HONEY FOR NOTHIN'

by Cathryn Cade

  Lindi gave a dramatic shudder. “Oh, my God, honey. I can’t believe this. What if they’d managed to drag you off with them? The guys wouldn’t have known where to look, with woods all around.”

  “Believe me, I thought of that,” Kit said. And even if she hadn’t, Keys and Remi had made sure she realized.

  “Did Keys call the cops?” Lindi asked.

  “Uh, no,” Kit said. “But I don’t think those two will ever come near this place, or either of the guys again if they can help it.”

  “That’s true,” Lindi said. “Our guys do have a way of making their displeasure known. Hopefully once those two slime-balls pass that message on to Bouncer, he’ll get his head out of his butt. I wish their club president would do it for him, but he as good as told me and Jack that he doesn’t ‘babysit his men’.”

  “He’s a scary dude,” Kit said. “I did see him take Bouncer down once, but it was over a prospect, not a woman. Joystick doesn’t seem to have much use for us, other than ... you know.”

  Lindi rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know. Too bad, ‘cause he’s kind of hot in his scary-as-heck way.”

  Kit snickered. “Remi called him a big Russian iceberg. That’s about right. Although he does have two boys, little blond hellions, so he had an old lady for a while. In fact, I asked about her once, and Webb and his old lady Velvet gave each other a weird look and wouldn’t tell me.”

  “Really? Oh, my God, I wonder if he, y’know ... offed her?”

  “No, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t it,” Kit said. “I don’t think she’s dead and gone, just gone. Anyway, let’s go outside and watch the guys,” she suggested, ready to get her mind off the Flyers for a while. “I want to take pictures.”

  “Good idea. It’s really nice out. I think summer’s finally here to stay.” Summer in the Inland Northwest tended to tease for a while before settling in.

  Lindi followed Kit outside into the shade on the north side of the shop, and they chose two of the plastic chairs Keys had stacked there.

  Speakers on the hood of a pickup truck were blasting country rock, something about how money might not solve all problems, but it could buy lots of whiskey.

  The day was indeed heating up, which had the added benefit of causing most of the building crew to strip off their shirts. There was plenty of muscle on display as the six men walked around on top of the foundation, gesturing and discussing their task.

  “Whoa!” Lindi said. “Is it hot out here, or is it just them?”

  “It’s them,” Kit agreed. “Total man candy.”

  Jack was the biggest man, and he was buff. The builders were young hard-bodies, and a week ago Kit would’ve been hard pressed to decide among them. But now, the stars of the show for her were Remi and Keys.

  Keys was lean and powerful, and Remi was as graceful as a runner. And she got to play dirty, naked games with both of them—if her medical exam came back clean. She shuddered, because what if she’d caught something from one of her partners, and didn’t even know it?

  She shook her head to dispel that fear, and raised her phone, using it to snap photo after photo.

  She had to bite her tongue while she did so. It was so hard not to share her delicious dilemma about a possible three-way with Keys and Remi. She and Lindi had always talked about everything. And an annoying voice in her head said, if she couldn’t talk to either of her best friends about this, maybe she shouldn’t be doing it.

  Well, tough titties. Neither Lindi nor Sara were her parent--and if Deni knew, she’d probably just want to know what Kit was going to get out of the relationship. In her world, sex was a woman’s currency, her only source of power.

  Kit just wanted the sex. She wasn’t missing the chance to have both of these guys, if that’s what they wanted. Yesterday with Keys, and again in the truck today—both encounters had been her hottest ever. He rocked other women’s worlds on a regular basis, from all reports, so why shouldn’t she have her turn?

  And then there was Remi. His watching had been a huge part of the reason Keys getting her off in the truck had been so nuclear hot. And she wanted more with him just as badly as she did with Keys.

  So there she had it. She had the chance at the best and naughtiest sex of her life, and she was taking it.

  And Lindi and Sara could just go jump in the lake if they didn’t like it for her. Sara was off doing whatever Sara did, which mostly seemed to involve working. But Lindi was getting all the sex she wanted, why shouldn’t Kit?

  Kit just wished the thought of her friends’ disapproval when they found out later, didn’t make her feel all funny and breathless, as if she couldn’t get enough air in, like when she woke up all tangled in her covers because she’d gone to sleep with them over her head to shut out the sounds of living in a trailer or small house with Deni and her latest biker.

  Oh, God. What if she was making the wrong choice by staying here? What if the guys decided she was just a fat failure as part of their sex trio, and wanted her to leave? And then what if Lindi and Sara didn’t even want to be her best friends anymore, because they were so disgusted by her stupidity?

  She’d be just like Deni, forced to drift on to another place, dependent on the good humor of another man, probably a biker. She might even wind up being forced to take Bouncer up on his offer. She could do without a lot of stuff, but she had to eat, and have a place to live, preferably not under a bridge in Spokane.

  She snuck a glance at Lindi and relaxed a little, because far from being focused on critiquing Kit, Lindi was watching Jack with a soft, sappy look on her face. She was gone in love over him. Luckily he seemed just as bad. He hadn’t wasted time putting a ring on it, that was for sure.

  “So, when are you and Jack gonna do the deed?” she asked. “Will you just head over to the Hitching Post one afternoon, or have a big wedding?” She kind of hoped it was the latter, because that meant a great party and getting to wear a pretty dress. Lindi would look fabulous in one of those fancy wedding dresses.

  “We haven’t talked about that yet,” Lindi said. “Haven’t had time. But I want a nice ceremony, with my mom and Cissy and her family here. And you and Sara, of course. So we have to do some planning. In fact, I’m thinking you and Sara and I need a chicks’ night this weekend, like you suggested in your phone call.”

  She smiled at Kit, her eyes sparkling. “I know—we’ll get a room at the resort. We can do the bars on Sherman and then have a slumber party.”

  “Awesome,” Kit agreed. Then her heart sank. “Damn, except I don’t know if I should be out and about, with Bouncer after me.” If he found her out on the streets after dark, he’d probably consider her gift-wrapped just for him.

  “Oh, right.” Lindi scowled. “We’re gonna need a bodyguard.”

  Kit snorted. “Are you kidding me? What are we, pop divas? We can’t afford a bodyguard.”

  Lindi gave her a naughty look. “Oh, yeah, we can. You’re looking at them.” She pointed her finger and thumb like a pistol at the guys, who were currently muscling another stud wall up off the foundation.

  “Holy wow,” Kit whispered. “You’re right.”

  A thrill ran through her, zapping straight down between her thighs as she watched the muscles in Keys’ arms and shoulders bunch and slide, his powerful thighs bracing. Her gaze slid to Remi, who was all taut, slim determination as he worked opposite Keys. Jack and the other guys were all working too, of course, but again, just background for her men.

  “Hey, Red,” Keys called. “You takin’ pictures, or just ogling?”

  Kit immediately lifted her phone, giving Lindi an ‘eek!’ look behind it. “Taking pictures,” she called back.

  The guys laughed, and Lindi put a hand on her hip. “Well, what d’you expect?” she sassed. “You boys are lookin’ fine, so of course we’re going to look.”

  “Ain’t no boys around here, mama,” Jack corrected her. “You’re lookin’ at real men.”

  “Preach on, brother,” one of the guys muttered
, prompting more laughter.

  Someone turned the music up. Two more stud walls were erected to the beat of country rock. After they’d worked a while, Keys looked over at Kit and Lindi and made a drinking motion.

  Kit squinted. “Think he means water, or beer?”

  “He’s a biker, so you get one guess,” Lindi said. “But we’ll bring water too, ‘cause I’m not sure the builders can drink alcohol on the job.”

  She and Kit started to pick up the big cooler, but loaded with beer and ice, it was too heavy for them to carry comfortably.

  “Hey, we could use some help here,” Lindi called.

  Remi leapt down and jogged across the clearing toward them, Jack and Keys following at a saunter. Remi wore a faded red bandanna around his forehead, his hair shining in the sun like a crow’s wing. He smiled at Kit, and she smiled back, reaching to hand him a cold beer.

  “Thanks, I’ll have water,” he said.

  “Careful, you’ll be banned from the biker bro’hood,” she teased. “Not sure water is an approved drink.”

  “I’ll chance it. Beer during the day makes me sleepy.” He lifted a plastic cup of water and drained it, then picked up the cooler with Jack. They bore it across the lot to the foundation, where the other men all stopped working.

  “Now comes their favorite part,” Lindi told Kit with a grin. “Admiring their work and talking about how hard it was.”

  Kit giggled as she watched two of the younger guys gesturing for Keys’ benefit. They did look pretty proud of themselves. But then they should--from down where she and Lindi stood, the stud walls towered over their heads like a forest fortress.

  She just hoped it was enough to hold off angry bikers.

  * * *

  Keys chugged some cold water, then grabbed a beer for himself, handed one to Jack and jerked his head at Remi to follow them to one side of the clearing, as if they were viewing the house from another angle.

  But once they were out of earshot of the women and builders, Keys spoke. “Somethin’ doesn’t feel right about those two guys who tried for Kit.”

  Jack grunted. “Not exactly High style, sending in losers like that.”

  “Right.” Keys took a drink of cold beer and shook his head. “Bouncer favors the direct approach. Muscle ahead, weapons on full display.”

  “I got those two guys’ names if you wanna question them again,” Remi said. “Harkness and Donner—they hang around Hayes’ Billiards on East Sprague in Spokane, shouldn’t be too hard to find again. And I’m plenty pissed off enough to use a blade on one of ‘em if needed.”

  “Fuck, remind me never to get you pissed at me,” Jack muttered, giving Remi a look of respect.

  “Thanks,” Keys said to Remi. He took another drink of beer. “Problem is … if it wasn’t Bounce who sent ‘em, who the hell was it?”

  “Maybe Kit made some enemies at the club house she doesn’t know about,” Jack said. “But if that’s so, how did they know to come here? I mean, no one knows she’s up here, right?”

  Remi shifted, tense as a bow ready to release. “Somebody obviously figured it out.”

  Keys blew out a breath. “Fuck me, probably wasn’t that hard to figure. Everyone who knows Kit knows she and Lindi are tight, so Kit would go to her—and I’m right up the mountain here. But that still leaves us with who sent those two.”

  Jack drained his beer. “Only one I know who’s got a mad on at you is Twig. But not sure the little prick would have the smarts or the local connections to pull this stunt.”

  “No, but probably time to check on him,” Keys allowed. “Make sure he’s not around here somewhere. Meanwhile, we keep eyes on the women, Kit and Lindi. I don’t want her getting caught up in whatever the hell this is.”

  “Don’t you worry,” Jack said grimly, his gaze on Lindi. “No one’s getting’ near my woman. You two keep Kit close.”

  “Oh, we plan to,” Keys said. He and Remi exchanged a look of steely promise.

  “Yeah, I bet you’ll keep her real close,” Jack murmured, a twinkle in his hazel eyes. “Like the filling in a sandwich, am I right?’

  Remi choked on the last of his water, and Keys chuckled, patting him on the back, his hand lingering before dropping away. “You just might be, brother.”

  * * *

  Lindi and Kit set out lunch for the guys on a folding table in the shade of the shop. Lindi took over, which Kit was used to her doing, so after a moment’s keen disappointment that Lindi didn’t consider this Kit’s venue, she shrugged and let Lindi direct where to set out the potato salad, pasta salad, veggie tray and chips.

  They made up plates with sandwiches, then handed them off to the guys to be loaded with their choice of the other foods. The men settled in the shade to eat with the concentration of laborers who needed to refuel in the least amount of time. Jack and Keys drank beer, the rest of them stuck with Coke or water.

  Kit made herself a ham and cheese sandwich, added pasta salad and a handful of potato chips, then went to sit on a crate beside Remi, who wasn’t sun-flushed like the other guys, due to his already dark skin, but he was dewed with sweat, a few strands of ebony hair sticking to his high cheekbone.

  She wanted to brush it back, and then lean in and just sniff him. He smelled amazing, his natural scent magnified with clean, musky sweat. She felt as giddy as a teen, declaring her crush by sitting next to the boy of her choice.

  But he was frowning at her plate. “Need to eat your veggies, axa’ashe.”

  “Don’t like ‘em.” She took a bite of sandwich, savoring the rich salty bite of ham and Swiss with the smooth creaminess of mayo and fresh bread.

  Remi handed her three baby carrots and a green pea pod. “Eat those.”

  She stuck her tongue out, and behind his sandwich he mimed biting her. Kit picked up a carrot and snapped it off with her teeth. He winced playfully.

  “Eat your veggies and I’ll eat you for dessert,” he said, quietly so no one else could hear.

  Kit nearly choked on her bite of carrot. She managed to swallow, took a drink of Coke and then gave him a ‘what the hell?’ look.

  But when he ran his tongue over his full lower lip, her irritation faded like mist before the sun. She wanted desperately to feel that tongue on her--along with his hands and more. And from the look he was giving her, he was ready.

  “Kit,” Lindi called, in a tone that meant she was repeating herself.

  “What?” Kit jerked her head around to find Jack, Lindi and Keys all watching her and Remi.

  Jack looked quizzical, Lindi was frowning, and Keys’ eyes were twinkling. He looked amazing damp with sweat too, his lean face and shoulders pink under his tan, making his eyes bluer than ever.

  Kit flushed hotly, and pulled a lock of her hair forward over her cheek, curling it around her finger. “What?” she repeated.

  “I said, do you want to work tomorrow?” Lindi asked.

  Kit looked to Keys, who shook his head. “Don’t think that’s a good idea, with the current situation.”

  Lindi nodded her understanding that they couldn’t discuss Bouncer in front of the builders, but she was frowning. “I can’t go without extra help much longer. I need a part-time waitress.”

  “Maybe you better hire one,” Jack put in.

  “Good idea. I offered Red a job workin’ for me,” Keys said and forked up another bite of salad.

  Then he caught Kit’s eye and his eyes crinkled in amusement as he chewed. “In the office, Red—settin’ up accounts for me, that kind of shit, remember?”

  Kit blushed even more hotly. Shit, she hoped no one else had caught on to the horrified look she’d given him. Except that Jack looked like he was trying not to bust out a laugh. It figured he’d know exactly what his closest friend was grinning over.

  Lindi’s eyes were wide. “Kit? Book-keeping?”

  “If it has anything to do with numbers, yeah,” Remi put in, his tone defensive. “She has an amazing head for numbers.”

  Kit poked
at her remaining salad. “Except I’m a—a savory,” she muttered. “Can’t do much else.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “A savant,” Remi corrected quietly. “You’re not, Kit. You’re smart at lots of things, and more that you just gotta find out what they are.”

  She gave him a grateful look, and found his gaze warm. She wanted to lean in and kiss him, but couldn’t quite bring herself too with their audience.

  “Well, shooters,” Lindi was saying, “I can’t believe I didn’t know this about you, Kit-Kat. I may have to call on you to help with my accounts too. I love watching the money come in, but I hate the rest of business accounting.”

  Jack chuckled. “I’d say that goes for all business owners, baby. Explains why there’s so many accountants.”

  “No doubt,” Keys agreed. He drained his beer and winked at Kit.

  Brian pushed to his feet. “Thanks for the food, ladies, it was great. If we get that last stud wall up today, we can have the trusses delivered tomorrow morning.”

  “I’m all for that,” Keys said.

  The younger guys thanked Kit and Lindi, and threw their empty plates in the trash.

  “Kit-Kat?” Remi repeated in Kit’s ear. “Mm-mm, sweet and creamy with a surprise in the center.”

  She elbowed him, unable to help laughing. “In your dreams, chef boy.”

  “Oh, yeah,” he agreed, giving her a smile that hit her warmly in her chest and sank down through her, igniting fires along the way. She curled her fingers around her Coke can and plate to keep from grabbing him.

  Chapter Twelve

  Kit admired the clench of Remi’s tight, little ass as he sauntered away to walk across the lot beside Keys, who also had world class man buns.

  “Holy crap,” Lindi said, with the air of making a discovery. “You haven’t made up your mind between Keys and Remi, have you?”

  Kit straightened with a snap, and then hurried to begin packing up the food containers. “What? Who, me? I’m just enjoying the view, that’s all.”