by Sam Crescent
“It’s a pool table. What do you think it is?” he asked.
“What’s it doing in the sitting room? Where’s my coffee table?” She dropped her bag to the floor, and Raoul closed the door.
“I got rid of it. Actually, the piece of shit furniture broke so I replaced it with something way cooler, don’t you think?”
“This is not way cooler. This is an invasion of my home.”
“I live here as well. We rent this apartment together.” Landon moved to the far wall, offering her a pool stick. “Come on. Have a game. It will be awesome.”
Zoe shook her head. “No. I need to take a shower and study.” She turned to glare at Raoul. “You better figure this out. Otherwise he’s gone.”
Raoul watched her disappear into the bathroom, before her very swift exit was hindered by the fact she didn’t have a change of clothes. She shot him a glare before going into her bedroom, coming out with a change of clothes. Every time she slammed the door, he marked it down for the number of times he was going to spank her. The bathroom door slammed for a second time. He was going to spank her three times, twice for the bathroom, and once for the bedroom.
Taking the pool stick from Landon, he shot a ball. Neither of them played any real game as they took it in turns to shoot the ball into the holes.
“How was the party?” Landon asked.
“Great. Did you have trouble moving in?”
“Nah, it was fucking easy. Zoe doesn’t keep a lot of shit around. Did you know all that cosmetic shit in the bathroom was Stacey’s? I think Zoe had a razor, soap, and some special hair shit.” He shrugged. “I’ve got more in there now.”
Raoul snorted.
“What? I’ve got to keep my good looks up. Women don’t fuck me for nothing.”
“I doubt any of the women would fuck you if they knew how vain you were.”
“I’m taking one for the team.” Landon chuckled. The moment he finished college he’d be prospecting full time for the club.
“Zoe’s going to be my old lady. I’m going to need you here to keep an eye on her.”
“No problem with me. She’s a cool chick, can’t stand my guts for anything but friends. I’ll take care of her.”
“Hands off, Landon, I mean it.”
“Fine, hands off.” Landon held his hands up. “I won’t fuck her, brother.”
“I won’t fuck you either,” Zoe said, walking out of the bathroom. Her hair was wet from the shower, and her cheeks were flushed. She didn’t pay them any more attention, entering the kitchen to put the kettle on. Out of the corner of his eye, Raoul watched her move around. He wished Landon wasn’t around. The thought of leaving her left him with a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“I’ve got to be heading back,” Raoul said.
“Fine. I’ll get Zoe to play.”
“I’m studying, Landon. You can play by yourself.”
Raoul threw the pool stick onto the table, reaching for his woman. He pulled her close to him, inhaling the fresh fragrance of her soap.
“I’ll call you.”
“Okay.”
He slammed his lips down on hers, taking the kiss he didn’t want to end. When it was over, he let himself out of the apartment. He climbed onto his bike, riding back to Vale Valley. Not once did he look back. Leaving her behind was already hard enough. He didn’t want to keep doing it.
Daisy was working on his bike when he drove into the clubhouse parking lot. It was only lunch time, but if he’d stayed with Zoe, he wouldn’t have wanted to leave.
“What’s going on, brother?” Daisy asked.
“Nothing. I’m just trying to work through my shit. You know how it is.”
“Zoe handled the club a lot better than I thought she would.”
“I’ve told her how to become an old lady, and that I intend to make her one.”
“And you’re still dating?”
“We’re still dating. She’s finishing up college. I wouldn’t take that away from her.”
“You’re not that much older than she is, Raoul. I wouldn’t worry. It’s not like you’re in your forties.”
Raoul tilted his head to the side. “You’re in your mid-thirties.”
“So?”
“This pussy you can’t have, who is it?”
Daisy completely shut down, a blank expression on the whole of his face.
“That’s not your business, and I’d appreciate it if you stayed out of mine,” Daisy said.
He chained his bike up but didn’t budge. “What pussy has got you screwing everything that walks with a vagina?”
For several moments Daisy didn’t speak. “My sister’s best friend.” The words came out of his mouth as a mere whisper that if Raoul hadn’t been listening he wouldn’t have heard it.
“What?”
“I went home over Christmas and New Year. My sister was home from college with her best friend.” Daisy ran the dirty cloth over the body of his bike without looking up as he spoke.
“Do we know her?”
“No. The folks don’t want nothing to do with the club I’m with. I go to visit my mom and sister, not my dad.” Raoul had known there was no love lost between father and son with Daisy. He despised his old man.
“Anyway, let’s just say little Maria has all grown up.” Daisy threw the cloth to the ground. “Leave it, and if I hear any shit from the brothers I’m coming for you.”
“I won’t say anything.”
“Good. Look, she’d never look at a guy like me. I’m fucking old, and she wouldn’t even look at a biker, okay? She’s one of those innocent types who wants kids, a husband, to settle down.”
“Well, shit, I didn’t figure you for someone who can read minds as well.”
“I’m being fucking serious here.”
“I’m not saying anything. You clearly know what you’re talking about.” Raoul held his hands up. He’d never expected Daisy to open up to him.
They both stopped speaking as Duke’s large truck pulled into the parking lot. Raoul went to Holly’s side, helping her out of the truck.
“I can do that. I’m not a total invalid. I’m pregnant, remember?” She snapped each word at him.
Raising a brow Raoul looked toward Duke.
“Hormones.” Duke spoke the word without making a sound.
“Pike and Mary are due back today. I refuse to spend another moment spread out on the sofa. I want to see my best friend,” Holly said.
“They’re back today? I didn’t know they were back today,” Raoul said.
“Mary’s had no choice but to come back,” Holly said, smirking. “Pike knocked her up, and the morning sickness is not making the trip enjoyable for either of them.”
Raoul burst out laughing. The two best friends were knocked up together.
“You can laugh all you want. Wait until your woman is like this,” Duke said, warning him.
“Not going to happen to me,” Daisy said.
Raoul didn’t say anything, but he imagined Maria was only going to be safe for so long before Daisy got his head out of his ass and claimed her. Entering the clubhouse, he went straight for the bar. He pulled out his cell phone to see several texts.
Landon: Zoe’s an alien. She’s trying to get me to sell the pool table.
Zoe: I’m not having a pool table.
Landon: She’s completely insane.
Zoe: Raoul, I mean it, talk to him.
Laughing his ass off, he took the drink from Baby. She was staring at him sweetly. He stared down into his coffee, suspicious. Placing the cup on the counter, he saw her face fall.
“What the fuck did you do to my drink?” he asked.
His voice rose enough to grab everyone’s attention.
“N-nothing.” She stuttered the word, turning red as he continued to glare at her.
“Don’t fucking lie to me,” he snarled out, ready to commit fucking murder.
Duke stepped up to the counter. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“I’m sorry. Suz said it would work.”
The mention of Suz had Duke tensing.
Holly placed a hand on his back. “What the fuck does that slut have to do with this?”
“It’s just to help him relax.”
“Why? Why the fuck would you need me to relax?” Raoul asked. If it wasn’t for the counter between them, he’d be choking the life out of her.
“I know,” Daisy said. “If she can get you to relax and fuck you without a condom, she’s at risk of getting pregnant, isn’t that right?”
Baby nodded, sobbing into her hands. “Suz said it worked for her and that she had the best of both worlds.”
“It’s not going to work for me, you fucking whore,” Raoul said, grabbing the cup, and throwing it against the wall. He was so fucking angry. “I’ve got a woman of my own. What the fuck does it take to prove to you bitches your place?”
Duke placed a hand on his shoulder. “Enough. Daisy, put Baby into lockdown. I don’t want her to be able to connect with Suz or anyone else. I want to get to the bottom of this. Raoul, call Crazy. I want him here.”
Raoul stared at Baby. He’d heard the order from Duke, but he was going to make sure Baby understood the shit she’d just done. The moment she was free from the counter, he snatched her out of Daisy’s hands, slamming her against the wall. He wrapped his fingers around her neck. “Let’s make one thing clear.” In the background he heard his brothers shout at him to stop. He didn’t, and was going to make everything clear to her. “I promised Zoe I’d remain faithful to her, and I’m not going to break my promise. If I’d taken that drink and woken up beside you, naked, even if I let you live and you came to me pregnant, I would have killed you and buried your body so Zoe wouldn’t ever have known. I don’t make a habit of killing women, but you wouldn’t have been a woman, Baby. You’d have been my enemy, and those I kill without remorse.”
Terror shone in her eyes, and he threw her back into Daisy’s arms. If he touched her again, he was going to kill her. Storming out of the clubhouse, he dialed Crazy’s number, giving him the lowdown of what was going on.
Once he finished, he turned around only to stop when he saw Holly.
“Hey, you,” she said.
“Hello.” It was the first real time she hadn’t looked at him with anger.
“You really do care about Zoe. The woman you brought to the party at the weekend?” She folded her arms over her stomach, highlighting how big she’d gotten. “Please, don’t stare. I’m the size of a tank, and the insecurity I’m dealing with right now is a fucking bitch.”
He chuckled. “I love her, Holly. I never thought I’d meet someone who makes me feel like this.”
“Makes you feel like what?”
“She’s the only thing in the world that I care about. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt.”
She smiled. “I feel that way every time I’m with Duke. When we’re not together, I think about him all the time.”
Raoul nodded. He stared down at his cell phone, wondering what Zoe was doing at that very moment.
“Don’t let her get away, Raoul. We’re lucky to have found someone we love more than anything in the world.”
He agreed with her.
****
“It’s not you, baby, it’s me. I’m not ready to settle down. I’m a sucker for a pretty face. I’m broken inside, and you can’t fix me.”
Zoe snorted as Landon continued to sweet talk the girl he’d brought over last night to fuck. She’d spent the whole night listening to him pounding the bed against the wall. At two in the morning she’d gotten so tired, she’d stuck her earbuds in, and listened to music.
The door closed.
“I don’t know who I feel sorry for, you or that poor girl.”
“Why feel sorry for her? She got the banging of a lifetime, and I got a hundred bucks.”
“Why did you get a hundred bucks?” She frowned, holding her hand out. “Wait, I really don’t want to know.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you anyway. There was a bet going on to see who could get into Heidi’s pants first. I won, so the money is mine.”
“Ew, you actually have bets on for screwing girls on campus?” She wrinkled her nose hating her peers more and more. At least Landon hadn’t brought any of his male friends to the apartment. She would have been pissed to discover those kinds of men at her apartment.
“There’s a thousand dollar special if a guy gets with a teacher.”
“You see, this is the reason I never wanted to have a male roommate. You guys are disgusting.”
“Why are we disgusting?” he asked. “That girl left with several damn good orgasms. I also didn’t film it, and some of the guys do.”
“What?”
“Exactly. I’m not the worst choice for a sex partner. Some of the guys like to torment the girls afterwards with their conquests. It’s cruel really, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”
She shook her head. “I can’t be thinking about this right now. I’m studying.” It had been three days since she last spoke to Raoul.
“What? Don’t you want to know what the guys thought about you?”
Frowning, she glanced over at him. “They had me down for money?”
“Yes, the virgin. You were worth five hundred bucks.”
Zoe didn’t know what to do or say. On the one hand she was pissed off that they would bet on her. On the other, she really didn’t care.
“Don’t worry. I warned them if they tried to continue the bet with you, I’d hurt them.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I did it on behalf of Raoul and the club. No one takes the piss out of an old lady.”
“I’m not an old lady yet.”
“You will be. All I care about is you’ve been claimed by Raoul. I’ll look after you and take care of you.”
She stared down at her English book, but her mind wasn’t on the words written on the page. Her thoughts were on Landon and what he’d just said to her.
“Why do you want to be a Trojan so bad?” she asked.
“They’re the best biker club around. I could have joined with The Skulls or Chaos Bleeds, but I didn’t want to. I like the Trojans. They’re fun. The other two clubs always seem to be in a shitload of danger.”
“Danger?”
“Yeah, clubs like that, it creates enemies. It’s why Raoul wants you protected while we’re here. Each club has their own set of enemies. With me here, I can protect you.”
Zoe hadn’t really given it much thought about what it meant joining the club.
Her cell phone pinged, and she saw Raoul had texted her.
Raoul: Miss u. How’s studying?
Zoe: Fine. Landon’s being a pain in the ass.
Raoul: What are you doing?
Zoe: Studying. Wishing you were here to distract me.
“From that smile on your face I’m guessing it’s Raoul texting you,” he said.
She didn’t receive another text immediately after so she put her phone down. “Don’t you hate the fact girls are using you for sex?”
“Baby, I don’t have any problems with the girls using me for sex. I live for it. I relish it.”
“I don’t know. I imagine you must get lonely at times.” She stared down at her book.
“Why would I get lonely? I have all the women in the world falling at my feet.”
“Yeah, but are you really happy with that? I mean, you’ve got all of these women, Stacey, for instance, was she the only one you took the time to fuck?”
“I only slept with her in order to get closer to you,” Landon said.
“That’s not a good enough argument. That girl you’ve just ushered out of the apartment, how many times have you slept with her?” Whe
n he didn’t answer straight away, she gave him a stern look.
“What? I slept with her once. Once is enough.”
“Why? Afraid your technique might not be all that great?”
“I’ve no idea what you’re trying to say, but I can promise you, it’s nowhere near the truth.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I’m awesome in the sack. I’ve got girls begging for a chance to fuck me.” Landon looked proud of his achievement.
Tilting her head to the side, Zoe picked up her pen, running the bottom against her lip.
“What?” he asked, after a few seconds’ worth of silence had passed.
“Nothing. I was just wondering out of all of those girls who want a chance in your bed, how many of them are actually running for a second chance. I don’t see them knocking down our door to get to you.” She folded up her books, getting ready to call it a day.
“What the hell do you mean by that?”
“They’re always happy to sleep with you, but they’re not knocking down your door for a second go. I think you need to consider that before you call yourself good in the sack.”
She left him alone with her parting words.
The moment she closed her bedroom door, her cell phone rang.
“Sorry about that, babe. I had business to attend to,” Raoul said.
“That’s okay. I was just messing with Landon’s head. He really does think he’s God’s gift to women. I was just proving him otherwise.”
“I hope you’re not trying to cause trouble.”
“Me, trouble? I don’t have the slightest clue what you mean.”
Raoul laughed. The sound thrilled her. “You know exactly what I mean. How’s college?”
“It’s boring. Before I met you I used to think it was amazing and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life. Now, it sucks, big time.”
He nodded. “Does that have to do with me?”
“Yes, it does.”
She settled on the bed, resting her hand on her thigh. “I miss you, Raoul. I need you.”
Raoul groaned. She heard him moving then the sound of a door locking closed.
“Where are you?” she asked.
“I just went up to my bedroom. Where are you?”