This Savage Love: A Bad Boy Romance Boxed Set

by Kathryn Thomas

  With a sigh of frustration, Rita said, “It’s because of days like this, Krishna. You march in fashionably late like you own the place and never seem to have a good excuse. I don’t want to hear one now, either. I did a solid for your parents hiring you here without any experience or job history. But that’s only going to get you so far. Shifts start on the hour, not five or ten or twenty after. You’re officially on warning, Krishna. If you’re late again in the next ninety days, your time at G-Mart will come to an end, and don’t expect a good reference from me if that happens.”

  Krishna rolled her eyes as she left the office, trudging back out into the store and turning on her light at the register. As if Rita would have given her a good reference in the first place! As she gave a smile that was more of a grimace to her first customer of the day, she hoped Rob had the answer that would turn her life around. If she landed this job, she would never have to worry about Rita and her threats again. That hope was the only thing that kept her from walking out the door right then and there.

  CHAPTER TWO

  It was ten till when Krishna pulled up to the address on the business card, and she was proud of herself for being early. Of course, a job like this was far more motivating than any role she could ever take on at G-Mart. But as she looked around, she frowned. This was an odd place to be meeting Rob, a guy she didn’t know, especially at this time of night. The GPS on her phone had led her to a back lot behind what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse building.

  There was an old chain like fence between her and the building, and it was dim, with a single flickering light at the side of the building barely reaching around. The street lamps stood too far away to cast any glow over the area, and Krishna couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. She didn’t see anyone nearby – most of the warehouses cleared out before seven, unless it was time for inventory.

  When she closed the door to the Buick, it echoed loudly, and she heard boots on gravel coming toward her. She figured there was equal chance of an ax murderer and a friendly face ready to lead her inside.

  To her relief, it was the latter Rob’s face coming clear in the flickering yellow light. “Well, well, you showed. I guess you’re serious about taking the offer. I like that. Let’s see if you can live up to that boasting mouth of yours,” Rob said, a teasing half-smile on his rugged face. He seemed different out here, his size and appearance giving him an aura of danger that had been lost on Krishna in the shop. She wondered what would happen if she failed to fix his bike to his standard. The ax murderer popped into her mind again. Could Rob be both friend and foe?

  She gulped past the lump in her throat and held her head high in confidence as she followed Rob to the other side of the building. The fence formed a square offset from the building and seeming to attach at the corner, and someone had installed a gate closer to the single lamp. As he opened it and let her through, she saw tons of motorcycles of all kinds lined up and parked, dozens of them, in fairly neat rows. They seemed to be in good condition, as far as she could tell in the dark, and Krishna knew the bikes weren’t abandoned. They obviously weren’t alone, and the sight gave credence to her theory that Rob was part of a gang.

  “Which one is yours?” she asked, admiring the array of beautiful machines. She could definitely see how it would be a full time job just servicing, maintaining, and repairing this many rides.

  Rob walked over to a black bike with flaming skulls. It definitely fit his persona. She could imagine him leading a pack of riders down a lonely highway through New Mexico with no particular destination. She nodded appreciatively. “It’s a nice bike,” she told him, setting the toolbox she’d carried with her on the ground.

  “Yeah, it is,” he said with love in his voice. “So take good care of her. I’ll be just inside, getting a drink. I’ll come check on you in half an hour or so and see where you’re at.” His tone was ominous, and here in his element, Krishna knew he meant business.

  Once he disappeared, Krishna took a deep breath and relaxed. Without some intimidating biker standing over her, she was in her element, too. She knew exactly what she was doing and had no reason to worry. She was confident in her skills, and if she was going to work for this guy, she needed to get over her hesitancy around him. No matter how big and exacting he might be, he still didn’t hold a candle to Rita the Sadist. He was just a guy with a bike he loved and wanted fixed by someone with good hands he could trust. Krishna knew she had that power.

  So, she crouched next to the bike, inspecting the severity of the bend in the chassis, and then she opened her toolbox and went to work. It was an easy fix, nothing that wasn’t drivable, and that made her even angrier as she thought about the way Fred had made it sound back at the shop. It looked like maybe Rob had hit a large pothole or something. They were all over the city. And as she’d expected, his cylinders were all fine.

  As she worked to bend the frame back in place, Krishna hummed to herself, her favorite Irish lullaby her mother used to sing her to sleep as a child. Satisfied with the repair, she started polishing the metal and paint so the bike looked fresh off the showroom floor. She took pride in the presentation, understood how enthusiasts cherished their machines, and planned to go above and beyond to impress this guy. The more she worked, the more she realized she was done with retail, and she refused to take no for an answer.

  Rob appeared, standing over her and watching with avid interest, but Krishna just kept working. She was on a roll and hated interruptions. Luckily, Rob had nothing to say. She’d come straight from work, so as she finished the job in just over an hour, she realized her uniform was covered in dirt, grease, and grime. But it was worth it. She circled the motorcycle for inspection one more time and, with pride, nodded in approval. She turned to Rob to see his reaction to her completed work.

  His expression gave away nothing as he, too, walked around the bike. He sat on it and revved the engine, drove a small circle around the other bikes, and parked it back where it had been, right beside her, all without moving a single facial muscle. Swinging his leg over so he stood next to her, he nodded, and a slow smile finally started to spread across his face. “I have to say, I had my doubts about you. But you did a great job, and I love the way you cleaned up afterward.” He turned to face her now, his expression solemn. “I’d like to extend you an offer. But think hard about it. It’s a big commitment to be part of the Ashes.”

  Krishna blinked, taken aback. She’d heard the name a few times, but admittedly, she didn’t know much about them beyond the fact that they were a motorcycle club. From what she’d discerned, they had a bit of a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, so there weren’t a lot of people who knew anything about their inner workings. And she’d never actually encountered a member before.

  Trying to make sense of the offer, Krishna stated, “You want me to be your club’s mechanic.” Frowning at the prospect, she said, “I figured you guys would already have one. No offense,” she added quickly. She had a feeling she was speaking to the leader, and she didn’t want to piss him off.

  “None taken,” he told her, and a bitter look crossed his face. “And we did have one. But he made a decision to leave us, about a year ago. We’ve been a little lost ever since. We haven’t found anyone good enough yet, and when we found a couple who came close, they weren’t exactly trustworthy. But I think you’ll do fine, as long as you keep quiet and just do your job. Try not to hear anything, and if you do, don’t repeat it. Stay honest. Other than that, you’d be a member in a sense that you’re allowed here without question or escort, we protect you as long as you’re an asset, and we trust you with our bikes. Can you handle that?”

  Krishna thought for a moment, but she knew better than to take too long. She understood there were some dangers and unknowns associated with being part of any motorcycle club like the Ashes, and it wouldn’t be a walk in the park. The demand for perfection would be high, but it was still better than scanning barcodes and asking people how they were when she wasn’t intere
sted in the answer. It was so much more in her field of experience and enjoyment, close to what she wanted to do with her life.

  She couldn’t let the chance pass by. It was an opportunity that might never present itself again. And when she imagined what it would be like to quit and know that Rita would never put her down or make her feel worthless again, her decision was final. She would have a new boss now.

  “Sure, I can handle it.” She held out her hand to shake again. “You have yourself a deal. When do I start?” she asked, beaming as he took her hand again and shook it with an even tighter grip.

  “Be here tomorrow night, same time. We’ll get introductions out of the way and tattoo you. Welcome to the Ashes,” he told her with respect, patting her on the back.

  Krishna followed him back around the building to her car, elated. She finally had a chance to turn her life around, and the possibilities were endless. She would get the experience under her belt to work in an actual shop, and she might even be able to afford something bigger than her postage stamp of an apartment in a nicer complex.

  As she drove away, there was only one place she wanted to go, and it wasn’t home. She turned the opposite way on the highway, heading just outside of Taos and hoping her parents wouldn’t mind a surprise late-night visit. Not that it mattered – she was going to show up on their doorstep one way or the other.

  Krishna rolled down her window and turned up the radio, letting the wind blow at her. She turned up the radio, driving just over seventy, headed south to Angostura, where she’d grown up. She was in a stellar mood for the first time in a long time. It had been almost two months since she’d seen her parents, and she couldn’t wait to get there with good news to share for a change. At least, she hoped they’d see it as good news.

  About forty-five minutes later, she pulled into the driveway, well-lit by the motion sensor. This was the same white house of her childhood, with a green door and the quintessential white picket fence. The lawn was perfectly manicured, like always, and the porch light beckoned her. She lifted the golden door knocker and rapped three times. The door flew open, and her mother stood there with a smile on her face. Deirdre O’Sullivan’s red hair and green eyes were as bright as ever as she ushered Krishna inside. Krishna looked around to see if anything had changed, but everything was just as it had been the last time she was here.

  Her father, Innis, sat in the living room in front of the television with a newspaper on his lap. He read during commercials, insisting it was educational. But when he heard her come in, he stood and held out his arms, all three of them laughing in a group hug. It reminded Krishna of how wanted she had always been in this family. The O’Sullivans were her parents, in every sense of the word, no matter who had given birth to her. It was something she’d never doubted over the years, the love they had for her so warm she sometimes shivered as though she was actually cold when she got lonely on her own.

  “So, what brings you here at this late hour?” her father asked.

  “Not that we don’t love that you’re here,” her mother added quickly, giving her husband a scornful look. “It’s just that you don’t usually drop in unannounced, and especially at this time of night.” Her father went back to his chair, and her mother sat on the couch, patting the spot next to her with a warm smile.

  Krishna followed her mother’s silent instructions, sitting next to her. “I actually had some news I wanted to share with you two,” she told them, so excited her leg bounced in anticipation. She couldn’t hold back. “I got a new job as a mechanic. I’ll get to fix motorcycles for a living, and I can quit my job at the store. I know you helped me get the job, but you knew then I couldn’t stay there forever. It’s not for me.” She respected that Rita had once been a family friend and didn’t want to seem ungrateful to her parents.

  “Oh, we never expected you to stay there forever,” her mother said with a sweet chuckle.

  “You’ve been trying to land a job at a mechanic’s shop for a long time, pumpkin. How did you get this one?” her father asked, leaning over the edge of the chair with interest. His face was animated with his enthusiasm for her.

  Krishna hadn’t considered how she would explain this, and she thought fast about what she could say without lying or giving away too much. She didn’t think they would like her working with a motorcycle club, and she was even surer Rob wouldn’t appreciate her gabbing about the Ashes to her parents. She hedged, “I went to the shop for oil, and the man in front of me in line heard me help someone getting screwed over by the cashier. He offered me a job because he said I sounded like I knew my stuff and that he was impressed by my honesty.” Okay, that was true enough.

  Her father beamed. “I couldn’t be prouder of you, pumpkin. You’re finally doing it.” He got back up and walked over to give her a tight hug. “I’m so glad you came to tell us.”

  Krishna tried to hold back her tears of happiness. That was all she had ever wanted to hear from her father. She strived for his approval, and she was sure more than ever she had made the right decision taking the job.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Alex woke up in a cold sweat and slammed his fist on the bed, growling his frustration. He hated that his past still haunted him in nightmares as though he was still a small child. He could control, every aspect of his life, but he couldn’t seem to kill the horror of his dreams. The nightmare he’d actually lived was a lifetime ago, and it wasn’t fair that strings of memories and images burned into his brain still visited him in his sleep.

  Getting kicked out of that awful house by his sorry excuse for a mother with nowhere to go. Being glad for it because it meant no more beatings from his drunk of a father, up until the day the jackass died. The bottle broken over his head. Being shoved into an ice bath. Beaten until he was crippled, when his parents called the school and claimed he had mono. And everything that came after…

  But in his subconscious mind, everything was clear, as if it happened yesterday.

  But now, Alex was a crucial part of the Ashes, a notorious and ruthless motorcycle gang. They were his saviors, having taken him in when he had no home. There was no room for weakness, and he couldn’t let the nightmares affect his daily life.

  Looking around, he noted the crumpled sheets next to him and remembered he hadn’t gone to bed alone. Well, that was fucking embarrassing, having a nightmare with a hot chick next to him. The woman had been vying for a spot as his old lady the night before, but it didn’t matter. He wasn’t good with names, but whoever she was, she would likely be gone as soon as the shower he heard ended, and he’d never see her again. That was generally how it went.

  Alex climbed out of bed and slipped into his clothes. He was in no mood to be caught naked and shaking once the dark-haired woman returned for a quick goodbye and foolishly offered him a number he was never going to call. Alex rolled his eyes at her expectation of hearing from him the next time he was looking for a tryst. In their desperation to be desired, women like this created the image of females being the weaker sex. They allowed themselves to remain so naïve.

  Everyone knew Alex rarely slept with a woman twice. The whole biker community knew him as a player who wouldn’t be tied down. He was practically a legend. And yet, women kept throwing themselves at him with false hopes of changing his mind.

  After the experience he had viewing marriages and relationships, it would take an act of god – a real live miracle – to convince him to even consider settling down with one woman. He didn’t want to develop feelings beyond the sensation of a pair of soft, round breasts in his hands and the tight pulsing of a woman’s center around his cock. He was comfortable in the lifestyle the motorcycle club provided and had no interest in bunking down with a single person who wanted him to ‘put a ring on it’. That ring was just a sign that a man had become a slave.

  The water shut off on cue, as he started the coffee pot and the smell of the brew wafted through the room. His phone buzzed, and he looked down to find five different text messages, all fr
om members of the club, congratulating him on his anniversary in the brotherhood. He hadn’t even realized what day it was, but it definitely worked like a charm to wipe away any negative feelings.

  When the curvy woman with long black hair that looked to be part Native American came prancing into the kitchen, he felt particularly ruthless, and if he was bipolar, he was certainly on the manic end of the spectrum. She gave him a searing look and poured herself a cup of coffee. She obviously wasn’t planning on accepting a dismissal easily, but Alex wasn’t bothered by the idea of her staying at this point. In fact, he was in the mood for another wild romp to celebrate his anniversary.

  Stepping up to her, Alex forcibly removed the cup from her hand and set it aside. Then, he picked her up and placed her on the counter. He unzipped his fly and didn’t wait for an invitation or bother with foreplay before plowing into her freshly cleaned flesh.

  ***