Mason's Resolution

by Kristine Allen

  Hefting a sigh, I extricated myself from his arms and rummaged around for my scattered clothing. The lack of his warmth hit me immediately as the cool night air ran over the thin layer of sweat covering me after our exertions. Shit, I was soaked there too. I used my underwear to clean up as best I could before he took them from my hands and stuffed them in his pocket with a smirk. Weirdo, I laughed to myself. As I redressed, I watched him fasten his pants, taking in the sculpted muscles of his torso. Gawd, he was truly divine. Chiseled abs led to that perfect V, which pointed to the part of him that made my mouth water. I took in the colorful tattoos that decorated his arms and torso, again. It should be criminal for him to cover that gorgeous body, I thought as he pulled on his shirt, tugging it down over his body. But damn if I could deny how sexy it was.

  “Hollywood, I quit my job down in Council Bluffs,” I said quietly. “I pretty much ran away after some embarrassing pictures of me got leaked out. Granted, they were all from when I was in college, and they weren’t really, really bad, but that wasn’t how they appeared when they were posted. Someone intended to paint me in the worst light they could, and it worked. The school superintendent asked me to take a leave of absence until this all blew over, but I turned in my resignation. Then, my roommate asked me to leave because she was afraid of the backlash she would face for letting me continue to stay there since she was a teacher too. People were vandalizing her house because of me, so I really don’t blame her for asking me to leave. To top it all off, my parents and I had a falling out after I broke it off with Trevor because they felt like he was such a ‘catch’ and I was foolish to let him go. Just another of my many disappointments to my parents. Well, mostly my mom, but my dad didn’t stand up for me, so I couldn’t go to my parents either. Steph didn’t even know I was coming. She was a sweetheart to let me stay like she has, but I’ll have to find a job to pay my way soon. I have some savings I can get by on for a while, but not too long.” After that spiel, I took a deep breath and watched his expression for a sign of revulsion or a change of heart after what I had revealed. I just felt the need to tell him everything. He stood half in the shadows, so it was hard to read his face.

  “Baby, I don’t care. What’s in the past is in the past. Trust me when I say I’ve done some shit that would make yours seem mild I’m sure. People are obviously too busy casting stones to realize they aren’t any better than you. And I owe you an apology too.” He appeared uncomfortable, and I wondered what he could possibly have to apologize for.

  “What are you talking about?” He didn’t really owe me any explanations for anything I could think of. He sat on the bench seat of the picnic table, holding his head in his hands and resting his elbows on his knees.

  “In Vegas.” Yeah, well, Vegas was a big fucked-up mess between us for sure.

  “Look, Mason, I know I was a bitch to you too. I really didn’t think there was the slightest chance in hell anything lasting could come of that night. We lived hours apart, and I wasn’t expecting either of us to commit to any kind of a relationship with those types of terms. Don’t worry about it.” Granted, I had thought he was being a bit of a self-righteous asshole, but that seemed extra bitchy to bring up.

  “I thought you were still with Trevor but messing around with me, Becca. You know the whole ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ type deal. It pissed me off because I have a rule that I don’t mess with people in relationships. It was a promise I made my sister after her ex-husband screwed anything with a pussy, even when they knew he was married. She made me promise to never be a home-wrecker and to never cheat on a woman if I was serious about her.” He took a deep breath. “Anyway, when Trevor called that morning and you lied about why I was there, I thought that’s what you were doing and that you thought I would be okay with it. I treated you like shit, and I’m sorry. I should have just asked you, but my temper got the better of me that day.”

  “Wow. So, we both kind of sold ourselves short that weekend. But, Mason, it doesn’t matter. Either way, we would have had too much distance between us, and we each had our own reasons to want to stay where we were at the time. I happen to not have anything holding me there right now, but I agree with you that we should just see where this goes.” My thigh was against his as I sat down next to him. He reached over and pulled me into his lap, cradling me in his arms.

  “Clean slate?” He nuzzled behind my ear. The action sent shivers of desire through me. Damn, he was like a drug, but I was contentedly worn out and basking in the afterglow of what we had just shared.

  “Clean slate.” We sealed the deal with a chaste kiss. How long we sat out there enjoying the view and the tranquil night sounds, I have no idea, but I had never felt so at peace in my life.

  THAT NIGHT, I HAD wanted to bring Becca back to my room with me and keep her locked up there with me forever. Naked. But instead, I had dropped her off at Steph and Reaper’s place with a few more fucking amazing kisses and a little roaming of our hands before she braced both hands on my chest and pushed me away with a giggle then quietly entered the house and left me smiling like a fool on the front porch.

  Shit had been busy at the club the last week or so, and I hadn’t seen her since that night. A few X-rated phone conversations were the extent of my contact with her, and I was about to explode, I was so on edge. Fuck, she was under my skin. If I didn’t get my Becca fix soon, I might lose my damn mind.

  Our club had been mostly legit for the past year or more, but we still had occasional run-ins with assholes who felt like they wanted to try to take over our shit. We had the shop, a strip club, a tattoo shop we just opened, we had a small interest in Steph’s bar, and we were in the process of starting up a construction company to go with the hardware/lumberyard. Yeah, it kept us busy.

  Unfortunately, we had been having more issues at the Emerald Shamrock, our strip club, lately. According to the girls, there were some assholes in a cut they didn’t recognize who had been harassing them. The shady-ass manager had been kept on when we took over the bar. Several of us thought we should have shitcanned him right away, but the club decided he knew the business, so we would let him keep his job. He was a sleazy little bastard, and he was saying he didn’t know who these guys were and they, conveniently, never seemed to show up when we had someone there. The manager was about to get booted because we were pretty sure he was skimming somehow. Cash hadn’t been able to track it, but he was thinking it was through the girls’ tips. We knew there was no way that bastard could afford the lifestyle he was leading on his salary. Now it was up to us to figure out exactly where he was getting the money.

  The latest was something we were not going to let slide. One of the new girls had actually been assaulted and raped during a private dance. The other girls said she entered one of the private rooms with a “skinny creepy looking guy in a cut.” Great description, but everyone had been busy that night and, therefore, not paying great attention to who was where. She was still in the hospital in serious condition, so we couldn’t get a good description of the asshole assailant. We were not going to put up with any woman being treated like that, but to have it be one of our girls made it a serious fuck up that would absolutely be dealt with.

  We had positioned one of the prospects, Soap, there incognito, since the manager didn’t know him, and Hacker had tapped into the camera system and added a few extra cameras the manager didn’t know about, but so far the other pieces of shit hadn’t shown their face. When they did, they were going to learn not to fuck with us.

  It became my job to stake out the Shamrock from the little diner across the road, sans cut to stay “undercover.” It was a shithole on the surface, but they had great food and even better coffee, so I figured fuck it, there could be worse places to have to watch from. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t give a shit how many nights I needed to sit here, but now that I had someone I’d rather be with at night, it was making me antsy as fuck.

  So here I was talking to my sexy redhead while I drank coffee and wat
ched the Shamrock. Her voice purred across the line and coiled around my dick, making me fidget in my seat like a kindergarten kid on the last day of school. Damn, I wanted to have her here where she could actually wrap something around my… Shit, I needed to stop thinking about it. These assholes needed to just show up already, so we could report back to Snow who the fuck was on our shit list and then do something about it.

  “So, what time do you think you’ll be done tonight?” As soon as I slide into you, is what I want to say, but I half laughed and half moaned instead. I knew that wasn’t what she was referring to, but my mind went wicked places when it came to her.

  “Shit, baby, not soon enough. But as soon as I’m done, I’m coming by to pick you up. I want you to come back to my room and stay the night with me. We have a ride tomorrow, and I want you to join me. Several of the old ladies will be there. It would give you a change to meet everyone.” I couldn’t stand another night of not seeing her beautiful face, or smelling her light floral scent, or touching her silky skin.

  Fuck. These thoughts are not helping my damn cock.

  “Ooooo, a sleepover? Should I bring my sleeping bag, makeup, and hair products to do you up? Are we going to sneak out to chase boys?” Her husky laugh had the bastard in my pants twitching again.

  “Hell, baby, you don’t need to chase boys when you’re going to have this man under you, over you, and inside you. Oh yeah, I can assure you, you won’t need more than this one man.” I was smirking, and I knew she was aware I was fucking with her when her laughter rang out.

  “Oh ho! Is that so? Well, then I’ll start packing my overnight bag, and I’ll bring the popcorn and movies!” She sounded more like the feisty Becca I first met, and I loved it. The smile in her voice was unmistakable.

  “Yeah, you do that, baby, but don’t be disappointed when you never get to watch those movies. Hey, baby, I gotta run. I’ll call you before I leave to head your way.” I disconnected the call quickly. There was a group of about five or six bikes pulling up out front of the Shamrock, and they weren’t ours, that was for damn sure. Knowing I needed to get closer to get a good look at the patch and colors they were throwing, I threw a twenty down on the table and headed across the street just as they all entered the Shamrock.

  Entering the strip club after crossing the street, I was assaulted by cigarette smoke, blaring music, and the hooting and hollering of all the guys that were watching the show. Trying to remain inconspicuous, I grabbed a beer at the bar from one of the waitresses. Sparkle, yeah, total stripper name, was doing her number. She always danced with an intricate mask decorated with rhinestones. Her only days she worked were on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday’s. It was a mystery what she did during the week, but she brought the crowds in on the weekends, so that’s all that mattered to us. Before Becca, I had thought about breaking my redheaded habit for her, but never did because Hacker seemed a little taken with her, and I didn’t want to step on his dick. Not only that, she really never gave any of us the time of day.

  Catching Soap’s eye as I walked in, he gave me a head nod that he saw them come in too. Casually, I made my way through the crowd like I was trying to find someone so I could walk past the bikers who had come in. As I passed by them, I overheard their jeers toward Sparkle and the waitresses. They smelled like shit, and if I was correct, they were high as fuck on something. Their patches didn’t look familiar to me, but the name rang bells and the patch itself definitely made the dancers’ descriptions of it make sense. It was just a set of red eyes, and their rockers read Demon Runners MC with a Nomad bottom rocker.

  Keeping on the move, I wandered back to Soap and clinked beers with him like we were just a couple of buddies meeting up for some beers and a titty show. We didn’t want to give away who we were. I took the stool across the table from him and positioned myself so my back could lean against the wall as I surveyed the crowd. Even though years had passed, I still liked to have my back secure and have a clear, unobstructed view of my surroundings whenever I could. Some habits were definitely hard to break.

  “You get a good look at the patches?” I asked Soap.

  “Yeah, you?” I nodded. “You know them?” he asked me.

  “No, but I’ve heard of them… somewhere. They seem high as shit too. I’m going to send a text to Snow to send a few of the boys over as a little ‘show of force’ to let them know this is our place and they should maybe get on their fucking bikes and keep ‘nomad-ing’ on down the road. Stupid fucks.” My text complete, I sent it off and waited for the prez’s reply.

  Snow: Sending the boys your way now

  Then we just sat and waited for the guys to show up. Damn, I still fucking hated waiting.

  MY BAG WAS PACKED, and I was sitting on the front porch steps waiting for Hollywood to show up. That name still cracked me up, but hell, he sure was hot enough to be a sexy Hollywood actor. He could also be my personal porn star any day of the week. The thought made me snicker to myself.

  Steph and the babies had already gone to bed, but the guys were still out doing whatever it was they were doing for the club tonight. Steph told me to get used to hearing the phrase “club business.” Ugh, whatever. They could have their little boys club, I just wanted time with my guy.

  My guy. Wow, it had been awhile since that term sent a thrill through my belly and a tingle between my legs. Shit, was I rushing things? Doing the right thing? Really, I hadn’t been out of my relationship with Trevor for very long. Maybe I was rebounding. No. Trevor and I had been over long before I met Mason and certainly long before I moved out.

  Besides, Mason and I had both said we would enjoy this for as long as it lasted. No expectations. No promises of forever. So, no, I wasn’t screwing up; I just needed to avoid overanalyzing our relationship because I was really working hard to just let things run their course and not define or rush anything—at least that’s what I told myself.

  Leave me to my little make-believe world and be quiet.

  My elbows leaned back on the step above me, and I looked up at the stars. They were so beautiful out here. It seemed like there were millions more than I used to see in town back home. It had only been just shy of two weeks week since I packed up my meager belongings and showed up on Steph’s front door step, but I loved it here already. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I would really like to stay here. Even if things didn’t work out between me and Hollywood, which I didn’t even want to think about because damn it hurt and it shouldn’t, I really loved the feel of this small town. Yeah, I missed my parents, but maybe I needed to spread my wings and fly. Besides, my dad called me yesterday and said he changed his routes so he could swing by to see me every so often. Man, I loved my dad. My mom and I? Yeah, I loved her, but we were still not seeing eye to eye.

  The rumble of Harley pipes in the distance broke the silence. Lordy, I didn’t know how Reaper didn’t wake the kiddos when he came home late at night, because I could hear them from way down the road already. My heart started to pick up speed at the mere thought of Hollywood getting closer to me. Senses on high alert, my entire body tingled in anticipation. When their headlights pulled in the driveway, my belly gave a quick flip.

  Shit, I was in trouble if my body was physically reacting to just knowing he was close. It was like I had my own little “Hollywood radar” going off. Hell, it may be entirely too late to guard my heart. Trying to push those thoughts down, I pulled in a deep, fortifying breath.

  Both guys pulled up and shut off their bikes. Reaper got off and started toward the house, kissing the top of my head as he passed me on the stairs. “Goodnight, Little Red. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He smirked, and I laughed, swatting playfully at his leg as he let himself quietly in the house. Shithead. After the door latched, I looked over to Hollywood who was still sitting on his bike looking at me like he was ready to consume me. Hungry was the term that described his expression.

  “Well, Red, baby, what are you waiting for? Or have you changed your mind?” H
is voice slid across the night air and ran through my senses like smooth whiskey. My bag was next to me, and I scooped it up as I went down the steps and sauntered over to him. Excitement rippled through me, making me feel like a teenage girl on her first date.

  “Does it look like I changed my mind?” My tone was sultry, and I leaned in and nipped his neck before I kissed his night-cooled skin. Then I let my tongue slip out to run up along his jawline, ending in another nip where his jaw ended.

  His growl was his only response before he grabbed my waist and lifted me over his bike so I was facing him, straddling his legs with my ass on the tank. His lips on mine were like adding gasoline to a fire as the heat exploded between us. Our kiss was wild and deep, a dueling of tongues and nipping teeth that left us both breathless and wanting as we pulled away from each other slowly. My forehead rested against his and his words feathered over my lips.

  “Jesus, baby, I need you. Even more than before. Are you ready to go now? Because if we don’t get going soon, like right now, I’m going to christen Reaper and Steph’s front porch.” My smirk earned me a smile and a quick kiss before he smacked my ass and told me to put my bag in the saddle bags and get on the back.

  Before I knew it, we were racing down the road. My hair flew like a fiery banner behind me, and I knew it would be tangled as shit by the time we got there, but what a glorious feeling. With my breasts pressed tight against him and my face buried in his back, I inhaled the smell of leather, smoke, and what I could only describe as… Mason. My nipples felt hard enough to cut glass, which had absolutely nothing to do with the temperature, and I was glad for the double barriers of leather, or I would never hear the end of it from him.