’t, but it’s still a priority.”
“I planned on bringing y’all in when numb-nuts shows up.” It was only a matter of time before Kent made his move. He’d give this to the bastard, though–he was patient, a real Machiavelli type.
“Does her sister know?”
“Fuck, no, and I’d appreciate it if you kept your mouth shut about it.”
Shepherd shook his head. “Oh, yeah, that’s gonna work out real well for you.”
“I ain’t afraid of her sister.” Duke drained his beer.
“Funny.”
“What’s funny?”
“Never figured you for an idiot.” Shep chuckled. “I ain’t seen you like this over a woman. Who are you and whatcha done with Duke?”
“It ain’t like that.” He didn’t know who he was trying to convince, himself or Shep.
“Oh, yes, it is. You must want her pretty bad.”
“I’m protecting her.” Yet the thought of the baby biker cuddling up with Rose made his blood boil.
“And threatening other men who invite her over to watch movies. I hate to say it, well, actually, I’m lying. I love saying it, but Coyote is the right age for her, cradle robber.”
Like he didn’t fucking know it already? “Oh
, for fuck’s sake. We ain’t datin’.”
“Uh-huh. Tell me another one. Don’t you think you’re a bit old for her? I mean, you could be her father.” Shep curled his lip.
Speaking of blood boiling.
“I ain’t her dad.”
“But you could be.”
Duke opened his mouth to argue.
“I can do this all night,” Shep said, cutting him off.
“Why the fuck do you even care?”
“As long as I’ve known you, you’ve kept people at arm’s length. Figure it’s a good thing—you gettin’ close to someone. I told Coyote to back off so there’s no need to put the hurt on him.”
“I wouldn’t have… I only wanted to make a point.”
“Shit. You’re lyin’ outta your ass. You know, it ain’t the worst thing in the world. Lettin’ someone in.”
“We aren’t havin’ this conversation.”
“Admit it. You like this girl.”
“Okay, there’s some sort of… connection. Not sure what it is.” Duke hoped the admission was enough to get Shep off his back.
It wouldn’t work out between him and Rose. They both had fucked up pasts, not to mention the psycho stalking her at the moment. The way he figured it, Duke was doomed to live in the friend zone with her while he jerked himself off in the shower for the next couple of months, until another hellion attracted his dick’s attention.
“What kind of connection? The kind where you want to put your cock in her pussy?”
“I’m not tryin’ to fuck her.” Duke hoped it sounded believable.
“If you’re lookin’ for fun, there’s plenty of other girls, but if you want somethin’ more, it’s a different story.”
“I don’t want any of those girls.” His cock had decided to accept no substitutes.
“Including the hellion you’re currently supposed to be fucking.”
“Shit.”
Duke knew he should deal with her soon, but fuck if he wanted to. One thing was for damn sure, he wasn’t thinking about Chesty anymore. It wasn’t fair to screw her and pine for another woman. He’d have to cut her loose.
Frankly, he’d rather go back to prison than deal with this drama—it was always awkward. He hated emotional scenes, and she was sure to cause one. She’d gotten possessive in the past few weeks.
Joy Ride: A Virgin Romance (Let it Ride Book 3) Page 24