Wet Work: A Dark Bad Boy Romance

by Carmen Faye

She was ecstatic, loving the crowd’s applause and smiling with each person who cheered her name. The winner’s ceremony was brief, but she felt like the most important person in the world right then.

  Once the peak of excitement had settled down, doubt crept into her head. It should not have been so easy for her to win like that.

  “What happened?” she said to Aubrey. “Did you hurt yourself?”

  But the second place rider, a small framed woman with a pretty face, just shook her head and congratulated her with a fake smile. That was unusual, to say the least. Yeah, they had a friendship based around some strong, healthy competition. But they were always happy for one another after a big win, no matter who had lost out that time. It was just a part of competition.

  “Hey, what's the matter, Aubrey? Are you okay? I can't believe you didn't win. It feels almost like I didn't deserve it.” She patted her friend on the back. They were both drained, physically and mentally. If Aubrey didn't much feel like talking, it was totally understandable, but it seemed like something was definitely off this time.

  “I just, I don't know what happened. I shouldn't have tried to get in front of you.”

  “You're joking, right?” Darcy laughed but didn't manage to hide her concern very well. “You can never lose by trying. It's not like you fell behind from pushing yourself.”

  “You don't understand.” Aubrey snapped her mouth shut and pursed her lips, then looked around with wide, shifting eyes. “It's just my ankle was starting to give me trouble, like I messed up during warm up. Stupid mistake, yeah,” she said, with her own fake laugh this time. “Like we're back in high school all over again, right?”

  “If you say so. I guess I'm just sorry you had to come in second for such a minor thing. Better luck next time.” She gave Aubrey a big hug, their body warmth combining and adding to the combined sweat. “You stink as usual.”

  “Thanks, Darcy. You stink, too.” They both genuinely laughed, but only a little. It was a relief to break that tension up and get back to a celebratory state of mine.

  “I guess we'd better get ready to talk to these reporters.”

  Various crews from newspapers, radio stations, and even television networks were waiting. Journalists always looked way too slick and dressed up for sporting events, even the ones who were dedicated sports journalists. If not, they were wearing lame corporate sports tops and had their hair done to look faux-messy. And one of them was coming toward her already. Sometimes Darcy wished the people involved with her sport weren't all so clean and fake.

  “Darcy, Darcy! Can we please have a word with our lovely winner?” called out one of the news reporters. He had a camera guy behind him, lugging along a bunch of flashy equipment.

  “Sure,” she said. “Could I just get a minute to catch my breath?” She wasn’t on TV all that much, and didn’t like the idea of being shown out of breath, with sweaty strands of hair stuck to her forehead that had come loose from her ponytail. She slicked it back quickly with a hot, damp palm, and checked herself out in a service van that was parked near the winner’s line. “Do I look okay?” she said to the camera guy, as though he were some impartial party who was honor bound to tell the truth.

  The guy nodded emphatically behind the lens, making the camera wobble back and forth with his motion.

  “You look gorgeous as always, even after such a trying race,” said the newsman with his perfect hair, perfect suit, and even perfect teeth. It was easy for him to say, nice and cool without having done anything but ride to the finish line in a van.

  “Did you expect to win this one? We noted that you were feeling a little flustered in second place for much of the race,” said the man.

  “Are you filming?” asked Darcy. The news man nodded. “I ah, yes, I was waiting until the end to use up those last reserves of speed. And as you can see, it paid off.”

  “Do you think there was anything odd about the way Aubrey suddenly lost it at the end? Perhaps you noticed a lapse in her focus, sensed something the cameras wouldn’t have picked up. We know you two are longtime friends, so is there anything you can tell us about her mood?”

  “I really couldn’t tell you anything was wrong. She deserved to win it, I know that much.”

  “There have been rumors that she —”

  “Are you here to talk about gossip, or did you want to interview me about the race I just won?”

  “Darcy, we just want to make sure we cover all the angles. So nothing odd has been going on lately?”

  “We both trained hard, but I just managed to push it that little extra in the end. These things happen, and I’m one-hundred-percent proud of this victory…even if you don’t seem to interested in it.” Darcy puffed, working hard to look as cool and collected as possible. And she was feeling pretty damn cool after telling off the snarky interviewer right in front of his camera. The only problem was, she had been wondering just the same thing about the strange circumstances of her winning during the last seconds. There was something going on, but she planned to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.

  After the interview was over, the newsman was off to find Aubrey for more answers, and probably to get his camera guy to film some of the hotties walking around in the sunshine. There was a lot of skin on display out in the sun, like it was a car race or something. The topless guys who had their abs all oiled up for whatever reason were particularly distracting while Darcy hurried about trying to figure out where her friend was.

  Darcy shook the hands of a lot of fans, and signed some autographs, too.

  “You’re so hot,” said a hulking guy who looked like he lifted weights professionally. Beside him was a leaner but still very athletic looking man, who was nodding his head in agreement with his friend.

  “How do you manage to keep yourself looking so fine with all the training you have to do?” asked the leaner guy. His hair was golden and it shimmered in the sun, matched by his white smile.

  Darcy blushed and bit her bottom lip without thinking. “I just take care of myself, like I’m sure you both must. The rest takes care of itself if you stay focused on maintaining yourself.”

  “I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for the autographs!” said the hunky hulk, and they both walked off into the crowd, smiling and greeting every sexy girl they went by.

  Even though they were clearly on the prowl for every woman in the area, it felt damn good to be given such a compliment about her appearance. What mattered much more to Darcy was her racing prowess, however.

  She had a sinking feeling about the race, too, like something was definitely up. If Aubrey wasn’t feeling well, or she was in a bad state of mind and that had distracted her — she might be alone and in need of a friend. Worse still, maybe she was hurt somehow and needed medical assistance. It was Darcy’s duty as a friend to find her and make sure she was alright.

  Even if there was nothing going on, maybe if she could find Aubrey and do a little sneaky interrogation, that might help Darcy put her mind at ease. The problem was that after a good half hour searching, she still had no idea where her opponent had gone to.

  “Did you talk to Aubrey?” she asked the newsman who had first talked to her, the next time she saw him walking around.

  Nodding, he said, “We just caught her but she said she needed to meet with family for something urgent. Can’t tell you where she went, sorry. The interview looked great, by the way. You’re always stunning. Let me know if you want to meet up and talk about anything.” He handed her a business card and winked at her.

  The confidence boosters just kept rolling in! Too bad her focus was dedicated to locating her friend. “Damn it. Thanks!” she said and rushed off again. The more she thought about it, there was no way she should have been able to overtake another professional cyclist like that. Doubt was creeping in more and more. Darcy knew Aubrey had a history of mental illness. She’d never said so, as such, but often alluded to the fact. The way she acted sometimes, that was a sure giveaway. They were best friends and
close rivals, so they knew way too much about each other’s lives.

  Then, she spotted her in the distance, behind a bunch of parked vehicles from the set up crew…talking to a man in a biker jacket. It looked just like a suspicious deal gangsters might make in an abandoned parking lot or warehouse; not the kind of thing that the sweet, motivated Aubrey would get caught up doing. Also, who exactly was this biker? Surely she wasn’t dating him?! Was that just concern Darcy suddenly felt as she watched them talking to each other in a very familiar way? Could it have been some jealously, as well?

  It might have been, because it was not just any man, but an absolute stunner. The guy was far too good looking to be wearing such a worn and beaten jacket. He was covered in various tattoos, as well, but didn’t have any piercings or an outrageous hair style. From the neck, up, this man looked just like any other attractive, pleasant citizen. From the neck, down, he was rough and ripped beyond belief. It made her wet just getting a look at his body beneath a humble, black t-shirt and that jacket. She almost bumped into a young couple who were walking along, distracted by each other’s eyes.

  “Excuse me,” the young man said. “I guess I got lost in your eyes, sweetheart,” he then said to his pretty young partner.

  “Oh, he’s such a romantic,” the woman said to Darcy, who faked a smile and was actually dry-retching on the inside.

  She didn’t have time for their cutesy love talk. Her attention was still on that hottie biker. She looked back over and locked eyes on Aubrey and him again. If only she could find a guy who was that rugged and hot, but not caught up in all of the bullshit that usually came along with that sort of man. These clean-cut athletic types were sexy and built, but they were just so nice and vanilla. Darcy had the craving for something more exciting, so much she could almost taste it on the tip of her tongue.

  She became embarrassed when the man spotted her and caught her looking at him. The guy smiled like a happy wolf, imperfect teeth that were somehow in just the right places. He had some scars on his face, too, and that was just too damn hot. The biker continued smiling for a time, and then he winked at her as well. He yelled at her from across a crowd of people, “Congratulations, babe!”

  Darcy immediately worried about how haggard she must have looked after all that riding. Yeah, she’d gotten compliments, but even the most attractive of women still looked average after they’d been working so hard in a race. And this guy probably thought she was totally straight-edge, a sports nerd basically. There was no way he would ever take her seriously, right?

  “Hello, winner,” came a voice from behind her. Turning she, greeted her coach. Steve was about a decade older than Darcy, but he had plenty of experience and knowledge about how to be a winner in the cycling game. He put his muscular hand, hairy as it was on the back of her hand and drew in toward him in an affectionate display. That was rare for him, the stoic man who had seen real combat during his time in the military, and did not like to appear weak or share his emotions openly. “I'm proud of you, girl, you did great.”

  “Hey, Steve! Thank you.” She blushed a little, due to the huge amount of respect she had for him. Steve was a legendary coach in his own right, even though he'd never actually made it big himself. Still, as the old saying went: teachers creates all other professions. “I can't believe it was so close. I'd really like to talk to Aubrey and find out what was going on with her.”

  “I know what you mean. That did look a little unusual. She still having problems of her own off the race course?”

  “Shh, we're not meant to know anything about that. Besides, it was all just assumptions on my part. We've never actually spoken about it together.”

  “You could go and talk to her, but maybe you should wait until she's finished with…ah, whoever that dirt bag is.”

  “How do you know he's a dirt bag, Steve? Don't be so judgmental of people.”

  “He's a pretty boy, sure, but look at that jacket he's wearing. You know what that logo is, don't you? It's The Wild Cards motorcycle club. They are not the sort of people you want to be getting involved with. If you care about your friend, I'd encourage her to cut him off immediately. I wouldn't want to have to break anyone's neck looking out for you or your friend, Darcy.” He smiled and squinted over at the biker, as though he was enjoying the idea.

  “I’ve never seen him in my life. Don't worry, I plan to tell her off as soon as she's alone.”

  “Good. Well then, give me a hug, winner! I’m so proud of you.”

  Chapter Two

  Speed wasn’t much interested in watching these stupid push bikes racing. Why would he give a shit about something that needs to be pedaled like a toy when he could ride the real thing every day? Grown adults don't have to ride around on those lame things any more, and it made absolutely zero sense for people to get so excited about it. They'd even blocked off the road for the race, so honest people couldn't bring their vehicles up to where the crowd was. That pissed Speed off.

  He had had to leave his hog back in the allocated parking area for the people watching the race. That’d pissed him off, and he'd almost given the traffic cop a piece of his mind. But it wasn't worth getting into trouble for, not when that would have meant missing out on the easy money he'd be making today. It was certainly worth it. Besides, if someone messed with his bike, man, that person would wish they stayed at home, to say the least. Speed didn't like to think of himself as a violent man, but there were just some things that you did not mess with: one of them was a biker's wheels; the other was a biker's woman.

  Speaking of women, he was getting a pretty nice semi-erection walking around looking at all of the athletic bitches on display. The cyclists were hot stuff, a few of them, but their fans were also in great shape. That kind of niche sporting event probably brought out lots of people who were amateur riders themselves. Speed told one or two of them he liked the way they looked. He might have asked one particularly juicy looking fan if she wanted to take a ride on his face. She'd smiled at him, but her boyfriend did not look too happy. Naturally, the guy didn't say shit to Speed – wouldn't even look him in the eyes. That was a very smart thing to do, because it was not a health-conscious decision to start mouthing off to the head of a motorcycle club.

  Speed wasn't there for fun though, certainly not. For that, he would have headed to a good, dirty bar full of drugs and sluts. Taking in the sights was just for distraction, a way to pass the time until he could finalize things and get the fuck out of there. This was a business trip, and as soon as the race was over, he'd be able to let Aubrey know everything had gone through. All she needed to do was keep up her end of the bargain, and things would go smoothly.

  He didn’t want to start asking around for the cycling chick right away, figured he’d just hang back and try to enjoy the race. Watching the female cyclists do their thing was glorious. They were wearing skin-tight outfits, and they had to bend over on the seats while riding. That was a position he would have enjoyed to get them in. The women in this thing were very fit, strong thighs and the tightest of butts. There was one in particular with flowing blonde hair, until she’d tied it back in a frumpy ponytail at least. That young lady sure had a wiggle to her, especially when she was pumping those tasty legs of hers on the pedals of her little bike. It made her ass move in ways that should have been criminal – largely because her ass wasn't right up in front of Speed, so he could put his dick inside her.

  The race was apparently a good one, judging by the way the fans all yelled and carried on like idiots. Speed barely had time to watch sports, but when he did, it was football or hockey. None of these fake sports for people who were afraid of getting hit doing something with full contact. He had to tell a few dickheads off for yelling right up near his ear, like they had no common courtesy. Some people just didn't have manners until they were knocked on their ass, and then they would beg and plead to be treated with the courtesy they so sorely lacked. Speed didn't give a fuck about who won, so long as the right person took a dive. />
  After the race, he waited for the cheers and celebrations to die down. His girl had come in second, just like she was meant to. She was proving to be a very obedient one, but she was clearly unstable, judging by how clingy and eager to please she was with him. They barely even knew each other, and hadn't even fucked or anything. Speed didn't like to fuck crazy, even when the woman was such a well-toned cutie.

  He waited for the places to be given out; that smoking hot blonde took first place, working her fine ass off to get there. Too bad she didn't actually win legitimately, but she would never know that. Something on her face told Speed she was suspicious, but no one was about to go blabbing to her.

  Speed noted when Aubrey had moved away from receiving her medal for coming in second. He waited for her to walk away quietly. It took some time, because she was busy talking to that sexy blonde cyclist. Instead of taunting her or rubbing it in, the blonde seemed to be worried about Aubrey. They were meant to be rivals, but it seemed like they might have actually been friendly, judging from the way they were acting. “Come on,” Speed muttered under his breath as he waited to meet with Aubrey. He was getting tired of the noisy crowd of cycling nerds, and didn't give a shit about the hot women walking around anymore. It was time to get a cold beer and get his dick wet.