Touch Me: A Bad Boy MC Romance

by Cristal Pierre

  Her eyes widened in a flash of fear. I pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. “Don’t worry sweet-cheeks, I won’t let anything happen to you.” She was quiet in response. I was actually surprised. I half-expected her to flip out as I kissed her. Guess the idea of other men ganging up on her was enough to pacify her.

  We stepped into the bar and immediately, everyone smiled at me. I waved at my fellow comrades before towing Linda to the counter and helping her onto a stool. “I can do it myself.”

  “Okay, okay. No need to bite my head off. Damn.” I ran my fingers through my hair and sat down.

  A busty woman with flaming red hair walked up to us, flashing me a smile. “Kyle, so good to see you. I thought you were still in the slammer for “killing” Ross.” She laughed.

  “Yeah, yeah. It ended up being a pretty expensive joke. Jones had to muster up $500,000 to get me out of there.”

  “Damn. That much? And they haven’t caught the sucker who actually did it?”

  “They did. Didn’t you know? It was me.” I shot a glance at Linda who was quietly sitting there, looking at a group of burly men playing poker at a nearby table. They looked up and spotted her and she quickly looked away, her face the color of a ripe tomato.

  Nina laughed. “Right. You couldn’t kill a fly.”

  I winked at her. “That’s not what my lawyer here thinks.” I wrapped my arms around Linda, pulling her close.

  “Oh. Is she the one that got you bail?” Nina nearly growled. It was no secret that Nina was into me, but she just wasn’t my type.

  “I…” Linda stammered, trying to find a way to defend herself, but under Nina’s piercing gaze, even the best could crumble.

  “Anyway, care to get me a scotch and the pretty lady here will have…”

  “…I don’t want anything.” She mumbled under her breath.

  “A glass of water then.” Nina scoffed, filling the orders.

  “What are we doing here?” Linda asked, getting closer, her hand on my leather jacket.

  “I thought I would bring you into the world of Blackbirds. Most of your judgment came from stereotypes that simply aren’t true. I bet you’re already judging every single man that is in this bar, thinking they’re all thugs. It isn’t like that at all. Most of them are actually pretty nice.”

  “Then why are there so many crimes attributed to motorcycle clubs?”

  “I’m not going to deny that things get out of hand sometimes, but at the end of the day, we all mean well.” Linda rolled her eyes like she didn’t believe me. “Most of us are like family.”

  Silence settled around us as we both sipped on our drinks. Linda was hesitant about her drink for a while, eyeing it suspiciously. I glanced over at her, wondering how long it would take before she believed me.

  “C’mon, why don’t we go play some pool?”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “So what, you’re just going to sit there and mope all day? I mean, I could leave you with Nina if you’d like. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind someone to talk to.”

  Linda immediate scrambled from her seat and followed me to the pool table. She stood close to me, like a child hiding behind a parent. I laughed, pulling her in front of me. “Have you played pool before?”

  “No.”

  “That’s alright. I’ll teach you.” I walked over, grabbing two pool sticks.

  “Hey, mind if I join you two.” My right-hand man, Jones appeared, the usual goofy look on his face. Linda shied away from him.

  “Sure, but Linda here is learning the ropes so you’ll have to be patient with her.”

  “Really… I don’t have to play.”

  Jones stepped closer, whipping his blonde hair out of his eyes. “Who’s this, Kyle?”

  “This is Linda, the lawyer I was telling you about. I thought I would bring her around so she could learn a little more about us.”

  “Fair enough. Well, I hope you enjoy yourself.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Jones by the way.” As his smile deepened, it was obvious that he was missing a few of his molars.

  “Uh… thanks.” Linda took his hand and the moment she did, he pulled her into a hug. Linda’s eyes looked like they would bug out of her head. Jones pulled away just before she started to protest. “Kyle is a good guy. He would never kill anyone.” I smiled at my friend who grabbed a pool stick and waited for me to rack the balls.

  “Come here.” It took Linda a moment to realize I was talking to her. She tiptoed toward me. Her cheeks had faded from red to pink. I ruffled up her hair. “Stop looking so scared. No one here is going to hurt you and if they did, maybe then I’d think about killing someone.”

  “Sorry if I’m a little uneasy around all these strangers.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m supposed to be on vacation right now and instead, I’m in some filthy bar with a bunch of dirty bikers.”

  “Now, if you keep talking like that, you might make some enemies. I’d keep my voice down if I were you.” Linda looked around and noticed that a few of the patrons were indeed staring at her. She quickly moved closer to me.

  I took my chance to bend her over the pool table, sliding the pool stick between her fingers. “What are you –”

  “Calm down. I’m just lining you up for the shot.”

  “I don’t know if I’m comfortable with –”

  The moment I pressed my body against hers, she stopped talking. She felt so small and fragile against me. Her vanilla scent came back to me as I leaned down, my nose practically in her hair. “So, if you want to shoot, you hold the stick like this.” I repositioned her hands, our fingertips grazing together. Again, that warm stirring appeared in my chest. I ignored it for the moment and continued to instruct her. “And when you’re ready, you slide it back and then launch forward with a bit of force.”

  Linda’s fingers were ice-cold. Was she nervous? I pressed even closer, tightening my grip on her hands. “I don’t know about this…”

  “C’mon, it’s easy…” I ran my fingertips along her soft skin, enjoying the feeling. My lips were just about to graze her neck when she made the shot. The cue ball went flying toward the neatly-arranged balls, scattering them in every direction. “Wow… good shot. You sure you haven’t done this before? You even sunk a solid. Very nice.”

  I stepped away from her, giving her some space. To my surprise, she actually smiled at me. “That was kind of fun.” She giggled. “I think you might be right…”

  “About?” I leaned against a nearby table and looked at her, waiting for Jones to make his shot.

  “Once you’re here a while, it actually is pretty cozy… maybe there’s more to the Blackbirds than what meets the eye.”

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along.” I grinned. Maybe I was finally getting through to her.

  Chapter 6

  Linda

  “How are you so good at this, Jones?” I asked, watching the tall, lanky man lean against the table and make his final shot. If he sunk the eight ball into the side pocket, he would win the game. It would be the third game in a row, too.

  “Jones is a natural, but I have a hunch that he cheats.” Kyle placed his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it slightly. My cheeks felt warm and I wasn’t sure whether it was due to the elevated temperatures in the bar or if his touch affected me in such a way. I preferred to believe the first option.

  “Are you calling me a cheater?” Jones jabbed his stick in Kyle’s direction.

  Kyle immediately stood in front of me, his arm reaching out in a protective stance as his other hand grabbed the stick, yanking it from his opponent’s hands. “Hey, watch where you point that thing. You could really poke someone’s eye out like that.”

  Jones was already rushing at us. I quickly scrambled out of harm’s way. He tackled Kyle into a nearby table. The chair they landed on collapsed under their weight. They started to roll around, throwing punches. I wanted to do something to stop it, but it felt like I was frozen in place.

>   All of a sudden, Nina came waltzing in. “Alright. Alright. Break it up you two.” She yanked them apart, clicking her tongue in disapproval. The two men looked at each other, their eyes narrowing before they burst out laughing. They hugged and then brushed each other off.

  “That was a good one.” Jones smiled brightly.

  “You got me pretty good on the jaw there.” Kyle was hinging his jaw back and forth.

  “You want me to get you a band-aid for your boo-boo?”

  Kyle responded by shoving him off.

  “What was all that about?” I asked, feeling confused. One moment it looked like they were going to kill each other, the next they were laughing like nothing happened.

  “That’s just how it is around here. We rough each other up sometimes, but we always kiss and make up.” Kyle grabbed the pool stick out of my hand. “Since you attacked me, I’m going to assume you forfeit your turn.” Before Jones could protest, Kyle had already positioned himself for the perfect shot.

  I couldn’t help but stare at him. His body was like a work of art. Even though his leather jacket covered his upper body, I could tell he was packing on muscle. His posture was just so straight and defined like he was a part of royalty. His legs were powerful. I had to admit, I had taken a peek or two at his package throughout the night. After all, he was wearing skinny jeans – really tight skinny jeans – what is a girl supposed to do?

  Before my mind could wander off, Kyle made the shot. The sound of the cue ball smashing into the 8-ball broke my trance. I barely had enough time to watch it disappear into one of the pockets. “Wow…” I whispered unconsciously.

  Kyle stood up, his dark eyes softening with smugness. He ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “Seems like I still got it. How about I get a kiss as a prize for winning us a game?”

  “As if.” I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. I was starting to warm up to the Blackbirds, but that didn’t mean I was going to kiss Kyle. Fat chance of that ever happening.

  “Oh, c’mon. You know you want it.” Kyle reached forward, about to grab me, but I weaseled away. It was the first time that night I had managed to evade his grasp. Feeling confident, I didn’t notice the chair that popped up right in front of me. I tripped, about to tumble to the ground when Kyle caught me, pinning me to his body.

  My breath caught in my throat as I looked into his dark eyes. It felt like my heart was tightening and my immediate thought was to get away. My skin started to tingle in what I thought was disgust. I pushed away, but not before I caught his musky scent. I stopped like it had bewitched me.

  “So feisty.” He laughed. “I’m surprised you’re not trying to scratch me.”

  “Thanks for the idea,” I smirked at him.

  “Not that I would mind. I might actually like it. Do you bite too?” He exposed his neck to me and I pushed him away.

  “Stop being such a pig.”

  “You haven’t seen anything yet.” He winked at me and I felt this strange shiver running down my spine. A draft maybe?

  “You guys going back to headquarters?” Jones had tidied things up and rejoined us.

  “Yeah, why don’t we all head out?”

  “Cool, I’ll see if anyone else wants to ride with us.” Jones stopped to look at me. “Is there any way I could convince you to ride with me?” He asked, lowering his voice, trying to be seductive, but all he managed to do was sound super creepy.

  I backed away until I bumped into Kyle. He wrapped his arms tight around me and smirked. “Get lost Jones, she’s mine.”

  “You always get the cute ones. It’s not fair.” He sighed, giving me one more look before walking away.

  Kyle chuckled. “Good to know you’d pick me over Jones.”

  “Well, you’re just the lesser of two evils, that’s all.”

  “I can’t believe you still hate me, even after I taught you how to become such a good pool player.”

  “I don’t hate you.”

  “Then why do you cringe every time I try to hold your hand?”

  “I don’t.”

  “Really?” Just to prove his point, he grabbed my hand, squeezing it. I instantly regretted my stubbornness, but at the same time, it felt kind of nice to be holding his hand, especially when our fingers locked together.

  Without another word, we walked outside to his bike. Just like last time, he helped me with the helmet, taking his time. It was strange to see all these different sides of him. It seemed he could be really gentle if wanted to, but that didn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t also a pervert or a thug. I wondered which one of those personas was the real Kyle.

  “Ready?” Knowing I had no other choice, I wrapped my arms around his chest and moved close to him until our bodies were practically locked together. The motorcycle started up and my whole body shook with the vibrations. I nearly moaned as they ran through every inch of my body. I blushed deeply, but I couldn’t deny that there was something sexual about riding a motorcycle. I didn’t really know what it was. Maybe the surge of adrenaline was a big part of it.

  Kyle chuckled and shot off, followed by a few more members of his crew. The group made quite a ruckus, but it wasn’t annoying. With the noise from all the engines, it was almost as if we were all warriors, letting out a rallying cry before heading into battle.

  I tightened my grip on Kyle. To think, I was supposed to be in bed by now, but instead, I was cruising the highway with a bunch of bikers.

  ***

  Soon enough, we arrived at what looked like an old warehouse. The brick building was covered in graffiti. A few of the windows were boarded up. “Where are we?” I asked as I got off the bike, letting Kyle help me. I couldn’t allow myself to fall into his arms like last time.

  “This is the Blackbird headquarters. This is where our members come if they need someplace to hide or relax. It’s also where I live.”

  “What? You live here? But this place is a dump!”

  “Sure. On the outside. But you haven’t seen nothing yet.” He took my hand and guided me toward the entrance. Jones was already there, pushing the metal doors open.

  Light spilled from the building onto the dark street. I blinked, my eyes taking their time to adjust. Kyle kept walking and I had no choice but to follow him. When I could finally see again, I was completely shocked.

  The warehouse had in fact been converted into a rather cozy place. The main area was a sort of lounge with various furniture throughout as well as a bar. There were a few tables set up, where a group of men and women played blackjack.

  “That’s 21. Pay up boys!” A girl with bright pink hair and an ear full of piercings got up from the table, pulling a pile of chips in her directions. The men grumbled, throwing in their cards.

  “That’s the third time in a row. Why don’t you pass me some of that luck, Izzy?”

  The girl laughed. “Just keep paying me and maybe tonight you’ll get lucky in other ways.” She winked, leaning forward and kissing his cheek. The man went red in the face as everyone else burst out laughing.

  “Don’t mind her. She’s the group flirt. If you’re alone with her, she won’t hesitate to flirt with you too.”

  “But I’m not…”

  “Don’t matter. Lizzy just likes to have fun, doesn’t matter who she’s with.”

  “Okay then…”

  “Just one more reason why you should hold on tight to me.” He whispered in my ear, his lips just barely grazing my earlobe. I immediate let go of his hand and moved away from him. He laughed. “When are you going to learn to like me?”

  “Maybe when you stop making stupid comments.”

  “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true, but if you aren’t going to hold my hand, at least follow me to the back. I want you to meet someone. I think she might change your mind on the whole Ross thing.”

  “Look, I don’t know what you’re going to show me that the private detectives haven’t already.” I crossed my arms, refusing to budge.

>   “Please.” He turned to look at me. “You and I both know that the private eyes in this city don’t do half the work they should. They’re sitting in their cars birdwatching half the time.”

  “What is it that you want to show me?”

  “When the detectives brought in witnesses, did they bother to bring in Ross’ sister? Did they bother to tell you that she’s now taking refuge with the Blackbirds because she thinks there’s a traitor in the Iron Horses?”

  I was floored. I didn’t even know that Ross had a sister. If I did, I would have asked her to make a statement. “Fine. Show me.” I followed him, my arms crossed over my chest. I was starting to think that Kyle had been telling the truth from the start. Maybe there was something fishy about the whole thing. Besides, if he was the murderer, why would he let me talk to the victim’s sister? Maybe he was innocent after all…