He had her right where he wanted her.
With swift movements, he lifted her by the back of her thighs and dumped her on the couch, startling her as her legs flew up in the air. But it left the perfect opening with her ass in the air, and he moved in, turning her over and wrapping his hands around her tiny waist. She bent forward, and he positioned his head at the entrance to her pink, wet slit. He heard her whimper as he pushed forward, fighting the tightness of her core, inching deeper and deeper. He wanted his shaft buried as far as he could go.
Her inner walls squeezed and tugged at him as she erupted into another orgasm, and she screamed again. But her body relaxed, and he pulled at her hips as he rocked his own, drawing them into a thrusting rhythm. Being inside her was so overwhelming there were no words to describe it, and his baser instincts – the animal inside – took over. He couldn’t hold the slow pace, couldn’t maintain the gentle pressure, and he slammed into her, over and over.
Krishna’s nails raked across the upholstery as she screamed his name, moaning and whimpering with her pleasure. He reached around, searching until he found her cleft, and he used finger and thumb to roll it, massage it. Her body convulsed as it gave into him, allowing him to shove in deeper, and she pumped her hips harder until they slapped against each other. His cock filled her, and she took him with ease now.
The primal sounds they both emitted echoed in the empty space, and Krishna’s body began to tremble the way his had as she’d blown him. But he held on, until her walls pressed at him like a vice grip, pulsing over and over. Then, he had no choice but to let himself go, and he pumped into her as he came again. They both collapsed on the couch, the sweet and salty smell of sex permeating the air.
Krishna almost instantly started to fall into a deep, sated sleep, and Alex watched over her, checking her breathing with paranoid obsession. Never had another person’s life seemed so precious to him, and he couldn’t understand the burning desire to protect her with his own life. He would gladly jump in front of a bus for her or take a bullet for her, and both of those thoughts made him question his sanity.
Hell, he didn’t want to admit it, but he could see himself standing up to Pops if she ever crossed the boss, making sure no harm came to her. Despite his determination to never be enslaved to love, there was something about Krishna that already had him in chains.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Krishna gagged as she looked up from the bike she was working on. Three days ago, she’d had a mind-blowing encounter with Alex, and she was still having erotic dreams about the way he felt inside her, how perfectly sculpted his body was. He was literally a walking piece of art, and she’d never seen anything so beautiful in her life. Even thinking about her now made parts of her tingle and grow warm against her will.
But nothing had happened between them since. They’d exchanged a few glances, some knowing and secretive grins. But they’d barely spoken, and now, Alex stood a few yards away, showing off his motorcycle to a woman with tight leather pants with blond and pink hair, gloves that came straight out of a 1980s Michael Jackson video, and a pair of boobs that were dangerously close to falling out the low neckline of a shirt that had too much spandex.
It was disgusting.
Krishna shook her head and ducked back down to continue her work. She tried to focus on the sounds of the tools, but it was hard as her brain kept returning to the question of what had gone wrong between them. She kept coming to one conclusion, the only one that made any sense at all. She’d stupidly taken the dive without thinking. He saw the way he was with other women, but the moment he’d kissed her, she’d conveniently forgotten. It felt so good to have him hold and kiss her, and Krishna wanted Alex so badly she’d ignored his flaws, averted her eyes from the warning signs as she took the plunge into the ravine that held all the women who were nothing more than another notch on his bedpost.
She’d sworn she felt something different from him than what he gave the other girls, and while she considered that she’d only imagined it to talk herself into giving into him, it had felt so real. Maybe they’d only acted on sex and lust, but she still felt a connection underneath the surface, something emotional and intellectual. Either Alex found her extremely intriguing or his acting was worthy of an Academy Award.
Cackling laughter filled the air, and Krishna wrinkled her nose at a sound that reminded her too much of the Wicked Witch of the West. The nauseating couple walked right past her toward the front of the building, and she heard the gate swing open. She thought she was alone and could breathe easy, even shed a tear of frustration if necessary.
But then she heard his voice, tasted his breath as it brushed over her cheek. She shivered instantly as she remembered the taste of his tongue, the musky scent of cologne and masculine energy, and the feel of his body moving against hers and inside of her. Her heart and mind both betrayed her horribly as she fought a physical reaction.
She craned her neck to look at him and found him crouched next her, inches from her face and wearing a sly grin. “Hey, you,” he whispered, tucking an unruly tress of hair behind her ear.
Krishna glanced around, finding the Madonna throwback was nowhere in sight. Angrily, she figured he must have sent her inside to wait for him. Was he really so clueless as to believe a woman like her – a woman who watched baseball and worked on classic cars and motorcycles and got down and dirty to get the job done – was going to take this sort of hot and cold shit? If so, he was sorely mistaken and incredibly ignorant.
She told her body to leave her alone as it begged her to forget the insult and just give into him.
He still looked confident as he said, “So, maybe you’re free tonight, around midnight? We could have a couple drinks, just you and me.” He breathed the words into her ear, sending shocks of pleasure down her spine and straight to her already burning core.
The invitation made her wet even as it angered her. How easy it was for him to make her body obey his unspoken commands! But she had to put her foot down. “I think maybe it’s time to make something clear to you, Alex,” she began, gazing right into those disarming amber eyes of his so he would understand how serious she was. “I don’t share. If you want to be with me, you’re only with me, no matter if we’re just having fun or in a relationship. If you want to have fun elsewhere, go ahead, but I’m not like those other chicks. You can’t jump back and forth between them and me without a care in the world. To be with me again, you’ll have to give the rest of them up.” She nodded toward where he’d sent the other woman to wait.
Alex looked thoroughly confused for a moment, and then he flushed beet red. He narrowed his eyes at her, which only made her smile in triumph. He got the point. “You know I can’t do that,” he growled harshly. He stood and stalked away.
Looking down, Krishna shed a single tear and wiped it away, and then she busied herself with the bike again. He would come around or he wouldn’t. It wasn’t worth her time and thought.
One thing was sure. There was plenty of work to dive into. She had gone to Pops about the fact that the bikes hadn’t had proper maintenance in forever, and he’d put out a mandate that every member schedule a time to bring his bike to her for maintenance. He’d set her to the task of taking inventory of any and all repairs needed as she went about the routine stuff, one by one.
As it turned out, most of them had suffered from the lack of attention and now they needed more significant repairs. And she’d only gotten through the first six of them so far. There were several she would need to order parts for, as well, and she’d made as complete a list as she could to hand over to Pops for approval.
The job came with little praise and almost no socialization, but it kept her busy, and the cash flowed easily. She had already made enough to pay next month’s rent, given to her in wads of bills that she had to flatten to count. She would be out of her ridiculous box of an efficiency in no time if this sort of pay continued. She planned to do as she’d been told – just keep her head down and work on the
bikes. And as she thought about it, she realized it might be a blessing in disguise that Alex was too caught up in his image to want any kind of relationship with her. It would have called attention to her and made her more conspicuous.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she wiped her hands off so she wouldn’t smudge it when she pulled it out of her pocket. She was shocked to see a text from her mother. Please come to dinner tonight and tell us about your new job. We’re having roast and potatoes.
Krishna smiled before shoving her phone in her pocket. It was already after three, and she knew it would take a while to get there. She considered not answering, or asking for a raincheck, but she did want to see her family. Maybe they would make her feel better after the rejection of the mysterious Alex.
She gazed at the plain black Harley in front of her and stood, brushing herself off. But most of the black splotches covering her wouldn’t be removed that easily. She shrugged. Such was the life of a mechanic, and she didn’t mind, thinking that she could finally buy some new clothes and maybe even a pair of coveralls for the job. She opened the gate and took a lonely walk to the front of the clubhouse. The guys were gathered around the television again inside, watching a baseball game, but the teams weren’t of interest to her. But the dynamic was very different than it had been her first night here. Everyone was doing their own thing and didn’t even notice her when she entered, much less make a move ot speak to her. She was either an outcast or a ghost.
Krishna let it roll off her back as she went looking for Damien, the owner of the bike she’d just finished up. Unfortunately, she found him sitting near the back talking to Alex. The two were laughing and joking as she approached but grew silent frighteningly swift as she stopped in front of them. It reminded her of high school, when she would walk up to two girls who had been talking about her.
Damien smiled at her and didn’t seem to notice the heavy tension floating between her and Alex as Alex stared right through her. He looked like he was trying to either wish her away or pretend she didn’t exist, and he was watching something interesting behind her. The way he treated her was utterly humiliating, considering the intimacy they’d shared.
“How’s my girl coming along?” Damien asked with a grunt. “I hope you didn’t fuck anything up.”
Krishna was instantly offended, but before she could say anything, Alex shot out of his chair and stood in front of Damien with fiery eyes. He was a foot from Krishna now as he said, “You really think Pop would hire a mechanic that was going to fuck things up?” he asked.
Damien scrunched up his face in disapproval of the outburst. “I don’t know. I assumed he was fucking her or something.”
Krishna gawked. They were talking about her like she wasn’t even there, and she couldn’t believe it. But she said nothing. She’d signed up for this and had to earn the respect she knew she deserved. She was a woman and had come into a man’s world and business. Right or wrong, it made her second class until she proved otherwise.
Alex turned and looked right at her, shaking his head ever so slightly, a sign she guessed meant to keep her from speaking or reacting. Krishna froze, feeling heat rise from the center of her and spread through her body. For whatever reason, he was defending her, and his presence alone still had a huge effect on her. “She’s not Pops’ type. He wouldn’t want her.” His voice was cold as he walked away.
Krishna stared after him until he disappeared around a corner. Then, she snapped her head back around to address Damien, clasping her hands behind her back to avoid punching him. “I was just going to tell you that your bike is good to go. Can you tell me where Pops is? I need to let him know I’m heading to dinner with my family.” She pushed up on her toes, trying to spot him in the crowed to no avail.
“Yeah, Pops is busy, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Your job is to handle repairs on an as-needed basis. That doesn’t mean you need to hang around here with the rest of us.” He popped open a beer and stood to walk past her in a clear dismissal, wearing a sneer. Krishna let out the breath she’d been holding and turned on her heel, throwing open the back door and storming to her car.
“Looks like it’s just me and you tonight, baby,” she whispered to the Buick as she cranked the engine. She glanced in her rearview mirror as she drove off and swore she saw Alex standing in the shadows, watching her. But she had no clue what he was thinking. How was she going to deal with a man who made her feel so intensely but couldn’t seem to make up his mind if she even meant anything at all to him?
***
Krishna rang the doorbell at her parents’ house, and her mother greeted her in moments. “I’m so glad you made it! I’m just about to take the roast out of the oven!” Her mother was beside herself with delight as she squeezed her daughter tightly.
She dragged Krishna into the house, and Krishna laughed at her mother’s affection. “It hasn’t been that long since I was here.” Even as she said it, she knew her mother would have some sort of quirky response.
“Well, it hasn’t been that long since we saw you every day, so any time at all feels like forever. Even if it’s been a couple of years, we still miss you in this quiet house.”
Krishna rolled her eyes. “I thought empty nesters were supposed to go off on adventures and act like young newlyweds again, not worry about their kids and mourn over a quiet house,” she teased. It earned her a look from her mother she hadn’t seen in several years – chiding and delighted at the same time. For a moment, as she followed her mother into the kitchen, Krishna let the smell of the roast and potatoes consume her, closing her eyes and imagining she was a kid again and things were simple. This was one of her favorite meals, and they’d had it every other Friday when she was growing up. And Krishna had pretended she didn’t like it because it was too American.
The memory – and knowledge that she’d never fooled her parents – made her laugh now as she joined her father, already at the dinner table, waiting for his first helping eagerly.
“Hello, there, pumpkin! Come give your father a hug!” he said with a broad grin. Wrinkles appeared around his eyes and mouth, and Krishna wondered how long ago those lines had started to show.
She bent to hug him, whispering, “Hey, Daddy.” She kissed the top of his head.
Her mother bustled in with the meal balanced on a tray in her palm like a talented waitress, and she set the food down in the center of the table. She didn’t have to tell them to dig in.
She let them start with the fervor of starving mouths and then said, “So, you seem somehow different to me tonight, Krishna. What’s going on at work?”
Krishna nearly choked on her food as she looked up and narrowed her eyes at her mother. What did she mean, different? “Work is good. I already got my first paycheck. There’s a lot to do, and it keeps me busy. I just have to earn the respect of a few people there. I guess that comes with the territory. I don’t know what’s different, except maybe a little more confidence.” She focused on her plate, slicing at her roast.
“I don’t think that’s it. You have this glow about you. It’s not a man, is it? You would have said something, I’d hope.”
Krishna tried not to reaction at her mother’s insight, but she swallowed hard. It had always been like this, proving that the puzzle pieces metaphor was so accurate for them. They belonged together, knew each other as if she’d been born into the family. She thought about Alex and knew she didn’t want to share the sordid details of their…time together. She couldn’t call it a relationship.
Besides, he was already out of her life. There was no reason to get her parents worked up over nothing. But she found that, with both of her parents staring at her in expectation, she was going to have to tell them something. She’d taken far too long to answer the question, and they had even stopped eating in anticipation.
“What’s his name, Krishna?” her mother prodded knowingly.
Not making eye contact, Krishna shook her head. “It didn’t work out, so don’t worry about it.” She p
ut another bite in her mouth, hoping it would end the conversation.
But her mother chuckled, and Krishna looked up to see a sly expression on her face. She pointed her fork and said, “I’ll get it out of you, one way or another, daughter of mine.” Then, she went back to eating.
Sadly, Krishna knew she was right. What would her parents say about a man like Alex? Nothing good, she was sure, and she wouldn’t blame them for their judgment. She had to let him go, but how? He filled her every thought whether she wanted to admit it or not. It just wasn’t that cut and dry.
CHAPTER NINE
Krishna stirred but couldn’t quite bring herself fully awake yet. She’d been caught up in a spiral of worrisome dreams throughout the night, and she had no idea what they meant. Finally, a whisper of her name woke her from her rough sleep, and she sat up in the dark, knowing instantly she was drenched in sweat. All she could see was a shadow moving to her left and a window open to her right.
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