Scouting for something to do other than daydream about Kyle's body making mine hum, I find a stack of small metal trays in the back room. I have no idea what their real use is, but they would make great containers for the various parts Kyle keeps on the shelves. Once I finished moving all the small pieces over to their new containers and taping the bar code from the old box onto the new, I began rearranging the floor items to make room for a rack with the Kevlar jackets.
I only stop working once when a customer walks in looking for a Bluetooth speaker to mount. I can't control my smile when he sees the jackets and walks over to check out each of the five styles before making his purchase.
By closing time, it's been an almost perfect day with the one exception of Kyle hiding out in the garage.
I close down the register and lock the front door, hoping Kyle will return before my ride shows. When Hopper pulls up in his ratty old truck, I still haven't seen Kyle. I step out the back door and poke my head in the garage finding him elbows deep in a late model Harley. Grease and sweat cover his clothes and exposed skin, and his upper arm muscles are bulging from a sleeveless shirt. He takes my breath away.
I shake myself out of the trance. "My ride's here," I yell.
Kyle looks up from his work. "Damn it. I lost all track of time." He stands and grabs a cloth to wipe his hands. "I was going to offer you a ride home. Gunner doesn't need to come up here to fetch you every weekend."
I'm desperate to spend more time with Kyle. I want to know what makes this man tick. Why does he hold back so hard and isolate himself? But, there is danger in getting to know him. I can't fall for a man I can never have.
I glance out the door to where Hopper is patiently waiting. "It's not Gunner. Hopper doesn't get out of the club much anymore, so Gunner sends him on any errand he can. Including chauffeuring me around town.
Kyle finishes with his hands and meets me at the door. I wish he would have stayed back at the bike because the second I smell him, sandalwood and soap, that invisible string pulls again.
"I'd be happy to take you home if you'd like to stay awhile. I have chili in the crockpot upstairs and cold beers."
After he pushed away this afternoon and hid for the rest of my shift, I'm not sure how to take his turn in attitude. He runs hot and cold faster than I can switch gears.
I glance out the door again, knowing Hopper would be happy to sit there for as long as I made him wait. He's the most patient man in the club. I want to stay for just a few minutes. Maybe even show Kyle what I've done with the shop. But, then I remember, this can't happen between us. Pretending it can work will only lead to pain for both of us.
"Thanks for the offer, but," I point behind me to Hopper, "He needs to get back to the bar before it gets busy. I better go."
"Next Saturday then. Same time?" Kyle's voice has an edge to it as if he knows this isn't going to work the same as I do, and he's now pushing away as well.
"I'll be here," I answer before taking one last glance at him and walking away.
My eyes burn the second I turn from him and by the time I reach Hopper's truck, my stomach is a tight ball of guilt. No matter what I do, I'm hurting someone. Gunner who has given his life to save mine or Kyle who my heart craves but can't have.
"You okay?" Hopper asks when I climb in and sniffle into the back of my hand.
"I'm fine," I say with a fake smile. "Just a long day."
And a broken heart.
Kyle
I'm an ass. I knew exactly what I was doing staying in the garage all day. I'd half hoped Everly would leave without finding me. Around lunchtime, I came in the back to make sure Everly had something to eat. She had half a sandwich sitting on the counter while she bent over one of the shelves along the walls moving bolts from their box to an oil tray.
I'd never thought to do anything more than stick the boxes on the shelves. Men don't think beyond functionality. She also has the leather jackets I couldn't push last winter out on the floor. It's hot as hell right now, but damn if I didn't catch a customer eyeing one of the most expensive ones.
Everly is going to be good for my business. Since Cass has been on bed rest with her pregnancy, the shop has missed a woman's touch.
I shake my head at my next thought. I've also missed the touch of a woman, but it's been a lot longer than a few months. Since high school, when the one girl I ever dated called me an overbearing bruit and a bully, I've stayed away from relationships. One night is fine, but I can't push past the fear of falling for someone, then having my heart ripped out when they realize who I am.
Fuck. I run a hand over my hair before I slam a fist into the counter. I should never have let Everly out of my sight.
A quick trip up the stairs for a shower and clean jeans and a polo, and I'm ready. I jump on my hog headed in the direction of Tempest Elite's clubhouse. Gunner gave me an open invitation, and tonight I plan to take up that offer.
The Prospect out front stops me before opening the gate, but once he gets a good look at my face, he lets me in. The bar is mostly empty when I walk through the front door. A sweet butt I recognize from my last few trips is tending bar, and only non-patched prospects are setting at tables.
"Can I get you something, sweetheart?"
I glance back to the bar and find a blonde sweet butt staring at me. I take a stool. "I'm looking for Everly. Is she around?"
"That depends." She takes a glass from under the bar and pours a beer and places it in front of me. "Who's asking?"
"Kyle from the bike shop."
"Well, Kyle, from the bike shop. All the patched members are in church and Everly is upstairs in her room. If you're looking for a good time, there are plenty of temptations here for you to choose from."
I'm more than aware of the woman staring at me. The first time Gunner brought me into the bar, one of the sweet butts crawled into my lap and ground my thigh for a good ten minutes before she gots the hint to leave.
"Not my kind of temptation," I answer and take a long draw from my mug.
"Your loss." She says, her voice dripping something sickly sweet.
I made Everly wait all afternoon for me. I can wait until their meeting is over for Gunner's permission to find Everly.
I'm lost in thought when a hand lands softly on my shoulder, and a set of tits press into my back. "I said I wasn't interested."
"Then why did you follow me home?"
5
Everly
I can't believe he's here. I came downstairs to see if there were any leftover burgers from last night in the refrigerator but ran into Kyle at the bar instead. He's talking to Candy. She belongs to one of the prospects, or at least that what she’s told the club, and Kyle taking with her alone could cause a big issue if the members walk out of church and find her flirting.
Messing with a claimed woman, even to a prospect, is a rule no one in this club will break.
To keep anyone from thinking the worst, I press my body into Kyle's and make a show of my affections.
"Candy, thanks for keeping him company, but I can take over from here."
When I slide onto the stool next to his and turn so my knees are touching his thigh, Kyle's eyes grow wide before he brings them back to normal. He drops one hand to my upper leg and rubs it along my bare skin.
"Everly."
"Kyle," I hold his gaze steady with mine. "Do you have a death wish?" I whisper.
Kyle takes a tight glance around the room. "Why? There's barely anyone here, and I needed to see you again. I was an ass this afternoon."
I cut him off. "You can't be here while the members are in church." I shoot my gaze at Candy who has moved to the other side of the bar and is drying glasses before restocking them. "You really can't flirt with claimed girls while the members are in church."
He grins and strokes the back of his hand down my face. "I wasn't flirting, and I'm not afraid of the members."
I laugh. "You should be." Maybe he doesn't know there's a sawed-off shotgun loaded and moun
ted just on the other side of the bar, or that every man in this room right now is probably packing heat. "You really should go before they break the meeting."
Kyle takes my hand in his. "I'm not leaving, Everly. I'm more afraid of losing you than I am of them."
I open my mouth to warn him again, but the words won't come. Instead, I insult him. "Then you're stupid. Any of these guys could take you."
Kyle smiles. "No. They couldn't. Three maybe, but it'd take at least that many."
And Gunner would be one of them. The second the commotion broke, he'd be the first to the door, and knowing how he feels about Kyle, he'd get hurt trying to defend him.
"Please," I'm begging. "I'll do anything you ask. Just please go before Gunner sees you here."
Something sparks in Kyle's eyes. He leans in close, nudges my head back with his nose and drops his warm, wet lips to the base of my neck. I close my eyes and moan his name. "Kyle, please."
"I'll go," he says, his lips grazing my ear. My sex throbs and I flutter my eyes open again. "If you go with me."
"No." I almost shout at him. I put my hand to his chest to push him away from one of the prospects. If I seem in distress, he'll have to defend me to honor the vow he took to the club.
"No," I saw again softer. "I can't leave now. I have work in the morning, and Gunner won't like me out all night."
"Then, I'll stay here."
Another glance around the clubhouse, and we've gained more than one prospect's attention. Gunner is going to hear about this one way or another. The damage is done.
"Fine," I say, pulling my hand free from him before taking one of his hands in mine and pulling him toward the door. "I'll go with you, but we have to leave now."
Kyle follows with no complaint. It's not until we hit the parking lot that I realize the next hurdle in leaving. There's a bike I don't recognize in the lot and no visitors other than Kyle.
"Where's your car," I ask, knowing his answer already.
"Don't drive one. Luke has the shop's truck."
"Shit," I mutter.
"What?"
I glare at him. "I can't right on the back of your bike."
Kyle straddles his hog then pats the seat behind me. "Sure, you can. Just grab ahold. I promise I'm as safe a driver as Gunner."
I fight a laugh. There is so much about club culture that Kyle understands instinctively, it's hard to remember he doesn't know the rules. "If I sit on the back of your bike, that means I'm yours. You openly claim me to the club. No one else can sit here ever, and you're telling Gunner and the rest of the guys I'm off-limits."
Kyle doesn't say anything for several long seconds. I'm not sure if he's mulling the thought over, or if I scared him off and his formulating a way to resend his invitation. Then he reaches back behind him and pats the seat again. "If I have to stake my claim, then so be it. I want you on the back of my bike, Everly. Always you."
I straddle the bike and scoot up against his thighs and my arms circle his abs. I lay my head on his back and when he kicks the kickstand and pulls off, I grip him with everything I have.
He goes slower than I'm sure is normal for him, leaning into every turn and taking it easy on me. I close my eyes and let the vibration of the engine and the pounding of my heart against his back lull me.
Once we reach the shop, I'm boneless and dazed from the ride. Kyle offers his hand, and I follow him through the back door and up a flight of steps to an apartment that's larger than what I thought would be above the shop.
His sister, Cass, has been here, I can tell by some of the details. Taupe curtains hang from sky blue walls, and all the cabinetry and furniture is either white or lightly stained wood. It's so bright and homy compared to the club, it takes a minute for my eyes to adjust. A minute is all I get before Kyle sweeps his arms under my knees and lifts me.
Before I can ask what he's doing, we're through another door and headed to a bed. Kyle looks at me. His lips fall on mine, and when he lowers me, his body follows until I'm cradled underneath him.
"Ever," he breathes. "I've never wanted a woman as much as I want you."
I reach a hand up and cup the side of his face. "You have me, Kyle. I'm not going anywhere."
It's all he needs to hear before he's back to kissing my neck. He pulls the collar of my shirt down, and his lips follow the curve of my collar bone until I'm squirming under him. His stubble tickles and his lips burn, and it's the perfect amount of pleasure in pain, and it's getting me off.
I rub my thighs together, hoping to release some of the pressure swellings between my legs, but it does little good.
"I want to make you happy," Kyle says into my neck before sliding one hand under my shirt and cups my breast. His thumb flicks over my nibble, and even through my bra, I feel it pebble at his touch.
"I am happy," I say, pressing my back into the bed and lifting up to meet his touch. "I'm oh so happy."
Kyle smiles. I want his hands all over me. I want to feel their warmth. I sit up, meeting him for a kiss before I pull off my shirt and bra and toss them on the floor.
Kyle looks at me for a long time before he rubs one hand over both of my breasts then my stomach. "Fuck, you are beautiful. You're beautiful."
I nod my head. His knee pushes between my thighs, and like a horny teen, I rub myself on him. The ache is so deep, if I don't get relief from it soon, I'll explode.
"I need you, Kyle," I whisper hoarsely. "I need you inside me."
Kyle
Everly takes my breath away. She's perfect. The way she looks at me as I take one of her hard nipples into my mouth makes my dick jerk. She grabs my hair and pulls before she bucks under me. I know she's ready, but I'm not. I've dreamed about claiming Everly's body, and I don't want to waste a second if enjoyment.
While gliding my tongue over her breast, I reach down and undo her shorts and slide them down to her ankles. If she can't wait, I can help her out with that. I hook a finger into her panties and push them to the side before I trace her damp seam with my finger.
Everly's eyes roll in the back of her head, and she pushes down on the bed until her chest is rising up to me and her clit presses into my hand.
"My angel is eager."
She answers with a moan from deep in her throat.
After sucking each nipple and tasting her from her neck down to the inside of her sweet thighs, I dip my head between her legs and give her what she's been asking for all along. My tongue fits perfectly against the bud of her clit and when she spreads her knees, I drive one finger followed by another into her warm core.
My cock presses into my inseam as if it will rip free, and it pulses each time I push in and pull out of her with my fingers. I'm ready to come in my jeans like a schoolboy punk. But the satisfaction of being buried in Everly is too great to resist. I hold on until she's bucking into my hand, and her legs shake around my head.
Her orgasm fills my hand, and I keep my fingers inside to help her ride out the last of the spasms before her body goes limp, and her breathing slows.
I work the button of my jeans while I move back up her body and kiss her swollen lips. Fuck, I'd love to have that luscious pink mouth tight around me, but if I do, I won't last. Everly has me so on edge already. I have to be careful, pulling free from my boxers before I dip my head into her juices.
"Fuuuccckkk," I moan at her tightness. "Angel, fuck."
I move slowly until I'm all the way inside then stop for a moment to catch her gaze. She's barely able to focus, but she's watching me with her mouth open and her cheeks red as cherries.
"Kyle," she whispers, and I know what that plea means. I push into her hard then pull out to her very edge. Everly grabs my forearms and begins riding me, thrusting back against the bed then forward until her pussy swallows all of me. It's a divine rhythm that makes me grit my teeth to give her a few more slow strokes before I can't hold back any longer.
Everly breaks into a string of moans at the same time I lose my grip and shoot deep inside her. Her
tight core milks every last drop from me before I fall on the bed beside her.
"That was faster than I'd hoped," I whisper into her hair.
Everly rolls to her side and drapes one leg over my hip. "We still have all night to perfect our timing," she says.
I brush her hair to the side so I can kiss the lobe of her ear before I answer. "If you stay, we could have forever."
6
Everly
I stretch my arms and legs in bed and search the other side for warmth. Kyle is laying half under the sheets with his bare torso on display for me. He's had me three times already, so when I spread my hand out over his chest and smile down at him, he pops one eye open and lays his hand on mine.
"Don't you ever tire?" he asks, his voice husky with sleep.
"Not when I find something new that I like this much."
He laughs, and in one swift move, he rolls on top of me, pinning me between him and the bed. The hairs on his chest tickle my breasts, and my core tightens just thinking about having Kyle again.
"I like this too," he says before dropping his head down and claiming my mouth.
Something chirps from near the floor, but Kyle ignores it. He's exploring my mouth, and I'm in a deep fog from the sensation of it all, but I know that sound.
I softly bite his lip to get his attention then speak. "My phone."
He studies me with his big brown eyes and smiles, "They'll call back."
I push Kyle away. He could easily overpower me, but he doesn't. He backs away from my hands and falls back to the bed.
I have to find my phone. I search the floor for my shorts then reach in the back pocket. The message light is blinking red, and from the screen, I've had three calls.
"What time is it?" I ask before realizing I'm holding my phone. Kyle doesn't answer, but my screen does. It's almost six in the morning. Two calls are from Gunner, and one is from Hopper.
Staking His Claim: Tattooed And Taken Book 5 Page 3