by Krane, Kasey
I could smell her amazing scent – a combination of citrus and soap – as it wafted up to my nose. I had never smelled someone so delicious in all my life and I began to tentatively stroke her shoulder with my left hand, my arm ever-so-casually draped around her. Instead of telling me to fuck off as I had quite expected her to do, she simply burrowed deeper into my side with a happy sigh and I felt my dick rise instantaneously in response.
I had to keep my hands to myself, and more importantly, my cock to myself, and I knew it. Bishop had already told me that we couldn't trust Leia because of her relationship with Butcher and some small part of me realized that was true, although the part in question was most definitely not my cock.
I decided to keep my hand only on top of her arm and not let it stray anywhere else, certainly not over to the top of her generous tits, no matter how much I wanted to. Not only would Bishop have my head if I dared to fuck Leia, I also needed to remember that Leia wasn't like the girls I knew. She wasn’t the kind of gal to jump into bed and fuck any old guy. She was clean and innocent and…so goddamned sexy. I tried to discreetly adjust myself but I wasn't sure how oblivious and innocent Leia was.
With an internal sigh, I decided that the best way to keep from fucking it all up was to actually watch the movie, instead of watching Leia’s tits rise and fall with every breath. Surprisingly, as the movie continued, I found myself actually laughing a few times. I sure as hell wouldn’t have picked it out from the Redbox, but damn, it wasn’t nearly as painful as I thought it was going to be.
When the movie ended and Leia didn't stir, I belatedly realized that she’d fallen asleep, curled up in my arms, as relaxed and trusting as a baby.
I brushed her hair away from her face, enjoying my chance to stare at her openly and drink in her gorgeous features without her catching me doing it. My eyes drifted from her brown and gold hair, falling in a thick, wavy curtain away from her face and across my lap, to her curving, thin eyebrows, so expressive when she was awake. Furrowing when she was thinking, arching when she was laughing…I had never realized how much information I could get simply from someone's eyebrows.
And her eyes…asleep, her eyelashes lay like thick, brown fans on her cheeks, hiding the gorgeous brown-green color of her eyes. Green around the iris and then melting into a deep brown around the edges, I had found myself lost in her eyes a couple of times over lunch. They were goddamn captivating and made my solid brown eyes seem painfully boring in contrast.
My eyes drifted down to her gorgeous pink lips, slightly parted as she slept, and I had to swallow hard at the sight. From the moment I had seen her across the restaurant back in El Paso, had caught her staring at me, I had imagined making her mouth mine – sucking and nibbling and swallowing her gasps of pleasure – making all of her mine.
My cock had become painful and I shifted again, trying hard not to wake her with my movements, but just as I was adjusting himself, the DVD player finally decided that I wasn't going to do anything else and went to sleep, causing the TV screen to turn a bright blue and emit a loud beep. It startled Leia awake and with the jerk, she sat up, shoving her messy, long hair out of her eyes. She looked like she’d just been fucked, although I was painfully aware of the fact that she most definitely had not been.
She was quite possibly the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen in my life.
“So sorry, I can't believe I fell asleep on you. God, I hope I didn't drool all over you,” she said with a laugh and swipe at her face. I was pretty sure even if she had, I wouldn’t have noticed. Or cared.
I felt like I was slowly being tortured – I had to protect Leia but I also had to keep my hands off her. This seemed like an impossible task and was only going to get worse the longer I spent sitting on a bed, staring at her mussed hair. It was time to get the hell out of dodge and go do something that did not include Leia being in bed with me.
“Wanna go check out the clubhouse? I gotta chat with Bishop.”
“Heck yeah! Maybe someone there will tell me war stories about my dad and I can get to know Butcher better.”
I tried to hide my grimace at the thought. Leia didn't seem to understand that the two clubs were in a very unstable truce at the moment and weren’t exactly big fans of each other. Maybe the guys would be nice to her and pretend like they wouldn’t draw their weapons at the mere sight of Butcher.
That was a lot of pretending to ask of a bunch of bikers.
Having never claimed I was a saint, I would admit ,even if just to myself, that I took the corners a little fast on the way to the clubhouse because Leia clung to me even closer when I did.
Not to mention, it was damn fun to do.
We headed inside when we arrived; I nodded at my brothers as I went.
“Bishop in Chapel?” I asked Tats.
“Yeah, he’s with Judge.”
Good, maybe I can beat some brains into Judge. We may have been able to save his sorry ass in the Sangre shootout, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t give him shit for being a lovesick idiot. I mean, Carmen is hot and all but God is he dumb when she’s around.
“You good?” I asked Leia, jerking my head toward the room full of men.
“Oh yeah, I'm great,” Leia said with a big grin and I knew she wasn't shitting me. She could probably talk a cactus out of its thorns and have the cactus thank her for the opportunity. She was as friendly and outgoing as…well, as I was not.
Time to face the music. Despite my assurances to Leia, Bishop and Judge were most definitely not excited about my new babysitting duties, and were no doubt going to give me hell for doing it. They wanted me to get close to her to find out what was going on with the Outlaws, and yet they didn't think that the Sangre were a threat to Leia . I would never forgive myself if I walked away now and she ended up getting used a pawn in the Dead Legion’s war with the Sangre. And anyway, who were they to bitch? Bishop brought Jules to a gun fight (all right, hid in a closet, but really, was that much better?) and Judge got pinned down by a bunch of Sangre because he wanted to impress his girlfriend.
No, I wasn’t going to back down one bit. I needed to protect Leia but unlike Bishop and Judge, I wasn’t going to be an idiot about it.
10
Leia
I looked around the room at the hardened bikers, trying to decide who was the most likely to talk to me. Some had women draped all over them, which instantly disqualified them - I couldn’t intrude when they had other fish on the line - while others were nursing a drink and chatting with fellow Dead Legion. I finally decided that Tats was as good of a place as any. I walked over, eyeballing his stature as he went. He seemed to live up to his name.
“Hi, I’m Leia,” I said with a bright smile as I put my hand out to shake his. He looked down at my hand and then back up to my face as if trying to decide if I was for real. I realized belatedly that there probably weren’t too many women who introduced themselves like they were at a business meeting and went to drop my hand just as Tats tentatively stuck his hand out. We shook awkwardly, I was anxious to move on and quit making a fool out of myself.
“So,” I said with a broad smile to Tats and the other guys sitting at the table, “do you guys know my dad, Butcher?” A couple of mumbled responses were all I got in return. I pressed on, unwilling to give up on finding information so readily. “I know he wasn't always a Dead Legion – he started out as a Scorpion. Does anyone know why he switched clubs?” That was something I hadn't been able to piece together yet - based on my admittedly limited motorcycle club experience, members didn’t seem to change clubs regularly, and yet my dad had started out as a Scorpion, became a Dead Legion, and was now a Dead Legion Outlaws. That seemed like a hell of a lot of club jumping to me.
When all I got out of the men were a couple of shrugs and total refusal to make eye contact, I got the hint. These guys weren’t going to give me the inside scoop on my dad. Fine, whatever.
Resigning myself to making chitchat with the men until Knight reappeared; I decided to
ask them a question that was sure to get a response. “So, the first time I had ever been on the motorcycle was…” Holy fuck, that couldn’t be right! What a long-ass day. “Was this morning, when Knight took me to Playas. I don't know much about Harleys – what makes them so special?”
Which is how Knight ended up finding me outside on Tats’s bike, all of the Dead Legion and some of the sheep surrounding me, as I attempted to keep his heavy bike upright with my hands on the grip just right.
“No, you’ve got to move your wrist forward – see how gripping it that way gives you more control?” Tats said, moving my wrist until I was holding it just right. The weight of the bike made me realize why Knight’s biceps were so huge. I was having a hard time just keeping the Harley upright and off the stand.
The crowd went quiet around me and I looked up to realize that Knight was standing there with a…pissy look on his face? It was so rare for him to show any emotion, let alone anger, that it took me a moment to even realize what that facial expression was. I swung my leg back off the bike as everyone scattered, except for Tats, who was carefully arranging the bike on its stand before hastily beating his own retreat.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, let’s go. I gotta get clean clothes from my house so I’m gonna drop you off at the motel. Lock the door behind me.” He turned around and walked off towards his Harley, leaving me to stare at his retreating back.
What the hell happened in that meeting with Bishop and Judge?! Whatever the fuck it was, he can damn well stop taking it out on me.
I swung my leg over the bike behind him and held on as we took off, but for the first time since we met, I had no desire to feel up his rock-hard abs as we rode.
Okay, well, maybe a little, but I would never admit it to anyone, and certainly not to Knight. Jackass Extraordinaire didn’t deserve hearing something like that.
11
Knight
After Leia walked into the motel room and I listened for the deadbolt to thunk into place, I stalked back to my bike and swung on, not even bothering to put on my helmet before roaring out of the parking lot. I had been having a perfectly wonderful day with Leia snuggling up beside me, and fantasizing about fucking her, and then she had to go and flirt with every Dead Legion in the joint. Didn't she know that they were horny bastards who couldn’t be trusted? They were probably eyeing her curves and wishing they were fucking her and goddammit, she shouldn’t be sized up like a side of beef. She was amazing and funny and thoughtful and innocent and also sexy. The other Dead Legion didn’t see anything but the sexy part. She had to be more careful. She had to make sure…
I opened up my front door with a slam. God fucking dammit all to hell, I’m jealous. How did Leia get under my skin like that? I can’t be jealous. Jealous means we have a relationship and I haven’t even kissed her and I can’t kiss her because Bishop just made it perfectly clear that I fucking can’t touch her with 10 foot pole because of who her daddy is but she’s fucking driving me insane. I’ve started mooning over pink toenails, for God’s sake, and doing things like stroking her shoulder as we lay in bed and don't fuck — when was the last time that happened?? — and, oh God, I’ve told her shit I haven’t told anyone.
I gotta get my head straight. I can’t keep letting her screw with it.
I threw clean clothes into a backpack, along with a toothbrush and toothpaste. I didn’t know how long I was going to be Leia’s guardian/protector/non-fucker, so I had better pack some necessities.
Locking up my house behind me, I swung onto my bike but instead of heading back to the Cactus Motel, I took a left and headed out of town and just rode. I had to clear my head. I had to pull my head out of my ass.
I had to keep Leia at arm’s length.
A half hour later, feeling a little better, I headed back to the motel. A large part of me itched to hit the road and let the world disappear for a day or two, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t abandon Leia like that. She needed me.
And the Dead Legion too, of course. I was their Sgt. at Arms. I couldn’t just mic drop them and walk away because a damn woman was getting to me.
I hit the motel office first and asked for a key for Leia’s room, figuring that it would be good to have it on hand just in case. The pimply faced teenager running the front desk said, “Dude, I saw you on Facebook! That’s so badass that you killed all those Sangre.” I just nodded my thanks, not feeling up to the task of playing hero.
Visibly crestfallen that I hadn’t said anything (which made me feel like an even bigger ass), the kid handed over the room key, and I fled the office before I could do something stupid like invite the kid to the clubhouse to hang out. Unlocking both locks on Leia’s door, I walked into a dark and silent room. I could barely make out Leia’s form in the twilight, curled up on her queen bed.
Good. She should stay there and I should stay over here and we should keep our distance and I most definitely, positively, absolutely should not fuck her.
Now I just had to get my cock to agree.
* * *
The next morning was a much smoother start to the day than day before had been.
Well, okay, so I hadn’t awoken from a nightmare to find myself holding a gun, which definitely qualified for a smoother start. I did, however, wake up to painfully hard morning wood that I couldn’t take care of because Leia was there. Who was, of course, the cause of said morning wood. I had been having the most delicious dream about running my hands over Leia’s wide hips and up to her ridiculously tiny waist, nipping my way up to her belly button, and then…
I was awake and sweating and a certain part of me was aching and I rolled over, groaning as I moved, just in time to see Leia’s eyes open. Blinking sleepily, she smiled lazily at me for a moment and then, like a curtain dropping in front of her, she remembered. Remembered what I had said and done the day before and her mouth thinned and her eyes got squinty and my heart hurt, instead of my cock. Well, along with my cock.
I was the one to do this to her. I had overreacted and I owed her an apology. Again. For a man who’d spent the first 35 years of my life avoiding giving apologies at all costs, this new rash of fuck-ups were more than a little painful to my pride.
But not as painful as knowing I had caused Leia pain.
“I’m—” I cleared my throat, morning grogginess making it hard to speak clearly. Plowing ahead, I started again. “I’m really sorry for yesterday. I shouldn’t have acted t-t-that way.” Goddamn T’s - out to get me every time.
She blinked a few times, thoughtful, still lying on her side, facing me, her hand tucked up underneath her cheek. Her eyes flicked up and down my body and I had the most awful feeling that she could see me — really see me. See my fears about making an ass out of myself every time I opened my mouth. See my worries that I wasn’t good enough - that I was half-breed, born to two people who couldn’t care less about me. See that the Dead Legion MC was the only good thing in my life. Bishop and his parents James and Mary, Judge, and the other members…they gave my life meaning and a purpose. Without them, I was just a stutterer, too dumb to talk properly.
“Apology accepted,” she said softly.
A silence descended over us and I searched my mind frantically for something to say. Anything.
Breakfast! Women always need to eat.
“A bakery one street over makes awesome doughnuts. Wanna get breakfast?”
A smile broke over her face that goddamn lit up the room brighter than any sunshine ever could. “That sounds wonderful.”
We got ready for the day, a strangely personal and sexy experience for me. I wasn't used to sharing close quarters. I usually fucked the women at the clubhouse and then walked away. This morning, going in and out of the bathroom, trying not to run into each other in the tight spaces of the motel room, watching as she bent over and slipped on her shoes which gave me the most amazing view of her tits…it was the most domestic scene I had ever lived through. Such a stark contrast from screaming parent
s or, worse yet, parents high on drugs and zoned out on the couch or the quiet of my own home, without even a pet to break the silence.
I need to get a dog. Hell, Turbo is a damn good dog. Maybe I should get a dog like him.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” Leia said with a cheerful smile and my traitorous heart jerked in my chest at the sight. The open bathroom door behind her let the steam of her shower spill out, along with the light citrus scent I was starting to think of simply as “Leia.” I had never thought of the citrus scent as being sexy…until now.
We walked out into the sunshine and heat of the sun and hopped onto the Duo Glide; her four-door sedan car, unremarkable in every way, was left in the motel parking lot yet again. I was grateful that she was happy to ride my Harley and didn’t force me to get into her hot, confining, and downright boring-ass car to go places. I knew there were people out there who didn't like bikes; thank God Leia wasn’t one of them.
She snuggled against my back, pressing her tits against me and a part of me rejoiced in the feeling as I backed out of the parking spot and pulled out onto the road. Last night when we had left the Dead Legion clubhouse, she had held herself away from me, in a way she hadn’t done before, and it had been painful, like a vital part of me had been missing. That part was back in place and my world stupidly felt right again. How had I so quickly grown used to her there, hugging and holding me tight?
And what the fuck am I going to do when she leaves again? I shoved that thought deep down, as far out of my mind as I could manage. I would just have to deal with that when it happened.
We walked into the bakery, and I could see her nose twitching with delight from the amazing smells wafting through the air. “If their donuts taste half as good as they smell, I’m going to have to run 10 miles every day just so I can eat them for breakfast.”